Free Between Land and Sea by Joanne Guidoccio Page B

to burn out.”
    Barbara bit her lip firmly.
    Graham shook his finger. “It doesn’t help to hold it in like that. You don’t always have to do everything so perfectly, you know. And don’t be so afraid to show some anger. I can take it.”
    Barbara laughed. He really was a nice man to have around, even if it was only for a short while. “So, how was your buying trip? Did you pick up any interesting pieces?” She enjoyed visiting the shop and examining the new art that came in weekly.
    “I purchased some pottery and one landscape. I was hoping to procure some pieces by an up-and-coming sculptor, but he had a family emergency and had to cancel his show. He has another show in Montreal this coming weekend. It’ll be a bit tight, but I’ll drop by after I visit my father.”
    “Does your father live in Montreal?”
    “No, he lives in the States.” His face darkened. “I don’t see him too often, but once a year, my step-mother plans a birthday party for him. It’s a command performance for me and my half sisters.” He got up and reached for his jacket. “I’m leaving early tomorrow morning and won’t be back until Sunday.”
    Barbara longed to comfort him, but she sensed his change of mood and distance.
    “I’ve got an early start tomorrow morning, and it looks like you’ve got a full day as well. Take care, Bella, and don’t work too hard. I’ll give you a call Sunday night.”

Chapter 13
    In her new role as counselor, Barbara was busy every minute of the working day. In addition to meeting with clients, she also had to deal with Carolyn’s backlog of incomplete reports and other paperwork. Carolyn had not kept up with the demands of her job for over a month. No one, not even Lois, knew the full state of affairs. Barbara decided to be discreet and quickly bring everything up to speed. She updated all of Carolyn’s files and tied up loose ends with previous clients. She also attended two workshops facilitated by the other counselors. She signed up to lead her first workshop on the following Wednesday.
    She devoted the evenings to her book. To her surprise, it took four full evenings to make all of the corrections. The speed burst button helped with actual writing, but not with editing.
    Saturday morning, she telephoned Gillian. The phone rang at least ten times. Finally, a groggy voice answered, “Hello there, early bird.”
    “Hi, Gillian. It’s me. Barbara. Isabella from the Mediterranean kingdom.”
    “You’ve got to stop doing that, Barbara. One of these days a human will hear you.”
    “I forgot. It’s just that you sounded half asleep. I wanted to make sure you knew who I was.”
    “I’ve got call display, Barbara.” A loud yawn followed. “How are you doing?”
    “Everything is great. I’ve got a counseling job, and I finished the book.”
    “How’s your love life with Gerald?”
    “It’s Graham. And we’re fine. I told you that relationship is just for now. It’s not a permanent thing. We’re just good friends.”
    “But when will you be friends with benefits?”
    “Oh, that already happened.”
    “How was it?”
    She couldn’t believe Gillian was asking her about the sex.
    “You’re not in the kingdom anymore. It’s okay to talk about sex. Humans do it all the time.” Gillian added, “That’s all some of them talk about.”
    “I know. It’s just that I’m not comfortable about it yet. It was only one time.”
    “And you haven’t had it since? What’s wrong with him?”
    “He had to go on a couple of buying trips for his art store. He’ll be back tomorrow.”
    “Hmm. Does he go on these trips very often?”
    Barbara thought about Graham’s schedule. It seemed he was always coming or going from a buying trip or workshop. But she really didn’t want him around twenty-four-seven. She would never have been able to write her book if Graham was more available. “Now that you mention it, he is away a lot. He visits artists throughout the province, and he