"I cancelled our reservations," Jo said with disappointment as she hung up the phone.

"I'm sorry honey," Blair apologized. "I wish I could avoid this."

Their master bedroom was decorated in shades of mauve and floral patterns-Blair's choice, of course. The normally organized room was disheveled, with luggage and clothes strewn about. Blair packed her bags while Jo watched in amusement and cocked her head.

"Blair, do ya really need six bags for a three-day business trip?"

"Yes, I do. One would think after all our years together you would know that. For your information, these aren't just bags. These are Louis Vuitton."

Jo stood with her arms folded, unimpressed. Blair gestured toward the two smallest bags. "This one is for my makeup and this one is for my hair products. The rest of the cases are for my clothes." She unzipped one of the larger cases. "See? I have clothes for my morning meetings, afternoon meetings and clothes for formal dinners. Plus, in these garment bags I have two stunning new Elie Tahari suits. I saw them online and just had to have them."

Jo cracked a smile. This is Blair, she thought to herself. She will always be my Blair.

"I'm sorry I can't stuff my whole life into a duffel bag like you can," the heiress joked.

"Hey," Jo grinned. "I've been doin' the duffel bag thing all my life. If it ain't broke, don't fix it." She paused in earnest. "Blair, are ya sure you have to go away? After all, it is our anniversary in two days."

Blair sighed. "Jo, we've been through this already. I can't help it. Kevin can't handle the Pinckney project by himself. I'm concerned he'll mess it up."

The brunette frowned. "What's the sense of having anyone work for you when you can't trust them to do their job? Lately, Kevin sees ya more than I do. Can't someone else go in your place?"

The blonde was losing patience and momentarily looked up from her packing and at her wife. "Are you determined to pick a fight with me right before I leave for the airport?"

"No," Jo replied firmly. "I asked you a legitimate question."

Blair heard the vibration of her phone and picked it up to view the incoming text message. "I just got a message from my driver. He will be here in five minutes."

"But I can drive you to the airport," Jo offered.

"You don't have to bother, honey. He's on his way." She gave her partner a quick kiss. "I have to go. I'll call you when I get to my hotel."

"Whatever. I'll take your bags out front," Jo grumbled and began walking away.

"Jo?"

The tomboy turned around. "Yeah?"

"I love you," Blair smiled gently.

"I love you too, but I just don't understand ya right now. You don't have to control every little thing. We planned this vacation months ago! I work hard too ya know." Jo stomped out of the room with heavy footsteps, the way she always walked when angry. Blair followed her down the hall.

"Jo, try to understand. I know you work your butt off. I was looking forward to going away just as much as you were. I'm not doing this on purpose."

"But at least I have a job where I can stay local. I don't have to go globetrotting all the time," Jo sneered.

"Globetrotting? Blair asked in bewilderment. "Since when is going to Portland, Oregon globetrotting?"

"Oh, forget it," Jo snapped.

The heiress took a deep breath to try and maintain her composure. "It's useless to try and talk to you when you get like this."

"Then I guess it's a great time for you to go to Portland so you don't have to!"

The angry brunette stormed down the stairs and out the door. Blair sighed. "Why does she always do this?" Just then Blair's driver phoned to tell her he was out in front of the townhouse. "Damn it Jo," Blair said in frustration and went outside to meet her company limo.

Jo walked around the neighborhood to clear her mind, arriving home after Blair left. She still felt tense after having words with her so she went downstairs to take in a little TV and relax. When she reached the bottom of the stairs of their finished basement, she observed the little nook where Blair kept her art supplies and did her 'creating,' as the heiress put it. Over the years, Blair fashioned many beautiful paintings there but Jo noticed a new project. "When did she start this?" Jo asked herself. On the canvas, the Bronx native saw her own face looking back at her. "Wow. She's painting my portrait." The brunette thought back to their latest disagreement and felt like a child for giving Blair a hard time. She knew Blair couldn't avoid her last-minute flight to Portland. In reality, she probably hated it more than Jo. The tomboy continued to study the painting and spoke to herself again. "She only paints things she loves and finds beautiful and here I am busting her chops as usual. I'm such a jack ass."

Jo had her own nook in the basement where she kept her old field hockey trophies and mementos. The walls were full of sports memorabilia, her pride and joy being an autographed poster of Joe DiMaggio. She flopped down on the tan leather sofa with brightly striped pillows and attempted to unwind. Aimlessly flipping through the channels, she couldn't get her mind off Blair. She picked up the laptop on the floor next to the sofa. Keyboarding was never Jo's favorite thing but the laptop was certainly more convenient than the typewriters she'd used at Eastland and Langley. Looking back on those days, it seemed like a lifetime ago. Blair was always beside her from the beginning, even if just to antagonize her. They locked horns almost constantly back then. Later on, they realized that all the fighting was just sexual tension and frustration over emotions they didn't quite understand. It took them a while to figure out their feelings for one another, but once they did they certainly made up for lost time. There were stolen moments in between classes at Langley and the rare times when Mrs. G, Tootie, and Nat were all out of the house at once. As Jo typed, she thought about the life she and Blair built as a couple and how much her princess meant to her. She cussed at every typo but smiled to herself again, knowing that Blair would soon check her e-mail...

Blair hated LaGuardia airport. It was so cramped and dirty. There was no airport she hated more which was saying a lot since she'd been to airports all over the globe. She recalled a trip to Singapore some years ago. The airport there was clean with a sunflower garden and a rooftop swimming pool for those who cared to take a dip. But, here she sat at LaGuardia, with all its grime and indifference. She felt bad for leaving Jo like that. They'd booked a trip to Molokai months before to celebrate their anniversary but she had to make this rush trip to Portland, fearing the Pinckney project might fall apart. The next thought that came to her head was Where is Kevin? They planned to fly out together but he was nowhere to be found. She picked up her phone to text him and noticed she had a new e-mail. "Why did Jo send me an e-mail?" She wondered aloud. It was a welcome surprise as she read it.

My Dearest Blair:

Here it is just days before our 31st anniversary of being together and I find myself alone. I know your last-minute business trip couldn't be helped and that you're alone too.

I want to tell you just how much you mean to me. It is important for both of us that you know exactly how I feel about you with no filters. I'm not usually a person who minces words and nobody is aware of that more than you. As you also know, I've never been good at sentimental stuff. It's almost as if the past 31 years have been a wonderful dream. You complete me, Blair, and I honestly don't know where I'd be without you. I will never know what you see in me. I'm stubborn and ill-tempered with a practically non-existent fuse. Yet, I wake up every morning and there you are beside me. I admit sometimes you drive me up a wall...no insane with some of the things you do. Then you drive me even more insane with desire.

You know my secrets

You know my hopes

You know my joys

You know my weaknesses

You know my strengths

You know my heart

And you, Blair Warner, are my love. Happy Anniversary, Princess. I'll be waiting patiently for you to come home.

Loving you always,

Jo

Blair blinked her tears away, not even worried about her mascara. "I love you too," she whispered. Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a man's dress shoes running toward her.

"Blair, I'm here!" Kevin was out of breath from running. His balding head shined with perspiration and his yellow paisley tie was crooked. "I'm sorry I'm late. I-"

"Listen Kevin. You need to call Bill Jefferies and ask him to meet you in Portland. I'm going home."

It wasn't unusual for Kevin to have a puzzled look on his face but at least now he had a reason. "Is something wrong? Is Jo okay?"

Blair nodded. "Yes, she's fine. It's just that something very important came up."

"But-"

"Call Bill. I'm sure he'll meet you."

"But what if-"

"You'll be fine," the heiress said reassuringly. "I'm counting on you Kevin. Between the two of you, Pinckney will get straightened out. Now, if you'll please excuse me, I need to be home with my wife."

Blair arrived home and noticed the lights were on in the basement. She went downstairs and found Jo asleep on the couch, snoring with her mouth slightly open. Her socks and sneakers were tossed in random places onto the dark berber carpet. Her laptop and an empty potato chip bag were at her side and at that moment she looked so adorable. A tender smile came to Blair's lips. "Ever the barbarian. My barbarian," she uttered softly, looking at Jo with great love. The blonde leaned over and kissed her on the forehead. Jo slowly opened her eyes.

"Huh?" She focused on those beautiful brown eyes peering down at her. "Blair," she yawned. "What are ya doin' here?"

Blair giggled. "Some nice welcome home I get."

Jo rubbed her eyes. "I'm sorry Princess. I'm just surprised." She took Blair's hand and guided her to the spot beside her on the couch. "It's a wonderful one at that." Blair wrapped her arms around Jo's neck and engaged her in a long, lingering kiss. Jo let out a contented sigh. "Hmmm...what a nice way to be awakened."

"I got your e-mail," Blair simpered.

"Oh?"

"Yes. I realized there are better things going on here than in Portland, Oregon."

"And what made ya come to that conclusion?" Jo asked with a glint in her eye.

"Well, you're here, aren't you?" Blair grinned.

"Yeah." Jo took her partner's hand and squeezed it. "Always. Right here."

"I thought about so many things, Jo. Your e-mail..." The blonde began to tear up. "...was so unexpected. And so undeserved. I was wrong to take off right before our anniversary vacation."

"I'm sorry too," Jo apologized. "I need to control my temper more."

"No honey, don't change. I love you just the way you are, temper and all."

"I love you too, Princess. So tell me, what happened with Kevin?"

Blair laughed. "I thought you'd never ask. He was in a panic when I left but I took your advice. I told him to get Bill Jefferies to take my place."

Jo snickered. "See? I told ya. You should listen to me more often."

"Now don't get carried away. If I listened to you too often I'd be doing my own oil changes," Blair teased.

"I can teach ya if you're interested," the tomboy offered playfully.

Blair moved in closer. "Oh shut up and kiss me."

"Gladly," Jo said as she slid her arms around Blair's waist. "Welcome home." They shared a tender kiss.

"I know it's not Molokai, but we can drive to Cape May for a few days," Blair suggested.

"Okay."

"There are some lovely bed and breakfasts there and we'd still get to wake up to the sound of the ocean. Isn't that romantic?"

"Yeah it is," Jo answered as she held Blair a little closer. "It sounds like just what we need."

The heiress continued. "Not to mention the beautiful Victorian homes and quaint shops."

Jo laughed. "You'll go shopping no matter what, won't ya?"

"Of course," Blair stated as she gave a flip to her flaxen hair. "I have an image to uphold. I am a Warner, after all. In fact, I'll go online right now and find us a charming little place for this weekend. Something whimsical, fun and of course, very expensive."

"I don't doubt that," Jo stated with a soft laugh.

Blair looked intently into eyes as green as a forest after the rain. "I feel like it's been ages since we made love."

"Maybe that's because it kinda has been," Jo affirmed.

"I'm sorry I've been traveling so much lately. The time just gets away from me. Then when we both get home from work at night, I'm tired, you're tired..."

"It's okay," Jo brushed her fingers lightly over her partner's cheek. "...as long as it can be remedied soon."

Blair gave Jo a look filled with smoke and fire. "Is that an invitation for tonight?"

The tomboy snickered. "You're damn right it is. I figure we can celebrate our anniversary a little early." She kissed Blair deeply, her eyes aflame with desire. "Meet me upstairs with the champagne."

Blair felt a sudden jolt in her core and answered in a voice sultry and low. "It's a date."