Landon's typical day was quite different, than when Jamie was still with him. Instead of Jamie nudging his tummy to wake him up, there was Jade's loud morning greetings that would bounce him off the bed. Instead of Jamie giving him a morning kiss, he gives her and Jade a morning kiss. Instead of Jamie cooking delicious omelets for him, he had to eat his own burnt scrambled eggs, with burnt toast. ' I need a maid.' he thought as he took his first bite of toast. 'Disgusting. Even dirt will taste better than this.'

After he ate breakfast, he dressed Jade up, and talked to her at the same time. "Hey, cutie. Ready to meet someone new? Be good to her, ok? Don't give her a hard time. Pinky promise?" He intertwined their two pinkies. "Good, then we're set. Let's go." On his way to the door, he stopped by Jamie's picture and kissed her. "Wish me luck."

*************************************

Landon parked his Camero in front of a big house in Craven Street, and looked at the address in his hand. 'Whoa. Big house. Eh. Is this the right one? Uhh..call her, Landon. Common sense. Her number's below the address. Yeah..yeah..Right. I'll call her.' He dialed the number on his cell phone, and soon, a familiar voice answered the phone.

"Hello, Lana speaking."

"Uhh..hey, Lana. This is Landon."

Her face lit up a bit. "Landon?"

"Yes..ummm..can you look out your window and see if my car's there, because I'm not sure if I'm at the right place."

She looked out the window and laughed a little.

"Yes, yes. This is my house. C'mon in, Landon."

"Oh..ok..bye"

'Lana, his comming in. Fix your clothes. And your hair. Put a little lip gloss on...No wait. He's here. Not enough time.'

She opened the door and found Landon standing there with Jade in a basket on one hand, and a bag of her necessities on the other.

'How adorable!' she thought.

"What time will you pick her up?"

"I'll try to pick her up around 6 o'clock. Is that alright?"

"Yes, yes..Sure! That will be fine." 'Ask him to stay for breakfast. Nah..Lana..too early..No, it's not too early. It's just fine! Go! Ask him!'

"Why don't you come inside? I'll make you some coffee." 'You go, girl! ' 'Shuddup! Lana, you're rushing him. You'll scare him this way. Go a little slower. Geez'

"Uhh..No, thanks. I should be heading to class."

' See? I warned you...' 'Don't frown, Lana. Smile.' "Ok, then. I'll see you at 6. Bye"

"Bye."

She closed the door and took Jade out of the basket. "Hey, sweetie!" she pouted. "I'm Lana. I'll be taking care of you while your dad's not here. We're gonna be good friends, right?"

Just then, Jade started crying.

"Shhh...honey. It's alright. Why are you crying, hmmm?" She tried to calm her down, but nothing worked. Then she found a key chain in Jade's basket. 'Damn, Jamie. You're everywhere. First his living room, and now his key chain? For God's sake. I even see your face in Jade's face.' 'Shhh...Be nice.'

She put the key chain in Jade's hand, and soon she stopped crying. 'Wow..how freaky.' 'No it's not. You talk to your mom too. Don't you, Lana?

She reached for the locket on her neck, and closed her eyes, thinking how similar Jade is to her. They both lost their mother at an early age. And she too, always feel her mother around her all the time.

*************************************

Class went pretty well for Landon. He borrowed some notes from his friends, and that made everything easier. His class ended at 3 o'clock, and he went straight to Dr. Basil's clinic. Dr. Basil was his father's friend, and he had a clinic in Beaufort. His job was to stay at the counter and answer phone calls, make appointments for patients, send referrals to other doctors, ect. That day was unfortunately busy, and by the time he made it to Lana's house, the clock read 8:03 P.M.

'Damn, I hope she wouldn't mind.'

He rang the doorbell, and when it opened, he froze.

TBC