Between Sessions

Tom Hale had stopped designing futures.

At fifty-five, the semi-retired architect lives in the quiet space that grief leaves behind. Once known for bold designs and ambitious projects, Tom now prefers smaller renovations, safe commissions, and a routine that asks very little of him. His world has become carefully measured-mornings with coffee, afternoons reviewing modest plans, evenings spent in the familiar silence of a house that still holds the echo of his late wife.

He tells himself that ...