A to Z II - Y is for You/Yours

Holy crow, kids! It's May 30th! Do you know what that means? It means we're up to the letter y in my personal A to Z challenge! Y is for you or yours.

Huh?

Trajectory is for you. It's yours. I wrote it for you. Trajectory is yours.

This is your story.

This is my gift to you.

A story of love.

A story of fear.

A story of adrenaline and action.

A story of identity.

A story of friendship.

A story of solitude.

A story of camaraderie.

A story of betrayal.

A story of selfishness.

A story of selflessness and giving.

A story of personal growth.

A story of death.

A story of life - Joe's life.

Trajectory is for you.

Trajectory is yours.

Character of the week: Byron from Imperfect and Impeccable

He is a man who is as big in spirit as he is in size. There is nothing small about Byron Whetherby.

Byron's story starts out when his father walks out upon learning that his mother is pregnant with him and his twin sister, Alex.

His mother struggles greatly to give them all that she can. She has no formal education, though. Desperate to give her children a good life, Mary does the unthinkable (she becomes a prostitute).

Byron never had a strong man or fatherly figure in his life. He knew life was hard for his mother, and he greatly appreciated her and her sacrifices.

As he and Alex grew, he watched his sister fall into the pit of addiction. Drinking, drugs - Alex's inability to cope only added stress to the family. When Mary accidentally becomes pregnant by a John, Alex plummets even further.

Feeling the weight of the world on his shoulders, Byron stepped up. He took care of Candace. He took care of the house. He even took care of Alex as best he could. Life for Byron was anything but easy. He had tremendous responsibilities that no child should have to shoulder. For as young as he was, he knew there was no one else to do what was needed. Despite lacking a father, he fully understood what it meant to be a man.

In high school, Byron began to work for a contractor. It wasn't glamorous, but it helped to pay their bills. 

Day in and day out, Byron labored. He did grunt work. He labored to take care of Candace. Alex's addictions taxed him greatly. He worked diligently to help his mother and his family. He never complained. He couldn't complain. No one else was going to do it, so he had to. Life didn't give him opportunities to whine. He did what was needed without ever uttering a single complaint. That personality trait stayed with him throughout his life.

By the age of 21, Alex had stayed sober for 3 months. Byron saved enough money to send Alex to school to become a paralegal. There was one condition, though. Alex would have to allow him to check her house at any moment for alcohol, and she was required to call him daily as a check-in. She needed to prove that she took her sobriety seriously. He refused to pay for schooling if she was only going to throw it away. He loved his sister, and he wanted to help her. He knew that part of helping her included some tough love.

Alex agreed. She went to school and had turned her life around tremendously.

Just as she began to close in on graduation, their mother, Mary, was in a horrific car accident.

Once again, Byron felt the weight of the world on his shoulders. If Mary didn't pull through, Alex and Candace would both rely on him completely. Being the strong man he was, Byron gathered his sisters, and their church all around Mary. People helped. People donated. People prayed. It was a long, difficult road, but Mary began to improve.


It was soon clear that Mary needed more help than what any of the kids could give her. Finally in a place to give back to the family, Alex stood up and payed for their mother's care at the facility.

Byron, at this point, owned his own contracting company. He worked just as diligently as he did in high school. He was a successful business owner thanks to his tenacity and persistence.


His life wasn't necessarily easy, but he remained grateful for all that he had.

He still watched over both of his sisters very closely. When Alex began dating a white girl named Carol, Byron was anything but pleased. He worried about Alex's sobriety. He worried about her facing discrimination as a black woman, a lesbian, and now part of an interracial couple.

As time went on, Carol and Byron were able to come to good terms, and she became the newest member of their family.

Speaking of family, at his mother's facility, there was a beautiful young nurse named Erin. Erin was Asian. Her jet black hair and porcelain skin were enchanting. She had a beautiful smile, and an adorable little body. Byron was quite smitten with her. But he didn't think a smart girl like her would have any interest in a grunt like him. He kept his fondness for her a secret for years.

When Mary passed years later, Byron invited Erin to her memorial service. It was unlike anything she had ever experienced before. More importantly, it gave Byron the opportunity to forge a new, different kind of relationship with her.

Byron and Erin were an unusual pair, but their relationship was ideal. While finally opening his heart to Erin, he was also closing his heart off from Carol when he learned that both she and Alex had AIDS, though.

His world came crumbling down upon hearing the bad news. He was hurt, angry, and scared. He and his family had lost so much, and now he was losing his twin. He couldn't deal.

He and Alex had many conversations about Carol, their health, and the situation. After some time, he warily came around.

 Byron was suddenly learning how to balance work, his family, and romance. It was all very new and foreign to him, but he managed to make it all work. So well so that he and Erin eventually married.

Erin brought him the stability and logic he so desperately wanted and needed in his life. She was strong - a rock upon which he could lean. She was gentle. She taught him love, patience, and understanding. With her and his sisters, Byron's family was complete.
When Alex suddenly dies, Byron loses it. Not even Erin or Candace to bring him any kind of solace. His anger and pain were indescribable. As things play out, his perspective changes. Carol is no longer the bad guy. Instead, she is his final connection to Alex, and he can't lose that. Losing both her and Alex was far too great for him. He couldn't imagine his life without either of them.

Life changes, and Byron feels completely unable to cope. He is broken. Only the wisdom and strength of Candace can guide him through his darkest of days.


Byron is a man who is bigger than life itself. He is complex, and has many layers. He is the big brother we all want.

Favorite quote from Byron: “Carol, I’m sorry. I’m sorry I gave you flack about being a white girl the first time I met you. I’m sorry for all the hurtful things I said to you when you told us you and Alex had AIDS. I’m sorry for how poorly I treated you after Alex died. I’m just so sorry for all of it.”
     “All of my life, I always had to watch out for Alex. She was my twin, but we were so different. I
had to protect her. I thought I was protecting her when you came around. I couldn’t see that you
were protecting her far better than I ever could. I see that now, though. I am so sorry.”

Happy reading!
http://www.amazon.com/Imperfect-Lauren-Shiro-ebook/dp/B00KXHUN84/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1429484712&sr=8-11&keywords=lauren+shiro
http://www.amazon.com/Impeccable-Lauren-Shiro-ebook/dp/B00KXNR1LA/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1429484712&sr=8-9&keywords=lauren+shiro

Character of the Week: Margaret from Pianissimo

Margaret brings the softness and grace to what is Pianissimo.

Margaret Begum was a rather quiet young girl. She tended to keep to herself. As a child, she found more enjoyment in playing her piano than playing with other children.

She was the youngest of three. Her older sister Josephine, and her brother Walter, were both much more outgoing than she. They would play with other children. They loved receiving toys for Christmas, whereas Margaret was thrilled if she received new sheet music. The differences in personalities were something that carried through all of their lives.

She and her siblings grew up in modest conditions. Louisville was a good city to be raised in. Their house certainly did not compare to Agnes', but it was a good home nonetheless. Her mother, Lenora, was a teacher. Her father, Horace, was a carpenter. The children never wanted for anything. Hers was a good childhood.

Margaret followed in her mother's foot steps in becoming an educator. She greatly enjoyed working with young children. She loved helping them to learn how to read. She also gave piano lessons to students after school. She felt very enriched by her students' successes.

She taught at a smaller school for 3 years before moving on to the Primary School of Louisville. When she started at the Primary School, she met Agnes Walker.

Agnes was like her: quiet, and somewhat reclusive. She was much happier keeping to herself than to join in the gossip with the other teachers. Margaret found herself immediately drawn to Agnes, and the two hit it off right away.

A wonderful friendship blossomed immediately. It didn't take long, though, for Margaret to feel something more. She was experiencing emotions she never had before. She viewed Agnes as a beautiful, remarkable woman. She felt as though Agnes was a companion of sorts, and she wanted more. She wanted to spend every moment with Agnes. She eventually realized that she was deeply in love with her.

Margaret was afraid of her love. She had never experienced anything so potent. It wasn't right for women to love other women. She must have been crazy. She tried to deny it. She tried to fight it. She tried to suppress it. But she couldn't. There was only one thing she could do: confide in Agnes.

Margaret mustered up all the courage she had. She was utterly petrified. What would Agnes think? Was she about to ruin the best friendship she ever had? What was going to happen?

What ended up happening was the romance of a life time. Agnes loved Margaret as much as Margaret loved her. It was perfect.

Their relationship continued to bloom, and Margaret eventually moved in with Agnes.


For their first Christmas together, Agnes gave Margaret a brand new piano. That gift symbolized their love - and life. The piano took on a life of its own. It gave both Agnes and Margaret the beautiful gift of music. It gave them serenity as Margaret used the piano in Margaret's candle ritual to guide the souls of their loved ones to Heaven. It represented the depth and understanding of their love. It also represented the timelessness of their love, and the endlessness of their love as the piano stood the test of time. It was battered and abused, but it lived on in the house. That one gift meant so very much.

Though she was happy, Margaret's family - especially her siblings - looked down on her decision to stay "single." They could not understand why she wouldn't want to marry a man and start a family of her own. They couldn't understand the true nature of her relationship with Agnes, and they did not approve. Lenora and Horace were somewhat accepting of Margaret's unusual life, but neither Josephine nor Walter approved. They pulled away from her tremendously.

It was difficult being estranged from her family, especially at the times of her parents' deaths. Walter was cold, but respectful. Josephine was simply rude. She hardly spoke to her sister, and she deplored Agnes. Josephine passed very harsh judgment the day that Margaret moved in with Agnes. Josephine turned her back on her sister. At a time of deep grief, when they lost each of their parents, Margaret's grief was worsened by the distance between her and sister. Margaret tried to reach out, but Josephine and Walter remained aloof. Agnes was always there, though. She was the rock when Margaret needed her the most.

Like any good marriage, Agnes and Margaret went through life's highs and lows together. That is until October 11, 1949. Margaret had contracted TB. She fought valiantly. Agnes was by her side as much as she could be. Hospital rules limited her time with Margaret. Unfortunately, because of those rules, Margaret passed away in the hospital alone. Her family never came for her, and Agnes was not allowed to stay with her.

Margaret Begum is such a beautiful, gentle soul. It's impossible to to not love her. She makes Pianissimo the wonderful story that it is.

Favorite quote from Margaret: “My, you are magnificent!”

Happy reading!
http://www.amazon.com/Pianissimo-Lauren-Shiro/dp/0692310819/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1427504023&sr=8-1&keywords=lauren+shiro