Bench Talk

A still-grieving widower finds himself longing for the kind of companionship he had before the sudden death of his wife three years earlier. Dave Foster's beachside residence provides him comfort, solace, and a bucolic view of Vineyard Sound, but it's hardly enough to sustain this curious and fun-loving septuagenarian. A chance meeting with Charlie Jamison, a fellow war veteran also suffering the loss of his beloved wife, quickly turns into an unexpected friendship that will connect their lives in ways neither anticipated. The budding friendship allows each man to experience the laughter and camaraderie missing from their lives. Through the stories of Dave's adolescent past, each stumbles into love with two very different and equally compelling women. From a seaside bench, Dave and Charlie discover that life is for the living, asking themselves, "What happens when the kind of tomorrow you've hoped for finally arrives?" Set in and around Casco Bay and Martha's Vineyard, Ed Matthews delivers a heartwarming tale about a second chance at life and what it takes to find a way in a world full of new people and new rules. Ed Matthews lives with his wife, Carol, in upstate New York's Greater Rochester area. A graduate of Alfred University, he was employed as a history teacher and football coach at Caledonia-Mumford Central School for thirty-two years. He is a veteran of the Korean War and served two terms as mayor of the Village of Caledonia. Ed is the father of four grown children and nine grandchildren. Bench Talk is his sixth published effort.