Francis helped Mark fasten his seat belt and the noise of the engines filled their chests with the tremendous power needed to get them off of the ground. Mark started crying softly and asked, "Mom, did I do something wrong and that's why dad left?"

  "No sweetheart, it is not your fault that your dad left. I don't understand why he left, but one day we probably will," she said as she wrapped her arms around him the best she could from the airplane seat. Mark snuggled against her and seemed comforted, at least for now.

  As the plane roared into the sky, Francis remembered that day; that awful day. Simon, Francis' husband, often went out of town for conferences and to study up on the latest developments in the medical field. So, it was nothing unusual when he gave her a kiss on the cheek and said he wouldn't be home that evening, but would be out of town for a few days.

  As those thoughts poured in, Francis felt a now- familiar churning in her belly and a helpless, breathless out of control, powerlessness as a full blown anxiety attack took her over. She excused herself to go to the restroom and, after locking the door, splashed the non-potable water on her face repeatedly and took 800 milligrams of ibuprofen, trying not to think of all of the challenges ahead of her. She thought about purple irises and their yellow caterpillar tongues and she thought of the softness of a beautiful gray Persian cat named Mr. Magoo, who had been her childhood companion, and of her dad's big bear-hug. She didn't allow herself to miss her dad and she slowly started feeling better. Francis silently thanked Maria for her song 'My Favorite Things,' which had helped bring her through more than one of these difficult times. Francis went back to her seat and was pleased both kids were sleeping and she had won this all-encompassing mini-battle.

  Francis was having anxiety attacks all too frequently and they appeared out of nowhere. She still hadn't found what was triggering them. She was trying really hard not to think about what had taken place that day, but knew she was just putting it off and would one day have to face it and deal with it.

  Mark anxiously brought her back out of dreamland, "Mom the plane is making a different noise! Are we ok?"

  "Sweetheart, that roar of the engine means we are about to land. It is just fine," Francis took Julie and Mark by the hands and reminded them that the take off and the landing were the most dangerous part of flying and they prayed for a safe landing.

  Walking into the airport lobby, they all looked around at their new surroundings and were surprised at the small size of this airport. "Look Mom," Mark shrieked! "That sign has our names on it! What's going on?"

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  Ray White, their new landlord, stood holding up a sign that read "Welcome Francis, Julie and Mark." Francis replied, "That man is our new landlord and is going to drive us to our new home!"

  Mr. White, intent on convincing his tenants to stay a long time, took quite a circuitous route on the way home, showing them all of the sights he thought they might be interested in like the fairgrounds, the grocery stores and the movie theatres. Francis tried to be gracious, but her pounding headache finally convinced her to ask Ray to take them straight to the house.

  As they drove up the long driveway, Ray commented, "I wonder whose car that is?" He was looking at a black Jeep Cherokee, sitting beside the house.

  Francis volunteered, "Oh, that is ours. I ordered it to be delivered today so we would have something to drive."

  "What a large house," Julie said! "And it is my favorite shade of blue!"

  Mark said, "We have a really big yard, mom! Whoopee!"

  Mr. White laughed! "This is just a small part of it, Mark. You have a hundred acres with the house. That is so big you can't even see the end of the property from here!"

  Mark said, "I can't wait to explore this place! This house is as big as a castle! Does this porch go all the way around the house? It's cool! We will have a place to play even on rainy days! I can ride my bike around and around and around!"

  Julie said, with a happy sparkle in her eyes, "Mom, I've been wanting a horse of my own for a long time and you said we just didn't have space for one. Now we have enough room for a whole herd of horses. Please may I have a horse?"

  "I can't answer you right this minute, honey. It is a good possibility, but we will talk about this some more after we get moved in," her mom answered.

  Mark had overheard his sister's question and said, "Mom, if Julie gets a horse, then I get a dog, right?"

  Francis said, "No one has a pet yet and if I get one for Julie, I will get you one too."

  Mr. White took them inside the house and started showing them around. "This is a Victorian style house and was built in 1878 by a retired Captain from the cavalry, Captain James Collier. Here on the first floor we have two sitting rooms and the kitchen."

  They went upstairs next and looked at the bedrooms. Francis' head was pounding and she couldn't concentrate, so she managed to convince Mr. White that they had seen enough for now and were going out to get some supper. After he left, Francis found some ibuprofen and she and the kids locked up and left in their new car to explore the new town on their own.