It's Saturday (even though it's really Wednesday), and that means Martial Arts class for the boys and Justin's party for the teens.

Reminder: We'll be away this weekend, so I'll post the next two chapters on Monday.

I hope everyone who celebrates it has a wonderful Fourth of July.

Chapter 51.

Alex was all ready when Marty and Steven came to take him to Martial Arts on Saturday morning. A quick hug for his mom, a wave at his dad and sister, and he was out the door.

Another two children had joined their class, a boy and a girl. "I'm Catie." The blond girl smiled. "And this is my twin brother Corey." She obviously did all the talking.

Sam reviewed what they'd learned the previous Saturday, and then taught them some new, fun exercises. Alex was glad to see Joey there again. He liked all of the kids in the class except for one boy, named Bradley, who only wanted to know when they would start punching and kicking each other. Sam had to reprimand him twice for pushing another kid.

Towards the end of the class, the children sat in a circle on the floor with their teacher and talked about respect.

"We are all different but we should respect each other," Sam said. "Everyone has a right to do what they want as long as they don't hurt anyone else. If your actions hurt someone, than that hurts you too."

Alex hoped that Bradley got the message.

After class, Alex went to Marty and Nancy's for lunch with Steven. Nancy had made them hot dogs and corn on the cob, and they gobbled it down.

"I love hot dogs." Alex held his in one hand and the bun in the other.

Steven nodded. "Me too."

"There were two new kids in our class today." Alex took another bite, chewed it, and swallowed. "And guess what? They're twins."

"A boy and a girl," his friend chimed in.

"And we learned how to kick."

"Only we're not supposed to kick anyone."

Th two boys finished eating. It was a nice Fall day, still warm enough for the children to play outside. After lunch they went into the backyard to investigate the tree house.

Alex knew that his sister and her friends had played in it when Emily lived in this house, and even after, when Marty, Nancy and Audra moved in. There was a wooden ladder that led up to a platform with a rail all around the edge. A building sat on the platform, tall enough for a child to stand up inside. They went through the door and looked around. There were three child-size chairs around a small table and shelves with toys and games on them.

Nancy had packed Steven's school pouch with juice boxes, cookies and apples. The boys decided that they were hungry after their climb up the ladder so they sat down at the table for a snack before looking around. A telescope on one of the shelves intrigued them.

"Let's take it out to the platform and take turns," Steven suggested. He pretended to be on a pirate ship. "Ahoy there. I can see shore but it's too far away," he said.

Then it was Alex's turn. "There's another ship and it's coming closer."

"We should signal them that we don't want to fight them," Steven said.

"Yes. We should tell them we respect them."

The boys played on the platform until Marty came out to tell them it was time for Alex to go home. They agreed to continue their game the next time Alex came for a visit.

Marty and Steven drove Alex home, and then continued on so that Steven could visit his mother. He seemed anxious about how she was doing.

"I expected you earlier," Helen said. She looked rested, but still pale and weak.

"I had Martial Arts class this morning, and then Alex came home with us for lunch. We got to play in the tree house in the back yard."

Helen looked at Marty. It seemed that the boy was getting used to living at the house with him.

"How are you today?" Marty asked.

"Oh, okay I guess," she replied. "I'm happy to see that Steven is so comfortable living with you."

"He is, but he'll come back to live with you when you're ready. I hope you'll let us come to see him here."

Helen had spent a lot of time thinking since she'd been home. There really wasn't much else for her to do. She'd decided that she, Marty and Steven should live together in the house. She imagined that it was a mansion with many large rooms, very luxurious. The woman and the girl would have to move out, of course. But Marty owed it to his son and his son's mother to take care of them.

"I want you and Steven to spend lots of time together." She thought, but didn't say 'just you, not that Nancy woman and the girl'.

So she was dismayed when Steven insisted "And Nancy and Audey, too!"

She was going to have to think some more about this.

Chapter 52.

It was Nancy's turn to play chauffeur. She and Audra drove first to the Billings house nearby for Emily, and then on to pick up Gretchen before going to the Appletons' for the party. Nancy could tell how excited the three girls were. She knew that parties like this were preludes to their first real dates. It could be an enjoyable time, an emotional time, or even a miserable time in a girl's life.

Justin greeted them at the door. He reassured Nancy before she left that his parents would be there to chaperone. There were already about a dozen teenage kids in the house. Everyone greeted the three girls and congratulated Audra on the adoption. While Gretchen and Em wandered off to talk to other friends, Justin appeared to not want Audra out of his sight. Not that she minded. In fact a little shiver of happiness ran through her.

Popular music filled the large family room where the party was being held. Gretchen stood watching Ruth and Brandon doing the latest dance. They looked like they were having fun.

"Do you know how to do that?" Joel asked, coming to stand next to her.

"Sort of," she replied. "You?"

He shook his head. "I'm not much of a dancer. Not like Brandon and your friend."

"Her name's Ruth. Yes they dance well together." She came to a decision. "C'mon, let's give it a try."

But after only a little while it was obvious that Joel was right about his dancing ability. He had two left feet. He couldn't coordinate his steps with the movement of his body.

Gretchen chuckled and stopped. "Okay, I guess that's not gonna happen. Why don't we just get some punch?" she suggested instead.

Joel was only too glad to follow her to the refreshments table. On closer inspection, the punch didn't look that good, so they each took a soft drink can instead, along with a couple of chocolate-chip cookies, and found seats on a sofa.

"Justin said this party was partly to celebrate your friend Audra's adoption?" Joel asked.

"Audey's mom died when she was a little kid and she lived with her grandparents." Gretchen told Joel Audra's story. "She's really happy with Nancy and Marty. I'm glad they adopted her."

Joel nodded. "You've all known each other a long time, haven't you?"

Gretchen looked around. It was true. She knew just about everyone there, although some better than others. "I've know Emily almost all my life, but yes, I've known most of these people for four or five years."

"That's all? I thought you grew up with them all."

"No, Mom and I moved here five years ago to be with my dad. So I know what it's like to be the 'new' kid."

He nodded. He liked this girl. He didn't know her well enough to confide in her, but maybe someday.

"Come outside for a little while," Tommy begged Em.

She nodded, and walked out through the French doors to the backyard patio with him. It was clear enough to see the stars and a half moon. There were a few other kids outside, some of them couples off in corners talking quietly. Emily was pleased to see that Sylvie was with David. They sat together near the swimming pool.

Tommy and Em found a bench under a tree and sat down.

"You look really pretty tonight." Tommy rolled his eyes as he realized what he'd said. "Not that you don't always look pretty," he amended.

She just smiled at him. She sensed that he was nervous. Well, she was too. He'd kissed her at the school dance, a brief shy kiss, and she'd kissed back, but they both knew that this was only the start of many more changes in their relationship. She'd thought about that. A lot. Analyzed it, and what it meant. And there was something she wanted to say.

"Tommy, I like you. I think maybe I even love you, but I'm not sure what that's supposed to feel like. I...I just want you to know that whatever happens between you and me, more than anything else, I always want to be your friend."

"I hope we'll always be friends, Em," he said. "I've just been feeling so many different things lately, mostly about you."

"Yeah, me too," she agreed.

Tentatively, he kissed her again. It felt wonderful.