Long ago, when I was whimsical and full of unbridled life choices, a creative writing teacher encouraged me to follow a writing career. An art teacher sang a gentler melody. Both told me I had received an ancestral gift. Shocked and unconvinced, I drifted to the behavior and computer science fields instead. These careers left-brain intensive, I pacified my right-brain by penning academic and technical papers. Of late, my beloved (a language arts teacher and long-time RMFW member) pestered me to write fiction under a joint pen name. Our stories flowed, threaded with humor, life and relationship trials, and dogs we’ve loved. Are my ancestors smiling? Perhaps.