HELLO EVERYONE, I AM BACK AND BITCHIER THAN EVER! LOL!
TO ALL MY READERS AND FAMILY OF OUR FANFICTON WORLD, THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT AND KIND WORDS. BECAUSE OF YOUR ENCOURAGING THOUGHTS, I AM BACK AND READY TO CONTINUE UPDATING MY STORIES ON A MORE REGULAR BASIS. WORDS CANNOT EXPRESS MY GRATITUDE TO EVERYONE THAT TOOK THE TIME TO SEND ME POSSITIVE MESSAGES, AND I WILL TRY NOT TO DISSAPOINTE YOU AGAIN.
THIS TIME I DID NOT HAVE MY SPELLING AND GRAMMAR HELPER AROUND, SO PLEASE FORGIVE MY MEDIOCRE WRITING. I JUST DID NOT WANT TO WAIT ANOTHER WEEK TO PUBLISH MY NEXT CHAPTER BECAUSE I WAITED TOO LONG TO UPDATE THIS STORY.
SO HERE GOES MY NEW CHAPTER. ENJOY.
DISCLAIMER: THIS STORY DOES NOT BELONG TO ME, ALL CHARACTERS BELONG TO E.L. JAMES
A ROUGH DAY
Elena made her way to the luxury building across the street located in an upscale neighborhood in the heart of Philadelphia, wondering how Susannah was able to afford such a fancy place to live. She knew by the looks of her surroundings that the apartments were indeed the very expensive kind. Unless Susannah had found herself a very wealthy sugar daddy or Dom, she would not be able to afford such luxury on her own.
Elena knew that Christian had been very generous to all of his past subs, but she was curious to see how Susannah was able to afford such luxury. She had not kept in touch with Susannah due to the fact that she cut all ties from everyone that still lived in Seattle. She only heard bits and pieces from her assistant Greta through her contact with Leila.
As she approached the entrance to the apartment building she was met by a very fancy dressed bellman at the front door, who immediately contacted the resident living in apartment D on the 10th floor. After the bellman got permission on the intercom he led Elena to the elevators and directed her as to where apartment D would be located at.
As the elevator took Elena to her destination, she took the time to powder her face and adjust her attire. She always wanted to make a good impression, even if it was only one of her past girls that she hired to serve Christian's needs at the time. She was a vain woman and still held the idea that she could compete with women half her age.
It only took her a short walk to find apartment D from the elevator, and as she approached the front door she noticed two burly, rather menacing looking men eyeing her as she rang the doorbell, and that suddenly made her very nervous.
After a couple of rings, she noticed that the two men approached her and stood right behind her without saying a word. She looked back and saw one of the men whispering something into his cell phone. For the first time in a long time, she felt fear, because she did not know who these men were and why they were there. Before she had time to question them, the door opened as she was greeted by an unsmiling Susannah Reynolds.
Susannah, or Susi as she was called back in Seattle, looked well and healthy. She had apparently dyed her hair a dark shade of red. She looked a little more voluptuous than Elena remembered her and her appearance was that of a very well groomed and attractive woman.
Susannah greeted her guest with an unfriendly and dry tone.
"Well Elena, I see you did make it after all. I was beginning to think you had changed your mind and decided to cancel this little visit of yours."
Elena responded with a condescending tone.
"Well, as you can see dear, I did make it. Aren't you going to invite me in? Please don't leave me standing out here with these two." She pointed at the two men standing behind her without looking back.
"Who are they by the way, your goons or some sort of guards?"
Susannah could not help but smile at Elena's irritation. "Of course, come in, but I have to warn you, unless you allow these 'goons' to frisk you, you will not be allowed to come in at all."
Elena was surprised by her statement, why in the world would these two men have a need to search her? Where they keeping an eye on just Susannah or just her place?
"Well, are you going to let them frisk you or not?" She smirked at Elena's apparent discomfort.
"Do I really have a choice?" She spat.
"Yes, but if you choose not to be searched, then just turn around and leave, that's your other choice."
Elena huffed as she entered the foyer, but was held back from going in further by one of the men that was right behind her.
"Hey, don't grab, this is one expensive coat, and if you rip it, you pay for it."
The man with dark brown hair and what passed for a seventy's mustache just ignored her as he just grabbed her purse with the intention of searching it. Elena gasped in shock when the other man approached her and just grabbed her right arm while pushing her towards the wall. He held her hard and tight as he began to search her, running his very large hands all over her body and inside her coat and pant pockets.
"What the hell, get your fat sweaty hands off of me you moron!" She cried out without any response from the men as they continued their search.
"Elena, just keep your mouth shut and let them to their job. It will go down easier for you, unless you want bruises tattooed on your arms permanently."
Elena paid attention to Susannah as she realized that it was to her benefit to just co-operate , even though the men seemed to enjoy being rough with her. If she were much younger woman she would have probably enjoyed such contact, but not under such current circumstances. She was the one that enjoyed treating men roughly and making them feel vulnerable and degraded. The irony of her current situation was not lost on her as she allowed the men to continue their search.
"Why are you taking my cell phone and my I pad?" She barked at the mustached one.
"Elena relax, they are just doing what they were told to do."
"What do you mean they are just doing what they were told, and by who?" She asked while taking her coat off to rub her upper arms.
Her answer came in the form of man entering the foyer by the opposite side. "By me, they always do what I tell them."
Elena turned towards the man approaching them. He was very tall with a slender build, and a brown receding hair line. He looked middle aged but somewhat attractive.
"Who, who are you?" She asked as he looked at Susannah for an answer. But Susannah did not answer her, as she kept her eyes straight ahead towards the approaching figure.
The man glared at Elena as he made his way towards Susannah while putting his arm around her waist.
"I should be asking you Mrs. Lincoln, why are you here now and what the fuck do you want with my Susi?"
"Excuse me?" Elena asked in shock.
"You heard me the first time Mrs. Lincoln and I won't ask you again. What the fuck do you want?"
For the first time since knowing Susannah Reynolds, Elena was at a loss for words. This was not the scenario that she had in mind when she had contacted Susannah days earlier to set up a meeting with her. She did not know who this man was, and apparently her assistant Greta did not know of him either, or else she would have told her of his existence.
"Look, whoever you are, I am a longtime acquaintance of Susi, and I simply wanted to meet with her since we lost contact some time ago. I'm only paying her a visit to talk about old times, that's all. She was grasping at straws and she knew it.
"Old times, an old acquaintance you say?" The man smirked while Susannah looked at him with a worried look.
"Yes, as I said before, I'm just paying an old friend a visit."
"Really, well my Susi never mention you as being one of her 'old' friends. And honestly Mrs. Lincoln, I think you are just a little too old to be a friend of Susi, since most of her friends are closer to her age."
The comment concerning he age did not sit well with Elena.
"My, you are not playing good host today, are you my dear man? And you have me at a disadvantage you know. You seem to know who I am, but I do not know who you are. I am surprised that Susannah never mentioned you when I called her a few days ago."
"You are right Mrs. Lincoln, I do have you at a disadvantage, but that is how I like for things to roll around here, and my Susi knows that very well. Am I right my Angel?" Susannah smiled as he took her hand and placed a light kiss on it.
"Mrs. Lincoln, my name is Carlo Rivera, and Susi here is my one and only Angel." His smile seemed off as he looked between the two women. "We have an agreement Mrs. Lincoln; she can have company over anytime she wants too, as long as we are both together to greet our guests."
He continues his conversation as he leads Susannah by the hand towards an enormous sitting area next to a large window that oversees midtown Philadelphia.
"Tell me Mrs. Lincoln, what is the nature of your visit? I mean, what is the real reason you are here?" He motions for Elena to take a seat as he and Susannah sit on the opposite couch facing her.
"As I told you before Carlo, I am only paying my friend a visit, you know, girls getting together and catch up on old times."
Carlo remains silent for a moment as he looks between the two women, making Elena more uncomfortable than before. It is Susannah that breaks the silence only after making eye contact with Carlo.
"Elena, Carlo knows about my past, in fact, he knows everything about our lifestyle. He knows everything because there are no secrets between us. He knows about you Elena, he knows everything."
Elena's eyes widen at Susannah's revelation. She panics inside, but years of masquerading her true emotions and feelings come in handy. She hides her emotions well, and as she regains her wits about her she puts on her best blank face mask on for her hosts.
"My dear, I really do not know what you are talking about. I am a business woman, one that runs several beauty salons and other business ventures as well. As for the lifestyle you are talking about, well, what you do or did for a living is really none of my business."
Both women are surprised at Carlo's reaction. He starts laughing out loud and so hard that he doubles over tucking his head between his knees. He even wipes a few laugh tears after a minute or two. After his laugher dies down to a few guffaws, his face suddenly changes to a very hard expression. This sends chills down Elena's spine.
"Mrs. Lincoln, please do not take me for a fool. You see, I know exactly who you are. What you do, and who you do it to. In most social circles, you would be considered a pedophile, or an abuser of young boys or men."
"How… What… you, you…how dare…"
"Oh come now Mrs. Lincoln, I am very surprised you act like you do not know who I am. I'm not upset about this, you see, I know you have been living most of your long, long life in Seattle. So I will forgive you for not knowing or recognizing me. But what I do not appreciate about you, is that you are not being truthful with me Mrs. Lincoln. Do you or do you not hire girls for clients that are into the BSDM scene?"
Elena huffs as she turns to glare towards Susannah.
"Susannah, what the hell have you been telling your goon over here?"
Susannah immediately warns her.
"I warn you Elena, do not make Carlo angry. It can get ugly if you cross him, so take this as a warning Elena."
"Oh good God Susannah! What happened here? I came over just to pay you a friendly visit and all I find is some goon wannabe that gets off by trying to scare women? Is this how you welcome all your visitors or friends?" She is seething by now, as she turns her rant towards Carlo.
"You, you are the worst one. You know nothing about me, and whatever your darling Susi here told you is just bull…"
Before Elena has a chance to finish her rant, she is silence by a hard slap across her face that stuns and shocks her. The impact of the slap is so hard that she finds herself laying on her side on the armrest.
She is too stunned to move, so stunned that she did not realize that she had peed herself right after the slap. Elena had been slapped before during past sexual encounters, but nothing had prepared her for an outright assault from a man.
"Fuck Carlo, you didn't have to do that! What the hell are you doing?" Susannah tries to grab a hold of Carlo's arm, as if trying to prevent him from hitting Elena again.
"I warned you Susi, I told you not to meet with this nasty old hag!"
"Carlo, please honey, please just calm down. We don't need to deal with her anymore, just send her on her way. I promise you, she will never tell a soul what just happened here. No one will even listen to her, no one, not even Christian…"
"So, we finally get the cat out of the bag." Carlo suddenly seems calm as he closes his eyes. He turns back to take a seat again as Elena begins to sob while rubbing her very red cheek.
"Carlo, you know she is the one who came looking for me. You know you are my one and only now, I don't want or need anyone else but you." She turns to look at a very stunned Elena who is still recovering from the blow.
"She is here because she wants me to contact someone from my past. She is the one trying to drag the past, not me." She calmly walks towards Carlo who is not showing any type of emotion. He grabs Susannah by the hand and pulls her towards his lap. He kisses her hand and turns to look at Elena, who is still in a state of shock and sobbing.
"Mrs. Lincoln, there is a rumor going around that you paid a visit to one of Susi's friends just a couple of days ago, Leila I believe, is that correct?"
Elena does not answer; she just wipes her tears and tries her best to straighten up.
"Why are you looking for your previous subs? It's very clear to me that they do not keep in touch with you and they don't seem to want to talk to you anyways."
Susannah notices Elena's distress and for the first time since knowing her, she feels pity for the woman who once hired her as a sub to service her list of clients, including one by the name of Christian Grey.
"Carlo, just let her go, I think she got the point, and I promise you that she will never try to contact me again. Just let her go, we can even forget that she even came here at all."
Carlo turns to look as Elena with a smirk while caressing Susannah's cheek.
"No, not yet my Susi, I'm just getting started."
"Why not Carlo, you can see that she is just an aging, frustrated woman that is just trying to relive her past." Susannah turns to look at Elena who by now has regained some composure.
"Mrs. Lincoln, I did a little digging of my own, and found some interesting information about you. Word on the street is that you like your men very, very young. My guess is that you support them financially in order to keep them interested and quiet." He leans forward as if to whisper.
"I also hear that you like it very rough, like I do, only I do not fuck underage girls, but you like to fuck very young studs." His laughter makes Carlo lean back on the sofa all the while Elena fumes internally.
"Ah, tell me Mrs. Lincoln, what ever happened with that rich son of a bitch what you were in business with? Did he dump you and your beauty salons? I heard that you only have one left, and you're not the matron of society you hoped you would be. Tell me Mrs. Lincoln, whatever happened with you and that billionaire friend of yours? Grey, yes, I heard of him, Christian Grey. I know he is still around, and, well, this is surprising. How come he is not in business with you anymore? Did he dump you and your business after he got married to that beautiful brunette?"
As Carlo chuckled at her expense, Elena decided that she had enough; she would lick her wounds and leave with whatever dignity she had left.
"Mr. Rivera, I will not take up more of your time, and I will not waste mine. It is very obvious that I am not welcomed here, and I am not willing to put up with more of your abuse and insults either."
Before Elena can make her move, Carlo gets up like a lightning bolt and grabs Elena by the arm, hard, very hard.
"My dear Mrs. Lincoln, you will leave when I say so. You came here looking for something, something that I want to know what it is. You came here looking for Susannah, and you will tell me exactly what you had planned to do with her." He pushes Elena down hard as both women gasp.
Carlo glares above Elena who is rubbing her arm, while Susannah just stares down, knowing that her past with Christian and Elena is about to be revealed.
"Tell me you piece of trash, is Christian Grey the reason you came here looking for my Susi?"
"Carlo, please, just let her leave. She means nothing to me or you. My future is with you baby, her and Christian Grey are nothing to me."
"Susi, you don't want to make me mad today, do you baby?"
"No Carlo, but…"
"Then keep quiet and don't talk anymore!"
Susannah's respond is to keep quiet and look down again.
"Why the fuck do you need Susi for? Please tell me you were not thinking of reuniting her with your old clients, were you Mrs. Lincoln?"
"No, no, of course not Carlo." Elena does not look Carlo in the eye.
"Was my Susi ever a sub for this Christian Grey?"
"I…I…yes, she was, but only for a short period of time."
"I see, well then, that explains a lot, hum."
"Carlo, I answered your question, can I go now?"
"No, not yet my Mrs. Lincoln. You will leave when I'm ready to let you go."
"Please Mr. Rivera, I had a long trip and I am expected to return to my hotel soon, my companion is expecting me."
"Now Mrs. Lincoln, I know for a fact that you traveled here alone. I warn you, I do not like being lied to. Choose your words very carefully woman."
Carlo gets up to sit right next to Elena, making her and Susannah more nervous.
"You said that my Susi was a sub for this rich Christian son of a bitch, and because of that you came here looking for her, for what reason?"
Elena's sigh sounded more like a sob.
"Yes, yes, I came here because I just need for Susannah to try to get in touch with him on my behalf. He will not contact me at all, I tried and failed to do so. It seems that he gave up his previous lifestyle and his past subs since he got married to that gold digging tramp. I just need for Susannah to help me get in touch with him again. I'm the one who needs to contact him, not her, I just need her help."
"And what exactly do you think would have happen if you had somehow managed to get my Susi to meet up with this rich fuck? Do you actually think that she would meet him and try to seduce him or, even worse, fuck him so that he would agree to meet with you after canning or flogging her ass?"
Suddenly Elena's true nature comes out.
"Well, yes, if she was willing…"
Elena is silenced by another hard slap across her face again. This time she yells in pain as Carlo grabs her by her hair, only to end up with a fistful of loose, long blond hair extensions.
"HELP, SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME!" She cries out in fear and pain.
"NO ONE …WILL COME TO… HELP YOU HERE YOU… YOU WORTHLESS PIECE OF SHIT!"
"PLEASE CARLO… PLEASE STOP!" Susannah's plea falls flat.
Another hard slap lands on Elena's face as Carlo gets a good hold of her remaining hair extensions.
"YOU LISTEN TO ME OLD BITCH, YOU ARE LUCKY THAT I WILL LET YOU LEAVE HERE WITH YOUR ARMS AND LEGS STILL ATTACHED TO YOUR PLASTIC, SILICONE RIDDLED BODY! AND IF YOU EVER, EVER, EVEN THINK OF TRYING TO CONTACT OR SEE MY SUSI AGAIN…I WILL PERSONALLY BURY YOU ALIVE IN A TWELVE FOOT DEEP GRAVE!"
"AH… PLEASE, PLEASE, I PROMISE YOU… SUSI WILL NEVER SEE ME AGAIN! PLEASE… I BEG YOU… LET ME GO!"
Carlo lets go her Elena's hair but grabs her by her upper arms very tightly forcing her up from the chair. He then proceeds to drag her towards the foyer where his men are waiting at the entrance with Elena's purse and coat.
By now Elena is crying and sobbing and begging Carlo not to hurt her anymore. All the while Susannah remains seated, almost frozen, looking directly at Elena with a tear streaming down her cheek.
"RICCO, GET THIS PIECE OF OLD DOG SHIT OUT OF HERE. TAKE HER OUT THE BACK WAY AND MAKE SURE NOBODY SEES HER. I MEAN NOBODY SEES HER!"
"Yes boss, nobody will see her leave." Ricco throws Elena's coat at her as if she was a coat rack, while the other man holds her purse as she tries to fix up her hair and hold her coat at the same time.
Carlo turns toward Susannah who remains seated on the same spot. She can hear him coming but does dare to look up, but she can feel him as he sits next to her.
"Susi, my dear, sweet honey, you have been a very bad girl. You know, your friend made your daddy very upset. I am very upset honey, and you know what happens when you make me upset. Daddy needs to punish you, you need to be punished now Susi baby."
"Carlo… I mean daddy, please…It was not my fault." She turns to Carlo but avoids eye contact.
"No, not your fault today, but you upset me because you fucked that rich fuck from Seattle. Tell me Susi, if I were not here today, would you have agreed to meet with that rich fuck? Would you have done what that bitch asked you to do and try to seduce him then?"
Carlo turns her face towards him by gently touching her chin.
"No, never Carlo, I would have never agreed to help her at all. You know I am yours, and only yours. You are my daddy, my master, my everything. There is no other man for me Carlo."
Carlo kisses her on her forehead before gently embracing her in his arms.
"I believe you baby, but still, daddy is not happy that you fucked that rich mother fucker before. Daddy needs to punish you. What do you say baby?"
Susannah looks down as she lets her submissive side take over.
"Yes master, Susi needs to be punished."
…..
….
Elena can barely walk along the back alley of the ritzy apartment building as she struggles to put her coat on while trying to fix her thinner hair.
Things did not turn out the way she had expected, far from it. Her planned visit to Susannah took a turn for the worst. She had been beaten and humiliated by a man she had never met before. Her mind was in a fog as she tried to gather her wits and strength since she was still in shock. How could things have turned out so badly after all her planning and research? Greta, her salon assistant, said nothing about this Carlo Rivera thug. All she knew about Susannah was that she still lived the lifestyle and had a steady Dom.
As she approached her rental vehicle, she gets in right before letting out a loud cry. Her face ached but she no longer felt the severe pain of the hits she took. What she felt now was anger and desperation. After a while of crying and sobbing, she realized that not all was lost, as she remembered that she still had an ally waiting for her back in Seattle. This battle was lost, but not the war, not yet.
She pulls out her cell phone only to find out that it had been broken beyond repair. Apparently one of the two goons she had encountered earlier had decided to leave her a reminder of her visit. She yelled out profanities that could be heard around the block.
Yes, her profanities were heard alright.
….
…
…..
"Mr. Grey, David and Stewart are finalizing the recordings they got tonight. They are adjusting the sound so that you can get more clarity out of all the recordings. You will be getting them very soon."
Christian lets out a sigh of relief, since he had been holed up at the Paramount Hotel in Philadelphia waiting for the latest news regarding Elena's visit and he was getting too antsy at this point.
"Phelps, just make sure they get to me tonight so that I can listen to everything what was recorded. I need to get home by tomorrow mid-afternoon."
"Mr. Grey, you will get all the information from Mrs. Lincoln's visit tonight, guaranteed. David and Stewart are the best men to do this job, and they have never let you down Sir."
"I know that Phelps. Tell me, have you seen some of the pictures they took today?"
"Yes Sir, I have, and you will not believe who Miss Reynolds is apparently involved with."
"Okay, I'll bite, and not that I care, but who is she involved with?"
"Well, does the name Carlo Rivera ring a bell?"
…..
"Sir?"
"Are shitting me Phelps?"
A chuckle could be head on the other end.
"No Sir, I would not shit you. Seems that the fancy apartment Miss Reynolds lives in is under Rivera's name, and Steward took several pictures of him arriving at the apartment along with Miss Reynolds just today."
"Holy Shit!"
"Sir?"
"Are we talking about Philadelphia's numero uno drug lord?"
"I would say the entire east coast numero uno drug lord Sir."
"Shit!"
"I agree, and I doubt Mrs. Lincoln knew about this character, because if she did, she would have never gone to Miss Reynolds apartment."
"What do you mean Phelps?"
"Well, I've seen some of the pictures that Stewart took of Mrs. Lincoln as she left the apartment. It looked like she was roughed up pretty badly."
….
"Sir, are you still there?"
"Yes, I'm still here. Did Mrs. Lincoln make it to her hotel at least?"
"Yes sir, she did. She did look pretty shaken, her face was swollen, her hair a mess."
"Jesus, I wonder if that will stop her."
"What do you mean Sir?"
"Never mind Phelps, got to let you go, I've got Taylor on call."
Christian drops the line to answer Taylor's call.
"What do you have Taylor?"
Jason Taylor gets staight to the point.
"Sir, my men discovered very important information regarding Linc and that Robert kid. I think we may have found the place where he is being kept or held at."
"About fucking time Taylor."
"It took a lot of work and, well, I had to call in for some favors."
"Do I want to know what those favors were Taylor?"
"If I tell you Christian, I will have to shoot you."
Christian can almost hear his most trusted man chuckle at the other end of the call.
"Okay Taylor, stop shitting with me. Tell me, what did you find out?"
"Well for starters, we got a reliable lead regarding the place where I think this Robert kid is at. It seems that Linc has been using prepaid cell phones to avoid detection. But what he doesn't know is that we can hear his conversations from a block away. He called this Robert kid a few times during the last few days and my men followed him early this morning. It appears that he leased a rundown two room house in lower Jessler Terrace. He was there this morning and our guys taped a conversation between two males, and one sounded younger, the older one sounded like Linc."
"Shit, that means we can be there as early as tomorrow Taylor!"
"Hell yes, I can be there tonight if you give me the go ahead Sir."
"No, not tonight Taylor, we discussed before. We have to do this according to plan."
"There is more you need to know Sir. I did an extensive search on this Robert Johannson kid, and came up with nothing that matched him. So I called in one of my 'favors' and got what I think is a hit."
"Well, are you going to tell me now or wait until I'm dead and buried?"
"We did a nationwide search by age, race, area and description data, and what I came up with most likely will be Mrs. Lincoln's downfall."
"Jesus Taylor, just spit it out!"
"Fine, the kid's real name is Robert Johannson Davis, he was born in Los Alamos, New Mexico. He has been in and out of juvenile detention for the last four years. His crimes have been mostly shoplifting, a handful of car thefts and disorderly conduct."
"Okay, okay, so you think you found the kid, and he's not exactly an angel. Still, we need to find him and find out if what Isaac told us is true, then we can get this kid some help and maybe, just maybe, he will be willing to testify against Elena for aggravated assault."
"Christian, there is more about this kid."
"Well, what is it then?"
"According to the information I got, Robert just turned sixteen a week ago. If what Isaac told you and Anastasia is correct, he was only fifteen when Elena had his way with him."
There is silence on the other end of the line.
"Sir, is everything okay?"
Taylor waits a few more seconds for Christian to answer.
"No, no Taylor, things are not alright. As soon as I get the information from David and Stewart, I'm boarding the jet out tonight. I'll call Ana and you know what to do."
"Yes Sir, consider it done."
Christian ends his call with Taylor and immediately dials the next number on his cell phone.
"Christian, my love, how are things going over there? How soon are you coming back?"
"Ana, I missed you so much. I'm coming home tonight. Will you wait up for me?"
….
…
….
I know, I know, poor Elena got the wind knocked out of her. I do not condone violence of any kind, especially against women, but then again, this if just Fan fiction and I truly hate that Elena bitch troll. I guess I was feeling rather bitchy when I wrote this chapter and decided to take it out on Elena. Waahaa!
I promise to update this story within two or three weeks from now, since I plan to post new chapters for Teddy's Moments and a Birthday to Remember within the next week or so.
Sorry that I kept you waiting and thank you so very much for your positive thoughts and encouraging words.
Many hugs to all my readers out there, and even I do not respond to all of your PM's or reviews, I promise that I read all of them.
Astrid