Gerard Awon Ch 2 No is a powerful word.

Gerard Sr. (42) his wife Emmy (37)
Their children: Twins: Gerard Jr and Juliann (15)

Narrated by Emmy
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I can finally say that I feel comfortable living here in Viramontes. I thought it would be bad for Gerard to be here with the family of his former love of his life. Now we all get along with Adrienne's family the Barillas clan. I am just happy to have Gerard at home with me on his days off.

The kids are growing up so fast. They are starting to have friends. I guess I never really noticed that the Barillas family is huge here. It seems that all their friends have the Barillas last name. Gerard jr. surprised us with asking if he could take on a part-time job. I was shocked because he never lead on to wanting a job. Gerard Sr. Said he would think about it.

Later when we were turning in, Gerard asked if I could believe that Junior wanted to get a job. I thought it was a great idea. Apparently Gerard wanted Junior to only focus on school. Besides Juliann didn't want a job so there was no need for Junior to get one.

In the morning we like to cuddle and go through our plans for the day/ week. I wanted to get another get together with the doctor's wives. It was nice having them over. I havent seen Mrs. Behal since her son was born. Gerard thought it was a great idea.

Once everyone leaves I can get to cleaning the house. Being a stay at home mom allows me the time to get these chores done.

I went into Junior's room and it was a mess. I wonder how a person with such a messy room could even phantom having a job. Maybe Gerard was right to want him to focus only on school.

I have been wanting to start my garden and finally managed to get the boys to help me. I told them where and what plants I wanted planted here. While they finished up I went in to fix dinner.

I over heard Junior asking Gerard, "so if this is mom's garden...remind me why we are doing all the work?"
"Because mom said so now keep planting so we can be done in time"

Juliann is a little quiet lately. I wonder if she likes someone at school or she is just that worried about her grades. I started noticing that she does her homework nonstop from the moment she gets home.

Soon I realized that it was for her to monopolized the phone.

Gerard came in and just stared at Juliann. I thought he was going to say something but he just stared at her. She is daddy's little girl.

At dinner Gerard reminded Juliann not to tie up the phone line. Junior kept pestering about his job. I could tell that Gerard was getting a little tense. Juliann kept arguing that she had rights to use the phone.

Junior was in shock of hearing NO to his job request. He was beginning to argue his points to Gerard.

I tried to interceed and tell everyone that this was not dinnertime conversation.

Then it was too late. Gerard slammed his fork down and said, "I said NO. NO to you tying up the phone line and NO to your job request Junior. I will not sit here and be questioned about my decisions. I want both of you to focus on school. End of discussion. Now eat"
We all ate in silence but I have the feeling this is not the last time I hear these arguments..after all we are living with teenagers.

Gerard Awon Ch 1- Back again.

Gerard Sr. (40), his wife Emmy (35)
Their children twins: Gerard Jr and Juliann
Narrated by Gerard Sr.

I never thought in a million years that I would be back in Viramontes. I had left this town a long time ago. I came back with my family since there was a great opportunity to start up a formal hospital here. My wife knows my past here and she is OK with moving back.

I love that my wife is understanding and so supportive. I never thought that I would ever meet a woman like her.

Starting the new hospital I have recruited new physicians. The first is actually a relative of my lost love Adrienne, Carson Barillas came to apply for a general practitioner position. He is Adrienne's nephew but he never knew her at all. Its amazing how many Barillas actually exist here in Viramontes. Its hard to avoid them. This was one of the reasons I moved away.

Adrienne's twin brother Adam and I remained friends all these years. It was great having him over. He of course gave Carson a great recommendation. Sure he said he was not bias at all.

It was great seeing Adam but it did bring back a lot of memories of Adrienne.

Dinner was great. The kids sat in and got to see how a meeting is supposed to be held. Carson kept them informed and told them this was a very informal meeting. I guess he was right. Carson would be a great addition to the physician team.

Emmy being the seasoned physician's wife took the wives out to the patio for lunch. I want her to get to know people so she wont feel too alone. I could see that the conversation between them ebbed and flowed.

I think Vanessa and her clicked more than Emmy and Cara (Adam's wife) did. I know its because they are both married to physicians.

After Carson left I got a chance to talk to Adam. I found out about his past and what has been going on. He has two wonderful girls and he's been married for over five years. We also talked about Adrienne and I asked if he could take me to see her grave. He thought it might offend Emmy but she knows all about Adrienne.

Going to the cemetery and seeing her picture there brought back a lot of memories. I still remembered how I had proposed to her. She had said yes and we were going to tell her family the next day. She motivated me to become the best physician I could be.

I started crying. I never really got to say goodbye. It all happened so quickly and there was no time to say goodbye. Adam consoled me and gave me a shoulder to cry on.

I did feel embarrassed. I made sure that he knew that I loved my wife. I met Emmy in one of my worse moments and she actually brought out the sun. If it were not for Emmy I would be in the worse unimaginable place. Adam knew because Adrienne was his twin. I am glad that we shared this. Now I could go home and be with my family that needs me as much as I need them.