A/N: I belted this out for Beaumont. Merry Christmas. (These are, in essence, deleted scenes that I never used. That means this is a DRAFT and was NEVER developed. It's not intended to replace the original ending. Just take it for what it is: a simple outline with a few scenes that I thought were too cute not to share.) In these unused scenes, it's been six months since Randi left Elise and she lives in a converted garage behind her parents' house.) ~I

Secrets Like Acid

Alternate Ending

Randi saw the red Prowler in front of her parents' house and she looked down the block, wondering the likely home it belonged to. She thought of Elise and a burning pain started in her chest. She shook her head, trying to free herself of the memory of Elise's lips on hers.

She grabbed the mail and stepped into the hallway, tossing the keys on the console table, where they slid against one of her mother's vases, chipping it.

"Oops," she whispered, turning her attention to the envelopes in her hand. As she walked through the living room toward the kitchen, she didn't really see anyone else but her mother. "Whose shitty car is out front, Mom?"

As she nearly stepped into the kitchen, her stomach clenched at a familiar voice. "That would be my shitty car."

Randi stopped, slapped the envelopes against her leg and slowly turned to see Elise, sitting across from her mother. She was wearing a navy pantsuit that made her eyes look purple. She was holding a teacup. Randi's eyes flicked to her mother who seemed confused by her daughter's reaction of annoyance. Randi's eyes met her father's and she looked away quickly, afraid he could see her flush, could feel her heart racing and sense the accumulation of moisture. Randi's eyes captured Elise's. "What are you doing here, Elise?"

Marissa smacked her hand on her own knee. "Randi Marie Ashman! This is your angel of mercy. Is that anyway to talk to her?"

Elise raised an eyebrow and gave her a pointed and amused look.

Randi scratched her head. "What is this?"

Elise placed the teacup in the blue saucer. "A visit, Randi. We have some...." She suppressed the urge to look at Randi's parents. "...business—"

Randi slapped the envelopes against her thigh again. Her eyes hardened. She opened her mouth to speak, closed it and swallowed. "You got your goddamn money."

Her mother clucked her teeth at her rudeness, but Randi spoke over her mother. "And I am leaving."

She tossed the envelopes on the tables and walked back through the living room.

"I'll call you later, Mom."

Marissa rose to her feet. Elise could see the long, dark braid and the earth tone dress and hemp sandals. "Excuse me, Elise," she whispered.

Elise turned and found Randi's father looking at her intently. She used all of her professional mark to keep a guilty expression from her face.

Jude put his teacup down, placed the napkin on the table and his elbows on his knees. He rubbed his hands together. "You and my daughter are more than friends." Jude's law training had taken over. He was now stating facts as he encountered them.

Elise held his gaze. She considered and then discarded the notion of lying to him. "Yes," she finally whispered.

He nodded, a grim smile on his lips. "Thanks for some honesty. It's more than we've gotten from Randi about her time in California."

"Are you saying Randi hasn't told you anything about her time there?"

"No, she's not even out of the closet."

Elise's mouth opened slightly in shock before she could clamp it down.

"I'm certain her mother can't see it. I'm certain she didn't feel the sexual tension between you two. Marissa is...." Jude lifted his eyes in thought. "...naïve in many ways."

"But you aren't."

"No, I've suspected that she was a lesbian for years but I wanted to give her the room she needed to grow. She still lives in denial. It's worse since California."

Elise shifted her legs, feeling awkward with the thought of telling Randi's father more. But she needed an ally. "I hurt your daughter—It was a misunderstanding, really. She left before we could resolve it."

"The same thing happened to us when she was 16. It remains a white elephant at the table that we ignore."

Elise looked down at her hands. "Mr. Ashman, I have feelings for your daughter. Strong feelings and I think I could use your help."

Jude reached down and took his cup, taking a small sip. "Do you love her?"

"I really do, Mr. Ashman. I just hope she loves me."

Jude stood and handed her his business card. "What I have to tell you can only be done in private. It's the secrets we hold that are burning us up from the inside out. And I think my daughter's secret is related to mine. Can you come to my office after lunch?"

X X X X

Randi heard the front door open behind her as she swung a leg over the Harley. She slid the key in the ignition and waited. Her mother stood beside her with her arms crossed.

"What is with you, Randi Marie?"

Randi studied her mother's face. There were wild and coarse silver at her temples and her face was sprinkled with small lines. None of those were there when she ran away from home. She knew it'd been hard on her mother but Marissa hardly understood her role in Randi's fear.

"Mom, Elise is not my friend. What is she doing here? What are you and Dad doing helping her?"

"Randi, Elise told us you were friends. She said she'd helped you out during a rough patch. You've just had a falling out. You need friends, honey. You can't be a loner forever."

"Mom, I think you should get back in there before Dad spills the beans. The last thing I need is for him to advertise his...deficiencies."

"Randi," she whispered, placing a hand on her daughter's. "Does any of this have to do with our problems?"

Randi withdrew her hand and started the motor. "I don't have any problems. Your husband is the one that is jacked up."

"Randi, please don't talk like that about your father."

Randi gave a bitter laugh. "Let's cut the crap. Okay? We know who my father is and it isn't Jude."

Marissa recoiled. "Why are you acting this way? We thought you were closer to dealing with this. Being mature enough."

Randi revved the motorcycle and studied her mother. She was lashing out at her. Marissa was in denial and that denial meant rejection of Randi's basic sense of self. "I'll call you later."

X X X X

Randi traveled a few blocks and pulled out her cell phone, calling Charlotte. She drove 30 minutes to see her. She hadn't seen her in two months, not since their last fuck. That's what they were... fuck buddies, but Charlotte was beginning to want more.

She answered the door wearing a University of Texas T-shirt and shorts. The ensemble made her look much younger than 37.

"Come in, Randi."

She handed her lover a glass of apple juice on the way in. Jazz was playing on the radio. But all the living room lights were on. Charlotte curled up on the couch. "I thought we could talk for a while."

Randi nodded, wishing she didn't have to. She didn't want to talk. She didn't want to know Charlotte. She wanted to lose herself in the senses. To find balance in the tides of pleasure. But she sat stiffly on the other end of the sofa.

"You've never asked me any questions." Charlotte leaned forward to try to capture Randi's gaze. Their eyes met and Charlotte recognized the pain she'd seen there on their encounters. She couldn't console her unless she let her in the door, and that started with the basics. "Like what I do for a living. How I have fun."

Randi cleared her throat. "So Charlotte, what do you do for a living?"

Charlotte adjusted herself. "I work for the City of Austin's Planning Department. You want to build something here, you've got to pass my inspectors."

Randi nodded. "Sounds interesting. What do you like to do for fun?"

"You mean besides sex?"

"Yeah."

Charlotte stood up and grabbed a photo album from the top of her entertainment center. She sat next to Randi and handed her the book. "Photography is my game. I capture time and space."

Randi skimmed through the pages, seeing images of still life, cars, neon signs and landscapes caught in unique angles and lighting. "You have quite an eye."

Charlotte took the book from Randi's trembling hands. When she sat back, her right arm went around Randi's shoulders and the left rested on her thigh. "You don't want to talk."

Randi stared at Charlotte's thin red lips. "No."

"What do you want to—?"

Randi leaned in and kissed her. It was a sweet kiss that made Charlotte's heartache for more tenderness. Her hand reached up to stroke Randi's cheek. Her smile invited another, more urgent kiss. Randi's hand reached up and squeezed Charlotte's breast through her shirt.

Randi leaned in and pushed Charlotte on her back, crawling over her. Her lips traveled down while her hands traveled up, pushing her shirt up. Randi's tongue circled her nipples and then blew on them. Charlotte's hands eased through Randi's hair. "Love your lips...." Charlotte moaned.

Randi turned her attention to the nipple while a hand traveled along Charlotte's middle to the center. Charlotte heard Randi's whisper-light murmurs and she arched into Randi's mouth.

When Randi' bare hand slipped into Charlotte's loose sweats and panties, the older woman tried to open her legs wider.

Randi's fingers found wetness and they easily glided in brushing a swollen nub. "Oh God!" Charlotte cried. Randi could feel the smallest pulses that signaled her lover was close.

Randi bit down on a nipple, while three fingers went deep and a thumb fluttered the swollen sweet spot. Charlotte growled out her climax.

Randi withdrew her wet hand and laid her head on Charlotte's flat stomach. When Charlotte caught her breath, her hand found Randi's hair. She worked dark strands behind her ears. "I'm not Elise," she whispered.

Randi rubbed her face in Charlotte's shirt and pushed herself up. "I know. I'm sorry." She sighed, wishing that Charlotte hadn't heard her cry for Elise. Seeing Elise had been more than she could bear.

Charlotte sat up and pulled her knees up, hugging them with both arms. Her chin rested on them. "I can't be her, Randi. I can only be me."

Randi leaned on her elbows and covered her face, inhaling Elise's—no, Charlotte's—scent. Randi sobbed.

"But you don't want me."

Randi brushed at her tears and her eyes were apologetic. "I can't change me either, Charlotte. I wish I could. I want to want you."

Charlotte turned and looked forward. "Star-crossed lovers."

Randi dropped her head and whispered, "I'm an empty lover, Charlotte. I have nothing to give, except the physical."

"Because Elise has it all."

"Yes." Randi drew out the words as she closed her eyes.

"Does she know she still holds all the cards?"

Randi shook her head and ran a hand through her hair. "No, she's probably gone."

"She's here?!"

"Was."

"You let her go?"

"It's complicated."

"Secrets only have power in the dark, Randi. They disintegrate in the light of day."

Randi clucked her teeth. "They're stones around my neck."

X X X X

Elise stood in front of Jude Ashman's secretary in a plush office in downtown Belton, Texas. "I'm sorry," the young woman said. "But if you don't have an appointment, Mizz Barrows, then Senator Ashman can't—"

"Miss—" Elise glanced down at the nameplate on her desk. "Miss Klein, Senator Ashman will see me. Can you please let him know I'm here."

The secretary smacked her gum. "Just one moment." She buzzed through. "Senator, a Miss Elise Barrows is—Yes, sir."

She carefully set the phone in the cradle, and then looked up at Elise. "He will see through that door."

"Thank you, Miss Klein," Elise said with a smug smile.

Elise walked through the door into a spacious office. The dark wood of the desk and other furnishings were exquisitely handcrafted. The dark burgundy wall displayed his degrees and pictures of the Senator with U.S. presidents, Texas governors and other political celebrities. A second wall was lined with law tomes.

She smiled at the slight man behind a large wooden desk, stretching her hand. "Thank you for seeing me, Senator Ashman."

"Thank you for coming, Elise," he said.

"Please," he said, gesturing them toward plush sofa and chairs at the other end of the room. "Call me Jude."

She inclined her head in acknowledgement.

"Coffee, tea, water or soda, perhaps?" he asked, standing by a small wet bar that hid beneath a large globe.

"I'm fine, Jude. Thank you though."

She sat in a chair while the Senator sat on the sofa at a right angle. Elise could see his hands shaking. "Did Randi ever tell you about the argument she had with her mother and I?" he asked.

She was surprised there would be no preliminaries. "She mentioned in passing when I asked why she never spoke with her family. But your daughter can be very evasive."

He nodded and offered an unsurprised purse of his lips. He took a deep breath and then started to speak. "Marissa and I fell in love twenty-four years ago."

Elise smiled, surprised in the sudden change of direction. "That's a long time ago."

"During our first year together, she was diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome, meaning she is infertile. She was devastated. So I...so I agreed to be artificially inseminated. By her brother." Jude watched Elise's face, looking for signs of shock or revulsion, disgust or anything.

Her perfectly sculptured eyebrows did pleat together. "But...?"

"I had already started my transition to becoming a man," he said, crossing a leg. "You see, Elise, I am a transsexual. I had already started my transition to becoming a man before I even met Marissa. She fell in love with me as a man. When she turned up infertile, she was devastated. I loved her and I could give her a child. So I did with her brother Andy's help. Marissa was able to carry Randi. After she was born, we traveled to California, where I was recognized as a man, and we were married."

Elise held her head. "Wow, I didn't realize they could do any of that so far back."

"Transgendered men and women have existed as we know them since the sixties."

Elise became pensive. "Now I understand some of what Randi told me. She said the kids made fun of you calling her dad a—"

"Faggot," he supplied. "It was all very hard on Randi. I was not the most masculine transman. Nor was I the most feminine bio-woman."

Elise shook her head. "I can't even imagine what you've been through."

"When I cam out to my father—the Rebbe—" Jude's eyebrows rose as he adopted a strong New York Yiddish accent. "Lesbian shmesbian. You need a man, Judith, not a woman. That is all that ails you. Stop kvetching."

Jude stared ahead, at a picture of scrolls on a far wall. "I said, 'I don't need a man, papa. I am a man.' The Rebbe tried for two weeks to reason with his only daughter. His sons—my brothers also Rebbes—tried to reason with their youngest sister. But when my mother, Rivkah, passed they lamented us both. I was now dead to them. Jude Ashman was born in Houston that day. I put myself through college as a waiter and through law school, where I received my degree as Judith Ashman. A classmate ran against me seven years ago for the Texas State Senate. He knew me as Judith and he wasn't above using it to win an election. I was won, but I lost my daughter."

Elise fell back. "Jesus." Then she met Jude's eyes. "Oh, jeez. I'm sorry."

Jude smiled. "Marissa and I are Unitarians now. Just don't blaspheme the Goddess."

"Good to know."

"Randi was furious at us, especially me. She accused me us of being lesbians. I accepted the accusation. I had always loved women. But Marissa was angered and she said she had only ever loved Jude, not Judith."

"Did that...I mean, how did—?"

"It did sting, but Testosterone dulls the pain, if you can believe that. Really. I know Marissa can't deal with the idea that I was a woman."

Elise grimaced slightly and Jude accurately read the question there.

"My relationship to Marissa is traditional in most aspects including sexual."

Elise colored a fire red as she looked away. "I didn't mean to imply anything by my expression. I'm sorry." When she turned back, Elise realized with horror that she had involuntarily glanced at Jude's crotch. She looked away again, feeling the warmth of blush burn.

Jude only laughed. "I'm not going to tell you any details, Elise," he said with humor. "But I'm a female anatomically. I just didn't trust those hacks."

"That's really more than I need to know, Jude," she said, clearing her throat. "Really."

"Marissa would be furious if she knew I told you. She becomes irate at the mere suggestion of being a lesbian."

The pieces began to click for Elise. "She rejects herself and her daughter by extension."

Jude nodded sadly. "Yes, secrets are acid."

"They've nearly destroyed us once. I will not allow them to try again."

"Which is why you're going to help me talk to Randi?" Elise asked hopefully.

"I can see the pain in her eyes, Elise. But I also see rapture there. I've never seen that before. Since she's been back from Cali, she's been very self-destructive."

"Like?" Elise's concern was etched on her face.

"Motorcycle with no helmet. God know what else."

X X X X

Randi walked into her parents' house from the backyard. The family room was empty, except for the various orange and gray felines that littered the furniture.

"Thank goodness you're holding the furniture down, ladies," Randi remarked. "Otherwise, they'd just float away. You provide a valuable service to Chez Ashman. Don't let anyone tell you different."

Her nemesis Yuletide meowed indignantly, as if Randi had been sarcastic.

"Same to you," Randi hissed. "Where's your mother and mine, hmm?"

From the smell of spices, Randi knew Marissa was in the kitchen. "I'm here, mija!" her mother called.

Randi sashayed into the kitchen, adjusting her drooping shorts. "What's for dinner?" she asked as she opened the fridge door. Before her mother could answer, a growl escaped Randi's mouth. "Where's all the beer I bought?"

Her mother stirred the red sauce. "I poured it down the drain."

"You what?"

"Beer is not healthy, mi'ja," she said. "It messes with your chakra and it throws your qi out of alignment. Why don't you drink wine?"

Randi tried to slam the fridge door, but it closed with a gentle thud. Her parents were beginning to interfere too much. First beer, then Elise. "Look, mom," she said. "You can believe whatever you want. But please don't try to convince me that some organic nuts charging a fortune for their books can extend my life. I could get run over by a bus tomorrow—"

"Aye, mi'ja," she exclaimed with an eye roll. "Don't say that. The universe will hear you!"

Randi rolled her eyes. "I don't believe in that shit, mom."

Marissa slowly lifted her head and inhaled deeply. She turned, giving her daughter a pointed look and a wagging finger. "You should! Remember my breast cancer scare?"

"It was a cyst. Doctor said it was common."

"It could have been so much worse, if I had allowed negative words to pass my lips or thought to dominate my mind." Marissa touched Randi's third eye on her forehead.

Randi shook her head until her mother dropped the finger. "All right," Randi said in a placating voice. "I tell you what. Universe," she shouted, lifting her chin. "If you can hear me, suck me off."

Marissa gasped and then inhaled raggedly, earning a smirk from her daughter.

"If you're right, I get jacked off by the universe," she said. "If I'm right, well then I won't get jack!"

"It doesn't work that way," Marissa said curtly, returning to her sauce. "Now look at that! It's overcooked!"

"The universe did it, Mom. That's what happens in my world when you toy with the Beer Gods. They are powerful and terrifying deities that must be appeased in my belly." Randi raised her arms in scorn. "The god of Budweiser and the god of Yuengling. Don't cross them or the goddess of Pretzels. Apocalypse will ensue!"

"You're mocking me, Randi."

Randi leaned in and squeezed her mother from behind, offering a kiss on the cheek. "It's fun, mom. Besides, my beer was innocent. Doesn't dad like beer?"

"Yes, but his cholesterol is too high," she said. "He drinks red now."

"Poor sap!"

"I heard that!" Jude's alto voice carried from the dining room.

Randi retreated form the kitchen with a mango dish her mother concocted. She saw her dad laying the silverware. As she fully entered the room, she saw Elise to the side, folding the cloth napkins.

"What are you still doing here?"

Elise's smile almost faded, but she willed it to remain in place, but slowly it drained from her eyes. "Randi, Elise is our guest," Jude said. "Show some respect."

She placed the bowl on the table with a dull bump. "Respect?! First my beer and now this?" Where's my respect?"

Jude laid down the last fork, neatly squaring it with the table. Then his deeply inset eyes caught his daughter. "We like Elise." His words were slow and intentional.

By the tone and his deliberate delivery, Randi surmised that her father knew about the two of them. She glanced at Elise who did not look up. She looked back at her father. Randi wanted to know if her mother knew but she was afraid.

Jude could see the war being fought inside his daughter. To leave or stay. To love or despise. The truth or lies. Ultimately she had no more places to run.

Marissa sauntered in with a platter of sauce-covered tofu. "Mi'ja, can you bring the stir fry in here?"

Randi obediently brought the other dishes to the table. Her parents and Elise were seated, leaving a chair across from her ex-lover. She inhaled and sat down, taking food from the serving bowls and passing them around.

When they were all served, Jude covered his head with a hand and offered a traditional Jewish prayer. "Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God, the Lord is one."

When he had finished, he nodded to his wife. "Oh Goddess, we thank thee for thy bounty. Our life force and for your goodness. Omein."

Randi sighed as she put the vegetarian food in her mouth. She preferred a cheeseburger with real meat but she told herself she could eat like this during her weekly meals with her parents. Having Elsie there was another story.

After she took a bite, a surprised Elise hummed. "Marissa! This is very tasty."

"Thank you, Elise. I try to make our food healthy and delicious. Have you eaten vegan meals?"

She shook her head. "Can't say I have. Now I'm sorry I never tried it."

"I'd be happy to send you some recipes."

Randi tried to hide her eye roll with a bow of her head.

"Thank you. That would be nice."

Randi swirled the meatless bite in her mouth and finally swallowed. She was trying to eat slowly to avoid speaking.

"Randi grew up on organic vegan meals before it was trendy," Marissa said.

"Yeah," Randi replied. "And I still managed to turn out semi-normal and only slightly deranged."

Jude chuckled, but he knew his wife was displeased from her narrow eyes. This was an old duel between those two.

"Who knows, mom," Randi said. "Maybe if I had eaten cow flesh I'd be the doctor you and dad always wanted."

Marissa pressed her right wrist into the table edge. "That's not funny, Randi Marie."

At her mother's use of Randi's middle name, Elise gave her ex-lover a twinkling wink, making Randi look down at her plate.

Marissa took a drink and set her glass down. "So how do you two know each other? Besides Elise rescuing Randi from sickness."

Randi whispered, "Geez" before she could stop herself.

Elise glanced at Jude, who nodded slightly. Then she turned to offer Marissa a bright smile. "Actually, it's interesting. Randi started off working on my house. She did beautiful work."

"Oh?" Marissa said, looking up from her plate.

"She did the renovation work of a seasoned professional. I think her projects doubled my house value."

"Like what/"

"She replaced my counter tops with granite. Flooring with dark wood planks. Paint. You name it. She did it."

Marissa studied Elise for a moment. "And what does my daughter have to show for her work?"

Randi's plate was battered loudly by the fork she dropped on it. "Mother!" she hissed.

Elise was not surprised by the remark because Jude had warned her of Marissa's fierce mother bear instinct. "She got room, board, one trip and cash, of course."

"A trip?"

"Yes, to meet my family."

Marissa's eyes flicked to Randi, but addressed her question to Elise. "Your family? Why would an employee need to do that?"

Randi felt the full weight of her mother's stare. She felt naked and helpless. She took a sip of her mango juice cocktail. Then her eyes found Elise's over the lid of her glass.

Elise's deep blue eyes seemed to ask her to answer the question herself.

But Randi turned pleading eyes on her father. But they were met with indifference. She realized then that this dinner had been planned between the two of them. They were going to hold up mirrors to them both.

Randi's mother was holding a fork poised upward while she watched her daughter. Randi felt her heart beat in her throat. She wanted to bolt to her feet and run. Her mother's words so long ago echoed in her head. "I am no lesbian. How dare you say that to me! I love Jude, not Judith."

"Well, Elise," Marissa said again. "Why would an employee need or want to meet your family?" Still she stared at Randi, whose eyes shifted back and forth.

Elise's heart when out to Randi. It hadn't been that long since she'd come out to her own family, thanks to her.

"At some point, Marissa, our relationship...." Elise waited for Marissa to look at her. When she did, she continued. "It evolved."

Marissa firmed her jaw and pursed her lips. She looked at each person at the table in turn. Jude was staring back at her in his lawyerly persona she'd seen many times in the courtroom. Randi was staring at her plate and Elise was looking at her expectantly. "All of you know what I am just now realizing," she said.

Jude's eyes gave his wife all the comfort that his arms would give her tonight.

His offer angered her and she turned to her daughter. "Maybe you should tell me what a stranger has come into my house and intimated about my only child."

Randi closed her eyes for a fraction of a second and then opened them. She stood slowly to face her father. "I'm giving you 30 days notice. I'm breaking the lease. Fine me whatever you want."

"Randi," her father whispered. "Don't do this."

Marissa looked between father and daughter. "Jude, what is going on here?"

Randi patted her shorts and found her keys. "Dad is fucking with my life. That's what's going on here. He took her side—" Randi gestured with her chin to Elise. "Over mine." Then Randi captured Jude's gaze. "Just like a goddamn Jewish mother!"

"Randi!" Jude bolted to his feet. "That's untrue. Please sit down. Let's all talk about—"

"You've gone too damn far, Jude," Randi said shaking her head. "I'm sorry, mom. For everything."

Elise stood up. "Randi," she shouted as Randi got to the kitchen door. "Please stop. Let's talk. Let's face ourselves. Didn't you tell me that when I came out to my parents?"

Randi kept her back to them, but she stopped.

"Your father is trying to help us find our joy again." Elise then offered Marissa an apologetic expression. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Ashman, that I've barged into your life like this. I've ransacked your family because I want the only love of my life back. And I don't know how to help her understand that I was so wrong before. I was a fool and I would do anything to win her back."

Marissa stood up, throwing her napkin in the chair. "Randi," she said, touching her shoulder. "Is this true?"

Randi put both hands on the doorjambs and let her head loll forward. "Do you hate me now, mom?" she said with a sob.

Marissa thought of all the times she'd denied being a lesbian to her own family. The arguments enraged her so much that she'd disparaged that group and now she realized how she must have wounded her daughter. She placed a hand on Randi's shoulder blade. "Never, mi'ja," she whispered. "It is me I hate. How could I heave ever said all of those things? I had known what you were—who you were I would never have said those awful things. Not about you. Not about the love of my life—" She put her cheek on Randi's back and her eyes found Jude's. "I'm so sorry, baby." She seemed to speak to her husband and daughter together. "Judith made Jude the man he is. And Randi you came from Judith. How could I hate that woman? It would be like hating myself and perhaps I do, because I was ashamed of the love I hold for your...for Jude." Then she looked at Elise. "How could I resent someone who loves you so much they would risk everything for you?"

Randi sobbed again and her mother pulled her close. "I don't know what happened in California but I'm sure you found who you were. And you found someone who loved who you were. Don't let it go without a fight, Randi."

Randi laughed and sobbed together. Slowly she pulled forward out of her mother's embrace and walked the short distance to her apartment. She knew that Elise would follow her here so she wasn't surprised to hear a knock. She opened the door to find a frightened Elise staring at her.

"Can I come in, Randi?"

Randi ducked her head and pushed the door open. She turned and walked over to the lamp, turning it on. Elise stepped into the room, looking around at the studio apartment. "Nice."

"It's a shithole," Randi said.

Elise's eyes snapped to her. "Why would you say that?"

Randi grabbed two beers from the fridge. "Because it's ten feet away from Ozzie and Harriet and because it's not even mine."

She put a can on the Formica counter while she retreated with hers to the couch. Elise picked up the can and opened it.

"So what do you want?" Randi asked.

Elise tucked some hair behind her ears. "I want...I would like for us to talk about what happened."

"You mean in there—" She gestured with a thumb behind her. "Or—"

"What happened between us, Randi," Elise said stepping toward the couch.

"Ah, well. Does it matter?"

"It does, if we still love each other."

Randi threw her head back and took a long drink of beer. Then she crushed the can with her hand. "Here's the deal," she said blithely. "I thought I did. But I was a stupid, naïve kid. I realized you love your money—"

Elise winced.

"And your house and your land more. Life sucks. But I'm over it. Oh and I forgot, Betts. You loved Betts more. Did she get in your pants?"

Elise's disgust was a train that rattled through her chest. "I was foolish. To believe Betts. I was blind to let fear overrule what my heart knew about you. I'm not used to loving someone so much—"

Randi busted out laughing. "Yeah, well, I hope you love me a lot less. Way less, in fact."

Elise's nostrils flared. "But you were foolish, too. Why didn't you tell me about the rings?"

"Why did I have to? It was all your goddamn money, Elise. That left me with what? Nothing."

"Is that what you wanted then? Half of everything I owned?"

Randi swiped the empty can off the coffee table. "No," she whispered, rising to her feet. "What I wanted was all of you...you...not your damn precious bank account. Not your damn house. Not your beach. You. But you kept it from me. You wanted to hide behind what Bets said and what she thought she saw. It was an easy out for you."

"If I wanted out would I have spent six months of my life looking for you?"

"Six months? Really? Your daddy thinks you're some kind of genius."

"You covered your tracks, Randi and you know it! If it weren't for Joelle, I would never have know about the rings."

"Yeah, good ol' Joelle. And you believe her—someone I know you despise over me?"

"You never defended yourself, Randi! What was I supposed to think? And then you just...left!"

"I didn't want you accusing me of eating any tomatoes from your garden."

"I didn't have a garden."

"Well, you would have next spring. I planned it for the south side of the house."

"Where the bougainvilleas are?"

"I was moving them to the west side under the living room window."

Elise studied Randi. The younger woman wore her hair longer, bobbed to the chin. She had glasses now. They made her look mature. This woman would give to Elise all she had. Her industry. Her creativity. Her time. Her talents. It was everything she had and Elise held back because of fears planted there by those who were jealous. Bets who wanted to possess her. Her brother Major who wanted to beat her. She had denied her own experience of Randi just as Randi had denied herself to her parents.

"I screwed up, Randi," she said. "I so screwed up. Riley tells me that each and every time I speak to her. What I want to know is...is it too late for us?"

Randi walked to the door and opened it, flinging it open. "Yes," she said turning to face Elise.

Elise nodded, as she walked meekly to the door. She put her hand on the knob and closed the door with a soft click. "You didn't really think I'd give up that easily, did you?"

She stepped closely and felt the heat rising from Randi's body. "If it's over then you won't feel my gravitational pull when I stand close."

"You aren't a planet," Randi said, avoiding Elise's eyes.

"No, I'm a pulsar. You remember me pulsing when I'd come?"

Randi held her breath to keep from breathing in Elise's flowery scent. She kept her eyes trained at the back of the room to avoid the soul-searching eyes. Elise moved her mouth close to the younger woman, who could feel her breath on her skin. But Elise's lips didn't touch her. They glided over her, far enough way to avoid touching but close enough to tease and torture. "Tell me the truth. Do you think about me at night before you go to sleep? Or when you wake up in the morning? Or when you hear a Clint Eastwood line?"

Randi could not keep her pain from her face or the hitch from her voice. But she could keep the truth from her lips. "No. No. And no."

"Your father sees what you deny."

"Too much testosterone."

"Why are you lying to me? You've never lied before."

"Except about the $5,400."

"You were planning on surprising me."

"Look. I can't just—" Randi watched Elise's lips stretch into a smile. "I can't just turn on my feelings after six months. I'm different. You're different."

"We'll start over then," Elise declared. "I'll take the—" She turned to find no couch in the room. But there was a futon where the bed should be. "Oh, I guess we'll have to share the futon."

Randi's eyes turned back to study Elise. "What about your work?"

"I have three months vacation. Three years a week I've not taken in ten years."

"But—"

"I get five weeks a year."

"What about—?"

"Jude and Marissa think this will de-foul your moods," Elise said with a smirk. "I guess they think you'll get laid."

Randi glanced down at her watch, tugging it one way. "Okay, fine," she said. When she looked up to see Elise still smirking, Randi gave her an eye roll. "I'm not talking about the sex part. I've got plenty."

But Elise's flash of hurt that disappeared nearly instantly didn't make Randi feel any better.

"Look. I'm babysitting tonight."

Elise blinked for a few seconds. She hadn't been expecting that comment.

"I suppose you still have your shitty car," Randi said turning to get ready. "So I'll rummage up a key and—"

"I don't," Elise said, making Randi turn.

"You don't have a car?!"

"Nope," she said. "I'm completely at your mercy."

Randi opened her mouth to speak and looked around. There was nothing to do here in her apartment but sleep, which is all she did here. Randi inhaled deeply. "Do you want to help baby—?"

"Yes, let me freshen up." She whisked by Randi toward the only other door in the place.

X X X X

After they'd readied, Elise stared at Randi while she gathered her keys. "So who?"

"Uncle Andy's sons." Randi stopped and slowly turned around, realizing Elise probably knew the whole sordid truth about her family. "My half brothers who call me cousin."

As they walked out the door, Elise called out. "Oh, no."

"What now?" Randi asked sharply.

"Your mom said you have no helmets. I am not getting on that without a helmet. And neither are you."

Surprised, Randi's face hardened. "Excuse me?"

"I didn't find you now to have you dead on some highway."

Randi straddled the bike, turned the ignition and revved the engine. She gave Elise a smirk.

Elise turned the keys, killing the engine. "I love you, dammit!"

Randi tried to speak. She turned her head because she couldn't hide her smile. She wasn't going to give Elise the satisfaction ever. When she'd composed herself, Randi turned back, took her keys and swung a leg over the bike. "Come on then."

"Where're we going?"

"I don't have twenty cars sitting around just waiting for my whim," Randi said tartly as she walked to her parents' carport. "I have to borrow one. Or we walk."

X X X X

They rode in silence to Uncle Andy's small three-bedroom ranch in Killeen. As soon as they turned into Andy's subdivision Randi gestured to the neighbors trimming their lawns or standing outside with beers in their hands. "I'll bet none of these folks have yachts," she said.

Elise watched the houses as they drove past each one. Color and landscaping were the only thing that differentiated the floor plans. "Or houses on Nantucket," Elise said.

"Nope," Randi agreed.

"Why are you telling me this, Randi?" Elise was studying Randi as she turned the wheel, making a left turn without a signal.

"This is where I come from, Elise. You need to see it. I make no ambitions other than this."

"I need to see it because...." Elise's voice was sing-song in its happiness. There could be only one reason Randi wanted her to see where she came from.

Randi sighed. "Just so you know."

"I see," Elise said turning back to look out the window. "You don't want anything else?"

Randi reached a hand out, letting Elise look at the calluses. "No, nothing else."

Elise looked down again at the dry fingers that had been inside of her, given her pleasure immeasurable. "What about happiness?" Don't you want that?"

Randi brought the car to rest in front of a small, blue house with white trim and plastic pink flamingoes in the lawn along with pink roses. "It hurt too much," she said flatly. Then she got out of the car and slammed the door, waiting for Elise halfway up the walk.

Randi walked into the house, decorated with cheap trinkets from the dollar store. Just as Elise began to focus on the décor, two identical boys bounded up to them.

"Hey, Randi," they shouted in near unison.

"Hi twin terrors," she replied. "I want you to meet an...acquaintance. This is Elise. Jack and Roscoe."

Jack and Roscoe smiled at Elise and they both gave giggling hellos. Elise put her hand out to shake. "Hello boys."

They stared at her hand, while Randi nudged them. "She wants to shake your hands."

Roscoe, with large, amber eyes, turned up to meet the twin pairs of his cousin's. "Why?"

"That's what people do when they first meet," she explained.

"But we hug," Jack said staring up at Elise.

"Oh!" Elise said. "Umm, do you want a hug then instead of a shake?"

"We don't know you," Roscoe said, nudging his brother. "Do we?"

Jack looked into Elise's baby blues. "Nope."

Elise understood the minds of five-year-olds, or thought she did. "Maybe later then."

The boys eyed her suspiciously and turned together to grab Randi's hand. "Let's play," Jack said.

When Randi found Andy and his wife Tiffany, she thumbed Elise. "This is an acquaintance, Elise Barrows from Califas."

Andy nodded, extending his hand. He had dark eyes and hair like Randi and was slight. He had a hawk nose and thick lips that he buried around a beard. "Bienvenida," he said in perfect Spanish. "Welcome."

Tiffany offered Elise a hug.

The boys were tugging Randi's arms in the entire time. "Hold up," she said to her boys. Then to Andy and Tiffany she added: "Jude and Marissa told you."

Andy ignored her, offering Elise a drink. When he left to the kitchen, Tiffany frowned. "He can't stand to talk about this...stuff," she whispered.

"What stuff?" Roscoe asked looking up at his mother.

She tapped his nose. "Why don't you boys go play—"

"Ah, mom. Randi's here—"

"She'll be out in a second. Daddy has to tell her something."

"What?" Jack asked.

"Top secret," his mother replied. "Now scoot."

They complained until they were out of earshot.

Before Tiffany could speak, Andy returned with a glass of iced water for Elise, who thanked him.

"Dude?" Randi complained. "Where's mine?"

He was smiling at Elise and turned to scowl at her. "You know where the kitchen is."

Randi spied the kitchen and his expectant look. "I'm not thirsty after all," she said, not wanting to leave them alone to talk.

"You're too smart," Andy replied.

"Just spit it out!" Randi said.

Andy looked between Elise and Randi. "None of what anyone says matters to us," he said. "My...ah...girl deserves to be happy."

Randi's mouth went thin while Elise beamed a fifty-gig watt smile. "Thank you," she whispered while Randi growled.

"So everyone knows everything?" Randi asked sharply.

Her uncle nodded.

Elise looked out through the sliding doors at the twin boys playing. "Your half brothers are adorable, Randi and you all favor each other."

Randi turned to face them, and anger shot through her. "Are you going to stand here all night, Andrew? Making kissy noises and stuff?"

Andy shook his head, while he took his wife's hand. "We'll be out until 10. You have my cell phone."

Tiffany called over her shoulder. "Bedtime at 8, Randi."

When they were out of earshot, Elise smiled lewdly. "I like the sound of that."

Randi sniffed and pulled open the sliding door. Elise put her hand on the small of Randi's back, guiding her out the door. It felt good to be there for both.

"Andy and Tiffany love you, Randi."

"Yeah, they should love me less."

Elise recognized a Yiddish cadence to the wording. Randi was so complex and Elise chided herself, realizing her failure to see the many colors that dappled this young woman.

X X X X

That night, Randi opened the door of her apartment for Elise. "I'll sleep on the floor," she said. "Though the futon is right next to it."

It took Elise a moment to digest Randi's country phrasing. "Yes, the futon does look rather hard."

"I'm sorry I don't have a four poster bed here. But this is who we are."

Again Elise felt a biting stab from Randi's words. She understood the point she was trying to make, it just hurt to remember why. "There's plenty of room in the futon, Randi. The floor looks...uncomfortable."

Elise opened the covers and patted the thin mattress.

Elise looked up at her, offering a playful wink. "C'mon," she whispered. "I won't bite."

The dimples and that humorous glint in her eye almost made Randi waver. Instead she threw a worn blanket on the floor and laid down on it, wrapping herself like a burrito. A pillow sailed through the air and landed on her stomach.

"You'll probably need that" came a reply from on top of the futon.

"Thanks," she mumbled miserably.

X X X X

The next morning, Elise was already dressed and eating breakfast with Randi's parents in the nook when she stepped through the sliding glass door.

"Good morning, sunshine," her mother said in a chipper voice that used to grate on Randi's night-owl nerves.

"Morning," she mumbled as she stepped into the kitchen. Randi opened and closed several cabinets before she turned to glare at her mother. "Where's the blue stuff for my—"

"Oh, mi'ja! Nutrasweet is so bad for your vehicle."

Randi rolled her eyes at her mother's euphemism for the human body.

"There is some raw organic sugar in the corner."

Randi bit her lower lip. She got a bowl of cereal instead and made a mental note to stop at the 7-Eleven to get coffee on the way to work. She sloshed her bowl into the nook and sat down to eat. She tried to ignore the three pairs of eyes on her. "What?" she finally asked, as a few drops of milk dribbled down her chin.

"Someone is very cranky," Marissa said in a singsong voice.

"I would be, too," Elise offered. "If I had to sleep on the floor."

Marissa and Jude's eyes widened at the revelation.

Randi crinkled her nose at Elise. "Thanks so much, Elise," she growled. "As if Ozzie and Harriet didn't have enough to entertain themselves."

Jude's blue eyes twinkled. "My daughter believes incorrectly that her mother and I live our lives in her orbit. It makes me wish we'd taken the time to have more children."

Elise laughed. "Jude, my oldest brother had me and another brother and he still believes the rest of us love to bask in his glory."

There was polite laughter that almost made Randi groan outwardly. She placed the half-eaten cereal bowl in the sink. "Well, I really hate to go," she said, knowing her tone said otherwise. "But duty calls."

"Mi'ja, it's Sunday," Marissa pointed out.

"Yep and the school board put a tough deadline on that school construction. Andy has given us mandatory overtime."

As Randi grabbed her keys from the table, Marissa called out. "Oh, mi'ja! Don't forget Elise."

Randi stopped and slowly turned to find a T-shirt and jean clad Elise in work boots. Elise smiled knowingly at Randi's slow, smoldering gaze up and down her body. Before she could protest, her father answered. "Andy agreed to let Elise work here for the duration of her vacation."

Elise lifted her chin triumphantly, while Randi muttered something. "Well," Randi finally realized. "I don't have any helmet's for—"

Elise gestured with her chin to the hallway. On the console table against the wall lay two helmets, one red and one black. Randi knew instinctively that Elise's was the red one. She sighed, picking hers up.

She put the black helmet on and hated its deadening effect. Ironic choice of words considering they did save lives but they took sound and field of vision.

Randi swung a leg over and waited. When she felt Elise's large, firm breasts press into her back and her thighs against Randi's legs, Randi groaned, thankful for the motor and the helmet to muffle her audible desire.

She took the long way to the construction site so that she could feel Elise's warm arms around her waist. Now she was wet.

X X X X

To her consternation, Andy put Elise in Randi's crew. Randi gave her simple and easy jobs until they'd been completed quickly, too quickly. Randi had stepped away to get a blueprint. Some of her crewmembers wondered in Spanish aloud at Elise.

"She's pretty," one of them named Hector said, watching her nail two-by-fours with an air gun.

"You don't think she's too skinny?" another replied.

"Who cares as long as she sucks my dick," a third said.

All of the men laughed.

Elise glanced at them aware of their gaze but ignorant of their language. Randi walked over to speak to the superintendent when she heard that laugh. It was the one they used when they were being pigs. Maranos sucios, her grandmother had called these types. Dirty pigs!

"Randi," Hector said. "Your friend, do you think she'd go to dinner with me?"

"Or suck me," the third said with a laugh.

Randi suppressed anger. She ate lunch with these men. They had showed her the ropes. They worked hard for her. They were just missing their wives in Mexico. She shook her head gravely. "No, my friends," she replied in perfect Spanish. "She bites!"

Their eyes grew wide. "Really?"

"Definitely," she said. "She's from the county and was sent her to meet her sentence."

"What did she do?"

"I told you! She bites. She bit her boyfriend and scratched him."

They stared at Randi for a moment, waiting for her to crack a smile. She knew she was being tested, so she waved Bell County job application. It was official looking. "Look," she said. "It's all here."

"You're lying," Hector said.

She offered him the page. "Check it out."

He looked at it, nodded and handed it back. "Okay. Thanks for the heads up."

Randi sent them to work on some drywall in what would become the hallway. Elise wiped her sweaty forehead and stood up. "What was that all about?"

Randi almost smiled. Elise's disheveled hair made her look too adorable. "They said you were the hardest working white girl they'd ever seen."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Hey boss," one of the other crew leaders called to Randi. He was a tall Hispanic man with thick wavy hair and a moustache. "Andy left to buy some supplies and the city inspector is asking questions."

"Can you watch my crew?" she asked, accepting the paper he was holding.

X X X X

At five, a harried looking Randi went looking for Elise but couldn't find her. "Hey guys," she said to her crew in Spanish. "Where's blondie?"

"The bathroom," Hector said with a chuckle.

She walked over to the blue port-a-potty and knocked on it. "You in there, Elise?"

Randi tried the door but it was locked. Just as she turned to leave, she heard a squeak. "I need help, Randi."

The door creaked open and Randi peered into the cramped little room. Elise was holding her hands up like a surgeon.

"What's the problem?"

"My hands ache and I can't unbutton my jeans to pee."

Randi tried to hide her smile in her hand. Elise had always hated euphemisms for urinating.

"It's not funny," she said with a hitch.

"Of course, not," she said, giving her ex-lover a sympathetic look. "What do you need for me to do?"

Elise frowned. "Unbutton me and well, pull my pants down."

Randi's eyes glinted with laughter as they traveled down to Elise's crotch. "I, ah...I can do that."

Randi squeezed in, while Elise stepped to the side. It was a tight fit with both of them there. Randi undid the button while screaming inside her head that she did not want Elise. She unzipped her slowly, while she closed her eyes and lifted her head. Then she tugged down the jeans.

Randi glanced down and squeaked when she saw pink silk bikini panties. "Oh, my," she purred before she could stop herself.

"Cut the commentary, will ya?"

"Sorry." She tugged the panties down, while she held her breath. She bent down to push them to her ankles. A full inhalation sent her blood to boiling as Elise's scent nearly overwhelmed her. Her wiry thatch of blonde hair was trim and Randi had the strongest urge to run her fingers through it.

The look of desire warmed Elise's heart but immediate concerns shoved them aside.

"Turn around, please."

Randi laughed at the absurdity of looking away when she had explored every square inch of Elise's body. "Okay," she finally agreed. She turned to listen to a long hiss of liquid that echoed down and a long sigh. Randi scratched her head. "So," she said, trying to peer behind her but getting a knee in the rear. "All right. Okay. Take it easy there blondie."

"Blondie?"

"That's your name in the crew."

"Could be worse, I suppose."

Randi cleared her throat and suppressed another laugh, earning another knee in the butt.

X X X X

At the office, she looked over Elise's blistered palms and fingers. Some were gaping open with dead white skin hanging and others were fat pustules.

"What on earth did you do, Elise?" Randi asked as she handed her two ibuprofen.

"What's this?"

"For pain."

"I don't need it."

Randi's eyes dropped in sorrow. "Please...." she almost said baby.

Elise threw them into her mouth and swallowed them, all without tearing her eyes from Randi's. She grimaced when Randi put antibiotic ointment on the busted blisters. "That hurts, Randi!"

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

Then she wrapped Elise's hands carefully with gauze, taping them closed.

"What were you doing?"

"Hector put me to work moving rocks."

Randi made a mental note to beat the shit out of him. He'd always had a twisted sense of humor.

"Why didn't you tell them your hands were blistering?"

"Would you have told them?"

"My hands don't blister anymore. I'm not a white collar softie, Miss Barrows."

Her only reply was to snort indignantly.

X X X X

When Marissa saw Elise's hands, she went into orbit. "Randi Marie! You were supposed to take it easy on Elise, not work her to the bone!"

Elise gave Randi a raised eyebrow.

"I had to fill in for Andy, and well, you can blame your cousin."

"Hector?"

"Yeah. He thought he'd see what kind of mettle Blondie here had."

Marissa clucked her teeth. "Plenty it would appear."

Her dad walked into wash his hands. "The tomatoes are beautiful," he said, setting two plump red beauties on the counter. "What's wrong?" he asked as dried his hands.

"I think Elise fucked up her qi working today," Randi replied.

Marissa gave Randi a wary look. "It wasn't Elise, mi'ja. And you know it! You would think you'd treat the woman you loved better."

Randi blushed and looked away.

"Oh, so no smart aleck comebacks for the truth, huh?" Her mother asked with a sting.

Randi's gaze skittered around the room, finding Elise's amused gaze and then her mother's. "Mom, you have no clue what I feel."

Her mother's look was steady and unwavering. "I think everyone but you can see that you are in love with Elise."

"I'm...I'll see y'all later," she said. "I've had enough."

As she walked out of the room, she heard her mother complain that she couldn't run forever.

X X X X

When she finished showering, Randi found Elise sitting on the futon. Randi poured some lotion in a hand and began to rub them together. "You think you're so cool."

"What do you mean?" she asked, turning to rest her chin on her shoulder.

"Your little game to win me back has sure worked on my parents."

"But not you?"

Randi sighed. "You can't win back what you never lost, Elise."

Elise blinked several times, trying to understand. "You mean..." Then her brows furrowed. "Then what's this past week been about? What's your game, Randi?"

Randi walked over and sat beside her. "I wanted you to know that this—" She gestured around her. "This is my life. We don't have yachts and summer homes and money in foreign banks."

"I know that, darling." She tried to reach for Randi, but she pulled away.

"I'm not done yet." She stood, turned and faced Elise. "I don't need your money. Or your house or your beach. I don't need your damn credit. Nor do I want any of it."

Elise sat back, confusion etched on her face. "Then what do you want?"

Randi let out a ragged breath. "What I've always wanted. You. Naked in my bed every night. You at my breakfast table every morning. Laughing. Happy. Always at my side. Just you."

Elise stood up, and reached for Randi. This time she didn't pull away.

"I can give you that."

Randi gently lifted Elise's chin and angled in for a kiss. Elise's lips were soft and firm. She pulled the older woman in tighter, while Elise pulled back. "Does this mean you'll make love with me now?"

"Until you scream out 'holy fuck!'"

Elise laughed at her habit of swearing during lovemaking. "That's not very long," she said dryly.

"Ten times."

"Now we're talking," she murmured against Randi's moist lips.

"Less talk, more tongue, woman," Randi whispered.

"Shall I rip your shirt off for old times' sake?" Elise asked as Randi adjusted the futon.

Randi smiled, as she unbuttoned her own shirt. "You won't have to."

X X X X

They finally fell asleep thirty minutes before the alarm went off. "Jeez," Randi said smacking the snooze button.

"Can I quit my job? Will Uncle Andy hate me if I do?" Elise mumbled into the pillow.

Randi rolled over and kissed Elise's bare shoulder, letting her fingertips slide down along the supple spine. "You can stay in bed all day and rest, babe," she said. "'Cause when I get home we're going to start all over again."

"Hmm...." Elise opened an eye and turned in Randi's embrace. "What about you, darling?"

"I've got dry wall to hang, toilets to install and rivets to pound."

"Can you call in sick?"

Randi shook her head and laughed at Elise's pout.

"But I gotta pee," she said, scooting out of the bed. "Be right back."

When she returned Elise had started to snow when the alarm went off again. Elise looked lost as she tried to find the alarm without opening her eyes. She cooed when Randi turned it off and brought the heroic arm to her. "You feel good," she murmured to Randi's sitting figure.

"I have a question for you, Elise."

Elise only smiled in preparation, her eyes roving under her lids.

"Will you marry me?"

Elise's eyes snapped open and she bolted up. "Randi!" She looked down at the solitaire ring. "I'm naked!"

"You're perfect, Elise."

Elise continued to stare at the ring, giving Randi a sinking feeling. "I know the diamond is small..." Randi began to sputter. "And the ring is a little nicked. But—"

Elise put a finger to her mouth. "I'm speechless, darling. This is more than I ever dreamed."

"Really?" The word was distorted by Elise's finger pressing her lips.

"Yes, you can be Mrs. Barrows," she said.

Randi laughed, slipping the ring on Elise's finger. "Or you can be Mrs. Ashman."

Elise pressed her lips to Randi's. "How about Barrows-Ashman?"

"How about we go alphabetical. Ashman-Barrows."

"Or we could consolidate. Barman."

"Or Ashrows."

Elise chuckled and ran her fingers over Randi's lips. "I've missed you, my love. So much!"

"Me, too, Elise."

"Promise me one thing."

"What's that?"

"You'll never just leave me. Promise to talk anything and everything over. No matter how painful or what you believe. Promise me, darling."

"I promise." Then Randi chuckled.

"What?"

"I wonder what Riley would say to know you'll have five-year-old brothers-in-law."

"Nothing I can repeat, I'm sure."

Randi brushed some of the blonde locks from Elise's forehead. "Was it lame to propose on a morning we can't celebrate with champagne and chocolate covered strawberries?"

Elise pulled Randi down and over, pining her to the bed. "Oh, no. It was perfect, just like the ring you chose."

"And my bride."

"And mine."

"I better get going or I'll get fired."

Elise rolled off the bed. "Do you think your parents will be happy?"

"Are you kidding? They'll what took me so long."

X X X X

Randi led Elise into her parents' home, where they had just sat down to breakfast. "Morning," Marissa said. "You're just in time. We've got Omega-3 fortified eggs, five grain harvest toast, organic grapefruit and coffee with soy milk."

"Hmm..." Randi smacked her lips. "Sounds delish."

Elise gave Randi a chiding look for her sarcasm. "Thank you, Marissa," she said.

Marissa saw the dark circles under her daughter's eyes. "Did you sleep on the floor again?"

Randi raised the coffee mug to her lips, hoping to hide the blush. "Ah...no." But she could feel the heat working its way down her face.

Marissa smiled lewdly. "So does that mean...?"

Randi cleared her throat and looked away, unable to meet her eyes or her answers. So Elise answered, patting Randi's arm in comfort. "Yes, Marissa, in fact..."

Marissa reached for Elise's left hand. "Is that what I think it is, Randi Marie?"

Jude peered over. "What is it, hon?"

Marissa tipped Elise's elegant hand. "EliseandIareengaged," Randi blurted. "Okay?"

"Good gravy, girl! That word is paltry, Randi." Marissa stood up and went to her vitamin cabinet.

"Oh geez," Randi groaned, covering her face with a hand.

Marissa returned to the table with a few bottles. She tapped a few tablets out from a black bottle. "This is for your qi," she said. "Blue pill for stamina. White for joints. Pink for—"

"Mom! Please we don't need a blow-by-blow of my shortcomings."

Marissa smiled conspiratorially at Elise. "Her father is on the same regimen and I've never had any complaints."

Elise smiled, while Randi and Jude groaned.

"Dad, please control your wife," Randi pleaded.

Jude shrugged a shoulder. "How do I solve a problem like Marissa?" The question was from the "Sound of Music" but he substituted for the original Maria.

Before Randi could stop the song, Marissa joined Jude in the song. They leaned in toward each other as they belted out the notes off key.

Elise clapped once and then joined along.

Randi drank her coffee with her chin resting on her hand. "Are you done?" she asked when Elise and her mother broke out in giggles.

Marissa stood and gave Elise a hug. "Oh we are going to have such fun together, Elise. Thank you for finding our daughter."

Just as Elise was about to speak, Randi set her cup down noisily. "Excuse me, but I was the one who proposed."

Jude patted her daughter's arm. "You aren't ever going to win that agreement, sweetheart. Just...don't even try."

"Yes, Randi," Elise said. "Don't even try."

The End