Clattering Sparrows

Clattering Sparrows by Marilyn Land

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Authors: Marilyn Land
Tags: Fiction, Sagas
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becoming a well-known name, and my segment was featured Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.
    Of course it helped to be a part of CBS evening news with Walter Cronkite especially since my father never missed the show. I took a lot of teasing from our friends and relatives about being a big TV star, but Sam and Mindy seemed to handle it just fine. And Jon continually showed me how proud he was of Sara Miller’s Consumer Connection by hardly ever missing a segment. As my biggest fan, I fell into the habit of using him as a sounding board and seeking his approval and/or comments before airing.
    The Wednesday my segment debuted, it was the main topic of conversation at our weekly Mah Jongg game. First and foremost, the girls credited me with getting home in time for the game, and then they all lauded me with kudos and champagne toasts. Sandy announced she had been saving the bottle of bubbly for a special occasion and brought it to the game so we could celebrate.
    ***
    For our fifteenth wedding anniversary, Jon and I went to the Mayflower Hotel for a nice quiet dinner. He had been working on a couple of cases over the past few months that were both time consuming and required a good deal of travel, making the evening alone, just the two of us, a special treat. Over dinner, we reflected over the twenty-three years we had known each other and the past fifteen years of our marriage.
    Jon held my hands in his as he said, “Sara I feel as though my life began twenty-three years ago when we met. I can still picture you in your powder blue sweater, pleated navy skirt, and saddle shoes standing at your locker next to mine trying to remember your combination.”
    I loved Jon’s sentimental side, mainly because not many men will admit to being sappy or gushy or just overly-romantic like he often did. My eyes immediately filled with tears. “Well I don’t really remember what you were wearing, but I think I would be safe to say dungarees and a tee shirt. I do remember looking into your blue eyes and thinking who is this gorgeous hunk? I might add, I still feel the same today.”
    “Did you really forget the combination or were you just flirting with me?” Jon asked.
    We both laughed, and then Jon reached into his pocket and took out a packet and handed it to me. As I looked at my name in the familiar handwriting, once again tears filled my eyes. “No fair, I didn’t bring your gift with me. I planned to give it to you when we returned home. I opened the packet and saw that Jon had booked a two-week trip to San Francisco in May.
    Jon smiled as he watched me look through the brochures. “I thought it would be fun to go back to the beautiful City by the Bay where we spent our honeymoon. I’ve made arrangements to rent a car and after spending a week in San Francisco, we can drive the coastal route to Los Angeles, stopping at Carmel or Big Sur or San Simeon or anywhere and everywhere else along the way.”
    I was delighted and leaned across the table and kissed him. “Jon, thank you. I love San Francisco, and it will be such fun. I can’t wait, and the nice part is that I have a few weeks to get my act together, plus it’s the perfect time of year to go to California.”
    As we sat holding hands across the table and staring into one another’s eyes, I couldn’t help thinking that although I had known Jon since high school, through fifteen years of marriage, and raising our two children, he never ceased to amaze me with his endless surprises. How fortunate and secure I felt in knowing that the depth of our love even after all these years could still make my heart skip a beat at the mere thought of him.
     

9
    MY PARENTS CAME TO our house to stay with Sam and Mindy, and on a beautiful May morning Jon and I flew out of Dulles International Airport on an 8:00 a.m. flight to San Francisco. We stayed at the St. Francis Hotel overlooking Union Square. After checking in, we took a few minutes to freshen up and anxiously headed out to

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