In August, Jo took Jamie to her ninth grade orientation at Oklahoma High. Although excited at first, Jamie quickly became intimidated at the sight of the long hallways lined with lockers, and her apprehension only increased as she entered the large auditorium with her mother. Bethany, riding in her stroller, babbled happily.

"Hey, Jamie!" Jamie turned to see an excited Taylor rushing to meet her, trailed by Cathy and a bored-looking Kennedy.

"Hi." Jo smiled at Cathy.

"Hi," Cathy replied. "Hard to believe they're already in high school, isn't it? It seems like only yesterday they were in kindergarten."

"Yeah, I know." As Jo found a seat and sat down and looked around, her mind went back to when she herself had arrived at Eastland School more than thirty years previously. It had been the first time she'd ever met Mrs. Garrett, Blair, Natalie, Tootie, and the others. Little did she realize at the time that she'd soon be forging friendships that would last a lifetime.

The principal, Mr. Stanford, gave a speech welcoming all the new students and telling a little bit about the school's history. Next he introduced the assistant principal, the coaches, the administrators of the yearbook and school newspaper staffs and various other faculty members, and then he discussed all the different clubs and organizations that were accepting new members. Lastly, all the new students were released to meet their new teachers.

Jamie was excited to be taking Spanish this year. It would be her first opportunity to learn a foreign language in school. The Spanish teacher turned out to be a middle-aged man named Mr. Cruz. He greeted Jo and Jamie politely and talked a little bit about the curriculum for the year.

On the way home, Jo went through the McDonald's drive-through for lunch. She was almost at the payment window when a van driven by an obese black woman attempted to cut in line ahead of her. Jo hit the horn and stepped on the accelerator, zooming past the woman, who screamed obscenities after her. "I don't have time for this crap," Jo muttered. Jamie giggled.

Jo collected the food and then drove to the park, where they sat on a bench to eat their meals. After that, Jo pushed Bethany on the baby swing for awhile, and then they went home. Jo put Bethany down for a nap and then got busy with her home business until it was time to start dinner. She made chicken and rice with peas for Bethany and tacos for everyone else. Doug arrived home soon and kissed her hello. "How did it go?" he asked.

"Fine," Jo replied. "Jamie really wants to be on the newspaper staff, but she can't do that and take Spanish."

"She'll have more chances to take electives in the upper years, once she gets all the required courses out of the way," Doug replied. "That's the way it was for Clay."

"I just can't believe she has to have all these math courses to graduate," said Jo. "I certainly didn't have to have a geometry credit to graduate."

"I didn't neither," Doug replied. "They've really cracked down on all the stuff kids have to learn these days. It's ridiculous. I ain't used algebra a day in my life."

"Neither have I," said Jo.

Jamie quickly adjusted to getting up early in the morning and boarding the bus with Clay. She enjoyed her new classes and made new friends, and although she grumbled about having to get up earlier now, she was glad to have more free time in the afternoons.

In the meantime, Natalie looked forward to her upcoming trip to New York and the chance to see Ralph again. At last the day arrived that she was to meet him in a restaurant near the motel she'd be staying in. She recognized him as soon as she saw him, even though he was seated with his back to her. As she approached the table, he turned to her and smiled. "Natalie!"

"Hi, Ralph." He pulled her chair out for her, and she sat down, feeling both excited and a bit nervous. "Did you have a pleasant flight?" he asked as the waiter arrived to take their orders.

"It was fine." She ordered a medium-priced meal with iced tea. Ralph smiled. "I like the way your smile lights up your whole face," she told him.

"Thank you." He blushed shyly. "You have a very nice smile as well." She got the impression that he didn't have much experience with women.

"It's funny," she said. "We were both born in New York and lived here until we were adults but never met until just recently."

"It's not that funny, when you consider that almost twenty million people live in the state," Ralph replied.

"You're right, of course." Natalie giggled nervously. "I was mainly just trying to make conversation. So, tell me about your family."

"My Dad and I were always very close," he told her. "I think his loss affected me more than any of the others, but of course they all have families and I don't."

"The others?"

"I have four older sisters, Pam, Jeanette, Olivia, and Margaret. Pam's married to a dentist and lives in Manhattan. They have two teenagers, a boy and a girl. Jeanette's a first violinist for the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. She's married and has a son. Olivia's a secretary with two daughters, and Margaret's a former model. She has a little boy."

"Wow, a first violinist and a former model!"

"Margaret's really beautiful. She always has been, even when she was a very little girl, and Olivia's always been very jealous of her because of it." He chuckled. "So, how many brothers and sisters do you have?"

"I'm an only child."

"Oh wow, I can't even imagine what that must have been like! Weren't you awfully lonely?"

"Sometimes. But when I got to high school, I met Tootie and Blair and Jo, and ever since then, I've always thought of them as the sisters I never had."

Natalie enjoyed talking to Ralph so much that their conversation continued until long after the meal had ended. She found herself really puzzling over the mystery of how Ralph Petronski had almost made it to the age of forty without ever getting married.