Her Dawning Realization - Contest Entries

This week's contest was to write a scene in which a Neelish heroine realizes that she has fallen in love. That's it. Easy peasy.

The Founding Bettys are pretty dang generous with our prizes (we mailed out THREE for our last contest!) Not only do you get a free Betty Neels (you can request a particular book and if we have it we'll be happy to send it), but we spare no expense and include a custom Uncrushable bookmark - complete with original artwork by Betty Debbie (you're welcome). So come on, let's see what you're made of. You've got the rest of the day (we will extend the deadline to whenever I happen to get up tomorrow morning...around 7am West Coast time). Either put your entry in the comments section here OR email it to us and I will post it for you.

Here are the entries so far:

Betty Marcy - who doesn't own a single Betty Neels and can't find them at her library and would dearly love to win (via telephone dictation) -
It was dawn. The sun peeked through the ivory net curtains. The long night's vigil was over. Evesia's patient finally slumbered soundly. Evesia's eyes drooped and she wished that she could sleep soundly in the vast arms of Dr. Dishjy van Hunjkerdoctor. Her eyes flew open as she realized what she'd been thinking. She blushed deeply when she thought of what that must mean. She must be in love with Dr. Dishjy van Hunjkerdoctor.

Betty Magdalen -
Euphemia stood quietly by as Professor Thijs de Jongh-Bijlsma -- sitting on the side of Mrs. Keith's bed -- explained to the patient why she must never smoke again.

"Lose me fags? Ee -- yer must be jokin'," Mrs. Keith rasped.

"As Sister Bishop will confirm, I never joke," he replied solemnly.

Euphemia murmured her assent when Mrs. Keith looked at her briefly, but inwardly she was not that certain. Surely the Professor's outrageous statement when he first appeared on the ward was a joke. A cruel one, perhaps, given that Euphemia was not as young as the slender blonde she had seen in the passenger seat of Professor de Jongh-Bijlsma's midnight blue Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe Convertible. True she'd rarely seen him smile, but he must have been teasing when he had said he intended to woo her. So far, all their conversations had been solemn discussions about Mrs. Keith's condition.

"So, you see, Mrs. Keith, if you do not stop smoking, you might develop gangrene of the digits," he concluded gently.

Euphemia's eyes widened slightly, shocked to her core. Why should his mention of gangrene make her realize that she loved him? she thought wildly, her calm gaze still fixed on the dark head with its faint dusting of grey at the temples.

He turned as if he could read her thoughts.

"Don't worry, Mrs. Keith. Sister and I will help you quit smoking, clean your flat of that lingering nicotine smell, and refit it with new carpet. Sister Bishop knows I'm a man of my word, even if she's still waiting for evidence that I see her as anything other than a ward sister."

What a horrid man, Euphemia thought savagely and with aching love. "Of course, Professor," she agreed mildly. At the sound of his knowing chuckle, she ground her teeth.

Betty Kylene:
Beryl had been standing at the mirror trying to arrange her mouse colored hair for nearly 20 minutes. Usually she kept her hair in a tight efficient knot at the nape of her neck but today she had thought to try something different. She wanted something softer and more feminine so the next time Dr van Kamp saw her...

Puzzled she sat down on the end of her bed. Why did she care how she looked to Dr. van Kamp? Suddenly she knew the reason she became flustered in his presence the reason her heart quickened when he glanced at her the reason she had become so concerned about the shabbiness of her clothes.

She loved him. This was terrible, how could she marry him when she loved him and he thought of her only as caretaker for his twin nephews. A life of being constantly near to a man whom one loved but not to be loved in return.

No. She had to break off the engagement and quickly. Dr van Kamp had said something about a special license, he could be planning to marry her at any moment.