The next day, things were pretty much normal between Jules and me. I had worried that our interactions would feel weird, but it was really just the opposite. There was a new ease and comfort between us. I was the first one up and went into the bathroom to shower. About halfway through, the shower curtain pulled back a little and it was Jules, still naked. “Just leave the water running when you’re done. I’ll jump in immedi...

The wheels of the plane touched down at Portland International Airport, waking my sister Jules who had been sleeping on my shoulder. It hadn’t been that long of a flight from LAX, but the Covid protocols for flying meant we had to get to the airport more than three hours before the flight, which in turn meant getting up at three AM. It was early June of 2020 and while the lockdowns were relaxing, Mom could see that LA was...

Today was the one-month anniversary of living on my own. Leaving my aunts' home had been harder emotionally than I had expected. While I was only moving from North of Tampa to St. Petersburg Beach and knew I'd still see them regularly, my aunts had been everything to me. They had lovingly taken me in when my parents were killed and raised me as their own. They had always been there for me as I grew up and their support ha...

I guess it's fair to say I'm a creature of personal desire. And while that may be true, I also recognize that without the unique circumstances associated with my upbringing, there is little chance I'd be who I've become. My parents both worked for a large hedge fund and were killed during the World Trade Center collapse in 2001.  I was only one year old at the time and too young to understand what had happened. I still ha...