Part 18 - Chapter 1 - Plans

"Good morning," Cassandra greeted Blaine as he walked down the stairs. "Did you sleep well last night?"

"Fine, once I got those images of the wolfman out of my head." He laughed. "You didn't have any nightmares after watching those movies last night, did you?"

"Not at all. I thought they were kind of fun."

"So did I."

Cassandra smiled. So far things were going great. The night before was Blaine's first at the house. Originally, he had plans to go out with Reese, but since she had to work late, Cassandra got to spend the evening with Blaine, watching cheesy old horror movies on tv.

"Do you want some breakfast? I made plenty."

"Thanks," he said, sitting down at the table. "You don't have to cook for me, you know. It's nice enough that you're letting me stay here."

"I don't mind, really. I thought I'd make breakfast today, since it is your first day here."

"Well, thanks again," he said taking a bite. "It's really good."

"Do you have any plans for the day?" Cassandra asked.

"I'm going to head over to the campus, try to get some more resumes sent out, and see what I can find out on my research."

"What research?"

"I'm helping Reese find out who her birth parents are."

"Oh," Cassandra said flatly, immediately losing interest at the mention of Reese.

"Why doesn't she see me about it?" Serena asked as she walked through the room. "I'll do a reading and tell her anything about her past she needs to know."

"Thanks," Blaine replied slowly. He was skeptical, but trying to be polite. "I'll let her know. I should get going. Thanks for the breakfast."

"I'll see you tonight," Cassandra said cheerfully as he walked away.

Serena leaned closer to her daughter and whispered, "Don't hesitate, Cassandra."

Vanessa waited in the foyer for her mother to come downstairs. It had been awhile since she had been in this house. Just being here again, she felt the need to stand up straight and keep in line, like she had been instructed to do as a child. The place still felt as stifling to her as it had when she had lived here as a teenager.

"Dorothy."

Vanessa looked up at the sound of Evelyn's cool voice and turned to see her walking down the stairs. "Hello, Mother. How are you?"

"I am well," she answered and fell silent.

"I know it's been awhile since we've talked, but I wanted to let you know that I'm going to be in a play. Opening night is this weekend and I would love for you and Father to be there."

Evelyn's expression didn't change from her detached demeanor. "We will not be able to attend, Dorothy. Thank you for dropping by to keep me informed."

"Mother, it would mean a lot to me for you and Father to be there. The performance is being held at the Pheasant Run Country Club, so it's definitely respectable."

"With the way things have been going, I don't think that is a guarantee. But regardless, Dorothy, you know your father and I cannot support you in this. We have told you time and time again that we do not approve. Persistence is not going to change that," she said sternly. "Why must you always learn everything the hard way?"

"The play starts at 7:00 on Friday and Saturday night. I'll be there if you have a change of heart," Vanessa said as she turned and walked out the door.

She managed to hold her emotions in check until she made it outside, then she had to blink back the tears that were threatening to fall from her eyes.

She pulled herself together, resolved not to let her parents' lack of support get the better of her. It was hard, but she had learned to accept that they were who they were and weren't going to change. Even so, a little part of her couldn't help wishing they would someday have a change of heart and accept her, instead of holding her mistakes against her.

She sighed as she walked away from the house and wondered why all of the relationships in her life had to be so difficult.

"Edward Wilton is here to see you," Amanda announced through the intercom.

Lawrence looked confused. The name sounded familiar, but it wasn't the name of anyone he had been expecting to meet with that day. "Thank you. Send him in."

Lawrence stood up to greet Edward as Amanda showed him into his office. "Hello. What can I do for you today?"

"I hope you don't my dropping in like this, but I was hoping we could talk about something if you have a few minutes."

"That's fine. What is this about?"

"I was at the real estate office this morning looking at property and I noticed you recently purchased some land near Autumn Lake."

"Yes, I did."

"That's a pretty area. I was thinking of building there myself. Before I make up my mind, I was wondering what you were going to do with the property. I'd hate to buy a piece of land there to live on and find out a skyscraper is going up next door."

"You don't have to worry about that. I was looking into the possibility of developing it into a resort or vacation destination.

"Have you considered turning it into a residential area? I'm sure if you promoted the idea of it being a high scale private housing area, you could get a lot of money for the land. I have some money saved back that I've been meaning to invest and honestly I like the idea of having a say in what my community is like and who my neighbors are."

Lawrence thought a moment. He kind of liked the idea as well. "I hadn't thought of that, but I will look into it and get back to you."

"I'll give you my number," Edward said, jotting down his contact information on a piece of paper and handing it to Lawrence. "I have a few things to check up on too before I make my final decision. Call me when you've looked into it and thanks for your time."

Part 18 - Chapter 2 - Plans

As Eileen walked up the path to Lucy's front door she passed by Craig. She greeted him cheerfully, but he barely acknowledged her before getting into his car and driving away.

"What's his problem?" Eileen asked Lucy as her friend met her at the door.

Lucy shook her head. "He's going to meet with his lawyer. I just hope when this lawsuit is settled, he'll stop being so moody and start acting normal again."

"So, other than a moody husband, how have you been?" Eileen asked as she followed Lucy into the living room.

"Busy. I'm starting to get caught up with school, but I still haven't found the time to get back into my internship. I'm not sure that I will now that Victoria Burgess has resigned from managing Pheasant Run."

"Why is she resigning?"

"Because she's a mean old biddy," Lucy snapped. When Eileen looked shocked at her outburst, Lucy managed a smile and soon the two friends were giggling together. "Seriously, she came over here earlier, going on about how being associated with the Stuarts was hazardous to her upstanding reputation."

"You're kidding. That is so wrong." After a moment's thought she added, "I guess that's another reason to be glad I didn't marry Hector. I'd hate to have a mother-in-law like that."

"Yes . . .and it's not just me that she has a problem with. After she made her point about my family, she started questioning Jordan's abilities. She seems to think he's flaky now, just because he left work unexpectedly one day. That was the day his sister was kidnaped and had to be taken to the hospital! I hardly think leaving work in that situation is a sign that he's unreliable."

"Me neither. You can't blame someone for that."

"Apparently, if you're Victoria Burgess you can. But she was quick to assure me that because his sister has left town, he shouldn't be a problem now and I don't have to worry about working with him at the country club. I guess it's just her that he's not good enough to work for."

"So you and Jordan are going to be working together again?" Eileen asked, trying to keep her tone neutral. "How do you feel about that?"

"It's just something that has to be done. Another item on my busy list," Lucy said nervously. As hard as Eileen was trying not to imply anything by her question, Lucy knew just what her friend was really thinking and she had to struggle to answer just as neutrally. "It's only temporary, until I can find someone else to take the job."

Eager to change the subject she asked, "So, how have you been, Eileen? How was your big date?"

Eileen grinned brightly. "It was great. We're going out again tonight. I can't wait."

"What's the plan for tonight?"

"I don't know, but it doesn't really matter. I just like being with him. He's so . . ." she drifted of with a dreamy smile.

Lucy laughed. "I don't think I've ever seen you so crazy about a guy before."

"I don't think I've ever felt this way about anyone before. This is so different, Lucy. Before I just went out on dates for fun, to hang out with guys I kind of liked, but this isn't like that. It's like every moment seems so important. Does that make any sense at all?"

"You seem happy. That's what's important."

"I'm glad you could come in today, Mr. Sexton," Reese greeted Craig as he walked into her office.

"You said there was news," he said flatly.

"Yes. The copyright board has reached a decision," Reese said, looking down at the papers on her desk for a moment. "They've decided to accept the revised copyright for the sheet music of the songs in question that lists both you and Mr. Spencer as authors of your joint works. So you're free to record your songs without paying royalties to Mr. Spencer."

"What about him paying me for use of the songs?"

"I'm afraid that's not the way it works. Since it's registered as a joint work and he is the other name on the copyright, he's free to use them as well."

"You mentioned fees, damages, payments," Craig said, grasping for some positive outcome to this decision.

"The courts denied them. We might have had a case before, but since Mr. Spencer had the copyright amended they were denied. I'm sorry."

"What about an appeal?"

"It wouldn't do any good. It's settled."

Craig huffed in frustration. "Thanks anyway," he said as he stood up and walked out the door.

Part 18 - Chapter 3 - Plans

Finished with work early, Reese decided to stop by the Barrett's house to see Blaine and hopefully make up for cancelling their date the night before. As she walked up the steps to the front door, she heard laughter coming from inside the house. Warily she knocked. When the door opened, Serena stood silently in the doorway waiting for Reese to speak first.

"Hi. Is Blaine busy?" she asked nervously. She already knew he was there because she could hear his voice inside.

Serena stepped aside to let her in.

"Hey, Reese," Blaine said, stepping forward to greet her with a quick kiss.

"Hi," Reese said, suddenly feeling very out of place. "What's going on here?"

"Not much. Cassie and I are just hanging out."

"Oh," Reese said simply. She squinted at Cassandra who smiled smugly back at her.

"How was your day?" Blaine asked.

"Fine. I finished up a case I'd been working on for awhile. It's the one your friend James was involved in," she said to Cassandra.

"Good. He's been wanting to get that settled so he can finally get his album released."

Serena watched their exchange carefully. Seeing that Cassandra wasn't going to speak up for herself, she decided to do it for her. "Blaine was just telling us this morning about the research he is doing for you."

Reese flushed with embarrassment. "Oh."

"I'm sorry," Blaine apologized. "The topic just came up when I was telling Cassie about my plans for the day. I didn't think you'd mind."

"It's ok, I guess," Reese said shyly. "I just don't want to share my life with the whole world."

"It's not the whole world. It's just us," Cassie said as if Reese were overreacting. She exchanged a look with Serena. "I'm sure my mother only brought it up because she wants to help."

Reese turned to Blaine. "Did you find anything out today?"

"No." Blaine shook his head in disappointment. "I think if there was any information we could get to, you would have found it already."

"I can tell you anything you want to know," Serena said stepping forward. "What exactly are you searching for?"

Reese shrunk back uncomfortably. "I just want to know who my parents were, where I came from, but-"

Serena closed her eyes tightly and began to concentrate.

"But I don't think-" Reese tried to continue.

Serena hushed her. "Shhh. I'm getting something." She opened her eyes quickly and turned her gaze to her right, staring at a spot just in front of the kitchen door. "I see a woman here with you. She has brown hair, stunning blue eyes. She's very pretty. Her name is Lynn, no, Libby," Serena shook her head, searching for the right name. "Lydia. Her name is Lydia Flemming. She is your mother."

"Where are we going?" Alma asked. Edward had picked her up for an early dinner, since he was working a late shift at the hospital that evening. Instead of driving towards the restaurant, he headed for the edge of town.

"Before we eat I want to show you something. We're almost there, I promise."

After driving on a few more miles, they stopped in front of an empty lot. Edward parked along the side of the road and got out of the car.

"What do you think?" he asked as he closed Alma's car door for her.

"Of what?" she asked, surveying the vacant surroundings.

"Of the property. When we get married, we're going to need a place to live."

"We're going to need a house," she mumbled.

"I'll build you a house," Edward replied. "I was checking the real estate listings and this whole area is up for sale and relatively cheap as well. It will be a quiet place to live and it's close to the lake."

Alma stepped forward and took a long look around. She was trying to imagine this plot of ground being her home and the man standing next to her being her husband. It was hard to believe all of this was actually happening.

She nodded her approval. "It's fine."

"If you're happy with it, I'll put in an offer and contact an architect. We'll have to talk about what we want in a house and what kind of style we like. If not, we can keep looking."

Alma nodded and studied the landscape before her, wondering what it would look like with a house on it and what it would be like to live there. She couldn't imagine it. "Put in the offer."

"And there's something else," he said, reaching into his pocket and taking out a small box. "We should make this official."

He reached for her hand and placed the ring on her finger. "There. How is that?"

Alma stared at the gem on her finger. "It's beautiful. Thank you."

Edward nodded. "I know a woman likes to have a ring to show off when she tells people that she's engaged. Have you told your sisters the news?"

"I haven't had the chance yet," Alma replied. "I'm not sure how I'll bring it up."

"With an engagement ring on your finger, you'll have to tell them."

"I suppose I will."

"Are you sure you want to go through with this?" Edward asked, watching her closely. "Are you sure you want to get married?"

"Yes."

"I only ask, because I know you've had reservations."

"Doesn't everyone?"

"Well, yes I suppose most people do have some doubts, cold feet."

"I do think we should get married. The sooner the better," Alma said firmly.

Part 18 - Chapter 4 - Plans

Reese stared thoughtfully into her coffee cup. This was turning into a strange day. Maybe it was just stopping by the Barrett's house that was strange.

"So I guess now we look up Lydia Flemming," Blaine spoke up, breaking the silence that had fallen over them.

Reese looked up in alarm, but when she realized he was joking, she relaxed. "Don't waste your time. I'd rather have actual proof."

"I don't know how we're going to find it . . . unless we break into Mrs. Smith's office at the orphanage."

"We couldn't do that," Reese said, but when she looked at Blaine she seemed unsure.

"I don't like to suggest it, but I'm running out of ideas."

"Do you think there would even be anything there?" Reese asked, thinking the idea over.

"There has to be some record of you in her office . . . Mrs. Smith knows something anyway, so it's not like you have no known past." He paused a moment to take a drink. "At this point, I think it's either that or listen to the psychic."

Reese sighed. She felt so conflicted. When she spoke again it was in a lowered voice. "How does someone go about doing something like that anyway? I can't afford to get caught doing something criminal."

"Maybe we don't have to literally break in. If we can catch her out of her office when the door is unlocked, all we would have to do is take a look in her files."

"I don't know . . .maybe that wouldn't be so bad, but it still seems wrong."

"Yeah, I know."

They fell into silence as Reese weighed her choices. It all came down to how badly she wanted to know.

"Forget it," he said, ready to change the subject. "It probably wouldn't work anyway. The timing would be too difficult to pull off."

"Not necessarily," Reese said thoughtfully. "If we're really serious about this . . .Mrs. Smith did ask me to be a guest speaker at an assembly. I wasn't going to do it, but if I did, it would give me an excuse to talk to her and get her out of her office."

"Do you think she would leave the door open, so I could sneak in?"

Reese shrugged. "Maybe."

"We could try it. Are you sure you want to?"

She nodded. "Are you? If something goes wrong, you'll be the one caught in her office."

Blaine shrugged. "I don't mind. If you want to do it, I'll help, but this is your project, so it's your call."

Reese took a deep breath. She still had her doubts, but she had made her decision. "Let's do it."

Veronica was curled up in her office chair with a book. She was so comfortable that she was nearly dozing off. When someone knocked on the door, she sat up with a start.

"Come in."

"I'm not interrupting, am I?" Edward asked from the doorway. "I don't usually see your light on at this time in the evening."

Veronica quickly tucked her book away. "Did you want something?"

"No, I was just checking up."

"You don't need to," she said harshly.

"I won't again," he said and backed out into the hallway.

As soon as the door closed, Veronica started to feel bad about snapping at him. After wrestling with her conscience she went out into the hallway and called after him.

"Wait a minute, Ed. I'm sorry. I should know better than to take my frustration out on other people. And you are a good doctor. I know you wouldn't let my husband or any other patient suffer."

"Thank you," he said, though slightly confused about where this was all coming from. "Are you ok, Veronica?"

"Well, I'm hiding out in my office instead of going home to my husband, so what do you think?"

After a moment's pause, Edward answered, "You're the psychiatrist, not me . . .I was going to the cafeteria for a cup of coffee. Care to join me?"

Part 18 - Chapter 5 - Plans

"Hi, I'm home," Eileen called out as she walked into the house. When she peeked into the living room, she was surprised to see Hector there with her father. "Oh . . .hi."

"Hello, Eileen," Hector greeted her with a toothy smile.

"Where have you been?" Arthur asked.

"At Lucy's, visiting with her and the baby," Eileen answered. "What's he doing here?"

"I'm just visiting with your dad. He is my former boss," Hector answered.

"I've got to go change," Eileen said slowly as she backed out of the room. Hector's presence there made her nervous. She had the feeling he was up to something, but she didn't want to be around to find out what that might be.

Once they were seated at a table in the quiet cafeteria, Veronica began to talk about her problems. "Arthur just hasn't been the same since his stroke. I like to think that I'm a patient person, but he's just getting more impossible to live with."

"It's very common for a patient to experience a change in attitude and personality after a stroke."

"I know, but I don't think his problem is as much physical as it is psychological. It's not as easy for him to get around and he's not working anymore. He had been planning on retiring for years, but now that he feels like he's been forced into it, he can't accept it. I don't know what I'm going to do. If things don't change . . ."

"Then what?" he asked eagerly.

"I don't know." She shook her head. "I guess we'll just have to be miserable together for the rest of our lives."

"I thought for a minute you were going to say you would leave him," he said with a nervous chuckle.

"Oh, God no, of course not," Veronica said with a gasp.

"Some people would . . . I've seen it happen before."

"I'm not some people."

"Of course you're not . . . I didn't mean to suggest you were," Edward said, trying to hide his embarrassment.

"I know," Veronica apologized. "But it's not his fault. He's having a difficult time right now and I couldn't even think of leaving him because he's in a time of need . . . I think the only option we have, at this point, is therapy. If he won't go, then I'll have to go by myself."

"Hey there, Lawrence. Come on in," Hector said cheerfully as he answered the Townsend's front door.

"What are you doing here?" Lawrence asked.

"Just having a little chat with Mr. Townsend," Hector said as he led Lawrence towards the living room. "I found out an interesting piece of information awhile back that I think he deserves to know about." He paused to look back at Lawrence, who still wore the same skeptical expression he had when Hector had opened the door. "Actually, I'm glad you stopped by, Lawrence, because I think this might concern you too."

"What are you talking about, Hector?" Arthur asked.

"I don't know how to break this to you," Hector said, his tone suddenly serious. "but I know what Eileen has been up to at nights. She dropped this." He handed the slip of paper Eileen had dropped on campus to Arthur. "As her father, I thought you should know."

"What is it?" Lawrence asked sternly as Art looked the paper over.

Hector answered for him, "It's a pay stub made out to Eileen Townsend from a 1-900 number . . . you know, like the ones that advertise on television late at night."

A silence fell over the room that was only interrupted by the sound of Eileen's footsteps coming down the stairs.

"Hi, Lawrence. I thought I heard the doorbell . . ." She looked from Lawrence to Hector to her father, trying to interpret the reason behind the tension in the room. "What's going on?"

"That's what I want to know, young lady. What is the meaning of this?" Arthur asked, handing the pay stub to Eileen.

"I can explain. I just needed some extra spending money since you cut back my allowance. I know I should have told you, but I was afraid you'd tell me to quit."

"Of course I would tell you to quit! I'm not going to allow my daughter to sell herself and her dignity to any filthy pervert who can pick up a telephone."

"What?" Eileen cried out. "Filthy perverts? What do you think it is that I do?"

"Don't try to justify this. It says right here that you've been working for a 1-900 number. One of those, I don't know what they call it . . . chat lines."

"Oh my gosh," Eileen gasped. "You really think I would do something like that? How could you think that?"

"I wouldn't have thought it if I hadn't seen it right here in front of me."

"That number isn't for what you think. It's not a phone sex line. It's for the psychic friends network. If you don't believe me, you can call and find out for yourself."

"Psychic friends network?" Arthur repeated. He still wasn't sure what was going on, but he was beginning to calm down a bit.

"Yes! People call in and ask about their futures. They want to know if they're going to find love or be rich or find happiness. I can't believe you thought . . . Oh my God!"

Arthur breathed a sigh of relief. "With you sneaking out at nights and taking this job without saying anything about what you've been doing, how do I know what to believe? Regardless, you're going to quit that job and I want you to start spending more time at home. Starting tonight."

"But, Dad-" Eileen protested.

"If you really want a job we'll find something that's more sensible for you to do." He looked around as if he just noticed that Lawrence and Hector were still in the room. "I think you two should go. Eileen and I need to talk about this alone."

"I don't think there's anything else to be said about it. Besides Lawrence and I already have plans." She turned to Lawrence, eager to get away from there. "Are you ready to go?"

"Eileen!" Arthur called after her, but she was already at the front door.

Lawrence looked at Arthur and shrugged, before following after Eileen.

Part 18 - Chapter 6 - Plans

"Are you sure, you shouldn't stay and work things out with your father?" Lawrence asked as he followed Eileen away from the house.

"Talking to him isn't going to do any good. He'll just give me some long lecture about the way he thinks things should be . . . I'll talk to him tonight when I get home."

After walking a few blocks in silence, Lawrence asked, "So you're a psychic phone friend?"

"Yes," she answered sheepishly. "Do you think I'm ridiculous now?"

He grinned and shrugged with raised eyebrows, refusing to answer the question. "What exactly does a psychic phone friend do?"

"Don't start teasing me now," she pouted. "People call in and I answer their questions about life."

"Because you're psychic?" he asked doubtfully.

"Of course," Eileen answered with a grin. "It's about time you knew that about me."

"Uh huh . . ."

"Actually, I'm not as much as I'd hoped," she said sadly. "Most of my predictions were random guesses."

"Aren't they all?"

Eileen shrugged. She turned to lean over the fence and looked at the bay. They were quiet again, until Eileen sighed and Lawrence turned to look at her.

"I wonder if my dad will ever stop treating me like a child. You know, the only reason I agreed to marry Hector was because it seemed like an easy way to get a little bit of independence and because . . ." She looked at Lawrence and suddenly felt shy. She didn't want to tell him the other reason, that she only went to Hector after she saw his apartment and thought he was out of the question. "Because he was there I guess. I had really poor reasons for saying yes."

Lawrence nodded solemnly and looked out over the water. "Then you never loved him?"

"No, not really. We were friends, we'd known each other forever, but that's about it. I've learned my lesson, don't worry. The next time I accept a marriage proposal, or even a date, I'm going to make sure I mean it. It's too important not to."

Lawrence cleared his throat. Maybe it was a bad time to say anything, but he thought she needed to know. "You do know that it was Hector who told your dad about your job."

"No, but that doesn't surprise me. How did he find out?"

"He said you dropped the pay stub," he said, quickly moving on with his line of thought. "Don't you think it's time you said something to the police about . . .your suspicions of him?"

Eileen sighed and looked away.

"This is serious business, Eileen. I think you need to speak up."

"I don't really have any proof."

"Let the police find the proof, that's their job. If anyone finds out that he confessed to you and you don't say anything, you could be charged as an accessory."

"I don't know . . ." Eileen hesitated. "I know that I should, but we've known each other for so long. And I'm afraid of how Lucy will take the news. She's had such a tough time already."

"I'm sure she'll be able to cope. Don't let Hector fool you," he said, making sure Eileen looked him in the eye. "He isn't a friend."

"Edward . . .I didn't expect to see you tonight," Alma greeted Edward and invited him into the house.

"I hope it's not too late."

"Not at all."

"I was thinking of you tonight and something you said. Do you really want to get married as soon as possible?"

"Yes."

"Then maybe we should set a date. How soon do you think we could put a wedding together?"

Alma thought a moment. "I don't know. Not long, I think. I don't really want a big showy to do. I'd really be happier just going to the courthouse and having a civil ceremony."

"Then let's do that. I don't have any family to speak of and my guests would be mostly medical colleagues. I'm sure they won't be offended if they aren't invited. If you're sure that's what you want, let's pick a date and elope."

"Let's make it soon," Alma said. "If we draw this out I'm just going to make myself nervous about it. I'd rather get it done and get on with our lives."

Edward chuckled. "It doesn't sound very romantic, but I agree. I've waited a long time to get married and I know you will be a wonderful wife. I'm sure this is what I want. This sounds crazy, but I'm ready anytime you are. I would even be willing to do it tonight."

"Tonight?" Alma repeated.

"I meant that figuratively. I don't want to pressure you."

Alma's head was spinning. She'd already made up her mind to marry him and delaying the wedding would just give her time to change her mind. She was tired of going back and forth. She wanted to do something decisive and be done with it.

"Tonight is as good as any," Alma said. "Why don't we get married tonight?"

"Are you sure? You really want to do this?"

"Yes . . .unless you plan on asking me if I'm sure about every single thing. If we're going to be married you'll have to learn I don't say things unless I mean them."

"Then we're really doing this? This is wonderful," he said, grabbing Alma for a hug.

Caught off guard, Alma tensed up as Edward put his arms around her. Reminding herself that this man was soon to be her husband, she told herself to relax and returned his embrace, gingerly wrapping her arms around his shoulders.

"Wait," Edward said, stepping back. "Do you think we'll be able to find someone to marry us at this time of night?"

"I wouldn't know. I've never been married before," she said.

Edward laughed in delight at her practical response. "Maybe we should wait until the morning. The courthouse will be open and it will give us a chance to sleep on it. I could come over at noon to pick you up. How does that sound?"

"Fine. I'll be ready."

"I can't wait," he said softly. He took her hand and squeezed it warmly in farewell before stepping back towards the door. "You have made me happier than I have been in a long time and I promise I will do everything I can to make you as happy as you've made me. We're going to have a wonderful life together."

Alma just nodded.

She walked Edward to the door and stood by it, looking out long after his car drove out of view. She hoped he was right.