ith each other, but with the idea of partnership itself. He didn’t try to fix me or take over. He just stood beside me. Quiet. Solid. Supportive in ways I hadn’t known existed.
One year later, we opened a second location of my framing shop, this time in Boulder. We brainstormed names for weeks. Finally settled on one that felt right. “Wildflower Frames.” (I decided against including ‘Maggot,’ figuring subtlety was its own kind of power). Some people get the reference; most don’t. But I know. She gave me those names to break me. I kept one to remind myself I survived, and transformed the other into something beautiful.
That’s real revenge. Not loud or dramatic. Just quiet, persistent survival. Building a good life, a real life, on the ashes of the past. It’s simple. It’s sharp. And it’s mine.
