(Originally posted March 22, 2013)
So it is now 1990 and you are back in Toronto.
Yea, I stayed with my aunt and uncle for a few weeks. They wanted me to stay longer, but in all honesty it was too hard. Being a part of Zoey's every day, was a lot harder than I expected it to be. I thought I would be past the bond with Zoey, but fuck, it was still there. I guess in some ways I wasn't as mature as I thought. I figured that after 5 years I wouldn't feel that bond as dramatically. I was sadly mistaken.
God, I was so wrong.
Zoey was nearing 6 years old and unlike me, at that age, she was a real talker. She asked questions about everything and she was relentless.
(Zara laughs)
But it was a joy to be around her. To see how much she had grown. To see that little part of me, blossom into a beautiful young girl.
She was so close to Aunt Sheila and I could see the love in both of them toward the other. And Uncle Peter simply adored her.
How did that make you feel?
Sad in some ways.
I mean she was still my little girl. Or at least I was her birth mom, but it made me feel so good to know that she was being looked after so well and raised properly. She was so well mannered and talked so well and was doing so well in school.
By this time, Uncle Peter had been promoted to vice-president of his company, so he was off the road, and Aunt Sheila was working from home. They had built an extension on their house, so Zoey could have the dream room of any little girl and Aunt Sheila had an office built so she could work from home and be there for Zoey.
I knew I did the right thing.
Can I tell you about her room?
Go for it.
It was huge. It was like a master bedroom. She had her own bathroom, with a shower stall and a tub. She had a 4 poster bed with a canopy and there were Barbie dolls and accessories everywhere. She had one corner of this huge room devoted to a Barbie mini city. I mean, you had to see this. She had every Barbie toy you could imagine. Even her sheets and comforter was Barbie. She had a walk-in closet and even a study centre. Her room was as large as the apartment I eventually got.
But I was so happy for her.
So you moved out?
I had to. Uncle Peter got me a job at his company's head office. I was sort of his secretary and file clerk. I would answer phones, do some filing. Mostly I would get his coffee and make sure his appointments were in order. It was an ok job. Not very exciting but it paid the bills.I got a small bachelorette apartment, not far from where I worked, so I was able to walk to work if I wanted too and it was close enough to Zoey that I could just take a bus.My camper was gone by this point. I basically drove it into the ground. They should have put that thing in the hall of fame. It had like 250,000 miles on it.
(Zara laughs)
Broke my heart when I had to finally get rid of it, but the body was basically held together with duct tape and hope.
So how did you meet Brian?
As I said, by this time Uncle Peter was promoted to VP and of course someone had to take his place. That someone was Brian.
