Half Past

by Cindy Santos

St. Patrick’s Day in New York City can be a lonely time if you’re single. It can be even worse if that day also happens to be your 40th birthday. For Dolores, an unmarried and childless Nuyorican, St. Patrick’s Day — not to mention her birthday — are unpleasant reminders that time is no longer on her side. On the surface, Dolores seems to have it all — an Ivy league education, a spacious apartment in Brooklyn with breathtaking views of the Lower Manhattan skyline, a lucrative career as a probate lawyer, exotic sex appeal and the attention of some of New York’s most eligible bachelors — but something is still missing. Reflecting on her life, she wonders if she still has time to find a new man, date long enough to get to know him, wait for him to propose to her, plan her dream wedding, exchange marital vows, move to the suburbs, give birth to the two or three children she’s longed for and rescue an adorable golden retriever to serve as their family’s lovable mascot. A year and a half earlier, her dream of domestic bliss seemed within reach, but one day life as she knew it changed forever. As much as she wants to find love again, she can’t seem to get over an old flame. As the day unfolds, she realizes that it may be too late. Will she be able to let go of the past or will she be doomed to a life of loneliness? This modern novella can be considered a short novel or a long short story. Either way, it contains about 18,000 words.

85 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 8, 2015

About the author

Cindy Santos is a Cuban-American author and writer with a social consciousness. Born and raised in Southern California, Cindy developed a passion for writing at an early age and dreamed of one day becoming a journalist. As an undergraduate student, she interned at a magazine and three newspapers to make her dream a reality. Upon graduating from USC in the late 2000s, she initially pursued a career in journalism but later decided to devote herself to writing fiction based on current events. Known as a champion for Latinx literature and multicultural realism, Cindy’s stories capture the essence of everyday life in our troubled times. Food Run is her first published work of fiction. In 2015, she released Half Past. Cindy currently resides in the greater Los Angeles area, where she is working on more literary projects.

Reviews

[Cindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fantastic story for anyone looking for a short read. This is longer than a short story, yet shorter than a novella. Appropriately called a novelette, Half Past follows the story of Dolores, who, at the beginning of the book, has turned 40. While 40 for a lot of people means kids and fulfillment, for Dolores, it just seemed more and more like time is running out. She has no kids, no significant other, and though she has a great degree and stable job, we know early on that she was missing something from her life. Without giving away too much, this is a book about love and loss, a book about the "almosts" in our lives and a book about what "could be."

One thing I really liked was the length of this book. A lot of short stories are not quite satisfying, and longer length novels sometimes take me hours upon hours to read. This book, I easily finished within 2 hours, and I enjoyed a full length story with well fleshed out characters. I liked getting into Dolores's head and really getting to know her character and history, and I think the author did a fantastic job with that too.