Mum and I had just entered the gates at the Melbourne
International Flower and Garden show when the threatening sky started to
rumble. A few fat drops of rain turned into a downpour. Booming thunder and
flashes of lightning sent us scuttling for the nearest cover under one of the trees in the avenue on the grounds of the Royal Exhibition Building. Unnerved and
scared It was too far to the nearest building so we ruled out making a run for
it.
We were still getting dripped on a lot and were wondering if we should
leave and go home when a tall youngish man with a golf umbrella came to our
aid. He stood close to us so we were under his umbrella with him, and so in
these close quarters, Mum and I realized we had a rather handsome and impressive
hero come to our aid. We were instantly impressed by his country chivalry and charming looks.
We forgot about the thunder and lightning as he explained he
was part of an agricultural group that had come down for a conference. He was an orange farmer.
Wow. A handsome farmer, who would have thought this was going to happen. He
pointed to the group he came with who were huddled under a tree not far from
us. A few of the women grouped under another golf umbrella were watching us intently.
They looked as if they would rather be under our orange farmer’s umbrella than where they were. I couldn’t
blame them. I was being swept off my feet and already thinking this guy deserves
a short story with him as the inspiration at the very least.
Mum grew up on a
mixed farm in Tasmania and immediately told him that she only ever bought
Australian grown oranges in support of our local farmers. He laughed and said, "Actually, America has a different season to Australia and so each country takes
the others oranges". I was relieved because I 'd been feeling guilty about
buying California navel oranges in the summer. But oranges aside, Mum and I
were smitten. You know you can tell a lot about a man in a short time. His easy-going nature, his protectiveness of Mum and I. He was so friendly without wanting a single thing in return. Being of
service was all he wanted.
The sky started to lighten and the rain reduced to a
sprinkle and we had no excuse to hold him up any longer. After we’d thanked him
enthusiastically, he rejoined his group and we went on to have a lovely day. I
think we both walked on air for most of the time, and our conversation kept returning to what a lovely man he was.
Mum’s and my orange grower inspired the hero of my short story ”A Wife for the Orange Farmer” A gentleman with a big heart and sturdy family values, who lives with
and takes care of his grandmother and her orange grove. The dear lady is
old and tired and needs to go into care for a respite while he’s doing the harvest. It’s in
the nursing home that she meets a young woman carer who would be a perfect match for
her grandson, so she hatches a plan to bring them together.
Dora Bramden writes heart-melting, passionate contemporary romance.
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Or Visit Dora's website www.dorabramden.com
10 comments:
Dora, smiling here at the end of your post. Inspiration can come like a bolt out of the blue any day of the week and anywhere in the world as you've well shown.
What a lovely story, Dora!
I really enjoyed your story! Very sweet, sweet as an orange!!!
Love this post, Dora!
You just never know, do you Judith. I was smiling when writing this post.
Thanks so much.
Thank you Diana.
Thank you very much.
What an interesting inspiration for a story! I love the setting, the pairing, and the title and cover of your book. Now to make time to read it.
Thanks so much Maggie.
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