Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Valentine Shower
    Valentine Shower
    Valentine Shower
    Ebook56 pages34 minutes

    Valentine Shower

    By John C. Houser

    3.5/5

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    For Reuben, numbers are everything people are not: rational, predictable, and soothing. Outside of this family, his boss, Terry, is the one person he feels connected with. In the years they’ve worked together, listening to Terry’s jokes and stories over coffee has become a reliable part of his routine. But he’s missed having family nearby since his parents retired to Florida, and figures he’ll need a woman to correct the problem. He’s hurt and confused when Terry not only refuses to help, but announces he won’t be coming around much anymore. It’s up to Reuben’s no-nonsense sister Yaffa and his therapist, Dr. Greenberg, to help him understand Terry’s feelings—and his own.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherDreamspinner Press
    Release dateFeb 12, 2014
    ISBN9781627987653
    Valentine Shower

    Related to Valentine Shower

    Related ebooks

    Romantic Comedy For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      A New Chapter

      Dec 23, 2022

      A New Chapter
      4 min read

    • Article

      Parminder Nagra

      May 2, 2022

      Parminder Nagra
      5 min read

    • Article

      A Chat With Ashley Simpo

      Mar 3, 2022

      A Chat With Ashley Simpo
      8 min read

    • Article

      Veronica Roth

      Jul 20, 2019

      Veronica Roth
      2 min read

    • Article

      “Being Trans Isn’t Something That Lends Itself Well To My Comedy”

      Apr 25, 2021

      With a stand up career spanning two decades and history-making roles in Doctor Who, Cucumber & Banana, 42-year-old Bethany Black has become one of the most famous trans lesbians in the world – something she says was “entirely by accident”. “The day a

      7 min read

    • Article

      Doreen Lawrence

      Nov 21, 2022

      Doreen Lawrence
      5 min read

    • Article

      More Sex, Please

      Jul 14, 2020

      More Sex, Please
      5 min read

    • Article

      More Sex, Please

      Apr 8, 2021

      More Sex, Please
      5 min read

    • Article

      Veilige Volkspartij

      Apr 27, 2020

      Veilige Volkspartij
      11 min read

    • Article

      Here To Help

      Feb 5, 2020

      Q I live in a dark cul-de-sac and I worry that it’s the perfect place for burglars as it’s off the beaten track. I therefore always leave my outside light on all night to deter people. My neighbour says it shines into his bedroom and stops him sleepi

      3 min read

    • Article

      Healing Process

      Apr 22, 2021

      Healing Process
      8 min read

    • Article

      Finding My Own ARTIST’S WAY

      Apr 7, 2022

      Finding My Own ARTIST’S WAY
      7 min read

    • Article

      Editor’s Note

      May 31, 2018

      You know, I just have to say, I love getting older. And I don’t know if this is necessarily because I now have ‘wisdom’ from living so many years on this earth. I think it is actually more because I am finally getting ‘my ducks all in a row.’ I have

      4 min read

    • Article

      Nuggets of Humor

      Jun 15, 2020

      There’s no subject too taboo for humor author Samantha Irby. From her Bitches Gotta Eat blog where she started writing to her three essay collections, Irby has told real-life stories about everything from her tribulations with Crohn’s disease to easi

      7 min read

    • Article

      Saying No Feels Great: The Millions Interviews Elissa Bassist

      Nov 16, 2022

      "I’m incredible at writing all my feelings down... and that’s it." The post Saying No Feels Great: The Millions Interviews Elissa Bassist appeared first on The Millions.

      6 min read

    • Article

      Saying No Feels Great: The Millions Interviews Elissa Bassist

      Nov 16, 2022

      "I’m incredible at writing all my feelings down... and that’s it." The post Saying No Feels Great: The Millions Interviews Elissa Bassist appeared first on The Millions.

      6 min read

    • Article

      Girl Power! Kangana And Ashwiny

      Dec 10, 2019

      Girl Power! Kangana And Ashwiny
      11 min read

    • Article

      Dear Life Kit: Can I Tell My Neighbor To Put Their Yappy Dogs Inside?

      Aug 6, 2022

      It can be hard to navigate etiquette in the midst of interpersonal conflict. Rachel Wilkerson Miller, editor-in-chief of Self, gives advice in three sticky situations.

      3 min read

    • Article

      Celeste Ng

      Nov 2, 2020

      Celeste Ng
      12 min read

    • Article

      A Unique Estate Planning Idea: How to Write Your Memoir

      Jul 6, 2018

      Do you sometimes feel like your life isn't valuable? Everyone does at one point or another. I've interviewed all kinds of impressive people about their legacies, and you know the most-common response I get? "My life isn't that interesting." Some of t

      6 min read

    • Article

      Free From social Media

      Mar 24, 2022

      Free From social Media
      8 min read

    • Article

      Confessions Of A Rapid-fire Texter

      May 19, 2023

      Confessions Of A Rapid-fire Texter
      3 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Valentine Shower

    3.5/5

    3 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      Valentine Shower - John C. Houser

      Chapter One

      DR. GREENBERG looked up from the printout.

      Is that what you wanted? I asked.

      Greenberg sighed and put down the printed sheet. It’s a start, Reuben. I asked you to write your thoughts about why you came to me because you were having trouble expressing them verbally. Do you think the writing helped? How do you feel?

      Like I’ve just spent a hundred and fifty dollars for a pack of bubble gum—and I don’t chew.

      Go on.

      My normal rate is three hundred dollars an hour. It took me half an hour to write that. I’m not sure what the point was.

      Okay, so you question the value of the journal. How did you feel when you were writing it?

      Irritated.

      Go on.

      Was there something unclear about the word irritated? What did he want me to say? I wondered if he found therapy as frustrating as I did. You know, showing or feeling slight anger; annoyed.

      Greenberg dropped his clipboard on his lap. I know the meaning of the word, Reuben. Why do you think you were feeling irritated?

      Because I don’t understand how writing stuff down is going to help. I told you when I came here that I needed help talking to women. How is writing down stuff for you going to help me find a wife?

      Greenberg sighed. If there’s one thing I know about women, it’s that they like to talk about their feelings. If you can learn to talk about your feelings with me, don’t you think that might help you talk to women about them?

      But aren’t there other things I can talk to women about? I don’t like talking about feelings. They’re squishy, and they don’t make any sense.

      Greenberg tapped his pen on his notepad once like a period at the end of a sentence and set his clipboard to one side. Be that as it may, you asked for help talking with women. Will you indulge me a little? I think it might help.

      I suppose it wouldn’t make any sense to pay you for therapy and then not do what you say.

      Greenberg produced a rare smile. That’s right, Reuben. That’s exactly right.

      DON’T YOU think you should pick something more formal, Reuben?

      Terry is my boss and my friend. He has an irritating habit of phrasing everything as a question, even when he’s telling me what to do. I’ve learned to live with it, because I know Terry is just being polite. When we first met, after a professor of mine at the University of Pennsylvania showed him some of my work, I tried to explain to him that he didn’t have to be polite with me, that I was more comfortable if he just told me what he wanted. But he explained to me that most people liked to be asked rather than told what to do, and that asking people would be a hard habit for him to break. He told me that if I thought he might be trying to tell me what to do, I should translate his question into an instruction in my head—and then if the instruction made sense, I should follow it. I’ve been working for Terry for ten years now, and I still find myself translating his questions into instructions.

      Clients come to us when they have data—massive databases containing terabytes of financial transactions, error logs, or temperature readings—and they suspect that something in there might be valuable. I tease out patterns in the numbers. If you were hiring someone like me, you’d look for a CV with computer programming, database design, statistical methods, maybe even some anthropology. But honestly, I don’t think what I do

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1