Opening Up Again (Round 14, Spring 2012)

Prom, Spring 2012: Audrey Sutton is 22, Anna Sutton and Madison Craig are 16, Zane and Belinda Smith are 29

This one’s long, but I didn’t want to split it up because both parts are prom night, just different kinds of prom nights.

“What was your prom like?” Sinjin Courderc asks.

“You know, I don’t really remember,” Audrey Sutton says. “I think I might have been drunk that night.”

“I didn’t even make it to prom,” Sinjin says. “I was drunk too.”

“If Anna gets drunk on prom night, I’ll kill her,” Audrey says. “I hope she has the nice, happy prom that I didn’t. I would do it all differently if I could go back. Sober, dancing the whole night until my feet hurt.”

Boys Versus Girls (Round 14, Spring 2012)

Spring 2012: Zane and Belinda Smith are 29, Lexi and Sammy Smith are 7 (Carol Smith is 26, Adam and Ethan Smith are 1)

“Boys are better than girls,” Sammy Smith announces to his sister.

“Who says?” Lexi asks.

“Everybody says. Boys grow up to be big and strong and we can have any job we want. I’m going to be president of the universe.”

A Question (Round 14, Spring 2012)

Mini-update, Spring 2012: Anna Sutton is 16

Anna Sutton is pulling weeds in the front yard when a voice behind her says, “Hi, Anna.”

Unfamiliar (Round 14, Spring 2012)

Spring 2012: Nathan and Terri Gates are 22, Phoebe Gates is 9 months (Carrie Gates is 54)

Nathan lets out a low growl as he works on the kitchen faucet. Every sink in the house had decided to spring a leak at the same time. He’s already fixed the two bathroom sinks as best he can, and now he is trying to get the kitchen sink to stop dripping so he won’t be late for work.

Learning to fly (Round 14, Spring 2012)

Mini-Update, Spring 2012: Audrey Sutton is 22

Soundtrack: “Learning to Fly” – Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers

“Three times?” Audrey Sutton asks. “How have you been here three times?”

“Sometimes the lesson doesn’t stick the first time,” Sinjin Courderc tells her. “Or the second time either.”

“Honestly, if I had to come back to this place even a second time, I’d just go ahead and put myself out of my misery,” Audrey says. “This is like the saddest place ever.”

Birth Announcement (Round 14, Winter 2011/2012)

This pregnancy has been much harder than her first. Chelsea Gates had morning sickness all through her first trimester and now she has constant aches and pains. She can’t get comfortable in any position, sitting, standing, or lying down.

Young Hearts Run Free (Round 14, Winter 2011/2012)

Winter 2011/2012: Ian and Seth Lloyd are 22 (Emma Sutton, Deborah Francis, Nancy Crawford, and Xander Gates are 22; Sarah Lloyd is 53)

“What is that?” Ian Lloyd asks one morning.

“Soup?” Seth says, looking at his bowl.

“No, that.” Ian points to something on the table.

The Sweet Life (Round 14, Winter 2011/2012)

Winter 2011/2012: Suzie and Charlie Tang are 53, Madison Craig is 16, George Tang is 14 (Anna Sutton is 16)

Suzie Craig Tang’s newest book, Robotic Desire, has just been released and already has fans raving. It’s been hailed in the reviews as “a steamy sci-fi romance that’s sure to push all the right buttons.” Fans line up at her release day booksigning at the Book Nook in Pine Hollow. And who knew Nathan Gates was one of her biggest fans?

Quickly

Photobucket, it was really not necessary for you to send me five copies of the exact same email about your new products.

Sorry for the delay in the next update. I’m on a deadline right now and my husband’s work schedule has changed, which means I don’t have as much uninterrupted time as I did before. Hopefully I’ll get the next post up before the end of the day tomorrow!

Additional note

I was in a rush when writing yesterday’s post, so I forgot to add this note about how I’m handling patients at Oaktowne Place. All patients are required to learn lifelong happiness and anger management before they can be released. It’s a way that I give more focus on the “treatment” part of the treatment center rather than it just being a place that they live in for a little while, talk and play games, and then go home.