Page 29 (1/2)

"Thank Ellen She’s the one with the list"

"Her twenty wishes"

"Yes She wrote down that she wanted to meet her father"

"And she has" Tim picked up his coffee "This can’t be easy for you," he said "I promise I’ll never abuse your trust or break your rules"

"I believe you," she told him "Besides, you’re the one who rely

Anne Marie ate some of her soup and then answered questions about her history with Ellen She wasn’t sure why, but she told him about Robert and how she happened toher father, Anne Marie’s connection with her daughter had started with her own list of twenty wishes

"Ellen quiet?" Tiradually come out of her shell"

"Tellyou can remember"

Anne Marie did, and before she knew it, al up a storhed "No, make that a hurricane"

"I’ve enjoyed every word," he said contentedly His interest was genuine and his love for the daughter he’d never known had touched her heart

"Do you want to go for a walk?" he asked

Like her, he seeency where Dad and I work"

She nodded, curious about everything concerning her daughter’s father

Tim paid for their meals and they strolled down the street When they caency, he pointed to the naet the opportunity to meet one day," he said casually Then, as if he feared he’d said soree, of course"

"Eventually," she said, willing to consider it

"They never lost faith in h They didn’t approve of the choices I wasand yet, when I hit bottom, my father was there for ed for me to enter rehab" He hadn’t told her much about what he referred to as his "wasted years"

"At the ti for myself I needed help and like I said, my parents were there"

"They sound like wonderful people"

"They are I’m very fortunate A lot of addicts and alcoholics don’t have the family support I do It’s made all the difference to ht years?"

"By the grace of God, nearly nine For me, it’s one day at a tis at the rehab center every Thursday night It’s encouraging for people going through rehab to see soram and stayed clean all these years"

They wandered back to where Anne Marie had parked her car "Thank you for a good evening," she said It had been, in more ways than he probably realized

Tim opened her car door "You’re welco one hand in a s home, Anne Marie felt reassured, free of the worry and fear she’d experienced only a few hours ago She hadn’t been prepared to like Tim Carlsen, but she did

She actually liked hi a child to knit is one of the greatest joys a knitter can experience

--Karen Thalacker, author of Knitting with Gigi and Gigi Knits…and Purls gigiknitscom Lydia Goetz

I’d taken a rare Saturday off and wouldn’t you know it, the day was gloomy and overcast Brad and I had told the kids that if the weather was nice, we’d rent bikes so they could ride around Green Lake Casey’s eyes got big elike that Brad and I generally walked; the three ood exercise and we enjoyed the scenery with its aura of peace and serenity When oke to cloudy skies, everyone was disappointed, especially Cody Casey didn’t sayforward to the adventure