Scrabble Scrambler

/ roughwighting

https://pixabay.com/photos/scrabble-tiles-letters-scrabble-5981981/okanakgulEmily opened the door to the bar. She hadn’t been to Barney’s Pub in years. In fact, 30 years now that she thought about it.

God, she must be old.

But in her defense, she left the little town of Barneysville when she was 18. Couldn’t wait to explore the real world.

Yet, she returned a year ago, defeated and dismayed in the real world. Her parents were gone. Her brother moved cross country. By then, both she and her brother were divorced and childless. Scrabble., Bing Copilot Design, Words, Romance

I’m certainly a loser, Emily contemplated as she peered into the cozy bar for a stranger. A stranger she met on-line playing Scrabble, no less. That’s how lonely she’d become. No dating apps, please God. Just some company.

The one she connected with seven months ago (the Scrabble Scrambler) liked her usage of words: jukebox – 27 points; maximize – 28 points; quixotic – 26 points.

“Your quixotic use of the word jukebox certainly maximizes your points,” he wrote on-line when she won that game.

jukebox, scrabble, jukebox in a bar, Bing Copilot DesignEmily replied, “There is nothing unrealistic or impractical about the word JUKEBOX. In fact, there’s a fabulous retro jukebox in my town’s bar.”

A day later, after another game of on-line Scrabble, the Scrambler asked if it was okay if they chatted via text, as well as playing the on-line site. Emily shrugged to herself. Why not?

“I’m curious . . .” he texted after they responded this way for a few days about their names (Tom, Emily); their careers (his engineer, hers photojournalist); their marital status (both single); and their ages (Emily didn’t fudge by one year, why lie? And turned out that he was the same age). “. . . what country do you live in?”

That’s when they found out they both lived in the U.S., in Rhode Island, in the same county.

And now the meet-up, at the bar with the jukebox that she suggested. How would they know each other? She wore a pearl necklace. She finally noticed the planned wool scarf on a man who sat facing the jukebox. From the back, his wavy dark hair curled close to the gray cravat. Was he Tom, the Scrabble Scrambler?

“This is rather quixotic,” she whispered behind him.

The man turned, gaped, and said, “YOU?”

“Me?” she replied. “Yes, me. Why do you look so shocked?

“I’m Tom. Tom O’Leary.” Scrabble Romance, Bing Copilot Design, words

Emily nearly fell to her knees. They had been devoted to each other in middle school. Girlfriend/boyfriend until his parents moved the family away when Tom was 13.

“Happenstance?” he asked. “21 points”

“Serendipity,” she answered with a smile. “17 points. You win.”

Tom grinned, “I feel like a winner right now.”

98 thoughts on “Scrabble Scrambler”

  6. I love this story! When my great-grandmother was in a nursing home in my town, I used to walk there after school and play Scrabble with her. It was her favorite game. Thanks for the beautiful memory! Happy Easter to you and yours, Pam. ❤

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    • Oh, “wizardly wordplay.” Well done! Thank you so much Marian. It was a really fun story to write. I will confess that I did have to Google to find how many points each of those words would earn. 🤫

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      • The problem I would worry about is that I wouldn’t know any of that person’s friends or acquaintances, so I wouldn’t know anything about them except what they told me. But in the case of your story, she seems to already know who it is and so has a head start on the “background check.”

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  16. Sometimes the world comes around full circle, and there are no “words” to adequately describe moments like this, enveloping those involved in a wonderous “spell.” Great story, Pam!

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    • Well, I’m guessing that you’re a good Scrabble player, Bruce! I did have fun getting these two together through the game of Scrabble. I think they are going to have a lot of wordplay for the rest of their lives together. 😏

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    • It’s very interesting, but in my writing class this morning several of the students said they didn’t like the idea of human nature being violent and nasty. Overall, we all agreed that there is good and bright and light in human nature. And those are the kind of stories I like to write! I’m so glad you enjoyed this Scrabble love Story. 😍

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    • Absolutely they must go to their next middle school reunion. Fascinatingly, Pete, (if that is a real word, and if it isn’t, it should be ) the first comment of this post was from Derrick who said his daughter met her husband through Scrabble online❣️

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  25. Good story.

    I’ve never heard of online Scrabble. I guess it’s not surprising. You can do almost anything online.

    I wonder what happened to my 5th-grade boyfriend. He was sweet and funny, and he moved away at the end of that year. I still remember his name: Lee Stubbe.

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    • Oh my gosh. You just reminded me of MY 6th grade “boyfriend.” His name was Jody and he moved during 7th grade. Maybe Jody and Lee moved to the same town and school! :-0 Stranger things have happened. 🙂 Thanks so much for reading my story and commenting. ❤

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    • I think these two are so well matched they’ll never tire of conversation with each other – and outdoing each other with just the right word to get their thoughts across. 🙂

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  32. Pam, a wonderful story and I was hooked from the start! I love how you weave the scrabble words into the story (I’m borrowing some of these for when I play next time!) and there is a real spark between Emily and Tom as they first played and later chatted on text! You have a real gift for bringing the reader straight into Emily’s thoughts and emotions! The ending is perfect and delightful! I read Derrick’s comment and wow, spooky how fiction is real! Hope you’re having a lovely Easter, Pam. Hugs Xx ❤️

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    • Hi Annika – two days after Easter (hey, someone had to eat all those Peeps). (I’m assuming you have Peeps in England too….??) Anyway, I loved that Derrick commented first and proved my story to be so close to reality. Happy April!!

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  36. Pam I just loved this cute and clever love story with a twist on word and the universe bringing us who we need in our lives through whatever route it may take. ❤

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