Wow… It’s been a long time since I posted a new chapter of this story. But here it is. Thank you for being patient!

Oops! How could I forget to post this chapter! It’s one of the best ones! Anyway, here it is!

The next Thursday afternoon, around 1600, my phone lit up with Cole’s number. Thursday is one of my short days and I was in the kitchen with Tee, waiting for an early dinner to be delivered. It was my turn to pick and I’d ordered butter chicken curry. I usually pick Indian when we order…

I’ve been messing around again, trying to get some pics to illustrate these chapters. Riley created those amazing pics of her super-amazing-hot volleyball players! It must be her wizarding skills because getting the old reliable image model (Flux 1.1 Pro) to cooperate pool-shooting pics was a challenge! After a bunch tries, I finally got two, but they don’t have much to do with my prompt!… 

I’ve been fooling around a little, think of getting a pic of Jae. And Tee. I know some people might prefer to just go with their imaginations. Others like an image. I can feel either way. But here goes… I’ll post these two. Hopefully that’s OK? Jaelyn Alexander (Jae) Teagan Alexander (Tee) Thank you more…

Two minutes before the appointed time, I stood outside the client’s hotel room, prepped, dressed and ready to go. Ready to go how was a different issue. Tuna-man had put me in the wrong state of mind for a session. I just wanted this done so I could get back to Tee. Happily, the client had said…

On the appointed Saturday, a week into the new year, I woke up with a rare case of nerves. I can’t say why. It was just one of those things. Poor Tee bore the brunt of it. After I’d asked her about her blood sugar four times and if she’d taken her thyroid meds twice,…

By now, you’re probably wondering what all this has to do with meeting Cole. Well, everything that happened over that Christmas holiday—the Elephant Child, Kade, shooting a music video—made a big difference in what happened next. I had to tell you those stories so I could tell you this one. Remember that phone call I…

Christmas day rose up, bright and clear and promising to be warm, but not too warm. I set my alarm for a half hour past sunrise, lazed for a quarter hour more and then collected Juniper from her place on the shelf above my bed and went to check on Tee. We might have hit…

I arrived home about 2:30 to find out Tee was having one of her “okay” days. Let me explain: if I ask Tee how she’s doing, she’ll answer fine, good, or great—or maybe okay. You see, as far as Tee’s concerned, she doesn’t have bad days. But some of her okay days would land you or me in the hospital begging to…

One of the downsides of working for a regional lab is not getting Christmas Eve off. But we don’t return to work until January 3rd, a humane indulgence for those who like to celebrate more vigorously. National and metro think we’re funny that way. Even though Christmas Eve is nominally still a full workday, people…

Now that you know where it all began, when did it all begin? The Monday before Christmas last year. Monday mornings are a bit special at my job. They are usually slow, giving me and Brody time to rehash our weekend. Now, everyone has a fatal flaw. In Brody’s case, he loves cricket. I think…

“It all began right here, in this office.” I stole that line from a movie and if you’re a film buff, you might recognize it. I stole it cuz I think it’s a great opening line and it’s perfect and it’s not like I can do better… so there ya go. Except you gotta give…