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close to her mother and wanted to keep her in the loop of what was happening in her life, but she wasn’t always the best with expressing her feelings through a phone call. She found that she was able to communicate better when she had time to sit down and process her thoughts by writing a letter. Besides, Olivia loved reading the letters from her daughter. She kept every one in chronological order in a box in her sewing room.
    She sealed the envelope, wrinkling her nose at the taste of the adhesive on her tongue. “Ugh, you taste disgusting!” she said to the envelope. Her phone rang. Seeing the name that appeared on the screen, she grinned and picked up her phone. “Hi, Ian.”
    “Hey you!” said Ian’s cheerful voice. “What time are you planning on coming over today?”
    “I was planning on leaving in a few minutes, so that should put me up there around 12:30.”
    “Super. I’ll take you out to lunch when you get here.”
    “Don’t be silly,” she replied. “I was already planning on making a sandwich to eat on the drive. Besides, you spend too much money on me already.”
    “I wouldn’t spend money on you if I didn’t want to. Are you sure you don’t want to go out to lunch? I know a new Thai place we could try.”
    “No, I’d rather get right to shopping. We’ve got a lot of work to get done today. We have got to find an area rug for your living room and finish some painting.”
    “Slave driver.”
    “Would you be a successful lawyer today if I hadn’t spent hours quizzing you for finals in college?”
    “Doubtful.”
    “Okay then. Put on your grubbies and get ready for some home improvement.”
    “Yes ma’am!”
    “Your place is really starting to come together. It’s quite a transformation from that bare loft it once was.”
    “All because of you, and you know it!” said Ian. “If I had to decorate this place on my own, it would have a futon and a big screen and that’s it. You’ve turned it into a real home. It’s amazing. You’ve really got a knack for this stuff.”
    “What can I say? I’m a woman of many talents.”
    “Yes. You sure are,” replied Ian with a laugh. “And so humble.”
    “Naturally.”
    “Okay, well I’ll see you around 12:30. Bye.”
    After slapping together a turkey sandwich and grabbing an apple and a bottle of iced tea to take with her for lunch, Kate changed into a pair of old jeans that she wasn’t afraid to get paint on and a light blue long sleeved shirt. She tied her curly hair up in a ponytail, grabbed her lunch, and headed off to Raleigh. “Why hello iPod. Let’s listen to some Sinatra today, shall we?”
    She had come to really enjoy the drive. The time alone in the car gave her time to think. Last week, she had been so deep in thought that she drove right past the exit to Ian’s. But she had a lot to think about recently. It really was just like old times with Ian. Kate found it comforting to have someone who needed her, even if it was just to help pick out paint colors. But she couldn’t help wondering if Ian was starting to need her for something more. “Father, please be with us today,” she whispered in prayer. “Help us to be good to each other. And if…well, I mean…if this friendship is going to turn into something else…just give us wisdom, God.”
    Kate shook her head in an attempt to stop these crazy thoughts. They were just friends, right? There was no reason to complicate things beyond that. She took a long sip of her iced tea and hummed along with Old Blue Eyes.
    After miraculously finding a parking spot on the busy urban street where Ian lived, she walked up the sidewalk to his door and chuckled as she saw what lay on the ground beside it. It was meant to wipe your shoes on, but Ian couldn’t have bought a doormat like a normal human being. No, he had purchased a stone frog figurine, lying on its back with its hands clasped behind its head and a goofy grin on its face. It had hard bristles where his stomach should