Everything was perfect.

Brian and I were finally together in New York, making both of our dreams come true. I was working from a spacious, comfortable studio in SoHo, and the first show of my return to the city was scheduled for the following weekend. Brian was out with a real estate broker, looking at potential office spaces for the soon-to-be New York expansion of Kinnetik. We had wedding rings on our fingers, having finally tied the knot a few years before, in front of all of our family and friends in Pittsburgh.

Our lives were full of new and exciting opportunities, both professionally and personally. I felt like everything was falling into place in a nice, neat, orderly fashion, one piece after another.

Then, I had the misfortune of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. And the puzzle that was my life -- so carefully and painstakingly assembled over the years -- was picked up and thrown to the ground, scattering the pieces everywhere.

And everything wasn’t so perfect anymore.