"Schmidt? Good morning, might I have a moment of your time?"

Shirley looked up from the brief she was reading. "Good morning, Katie. Yes, of course, please come in." She watched as the young Englishwoman entered and closed the door before sitting in the chair in front of her desk. Smiling, she inquired, "What can I do for you?" To her surprise, Katie began to blush.

"I have a favor of a personal nature to ask you," she began, "This past weekend, Jerry proposed to me and I accepted." She held her left hand out so that Shirley could see her ring.

"Really? Congratulations! Do you need time off for a honeymoon?"

"No, I mean yes, eventually, but that's not why I've come to you. I was hoping, since you planned your wedding to Carl, that you might…help me plan mine."

Shirley's eyes widened in surprise. "You want me to help you? I'm honored, but I have to ask: What about your mother? I mean, I know she's in England with a job and all, but doesn't she want to have some input?"

The young woman clasped her hands together in her lap. She stared at the floor for a minute before replying, "My mum…my parents can be rather difficult. One of the reasons I decided to practice law in the US rather than England is because we couldn't see eye to eye on my career choices." She squirmed in her seat before adding, "Truth be told, we don't see eye to eye on much of anything. They have never liked any of my previous boyfriends. They don't even know about Jerry, let alone that I am engaged."

"Oh." She felt as if she should say more, but she had no idea what. When she realized Katie was looking at her expectantly she said, "Of course, I will help you. Why don't you and I have dinner tomorrow night to share ideas?"

Katie's smile of relief spread across her face, making her look like a teenager. "Thank you! That's a lovely idea; yes, I'd love to do that. I'll leave you to work, then. Thank you, Schmidt. Shirley." She almost bumped into Carl Sack on her way out the door. "Excuse me! So sorry," she uttered before ducking around him and heading off to her office.

Carl watched her go. Pointing after her he asked, "What was that all about?"

"Jerry proposed to her over the weekend, she accepted and she's asked me to help her plan her nuptials." To the question in his eyes she replied, "I said I would. Maybe, somehow, my being involved with her will make up for how little I was involved in my own kid's life. From what she just told me, her relationship with her mother sounds similar to mine with my daughter. Thank God Theresa and I made enough peace between us so that I can be in my granddaughter's life."

"Jerry is an odd duck, but I like him. I think they make a good match." Carl leaned in and kissed his wife quickly on the lips. "I'm on my way to court. I think you're doing a nice thing for that girl. See you later."

"See ya," she whispered as she watched her last and best husband leave her office. I got it right when I married him. I think Katie's got it right marrying Jerry. She snorted as she picked up the brief she had been reading. As angry and vengeful as I was toward Jerry after he held a knife to my throat, I'm so glad I listened to Alan when he promised to get Jerry help. Helping Katie should be fun.

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Alan had driven into Boston to meet Jerry for lunch at Marceau's. He had invited Denny to join them, but he had begged off by saying that he had to begin planning their next trip. "Maybe a few days in Vegas," he had said as he watched a show on the Travel Channel about Texas Hold'Em poker tournaments. Las Vegas this time of year would be nice; not too hot, not too cold. He parked in the garage down the street from the restaurant and, almost as an afterthought, grabbed his trench coat from the backseat. Better to have and not need than to need and not have, Aunt Gertie used to say. He smiled to himself. I've referenced Aunt Gertie so much in court, I'm starting to believe she exists.

He strolled into Marceau's and when his eyes adjusted to the dim lighting, he noticed Jerry sitting at the bar working furiously on his IPad. He sat next to him and when he wasn't acknowledged after five minutes, cleared his throat rather loudly which caused Jerry to be distracted long enough to glance his way.

"Alan! Hi!"

"Hello, Jerry. What are you working on so diligently?" he asked as he craned his neck to try to view the screen.

"Oh. A surprise for Katie. I went through her phone while she was asleep and get her mother's phone number."

Alan's mouth dropped open. "You called Katie's mother? Why?"

Jerry twitched quickly before replying, "I didn't call, I texted. I told her Katie and I are engaged and offered to fly her here for a visit. She accepted. I'm checking flights now, I want her to come Friday night if I can get her booked."

"Oh, Jerry, I don't know about that. Parent child relationships can be fraught with difficulties and drama; how does Katie get along with her mother?"

"Pop, pop! Katie is so calm and endearing, I'm sure she gets along with her just fine."

"You've never spoken with her about her family?" When Jerry shook his head no, Alan remarked, "I really think you should speak to Katie about this before making any travel plans for her mother. It could come back to bite you."

Jerry sat back and placed his hands on his thighs as he thought about what Alan had said. He reached into his jacket pocket for his wooden cigarette and popped it into his mouth and rolled it so it dangled out of the left side. "Listen, Al baby, we both know you're damaged goods; you say it all the time! Just because you had a lousy childhood with lousy parents doesn't mean everyone else did. This is a done deal, it's gonna happen whether you like it or not!" The bar went silent in response to Jerry's raised voice while Alan simply stared at him until, embarrassed, he slowly removed the cigarette and returned it to his pocket. "I'm…sorry, Alan. That was totally uncalled for; I don't know why I said it. I know you're only thinking about my best interests."

Alan shook his head and smiled which sent a signal to the other patrons that violence was not about to break out and they resumed their own conversations and activities. "It may have been uncalled for, but everything you said wasn't untrue. Perhaps you're right and I'm projecting my experiences onto you and Katie and for that, I'm sorry."

"So, we can still have lunch then?"

"Of course! You think making us the center of attention just now embarrassed me? Remind me to tell you the story of how I made an intern I was having dinner with cringe when I began singing 'Trouble in River City' in a packed four star restaurant."

"You didn't!"

"I did, indeed. However, if 'Silky Smooth Jerry' opens his mouth again, he's getting the lunch bill jammed into it. Do we have a deal?"

"Yes. Let's grab a table."

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Alan came bounding up the stairs to their front door just as Rodeo opened it for him. "Thanks," he said as he slid out of his coat and handed it to the Major Domo. "Do you know where Denny is?"

"He's in the living room. Would you like anything brought to you in there?"

"Oh no, thank you; I just had a long lunch." Alan smiled and stepped around Rodeo to go join his husband. I want to know what he thinks about Jerry bringing Katie's mother stateside. He stepped into the living room to see Denny asleep in his recliner with a law book spread across his stomach. Alan frowned and checked his watch. It's three o'clock! "Denny!"

The older man snorted awake and looked around wide – eyed before settling his gaze on Alan. "Hey! You scared me!"

"I'm calling Doctor Forrester to make an appointment for you as soon as possible," Alan announced as he reached in his pocket for his phone. "I've had enough of this! Something is not right."

Denny stared at the younger man in confusion. "What are you talking about, Alan? I was taking a nap, for God's sake! Why are you blowing that out of proportion?"

"Because you are scaring me." Alan speed – dialed the doctor. "Hello, this is Alan Crane and I need to make an appointment for my husband Denny Crane to see Dr. Forrester immediately. Yes, I'll hold." A few seconds passed and then Denny startled again as Alan snarled, "I know he has an appointment next week! Things have changed and he needs to be seen this week! No, you listen! Tell him Denny may be having a reaction to the medication. He's with a patient? And? Thank you. I'll hold." He turned around at the sound of Denny chuckling. "What's so funny?"

"I wish I could hear the other side of your conversation; I bet you scared that poor little receptionist silly."

Alan harrumphed in annoyance and was about to answer when his attention was turned back to his phone. "Yes, we can be there tomorrow morning at seven – thirty. Perfect. Thank you. Goodbye." He clicked off and said to Denny, "You heard; we need to leave tomorrow morning no later than six forty – five to get there on time."

"I think you're being overly cautious. I mean, it's not like I don't see Forrester every month. I'm fine; we could have waited until next week."

"Humor me, Denny. I'm going to tell Dave we'll need him early in the morning and then I'm going to my study to listen to music. See you later." As he walked down the hall towards the servants' quarters he thought, I'll believe you're fine when Dr. Forrester says so. And maybe not even then.