Highlight of the Night

Sam and AC got home from their first Parent-Child football class at 7:30 and regaled me with stories of games and goals and grass over dinner. So it was quite late when we made it out the door for our evening stroll around the neighborhood. There were the usual frogs (AC didn’t catch any tonight) and the usual lightning bugs (Sam caught one) and the usual cat who follows us around a ways. (Sam has dubbed him “Mrow” and simply adores him.) Then as usual when we came back to our street I checked the mail. Our mailbox is in a clump of mailboxes at the end of the street–one of those metal box locker-type things that makes it easier for the postman to stuff the mail but means we have to bring a key and wear shoes to retrieve our letters.

I pulled out the usual junk mail and one thick envelope addressed to me in my own hand. Crap. Another rejection letter.

I thought about what it could be. Oh! Highlights. The annual Highlights fiction contest winners were recently announced on one of the kidlit message boards I follow. It must be the letter for that rejection.

I slid my finger under the envelope while Sam galloped down the sidewalk. Now she was pretending to be Mrow. But what if it’s not Highlights? What else do I have out there in submission-limbo land?

Please let it be the Highlights rejection.

I yanked the letter out of the envelope. I saw the familiar red and yellow logo.

“It’s Highlights,” I breathed.

AC turned to follow his cat-daughter back to the house. I glanced at the letter. Standard rejection opening, “Thank you for…” but then my eyes jumped and I thought I saw something in the second paragraph.

I stopped and squinted at the page. Does that say, “we liked it very much?” I think I said that out loud. AC had stopped again to see what was taking me so long.

I looked up. “I think it says, ‘Although [your story] didn’t win, we liked it very much…” I squinted at the page again, held it closer to the weak street lamp near the mailboxes–thank goodness for these new glasses–and read, “would like to consider it for regular purchase.”

AC grinned at me. Sam was still off meowing somewhere.

“Does it really say this? It’s dark out.” It’s late. I’m tired. I have new spectacles. I desperately don’t want another rejection letter. Is one of these things messing with my mind?

No. I am pleased to say that I have reread the letter (a couple of times now) by glaring fluorescent light and it does indeed say that Highlights Magazine is interested in my story that didn’t win their contest provided I make two small changes!

This is a story that I wrote in Brighton last summer after I made a disastrous birthday cake for AC and my friend Robin said, “You should write about that.” I did and submitted the story to another magazine. They turned it down. Then when I saw that the Highlights contest theme was “an embarrassing moment,” I dusted it off, revised it and mailed it off.

This is definitely the best rejection/news of not winning a contest I have ever received. Also the best letter I’ve ever read outside in the dark.