I am exhausted. My emotions have been through the wringer today. It was hard enough to deal with one woman of Freya’s caliber, but two? What was I thinking? I found her last week ago—Kara Mullins, who is a writer of short stories and has already published one book with Freya’s company. Freya saw her in passing on her way to a meeting and was intrigued by the woman’s appearance and stance. She is a statuesque woman, dark-skinned, with bright…
It is a relief to me that Sabasa and I have learned how to disagree with one another. Not much else good has happened today, it seems, but the respect between us is something I can truly be thankful for. Allen and Megan have been moving in the direction of a relationship, though they are not quite there yet. They are still getting to know one another, but more importantly, the addition of art back into Allen’s life is a…
I went to check in on Lewis this afternoon, and found him looking with some bewilderment at something that looks like a social life. All in this coming week, he will be having coffee with Sarah, watching a game with Eric, and then on the weekend he will join Jo and Drew for dinner. Eric may have also gotten him a job dogsitting, which Lewis is both nervous and hopeful about—he loves dogs, but he is not certain of his…
This afternoon, Jack had a meeting that ran late, so he called Hannah in something of a panic. “I’d ask my mom, but she’s out of town this weekend, and I know today’s your day off,” he told her. “Could you please get Lily from school? I swear, I’ll be done in an hour.” “Relax, Jack,” she said, laughing. “I’d love to get her. Just give the school a call and let them know to expect me, and I’ll be…
My heart is hurting. I know that I have done all that I could, but still I feel so inadequate. I wish I could be all that my charges need. Freya’s birthday was this weekend. She has been planning to celebrate for some time now—she invited many of her friends, arranged for food and music, and essentially gave herself the gift of a party. For several weeks she has been looking forward to this. At first, it seemed that the…
It has been a hard few weeks for Gabrielle. She and Nick speak but rarely, and only then about what is necessary—Gabrielle getting her things out of Nick’s apartment or relaying the progress of the divorce proceedings. He is finally resigned to the divorce, and while it still grieves him, I think he will soon come to the same conclusion as Gabrielle: that this is the best for the both of them. It is sad, however, that their friendship will…
I am so fortunate to be working with so many new beginnings. Allen and Megan are off to a good start, as are Freya and Elliott. Hannah and Jack have known one another for some time now, but in a way they are only just beginning now. And now I may add one more beginning, for this afternoon, Anna had a date. Well, perhaps I should not call it a date. Anna was trying not to think of it this…
Many of you have been asking how Sabasa and I have been doing since our reconciliation. The answer is that everything is going very well. Allen and Megan have become good friends—he is now a regular customer at her bakery, and she will often come to his house after he gets home and stay for several hours. There is an ease between them now, a comfort that makes for an excellent beginning to a relationship. So why has this relationship…
This afternoon, Hannah found her father at work in his office. He glanced up as she came in, and his pen paused for only a moment. I could see, however, what Hannah couldn’t—the rush of surprise that rolled through him, and just behind it, a small shudder of relief. He did not like the way they left things, and in the time they have not been speaking, he missed her. His pride, however, would not let him admit that, and…
It was a good day today. I went with Hannah to Jack’s house for the first time since Lily has moved in—he invited her to join them for dinner. While he claimed that the invitation was Lily’s idea, the girl was not the only one waiting at the door when Hannah came up. “Hi, Dr. Valdez!” Lily said, pushing open the screen. “My Uncle Jack said that you were coming to visit us.” “I just had to come and see…