Introduction

"Love is patient, love is kind, it does not envy, it does not boost, it keeps no record of wrong..." blah, blah, blah. What a crock! I had heard this scripture so many times, mainly at weddings when two poor saps are about to take their vows and pledge their eternal love. Yeah right! Get me a bucket! I believe in love just as much as I believe in Santa Clause. I stopped believing in both right around the time I turned five, the same year my parents abandoned me, leaving me to my Aunt Sophie. She hated holidays. She hated many things.

Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Penny, Penny Hopkins. I believe my parents chose that name because that's just about how much I was worth to them. Look, the bottom line is this, I'm about to tell you my story, but I want you to have a clear understanding as to how cynical life has forced me to become. I trust no one. In my twenty-four years on this God forsaken planet, I have come to learn the hard way that everyone is motivated by their own self-interest. Myself included. As a matter of fact, I use to go out of my way to be as selfish as possible. I was my own "shot caller" and I controlled my own destiny. I clawed my way to the top as chief editor, stepping on many a toe along the way to become a success at a young age in my line of work. I call it survival of the fittest. 

And now, just like the devoted atheist at death's door, questioning, perhaps even hoping God exist, I find myself in a similar conundrum regarding love. I was so sure that I would be too clever to fall for such an absurd emotion. I built the walls so high, and so thick I was absolutely certain they were impenetrable. But now, due to unforeseen circumstances my icy heart has began to melt. I had a five-year plan, this was definitely not in it. Everything was all figured out, my life was exactly how I wanted it to be, and then suddenly life throws that unexpected curve ball.

Chapter 1

The song "Here Comes The Rain Again" by Annie Lenox came to my mind as I looked out the window of my penthouse on the seventh floor that over looked the San Francisco bay. It had poured for six consecutive days. Annoying, but not unusual for January, the dead of winter. My office, was only two blocks away, either I would walk or take a taxi, on mornings like this walking was not an option. I called for a taxi.

I managed a staff of thirteen people who write articles and piece together "Run Amuck!"  a magazine that features society's worst crimes and criminals, old and new. Believe me when I say people tend to have a fascination for the morbid. The magazine's sales are phenomenal, no doubt people are sick, the one's that commit these heinous crimes and the ones who are thirsty for the gory details. I make sure the stories and photos are what the reader wants, a disturbing display of brutality, sexual assault, blood and dismemberment told descriptively enough to make the hair on the back of their neck stand up. I am very good at what I do and paid well for it. I run a tight ship, my team knows I am all business. If they impress me they get to keep their job, if they fail me, or fail a dead-line, they're out. There is no room for sloppiness, excuses or errors when it comes to the quality of the magazine. In the office I was known as "The Ice Queen". It suited me well as my tactics were cold, calculating and methodical. There was a core group of five, myself included that had worked well together since the beginning. The rest were interns that would eventually realize the pressure to preform up to my expectations would be too demanding. Hiring's and firing's would occur monthly on average. To me it was as simple as throwing spaghetti on the wall to see who would stick. That was the business, that was what it took to turn out an award winning magazine.

I waited downstairs in the lobby of the complex for the taxi. I threw on my trench coat and grabbed my umbrella as I saw it pull up. Without hesitation I opened the door and my umbrella almost simultaneously. Dashing down the wet steps, I slipped, lost my balance and fell backwards striking the back of my head on a step. Instantly I saw black.

Chapter 2

I heard a siren, then voices, I could feel my body slightly jerking back and forth. I was confused, I wanted to see what was going on, but all I saw was black. "What is happening?" I asked one of the voices. "You've had an accident, you're in an ambulance headed to the hospital, I'm Peter, can you tell me your name?" he said as I felt him lift my eyelid. "Why can't I see? I have to get to work, what's going on?" I said as I began to panic. "Ma'am I need you to try and keep yourself calm, can you tell me your name?" he said in a calm soothing voice. "Penny, my name is Penny" I replied trying to gain control of myself. My head was pounding, as my thoughts were spinning. "Very good. Okay Penny, you fell and hit your head and busted yourself up pretty badly, we'll have you to the hospital in just a minute, what I need you to do is just try to relax, can you do that for me sweetheart?" he asked almost too sickening sweet to digest. "Why can't I see?" I pleaded for an answer. "The doctors are going to find that out for you, we're pulling up right now" he said as I felt the ambulance come to a halt. I heard the doors of the ambulance open and felt myself being jolted out.

I must have passed out because the next thing I know I was being prodded at again and a new set of voices filled my head. They sounded more urgent. "Are you with us Penny?" I heard a deep voice ask. "I can't see" I responded. We've got you stabilized and we're taking you in for a cat scan, have you had one before?" the deep voice asked. "No, but I know what one is" I replied. "Do you have someone we can call for you?" he asked. "No, no one" I said, then I added "Wait. Call Morris at "Run Amuck", tell him I'll be in late" I said treating this as if it were a minor delay. "Okay, we'll take care of it, you just lay back and rest" he calmly said.

Dr. Shaffer left the room and went to the desk, "I need you to pull up the number for Run Amuck" he said to the receptionist. Within seconds she had the number, dialed it and handed him the phone. "Yes, I would like to speak with Morris please, it's an emergency" he said to the person on the other end of the phone. "This is Morris, how can I help you?" he asked. "This is Dr. Shaffer in the emergency care unit at Mercy Hospital. We have a woman named Penny who requested I call you to let you know she would be coming in late. However, she has had a worse accident than she realizes, currently she is unable to see and we're trying to get to the bottom of it. She requested you as her only contact" Dr. Shaffer said hoping someone would come to offer her some comfort. "I'll be there shortly, thank you Dr. Shaffer" Morris said. He hung up and rushed out of the office, saying nothing to anyone. 

Chapter 3

By the time Morris had gotten to the emergency ward, they were wheeling me on the stretcher to the x-ray technician for a cat scan. Morris caught up to us, "Penny, what the hell happened?" he said sounding concerned while following beside me down the long corridor. "Morris, what are you doing here? Who the hell is running the show at the office?" I scolded. "To hell with the show, it can run itself for a minute, are you alright?" he replied. "Not really, I'm freaking blind!" I said in a sarcastic tone. "Yeah, that's what the doctor told me when he called the office" Morris said with concern in his voice. "I fell and hit my head. They're going to scan my brain, God knows what they'll find up there!" I said more calmly. "Maybe they'll strike gold!" he joked. "Funny! Are you going to be here when I come out?" I asked him hoping deep down inside he would. "I'll be here Penny" he said as they wheeled me into x-ray.

Forty-five minutes later, they had wheeled me back into a quiet room. A nurse came and asked me a series of questions regarding insurance and health related information. I asked her if Morris was in the waiting room, and if so, could she send him in. She left and returned with Morris as he walked over to me, and took my hand. The gesture shocked me, and I pulled away. "Sorry" he said. "You just surprised me is all" I replied. "How did the cat scan go?" he asked trying to break the ackwardness up. "It was fine, I don't know anything yet though, I'm waiting for the doctor" I told him. The nurse spoke up, "Dr. Shaffer will be right in dear" she said sweetly. I hated terms of endearment, seems when you're vulnerable is when you're "dear" or "sweetheart" to everyone. It made me feel weak.

She took my vitals, and as she was finishing the doctor came in, I heard him shuffling around. "Penny, I'm Dr. Shaffer, I'm the one who originally triage'd you in the emergency room, with me is Dr. Jacobs" someone touched my hand, and again I recoiled feeling annoyed. "You must be Morris right" he asked. "Yes, thank you so much for calling, have you found anything out yet?" he asked wanting immediate answers. "Penny, I have good news and I have bad news" Dr. Shaffer said to me. "Just tell me what's going on please!" I said anxiously. "The good news is your blindness is temporary. It can be easily remedied with surgery. Now comes the bad news and that's where Dr. Jacobs fits in.

The voice changed, not as deep but just as calm.  "Penny, we discovered a tumor in your brain, the fall caused the tumor to hit a nerve in the optical wall which is the cause of your blindness. At the risk of sounding pompous, I want you to know I'm a damn good neuro-surgeon. I can remove the tumor that's resting on the nerve , run a biopsy on it, if it's benign you'll heal and be back on your feet in no time. If it turns out to be malignant we'll offer you radiation treatment and try to rid any rouge cancerous cells" Dr. Jacobs said trying to be as positive about it as possible. "I have a tumor in my brain? Are you sure? I haven't had any headaches, or any symptoms, wouldn't I have known something was wrong with me?" I asked him perplexed. "Not necessarily, fortunately we're getting to it early on. Think of your accident as a blessing in disguise, had this gone undetected your chances of survival would have diminished significantly" he said. "My chances of survival?" I said, the thought of my mortality coming to an end scared me. "We don't have the facts yet, I would suggest we operate immediately and get that tumor out of there regardless. You would get you your sight back, and we'll get a biopsy so we know what we're dealing with. Any reservation?" He asked. "No, do what it is you need to do Dr. Jacobs. I don't need this distraction in my life, what I need is to get back to the office as soon as possible" I said with urgency. "I'll go ahead and make the necessary preparations, we'll operate immediately. Penny, this is brain surgery, please understand that I am very confident this will go well, however, with any surgery there are risks involved" he said. "I don't care about the risk, really what choice do I have? Seems to me I don't have any, so just get it out, please" I said with vigor. "Very well then, we'll get you prepped immediately" Dr. Jacobs replied. They left the room, leaving Morris and I by ourselves.

"I'm going to hold your hand, so don't jump" he said assertively. I pulled my hands back, "No Morris, don't baby me. I don't need someone to hold my hand, wipe my tears or kiss my ass!" I said angrily. "Actually Penny what you don't need right now is to be a bitch" he said sternly. "Morris, I'd like to be alone if you don't mind. I appreciate you coming here, but I don't need you here, go back to work!" I said trying to get him to leave before he abandoned me anyways. The last thing I needed was to feel dependent on someone for comfort just to be let down in the end. The only person I could depend on was myself.

"Here's the thing Penny. I probably know you better than anyone, we've worked together five years now. I know you have no one and this is not something you need to go through by yourself. You're scared, hell anyone would be. You can be a bitch and try to throw me out on my ear, but I'll just keep coming back for more. I'm not going anywhere. Besides, you can't see right now, you wouldn't even know if I was standing a foot away from you sticking my tongue out, mooning you or flipping you the bird!" he said sarcastically. "No, but I'd smell you! How much cologne can one man wear for God's sake?" I retorted. Morris laughed. I let out a heavy sigh, "Okay fine, stay. Suit yourself, I wouldn't want to spoil your one chance to take advantage of my vulnerability!" I said conceding. The nurses came in and ushered Morris out so they could prep me for surgery. Before he left, he told me he would see me after surgery. I told him I would see him too, and I really hoped I would.

Chapter 4

In the operating room, they wasted no time in anesthetizing me. "Okay, can you count backwards from one hundred for me Penny?" Then anesthesiologist said. One minute I was awake, counting backwards by the time I got to ninety-seven I was out.

I felt myself becoming conscientiously aware. "I'm going to hold your hand so don't be a bitch about it!" I heard Morris say. I was still groggy and felt I had no strength. I heard footsteps, "She's coming around" Morris said to someone. "Good, I'm anxious to see our results!" the voice of Dr. Jacobs said. "Penny, can you hear me?" he asked. "Morris are you holding my hand?" I asked. "Yes Penny, I'm holding your hand" he replied. "You're here! you stayed just like you said you would" I said overly enthusiasticly, sounding as though I was drunk. Morris looked at Dr. Jacobs, "she's still heavily sedated" he said looking at Morris with a smile.

"Penny can you open your eyes and tell me what you see?" the doctor asked. I tried, they were so heavy, I had to concentrate intensely, but finally as I opened them, I saw blurriness. Two outlines, I focused as they came into view. "Morris you really need to shave, you're starting to look like Jesus, for a second I thought I had died and gone to heaven, but then I realized it was just you" I said as the two men began to laugh. "Yep, that's our girl! Always the smart-ass! Looks like it worked huh doc?" Morris said with enthusiasm. "How do things look Penny, blurry or focused?" Dr. Jacobs asked. "I can see clearly, but I just want to sleep, I'm really tired is that normal?" I asked curiously. "Yes, and you need some rest, so we'll be monitoring you throughout the rest of the night. Morris, she's going to be out of it for the next twelve hours or so, we've got her hooked up to a morphine drip. You're welcome to come back then, in the meantime I want her to rest" Dr. Jacobs kindly said. "Go Morris, I need my beauty sleep" I mumbled. He leaned over and kissed my head. "I felt that Morris!" I jokingly reprimanded him. "I'll be back to make sure you're not causing hell down here in ICU, good-bye for now" he said as he turned and left. "Get some rest, don't worry about a thing, I'll be checking in on you throughout" the doctor said leaving me alone to sleep. Relieved, I quickly drifted off and the nightmares took over. 

Chapter 5

The nightmare was always the same, Aunt Sophie yelling at me, "You need to earn your keep!" as she slammed my bedroom door. "How old are you?" the man asked me. I was huddled up on the bed, terrified as the tears began to fall like rain down my face. "Twelve" I mumbled. "Don't be afraid, I won't hurt you" he lied. I screamed, but no sound came out. I fought, but my efforts were in vain. I bled, my innocence was gone. Turning away from him, I curled up in the fetal position and closed my eyes. He said nothing as he opened the door and left, shutting it behind him. Again, I cried. The nightmare was always the same, but the man's face was always different. 

From that point on, I would earn my keep. With each twenty-dollar bill that went into Aunt Sophie's pocket, so did a little piece of my soul. I knew I had to get out of there or eventually she would own it. I began stealing from the men's wallets as they were distracted. I hid wads of money in a hole of the mattress that lay witness to the unwilling debauchery that took place on it. By the time I was sixteen, I had over two thousand dollars tucked away that she knew nothing about. I had enough to runaway, but I didn't want to quit school. That was the one thing I was very good at, maintaining a 4.0 throughout. I had a journalism class, and headed the school paper as a sophomore. The youngest to do so in the school's history. Media became the focus of my life and at age eighteen, I was hired to write my own news colonm for the local paper. Having a stock pile of money and a sound job, I packed my things and walked out, saying nothing to Aunt Sophie.

She died two years later after choking to death on a piece of meat as she sat on her couch alone watching her soap operas. I did not attend her funeral, I did ,however, two weeks later go to her grave site and spit on it. I did not shed one tear for her and if I could have it would have been tears of joy that she was dead. I showed no emotion whatsoever as the attorney informed me she had left me everything in her will which included eighteen-hundred dollars in her account, her rickety house and though it was not written in her will, she had left me a curse of reoccurring nightmares. I thought about bull-dozing the house down, but figured I had earned the money I would get from selling it with my own blood. 

I had woken up several times throughout the night just long enough to open my eyes and make sure I could still see. Each time feeling a sense of relief, I would close them and fall back to sleep. 

Chapter 6

Morris walked in as Dr. Jacobs was wrapping my head with gauze after checking the incision and giving me the rundown. "Everything looks good, we had no complications in surgery, the tumor is gone and your eyesight is back to normal. You're vitals look good. The biopsy report will take a week to ten days to get back. Once we get that information, we can go from there. In the meantime, I want to keep you here for the next few days just to make sure no infections develop. You need plenty of rest, but once we get you off the morphine drip, in a couple of days, I would encourage you to go for short walks and try to be mildly active. I am not giving you the clear yet, so don't jump up and rush yourself to work, capiche?" the doctor seemed to have been reading my mind. I frowned, "Capiche" I said disappointed. "Good morning Morris", the doctor said as they shook hands. "How's our girl doing today Doc?" He asked the doctor. "Jesus! I'm not two, I can answer for myself Morris!" I said irritated. "Oh Good! Looks like you're back to your normal bitchy self I see!" his tone, sarcastic. Dr. Jacobs laughed as he shook his head leaving the room. 

Morris stood there staring at me, "What?" I said wondering what was on his mind. "I brought something for you I think you'll like" he replied. He opened up his brief case and held up the layout for the magazines cover. "Oh Morris, this is good! Very disturbing, too disturbing! And unfortunately as much as I love it, it would be banned. It's way too graphic!" I told him. "Not if we put a jacket over it with a few strategically placed peep holes!" he replied as he slid a jacket over it exposing the magazine name "Run Amuck!". The jacket was an eye catching red. In bold print it stated: Caution!: Contains graphic material! One peep hole portrayed "Lecter Bowdine" the latest convicted serial killer. The other peep hole showed wrists tied together, and the final showed a bloody knife. The scene was gruesome, the details spelled out inside. "We seal it in plastic and we're good for go" he added. "I love it! Run with it! Did you come up with this?" I asked looking up at him. "Why yes, I did!" he replied sounding cocky as hell. "Feel free to sound arrogant, you earned the right on this one!" I said knowing he had hit a home run.  

Chapter 7

Waiting for the results was agonizing as time seemed to drag on. My world seemed to become a tortorously slow motion drama. I tried to go back to work after being released from the hospital, but I couldn't keep my focused. As I proof read the articles written by my staff, I found my thoughts and views were some how changed. I had always had the ability to seperate myself from the victims and the angonizing pain they must have endured before their lives were snuffed out by a deranged, twisted and perverted killer. I thought about the victims lives being taken from them in such a brutal manner. They were gone. Their lives taken not from God Almighty, but at the sick hands of someone who had no care for them whatsoever. The thought of my own mortality laying on the line hit too close to home for me. As I read the grotesque scenes, I began to sob. They're gone and they were'nt coming back. Death is so absolute.

I called Morris into my office. "What's up? Are you not feeling well?" he asked sounding concerned. "I think I just need to go home" I said trying to keep it simple. "Penny, are you okay?" he said noticing I was visably upset. "They're all dead Morris. It' too much for me to deal with right now. They were people just like you and me, they had friends and family, and some sick son of a bitch took that from them" I said as I began to sob uncontrollably. "Penny, let me take you home. There's too much negativity here, you don't need these thoughts in your head" he said understanding why I would be upset. "It's okay Morris, I can just walk myself home, the doctor wanted me to get some exercise anyways, besides it's not raining, I'll be fine" I replied. "Non-sense. I'll walk with you. Get your things, let's go" he said, not taking no for an answer. I didn't bother arguing with him, I grabbed my purse and left my office with him. As we walked by the reception area he informed Rene we were leaving for the day. 

We headed out of the office and down the sidewalk, "Let's get something in your stomach, when's the last time you ate anyways? you're looking kind of skinny" he said. "I had some toast this morning" I replied. "That's all? Toast?" he asked. "I had butter on it" I said defending myself. "Way to indulge! That's it! You need to eat, we're going to Dixon's, my treat!" he insisted. "Fine! Apparently my lack of eating has me too feeble to argue with you" I retorted. 

It had been seven days since they ran a biopsy. The anticipation had me jumping every time my phone rang. Each time I had answered it, I was disappointed that it wasn't the doctor with the results. As we sat there in the diner eating and talking about anything but work, my cell phone rang. It was Dr. Jacobs. My heart was pounding something fierce. "Good afternoon Penny, how have you been feeling?" he asked with genuine concern. "Fine, do you have the results?" I asked cutting to the chase. "Can you meet me at my office?" he asked. It must be malignant I thought to myself, otherwise he would have just told me over the phone that it was benign. My heart sank, "Ofcourse. I'll be right there" I said and hung up. I didn't say anything for a moment. My face felt as though it was drained of color. I could feel my pulse throbbing in my juggler vein. "Well? Did he tell you anything?" Morris said anxious to know the results as well. "He wants to see me in his office, it must be malignant, why else would he want to see me, and not tell me over the phone if it was benign" I said as tears started to puddle up in my eyes. "Okay, well let's not jump to conclusions. You know better than that! Facts, we get the facts first, now dry your eyes and let's get over there" he said trying to help me overcome my emotions.

"Morris, I never really thanked you for sticking by my side throughout this whole damn thing. Even when I was a bitch, you stuck around. I just wanted to say, I'm sorry I was that way to you and thank you for putting up with me" I said as I teared up again. Morris handed me his napkin, "Penny, I don't think you realize how incredible you are. I love that you're a cold-hearted bitch. Even an iceberg melts eventually, and when it does it produces the purest water on the planet. I can't wait for that day, and you know what? I'll be there when that happens" he said as he reached out and held my hand. I instinctively pulled my hand away. "Morris, you do realize it takes thousands of years for icebergs to melt, I doubt either of us have that much time!" I replied trying to joke my way out of his romantic aspiration. "Someday, you'll let me hold your hand, you'll want me to, and you won't be on a morphine drip either" he said with a look of determination on his face. "Let's get out of here before I ending up losing the lunch I just ate" I said staying true to my bitchy form. He paid the bill and we walked to his car just around the block. Dr. Jacobs office was about fifteen minutes away. We sat in silence while I starred out the window thinking about Morris and his loyalty to me. 

Chapter 8

Dr. Jacobs sat behind his desk and gestured for us to take a seat, "Hello Penny, Morris good to see you" he said, "let's get down to business. I liked his style, cut to the chase. "The results of the biopsy came back malignant" he said and paused, letting it sink in. I thought I had prepared myself for this, I was fully expecting him to tell me it was malignant, and still I was stunned. I reached out for Morris's hand, I didn't care, I needed to grab ahold of something. He took my hand and gently squeezed it. "I'd like to get you set up with radiation therapy right away. The sooner we eradicate any cancerous cells the better" he added. "Penny, I'm recommending you to a damn fine radiation oncologist, one of the best in the city" he said as he handed me a business card.

"I'm sorry Dr. Jacobs, you'll have to forgive me, this all seems surreal. One minute I'm headed to work on a rainy Tuesday morning and then...suddenly everything about me and my life changes, I'm just sitting here trying to catch up to it all" I said as I broke down. Dr. Jacobs held up a tissue box, as Morris grabbed a couple and handed them to me. "Penny, I understand how difficult this is to take. You strike me as a feisty kind of gal. I suggest you harness that feistiness and use it to your advantage. Get angry at the cancer and fight it with everything you have. As tough as you are, the cancer won't stand a chance" he said trying to be encouraging. I chuckled, "Thank's doc, you know it's kind of funny to me, I spent a lifetime trying to keep people out of my head, and now I have cancer invading it, makes me wonder who the real enemy is" I said suddenly realizing, there are worse things to fear than people. "Call Dr. Yoshida right away, I'm sure you'll have many questions and this is her area of expertise, I'll be checking in with you on your progress the whole way. Trust me when I say you're not alone, you'll have an entire team of doctors that will see you through this flawlessly" he said. Morris who hadn't said a thing spoke up his voices sounding strained and emotional. "You won't be alone Penny, I'll be with you too, the whole step of the way" he said choking me up as he said it. I had always felt alone, even in a crowd of people. The feeling was delightfully foreign and awkward, but I welcomed it, any feeling was better than the feeling of being alone.

Chapter 9

Dr. Yosida was amazing, she had a personal demeanor that made me feel comfortable. She had explained the six week process to me. I'd go in for about twenty minutes, during that time I'd be receiving radiation for only one or two minutes, so as not to harm healthy cells in that area. I would do this five times a week. The two day a week break was to give the healthy cells time to heal. She had explained that I would most likely start losing my hair around the second or third week of the treatment. Within two months after the therapy it would grow back. The five-year survival rate was fifty-five percent for my age catagory for the type of cancer that I had, that was with treatment. Though the information was grim, I appreciated her candor. I wanted to know exactly what I was up against. She didn't baby me or try to cotton-candy the information which I highly respected. "Penny, this is going to be the battle of your life, I want to do everything I can to help you tack on as much time as possible, that's why I'm here. I want you to think of me as the weak link in the chain, you need to be stronger than me in this, together we'll be a force to be reckoned with and kick some cancerous ass, capiche?" she said with conviction. "Capiche! I must say I like your style Doc, you remind me of me, straight forward with no holds barred, what do you think of my doctor, Morris?" I asked. "I almost feel sorry for the cancer!" he said as we all laughed. 

As Morris and I left the office, I decided to do something rash, "Morris I need to get my hair done, would you mind dropping me off at the salon over by my appartment?" Morris looked at me with a perplexed look on his face."Penny, what are you up to?" he asked. "Nothing! I just want to get my hair done, you know, treat myself to a little primping" I replied knowing he was on to me. "You're going to shave your hair off aren't you?" saying it more like a statement than a question. "Wouldn't you?" I replied sadly. "Yes, that is exactly what I would do. I would take as much control of the situation as possible" he responded surprising the hell out of me. "Thank you Morris, I'm glad you're here" I said as I reached out and held his hand. He smiled.

We walked into the salon, "Hi, can you fit me in for a shave?" I asked the receptionist. "Are we talking about your head?" she said smiling. "Yes ma'am, I want it shaved clean off!" I replied. "We can fit you in, but are you sure that's what you want? I mean really, your hair is absolutely beautiful" she said sounding almost desperate. "This is what I want for sure, is there anyway we could donate it to Locks of Love?" I inquired. "We sure could, that would be awesome!" she replied. "What's Locks of Love?" Morris asked me. "It's an organization that makes wigs of real hair and donates them children that have lost their own hair to cancer treatments" I said. "That's such a great idea Penny!" he replied thoroughly impressed. I would miss my hair, it hung all the way down to my waist and was a shiny chestnut brown as straight as and arrow. My hair, in my opinion, was my best attribute.

I sat down and a gal named Pixie through a cape around me. I had made sure to show her where they had recently shaved a small patch exposing the ugly stitches. She began brushing out my hair as I watched Morris sit down in the seat next to me while another stylist threw a cape around him. We said nothing, we just looked at each other in the mirror. I watched as his stylist, began combing out his thick dark brown wavy hair. I saw her pull out the clippers while she began giving him a clean buzz. He watched as my stylist did the same to me. When she was done, I reached up and felt my head, I liked the feel of smoothness. I wanted to feel Morris's shaved head, "You can touch mine if I can touch yours!" I said smiling. "Ooow, sounds kinky!" he said chuckling. I felt his head, as I did I looked into his eyes, dark brown, warm and compassionate. I smiled, "this is a really good look for you Morris" I said thoroughly meaning it. "My turn" he said as he raised his hand and began slowly gliding his hand over my head. As I felt a flutter in my stomach I put my hand on his wrist while he continued to rub my head, "Thank you Morris, from the bottom of my heart" I said softly. "Well, looks like I'm committed now" he said. "I'd say so, looks like I am too" I replied. We left the salon and he took me to my apartment. As he pulled up he asked if I wanted company, but I declined. I was exhausted from the day and just wanted to get some rest. "Do you want me to pick you up for work in the morning?" he asked. "That would be fine if you don't mind" I answered. "Don't forget, we've got to be at therapy by three" he said reaffirming he planned on being there for me every step of the way. "Oh, yeah, that's right, gee if you hadn't reminded me I would have completely spaced it!" I said sarcastically. "That's my girl, always the smart-ass!" he said chuckling. "See ya in the morning!" I said to him as I shut the car door and headed up to my apartment.

Chapter 10

I settled down into a nice warm bubble bath. The lavender scent filled the air instantly relaxing me. I laid back thinking about Morris and how I refused to look at him any other way than a business associate over the years. Even though he was strikingly handsome and I could lose myself in his eyes, I refused to give into the attraction. I thought about all the times, especially in the beginning, how mean I was to him. In fact I went out of my way to be mean to him and still he hung around. The thing with Morris that I liked the most was he wasn't afraid to tell me when I was out of line. He was always had a way of putting things to me that made me think. We had gotten into a quarrel long ago about what I don't remember, I do recall him telling me that the reason I was so rude and confrontational with him was because I was attracted to him, and that scared the hell out of me. Ofcourse I denied it and told him he was a delusional narcissist.

Our chemistry together was cataclysmic for the most part. There had been many episodes in the office where either he or I would slam the door in our office to privately feud aggressively until eventually one of us caved. Sometimes it was him, sometimes it was me, in the end it always came down to what was the best decision for the magazine. Our brains worked well together, even when things got volatile, sometimes our best ideas would be born out of the ashes of our heated discussions. Neither of us in the five years of working together had any relationships, the passion for the magazine was our love, it was the very thing that motivated, inspired and rewarded us. Morris was the most interesting person I knew, and the fact that he would drop some of his work load in my hour of need, told me volumes about him. If I was to be completely honest here, I would admit that he was right when he said I was attracted to him. I just refused to acknowledge it.

I had suddenly realized my thoughts were consumed by Morris, and yet here I had brain cancer and at best possibly five years left to live. Strange set of priorities, I thought to myself. I have the battle of my life ahead of me. Shouldn't I be thinking about that instead of some silly romanticism. But the fluttering in my stomach, what the hell was that? Why do I keep picturing his face, his expressions, the way he carries himself with such confidence. I keep recollecting our conversations, the heated ones, the kind and compassionate ones. Him insisting I would one day hold his hand because I wanted to, so right he was and how much I needed to hold his hand and so very thankful it was there. It must be the cancer, it's making my brain crazy with these thoughts! 

I climbed out of the tub, changed into my nightgown, curled up in bed and tried to get Morris out of my head. Soon I drifted off to sleep only to be woken in the middle of the night with the same damn nightmare as always. 

Chapter 11

When I woke up, I felt kind of groggy and managed to stumble my way to the bathroom. I turned on the light and seeing my reflection in the mirror I nearly jumped out of my skin, instantly jolting myself into reality. I had forgotten I had my hair shaved off. Once I gained my composure I studied myself. I had a nice shape to my head and for that I was thankful. My facial features stood out more, especially my green eyes that were framed by perfectly shaped eyebrows and long, thick dark eye-lashes. I could easily get away without wearing mascara but I loved make-up and wore it anyway. I decided that wearing the same amount of make-up that I usually wore would be a little much, so I simply applied foundation to even-out my complexion and chose a shimmery rosy colored lipstick and a hint of blush. I looked like a totally different person and I liked it. I finished dressing, drank some coffee and went to the lobby to wait for Morris. I saw him pull up to the curb and walked out, and down the stairs that I now was more cautious with. He reached over and opened the door for me and I climbed in. I shut the door and turned to him, "Hey!" I said bright eyed and bushy-tailed. "Wow! You look great!" he said excitedly. "Boy, you're easy to please!" I retorted. "No, I really mean it, you look so natural, I'm not use to seeing you like this" he said. "Well you look really good too Morris, I mean it. I'm not just returning a compliment. You should always sport a buzz cut, it suits you well" I replied wholeheartedly. "Are you flirting with me?" he teased. "You wish!" I jested back. "Ha! You do like me! I knew it!" he smiled. "Just drive! And stop looking at me, keep your eyes on the road for God's sake!" I said watching the road so somebody was. I could see he was smiling in my periferel vision.

Just before he opened the door to the office he said, "This is going to be interesting, let's hold hands and really give them something to talk about". I smiled, "Let's do it!" I said and grabbed his hand as we stoled into the building holding hands past the receptionist. She didn't say a word, she just watched us with a disturbed look on her face, her glare following us all the way down the hall. Each time we passed an office the same stunned expression would come over various faces. As Morris brought me to my office at the end of the hall we turned to see everyone peeping around the corner of their door looking at us, only to duck back in trying not to get caught. Morris and I cracked up. "We should kiss now, that would just throw them over the edge!" he whispered in my ear. I pushed him away jokingly, "Okay, let's not try to push the envelope here buddy! Go get some work done!" I said while I shooed him away.

I quickly got into a groove, we were in the final phases of the magazine. I had to make sure everything was perfectly in order before it went to print. Upon completion of this process, a meeting would be called together so the team could view it on screen to see their work compilation and when everyone was satisfied, it would be sent to print. By eleven I was finished. I instructed my secretary to call a meeting with the team at noon and have pizza delivered to feed everyone lunch during the viewing.

Chapter 12

Everyone gathered in the conference room, I sat at the head of the long table in the front of the room. Morris sat to my right. When everyone was seated, I thanked them for their hard work in putting together one of the best magazines that I had seen since I had begun working there. "I know you're all wondering what's been going on with me the last couple of weeks, and I'd like you to hear it directly from the source, especially since I know how journalist are about their sources" I said matter of factly. Everyone chuckled. "I would like to explain why my hours will be somewhat changing here and there and that I may not be as available to you as I have been. This effects you, you'll have to take on a little more diligence yourselves. You'll have to really tighten up your editing and make sure your information isn't stretched beyond truth. To get to the point, and without sugar coating this, I had a brain tumor removed almost two weeks ago, they ran a biopsy and it is malignant. I'll be going to radiation treatment five days a week, I don't know what to expect yet as the first treatment will be this afternoon. The treatment will continue for about six weeks, Morris has been kind enough to volunteer his time to help me, he's probably the only one who can handle being around me for more than fifteen minutes" I said as I noticed everyone looked stunned. Casey, one of the gals I've worked with from the beginning spoke up, "Penny, this is devastating! I'm so sorry to hear this, ofcourse we'll all do whatever we can to help take some stress off you, right guys?" she said while looking around the group. Everyone agreed. "Thank you Casey, everyone, I do appreciate it, now as they say in show biz...the show must go on!" I exclaimed while I pushed the curser on my laptop bringing the big screen to life behind me with the coming months issue of "Run Amuck!". 

Before the meeting ended I asked Morris if he could take over where I left off and I excused myself. I went to my office, closed the door and cried. I couldn't stand looking at the pictures, the grotesque looks on the victims faces. The images were literally making me physically ill. I reached for the garbage can and vomited. I went to the womens' restroom around the corner and washed my mouth out. I looked in the mirror and pulled myself together. Back in my office I reapplied my lipstick, drank some juice from my mini-refrigerator and gathered my thoughts. 

Fifteen minutes later Morris came in, "Are you okay?" he asked concerned. "I'm fine, probably just nerves you know?" I replied. "Yeah, that's probably it, do you want to get out of here?" he asked me knowing our job was done for the moment anyways. "Yeah, where should we go? My appointment is in an hour and a half" I replied. He thought for a second, "I know just the place! Get your things, let's go!" he said urgently. As we walked by the receptionist Morris told her we would be gone for the rest of the day. She smiled at the two of us and nodded her head "Okay! You two have a good afternoon" she said as Morris whisked me out the door.

Chapter 13

He took me to a small beach down the street from the treatment center. "Let's get really crazy and go bare foot. I love the way sand feels between my toes!" he said smiling. "You're kind of weird aren't you?" I asked sarcasticly. "You know you love squishy stuff between your toes, don't deny it!" he replied. I took my shoes off and we walked out to the beach. Eventhough it was the pacific ocean, the waves were relatively gentle due to the fact that it was a small inlet off the ocean along the edge of the city. The weather was overcast, and though the sky was drab and the air moist, I found it to be rejuvenating. I loved being outdoors, especially amoungst nature. It was something I rarely made time for. We sat on a log that overlooked the outlet of the ocean and watched the seagulls flying around, desperately searching for scrapes of food. They flew over us and around us, squaking, demanding food. Realizing we had nothing to offer, they left us to invade someone else.

"Morris where do you think we go when we die?" I asked him curiously, not really knowing his stand on the subject. "I believe there's a beautiful place that we go to, where there's no sadness, no pain, no hate and everything is pure. We'll know then, what we didn't know here on earth. They'll be nothing but love, love that we can't even comprehend. We'll all bask in the light of the one that created us. That's what I think, that's what I hope. What about you, where do you think we go?" he softly asked. "I hope we go to the place you just described, that sounds beautiful" I replied trying not to get choked-up.

"You know, I've hated being alive for so long, so many times I wish I was dead, especially during my childhood. I have nightmares to this day that I can't get out of my head. Some terrible things happened to me and made me become hateful and untrusting of anyone. But now that I know I'm looking at five years or so to live, I don't want to die and I certainly don't want to die with hate in my heart. If I did, than how would I be able to get into the place you speak of?" I asked him sadly. "Don't worry Penny, I won't let you die with hate in your heart, you'll get to that place and when you do your heart will be overfilled with love" he said with a gentle smile. "Maybe I'm broken Morris, maybe my heart can't be fixed. I'm so afraid you're going to get tired of me, especially with everything I have to go through. Why would you want to put yourself through this? Why bother getting close to someone if you know their time is going to be short? What's in it for you?" I asked  him skeptically. "Penny if you haven't noticed, I love you. I've loved you for a long time, but I was afraid to admit it, just the same as you're afraid to admit it to me. No one knows how long any of us have, people die unpredictably everyday. If I only get five years of loving you and being by your side, I would consider myself blessed. So when you ask what's in it for me, I would say the honor and privilege of you allowing me to love you" he said as looked into my eyes. I leaned over and kissed him gently on his lips. "Thank you Morris, you're the only one who can see through me. You know I'm not very good at letting my guard down, so bear with me. It may be a bumpy ride" I said cautioning him. "It's alright baby, I've got my seat belt on!" he chuckled and put his arm around me pulling me close to him. My head nuzzled up against his firm muscular chest and I breathed in his cologne that reminded me of a fresh sunny day filled with happiness. "You were right you know?" I quietly mumble. "About what?" he asked. "Years ago when you told me I was a bitch because I was attracted to you and didn't want you to get close to me" I said recalling the memory. "I know, I think that's why we fight so much, it's called sexual tension" he replied. As he said that another flutter ran through me. I pulled away, "We should get going, don't you think? I wouldn't want to miss out on the opportunity to get radiated" I said trying to change the subject. "Wow. That was a buzz kill!" he said laughing.

He picked me up and cradled me in his arms, as I wrapped mine around his neck allowing him to carry me back to the car. "You're one of those romantic kind of bozo's aren't you Morris?" I mocked. "Only with you! You have this way of making me want to pick flowers, although sometimes you make me want to rip the blossoms off!" he said frustrated. I laughed, "Good, I like stems! Especially the ones with thorns!" I joked back. "One of these days you're going to want me to be romantic to you! And you're going to love it!" he stated. "Stop cursing me! Last time you said something like that I ended up holding your hand" I replied. "I know, I have this way of predicting the future, It's a gift!" he said with confidence. "Jesus, you're a cocky bastard!" I said as he set me down by the car.

I think something had snapped inside him, all of a sudden his whole demeanor changed. He looked me square in the eyes "Let's not play games, you're going to get your head on straight! Know this, I love you and you love me, the amount of time we have is irrelevant compared to what we do within our time together. Do you understand that?" he demanded. I was taken back by his boldness, but I realized he was right. "Yes Morris, I understand!" I said submissively. "Good. Here's what's going to happen, I'm taking you to get radiated, as you so eloquently put it, after that we're going back to my place and we're going to rid ourselves of the sexual tension between us. I don't want to fight with you anymore, do I make myself clear?" he said as though I had no choice in the matter. "Morris are you ordering me to have sex with you?" I asked candidly. "No, not sex, anyone can do that, I'm talking about love. I'm ordering you to make love with me" he replied. "Well, since you put it that way how can I resist?" I chuckled. "I'm not kidding, laugh if you want but I promise you it will be exactly what the doctor ordered" he said as he opened the door and I climbed in. He shut the door, alone with my thoughts for a moment, I realized I wanted this just as much as he did, but I didn't want to come across as being easy to get. He climbed in and shut the door. "And don't think that giving in makes you look easy to me, believe me when I say, you've been a challenge for five long years!" he said as if reading my mind. I sat there with a subtle smile on my face and flutters in my stomach.

Chapter 14

Neither of us said a word as he drove to the treatment center. Just as he was about to open the office door he stopped, turned and looked at me, "Gear up! You've got a big day ahead of you!" he smiled and winked. I felt myself blush as he opened the door and allowed me to enter first. I announced my arrival to the receptionist and then we both sat in the waiting area. I turned to Morris, "You know you can't just order..." I started to say as he put his finger up to my lips to shush me. "Shhhh! It's happening, no sense in arguing about it!" he whispered in my ear. "You know I'm going to get you for this! Just you wait!" I whispered back. "I'm counting on it!" he said as he picked up a magazine and slowly flipped through it. 

An older gentleman was sitting across from us, "You too huh?" he said noticing the incision mark on my shaved head as he pointed to the mark on his own head. "Yeah, today is my first treatment" I replied. He got up, "I'm Buck, nice to meet you" he said holding out his hand. I shook it "I'm Penny and this is my friend Morris" I said, the men shook hands. "It's great you have someone to support you, I lost my wife of thirty years a couple years ago, my kids are living in Florida, I have a couple friends who help me out and without their support I don't know what I would have done" he said gratefully. "I'm sorry you lost your wife" I said sadly. "Yeah, her and I were like two peas in a pod. We butted heads all the time, but man did we love each other. I'm sorry, I don't mean to bore you with my life's story, just seeing the two of you made me think about her for some reason" he said sadly. "Oh, you weren't boring me, I'd like to hear about it" I said, actually interested in his story. "Well, she died from breast cancer, I held her hand all the way through it and as painful as it was to watch her slip away, I'm glad I was there for her but even more thankful for the time we shared together before I lost her" he said and then stopped himself.

"Does it bother you me talking about death?" he humbly asked. "No. I guess it's something we all have to face someday" I replied. "That's a good attitude to have. People fear what they don't understand. I don't fear death one bit, that's because death and I have come to an understanding. I made a deal with it, as long as I'm alive I'll live each minute the best I can, and when it's ready to take me, I won't fight it. I know that my Liza will be waiting for me with open arms. Even though she'll probably nag at me for wearing the wrong color of tie when they bury me" he said chuckling. I giggled. "You're wife sounds like someone I know!" Morris said gesturing towards me with his head. "Oh, I see you two are in love aren't you?" Buck asked with a smile on his face. "Well, he insists that I love him, but I'm fighting him the whole way!" I said. "She loves me, don't let her fool you!" Morris replied.

The receptionist called Buck in as he opened the door he turned to us, "You know, where there's passion, there is fire!" Buck said as he winked and went through the door to receive his treatment. Morris looked at me with a grin, "No truer words have been spoken" he said. Again I blushed. The receptionist called my name, I stood to get up and Morris grabbed my wrist and stopped me. He held it and looked into my eyes, I felt compelled and leaned over to kiss him, "I'll be back in a little bit" I said hoping time would fly by quickly. "I'll be here!" he replied. I turned and walked through the same door Buck had just walked through, "time to get radiated" I thought to myself. I chuckled out loud. How ironic, now that I knew I was dying, l finally looked forward to living!

Chapter 15

"How did it go?" Morris asked me as I walked into the waiting area. "It was fine, I didn't feel a thing" I said feeling no different than when I walked in for my treatment. "Good! Let's go get something to eat before we go to my place, we're going to need some strength!" he said with a devilish look on his face. "Oh Jesus Morris, you're incorrigible!" I said hitting his arm. "That reminds me, I need to make a brief stop after dinner too!" he said as we left the office. "Dare I ask?" I said thinking I knew what it was he needed to get. "Let's just say, though the weather looks favorable, I may need some rain gear!" he said as he winked. "Oh my lord! Do you have to put it that way? You're starting to freak me out!" I replied blushing, yet once again. 

After dinner he stopped at a store to pick up the necessary items as I waited in the car. As he hopped in he handed me a bouquet of red roses with baby's breath mingled together. "Ah, thank you Morris, that was really sweet of you" I said sincerely. "That's just to let you know that I love you, now let's go get busy!" he teased. I busted up laughing. "Wow. Nice buzz-kill!" I teased back. 

We pulled into the driveway of a modern looking house on top of a hill in one of the nicer neighborhood's. "Nice house Morris" I commented feeling impressed. "My life savings!" he replied, "Come on, I'll give you the grand tour" he said opening the door to his home. We went room to room as he proudly showed me his kingdom. Everything was warm and tasteful. No frilly stuff, no excess, he was clearly a clean, neat and professional man. I admired his style. We sat in the living-room while he pushed a button on a remote and a fire in the fireplace suddenly came to life. "Very impressive!" I said raising an eyebrow. "Wait for it..." he said as he pushed another button and music flowed through speakers strategically placed around us. "Wow! I've got to get me one of those!" I said thoroughly impressed.

"Would you care for some wine?" he asked. "Sure, that would be nice, thank you" I said. He returned with two glasses of Chardonnay. "What should we drink to?" I asked. "Let's drink to love and nothing else. Just pure love" he said with sincerity in his voice. "Okay Morris, to pure love" I agreed as we clinked our glasses together. We talked for awhile as we drank our wine, enjoying each others conversation.

He was four years older than me, also young for his accomplishments. He was extremely handsome with his dark eyes, so warm and filled with fierce intelligence, even more pronounced with his head shaved. He wore a goat-tee and kept it neatly trimmed. He had the physique of a well toned athletic I found myself deeply attracted to him, wanting to get closer to him, I leaned over and kissed him. He wrapped his arms around me and kissed me back, passionately. I felt his hands glide over my gentle curves. In one swoop he picked me up, cradling me and took me to his bedroom. He set me on the floor next to his bed and slowly began undressing me. I unbuttoned his shirt and slid it down his powerfully definde arms. I laid back on his bed as he finished undressing, and then joined me. Together we explored each other, slowly, lovingly. I had never experienced love before, I felt myself wanting more. Without any reservation I gave myself to him. Nothing could have been more natural than being with him this way. In this moment, I felt I had regained my innocence and I realized without question that I truely loved him. Laying in the afterglow, he expressed that he had never experienced anything like that before and it has caused him to love me all the more. "Stay with me tonight, just sleep in my arms, I don't want to let you go" he whispered. "I don't want to go Morris, I just want to stay here like this forever" I replied. "Than it's settled, forever it is. I love you so much Penny" he said as he kissed my head. "I love you too Morris" I responded thoroughly meaning it. We both drifted off to sleep.

Chapter 16

Weeks had flown by, Morris and I slept together every night, sometimes at his place, sometimes at mine. I had stopped going to work for the most part. It was just too grim. Finally I made the decision to resign. I had enough money saved to secure my future, so that wasn't an issue. Morris helped me decide it was best for me to enjoy living and not be reminded of death constantly. Soon after I had quit working completely, I realized my nightmares had stopped. I felt as though lying in Morris's arms was healing me, my sleep had become, for the first time in my life, blissful. 

The treatments were going well, occasionally leaving me feeling tired, but other than that I was doing fine. Morris always had some random thing planned that we would do together which always made our time together interesting. One night he woke me up at two in the morning. He made me put a coat on over my nightgown as he did the same over his pajamas's. We drove out to vista point which overlooked the city and the golden gate bridge. It was a clear, crisp night in February. The wind was chilly, but it felt invigorating as we walked along the path taking in the view. We found a private little area and with no one around we made love while the city shone before us and the stars twinkled above us. As we walked back along the pathway he stopped me. "Penny?" he said as I turned, "Yes?" I replied. "Do you love me?" he asked seriously. "You know I do Morris, I love you so much it hurts!" I said with deep emotion. He pulled something out of his coat pocket, "Then will you marry me?" he asked as he opened a little black velvet box exposing a diamond wedding ring. I looked up at him with tears in my eyes, "Nothing would make me happier than to be your wife!" I said as the tears flowed down. He put the ring on my finger and it fit perfectly. He grabbed me up and twirled me around. "God, I love you so much! Thank you baby, I'm going to be the best husband ever!" he said and then kissed me. I knew he would be, Morris was the most amazing person I had ever known. 

 

Chapter 17

I couldn't wait to tell Buck the good news. Morris and I had grown quite fond of him over the weeks as we shared the same appointment time five days a week. The three of us went out to lunch after our treatment several times where we had the opportunity to get to know him really well. No one would be happier for us than Buck, he had been encouraging us all along to take a chance on love. Not that he ever came out and said it, but he did through his funny stories about him and his wife.

Morris and I showed up for the fourth appointment for that week, as we walked in Buck hadn't arrived yet. This immediately made me feel uneasy, every time I had come in he was there waiting. Every time except today. I looked at the receptionist, the look on her face told me something was wrong. "Where is he?" I asked dreading what she was going to tell me. I felt Morris hold onto me. "I'm sorry Penny, Buck left us last night" she said in a very sad tone. "Noooo! No, no, no, oh Morris" I cried hiding myself against his chest. He held on to me hard, rubbing my back, trying to soothe me. "Shhh, shhh, it's okay Penny, he's with his wife now, he wasn't afraid remember?" he reminded me of the conversation when we had first met him. He pulled me back and held my face in his hands, "There both in the place I told you about, where there's no pain, no sorrow, only joy. Their basking in the light of our maker right now, feeling nothing but love, pure love, it's okay baby" he said comforting me. I thought about the two of them together in the heaven Morris described and a gentle peace came over me. "I love you Morris. One day, that will be us, forever" I said as I dried my tears with the hanky Morris gave me. "That's right, they'll be more love than we'll know what to do with" he said. I pulled myself together enough to go into my radiation therapy. So very thankful I wouldn't die with hate in my heart, instead my heart would be overfilled with love.

Chapter 18

I had finished my six weeks of radiation therapy with great success. Dr. Yoshida was ecstatic with the test results, the cancer was under control enough for me to carry on normally. Together, we had bought me a good solid five-year prognosis. Dr. Yosida gave me all the credit, but I couldn't have done it without my team supporting me the whole way. Dr. Shaffer insisted that my success was due to my fiestiness. I believe my success came from the one thing that I had always feared the most...love. And like Buck, I too was no longer afraid of death. I made a deal, that I would live a great life with Morris every minute I was here, and when death comes for me, I won't fight it, I'll be waiting with open arms for my Morris one fine day.

Morris and I married and enjoyed our life together as man and wife. He had taken me into his kingdom and made me his queen. We had six wonderful, beautiful years together. In the end, as I drew my last final breaths with Morris by my side, I realized how blessed I was to have loved the man who showed me what true love was. 

 

1 Corinthians 13 

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trust, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.

 

Note From The Author

No matter what country you come from, or what your belief system is, one thing we all share in common is the sanctity of love. It is my hope that you will find love in your life, if you haven't already. No matter how much time we are given, what we do in that time with the ones we love, is what truly matters. -Carolyn Barber 

Impressum

Bildmaterialien: I make no claims to cover image, extracted from google images
Lektorat: Carolyn Barber
Tag der Veröffentlichung: 25.09.2014

Alle Rechte vorbehalten

Widmung:
This was written for those who guard their wounded hearts. Never give up on love, it will find you when you least expect it!