She was sitting at the table, in the kitchen, with a cup filled with coffee in her hand and her eyes staring at the luxurious garden that surrounded the house. The morning light invaded the room, and she closed her eyes in exasperation as she heard some firm steps on the stairs, feeling interrupted. Looking at the kitchen door, she was just in time to see her husband appearing, already dressed and shaved. He smiled at her and she responded, while he walked towards her and planted a soft kiss on her lips. Smiling, he took a cup from the cabinet and poured some coffee into it, taking a quick sip that burned his lips. She laughed quietly, while he tried to swallow the hot liquid. When he did, he looked at her in amusement.

"You find it funny, Susie?" she stared at him and wrinkled her nose, making her freckles even more evident. He laughed too and approached her, kissing her deeply. The intensity of the kiss made her head hit the back of the chair, but she didn't care. She loved when he kissed her like this, so passionately, like the world was going to end in about five minutes, like they had no time. When the kiss ended, she looked at him with admiration. He was a beautiful man. Dark and solid, he had a beauty that was simple but refined at the same time, which she found extremely sensual.

"Good morning…" she said with a loving expression. He smiled.

"Good morning, sweetie." he walked towards the counter and picked up his coffee mug, blowing at the liquid in a silly attempt to cool it. "Where's Ella?"

"She's asleep. She went to bed late yesterday, she was waiting for you." She sighed. His job at the hospital was exhausting and had no regular schedule, so sometimes he would arrive at 2 am, other times he would be home by 5pm. This irregularity confused their little girl's mind; she liked to see her dad get home and would rarely have that pleasure.

"Isn't she going to kindergarten today?" She got up and walked towards the sink, putting her cup in it.

"Yeah, she is. I'm gonna drop her there when I go to town. I'm going to wake her up and get dressed." He smiled, but it wasn't a pleasant smile. She recognized that smiled as the one he gave her every time he was about to lecture her about something. And she hated when he lectured her.

"Isn't it late? I mean, you could've woken her up already..."

"She was up until eleven, yesterday, waiting for you, Jack. And I won't let her sleep less than eight hours." She paused as he looked at the mug with a sly smile on his face. She hated him, in that moment. "She'll be on time." She walked towards her husband and kissed him quickly, turning around to leave. "Have a nice day at the hospital." Climbing the stairs as quickly as she could, she didn't stop untilshe reached her daughter's pink bedroom.

"Mommy, where's daddy?" the little girl asked from the back seat. She looked at her daughter through the mirror and tried to smile.

"He's at work, sweetie. You'll see him tonight, when he gets home." The four-year-old girl sighed dramatically and she laughed a little, remembering herself at the same age. Ella, or Eleanor, was a beautiful girl, that looked just like her mother. She had her hair, her eyes, her hands and worst of all, her temper. She was wild and uncontrollable as her mother once was, and Kate was proud of her for that. She didn't see Jack in the girl at all, which made her a little sad, but not enough to erase her pride.

"Daddy is never home!" Kate rolled her eyes. These were the times she'd like her daughter to sound like Jack, instead of herself. It was like the girl was reading her mind.

"I know, baby, but he's working to support us, for us to have everything we need." Ella looked through the window as she drove into town. They lived in the suburbs of Boston, because Jack didn't think the city environment was good for the little girl. Kate liked the city and its energy, and Ella did too, so she got her in a kindergarten that was localized in the center of Boston. She didn't go there every day, only three or four days a week, but there was a schedule to be followed on those days, and they were late.

She parked the car in front of the old building and stepped out, opening the back door to take her daughter out. She picked up the girl and her backpack and walked into the reception, where Ella's teacher was talking to the door man. Miss Rose was a short, black woman, who should be in her mid-fifties. Kate trusted her more than she trusted her own mother-in-law, for some reason. Rose's eyes were always filled with love and something else that made her feel really comfortable. Those eyes had the same effect on the child that loved her teacher.

"I'm so sorry we're late, Miss Rose!" Kate said with a smile. The old lady smiled too and took Ella from Kate's arms.

"There's no problem with that, Mrs. Shepard! We were just starting our usual activities." They smiled at each other and Kate felt an almost maternal bond forming with this woman. She missed her mother more than she could tell, and this lady was becoming almost a comfort just for being there, for taking care of her child like a grandmother would do. Kate smiled and kissed Ella on her forehead.

"Be nice, ok, sweetie? Mom will pick you up at 3." She looked up at Miss Rose, who was smiling at this scene, and smiled back. "You two, have a nice day!"

"We will, Mrs. Shepard!" Kate smiled and walked back to the car, sitting behind the wheel and realizing her cell phone was ringing. She looked for it in her purse, and when she finally located it, she picked it up without even knowing who it was. A female voice greeted her.

"Jesus Christ, Susan. I didn't interrupt you two, did I?" Kate smiled and tried to stabilize her breathing.

"Give me a sec." she said, while she tried to get the cell phone connected to the car kit. She lowered the radio sound and pressed the green button of the phone, to start talking again. "Hey, I'm here!"

"That was a long second. You driving?"

"Yeah. I'm on the car kit, so talk away!" the other voice seemed offended. Kate smiled.

"I don't talk that much!" she laughed "Anyway, I was wondering if you were in town. Wanna have lunch with me?" Kate smiled again. That was exactly what she needed.

"Yeah, sure. Are you inviting anyone else?" the other woman sighed.

"Like who? My brother?" she laughed bitterly "He's with Sabrina. The viper's dying, apparently."

"Is she ill?" Kate was becoming worried now, that would explain the other woman's strange mood.

"No. She just took a box of vicodin with some vodka. The woman's crazy." Kate heard her sighing again. "So, I'll meet you at lunch. The usual place?"

"The usual place" Kate paused "And Shann… she'll be ok."

"Yeah... I know, Susie. See you later then"

"See you"

She was in the mall, shopping for some groceries in the market of the lowest floor. When she finished those, she put the stuff in the car and decided to take a walk through the clothing section, to see if she could find anything she liked. She was very 'sporty' in her way of dressing, but she liked small elegant things that stopped her from looking like she was working out all day. She saw a couple of cargo pants that she liked and she went to the dressing room to try them on.

While trying them, she realized she was getting thinner again, and the items she'd picked were too large for her. Hiding behind the curtain and poking her head on the outside, she called the shop girl and asked her to get her a smaller size. When she was preparing to hide her head behind the curtain again, she noticed a man, standing in front of the other cubicle with an exasperated look on his face. She stared at him, and when their eyes met she felt herself blush.

"I'm… um, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to stare." She hid her head and looked at the wall mirror. Her face was bright red, and her freckles were more evident than ever. She took a deep breath, cursing herself for being so obvious, and started trying out the pants the girl had brought her. She could hear him taking to the other compartment.

"Come on, Cass! We ain't gonna be here all day, I tell ya" Se smiled at his voice. Typical Southern male.

When Kate got out of the cubicle, the man was still there, looking at her with amusement. She felt herself blush again but before she could leave, she heard him.

"You like what you see, freckles?" he smiled and she felt her stomach jump. Picking her stuff up from the chair, she got out of that place as fast as she could, leaving the pants behind her. She was getting late for lunch, anyway.