The Gazebo (G K Hall Large Print Book Series) - Hardcover

The Bridges of Madison County meets Same Time Next Year in Emily Grayson's The Gazebo. Overburdened single mother Abby Reston is hard at work as editor of her small upstate New York hometown newspaper when Martin Rayfiel appears at her door unannounced. Too busy to pay much attention to the handsome elderly man as he attempts to tell her his story of love, loyalty, and loss that spanned half a century, Abby finds herself intrigued in spite of her efforts to ignore the stranger in her office. After he leaves, Abby is unable to forget what Martin has revealed of his love affair with Claire Swift, the girl from the wrong side of the tracks, which began many years ago when they were high school students who met by chance. Tragically separated by family loyalty and acrimony, the couple had agreed to meet every year on May 27 at the gazebo in the center of town, the date and site of their first meeting. Abby finds herself drawn to the gazebo the next day, May 27, to await the reunion of the star-crossed lovers. But they never show. Instead, Abby discovers a briefcase filled with a lifetime of mementos, memories, and a tape-recording from Martin detailing the affair that spanned social boundaries, decades, and continents. The Gazebo reminds readers never to let opportunities to love another slip by. --Alison Trinkle