Melania sat down a few minutes to try and calm down a little. She took her hair out of its bun and got dressed in her nightgown and decided she wanted a little cup of coffee before bed. And passing through from her bedroom to the kitchen, she glanced outside a moment.

"Wh-why's he still out there?...What in Heaven's name is he doing?" Melania exclaimed, prying back the little curtains on the window and saw him just sitting there in the buckboard. "Well, Melania...you won't know unless you go out there, looks like." She said to herself, grabbed a thick robe and put it over her nightgown and put on some thick soled slippers and went outside.

"George! What do you think you're doing? Are you crazy?" She laughed. "Why haven't you gone home?"

"Crazy?...Me, crazy?" He laughed. "I'm not the one standing outside in January in their nightclothes!"

Melania chuckled. "Its not that cold! Just a little nippy!" She said, rubbing her arms. "Well, why haven't you gone home yet?"

"Guess I'm like a stray cat. Can't get rid of me." He laughed.

"Oh George." Melania giggled, shaking her head.

"I'm just kidding...Was just sitting out here...thinking."

"About?" She asked.

"You." George Jr. stated. "You worry me, Lana."

"George..." Melania breathed. "George, you don't have to worry over me...I'm fine." She said, and she could see her breath in the chilly air. George Jr. got down from the buckboard.

"I know its not my business...but I...Lana, you really worried me about what happened at that party tonight...You seemed a little scared...and yet madder than a hornet!...You just worried me. And I can't see someone that I care about like that."

"Why?" Melania asked, her eyebrows furrowing.

"'Cause,..I love ya..."

Melania was a little taken aback and wasn't sure of what to say. "Um...Thank you...George." She swallowed a lump in her throat. Thought she was about to start crying right in front of him...She didn't know why.

"Okay if I come in and we can talk about what happened with you tonight?"

"Fine." Melania stated. "I was just about to make some coffee for myself, someone to drink it with won't hurt." She smiled, and walked into the little house, with George Jr. following behind her.

"Never knew you drank coffee, Lana." George said, as she was pouring in a little bit of milk and sugar into his cup.

"Well, I don't drink it almost straight black like you!" Melania laughed. "Its practically flooded with milk, a little sugar...otherwise I just don't care for the taste of it."

"Then why drink it?"

"Its cheap...A pound of cheap coffee cost 35 cents...Tea for a pound costs...oh about 38 cents last time I checked..."

"What's a few cents to you?"

"A lot." Melaina said. "Yes, I know...my family was well provided for...but I'm out on my own now...with our daughter..." She looked away from him a moment and paused, but then looked at him again. "...money doesn't always come pouring in. With my job...I'm doing the best that I can, you see." Melania said quickly.

"I know how that feels...Seen plenty of that while I was growing up."

There was a moment of silence until George Jr. spoke again. "What happened tonight? Why were you walking home...when I told you I'd pick you up?"

Melania was afraid she wouldn't be able to tell him! "You want the truth?"

"Well, yeah, Lana...You wouldn't lie to me, would ya?"

"Umm...no." She said quickly. "Its a long story...I umm...I kissed Urban Haas."

"Oh..."

Melania didn't want to hurt him...she thought she had, considering he told her he loved her. "Its nothing like that, George. Some guy was drunk...well, close to it and made up this new tradition where a new couple needs to kiss if they were together when the New Year came..."

"You're interested in Urban?" He questioned.

"Ha!...Me? Interested in him?...No way!" Melania laughed. "He's my boss! Besides, he's five years younger than me!...You've got to me kidding me! No, I'm not interested in Urban."

"Good...because that's the stupidest thing I ever heard of! The new 'tradition', that is." George Jr. laughed. "And well, the thought that you were interested in Urban, too."

"I agree!" She chuckled. "I figured somebody spiked his punch with some whiskey or something." Melania took a sip of her coffee, and looked at George and started to chuckle again. "Could you imagine that? Me...almost in my 30's...courting a man in his early 20's? Stupidest thing I ever heard of..." She laughed.

"Aww...30's young. Still capable of turning heads...Mine especially." He said quietly. "Even though I may be a single man...haven't loved a woman since you..." He paused. "Oh, I should just shut up, before I say something that could get me in trouble."

"Maybe so." Melania said, taking another sip of her coffee.

"So...what happened tonight? You kissed him..." He said. "And..."

"Oh, I kissed him, all right! They kept hollering, 'Kiss her!...Kiss her!...Kiss her!' And so I grabbed him...and well...you can use your imagination on that one."

"Was quite a kiss, eh?"

"Mmhhmm..." Melania smiled at him. "You should know...remember our first kiss?"

"I remember...took my breath away!" George Jr. laughed. "Out in the woods off of Peru Road...I'll never forget it."

"I'm guessing that's what I did to Urban." Melania laughed. "Because he was stunned!...but I guess that one guy...umm...liked what he saw...and wanted me to..." She began.

George Jr. wasn't sure what she meant at first, so she went on. "He put his arm around me, George...He tried forcing me...to..umm..to..." She began, but she felt tears starting to fall. Melania turned her head away and dabbed her eyes with her fingers.

"No!...well, that dirty scum!...Lana, are you okay?" He asked, getting up and going over to her.

She looked over and saw him kneeling by her side. "I'm fine...I don't know why I'm even crying. I'm sorry..."

"Well, you were scared! How could you not cry about it?...What happened after that?" He asked, laying a hand on her shoulder, but let go quickly, unsure if she would appreciate him touching her.

"I told him to let go of me several times...When he didn't, I just,...rammed my elbow into his stomach."

George Jr. laughed. "Did that make him let go?"

"No...just stunned him. Guess I didn't do it hard enough."

"Well, how'd you get him away from you?"

"I took off my boot." She smirked.

"You hit him over the head with it?" George Jr. questioned.

"No, but I was going to!" Melania said. "And I'd do more than just hit him, I pound his head in with it!...I don't want to get into that again...The sex, I mean..."

George Jr. was quiet for awhile. "I'm still ashamed that I..." He began, but was at a loss for words.

Melania took his hand in one of hers. "That's not exactly what I meant, George...and it wasn't just you. We both made that choice...and...I loved you, George. Really, I did."

"When you left...I really thought you didn't want someone like me! A fat...poor...stupid farm boy."

"Stop it. Don't put yourself down...You're not fat..." She began.

"I wasn't the thinnest guy, you know."

"You're not poor and you're not stupid!" Melania continued. She sat there looking at him. "And don't be ashamed of what we did...Look at its outcome." She smiled, laying a hand on his.

George Jr. smiled. "Mary Jane is pretty great...Isn't she."

"She is..." Melania smiled. Her eyes drifted to her hand, which was still on top of George Jr.'s, as did his eyes...and Melania quickly pulled her hand back.

"I uh...I um...I guess I better be getting on home...folks are probably a little worried about me..." George Jr. said, an got up and walked to the door. "See ya, Lana." He smiled a little.

"Bye, George." Melania said softly.

George stood there and lingered at the door awhile, and he left.

Melania gently grasped her cup of coffee and took another drink. The door burst open again it startled her a little.

"Sorry Lana. Didn't mean to scare ya."

"Its all right, George. You just made me jump a little, is all...Why back so soon?" She smirked, but then her little smirk turned into a grin.

"Just wanted to let you know I can drive you back and forth from work again...my job is later in the day...so...and I'm hoping I can do it all next winter for you, if you want me to..."

"Well, thank you, George." She smiled.

"Well, I'll be seeing ya." He smiled, winked at her and then finally he left.

Melania smirked and laughed to her self. "What a copy-cat...acting like a little boy. Yet, how he makes me laugh...I can't think of anyone else that makes me laugh like that." She smiled and soon finished her cup of coffee and went up to bed.