Romance Story Dialogue Example

The sounds of the plane's engine roar loudly through the cabin. Liz closes her eyes and tries to focus on the deep, rhythmic hum that she can feel slightly through her feet. It's a way of distracting her mind from the flutter of nerves that are filling every ounce of her body. She peeks over at Walter, who is gazing out the window. Liz can't help but grin when he catches her stare and she sees the look of excitement in his eyes.

The plane lands, and Walter grabs Liz by the hand and squeezes firmly. It is his attempt to calm her feelings of fear and anxiety. She squeezes back, ignoring the fact that she knows he can feel the sweat pouring from her palms. Liz exhales loudly and speaks for what feels like the first time since they took off.

"I just really hope I can survive this,” she says through her forced laughter.

Walter smiles while reaching overhead for their bags. The definition in his bicep and the way his shirt is lifted just above his belt seem to momentarily distract her.

"You're going to be just fine," Walter says through a smirk as he rests his hand on her back. He guides Liz off the plane, and they shuffle like cattle to the end of the terminal.

The booming sounds of excitement hit them like a wave as they step outside. Liz is instantly forced to hide all the mixed emotions she is feeling when Walter spots the large group that is waving frantically. Walter glances down at Liz with eyes that suddenly seem to put her mind at ease.

 "They're going to love you. I'm glad you're here."

They hear a woman yell, "Walter! Oh, honey, how we missed you!" His face lights up as he is engulfed in hugs from his family. Liz watches as Walter reunites with his brothers, sisters, aunts, and uncles but can't help but notice the absence of his mother. 

Liz is pulled into a hug, and a powerful voice startles her when she hears him say, "Walter, you weren't lyin'! She is a pretty little thing!"

They laugh together, and the ride to the house is filled with stories about Walter that cause him to turn a shade of red Liz has never seen before. As they pull into the long driveway, the warm golden light of the sun casts along the fields on either side. Liz finds herself gawking at the scene of the tall, swaying grass as the dust swirls in the air behind them. They arrive at Walter's family home, with its weathered wooden porch and strong structure.

"Momma!" Walter excitedly yells as he runs up the steps of the porch. This is a moment Liz wishes she could capture and carry around with her. His strong demeanor seems to melt into vulnerability as he picks up his mother.

"My baby, oh how I've missed you," Trudy says as she places both hands on Walter's sharp jaw. Liz stands at the foot of the porch to let them have this moment and waits for her introduction from Walter.

Walter had warned Liz before the trip that Trudy could come off as "stern" at times. The pit that sits in her stomach makes her question if the warning was a good or bad idea.

Walter steps down and wraps his arm around Liz and says, "Momma, I want you to meet Liz."

"It's so nice to meet you, I've heard..."

Liz is cut off when Trudy says, "Well I hope you're hungry, I have supper on the stove."

Trudy wipes her hands on her apron and turns to walk inside. Liz looks up at Walter and he lends her a gentle smile. He picks up their bags and moves his head in a way that says "follow me". Roger, Walter's younger brother, helps with the last of the things and gives Liz a reassuring side hug and says, "She will come around. Momma gets a little protective over Walter."

The house is filled with the sounds of joyous laughter and the rich aroma of southern cooking. Being an only child, the volume of the conversation and laughter comes off as both comforting and overwhelming. Walter must see this on her face and grabs her hand.

"Sure smells good momma!" he says.

"It's not everyday I get to cook for my baby on his birthday," Trudy says as she pulls the cornbread out of the oven.

They all make their way out back. The boys all hover around the smoker, clanking their beers together and bursting with laughter. The women sit at the table, clinging to the only source of shade under the umbrella. They don't hold back when they unload all the questions and details about Liz and her relationship with Walter.

They all talk about how Walter deserves a good girl like her and how he has been mistreated in the past. She leans back in her chair and catches a glimpse of Walter. His sweet smile seems to cast a light across the entire field. He is heeled over with laughter as his brother hands him another bottle of beer. Liz is feeling an overwhelming sense of happiness as she shares this moment with him and his family. She can't help but think about how he seems to check every box of the perfect man.

Her thoughts are interrupted by the buzzing of her phone. She reaches into her pocket to see four missed texts from Sean. He has a way of taking away all her thoughts of comfort and stability as she reads, "Liz, I miss you. I need to see you".

The touch of a heavy hand on her back makes her jump and lock her phone. She looks back to see Walter with a concerned look stretched across his face.

"Everything okay?" he asks, now crouching by her side.

"Yes, of course. I really like your family," Liz replies.

This makes Walter smile, and he kisses Liz and says, "Good, because I can't date a girl who doesn't appreciate some good Southern hospitality!" The kiss is followed by a roar of laughter and applause.

"Look at you Romeo!" his uncles chants from across the yard.

"Atta boy!" they hear from another family member.

They both embrace the embarrassment with laughter and they clink their glasses together as an unspoken way of expressing their happiness in this moment. Walter gives her a wink paired with a smirk that seems to make her heart melt out of her chest.

The sounds of forks hitting plates and stories told through chewing mouths fill the air. Walter watches Liz as she devours her food as if her next trip is to the electric chair. He chuckles when she comes up for air to say, "I've never tasted anything so amazing in my life".

Trudy makes the comment, "I reckon you've never had real soul food before. Isn't that right sugar?" Although her voice is filled with playful sass, the table falls silent, with eyes darting back and forth, half waiting for Liz's response. Walter stares down at his plate, not understanding why his mother felt the need to say such things.

Liz breaks the silence by saying, "Yes, you're absolutely right. But I think I should be the one who is upset right now. I just realized I have eaten white people food for way too long!"

The family breaks out in an infectious laughter. The comment even causes Trudy to let out a small chuckle.

The dinner ends, and is followed by a very chaotic version of "Happy Birthday". It's sang as if everyone is competing to see who can sing the loudest. They all eat cake, and Walter is forced into a game of football with his brothers, that they called something about an over-due rematch.

Liz notices Trudy stacking dirty plates and leftover food on the kitchen counters. She may not have been raised in a southern black family home, but she was raised to know the power of respect. She gets up from the table and finishes grabbing the trash from the table. She enters the kitchen, hands piled high, and stands in the doorway of the kitchen. She momentarily takes in the moment of Trudy singing to herself as she rinses the plates in the sink. Her voice is mesmerizing as she sways and sings along to the radio.

Trudy turns to Liz and says, "Oh sugar you scared me, you can set all that down and head back out with everyone."

"I don't mind helping. It doesn't feel right knowing you're in here cleaning alone," Liz says as she starts to clear the plates in the trash.

The silence is almost too much to bare as the two of them clean the kitchen. The sounds of the radio don't even seem to mask the fact neither of them have spoken a word since. Trudy turns down the radio and leans her back against the sink.

"Her name was Cynthia," she begins to say.

 "Walter was head over heels for her. I had to watch as my baby went from pure bliss to complete depression when she left him for another man. There were times I didn't think he would come out of it."

Trudy pauses as Liz watches a single tear fall down her cheek.

His mother tries to talk through the hurt, speaking with broken words. She continues with making her way across the kitchen to Liz.

"My first priority is to protect my son from ever going through that type of hurt again. I know I can come off as hard, and the fact you walked in here and helped me clean regardless of how Iv'e treated you..."

Liz could tell she was getting emotional again, so she puts her anxiety behind her and wraps her in a hug. To Liz's surprise, Trudy doesn't try and pull away from her. She actually does quite the opposite, and she squeezes hard and lets the fears of Walter's hurt fall out of her.

Trudy takes a break from cleaning and grabs a bottle of wine from the cabinet and pours them both a glass. She holds it in the air and makes a toast to "new beginnings". The two of them sit on the kitchen counter and talk and laugh until the sky fades dark. Trudy makes Liz promise her that she will never hurt her baby boy, due to the fact that she can never see that side of him again. Liz promises.

Walter kisses Liz goodnight and shuts the door to her room. Whether or not she won over Trudy's trust, there was no way of getting around sleeping in separate rooms at his mother's house. Liz stares at the ceiling re-running the day through her mind. A smile stays stretched across her face until she remembers the messages from Sean. She opens her phone back to the desperate call for attention she had received from him earlier that day. She reads them over and over again and wonders if Sean is finally going to come around. Today was perfect, but she can't wrap her head around why Sean is still on her mind. There is even a moment where she contemplates making an excuse to go home to be with him, but then remembers her conversation with Trudy in the kitchen earlier that night. She tries to settle her mind by turning off her phone and doing her best to fall asleep.

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