The cab pulled up to the Luckett's, and Jennifer started to get out.
"Jennifer, do you have any cash?"
"Yeah, I think so".
She grabbed her wallet and handed Greg a $20 bill.
He paid the cab driver while she walked up the front walk towards the front door.
They rang the doorbell, and then all of a sudden it was open.
"Hi, come on in. She's upstairs, getting dressed. She's going to be so excited to see you".
"Thanks. Sean, this is my friend, Greg Scolari. Greg, this is Sean Luckett".
They shook hands, and then went and sat on the couch.
A few minutes later, Julie and Savanna came downstairs.
"Savanna, one of your guests is here."
She came into the den, and saw Jennifer.
She took off full speed and ran and jumped in her lap.
"Hi Aunt Jeffer!"
"Hi lovebug! Oh, I missed you so much!"
"I missed you too".
Savanna was holding tight to Jennifer, and not letting her go.
Jennifer stood up and went and gave Julie a side hug, while still holding Savanna.
"Thank you for coming".
"I wouldn't have missed it for the world. Julie, this is my friend, Greg Scolari. Greg, this is Julie Luckett".
"Hi, nice to meet you".
"Nice to meet you too".
Jennifer sat back down next to Greg.
"Lovebug, can you say hi to Mr. Greg?"
"Hi".
"Hi there".
Savanna grabbed Jennifer's hand.
"Where's your ring? And where is Uncle Jonathan?"
"Uncle Jonathan has my ring, because we aren't getting married anymore. And I don't know where he is".
"You mean I don't get be in a wedding?"
"Not this time."
Savanna started to cry and put her head on Jennifer's shoulder.
"It's ok, lovebug. There will be other weddings. I'm sure you will get to be in a wedding someday".
"I'm sad because you aren't going to get to wear the princess dress."
"Oh, I see."
Luke came in and gave her a huge hug.
"I missed you!"
"I missed you too. How are you, buddy?"
"I'm good. Uncle Sean and Aunt Julie are very nice, and I like my new school. And Uncle Sean likes to play video games with me".
"That's wonderful. Luke, this is my friend Greg Scolari. Greg, this is Luke".
Sean brought McKenna in. She smiled really big and clapped her hands.
"Savanna, we need to get a picture with your cake before the party starts."
"Ok".
She climbed off Jennifer's lap, and headed to Julie.
"Aunt Jennifer, McKenna has a surprise for you".
He set her down, and she walked straight to Jennifer.
"Good job, my little monkey! I'm so proud of you".
She picked her up and held her for a few minutes.
Greg was trying to play with her, but McKenna kept giving him the death stare.
"Aunt Jennifer, when is Uncle Jonathan going to get here?"
"I don't know, buddy. We don't live together anymore".
"You don't?"
"No, we don't".
Savanna came back and climbed up in Jennifer's lap again.
"Do you still live in the house with Max?"
"No, I don't. I live in New York, in an apartment".
"Oh".
Savanna told her all about her school and how happy she was.
"I still miss you, though".
"I miss you too, lovebug".
"Can you get me a purple Sprite?"
"Sure".
She stood up and handed McKenna to Sean, and then went to make Savanna a purple Sprite.
"I'm so glad you are doing that. She's been asking for one, and I had no clue what she was talking about".
"It's just sprite and vanilla and food coloring. Two blue, two red, and a ½ tsp of vanilla flavoring".
"I'll remember that".
Jonathan came in then, and the kids ran to him. McKenna walked over and clapped her hands.
"Monkey! When did you start walking?"
"Bahman".
He picked her up and sang to her, and then came over to Jennifer.
"Hi, how are you?"
"I'm well, thank you. How is your head?"
"Much better. Headaches are gone. No follow up treatment needed".
"Glad to hear it".
Greg walked over to Jennifer then.
"Greg, this is Jonathan Hart. Jonathan, this is my friend, Greg Scolari".
"Nice to meet you".
"Nice to meet you as well".
Jonathan turned back to Jennifer.
"Max says to tell you hello, and that he misses you immensely".
"Oh, that's sweet. Please tell him hello for me as well".
Some of Savanna's friends started to arrive, so she ran off to play with them. Jennifer went and stood by Greg.
"Thank you for coming with me to her party".
"She's a great kid. I can see why you like her so much".
They watched her play some games with her friends.
"Ok, for the last game, Savanna gets to pick her favorite friend to sit with her".
"I pick….Aunt Jeffer".
"Oh, how sweet. Of course, I'll sit with you".
She went and sat next to her.
"Ok, this is the telephone game. Jennifer is going to read a phrase and whisper it to Savanna. And then everyone is going to whisper it to the person on their right, and then when it gets all the way back around to Savanna, she's going to tell us what she thinks the phrase is".
They played the telephone game for 3 rounds, and Jennifer was a good sport.
After the games were over, it was time for cake.
"Aunt Jeffer, will you eat cake with me?"
"Of course, lovebug".
Greg came and sat next to Jennifer at the table, and they were eating their cake.
Jonathan kept staring at Jennifer, wishing he could remember their relationship. He had a bad feeling about Greg, but he had let her go, so it wasn't his place to say anything to her about him.
After they had cake, Savanna got to open her presents.
Max had sent her a mermaid shirt, and a mermaid doll. Jonathan had brought her a few princess dolls and a princess play set. She opened Jennifer's gift last.
"Barbies! And dresses for them! And dresses for me! With pants! And Pajamas! And I get to color! Thank you Aunt Jeffer!"
She threw her arms around Jennifer's neck and hugged her so tight.
"You always get us the bestest presents".
"Well, thank you".
Savanna passed out goodie bags to all her friends, and then the party was over.
Savanna came and sat with Jennifer again, and fell asleep on her chest.
"Oh, here, I'll take her".
"No, it's ok. I miss this. I don't mind holding her a little longer".
Julie and Jennifer talked about how the kids were adjusting.
"It's like they have always been here. There were no tears, they haven't even fought or anything. McKenna adjusted well also, she hasn't woken up in the night once, except for when she was teething."
"I'm glad to hear it. I was really worried about how they were going to adjust and if they were giving you guys a hard time."
"I meant to tell you, I took her to the doctor last week, because she said her ear was hurting. Actually, the way she said it was "It hurts to listen".
"Oh, that's precious".
"Isn't it? And the doctor wanted to give her some antibiotics. And she straight up told him, "Do not give me the crazy medicine".
Jennifer started laughing.
"I love how straight forward she is".
"Oh, me too".
Savanna woke up then, and moved her head to Jennifer's other shoulder.
"Savanna, want Aunt Julie to put you in bed?"
"No, I want Aunt Jeffer to".
"Ok lovebug, let's go".
"Second door on the right upstairs, and she can just sleep in that".
"Ok".
She got up and took her upstairs and got her in bed, and kissed her a few times.
"I love you, lovebug".
"I love you Aunt Jeffer. And when you marry Uncle Jonathan, I still want to be in the wedding".
"Ok, lovebug".
She gave her a few more kisses and then went downstairs.
She helped Julie clean up, and then went and sat by Greg.
"Are you ready to go?"
"Yes, I am".
He got up and called them a cab.
He was on the phone with the cab company, and he kept snapping his fingers at Jennifer, to ask her something.
"Greg, you can just say my name".
"I know that".
She went to the bathroom and then came back out.
Jonathan was waiting for her.
"Hi. I just wanted to tell you that it was wonderful to see you".
"Thanks, it was great to see you too."
She started to walk away, and then turned back.
"Jonathan, did your memory ever come back?"
"No, it hasn't. I've been doing mental exercises that my doctor suggested, and I've had bits and pieces come back, like memories of the kids. But nothing of you and me. I'm sorry".
"I'm sorry too".
"Are you still in Los Angeles?"
"No, actually I'm back in New York".
"I see. Well, maybe the next time I come in town on business, we can have dinner or something, as friends".
"I'd like that".
She went back to Greg and grabbed her purse and handed him his jacket.
"Thank you for having us, it was a lovely time".
"Oh, thank you so much for coming! I'll have Savanna call you in a couple days".
She gave both of them huge hugs, and then leaned down and gave Luke a big squeeze.
"Aunt Julie told me that you had been behaving and were doing well in school. I am so, so proud of you."
"Thanks, Aunt Jennifer."
She gave McKenna a few hugs and kisses and then she wanted Jonathan, so she handed her to him and then she and Greg left.
They were in the car headed back to the hotel when he finally spoke.
"Why didn't you tell me that your former fiancé was going to be there?"
"I didn't know he was."
"Yeah, right."
"I really didn't, Greg. If I had known, I would have said something. And besides, my focus was on the kids. Savanna was so excited to see me".
"And what kind of name is that nickname she gave you? Jeffer? What in the hell is a Jeffer?"
"She couldn't say Jennifer very well, and the first few times she tried, it came out Jeffer, and it just stuck".
"Well, it's stupid. It makes you look stupid. The whole party was lame, and now, I need a drink".
"I thought it was a lovely party, and you can have all the drinks you want when we get to the restaurant".
The cab took them to a little Italian place, and they were seated right away.
Greg ordered a Jack and Coke, and Jennifer ordered a white wine.
They sat there, sipping their drinks, and then the waitress came by and took their order.
"Manicotti with meat sauce, and a side garden salad".
Greg ordered the little Italy sampler, that came with chicken parmesan, lasagna, ravioli, and spaghetti Pomodoro.
Jennifer tried to talk to Greg about other things besides the party.
"What show did you want to go see next weekend?"
"You can pick".
"Ok, I think I saw where Gutterdamen is playing. That's my favorite Opera".
"That's in German. No way".
"Ok, well there's Finding Neverland".
"I haven't heard good things about that. I'll just pick something, it's not a big deal".
They ate their dinner, and then paid the check and headed back to the hotel.
Jennifer was suddenly wishing they had the midnight flight to New York.
***Sunday***
Jonathan was at L'Orangerie, having an early dinner. Susan Kendall came in.
She came over to speak to him.
"Hi, how are you?"
"Great. How are you?"
"I'm good. Drew's out of town, so I'm picking something up to go."
"I should have done that, but I wanted to get out of the house".
"How are you feeling?"
"Good, physically. Confused, emotionally. I flew up to Portland yesterday for Savanna's birthday party. And Jennifer was there. She brought a new guy with her."
"Oh, I bet that was hard for you."
"Well, yes and no. I mean, if I could remember our relationship, then yeah, it would have been awful. But I can't. But, I got this feeling that she isn't being treated the way she should be. And I wanted to say something, but I can't, because it's not my place".
"So, what did you say?"
"I asked her if we could have dinner sometime when I was in New York, and told her it was wonderful to see her again".
"What did she say?"
"She said she would love that".
"Well, that's a start."
"I guess so. It's very strange, I mean, I'm not in love with her, but I just feel this magnetic like attraction to her. And this need to protect her".
"I think you are in love with her, you just can't remember it yet. But you'll get there".
"I hope so".
His food came then, and he asked the waitress to box it up for him to go.
Susan sat with him till her order was ready and then told him goodbye.
He took his to-go box and left, and headed to the townhouse.
***Jennifer***
Jennifer and Greg landed in New York around 2, and shared a cab.
They pulled up to her building first, and Greg leaned over and kissed her.
"Want to help me with my bags?"
"Not this time, love. I'm tired. You can manage".
"Bye Greg".
She looked irritated, because she was irritated. He had been such a gentleman in the beginning but now, he was rude and insensitive and always criticizing her.
She knew she was going to have to have the conversation with him, she just didn't know when it was going to take place.
She went inside her apartment and went to take a shower and put on some comfy clothes.
She worked on her article the rest of the day.
***Los Angeles***
Something was bugging Jonathan. He kept replaying this scene in his head from the party.
"Jonathan, this is my friend, Greg Scolari". That replayed in his head, over and over again.
He decided to call Stanley, and see what he could find out about Greg. Perhaps they had done business before and he couldn't recall it.
He came into the townhouse and Max was sitting on the couch.
"How was your trip?"
"Great. Savanna had a nice party, and Jennifer told me to tell you hello".
"You mean, you didn't bring her back with you?"
"She was there with someone else, Max".
"I see."
"I think I'm going to go take a shower. Suddenly, I'm tired".
Max couldn't help but think that he was suddenly tired, because he was tired of running away from his feelings for Jennifer.