The dead silence of the room followed her remark as if she had put a rain cloud over the sun, which was already clouded in Phoebe’s consciousness. She was uncomfortable with the fact that Marlin had been keeping something personal from her. What could it be? She began to try and solve the jigsaw in her head."What do you mean, Gloria?" The latter question was whispered by Phoebe.Gloria tilted her head forward and looked serious. Marlin has been watching Seth for a long time. He has been accumulating his ammunition, dust if you will, for the day to catch him off guard. There is something, something from Seth’s past that Marlin plans to hold against him and bring him down. It is something that Seth himself is not aware of, possessing or having concealed."Phoebe gasped. "What could that be? Seth is careful. He is very particular with everything."Gloria shook her head slowly. ‘It’s something deeper,’ Phoebe. Well, Marlin has always been one step ahead. So now that he’s backed into a co

It was such a short drive to Seth’s house that it felt like the car took hours to get there. She was having palpitations by the time she parked her car in front of the familiar driveway. She had to calm herself down before she got out of the car and so she took a deep breath.Seth was in the living room when she got in, his eyes unfocused, and he appeared to be deep in contemplation. When she appeared, his face changed from surprise to suspicion."Phoebe?" he said, standing up. "I wasn’t expecting you."Phoebe didn’t waste any time. She moved directly towards him with her gaze focused on him. "We need to talk, Seth. And I need you to be honest with me. No more secrets. No more evasions."Seth’s forehead creased but he did not argue. "What’s this about?"Phoebe took a deep breath to calm herself and her voice was clear. "It’s about Marlin. That’s the thing, Seth he is up to something. Something big, and it has to do with your past, something to do with your father.”Seth stood still, h

“Of course,” said Sarah as soon as she could. “It is better if you just specify the place because I will always be there.”Phoebe suggested a park near her old house, a place familiar to her and Sarah, they have shared the best and the worst of their times there. After she put the phone down she took a deep breath in an attempt to get her mind to stop spinning.There was not much distance to the park, but the burden of the revelations made the ride a lifetime. When she was able to park the car and look for Sarah standing close to one of the familiar benches they used to sit on, relief filled Phoebe. Sarah was the epitome of calmness and comfort and right now, she was what she needed.They hugged, and after a while Sarah stepped back to look at Phoebe’s face, frowning. “I think you’ve been through a storm,” said the woman softly.Phoebe let out a shaky laugh. "I have, Sarah. And I don’t know if I’ll be able to weather it.”They both sat on the bench and for several minutes, no one said

Phoebe sighed and there was a tiny glimmer of hope, as small as a flame that attempted to fight against the wind. Then I’ll take my time to decide.” And while I do, I need space, Seth. I have to find out who I am apart from this relationship, and what I want in my life.Seth nodded and a look of sadness, yet comprehension crossed his face. "I understand. I’ll be here… whenever you’re ready."Phoebe simply looked at him and then got up, the pressure of the evening squarely on her shoulders. She left the room and stood at the door staring at him for a moment. You were right to tell me the truth, Seth. It means much more than you may think.”She departed and the quiet that followed seemed to expand, suffocating the room with the aftertaste of the conversation we just had. And as she stepped out into the cool night air, Phoebe felt a strange sort of liberation, a sweet bitter taste of freedom that is born from the awareness that one owns one’s own heart.In the next few days, Phoebe burie

Phoebe breathed out and looked away, out the window where the sunlight was streaming in and warming the table they were sitting at. “Seth... He’s complicated. It’s not something that can simply be wiped out clean, there is a history there that cannot be done away with. But there is another part of me that sometimes thinks that the only way to be able to move forward is to let go.Sarah inhaled and chose her words very wisely. Phoebe, people don’t get manuals when they are born, and no one ever told me that I should be happy. Sometimes, we are compelled to make decisions that are not black and white. But I can notice that you are also struggling to carve out your own niche for yourself and that is what really counts.Phoebe beamed a gracious look at her friend. “You’re right. This is the first time I feel like I am really finding out who I am, what I want not what others want me to want.They settled down and remained motionless, taking the liquor, each woman engrossed in her own medi