"I could tell I didn't make much of an impression at all on your family," Natalie said glumly as she and Ralph were parting at the airport.
"Oh, they're always like that when I introduce them to someone new," Ralph replied. "They'll come around. They always do."
On the flight back to California, Natalie still couldn't help but wonder whether she'd ever hear from Ralph again. She'd sensed his mother's and sisters' strong disapproval and imagined that they probably had a strong influence on him. If they told him not to see her anymore, he'd probably listen to them, she supposed. How many women have they already driven out of his life? she wondered.
After arriving home, she was soon busy with her usual activities and had put the relationship with Ralph to the back of her mind when one day she realized that she hadn't heard from him since they'd said good-bye at the airport. Maybe he's just been busy, she told herself, but she wasn't able to make herself believe it.
It was a pleasant Friday evening in late October when she answered her doorbell to see that, to her astonishment, Ralph stood there, casually dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. He'd grown a mustache, which made him look much more attractive as well as slightly older.
"Ralph!" she exclaimed.
"Well, aren't you going to ask me in?" he laughed.
"Oh, of course! Come on in..."
"First of all, I want to apologize for being out of touch for so long." He took a few steps into the apartment. "I could say I've just been extra busy, but that would be a lie." He hung his head, looking guilty, and Natalie felt her stomach tie up in knots. Had he flown all this way just to break up with her?
"To say that my Mom disapproves of my seeing you would be an understatement," Ralph continued. "As soon as you'd left New York, she really let me have it. She told me that if I married you, I'd be throwing away my chances for happiness and for ever becoming a biological father. She got my sister Margaret to introduce me to this twenty-five-year-old girl named Sheila. She seemed really nice at first, and we went out together a few times, but it ended up being a total disaster. We had absolutely nothing in common. She liked hip hop; I preferred classic rock. She was into anime and manga; I've never had the slightest interest in anything remotely Japanese, not even sushi. After two or three dates, we agreed to be just friends."
"That's interesting," Natalie said coolly.
"Please don't be angry," Ralph begged. "I feel really bad about not calling for so long."
"So you just hopped on a plane and flew right on over, just assuming that last resort Natalie would be available."
"I came over in person because I was afraid if I called after all this time, you'd just hang up on me." He reached into his pocket. "And also to show you these."
Natalie squealed when she saw what he was holding. It was two reservations to Caesars Palace.
"This is the booking area," Officer Jones said to Jamie and all the other Police Explorers. "And this is a holding cell." Jamie glanced over at her stepbrother to see that his eyes were glazed over with boredom. He, as well as most of the other returning scouts, had already been on this tour several times and practically knew it by heart. For Jamie and the other new scouts, it was an interesting and exciting experience.
Next she found herself walking past a row of tiny cells, each one completely empty except for a cot, a wash basin, and a toilet.
"God, how could anyone live like this," she muttered.
"It makes you think twice about committing a crime, doesn't it," Clay remarked. "Hey, where's Benjamin?"
His friend seemed to have disappeared. The remaining scouts looked all around for him but didn't see him. "Maybe he just stepped outside for a minute," Officer Jones said. "He'll probably be right back." Yet Benjamin still hadn't returned by the end of the tour, and the others were beginning to get worried about him. They went outside the jail to look for him and finally found him hanging around behind the jail.
"What are you doing out here?" asked Clay.
"I just couldn't take it anymore," Benjamin replied. "Being in there, seeing all that stuff...it just reminded me too much of going to visit my Dad before he was executed."
All Jamie could think about was the photo of her father's smiling face which her mother still kept on the mantel, and the expression that had been on Doug's face after he'd pulled her out of the pool the previous summer.
"Wow!" was all Natalie could say. The imposing structure, the waterfalls, and the lush interior were the grandest things she'd ever seen. The suite was easily the largest she'd ever stayed in. Besides the large double bed, it also contained a table and chair, sofa, and sliding glass doors with a view of the pool. On the wall opposite the bed, there was a large TV screen suspended over a spacious desk with a lamp at each end. Those tickets must have cost a fortune, she said to herself.
Ralph laughed with amusement at the expression on her face. "Well, what do you want to do first?"