Olive Branches Don't Grow On Trees

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  Silvia got home at dusk, when lightning bugs lingered in the yard and crickets sang loud into the air. She sat on the hood of her car and took in the beautiful night. At times like these, she thought that living in South Jersey might not be so bad after all. She thought of watching TV with Frank while eating bowls of ice cream. She thought of having dinners with Donna, going to movies with Cosmo, going to the beach with Angie, and seeing Vince when he came home from college. She thought of being able to see Isabella grow into girl and into a woman. She thought of having a teaching job and an apartment someplace right around here. It didn’t look so bad at all to her. Of course, it might not be forever, but it could be for now.

  The sky had a tint of pink, and the air was balmy and soft as she sat watching the magical lightning bugs appear and disappear. She listened to the soft breezes flow through the trees' leaf filled branches and the chirping of the summer time insects. She could hear Cosmo asking “What’s wrong with here?” The answer she had for this question was now very clear. There was nothing wrong with here. Not one thing. It was absolute perfection.