"Would you like to go for a walk?" Philip asked Maria when their meal was over.

"That sounds like a good idea," she replied.

As they stepped outside, he took her hand. His hand in her own felt warm, firm and strong as they walked along the street in the upscale neighborhood.

They turned a corner and walked toward a pond which was surrounded by all kinds of bushes, vines, and wildflowers. On one side was a large shade tree with a bench underneath it. Philip led Maria to the bench, and they sat down.

"I brought you here because I want to talk to you in private," said Philip. "I wanted to tell you this long distance relationship isn't working out for me."

Maria felt her heart sink. "So are you telling me you've come to say goodbye, then? Have you met someone else?"

He laughed and shook his head. "Oh no, nothing like that. What I mean is, for me it's no good that you're so far away, because all I do is miss you. Even Skype isn't like the real thing. During the week I'm busy with school, but on the weekend, the other young men go out with their girlfriends while I stay in my dorm all alone."

He took a deep breath and then gazed into her eyes.

"What I'm trying to say is that when I go back home in August, I want you to come with me."

"But we aren't even married!" Maria gasped.

Philip smiled. "That's easily rectified." He dropped to one knee. "I love you, Mary Tudor. Will you marry me?"

"But, when?" asked Maria.

"We can decide that later! Please just say yes or no!"

"Well, yes, of course I'll marry you, Philip. I love you too."

"I'm so glad!" He returned to his seat beside her, where he hugged her and kissed her cheek. "I was thinking we could do it at the end of the summer, right before I go back home. That would give us enough time to get everything ready. I don't need a big church wedding. A small one with just a few friends and family will be fine with me."

"With me it would be as well," Maria replied. "But you know my mother would want it to be a large wedding in a Catholic church, like her own."

"That's obviously out of the question, since I'm not Catholic," Philip replied.

Maria frowned. "That's true."

Philip clasped her hand and gave it a squeeze.

"That's all right. We'll figure something out."

Louis and Anne lay snug in bed as a thunderstorm raged outside. Suddenly, a loud clap of thunder startled them so that Louis pulled Anne closer. A few seconds later, Anne felt something touch her foot and switched the bedside lamp on to see Katie and Reese standing beside the bed, holding hands.

"We're scared, Aunt Anne," said Katie. "We want to get into bed with you and Uncle Louis."

"Can we, Daddy? Please?" begged Reese.

"Sure!" said Louis. "Climb on up here. We'll ride the storm out together."

Anne moved to switch the lamp off, but Katie stopped her.

"Please leave the light on!" she begged.

"It's raining, it's pouring, the old man is snoring," sang Reese. Katie joined in singing with her, and both girls giggled when the song was over.

"Everything's going to be just fine." The dentist, Dr. White, patted Maria's shoulder reassuringly. "We'll take good care of you."

Despite his words, Maria quaked inside. Her mother had brought her to have her impacted wisdom teeth extracted, and even though Catalina and Philip were in the waiting room, she couldn't help but feel just a little bit scared.

Dr. White adjusted the seat in which she was sitting and turned on the light above his tray of instruments.

"Open wide," he told her.

He poked around some in the back of her mouth, then withdrew.

"I'm going to start your I.V. now," he told her. "You'll feel a little pinch in your left arm."

She felt it, and very soon afterwards, a warm, syrupy feeling flowed over her. She felt as if she were floating on a cloud. How long the sensation lasted, she had no idea, but at last she gradually became aware of someone calling her name, seemingly from a distance.

She opened her eyes to see Dr. White smiling at her.

"How do you feel?" he asked her.

"All right - I guess." Her face felt as if it were several times its normal size. "Is it all over now?"

"It's all over, and you did just fine." He gave her some instructions to follow for her recovery, then helped her to the waiting room, where he handed Catalina some paperwork.

"Are you in any pain?" Catalina asked her daughter.

"No," Maria replied. "My mouth just feels really numb."

"That's to be expected," said Philip. "It'll pass soon."

"That's what I'm dreading," said Maria. "When the numbness wears off, the pain will set in."

"You have a prescription for pain medication," Catalina told her. "I'll go by the pharmacy on the way home."

When they got home, Maria lay down and slept for several hours. A throbbing pain in her gums awakened her. She got out of bed and walked into the living room.

"Where are my meds?" she asked her mother.

"I'll get them," Catalina replied. She brought a cup of water and a pill, which Maria swallowed.

"I brought over a couple of DVD's," said Philip. "I thought we could watch them when you woke up, if you feel like it."

"What are they?" asked Maria.

"'Sister Act' and 'Evan Almighty'."

"Great!" said Maria. "I like both those movies.

Philip grinned. "I thought you might. Which one do you want to watch first?"