"Mom took Jessica and Thomas out to Happy Mary's for dinner. They've got a playroom there and I wanted some time alone with you without everyone underfoot."

Crystal nodded, thinking it was a good idea, especially when she looked over at Laura, reminding her of the need to tell her sister the truth about their relationship. "Patty? There's something I have to tell you." It was a subject they had never talked about as children and despite her bravado at home to Laura, deep down inside Crystal held a fear that her sister would not approve. "I didn't tell you everything last night on the phone."

"No kidding," Patty said, reaching for the cigarettes and lighter on the coffee table. "We've got eleven years to catch up on. I've got a lot of stuff to tell you too." She lit a cigarette, taking a puff before continuing. "So tell me."

Nervously, Crystal looked over at Laura, seeing her looking back encouragingly. "Laura and I we're more than roommates," she finished in a rush, her eyes never leaving the writer.

Patty's hand stopped halfway to the ashtray and she looked to Laura, then to Crystal. "Are you happy?" she asked.

There was no hesitation. "Yes," Crystal said. "I mean, it's all new but yeah, I'm happy."

"Then that's all that matters," Patty said, knocking the ashes into the plastic ashtray. "Can't say it isn't something I haven't tried once myself," she said with a shrug. "Boy did that blow Mom's mind."

"You mean she knew?" Crystal asked in amazement. "Did she have a fit?"

"Oh yeah," her sister said. "But the thing is I own this place and she can't afford to live anywhere as nice as this on her monthly checks not to mention the extra money she gets from me by babysitting the kids. It wasn't anything serious. I was just curious more than anything after all the shit I've been through with men. Right now I've got too much to worry about with the kids to be looking for Mr. Right somewhere. Oh Crystal, wait until you meet them. Jessie's first grade pictures look almost exactly like yours." She set the cigarette in the ashtray and stood up. "You've got to see it. I'll get the photo albums. I'll be right back."

Once her sister left the room, Crystal found Laura kneeling beside her. "That went well," she said in a low voice, not wanting it to carry down the hall. "Yes it did," Laura agreed. "How are you doing?"

"Good," she said, relaxing now that her biggest fear had been vanquished. "It's so strange to see her after all this time but she's still the same Patty I grew up with, just a little older and I guess I can still tell her anything."

Laura smiled and kissed her cheek. "I'm glad you can." Both heads turned to the sound of a car doors opening and closing. "Sounds like they're back early."

"I can't find the one with Jessie's baby pictures but I found the rest," Patty said, returning with several large binders in her hands. Laura moved back to the recliner just before the front door opened, letting two bundles of energy into the once quiet room.

"Mommy, Mommy. Happy Mary's burned down!" Jessica said excitedly, dropping her pink jacket on the floor just inside the door. "Yeah, and there was big fire trucks there 'n everything," six year old Thomas said, mimicking his older sister's actions with his own jacket. "They were loud."

"Hang your coats up where they belong," Patty said. "I have someone I want you two to meet."

Crystal stiffened at the sight of her mother slowly entering the house. Since they had both been standing still at the supermarket, she had not noticed the pronounced limp in the older woman's walk, or the arthritic fingers that struggled to hold the two brightly colored coats the children handed her. Images of a drunken woman sitting at the table flashed through her mind, bringing with them the old anger and pain. When their eyes met, there was first a look of pleasure, then of sadness, in Margaret Sheridan's face.

"Jess, Thomas, this is your Aunt Crystal," Patty said. "And this is her friend Laura."

"I'm a Crystal too," Jessica said proudly, pushing her younger brother out of the way in their sibling battle to be closest to their newly found relative. "You are?" Crystal asked with surprise.

"Yup. My name is Jessica Crystal Sheridan. Mommy says crystals are special. I've got a whole collection of them in my room, wanna see?" the blonde girl asked, reaching for her aunt's hand.

"Later, Jessica," Patty said. "Aunt Crystal just got here. You can show her all your stuff later." She looked over at her mother. "So what happened?" "I don't know but we saw the smoke from two blocks away," Margaret said, casting a quick look at Crystal before turning away. "I better get some dinner started for these two. Are you girls hungry?"

"No," Crystal said quickly. "Laura and I ate earlier," she lied.

"Thank you anyway," Laura said, sending a subtle questioning look at Crystal. She ignored, concentrating on the coffee table until she heard the swinging doors bumping against each other to indicate that her mother was no longer in the room.

"Aunt Crystal, Aunt Crystal," Thomas said urgently, shoving past his sister. "There was fire trucks there and they were real loud. I covered my ears like this but it still was loud." Unlike his sister, who was graced with the Sheridan blonde hair and light complexion, Thomas apparently took after his father, whom Crystal guessed to be of Hispanic origin. The boy's short hair was a dark brown, matching his eyes, his skin tone several shades darker than her own. Without hesitation he climbed onto her lap, forcing Crystal to put her arms around him to keep him from falling off. "Gramma wouldn't let us get close but I got watch the firemen put their hoses on the fire hydrant."

"You did, huh?"

Thomas shook his head up and down. "Yeah. And there was lots of people running around and Jessica pushed me once and I almost fell down."

"Jessica," Patty said in a gentle but disapproving voice. "What have I told you about pushing your brother?" She set the photo albums down on the coffee table and knelt down in front of her daughter. "You know better. Do you want me to take your bike away for a week?" "No Mommy, but he wouldn't get out of the way," Jessica protested.

"That's still no reason to shove him. He could have hit the sidewalk and gotten hurt." Patty shook her head and looked at her sister. "I don't know about these two sometimes. We were never like that."

"Are you kidding?" Crystal asked. "Don't you remember when you pushed me down that muddy hill?"

"You pushed me first," Patty protested. "I didn't know you'd fall down the hill."

Thomas giggled, squirming on Crystal's lap. "Mommy pushed Aunt Crystal down the hill," he said in his childish voice.

"And don't you go getting any ideas, young man," Patty said in the unmistakable mother tone. "Now both of you change into your play clothes and you can ride your bikes until dinner's ready." She pulled Thomas off Crystal's lap and pointed him in the direction of the bedrooms. "Scoot. And put on your old sneakers too. I want those kept clean for school."

"Okay Mom," he said. "Jessica, race you."

"No running," Patty said but it was too late as both children went tearing down the hall, their laughter and footsteps echoing through the home. "The twin tornadoes will be coming back out in just a minute," she said as she resumed her former seat on the couch. "I don't think either of them knows the meaning of walk."

"They're great," Crystal said, turning toward her sister. "They seem really happy."

"They are," her older sister said. "Sometimes they're a handful but Mom really helps when they get to be too much."

Crystal reached into her pocket and pulled out her cigarettes. "I still can't believe you live with her," she said, lighting one. "No way in hell I could."

"She's changed," Patty said. "She's much better now that she's not drinking." Crystal felt her sister's arm go around her shoulders. "Give her a chance, you'll see. She really misses you," she added in a lower voice.

Crystal took a long drag on her cigarette, looking over to Laura. "Damn this is hard."

"If it's too much for you," Laura began but Crystal shook her head.

"No, I can do this," she said, looking over to her sister. "I can't just accept her as a loving mother, but I'll be civil."

"She really has changed," Patty said, looking toward the hall at the sound of a door opening. "The children really love her," she added.

"Yeah," she said, understanding the unspoken message, don't be hostile in front of the kids. "I'm gonna take this outside." She held up the cigarette. "I don't want to smoke around them."

"Aunt Crystal," Jessica said as she ran down the hall. "Wanna watch me do a pop-a-wheelie with my bike?"

"Put your helmet on," Patty said. "Mrs. Catcher told me she saw you riding around without it."

"Sure," Crystal said. "I was just going to step outside anyway."

Minutes later Crystal and Patty were sitting at the round picnic table in the front yard. Laura was kneeling on the roadway, watching Jessica and Thomas riding their bikes back and forth. The sun was setting, only the upper third still visible over the tops of the neighboring mobile homes.

"So how long have you two been together?" Patty asked.

"Not long," Crystal said. "In fact, um well, last night was our first time."

"What? You're kidding." Patty playfully nudged Crystal with her shoulder. "Lucky you. But you've been living together for a while, right?" "About four months," she said, waving as Jessica rode by. "Laura's a writer. She writes lesbian mysteries. She's also a great cook," she added.

"Well, I'm glad you're happy," Patty said. "All these years I wondered where you were, how you were doing. I didn't even know if you were still alive." She shook her head. "I even thought about hiring a private detective but I never could afford it."