Chapter 12

March, 2039


"Jeremy," Rina said one day during her spring break while she was visiting the Summers home with Jaime; "I have something to tell you."

Jeremy was brushing Coltrane so that Rina could ride him; he said, "What is it, Rina?"

He noticed she looked nervous, as if what she was going to say would affect their relationship. He knew what it wasn't: she wasn't pregnant because they hadn't slept together yet.

"I don't know how you'll take this," Rina said; "It's not something that I just want anyone to know."

"It can't be that bad, Rina," Jeremy said; "Just tell me. It's probably not as big a deal as you make it out to be."

"You know about my family, right? My brother lives in Boston, and my mother lives in Italy," Rina began; Jeremy nodded and signalled her to continue.

"Well, my mother, as much as I despise her, is a Countess, or Contessa. I will inherit that title formally when I am twenty-one. She'll try to stop that because of who I'm seeing, or what I'm doing or some asinine excuse. But it is mandated that her first born daughter, me, will become Contessa at age twenty-one, regardless of where I live or whom I am with. With that title comes half of the d'Alessandro trust. That is, if my mother hasn't squandered it all on her toyboys."

"Let me get this straight," Jeremy said; "When you're 21, you'll inherit a title and any money that comes with it. So what does your brother become when he's 21?"

"The title of Conte d'Alessandro and the other half of the trust," Rina said; "If he marries Carrie like he says he might, she'll probably not have a title. If she does it might be Viscontessa."

"And this concerns me how, Rina?" asked Jeremy; "Because I really don't care if you're the Princess of Wales. All that stupid European royality garbage doesn't do anything for me. So you'll inherit money and some stupid title. So what?"

Rina looked truly surprised. All that had been drilled into her head since she was old enough to understand is that men who are not of royal lineage want to marry rich and titled girls for the money and the fame of being her consort. Jeremy just said he doesn't care about any of that, Rina thought.

"Rina, it's you and who you are that matters to me, not some title. Not money," said Jeremy; "I'm just a dumb kid from Florida who thought he'd take over the family business. I'm falling hard for a beautiful, intelligent, and somewhat sheltered girl. So you have money. Some have it and some don't. I work my ass off to make sure I have enough money to do the things I want to do. And what I want to do is to go to college and make something of myself, and maybe break down some of those walls you surround yourself with."

"Really?"

Jeremy put the brush down and walked over to where Rina stood. He took her into his arms and held her, saying, "Yes, my beautiful Audrina, really. I've really fallen hard for you, and to see you unhappy breaks my heart. No other girl has ever done to me what you have done. Maybe you're the one most men wait a lifetime for."

Then he kissed her and to her utter surprise, Rina responded. They'd never kissed before, and it felt like the most natural thing in the world to her.

When it ended, Jeremy said, "Now, let's go ride so I can teach you how to be a real American cowgirl."

===


Ben and Sarah Walters had their hands full with their unexpectedly growing family. Since becoming the guardians for their deceased daughter's children, they've had to make some changes. One of those was that the kids had to help out around the ranch. The girls weren't too keen on mucking out horse stalls and such, so that job went to their brother Jeremy, who seemed to love being around the animals. Jackie and Jenna Schuylkill were put in charge of feeding the animals, along with Jared and his brother Jeff.

Sarah was the first to notice something new and refreshing about Jeremy. She had asked him about his friendship with the Italian girl who was Jaime Summers' suitemate.

"I like her, Gramma," Jeremy said; "Rina and I are kinda in the same situation.  Her father died almost five years ago, and her mother treats her like she's less than nothing. We talk about all kinds of things. She's really into horses, and rode in competitions in Europe until she was twelve. She gets along well with Coltrane."

"I take it that you and she get along a little more than just 'liking' each other," Sarah said; "Jenna saw you two kissing out in the stables and of course, she tattled to me. I told her that you were nearly grown and that you can do things like kiss a girl. I don't think she understands about how that feels. She's not had any experience with boys, has she?"

"Not really," Jeremy said; "there was this one boy she liked, but when we had to move, he pretty much gave up."

"Probably a little jealousy going on there," said Sarah; "because Jackie seems to keep up with the boy she likes through email."

"He's a jerk, and when he finds someone who's closer, he'll drop Jackie like a bad habit," Jeremy said; "I tried telling her that, but she doesn't believe me. And, she's made no effort to befriend any of the Summers kids, and thinks Jaime and her friends are stuck on themselves."

"Looks like she's jealous some as well," Sarah said; "I'll have a talk with them. It's probably hard for them with everything going on in your lives right now. You seem to have adjusted well."

"I know Mom and Dad are okay, they're together, and that they'd want me to live my life,"  Jeremy said; "I've had my time to mourn them, Gramma. No matter what I do or don't do, they're not going to come back. My future is up to me."

"That's very mature of you, Jeremy," Sarah said; "And now you've started something with Rina. She's a nice girl. I hope that you two can make a long distance relationship work."

"We're certainly going to try, Gramma," Jeremy replied.

===


There were political rumblings going on in Washington. A new bill, sponsored by Senator Richard Pike of Connecticut, would require that all candidates for national office have an evaluation done to measure their mental fitness to perform the duties of the job they are hoping to be elected to perform. Many around the Beltway found it insulting and intrusive. Pike explained that it was only to weed out those individuals who have a specific agenda, such as attempting to overthrow the current government with Occupationist ideals: restrictions on who one can marry, have children with, isolating one segment of the population with the "Undesirable" designation; in short, the policies of Sarah Kathryn Hope and Carl Parks.

Much arguing went on in the subcommittee that Pike headed, saying such a law was unconstitutional, but Pike's stance could not be swayed: "I lived through the Occupation as many of you did. Do you really want to see that form of government come back into power? Do you want to be the one who is declared Undesirable through no fault of your own? Over something you have no choice in, such as what you look like or the racial or relgious make up of your parents?"

Many said, "Of course not!"

"That's all well and good, Rick," Senator Jeremiah Donovan said, "but if someone is not fit for public office because of their agenda or some sort of mental illness, they have no business running in the first place. Why subject potential candidates for national office to a battery of mental tests, when current members of the government have had no such testing. We could have a Carl Parks amongst us already. Should we also give mental acuity exams to the President and his staff? To the members of the House? To all of us?"

"Jere you have good points," Pike said, "and I agree that there may be someone who has Occupationist leanings already in office. But I know there are people out there that still want to see an Occupationist goverment. Some of them may want to run for office. Those are the people I'm concerned about."

"I still don't think it would do any good," Jeremiah said; "That almost like convicting someone now for a crime they may or may not commit in the future. We can't play God, or be the judge of people who may never have had any idea about bringing back a bad form of government. That is just as bad as what you're proposing, Rick."

"You, Senator, were one of the heroes of the Resistance," Pike said; "I thought, if anyone, you'd back me on this."

"There are ethical issues I just can't get past, Rick," said Jeremiah; "That's all I'm saying. Now if you can come up with something similar that doesn't break any laws, or is ethically or morally reprehensible, I'd be happy to back it up. In its present form, I just cannot."

Pike's bill died in Committee when he couldn't improve it to everyone's satisfaction. For that, he blamed Donovan. Though he would never give voice to it, it would lead to a threat on the life of the President of the United States several years in the future.

And he sat in the Senate Committee Room as the bill was shot down.


===

It was a free weekend where Helene didn't have any pressing assignments or rehearsals. March was almost over, spring break had come and gone, and Helene would be 17 in just a month.

She and Alexei were going to spend part of the weekend together. Alexei was going to take her to see a play that had been on Broadway and was making a tour stop in Chicago. Helene was excited to see the play, based on the popular biography of journalist Kit Crowley, who was percecuted during the Occupation for trying to inform people about the Occupational government. Jaime had told her that Kit Crowley was the grandmother of her sister Rachel's boyfriend Cole Nichols, so that gave Helene a personal perspective.

The play was quite good, and the actress playing Crowley was almost a dead ringer for the deceased journalist. After leaving the theatre, Alexei took Helene to a nice restaurant and they talked about the play, Helene's plans for the summer, and the fact that she and her suitemates were going to move out of Mathison Hall and rent a house off campus. Helene was especially excited about that. "I could ask for better housemates than Jaime and Rina!"  she said; "And Jaime's aunt Kimber Duncan owns the house, so we're getting a good deal."

"How big of a house is it?" asked Alexei.

"It has four bedrooms, a huge kitchen and living room, and a basement," Helene said; "And we can decorate it any way we want! Not like the suite at all. Jaime likes the big kitchen. The one in our suite isn't big enough to do much of anything. We all like to cook, so more space means maybe we can have people over for dinner on occasion. We can move in in June just after the semester ends."

"I hope I'm invited over, on occasion, of course," Alexei teased.

"I should hope so!" laughed Helene; "It's not that far from campus, and just a little bit of a drive from Chicago. We've all been itching to have people come over, since we can't do that where we are now."

"Speaking of coming over, Helene," Alexei said; "It's a little late to take you back to school before curfew, so why don't you just spend the night here? Igor is out of town for the week, and he said you could use his room if the need arose."

Helene thought about it and knew she would be staying. Curfew was at 11pm, and it was nearly that now. And that she could have a room to herself sealed her decision. Privately, she was hoping Alexei would try to seduce her. She thought she was ready to take that next step. She had recently had the dosage of her birth control increased because of her age, so she felt that if it had to happen, she could handle it.

"Okay, I'll stay," Helene said; "Just let me call Jaime and Rina to tell them where I am so they won't worry when I don't show up."

Alexei nodded and Helene called her suitemates to let them know not to expect her. Jaime said to be careful and Rina told her through Jaime to have fun. When she was through with her call, she and Alexei grabbed a cab back to his apartment, where Helene was about to experience a major milestone in her young life.


===


"I hope she's going to be okay," Rina said as Jaime hung up the phone; "She's never been intimate with Alexei before. I hope he doesn't hurt her."

"Reen, you worry too much," Jaime said. "I'm sure that Helene can handle herself with him by now. They've known each other a while. It's not like they're practically strangers. Besides, we don't know that's going to happen. We shouldn't jump to conclusions."

"I suppose you are right, James," Rina said; "Unlike Helene, I have projects to work on."

"You still working on that mysterious personal project?" asked Jaime.

"Yes, I am."

"You going to let us in on it some day?"

"It depends what I find out, Jaime," Rina said; "I don't want to say anything about it until I am sure of my facts. But, that's after my school assignments are done."

"Of course."

Jaime worried about Rina's "personal" project. Rina was known to spend long nights working on it. Jaime wondered what Rina was looking for so intently. She decided that if Rina wanted her and Helene to know about it, she'd tell them. Until then, both Helene and Jaime knew to not ask Rina about it.

I just hope it's not illegal, Jaime thought as she went into her room to get ready for bed.


===

Helene had not been to Alexei's apartment before, and was surprised how large it was. Almost as large as the suite she lived in at school.


"Wow, Alexei!" she said, surprised; "I had no idea your place is so big! It's just you and Igor living here?"

"There was another dancer, from Ukraine," Alexei said, "but he went home because his mother was dying. He's not expected back any time soon. His bedroom is still locked."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Helene said; "I can't imagine losing one of my parents."

Alexei took her into his arms and said, "Nor can I, even though my mother is herself ill, it's not a terminal illness. I want to try and bring her and my father and younger brother here to the U.S."

"This is the brother that was born since you've been here?" asked Helene; "The one you've never really met?"


"Yes, Ivan Aleksandrovich," Alexei said; "He's a little younger than your sister Lili."

They sat on the sofa as Helene asked, "Does Ivan dance, too?"

"No, he's more into science and geology and things like that," Alexei said; "He'll probably go to a pre-university, like the prep schools here. I want to get him here before he's 12 or 13, when he would be expected to go. I've got at least four years to work on it."

Helene shook her head. It would be nice to meet Alexei's family.

"So, Helene my dearest," Alexei said; "Why don't we get you settled in for the night. I'll be sure to get you up to go back to campus tomorrow morning, I promise."

"Okay," Helene said and followed Alexei to Igor's room.

She was kind of surprised that a guy's room was actually clean. But the posters on the walls screamed 'single male in search of female companionship'. There were the dance posters, sure; but also, models in very brief bikinis who were impossibly thin. She knew that she'd never look like that. She had her mother's curves and was proud of them, even if she was bigger than most of the dancers she'd ever worked with. She let her dancing speak for itself.

"Um, Alexei..." she began; "this room makes me feel incredibly uncomfortable."

"Ahh, it's all his damn sexy swimsuit models," he said; "I can see where that would make any girl uncomfortable. How about I sleep here and you sleep in my room? I don't have half naked girls pinned to my walls."

"Do you mind?" asked Helene; "I'm sure Igor is a nice guy, but his choice of, um, decor leaves a lot to be desired."

"Not at all," Alexei replied; "I'm sorry that it didn't occur to me that his, erm, decor would be offensive."

Igor was an equal opportunity offender as far as Alexei was concerned. No wonder the girls he brings back here never return! he thought. Those photoshop models are a bit much.

Alexei thought that maybe he'd sleep on the couch instead.

He took Helene to his room to find a tshirt for her to wear to bed.

He ended up not sleeping on the couch or in Igor's room.

All he had to do was kiss Helene goodnight. Suddenly he didn't want to leave. He took her into his arms and asked if she minded if they stay up and talk a while.


===


The phone in the suite rang at some ungodly hour.

It woke Rina up. She'd only been asleep for a couple of hours after working on what the other girls called her personal project.

First thing she thought of was Helene. What if she wanted to come back because something went wrong with Alexei?

Then Rina saw the number on the Caller ID and knew exactly who it was.

Her mother.

How in hell did she get this number? she thought. I know Vito didn't give it to her. She must have Giuseppe digging around in my business again.

Without answering the phone, Rina turned off the ringer. The bitch can leave a message, she thought.

She then turned on her heel and headed back to her room. Jaime intercepted her on the way.

"Who was calling? It wasn't Helene was it?" she asked.

"No," Rina said, "it was my mother. I turned off the ringer and let the machine pick up the call. I have no desire to speak with her after the crap she pulled in trying to get Vito to give her our number."

"That's probably a good idea, Reen," Jaime said, yawning. "What the hell time is it any way?"

Rina looked at the clock on the table where the phone sat silent. "It's 3:30," she replied.

"If I ever meet your mother, Reen, I swear I'm going to wring her neck before I even say hello," Jaime said. "Three thirty in the morning! Who the fuck does she think she is?"

"That's just the problem, James," Rina said; "She thinks that everyone should jump when she asks how high."

"That's not the way that phrase goes, Reen, but frankly, I'm too tired to care," Jaime said, laughing quietly.

"No problem," Rina said, "we'll talk about it at a more decent hour. Good night..."

"'Night Rina," Jaime said as she headed back to her room. Not that any more sleeping would get done, but it was Sunday after all.


===

Chapter 11

February, 2039


With the start of the new semester, the girls in Suite 313 settled down to complete their freshman year of college.

And, with the chaos that were the holidays, coupled with the wedding of Mirielle Grace Summers to John Aaron Crossley, Jr. on New Years Eve, Jaime in particular just wanted things to get back to some semblance of order.

Over the Winter Holiday break, Rina's relationship with Jeremy Schuylkill became more intense. They had spent most of their time together, and that made Jaime smile. Double dates with Jaime and Jared were fun for Rina, and she realized that for the first time in her life, she was truly happy. And Jeremy was renewing her love of riding horses again by declaring that he was going to "turn an equestrienne into a cowgirl in nothing flat, just you watch!"

Helene had gone back to New York for Christmas, then returned a couple of days before Miri's wedding with her entire family. Her sister Kelly had been Miri's maid of honor, and had been in Belvidere since the day after Christmas. Even Alexei arrived the night before to attend.

But now, there were new assignments, tests, projects and papers to complete, and the three girls in 313 were busy with school and with work. Rina had inquired about what she would need to do to work in the U.S., and it was decided that she needed a new visa. So in January, before the semester began, Rina applied for a permanent resident visa. When she got word of her approval, she was overjoyed! The only drawback was that she couldn't get a job until April because she had to wait 90 days for all the proper authorities to be notified of her changed status. Rina decided that what she wanted most of all was dual citizenship in both Italy and the United States. For now, she still carried her Italian passport everywhere she went.

Helene's relationship with Alexei deepened as well. A couple of times during the holidays, they found themselves in a position that Helene wasn't ready for, and told Alexei so. "I will wait as long as it takes, Helene," he had told her; "I know it is you that I want. There are no others. Only you."

===


He had lost track of her over the holidays, but found her again at her sister's wedding. He waited patiently at the perimeter of her mother's property for just a glimpse of her. When he got his glimpse of her, wearing a beautiful gown, he fantasized about ripping it from her body and taking her by force.

"One day, Jameson," he said aloud, "one day you'll be mine and you will have no say in the matter."


===

Her sixth sense kicked in over the winter break, and would not be quieted. Instead of feeling the presence of someone meaning her harm, she also thought she could see them as well. She just couldn't put a face on the man stalking her.

It had been two months, the longest the feelings had lasted to this point, and that made Jaime nervous. She wondered if he came into the florist while she was working, under the guise of "just looking around". She couldn't shake the feeling that he, whoever "he" was, was close by.

Then one afternoon before Valentines Day, the feeling went away. Valentines day was one of the biggest days of the year for flowers, and the shop was busy in the few days before the fourteenth. But when the holiday had passed, and her sixth sense stayed quiet, Jaime let out a sigh of relief.

It was time to concentrate on other things, like school.


===

The phone rang early the morning of Valentines Day, and Vito had a bad feeling about who it was. Who else would call this early? he thought sleepily.

"What time is it Vito, and why is someone calling so early?" asked Carrie.

"It's a little after six, Carrie," Vito said. "It's probably an international call. If it's one of Vit-Rina's clients, they certainly know better. I'll take it in the kitchen while I fix breakfast."

Vito grabbed the phone as he walked out of the bedroom, saying "Hello?"

"Vittorio, it's Mamma," Caterina said chipperly on the other end of the line. "Buon Giorno!"

"Cut the crap, Mother," Vito said, clearly annoyed at not only being awakened at 6am, but by his mother, who somehow had found out his phone number; "What is it that you want?"

"Your sister's phone number, Vittorio," Caterina said; "I need to speak with her immediately."

"Regarding what, might I ask?"

"That's my business with her."

"Then you're not getting her number," Vito said; "Even if I knew it, I wouldn't give it to you. She made it quite clear when you dropped her off at Northwestern that she didn't want to speak to you."

"And how do you know this?" asked Caterina. "You've obviously spoken to her."

"She called me to wish me a Happy Christmas, and we talked at length about you," Vito said.

"She is dating someone unsuitable, and she must stop," Caterina said.

"That is no business of yours, is it, Mother dear?" Vito said; "You had Giuseppi spying on her again. She had him arrested and deported. That is why he is in Italy now and not here."

He could hear Caterina yelling for Giuseppi on the other side of the Atlantic.

"Mother," Vito said matter of factly, "please do not call here again. I will not do your dirty work. Audrina will live her life as she sees fit without your interference. I have spoken to her boyfriend briefly, and I approve. Not that Audrina needs my approval."

"Vittorio! You stupid little brat!"

"Of the two of us, it is indeed sad that I am the more mature of us. Goodbye Mother."

And Vito hung up the phone.

Carrie was in the doorway of the kitchen. She said, "Your mother again?"

"Yes, Carina mia columba," Vito said; "I will go out and change our telephone number this morning after the business office opens."

"I'm just sorry your mother's such a bitch."

"Don't be, Carrie," Vito said, kissing her temple; "She has always been this way, and she will never change. She was never really a mother to me and Rina anyway. We were just annoyances to her. It was Papa that tried to be a real parent to us. Then he died and Rina and I both knew we had to get out. Then she sent us to boarding schools on two different continents and forgot about us, until it became important for people to see she was a loving mother. What a crock of shit!"

"Vito, don't talk about her if she makes you angry," Carrie said; "It will eat away at your soul."

Vito took Carrie into his arms and held her. He knew she was right.


===


Miri Summers-Crossley wasn't taking this being sick every morning business well.

She and John had just learned that they were expecting a baby, and Miri's morning sickness was driving her mad. They hadn't even told their families yet.

Miri was trying to get her graphic design business off the ground and was making good progress. Her grandparents had lent her seed money and were pleased that Miri was using it to make her name known to those who would need graphic design work. Not that being Julia Summers' daughter didn't help, but Miri knew she had to establish her own reputation.

"John, can you see me at Kelly's wedding this summer, big as a house?" Miri said as she chewed thoughtfully on a saltine.

"I'd be more worried that your mom is going to freak out about being a grandma," John said; "Can you see the magazine stories about the so-called 'SpineSplitter' becoming a grandmother?"

"Didn't she also tell us not to do that right away?" asked Miri.

"Well... yeah," said John, "but when it's snowing and you can't go on your planned honeymoon and there's nothing to do but have sex?"

Miri laughed, "You're actually going to blame that freak snowstorm for this?"

"I'll bet there will be lots of late August- early September babies at Ft. Sill."

"Yeah," Miri said, "there will be a line of mamas in labor waiting to give birth. Oh, freaking joy!"

"You made this old soldier a happy guy, Miri," John said; "I can't wait to meet our little one!"

Miri sat in thought, then said, "Jack used to call himself an old soldier, and he was a lot older than 25, John."

"Remember, I've been in the Army since I was seventeen, too."

"True, true," Miri said; "I suppose we should call my mom and tell her the good news."

"She'll be thrilled after the shock wears off, I'm sure," John said.

Oh, I'm sure, Miri thought.

===


Jaime's courseload was harder during the current semester, and that's just how she liked it. She loved to be challenged, and her classes, especially her majors classes, were doing just that. Her Calculus class was giving her fits at first, but she soon figured it out. She was heading for midterms with straight A's.

That coupled with her job at the florist, and various projects, kept her mind busy. Brief respites with Jared, either on the phone or on the rare occasion he got a hold of a car and came in person, were nice diversions.

Plans were already being made for spring break. Jaime had suggested that they go to Oklahoma to see her sister and brother in law at Ft. Sill, and her cousin Adriana at school in Norman. Helene wanted to stay in Chicago to be close to Alexei, since he couldn't take time off from Chicago Ballet's current project. Then Helene was offered a chance to dance with the company during spring break in what was termed as an "extended audition". She was thrilled about it.

Rina wanted to spend time with Jeremy, which to the other two girls seemed reasonable. But his spring break did not coincide with hers, so spending time together was going to take some creative planning.

Jeremy was already applying to colleges to attend in the fall, and he really wanted to go to either Loyola and double major in Computer Science and Business; or to Northwestern. Loyola had offered him early acceptance, and the idea of living in Chicago appealed to him. He would be able to see Rina, but they wouldn't be in each other's hair. Rina encouraged Jeremy to accept the early acceptance. It turned out that Northwestern couldn't offer the same kind of scholarship that Loyola was offering, so he accepted at Loyola.

Rina kept up her search for information proving that her father had not died five years before, but kept running into roadblocks. She didn't like to hack into government websites, because she feared it would get her deported if she were caught.

Then she ran across an interesting and seemingly meaningless list that someone had downloaded to the internet. It was a client base for a plastic surgeon who did complete reconstructions of one's looks. Rina saw that one of the names on the list was a Richard Pike. She marked it for further investigation for one simple reason.

Her father's middle name was Richardson.

===

Pike did what many political pundants thought he would do: declare himself a candidate for President of the United States.

His platform was controversial, but not overly so. He wanted caps on government spending and more money made available to the citizens. He favored term limits and psychological testing of politicians to weed out people like Carl Parks or Sarah Kathryn Hope. Pike was definitely against any kind of hostile take over of the seats of power by those with Occupationist like ideals. He'd lived through the Occupation and saw first hand the damage it did to people.

Or at least, that's what Pike wanted people to think.

He would play the Ideal Candidate until he got what he wanted. He would even hold on to his Senate seat until he was assured that he was the candidate from his party who would face the incumbent, who so far was running unopposed.

Pike was still single and women still wanted to be the one who accompanied him on whistle stops. He had even said publicly that he "had been married, and while it was a happy time for me, losing my wife was difficult. There will be no one out there again like Amanda Pike."

The only thing is, there was never an Amanda Pike. It was part of Pike's made up background. A background that no one from the press bothered to check. The only reporter who probably would have done a background check on him was himself in the Senate, representing Illinois.

Jeremiah Donovan.

Pike knew Donovan was considering a run for the Presidency, but had decided that he didn't have enough experience to do it justice. "Maybe in four years, but certainly not now," was how he was quoted in the press.

That suited Pike just fine. He could go on his merry way, winning votes and minds.

And keep his secret life a secret.

===


Julia sat and shook her head, as if that would help her accept what she had just been told on the phone just ten minutes before.

I'm going to be a grandmother? she asked herself. That seems impossible! Miri's just a little girl.

"Oh, yeah, she grew up, didn't she?" she said aloud to no one but the cat. Ginger was just a kitten, one of the two from the last litter that Lady Marmalade had that Julia decided to keep. Julia had been amazed that Marm could still have a litter of kittens at her advanced age, but she did.

Julia all of a sudden felt old.

And she let her mind wander back to her childhood; to meeting Ryan; to being Jack's prisoner before he had a change of heart and fell in love with  her; Miri's early arrival, and Julia thinking Jack was dead and would never meet his daughter...

"Earth to Mom...hello, Mom!" Rachel said, breaking into Julia's thoughts.

"Yes, Rachel?"

"Lessons? Remember?" Rachel said; "by the way, who was on the phone?"

"Lessons, right," Julia said, still distracted.

"What's gotten into you, Mom?" asked Zach. "I've never seen you so spaced out."

"It's nothing, Zach," Julia said; "Now about those lessons. Zach, you're writing college essays, correct?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Rachel, you're getting a Biology test over the parts of cells, mitosis and meiosis, and defining key words and phrases."

"Yes, Mom," said Rachel; "But who was on the phone?"

"Miri," Julia said; "I'll tell you all about it after lessons are over, okay?"

"Okay, Mom," Rachel said; "I was just curious."

"Rachel, let me get your test and we'll be done early," Julia said. She then went upstairs to get the test she had made up from a bank of questions the night before.

Meanwhile, downstairs, Rachel told Zach, "I'll bet Miri's preggers or something. Have you ever seen Mom so distracted like that?"

"No, and I told her so," Zach said; "But it's probably not a good idea to guess what Miri said to Mom until Mom tells us."

"Miri's pregnant," Rachel said; "I'll bet you anything not involving money or chores."

"Damn!" said Zach as their mother returned to the living room.


===