Scott Barringer sat at his desk which had recently become flooded with papers and books – last minute prep work before he was to start graduate school. He looked around his small apartment and began to realize just how empty it was. Up until just a couple weeks ago, his life had seemed to be going in the perfect direction. But with an abrupt jolt, that reality quickly faded into something of the past.

He walked over to the balcony window that was just off his miniscule living room and looked down at the bustling Denver city streets. He knew she was down there somewhere, keeping herself busy with work and her friends. He wondered how often – if at all – she had been thinking about him.

Just as he let out a heavy sigh, his cell phone rang. He looked around the apartment, unsure of where exactly he had left it. When it rang again, he walked over to the table where his coat was. After the third ring, he pulled it out of one of the pockets and saw that it was Peter who was calling him.

He flipped the phone open and put on a smile; it had been a while since he had talked to his old friend. "Hey, Peter," he said, suddenly feeling just a slight bit better.

"Scott, hi! How're you doing?" Peter seemed excited about something but Scott was clueless. He moved to lean against one of the counters.

"I'm doing alright, man, thanks. How about yourself?" The two made small talk for a few minutes, briefly updating each other about their lives. Peter told Scott how Sophie had decided to stay home with their three adopted children and Scott told Peter how he and Shelby had just decided to take a break from each other.

"I'm sorry to hear that, Scott," Peter said on the other end of the phone. "When did you two decide that?"

"Just last week." Scott's voice was soft and somewhat tired he spoke about the sore subject. He would rather talk face-to-face with Peter, but since they were in two different countries, he knew that was not really a possibility.

They talked for about fifteen more minutes before Peter got around to the reason he was calling. "Look," he slowly began; "I know you're about to start school again – and I'm so proud of you and how well you're doing for yourself – but I was calling to ask if you would consider postponing your doctorate for a while…" He paused for a moment before continuing on.

"Postpone? Why would I do that?" Scott asked, still unsure of what he was being asked.

"Well, with Soph deciding to leave, we have a position open for another counselor and I just wanted to check with you first. Now don't feel obligated or anything. I know how hard you've been working for your psych degree and everything. But you were the first one to come to mind and I just wanted to offer you the opportunity."

"Wow," Scott softly let out. He had never imagined going back to Horizon, especially not as a counselor. After he had graduated from the school and moved on to college, he knew he wanted to help other young teens, but this exact job had never really occurred to him.

Peter seemed to call just at the right time. With Shelby out of the picture now and school about to start, Scott was feeling overwhelmed and unsure about his direction. He tried to imagine just picking up and moving back to Canada.

"If you want some time to think it over, please, go right ahead," Peter told him. But Scott could not help but notice the slight change in Peter's tone as he realized that Scott was indeed considering his offer.

"No, I…" Scott quickly said. He saw a much needed break being offered to him – of course, it was not the same kind of break most people imagined taking after a serious break-up and a grueling year of grad school just around the corner. "I think that sounds like a great idea, actually."

"Really?" Peter sounds like a giddy little kid as soon as the words slipped out of Scott's mouth. Scott had to laugh to himself at the thought of how enthusiastic Peter was being. "That's awesome, Scott," he said. "Wait a minute; you're absolutely sure about this? I mean, it's a big commitment and it will require a lot from you."

"Yeah," Scott said; "I know it is. I just think I need a change right now and you couldn't have called at a better time."

For the first time since he and Shelby had stopped seeing each other, he felt an anticipation to do something for someone else again. For the past few years, he had been concentrating mostly on himself with school, his job at the local crisis center, and trying to make everything work out between him and Shelby. He was ready to step away from himself for a while and really concentrate on others.

He and Peter talked for about a half an hour more. Peter filled him in on some of the details but said they could get down to discussing the specifics once Scott arrived back at Horizon. There had been quite a few changes on the grounds since Scott had been a student there, and he was excited to see what they were.