Around the middle of May, it suddenly struck Billy that he and Shen had been living in a circus-like world. He had been sharing her with a herd of kids and his friends ever since that first night at Lake Palestine. He wanted alone time with his wife for more than eight hours in their bedroom. The opportunity arose when a real estate broker contacted him about a 20,000-acre … [Read more...] about The Best Thing You Ever Met – Part 12
Break With The Usual
JUST IN: A Sneak Peak Of Dallas CASA’s 25th Annual Parade of Playhouses At NorthPark
Things are looking up. In addition to the outdoor temperatures rising, Dallas CASA’s 25th Annual Parade of Playhouses is officially marching in place starting Friday in air conditioning. In a break from the usual display of all the mini-mansions at NorthPark Center, this year three have hunkered down at the enclosed mall from the Macy’s Court to the NorthCourt. Seven others are … [Read more...] about JUST IN: A Sneak Peak Of Dallas CASA’s 25th Annual Parade of Playhouses At NorthPark
The Best Thing You Ever Met – Part 11
What had been the tennis court was now a ballroom with strings of fairy lights and chandeliers hovering above. At the far end of the court was a stage for musicians, a lot more than the usual Billy and The Boys operation. Floating on one side of the stage was a 72" helium filled white balloon with the word "Shen" on it. Across the way was another similar balloon, but it read … [Read more...] about The Best Thing You Ever Met – Part 11
The Best Thing You Ever Met – Part 10
Pappy’s Place went into overdrive preparing for Billy’s supposed “history-making” event. Unbeknownst to Shen, he had been working on the arrangements for weeks. “Good thing she said, ‘Yes,’” Bertie told Hannah. Like Eisenhower orchestrating D-Day, Billy had already locked everything down. Nothing fancy. Just a simple little gathering with a ceremony, a dinner and a little … [Read more...] about The Best Thing You Ever Met – Part 10
The Best Thing You Ever Met – Part 9
Billy’s return had come just in time. It seemed that he was turning 35 the following Saturday. When Hannah sprung the news about a birthday celebration, Shen realized the talk of birthdays had never come up. But she had no time to think about it, thanks to Hannah and Bertie drafting her into the preparations. It wasn’t going to be a big event, because they hadn’t known if Billy … [Read more...] about The Best Thing You Ever Met – Part 9
The Best Thing You Ever Met – Part 8
Billy had been gone for days and Shen hadn’t heard from him. Even when Hannah said that sometimes there were areas in the field where there was no phone service, it didn’t help. Luckily, the bustle of the day’s activities helped distract Shen, as did her talks with her mother via Skype, even on days when her mother wasn’t quite sure who Shen was. When Shen told the care … [Read more...] about The Best Thing You Ever Met – Part 8
The Best Thing You Ever Met – Part 7
Dinner was catch-up time for all the kids and adults. House rules were that no television or cellphones were allowed. It was time to talk about what had happened during the day. While Billy and Ham tried to make the best of the day’s news and developments, the conversation always brightened up when hearing about the kids and their activities. For Billy the highlight was just … [Read more...] about The Best Thing You Ever Met – Part 7
The Best Thing You Ever Met – Part 6
As the medications wore off and the word of the virus was spreading, the household took on a different tone for the next couple of weeks. Ham wasn’t around much. He was at the hospital and giving news interviews about the pandemic. Billy was in his office doing videoconferencing with other oilmen trying to salvage oil prices that were reminding some of the Great Depression. … [Read more...] about The Best Thing You Ever Met – Part 6
The Best Thing You Ever Met – Part 5
Over breakfast Billy told Shen, Hannah and Ham that the Dallas County officials were locking down the area the next day because of the coronavirus. Shen shook her head and almost stood up. She needed to get home to take care of her mother. For the first time since Shen had known him, Billy wasn’t smiling. “Care facilities aren’t open anymore,” he said. “No one goes out and … [Read more...] about The Best Thing You Ever Met – Part 5
The Best Thing You Ever Met – Part 4
Sunday morning, Shen woke to the sound of children laughing outside. “Good morning, sleepy head. Time to rise and shine.” It was Hannah. As Shen slowly got her bearings, Hannah suggested she might want to get out of bed and go for a walk. “I had the strangest dream of someone in my room, and then this morning I could have sworn I heard children…” Hannah didn’t let her … [Read more...] about The Best Thing You Ever Met – Part 4
The Best Thing You Ever Met – Part 3
The next morning Shen woke to a wet tongue licking her face. The surroundings weren’t familiar. It certainly wasn’t the cabin or even her East Dallas apartment. The walls were museum-finished with huge windows overlooking what looked like a resort. Her head was spinning and her shoulders ached. She looked at the owner of the tongue. It was a black-and-white dog. A tall … [Read more...] about The Best Thing You Ever Met – Part 3