Sunlight filtered through the thin curtains, streaming a dull light across the bed. Jenny pulled her mouth away from the bottle with a contented burp. Dixie smiled. "Well, you certainly were hungry this morning." Jenny's eyelids were already drooping. "Let's put you in here," said Dixie, lowering Jenny into her carrier, "and now Mommy can go get some breakfast too." Dixie wasn't surprised Jenny had fallen asleep so quickly. She'd certainly woken up early enough that morning! But in spite of Jenny's dawn wake-up cry, Dixie felt that after talking with Sarah the night before, she'd slept better than she had in months.
She pulled her purse over her shoulder, picked up Jenny's carrier, strolled across the hall, and knocked on Sarah's door.
"Just a second," Sarah called, walking toward the door. She looked through the peephole and, as she'd expected, saw Dixie and Jenny. "Good morning, girls," she greeted them as the gestured for them to come in.
"Good morning, Sarah," Dixie replied. "I was just going to go down to the lobby and get some breakfast. Would you like to join us?"
"I'd love to, hon. I need to make a phone call first though, is it alright if I meet you downstairs in a couple of minutes?"
"Of course. We'll save you a seat."
Dixie picked at her buffet plate as she flipped through a stack of photographs.
"I'm going to guess that's Jenny's big brother," Sarah spoke as she sat down with her plate.
"You guessed right. That's JR," Dixie said wistfully.
Sarah chewed thoughtfully. "Any big plans for today?"
Dixie set down the pictures. "Well," she began, "I think so. Talking to you last night helped me understand a lot of things, Sarah. And before I fell asleep last night, I decided I need to start moving. If I want to get my life back—the life Jenny and I both need—I should do it now."
Sarah sat back. "Very impressive."
"Yeah… my hands are shaking." Dixie gave a half-hearted laugh.
"I noticed that, but I wasn't sure if I should say anything or not," Sarah said playfully. "So where do you plan to begin?"
Dixie held up a picture of JR. He had on a dark green t-shirt and baggy khaki pants. He was wearing a baseball cap backwards, and laughing at the camera. "Right here," Dixie said. "JR should be the first to know his mom is back in town."
"Are you going to tell him about Jenny?"
Dixie looked nervous. "I have no idea. I—I imagine so. I hope that I'll see him, and I'll just know when the time is right to tell him."
"Here," Sarah said after a pause. She pushed her glass of orange juice towards Dixie. "Drink this, you need all the energy you can get." Dixie glanced at the picture of JR, then up to Sarah, who nodded at her. "You've got a big day ahead of you."
Dixie dialed the number of the Chandler Mansion, and held her breath. Sitting next to her, Sarah gave her the thumbs up sign.
"Hello?" It sounded like Winifred.
"Hi, is JR there?" Dixie hoped Winifred wouldn't recognize her voice. Luckily, she didn't.
"No, I'm afraid he just left to go to the park. Would you like me to take a message?"
"That's not necessary. Thank you," Dixie said as she hung up the phone.
"What's the story?" asked Sarah.
"I think Jenny and I need to get out of the hotel for a little while. Would you like to come with us Sarah? We're going to the park."
"I'm sorry I can't stay for long," Sarah told Dixie. "I called my niece earlier, and I think we're going to meet for lunch at BJ's."
"Oh, that's great," Dixie said appreciatively, "I'm glad that you came to the park with us at all." Taking a deep breath, Dixie continued, "I think I'm going to try to find JR. I'll just walk around for a bit. If you don't want to, I understand."
"It's fine, Dixie, I'm in no rush yet. Actually, if you want to look for your son, I'd be happy to stay here with Jenny for awhile longer."
"Really? That's so nice of you."
"It's my pleasure. Jenny's a little doll, I'd enjoy keeping an eye on her."
Dixie gave Sarah a hug. "Thank you so much. For being so supportive."
Sarah smiled. "That's what friends are for, right?"
Jenny let out a sudden excited gurgle, and Dixie remembered what she had to do. "I won't be gone long," she promised. She left the playground, and started out on a path by some young trees. It wasn't long before she heard a familiar voice.
"Come on, Amy!" the voice cracked. "Do you want to play Frisbee, or do I have to carry you around the park all day?" the voice said teasingly. Dixie crept up slowly, anxious to see if her suspicion was correct.
"Slow down, JR," a girl's voice laughed. Dixie's heart leapt. "I'm up for some Frisbee—though I must admit, being carried around the park all day by you does sound tempting…" The two laughed together.
Dixie quickly looked out from behind a tree to see the back of a teenage boy with dark hair pick up a pretty girl with wavy strawberry-blonde hair and begin to run.
"Hey!" the girl shrieked with a huge grin, "JR, I forgot my purse."
"Whoops." The boy turned around, and placed her carefully onto her feet. He laughed as he pulled off his sunglasses and stuffed them into his pocket. One glimpse was all she needed to see—it was her son.
The girl scampered back to retrieve her purse. She picked it up. "Uh-oh."
"What's wrong?" JR asked.
"My cell-phone. I'm supposed to have it with me, and must have left it in the car. I'm going to run back and get it."
"I'll come with you," JR offered, stepping towards her.
"That's alright, I won't be long. Just wait here, okay?"
"If you're sure," JR shrugged. The girl disappeared.
Dixie's feet stepped out onto the path. She felt light-headed for a moment, but it cleared quickly. "JR?" JR's eyes caught his mother's.
"Muh?" JR cleared his throat. "Mom?"
Dixie ran, and wrapped her arms around her son. She didn't ever want to let go. "Oh, I've missed you so much…"
"I've missed you too, Mom," he said, still recovering from the shock. "I thought you were still in Europe?"
"I just got back."
"Why didn't you call?"
"Oh, you know, I thought I'd surprise you."
"Just me?" JR surveyed. Dixie gave JR a puzzled look. "Does Tad know you're back, Mom?"
"Ah…" Dixie stalled.
"I didn't think so," he muttered doubtfully. Dixie began to lead him in the direction of the playground.
"JR, I just got back."
"I know…" JR had so many things he wanted to say, and so much he wanted to ask as well. "Why did you stay away for so long?"
Dixie had her back to him now, she couldn't see the hurt look on his face. She was facing the playground instead, watching Sarah rock Jenny in a swing, the toddler squealing in delight at the simple joy-ride.
"See that little girl over there, on the swings?"
JR sighed. "Yeah," he said exasperatedly. Dixie didn't say anything, and JR felt a weird feeling creep into his stomach.
*It's now or never,* Dixie thought. "She's looks so much like you did when you were a baby," Dixie blurted out.
"Nice to know," JR said with little interest. "Are you going to answer my question?"
"Shesyoursister."
"What?"
"That little girl on the swings, JR. She's your sister."