Title:  Reunification

Author:  Lisbeth

Disclaimer:  I do not own any of these characters, even though I wouldn't mind owning Eric Stoltz

Show:  Once And Again

Synopsis:  While attending grad school, Grace runs into someone from her past

Rating:  R, for language

Feedback:  Please, I beg of thee!  Feedback is a must.

E-Mail:  strangefruitgirl@hotmail.com

Chapter 3:  This Mess We're In

            All throughout dinner, Grace could think of nothing but her Russian literature class.  She kept asking herself if she should just drop the class, but she knew deep down that it would not help her in any sense.  Everything around her was in a blur and she was quickly brought back to reality by Zoe's voice.

            "Grace!  Grace!  Earth to Grace!" Zoe said as she waved her hands in front of Grace's face.  "Hey, space cadet, you're requested here!"

            "What?" was all Grace could say.

            "Would you mind passing me the dinner rolls?"

            "Oh, sure" Grace said as she passed the plate to Zoe.

            "Are you ok? That headache still bugging you?" Lily asked.

            "No, I was just thinking about something.  It's not really that important." Grace replied.

            As Rick continued the conversation about his meeting, he mentioned that Sam and Judy were planning on moving out of the condo they had been living in and buying a house.  "Sam mentioned that Judy is constantly reminding him about how her biological clock is ticking.  So, I'm pretty sure that they're going to try and have a baby."

            "Well, it's about time. I would like to hear the words "Aunt Lily" someday." Lily stated.

            As the conversation continued, Grace slipped once again into her own little world.  She hated it when she got into states like this.  As she let out a big yawn, she dismissed herself from the table while grabbing her plate and glass from the table.  She bid everyone good night.

Grace walked into the bathroom and changed into her pajamas.  She brushed her teeth and hair and walked to her room in almost a zombie like state.  As Grace pulled the covers back from her bed, she climbed in and relaxed immediately at the thought that she would end her day in just a matter of moments.  The quiet lull of sleep never really began its pull on her though.

            Downstairs in the kitchen, Lily and Rick were saving up the dishes and tidying things up.  Zoe was in her room finishing her homework, while Barbara and Simon were in bed. 

            "Do you think Grace is alright?" Rick asked.

            "Well, she complained about a headache earlier today.  I don't know what else could be wrong.  She seemed pretty positive about her classes. Do you think she doesn't like the school or something?"

            "Maybe she's worried about one of her classes.  You know how she can get sometimes.  I'm surprised we haven't had to bring her in for ulcers by now." Rick said.

            "You think that can explain her little space adventure?  I don't know.  I think it's just a case of her being lonely for Boston.  It should pass with time." Lily said.

            As the two continued with the task, Lily remembered cleaning off Grace's plate.  It looked as if she only took two or three bites.  Lily hoped that if she were lonesome for Boston, it would all somehow change when Grace would become more familiar with her new academic home.

            Have you even been so tired both physically and emotionally that you couldn't actually fall asleep?  Grace was having that problem.  As she grimaced at the realization, Grace's brain began its slow and steady focus on the day.  She turned over to see what time it was while the alarm clock read 11:23. 

            Grace thought back to her days in high school when August Dimitri was her reason for even getting out of bed sometimes.  He was her first love, whether he wanted the title or not.  Grace knew it the day he gave her that book.  It was foolish of her to throw herself at him the way she did, but Grace had never felt that impulsiveness before.  It was acknowledged that he somehow gave her a confidence she had never felt she could ever have.  To this day, she felt like she had to at least thank him for that.  When she kissed him, she knew it.  The kiss still stayed fresh in her memory, as if it happened just five minutes ago.  Grace knew that they had shared something when he didn't even make an attempt to break from her.  How she wanted to run her fingers through his hair just for that instant to feel what it was like to truly lose all control and give in to what she knew she couldn't have but still craved more than life itself.   

            Then she thought of the five years that had passed between them.  Where did he go?  What did he do?  Was he married?  How did he move on?  All of the questions were ones in which Grace didn't have the answers for, and it tore at her.  She felt that he was somehow the bane of her existence, while at the same time being the reason she even breathed. 

            In Boston, Grace had dated a few guys. They caught her attention with their intelligence and ability to have a conversation that didn't involve which football team was going to win the Superbowl.  Even as she dated these guys, she knew that she could never really spend the rest of her life with them.  She was still looking for him.  She looked for personality traits in all of the guys she dated that August Dimitri had, but none of them could live up to what she was searching for.  She looked for something she knew she could never find in anyone else, except August.  That was when she began to delude herself with the notion that an education was more important than anything else, even love.  She told herself that when she reached grad school, it would be different, but she realized that she was doing the same exact thing she swore she wouldn't do again.  Grace knew that she would never be able to have him the way she wanted and it only made her want him more.  Was it lust, love, or just pure infatuation, she still didn't truly know.  All she knew was that she never fully reached closure with August Dimitri. 

            Grace remembered the last time she ever talked to him in his classroom as he was packing up his things.  She wanted to tell him to wait for her.  It would just be one year.  They would be able to be together then, when she was eighteen, when the eyes of the law wouldn't be able to shun them.  It didn't matter to her if the eyes of society did it. To Grace, love didn't care about ones skin color, sexuality, or age.  She always knew that she was somehow going to end up with an older man.  She was an old soul after all, and August Dimitri was somehow her soul mate.  Grace was willing to give it all to him, even her virginity, without any questions or reservations.  Maybe that would be her downfall, but it was a risk she was willing to take. 

            She somehow looked at the Russian literature class as a means to closure.  It didn't matter if he had gotten married, or if he was even seeing someone.  All that mattered was that this was an opportunity for her to finally release him from her heart.  She did find an ending to her story, just like he told her she would, but the story she was in with him never really had a proper ending.  It was cut short, "disowned," as he once put it.  Grace no longer believed in fairy tale endings, but she still knew that she wouldn't be able to truly give her heart to another without releasing August Dimitri from the throne he had so claimed over her for five years.  And with that realization, Grace finally was able to fall asleep.  

            When the alarm clock went off at 6:00 Tuesday morning, Grace immediately hit the snooze button.  After nine minutes, the alarm rang again with Grace getting up this time.  As she groggily got out of the bed, she went to her dresser to put on her yoga pants and a t-shirt.  As she was lacing up her running shoes, Grace reminded herself that she didn't have a class that day.  As she grabbed her Walkman, she loaded in a tape of fast paced techno music to get her pumped up, and walked out of the door.  While running Grace tried not to focus on the previous day. Instead, she only tried to think ahead on the positive things.  Yes, the Russian literature class sounded interesting, and she decided not to drop the class.  If the class turned out well, maybe she could even pursue her thesis in that area of study.  While Grace usually took a twenty minute run with walking intervals in between, she added another thirty minutes to the morning ritual. 

            Lily would return to work on Wednesday, so that gave Grace one day alone to do what she so pleased.  Grace decided that she would take full advantage of it.  As she strolled into the house, Rick had already left for work.  Lily was flipping through the phone book, trying to find the phone number to Dr.Bader's office.  Zoe and Simon were both eating their breakfast while Barbara stared strangely at her scrambled eggs.  No one seemed to notice it except Grace. 

            "I can't believe I misplaced that damn number. By the time I find the number in the yellow pages, I'll be sixty-four." Lily said.

            "Morning." Grace stated.

            "Hey honey.  How was your run?" Lily said still flipping through the book. 

            "Good.  I needed it actually.  It helped me clear my head a little."

            "Well, that's good.  I wish I could get up at the crack of dawn to do that, but I'm too lazy."  Lily observed.  "I found it!"

            "Found what?" Zoe asked.

            "I found the number!" Lily yelped.

            "It's just a phone number mom, it's not like it's a winning lottery ticket." Zoe said.

            "Very funny Zoe.  I have one day left until I go back to work and I'm going to be booking appointments all day.  Geez, that sounds like fun!" Lily said with a touch of sarcasm.

            As Grace went to grab a cup of yogurt from the fridge, Zoe was going to place her dirty dishes in the sink.  Simon was telling Barbara about how the kids in his daycare class were learning about different animals. 

            "Hey Grace, will you drop me off at school?" Zoe asked.

            "Sure." Grace said as she fished a spoon out of the cabinet drawer.

            "Would you mind dropping off Simon also?" Lily asked. 

            "No problem." Grace replied. 

            "I'm gonna go finish getting ready.  Will you be ready in about twenty minutes Grace?" Zoe asked.

            "Yeah, whenever yall are ready, I am." Grace said.

            As Zoe left the kitchen to finish getting ready for school, Simon finished up his breakfast and brought his dishes to the sink.  As he left the kitchen and started to walk to the living room, Lily reminded Simon that he had to brush his teeth before he left the house.  Grace finished up her cup of yogurt and threw it in the trashcan as Lily asked Grace what she was planning on doing that day.

            "I have that homework I need to get done.  I also wanted to review over some of notes so I an be better prepared for the lectures.  I need to call dad too."

"Well, you haven't seen him ever since you've come back, but Booklovers has really been doing good business wise.  Plus, you should see Maddie.  My goodness, that girl has grown."

            "Yeah, I bet.  What are you going to do today besides call Dr. Bader?"

            "Well, I'm going to try and prepare myself for a few meetings that I'm supposed to have for the rest of the week regarding the show.  It's just basic stuff, nothing too exciting."  Lily said as she opened a box that had come in the mail the previous day.  Lily carefully opened the package and pulled out a bracelet. 

            "What is that?" Grace asked.

            "I sent off for it a few days after your grandmother went wandering off.  It's an identification bracelet.  It has the basic information about your grandmother, including our phone number, just in case she goes wandering off again.  The Milton's suggested we get one for her."

            "I read somewhere that the reason why some people with Alzheimer's wander off is because they're bored.  Maybe it help her a little if she and I went on little afternoon walks or something.  I'll be right there beside her.  I think it would do her some good to get out and get some fresh air every now and then.  I just think she may feel like a prisoner sometimes; I know I would."

            "That sounds like a good idea Grace.  I think your grandmother would really like that."

            "Grace, I'm ready to go now."  Zoe popped in.

            Grace dropped off Zoe and Simon and went run a few errands for her mother.  First, Grace went to the bank then she went to the store to pick up a few things.  Afterwards, Grace drove around the town just for the sheer pleasure of driving around.  Some places were still the same just as some places had changed.  Grace didn't really have a particular destination when driving, but just found herself turning down streets when her conscious told her to.  It wasn't like she was going to get lost.  As she drove down the familiar street, she came upon a familiar house, or more of a familiar haunt.  It was his house, or his former house, if you will.  The color of the house was still the same, and a different person resided there.  It reminded Grace of how after he left the school she would sometimes drive by his house to see if he was home.  For the first few days, she would sometimes find his car parked.  She could never bring herself to get down and go talk to him.  Grace figured that it would only complicate things even more, as if they couldn't get more complicated then.  Then one day she drove by and he was gone.  She could tell just driving by that the house was empty.  It almost seemed like it was a sudden decision; he just woke up one day and decided to leave it all behind.  He just woke up one day and decided to leave her behind.  Grace knew it was stupid to think that he would somehow feel something more for her than what he may have, but she also felt that there were some clues he threw her to make her believe that he did indeed feel something for her. 

As she turned the corner, she decided it was time for her to get home.  She was sure that Lily was waiting for her, plus, she wanted to get her school assignments due before Zoe and Simon got home.  Grace was always one who liked to get the big tasks done early.  It made her feel better if she didn't have something hanging over her head, at least, not too much.  In all honesty, she had something hanging over her head for five years.

            Later on that day, after Zoe and Simon had both returned home from school.  Lily was still prepping herself for her return to work.  An appointment was set for Barbara with Dr. Bader the next week.  While Grace offered to bring her grandmother on a Tuesday or Thursday, Lily thought it would be best if she went along instead.  Lily figured that since she was the prime caregiver, it would be better for her to talk to Dr. Bader.  It wouldn't be a big problem for her to leave work a little early.  The only time Dr.Bader could squeeze in so soon for Barbara was on the following Wednesday at 2:30.  Lily just needed Grace to pick up Simon and Zoe after school when her classes were done. 

            For Grace, the late afternoon was the worst part of the day.  She always found herself in a slump during those few hours.  It was 5:45 and Rick still wasn't home.  He had called earlier to say that a meeting was going to hold him back a few hours and he would bring home Chinese.  Grace had finished her schoolwork and called her father and Tiffany to say hi.  Along with Zoe, they had made plans to have dinner with Jake and his own family later on that week.  The conversation wasn't too long between them. 

            It was then that the doorbell rang.  As Zoe raced to answer the door, Grace began to wonder just who was coming by to visit as she was watching CNN.  "Hey Jessie!" she heard Zoe scream. 

            Grace got up from the sofa and walked over to give Jessie a hug.  It had been a good while since she had seen Jessie.  One would easily say that Jessie hadn't changed much in the last five years.  Even though she went through a three month period of dying her hair red, she decided to go back to her true blonde hair color.  Her hair was now cut in an even chin length bob and she was dressed in a conservative business suit. 

            "What are you doing here?" Zoe asked as she ushered Jessie through the door.

            "I came into town to visit mom and Henry and I figured I would stop by to see you guys.  How is everyone?"

            "Everything's cool.  Where's Katie?" Zoe asked

            "She has a big art history test tomorrow, so she thought it would be best if she stayed home and studied for it."

It was then that Lily walked in the room and went to hug Katie.  "Hey honey!  How have you been?  Your dad's not home yet, but he's going to pick up Chinese if you feel like staying for some dinner."

            "Oh, no thanks.  I ate at moms already."  Jessie said as she turned her attention to Grace.

            "How have you been Grace?  I heard you were coming back to go to school in Chicago.  Maybe you'll run into Katie one day.  She's going to graduate soon you know."

            "How is she?" Grace asked.

            "Oh, the same old Katie.  Still a smartass, but I wouldn't have her any other way now would I?"

            Grace laughed at the comment as she told Jessie to take a seat.  "So how are your mom and Henry?" Grace asked.

            "They're good.  We're still waiting for them to set a date.  I don't know why mom is being so old fashioned.  I mean, they've been engaged for practically a year now.  I told her that they're pulling a David Copperfield and Claudia Schiffer engagement.  They'll probably be engaged for like ten years or something." Jessie laughed.

            "It's good to see that your mom is happy though.  Have you heard from Eli lately?"

            "Last week.  Hayden has been invited to join the Sydney orchestra.  Eli sounded so excited for her.  You would think he had gotten the invitation instead of Hayden."

            "She's so sweet.  She's not the kind of girl I would of pegged Eli falling for actually.  It's weird sometimes to think back on all of the girls he has dated and how he is now with someone who is the total opposite of all those girls."

            "Yeah, I know how you feel.  So, how have you been doing?  Do you like your new school, or do you wish you were back in Boston?"

            "I'm still trying to get used to the university.  I know it will grow on me; I just have to give it time.  I'm only going three days a week though so I can stay here with grandma.  Everyone seems to think that it will make things easier for her if family were here to take care of her instead of some stranger."

            "How has she been doing?"  Jessie asked.

            "I heard that she wandered off into the Milton's backyard a few days ago.  Mom even got her this little id bracelet with her medical information and stuff just in case it happens again.  It depresses me at times to see her.  I don't see how mom can handle it all, and I haven't even had an episode with her yet.  I guess that I'm just a little insecure about it."

            "You'll do fine Grace.  To me it seemed that you would always shine when the heat was on you.  I don't want to say that you work well under pressure because it's so clichéd, but it is true.  I just always noticed that with you."

            "Who's that?" Barbara asked as she walked into the room and pointed to Jessie.

            "Mom, that's Jessie, Rick's daughter."  Lily replied.

            "He had a daughter?" Barbara asked.

            "Come on mom, why don't you sit down and watch some television for a little while." Lily spoke.

            "No.  She makes me uncomfortable Lily.  I don't want to sit in the same room with her." Barbara whispered to Lily, but loud enough so that both Grace and Jessie heard.

            "Mom, that's Jessie.  You don't remember her?"

            "No!  I've never seen that girl before in my life!" Barbara screamed.

            It was then that Barbara's confusion started getting out of hand when she grabbed a pillow from the sofa and threw it with all of her rage on the floor.  Zoe and Simon then ran in the room to see what the commotion was about.

            "Mom, calm down.  We'll go in another room ok."

            "I will not calm down!  I am not a child Lily, stop treating me like a child!" Barbara screamed as Lily escorted her into the kitchen with Zoe following her.

            Grace had never seen her grandmother behave like that before.  It was almost as if it were someone else in her body instead of grandmother herself.  As tears threatened to fall from her face, Lily walked back into the room and apologized to Jessie for the outburst.

            "I'm sorry about that Jessie. I've read about how some Alzheimer patients can get a little paranoid and stuff, but I've never seen her act like that before."  Lily said.

            "It's alright Lily.  I understand.  There's no need to apologize.  I mean, she hasn't seen me in a while, so that could explain it."

            As Lily continued in trying to somehow explain what just happened, everyone once again heard the screams of Barbara from the kitchen.

            "I don't understand why I can't go for a walk?  I need to clear my head up for pete's sake!" Barbara yelled.

            "MOM!" Zoe screamed.

            As Lily rushed into the kitchen, a silence ensued the living room with both Jessie and Grace staring into thin space, trying to somehow think of something to talk about.

            "You want to go get some coffee?" Grace asked.  "I mean, when is Katie expecting you back?"

            "Oh, well, I didn't give a specific time.  You want to go to Booklovers?"

            "Yeah.  I don't know about you, but I need to get out of this house for a while."

            "Sure." Jessie replied.

            As Barbara began to calm down, Grace walked into the kitchen to let Lily know that her and Jessie were going to go to Booklovers for a while.  Lily said goodbye to Jessie and asked Grace not to come home too late.  She once again apologized to Jessie for Barbara's behavior.

            When Judy decided to go with Sam to Australia, she left Booklovers in the hands of Jake and Tiffany.  Booklovers was doing wonderfully business wise, and it had expanded.  An outside section was added with around six tables.  A small stage was built to accommodate a jazz quartet that played every Friday from 11:00 to 2:00 and then back again at 6:00 till 9:00. 

            As Grace and Jessie walked into Booklovers, the vibe still remained the same.  For a Tuesday night, the business was doing pretty well.  Tiffany ran up to Grace and hugged her while Jake soon followed Tiffany's lead. 

            "Hey baby" Jake said as he hugged his daughter.  "Hey Jessie, how are ya?"

            "Hey Mr. Manning.  Hi Tiffany" Jessie said as she hugged the two of them.

            "Dad, the place looks great.  I think Aunt Judy would applaud how the two of you have helped this place blossom.  Is it always this busy?" Grace asked.

            "Well, pretty much.  You should be here on Friday's." Jake said.

            "Where's Maddie?" Grace asked.

            "Well, Tiff was supposed to stay home with her tonight, but one of our workers called in sick, so we left her with a friend of Tiffany's for a few hours." Jake replied.

            "I'm sure mom wouldn't of minded if you dropped her off at the house Dad." Grace said.

            "Your moms got enough to worry about with your grandmother.  She doesn't need to add on babysitting duty to that list."

            While Grace and Jessie sat down at a table, Tiffany told them that whatever they wanted was on the house.  While Jessie was in the mood for a latte and biscotti, Grace however, opted for some juice.  It was odd for Grace to observe that while they were in high school the two argued on a daily basis.  Now, the girls had indeed grown up and the tension that was once present between them seemed to vanish as they both matured.  Grace looked at Jessie not only as a friend and confidant, but also as a sister. 

            "So, Rick says that the law firm you're interning at is pretty much running you around 24/7, even on weekends."

            "Well, Barnabas, Vlarney, and Atkinson is one of Chicago's busiest law firms.  I will be honest; I never would of thought they would of asked me to actually help them in researching for trials. It's odd that this is the only internship I've ever heard of where they ask you to take a semester off from your law education to work with them.  But, overall, it's a good experience.  If all goes well, I may even have a job waiting for me there when I graduate. I'm starting to prepare for the bar exam."

            "So, things between you and Katie are going good?"

            Jessie gave Grace a 100 watt smile and a glow came to her at the thought of her girlfriend.  "You know, I've never been so happy.  I can't imagine living a life without her.  We have an apartment together now.  It's funny because so many people tend to think that we're just really good roommates who just happen to walk hand in hand or arm in arm in public.  When I tell people that I'm a lesbian and I have a girlfriend, they expect some butch type girl who could look like a guy or something, then they meet Katie and are shell-shocked.  You should see it Grace, I wish I had a camera for some of those moments.  Katie says we're practically every guys wet dream.  She's working at the Museum of Contemporary Art. Some of her work was actually shown for a few weeks and one person even bought one of her paintings for three grand!  Let's just say we don't have to worry about the rent for a while."

            "That's so good Jessie.  I'm happy that you're happy."

            "So, are you seeing anybody?"

            "Well, no.  I don't know, things are kind of confusing in that department right now."

            "How so?  Did you leave someone behind in Boston?"

            "No. Actually, someone came back to Chicago you could almost say."

            "Would you care to elaborate for me?" Jessie asked

            "Well, I have a class in Russian literature and yesterday we were given the roll sheet to sign our name on, etc. etc. So, the girl who sits next to me, her last name is Darrow, hands me the sheet and just before I turn the page to find my name, I see his name."

            "Whose name?"

            "August Dimitri."

            "Wait a minute, the August Dimitri, as in the former English/Drama teacher."

            "Pretty much."

            "Well, how do you know if it's him.  I mean, it's not a common name, but there could be a few August Dimitri's out there."

            "It's him.  I recognized his handwriting."

            "You recognized his handwriting!  Ok, Grace, I always knew you had a thing for him, but you recognizing his handwriting.  That's a little extreme, don't you think?"

            "I know.  I didn't even see him in the class, but I just have this feeling in the pit of my stomach that it is him."

            "I remember when he left Upton Sinclair.  The guy practically lost his job because of a stupid gossip that wasn't even true."

            "Please, don't remind me."

            "I mean, you had a crush on the guy.  I'm sure in every school there is one student who has a little crush on of their teachers.  It's not like you two were actually having some kind of torrid affair."

            "Well, some things did happen to warrant it."

            "I don't understand."

            "He gave me a book a few days before he was suspended.  It was a collection of stories."

            "Oh yeah, I think I remember that book. So, what's the big deal.  A lot of teachers do that kind of stuff with students who they feel have a lot of potential."

            "But do the teachers write an inscription in the book?"

            "An inscription Grace?" Jessie posed. After a brief pause, Jessie shot her a look.  "Grace, you have to tell me what he wrote.  That's like bragging that you have some big secret and not offering to share it with anyone."

            "To the girl with the loneliest eyes.  Love, August." Grace said softly.

            Jessie stared straight ahead at Grace with both shock and amusement. "That's what he wrote?"

            "Yeah."

            "So that was why you were always so protective of that book.  Does that have anything to do with the fight you had with your mom too.  We heard a little bit downstairs, but dad told us that it was none of our business."

            "She found the book.  Plus, she figured that I wasn't at the library, but I never told her where I really was."

            "Well, where were you?"

            "I was at his house.  I finished a story and I wanted his opinion of it, so I practically pushed my way into his house for him to read it." Grace said as tears began to well up in her eyes.  "He didn't care too much for the ending I had came up with and we got into a little argument about the shit Alexa was spreading around.  I swear, one would think we were quarreling like some old married couple.  I kissed him."

            Upon hearing the last three words, Jessie nearly choked on her biscotti.  "What!"

            "I kissed him.  I remembered thanking him for writing what he wrote in the book, and I just did it.  I wasn't planning on doing something like that, believe me, but I didn't regret it one bit." Grace's tears were beginning to flow now.  "It wasn't a full tongue kiss or anything like that.  It was just a simple beautiful kiss.  You want to know what's strange though, he never did push me away.  He never told me that what I did was wrong, or some stupid mistake.  I was the one who pulled away, and I would be willing to swear on everything I cherish that he was beginning to kiss me back as I broke away."  Grace said as she took a drink from her orange juice.

            "Wow, Grace, I didn't think you had it in you." Jessie said.  "That took guts, lots of them."

            "I know it was wrong what I did, but is it wrong to admit that I am glad that happened?  He pretty much lost his job because of me."

            "You know that's not true Grace.  He was just suspended, not fired. Plus, he chose to leave."

            "Because of me.  When I got home, that was when mom found the book.  I remember being so scared that mom was going to tell the school district people what he wrote to me in that book, but she didn't.  He still left though. He claimed that he was using me to live out his own writing dreams vicariously.  I couldn't believe that though.  I still can't believe that."

            "What are you going to say if you see him?" Jessie asked.

            "I don't know.  I have no idea how to even approach the situation.  I mean, he could have gotten married.  Five years has passed.  He could be living his dream, and I can't help but feel that I might somehow ruin things for him."

            "But what if he's not involved?"

            "I'm so confused.  I think that's the reason why I haven't been able to truly love another person.  I've found him, but he hasn't found me.  A huge part of myself is still attached to him, and I know that it's not healthy.  I wanted to drop the class, but I won't do that.  I'm an adult now, and I have to handle this like an adult.  I just feel that we never reached any form of closure with this, that somehow, that chapter in my life was never finished and is still waiting to be finished.  I have to stay in order to find closure with him, even if he feels that it isn't needed.  Is that crazy?"

            "No.  No, Grace, that's not crazy.  If that is what you feel will help you, then I think that is what you need to do.  I'll admit, I'm still in shock that you kissed him though.  One question: from what you experienced with him, was he a good kisser?" Jessie said as both she and Grace started laughing.

            Grace began to wipe the tears as her and Jessie's laughs became louder.  Jake walked up to their table and asked them what was going on.

            "Oh, nothing.  Just sharing some old memories, that's all."  Grace said.

            "Yeah" Jessie said as she was wiping her eyes which had begun to water up due to their laughing.

            "Well, was everything good?"

            "Excellent Mr. Manning." Jessie replied.

The two girls sat and talked a little while longer, with Jessie avoiding the subject of Grace's grandmother.  It was a catch up conversation.  Jessie talked about the law firm a little more and Katie's artwork was also discussed some more.  Grace talked about Zoe and Simon for a while and described the Boston Common to Jessie.  Before they knew it, three hours had gone by and Grace realized that she needed to get back home. 

            As Grace and Jessie both said their goodbyes to Jake and Tiffany, they left Booklovers and hopped into Grace's car.  The drive home was also filled with small talk about the latest music the two girls were listening to.  When Grace pulled into the driveway, Jessie got down to say hi to Rick.  As Jessie left the house, she told Grace to call her sometime next week so that they could go to lunch. 

            It was around 10:30 when Grace hopped into bed and tried to think of what she would do if he did approach her.  She also tried to think of something in case she happened to bump into him.  The battle plan wasn't planned out for too long; a few minutes later, Grace was fast asleep.