Thanks for all the great comments and for reading this story. Here's some more.
Chapter 13.
"Hi Mom, how is everyone there?" Alex was surprised at how good he felt seeing his mother's face on the screen.
"Alex! We're all fine. How are you?" Cameron asked.
"Busy, but good. Um, I kinda volunteered you to talk to my Infectious Diseases class." Alex was almost certain she'd do it, but he waited nervously for her response.
"Me? Not your father?"
"We were talking about flu, and Professor McDougal brought up your seminal work on the Brazilian flu viruses," he explained.
"Oh!" She smiled. "Well, I'd be honored to do it." Then she started thinking about her other commitments. "When?"
"At your convenience, of course. He said you wouldn't have to come up here, just set up a video session."
"I wouldn't mind visiting my son," she said, chuckling. "Just not next week. I've got two critical patients, and Emily is due at the end of the week."
"Why don't you contact my professor and set it up," Alex suggested. He gave her the contact information.
"That'll work," she said. "And while I'm there, I'll have a chance to meet your roommate and your other friends."
"Sure," Alex said, but he wasn't sure he was ready for that.
"Of course, I won't be able to stay too long. Can you imagine what your father would say if I did?"
"Yes," he said with a smile and a rapid nod. "I have to go. I'm having dinner with one of those friends in a little while."
He saw his mother's eyebrows rise. "See you soon. Have a great dinner."
"Thanks. Bye, Mom."
Ryan had come in as the conversation ended and was transfixed by the image on Alex's laptop screen. "That's your mother? Wow!"
Alex laughed. He knew his mother was beautiful but rarely thought about it. "You should see my sister. And her friends. But don't get any ideas. They're ten years older than us. And married."
Ryan smiled. "But you said your mother was a doctor."
"So? So are my sister and her closest friends." Alex shrugged. "What does your mother do?" He'd suddenly realized he didn't know a whole lot about Ryan, certainly less than Ryan knew about him.
Ryan frowned. "She attends charity luncheons and goes shopping. Lately she's been volunteering at a homeless center. That's back in fashion with her circle of friends."
"Oh." Alex wondered how anyone could reply to that. He did know that Ryan came from a rich family, but he still assumed that his mother worked like all of his friends' mothers. "And your dad?"
"He's a stock broker in New York. I haven't seen him much lately. You were lucky to grow up with both of your parents."
"Yeah. But my sister didn't meet Dad until she was nine," Alex told him.
"She's your half-sister?" Now Ryan was confused.
"No. But Gretchen and Mom lived in Albany. Then when my sister was nine she got sick, met Dad, and the next thing you know, Mom and Gretch moved to New Jersey to be with him. I was born less than a year later." He realized that he had more questions for Ryan. "You and your brother and sister lived with your mother?"
Ryan nodded. "My parents divorced when I was eleven. Liam was eight and Meg was only six. We stayed in Boston with Mom. Her family lives there so we spent a lot of time growing up with our cousins, aunts and uncles, and our grandparents. It was all right. We got to spend some time with Dad, but not a lot, especially after he remarried."
"We didn't see our grandparents much at all," Alex said. "And our only aunt and uncle and cousins live in Chicago."
"I guess everyone has a different family situation," Ryan said.
"And we each make the most of what we have."
"So when are you picking up Shannon?" Ryan asked.
"What?" Alex looked at his watch. "Oh, no! I have to get ready!"
The jacuzzi had been better than either Justin or Audra had expected. The water stayed warm, and the jets were in just the right places. Audra sat in front of Justin between his legs, leaning her back against his chest while he soaped hers.
By the time they helped each other out of the tub, they both felt an odd mixture of relaxation and excitement. They dried each other with fluffy towels, then caressed each other's still-warm skin and shared a passionate kiss.
"We've got another hour," Justin murmured in Audra's ear.
"However shall we spend it?" she asked with a flirty smile.
"Oh, I think we can come up with something!"
Chapter 14.
Shannon looked good. Really good. Her dark hair was swept up instead of hanging loose as it usually did. She was wearing a dress that was cut low enough to show some cleavage, and short enough to display a lot of leg. She smiled when she saw the effect on Alex's face when she opened the door to him. His bright blue eyes blazed and his mouth hung open.
Finally he blinked and said, "Ready?"
"I just have to get a jacket. It'll probably be cooler when we get out of the movie."
The restaurant was close to campus. As they walked to it through the late summer evening, Alex consciously shortened his long stride so she could keep up. "The movie got very good reviews," he said, picking a safe topic to start.
"Adam McCormick always does a great job," she commented. "He's not just good to look at, but he's a terrific actor."
They reached Pelican's and entered. The place was busy, mainly with Yale students and faculty. Alex had made a reservation, so they were seated almost immediately.
"I hope you like seafood," he said, knowing he should have asked before.
"Love it!" she said, and he breathed a sigh of relief.
But sitting across the table from her, he had a hard time keeping his eyes off her beautiful face.
"So, both of your parents are doctors?" Shannon asked. "I can't imagine doing that! And medical school, all that work!"
"I guess you have to want to," Alex said with a shrug. "I don't think I ever seriously considered anything else. What do your parents do?" When he'd asked Ryan that earlier, he'd also realized that he didn't know much about Shannon's family, either.
"My dad's a commodities broker on the Chicago Board of Trade." Their waiter brought their drinks and took their orders.
"Ryan's dad is a stock broker in New York," Alex told her.
"Oh! I didn't know that."
"And your mother?" he wanted to know.
"My mom." The look on her face was unreadable. "She was an actress and singer on and off Broadway. She never made it big, and when she married my father, she moved to Chi-town. She's taught at the local community college, acting mostly, but I think she's living vicariously through me and my sister. Fin's a dancer, ballet mostly."
"One of my sister's friends became a ballet dancer," he said. "That's hard work too."
"What does your sister do?" she asked.
He grinned. "She's a doctor, of course."
"Oh!"
"So, you're from Chicago? My aunt, uncle and cousins live there. My grandparents did, too, but they're both gone now."
Their orders arrived, tuna grilled rare for Alex, and scallops for Shannon. As they ate, Alex thought about this young woman. Carla had been right. She was a lot smarter than she let on, and once in a while she'd use words or express ideas that gave away the brain hiding behind the big hazel eyes. Still, he wasn't sure whether he was ready for his mother to meet her.
Jack and his red-headed wife had taken Audra and Justin to a trendy restaurant in newly redeveloped East L.A. It seemed to be the kind of establishment that attracted hip and young big spenders. Jack had made a reservation because otherwise they'd probably have to wait three hours for a table.
Once they were seated, Jack smiled at Audra and said, "Justin tells me that you're an Oncologist." There were a trace of surprise in his voice.
"Yes," she said, and smiled at her husband.
"Oooh!, that sounds important!" Diane said.
"It means that I treat cancer patients," Audra explained.
"You mean like a nurse?" Diane asked.
"No, like a doctor," Justin corrected.
"Oh!" Even before that, Diane had decided that she was Audra's new best friend. She latched onto her and talked Audra's ear off about who she knew, where she went, and what she'd bought that day. "I bought a dress just like that one," she said, indicating the linen dress Audra had decided to wear again to dinner. "Only mine has orange sleeves and belt. I guess there are boutiques in New York just as au courant as Katrina's."
Audra had already heard from her that Katrina's was THE place to shop in L.A. "Actually, I bought this in Princeton at a shop owed by the aunt of one of my best friends," she confessed.
The men were still talking about the fuel cells until Jack's phone rang and he excused himself to take the call.
"So, do you two have any kids?" Diane asked.
Audra and Justin exchanged a smile. "Not yet," she replied.
"But we're trying," Justin added.
"Trying's good," Diane said with a smile. "We're trying too, only Jack's always so tired when he gets home, ya know?"
Their salads arrived just as Jack returned. "That was my partner, Phil," he told them. "He'll be back in L.A. tomorrow, and he wants to meet you, Justin."
Justin shook his head. "I was going to take Audra sightseeing before we fly up to San Francisco for my meeting with Page."
"I can take her!" Diane volunteered. "I know all the best sights in town. It'll be fun, just us girls!"
She seemed so excited by the idea that Audra couldn't say 'no'. "Sure, that'll be fine. And Justin can take me sightseeing in San Francisco."
He nodded, and they began to eat.
