The Ryan Sallans Book Series

DISCLAIMER: This episode takes you to Belgrade, Serbia where I share my lower surgery experience. 
The sound of a door opening and closing and a plate sliding onto the nightstand next to me woke me from a lucid dream. I began to blink my eyes and focused on the blurred image of a small woman in a white dress and a stethoscope around her neck. She held in her hand a syringe, which was full of a clear fluid, and set a chart at the end of the bed by my feet.
My body was too long for the metal bed, so my legs ended up dangling over the tiny mattress.
“What did I do?” I asked.

My phone vibrated in my pocket as I walked through the canned-goods aisle in an overcrowded grocery store. I pulled the phone out and saw my brother’s name pop up. Most of our conversations took place over text messaging, so I hesitated before answering.
“What’s up?” I asked.
“Grandma died this morning,” his emotionless voice replied.
“Oh, no,” I said. I stopped in front of the corn and stood there, leaning against the shopping cart.

By the time our three days together had passed, and I was boarding the train to go back to the airport, I felt something fluttering inside.
Feelings that hadn’t pulsed through my veins in a very long time.
I immediately felt guilty and insecure.
I couldn’t have a crush on one of my colleagues.
Especially when I was in a relationship, right?

I became scared when I realized that falling in love with someone
who lived in a city an hour away from my home would not only take me
away from my familiar surroundings, but it would also take me away from
everyone I loved. It would mean separating the family we had built. I could
only hope that when everyone received the news, they would forgive me
and recognize how much I had struggled with accepting the truth.

“I can’t believe you’re here” were the first words out of Lily’s mouth as she swung open the door to her house and pulled me inside.
She wasn’t wearing her glasses, allowing me to peer more deeply into her eyes. I couldn’t get over how dark they were, and felt as if I could fall into them and never find my way out.
 
*This is the final episode of Season 2 as we have come to the end of Second Son!
Season 3 will arrive in the Fall of 2026 with Transforming Manhood.