“If you love me, I’ll love you too,” they shrieked and squealed with laughter. “And do the Nimmy Nimmy dance.”
Penny and Henry laughed and danced and sang to their special song as children, creating a loving bond between them that lingered even as they grew up and their lives took very different paths.
Penny found her niche overseas in corporate consulting and Henry is thriving at a research company. But neither of them could forget each other.
As Henry’s success begins to falter, Penny’s heart and job call her back home. And when Henry nearly loses his life in a freak accident, the two are finally reunited. Under knotty and difficult circumstances, can Penny and Henry rebuild their lives and recapture their love for each other?
A heartwarming, hope-filled story.
The Inspiration for the Book:
When my daughter was a toddler, if something thrilled and delighted her, she would dance. Watching her, my wife coined the phrase “The Nimmy Nimmy Dance”. It means to be so excited about something that you need to let it out, so you dance.
One Christmas, my wife and I recorded “The Nimmy Nimmy Dance” as a personal song for our grandchildren. The song is a bunch of well know proverbs linked together. The song speaks of journeys, and best friends parting and then finding each other again. “True love finds a way.”
The song became the outline for the book. It’s a feel-good love story, that hopefully grabs your attention and emotions as you follow the story of best friends, Penny and Henry.
Also, the message of hope within the book is very important to me. My faith has helped me tremendously in life, and I honestly don’t know how people manage without it. I wanted to touch on that in the characters and story itself.
Rescue from the lake
Sean took his time driving the SUV up toward Fusion Lab. He and Alex were early and there was no need to speed, especially on these narrow, yet steep grades. Alex sat in the passenger seat, chatting about numerous subjects. As they came out of a tight curve of a switchback, Sean heard a shrill cry.
“What the heck is that?” he asked.
Alex stopped his rambling and listened. “Don’t know,” he answered.
Sean squinted through the windshield as he saw a car barreling toward them, alternating between smacking the guard rail and bouncing off it. The piercing noise was the sound of metal grinding against metal. Sean slammed on the brakes and guided the SUV as close to his side of the road as possible. The oncoming car shot past them. Sean gawked as the panicked driver fought the steering wheel.
“Henry!” shouted Sean. “That was Henry!”
Sean swiftly did a three-point turn and gunned the motor to follow. He was gaining on the vehicle when it vanished into the hillside.
“Where’d he go?” asked Alex.
They sped down the hillside, and a hole in the mountain's side opened. A gap in the guardrail revealed the doorway to a flat expanse. They could see the outline of the lake in the distance.
Sean again slammed his brakes, and the SUV swerved into the opening. They sucked in their breaths as they watched Henry’s car catapult over the edge and disappear. Both men bounded out of the car and ran to the edge. The tail end of Henry’s car bobbed for an instant and then receded under the water.
“I’m going in!” hollered Alex to Sean. He attempted to take his shoes off. Sean grabbed his collar and held him back.
“It’s too high,” Sean screamed at Alex.
Alex hastily dialed 911 on his phone. Other people had now joined them. Henry had passed a few cars and one truck back up the road. All had turned to follow and help.
Together, they stared at the bubbles that popped out from the surface and sent small additional waves chasing after the huge one made by the car’s impact.