That said, what I believed the world really needed was more helpbeforethings got to the institutional level. More community help. Places for people to turn when they were struggling where they could receive professional help without breaking the bank.
That was what I wanted to focus the second part of my life to.
I’d done the ‘success’ thing.
That was never going to go away.
Now I wanted to do the ‘finding meaning’ thing instead.
“That is actually a great idea,” I said, nodding.
No, I didn’t know Alice that well.
And, yes, her own mental health could mean she might be unavailable at times, but having someone like her, a ‘veteran’ of the current mental healthcare world, would be a really valuable asset.
“Hey, there’s only two spring rolls,” Alice said, coming back in. “I’m calling dibs on one. What?” she asked, looking between us.
“I have a proposition for you,” I said.
Her gaze moved between the two of us.
“I mean, you’re both smoking hot, don’t get me wrong. But you’re gonna have to catch me on my slutty manic stage to be your third. And, as much as I’m sure it would be sweaty-good fun, I’m trying not to go manic right now.”
Oh, Alice was going to be fun to have on my team for the nonprofit.
Brock - 11 months
What do you get as a birthday present for a woman who could literally buy herself anything in the world that she wanted?
Well, you had to get inventive.
“She’s going to know what it is if they don’t hush,” Cam said, eyeing the box I’d put in his lap after picking him up from the train.
I’d been mildly worried about that since I’d picked them up from the breeder. It was why I was going to do a quick re-packaging, if you will, before we went into the house for the party.
I had a padded basket in the back that I hoped would keep them cozier and quieter.
“She’s going to love them,” Cam told me, picking up on my anxiety.
“I hope so,” I agreed.
I mean, this was a woman who had entire collection of coffee mugs with ducks on them.
Real life little ducklings sounded like a safe bet.
Something she would never get for herself, but would absolutely adore.
“Where’s that boyfriend of yours?” I asked.
“He’s driving down,” Cam told me, a tentative smile tugging at his lips. “We are going to head down to Cape May for the weekend.”
Cam had just recently started dating again after dedicating his entire life to work and therapy for the past almost year.
But he just so happened to hit it off with another head of a tech company a few weeks ago, and was finally giving in to everyone’s gentle encouragement to put himself out there again.
“That will be nice. Next trip, you can go to the villa,” I suggested.
“We’re not there yet,” Cam insisted. “But maybe someday,” he added with a wistful little smile. “Alright. Take these. I will go distract the birthday girl while you wrap them.”