What the Hummingbird Knew

Losing her husband twenty-years earlier, Naomi Jenson had shut herself off to the possibility of love--especially at her age. In her mid-fifties, who would want her anyway? However, a hummingbird recently appeared at the feeder in her backyard and Naomi knew it was a sign. Of what, she wasn't sure, but hummingbirds meant joy in certain Native cultures and she was willing to open her heart for whatever the tiny winged creature would bring.

Harrison Westmoreland had never found the right woman to settle down with and so, never married. His friends had stopped long ago to try to fix him up. The woman he was currently dating was getting on his nerves and he wanted to break up, but then he would be alone again. Perhaps a bad relationship was better than no relationship at all.

When Naomi and Harrison met quite by chance at a fish market, and then at a Chinese restaurant, and then again at a grocery store, both knew it was more than coincidence that brought them together. But would Naomi's emotional scars from the past and Harrison's reticence to find someone new make them balk at the possibility of joy with each other.

This is a romantic "boomer" short story.