03/24/2024
https://www.amazon.com/Mirror-Image-Karen-Badger-ebook/dp/B0CW189FT3/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3EAICGX3PCJDJ&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.ivkA4XyhE_xo9wASRNXESoSwtNKn8w3O0M4hdZkFpgnGjHj071QN20LucGBJIEps.eBOi8f5Sbyh9Fz4dxt3rlD7bERiopfeHswjC1SNDDvY&dib_tag=se&keywords=mirror+image+karen+badger&qid=1711322896&sprefix=mirror+image+karen+badge%2Caps%2C139&sr=8-1
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Prologue
Piper Fallon watched people pass back and forth before her as she waited for her flight to Honolulu, Hawaii. She felt invisible, although it was inconceivable to her why that would be, since she had a dark cloud hanging over her. A cloud filled with heartache, sadness and gloom and one she was sure the entire world could see.
A young couple sat across from her. Piper noted their clasped hands, and her heart filled with envy while she listened to them chat excitedly about visiting Hawaii for the first time, also on their honeymoon.
She so wished she could turn back time to when she and Susan had once been that couple, and it struck her that there might have been someone like herself watching them from across the way as they also chatted excitedly about visiting Hawaii for the first time, on their honeymoon of sorts as well. Of course, same-sex marriage was not legal then, but they were so in love, it didn’t matter that their vows were witnessed only by the surrounding spirts. They were completely committed to one another in their hearts at the time, and that was all that mattered.
That was twenty years ago, and now, at age fifty-eight, Piper found herself alone and grieving. She and Susan had built a life together that fulfilled all of her lifelong dreams. She had a partner who loved her beyond reason. Their relationship felt so natural and easy. They both held steady, well-paying jobs as corporate tax attorneys, that allowed them to pay off their home and build a comfortable retirement fund, the size of which allowed them to retire early. They had grand plans for their retirement, filled with travel and excitement.
Then Susan fell ill and everything changed. They rushed to legalize their relationship with a quick civil marriage and to create wills, powers of attorney, advanced directives, and estate planning documents. A little piece of Piper died every time she had to sign one of those documents, and by the time Susan passed, she felt she had no emotions left except the grief she was sure would consume her for the rest of her life.
And now, here she sat in an airport, nearly a year to the day that Susan died, waiting to be whisked away to the one place on Earth she and Susan enjoyed more than anywhere else—Kauai, Hawaii, where they spent their own honeymoon years earlier. She needed to escape. She needed to go somewhere that held only happy memories of her and her love. She reserved a suite in the same resort she shared with Susan all those years ago, and she hoped being there would start the healing process as she adjusted to a life without half of her heart.
The intercom interrupted Piper’s thoughts as the boarding process began. She pulled her carry-on bag closer to her, dug her boarding pass out of her jacket pocket, and then settled in for her group to be called. As she did so, she caught the eye of the new bride sitting across from her and smiled.
“Congratulations,” Piper said.
The young woman smiled broadly. “Thank you! How did you know?”
“Happiness radiates from you. I was there once. I remember it well.”
“Are you travelling alone?”
“I am. Unlike you, my spouse is no longer with us.”
A look of sympathy immediately cloaked the woman’s features. “I’m so sorry. Was it recent?”
“A year ago,” Piper said.
“Again, I’m so sorry. Are you going to visit family in Hawaii?”
“No. It will be only me. You see, we had our honeymoon there as well twenty years ago. This is my way of saying my last goodbyes.”
The woman reached across the aisle and touched Piper’s hand. “I so hope this trip brings you peace.”
“Thank you, dear. I hope it does as well.”
Piper Fallon and Kalena Kealohilani are deeply in love. They met when Piper vacationed on the beautiful island of Kauai, Hawaii, where Kalena lived in a home left to her by an elderly grandmother. Piper was in desperate need of closure as she had just buried her partner of twenty years after a si...
