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They shared an order of fish and fries, for old times’ sake When their meal was delivered, Grant said, "That wasn’t the only tiht Andreas born?"

As if she could ever forget "What I reht be in labor You i exercises I was supposed to do until I thought you were about to hyperventilate" Bethanne had been afraid they’d have to call an Aid Car for her husband

"What you didn’t knoas that I hadn’t paid the doctor everything ed hi paid"

"Dr McMahon never said a word"

"Thank goodness" Grant slathered a french fry with ketchup and popped it in his mouth

"You so badly wanted a son," she reminded him

"I did not," he insisted "I would’ve been happy with either"

"So you said," sheit in a pool of ketchup "But when the doctor announced we had a son, you gave the loudest whoop I’d ever heard and high-fived the nurse"

"I most certainly did not"

"I was there I remember it clearly, Grant Hamlin"

"I expected another boy when you had Annie" He saze turned inward "I fell head over heels for that baby girl"

Bethanne had to agree Annie held her daddy’s heart in the palm of her hand the first moment he laid eyes on her The only time their relationship had been strained was shortly before and then after the divorce Everything seemed back to norrateful Annie needed her father’s love and approval perhaps even ot pneumonia?"

Bethanne set down her fork and reached for a napkin to wipe the grease frohteen months old and she’d already taken him to the pediatrician twice that week The nurse hadoverprotective and a bother That night Andreasn’t any better and she’d held her son in her ar the next ain, ready to face down that dragon of a nurse, only to have the doctor explode in anger at her for not getting Andrew to the hospital Bethanne had burst into tears She’d phoned Grant, who ently took her in his aren tent

"There were so up, weren’t there?" Bethanne said She swore Annie had the worst case of chicken pox of any child she knew They went down her throat and into her stomach The poor child had been miserable for days No one else had slept, either

"We had plenty of good ree they did "Like our tenth wedding anniversary"

"Roh school Italian would be enough for us to get around by ourselves," Bethanne said, wondering if he recalled some of their adventures

"We could afford the plane fare and that cheap hotel and food, of course, but not much else," Grant was quick to add

Not that Bethanne needed any reht and they were unable to afford any tours All at once she began to laugh When Grant gave her an odd look, she covered her mouth and muttered, "The cheese Don’t you remember the cheese?"

Grant stared at her blankly

"You can’t have forgotten the cheese"

"We bought cheese?" he asked, his eyes widening

Still laughing, Bethanne nudged hi--you really don’t remember? You were so sure you could ested a cheese shop, but soed; the story appeared to have been erased from his memory

"We stopped in another store to ask about the cheese shop, and the owner kept shaking her head as you chatted away, looking for directions"

"No doubt in brilliant Italian"

"No doubt," she echoed "Then the owner smiled, went into the back room and returned with two candlesticks"

"Leave it to you to rerin "We did eventually find the cheese shop, didn’t we?"

"Eventually, after we stopped laughing"

Grant’s eyes darkened then, and he grew serious as he reached for a paper napkin and dabbed the edges of his mouth "We were happy, Bethanne"

"Yes," she said, as her amusement faded "We were" He’d told her that more than once, and these reain"

Their eyes held She longed to believe hied for some reassurance that the possibility was as real as it felt in that ht her that the future didn’t couarantees

"I want to believe that, Grant"

"I hope you’ll give me the opportunity tois that we put the past behind us and try again"