James St. Patrick was born in 1976 in the South Bronx to, Anita Jackson and James St. Patrick. Anita was a young, beautiful 16 year old when James was born, while James St. Patrick, Sr. was her mother's employer. Mrs. Jackson was a widower who went to lives with Mr. St. Patrick and his wife when her husband died; Anita was 7 years old. Mrs. Jackson and Anita shared a space in the basement of the St. Patrick home. Having been an only child and being unable to have children of her own, Mrs. St. Patrick quickly grew to love, Anita. She always said that having her live with them was like having Anita around was a breath of fresh air in the house. When Anita was 10, Mrs. St. Patrick offered to move her up to the attic of the home where she would have her own room. Not being one to argue, Mrs. Jackson hesitantly agreed. Everyone was happy with the new arrangements; Anita had her own room for the first time, Mrs. St. Patrick was closer to Anita and Mrs. Jackson saw how happy Anita was so, she eventually settled on the idea of her only child sleeping so far away from her.

Not too long after her 13th birthday, Mrs. St. Patrick went into Anita's room to find Anita was lying on her bed reading the book she got her for her birthday. As soon as Anita saw her, she sat up "Hi, Mrs. St. James. Why do you look so sad?"

Mrs. St. James walked over and sat on the bed besides Anita. "Well, dear, my mother is very sick and I have to leave for a while to go and tend to her."

Anita's somber face matched Mrs. St. James' "I'm really sorry to hear that. How long will you be gone?"

She forced a smile, "I don't know darling. But, what I do know is that I will miss you terribly."

They embraced and Mrs. St. Patrick hugged Anita really tightly "I hate to leave you but, we will speak often, I promise."

"I'll miss you too!"

"But, I'm not leaving yet so, why don't we go out for some ice cream?"

Anita's face lit up, just like Mrs. St. Patrick knew it would. "Go on and get ready, I will see if your mom and Mr. St. James want anything and I'll meet you downstairs, okay?"

"Okay!" Anita responded with a smile as she got up from her bed.

Mrs. St. James took Anita to Jahn's restaurant and ice cream parlor in the Richmond Hill section of Queens; it was her favorite place to get ice cream.

They spent a couple of hours talking and enjoying their ice cream before heading home.

When they returned, Mrs. Jackson was in the kitchen preparing dinner; Anita went in to help her mother while Mrs. St. James went upstairs to begin packing.

The day had finally arrived for Mrs. St. Patrick to head to California to care for her mother. The mood in the house was somber but hopeful.

The days went by and it seemed as though Mrs. St. Patrick's mother was not getting better. Although, they had no idea when Mrs. St. Patrick would return, she spoke to Mr. St. Patrick and Anita almost daily. It had been a year and a half since Mrs. St. Patrick had left and Anita was sad that she had been gone so long. Mrs. Jackson had the day off and went to visit with friends when the phone rang. Anita heard Mr. St. Patrick on the phone and knew by the tone and conversation that he was speaking to his wife. Mr. St. Patrick had informed her that she didn't have much time to talk and promised to call back later on to speak to Anita.

"Did she say when she would be coming home?"

"Unfortunately, no."

Anita began to tear.

Mr. St. Patrick hugged her and kissed her on the forehead. Anita looked up at him and smiled.

"I'm sorry for being selfish, I'm sure you miss her too. She's like my second mom."

"I know, sweetheart." He kissed her forehead again however; this time, he didn't stop, he kissed her eyes, her cheeks and eventually kissed her on her mouth. Unsure of how to react, Anita froze.

"I'm sorry, Anita, did I scare you?"

She looked away, embarrassed. "No."

He smiled at the young woman standing before him. "Anita, have you ever been kissed before?"

She looked at him confused, "Of course, my mom kissed me all the time."

"No, I mean, have you ever been kissed the way a man kisses a woman?"

Her eyes widened "Never."

His gaze softened and he smile slightly. "There is nothing to be ashamed of, Anita. We all do it eventually. One day, you will find a wonderful man who loves you and you can kiss him all the time!"

"Mr. St. James."

"Listen, when it's just to two of us, you can call me, James. Would you like that?"

"I don't know, Mr. St." He raised his eyebrows.

"Um, J-James."

"That's much better, isn't it?"

Anita nodded.

"After all, I have known you since you were just a girl. We don't have to be so formal now, do we?"

"I guess not."