Connected: Part 4 of the On The Edge Series

"Hey," Billy greeted from behind the kitchen counter as I entered in the rush of being late for work. "I tried to make you breakfast, but you have no food. All you have in your freezer is ice and weird green ice."

"The weird green ice is wheatgrass shots. I'll take one with me; it'll be defrosted by midmorning. I rarely eat breakfast; I just grab coffee at the office. Sorry, I'm running late."

"That's fine. Not very healthy, but fine. What can I do?"

"Um, do?"

"Yeah, what can I do? Want me to go grocery shopping?"

I stopped dead in my tracks. "Do you... grocery shop?"

"Sure, I'm a human being." Billy shook his head as though my question was weird.

"And the last time you were in a grocery store was..."

"It's been a little while," he admitted.

"How about this," I began, "the spare bathroom tub faucet is leaking, the recessed light in my closet is flickering, and the dishwasher makes a weird noise when running."

"Really? You aren't just making this up to make me happy?" His eyes gleamed at the prospects of the projects before him.

"I wish I were making it up, but I'm a very lazy condo owner. If it's not actively smoking, I do nothing."

"Oh, how I love you." As he spoke, he wrapped his arms around me and spun me around the living.

"Funny, I feel like this was more excitement than when I said I'd marry you," I teased.

"You know how I like to work with my hands." He set me down and set steadying hands on my hips.

"I can think of a few things you can do with your hands," I enticed.

"Don't tempt me." His voice came lower than usual.

"If only I had the time," I sighed.

"Lunch?"

"I can't. I have a lunch meeting today, but tomorrow. Can you pick me up at my office around 5 pm? That way, I can leave the car with you?"

"I sure can." As he spoke, he pulled me in for another hug and a lingering kiss.

"I love you," I murmured as we separated.

A crooked smile crossed his lips as he added, "I love you, too. Now go before you're even later!"

I felt different walking on the floor of my office, confident. I had spent my entire life sprinting to prove myself, to define myself with a career. It had consumed me to where I never stopped to look at what I had achieved. Duluth had cleared my focus. For all the time I thought I had focused on Billy over the past few weeks, I had focused on me: what I wanted, what I loved, and where I was headed. Everything Billy had been trying to tell me for years clicked. It wasn't about his love; it was about the support, the support from him, Mary, Timmy, Tess, and even the give and take of support from Jackson, Viv, and James. The hole from my dad's passing was slowly filling. I felt agile, confident, and like I could be effective. Then I saw Luke, and all productivity crumbled.

"Lil, you're back!" Luke bellowed over multiple cubicles before I managed to slide into my office. The tops of others' heads bobbed up with smiles and waves as others started to ask questions before even uttering a salutation.

"Back off, you heathens," Luke called over his shoulder as he pushed me the last few paces into my office and shut the door. "So, how are you?" His eyes were excitedly glowing, like a teen reading a gossip magazine.