Life Continues…

Notes: This story starts immediately after the story 'Starting Over'-With grateful thanks to all my new-found Monk friends; your encouragement helps Natalie and Adrian continue their journey! Also, a small apology to Monkwriter for the title of this story; I swear, no more ... - ellipsis dots! LOL!

Chapter 1 Secrets

She couldn't believe in a million years she would ever allow anyone to know the contents of her childhood diary; pages and pages of grand hopes and impossible dreams, written in a juvenile cursive, complete with heart-dotted 'i's. But here they were, curled up on top of Natalie's bed, as she read passages aloud to Adrian. Natalie had taken her box of childhood mementos out of her bedroom closet with the idea of showing him photos from when she was small. But when he tenderly touched the small pink book, asking her to read from it, she couldn't say no. So as she spent the afternoon remembering the dreams and secrets of a ten year old girl, he spent the afternoon falling deeper in love.

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As Julie got out of her friend's car, she noticed the sedan parked in the driveway 'Cool, Mom is home'. Julie, cranky from the long ride from L.A., was glad she didn't have to sort through her cluttered bag to find her house key. After waving goodbye to her friends, she trudged up the driveway. Suddenly her thoughts turned to questions. '-But it is almost 3PM, why isn't she at work? Could she possibly have a day off? Or maybe it's a crime-free day and Mr. Monk is at their house this afternoon?' Either way, Julie was just happy to be home from her trip.

Julie went directly to the backdoor and let herself in. The whole downstairs was eerily quiet and spotless. She put her luggage on the kitchen floor and walked through the empty dining room into the empty living room. Julie called out a 'hello' but didn't get a response. 'This was really weird. -Gosh, maybe Mom was upstairs, maybe sick in bed?' Julie was now really glad she had come home from her trip a day early. She regretted not calling yesterday to tell her mom of her plans; the last day of her trip had been kind of boring and she would have happily come home even earlier.

Climbing the stairs, Julie paused when she arrived at the top landing. She could see that her mother's door was closed, which was unusual. In the daytime the doors in the house were always left open. She then thought she heard a voice, no wait, voices, plural. Creeping across the hallway, Julie held her breath and listened in disbelief. Oh my God! There was someone with her mother and it was definitely a man! Julie was shocked because, as far as she knew, her mom wasn't even dating anyone. And the quiet laughter coming from the bedroom definitely indicated a very friendly relationship. How could she have kept such a secret from her daughter? Julie slowly crept back to the stairway, wincing as she stepped on a creaking floorboard. Silently slinking down the stairs to the living room, Julie puzzled over what was happening. She anxiously paced into the kitchen, determined to find some answers.

Julie decided to look for clues as to who the mystery man might be. She first picked up the phone and checked the last outgoing phone calls. They were all to Mr. Monk, so that didn't help her. She looked for any notes or letters on the kitchen table and found one cryptic note from 'A', who didn't want Natalie to climb the stairs and who had taken her keys? This note made no sense at all to Julie but, for some reason, the handwriting looked familiar. There was also a bouquet of fresh flowers on the kitchen table, but no card. What to do? Julie's friends were long gone and Julie's car was trapped behind her mother's car in the driveway. Totally confused, Julie picked up her luggage and went outside and stood on the front porch.

Julie didn't know whether to be mad at her mother or to be happy for her. They never kept secrets from one another, ever. And this was an amazingly huge secret. Julie realized she could not remember the last time her mother had been out on a date. It must have been months ago with that sailor, before he left town. Ugh, how Julie had disliked him! He was always prancing around in his dress whites – like he was a superhero or something. She felt uncomfortable whenever he was over and had secretly called him Lt. 'None-too-bright' behind his back. Thank goodness he got transferred far away! -Julie sat on the porch swing and wondered what she should do. After swinging back and forth a few times, she had a flash of inspiration.

Fishing her cell phone from her purse, Julie called her mother's cell phone. It rang six times and then went to voice mail. Julie rolled her eyes when she realized her mom's cell phone was probably downstairs. Dialing the house phone, Natalie finally answered on the fourth ring.

"Hello?" Natalie's voice sounded distracted.

"Hi Mom! What's happening?" Julie cringed and rattled on "I'm going to be home in about half an hour, my trip was cut short. So I just wanted to let you know that I'll be home real soon-I just wanted you to know that the trip was boring and I am coming home early. So expect to see me real soon."

"Julie, are you okay? You sound upset." Natalie voice grew concerned.

"I'm fine! I wanted to let you know I'm coming home early, real early. Okay? I know the trip was supposed to be seven days, but my friends and I were so bored we decided to come home a day early! I'm getting off the phone now, um, we're going through a tunnel. See you soon! Bye!" Julie didn't wait for Natalie to answer; instead she hung up and turned off her phone. 'Now all I have to do is kill half an hour' Julie thought as she picked up her bag. Silently thanking Mr. Monk for teaching her some detective skills, she had an idea. She walked to the driveway and got into the backseat of her car. From this angle she would be hidden and yet could easily engage in surveillance of the house.

Checking her watch, Julie let forty-five minutes go by. It was now almost 4PM. By now she had expected to see her mother's mystery man leave the house, but no one left by either the front door or the kitchen door. Bracing herself, Julie got out of her car and approached the kitchen door. Like it or not, she was going to meet her mother's new boyfriend. Julie hoped she would like him.

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Adrian stood uncomfortably in the kitchen "Natalie, maybe I should go home. You haven't seen Julie in six days and I'm sure you two have a lot to talk about- I mean about her trip, you know." He busied himself with straightening and centering the dish towel hanging from the oven's handle.

"Adrian, stop fussing with that." Natalie crossed the room and backed him up against the counter. "Why are you so jittery? Have you been getting into trouble?" She playfully poked at his stomach and kissed his neck.

"Natalie!" Adrian dodged away from her kiss, "What if Julie walks through that door? She would see us, you know-"

"Kissing? You didn't mind kissing me earlier today- "she landed a kiss on his cheek, "-or last night!" Natalie kissed him again, this time on the lips.

"But we were alone! " Adrian stammered as he discovered he was trapped between Natalie and the counter. He put his hands up in surrender "Natalie, you know I'm not comfortable around other people."

"Well, Julie is not 'other people', so you'll just have to get comfortable." Natalie captured Adrian's hands and pull them around her waist. "Because, you know, I'm going to tell her all about us."

Adrian allowed himself a moment of pure happiness as he hugged Natalie. These past twenty four hours had helped ease much of the pain he had suffered the previous twelve years. He gently kissed her on the forehead "How about you tell her after I leave?"

Natalie laughed as she swatted his chest."No way! You are not leaving. After she gets home and gets settled in, we will tell her about us."She straightened his shirt collar and winked. "Don't worry, you'll thank me later."

Adrian rolled his eyes and sighed. Once again Natalie was right. He knew that it was necessary to occasionally endure uncomfortable feelings in his journey toward healing. Anyway, how awkward could it be? He and Julie already got along, so she wouldn't object, would she? Would she? Adrian suddenly felt dizzy. He pulled his arms from around Natalie's waist and placed his hands on the counter behind him, steadying himself."Natalie! What if Julie doesn't approve of, you know, us?"

"She will, don't worry. She loves you- like a father." Natalie watched as Adrian's expression shifted from worry to hopeful joy. She placed her hand on top of his and squeezed gently "We both love you."

Adrian smiled at Natalie, letting her words echo in his mind. His life truly was starting over and he was thankful to Natalie for her patience and love. During these last twelve years he had never imagined he would find love again. And now he had a family; Julie, who he thought of as a daughter and Natalie, who he—Adrian was startled from his thoughts by the sound of the kitchen door opening.