Chapter 6 - The Sanctuary in Lake Forest
I sold the suburban house in Oak Park.
While the memories of Johnny and Gemma’s laughter were precious, the house felt too heavy with the shadows of the past.
I purchased a magnificent, sixty-acre country estate nestled in the rolling wooded hills of Lake Forest, overlooking the tranquil waters of a private nature reserve. The property was a sanctuary of ancient towering oaks, blooming wildflower meadows, and a sun-drenched timber-and-stone farmhouse with wrap-around porches.
I spent my mornings walking through the gardens, accompanied by a rescued golden retriever puppy named Barnaby, whom I had adopted from the municipal shelter.
In the center of the estate’s meadow, beneath a magnificent hundred-year-old weeping willow tree, I built a private memorial garden.
White climbing roses draped over cedar arbors, stone benches rested beside a babbling freshwater fountain, and two carved granite markers stood side by side, surrounded by blooming pink peonies—Gemma’s favorite flower.
Every evening at sunset, I would sit on the stone bench with Barnaby resting his head on my knee, watching the golden light filter through the leaves.
The agonizing, suffocating pain that had crushed my chest during those first dark weeks had slowly transformed. It had become a deep, sacred reverence—a quiet, enduring love that gave me the strength to wake up every morning and build something beautiful in their honor.
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One crisp spring morning, while reviewing foundation scholarship applications in the clinic's downtown office, my executive assistant knocked on the door.
"Naomi," she said gently. "Dr. Julian Montgomery is here for the quarterly board review."
