A/N Thanks again for all the great reviews and for being patient with the filler chapters that move the plot a bit. I know they can be dull. Next Chapter I should be the Sushi date but let's see what happens.

It was nice sitting there with mom talking, eating doughnuts and drinking coffee. Jeff had been right about one thing last night I neglected her by staying away so long. Still as I looked at her I became even more convinced that the senior home or whatever the hell it was called wasn't the right place for her. She was still young. Her hair had grayed a bit but her mind was active and as strong as ever.

Then out of the blue she asked me, "You aren't going to meet Ms. Reynolds looking like that are you?"

"Huh?"

"Ms. Reynolds the bereavement counselor is coming today. Wasn't your appointment for one o'clock?"

"Shit!" I exclaimed turning to check the microwave. The time was twelve thirty.

"Andy, watch your language."

"Sorry, mom," I said kissing her on top of the head. "I better go get ready." I rinsed the crumbs off my plate and laid it in the sink. Then I went up stairs shaved and showered quickly. Once I got out and dried off I stood in front of my closet trying to figure out what to wear. Jeans or khakis? Button-up or t-shirt? If I wear a button up do I need a tie? Then I stopped and laughed at myself. I was being ridiculous. It wasn't as if I was a school boy getting ready for his first date. I was a grown man. What did I know about Allison anyway? John Bender had changed a lot in the last six years so as far as I knew Allison had as well. On the other hand Claire hadn't changed that much at all maybe she was still the same basket-case I knew back then. No, from what I saw yesterday she had changed. I had to stop questioning everything and just go downstairs and see her.

I ended up choosing a pair of jeans and a blue chambray shirt, no tie. As I entered the living room Mom looked up from her crocheting and whistled. Maybe I over did it. "Don't you look nice? I remember when you were little how you would throw such a fit when it came to putting on your church clothes. I guess a pretty woman is more of an incentive to dress nicely than church would ever be for a young man." I felt the color rise in my face. "Don't blush. There is nothing wrong with being a good looking man. You look a lot like your father when he was your age."

I thanked her for say that I looked like my dad. I wasn't sure if that was really a compliment though. The clock on the mantel rang out that it was one o'clock as I sat down next to her. "So what are you making?"

"It will be a baby blanket for Elaine." My eyebrow went up. "You missed that part of the conversation yesterday day. She is pregnant again."

"How far along," I asked and found myself genuinely interested in knowing.

"Three months. They are so hoping for a girl this time. I just hope that now you are done with school you will find a nice young lady and settle down and give me grand children too."

I rolled my eyes I should have known it was coming. My mom loved children. I would think that once your own son lets you know he is thinking about kicking you out of your home you would sort of start looking at children differently. I would but not her.

We fell into a companionable silence as she crocheted. I tried occupying myself with TV, reading an old issue of Reader's Digest, and then by pacing. "Andy, would you please sit down?"

"She's late. Maybe she meant next week? I mean she was here yesterday and said Friday. Maybe she didn't mean today."

She smiled patiently at me. "You would think that you were being stood up for a date. How long did you speak to her yesterday? It couldn't have been that long, five maybe ten minutes? I don't think I have ever seen you so smitten in such a short period of time." I wanted to tell her that I knew Allison from before but then she would want to know if I was so crazy about her why I didn't date her. How could I tell her that I was a sheep and so that I wouldn't lose my friends I hurt Allison instead?

"I'd say it was closer to ten minutes," I replied looking over her head at the clock which now read 1:30.

"A watched pot never boils." I sat on the couch and flipped through the Reader's Digest for the second time. Finally at 1:45 the doorbell rang and I jumped up to answer it my mom chuckling in the background at my behavior. If it wasn't her I wouldn't know what to do. Luckily as I threw it open Allison was standing on the other side looking very hurried.

"Sorry I'm late." /"Hi." We said at the same time and then laughed.

"Come one in," I stepped to the side and let her inside. I felt a bit over dressed. She was wearing a pair of jeans and a white t-shirt with the arms rolled and a red bandana as a hair-band. "Uh- do you want to go to the kitchen?"

"That would be fine," she said following behind me then stopped, "Is your mom here?"

"In the living room why?"

"No reason really, I just thought it would be nice to say hello to her." I had the distinct impression that she was afraid to be alone with me.

"Go ahead."

She went into the living room and greeted my mom who gushed over her. By the time I arrived in the doorway she was saying, "And Andy was getting worried that you wouldn't show up."

"Sorry I didn't call."

"No need to apologize," Mom told Allison. "Now you two kids go in the kitchen. Andy, don't be a rude host and forget to offer her something to drink."

"I won't, Mom," I reassured her as Allison and I once again headed to the kitchen. Once in there she took a seat at the table and placed her briefcase on the chair next to her. That meant I had to sit across the table from her. "Was traffic bad?"

"Not really. I had to deal with a bee."

"A bee?"

"A bee." It was obvious that she didn't want to elaborate.

"So where should we begin?"

"Your father."

"You already know what he was like." I said in hopes of her loosening up and not being so formal and professional. Instead she just looked at me and said, "How are you and your mother dealing with his passing?"

"She isn't taking it as hard as I thought she would. Then again maybe it came as a relief to her. She isn't under his thumb any longer."

"It sounds as though you have a lot of anger towards him."

"I used to. I used to really resent him for how he pressured me. After I stopped wrestling and time passed I forgave him"

"Why did you stop wrestling?"

She was like a robot with the questions. I wanted to shaker her and yell, "It's me. It's Andy," but instead I kept playing the distance game. It was wrong. I felt she was being immature by pretending to be mature. What I said was, "My dad and my professors I decided that it was time for me to concentrate more on my studying."

In a moment when the present and the past warped together she looked and me and said, "That is very interesting. Why don't you tell me why you really quit/are in here?" Past Allison and present Allison over-laid on top of one another. It made my heart catch in my throat. I could have said, "Forget it." I wanted to. I wanted at that moment to just walk away. Instead I told her the truth. "There were lots of times when I wished my knee would go out. Finally it did during the last big match of my freshman year of college."

"How did you and your father deal with that?"

"He didn't deal with it well." She looked at me waiting for me to continue. "What more do you want me to say."

"I don't want you to say anymore than you feel the need to."

"Yes, you do." I snapped at her and slammed my hands on the table causing her to jump.

She stood and started putting her pad and pen away. "This wasn't a good idea. I'll have one of my colleagues take over your case."

"Allison, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap like that. It's just…" I sat back down feeling defeated, "it's just a very stressful time and I haven't been sleeping."

She sat again too. "Wanna talk about it," she asked softly. I looked up and met her eyes that were filled with a familiar warmth and understanding. The same eyes that made me open up to her and the others years ago while sitting on the floor of the library.

"You were right." She looked at me puzzled and I continued. "When you grow up your heart does die. I remember my father. He never seemed to care about any of us. Not my mom, or my brother or me. He was never violent although he had a temper. I inherited that from him. He was very cold. I don't remember ever seeing my parents share a romantic moment. Obviously they had them or my brother and I wouldn't be here. I don't remember my dad loving us boys unless we were bringing him home another trophy for his office. They were kept there. Other kids had them in their bedrooms, not us. Ours were there so he could see what winners we were."

"My brother is just as bad. He isn't the same as he was when we were kids. I don't know how he treats his sons but I've seen how he treats mom and it makes me sick. His heart died too." I paused. "Can I get you a drink?"

"No thank you, I'm fine. And how did you deal with the loss of wrestling?"

"Horrified. Wrestling was my life for so long and yeah, I wished that my knee would go out so I could quit it wasn't anything I really wanted to happen. Or I didn't think I wanted it to happen. I'm not really sure which. Then it did happen and all I could think was, 'with out wrestling what am I," but at the same time I was relieved. I was like a wild animal that had been domesticated for so long that when I was faced with the wild I had no idea what to do. Glad to be free but not sure where to go from there."

"Did you tell your father?"

"I didn't have a chance too," I said and then told her about how my father reacted with the silent treatment. We talked about my relationship or lack of relationship with my father for about an hour. Then she looked at her watch.

"Oh my. I've got to get going. I guess our session is done for the day. How are you feeling?"

"Isn't that what we have been talking about," I said with a laugh.

She smiled at me. It was the first real smile I had seen from her since I re-met her yesterday. "I mean now you have gotten some of this stuff out."

"Pretty good. A little lighter."

We just stood there looking at each other for what felt like an eternity. "Uh you have to get going right?"

"Oh yeah thanks for reminding me." She gathered up her things and we walked toward the door. "If you don't mind there is something I want you to do."

"What is that?"

"Draw a picture."

"You want me to draw a picture."

"Art therapy. It works for kids but I have had success doing it with adults too. Draw a picture of what you would like your family to be like or would have liked your family to be like. Then we will talk about it."

"So you want to see me again?"

"I always wanted to see you again," she answered simply. It was the first time she acted as though we knew each other before. "How about…," she started but I cut her off.

"How about Sunday?"

"It's a weekend."

"I know I just have to be back in Chicago on Monday and ..."

"Sunday is fine. Say around noon?"

I just nodded and thought about leaning in and kissing her but wondered if that would be too much too soon so I didn't.

"See you then." She stepped outside the car.

"Let me walk you out to your car." I took her briefcase from her and led her down the steps to the drive. She got in and I placed the briefcase in the passenger seat. Her car was pretty messy. It reminded me of her bag which she emptied out on the seats in the library. It seemed to have everything in it including coloring books, a Raggedy Ann doll; probably for therapy for kids. The backseat seemed to be full of animal cracker crumbs and full crackers too.

"Messy I know. Just can't seem to keep up with it."

"Is it? I didn't notice." I said jokingly and she laughed.

"Wish I could not notice it. See you Sunday." With that she started the engine, backed down the drive and drove away. I did a happy dance on the lawn. Seemed that I had managed to get past the barriers she had put up.