A PARTY OF TWO

Valentine’s Day is less than a month away. That means it’s time for area romantics to pull out their laptops and iPads to compete for a chance to win one of three prizes in The Vindicator’s eighth annual Valentine Love Story Writing Contest. It’s the perfect way to have some fun while trying to make your Valentine’s Day a little sweeter.

To participate, complete this fictitious story with a romantic, happily-ever-after ending – using 750 or fewer words. Just borrow Cupid’s bow and arrow and take aim at this year’s main character, Eva Harker.

And the story begins ...

Eva Harker braced her body against the chilling wind and biting snow. Her hands shook as she removed them from her puffy winter coat and fumbled with her key ring to find her key for the event hall. The wind and snow whooshed into the hall before she could get her body behind the door to push it closed.

“What a lousy day for a class reunion,” Eva mumbled to herself. Her lonely voice echoed through the small local VFW hall she and her classmates had rented for their festivities.

A blizzard of epic proportions was raging outside, with inches of fluffy snowflakes piling up quickly. Eva lived only about a block away from the hall; the walk over wasn’t pleasant in the snowstorm, but it was mercifully short.

As she warmed up her hands and feet, Eva mused about the adventures of her classmates, many who had moved far away after high school. The unique character of the people of her hometown and her close-knit family had always tethered Eva to the small Ohio town where she grew up. Eva enjoyed plenty of her own adventures though, traveling extensively, but she was always grateful that home was always solid and familiar.

Never one to stay still for long, Eva started to prepare the hall for the party. She set up a soundtrack of music from her high-school days on her phone and got to work. She rolled out tablecloths, blew up balloons of silver and blue, and set up trays of food, arranging carrots and cupcakes and cutlery and other party goods. She set up the yearbook from their graduating year and placed a few class photos around the hall.

As she worked, the ring of text messages arriving momentarily lowered the volume of her music, but she was too engrossed in prepping the hall to check them right away.

After setting up the chairs, she finally took a moment to rest. She picked up her phone and found an extensive list of frantic messages from her classmates. One was stuck at the airport, and another slid off the road on the highway. Another was stuck in traffic in an hourlong line of careful drivers on a local road; yet another couldn’t find a hotel room to find respite from the storm for a few hours.

She replied to her long list of messages, telling each friend to be safe and not to rush. Apologies were abundant. With the variety of maladies inflicted upon her classmates, she guessed that she’d be alone for hours.

“I don’t think anyone is coming,” she said aloud, her voice again echoing through the hall. She nabbed a celery stick from a vegetable tray and took a large bite as sadness began to wash over her.

The reunion had taken a great deal of work and finagling, and Eva had stressed for months about scheduling the best day to please the greatest number of classmates. But just like that, Mother Nature swooped through and ruined her plans. When would she be able to see her globe-hopping classmates again, if ever?

Suddenly, a knock rang through the hall. Eva had locked the doors earlier, worried they might blow open with the force of the wind. Running to the doors, she unlocked them, and they opened with a whoosh. Under dark skies and heavy snow, she could see only a bright smile in the darkness.

“All alone in there, Eva?” the stranger said, and stepped into the light ...

how does this love story end?

It’s up to you. Using no more than 750 words, finish it with a clever ending that sets your entry apart from the others for a chance to win one of these prizes:

FIRST PLACE

$100 gift card to Bruno’s Restaurant and Catering in Boardman.

SECOND PLACE

$50 gift card to Rachel’s Restaurant and Catering in Austintown.

THIRD PLACE

2-pound box of Daffin’s Candies, provided by The Vindicator.

DETAILS

You have until midnight Friday, Feb. 5, to email your entry to Society Editor Barb Shaffer at society@vindy.com.

Our judges will choose their favorite three versions.

Include your name and phone number at the end of your story. The winners will be notified by phone.

The three winners and their entries will be published on Valentine’s Day.

The beginning of this year’s love story was written by Vindicator staffer Sarah Foor.