Meet Cate by Fiona Barnes Page A

They'd offer packaging of the chocolate she'd prepare, with the recipe leaked in time for Valentines Day the following year. The two would figure out a way to bundle all of it to their mutual interests: The Show, A Cook's Guide To Halloween. No. A Mother's Guide ? A Family Guide, Cate scrawled and crossed out. Thinking, Cate doodled her name repeatedly.
    And there, on her page, in messy, loopy handwriting, sat her title: Cate's Guide to Halloween.
    Despite herself, she was starting to feel better. Looking in the direction of Tom's house, she uttered a short prayer for a safe ending and the knowledge, wisdom and courage to know what to do when the right time came.

Chapter Forty One
    Cate picked up her cell phone, scrolling through her contacts. Melissa answered on the second ring.
    "Hi."
    "Mel, I've got a week's worth of Halloween shows." Cate wasted no time, as excited as a small child as each hour crept closer to Christmas morning.
    There was a sigh.
    "Melissa?"
    "Cate," Melissa answered, after a beat. "It's not like you to wait until the last minute."
    "It just came to me. There's time."
    "We're thinking about Christmas now."
    "Halloween is only a few weeks away. We always do them live. Do you want to hear my ideas or not?"
    Melissa took a silent breath and shot for a calm tone, "Yes. Of course. But let's talk about a personal assistant again. It's more than time."
    "I would need a couple."
    "It's not about organization, or time management," Melissa spoke kindly. "You're a genius at both, I know. It's more on a level with an incredible amount of work. Let's talk about farming some out."
    "Is it too much?"
    "No," Melissa thought aloud. "Never too much work. It's a sign of you growing. You'd− we'd− be able to do so much more if our energy was on what we each do best. Hire someone to−"
    "I'll think about it," Cate interrupted.
    "Why are you afraid?" Melissa asked quietly.
    There was silence.
    "Is this about Tom?" Melissa waited patiently, knowing now that Cate was hurting.
    "Not hiring a PA?" Cate laughed hollowly. "No, that's not about Tom."
    "Everything else is, though," Melissa surmised.
    "I−" Cate started to tell her friend everything. The words got stuck as they formed in her throat. Trust was a big part of PTSD. There wasn't always a lot of understanding. People often felt, as much as they loved the person, as much kindness and empathy as they themselves had, that it wasn't a real disorder. There was a tendency to offer solutions that wouldn't always work; to suggest leaving when that wasn't always right (it left the diagnosed person struggling alone); and to sigh helplessly, underlining the already worthless feelings someone might associate with being a caregiver to PTSD. "I'll think about it, okay?"
    Melissa often offered more sympathy, more caring than Cate could always appreciate. "Tell me about your Halloween ideas then."
    Cate didn't hesitate. Melissa listened to her friend talk, Cate's voice slowly returning to typical, and began to understand a little bit more about what the woman needed.

Chapter Forty Two
    Later, Melissa sat on her porch. She stared out over the gently rolling hills of the golf course to the view of the ocean she loved so much. The waves were endless. The blue of the water seemed to match its depth somehow.
    Whenever Melissa rounded the bend on Putnam Avenue, that first full view of the ocean always took her breath away. Something about how patient it was, how vast, how beautiful. It was sharp and full, enduring and blue. Her home−it was always her home.
    The smooth cement floor of the porch was warm from the sun still, even this late in fall. Melissa kicked her feet out of the worn flip-flops she'd slid on at her door, stretching her long, thin legs. Settling back, she tossed her bare feet up on the porch railing, crossing them at the ankles, where the setting sun hit them full blast. Music from the window behind her whispered across the air, melodious and soft. The glass of wine