 
### What They Left Behind

Karen Teagarden

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2014, 2016 Karen Teagarden

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

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Chapter 1: March 6, 1963 Willow, Alaska

It was a week before Genevieve Joy's and Benjamin Roy Perrin's fifteenth birthday. Gennie, with her chestnut brown hair in a messy ponytail, was fixing her snowmobile in the garage and Ben was cooking supper. It was pasta something or other. Bryan, their twenty-seven year old brother, had been working all day. He was supposed to move to Washington last fall but changed his mind the day before he was scheduled to leave. However, at least he had a job now. He worked for Western Electric, adding to and maintaining the telephone system for the Matanuska-Susitna Borough. A friend of a friend who worked there told his employer that Bryan was very smart and very good with his hands. Gennie didn't quite understand exactly what Bryan did, but he seemed to like it. He never talked much about it, but he was happier than he had been before. He actually stopped calling Ben names, replacing homo, loser and retard with the milder Hey You. He didn't talk back quite as much either, which was good considering their father's condition.

Their dad, Jimmy, wasn't doing very well. He tired out very easily and occasionally he would have chest pains and have to lie down. Gennie begged him to see a doctor but he refused. Even Bryan noticed his change in behavior. "What the hell is wrong with him?" was his version of expressing concern.

They took over more of their father's duties. Jimmy managed to go to work every day in the gold mine, but when he came home, he was usually unable to do anything else. Gennie totally took over cutting the wood. She was a pro at using a chainsaw and it didn't take her very long to do. Sometimes Ben would help her though he wasn't very good at it. At night, she would keep the wood stove fed. Their father expected Bryan to help and wanted him to contribute a part of his paycheck to support the family, but he refused. Most of his money was either spent at CJ's, a pub in Willow, or Kitty's, which was a strip club in downtown Anchorage. Gennie heard through a friend that Bryan's girlfriend Juliann worked there, but Bryan denied it. The night before, as they lay in their beds, Gennie and Ben discussed what kind of girl would be attracted to Bryan.

"I don't know what she sees in him, do you?" Gennie asked. "I mean, he's got bad posture, greasy hair and giant bug eyes. And he's even uglier inside."

"Maybe she needs glasses," Ben replied, "and he probably treats her a lot better than he treats us. You told me he throws his money around at that club, maybe she's getting most of it."

"I guess so."

"He might be like the way he is because of our mom."

"Oh. How?"

"Well," Ben paused, his blue eyes looking down solemnly, "he remembers when she died."

Gennie recalled her father telling her that Bryan was the one who found her. Their mother had to walk to the grocery store to buy formula for the both of them. It was a bitterly cold day with a snowstorm soon approaching. When she didn't come back three hours later, Bryan went out to look for her. He found her face down in the snow, covered with a thin layer of frost. An ambulance was called but by the time they were able to get there, she had died. Gennie always felt guilty about that. If they hadn't needed formula, she would be alive right now.

Ben put a hand through his sandy brown hair.

"He probably thinks we're to blame for that. The only reason she went out is because of us."

"Yeah, that's true."

"I don't think he's ever going to change," Ben said. "Actually, I know it."

Gennie didn't think Bryan was going to change either, though she still kept hoping one day he would wake up and be concerned about something other than himself. She wasn't holding her breath though.

Ben opened the door leading to the house, interrupting Gennie's thoughts. He stepped inside.

"Five minute warning, Handy Girl."

"I'll be there in a second," Gennie said. "Just let me wash my hands and wake up Dad."

"Sure," Ben replied. He closed the door behind him.

Gennie went into the half bath inside the garage and washed the grease from her hands and underneath her fingernails. She wiped her hands on a tattered hand towel. Then she went down the hallway connecting the garage to the house and into her father's bedroom.

His bedroom was always colder than the rest of the house but that night it seemed doubly so. Gennie always thought it was odd he had a vanity, with a pink handled hairbrush and makeup strewn about. There was also a large blue jewelry box with hand painted pink roses. Pearl necklaces stuck out of it as if it was a newly opened treasure chest. The fact was that stuff had been lying around for years. Her father left everything exactly the way it was the day her mother died. It was as if she was coming back someday and he wanted everything to be there for her. Her clothes were even in her bureau drawer, waiting to be worn again. Gennie thought the whole situation was sad and hoped when she grew up she would never end up like her dad.

Her father was face down, one pale, veiny arm hanging on the side of the bed. Gennie thought it was weird he wasn't snoring, but it didn't alarm her.

"Hey Dad," she said, "time to get up, supper's ready."

He didn't respond.

"Dad," she said louder, shaking him. "You have to get up now. You don't want to starve to death."

Gennie was annoyed. He wasn't even stirring.

She smacked him lightly in the face. The stubble felt rough on her hand. Still nothing.

"Dad! This isn't funny. Get up!"

She noticed he looked very pallid. She touched his face again. He was as cold as the room was.

"Dad..." she said, her hazel eyes peering down at him, "you're okay, aren't you?"

She turned him slightly and opened one of his eyelids with her fingers. She wished she hadn't. His eyes were very glassy.

Panic rose to her chest and her breath quickened.

"You're not dead, are you? Please say you're not dead." She shook him very hard. "You're not dead! Oh god no! Don't be dead!"

"Hey supper's ready," Ben said as he entered the room. He looked concerned when he saw her face. "What's wrong?"

Gennie sobbed. "It's Dad. He's not waking up...and his eyes are really weird. They don't look real."

Ben stiffened up, obviously frightened. "I'm going to call for an ambulance."

Thirty minutes later, the ambulance arrived. Gennie and Ben had to leave the bedroom while the paramedics worked to revive their father. Then a gurney was brought in. He was lifted onto it and taken to the hospital. They were in the ambulance with him while the paramedics continued to try to get their father's heart working again by injecting a huge needle into his chest. Gennie kept her eyes covered. She didn't want to see what was happening to him.

They waited for three hours in the hospital's emergency room. Gennie was so upset all she could do was stare into space. She noticed out of the corner of her eye Ben was trying to read some magazines, especially one called _Gourmet_ , but every ten seconds he would put it down and sigh deeply.

A nurse asked them if there were any other relatives they wanted to contact. Ben gave her Bryan's work number. The nurse told them a few minutes later Bryan would be there but he didn't know when. Gennie and Ben kept waiting.

Finally, the emergency room doctor came out from behind the swinging doors. Gennie hoped he would have good news, but when she looked at his face, she knew it was very unlikely.

"Well...," the doctor said, not looking them directly in the eyes. He put his hands in the pockets of his white overcoat. "I'm really very sorry."

Neither Ben nor Gennie said anything.

"We did what we could to save your father."

"He's dead?" Gennie whispered.

The doctor nodded.

Tears fell from Gennie's face. She looked over at Ben. He appeared stunned, as if he was told the world was ending.

"Is there anything I can do for either of you?" the doctor asked.

Gennie shook her head.

"No, there's nothing," Ben replied, his voice hollow.

The doctor shifted his feet and backed away from them. "All right then. If there's anything you do need, don't hesitate to let me or anyone else on staff know." Then he walked away, retreating to the other side of the swinging doors again.

Gennie was relieved he left them alone. Now she could bawl all she wanted. She put her head on Ben's shoulder and sobbed. He let her, not saying a word.

They stayed that way for at least an hour, until Bryan casually strolled into the emergency room.

Just looking at him filled Gennie with rage.

"Where the hell were you?" she spit out.

"Geez, thanks for the friendly greeting, Little Sis. Well, you see, I do something people call work and when you work you have to have a really good reason to get out with no notice."

"You had a good reason!" Gennie yelled, not caring who heard her. "You just don't give a shit and couldn't be bothered."

"Hey, watch your mouth. For your information, I have work backed up to the yin-yang. We had a guy that left us in the ditch two days ago and since he screwed up everything he touched, I have to do his work and mine. There was no way I could have gotten out sooner."

Neither of them said anything else to Bryan, only giving him empty and tired glares. Bryan chuckled nervously.

"So...how's dad doing?"

"He died a little over an hour ago," Ben replied wearily.

Bryan looked at Ben like he had gone insane.

"What! You're kidding me, right?"

Ben shook his head.

"Why didn't the nurse tell me that on the phone?"

"Because you were supposed to be here!" Gennie yelled. "Why didn't you come sooner?"

"I told you, I had to work!"

"Are you going to take us home?" Ben asked. "We've been here for four hours."

Gennie could see Bryan had to think about this.

"Okay, I'll bring you home," he said, not sounding particularly thrilled with the idea.

When they arrived home, Gennie went upstairs and straight to bed. Ben followed her a few minutes later. He turned on the light mounted above his headboard and opened the latest issue of his vast collection of _Superman_ comic books. Gennie tried to sleep but she couldn't. Images of her father dead in the emergency room flashed through her mind, along with her mother lying frozen on the side of the road. Gennie felt she was to blame for both of their deaths. If she hadn't demanded so much from her parents, maybe they would be okay now.

Gennie cried into her pillow. She soon felt Ben's hand rubbing her back.

"Ben...do you think Dad's death was my fault?"

"No," Ben replied, sounding puzzled, "Why would it be?"

"I don't know....maybe if I took over all of his chores sooner he would be okay now."

"Come on! You know how hard it was for him to let us do stuff. He felt like he was supposed to take care of you, not the other way around. I mean, you saw what it was like for me to convince him that I should cook. He told me he was the one who was supposed to be doing that, even though the only thing he knew how to make were TV dinners."

Gennie laughed. "He burnt them all the time too."

"He was the only one I know who could turn the cherry pie dessert as hard as a stone."

"Thank god for Tommy's Diner."

"And Chinese take-out."

"He was a lot better at riding snowmobiles. Remember when we were kids, he used to take us riding way out into the woods?"

"Yeah, I remember," Ben said. "And we'd always see deer and rabbits and sometimes a fox."

"Yeah, that was fun," Gennie replied. "I liked looking through his binoculars. Remember that time we saw a grizzly bear way way out?"

"Weren't we about six or seven then?"

"I think we were seven. I wish we could have done that stuff more often."

"Maybe next winter we can."

"I don't know if it'll be the same without Dad," Gennie said.

"Probably not, but it'll still be fun."

"Ben, do you think Dad is with our Mom now?"

"I don't know." He paused. "I hope so."

"Do you believe there's a heaven and a God and all that?"

"I try to believe, but...sometimes it's hard."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, life is so unfair, you know? We shouldn't have to live without a mother and father. We shouldn't have a brother that's a total jerk and doesn't give a damn about us. We haven't done anything wrong, so why is this happening to us?"

Gennie didn't have any answers for Ben. She thought it was unfair too. "Maybe it'll get better someday."

"When? We're practically grown-ups."

Gennie giggled.

"You, a grown-up? Oh please!"

"Hey, I have armpit hair now. Wanna see?"

"No thank you. So you finally have hair under there, huh? I've had it for about two years now."

"Do you shave it?"

"No, do you?"

"I'm a guy. You're supposed to shave yours."

"Why? I wear long sleeve shirts all the time. No one's going to see it. Besides, who made that stupid rule up anyway?"

"I don't know, but that's the way it is. It looks weird for girls to have hair under their arms."

"I don't think it's weird at all. You know what? Let's make a deal. If you shave your pits, I'll shave mine."

Ben shook his head. "I'm not doing anything like that."

"Fine then. So I'll be hairy too."

"Boy, you're one kooky girl. I don't know what I'm going to do with you."

"You're not going to do nothing," Gennie said. "I'm making all my own decisions."

"Oh god!"

Gennie gave him a playful shove. "Don't 'oh god' me, you creep. I can do what I want."

"Really? So what _are_ you going to do?"

"I don't know yet," Gennie said. "Maybe I'll get into fixing cars or something. Or I'll work at a place that does paint jobs or body work. That would be fun."

"You're more of a son to Dad than Bryan and me are. Do you know he was constantly bugging me to be a mechanic? He said he was afraid people would beat me up if I didn't get into something manly. I'm lucky that's never happened."

"That's because you have me to beat them up for you. Nobody messes with Gen."

"I wish we were still in the same school," Ben said. "I hate being in middle school while everyone else my age is in high school."

"Oh, high school isn't all what it's cracked up to be," Gennie replied. "Actually, I wish I were in eighth grade again. All my friends are too busy making out with their boyfriends to have any time for me. And when we do get together, it's always, 'Bobby and me did this...blah, blah, blah.' I'm so sick of it I could just die. You know, our being in different grades isn't going to make much difference in the end. The only thing that I don't like is that we're not going to graduate together. I was hoping we would do that."

"Me too," Ben said. "Now we can't unless you're willing to flunk all your classes like I did."

Gennie chuckled. "You know that wouldn't be a bad idea."

"You wouldn't be able to go to college though."

"I wasn't planning on going to college. Are you?"

"Uh, no. I want to get a job and leave here as soon as I can."

They talked for a little while longer then played a couple of games of Scrabble, which Gennie won. Then they played Go Fish, and the winnings were divided evenly among them. Finally they were both tired enough to go to bed. Before she fell asleep, Gennie tried to imagine what it was going to be like to wake up and not have her father around. Now they were completely dependent on Bryan. One word popped into her head when she thought of Bryan being their provider and that was scary.

Chapter 2: March 14

Bryan seemed to be behaving himself the week after their father died. For the most part, he came home right away after work and cleaned up after himself. Two days before the funeral they went to a thrift store in Palmer because neither Bryan nor Ben owned a suit and there was not a single dress in Gennie's closet.

The only thing good about the day of the funeral was the weather was perfect. It was sunny and about forty-five degrees out. Other than that, it was one of the most horrible days in Gennie's life. It was only a day after her fifteenth birthday, which was not celebrated at all. She cried on and off during the wake. She refused to look at her father lying in the casket. Ben sat next to her, only leaving to look at his father one last time. Bryan, on the other hand, was ignoring what was going on up front, preferring to chat with his friends and snuggle up to his girlfriend in back. Normally, Gennie would have introduced herself in order to check out Bryan's new girlfriend, but she was too upset to care about that.

During the church service, she put her head in her hands while the pastor talked. She couldn't stand the thought of her father being put into the ground. Ben had his arm around her the whole time. Bryan, who was sitting next to them, did and said nothing. He was probably disgusted with her outpouring of grief. Maybe in his own way he was mourning their father, but he hated people who were crybabies. He told her once that was the reason girls couldn't get anywhere in life.

Gennie thought after the funeral she would feel better, but she didn't. When they arrived home, she went upstairs and cried even more. Ben came up later, after all the guests, mostly his dad's co-workers, had left. He tried to distract her by playing some of their favorite songs on the turntable they shared. Elvis Presley's, then Bobby Vinton's voices cut through the oppressive air. He then read her some of the stories they enjoyed as younger kids, like _Bunny Hopewell's First Spring_.

"Hey," he finally said, "there's a lot of left overs. And I have a surprise for you."

Since Gennie hadn't eaten all day, she dragged herself downstairs where she filled up a plate with canapés, pigs-in-a-blanket, club crackers and cheese.

"You didn't ask about your surprise," Ben said.

"What is it?" Gennie asked joylessly. She took another bite out of a piece of cheese.

Ben went into the pantry and brought out a milk glass cake tray with a matching white dome. It was one of those things their mother left behind when she died, and it hadn't been used since then. He took off the cover. There was a round cake with white frosting and five candles on top of it.

"It's lemon," Ben said. "I've got some ice cream to go with it too. Want some?"

"Thanks," Gennie replied. "That was really sweet of you. Yeah, I guess I'll have a piece with some ice cream since you went to all that trouble, but I feel bad because Dad isn't around to enjoy it too."

"Well," Ben replied, "think of it this way. Dad probably would like you to enjoy the food, even without him. He wouldn't want you to starve to death because of grief."

"Don't worry. I doubt that's going to happen."

Later that night, while Gennie was preparing for bed, Ben came into the upstairs bathroom.

"I've got something to tell you," Ben said. He was rubbing his hands together, which he always did when he was anxious.

"What?" Gennie said while brushing her teeth. Ben waited until she rinsed her mouth out with a cup of water before continuing.

"I'm leaving tomorrow at five o'clock."

"Huh? Where are you going?"

"Well, uh...I was talking to Eva Dougherty. That's Dick Dougherty's wife. I guess she originally comes from Seward, and her mom is still there."

Gennie had no idea what he was talking about. "What does that have to do with us?"

"Uh, Eva's mom is old, you know. She doesn't have anyone around, sort of like us. The problem is, she needs help and they can't move back to Seward, because of Dick's job and putting all their kids in new schools. I told her I was moving out soon and asked if Eva's mom would be okay with me going down there to help her. Well, she thought that was a great idea and called her mom while she was here. Her mom wanted me to come as soon as possible. I said I would be able to go tomorrow. So Dick got a train ticket for me. They're picking me up here and driving me to the train station."

Gennie couldn't believe what she was hearing. She just stared at him blankly.

Ben balled his hands into two tight fists. He was extremely nervous now.

"So, anyway...I have a question for you. I was wondering...you would like to come with me too?"

Gennie was surprised to hear that. She knew Ben was itching to leave but she thought it was still at least a year away.

Gennie put her toothbrush back into the medicine cabinet.

"I'll have to think about it."

Ben raised his eyebrows in shock. "You want us to be apart? You want to stay with him?"

"It's not that. I just don't want to leave school right now."

"Who cares!" Ben yelled. "This is our chance to get away from Bryan!"

"I'd have to repeat this year at a new school. I really don't want to do that."

Ben's face reddened with anger. "I can't believe you! 'I'll think about it.' That always means no. Now what am I supposed to do?"

"I don't know. You said you were going to leave, right?"

"I'm not leaving without you!"

"Why not?"

"I don't trust Bryan at all. What if he beats you up while I'm gone?"

"He won't if I beat him up first."

"You can't beat Bryan up."

"Well, I know all the right places to squeeze. He won't be doing anything except laying in a fetal position and moaning after I get through with him."

"I don't want you staying here with him," Ben said. "If we have the chance to leave, I think we should go."

"It's too fast for me, Ben," Gennie said. "Like I said, I need to think about it. If you really want to go to Seward and go through eighth grade a third time, then you're welcome to."

"I can't!"

"Why not?"

"I just told you I'm not going to leave you here. Remember that promise we made?"

"Never to be apart? Oh Ben, we were five years old then!"

"So what? A promise is a promise."

Gennie sighed. "All Bryan is going to do to me is yell and call me names when he's home, which probably won't be much. If Bryan's girlfriend comes to live here, which will probably happen soon, he won't be as bad, since he wouldn't want to give her a bad impression right away. So, if you want to go, then go."

Ben huffed. "I guess I'll have to stay in this hellhole with Bryan."

Gennie pushed past him and opened their bedroom door. "You can be totally unreasonable sometimes."

Chapter 3: June 21

They tried to get along as best they could without their father, but it was hard. They were basically taking care of themselves. Bryan's schedule became more unpredictable. Sometimes he would come home and sometimes he wouldn't. When he came home, it was usually late and he was never exactly sober.

One night in June, Gennie woke up to open the window and let the cool summer air waft into their bedroom. She looked over at Ben. He was fast asleep; his arms sprawled out with a small puddle of drool on his pillow.

"Ugh," Gennie said, chuckling. Then she heard a truck with a bad muffler coming down their road. When she saw the headlights of a rusty 1952 Chevy pick-up, she jumped back into bed. She didn't want Bryan to catch her still awake.

She heard the truck's engine idling, then the garage door opening. The engine became louder as Bryan drove into the garage.

The garage door closed but the engine was still on. _He's drunk_ , she thought. She prayed he would fall asleep and suffocate on the fumes. She felt guilty for thinking that, but at least then they would have a chance of going to a foster home with decent parents.

A minute later, the engine switched off and Gennie heard nothing. She soon fell asleep.

"Get the hell up!" Bryan shouted in their room some time later.

"Why?" Ben replied groggily.

"I need dinner!" Bryan's words were so slurred they were barely understandable.

"There's leftovers. Just go heat them up. It doesn't exactly take an Einstein to do that."

Gennie opened her eyes just in time to see Bryan flying into a rage. He grabbed Ben by the collar of his shirt and slammed him into the wall. Then he smacked him hard across the face several times.

At first, Gennie was stunned, but then her instincts kicked in. She took out her Dad's Smith & Wesson revolver she hid under her pillow and pointed it directly at Bryan's greasy blond head.

He stopped as soon as he heard the safety click off.

"You don't know how to use that," he said.

"Try me," Gennie replied.

He let go of Ben's shirt.

"I guess I'll heat up those leftovers, whatever they are."

"Good idea," Gennie replied.

Bryan left the room as quietly as he came in. Gennie had the gun pointed at him until he closed the door.

She looked at Ben. His face was red and he was gasping for air.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"Yeah," he whispered. He brushed the tears falling down his cheeks.

"Do you want a hug?"

"No," he replied. Without looking at her, he returned to his bed.

Gennie went to bed too, feeling an enormous amount of remorse. She was sure Ben blamed this whole incident on her. She was the one who didn't want to go to Seward.

The next day was their last day of school. Their final report cards were horrible. Gennie barely passed the last quarter, getting mostly D's and a few F's. Ben failed everything, and his teacher wrote in her precise script that he would have to repeat eighth grade again. Gennie knew the best decision for them would be to leave.

That night Bryan was gone again. They went to bed at one o' clock in the morning but were unable to sleep. Gennie tried to read a book but she couldn't concentrate on it.

"Ben," she finally said, "I have something to tell you."

"What?" he replied, his eyes closed.

"I think you were right. It would probably be best to go to Seward."

He opened his eyes and frowned.

"Finally came to your senses, huh?"

"What happened yesterday was the last straw. I didn't know Bryan was going to be such a jerk."

"You're okay with switching schools and making all new friends?"

"Yeah, what about you?"

"Well, I'm going to drop out."

"What! You can't do that!"

"It's the best thing, Gen. I don't want to be the oldest middle schooler in history. It's embarrassing. And that way I can take care of Eva's mom during the day."

"We only have a couple more years of school. Why don't you just finish them up?"

"No," Ben said, "I've decided already. No more school after this."

"I know you'll change your mind when we move out to Seward."

Ben said nothing. He just turned away from her and fell asleep.

The next day Ben called the Dougherty's and said he would take them up on their offer after all. Dick was thrilled and said his family was going to visit his mother-in-law next week. They would pick them up and take them to Seward on Monday.

Bryan usually spent the entire day with his girlfriend on Saturday, but today he came home around three o'clock. Gennie was adjusting the rabbit ears on their TV and Ben was upstairs taking a nap.

"Hello," she said cheerfully.

"Hi," he mumbled. He sounded drunk again.

"I've got good news."

Bryan plopped down on the plush pink sofa, one of the few things from their mother they actually used. He looked at the TV listlessly.

"Don't you want to know what it is?"

"No," he said flatly. "I don't care about girly crap."

"It's not girly crap. Ben and I are leaving."

His eyes widened and he sat up a little straighter. "You mean leaving as in moving out?"

She sat in the matching chair across from the sofa. "Yep."

Bryan looked surprised at first, but then his light blue eyes darkened.

"Who's going to make my supper, then?" he demanded.

Gennie stood up in front of him, blocking the TV.

"You are going to make your own supper," she said, pointing a finger at his chest. "We're getting out of here, whether you like it or not."

Bryan stood up. He was easily a foot taller than she was. "You're not going anywhere," he said calmly.

Gennie wasn't intimidated. She laughed. "Oh, yes we are. Monday morning the Dougherty's are going to be picking us up and there isn't a thing you can do about it."

He frowned slightly. "You think so, huh?" he said without emotion. Before Gennie knew it, he punched her in the face so hard she fell to the floor. Before she realized what was happening, he was on sitting on top of her, hitting her face repeatedly. She tried to cry out to Ben, but because of the blood in her mouth, all she could make was a few garbled yelps.

"Hey, what's going on down there?" she heard Ben say. His feet were running down the stairway steps. She hoped he had the gun with him.

Bryan lunged at Ben while he was still on the stairs. He had the gun with him, but when he tried to fire it, it simply made a clicking sound. Bryan grabbed hold of the gun and they struggled with it. Gennie tried to yell stop but nothing came out of her throat. Bryan snatched the gun away from Ben and in one swift movement hit him over the head with the butt end of it. He curled up in a ball at the foot of the stairs, his arms covering his head. That was the last thing Gennie saw before she slipped into unconsciousness.

Chapter 4: June 23

When Gennie became aware of her surroundings once again, she felt as if there was something weighing down on her. She was finding it very difficult to breathe. It took her several minutes to realize it was because Ben was on top of her. She tried to push him off, but couldn't. She attempted to shake him awake, but he wasn't responding. She panicked when it occurred to her that he might be dead, and she hit him a few times. She was relieved when she heard a soft moan coming from him.

"Ben," she said. She was surprised at how slurred her speech was. "You have to get off me. I can't breathe here."

"Oh," he said, in a garbled voice. He slid off her onto the ground below.

Gennie heard some birds chirping and could smell and feel the mossy ground below her. They were outside, somewhere in the woods. Even though her head felt like a pile of bricks had hit it, she managed to sit up. She felt light-headed at first, but after a few minutes, it went away. The woods weren't too dense, being mostly made up of scrawny looking pine trees and brush. Gennie could see the sun's rays peeking through the forest. They were coming from the east and the sun was only about halfway up in the sky, so that meant it was morning. Gennie remembered it was about three o'clock in the afternoon when she confronted Bryan. They could have been here all night. She imagined Bryan thought they were dead, which was why they were probably dumped here. If it was the next day, that meant it was Sunday. They would have to find out where they were and get to the Dougherty's so they could go on to Seward. Gennie wasn't too worried. They both knew their way around the woods and she imagined they weren't far from home. Bryan wasn't known for thinking very far ahead. They could probably walk back to Willow in half a day at the very most.

Gennie looked over at her brother. He was still lying helplessly on the ground. She didn't realize how bad his condition was. His face was covered in purple bruises, one of his eyes was badly swollen and he was only able to open it halfway. His lower lip was split and a thin trickle of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.

She scooted over to him and lifted up his head. She wiped the blood off his mouth with her shirt.

"Do I look as bad as you do?" she asked him.

"I don't think so," Ben replied, "though I haven't seen myself in a mirror lately. Do I look as shitty as I feel?"

Gennie chuckled. "Probably."

"We should find a road or something," Ben said. "Get to a hospital."

"Do you think you can walk?" Gennie asked.

"I don't know. I'll have to try."

"I'll help you sit up," Gennie said. She put one of her arms underneath him. His head looked a little wobbly and he put one of his hands to his forehead in order to stabilize it.

"Dizzy?" she asked.

"Yeah," he replied. "I think this is going to take a while."

"I'll try to get up first," Gennie said. Leaning on a nearby rock for support, she managed to lift herself up into a standing position.

"That wasn't too bad," she said. "I'll help you up now."

She took one of his arms. With her help, he pushed himself up until he was standing.

"My head's not liking this," he said. He leaned on her slightly for about a minute or so.

"Doing better?" she asked him.

"I guess so," he said. "Does this place look familiar to you?"

Gennie looked around. "Not at all."

"What direction should we go in?"

"Your guess is as good as mine."

"I wish we had a compass or something," Ben said.

"Well, the sun's facing east, so maybe we could go in that direction and just see what we hit."

"Usually east means more wilderness," Ben said, "but since we have no idea where we are anyway, I guess it wouldn't hurt."

They trekked through the woods. Through the ground was muddy and they didn't have shoes on, it wasn't difficult for either for him. They went barefoot outside quite often in summertime and they had been through thicker brush than this. They walked for an hour and still there was nothing. They were both getting hungry and thirsty but there was nothing to drink except for a few shallow muddy puddles filled with mosquitoes. There wasn't anything around that looked particularly appetizing, though if worst came to worst they knew which plants they could eat and which they couldn't. It took another hour of walking before they came upon a small spring.

"Let's rest here," Ben said, breathing heavily.

They scooped up the water using their hands and took large gulps. Gennie never thought plain water could taste so good.

"I'll try to find something we can eat," Gennie said. "We don't know how long we're going to be walking before we find some real food."

"All right," Ben replied.

Gennie tried to stay within sight of Ben. She pulled up some edible plants, like cattail from an open marshy area, fleabane and musk mallow. She had two large handfuls of them before she walked back to Ben.

"Here you go," Gennie said, putting one handful of the uprooted plants into his lap.

Ben didn't look very enthusiastic about his breakfast, but ate the plants anyway.

"That's better," he said. "Now we don't have to eat each other."

"Good," Gennie replied. "Because you don't look too tasty, especially in the shape you're in right now."

After they finished eating, they walked for another hour. The trees became sparser and the brush thicker. Suddenly, they stepped out of the brush onto a worn path leading up a hillside.

"There's got to be people around here," Ben said. "Let's follow the trail."

About fifteen minutes later, the forest came to an abrupt end. In the clearing was a log cabin. It wasn't abandoned, but it was obvious no one was home either.

"Must be a vacation home or something," Ben said. "Let's see if there's a window we can get into."

"You want to break into somebody's house?" Gennie said.

"Well...I wouldn't put it like that. I just want to go inside and borrow some of their food, maybe take a bath and stuff like that. I don't think the people who come here are going to notice."

"It's a bad idea," Gennie replied, "but I'll do it. Let's not mess anything up, okay? If there aren't any windows we can open, don't try to break any. And we have to clean up our mess before we go."

"All right," Ben said.

They looked for windows to the cabin but there weren't any. The front door was padlocked.

"I guess we're out of luck," Gennie said.

"Not so fast," Ben replied. "I bet they have a key lying around here somewhere, in case they get locked outside."

"To the regular lock, yes, but I don't think there's a key to the padlock hanging around."

"You never know," Ben said. "Let's look."

They looked in the obvious places, like under the welcome mat, underneath rocks, and in between the small pile of logs stacked up in the back of the house. They found nothing.

"I think they have the keys with them, Ben. We better just give up and move on."

"I want to look some more. Maybe they buried it somewhere."

"Ben! What are you going to do? Dig up the whole yard? And what are you going to dig with?"

"Maybe there's a shovel somewhere."

Gennie groaned.

"If you don't get moving, I'm leaving here without you!" Gennie threatened him. "It's completely stupid to keep on looking!"

A breeze blew in, just strong enough to rattle the wind chimes hanging on the one lone tree in the yard. When Gennie looked at one of them, she saw something small and silver in the middle of it, something shaped exactly like...a key! Gennie ran over to the chimes.

"You're not taking off on me already, are you?" Ben said. "Just give me five more minutes at least."

"No Ben. Look here." She took the key off the hook that was in the middle of the chime.

"That's different," Ben said. "I wonder if they did the same thing with the padlock key."

Gennie reached under a second wind chime and pulled it out. "It looks like they did."

"And you said we would never find it," Ben replied.

Gennie gave him a playful shove. "If it wasn't for me, you'd be digging up the entire yard."

They unlocked the cabin and went inside. It was cool and dark. There was a small kitchen with no running water, just a hand pump. The bathroom consisted of a plastic floral shower curtain concealing one corner of the cabin. Behind it was a metal tub and a portable toilet. They noticed there were electric lights, so Gennie went outside to see if there was a generator somewhere. There was one out in back. Gennie filled the generator with the gas stored next to the woodpile, in case they wanted power that night. She went back into the cabin and saw Ben checking out the kitchen, seeing what there was to eat. There was a small refrigerator, but it was unplugged and empty. Ben opened up a very large cabinet in the kitchen. It was completely filled with canned food and pasta. They had enough food to last them quite a while. On the opposite side of the cabin there was a queen sized bed and a large wardrobe. Gennie opened it and it was full of women's and men's clothes. Neither of them knew if they would fit, but they would try them on just to make sure.

"I think I'd like to take a bath first," Ben said. "I'm totally filthy, especially my feet."

"All right," Gennie replied. "It probably isn't something we should do every day though."

Gennie pumped water into a large stockpot she found underneath the counter, while Ben started the wood stove. Ben brought the pot over and put it on the wood stove to heat it up. It took about an hour for the water to get lukewarm and Ben, getting impatient, took it off the stove and poured it into the tub.

"Get some clothes for me, will ya?" Ben shouted from the bathroom. "Make sure they're not too square either."

"Well, I hope you like plaid," Gennie said, "because whoever lives here owns a ton of it."

Gennie chose the only non-plaid shirt in the closet, a blue polo. She also grabbed a pair of jeans.

"I got your stuff right out here," Gennie said to the closed shower curtain. "I'm going to hang it on the railing."

"Okay," Ben said.

After washing her feet in a small bucket filled with cold water, Gennie decided to take a nap while Ben bathed. She didn't realize how tired she was until she hit the bed. The feather pillows under her head and the down comforter enveloping her felt like heaven. It took her mere seconds to fall asleep.

Ben woke her up some time later. "Are you hungry?"

"Yeah," Gennie replied groggily. "What time is it?"

"I don't know," Ben said. "There's no clock in here so I have no idea. It's night time though."

Gennie sat up and shook her head.

"I was planning on making green bean casserole. They have a ton of canned green beans, fried onions and cream of mushroom soup here."

"They must make that a lot. I mean, what else do you do with fried onions?"

"I don't know. Maybe I'll figure it out someday."

"Well, anyway, green bean casserole sounds good."

Ben made the casserole and they both devoured it. They had their meal on paper plates so they wouldn't have to do dishes. Afterwards, they found a deck of cards in one of the kitchen drawers and played a couple of games. When they both got tired, they went to bed. Gennie felt uneasy wearing her female counterpart's nightgown, so she just took off her clothes and slept in her bra and panties. Ben did the same, except he was wearing a pair of the owner's clean underwear. It appeared the man of the house didn't wear pajamas. Ben had to pin the underwear on both sides, though, because they were much too wide for him. Gennie laughed when she saw him.

"It looks like you're wearing a diaper," she said.

"Thanks," Ben replied. "I think the guy that owns this place has to lose some weight. He's almost the same height as me but he's about twice as wide."

"I think the girl is too," Gennie said. "She's got really big clothes."

"We'll have to thank them for letting us use their house," Ben replied.

"I hope they won't be too upset about it," Gennie said. "I don't know how I'd feel if some girl came into my house and looked through all my stuff."

"I wouldn't care," Ben replied, "as long as they didn't break anything."

Ben shut the single oil lamp in the bedroom off and they settled down to bed.

"Well, this has been the worst day of my life," Gennie said.

"How come?" Ben asked.

"How come! We got the crap kicked out of both of us, we were dumped some place probably miles from civilization and we don't even know where we are!"

"You're talking about yesterday," Ben said. "Today wasn't so bad. At least we're not sleeping outside. I thought that we would have to."

"Still, we don't know where we are. If only there was a phone, so we could call the Dougherty's."

"I figure maybe in about two or three days, when we don't look like we've been in a boxing match, we'll find the nearest phone, look them up in the phone book and give them a call. Maybe they can pick us up as soon as we figure out where we are."

"We've got to be in Alaska somewhere," Gennie said.

"Maybe we're in Canada," Ben replied. "Bryan had enough time to drive there. Besides, he'd want to put us in the most out of the way place available, so we wouldn't be able to come back easily."

"He probably thinks we're dead," Gennie said, "He wouldn't have dumped us in the woods if we weren't."

"I don't know about that," Ben replied. "Maybe he thought that we weren't, but that if he put us in the middle of nowhere, we'd freeze or starve to death because we didn't have any supplies with us."

"Why do you think he did that?" Gennie asked quietly. "I know he didn't like us, but we're his brother and sister."

An owl hooted somewhere in the distance, joining a chorus of crickets. Gennie couldn't see Ben's face in the pitch darkness but she did hear him sigh.

"I don't claim to know what's going on in his head. I was surprised he acted the way he did. I thought he was going to be happy that we moved out."

"I did too," Gennie said. "I remember what he said to me when I told him though. 'Who's going to make my supper then?'"

"Oh, he didn't want to lose his servants, I see."

"Well, he lost us now," Gennie said, growing angry. "You know, I can't wait to go back home...with a whole bunch of cops waiting to arrest him. He's going to get what's coming to him in a big way."

"I'm not sure I want to go back," Ben said. "I want to start a new life. I don't want to see him ever again."

"Don't you want him to get his due?"

"Yeah, but I don't need to be there. I think I've had enough of him for one lifetime."

"You're just going to go straight to Seward?"

"Yeah, I guess so, for a little while."

"What do you mean, for a little while? I swear I never know what the heck you're up to."

"Well, while I was taking a bath, I was thinking about what I want to do. Alaska's a great place, but I'm not going to get too far here. I have to go somewhere else."

"You're going to drop out of school. Alaska's as good a place as any to do that."

"I was thinking maybe I would stay in Seward for a couple of years, but then eventually I would go to California."

"What would you do there?"

"I don't know. I'd get myself a job and stuff."

"And what about me? Do you plan on leaving your only sister behind?"

"I thought that promise we'd made when we were five years old was a bunch of crap?"

"I never said that."

"Okay, not exactly like that, but that was the gist of it."

"Do you want me to go with you to California?" Gennie asked.

"If you want to."

"I don't really want to go there. I'd rather stay in Alaska."

"Then stay in Alaska."

"But we'll be apart!"

"We can write letters or talk on the phone."

Gennie sighed. "You really want to do this, don't you?"

"Yeah, I think it would be the best thing for me."

"So, you're going to get a job in California?"

"Yeah. I'm going to open my own restaurant up."

"How are you going to do that?"

"I don't know. I'll cross that bridge when I get to it." He gave his sister a hug. "Well, we better go to sleep. It's probably getting late."

"Okay," Gennie said, "goodnight."

Hours later, Gennie had a bad dream and woke up crying.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Ben asked.

"Bryan ran you over with his truck," she sobbed. "I ran to you, but you were dead. There was blood everywhere and your neck was broken."

Ben held her close and rubbed her back. She cried into his bare chest.

"That's not going to happen," Ben said. "It was just a bad dream."

"But it seemed so real!" Gennie replied.

"You've just had a rough couple of days. I think if you go back to sleep, you'll be okay."

"I don't want to go back to sleep!" Gennie cried.

"All right then," Ben said. "I saw some hot chocolate mix in the cabinet. I'll make you up some."

He went into the kitchen, and using a flashlight, he made her some hot chocolate.

"You want some marshmallows in that?" Ben asked. "There's an unopened package in the cabinet."

"Sure," Gennie said. The bad dream was fading away. She felt better already.

"There's some graham crackers and a couple of chocolate bars here. Do you want to make some s'mores?"

"Who can say no to them?" Gennie said.

They toasted the marshmallows using wood skewers and put them inside the wood stove. They really enjoyed their after midnight snack.

"I'm glad we found this place. This beats the heck out of eating cattails and plant roots."

"This is definitely tastier than what we could get outside," Gennie agreed.

When they were done eating, they went to bed again.

"Feel better?" Ben asked.

"Yes," Gennie said. "Thanks."

Ben shrugged his shoulders. "It's nothing."

Chapter 5: June 24

The first thing Gennie heard that morning was the purr of a large engine. It took a few seconds to realize what it was, but when she did, instant panic set in. She shoved her brother awake.

"Ben!" she said. "Someone's here!"

"Huh?"

"There's people here! We've got to get out!"

He sat up straight in the bed.

"Oh shit!" he cried.

The problem was they had no other escape route except for the front door.

"Let's hide under the bed," Ben said.

They grabbed their clothes and scurried under the bed. Ben tried to put his pants on, but it was difficult in such a narrow space.

"Here, let me help you," Gennie said. She pulled his pants up. Gennie had her blouse on, but it was still unbuttoned when she heard two pairs of heavy footsteps come through the door.

"Somebody's been here!" A man's voice shouted.

Gennie and Ben lay perfectly still.

"I told you leaving those keys in the wind chimes was a dumb idea," the man reprimanded. "Now look what's happened."

"It doesn't seem like they took anything," a woman replied. "Probably just a bunch of hikers passing through. Besides, you forget to take the keys with you every time we come up here. I bet you didn't remember them this time either."

"Yes, I did." Gennie heard coins clinking together. The man must have been rummaging through his pockets. "Uh...well, I thought I did."

"See?" the woman pointed out.

"Still, I think those chimes are a stupid place to put them. I bet those hikers probably told half of Atlin by now. Soon, we'll have people coming up and using our cabin for parties."

"I don't think so," the woman said.

"That's what you said when I told you people would be breaking into the cabin if you put the keys where you did and look what happened."

"It seems like they only spent one night in here, so let's get our bags inside. Then, we can go through the cabin and see if there's anything that been taken or broken."

"I'm going to call the police on the radio."

"Don't do that!" the woman scolded. "It'll take them an hour just to get up here and they'll probably tell us there's not much they can do."

"They could take fingerprints. If those hikers have a record, they could nab them."

"They can't arrest them for anything if nothing was taken."

"They could be charged with breaking and entering."

"The police are only going to laugh at us."

"Not at me, you! You're the one who put those keys there!"

The woman sighed. "Let's forget about it."

"I'm not forgetting about it! I'm going out to the truck to radio the cops! Those hikers are going to have their butts in jail even if it's the last thing I do!"

The woman huffed in exasperation. The man stomped out of the house. A few seconds later, the woman followed him.

"If we're going to get away," Ben whispered, "we have to do it now."

"They'll see us if we go out the front door," Gennie whispered back. "Then we'll get our asses kicked for sure."

"Not if we're really quiet," Ben said. "And even if they do see us, we can just run into the woods. If we're caught in here, there's nowhere to escape."

"I know it's not going to work," Gennie replied, "but since there's nothing else we can do, let's try it."

They snuck out from under the bed. Gennie buttoned up her blouse and put her pants on. Ben couldn't find his shirt anywhere, so he went bare-chested. They crept into the kitchen and approached the wide-open front door. The couple argued on the other side of the house, where the truck was parked. Ben poked his head out.

"Both of their backs are to us. We can go now." He crept out the door. "Come on."

Gennie followed him, trying to be as silent as possible. They were about three feet from the woods when someone walked back to the front of the cabin.

"Hey you!" the man shouted.

Gennie turned around and immediately froze when she saw him run after her with a gun.

"Run!" Ben shouted, grabbing her by her sleeve and pulling her along with him. Eventually she broke out into a run beside him.

"Get back here!" the man yelled. He sounded enraged, which made Gennie run faster than she ever remembered doing in her life. Even though the man was about ten yards away from them, she could still hear him cursing in between his gasps. Obviously, he didn't have quite the stamina Gennie and Ben did.

Suddenly, shots rang into the air. Gennie yelped and stumbled. Ben grabbed her by the shoulder and pushed her in front of him. Another shot rang out.

"Ugh!" she heard Ben groan. There was a soft thud as he fell.

She turned around and saw him lying on the ground. She screamed. She was sure he had been shot.

"Don't let him get you!" Ben said in a strangled cry.

Gennie couldn't do anything but stand there. She wasn't going to leave Ben.

"Where did he shoot you?" she sobbed.

"He didn't," Ben gasped. "I tripped on a rock. I think I twisted my ankle. Why aren't you going?"

"I can't," Gennie said. The tears were pouring down her face. "I'll help you up."

She put her hands underneath his shoulders and got him into a sitting position. He groaned and winced from having to move his ankle.

They looked up and the man was upon them, the barrel of his shotgun only inches away from their faces. His dark brown hair was plastered to his forehead and his face was bright red from exertion.

Neither of them said anything.

"You both are in big trouble," he said between wheezes. "What the hell were you thinking, breaking into my house?"

Gennie opened her mouth in an attempt to explain what happened, but then closed it again.

"That's what I thought. Now get up. You're coming with me."

He grabbed one of Ben's arms and forced him up. He cried out in pain.

"He twisted his ankle," Gennie said.

The man let him go, his small dark eyes glaring at him in disgust.

"You help him along then," he commanded Gennie. "Now move it."

They walked behind him back to the cabin. Ben had most of his weight on Gennie, which was tiring her out. She was exhausted when they returned to the cabin.

"I found them," the man said to the woman. She was rather plain looking with a stocky build. Two barrettes pinned back her waist length blond hair. Her light blue eyes looked at them in sympathy.

"You can't throw them in jail," the woman said. "They're just a bunch of kids."

"A bunch of kids who broke into my cabin," the man grumbled.

"You didn't hurt them, did you?" the woman said.

"Hurt _them_? They almost killed me! Do you know how far I had to run to get them? They almost gave me a heart attack!"

"Why do they look like they've been given a beating, then?"

"I don't know!" the man shouted. "Maybe they went into someone else's cabin!"

"Let's bring them inside and give them some tea," the woman said.

"Oh no, they're not going back in there. They're going to stay put right where they are until the police come."

"All right," the woman huffed. "I'll bring the tea out here."

She went inside while the man remained with them. Though he didn't have his gun pointed at their faces anymore, he held it firmly by his side while glaring down at them. Gennie rubbed Ben's back to keep his mind off the pain. She glanced down at his bare feet and saw that the right one was swollen. She tried to ignore the cabin owner's stare though it was hard.

The woman came out with two earthenware mugs and handed them to Gennie and Ben.

"How is it?" the woman asked them. "It isn't too hot for you?"

"No," Gennie replied after taking a sip, "it's just right."

"I didn't even notice...you're both barefoot. Do you want to borrow our shoes?"

"No," Gennie said. "I think we'll be okay."

"Is this one a mute?" the man asked, using the gun to point at Ben.

"No," Ben croaked out.

"There's something wrong with his ankle," the woman said.

"Well, it's his own damn fault," the man replied. "If they hadn't taken off like that, he wouldn't have fell down in the woods."

"I think we might have some bandages here. If I can find them, I'll wrap his foot up in them."

The man sighed as the woman went into the cabin again. "It must be nice to get so much attention," the man said spitefully to them.

The woman came out with a large roll of cotton gauze and wrapped Ben's swollen ankle in it.

"This one isn't giving you a hard time, is he?" she asked him.

"No," Ben said.

"Does that feel better?" she asked, after she was done wrapping the ankle up.

"Yes, ma'am," he replied.

"It's going to take the police a while to get up here, so I want to hear the whole story," the man blurted out. "Why did you break into my house?"

Both Gennie and Ben were silent.

"No reason, huh?" the man said, disgusted. "Just wanted to do it for the thrill, right?"

"It was my idea," Ben replied. "My sister didn't want to do it."

"Oh, so the truth comes out. I knew it was you. I can see 'trouble' written all over your face. I bet you do this a lot."

"Stop it!" the woman shouted. "I'm sure they didn't mean any harm."

"They meant harm, all right. I saw all the food they used up. Now, what else did you kids take?"

Gennie wasn't going to say anything, but her nerves overtook her. She burst out laughing.

"What the hell is so funny?" the man said.

"I'm sorry, sir," Gennie replied, trying to repress her giggling, "I didn't take anything...but my brother did."

"What did he take?" the man spat out. "I want it back now!"

"He took...your underwear!" Gennie said, breaking out into laughter again. The woman laughed too. Ben first looked at her as if he had been put on death row, but then he smiled.

"Do you want them back?" Ben chuckled. "They're kind of loose on me."

"No, keep the goddamn underwear," the man replied. "I don't want you standing out here naked when the police come."

Chapter 6

The police officer drove them downtown, where they were processed and put into one of the station's two holding cells. Gennie found it to be dark and intimidating. She'd never been inside a police station before and felt apprehensive about it. When she started shivering, Ben put his arm around her. He didn't seem to be as uneasy as she felt.

"I think we'll okay," Ben said.

The police officer who drove them there walked over to their cell. "It's almost lunchtime. You kids want something to eat?"

"Sure," Ben replied.

"My partner and I are going over to the deli. What kind of sandwich do you want?"

"Roast beef," Ben said.

"Tuna fish," Gennie replied.

The officer examined them closely with his intense hazel eyes.

"Hey, I was wondering what happened to both of you. Did you beat each other up?"

"No sir," Ben said.

"Was it that guy that called us?"

"No."

The officer seemed satisfied with that answer. "I'll go get your sandwiches," he said.

About a half hour later, they were almost done eating their lunch when they heard the door separating the holding cell from the rest of the station creak open. Gennie looked through the bars and saw it was the cabin's owners.

"I talked him into dropping the charges," the woman told her.

"I hope staying in this cell has taught you both a lesson," the man said sternly.

They both nodded.

Another officer not much older than they were came behind them and unlocked the cell with a large skeleton key. He swung the door open.

"Now come on," the cabin's owner said. "There's a lot of stuff we have to do."

They visited the local clinic where a doctor examined Ben's ankle and said he sprained it. He gave him a brace and a pair of crutches. He was curious about all of Ben's bruises, but Ben simply said he took a very hard fall. The doctor didn't question it any further. Gennie was in the examining room with Ben and kept her head down the whole time. She didn't want the doctor to look at her.

On the ride back to the cabin, the man asked what happened to them.

Gennie and Ben looked at each other.

"You want to tell them?" Ben asked her.

"Okay," she replied. Gennie told them about the beating they received from their brother.

"That's just horrible!" the woman said. "Why would anyone do such a thing?"

"He was upset that we were moving out, because we were the ones who took care of the house and fed him."

"Exactly how old is this kid?" the man asked.

"Twenty-seven," Gennie replied.

The man sighed, obviously disgusted. "If he were mine, his lazy butt would have been out the door a long time ago. Where were your parents when this happened?"

"They're both dead," Ben replied.

"You got any adults in your life?"

"No, not really."

"Why don't you stay with us?" the woman said.

Gennie saw the man cringe, but he didn't say anything.

"Can I ask you a few questions?" Gennie said shyly.

"Of course," the woman replied. "Anything you want."

"This one's really silly, but...the town we're in, it's called Atlin, right?"

"Yeah, that's what it's called," the man replied. "You don't know where we are?"

"Our brother just dumped us off here," Ben explained. "I don't know about Gennie, but I don't remember the ride or anything."

"I don't remember it either," Gennie said. "He must have knocked us out cold. First we're at home in Willow then the next minute we wake up in some woods we don't recognize."

"Where's Willow?" the woman asked. "It doesn't sound familiar at all."

"It's about eighty miles north of Anchorage," Ben said.

"You're from Alaska?" the woman said, shocked.

"Yes," Ben said.

"Are we in Canada?" Gennie asked. "I noticed all the license plates say 'British Columbia'."

"Yes, that's where we are. You're an awfully long way from home!"

"We're in the northwestern part of British Columbia. I'd say we're about nine hundred miles away from where you live," the man said.

"I guess Bryan really wanted to get rid of us," Ben said.

"Well, since you're going to be staying with us for a little while, we probably should get to know each other. What are your names?" the woman asked.

"I'm Gennie and this is my brother, Ben."

"The police said you were the same age. Are you twins?"

Gennie nodded.

"You kids have a last name?" the man asked.

"Perrin," Ben replied.

"That doesn't sound familiar," the man said. "I was hoping there were some relatives of yours around here so you didn't have to stay with us."

"Rusty!" the woman shouted.

"I was just kidding," the man replied.

"You didn't sound like you were," the woman said.

"So your name's Rusty?" Ben asked.

"Well, his real name is Roderick, but he always goes by his nickname," the woman said. "And my name is Gracie."

"Our last name is Rea," Rusty replied.

"Have you always lived in Atlin?" Gennie asked.

"Always," Gracie said.

"I drive big rigs and she comes with me," Rusty explained. "So we have another home in Vancouver where we stay a lot of the time but we've always had the cabin here."

"Not the same cabin," Gracie said. "We've rebuilt it a couple of times. Once there was a fire, then one year the snowfall was so heavy the entire roof collapsed. We don't know what caused the fire back in '43 but Rusty seems to think it was arson."

"It was!" Rusty fired back. "The Gearys have had it in for me since day one. They had their kids go up there and start that fire."

"Who are the Gearys?" Gennie asked.

"Never mind," Gracie said. "Rusty is just being paranoid."

"Lester's wife Vina took a liking to me," Rusty explained. "Which was no surprise because she took a liking to every man. She probably slept with everyone in town. Well, since I was married and she was ten years older than me and ugly to boot, I told her I wasn't interested. She went home and told Lester that I attacked her. So, the whole family's had it in for me ever since. When I went into town they threw beer bottles at me, tried to run me over a few times and I know they burned down our house."

"Well, now you kids know everything," Gracie said, frowning. "It's not as bad now. Vina's been gone for a while and Lester's sick. The kids are grown up. I think they've put the past behind them."

"I was sure when I went into the cabin that it was one of the Geary grandkids that had broken in," Rusty said. "I was thinking that their parents were encouraging them to do it."

"Well, we're glad you aren't," Gracie said. "I don't think Rusty would have been as nice if you were the grandchildren."

"Do you have any kids?" Gennie asked.

"No," Gracie replied. "We tried for quite a while but it never happened."

Gennie thought that was probably a good thing. She couldn't see Rusty tolerating the antics of very small children.

"So how did your parents pass away...if you don't mind my asking," Gracie said.

"Our dad died of a heart attack in March," Gennie explained.

"Our mom...she went to go to the store when we were babies and she never came back. The weather was bad out and she froze to death in the snow," Ben said.

"That's awful!" Gracie replied. "Both our parents are gone too, so we know how you feel. We weren't quite as young as you were when they passed away, though. Rusty's brother and sister-in-law died in a horrible car accident when their son was about your age. He lived with us until he went to college, so we've have some experience with this."

When they reached the cabin, Ben couldn't do much because of his ankle, but he offered to make dinner for the Rea's. Rusty wouldn't let Gennie chop the wood, but she was allowed to carry it back to the cabin, where she stacked it up neatly outside.

When dinner was ready, they all sat down in the kitchen and chatted.

"Do you kids know what you're going to do with your lives?" Rusty asked while buttering a roll.

"I don't know yet," Gennie said.

"Are you going to get married?" he asked her.

"No!" Gennie replied.

"You will," Rusty said. "You're a good-looking girl. So, how about you, son?"

"I was thinking of getting into cooking."

"That wouldn't be a bad idea. This is the most delicious meal I've had in years. It blows Gracie's cooking out of the water."

Gracie gave him a playful shove.

"It even makes my mama's cooking look bad and she was the best cook around."

"Well, my family's sort of against it because it isn't...manly, you know."

"What's not manly about it?" Rusty asked.

"I don't know. It's something mostly girls do."

"So? That doesn't make it not manly. Once in a while, I, the manliest man around, like to grill something outside."

"He always burns it," Gracie said.

"Not always," Rusty replied defensively.

"Most of the time you do."

"My brother called me names all the time because I like to cook," Ben said.

Rusty grunted. "That's the one who beat you up, right?"

"Yes."

"I have a mind to give him a good beating myself. He's got one hell of a nerve."

"Do you know how to cook too, Gennie?" Gracie asked.

"No," Ben replied. "One time she attempted to make a cake for our twelfth birthday. When the recipe called for two eggs, she threw them in there, shells and all. It was the most disgusting cake I've ever tasted."

"It wasn't my fault," Gennie said. "The directions said 'two eggs'. It didn't say anything about breaking them and getting rid of the shells."

Everyone laughed.

"What do you like to do?" Gracie asked.

"Oh, lots of things," Gennie replied. "I like to fix stuff, read, listen to music."

"What sorts of things to do you like to fix?" Rusty asked.

"Anything with a motor in it, basically," Gennie said. "I can fix some household stuff too."

"Do you want to take a look at our generator?" Rusty asked. "It's been making this strange noise and I can't figure out what's wrong with it."

Gennie was excited to hear this. "Sure, I'll look at it."

She went out to the back of the cabin and looked at the generator. She removed the rear housing, the rotor, and stator. The rotor held onto a tapered crank long bolt. She looked at the bearing supporting the outer end of the rotor. It looked fine to her; it was barely worn, with a fine film of lubricant covering it. She inspected the cooling fan on the end of the rotor. It looked fine too except she could barely spin it. She took it off the rotor and it made a horrible scraping sound. The inside of the fan was caked with gritty dust. She cleaned it, lubricated it and put the generator back together. She started it to see how it would run and it made a satisfyingly loud hum. Gracie and Rusty came over to see how things were going and were very happy with the results.

"I'm glad you kids are useful," Rusty replied. "It makes letting you stay that much easier."

Chapter 7: August 17

Gracie took them out to eat at The Crabby Fish, a local seafood restaurant. After they ordered, she excused herself to make a telephone call. Because they didn't have a phone at the cabin, whenever she had to make a call, she would drive down to the restaurant.

"Wow, it's taking a real long time," Gennie said, after swallowing a spoonful of her salmon chowder.

Ben shrugged. He was obviously too focused on eating his arctic char to be interested.

"Maybe she's catching up with an old friend," he finally said.

"I don't know," Gennie said, "I think it's something else. What if she's trying to get rid of us?"

"I don't think so," Ben replied. "They didn't have to take us in in the first place. Why would they want to get rid of us now?"

Gennie was on the verge of crying. She had a feeling her stay with Rusty and Gracie was just temporary. While she realized they had no room for them and their frequent traveling would make going to school near impossible, she wanted them to be her parents.

Gennie kept her eyes on the flowery tablecloth in case she burst into tears. Gracie returned to the table and dug into her fish and chips.

"I have good news," she said.

"What is it?" Ben asked cautiously.

She looked at Gennie with concern. "Is something wrong, dear?"

"No," Gennie said, sighing. "I'm okay."

"You're both acting like this is your last supper."

"Gennie thinks you're trying to get rid of us," Ben said.

"Oh...," Gracie replied. Gennie thought it was odd that she didn't try to deny it.

Gennie gulped hard. _Don't cry_ , she told herself. _Wait until you get back to the cabin_.

Gracie cleared her throat and said, "Well, actually, I was talking to Rusty's nephew Malcolm. Probably about once a year, he comes and visits us and he's coming next week. I told him about the two of you and he's looking forward to meeting you both. That's why the call took so long. I was telling him how wonderful you are."

"Does Rusty know about this?" Ben asked.

"No, not yet, and I'm not planning on telling him either. He gets so worked up when we have visitors, as you both know."

"I imagine he's not going to like that," Ben said.

"He'll get over it," Gracie replied.

"So we're not going anywhere?" Ben asked.

"Uh...I don't think so. Do you want to go somewhere?"

"No," Gennie said quietly.

"Then you don't have to go anywhere. We're not going to abandon you."

The tears flowed from Gennie's face onto the tablecloth. She was so relieved to hear that.

Chapter 8: August 24

Ben and Gennie waited in the parking lot of The Crabby Fish. They were going to meet Malcolm and his wife there for lunch. Gracie told them they had just bought a new car, a Pontiac Catalina, and she was concerned it wouldn't make it up the dirt road to their cabin, especially since it had been raining lately.

They spotted them right away. Most people in town drove old pickups or station wagons. This car was shiny and sleek, black with chrome trim. Gennie was so envious. She would give her right arm to have a car like that.

"Are they rich?" Ben asked Gracie.

"No, I don't think so," Gracie replied, "though Mal is an accountant. They own a very nice house in San Francisco, but it isn't a mansion. I guess most people would say they do very good for themselves."

Gracie got out of the truck when she saw the Catalina's driver side door open. Ben and Gennie followed her lead. Gennie didn't have any expectations of what Malcolm would look like, except maybe he would resemble Rusty, and he did. He had the same dark hair and almond shaped eyes. The only difference was he was several inches taller and rail thin. He also wore glasses so thick that they distorted his eyes. He was younger than Gennie thought, probably around Bryan's age. He stood out like a sore thumb in this town. He had on black pants, a white dress shirt, a jacket and tie. He also wore a hat. Gennie didn't see people dress like that around here unless they were going to church.

"Mal!" Gracie said, holding out her arms and giving him a hug. "I haven't seen you in so long!"

"I know," Malcolm said, smiling brightly and hugging her back. "How are you doing?"

"I'm wonderful and how are you?"

"Great."

A lady emerged from the passenger side of the car. Her red hair was teased on top and the ends were curled up. Gennie had only seen someone with that hairstyle on TV or in magazines. She had on a plaid red and white jacket with a red skirt. She wore very little makeup though. Gennie could see a smattering of freckles on her very pale face. She was surprised someone like her hadn't covered them up.

"Well, don't you look lovely?" Gracie said to the lady.

"Thank you, Aunt Gracie," the lady said shyly.

"Let me introduce you," Gracie said. "This is Ben and Gennie."

They shook hands with the couple. Gennie felt underdressed. She had on a pair of cut off denim shorts and a floral pattern shirt Gracie had gotten her at the local consignment shop.

"Ben, Gennie, this is Malcolm and his wife, Colleen."

"Nice to meet you," Gennie said softly.

Malcolm chuckled nervously and adjusted his glasses. "I'm starving," he said. "Me and Col have been thinking about those fish and chips for three days now."

"Oh you poor thing," Gracie replied, "Let's go in there and grab a booth before they fill up."

Gracie chatted with Malcolm and Colleen, while Ben and Gennie ate their lunch silently. Gennie was too intimidated by both of them to say anything. Ben seemed to be listening intently, especially when they talked about San Francisco. Gennie couldn't imagine either of them ever growing up here. They both seemed too sophisticated for this town.

Near the end of the meal, Malcolm insisted on paying the tab. He gave the waitress five dollars, which was probably the biggest tip she had seen in months.

"So, where's Uncle Rusty?" Malcolm asked.

"Oh, he's at the cabin, sleeping in," Gracie replied. "He didn't feel like coming today."

"Does he know we're here?" Malcolm said pointedly.

Gracie chuckled. "No."

Colleen frowned, but Malcolm waved a finger at Gracie playfully.

"He's already has guests, and now you're adding more. That's going to put him over the edge, Aunt Gracie!"

"Oh well," Gracie shrugged. "I don't care."

"That's the spirit!" Malcolm replied. "Well, you might want to tell him that we're staying at the Lakeside Inn before he completely unravels."

"I will," Gracie said.

"So these kids kept that secret all week for you?"

Gracie patted Gennie on the shoulder. "Yep. They didn't tell Rusty a thing."

"I hope he won't be too upset," Colleen said.

"Oh don't worry," Gracie replied. "He'll get over it soon enough. I didn't tell him because I didn't want to hear him complain about it all week. This way I'll only hear about five minutes worth before he finally adjusts."

Malcolm and Colleen left their car in the restaurant's parking lot and they all squeezed into the pickup truck together. Colleen sat next to Gennie. They were probably about the same size but Colleen seemed to have longer legs and a more delicate build. Gennie could smell Colleen's perfume. Gennie could have sworn it was the same kind her mother had on her vanity. She sniffed it one time, but never tried it on herself. Gennie also looked at their shoes. Colleen was wearing a pair of pumps, while she had on flip-flops. Her feet were about an inch longer and they were dirty as heck from spending most of the morning outside in the mud. _You're no lady, that's for sure_ , she thought to herself. She couldn't even imagine what Colleen was thinking of her right now.

When they made it to the cabin, it began to sprinkle and the mud pit surrounding the cabin became even muddier. Colleen looked very concerned. Everyone else got out with no hesitation but she stayed inside the pickup.

"I guess I should have worn more sensible shoes," she said, giggling.

"Aw, don't worry about it, sweetheart, I'll carry you in," Malcolm said.

"Are you sure?" she asked.

She slid over and Malcolm picked her up and carried her into the cabin. She was chuckling nervously the whole way.

_Oh, wow_ , Gennie thought, _that's so nice of him_. She wondered if her dad ever carried her mom. From the few pictures she saw of her, she was even more girly than Colleen was. She didn't know if he did, but she was certain that was never going to happen to her. She was too tough looking for any guy to pick up.

"Rusty, wake up. Look who's here!" she heard Gracie say from inside the cabin. Gennie wasn't so sure she wanted to go in right away.

"So, what do you think of them?" Ben asked her.

"I don't know," she answered. "They seem okay."

"I like them," he replied. "And their place in San Francisco sounds fantastic."

"Don't force yourself on them," Gennie warned.

"I'm not going to do that," Ben replied.

"Uh huh," Gennie said, not believing him at all.

"So, are you going to stand out here and get wet or are you going inside?"

"It's barely raining," Gennie said, "but I guess I should go inside. I don't want to seem unfriendly."

Chapter 9: August 29

They enjoyed their week with Malcolm and Colleen. One day they had breakfast at the inn they were staying at. Another day they went canoeing together on the lake. Gennie found out they did have casual clothes with them, though Colleen's most casual clothes were far nicer than anything Gennie wore. One day Colleen invited Gracie and Gennie to a tea party the inn's owner was hosting outside. It was a girls' only event. Gennie was a bit anxious because she had to wear a dress, gloves and a hat. Gracie told her not to worry. She let her borrow a brown crocheted cloche hat that once belonged to Gracie's mother. It smelled funny and it was probably out of style but Gennie didn't complain. Before the tea, Gennie went into Malcolm and Colleen's room where Colleen let her pick out whatever dress from her suitcase she liked. Gennie picked out a copper colored chiffon dress because it seemed to match the hat best. When she went into the bathroom to put it on, she had a feeling it was very expensive and was scared to death of ripping the fabric. When Colleen helped her zip it up the rest of the way, it fit more snugly than Gennie was used to and she felt uncomfortable. Colleen also gave her the copper hued nylon gloves that went with the dress. When Gennie looked in the mirror, she looked acceptable, but inside she felt very awkward.

There was a very long table set up outside, with a linen tablecloth, china and silverware. Gennie thought it looked very nice next to the lake. About fifty ladies of varying ages attended, Gracie and Colleen seemed to know most of them and chit chatted, while Gennie stood silently next to Gracie most of the time.

When they sat down to tea, one of the ladies sitting directly across from Gracie started asking her questions. Luckily, Gracie answered for her. She told the lady she was a foster child her and Rusty took in. Gennie was relieved because she didn't want the whole town to know the truth. She and Ben were mostly known as 'the two kids who went to jail' among the residents. When the lady asked how long they would be staying with her, Gracie hesitated but finally answered that they could stay as long as they wanted.

Gracie and Gennie drove back to the cabin in the pickup truck.

"You did very good today. I was impressed," Gracie said.

"I felt weird and uncomfortable," Gennie replied.

"I could tell," Gracie said. "Colleen loves those sorts of things though. All her friends from school attended. I'm sure she was thrilled that you came."

"I'm not like them," Gennie said.

"I'm not either," Gracie replied. "Don't worry about it."

Later that night, they had dinner at the cabin. Ben made baked chicken breasts with a parmesan crust and a side of maple-baked beans.

"You girls better appreciate it," Rusty said. "We were slaving over a hot stove all day to make this for you."

"I'm sure you were," Gracie said. "Wow, it's delicious. How did you come up with this Ben?"

"Um, it just a lot of stuff I threw together that I thought would taste good," Ben said sheepishly.

"The baked beans were my idea," Rusty said. "God knows we have enough of them. I was just going to cook them straight but Ben added a bunch of stuff to them. I didn't think it would taste good together but it does."

"Speaking of good together," Gracie said, "I have a proposition for both of you."

Gennie's stomach turned sour. Why use a fancy word like 'proposition'? _It must be something bad_ , she thought.

"What is it?" Ben asked. Unlike her, he seemed excited.

"Well...," Gracie replied, "we love having you here, but obviously, the cabin is much too small for all of us. I feel bad for you kids having to sleep on the floor all the time. You're getting to the age where you should have space to yourselves. Like I said, we usually live in Vancouver and our place down there is not much bigger than this cabin. We usually stay here until about October and that's also a problem. Where would you kids go to school?"

"I'm not planning on going back to school," Ben said. "I'll probably find a job soon."

"Let's say you change your mind about that," Gracie said. "It would be hard for you to go back with our schedule."

Gennie looked down at her half eaten dinner plate. _So they are getting rid of us_ , she thought. Tears blurred her vision.

"So, anyway, I was talking to Malcolm and Colleen about this dilemma. I told them you don't have a family to go back to and that I wouldn't dream of giving you up. They said if you wanted, you could live with them in San Francisco. They have a four bedroom home. Two of those rooms are completely empty, so you both could have your own bedrooms if you like. And you would have your own bathroom too. They live in a very nice neighborhood with good schools, so you could have a chance to have friends your own age. Honestly, I think it would be best situation for both of you. What do you think?"

Ben practically jumped out of his seat. "Yes, we'll go with them. When are they leaving?"

"Gennie, do you want to go?" Gracie asked.

Gennie tried to suppress a sob. "Okay."

Gracie put her arm around her. "We're not trying to get rid of you, if that's what you're thinking. We just thought this would be best. If you want to stay, just say so."

"No, I can't leave my brother," she said.

Ben frowned when he saw how unhappy she was, but didn't say anything.

"If you want to stay, we can build a room for you," Rusty said. "It shouldn't be that hard. And we could always leave for Vancouver early so you can go to school there."

"No," Gennie said. "I'll go to San Francisco."

"It'll be great," Ben said. "We'll have a whole new life."

Gennie nodded as she wiped away a stray tear. _At least one of us will be happy_ , she thought.

Chapter 10: August 30

They left Atlin the next day with a paper bag full of their meager possessions. Gennie didn't realize how long the drive was going to be. Day turned into night and they still weren't out of British Columbia. Gennie spent most of her time looking at the beautiful scenery while Ben peppered Malcolm and Colleen with questions about San Francisco. At nine o'clock, they stopped at a motel in a small town probably not much bigger than Atlin.

"How far are we from San Francisco now?" Ben asked excitedly.

"Probably about another two thousand miles away," Malcolm replied. He looked exhausted.

"I thought we'd be in America," Ben said.

"You thought wrong," Malcolm replied. "BC is absolutely huge. Let's get some shuteye. We have a very long day tomorrow."

Malcolm got a room with two double beds. He and Colleen slept in one and Gennie and Ben slept in another. Gennie couldn't remember the last time she slept so well. She had spent the last two months sleeping on a braided rug with a small pillow and a sleeping bag. She wasn't happy at all when she left Atlin but now she began to see how much better her life could be. Plus, she hadn't seen Ben this ecstatic in a very long time.

The next day they ate breakfast at nine o'clock and were off on their way by ten. It was nine o'clock at night before they stopped at a good-sized town that cut through the Yellowhead Highway. They stayed at a resort lined with small cabins.

"Are we almost there?" Ben asked, almost as tiredly as Gennie felt.

"Uh, maybe about halfway," Malcolm replied, "I think."

The next day they ate breakfast at the cabin and left at ten o'clock again. They drove for another ten hours until they arrived at a town called Hope.

"I _hope_ I don't spend the rest of my life in this car," Ben complained as they arrived at another motel. "This is getting boring!"

"It was your idea," Gennie said. "You're the one who wanted to leave Atlin and go to the big city."

"Don't worry kids," Malcolm said. "The US is only about an hour away from here. Hopefully, we'll be home by tomorrow."

The next day they left the motel by ten again. Less than an hour later, they arrived at the point of entry for the US. The traffic was backed up so they had to wait about thirty minutes to get pass it. Ben cheered when they finally crossed it.

"Have you ever been in the lower forty-eight?" Malcolm asked.

"No," Ben replied. "We've never been anywhere except Willow, where we grew up and Atlin."

"I think you'll like it," Colleen replied.

"We're in Washington, right?" Gennie asked.

"Yes," Colleen said.

"How far do we have to go to get to San Francisco?" Gennie asked.

"I think it's still another thousand miles away," Colleen replied. "We'll probably be there by tomorrow."

Ben groaned. "Geez, the map in my classroom made it look so tiny. I thought everything was just a few hours away from each other."

"You should have paid more attention in school," Gennie scolded.

"Well, that's in the past," Ben replied. "I'm going to get a paper and look for a job as soon as we get to San Francisco."

Gennie saw Colleen give Ben a concerned look but she didn't say anything. Gennie knew that was a sign of trouble. She worried that if they gave Ben a hard time about not going to school, he might run away.

Nine hours later, they were in a small city in Oregon. They stopped a large brown Victorian house with lush gardens.

"This is where we stayed on our honeymoon," Colleen said. "We went back here two years ago and we had a great time."

It seemed much cozier to Gennie than the motels they previously stayed at. Gennie wondered if their house looked anything like this.

"This is it kids," Malcolm said. "We're only about fifteen miles to the California border. Tomorrow we'll be in San Francisco."

The room they stayed in was spacious. Malcolm and Colleen slept in the four-poster queen sized bed while Ben and Gennie slept in a full size sofa bed on the opposite end of the room.

"Finally," Ben whispered to Gennie, "I can't wait to get a job and start saving up for my restaurant."

"I hope they don't make you go to school," Gennie whispered back.

"They won't. They haven't said anything to me about it."

"Just because they haven't said anything doesn't mean they won't."

"Well, I'm not going. How about you? Are you going back to school?"

"Yeah, I guess so."

"Are you going to get to a job?"

"I don't know, Ben. I don't have my entire life planned out like you have."

"Don't be snippy. I'm just asking."

"I don't know. I hope the kids in San Francisco are nice. I heard big city kids are snobby."

"Honestly, I don't care because I won't have to deal with them."

"Don't get your hopes up."

"Well, at least we don't have to worry about where we're going to live anymore and if someone is going to beat us up in the middle of the night because they're hungry and in a bad mood."

"Yeah, that's for sure," Gennie said. "I don't miss that."

"I wonder what Bryan would think if he knew that what he did was the best thing that's ever happened to us," Ben said. "I'd love to see the look on the face when he finds out we're still alive and doing great."

"Honestly," Gennie replied, "I don't give a damn what Bryan thinks, now or ever. He can rot in hell for all I care."

"He'll get what's coming to him someday," Ben said.

"I hope so," Gennie replied.

Ben kissed her on the forehead. "Thank you for coming with me," he said. "I know you didn't want to."

Gennie nodded. "I wanted you to be happy."

"Are you happy, though?"

"Uh, I guess so. I think Gracie was right. It was the best for us."

"You know I'd never leave you behind, right? If you didn't want to come, I wouldn't have come either."

Gennie nodded. She turned around in case she started crying. She already shed tears once this week; she didn't want to seem like a big baby.

Chapter 11: September 3

They left at ten o'clock again. Ben could barely sit still. It was the last day of traveling. In a few hours, they would be in San Francisco. Gennie noticed the mountains gradually turned into rolling hills but soon after they crossed the border into California the landscape changed drastically. The grass turned from green to yellow and the hills completely disappeared. It almost looked like a desert.

Soon they were on a huge multi-lane bridge with cranes reaching for the sky on one side and billboards on another. They were also completely surrounded by water.

"Is that the ocean?" Ben asked.

"No," Malcolm replied. "That's the San Francisco Bay. It leads to the ocean though."

"Maybe next weekend we'll go to the beach," Colleen said. "We can show you the ocean then."

The bridge led into a tunnel and they emerged on the other side on an elevated highway. Buildings and cars surrounded them. On one side of the highway, they saw small hills; on the other side, they saw extremely tall buildings in the distance. Gennie assumed they must be skyscrapers.

"Are we in San Francisco?" Ben asked.

"Yep," Malcolm said. "It's not too long until we're at our house."

They went on another huge multi-lane highway and took an exit that led to an even bigger road. Gennie had never seen this many cars in her life. She couldn't even imagine driving around in a place like this.

They went onto a smaller highway then came upon a large street lined with warehouses and scruffy looking trees. Cable car tracks crisscrossed the road. They arrived at a sprawling intersection surrounded by art deco buildings. The car turned right onto a narrow street crowded with small tidy homes. They parked in the driveway of a small beige house with tan trim. It had a tiny manicured front lawn with a brick walkway.

"We're home," Malcolm said.

Colleen sighed. "That's why I don't go up there very often. It's always an ordeal."

Ben was out of the car within five seconds. Malcolm opened the trunk and they all helped with the luggage.

"You can leave the suitcases in the garage if you want," Colleen said. "I'll show you around first."

The basement had shiny parquet floors and looked like it had never been used. They took a small set of stairs to the second floor. The living room had a large leather sofa and two overstuffed chairs facing a fireplace. Their kitchen had brand new wood cabinets with light green countertops and a shiny white tiled floor. Colleen led them to a bedroom that was painted green with white trim. A simple white quilt lay on the full sized bed.

"Can this one be mine?" Ben asked.

"Of course," Colleen replied. "I know it's a little feminine right now with the flowers everywhere, but you can decorate it any way you like."

Colleen showed them their shared bathroom. It had blue tile on the floor and cream-colored walls. The bathtub matched the tile.

Colleen opened the door to the second bedroom. The walls were painted peach and the bedspread and drapes were white with small yellow flowers. A bureau drawer with a gold lamp stood on the opposite side of the bed while a small desk with a typewriter was near the door.

"I'm glad that this is my room," Gennie said, "because Ben doesn't know how to type."

"You don't know how to type either," Ben replied.

"You'll probably learn in school," Colleen said. "It comes in very handy for secretarial work."

"Gennie's dying to be a secretary," Ben said jokingly.

Gennie smacked him in the arm.

"Do you like our house?" Colleen asked.

"Yes," Gennie said, "it's beautiful."

"Oh thank you," Colleen replied, "I decorated it all by myself, you know. Malcolm's not really interested in those sorts of things."

Gennie wasn't that interested either, but she could appreciate the fact that Colleen took pride in it.

"I can't believe I have my own room!" Ben said. "I have never had my own room _ever_ in my life. Now this one won't keep me up at night with her blabbing."

"Me?" Gennie said. "How about you with your snoring? It's like sleeping next to a grizzly bear."

"Now you won't have to worry about it," Colleen said. "You'll both have plenty of privacy."

"Halleujah!" Ben said.

They brought the luggage into the house and they unpacked what little they had. Then they took a long nap in their bedrooms until supper was ready. They had frozen breaded chicken fingers with baked potatoes. Gennie knew it wasn't up to Ben's standards but neither of them said anything.

"We have a busy day tomorrow," Colleen said, "so get as much rest as you can."

"What are we doing that's so important?" Ben asked.

"Well, we're going shopping for school clothes," Colleen said.

"I don't need school clothes," Ben said.

"Ben, you have about four outfits to your name," Gennie said.

"Yeah, but I don't need _school_ clothes."

"Yes, you do," Malcolm said, a note of sternness in his voice.

"I am _not_ going to school," Ben grumbled. "You can't make me."

"You're too young to drop out," Malcolm said. "You have to go. My parents never finished school and they barely eked out a living. They borrowed money from Uncle Rusty and Aunt Gracie all the time. I promised myself I would never end up like that and neither would any children I had. Since we're raising you now, we will not allow you to drop out and just give up."

"Shit!" Ben yelled out. He stood up and slammed the chair. "If I had known this was part of the deal, I never would have come here!"

"Don't walk away from us," Malcolm said.

"Screw you!" Ben shouted. "I'm walking away right now!"

If Ben had talked to his father like that, he would have been hit with a belt or have his mouth washed out with soap, but Malcolm said nothing. He just sighed and finished his meal. Colleen looked very upset. She frowned deeply and twirled her fork.

"Don't worry about him," Gennie said. "I told him a million times that he would end up going to school, but he wouldn't listen to me. I can talk to him about it after dinner."

"Thank you, Gennie," Malcolm replied. "We're not used to this sort of thing. I would never talk to my parents like that."

"He didn't mean it," Gennie said. "It's been a really rough year for him. Plus he hates school. He's usually not like that."

"Well, I don't know the whole story but I know enough to give him the benefit of the doubt. Tell him I will not change my mind."

"Okay," Gennie said, "I will."

Chapter 12: September 4

Colleen took them to Montgomery Ward for their school clothes. Ben moped the entire time and told Colleen to pick out what she wanted. Colleen seemed pretty happy about that. She selected a few button down shirts, some sweaters, and trousers. She was even happier when she went into the young women's section of the store. Gennie let her choose what she wanted also, only voicing her dissent if she thought something was too frilly. By the end of the shopping trip, they all carried two large shopping bags. Gennie owned more clothes now than she ever did in her life.

Malcolm picked them up after he finished with his work and took Ben to the barbershop to get his hair trimmed. There was a beauty salon right next to Montgomery Ward's. Gennie was hesitant about going in but didn't want to spoil Colleen's day. Besides, she had to admit she was a little rough around the edges. She never had her hair cut by a hairdresser before. She had always done it herself and hadn't trimmed her hair in at least a year. If she knew she wasn't going out, she didn't even bother to comb it.

The first thing that hit her when she entered was the overwhelming chemical smell. She didn't know what it was, but it was stomach curdling. There were several ladies in the salon, mostly in their twenties and thirties, with their hair in curlers.

"Uh, I don't know if I want my hair curly like that," Gennie said to Colleen.

"Well, you don't have to," Colleen said. "There's some books with different hairstyles over there. Take a look through them and see what you like."

Gennie browsed through a few of the books while Colleen chatted with the receptionist. There wasn't much that she liked, but there were a few styles where the top was teased slightly and just the ends were curled. She thought she would be okay with that.

When a hairdresser became available, Gennie sat down in one of the leather seats.

"What can I do for you, honey?" the hairdresser, a woman in her forties with blonde hair in short tight curls, asked. Just by looking at her, Gennie was instantly afraid.

"Well...I...think I just want the ends curled," she said.

"You don't want it cut?"

"Uh, maybe about an inch or so."

The hairdresser inspected her hair. "So, you want it keep it long, curly at the ends, right?"

"Yeah, that's right."

First, she had her hair washed, then she sat back down in the seat and the hairdresser grabbed random lengths of her hair and cut it at odd angles. Gennie was worried but it seemed to look okay after she finished trimming it. She rolled the last four inches in heated pink curlers. Then she sat on one of those chairs with the strange looking domes for a while. The dome blew hot air at her head. After that, the hairdresser took out the rollers and styled it with a large brush. Gennie was impressed.

"Do you like it?" the hairdresser asked.

"Yes," she said. She felt one of the curls. It was silky. "It's really nice. Thank you."

Colleen gasped when she saw her. "That hairstyle is absolutely gorgeous on you. I thought you were pretty before, but now you're just beautiful."

Gennie felt herself turn about nine shades of red. "Oh thanks."

Then she had her nails done. She had to soak her hands for about twenty minutes to get rid of the grunge underneath them. Then they were decuticled, buffed, shined and painted a peachy pink color. She felt like she was someone's prized pet with all the primping she was getting. She wasn't sure she liked it, because it was really boring, but she thought for the first time in her life she actually looked nice.

Colleen was over the moon when they left the salon. "Wait until the boys get a look at you. They're going to be so happy!"

Malcolm drove up in front of the salon about a minute later. Ben was still frowning but he didn't seem quite as unhappy as before. His eyes widened when he saw Gennie.

"What did you do with my sister?" he asked Colleen as they got into the car. "She doesn't look like a cave woman anymore."

"And your hair isn't past your ears and pointing up in seventeen different places," Gennie said. It was actually combed neatly to one side and trimmed. It was still long for a boys' cut but at least it was in the acceptable range.

"When we get home, let's take a picture of them in front of the house and send it to Aunt Gracie and Uncle Rusty," Colleen said.

"They'll probably say to themselves, 'Who are these people? They don't look like the maniacs we took in'" Ben said.

Gennie whispered into his ear. "Hey, you're supposed to be miserable."

"I will be when they force me to go to school," he whispered back.

"I think you'll survive," Gennie said.

The next day they visited The Lane Academy, a nearby high school. Malcolm had done the headmaster's taxes for about five years and had found a lot of previously missed deductions and errors, all in his client's favor. Malcolm was overdue for a big favor from him. Ben and Gennie had to take a test. Gennie couldn't imagine how Ben did on the test because she found it incredibly hard. She looked over at him when the time was up and he had only finished half of it.

"We're never getting in at this prissy school," Ben said, handing the test to the school secretary.

"You never know," Gennie replied. "Weird things always seem to happen to us."

The next day the headmaster called and told Malcolm that Ben and Gennie would be accepted into the tenth grade. Gennie was thrilled but Ben just put his hands in his pockets and retreated to his room.

Gennie went to see him a few minutes later. He was lying on his bed, looking up at the ceiling.

"Aren't you happy you don't have go back to middle school?" she asked him.

"Yeah, I guess," he said, even though he looked less than thrilled.

"It looks like a really great place."

"Yeah," he turned away from her and sighed.

"It'll be okay," she said.

"No it won't," he said. She thought she heard his voice crack. "They'll figure out soon enough that I'm really stupid. There's no way I'm going to make it there."

She felt bad for him. She sat down on his bed and patted him gently on the back. "Please don't say that. I know you're not stupid. You can make it there. You just have to try."

His breathing was really jagged. She was sure he was crying.

"You can do it," she said. "Colleen, Malcolm and I are all going to help you, okay?"

She saw him nod but he refused to show his face.

"Hey, look at it this way. Maybe you'll find a cute girl there."

"No girls like me. They think I'm ugly."

"Well, the headmaster said there was a blind girl at the school. Maybe she's cute and she'll probably go out with you because she doesn't know what you really look like."

Gennie didn't know if Ben was crying harder or chuckling.

"That is the dumbest thing that has ever been said in the entire history of the universe."

"I know, but at least it made you laugh."

He finally looked at her. His eyes were red and swollen. "When I found out they were going to force me to go to school, I wanted to run away from here so bad. I didn't because I knew you came here even though you didn't want to. I figured I would just suck it up and go to school with you, because I saw how happy you were about going."

Gennie smiled. "Thanks."

"Now you owe me one big time."

Gennie hit him with one of his pillows. "I don't owe you anything. You're the one that owes me."

Chapter 13: November 6

"Ben, I know you're trying very hard and we appreciate that, but we think you might need some extra help," Malcolm said as they all ate dinner.

That was no surprise to anyone. Although Gennie managed to squeak by with C minuses and D's, Ben had straight F's right down the board.

Ben didn't say anything in response, except for sighing.

"So, at the meeting today, your English teacher recommended that we get you a tutor. She said there was someone in her accelerated classes that might work for you. Do you know a girl named Charlene?"

Ben shook his head.

"We don't have any classes with the fast track," Gennie said.

"Well, your English teacher said Charlene could start right away. She'll be over at around six thirty."

"Is she going to be helping me too?" Gennie said.

"Well, at the meeting we discussed you also and they said you could probably do the work but you need time to get adjusted. They would just wait and see, since you're not failing."

"Good," Gennie said. "Because I was planning on going over to Page's house tonight and doing my homework there. Is that all right with you?"

"Of course," Colleen replied, "just be home by nine thirty."

"I will, promise," Gennie said.

"Ugh," Ben said. Gennie gave him a dirty look. For some unknown reason, he hated Page. Gennie realized she wasn't the most attractive or popular girl at the school but neither was she. Besides, Gennie didn't have any other friends except for Page. No one else would talk to her.

After dinner, Gennie gathered up her books and was about to leave for Page's house when the doorbell rang. When Gennie answered it, there was a girl at the door about her age, but she was dressed to the nines. She wore a pink high waist sheath dress with matching dress shoes. She was easily five inches taller than Gennie. Her light blonde hair was teased and curled to perfection. Gennie saw her in the halls at school all the time, hanging out with the other members of the cheerleading team or with one of the football player's arms casually around her. She was the girl everybody wanted to be like. Page absolutely hated her.

The girl gave her a rather forced and fake smile.

"Hello," she said, like she was reading lines from a script, "I'm Charlene Conrad. Mrs. Quirke said someone who lived here needed a tutor."

"That would be my brother," Gennie said. "Do you want me to go get him?"

"Oh...okay," she said, giggling nervously.

_If this is way things are going to be_ , Gennie thought, _I'm going to be spending a lot of time at Page's house. This girl is a ditz._

"You can put your purse on the hook right there," Gennie said, pointing to the line of coat hangers mounted in the foyer.

She climbed up the stairs. Colleen and Malcolm were watching the news.

"Ben's tutor is here," Gennie said.

"Oh, all right," Colleen replied. "You can tell her to wait in the living room. I'll go get Ben."

Gennie groaned quietly. She just wanted to be out the door already. Now she would have to make small talk with Charlene.

She went back down the stairs and led Charlene to the living room. Luckily, Ben was walking down the hall when he saw Charlene conversing with Malcolm. He stopped dead in his tracks, his eyes as big as saucers. Gennie had no idea why he was acting so odd.

"Don't be shy, Ben," Colleen said, giving him a nudge. "Your new tutor wants to meet you."

Ben walked stiffly into the living room. "Hello," he said quietly.

"Hi," Charlene replied, giggling. "It's nice to meet you."

"So, you don't know each other?" Malcolm asked.

"Uh, I think I've seen in her in the halls and at the pep rallies. She's one of the cheerleaders," Ben said to him.

"I don't think I've seen you in school," Charlene said coyly. "Do you play any sports at all?"

Ben shook his head, not even looking at her.

Gennie huffed. This was so awkward. She wanted to leave but didn't want to seem rude. Colleen hinted many times that she needed to work on her manners.

"Ben, why don't you and Charlene go into the kitchen," Malcolm said. "We'll keep the TV turned down so you two can concentrate."

"Thank you, Mr. Rea," Charlene said. "We really appreciate that."

This was her cue. "Well, I have to get going," Gennie said, probably too quickly to be polite. "It was nice meeting you, Charlene."

"You too, um..."

"My name's Gennie," she replied, running down the stairs.

Gennie let out a sigh when she closed the front door. She hated situations like that where she had to be all stiff and formal, especially when the person was flawless in every way. It made her feel like dirt. That's why she liked going to Page's house. No need to be Miss Congeniality there. Page and her family were probably one step above farm animals, especially her younger brother. She was practically skipping down the street, she was so happy to be out of there. She felt sorry for Ben. He looked like he was being dragged to an electric chair. _Oh well_ , Gennie thought _, not my problem. If he made an effort, he wouldn't be in this situation right now._

It took about fifteen minutes to walk from her home in the Lakeside neighborhood to Page's house in Inner Parkside. The homes there were even more crowded together than in Gennie's neighborhood. Most of them were attached to each other. The houses were all Spanish style with two small strips of neatly trimmed grass or flowers in front. Most of them were painted pastel colors and had small metal balconies. Not Page's house, though. It stood out like a sore thumb. It was a large Victorian with stained glass windows. At one time, it was painted light gray with forest green trim but the majority of the paint had long since peeled away. Their two strips of land were waist high with weeds and two very imposing arborvitaes hid the entranceway from view. Gennie's old home in Willow wasn't that great looking from the outside but compared to this one it would have made the cover of _House Beautiful_ magazine.

Gennie walked up the worn stone steps leading to the house's porch. One of Page's many cats was resting in an antique black rocking chair.

"Hey, Midge, how are you doing?" Gennie said to the cat.

Midge opened her grayish-green eyes, gave her a cursory glance and closed them again.

Gennie knocked on the worn dark green door. Dmitri, a Russian Blue, peeked out anxiously from one of the stained glass panels on either side of the door.

"I'm coming!" she heard Page say. She clopped from the kitchen to the hallway and opened the door.

"Couldn't take it anymore?" Page asked. She adjusted her round black glasses. They were always crooked and too large for her thin face.

Gennie sighed and stepped inside. Dmitri, alarmed by her presence, dashed out. Page closed the door on him.

"He better not start mewing," Page said. "Stupid cat doesn't know what he wants. All day he's been at the door wanting to go out. But as soon as I close the door, he wants to come in again."

"Well, I want out," Gennie said. "Things have gone from bad to worse at my house."

"I just poured myself a glass of wine in the kitchen," Page said. "Want some?"

"Sure," Gennie replied. That meant Page's parents were gone and wouldn't be home for a while. Page liked to raid their liquor cabinet while they were away.

They walked down the hallway and into the kitchen. It was painted a dingy beige with no doors on any of the cabinets. Page rinsed out two glasses in the porcelain sink and grabbed a green glass wine bottle from their unlocked cabinet. She poured the glasses nearly all the way to the top and set them down on the dark red kitchen table.

"This will take the edge off," she said.

Gennie took a sip of the light pink fizzy liquid. It was sweet and fruity, sort of like ginger ale with cherry syrup in it. Page gulped hers down in one shot.

"What seems to be the trouble, Genny-O?" Page said.

Gennie hated being called that, it made her sound like a turkey, but she ignored it.

"Uh, well, Malcolm and Colleen arranged to have a tutor for Ben because he's flunking out of school. I was just about to leave for your house when she came to the door, and it was no other than Miss Perfect."

_"The_ Miss Perfect?" Page said.

"Yes, her."

"Oh god! You must have died on the spot!"

"I wanted to, but I had to be nice to her otherwise Colleen would be mad and ban me from ever going outside again."

"How did she act? Was she looking down her nose at you like the snotty little bitch she is?"

"No, she was all giggles. It irritated the hell out of me."

"Oh yeah, I forgot. Every other word someone says makes her laugh. So how did Ben take it?"

"He was acting really weird. When he saw her, he got stiff as a board and his eyes were really wide. Then, when she looked at him, he put his head down. He wouldn't even talk to her except to say hi. When Malcolm told them to study in the kitchen, I shot out of there like a bolt of lightning."

"That's not good," Page said, shaking her head. "That means she's come under his spell."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, he's got the hots for her, just like all the guys at school do."

Gennie groaned and folded her arms. "I can't believe it. Ben's not like that."

"He sure is," Page said. "If he's got a wiener, he thinks with it."

Gennie rolled her eyes. "Bad enough she's going to come over every single day at six thirty...now I'm going to have to look at Ben drooling at her!"

"Now you know what my life is like," Page said. "Danny drools over anything that is female. Last night I caught him trying to bring Midge into his bedroom. Luckily, I grabbed her in time. Who knows what unspeakable acts he would do to her if he had the chance?"

Gennie laughed so hard tears rolled down her cheeks. The alcohol was getting to her.

"At least Midge has claws," Gennie said, "and she knows where to use them."

"Oh yes," Page replied, her dark brown eyes beaming with pride, "she learned from the best."

"We probably should get going on our homework," Gennie said, putting her books on the table.

"The old ball and chain to keep us tied to school," Page said. "Wanna smoke first? I concentrate better after I've had a few puffs."

"Oh, okay," Gennie said reluctantly. She didn't like smoking but she was afraid Page would think she was a square if she said no.

Page pulled out a pack of Camels from her knapsack, lit one up and used that one to light a second cigarette up. She handed the second cigarette to Gennie.

"So," Page said, forming a perfect circle of smoke when she exhaled, "what does Miss Perfect look like close up? Does she have any zits, boils...herpes blisters?"

Gennie snickered. "Oh my god, you're so funny sometimes. No, she is just as perfect close up as from far away. I didn't see any zits, though she does wear a lot of makeup. She had the foundation, eyeliner, even the fake lashes. Colleen doesn't even take it that far."

"Goddamn it, now my dreams are dashed," Page said dramatically.

"Sorry about that," Gennie said.

"So, she actually talked to a peon like you? Who would've thunketh such a thing? What did she say?"

"Not much. Something like 'Hi, I'm Charlene, I'm a tutor. Heeheehee'."

"Yes, I see," Page said in mock seriousness. "And that golden mane of hair...is it real?"

"Who the hell knows?" Gennie replied. "It looked real to me; though it was mostly one color so maybe she had a little help from Clairol. It didn't look like a wig."

"And is it coifed into oblivion?"

"Oh yes. There was so much Elnett on there, it looked shellacked. I don't think she could smoke if she wanted to, she'd probably blow up instantly."

"It's too bad we'll never experience the joy of fifteen layers of hairspray."

"Okay, Page...we have to do our homework. I promised Colleen I'd be home by nine-thirty. I don't want to be late again."

"Your foster parents are a real drag," Page said. "Usually wards of the state are allowed to do whatever they want as long as the cops aren't involved and they stay out of the way."

"Not us," Gennie said. "We have to be on the straight and narrow. We've been on own for so long it's hard to go back to following someone else's rules."

Page didn't know the whole story but she did know that both of Gennie's parents were dead.

"I couldn't live like that," Page said. "I'm so lucky that my parents give me a lot of leeway. As long as it doesn't affect how I'm doing at Lane, they're fine with it."

Gennie grabbed her math textbook and put it on the table.

"What pages do we have to do?" Gennie asked. "I forgot to write it down."

"Twelve and thirteen." Page never wrote anything down but she had a fantastic memory so it was never an issue.

"Oh my god, there's thirty word problems on each page! I'll never be able to get this done!"

"No worries, Gennie-O," Page said. "We'll get it done."

It took about an hour for Gennie to finish all the word problems and she still had English and Spanish homework to do.

"Do you think you can do the English homework?" Page asked. "We had to read chapter ten of _Great Expectations_ and answer a bunch of questions."

"I read the whole book already last year," Gennie said.

"Oh, they read in Alaska?"

"Don't be a smartass," Gennie replied, chuckling.

"Smartass is my middle name," Page replied.

"I thought Elizabeth was your middle name."

"Oh that's right. Smartass is my first name."

"So, your whole name is Smartass Elizabeth Goodman?"

"Stupid name, huh?" Page said.

"Stupid is as stupid does," Gennie replied.

"Wow, that's a zinger. I see you're catching on."

Gennie remembered the book pretty well, so she was able to answer all the questions in about fifteen minutes.

"Oh god, not Spanish," Gennie said. "I don't understand it at all."

_"No hay problema. Yo te ayudo con él. Será fácil._ "

"I have no idea what you just said."

"Well, at least you're not taking Latin like Miss Perfect is. Then you would be learning something you couldn't understand and would be useless even if you did."

"Well, obviously I'm not fast track material," Gennie said.

It took about a half hour to finish the Spanish homework. Afterwards they went upstairs to Page's bedroom and listened to Miles Davis and other musicians Gennie never heard of and no one in school listened to except for Page. They also chatted. Gennie lost track of time. When she looked at her watch, it was twenty after nine.

"Oh geez, I have to get going! I promised Colleen I would be back by nine-thirty."

"Well, you have ten minutes."

"Yeah, but it takes fifteen minutes to walk home."

"You can borrow my bike if you want," Page suggested. "It's an old rust bucket, but it still works."

"Thanks," Gennie said, "I'll bring it back tomorrow."

"Don't," Page replied. "I'm trying to get the folks to spring for a new one. I'm going to tell them someone stole it."

"Oh, okay," Gennie replied. "Well, anyway, thanks for helping me with my homework and giving me your bike."

"No problem," Page said. "Now get out of here before Colleen grounds you for life."

Gennie ran down the stairs, almost tripping on Eunice, an Aegean cat. She meowed in irritation.

"Sorry," Gennie said, running out the door.

She grabbed Page's bike out of the driveway and pedaled down the street. She could see why Page wanted a new one. It squeaked very loudly. The plastic handgrips were missing, so it was very cold and uncomfortable to steer. She pedaled as fast as she could past Pine Lake Park and then Ocean Avenue. She took a sharp right when she reached Acacia Court.

When she entered the house, she looked at her watch. It said nine-thirty exactly. The TV was still on. Malcolm watched _Espionage_ on Wednesday nights and it sounded like it just started.

"It's nine-thirty two," Colleen said from the top of the stairwell.

"Huh?" Gennie said.

"You said you would be home at nine-thirty exactly," she said.

Gennie sighed. "I'm sorry; my homework took forever to do. Luckily Page helped me or I would have never finished it."

"Maybe you can save yourself some hassle and have Charlene help you. She's a lovely girl."

Gennie walked up the stairs. "No thank you. I think she has her hands full with Ben."

"Oh, I'm sure it wouldn't be a problem. Do you want me to ask her?"

"No! Oh sorry, no. You don't need to ask."

"Well, you need to get ready for bed."

"Is Ben out of the bathroom yet?"

"He should be."

"Oh okay. I'll get ready. Sorry for being for two minutes late."

"Adjust your watch before you go to bed," Colleen said. "Then you won't be late again."

Gennie groaned as she walked down the hall. Sometimes Colleen could be so anal. Gennie didn't visit friends when she lived in Alaska often since everyone lived much farther apart from each other, but her dad would have never raised a fuss if she came home a few minutes late. Colleen was a nice lady but the rigid rules got to Gennie sometimes.

As Gennie brushed her teeth, she thought about Charlene. _Now Colleen's gushing over her, great,_ she thought; _add another one to Miss Perfect's fan club._ She was so lucky she had Page. Maybe tomorrow she could call and have supper over at Page's house. Her mother was a terrible cook but it was worth eating freezer burned food if it meant she didn't have to talk to Charlene.

Chapter 14: February 3, 1964

Charlene's tutoring worked. On the second quarter report card, Ben got all C's. Gennie was doing better too, getting mostly B's. They celebrated by going out to The Franciscan Restaurant. On Monday, Ben seemed unusually happy. He insisted on making a special dinner and was very talkative.

"Something good happen at school?" Malcolm asked as they sat down to eat.

Ben shrugged. "Not really, except they're having auditions for a play the sophomore class is putting on."

_"Romeo and Juliet_? What's so special about that?" Gennie said.

"Well, Charlene told me last week that she's trying out for the part of Juliet."

Gennie rolled her eyes. Ben's crush on Charlene was getting old quickly. He tried to sit at a table near Charlene's at lunchtime just so he could look at her. He asked during one of their tutoring sessions what her parents' names were and looked up their address in the phone book so he could send her anonymous love letters. He also found out Charlene's favorite thing to do was roller skate, so practically every Sunday he took the bus to Golden Gate Park to watch Charlene skate near the Conservatory of Flowers. Every day his infatuation with her became more consuming and it bothered Gennie because she knew he didn't stand a chance. She had a boyfriend already, the most popular sophomore in school. He was rich, handsome and athletic. Gennie didn't understand why Ben focused so much on Charlene. Why couldn't he pick another girl he could actually date?

"I didn't know you were interested in acting," Malcolm said.

"He isn't," Gennie replied, "he's just doing it because Charlene's trying out."

"I guess you two have become really good friends," Colleen said.

"Yeah, a little bit. I figure if I can get a part in the play, then we can go to rehearsals together and we'll get a chance to talk about something other than homework."

Gennie wanted to smack him upside the head. "Isn't her boyfriend going to try out too? I imagine she wants him to be Romeo."

"He can't because of the baseball schedule. That's what I heard in the locker room anyway."

"Well, good luck with the play," Malcolm said, not sounding too hopeful about his prospects.

Ben's face turned red. "So...you all think I don't stand a chance, huh?"

"Calm down, Ben. Nobody said that," Malcolm replied.

"You didn't have to say it," Ben said pointedly at Gennie. "I know that's what you're thinking."

"Ben..." Gennie said, exasperated, "you're not being realistic. We know why you want to try out for the play and it's not going to work, even if you do get the part of Romeo."

"Oh, you're saying I'm a loser and I'm not good enough for her?"

"No, I'm saying it's not going to work so don't get your hopes up."

"You don't know that."

"Yeah, I do."

"Ben, Gennie...you need to talk about something else," Malcolm said sternly.

Ben looked like he was about to explode. "Can I be excused from the table? I don't feel like eating anymore."

Malcolm sighed. "All right. You can finish your dinner later."

No one said anything as Ben's footsteps pounded down the hallway and he slammed his bedroom door behind him.

"Should I go and talk to him?" Colleen asked.

"No, hon, I don't think that will help," Malcolm said.

"Don't worry. He'll get over it eventually," Gennie replied.

Chapter 15: February 10

Ben hadn't talked to Gennie since the day he announced his intentions to be Charlene's Romeo. She was surprised he was still angry. Every other time he was mad at her he had gotten over it by the next day. She wasn't too upset about it though. Once he finally came to his senses, he would forgive her.

Page's father picked them up from school on Monday in his pride and joy, a red 1957 King Midget Model III with a two person rumble seat. Page didn't embarrass easily, but this did it for her. Though Gennie thought the car was cute and would have loved to have built one herself from a kit like Page's dad did, she understood why Page was ashamed.

Ben was about six feet behind them, walking down the school steps.

"Hey Ben," Gennie said. "You want to ride with us?"

He shook his head, not even looking at her, and walked home.

"More room for us," Page said, jumping into the rumble seat.

"Your brother doesn't want to ride in the finest car ever built?" Page's father shouted over the engine noise.

"No, I'm afraid not, Mr. Goodman."

"What's wrong with him?"

"Charlene," Gennie shouted back to him. He laughed in response.

Page rolled her eyes. "Some people never learn. I hope he knows that he'll have to take a number and wait behind the other thirteen hundred guys at this school that are after her."

"He knows that, but he just doesn't want to believe it."

"Boys are so weird," Page replied. "Danny is after her too."

"So who do you think Charlene would pick if she only had Danny or Ben to choose from?"

"Ben would definitely win. He doesn't have massive zits or braces."

"Your brother is really tall for his age though. I think Charlene is probably about five foot ten and Ben is only five eight. Do you think that would make a difference?"

"I doubt it. Your brother wins when it comes to everything else."

"I've got to ask him how the tryouts went," Gennie said.

"Do you think he'll talk to you?"

"He has to," Gennie replied.

"Hi, I'm home!" she said when she arrived at her house a few minutes later.

"Hi," Malcolm said. When she went upstairs, she saw he was watching TV in his reclining chair.

"How was your day?" Gennie asked.

"Getting more insane by the minute," he replied tiredly. "I spent six hours in the basement going through shoeboxes of receipts and filling out tax forms. I've got about ten done so far...with about five hundred more to go. How was school?"

"Boring," Gennie replied. "Did Ben come home yet?"

"Not yet. He should be here any minute now, though."

Gennie watched TV until she heard the front door open. She ran to the foot of the stairs.

"Ben, I forgot to ask," she called downstairs. "How did tryouts go?"

Ben said nothing. He just took his coat off, put it on a hook and walked upstairs as if she wasn't even there.

"Did you hear what I said?" she asked him.

He didn't answer at all; he simply walked right past her and down the hallway, shutting his bedroom door behind him.

She took her books to her room then knocked on Ben's door.

"Can I come in?" Gennie asked. "I have to ask you something."

She heard Ben's bed creak. He opened the door and stepped out. She could tell he was very annoyed, even though he wasn't looking at her.

"I was wondering how the audition went."

She didn't think he was going to answer but he did. "They didn't say anything, but I think it went pretty good."

"How many other people were there?"

"About a hundred or so. I would say thirty guys were trying out for Romeo."

"I'm surprised it wasn't more. When will they tell you if you have the part or not?"

"Probably by Friday they should know who is going to be Romeo."

"Break a leg," Gennie said in jest.

Ben didn't laugh. He gave her a dirty look then returned to his room. Gennie heard him turn up his radio and settle back into bed.

"Whatever," she replied to the shut door. She went back into her room to do some reading.

Chapter 16: February 11

Gennie didn't know the first thing about love. Ben was sure of that as he lay in bed trying to sleep. Any other sister would be delighted he had a crush on Charlene. Unlike other guys, who would be too afraid to take the plunge, as soon as he got that part in the play, he would ask her out. He was sure they clicked and there was no way she would say no. They belonged together. Gennie should have been happy because this was her chance to get into the 'in' crowd, but she couldn't have cared less. Even worse, she was already passing judgment on Charlene when she barely knew her.

His relationship with Gennie really bothered him. She was so embarrassing now. She had always been a tomboy, but Ben figured it was because she grew up in the middle of nowhere in a house filled with guys. When they moved to San Francisco, he assumed with Colleen's guidance that she would become a little more feminine. He never expected her to be a debutante, but he thought she'd care a little more about her appearance. She stayed exactly the same though. Usually, as soon as she came home, she changed into a flannel shirt, jeans and boots. Just before Charlene arrived to tutor him, she would either run off to Page's house, or go in the garage and work on that hunk of junk she called a bike for hours on end. He couldn't imagine her getting married and having kids. Since every guy in school thought she was a freak, it probably wouldn't happen anyway.

Ben thought most of his sister's behavior stemmed from her friend Page. That chick was just weird. She only wore black clothes, had huge coke bottle glasses and crooked teeth. It didn't help that she smelled as if fifty cats peed on her at once. Ben wouldn't have touched her with a ninety-foot pole, even if he were paid to do it. The most annoying thing about her was she knew she was an oddball, but didn't seem to care. Plus, that beatnik slang she used made Ben want to slam his head against a wall a couple of dozen times. If only Gennie would dump Page, there would be hope for her turning into a normal person, but that wasn't likely to happen in the near future.

Before he knew it, his alarm clock went off, waking him at quarter before seven. He rose out of bed and got dressed. The bathroom was closer to his room and he could hear the water running. Gennie must have been brushing her teeth. Luckily, personal hygiene wasn't her forte, so she wouldn't spend a lot of time in there. He was combing his hair when he heard her clomp down the hall like Bigfoot.

He walked quickly to the bathroom, washed his face and brushed his teeth. It was hard to tell what Gennie was doing in the kitchen because he couldn't hear, but he imagined she was eating breakfast, probably cramming her face with cereal or cream of wheat. He would hear her when she left though. She always slammed the door really hard.

Ten minutes later when he heard the front door slam, that was his cue. It was safe to go into the kitchen. He made himself two poached eggs and heated up a few strips of bacon he pre-cooked the night before. He ate quickly and chugged down a glass of orange juice. Since fifteen minutes had passed by, it was likely Gennie was already at school. He grabbed his books and walked out the door.

Unfortunately, his first period class was Phys. Ed. When he walked into the boys' locker room, the stifling air and the smell of perspiration hit him. He walked past all the other guys, who were chatting amongst each other. He didn't look at them because he knew they were half-naked. His stomach was in a knot as usual. He found the whole place intimidating and uncomfortable.

Ben walked to the farthest set of lockers. There were pry marks and dents on the locker door, as if it had been forced open. He also noticed the guys, who usually talked and yelled non-stop, were unusually quiet. He opened the door and the odor of urine was unmistakable. He looked down at his clothes and it was obvious they were soaking wet. He slammed the door shut and the other boys instantly erupted into laughter.

He had to walk past them in order to find Mr. Yates, the gym teacher, and tell him what happened. He tried his best to keep his head up and not look at them.

"Did you like how we decorated your clothes, Tinker Bell?" Johnny Briggs, Charlene's boyfriend, asked. The other boys roared with laughter.

"Oh look, Pussy Willow is going to tell on us," Eric Pace, another football player and Johnny's best friend said.

Ben turned around, gave them a hard stare and flipped them the bird.

"Whoa!" they all said in unison.

"I take that as a threat," Johnny said, a note of hostility in his voice.

"That's because it is," Ben replied.

Before Ben could blink an eye, Johnny slammed him against the cinder block wall, knocking the wind out of him. Ben didn't realize how tall he was. He was probably about six foot three and was at least fifty pounds heavier than Ben was. Johnny's intense blue eyes bored into him and he lifted up his arm, getting ready to punch Ben in the face.

"Hey!" Mr. Yates said from behind, "Get off him!"

"I thought he was going to hit me!" Johnny whined. "I was only defending myself!"

Mr. Yates looked at him doubtfully behind thick white eyebrows. He was probably as old as the school was and had seen everything.

"I don't care. Get your clothes on and your butts out in that gym. I don't want to see this happening again."

The boys did what they were told, dutifully changing and heading out into the gymnasium.

"Why are you standing around here?" Mr. Yates asked Ben.

"Uh, well...someone broke into my locker, and uh...all my clothes are wet."

"When did this happen?"

"I don't know, but they were fine yesterday."

Mr. Yates sighed. "I think there might be some spare pants and a shirt in my office. I took them home last week and my wife washed them so they're clean. Let me get them for you."

"Thank you, Mr. Yates," Ben said, "you're a lifesaver."

Gym class was hell as usual. Johnny and his friends were trying harder to hit Ben in the face with the basketball rather than actually make a basket, but luckily, Ben had expert dodging skills. He survived without a scratch. He only had Johnny in this class and his friends simply ignored him when Johnny wasn't around so the rest of the day went off without a hitch. It was hard concentrating on algebra, history and English when all he wanted to do was daydream about Charlene though. He couldn't wait until three-thirty. That's when everyone who was trying out for _Romeo and Juliet_ would meet in the auditorium. They were going to whittle down the try out list by half. He hoped he would make the cut.

After what seemed like the longest day ever, Ben reported to the auditorium and took a seat. Mrs. Erwin, the drama coach, walked out on the stage.

"I would love to give a part to all of you fine students, but unfortunately, I can't," she said. She pushed up her glasses and held up a legal pad in front of her face. "So, I've narrowed the list down by half. I'm going to start with the role of narrator and end with the role of Romeo. If you hear your name, you're still in the running and I would like you to stay until I've read off all character names. If you don't and haven't auditioned for any other parts, you're free to leave."

Ben groaned. This was going to take forever. He found this whole process extremely boring and wanted to find out if he was still in the running right away. When Mrs. Erwin finished reading the names still in the running to be narrator, four kids whose names weren't mentioned walked out. That's how it proceeded for the next two hours. Unfortunately, he couldn't find Charlene anywhere. Maybe she forgot to come. It would have made the process less painful if he could stare at her at least.

Mrs. Erwin droned on and on. Ben and some of the other students almost fell asleep a few times.

"Now for the role of Juliet," Mrs. Erwin said. The doors to the auditorium suddenly flew open.

"Excuse me," Mrs. Erwin announced, "you were supposed to here at three-thirty."

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry, Mrs. Erwin," Charlene said. Though she was still impeccably groomed, this was the first time Ben had seen her flustered. "My mother was sent to the hospital this afternoon. My father picked me up after school to visit her. It all took much longer than I expected."

"Take a seat. I hope your mother gets well soon."

"Thank you," Charlene said, walking past Ben and sitting three rows ahead of him, joining her friends.

Mrs. Erwin cleared her throat. She read a list of twenty names. Charlene and her friends clapped their hands and cheered silently when Mrs. Erwin read her name aloud.

"And now, for Romeo," Mrs. Erwin said, and read off a list of names. Ben's wasn't mentioned at all. He gathered up his books and was about to walk off in disgust when Mrs. Erwin cleared her throat.

"Benjamin," she said sternly. "I wasn't done reading this list."

"Sorry, Mrs. Erwin," Ben said. "It sounded like you were done and I didn't hear my name."

"Well you may be interested to know the last name on the list because it happens to be yours."

"Oh...uh...I made the cut?"

Everyone chuckled.

"Yes, you certainly did."

"Okay," Ben said sheepishly, sitting back down. Charlene looked back and smiled at him.

Mrs. Erwin put the list down and gathered up a stack of papers that were stapled together. "This is the script to _Romeo and Juliet_. I underlined the sections you need to memorize. There will be further auditions tomorrow. I recommend you all come prepared. Anyone who doesn't know their lines by memory will be eliminated."

She gave the stack of papers to a student in the first row, who passed them along. When they got to Ben, he looked through them and grabbed one that had Romeo written on it in neat block letters. He noticed Charlene and her friends were rifling through the script, trying to find the lines they needed to know by tomorrow. Ben did the same. Most of the students were walking past him, but he wanted to get the lines in his head right away. He was still looking through the script when someone tapped him on the shoulder.

"Whoa!" he said, startled.

It was Charlene.

"I'm sorry to scare you," she replied sweetly.

"No, you didn't scare me. It's just that...I really want to know my lines."

"I know what you mean," Charlene said. "I love the theater...and Shakespeare. I want to be Juliet so bad."

"Me too," Ben replied.

Charlene burst out laughing.

"Wow, that came out the wrong way," Ben said, embarrassed.

"I know what you mean," Charlene replied. "So you're trying out for Romeo, right?"

"Yep."

"That would be great if you got it because then we could walk to your house after rehearsals."

"Yeah, that would be great," Ben said. The thought of walking home with Charlene every day made him extremely excited. "So, where are your friends?"

"Oh, I told them to go along without me," she said. "Since I have to go to your house anyway, I thought it would be easiest if we walked together."

"Yeah, it would be," Ben said. He was so happy he thought he was going to jump out of his shoes. "Well, my lady...let's _goeth_ on to my _hometh_."

He put his arm around hers and Charlene giggled. As they left the auditorium, he realized he was one step closer to having Charlene as his girl.

Chapter 17: March 22

Gennie had finished fixing up Page's old bike and it looked fabulous. She spray painted it a sparkly red and for an accent, painted a silver stripe going across the top tube. She put a matching stripe on the chain guard. Every weekend she would go to Racer's Bike Shop near Union Square with Colleen and pick out a high-end replacement part. Since Colleen knew nothing about bikes, she never said anything when the price tag was outrageously expensive. Last week, Malcolm let her know that refurbishing it cost a hundred and five dollars and two cents and that she could have easily bought a brand new bike for only twenty-five dollars. If she wanted to do any more projects like that one, she would have to get a job.

Gennie didn't have a problem with that, and taking off on her bike rode up and down Ocean Avenue inquiring about jobs. She eventually got one as a dishwasher, working weekends at Bella Cucina, a small Italian restaurant. She clocked in eight hours on Saturday and Sunday, making a dollar twenty-five an hour. She was saving up her money for her next project. She wanted to buy a cheap used car and fix it up herself. She was sixteen now and was eager to get her license and start driving.

Gennie put on her work clothes and was about to get ready to leave when she remembered she had to ask Ben a question. He was holed up in his room, as always. Gennie knocked on his door. This time, to her surprise, he answered it instead of ignoring her.

"What?" he said, looking very irritated.

"I wanted to tell you one of the cooks at Bella just left and they're looking for a new one. They start really high, two fifty an hour. Do you want to stop in and apply for the job?"

Ben shook his head. "Charlene invited me to Golden Gate Park to go roller skating with her."

"I can get an application from work and you can fill it out when you get home."

"I told you no. I'm too busy. I've got to have time for rehearsals."

"Charlene's not going to want to date you if you don't have any money."

Ben huffed. "I'll get a job after the play is over."

"Also, you have to have a driver's license and your own car. No 'normal' girl like her is going to go out with a guy who doesn't have his own set of wheels."

"Lay off of me, will ya? I'll get my license soon."

"I think you'll have to do better than that, Ben. Johnny Briggs drives a brand new Corvette Sting Ray."

Ben made a sour face. "Guess what? Charlene won't care what kind of car I drive."

"Oh boy...do you have a lot to learn. Girls like her care very much what cars their boyfriends drive."

"You don't know jack about Charlene. Oh and by the way, how did you become such an expert on this subject? You've never had a boyfriend in your entire life."

"I'm not interested in them."

"I agree with the not interested part. They're not interested in you. Something about girls who act and dress like lumberjacks turn guys off."

Gennie's annoyance turned to anger. "No one's interested in you either...including Charlene!"

"No, I don't agree. Charlene really likes me."

Gennie rolled her eyes.

"I wish you never got the part of Romeo. It's gone straight to your head and you've been acting like a total prick since."

She thought that would get Ben's ire up but he simply shrugged.

"Hey, I was the most talented guy of the bunch."

"See what I mean?"

"And Mrs. Erwin says Charlene and I have a lot of chemistry."

"That doesn't mean she's in love with you."

"She says hi to me in school now."

"In front of her friends?"

"Yeah, when she's with her friends she waves to me."

"And in front of Johnny?"

"No, but she only spends like fifteen minutes with him in school and doesn't see him on school nights. She only goes out with him on the weekends."

She shook her head. "I'm so sick of this. You know as well as I do that this thing is going nowhere. You're just going to end up getting the crap kicked out of you by Johnny and the rest of the football team."

"Well, at least my life is not as pathetic as yours. If I were you, I'd probably kill myself."

Gennie felt her body go rigid. _You bastard_ , she thought. Before she knew it, she smacked him in the face.

He didn't react at all, except for staring blankly at her. She thought he would either go into his room and slam the door or apologize to her. Instead, he throttled her onto the floor. He wrapped his hands around her neck so tight she couldn't breathe. She tried to push him away, but couldn't. She gasped desperately for air.

When she stopped struggling, he took one hand off her throat. She didn't know when he became so strong. When they used to arm wrestle as kids, she always won. She inhaled deeply, relieved to have a little more air to breathe.

"Say you're sorry," he commanded.

"Sorry for what?" she said. "That you're both a moron _and_ an asshole?"

He backhanded her across the face. It stung so hard tears came to her eyes.

"Why did you make me do that?" he said. Instead of angry, he sounded exhausted and sad.

Gennie spat in his face. She thought he was going to hit her again but he didn't. He stood up and wiped his face with his hand.

"You know what?" she snarled. "You're the one with the pathetic life. Your whole reason for living is a stupid, blonde, selfish bimbo. That's not much in my opinion. Actually, I hope Charlene goes out with you. When Johnny beats you in front of the whole school and she dumps your ass the next day, you'll figure out what I was talking about."

He didn't answer except for turning around and closing his bedroom door. She just lay on the floor and listened to him put a record on the turntable. "Don't Bother Me" by the Beatles began playing.

After about five minutes, Gennie stood up. She was so glad Malcolm and Colleen went out to the movies with friends. She didn't want them to witness something like this.

She went to work and to her relief no one noticed anything. At eight o'clock, she called home and luckily, Colleen answered. She asked her if she could sleep over Page's house, since she had to go there anyway to get her school textbooks. To Gennie's relief she said it was fine. She biked over to Page's house and spent the night there.

At school the next day, she could barely concentrate on her work. She kept reliving what happened the day before over and over. She couldn't see how she could stay in the same house as Ben any longer. They barely talked lately and every time they did, it ended in an argument. When she came home from school, no one was there. She went into her closet and retrieved the red hardback suitcase Malcolm and Colleen bought for her birthday. She packed some shirts, a couple of pairs of jeans, a few skirts and dresses for school. She then went into the bathroom and took her toothbrush and comb. She remembered that promise Ben made to her when they were five years old that they would never be apart. A sob slipped out of her throat but she managed to hold in the tears. Her hands were shaking as she wrote Malcolm and Colleen a note on the kitchen table. She felt like she was going to fall apart at any minute.

When she left the house, her suitcase and books tied to the bag carrier in the back of her bike, her mood lightened. It was as if she was being let out of prison. The cold March air on her face felt so good. She was almost her old self again. Usually she was fairly slow and careful on her bike, but this time she sped away. The sooner she could get away from there, the better.

Chapter 18: March 23

Ben came home after rehearsal and went straight to his room. Even though he was hungry, he didn't feel like making anything to eat. Nobody was home, not even Gennie. He went to his room, put the Beach Boys on the turntable and read the latest _Avengers_ comic.

An hour later, he heard Malcolm call for them to help bring in some groceries. Ben went downstairs and into the garage.

"Is Gennie asleep?" Malcolm asked, handing Ben a paper bag.

"No," Ben replied.

"Then what is she doing?"

Ben shrugged. "I don't know."

"Is something going on?" Colleen asked. "You look upset."

"I'm fine," Ben lied, though he was troubled about the situation. He suspected she had run away because she was always home from school by now. If Malcolm and Colleen found out what happened yesterday, he could say goodbye to drama class and Charlene. They might even say goodbye to him period. Who wants a kid that turns into a lunatic at the drop of a hat? They couldn't find out.

Unfortunately, Malcolm was the first in the kitchen and discovered the note.

"Did you and Gennie get into a fight?" Malcolm asked.

"What does the note say?"

"You didn't answer my question," Malcolm replied.

"I guess you could say that."

"Is that a yes?"

Ben nodded.

"Do you think she's staying at Page's house?"

"Probably."

Malcolm sighed. "Let's get the rest of the groceries taken care of. After that, we're going to Page's house to see if Gennie's there."

Ben wasn't too happy about visiting Page's house, but he could tell by Malcolm's tone of voice that it wasn't a good time to object, so he said nothing.

A half hour later, they drove to Inner Parkside. Finding Page's house was fairly easy. It stood out like a turd in the middle of a rose garden. Gennie's bike was chained to the front porch stairs.

Malcolm and Ben walked up the front steps. Ben nearly tripped on an obese yellow cat that refused to move out of the way. Malcolm rang the doorbell a few times. When no one answered, he knocked on the door.

Page finally opened it. She was wearing baggy black pants, a turtleneck and black knee high boots. Ben frowned in disgust. He didn't think she could look any worse than she did at school but obviously, he thought wrong.

Page scrutinized him with her beady dark eyes as if he was some kind of war criminal. Obviously, Gennie told her everything. Ben hoped she wouldn't blurt it all out to Malcolm.

"Is Gennie here?" Malcolm asked.

"Yep," Page replied.

"Can I talk to her?"

"Hold on, Daddy-O, let me ask," Page left Malcolm and Ben waiting by the doorway as she went upstairs, into the recesses of the house. It looked like the drug den Ben imagined it to be. The hallway had faded cream-colored wallpaper; the kitchen looked like it had been trashed in a fit of rage, and most of the stairway balusters were missing. The three feral looking cats perched on the stairs completed the picture. Ben found it hard to believe people actually lived in the house. Why would Gennie want to stay in a dump like this?

Page came down the stairs a couple of minutes later without Gennie.

"She's doing okay, but she doesn't want to talk to you right now," she said.

"All right," Malcolm replied. "Please tell her to call us tomorrow."

"Will do," Page said.

"What did you do to her?" Malcolm asked angrily after Page closed the door.

"Nothing," Ben said.

"Well, I don't think it was nothing. Something's really wrong. If I find out you're not telling me the truth, you'll be in big trouble, young man."

Chapter 19: April 30

Ben didn't bother to answer the phone in the ensuing weeks. He didn't want to talk to Gennie. Though he missed her, his life was easier now because he wasn't being hassled about Charlene. He hadn't asked her out yet as he had planned, but still, things were progressing well with her. When she turned sixteen on April 24, her parents bought her a new car, a Mercury Comet Caliente. Though she told him it wasn't quite as nice as Johnny's car, it had all of the latest features, including a fantastic hi-fi AM/FM radio. Any kid would kill to have a car like that. It was first time Ben was embarrassed he didn't have a car and wasn't driving yet.

"When I get my license," Charlene said, as they were walking back to his house after rehearsals, "I can pick you up from school and drive you home."

"You know, I should be taking _you_ home, not the other way around."

Charlene smiled.

"I don't mind," she replied. "Having a car isn't everything. But, if you want, you can drive it sometime. Do you have your permit yet?"

"No," Ben said. "I really haven't had time to go to the DMV and apply for it."

"Maybe tomorrow we can go down there so you can fill out the forms."

"Is it a hard test?"

Charlene shook her head. "It's a little long, but it's super easy. You'll pass it, no problem."

"I'm not as smart as you, though."

"Trust me, Ben. If you can read, you'll pass it. Then you can use my car to practice in."

"Will your boyfriend mind?"

"Johnny doesn't care. He's so wrapped up in baseball right now he doesn't know what's going on."

Ben nodded. "I guess we can go to the DMV after rehearsals tomorrow then."

Unexpectedly, in the middle of the sidewalk, Charlene gave him a hug. Having her arms wrapped around him put a tingle down his spine.

"You know what I like about you?" Charlene said.

"What?"

"You're the first guy who just wants to be my friend. Most of the boys I meet are only nice to me because they want me to make out with them."

Ben tried his best not to cringe. "I wouldn't do that to you," he said, rubbing her arm.

"I'm so glad to hear that. I guess that's the difference between straight and gay men."

"What?"

"You're gay, aren't you? That's what everyone's told me."

"No, I'm not," Ben replied, trying to stay calm.

"Why do you change separately from the other boys then?"

"Because they do weird stuff like give me wedgies. I don't want to be anywhere near them."

"Really? I've never heard of that."

"I don't think they would tell you."

"Well, I'll make sure they never bother you again. I'll tell Johnny about it. He'll take care of them."

Ben didn't mention that Johnny was one of the perpetrators.

"So, you're interested in girls?" Charlene asked.

"Sure," Ben said.

"That's great. Do you know Barbara Duffy?"

"Yeah, she's the girl with the two foot tall bouffant, right?"

Charlene giggled. "She just broke things off with her boyfriend and I've been trying to think up something to take her mind off it. Would you like to go out with her this Saturday night?"

"Uhh..."

"I know she can be a little hard to get to know, so maybe you two can go out with me and Johnny. Oh, I have another idea too! Does your sister have a boyfriend?"

"No," Ben replied. He didn't like where this was heading.

"You see, I'm trying to get Foster away from his girlfriend. I swear she's the nastiest person in the universe and she's probably cheating on him. I've wanted him to meet someone new for a while now. Maybe we can invite your sister out too and she can get to meet him."

"I don't know if that's a good idea."

"Why not?"

"Well, my sister hates dressing up and going out places. She only likes fixing up stuff, like cars."

"Oh my god, then she'd be perfect for my brother! He hates dressing up too and his favorite thing in the world is fixing up old cars. He buys these clunkers for about fifty dollars each and makes them look beautiful again. He usually sells them for a thousand dollars or so. He has enough money saved up for his entire four years of college. I really think they would have a lot to talk about."

"Another problem is that Gennie and I aren't talking to each other. She moved out of the house last month."

"That's awful! Why is she not talking to you?"

Ben wasn't about to say it was because of her. "It's a lot of things, really."

"Well, maybe I can talk to her and smooth things over with the two of you. Where is she staying?"

"Page Goodman's house. It's on 19th Street. You'll see her bike parked outside there."

"I can do that tomorrow. We can have our little girl talk while you sit tight outside. I'm sure I can get this cleared up in no time."

Ben didn't think she would be able to do that, but since things couldn't get any worse between them, he would let her try. He was a little worried she might tell Charlene he strangled and hit her, but since she hadn't told Malcolm and Colleen yet; he doubted she would tell Charlene. Also, it would show Gennie that Charlene was interested in him. He wondered if she would agree to go on a group date with Charlene's brother. She might be tantalized by the fact that Foster had a lot in common with her. It would be nice to see her hanging around with someone besides Page, even if they didn't become an item. He wondered if she would go if she knew he was going to be there. Probably not.

"Don't mention that I'm going to be there, because she might not come. Just say it's you, Johnny and Foster."

"Okay," Charlene said.

That night, as he lay in bed, he realized he got a very lucky break, an open invitation to the 'in' crowd. He was hoping his new girlfriend would be Charlene, though. It was so disheartening to know she was so dedicated to Johnny. He imagined her parents were partly behind that. Johnny was from a very wealthy family.

He thought of Barbara Duffy. Really, out of all her friends, did it have to be her? She smoked, was constantly spraying her hair with Aqua Net and when she didn't have a cigarette butt in her mouth, she was chewing gum and blowing hot pink bubbles. Ben didn't find her particularly attractive. Even though she had a nice figure, clear skin and knew how to dress, there was something about her Ben didn't like. He would have gladly gone out with all the other girls. Miki, the Asian with the shiny black hair, Cindy with the blond pixie cut, or Francine, who was extremely good-looking but more athletic than her friends. He chastised himself. He should grateful he got this far. Though he had to put up with Bouffant Barbara, at least he was able to spend the evening with Charlene. That was much farther than even some of the popular guys had gotten. The only thing he was really dreading about the evening was his sister's reaction when she found out he was there.

Chapter 20: May 1

Gennie was having fun at Page's house. It was like having an extended sleepover. The only problem was talking into the night was causing both of them to get to school late. Surprisingly, Page was more worried about it than Gennie. Since leaving Malcolm and Colleen's house, she was thinking about living on her own. She was considering dropping out of school and getting a full time job. She had already decided she wanted to fix cars for a living. There really wasn't a need to have a high school diploma to do that. Besides, if she wanted to get her GED in the future, she could. Even if she did stay in school, she definitely wasn't going to college. She couldn't afford it and there was nothing there she was interested in. Besides, from all the brochures Page showed her, she got the impression that college was filled with stuck-up preppies. She had enough of those kids in high school to last her a lifetime.

She decided to finish out her sophomore year before leaving, though. She didn't make her plans known because she knew everyone, especially Page, would be against it. Page was gung-ho on going to college and her heart was set on Berkeley. It was only twenty miles from home and there was a great 'vibe' going on there, whatever that meant. Page insisted that Gennie go to Berkeley with her, but Gennie had no plans to do that. She knew Page would be upset when she told her, but she would get over it eventually.

Otherwise, Page seemed oblivious to the signs that Gennie was no longer concerned with her schoolwork. If she didn't ask for help, Page didn't give it. Gennie thanked her lucky stars that Page was the type of person who had to be hit with a brick before she realized the building she was standing in front of was crumbling. It made putting off telling her all the more easier.

It was Friday night. Gennie and Page were working on a book report that was due on Monday, Gennie putting minimal effort into hers, when someone knocked on the door. Page was about to get it, but sat back down when her brother reached it first.

"Oh, hi!" he said. Gennie could tell by his voice that a 'hot chick' was at the door.

"Who the heck is he talking to...Jayne Mansfield?" Gennie asked Page.

"It's probably our next door neighbor's kid, Dot. She's only twelve but she already has huge breasts, so naturally my brother wants to go out with her."

"He's such a pervert," Gennie replied.

"I know."

"You want Gennie? Are you sure you're not looking for me, Sweetheart?" her brother said loudly.

"Oh my god, he's coming on to Colleen! Doesn't he know she's thirty years old?"

"He doesn't care," Page said. "Even though he's only fourteen, he's desperate to get laid. I'm surprised he hasn't shagged the neighbor's dog yet."

Gennie chuckled.

Danny approached the kitchen doorway. As usual, he was leering at Gennie.

"It's for you," he said.

"Is Ben with her?" Gennie asked him.

"Nope, you have her all to yourself," Danny said, his voice getting husky. "Is it okay if I watch?"

Gennie rolled her eyes and stood up. Danny was partly blocking the doorway and she pushed him away in order to get by. He smiled in response.

Gennie was shocked by who was standing outside. _No way!_ _What would Charlene want from me?_ Her closest guess was to tell her brother to stay away from her. He probably did something stupid and Charlene didn't want anything to do with him anymore.

Gennie approached Charlene tentatively. She was impeccably groomed, as always. She wore a beige cashmere sweater over an apricot dress, a cute little hat with a long ribbon on it and a matching handbag. Gennie could only imagine what she thought of this place.

"Hi," Gennie said.

"Hi, Gennie," Charlene said in a receptionist friendly voice. "How are you?"

"I'm okay. How about you?"

"I'm doing great. You're probably wondering why I'm here, since we don't really talk to each other that much in school."

_That's the understatement of the year_ , Gennie thought. "Yeah, I was wondering that."

"Well, you see, I have a little proposition for you. I heard you liked fixing cars and that is exactly what my brother is into. He's on the outs with his girlfriend and I've been trying to find someone who would be compatible with him. I thought you would be the perfect person."

Gennie thought she had gone insane. She imagined her brother was just like her, perfect in every way. If he was into cars, he probably wore a pure white jumpsuit and leather gloves and managed never to get either of them dirty.

"Who came up with this idea?" Gennie asked.

"It was all mine," Charlene said proudly.

"This isn't some sort of prank, is it?"

"Oh no! I wouldn't do that to you. This is one hundred percent real. I know how hard it is to meet a total stranger, so I decided Johnny and I would go too. It'll help you two to get to know each other better."

Gennie didn't believe a single word she was saying, but she was curious about this whole scheme. She wasn't expecting anyone to show up on this make believe double date.

"Is Ben involved with this?" Gennie asked.

"Not at all," Charlene said, flashing a camera-ready smile. "He doesn't know anything about it."

"By the way, how is he doing?" Gennie said.

"He's doing very well. Did you know our play is next week? We're going to be putting on two shows, one on Friday and one on Saturday. We'd love for you to come."

"I'll think about it," Gennie replied. "So, has he said anything about me?"

"Well...he says he misses you, but he understands why you won't talk to him."

Gennie wondered if Charlene knew all the details. Probably not. "Okay."

"Is there anything you want me to tell him?"

"Uh...well, I miss him too, but it's probably for the best that we not talk to each other right now. And...I'm sorry I said all those mean things."

Charlene nodded. "You would be so proud of him. He's doing a fantastic job playing Romeo. Yesterday, I even talked him into getting his permit, so maybe he'll be able to drive soon."

"Well, that's great," Gennie said. "So, about this date? What place and time?"

"How about the Bella Cucina? Do you know where that is?"

"Yeah, I happen to work there."

"What would be a good time for you?"

"I get off at eight o'clock, so how about then?"

"Oh, that's great! Well, I'll see you there. I think you're going to really like Foster."

_Foster? That's an uppity name if I ever heard one_ , Gennie thought.

"I hope so, too," Gennie replied half-heartedly. "I'll see you there, Charlene."

Gennie closed the door and turned around. Danny was on the stairwell staring at her.

"You girls look so sexy together," he whispered.

"Shut up," Gennie said, walking past him into the kitchen. She couldn't wait to tell Page about this. _Hell must resemble a large skating rink by now_ , Gennie thought.

Chapter 21: May 2

Gennie showed up at Bella Cucina at twelve o'clock the next day, ready for work. She had no idea what to wear so she actually went shopping for a new outfit, something she had never done by herself. She ended up buying a pink tank top with buttons on the shoulders, a red pleated skirt, and red and white flats.

"Hey, what are you doing coming to work looking so fancy?" Lacey Anderson, the restaurant's host, asked.

"I know this sounds hard to believe, but after work, I'm going out on a date."

"Really? Good for you! Who's the lucky guy?"

"I don't know him, but his name is Foster Conrad. Is he listed?"

Lacey looked at the reservation list for that night. "No, but there's a Charlene Conrad, party of six. I'm guessing he's part of that crowd."

"Charlene is his sister," Gennie said, feeling relieved that so far it didn't seem to be a prank. "When will they be here?"

"They have table eighteen reserved for eight o'clock."

Eight hours later, Gennie was hot and sweaty and her tank top was wet. She went into the restroom to straighten herself up. Her stomach was in knots. She didn't know how she was going to eat. She wanted to throw up instead.

Lacey entered the ladies' room. "Your friend Charlene just came in with a guy. Do you want me to take you to their table or do you want to wait?"

Gennie inhaled deeply. "Take me to their table."

Lacey led her to a large round table near the back of the restaurant. The lighting was very dim back here, with the glow of a single candle on the table being the brightest thing in the room. Gennie almost choked when she saw Charlene sitting next to...of all people...Ben!

"Great," Gennie said to herself.

Charlene was caressing Ben's arm and talking softly to him. Gennie was tempted to turn around and walk out of the restaurant, but she didn't want to alarm Lacey. Lacey pulled a chair out across from Ben and Charlene.

"Do you want anything to drink?" Lacey asked Gennie.

"Yeah, I'll have a Coke," Gennie replied, sitting down.

"Oh Gennie, it's so nice to see you here!" Charlene gushed. "I was afraid you would get the last minute jitters and not come!"

"I was thinking the same thing about you," Gennie said, not bothering to hide the sarcasm in her voice. "So, where's your other boyfriend?"

Charlene seemed to be taken aback by that question but then laughed. "Oh, Johnny's probably taking a shower and getting ready. He gets all sweaty after practice and he knows I don't like that."

"You and Ben aren't an item yet?"

Ben glared at her. She could tell by his clenched jaw that he was itching to say something to her but was holding back.

"Oh, don't worry about that," Charlene said to Ben as she rubbed his back. "She's just kidding around. No, Ben and I are just very good friends. Isn't that right?"

"Yeah," Ben said miserably.

"Actually, he's dating my best friend, Barbara Duffy."

"You're going out with Bouffant Barbara?" Gennie did her best to try not to laugh.

"Yeah, I am," Ben said. "You have a problem with that?"

"Nope, I think that's great. Congratulations."

"Barb is late all the time," Charlene said. "There's always something she has to do at the last minute."

"Like putting another layer of Aqua Net on?"

"You could say that again," Charlene said, chuckling. "She's so obsessed with her appearance. I believe people should always look their best, but she does go a little overboard at times."

"You don't say?" Gennie replied. Barbara was the most overboard person she knew. Gennie couldn't remember a time when she didn't see that girl without a mirror and a can of hairspray.

"Well, it's better than looking like a grub all the time," Ben said, a nasty edge to his voice.

"It is, definitely," Charlene said, seemingly unaware that the comment was an attack on Gennie. "By the way, I like that outfit. Is that new?"

"Yeah," Gennie said.

"Where did you get it?"

Gennie wasn't about to admit that she purchased the whole ensemble at Montgomery Ward for twenty dollars. Even though that was huge amount of money to her, it was probably a pittance to Charlene.

"I don't remember," she finally said.

"It looks like Neiman Marcus to me. I'll have to go there and see if I can find something similar. Oh...and look who's here!"

A young man in his late teens walked up to the table. He had the usual preppy outfit on, light brown tweed jacket with patches on the elbows, white broadcloth shirt and a striped white and cranberry colored tie with black dress pants. The only thing not preppy about him was that his dark hair was longer than his shirt collar and it looked like he just hastily took some hair gel and smoothed it back.

"Gennie, I want you to meet my darling brother, Foster. Foster, this is Gennie Perrin."

Foster's dark brown eyes took on a look of surprise. She couldn't tell if that was good or bad.

"Hi, Foster," Gennie said. She stood up and held out her hand. Because of the eight hours soaking in dishwater, her hands were very clean and soft. "Nice to meet you."

"Oh, hi," he replied, his voice not much louder than a whisper. He took one of his hands out of his pockets and shook hers. It was dirty, rough and calloused. _So, he is the real deal_ , Gennie thought. They both sat down next to each other.

"And this is my friend Ben," Charlene said. "He's the one I told you about."

"The new Romeo, right?" Foster said.

"Gennie is his twin sister," Charlene replied.

"Oh, okay."

"Great to meet you," Ben said. He reached over and shook hands with Foster.

"You too," Foster said. Gennie surmised that Foster wasn't much of a talker. It would make the night all the more awkward.

"Now," Charlene said, glancing at her expensive looking gold watch with a red dial, "just two more people to go."

"I wish they would get here," Gennie said. She couldn't wait for this night to be over.

"Charlene, do you mind if I order an appetizer or something to tide us over?," Ben asked her. "I'm starving."

"That would be a great idea," Charlene replied.

"Hey, Liz!" Gennie shouted to the waitress who normally served their section of the restaurant. She was busy taking another customer's order. Out of the corner of her eye, Gennie saw Ben cringe and she was glad he did.

"Hi, Gennie," Liz said as she walked over to the table. "Sorry it took so long. Are you all ready to order?"

"Not yet," Gennie said. "We're still waiting on two people. But in the meantime, we were thinking of ordering an appetizer."

"Sure," Liz replied. "Do you want breadsticks too?"

"Okay," Gennie said.

"What do you all want for an appetizer?" Liz asked.

"The antipasto sounds good," Ben replied.

"Since you're the gourmet here," Charlene said, "let's go with that."

"All right," Gennie said. She noticed Foster didn't have anything to drink yet.

"Hey Foster, do you need something to quench your thirst?"

Foster looked a little uncomfortable. "A beer would be okay," he said to Liz.

"What kind would you like?" Liz asked.

"Foster's," Gennie blurted out, partly as a joke. Charlene seemed amused by it, but Ben's face turned beet red.

Foster didn't seem to mind, chuckling a bit. "That works," he said.

As soon as Liz walked back to the kitchen, Johnny Briggs walked in, followed by Barbara Duffy. Johnny looked like a sports announcer with his navy blue blazer, matching pants and white shirt with his tie loosened. Barbara was her usual overly made up self. She had on a red mini dress decorated with small silver stars at the collar, matching earrings, thigh high red leather boots and glitter in her hair and eyelids. Gennie noticed Charlene pushed her chair away from Ben's. Ben looked at Johnny and Barbara as if they were both his worst nightmare come true.

"Hello, Babe," Johnny said, as he slid in the chair next to Charlene.

"Hello, Johnny," Charlene replied politely, offering up her cheek. Johnny gave it a quick peck and took hold of her white gloved hand.

Ben looked like he was about to wilt. Barbara sat next to him, not looking overly thrilled by her date. She took out a pack of Larks and a slim pink lighter out of a leather cigarette case and lit one up. Ben's face turned green as she puffed on it and blew the smoke in his general direction.

_Oh boy, this is not going to work out_ , Gennie thought. One of Ben's biggest pet peeves was girls who smoke. That was one of the many reasons he hated Page so much. If he knew that Gennie smoked with her, she would have been officially disowned a long time ago.

"I've got a question, Barb," Gennie said. "Isn't it dangerous to smoke with all that hairspray?"

Foster cracked a smile. To Gennie's surprise, Johnny burst out laughing. Barbara shot them an annoyed look.

"No," Barbara replied, as if that was the dumbest question she was ever asked, "as long as you don't do both at the same time."

"Barbara found that out the hard way," Charlene said. Gennie was sure this was something Barbara didn't want anyone to know. "When we were in sixth grade, she lit up a cigarette while I was spraying her hair and this foot long wall of flame appeared. We accidently set fire to her bedroom curtains. We then ripped the curtains off the rod and shoved them in the toilet. We were so afraid her parents would find out that we tried to flush the curtains down the toilet. That caused the toilet to back up. I can't tell you how much of a mess we made. At the time, her parents didn't know she smoked, so we made up this story about how we lit a couple of candles on the windowsill and the breeze made them catch the curtains on fire. Luckily, they believed us."

Liz came back carrying a large dish of antipasto. Johnny wrinkled his nose.

"What's this crap?" he said.

"Antipasto," Charlene replied. "Ben picked it out."

"Figures," he said under his breath.

"Your breadsticks will be here in a moment," Liz said. "Are you all ready to order?"

Johnny ordered the spaghetti with meat sauce, which caused Gennie to change her order at the last minute. She didn't want the same thing as the dumb jock. She decided to have the chicken parmigiana instead. Barbara and Charlene each had a chef salad. Ben ordered something that was barely pronounceable, and Gennie heard Johnny mutter 'sissy' under his breath. After everyone was done, Foster decided to order a small pepperoni pizza.

Charlene and Barbara did most of the talking throughout the evening, while everyone else ate. Once in a while, Johnny would tell Foster some story about the high school baseball team or talk about the Forty Niner's. Foster usually nodded or gave the shortest answer possible. Gennie sensed that Foster wasn't too crazy about Johnny. Barbara didn't acknowledge Ben at all, and surprisingly, Charlene wasn't snuggling up to Johnny the way she did with Ben. She seemed to like him, but she wasn't gaga over him like Gennie thought she would be. Johnny appeared to like Charlene in a possessive sort of way, as if she was some kind of trophy, though he wasn't paying too much attention to her. Gennie began to think Ben actually did stand a chance of wooing Charlene away from her boyfriend, though he probably wouldn't live too long after that.

She wasn't sure if Foster liked her or not. He didn't say much to her, though he was eyeing her with interest throughout the evening. He appeared to be a pretty laid-back kind of guy, which Gennie liked. She was glad that he wasn't the male version of Charlene like she feared. One could tell by looking at him that he was rich, but at least he was down-to-earth. Gennie wasn't getting her hopes up, though. She didn't think his parents would approve of her. Besides, he probably hadn't gotten over his old girlfriend, who she imagined was a typical preppy rich girl. If this was their first and last date, Gennie had no problem with that.

Considering that almost everybody at the table hated each other, the evening went smoothly. Liz asked them if they would like desert and everyone except Charlene and Barbara said yes. Ben ordered the tiramisu, Gennie and Foster had the panna cotta with strawberry sauce and Johnny ordered an apple pie a la mode. Charlene had a bite of Johnny's pie and ice cream. When Ben asked Barbara if she wanted to try his tiramisu, she frowned and shook her head. Three bills arrived and the guys paid, Johnny and Foster using credit cards instead of cash.

When they left the restaurant, Barbara got into Charlene's car and they drove off.

"Hey, do you want me to come with you?" Gennie asked Ben, who said he was going to walk home before they left.

Barely looking at her, he shook his head and walked away.

She expected Foster to get into his car, which was a 1950's Mercedes gullwing, but instead he stood next to her.

"Would you like to take a walk with me instead?"

"Where?" she asked.

"Maybe around Pine Lake Park."

"You actually want to be seen alone with me?" Gennie said.

Foster seemed perplexed by that comment. "Why not?"

"I don't know..."

"Do you have cooties?" Foster said, smiling.

"Yeah, tons of them."

"So do I," he replied. Gennie laughed. They walked across the street, making their way to Pine Lake Park.

"So, you're in your last year of high school?" Gennie asked.

"Yep," Foster replied.

"Do you plan on going to college?" Gennie asked him.

"Yes, I got accepted at Stanford and Berkeley," Foster said. "I'm still deciding where I'm going to go."

"Wow," Gennie said. "Two great schools want you. Are you worried about the expense at all?"

"A little," Foster replied. "I'm probably going to burn up all the money in my trust fund plus the money I saved up fixing cars."

"I couldn't afford to go to either one," Gennie said. "I'd be in debt up to my eyeballs."

"Where are you planning to go to school then?"

"I'm not. Actually, I'm going to drop out after this year is over and get another job."

"You should finish high school," Foster said. "You only have a couple more years to go."

"That's what everyone says. The problem is I hate The Lane Academy. I don't think I can take another year there, let alone two."

"I went to military school for my first two years and I hated it too," Foster said. "I wasn't very popular with anyone and the training and school schedule was insane. Lane is a dream compared to that place. Even though some kids are snooty and competitive, at least I'm not being tortured. Sometimes I wish I went to a public school, but we have to keep up with the Joneses."

"You guys aren't rich?" Gennie said, surprised. "From the way you dress and act, I wouldn't have guessed that."

"Yeah, it drives me crazy sometimes. Well, we aren't in the poorhouse, but things aren't what they used to be. My dad spends most of his money keeping up payments on the mortgage, and my mom's and Charlene's wardrobes. Plus, my dad's business hasn't been going too well lately."

"Sounds like one of those soap operas," Gennie said.

"You watch those?"

"Hell no, I can't stand them, but Colleen, my foster mother, watches them all the time."

"Good. My old girlfriend was obsessed with _As the World Turns_. She'd even talk about it on our dates."

"Ugh!"

"Yeah, that's what I thought too," Foster said.

They finally reached Pine Lake Park's entrance. They walked to a gazebo and sat down in it.

"So you broke up with your girlfriend?"

"Well, she actually broke up with me a couple of days ago. When she told me about it, I was upset, but I realize now it was for the best. It gives me more time to myself, you know?"

"More time to fix your cars?"

"Exactly," Foster said. "My latest project is a 1934 Bugatti Type 51."

"That's a cool car," Gennie replied. "It would be fun to take that baby for a spin."

"That's my plan eventually," Foster said, "but I have to rebuild the engine first."

"You need help?" Gennie asked.

Foster looked stunned by that question.

"Yeah, I'm a girl, but trust me, I know what I'm doing," Gennie said. "I've been working on engines since I was seven years old."

"What got you into that?" Foster asked.

"Well, my dad liked working on engines and my brothers weren't too interested, so my dad started teaching me about them. I mostly just helped him out until I was about ten. That's when I knew enough to start fixing engines myself. I mostly worked on my snowmobile, which always needed something replaced."

"My dad hates the fact that I'm into cars," Foster said, "but he puts up with it. He knows zero about them himself."

"How did you learn to fix them then?"

"I took some book out of the library and started reading up about it. My uncle gave me his old car, which looked great but didn't run very well. He said that if I could fix it, it was all mine. I really wanted a car as soon as I was able to drive, so that gave me the motivation to work on it."

They continued to talk about all the cars they planned to work on until Gennie looked down at her watch. She was shocked to see that it was twelve thirty. Luckily, Page's family didn't set any sort of curfew. If she were still living with Malcolm and Colleen, she'd be dead by now. She wondered if Page was worried about her. She hoped not.

"I've got to get going," she said. "I don't want my friend Page to call the police."

Foster didn't seem to mind. "All right. I was wondering...would you like to come over my house tomorrow? You can take a look at the Bugatti."

Gennie couldn't believe he asked her that. He must really like her! "Oh, okay."

"Do you want me to pick you up?" he asked.

"Oh, no," Gennie said. "Why don't I stop by your house after work? Where do you live?"

"31 Pond Terrace. It's in the Sea Cliff neighborhood. Do you know where that is?"

"I'll find it," Gennie said.

"Well, it's nice to meet you," Foster said.

Gennie wasn't sure if it was okay to hug him, so she extended her hand. He took it and shook it gently.

"You too," she replied. "I'll be over around eight o'clock. Is that a good time?"

"Sure," Foster replied.

They walked back to Foster's gull wing. He asked her if she wanted a ride home, but she declined. She waved good-bye to him as she watched him drive away.

She walked back to her bike, which was chained up in the back of the restaurant.

"Oh my god," she said excitedly into its brand new rear view mirrors, "I've got a boyfriend now!"

Chapter 22: May 3

Gennie was so excited about spending time with Foster she was unable to sleep that night. She finally got up from the small cot set up across from Page's bed at six o' clock in the morning. She put on her newest pair of jeans and a blue striped boy's t-shirt. She knew they would only end up getting dirty but she didn't care. This was the best day of her life.

"How do I look?" Gennie asked Page in her bedroom when she woke up an hour later.

"What does it matter?" Page said sullenly. Obviously, she was still mad at Gennie for coming back so late the night before. "You're dressed in boys' clothes and you're going to be working on cars."

_Oh brother_ , Gennie thought, _she's jealous_. She'd have to make it up to her next weekend. Maybe they could go mini-golfing or something. She thought about taking Foster along, but decided to wait until she knew him better. She was afraid he would find Page to be an oddball and not want to go out with her anymore.

"Hey, this is my first date," Gennie replied. "I've got to look good."

"Did Charlene brainwash you last night? You've always told me you didn't care if you looked good or not."

"No, Charlene didn't do anything to me. We barely talked. I was mostly talking to Foster."

"I don't believe you, but to answer your question, yeah, you look good...for a boy."

"Thanks," Gennie said, chuckling.

"So, how was Charlene and the rest of the gang? Are they as stuck-up as they appear to be in school?"

"Actually, Charlene isn't bad. She treated me okay. I almost think she does have the hots for Ben because they were snuggling up to each other when I first saw them."

"I figured he would be there. Was Johnny there too?"

"He was late. When he came in, Charlene and Ben pulled apart right away. Johnny was being a total jerk throughout dinner. I could barely stand him. Charlene doesn't seem to like him that much. She just kissed his cheek when he sat down. She wasn't affectionate to him like she was with Ben."

"That sounds like an arranged marriage to me. So how was Bouffant Barbara?"

"A bitch, just like she is in school."

"Did she like Ben?"

"In a word, no."

"Well, that's going to work out really well," Page said sarcastically.

"Yeah, I know."

"Anything else go on?"

"No, not really, though Johnny called Ben a sissy under his breath. I don't think Ben heard it though. I'm surprised they didn't get into a fight."

"I can't wait for the day your brother is in a whole body cast, which will be pretty soon."

"Yeah, I can't believe how stupid he's been acting lately. It'll probably do him some good."

"So, how did Ben treat you?"

"Not good. I offered to walk home with him, but he said no."

Page rolled her eyes. "He didn't walk hand in hand with Bouffant Barbara?"

"Barbara rode home with Charlene."

"So much for love at first sight. So how was Foster?"

"Great. He's not snotty at all. He was dressed a little preppy, but he doesn't act that way. We've got a lot in common."

"Is he cute?"

"Very."

"Well, aren't you lucky?"

"You're not jealous or anything, right?"

"No, I'm not that interested in dating anyway. It takes up too much time and besides, I haven't found any boys that are particularly fascinating."

"I'll have to ask Foster if there is someone he knows that needs a girlfriend."

Page's eyes darkened. Gennie could tell she was really mad.

"Don't bother," she said sternly. "I don't need any help."

Much to Gennie's relief, the doorbell rang.

"I'll answer that," Gennie said quickly. She didn't know who it was, but it gave her a chance to get out the door right away.

It was Danny. He just came back home from his Boy Scout camping trip and the door was locked. Gennie pushed past him and grabbed her bike. She was going to ride over to Pond Street to check out the neighborhood where Foster lived. She hoped he would be outside or have the door to the garage open so she could say hi to him. Hopefully, when she came back, Page would have forgotten about what she said.

Chapter 23: May 4

Ben was having a lot of fun driving around Holy Cross Cemetery in Colma, a small town about five miles south of where he lived. It was a great place to learn to drive because he wouldn't have to worry about killing anyone--the residents were already dead. At first, he was nervous, but Charlene gave him a lot of encouragement. Now that he was more familiar with driving, his confidence was up. After an hour, he stopped and parked in front of a mausoleum.

"You're doing great," Charlene said. "Next time we can go on the road."

"That'll be cool," Ben said.

"Do you like driving?"

"Yeah, especially with you here."

Charlene blushed. "Oh thanks."

"Are you doing anything special tonight?"

"Not really," Charlene said. "Usually I call up one of my friends and spend a couple of hours on the phone talking to them."

"You want to do something tonight with me?"

"Sure," Charlene said. "What do you have in mind?"

"I could make you dinner."

"Oh, that would be great. My parents have a party they have to go to, so they'll be gone for quite a while. You can make dinner at my house if you want."

"What do you want to do in the meantime?"

"Well, I have to go to Barbara's house and pick her up. I guess she's meeting someone at China Beach. Do you want to come with me?"

Even though Ben didn't want to spend another minute with Barbara, he agreed.

Barbara lived in a large peach colored Victorian with gingerbread trim and immaculate landscaping about a block away from where Charlene lived. Charlene parked just outside the entrance and honked her horn.

She sighed. "Barb told me she would be right outside the door when I came. She's probably doing some last minute primping. Do you want to come inside?"

Ben didn't really want to, but he said yes anyway. He didn't want to leave Charlene's side.

When they approached the house, Charlene rang the doorbell. No one answered. She turned the knob and when the door opened, she went inside.

"She's probably upstairs in her bathroom," Charlene said. "That's where she spends most of her time."

"She has a bathroom all to herself?" Ben replied. He probably shouldn't have been surprised. The carpeting in the foyer was so plush he sank into it. There was a three-foot wide crystal chandelier hanging over his head. The foyer itself was so big that his voice echoed off the walls.

"Yeah," Charlene said, as if it was no big deal. They went up the stairs to the main part of the house. In the living room there was a Hispanic lady vacuuming the rug. It was decorated in a contemporary style, with two white leather sofas, two matching armchairs, and a black lacquer coffee table with a huge matching display case. The living room itself was about double the size of Malcolm and Colleen's.

The lady seemed a little startled to see them. She shut the vacuum cleaner off.

"Hello there, we're friends of Barbara's. We were just going upstairs to get her," Charlene said.

The cleaning lady paused, apparently unsure of what to do. She eyed Ben suspiciously. Her parents probably had a rule of no boys in the house if they weren't home, but since Ben was with Charlene, there probably wouldn't be any monkey business going on.

"All right," the cleaning lady said. "She is upstairs in bathroom."

"Where else?" Charlene replied, chuckling. They went down a long hallway and up another flight of stairs.

Barbara's room looked just like Ben imagined, very feminine with a full size canopy bed with pink ruffled comforter and French provincial dresser and vanity. In the far right corner of the room was a door. Charlene went over and opened it.

"Ahhh!" Barbara screamed.

"Opps, sorry Barb, I didn't mean to scare you," Charlene said.

Barbara emerged from the bathroom. Ben barely stifled a laugh when he saw her. She had small tin cans pinned into her hair.

"What's he doing here?" she said.

"Oh, I was giving him driving lessons," Charlene said.

"My parents are going to be home any minute. They'll kill me if they find a boy in the house. Why didn't he just wait in the car?"

"I invited him in," Charlene said.

"Well, invite him out," Barbara replied.

"How long will you be?"

"Give me ten minutes. Now get that kid out of here."

Charlene went outside. They sat down on the brick steps near the house's front entrance.

"Geez, what a welcome," Ben said.

"Don't take offense," Charlene replied. "She's like that with everybody. I've been her best friend for years and she still has a fit if I come over five minutes before I said I would."

Ben did take offense, though. That Barbara was a pain in the butt. She was about as rude and self-centered as anyone could get. He wished Charlene didn't have to be her chauffeur.

Fifteen minutes later, Barbara emerged from her house. Her hair was so sprayed down that it shone in the sun. She had a short orange dress with large pink polka dots, with pink boots and matching purse. She carried a white bikini in her other hand. Ben thought she was a little overdone for going to the beach. For the first time ever, he appreciated his sister's no fuss no muss style. If the tables were turned and he had to take Gennie to the beach, she would have just run a comb through her hair and would have been out the door in about a minute. It was a good thing Barbara was an only child. If she had siblings, they probably would have jumped off the Golden Gate Bridge by now.

Ben didn't realize China Beach was walking distance from where Barbara lived. It took about a minute to drive there. She could have walked there in about five minutes at the most. Ben was pissed but he didn't say anything to Charlene.

"Have fun at the beach, Barb," Charlene said to her as she closed the door.

"I plan to," she said in a sultry voice. Obviously, she was meeting up with some guy.

"Are you going to say thank you to Charlene?" Ben said.

Barbara shot him a look of death. "Of course," she sneered.

"Thank you Charlene for giving me a ride," she said halfheartedly.

"Oh, don't worry about it," she said. "Just go have fun."

Charlene turned to Ben as Barbara walked down to the beach. "Want to go to my place now?" she asked.

"Sure," Ben said.

About two minutes later, they arrived at a modern looking brick house even bigger than Barbara's. Off to the side of it, there was a four-car garage. Charlene opened one of the doors with a remote control, something Ben had never seen before. They walked to a side door and into the kitchen. The kitchen had light wood cabinets, copper colored appliances, and was bigger than any kitchen Ben had ever seen. It was a chef's dream, with a huge pantry and a six-burner gas stove. There was a breakfast bar dividing the kitchen and dining room and above it was an open display cabinet with various kinds of cocktail and wine glasses. Charlene showed him the dining room, living room, den and game room. It was a showplace, with everything decorated in the latest style and sparkling clean.

Charlene took him up to her bedroom. She had the same canopy bed and French Provincial furniture as Barbara did, but instead of a pink comforter she had a handmade quilt in a rainbow of colors and she not only had a dresser and vanity, but enough room for an armoire and matching bookcase.

They decided to rehearse their roles as Romeo and Juliet before they started on their homework. Somehow, though, they ended up kissing and couldn't stop. Ben thought Charlene would push him away but she didn't. Ben unbuttoned her shirt and undid her bra. By this time, he was trembling with passion. Everything about her was so soft and beautiful that he just wanted to eat her up. She unbuttoned his shirt and caressed his chest. She moaned as he rubbed up against her. She unzipped his pants and slid her hands inside. That surprised and excited him. He didn't know how much longer he could contain himself. He pulled up her skirt and removed her panties. She cried with delight when he rubbed her thighs.

"I've got to have you," he whispered.

"Go ahead," she said. She helped him pull down his pants and guided him inside her.

He never felt anything as wonderful as that sensation. The pleasure heightened rapidly. Finally, with a shudder, he exploded. He fell on top of her with a sigh when it was over.

They fell asleep next to each other. When Ben woke up, he saw Charlene straightening herself out.

"You don't hate me, do you?" he asked, thinking she might be mad at him.

"No," Charlene said. "Why would I hate you? I wanted it too."

"I probably should go," Ben said.

"Wait," Charlene replied. "You said you were going to make dinner."

"You're right," Ben said.

They went down to the kitchen. Ben looked through the cabinets, trying to find ingredients. There was some fresh swordfish in the refrigerator and Ben used that. Charlene went into the pantry and pulled out a bottle of wine and two glasses. They didn't say much as they ate their meal and sipped on the wine.

"Have you ever made out with Johnny?" Ben asked. He instantly regretted saying it.

Charlene looked surprised, but didn't seem offended.

"No," she replied. "We've tried, but no."

"You mean you just went to third base?"

"No, we went all the way, but Johnny...how can I say this..."

She put her index finger up in the air and bent it.

Ben almost choked on his food. "You're kidding!"

"I think he was just nervous, that's all."

"Do you love him?"

Charlene took a long time to answer. "I don't know," she finally said. "I used to like him, but now...I'm just used to him."

"Do you love me?"

"I think I do."

"Do you want to go out with me?"

"That's a big decision."

"It's not that big. I mean, it's not like you're married to Johnny or anything."

"Yeah, that's true, but..."

"But what? You just went all the way with me."

"Oh Ben...I don't know what other people are going to think."

He tried not to let the anger show in his voice but it did. "Who cares what other people think? We've got to do what makes us happy. If other people don't like it, tough luck."

"I guess you're right. Give me some time to think about this. I'll let you know tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay," Ben said.

When they finished their dinner, Ben helped Charlene put the dishes in the dishwasher.

"I have to go," Ben said, "I told Malcolm and Colleen I'd be home by ten o'clock and its nine now."

"Want me to give you a ride?"

"No, I'll walk." Ben kissed her on the cheek. "Goodbye, Sweetheart."

She kissed him on the lips. "Goodbye."

Chapter 24

When he came home, he discovered that Malcolm and Colleen had already gone to bed. He went to his room and listened to some of his records for about twenty minutes. Then he turned off the stereo and did something he would have never done yesterday. He went into the kitchen and called Page's house.

"Hello?" an annoyed voice said. It was Page. "Don't you know it's ten o'clock at night?"

"Yeah, I know. Can I talk to my sister please?"

"Why?"

"I have to tell her something important."

"Like what?"

"It's none of your business. Just put her on the phone."

"What if I don't?"

Ben sighed.

"All right. She's standing right here so I guess I'll let her talk to you."

"Hello?" Gennie said. She sounded defensive.

"Hi, Gennie," Ben replied, trying to be as casual as possible. "How's it going?"

"Good," Gennie said. "Why are you calling me? I thought I was the scum of the earth."

"Uh...well...I didn't mean any of things I said to you a few months ago. And, uh...I'm sorry for hurting you. I've wanted to apologize for a while, but I felt so embarrassed and it was never a good time. I don't know if you're still mad or not, but...I understand if you are."

Gennie didn't say anything for a while.

"I'm not mad," she finally said. "Just hurt."

"I'm sorry," he said. "I'll never hit you again, I promise."

"I can't be who you want me to be."

"That's okay. Who gives a crap what I think?"

Gennie chuckled.

"Well, I started it. And I was a pain in the ass. I'm sorry."

"You don't have to be sorry," Ben said. "You didn't do anything wrong."

"I miss you," Gennie replied.

"I miss you too," Ben said.

"Let's forget about what happened," Gennie said.

"Oh, okay," Ben replied. He didn't think she would forgive him that easily, but he was relieved. "I was wondering...have you seen Foster since Saturday night?"

"Yeah, actually I went over his house yesterday. He showed me his car, and then we went out for ice cream. It went really good."

"Did you do it?"

"Do what?"

_"It_."

"No! I hardly know the guy."

"Oh, okay. Well, I want to tell you something. Charlene and I went out today after school."

"Aren't you supposed to be dating Barbara?"

"She isn't interested in me. We had to pick her up to drive her across the street to the beach. She took this itsy little bikini with her and it was obvious she was meeting a guy there. When we went to her house to pick her up, she yelled at us and told Charlene to kick me out."

"Well, that sounds like love at first sight."

"I'm glad she's not interested in me, because now I can pay attention to Charlene."

Gennie sighed.

"When we went back to her house after dropping Barbara off, we were rehearsing for the play. Right in the middle of it, we started kissing and couldn't stop."

There was silence on the other end of the line.

"We made out on her bed and we went all the way."

"You used a rubber, right?"

"No, I didn't buy any because I didn't know I was going to be making out with Charlene."

"What if she gets pregnant?"

Ben never thought of that. "She won't get pregnant. She's probably on the pill or something."

"Probably? You didn't ask her?"

"I wasn't thinking of that at the time."

"You should have been."

Ben had forgotten what a party pooper Gennie could be.

"I'll tell you what...if she gets pregnant, I'll marry her, no questions asked."

"What about Johnny? Is she still going out with him?"

"Well, she told me she doesn't even like Johnny. I asked her if she would break up with him and go out with me and she said she would think about it."

"I wouldn't go to school tomorrow if I were you."

"I don't care what Johnny thinks because I have something I can use against him."

"Like what? He's Mr. Perfect."

"No, actually he's Mr. Impotent."

Gennie giggled. "No way!"

"If he threatens me, I'll just tell him that I'll release his little secret to the whole school."

"Well okay," Gennie said. "I'm still worried for you though. And I don't know if Charlene really likes you, but you've gone farther with her I thought you would have. So I guess you won."

He decided to tell Gennie something he should have told her sooner. "Would you like to move back in? Colleen and Malcolm miss you, plus it's really creepy how quiet it is at night."

"You're not scared, are you?"

"No, I'm not scared at all."

"Yeah, right," Gennie said.

Chapter 25: May 5

Ben went to school that morning feeling better about himself than he had for years. He wanted to tell the whole world that he and Charlene were in love, but he was patient and kept the news to himself.

Before gym, he went to his locker. A small piece of paper was tucked into the door. He pulled it out. 'Ben' was written on it in big round letters. He unfolded it.

Hi Ben:

I just wanted to let you know that I made up my mind. Meet me in the library just before lunch and we can talk about it.

Love,

Charlene

Love Charlene! Ben wanted to jump for joy when he read that. He put the note in his pants pocket and went to gym class.

Nothing much happened in the locker room. He changed right next to the other boys and he noticed they were giving him menacing looks. He gave those menacing looks right back.

Today they had to play floor hockey. He and Johnny were on the same team. He was the goalie and Johnny was the defense. Johnny did nothing but stand there while Ben tried to dodge large wooden sticks and a hard rubber puck flying at his head and other sensitive body parts.

Mr. Yates blew his whistle. "Come on, Johnny! Put some effort into this!"

After that, Johnny managed to put the bare minimum amount of effort into defending Ben, but the puck always got past him. Ben was not happy at the beating he was taking.

While they were changing back into their school clothes, the other boys were giving him menacing looks again. It was seriously annoying Ben.

"What the hell are you staring at?" he shouted at them.

The other boys snickered, except for Johnny.

"Nothing, asshole," Jerry Stone said.

"What, are you gay or something?" Ben shouted. "That's the only reason you would all be looking at me."

They burst out laughing and continued talking amongst themselves.

"Hey, Ben," Dominick Marr said, "have you ever been laid? By a girl, not a guy. The baseball team has a betting pool going on with you."

Ben slammed his locker shut. "Actually, I got laid last night. While you guys were at practice, I was having fun with all of your girlfriends."

They burst out laughing again, except for Johnny. He actually looked worried.

"You were probably playing dress up with them," Kirk Cauley said.

"No, I was dressing them _down_."

"Ohhh...." All the guys said mockingly.

"If you'll excuse me, I have to go to my next class. I don't have time to screw around with jerks like you."

All the guys snickered. Ben heard the derogatory words being tossed about him. For the first time, he didn't care.

He met Charlene at the library just before lunch. She was sitting at a table way in back behind all the shelves. Ben had to look for a couple of minutes before he finally found her. It was hard to tell by her expression what she was going to say. Ben was worried because she didn't look as happy as he thought she would be.

He sat down next to her.

"How are you doing?" he asked her.

"Okay," she replied.

"You don't look okay," he said.

"I'm fine, really," she replied. "I'm just worried, you know..."

"What are you worried about?"

"Well, I told Johnny just before school started that I didn't want to go out with him anymore. He didn't take it very well."

"I'll make sure he won't hurt you or anything," Ben said.

"No Ben, it's not about me. It's about you. He asked me if my dumping him had anything to do with you. I said no, but he told me that if he ever saw me around with you that he'd kill you."

Ben scoffed at that. "He's not going to do anything to me."

"I don't want him to hurt you."

"I can take care of myself." He wrapped his hand around hers. "Now, what was it that you wanted to tell me?"

Charlene smiled. "You probably figured it out by now."

"Yeah, I probably have, but I want to hear it from you."

"I decided that...I want to be your girlfriend."

"That's music to my ears," Ben said. He gave her a long deep kiss on the lips.

They had been locked in each other's embrace for several minutes when Mrs. Rademacher, the librarian, approached them.

"Can I help you?" she asked, looking down upon them with disapproval.

Startled, they let go of each other quickly.

"Uh, no," Ben said. "We were just studying and we got a little carried away."

"Well, we don't allow that kind of studying here," the librarian said.

"Oh, sorry about that," Ben said.

"It won't happen again, Mrs. Rademacher," Charlene replied.

After the librarian walked away, Ben gave Charlene a quick kiss on the lips. "Let me take care of Johnny, okay?"

"Okay," she replied.

Ben noticed from that point on, when he walked down the hall everybody would stare at him and whisper. He was sure the news had spread around the entire school by now. He just soaked it all in. Johnny and his friends had made themselves scarce and he was glad about that. He thought they had probably given up and wouldn't bother him from now on.

Just before his last class, he really had to go to the bathroom. He slipped into the nearest boys' room and did his business at one of the urinals. He was about to leave when Johnny and the rest of the gang walked in. Before he could react, they grabbed him and threw him on the floor. Johnny kicked him while the other guys held him down. The blows took his breath away and raw pain coursed through his body.

"Stand him up," Johnny ordered and his friends did what they were told.

Johnny cracked his knuckles and drew his hands into tight fists.

"She's not going to like you anymore after I get done with your face," he hissed.

"Well, what makes you think she's going to like you?" Ben gasped.

"You're asking for it, aren't you, you little prick?"

"This isn't going to help you get back Charlene. Actually, it'll make you look more like a jerk."

"She'll go back with me if she knows what's good for her."

"Oh, really?"

The boys holding his arms in a tight grip chuckled.

Johnny tightened his fists again.

"I could do a lot to you, you know," Ben replied, trying to sound as threatening as he could. "If you punch me in the face right now, I'll let the whole school know about your little problem."

"What problem?" Johnny said, though Ben could tell by his anxious expression that he knew exactly what Ben was talking about.

"Want me to tell your friends about it right now?" Ben said.

"I've got a switchblade in my back pocket," Eric Pace said. "Want me to cut his throat?"

Ben thought Johnny would say yes, but instead he shook his head.

"I'm not going to jail because of a turd like him," Johnny replied. "Just let him go."

Johnny's friends stared at him in surprise, but they released their hold on him.

There was an awkward moment when they were all just standing around wondering what they should say and do next. Ben smiled.

"I'll see you later, guys," he said.

"Go to hell," Johnny spat out.

"With pleasure," Ben replied, and left the bathroom as quickly as he had entered it.

Chapter 26

When Gennie returned to Page's house, she was even more ill than she was that morning. She was coughing and sniffling up a storm and she looked really pale.

"Want something to drink?" Gennie asked her.

"Nah," Page replied, sounding stuffed up, "but can you do something else for me?"

"Sure," Gennie replied. "What is it?"

"Can you pick up all my used tissues and throw them in the wastebasket?"

Gennie wasn't thrilled about doing that, but she didn't complain. "Okay," she said.

Gennie gathered up the small mountain of crumpled tissues that surrounded Page's bed and threw them away.

"Are you seeing Foster tonight?" Page asked.

"Yeah, he invited me to his house again. This time for dinner."

"Oh, okay. I was wondering...do you really like this guy?"

It took Gennie a while to answer that. "Yeah, I would say so. Why?"

"Curious, I guess."

"Do you want to go out with him?"

Page laughed so hard she started coughing.

"I'll get you some water," Gennie said. She ran down to the kitchen, grabbed a semi-clean glass, and poured some water from the tap. When she returned to the bedroom, Page was still hacking away.

Page took the glass and gulped the water down. "Thanks, but I'm not into that sort of thing."

"Into what?"

"Into stealing other people's boyfriends."

Gennie smiled. "It's good to know there's at least one person who's not like my brother."

"What the hell got into him anyway? Does he think he's Casanova or something?"

"I don't know what happened, but he probably thinks he is now that he's dating Charlene."

"I'll tell you...it takes some balls to steal Johnny's girlfriend right under his nose. He's definitely playing with fire there."

"Tell me about it," Gennie said. "I never thought he had it in him."

"Balls?" Page asked.

They both laughed.

"Well, anyway, I wanted to tell you that Danny borrowed one of my Bob Dylan albums, so yesterday I went in his room to take it back and guess what I found under the bed?"

"What?"

Page pulled out a clear glass jar filled with marijuana. "None other than his girlfriend Mary Jane!" she said.

"Your brother smokes weed?"

"You're surprised?"

"I guess I shouldn't be. Are you going to tell your parents?"

Page looked puzzled. "Why?"

"Remember that film they showed us in the auditorium last year about that stuff being really dangerous? You wouldn't want anything bad to happen to Danny."

Page scoffed. "That was total bull. Pot isn't dangerous at all. It's a lot safer than smoking and drinking, which I might add you do all the time."

"I don't do it all the time, only once in a while."

"See, that's what I mean. So come on, let's have a toke together, Little Miss Innocent."

The doorbell rang.

"Let me get that," Gennie said, relieved that she had an excuse to escape the room.

Page frowned. "Fine. Just hand me the bottle of cough syrup, will ya? I need my rest."

Gennie took the bottle of medicine, along a spoon and gave them to Page.

"Thanks. We're going to have a good time tonight, I promise."

"Okay," Gennie said, dreading it.

At the door was the postman with a package. Gennie took it, put it on the first stair next to Midge, and then went outside. She took her bike and rode to Foster's house, which was about four miles away. She hoped he didn't mind that she was a little early.

When Gennie arrived at Foster's house thirty minutes later, she parked her bike at the foot of their walkway, and rang the doorbell.

"You came at a great time," Foster said to Gennie after he opened the door. She noticed he didn't invite her in, but stepped outside.

"You mean that in a good way, right?" Gennie replied.

"Yes, definitely. My mother is in one of her moods, and I don't feel like dealing with her right now."

"I hope you don't mind I came a little early. You see, my friend Page was trying to talk me into something I wasn't comfortable doing."

"Like what?"

"Smoking dope."

"Wow."

"Yeah, exactly. I think she wants to try it because she's sort of into the beatnik stuff and she likes the new hippie thing too."

"I bet she wants to go to Berkeley, right?"

"Yes, of course."

"That's a happening place if you're a hippie. It sounds like you're not so into it."

Gennie shrugged. "I'm not a square, if that's what you mean. But I don't know...it seems kind of spaced out to me. I like to live in the real world."

"There's some things I like about it and some things I don't," Foster said.

"Like what?"

"Well, I like the clothes and the music, but not taking all drugs, especially speed and LSD. I don't care what anyone says, they've got to mess you up."

"I agree," Gennie said.

Gennie looked at the house. "By the way, this place looks so modern. Is it new or something?"

"Well, it's only ten years old. My dad had it built for my mom as a wedding present."

"Kind of late for that, don't ya think?"

Foster chuckled.

"What's so funny?"

"I guess nobody told you, huh?"

"Told me what?"

"She's not my real mother. She's actually my stepmother. My dad met her about fourteen years ago and they dated for a couple of years before they got married."

"How does your real mother feel about this?"

"She died a long time ago. She had cancer. I was about three and Charlene was only a year old. I barely remember her and Charlene has no memory at all."

"Oh, I'm sorry about that," Gennie said.

"Don't worry," Foster replied. "You didn't know."

"Well, if it makes you feel better, I sort of know what that's like. My mother died when Ben and I were a couple of days old."

"That's too bad," Foster said. "Did your Dad get married again?"

Gennie shook her head. "He never got over her. He kept all her stuff the way it was when she died. He never dated or anything like that. He had a heart attack about a year and a half ago."

"How are Malcolm and Colleen related to you?"

"They're not," Gennie replied. "They're my foster parents."

"You don't have any family?"

"Not really."

"Well, my mom doesn't have any family either. She was married before, a long time ago, but she had to leave him. She couldn't have any children, so she was really happy to have us."

"That's good, at least she's not the wicked kind."

"No, usually she's a great mom."

"Usually?"

"Well, she has her 'off' days, you could say."

"Everybody has those."

"Hers are more off than most people."

"Oh," Gennie replied, not knowing what else to say. It seemed like he was implying that she was mentally ill, but she didn't want to pry.

"You want to come in?" Foster asked.

"Uh...well...if your mom isn't feeling good..."

"I think it'll be all right. My dad said he was going to have her take her pills. She should be fine by now."

"Oh, okay, then," Gennie said, still feeling apprehensive.

Foster opened the door and they entered the house.

"Take your shoes off before you come in," a very thin lady with blonde curly hair said. She looked like she was in her late forties. Gennie thought she was dressed up a little formally for dinner at home. She was wearing a full-length aqua dress with ruffles at the neckline and sleeves, with pearl earrings and a necklace. She was wearing satin aqua shoes with a one-inch heel. Gennie didn't know much about clothes but she could tell these were expensive. She wouldn't have been surprised if the whole outfit cost five hundred dollars.

"Don't worry Mom," Foster said. "We will."

"Well, someone came in here a few days ago with their friend and didn't do that."

"It wasn't me," Foster replied, taking off his sneakers. Gennie did the same with her sandals.

Gennie opened her mouth to tell Foster's mom that it was Ben and Charlene, but she quickly bit her tongue.

"Were you going to say something?" she asked her.

"No, ma'am," Gennie replied.

"Have you met Gennie yet?" Foster asked.

"No, I don't believe I have," his mom replied.

"Gen, this is my mother, Addie Conrad. Mom, this is my new girlfriend, Gennie Perrin."

Addie's expression was not what Gennie expected. Maybe she was shocked that Foster just called her his new girlfriend. It seemed to change quickly, though. She gave her a forced smile and shook her hand.

"It's so nice to meet you, Gennie," Addie said.

"You too, Mrs. Conrad."

"You can call me Addie."

"That's neat. My mother's name is Addie too."

Addie looked at her strangely. She seemed disoriented. Gennie didn't think this meeting was going so well.

"You know," Gennie said, hoping to lighten the mood, "you seem familiar. I think we have met before."

That didn't help at all. "I'm sure we haven't," Addie said very abruptly. Gennie didn't know what her problem was but Addie seemed very agitated about it.

"Is dinner ready?" Foster asked, sounding irritated himself.

"Almost," Addie said. "What do you want to drink?"

"I'll have a root beer," Foster said.

Addie turned around and went back into the kitchen without asking Gennie what she wanted to drink.

"Gennie wants the same thing," Foster shouted at his mother.

"Oh," his mother said, without turning back.

Gennie was getting the feeling that Addie didn't like her very much.

During dinner, Foster's dad, Loren, peppered her with questions. The more Gennie revealed about herself, the more disturbed Addie seemed to become.

"I've heard that your brother is into gourmet cooking," Loren said. "I think he's after Addie's heart. She used to own a catering company, you know."

Addie's eyes seemed to light up. Gennie was glad her sour mood was improving. Gennie got the feeling Addie was the type that was always miserable unless she was talking about herself.

"Well, actually, I always wanted to be a movie star, but my first husband wouldn't let me, so I left him and came to California to pursue an acting career," Addie explained. "The problem was I liked San Francisco too much to want to leave. I love to cook, so I ended up working for a catering company. Not long after, I started my own, but I had to sell it last year. It was one of the hardest things I had to do in my life."

Gennie was going to ask why Addie sold it, but she decided that was a bad idea. She didn't want to seem like she was nosey.

The dinner conversation after that was a little stiff. Loren really couldn't talk about anything except his business, and a lot of it Gennie found really boring. Addie didn't say much, except for looking at Foster disapprovingly when he rolled his eyes and sighed. She didn't look Gennie's way at all. Gennie knew Addie thought she was not of their social caliber. This bothered her a lot more than she thought it should.

Foster apologized at the end of the night. They were in the garage checking out his car again. "My family's weird," he said.

"Whose isn't?" Gennie replied.

"Don't let my mother's behavior bother you," Foster said. "Every girl I bring home is Satan's daughter. It's nothing personal."

"Hey, maybe you did bring home Satan's daughter this time," Gennie said jokingly.

They both got a good chuckle out of that.

"She has problems, as you can tell. The last year she's been in and out of the psychiatric ward. She has severe depression and she won't take her medication. My dad usually has to shove the pills down her throat. That's why she was acting so weird at dinner."

"She seemed okay to me, just really nervous."

"Well, I'm glad it didn't bother you. By the way, the Bugatti runs now. Would you like to take it for a spin?"

"Yeah, sure."

They got in the Bugatti and rode around random parts of town. The car was getting a lot of attention from pedestrians and other drivers alike. Gennie had to admit Foster knew what he was doing. The car ran like a dream. Finally, they had to go back to real life, though. Foster drove into his garage.

"Thanks for inviting me to dinner and letting me ride around in your car. I had a good time."

"Me too."

There was an awkward moment but then Foster leaned toward her and gave her a polite kiss on the cheek.

"Was that okay?"

"Sure," Gennie said, "why wouldn't it be?"

"Are you going to the play?" Foster asked.

"Yeah, I guess so."

"Well, I'll see you there," Foster replied.

"You too." Gennie walked down the driveway and got on her bike. "See you later."

Chapter 27: September 24, 1965

Ben was having the time of his life dating Charlene. They went out to all kinds of places. Charlene always had to pay though, because Ben never had money. He felt bad about that, so he started looking for a job. He wished he had applied for that opening as a cook at Bella Cucina while it was still open. Nothing else appealed to him that much. The only one he really hoped to get was a position as a food server at the UCSF Medical Center cafeteria. It started at three dollars an hour and came with benefits. He, along with a hundred other people, were going for that job. Luckily, he beat out all of them and was hired the week after he applied.

_Romeo and Juliet_ was an unbelievable success. Spurred on by their relationship, which everyone in the school was talking about, the auditorium was packed on the night of the play. They got a standing ovation at the end. Afterward, Charlene's parents put on a party at her house. That was the first time he met them. They seemed like nice people, though her dad liked to talk about his business a lot and her mother seemed a little anxious. For some strange reason, Charlene's mother seemed really familiar, though Ben didn't know why. Maybe he saw her somewhere recently, who knew? Even though Gennie said she was uppity, Ben didn't think she was, at least not toward him. She just seemed nervous and distracted. She had been in and out of the hospital a lot in the last few months for some unknown reason, maybe she was still not feeling that well. She had made all the appetizers and as soon as Ben tasted one of them, he liked her instantly. She was the first person who he thought could cook better than him.

Whenever they were alone, they took the opportunity to kiss and pet each other. Usually, it turned into something more. The last time they made love, it was more than a year after they first started dating. Ben had his driver's license and saved enough money to buy a used car, a nine-year-old gray Renault Dauphine. They went to the drive-in to see a double feature, _The Art of Love_ and _Tickle Me_ , the latest Elvis movie. They managed to have enough time during intermission to get the job done and not miss any part of the second movie, which Charlene really wanted to see.

Ben noticed when their senior year began, Charlene was too sick to go to school most of the time. Ben would stop by her house to comfort her. He assumed she would get better but she never did.

"You need to go to the doctor," Ben told her the last weekend of September as he was visiting her in her bedroom. "I start work in about an hour, why don't I take you to the emergency room so you can get checked out?"

"But...I don't have any makeup on!"

"Nobody's going to care about that," Ben said, though he had to admit she did not look well at all. She had lost about ten pounds that month, her face had a grayish tinge to it and her hair was limp. She was shivering and sweating at the same time.

"You're going to the hospital," Ben said firmly.

"I'm not that bad," Charlene replied. "I'll get over this. Besides, I hate needles and doctors poking me. It's just the flu. I've had it before and I came out of it fine."

"I'm not going to argue with you. You've been sick for weeks. You're going to go whether you like it or not."

He put his arms under her and lifted her out of the bed. Surprisingly, Charlene didn't fight him.

"But I look awful!" she cried weakly. "I can't go out like this. What will people think?"

"They'll think you're sick. You're not trying out for the Miss America pageant, you know. They'll understand."

He drove her to the hospital. Charlene was lying down in the back seat. Ben drove up to the emergency room entrance and carried her inside.

"I think I'll be all right here," Charlene said to Ben. She slumped over one of the waiting room chairs.

"Are you sure?" Ben replied.

"Go to work, Ben," Charlene gasped. She was running out of energy quickly. "You don't want to get into trouble."

"Okay," he said. He kissed Charlene on the forehead. "I'll check in on you when my break comes up."

"All right," Charlene said. "See you later."

Four hours later, Ben returned to the emergency room. Charlene wasn't there.

He asked the receptionist where she was and she looked her name up in the hospital log.

"She was admitted," she told him. "She's in room two twenty-three."

Ben went up to the second floor and found her room. Charlene was watching TV.

"What do you have?" Ben said.

"Pneumonia," Charlene replied. "The doctor said that normally he would have given me antibiotics and sent me home but they admitted me because I was severely dehydrated. They're running some more tests on me, just to make sure I don't have anything else going on."

"So you're going to be okay?"

Charlene nodded. "I should be out in a couple of days."

"Good," Ben said. He kissed her on the lips. "Now aren't you glad I forced you to leave the house without make-up on?"

"Yeah, I guess I am. I feel better already."

"Not that it matters if you wear make-up or not, because you look just as beautiful without it."

"Oh, thank you, Ben."

Ben checked his watch. "I've got to get back to work, but I'll see you again when I get off."

While Ben was working, he made a special request to the cafeteria manager. He wanted to prepare and deliver Charlene's meal personally. The manager said that it was all right, but no dilly-dallying. So, Ben made a turkey sub with milk and chocolate pudding for dessert and delivered it to Charlene. She was really happy to see him again. Already she had more color in her complexion than just a few hours before. After he got out of work, he bought a bouquet of roses from the gift shop in the hospital lobby and brought them to her.

"You know," Charlene said, sniffing the roses. "I've seen more of you today than I usually see you at school all week."

"You should get sick more often," Ben replied.

"Johnny never bought me roses."

"Well, Johnny sucks. You deserve better."

"I have better."

"Exactly."

Charlene gave him a playful slap on the hand.

"So," Ben said, "you only have pneumonia? Nothing else?"

"They're not sure yet. They're still waiting on the test results. They're going to tell me in the morning."

"Why do they think you have something else?"

"Well, I told them I haven't had my period in a while. Also my breasts have been really sore and I think they've gotten bigger."

"The bigger part is definitely good news."

Charlene smiled. "They examined them and made me pee in a cup. They told me it's probably nothing, but they just want to be sure."

"Don't worry too much about it," Ben said. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow. Get your rest."

"I will."

The next day, he went to work at eight o'clock. He wanted to visit Charlene, but he waited because he didn't want to wake her up. He was anxious about those test results. He hoped she didn't have cancer or anything like that.

During his afternoon break, he went upstairs to visit her. The nurses told him not to go in the room; Charlene's family was in there. Ben said he would wait until they left. For some odd reason, he had a lump in his throat and his stomach was in knots. Something wasn't right. Everything was too quiet.

Then Charlene's parents left the room, along with Foster. It didn't look good. Addie had tears in her eyes. Both Loren and Foster were frowning deeply and their eyes were hard with anger.

Ben approached them and tried to sound casual.

"Hi, everybody."

They didn't respond, except for staring at him as if he were the epitome of all evil.

"Uh...how is Charlene doing?"

Foster approached him. At first, he looked like he was about to speak but didn't. Then without any warning, he grabbed Ben by his shirt and slammed him against the wall.

"You son of a bitch!" Foster spat out. "What did you do to my sister?"

"Nothing, I swear."

"Then why the hell is she pregnant?"

"I...I don't know!"

"Foster..." Addie said, sobbing uncontrollably, "Let go of him."

Foster gave him a hard shove and backed away.

Ben had to struggle to get the words out. "I'm really sorry, Mr. and Mrs. Conrad. I didn't know this was going to happen."

Foster was about to punch him, when Loren grabbed his arm.

"I don't want to see you around Charlene ever again. Do you understand?"

"But...what if we get married?"

"I'm sorry, but I won't allow that. We have other plans for her, after we take care of this problem."

"Other plans? She's seventeen, shouldn't she have a say in this? I know she loves me."

"Ben, you don't understand. I want the best for my daughter and I'm sorry to say this, but you're not it."

"So, you think I'm a scumbag, right?" Ben could feel the heat rising in his face.

Addie put her head in her hands and wailed loudly.

"Yes, you are!" Foster shouted.

"Will you shut your stupid trap and let me handle this?" Loren said. "I never said that. I'm sure you're a fine young man, just not for our Charlene. Look, why don't you just forget all about this? Go and find yourself another girl. Look, I'll even pay you--"

"I don't want your money!" Ben yelled.

"I'm trying to be civil here, but you're not making it easy. Now please leave before we have to call the cops."

"Do what he says," Addie sobbed. "That's the best thing for all of us."

"You can't keep Charlene away from me," Ben said. "We're almost adults now and I don't care what all of you think. One way or another, we're going to get married."

He turned around and walked away.

"You're going to pay for this," Foster shouted behind him. "I hope you burn in hell."

Ben looked back briefly and turned away. There was no way he'd be able to finish work now. He decided to head home early.

Chapter 28: September 26

Gennie hadn't heard from Foster in a couple of days. She suspected something was wrong. Two days ago, Ben had come home from the hospital early, his eyes red and swollen, as if he had been crying. When Gennie asked what was wrong, he grumbled that it was nothing. He said he was fine, and then went to his room and closed the door. That was last she had seen of him. Colleen brought his meals to him so he wouldn't starve to death. She wasn't even allowed in, so she would put the food by the door. Gennie tried to talk with him several times when he opened the door and took his meals inside, but he wouldn't have any of it. He shut the door right in her face.

She was wondering if she had anything to do with it. Maybe Foster did something that upset him and now he was blaming her too. Or perhaps Ben upset Foster, they got into a fight and now for some stupid reason, Ben was blaming her for it. Maybe it had something to do with Charlene, and somehow Ben was mad at her because of it.

Whatever it was, Gennie was very aggravated by not knowing. It was affecting her performance at school, which was dismal enough as it was because she didn't want to be there, but Malcolm and Colleen were forcing her to finish. She would have liked to talk to Page about it, but Page was still mad at her for not coming back from that date with Foster last year. Gennie hadn't been to her house since though she knew eventually she had to go there to pick up her stuff.

She was trying to read a chapter from _The Scarlet Letter_ but couldn't concentrate. She finally set it down on her bedroom floor and sighed. She had to know what was going on. Being mad at Gennie week had to come to an end.

She went into the kitchen, picked up the phone and dialed Foster's number.

"Hello?" It was Foster's roommate at Berkeley, Donald. She could hear the Rolling Stones song, "The Last Time" playing in the background.

"Is Foster there?" Gennie asked.

"Oh no," Donald replied. "He's at home with his parents. I guess his sister's really sick."

"I heard about that. I thought he would be back on campus by now."

"You haven't heard from him?"

"No, I think he's mad at me or something."

"Well, if he is, you can always go out with me," Donald said chuckling.

Gennie smirked. What a smart aleck. "Thanks, but no thanks. I'll call Foster at home."

"Your loss, baby. Bye."

Gennie hung up the phone. Something must be really wrong with Charlene. She dialed the number to his parents' house.

"Hello?" It was Loren.

"Oh hi, Mr. Conrad, is Foster there?"

"Um, yes. Let me get him." He didn't sound particularly happy.

A few seconds later, Foster picked up the phone.

"Gennie?"

"Hi, Foster. I haven't heard from you in a couple of days. Are you mad at me?"

Foster paused. "No, I'm not mad at you," he said sadly.

"Is something wrong?"

"You could say that. We have a little problem here."

"Okay?"

"Did you know that Charlene and Ben...they were having sex?"

_Uh-oh_ , Gennie thought. "Uh...yeah. Ben told me."

"So you knew all along?"

"About what?"

"About Ben taking advantage of my sister!"

"Hey, wait a minute here. It takes two to tango, you know. Your sister isn't exactly an innocent. Ben told me it was her idea and he went along with it."

"I don't care whose idea it was. She wouldn't be pregnant if it weren't for your brother!"

Gennie felt like the bottom dropped out of her stomach.

"What! Oh, shit!"

"That's exactly what I think."

"Oh geez, I'm so sorry."

"Well, don't worry. My parents have plans for her."

"Plans? What is that supposed to mean? It sounds like they're going to take her to the dog pound and put her to sleep."

"No, my dad is going to make sure she has a good future."

"She's going to get an abortion, then?"

Foster didn't respond.

"Did you ask Ben about this? It's his baby too, you know."

"It's not your brother's decision to make."

"It's not your parents' decision either. It's Ben and Charlene's baby. I can't believe you guys are doing this."

"Well, that's what we're doing. My dad already paid the doctor. The appointment is next week."

Gennie sighed in disgust. "No wonder Ben has been in his room all this time. I can't believe you're doing this to him. When he came home from the hospital, it looked like he had been crying, you know."

"I could care less about him. He can go to hell as far as I'm concerned."

"Oh, that's nice."

"Look what he did to my sister."

"Ben told me a while back that he wanted to marry Charlene. Can't they do that instead?"

"That's not going to happen."

"Why not? Charlene's in love with Ben too. Why can't they marry?"

"I hate to say this, but my parents want better for Charlene, and I agree with them."

"Better? Like how?"

"Charlene's a really special girl. She should have someone smart and attractive like her from a good family and with a bright future. Ben doesn't...well, he doesn't have any of those things."

"What? Did you just come from the 1800's or something? It's 1965! If two people want to get married, they get married. What is she, friggin' royalty?"

"See, that's what I mean."

"That's what you mean by what? That I'm not perfect like your sister? You're telling me Ben is not good enough to marry Charlene...well, newsflash, I'm his twin, you know. Are you saying that I'm not good enough for you either?"

She heard Foster gulp. "Uh, no, I would never say that about you."

"When you decided to go out with me...you were just screwing around, right?"

"No, Charlene persuaded me to come and meet you. I didn't have high hopes at first, but I liked you right away. I thought you were really pretty. If things were different, I'd let myself fall in love with you."

Gennie clenched her free hand into a fist. She was holding the receiver so tight the hard plastic was digging into her other hand.

"So...you were just going to go out with me until another Miss Rich Bitch came along and then you were going to dump me by the side of the road, right?"

"No, I wouldn't do that to you."

"Fuck you, Foster Conrad, that's exactly what you were planning. See, I'm not perfect in every way and I'm not from the right family so I'm not good enough to marry. Well, let me tell you something. My family is just as good as yours...no, they're even better. They're not stuck up and pretentious like you guys are. Furthermore, there's nothing wrong with Ben. Actually, I'm glad he's not marrying Charlene. He's too good for her. Now he can date a really nice girl and he won't have to deal with uppity people like you."

She heard Foster sob. "I'm really sorry, Gennie."

"No, you're not."

"Yes, I am. I wish things could have been different between us."

"Up yours," Gennie said, slamming the phone down.

Gennie returned to her bedroom, lay in bed and stared at the ceiling for a few minutes.

So, it was true. Foster wasn't the person she thought he was. He was an elitist like the rest of them. He was only going out with her because she liked cars and he was in between girlfriends. She meant nothing to him.

She threw a pillow over her head and cried her eyes out.

Chapter 29: October 1

It wasn't easy to get Ben to come out of his bedroom for anything except going to school, but after five days, Gennie finally convinced him to do something with Malcolm and Colleen. They all went to the mini golf course in Castro Valley.

Gennie noticed a lady waiting at the entrance with two clubs and two golf balls. It looked like she was getting impatient. They got their clubs and balls and walked past her.

When Ben was placing his ball at the tee, the lady approached them.

"Do you mind if I join you?" she said. She looked about eighteen years old but her voice and the way she dressed seemed very mature. She was thin, yet she had large breasts, which seemed a little too perky for their size. She had very straight and fine red hair and green eyes. She wasn't really dressed for mini-golf. She had a white leather mini skirt on with matching boots and a white ruffled blouse that was tied into a knot at her waist, showing an inch of midriff. All the guys were staring at her, including Ben and Malcolm.

"Of course," Malcolm replied. "The more the merrier, as they say."

Colleen frowned deeply, but she didn't say anything.

"Thank you so much," she said. "My date was supposed to meet me here an hour ago, but he didn't show up. By the way, my name is Val."

"Nice to meet you, Val," Malcolm said. "This is my wife, Colleen, and our kids, Ben and Gennie."

Val smiled slightly. "So nice to meet you all."

The first hole took a while because neither Ben nor Malcolm could concentrate. It seemed to be a problem with all the males there. Gennie and Colleen tried to ignore it, and made some small talk with Val. Ben hardly said anything, spending most of his time looking at Val's breasts.

When they approached the seventeenth hole, they couldn't help but chuckle. Whoever designed the next to last course had a sick sense of humor. A wood plaque of an old lady's backside blocked the hole on the other side. Val went first. Gennie noticed Ben watching her bend over and position the ball. She made the shot between the old lady's legs, but it only traveled about halfway to the hole. It took her three more tries until it fell into the hole. Gennie, then Colleen, took their turns and each scored a par three. Malcolm got a par two. Ben went last. He hit the ball so hard that it bounced off the old lady's backside and landed right back at the tee. He hit it again and it did the same thing. The third time he swung even harder. It flew over the old lady plaque and landed right into Val's blouse. Gennie, Colleen and Malcolm burst out laughing.

"Oh my lord..." Val said, looking underneath her shirt, "it landed right between my breasts!"

"Would you consider that a hole in one?" Malcolm asked, laughing even harder.

Ben turned a bright shade of crimson. "Sorry," he said sheepishly to Val.

"Don't worry, Ben," Val said, giggling. "It happens all the time."

She plucked the ball from underneath her shirt and handed it to Ben.

"That one's a keeper," Gennie whispered to him.

"Shut up," Ben replied.

The very last course, involving a miniature Ferris wheel with multiple holes, took about a half hour to finish. Gennie got two points off her score, Malcolm got three, and Colleen got one. Val managed to get one point, while Ben's ball landed into a hole labeled LOSER. Gennie, Malcolm and Colleen burst into laughter again.

"You guys are going to pay for this," Ben said, clearly irritated. Everybody laughed even harder.

After they added up their scores, Malcolm was a clear winner, with Gennie a close second, Colleen third, Val in fourth place and Ben dead last.

"We'll have to bring Val to every game," Malcolm said.

"Maybe we can go get some ice cream?" Gennie said. "Since Ben's the loser, he has to pay."

"Whatever," Ben grumbled.

"Why don't I pay?" Val offered. "Since you were all so nice to let me join your game."

"You don't have to," Malcolm said.

"No, really, I insist," Val replied.

They walked across the street to Haman's ice cream parlor. Once their ice cream was ordered they sat at one of the covered picnic tables and chatted.

"You sound like you have a southern accent," Malcolm said to Val.

"Well, I grew up in Texas," Val replied. "In a little town probably a hundred and twenty miles south of Dallas."

"Are you visiting here?" Colleen asked.

"I just moved here last month," Val replied. "I'm staying with family in Hayward until I can find a job and an apartment of my own."

"That's interesting," Gennie said. "How do you like the Bay Area so far?"

"It's very nice," Val replied. "There's so many things to do."

"What kind of job are you looking for?" Malcolm asked.

"Well, I used to be an Avon lady until I was married. My husband Jesse didn't want me to work, so I didn't. I've been looking at different sales positions but nothing's stood out for me. I have some money to invest so I was thinking of starting my own business."

"What kind of business do you want to get into?" Colleen asked.

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe a boutique...or a restaurant."

"A restaurant would be a good idea," Ben said.

"Well, I don't know much about cooking."

"You could hire people to cook for you," Ben replied.

"I guess you're right."

"If you need someone who can cook, Ben here is practically a gourmet chef," Gennie said.

"Oh my goodness! Really? Do you just barbecue or do you do other things on a stove?"

"I can do both," Ben said proudly.

"I hope you all don't mind, but can I have your number?" Val asked. "If I do decide to start a restaurant, I'm going to need some good cooks right away."

"Sure," Malcolm said. "I'm an accountant, so I can help you set up your payroll system, if you want." He took a napkin from the dispenser on the table. "Anyone have a pen?"

Val took one out of her purse and handed it to Malcolm. He scribbled down their phone number and handed it to her.

"I'll call when I need some help," Val said.

When they finished their ice cream, they all said good-bye and left.

"What did you think of Val?" Gennie whispered to Ben as Malcolm drove them home.

"She's hot," Ben whispered back.

"I thought so."

"I think she's a little too old for me though. She's already been married and has a lot of money, so she has to be at least twenty-five, maybe thirty."

"Yeah, you're right. I think she's a lot older than you too, but she was a good distraction, though."

"And I might get another job out of her."

"You feel better?" Gennie asked.

"Yeah, a little bit."

"I know this is hard to believe but there is life after Charlene."

"I don't want to talk about her."

When they arrived home, they saw the paperboy coming down the street.

Ben and Gennie waited outside to grab the paper. When the paperboy saw them, he threw the paper in the driveway and took off.

"He's kind of late today," Gennie said.

"Kind of lazy, too," Ben replied. "He could have thrown it a little bit closer."

Since Ben was nearer, he grabbed the paper and unwrapped the rubber band tied around it. The sections were mixed up, with the wedding announcements on the front. Ben stared at it, dumbfounded.

"What's wrong?" Gennie asked.

Ben didn't say anything. He just handed her the paper and went into the house.

When Gennie glanced at it, she couldn't believe what she saw. The biggest announcement was 'John F. Briggs weds Charlene M. Conrad'. Next to it was a photo of Johnny in a three-piece suit and tie standing beside Charlene in a simple white dress and a pillbox hat with a veil covering her face. Both smiled slightly, though it was obvious neither of them was particularly happy. _So that's what her family was planning_ , Gennie thought, _a nice arranged shotgun wedding with someone fit for Princess Charlene_. Of course, it happened to be Johnny.

She threw the paper out into the street, where a car ran over it. She went inside the house and slammed the door shut.

Chapter 30: October 9

Being without Charlene was harder than Ben ever imagined. He could hardly concentrate on his job. His boss was always yelling at him for making silly mistakes, like putting too much mayonnaise in the potato salad or not giving a visitor the obligatory pickle with their soup and sandwich.

When he became too depressed to work, he would try to concentrate on Val. She was certainly a prize, but he thought she mentioned she was married. What was her husband's name? Jesse. He had a feeling she wasn't with him anymore, since she said she was living with family. Perhaps he was the one who stood her up though? He should have looked at her left hand, but at the time, he was too busy concentrating on other parts of her body. Even though a relationship with her was next to impossible, he could always fantasize. Besides, she might be his new boss. She would be better than Janet, who was old and cranky. He wasn't expecting a phone call from her though. She seemed more like a boutique girl to him. He'd probably be stuck in the hospital cafeteria forever, until he turned into an old, cranky male version of his boss.

When he drove home from work, he was exhausted.

"Hi, Ben," Colleen said. She was sitting on the sofa, doing her needlework and watching TV. "How was your day?"

"Awful," Ben replied.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No, I just want to go to bed."

"Oh, before you do that, I want to tell you, Val called."

"What did she say?"

"She said she had a job for you. Her phone number is on the fridge."

"Great!" Ben said. He ran to the fridge, grabbed the piece of paper with Val's phone number and dialed it.

"Hello?" Val said on the other end.

"Hi, it's Ben. I got your message."

"Are you interested in working for me?"

"Yes, very."

"Would you like to go out somewhere and discuss it?"

"Sure. Where would you like to go?"

"Hmm...how about a good Chinese place?"

"Dragon Bay is a pretty good place to eat."

"Where's that?"

"Oceanside Court in Alameda. It's about halfway between my house and yours. Do you need directions?"

"No, I have a good map. I should be able to find it. Do you want to meet me there in a couple of hours?"

"All right."

He listened to the Beatles new album _Help!_ while he got ready to go out and meet Val. The traffic was amazingly light for a Saturday and he was at the restaurant about forty minutes later. Once there and seated, he ordered a drink using his fake ID and a bowl of wonton soup. He finished the drink and ordered another one. Twenty minutes later, he was on his fourth drink. He was feeling tipsy and was wondering if Val had second thoughts. Then she entered the restaurant, wearing a paisley mini-dress, large hoop earrings and cranberry colored stiletto heels.

"I'm so sorry I'm late," Val said. "I was chatting with my family and I lost track of time."

"That's all right," Ben replied. He noticed his voice sounded slurred.

"You must be so mad at me."

"Not at all," Ben replied. He took another gulp of his drink.

Val smiled. "When I was on the phone with your mother, she told me your girlfriend's parents made her break it off with you. That must be awful."

"Yeah, it is."

"Some people are so old fashioned. Maybe you and your girlfriend can get back together when you're all older."

"That won't be happening. I found out last week that she just got married."

Val put her left hand on his. She wasn't wearing any rings. "Oh...I'm so sorry. You must be heartbroken."

"I'll live," Ben replied.

"If it makes you feel better, something like that happened to me. I was jilted at the altar."

"I think that's worse."

"That's how I met Jesse."

"Really?"

"He was the best man at the wedding."

"And you got married to him?"

"Yep. The year after that."

"Lucky guy."

"He didn't think so."

"No?"

"Well, I wasn't able to have children. Jesse...he comes from a wealthy family and he needed a boy to carry on the family business. He was okay with my problem the first couple of years, but after that, both he and his family were getting mighty impatient with me."

"So he dumped you? Because of that?"

"Basically. He had a little girlfriend on the side for quite a while. When she got pregnant, he brought her home and told me to pack up my things and get out."

"What a jerk!"

"That's what I was thinking too."

"So you're not married anymore?"

"Nope. I've been officially divorced as of two months ago. That's why I decided to move out here. Jesse and his family, they're high profile in my little old town, and they're always being mentioned in the paper and on the streets. I was getting sick of hearing about him, and being stared at and whispered about. I like being in a big city anyway, so I'd figure it would be a fresh start for me."

The waiter came up to them and took their order. They both decided to go with the pu pu platter.

"So you know all about me," Val said. "What's your story? Anything else besides Charlene?"

"Charlene was my first girlfriend," Ben said. "I wasn't really interested in anyone else before she came along."

"Have you lived here all your life?"

"No, my sister and I came here two years ago from Alaska."

"It must have been hard to leave."

Ben shrugged. "We didn't have much choice in the matter." He really didn't want to elaborate too much on his past. The present was messy enough.

Val seemed to pick up on this and changed the subject. "Do you want to hear my proposal?"

"Sure."

Their pu pu platter arrived. Val told him her idea for the business as the ice blue flame in the middle of the platter fluttered.

"Well, I decided to go open a restaurant. I don't know what kind of food I'd serve. I'm not really into cooking, as I told you before, so I figured it would be best to let you design the menu."

Ben was very surprised to hear that.

"I got a thing for decorating, so I'll design the inside of the restaurant. Now, I'd like to hear your thoughts on this to see if this is a good idea. Jesse gave me enough money from the divorce that I could probably buy two empty storefronts, or maybe one real big storefront. I was going to open a boutique and have it attached to the restaurant, you know what I mean?"

"Yeah, I think so," Ben said.

"See, that way, when the restaurant gets busy, all the people that are waiting can look around the boutique."

"That sounds like a good idea," Ben replied. "What kind of things were you planning to sell?"

"Oh, I don't know. Girly stuff, like makeup, clothes and jewelry."

"You might want to sell some things that appeal to guys too and maybe kids. While the ladies are looking around, they would be awfully bored."

"Hmm..." Val said, "You're right. I don't know very much about what men like to shop for. You'll have to help me out on that one."

"Well, guys...most of them don't like shopping period. We've got to have something that just about everyone likes."

"What could that be?" Val asked.

Ben looked at the man sitting at the table next to theirs. After being seated, he started reading the book he had with him. It was the newest Ian Fleming novel, _The Man with the Golden Gun_.

"I know! Books!"

"Books?" Val replied. She frowned and looked a little perplexed.

"But it's perfect. You just stock the shelves with all different kinds of books, like romance novels in one section, westerns in another. You can have kids' books and even some magazines. It'll keep everyone busy."

"You got a good point there," Val said.

"Look, people will come to your restaurant because they know they won't be just standing around twittling their thumbs like they are at other places."

"Okay, I'm going to go with that. Now, I'd like to ask you what you think of the name I've picked out."

"What is it?"

"Valben."

"Why is my name in it?"

"Well...since you're going to be a big part of the restaurant, I decided to put your name into the title."

Ben didn't know what to say. He was going to have a restaurant named after him!

"Uh...thank you." He hoped he wasn't blushing.

"You're welcome," Val said giggling. She finished off a crab Rangoon. "So, you'll be the brains, I'll be the money. How does that sound?"

"It sounds fantastic! I'm in!"

"We got a deal, then?"

They shook hands, then ate the rest of the pu pu platter. For the first time, Ben knew where his future was leading him and it was nowhere but up.

Chapter 31: September 6, 1966

Gennie had never felt so overwhelmed in her life. There was so much to do. She had to buy her books, get a parking permit for her car and a student ID, along with finding all her classes. She had definitely come a long way from Alaska, when she thought her high school of seven hundred students was huge.

She spotted Page on the way to one of the student cafes. She didn't know if she was still mad at her, but Gennie waved to get her attention. Page's face immediately brightened up.

"Hey, stranger!" she yelled, "What are you doing here?"

"Getting something to eat," Gennie said. "How about you?"

Page approached her. "No, I don't mean that! You told me you weren't going to college."

"Well, Malcolm and Colleen forced me to take the SAT's and I guess I did really good on them. The guidance counselor said I was in the top ten percent of the scores. I didn't think I would get into any colleges but I applied to Berkeley on a whim and I got in."

"Good choice!" Page patted her on the back. "What are you majoring in?"

"Engineering Mathematics and Statistics."

"Good luck with that. Guess you probably won't have trouble finding a new boyfriend."

"Probably not," Gennie replied. So far, the two engineering classes she attended were entirely male. "What are you majoring in?"

"Social Welfare," Page said.

"How do you like it so far?"

"It doesn't sound that hot, but so far my classes have been great. Hey, I'm starving, so why don't we talk some more in the café?"

They continued their conversation after they ordered their lunches and sat down. Page seemed to be taking campus life in stride. She was chatting excitedly about her classes. Psychology, Statistics and Political Science sounded easier than High Mix/Low Volume Manufacturing and Thermodynamics. They compared schedules and found they were going to be in the same classes for many for their prerequisites. They had a composition class together and a social studies course, called Contemporary Global Issues for Women.

"It must be hard being a room with a hundred nerdy guys," Page said, before she took a bite out of her turkey club sandwich.

"It feels weird, but it isn't too bad," Gennie said. "I met all the professors at orientation and they seem nice, except for the one who teaches Calculus."

"What's wrong with him?"

"Well, he's about ninety years old. He's probably been teaching since the turn of the century. When he called attendance this morning, he stopped at my name and said 'Someone here is taking the wrong class.'"

"Okay?" Page said, sounding disgusted. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"That's what I thought too. I guess I have to live with it. I try to comfort myself with the thought that he'll probably drop dead soon."

Page snickered. "Hopefully before mid-term."

"That would be nice."

"Any activities you want to get involved in?"

"No, not particularly. Do you have any in mind?"

"I was thinking of joining the Vietnam Day Committee."

"Hey, if you want to, go ahead."

"I see you're not too thrilled with that idea."

"I don't know...I'm not into protesting and all that stuff."

"Well, from what I read about it, they said they don't do a lot of protesting. They mostly do letter writing, sit-ins and marches. I think it would be fun."

"Sounds like fun," Gennie said sarcastically.

"Don't you want to make a difference in life? I can't believe you're siding with The Man."

"I'm not siding with anybody. And what am I going to make a difference with?"

"Well, let me put it to you this way. Is your brother signed up for the draft?"

"Yeah, he got a postcard from the government saying sign up or die. He dropped it off at the post office and a couple of weeks later they sent him another postcard saying he was on the draft list. Luckily, his number hasn't come up in the lottery yet."

"Let me tell you something. If they pick his number, he'll be the first to go."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that if this war doesn't stop soon, your brother is going to Vietnam. I don't think his skills as a gourmet cook are going to help him survive in the jungle."

"So, I suppose I have a personal stake in this now?"

"I say you do."

"Okay, I'll join, but you have to make a deal with me."

"Sure, what is it?"

"I have to pick something and you have to join it no matter what it is."

Page handed her the booklet from the Student Life Office. "Go ahead. Pick one."

Gennie browsed through the booklet. "This one sounds interesting."

Page leaned over to get a look. "You're in the academic section."

"Yep, you're right."

"Well, I hope it isn't boring."

"No, it sounds pretty exciting. It's called Formula One SAE."

"Okay, what is that?"

Gennie read aloud from the booklet. "To apply knowledge by working with the engineering aspects of designing and constructing an F1 car."

"What's an F1 car?"

Gennie sighed. "You're so deprived. It's a Formula One car."

Page still looked confused.

"A race car," Gennie added.

Page frowned. "You know, I was afraid of that. Can we do something else besides work on cars?"

"Nope, but we can join another group that has nothing to do with the Vietnam War or cars."

"Like what?"

"How about the Dart Club?"

"Why the heck would I want to join the Dart Club?"

"For one, you learn everything there is to know about darts and two, it meets in the campus pub. Dart Club members get their first two drinks free."

One of Page's goals in life was to get wasted, so this piqued her interest. "Really? Well, count me in!"

"I was afraid of that," Gennie said.

The first dart club meeting was that night at the pub. There were five dartboards, thirty tables and over two hundred students.

A very handsome young man with shoulder length dark hair stood up on a chair, microphone in hand.

"Hey, students of Berkeley!" he said.

The crowd cheered.

"I'm Rory Fox. I've been President of the Dart Club for the past three years and tonight it seems we have a problem here. Two years ago, we had only eight students in our club when it was held in the rec room. So, we moved the dartboards to the campus pub. That helped a little, but still we had only twelve members and we were hoping for more. Well...you know how the saying goes...'Be careful what you wish for because it might come true.' We decided this year to create an incentive to increase attendance and it definitely worked...a little too well."

Everyone chuckled. Rory cleared his throat and continued. "So to separate the true dart enthusiasts from the 'get drunk for free' crowd, we're going to hold a little contest. We're all going to have our two free beers. Then, all of you are going to be handed a slip of paper. On the paper is the dartboard you're assigned to. You're going to line up at the dartboard and you'll have three chances to throw the darts. If you score within the two smallest circles, welcome to the club. Everybody got that?"

Everyone nodded in agreement and made a beeline to the bar. Gennie was almost done with her second beer when Rory pressed a slip of paper into her hand.

"What does it say?" Page asked.

"Number five." Gennie searched the room for the dartboard with a five on top of it. It was on the far right hand side of the room, next to the pinball machines.

Page opened up her slip of paper. "Number two."

"Figures."

"Yeah, I know. I get the dartboard named after a piece of crap."

Both girls giggled.

Rory grabbed his microphone again. "Okay, guys. If you're ready, line up at your respective dartboards."

Gennie and Page were among the first to line up. Gennie threw her darts. Two hit the inner circle. The third was a bull's eye.

"You're in," the monitor for the number five dartboard, a tall, muscular guy with shiny brown hair said. "What's your name?"

"Gennie Perrin."

He wrote her name down on a lined piece of paper. "Congratulations and welcome to the club."

Gennie reunited with Page at the bar.

"How'd you do?" she asked Page.

"No bull's eyes, but they all were in the inner circle."

"Great! So we're both in."

"I think I'm going to enjoy myself here," Page said, scanning the room. "There are a lot of cute guys, and not a whole lot of other girls."

"How about Rory?" Gennie pointed out. "What do you think of him?"

"He's got the perfect last name. A total fox."

"Are you going to ask him out?"

"Hell no! I don't think he'd go out with me if I asked straight out."

"You never know," Gennie said.

"Maybe I'll go flirt with one of his friends, in order to get to know him a little better. I think my monitor, Freddy, would be a good choice."

Page pointed Freddy out. He was good looking, with a clear olive complexion and chiseled features, but he didn't dress very well. He also had thick glasses and limp looking hair combed to one side.

"I don't think you should hurt him like that."

"I'm not hurting anybody," Page said. "A dork like that should be lucky someone is interested in him!"

A girl next to Page eyed her suspiciously. "Well, you're no catch either, honey."

"What did you say?" Page shouted. She stood up from her barstool.

"You know what I said," the girl replied. "And I bet all of the guys are saying the same thing about you."

Page put her face right into the other girls. "I'm not as bad as he is."

"No," the girl said quietly, her black eyes turning hard, "you're even worse."

"That's it!" Page shouted. She rolled up the sleeves of her blouse. "You're going down!"

Gennie grabbed Page by the shoulder. "What are you doing?"

"What do you think I'm doing? I'm about to beat Bad Ass Betty up!"

The girl snorted. "You got my name right, but you're not going to beat me up."

"Page!" Gennie yelled, "You're going to get kicked off campus! Let's get out of here right now!"

"Goodbye, Page," Betty said, mocking her. She lifted up her drink in a toast.

"You stupid bitch!" Page yelled before Gennie covered her mouth and dragged her out of the pub.

"What's going on, Bet?" Freddy asked Betty.

"You need to get a new girlfriend!" Page screamed just outside the entrance. "The one you have is a c--"

Gennie yanked her arm and pulled her away from the pub. "We're going back to your room. You've had too much to drink. We don't need to make enemies here. We've had enough of them in high school."

Chapter 32: September 7

It took a while to find a suitable empty space for the restaurant, but they found a three thousand square foot storefront in an office building on Market Street. An adjoining two thousand square foot space was empty too and Val bought that up. The bigger space was supposed to be the restaurant, but plumbing and new gas lines had to be put in, so Val decided to concentrate on renovating the smaller space because it would be easier. Ben didn't have any plans to go to college so after graduation he spent his days assembling shelves that were supposed to line the walls. He wished Gennie could be here with him. He wasn't very handy at all, unlike her. He just hoped none of the books would come crashing down on people.

He left his job at the hospital in the last week of July, the day before Valbooks opened. They hadn't hired a person to work at the bookstore yet, so he took over duties. He would be the first to admit that it was probably the noisiest bookstore in the world, with the restaurant next door under construction. They didn't have many customers that first month, but a young lady came in and inquired about a job opening. Ben hired her as the future bookstore employee. It was good to have a second person in the store, because he was getting lonely and also he had to tell the workers where to place all the kitchen equipment. He couldn't wait until it was set up so he could try it out.

Valben was officially opened for business on August 28th. Ben couldn't believe how packed it was that first day. From what he saw when he peeked out of the kitchen, every table was filled at lunchtime, then a slight lull until five and after that a two hour wait for the rest of the night. Obviously, those billboards and large ads in the newspapers worked. Ben put in a twelve-hour day, spending most of it running around like a maniac. Luckily, the staff they hired was great. All of them were very experienced and knew how to deal with the hectic pace. When the restaurant closed at twelve, Val served all of them wine and caviar.

"Here's to hoping there'll be more days like these," Val said, at the head of six tables pushed together to make a long one. She raised her glass. They clinked their glasses together and said cheers.

When Ben finally arrived home in the wee hours of the morning, he was completely exhausted. He barely had enough energy to brush his teeth before going straight to bed. He didn't realize that all his days from now on would be like that.

A week later, he decided he wanted to get an apartment closer to Union Square and live on his own. Malcolm and Colleen were really sad and reluctant to see him move out, but they gave him their blessings. Within a few days, he found a two bedroom, one bathroom apartment above a convenience store on Howard Street, about a ten-minute walk to the restaurant. He and Val went shopping for furniture. Val had an eye for interior decorating and he let her have a say in all his choices. He was only going to buy a sofa and a bed for now, but Val offered to pay for everything.

"I'll pay you back, I promise," Ben said to her, as they drank wine and snacked on crackers in her large contemporary apartment in a building just behind where the restaurant was.

"You don't have to," she said. "Consider it a bonus."

"Let me give you some money back at least," Ben said.

"I don't need it."

"It would make me feel better."

"Oh, all right," Val said. "You can pay me in installments, if you want."

"Sounds good," Ben replied.

"Either that, or I have another idea."

"Okay, what is it?"

Val smiled slightly. "Are you...seeing anyone?"

Ben felt like there were a thousand butterflies in his stomach. Was she going to ask him out?

"No...I'm not," he replied. "Are you?"

Val shook her head.

They both sat there on her sofa, staring at each other. Ben thought she would say something else, but she didn't.

"Do you want to be my girlfriend or something?" he asked, feeling extremely uncomfortable.

She paused then chuckled. "Well...it's something similar to that. I have a proposition for you."

"What is it?"

"Would you like to get married?"

Ben nearly choked on the cracker he was eating.

"Uh...well...I don't know if I'm ready for that yet."

"I thought it would look better for us. When I was interviewed for the article in _The Examiner_ , I found it really awkward to explain my relationship to you. I finally said that you were a friend."

"That's why you want to get married?"

"Well, no...I also think that you're very handsome and I'm curious about some things."

Ben took a big swig of wine.

"Like what?"

Val didn't answer but simply giggled.

"Oh that," Ben replied. "So you want to sleep with me."

"Um...yes."

"But we have to get married first?"

Val nodded.

"You know how old I am, don't you?"

"Yes, but I told everyone that you're twenty-eight to avoid people making a fuss. Do you mind being ten years older?"

"Uh, no, not at all."

"I see you didn't answer my question. Do you want to get married?"

"I...I don't know."

"I'll give you a ten percent raise if you do."

Despite feeling it was wrong, Ben gave her an answer. "Okay."

Val gave him a hug. "That's wonderful. Let's go to city hall and get it done."

"Now?"

"Well, you said you wanted to get married, didn't you?"

Ben really didn't want to do it right at that moment, but he also didn't want to upset Val. He stood up and offered her his hand.

"We'll take my car," he replied.

Chapter 33

When Gennie and Page attended the first Vietnam Day meeting of the year, it was held in one of the basketball courts at the Hearst Gym and the room was filled to capacity.

"I didn't think this club would be so popular," Gennie whispered to Page.

"See, I told you," Page replied. "Everybody has a stake in this thing. Do you know why we're fighting this war?"

Gennie shrugged. "I can't say that I do."

"Neither can anyone else. It's just stupid. That's why being in this group is so important."

They stopped talking when the president of the group walked up to the microphone and began to speak. To Gennie's shock, it was the girl Page insulted the night before--Bad Ass Betty.

"Are you sure you still want to be in this club?" Gennie asked Page.

"Yeah, sure. Why?"

"You don't recognize the girl that's speaking?"

"No...should I?"

"That's Bad Ass Betty!"

Page smirked. "Nice name. What does that have to do with me?"

"Do you remember the Dart Club meeting?"

"Uh...somewhat. I don't remember that girl, though."

"Well, to refresh your memory, you said something about Freddy being a dork and you got into a confrontation with her. You almost called her the 'C' word. If it wasn't for me pulling you out of there, you would have been chopped liver by now."

"I almost called someone a C! Wow!"

"I think you should apologize to her."

"Why?"

"Why? You insulted her."

"Well, it must have been for a good reason."

"Trust me, it wasn't."

They were silent for a while, listening to Betty's speech. When she was done, everyone gave her a standing ovation.

"All right, Miss Priss," Page said. "I'll apologize."

"Good," Gennie replied.

After the meeting, they walked back to Page's off campus apartment. When Page unlocked the door, they heard the phone ringing.

"Who would call here?" Page asked.

"I don't know," Gennie said.

Since Gennie was closer, she picked up the phone.

"Hello?" It was Ben.

"Ben! What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong. I just have some news for you."

"Is it good news?"

"Yeah, you could say so."

"Okay? So what is it?"

There was a pause on the other end. "I got married."

Gennie didn't quite process it. "What? Married? To who? You weren't even dating anybody."

"I'm married to Val."

"Val? Your boss?"

"Yes, that Val."

"Were you going out with her?"

"No, but..."

Page grabbed the phone away from Gennie. "You're married?"

"Exactly," Gennie heard Ben say to Page.

"Ugh. Who would marry you?"

"I could ask you the same exact question."

"Were you going out with this chick?"

"No, we weren't."

"Then why did you get married?"

"Because she wanted to."

"That's a dumb reason. You know, you're not the smartest tool in the shed when it comes to this kind of stuff. No wonder Gennie is worried about you twenty-four seven. Every time she leaves you to your own devices, you go off and do stupid shit like this."

Gennie grabbed the phone back from Page.

"When did you get married?" she asked him.

"An hour ago."

"Ben...are you sure you're not going a little too fast? I mean, I know you haven't gotten over Charlene and now you're..."

"Look, I know what I'm doing."

"Do you love her? You don't know her all that well, you know."

"That's nothing for you to worry about. I think she likes me a lot. Besides, I sort of owe her."

"Owe her for what?"

"Well, first she gave me my dream job and today she bought me all the furniture for my apartment."

Gennie sighed.

"You're not going to give me a lecture, are you?" Ben asked.

"No, that's not going to be of any use right now. What's done is done."

"Don't worry, Sis. Everything will work out for the best."

"I hope so. Well, congratulations."

"Thanks. Bye."

"What the hell was that all about?" Page asked. "He gets married to someone he barely knows? What if she's some kind of psychopath?"

"Well, I don't think she is, but this worries me. I just hope she treats him okay."

Chapter 34: October 7

Ben didn't feel any different now that he was married, nor did he live differently. He still had his apartment and she had hers. The only thing that changed dramatically about their relationship was that every other night they slept together. Ben wasn't sure about Val's feelings for him. Sometimes it seemed she was falling in love with him, but other times it felt like she only wanted him for sex and working at the restaurant. He wasn't certain about his own feelings either, but he had to admit she was a nice package and he was fond of her.

The success of the restaurant seemed to skyrocket once they were married. Many well-known people from the city stopped by frequently. They racked up about a dozen reviews in newspapers and magazines, all of them excellent.

They had just installed a bar about a week ago. Ben was sitting at the end of it, drinking a beer and eating his lunch. He saw her out of the corner of his eye and had to look at her straight on. She was wearing a tan overcoat with suede boots. He didn't think it was possible but she looked more beautiful than ever. She was with her parents and Johnny was nowhere in sight. She was in the process of taking off her coat and hanging it up when she noticed him. He quickly looked away and continued eating his lunch. When he glanced back a few seconds later, she was gone.

When he returned to the kitchen, he knew one of the orders might be for her, so he took care not to make any mistakes. He was in the middle of throwing some freshly chopped asparagus into a steamer when someone tapped him on the shoulder.

"Hey, can't you see I'm busy here?" he said tersely, assuming it was one of the employees.

"Sorry, but I couldn't find any other way to talk to you," Charlene said.

Ben instantly stiffened.

"What is there to talk about? Your father told me that I'm not good enough for you. You went off and married Johnny. Now you're living the proper upper middle class life. What else is there to say?"

"Is there a place where we can talk alone?" Charlene asked. "I really need to speak to you."

"Okay," Ben said. "I'll have one of the other guys take over this and we'll go into the office."

Ben led her into the office, which was down a narrow hallway off the kitchen. He locked the door behind them.

"What do you want to talk to me about?" he asked, not looking at her.

"Well...I was worried about you. It seemed like you disappeared off the face of the earth. I wanted to talk to you sooner but I was afraid because my parents said you were mad at me and you didn't want anything to do with me anymore."

"They're rotten people," Ben replied. "They ruined my life."

"They ruined my life too," Charlene said. "I know they had my best interest at heart, but...it wasn't what I wanted."

They didn't say anything to each other for a long while.

"I missed you," Charlene said.

Ben looked up at her. "I missed you too."

"I have to get going," Charlene replied. "I told them I went to the ladies' room and I don't want them to get suspicious."

"All right," Ben said. He unlocked the door and opened it.

She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

"I'll try to come back alone," she said. "I've got something I have to show you."

"Okay," Ben replied, not having any idea what it was. "I'm here practically every day, so you can't miss me."

Chapter 35: October 11

Gennie enjoyed being part of the Formula One Club with one exception. The assistant to Professor Rossi, who oversaw the whole project, was none other than Foster Conrad. She never spoke to him once the whole six weeks she had been working on the car. She used Page as a relay if she needed to speak to him. If that annoyed him, he never mentioned it. He also used Page to send messages back.

"I think I'm starting to live up to my name," Page said in the campus pub one day.

"Why don't you and Foster talk to each other?" Sam Galvin asked. He was friends with Page and Gennie and the only guy willing to hang out with them outside the Formula One Club.

"We have a history," Gennie replied

"He's her ex-boyfriend," Page added.

"Hey!" Gennie said.

"Oh please!" Page replied. "It's Sam we're talking to here. He doesn't care."

"I won't tell anybody, Scout's Honor," he said, holding his hand up. "So I guess it wasn't an amicable break-up, huh?"

"It was because of her brother," Page said.

"I'm not going into that," Gennie warned.

"Did you cheat on Foster with your brother or something?" Sam asked.

Page and Gennie burst out laughing.

"Oh I see," Sam said, "Your brother had sex with Foster."

They laughed even harder.

"No," Page said. "Actually, her brother had sex with Foster's sister."

"That's even messier," Sam replied, "and I guess something bad happened, right?"

"That's one way of putting it," Gennie said.

"And Foster was mad?"

"More like obnoxious," Gennie replied.

"Maybe it wasn't totally his fault," Sam said. "Maybe he thought his sister got hurt."

"No, actually it was the other way around. Ben was the one who was hurt."

"Maybe his parents put him up to it or something."

"That's possible," Page said. "They're probably all concerned that their daughter isn't the virgin princess that they thought she was and they forced Foster to break up with you, just because you're Ben's sister and it would be awkward to have you still hanging around."

"I don't know," Gennie replied. She sighed. "And you know what? I don't care. Either way, that family doesn't accept me. Foster told me that he would never marry someone like me. He's looking for the perfect rich girl."

"You might be surprised," Sam said. "He talks about you twenty-four seven."

"Well, I don't want to talk to him," Gennie said.

"You should give him a chance," Sam replied.

"I don't have anything to say to him. He didn't give me a chance so I'm not giving him a chance."

"Do you know what he said to me once? He said that he's never getting married. You know why? Because you're the one he wants."

"I don't care," Gennie said. She wished they would talk about something else for a change.

"Do you know Rory Fox?" Page asked Sam.

"Who's that?" Sam asked.

"The president of the Dart Club," Page added. "And the one I want to get my hands on."

"Do you know who I want to get my hands on?" Sam said. "Bad Ass Betty."

Page nearly choked on her beer. "You're kidding!"

"No, I'm not. Have you ever seen the size of her breasts?"

"We don't look in that area," Gennie said.

"You should," Sam said.

"By the way, Sam, I'm curious...what's that girl's real name?" Gennie asked.

"Bad Ass Betty? Her real name is Elizabeth Bandura."

"The same last name as Freddy?" Page asked. "Tell me they're not related!"

"I know this is hard to believe, but they are. And they're twins."

"No way!" Page shouted. "They're like day and night!"

"So are me and Ben," Gennie replied.

"I didn't know you were a twin," Sam said.

"Yep," Gennie replied. "I am."

"Can you read each other minds or something?" Sam asked. "I heard that twins can."

"Well, I know how he feels just by looking at him. That doesn't mean I understand him though."

"Your brother is weird," Page commented.

"You can say that again. I think it would take six or seven Ph.D.'s to figure out why he does the stuff he does."

"What makes him so weird?" Sam asked.

"He married a lady ten years older than he is and he hardly knew her. And oh yeah...she's his boss," Page said.

"Maybe she's good in bed or something?"

"Is that all guys think about?" Page asked, mocking him. "Or something?"

"Hmmm...yeah."

Page slapped Sam on the shoulder. "You're a pervert."

"So are you," Sam said. "By the way, do you want to go to my party tonight?"

"Sure!" Page said. "That's what college is all about."

"Yeah, okay," Gennie replied halfheartedly.

"You can invite your brother too and his woman."

"He'll probably be working," Gennie said, "but I'll ask."

"Is Foster going to be there?" Page asked.

"Nah, he's a square. He spends his whole life studying. I guarantee he won't be there," Sam said.

"Good," Gennie said.

Gennie called Ben from a pay phone at the pub a few minutes later and invited him to the party, but of course, he said he would be working.

They went to Sam's dorm room a few hours later. Page was having a good time, along with fifty of Sam's closest friends, but Gennie wasn't. The second hand of her watch was barely moving as she glanced at it. She wanted to go back to Page's off-campus apartment where she stashed her books and get some of her homework done. This was turning out to be a big waste of time.

"Are you as bored as I am?" Someone asked from behind her.

Gennie jumped about a foot in the air. It was Foster! He probably thought she was someone else. What was she supposed to say?

"You could say so," she said, then turned around to look at him. His eyes widened and he stepped back.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"I could ask the same thing of you," she replied. "Sam said that you never go to parties."

"My girlfriend made me come here," he said, then closed his mouth quickly.

"So the truth comes out," Gennie said. "I guess you didn't have trouble finding a replacement."

"She not serious," he said. "You know, since we're talking to each other now, I wanted to ask you something."

"What?"

"Can you forgive me...for being such a jerk?"

Gennie was surprised to hear that coming from him.

"I'll think about it," she said.

"I was wondering if it would be all right if we can talk to each other one-on-one in the F1 club from now on. I'm sure Page is getting sick of being a go-between."

"Okay," Gennie said casually.

"Maybe we can even be friends."

"I don't know about that right now, but maybe someday, I guess."

"How's your brother doing?"

"He's getting along. He's co-owner of a new restaurant, and he just got married."

Foster nodded, though he looked surprised.

"How is Charlene?"

Foster paused before speaking. "I guess she's all right."

"You guess?"

"Well...she won't tell any of us this, but honestly, I think she's miserable."

"I would be too, if I were in her position."

"Maybe when she gets older, she'll understand."

"I doubt it," Gennie said sarcastically.

Foster stiffened and changed the subject. "So, how are you? Do you have a boyfriend or anything?"

"I'm doing fine, and no, I don't have a boyfriend. I'm not a guy magnet at all. All the boys I know just want to be friends, and besides, there's no one I'm particularly attracted to."

"Oh, that's too bad."

Gennie didn't want to talk with him anymore. "I have to get going."

Foster opened his mouth to say something but then he closed it.

"What is it?"

He shook his head. "Oh nothing. See you later."

Without telling anyone else she was leaving, she grabbed her jacket and left Sam's room. A heavy rain was coming down outside, but Gennie didn't care. She took her time and didn't bother to cover her head with anything. When she arrived back at Page's apartment, she was soaking wet. She went into the bathroom to take her clothes off, but instead she sat down on the toilet seat and sobbed.

Everyone here was happy, except for her.

Chapter 36: October 13

Ben didn't expect to see Charlene again. Not that it mattered much anyway, because work consumed his whole life. When he wasn't sleeping, he was preoccupied with running the restaurant. All he and Val ever talked about was Valben. They really hadn't had much of a marriage at all. It was more like a business partnership. Ben told himself that when things at the restaurant slowed down he and Val would go on their honeymoon. Maybe then they could get to know each other.

The lunch crowd had just come in and Ben was running around the kitchen frantically, trying to get everyone served at the same time. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Keri, one of the employees at the bookstore, come in through the swinging doors.

"Hey Ben," she shouted over the din, "There's someone in the book shop who wants to see you."

"Tell them to wait," he shouted back.

"She said she only has about fifteen minutes. Her husband's going to be picking her up soon."

He was a mess but there was nothing he could do about it now. He left the kitchen, went into the dining area, and then entered the bookstore.

Charlene was browsing the romance novel section. She was wearing the same coat and boots she had on the last time. She was also toting a diaper bag and a baby carriage.

"Oh Ben," Charlene said, giving him a hug. "I missed you so much! I tried to get here sooner but I didn't have a chance."

"That's all right," Ben replied. "I've been busy anyway. So...who is this with you?"

Charlene chuckled and turned the carriage around. A baby, about four months old, with wispy blond hair and blue eyes lay placidly, sucking her thumb.

"This is Lauren Roberta."

"So...you work as a nanny now?"

Charlene frowned.

"I thought you had a right to know."

"Know what?"

"I was supposed to have an abortion, but I didn't. I told my parents that I would marry Johnny if they let me keep the baby and they thought that was a good idea. Johnny and I went to city hall and got married the day after I left the hospital. About three weeks later, I told him I was pregnant and he never questioned it. I brought her here because I really wanted you to get to know her."

"So this is..."

"She's your baby."

He looked at the baby. He couldn't believe it.

"Don't come around here anymore," he said.

"What?"

"It's not a good idea."

"What are you talking about?"

"Charlene...I'm married now. I don't need my wife finding out about this."

"What are you saying? I thought you'd be happy."

"Am I happy that the only woman I love is married to the biggest asshole in the world and she's raising my kid with him? No, I'm not. And it doesn't help that you came in to tell me that. So, go back to being Mrs. Happy Housewife and don't come in here again."

Charlene's mouth dropped open. "I...I guess I'll leave. If you don't want me around..."

She turned around and headed for the door.

"One more thing," Ben said. "Don't ever tell Lauren anything about me. I don't care if she's sixty-eight; I want her to think Johnny is her father. Okay?"

Charlene turned her head around and nodded. Tears were running down her cheeks.

"All right," she said and left.

Ben leaned on one of the shelves and rubbed his head. He felt like he had been punched in the stomach.

"Everything okay?" Keri asked.

"No," Ben said. "I don't feel well. If anyone asks, tell them I've went home."

"Sure," Keri said. "I hope you feel better tomorrow."

"Thanks," Ben said. He walked out the back entrance of the bookstore, not bothering to go back and get his coat. He just wanted to forget that this day even happened.

Chapter 37: October 17

Last week was rough for Gennie. About three hours after the party, she was able to pull herself together just enough to change into the nightgown she had in her overnight bag and go to bed. The next morning, Page hadn't come back yet and she was absent at the classes they shared. Gennie wasn't too worried about her though. She figured Page got so drunk that she passed out at the party and was still too hung over to go anywhere. She would see her soon enough.

Gennie went back to Malcolm and Colleen's house for the weekend and returned to Page's apartment Sunday night feeling a bit better. She woke up early Monday morning and had just finished brushing her teeth when she heard a knock on the apartment door.

"You forgot your books again?" Gennie asked, assuming it was Page.

"I have my books already," a male voice replied.

"Hold on," she said, putting her toothbrush back in the holder.

She opened the door and saw it was Rory Fox.

"Sorry to bug you so early in the morning. I hope you weren't sleeping."

"Don't worry about it. I was getting ready for school. Come on in."

Rory tentatively stepped into the room.

"What's up? Is there some emergency Dart Club meeting?" Gennie asked.

Rory chuckled. "I see you're feeling better."

"A little bit." Gennie paused. "Hey, you didn't see me...oh god!"

"Yeah, I did," Rory said. "And I was concerned, but I didn't want to follow you back here that night. I thought it wouldn't look good, but I figured it would be all right if I stopped in today to see how you're doing."

"I'm fine," Gennie said.

"Did Foster say anything nasty to you?"

"No. It's just that we have a history, if you know what I mean."

"He used to be your boyfriend?"

"Yeah."

"I didn't know that," Rory said. After that, he seemed to be at a loss for words to say. "Uh, I don't want to make you late for class, but before I go, I wanted to ask you something."

"Sure, go ahead."

"Would you like to...ummm...have dinner with me tonight?"

That was the last thing Gennie expected Rory Fox to ask her. She sat down on the sofa and accidently knocked her open knapsack full of books onto the floor.

"Oh geez, I can't believe I did that," she said. She kneeled down and gathered them up.

"Let me help you with that," Rory replied. He gathered the rest of the books for her and put them back in her knapsack.

"Wow, that's a heavy load to carry," he said.

"That's one of the pitfalls of majoring in engineering," Gennie replied. "You have to carry at least six fifty pound books on your back every day."

"Want me to carry them to class for you? I've got a good hour and a half before my next class."

"No, I can do it myself."

"Are you sure? It's not any trouble for me."

Gennie thought about it for a second. "If you want to, I guess you can."

Rory lifted the knapsack and slid it onto his back as if it were the lightest thing in the world.

"Are you ready to go yet?" he said.

"Yeah, I am," Gennie replied.

While on the way to calculus, he asked her about her interests.

"Wow, that's different," Rory said. "I've never met a girl that was interested in cars."

"You don't mind, do you?" Gennie asked.

"No, I think it's cool."

"What are you majoring in?" Gennie asked.

"Actually, I'm a double major, one in film and the other in theater and performance."

"You want to be an actor?"

"Yeah, and a director too. I just love movies."

"That's great," Gennie said.

"I wasn't going to go to college originally, but I applied for a bunch of scholarships and I got all of them. My tuition is practically paid for, so I felt like I had to go."

"I had the same thing," Gennie replied. "My foster parents talked me into finishing high school and taking the SAT's. I did really well on them and I got accepted to Berkeley, so here I am."

"I'm glad you're here," Rory said. "Otherwise, how would I have met you?"

They reached the building where Gennie's calculus class was. Rory handed her knapsack back.

"You didn't answer my question," he said.

"What question?"

"Do you want to have dinner with me tonight?"

"Oh...uh...yes, I'd love to!"

"How about Valben...eight o'clock?"

"You're kidding, right?"

"You don't like that place?"

"No, that's the restaurant my brother owns!"

"No way! Do you still want to go there?"

"Yeah, sure."

"All right. I'll see you there."

"Okay, and thanks, Rory, for carrying my books for me."

"No problem."

Gennie would have never thought she would be bouncing into calculus class that morning, but she was. She couldn't concentrate on Dr. Tapp's lecture at all, though. The only thing she could think about was the look on Foster's face when he found out.

_Now, it's his turn to cry_. Gennie smiled at that thought.

Chapter 38

Gennie had a great time at Valben. It seemed odd going to a restaurant and tasting her brother's food, but he was an excellent cook and seemed to have improved since she last ate something he made. She spent the whole time conversing with Rory, but just before they left, she informed their waitress to tell Ben she was there. When he came out, he looked shocked to see her with a guy.

"No Page?" he asked her.

"Nope."

"What happened to her? Did she fall off a cliff? You guys are usually joined at the hip."

"Honestly, I don't know where she is."

"Are you on drugs?"

"No," Gennie replied, smiling, "though I think Page is."

"Well, something must be going on because you're wearing a dress and having dinner with a guy. What gives?"

"This is the dress Colleen bought me for Christmas two years ago," Gennie said. "I finally have an excuse to wear it. By the way, this guy with me is my friend, Rory Fox."

"Nice to meet you," Ben said and they shook hands. "Don't mind the sweaty hands. It's a hundred and twenty degrees in that kitchen."

"I don't mind," Rory replied. "By the way, this food is excellent. Is this how you always eat, Gen?"

"Well, I used to," Gennie replied.

"Must have been nice."

"Yeah," Gennie said. She turned to Ben. "How are you doing? I haven't heard from you in a while."

"I've been working day and night here," Ben replied.

"How is Val?"

"She spends most of her day either adding up receipts or doing errands. I only see her when it's time to go home."

"You guys have to take a vacation."

"We're working on it."

"The place will survive while you're gone. I don't see why you don't do it."

"Maybe when it slows down."

"That doesn't look like it's happening any time soon. Every time I drive by here there's a line out the door."

"It will eventually," Ben said and sighed.

"Good luck," Gennie said.

"Well, I have to get back to Hell's Kitchen. It's been great meeting you, Rory. I hope you guys have a nice night."

"We will," Gennie replied.

"Do you want to go and see a movie?" Rory asked after they finished.

"Sure," Gennie said.

"There's this new film that's just been released, called _Seconds_. It sounds really interesting. Do you want to see that one?"

"I heard about it too," Gennie said. "Yeah, I'd like to see it."

They walked down to the new Cineplex, where it was playing. They both really enjoyed the movie. When they drove back to the campus, they spent the whole time in the car talking about it.

"I had a great time," Gennie said, when they reached the entrance of Page's apartment building.

"Me too," Rory replied.

They stood there not knowing what to do. Finally, Gennie gave him a hug.

"Thanks for taking me out," she said.

"No problem," Rory said. "Besides, I learned something I didn't know before."

"What? How to change a head gasket?"

"No, I learned that Foster must be a really stupid guy. I can't imagine why he would dump someone like you."

"It's a little complicated," Gennie said.

"Well, whatever the reason, I'm glad he did it, because now I have you all to myself."

Gennie chuckled. "You're too much."

"Goodnight, Gennie."

When she entered the apartment, she found Page lying underneath her blankets, sleeping. She stirred and opened her eyes when Gennie came into the bedroom.

"Where were you?" she asked.

Gennie set her purse down. "I could ask the same question. I didn't see you at all last week."

"Why did you go AWOL at the party?"

"Foster was there. It was uncomfortable and I thought the best thing to do was to leave."

"Oh yeah, I noticed the jerk. Only had one beer. What a dork. Did he say anything bad to you?"

"No."

"So, where did you go?"

"I went back here and fell asleep. Where were you?"

"Oh brother," Page said. "What a night. Well, basically, I was a little too smashed and stoned to walk uptight, so I just stayed there. The party went on for about four days straight, and I was just having too good of a time to leave. You won't believe what happened."

"What?"

"Last night I just hopped in any old bed I could find on that floor and passed out. Well, this morning I woke up with the worst headache of my life and guess who's in bed with me?"

"Who?"

"Freddie Bandura. He was spooning me. Yuck!"

"Did you guys...you know..."

"Hell no! As far as I can remember, at least."

"Bad Ass Betty is not going to appreciate you leading her brother astray."

"Tell me about it. Okay, I can vaguely remember flirting with him last time at the dart club, but it was nothing serious. I was only doing it to get closer to Rory, but now that turd is following me like some lonesome puppy dog. He was staring at me the whole time in philosophy this afternoon. I hope this doesn't go on all year. He's starting to give me the creeps!"

"Maybe you should give him a chance," Gennie said. "I know he's not the best dresser but neither are we. He's not bad looking overall. Besides, he's a really nice guy."

"I'm saving myself for Rory," Page said. "He's such a hottie."

_Oh no_ , Gennie thought, _I'm in trouble_. She felt like a black hole had opened up in her stomach.

"So," Page continued, "who were you talking to out there?"

"Uh, Rory, actually."

"No way! Did he ask about me?"

Gennie sat on the end of Page's bed and sighed. "You know, uh, I wouldn't want to hurt you ever, but...I don't want to lie to you either."

"Okay," Page said. She sat up and wrinkled her forehead in confusion. "Go on."

"You're going to find out eventually, so I'm just going to tell you right now and get it over with."

"Rory has herpes?"

"No."

"Gonorrhea?"

"No."

"Syphilis?"

"No!"

"Oh...you have herpes!"

"I'm a virgin! How could I have herpes?"

"All right...you're really a man."

"Page, you're totally off the mark."

"What is it, then?"

"Rory...he asked me to go to dinner with him earlier today."

Page didn't reply. She stared at her like she was completely crazy.

"You told him no, right?"

"Uh...not exactly."

Page looked at her as if she just confessed to murdering somebody.

"You're kidding me."

"No, I'm not. We just came back from dinner."

Page seemed bewildered and her breathing grew heavier.

"Let me get this straight," Page said loudly. "Even though you knew I had a crush on him, when he asked you out, you decided 'Screw Page, I'll go out with him anyway.'"

"I didn't think that at all," Gennie said. "It all came out of the blue. Rory was being really nice to me and he said he felt bad for what happened at the party. I think he just asked me out to make me feel better. I didn't want to upset him, so I said yes."

"You knew Rory for five minutes and you chose to hurt me instead of him?"

"Page, keep your voice down!"

"Fuck you!" Page said and threw the book that was on the end table beside her at Gennie. Gennie was glad it was a paperback because it hurt when it hit her in the arm.

"Calm down. This isn't a national emergency."

"I'm not going to calm down!" Page said. Her bloodshot eyes were hard with anger. "Get your shit and get out of here!"

"What!"

"You heard me! Now get out!"

Gennie stood up. "You're being unreasonable. Why don't we wait a day before we decide what to do?"

"Well, you're being a man-hogging bitch. And I'm not waiting a friggin' second. Just leave already!"

Gennie could feel the anger rising within her. Page was acting like an idiot. She was going to set her straight.

"All right," Gennie said, her voice tight. "I'm leaving right now, but there's something I want you to know."

"What?"

"This is the stupidest thing in the world to get angry over. He wasn't your boyfriend yet, so he was fair game to anyone. If the tables were turned, you would have done the same thing. I hope you get over this after the liquor and drugs wear off."

Page's face was crimson.

"For one thing, I'm not stupid and for another, I'm not drunk or a druggie!"

Gennie gathered everything she had at the apartment and put it in her overnight bag. She put on her coat and grabbed her knapsack and purse.

"I'm leaving. Thanks for nothing."

"Don't ever come back here."

"Don't worry, I'm not coming back. You can spend all your time alone from now on."

When Gennie left the apartment, Page slammed the door behind her. Then she heard an ungodly wail. She walked out of the apartment building and into her car. After about ten minutes of driving around randomly, she decided to go to Ben's apartment back in San Francisco. She had a spare key, so even if he weren't home, she'd be able to get in. She hoped that Page would come to her senses soon.

Chapter 39

Gennie rang the buzzer to Ben's apartment.

"Who is it?" he answered.

"It's Gennie," she said to the intercom.

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm having some problems with Page. I was wondering if I could stay the night at your place."

"Sure, let me unlock the door for you."

Gennie heard a buzz, then a click. She opened up the door to the apartment building and went inside. She climbed the four flights of stairs to Ben's apartment and knocked on his door.

"Come on in," he said, opening the door up.

He took her coat and purse and hung them up on the rack beside the door.

"Want some coffee?"

"Sure," Gennie replied.

"Our bartender is from Italy and he knows how to make all these fancy coffees. During my lunch break, he showed me how he made a cappuccino. You want to try one?"

"Okay."

They went into his kitchen where he put a tall, eight-sided coffee pot on the stove, along with a pan with a small amount of milk. When the coffee was ready, he poured in a slight amount of it into two coffee cups, then the foamy hot milk.

"It didn't come out as good as Alfonzo's did."

"Don't worry about it," Gennie said. "It looks okay to me."

He handed her the froth filled coffee cup and sat down across from her at the breakfast bar in the kitchen.

"So what bug is up Page's ass now, you know, besides cockroaches and lice?"

"She's mad at me."

"For what?"

Gennie sighed and took a sip of the coffee. It was strong but good. "Well, she has a crush on Rory Fox, the guy that was with me at the restaurant. I knew she would be upset, but she would have found out anyway, so I figured it was best just to let her know right off the bat that he took me out to dinner. That was not a good idea."

"What a stupid reason to be mad at someone. Did you tell her that he asked you out?"

"Yes, but she was still angry. She threw her book at me and was screaming at me to get out."

"Let me tell you something," Ben said matter-of-factly. "You may not like it, but it's true. Page Goodman is a space cadet and honestly, you're better off without her."

"But she's my only friend," Gennie said. "Yeah, she's weird, but she accepts me for who I am."

"But she's still a nutcase, Gen. It's time you dumped her and went on to better things and people."

"I feel so guilty, though. She never had any interest in boys until Rory came along and I took him away from her."

"She had no chance in hell of dating that guy. He seems like a normal decent person and she's homely and insane. Even if he didn't ask you out, she would have gotten pissed at you when another guy did. And one more thing, if she was a real friend, she'd be happy for you right now, even if she liked the guy first."

"I guess you're right," Gennie said.

"Don't dump him just because of Page. Just focus on making yourself happy. If she doesn't like it, then screw her."

"Gee, I never thought you would be giving me advice," Gennie replied. "Well, if Rory asks me out again, I'll say yes. I like him and I think he likes me. I just hope Page will get over it."

"Whether she gets over it or not, it's not your problem."

"You're getting so wise in your old age," Gennie said jokingly. "By the way, where's the wife?"

"Uh, she's out with some friends," Ben replied a little too quickly.

"Oh," Gennie said, not thinking much of it. "So, are you guys working on making me an aunt?"

Ben had an odd look on his face, as if he was trying to hide something embarrassing.

"We've been too busy," Ben said.

"You? Too busy for that? Come on!"

Ben looked very uncomfortable, like it was something he didn't want to talk about, so Gennie changed the subject.

"I think I'm going to go to bed," she said, then yawned. "Where am I sleeping tonight?"

"Well, I bought a bed for the spare bedroom," Ben said. "It's nothing fancy, but it does the job."

"You know me," Gennie said. "I don't care as long as it's comfortable."

Ben led her into the spare bedroom. The bed had a simple white square headboard with a gray duvet.

"This is great," Gennie replied. She jumped on the bed. "I might stay here for good after all."

"Hey, stay as long as you want," Ben said. "I'm hardly ever home, so I don't care."

"I'll see how it goes. Goodnight, Ben."

"Goodnight. See you in the morning."

Chapter 40: October 7, 1967

Gennie was going to write Page a letter, but decided against it. She didn't think it would make things any better.

Over the next month, she stayed with Ben, attended her classes, looked for a new apartment and spent her weekends with Rory. She also spent about an hour nearly every night talking to him on the telephone. She didn't pay much attention to what Ben and Val were doing. They were hardly ever at the apartment. When they were, she noticed their relationship was a little lackluster. Val seemed to be annoyed at every little thing Ben did, though they never really fought. Gennie noticed Ben seemed tense and a little angry when Val was around.

She thought Page would get over her anger but she didn't. She gradually became a hippie. She grew her hair very long and dressed in shabby looking clothes. She became increasingly involved in the Vietnam Day Club, even when the group was kicked off campus. She became Bad Ass Betty's right hand girl, giving speeches, walking around carrying signs and attending sit-ins. Her name was in the campus newspaper constantly, as she racked up a rap sheet. It mostly involved blocking public ways, loitering and disturbing the peace, though once she was arrested for possession of a small amount of marijuana.

Nearly a year later, she and Page were strangers. Page never looked at her or acknowledged her. It was as if they had never met. Gennie felt sad, but had resigned herself to the fact that there was nothing she could do about it, and continued on with her life.

She was a month into her sophomore year at Berkeley when Rory took her out to their old haunt Valben, but this time she noticed he was acting very distracted. Gennie was worried.

"Anything wrong?" Gennie asked him, as they waited for a waitress to bring them their meals.

"No, not at all," he said, tapping on the table with his fingers.

"You've been acting weird all night," Gennie said. "If you have some bad news to tell me, you don't have to wait any longer."

"I don't have any bad news."

"You're sure?"

"Of course. What were you expecting?"

"I don't know. Maybe you're getting sick of me."

"I'm not sick of you. I love you!"

"You're not dumping me?"

Rory laughed. "No!"

Gennie sighed. "Okay, I believe you, but something's up."

"Our dinner," Rory said.

Ben came out of the kitchen with a cart. The single dish had a silver plate cover on top of it.

"Where's the rest of our food?" Gennie asked him.

"It's coming out in a second. Actually, this isn't your dinner at all. This is something Rory ordered special just for you. Want to see what it is?"

"Well, yeah," Gennie said, growing annoyed. She assumed it was soup or an appetizer.

Ben lifted the cover up to reveal a small velvet box.

"Oh, it's a present," Gennie said. "That's so nice of you, Rory."

Before Gennie could grab the box, Rory lifted it up and opened it. Gennie was astonished when he got down on bended knee.

"You don't know this," he said quietly, "but the first time I saw you, I knew you were the one. It was at the first Dart Club meeting last year. The reason why I didn't ask you out sooner was because I asked one of my friends if you were taken and he said that you were going out with Foster Conrad. That night at the party, when you ran out in the rain crying, all I wanted to do was hold you and protect you forever. I wanted to propose to you after our first date, but I was afraid that you would think it was too soon. Well, it's been more than a year since we first met and I think you know as well as I do that we're meant to be. So, now I want to ask you the big question...Gennie, will you marry me?"

Gennie was stunned. This was something she thought would never happen to someone like her.

"I wasn't expecting that," she said, tears coming to her eyes. "I didn't think anyone would ever want me as their wife, but the answer is...yes."

The whole restaurant stood up and applauded.

"Good answer, Sis," Ben said. "Rory was hoping you'd say that."

Rory slid the ring on her left hand. Gennie couldn't believe how big it was. He must have taken out a huge loan in order to pay for it. It looked odd on her hands, but she liked it.

"Thank you, Rory," she replied, hugging him. "You've given me an excuse to go get my nails done.

Chapter 41: March 30, 1968

Gennie didn't really want a big wedding, but since Rory's mother, Carla, was a wedding planner, it turned out that it was larger than Gennie planned. Rory's parents said they would pay for it, with the caveat that they had a say in the plans. That didn't bother either Gennie or Rory.

As the winter months wore on, Gennie was thankful to have Carla helping her. Going to college and planning the wedding at the same time was very stressful. For the first time, her GPA slipped under a 3.0. As the wedding date drew nearer, it became even more challenging. Gennie couldn't wait until it was over.

On March 23, Gennie and Rory were married. The whole day went very smoothly. Malcolm walked her down the aisle. The reception was held at Valben. At almost exactly midnight, Gennie and Rory left the reception in Rory's newly decorated car en route to a hotel near Fisherman's Wharf. The next morning they boarded a cruise ship to Mexico, where they spent their entire spring break.

Gennie felt great when they returned a week later. She was going to move out of Ben's apartment and live temporarily with Rory and his parents, who lived on a street called Daisy Run Lane in the Northside neighborhood in Berkeley, until they both graduated college. When they returned to Ben's apartment to pick up some of her things, Gennie was surprised to see the normally tidy apartment in disarray.

"Looks like they had a party last night," Rory said, pointing to one of the numerous bottles of beer littering the living room.

"Yeah, maybe," Gennie replied. "I guess they didn't have enough time to clean up. Let's go in my bedroom, Rory. I'll start getting some of my stuff packed."

"Actually, why don't you start on that while I go downstairs and get some more boxes out of the car," Rory said. "I'll be right back."

"Okay," Gennie said and went into her bedroom.

She heard Rory close the apartment door. She went into her bedroom and started taking her clothes out of the room's single bureau drawer. She put them in one of the two boxes she found before the wedding. Then she heard someone shuffle out of Ben's bedroom and go in the bathroom.

"Huh?" Gennie said, looking at her watch. It was almost one o'clock. "He's never home at this time during the day. I wonder what's going on."

She went outside the bedroom and knocked on the bathroom door.

"Jesus Christ!" she heard Ben shout.

"Oh sorry, Ben, it's not Jesus. It's just me," she said. "I just came back from my honeymoon."

"Hold on," he said. Gennie noticed his voice was slightly slurred. "I gotta pee."

A minute later, he opened the bathroom door. He was a mess. His hair was sticking out every which way, his eyes were completely bloodshot, and he had at least two days' worth of stubble on his face.

"You look like you just got out of bed," she said.

"I _did_ just get out of bed," Ben replied.

"I see you had a party last night."

"Sort of."

"What do you mean by that?"

"It was a one person party."

"You drank all that beer?" Gennie said, shocked. "There must be at least three six packs lying around here."

"So what? I'm an adult now. I can get as wasted as I want."

"But why?"

Ben rubbed his eyes. "I don't want to talk about it right now."

"I think we should. What happened?"

"It's none of your business."

"Ben, you've got to tell me."

"Why do you care? You're leaving!"

She put her arms around him. Even though he smelled like beer mixed with morning breath, she held him tight anyway.

"Please tell me," she said. "You're not upset because I'm moving out, are you?"

"No," Ben replied. He put his arms around her too. "I know you've got to go."

Then it dawned on her. At the reception, she heard them arguing in the kitchen. Ben had accused Val of cheating on him. She still had her own apartment, which Gennie hadn't known until then. While Ben was over there one night, he had found a men's belt he didn't recognize under the bed. Val vehemently denied it, though she made the comment that she should cheat on him because he was too wrapped up in his work to pay attention to anything else. Then Gennie heard an employee interrupt them and they left the kitchen.

"It's Val, isn't it?" Gennie said.

Ben swallowed hard. "I came home from work late last night and I was getting ready for bed when someone from outside buzzed me. I figured it was the next-door neighbor. She works nights and is half-blind. I pressed the button to let her in. A couple of minutes later, there's a knock on the door. I opened it up and it's my neighbor standing there. She looked really upset and told me she found out that the guy she was dating was cheating on her with Val. I didn't believe her at first, but she showed me the guy's wallet. Inside it was a picture of Val with the restaurant's phone number on the back along with 'Call Me Anytime'. It was definitely Val's handwriting. I can't tell you how pissed I was. I went to the restaurant and confronted her early this morning. We got into a huge argument and she smacked me around a few times. I was trying to get away but she kept grabbing my shirt and holding me back so I shoved her against the wall. She said she was going to call the cops and have me arrested, but I haven't heard from the police or her yet."

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Gennie said.

"Well, I guess I shouldn't be surprised," Ben replied. "I've been sort of suspecting it for a few months. I bet she's probably with that guy right now."

"Want me to stay awhile?" Gennie asked.

"No, you get your stuff packed. I'm going back to bed and see if I can sleep off this headache."

"Oh, okay," Gennie said, though she was reluctant to leave him.

A minute after Ben went back to bed, Rory came through the door.

"Here's all the boxes," he said, putting them on the breakfast bar. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing," Gennie replied. "Let's finish getting packed."

Chapter 42: October 4

Gennie tried to keep her grades up, but it was hard because she was always worried about her brother. He was getting worse. Gennie tried to visit him every day in order to cheer him up, but usually he was beyond consoling. It didn't help that Val's new boyfriend was a co-owner of a large car dealership and was frequently seen on TV. One day, Gennie noticed that Ben's TV was gone. When she asked Ben what had happened to it, he admitted that he saw one of the commercials and was so angry, he threw it off his balcony. When Gennie looked over the balcony, she saw the wreaked remains of the television set below.

She was putting so much energy into trying to cheer up her brother that she neglected her studies and new husband. She didn't even have time to help with setting up their apartment in Rory's parents' basement. He and his parents worked on it entirely by themselves. At first, Rory didn't seem bothered by it, but six months after Val cheated on Ben, he finally mentioned it.

It was a Friday night and after watching Johnny Carson, they went into their new kitchen to have tea and cookies, which was their weekend ritual.

"There's something I have to talk to you about," Rory said, pouring the water for the tea into two mugs.

Gennie took two small plates out of the cabinet. "What's it about?"

Rory put the kettle back on the stove. He cleared his throat. "Um, it's about your brother."

"Oh no."

"You're spending too much time with him."

"I know, Rory, but it's only temporary. He's in such a funk right now. I'm sure once everything gets straightened out, he'll get better."

"It's been six months. Either he gets divorced and moves on, or reconciles with her. I'm not trying to be mean, because I understand the situation, but I'd like to spend some time with you too, you know. I saw you more before we were married than I do now."

"I know. I'm sorry."

"Besides, you can't be everything to your brother. He's got to learn to pull himself up by his own bootstraps. Shit happens, as they say. He has to get over it."

"It's just tough for him lately. He might lose his job and the restaurant he put so much work into and he might lose all his stuff if he gets divorced. Val bought him all that and she'll probably want it back. Ben wants to reconcile but she's not really up for it and he doesn't trust her anymore anyway. I don't think you've been in that position before."

"No, I haven't, but I'm not going to lose my wife because of it. He's taking you down with him and I'm not going to stand for it anymore."

"Rory..."

"I didn't want to do this, but you're not listening. I don't want you going over there more than once a week from now on."

"What? I'm not going to do that!"

"You are if you want to stay married."

"I can't believe what you're saying!"

"Well, I don't feel I have a choice in the matter."

"You have a choice," Gennie said, her hands shaking. "You can either be a nice guy or an asshole. Guess which one you're choosing right now?"

"Gen..."

"I'm sleeping on the couch. You can have your tea and cookies by yourself."

She stomped off to the bedroom to gather her pillows and blankets. She plunked them on the sofa and lay down, throwing the blankets over her head. She could hear Rory munching on cookies in the kitchen like there was nothing wrong, which made her even angrier.

After he was done, she heard him turn off the kitchen light and go into the living room.

"I'll give you some time to think about it," he said. "I think you know I'm right, you just don't want to admit it. I can't stand being without you anymore. I should be number one in your life, you know. Well, I guess we can talk about it more in the morning. Goodnight, Gennie."

He turned off the light and left the living room. Gennie was fuming. How could he force her to do this? She couldn't leave her brother in a lurch.

She felt horrible about the whole situation. She hoped nothing bad would happen to Ben because she stopped visiting every day.

Chapter 43: October 6

When Gennie called Ben on Sunday, he didn't answer. She decided she would call him later when he came home from work. On Sundays, the restaurant closed early and he arrived home from work at about nine o'clock but when she called him again, he still wasn't home. She was worried. She called Malcolm and Colleen, hoping they would know where Ben was.

"Hello?" Malcolm answered.

"Hi," she said, "it's Gennie. I know it's awfully late to call, but I was wondering...is Ben over there?"

"No," Malcolm replied, "why?"

"Well, I haven't been able to get a hold of him. Did you see him this weekend?"

"No, not at all."

"When's the last time you saw him?"

"It was Thursday night, around this time. Honestly, I don't know what got into him. He showed up at our door just reeking of alcohol. He asked me if I had five bucks he could borrow. I told him if it was to buy something to drink, then absolutely not. He was really angry when I said that. He called me a cheap SOB and slammed the door in my face. I saw him get into his car and take off like he was drag racer."

"Oh, god..." Gennie said. She rubbed her forehead.

"Don't worry," Malcolm replied. "I'm sure he's all right. Do you want me to go to his apartment?"

"Okay," Gennie said. "I'll meet you there." She was hoping he was simply passed out in bed or just refusing to answer the phone.

About thirty minutes later, she arrived at Ben's apartment. Malcolm was at the front door pressing the buzzer but no one answered. Gennie put her old apartment key into the lock and opened it. They went up the four flights of stairs. Since they doubted Ben would open the door if they knocked, Gennie unlocked it.

"Ben?" she called out into the darkened apartment, but only silence answered.

"He must be passed out," Malcolm said. "I'll check out the bedroom."

"Is he there?" Gennie asked him when he entered it.

"No," Malcolm replied.

I'll check the bathroom," Gennie said.

He wasn't in the bathroom either. The place looked exactly like it did when she last saw him. Gennie felt the panic rising in her chest. She could hardly breathe.

Malcolm looked concerned for her. "Why don't we check out the restaurant?" he asked. "He might have went back there."

"Okay," Gennie replied.

They went to the restaurant. He wasn't there either. The few people that were left to clean up hadn't seen him for a few days and they were worried about him too.

"Where could he be?" Gennie said. She was frantic now.

"There's one more person who might know," Malcolm said. "Do you know where Val is?"

"Well, she still has her old apartment. It's right behind the restaurant."

"Maybe he's there or at the very least, she saw him lately."

"It's a long shot," Gennie said. "They aren't exactly on the best of terms right now."

"Do you want to go there anyway?"

"It wouldn't hurt."

They found the entrance to Val's apartment building. Gennie felt anxious as Malcolm rang the buzzer.

"I'll be right down," Val's voice on the intercom said.

"Hello," Gennie said, as Val opened the main apartment door.

Val seemed very surprised. "Hello, Gennie," she replied. "What brings you over here?"

"We're looking for Ben," Malcolm said. "Neither of us has seen him lately. We were wondering if he was here."

"No, I haven't seen him and I don't care to," Val said sharply. "I imagine he's probably got his butt in jail right now for public drunkenness or doing something else stupid."

"So, do you think he's at the police station, then?" Malcolm asked.

"I don't know, but he might be."

"Thanks, Val," Gennie said. "That was a huge help."

Next, they visited the nearest police station, which was next to the freeway.

"Is there a Benjamin Perrin?" Gennie asked the receptionist.

She checked the roster.

"No," the receptionist said. "Are you trying to find him?"

"Yes, we haven't seen him in several days."

"Would you like to file a missing person report?"

"Yes, please," Gennie said.

Malcolm filled out the one page form.

"What you want to do next," the receptionist said, "is go to all the hospitals in the area and ask if there's someone by that name there. He may have gotten hurt and perhaps they have been unable to contact you."

"Good idea," Malcolm replied. "We'll do that next."

They spent the whole night going from hospital to hospital. No one had anyone checked in by that name. Finally, they arrived at the hospital in Walnut Creek, about twenty-five miles northeast of San Francisco.

"There's no one here by that name," the emergency room receptionist said.

Gennie was about to burst into tears.

"All right," Malcolm said, sighing heavily. "We'll keep looking for him. Come on, Gennie."

They were just about to step outside when the receptionist ran up to them.

"Sir! Miss! I was just told he might be here."

Even though it was five o'clock in the morning and Gennie hadn't had any sleep for more than twenty-four hours, she suddenly felt alert.

"We have a John Doe here who was involved in an accident with a tractor trailer on Route 24. Would you like to see if it's him?"

"Sure," Malcolm said.

Gennie was hoping it wasn't. If he collided with a truck, he probably was in very bad shape, if not on death's door. She had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach that told her it probably was him, though.

"Okay, I'll have a nurse take you up to his room."

The walk up to the room where John Doe lay was the longest walk of Gennie's life. Malcolm held her hand the whole time.

The nurse led them to the ICU. "He's in here," she whispered. "Try to be as quiet as you can. There's three other patients in here and they're all asleep."

Gennie and Malcolm nodded.

She pointed out John Doe's bed. "Tell me if you think that's him. We need to get some information from both of you."

A privacy curtain partially blocked the bed. Gennie and Malcolm had to get closer in order to see him.

Gennie was shocked at the man's condition. His entire face, except for his eyes, was bandaged. There was a large tube going into his mouth. A small bit of his light brown hair was sticking out.

"It looks like his hair, but I don't think it's him," Gennie said.

The nurse pulled the curtain aside a few inches.

"Is this your brother?" she asked Gennie.

"I don't know," she replied.

"He was wearing a watch at the time of the accident. We have it in a safe right now. I can get it out and show it to you if you want."

"Please do," Gennie said.

The nurse left the room and two minutes later returned with the watch.

"It's pretty sharp looking," the nurse commented. "I wonder where he got it."

Gennie recognized the watch with its black wristband, blue face and silver roman numerals right away. She bought it for him on their birthday.

"Goddamn it," Malcolm said.

Tears ran down Gennie's cheeks.

"It's got to be him," Malcolm replied.

"It isn't," Gennie said.

"I know this must be hard on both of you," the nurse said, "but at least he's still alive."

"That's not my brother!" Gennie shouted.

"Shh...people are sleeping here," Malcolm said.

"I don't care!"

Before Malcolm could say anything else, Gennie walked out of the room. She was convinced Ben was not in that bed. He was out there and was perfectly fine.

She would find him and bring him home.

Chapter 44: October 24

The days Ben was in the hospital were a nightmare for Gennie. The day after Gennie visited Ben, Rory forced her to stay in the house. He gave Gennie one of his mother's tranquilizers to get her to calm down. They both stayed out of school that Tuesday so he could take her to his family's doctor, who asked her some questions then prescribed Valium for her. It helped her keep her mind off her brother's accident, but she was too spaced out to do anything else. She spent about two weeks lying on the couch, absentmindedly watching TV.

One day, she woke up and took a pill just before breakfast. She was hungry, but the minute she walked into their kitchen and smelled the eggs Rory's mother was making, her stomach turned. She decided to go back to bed. About a half hour later, she was very sick to her stomach. She walked into the bathroom to get some Pepto-Bismol and the smell of urine lingering in there was so overwhelming that she vomited. She spent that entire day in bed, her stomach pain so unbearable she took two of her Valiums so she could pass out.

The next day Rory scheduled another appointment with the doctor. On Wednesday, the doctor examined her and could find nothing wrong.

"Are you on any form of birth control?" he asked her.

She thought that was a weird question.

"No," she said, "I was planning to go on the pill pretty soon, but I just haven't gotten around to going to a gynecologist. People have told me what the exam is like and I really don't want to go through it. But we've been using condoms."

"Is there a time when you didn't use one?" the doctor asked.

"Yeah, only once, though...about a month ago. We didn't realize it until it was too late, but we thought it was no big deal."

"It's a big deal now," the doctor replied.

"What do you mean?" Gennie asked.

"I can do a test first, just to confirm it, but I'm almost certain that you are pregnant."

"Oh my god..."

"You'll have to stop taking the Valium and I can prescribe you some prenatal vitamins."

"What should I tell Rory?"

The doctor scribbled the prescription and handed it to Gennie.

"Tell him he's going to be a father," the doctor said with a wry smile.

Gennie had her blood drawn for the test and then went out into the waiting room where Rory was expecting her.

"What did he say?" he asked.

"He thinks I'm pregnant," Gennie said blankly. "They're going to do a test to make sure."

"You can't be," Rory replied. "We haven't finished school yet. We don't even have our own place. This is a really bad time for this."

"You don't have to tell me," Gennie said, tears blurring her vision. "I'm the one who's falling apart here."

Rory put his arm around her and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"I want to go see Ben," she replied.

"You're not in denial anymore?"

"No...I don't want to believe he's a vegetable, but he is." She could feel the tears rolling down her face.

"Sure, we can go see him. Maybe he'll be awake this time."

Gennie shook her head. "That's only in the movies."

"Well, you never know."

Gennie chocked back a sob.

"Let's get going," Rory said to her. With his arm around her, he led her out of doctor's office.

At the hospital in Walnut Creek, Ben was still hooked up to all sorts of machines, but most of his bandages were off. Even though his face was still swollen and bruised, Gennie could see it was definitely her brother.

She held his hand with both of hers.

"Remember that promise we made when we were five years old?" she said. "Well, okay, we forgot about it one time, when we were mad at each other. From now on though, I intend to stick to that promise, I'll never leave you. I'm sure if it were me in that bed, you'd worry yourself to death. You'd probably be worse off than I am right now, and I'm in pretty bad shape. I'm on Valium, you know."

She chuckled and brushed a tear away. "Well, I was on Valium. I don't know what I'm going to do without it. I'm going crazy worrying about you. I don't know what I'd do if you died...I think I'd have to die too."

She put her head on his arm and cried for several minutes.

"I don't understand what happened," she said through her tears. "The police said the wreckage was so bad they can't even tell what went wrong. I was told you should be dead right now. Why were you all the way out here and why did you ram your car into that truck? Were you drunk or trying to kill yourself? I don't understand. She isn't worth doing that. You could have gotten a new restaurant...and new stuff. I'm trying to visit you as much as I can, but I have Rory now. Why did you run off like that?"

She sat in silence for quite a while. She tried to think of something that could give him an incentive to wake up.

"I know your life stinks right now...so does mine, but we still have each other. And we've been through a lot worse. We never talk about that time, but I think about it a lot. I would have never made it without you. I don't think I've ever told you this, but I love you. You know that, don't you? I wish you could hear me. I should have said this stuff before this happened. I have something else to tell you, but I'm going to save it for when you wake up. If you can't hear me, you won't give a damn anyway, but I hope you can. It's not the best time for it, but the more I think about it...the more I think it's right, you know? It sounds stupid now, but it'll make sense when I tell you."

Rory came back into the room. "How's he doing?"

"The same." Gennie sighed. "He's not responding at all."

"You want some lunch? You must be starving."

"I can't eat. My stomach is doing somersaults."

"You got to have something."

"Maybe later," Gennie said.

"We probably should get going."

"Yeah, okay," Gennie gave Ben a quick peck on the cheek. "Bye, Ben. I'll see you tomorrow."

When they arrived home, Gennie ate some cheese and crackers along with some chamomile tea. It managed to stay in her stomach for about two hours. She couldn't bring herself to eat supper when five o'clock came around, even though she was starving. She was very chilly, so she spent the rest of the night wrapped up in about five blankets, going in and out of sleep. She was awake when Rory went to bed for the night.

"Did you tell your parents?" she asked.

"No," Rory replied. "I figured it was better that we wait for the test results to come in."

"What are we going to do?"

"I don't know. I'm exhausted just thinking about it."

"Do you want it?"

"I guess so. Do you?"

"I don't know. I never thought of myself as somebody's mother. I can't imagine myself changing diapers or making formula."

"I think you'd be a good mother."

"I don't even know what a mother is. I never had one."

"My mom will help you."

"I don't think I'd want to stay here. Your parents will think we're mooching off of them."

"They won't mind," Rory said.

"Are you going to keep on going to school?"

"I only have a year left. Are you?"

"You're kidding, right? If I'm sick like this for much longer, I'm going to flunk this semester. And now it'll give the professors a good excuse for why women can't be engineers."

Rory chuckled. "Seems like a pretty good reason to me."

Gennie punched him in the arm.

"Ow! You hit awfully hard for a sick person."

"I'm hitting for two," Gennie joked.

Rory laughed but soon turned serious. "I guess I'll have to get a job too."

"I guess you will. You can't live off of your parents anymore."

"Hey, they like to spoil me."

"Come on, Rory. You're not a baby anymore. You've got to work like the rest of the world does."

"Except for you."

"Trust me, if I had a choice, I'd rather be working than throwing up seven times a day."

"I'll take a look at the paper and see what's out there."

"Good. Now I can rest in peace."

"You are weird," Rory said. He turned over and gave Gennie a kiss on the lips.

"Not as weird as you are," Gennie replied. "Goodnight."

"No, you're definitely weirder. Goodnight, hon."

Gennie woke up to the sound of the bedroom phone ringing. She looked at the alarm clock. It was ten minutes after eight. Rory was no longer there, having left for class about twenty minutes ago. Gennie answered the phone.

"Hello," she said groggily.

"Gennie?" Malcolm said. He sounded excited.

"What happened?"

"I have very, very, very good news."

"Did you guys win the lottery?"

"No, I'm at the hospital and guess who's looking up at me?"

Gennie almost dropped the phone. "You're kidding!"

"No, he's awake."

"Has he said anything yet?"

"No, but he seems pretty alert. His eyes were still glazed over at first, but now he's looking around."

Gennie jumped out of bed and grabbed the clothes that she threw on the floor yesterday. "I'll be right there," she said.

She drove to the hospital in record time. She couldn't believe it when she saw Ben awake.

"Oh my god!" she cried. She ran over to his bed and gave him a hug. He tentatively put his arms around her in return.

"You don't know how happy we are to see you awake," she said to him. "I thought you wouldn't make it."

Ben moved his lips as if he were trying to speak.

"What is it?" she asked him.

"What," he whispered, his voice raspy. "What...prize?"

"Huh?"

"Prize."

"What do you mean by prize?" she asked. As soon as she said it, she knew what he meant. "Oh! Then you did hear me! I knew it!"

"What's this about?" Malcolm asked.

Gennie turned to him. "I told him I had a surprise for him, but I wouldn't tell him until he woke up."

"Bribery works every time," Malcolm said, smiling. "So, what's the surprise?"

"Well..." Gennie replied. "I went to the doctor's yesterday because I've been feeling very sick lately and basically he told me that I'm having a baby."

"That's wonderful, Gennie!" Malcolm said, giving her a hug. "So, what do you think about that, Ben?"

Ben slowly nodded. "Good," he said.

"Was that worth waking up for?" Malcolm asked.

"Yeah," Ben said.

Chapter 45: September 10, 1970

Ben could talk but his injuries were so bad he couldn't do much else. By the time Gennie had her baby on June 15, 1969, Ben was sitting up and feeding himself. Gennie had Michele Adelaide at the same hospital that Ben was in so he could see her soon after she was born. He remarked that she looked just like Gennie, except for her dark hair, which she must have inherited from Rory.

Gennie and Rory's situation was far from ideal, but they handled it the best they could. Rory's parents were a big help and Gennie was grateful for them. Gennie withdrew from school the same day the test results confirmed she was pregnant. It was for the best since she was so behind in her homework she would never be able to make it up. Rory was still attending school but he also had a part-time job at night as a salesperson for a furniture store. Gennie hardly ever saw him. Their money was tight, so Gennie decided to breastfeed. Though it was very hard and painful in the beginning, as time progressed it became easier and she did it for a full ten months. By that time, Rory had graduated from college. He wanted to move to Los Angeles so he could audition for roles, but they didn't have the money to move yet. It seemed as if they were going to be permanently stuck at his parents' house, until Gennie came up with an idea just before she fell asleep one night.

Once a month, Rory's family had a meeting where they brought up anything that had been on their minds as of late. Gennie mentioned her idea at the meeting.

"You guys have been so great," Gennie said, holding Michele in her arms. "I feel guilty about us living here, and I've been trying to think of a way to save up some more money so we can move to Los Angeles."

"Don't feel bad," Carla said. "We love having you here."

"I know but...we should be getting our own place soon, and I think I found a way."

"I'd like to hear this," Rory replied.

"Well...I'd like to go back to college and get my degree."

"I thought you were going to stay at home with the baby," Rory said.

"I was, but I've decided that the sooner I get a degree, the better. I remember the career counselor saying that the average starting salary for an engineer is ten thousand a year. We could put a down payment on a house with that."

"But you going back to school is going to cost us more money," Rory replied.

"Yeah, in the short run it is," Gennie said, "but in the long run it'll be worth it."

"Who's going to take care of the baby?" Rory asked.

"We're going to have to figure that out."

"I don't know if you want an opinion from an old fogy like me," Rory's father, Eugene said, "but you should let Rory bring the money in. It'll take longer to get on your feet, but I think it will be a lot easier for both of you."

Gennie frowned, feeling frustrated that they weren't supporting her idea. She sighed deeply.

"You know, I went to college for three years and I studied my butt off, and now I have nothing to show for it. I want to get my degree at least."

"I just thought of something," Carla stated. "If you really want your degree, you could take a few classes at a time. That way you can spend some time out of the house working on that, but you won't be out all day and loaded down with homework all night. I can watch the baby the few hours you're gone."

"That's a wonderful idea!" Gennie replied. "What do you think, Rory?"

"It's okay with me," he said. "I know how much you've missed school."

Gennie was readmitted to Berkeley as a part-time student. She took only three classes, two on Tuesday and one on Wednesday, so most days she was home with the baby. On her days off, she would take Michele to Malcolm and Colleen's house to visit Ben. He was at the same stage Michele was. He could walk but he was still unsteady on his feet. He went to physical therapy for three hours a day and outside of that, he spent his days watching TV or listening to his old albums. He was always thrilled to see his niece and today he was especially happy.

"I think I'm at the point that I can start looking for another job," he told her.

Val had left town soon after Ben's accident and locked up the restaurant, leaving all their employees, including Ben, out of work. Ben wasn't well enough to run the restaurant by himself, and besides, he found out later that Val never bothered to pay taxes and was serving alcohol without a liquor license. Ben thought she might have left town with her new boyfriend, since the police wanted to question him about Ben's accident and they couldn't find him either. When Ben's car was examined, they found his brake lines had been cut, and suspected it may have been one of them. Unbeknownst to Ben, Val had a two hundred thousand dollar life insurance policy taken out on him, so that may have been a motivation. Ben couldn't remember a single thing about the accident, including why he was in Walnut Creek, so he wasn't much help there. The whole situation was such a mess that Ben had no choice but to close the restaurant permanently. Luckily, he had Malcolm to help him out with the back taxes, but between that and his medical bills, he was drowning in debt and had to give up his apartment and declare bankruptcy.

"Are you going to start another restaurant?" Gennie asked him.

"Yeah, someday. When I get the money. It was fun having my own restaurant while it lasted."

"You can do it again. I know it."

Chapter 46: January 1, 1973

After three years of working two full time jobs, Ben had enough money to open his own restaurant. It was on Sutter Street and it was a new start for him. The doctors had told him recently that he was ninety-nine percent recovered. The only remnants of the accident were a few faint scars on his body and the fact he still couldn't remember what happened.

He named his new restaurant Michele's and added a few of Valben's favorites to the menu, along with some new recipes. His reputation preceded him. Many of his old customers came to the opening, along with his family.

Everyone seemed to be having a pretty good time, except for Gennie. At the end of the night, Ben noticed she had a worried look on her face. He had just finished serving the last piece of chocolate cake his new pastry chef made from scratch when Gennie approached him.

"Can I talk to you alone?" she asked.

"Sure," Ben said. "We can go in my office."

They walked into his office and Ben closed the door.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Well, I'm graduating from Berkeley in May."

"Yeah, I knew that."

"And I'm looking for a job."

"Yes, and?"

Gennie sighed and rubbed her eyes. "Ben, I don't know how to say this. You see, I'm looking for jobs down in Los Angeles."

Ben knew this was coming. Rory wanted to be an actor, so naturally they would have to live near Hollywood. Right now, Rory was living in L.A., while Gennie and Michele were still at her in-law's house in Berkeley.

"I miss Rory so much. It's so hard not being able to see him more than once a month."

"I understand," Ben said.

"You do?"

"Sure!" He gave her a hug and kissed her on the forehead. "You guys should be together."

"But I don't want to leave you."

"I'm a big boy now. Nothing bad will happen."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. Do you think I'm going to fall apart here if you leave?"

"But with the accident and all that..."

"That's in the past. I'll be fine. Now go find yourself a decent job, so you can support that movie star husband of yours."

Gennie laughed. "I was worried all night about this for nothing. I'll call and visit as much as I can."

He patted his sister reassuringly on the back. "Stop worrying and go have some fun. That's what this party's for."

Chapter 47: December 15, 1974 Los Angeles

Gennie graduated from college in May 1973. Her family and Rory's celebrated by throwing her a party at Michele's. She chatted with people about her new job. It was entry level, and not exactly what she wanted to do, but at least it involved drafting and not fetching coffee.

She moved to Los Angeles on May 25 and started her new job at Premanco Construction Equipment, Inc. on June 1. Every drafter in the company except for her was male. They looked at her as if she was an alien from outer space when the boss introduced her. When she settled in and started working, she heard all sorts of things whispered behind her back, like 'The only reason they brought this chick in was to fill the quota', 'Doesn't her husband have any balls? I'd be embarrassed if my wife had to work' or 'She'll never make it around here'. Those comments made her determined to prove them wrong. The only things she liked about her job were that the project she was working on was interesting and the pay was excellent. She couldn't think of anywhere else where the starting pay was fifteen thousand a year plus benefits. In a year, she would singlehandedly be able to put a very nice down payment on a house.

She worked during the day while Rory went to casting calls at night. If there was a good part being cast during the day, he would leave Michele with the next door neighbor, who also had two young kids of her own.

At first Rory was uneasy about Gennie being the breadwinner, but he didn't mind as much once the paychecks started rolling in. To Gennie's relief, he enjoyed being home during the day and taking care of their little girl. Even though many people disapproved of their unusual situation, it worked for them.

Within a year, they were able to buy their own home, a modest two bedroom, one bath bungalow surrounded by a white picket fence in the Eagle Rock neighborhood for seventy thousand dollars. The only joy both of them had was decorating their new home and taking their daughter out on weekends. They were both miserable when it came to their careers. Rory was only able to get occasional bit parts in commercials and it seemed like he played either the anonymous college party boy or the anonymous high school jock that was clueless about everything. It was not the direction he wanted to go in. Gennie was unhappy because the harassment at work was getting worse. She couldn't leave her cubicle without getting her behind patted or pinched. Her co-workers had taken to the habit of tearing out Playboy centerfolds and replacing the playmate's head with her own. Many of their jokes centered on her and she overheard them once taking bets on who would sleep with her first. It bothered her a lot, but she never told anyone about it. What good would it do? They'd all probably suggest to her that she quit her job, stay home and be a good little wife. She didn't think conditions at a different workplace would be any better either. At least they were paying her well for her misery, though she found out she made five thousand less than a male employee hired around the same time she was when she saw his pay stub in a wastebasket. She didn't dare complain, though. She wasn't about to put herself in a position to be fired. Then she'd never find another job.

When the secretary passed around invitations to the annual Christmas party, Gennie crumbled it up and threw it in the wastebasket under her drafting table. She had to deal with these assholes five days a week; she wasn't about to have them screw up her weekend too.

Gennie usually avoided going to the bathroom at work, but the urge to do so was getting overwhelming. She looked at the clock across her desk. It was quarter of nine. That's when most of the guys went to the break room for cigarettes and coffee. It should be safe.

She walked down a line of cubicles and entered the bathroom. It was pitch black in there and it took her a few seconds to feel for the light switch. She cursed herself for having closed the door first. Just as she found the switch, someone grabbed both of her hands and twisted them behind her back. She let out a yelp when she was thrown on the hard tile floor.

"Nice of you to wear a skirt today," a gruff voice she didn't recognize said. "It makes my job a whole lot easier."

"Don't," Gennie whispered.

"It'll only take a minute," he said, "and the more straight forward it is for me, the less painful it'll be for you."

He chuckled, and then continued.

"I can't wait to claim my money."

She tried to wrestle free from his grasp but his entire weight on was her body and she couldn't get away. Eventually she gave up and cried silently as he ripped her panty hose and underwear off. Though it couldn't have been more than a minute, in her mind, it seemed to last for hours. He moaned and it was over. Then she felt something cold between her legs and heard a quick snip.

"I need proof, you know," he said, as if she had asked him a question.

She continued lying on the floor crying while he stood up and zipped his pants.

"You're a better lay than I thought," he said, a smile in his voice. "See you at the Christmas party."

She didn't get off the floor for at least another five minutes. She felt around for her underwear and panty hose. When she found them, she stood up unsteadily and turned on the light switch. She saw blood and urine on the brown and yellow tile floor. She thought about her unfinished blueprint waiting for her back in her cubicle. There was no way she could go back to it now. Without getting any of her personal items, she walked out of the building, got into her car and drove away. She thought about going home, but she couldn't. Rory and Michele were there and she couldn't let them see her like this. She drove down the Santa Ana Freeway much faster than usual, tears blurring her vision. A few minutes later, she spotted a rest area, pulled into it and parked under a large palm tree. There she cried until she was too tired to cry anymore, then leaned her head on the steering wheel and fell asleep.

When she woke up it was seven o' clock at night. She was supposed to be home hours ago! She wanted Rory to think that everything was normal and this wasn't going to help. She pulled out of the parking spot and headed for her house.

When she arrived home forty-five minutes later, Michele was playing with wooden blocks in the middle of the kitchen floor.

"Mommy!" she cried. "Where were you?"

"I had to work late, hon," Gennie said and gave her daughter a kiss on the cheek. "I'm sorry."

"We were worried about you," she replied.

"I know, but the boss didn't give me a chance to call home."

"He's a meanie, that guy."

"Yeah, I know."

Rory came into the kitchen.

"Mommy's home!" Michele called.

Rory gave her a smile.

"I'm sorry," Gennie said. "I had to attend this last minute meeting and I didn't get a chance to call and tell you that I was going to be late."

She expected Rory to chew her out but he didn't.

"That's okay," he said calmly. "Why don't we go in the living room?"

"Daddy has something to tell you!" Michele said joyfully.

"Really?" Gennie replied, trying to summon up some enthusiasm. "What could it be?"

"Hold your horses." He put one of his arms around her and led her to the living room.

They sat down on their new green floral pattern couch.

"I'm going to be on TV," he said.

"You're always on TV."

"Yeah, but Daddy's going to be on TV lots more," Michele replied.

"You finally got a recurring role? Which one is it this time? Jock or party boy?"

"Neither. I'm going to be a secret agent."

"No way! Like James Bond?"

"Not quite, but close. You know who Serena Smith is?"

"Yeah, does she play a prostitute in some new movie that just came out?"

"Well, she plays a prostitute in every movie, but I guess she just got married to some TV producer. He developed this whole series where she's a secret agent who poses as a fashion model and she got to pick her co-star. Guess who got chosen?"

"You?"

"Yes!"

"That's wonderful, Rory!"

"I thought we might want to celebrate a little, so I got some take-out from Red Panda and bought a bottle of champagne. I can heat it up in the oven if you like."

"Sure," Gennie said, though the thought of eating at that moment made her stomach turn. "That would be great."

"Is something wrong?" Rory asked her.

_Oh god, he knows_ , she thought. "N-No, not at all."

"You don't seem like yourself today."

"I'm just tired, that's all."

"Come on, Mommy," Michele said, pulling her arm. "Let's go eat. I'm hungry!"

Gennie forced herself to eat, but she was only able to manage to have one chicken wing and half of a crab Rangoon before she gave up.

"I'm going to bed," she said. "I'm exhausted."

Rory looked at her with concern.

"Are you coming down with something?"

"I don't know," Gennie said. "I just want to sleep, that's all."

"Can I have the rest of your food, Mommy?" Michele asked.

"Of course," Gennie replied. She gave Michele a kiss on the forehead. "Goodnight, Sweetie."

"Don't forget about your dearly beloved husband," Rory said.

"I wouldn't do that," Gennie replied, "especially now that he's a TV star."

She gave him a kiss on the lips.

"I'll see you in the morning," she said, grateful to be going to bed so she could be alone.

Before she could make it into the bedroom, she dashed into the bathroom. What little she had of supper ended up in the toilet. She wiped her mouth, flushed the toilet and went to bed. She was relieved this day was finally over.

Chapter 48: December 6, 1975

The next day she didn't return to work. She couldn't stand the thought of hearing that guy's voice again, or even worse, running into him. She just stayed home, wore her nightgown all day, and played with Michele. On the second day, the phone rang all morning and by eleven o'clock Gennie pulled its cord out of the wall. She didn't change her clothes that day either. By the third day, Rory was concerned.

"You must be awfully sick," he said. "You've never taken a sick day and now you've taken three in a row."

"I'm not going back."

You're not? Why?"

She was tempted to tell him what had happened to her there, but quickly put it out of her mind. She had to make up a good reason, though.

"Well..." she replied, "I want to spend more time with Michele."

Rory nodded in understanding. "I knew that would get to you after a while. Take as much time as you need, hon."

"Aren't you going to miss the income?"

"That's not important to me. As long as we have enough money to pay the bills, it's not a problem."

Gennie sighed. "Maybe I can take up my old hobby."

"If you want," Rory said.

Gennie didn't think she would enjoy being out of work, but she did. It was nice to have the freedom to do whatever she wanted. On the fourth day, she took Michele to The Sweet Stop for ice cream. The day after that they went to the L.A. Zoo. That weekend, she perused the classifieds for a cheap car she could fix up. She found one, a 1957 Cadillac Fleetwood for a hundred and ninety dollars. She called the number, that day they went to see it and she bought it on the spot and drove it home.

For three hours in the early morning, while Michele was still asleep, she worked on the car. Fixing the car took all of her attention and helped her forget about the attack for a while. Other than those three hours, it was always on her mind, especially at night. Now she felt extremely uncomfortable when Rory was turned on and usually rejected his advances. She knew Rory was frustrated but he was doing his best not to show it. The pilot of his show, called _In Pursuit_ , was picked up by NBC and they ordered a whole season's worth of episodes. He talked about Serena a lot after he came home from the studio and Gennie suspected he had a crush on her. She wasn't jealous in the least. Actually, she was hoping Rory would have an affair with her, so he would stop pestering her in the bedroom.

If sex was bad, going to sleep was worse. The house was very quiet at night and every little creak would make her heart jump out of her chest. It was also the time her mind would replay the attack over and over. Usually, she would end up in tears, and would swallow a couple of sleeping pills just so she could have a few hours' rest.

Christmas was rolling around again, and Gennie spent the day decorating and wrapping presents. Rory returned home from the last day of shooting before Christmas break in a foul mood. They barely talked to each other all day.

It was almost midnight and Gennie was already in bed when Rory walked over to her side and stared down at her.

"I've got to ask you a question," he said, sounding like he was ready for a confrontation.

"Okay, go ahead," Gennie replied.

"Why don't you want sex anymore?"

Not wanting her body language to belie her panic, she shrugged.

"Don't give me that," he said, raising his voice in annoyance. "I want to know right now. I haven't had any since last year. I'm practically a virgin again for chrissakes."

Gennie didn't answer him. She turned around in bed and closed her eyes, hoping he would drop the subject.

"Is it something to do with me?" he asked. "Am I not doing things right? What's changed?"

"No, of course not. Everything's fine."

"Are you seeing someone else?"

"No!"

"Then why don't you want sex anymore?"

She turned back around.

"I'm not interested, that's all. It has nothing to do with you. I just don't feel like it anymore."

"Well, I talked to Serena about it today, and she said you had a big problem."

Gennie's mouth dropped open. "You talked to Serena about our personal life?"

"I didn't want to, but I felt funny going to my parents about it...and well...I'm very comfortable around Serena. I thought she might have some insight on our problem."

Gennie felt the heat rise to her face. "If you're so comfortable with her, why don't you fuck her?"

Rory's eyebrows rose. He looked shocked and hurt. "I'm sorry, but I had nowhere to turn. Gennie...I'm not going to have an affair with Serena. You're the one I love."

She couldn't keep it a secret any longer. A huge wail rose from her throat.

"Oh god," Rory said, embracing her. "I knew I did something wrong."

"I told you," she sobbed. "It's not about you."

"Then what is it?"

She couldn't answer him. She just cried harder, her tears making her green and beige striped pillow case wet.

"It's got to be about something," Rory said. "What happened?"

Gennie realized she had no choice but to tell him. Otherwise, the incident would end up destroying their marriage.

She gulped. "Something did happen, Rory. But before I tell you, can you promise me one thing?"

"Sure."

"Please don't be angry with me."

"All right. I promise. I don't care what it is. I just want to know so we can work this out."

"Well...the reason I'm not interested anymore is because...uh...I was attacked."

"Attacked? By who?"

"This guy at work."

"Who?"

"I don't know. He worked in the same building that I did, but I don't know his name."

"Did he...you know?"

Gennie nodded. "Yes and it hurt!"

They didn't say anything to each other for a long time. Rory broke the silence.

"Why didn't you tell me this before?"

"I just thought I would forget about it, but I can't, and...I thought you would be mad at me."

"I know it's not your fault. The one I'm mad at is the guy that hurt you. If he were here right now, I'd rip his head off. If you knew his name, I'd go down there, have him paged, then beat the living shit out of him. So that's why you quit work, huh?"

"Yeah."

Rory lifted her up and held her. "I'm sorry I bothered you so much. If I had known that had happened..."

"Don't blame yourself for this."

He kissed her on the lips. "Is it all right if we cuddle instead?"

"Okay," Gennie said tentatively. She thought telling him would make her feel worse; instead, it felt like a thousand pound weight was lifted off her chest. "I'd do anything to get back to normal."

Chapter 49: February 3, 1976 San Francisco

Business at Michele's was going very well. So well, in fact, that he was booked more than a year in advance for functions at the restaurant. Many people were disappointed that they were unable to have their celebration at Michele's, so he started a catering business. He didn't have time to manage all the operations himself, so he put an ad in the newspaper. He had at least a dozen applicants, but he felt that none were really qualified enough. Then, one of his employees mentioned that her next-door neighbor was unhappy with her low paying job as a receptionist. She used to work for a catering business. Ben gave the employee the application and told her to have her neighbor fill it out and return it. He got it back the next day. Ben looked at the application and decided she had enough experience. He called her up and scheduled an interview at the restaurant for the next afternoon.

It was cold and windy on the day of the interview, so Ben thought she would be a no-show, but she arrived on time. She was wearing a full-length taupe leather coat with a shearling trim, knee high leather boots and a brown and white crocheted winter hat. Ben couldn't believe how gorgeous she was. She practically glowed, she was so beautiful.

"Hello," Ben said, his voice sounding shaky as he walked up to her. "I'm Ben Perrin."

She smiled and removed her burgundy leather gloves. "My name is Annie Labelle."

They shook hands. Her palms felt really soft and supple next to his.

"Nice to meet you, Annie. You know, that's an awfully pretty name."

"Thanks," Her greyish brown eyes sparkled as she smiled. Ben thought he was going to melt into a puddle right next to her.

"Well...Annie," he said. "Why don't you take a seat at the bar and we can talk? I'll take your coat and hat for you."

She took her hat off, revealing silky black hair done up in a bun. When she took her coat off, Ben could see she was wearing a black and white striped sweater coat with black corduroy bell-bottom pants.

"Sorry I didn't dress up more," she said, giving him the coat. "It's just this weather..."

"Don't worry about it," he said. "You look fine. Do you want something to drink?" "Do you guys have Earl Grey tea?"

"Sure," Ben said, "I'll bring some out to you right away."

After, he hung up her coat in the coatroom, he brought out a silver teapot with two porcelain cups.

"Do you mind if I share?" he asked.

"No, not at all," she replied. "It's your restaurant."

He poured a cup for her and for himself.

"So, it says here on your resume that you attended high school in Montreal and were the valedictorian in your graduating class in 1965?"

"Yes," she said, nodding.

"And you attended The Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts in British Columbia, right?"

She nodded again.

"You had a 4.0 GPA there then your returned to Montreal and worked for Grand Nord Catering until last year. So, what brings you out west again?"

"Uh...well, I needed a change of scenery."

"Good reason."

"I checked all your references yesterday and they were all good. Just one more question to ask, how do you feel about food?"

"I'm passionate about it," Annie replied. "Always been. If I didn't have a job, I'd probably weigh about five hundred pounds now. I love to cook almost as much as I love to eat."

"Excellent answer," Ben replied. "Well, Annie...welcome to Michele's. I hope you enjoy working here."

Annie's face lit up. "I have the job?"

"Yes."

"Oh thank you, Mr. Perrin!" She gave him a hug, which made his heart go into overdrive.

"Call me Ben, please," he said.

"Thank you, Ben!" she said. "I won't let you down!"

"I know you won't," he replied. He was glad she would be working next door and he wouldn't be seeing her too often, because she was looking more attractive by the minute. The last thing he wanted was to fall in love again. It would kill him to see her every day and know that he couldn't have her.

Chapter 50: February 4

As usual, Ben woke up at six o'clock in the morning, got dressed and brushed his teeth, then went out to the newsstand on the corner of Bush Street and Grant Avenue to get his newspaper. Then he crossed the street to the The Cream and Sugar Coffee Shop, bought himself a large coffee and a jelly doughnut and read the paper while eating. He perused the news section, then the weather. Crappy, crappier, and crappiest. He checked the TV listings to see if Rory's show was going to be on. Yep, there is was. He was usually working when _In Pursuit_ aired, so he bought a videocassette recorder so he could tape it and watch it later at night. The thing was gigantic, cost him twelve hundred dollars and getting the cassettes were next to impossible, so he used the same one over and over when he taped the show.

He thought it was interesting and Rory was a pretty good actor. His co-star, Serena Smith, was hot. The show always opened on the beach or on some boat and she was always either hanging out or swimming with the tiniest of bikinis on. He imagined there were a lot of guys who got off on her and he didn't blame them.

To avoid getting turned on while in the coffee shop, he read the comics. He was halfway through them when someone tapped him on the shoulder.

He looked up and saw Annie smiling at him.

"Hi," she said shyly.

"Hello," he replied. "I wasn't expecting you to be here."

"Well, I get the paper every morning and then I come here and read it."

"You're kidding! That's exactly what I do too!"

"We've must have been here at the same time before we met, then."

"Why didn't I notice you?"

"Probably because we both had our noses buried in the paper."

Ben chuckled. "You're right. You know, all this time I thought the only people awake at this hour were me and the living dead. Guess I was wrong."

"Is it all right if I sit with you?" Annie asked.

"Of course. You want a coffee or something to eat?"

"I'll have a large coffee, one cream, two sugars and a jelly doughnut."

Ben might as well have been ordering for himself. That's what he had gotten.

He went up to the counter, put in her order and brought her jelly doughnut and coffee back to her.

"For you, _mademoiselle_ ," he said.

_"Merci_ ," she replied, reaching for her hand tooled leather purse.

"Hey, it's on the house," Ben said.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm single and I have some money," Ben replied. "I can afford to buy a pretty lady a coffee and a doughnut."

Annie smiled. "How often do you do that?"

"This is the first time in a very long while. I'm working twenty four seven."

"Me too," Annie replied. "I'd be a boring person to live with. All I do is work, go home, sleep, get up and work again."

"Who lives with you?"

"Nobody," Annie replied. "I don't have time for anyone. Do you have a girlfriend?"

"No," Ben said. "I'm mostly through with women."

Annie frowned. "Oh, I see."

"I said _mostly_."

Annie giggled. "Well, I'm mostly through with men myself. It doesn't matter who I pick, he's either unavailable or else he's an asshole."

"Are we living the same lives here?"

"It seems like it, doesn't it?"

"How does your family feel about you living so far away by yourself?" Ben asked.

"They don't care."

"Uh-huh." Ben could tell by the way she squirmed in her chair that this was something she wasn't exactly comfortable talking about, so he changed the subject.

"So, how do you feel about the weather here?"

"Overall or lately?"

"Both."

"Overall...it's beautiful. Lately...I honestly think it's warmer in Canada now."

Ben chuckled and took a sip of his coffee.

"I was curious...how did you get to own Michele's?"

"I saved up my money then paid for it with cash."

"Yeah, but...what's the story behind it? You know what I mean? Why did you want to own a restaurant?"

"Well, it's something I always wanted to do. When I was eighteen years old, I got the opportunity of a lifetime. This woman I met while mini-golfing had a lot of money and was interested in starting a business."

"You were co-owners with this lady?"

"Yep."

"Anyplace I know?"

"Valben."

Annie raised her eyebrows. "I applied there, you know."

"Really? How did it go?"

"They never called me back."

"Too bad."

"Well, I'm glad in a way. The atmosphere there seemed kind of...tense, I guess."

"It must have been in the last year then."

"Why did it close down?"

"Well, my partner left me high and dry with medical and tax bills. I had no choice."

"Oh, that's awful!"

"Well, in the long run, I think it turned out for the best. I enjoy running Michele's more."

"Who's Michele? Is that an old girlfriend?"

Ben almost choked on his coffee. "No, though she thinks she is."

Annie grinned. "A hanger-on, huh?"

"Yes, definitely. Actually, she's my niece."

"Oh, how sweet! She must be so happy to have a restaurant named after her."

"She is. She told everyone at her school that she owns it."

Annie laughed.

"Is she going to be a future chef?"

"Well...I hope so, but if her mother has her way, she'll be a master mechanic."

Annie looked puzzled.

"My sister's into cars," Ben explained.

"Oh wow, that's unusual," Annie said. "You and your sister...are you close?"

"Yeah, but she lives in L.A. now, so it's a little difficult to get together. We try and call each other about once a week."

"Is she older or younger than you?"

"Younger...but not by much. We're twins. We don't look alike though."

"Do you have any other brothers and sisters?"

"No," Ben replied. He had no intention of mentioning Bryan, who he hadn't thought of in years and was dead to him now. There was no need to delve into ancient history anyway.

"What do your parents do?"

"Well, I guess my mother was a housewife, and my dad was in the gold business."

"Is your dad retired now?"

"No, they're both gone."

"Oh, I'm so sorry."

"Don't worry; they passed away a long time ago. We've adjusted to it. Now, what about your family?"

Annie squirmed in her seat again.

"Do you have any brothers and sisters?"

"No sisters, but I have three brothers. I'm the youngest."

"You must have been spoiled."

"Oh yeah. Rotten."

"And what do all these siblings do?"

"Well, my oldest brother, Pascal, he installs windows for a living, my second brother, Henri, he's a trash collector and my third brother...he can't keep a job to save his life. I guess you could call him a professional alcoholic."

"What's his name?"

"Ugh."

"With a name like that, no wonder he drinks."

Annie burst into laughter. "His real name is Calix."

"I think I prefer Ugh."

"Me too."

"So, he's the bad seed, I take it?"

"That's the understatement of the year," Annie said.

"Let's forget about Calix The Menace. What about your parents?"

"My dad fixes furnaces. My mom works in a bakery."

"Oh, so you got your passion for food from your mother."

"She taught me everything I know." Annie then looked at the sunburst clock on the wall. "I have to get to work."

"Since I'm training you, I guess that means I have to get to work too."

"Yeah, otherwise I won't know what to do. It was really nice talking to you here. We ought to do this more often."

"How about every day?"

"Okay. Every day, then."

"Before we go to the restaurant, I just want to ask you something," Ben said. He couldn't believe he was even doing this. It would probably end up being a stupid mistake, but he couldn't help himself.

"What is it?"

"Would you like to go out somewhere...tonight?"

Annie looked very surprised. "I wasn't expecting that. Uh, but isn't it against your restaurant's policy for two employees to date?"

"Yes, but since I own the restaurant, I can do whatever the hell I want."

"Good reason," Annie replied.

"So, what do you say?"

"Hmm..." Her finger tapped her chin. "Okay."

"Well, that was enthusiastic."

"Oh sorry, it came out wrong. Actually, I would love to go somewhere with you tonight."

"I'm just kidding," Ben said. "Now let's get our asses to work before we get fired."

Annie giggled. "You're so funny."

"So are you."

"I know," Annie said. "Come on, boss...we have a restaurant to open up. Everybody is going to think we're lazy bums if we get there late."

Ben was tempted to hold her hand, but didn't. As they left the coffee shop together, he felt a connection to her that he never felt to anyone else.

Maybe he finally found his soul mate.

Chapter 51: March 15

Ben was having a great time with Annie. So much so, that he was now doing the unthinkable: taking a day off from work. Every Saturday he and Annie would go out on a date. He hadn't even thought of Val once since he and Annie became an item.

On their twenty-eighth birthday, Ben gave Gennie a call and told her all about Annie. He wished Gennie could come up so she'd be able to meet her, but with Michele in school and Rory's schedule, that was impossible right now. Maybe when he and Annie were a little more serious perhaps they could fly down to Los Angeles and meet them.

Ben celebrated his birthday at the restaurant with all his staff, Malcolm and Colleen and even Rusty and Gracie. Annie got along splendidly with all of them. Gracie even hinted strongly to Ben that he should marry her.

It was one o'clock in the morning before they left the restaurant. Ben walked Annie back to her apartment. They were about ten yards away when Annie stopped dead in her tracks. Ben noticed a man standing at the front entrance of her apartment, knocking at the door. He wore bell-bottom jeans and a black bomber jacket. His shoulder length hair was blond and shaggy.

The look on Annie's face was one of pure terror.

"What's wrong?" he asked her.

"Turn around," she said.

"Why?"

"Just do it."

"Who's that at the door?"

She didn't answer him. She simply turned around and walked back down the street, her face turned to the sidewalk. He followed her.

"Is that someone I should know about?"

"No."

"Then what's the problem?"

"It's someone I...don't particularly want to see."

"Like who?"

She said nothing.

"One of your brothers?"

"I don't know."

"What do you mean, you don't know? It's got to be somebody."

"Why don't I sleep over at your place?"

"It's that bad?"

"Yes."

Ben sighed. "Okay."

They said nothing until they arrived at his apartment. They entered through the back door.

"You know, if that's an old boyfriend, I completely understand. I've got a history, so I don't expect you not to have one."

Annie sighed.

"It's a boyfriend, right?"

"Yes."

"That's fine. You can stay here for a couple of days if you like. Eventually, he'll figure out that you're not around and leave."

"I hope so."

"Don't worry, Annie, he will."

They had a great time at his apartment. After two days, Annie's anxiety about her old boyfriend was gone. She decided to return to her own place, but once they entered her apartment, Annie was still hesitant about staying.

"Something's not right," she said.

"Like what?" Ben asked.

"I don't know, but there's definitely something going on here."

"I don't think so," Ben said. "Everything looks fine to me."

"I don't want to stay here, Ben."

Annie's paranoia frustrated him, but he kept his feelings in check. "All right, you can stay at my place for a week if you like."

"Good," she said. She was already out the door. "Let's go."

They turned the corner and we're about to go down the stairwell when they ran into the man they had seen two days ago. Ben was surprised by how old he looked. From far away, Ben guessed he was in his mid to late twenties, but the lines around his eyes, forehead and around his mouth made him appear to be in his forties. He had long sideburns and was scruffy looking, especially around the chin. He didn't look like Annie's type at all. He wondered how she got mixed up with him.

They just stared at each other. Annie slowly walked backward.

_"Tu vas avec moi à la maison_ ," He said, quiet but stern.

Annie shook her head.

"I'd hate to break it to you, buddy," Ben said, "but she's with me now. Why don't you go back home and get yourself a new girl?"

The man's eyes narrowed.

He grabbed Annie's arm. "The old lady and I are leaving right now, whether you like it or not."

He didn't know what it was, but Ben suddenly snapped. He ripped Annie out of the man's grasp. Even though he had several inches in height and weight on Ben, Ben punched him in the stomach and then the face. He kicked him between the legs until the man fell to the floor. He was in a fetal position, moaning.

"Change your mind yet?" Ben asked, towering over the man.

The man grabbed his bleeding nose.

_"Sortir d'ici maintenant_ ," Annie said to him.

"Fine, I'll leave," the man replied, "but maybe you should tell your new boyfriend that you're already spoken for."

"What do you mean by that?" Ben asked. He looked back at Annie. Her face was twice as pale as it usually was and tears rimmed her eyes.

"What I mean," the man spat out condescendingly, "is that she's already married...to me."

Ben was so shocked he couldn't even comprehend what he was saying.

"That can't be."

"Well, it is. And if you had half a brain, which it seems you don't, you'd leave her right now. The only reason she wanted me was because of my money and that's the only reason she wants you. Don't be surprised if she takes at least half of it before she's through with you."

Ben grabbed the man's leather jacket and shoved him down the stairwell. "And if you had any brains, which you don't, you'd leave right this second or else I'm going to kick your ass again."

Before the man could say another word, Ben slammed the door leading to the stairwell. He looked back at Annie. She had her head in her hands and was crying. Ben wanted to comfort her, but there were some things he wanted sorted out first.

"Obviously, there's some stuff you didn't tell me about...like the fact that you're already married."

Annie didn't say anything, but continued crying. Ben just stared at her, feeling betrayed.

"You know, I thought you were the one," he said. "You don't know how close I was to proposing to you. When were you going to tell me about this?"

"I wanted to tell you," Annie said, sobbing. "It's just that...I wanted to get away from my past."

Ben sighed. "I'm going home."

Annie brushed the tears out of her eyes. She opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, but quickly closed it again.

Ben glanced at her one last time, then he left.

Chapter 52: March 16

Ben tried watching _The Tonight Show_ but he just couldn't concentrate. He kept pacing back and forth on the living room rug. He decided to go out and take a walk, hoping the dark cool night would calm him down a little bit.

He came across a bar called Ruby's Place. He passed by it every morning when he went to get his doughnut and coffee, but he had never seen it at night, alive with people inside. He could hear a song by The Ramones playing and a lot of heavy chattering. It wasn't his kind of hangout but something was pulling him closer to it. He knew he shouldn't drink, but he thought just this once wouldn't hurt. He'd do anything to get his mind off Annie.

He entered the bar and found an empty seat. The place was packed. There was so much smoke he could barely see things that were going on even three feet away from him.

"What can I get you tonight?" A woman in her sixties cleaning a glass with a towel asked.

"Hmmm..." Ben said, "how about the hardest liquor you have?"

"I could make you a whiskey sour," the woman suggested.

"How about a whiskey-not-sour?"

"On the rocks?"

"No rocks," Ben replied, "Just neat."

"All right," the woman said. She grabbed a bottle of Jack Daniels and poured it into the glass she just dried. "Bad day or something?"

"Yeah, you could say that."

"You want to tell me or do you want to keep it to yourself?"

Ben didn't know her, so he figured it wouldn't hurt to tell her.

"I found out today that my girlfriend is already married. Do you have any sage advice for me?"

The woman rubbed her double chin. "Uh...no, not really."

"Well, what would you do if you were in my situation? I mean, what if you found out your husband had married someone else before you came along and he never divorced her?"

The woman gave out a big bellowing laugh. "You know what I'd do? I'd say...here, you can have him back! I've been married thirty-eight years to that bastard. I'm getting kind of sick of him."

Ben couldn't help but chuckle at that.

"But seriously..." she continued, "if something like that actually happened, sure, I'd be a little bit teed off for a while, but I'd get over it and life would go on. He's been with me for a long time, who the hell else is going to pick up his smelly socks and cook him dinner? If I kicked him to the curb, he'd probably wither away and die. I'm sure wife number one wouldn't give a rat's ass. So, I'd have to stay with him."

"Well, I've only known Annie for about a month or so," Ben said. "We've never had a problem until now. Actually, I was this close to proposing to her." His thumb and forefinger were only a quarter inch apart.

"So she lied to you about being married?"

"No, she just didn't tell me."

"Excuse me for a second," the woman said. She served a few customers that were signaling her then returned to Ben.

"All right, so she never told you. Maybe there was a good reason. Sometimes people get sucked into love affairs. Hell knows it happens all the time here. She probably liked you a lot and didn't want to hurt your feelings."

"Yeah, I guess so," Ben said.

"Maybe she was trying to get away from this fella for a reason. Maybe he beat her to a pulp."

"That wouldn't surprise me."

"Now, she meets you and she thinks, 'Oh, this is a nice, decent guy. I better not tell him I'm married or else he'll leave me.' Her husband probably gets mad and beats her for no reason. She doesn't want to get you mad, you know?"

Ben nodded in understanding.

"But there's something else he said that bothered me. He said Annie only married him for the money. I have a hard time not believing that, because I own a restaurant. She works with me so she has a good idea how much I'm taking in...so maybe that's true. Maybe she was just using me to get to my money."

"Well, I don't know this Annie girl, so I can't tell you for sure that she's after your money or not, but I wouldn't believe the husband if he said it was going to rain tomorrow. He sure as hell isn't out to protect you by saying that."

"Yeah, I guess so."

"Do you have a picture of this Annie? I'm a real good reader of people. I don't know what it is, but I can tell right off if a person is good or bad just by looking at them. And I'm always right."

"Yeah," Ben said. He took out his wallet and flipped it to a picture he took of her on Valentine's Day. She was sitting on the sofa of her apartment holding the bouquet of roses he gave her.

The woman studied the photograph carefully. "Hmmm...okay. Well, this is just my opinion, but I don't see a gold digger in that picture. Very good looking girl, shy...seems pretty sincere to me."

Ben put the wallet away.

"What was she doing when you last saw her?"

"Crying."

"Why don't you stop by her place, maybe bring her some flowers or something?"

"So, you think I should forgive her?"

"Oh yeah, sure. You shouldn't let her creepy husband ruin your life."

"Thanks," Ben said. He pulled out a five-dollar bill and handed it to the woman. "I've got to get going."

"Hey, you didn't even take a sip of your drink!"

"I don't need to," Ben said. "I shouldn't even be in here."

"Okay," the woman shouted as Ben left. "Thanks for the tip!"

He walked straight to Annie's apartment after he left the bar. The woman was right. If he broke up with Annie, he would be letting that guy ruin his life. Well, that wasn't about to happen.

As he approached her apartment, he saw that the living room light was still on. He rang the buzzer for her apartment, but she didn't let him in.

"Hey Annie!" he shouted up to her window. "It's me! You can open the door!"

After a few seconds, he was buzzed in. He had to knock on her apartment door. He heard some footsteps inside then it opened. Annie was a wreck. Her face was red, her hair was disheveled and her clothes were so wrinkled that Ben was sure she had slept in them.

"Are you here to yell at me again?" she said.

"No," Ben replied. "I've been doing some thinking and...I don't think we should break up over this."

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you," Annie said. "I wanted to, but I was afraid."

"It's okay," Ben replied.

"I called up an attorney in Montreal and he served the divorce papers. That's why Bernard came out here. He knew where I was but he was too busy hanging out with his buddies and drinking. I imagine that girlfriend he has on the side is probably doing all his cooking and cleaning for him now. I don't know why he doesn't want to get divorced. It's obvious he doesn't love me."

"It's probably a blow to his ego that someone is dumping him instead of the other way around." Ben said.

"Probably," Annie agreed. "He has quite the ego. And about me wanting money...that's not true. He actually stole most of my money. I had almost nothing when I came here. You believe me, don't you?"

"Yes, I do," Ben said.

_"Oh, dieu merci_."

"So, do you want to start over?"

Ben thought she would automatically say yes, but instead she just stared at him with tired eyes.

"I should get divorced first," Annie said.

Ben was disappointed, but he tried not to show it.

"All right. If you want to take some time off of work to do that, feel free to."

"You mean I still have the job?"

"Of course you do! It took me forever to find you. Do you think I'm going to let you go now?" Ben gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Try not to worry too much, Annie. It'll all work out in the end. Go to bed and get some sleep."

"Okay," Annie said, looking doubtful. "I'll try. Good night, Ben."

Chapter 53: April 16, 1977

Ben didn't talk much with Annie at work and when he did, it was always about business. He wasn't going to bring up the divorce unless Annie spoke of it first and she never did. He had to admit it was lonely for him right now. He decided after she finalized her divorce that he would ask her to marry him. He was sick of being single.

Though he usually told Gennie everything, he didn't tell her about this. She had her own life now and there was no need for her to get involved. All it would do was upset her. Practically every time she called, she asked how Annie was doing and Ben always said fine.

It was a year before Annie was finally divorced. She took him aside and told him at a surprise birthday party his employees threw for him.

"You know, that's the best birthday present anyone has ever given me," he told her and gave her a passionate kiss on the lips.

The next month they were engaged. On a sunny day in April, they were married in a simple ceremony at St. Stephen's Church, where Malcolm and Colleen dragged him every Sunday until he moved out. He was a nervous wreck. He wanted everything to be perfect for her and luckily, it was.

He was more relaxed at the reception, which was held at Michele's. He was too busy chatting with guests and so concerned about staining the expensive tux he bought that he didn't eat his own dinner. The reception seemed to fly by. Before he knew it, the limo was waiting outside, ready to take them back to his apartment.

"Did you enjoy this evening?" Ben asked his new wife. She looked absolutely gorgeous in her wedding dress.

She smiled sweetly. "Yes, definitely. I never thought anything like this would happen to me."

"Me neither," Ben said, "but I guess we're both lucky now, huh?"

"Yeah, I feel like I hit the jackpot."

"We both did. Now, let me tell you something...you'll never have to worry about a single thing again, I promise."

Tears fell down Annie's cheeks. He tasted their saltiness when he kissed her.

"Those are happy tears, right?" Ben asked.

"They couldn't be anything else," Annie replied.

Chapter 54: April 30

Gennie was so happy for Ben. _Finally_ , she thought, _he found someone_. She hoped his life with Annie would be as wonderful as her life with Rory. She didn't know why but she was thinking about him all the time lately. He had been working extra-long hours on the set. Usually by the time he arrived home, she was already in bed. He loved doing the show though. He had gotten more involved in the inner workings of it. He wrote a couple of episodes and now he was actually doing his own stunts. His agent cringed when he told him, but Rory believed it made the show more credible. Gennie supported him in that belief. She figured he was working in controlled conditions and that everything was perfectly safe.

The third season finale had Rory's character flying a helicopter in order to capture a felon who had kidnapped the governor's teenage daughter. Rory asked the director several months before the episode was shot if he could be the one to fly the helicopter. At first, the director was wary of the idea because of insurance reasons, but after some persuading, allowed him to do it. Rory then spent most of his weekends training to be a helicopter pilot. Though Gennie missed him, she was excited for him at the same time. The day he was officially licensed, they went for a grand tour of Los Angeles via helicopter. Gennie thought it was fantastic and Michele had a ball.

"You know," Gennie mentioned to Rory after the helicopter ride was over, "If this acting thing doesn't pan out, you could always fly a helicopter for a living. Maybe you could cover those high speed chases for the news."

The scene was going to be shot in Death Valley in the early evening and Rory invited Gennie and Michele out there to watch. They rarely came on location, because usually it was extremely boring, but Gennie and Michele were there for this one.

The director insisted that Rory wear a helmet and even though he protested, the director won out.

"Do what he says, Rory," Gennie told him.

"See," the director replied, "now there is the voice of reason."

"All right," Rory said, plopping the blue and red helmet onto his head. "I hope there's no close up shots because I look like an idiot in this thing."

"You look fine," Gennie said.

"I think you look cool," Michele replied, "like Evel Knievel."

"One minute!" the producer shouted.

"Wish me luck," Rory said.

Gennie gave him a kiss, followed by Michele.

"I love you," Gennie said.

"I love you too Sweetheart," he replied, "and I love my Michele."

"I love you, Daddy," Michele said.

They waved good-bye to him as he entered the helicopter. The producer gave him a thumbs-up to fly before the scene began filming. So much sand kicked up from the liftoff that everyone headed for the large tent set up about fifty yards away. Gennie covered Michele's eyes as they ran toward it.

When the helicopter turned back toward the crew, the producer signaled the car driven by the actor playing the felon to start the car and take off. The seventeen-year-old girl who was the kidnapped daughter waved to her mother from the back seat of the car.

"Aren't you supposed to be in the helicopter, Serena?" Gennie asked the star of the show.

"I should be," she said, with a touch of annoyance in her voice, "but Richie won't let me. He said it was too much of a liability."

"Well, that doesn't make a lot of sense, especially since he let Rory fly the helicopter."

"To tell you the truth, I think it was a bullshit answer. He's just being jealous. I tried to explain to him that's nothing's going on between us, but he won't listen. Actually, the writers wanted our characters to go to bed with each other by now, but Richie won't have any of that."

"I wouldn't have minded. I know it's just a job," Gennie said, though she was glad that future love scene would never happen.

The crew watched intently as Rory gingerly lowered the helicopter. He was supposed to land on top of the car while it was moving. Filming would stop then Rory would take off again. The actual rescue scene would be filmed tomorrow.

The helicopter began wobbling strangely all of a sudden. The tail bobbed at an awkward angle. Gennie grew concerned but she was confident that Rory would land the helicopter safely. Then, the helicopter suddenly spun out of control and hit the car.

The crew watched the explosion in stunned silence. Not until the girl's mother screamed that it hit Gennie what had just happened.

"It must be a stunt," she mumbled to herself.

"Mommy," Michele said, her eyes filled with tears, "Daddy's all right, isn't he?"

She had no idea what to say.

"I..." she began then fainted away.

Chapter 55: May 1

The next thing Gennie knew she was in a hospital. She vaguely remembered being inside an ambulance. They put smelling salts under her nose and she regained consciousness. She didn't remember much after that. They must have given her a sedative or something.

Gennie sat up straight in the bed. Where's Michele? She scanned the room. Ben was slumped over in a chair, sleeping. _Holy cow_ , Gennie thought, _it must be a lot later than I imagined_. She looked at the alarm clock on the side table. It was five minutes after six, but she didn't know if it was AM or PM. There were no windows in the room and all the lights were on. She could hear a little bit of activity outside in the hallway.

She was about to turn on the TV when she remembered. If the news was on, she would be sure to hear of what happened and she didn't want to be reminded of it.

She slumped back into her bed. _Oh God_ , she thought _, let this be a dream_. She wished Rory would come into the room and tell her he was all right.

No one could have survived that crash, though. Gennie could still see the explosion and she whimpered in response. He was definitely gone.

She threw a blanket over her head. She wanted to go back to sleep and forget what happened, but sleep wouldn't come. Unfortunately, she was well rested.

Ben stirred. With his eyes opened a crack, he looked at his watch and groaned.

"Are you awake?" Gennie asked.

"Sort of," he said, his voice slurred. He rubbed his eyes.

"When did you get here?"

"Yesterday. Rory's parents called me and told me what happened. They came down here too."

"I don't want to see them right now." She was afraid that if she saw the pain they were in, it would set her off.

"They're at your house, taking care of Michele."

"How is she?"

"She's doing good...as well as can be expected, I guess."

Gennie nodded. Tears blurred her vision.

Ben walked over and gave her a hug.

That was too much for Gennie to take. She sobbed into his shoulder for several minutes.

"Geez," Ben said, as her crying subsided. "I feel like I took a shower with my clothes on."

Gennie chuckled in spite of herself.

"Would you like breakfast?" he asked. "I'll order some for you."

"No, I can't eat right now."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I can't eat knowing Rory's...you know..." She let a low sob.

Ben held her and patted her back. "Nothing can be done about that now. Besides, he'd want you to eat. You need to keep your strength up."

"But..."

"Hey, no buts about it. If something had happened to you, would you want Rory to stop eating because you were gone?"

Of course not."

"See? Come on, let's get you some breakfast."

Gennie ordered a piece of toast, an egg, and a glass of orange juice. She was relieved when they came. It made things seem so normal, even though they weren't.

At eight o'clock, the doctor examined her and determined that she was well enough to go home from the hospital. She dressed in the clothes Ben brought from her home and was wheeled to Ben's car wearing one of his hooded sweatshirts, in case there were photographers wanting to take her picture. The car was waiting just outside the entrance. She left with a bottle filled with Valium, one of which she took immediately.

"Michele can't wait to see you," Ben said.

Gennie wasn't in the mood for talking. She felt like she had been pulled through a wringer several times.

"It's all right," Ben replied in response to her silence. "You take it easy."

When they pulled up to her house, Michele peeked out through the kitchen window and opened the door.

"Mommy!" she cried.

"Hi, sweetheart," Gennie said. She walked up to the door and held her daughter tight. "God, I missed you."

"I missed you too."

"How are Grandma and Grandpa taking care of you?"

"Good. Grandma made me chocolate chip pancakes today."

"That sounds yummy." She was glad her in-laws were keeping Michele busy and happy.

"Grandma's making cookies now. Wanna see how they're doing?"

"Sure," Gennie replied. She took her daughter's hand and they went inside.

Carla was keeping herself very occupied. Wax paper covered the counters and cookies filled half of them.

"Hello, Mrs. Fox," Ben said. "Mind if I have a cookie?"

"Not at all," she said. "Help yourself."

"Can I have one, Grandma?" Michele asked.

"Of course. I made them for you, sweetie."

Gennie didn't know what to do or say, so she let Carla speak first.

"Do you want one too, Gennie?" she asked.

"Maybe later," she replied.

"How are you doing?"

"Uh...I don't know. Trying to keep myself together, I guess."

There was an awkward silence. Carla nodded in empathy.

"Well...don't worry about a thing. I cleaned the whole house. Eugene's taking care of all the arrangements. If there's any reporters or news people that come by, I'll tell them you have no comment. You just relax and play with Michele."

"All right," Gennie said tiredly.

The valium kicked in about a half hour later and Gennie retired to her bedroom. Carla did a good job of cleaning the house. There wasn't a speck of dirt or a sign of Rory anywhere. All his personal effects were gone. Gennie opened their closet and peeked inside. His end was nothing more than bare walls. Even the hangers had disappeared. He had been erased from her life.

Gennie collapsed on the bed. How was she going to make it without him? She wasn't worried about money. Rory had a half million-dollar life insurance policy and Gennie could always get a job when that ran out. She was more worried about being alone. Life without him was going to be a nightmare. She'd never be able to replace him, not that she wanted to. There was only one Rory Fox in the entire world and now he was gone.

Tears streamed down her cheeks before she fell asleep.

Chapter 56: June 2

Eugene arranged a memorial service in Los Angeles for all the friends Rory made in Hollywood. The reporters who gathered outside the funeral home were surprisingly respectful and kept their distance. Luckily, they were more interested in talking to Serena Smith then to her. The parts of the funeral Gennie could remember went beautifully. A week later, there was a service in San Francisco for Rory's family and his friends from school. It was like every other funeral, except there was no casket and no burial. The only things found at the crash site were the charred remains of the helmet he was wearing and his watch. It was as if he disappeared into thin air.

Gennie kept herself sedated so she wouldn't cry. When she was aware of what was going on, it seemed foggy and hazy, like a dream. She stayed at Ben and Annie's new condominium for about a week, sleeping in their guest bedroom with Michele.

On the next to last day of Gennie and Michele's stay, they visited Carla and Eugene. Carla announced they were having a guest over for dinner. Eugene told her it was an attorney they hired. The investigators examining the scene of the crash found the helicopter to be defective and Carla and Eugene decided to sue the manufacturer. Their new attorney was highly recommended by Eugene's friends. The lawyer was supposed to show up around five thirty.

Five thirty came and went but the lawyer never arrived.

Gennie looked at the flower shaped kitchen clock above the sink. "He must have gotten sidetracked about something or forgot about us."

"Let's just eat," Eugene said. "I'm starving."

"It's not very polite to do that," Carla replied.

"I know," Gennie said, "but it's also not polite to blow someone off when you promised to show up, especially around dinnertime."

"She's got a point there," Eugene added.

Despite Carla's misgivings, dinner, which was chicken a la king, was served. After dinner, Gennie was putting the dirty dishes in the dishwasher when the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it," Eugene said. "Must be the lawyer."

The attorney entered the kitchen. Surprisingly, it was a woman. She wore a tailored jacket with a wide collar, a matching skirt and a ruffled red blouse. Four-inch heels and a leather briefcase completed the ensemble. Even her Dorothy Hamil like pixie cut was stylish. The only thing that gave her away was her thick large brown glasses. Gennie knew exactly who she was.

"Miss Goodman, this is my wife, Carla, and my daughter in law, Gennie."

"Nice to meet you both," Page shook both their hands with her own manicured one. She didn't show any signs of recognizing Gennie. "I'm sorry I'm so late. I had a lot of business to take care of at the office. So, if we may, let's get down to business and see if there's a case here."

She opened her briefcase and pulled out a legal pad and a fountain pen. She asked a series of questions, mostly pertaining to the accident. She asked Gennie several questions about Rory's earnings.

"There is most definitely a case here and you could get big money for this," Page said. "Based on Rory Fox's future earnings, my guess is at least five million dollars. I believe a jury could award you as much as ten million, so it would be best to sue for at least fifteen. Does that sound like a fair amount to all of you?"

Page was talking about the fifteen million like was spare change. "Sure," Eugene replied, looking flabbergasted.

"Great," Page said, closing her briefcase. "My secretary will be in contact with you. I guarantee this company will pay for causing your son's death."

"Would you like some dinner, Miss Goodman?" Carla asked. "We just finished eating and we have plenty left over."

"Well, I'm very busy right now," Page said, "but, on the other hand, it does smell delicious. Do you mind if I take some with me?"

"Oh, of course not," Carla replied.

Carla put the rest of the chicken a la king in a small orange Tupperware bowl and gave it to Page.

"I'll return this tomorrow," Page said. "I know how expensive Tupperware can be."

"Don't worry about it," Carla replied.

"Did you know she was in love with Rory?" Gennie said, after they said goodbye to Page and closed the door.

Carla and Eugene were shocked. "When did she know Rory?" Carla asked.

"In college," Gennie replied. "She was in the dart club with us."

"She didn't seem to recognize you," Carla said. "And she must have known who we are."

"Maybe she forgot," Eugene replied. "She probably has so many clients that they all seem like one and the same to her."

"Yeah, probably," Gennie said. "Well, at least she's doing well." Page probably thought Rory's death was a wish come true. Obviously, fate had avenged her.

Gennie sighed and went into the living room. The valium was kicking in again and she wanted desperately to go back to bed.

Chapter 57: June 4

The next morning, Carla woke Gennie up.

"Your friend called. She wants to speak to you."

Gennie turned around in bed and looked at the alarm clock.

"It's eight in the morning!" she grumbled.

"I know, but she said it was important."

"All right," Gennie replied, forcing herself to get up. Her head felt like it had a thousand bricks on it.

It seemed to take forever to reach the only telephone in the house, which was in the kitchen.

"Why can't you just talk to my mother-in-law?" Gennie asked Page, her irritation rising.

"I'm sorry to wake you up so early, but I had no time to call you at my office and sometimes I don't get home until ten at night."

"It's time for you to get a life then."

Surprisingly, Page laughed. "Well, you haven't changed much. What I wanted to ask you is...would you like to go out to dinner sometime? Maybe this weekend?"

"I'm leaving tomorrow."

"Is it possible for you to delay that by a couple of days? I'd really like to see you."

Gennie sighed. She didn't have a job yet and Michele would only be missing one more day of school, so she supposed it wouldn't make much of a difference. "All right."

"How about I make reservations for seven o'clock Saturday night at Michele's?"

"That's my brother's restaurant, you know."

"That's why I chose it. I wanted you to be someplace familiar."

"Okay. I'll see you then." Gennie hung up the phone.

"What was that about?" Carla asked.

"Page invited me to dinner. She wants to catch up on old times. Obviously, she did recognize me. Michele and I are going to be staying a few extra days because of that. I hope you don't mind."

"Of course not."

"I'm going back to bed," Gennie said. "It's too damn early."

"Do you want me to wake you up in an hour?" Carla asked. "I'm making French toast."

"All right," Gennie replied. "I should be conscious by then."

Gennie didn't quite know how to dress to have dinner with Page. In the old days, she would have just thrown on a clean t-shirt and jeans. Now, Page was a professional woman and she had undergone a dramatic makeover in the wardrobe department. She decided to go shopping and picked out a black and white tunic with a cowl collar and black pants. As much as she hated wearing heels, she picked out a pair of two-inch black pumps with little bows on them.

At the restaurant, she was treated like a V.I.P. The host seated her right away. About five minutes later, Page showed up.

She was dressed more casually than she was when Gennie last saw her. Still, it was a vast improvement over what she used to look like. She wore blue polyester bellbottoms and a very fitted blue and white striped dress shirt.

"Hello stranger," she said, holding out her arms.

"Hi Page," Gennie replied, standing up. She was a little reluctant to embrace her, but she decided to give her a quick hug.

Page sat down and opened the drink menu. "How are you doing?"

"I'm doing...okay, I guess," Gennie replied. "How about you?"

"I'm so busy my head's spinning," Page said. "I even went into work today. I feel like a slave to the law."

Gennie couldn't help but smile.

"So, what are you doing with yourself?" Page asked.

"I mostly stay at home," Gennie said.

"You? Mrs. Happy Homemaker? No way!"

"Well, I also refurbish old cars, mostly as a hobby."

"I didn't think you could avoid being a total grease monkey."

"No, the grease monkey in me is alive and well."

A waiter approached them. "Would you ladies like anything to drink?"

"I'll have a martini on the rocks," Page replied.

Gennie perused the drink menu quickly. "I'll have a coke and rum."

There was an awkward silence between them for a few moments after the waiter left.

"You know..." Page finally said, "when I heard what happened, I was totally devastated. I've been thinking about you all the time since then."

"Thanks."

"I can't imagine what you must be going through. When I lost my cat Jay-Jay last year, I was a complete basket case for a month. It must be so much worse for you."

"Yeah, it is," Gennie said tiredly.

"I know we didn't part on the best of terms..."

"No, we didn't."

"Well, I thought you would like to know that what I did back then was the stupidest thing I've ever done in my life. I wanted to get in touch with you for the longest time, but I didn't know where in the heck you were."

"You could have asked my brother."

"I was afraid he would spit in my face and tell me to go screw myself."

"He wouldn't have done that."

"Anyway, I was an A-1 asshole ten years ago and I'm sorry."

"I forgave you a long time ago."

"Would you like to be friends again?"

"I wouldn't be here if I didn't."

"Great. I'm so glad that's settled."

The waiter appeared with their drinks and asked them what they wanted to eat.

"I heard the filet mignon is excellent here," Page said. "So, I'll have that, medium well, please."

Gennie ordered the same thing.

"I'm curious," Gennie said after the waiter left. "How did you end up becoming a lawyer? I thought you were supposed to be some kind of activist."

"There really isn't much to activate against anymore," Page replied. "The war's over. Nixon's out. And I had sex with everyone in that crowd. I decided years ago that my energies would be put to better use going after big business...sticking their nose in the mess they made and having them pay up for the damage they've caused the little guy. I seem to be pretty good at it too. I haven't lost a single case so far."

"My father-in-law told me that."

"Yeah, that's why I have enough work to last me until 2013. Word of mouth spreads really quick."

"Are you married?"

"No," Page replied. "I used to date a ton of guys, but none were really marriage material, you know. And now, I don't have time. I barely have enough minutes in the day to water my houseplants never mind cater to some guy."

"Well, at least you have a booming career. Mine ended before it even began."

"You were fired?"

"No...I quit. Not officially though."

"You went AWOL?"

"Yeah, I had to. I walked out and never went back."

"Big problems there?"

"Yeah, you could say that." Tears sprang to her eyes. "I was...attacked."

"As in raped?"

Gennie nodded.

Page grabbed her hand. "Some guys are assholes. They take what they want even though it isn't theirs. There's nothing you could have done to change that."

"I know," Gennie said quietly. She wiped her eyes with a linen napkin.

"But guess what? What comes around goes around. The prick that did that to you is probably in jail by now."

"I didn't even know who he was. I didn't see his face."

"Well, there's only so long he can get away with doing that. He's going to mess with the wrong person someday and he'll be sorry."

"I hope so," Gennie said. "I didn't even have a chance to make something of myself before he took it all away."

"You can start over. Why don't you move back here and get another job?"

"I'll have to think about that when I'm not on tranquilizers."

"You probably should get off of those soon."

"I should...but they're the only thing right now that's keeping me from going to the loony bin."

"By the way, how is your daughter doing?"

"A lot better than I am. I've been so worried about her. She saw the accident too. She seems to be coping really well, though. Rory's parents have been taking care of her for the most part and I think that's helped her a lot."

"How old is she?"

"Eight."

"Very impressionable age. You'll have to keep an eye on her, watch out for nightmares, things like that."

"She hasn't had any that I know of, but I've been in a semi-comatose state for the past month."

The waiter arrived with their filet mignons in hand. When Gennie cut a piece and tasted it, she found it to be tender and seasoned to perfection. Not that she was surprised, since Master Chef Ben probably cooked it.

When the bill arrived, Page pulled out a Master Charge card out of her wallet and handed it to the waiter.

"How much was my part of the meal?" Gennie asked.

"They comped it," Page said.

"I could have paid for your half though."

"Don't worry about it. I make forty thousand dollars a year. I can afford to pay for dinner."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure," Page replied. The waiter handed her the credit receipt and Page signed it. He looked very happy when she handed it back to him.

"I gave him a forty percent tip," Page explained, as the waiter strode away. "The meal came up to twelve dollars so that would make it..."

"Four dollars and eighty cents."

"You're right, Einstein. Geez, why don't you get yourself another job? We need more people like you."

"Well, I probably will eventually, but it's been years and I'm worried about Michele."

"She's in school, right?"

"Yes."

"No problem, then. Work during school hours."

"But what about the summer?"

"Get a babysitter or better yet, move back up here. That way, you have family to help you and besides, that'll mean we can hang out more often."

"I'll have to think about that."

"Don't think about it...do it!"

"Wow, you really haven't changed much, have you?"

"They don't call me a shark for nothing, you know?"

"You're a shark with a soft side though."

"Ohhh...that's so sweet I think I'm going to puke."

They both chuckled. For one moment, Gennie felt like they were back in college again.

Chapter 58: February 1, 1979

Returning to Los Angeles was hard. The more Gennie thought about it, the more she wanted to move back to San Francisco. Everybody she knew was there, most people's heads were screwed on just a little more tightly, plus it was safer and more family friendly. She subscribed to the _San Francisco Examiner_ , so she could peruse the classifieds for job openings. When she gathered about twenty-five different prospects, she bought herself a used IBM Selectric at Goodwill and typed out her resume. She wished she had paid a little more attention to typing class in high school, because it was a slow and frustrating process. When she managed to produce a mistake free resume, she went to a print shop and had twenty-five copies made of it. Then she sent them off to each company. She had no idea the whole process would take over a year and a half. When she received a call for an interview, she left Michele with the next-door neighbor and drove up to San Francisco. She did this twelve times and none of them ever called her back.

On New Year's Eve 1979, she and Michele watched as the giant crystal ball dropped in Times Square on their TV. Gennie decided she should probably start focusing her job search in L.A. There seemed to more opportunities for the kind of work she was looking for here and besides, she was getting nowhere in San Francisco.

She had the _Los Angeles Times_ delivered to her door and every day she searched the listings for job openings. There wasn't very much she was interested in, but she circled any listing she thought she had a chance at. It was the end of January when she found an ad that piqued her interest.

_Technicians needed for set of new television series starting this fall,_ it read _. Looking for anyone w/electrical, computer and/or mechanical skills. Salary starting at 14k w/benefits._

Even though it was less than she made at her former job, it sounded awfully interesting. She was hoping that some of the people in the new series worked on _In Pursuit_. Maybe they would put in a good word for her. She'd have to inquire about the hours though. Rory's hours on set were usually long and odd and that might be the case for this show too. She sent a copy of her resume in the mail the next day. About three days later, she received a call.

"Is this Genevieve Perrin-Fox?" the female voice asked.

"Yes, it is," Gennie replied.

"Mr. Marr would like to set up an interview with you. What time would be the most convenient?"

"Any time before 3 pm," Gennie replied.

Gennie heard the lady turning pages of an appointment book. "Mr. Marr is free tomorrow at 11 o'clock. Is that good for you?"

Gennie was surprised that the interview was so soon. "Yes, definitely," she replied.

"Let me pencil you in, then. All right, do you know where the office is?"

Gennie wasn't sure, so the secretary gave her directions. When she hung up the phone, excitement coursed through her. She even found herself jumping up and down. Erik Marr was the production designer on Rory's show. She would probably be guaranteed a job, even if it were more out of sympathy than the fact that she was qualified to do it.

The next day she showed up at a small white brick office building in Studio City wearing an outfit she hadn't dug out of the closet since her career girl days. She hoped it didn't look too dated.

Erik Marr smiled warmly and shook her hand when she entered his office.

"I remember you," he said. "You're Rory's wife. How is everything going?"

"Oh...I don't know."

"I know what you mean. Honestly, I felt like I had lost my own son when I saw the helicopter crash. I can't imagine what you went through."

"I can barely remember it."

"As much as the network wanted to make it water under the bridge and just replace him with another actor, nobody on the show felt it was right."

"I agree with you," Gennie replied. "I don't think it would have done as well with another actor."

"He was a rising star, that kid," Erik said. "If he had another ten years...he would have been huge."

Gennie lowered her head.

"Oh...I'm sorry about that. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

She sighed. "It's all right. At least he was doing what he loved."

Tears sprouted from Gennie's eyes. Erik placed a tissue in her hand she wiped them away.

"So how is your little girl?"

"She's doing pretty well. She just started guitar lessons."

"Oh, so she wants to be a musician?"

"Or a vet. She just adores animals."

"I'm so happy she's doing great. I read that Rory's family is suing the company that made the helicopter. How's the law suit going?"

"Their lawyer is gathering up all the evidence and doing some research. She said with all the backlog of cases and legal red tape, going to trial could be years away. She said if it they were in court in the next two years, she would be surprised."

"So I guess you need some extra income, huh?"

"I was going to move back to San Francisco but I haven't been able to find a job there. I saw your ad in the paper and it looked very interesting."

"So you want be part of the crew?"

"Yes."

"Well, you're dressed up a little too well for that. Most of us, except for the set designer, hang out in t-shirts and ripped jeans."

Gennie breathed a sigh of relief. "That's great because I hate dressing up every day. My last job was white collar and I wasn't sure how to dress up for this interview so I figured it would be best to make a good impression."

"So, I looked at your resume. What do you think makes you qualified to work on our team?"

"Well, I know a whole lot about cars and as I put in my resume, I have a bachelor's degree in engineering, so I do know a little bit about other kinds of machinery too, including computers. I did a lot of blueprints and drafting in my old job so I think that would come in handy in this line of work. I make money right now refurbishing old cars and then reselling them, so I have plenty of spare parts. If you need a certain kind of vehicle for the show, I have a lot of connections in that respect."

Erik nodded. "I need someone like you because I don't know dittly squat about any of this stuff. But the kicker here is that this new show, _Tech 2014,_ is going to require all sorts of gadgets and whatnot, plus a motorcycle and a car that can do everything except give you a blow job. The viewers out there are more sophisticated than they were ten years ago. If it doesn't look realistic, we'll lose them, because this show is going to have a lot of sci-fi elements to it. Probably most of the guys who'll watch this show will be nerds with no social life to speak of. We don't them turning back to _Charlie's Angels_ so they can drool over Farrah Fawcett. You know what I mean?"

"Yes, I do."

"Now, originally _Tech 2014_ was going to set in the present time, but the writers decided at the last minute to put it thirty-five years into future, so that gives us a little more leeway to put in some more of those fantastical widgets, but we still have to have some smidgen of realism. It's got to be something that is technically possible to do in that period of time. The set can't look too out there or too kitschy. You said you had experience in mechanics and design. I think you would be a good addition to the props department. You would work with the other prop people to come up with the gadgets. I have one prop master so far and his expertise is in furnishings. I would probably have you concentrating on the car and the motorcycle, but of course, you'd be working in concert with the other people in the art department to come up with cool stuff for the show."

"It sounds fascinating."

"You'd think you'd be interested in something like that? The pay's not that great, but the hours are very flexible. You'll probably need to be on set in case something comes up, but we plan to shoot during the day and you can take your daughter with you if she's not in school. You may have a couple of deadlines, but basically you can do most of your work where and when you want. You'll probably meet with the other prop masters once or twice a week, but you guys can work that out among yourselves."

"That's what I was most concerned about," Gennie said. "I was hoping it didn't require nights and weekends away from home."

"No, it shouldn't, but if it does, you can take your daughter with you. No shoots are planned that would take you far away either. So, do you want the job?"

"Yes, definitely."

"Well, it's yours, then. You'll be our assistant props master."

"I'm hired? Just like that?"

"Sure!"

"Thank you so much, Mr. Marr! I really appreciate it!"

"You can call me Erik. By the way, it's nice to see you smile."

"Oh, thanks."

"Welcome to our team, Gennie. I'm not sure when you can start because there are still a lot of empty positions left to fill. They haven't even gotten the female lead cast yet. So, I'll call and let you know. But, in the meantime, try to come up with some designs for a motorcycle and a car. They have to look a little futuristic, but not too much so. They've got to be something people can imagine themselves driving."

"I'll see what I can do."

"Great. I'll talk to you soon."

"Thanks, Erik." She stood up and shook hands with him.

When Gennie left the office building, she was practically walking on air. The job seemed so fascinating. She was sure she was going to love it. Also, Erik was a sweetheart. She remembered Rory telling her what a great guy he was.

At first, Gennie felt guilty when her thoughts turned to Rory, but perhaps, he was behind all this. Maybe that's why she couldn't get a job in San Francisco. He wanted her to work in the industry he loved the most, alongside people he regarded as family.

She looked up into the sky, which was bright blue with puffy clouds here and there.

"Thank you," she said.

Chapter 59: February 2

Gennie spent the entire night after the interview trying to draw some concepts for a motorcycle and a car. She wished she had a drafting table and equipment, so she could have something professional looking to show Erik. She was a lousy artist doing anything freehand, but with only a number two pencil and Michele's crayons, she did the best she could.

She tried to imagine what a motorcycle would look like in 2014. From her experience helping to design the F1 car in college, she surmised that it would be as aerodynamic as possible. She started sketching what she thought would be a very fast motorcycle. She drew something that looked like a bird with its wings folded. The front was long and tapered and got progressively narrower. Gennie colored the bike bright red and drew a yellow thunderbolt across it's body. Her rendering wasn't impressive, but Gennie thought the idea of it was a good one.

The car was a bit harder. Gennie didn't know whether to base her idea on a Trans-Am, a Thunderbird or a gull-wing Mercedes. She drew pictures based on all three. Gennie imagined that by that time just about every part of a car would be some type of molded plastic, probably Kevlar or carbon fiber, so she drew the cars using a French curve stencil, trying to form them into a teardrop shape.

She called Erik the next day and asked if she could stop by briefly at his office. Even though she was exhausted, she arrived at Erik's office twenty minutes after she called him and showed him her sketches.

"I'm sorry for the hack job," Gennie said, "but I wanted to know what you think about them."

"Actually, I wasn't expecting such elaborate drawings." He studied the sketches carefully. "All I can say is...I'm impressed and all I can ask is...why the hell aren't you working for GM? I would die to get a car like one of these."

"It would probably be too expensive right now to mass produce cars like this," Gennie explained, "but maybe not in the future."

"These are amazing," Erik said. "Ready for your next assignment?"

"Sure."

"Write a proposal about how you would go about making vehicles like this. What kind of materials would go into them? What much would it cost? The suits need to know."

"Well..." Gennie said, "that could be a challenge."

"Are these designs feasible?"

"Yes, definitely, but how much are they willing to pay?"

"Don't tell anybody I said this, but money is no object with those people. The network has blown a ton on this series already and we've barely gotten started. They wouldn't blink an eye if you said it would be in the six figures."

"I could propose a slightly cheaper way to make them."

"How?"

"Instead of building all the vehicles from the ground up, we just have the body made. See, this motorcycle...its engine is completely concealed. Honestly, we could use any old bike, though a sports bike would be best. We get a plastic cover made, possibly with chrome fittings, snap it on to the bike and we're good to go."

"And you would propose the same thing for the cars?"

"Yes. These designs are based on cars that exist today. We make a plastic body, put it on a chassis and that's it. No one will know the difference."

"I never would have thought of that. That'll save everybody a lot of money. Maybe that the extra dough will go into increasing our salaries."

"That would be nice. I was thinking, maybe I could try and contact a company that makes custom plastic molds, though I imagine they'd want something a little more polished and detailed than what I gave you."

"Well, I guess you'll need to get yourself a drafting table and supplies."

"Unfortunately, I don't have the money for those things right now."

"Don't worry; you won't have to pay for it. Get some catalogs and order whatever you like. It'll be part of the show's budget."

"Am I dreaming or is this the best job in the world?"

"No, you're not dreaming," Erik replied. "It's all real."

Chapter 60: March 2

While Michele was at school, Gennie worked on the blueprints for the plastic body. The network acquired a brand new Trans-Am. Gennie measured every part of the car, so the plastic body would fit neatly over the original one. About a month later, she met Erik at the studio where the network filmed most of their shows and he introduced her to 'the suits', a group of about a dozen impeccably dressed men ranging in age from forty to about seventy. He also introduced her to the four writers of _Tech 2014_ , who were busy brainstorming ideas in a cramped conference room, and one of the stars, Damien Davidson, who happened to be making a guest appearance on another show. Damien used to be the star of a cop show in the sixties. Gennie had never watched his show personally, but had seen him while flipping through channels. He hadn't changed much in ten years; he still was very pale with straight closely cropped black hair. He was shorter and thinner than he appeared on TV. He gave her a slight smile and studied her with piercing black eyes.

There was a young man with him that she did not recognize. He looked a lot like Damien except he had an olive complexion and his dark hair was longer.

"Gennie, this is Damien's son Peter. He's going to be helping us on the set."

Peter smiled brightly and extended his hand. He shook Gennie's hand vigorously when she offered it, which surprised her, since his father seemed so reserved.

"Are you going to be Jacqui?" he asked, smiling mischievously.

"Oh no," Erik said. "She's one of the props people. She's designing the cars and motorcycles on the new show."

"I think she should be one of the stars," Peter said, looking her up and down. "She's pretty hot!"

Gennie felt herself blush.

"Pete, for godsakes..." Damien said, sounding exasperated.

"Sorry, but I can't help it. She's extremely sexy."

Damien punched him in the shoulder.

"Hey! What was that all about!"

"You need to start acting like a normal human being."

"Okay! I'll stop!"

"Peter knows a lot about cars and motorcycles, so I'll think he'll be very helpful to you," Erik said, looking uncomfortable.

"Yeah, I have like sixteen motorcycles and four cars at home in our garage," Peter said.

"Don't brag!" Damien hissed.

"I wasn't bragging. I just said I have sixteen motorcycles."

They all talked for a few more minutes. When Peter said good-bye to her he grabbed her hand and squeezed it.

"Damien's son is awfully forward, isn't he?" Gennie said to Erik after they left the TV studio.

"Don't mind him, he's just girl crazy. Anyway, do you want me to buy you lunch? I don't know about you, but I'm getting hungry."

"Oh, you don't have to do that."

"What if I insist?"

"Well...all right."

"Do you mind if the casting director comes along?"

"Oh no, not at all."

They went to the casting studio. Ironically, the role that was being auditioned for that day was for Jacqui. There was a line of about two hundred girls going out the door of the casting studio. Some of them looked much too young for the role.

The casting director, Gregory Anconi, looked very relieved to take a break.

"You've got a lot of blondes," Erik said to Gregory.

"Well, this is Hollywood, you know," Gregory replied sarcastically.

"I don't see what the big deal about hair color is," Gennie said. "They can always dye it."

"Most of these girls were born brunette," Gregory said to her. "But I'm not looking for the kind of girl who dyes her hair. I think the Jacqui character is a very natural type, do you know what I mean?"

Gennie nodded.

"There's nobody natural in this town, Greg," Erik said.

About twenty more girls entered the studio complex as they left it. They all looked the same to Gennie. They were thin, blonde and beautiful.

Greg put his head in his hands as they drove away. "God, what a disaster. We're behind schedule as it is. I don't think I'll ever get someone to play Jacqui."

"She'll come along when you least expect it probably," Gennie replied.

"Yeah, like while I'm out to lunch with both of you. So, where are we headed to, Erik?"

"How about the Casual Gourmet?"

"Hmmm...I've never been there. How is it?"

"It's pretty damn fantastic, in my opinion."

"Well, I can't wait to try it."

Even though it was very busy, they managed to get the first available table.

"Some of this food sounds delicious," Gregory said, glancing at the menu.

Gennie was deciding what she was going to have when someone tapped her on the shoulder. When she looked up, she saw it was Peter.

"Hey, what are you guys up to?" he asked.

"What do you think?" Erik replied, sounding slightly annoyed.

"Are you on a date?" Peter asked Erik.

"Yeah, with me," Greg said chuckling. "Actually, nobody's dating anybody here. It's just a business lunch."

"Oh, okay."

"Are you with your dad?" Gennie asked.

"No, my dad doesn't take me anywhere like this. Actually, I'm sitting with Fallon Murray. I met her backstage at the studio and she invited me here along with a bunch of her friends. She's pretty cute and she looks like a good lay so I said yes."

"Oh okay," Erik said. It was obvious he wanted Peter to leave.

"You can come over to our table if you get bored," Peter said to Gennie.

"I assure you she won't," Erik said, the irritation showing in his voice.

Peter shrugged his shoulders and then sauntered off to a table near the back of the restaurant.

Gennie took a liking to Peter. He seemed like he was charming and charismatic. She wondered why he wasn't into acting like his father. He probably could be one. Maybe he was too naïve. He seemed like the type who would get into trouble if he got involved with the wrong crowd. For some reason, Gennie couldn't keep her eyes off him. They were both within eyeshot of each other and they often locked gazes while at the restaurant. Sometimes he smiled and waved at her. Perhaps she was staring at him because he had star quality.

Gregory did most of the talking at the table, while Erik stayed silent. The few times she looked at him, he seemed either pensive or annoyed.

"Are you okay?" she asked him when they left the restaurant.

"Yeah, sure," he said, though it was obvious he wasn't.

"Were you thinking about Stacy?" Greg asked.

"Yeah, I guess so," Erik replied. "This place was one of our favorites. I thought with both of you there it would be okay, but it wasn't."

"Oh I'm so sorry," Gennie said. "I probably should have talked to you more. I was a bit distracted."

"Yes, Peter the Wonder Boy can do that to people."

Gregory laughed heartily, though Gennie didn't think Erik was making a joke.

"He's jealous of you!" Gregory replied.

"Oh my god, he's just a kid!" Gennie said. "Besides, it looks like he's already attached to that Fallon girl. I'm sure he'll get over his little crush on me soon."

Erik looked relieved to hear that. They drove back to the studio where they left Gregory outside the entrance.

"It was nice meeting you, Gennie," he said to her.

"You too. I hope you find your Jacqui soon."

Then Erik got on the Ventura Freeway and drove Gennie home.

"Is it okay if I give you a hug?" he asked shyly after he walked her to her door.

"Yeah, sure," she said. It felt nice to be held again.

"Well, I have to get back to work now. I have a meeting with the set designer in a half hour. Give me a call when those parts are ready. Peter can help you do the heavy lifting and attach them to the car."

"I'll see you later," Gennie replied. When Gennie walked into her house, she wondered if Erik was attracted to her. Maybe Gregory was right. He _was_ jealous.

Chapter 61: April 8

It was nine o'clock in the morning and a perfect day. Gennie was struggling in her front yard, trying to get the lawn mower to run. She wished it had an automatic ignition, like a car. She didn't have quite enough arm strength to pull the starter. Though outside work didn't intimidate her, she usually left most of it, especially this task, to Rory.

"Goddamn it," she cursed under her breath, "can't they make these things easier to operate?"

Gathering up all her strength, she pulled the starter as hard as she could, using both hands. She rejoiced when she heard the engine roar, but then, just as quickly, it sputtered out. Gennie felt her whole body fill with rage.

"You son of a bitch!" she yelled at it. "Why can't you just run? My yard is starting to look like the friggin' Serengeti! People are going to think this house is abandoned and have it boarded up!"

"Is this machine bothering you?" A familiar voice behind her said.

She turned around and was mortified to see Peter standing in her driveway. He looked gorgeous, while she, covered in sweat and wearing a ratty t-shirt and jeans, looked like her own mower ran over her.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Just doing," he replied sheepishly. "How about you?"

"I'm having a very crappy day," Gennie said.

"That's too bad," Peter remarked. "Want me to help you with that?"

Though Gennie didn't want to be assisted, she felt like she was at the end of her rope. "All right."

Peter didn't look strong enough to get the mower running either, but to Gennie's surprise, with one quick flick of his arm, the motor was humming.

"Oh thank you," Gennie said. "I never thought I'd get this thing going."

Gennie grabbed the handlebar and was about to push it when Peter stopped her.

"I'll do it for you," he said.

"Huh?"

"I'm going to mow your lawn for you."

"You don't have to do that. It's not your job."

"But I'm going to." Without waiting for Gennie's response, he pushed the mower forward and proceeded to cut down the foot high grass.

Gennie watched him for the whole fifteen minutes it took him to mow the yard. As stupid as she felt about it, she had to admit to herself that she thought he was really cute.

When he was done, she felt like she owed him something.

"I can give you some money," she said. "My purse is in the house."

"No, don't do that!" he replied.

"Well, how about...something to drink then?"

"Sure! That's more like it."

They entered the sliding patio door on the side of the house and stepped into her kitchen.

"What do you want? I've got iced tea, beer-"

"A beer would be great!"

He sat at the breakfast bar and she handed him a bottle of Corona Extra and a glass tumbler. He ignored the glass and guzzled the beer straight out of the bottle.

She wasn't sure what to say to him.

"So...what brings you to this part of town?"

He looked a little taken aback by the question.

"Uhh...well...I was visiting a friend."

"Oh," Gennie replied, not convinced at all.

"Really I am," he said. "Is it against the law for me to visit my friend?"

"I didn't say it was."

"Well, you gave me this look that my mom gives me when I come home from a date with a hickey on my neck and I tell her it's an insect bite."

Gennie smiled wryly at that comment. "Smart woman, your mom."

"I'm not stalking you, honest."

"Uh-huh...and pigs can fly, right?"

"I just want to get to know you better, that's all. You seem like a really cool person. Maybe we can be friends or something."

"All right, but that's as far as it goes."

Peter took another swig of his beer. "I know what you're thinking and you're wrong. I have tons of friends who are girls and I haven't slept with them. Like Tanja...who I've known since I was a kid and we never...okay, maybe once. Or maybe Tiffany...she was the daughter of the lady that my family got Harley, our dog, from and we...oh yeah, we did do it. Oh wait, there was Maria...she worked for us as a maid. We didn't do it, technically, but..."

"Okay, I've heard enough. You've had sex with every girl you've met. Well, it stops here. I'm not a girl and you're not going to get any action from me."

"Sure you're a girl!"

"Not in that way."

"Yeah and what's your point?"

"You're too young for me."

"I don't care how old you are."

"If I was dating, which I'm not, I would only go out with people my own age."

"What if I was your age?"

"Erik told me you were eighteen years old."

"What if he's lying?"

"He isn't."

"He likes you, you know."

"I know. We've become really good friends lately. He's helped me out a lot."

"No, not like that. He _likes_ you. He doesn't want me to come around and take you away, so he told you I was too young. But that might not be true."

"If it's not true, let me see your drivers' license then."

"I don't have it on me."

Gennie scoffed. "Every man in the entire universe carries his license on him all the time!"

"All right!" Peter burst out in exasperation. "You got me. I am eighteen, but so what? Age is only a number, they say."

"You need to grow up first. I already have a child. I don't need another one.

Gennie thought that would turn him off to her right away. Instead, it piqued his interest.

"No way! I love kids! I always wanted a little brother or sister, but you know...it's complicated. How old is she?"

"She's going to be ten in June."

"Well, my baby, Harley, is going to be seven months old tomorrow. How about I bring him over next week and she can play with him? Kids always go gaga over him."

"Yeah, I guess that would be okay," Gennie replied.

"So, what about your family? You got any brothers or sisters?"

"Well, I have a twin brother. He owns a restaurant in San Francisco. It's called Michele's."

"Is he older or younger than you?"

"Older, but not by much, of course."

"Is he a good cook?"

"Yeah, very."

They said nothing for a while.

"Are you pissed that I came over here?" he asked.

"No, of course not," she replied, "but I was surprised. I thought you were busy with that other girl."

"What other girl? You mean Fallon? She's nice but she has nothing on you."

"You're kidding, right?"

"Nope, and guess what...I know you have the hots for me too."

"Um, I don't."

"Then why are you always staring at me then? You were staring at me at the restaurant and then you stared at me while I was mowing your lawn. I know why you're acting all huffy around me. I didn't pay much attention in school when I was there, but I know girls. I can tell when they really like me. They act exactly the way you do."

"I like you," Gennie said calmly, "but I don't have a crush on you."

"Oh yeah...and birds can fly."

"They _do_ fly."

"You know what I mean!"

"Yeah, unfortunately, I do." She couldn't help but laugh.

"So just admit it already!"

"Okay...you're cute. And I think you have star quality. Honestly, I don't know why you're not an actor. You've been very useful to me so far in building the props, which honestly I wasn't expecting at all. If I was ten years younger, I might let myself have a crush on you."

"So you do want me. Closed case."

"It's case closed."

"Same thing."

Peter looked at his watch. "Oh damn...I gotta get moving."

"Okay," Gennie said. "You got a hot date or something?"

"Uh...sort of. No disrespect to you, of course, but I'm in high demand right now, you know. I have to take advantage of it."

"I don't care," Gennie replied, trying to sound casual. She did feel a pang of jealousy, though.

"Sure you do," Peter said, chuckling. Without prompting, he hugged her and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. "See you later."

He was gone as fast as he appeared. As much as she tried to deny it, she knew she was blushing like some airhead teenybopper.

_Get over it_ _Gennie,_ she reprimanded herself silently. _You're too old for this kind of crap._

But he made her so happy and she couldn't help herself. She thought he was the most beautiful man ever.

Chapter 62: April 15

Peter came over that weekend with his American Eskimo puppy, Harley. Michele was instantly enamored with the dog and played with him for hours. She also really liked Peter. Gennie had to admit he got along great with kids. During the show's pilot, Damien had to rescue a busload full of school kids that a crazed terrorist kidnapped. Even though the scene sounded exciting on paper, shooting it was very long and boring and the kids were understandably antsy. Peter managed to keep them entertained between takes. Before he went home that day, Peter invited her over to his house for Easter dinner.

Gennie imagined that dinner would be a formal occasion. Peter's mother was a well-known actress, known for dressing in extravagant and expensive designer clothes. Gennie didn't really have enough time to go shopping so she put on her best outfit, a fitted ankle length black dress with matching pumps. She put her hair up in a bun and for the first time in her life regretted not having her ears pierced. Pearl earrings would have really made the outfit. She put on a pearl necklace instead.

She dressed up Michele too. She had a knee length white dress with eyelet ruffles on the bottom and on the sleeves. Colleen gave it to her as a birthday present last year but Michele hadn't worn it until now. Gennie could tell she wasn't crazy about it by her deep pout, but she didn't say anything.

"We're not eating dinner with the President, you know," Michele said in an annoyed voice.

"No, we're having dinner with some famous people. They have money and always dress up, so we have to dress up too."

"Why can't we just be ourselves?"

"We are ourselves. We're just...a little more fancy, I guess."

"I don't like being fancy."

"Well, I don't either, but we have to make a good impression."

Then, Gennie heard a knock at the kitchen door. She went to open it. Michele was not far behind her.

She knew it was probably Peter, but she was surprised to see him in a dark brown suit, white shirt, and brown striped tie. There were a dozen red roses in his hand. He looked like he was going to the prom.

"These are for you," he said, handing the bouquet to Gennie. He looked down at Michele. "And I've got a present for you too."

Michele's eyes sparkled, something Gennie hadn't seen since Rory died.

He pulled a medium sized box out from underneath his arm that Gennie hadn't even noticed before and handed it to Michele.

"Can I open it now?" she asked him.

"Sure. That's what gifts are for, right?"

Michele tore the wrapping paper open. "Oh wow!" she exclaimed. It was a bright red portable tape player.

"Do you like The Village People?" he asked.

"Yeah!"

"Well, that's the tape inside the player. I figured you needed something to listen to."

Michele hugged him. "Thank you!" she cried. "That's the coolest gift I ever got in my life!"

"Thank you for the flowers," Gennie said in a more subdued manner. "You really didn't have to do this, you know."

"No, I didn't, but I wanted to. I like making people happy, especially two cute looking girls."

Michele was blushing probably as much as she was.

"You guys must be starving," he said. "Let's go get some dinner."

The Davidson family home was just as Gennie pictured it would be, a stately Spanish style mansion nestled in the Hollywood Hills. The front yard was terraced and there were flowers and statuary everywhere.

After Peter pulled into the very steep driveway, they entered a garage that looked like a showplace for expensive cars.

"The bikes are over there on the other wall," Peter said, pointing to a line of shiny motorcycles.

"This is unbelievable," Gennie said, looking around.

"This must be the biggest garage ever!" Michele said.

"Well, my dad likes classic cars and I like bikes. We needed a really big place to put them all," Peter replied.

From the garage, they entered the house, which was even more impressive. Gennie's entire home could have probably fit inside one of the rooms in the Davidson mansion. Peter introduced them to the house's staff, a cook and two maids. They were dressed in street clothes and Gennie probably wouldn't have been able to tell them apart from the guests, except that they wore white aprons over their clothes.

"Where's my folks?" Peter asked one of the maids.

"Your dad is in the great room reading the paper," One of the maids, who was around Gennie's age and had blonde bobbed hair, said, "and your mom is still upstairs getting ready."

"What's a great room?" Michele asked.

"It's better than a good room," Peter replied.

Michele giggled. "No really, what is it?"

"Well...it's sort of like a really big living room," Peter said, "except it doesn't have a TV in it."

"Where do you put your TV then?"

"In the okay room."

Michele burst out laughing.

"No actually, we have a den with a really big TV, then my parents and I have our own TV's in our bedrooms, in case we don't want to watch the same thing."

"Three TV's! Wow! You must be super rich!"

Gennie and Peter both laughed.

"Want to say hi to my dad?" Peter asked.

"Sure," Gennie replied.

They went into the great room where Damien's face was covered by a newspaper. He was dressed more conservatively than he usually was on the set, wearing dark green slacks, dark blue socks and leather loafers.

"Hey Dad," Peter said, "Gennie's here."

Damien's paper came down as soon as he said 'Gennie'.

"I hope you aren't dating," he said. Though he was smiling, his voice had a sarcastic edge. Gennie couldn't tell if he was joking or not.

"We're just friends," Gennie explained.

He then examined Michele as if he was looking at a strange object. "I forgot you had a kid. I hope she isn't hyperactive at all. We've got a lot of expensive stuff in here, you know."

"Dad!" Peter said.

"I won't break anything," Michele replied. "Promise."

"Good," Damien said, and went back to his newspaper.

Peter seemed visibly upset. "Let's go see Mom," he said, anger showing through his voice.

"Is Damien in a bad mood?" Gennie whispered, as they ascended the huge curving staircase. He never showed any emotion unless he was acting.

"No, he's probably just annoyed because he doesn't like being interrupted when he's reading the paper. Plus kids aren't allowed in that room."

They were on the landing when a woman came through one of a line of double doors. She had long curly blond hair and was wearing a tight fitting blue halter dress. She looked about thirty-five at the most, though Gennie knew she had to be a lot older than that. She had a body most teenagers would die for.

"So this is the friend you invited over for dinner?" she asked.

"Yep," Peter replied. "This is Gennie."

"Oh, nice to meet you, Gennie," her small bejeweled hand shook Gennie's own. "I'm Sherisse. You probably recognize me?"

It seemed more of a question than a statement. "Yes," Gennie replied. "You used to be in the movies."

A smile lit up her face. "That's right. How nice of you to remember. And who is this little one here?"

"I'm Michele," she said.

Sherisse bent down and shook Michele's hand. "It's very nice to meet you, Michele."

"So, you're a real movie star?" Michele asked.

"Oh yes, I was in a lot of movies. You probably don't know any of them. My last one was about fifteen years ago."

"I think I've seen you on TV, though."

"Oh yes, I'm TV all the time. You've probably seen me on a lot of shows."

Michele nodded. "Why aren't you in movies anymore?"

Sherisse's smile faded. "Well, when I had my son, it was very hard to do movies because I didn't want to travel and leave him at home, so I started doing TV. That way I could be home every night to tuck him into bed."

Gennie suspected that wasn't the actual reason, but she wasn't about to say anything about it.

"How is your father behaving himself?" Sherisse asked Peter.

"He's being miserable, as usual," Peter answered.

"Well, I'll go downstairs and slap some sense into him," she said. "You two make yourselves at home."

"By the way," Peter asked. "When will dinner by ready?"

"I have no idea," Sherisse replied. "I'm not the one making it. I'll tell the chef to let you know when it's ready."

"You want to go see my nanny?" Peter asked.

"You mean your grandma?" Michele said.

Peter chuckled. "No, she's a little young to be my grandma. She used to babysit me when I was little."

"Why is she still here? Do you still need babysitting?" Michele asked.

Peter smiled. "No, she does other stuff around the house now, but I still call her my nanny. Her room is right down the hall here."

Peter led them to another pair of solid oak doors and knocked on one of them.

"Is it okay to come in?" he asked.

"Yes, yes it is," a woman with a Spanish accent replied.

They entered a room with a fourteen-foot high ceiling. It was about the size of Gennie's living room and kitchen combined. In the far corner of the room was an oversized canopy bed, mahogany night stand and vanity that looked like something the Queen of England would have for her own bedroom. At the other end was a lady who was probably in her thirties knitting what looked like a white shawl or blanket.

When she saw them come in her room, the woman put aside her knitting and gingerly lifted herself off the chair. It was obvious to Gennie that she had a hard time moving around.

_"Bienvenido bebé_ ," she said to Peter, putting his arms around him.

"I've only been gone since this morning, Nanny," Peter said.

"I know that," she said, "It seems longer, though. Are these your friends?"

"Yeah. This is Gennie, who I work with on the set and this is her daughter, Michele."

"Nice to meet you," Nanny said to them.

"Nanny's taken care of me since day one, haven't you?"

"Yes, and I'm still taking care of him. I have to fold all his underwear now instead of changing his diapers."

Gennie and Michele chuckled.

"Are you from here?" Nanny asked Gennie. "You don't look like a Barbie Doll like most of his friends."

"No, I'm originally from Alaska, but I've been living in California for almost twenty years. I imagine you're not from around here either."

"I'm from Novillero, in Mexico. I was an extra on the movie Mr. Davidson was making. I was very poor so he helped me get my green card and hired me to take care of Peter. I've been here almost twenty years, like you."

"What was Peter like as a baby?" Gennie asked.

"He was very good," Nanny replied. "He was chubby and a little sweetheart."

"You must have been really young at that time."

"I was about sixteen," Nanny replied. "I have twelve brothers and sisters and I'm the oldest, so it was no big deal to me. You have any brothers or sisters?"

"Yes, I have a twin brother."

"You're single, right? Peter wouldn't bring you here if you weren't."

"Well...I was married, but...my husband passed away."

"Oh...I'm sorry. I feel so stupid now for asking."

"It's all right, Mrs..."

"Just call me Rina. I've never been married so I'm not a Missus."

Rina seemed to be a very nice lady and they chatted for about fifteen minutes until the intercom buzzed and the chef announced dinner was ready. In the dining room they were served beef something or other with pine nuts and sundried tomatoes with asparagus. It was very different from the simple dinners she served at home. She noticed Michele was using her fork to toy with the asparagus, and she had a less than thrilled look on her face.

To Gennie's surprise, Michele managed to eat about half of her meal. Though it didn't look like much, Gennie was stuffed. She had to decline the chocolate torte. Instead, she gave hers to Michele, who gobbled it down.

Though it was delicious, Gennie was glad the meal was over. Damien was staring at them and it made her uncomfortable. She was afraid to say or do anything, in case it made Damien's mood worse. She imagined with Michele's less than perfect table manners, she was already failing in his book.

As soon as dessert was done, Peter stood up.

"Do you want to go for a little ride around town?" he asked.

"Sure," Gennie replied and within ten minutes, they left the house.

"Is dinner always like that?" Gennie asked him as soon as they left the property.

"Yeah, just about," Peter said.

"Damien is sure in a mood today."

Peter chuckled. "He's jealous."

"Of what?" Then it hit Gennie what it could be. "Ohhh."

"My dad hates every girlfriend I have and now he thinks you're one of them. I guess I'm butting in on his territory or something."

"Um, he's married to a beautiful woman. What is there to be jealous or territorial about?"

"He's not exactly faithful and my mom knows it."

"Then why are they together?"

Peter shrugged. "Beats me. I guess they don't want to go through a messy divorce. It's not worth it to them. Hey, you want to go get an ice cream?"

"We had chocolate cake ten minutes ago."

"So what? Hey, Michele, you want ice cream?"

"Yeah!" Michele yelled from the back seat.

"You don't want to break the kid's heart, do you?" Peter said to Gennie, smiling.

"Wow...you are a manipulative little turd, aren't you?"

"Was that a compliment?" Peter asked, laughing.

Gennie sighed.

"Just what I thought," he said. "Hey, I think there's a Baskin-Robbins around the corner here."

Peter had a banana split, while Michele ordered a small vanilla cone with sprinkles on it. Gennie gave in and had a small chocolate ice cream in a cup.

They ate their ice cream in the car. Peter finished his banana split before Gennie was halfway through with hers. He turned on the radio. "You're In My Heart" by Rod Stewart was playing. Gennie noticed he casually put his hand on her knee but she didn't say anything.

"This doesn't seem like your kind of song."

"It's okay," he said. About two minutes later, he lifted his hand from her knee and started the car. To her surprise, Gennie found herself feeling disappointed. Obviously, he didn't realize what he was doing.

"You want to go home?" Peter asked.

"Sure," Gennie replied.

Peter drove her home. She figured he would leave, but Michele insisted that he stay.

"You know what?" Peter said. "I'll stay for about an hour at your house."

Michele's eyes immediately brightened.

"I think she likes you," Gennie said. "So, do you want anything to drink?"

"Nah, I'll just hang out in your backyard and be annoying."

Gennie chuckled. "Well, I'm going to get myself a can of soda. Make yourself at home in my backyard while you're at it."

When Gennie went through the sliding glass door with a can of Tab in hand, she saw Peter on the porch swing. It took her aback a little because they had the swing installed on the covered part of their patio only a month before Rory died. She remembered Rory joking they'd be swinging out there in 2010, when they were both older than dirt. They'd be watching the sunset while their grandkids were playing in the yard. In reality, Rory only sat on it once, right after it was installed. Gennie hadn't used it since, preferring to sit on a blue and green canvas lawn chair she purchased at Kmart a few months after he passed away.

She took a few steps toward Peter. He turned his head toward her.

"It's okay to sit down, you know," he said.

Gennie very reluctantly sat on the porch swing. She felt like she was committing a carnal sin being next to Peter on it.

"This is nice," he said.

"Yeah," Gennie replied.

"You use this thing much? It looks brand new."

"No, I never use it. We had it installed a couple of years ago."

"Why did you pay to have it put in when you knew you weren't going to use it?"

Though it was a perfectly innocent question, it really irritated Gennie. "I didn't know I wasn't going to use it."

"Okay, that makes zero sense."

"Excuse me, but it was Rory's idea, not mine."

Peter seemed to understand. "Oh...I get it now. Geez, sorry about that. I feel like such a moron."

Gennie sighed. "It's okay."

Very unexpectedly, he slid his arm behind her back and held her close.

"You're cold," he said, placing his hand on top of hers.

"You're nice and warm," she said. She put her head on his shoulder. They stayed that way for more than an hour.

"Hey," Peter said, nudging her awake. "I gotta go."

"Huh?" she replied. She hadn't even realized she had fallen asleep. "Okay...I'll let you go then."

Gennie called Michele, who was playing on her swing set, over.

"Maybe I'll come back over sometime next week," Peter said to Michele. "And I'll bring Harley."

"I can't wait!" Michele replied.

"See you later, Michele," he said. He bent over and gave her a hug, and then he turned to Gennie.

"I got some advice for you."

"What?"

"Use your porch swing more often."

"Okay," Gennie said.

Gennie wasn't expecting a kiss but she received one--on the cheek.

"See you later," he said.

"You too," she replied. She wanted to kiss him in return but she didn't. He looked a little bit disappointed, but he didn't say anything.

Gennie looked out the kitchen window and watched him as he drove off. Michele waved goodbye to him and he waved back before heading out onto the road. Gennie felt lost when he left, which a feeling she neither expected nor wanted.

"Mom, can you help me take this ugly outfit off? I don't want to be fancy anymore."

_Thank god for Michele_ , she thought. She felt glad that she was taken out of that reverie.

"Sure, hon," she said, and they left the kitchen window.

Chapter 63: April 16

The next day, just after she loaded the dirty dinner dishes into the dishwasher, Gennie's phone rang. It was Ben.

"You have perfect timing," she said.

"Did I interrupt your dinner?"

"No, we just finished when you called."

"How's Michele?" Ben asked.

"She's doing great. She made a little friend."

"Oh, at school?"

"No, it's the dog of one the guys I work with. She loves him to death. So, how are you and Annie doing?"

"Great."

"How's your little project coming along?" Gennie couldn't help but chuckle after she said that.

"Oh, well that's the reason I called you...we have a development in Project Babymaking."

"Really?" Gennie said, trying to stifle her giggles. "May I ask what it is or is it top secret?"

"It's no secret. We got a call a few minutes ago and Annie's doctor told her that the project was a success."

"No way!"

"Yes way. Next week Annie has to go in and get a sonogram."

Michele entered the kitchen. "Who's that on the phone?" she asked.

"Hey, did I just hear my favorite niece?" Ben said.

"Yeah, she wants to know who I'm talking to."

"Well, give her the phone. I want to tell her the good news."

"It's Ben," Gennie told her, handing her the phone. "He wants to talk to you."

Michele grabbed the phone out of her hands. Gennie could tell Ben was asking her about school by her answers.

"You got news?" Michele asked. "Is it about Project Babybaker?"

Gennie couldn't help but burst out in laughter. Her daughter could be so hilarious sometimes.

"You are?" she shouted out, her eyes wide with excitement. "That is sooo cool! What will it be to me? My cousin? Oh, that will be so neat! Will you come down and show me the baby after it's born? Oh okay."

Michele giggled and chatted a little longer with Ben before handing the phone back to Gennie.

"She's not excited, is she?" Gennie said.

"Oh no, not at all," Ben replied.

"You know, I'm so happy for you, Ben."

"Yeah, I'm happy too. Now, we just have to work on you."

Gennie smiled and shook her head.

"I have no interest in getting married again, ever."

"I didn't say you had to get married. Just go out a little more often. Maybe start dating again."

"I don't want to be in on the dating scene, especially not around here. I'm not ready and god...have you ever seen the men around here? It seems like they all have egos the size of the Golden Gate Bridge. And the primping! It drives me nuts! They spend more money on hairspray than I do."

"You don't spend money on hairspray."

"That's exactly my point. I think it's abnormal for men to be so focused on their hair. The clothes and jewelry is another thing entirely. Most of them have more gold on their chests than Fort Knox. And the get-ups...I think they all shop at Gigolos Unlimited."

Ben chuckled. "There's got to be someone in that town who's normal."

"No, there isn't."

"You said just about everybody you work with in props department is a guy. There's nobody you're interested in?"

"No, most of them are married or dating. The rest don't particularly thrill me."

"Your friend Page doesn't have any recommendations? I mean, I heard she's slept with almost every guy in the state."

"Ben!"

"Okay, I'll stop. Before I go, I was wondering when's the next time you'll be able to come back up to San Francisco."

"I don't know. Not until August, at least, but I'll definitely be up before the baby is born. And don't even think of setting me up on a date with anybody!"

"Did I say anything?"

"No, but I can read your mind."

"Fine. Anyway, I have to get back to the restaurant and make the big announcement, but I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"Okay," Gennie said. "Bye."

"God," she said to herself as she went into the living room to join Michele, who was watching TV, "why can't they just let me be single?"

Chapter 64: January 1, 1980

Peter and Harley came to their house about once a week. Gennie and Michele never went back to their house, except on one unusually hot day in September to go swimming in their Olympic sized pool. After a few months it seemed like Peter figured out their relationship was never going to be anything more than platonic. The affectionate gestures stopped. Gennie's yearning seemed to subside too. She was so busy thinking up new gadgets for _Tech 2014_ , she barely had time to concentrate on anything else. When Peter was at her house, she would show him her designs. Usually he said something like 'Wow!', 'Cool!' or 'You're a friggin' genius!'

They spent New Year's Eve in front of the TV watching the party in Times Square, anticipating the start of a new decade. Gennie thought about how this year was so different compared to last year.

"You know I was at that party in Times Square last year," Peter said to Gennie.

"Were you with anyone special?"

"No, I was hanging out by myself. What were you doing?"

"I'm surprised to hear that. I was watching this show actually...by myself."

"Hey, did you see me?"

"Peter, there's like three hundred thousand people there on New Year's. I really doubt I saw you."

"Well, aren't you glad I'm with you this year and not out there?"

Gennie mulled over her answer. "Yeah, I guess I am."

"Wow. That was enthusiastic."

"What was I supposed to say?"

"I don't know. Something like 'Peter, I'm thrilled you're here with me. You are like, the best thing that has ever happened in my life.' You know, crap like that."

"Peter," Gennie stated. "I'm thrilled to have you here. You are, like, the best thing that has ever happened in my life...and crap like that."

Peter laughed.

The last seconds were counted down on the TV. The giant lighted ball descended until the clock ran out. Then a huge sign proclaimed the New Year. The crowd burst into 'Auld Lang Syne' as confetti streamed down on them.

"Wanna kiss?" Peter asked.

"Huh?" Gennie said.

"Smooch," Peter replied. "If I'm with a girl on New Year's I always kiss her after the ball drops."

"Oh...all right." She turned her cheek, expecting a polite peck. Instead, he turned her face back toward him and kissed her passionately on the lips. Gennie thought it was wrong, but she made no effort to stop him. She had been waiting for this for so long. Her hands explored his slim but muscular chest and back. He nibbled her ear and nuzzled her neck. She noticed his body was shivering a little bit as he came closer to her. When she felt his hand rubbing her inner thigh, she realized what they were doing. Without warning, she shoved him away.

She thought he would be mad at her, but his expression told her otherwise. He looked astonished.

"I guess I got carried away," he said sheepishly.

"So did I," Gennie admitted. She felt her face heating up in embarrassment.

"I understand," Peter replied. "I was going to give you this nice little kiss on the lips, but...I lost control of myself."

"I'm glad Michele didn't wake up," Gennie said. Michele had fallen asleep on top of a blanket and a bunch of throw pillows on the floor. Harley was snoozing beside her.

"Yeah, I'm glad Harley didn't see that either. They both would have gotten an early education in the birds and the bees."

Gennie chuckled.

Peter looked away from her. "You probably hate me now, huh?"

"Oh no!" Gennie said. She put his arm around him and gave him a hug. She wished he could stay with her forever. "I'm not mad at you at all."

"Really?" There was a hopeful look in his eyes as he turned toward her.

"I wasn't helping matters any by feeling you up."

"No," he said smiling, "but I loved it. Besides I wanted to ask you something."

"Like what?"

"Well, I was wondering...do you want to be more than friends?"

"I'm not sure what you mean...oh!"

"Do you want to be my girlfriend?"

"Um, well...okay!"

"For real?"

Gennie nodded.

"You're fine with me being a lot younger and stuff?"

"Sure."

"And you're all right with me not being all white?"

"What? What are you talking about?"

"You didn't notice?"

"Um, no. What is there to notice? Your parents are white, so you're white." As soon as she said that, it finally hit her what he was talking about. "Oh geez. I think I got it."

"Yeah, it's a really weird situation," Peter said. "Remember when Nanny told you she was an extra on a movie that my dad was shooting in Mexico? Well, I guess she was doing extra on the side too. She came to Los Angeles about a month before I was born and told my mom about it. My mom felt bad for her so she gave her a job as my nanny, while they raised me as their kid. I wasn't supposed to ever find out about it, but I overheard them arguing when I was ten years old. I asked Nanny about it and she told me everything. I'm okay if you have a problem with it, really."

She gave him a firm, friendly squeeze. "Don't worry about something like that."

He grabbed her arms and kissed her. "I'm going to make you so happy, I promise!"

Gennie wasn't sure what her family would think about Peter, but she didn't say anything. She didn't want to ruin the moment for him.

"Hey Mom, what are you guys doing?" Michele said groggily.

Gennie didn't know what to say to her.

"Uh...Peter was just giving me a kiss goodbye."

Michele rubbed her eyes. She didn't look like she particularly cared at that point. "Oh, okay."

"Yeah, I probably should get going," Peter said, looking ecstatic. He scooped Harley up from the floor and carried him like he was a baby. "I'll call you tomorrow, though, okay?"

"All right," Gennie replied. She kissed him on the lips then led him to the door.

"I love you, Gennie," he said, just before he left.

"I...uh...love you too," she replied, feeling a little awkward.

He grinned in response, then left.

_God, life is weird_ , she thought as his car started up. She never in a million years thought they would be dating.

Chapter 65: January 1, 1981

Gennie decided not to tell her family about Peter, though she felt horrible about keeping it a secret. She went up to San Francisco a few times while the show was on hiatus to visit her family and she didn't take Peter with her. She was relieved that he never asked to go either. She thought that perhaps he knew they might have an issue with him as her boyfriend.

Peter's visits became more frequent until they were virtually every day. At that point, around May of 1980, she invited him to move in with her. It felt good to have someone around the house to help with chores. Though she never discussed it with Michele, her daughter knew that they were sleeping together. She told her not to tell the family, especially Ben, about Peter. Although this puzzled Michele, she promised to keep it a secret.

They watched the ball drop on TV just like last year, except this time Michele and Harley were awake. Gennie put Michele to bed about fifteen minutes later and rejoined Peter back in the living room, expecting that they would maybe stay up for about an hour more in order to watch some of the performances.

"Is it all right if I give something to you?" Peter asked during a commercial break.

"Sure," Gennie replied, "as long as it's not VD."

They both laughed at that.

"No, it's nothing like that."

"Is it a Christmas gift that you forgot?"

"Well, not exactly, but it is a gift."

"Oh, okay."

"I've wanted to give it to you for a long time."

"Oh that's nice," Gennie said. "So what is it?"

Peter took out a thin box wrapped in flashy gold foil. It was obvious that it was a bracelet.

"That's so sweet of you," she said as she unwrapped it. "I bet it's really pretty."

"I sure hope it fits you," he replied. She noticed he turned away from her, something he only did when he was nervous or upset.

"I'm sure it will."

"Uh...that's good," he said. Now, one of his legs was twitching. Gennie couldn't understand why he was so nervous. It was just a bracelet, not the Hope Diamond.

Instead of the expected bracelet, there was another long thin box inside the one she had opened. It was wrapped in the same flashy gold foil.

"Very funny," she said. "Trying to make me work for my present, huh?"

"Yeah...I wanted you to be really surprised."

Inside that box was another box, also wrapped in the same foil. Then, another box...and another.

"This must be the world's smallest bracelet."

"It's not a bracelet," Peter said.

The last box was tiny, not more than one inch square.

"This better be it," she said, unwrapping the foil. "Otherwise I'm calling it a day."

"It is," Peter replied.

"These are earrings, right? Did you know that my ears aren't pierced?"

"That's not a problem."

"They're clip-ons?"

"Open the box already," Peter said. "You're driving me nuts."

She opened it and saw a two carat round diamond nestled in light pink silk.

"You got ripped off. There's only one earring in there."

"Gennie!"

"Oh sorry, it's beautiful, but I can't just wear one."

She was stunned when she saw what he was doing. He went down on one knee and slipped the diamond onto her left hand.

This was the first night she wasn't wearing the engagement ring and wedding band Rory gave her. She took them off before showering that morning and never got around to putting them back on. Perhaps Peter took that as a sign that she was ready to get married again, even though she still wasn't.

"I know I've never told you this before, but I'm totally in love with you. I mean...totally. After I met you, I had a hard time looking at other girls. I felt like I was cheating or something. When I first saw you, I knew you were it. I even told my folks and Nanny you were it before you ever came over. I didn't think you liked me, but when you put your head on my shoulder that first time, I knew you felt the same way I did. I didn't want to rush it, because I knew you were still, like, in mourning and stuff, but lately, I just felt like it was the right time."

"Peter..."

"Please, marry me, Gen! I want to bring you breakfast in bed and do all that husband crap! I'll be really good to you, I promise! I'll give you everything you'll ever want in the entire universe!"

"Peter..."

"Come on, don't say no!"

"Hey, why don't you let me answer?" Gennie took a deep breath. "Peter, I just...oh screw it...yes, I'll marry you!"

He grabbed her arms and kissed her full on the lips. "I can't wait to tell the whole world about this!"

Gennie wasn't looking forward to being thought of as a cradle robber, but she didn't say anything. This was the choice she made and she would just have to deal with the fall out.

Chapter 66

The realization that she was newly engaged didn't really hit her until the next morning. Sunshine entered her bedroom, and reflected off the large diamond. Splashes of rainbow colors reflected off the white walls.

_Wow, it's gorgeous_ , she thought to herself. The engagement ring Rory had given her was about an eighth of the size of this one. She remembered that Rory had wiped out his entire savings account in order to buy the ring for her. She could picture it sitting forlornly on top of the sink where she put it the day before. She felt guilty for being so enamored of the new ring. What was she going to do with the old ring now? She honestly had no idea. She couldn't wear it ever again, but she didn't want to put it away either.

Another question...how was she going to break the news to her family?

_Hey everybody, I'm engaged to a nineteen year old kid_ , she could imagine herself saying. It sounded so ridiculous that she couldn't help chuckling. She wasn't afraid of Ben's reaction as much as Colleen and Malcolm's. They could be a little old fashioned.

Gennie figured it was best to get the lectures over with sooner rather than later. It was better for her family to hear it straight from her. She was afraid the tabloids would catch wind of a celebrity's son's secret relationship and someone in her family would see the screaming headline DAMIEN DAVIDSON'S SON, 19, HAS TRYST WITH 32 YEAR OLD GAL PAL while waiting to check out at the supermarket.

She figured it would be easiest to call Ben and tell him about it. He wouldn't be very understanding, but he was the least likely to lecture her.

Peter was still sleeping, so she went into the kitchen and called Ben from there. Hopefully, he wouldn't be working today.

"Hello?" A groggy voice answered.

"Ben?"

"Why are you calling so early?" he said, sounding more tired than annoyed.

"Nine o'clock isn't early."

"Well, I was up until four last night, so it's early in my book."

"Partying right?"

"Yeah, we had a New Year's celebration for all my employees and their families at the restaurant."

"Well, I thought with the baby you'd be used to sleep deprivation by now."

"I guess not," Ben said. "So, why did you decide to call me out of the blue?"

"I have something to tell you."

"Like what?"

"Um...well...you see, someone proposed to me last night."

"Proposed what?"

_"Proposed_ proposed."

"With a diamond ring?"

"You can be so clueless sometimes. Yes, that's exactly what I mean."

"Sorry, but I think I have a hangover or something," Ben said. "It's just that..."

"Yes?"

"Hey, wait a minute. I didn't know you were dating anybody."

"Well, actually we've been dating for a year. I just never told anyone."

"Have you had sex with this guy?"

"Ben!"

There was a pause on the line for several seconds. "So, who the hell proposed to you then? Was it your boss, Erik?"

Gennie's stomach sank when she thought about Erik. She and Peter didn't tell him about their relationship because they didn't want to hurt his feelings or jeopardize their jobs. He would be devastated to hear about their engagement. They would have to find a way to conceal it for as long as possible.

"No, it isn't Erik."

"One of the suits?"

"No."

"The writers?" Gennie could hear the bewilderment in his voice.

"No."

"The best boy...or is it the worst boy?"

"No! Ben, why don't I just come out and tell you. It'll save us both a lot of trouble."

"Why didn't you say that a minute ago?"

Gennie sighed. "Yeah, I should have but...okay, here's how it happened. You probably heard me talk about Peter, who works in the props department with me. Well, he asked me to go out with him last year and he's been living with me for about seven months now. Last night he told me he had a present for me. He gave me a bracelet box. I assumed it was a bracelet, but it wasn't. It was a diamond ring. Then he proposed to me."

"The kid?"

"Yes."

Ben sighed. "You didn't say yes, did you?"

"Of course I did."

"Are you sure this is a good idea, Gennie?"

"I knew you were going to say that."

"Well, he's just a child. What kind of husband can he be to you? He was born yesterday for godsakes."

"You think this is a bad idea?"

"Well, it doesn't seem like a particularly good idea."

"I don't want to give the ring back though. He seemed so happy when I said yes."

"Look...do whatever you want, but I'm just going to tell you this...if you want another child to take care of and trust me, he is another child, go ahead. But if you want a real grown-up relationship, I'd call it off if I were you."

Gennie sighed.

"I know it sounds awful, but he'll get over it."

Gennie didn't know what to say. She felt horrible even thinking about calling off the engagement and she wouldn't be able to bear the look on Peter's face if that happened.

"Why don't you go back to sleep?" Ben said.

"Are you talking to yourself?" Gennie asked.

Ben chuckled a bit. "Yeah, I guess so."

"All right, I'll let you go back to bed," Gennie said. "Bye."

When Gennie hung up the phone, she decided that calling Malcolm and Colleen right now would be a bad idea. Ben was right; Peter was young and probably not mature enough to be married. When she looked at her ring though, she felt that she should stay with him, despite all the misgivings. He loved her and she loved him. Isn't that all they needed?

Chapter 67: July 31

Even though they had been engaged for several months, they kept it a secret from everyone on the set. Gennie wore her ring on a long necklace that was tucked under her shirt. Erik had asked her out a few times to various restaurants and pubs, but Gennie always discreetly declined.

To make her problems even worse, Damien started taking an interest in her. At first, Gennie thought he was just being friendly, but it didn't take long for her to figure out it was more than that. He always wanted to touch her, taking every opportunity to put his hand around her waist or on her shoulder. One time on the set, while she was adjusting the seat of a futuristic racecar she built, and he was sitting in the driver's seat, his hand brushed against her breast. Though it seemed like an accident, in the back of her mind, Gennie knew it was intentional.

Not only did Peter's family not know about the engagement, Ben had assumed she called it off and Malcolm and Colleen had no clue. Keeping it hidden from everyone was taking a toll on her. She had a hard time keeping food down. Most of her pants were two sizes too big for her, which according to Hollywood, was fantastic, but she felt too anxious to care. Sometimes she was so nervous she could feel her heart racing and she would hyperventilate for no apparent reason. Sometimes getting herself out the door in the morning was the worst part. She was afraid of what the day would bring. Would someone find out? Would she lose her job?

Peter's twentieth birthday was on July 31. He usually threw a huge party, but this year he told his parents he didn't want one. There was a small party on the set though, with chocolate cake and French vanilla ice cream. It was the next to last day of filming the third season. Everybody was talking about how they couldn't wait to get the hell out of town. Erik was flying out tomorrow to his vacation home in Hawaii and Damien was going to Canada to shoot scenes for an upcoming action adventure movie. One of the production assistants asked Peter what his plans were.

"I'm going to ride one of my bikes to Vegas."

The hairstylist and make-up artist looked intrigued. "Oh," the hairstylist asked, "what are you going to do there?"

"Party...gamble...party some more. Maybe I'll go to one of those dollar ninety-nine buffets and check out Wayne Newton while I'm at it."

The make-up artist and hairstylist giggled.

"Can we go with you?" the make-up artist asked.

"We'll see," Peter said, gobbling up the rest of his cake. "Umm...this is good. This is better than...nah, it ain't quite that good."

The hairstylist asked Gennie what her plans were.

"Nothing in particular, really. Maybe when she finishes music camp, my daughter and I will go up to San Francisco next month and visit my family."

When the party was over, Peter approached her in the hallway leading outside the studio. He looked around first and took hold of her hand.

"You wanna visit my parent's house tonight?" he asked.

"Okay," Gennie replied. She suspected they would spend all their time swimming in the pool.

"How about a sleepover?"

"Huh?"

"We can sleep in the guest house."

"Do your parents know about this?"

"No and they don't need to. Dad is leaving for Vancouver tonight; Mom is on the French Riviera, and Nanny's in Mexico."

Gennie felt like a naughty girl for doing that, but then again, Peter was right. No would ever know and they weren't hurting anybody.

"Okay," she said.

"Tomorrow I've got a surprise for you."

"Is it as good as the last surprise?" Gennie asked, referring to the ring.

"Better," Peter said. "You're really going to like this one."

Gennie had never been inside the guesthouse. It was about the size of her home. Later on that night, as Peter unlocked the door, Gennie asked him why they needed one. Weren't ten bedrooms enough?

"My dad's parents used to live here," Peter said. "They wanted to have their own place."

"Oh, I didn't know that," Gennie replied.

"They both passed away a while ago," Peter explained. "I was really young, maybe three at the most, so I barely remember them. We pretty much kept it the way they had it. All the furniture in here was theirs."

Gennie thought someone older might have decorated the house. There were a lot of porcelain knick-knacks, antique furniture and crocheted doilies.

"I feel really weird about sleeping here."

"Why?"

"Well, are we sleeping in your grandparents' bed?"

"No, we'll sleep in the other bedroom."

"I still don't think they'll approve of it."

"Hey, they're dead. They'll get over it."

"Yeah, but it just doesn't feel right."

"We don't have to do anything, you know."

"All right," Gennie said, feeling relieved.

"Anyway, I want to talk to you."

They sat down on the green floral sofa next to a white marble fireplace.

"What is it you want to talk to me about?" Gennie asked.

"Keeping this whole thing a secret. It's driving me nuts. We can't do anything together without you getting paranoid. I want it to end."

Gennie sighed. "Me too, but...we have to keep it like this for now. I think it's for the best."

"Honestly, it doesn't matter. What are people going to do to us? Chop off our heads?"

"No, but...we both have jobs with decent pay that we love. I'm afraid that if people found out we're engaged, it would wreck everything we've worked for."

"No, it won't," Peter said. "Yeah, people are going to talk and some might not like it, but you know what? One, I could care less about what they think and two, they can't do a damn thing about it. I know Erik is going to be pissed, but I don't think he'll fire us. All he'll probably do is just give us some dirty looks and slam a few things around."

"I still don't think it's a good idea."

"Oh man, you're stubborn. You know if you're going to be like that, let's get the whole thing over with once and for all."

"You want to end it?"

"Yeah, sure."

Gennie looked down at her ring. "I suppose it's for the best."

She slid the ring off her finger.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"I'm giving you back your ring."

"You're breaking up with me?"

"You're the one who said you wanted to end it."

Peter grabbed the ring and pushed it back on her finger. "I didn't mean it like that. What I meant by getting it over with was that we should get married."

Gennie couldn't believe what he was asking her to do. "How are we supposed to do that? A wedding takes months to plan and we don't have that kind of money."

"I was going to wait until tomorrow, but since we're talking about it, I'll just ask you now. Do you want to get hitched when we go to Vegas?"

Gennie was astounded. "I...I don't know. It's all happening so fast."

Peter put his arm around her. "It's up to you."

"Oh...okay."

"If you don't want to marry me, just say so."

"No, I do. Keeping this secret has been so hard. It's just..." Gennie put her head in her hands.

"Well, let's get it out in the open, then."

"If you're serious about this, then I'm serious about this." She gave him a kiss on the lips.

"I definitely am."

Chapter 68: August 1 Las Vegas

The ride to Las Vegas was exhilarating. She hadn't ridden on a motorcycle in a very long time, but she enjoyed it so much it made her think that she should get a bike of her own. The only problem she had was with packing. Everything had to fit on a large duffel bag strapped to the back of the bike, so they had to pack extremely light. Gennie packed two pairs of jeans, two t-shirts and a white dress with a yellow floral print and ruffles on the sleeves and hem. They decided to skip packing toiletries; they'd buy them once they were there.

Gennie had never been to Las Vegas, but it mesmerized her. The sun had settled just below the horizon, turning the sky gold and orange. The lights that covered all the casinos and other attractions glowed and shimmered. They rode through the streets until they spotted a hotel. They booked a room. Once inside it, they changed into their wedding clothes.

"Oh, you look gorgeous," Gennie said. She never saw Peter dressed up before.

"I stopped at Ye Olde Fart Shoppe and picked these out. I couldn't believe how long it took for the lady to tailor these pants. For some reason, she spent like half the time just staring at me."

"I don't blame her," Gennie said, smiling. She took the pink carnation she bought in the hotel lobby and pinned it to the lapel of his light gray suit jacket. "There, you look very marriageable now."

She put her arms around him and Peter gave her a kiss on the lips.

"And you look totally hot."

Gennie giggled.

"Hey, why don't I pin that flower on your dress and then we can get out of here?"

"Okay."

Peter, even though his hands were shaking, managed to pin on her carnation without stabbing himself.

"You smell good," he said.

"It's probably the flower." Gennie wasn't wearing any perfume.

"Maybe it's your natural scent. I can't wait to smell it some more."

"You're something else. All right, let's get going to the chapel."

"Okay," Peter said, wrapping his arm around her.

Gennie was glad she was in Las Vegas; otherwise, they would have been an odd sight on the road, being dressed to the nines on a motorcycle. There were so many other distractions, though, that no seemed to notice.

They pulled into the parking lot of a small church, but unlike most churches, there was a bright pink neon sign above the front entrance proclaiming 'The Wedding Belle Chapel--Quick & Easy Marriages Guaranteed'. They entered the front door and instead of a row of pews, there was a waiting area with a secretary manning a large desk. They filled out some forms and turned them in, along with the twenty-dollar fee, to the secretary. The secretary then led them into the actual chapel.

It looked like a church except for the white shag runner leading up to the altar. Instead of pews, there were two small rows of metal chairs. On the altar, two pillars had plastic climbing roses snaking up them. A brass and crystal chandelier hung over their heads.

"The chaplain will be out any minute now," the secretary told them. Not long after that, a short man in his sixties with very thin silver hair came out of a side door.

"My, aren't you a handsome couple," he said, opening a thin book on the altar, "and you don't look drunk either."

"No, we planned this," Peter said.

"Really?" the chaplain said, putting on a pair of reading glasses. "That's a first. This town isn't known for people who plan ahead. Well, anyway, I see you signed up for the quick and easy option, emphasis on the quick, so let's go ahead with the ceremony. Do you, Peter, take Gennie to be your lawfully wedded wife? Do you swear before God that you will love, honor, cherish, respect and comfort her, in good times and bad, in sickness and in health? Do you promise to share your joys and sorrows, and forsaking all others, to be faithful to her alone?"

"I do," Peter replied.

He had recited the same vows again and Gennie said 'I do'.

"I pronounce you husband and wife. Well, now that wasn't so bad, was it?" the chaplain said.

"It was great," Peter said, giving the chaplain's hand a hearty shake. "Thanks."

"Thank you," Gennie said to the chaplain. She shook his hand too.

"So, are you hungry yet?" Peter asked her when they left the chapel.

"Starving," Gennie replied.

"Well, I know a great place for the reception," Peter said.

Gennie giggled. "I hope it's not too expensive."

"Nah, it's only a dollar ninety-nine a person."

"Three ninety-eight total. That's not bad."

Gennie wasn't expecting much from their 'reception' but the food at The Garden of Paradise Buffet was delicious. They went up about four times, filling their plates to the brim. When they were sufficiently full, they rode back to their honeymoon suite.

Peter carried her over the threshold and placed her on the bed. Then he put his hand on her shoulder and gently nudged her forward, placing the faintest of kisses on her lips.

"Let's pretend this our first time," he said. "You wanna do that?"

She nodded.

"Is it just me or is it getting hot in here? Mind if I take my shirt off?"

"No."

He threw his suit jacket and thin blue tie on the floor and quickly unbuttoned his white dress shirt. "Now we can get down to business."

She stared at his toned body, especially his washboard stomach.

"That's better," he said.

"What?"

"You know, your look. You seem happier now."

"Well, who wouldn't be happy being married to you?"

He looked at her seriously. "Yeah, you're right." Then he lay down on the bed next to her. "Hey, you must be really warm too. Why don't you take _your_ clothes off?"

"Uh...okay."

"Hey, don't be nervous. I'll help you."

She stood up and he began to undo the many small buttons on the front of her dress. Then, she tentatively slipped it off, and removed her pantyhose. All she had on was a pair of white lace panties and a matching bra.

"I like," Peter said, caressing her stomach. "You look good. Can I take your bra off?"

"Uh, yeah, sure."

He undid the two hooks in the back with expert hands and her bra fell away.

She noticed he was at a loss for words.

"Sorry," she mumbled.

He looked surprised. "Sorry for what? That your boobs look fantastic?"

Gennie fell down on the bed laughing. "Only you would say something like that."

"They look great to me. Hey, is it okay if I touch them?"

"Uh...all right."

He caressed them with the gentlest touch. "Oh, they're soft."

"Thanks."

"Can I take your underwear off too?"

"All right."

With a swift move of his fingers, he pulled her underwear down her legs and onto the bed beside them.

"You're looking better all the time," he said. He placed his hand between her legs and explored inside her with fingers.

Gennie couldn't help but moan. It was wonderful to be touched this way.

They fondled each other until they couldn't stand it any longer and Peter went inside of her. They moved their hips in unison until Gennie cried out in pleasure. After two hard thrusts, Peter groaned as Gennie felt him come.

They lay exhausted next to each other, eventually falling asleep. Gennie woke up in the middle of the night and began to cry.

Her sobbing woke Peter up a few minutes later.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"It's gotta be something."

"No."

"I bet it's something I did. Was I too rough?"

"No, you were perfect."

He wrapped his arms around her waist and put his head on her shoulder. "You don't want to be married?"

"No, I'm glad we're married," Gennie whispered.

"Then what is it?"

"I don't know. It's so hard to explain. I guess I miss Rory and I feel bad...for being happy, you know. It was so awful the way he died. There's no getting over it."

"You can't do anything about that, Gennie. It sucks but it happened. Being all guilty isn't going to bring him back."

"I know but..."

Peter kissed her on the cheek. "I've heard a lot about him, so I know what I have to live up to. I'm not him, but I know I love you and I want to be with you forever. And I want to make you so happy you'll explode. Will you let me do that?"

"I don't know about the exploding part, but the rest sounds good."

"I don't mind that you still miss him. I know he was the first one and stuff."

"Yes, but I still love you."

"Don't feel guilty about anything, okay?"

"I'll try."

"Okay," he said and gave her a kiss. "Tomorrow we'll go see Wayne Newton and if we have time, we'll check out the guys with the white tigers. Sound good?"

"Yeah," Gennie said. She closed her eyes and not even a minute later, she was asleep again.

Chapter 69: August 4

They rode back to Los Angeles three days later. In just forty-eight hours, Gennie would pick Michele up from summer camp and she'd have to tell her. Then they would eventually break the news to their respective families. They decided they would visit the Davidson house soon and announce it in person. Gennie assumed if either Damien or Sherisse had a major problem with it, a child in their presence would tone their reaction down.

Everything was so up in the air. It was driving Gennie crazy. As much as she dreaded telling people about their marriage and having to face their negative reaction, she was eager to get it out in the open. Then, everyone could get over it and she could get on with her life.

Peter arranged a family dinner at the Davidson's on August 14. He told Sherisse he had a special announcement to make.

The two days flew by. It was time for Gennie to pick Michele up at summer camp. Even though she thought it was ridiculous, she dreaded telling her own daughter. It was silly because Michele adored Peter and would probably be delighted. During the nearly two hour drive to Angelus Oak, where the camp was located, Gennie thought perhaps she was worried because Michele might think she was trying to replace her father. She hoped her daughter would be happy hearing the news.

Michele was waiting at the entrance, along with a line of other campers. When she spotted Gennie's car, she came bounding toward it, her clothes poking out of both her backpack and duffel bag. Michele opened the door and jumped in the front passenger seat.

"Hi, sweetie," Gennie said. "How was your stay at summer camp?"

"Great," Michele replied. "I can't wait to go back next year. Did you do anything you weren't supposed to while I was gone?"

Though Michele said it in jest, it made Gennie's heart skip a beat.

"Hmmm...maybe. We can talk about it when we get home. I want to hear everything you did at summer camp."

Michele didn't seem to mind the evasiveness and went into a long description of her summer camp activities, her new friends and her favorite camp counselors. It sounded like a lot of fun to Gennie. She wished she could have gone to summer camp when she was a kid.

"Hey, we're home," Gennie announced an hour and forty-five minutes later as they pulled into their driveway.

"Can you tell me what happened to you now?" Michele asked.

"Why don't we go in the house first?"

Michele groaned.

"We're not officially home until we're both in the house."

Gennie unlocked the door and Michele entered the house with her belongings in record time.

"Okay, now tell me."

"Let's sit down first."

"Mom!"

"I promise if you sit down, I'll tell you."

Michele plunked down on one of the brown leather stools at the breakfast bar. Gennie sat next to her.

"Well, while you were gone, Peter and I went to Las Vegas for a few days. We rode there on one of his motorcycles."

Michele's eyes widened and she smiled. "Oh wow. Was it fun?"

"It was a lot of fun. We had a great time."

"What did you do there?"

"Well, we drove around looking at all the neon signs and we played a few games at the casinos."

"Like what?"

"We did a couple of table games, like blackjack and craps. Then we played a few slot machines."

"Did you win anything?"

"No, we came out empty handed, but we still enjoyed ourselves."

"Did you do anything else?"

"We saw a couple of shows, like Wayne Newton and Siegfried and Roy."

"Anything else?"

"We ate really well for a dollar ninety-nine and we did one really big thing."

"Like what?"

"Um...actually it was one of the first things we did after getting a hotel room for the night. Peter and I went to a chapel and uh...we got married."

Michele didn't respond. Her face was completely expressionless. Gennie was on the edge of panicking.

"So, does that mean Peter is my dad now?"

_Uh oh...this is not going well_ , Gennie thought. "You know, he'll never replace your father, but yeah, he will be sort like a dad to you. He's your new step-father."

"And we get to keep Harley forever?"

"Yes, Harley's our dog now."

Michele's face lit up, much to Gennie's relief.

"I was afraid Peter and Harley were going to leave us, so I'm super happy you guys got married. Actually, I was going to put it on my Christmas list."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Thanks, Mom, for giving me my gift early."

Gennie gave her a hug. "No problem, hon. I'm so glad you're happy."

Chapter 70: August 14

Gennie dressed more formally for dinner than she normally would, wearing a peach colored dress with a wide beige belt. Michele wore a navy blue jumper dress with a white blouse. She didn't want to wear anything as fussy as she did the last time they were there.

Gennie was a bundle of nerves as she drove to the Davidson mansion. She knew it was showing because Michele was constantly looking at her, her face filled with concern. _This was it_ , she thought. She had to face the music. There was no turning back now.

Peter still had a key to the house so he unlocked the door and they entered the mansion. They were quickly greeted by Sylvia, the fair-haired maid.

"They're all waiting for you in the dining room," she said.

Gennie walked toward the dining room as if she was walking toward an electric chair. Sherisse was the first one to greet them.

"Don't worry," she said, "you're not late. We're just having drinks and chit-chatting."

Sherisse seated Gennie between Peter and Michele, on the left hand side near the door.

Peter took Gennie's hand. "Wow, you're really sweaty."

"Yeah, I know," Gennie replied. "Sorry."

"So, I see you finally have a girlfriend that isn't a slut," the vaguely familiar man sitting opposite her said to Peter.

Peter scowled. Gennie had the feeling Peter didn't particularly like this guy.

"Well, aren't you going to introduce me?" the man asked.

"Gen, this is my Uncle Antony, but everybody calls him Tony the Phony."

Now she remembered him. He was a character actor. He looked to be about fifty years old, on the thin side and he sported a thin well-groomed beard.

Antony flashed Peter a look of annoyance but it quickly disappeared when he turned to Gennie. "It's such a pleasure to finally meet you. And my condolences."

Gennie was about to ask what for, but when she saw Peter crossing his arms and give Antony a look of death, she figured it out. "Uh, nice to meet you too. Um, didn't you play an FBI agent on an episode of _In Pursuit_?"

"Yes, I did. Excellent show. So sad it ended the way it did."

"My husband was on that show. I imagine you probably met him."

"You're married? Does your husband know about Peter?"

"Don't get your pants in a wad," Peter replied, a hard edge to his voice. "Her husband was Rory Fox."

"Oh," Antony said, looking a little surprised. "I'm so sorry about your loss. He could've been a great actor, almost as great as I am now."

Peter scoffed.

"I see you've lowered your standards just a tad," Antony replied.

Peter didn't say anything but shot him an angry glance.

_Oh god, this is turning out to be fun_ , Gennie thought.

"No, not at all," Gennie replied. "Peter is a wonderful guy."

"Well you'll find out soon enough," Antony said to her. "Did he tell you his dirty little secret yet?"

"Hey!" Peter replied, his eyes glaring with hostility. "Why don't you keep your mouth shut like you're supposed to?"

"Maybe you should tell her about all your past girlfriends...all um, two hundred and fifty of them. All races, colors and creeds, just like you."

Peter looked like he was about to strangle him when his mother came over and intervened. "Okay, enough is enough. Can we please act like adults?"

"Well, one of us isn't an adult yet," Antony said, looking at Peter.

Peter jumped up and Gennie was afraid it was going to get physical until Damien spoke.

"Sit down!" he ordered Peter. "Your mother went to a lot of trouble to get this dinner put together on short notice."

"Hey, I didn't start this. And why did you invite him here when you hate him?"

"We didn't invite him. He was visiting."

"Why is it always my fault when he's being a jerk?"

"I don't want to hear about it. Let's just eat in peace, okay?"

Peter sat down. Antony smirked at him.

"You're lucky you're eating at this table," Antony said.

"Shut up!" Damien yelled. "You're lucky _you're_ eating at this table. I should have thrown you out on your ass the minute you came to the door."

Though the ensuing silence was very awkward, Gennie had to admit the dinner, brandied pepper steak, was delicious, almost as good as Ben's cooking. She chatted a bit with Sherisse, hoping to lighten the mood. Antony didn't say another word, though it looked like he was bursting at the seams to talk. Damien didn't talk at all, unless he wanted something passed to him.

After everyone was done with dinner, the maid took their plates away. She then came back with a bottle of Dom Perignon and filled every champagne flute about half way. When the maid left, Sherisse stood up.

"As you all know," she began, "I arranged this dinner at the request of Peter, for a very special reason, though I have no idea what that reason is."

She chuckled nervously and then continued. "Peter told me he has a special announcement to make. Peter, tell everyone what your big surprise is. We're dying to know."

Peter stood up, looking as nervous as Gennie felt. "Well...you know how I feel about Gennie and how special she is...um, uh...actually, she's so special that two weeks ago we went to Las Vegas and got married."

The room was silent as the message sunk in. Sherisse's face brightened. She walked over and kissed Peter on the cheek.

"Oh, that's wonderful, dear," she said. "I was hoping you'd pick a decent girl for a wife and you did."

Sherisse then hugged Gennie. "Welcome to the family, dear."

"I suppose I should be happy for you, I think," Antony said.

Gennie wasn't expecting Damien to come over, but he did. "You didn't look like a gold digger."

Sherisse slapped her husband on the shoulder. "Is that all you can say? Why don't you act normal for once?"

"Well, I'm glad Peter has married a very attractive woman. Congratulations."

A few hours later, Gennie arrived home feeling relieved Peter's parents approved of their marriage, even if they weren't overjoyed about it.

"Sorry about my crazy family," Peter said, sitting down on the couch.

"Well, compared to my family, they're perfect." She never told him about Bryan, but he knew Malcolm and Colleen weren't related to her.

"There's a lot of history there," Peter said. "Tony the Phony dated my mom before Dad did and he's still pissed about it. He's also pissed that my Dad cheats left, right and sideways. I'm sort of a reminder of that. He's also a major racist. When I was a baby he told them they should take me to the border and throw me over it."

Gennie sat down next to him and put her hand on his arm. "I'm so sorry, Peter. He shouldn't be taking it out on you."

"Well, he's afraid of my Dad, but he's not afraid of me. He still thinks of me as a puny little kid, though I could probably beat the shit out of him if I wanted to."

"If it makes you feel better, I can empathize. Me and Ben were bullied by a member of our real family. Before we were thrown away like garbage, that is."

Peter kissed her on the nose. "At least we got that over with. We don't have to go there again if you don't want to. You, me and Michele, we're a family now."

Chapter 71: August 23

Though Gennie talked on the phone with Ben about a week before to tell him she was flying to San Francisco, she didn't mention she was married to Peter. She was going to, but when Ben asked, "Are you still with that kid?" she decided against it.

They took a flight out of LAX at seven o'clock. Michele was chatting about how she was looking forward to visiting everybody, having gifts showered on her and of course, seeing the youngest member of their family. As much as Ben insisted she stay at his house, Gennie told them they were going to get a hotel. She said it was because she didn't want to inconvenience him, but the actual reason was she didn't want to deal with the awkwardness of sleeping in the same house if he didn't take the announcement very well.

They arrived in San Francisco about two hours later. Gennie had to use her identification to rent a car, since Peter was still too young. The first thing they did was drive fifteen miles north to the hotel to drop their bags off.

The hotel was across the street from Ben's condo and Gennie's heart was pounding as she walked toward it. It was in a beautiful seventy-year-old building in the heart of the Financial District, only about an eight-minute walk from his restaurant. They bought two condos on the same floor and turned them into one large one. He and Annie renovated the entire thing themselves and it looked beautiful. Gennie was envious of their new home.

Peter opened the heavy copper covered door to the building and they took the elevator to the eleventh floor. Michele rang the doorbell.

Gennie was expecting Annie to answer but instead it was Ben.

"Hey you!" he said to Michele. "What are you doing so far from home?"

"I ran away," Michele replied, giggling. "Now you have to take care of me."

"Ben," Gennie said, giving him a hug. "It's been so long."

"Yeah, I know. It feels like I've haven't seen you in ages."

She suddenly felt Ben stiffen. Obviously, he noticed Peter standing there.

"I didn't know you were bringing your friend," Ben said.

Gennie didn't think that remark was a good sign. She laughed nervously in response. "Well, uh...I'd thought I'd surprise you. Ben, this is Peter Davidson. He wanted to join me and see San Francisco."

Ben cleared his throat. "Nice to meet you."

"Hey, you too," Peter replied.

Ben nodded. For probably the first time in his life, Peter looked to Gennie for guidance. If it hadn't been for the fact that she hadn't seen him in over six months, she would have smacked Ben right across the head for his rude behavior.

"Is it all right if we come in?" Gennie said, the irritation evident in her voice.

"Oh, sure," Ben replied, opening both oak doors. They walked inside the main hallway of the house.

"Where's the baby?" Michele piped up, breaking the awkward silence.

"Kristopher's playing with his toys in the living room. Come on in, hon, and make yourself at home."

Gennie noticed he only said that to Michele. She knew it was probably best to brush it off, however much it annoyed her.

They entered the spacious living room and lying on a blue blanket in the middle of a brown Persian rug was the cutest toddler Gennie had ever seen. Michele's face lit up with delight as she ran over and sat next to the baby.

"Is it okay if I pick him up?" Michele asked.

"Why don't you put him on your lap?" Ben said.

"Okay," Michele replied. She placed him on her lap and made funny faces at him. He giggled in response.

Gennie heard someone walking down the bedroom hallway toward the living room. Annie appeared in a blue terry cloth bathrobe with matching towel wrapped around her head.

"Oh," she said in surprise. "I wasn't expecting you here this early. I would have made more of an attempt to get ready."

Then she spotted Peter and put her hand over her chest. "Oh...uh...are you a movie star?"

"No," Peter replied, "I'm only related to them. Otherwise I'm just your average everyday Joe."

"I didn't know your boyfriend was coming!" Annie said to Gennie and then she turned toward Peter again. "You snagged a really cute guy. You're such a lucky girl, Gen."

Ben obviously didn't like his wife fawning over an uninvited guest. He looked like he just bit into an unripe lemon.

"Excuse me while I finish getting ready," Annie said.

"Don't worry about it," Peter replied. "I've seen tons of girls in their bathrobes...and out of them."

Ben sighed in disgust.

"Do you want something to drink, Peter?" Gennie asked him, since her brother was making no effort to be cordial.

"If there's a Coke in the fridge, that'd be great," Peter said.

"I want a Coke too!" Michele said.

"You want something, Ben?" Gennie asked her brother.

"No," he said emphatically. "I want to talk to you...alone."

"Fine," Gennie replied.

"Why is Lover Boy here?" Ben asked once they were in the kitchen.

"I invited him," Gennie said simply. She opened the fridge and searched for soda.

"I thought you broke it off."

"You thought wrong." Gennie took three cans of Coke out.

"Are you engaged to him?"

"Sort of."

"What do you mean by sort of?"

"I mean sort of. Why don't we finish this conversation in the other room?" She gave Ben a can to carry out. "Give this one to Michele. "

Ben sighed again.

"You sound like a snake today," Gennie said. "I've never heard so much hissing in my life. You must be driving Annie crazy."

"Annie's fine."

When they went back into the living room, Peter was down on the floor with Michele tickling Kristopher. The baby was laughing hysterically.

"Hey, thanks babe," Peter said, when Gennie gave him his drink. Ben frowned deeply.

"No problem," Gennie replied, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

"So...you said you would tell me what's going on," Ben said.

"Uh...well, let's wait until Annie's ready."

"Mom and Peter have a special announcement to make," Michele said.

"You're not pregnant, are you?" Ben replied.

"No, of course not," Gennie said.

"It's not because we're not trying, though," Peter added jokingly. Ben failed to laugh.

Annie came into the room wearing Calvin Klein jeans and a pink silk blouse with a jeweled belt. Her hair was blown out and styled.

"You going to a disco or something?" Peter asked.

Annie chuckled. "Oh I wish. It's hard to do that with a baby and this one here." She poked Ben.

"I used to go out a lot," Peter said, "but I never danced. I usually hung out by the bar so I could pick up girls. Since I met Gennie, I don't have to do that anymore."

"If you both want to go out tonight, you can," Annie said. "Michele can stay here and play with Kristopher."

"We'll think about it," Gennie said. "Actually, we were waiting for you to come out because Peter and I have a special announcement to make."

"Oh, really?" Annie replied. "What is it?"

Gennie clasped her hands together. "Uh, about three weeks ago, Peter invited me to spend a few days in Las Vegas with him and while we were there...we got married."

Annie covered her mouth with her hands. Ben looked stunned, as if a brick hit him in the face.

"Oh my god...that's wonderful!" Annie gave her a hug. "I can't believe it!" She turned toward Peter and hugged him too. "Congratulations!"

"Thanks," Peter said, grinning.

Ben didn't say anything to them. He simply growled and left the room.

"Don't mind him," Annie said to Peter. "He's had a rough week."

"Well, I'm sure this topped it off," Gennie said. "I had a feeling he wasn't going to like it."

"Don't worry about it. I'll talk to him," Annie replied. "Just ignore him and enjoy yourself while you're here."

"We'll try," Gennie replied.

They spent about two hours at the condo. It was very uncomfortable knowing Ben was pissed.

"I think we're going to go back to the hotel and relax," Gennie said to Annie. "Tell Ben he's free to roam the rest of the house now."

Annie smiled wryly. "Well, it was nice to see you again." She gave Gennie a hug. "And you...it's nice to finally meet you in person."

"No problem," Peter replied, giving Annie a hug. "I'm glad I got to meet you guys."

They didn't talk about the incident until that night when Michele was asleep. Gennie didn't want her to worry about it, though she was probably very aware of what was going on.

"Oh, Peter," she said, wrapping her arms around him in the queen sized hotel bed. "I'm so sorry my brother was being a jerk today."

"Don't worry about it, hon," he replied, kissing her cheek. "Trust me; I've had people treat me a lot worse. Like my own family, for example."

"Yeah, but he was being a first class prick today. Which was exactly what I was afraid of."

"Are you still glad we got married, though?"

"Yes, definitely."

"Well, your sister-in-law there, she seemed like an okay girl and she was happy for us. Maybe she can beat some sense into your brother."

"I hope so."

Chapter 72: May 31, 1988

The first year of their marriage was a whirlwind for Gennie and Peter. To Gennie's surprise, when Peter told everyone who worked on the show that they married, everybody was happy for them. Erik seemed a little bit sad, but not shocked at all. He congratulated them, telling Peter that he found himself a great wife. After that, any tension on the set eased and the ratings for the show went up. It was a huge load off Gennie's mind. Everyone knew about their relationship and seemed to accept it.

Peter was worried about Nanny because she was constantly in the hospital. He thought his dad might have something to do with it and wanted to get her away from the Davidson estate. The problem was they didn't have enough room for her in their current house. Gennie had never thought she would move from the home she and Rory once shared but she suggested to Peter that it would be best if they found some place bigger. They looked for about a year but didn't find anything in their price range that they liked. Finally, they decided to build their own home. They bought two acres of land in Canoga Park and began building their dream house. It was completed in 1983, along with a small guesthouse in the back with everything Nanny could need. The next year they built a full size pool and a tennis court. Now that they had plenty of room with four bedrooms and three bathrooms, everybody that knew them was asking when they would be having a baby. It was a daily thing on the set, and eventually Nanny joined in. With Michele being a teenager, Nanny had nothing to do and she told Peter that she felt ready to be a grandmother.

The problem was Gennie and Peter put in long hours on the set. They needed to work to pay for the house and eventually, Michele's education. Gennie also wanted to take some time off to take care of the baby. They decided they would work on it when _Tech 2014_ was finally over. Every year there were rumors the show was in its final days, but it was renewed again and again. By 1985, Gennie didn't know how the writers managed to come up with story lines they hadn't done before, but it was still happening. Some of them she thought were bordering on ridiculous, but _Tech 2014_ was still getting great ratings and the network wanted to keep it at least another year.

In 1986, it was announced that the eighth season would be the show's last. Peter had gotten extra work on a movie set which paid much more and wanted to concentrate on that. Gennie decided if she wanted to have another child, she should do it now. She was almost forty years old and didn't know how long she had on her biological clock.

Gennie didn't think filming the last episode would bother her, but it did. She tried to hold back tears after filming wrapped. That night, they attended a party at the executive producer's beach house in Malibu.

Erik approached her while she was getting a cocktail at the wet bar and gave her a hug.

"I'm going to miss you," he said.

"You too," she replied. "I can't believe I won't be seeing you every day. It's going to be so weird."

"I know, but you and Peter can visit me if you miss me bossing you around."

"Oh, we'll definitely keep in touch."

"I've been looking for you," Erik's new wife, Sarah, said.

"So, I have to ask you something, Erik," Gennie stated. "Now that you're finally married, when is that baby coming?"

Erik laughed heartily.

"Well, I'm doing my part," Sarah chimed in. "Hopefully, Erik's doing his."

"I'm old, but the equipment works just fine," Erik said. "I'm sure it'll be soon."

"I think that's more than I wanted to know," Gennie replied and they all burst out laughing.

That night after the party, Gennie and Peter started working on having a baby. Gennie assumed it would take a while, but a few days short of the eight month mark of when the show filmed its last episode; on October 27, 1987, she gave birth to a girl. They named her Jamie-Rae, in honor of Gennie's father. Michele was thrilled. She offered unlimited amounts of babysitting time, but Gennie told her she could do it only if Nanny didn't want to. She wanted Michele to keep up her good grades at college.

That night, while nursing Jamie-Rae alone in the darkened hospital room, she thought her new baby looked very much like her own baby pictures. She remembered seeing one of Ben, who looked relatively big and healthy at six pounds, and then of her. She was somewhat small, weighing only four and a half pounds and overwhelmed by the amount of blankets swaddling her. Jamie-Rae, being born a month early, weighed only five pounds one ounce, was very similar. Gennie thought about how her mother must have felt finally having a girl after two boys. She was probably more than thrilled. She wished poor Adelaide could have lived long enough to see her grow up and have her own children. Michele knew nothing about her own grandmother except her name and that she died. She never even got the chance to visit her grave. That's when Gennie realized she had to bring her parents to California. She thought about doing it before, but life always got in the way. It had to be done though, and the sooner the better.

When she returned home from the hospital, she began making arrangements for getting the graves exhumed and the caskets shipped to California. She made an appointment with Forest Lawn cemetery so she could secure a space for them there. She remembered her dad telling her that her mother loved going to the movies and reading about all the stars in _Look_ magazine. She would be so happy to be in same place where a lot of them were buried. In May 1988, she booked a flight to Anchorage, Alaska.

There was only one thing she hadn't done yet and that was to get Bryan's permission. As far as she knew, he still lived in their childhood home. She had all the papers drawn up already. She decided she would just knock on the door and compel him to sign them. After that, she would never have to talk to him again.

The last week of May, she left Jamie-Rae for the first time in the care of Nanny and boarded a plane for Anchorage. Near the end of the seven and half hour flight, she looked out of her window and saw white capped mountains among many magnificent lakes and rivers. She had forgotten how beautiful Alaska was. Before they landed, they dipped low enough for her to see fields bursting at the seams with flowers and wild berries. She didn't realize until now how much she missed it. If it hadn't been for Bryan, she might still be living here.

The day Bryan beat them up and left them for dead was still painful to think about, even twenty-five years later. She felt sick to her stomach as she took her carry-on bag out of the bin and said good-bye to the flight attendants. She was that much closer to confronting him now.

She rented a car and drove to the closest motel to Willow, which was about thirty miles south and just off Route 3. When she arrived there, the first thing she did was go to the bathroom, splash water on her face and mentally prepare herself to encounter Bryan. She changed out of the t-shirt and jeans she had on the flight into a black dress with white pinstripes and a wide black belt. She wanted him to see that she had done fine without him.

Forty minutes later, her heart was pounding as she drove down the wooded dirt road that led to her old home. She parked next to a red 1980 Ford F-150 in the driveway. The house looked the same except the light brown paint was peeling and there were several old appliances dotting the yard and near the garage.

Gennie approached the house slowly, feeling like she took a trip back in time. She used the tarnished brass knocker shaped like the letter P to announce her presence.

After the third attempt at knocking, someone opened the door. It was an extremely thin woman in her fifties with dark greying hair and chipped front teeth.

"I'm not interested in becoming a Jehovah's Witness," she said in a lispy voice.

"Neither am I," Gennie replied, with a slight smile on her face. "Actually, I'm wondering if Bryan is here."

The woman's eyes narrowed with suspicion. "What do you want with him? I'm his wife, you know."

"Well, I'm his sister. I have some legal papers he needs to sign."

The woman's mouth gaped in shock. She took the chain off the door and opened it wider.

"Bryan doesn't have any brothers or sisters. He told me he was an only child."

"What Bryan told you was wrong," Gennie said. "He has a younger brother and me. Not that it matters anymore. So, is he home?"

The woman nodded. "Yes, but stay right here. I'll get him for you."

A minute later, a man she didn't recognize appeared at the door. He probably was fifty pounds heavier than the Bryan she knew, had a long yellowish-white beard and dirty hair pulled back in a ponytail. He looked at her with a slightly irritated expression, neither surprised nor angry. Gennie suspected he was too drunk to feel anything. He reeked of alcohol.

"You again," he said. "I thought you were dead."

"No," Gennie replied. "I'm not."

He looked her up and down.

"You look better than the last time I saw you."

"You know why?" Gennie said, anger rising in her voice, "It's because you kicked the crap out of me."

"You're still pissed about that?"

"Yes, I'm plenty pissed about it and I always will be." She stuck the papers underneath his face. "I want you to sign these."

He took the papers from her and squinted at them. "Gotta get my glasses," he said. He took them out of the pocket of his threadbare brown plaid shirt. He put them on and glanced at the paperwork. Gennie thought he looked like he could be someone's grumpy old grandfather.

"Oh this," he said flatly. "Waited long enough, didn't you?"

That comment made Gennie furious, but she didn't say anything in response. She handed him a felt tip pen. "Sign where the X's are."

He grabbed the pen and signed the papers.

"Here you go," he said, handing the clipboard and pen back to her. "Go dig those stiffs out of the ground. You want 'em, you can have 'em."

"I intend to," Gennie replied.

"I guess this is good-bye then," he said, sounding a little bit sad.

"Yeah, whatever," Gennie replied. She turned around and walked away.

As soon as she got into the car and drove off, she knew something was wrong. Bryan complied much too willingly.

_Well_ , she thought, _maybe he's mellowed with age_. _He probably realizes now that making other people's lives miserable isn't as pleasurable as it used to be and has gotten him nowhere. Or perhaps there is a slight chance he feels bad about the things he's done._ Gennie shook her head as she drove down Willow Fishhook Road. _No, Bryan never feels bad about anything_.

She stopped at the Food Mart and called the undertaker to tell him the signed paperwork was in hand and digging could begin immediately. He told her he would meet her at the cemetery.

About an hour later, she and the undertaker were standing near her parents' cemetery plot, watching a small backhoe make the first scoop into the ground. About forty-five minutes later, a crane hoisted her father's dirt covered casket into the air. Gennie's heart was racing. Soon she would be seeing her mother's casket for the very first time.

The backhoe dug to the same depth next to her father's plot but there was nothing. The undertaker thought that maybe she was buried in a wooden casket and things deteriorated, but he said he could see no sign of anyone having been interred there.

"Keep digging!" Gennie yelled to the backhoe's operator.

They dug another three feet. Still nothing.

"I don't think we can dig any deeper than that," the undertaker said to her. "Perhaps she's in the wrong plot. That happens once in a while, we'll dig the space next to where your mother's supposed to be."

They did and there was nothing there either. Gennie just couldn't believe it.

"I'm so sorry, ma'am. Obviously, there has been a horrible mix up. Maybe your mother is buried with some other family members."

"Then why is her headstone here?"

"I don't know. Perhaps your father wanted to make you feel better. You said she died in a snowstorm, right?"

Gennie nodded.

"Well, I know with hypothermia, people get confused and they wander off. Maybe her body was never found."

Gennie knelt down next to the giant empty pit and cried, her tears falling into nothingness. Why did no one tell her? For forty years, she thought her mother was here. Now she was gone forever.

Chapter 73

She drove toward Bryan's house at eighty miles an hour. He had to know about this. He was old enough at the time to realize what was going on. He signed those documents so willingly because he knew their mother wasn't there. He wanted Gennie to find out the hard way.

He was sitting on a dilapidated lawn chair drinking a beer when Gennie pulled up.

"Wow," he said, "long time no see."

Gennie took the clipboard she was holding and smashed it across his face as hard as she could.

Bryan just sat there, looking stunned. He touched his cheek and examined the blood from the gash made by the board's metal clip.

"Still feisty as ever, huh?" he said, not sounding perturbed at all.

"Where the hell is my mother!"

Bryan shrugged his shoulders as if it was no big deal and then took a swig of beer. "Beats me."

"Don't lie. You know where she is. You signed those papers without telling me on purpose. You wanted me to dig up the whole friggin' cemetery looking for her."

"Uh, yes and no. Seeing you all worked up about a pile of bones is kind of fun, but even if I did tell you, you wouldn't have believed me anyways."

"I want to know where my mother is. If I don't get an answer from you within thirty seconds, I'm going to pound this clipboard over your head until you die."

"Hey! Hold it right there!" Bryan said, a bit of beer dribbling down his face into his beard. "I'll tell you. It's not what you want to hear, but you insisted. Honestly, you shouldn't be poking your nose in shit where it doesn't belong, but..."

"Tell me right now," Gennie said, raising the clipboard again.

"Okay!" Bryan said, putting his hands out in front of him. "There's a letter in the house that'll tell you everything. Dad didn't want us to know about it, but I found it while looking for money in their bedroom. I was about fifteen at the time. I told Dad about it and he was pissed. He told me never to tell you guys about it ever."

"Get me that letter," Gennie said.

"Fine," Bryan said, standing up. "You can have it. I should have thrown it out a long time ago."

Bryan went inside the house and about ten minutes later emerged with a crumpled, yellowed envelope in his hand.

He handed it to Gennie. "I know you think she's some kind of angel, but I'm telling you, I know her and she's isn't."

Gennie thought it was weird that he was talking about their mother like she still alive, but she blamed his intoxication for that. She took the letter and left without saying goodbye.

Gennie pulled off on the side of Route 3 about halfway to her motel. The envelope was postmarked from San Francisco, of all places. Gennie pulled out the letter and read it.

Jimmy,

I assumed the last letter I wrote to you would have told you all you needed to know, but of course you had to push the issue, as always. I met with the private investigator you hired to find me and I told him I had no intention of coming back to you and that I want you to leave me alone.

And don't try to make me feel guilty by mentioning the children. Bryan can take care of himself. He's a big boy now. And those other ones...they're yours. I didn't want them, you did, so you can raise them.

Whatever you do, don't EVER contact me again. I have a new life now and you will not have any part in it. Please just go away and leave me in peace.

Addie

The letter left Gennie absolutely devastated. It had never occurred to her that her mother could have been alive and well. She had always believed the story her father told her. Everything she knew was a lie. Gennie felt as if the earth had fallen out beneath her. The worst was knowing that not only did her mother abandon her, she never wanted her in the first place. If it wasn't for her dad, she never would have been born. Tears slid down uncontrolled across her face. Her mother never had the same feelings for her that Gennie had about Michele and Jamie-Rae. She couldn't understand it. Bryan was right--she should have never poked her nose in places where it didn't belong. If she never came up here, she would still be happy in L.A. with Peter and the kids.

What was she going to tell Ben? Like her, he idealized their mother. She didn't think he'd be able to bear the truth.

She was so upset she was shaking, so she tried to take a couple of deep breaths. _Okay,_ she thought, _what's the good part of all of this? Umm...well...I have Dad and now he'll be surrounded by movie stars in a much warmer climate. I can visit him every day now if I want. Oh god, poor Dad...he must have felt like crap when he read that letter. No wonder he wasn't interested in dating...and the lengths he went to protect us. He spent several hundred dollars on a plot and a headstone just so it would seem believable when he told us she was dead._

She realized something else. Bryan could have told them at any time about this. He never listened to anything Dad said, so why did he keep this a secret? Gennie supposed the lie was so powerful it seemed like the truth.

_I guess that's another good thing_. _All this time I thought I didn't have a mother, when in reality, I did. Maybe when she wrote that letter, she was in a really bad mood or something. She might be different now...I mean, she would be seventy-two years old. She probably totally regrets what she did, but thinks it's too late to take it back. Maybe she spends her nights wondering what we look like, what we're doing, if she has grandchildren..._

She wondered if she had ever passed her on the street and didn't know it. There was no return address, so she had no idea where she lived. She shook her head. It probably didn't matter anymore. The letter was decades old. By now, she might be in Arizona or Florida in some retirement community.

She looked at herself in the rearview mirror. Her face wasn't noticeably red or swollen from crying. If she put on a smile, nobody would know.

When she arrived back at the motel, looking at the bed made the idea of a nap awfully tempting. She needed it after the horrible day she had. She took off her shoes and lay down on the full size bed.

Chapter 74: June 2

Gennie was so relieved when her plane landed at LAX. She couldn't wait to get home and see Peter and the kids. Peter had arranged a car service to pick her up so Gennie was surprised to see Ben there holding a sign instead.

"Oh my god!" Gennie said, giving him a warm embrace. "How did you get here?"

"I've been in LA for a couple of days now," he said. "I came for a trade show. I knew you were away and I figured I'd meet you at the airport."

"You actually talked to Peter?" Even after being married to Peter for seven years, Ben was still a little standoffish with him. She was glad to see Ben was coming around finally.

"Yes, I did," Ben replied. "I stopped by your house to visit my favorite nieces. Peter told me that he called a car service for you and I told him that I could save him a few bucks and pick you up instead."

"Actually," Gennie said, "your timing is perfect. I was dreading having to call you. There's something I need to tell you and I'd rather do it in person."

"You want to tell me here?" Ben replied, looking surprised.

"Yeah."

"We can't go to your place and talk about it?"

Gennie shook her head. "I think you should know about it right away. Let's go get a coffee and I'll tell you."

There was a cafe about two hundred feet from the terminal and they bought two small coffees there.

"You're going to want to sit down for this," Gennie said. "It'll be a little neater and less embarrassing in case you shit your pants."

Ben chuckled. "Hey, I'm a big boy now. I can take it."

They sat down at one of the small tables in the coffee shop.

"Well...let me just get right to the chase. Our mother...she's still alive."

Ben nearly choked on the coffee he just swigged. "What do you mean?"

"I mean she's not dead."

"She had a grave marker for chrissakes! Why would Dad plunk down hundreds of dollars for that if she were still alive? I mean, she _has_ to be dead! Didn't you find a coffin for her?"

Gennie shook her head. "Dad was where he was supposed to be. When they dug for our mother...nothing."

"Maybe they put her in the wrong place. That happens a lot, you know."

"Well, the undertaker thought that too. The backhoe dug up the next plot over. There was nothing there either."

"How do you know she's alive then?"

"I went back to confront Bryan."

"You can't believe anything Bryan says."

"I didn't at first, but he had proof." Gennie took the envelope out of her purse and handed it to Ben.

Ben took out the letter. She could see his face fall apart as he read each word.

"I can't believe it," Ben said. "How could they keep this from us?"

"Bryan said he was the one who found the letter."

"Oh god," he said softly. "All this time I thought she was this perfect person who died to keep us fed when actually she hated our guts! No wonder Bryan's so nasty. He gets it from her."

"And the worse thing is, we might have seen her and not have known. Did you see the postmark? It's from San Francisco!"

Ben glanced at the front of the envelope.

"Do you recognize the handwriting or something?"

"Yeah, I know exactly who it is. Now it makes sense."

"It does? How?"

"We've both been at her house. I remember she put on a fancy dinner party and had all these place cards written up. This is her handwriting."

"Whose handwriting?"

"Don't you know who our mother is?"

Gennie shook her head.

"Addie Conrad!"

"You mean, Charlene and Foster's mother? Are you sure?"

"She's their step-mother. She dumped us and raised them instead. And yes, I am one hundred percent sure."

Gennie remembered when she met her. Foster had invited her over for dinner. No wonder she acted strangely. She must have known. She seemed so familiar too. She looked a lot like Ben. She could cook too, like Ben could.

"Does she still live in the same house?"

"Huh? Why are you asking that?"

"Because I want to know."

"I don't know."

"I have to see her, Ben."

Ben grabbed her arm. "No way. Not over my dead body."

"Why not?"

"Gen, are you out of your mind? She hates us. We wouldn't even be here if it was up to her. Why in the hell do you want to see her?"

"I have to."

"Well, it isn't happening. Do you really want to deal with Foster again?"

"Oh Ben, that was years ago. I'm over that. Actually, I'm curious to know how he's doing."

"This isn't going to be some class reunion, you know. I don't want these people in my life. I can't see Charlene again. Just to look at her would kill me."

"No one is going to make you see Charlene. I know that whole thing didn't end well."

"End well? It was like a nuclear disaster. I can't see her or..."

"Johnny?"

"Yeah, I don't want to see him either. I never told you about this, did I?"

Gennie shook her head. "I guess not." Then she remembered. "Oh, your baby!"

"Her name is Lauren," Ben replied.

"You've seen your baby?" Gennie said.

"Yeah, it was when I was working at Valben. Charlene came in the bookshop with her. I was so stunned. I must have looked like a total idiot. I was sure Charlene had gotten an abortion before she married Johnny, but she didn't. I didn't even realize that I was looking at my own daughter until Charlene told me."

"Was she cute?" Gennie said, smiling.

"Beautiful," Ben replied.

"Does Johnny know?"

"No, he doesn't know anything. He thinks he's her father."

"Have you seen her since then?"

Ben shook his head. "That was the last time. I wish I handled it better. I remember Charlene walked out of the bookshop in tears. It was for the best, though."

"Does she know?"

"Lauren, you mean? No...at least I hope not. That's why you can't go there. If she finds out, it will hurt her. Then, who knows what will happen?"

"Ben...do you want her to have the wool over her eyes for years and years like we did? Isn't it better that she knows?"

Ben paused. "She should never know the truth."

"Why?"

Ben looked at her as if she had gone crazy. "Well, now we know what really happened and look where it's gotten us."

Gennie nodded. "Yeah, I can see your point. But, for some strange reason, I'm sort of glad I do know."

Ben drank the last bit of his coffee. "We should get going."

"Yeah, we should."

"Please, Gen, whatever you do, don't go there, okay? It'll only make things worse."

"I won't," Gennie said, "I promise."

Chapter 75: January 15, 1989

Page had invited Gennie to San Francisco for the week. It had been about two years since Gennie had seen her and that was to disclose the terms of the settlement. They did talk on the phone about once a week, though. One day Page decided to take her first vacation from the law firm. She told Gennie she had a special announcement to make. She also wanted Gennie to have so much fun that she would 'go comatose' for a month.

Page's idea of fun was always a little different from Gennie's, but Gennie hoped that forty-year-old Page was slightly mellower than twenty-year-old Page. Not really. The first night she spent with Page most of their fun consisted of going to bars and drinking. The only thing that had changed since their college days were the drinks--cocktails with fancy names instead of just beer.

The second day they went out shopping. Gennie was surprised because the old Page hated shopping, especially for clothes. Gennie supposed she picked up this new habit during her law career because she could've cared less about what she looked like in high school and college. But now she had very expensive tastes. They shopped around the Financial District. They went into stores Gennie wouldn't dare step in by herself because they looked so exclusive. Page bought items off the racks and shelves without looking at any of the price tags. Gennie almost passed out when the total of her purchases at one boutique was twenty five hundred dollars. Page simply shrugged her shoulders and handed the sales lady her credit card.

Tonight, on Gennie's third day in San Francisco, they were going out to dinner and then they would see the movie _Beaches_. Gennie was relieved there wasn't going to be another bar hopping or extremely expensive shopping adventure.

Gennie thought they would be going out to one of the high-end restaurants they passed by while shopping, but instead they went to, of all places, Bella Cucina.

"The theme for this evening is _Blast from the Past_ ," Page explained as they waited for a table.

"You know, I haven't been in this place since I worked here," Gennie said, looking around. The interior had been updated, with beige paint on the wall and mauve chairs with matching tablecloths and napkins, but the layout was exactly the same. Gennie remembered the night when Charlene came here with all of her friends. Ben was on a date with Bouffant Barbara, and that was the first time she met Foster. A smile crept onto her face as she wondered if Bouffant Barbara still had her bouffant.

"What's so funny?" Page asked.

"Ben went on his first date here, with Bouffant Barbara. I was wondering if she still had her bouffant."

Page broke out laughing. "I actually saw her last month at my firm's Christmas party. She's married to one of the partners now. And you know what, she still has that bouffant! I almost crapped my pants. It's still as blond and lacquered as ever, except she looks like she's imitating Ivana Trump instead of Joey Heatherton now."

"Oh my god, that's great! Did she even know who you were?"

"I introduced myself to her directly. She didn't acknowledge that she knew me, but I could tell she recognized me. She had the whole deer in the headlights look going on. She must have been thinking, _Holy shit, I'm at the same party as Page Goodman! Oh no, the world is going to end!_ "

They both chuckled.

"So, since it's _Blast from the Past_ night, are we going to meet anybody from _The Past_?"

Page gave her a sly smile. "Maybe."

"Did you invite Bouffant Barbara?"

"No way. I'd rather shoot myself with a .44 Magnum than eat dinner with that bitch."

The host led them to their table.

"Do you remember Lacey?" Gennie asked him.

The young man shook his head. "I can't say that I do, but I've only been here about three years. Your server will be with you in a moment."

Page slapped her on the shoulder. "Of course he doesn't know, Gen! He was still a sperm in his father's left ball when Lacey was around. I have underwear older than he is!"

The host overheard and blushed furiously. Gennie tried to stifle her laughter, but was unable to.

"Is _The Blast_ going to show up, or is it _Girls Night Out_ again?" Gennie asked.

"Actually, I invited the whole friggin' class of '66," Page said jokingly. "Come on! What did you expect?"

"What _did_ you expect?" A male voice said to them.

Gennie looked up and saw a tall man in a gray double-breasted jacket with matching pants and a white shirt. Gennie thought he looked like he walked straight out a magazine ad. Except that his hair was a little long and messy and his hands looked a bit rough and calloused. She knew exactly who he was.

"Foster?" Gennie said.

"Hey, isn't this a coincidence," Page chimed in. "Gennie, this is my brand spanking new boyfriend. We've been going out for about three months now. And, as you correctly guessed, it's none other than Foster Conrad."

"No way!" Gennie cried.

Page was beaming like a girl who had been crowned Miss America. Foster sat beside Page and put his arm around her. Gennie thought Page was going to melt.

"And who is this?" Foster asked her.

"Well, I don't know if you remember this far back, but this is Gennie Perrin."

Foster smiled. "Oh yes, I do remember!" He took Gennie's hand and squeezed it. "You look terrific, Gen. I swear you've haven't changed at all since I last saw you."

"Thanks Foster. You look great, too."

"Well thank you."

"So, how are you enjoying your new girlfriend?" Gennie asked him.

"I should have dated her twenty years ago," Foster replied.

"Yeah, you should have," Page said.

"You should have slapped me upside the head," Foster told Page, "that I didn't see a beautiful girl like you."

Page pinched his cheek. "Yeah, but you're too cute."

They ordered their drinks and chatted.

"Page tells me that you've got a good man," Foster said, "and you have kids too, right?"

"I have two girls," Gennie replied. "My oldest, Michele, is nineteen. She's in college, at USC, studying music. And my baby, Jamie-Rae, is fourteen months old."

"Do you have any pictures?" Foster asked.

"Sure," Gennie replied, taking out her wallet and handing it to Foster.

He looked at the photos. "Your kids are gorgeous." He handed her the wallet back. "You're a lucky girl."

"Do you have any children?" Gennie asked.

"Yeah, I want to know too," Page said, elbowing him playfully.

"No, I don't," Foster said. "I never got married or anything like that."

"Really?" Gennie replied.

"Came close once, but I think I was waiting for this one right here," Foster said, turning towards Page.

"Well, I came about as close to getting married as I've come to a rat's ass, which isn't close at all, but I guess it was all worth it, since I'm going out with him." Page pointed to Foster.

Their drinks arrived and they put in their orders.

"We don't have any kids in our family except for my niece Lauren," Foster said. "I've been sort of like her father since Charlene and Johnny got divorced, because Johnny can't be bothered to spend any time with her. He hasn't even paid child support."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that Charlene and Johnny split up," Gennie said.

"It was a long time ago. Lauren couldn't have been more than three years old."

"How is Charlene doing now?" Gennie asked.

"Oh, she's getting by, I guess," Foster replied, in a less than happy tone. "I try to help her out as much as I can. For some reason, she won't move out of that slum she's living in. Mom needs someone to look after her and she has that huge house with all those rooms. I tried to talk Charlene into moving back in with her, but she refuses. I can't believe she's still mad at her after all these years."

Charlene living in a slum? Gennie could barely imagine that. And _Mom needs someone to look after her_? He wasn't talking about his mom he was talking about hers! If Ben hadn't pushed her into that death oath, she would have definitely stopped by.

"Would you like to see a picture of Lauren?" Foster asked, taking out his wallet and sliding it across the table.

"Okay," Gennie said, feeling a bit nervous. She opened up the wallet to see a girl who looked exactly like Charlene except that she had light brown hair. It was obviously a school picture and Gennie noticed that Lauren was dressed more casually than Charlene would have been. She had on a red sweater with puffy shoulders along with a white turtleneck and silver hoop earrings.

"It's déjà vu!" Gennie said. "She looks exactly like Charlene."

"Well, what Charlene used to look like, anyway," Foster said. "We're all so proud of her. She graduated third in her high school class and now she's attending Newbury College in Boston. Mom was in her glory when Lauren told her she wanted to go into cooking just like her. It just made her whole day."

_Wouldn't Ben like to know this_ , Gennie thought. _It would make his day too_.

"She's a beautiful girl, Foster," Gennie said, handing the wallet back to him.

"Oh, I know," Foster replied. He slid the picture out of the wallet. "Do you want to have it?"

"Huh?" Gennie responded. She thought that was a weird question to ask.

Foster nodded, as if they shared something Page didn't know about. _Oh geez, he wants me to give it to Ben_ , she thought. _How could I be so dense?_

Gennie nodded in return. "Well, thank you, Foster. That's really nice of you."

"Wow, I'm impressed," Page said, oblivious to the silent exchange. "He's a great guy, isn't he?"

"Yes, he is," Gennie replied. She put the picture in the pocket of her black leather jacket.

Their orders arrived and they chatted while they ate dinner.

"I've got to get going, girls," Foster said, as soon as he finished eating. "I have a presentation to give at seven in the morning tomorrow."

"You don't want to go and see _Beaches_?" Page asked.

Foster looked at her as if she asked him to attend someone's execution. "Sorry, I can't. Why don't you enjoy yourselves tonight? Paint the town, you know."

"We've painted the town many colors," Gennie added.

"Mostly vomity-like colors," Page added and they both chuckled.

"Goodbye, sweetie pie," Foster said and kissed Page on the lips.

"Goodbye, lovey dovey," Page replied. "Get your beauty rest."

"I'll try," Foster replied and left.

After the check was paid, Gennie and Page walked to the theater. They had an hour to kill before the movie started, so they hung out and talked outside the entrance.

"Charlene doesn't sound like she's in a good place," Gennie said.

"Oh, Foster was being nice, really nice, when he said that."

"She's doing that bad?"

Page leaned into her and whispered. "He had to send her to rehab several times. She's an alcoholic and takes pain medication like they were candy. She started going downhill after Johnny left her. Actually, the reason why Lauren turned out so well is because Foster took care of her about ninety percent of the time. She didn't move back in with her mother until she was in high school."

"Oh god, that's too bad. I hope she's doing better."

"Yes, she's out of rehab again and she has a job working at the Seven-Eleven down the street. You wanna go see her? I bet she's working now."

"Charlene works at a Seven-Eleven? You've got to be kidding me!"

"No, I'm not. I'll show you. I want to get some candy and soda anyway. Nothing beats the thrill of smuggling food inside movie theaters."

They walked down Ocean Avenue to the Seven-Eleven. As they entered the store, Gennie saw an older blond woman at the cash register, but it looked nothing like Charlene. Though Charlene was always thin, she never looked emaciated. This lady couldn't have weighed more than ninety pounds and she had deep circles under her eyes. The skin on her face and under her chin was slack, making her look about twenty years older than Charlene would have been. Instead of Charlene's lustrous mane, her hair was very thin and held up in a loose ponytail.

"Hey Charlene!" Page announced. "How are you doing?"

The woman hadn't noticed them until then and she jumped up about a foot.

"Oh, I'm fine, I guess," she said nervously. "What are you doing around here?"

"Gennie and I are going to see _Beaches_. Have you seen it yet?"

"No," Charlene replied. "I haven't had the time."

"I know how you feel," Page said. "The last movie I saw was the first _Jaws_. Lately, I've been like, if I don't take a frickin' vacation, I'm going to jump into the bay hoping I get eaten alive by him. By the way, you remember Gennie, don't you?"

Charlene eyed Gennie as if she was a cop about to arrest her. "Gennie Perrin?"

"Yep, that's me," Gennie replied. "It's great to see you again, Charlene."

Gennie held out her hand and Charlene shook it. She had the lightest of grips and her palm was sweating profusely.

"It's nice to see you," Charlene replied, giving Gennie the one thing that sparked any recognition--the fake TV smile. "You look like you're doing well."

"I am," Gennie said. "I'm married and I have two daughters."

"I'm so happy for you," Charlene replied. "You know I was just wondering...how is Ben doing? He's okay, isn't he?"

"He's doing very good."

"Is he married?" Charlene asked. Gennie knew Charlene was hoping that the answer was no.

"Yes, to a really great girl," Gennie said. She saw Charlene literally sink into her uniform. "He has a baby too. Actually, he's nine years old now. Kristopher would kill me if he heard me call him a baby."

"I'm so happy he's doing well. I wonder about him all the time, you know. I keep hoping he'll drop in here maybe but he never has." She chuckled nervously. "Anyway, if you see him tell him I said hi."

"I will," Gennie replied.

They loaded up on Snickers bars and Diet Cokes and then paid at the cash register.

"See you later, sis," Page said. "I'll tell you about the movie next time I stop by here."

"All right," Charlene replied, forced cheerfulness in her voice. "See you later."

"What do you think?" Page said, as soon as the door closed.

"I can't believe it's her," Gennie replied. "I barely recognized her."

"Doesn't she look old?" Page remarked, as they continued down the street towards the theater. "I swear she's in second place behind Keith Richards in the Shar-Pei Lookalike contest."

Gennie chuckled. "Not quite that bad, but she looks like she could be about sixty."

"You know, I can't even imagine what she's thinking right now. She's probably like _I'm stuck behind this fucking counter, and I have to wait on people I was too important to even talk to in high school. I should go home and hang myself!_ "

"I feel sorry for her," Gennie said. "She seems really sad."

"Don't ever feel sorry for her, Gen. She's getting what's coming to her. I mean she screwed your brother over big time. You should be mad as hell at her."

"That was so long ago, Page."

"But time doesn't make it all right. Now, she's acting all concerned for poor Benjamin. She doesn't care about him. She just wants to get out of that frickin' Seven-Eleven!"

"Be nice to her. She might be your sister-in-law someday."

"Oh, I hope she's my sister-in-law! You know why? Because I irritate the hell out of her. I can't wait until Foster and I get married so I can bug her for life."

Gennie sighed. In some ways, Page never got beyond the level of a teenager.

"Hey, race you to the theater!" Page said. "The last one there has to pay!"

"Luckily, for me, I'm not wearing three inch spiked heel boots," Gennie said. She took off running down the street.

"Oh, you are always Miss Sensible, aren't you, you little turd!" Page yelled in mock anger.

"Yep," Gennie yelled back. "See you at the movie!"

Chapter 76: January 16

Ben got up at five a.m. after another restless night's sleep and made himself a cup of coffee. He came in late the night before and went straight to bed, not bothering to read the paper, which had been his bedtime ritual since Kristopher was born. He figured he'd read it now, since all was quiet. Then he could find out how badly the world was going to hell as of yesterday.

He unrolled the paper and was about to sit down and read it when the buzzer rang. It startled him so badly that he spilled coffee all over the paper.

He cursed and threw the paper down on the counter.

"This better be good, you son of a bitch," he mumbled in the direction of the door. "If it isn't, I'm going to strangle you."

He walked down the hallway and opened one of the front doors. There was no one there.

"You prick," Ben said, closing and locking the door. He was about to go back to the kitchen and clean up the mess when something on the hard wood floor caught his eye. It was a white piece of paper with writing on it. Figuring it was one of the many memos Annie wrote to remind him to do something, Ben picked it up and was about to throw it in the trash. Then he noticed the writing didn't look anything like Annie's. What it said took him aback too. _Lauren Roberta Briggs_ , it announced in small tight cursive letters, _November 1984_.

He turned the picture over and it blew him away. _Holy crap, it's Charlene all over again_ , he thought. He had to look away for a moment, but then he felt compelled to examine it more closely. Well, she had Charlene's face and beautiful hair, but hers was darker, almost brown. Ben remembered Charlene's hair was wavy, but Lauren's hair was perfectly straight. Her eyes weren't crystal blue like Charlene's were. They had a grayish tinge to them. That outfit was something like Charlene would wear to school, but not for picture day. Charlene would have dressed to the nines for that.

_So, some of me got into the mix after all_ , he thought. Charlene must have dropped this off or something. Ben wondered why she would wait over twenty years and then deliver a wallet-sized picture that was four years old.

_Must have gotten into a fight with Johnny_ , he thought as he went into the kitchen and cleaned up the spilled coffee. He looked at his daughter some more and wondered what she was like. He hoped she had done well in school and was working on an exciting career in whatever. He didn't want her to end up like Charlene--pregnant and in an arranged marriage of convenience. That wasn't done anymore, but who knew with the Conrads. _I hope Lauren has the good sense to stay away from guys like me_ , Ben thought, chuckling silently.

Ben imagined he met this impressionable young girl at a park and she was so thrilled about meeting him. He would give her some of his pearls of wisdom. Then, he'd stop over to check out her new apartment and he'd give her cooking lessons. He imagined her eyes lighting up as he showed her how he made Michele's signature dessert, Blackberry Banana Flambé.

He shook his head. Those things were never going to happen. Although it made him sad, he knew it was better this way. She was probably on her way to starting a life for herself. If Ben walked in and announced he was her real father that would only mess things up for her.

Then he imagined another improbable scenario--Lauren the beautiful bride. She had her hair up in a bun, with a small tiara on top. She was wearing some designer wedding gown that probably cost about ten thousand dollars. It was Ben's job to walk her down the aisle. As they approached the altar, she would lay her on head on Ben's shoulder and say, 'I love you, Daddy.'

Without realizing it, Ben slammed his coffee down on the counter. More of it spilled out. _Goddamn it_ , he thought, _that dick Johnny Briggs is going to be doing that! It's not fair!_

He sighed. _Well, who said life was fair? Both my mother and my brother hate me and my own kid doesn't know me from a hole in the wall. I'm lucky I'm here and not in some insane asylum. I just gotta accept that this is the way it is._

He was trying to figure out where to put the picture. He was planning to hide it in his office, but the problem was his office was right next to the bedroom. The desk was metal and very squeaky. He didn't want Annie to wake up and catch him in the act. She might think the picture was a girlfriend he had on the side. He didn't feel like explaining that it was his long lost daughter that he never bothered to tell her about. He looked around and decided to stick it in the utensil drawer; underneath the harvest gold organizer they got as a wedding gift. When Annie and Kristopher were both out of the house, he'd move it to the file where he stored all of their tax information. Annie would never bother to look in there.

He cleaned up yet another spill, finished what was left of his coffee and spread the newspaper out on the counter to dry. He was tired again so he decided to return to bed.

It felt like only five minutes later when someone shook him awake.

"What's the problem?" he said groggily.

"I was going to ask you that," Annie replied. He looked up at her and saw the sun streaming in between the closed blinds. It almost looked like Annie had a halo on top of her head.

"What time is it?" he asked.

"Quarter of seven," she replied.

"Why did you wake me up so early?"

"I thought you were already awake."

"What do you mean?"

"Ben, you were crying! When I asked you what was wrong, you didn't answer me."

Ben shot up straight in bed.

"I didn't say anything, did I?"

Annie shook her head. "No, you were just sobbing like a baby. Was it a really bad dream?"

Ben felt his face. It was wet and stung a little bit. "I don't know," he replied. "I don't remember."

"Come here," Annie said, her arms wide open. Ben put his arms around her. "I'll chase all the bad dreams away."

Ben chuckled. "All right, Mom," he said in jest and kissed her lovingly on the cheek. It took a while, but he managed to shake the image of Lauren cursing him out on her wedding day while Johnny gloated with pride. It was hard to get rid of, but eventually he managed to sleep deeply for the first time in days.

Chapter 77: May 13

Ben was busy in the restaurant prepping the food and making sure everyone was on the straight and narrow. Saturday was always busy and tomorrow being Mother's Day, it was going to be hell night tonight. He couldn't have any slow pokes working right now. Outside, it was sunny and a beautiful seventy-five degrees, which meant that in the kitchen it was ninety-five degrees. They had air conditioning, but with all the gas stoves, grills and the heat of ten people moving around frantically, it didn't make much of a difference. Ben learned long ago that it was pointless to wipe the sweat away. It would just keep pouring out anyhow. Just as long as it didn't get into the food, he let it drip down. Usually by the end of the night, it looked like he had just gone swimming with all his clothes on. Luckily, the employees' restrooms had showers and he always brought another set of clothes with him so he wouldn't have to feel like the grubbiest person on earth when he went home.

Even though it was crazy tonight, everything was going smoothly. They had plenty of food and ingredients; everyone was working at a fairly quick pace and so far, no mishaps. Then he felt a tap on his shoulder. That meant trouble.

He turned around and saw it was the hostess, Ashley.

"Someone giving you a hard time out there?" he asked. Ashley was young and attractive, so it wasn't unusual that some pervert or drunk guy would make crude remarks to her. When that happened, Ben and his bulkiest employee, his bartender Bill, would personally escort the gentleman out of the restaurant and proceed to kick his ass to the curb.

"No sir," Ashley replied, "it's for you."

"Someone wants to hit on me?" Ben said, continuing to prep. "Does excessive sweating turn them on or something?"

Ashley smiled. "No, this lady is inquiring about the job opening."

_They always pick the best time to ask about a job_ ," he thought. Why couldn't they take Mom to the mall and leave him the heck alone? He was really not in the mood to do a meet and greet. He desperately needed a sous chef though. With both he and Annie working all kinds of strange hours, Kristopher was probably starting to think he was an orphan. It would be nice to see his child once in a while.

"You know what? Give her a job application and send her to the lounge. Have Bill fix her a drink on the house. I'll be out there in fifteen minutes."

"All right, sir," Ashley said and left.

After he finished prepping, he ran into the employee restroom and dried his face off with a paper towel. He didn't want customers to think he was a slob. Then he ran out into the lounge area. He saw a pony tailed young lady in a gray plaid jacket and black skirt looking over a piece of paper. Figuring that it must be her, he sat down beside her.

"Are you done with that?" he said breathlessly.

She looked up at him, her gray-blue eyes wide. She seemed shocked by his forwardness.

"Yes," she said, hesitant, "except for the references part. I'm not sure which one of my professors to include."

"Don't worry about that," Ben replied, taking the application and scanning the back of it. "They always lie anyway."

She went to school in San Francisco but attended college in Boston.

"Got homesick, I see," he said.

"No," she said, "I wanted to stay in Boston, but my family really needs me right now."

"What job experiences do you have that qualify you to be a sous chef?"

"None, really."

"Not even Burger King or McDonald's?"

"No."

"Hmm...do you like to cook?"

"Oh I love to cook!"

"Do you take and follow orders well?"

"Yes."

"Can you work fast and not screw up?"

"Yes, I can do that."

"Welcome to the nuthouse. I'll give you a quick tour of the kitchen, then I'll give you a shitload of things to do. Follow me."

The girl's jaw dropped open. "Uh, does that mean I'm hired?"

"Yes. Now come on! I don't have all day!"

The girl, a little shaken by his tone of voice, meekly followed him into the kitchen.

He hadn't said a word to her after that that wasn't a command, but from what he saw of her, he knew she would probably be one of his better employees. She was a bit slow because of her unfamiliarity with the kitchen area, but once she had all the supplies in hand she was efficient. The best part of all was no complaints from the customers. She obviously knew what she was doing. She was in no way qualified to be a sous chef, but at least he had some extra hands. With a little bit of training and experience, he could probably make a middling sous chef out of her in about a year.

When it was time to close, Ben told her she could go home.

"Oh no, Mr. Perrin," she said. "I'm part of this restaurant now. I'll help you clean up."

_What is she? A girl scout?_ Ben thought. He normally would have insisted that she take off, but he was too tired to argue.

"All right," he replied, "if you want to."

When the night was over, he went into his office and flopped down on the old squeaky office chair. He was tempted to sleep there for the night. The girl's application was on the desk. He knew he should look it over, but he didn't have enough energy to pick it up. He put his head on the desk and closed his eyes.

"Mr. Perrin?" A girl's voice called out.

He bolted upright and saw his newest employee standing at the entrance to his office. This was the first time he actually had a moment to look at her. She seemed awfully familiar, though he couldn't place where he saw her before. She was probably one of his employees' sisters, girlfriends or cousins. He'd find out soon enough.

"I'm sorry I woke you up," she said sheepishly.

"No, it's okay," he replied. "I'm not supposed to be sleeping here anyway."

"Well, I just wanted to thank you, for...you know, giving me this job. I can't tell you how much I appreciate it. I know I'm totally unqualified for the position, but you gave me a chance anyway. I promise I won't let you down."

_Wow_ , he thought, _this is something_. "It's no problem. Actually, I should thank you. You did an excellent job, and you even stayed to help with the closing, which you didn't have to do. It's usually not this rough here. It's only because of Mother's Day. Most of the time it's pretty easy. It can even be fun. I hope you enjoy working here."

"Oh, I hope so too," she said. "Well, I have to get going. I'm picking my mother up from work."

"She does the late nights, too?"

The girl nodded.

"Hey, you know what? Let me walk you out to your car."

"Okay," she said.

Ben was glad he did that because the poor girl's car was on the third ramp of the parking garage on the other side of the street. He didn't want her to be accosted by some weirdo hanging out in the shadows.

He figured she was probably driving a clunker that didn't work half the time, but to his surprise, the car was a nearly new BMW.

"Nice car," he said.

"My uncle gave it to me for my birthday. Actually, it was his old car. He gets a new one every year."

"Nice uncle," Ben replied.

"Yeah, he's a great guy. Oh actually, there's something else I wanted to ask you. When is the next time I'm due to work?"

"Good question. Come in tomorrow at one o'clock. You can work until about nine. We'll take care of closing. I don't want to burn you out too fast."

"Okay, sounds good," she said. "Thanks a lot."

She closed the car door and left the garage. He waved to her and then went to his own car in the parking lot behind the garage.

He tried to get into the car, but there was a problem. He was so tired that he was using the keys to the restaurant instead of the keys to the car. He searched his pants pockets for the car keys but they weren't in there.

"Goddamn it! I bet they're still in my office!" he yelled to no one in particular.

He went to the back entrance of his restaurant and unlocked the door. He flicked on the lights and walked through the kitchen and into his office. The car keys were lying on the desk, beside the girl's application. He grabbed the car keys and then remembered he wanted to look over the application more closely.

He took the application and returned to his car. He put it on the passenger seat. As he started the car up, he happened to glance down at the application and thought he saw the name Lauren on it. He grabbed it immediately and looked at it.

He couldn't believe it. He spent half the night with her. How could he have not known?

His new sous chef was also his daughter.

Chapter 78: May 14

Lauren was bursting with excitement as she parked in front of the Seven-Eleven on Ocean Avenue. Her mother's shift ended at midnight. She couldn't wait to tell her about her new job. Usually Lauren went inside and bought a Slurpee before taking her mother home, but tonight her mom was out the door before Lauren shut the car off. Lauren sighed as she saw the look on her face. Mom was wearing the deepest of frowns. Lauren didn't know what went on tonight but she knew her mother would be in no mood to listen to her. She sighed. _Maybe she'll feel better tomorrow_ , she thought.

Her mother slammed the car door as she got in.

"What happened?" Lauren asked quietly.

"Nothing," she replied. "Let's go home."

Mom didn't bother to ask how Lauren's night went as they drove back to their apartment on Magnolia Street near the Mission District. Actually, she didn't say a single word during the entire eight-minute drive. Lauren felt anger rise through her chest but she pushed it back down. _It's not her fault_ , she told herself. _I'm sure she's happy for me, but it's just not a good time right now._

After they arrived home, her mother unlocked the heavy iron gate that led to the entrance of their apartment. After Lauren entered the foyer, Mom locked the gate again. They climbed the three flights of stairs to their apartment, her mother racing ahead of her. _I guess she isn't that tired_ , Lauren thought. Usually Mom turned on the TV and watched it for a little while before she went to bed, but not tonight. When Lauren entered the apartment, everything was dark. Her mother must have gone straight to bed. When that happened, Lauren usually followed her in there and asked what was wrong, but she was too exhausted. Her mother never told her any of her problems anyway. She went into the bathroom, where she brushed her teeth and readied herself for bed.

Her bedroom was supposed to be a pantry, but the shelves were taken out to make room for a cot. It was somewhat weird to sleep practically in the kitchen, in a room that was only fifty square feet, but she didn't mind it all that much. When she closed the curtain to her room and turned on the light, it was really nice and cozy. The wall over her bed had pictures of the French countryside tacked to it. Most of them she ripped out of magazines, but a few were photographs sent by her friend and former classmate, Remi, who lived in Provence. The shelves on the opposite side of the room gave her plenty of space for her stuff. The left side shelves were for all her clothes, which were stacked up neatly and the other side were for her books, jewelry, stuffed animals and her collection of empty wine bottles. Since her mother was a recovering alcoholic, she could never have any full bottles in the apartment, but as long as they remained out of sight, the empty bottles were okay. Lauren would sometimes buy fresh flowers from a street vendor and put them in them in the bottles. She had some nice vintages, like a St. Emilion from 1943, which she bought at a flea market, but she was missing the crown jewel, an empty bottle of Dom Perrignon. She couldn't get a hold of any while at Newbury, but if she kept an eye on the recycle bin at Michele's, she could probably grab one before they hauled it away.

She tried to sleep, but after an hour gave up. She turned the light above her bed back on. Since she had some free time on her hands, she figured she would write a letter to Remi. It had been two weeks since she received his letter, but she hadn't had time to write him back. _He's probably starting to get worried_ , she thought.

She took a pen and a piece of notebook paper from under her bed and using one of her old college textbooks for support, wrote her letter. She told him all about her new job, how her first day went, and how she already took a liking to her new boss. She smiled as told him her boss was super cute, even though he was probably thirty or forty something. She liked teasing Remi and making him jealous. She asked him how life on the vineyard was going. She felt better as she signed, 'Yours Truly, Lauren'. She folded the letter into thirds and stuck it in an airmail envelope. She would send it out before she went to work tomorrow. About an hour had passed since she started writing the letter and her eyes were feeling a little bit heavy. She turned out the light and this time, she quickly fell asleep.

She woke up the next morning and saw the light streaming in underneath the curtain in her doorway. Luckily, Michele's didn't serve breakfast so she didn't have to be at work until one. She emerged in the kitchen expecting her mother to be up, but she wasn't. Lauren didn't think it was a big deal, though. She had a rough night. She assumed Mom was sleeping in.

Since it was Mother's Day, Lauren decided to make her breakfast instead. She would bring it into her bedroom. Maybe that would cheer her up enough so she could talk to her about last night at Michele's. Perhaps Lauren would find out what was bothering her. It was probably a bunch of teenaged boys that gave her a hard time or perhaps some asshole who was convinced he was being overcharged for his cigarettes. That's what it usually was on those rare occasions Lauren could get any information out of her.

Surprisingly, they had a well-stocked fridge this week, so Lauren made eggs, bacon and sausage. They had a bag of fresh onions, so she chopped one up and put it into the eggs. With the plate of food in one hand and a fresh cup of orange juice in the other, she went into her mom's bedroom.

Once she entered the room, she knew something wasn't right. Her mother was a very light sleeper. If Lauren went into her room, she usually woke up, but she didn't today.

Lauren stepped over the pile of dirty clothes on the floor and put the plate of food on her nightstand.

"Hey Mom," Lauren said, "I've got a surprise for you. Happy Mother's Day."

She hoped that would wake her up, but she didn't stir even the slightest bit.

_Oh shit_ , she thought, _we've got a problem here._

"Mom," she said, trying to shake her awake. "Mom, I made breakfast for you. Wake up."

Lauren noticed she looked awfully pale. Perhaps she was sick.

"Mom! It's time to wake up!"

Lauren's stomach fluttered with panic when her mother didn't respond. She didn't want another repeat of Christmas Eve, but something told her it was happening again.

Lauren pulled the top drawer of her mother's dresser open and rummaged through it. There it was--a box of fifty sleeping pills. Lauren opened the box and emptied the contents. Two empty packets fell onto the floor.

Trying to suppress her tears, she ran to the phone in the kitchen and dialed 911. She had no idea when she took those pills, so hopefully it wasn't too late. Lauren thought of last Christmas. The doctor told her it was a miracle her mother made it. Tears streamed down her face as she told the dispatcher the same thing she said only a few months before. She hoped she would pull through this time too.

Chapter 79

Mother's Day was nuts. Ben got up at eight, inhaled a cup of coffee and left for work. Since Mother's Day was another word for insanity, he had to remind himself a month in advance that it was coming up and of course, when the day came, he always forgot to buy Colleen and his wife something. Luckily, they were both fairly tolerant and at this point, expected him to forget. He'd have to get them something tomorrow, since he was far too busy to do it today.

His new sous chef came in on time, but she didn't look like she did the day before. Her shirt and dress pants were wrinkled and she was wearing a pair of old sneakers instead of dress shoes. _Perhaps she was only dressed to impress yesterda_ y, Ben thought.

Though he was too busy to ask her about it, he noticed her mood was different too. She wasn't humming while chopping up vegetables or stirring the soup pots with a dramatic flair. And she also wasn't looking at anyone or smiling. Ben wondered what was so different since yesterday. Maybe she wasn't happy with the job after all. He was worried that she would quit and he would never see her again. He hoped he wasn't just an honorable mention on her résumé.

Nine o'clock came and went and Lauren disappeared without saying goodbye. There was enough of a lull at nine-thirty so Ben could take a fifteen-minute break. He usually didn't take the required two breaks, but he was short of breath and having dizzy spells. He thought that maybe some fresh air would help. The last thing he needed was to pass out and have to go to the hospital. How would the restaurant function without him?

The trash barrel in the kitchen was overflowing so he took the garbage out to the dumpster in the back of the restaurant before he went on his break. While he was back there, he heard what sounded like a kitten crying. He thought it might be stuck in the dumpster so he looked inside but didn't see anything. Then he looked around it and to his surprise, he found Lauren curled up in a ball on the other side. The noise was coming from her.

Ben was stunned. She seemed so put together, he wasn't expecting this from her. She didn't notice him at all and continued sobbing.

"Hey," he said awkwardly, "what's wrong?"

Lauren looked up, obviously startled. Then panic appeared on her face.

"Uh, nothing. Nothing at all." She stood up and brushed herself off. "I was uh...uh...I was just leaving."

"Don't leave," he said to her. "I want to know what's wrong."

"It's nothing, really." She wiped the tears from her eyes.

"It's gotta be something. Why are you out back here crying?"

Instead of answering, she put her head in her hands and made the kitten mewing sound again.

He wanted desperately to hold her, but restrained himself. "You don't like this job?" he asked.

"I like it," she said in a muffled voice.

"Are you sure? You can honest with me, you know. If it's more than you can handle, I can find something else for you to do."

"N-No...I can handle it."

"So, it's not the job, huh?"

"No."

"Problems at home, then?"

"Uh...sort of."

"What kinds of problems?"

Her sobbing started again and then she did something he wasn't expecting at all. She ran toward him and sobbed into his shirt. He felt so bad for her that he was tempted to tell her the truth right then, but he didn't.

He didn't know what to say to her, so he put one arm around her waist and stroked her hair with his free hand. Her head fit perfectly on his shoulder. Her hair was soft just like Charlene's was.

It took her several minutes to calm down, but when she lifted her head from his shirt, she looked very composed.

"Do you want to go for a walk?" Ben asked her. "I have a couple of minutes to kill."

"Okay," she replied.

They walked past a line of dumpsters and parked cars, passing a noisy Irish pub. When they reached Sutter Street, Lauren told Ben about her situation.

"My mother's in the hospital right now," she said. "She has a lot of problems. The last couple of years she's been really depressed. She took a ton of pills last night and I found her unconscious this morning."

This was Charlene she was talking about, not some stranger, though it didn't sound like something Charlene would do at all. He remembered that she had everything going for her. Obviously, things had changed.

"I'm sorry," he replied. "That must be so tough to deal with. I hope she's okay."

"They pumped her stomach in the emergency room this morning," Lauren replied. "The doctor said that they're going to keep her there for a few days for observation, but they said she'll be all right. The only good thing about this mess is that it wasn't as bad as last time."

"This has happened before?"

"Yeah, Christmas Eve last year. That was the worst."

"Oh, geez...that must have been a nightmare."

"Yes, it was."

"Isn't she on medication or something?"

"She tried a bunch of different things, but nothing works. She was on Prozac when she went into the hospital last Christmas, so obviously that didn't work either."

"Why don't you send her to a therapist?"

"My uncle had her go see a friend of his that was a psychologist, but she wouldn't talk to him at all. I can't even get her to talk to me, never mind a stranger. About ninety-nine percent of the time, I don't even know what's bugging her. She doesn't tell me anything, so I have to guess what it is."

"What do you think it is?"

"My father," Lauren replied, which startled Ben. Then he realized she was talking about Johnny. "He left her a long time ago and I guess she was devastated. I don't exactly know what happened because I was really young, but I remember I was sent to live with my uncle and I didn't see her for the longest time. When I finally saw her again, she had really changed. It was like she died and someone else took her place. She wasn't the same mother I had as a kid."

"I'm really sorry about your situation, Lauren," Ben said to her. "I hope your mother gets better."

"I hope so, too," Lauren replied. "That's why I'm staying with her. It was so hard while I was in college. I was thousands of miles away so I didn't know what was going on with her. The whole time I was there, I was afraid I was going to get a phone call from my uncle saying that she hurt herself or even died. As much as I miss Boston, I feel so relieved that I'm back."

"Well, I'm glad you're back too," Ben said. "Otherwise, you wouldn't be working at Michele's. I really enjoy having you as part of my staff."

Lauren smiled appreciatively. "I really like being at Michele's too. It takes my mind off of my problems."

"I know what you mean," Ben replied.

"You have problems, too?" Lauren said. "Your life seems perfect to me."

"Well, when I was your age, I had a ton of issues. Most of them were my own fault, I'm afraid, but then I met Annie and now everything is great most of the time."

Lauren sighed. "I wish my mother was better, then I could go to France and visit Remi."

"Is he your boyfriend?"

Lauren giggled. "Not exactly. He's just a friend, really."

"But you wish he were your boyfriend."

"Uh...yeah, sometimes. I get the feeling that he really likes me too, but he's never told me. And I'm afraid to ask him."

"Why are you afraid?"

"Well...it's complicated. I really can't start a relationship right now, because I'm taking care of my mother. And then there's Remi's family. They're very wealthy and I'm sort of afraid they won't approve of me. It's not that my family's dirt poor. My grandmother has a lot of money and so does my uncle, but we're just regular people, not aristocrats like they are."

"You shouldn't let stuff like that get in the way. You know...a long time ago, when I was in high school, I had a very serious girlfriend. We probably would have gotten married, but her family didn't like me."

"What happened to her?"

"She married someone else."

"Well, maybe it was meant to be. You met Annie."

"Yeah, that's true, but losing..." he stopped before he said Charlene, "my first girlfriend was pretty traumatic. It took me a long time to get over her."

"Do you think I should tell Remi how I feel?"

"Yes, definitely."

"Oh okay...maybe I will, then. I hate to say this, but I'm sort of embarrassed by my mother. I love her to pieces, but...uh...I'm afraid if Remi finds out about her, he won't like me anymore. I know that sounds really awful, but that's how I feel."

"Don't be embarrassed, Lauren. It's not your fault. And it's nothing to be ashamed of, either. I bet Remi's thinking the same thing about his mother."

Lauren chuckled. "I think he is, but for different reasons. I guess she's the town gossip. You can't tell her anything without the whole world knowing."

"And do you like him any less for that?"

"No, of course not."

"See, there you go."

They turned the corner to Grant Avenue, where they saw the other end of the alleyway, then returned to the back of the restaurant.

"Thank you so much, Ben. I feel ten times better now that I've talked to you. I know how busy you are and I really appreciate you taking time to help me."

"It's no big deal. I do it all the time."

"I'll see you tomorrow," Lauren said.

"Actually, why don't you take the week off? Then you can look after your mother."

"What?" Lauren looked stunned. "I'd love to do that, but I really need the money right now."

"I'll tell you what," Ben said. "Pretend that you worked this whole week. You can come in on Friday and pick up your check. Then, you can return to work next Sunday. Hopefully, your mother will be home and feeling better by then."

Lauren's eyes widened in astonishment. "You're going to pay me even though I'm not working? Oh my god...you're a saint!"

"Yeah, too bad the pope hasn't figured it out yet," Ben said.

"Thank you so much!" she said, and then kissed him on the cheek. "I'll be back next week, no problem. I'll let you go back to work now."

He waved to her as she ran across the street to the parking garage. It was as if they had never been apart.

As he opened back door of the restaurant, he realized it was better than he had even imagined it to be.

Chapter 80: October 7

Things were going very smoothly at the restaurant. Lauren was a quick learner. She knew most of the ins and outs of the kitchen now. Though she wasn't quite ready to handle all the responsibilities of a sous chef, she was getting there fast. Ben figured at the rate she was going, she could run the restaurant most nights probably by next year.

He should have relished having free time to himself, but instead he dreaded it. What in the hell would he do? He had no hobbies to speak of. And he would rather be strapped to an electric chair than spend eighteen hours a day watching TV, which is what he would probably end up doing. Maybe he could spend more time with Annie and Kristopher, but what were they going to do together? He really couldn't think of any activities they would all enjoy.

He thought maybe just before Christmas he would take them to Disneyland. It was far away, but not too far. He had just bought a pager, so if the restaurant was in a jam, they could call him and he could fly back up in a few hours. Perhaps they could visit Gennie in Los Angeles. Maybe she could help him come up with things he could do with his son.

Another reason he was reluctant to leave Lauren was that he enjoyed working with her. They usually didn't say much to each other, but they were always side-by-side and he liked it. He felt like he was spending quality time with her and he would definitely miss that.

He left the more vigorous work to Lauren. For the past few days, his arms were killing him and he had no idea why. He took some aspirin for it, but it didn't seem to work. He had to take frequent breaks, which he hated, but he felt he had no choice. Between the dizziness, arm pain and today, chest pain, it was getting to him and interfering with his work. He wanted to go to the doctor and get it checked out, but he never got around to scheduling an appointment. He decided that if it didn't clear up by next week, he would go to the doctor and get some medication that would get rid of the annoying symptoms.

As he was drizzling sauce over a filet of sole, he became dizzy again and instead of one plate, he saw two. When his vision cleared up, most of the sauce was on the prep table instead of the plate.

"Son of a bitch!" he yelled. "Someone get me a roll of paper towels, pronto!"

One of his kitchen staff handed him an unopened roll. His arms were aching so much that he had to suppress a yelp as he tore the wrapper off the roll. It hurt just to clean the mess up. He tried drizzling the sauce again. This time he managed to get it on the fish just before his vision became blurry again.

He smacked his head and groaned in frustration. One of the servers looked at him with concern as she grabbed the plate, but didn't have time to inquire what was wrong.

"Are you all right?" Lauren asked him. She was at the stove, cooking four things at once.

"Yes, I'm just annoyed with myself, that's all. I can't see a damn thing to save my soul and my arms are killing me. Oh yeah, it also doesn't help that I have a baby dragon sitting in my stomach that's immune to antacids."

"Why don't you take a break, then?"

"I took a break an hour ago."

"Take another break."

"I can't."

Lauren looked back at him. "What do you mean you can't? You're the boss."

"What's going to happen out here?"

"Well, for one thing," Lauren's voice had a note of impatience, "Things are going to be a lot faster because we won't have someone who's too sick to work screwing everything up!"

_Wow_ , Ben thought, _my attitude is rubbing off on her._

"If you put it that way, all right. I'll be in my office if you need me."

Ben went into his office and gulped down four more antacids. The baby dragon had his burners turned up on high and wasn't letting off. He plopped down on his chair and closed his eyes. As soon as he did that, he swore he felt something inside his chest explode. He opened his eyes and the sensation came again. Whatever was happening to him, it wasn't good. Then everything fell totally dark and silent.

Chapter 81

Though the restaurant was too busy for her just to stop working, Lauren felt she had to. Ben never went over the allotted fifteen-minute break and usually returned to work after ten minutes. But twenty minutes had passed and she hadn't seen nor heard him. She was probably being paranoid, but she felt that something was wrong. She had to check on him. She asked one of the employees to keep an eye on the stove and walked into his office.

His back was facing the door and he lay slumped in his chair. It wasn't unusual to see him like that. He liked to go in his office and rest his eyes for a little bit. But something was different. With his arms dangling off the sides, he looked a little too relaxed.

"Hey, Ben," she whispered, "are you okay?"

Her body stiffened with panic when he didn't answer. As much as her mind told her not to, she stepped in front of his chair so he faced her.

His head was tilted awkwardly back and his eyes were wide open, but it was obvious that he wasn't seeing anything. His eyes were glazed and the pupils were so dilated that they looked like two large black dots in a sea of white. A trickle of blood ran down from the corner of his mouth and dripped onto the chair.

Lauren covered her mouth as she screamed uncontrollably.

Chapter 82: October 10

Ben opened his eyes and though he thought it was only a few moments after he sat down in his office chair, it obviously was not. He wasn't even in the restaurant. He was in a bed surrounded on all sides by stark white curtains. There was a constant beeping sound, which didn't help his head any. He was groggy and felt like someone with a hammer had beaten him up. He looked to the left side of the bed and found all sorts of machines, tubes and wires. He lifted up his left hand. An IV was taped to his wrist, along with some sort of sensor.

_I guess I should have gone to the doctor sooner_ , he thought. What he believed was major heartburn and some muscle stiffness was obviously something more serious. It occurred to him that one of his employees found him in bad enough condition to call for an ambulance. He hoped they weren't too devastated and that they had enough sense about them to let the paramedics in through the back entrance. He didn't want the customers to be alarmed. Suddenly he realized the restaurant was being run without him. _Goddammit_ , he thought _, now it's probably total chaos at Michele's because I don't have someone qualified enough to run the place without me. I knew I should have looked for a sous chef sooner. These things always come back and bite me in the ass it seems._

The room was deathly quiet except for the intermittent sounds of machines beeping, but then Ben heard the scuffling of shoes on the tile floor. When the curtain was pulled back, it was a young lady not much older than Lauren in a white lab coat. Her eyes widened when she saw Ben.

"I guess you're the nurse around here," Ben said to her.

"Yes," she replied hesitantly. "I work in the ICU. How are you feeling..." she looked at the chart at the end of his bed. "Mr. Perrin?"

"Just call me Ben," he said. "Well...I'm feeling okay, except for a very bad headache. I'm kind of tired, a little sore and lightheaded too."

"That's the nitroglycerin," the nurse replied, "and the IV is a morphine drip. That's probably what's causing the fatigue."

"Wow, good stuff," Ben said. "Anyway, I'm just curious. Why am I here? Last thing I remember I was in my office trying to relax."

"You went into cardiac arrest," the nurse replied. "When the ambulance arrived, you had no heartbeat and no pulse. Luckily, they were able to revive you with the defibrillator and rushed you here to the hospital. Your family is going to be very happy that you finally regained consciousness. They're in the waiting room right now. Would you like to visit them?"

"Sure," Ben replied. "By the way, how long have I been out of it?"

"It's been almost three days," she said. "And we're happy to have you back. For a while, it was very touch and go. But for the last day or so, you've stabilized. I'll go tell your family right now that you want to see them."

_Holy crap_ , Ben thought, _the restaurant's been open for three days without me! Everything's probably going straight into the gutter. I'll have to serve six days of free meals to make up for it, too. I better not stay here too long. I've got a business to run. I don't need to go into bankruptcy just because of this._

When Annie and Kristopher walked in, they both looked as pale as the hospital sheets. Annie ran up to Ben and hugged him.

"Oh god Ben," she said, her voice breaking. "I thought we were going to lose you!"

He put his arms around her. "I'm so sorry, Annie. I had no idea this was going to happen."

"I should have made you go to the doctor. I was so worried when you had all those weird symptoms, but I was hoping that they would clear up eventually."

"So was I," Ben said. "I can't believe I had a heart attack at the restaurant. I hope the crew is all right."

"They're very upset. I think Lauren is the worst. One of the wait staff had to drive her home because she was in total hysterics."

Ben groaned. "Oh no. I didn't want that to happen. She has enough problems with her mother, never mind this."

"I think she was the one who found you in your office."

"Oh great. Now she'll probably come down with that post-traumatic stress disorder and be on medication her whole life. It'll take me forever to find another sous chef!"

"There's more important things in life than work, you know. I think she'll be okay once she knows you're all right."

He looked at his son who was standing stiffly next to his bed, looking down at him as if he were a corpse. "Are you okay, Kris? I hope you weren't too worried about the old man."

He nodded. "I guess I'm all right."

"Hey, why don't you come over here and give me a hug?"

Kristopher walked over and leaned on the bed. Ben tried to give him a hug but the kid was as stiff as a board and wouldn't reciprocate. _What is wrong with him_ , he thought. _I work my ass off to give him everything in the world and lately he's been treating me like chopped liver. I almost die of a friggin' heart attack and I still can't get a hug from him. He's probably wishing I_ did _die for all I know._

"How's everything going?"

"Okay," Kristopher said, sounding like he was at the principal's office.

"I hope this didn't distract you too much from your school work."

"Oh actually," Annie piped in nervously, "Kristopher hasn't returned to school since your heart attack. I thought it would be better if he stayed out this week."

"What?" Ben replied. "You better bring him back to school tomorrow. He's going to have a load of work to make up and I don't want him to fall behind."

Kristopher rolled his eyes and sighed in disgust. It was something he knew perfectly well Ben couldn't stand. _That little bastard_ , Ben thought, _he did it anyway_.

"You ungrateful son of a bitch!" Ben yelled. "You've got a lot of balls to treat me like this. I should kick you out on the street by your ass!"

"Why don't you then?" Kristopher muttered, giving him a dirty look. "Then you can work all day and night at your stupid restaurant."

"Get out you little turd! I don't want to see your snot-nosed face again. You call my restaurant stupid? _You're_ the one that's stupid!"

Annie took Kristopher by the shoulders and led him out of the ICU. He heard Annie speak to someone outside the room. Then he heard quick steps approaching his bed.

When the curtain parted, it was that same nurse he saw earlier, only this time her eyes were narrowed with anger.

"Mr. Perrin," she said sternly, "maybe you should leave your family problems at home. There are some extremely ill people in this room. The last thing they want to hear is you screaming at your child. You don't run the show around here, so I suggest you keep your comments to yourself."

Ben sank back down in his bed. He felt like such a jerk. "I'm sorry," he said.

The nurse shut his curtain and stomped away.

_Maybe I should have died_ , he thought, feeling ashamed of himself. _As much as I try, I always fuck everything up in the end._ He tried not to cry but the tears fell anyway. He could almost hear Bryan making fun of him, and this time he felt he deserved it.

Chapter 83: October 12

After his outburst, the doctor had the amount of morphine in his IV drip doubled. Not long after that, everything turned into a haze. As much as he was concerned about the restaurant, his employees and his family, he couldn't focus on any one subject long enough to be worried about it. He heard voices, but they seemed so far away that he didn't know who they were. The only thing he was sure about was the pounding in his head and the ringing in his ears.

Two days later, he awoke to a darkened room. He gathered enough sense to know he wanted off the morphine drip. He was so sick of feeling like a zombie. He pulled the plastic tube taped to his wrist and it came out. He sighed, knowing that pretty soon he would feel normal again.

About an hour later, he severely regretted doing that. He would have put the IV back in if he had any idea how it was done. The pain he felt in his office was back and it was twice as bad. The machine he was hooked up to beeped in alarm. He thought that someone would come, but no one did. He tried to yell for help but nothing came out of his throat. A chilling realization occurred to him. Maybe this time it was for real.

The lights went out again. He heard people run into the room, their voices raised in panic, but they soon faded away. He felt as if he were being pulled away by a riptide, never to be seen again.

When he opened his eyes, he was sure he was in heaven, but to his disappointment, he was in the same hospital bed, except with more tubes and wires than before. He tried to sit up, but he didn't have enough strength. He felt stiff and sore. He was also extremely tired. He wondered if it would ever end. Would he be stuck in this place forever, always sick and helpless? It seemed like an eternity already. He wished he either had his normal life back or was dead. He just had it with this half-assed purgatory where he was drugged up and treated like he was three years old.

He heard someone walk toward his bed and assumed it was the nurse, but when the curtain opened, it was Gennie. Her eyes were red and swollen from crying.

"Is it all right if I visit you?" she said softly.

"Yeah, sure," he replied. His hoarse voice shocked him. He sounded like some eighty-year-old guy.

She approached his bed. "How are you doing?"

"Uh...not too good...I guess. How about you?"

She burst into tears.

"Well...I..." she sobbed.

His heart ached for her. "I hope they didn't scare you too much."

"They told me you were dead," she said. "After I got a hold of myself enough to call Annie and tell her, they managed to revive you, but they didn't think you'd live for very long. The last couple of hours they said you were doing a lot better and they just told me that I could check on you."

He took her hand and squeezed it. "You'd know I'd never leave you. Not after all the crap we've been through."

She nodded. "That's what I've been trying to tell myself. But I was so afraid. I don't want to be all alone!"

She put her head on his chest and sobbed. He patted her gently on the back.

"You won't be alone. You've got your kids and your husband...and don't forget your annoying friend Page."

Gennie chuckled. "No one can replace you though. You've been with me since day one. What would I do without you?"

He didn't know what to say to that. He just pulled her closer and held her tight.

"Well," he said after several minutes, "I'm glad someone likes me."

"What do you mean by that?" Gennie asked.

"I've been a royal asshole lately," Ben replied. "I yelled at Annie and Kristopher because she kept him out of school and he rolled his eyes at me. I'm sure they both hate me now."

"What? No way! They both love you, honest to god. Annie told me how stressed out you've been lately and she felt really bad about getting you upset. Poor Kristopher...Annie's trying to get him to go outside and go skateboarding just to get his mind off everything, but all he can do is lie in bed and stare at the ceiling. He thinks it's all his fault that you had the heart attack, because he misbehaved a couple of times and that got you really angry. He said to me that put you over the edge. He thinks that you hate him, not the other way around."

"How could I hate him? He's my child! Oh god, Gen. I'm such a lousy father. I've totally screwed up."

"No, you didn't. We all know how hard you work to give him everything he could want. Most lousy fathers just desert their kids. You didn't do that."

"I might as well have. He doesn't even know me. And my first kid...well, that's exactly what I did."

"That was totally out of your control. Don't blame yourself for that one."

"Everything's my fault!" He rubbed his face. "How did I turn out to be such a jerk?"

"I'll tell you who the jerk is. He's sitting on his duff a couple thousand miles north of us drinking a beer. He doesn't give a damn about anything. You're just the opposite. You take care of everybody except yourself."

"I don't know..."

"Yes, you do know. Annie told me the last day you left for work you were dizzy and you were holding your stomach as you went out the door. Now, if that was Annie, would you let her go to work?"

"No, but..."

"Of course you wouldn't, but you forced yourself to work a fourteen hour day anyway, just so Annie could get a nice dress and Kristopher can get another pair of one hundred dollar sneakers. Why did you do that?"

Ben sighed. "I don't know. I guess I just didn't want them to think I was weak. And the restaurant...I worked so hard to get it, you know. If I'm not there, I'm afraid it will go under and then how am I supposed to take care of Annie and Kristopher? I have to provide for them, that's what I'm here for. And I won't have any purpose if I'm not working. The restaurant is my life. I'm too stupid to do anything else."

"You're not stupid," Gennie replied. "And I know you love the restaurant, but...you got to have time for yourself and your family. Do you think Annie and Kristopher love you just because you buy them nice stuff?"

"I don't know..."

"Of course not! I'm sure they like having money and expensive things, but they love you more."

"I'm not sure about that," he replied. "You never know people. You can give them everything but they can still throw you away like yesterday's news."

Gennie put her hands around his.

"They love you," she said. "Annie's been around for fifteen years. I think she would have left a long time ago if she was just using you. And Kristopher...well, of course he loves you, you're his daddy!"

"I want to believe it, I really do, but..."

"You love them, right?"

"Yes, I do."

"Well, do you think the best thing for them is to work clock around until you die of a heart attack?"

Ben chuckled. "For a minute there I thought you were talking about our father! No, I guess it isn't the best thing for them."

"And you're afraid about what will happen to the restaurant if you take some time off? Ben, you almost took some time off permanently! You're not going to help your crew any if you're dead."

"Yeah, I know," he said sheepishly.

"I think someone's trying to give you a big hint here."

"Who?"

Gennie smiled wryly. "Oh, don't be a smartass. You know who it is."

"I guess I have to change the way I do some things, huh?"

Gennie nodded.

He squeezed her hand. "I wish I knew where to start."

"How about stop obsessing about the restaurant. Annie told me you've got a crack staff. How about letting them run the show for a while?"

It was killing him just thinking about doing that, but he really didn't have a choice at the moment.

"Okay."

"You've got to focus on getting better."

"I'll try," he said.

"Well, I have to get going." She leaned over and kissed him on the forehead.

"Thanks for coming," he said.

Chapter 84: October 13

The next morning the nurse said that someone was waiting to talk to him. When she told Ben it was his sous-chef, Ben told the nurse to let her come in.

When Lauren pulled back the curtain, he noticed she was dressed in a knee length polka dot skirt, puffy gray jacket and black silk shirt. It looked like something Charlene would have worn, except for the multicolor necklace and the silver squiggly pin she had on the lapel of her jacket. Ben noticed something about her had changed, but he didn't know exactly what. She looked more vulnerable than she did the last time he saw her. She looked smaller. Her eyes seemed more fearful.

"Going on a job interview?" he asked.

She chuckled.

"I wouldn't leave you," she replied. "I guess I wanted to dress up, that's all."

"How's the restaurant?" Ben asked.

Lauren clutched her hands together and looked away.

"You're going to be mad."

"I am? Why?"

"Well, the restaurant's been closed since you've been in the hospital. Annie told me to put out a sign that said 'Closed until further notice'."

"What?"

Lauren's eyes watered. "I'm sorry, Ben. I know you're losing a lot of money because of this, but we all thought it was the best thing."

He felt like hitting the roof, but he knew it wasn't the smartest thing to do. Besides, he felt sorry for Lauren.

"Well..." he said. "Hopefully, we'll be able to get all our customers to return once we reopen."

Lauren nodded.

"How have you been doing?"

"All right, I guess," she said glumly.

"And your mother?"

"She's getting along. She seems to be better. I've been trying to talk her into seeing a therapist, but she's resisting."

"Keep trying," Ben said. "And how is Remi?"

"He's good. He's written me a bunch of times, but I've haven't written him back lately."

"Why not?"

"I think I have feelings for someone else."

"Like who?"

"It's someone at the restaurant. I really like him a lot, but...he's taken. And I don't want to hurt his family, you know, but it kills me because I can't help the way I feel."

"That's not a good situation. You have to get over him."

"I know, but...I just can't. I love you so much... _oh shit!_ "

Ben didn't like the direction this conversation was going. "This guy is me?"

Lauren covered her mouth and backed away.

"Don't run away. I want to know. You're talking about me, right?"

She nodded.

He sighed. "That's not good at all."

She looked down at the floor in shame. He heard her muffle a sob.

"I'm sorry. I should have kept it to myself. When I met you, I really liked you, but when you first hugged me, I knew I loved you. I know you're a lot older than me and you're my boss, but I dream every night that someday we'll be together. It's the only thing that keeps me going sometimes. When I found you there in your office...it's so hard to talk about...I thought I was going to die too. I know this might freak you out, but it's true. If you had died, I would have killed myself."

"No, don't say that!"

"Yes, I would have. I don't want to be in this world if you're not in it."

Ben sighed. "I wasn't ever going to tell you this, but now I don't really have a choice."

"You're going to fire me?"

He chuckled nervously. "No, I would never fire you, but I think after you hear this, you're probably going to quit."

"I wouldn't do that."

She moved closer. Ben reached out and held her hand.

"You know...I really love you too, but it's not like you think. You see, well...you're my daughter."

Lauren looked at him in complete disbelief.

"I already have a father. I never see him, but...I know his name is on my birth certificate."

"I'm one hundred percent sure that Johnny Briggs is not your father."

"You knew him?"

He nodded. "We all went to high school together."

She looked at him, her eyebrows raised. It was as if she were seeing him for the first time. "My mother and you...did it?"

Ben smiled. "She was my first girlfriend. I was really, really in love with her. She was way out of my league, but she went out with me anyway. I was convinced we were going to be together forever. And yeah, we 'did it' a few times."

"Then what happened...why did you leave?"

"Remember that story I told you when you said you were afraid to tell Remi that you liked him? I was talking about your mother. When her parents found out she was pregnant, they took her out of school. They forbid me to go near her. I wanted to marry her, but they said no way, I wasn't good enough for her. I didn't see her for a long time after that."

"But you knew about me?"

"I didn't know at first, but then your mother came to see me at my first restaurant. You must have been about four months old. She wanted to come and visit me once in a while, but...I sort of brushed her off. I probably shouldn't have done that, but I knew she was married to Johnny and it really hurt to think about that."

"So...you brushed me off too?"

He sighed. "I'm sorry. I thought it would be best if you thought Johnny was your father."

"Then, you wouldn't have to bother with me." Her voice had a hostile edge to it. "And you were never going to tell, even though I was working for you and you knew how much my life sucked?"

"No, I wasn't. I just thought it would be best if you didn't know. I only told you now because you said you were in love with me, and obviously, since I'm your father, that's a pretty big problem. I never wanted you to know."

She stared down at him, her eyes filled with tears.

"I'm sorry, Lauren. I didn't want it to be this way. Please try to understand."

Without saying a word, she turned around and stormed out of the ICU. Ben wanted to call her back and beg her to stay, but his voice was so hoarse he couldn't yell. The whole conversation left him drained and beyond exhaustion. He hoped that maybe later on she would forgive him. He really loved working with her and would love to have her as part of his family, but he didn't think that would happen. He was afraid he lost her again, this time forever.

Chapter 85: October 17

Lauren had spent the last four days crying on and off in her cubbyhole bedroom. Why did life always want to take a crap on her? She would strive and strive again, but everything was always just out of her reach. And now this. As she wiped her eyes, she thought how stupid she was to have any feelings at all for Ben. The love part was all a big fantasy; she knew she would never be anything more than his sous chef. The daydreaming about a secret romance, it was obvious nothing would ever come of it. But she couldn't leave well enough alone. She just had to go out there and test the waters, to see if he felt the same way too. Of course, she slipped up and not only was he not remotely interested, but she found out she was committing incest inside her own head. She was disgusted beyond belief.

She had totally burned all her bridges. She couldn't dare face Ben again after what she told him. He probably thought she was a pervert now. So, that meant she couldn't go back to being a sous chef at Michele's. And Remi...she hadn't written to him in about a month and a half. He probably gave up and found a new girlfriend, a wealthy French one. What was she going to do now?

Her mother was sleeping in her bedroom, oblivious to her cries. Lauren had no idea who she would turn to for help. As much as she adored Uncle Foster, she was afraid to tell him what had happened. Obviously, her real father was a long kept family secret, and he might be angry with her now that she found out the truth. The only solution she could see was to pack up and go somewhere else. She needed to start a new life away from her sick mother and this whole entire mess. She had cashed her four hundred dollar check a last week but hadn't spent a cent of it yet. The first thing she would do with the money was buy a bus ticket out of town.

She walked through the house to the living room, where she took two suitcases out of the coat closet and brought them to her bedroom. She put as much of her clothing as she could in both of them and zipped them both closed. She didn't bother with toiletries, she figured she could just stop at a K-Mart or Wal-Mart at the end of her journey and pick up what she needed there. She lifted both suitcases and made a quick exit out the back door. She ran down the rickety stairs, unlocked the gate, and slammed it behind her. She exhaled in relief when she reached Twenty-Fourth Street. The bus stop was only a few steps away. She would take the BART as far as it would go, which she was sure was all the way down to Millbrae. She would figure out where she wanted to go next when she got there. Now, her future was near. She said a silent goodbye to all her problems.

She took two steps toward the bus stop when she heard what sounded like a large freight train coming her way. Then she could have sworn she felt the entire sidewalk vibrate. At first, it was so subtle she barely noticed it but suddenly the vibration became an all-out tremor. She froze in terror. She could hear all the buildings shaking on their foundations. Of course, there wasn't a soul around, even though it was five o'clock in the evening. Where were people when you needed them?

The next tremor brought her to her knees. She lay face down on the sidewalk, hoping the ground wouldn't open up and swallow her. Now she could see the tremors. Shutters, rain gutters, and even whole facades quivered and were falling loose onto the sidewalk.

She heard something creaking and looked up just in time to see a light pole leaning dangerously close to her. She tried to crawl away but another tremor hit and the pole collapsed. She felt a painful blow to the top of her head and then nothing.

Chapter 86

Ben was on the edge of consciousness. He had just had bypass surgery about an hour before and now lay on a gurney in the recovery room. Things were a bit hazy except for the tremors. Everything not bolted down in the room was shaking. His gurney moved a few inches and his IV bag fell off its hook and landed onto the floor. He didn't know if it was real or all in his head, but he swore he could feel the entire hospital swaying. _Well_ , he thought lackadaisically, _I guess this is probably the safest place I could be considering the circumstances._ He just wished the timing wasn't quite so shitty. The least the earthquake could do was wait a day after the operation. _You know earthquakes_ , he thought, _they're always inconsiderate bastards._

The power went out and Ben felt himself agitate in total darkness. A few seconds later, the trembling ceased. A loud buzz sounded in the recovery room and the lights went on again.

Outside, it sounded like pandemonium. Car horns, screams, what have you. In the hospital, he could hear people running around frantically, panic lining their voices. He saw Annie enter the recovery room. She was flushed and out of breath.

"We just had an earthquake," she said.

"I know," Ben replied, his words very slurred, "I think it was a pretty big one too."

"Are you okay?"

"Of course. Well, my IV bag is on the floor. Can you put it back up where it belongs?"

Annie looped the hole in the bag through the hook on the pole. "My, you're awfully relaxed. I was worried you were going to have another heart attack."

"I don't think the anesthesia's worn off yet. How is Kristopher?"

"He's at soccer practice! I have no clue how I'm going to pick him up. I hope he's okay."

"Do me a favor. After you get Kristopher, try to get a hold of everybody at the restaurant...and my sister. I want to know if they're all right."

"I will...if the phones aren't knocked out."

"Well...if they are...uh, I have no idea. I'm going back to sleep. God, I'm tired."

Annie kissed him on the forehead. "Sleep tight, Prince Charming. Hopefully, the earthquake wasn't as bad as it felt."

"Hopefully," Ben said, his voice extra groggy.

Chapter 87: October 18

The next day Ben returned to the ICU, though he didn't think he should have been there because he felt a hundred percent better. The medical staff wanted to monitor him, though, just to make sure. For the first time in days, he was itching to get back to work, but he knew that would still be weeks away. Even if he wasn't in the hospital, no one was in any mood or condition to go out to eat.

Though it was a long protracted ride, Annie managed to pick up Kristopher and bring him home. She used Ben's pager to get in touch with Malcolm and Colleen and they survived the earthquake unharmed. Annie and Ben's home was mostly intact. The biggest damage they sustained was a bookcase and a china cabinet toppled over and all their contents spilled out onto the floor. She also managed to account for almost everyone at the restaurant. Annie confirmed for Ben that Gennie was okay too. The only one they were unable to reach was Lauren. Ben wanted Annie to drive by Lauren's apartment and stop in, but she was busy enough as it was. He was really worried about Lauren, though. If Annie couldn't reach her by tomorrow, she told Ben she would try to visit her, just to see if she was all right.

"Hey, mind if I bother you?" Gennie's voice woke Ben out of his thoughts. He glanced at the edge of the bed and saw her peeking through the curtain.

"Sure, no problem," Ben said. "Besides, I'm bored stiff here anyway."

"Well, I have something here to keep you preoccupied." Gennie held out a paperback copy of _War and Peace_. "I hope you haven't read it yet."

"Me read? I never had time for that, until now, that is." He held the book in his hands. "It's not as thick as I thought it would be. How many pages is it?"

"Fourteen hundred and seventy-two pages exactly."

Ben scoffed. "I've had cookbooks longer than that."

"Well, then, you'll probably be able to finish it in a day or two."

"Probably. So, how about that earthquake?"

"Oh god, scary. There's fires all over the place. Water is just gushing out of huge holes everywhere and flooding streets. I was watching the news this morning and the I-880 Bridge in Oakland, oh boy...the top section came loose and crushed the bottom section. Who knows how many people were trapped under there? I mean, it was the middle of rush hour when it happened. I wanted to call to see if everyone was all right, but the phones lines are knocked out completely."

"Yeah, tell me about it. What a pain. Annie's accounted for everyone at the restaurant, except for Lauren."

"I hope she's okay. I bet Page is worried to death about me right now. She'll probably be giving me one of those mobile phones for Christmas. I'm going to see if I can drive to her condo and check on how she's doing."

"Can I ask you a favor?"

"Sure."

"Please stop by Lauren's apartment. She lives on Magnolia Street; it's off of Twenty-fourth near Mission. I have to know how she's doing."

Gennie nodded. "I can do that. Want me to get going now?"

"If you don't mind, yeah. Thanks so much, Gen. You're a lifesaver."

Gennie gave him a hug. "No problem. And don't worry about Lauren too much. We all made it through, so I'm sure she's okay."

"I'll try."

As soon as Gennie left, he opened up the first page of _War and Peace_. He hoped it was engrossing, because he wanted to forget his current problems for a little while. He didn't think he'd hear from Gennie for several hours, so he was surprised when she returned to the ICU fifteen minutes later, her expression clearly pensive.

"What happened?" he said, fearing the worst.

"Well, I was about to leave when it occurred to me that if Lauren did get hurt, she'd probably be here. So I went to the emergency room and asked the receptionist there. And...I guess I was right. They admitted her into the emergency room last night and now she's in CCU. I asked what happened and the lady said she was hit by a light pole."

"How is she doing now?"

"I was told they performed surgery to stop the bleeding in her brain. She's critical but stable."

"Oh jesus, does her mother know about all of this?"

Gennie frowned deeply and looked away.

"I asked the receptionist if I could talk to Charlene, because I figured she'd be here in the hospital with Lauren...but uh...I'm really sorry, Ben."

"What are you talking about?"

"Well, their apartment building became really unstable after the earthquake and it collapsed. She didn't make it out of there."

"What?"

"I'm so sorry." Tears rolled down Gennie's face.

Ben covered his face with his hands.

"I need to be alone, okay?" he said.

"Okay," she replied.

She put a hand on his shoulder just before she left.

When he heard the door close, he began sobbing quietly.

"Oh Charlene," he whispered, "I wish we had a chance."

Then, he thought of his daughter, who was nearly dead herself. _Please don't let her die. She's just starting out...and I barely knew her. Don't let it end this way._

Chapter 88: October 25

Ben was still in the hospital and was about halfway through reading _War and Peace_. Gennie helped him keep tabs on Lauren. Foster and Page visited her every day and they told the nurses that Gennie was allowed to see her also. Ben was anxious to visit her himself. He found it very frustrating that she was only a floor below him and he hadn't been able to see her yet.

The doctor came in that morning. "We've got some good news for you, Ben."

"I'm going home?"

The doctor nodded. "I would like to keep you here a little longer, but because of the earthquake, we need all the beds we can get. You seem to be recovering nicely from the surgery, so we'll discharge you today. Your wife is here with a change of clothes for you. All the papers will be ready in about an hour."

"Great! I can't wait."

"Just remember, you shouldn't return to work for at least six weeks. Try to avoid unnecessary stress and cut back on the salt and fatty foods."

"Sure, sure," Ben said.

"And if you have any pain at all, even the slightest twinge, call the hospital and we'll evaluate you."

"No problem," he replied. "Tell Annie she can come in. I need to get the hell out of here."

He signed the release papers an hour later. "Do you mind if I go visit Lauren?" he asked Annie.

"No, not at all," she replied. "I want to see her too."

They both gasped when they went into her room and saw the condition she was in. There were bandages covering most of her head and various tubes poked out underneath. Both of her eyes were swollen shut and blackened. Her skin was as white as the bed sheets. A breathing tube was in her mouth.

He looked at Annie and saw her eyes watering. He felt like crying too, but managed to hold it in. He bent over and took Lauren's hand into his own. It was ice cold.

"If you can hear me, I just want to let you know that Annie and I are here for you. I know we had a little disagreement about a week and a half ago, and I don't know if you're still mad at me, but if you want to come back to the restaurant, you can. I'll keep your job open for you until you get better." He put his hand lightly on her bandaged head and kissed her cheek.

Ben thought he would feel better once he was at home, but actually, he felt worse. He was worried to death about Lauren. If something happened to her, he would be devastated. His first day home was torture. He was trying to find something to do, but if it was the least bit strenuous, Annie started nagging him. For the first time in years, he felt like going out and getting completely drunk, but there was no way Annie would allow that. He spent the whole day watching TV while fidgeting on the couch. When he went to bed, he was unable to sleep. Every few seconds he was tossing and turning.

"Okay," Annie said tiredly. "I know there's something wrong. What is it?"

"Uh, I guess I'm worried."

"About the restaurant or about Lauren?"

"Lauren."

Annie nodded. "I thought so. I'm worried about Lauren too. Poor thing, her whole life is turned upside down. Her home is destroyed. Her mother is dead. At least she has her uncle. Hopefully, he'll help her. I don't know what happened to her father. Obviously, he isn't in the picture."

"Uh, Annie?"

"What?"

"There's something I have to tell you."

"What is it?"

"It's probably going to make you mad, but I have to get it out. It's just making me crazy inside."

"All right, then, get it out."

"Well, you see...I'm Lauren's father."

Annie's expression turned incredulous.

"Are you serious?"

"Yes."

"Do you know for sure?"

"Yes, I'm one hundred percent sure."

"That explains a lot. You know, about a month ago, I found Lauren's picture in the utensil drawer. I figured you put it there because you were trying to hide it from me, but I didn't know why."

Ben had completely forgotten about the picture. He stashed it there about a year ago and was supposed to move it to his office.

"Are you angry at me?"

"I'm very surprised, of course, but I'm not mad at all. She's a grown woman, so it happened way before you met me. There's no reason to be angry now."

"I feel like a piece of shit, though."

"Why?"

"Well, I never had anything to do with her until recently. Her mother married another guy not long after she became pregnant so I thought she had a father already, but I found out that he took off early on, so she hasn't had one for most of her life."

"She didn't know that you are her father?"

"No, not until I went into the hospital. I wasn't planning to tell her either, but she said that she had a crush on me. At that point, I didn't have a choice."

"What did she say?"

"She was pissed. She said she couldn't believe I just brushed her off and didn't bother to tell her until then. I tried to apologize to her, but she just walked out. It's just killing me that I'll never get a chance to make it up to her."

Annie put her arms around him. "Don't say that. She's still alive. You still can have a relationship with her."

"She's a vegetable. And who knows if she'll ever come out of it."

"I think she will."

Annie held him closer. "I know it's tough but try to get some sleep. We can visit Lauren in the hospital tomorrow if you like. I think if she knows there's a lot of people standing behind her, she'll come out of it faster."

"I'd love to sleep, but my mind's running about a mile a minute. Can I take one of your sleeping pills?"

"Sure," Annie said, "let me go into the medicine cabinet and get it for you."

She went into the bathroom and emerged with a small oval pill and a glass of water. Ben put the pill in his mouth and downed the water.

"God, Annie, what would I do without you? You're a friggin' miracle worker."

Annie shrugged. "All in a day's work, I guess. Now, go to sleep."

"I love you, baby."

Annie climbed back into bed and gave him a kiss. "I love you too. Don't worry about tomorrow. Everything will work out, okay?"

"I hope you're right about that."

Chapter 89: October 26

The visiting hours at the hospital were limited and he was feeling bored and anxious at home. He made a proposition to Annie after he dropped Kristopher off at school.

"I have an idea," he said to her that morning when he noticed that she was awake.

Annie groaned. "Whenever you say that, I know you're up to no good."

"It's not bad, and I think it'll help out."

"You're not going back to work. It's too soon."

"I didn't say I was going back to work. Come on now...hear me out. Now, I have no clue what happened to Michele's because _someone_ won't let me go near there, but we have to survey the damage eventually. I was thinking...if it wasn't that bad, like if it's just a lot of stuff knocked around...and if the stoves and water are still working, maybe we could open it back up right away."

"Absolutely not," Annie replied.

"Hey, I'm not done yet! We could open it back up, but for the next month or so, everybody that comes in could eat for free. There's a lot of people in this town whose homes were totally destroyed. I figure maybe we could help them out by giving them a decent meal."

"That's a wonderful idea!" Annie said.

"See, I thought you would like it."

"But you have to agree to two things though."

"Sure, no problem."

"Number one, I'm the boss of this operation."

That was not what Ben was expecting, but there had to be a reason behind it. "Oh...uh...okay and what else?"

"When I tell you to stop working, you'll stop and go home. No questions asked."

"Uh, sure, I guess that's all right."

"Good, I'm glad you agree with me. Why don't you call the crew and tell them to meet us at Michele's in a couple of hours. We can figure out what to do from there."

It was nearly eleven o'clock when they arrived at Michele's. Ben was relieved that the outside of the building didn't sustain any damage. Inside, it resembled an obstacle course with every chair and table tipped over and lying on its side. All the paintings they had from local artists were either hanging lopsided on the wall or were face down on the floor. In the kitchen, it seemed every pot and pan had fallen off the rack. Ben checked the stoves and the gas was still working. Annie told him they also had hot and cold running water. The electricity and phone also were in working order. The only big problem was that most of their cups and dishes were broken.

"We're going to have to order all new ones," Ben said, after he and Annie straightened out the shelf where they stored the restaurant's dinnerware.

"That could take weeks," Annie replied. "Why don't I just go to the grocery store and get some Chinet and paper cups?"

"My food on Chinet? I don't think so."

"I'm sure people will understand."

"Fine, fine, just for the meantime. But as soon as the new plates come in, we're using those."

"Of course. Hey, think of it this way. No one will have to wash dishes for a while."

"I guess you have a point there."

Ben didn't think Annie would be able to scrounge up enough plates and cups to run the restaurant, because he assumed everyone in the city had already bought them up. He was very surprised when she returned two hours later in a white pickup truck belonging to one of their waiters. Two large palettes of supplies filled the cargo bed.

"Where did you get all that?" Ben asked her.

"Oh, I bribed the manager at Costco's. It's funny that they were all out until I handed him five hundred bucks. Then suddenly they had tons of paper plates and cups, with more on the way."

"You're a genius!" Ben replied.

"I know," Annie said.

Chapter 90: November 2

After working about three or four hours at Michele's, Ben visited Lauren every day at the hospital. Slowly but surely, she was getting better. She wasn't out of her coma yet, but she was moving her hands a little bit and her eyelids sometimes fluttered. It wasn't much but it was enough for Ben to hang some hope onto. He didn't ask about the long-term outcome. He knew the doctors would say it wasn't good, but there was a chance, however slight, that she would come out of it okay. How could he make up for abandoning her all those years ago if there wasn't?

Annie had just forced him out of the restaurant after only two hours of work that day, even though Ben didn't want to leave. Michele's had about triple the customers it had before the earthquake, mostly because word spread that you could get very good food there for free. Who wouldn't want to take up that offer? Despite Ben's worries, no one complained about the Chinet or the paper cups. Actually, people complemented his staff, telling them what an ingenious idea it was. Ben told the wait staff to give the credit to Annie for coming up with it.

Ben was now pretty familiar with the nurses on duty in the wing Lauren was on. He gave them complementary doggie bags every day to express his appreciation for all the hard work they had been doing. They definitely were grateful to him. One of the more attractive ones actually gave him a kiss on the cheek.

It was the same routine today, but they didn't let him visit Lauren right away.

"Her fiancé is in there with her," the attractive nurse said to him pensively.

Ben was confused. Lauren wasn't engaged to anybody.

"He flew all the way from France just to see her," the nurse added.

_Oh...Remi_ , Ben thought. He probably just said he was Lauren's fiancé so he could get a chance to see her.

"How long has he been in there?" Ben asked.

"Oh...about fifteen-twenty minutes, I think."

"Is it okay if I go in there, too?"

"Uh sure," the nurse said uncertainly. "I don't think it'll be a problem."

He walked down the hall to her room and opened the heavy door labeled three sixteen. He peered in and saw a slim young man with dark curly hair holding Lauren's hand. He could tell by the way that he was dressed that he was from Europe. No twenty-something American guy ever wore clothes that nice, even if they could afford it.

Remi wasn't kissing Lauren or whispering in her ear, but Ben still felt a little hesitant to enter, even though he wanted to meet the guy. Finally, Ben decided to just walk in and say hi, even if it was awkward.

"Oh, hello," he said to Remi stiffly. "I didn't know Lauren had a visitor."

Remi seemed startled at first, but then turned around and smiled. Ben didn't exactly know what made guys attractive, but still he could tell that Remi had movie star looks. No wonder Lauren liked him so much. Remi's face had about two days' worth of stubble on it. Ben didn't know if that's what he normally looked like, but it seemed to work for him. He was probably used to chicks drooling all over him. No wonder Lauren was so reluctant about starting a serious relationship. She most likely didn't want to deal with girls throwing themselves at him all the time.

Remi gave Ben a perplexed look and Ben realized the kid probably didn't speak English. From the couple of business trips he had taken to France over the years, he knew French people hated everything English, especially the language. The only thing they hated worse was listening to their language being butchered by someone with French ancestry, no less.

_"Bon jour_ ," Ben said very haltingly, " _Je n'ai pas su que Lauren avait un visiteur._ "

"Not bad at all," Remi replied, with a relatively light French accent, "Your French is almost as good as Lauren's."

"I try," Ben said, relieved that the kid knew English. "I figured that was the least I can do. You're Remi, right?"

"Yes, I'm Lauren's friend from France. So you've heard about me?"

"Yeah, I've heard about you, all right."

"All of it good, I hope?"

"Yes, it's all good. Lauren is crazy about you."

"That's a good thing, yes?"

"Yes, it is."

"And you are?"

"I'm Ben, Lauren's boss." Ben didn't think it was the best time to tell Remi that he was also Lauren's father. He preferred to sort that out later.

"Ah! The best _cuisinier_ in all the United States! I'm so happy to meet you." They shook hands.

"Well...that's a bit of a stretch. I'm definitely the best in San Francisco, though."

"I don't know if you know about my family, but we are the best winemakers in all of France."

"Hmmm...I probably have some of your product in our wine cellar, then. We only have the best wines at Michele's."

"Our label is obscure here, you could say, but people who have tasted our wine, even here, always remember it."

"Oh, I see. So that's how you seduced Lauren...with the power of the grape."

Remi chuckled a bit at that, then looked back at Lauren.

"It's been so long since I've seen her...and then she stopped writing to me. I thought it was because she loved someone else. I was going to come next year to uh...win her back, but then there was this earthquake. I knew I had to see her right away. When I drove to her street, they wouldn't let me by. All the buildings there were too unstable, they said. I didn't know where else she could be, so I decided to look in all the hospitals. When I went to this one, they said she was here. I thought she would have a broken leg or arm, nothing like this, you know..."

"I know what you mean," Ben replied. "I'm really sorry you have to see her like this."

"At least she is still alive," Remi said.

"Yeah, you're right," Ben said. "We're all hoping for the best. Say, Remi, how long do you plan on being here?"

"Until Lauren is awake. I plan on asking her to marry me when that happens."

Ben was impressed. "That's good, because we need you. I think if she knows you're here next to her, she'll come out of it sooner."

"I will stay here forever if I need to."

"Well, hopefully, it won't be that long. Anyway, thank you for coming all the way from France for Lauren. You definitely have my seal of approval."

"Thank you, Ben," Remi said. "You know, I would do anything for Lauren. If she were two times the distance away, I would still be here next to her."

They both visited Lauren, then Remi went downstairs to get something to drink.

"How are you feeling?" Ben asked Lauren when Remi left the room. He received no response. Then he remembered something he read about in the paper a few months ago. He didn't know if it would work, but he thought it was worth a try.

"Okay, how about this? Blink once if you're feeling good, twice if you're feeling bad."

A first, Lauren didn't react, but a minute later she sluggishly blinked once.

Ben didn't know if that was just a coincidence or not, so he decided to ask another question.

"All right...do you know who I am? Blink twice for yes, blink once for no."

Her reaction was a little bit faster this time. She slowly blinked twice.

Ben was in his glory. She could hear and understand. That was a huge step in the right direction.

He put his arms around her and kissed her cheek. "I think you're going to come home soon, sweetheart."

Chapter 91: November 3

Gennie was staying at Malcolm and Colleen's. They had some minor damage to their house and she helped fix it up in between visiting Lauren in the hospital. She wanted to go home because it seemed like she had been in San Francisco forever, but she didn't want to leave until everything was straightened out. Also, she had to decide if she was going to attend Charlene's funeral or not. Page, who was staying in a hotel until the damage to her condo complex was fixed, automatically assumed that Gennie was going to be attending and that put Gennie in a bad place. Ben wanted her to stay away from her mother, but still...she was family. Gennie felt it was only proper for her to attend.

Gennie spent a few late nights in the rec room of the hotel, playing ping-pong, Scrabble or foosball. It helped her take her mind off everything and made her feel like a teenager again. She hadn't seen Foster at all and was wondering if he and Page might have broken up.

Gennie asked her about it while they had tea and cheesecake in the hotel's restaurant.

"Oh, don't worry about it, Gen," Page said, flashing the three-carat diamond ring Foster gave her a few weeks ago. "Your dream of being matron of honor isn't shattered. Foster just wants to be alone right now."

"How is he dealing with Charlene's death?"

"Not very well, I don't think. He thinks it's all his fault because she was in that crappy apartment and that he should have put her up in a nicer place. I tried to tell him that the 'nicer' places were the hardest hit, but it's not getting through."

"When you see him, tell him how sorry I am about his sister."

"Oh, I will," Page said, then took a bite of cheesecake. "Wow, this stuff is awesome! Like an orgasm on a plate!"

"It must be pretty good, then," Gennie said wryly.

"This blows Michele's cheesecake out of the water."

"Don't tell Ben that," Gennie warned.

"Our secret... _womano_ to _womano_. Anyway, how is Ben doing?"

"Good, considering the circumstances. No problems since the surgery. He's working a few hours a day at Michele's. They're giving out free food for the next month. The thing with Lauren is killing him though."

"Foster told me about that," Page said. "You don't know how relieved he is about it being out in the open. Now, at least she has Ben."

"About the funeral," Gennie said, feeling awkward. "I don't know if I want to go."

"Why not?"

"Well...there's someone there I'm not allowed to see."

"Okay, like who?"

"I think it would be uncomfortable for her, as well as me. I don't want to cause her any more pain, you know."

"Who's her? And why would you cause her pain?"

Gennie sighed. "You're my best friend...I should tell you. Until I went up to Alaska, I thought both my parents were dead and buried. Well, I found my father, but my mother was not there, even though there was a grave marker with her name on it. I confronted Bryan, my older brother, about it; because I thought he played some nasty trick on me, which he sort of did. He gave me this letter my mother had written years after she supposedly died."

"She's alive...even today?"

Gennie nodded.

"Then why the hell would she be at Charlene's funeral?"

"Because I'm pretty sure Charlene's mother is my _real_ mother."

A piece of cheesecake fell out of Page's mouth and onto her plate. "What? That's--no way! That stuck-up bitch is your mother?"

"Yes."

"That means...Ben had a kid with his stepsister and you dated your own stepbrother! No wonder she didn't like you two! She probably thought you were going to screw up her perfect fake family. Do you think she knew when she met you and Ben--that you were both hers?"

"I don't know for sure," Gennie said, "but, yeah, I think she did."

"Wow, she must have been ripped! Travel thousands of miles to get away from your real kids and start a new posh life and they show up on your doorstep anyway."

Gennie grimaced. "So, knowing that, do you think I should attend Charlene's funeral?"

"Look..." Page said, "She knows you're my friend and Foster's friend. You knew Charlene. You're Lauren's aunt. I say go and enjoy yourself."

Gennie tried not to chuckle at such a crass statement.

"Okay," she said quietly, "I'll go."

"Is Ben going?" Page asked.

"No, I don't think so."

"Did you ask him?"

"No."

"He was Charlene's old flame. He should go."

"He doesn't want anything to do with our mother, though."

"He doesn't have to have anything to do with her. He can just go in and say goodbye."

"What about Johnny? I don't want there to be a big scene if he shows up."

Page harrumphed. "He won't be going. He's got a whole new life in Florida. I think the Ice Capades will be performing in hell before he shows up."

Gennie took a sip of her tea. "Okay, I'll ask him about it tomorrow, then. He'll definitely say no, though."

"No, he'll go," Page said. "He's probably still going gaga over Charlene, even today."

Chapter 92: November 4

The next day Ben invited Gennie over the house for dinner. With two cooks in the kitchen, it was delicious, of course. After the meal was over, they chatted in the living room while Kristopher played his newest video game on the Nintendo.

Even though Gennie knew Annie wasn't the jealous type, she didn't feel it was right to ask Ben if he wanted to go to the funeral in front of her. Also, mentioning the name Charlene was bound to open up a whole can of worms for Kristopher. She didn't want to put Ben in the uncomfortable position of having to explain who she was. She waited patiently for the opportunity to present itself and two hours after dinner, it did. Kristopher's friend called and he went into his bedroom to chat with him. Then, a few minutes later, Annie excused herself to go to the bathroom.

"There's something I want to ask you," Gennie said.

"Okay," Ben replied, "ask away."

"Charlene's funeral is tomorrow. Do you want to go?"

Ben looked at her as if she asked him if he wanted to go jump off the Golden Gate Bridge for fun.

"Are you going?" he asked.

"Page wants me to go."

"Okay."

"I know you don't want me anywhere near our mother, but I feel like I should go. Page thinks you should go, too."

"Is Page the authority on etiquette now?" His voice sounded sad rather than sarcastic.

"Uh, no, hardly, but I agree with her on this."

"You know what? I'll go. I have to say goodbye to Charlene."

Gennie sighed in relief. At least that part was over, now she just had to deal with the funeral.

Chapter 93: November 5

Gennie didn't have a black dress with her, so she drove to the hotel and borrowed one of Page's. It looked a little small, but luckily, it fit. Page gave her a strand of pearls and put her hair into what she termed 'a power bun'.

"Hey, you look like you're finally fit for high society," Page commented.

"As opposed to you?" Gennie said, looking at Page's reflection in the bathroom mirror.

"I didn't say you _were_ fit for high society, I said you just _look_ like you are. As long as you look the part, you can BS your way into everything else. Trust me, I know."

"This is going to be so hard."

"Tell me about it. I'm not looking forward to it either, but we'll get through it somehow."

Page drove Gennie to the funeral home in her black Mercedes. Ben was just getting out of his car when they parked. They entered the funeral parlor together.

As expected, the funeral home seemed to belong in the Victorian era, with elaborately flowered wallpaper, overstuffed chairs and the cloying smell of lilies.

Ben looked devastated when he saw Charlene lying in the casket. She was as white as the satin pillow her head rested on. Gennie noticed her face was fuller and she looked a little younger than the last time she saw her. It was probably because she was wearing makeup and they filled her with embalming fluid. She was wearing a blue floral print dress, and it was so loose on her she looked like a ten-year-old girl playing dress up. Gennie felt sadness rise in her chest. She had so much promise at one time, and now she would never get a chance to have a better life.

While Gennie and Page stood back, Ben walked toward the casket, ignoring the protocol of waiting in line to express sympathy to the family. He kneeled down next to her and put his hand on top of hers. After a few minutes, he returned to Gennie and Page, his eyes red and watering.

"Are you okay?" Gennie asked.

"Sure," he whispered in reply. "You go ahead."

Gennie, along with Page, decided to forgo the line also, and approached the casket.

Gennie knelt down first. "Charlene..." she said, "I am so sorry for what happened to you. We may not have been best buddies, but you meant a whole lot to my brother. I hope you find the peace and happiness up there that you couldn't find down here. I promise we will take care of Lauren for you."

Page then knelt down. "I'm sorry I wasn't nicer to you, Charlene. Well, I guess it's too late to do anything about it now, but I hope you can forgive me. I promise I'll be a good wife to Foster."

Then, Page and Gennie joined the sympathy line. Gennie shook hands with members of the Conrad family she had never met and then the last two that she did.

Foster stood up and hugged Gennie.

"Thank you so much for coming," he said.

"No problem," she replied. "I'm so sorry about Charlene."

She then approached Charlene's mother. Gennie, for some reason, thought she would look the same as she did twenty years ago, but she had changed dramatically. Though she looked stylish in her black suit coat and dress, her once blonde hair was thin and silvery, her alert eyes were now faded, her smooth skin was now as thin as onion paper and instead of the proud posture, she was now slumped over and frail. Gennie thought Addie would be shocked to see her again, but instead she looked at her as if she had been expecting her all along.

"Mrs. Conrad, I am so sorry for what happened to Charlene. Both Ben and I were devastated when we heard the news. I realize we're not your most favorite people in the world, but we felt it was our duty to come here and say goodbye to Charlene. We promise to do all we can to help Lauren recover."

She assumed Charlene's mother would just nod or perhaps shake her hand. Instead, she stood up unsteadily and embraced her.

"I was hoping you would come," she said, her voice as frail as she was. "Please stay for the whole funeral."

"All right," Gennie said, feeling off-kilter. She realized that this was the first time her own mother had held her.

"Thank you," she replied, one hand holding onto her cane as she sat back down. "I'm inviting everyone back to the house afterwards. I want you and your brother to come too."

"Oh...okay," Gennie said. "I'll tell Ben about it."

Gennie went to the back to the room where Ben was waiting and told him what happened. To her surprise, Ben sat down. Gennie sat next to him.

Page kissed Foster, hugged Charlene's mother, then took a seat, where Foster joined her. The service was about an hour. Then everyone left the funeral home and drove to the cemetery.

The burial was the hardest part. Everyone was crying as Charlene was laid to rest, even Page, who hardly ever cried. Gennie felt awful about leaving her when it ended. The wind was very cold and brisk and it was hard to think about Charlene being exposed to the elements. But, in spite of her misgivings, she returned to Page's car and left for Mrs. Conrad's house.

Strangely enough, even though Charlene's mother had changed, her house had not. When she and Page walked through the front door, everything was exactly as she remembered it, except the décor now looked odd and very dated. She went into the dining room, where there was a spread of hors d'oeuvres and canapés, along with coffee, tea and soda.

Gennie figured since she was there, she wanted to get personal matters straightened out once and for all. About an hour later, she approached Addie.

"Uh, is it okay if Ben and I talk to you alone for a moment? We have something to ask you."

"Oh, all right," she replied, looking a little nervous. "You can come in my bedroom. Nobody will bother us there."

Gennie had never seen the Conrad's bedroom before, but like the rest of house, it looked like it hadn't been touched since the sixties. Even Mr. Conrad's glasses and watch were on one of the nightstands and he had been dead for at least ten years.

Charlene's mother lowered herself wearily on the end of her king-sized bed.

"You can sit down," she directed them.

Gennie sat on the stool in front of the vanity and Ben sat down on a chair a few feet away.

"Well, what do you want to ask me?"

Gennie pulled the letter out of her purse. She left it in her suitcase ever since she showed it to Ben and she was glad she did.

"Did you write this?"

Addie looked perplexed. She put on her reading glasses and took the letter from Gennie.

She sighed. "Uh, well..."

"Did you write the letter or not?" Ben said stiffly.

"Who gave you this?" Addie asked. She glanced at both of them anxiously.

"Bryan," Gennie said.

"I suppose he told you everything."

"No," Ben replied, hostility now evident in his voice, "we had to find out for ourselves."

"We thought you were dead," Gennie explained. "Last year I went back to Alaska to get you and Daddy and bring you both down here. I found Daddy, but I didn't find you. When I went to confront Bryan about it, he gave me that letter you had written to Daddy."

"You know, I had no say in what your father told you about me. Obviously, he went to great lengths to cover up the truth. And this letter..."

"What the hell were you thinking?" Ben shouted. "You dumped us like we were garbage! What kind of a mother are you? And the worse part of this is, all this time, while we were mourning your loss, you're out here raising someone else's children! You don't know what we went through after Dad died. It would blow your mind! All the while, you're here taking care of two perfect refined specimens, the kids you wished you had. I hope you're proud of yourself."

Addie lowered her head. "I don't know what to say to that. It's been forty years...there's nothing I can do to make things better now. At the time, I loved your father, but I wasn't happy about the way we were living. I suppose I thought we could do better. I hate to say it, but when I found out I was pregnant with both of you, I cried. I really wanted to get an abortion, but your father was against it. I knew I should have been happy when you were both born, but I was more miserable than ever. I guess it was the hormones. What do they call it now...uh, post-partum depression? I wasn't exactly thinking straight at the time, but I knew if I had to spend another day in that glorified igloo, I was going to hang myself.

Trust me, I had no intention of raising other people's children. I wanted to be a movie star, you know. I was a little old to be starting out, but I still had the looks. Well, on the way to Hollywood, I met Loren. I felt so sorry for him because his wife had died the year before. We started dating, and I never made it to Hollywood, unfortunately. But I had my catering business and I was happy with that until the depression came back. Of course, you know about everything else, and here we are now."

After a very long silence, Ben spoke.

"So, what are we supposed to do about this, now that you've totally screwed up our lives?"

"I don't know. Maybe we can start fresh. The whole family knows that you are my children. Foster has told me a lot about the both of you. Perhaps we can have a get-together sometime, in order to get to know each other better. I heard you're both married and have children. I'd like to meet them. Hopefully, I can be a better grandmother to them than I was a mother to you."

Ben's face was bright red and he looked like he was about to explode. Addie looked over at him sadly.

"You have every right to be furious, Ben. What I did was wrong. I don't know what you've been through, but I can imagine that it was trying. If I could go back and start all over, I would not have left your father."

Ben's rage seemed to die down. Gennie had to admit it was hard to be mad at someone who looked like a kindly old grandmother.

"It would be nice to get know you," Gennie said. "I would really like to get together sometime."

Ben stood up and sighed tiredly. "Gennie can do whatever she wants, but...I have to think about it."

Chapter 94: June 23, 1990

"I think hell has officially frozen over," Ben said as he drove to the church.

"Why is that?" Annie asked.

"Well, I'm going to the wedding of the most annoying person in the world--Page Goodman."

Kristopher and Lauren chuckled in the back.

"She's not that bad," Lauren replied.

"Your uncle brainwashed you into thinking that, but it's not true. She's officially the most obnoxious, irritating person in the universe."

"And she's going to be your sister-in-law now," Kristopher said. "Aren't you excited?"

"Thanks for reminding me," Ben said sarcastically, "but actually she's my step-sister-in-law. I'd probably die a fourth time if she was my real sister-in-law."

Once they approached the church, Ben searched for a place to park. When a free space across the street from the church opened up, they all got out of the car.

"Welcome to the bowels of hell," Ben said, as he helped Lauren out of the car. She had mostly recovered, but her legs were still so weak, she needed to walk with crutches.

"A church is the bowels of hell?" Kristopher asked.

"Yep," Ben said, "especially one with Page in it. That's why I never go."

"Be nice, Ben," Annie chided.

They walked into the church and an usher escorted them to the right side pews and in the front row. They sat next to Addie.

"How are you doing, Mrs. Conrad?" Annie asked.

"Oh good, good," she replied. Ben had to admit this was the happiest he had ever seen her. "How are you?"

"Great," Annie replied.

"How are you, Ben?" Addie asked him.

"Good," Ben replied. Even though he and Annie had been to her house a few times and they invited her to dinner at their house once in a while, they didn't talk a lot and Ben didn't really consider her his mother. She was nice to the kids though, and they really liked her, so they were cordial. He was trying to forgive her, but it was hard.

She reached over and patted his hand.

"Dad was being a naughty boy," Kristopher said to her. "He said Page was the most annoying person in the universe and that church was the bowels of hell."

Addie chuckled.

"Well," she said, "I guess there's a grain of truth in both of those things."

"You guys are _sooo_ bad," Lauren said.

Suddenly the music started. The pastor entered through a side door, followed by Foster. One of Foster's business partners was his best man. Foster turned around to glance at them and said a quick hello.

"His life is over," Ben whispered to Annie, who smacked him on the arm. Addie overheard and chuckled.

Then, the door to the church opened and Gennie walked in, holding a small bouquet of calla lilies. She was wearing a tea length pink dress with cap sleeves. Her hair was styled in a fancy up do.

She gave Ben a nudge with her lace-gloved hand as she passed by him and took her place in front of the altar.

"Gennie looks really nice in pink," Annie said to Ben.

"Take a good look," Ben said. "You'll never see her in that color again."

The wedding march started in earnest. Everyone turned around and gasped. Ben was shocked himself. The bride was someone Ben barely recognized. Page wasn't wearing her glasses, had some decent makeup on, her hair was up in a high bun and she was wearing a small tiara. Her dress was beyond extravagant. It was poufy, covered head to foot in crystals and pearls and the train had to be ten feet long. It probably cost about ten times more than Ben and Annie's entire wedding. On her arms was an older man who was obviously her father. Though he was dressed in a three-piece tuxedo, he still looked as goofy as Ben remembered. He wondered if her Dad still drove that tin can with a golf cart motor around.

_So, you can put lipstick on a pig_ , Ben thought, as Page approached the altar, and her Dad sat down on the left side of the aisle. Ben was expecting her to crack some lame joke or make some snide remark even now, but she was completely serious as she faced Foster.

"Oh wow," Lauren whispered, "she looks so beautiful."

They recited their vows, and once the pastor announced that Foster could kiss the bride, the old Page came back. She grabbed Foster and gave him a full on face sucking kiss. Everyone clapped and cheered.

"Okay, guys, I'm going to your lives completely miserable from now on," she said, as she and Foster faced the crowd and everyone laughed. Then they made their way outside the church.

Their reception was at the Julia Morgan Ballroom, where everyone was treated to a seven course dinner. Afterwards, everyone except Ben and Lauren danced. Of course, Page had a little too much to drink and was making an idiot of herself as she did the chicken dance very badly. Ben didn't know how Foster could stand her.

Lauren tapped Ben on the shoulder.

"Can I talk to you in the lobby?" she asked.

"Sure, hon," he said. He was worried about the look on her face. She seemed upset.

He helped her up and onto her crutches.

"I know it's tough not being able to have a good time when everybody else is boogying down," he said to her once they both reached the lobby.

Lauren laughed. "Oh Dad, no one says that anymore. Actually, I don't really care about dancing. I have something else to tell you."

"What is it?"

"Well, Remi and I have been talking about our wedding," she said as she peered down at her engagement ring. Remi had spent Christmas with them and had proposed to Lauren over the holidays. "And...well, his mom really wants to help us, which I don't mind, but she prefers that we have the wedding at the chateau."

"Okay," Ben replied, "What do _you_ want? It's your wedding, not hers."

"I want it at the chateau too," she said.

"That's fine," he replied. "Did you think I'd be upset about that or something? Because it doesn't bother me in the least."

Tears suddenly appeared in her eyes. "It's not that...it's just...well, Remi wants me to move to France."

_Oh, that's what it's about_ , Ben thought.

"Do you want to move to France?"

Lauren choked back a sob. "Uh, yeah, but I'm going to miss you."

Ben put his arm around her. "Hey," he said gently, "that gay guy put in a lot of effort doing your makeup at the hair salon. Don't ruin it for him."

Lauren chuckled through her tears.

"I know it's your dream to live in France, so that's what you should do. I just want you to be happy."

Lauren nodded. "What about Michele's?"

"Well, the actual Michele suggested to me that I rename it after you. What do you think about that?"

"I'd love that, but what are you doing to do without a sous chef?"

"I'll survive, like always. I'll just have to find someone else to enslave."

"Dad..." she said.

"So, when do you plan on going to France?"

"Next week," Lauren said. "Remi already got the plane tickets for me."

Ben didn't think it would be so soon, but he imagined Remi's mother was planning a whopper of a wedding and Lauren needed to be there.

"Okay," Ben said. "We'll try and visit you as much as we can."

Lauren nodded. "I'm sorry, Dad. I feel like I'm abandoning you."

"No, you're not," Ben replied. "Hey, why don't we go back to the ballroom before they put out a search party for us?"

"Sure," Lauren said, and hobbled her way back in on her crutches.

When they returned to the ballroom, Gennie ran up to them breathlessly.

"Hey, Page is going to throw the bouquet any minute now. We need you up there!"

Lauren made her way to the dance floor and settled in front of a semi-circle of younger women.

"Ready or not," Page yelled, "here it comes!"

She threw the bouquet and Lauren caught it even though she was barely trying.

"I guess we know who the next bride is," the deejay announced.

"Crap, this means I'm getting old," Ben joked.

"Well, I am too," Gennie said. "How about we grow old and cranky together?"

"Okay," Ben replied. "You've got a deal."
