Franny missed Marilyn every day. There is something about the first friend you make in a new place. The first uncomplicated friend, the first surprise friend. Leo had been there waiting, because of his connection to Franny’s brother. (I need to call him, Franny thought. It’s been too long since I talked to that brother … Continue reading Pine Street Episode 65 Reboot

In that moment, on that chaotic night and early morning after the wedding, Leo chose Marilyn. He went to the room next door to Kassandra’s, he saw Marilyn in a bed, connected to tubes and cords, looking tiny. Douglas must have stepped out, or maybe he’d needed to go back to the house. It was … Continue reading Pine Street Episode 62 Reboot

Taking care of a dog, especially a smallish, elderly dog such as Precious, helps put everything else in perspective. This is true of taking care of anyone, really. When we are accountable to another being who needs us, even if that need is as simple as being taken outside to pee, our lives take on … Continue reading Pine Street Episode 60 Reboot

Franny hooked the leash onto Precious’s collar, as the dog showed every sign of needing to go outdoors, now. Although she had permission to keep Precious “temporarily” in her apartment, Franny also obeyed the unspoken part of the agreement with the landlord to make sure none of the other tenants saw them coming and going. … Continue reading Pine Street Episode 59 Reboot

“Leo!” Franny called down the block. She turned the other way and saw him talking to her neighbor Alison. Douglas needed to go rest, too, and she wanted Leo to come back and finish helping with the clean up, to give Douglas permission to say good bye to them both. And there he was, back … Continue reading Pine Street Episode 48 Reboot

If Allison, Franny’s elfin neighbor, had been aware of the wedding celebration going on with so many of her acquaintances in attendance, she would not have felt left out or envious. Allison would have been pleased for the happy couple and relieved that she was not invited. Allison was not a wedding person. As if … Continue reading Pine Street Episode 44 Reboot

On an impulse, Kassandra rose from the lawn chair she’d been sitting on in Marilyn’s garden and made her way through the crowd. She intended to hug the bride and leave, unsettled by feelings of sadness and anticipated grief on what should be a happy occasion. But she had trouble locating the art professor and … Continue reading Pine Street Episode 43 Reboot

Franny might have been surprised to realize that one of those guests at Marilyn and Douglas’s wedding felt the undertone of anxiety and ill health clearly, without knowing why. Kassandra the barista stood in another corner of the garden, also moved to tears. Marilyn had invited Kassandra just a few days before the ceremony, when … Continue reading Pine Street Episode 41 Reboot