Sandy had fallen hard for Blake, from the first time she laid eyes on him – his strong physique, sparkling brown eyes and gentle manner attracted her – and her love steadily grew as she came to know his heart and mind and found that she respected everything he stood for.

They were inseparable during college, and everyone assumed they would marry after graduation, but their individual dreams could not be fulfilled by taking the same path – Sandy was going to law school and Blake wanted to get a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree, which would separate them by several states.

Sandy and Blake pursued their chosen careers, getting together whenever they could during the holidays and trying to take a vacation together during the summer, but after a couple of years it was too much – they had each become interested in other people, and soon their time together ended completely.

Years later, Sandy was visiting her parents and their dog ran in front of a car and was badly injured, so Sandy took the dog to the veterinarian to see what could be done, and when the vet walked into the examination room, it was Blake standing there before her.

Blake was also shocked to see Sandy, but they had no time to exchange niceties as he checked the dog’s injuries; Sandy asked if anything could be done, Blake said, “You fix what you can fix and you let the rest go – I believe she can be good as new.”

Blake came to dinner at Sandy’s parent’s home a few days later so he could also check on his patient, and they had a chance to catch up on what transpired over the years since they parted – Blake was divorced and Sandy hated her job with the large law firm.

Sandy said she had been thinking about moving home to be near her parents, and to hang out her own shingle and Blake said he thought that was best news he had heard in years while they both wondered if more than a dog could be fixed in this scenario.

Copyright ©2026 Lisa Paul. All rights reserved.

Written in response to the challenge by Violet in Through Violet’s Lentz: This piece is written in 50-word increments. The literary quote I have chosen for this week is: “…you fix what you can fix and you let the rest go.”― Cormac McCarthy, No Country for Old Men. If you are inspired by this line- and would like to use it in your own creation, please do and link back to this post.

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