Cole After punching the idiot multiple times, I notice that Ophelia is gone. I take off running for my car, hearing my Aunt yelling for me to stop. I don't care what happens to me, but I have to talk to her. She has to know how I feel about her and that all of this was a huge mistake. I drive by her house again, and she isn't there. I have been looking everywhere and haven't been able to find her at all. She has to be staying somewhere close, but nothing is turning up. I called all the hotels and motels in the area, and there isn't an Ophelia Harris staying in any of them. I decide the next best option is my uncle. He doesn't answer his phone, so I head to the shop. He's always there, and I hope to find Ophelia there as well. Something in me is telling me that I am on the verge of losing her before I ever even get her. I walk up to the shop, and the sign says closed. I try the door, and it opens. Maggie comes running from the back, with Gregory coming

Ophelia The last few weeks have been amazing. I've settled in nicely, and I love the house. I've already started finding favorite spots in the town and neighborhood. Gregory came and spent the weekend with me, and we talked a lot. He informed me that Maggie is trying to help Cole find me and that he thinks it's best if I reframe from contacting her for a while. I showed him around town, and we settled into a comfortable father-daughter relationship that makes us bother happy. I asked what he had told his family, and he said he informed them that he went to hang out with some of his old college friends. It worked out well because he was able to get away, and no one thought anything of it because he did this from time to time. I hated when he had to leave, but he promised to come back soon. Today I'm going to the campus books store to get all the books, and supplies I'll need. I'm taking a heavy course load, and I can't wait to get started. I drive to the colle

Cole My phone rings as I sit watching the restaurant where I have a clear view of Ophelia. I look and see that it is the person running the check on the gut Ophelia is currently making eyes at. "Talk to me." "Sir Christopher James is clear. He is from a middle-class family and works in publishing. No arrests, charges, or even traffic tickets. There is nothing wrong with him. He had a fewgirlfriends in the past that have nothing but great things to say about the guy." "Thanks. The money will be put into your account." I hang up and look in the window at them. Ophelia leans in to whisper something in his ear, and his face lights up. He kisses her forehead and my heart breaks. There has to be something going on with them. I man up and realize I have to do this and get it over with. I hate to interrupt her, but the longer I put this off, the worse I am going to feel. I walk into the restaurant, and the place is slammed. There are people all over, and

Ophelia The saying goes that some people are in your life for only a reason or a season. The question for me has always been, is it only the bad people or is it anyone that can disappear from your life? Does that mean that those that leave are only there for a season, and those that stay are there for a reason? I had been living the last four years of my life in pure happiness. I married a man that loved me and we had a beautiful son together. The problem is that he was only in my life for a season. I lost Christopher when our son turned a year old. The car accident happened just two days after his birthday. A drunk driver took him away, and they left me a shell of a person with a small child to raise alone. If it wasn’t for Emily and Alexander, I don’t know that I would have made it through. They helped me pick up the pieces of my life and move forward. Chris would have wanted me to live my life regardless of whether he was here. This thought alone helped me through many nights o

Ophelia Monday morning came all too soon, and I felt my nerves getting the best of me. The weekend had gone quickly, with Ethan and me playing at the park and painting. Ethan loves to teach me how to paint. I’m not the greatest at it, and he loves to tell me when I do something wrong. I have been out of practice since high school and it shows. I left him with Grandma Bess this morning. He adores her, and she feels the same about her. They like to spend their time doing many things together, and I think the child loves her as if she were his grandmother. Bess is nowhere near old at 52. But to Ethan, she is the right age to be his grandmother. Bess has always lived alone and has never been married. She said that there has never been a man that is good enough. I have often wondered if she and Dad would be interested in one another. Both of them claim to have never found someone who lights their fire. Maybe next time Dad’s in town, I should invite her over to meet him. I walk into th