For the next few days I did nothing but mope around the house. I didn't answer the phone, but I did check to see if any of the calls were from out of state, but none ever were. I knew Sasha had called a number of times but I couldn't find the strength to talk to her. I was so upset that I had made myself sick. It was all I could do to get out of bed in the morning and face a new day. Bosco wasn't much better and spent most of his time out in the garage tinkering around with different things, or so he told me. I knew that he was just going out there to avoid being inside with me because he didn't know what to say. What could either of us say to the bomb shell that our second son had thrown upon us? Congratulations?

Emma and Rob had gone back home but they weren't too far away. I never did tell Emma the full extent of what had happened but she was determined to find out somehow. She pried away at Bosco until he snapped at her and went out to the garage. I did tell her that Brett and Carly had gotten married and that we didn't know much else. She didn't quite know how to take it, but she saw how upset I was and didn't press me any further. She left, unhappy and hurt, and it made both Bosco and myself feel even worse. This was the hardest holiday I had ever spent. But Bosco was taking the news harder than I was and I was beginning to get worried.

I knew he was extremely upset about the way that our son had left and not said goodbye. He was also very disturbed by the change in Brett and the way he had treated me. He was moody, stone-faced and irritable and it was driving me crazy. As a result, we avoided each other and said as little as possible. Neither one of us had a clue how to deal with the situation we had been dealt. He had also started smoking again, which was something he did after every single one of the crises's we had been through in the last thirty years. It wasn't something he came right out and told me, it was something I smelled. He didn't say anything and I didn't mention it. After all, we had more things to worry about at the moment.

In some ways I blamed myself for him feeling as bad as he did. I knew that a lot of what was wrong was his own feelings concerning what had happened to us years ago and the fact that he still hurt over it sometimes.

The day was Thursday and it had been four days since Brett and Carly had flown back to Boston. We hadn't heard a word from either of them but we had left plenty of messages. It seemed that they had totally fallen off the face of the earth.

Bosco was in the livingroom taking down some of our decorations and I was still in my red flannel pajamas, with my hair tied up in a sloppy bun. It had become my uniform. The uniform of the depressed.

I had just finished washing the breakfast dishes when the phone rang. I grabbed a dishtowel and dried off my hands as I walked over to the telephone stand next to the microwave to see who it was. It was Sasha again. Inwardly I groaned, not knowing how to start the conversation that I knew we had to have sooner than later. I had to admit that I was very turned off by Carly and had a very sore spot on my mind that directly related to her and her betrayal and that was partly the reason for me not wanting to talk to her. But that was selfish and unfair of me to act like that towards my best friend. She had no more control over what Carly did, as I had none over anything that my kids did. It didn't seem fair to me and I wondered just how much our friendship would be tested before it was through.

After five rings I decided to pick it up.

'Hello?'

'Faith?' Sasha's angry voice shrilled through the phone.

'Hi Sash.'

'Did you hear what those two went off and did?'

My heart sank. It was true. Somewhere in the back of my mind I had hoped that Brett had told me that as some kind of dirty trick and although I knew it wasn't, hearing it from someone else opened up a wound that hadn't even begun to heal.

'Ya. Brett told me just before they left.' I answered without enthusiasm.

'Well? What else did he tell you, cause Carly ain't saying nothin' to me or Ty. Ty's just about crazy from not knowin'..' She grumbled. 'I could kill them! I could just kill the pair of them. What were they thinking?'

I shook my head and sat down at the kitchen table. I was shocked that Carly hadn't said anything to them about it not being Brett's child. Apparently they were very good at keeping secrets. Why hadn't she told her mother? I debated telling her right there and then but decided that maybe it was something that she needed to hear face to face. I owed her that much.

'They weren't.' I said dryly.

'How long ago did they do it?'

I hadn't thought of that. I hadn't even asked, although to be fair to me, I really didn't have time, as the door was slammed shut in my face.

'I don't know. Brett was really angry when he left and I didn't get a chance to ask.' I said truthfully.

'Well, I still don't understand what in heaven's name is goin on around here, do you?'

'Sash, I think you should come over and we'll talk about it.' I said wearily. I bowed my head into my palm, feeling the beginning of a terrific headache coming on.

Instantly she understood that I knew much more than she.

'You know something, don'tcha?'

'Too much, if you ask me. Just get ready and come over at about twelve or so. We'll have lunch..' I said softly.

As soon as I hung up the phone I burst into tears. I ran upstairs to my room and flopped myself down on my queen sized bed and really let go. I sobbed until my throat was raw and I actually felt like I would throw up.

I resented being put in the position of having to tell Sasha her own daughter's business. I thought about how and what I would tell her and I knew it was going to crush her either way. I would have to be the one to tell her that her own daughter had played around on my son and that she was pregnant with a mystery man's child. How was that supposed to work?

'Faith? Faith, are you up here?' Bosco's voice called me from downstairs. I tried to answer but my throat was raspy and couldn't get the words out.

I could hear him coming up the stairs and then walking down the hall. Part of me hoped that he would just go back downstairs or to wherever he had come from and not look for me. The other part, the part of me that needed to be comforted, hoped that he would open the bedroom door. He found me anyway and as soon as he saw my tear streaked face he rushed into the room and pulled me into a hug.

Even though we had barely spoken for the last few days and even though we had hardly looked at each other for fear we'd both cry, the walls came crumbling down when he touched me. We needed each other, to comfort and to hold. There was no point in being distanced from one another at a time like this. We needed to be united, so that when the harder times came we would stand firm.

'What's wrong, honey? Did you hear from Brett?' He asked worriedly.

I shook my head and clung to him tighter, like a drowning woman clutching a piece of driftwood.

He rocked me back and forth as if I were a baby, and not for the first time, I felt so lucky to have him by my side. He kissed my face, my hair, my eyes. He soothed and petted me and rubbed my back until I could finally speak again. It never ceased to amaze me, the way he could put anything aside and come to my aid, even if he was less than pleased with me at the time, he always put me first.

I looked up into his dear, familiar face as he leaned over me and reached for a kleenex and wiped my eyes tenderly.

'I'm sorry.' I whispered, feeling so bad that we had ignored each other.

'For what?' He asked, as he threw the soiled tissue on the floor.

'For everything...for not paying attention to you...for not being here for you when I should have been...for Brett and for Carly...I'm just sorry.' I babbled, holding him tightly around the waist.

He held me equally as tight and ran his hand through my hair, loosening the bun and letting it fall down my back. 'I'm sorry too. Jeez, Faith, I just can't wrap my head around this. I don't understand what is happening with them. I don't know what to do...I feel so...so...helpless. And I can't get how he could act like that toward you. He knows better.' He murmured into my hair.

'I know' I agreed, sniffling. 'It's like Brett is this totally different person, a person that we don't know as well as we think we do. He was so angry, Bos, that for a split second I thought he might actually hit me.' I shuddered, just thinking about the anger that he had displayed to me.

I pulled back and looked him in the eye. 'Do you think he'd ever lay a hand on a woman?'

He sucked in his breath and looked at me with hurt eyes. 'I'd like to say no...but after what you told me...I can't say anymore. We have to remember that the way we know Brett isn't necessarily the

person he actually is when he isn't around us. To tell you the truth, this is something I'd expect to find in Mike...not Brett.'

'In Mikey?'

'It isn't something that I ever gave real thought to...but you know Mike. He's arrogant and he's not respectful toward women. You've seen the way he acts, Faith, he's a womanizer...and between the two, I would have guessed that Mike would be the nasty one. It's hard to think about your kids being that way, but sometimes you gotta open your eyes. Parents are famous for keeping blinders on.' He said wisely.

And I knew it was true. Although I didn't like discussing which son I thought may be the one to ever hit a woman. It was such a hard topic to uncover.

'What are we gonna do?' I asked brokenly, looking at him for the answer.

'I don't know...I just don't know.' He mumbled, looking as lost as I felt.

He pulled away from me and stood up and walked around to his side of the bed and pulled the covers down.

'What are you doing?'

'Lay down with me. Take a nap with me.' He said in all seriousness.

I looked at my watch. 'It's only nine o'clock and Sasha's coming over for lunch.'

He looked down at the floor and closed his eyes and then opened them again, and gave me a pleading look

'I want to hold my wife for a while and forget what shitty things are going on. I want to feel my arms around you and I want to forget for just one minute that our lives are turning upside down. Please, Faith.' He said quietly, his voice thick with emotion. He looked so lost, I couldn't say no.

I didn't want to say no. I needed to be close to him.

We got into bed and pulled the blankets around us. He laid on his back, his arm around me, while I laid my head on his chest. I closed my eyes and just concentrated on the smell of him. I loved the way he smelled. Even when we were partners I could never get over how good he always smelled, like old spice and cinnamon chewing gum. It was overwhelming by times. All I had to do was smell cinnamon or that cologne and I would automatically think of Bosco. Think about being in bed with Bosco.

Neither of us said anything for the longest time, we just held each other. Every once in a while I would feel him tighten his hold on me, as if he were afraid I would disappear if he didn't. He stroked my hair with his free arm and kissed the top of my head tenderly.

'Remember when Mike got his first bike?' He asked softly.

'Ya. I remember how mad Brett was when he got Mikey's old trike.' I said, smiling faintly.

'He was so proud of that bike...he didn't even want to come in for supper, he was scared that someone would steal it.' He chuckled at the memory. He rolled over and faced me and rested his hand on my hip.

'Ahhh Faith, how come our kids grew up so fast?' He asked, searching for me to tell him something to make him, and me, feel better.

That it didn't know. One day we were going to the grocery store to buy cans of formula, the next we were taking our kids to kindergarten and then to the prom. Life seemed to get more complicated the older we got.

'I should have done more for them...I should have been better...' He muttered.

I reached out my hand and caressed his cheek lovingly. 'You're a good man, Maurice Boscorelli, and one hell of a damn good father. Don't ever forget that. We did the best we could.'

Another tear escaped from my eye as I looked at the man whom I loved so very much, hurting because he was, again, blaming himself for his children's mistakes.

Tears sprang to his eyes, shiny and wet, but he blinked them back and instead, he leaned in and kissed me softly.

Suddenly, nothing was more important to me than being as close to him as physically possible. What started out as a soft kiss turned into a blur of passion that was hot and demanding. I needed him to touch me everywhere, to make my body sing, to whisper words of love and tenderness. He made me feel alive, loved and cherished just with a touch of his hand. We went higher and higher until we had lost ourselves in each other, wet and slick with sweat and when we reached our climax simultaneously, I felt a feeling of love so strong it could not be broken.

When we were both spent, we lay with our fingers entwined and enjoyed our precious time together.

I knew that no matter what happened in my life, as long as I had Bosco I would make it.

The ringing of the doorbell snapped us out of our reverie. 'Don't get up...just let whoever it is come back later.' Bosco murmured, very content to stay in bed and be cozy.

I leaned in and kissed him and rumpled his dark hair with my hand. 'It's Sasha..I have to let her in. I invited her for dinner.'

He lifted his head from the pillow and glanced at the clock on the night side table. ' It's only eleven o'clock. Isn't she early?'

'Na. She's really upset and probably just wanted to talk.' I said as I scooted out of bed and picked my pajamas up off of the floor.

I got dressed and ran down the stairs as fast as I could, thinking that Sasha might be a little annoyed for having to stand out in the cold for so long.

The door bell rang again. 'I'm comin, I'm comin'. I grumbled, as I approached the door.

I snapped the lock back and swung the door open but was totally surprised when I saw who was standing on the other side.

It was Carmelle Sambrooke. How could I have forgotten about her?