Her journey to this moment in time was long and difficult. At 51 years of age, she refused to be stuck looking back on a mistake of a first marriage, ...nd 27 years of a secure but passionless relationship with her current husband. She was committed to only looking forward. Catholic guilt kept her trapped in a marriage that diminished her self esteem and left her feeling like she was a “problem wife.” Hurricane Katrina, on the other hand, fundamentally changed her view on herself, her marriage. Rolas stepped forward. "Wanderer, fellow Cohorts in other Manors are concerned. Some have taken it upon themselves to take readings of their Portals, and those are being repeatedly powered as well. They, too, wonder why the Portals have not been formally shut down as the Holy Order indicated they would be."Hurus rushed forward. "The Holy Order is not required to be on a timetable!"Rolas turned to him. "Nevertheless, it has been nearly a season now. That is long enough to glean whatever. .Flashback – Masha – a terrible night and child careIt was morning and I was hurting. I couldn't sleep last night because I was too busy crying and berating myself for my foolish display of emotion when my Jack called. I had totally wasted the whole call and even forgot to tell him how much I loved him. Soon Louise will bring Linda to the house and I wasn't ready for them today. My only hope was knowing Linda's sleep schedule since I could take a nap this morning while she took her nap. I drank. She usually does not wear a bikini, but thinking she would be alone, today she has on one that would allow her to get plenty of sun. She can fell them staring at her, but all three of them have dark glasses on and no eyes can be seen. She thinks the men are both good looking and they ask if they can take a break and chat with her. She reluctantly says yes. After a while, she enjoys their company and they are both interesting guys. One of them suggests they take a dip in the ocean to cool off,.