JACK

An autumn chill was in the air as I assisted my bundled wife to the car. Her belly had grown quite large with our two babies and her steps were unsteady on the damp pavement. I disliked these excursions and did not understand why my presence was required. I had done my husbandly duty by her. Her current condition was now the province of women. I took my seat behind the steering wheel and slid my key into the ignition.

"I mean it, Jack. You're going inside to meet the doctor with me this time," she commanded. "No staying in the waiting room And don't give me any of that 'protecting my privacy' crap."

I turned the key and agreed. "Yes, dearest," and resigned myself to my fate.

She softened. "Jack, I'm sorry to be so harsh. I know you don't like to go and I know I can see the doctor on my own. But, it would mean so much to me if you were in the examining room with me. Especially today. We'll see our babies today!"

I reached over and patted her hand. Did she not realize that our babies were right in front of her at all times? I can see them well enough. But considering the nature of our conversation, and not wishing to cause any more discomfort to the events ahead, I held my tongue. "I understand, my dear, and will attend."

TERRY

We've been keeping to ourselves lately. I'm not sure that it's the best thing for us since Bridgid has seemed to turn inward. Damn, the answering machine is filled with messages and neither of us has even taken the time to listen to them. Our friends must think we've left town with no notice but that's not the case.

She seems to prefer to be alone at the moment and though I don't understand it I reckoned maybe indulging her might be in my best interest. I can't do anything right around her. No matter what it's always wrong. If she wants ice cream and she says vanilla, I go to the shop to get it but there's always something wrong. Either it's the wrong brand or French Vanilla instead of Vanilla Bean. What the Christ am I supposed to do? If I force her to be sociable I'm afraid she'll drive everyone away. I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Okay, maybe I'm over-reacting. I understand she's never been preggers before. It's not as new to me as it is to her but I can't for the life of me remember anyone acting so disagreeable. Bloody hell, I can hear her coming down the hall. Maybe I should pretend to be asleep. Yeah, that may work.

"Ah...choo! Shit, God damn it. What the fuck. Son of a bitch of a … horses ass." That was Bridgid and her voice went through me like nails on a chalk board. Of course she had to add, "Did I wake you honey?"

I'm in for it now. "No, love. I was just resting my eyes. What's wrong, B?"

"I think I peed my pants when I sneezed."

Did she just say what I thought she said? When I opened my eyes she was standing in front of me, holding a two liter bottle of Fiji water in one hand and a Toblerone in the other. This is not the hard arsed kevlar wearing, pistol packing sheila I married. Where did my Bridgid go?

"Why are you looking at me like that, Terry?"

Oh no, here it comes. No matter what I say will be wrong. "Because you're so beautiful, love. I ca''t take my eyes off of you." Fucking great, she's starting to cry. Did I marry Lucille Ball or what?

"What? You're such a liar. I'm fat, my hair is falling out, my back hurts and I have more zits then I did at my high school prom. I'm about as beautiful as a bowl of tripe."

I hope she didn't see me roll my eyes. "Tripe has its charm." Note to self, a hurled Toblerone hurts worse than a rubber bullet. "Not the water ... B!" Too late for that, she doused me good.

"Oh, God. Terry, I'm so sorry. I do love you; I didn't mean to do that to you. It's just ..."

Just what? Your name is Rosemary and you had a certain visitor during the night? I'm fucking glad I didn't say that bit out loud but if she starts eating raw liver I'm gonna get a room at the Inn. "It's okay, love." I stood up, brushed myself off and held my arms out for her. Surprise, she let me hug her. "Shh, it's gonna be okay, B. I promise, all of this nonsense will pass."

"No it won't." She blew her nose in my shirt when she said that. I'll chalk this up to practice for when the sprog gets here.

"B, it will get better. You're just hormonal." I dropped my hand down to her bum. Now I'm going for broke. "But I gotta tell you, love. I think you did pee your pants. C'mon, let's get you cleaned up. I'll rub your feet, eh?"

I reckon I should have kept my mouth shut. She broke away from me and ran up the stairs crying. I guess I should follow her but I have to choose what I'm going to say carefully. She needs to talk to someone and I won't let her get out of it this time. Riley, Nat, anyone who could convince her that she'll be okay. I'm not the man for this job.

RILEY

He actually thought I'd say no? Ah well, it's always fun to see John squirm, so I let him go through his twenty minute well-rehearsed explanation as to why I should agree to take a vacation. A vacation? Who in their right mind would refuse a freaking vacation?

"So, like I said," he paced, pushing his hair back. "I'm not giving you a choice here. We need this, that's that. So … will you go with me?"

That made me laugh so hard the baby pulled off my nipple and squeaked frustration. "Yes, John. I'd love to go on a vacation with you. You're right," I cuddled baby T and switched breasts. "We need this. It'll be fun, having the baby with us. If you'd said we were going without him, I might have had a problem."

"Right, right!" He sat beside me and tenderly snarfed a kiss. "There was no way I wanted to go without the baby. I want my family together. I'm gonna start packing." He stood and I laughed.

"You mean you haven't already packed for us?"

"You're a smart shit," he grunted then poked his head out of the bedroom. John's smile lit up his beautiful baby blues. Jesus, if he only knew how easy he is to please. "A real class A smart shit … but I love you that way. Now, you deal with the baby's stuff, I'll pack everything else. Nothing fancy, wrinkled short and wrinkled tee shirts. Okay?"

"Oh God, it already sounds like the best vacation I've ever had. When do we leave? In the morning?"

"Yeah," he called from the bedroom and I could hear drawers sliding opened and closed. "Flight's at ten, so we need to hit the road at seven."

I shuffled T to my shoulder for a burp and couldn't help but whisper a very pleased, "Yay!"

JACK

We were awaiting Dr. Conklan. Natalie was lying back on the examining table, a paper gown protecting her modesty. I sat next to her, wondering at the various machines and devices that surrounded her. I had always been impressed with the good doctor. He seemed a gentle soul. I suppose one who cares for women in this condition as a rule must be.

"Ah, Mr. Aubrey," he said as he entered the room. "Glad to have you with us today."

"Urm," I cleared my throat, which was suddenly dry. "Yes, sir, good to join you."

"Well, Mrs. Aubrey," he turned to my wife. "Shall we get on with it? Remember, this will be cold." He picked up a tube and proceeded to squirt a thick, slimy substance on my wife's exposed belly. She gasped as the doctor spread it around.

"Damn! I'll never get used that that," she exclaimed as she shivered.

"Now, Mr. Aubrey, have you ever seen an ultrasound before?" The doctor picked up a squarish wand-like device and rubbed it over Natalie's round belly. "Here, watch this monitor."

I stared at the monitor screen closely and could not make out a thing; a black screen with grainy white buzzing around it. A thumping began, emanating from another nearby machine, two steady drumbeats slightly out of sync with each other.

"Ah, there. See Mr. Aubrey. That is one of the babies' heads." I examined the screen intently. Amazingly, there was a head! And a small hand … the babe was sucking its thumb! "And here, there's the other one." And there, the other child. I was fascinated. These are my children!

"And this thumping, sir, are these their heartbeats?"

The good doctor grinned. "Yes, they are. And look here. These are their spines, strong, well formed. And a little further down …" He moved the device. "Here are their feet."

Four small feet appeared on the screen. Four perfect feet with twenty little toes. I moved closer to the monitor and reached out to touch the cold screen. Natalie took my other hand and squeezed. "Jack, do you want to know if they're boys or girls?"

I looked back to her. "You can tell?" She nodded. "Yes, please," I answered.

"They're girls, Jack. Two beautiful baby girls."

I looked back to the screen. Girls! I was entranced by what I saw. My babies … my darling little girls.

MEREDITH

"I wanna get going earlier, M," Hando groaned as I started cleaning the breakfast dishes.

"When?"

"Like … now. I wanna stop and see Andy before we pick up Claudia."

I turned off the faucet and glared. "That's just insane, Hando. We're going to drive all the way to Stowe, then drive all the way back to Burlington Airport, just to drive all the way back to Stowe again? That's three hours on the road. Then, we have to come home … four hours in one day."

"I wanna see Andy."

"I know, I know. But there has to be a better way to do this." I was pissed, thinking H wasn't interested in spending time with my best friend on earth. I met Claudia online when I was pregnant with Ruthie. We switched our internet conversations to telephone conversations and became instant friends. She's a nurse who gives tremendous advice and when she came to New York last spring, we finally got together. I've never felt like I'd found a real soul mate in my whole life until I met her. Don't get me wrong. I love Riles, love everyone in the family. But Claudia is something special. I can't actually say why, maybe it's her compassion, maybe it's her mannerism, maybe it's just her state of grace. And, she's kick-ass gorgeous to boot. I was really hoping we'd take Claudia with us to Andy and Monna's. Maybe she could help them through this rough time and all. But I had to be realistic. She was staying at the Inn for two weeks, then with us for another two weeks. There would be several opportunities for her to meet them.

"Okay, I got it," I grinned. "Here's what we'll do. You go see Andy and I'll drive the other car to pick up Claudia. We'll just meet at the Inn around five. Does that work for you, H?"

He was growling like a grumpy dog, but I could see he liked the idea. Then we both turned to our daughter, standing on her two little chubby legs, her hands on her hips and glaring at us. I swear she's more Hando than me. Eighteen months old and she's been going through her terrible twos since she cut her first tooth.

"All right Ruthie," I said as H and I mimicked her stance. You gotta be tough against an adversary like Ruthie. "Who do you want to go with today?"

"Daddy!" she pointed and shouted. "Daddy! Go with Daddy!"

Trust me, we've been through this before and even though it wasn't the most optimum arrangement, we weren't going to change her mind no matter how hard we tried.

"Okay," Hando said, lifting her and swinging her over his shoulder. "You're commin' with Daddy, ya little bugger. And ya better be good."

I was relieved and I was worried at the same time. At least I'd be able to enjoy the ride from the airport, talking like a grown up with Claudia. But I wasn't so sure Andy was up to a Tasmanian devil like our Ruthie. After belting her into the car seat, she whined and pointed to the front seat, griping that she wanted to ride there. We ignored her and kissed at the driver's window.

"I can handle her. She'll be good, M. We'll see you at the Inn. Five o'clock. Drive carefully, ya hear."

KELLY

Don't make a decision you'll end up regretting.

Jeff's words played over and over in my head and the look of disappointment in his eyes was something that I don't think I will ever forget. I don't remember much about the drive to the restaurant where I had agreed to meet David, but as I sat in my car for a moment before going inside I fought back the crushing ache in my heart and my conscience. How could I feel all that and yet also feel so numb?

The Trapp Family Lodge. Actually, it was my decision to meet at this particular location. It was a world famous establishment, but I'd never cared for The Sound of Music and didn't want to meet David at a place where Jeff and I had previously explored. Regardless of whether Jeff would ever forgive me for what I was about to do this evening, I needed to keep David as far removed from my everyday life in this town as possible.

Jeff. Oh God, perhaps I really was wrong to be doing this; earlier I had been so sure that I needed to do this thing, but I had never seriously considered that it would be at the cost of driving a wedge between me and the most wonderful man in the world.

I didn't even bother checking my makeup or hair in the rearview mirror before getting out of the car and heading up through the parking lot towards the lodge. I just wanted this whole meeting to be over. Once again I had allowed David to have control what I did with my life and by the time I spotted him over by the restaurant entrance I was full of regret for agreeing to this.

As I came closer I could tell by his appearance that David had taken great care with projecting just the right image for my benefit. He sported a gray wool suit by Armani worn with a black cashmere turtleneck. His hair was shorter than I had remembered, and it seemed a couple of shades darker than I remembered. Was he using something to cover up the encroaching strands of gray?

He came over to greet me, his eyes looking a little too bright and his smile a bit too forced. "Kelly - you look beautiful!" His eyes swept over me and I felt a shudder of disgust. Did I really once love this man? "All this healthy country air seems to be agreeing with you."

His voice seemed unnecessarily loud and I inwardly cringed as several people standing inside the heavy lobby glassy doors turned to look at us. I felt an involuntary recoil as he reached out for my arm, leaning in close as he attempted to give me a kiss. At the last moment I turned my head away just enough so that he fell short of his mark and got my cheek instead.

"Hello, David. You look well." I couldn't think of much else to say.

"I called for reservations at 7PM. We can order drinks first, if you like." He still had hold of my arm as he steered me over towards the entrance. Once inside, he butted ahead of the party waiting before us and announced his presence to the hostess by knocking loudly upon the sign in podium. "Clayford, party of two. When the table's ready, come look for us in the bar."

The hostess, who appeared to be all of 19, just stared at him. You could read the annoyance on her face and as well as upon those who had been waiting ahead of us.

"Clayford. 7PM reservation. Don't mess it up, honey." Quickly dismissing her as someone insignificant and oblivious to the heated stares of those around us, he again took hold of my arm as we made our way into the bar. It was fairly crowded but David again steamrolled through and found us a table. Before we were even seated he noisily flagged down a waitress while I cringed in embarrassment. What was up with all this unnecessary brashness? I again began to suspect that something was enhancing his mood, although while we were married he had never used drugs. What had happened between him and his wife? Was tonight's behavior due in part to that question?

The waitress came over and David was oblivious to her look of annoyance. He ordered a Martini for himself, while I ordered a diet soda. I had no desire to drink alcohol with him behaving in this manner, although to be honest, about this point I really did want a shot of something stronger.

David pulled his chair in closer to mine and smiled. "This is really some place. I half expect Julie Andrews to come out and start singing. What was that song you always liked…the do-re-mi thing…" He snapped his fingers as if that would help him to remember.

Now I knew he was on something stronger than coffee. Either that or he never paid attention to anything I had ever done or said in our six and a half years of marriage, for he used to tease me about my dislike for Julie Andrews and that annoying movie during every holiday season. For some reason, the networks loved to play it as standard Hollywood family holiday entertainment, and the continual endless promos two weeks before the airing used to drive me crazy.

"David, why did you want to see me?" I wasn't going to waste any more time with wondering. This evening had already turned into some sort of surreal nightmare and I just wanted it over with.

"Boy you cut to the chase." He drew away slightly to draw a point to his displeasure. "You sure aren't going to make this easy one me, but I guess I deserve it, huh?"

"Well, under the circumstances …"

He held up his hand in mock surrender. "Okay, okay, I know. Kell, listen, this is kind of hard, but things have really changed since we divorced and I've had some time to think about how I behaved and I did so wrong by you. You were always so patient and I'm nothing but a fool who thought he needed to play around, but you never said anything about any of them."

My heart dropped into my stomach. Any of them? Was he telling me that he had more than one extra marital affair? I'd always known he had a roaming eye, but I had no clue. Honest. "David, just what is it that you're trying to tell me? Why this sudden need to see me?"

He gave a sheepish expression and I suspected his answer was going to be a good one. "Kell, it's Janice. It's over."

"Well yeah, I figured that from all one hundred of your messages, but…"

"Kell, the baby isn't mine."

What the fuck? "Come again?" Now I really did need a drink. "Wait a minute, let me get this straight….the baby, little David Junior…the child that you had with Janice, the woman who you claimed was your true soul mate…someone else is his father?" I was edging somewhere between tears and laughter.

David hung his head. "It's something, isn't it?"

"Something isn't quite the word I was thinking of." I was genuinely surprised that their relationship has broken up so quickly, but to be honest, I felt no curiosity about the sordid details.

"Listen, I know you're still pretty pissed at me, but you and I, we always had such a good thing. I admit, I was selfish. I was angry about your not wanting to go to a fertility doctor, and I acted like a bastard. But I've had time to really think about all that happened and I'm ready to accept my part of the blame for what went wrong between us. I'm a changed man. I want you back, Kell. Janice has the IQ of a bar of soap and I can't look at her in the same way after finding out that David Jr. isn't really mine. Come back to me … I know it's a lot to ask, and I know it will take time, but you could move back into the condo and even bring all that old stuff you have out of storage. "

I was absolutely speechless.

"Kelly?" He reached for my hand but the touch of his skin upon mine made me cringe. As usual, he was oblivious to my reaction. "Well, honey, what do you think?"

He really seriously expected an answer. My mind went over all that he had told me and I could only think of one thing. I desperately wanted Jeff. "David, I'm just not interested."

"Hey, you're serious, aren't you?" He actually appeared surprised by my reaction.

I pushed back my chair and stood up. "Not only am I serious David, but I'm also going home. My home. All I can say is that if you're feeling depressed and out of sorts over what happened, then welcome to the club. You have no place in my life, and I'd appreciate it if you never contact me again."

I threw my purse over my shoulder and turned to leave, but David had to have the last word, as always.

"You're not getting any younger Kelly. Think about what you're walking away from."

I was tempted to toss my drink in his face, but I forced myself to remain poised. "I already have. And thank you for once again for reminding me what a pathetic, sorry assed joke you've become. Good night, David."

I tried to walk away calmly, but David grabbed for me and I ran. I heard him call my name but I kept on running, ignoring the stares and looks from the other restaurant patrons as I pushed through the entrance door and dashed back to my car. My heart was pounding and I had a moment of panic when I couldn't find my keys right away, but once I was finally safe inside my car I looked up, half expecting to see David running after me.

There was no one.

Locking the door and slipping the keys into the ignition, I had only one thought on my mind. How fast could I get back to the Inn and would Jeff ever be able to forgive me?

HANDO

He looked like bloody hell. John said he was doing better, but Andy seemed like he was melting away, like he had some fuckin' disease that was gonna kill him or something. He was sitting in the sunroom chair, wrapped in a blanket and shivering. I stomped over and closed the window.

Andy grinned. "Monna's just gonna open it again. She says I need fresh air. Truth is … I ain't been warm since I came from California."

Has he been sick that long? I shrugged. "So maybe ya should go back there."

"No. Don't wanna do that. I like it here, like the Inn and this house was Monica's dad's. Makes her feel good, ya know?"

He tightened the blankets at his neck and I was sweatin' like a bloody pig. It was one of those warm autumn days in Vermont. Made me shiver though, thinkin' 'bout the winter ahead.

"Ya know, Riles hired a replacement."

"She fuckin' didn't," I hissed.

"Well, yeah. She had to. But I kinda got a promotion. Soon as I can get up to speed, I'll just be overseeing everything. It'll be apples, no worries."

I can't remember ever getting angry with Riley. What the fuck was she thinkin'? We're supposed to support each other! Shoving Andy in a bloody corner didn't sound all that supportive to me, I don't give a fuck what the Inn needed, it just wasn't right. "Fuck that, I'm gonna talk to her, this ain't right, mate."

"I'm fine with it, really. Not like I can do much to convince her she doesn't need to replace me. It's kinda like when you blokes lost your driver. You found a replacement, Colin stepped in and it worked fine."

"That was Colin! This is different!" I swung my arm and accidentally swept everything off the table beside his chair; pill bottles, a glass, plate of Tim Tams, even a pitcher of water that shattered against the wall. Ruthie started to cry and run from the other room toward me and I was busy trying to keep her back.

"What happed?" Monica gasped, knelt and began cleaning my mess. I settled the baby on Andy's lap and helped, but before I could make my bloody confession, Andy opened his mouth.

"Caught my blanket and knocked everything over. Silly, ain't it, Ruthie?" He pushed tears from her round cheeks and got her giggling. I was pretty surprised, she was playing with him, he was smiling. He actually looked healthy for the first time all afternoon.

Carrying the mess into the kitchen with Monna I groaned. "I did it. Sorry, love. Got so fucking hot about what Riles did."

"Why?" She took the soaked towels and shook broken glass into the trash bin.

"What do ya mean, why? Can't see how it made Andy feel supported, getting replaced like that."

She smiled and took my arm, led me back toward the sun room doorway and pointed. My usually crazy-as-a-dingo little nipper was calm and talking, all curled up against Andy's chest.

"Riley gave us what we need, H. Time. Time to help Andy get strong again, time to get this old house fixed up … and time to start our own family. There was no way we could've ever considered children the way our lives were going." She shrugged and kissed my cheek. "This might have all just been a blessing in disguise."

ANTONY

Today was a quiet but long day. With the restaurant temporarily closed for the evening meal trade, there are fewer deliveries to be concerned with and fewer people coming onto the property. I do harbor concerns regarding the loss of income, but John assured me that all would be well. The playful look in his eye alerted me that I would face something similar to an attack from the enemy hordes once winter befell the area. He called it ski season, I call it a promised ache in my head.

This place is beautiful in ways I had never imagined. For me, I face a new world, a nation many, many years beyond the time I had lived. But this Vermont has welcomed me with opened arms, brilliance painting hills and valleys the colors of blood and spun gold. At sunset it is most spectacular and I strolled the pathways for no other reason than to enjoy it all; the crispness of the air, the quiet, the mellow sound of rustling dry leaves and distant wind singing against the mountain. These things give me solace. And today, I am finally positioned to care for everything I've come to love.

John has taken his family away for a respite. He has well earned it from all I gather. Many women in these times would not have taken a man back to their bosom after he had strayed. Perhaps his wife is a worthy queen, to understand a man and forgive his indiscretions. It was far easier in Rome so long ago. Ah, but men are nothing, animals with brute and weapons. Women? They are and always have been our salvation. John is certainly blessed by the gods.

As I neared the gate, a truck I recognized entered and slowed.

"Hey, ya Roman bastard. How ya doin'?"

"I am well, Hando. Very well. I see you have brought your daughter," I said, attempting to restrain my inexplicable fears of that rabid child.

"Yeah, yeah. Say hello, Ruthie."

"No! No! No!"

He laughed. "Mere here yet?"

"No, she has not arrived," I stepped back as the child reached for my arm with her sticky fingers, smeared red from the sweet she was sucking.

"Tell her we'll be in the lobby."

I shook my head. It would now be Marla's responsibility to protect the expensive furnishings and items in the lobby. I'd remain at the gate to greet Hando's wife. She was but a few moments behind. I leaned down to her window in welcome.

"Isn't it a beautiful sunset, Antony?" She grinned wide.

"I is, it certainly is. I am to tell you that Hando and your lovely child await you in the …" And I fell speechless. My eye caught sight of Meredith's passenger and I swear to the gods I was instantly consumed in the fires of Hades. The goddess seated beside Mere was astonishingly beautiful. Hair the color of the blazing leaves all around, and eyes so blue I became quenched in their depths. "Ah …" I stood straight, stepped back. "Ah … forgive me. Your husband and child await you in the lobby."

"Oh, Antony. This is Claudia. She's staying at the Inn for a few weeks."

"Very well," was all I could choke. I stepped another step back to permit her to drive ahead but my eyes could not leave this Claudia. I must confess, my heart was suddenly quickened, renewed. And I sensed the impossibility of retaining that whole and fully alive power. I left to walk the paths again until the air would chill my body to the core and again give me the strength to remain, as ever, alone.

CLAUDIA MILLER

"Oh … my … God!" I slapped Mere's arm. "That is the most beautiful man I have ever seen in my whole life!"

Mere laughed. "Oh, he's a real charmer, our Antony."

JEFF

I am not by nature a petulant man, but at times I have been accused of having a fairly healthy temper. As a rule that side of my nature doesn't present itself very often, but every once in a while something inside lets loose and well, let's just say that my behavior can be less than exemplary. My reaction to Kelly's little bombshell earlier that evening more than proved this point.

When I arrived back at the Inn after my visit with Kelly, I headed straight for the bar and had two fast shots of whiskey. Steve the bartender and a couple of the regulars were discussing football and normally I would have joined in and enjoyed the rites of male bonding. One of the men started to ask my opinion on this year's draft picks, but Steve, being the excellent judge of character that he was, steered the conversation over to another matter and my request for input was quickly replaced by the discussion turning towards Buffalo's chance of getting into the Super Bowl. Not long afterwards I was about to pay Steve for my drinks, but he shook his head, patting me on the shoulder and smiling to indicate that he had picked up on my mood. "Consider it on the house tonight, Doc…bartender's prerogative." That overheard comment started the other guys into joking about what they had to do in order to take advantage of that prerogative and I nodded my thanks as I headed up to my room, almost laughing as I heard Steve deliver his answer.

Marla was busy in the lobby but her eye caught mine as I weeded my way through the guests and she called out a jaunty greeting. I didn't want to start up a conversation but managed to issue a wave in her direction. I was only able to withstand so much jocularity when I really wanted nothing more than just to sulk and lick my wounds in quiet privacy.

I had been spending so much time at Kelly's that my room seemed almost alien to me as I entered. The housecleaning crew had been here, drawing back the curtains and leaving one of the windows slightly cracked to let in the fresh air. I caught the scent of Pine sol wafting over from the bathroom and noticed a neatly folded stack of towels sitting on the shelf just inside the door. After closing the curtains I switched on the TV and flipped through the channels, settling on CNN before changing into comfortable sweats and one of the sweaters Riley was forever giving me. I sat back upon the bed and tried to concentrate on Gretta Susteren and her topic du jour, but my mind kept drifting back to Kelly.

I've been divorced for a number of years, twice in fact. That particular track record aside, I'm able to now have a relatively realistic view of how I could have done things differently and have accepted responsibility for my part in each dissolution. As for what happened with Kelly this evening, well, my reaction had been driven by pure male ego. The thought of possibly losing someone who had become quite dear to me had essentially led me into behaving like a jealous asshole. Guilty as charged. My mind couldn't break away from the image of her standing before me, her eyes full of hurt as I railed on about my feelings. Smooth move, Wigand. I was still a bit hot over the fact that she had kept the meeting with her ex-husband from me, but honestly, I could understand her reasons for wanting to meet with the bastard one (hopefully) last time.

Bored with the debate over whether Brittney Spears should be allowed to have custody of her children, I grabbed the remote and flipped through the channels again, settling upon Bob Costas and HBO Sports. I must have dozed off for a bit, because the sound of someone knocking softly on my door startled me awake. Fumbling off the bed and nearly slipping upon a slick patch of the hardwood floor, I leaned down to look through the door peep hole and saw Kelly's nervous eyes staring back at me. I glanced at my watch - not more than a couple of hours had passed since we had parted. Straightening up and hitching the waistband of my sweatpants and hoping for the best, I took a deep breath and opened the door.

"I really need to talk to you." Her voice sounded small and uncertain as I stood aside and motioned for her to come in. There was a momentary awkwardness as she seemed to debate over whether she should give me a hug in greeting, and although I admit that I was pleased to see her, I wasn't ready to offer the open armed welcome. Yeah, stubborn male ego again, but she didn't push the matter and went over to the bed, sitting tentatively upon the edge. Her eyes were wide and serious as she looked up at me.

"It's all done … he won't be calling me any more." She waited for my response, but when she realized none was forthcoming, she continued. "HE, um, discovered that his son really wasn't his after all, and he thought I'd be interested in taking him back. He's filed for divorce and wanted me to hear him out. I told him I wasn't interested."

I stood before her with my hands in my pockets, watching her discomfort, suddenly feeling like a father/confessor as she waited for some response. I needed to hear what she had to say next before I could bring myself to say or do much of anything ... I didn't necessarily enjoy my advantage at the moment, but my heart lifted at the knowledge that she'd sent him on his way.

"Jeff …have I ruined everything between us? I don't think I could bear it … if you only knew how important you've become … if you … I love you."

Her breath seemed to catch in her throat and tears welled in her beautiful eyes. She gave a soft gasp of despair and next thing I knew I had pulled her into my arms and she was sobbing in relief.

"Oh God, Jeff, I'm so sorry …" Her face was pressed against my chest and she let out another heart wrenching sob as I held her close.

I let her cry for a few moments to get it out of her system, feeling a bit like an ogre as her whole body shook with emotion. When she had finally calmed somewhat I placed my hand on her head and drew her face towards mine. "Don't cry, honey. It's all okay now."

Pulling her close, I leaned down to kiss her. She responded with such force and I answered back with some force of my own, loving the taste of her, feeling her body melt into mine as my hand found the soft curve of her ass and took a possessive, appreciative squeeze. I was rewarded with a soft sigh and the sound of her breathless voice calling out my name.

Okay, call me a selfish bastard, but I couldn't help but feel a sense of extreme pleasure in the knowledge that I was still capable of eliciting this kind of response in a woman. The fact that it was Kelly just added to the enjoyment. I steered us back down upon the bed, needing to feel the warmth of her bare skin against mine, wanting to fill her with all the things my heart wanted to say. But the words I managed to whisper only made her start to cry all over again, but this time, they were tears of a happier kind.

"I love you too, Jeff.

In this little corner of the universe, all became right with the world.

JOHN

God sakes, it was fucking perfect. The house was right on the beach. It was a little chilly for swimming but damn, just standing on the sand, listening to the waves, my son asleep on my shoulder, it was the best moment I'd had in a long time. Riley took my hand and we strolled, not talking. Just being together. Yeah, this was what we needed, big time.