The wind bit at Kathy's face as she strode down the crowded London street. She stopped at a tall row house and drew her shawl tighter around her as she ascended the stairs. Before she could knock on the front door, it swung open.

On the other side stood the dapper Mr. Darling. He was well-dressed though his formal attire was a bit too tight. He looked relieved to see her.

"Ah! Kathy, how good of you to come over at such short notice," He said as he ushered her inside.

"Oh, it's no problem, really, Mr. Darling. I'm always happy to watch the children."

"My, you've certainly grown into a beautiful young woman. How old are you now? 18?"

"19."

"Has it been that long? It seems only yesterday you were the five-year-old flower girl at our wedding." His blue eyes twinkled and Kathy could not help but feel a pang in her stomach. In recent years, conversation with her old family friend had become awkward. As a woman, she could not help but find the elegant man enchanting. But as an "old," married man of high moral fiber, she knew her feelings would never be reciprocated.

"Kathy, dear!" she spun to see Mrs. Darling come into the foyer from the drawing room. "Thank you so much for watching the children tonight. They're all upstairs getting ready for bed. I know they'll be so glad to see you. We haven't told them you were coming; they still think Aunt Millicent is going to watch them."

"My dear," said Mr. Darling, "I'm afraid we must be going now." He turned to Kathy, winking "Try not to keep them up too late, Cat."

"Well, I make no promises," she said jokingly "Enjoy yourselves at the ball!"

After a final embrace from Mrs. Darling, Kathy watched them go and then proceeded up the stairs. With each tread, the playful sounds of the children became louder until Wendy's musical voice could be distinguished from the commotion. Kathy stopped just outside the nursery door to listen.

"Tell us about Captain Hook again, Wendy," pleaded John.

"Again? Didn't I tell you about Hook last night and the night before?"

"Yes, but we want to hear about him again. Start with his eyes."

"Oh, all right" Wendy paused to clear her throat. "His eyes are as blue as forget-me-nots until he guts you when his eyes turn red." The room then erupted into childhood laughter and screams as Wendy undoubtedly had begun to chase the younger two around the room. Kathy took this as her cue and knocked on the door as solemnly as possible. The children instantly fell silent.

Kathy opened the door to find the children sitting on their beds as if they had been there for several minutes. John lay reclined, "reading" an upside-down book while Michael sat on the bed next to him cleaning his mock gun. Wendy was engrossed in mending the seam of a shirt. All three pairs of eyes were decidedly averted from the door for fear of their "aunt's" wrath.

"Aren't you going to give your dear auntie a hug?"

At this, the children's heads snapped up with mouths agape. "Kathy!" they cried in unison and rushed towards her.

She was immediately met with a barrage of questions.

"Where's Aunt Millicent?"

"Why haven't you come to play with us lately?"

"Won't you tell us a story?"

"Calm down, you three!" said Kathy breathlessly "One at a time. Go back and sit on your beds and I'll answer you."

Once they were all settled down again she explained that their aunt had caught a cold and could not watch them. Mr. Darling had sent word to her father via the newly invented telephone and sent for her. And, as she had had little to do that evening, she had obliged.

"But why haven't you been to see us?" asked Wendy.

"There comes a time in every girl's life when she has to grow up. As an adult, I can't play with you like I used to. I have responsibilities now."

"But you're not grown up yet, Kathy," Michael reasoned "You're not married with children like our mother."

Kathy looked down at the mention of marriage. She sighed "No, I'm not married, but that does not mean that I do not have adult responsibilities. I'm not the care free girl I used to be; in the world's eye, I be a spinster before too long. Growing up is not as bad as you three would like to believe. What scares me is growing up only to become an old maid."

John and Michael did not seem to understand or care about what she meant. Wendy however, understood perfectly. She had just been "thrown" into her womanhood herself. But what she couldn't see was why Kathy liked growing up, it seemed too unnatural. She tried to ease her friend's fears nonetheless.

"What about your old friends from school? I thought you would be courting one of those boys, surely. They liked you well enough."

"Well, I thought about courting William Hatchet, but he's just a boy."

"Of course he's a boy!" declared Wendy. What else could he be?

"What I mean is: he's not a man. I don't need a boy; he must be more than that." Wendy gave her a puzzled look.

"Oh, never mind." Kathy changed the subject. "Who was that 'Hook' fellow you were speaking of before I so rudely interrupted?"

At this, the boys rejoined the conversation. "Oh, yes, go on, Wendy. Finish it!"

Wendy looked up shyly at Kathy. She had been the first to introduce her to the craft of storytelling. Wendy's tales were nothing compared to the ones Kathy used to weave.

"Captain James Hook is the most fearsome pirate to ever stalk the seven seas. In place of a right hand, he sports a silver hook. His eyes are as blue as forget-me-nots until he guts you and his eyes turn red!" She finished he description and waited for her mentor's approval.

"Nicely done, Wendy. I dare say, he sounds rather dashing." Indeed, Kathy could not help but think of Mr. Darling at the mention of blue eyes, but she pushed him from her mind.

"Dashing? Dashing? How could you ever say such a thing? He's vile, evil! The last man you would ever want to meet." Wendy was outraged, as were her brothers.

Kathy sighed. Perhaps she was too old for these games. Her adult hormones would only get in the way. Just then, the hall clock struck nine.

"Time for you all to go to bed."

John gave her a most reproachful look. "At least tell us one of you stories."

"Not tonight. I think we're all too tired for one of my old stories." Besides, she thought, I don't think I can tell them a children's story without making it too mature.

She tucked them in and went to the door.

"Good night, Kathy!"

"Good night."

Kathy spent the next hour trying to concentrate on reading a book. After realizing she had read the same line ten times, she gave up. Her conversation with Wendy had opened a wound she most desperately wanted to forget. In her frustration, she began to pace the room.

She had never had many suitors. William was as close as she ever got. Everyone had agreed that he was a fine match for her. He was quite handsome and would be attending law school in the fall. She certainly got along with him, but she could never see him as anything more than the brother she never had.

The boy had no experience in with the world. He saw life as so many do: you're born, you do what the world tells you to do, and then you die. Kathy saw it as a time to explore and create. She was not ready to settle down and fall into the mundane. Besides, they didn't love each other. He had even admitted that he did not love her. "Love will grow" he said. But this was not what she wanted. Her parent' marriage and the Darlings' marriage had both been made out of convenience. Indeed, a love had grown in each, but they were loves of friendship rather than passion.

For Kathy, passion was absolute. She wanted a man who loved her because she was Kathy and not just because she was another pretty face.

She quit pacing and gazed into the mirror. Did she even have a pretty face? She supposed so, although she knew she could not be an accurate judge of herself. She had all the qualities often associated with beauty. She had glossy brown curls that fell to the middle of her back and framed her oval face. Though of a plain brown, her eyes never failed to sparkle. Her other facial features were all well proportioned as were her breasts and hips. She supposed she could be striking, if she wore more tantalizing frocks of the latest fashions, but she had always preferred her simple, unassuming look.

Stepping back, she wouldn't change a thing. But her "beauty" only furthered her confusion. Why was it that the only men who ever gave her a second glance were nothing more than self-conscious boys, barely out of puberty?

Her trance was broken by Nana. The dog had begun to bark incessantly. As she became aware of her surroundings again, she noticed the giggling of children issuing from upstairs. If it wasn't as late as it was, she might have let it be, but even she knew better than to let them stay up past ten o'clock. She charged up the stairs and opened the nursery door without hesitation.

What she saw would have convinced any adult of her madness. But Kathy's imaginitive mind did not doubt her sanity for a second for she was still a girl in many ways.