Pain Lived, Love Found 2 by Thalia Lake Read Free Book Online Page A

loved him deeply. I’d met Philip once and he was a really nice guy, and very handsome. I think he and Sandy are the perfect couple; they are just two career-driven individuals who haven’t figured out how to make a life together work. I think Sandy is simply scared to leave Detroit. Detroit was home to her, this is where her family and friends are, even though she’s not very close to her family. Detroit is where she started her escorting business, not that she couldn’t move it to the Bahamas where Philip wanted them to make their home, but I know there was a fear of change with Sandy that was causing her and Philip to butt heads. Fear and a stubbornness that they both share. I quickly walked by her room and went downstairs to the kitchen to make myself some tea. I didn’t become a tea drinker until I was in rehab. They had all kinds of teas and in many flavors and I fell in love with it.
    As I sat at the kitchen table, I gazed out of the kitchen window and watched the birds eat from the bird feeder and a pair of squirrels chase each other in the grass. I hadn’t felt this at peace in a long time. I hadn’t sat and enjoyed nature and life like this since rehab. I spent a lot of time outside in the gardens at the rehab facility, and when we’d venture out into the woods and take hikes and perform exercises, I loved it. Sandy had walked into the kitchen without me hearing her I was so wrapped up in my daydreams.
    “Care if I join you for some tea?” she asked.
    “Not at all. I didn’t even hear you come in here,” I said, as I turned to smile at her.
    “I just got off the phone with Philip. Once again we were arguing about my work and having kids. I can’t believe he’s being so chauvinistic about everything. It’s driving me crazy!” Sandy snapped, as she poured some water from the tea kettle into her favorite coffee mug to make herself some tea.
    “I would move to Antarctica to be with him, so relocating to the Bahamas isn’t the issue. Who in their right mind wouldn’t want to move there? The only thing that scares me is hurricane season, and I would miss having winter, spring, and fall, but other than that I can’t wait to move there.”
    Sandy gathered the bottle of honey, her mug, and a green tea bag and joined me at the table, sitting across from me. I listened to her as she continued to speak.
    “I want to be his wife, Sarah. I can’t wait to marry this man. I love him so much. But I will not be a baby-making machine housewife. I have dreams. I have goals. I plan on having his kids, but I will not be June Cleaver! I just won’t!” Sandy cried as she slammed down the honey.
    I gave Sandy a look of understanding and sympathy before I spoke. “I understand what you’re saying, and Lord knows I’m probably the last one that should be giving advice on relationships and love. It sounds like you both are stubborn, you’re both used to not having to answer to anyone, you’re both career driven, but most of all, you’re crazy about each other. If you two could just find a way to compromise and meet each other halfway, you’ll be fine.”
    “That’s the problem; I’m willing to do that, Sarah! I provide solutions and backup plans and Philip finds a way to shoot everything down. It has to be his way or the highway and I’m sick of it. I never realized how selfish he was until we got engaged and started to discuss our plans for the future.”
    “He’s scared, Sandy, and so are you. He’s afraid your career will take precedence over him and the family he wants to build with you. You’re afraid of losing a part of yourself and a part of your independence. You both need to reassure one another, without arguing, without accusing. Have a romantic dinner, talk things out, and share with each other what you want out of this, what you expect, and how you plan on getting there. But reassure him that he will not be an afterthought, nor will your children when you have them. Philip will need to give