Explore the emotional journey of Amber as she prepares for a long-awaited meeting with Liz, only to face unexpected twists and painful revelations. Rosemarie Slater crafts a poignant narrative delving into themes of self-image, relationships, and hidden truths in 'Butterfly Kisses'.

Her lips are red, like glowing charcoal.

You're standing there.

Mom, I just had a freaking baby.

Different love stories begin differently. Some mature to wife and husband. Others end badly. Others end by distance, or silence, or they just grow apart just like that.

My eyes flew open as my head began to slowly stop its spinning and I regained my consciousness. I looked upwards through a break in the tree canopy and saw a dimly lit sky, the late evening I presumed by the cold chill pricking my skin, that one only felt at night. I slowly lifted myself onto my elbows and then onto the palms of my hands, the ground was wet and beginning to freeze beneath me, I could feel the frost crunch as I ever so slightly lifted myself to my feet.

We are the ghosts of Brooklyn. We are the infamous star-crossed lovers with a tragic past. We are no Romeo and Juliet. We are just two souls who found each other in the darkest hour. As I am telling this story, I am writing it down on a loose sheet of paper.

The first time, Kaye assumes it's a prank. She's new to the station, still green in a way the older hands can't help making fun of. They like the tentative way she leans into the mic. Call her baby and don't mean it in the usual way men mean when they say it to a woman. Mean it like infant, still wet behind the ears.

Thursday, 7.09am: pillow bliss.

Oh my gosh can’t be arsed. It’s school ‘girls monthly dins’ tonight after work, but I wish I could just come back and sleep. Ergh I am so tired, should I text them now and plant the seed that I may need to work late, or spring it on them at 4.40pm so there’s no opportunity for them to doubt the legitimacy of my excuse?