around and shoved her out the door. “And I can hardly believe
it’s real either.” They’d created something so good. Not
perfect, but amazing and wonderful without anything needing
to be perfect. Perfection and control, as it turned out, were
highly overrated.
As Claire had learned how to love and her walls crumbled,
her mistrust in the world at large dissipated. She was able to
learn how to see life as something that wasn’t full of threats
and hidden dangers and hurts to be nursed.
“It’s a good thing Jean’s out there with the kids or we’d be
screwed.”
After giving Jean cooking lessons, and after teaching Haley,
Claire discovered a new passion. It wasn’t just for cooking. It
was for teaching. Haley had the idea that she should open a
culinary school. With the help of fellow chefs, Claire had
made it a reality. The grand opening was set for noon, and they
were going to arrive with just minutes to spare. It was hard to
be on time with a two-year-old and a one-year-old to look
after.
Haley and Claire both decided together, after they were
married, that they wanted to adopt. They’d been incredibly
lucky enough to work with a great agency and they’d ended up
adopting two beautiful girls. Their family felt complete, and
with two kids in diapers, opening a new business, running
Claire’s family business, and trying to keep up with everything
else, their lives were chaos, but the good kind of chaos. The
kind that fills your heart up with so much love it’s almost
impossible to breathe through it.
The best part? Haley had agreed to Claire’s suggestion to
include a stunning grand piano as the star attraction of the