Heartaches Knocking on Her Door

[December 31, 2017, Helsinki]

Ville closed his eyes and lifted his face up, enjoying the sensation as snowflakes melted on his cheeks. Behind him rumbled the music of Jimsonweed from within Tavastia's graffitied walls. He shifted the weight of his body from the balls of his feet to the heel and back again in a nervous sway.

He reached into his back pocket for his pack of Marlboros, flipping open the top and pulling out a cigarette, lighter already in his palm at the ready.

"Anteeksi Ville, pudotitko tämän? (Excuse me Ville, did you drop this?)" Came the familiar high voice of Pertti, a roadie, from behind him. He turned to see Pertti holding out a small piece of folded up, worn out, paper. "Luulen, että se putosi takataskusta. (I think it fell out of your back pocket.)

He reached out instantly, "Tämä merkitsee minulle paljon. Kiitos, että havaitsit sen. (This means a lot to me. Thank you for spotting it)" He carefully took the piece of paper from Pertti and tucked it into the inside pocket of his sport coat.

As Pertti left he pulled it back out, letting his rough fingertips trace the worn lines of text on the taped together piece of hotel stationary. I'll always want her, I'll always need her, won't I. He looked up at the snow twinkling in the outside lights of the venues back exit.

Eventually their name doesn't pass through your mind. Eventually the happy memories stop plaguing you. Eventually you stop wondering how they are. And then suddenly you stop dreaming about them…

He'd dreamt of her the night before. A dream, memory, and nightmare all at once. They were in his tower, it was the morning after she had left, but she was there this time, he awoke to find her snuggled up in his arms. It had felt so real, she had been so warm, her tattoos were in place, even her faint freckles. He could even smell the familiar floral scent of her hair. Then suddenly the room had turned upside down before vanishing and a new setting materializing in its place. A car, they were strapped into a car, it was upside down. Liv was hurt, she was bleeding. He'd woken up then, in a panic.

I'll never stop dreaming of her will I? I can run from what my heart knows to be true, I can try and let it fade, but it will always be there.

He gently folded up the note.

I'm not the same man I was that night. I didn't listen, I was angry and selfish, her fears were real, and I only proved that.

I'm not that man anymore. I can be a better man for her. I am a better man. I will listen, I will support, I won't lose my temper, I won't be ashamed. I'll spend the rest of my life trying to be the man she deserves. To hell with time alone to reflect, to hell with Quinton, I need to try, if only for one last time.

*******

She hopped out of the cab, backpack slung over one shoulder, heavy camera hanging from her neck, almost slipping on the icy sidewalk. She felt the chill of the snowy night penetrate through her thin sweater. Amidst the chaos of the last minute flight, a delay, and an extra transfer, she'd accidentally left her jacket at one of the airports. Liv quickly handed the driver some cash, politely telling him to keep the change before slamming the door shut. The night was pitch black but for the halos of streetlamps and shimmers of snow falling in a gentle cascade. She turned around the corner of the familiar building, heart racing a mile a minute as she heard the screams of fans, the vibrating guitar, and the thundering drums from within.

Fuck, she said to herself, they're already on. She looked to the side of the building where there was a small fenced off area between Tavastia and the building beside it, a side door just on the other side. This was the only way in, tickets were probably sold out, doors closed, the show was almost over. She checked the time on her phone, 11:59PM.

Liv bit her lip as her fingers curled around the gaps in the fence, she could already hear the new years countdown happening from within.

There was someone on the other side, a figure in the shadows. “Hei” She called softly, nervousness twisting her up inside.

“Liv?” Came a familiar Finnish voice.

Liv smiled with relief as Jarno, a bright smile on his lips, came into view behind the fence, a pass around his neck, walky talky at his hip, the heat of his breath in the cold air.

“Jarno. Please, I’m sorry I don’t have time to explain but I need to get in.” She begged, her body began to shake from the cold.

Jarno let out a small exhale of disbelief. “Liv I, I can’t believe you actually came,” he said with his thick accent.

“What? What do you mean?” she asked, tucking her hands into the sleeves of her red sweater. His tone confused her.

He walked up to the fenced doorway, pulling out a set of keys while keeping his gaze locked on hers with seriousness. “Did you know I’ve been here? At every side door, at every venue, ever since your accident, waiting for you on behalf of Ville."

The wind was almost knocked out of her with shock as she tried to understand his words, "I'm sorry what? What do you mean? This year?"

He nodded, unlocking the door, "Yes, this year, last year, the year before that, every year since, every show since. He's been waiting for you this whole time Liv."

She looked at Jarno as the snow began to fall down heavier than before, a thought bubbling in the back of her mind. "You're here now?"

He laughed, pulling the door back. "I am, and all I need is a password." He pulled out a staff pass and held it out to her.

A smile streaked across Liv’s face as happy tears began trickling down her cheek. He's waiting for me. A part of him never lost hope, after everything, after years. She let out a euphoric chuckle. I came, I'm here. She looked up at Jarno, remembering his question, an even brighter smile lighting up her face as the answer came to her instantly. “Misty sausages.”

Jarno opened the gate wider and slid the pass over her head and around her neck. Liv grabbed him in a hug, thanking him and kissing him on the cheek. He locked up quickly with a blush before leading Liv through the metal side door and into the dark venue. She held onto the wall as she followed him in, still overwhelmed by what she had learned. Has he loved me this whole time too?

“Do you want to go to the side or into the crowd or?” Jarno smiled as he made a couple of turns in a back hallway, the concluding notes of Sleepwalking Past Hope getting louder. "They just did the midnight countdown but I heard Ville wanted to play one more song."

She looked down at her camera. I need that shot, I need it. "Uh Jarno I need to get as close to the stage as possible without being spotted. Can you help me find a spot?"

He nodded silently with a determined grin and began leading her through the back corridors, popping out on the edge of the audience, then using his badge to make the fans make room for them as he brought her to a small nook where the stage lights just barely reached, to the front right of the empty stage. The audience was practically radiating with anticipation for a second encore.

He turned to face Liv as she began taking out her camera, his face a little baffled. "You came to see him but aren't?"

It did sound ridiculous, but it made sense to her. "I uh, I don't want to distract during the show, plus," she held up her camera, "This is a, it's an important moment for him” and me.

Jarno held his hand up, stopping her rambling, "Say no more. I need to get back to the wings but" he pointed in the direction they had come, "if you just go back that way you'll be able to find him after the show." He gave her a quick hug and melted back into the audience.

I can't believe I made it in time, Liv thought as she bit down on her bottom lip, nervousness trying to permeating the hope created by what she had just learned. She looked up at the empty stage, bodies pressing forward around her, he waited this whole time, a part of him didn't want this, but a part of him did.

******

He grabbed a water bottle from off stage, sweat dripping down his face as he smiled from the adrenaline coursing through him, fed by the enormous roar of the audience shaking the venue with eagerness, chanting the band back for another encore.

They'd planned on making Sleepwalking past hope their final song of the night but they were running late and the New Years countdown happened in the midst of the song, much to the audience’s delight. But they still had time for one more song, and he wanted it to be for her, wherever she was.

The song had reminded him of her, the moment he realized he'd fallen in love it had taken on a different meaning, a different life. Knowing it was her favorite too, that it too held a special place in her heart, made the song all the more cloaked in meaning. The band hadn't played it in years but some far away ache in his heart, mixed with the conclusion of a year that had been both wonderful and melancholy, and with the end of an almost three decade journey, it all made him want to weep his goodbyes.

He looked out at the audience, their sweaty, ecstatic faces making him smile. It was the bittersweet end and the hopeful beginning.

He stripped off his sports coat, tossing it to the side, and pulled off his T-shirt, using it to wipe the sweat on his face as he prepared to go back on stage.

******

Suddenly the glistening stage lights dimmed, casting the audience in darkness and the stage in hues of reds and pinks.

The audience began to scream with anticipation. Liv could feel it, the love and adoration seeping out from the crowd with every raised arm, with every scream, and with every clap.

And then he came on stage, hair loose around his head, tattooed torso bare. He walked up to the microphone and let out a deep jagged breath that reverberated out of the speakers, sending shivers up Livs spine as she closed her eyes briefly, collecting herself. It was almost indescribable, the reaction seeing him had on her every time, like a first breath after drowning.

She looked back up to see the rest of the guys quickly take their positions at their instruments and then wait for Ville. He'd been standing, head hung, both hands gripping on to the microphone, silver rings twinkling back the reds and pinks. He looked up and out at the audience.

[Scene Inspiration Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtQuaXqir4M ]

Abruptly the familiar notes of her favorite song began to echo off the venue halls, reflected in the slow swaying of the packed bodies, like a breeze in tall grass. A shiver of recognition brachiated throughout her as the twinkling red stage lights danced upon her figure.

"Haluamme kiittää teitä kaikkia kylmän mustan sydämemme pohjalta, että olette täällä juhlimassa matkan loppua. Haluamme omistaa tämän viimeisen kappaleen niille, jotka ovat täällä tänään, ja niille, jotka eivät voi, rakastajille, taiteilijoille, runoilijoille ja traagisesti kauniille. (We'd like to thank you all from the bottom of our cold black hearts for being here to celebrate the end of our journey. We'd like to dedicate this final song to those that are here tonight, and to those that cannot, to the lovers, the artists, the poets, and the tragically beautiful.)"

Livs breath caught in her throat as she recognized the words.

His eyes stayed closed as he brought his lips to the microphone, clutching it as if it were the only thing holding him up, the music quieted as his deep voice began to sing. He held his lips close to the microphone in a caress, long lashes casting shadows on his cheeks, body moving in unison with the rhythm, the lights reflected back on his sweaty torso. He sang as if he were alone, as if no audience lay before him, no band behind.

She lifted her camera with shaking hands, eager to capture the intimate moment. In so many ways it reminded her of the polaroid she'd taken of him smoking on the steps of his tour bus. She captured all she need with a few clicks and quickly put the camera away, unable to even see in to the lens any longer through the silent tears that uncontrollably fell. Long ago her therapist had asked her to take photographs of things that triggered her, as a way to take back control during a time when she had felt helpless and powerless. At the time she would have never dreamed that Ville would return back from the subject of her fears, to the inspiration of her artistic dreams and aspirations. Back then, she would have never dreamed how independent she would become, and how much her relationship with her family would change. She would never have dreamed that she would be where she was now, embracing the vulnerability she felt before him, running towards it with determination.

She wanted nothing more than to run to him, wrap him up in her arms and smother him with her kiss, but she knew she couldn't. She had to explain herself, explain her reasoning, explain why after over three years she felt like she was ready to try again, and why he should too.

Liv watched with longing intent, the warm colors dancing upon his frame as he ran his hands up the mic stand, eyes mostly closed. Before she could stop herself her feet were taking her closer to the stage, out of the shadowed wings, towards him. She reached out unsteady hands and gripped on to the cold metal railing.

She felt like she was floating, floating in a sea of memories, every moment they had shared together drifting around her, the strange man in the hospital, playing Black Sabbath on the piano in his tower, kissing him with urgency pressed up against the brick walls of a German club, sleeping restfully in his arms, watching horror movies together snuggled up on his couch, the first time he’d told her he loved her as she was breathlessly wrapped around him, sneaking in to many 666 hotel rooms… There was a lot of pain intertwined between these happy memories, she knew that, she knew every mistake made on both their parts, like weeds suffocating a garden in bloom, but she had still allowed herself to cherish the happy memories in a bittersweet place in her heart, that place now unlocked by her favorite song.

Slowly the song came to a mournful end.

She hadn't realized how heavily she was crying until members of the audience began giving her odd looks as they began to file out of the venue. She pushed past them, a sense of urgency growing within her as she made way back towards where Jarno had shown her, wiping at her eyes. The backstage was dark and warm, roadies frantically beginning to dismantle gear for pack up. They too gave her strange looks, but didn't say a word as the pass around her neck swung into view.

She paused at a junction, unsure which direction to take and blindly went left. Her heart beat out of her chest, her breath caught in her throat with nervousness as she rushed, looking for him, wanting him, needing him.

And then she saw him. It was as if time froze, she could no longer hear the roadies packing up, she couldn't hear the murmur of the departing crowd. It was just him and her. His pale naked torso glistened with sweat in the dim lights, loose hair falling on his shoulders. He was on the phone with his back to her, gesticulating with his hands in frustration as he rapidly spoke in half Finnish and English.

******

He rolled his eyes with frustration as he ran his hand over a coil of unused guitar cables sitting atop a black box. The air was warm in the wings as the vents above him hummed, wafting the smell of sweat around. It was stupid, there was no need to rush, there was nothing to be lost with the passing of days, but the urgency he felt inside would not let him accept any loss of time. "No Seppo, I need to try to get on a flight tonight.."

[Scene Inspiration Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pj5JIowHi6Y ]

Suddenly he heard a small rustle behind him, and then a familiar soft voice breaking the quiet, "You better not."

His breath caught in his throat. It’s not her. It can’t be. He began to turn around stunned, Seppo still rapidly arguing with him in Finnish, his heart beating so fast he felt faint.

She stood a metre away looking like something out of his dreams. Her dark hair spilled down around her, a familiar deep crimson hoodie wrapped around her, dark jeans, weather inapropriate shoes. Her hazel eyes twinkled in the dim lights, flushed cheeks still wet with tears. He couldn’t move. He couldn’t speak. But his mind was awash in a deluge of thoughts.

Why is she here? How long has she been here? Why is she crying? Did she hear it, her song?

He clicked the screen of his phone, hanging it up, body moving mechanically as he slipped it into his jean pocket. "What are you doing here?" They were the only words he could get out.

He watched as her bottom lip made its way between her teeth in a familiar show of nervousness, but she stopped herself, her soft features turning into an expression of hesitant determination. "Ville I, I came through the side door…"

The side door?

She came through the side door.

She came.

He didn't believe it. It had been a silly hope of his ever since he'd returned to Helsinki, ever since Mige had told him to be patient, that she would come to him when she was ready, and here she was. He looked in to her wide eyes with disbelief. "Jarno let you in?"

"He did." She took a step forward as the words began to spill from her mouth in a surge of emotion. "Before that I had scraps of hope, and I was so scared to come here and put my heart on the, but knowing that, he's been, you've asked him to be all this time..." Her words tumbled out as she fought back tears. He wanted to go to her, to stop her tears, to hold her in the warmths of his arms, but he stood still, listening with earnestness at what she had come all the way to say.

She paused, taking a deep breath before the tears began to flow again as she tore her eyes away from him, looking off towards the ceiling, eyes glazed over with remembrance, "Leaving that morning was one of the hardest decisions I've ever had to make, but it was the right one. Being in Helsinki that winter, I thought I'd changed, but I realized I hadn't, and admittedly I was afraid yes, afraid to return to our old cycle of passionate self doubt.” She looked back to him with pleading, “Like I told you, like you learned yourself, it took time for me to see the toxicity, to learn why things happened the way they did, but in the process I learned a lot about myself, and I grew. We both did, and yet these past few months we've been scared, I've been scared, and I realized there's nothing to be scared of. Those two people that spoke beneath the stars on that porch are not the two people that broke each other's hearts.” She stepped closer to him, chest rising and falling with the intensity of her words. “Ville that kiss in Anaheim felt like a first kiss and I, I think what I'm trying to say is, is do you remember those nights on your tour bus in Europe, do you remember when Linde said there can be second chances for relationships? Do you remember when he said that if two people are meant to be together they will find a way, that the first time may not work? That's us, it was the wrong time, we weren't ready for each other, I needed to learn to be stronger, to love myself before I could love you, but I'm ready for you now and if you're not there that's okay, I'll be here, I'll wait.. I think I, what I'm trying to say is I love you, and I know it's selfish of me to tell you that, and I know you asked for space, and I'm sorry but you had to know. " She was openly crying now, her body too full of emotion to fight it back.

He stood in stunned silence, unsure of what to say, how to properly convey his thoughts on everything she had just said. He blinked, trying to catch his breath, and realized that he too was crying as his vision blurred, but he didn’t care, she loved him, and nothing else mattered.

She wiped at her eyes as she cast them away from his face and to the ground "You can tell me to go, you can tell me to leave, I'll understand, I truly will, I…"

He crossed the space between them swiftly, shaking his head and silencing her as he wound his arms around her, unable to stand the thought of her thinking his reaction would be anything but profound relief and happiness. He wiped at her tears gently with one hand before letting his forehead rest against hers, his body beginning to shake with emotion. "Liv it took losing you to learn that what I knew about love was, to put it simply, bull shit. The love life had brought my way had been volatile, had taught me to be selfish. It took loss to learn for myself too and if I'd never lost you, I would never have learned how to love you, the way you deserve to be loved." He pulled back and looked in to her eyes, cheeks wet with silent tears. "You are right, I've been scared, because that loss it, it savaged me from within, and I'm still frightened even now. Our circle of fear is the same, but we, we aren't.” He sucked in a broken breath, his voice growing weak, “I remember what Linde said, I've never forgotten, and darling, Kultaseni,” He took her hand in his and placed it over the soft skin of his chest so that she could feel the rapid rhythm beneath, "This black heart only, and will always, beat for you.” He thought back on her love letter, repeating her words, “I love you to death."

Her eyes lit up, cheeks glistening as a smile flashed on her lips as she let out a chuckle of relief. It was infectious. Ville laughed, wrapping the hand that lay on his heart between his own tenderly.

"Fucking kiss her already!"

Ville looked past Liv as she also turned her head to see where the voice came from.

Not far behind them stood, well just about everyone. Word had gotten around after Liv had been spotted backstage, with a little help from Jarno who had let Mige know, from there Mige had told Linde and Burton, who told Kosmo, and so on. Mige had then rounded up an expedition to find them, in the hopes that he would be running in to a happy ending at last for the star crossed lovers.

Mige repeated himself, a wiseass grin on his bearded lips, "Kiss her!"

Ville gave a mocking glare at them before looking down at Liv, the glare turning into a smirk as he swept her up, lifting her upward and guiding her legs around him, her arms winding around his neck with ease. "Rakastan sinua. (I love you)" He whispered softly, bringing his lips to hers with gentle urgency and kissing her with passionate vigour, despite the hoots and hollers coming from the nosey audience behind them.

******

[May 5th, 2020]

“Do you think they survived without us?” Liv smiled, raising her hand up to her forehead blocking out the dazzlingly bright sun, trying to see the moving figures in the distance.

Nikki snickered beside Liv as they treaded through the tall grass, carrying bowls of cut up fruit. “Oh just barely I’m sure.”

Liv chuckled, watching as they got closer as Villes's hands shot up to his chest, clutching at an invisible gunshot wound before tumbling back and faking dead next to an already deceased Bam.
Phoenix Wolf looked to Liv and Nikki with a wide grin before his small body darted through the tall grass towards Ville, hands strumming down on his torso, trying to wake him up. Suddenly Ville sprang up and began chasing the toddler, Bam following close behind with a roar.

Nikki took a seat down on the large picnic blanket, taking the bowl out of Livs hand. “Phoenix! Come have some fruit!”

The chubby cheeked toddler turned around and raced for his mother, diving to the ground beside her and happily sticking his chubby hand in to the bowl and bringing a fistfull of fruit towards his mouth.

A warm hand wrapped around Liv’s hip as Ville appeared, crouching down behind her, a little out of breath as he gave Liv a quick peck on the cheek. “Darling, care to go for a short walk?”

Liv nodded as Bam sat down next to Nikki, imitating the toddler with a handful of fruit in his palm.

“Go go!” Bam grinned in between chews.

[Scene Inspiration Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVswwW6KRUw ]

Ville extended a ringed hand and helped Liv up, tucking her arm around his as they began to stroll leisurely around the overgrown grounds of Bams estate. His fingers absentmindedly playing with the simple, silver wedding band on hers. Although the spring sun shone high above, a cool breeze drifted in the air. Liv hugged her purple cardigan closer as Ville adjusted his black beanie with his free hand. “Thank you for dragging me away from the studio Kultaseni.”

Liv rested her cheek against his shoulder as she ran her hands over the tops of the tall grass. They’d both been workaholics lately, Ville in the studio, working on new material, and Liv with the slow renovations of her recently purchased gallery. It had been her idea to take some time off and visit some of their friends and her family in the States. “Thank you for taking the time to come, I know you don't like to stop unless something is finished." She raised their intertwined hands and gently kissed the back of his. "We'll be back home to Hells soon though and I'll leave you alone to your heart's desire."

Ville rolled his eyes with a smirk, "As if that would be anything I desired." He stopped their strolling, looking off in the distance to where Bams family sat then back at Liv, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as the breeze began to pick up. "Besides love, I'm already finished." He reached into the inner pocket of his light black jacket and pulled out a thin square wrapped in simple brown wrapping paper, and handed it towards Liv.

She looked from him to the present with surprise until he gave her a small nod, encouraging her to see what was inside, eager for her reaction.

As Liv tor back the paper revealing what was beneath, she couldn’t help but flash a brilliant smile. Looking back at her was a familiar polaroid of Ville sitting on tourbus steps in the morning rays, eyes looking up at her with an expression of confusion and love. He’d realized he’d loved her that morning so long ago. Her breath caught in her throat as her fingers grazed the album cover.

“It’s really done?” She asked wiping away a happy tear. More threatened to escape as she smiled, running her fingertips across the familiar image.

He nodded, gently kissing away her tear. “It is darling, and you’ve got the first official copy all to yourself.” He kissed the top of her head as she pulled away the rest of the paper and opened the CD. She looked up at him questioningly and he nodded down at her with a grin, encouraging her to explore the CD.

Slowly Liv pulled out the CD jacket, feeling the ache in her smiling cheeks as she flipped through it. “Hey!,” she chuckled with a blush, “Why did you use these?”

Behind the song lyrics was a collage of polaroids. They had all been taken a few months ago. Both Liv and Ville had had time off from work and Ville had gotten hold of her polaroid camera, following her around throughout the day, capturing every moment of film. The wedding band on her hand as she held on to her bike handlebar during a morning ride, her laughing lips as he’d tickled her, her mock angry eyes as he distracted her from cooking, the ends of her dark curls as they brushed the small of her bare back after they’d made love, they were all close ups of almost every piece of her body, everything he loved.

“Because my love, I put every piece of my soul into this, although don’t tell the devil that, and I wanted every piece of you in it as well, to some degree” He laughed before bringing his soft lips to Liv, holding her gently to him as he kissed her with a passion that had never died since the moment they had first kissed.

“I love it” Liv whispered as she let her forehead rest against his, their noses grazing each other. She turned the CD around revealing another familiar image on the back, Ville clutching a mic, doused in pinks and reds, at Helldone.

“I hadn’t a doubt” Ville smirked, dodging Livs playful nudge, holding her tightly in his arms.
From the distance Phoenix Wolf gave a loud chuckle as he began stampeding their way, the tall grass parting around him

"Sorry!" Nikki called from the distance.

Liv quickly tucked the album in to her small purse and crouched down just in time to catch the toddler as he leapt towards her. She lifted him up beneath his arms and swung him around, her halo of dark curls dancing in the breeze as she did so, before she settled him on her hip, wiping at the raspberry stains on his mouth as he giggled.

Ville gently rubbed her back as they made their way back to the picnic blanket, the toddlers chubby arms comfortably holding on to Liv as she carried him, the sun shining down im brilliant beams, grass rustling around them, birds chirping a symphony in the distance.

He smiled to himself as he watched her, a thought springing into his mind. He was surprised at himself, how much it seemed to just, fit. "Do you want to make a baby?"

Liv raised a brow at him, a grin playing on the edges of her lips. "I'm sorry what?"

He laughed, "You heard me," he beckoned his head towards Phoenix Wolf, "Wanna make one of these buggers? Give it a proper go?"

She looked into his warm green eyes, trying to determine if he was joking, but only seeing pure sincerity. She smiled to herself, looking down at the ground then back up at him, nodding as a happy blush crept across her cheeks, "Yes" she practically whispered the word, her smile growing as she watched Ville take in her reaction.

This, Liv thought, this is all I’ve ever wanted. She sighned with contentment, closing her eyes briefly as the wind whipped her dark hair around, the ends of her dress picked up with the breeze.

Her heart swelled looking back up at him, pure love emanating from his every cell, from all of hers. She’d never known life could feel so, so full, so complete and whole. Her mind couldn’t even formulate the thousands of words it would take to express how happy she felt, how loved, how at ease she was, with everything.

She remembered something she’d told herself a long time ago in what felt like another life, another world. At the time it hadn’t seemed possible, but reflecting on her life, the close ties with her family and friends, her blossoming career, the love of her life by her side supporting her, she knew it really was possible. Branches break, leaves blow away, fires singe, sap flows, but a tree keeps growing.

_____________________________________
I’m sad to see it end, but it has been a joy to write, and I hope it has been a joy to read too.
Thank you from the very bottom of my heart for reading, for sharing, commenting, enjoying, and edging me on to finish this story.
May you find growth and love.
Your loving writer,
JG