All Comments on 'The Broke Stem Rose'

Thank you for such a beautiful and incredibly moving story. The ending was a genuine surprise, so very well done!

5 well deserved *s.

You tell a good tale MelissaBaby, I did wonder where you were going with this halfway through, I didn’t see the end coming and it’s left me feeling somewhat introspective and thankful for my lot.

Many thanks for writing and posting, cheers, Ppfzz. 5⭐️

Wow! You sure spin a romance, absolutely beautiful story. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Nicely done! Cheers. Frankie

Smiled when I saw your new post — you blend so well sharply nuanced dialogue around detailed, believable characters within a storyline that resonates. So knew I was in for a treat. And pleasure doubled when Elizabeth re-appeared while you crafted this poignantly beautiful, perfectly titled story around Willie Rose and used his evening to share insights to relationships momentary or otherwise. Will always reread this piece after enjoying “One Night in Detroit” again. Would love it if you would share more of both characters against the Detroit setting you detail so well. Love your creativity.

Damn - Beautifully written valentines story. In fact, best of the entries I’ve read to date. Just wish you hadn’t made my eyes water at the end. 5.0*

¡Qué belleza!

Thank you for the beautifully crafted story.

You don't expect this quality of story on a site like this. If you entered it into a contest and it didn't win you wuz robbed! Thank you, 5* of course.

What a beautiful story...

Beautifully sad and poignant

Beautiful. Always in awe of your command of prose and storytelling. You're amazing

What a beautiful story. I guessed the ending halfway through, but kept reading, entranced by your story telling. Well done. Thank you for the best Valentines Story this year. 5*s

Great story, didn't see that end coming. I'm with Willie, Lafayette's better.

Good story. Lovely, gentle story telling style and a nice ending. Thank you

I knew there had to be a reason he stayed in the cold he hated, but what a surprise at the end!

Lovely story on many fronts. For me you may win the Valentine's Day contest.

Maybe it is ineligible but it is a winner in my book.

A beautiful piece of writing. The ending was sad and heart warming. May your talent continue for many more stories.

Well Damn! Made this old man cry! What a touching heartfelt story.

Walked in the house and hugged my wife. Thanks for sharing!

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

WAY too sad for me.

You still surprise me, though I shouldn't be, as your work is consistently outstanding. But in each of your stories I have read there are little beats, small turns of phrase, and vivid descriptions that absolutely catch at the reader's heart and soul. You have a remarkable gift, and remarkable skill. Thank you for this.

A sad, beautiful, genuinely -> romantic <- story.

Happy Valentines Day !

Well written, with a nice pinch of the heart at the end. 5 Star work, indeed!

Oh, Melissa, you have done it again! What a wonderful romance story. Thank you for sharing your talent with us your fans. Good luck in the competition and a very Happy Valentines to you.

Cheers

SAGE

Great story!

Heart warming and poignant!

5

Melissa, that’s so beautiful. Not just the core romance or the message of the rose, but a story brimming with strong and good characters looking out for each other. Congratulations on another fine piece of writing.

Now that's storytelling! 5 stars!

One of the saddest and most beautiful love stories I ever read. We don't really know our bravery until called upon.

Awesome 5⭐️ story , well done

I didn't expect the story to end like this.

Sad and beautiful.

Thank you very much!

I felt there would be a sad and poignant story behind the story, but this was a little too much. I'm not sure how a poor man can support an incapacitated wife in a Long Term Care facility for years, but the devotion was certainly there. 4*

Tragedy ….. thats happen to everybody, loosing a beloved one ….. a broken heart and broken soul is definitely hard and heavy to recover ….. and then getting older the time is lifting much more weight on the shoulders, life is a fight ….. a true tale a single tear is running down connected to my pain in heart and soul

💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝✨🌸

It's the first of February. But I doubt if I'll read a better story this year. Poignant and wonderfully atmospheric.

J

So beautifully poignant. I’ve come to realize that I’ve developed expectations of you. That every story will be as moving as the last. That every story will feel gritty and real. A high bar that keeps creeping upward.

I loved this story.

Beautiful story, Lost my wife 2 years ago. She was 86. Thank you for this story. Needs 10⭐ but the system limit is 5.

Beautiful. 5 stars.

Good thing it wasn't any longer because my eyes got a little to watery to read well.

Everything a story needs

Well done. 5 stars!

Brought tears to my eyes, but I am a soppy old XY*.

I like that it is set in your universe of stories. But that just added depth without requiring familiarity.

Learnt a new word, 'conniption', us Brits would have probably gone for a 'strop' or 'tantrum' or 'hissy fit'.

*All men are mutants as one of their X chromosomes is all broke!

A romance masterpiece..straight to the soul..definitely 10*s++

Woah

Simply wonderful. Everlasting love.

Heartbreakingly wonderful, and very Detroit.

I must have gotten some rose pollen in my eyes because my eyes and nose are running. Yes it must be allergies!! VERY WELL DONE!! My first time read of one of your stories, now I am going to peruse more of your offerings. KUDOS dear author and my deepest thanks to you for bringing back many sweet memories of my 45 yrs with my outstanding wife. I am now a widower of almost 8 yrs. but your story put her back into my arms like it was today! I will be eternally thankful to you for that.

Beautiful! I’ve never been to Detroit but I felt like I was there. And I wish I knew Willie Richardson.

Wow what a great story of love.

Nice and sweet, I could not stop reading it.

Melissa , it was a very nice and sad story with a real heartfelt end. You reallly have a realistic if not sad approach to lvoe stories, it's refreshing and very welcome. Congrats and thanks for sharing.

This story certainly pulls on heartstrings and it's obvious from the start Willie is barely making it, as he's basically dumpster diving to be able to sell flowers for extra money; the fact he addresses a mission worker that invites him for a free hot meal reinforces that impression. It's also clear the story employs misdirection well, as it gets one thinking why Willie would have to do this if he has a UAW pension, assumed to have taken place before 2007. That means more or less that in a best case scenario, he'd be getting about 2,800 a month. It could be more, but I was unable to find figures for a typical UAW retirement pension by searching. Even if we assume rounding up to $3,000, what we discover later will show he's falling short by a lot.

***

He talks about Regina and their accident, but we never discover how bad it was for Willie at least- - and not really even the extent of her injuries. This certainly bestows Willie with tons of sympathy, and the fact that he soldiers out into the cold.. that much more. It's interesting to see how he observes others, from shop owners to passers by on the street.. but especially Miss Elizabeth. It's obvious that he is significantly older than she is and conversely, she's significantly younger than he is, probably a difference of 20 years easily. The fact we discover Willie has Regina in a long-term care facility means that's expensive: the current figures state that costs $51,000/year in MI. The thing is though, that although the story illustrates him reminiscing about Regina and their argument over which hot dog stand was better, plus the fact she was so witty and pretty to boot makes her being in a coma that much more tragic... but then we read about Willie thinking about Miss Elizabeth significantly, and often. I don't think anybody could fault him for being a man and being human, however, regardless of situation.. it still feels like a betrayal to Regina because she can't do anything. The story also reveals he nearly asked Elizabeth how much he would cost for the night. That loses him sympathy, despite the circumstances. 4

I thoroughly enjoyed it and I gave it 5 stars..It really deserved more.

Another masterpiece. Thank you so much!

Wonderful story.

Damn, you choked me up on this one. The Notebook comes to mind. Very well done. Thanks for reminding us all of the loyalty of true love.

Wonderfully rendered, and richly impressionistic. That was so well done Melissa. You said what needed to be said, no great flourishes, just short and so melancholy sweet. It was not the ending I expected, which is what made it wonderful. A raw slice of life in the D, but from anyplace people endure life in quiet dignity really.

Thank you for the tour of the town. It was enjoyable to read the names of places and streets that are like old friends. Riopelle, exposed brick walls, brightly painted murals, the dumpsters beyond Shed 5. Meat, produce, cheese. With the streets narrowed by piles of snow, and the steel doors on the sheds closed…I could feel the cold. I like to think I’d have been inside Cutter’s staying warm myself. Such a vivid rendering of Eastern Market. Check out Yusef Lateef’s album “Eastern Market,” if you’re not already acquainted with it.

Congratulations on another awesome piece of writing.

5 stars

Wow, right in the feelz.

Thank you for an outstanding story telling the love of a man for his woman. 5 and wish I could give more.

Too sad.

It made me cry!

Melissa, your wonderful short story put me in mind of some of O. Henry's best, especially the unexpected ending. You create characters & plots as good as any being written today. And you've evoked winter in Detroit so we can feel it. I've read this 3 or 4 times already. Willie Roses is unforgettable.

It made me want to cry, too. A beautiful, sentimental story.

.

My father died of Alzheimer's, which has a little to do with it, for me. My mother went to sit by his bed most afternoons, for years, when he was no longer responsive at all. Thank you so much!!