It was a very important day today. Hannah asked off from work, which was a complicated maneuver—her supervisor has backed off and made the requested changes to Hannah’s schedule, but there is still some lingering resentment for the outside interference from Ramiro. Thankfully, Hannah feels that it is worthwhile—now there is only one evening in the week that she can’t spend with Jack and Lily. And time with them is becoming more and more important to her, especially in light…
Inca came to see me this afternoon. She gave me an update on Gabrielle and Christina—they are beginning to talk about getting married. I was a bit more excited by this news than Inca felt it really warranted—she says there are no plans yet, just an opening of conversation about the idea of marriage. Still, that is an important step in a relationship, and I am happy for them. Oh, and on a related note, I hear optimistic news from…
I’ve been intrigued in the past by the phrase “the final straw”. It comes from a metaphor of an overloaded camel, and the one single straw that makes the load too much is associated with one small thing in one’s life that finally makes it all overwhelming. It’s an interesting image, and it shows that even a small weight can make a crucial change when applied at just the wrong moment. Or, as I saw today, the right one. It…
For the past few days Lily has been quiet with Hannah. Neither she nor Jack had any idea what was in the girl’s head, but on my advice they have not pressed her, waiting until she was ready to speak her mind. I, of course, did have some idea, and I knew that it was something that she had to work through on her own. But even I didn’t quite expect it to all come out at once the way…
Sarah has been asking about Lewis’s family lately. She hasn’t pressed him too much, because she can see he doesn’t have much to say, but it worries her that he is so out of touch with them. It worries me, too. Brid tells me that she looked into this when we were first assigned to Lewis—family, after all, is often the first group of people one falls back on for support in troubled times. But Lewis’s family was never very…
A choice is easy to make when one result would be bad and the other beneficial. When both results would be good in different ways, it makes the choice more difficult. This is the choice I am facing with Freya. In the interest of fair play, she told Archer about Henry after he contacted her again. Archer wasn’t happy, of course, but like Henry he seemed to appreciate Freya’s honesty, and his dismay wasn’t enough to diminish his interest. So…
Today was the day for which Allen has been waiting, and which he has also been dreading. He was up at dawn this morning, unable to sleep any longer than he had. Thankfully, Megan arrived only an hour later with coffee and doughnuts. “It’s going to be fine,” she told him. He sighed and rested his head on her shoulder. “What if nobody comes?” “Then you and I and Professor Groves and my parents and your dad and brother will…
Hannah was off of work today, but I wasn’t certain that this was wise. It only gave her plenty of time to be anxious, and anxiety tends to make her prickly. “Lily, did you actually comb your hair or did you just wave the brush at it?” she demanded, with twenty minutes to go before dinner. “Run back upstairs and try again, please.” Lily groaned but obeyed. Jack, who was stirring a bubbling pot, at least waited until Lily was…
Kyle chose not to join Anna for church this morning. She might have been worried about this, except that she could tell that he had something in mind—he was “being cagey” as she said. So she wasn’t quite surprised when he appeared on her doorstep this afternoon, but she was surprised by the scowl on his face. “What’s that for?” she asked, laughing. He turned and pointed accusingly out at the walk, where a torrential rain was coming down. “It’s…
I have been much occupied with Lewis for the past few days. Earlier this week, Sarah informed him that her parents were going to be in town and that they had invited Sarah and Lewis to join them for dinner. Because he could see how much it meant to Sarah, Lewis agreed, and since the moment he did, he has been in a mild state of panic. It is one thing to admit that he wants a future with Sarah,…