INSPY Award Finalist Olivia Wallace can't remember a birthday that wasn't marked by illness, tragedy, or both. As she approaches the big 5-0, she's determined to change her streak of bad luck. With the help of her best friend, Liv escapes a snowy Ohio winter and runs away to the Florida sunshine. Amidst a crazy cast of characters that include a dog with a lampshade collar, a rogue alligator, and a flirtatious octogenarian, God surprises her with the best birthday gift of all...a second chance at love. The big 5-0 is barreling down on Olivia, but this year she’s determined to outwit her “birthday curse.” Sandra D. Bricker was an entertainment publicist in Los Angeles for more than 15 years, where she attended school to learn screenwriting and eventually taught the craft for several semesters. She became a best-selling, award-winning author of Live-Out-Loud Fiction for the inspirational market, authored books such as the Jessie Stanton novels, and was best known for her Emma Rae Creation series. Over the years, as an ovarian cancer survivor, she spent time and effort toward raising awareness and funds for research, diagnostics, and a cure. Sandra lived in Toledo, Ohio before her passing in 2016. She is remembered online at SandraDBricker.com. The Big 5-OH! By Sandra D. Bricker Abingdon Press Copyright © 2010 The United Methodist Publishing House All right reserved. ISBN: 978-1-4267-0235-8 Chapter One Prudence leaned over the edge of the pond and gazed at her reflection. "What's happened to me?" she exclaimed. "I looked like a perfectly normal young donkey when I left home this morning." "The journey has taken its toll," Horatio HootOwl replied. "But just one dip in the Enchanted Pond, and you'll surely be revived." Prudence lifted her head and closed her eyes. "Braaaaaaaay," she whimpered. "Oh, me, oh, my. Braaaaaay." "No, no," Horatio said, rubbing his feathered wing over the fold of Prudence's smooth ear. "One dunk in the water, and then a nap in the sun, and you'll be good as new. You'll be a new Prudence." She chuckled at that. "Do you promise?" "I promise," said her friend. "You'll be a brand new Pru." * * * Liv dug the shovel into three inches of snow and pushed as hard as she could, then tossed it to the side of the driveway. Three more reps followed before the muscle down the back of her arm throbbed in response. It used to take much longer for her old body to react to physical labor in this way. Time marches on, she thought. Whether we like it or not. "Hey, neighbor!" Liv looked across the white meadow between them and waved at her friend Hallie, who stood at the edge of her garage next door. Three kids filed past Hallie, all of them bundled up in coats and boots, hats, scarves, and gloves. At thirteen, Jason was the oldest. He had reached the bottom of the driveway by the time Scotty, the ten-year-old, hurried past his mother. Katie, age six, scampered behind her brothers, then she turned and waved at Hallie. "Later, Mommy." "Later, sweetie." "Hey, wait up, you guys," the little girl called. "Boys, wait for your sister and walk with her all the way to the bus stop, please." Jason didn't so much as slow down, but Scotty came to a full stop until Katie reached him. The two of them skated along the patches of ice on the sidewalk. Liv's heart pinched a little as she watched them. She'd had more than her share of obstacles over the years that had kept her and Robert from having children of their own. Hallie was blessed to have a houseful, and Liv envied her that. "Coffee?" Hallie called out to Liv. "Half an hour?" "I'll bring cake." The thought of cake cheered Liv right up, and she returned to the chore of shoveling a channel up the driveway so that Hallie could bring it safely to her. A few minutes later, the snow started to fall again, and Liv leaned on the shovel, breathless, and watched the path she'd just created disappear under a layer of white. "Ah, crud." Looking around at the colorless landscape of her suburban Ohio neighborhood, Liv realized there was a time when she had considered her hometown to be one of her greatest loves. Nestled into rolling green hills and bellied up right next to the Ohio River, it was such a beautiful and thriving town. Summers in Cincinnati were blue skies and picnics, and winters were powdered sugar-covered treetops and ice skating on Winton Lake. But all that had changed. Five years had passed since Robert had died, but passing months on the calendar had a curious way of fogging up the glass through which she peered to try and find the time when she still had him with her. It made her head ache to work so hard at looking back for him, struggling to break through the wall of cancer that stood between present day and her beloved past. Stage 3 Ovarian Cancer . The English language didn't hold four more terrifying words, and, on the chilly morning of Olivia Wallace's forty-eighth birthday, those