It was as if the woman who cried with every sip of alcohol was just a fleeting ghost.
The vulnerability and bitterness were merely the effects of a single glass of liquor.
So Bonnie never pried, just as no one ever pried into her past.
The greatest realization Bonnie had after living in Oasinia for so long was that as you grew older, the tragedies you once thought would crush you were actually as light as a thumbtack.
When you were young, you were naïve, like a bicycle tire pumped full of air by love. Then a tack punctured it, the air hissed out, love was gone, you couldn't move forward, and it felt like the end of the world.
Looking back, a puncture was just a puncture. You patch it, pump it back up, and keep riding.
It wasn't that big of a deal. The scenery ahead was still waiting to be admired.
Lost in thought, they arrived at the conference room. The team from the East Coast Architectural Institute soon settled in as well. Everyone ran through the foundational project documents, offering suggestions and pointing out potential hurdles.
The venture was tentatively named the Locust Grove Project, and Dale, being a master architect, was naturally the chief designer.
The meeting ran from two-thirty to four o'clock. Bonnie filled several pages with notes. The project was far more complex than she had anticipated; the historical preservation aspects involved a dizzying array of complications.
Perry looked utterly miserable, deeply regretting not going straight home for the summer. Now he was trapped.
After the meeting adjourned, Dale stayed behind to catch up with old friends from the Institute, while Bonnie and Perry headed down to get the car.
While waiting for the elevator, Perry had barely started to fish for sympathy before Bonnie cut him off.
"No," Bonnie said with a sweet smile. "If you want out, go tell Professor Dale yourself. I'm not covering for you."
Perry awkwardly clamped his mouth shut. His senior was far too sharp, and it was intimidating.
Ignoring his silent pouting, Bonnie flipped through her notebook to review her notes. Amidst the text, she had sketched out a quick wireframe—a flash of inspiration.

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