Joan Girardi sits on her steps, numb. Adam Rove had just approached her on her steps, telling her the impossible, the unbelievable. Iris was gone... gone... and now there was just her, her and Adam. Her life was so screwy and so totally...perfect at the same time. "My God, my life the soap opera. Sheesh." Her lips still tingle from where they had touched Adam's, and she remembers the way he had called her Jane. She wraps the blanket closer around her hips and trips over the steps on the way up to the door. She laughs at herself and untangles the blanket from around her feet.

Taking a deep breath, she braces herself against the front door, closing her eyes, remembering that inside chaos and confusion reigned. Sighing, she lets go of the handle and skips back down the steps. Settling herself on the top step, she looks out the way Adam left. It had taken a lifetime of suffering for Adam for him to finally take the plunge. Smiling, she looks down at her lap. She was so glad that Iris was out of the picture.

A dark shape moves in the shadows, and Joan peers out into the night. The familiar shape of her friend floats unsteadily towards her. "Hey!" Grace shouts out from the other side of the street. Hands in her pockets, her friend jogs towards her. Flopping herself down beside Joan, she slides out her feet, stretching her legs out onto the front yard. "So..." She says finally, grinning at Joan. "I might have guessed Rove would visit you tonight. You should have seen Cousin It today, all said and teary like. It was funny, actually." Grace had always taken such pride in making Iris miserable, and nothing had changed. "That 'A' thing was really starting to grind on my nerves." Joan admits, glancing away, suddenly ashamed. There had always been something "there" between her and Adam, and Iris must have had a terrible time dealing with the fact that Adam had never really been hers.

"So, the regime of The Almighty A is over, I guess. Now its back to Adam, the old Adam." With these last words, Joan's gaze drifts back to her lap, realizing the clues and subtle hints that Adam had been dropping her for the past months. Nothing verbal, that she could remember anyway. "Yeah, Rove was definitely going through a weird period, even for him. My God you've changed him." Grace agrees solemnly. "Oh, don't use that word." Joan throws up her hands exasperated. He was being particularly difficult lately.

"Which word?" Grace asks, her eyebrows perking curiously. "God!" She sighs in reply. Rubbing her knees to warm them, wrapping her arms around herself, Grace rocks on the step. "Er...yeah. Um...That's, kinda.... What I came to talk about." She says Hesitantly, throwing a hand to her forehead. Her fingers drift nervously to her chin, her teeth, to finally chew her nails. She keeps glancing at Joan, then flickering her eyes away. "Um...you know my err... Bat Mitzvah, right?" She asks, still rocking back and forth slightly.

"Oh, of course, yeah!" Joan says quickly, knowing this was a touchy subject. "What about it!" Grace looks around, as if someone was listening in. Finally satisfied that know one was around, Grace turns to look straight at Joan. Trying not to look so eager, Joan listens intently. Slowly, with difficulty, she continues "Erm...yeah.... uh...I want you to come." Grace looks away, embarrassed for a moment, then looks back, waiting for Joan's answer.

Joan shakes for a second, surprised. "Oh,... wow." She says, unsure of how to answer. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This is me, the err... author. Yes, minor cliffy. Some of you may not care where the story goes from here, but if you do...(and I sincerely hope you do) then, yeah! By all means, review!!