'Mail Man Love'

"Throwing a cookie exchange for the neighborhood was such a wonderful idea, honey." Mom told me as she putted warm, soft, delicious cookies in a tin can.

I gave her a soft smile, fixing the pillows on the couch. She should have said, good job Anne for throwing a party just so I can admit my feelings for the mail man. That's right. The mail man.

Mr. Anderson was such a sweet man. Everyday, he would walk to the door and hand the mail right to mom's hands. Every time the door bell ran, she would drop everything and would scurry to the door, with a huge smile planted on her face.

Poor mom couldn't get a word out of her mouth when his blue eyes soaked into her soul.

"I invited everybody, and they were more than happy to come!" I pronounced.

She putted the tin can on the table, stopping for a second and turning to me.

"Everybody?" She stuttered. Oh no. She was onto me. Crap, I needed a excuse. Think Anne think! Stop stalling, just talk.

"Yeah. It would be a wonderful way to bring in the new year." I said proudly. I looked around the kitchen, admiring the way it looked. Just then, the door bell rang. My head shot up with excitement as I rushed over to answer it. I swung open the door to be welcomed by Mr. Anderson.

"Mr. Anderson!" I announced, wrapping my arms around him.

"Thank you for coming, please come on in." I smiled, opening the door wider for him to step in. "Thank you so much for inviting me." He said, giving me a plate filled with cookies. I took them and smelled them.

"These smell amazing. Thank you so much." I led him to the kitchen where my mom was cleaning the counter.

"Hello Beth." Mr. Anderson said, taking a seat at the table. Her head looked up, surprise showing on her face.

"B-Ben. What a surprise. Thank you for coming." She managed to get out. I couldn't hear his response, caused by the door bell. After the door bell, a huge bang hit the door. I jolted my head back with surprise. I slowly walked to the door, opening it. Outside, there was a lady, possibly the age of my mom, short, an apron tied around her waist and her hair in a bun. I don't remember inviting her. For heaven's sake, I didn't even know her!

"C-Can I help you?" I asked. She shoved the door open, making it slam against the wall.

"Excuse me Miss! What do you think your doing?" I said, stepping back. "How dare you steal my husband for your stupid exchange!" She barked. Husband?

"You mean Mr. Anderson?" I boomed. "Yes! And because of your stupidity, I told the whole neighborhood you stopped this cookie exchange!" She yelled, running to the kitchen.

"Allie?! What do you think your doing?!" Ben asked, getting up from his chair. Mom looked at Mr. Anderson then at the lady, with confusion.

"Come on Ben. We are going home!" She said, grabbing his arm.

"No! We are not married! I divorced you last year!" He ripped his arm out of her grasp.

"Oh come on! I know you love me!" She screamed, grabbing his hand. He ripped his hand out of hers and wrapped his arms around my mom. Within a second, his lips were crushing my moms. She shrieked and ran out the door. She slammed the front door shut, making the whole house shake. I turned to mom, her still kissing Mr. Anderson. I smiled and ran to the phone. I called every neighbor, telling them the cookie exchange is back on. An hour later, the whole neighborhood was here. The house was filled with laughter, love, and happiness. Kids zoomed across the house, giggling.

I laughed, stepping back, not wanting to trip any of them. I grabbed a glass and filled it with water. I walked in the middle of the kitchen and raised my glass.

"I want to give a toast, If you don't mind!" I announced. Everybody stopped talking and looked at me. "I wanted to throw this party for my mom, and for all of you. You have been so kind to me and my mom for the last few years. Those who do not know us, my father died during a fire." I wiped my tears in the corner of my eyes.

"I wanted my mom to find love again, and to thank all of you for the kindness and compassion you guys have gave us. So, a toast! To my mom and all of you!" Everybody smiled and raised their glasses.

The clock then rang, when we took a swing of our water. "Happy new year everybody!!"

3 YEARS LATER

"Come on now! Huddle up! Lets get this picture over with." Mom said, gripping the boy's shoulders. It has been a year since mom married Mr. Anderson. Mr. Andersons sons, Caiden and Mark, were thrilled being in a family again. The photographer clicked the camera, as we all smiled. She looked at the camera and nodded.

"That will do!"

The End....

Thank you all for reading my story. It was so much fun to make Anne's story. My favorite part was the picture. It was a nice little touch to make the story sparkle. Anne is actually a voice of mine in my head. She is caring, a little silly, and amazing in all her ways. She really does come in handy when I'm planning something. This year has been such a crazy year for all of us, and making this story, I hope it will make people happy, the same it did for me. Next year, I hope everything will go back to normal for everybody who has been effected by this horrible virus. I know thanksgiving is over with, but I just want to say, thank you doctors, nurses, scientists, teachers, and all the people who are taking care of everybody. Again, thank you for reading.