Chapter One

Richie pulled up in front of the house and shut the car off. He sat and looked at his house; that's all itis now, just a house he thought. It used to be a home, when Heather and Ava still lived there. Now, there was no noise, no laughter, just a quiet empty house. With a sigh he climbed out of the car and went inside.

He threw his keys down on the table in the foyer and walked back toward the kitchen. He grabbed a beer from the fridge, popped the top and took a long draw. It had been a bitch of a day. Another long draw and he emptied the bottle. He grabbed another. He wandered out of the kitchen and into the living room. Richie set his beer down and picked up a photo of himself, Heather and Ava. How did I get here, on the downside of 40 and alone, he wondered. He traced Ava's face with his fingers and set the photo down. Grabbing his beer he turned to go upstairs to wash the remnants of the day off when an envelope on the coffee table caught his eye. Noting the return address, he left it on the table. He didn't want to deal with that right now. Taking the stairs two at a time he headed for his room.

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Leana finished unpacking th last box in the living room and sat down with a sigh. "That's it, I'm done" she said out loud to herself. She had moved in gradually, over the last few days and was finally finished unpacking. She was glad it was Friday. She had to return to work on Monday and now had two days to do absolutley nothing. She took a minute to glance around the living room. Cream colored walls, hardwood floor with an oriental design area run in tones of cream and cranberry, natural wood trim around the windows and doors. It was a beautiful room. It was a beautiful house. She would put some of her own touches, framed prints on the walls, maybe a colored throw on the back of the couch, some colored pillows. It didn't really matter right now she thought as she picked up a framed photo.

Glancing down at the photo, she traced the man's face with her fingers. How can 20 years have seem like only yesterday she wondered. She could hardly believe it hd been that long since she had seen him or talked to him. The anger she felt toward him had long since given way to a sadness that she still carried. Leana looked at the photo and wondered about him, wondered what might have been. with a sigh she stood and took the photo to her room. "It doesn't matter" she told herself. All that mattered now was that she had been given the opportunity to start over and that is what she was doing.