Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 74604 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 373(@200wpm)___ 298(@250wpm)___ 249(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74604 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 373(@200wpm)___ 298(@250wpm)___ 249(@300wpm)
“No, yeah, I can see that. I was just thinking…”
“Yeah?”
“Maybe you should consider having her on the staff of your nonprofit,” he said.
I might not have actually needed to go to the mental health facility when I’d been forced there. But there were many people, like Alice, like Brock, who benefited from them.
That said, what I believed the world really needed was more help before things got to the institutional level. More community help. Places for people to turn when they were struggling where they could receive professional help without breaking the bank.
That was what I wanted to focus the second part of my life to.
I’d done the ‘success’ thing.
That was never going to go away.
Now I wanted to do the ‘finding meaning’ thing instead.
“That is actually a great idea,” I said, nodding.
No, I didn’t know Alice that well.
And, yes, her own mental health could mean she might be unavailable at times, but having someone like her, a ‘veteran’ of the current mental healthcare world, would be a really valuable asset.
“Hey, there’s only two spring rolls,” Alice said, coming back in. “I’m calling dibs on one. What?” she asked, looking between us.
“I have a proposition for you,” I said.
Her gaze moved between the two of us.
“I mean, you’re both smoking hot, don’t get me wrong. But you’re gonna have to catch me on my slutty manic stage to be your third. And, as much as I’m sure it would be sweaty-good fun, I’m trying not to go manic right now.”
Oh, Alice was going to be fun to have on my team for the nonprofit.
Brock - 11 months
What do you get as a birthday present for a woman who could literally buy herself anything in the world that she wanted?
Well, you had to get inventive.
“She’s going to know what it is if they don’t hush,” Cam said, eyeing the box I’d put in his lap after picking him up from the train.
I’d been mildly worried about that since I’d picked them up from the breeder. It was why I was going to do a quick re-packaging, if you will, before we went into the house for the party.
I had a padded basket in the back that I hoped would keep them cozier and quieter.
“She’s going to love them,” Cam told me, picking up on my anxiety.
“I hope so,” I agreed.
I mean, this was a woman who had entire collection of coffee mugs with ducks on them.
Real life little ducklings sounded like a safe bet.
Something she would never get for herself, but would absolutely adore.
“Where’s that boyfriend of yours?” I asked.
“He’s driving down,” Cam told me, a tentative smile tugging at his lips. “We are going to head down to Cape May for the weekend.”
Cam had just recently started dating again after dedicating his entire life to work and therapy for the past almost year.
But he just so happened to hit it off with another head of a tech company a few weeks ago, and was finally giving in to everyone’s gentle encouragement to put himself out there again.
“That will be nice. Next trip, you can go to the villa,” I suggested.
“We’re not there yet,” Cam insisted. “But maybe someday,” he added with a wistful little smile. “Alright. Take these. I will go distract the birthday girl while you wrap them.”
That was just what I did, arranging the three little ducklings with their fat bodies, tiny wings, and big beaks into a basket with a promise of some mealworm treats later if they were quiet for their unboxing.
“You didn’t have to get me anything,” Miranda insisted a few minutes later, shaking her head as I walked in. “You’ve already given me everything I could have wanted,” she added in a lower voice as I got closer.
And, fuck, to hear that from the woman you loved? Yeah, that was a good feeling.
“You have to hurry up and open it.”
“What? Is it going to expire?” she asked, shaking her head at me, put lifting the lid of the basket.
Then, earning their mealworms, they suddenly broke into little choruses of quacks that had Miranda squealing, then crying, as she picked them up to love on them.
“Don’t worry,” Tig said, nodding. “Your man has already arranged to have us dig them a pond in the backyard.”
“And their Aunt Alice bought them the coolest little custom coop ever, that will be delivered in a few weeks since they’re too little to go outside yet anyway.”
“Looks like you missed part of your gift there, Randi,” Cam said, on cue, making her hand two of the ducks to an eager Alice as she looked back in the basket.
Distracted for just long enough for me to get down on my knee in front of her and pull out the ring box.
“I don’t see… oh,” she said, smile huge as she looked from me, to the ring, back to me again. “You don’t even have to ask,” she said, holding the duck to her chest with one hand, his little webbed feet dangling down, and thrusting her left hand toward me. “In this and every other lifetime, yes.”