Sorry guys. I woke up in the middle of the night and I couldn't sleep 'cause I felt like crap. And you teenagers thought you had the market cornered on psycho emotions. I hope you like the chapter.

HOME ALONE

In the morning, it was tearful all the way around. I got into the van and Ian came and held me and wouldn't let go. It felt like I might never see him again the way he was acting. I had to keep reminding him that it would only be a month. Our last split was for six weeks and we had survived that. He kissed me one last slow burn kiss and I drove away in tears.

I decided I would stop in and see Fluttering to let her know that I was leaving. Today was July twenty seventh. I told her that my fiancé had found an apartment and I was going down a few weeks early to help him furnish it. She wished me luck and said to call her when I was in town or if I just needed a friend to talk to.

That evening I passed the campground and opted to drive further till I found an exit with a hotel. I hated the campground. That bear had put a permanent scare into me. That night I called Ian and we talked for a half hour. We would have talked longer but Jamie and Megan were both waiting impatiently to speak to each other. After a half hour, we made them hang up. Fair is fair.

The next evening we reached the caverns. Before Jamie and I ran back through the desert, I called Ian again. He was at baseball practice but he let Blake run the practice while he talked and when thirty minutes had passed he called Megan in off the field and let her talk to Jamie.

As we entered the caverns, Aaron and Brandt were there to greet us. They were on guard duty.

"Ahhh. The wayward children return!" Aaron cried.

"Aaron, I missed you!" I hugged Aaron.

"Why is it I never get missed?" Brandt groaned.

"Oh Brandt, I missed you too." I hugged Brandt.

"You look radiant." Brandt acknowledged.

"Thank you. It must be all that running around in the fresh air. You need to go there. You would love it. You could play baseball."

"Maybe I'll go back with you if you ever go back."

"I'm going back in one month. I promised Ian."

Aaron spoke "How is Ian?"

"Ian is wonderful."

"I hear you're engaged?"

I held up my hand for the both of them to see. "Yes!" I was beaming with happiness.

"Very nice. Who'd a thought Ian would have such good taste?" Aaron remarked.

Brandt replied. "Well he chose Wanda."

I smiled and kissed Brandt on the cheek. "Thank you."

I could here a commotion coming through the tunnels. I turned and Sunny burst into my arms.

"You're home! Come on, you have to show everyone your ring!" she gushed.

What followed was a repeat performance every time I came across another group of my family. "You're home" followed by "Let me see the ring" followed by "How is Ian?"

The one person who I was most excited to see was Melanie. She was five months pregnant now and she looked so cute!

"Melanie! Look at you!" I hugged her and touched her belly. She was glowing and even Jared was all smiles.

"The baby kicks now," he said proudly.

"Oh my god, this could be me in a year." I was a bit nervous at the thought.

"Are you going to have children right away?" Melanie asked.

"Ian wants to."

Melanie looked concerned. "What do you want?"

I smiled weakly. "I want what Ian wants."

Melanie still looked concerned. "You're not pregnant now are you?"

"No. I'm protected for now. Let's talk about you. Do you have names picked out for the baby yet?"

"Sort of. Can we go to the game room and talk? Standing is hard on my back." Melanie remarked.

"Of course!" Mel, Jared, Sunny and I went to the game room.

"Where did Jamie go?"

Jared answered. "He went to go see Doc and Sharon and Aunt Maggie."

As we got to the game room I realized that Kyle was missing.

"Sunny, where is Kyle?"

"He's taking a bath. We had a little tiff and he's not talking to me. He'll get over it."

"Sounds a lot like me and Ian."

"Oh no! You said he was wonderful. You're not fighting again are you?" Sunny lamented.

"No. We are fine now but it took a lot for him to finally get over the Nate thing. When I left they seemed like best buddies. I just hope it's not an act for my sake."

Jared broke in. "Yes you need to tell us about the 'Nate' thing."

"I will but tell me about the baby names first."

Melanie took the lead. "Well, I wanted to name the baby Jared Jr. if it's a boy but Jared said he didn't want that. I at least wanted it to begin with a 'J' since both Jared and Jamie's names begin with a 'J'. Jared came up with the perfect name. He and I spent so much time as outlaws robbing what we needed that it made perfect sense. So, if it is a boy he will be named Jesse James Howe."

"I like that! What about if it's a girl?"

Now Jared spoke. "If it's a girl we wanted to name her after you. Wanda not Wanderer."

"Oh no, no, no! Don't name her after me. Give her a name you both like. I really don't particularly like the name Wanda."

Melanie stammered, "Are you sure? I wanted to honor you in some way."

"I have the perfect way for you to honor me."

"What's that?"

"Be my Maid of Honor."

"Really?"

"Of course. Who else would I choose? You are like a sister to me. We shared our thoughts and body for almost a year. I love you Melanie."

"Ohhhh! I love you too." She got all misty and we hugged each other.

"Now tell me what you are going to name that little girl."

At that moment Kyle came around the corner. I couldn't get off the couch fast enough. He was my Ian fix and I loved him to death. "KYLE!" I jumped into his arms and wrapped my legs around his waist.

"Whoa girl! Miss me much?" His smile was dazzling.

I leaned back so I could see his face. "Sunny said you were mad at her. That's not true, right?" He raised an eyebrow to me and then he looked over at Sunny and she looked away.

"Sweetie, I think you got it wrong. Sunny is the one who's mad at me."

I looked at Sunny. "Well, I'm here now. If I have to lock you two in a room, I will do it. It worked when Sunny did that to me and Ian."

Kyle laughed. "That's kinda hard when there are no doors."

Sunny got up and put her hands under my arms to pull me down from Kyle's arms. "I'm not mad at Kyle. Now, get off my boyfriend."

"Did I do something wrong?"

Kyle answered quickly. "No. You didn't do anything wrong. I just made the mistake of speaking my mind to my girlfriend who I thought would understand but she didn't."

"What did you say?" I was concerned because I loved them both.

"Nothing." Sunny tried to shut the conversation down.

"I said you were a hot little number."

Jared put his hand to his mouth and tried to hide his laugh.

Kyle felt the need to defend himself. "What? We were talking about the stuff that Sunny was telling Wanda to do with Ian. She said that Wanda bought a very sexy outfit with garter belts and stockings and spike heels. I said she was a hot little number. I mean seriously, picture it."

"Excuse me! Could we not picture it?" I was embarrassed beyond belief.

It was Melanie who broke up the whole thing with her comment. "Okay. I can honestly say that Wanda is definitely a hot little number even if Jared is too chicken to admit it."

"Hey! I only have eyes for you Mel." He kissed her cheek.

"See? Chicken," Melanie said adamantly.

Sunny added her own comment. "I believe they call it 'whipped'."

Kyle cracked up. "Who's laughing now?"

I had to intervene. "Okay, okay. You still didn't tell me what you are going to name the baby if it's a girl."

"Well, I wanted Wanda but if you are so dead set against it then we can name her what Jared had come up with."

I looked at Jared.

"You've heard of the Titanic right?"

"Yes. That was the big Ocean Liner that was supposed to be invincible but sank anyway."

"Right. There were very few people who survived compared to those who drowned. One of those people was a woman who later became known as 'the unsinkable Molly Brown'. She survived despite the odds. This baby will be born despite the odds. I mean technically Melanie should be dead."

"So, you want to name her Molly Brown?"

"Well, no. Just Molly. Her middle name will be Lynn after Melanie's mother."

"Molly Lynn Howe."

Kyle spoke. "Sounds like a winner." He reached over and put his arm around Sunny. "For the record, I only have eyes for you too. Why would I have taken the chance to bring you back here and then have you put back in Jodie's body? You could be in a cryo tank right now headed to who knows where."

"Kyle!" I scolded.

Sunny croaked, "No, he's right. I'm being stupid. You are beautiful. I don't even have the right to be here."

"Now, I didn't say all that. You are right where you are supposed to be…with me." Kyle pulled her chin up and kissed her.

"Come on guys. You're gonna make me cry!"

"Hey, they told me there was party going on in here!" It was Lily.

Again I sprang off the couch. We hugged. "I missed you! How is Burns?"

"Burns is amazing. He is such a gentleman."

"I'm sorry I missed him."

"I heard you got engaged and that you have a gorgeous ring."

I held out my hand proudly.

"Wow!"

I turned to Kyle. "Oh! I forgot to tell you. Nate beat Ian at pool!"

"What? What are you talking about?"

"I purchased a pool table and it turns out that Nate is like a pro or something. Ian can't beat him. It's so funny watching him try to set up impossible shots and Nate always wins."

"I thought he hated Nate."

"I think he's got a new found respect for him."

Jared took this moment to introduce the subject that I had earlier avoided. "Speaking of Nate. What happened that drove Ian over the edge?"

I took a deep breath. "You promise you won't hate me?"

"If Ian doesn't hate you then how could I possibly hate you?"

I told them the story just as I had told it to Ian.

Jared spoke first. "So, are you 'in love' with Nate too?"

I sighed. "At the time, I thought I might be, but I always knew that Ian was the one I needed to be with. There's a difference in the things you want and the things you need. It was when I thought that I had lost Ian that I realized that although I do love Nate; I am 'in love' with Ian." I put my finger up while I gathered my thoughts to continue. "My problem then was that Ian had already been betrayed and he was so very angry. He nearly killed Nate, but what was even worse was that he was destroying himself." I shivered at the thought of Ian throwing that punch near my head and him crying out in pain. Tears welled up in my eyes. "He was so angry." I choked.

Sunny put her arms around me. "It's okay; we don't have to go there." Sunny looked at Mel and Jared. "By the end of the day, they made up and Ian proposed in front of everybody. The end."

"Now I miss him. I just want to talk to him," I lamented.

Lily jumped up. "I'll go with you to the desert if you want. I want to make sure Burns got back all right anyway."

"Really you don't mind?"

"No. What time is it?" Lily asked.

Jared looked at his watch. "It's almost eleven."

"We should hurry." Lily pressed.

"They'll be asleep." I knew Ian was dead to the world by eleven the way he had been working the last few weeks.

"So, we'll wake them up!" she smiled.

I turned to the others. "I guess I'll see you all tomorrow."

"Good night," they all said.

Lily and I raced off to the first 'garage'. I gave the phone to Lily and let her call Burns. He was awake because he had just arrived at the mountain. He didn't stop like Jamie and I did. He drove straight through and he was exhausted. Nate was with him. He said Ian was asleep. I told Lily not to wake him but Burns said that Nate insisted, stating that if Ian found out he had missed my call he would be a bear to deal with in the morning. I waited several minutes for him to come to the phone. I knew he was impossible to wake up. Finally I heard his beautiful voice.

"Wanderer, are you all right?"

"You'll think I'm stupid but I miss you."

"I miss you too," he said in a gentle voice.

"Jared wanted to know about what happened with Nate and I was telling him the story. I kept seeing you so angry. I'm so sorry I hurt you." My voice broke.

"Babydoll, it's okay. It's over. I don't want you to dwell on that. Think about last night or the night before. I love you so much."

"I love you too."

He yawned.

"I'm sorry I woke you up. I told them not to but Nate insisted."

"Nate is smarter than he looks." He paused. "Babydoll?"

"Yes?"

"Where are you sleeping?"

"What? In my room. Where do you think?"

"You're away one day and you're already sleeping with another man?" I could hear laughing in the background.

"What are you talking about?"

"Ice has been sleeping in our room."

"Oh my god! I completely forgot!" I turned to Lily. "Lily can I sleep in your room?"

"Of course you can. I already told Burns that before he left. Ian is messing with you." Lily answered.

"Ian, did Burns tell you to ask that question?"

"No." He was laughing.

I couldn't help but smile. "Close your eyes." I paused a few seconds. "Do you see me?"

"Yes."

"What am I wearing?"

"Nothing."

"Wrong. I'm wearing an engagement ring from the most wonderful guy in the world. Thank you."

"Thank you for waking me up. Will you call me tomorrow night?"

"I'll try. I love you."

"I love you more." I handed the phone back to Lily. She talked to Burns for about ten minutes and then hung up.

The next morning when I woke up I felt very lonely even though Lily was sleeping next to me. The same sadness that I felt last night was still very prominent in my heart. When I had spent those six weeks without Ian I tried to block him from my mind, I had become numb to get through each day. Now he was everything to me. My days began with him and they ended with him. Even when I interacted with people, it was all about him. I realized that the next month was going to be more difficult than I had anticipated.

I got up and grabbed what I needed and walked swiftly to the bathing room. It was a delight to have light in the tunnels. The bathing room took on a whole new feeling with the addition of the light. Jeb had a door created so those on the outside couldn't see in. The dressing table was also a nice addition. I definitely had more ideas to add considering there was much more room than I had imagined in the dark. Towel racks, a bench, a set of shelves would definitely be fine features to consider.

When I left the bathing room I ran into Doc and Sharon in the tunnel. "Doc! How are you?" I hugged him. I didn't hug Sharon but she was pleasant to me.

"Wanda! Good to see you back. How is Ian?" The mere mention of his name had me wishing I was in his arms.

"Ian is well. He's better than well. He's strong and tan and healthy. He coaches the kids at the mountain in baseball. He loves it."

"I heard that. It's good that he's doing something that makes him happy. I hear you are going to be a Mrs. soon?"

"Yes. He proposed again but this time he surprised me with a ring." I held out my hand.

Sharon seemed to take a special interest. "It's quite unique."

"Yes. He says the sapphires are his eyes and the diamond is me and that he will love and protect me forever."

"That's wonderful." Doc replied.

"Of course you are both invited to the wedding. It is going to be on the mountain in the fall. They are building a place to hold all of our guests. That's why Ian isn't here with me now."

"That sounds lovely. We'll talk more later." Doc excused himself. Apparently he was in a hurry.

I dropped my things back in the room and headed to the kitchen to see what might be available for breakfast. Ice was sitting comfortably between Candy and Heidi. He didn't notice me enter the room.

I spoke loudly. "What does a girl have to do to get noticed around here?"

Ice looked up. "Wanderer!" He got up and crossed to where I was and gave me a hug.

I pretended to be jealous. "The last time I checked it was me who brought you home and here you are fraternizing with these beautiful ladies."

"Ahhh. The last I checked you had two men already committed to die for you. Don't you think it's time you shared?"

"Oh, but it is so difficult to let such a fine specimen of a man go." I said in protest.

"You flatter me."

We both laughed.

"How is Ian?"

"He's like me. Happy…and sad."

"You're not fighting are you?"

"No. I think we are past that… finally. Nate and I will hopefully never cross that line again and they are actually becoming friends."

"Good. Have they repaired the root cellar?"

"You know what? I don't think they have."

"It's kinda creepy like that." Ice shuddered.

"I guess I look at it as a reminder as to what not to do to screw up a relationship. But you're right. I'll mention it to Ian when I talk to him tonight. You know last night he asked me where I was sleeping. I completely forgot you were in our room. He and Nate and Burns were all laughing at me."

"They wouldn't have been laughing had you told them you didn't care that I was there. After all, how many nights did we spend together in the root cellar?" he said in front of his two admirers.

"With Ian!"

"Oh right. He was there too," he joked.

"Very funny. What's for breakfast?"

I guess Ice and I were having too much fun. Heidi and Candy got up to leave. Ice reacted quickly.

"Ladies! You don't have to leave. There's plenty of me to go around. Besides that one over there is engaged. I have no interest in her." He herded them back to their seats.

"Would you like to see my ring?" I offered up my hand.

"It's very beautiful. Congratulations." Candy said sincerely.

Heidi on the other hand was envious. "You are very lucky to have him."

"Thank you both."

I needed to remind myself to tell Ice that Heidi was once one of Ian's lovers.

I scrambled up a couple of eggs for myself and before I was finished Lily came sauntering in.

"Good morning sleepy head!"

"Good morning." Lily wasn't a morning person.

"Later on, can you meet me in the game room? I want to discuss wedding plans with you. I want you to be a bridesmaid, if that's okay."

"Absolutely! I would be honored."

"Good."

I found Mel and Jared in the infirmary. Doc was monitoring Mel's vitals as he often did during the pregnancy since she had such a difficult first four months. I invited them to the meeting in the game room and asked them to bring Jamie. Then I found Sunny and Kyle working the back field. I joined them and invited them to my meeting. I had all the players together except for Ian and Burns.

"Hey, everyone. I invited you all here because I want all of you to be in my wedding."

Mel and Lily already knew but it was news to the rest of them. They all seemed thrilled at the prospect of being a part of my special day.

"Unfortunately, the way things are planned you won't be walking with your partner." They all looked at each other. "Melanie is my Maid of Honor and of course the best man is Ian's best friend and brother, Kyle."

Kyle smiled. "See, Wanda, didn't I tell you I was the best?"

I cracked up. "Your humility is staggering. Anyway, that means Kyle will walk down the aisle with Melanie. Burns is the closet thing to a blood relative that I have. He and I consider ourselves brother and sister so he will be giving me away, which means Lily cannot walk down the aisle with Burns. So I have Sunny and Lily as my bridesmaids and Ian has Jared and Jamie as groomsmen. I thought that Sunny and Jared could walk together and Lily and Jamie could walk together. Is that okay with you?"

Lily answered for the group. "It's your wedding. I'll walk with Jeb if you want me to."

"Actually Jeb will be at the altar as well since he will be performing the ceremony. At least, I hope he will. I haven't asked him yet. I don't want Nate to perform the ceremony considering his feelings for me. I think that would be bordering on cruel."

Everyone agreed with me.

"So, my purpose for being here besides the fact that I miss all of you desperately is to start getting everything together for the wedding. I need each of you to give me your sizes. Girls, I need dress and shoe sizes. Guys, I need pants, shirt, and shoe sizes."

I turned to Sunny. "The others can't go with me into the stores so I was hoping that you would come with me and help to pick out a wedding dress and gowns for the others."

"I would love that." Sunny gushed.

"I know you guys don't care one way or the other but I would like if you girls would help me make decisions. I will gather as much information as I can and have Sunny take pictures so that I can get your input as well."

Mel responded. "That sounds great. I'm very happy that you are including us in your plans. You are going to have the best day."

"Thanks Mel."

"So, when do we make our first road trip?" Sunny asked.

"I need to go to Jeb and ask him about the ceremony. I will ask him if we can go tomorrow night. We can take a couple of days and get supplies for the family while we are at it."

Kyle spoke now. "Wait. You're going to take my Sunshine away from me for a couple of days?"

"Oh Kyle. Don't be such a big baby. Your 'Sunshine' will bring home something special just for you." I winked at him.

He rubbed his hands together. "Now you're talking!"

I looked at Sunny. "I knew that would get him."

"Yeah, I call him 'Mr. One Track Mind'!" The room burst out laughing.

After our meeting broke up, I went in search of Jeb. I found him in the garden of the main cavern. He was weeding. I had seen Jeb only briefly last night when I returned.

"Hey Jeb."

"Wanda. I'm happy to see you back here where you belong. I just wish you could drag that fiancé back here."

"He'll be back after the wedding. I needed to talk to you about the wedding and our plans for after."

"Why does that sound like it's going to be bad?"

"No! It's not bad at all. First I wanted to ask you of you will perform the ceremony."

"I thought you were having the wedding at the mountain? Shouldn't Nate be performing the ceremony?"

"We are having the wedding at the mountain but you are the one who made my being with Ian possible, so it only makes sense that you should be the one who joins us as husband and wife."

"You sure?"

"Jeb, you are my only choice."

"Okay, I'll do it."

I hugged Jeb. It was only the second time that I had ever felt comfortable enough to approach him in this way. "Thank you."

"So, what are your plans for after? Are you leaving us?" Jeb was shrewd. He had seen Ian coaching. He knew the mountain was where Ian would want to stay.

"Well not exactly. Ian and I compromised on a lot of things since the night of the engagement party. We are finally acting like adults. We decided that we would like to spend the spring and summer months at the mountain so Ian can coach and they can continue building on the land. We want to spend the fall and winter months here. We will belong to both clans."

"Well, I guess having my favorite soul half of the year is better than not having her at all. Since you're here why don't you help me weed this garden?"

"Sure." Jeb and I worked quietly the rest of the afternoon. The silence had my mind wandering. I wondered what Ian might be thinking of right now. If I was back at the mountain, I would probably still be missing him. He would be busy working with the guys. I tried to talk myself into accepting that this is where I needed to be for now.

"Jeb? I almost forgot."

"What's that?"

"I want to go with Sunny for a few days to Tucson and start getting the things I need for my wedding. I want to pick out my dress. We can get supplies while we are out if you like."

"When do you want to go?"

"Tomorrow night if it's okay."

"You just got here and you want to leave already?"

"No. I don't want to leave but I have a ton of things I need to do for this wedding. I have to get my wedding dress and the gowns for the Maid of Honor and the bridesmaids and…"

"Whoa! How big is this thing going to be?"

"As big as I can make it in the time allotted. I plan to marry only once; which reminds me, I need to get your shirt, pant, and shoe size. You can't wear jeans when you marry us."

"You mean I have to wear a suit?" He looked frightened. I had never seen Jeb look like this before.

"Yes. Don't worry, Ian and the groomsmen will be wearing tuxes. Ian is not thrilled. He called it a 'monkey suit'."

"Actually I could see him in a tux. He'll probably look like James Bond."

I giggled at the thought of my incredibly handsome fiancé looking so fine.

"So, tomorrow is okay?"

"Fine."

That evening, Lily and Jamie and I went to the 'garage' to call our respective mates. I let Lily call Burns first. They talked while Burns walked to the field where practice had just finished up. Megan had stayed close to Ian in the hopes Jamie would call. Megan spoke to Jamie next. We decided to give each other a half hour to talk. I went last.

"Hello?"

"Hey. I have so much to tell you."

"It's just good to hear your voice. I had a hard time falling asleep last night after you called."

"I'm sorry. I knew they should have let you sleep."

"I'll forgo sleep anytime if it means I get to spend even a minute with you."

My heart began to thump in my chest. I was feeling very anxious. I took a deep breath.

He misinterpreted my silence. "Wanderer, is everything all right?"

"Yeah, I just…" I closed my eyes and pictured him standing in front of me. "How are you and Nate getting along?"

"Fine. Wanderer, is there something you're not telling me?"

"No. I just thought that being with my friends would make it easy to be away from you and when I'm with them, most of the time it is easier…but…I can't get you out of my head. A month is a long time."

"Babydoll, you can come home anytime you want."

"I know. I just have so much to do. I need to stay focused."

"So, what are you saying? That you don't want to call me?" He sounded angry.

"NO! I'm leaving with Sunny tomorrow night to go to Tucson to pick out my wedding gown. That means that I'll have the ability to call you anytime of day. I don't want to interrupt you when you're working but…"

He chuckled. "I love you. You can interrupt me anytime if you feel the need to talk to me. Do you got that? Any time."

I started to cry. I was fanning my eyes to try and stop the tears. "I just wish I could hold you and kiss you." I sobbed.

"Babydoll, please don't cry. This is difficult for me too and if you cry you are just going to destroy me." He was trying to be strong.

"I know. I'm okay." I told Ian about the meeting with the wedding party and with Jeb. Our conversation ended just as it had the night before. I said "I love you." And Ian said "I love you more."

The next day dragged for me. I was anxious to get on the road. I thought if I was concentrating on the wedding it would help to ease my loneliness. I managed to keep myself from calling until we were on the road. Sunny was driving. I spent over an hour on the phone with Ian since I didn't have to give the phone to anyone else. I tried to remain upbeat tonight. It was good to hear that the frame of the first building was complete. Tomorrow they would begin putting the sides on. Ian said it should take no time at all. After that they would be running the electricity and that would be difficult because they had to run everything off of the existing line. They couldn't risk the electric company coming onto the premises. We ended the call the same way as we had the last two days.

Sunny and I took a hotel room in downtown Tucson. We bought a couple of throw away cameras and took them with us to our first stop, the bridal shop. The gowns were exquisite. Sunny and I spent hours at the shop. We both tried on Bridal gowns because even though Sunny wasn't getting married now, we both had hopes that her wedding would soon follow. We took pictures of the gowns that we liked. We would develop them and take them back to the caverns and get the opinions of Mel and Lily before making a decision. My personal favorite was a pure white gown that was off the shoulder. It had a form fitting bodice but it opened up once it got past my hips. It was made of silk. The bottom of the gown was beaded like a snow shower. It had a train that wasn't too ostentatious but very tasteful. We paired it with a long veil that stopped where the gown flowed out. Sunny said Ian would die when he saw me in it. I had Sunny try on many brides' maids' gowns in many colors. Since the wedding was to be in the fall, I was hoping to go with dresses in a rust or burgundy color. They had brown dresses but they just seemed too drab. We discussed the option of putting Melanie in a completely different dress since she would be ready to give birth and a form fitting dress would not do at all. This way Lily and Sunny could wear form fitting dresses.

By the time we were done, we were starving so we went to dinner and it was so nice to be able to sit in a restaurant again. I had been to lunch with Fluttering but we were in the big city now. We went out to a nice Italian restaurant and the food as well as the service was wonderful. We ate foods that would never be cooked at our home. A gentleman at the next table sent over a bottle of wine. Sunny explained to him that we were flattered but we were both in committed relationships. He told us to enjoy the wine anyway. I knew I shouldn't drink it but I was feeling so grown up that I did. We had two glasses each. I was glad that Sunny was driving because I was definitely feeling the effects. Sunny urged me not to call Ian but I wasn't in any shape to take her advice. I dialed the phone. It was just after dinner so I caught him on the baseball field.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Superman." I trilled.

"Wanderer, how was your day?"

"I love Tucson! I'm going to bring you here and we are going to go out on the town and …" I'm not sure if it's what I said or how I said it but he caught on pretty quick.

"Wanderer, are you drunk?"

"Just a little tipsy. I can't get my face to stop smiling. Does that happen to you?"

"Where is Sunny?"

"She's right here driving."

"Is she drunk too?" He didn't sound angry but even if he was I probably wouldn't have picked up on it.

"I don't know. Sunny are you drunk too?"

"Let me talk to her, please?" he said calmly.

"Okay! I love you!" I said in a sing songy voice.

"I love you too, now let me talk to Sunny."

I handed the phone to Sunny. "He wants to talk to you."

"Hello?"… "No. I'm not"…"I think I have a slightly higher tolerance."…"I didn't. It was a gift from another patron."…"No, of course not!"…"We're going back to the hotel."…"I will."…"I know!"…"She'll be fine."…"Okay."

She handed the phone back to me. "He wants to talk to you again."

"Hi Superman."

"Sunny is taking you back to the hotel. Will you promise me you won't leave the room once you get back?"

I took his comment quite literally. "I have to leave the room. I can't stay there forever."

He laughed at my silliness. "Okay. Just promise me you won't leave until morning."

I looked at Sunny. "Ian says we can't leave the room till morning."

Sunny nodded. "Tell him I agree with that."

"She says she agrees."

"Okay. Did you go shopping today?"

"OH! YES!" I was yelling with excitement. "I tried on so many gowns! They were all so beautiful. My favorite was…." Sunny reached out and pulled the phone from me.

"You don't want to tell him about the gown. It's supposed to be a surprise, remember?"

"Oh yeah!" She gave me back the phone. "I can't tell you about the dress. It's supposed to be a surprise."

"Okay, but you had fun?"

"I did. I'm going to be such a beautiful bride."

He laughed again. "I'm sure you are and no man will be happier than I."

"Awwww! I love you, Superman!"

"I love you more. How close to the hotel are you?"

"Check it out! It's a billboard for the Arizona Wildcats!"

"Yes, Tucson. That's my old stomping grounds. Wanderer, the hotel? How close are you?"

I put my hand over the phone to address Sunny. "He wants to know how close we are to the hotel."

"Tell him, just a few more blocks."

"She said just a few more blocks."

"Okay, I have to go now. I'm coaching the kids."

"Oh! I missed practice," I said sullenly.

"That's okay. I forgive you."

"Tell Nate and Burns and everybody that I love them… but not as much as you." I was singing again.

"Okay, I'll tell them. Babydoll, you be good. Call me in the morning."

"Okay, bye."

I hung up the phone before he had a chance to say good bye. That night I slept like a rock. It was actually the best night's sleep I had since I left the mountain.

I slept late. Sunny had already gotten up, showered, and left to get breakfast by the time I stirred from my slumber.

"Good morning sleepy head!"

I wiped the sleep from my eyes as I sat up. "What time is it?"

"After ten."

"Really? Why didn't you wake me?"

Sunny handed me a cup of coffee. "Well you were feeling fine last night, so I thought I would let you sleep in."

"Oh yeah. The wine. I only had two glasses."

"Right and you weigh all of a hundred pounds. That coupled with the fact that you have no tolerance built up. Yeah, you were a goner. You better call Ian."

"Oh my god! I talked to Ian last night. Was he mad?"

"More like concerned. He called an hour ago but I was out getting breakfast. He said to let you sleep."

I picked up my phone off the dresser and saw that I had missed a call. I redialed. The phone rang twice before he answered.

"Good morning Beautiful." It was Nate. Now I was afraid Ian might be angry.

"Uh…Nate? Is Ian there with you?"

"Sure he's up on the ladder. He'll be right down. So, I hear you had a good time last night."

"We just went out to dinner and I had a little wine."

He laughed. "Hey you don't have to explain to me. Here's Ian."

"Hello?" Ian sounded serious.

"I'm sorry!"

"For what?"

"For drinking."

"Hey, I'm surprised you never did it before."

"That's cause I was a good girl. You corrupted me," I teased.

"I see. So this is my fault?"

"Indirectly, yes."

"Okay. I'll accept that although I don't know why. At least you were a happy drunk."

"I'm not a drunk. And before I was kidnapped I was a sweet, innocent virgin who would never do anything immoral," I stated emphatically.

"Would you like to go back there?"

"Sorry Ian, I like corruption. You couldn't scrape me off you if you tried."

He laughed. "I love you Babydoll, just the way you are."

"I love you too, Superman."

"So what is your plan for the day?"

"Well I wanted to check out invitations and I wanted to see about tuxes. How do you feel about wearing white?"

"You wouldn't. Please Wanderer; I have to put my foot down somewhere."

"I'm kidding. I'll be the one wearing white."

"Right, because you're so innocent and virginal," he joked.

"Are you trying to make me cry?"

"No. I'm sorry. You'll be a vision in white."

"Thank you."

"Look Babydoll, I know I said you can call me anytime but I was just up on a ladder putting in electrical wiring. Can I call you later?"

"Yes. I need to get my butt in gear. I love you."

"I love you more."

Sunny and I checked out invitations. They allowed us to take samples of the cards we liked. We chose six that both Sunny and I felt best expressed me and Ian. I would get input from Mel and Lily before I made my decision. Then we went to the formal shop for men to check out tuxedos. We had no one to try on anything so we just checked out what we liked. Again we took pictures. I couldn't reserve anything yet anyway until I had a date set and the guys were too far away from completing the building to give me even an approximate date. The good thing was so far everything was going smoothly. We had a late lunch. I suggested to Sunny that we see about getting a couch for the main cavern. It had a lot of natural light and people liked to congregate there but there was no place to sit. She agreed that it was a good idea. We selected a chocolate brown leather loveseat because it had to be small enough to fit in the back of the van. We couldn't close the doors but we were able to tie them so the doors were almost closed.

The end of the day we went to Victoria's Secret to get Kyle's surprise. We had so much fun. Since Ian loved me in the corset outfit, I chose another one in white to wear on our wedding night. Sunny picked out a yellow number that she said would remind Kyle of sunshine.

That evening at the hotel, Sunny and I spent some girl time together. We turned on the music channel on the TV and Sunny taught me some dance moves as well as some seduction tips to use on Ian. She was my mentor and I soaked up every useful tip she gave me. That evening Ian called me right after practice but our call was cut short because Kyle was trying to reach us from Sunny's phone. She had left hers with him so they could stay in touch.

Our last day in Tucson, we did some food shopping for the family. We returned with our spoils and everyone was pleased with the new loveseat. I thought if we got a few more the main cavern would be quite comfortable.

Lily and Mel were in agreement with most of the choices I was leaning towards. Melanie definitely wanted something more suited to her expanding waistline as Maid of Honor. I told her I would inquire about some choices on our next trip.

I pushed Ian for a completion date. He believed that if things continued the way they were going that we could have the wedding the end of October. I chose October twenty fifth since it was the last Saturday of the month.

Trudy came to me with an interesting suggestion. She said that she and many if not all of the others in the caverns did not have the dress clothes to attend such an extravaganza and did not want to be seen in the presence of the mountain people in their casual clothes. She asked if I could possibly purchase dress clothes for those who wished to attend. I was excited at the prospect of dressing everyone at my wedding. I went to each person in the cavern and asked for their sizes. I decided I would get everyone a new outfit regardless of whether they intended to come to the wedding.

Sunny and I went out to Tucson about every three days for an overnight trip as we began attaining the clothing we needed. It helped to make the weeks pass more quickly. The invitations were ordered as well.