© 2024 Duleigh Lawrence-Townshend. All rights reserved. The author asserts the right to be identified as the author of this story for all portions. All characters are original. Any resemblance to anyone living or dead is purely coincidental. This story or any part thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the expressed written permission of the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a review or commentary.

All Aboard Andi's Dream

Chapter 12

Autumn Adagio

Frank Rosetti intended to follow Andi and deal with her privately. He watched that mansion all evening long and followed them as they left on Sunday Morning. He saw her and her husband enter the church with the twins and her mother. Maybe he could take care of her and that bitch mother of hers. He eased his Bowie knife with an 8.75 inch blade that was honed to a razor's edge out of the sheath and admired it. He waited in the Toyota and made his plans. He figured as the people came out, he could slide up to her and slide the knife between her ribs, then a few jabs in her mother and a few more in the surrounding folks to cause an uproar, then escape into the panicked crowd. He waited by the door, and she didn't come out. He watched every person come out until the crowd dissipated, but he didn't see her.

She must have gone out a back way!

Frank returned to his rented Toyota and then he saw her coming out of the church. She wasn't with her mother; she was with that cunt, Lucy! Frank hated "that damn Jew bitch," as he called her. And she was there at a Christian church... they'll let anyone in. Something inside of Frank snapped. He focused on Andi as she and Lucy chattered in the middle of the driveway under the overhang. He'll never have another chance, and he hit the gas.

John and Macy were brimming with joy and excitement for their friends, Lucy and Gus, and they were looking forward to meeting with them after the service. John was almost in tears. He was so happy for their friends. Gus Didomissio was the first congregant that John and Macy met when they first came to Springville Congregational in response to a request for an interview. He was also the first congregant they counseled over the loss of a loved one. He had lost his wife shortly before they were hired. And now, so long after the horrible passing of his wife due to cancer, Gus had found love again. And they were so perfect for each other. Both were highly intelligent people, and both had a passionate love for hot cars. Lucy loved to run, swim, and bike, and Gus loved acting as her trainer. The issue that concerned John and Macy was that Gus was a devout Christian and Lucy was a devoutly agnostic Jew.

Then John heard an engine revving, and he looked. It was that beige Toyota Corolla that he and Macy saw after their last dinner at Giardini's with Paul and Andi. Now it was roaring across the lawn and was bearing down on Andi. John didn't think about the consequences when he dove for her. "ANDI!" he shouted, and the little blond turned the wrong way. She never saw the car bearing down on her. John reached her a split second before the car did and he shoved her.

Frank barreled across the lawn toward the front door of the church. He bounced over the rock garden that lined the driveway and headed right toward that fat blond. Pregnant again? Probably. Frank glanced to the right and saw that tall doctor that she married. He was staring at him and holding the twins by the hands. Frank felt something hit the Toyota hard and a bump as he ran over something, and he headed for the exit. There was another rock garden on the other side of the doorways, and he was thrown to the steering wheel as the Toyota hit the rock garden and hung up on a large rock.

Andi didn't understand what was going on. She had been making wedding plans with Lucy and Lucy said, "Hang on, I have to give Gus his bible." Lucy turned to give Gus his bible when John started screaming at Andi. Both Lucy and Andi thought, "what was wrong with John?" He dove and shoved Andi hard and knocked her to the ground just as a car that Andi never saw roared by. John had pushed her out of the way, mostly. She felt a blinding pain in her left ankle as the car ran over her. But John was in front of the car and was hit hard. Andi saw him sail through the air and hit the driveway, then bounce and roll to a stop. Through her pain addled mind, it reminded her of Madeline's Strawberry Shortcake doll and how it flops around when she throws it.

Macy saw her husband dive forward and push Andi, but what Macy will see in her horror filled nightmares was John's body bouncing off the front of the car, then he was airborne, then he hit the ground and rolled on the pavement like a discarded rag doll. And then he was deathly still.

Then the screaming started.

Dr. Lucy Kocis, known to her interns as the "Queen of the ER," immediately went into fighting mode. Seeing Andi writhe in agony, she mentally marked Andi as "Injured, functional" and dashed over to John. "I'm here John, let me take a look at you."

Josh Gravely and Veronica von Köster were there too, if nothing else, to see the twins clowning Pastor John when he gave them their school backpacks in front of an audience. They had joined some conversations after the service and chatted until everyone was almost gone. Just as they stepped outside of the church, the Toyota roared past, and Josh saw Andi go down and John's body bounce off the car and fly to the curb.

Josh kept his eye on the Toyota. It was the same damn car that was outside of their house on Friday night, spying on Andi and Paul's house. Josh had already begun running after the Toyota as the driver tried to negotiate the curving driveway back into the parking lot, but his right front wheel got hung up in the rock garden. The Toyota got pulled onto the rocks, and was soon over-centered on huge rocks placed there by Gus when he built the church. Frank was stuck.

Josh had no skill in healing human bodies, but he was very good at busting them up, so he sprinted toward the Toyota.

All the time this was going on, Paul was frozen in horror. He held the twin's hands as they squealed and screamed for their mommy. His mind went blank as the world churned and seethed around him. Macy's piercing, heart shattering shriek didn't even move him. Finally, Lucy's shout of "DOCTOR JARECKI! GET IN THE DAMN GAME!" did it.

As if he was waking from a deep sleep, Paul turned to his mother-in-law Heather. "Hold the twins," and he handed the twins to the horror-stricken woman. Then he turned to Veronica, who was brushing past him. He grabbed her arm and handed her his keys and said, "Go to my van and get my doctor's bag, it's right behind the driver's seat. We need it STAT!" Then he went and checked on Andi.

Josh ran up to the Toyota and recognized the driver. "Oh, it's you, the pervert. Wanna take some more pictures?"

The driver's window rolled down and Frank's arm extended, brandishing a snub-nose.38 caliber revolver. "Get back! I'll use it."

Josh didn't move. The door opened and Frank moved to get out and that's when Josh made his move. He grasped Frank's gun hand in a powerful grip and twisted hard. In agony, Frank dropped the pistol, but Josh didn't let go. He pulled Frank out of the car and with his right hand, Josh grabbed Frank's neck and squeezed hard while he drove his knee into Frank's testicles.

Frank realized he was in danger. Then Josh growled in his deep southern drawl, "I've killed hundreds of men with more fuckin' honor than you. I ain't going to blink when you die, you're just gonna be a shit stain on my boot."

Bob Alice, an off duty Town of Concord Police Department patrolman, a member of John's church for several years, ran up and flashed his badge. "You need to let him go."

"Ah was jus helpin' him outta his car officer."

"He's turning blue, you have to let him go."

"Iff'n I let him go he may pull another gun," said Josh as he gestured to Franks.38 laying on the rocks. "This here's the pervert that was taking pictures of Doctor Jarecki's house Friday night. We called it in and filed a complaint."

"I'm sure the detectives will be happy to hear about that." Officer Alice pulled his cellphone out and called the department requesting police and ambulance, but the sound of distant sirens told him that call had already been made.

Andi writhed in agony and when Paul said, "I'm here honey, we're going to be fine," she finally opened her eyes.

"Danny! He's hurt!"

"Why do you think he's hurt?" asked Paul as he rummaged through his bag and pulled out a stethoscope, then shoved his bag over to Lucy.

"He's kicking hard, he's hurt!" she started wailing.

"Ok hold still, be quiet so I can hear what he's saying," Paul listened to Andi's heart and lungs first, and she sounded healthy there, he was worried about a broken rib puncturing a lung, then he pulled up her dress and placed the chest piece on her abdomen and for the first time he heard the heartbeat of his son without a sonogram's audio interference. His little heart was purring away fine, and it sounded like he was rolling around. Paul felt the little pushes he made against Andi's abdomen. Before, it was barely noticeable, but now these are fine and strong pushes. "He's ok, he's just worried about his mommy."

Paul turned to hand his stethoscope to Lucy, but Macy was crouched next to her, weeping and crying, "Jean, s'il te plaît, réveille-toi!" (John please wake up!)

"Macy," Paul said, calling her to him. He cupped her chin in his hand and gazed into her tear-filled eyes. In stuttering, broken French, he tried to console her. "C'est bon, il sera chiot" (It's ok, he'll be a puppy).

Realizing that he was trying to cheer her up but used the wrong words, she tearfully said, "I want a puppy."

"Let Lucy work, I need to finish Andi and then I can help him."

"D'accord," (ok) and Macy stayed back.

"Where does it hurt most?"

"My ankle," cried Andi.

Paul touched her twisted right ankle and she shrieked in agony. "Dr. Kosis, do you think I should immobilize her ankle or let the EMT's handle it?"

Lucy glanced over at her broken friend for just a moment and said, "Leave it for the EMTs. Can you help over here?"

Paul looked back over his shoulder and saw Heather and Yi, each one holding a hysterical twin. He gestured them to come over. "Do not touch her leg." Both women approached Andi, and the twins fought to get out of Heather and Yi's arms.

"Hug mommy gently," said Heather and she looked over at Lucy and Paul in horror. John's body was twisted like a tossed doll.

"Get the bleeder here, and over there," said Lucy, pointing to wounds on John's head.

"Can I move his neck?" asked Paul as he dug gauze and gauze bandage pads out of his bag. As he placed the bandages in place, John started whispering something. Paul bent down and listened closely, then sat up and said, "Stop Gus?"

Lucy looked concerned, then glanced over at the Toyota and saw Officer Alice and Josh holding Gus back from something. Gus was furious, and he was trying to get to the handcuffed driver of the Toyota. "Veronica!" yelled Lucy as she went back to her examination.

"Yes?" asked Veronica as she neared the scene.

"Go tell Gus I need his help right now."

Paul looked over his shoulder and saw that Gus was trying to get to Frank. Decades of carpentry made Gus powerfully strong. He'd break Frank's neck if he got his hands on him. "Veronica, tell him we both need him quickly. We need his help."

Moments later, Gus, who clearly was unhappy with not being able to kill Frank Rosetti, trotted up to Paul. "What do you need?"

"Go grab as many men as you can find and get a man's prayer group started, now. Tell Tammy Schatz to get the women's ministry praying too."

Gus looked a bit lost until Lucy said, "It's the best medicine we can come up with right now."

As Gus corralled the onlookers and moved them inside, police cars started showing up, followed by an emergency response vehicle, a fire truck, and an ambulance.

As the EMTs showed up, they said, "What do we have?"

"I have a fireman in my light!" snapped Lucy.

Veronica said, "That's Doctor Kocis, an ER doc from County and the VA, and that's Doctor Jarecki, he's a cardiologist."

"Two victims," started Paul. "Female victim, early thirties, initial examination revealed a fractured medial malleolus, talus, and calcaneus with possible fracture to the navicular, cuboid, and lateral cuneiform bones. She's six months pregnant and the fetus is viable." He looked up at the fireman and said, "Your life may depend on that fetus remaining viable."

"Paul, stop!" snapped Andi. "Let them do their jobs."

"Oh yeah, she's a doctor too. Listen to her," said Paul.

The EMTs grabbed equipment from their truck and an ambulance backed up to the scene. Paul backed away as Lucy began briefing the EMTs on John's condition. Paul realized that a quivering Macy was standing right next to him, so he took her in his arms, and she began crying on his shoulder.

"Nous allons à l'hôpital," said Paul softly. It was baby talk to Macy. He had told her, "We go hospital."

"Who taught you to speak French?" she muttered.

Paul actually learned from listening to Macy and John because they almost entirely speak French when they're together. "Chez Helen," said Paul, naming a French Canadian kids show he used to watch on video tape with John when he was a baby.

"Suzi mouse," groaned John. Suzi mouse was a puppet on the show that he particularly liked when he was a little guy.

John heard him! A gush of excitement ran through Paul as the EMTs spoke in dreary terms of shattered bones and joints. John was still conscious! He remembered! Paul dropped to his knees and leaned over his shattered little brother. "Yes John, that's right, Suzi mouse! What does Suzi say, John?"

"Qu'est-ce que c'est?" whispered John, his voice barely audible.

"That's right, she'd say 'What is this?'" said Paul.

John's eyelids opened slightly, and he said, "I'm sorry I missed Melony, but I caught Andi for you." John smiled until the EMTs moved him into position, and he groaned in agony. Paul fell back in shock at what John had said. John somehow knew that in his drunken state, Paul blamed John for not being there when Melony died.

"No, John! It's not like that! John!" gasped Paul but Lucy pulled Paul away and said, "let them work."

The EMTs were now spreading out their equipment and preparing to put John on a backboard. Andi was up on a stretcher, but they left her outside at her request so she could spend a few more minutes with the twins. Paul pulled Macy over to the stretcher where Andi lay, head elevated, with a twin on each side of her. Andi looked up and saw the heartbreak in Macy's eyes and said, "Come here, ma chère soeur," (my dear sister) said Andi, and she hugged Macy.

"He's been my only love," whimpered Macy. "My only refuge."

"He will be ok, and you will always have us," said Andi. "Your brother and sister. We will be your American Angels."

Macy smiled ruefully, fighting to hold back the tears.

"I'm sorry, it's my fault, for being clueless," said Andi. "He should have let me get hit."

"No! Do not talk like that," gasped Macy. "Non! You do not know my Jean. If he had let you get hit he would be more broken than he is now."

As the EMTs prepared John for transport and Andi and Macy shared quiet tears, Paul looked over at the car and saw two cops leading Frank Rosetti to a police SUV and another police officer came over to Paul. He was looking at a notebook as he came up to Paul and asked, "Do you have any questions?"

"Yeah, how does a man with multiple felony warrants out for him in Colorado wind up in New York, rent a car, stalk a family, and nearly kill several people?"

"We found no warrants for Gilberto Battaglia."

"That's not his name. His name is Frank Rosetti. You'll find out when you get him to the station, and you fingerprint him."

"You know him?" asked the cop.

"Yes, I know him. He's my wife's ex. Andi knows him; Gus knows him, Ernie Kraft knows him."

"He's a sleazy, greasy useless jamoke," said Lucy.

"Oh yeah, Doctor Kocis knows him also."

"Fuck," hissed the cop under his breath. "How do you spell Rosetti?"

"R-O-S-E-T-T-I," said Andi.

The cop made a call on his cell phone and said, "Can you run an NCIC on a Frank Rosetti of Denver Colorado? One S two Ts... all that? I think we have him here in Springville. We'll probably add attempted murder, attempted vehicular homicide, assaulting a law enforcement officer, unlawful possession of a firearm, and possession of category two narcotics."

"Don't forget stalking," said Veronica. The cop looked at her oddly, and Veronica continued. "We caught him on Friday night taking pictures of people coming and going over at Doctor Jarecki's house."

"The neighbors positively identify him as the person they reported on Friday night when he was casing the Jarecki residence," said the cop into his phone. "I think the camera we found him with will sink any defense he tries to raise."

"There's only room for two," said the EMT as they hoisted John into the ambulance.

"I'm going with John," said Lucy.

"Macy, reste avec Lucy," (stay with Lucy) said Paul as the tall French-Canadian beauty climbed onto the ambulance. He followed her in and said, "I'll be along in a little bit. Is there anything you need me to get for you?"

"Jean's bible."

Then Paul leaned over and kissed Andi. "I love you; I'll be there after I get the girls settled."

"I don't know if I'll be able to get upstairs..." she whimpered.

"It's ok, we'll work it out." Paul stepped out of the ambulance and joined Yi and Heather, who held the twins as they tearfully waved bye-bye to their mommy.

The ambulance faded in the distance and John, Macy and Andi were gone. Paul was completely numb. He knew he should feel something, but he didn't know what it was.

He numbly walked back to the church entrance, with Heather and Yi following. The twins were whimpering quietly. Paul stubbed his toe on a bible that was laying in the doorway, and he picked it up and looked at Genesis 1:1. Au commencement, Dieu créa les cieux et la terre. Yep, that's John's bible. He reads a French language bible.

He sat down in a church pew. Heather and Yi sat next to him and he watched his hands shake. Not far away, a group of men stood in a circle and prayed for John's healing, and he could hear women doing the same thing. The twins climbed on Paul's lap and hugged him and sobbed; they were exhausted from their weeping. "Is mommy going to be ok?"

"Mommy will be fine. It will be a little while before she can walk again, but she will be ok."

"Are you sure?" demanded Madeline.

"Hey, I'm a doctor! Ya little punk," and he tickled Madeline until she giggled.

"How about John?" asked Yi.

"I don't know," gasped Paul. All he could think of was his little brother, hurt, helpless, and the people he needed the most, mom and dad, were gone.

"This is yours," said Veronica and she handed Paul his doctor's bag, the one his parents gave him when he graduated med school at 22 years old. They were so proud of their boys, and he still feels horrible for avoiding them for so long after Melony died. He avoided almost everything after Melony died and if John goes, he will probably be worse.

"Ok, where's Kenny?" asked Paul. Yi pointed to the group of men praying. "You got your new credit card?" Yi nodded her head. "Go buy Kenny lunch. Then go buy me a queen-size mattress, box springs, and frame. Get some sheets, blankets, and bedspread as well, then buy him a full tank of gas. We're going to park Andi in the library until she can climb the stairs on her own. I don't want any pregnant women falling in our house. I think we'll put John and Macy there when he's released so I can nurse him."

"Yes sir," said Yi, but she sounded empty.

"You're going to be a nurse for mommy?" asked Madeline.

"Yes I am. And you're going to help. Then you're going to help me and Aunt Macy nurse Uncle John back to health, and you're going to help with mommy, so she doesn't fall down and hurt the baby."

Sandy threw her hands in the air. "I will have homework!"

"I'll tell you a little secret," then he whispered. "Kindergarten is very easy, it just teaches ABCs and 123s."

"That's for babies!" said Madeline.

"Some kids don't learn very fast. You two are very smart, Danny will learn a lot from you."

With that, Paul kissed his girls, then got up and walked up to the gathered men, who stood in a circle. He was carrying Madeline and his doctor bag, while Sandy clung to Grandma Heather. They finished their prayer and looked at Paul, the head deacon and chairman of the board. "Thank you guys. I truly believed that helped."

"How are you," Gus asked.

Paul just shrugged and shook his head. "Lucy is at Bertrand Chaffee with John, Macy, and Andi. I'm taking the girls home and I'm going to set up a ground floor bedroom for John and Macy so I can nurse them. I want to lock up and go."

With a muttering of understanding, the men headed for their cars. The woman's prayer group broke up and people headed out. Paul and Gus locked the front door, then made sure the kitchen was cleaned up and everything was shut off. Then they stepped out the kitchen door that opened next to the driveway. A flatbed truck from the police department was pulling the Toyota off the rocks and up onto the flatbed. "Did you really need me to start a prayer group?" asked Gus.

"Yes," sighed Paul. "It was that or let you beat the hell out of Frank in front of a cop and end up in jail."

"The power of prayer," said Gus. "It kept me out of jail."

Kenny and Yi got in Kenny's truck and as they pulled up to Paul, he said, "Make sure you top off that tank after the running around, ok?"

"You don't have to do that sir."

"Yes I do. I don't know if I'll be home when you get there but I would like to have the bed set up with a bookshelf as a headboard and the fireplace in view."

"I know what you want," said Yi.

"Thank you darling," and he patted the sad girl's hand and Kenny drove off.

"Are you ok?" asked Heather, who wasn't doing so well herself.

Paul looked at Heather, his eyes showed his exhaustion, and inside, Paul felt completely drained. "We will be ok; we have to be."

They piled into the van, and Paul drove home. All the way home, the twins were crying and moaning "Mommmeeeee" over and over. It was really getting on Paul's nerves because he wanted to do the same thing. When they arrived at home, the twins raced into the house looking for Wonka so they could tell him the horrible news.

He slowly climbed the stairs, feeling every year of his age weighing down on him, and went into their bedroom, made the bed, and slowly changed out of his jacket and tie and realized that he was covered with his brother's blood. Then he pulled off everything he was wearing and threw it in the trash and showered. He eventually came downstairs with a bag full of clean clothes for Andi to wear home to find the twins at the kitchen table with their backpacks open, and Heather had them working on a project. They were furiously drawing and coloring; they were mostly quiet. If they spoke, it was in TwinBabble.

Paul watched the productivity, then turned to Heather and asked, "How did you get them to do that?"

Heather shrugged and handed Paul a stack of hastily drawn crayon art that said GeT weLL MoMMee in huge crayon letters. "Did you help with the spelling? She's going to want to know."

"No, they just asked what they should say."

"Ok, I'm going to go to the hospital and play doctor and see how mommy, Aunt Macy, and Uncle John are doing."

The twins looked up from their work and they looked like they were shocked. "Aunt Macy?"

"Aunt Macy is very sad and very scared. I want her to stay here so she's not alone and when Uncle John gets out of the hospital he will stay here until he gets better."

"Unka John and Aunt Macy living here?" Madeline's eyes were wide with surprise.

"Yes, a long time ago just after Uncle John got hired, I bought this house so we could all live together. Uncle John, Aunt Macy, Grandma Katarina, Grandpa Cecil and me. We all lived here."

"I wish Grandma Katarina was here," Madeline wept.

"Well honey," said John as he hugged a sad Madeline. "Grandma Heather is here, and she's known you a long, long time. And soon, maybe on your birthday, Macy will have a baby girl and they want to call her Katarina."

"Katarina what?" demanded Sandy.

"She needs a middle name!" insisted Madeline.

"I'm Aada," said Sandy. "It means first!"

"I'm Genevieve, it means..." Madeline thought for a moment, then said, "Genny girl!"

"No, it does not!" said Paul. A Genny girl is a bikini model used in Genesee Cream Ale commercials.

"I'll look it up and find out what it means," said Heather, who wasn't sure why Paul snapped like that, but she had yet to see a Genesee commercial.

"Here, for Unka John," said Sandy as she handed Paul a neatly drawn picture of a cross. On either side were two stick figure girls holding red hearts. Across the top, it said LovE Yu.

"Uncle John will love it," said Paul. Then he turned to Heather and said, "I don't know when I'll be home. Yi and Kenny will be back with a bed to set up in the library." And with a last goodbye, he picked up Andi's laptop case and was off. He stopped at John and Macy's house and found a dress that she had just hung up. Hopefully, it was a pregnancy dress. He also got John and Macy's laptops and some panties for Macy. He doesn't know women well, but he knows Andi likes lots of clean panties. Maybe Macy is the same. He wasn't sure what else she would need, but he'll come back for more if she asks. Then it was off to the hospital.

He had to pass the church on his way home and, for some reason, he stopped and got out and walked up to the old building that was getting ready to be used for a wedding next week, a wedding that John couldn't attend. But Paul walked past the main entrance, and he entered the old church graveyard. He found a large stone there. It said Jarecki then beneath that; the stone read Katarina and Cyryl with their dates of birth and death. Below that were John and Marie-Claude with their birth dates, and next to that were Paul and Adrianna... when was that added?

Paul knelt in front of the stone and leaned forward, his forehead pressing against the cool granite and whispered, "I'm sorry mom... Johnnie's hurt... he may be dying and I'm too scared to go check..." and he wept. He cried long and hard, wishing it were him that jumped out and saved Andi. "It should have been me!" He convinced himself that he saw the car coming and he was too scared to move.

"That's just śmieci!" came a voice from somewhere. Śmieci is Polish. It means trash or rubbish and Katarina and her sister, Paul's Aunt Anika, both used to say that when they caught you lying. But it didn't sound like his mom, and it wasn't Melony or Aunt Anika. But he remembered Macy scolding him when he felt lonely and useless, and the garden needed tending a few years ago. "Fais ce que tu dois!" (Do what you must!) She was always too sweet and polite to tell him to "Lâche-toi le cul!" (Get off your ass!)

He knew what he had to do. Slowly, Paul got up and prepared to ruin a young couple's day. He walked over to the old church and there was a small cluster of people following a woman around as she moved around the building, describing the vision she had. "Excuse me," Paul called out, and everything stopped. "Could I see Stacy and Ron, and any parents please?"

"Doctor Jarecki, what's wrong?" asked Stacy. Paul had been her Sunday school teacher for years, and she could tell he's been crying.

Stacy's mom, Angela, put her hand on his shoulder. "All those lights and sirens we heard earlier, what happened?"

"After service today Pastor John was hit by a car, he's in terrible shape, he's over in Bertrand Chaffee along with Andi, she was hit too."

"Oh no!"

"Are you ok?" gasped Angela.

"Our wedding is in two weeks," said Ron.

"I doubt he'll be out of the hospital by then," said Paul.

"Maybe Macy?" said Ron.

"We really love this building, it's where we met when we were kids," said Stacy.

"And Pastor Macy was like our guardian angel," said Ron.

"I completely understand. I'll ask Macy to consider it, I'm going over to check on her now. She doesn't want to do anything behind John's back. But as chairman of the board, I'll do whatever I can to make your wish come true."

"Thank you!" cried Angela, and she gave Paul a hug and walked out with him as the kids continued their preparations. "Did I ever have a chance?" she asked as they stepped down the stairs.

"Chance?" asked Paul, ever oblivious.

"I guess that's a no," said Angela despondently.

"Oh, I'm sorry Angela, I didn't... my wife died under horrible circumstances and rumors made it even worse. I only dated a few times then gave up on everything. It was Macy that kept me going." Paul chuckled. "She kidnapped me out of the court martial of the guy who killed my wife and brought me home."

Angela looked at Paul like he just claimed to have been abducted by a UFO. "She kidnapped you?"

"Yeah, she told me that dad wanted me, and she grabbed my bag and laptop and walked away. She and my dad arranged orders for me to come back to Buffalo and run Cardiology at the VA. But Andi says we were always meant for each other, because she had no interest at all in men until we met again, and I was..."

"Met again?"

"It's a long story and I have to get over to the hospital. Come over some day and we'll have coffee and Andi and Macy can fill you with horror stories on how clueless I am."

<><><><><>

Bertrand Chaffee Memorial is the only hospital in Springville, and it was a good size. It was a rural hospital, and it specialized in farm accidents, which made it one of the best places for John and Andi's injuries. Most hospitals have nicknames, any hospital named St. Joseph is immediately named St. Joes, or if they have a bad reputation, Sloppy Joe's. Paul had even run into a hospital nicknamed Death Valley. They were a place to avoid. But Bertrand Chafee was only called BC as far as Paul knew.

He went up to the front desk, which was quiet on a warm Labor Day weekend. "Where do they have Adriana Jarecki?" and Paul showed his ID to prove he was family.

"She is in room 204, they will be preparing her for surgery soon."

"Oh damn, thank you," and Paul raced to the elevator, the only way up to the second floor that he knew. With his different bags and laptop carriers, he looked like he was moving in. Finally, he got to room 204 and there was Andi surrounded by nurses and technicians who were getting her ready. She looked terrified as Paul stepped into the room, but a nurse tried to nudge him out.

"Mrs. Jarecki can't have visitors, she's being readied for surgery."

"I'm not a visitor, I am her doctor, and I would like to see the surgical plan."

"Are you her doctor?" now the nurse was confused.

"I'm her cardiologist and I haven't been consulted on this procedure.

"Cardiologist?" The nurse's eyes opened wide in shock.

Just then, a female doctor in surgical scrubs stepped into the room behind Paul and said, "Cardiologist. Don't you need a heart to be one of those?"

"Seriously, can I get a break somewhere?" said Paul, smiling for the first time in hours. "How ya doing sawbones?"

"Not in front of the patient," said Doctor Emily Falk as she bumped elbows with Paul.

"How's John?" asked Paul.

Dr. Falk sighed deeply. "I got his left hip straightened out, I don't think it needs replacement anytime soon, I'll be going back in on Tuesday. I figured since I'm collecting overtime I'll get Andi today too." She handed Paul a clipboard, and he reviewed Andi's surgery.

"Damn it," he whispered, "I guessed most of that on scene."

"Good job, it's those x-ray fingers of yours."

"Those x-ray fingers better get over here!" demanded Andi.

Paul went over to the crowd around Andi, and before she said anything more, he leaned over and kissed her. "Here's a few get well messages from your fan club." He handed her the girl's hurried artwork, and she just smiled.

"Did you tell them what to draw?"

"No, I was late getting home, and Heather said they did it by themselves." They kissed again as the nurse took Andi's vitals. "I'm going to set up a bed in the library for you, then I figure we'll have John recover there after you get moving a bit."

Just then, the transport technician unlocked the brakes to Andi's bed. "Quick kiss, I gotta go," said Andi and Paul leaned over and kissed her lips and her belly, and she was gone.

And then he was alone. He didn't remember feeling this alone in his life. He sat in Andi's room staring at the floor where her bed should be... what should he be doing? Then the memory came to him, swimming toward him as if in mud. Macy! He needs to find Macy! He grabbed the room phone and dialed 0. "Front Desk"

"This is Doctor Jarecki, where is John Jarecki?"

"He's in recovery, then he will be going into the CCU."

"Thank you." Paul hurried from Andi's room to the rear elevator, which let him off near the recovery area. And there was Macy. She was pacing back and forth, looking up at the sign overhead, telling her what the status of her husband was. Her eyes were red from crying, her cute nose was running, her chin quivered. "Mon très cher ami," said Paul, getting the pronunciation of "My dearest friend" correct.

Macy whirled and ran to Paul's arms. "Il va mourir!" she wept over and over.

"Shh, shh, shh," said Paul. "He won't die. I talked to his surgeon, she's a friend, and she said that he's fighting."

"He cannot fight, he just gets punched," she wept. She buried her face in Paul's shoulder, and he held her tight.

"Yes, and he gets back up and asks for more until you give up." There was a flash of light, but Paul took it as a bad LED bulb flashing. "John took his punch and saved three lives. He's a hero and as far as I'm concerned if he wants to retire and let you take over, so be it."

She looked in Paul's ice-blue eyes, so much like her Jean, and gave him a kiss. That was something that Paul took forever to understand. French people kiss. It's part of a hug. Paul remembered his dad going on and on about the kissing going on at John's graduation. "Nous étions jeunes mariés!" (We were newlyweds!) cried Macy, then she kissed Cecil. Paul chuckled at the memory and returned Macy's friendly kiss and there was that flash again.

They sat down and Paul gave Macy the artwork that the twins made for John. "So sweet," she said as she saw the get well drawings.

"They're quick, they can churn a dozen of these out in five minutes."

As they sat, they leaned on each other for support and closeness. "I went to the old church and Angela, Stacy and Ron were there making plans," Paul finally said.

"Zut," groaned Macy, (damn) which is the closest Paul's ever heard her to swearing. "Jean, he will not be ready in time."

"They want you," said Paul. "If you refuse I suppose I can talk to Father Juan at St. Aloysius. He knows every priest, pastor, and rabbi in Erie county."

"The board, they would never allow..."

"I know a guy or two on the board. If you want to do the wedding and the kids have been through the courses, it will happen." Then Paul told her about the bedroom he's putting together for Andi, then for John, and Macy broke down crying. "What's the matter?" asked Paul.

"I did not know how... how to pay. I am scared for hospital bills."

"Oh ma colombe! (my dove) You have two insurance policies: one from the church and one from my dealership. Didn't you give them both policies?"

"I didn't know, it is so confusing." She looked distressed and about ready to cry again. She and John have been blessed with good health. They've never been to the hospital other to visit an ill member of their flock.

"Come on," Paul led her to the registration desk and helped her get a secondary insurance set up. "There now you're all covered, no co-pays." Macy squealed with relief and joy and threw her arms around Paul. As she did, there was another flash.

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Paul tapped the gavel on the tabletop, and the members of the church board finished their talking and sat down in their seats, pens, paper, and coffee at the ready. Paul didn't want to be there. Andi comes home tomorrow, and the girls are excited. Today was the twins' first day at school and Andi missed it, so Yi and Paul video recorded as much as the school would allow.

After an opening prayer by Larry snow, Paul called, "Kathy do you have the minutes of the last meeting?"

"The minutes are as follows," said Kathy Hansen, church board secretary, and everyone looked at their copy of the minutes as she read them.

"Any changes or additions?" asked Paul, without looking at his agenda. "Then can I get a motion to accept the minutes as presented?"

"So moved," called Gus.

"Second," said Ernie.

"It's been moved and seconded, any discussion?" Paul paused, then said, "All those who accept the minutes please signify so by saying aye." After a rousing cheer of aye, Paul asked for any nays. "Hearing none, the minutes are accepted. Treasurers report. Mary how are we looking?"

Mary Kraft gave the treasurer's report, which passed the same way. Tammy Schatz presented the Women's Ministry report, which also was accepted, then Larry Snow gave a report on the building. "I've been looking at the dishwasher in the kitchen, the one on the island is shot. The control board is fried and there are no replacement boards to be found."

"Isn't' that the dishwasher that Gus installed?" asked Paul.

"Yeah," said Gus. "What's your point?"

"No point, just saying that the one our pastor put in is still running fine," he said with a friendly wink at Gus.

"Beginner's luck," said Gus to the laughter of the board. That was back when John was Gus's apprentice. John became a fine carpenter who continues to work with Gus on kitchen remodels and new construction. He has a wood shop in his basement, and he makes all forms of new projects. He's almost finished with a tiny swinging cradle for their newborn son. It just needs to be varnished.

The laughter was part of how Paul liked to run meetings. There was no bickering. Disagreements were worked out with adult conversation, and much of the meeting contained as much laughter as he could wring out of his board members.

After Seth Vogel gave the missionary report, Paul called for old business. There was discussion on the sound system, but Larry reported that a speaker connection came loose and that's what was causing distortion, and it was fixed. Which brought Paul to the point that he didn't want to bring up. New Business.

"Our pastor is still in critical care, he's being kept sedated, and Macy is with him constantly. When she's not there she's sleeping in a spare bedroom at my house and she's finally able to keep food down..."

"Keep food down?" asked Tammy Schatz.

"Nerves, this whole thing is more than she can handle at the minute. She's getting better, she was singing this morning."

"Singing?" asked Bud Chance, a new board member.

"Oh yeah," said Larry. "She's a songbird. We tested and tuned the sound system in this building with her voice."

"How long will they keep Pastor John under?" asked Tammy.

"I don't know," sighed Paul. "His doctors have a lot of work ahead of them. His orthopedic surgeon Doctor Emily Falk is an old friend from the VA, and she's already performed two surgeries, with another two planned."

"What is broken?" gasped Mary Kraft, the treasurer.

"I shouldn't speak of that being a doctor," said Paul. "But the list is extensive. Also, I've asked Luke Watkins from Blessed Trinity to preach here on Sunday."

"How is Andi doing?" asked Gus.

"She's in a lot of pain but she got an update from the girls on their first day of school today which helped a lot. She'll come home tomorrow afternoon." There was a smattering of applause.

"How did the girls like kindergarten?" asked Tammy.

"They said it was for babies. We think they'll get bumped up a grade or two before the year's out."

"What caused all of this?" asked Dexter Humboldt. Dexter was an old guy who appeared to hate everything. He stood bent and walked with a cane. Most people believed that his foul mood was caused by the pain in his body. Dexter was a simple man and John believed deep down that he's worth redemption, so Paul stayed away from Dexter.

"A man tried to run over Adrianna Jarecki," said Gus. Just then, Lucy entered. She had just come from the hospital where she was visiting Andi. When Andi went to sleep, she took the twins home to Yi and swung by the church. She knew Gus was in the board meeting and he had invited her to come by and listen in.

"Men don't just run over people," said Dexter with a sneer.

"You're right," said Paul. "Is there any more new business?"

"This needs to be discussed," demanded Dexter. "I have a right to know."

Suddenly, the room went quiet. "Here's all you need to know," said Gus slowly and quietly. "Andi's ex-husband tried to kill her and our pastor risked his life to save hers."

"And that's it? Nothing more?" Dexter nearly shrieked.

"What more could you possibly want?" demanded Gus.

Dexter put an iPad on the table and there on the tablet was a still of Andi tied to a bed, being fucked by a Russian mobster. Paul knew that still. It was from the videos that Frank dumped on the internet. At that point of the video, they had pulled the blindfold off of Andi's eyes and she just realized she was being raped by some Russian guy. The look of horror on her face tore at Paul's heart. "What about the porn videos she was in?" demanded Dexter.

The room exploded in shouting and accusations until Paul stood and slammed the gavel down once. The loud crack of the gavel silenced everyone. Paul glared at Dexter on his right. "I deny nothing. Look at that illegally obtained picture if you dare," said Paul, addressing everyone in the room but staring at Dexter. "That is a still from a video of a rape in progress. That is my wife being raped by a Russian mobster to pay off her ex-husband's gambling debts. When that wasn't enough and he heard she was going to marry me, he tried to extort money from us by pretending to fight for custody of the twins, but DNA proved he's not related to the twins. That man there may be the twins biological father." And he slammed the gavel downright next to Dexter's iPad.

Everyone in the room glared at Dexter. He was not a pleasant person, but they normally got along. "These photos and videos were dumped on the internet to get back at us, but I proved they were evidence of multiple felonies against Frank Rosetti, who is now sitting in Attica prison waiting for his trial for attempted murder and attempted vehicular homicide. Then he will go back to Colorado for trial for rape, assault, prostitution and sex trafficking."

Dexter reached for the iPad, but Paul snatched it up and began scrolling through the photos. "Why didn't you show everyone this photo?" And he showed a picture of Frank whipping a crying Andi. "Doesn't it fit your narrative?" Paul scrolled some more and found candid photos. "Oh, look! You have photographs of me and Macy, hugging and holding hands! Are they proof of the pastor's wife having an affair? IS IT?" demanded Paul.

Dexter muttered something and Paul put the iPad on the table and slid it down the length of the meeting table. "Those were taken Sunday without my permission while my brother, her husband and my wife, her sister were in emergency surgery. She is my friend, she is a woman I owe so much to, and she is my employee of almost a decade! I'd be heartless not to comfort her yet someone took covert pictures of us? It's sick." Dexter said nothing.

"It's disgusting," said Ernie Kraft, his voice a deep rumble.

"Sick and demented," snarled Gus.

Paul sat down and placed his hand on Kathy Hansen's shoulder as she frantically scribbled the meeting activity in shorthand in her notepad. "Are you ok?" she sniffed and nodded. "If you need a break let me know." The meeting couldn't continue without a secretary.

"I'm ok," she said and then nodded nervously.

"I am sure that these photographs have raised questions in people's minds, if you want to discuss them I will but not here, this is not the venue," said Paul sadly. "And if they raise questions about my fitness to continue as the chair of this body then say so now and I will abdicate for the good of the church."

"No," said Seth Vogel. "There's no need for that," and the board all nodded their agreement.

"Then let's start again, as adults," said Paul, staring at his gavel. "I have some new business. As I mentioned, I've asked Luke Watkins from Blessed Trinity to preach here on Sunday, but he won't be available after that. Don Cole, an Elder from Blessed Trinity, may be available the Sunday after. Gus and I will keep you advised of what we find."

"Why not Pastor Tomkins?" demanded Dexter.

Paul shook his head. If John was capable of hating anyone, it was Pastor Tomkins. He has ruined other churches with financial mismanagement and nonbiblical teachings. He's now on his third wife, and like the last one, she was someone else's wife in his congregation. It all made sense. Dexter isn't an evil man, he's just grouchy, but if Bob Tomkins got ahold of him, that would explain a lot. Tomkins would cut off his own leg to gain control of Springville Congregational. The congregation is large and, while not affluent; they have money, which he wants. Paul would not put it past Bob to fill Dexter's head full of hate and send him into the church to create disorder, then he would ride in to "fix things" and pillage the church treasury. He's done it in the past to other churches.

"Thank you," said Paul. "I'm sure Bob Tomkins is currently unemployed. Now I'd like to..."

"I think it should be discussed," demanded Dexter.

"Then let's have it in the form of a motion," said Paul, trying not to look at Dexter.

"I move that we should consider hiring Pastor Tomkins."

Normally if the motion merits discussion, someone on the board will call out second, but the room was silent. "Do I hear a second? Hearing none, the motion dies," said Paul. "Moving on, I ran into Ron and Stacy and Stacy's mother Angela, and they were over in the old building making their wedding plans and I had to tell them about John." Everyone in the room sighed. They all knew Ron and Stacy, and they all watched the couple grow there at Springville Congregational.

"What did they say?" asked Gus.

"Well, they want to make sure they can still get married in the old church because it's where they met, and they asked me to ask Macy if she would perform the wedding. I spoke to her this morning and asked her. So, I would entertain a motion to allow Pastor Marie-Claude Solange Dagenais-Jarecki to perform the wedding ceremony for Ron and Stacy.

"So moved," said Gus.

"Second," said Larry.

"It's been moved and seconded, any discussion?"

"I do not think there's any need for discussion. If Macy feels up to doing it, we will all help. For Ron and Stacy's sake," said Ernie as he glared at Dexter. "Call the question."

"All those in favor signify by saying aye," said Paul, and the board responded by saying, aye. "Opposed signify by saying nay."

"NAY!" shouted Dexter.

"What now, Mister Humboldt?" asked Paul.

"I will not have my church taken over by them!" he said as he pointed to his tablet, still showing a picture of Paul and Macy holding hands.

"Polacks?" asked Paul. "Canadians? If either of those are not the answer I advise you to keep your mouth shut."

He didn't. He befouled the air with a word that starts with the letter N, then pointed at Lucy and called her a "Jew Bitch."

Then the room went silent. Gus slowly stood up, but Paul tapped the table with a finger, silently asking Gus to sit down. "Mister Humboldt, there are three women in this world that I truly love, and you have attacked every one of them in the most foul, despicable way possible. I believe your work here is done."

Then Ernie Kraft walked over to Dexter and said, "Let me walk you to your car."

"What? I'm not going anywhere."

Ernie put a bear's paw size hand on Dexter's shoulder and said, "It's time to go Dex. Let me walk you to your car so you don't trip and fall. It's getting dark out there," said Ernie.

After Ernie returned, he said, "Ol Dex saved the best for out in the parking lot. I didn't realize he had so much hate built up inside of him." They re-voted on the motion to allow Macy to perform Ron and Stacy's wedding, and the vote passed unanimously.

All this time, the newest member, Bud Chance, was reading through the church constitution and by-laws, and raised his hand. "Go ahead Bud," said Paul.

"I'm new here so I'm not swayed by Dexter's history so... I move that Dexter Humboldt be removed from the board for cause."

The room was silent for a long time, then Ernie said, "Second for the purpose of discussion."

"Moved and seconded, we can discuss. Go ahead Bud. What do you have for us?"

Bud rose and read several sections of the constitution and bylaws that Dexter violated with his racist and profane outbursts. "I don't want to be the legal expert but those are the rules and if we ignore them, we're just as guilty as Mister Humboldt."

"Thank you Bud. Is there any other discussion?" asked Paul. "Ok, Bud thank you. And you're right, all too often we excuse inappropriate behavior by familiarity. I now ask you to prayerfully consider your decision. Please vote based on the facts and not charity or anger." This isn't something Paul wanted to do when he allowed the board to elect him chairman. He was thinking of fundraisers for the children's church and church picnics on his farm. He was there to help decorate the church for Christmas and Easter and work with John and Macy. Feeling nauseous, Paul said, "All in favor please signify by a show of hands." He looked around the table and it was unanimous.

"Motion passed, Dexter Humboldt has been removed from the board of directors. I will entertain suggestions for his replacement at the next meeting and not a moment before. Anything else?" When nobody said a word, Paul turned to Lucy and said, "Lucy, could you lead us in the Mi Sherbeirach? For John and Andi, and Dexter please."

"Uh, yeah, it's been a while." Lucy looked nervous, then slowly began the traditional Jewish prayer for healing. "Mi shebeirach avoteinu M'kor hab'rachah l'imoteinu..."

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Andi loved her big, comfortable bed in the library. Far above her, the ceiling fan turned and there were books on shelves that extended high into the sky. Next to the library, across from the kitchen, was the biggest half bath that she had ever seen. Before they rebuilt the house, it was tiny, but when they rebuilt it, Gus took over a lot of pantry space by extending the shower stall, making it wheelchair accessible. She had everything she needed: a bed, a wheelchair, food and her mom to help with the twins. The only thing she was missing was Paul.

When Paul brought Andi home, he had the house ready for her. He put a bed on the first floor, wheelchair, shower chair, and a crane over the bed for her to reach up and pull herself up with. Yi was never far away, and her mom loved the living room so she was never far either. The twins practically moved into bed with Andi. And Paul was at work, or at the church, or with his brother John.

The twins weren't much of a bother; they lay next to her coloring and telling her about swimming with Miss Yi. They went swimming as much as possible because papa was going to cover the pool soon.

"Girls! Come here!" Andi called.

Their heads popped up over the side of the bed. They were under the bed with Wonka when she called. "What mommy?"

"Come here, put your hand here." She rolled up her nightgown, and they put their hand where she suggested on her tummy.

"What's that?" Madeline asked. Something moved inside her mommy.

"That's Danny!" said Andi brightly. It was the best she felt since her ankle was run over.

Sandy leaned over and put her mouth on Andi's belly. "Hello Danny! Are you awake?"

"No, he's rolling over in his sleep. He's quiet, not like you two were, always fighting."

"She kept kicking me," said Madeline.

"You were kicking me," said Sandy.

The rules were the rules. The twins could play all they want in bed with Mommy, but if she says it hurts, they have to stop, and if she asks twice, they had to go to the living room, and her propped up leg caused horrible pain if they started bouncing around.

In the morning, Paul would drop off the twins at school and in the afternoon, Yi picked them up and usually they were angry. "Look at this baby stuff!" they demanded when they showed Andi their school papers. "A-B-Cs and 1-2-3s"

"They won't let us read real books," said Sandy.

"You don't like to read," reminded Andi. "You like numbers."

"I like to read," said Madeline. "The words are too little, they get fuzzy."

Andi looked over at Yi, who nodded. "Eye doctor, got it chief."

Heather shook her head. They were still five, but could read entire books if they put their minds to it. Such amazing girls. "Gamma look!" said Sandy. "This is what we have to read!" then she took a paper that she colored all over in anger. "Look at the dog. He can run. Run dog run." She looked at Heather and shrugged her shoulders is frustration. "It's stupid! Where is the dog going?"

Andi, Yi, and Heather broke up laughing. "A literary critic."

"Watch this," said Andi. And she took the girls "homework" and wrote on each one, 'I asked my daughter to circle all the action words in blue. I made corrections in red. Adrianna Jarecki.' Then she said, "Ok, here's your real homework, go read this again, and circle all the action words in blue. Kitchen table!"

Madeline and Sandy stomped off with their papers. "You watch, they'll surprise you," said Andi with a smile.

"Nothing will surprise me," said Yi. "Not after watching these critters all summer."

Sandy and Madeline came back into the library, their little bare feet slapping on the floor. They threw their papers at their mother and climbed on the bed. "There. You happy?" huffed Sandy.

"I'll be happy when your father gets home and spanks you for talking to me like that." Madeline's eyes grew huge in terror. "I always wanted to say that" said Andi, and she looked at Madeline's paper. "Perfect." Then she checked Sandy's paper. "Very good! You only missed one," said Andi, and she circled a word in red.

Sandy looked at her paper and frowned. "I always forget that one."

"Let me see," said Yi, and the twins handed her their papers, and not only did they circle all the verbs in the reading, but they also circled all the verbs in the instructions to the parents from the teacher. Sandy forgot to circle the word 'read.' "You're right, they are surprising. Why aren't you home schooling?"

"Honestly I don't know. I know there's couples that are home schooling. As soon as I can get on my feet I'll find them and ask." Then she looked concerned. Andi has only been home a couple of days and she's only seen Paul a few times while she's been awake, and she remembered the twisted heap that John had ended up in. Paul is probably in agony internally. When Paul gets upset, he works off his anger or sorrow, so he's probably working himself sick. "How has Paul been doing?"

"I don't think he's been sleeping," said Yi. "I'll hear him on the exercise bike at night."

Andi looked at Yi, concerned. Paul will get on the exercise bike or treadmill at night if something is bothering him. "What about work?" He'll complain, but he loves that car dealership.

"He comes home just burned out," said Heather. "He's so worried about you, and John and Macy."

Andi missed hearing Paul's voice, so she picked up her phone and called Paul, who was at the office in Orchard Park. "Hey love, how are you?" she asked brightly.

"Jammed up, I didn't realize how much Macy was doing for me. Sorry dear, but I'll be home when I get home."

"Hire an assistant," said Andi.

"I got an assistant, she's busy."

"Hire her an assistant and put him to work."

"Good idea. Love you." Paul hung up the phone and started looking at the contracts again. None of them made sense. How did his dad survive running this business as long as he did? Then again, his father didn't have a dozen dealerships to worry about and he wasn't pulling in seven figures every year. His phone rang again. It was Darwin, the head of the service side of the foreign car lot.

"She's back again."

"Who's back again?"

"The Chinese chick I told you about. She's nosing around here trying to get a job."

"What does she want?"

"Anything," said Darwin. "She just wants to take pictures of the cars."

"Send her over to me, I'll stick a pin in her balloon." Paul needed a break. This would be fun. Soon, a slender, dark-haired Asian woman knocked on his door. "Come in," said Paul.

"Mister Darwin said you wanted to talk to me?"

Paul looked up and got a good, long look at her. She was pretty, about five foot two, with long black hair, black almond eyes and a smile that told Paul she's not to be trifled with. "I'm Paul Jarecki..."

"Yes, son of the founder Cyryl Jarecki."

"Everyone called my dad Cecil, how did you know about him?"

"My Uncle Chun used to work for your dad. I am Min Zhong Sun and he told me so much about your father."

"Have a seat, what brings you to Western New York?"

"I wanted to meet Cyryl, Uncle Chun loved him and loved working for him."

"I remember Chun, he was one of my dad's favorites over on Harlem road. Dad was so sad when he retired... so you moved here from Singapore just the meet my dad?"

"No, I want to take pictures of your cars, they're so beautiful! I was hoping I could get a job washing cars or changing tires then I could take photos, I hoped Cyryl would give me a job or let me take pictures."

"Well... are you an ASE certified technician?" asked Paul.

"No," the pretty woman suddenly looked sad. "My dad taught me a lot, but we don't have an ASE certification in Singapore." Then she looked up at Paul. "Just to change tires?"

"People pay a lot of money for these cars. And they pay a lot of money for maintenance, so no one touches a car here without certification. I even make my sales force go through training just to properly show off the cars. Do you have any college?"

"Just accounting," she said sadly.

"There's nothing wrong with accounting. Sometimes I wish I had a bachelor's degree in accounting," he said as he rifled through the stack of papers on his desk. "It would get me through this mess."

"I have a master's in accounting, but I want to photograph beautiful cars."

Paul handed her a proposal that looked iffy to him. "Ok Min, can you make sense of this?"

Min looked it up and down, then said, "You're crazy if you sign this. The margin of profit is far too narrow... you need them to come up six and a half percent, I'd ask for nine and settle for seven."

Paul stared at her for a moment and said, "Andi sent you here, didn't she."

"I don't know who is Andi."

"It doesn't matter. You're hired. Come on."

"Come on?"

"My executive assistant is out, her husband, my brother, was severely injured and she is expecting. Her baby is due in November."

"Is she Andi?"

"No, Andi is my wife, and she was injured in the same accident, and she's expecting too."

"Oh," said Min, who was completely confused. Paul led her to an office in the back of the sprawling complex. It said Human Resources over the door.

"I need help," said Paul.

"You've chased off every psychologist in Erie County," said a harried looking woman without looking up from her laptop.

"That's not true. Doctor Nudnick committed suicide."

"That still counts," said the woman. "Hi, I'm Monica, I'm Paul's HR Slave. It appears that he wants you."

"I guess. I am Min Zhong Sun and he said I am hired."

"She's Macy's new assistant. Make a miracle happen, please," said Paul and he headed back to his office to join a zoom call he didn't want to join.

Monica closed her eyes and shook her head. "He's going to burn himself out. He should be hiring a replacement, not an assistant. Ok, your name again?"

"Min Zhong Sun," and she dug through her purse for photo ID and work permit. "My uncle used to work for Mister Cyryl."

"Chun?" said Monica with a huge smile. "I remember him from over on Harlem Road." She looked at Min's documentation and started the paperwork to allow Min to start as an employee of Jarecki Motors. "I need you to fill out this W-4, then sign here, here and here."

Min filled out the paperwork, confused, but also delighted. As long as she gets to take pictures of the beautiful cars!" Finally, Monica said, "Ok, follow me," and she led Min back out to Mister Jarecki's office. There was an outer office with two desks, one was Macy's, and the other desk was there because the office was so big. "We'll get you a phone and hook it up," said Monica. "For now, sit at Macy's desk, read the employee handbook and nobody disturbs Mr. Jarecki unless it is Macy, me or his wife."

"How much does this job pay?" asked Min, whose mind was spinning. Monica pointed at the rate of pay on a sheet that Min signed but had no memory of signing. She looked at the number and shook her head. That can't be right. She reached for Macy's calculator and typed in the number, then multiplied by 0.74 to find out the current exchange rate with Singapore dollars and gasped.

"You are going to earn every dime of that," said Monica. "Ok, a few things. Mister Jarecki expects you to dress nicely, not casual and not slutty. There's a lot of influential people coming in and out of here. Understand?" When Min nodded, Monica continued. "If Mister Jarecki calls you dear or darling, those are terms of affection, nothing more. It means he likes you and he's happy with the job you are doing. If he goes several days without calling you one of those names, it means he's upset with you. Your supervisor, Macy, is incredibly important to Mr. Jarecki. If you do anything to demean or upset her, you will be gone. Right now, Mr. Jarecki's wife and brother are both injured, so he's quite upset. Try to keep that in mind. Any questions?"

"What kind of man is he?"

Monica shrugged. "I wouldn't work for anyone else. "Ok, your hours officially start at nine AM and go to whenever he's done with you. His hours vary. He often works from home, and don't forget he's a doctor. His wife is a doctor with the VA and he may fill in for her occasionally."

Ming just nodded her head, wondering what she got herself into.

<><><><><> ֎ <><><><><>

It was Sunday evening, one week since the horror of Labor Day Sunday, and Gus was still aching over what Dexter Humboldt called Lucy and Macy. "I'm so sorry you had to see that," said Gus. "I don't know what came over Dexter."

"Stop apologizing," said Lucy. "I've known jerks like that my entire life."

"He wouldn't have said anything like that if Pastor John was there," said Gus.

"So he's a gutless jerk. Those are the worst kind." They strolled into Bertrand Chafee hospital and went up to the front desk.

"I'd like to check on Pastor Jarecki."

"I have a John Jarecki."

"Yes, he's our pastor."

"He's still in Critical Care but we are allowing one visitor at a time, with his family's permission."

"Is he conscious?" asked Lucy.

"I do not think so."

Gus and Lucy followed the colored line on the wall to the Critical Care Unit and there sat Paul. He looked horrible. His eyes were sunken and dark. He looked up at them with little recognition, then went back to staring at the floor.

They looked into the CCU and saw Macy partially behind a curtain, softly reading a French language bible. She almost looked happy. She looked up and waved them in. Approaching the bed, she said, "Doesn't he look so much better without the respirator?"

Lucy knows how much extubating a patient helps the spirit of the patient's family, and she nodded even though John looked like he was wearing a mile of gauze. Everything they could see was bandaged or splinted. The gauze around his head came down and covered one eye. The other eye was black.

"He will be awake soon!" said Macy. "I know it. I can feel it."

"It's almost time, Macy," said a nurse, "and Paul may want to say goodnight."

"Oui," said Macy and she walked out to the waiting area with Gus and Lucy. "You may say good night."

Paul smiled and slowly got up and walked to John's bed, and sat down in the chair. "How are you doing?" asked Paul.

Paul heard a voice say, "you look like hell."

"I don't feel so good," said Paul. "I executed Dexter Humboldt yesterday...no... on Tuesday. Yeah, Tuesday... When was that?"

"I told you to stop worrying about him," said the voice. "What do you see?"

"The car... the car is coming; it's going to hit Andi and I can't move... I CAN'T MOVE!" shrieked Paul.

"That's your fault," said the voice that now sounded like Frank Rosetti.

"NURSE!" cried Lucy, snapping her fingers. She had her pen light out and was checking Paul's pupils.

"IT WON'T STOP! IT SHOULD BE ME! IT WON'T STOP!" He started hyperventilating and shaking, his eyes wide with horror. "NO!" and he jerked back against the back of the chair. Then softly he groaned "...it should have been me..."

"Is he on something?" asked the nurse.

"...it should have been me..." Paul sounded like he wasn't connected to reality anymore.

"No, he hasn't had any sleep for a full week," said Lucy. "I'll bet he's hallucinating."

"Oui," said Macy, "classic hallucinatory reaction brought on by extreme anxiety and sleep deprivation." Her degree in psychology warned her that Paul would end up next to John in the Critical Care Unit if they didn't do something for him.

"He was given sleeping pills," said the nurse, as they led a stumbling Paul to a wheelchair.

"He will not take them," said Macy, who has been spending her evenings at Paul's house. "He is afraid he will not hear Andi or moi. I try to warn him, but he leaves and walks on the treadmill."

The nurse looked at Macy, confused, as she covered a shivering Paul with a heated blanket. "He and Andi are having their first child," said Gus.

"It is easier for Andi and I," said Macy. "We know what is going on, he and Jean do not."

"I'm so sorry John," whimpered Paul and he began crying. In his arms, he held a four-year-old John tight to his chest. "I didn't mean to be a coward."

"He's having hallucinations," said Lucy. "Is there any chance you can admit him and pump him full of Eszopiclone or Temazepam?"

"No, I have to help Andi," said Paul as he tried to stand up.

A Physician's Assistant came out of the CCU office and said, "Doctor Jarecki, this is the last time. I am going to give this to your sister-in-law. You will take it immediately when they get you home or Mister Didomissio has my direct instructions to knock you out. Do you understand?"

Paul shook his head no and said, "yes" in a small voice.

"You doctors are all the same," grumbled the PA, and she offered an envelope first to Macy. Then she changed her mind and handed it to Gus, and they wheeled Paul out to the parking lot where Gus piled Paul into the White Whale.

Back in the CCU, the physician's assistant began checking John over and tucking him in. "That is quite a family you have Mister Jarecki."

A very raspy voice softly escaped John. "Will he be ok?"

<><><><><>

At Paul's house, they led Paul into the house and Gus led him up the back staircase to his bedroom. "You're still wearing your church clothes. Let's get you undressed, and we'll sit up here and watch some TV while the girls chatter, OK?"

"Yeah," said Paul in a dead voice as he sat on the bed.

Gus went over to Paul and Andi's medicine cabinet and found several bottles of vitamins. He put some vitamins in his hand, then added the sleeping pill that the PA gave Macy, then him. "Look, I know you won't take the sleeping pill that the nurse gave Macy, but here, take these vitamins so you'll be able to help Andi if she calls for you." Paul took all the vitamins and the sleeping pill and washed it down with water, then he and Gus turned on a re-run of the African Queen. Paul was asleep before the German soldiers could burn down Robert Morley's church.

Gus quietly slipped downstairs to find Yi straightening up the kitchen. Yi glanced at her watch and said, "Nine o'clock and everyone is in bed. Heather and I are going to watch some garbage TV and turn in," said Yi.

"Paul is out," said Gus.

"How did you get him to take the sleeping pill?" asked Lucy as she entered the kitchen.

"I gave him a few vitamins so he could help Andi if he had to," said Gus with a sly smile. "It may have gotten mixed in with them. Where's Macy?"

"She's asleep in bed with Andi. You should have become a doctor," said Lucy, amazed at Gus's subterfuge.

"Nah, I know Paul, and I know what works."

<><><><><>

"Rise and shine sleepy head!" said Yi as she placed a cup of coffee on the night table for Paul.

"What time is it?" he groaned as he woke up feeling slightly hung over.

"Nine," said Yi as she placed a tray across his lap.

"The twins!" he cried, and he tried to get up, but Yi pushed him back into bed.

"Eat first. I've already dropped the twins off at school. Macy will be ready to head into work in a little bit."

"Macy is going to work?" Paul looked down at two perfectly poached eggs on toast with sausage and bacon, and suddenly he was hungry.

"For a little while. Andi wants her to send photos of this new assistant you hired.

"She's good," said Paul as he sipped the orange juice.

"Let's let Andi and Macy decide that" said Yi.

"I have been running this business for several years before Andi arrived."

"Yes, but now it's time to do it right."

"The chickens..." said Paul. He suddenly realized that he hadn't checked the chickens for over a week. In the summer, they don't require a lot of care compared to winter. They'll find their own food, but they need water.

"I got the chickens," said Yi. "Heather and I have been going out to check them every day. They're fine."

"Thank you darling. You're incredible."

"Are you going to say that when I'm pregnant and lying in bed?"

"If Kenny doesn't, I sure will."

Shortly Paul came downstairs dressed for work and carrying his dishes. He placed the plate and cups in the dishwasher, then washed the pan that Yi made breakfast with, as Heather came into the kitchen. "You look so much better!" she sighed, and she kissed his cheek.

"I feel better. I must have been tired; the vitamins Gus gave me knocked me out."

"You needed sleep, Macy said you were hallucinating."

"I don't think so," said Paul. "I would know if I was hallucinating," and he headed for the library.

"There's my lover boy," grinned Andi, as he walked into the library and leaned forward. She was sitting up and brushing Macy's long, flowing hair. It looked like Macy had already brushed out Andi's hair.

"Sorry I didn't come here last night," said Paul after they kissed. "I think Gus poisoned me last night."

"I am coming in to work," said Macy. "I want to meet this new assistant and Jean is in surgery." She wanted to be there but when she called the hospital, she discovered he went into surgery before she woke, and she won't be able to see him before one PM. The way Macy said, "New Assistant" the disdain in her voice showed that she was not pleased that Paul hired someone without her permission.

"I will be home early today," said Paul. He had purposely avoided asking how her leg felt. For a week he asked, and the answer was always the same - 'It fucking hurts!' so he settled for her smile. Andi always smiled when she saw him, and he took his feedback from that. "You have a beautiful smile this morning."

"Momma is going to give me half a pedicure," she said as she wiggled the tiny toes on her right foot.

"Momma?"

"Sad to say but I think this is the best thing that has ever happened to us," said Andi.

"I think John will be happy to hear that," said Paul and with one last kiss he said, "Sister dear? Are you ready for the thrill of a lifetime?"

"Non," said Macy as she followed him out the door. A few minutes later, Andi heard the deep-throated roar of the Mustang. The pewter/black Mustang was headed for its winter home in the showroom window of Jarecki Motors.

Paul didn't drive hard as he headed to work. He didn't want to do anything that would force Macy against the seat belt, but he made a quick call. "Hey Min, remember that Mustang I mentioned? I'm driving it in. The guys should have the showroom window ready. See you in a few."

Min was busy at her desk typing up a letter for Paul's signature when the text came in. She peeked out onto the showroom floor and saw that cars were being moved around, which wasn't unusual, but the darling Alpha Romero was moved out of its solo window and was parked in the right-hand window with the beautiful Burgundy Red Porsche 911. She got her camera out and began taking pictures of the sports cars. Then she heard the rumbling as a mustang pulled into the lot. The noise grew louder as it grew closer.

The showroom filled with employees as the Mustang circled the building, then pulled into the side door of the Showroom. It rumbled as it eased into its parking spot in the showroom window, then revved a few times, making the building shake and then shut down. Min attached a flash to her camera and began taking shot after shot of the beautiful car, and then a tall, leggy, pregnant black woman stepped out. She was one of the most beautiful women that Min had ever seen. She made seven months of pregnancy look alluring.

As Min continued to take pictures, she struck a professional pose and smiled a perfect smile. Then Paul got out of the driver's side wearing his aviator shades and a Ford racing jacket. "Thank you Min," he said, then he walked through the spectators chatting with a few, laughing with the mechanics, teasing the salesmen, then led the model to Min. "Min Zhong Sun, this is your supervisor Doctor Marie-Claude Solange Dagenais-Jarecki. If you have any questions, she will be happy to answer them." With that, he walked away, leaving the two women alone.

Macy led Min back to their office and briefed Min on what was expected of her. "I currently am in and out right now because my husband is still in the Critical Care Unit, and I will be on maternity leave starting in November going until February. I will need you to be ready to take over."

"I don't know if I can take over," said Min as she hurried to catch up.

"Of course you can. Paul hired you, didn't he?" asked Macy. "He inherited his father's talent for hiring the right people."

<><><><><>

Several hours later, Paul and Macy were in the back of the Mercedes-Maybach sedan that the company uses for customer pickup/drop-offs. A customer from Springville sat in the front with the driver while in the back seat of the car Paul and Macy spoke of their day. "What do you think of Min?" he asked.

"Your photographer?" Macy shrugged and looked out the window. "She takes a pretty photograph."

"You hate her."

"Oui. She is small, pretty and talented and will probably make a very good executive assistant."

"I already have an executive assistant, I didn't hire her to replace you, she's there to help you." Macy just huffed and continued to look out the window.

"Speaking of replacements, have you hired a replacement for my husband?"

"No," said Paul.

"Have you looked?"

"Yes."

"And?"

"I haven't reached out to them yet."

Their conversation was very stilted, and Paul was sure that Macy was angry with him. Eventually, the car pulled up at the hospital and Macy and Paul got out and headed inside to the CCU and John wasn't there. "Mister Jarecki is in recovery, then he will be transferred up to the ward, isn't that exciting?"

While Macy cried in relief on Paul's shoulder, he asked, "How long?"

"Not long," said the nurse, he's been conscious for a half hour now."

"Que Dieu soit loué!" shrieked Macy (May God be praised!) and she kissed the startled nurse on the cheeks.

"She's French," explained Paul, which quelled the nurse's nerves. They went up to his room on the third floor and found that Gus was already waiting.

"Wow, you look better," said Gus.

"It's those vitamins you gave me," said Paul. "They really did the trick. Don't you have any work today?"

"It's just not the same without my apprentice." Then Gus saddened. "I hope he can come back."

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

Gus just sighed and studied his hands.

"Tell me about Dexter," said Macy.

"No," said Paul. "I can't."

"Don't ask me," said Gus.

"You know I will find out," said Macy.

Gus and Paul looked at each other. "Tammy told her," they said in unison.

"I will deal with it," said Macy.

Just then, they wheeled John into the room, set his bed in place, then hooked him up to several monitors and oxygen. As they were setting him up, John opened his eye and whispered, "ma femme bien-aimée." (My beloved wife).

"Espèce de crétin!" she rushed to his bedside and kissed everything that wasn't bandaged. "Tu as un pois chiche à la place du cerveau!"

As she nuzzled and kissed her husband, Paul began laughing. "What did she say?" asked Gus.

"She called him an idiot and said he had a chickpea for a brain."

Both laughter and tears filled the room until John noticed Paul and said, "Not you too."

"Thank you so much," Paul said with a cracking voice. "You saved..." he gulped and swallowed. "You saved three lives that day."

"No," whispered John. "I owe you so much." The brothers hugged and wept over all the pain they experienced together. "I did it because I love you," whispered John.

"I love you too," said Paul. He sniffed and gulped and said, "You're going to sell your house and move in with us so I can take care of you..."

"Absolument pas!" (Absolutely no!) hissed Macy.

"She's right Paul, we love our house, we can't part with it."

"Ok, but you move in until you're able to move about. Gus, Macy and I will keep an eye on the house."

"Ok."

"And I'm going to lease her a van with a wheelchair lift."

"NO," said John.

"Look, you have a lot of pride and self-confidence, and you can be a stubborn ass. We both can, we're both Cecil's kids. But you can't let that Jarecki pride get in the way of raising Katarina. Mom would have understood, will your daughter?"

John looked up at Paul with his good eye and slowly softened. "Ok, just a little."

"You move in until Macy says she is ready to take care of you."

"And what if that's after Katarina is born?" demanded John.

"Then it's after Katarina is born. You need to be able to contribute, I don't want to see Macy have to baby you and Katarina by herself," said Paul.

"Let him help, he has a room set up for us," said Macy. "With a fireplace," and she waggled her eyebrows at John.

John sighed and said, "Ok, let's worry about that later." He closed his eyes then said, "Honey, do you have a nice dress to wear for Ron and Stacy's wedding?"

"Why?"

"They want you to do their wedding," said John. "I think you will be good at it."

"It has been a long time since I've done a wedding," said Macy. "I have never done one in English."

"Please?" asked John.

"They really want you Macy, I talked to them, and they said they really did want you," said Paul. "Practice is day after tomorrow."

"They really want me?" asked Macy.

"Yes, Stacy really wants you there," said Gus. "I opened the building for them last night so they could decorate."

"I will have to go shopping for a dress this evening," said Macy.

"You don't want to find out what the wedding's colors are before you buy a dress?" asked Gus.

"The pastor's attire should be attractive and conservative, and set him apart," said Macy, reverting to her role of Professor Dagenais. "Only one bride has ever asked the pastor to wear something that matches the wedding party's attire, and your buddy married her," she said, nodding toward Paul.

"Bien-aimé, pourrais-tu m'apporter quelque chose à boire?" (Beloved, could you get me something to drink?) rasped John.

"Oui, je reviens tout de suite," (Yes, I'll be right back,) said Macy, and she headed toward the Nurses Station.

When she was gone, John whispered, "You are my lead deacons. What do you think of Macy filling in for me on a temporary basis?"

"I haven't heard her preach," said Paul.

"Me neither," said Gus.

"She taught me... actually we taught each other. Please, go to the wedding and represent the church," he whispered. "Then come talk." Macy returned to the room with a cup of ice chips.

"We'll leave you two alone, I need to go," said Paul. He leaned over and kissed John's forehead. "Thank you again," he whispered.

"Ok, enough!" groaned John.

<><><><><> ֎ <><><><><>

"The twins' teacher wants to talk to us," said Andi.

"Why? What happened?" asked Paul.

"Look," said Andi. She handed him a page of paper that one of the twins wrote, "My dog is Wonka. He liks to play wit me and he liks the chkinz to."

She handed Paul another sheet that said, "I do not wnt a cat. It will not like Wonka, my dog." It took the entire page to contain the large handwriting of the twins, but it clearly was the twin's work. "The first one was Madeline, the second is Sandy. Right?"

"Right, how did you know?" asked Andi, as Paul reclined on the bed with her.

"Madeline is more positive. If Sandy doesn't like something she doesn't hold back. So what does the teacher want?"

"She wants to talk about advancing them a grade."

"I don't see anything wrong with it," said Paul. "I skipped a lot of grades, so did John."

"I agree, but Kindergarten is all about socialization. Should we leave them in Kindergarten and let them play with their peers? Or should we have them jump forward into the second grade?" asked Andi.

"To be honest," started Paul slowly. "I didn't get to know my peers. I started in the first grade and skipped kindergarten all together. It wasn't fun being the little kid nobody knew... but the twins will have each other for support."

"You don't sound like you're in favor of the idea."

"I don't know. Do girls beat each other up?" asked Paul. "I got beat up a lot by boys."

"I want to know, if we had to make the decision right now, what do we do?" asked Andi.

"I see them come home from school angry that the schoolwork is for babies. I think they should be intellectually stimulated primarily," said Paul. He hoped the twins didn't get beaten up like he did when he was young. Paul snuggled close to Andi and wrapped his arm behind her shoulders.

"I agree," said Andi, as their lips met. Their tongues slowly reached out and touched, and their kiss became more passionate, more fervent. Their hands gently caressed each other's cheeks. It seemed like it's been years since they touched each other, and in fact it's been weeks since they last caressed. Paul learned to get on the bed carefully to keep from causing pain and he was terrified to touch her because of the pain he was causing.

As they gently kissed, Paul said, "Hey, wanna go on a date?"

"A date?" Her eyes sparkled; it's been ages since they've been on a date. "Where to?"

"A wedding."

"A wedding?" asked Andi. "I don't think so."

"Stacy and Ron. If you feel up to it here's your chance to get out of the house."

"Nah, I don't know..." She thought about the pain involved in getting out of bed. She'll hold her urine until she's in danger of bladder injury before asking for help to go to the bathroom because it hurts to get up. "No, I don't like getting up and moving around. Who is giving the service?"

Just then, Macy walked into the library and sat down on the recliner next to Andi with a sigh. "I'm going to Orchard Park to find a dress, what was the name of the place where we found the dresses for your wedding? They had a maternity section."

"That was Gayles Dress Shop," said Andi. "Why?"

"I have a wedding to perform."

"Wonderful!" gasped Andi. "I'm happy for you! Is it Staci and Ron's wedding?"

"Oui."

Andi turned to Paul and said, "We should go support Macy. Call Gus and see if he can bring Lucy."

"I don't know," said Paul, playing reluctant.

"Call," said Andi. "I'm going crazy sitting here."

<><><><><>

For the day of the wedding, Yi and Macy picked dresses of the same design for Andi and Macy. Macy's was a light cream and coffee brown, and Andi's dress was peach pink and yellow. Yi had accompanied Macy because she and Kenny were invited, and she needed a dress. She picked one similar to Macy's dress, but it was a dark crimson and brown that would match Kenny's only suit. They got to the cashier and hung the dresses on a bar next to the cash register and the clerk rang them all up together. "Non," said Macy. "Mine is separate."

Yi looked at the cashier and said, "How do you tell a pastor 'hell fucking no?'"

"I wouldn't," said the panicked looking cashier.

"I'll just use connerie," (bullshit) said Yi, and she handed the cashier her expenses card. She didn't ask Paul, knowing that he would never deny Macy anything. "You can pay me back after the baby is born and not a minute before."

"I see that Monsieur Jarecki has been teaching you French," said Macy as the clerk put the dresses in a garment bag.

"Oui oui pasteur cher," (Yes yes pastor dear) said Yi as she slung the garment bag over her shoulder. "It gets Kenny hot when I whisper French in his ear at 'special times.'" She led Macy out of the dress shop and next door to Fond Lilly's Ice Creamery and led Macy to the back of the store where a glass front freezer displayed pints of frozen custard of multitudes of flavors. Yi took butter rum for herself, Bing cherry for Andi, vanilla for Paul and the twins, rum raisin for Heather, and vanilla & chocolate swirl.

"Why do you think I would like vanilla & chocolate swirl?" asked Macy.

"It's not for you, it's for Katarina," said Yi. "It's so she gets to know her parents better."

"Connerie," said Macy in a whisper.

Back at home, the girls tried on their dresses and Paul took their picture standing before the fireplace with Andi in front of them in her wheelchair. "You look like a bunch of autumn leaves."

"That wasn't the idea, but we'll go with it," said Yi, and after they got out of their dresses and ended up in bathrobes, they settled down to some serious custard eating. It was a cool evening; the pool was covered to the heartbreak of the twins and the leaves on the trees were edging to their autumn glory. A sweet smelling fire crackled in the fireplace.

The twins were in the living room watching TV with Grandma and munching on the raisins they made with Yi from the concord grapes that grew in the backyard. Paul, Yi, Heather, Andi and the Twins were freezing, dehydrating, and canning the produce from the garden. The only thing left to harvest was potatoes and pumpkins, which the twins were growing anxious about.

"PICTURES!" gasped Andi, after the twins were put to bed and most of the custard was eaten. "Yesterday was picture day. How am I going to get my picture?"

"We can take it here," said Paul.

"No, In front of my closet like always," said Andi. "Can you carry me upstairs?"

"Piggyback," said Paul. He gently lowered the leg rest of Andi's wheelchair, unstrapped her leg, and crouched down in front of the chair. Andi leaned forward and wrapped her arms around his neck, and Paul scooped her legs under his arms. "Are you and Danny ready?"

"Uh huh," and Paul carried Andi up the stairs. He was a bit out of breath when he got her up there, but soon she was sitting on her bed. "I miss my room!" she whimpered. "I miss my room, I miss my bed, I miss my shower, and I miss a big hard dick re-arranging my guts."

"You're such a delicate flower," said Paul as he set up his camera and laptop. "Are you ready?"

"Hang on," said Andi, and she finished typing out a text message on her phone. She writhed out of her nightgown and sat naked on the bed. "I'm fat, aren't I?" she said with a pout. Her belly was large, and her breasts were bigger than ever.

"Fat? You have another human being inside of you," said Paul. "He's sleeping safe in your womb and he's the most precious thing on earth. You're absolutely ravishing."

There was a knock on the door and Andi yelled, "come in!" before Paul could stop her. Heather had brought the shower chair up at Andi's request. She wheeled it up to Andi and Andi wriggled into the chair and Heather pushed it over to where Andi pointed.

"I have no idea what you kids are up to. Naked Pictures?" Heather looked disgusted, but she pushed Andi to where the tape spots on the floor awaited her. Andi slowly got up, putting all her weight on her right leg, her left leg barely touching the floor for balance. She looked at the laptop and copied the pose from the picture that was taken a couple of days before she was hit.

"Is he bigger?" asked Andi.

"He's growing," said Paul. He stepped forward and adjusted Andi's hands, then nudged her chin into alignment, then took pictures. "Ok now how are you feeling?" Andi frowned and pointed to her splinted ankle and Paul took the next picture.

Paul then helped Andi sag down into the shower chair and he showed her the pictures on the laptop. "Wow," gasped Heather as Paul flipped through the pictures on the laptop showing the changes that came over her daughter. "Did you do this with Frank?"

"No, he thought I was disgusting."

"I'm sorry," said Helen.

"He slapped me and hit me and called me fat. He made me feel ashamed I was pregnant."

"No," said Paul and he threw his arms around Andi. "No woman should ever feel like that. It's over now. You, the twins, and Daniel are safe. The bad times are over now. Please believe me."

Andi looked into Paul's glistening eyes and said, "I know, but the memories..." and she began crying.

"Why don't we sleep here tonight?" asked Paul. "We'll get you back to your downstairs bed tomorrow."

When she calmed down some, he covered her crushed ankle and splints with a plastic bag and eased her into the shower chair and wheeled her under the warm spray. Soon Andi was able to enjoy the feel of her husband's soapy hands sliding over her body, searching everywhere, slipping and sliding all over her. "Oh god that's so good," groaned Andi as his hand slipped and slid over her full breasts.

"It seems like it's been forever," sighed Paul as he urged her to lean forward and washed her back.

"Mid-August," she said as he pinched and squeezed her nipples. He was causing her to express milk, but he didn't notice because of the shower. She had taken to wearing a maternity bra to deal with that. Finally, his fingers reached lower and lower until they were on her pussy, massaging her clit.

The thrills he ignited in Andi pushed the pain of her shattered ankle into the background. "So good," she groaned as he brought her to a sweet little orgasm in the shower. As a wave of pleasure coursed through her body, she leaned back to kiss Paul, but as she did, she twisted her left leg and a jolt of pure pain shot through her body. She jerked and banged her ankle against the leg of the shower chair and she screeched in pain.

"Oh God, I'm sorry," gasped Paul. He quickly pulled her out from under the spray and shut off the water. "I'm sorry baby, I didn't mean to hurt you."

"It's not you," said Andi through her tears. "I did it to myself."

Paul gently dried her off, then wheeled her to the bed and helped her dress into a nightgown. "No, give me that bra," she said, pointing to her bra on the bed.

"You want to wear a bra to bed?" Paul was shocked. She rarely wore anything to bed when they were home.

Andi pinched a nipple and Paul was doused with a stream of milk. "I'll get your bra."

<><><><><> ֎ <><><><><>

Getting Andi into her Explorer wasn't hard. She's quite small, so Paul just scooped her out of her wheelchair and put her in the front passenger seat, then folded up the wheelchair and stowed it in the back. "You look beautiful! Everyone is going to be looking at you instead of Stacy."

"They better not," said Andi. They drove to the church, and Andi looked around at her village in awe. Summer was over and autumn was setting in. Leaves were tinged with yellow and orange as the big change started. She's been in her bed for two weeks and so much has changed. They pulled into the church parking lot as people were filing into the old church building. Gus was at the door of the new building telling the few people that didn't understand the directions that came in their invitation.

Paul lifted Andi out of her seat and placed her in her wheelchair, replaced the arm rest, lifted the chair's leg rest and strapped her leg in place with Velcro. The sun was shining, but the air was chilly, and Paul covered Andi with his suit jacket and pushed her up the long steep ramp that ended on the top step of the entry stairs, then wheeled her inside the crowded church. The audience took their seats as Melissa played a piano adagio, which grew to an end as Ron and his groomsmen lined up behind her.

Macy stepped out from the room behind the podium and stood alone in her beautiful new dress, and smiled. It was a bit of a shock to the congregation that Macy was performing the ceremony. They had never seen her do anything like this, and if she spoke during a service, it was to address the women of the congregation.

"Bon après-midi, good afternoon. Originally, my husband Jean was supposed to perform the ceremony, but he cannot make it. Stacy and Ron asked me to fill in. I am an ordained minister and have a Ph.D. in theology." She placed her hand on her tummy and said, "I hope you don't mind if I brought our daughter."

Macy gestured, and Ron and his best man and groomsmen took their place. Then Melissa played a beautiful piano sonata as the bridesmaids entered and finally the bridal march. Stacy was a sweet, slim girl with dark brunette hair that she wore down because Ron loved her hair so much. She looked radiant in her flowing white gown, and finally, she took her place at Ron's side.

"Bien-aimé, or as you say Dearly Beloved we are gathered to celebrate the union of Ron and Stacy. They met here in this beautiful old church as children and here is where they chose to seal their union." And with that Melissa played The Wedding Song, often called There Is Love.

Macy's clear soprano voice was magical. It was lyrical and sweet and every note she sang was perfectly on key. While Melissa Kraft played the rippling piano accompaniment perfectly, Macy's beautiful voice rang through the church. Ron and Stacy held hands and gazed into each other's eyes, both enraptured by Macy's magical voice. Macy occasionally sang some of the lyrics in French as Stacy requested. The pastor gently placed her hands over her daughter sleeping in her womb and sang, "Il y a de l'amour, there is love."

For the first time in his life, Paul heard applause at a wedding. It started as a tentative clap and soon was polite but enthusiastic applause. Springville fell in love with Macy all over again. This was a ceremony that would be remembered for a long time.

As the ceremony progressed, what she said was perfectly understood, but since she had a delightful French accent, it caused people to pay more attention to what she was saying. It was both unbelievable and delightful to have a pregnant black French Canadian pastor officiating their wedding and singing with that beautiful voice of hers. It was a day that Stacy and Ron and their families would remember forever.

In the church, along with the invited, were representatives of the church, the Head Deacon, Paul Jarecki and his wife. Also was the Co-Chair of the Church Board, Gus Didomissio, along with Lucy Kocis, and they were all amazed by Macy's presence and talent.

Afterwards, they gathered in the church's foyer and the happy couple posed for photographs on the steps outside, surrounded by trees that were showing their autumn colors. Angela, Stacy's mother, came up to Macy and said, "thank you so much! You were incredible! You should fill in for your husband while he is recovering."

"Merci beaucoup," sighed Macy, still shaking.

"How many hundreds of these have you done?" Angela asked.

Macy didn't answer. She looked terrified. "It was her first," said Andi.

"Your first?" gasped Angela.

"Non, second. My first was for ma petite belle-sœur (my little sister-in-law)."

"It was her first solo public ceremony," said Paul. "She actually taught John how to do weddings."

"Oui," said Macy. "I was his professor at université."

"She taught him so good he married her in front of their freshman class," said Paul.

"They should write a book about her and John's romance," said Gus. "They'll call it, 'Macy's Dream.'" He handed Angela a small book that contained a DVD of the wedding, a CD that contained the video files that were taken, and a small thumb drive with the video files. He handed Macy a thumb drive that contained the video files as well.

"We are having a gathering at the VFW hall if you would like to join us you are welcome," said Angela.

"We have an appointment over at Bertrand Chaffee hospital," replied Paul and with one more shake of Angela's hand, they left.

Not long later, they gathered in John's room, and he was sitting up. His bandages were re-arranged and there were fewer of them. His left eye was uncovered and filled with blood. "They said it will clear up, eventually. I can see out of it, but it's blurry. I'll need corrective lenses."

"You wear reading glasses, shouldn't be a problem," said Paul.

John blushed and looked down and Macy said, "He does not need reading glasses. They're a bit of a lie."

"What do you mean?" asked Gus.

"When we were interviewing for jobs he looked so boyish I asked him to put on reading glasses when reading something. It makes him look older," said Macy.

"I'm sorry, but we were getting desperate. Seven interviews and never a response back," said John.

"It's ok," said Paul. "Your glasses did something that the rest of your suit does. It draws favorable attention to you."

"To be honest, we had you picked halfway through your interview," said Gus. "We saw you as a fit."

John turned to Paul and asked, "who is Min? she came in with a load of insurance paperwork yesterday while Macy was at wedding practice."

"She's Macy's employee, talk to her."

"You have a subordinate?" asked John. "I thought you were an assistant."

"I am an Executive Assistant," corrected Macy. "Somebody is going to have to cover for me and John in November."

"I thought you were going to hire a Chief Operating Officer," said Andi.

"I think I did," said Paul. "This woman is catching on quick."

"I want to meet her!" demanded Andi.

"I think Andi hates her already," laughed Lucy.

"I need to meet her before I decide how much I hate her," grumbled Andi.

Macy sat next to John, nervously holding his now unbandaged right hand. A steel rod was put in his arm to hold the shattered bone together. Right now, most of his injuries are to his hips and legs and his doctor said he can be discharged soon.

They watched the wedding on Paul's laptop and even John was impressed with the way she handled the wedding. "C'était tellement mieux que ce que tu as fait à l'université (That was so much better than what you did in University.)" John whispered as he kissed Macy.

"That is because these people are my friends," said Macy. "I spoke about love at university, but I never left university, so I never felt it."

"What do you mean?" asked Andi.

"I didn't tell you about my last years as a model. I was violé, violated, then I was drugged like Jean. I did not go to university to learn; I went there to hide. Jean rescued me and showed me his world. I didn't know what the most important part of being a pastor was... the flock."

Just as John was about to say something, Josh Gravely and Veronica von Köster entered the room. "Pastor Jarecki," said Josh, but he was talking to Macy. "The village is all a-twitter about a wedding you wrangled."

"She was incredible," said Andi. "And her singing was amazing."

"Aww, I wouldn't know nothin' about singing." Then he turned to John and asked, "How ya feeling sir?"

"Sir? Sir?" John was incredulous. Josh always called him "buddy." What was this sir stuff?

"Well, you..." just as Josh explained himself, a male nurse in hospital scrubs came in and said, "Ok, step aside pal, I got work to do."

"Do you mind? We're talking here, pal," said Josh sarcastically, emphasizing the word pal.

As Josh was arguing with the nurse, a man with a huge handlebar mustache wearing a doctor's smock with a stethoscope around his neck and a head mirror strapped to his forehead stepped into the room. "Gentlemen please? I'm trying to save this man's life."

"Who are you?" asked Josh.

"I've never seen him before," said the male nurse.

Another man came into the room. This guy was wearing hospital pajamas. "Can't a guy get any sleep around here?"

"Fellas!" called Josh. "We got us two pastors and a lawyer here, let's not argue."

Veronica rose to her feet and demanded, "why don't you guys shut up and sing?"

Then Josh and the other three shut up. They looked at each other, then they looked at Veronica, who was standing with her arms crossed. Then they turned to John and began singing 'Nearer My God To Thee' in four-part harmony. "His quartet does this all the time," Veronica whispered to Andi. "They think they're funny."

"All the time?"

"On our first date they sang to us at the Ellicott Manor in Lancaster," said Veronica. "They embarrassed the living hell out of me." Then she smiled and said, "it was so sweet."

'Nearer My God to Thee' changed to 'It is Well With my Soul' a hymn about pain and forgiveness. Macy was enchanted at the beauty of the four-part harmony and the harmonic fifth voice that could be heard when they hit the cord just right.

As the quartet finished the last note, Josh walked up to John and said, "pastor, you know I'm not a churchgoing man. In fact, the only time I've been to your church was after losing a bet to you or Paul. All I know of the bible is that is says 'Greater love has no man than to give his life for his friends.' I've been on aircraft that were shot to shi... uh... shot up pretty bad, people hanging from safety straps. I know what goes through someone's mind at that moment. Nothing. Nothing but the need to save your friend."

"Josh don't, it's ok," said John and he patted Josh's hand with his own splinted hand.

"No sir. You saved an entire family. You answered the call that most of us would fail to respond to and in the end we're all alive. I want you to know that anything you ask for is yours. Just tell me and I'll make it happen."

John didn't take the time to consider Josh's offer. He answered right away. "Bring your quartet to church next Sunday with no silly suits, that's all I'm going to ask of you."

Josh huddled with his quartet, and they spoke together for a few moments. Then Josh said, "No problem, what do you want us to sing?"

Josh leaned back and said, "I will leave that to my wife. I think Doctor Dagenais is ready to lead a service."

"Me? Doesn't the congregation have to vote?" asked Macy.

"That's just for permanent hires," said Gus. "You were spectacular at the wedding; a Sunday service should be a perfect fit for you."

<><><><><> ֎ <><><><><>

Paul wanted this to work so badly, he was shaking and working desperately to hide it. It was a plan that he and Gus dreamed up, and he was surprised that John went along with it, but John embraced it like it was his idea. Paul didn't announce to the church who the pastor was going to be this week. He let slip that the pastor he asked was a specialist, which he believed would have people come out of curiosity. He also sent emails to some of Macy's old friends about what happened and what he and John had planned.

As they prepared, it was an interesting process to watch. The roles were reversed as John and Macy worked together on her sermon. The instructor became the student, and the student became the instructor. Macy could still frame and write a sermon like nobody else, but John knew the congregation. He knew what got their attention, what brought a smile, and what brought self-reflection.

On Saturday, John, Macy, and Paul received emails from the people that Paul and John sent emails to. Old friends from École de Théologie Évangélique du Québec wrote glowing emails wishing Macy luck and promised to watch her service on their YouTube channel.

Sunday came, and the congregation was nervous. It's been weeks since John saved Andi's life, and since Paul removed Dexter from the Church Board. Springville Congregational church needed something to pull it together or they're going to lose the church. Paul couldn't let that happen to John.

The people filed in and as usual, Paul and Gus and several other board members were there at the door greeting people, and Macy stood next to Paul. There were also a few police officers who arrived in uniform. There were threats from what everyone considered being a nutcase, but the Town of Concord took the threats seriously.

Finally, Macy and Paul went to take their places as Melissa began playing the piano, and Dante Reese led the congregation in hymns. As everyone gathered, a large sedan pulled up to the door, and the driver got out. He walked to the back and opened the door on the passenger side and a spectacularly beautiful woman got out. She was slim and dressed immaculately in a modest but awe-inspiring dress. Her hair was medium blond, and her makeup was perfect. "Bonjour, est-ce que Marie-Claude Dagenais est là?"

"Um, no français," said Lou Sagget, who was door guard for the day.

"I believe she's asking for Macy," said the cop, who knew Macy's full name.

"Docteur Dagenais?" she took a folded page from her purse and read it, then said, "May-cee?"

"This way," said Lou, and he led her into the Sanctuary and found her a seat.

Andi was there in her wheelchair with the twins sitting in her lap and they clung to her as everyone sang the opening hymns. As usual, Paul rose to read the announcements. He believed that being chairman of the board; he was in charge of what went on in the church. Some churches just run on Auto-pilot and they kind of did that here, but now with their pastor busted up, with one of them in a wheelchair, with a murderer at their door, leadership was needed.

"Good morning," Paul said as he usually did, and the congregation responded sadly. "Oh please, say it like you want it to sound cheerful. It's a beautiful autumn morning! Good morning!" That time, they responded cheerfully. "I have a gift for you from Pastor John. Josh, could you?"

When Paul said that Josh and his quartet got up and sang Amazing Grace and it was so beautiful, there were tears when they were finished. Then, at Paul's request, they sang the up tempo hymn 'I'll Fly Away.' The fun up tempo song got the audience clapping in rhythm and it allowed Josh's quartet to ham it up a bit. This was a good old southern revival meeting hymn meant to lift the spirits and get the blood flowing. Finally, the final cord of the song echoed through the church, both lifting spirits and eliciting wild applause.

After the quartet returned to their seats, Paul smiled and said, "They came to serenade Pastor John, and he loved them and asked them here to sing for us..." He paused for a moment then said, "I know you're all wondering about Pastor John... Macy, could you come up and give us an update on Pastor John's health?"

Macy stepped onto the podium and gave an update on John's health. She listed the surgeries he's had and the surgeries that he's scheduled to have, and she finished with, "Soon he will be home where we can both heal and become parents."

Paul stepped back to the microphone. "I want you to know about the man that caused all these tears. You have a right to know the facts and I want to stop any rumors that have popped up. That man was Frank Rosetti, and he was my wife Andi's ex-husband. That was the type of homicidal madness she was living with. I don't know what he was thinking, or if he was capable of thinking. He planned to come up behind Andi as she came out from service and kill her with a hunting knife, then stab a few more people and escape in the confusion, but when the crowd thinned, Andi didn't come out, she was inside talking with friends."

Paul cleared his throat and said, "Frank got into his car to leave but then he saw her and tried to run her over. She didn't see him, I saw him, and I couldn't move, I could only watch. But John ran and shoved Andi out of the way risking his life to save my wife and son. That's the kind of brother I have." Paul's voice cracked and he fought back the emotions that were welling up. "As we were treating John, several men caught Frank and were about to beat that man to a bloody pulp. With his last conscious effort, John begged them to stop. That's the kind of pastor you have."

Paul paused for a long moment and got his emotions under check, and then said, "John asked Macy to speak to you today, and for those that were unaware, our Macy is an ordained minister, and she is the one that taught John at University." With that, he gave Macy a kiss on the cheek, and she began her very first public sermon in a language she's not entirely comfortable with. John watched the live stream on YouTube from his bed and smiled in appreciation. She was doing wonderfully. Occasionally she'd speak in French and catch herself, but that was the same thing that John occasionally did at university, and an angry Doctor Dagenais would chastise him in front of the class for "not knowing where he was."

Finally, Macy finished and gestured to Melissa, who began playing and Macy closed her sermon the same way that John usually does. "Please rise and open your hymnals for our closing hymn." As Peter led the congregation in his clear tenor voice, Macy walked up the center aisle and when she got to Andi, she popped the brakes on Andi's wheelchair and pushed her up the aisle along with the twins who were still on Andi's Lap. Paul followed along and joined them by the main door.

The reaction from the crowd was 100% positive. The crowd loved her, and this was a congregation that terrified new pastors. They knew their bible and would check a visiting pastor for accuracy. They shook her hand and asked her to come back next week.

"It looks like I got an assistant just in the nick of time," whispered Paul. Andi looked up at him and asked why he said that and he answered, "She's going to be busy writing sermons for a while."

As Macy was awash in love from her congregation, Veronica and Josh came up and Macy thanked Josh over and over. As the friends and neighbors laughed, the well-dressed woman walked up to Macy and said, "C'était un merveilleux sermon!" (That was a wonderful sermon) and shook her hand.

"Merci beaucoup," started Macy. She didn't recognize her, but Veronica instantly reacted to the woman that congratulated Macy.

"Daphné?" gasped Veronica. "Daphné Clotilde Arnaud? I haven't seen you since we did that Black Velvet shoot with Macy."

"Oui, and you are Veronica von Köster? Am I right? That was my first American shoot."

As the two fashion models shook hands, Macy suddenly recognized the woman and cried out, "PUPPY!" She threw her hands around her old friend and said excitedly, "Oh mon chiot, comment vas-tu?" (Oh my puppy, how have you been?)

They chatted in rapid fire French for a few moments, then Macy looked sad and said, "Oh Chiot, I have to go to l'hôpital. My husband, he is..."

"Look," interrupted Paul, "why don't you girls go and have coffee and catch up? Josh and I will go visit John until you get there."

"No, I must go to Jean."

"No," said Heather. "You've been cooped up making yourself and your baby sick for weeks. Go have some fun with your friends."

In the end, they went to Paul and Andi's house so Andi could be part of the gathering and they had tea and delightful finger sandwiches made by Yi while they talked. "Such delightful children!" gasped Chiot as the twins showed her their schoolwork. "You must be very proud."

Andi sighed. The twins show everyone their schoolwork, that's usually followed by complaining that kindergarten is for babies, then showing their guests Wonka. "You are the first person we met from Macy's days as a model."

"She was not a model long, but she lit the world on fire!" said Daphne. "They called me chiot because I followed her around like a lovesick puppy."

"Kind of like I do," said Andi, then she banged her fist on her wheelchair. "Kind of like I used to."

"How is this man for my Marie-Claude?" asked Chiot.

"He is perfect for her," said Andi. "And his brother is perfect for me."

"When I last spoke with Marie-Claude she was done with men," said Chiot. "How long did you take to fall in love with Jean?"

"Maybe a year," said Macy. "Then it took a year to understand and admit it to myself..." she sighed and placed her hand on a kicking Katarina. "Then another half a year to admit it to him. He was so sweet and so patient."

Seeing Aunt Macy put her hand on her tummy, Sandy and Madeline raced over to her and put their hands there to feel Katarina kicking. Sandy put her mouth on Macy's tummy and said, "Katarina! Do you want to come out and play?"

""They cannot wait for their cousin! That is so sweet!" Then Chiot turned to Andi and asked, "Did you take two years to fall in love with Paul?"

"I didn't take a full day," grinned Andi. "I knew a good thing when I saw it."

"They are both wonderful men," said Lucy, who joined them. "We're pretty lucky."

"So are they!" said Chiot. "Do not forget that!"

Later that afternoon, Macy returned to the hospital and when she walked in the room, the nurse said, "I just got him to sleep."

"I'm not asleep," said John.

The nurse sighed and said, "he needs his rest."

Macy sat down in the chair next to his bed and kissed her husband. As far as they were concerned, the nurse was talking about someone else. "Your sermon was a work of art," whispered John in French.

"No, I was terrified," said Macy. "I would speak French."

"Didn't you know where you were?" asked John with a grin.

"Stop! It wasn't funny," pouted Macy.

"Was it funny when I did it?" John looked hurt.

"Yes," said Macy. "So you really liked my sermon?"

"Yes, and so did the board. Every one of them came up to ask me to keep you preaching until I return."

"Only if you continue to help me write the sermons."

"I would be proud to do that," said John and Macy leaned over and gave him a passionate kiss.

"OH! Chiot came to see me," cried Macy after their kiss.

"Joycelyn? Joycelyn Saint Claire-Beaumont?" asked John. Macy called her puppy occasionally.

"No, Chiot was what we called Daphné Clotilde Arnaud of the Romée Beaulieu Model Agency."

"You know Daphné Clotilde Arnaud?" asked John.

"Oui, she was my puppy. She followed me everywhere, so we called her Chiot."

"Can you get me her autograph?" said John with a grin.

Macy started looking John over and muttered, "I'm looking for a place on you to hit."

<><><><><> ֎ <><><><><>

Amy Flannigan got the message that she would have two new students, and she hurried to the receptionist's office. The note said that after only a few weeks; they were deemed ready to advance from kindergarten to First Grade, and maybe even beyond. Amy met them at the receptionist's office; they were escorted by their parents and their governess. They were darling blond twins. One was wearing purple glasses with sparkles, the other wearing pink glasses with sparkles.

"Doctor Jarecki, Doctor Roberts, Miss Carlson, this is Miss Flannigan," said Principal Marquess. "And these are our two new first graders, Sandy and Madeline Roberts."

"Twins, how wonderful!" Amy did an excellent job of hiding the anguish in her voice. She has had sets of twins before, and they were trouble. "Identical twins too!" gushed Amy.

"No Miss Flannigan," said Sandy. She turned to Madeline and brushed the hair on her right shoulder aside and pointed to Madeline's neck. "She's got a freckle."

Madeline shook her head sadly. "Sandy didn't get one."

"I wanted one too," pouted Sandy.

"You have the birf mark!" said Madeline brightly.

"Yeah!" said Sandy, and she turned her back to Miss Flannigan and began hoisting her skirt.

"I gave her a birf mark last night!" said Madeline proudly.

"Girls!" said Andi in a warning tone, and Sandy lowered her dress.

"There is no birth mark," said Paul. "There may be some Magic Marker from last night's hijinks."

"Sorry," the twins said in unison. Madeline had given Sandy a "freckle" in the middle of her back with a green marker the night before.

"That's quite all right," said Amy, but Amy thought 'high energy class clowns.' She crouched down, "Such pretty glasses, you must like purple, right Sandy?"

"No, Madeline likes purple. It's a unicorn color. I like Pink. It's an Ella color."

Amy looked a little confused, but Andi tried to explain it to her. "Madeline likes to look at Sandy wearing her favorite color, to her it's like looking in a mirror."

"Really?" asked the young teacher.

"Oh yeah," said Paul. "I learned the hard way. Ma'am, there's a few things you may need to know. Only Madeline has a prescription for glasses. Sandy has glasses to match Madeline."

"Are you ready girls? Let's go meet your new classmates."

"Miss Flannigan, there's a few things more you may need to know," started Paul.

"I'm sure Sandy and Madeline and I will find out everything we need to know."

"Ma'am, please listen. These girls are not your typical first grade students," said Paul.

"All children are special Mister Jarecki," she said in a sing-song voice, and she led the twins off to their new classroom.

"It's DOCTOR Jarecki!" Yi snapped at the retreating teacher.

Paul turned to Principal Marquess, who gave him an apologetic smile. "She's going to find out that the girls can read at least at a third grade level, but their math skills are off the chart."

"What do you mean off the chart?" asked the principal.

"Adding and subtracting four digit numbers in their heads," said Andi.

"Multiplication, long division," said Paul.

"Converting imperial to metric," added Yi.

"They're five. Each parent knows that their child is special, especially expectant parents, and we will bring that out," said Principal Marquess with an annoying sing-song tone in her voice.

Paul realized that they're determined to learn the hard way. "Thank you for your time," he said, and he led Andi and Yi out of the building.

"They are so screwed," said Yi.

"It's not going to be too bad," said Paul.

Then Yi said, "Yes it is," and they both laughed, but Andi glared at them. Andi and Yi stopped at the end of the sidewalk and Paul dashed out to the van, then pulled up to Andi and Yi and Paul hopped out and hoisted Andi into the van. "Let's get ready for John."

They returned home and Andi crutched her way through the house and out the front door on to the front porch. She was getting around with a walking splint on her left leg and a pair of crutches. It was a sunny autumn day, and she's been cooped up for weeks. She wanted to relax and smell the autumn air and watch the leaves change.

As Yi and Paul changed the linen on the bed in the Library and added a few chairs and tables in there, Andi watched the leaves slowly turn. It was a cool, peaceful day. Gus had made wheelchair ramps so Andi and now John could be wheeled easily onto the porch and in and out the front door. As she enjoyed the warm sun and the cool breeze, she heard a thump and looked over at the driveway. Someone threw a green, spiked tennis ball into their driveway.

Green spiked tennis ball? She had to get up to look at this. She crutched over and extremely carefully picked up the tennis ball, and another one thumped down in the driveway. What the heck? She picked that one up too and as she straightened up; she looked up and saw that there were clusters of green spiked tennis balls in the tree above her. She put her mystery objects in her sweatshirt pocket and crutched her way back to the porch, happy for the simple freedom of picking up a mystery object in the driveway.

She sat down on a glider swing and pulled one of the mysterious objects from her pocket. It fell from a tree, so it must be a fruit or something. As she looked them over, a car pulled up front and stopped. The engine shut down with a throaty rumble. It was a sporty-looking dark green Jaguar F-type P450. Andi didn't pay attention because a lot of cars were parked in the street, and she didn't know a Jaguar from a Chevy. The parking lot for the park was small and filled up quickly, so many people parked on Howard Avenue in front of Paul and Andi's house.

As Andi inspected her find, an Asian woman carrying a portfolio full of paperwork stepped on the porch and said, "Hello, is Mrs. Jarecki here?"

"That would be me," said Andi.

"I'm sorry, I was told that Marie-Claud Jarecki would be here."

"She's my kid sister, we're expecting her in a few minutes. Are you Miss Sun?"

"Yes."

"Sit down, she'll be here soon, and Paul is busy getting the house ready. I can get him, if you'd like."

"No I need Marie-Claude's signature."

"Then it will be a while, she's not here. Sit down," said Andi. "Let's talk."

"Thank you," said Min as she sat down.

"I want you to know that I am a very jealous woman," said Andi out of the blue. "I worry that my husband is working with someone as pretty as you."

"I promise that I will give you nothing to worry about," said Min. "You husband is very nice to me, but I do not dally with co-workers."

"Good." Andi handed Min one of her green spiky mysteries and asked, "Do you know what this is? I've never seen one before, they don't have them in Denver."

"Where did you get it?" asked Min as Andi pulled the second one out of her pocket and began looking at it.

"It fell out of that tree over there. There's plenty more up there in the tree." As she pointed out the tree in question, an ambulance pulled into the driveway and stopped. The rear doors opened, and Macy got out of the ambulance. Then two EMTs got out and slid John's stretcher out of the back as Macy looked on nervously. They rolled the stretcher up to the porch and Andi and Min watched as John was rolled into the house.

"She didn't notice us," said Min.

"No," replied Andi. "She's so worried about her husband we could have been on fire, and she wouldn't notice."

"Been on fire?" Min began looking for a possible ignition source.

They waited until the stretcher was wheeled out, and one of the EMTs recognized Andi. "How ya doin' Missus Jarecki?" he asked.

"I'm moving around now, how is Pastor John?"

"He's a fighter ma'am," said the EMT with a big grin. "He's doing great and is happy to be home."

"He's not home yet," said Andi, as she got up and got her crutches under her. "This is a way-station on the way home. Come on Min, let's find the rest of the family." She led Min into the house and said, "to the left is the living room, it's the only room on the main floor with a TV, to the right is the Parlor and the dining room." She led Min through the living room and into the library. "We call this the library, but we believe that a hundred years ago they had dances in this room."

In the middle of the room was a bed against the wall and in the bed was John, still bandaged and splinted but happy to be out of the hospital. Min watched as her supervisors, Macy and Paul Jarecki, tended to Macy's husband. The room had several rolling bed tables with laptops on each table, several chairs of varying comfort, and a large bed table nearby with water, snacks, and several prescription bottles for John. There were also two hospital style heavy duty recliners on wheels.

What really inspired Min was the size of the room. The living room they passed through was small and homey, but the library was huge. "We have a big dinner here on Boxing Day," Andi told Min.

"Boxing day? You celebrate fights?" asked a confused Min.

"That's exactly what I thought last year!" said Andi. "It's a Canadian holiday, I guess. We help those in need, then gather here for dinner."

Min watched as her boss cared for her broken husband and Paul ran to the kitchen to help Yi prepare some food and drinks for John. Then Macy looked up and saw Andi sink into a chair and Min standing next to her. "Oh, Min. Is everything all right?"

"It's the Jamestown dealership, they're having issues." Min walked around the bed and handed Macy the documents she was holding. Macy flipped through them, then leaned over and kissed John and said, "Très chéri, je dois aller travailler." (Dearest, I have to go to work)

"Oui, madame l'homme d'affaires," (Yes, Mrs. Businessman), said John as he enjoyed the mattress he was now laying on. The mattress on the hospital beds was thin and uncomfortable.

After Macy and Min left, Andi climbed onto the bed with John and showed him the green thing. "What's this?"

"That's a conker."

"What?"

"Actually, it's the hull. There's a seam, open it along that seam."

Andi saw the seam that looked like it was going to split open, and she pried it open and found a huge mahogany brown nut with a circular light brown spot. "Wow, can you eat this?"

"No. That's a horse chestnut. They're also called buckeyes and conkers. Squirrels and porcupines like them, but I've heard that they taste awful."

"Oh." Andi placed her chestnut on the table next to her and laid back on the bed next to John and found that her eyelids were getting heavy. She was going to tell him she was feeling sleepy but somehow forgot.

Upstairs, Min was sitting in Paul's attic office along with Paul and Macy and they were on a conference call with the dealership in Jamestown. Several vehicles were delivered there that they have no records for. "Ok Len. I'll get someone from my office down there as soon as possible."

"I can't go," said Macy softly. "Je dois rester avec mon Jean." (I have to stay with my John.)

Paul, who was in no mood to drive to Jamestown almost 50 miles away, said, "Min? Think you're ready for this?"

Min steeled herself and said, "I'll do it." For the next twenty minutes, Paul and Macy prepared Min for the job of driving to James town, inspecting the vehicles, researching where they should be, and deciding what to do with them.

"Don't forget to fill out a milage voucher," said Paul as they returned to the library. There they found John and Andi fast asleep on the bed. "When did your husband start sleeping with my wife?" asked Paul.

"I hope this is a recent development," said Macy as she sagged into the recliner next to John.

"Shall I call you when I get there?" asked Min.

"Yes, and call if you have any questions, but we have faith in you. Good luck," said Paul as he examined the chestnut that was on the table next to Andi. After she left, he eased into the recliner on that side of the bed and began to re-examine the papers that min brought. He was surprised that Min didn't jump all over the chance to go in the beginning. She has that beautiful Jaguar to drive.

Paul leaned the recliner back. He had his family together. That's all that mattered. He could throw this all away right now, just as long as he could feed and dress his girls. He caressed Andi's cheek, and she took his hand in hers as Paul fell asleep.

<><><><><> ֎ <><><><><>

On a cool October evening, Paul gave Yi the night off and she and Kenny said they were going to go watch a movie. To give John and Macy the house alone, Paul took Andi, Heather and the girls out to dinner. "Where are we going?" asked Sandy, hoping to hear "Planet Pizza," a pizzeria that catered to kids.

"It's Friday," said Paul. "I thought we'd go eat fish and play air hockey."

"Fish and air hockey?" asked Heather

"Roll with it," said Andi.

"YAY!" It had been a long time since they were in Worzils, and the twins really enjoyed the atmosphere there, even though it was a neighborhood tavern. As they entered, they saw Josh and Veronica at their normal seat out front enjoying their fish fry. Paul went up to say hi and Andi followed him. When they walked up to Josh and Veronica, Josh said, "Hey, how ya doin'?"

"Giving John and Macy the house for a few hours," said Paul.

"Don't tell me he's feeling good enough to get up a game of slap and tickle!" grinned Ayato, and his wife, Julissa, thwapped him on the ass with a bar towel.

"You're so uncouth," said Veronica. "He's probably doing Pastor things."

"According to Macy, slap and tickle falls under Pastor things," said Andi. Slap and Tickle was a euphemism that Josh uses for sex. They weren't, but Andi was becoming jealous of the thought. It's been a long time since she and Paul had sex. The pain was just unbearable. She had to think of something to satisfy her needs, but when her leg gets bumped or she rolls and it gets twisted and that shock of pain runs through her, all thoughts of sex end immediately. It's getting her frustrated, and she doesn't know how long before Danny keeps it from happening completely.

"Hey, you!" said Josh as he hauled a giggling Madeline up onto his lap. "What are these on your face?"

"Grasses!"

"Grasses. Do you wear them to hide behind?" asked Josh.

"She wears them to see better!" cried Sandy.

"She looks better to me. She used to be blurry, now she's in focus. I hear you wore out another teacher."

"Uh huh," nodded Madeline happily. Miss Flannigan didn't last long. She kept testing and pushing the twins on math and reading comprehension, but when the twins started correcting her work, she immediately suggested that they be moved to Zoar Academy, a private school for exceptional children.

"What does your momma have under her coat? It looks like she's stealing typewriters."

"A baby," said Madeline shyly.

"A baby! Are you sure? I don't hear no baby. Babies cry. I don't hear a baby crying."

"It's in her tummy," said Madeline.

"Then how can he breathe?"

"A 'bilical!" insisted Madeline.

"A what?" Josh was pretty sure she tried to say umbilical.

"A bilical!" cried Sandy. "It plugs into the baby's tummy right there!" she hoisted her dress, showing off her belly button. Then she pinched her nose and said, "His nose don't work yet!"

Madeline nodded. "When momma breathes Danny gets some too."

"What happens when the baby poops?" asked Josh.

"BABIES DON'T POOP!" shouted Madeline and Sandy.

"Not inside mommy," said Sandy. "He has to get borned and learn how to poop!"

"The bilical sends stuff back to Mommy so she poops for him," said Madeline as if she were addressing a three-year-old.

"His butt don't work yet," said Sandy with all the sage wisdom of her five years.

"Yep, you're ready for Zoar Academy," said Josh and he set Madeline back on the floor. The twins dashed off to watch the shuffle bowling game in progress. "They know more about babies than I do."

"That is quite a pair of little ladies you have," sighed Veronica as she watched Sandy and Madeline push chairs over to the vintage shuffle bowling arcade machine.

"Sandy! Madeline! Don't bother the players!" barked Andi, and Heather went over to make sure the girls were well behaved as Andi and Paul sat at a table near Josh and Veronica's booth. "If it ain't one thing it's another," sighed Andi. "At least the girls have a school that understands them and educates them."

"The usual?" asked Julissa as she wiped down the table and set out silverware.

"What's on tap?" asked Paul. Worzel's Bar and Grille usually had the same offerings, but occasionally Ayato would offer something special.

"Labatt's Blue, Molsen's Golden, Genny, Genny Cream, Bud, Miller Lite, and Strongbow.

"Strongbow?" Paul's eyes lit up.

"It's fall honey, Ayato insists on cider during autumn," said Julissa as she popped her gum.

Strongbow apple cider was a favorite of Paul's, and it was hard to get. "I'll have a pint of Strongbow, Andi will have..." Paul thought hard, then he asked Andi, "What was it that Danny likes?"

"Danny wants an Arnold Palmer," said Andi, "and get one for mom."

"The twins will have a Fanta orange. And we'll have a half fish fry each and one for the girls to split," said Paul.

"Strawberry!" shouted the twins over at the shuffle bowling machine. So far, the barflies playing shuffle bowling weren't bothered by the twins.

"You stand corrected," said Julissa. "Strawberry Fanta." And she headed back to the kitchen.

"How is John doing?" asked Josh. Josh could identify with John and Andi's Pain. He was a gunner on an AC-130 gunship that was hit in a conflict that will probably be classified for decades to come. His crew and the airplane were pretty banged up, but he got his people secured before the plane hit the runway hard and Josh was tossed around the plane like a rubber toy. His call sign was changed from "Hondo" to "Bounce Two Seven", and he was busted up pretty good.

"The splints are off his hands, and he spends all his time feeling Katarina kick," said Paul.

"When is he going to stand?" asked Veronica.

"Don't know. Probably another month."

"Good... I mean, I like John and all and I want to see him healed up," said Josh. "But I can't get enough of Macy's preaching."

Paul smiled and shook his head. Macy's very first public sermon was an event he will always remember, especially when Josh and his quartet sang Amazing Grace to start her sermon. Since that day Josh hasn't missed a Sunday at church. "That's high praise coming from a lapsed Baptist like you," said Paul. Soon, their meals arrived, and they began eating.

"Miss Harper says that we can bring Danny in for Show and Tell," said Sandy.

"That's going to be a while."

"When?" demanded Madeline.

"Maybe after Thanksgiving."

"That's like forever away. Can't mommy bring him next week?"

"No," said Andi. "You can take sonogram pictures, and maybe we'll take Danny in after Christmas."

"He'll be all growed up!"

Just then, Julissa came up with a plastic bag and she set it in front of Paul. It contained two foam containers for takeout food. "That's for John and Macy, they just called in their order."

"How much do I owe you?" asked Paul, reaching for his wallet.

"Six bucks."

"You sure? A fish fry is six and there's two..."

"Not for John," said Julissa. "Here he eats free."

<><><><><>

Meanwhile, back at home, John addressed his guests, "Yes, you love each other, but is that enough? Is that reason enough to get married?"

Lucy and Gus looked at each other and finally Gus said, "There's so much more. There's respect, and companionship, and friendship. We complete each other."

"You have a few hurdles to clear," said Macy. "First is your age difference, Gus is a grandfather and Lucy is the same age as Andi."

"Younger," said Lucy. "I just act my age."

"Gus is a good man, and Andi never stops singing your praises. But if you want to get married in our church, which is important to Gus, we have to have a theological discussion," said John. This was the part that he was worried about. This was the deal breaker. For a couple to be married in their church, they both must be Christian. Being an ordained Minister, Macy will perform weddings at a different venue, but to be a church, you have rules, and this was one of them.

Lucy just smiled. "I was raised a Jew. I wasn't the best, but I learned, I had a bat mitzvah, and I can't turn my back on that, no matter how far I've drifted... but Gus introduced me to Messianic Judaism." John saw that look in her eyes, the look of awe one gets as the mysteries unfold.

"How is that going?"

"She's really learning," said Gus.

John opened his French bible and asked Lucy to open her bible and read.

As they studied in the library, down in the media room, Yi and Kenny Johnson had a movie on the huge tv down there. Neither one of them was paying attention to the tv. Kenny was lying on his back and Yi was lying on top of him, kissing his neck and shoulder. He was worried senseless over his dad's business going bankrupt, and Yi was trying to cheer him up. He had given her a beautiful black pearl on a golden chain and beautiful black pearl stud earrings.

There was something pure and beautiful about that pearl. It was slightly pear-shaped and hung perfectly from a golden chain and rested between her small, firm breasts. She remembered years ago reading that a Chinese woman with a pearl wears it between her breasts to guarantee children. 'I'm not Chinese, I'm Korean, and I already have two children,' she said to herself.

"The twins aren't really yours," said Kenny. "And we're both Chinese... well, Han."

That startled her. She didn't speak out loud; she was sure of that, but he said both. "I can see how you'd make an argument that a Korean is Chinese, but how can you be Chinese? The only Asian in you is Caucasian white boy." She often teases Kenny as being the whitest white man she ever met. "As white as a German tourist in January," she once said.

"My great grandma Joan was a Chinese war bride; her name was Jian Kun Cao. Great Grandpa Gordon brought her back from Pengshan Air Base in central China during World War Two," said Kenny.

"Where did you get these pearls from?" asked Yi. She knew he had very little money, but the way these pearls captured the light told her they were real.

"A dragon," he grinned.

"A dragon," she huffed. Chinese legend said that black pearls were formed in the mouth of dragons. They would give them out at a price. You had to wish your bad luck on a close relative. "Ok, mister fellow Chinese, what did the dragon charge you for these pearls?" asked Yi.

"Nothing," said Kenny.

"Nothing?" she asked. Yi began unbuttoning his shirt and began kissing his bare chest. He tasted of salt and hard work, and it was intoxicating to Yi. She noticed that he too wore a pearl. It was hanging on a chain around his neck with his old army dog tags.

"No money. He told me to send my bad luck to a relative."

"And you said who?" She trapped his nipple with her pearly white teeth, causing him to gasp and arch his back.

"My father."

"What?" Yi sat straight up and stared down at the blue-eyed young man who was claiming to be Chinese. She didn't believe all the legends that her grandmother and mother told her, but you don't mess with dragons. "You told a dragon to send your bad luck to your dad? He'll get mad and bite you. He was expecting a grouchy aunt or a drunken uncle."

"No, I didn't say Dad, I said father. The dragon threatened to bite my head off, then he realized who my father was, and he said he wouldn't kill me."

"I don't understand," said Yi as Kenny's hands slid under her blouse and caressed her belly. "Dave is awesome. Why would you give him your bad luck? Don't you guys have enough bad luck already?" To Asians, luck exists like the wind or rain, and it is an important thing. There are lucky numbers and colors, even lucky food. Long noodles are lucky, eating dumplings during the New Year is lucky, even gifting someone with oranges is lucky for both the giver and the recipient. While sharp objects are unlucky, and the number four is very unlucky, shoppers will avoid buying something priced at four. There are rituals for cleaning away lingering bad luck, and Yi was going to introduce one or two to Kenny and his dad, Davis.

"Davis is my dad. He raised me and my two sisters and I love him and owe him everything."

"But you..." she started, but Kenny gripped her sides with his big, strong hands.

"The guy who raped and knocked up my mother is my father... and it wasn't Dave."

"So you wished all your bad luck on some other guy," grinned Yi.

"Yeah, pretty much. Now let's see if Guoxin is a dragon of honor," said Kenny as he started unbuttoning her blouse.

"You have some kind of imagination mister China man," chuckled Yi. He picked the Emperor of the Dragons for his story. That's funny. "Come on," she said, and she shed her blouse and got off of him.

"Where to?" he asked as she helped him up.

"The greatest shower on earth." She led Kenny into the gym area, then into the shower room. They helped each other out of their blue jeans and, with a "Hang on" Yi ducked into the shower and adjusted the water and hit a big red button on the side wall. She gestured Kenny to join her, and he entered through the glass door and was amazed at the complex shower.

There was water coming out of the wall, out of the ceiling, and some spraying up through the floor. It was like stepping into a confused rainfall. But he didn't notice any of that. He only noticed Yi. "Come here Sergeant," she said with a smile. She pushed him under the spray of water, then led him over to the bench near the shower heads. "Lay down," she said, and she watched his back muscles ripple as he lay down.

Kenny was a hardworking man. He was go, go, go from sunrise to long after sunset, stocking and stacking feed and seed and farm equipment of all types, along with an assortment of sporting goods. And he's not the type to sit and read when it's time to relax. He's currently designing a Raspberry Pi computer to control the lighting effects on a fake guillotine that he, Gus, Paul, and Josh were building for the village Halloween celebration.

She covered him in soapy lather and massaged his tense shoulders. "Are you upset?" she asked as she worked the knots out of his shoulders.

"So much bad luck for everyone," he groaned. "It's so hard to believe that one angry man caused so much hurt."

"Shush, no more talk about that monster," said Yi as her massage went lower and lower. She was soon squeezing his ass cheeks. She intended to massage all of him down his legs to his feet, but she got sidetracked and began massaging his firm, round buttocks. She felt him tense up when she reached his ass, then he relaxed... until a playful, soapy finger prodded his asshole. "Relax," Yi whispered. "If you want me, you have to relax."

Kenny relaxed, and she eased her finger inside. He groaned and tried to relax for her, but this was a first for Kenny. He never felt something like that. As Yi's finger explored, she nibbled on the back of his neck. "Don't worry about that bastard, it's just us now."

Her finger slid out, and she rinsed Kenny off with cool water, then urged him over on his back. Her hands, slippery with soap, slid and slithered over his body, trying to tempt each nerve ending. She didn't find a ticklish spot until she got down to his feet and began tickling. She didn't know how she knew he was ticklish there, she just knew and he was a good actor pretending not to be affected by her fingers, but eventually he started laughing. "Stop! Stop!"

"I got you now Kensington!" she snarled, laughing herself. "This is nothing compared to what your bio-father is going to get, thanks to you."

He kicked and laughed, but Yi had a good grip on his ankle and was merciless. The only way he could get free was to roll over and fall off the bench, taking her to the floor. He sat up and pulled her to his lap, and she melted in his arms. Their lips met and her mouth opened and their tongues gently touched, then danced together with passion. He pulled her close, tangled his fingers in her hair, and he claimed her as his.

Their relationship was so off and on it was driving him crazy. He would sit at Worzil's bar for his after work beer and he didn't know who would come in, Angry Yi would come in and shout at him for drinking his life away, Loving Yi would kiss him, drink his beer, and buy him another. Cold Yi would ignore him and walk past him without a word, and Hot Yi would hold him from behind and squeeze his cock and balls through his jeans and whisper "mine."

They would fight and make up, break up, and reunite. Over and over and over. Some days, Kenny would come home and realize that he was in big trouble. He couldn't live with the pain, the constant breaking up was killing him, but he couldn't live without her. He was seriously considering suicide when someone told him about black pearls and how black pearls would help him with Yi.

The pearls worked. He didn't know how, but they worked. He and Yi communicated so much better and were getting better every day. The crazy lady that sold the pearls to him demanded a luck sacrifice, to name a close relative that he wished all his bad luck would fall on, and there's only one bastard he could name, the fuckhead that raped his mother and left her pregnant with little Kenny.

Not long after he gave Yi the black pearls, they communicated better. The fighting dropped off to nothing and he really think she understood the depths of his love for her. Coincidence? Who cares? Here she was on his lap in a shower room, and they were kissing both sweetly and urgently. He rose to his knees, and she wrapped her long, slim legs around him as he rose. Their kisses never paused.

He placed her cute little butt on the bench and kneeled in front of her, kissing his way down to her pert little breasts. Her nipples were so erect they ached, and the perfect way to soothe them was right here. She cupped her breasts, offering them to Kenny. He began sucking on them, switching back and forth, nipping her rock hard nipples, pinching them between thumb and finger. Yi gasped and cried out as Kenny sucked her entire tit in his mouth and sucked hard on it. The sensation was incredible. He drove Yi out of her mind, and she realized she was close to cumming from his attention to her breasts.

She felt the head of his cock tapping at the damp lips of her pussy and she reached down and grabbed his cock, rubbing it up and down, soaking the head with her juices. She wrapped herself tightly around Kenny and groaned as his cock speared into her, spreading her open and lighting a fire on every nerve ending it touched.

She pulled his mouth up from her nipple and stared into his blue eyes and hissed, "Fuck me like you own me." When he just smiled, she bit his earlobe and said, "Give it all to me."

"Yes ma'am!" and he fucked her. He started out slowly but grew in tempo and strength. As their groins slapped together, Yi's beautiful coal-black eyes rolled back, and she began to whimper and chant "Yes! Yes!"

As he fucked her, a "Chug-chug-chug!" could be heard followed by a loud hiss and the room filled with steam. Yi had hit the steam button before starting the showers.

They were covered in sweat and gasping for breath, but they continued to fuck maniacally. As Yi's orgasm washed over her, Kenny shouted, "I'm cumming," and slammed his cock into Yi as hard as possible. She clasped his ass and dug her fingernails in as she shuddered on his cock. Their bodies shuddered as their passions overwhelmed them until they slumped into each other's arms.

"How come you never tell me that you love me?" gasped Yi as they slumped against each other and traded chuckles and kisses.

"Because you told me not to," said Kenny. "It's the first thing you told me on our second date."

"I don't think that was me," said Yi. "You clearly have me confused with someone else. I would never tell someone not to love me."

Kenny took her chin and pulled her closer until their noses nearly touched. "Gee whoever it was, looked just like you."

"Imposter!" said Yi.

"Then I love you, more than I've ever loved anyone."

"What about Grandpa Archie?"

"He'll get over it."

"What about Grandma Lacy?"

"She's strong. She'll survive the shock."

"Then I love you too, Kensington Johnson." And their lips closed on each other's, and their hearts soared. Why was it so hard to get to this beautiful, perfect point?

<><><><><> ֎ <><><><><>

"Who are you?" asked Frank Rosetti. He was chained up in wrist and ankle cuffs and from the bruises and black eyes, it looked like he was getting the crap kicked out of him regularly. The woman on the other side of the thick glass looked like Mother Superior without the nun's habit.

"Let's just say that I'm a friend of Adrianna Jarecki and John Jarecki."

"Who is John Jarecki?" snarled Frank. "Her rich fucking husband?"

"No, he's a pastor who has taken an oath of poverty. He is the man that you almost killed. The fact that John lived is the reason why you are being charged with attempted vehicular homicide rather than vehicular homicide. Call me Nicoletta, and I'm taking a special interest in this trial."

"I ain't sayin' shit without my lawyer," snarled Frank. "And you're not supposed to be here."

"And yet, here I am," said Nicoletta with the same grin a cobra spying a juicy rat has. "Does that tell you anything about the way things are done here in New York? It should."

Frank turned to his guard to tell him to take him back to his cell, but the guard was gone. This woman clearly has some pull. " What do you want?" he snarled.

"I want to apologize, somehow the prison population got the idea that your accusations included rape."

"What am I doing in a prison? I've been denied bail," whined Frank.

"You naughty boy, you have warrants for your arrest in Colorado, those charges include rape and sex trafficking. They are not going to let you go. Besides, you're under protective custody."

"And who are they protecting me from?"

Nicoletta looked at him long and hard. "Me."

"That's very funny."

"No, it's not," said the retired judge. "I know people from Russia who are going to have an extremely bad time with their operations here in the United States. It's up to you to insure they don't find out your involvement in their arrest."

"What do you mean?"

"Just plead guilty to all charges and they don't find out how you provided states evidence in their arrest."

"I didn't provide any evidence!" shouted Frank.

"I hope you are convincing. Because I know you still owe Ilja Pavlovsky a substantial sum of money. He probably won't be as charitable as he once was."

Frank suddenly realized that this woman knew a lot more than he had realized. "You bitch! You fucking cunt! When I get out of here I'm going to cut you!" he began screaming threats he couldn't possibly fulfill.

"If you're going to be that way about it," said Judge Atherton, and she rose and walked out of the visitation office and stepped up to a guard. "Tell me sergeant. What is a 'rock spider'?"

"Oh, that is a bad thing. A very bad thing," said the grinning guard.

"So if Mister Rosetti is accused of being a rock spider he may garner the ire of the other prisoners?" asked Justice Atherton innocently.

"Oh yes, a child rapist is not tolerated in prison society," said the guard.

"Then I suppose that kind of information should not be released," she said as she left. "Oh, I suppose he can go back to his cell when he calms down," she said with a smile.

<><><><><> ֎ <><><><><>

Yi didn't want to go to dinner, but it was John's first public outing since the "accident." Worzils was decorated for Halloween, just days away, with spider webs, orange lights, black and orange streamers, Monster Mash on the Juke Box and a full menu of Halloween themed liquid intoxicants. As usual, Ayato was tending bar, but now he was dressed in a yellow track suit with black stripes down the side, just like Bruce Lee. Julissa was dressed as a witch and wearing pale white zombie style make-up instead of the traditional green complexion. The Jarecki family was led by Julissa to the dining room in the back of the tavern and they found that the dining room was packed, but a big table was set for them with Josh Gravely, Veronica von Köster, Gus, and Lucy seated waiting for them.

Lucy jumped up and helped Paul guide John through the restaurant in his wheelchair to the large table where he sat at the head. John was wearing wire-rimmed glasses because the blow to the head caused the need for glasses in his left eye. As everybody was getting seated, people around the room began clapping. The applause reached a crescendo, and the people stood and grew closer and closer to John. "What do I do?" he asked. He was almost terrified.

Paul was behind John's wheelchair, settling it in place at the table, and he leaned over and whispered in his ear. "Just let them love you."

Folks sat down and after Yi got the twins settled in, she realized there was nowhere for her to sit. As the twins began telling Josh and Veronica that 'Unka John' was wearing glasses to be like them, Julissa said to Yi, "We're a bit crowded tonight, but don't worry, hun, I have a seat for you." Yi was about to say something when Julissa gave her a saucy wink and then led her out to the front.

There, in a dark corner behind the U-shaped bar, was a booth that was rarely used. It was isolated behind the bar with one other booth and normally those two booths were used to stack glassware and other bar necessities. Tonight, the table was covered with a white linen tablecloth, good silverware was laid out, a white candle lit in the dark corner and a single white rose in a bud vase gave a very unHalloween atmosphere. The traditionally ignored corner became a very romantic little nook.

As Julissa seated Yi, the pretty Asian girl asked, "How did Kenny set this up?"

"This is small town Western New York honey," smiled Julissa. "You're in the buckle of the snow belt, and like it or not, you're a member of the family now. We take care of each other." She handed Yi a leather-bound menu and asked, "Can I get you anything to drink?"

"Water for now," said Yi, who was stunned at the display. What did Kenny do to arrange all this? Yi opened the menu and saw exactly what she expected. Inside was a single page that simply said, "Friday-Fish Fry." She closed the menu as her wine arrived. "I ordered water," said Yi.

"Ahh, you'll get over it," said Julissa as she took the menu from a now laughing Yi. Ten months ago, this would have infuriated Yi. It would have set her off in a gale of righteous fury concerning thoughtless wait staff, but now she just enjoyed the show that Julissa and Ayato put on for their customers. Right on cue, Kenny showed up and placed a glass of ice water in front of Yi, then bent over and gave her a kiss. "You're late. Usually the water arrives first."

"Sorry," smiled Kenny as he sat across from her. "It's been a big day; I almost didn't make it."

"Why? What went on?"

"It seems like Mister Wehrle H. Holloway's empire crashed around him and mom and dad now have full ownership of the business, the building it's in, and our big old drafty house," Kenny was so happy he could barely contain himself.

"That's wonderful!" she cried, and Yi came over to his side of the booth and they were still kissing when Julissa showed up with the dinner they hadn't ordered yet.

"You guys want I should box this up for youse to take with?" Julissa asked. Even though she's not a native Buffalonian, she's got the accent down.

"No, we're good," said Yi as she returned to her side of the table. Julissa placed their meals and disappeared with practiced ease. "So, what happened?" asked Yi as they dug into their meals.

"I don't understand the details," said Kenny. "my training is in programming, not accounting, but it was a big scam. Years ago, the business needed some money and Wehrle said he could get the money for it. Dad and Wehrle had been partners for years. In the end, how the accountant set it up, dad had sold the business to Wehrle unwittingly thinking he took out a loan. Then dad was led to believe he was paying off the loan giving the money back to Wehrle, but Wehrle was marking that money off as rent payments. Wehrle didn't pay the accountant enough to keep quiet, so he admitted to dad what was going on. Dad got a lawyer involved and Mister Wehrle H. Holloway's little house of cards collapsed, and tonight we're having a brief ceremony."

"Is he going to jail?" asked Yi, still wondering how Julissa's cook, Rodney, got the fish so perfect. Yi can cook fish a thousand ways, but a perfect beer batter fish, especially a piece of fish this big, is a trick she's still working on.

"God, I hope so. His best bet is to plead no contest," said Kenny as he romantically fed Yi a perfect crinkle cut French fry. Kenny saw a look of concern cross over her adorable face and asked, "Am I in trouble?"

Yi took one of Kenny's muscular hands into both of hers. "I love you; I love you so much. It scares me sometimes. Do you understand that?"

"No, but I understand that it's something that you need to deal with on occasion," said Kenny.

Yi fought for the right words and finally said, "sometimes you're... you're too nice. Sometimes I'm so afraid you're going to propose to me..."

Kenny looked sad, "if the thought is that distasteful, I won't..."

"NO! That's not it, it's just... if you ask right now, I'll say yes and... and we will get married, but for me, it will be over. I LOVE working for Paul and Andi. I love living with the twins and I can't wait to see little Danny. I love the beautiful bedroom they gave me. You've seen that bathtub! I love living there. But when we get married, I'm going to live with you in that big house with all those other people that I love, and I'll love that too... but this part of my life..."

"I understand," said Kenny as he brought out a small jewelry box and opened it. Inside was a delicate white gold woman's ring with a small black pearl. "This is a promise ring. I love you with all of my heart, and I promise I will 'till the day that I die, but I can't marry you right now."

"WHAT? WHY NOT?" Yi demanded. How dare he not propose! Yi even shocked herself with her sudden change of direction.

"Because... the business. We can start growing now. If we were engaged, or even married, I wouldn't be able to give our business the time it needs and give you the time you deserve. I want to do it right, grow the business so I can afford a bathtub that will fit a VW like you have right now."

"Well, ok," she pouted. She loves her enormous bathtub. It would easily fit her, the twins, and Kenny. A man that will provide her with an "indoor swimming pool" that size is worth marrying.

"Let's do it like this," and he took her right hand and slid the ring on her right ring finger. "When you're ready, just let me know that you're ready for more rings and I'll know to present you with the engagement ring that we agree on." With that, he kissed her hand and sealed a promise that she was very comfortable with, then he handed her a small jewelry box that she opened and inside was a man's ring featuring a gemstone that resembled a flat black pearl.

"Is that a pearl?" she asked.

"Yeah, that's what they said when I got the set," Kenny said. The ring looked like a class ring or a sports championship ring but understated compared to those designs.

She took the ring out of the box and smiled. "Which finger?"

Kenny shrugged, "your choice, but it needs to be right hand."

"Here, here's my favorite finger," Yi said as she slid the ring up and down his middle finger while she licked his fingertip with the very tip of her dainty tongue. She paused and looked Kenny in the eye. "Does my engagement ring have to have a black pearl?"

"Are you saying we're getting married?"

"No," Yi lied, "but just in case, IF we get engaged, does my engagement ring have to have a black pearl?"

Yi slid his ring into place and suddenly Kenny felt a rush of something between his left and right arm. It coursed through his lungs, his heart, his mind. It felt like he was caught in a whirlwind of emotions and feelings until finally he returned to his body and gasped, "For continued blessings, Guoxin insists on it..."

"Who or what is Guoxin?"

Immediately, Ayato appeared at their table side. He had been as far away as he could be in a noisy bar with a wall of bottles and glasses and a wall of noise between them, but he heard every word they said. "Did you say Guoxin?"

Yi showed Ayato her ring and said, "He said that Guoxin gave that to him, and this," as she showed off her black pearl pendant and her earrings.

"Guoxin gave them to me," said Kenny. He didn't want to go into detail about how he got them, not right now.

Ayato examined Yi's pendant necklace and said, "I don't want to play the race card, but you white boys don't get to see Guoxin, let alone..."

"I'm Chinese," said Kenny softly. "At least part. My great-grandmother June was a Chinese war bride."

"I knew there was something about you that I liked," grinned Ayato.

"Let's eat up, soon as Lacy and Archie get here, we're going to have a ceremony." As the lovers ate, Kenny's parents Davis and Angie were in the back room and, like everyone else, they were delighted to see John was up and moving.

"How long until you're dancing again?" asked Davis.

John smiled and said, "I promised a very special friend a dance on Christmas Eve."

"He made a lot of promises," said Macy.

"He won't go trick or treating with us," pouted Sandy.

"Brat!" cried Yi as she and Kenny entered the room, along with Kenny's paternal grandfather, Archie and maternal grandmother Lacy. "Your father and I are going trick or treating with you. Isn't that enough to carry all your candy?"

"No," said Madeline defiantly.

Meanwhile, Davis had moved a metal garbage can to the center of the room and held a large piece of paper over the can. "I hold the mortgage for Johnson's Feeds and our home!" As the entire crowd watched, he flipped open a new zippo lighter and set the page on fire. "PAID UP! Lock Stock and Barrel!" As the crowd applauded, the page burned up and then Davis turned to Macy and John and said, "Pastor, we can now return to your services." They had been working so hard, thinking that they were failing, that they missed going to church on Sunday.

It was truly something to celebrate. So many local businesses close and a big box opens up 20 miles away, but this time the local store survives. It was heartwarming to see the little guy win and at Angie Johnsons' request, John said a prayer of thanks, his first public prayer in nearly 2 months.

<><><><><> ֎ <><><><><>

Halloween was a tremendous hit. Paul, Gus, Kenny and even John pitched in to make a fake guillotine for the village haunted house. It had a series of flashing lights that looked to the victim like a steel blade was coming down. The sounds in the headsets they were wearing added to the realism, and it was a smash hit. For ten dollars you could get a friend 'sentenced to death' and the fun came when they reacted to the realistic sounds and flashing lights. They raised over four hundred dollars for uniforms for the kids' softball and baseball teams.

The twins were adorable on Halloween. Sandy loves Ella, so Madeline dressed up like Ella so Sandy could see her. At the same time, Madeline loves Strawberry Shortcake, so Sandy dressed up like Strawberry Shortcake so Madeline could see her. For the average child, that wouldn't make sense, but for the twins, it was perfectly reasonable. It was as if they used each other as a mirror to see what they would look like if they dressed like that.

"Ok, one more picture with Uncle John and it's off to bed!" ordered Paul. Since John started moving about, the twins wouldn't leave him alone. They were also constantly teasing their mother because she looked huge. Danny was getting close to arrival and her stomach was incredibly large and the twins wanted to get back in. "Why not? There's room!" insisted Sandy.

On the day after Halloween, the twins got up and started dragging. They were up late, and they didn't want to go to school. "Come on girls, special day, let's get our church clothes on," called Yi as Paul helped Andi dress. Once she was dressed, he went downstairs and helped Macy dress John. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, his shirt was on and his pants were around his ankles. John refused help from anyone but Macy, Paul, and his nurse, who shows up about twice a week.

"Ok, Maximum Effort!" grinned Paul.

"You know I don't like Deadpool," said John softly.

"You laughed your ass off." Paul crouched down in front of John and John put his arms around Paul's neck, then being very careful, Paul stood and lifted John to his feet and turned so Macy could hold him up from behind. As soon as Macy had John, Paul ducked and pulled up John's pants, tucked his shirt in and fastened up his pants and belt. Then Paul took John, who was fighting to stand, and Macy wheeled the wheelchair up behind him and he sat.

"I'm getting close, I'm almost able to stand," said John.

"You know, the twins are not going to let you move out," said Paul. "They like having a big family with aunts and uncles and grandmas."

"I know, but we miss our house so much," said John.

"You do what you need to do, we'll be here to help. I can deal with the twins whining; I just don't want to." Paul helped John on with his suit coat. He also helped Macy on with her overcoat, just as Andi, Yi, and Heather led the twins into the living room. "Let's go people!" cried the twins. Soon they were loaded up in Macy & John's leased wheelchair van, and Paul and Andi's transport. Without fanfare, they were headed downtown.

They ended their trek at the Erie County hall, the 150 year old gothic edifice where the Erie County court office remains. Most of the county offices moved to the Rath Building. They entered the building and their footsteps echoed as they walked, and Sandy insisted it was Ella's castle. They entered a courtroom and were met there by Gus and Lucy, Josh and Veronica, and Archie and Kenny Johnson.

Macy took off her overcoat and joined about six other people who stood nervously while a county cop told them what was expected of them. They lined up in front of the American Flag, and Judge Nicoletta Atherton stepped out from a side office and faced the small group. "Oh my goodness Macy, she's not due today, is she?"

"Due next week, Ma'am!"

"Well," said Nicoletta as she pulled on a judge's robe. "We better get this done quickly before Katarina joins us. This is my third favorite thing to do behind drinking wine and sailing. Are you ready? Place your hand over your heart and repeat after me."

"I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty..."

The Naturalization Oath of Allegiance to the United States of America seemed to go on forever, but Macy worked hard. She and John studied, and when John was exhausted, Macy studied with Paul, taking practice tests over and over. And now it comes down to this.

When Macy finally said, "So help me God." Nicoletta said, "By the power vested in me by the Immigration and Nationality Act, I now pronounce you citizens of the United States of America. You're all Americans!" The family and friends in the courtroom cheered and clapped and flashed pictures.

"Why did you do it Macy?" asked Nicoletta later back at Paul and Andi's house where the dining room and parlor were full of guests for Macy's reception. "Didn't you like Canada?"

"Mmm... no. Canada could be beautiful but for me it was mostly pain. It was only when I was accompanied by an American Angel that I felt safe, secure, and loved. I realized that I too needed to become an American Angel."

"How long are you staying Judge?" asked Andi.

"Not long, it's too cold here. As soon as you turn off the lights, I'm going back to my little island. Oh, and by the way, I hear through my friends on the court that Mister Rosetti has chosen to plead guilty to all charges in both New York and Colorado."

"Really? We're safe?" She had a feeling of safety wash over her for the first time since she realized she was trapped by Frank. Andi felt a jump, and she put her hand on her tummy. "Danny loves that news."

"Frank doesn't seem the type," said Paul, his legal mind clicking. "Could it be possible that someone got to him?"

"You think?" asked Nicoletta, with the hint of a wink. "I don't know how you people survive in this icebox." Paul was sure she was trying to change the subject of the conversation.

"It's not too cold," said Paul. "This place is toasty warm compared to Minot, North Dakota."

"Oui, my little town of Lourdes-de-Blanc Sablon in Quebec was never warm," said Macy. When the wet, frigid wind came roaring in off the frigid Atlantic ocean, she would pray for global warming. Yes, Springville could be cold and snowy, but it wasn't so awful wet.

"How are the twins doing in school?" asked Nicoletta.

"They're adjusting. They have a few friends, but they ignore most of the other students. They also have a teacher that won't let them torture her. She's wise to all their tricks."

"I was just wondering," said the Judge as she nodded toward the staircase. Both twins were coming down the grand staircase with silver garland wrapped around themselves, and each was carrying a box of Christmas ornaments.

"What are you two up to?" demanded Andi.

They pointed to the large window at the front of the house. "Snowing!" and they were right. Outside, the first snowflakes of the season were circling down from the sky.

"We are not putting Christmas Decorations up until after Thanksgiving! Put them away." Andi's stern tone of voice shocked the twins, who raced upstairs to the attic to put their treasures away.

"Are you ok?" asked Paul. "That was pretty harsh."

"I don't know," said Andi. "It's just... I miss the cabin. I miss us in the cabin," and she started crying. "Everything was so simple there, all we had to do was love each other."

Paul held her close and tried to calm her. "It's ok, the cabin is still there, Yi and Kenny have rounded up all the chickens and they're in the hen house, and soon as Danny can travel we will go for a nice long weekend."

But the tears became a steady stream, and to make matters worse, when Macy came to cheer up Andi, she began crying too. Before he knew it, the garland covered twins joined in and Paul was trapped. "I miss the simplicity," Andi said.

"Oui," said Macy. "I love working for you but..."

"It's ok, it's ok." Paul looked around and saw Lucy and he called her over. "Doctor Kocis, can you take the clinic over for Doctor Roberts on a permanent basis? I think we have a retiree here."

"I think so," said Lucy.

"Ok, you're free, you can mom all you want, and we can live in the cabin as long as you'd like." Then he turned to the newest American. "Macy, would you like free time? Maybe working 3 days a week? That way you'd keep your healthcare."

"Oui," sniffed Macy.

"Min!" called Paul and Macy's assistant appeared at his side. "Min, I don't know when Macy will return to full time, you are now my assistant, and when Macy returns, she will be your assistant."

"Yes sir," said Min. But Andi and Macy were crying even harder. Now what?

He looked over at John, who was just as confused. Then Tammy Schatz came over and asked, "When are you two due?"

"Two weeks," they wept.

Tammy patted Paul on the shoulder and said, "they're fine, get used to it."

<><><><><>

The twins were a bit confused why their sixth birthday was on the fourth of November and not the sixth. "It's because you were born on the fourth," said Andi.

"But we had our birfday on the fifth last year!" they chimed in unison.

"No we didn't and we had this conversation last year too." Somehow, when the twins turned four, they associated their birthday, the fourth of November, with their age. "If we have your birthday on the same date as your age, you'll have to stop having birthdays. There's only thirty days in November."

"Oh, we will fix it by then," said Sandy.

"Personally, I don't mind," said Paul. "That means they have to wait one more day every year for their birthday."

"Wait..." said Madeline, who suddenly saw a flaw in her plan. "I guess the fourth is ok for our birthday. You can keep it."

"Thank you very much," said Heather, as she helped clear up the breakfast dishes.

"Are you ready Twinny girls?" said Yi as she pulled her jacket and knit cap with kitty ears on. Since the first of November, it's been cold and dry, and the twins' favorite sport was stomping on the ice on puddles in the street to break the ice. "Let's get in the van."

"Hold on," said Heather. "I'll go with you. I want to see what this feed store is all about." It was a poorly kept secret that after Yi drops off the twins at school, she goes to the feed store and hangs out with Kenny Johnson. After goodbye kisses to mom, dad, Aunt Macy and Uncle John, the twins trooped out to the van through the frosty November air. They waited for Yi to open the van door, and as Yi was about to scoop them into the van, they turned and ran to the end of the driveway.

There are the end of the driveway was a puddle of water, and it has been frozen over every morning for the past week. They raced each other to see who would get to break the ice, their breath puffing white in the cold air. Sandy got there first. She stomped her little foot down on the ice solidly and nothing happened. Yi and Heather watched in amusement as the two girls stomped on the ice with no effect. "Something is wrong with this puddle!" cried Sandy.

"Get in here you two or your birthday is canceled," said Yi and the twins came racing past complaining about the ice that wouldn't break.

"That's because the puddle is frozen solid, silly. Now get in the van." While Yi buckled the twins into their car seats, Heather went back into the house and retrieved the "forgotten" lunch boxes for the twins. While Heather and Yi were putting the twins in the van, Andi was hurriedly making their favorite lunches for them. Bologna and cheese sandwiches, dill pickle strips, cheesy puffs, and a very special surprise, a birthday cupcake.

"I remember mothers making cupcakes for the entire class," said Heather, who didn't have to do anything like that. Andi's birthday was in June, after classes were over, freeing Heather from the need to bake 32 cupcakes every year.

"We don't do that anymore mom, people are terrified that a cupcake could be an act of terror."

Heather and Yi dropped the twins off at the school with extra birthday kisses and as they walked Sandy and Madeline to the front door, snowflakes fluttered down from the gray clouds. "It always snows on our birthday," said Madeline.

"What? It never snowed on your birthday you silly thing," said Heather. She may not be the best grandma on earth, but she was there for all six of their birthdays.

"It snowed on every birthday in Springville," said Sandy as if stating a well-known fact.

Yi kissed her girls goodbye, then she and Heather headed back to the van. "Have you been to the feed store before?" asked Yi.

"No. Is it interesting?"

"I think so."

They pulled up to Johnson's Feed Store a few moments later and, as usual, found Grandpa Archie and Grandma Lacy sitting in front of the parlor stove. It was cold in the feed store and Archie had built a fire in the parlor stove. An enamel coffee pot sat on top of the stove softly spouting a feather of steam and the scent of their coffee filled the room. "Care for some coffee princess?"

"Thank you grandpa, but I'm good. Where's Kenny?"

Just then, the bang and clatter of a pallet jack being dragged across an uneven floor filled the store. "Just follow that godawful clatter!" complained Archie.

"Oh hush!" said Lacy without looking up from her newspaper. "The boy has work to do."

Heather began inspecting all the gadgets and what-nots and was impressed by the collection. "It's all for sale," said Archie. "The princess thought it was a museum when she first saw it."

Yi followed the sound into the back of the store. The feed store was a haphazard collection of rooms and attached garages, a building that grew as room was needed, but without a plan. Its dizzying pattern of unplanned expansion was part of the charm of the old place. Everything you would need to run a farm short of tractors and implements could be found here. From hand tools to chicken feed, it was all here. Even livestock medicines could be purchased here.

One of the headaches in the old place was the temperature of some spaces. Many were heated, some were also air-conditioned, but far too many were neither. And the spaces were all wrong, but they had to follow the plan laid out by Wehrle H. Holloway. Sacks of concrete, sand, and gravel were stored in a heated section while hardware and hand tools were not, and the craziness went on from there.

Yi found Kenny emptying one of the larger garages. It was filled with stacks of sacks full of animal feed. Wehrle insisted they remain in this garage because it was easier for the customer to get to the animal food, which was true, but it was a waste of heated space, and it was hard to get the food in and out of that room. When she got there, Kenny was shirtless and had a pallet jack and he had half of the food moved out of the room. "What's up?" she asked.

Kenny gave her a loving and passionate kiss, then lifted her up and plopped her on top of a stack of 50 pound sacks of 12% sweet horse feed. Then he slammed the pallet jack into the pallet under Yi's stack and jacked it up a couple of inches, then hauled the stack out of the room. "What is going on?" she laughed.

"Mom, dad and I are remodeling the store, the feed is going into a different room. Low bridge!" Yi had to lay back on the sacks of food to pass through a doorway as Kenny pulled her and her stack into an unheated room. The room had garage doors at each end. "The customer can pull their truck inside and we can load their truck up right here," said Kenny. "No more hauling sacks of food through the store." He parked the stack and helped her down. "No more loading a truck in the freezing rain."

"I thought Wehrle H. Holloway wanted all this feed in a climate controlled room," said Yi.

Kenny pulled the pallet jack out from the stack of feed. "It appears that Wehrle H. Holloway ran into some bad luck and his attempt to take over the store fell apart."

"Wait a minute," said Yi. "Are you saying that Wehrle H. Holloway is your bio-father?"

"He's the one."

"And your dragon dumped all of your bad luck on him?" Yi's eyes were wide with wonder.

"It looks that way," said Kenny as they returned to the room he was emptying.

"So what is going on in here?" asked Yi as Kenny prepared to haul away another stack of horse food to the unheated room.

He hoisted her up on top of the horse food, his muscles rippling from the effort. "This room is going to be sporting goods, and sporting apparel. The little room that all the sporting goods is currently in will be farm apparel."

"What about Grandpa Archie's stuff?" Yi asked.

"That stays where it is. If we moved it, he'll never find it."

"That's mean."

Meanwhile, at the front of the store, Archie, Heather, and Lacy watched the snow fall. All three sat in wooden rockers around the little parlor stove and sipped coffee. The snow outside was "starting to stick," as they would say in Western New York. "I think we're in for a bit of a blow," said Archie. "Are you ready for a Buffalo winter?"

"I brought a jacket," said Heather as she sipped her coffee.

"Hat? Boots? Mittens? Scarf?" demanded Archie.

"I... I didn't plan on going skiing," said Heather.

"But here you are in ski country. Come on with me. Lacy can you give her a hand with selecting something."

"Heaven sake Archie, I'm sure she knows how to shop by now."

"But she grew up in Denver where they don't get a proper winter," said Archie.

Lacy stood up and said, "Come with me deary, I didn't know you were from down south."

"I don't think Denver is down south," said Heather, as she followed Lacy to the back of the store where the winter apparel was located.

"Princess!" called Archie.

"Yes?" answered Yi from the depths of the store.

"Bring that special credit card here, Paul's mother-in-law is shopping."

<><><><><>

Back at the house, Andi was helping Paul bake a birthday cake for the twins and for Yi, whose birthday was the fifth, the day after the twins. As they slid the cake pans into the oven, Paul looked out the window and saw that the snow was blowing. "Darling, when the timer goes off, take the cake pans out of the oven and set them up here to cool. I'm going to run to the cabin to make sure that the chickens are ok."

"You think it's going to be that bad?"

"No, of course not," Paul lied. Some of the worst storms in Buffalo's history were missed by the weather wizards, so Paul was getting ready for the worst. "When the babies come, we're going to be busy, and we might forget, so I want to make sure the heaters are working, and they have food and water."

He pulled on his parka and was about ready to leave when John slowly walked into the kitchen on crutches. "Johnnie!" gasped Paul. Memories of John's very first steps as a baby flooded into his mind, and he found it was nearly impossible to keep from crying. Paul gently hugged John and whispered, "I'm so proud of you."

"Don't be dispensing all that pride right away, I'm going with you," said John.

"That's funny."

"No, I'm coming with. I want to get out. I've been lying in bed for two months."

"No!" insisted Macy. "Je pourrais avoir un enfant pendant ton absence!"

John crutched to Macy and gave her a deep passionate kiss. "Ne vous inquiétez pas, je serai bientôt de retour." (Do not worry, I will be back soon) He smiled and placed a finger on her lips, and she kissed it. Si Katarina vient pendant que je suis absent, dis-lui que papa sera en colère.

That caused Macy to laugh, and she said, "Oui, Je vais." (Yes, I will.)

It took John a long time to get down the front ramp. His hips ached and his ribs felt like they were poking into his lungs. Everything ached, but he was outdoors, and they were going to the cabin. John crutched to the passenger door and reached up for the "oh shit handle" and pulled himself up into the White Whale. As they eased out onto Howard Avenue, Paul asked, "What was Macy so worked up about?"

"She was worried that she would have a baby while we were gone."

Paul had to stifle a laugh. "And you said?"

"I said that if Katarina comes while I am gone, tell her that daddy will be angry."

The snow was still light and swirling when they reached the cabins. It was odd for John to see the garden bare; he wasn't there for much of the harvest. "Did we get a lot of potatoes?"

"Your root cellar is filled with potatoes and parsnips."

"Oh joy." John doesn't like parsnips, but Macy loves them, and he'll eat anything she gives him.

Paul pulled up to the side door of the barn as John got out and crutched over to the cabin. He entered Paul and Andi's cabin and made his way through the kitchen to his and Macy's cabin. In the cabin, there was now a table and a desk where John could work. And there were several pictures on the wall of him and Macy, friends from church, and one of Macy and John splashing in the pond.

It was so cold in the cabin, the electric heaters were turned off here in this cabin, but they were on in the central cabin. He crutched in there and checked the fridge. The only thing in there was Andi's Pepsi. He grabbed a couple of bottles and put them in his jacket pocket, then he heard the roaring of a snowmobile. There was barely a dusting of snow. What was Paul doing?

John crutched outside and saw that Paul had put a pair of ramps on the tailgate of the pickup and was backing his snowmobile onto the truck. His snowmobile had two forward speeds and a reverse gear, but Paul didn't use reverse very often. Paul got the sled into the bed of the truck, and the Snowcoach was already in the truck. The full body was installed on the little skied trailer that had room for two people. He was able to get most of the snowmobile into the bed of the truck, the ski tips hung out over the end of the open tailgate. Paul killed the motor and hopped down, stowed the ramps into the bed of the truck and secured the sled in place with a tie-down strap, then put a 5 gallon jerry can of gas in the back of the truck.

"How did you get the snow coach trailer in the truck?" asked John.

"I pushed it," said Paul, still panting from his efforts.

"You need to take it easy," said John and he handed Paul a Pepsi. "You're going to make Danny an orphan before he's born."

"I'd rather have this machine ready and not need it, than need it and not have it," said Paul as he drank the entire soda.

"Do you really think that we'll need it?" asked John.

"Nah. There's nothing in the forecast. How are you feeling?"

"Tired."

"Ok, chickens are good, we have turkeys and potatoes for thanksgiving, the sled is tied down, let's head back."

John hauled himself into the truck and noticed in the back that there were a couple of frozen wild turkeys in the back seat. Paul had gotten them out of the chest freezer in the barn. "Let's go."

They got home in time for Paul to start the twin's current favorite meal, fried chicken and mashed potatoes. Heather was there showing off her winter gear that she got at the feed store. "Do you think we'll need a new parka?" asked Andi.

"No I don't, but maybe we should get some heavy blankets. If it's cold when we have to go to the hospital we'll wrap up in warm blankets," said Paul.

The snow had stopped by the time Yi arrived with the twins. She parked the van in the garage and saw the snowmobile and the snow blower fueled up and at the ready. She and the twins entered the kitchen and the crowd of people waiting for them shouted, "Happy Birthday!"

Andi put little paper crowns on Sandy and Madeline, and Kenny put a crown on Yi's head and made her sit next to the twins. A mound of birthday presents was placed in front of Sandy, Madeline, and Yi and a layered birthday cake covered in chocolate frosting and crowned with six candles was centered on the table.

Sandy and Madeline tore through their presents like a chain saw ripping through a porcupine, and soon they had everything open and thank you's said. "Open yours Yi!" they demanded.

"My birthday is tomorrow," said Yi. "I can't open them."

"You have the crown," said Sandy, pointing to Yi's head.

"That means you have to open them," said Madeline.

Andi nodded in agreement. "It's tradition."

"Ok," sighed Yi. "Are there any here that I shouldn't open in front of the twins? Those are the best kind."

Dinner was a fried chicken feast. Chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy, and corn on the cob, all from their farm. Andi was terrified that the twins would cry when they realized they were eating the chicken that they had cared for since they moved here from Denver. Paul had reminded them constantly that chickens were not pets, they fill a purpose, and the twins understood. Sandy took a big bite of her drum stick she had dipped in the gravy and smiled, "This one is Pecky!"

Madeline ripped a piece of meat off the breast she had and tasted it. "This one is Missus Bite."

Andi was almost nauseated that her babies were eating animals with names.

After dinner came the cake, which was delicious. It was a four layer chocolate cake with chocolate frosting, and the layers were separated with vanilla frosting. Everything looked and smelled so good, but Andi and Macy didn't eat. "Are you two ok?" asked Sandy.

"My stomach hurts," complained Andi.

"Le mien aussi," (mine too) said Macy.

"It comes and goes," said Andi, and Macy nodded in agreement.

"Girls, go lay down on the bed," said Lucy. "Doctor Jarecki, may I borrow your stethoscope? And Madeline, may we borrow your Strawberry shortcake?"

Soon Andi and Macy were laying side by side on the bed in the library and Lucy pressed and palpitated their stomachs. As she did that, the muscles in Macy's belly tightened up until her stomach was as solid as a rock. "This is week thirty nine, right?" asked Lucy, and both Macy nodded.

"What does that mean?" asked Sandy.

"You were born on November fourth," explained Lucy. "That's the day that the doctors took you out of mommy, right?" The twins nodded. "They took you out of mommy at 28 weeks after you got started. Babies that are born naturally come out at 40 weeks. If you had stayed in mommy, you would have been born in January."

The twin's eyes grew wide. "Would our birthday still been today?" asked Sandy.

"No it would have been after Christmas." That caused the twins to gasp. Lucy had forgotten that to a six-year-old, no matter what the date was, Christmas was always years away. "Ok you two, put your hands here," and she put Sandy's hands low on Andi's stomach and Madeline's hands low on Macy's stomach. "That's where the baby's heads are. A few weeks ago, they turned upside down." She took the Strawberry Shortcake down and put the rag doll in the fetal position and placed it head down on Macy's tummy. "This is how the babies are laying."

"Do they get dizzy?" asked Madeline.

"No, their eyes are closed so it's like floating in a swimming pool to them." Lucy handed the stethoscope to Andi, then placed the chest piece over Daniel's heart, and Andi's eyes lit up as she heard Danny inside of her.

"So strong!" she gasped, then she handed the ear tubes to her mom, who was crouching next to her. Heather's face grew into a smile of wonder. Next Macy got to listen to Katarina followed by John, who was seated next to her.

As the twins listened to their baby brother, Andi said, "My stomach got hard."

Heather and Lucy touched Andi's stomach, and the twins did the same. As the twins tried to make their stomachs hard as their mommy's, Heather said, "You're in labor dear."

"Huh?" Both Andi and Macy were experiencing "hard stomachs" and didn't associate it with anything.

"Yes," said Lucy. "This is very early labor. You'll know when you move into the next stage."

Andi knew full well what was going on, but she had never experienced it before. The twins were born caesarian before this portion of pregnancy started. She looked up at Paul, who nodded and leaned over and kissed her. "You're doing great mommy."

<><><><><> ֎ <><><><><>

John and Paul stood in front of the enormous window at the front of Paul and Andi's house and watched the snow pile up outside. It had been nearly a week since Paul told John that he didn't think there would be a storm. "You know, it had to be like this," said Paul.

"Yep," said John as he leaned on his crutches.

"Of course, Lucy would be stuck in South Boston," said Paul. "She's the only one of us who has delivered a baby."

"Yep," said John.

"I met Andi in a blizzard like this," said Paul as he gestured to the window with a gin and tonic. "It's only fitting I meet our son in a blizzard."

"Yep," said John.

"I better get back to it," said Paul. He gave John a side hug and said, "Call me if you need anything."

"Yep," and John crutched his way to the library and Paul headed upstairs. He finished his drink and tossed the lime wedge in the bathroom trash then gave the glass to Andi and said, "here's your ice chips."

"Thank you." Andi was propped up on pillows and had just finished another bout of contractions. "Shouldn't we be going to the hospital?"

"They said they were trying to find a way to get us in there." This whole day has been a nightmare. Paul and Andi woke to her contractions, but other than Andi and Macy groaning, there was no sound. Paul knew that lack of sound. Snow muffles sound that you normally hear but ignore, wind in the trees, traffic, birds. During a heavy, windless snowstorm, there's no sound at all unless a vehicle goes past and that break in the silence is noticeable. If you're outside, you may hear a hissing sound of the snowflakes landing. It's rare, but it happens.

In the past 16 hours, over three feet of snow had fallen and there's no guess when this storm was going to let up. Channel 7 predicted five feet of snow for the snowbelt, and Springville was the buckle of the snowbelt. The storm was stationary over Springville, so there's no guess when it was going to blow out. Towns like Orchard Park at the edge of the storm only got a few scattered flakes. Further north in Buffalo, they were getting rain.

Andi and Macy's contractions started in earnest about the same time the "freak autumn storm" arrived and began dropping the snow. Andi remained in her bedroom and Macy rested in the library. Paul had studied several medical books and was sure he could deliver the babies safely if needed. His worries were about dealing with the babies after they were born. He doesn't have the skills of a pediatrician, and he was terrified for the two new Jareckis.

As their labor progressed, Paul called the hospital and updated them. "We have a vehicle heading your way, but... I think they're stuck," said the hospital representative.

"I have a snowmobile with a trailer, I can bring them both in," said Paul.

"We advise you to wait for the vehicle, it's an army APC, and it's... hang on, let me give then a call." The nurse checked on the vehicle over the radio, and Paul could hear them talk through the static. The word "abandoned" came through loud and clear. When she came back to Paul, her tone of voice told Paul that she wasn't happy with what she found, but she didn't share with him her findings. Instead she said, "Can you check the women for dilation doctor? Do you know how?"

Fighting the urge to shove his title of doctor down her throat, Paul said, "Yes, I just checked them, they're both at five." A chirp told Paul that he had just got a text message. It was from John. The message said that he thinks Macy's water broke. "Ma'am, Macy's water just broke. We're coming in."

"Macy's water broke?" asked Andi.

"Yes, I'm taking her to the hospital, and I'll be right back." He stepped out of the bedroom and called, "Heather!"

"In the kitchen!" came the reply. Paul hurried down the backstairs and found her in the kitchen, making soup for the twins. They were outside with Yi shoveling snow off the ramps that let John crutch in and out of the front door. Paul gently grasped Heather's shoulder and said, "Macy's water broke. I'm taking her in. Keep your eye on Andi for me, ok?"

"Oh gosh." Heather shut off the stove and hurried up the back stairs while Paul pulled on his snowmobile coverall and boots, then went and checked on Macy.

"How are you doing La Femme au Chocolate?" Usually that got a smile out of Macy. It was the only French phrase Paul showed an ability to pronounce properly. However, Macy didn't look happy. She was changing out of her soaked night gown and pulling on a pair of pregnancy pants. While she changed, Paul pulled up the linen. "I'll come around to the front steps, ok?"

"We will be there in a moment," said John as he helped her on with her big fuzzy socks.

"Don't forget her go-bag," said Paul as he headed for the kitchen and threw the linen down the basement steps.

He ran out to the garage, and the snow was as heavy as it was when he met Andi, but he didn't have time to figure out the quirks of snowbelt weather. They usually get four storms like this a year.

"Andi? Where are you?" Heather found the room was empty and Andi's bed linen was soaked. She looked around and found Andi stepping down the main staircase slowly, step by step, both hands clutching the railing that Gus wisely covered with nonskid. Andi's walking splint slipped out from under her once and she almost fell, but she was able to maintain her grip on the railing. "Wait!" she called weakly as she saw Macy and John open the front door.

John looked up the stairs and saw a terrified Andi being assisted down the stairs by Heather.

"You can't wear that, it's all wet," said Heather. Her nightgown was soaked, her water broke too.

Outside in the garage, Paul got the big Yamaha VK-540 heavy duty snowmobile started, and he nosed out of the garage, then he ran back and connected the SnowCoach trailer, and eased forward out of the garage. There was easily three feet or more of snow on the ground. He reached in the door, tapped the button and the big door came down, then he hopped on the Yamaha and shoved the shifter forward into high range, squeezed the throttle and headed toward the front of the house. There was a flash of lights up above him and he thought it was a transformer blowing out, but that's a green flash. Then the sound of thunder rolled through the air. Thundersnow. Oh boy.

At the front door he found everyone there, the twins, Yi, Macy, Andi, John and Heather. Paul opened the side door of the SnowCoach and Macy climbed in, followed by Andi, who was whimpering in pain. Paul started taking off his helmet to give her a kiss, but she just waved him away and said, "Drive!"

"Wish your mommy luck," said Heather, trying to cheer her terrified daughter. The twins waved and patted the SnowCoach windows and shouted, "Have a good baby!"

With Paul and John on the sled and the girls packed into the SnowCoach, Paul hit the throttle and they were off. "Have a good baby?" Yi asked. "Where did that come from?" but the twins just giggled and shrugged.

The Yamaha VK-540 was not a speed demon. It was a workhorse. It was built to haul firewood, trees, dead deer, and things like that out of the forest, so hauling four people was not a hard job for the gutsy sled. The hard part was finding a smooth path to follow. Paul headed up to Main Street and found it nearly impassable due to stuck cars and an Army Armored Personnel Carrier that was bogged down in the snow.

Paul wove back and forth between obstacles, trying to avoid deep ruts left by vehicles, all the while flashes of lightning and blasts of thunder punctuated the ride, but he eventually found the center of the four-lane street was smooth and he opened it up. They raced east down the center of US-39 to the hospital and pulled into the driveway, but the driveway was blocked with stalled vehicles.

Paul drove across the lawn and circled around to the back of the building where the ER was located. He found the sidewalk was his only clear path, so he drove along the sidewalk and pulled up to the Emergency Room door, and stopped with the snow coach on the door opener.

All the way to the hospital, John clutched him around the waist with his left arm, and he clutched his crutches with the right hand. Paul slid off the snowmobile, then lifted John off. "Go in and register the girls, I'll get them inside," he told John as the thunder rumbled about them.

As John crutched into the hospital, Paul helped Macy out of the Snowcoach, then he scooped Andi out and found she was in the middle of a contraction. He carried her into the ER with Macy leaning on his shoulder. Just inside the door, he found a gurney and a wheelchair. He laid Andi on the gurney, placed Macy on the wheelchair, then wheeled them both over to where John was filling out paperwork. "I'll be right back," said Paul, and he ran outside to move the snowmobile and trailer out of the way.

He returned to the ER reception desk, and everyone was gone. "Where did Doctor Roberts go?" he asked.

"We don't have a Doctor Roberts."

John sighed. When he is in a hospital, Andi becomes Doctor Roberts, but this is different. "I'm sorry, Adrianna Jarecki, where is she?"

"She's in Emergency 12, but she's not receiving visitors!" called the technician as Paul walked down the hall toward room 12. He heard her calling for him all the way down the hall.

"Where's daddy? Daddeee!" Andi cried. She was alone in an empty Emergency Department treatment room, and she was in pain and terrified.

"I'm here baby, I'm here," said Paul as he pulled off his helmet and unzipped his suit.

"Oh god I'm scared, I'm so scared," she moaned as they hugged and kissed.

"It's ok baby. Everything is going to be fine," said Paul.

"Don't you dare say that babies are born every day," she snarled.

"They are!"

"Not to me they're not."

Paul pulled off his snowmobile suit and asked, "where's Macy and John?"

"I don't know," she said, but Macy's cries told Paul she was right next door. Andi continued saying, "they said they're going to get me to a delivery room soooo..." Her eyes shot wide open, and she gasped as another contraction washed over her.

Paul had one job at this point, and he leaped to it. "Let's breathe, hee... hee... hoo... hoo... hee... hee... hoo... hoo..." and he got her breathing through the contraction. Once the contraction was over, he gave her a gentle kiss and said, "I'm going to check and see how things are going, ok?"

"Ok," she said in a tired voice.

Paul sat her up and pulled her jacket off of her, then covered her in blankets and said, "That's a nice nightgown, I don't remember seeing it before."

"It's Macy's. Mom put it on me after my water broke."

"I didn't know, I'm sorry." Paul pulled off his boots and snowmobile suit and dug through the cabinets and found socks to put on Andi's feet and he found a pair for himself. He then washed his hands, found some latex gloves and carefully checked her dilation. "I touched him! He's almost here!" Paul could not believe the excitement that coursed through his body.

"Tell your son to get the hell out of me!" she demanded.

"Are these Macy's panties also?"

"Yes."

Paul slid Macy's panties off of Andi and said, "They fit well, I don't want to hear you complaining about your butt. Her skinny butt panties fit you perfectly."

"What are you doing in here?" said a nursing assistant.

"I'm helping Andi with her..."

"You need to leave, mister."

Paul drew himself up to his full height and said, "If you are going to use that tone of voice, my preferred pronouns are Doctor, and Cardiologist. This patient is dilated to eight centimeters, and she's not even connected to a blood pressure cuff. Get her hooked up, and get me a stethoscope. I want to see a sonogram in here in the next five minutes, capiche?"

The young nursing assistant gasped and fled the room, and a few minutes later, while Paul was propping up Andi's injured leg on a pillow and helping her breathe through another contraction, the nurse's assistant returned with a doctor. "This is the guy I was telling you about ma'am."

The doctor looked at Paul and shook her head sadly. "Paul, I've asked you not to go all med school on my children."

"Kendra, good to see you," said Paul as they shook hands. "Do you have an OB/GYN in your pocket? We could use one." Kendra Long, an osteopath, was a hell of a doctor and was doing her ER shift when the storm hit. She's asked Paul a few times in the past if he was interested in starting a practice together.

"Doctor Sinclair is next door with your brother and sister-in-law. Nobody reported two women in labor," she said with an angry glance at the nursing assistant. "How long is there between contractions here?"

"A buck forty five," said Paul.

Kendra stood beside Andi and brushed a lock of her hair aside and said, "Eight centimeters and a minute forty five? You're going to make a baby soon, Doctor Roberts."

"Hi Kenny," said Andi with an exhausted voice. "Is he ok? I haven't felt him move in a while."

"He's all bunched up and he's probably scared. We'll get him out of you." Then she bent over and, jerking a thumb toward Paul, said, "While the big guy is playing with the babies, you and me will run off for dinner."

"You throw in an epidural and I'll buy dinner."

The young nurse was shocked at the familiar banter. She was completely unaware that Kendra and Paul had a professional relationship and were using their banter to lighten the mood for Andi. "Nurse? Stethoscope?" said Paul. The nursing assistant had expected Doctor Long to throw the tall man out of her ER, but they turned out to be buddies. She turned and went to find a stethoscope.

The empty ER examination room became a delivery room as the proper monitors, trays of medical devices, even a new bed was moved into the room. Andi was transferred and her head was raised, and her feet were put into stirrups. "What else do we need?" said Doctor Janice Sinclair as she examined Andi.

"Catcher's mitt," said Paul as he kissed Andi's sweaty brow.

"Stop," gasped Andi. It seemed to her like they were there forever.

"He's going to need a catcher's mitt if he's going to play next summer," said Paul. They heard Macy cry out in pain, and Paul turned toward the sound.

"You love her, don't you?" asked Andi.

"Yes I do, she's been my assistant for a long time, and she's taken care of my brother for me, for years. She's an amazing person, she kept our church going while John was down."

"Good," said Andi, as she felt another big push coming. "I love her too."

The rest of the afternoon was agony for Andi. Every two minutes her body would tighten up and try to push out the child and in the room next to her was Macy, who was going through the same thing. Occasionally, their cries would ring out simultaneously. Doctor Janice was hopping back and forth between the rooms, and her nurses were helping in both rooms.

"Doctor Jarecki, would you come here a second?" asked Doctor Janice.

Paul drew close to her, and Janice moved to the side and urged Paul closer. "One more good push honey and it's all over!"

Paul looked in wonder at the little head that was emerging from his wife. "He's got the Jarecki hair!" called Paul as he saw the cloud of black on his little head.

"I can't, I'm too tired," gasped Andi. "I'm sorry daddy, I can't do it." Andi's nightgown was long gone, and she was wearing a hospital gown that was soaked with her sweat.

"Yes you can," said Paul. "You're Doctor Adrianna Roberts, and you're a powerhouse. You traveled two thousand miles to meet this little guy, let's not disappoint him."

"So tired," gasped Andi. "I'm too tired."

"It's ok," said Doctor Janice. "Just relax, take deep relaxing breaths, and don't force it. You've been doing so perfectly. Nice and easy."

"Oh darling, I cannot wait to see the twins pull their baby brother in a wagon," said Paul.

"On the porch?" asked Andi, remembering her dream from eleven months ago. She could picture her girls, Sandy, Madeline, and Yi walking to Main Street with Danny and Katarina wrapped up and being pulled in a red radio flier wagon.

"One more good one then we can take a nap," said Paul.

"Ok, daddy," she whispered, their fingers tangled as their hands grasped for each other. They rested and waited, then Andi could feel it, the need to push. Her entire abdomen tightened up and Dr. Janice said, "hold off until you can't hold off anymore then push."

"Ok," said Andi in a tiny, exhausted voice. Finally, the urge to push won, and she pushed as hard as she could while three nurses crowded around her and chanted, "Push, Push, Push, Push!"

Once Daniel's scrunched up little face was visible, he slid out and into Paul's hand. "Here, let me get him started for you," said Janice with a wink and she began cleaning Danny up and soon a healthy cry was heard in the room.

"Is that him?" gasped Andi. "Is that Danny?" She didn't get to hear the twins' first cries. They were swept away to the preemie ICU, and she didn't get to see them for over an hour.

Janice handed Danny back to Paul with the umbilical tied off and she handed him a pair of umbilical cord scissors. The jaws of the scissors looked like the beak of a parrot, and he cut the cord where she showed him. "You're free little guy, wanna see what mommy looks like on the outside?"

Danny didn't seem to like the idea. He cried with a healthy squalor until Paul laid him down in Andi's arms and covered him up. "Here's mommy!"

Only his face could be seen as he tested out his eyes for the first time, and he looked around curiously. "He's beautiful!" gasped Andi, tears of joy welling in her eyes as, for the first time in her life, she touched a newborn baby.

<><><><><>

The twins were sitting with Wonka in front of the fireplace in the parlor, watching the snow fall and complaining that if it was going to snow, they should put up the Christmas tree. Their whining and complaining was annoying until Yi said, "Hey, go get me the pictures from the printer." There was a printer in the kitchen that Yi used for printing recipes and shopping lists.

They didn't move.

"Please? It's really important," asked Yi again.

"Fine, I'll do it," huffed Madeline, and she stomped off to the kitchen, her bare feet slapping on the hardwood floor. She came back with several pages covered with pictures and said, "here! They're just dumb baby pictures," and she threw them on Yi's lap.

"I don't know," said Yi. "I think he kind of looks like you."

"It's just a dumb baby," muttered Madeline as she lay down and used a napping Wonka for a pillow.

"I think he's kind of cute. It looks like he's smiling at your mother."

"What?" asked Sandy, suddenly interested.

"No, it's just a dumb baby," said Yi. "If you don't want to see your brother, that's fine. I'll let him know when he comes home."

"I wanna see, I wanna see!" cried the twins, and they dashed to Yi and climbed onto her lap to look at the baby pictures. "Who is that?" they said as they saw a picture of their father holding two babies and one was a dark-skinned baby swaddled next to Danny.

"That's your cousin Katarina!"

"Oohhh!" gasped the twins. "Let's go see!"

"No, nobody is going anywhere with the roads closed."

They studied the pictures and eagerly raced to the printer whenever it sprang to life. The twins began hanging the pictures up in their bedroom so they could see their mother and brother any time they wanted. "What's wrong with Aunt Macy?" asked Sandy.

"Yeah, she looks so sad," pointed out Madeline.

Heather sat down on the bed and pulled the twins onto her lap. "Sometimes when a mommy has a baby, she's sad afterwards. The sadness goes away. Sometime fast, sometimes slow."

Macy was indeed depressed. She had no right having children at her age. She looked at the baby in her bassinette, swaddled tightly and sleeping innocently. Her skin tone was dark, but much lighter than Macy's skin. It was so pretty... conceived in love on Valentine's day. She and John made passionate love all night long in the cabin. It was so wonderful... Macy stared at the baby and wondered why she hated it so much.

"Hey babe," said John as he leaned over the bassinette and Katarina opened one eye then went back to sleep... Then John sat down on the bed next to Macy and asked in French, "Do you want to talk about it?"

"I do not know what to say, I feel so empty... like an ugly, spikey hull for a buckeye... once the chestnut is out I am discarded..."

"No, you are not the hull, you are the beautiful tree that created the buckeye..." She looked at him with baleful sad eyes and he continued, "Look, we both have degrees in psychology, we know what is going on here. Your depression will not last, we have to stay together and love each other."

"I am sorry, this is not fair to you..." Macy laid down and turned her back on John.

"Gus and Lucy are here, they came on a snowmobile. They will be over in a moment," said John, but Macy ignored him. "I will be right back," he said, fighting the tears.

She lay with her back to the baby and John and said, "Tout ce que." (Whatever) She lay that way for a long time, not talking, not thinking. At some point, John got up and left, which was fine with Macy. Maybe he took that baby with him.

John did indeed leave, he couldn't take her rejection of him and Katarina. Paul found him kneeling in a men's room praying fervently, while weeping bitter tears. His agony got to Paul, who knelt next to him and prayed with him. Soon Gus joined them and said, "Stop!"

"Stop praying?" asked Pastor John.

"Stop praying wrongly," said Gus. "You're praying for forgiveness. You should pray for joy. She just had a tremendous change come over her and she has a million questions that you're not answering. Let a grandfather handle this," he said, and he patted John's shoulder, then he left.

John and Paul looked at each other and shrugged.

Macy was still laying on the bed. The baby behind her was squeaking and making noises. "Bonjour mademoiselle!" called Gus. As he stepped into the room.

"It's madame, I haven't been mademoiselle for a long time," Macy said sadly.

"I wasn't speaking to you," said Gus as he carefully scooped Katarina from her bassinette. "I am talking to the brand new little lady that looks just as beautiful as her mommy." Katarina looked at Gus and scrunched up her face, and began crying. "Don't worry, I do that to lots of people," he said softly, and he laid Katarina next to Macy and he unraveled her swaddling. He checked her tiny disposable diaper and smiled at Katarina. "Oh you piddled, didn't you?"

For some reason, that struck a chord in the baby, and she waved her tiny fists around and made little noises that sounded like the beginning of a laugh. "Yes, you're all wet, aren't you?" He cleaned the baby with wipes, then he applied a little ointment and a little powder, then fitted her with a new diaper. He tickled her tiny feet, which evoked a squeak before he swaddled her up tight. Once she was wrapped up, Gus sat down and tried to feed her, but she didn't like the artificial nipple and she turned her face away. "Come on baby, come on..." Gus finally got the nipple in her mouth and she began nursing.

Gus winked at Macy, who was watching silently. "Never underestimate the power of a grandfather." He continued to feed Katarina, but she didn't like the formula and turned away from the nipple. "I miss Katarina," said Gus sadly. "She was a wonderful woman. So smart, so funny. That's where John and Paul got their sense of humor from."

"Oui, I miss her," said Macy.

Katarina started whimpering and Gus started singing "If I Were a Rich Man" from Fiddler on the Roof, which Katarina seemed to like. "There's something pure about relaxing with a baby," said Gus. "You don't have to do anything except radiate a little heat to share with the baby." He leaned back in the rocking chair and sighed. "This is something we miss in our later years. I know Katarina missed it horribly."

"She did?" asked Macy. "She told me not to have a baby until I was ready."

"That's right, because it's not about her or what she wanted... it's about you and the baby."

"She died without seeing a grandchild... I'm so selfish," and Macy began crying harder.

"I'm sure she's looking down on this little angel right now. I know she is. Just remember, when you wake up in the morning and change the baby, step back for a moment and say, 'Look mom, no zebra stripes!'"

Macy stopped crying and stared at Gus for a long moment, then laughed. "John told you?"

"Katarina told me," said Gus. "She said that the look on your face when she asked if her grandchildren would be zebra striped was the funniest thing she had ever seen. And Cecil! He didn't want to hurt your feelings, but you made him laugh harder than anyone else ever did."

Now Macy was laughing and crying at the same time. Katarina was beautiful, witty, and very smart. Best of all, she could act the dumb blond. She said she learned that from Goldie Hawn on Laugh In. "I miss her so much."

Gus was quiet for a long time, just rocking the squalling baby. "We all do. This little one has a wonderful example to follow. What about her middle name? John didn't tell me about it, but it's very beautiful."

"What middle name?" Macy was confused. "We hadn't decided on one."

"I guess John gave her a middle name when he filled out the birth certificate; he said it's Romée."

"Romée?" Macy sat up in the bed. "He named her Romée?"

"Yes, he thought that was an important name for you. Who is Romée?"

"Romée was like a mother to me, she saved me from a horrible mistake when I traveled to Montreal..." She couldn't hold back the tears now as she thought about the two women who made her the woman that she was. "She saved me... many times," she said in a tiny voice.

Gus sat down next to Macy and said, "I think that Katarina Romée Jarecki needs to learn about Romée and Katarina." He handed the drowsy baby to the weeping new mother. "Tell her all the wonderful things they taught you. Tell her what made them important to you, and let her know the love they showed you."

Macy looked into Katarina's eyes and cried harder. "Nous t'avons attendu si longtemps." (We waited so long for you.) Gus looked up and saw John peering in through the door and he waved John in. Gus left the room as John and Macy looked at their baby in wonder and kissed. Their problems weren't solved, but they were finally moving in the right direction.

Gus stepped out into the hallway where Lucy, Paul, Andi, and Danny were waiting. Gus straightened his sleeves and said, "I think my work here is done."

<><><><><> ֎ <><><><><>

"...and men's bible study will resume after Thanksgiving. Are there any additions or questions?" The chairman of the church sounds impressive, but to be honest, Paul's primary job was reading the announcements on Sunday. He looked up at the congregation and there was a sea of hands. "Jenny?" he said as he called on Jenny Simmons, mostly because she was closest.

"How are the babies? When do we get to see them?"

"Andi and Macy are taking some time off, they'll be back in church with the babies in December. John and Macy are still at my house and will be moving home sometime after Thanksgiving. If you would like to visit, please write your request on the back of a twenty dollar bill and... what?" He was stopped by the groaning from the congregation. "OR - you can call ahead. Please don't drop in unannounced. Anything else?"

Another hand went up and Paul called on the person. "Dexter? What do you have to say?"

It was Dexter Humboldt, the man that Paul had to relieve from the board. "I want to apologize."

"Come on up Dex," said Paul. Dexter rose and walked up to the podium and stood behind the lectern. He had talked to Paul about this, and Paul was fully aware of what Dexter was going to say. In fact, he helped Dexter with his statement. "I said some mean and hateful things back at the September board meeting and I was released from the board. I was angry and afraid and was filled with poor advice from a bad pastor. I'm sorry, I was wrong. I deserve what they did, but please don't throw me out of this church, it's my home and..."

"It's ok Dex. Come here. We don't want to throw you out of the church. You're one of us, we all wanted to say bad things in September." He gave Dexter a back patting hug and said, "Call the office and make an appointment with John. We'll get you through this."

"Ok, I will," said a tearful Dexter, and he returned to his seat.

As Dexter sat down, Paul turned back to the congregation and asked, "anything else?" When there were no questions or additions, Paul said, "Can you all do me a big favor? Andi and Macy are watching on YouTube, could you turn around and wave to the camera?"

The congregation turned to wave at Andi and Macy and when they turned back around, John was seated on a stool at the lectern. He was greeted with surprised applause. "Ok, calm down. Did you all get your homework done?"

After the laughter died down, John said, "Thank you all for being so nice to Macy. Did you realize that was her first public sermon, and the first time she conducted a service in English?"

"I did," said Paul from his seat.

"Besides you." John sighed as the nervous laughter died. "This is my first service without the love of my life there in the third row so please forgive me if I stumble." John put on his glasses and said, "many of you will be happy to know that the man responsible for the terror he inflicted on us in September has done the right thing and has pled guilty to all charges, so he won't be back anytime soon. Ok, enough whining on my part, let's open to First Kings..."

After the service, John walked up the center aisle slowly with a cane and with Paul next to him. "How did I do?" asked John once they reached the foyer.

"To be honest you sounded like you were taking an oral examination," said Paul. "The content was good, but you sounded nervous."

"I don't like flying solo. I need my co-pilot."

"I'm sorry that I can't do that for you," said Paul. It almost felt like a rejection, and Paul was shocked at the feeling.

"You're new at being married," said John. He patted Paul's shoulder. "I know you love Andi, but she isn't your right arm yet. Give it a decade."

It was a snowy November day, there was still snow from the storm a few weeks ago, and a few inches of new snow fell while they were in church. As they stood at the door to say goodbye, John was swarmed with his parishioners and soon he was exhausted from the show of love from his flock. So many tearful hugs! And so many little gifts for Katarina and Daniel. "What are the middle names for the babies?" asked Mrs. Bauer. When they met a decade ago, John was sure she was 90. If anything, she looks younger now.

"It's Katarina Romée and Daniel Cyryl."

"Romée..." Mrs. Bauer thought the name over. "I knew a Romée, Romée Beaulieu. She had a modeling agency in Canada, I was a seamstress, and I did some work for her years ago."

Paul and John looked at each other in shock. Someone here in Springville knew Romée! "That is who Katarina is named for, she was the closest thing Macy had to a mother. I'm sure She would like to talk to you about Romée."

"That would be nice," said Mrs. Bauer as her son, Nathan, pulled up to the door. "I cannot wait to see the Irish twins." Gus and Paul helped her into her car, and she was off.

"We're not Irish," John said as the last few people stepped outside.

"It's an old term," said Gus. "When cousins are born close together they're called Irish twins. I don't know why."

Eventually Paul ran out into the snowy parking lot and hopped in Andi's Explorer, then pulled up to the church door and as John loaded up the gifts while Gus showed Kenny how to lock the church up. Next week, the congregation was going to vote to replace Dexter Humboldt on the board, and Kenny was the nominee.

They returned home to happy bedlam, but this time it wasn't the twins raising hell. Veronica and Heather were trying to teach Yi how to use a snow blower. Kenny pulled up after Paul and John got home to see the snow blower pulling Yi around the driveway. She was shouting in terror as Veronica and Heather watched and laughed. Inside, the house was slightly more peaceful, but not much. The twins were racing around the house because the first hint of Christmas arrived while Pappa Paul and Unka John were at church, and they were excited at a fever pitch.

"Pappa pappa pappa! It's here it's here!" and they pulled Paul through the kitchen into the parlor where a huge blue spruce stood in front of the 14 foot tall front window. "Santa's helpers brought it," said Madeline.

"Are you sure they were Santa's helpers?" Paul asked.

"Uh huh!" insisted Sandy. "They had the right hats." The young guys that brought the tree were wearing Santa hats.

"Oh well, the hats, that settles it for me," said John as he eased down into the love seat next to Macy. In the parlor fireplace, a cheery fire burned. There was now a glass insert in the fireplace that diverted the heat from the fire into the room. Andi had the oxygen intakes set to make the flames dance slowly. Soft classical music filled the room, but it would be two weeks before Andi and Macy would allow Christmas music to be played in the house.

The twins are very good at remaining silent when the babies are sleeping, but when the babies are awake, the twins have all that built up energy and a 14 foot tall "naked" tree was the biggest trigger one could imagine. The twins dashed back and forth between Paul and the tree with commentary:

"I think there's a squirrel in the tree, but he's asleep."

"Tree water tastes good, that's why me and Wonka drink it so much."

"Can we put Danny and Kitty on the tree? They'll fit."

"I should put the angel on top 'cause Grandma says I'm her angel."

"Me too!"

"Mommy can feed Kitty too! I thought just babies she made can eat."

John and Paul were both stunned by that one. "No, mother's milk is mother's milk. Any healthy baby can drink any healthy mother's milk."

Macy looked concerned and said, "I don't think she's getting anything."

"Do you want to switch? I have plenty, and Danny is gentle."

The women swapped babies and went back to nursing them. The twins watched in amazement as their brother began nursing at their aunt's breast, his pale white skin contrasting against Macy's dark black skin. Finally, Sandy couldn't contain herself any longer. "Is that chocolate milk?"

The adults in the room fought back the laughter as Macy said, "I do not know, would you like to try some?"

The twins looked embarrassed, and they ran off, but they returned with a paper cup. As Sandy wordlessly held the cup up for Macy to fill, Andi said, "Let's let the babies eat their lunch first, then we'll play."

Just then Andi's phone rang, and it was a video call from Katrina Mays, her old assistant. "How goes it boss?" Katrina asked

"You got to come out for Christmas!" said Andi. "We're going to have another wedding!"

"Anyone I know?"

"She was in Denver with us."

"LUCY?" squealed Kat. "Oh my God!" Then Kat noticed Andi was doing something. "What are you doing?"

"What do you think?" grinned Andi, and she held the phone out so Kat could see her nursing her niece Katarina.

Kat saw her boss, milk white Andi, nursing a chocolate milk colored child. "Is that... ah..." Kat was never good at diplomacy and this time she was in trouble.

"This is my bay-bee!" said Andi. "And look, Macy had a baby too!" and she turned the camera so Kat in Denver could see chocolate brown Macy nursing snow white Danny.

"You both had babies? Who won the bet?" asked Kat, realizing what the two were doing.

"I did," said Andi. "Danny was born at two thirteen on November eighth, Katarina was born at three twenty five."

"That wasn't the bet," said Kat. "The bet was who would be first to the delivery room. Who was first to the delivery room?"

Andi and Macy looked at each other, and they realized the bet was still ongoing. Neither made it to the delivery room because their babies were born in the ER. "That's funny that you mention that Kitty-Kat..." grinned Andi.

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This was originally the end of Andi's Dream, but there are far too many loose ends. Stany by for more...