A Romantic Novella: Starring Fluency

I have been trying to get a teacher-friend to read a wonderful book called PRACTICAL FLUENCY by Max and Gayle Brand.  

Yesterday, she told me that she just couldn't get into it... that if it were a novel, she might be able to read it.  This is for her... and anyone else who appreciates silliness and literacy.  What a mix.

A Romantic Novella About Fluency:


LEYENDO'S FIERY PASSION FOR FLUENCY

On a dark moonless summer night, with only occasional bolts of heat lightning to relieve the blackness, Fluency stretched her smooth legs as best as she could while driving the rented moving van.  All her favorite picture books and juvenile novels were stuffed behind her as she drove the long five hour trip. She turned left onto a gravel road, almost there now, almost to her new home in the country and to her new life in nearby Angola, Indiana.

Off in the distance, an orange, yellow, and red glow flickered on the horizon. A fire! Oh no!

Fluency made a return sweep to the left, pulling into the long winding driveway as flames leaped, dancing in the wind, while devouring the old weathered schoolhouse. With natural prowess, she jumped from the van and effortlessly toward the blaze. That schoolhouse was supposed to be an rural library and headquarters for her new job. Fluency felt like she was watching a funeral pyre for her new life. What kind of sign was this for her new beginning?

The fire, hot as the engine of her van, singed her chocolate hair as she rhythmically ran into the choking cloud of billowing black smoke. She collided into what felt like a brick wall and her knees buckled causing her to pause at just the right moment...

"Whoa…..   little seniorita," a voice broke into the darkness.  Large gentle hands clasped her shoulders to stop her from falling upon impact, and then guided her back out of the heat.  Little did he know, but Fluency would be the best thing that ever happened to him.

Fluency's heart caught at the sound of the deep, rich baritone voice. His ebony eyes locked onto her sapphire ones then widened with surprise. Or was it appreciation?  Perhaps the scorching heat was slowing down her rate of thinking?

Something firm pressed against her chest before she realized his brawny arms were filled with books that he was rescuing from the fire! Although glistening with sweat and smudged with charcoal, too sooty to distinguish his features, he seemed like a knight in not-quite shimmering armor. "Who are you?" Fluency whispered.

"I am….  Leyendo." He remembered his manners at the same time as the heavy weights in arms. "Here."

He thrust the bundle of books into her arms before brushing a stray lock of hair from her lovely heart-shaped face. He took a giant step back, as an emergent reader might retreat from a chapter book.   Her smooth, fluid form seemed out of reach. Leyendo wondered why no one warned him he would yearn for Fluency so very much.

"You.. must be Fluency, the new reading teacher," he tossed a book over his shoulder as he again moved toward the schoolhouse to save more precious literature. He had many false starts, heading toward the building, stopping for reasons unclear, then strangely backing up and restarting.  Fluency wondered if he would ever make it; he seemed so unsure of himself.  He seemed to be relying on only one strategy in determining how approach the texts.

Fluency settled with the books on the grass, well away from the blazing schoolhouse, as fire engines roared into the driveway. Firemen hollered out directions to each other, working in harmony with hoses to blast water into flames. Leyendo hauled out Newberys and Caldecotts, handing them, along with three more classics, Fluency, before dashing back for another rescue.  He had unsteady movements, yet she sensed his desire for her.

Professionals that they were, the firemen had the inferno down to a smolder in no time. One of the fire fighters led Fluency to a large neighboring ranch house at the end of the lane and told her to store her reading materials and conduct her lessons there for a while.

Although she kept her hands busy by wiping the soot from the books, her mind zoomed from one worry to another with the speed of a reader who thinks that rate is everything.
Oh no. Would her new teaching partner want to rebuild the library?  She'd never spoken with him directly.  What did the future hold for her?

Fluency sighed deeply.  Only two hours ago she was felt like her life was going smoothly with virtually no unnecessary pauses or stops.  She thought she was finally going to get to express who she really was and finally be deeply understood.

Despite the schoolhouse in ashes down the lane, again and again, she wondered just WHO precisely was Leyendo? Where had he come from and would she see him again? He wasn't what she would call handsome, covered head to toe in grime, but there was something about him – she sensed he needed her… and she was drawn to him… perhaps she could help him develop his prosody… he seemed so  unsure of himself.  When his gaze met hers, it was as alluring as eyes on text.  If only she could put him at ease, help him build confidence.

Well, Fluency conceded, their head-on collision could have knocked her senses out of whack. She'd simply misread their physical impact. Nah. It wasn't chemistry. He just had to put in so much effort but still seemed stilted, and unsure of himself when he met her.  He had to focus all of his attention on getting the books, but he didn’t seem to comprehend the importance of their contents.  He could not infer what this meant to her life.  She saw all of that in the dewy stare of his eyes when he had dropped the firm, heavy books into her arms.  It was as if he had all of the desire and tools but just didn’t know what to do with them.  Perhaps… yes, she could teach him.  She would start out with easy things to build his confidence, gradually trying harder and harder work.

She no sooner settled the books into a make-shift bed, than she heard the smooth baritone that Fluency recalled from earlier. She turned her head toward its source and her mouth went dry. Surely this wasn't Leyendo?  This man was freshly showered, his features no longer smudged and indistinguishable. She inhaled deeply as she detected the pleasant sensation of his desire to read with a hint of the smell of a newly opened book. With his bronzed coloring, salt and pepper hair, and ebony eyes that also held a mixture of uncertainty, particularly when he saw the books spread out on the bed.  This was Leyendo-the-book-rescuer, a hero of sorts.

Yet he smiled slowly at her gaping mouth and that rich deep tone rumbled, "You okay… Fluency?"

Wow! Swallowing hard, she forced her gaze away from his before her face could betray her thoughts. He looked like a modern-day gladiator with broad shoulders, corded neck, and perfectly sculpted face. He leaned over her and picked up a book.

When she dared another glance, he stared at her for a moment. From the twitching at the corner of his mouth, Fluency guessed he was trying to read again. She wasn't sure if she wanted to slap him or kiss him now. Instead, she cleared her throat. Twice. "I'm as full of expression and accuracy as ever."

Leyendo leaned his back against the wall and stuck his hands in his belt loops, regarding her with that same forced smile and a look behind his eyes as if he knew he needed to increase his reading performance.  Disturbed, Fluency looked away.


Leyendo held out one large hand. "I'm Leyendo No-Fluidez by the way."

When her much smaller hand gripped his in a handshake, Leyendo attempted to regulate his breathing while he tried to find words for what he wanted to say.  He kept hesitating.  He would start to speak but then stop.   He'd prayed for God to smooth his way, to make his path to better reading more obvious.  Was Fluency the answer?

Now this woman was fresh-out of places to live until the schoolhouse was reconstructed as the new library. How did you invite a desirable creature like Fluency—something you have never known—into your life without sounding desperate?

He hesitated, then, "Welcome to Angola, Fluency."

She snorted, doubting his willingness to continue their relationship.

Leyendo tried to catch his breath, reminding himself of why he couldn't let himself pay so much attention to Fluency…  He had worked so hard just to decode her face, her words.  Now would he dare to get closer to her smooth, expressive body?

Yet he reached for her toned, paper-cut fingers. Her touch was smooth, expressive. "Hmm. Start an inferno… is right."

He reluctantly released her hand when she tugged. She nibbled on her bottom lip as her sapphire eyes narrowed on him. Her honey-sweet voice seemed to pick up a little spice when she asked, "How was it that you were there at the fire so quickly?"

"I live here.  I… I have been reading… and re-reading… trying to build stamina… Fluency, you see, I am going to work here…  in the new school.  "

She swallowed hard, then practically squeaked her realization. "YOU … have been building your stamina?  Have you tried oral reading?  Cloze reading?  Partner reading?  REPEATED reading?"

It wasn't a question.  For the first time, Leyendo wondered if the attraction went both ways. She didn't sound necessarily pleased about it. In fact, her next statement sounded more like an accusation. "YOU are my new partner!"

Leyendo nodded. "Yes, ma'am. Leyendo No-Fluidez at your service.  Don't worry.  We'll rebuild the library, while you and I build my… reading fluency.  You hold the key.”

She tossed her hands in the air before hitching a thumb back toward the lane. "I can't exactly live in that moving van while the library—and your reading fluency--are under construction."

Leyendo took a step toward her and closed the gap. He watched her breathing speed up. "You can live with me until then. There's lots of rooms to choose from. I look forward to a long and fruitful relationship.  We can read books together… we can cloze read, partner read, choral read, and re-read over and over again.  I promise to improve my stamina and my overall performance.”

She shook her head, flipping chocolate hair back over her shoulder, then tipped her stubborn chin in the air. "That's partnership, mister. Not relationship.  I can read you like a sight word."

"Yes," Leyendo agreed. "It takes an equal partnership for any relationship to work.  Just like reading rate and accuracy work together to build prosody.  I know that I need automaticity with sight words, too.  After you interviewed for the job, the teacher you're replacing told me you're sweet, big-hearted, and a smooth reader. He failed, however, to mention how beautiful you are and how much meaning you could bring to my… reading."

She grumbled, "He failed to mention my future partner could double for a male model if he needed a change of employment… and that he would need to put some work into understanding that he cannot just race through a text and think he will have Fluency."

She whipped her eyes off his form-fitting t-shirt toward a treasured copy of FIFTY SHADES OF GREY... she silently wondered if this text would firm up his desire for the work that needed done; but she knew she would have to provide a lot of extra tutoring.  Perhaps she'd start with having him track text with his fingers... perhaps she could even find his Lexile level.  How "lexy."

Leyendo shook his head.  Oh yes, this would be interesting.  She was definitely interested in him whether she wished it so or not. God had definitely handed Leyendo a blessing when He sent Fluency.  The schoolhouse’s burning down was like a flashing neon sign for Leyendo's life, sending Fluency into more than his business, sending her into his reading as well.

Leyendo motioned toward the hallway. "Pick a room, any room, for your stay.  Then I'll help you carry in your suitcases so you can shower away the smoke and soot from the fire. In the morning, I'll help you unload the books from the moving van."

He dropped his voice to a whisper. "Welcome home, Dr. Fluency Importante."   He seemed to accept that he needed to spend more time with Fluency.

Relieved, Fluency spun around and with a sweeping movement from left to right, headed toward the hallway.  She looked over her shoulder and smiled, “We will start tomorrow morning, first thing with Cloze reading.  I will need to cover text and keep you engaged.  It will be fun.”

Leyendo smiled after her.  Feisty.  Dang but if he didn't like that about her too. He would have to work for her.  He knew that she would never use the difference in their reading abilities to cause him embarrassment or confusion. He would learn to instantaneously recognize sight words and move into building his stamina across phrases… and longer, harder sentences.  He pictured long hours of tenderly cradling her books in his longing hands, listening to her smooth, expressive lips model prosody for him.  She might even have to direct him at first.  And then he would practice with her… over and over… until it felt natural and comfortable, which is what he desperately needed.  He would bring meaning to his work, opening up new worlds.

And then one day, he would possess Fluency.  Yes, Fluency would be HIS.