Tatiana had been right. She'd gone straight to Oksana's house. There, to her amazement, was her ex-husband, along with her former in-laws.

America was indeed an amazing land.

Her former in-laws were glad to see her. They had never really disliked her.

Mikhail wanted to know when Irina was coming. Tatiana told him they were getting her a ticket now, and not to worry, she would be here in time for her aunt's wedding.

Tatiana congratulated Oksana on getting married. Oksana shook her hand and thanked her. She introduced Tatiana to her fiance. He and his parents were there. All of them spoke English in yet another way, and Tatiana needed a lot of help.

She was going to have to learn more English.

Later, she got a chance to talk to Mikhail. He was taking a course and his nephew Zander was working with him a lot. Mikhail wondered why Tatiana was so curious. She wouldn't be in the US all that long. Tatiana explained she was just wondering. Irina had learned a lot of it and wanted to learn more.

Mikhail did help her find a cheaper hotel. That did some good. It wasn't exactly a hotel, but a little room over a coffee shop called Kelly's. Cheap, and not so bad. It compared at least to the first few places she had lived in back at home, when she first went out on her own.

There was a cheap diner downstairs (cheap for America, that was). She drank a cup of coffee and watched the people at the counter. It was a really easy going place. She was able to order the cup of coffee and pay for it in English.

They had a "Help Wanted" sign up. Tatiana thought she would try to see if she could get the job. She had no permission to work in the U.S. In fact the customs agent had specifically told her she could be deported if she worked.

But she didn't see any customs agents standing around at Kelly's.

Across town, Duane Edwards saw Rick Friel in the lobby of the building where Jax Corporation had some of its offices. Duane was in that building for a deposition at a law firm that had an office there. Duane was a trial lawyer and that meant a lot of depositions.

He convinced Rick to go to the London Underground.

At the bar, Rick told Duane of his date problem. "I know you don't know what to do either," he said. "It seems to me that Sarah just came along out of the blue."

"Yes," Duane said. "But there's Patti. Patti Polk. She comes in here, quite a bit. Loves to dance. She just got divorced. But she might be willing to go just so you'll have a date. Her husband left her. But dancing makes her feel better. Ask her to dance."

"Who's that?" Rick said. He was curious in spite of himself.

"There she is," Duane said. "I solved your problem already."

Rick wanted to protest, but before he knew it, Duane had the woman there and was introducing Rick to her.

Rick stammered hello. She was a pretty woman, about the same age as he and Duane, maybe a little younger. It came out that she had a teenaged daughter who was dating one of the guys in Duane's daughter's band. The guitarist, Toby. Rick heard them talking about this, and some of it registered. Yet his mouth felt dry. He wondered that he could be so nervous about something like this. He felt sixteen again.

"You could try asking for a dance," Duane said, laughing, and Patti smiled. "He needs a date to his bosses' wedding," Duane said. "Jasper Jacks."

"Oh, I'm a good matchmaker," Patti said. "I already fixed up someone a date for that very wedding."

"Good work," said Duane.

"It was Detective Ardanowski," Patti said. "I fixed her up with Clay the bartender's brother, Matt."

"Ardanowski needed help, did she?" Duane said. "So does Rick."

Rick's stomach churned. Ardanowski. She had a date.

Well, why should that bother him?

"Go ahead, dance," Duane said. Rick went out to the dance floor with Patti, barely noticing that he needed fixing up for such a small thing as a dance.

"So you like dancing," he stammered.

"It's relaxing. Don't you like it?"

"Oh, I do. I just haven't done it in so long."

"Are you divorced, too?"

"No, I'm a widower."

"Oh, I'm so sorry. That must be much harder."

"In some ways yes, in some ways no, I imagine."

"Yes," Patti said. "I've had this terrible thought that it would be easier for me if my ex had died rather than left me for another woman. I feel horrible about thinking that. My brother's a psychiatrist, though, and he said it's common."

"Not sure it's even wrong," Rick said. "It could be so much more painful. It's a rejection. Death is not. But then I think that could be what makes it harder to move on, though," he went on, amazed at how much he was discussing with Patti. "I'm sorry," he said. "You just met me and I'm telling you my personal feelings."

"I understand," Patti said. "I do that, too. It's being involved in this kind of thing that we have in common."

"So how did you find a date for Detective Ardanowski?" he asked, trying to lighten his tone.

"Just serendipity," she said. "Matt Delaney gave me a ride home one night when my car wouldn't start. I thought how much fun it could be to - I don't know - go out with him, just for a fun time, you know? But how he is too young for me. So I guess I just had him in mind for a single man when V. said she had no date. Surprising, she's such a pretty woman. So interesting. An artist and a cop at the same time. So personable and friendly. I felt like I knew her pretty well fifteen minutes after I had met her. Do you know her?"

"Yes, actually," he said, glad they had something in common to talk about. He told her about the mix-up when he had thought his daughter Amy was missing.

"That sounds scary," Patti said. "I have an 18 year old daughter, about to graduate from Mercy High. I know how it is when they get independent."

They talked about teenaged girls and the difficulties involved in being the parents of such creatures for a while.

"I'm not always on top of things, dealing with Amy on my own," Rick said. "Fortunately, my late wife, Joyce, was still around when Amanda was a teenager. But then, Amanda was such an easy teenager. She got good grades and never did anything to worry us."

"Taryn's not doing so well in school, but the divorce – I think she's doing OK considering that. She had a boyfriend she broke up with and that seemed to make her unhappy. But she still chugs along. A survivor, I think. I hope."

"She sounds lovely."

"So you need a date to that wedding?" Patti asked.

"Not really. But my older daughter thought it might be a good idea."

"I don't have anyone at this late date but me," Patti said.

"Well," he said, trying to smile, and feeling weird since it had been decades since he had asked anyone on a date. "Will you go with me?"

Patti laughed. "Sure," she said. "Be glad to be of service."