“What does your father do while you and Ben are working?” my neighbor asked me.
“Read, watch television, I suppose.”
“I don’t want to alarm you, but when the windows are open I hear him talking to someone. He calls her sweetie.”
Mr. Lewis’s Love Affair
Published by
Northwest Journals 
What a lovely sentiment. It stands so well on its own too, without photo — I imagined him talking to a bird outside before I spied the photo.
Thanks for saying so; I was afraid it was verging on gimmicky.
Not at all gimmicky!
Lovely story. Thanks for the photo by way of explanation 🙂
I was looking at the picture of my great grandfather trying to figure out his facial expression. This is what I came up with.
Haha So perfect with the photo!
Thanks, Kymm. I couldn’t resist using the pic.
Haha…that’s adorable!
He’s an adorable man. I wish I’d met him.
Ha!Ha! Loved this one esp. the twist and photo.
Glad it made you smile, Geeta.
Nicely done. Neighbourhood gossip at it best.
Nosy neighbors are the worst, unless they jump to hilarious conclusions.
Wow, what a great twist. Certainly had no idea at all that was coming at the end.
Thanks, Hugh, the prompt was “Why does the caged bird sing?”
I love this, and I didn’t even need the photo, I had the picture already so clearly in my mind.
THank you for saying that, Jennifer. I was hoping it stood up alright on its own.
Very sweet! I loved the surprise happy ending.
Thanks, I love happy endings.
What a sweet story….topped off with a perfect photo for this post 🙂
Thank you, CC.
I liked the twist at the end, and then the new twist with the photo. A fun read!
Thank you, fellow writer with a person and an animal pic in their post! Great minds . . .
Really liked it! A great pull-off from the prompt.
Thank you!
oh totally had me there! What a great picture!
Gotcha, Jen!
That’s such a sweet take on the prompt.
Thanks, M.L., he looks like such a sweet man, doesn’t he?
This is sweet.
Thanks!
I used to talk to my birds too, but they are gone now so instead I talk to my dogs.
I sing loudly to my cats. They like it. I’m pretty sure if they could applaud me, they would. Well, the girl would at least. They boy cat is jealous of my talent.
Cute picture! Very unexpected ending. Nicely done!
Gracias, Monica.
The photo was perfect. Very cute.
Thank you, Dawn.
Classic, Nate. Happy 🙂
🙂
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You can get more information about your nomination and the Very Amazing Blogger Award process at http://livinglearningandlettinggo.wordpress.com/2014/06/02/thanks-for-the-very-inspiring-blogger-award/.
Thanks very much, Karuna! I’m honored.
🙂
I love love love this one! The photo is awesome:-)
I thought about not using it; but it was too perfect. Thanks for your enthusiasm.
Interesting take on the prompt…
I’ll take that as a compliment. Thanks, Jacqueline!
I love it! I laughed out loud when I saw the photo. Very clever.
Hee hee. Thanks, Amberly. You’ll read and see more about him. He’s my 2 gr. grandfather and I have many pictures of him!
what a great answer to this prompt, such hopeful happiness in these words.
Plus that picture is precious!
Thanks, Kir. He’s my 2nd great grandfather and we happen to share the same first name so he’s pretty special to me.
Oh, this is perfect. Just perfect.
Right? How could I not use this picture for this prompt?
Sometimes things are just meant to be…
Brilliant, and the photo.
Thanks for reading!
Haha! Terribly cute!
He’s that cute in every picture he’s in!
What a brilliant take on the prompt. A very clever twist!
Here’s my take- http://callitatale.blogspot.in/2014/06/youre-caged-and-you-sing.html
Thank you for reading!
Like the idea of the photo being so integral to the story i.e. without it you wouldn’t get the ending. Good work.
Thanks, Paul! I was hoping it stood on its own ok; but it’s ok that it didn’t.
A great take on the prompt.
Just shows how easy it is to jump to the wrong conclusion!
THanks, Mike. I was also trying to hint that he was trapped in his house when his family was at work. Not sure I conveyed that successfully.
Thank you for the grins. Very nice!
Something about him just exudes personality. He was probably in his 90s when this photo was taken but there’s still spark and zazz. Don’t you think?
He certainly doesn’t look 90-something. Yes, there is definitely a jazzy spark. I’ll bet he has some stories to tell, yes?
This made me smile.
I love that photo!
Glad it made you smile, Karen!
Awesome. I loved this. Especially the photo, which provided a great twist!
Thanks, Priscilla, I love that photo too. He is one of my more photogenic relatives.