Chapter 4: Breakfast and Adel

Princeton was finding it hard to sleep. There wasn't a clock anywhere in the room, so he had no idea what time it was by now. He stared at the ceiling in the dead, quiet dark. It had been almost a year since he slept here, yet somehow it sort of felt like he had never left. The atmosphere and the room felt the exact same as it did before. The only problem here was that his warm, comfortable girlfriend wasn't right next to him.

The bed's too small, Princeton thought with frustration.

He turned over on his side and ultimately almost scooted off the edge. He was so used to the bigger bed in Kate's apartment, he couldn't even adjust to the twin bed he used to sleep in. After minutes of deliberation, he decided there was only one possible way to fix this.

Princeton got out of bed and didn't even bother to turn the lights on. He reached over and grabbed his robe that he had brought from home, wrapping it tightly around his body and keeping himself warm from the chilly night. He peeked out the door and made sure no one was in the hallway. He noticed that all the lights were out, so that meant the coast was clear.

Kate was finding it hard to sleep as well. This was her first time sleeping without Princeton by her side in months. The pullout bed was just about the same size as the bed back home, but without him next to her, it felt empty and incomplete. She was getting flashbacks of the time they had separated, when she slept alone for weeks. She missed his loving comfort way too much.

Then this started to get her thinking about the first morning they spent together after their first date. Well, after the rude awakening from her boss, quitting her job, and stressing for a bit about her financial situation, things turned out a lot better. Princeton had asked her to be his girlfriend, and then they made love for the second time, even though it was well into the afternoon. But even after that, they just lay in bed and cuddled for a long time.

They had kissed sweetly with their eyes closed for a while, sometimes parting and softly sucking on each other's lips. At one point Kate stopped kissing her lover and rubbed her nose against his with a smile. Princeton opened his eyes and watched as she did this. He let out a soft sigh and loved that he was so close to her.

"Can I tell you a secret?" he whispered with his mouth so close to hers.

"Mm, what?" Kate said, with her eyes still closed. It was then that Princeton said her favorite words that she ever heard in him say.

"I adore you…"

When she heard this, she had opened her eyes and looked right into his. She was speechless. She nearly cried out of happiness when she heard him say that. No one had ever said such beautiful words to her in her life.

Kate smiled at that little memory as she continued to stare into the dark. She would kill to have him next to her right now, but her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the door opening, which took her by surprise since it was the first sound she had heard since the lights went out.

She saw a figure come in through the doorway. She couldn't make out who it was, but felt a little nervous when they closed the door behind them and began tiptoeing over to her side of the pullout bed. She didn't make a sound or move a muscle as the figure quietly crept over and sat next to her.

"Kate?" Princeton's voice said, breaking the silence.

Kate let out a sigh of relief when she heard this.

"Oh my God Princeton!" she exclaimed, sitting up and embracing him. "For a second I thought you were your mom coming down to murder me."

Princeton laughed quietly at this, hugging her back. They parted and he gazed at her cute furry face. Kate looked back at him with loving eyes. There was just enough light coming from outside the window, making it more visible to see.

"What are you doing down here?" she asked, even though she was sure she already knew the answer.

"I missed you," Princeton said, pushing her hair back. "It's been forever since we didn't sleep in the same bed together."

Kate nodded her head in agreement. She was so happy that her wish was coming true. She leaned in and started kissing him, and Princeton didn't even hesitate to respond and do the same.

Then things started to get a little hotter. Princeton removed his robe and climbed under the sheets with her, and Kate welcomed him with open arms. He lay on top of her, holding her close and kissing her sweetly. Kate wrapped her arms around his neck and held him tight, loving every bit of it.

She felt Princeton's hand begin to lower on her side and sneak under her nightshirt, massaging her waist. Then his hand started to move upward. Kate knew what he was trying to do, but she became hesitant.

"Princeton, wait," she said, breaking the kiss. "Are you sure this is okay? I mean, your parents and sister are right upstairs, I don't know if we should do this…"

"Kate, I'm not a baby anymore. I don't need to listen to what my parents say."

"Yeah, well, you listened when they said to come to your sister's wedding," Kate replied slyly.

Princeton knew he was caught there. He sighed, knowing she was too smart for her own good. But he wasn't going to let that stop him.

"Shut up and kiss me," he commanded playfully.

"Princeton-"

Before Kate could protest, she suddenly felt herself become lost in his kiss all over again. When she finally realized that she had lost the battle, she began taking his top off and also felt him start to fondle under her nightshirt. Kate began to moan loudly at the sensation she felt.

"Shh, Kate," Princeton whispered, "We don't want them to hear us."

"I'm sorry," Kate whispered back. "It just feels really good…"

"We're gonna have to try and keep it down."

Kate eyed her boyfriend wearily. "Easy for you to say. Back home we could be as loud as we wanted and not care what anyone thought. But here… we have your whole family to worry about. Maybe we shouldn't do this."

"Kate, don't worry," Princeton reassured her. "We'll keep it down and I'm sure they won't hear us. Relax…"

Within a few seconds, Princeton was back on track with fondling under her shirt, only this time he kissed her lips and made sure that the only sounds coming from both of them were soft, muffled moans.

As the night went on, the couple continued to try keeping the noise level down as low as possible, but every now and then a sharp squeal or shout escaped one of them that may have easily been heard. A while later after they had decided that they were done for the night, Princeton and Kate lay under the sheets, staring up at the ceiling. They were a few inches away from each other, awkwardly relaxing after their very difficult night. A long silence had ensued them, but before long, Princeton was the first to break the ice.

"Well, that was… interesting," he said.

Kate giggled slightly. She turned to her lover, brushing some hair away from his face. "Hey, you know what? At least we tried," she said. "That's what counts."

"Really?" Princeton asked.

"Yeah, really," Kate answered with a nod. "You know, since we were trying to keep the whole thing a secret, I think it was much more fun that we didn't have permission."

"You're right… it was fun," Princeton said, finally smiling.

The two cuddled for a few short minutes before they knew they had to end this. They dressed themselves, kissed and said their final good nights before Princeton left the room and quietly closed the door behind him.

He carefully walked back to the stairway in the dark, but suddenly stopped dead when he saw George coming down the stairs. George turned the hallway light on, and then paused when he saw his son standing nearby.

"What are you doing down here?" he asked with a puzzled look on his face.

"Oh… I," Princeton had to think of a lie fast. He couldn't let anyone know he was with Kate, not even George. He thought of the first thing that came to mind and blurt out, "I was, trying to find the bathroom! It's been so long, I forgot where it is!"

George stared at him blankly. "There's one upstairs right next to your room," he said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Right…" Princeton replied, feeling like an idiot. He didn't say anything else as he walked up to the staircase. He ran as quietly as he could until he was safe again in his room.

Hours later as the sun was just beginning to rise, Kate could feel someone shaking her shoulder while she slept. She stirred and groaned a little, annoyed that she was being disturbed from her slumber. She opened her eyes and turned to whoever was shaking her, surprised to find Adel's face right in front of hers.

"Adelphi?" she asked.

"Shh, quiet," Adel whispered. "Kate, how soon can be ready?"

"What? Adel, what time is it?"

"No time for questions! How long does it take you to get ready?"

"I don't know… thirty minutes maybe."

"Alright! Meet me in the kitchen in half an hour!"

Adel quickly scurried out of the room, leaving Kate alone in the darkness. She looked out the window and saw the sun was just peeking behind the trees. She looked at the digital clock on the table. 6:32 AM. What on Earth was so important that Adel had to wake her up this early for? Maybe it had something to do with the wedding.

As best she could, Kate groggily got out of bed. She dressed, made herself presentable, and met Adel in the brightly-lit kitchen just a few minutes before 7:00 AM.

"Adel," Kate said as she yawned, "what did you wake me up so early for?"

Adel was just finishing her cup of coffee. "Kate," she announced, setting her empty cup in the sink, "I'm taking you out for breakfast this morning, just the two of us! I think we need to take the time to get to know each other better!"

Kate was suddenly wide awake. She wasn't expecting her boyfriend's sister to approach her this way. "Oh… alright… but, why so early?"

"Sorry," Adel said sheepishly, "I have a lot of errands to run before the rehearsal this afternoon, and then the party is happening in the evening. Then tomorrow, I'm getting married, so I honestly don't know when else we could have done this. Oh my God, I'm getting married! I can't believe it's happening tomorrow!"

Kate was amused by how giddy Adel was acting, considering how early it was. But she couldn't blame her. As a woman, Kate knew all too well that a girl's wedding day was usually the most wonderful and happy day of her life.

"Anyway," Adel said, calming down, "this will be my treat. Let's get going."

"A-Alright," Kate replied with some enthusiasm, feeling she didn't have much of a choice.

Kate and Adel got into Adel's car outside and took a drive to a coffee and bakery shop next to an outdoor mall where they could chat for as long as they wanted. The sun was high in the sky when they arrived close to 7:30 AM.

Kate was incredibly flattered that Adel offered to pay, but she was a little embarrassed too since she was aware Adel probably had more than enough money to do so.

The two girls sat at a table next to the window. They first started talking about the smaller things like where they grew up, college life, and other girlish stuff.

"So Kate, how did you do it?" Adel later said with a grin.

"How did I do what?" Kate asked.

"How did you get Princeton to stay with you?"

"What do you mean?"

"Please, I know my little brother. He's not a big relationship person. I think he has commitment issues. But, that's also not unusual for a guy his age…"

"Oh, well-"

"I mean, not that he's never been in a relationship, in fact from what I've seen he was actually really loyal and devoted to the few girlfriends he's had… I guess I just mean that it's very rare to see him with someone for as long as he's been with you…"

Kate had a questionable look on her face.

"In a good way!" Adel continued, seeing this.

"Oh, I don't think that's really a big issue anymore," Kate replied with a smile.

"How's that?"

"Well, Princeton and I went through a lot during the first few months we knew each other. He really grew and changed a lot as a person. I mean, we both did in a way…"

"I see," Adel said, smiling. "Then you have to tell me something, alright?"

"Like what?"

Adel leaned in closer to Kate so she could whisper.

"How is he in bed?" she asked with a giggle.

Kate immediately burst out laughing with embarrassment. "What?!" she asked in between laughs.

"Common! You have to tell me! I have to look out for my little brother and know if he's being fair in the bedroom!"

Kate couldn't believe she was being forced to answer this. However, this wasn't the first time she had been asked this question. She had many conversations with Christmas Eve and a few other friends about it in the past. Still, this was Princeton's sister. It felt a little weird to have to tell her.

"Well," Kate began as she blushed, "I'd have to say… yes, he's very good in bed!"

"Oh I knew it!" Adel replied and burst into giggles. "Do you guys ever play any weird games?"

"Wha… What are you talking about?" Kate asked, almost ready to burst. No one had ever asked her this question.

"You know," Adel continued, "do either of you have any sexual fantasies or anything like that?"

"I… I don't think I should be answering that," Kate said before taking a quick sip of her coffee.

"No, you have to tell me, please! I promise I won't tell anyone, now common!"

"Well, no. We don't really. Believe me, we've had this conversation."

"Really? Are you sure you couldn't come up with anything?"

"Nope, nothing… Well, okay. You know, I guess we did try a few things at first when we were getting serious, but, I think we just both felt that doing it normally made it the most comfortable. But we still have a lot of fun when we do it. He really is an incredible lover!"

Kate couldn't believe she was saying all this and couldn't stop giggling. Somehow it actually didn't seem so weird telling Adel this. Kate felt really at ease talking to her.

"Well that's fine, whatever floats your boat," Adel said. "As long as he's generous, that's all that matters. To be honest, I was a little worried. When you two were going at it last night I thought he was being a horrible lover. I actually thought he might've been hurting you."

Kate's smile immediately faded when Adel told her this.

"Last night?" she asked in shock. "Did… did you hear us?"

"Oh, sweetie," Adel said with sympathy, "we may live in a big house, but the walls in that place are paper-thin. I'm sure the whole neighborhood heard those few shouts you two made."

Kate suddenly felt even more embarrassed. She looked down and covered her face with her hand, groaning in the process.

"Don't worry," Adel continued, "I'm only kidding about the neighborhood thing. Seriously though, Princeton should know better. Mom especially can be a little uptight about that stuff. I mean, she's not against sex before marriage, but she doesn't exactly encourage it either. That's why I've never brought a guy home to stay at our house. If she knew about all the men I've slept with in my life, she would probably have a heart attack. I guess she can just be a little overprotective at times, so it's best not to tell her everything."

Thinking about what Adel just said, Kate could suddenly see where a few of Janet's control issues were coming from.

"Anyway… So Kate, what exactly do you do?" Adel asked.

"Oh, well I was a kindergarten teaching assistant, but right now I'm the founder of the Monsterssori School in New York."

"Monsterssori? Never heard of it," Adel said, smiling.

"Not surprised," Kate mumbled. "Well, it's not exactly up and running yet. We're hoping to have it open next fall."

"Really? No way!"

"Yeah, way," Kate said, startled. "It's going to be a school just for monsters. There's never been a school like it before, so hopefully it will be approved and running soon."

Adel nodded. "That's really cool. That's really ambitious of you, Kate! Congratulations!"

"Thank you," Kate said, becoming excited to tell her boyfriend's sister more about this. "You know… it was actually Princeton who encouraged our friends to help raise the money for it and buy the building. They completely surprised me and at the time it was like my luck had changed overnight. And now I've been able to focus full time on preparing it thanks to him."

Adel's mouth was gaping in amazement. "Princeton did that for you?!"

Kate nodded, a bashful smile appearing on her face.

"Wow, Kate," Adel said. "You must mean a lot to him if he was able to get your friends to raise that kind of money!"

Kate shrugged, knowing Adel couldn't be more right. "I'm pretty lucky…"

"Aw! I'm so proud of him!" Adel said excitedly as she placed a hand on her heart.

Kate nodded, agreeing. "But, what exactly do you do, Adelphi?"

"Oh, Princeton didn't tell you? I'm studying to be a lawyer! I'm attending law school right now."

"What? You're a lawyer?!"

"Of course, silly! Well, not yet. You see, I studied political science in college, and I went to law school in Boston right after! That's where I've been the last two years. Didn't Princeton at least tell you that?"

"Well, no he didn't…"

"I mean, it is a process, I have one more year of school, then I have to pass the bar exam, and hopefully I'll get at least a few job offers before graduation…"

Kate listened intently. Adel was not what she had expected at all. In fact, Kate loved listening to how accomplished she was.

"So, what kind of law do you want to practice?" Kate asked.

"Well, I haven't figured that out quite yet, but I know I want to be more on the prosecution side. This semester I interned with a firm and it was the best experience of my life. You know, that's how I met Charles, my fiancé. Our teams were working against each other on this really hardcore case and it was so intense. It went on for four months! And when it was over, he asked me to marry him! It was so romantic. Wow, I can't believe I'm telling you all this!"

Adel's tan cheeks were turning pink as she blushed with a big grin. She was so giddy. Kate just watched in awe at how happy she was.

"Wait, what exactly was he congratulating you on?" Kate asked.

"For winning the case, of course!" Adel replied. "You see, Charles's client was pleading not guilty, but I knew he was guilty, and my team was not going to let them win! And in the end, we beat them fair and square! And after all of that, Charles still wanted to marry me! Isn't that amazing?"

"It certainly is…" Kate smiled the best she could, only wondering how two people could fall in love while fighting in a court case.

"I'm going to be really honest with you," Adel said, "and you cannot repeat this, not even to Princeton…"

Adel looked at Kate sternly, making sure she understood. Kate nodded.

"K," Adel continued, "when we were going against each other in this case, Charles and I did a lot of the questioning of the witnesses, and quite a few times we went head to head at the bench. There was so much tension between Charles and me… like regular tension but also, like… sexual tension, you know what I mean?"

Kate's eyebrows went up at this.

Adel went on. "Every time we went to court over those four months, the two of us would always get together for drinks or dinner after, and by the end of the night we'd be back at his place. And believe me, it was like nothing I'd ever experienced. I just couldn't stop seeing him…"

Kate's jaw was hanging open a little.

"And you know," Adel went on, "opposing lawyers aren't allowed to discuss an ongoing case, and believe me it was really tempting to, but we never crossed the line and talked about it in great detail when we saw each other."

"Wow," Kate said, astonished.

"He really kept me on my toes the whole time… And after we won, Charles asked me for one more dinner date, and then he completely took me by surprise and proposed to me."

Kate nodded, now seeing where Adel is coming from. "That really is romantic."

"Yeah, he's the sweetest," Adel said, beaming.

"What made you decide to go into law?" Kate asked.

"Well… I figured, my mom went into law, why not follow in her footsteps? I know she can be a bit uptight but she's an amazing lawyer. I don't know why, but I've always had this desire to really make a difference in the world. I figured this would be a great way to do it, not to mention be really challenging and fun. It's almost like… like my purpose to do this in life, you know?"

Kate smiled amusingly. This sounded exactly like something Princeton would say. Yep, they were definitely related.

Not long after, the two girls decided to take a walk through the outdoor mall while they finished their coffees.

"If you don't mind me asking," Kate said as they walked along, "how old are you, Adel? I mean, don't take this the wrong way, but you seem so young to be getting married..."

Adel looked at Kate, puzzled for a few seconds, but instantly smiled.

"I know, it does seem soon, doesn't it?" Adel said. "Well the truth is, I'm twenty-four! But I'll be twenty-five in September!"

Kate almost choked. Her birthday was in September too, which meant Adel was only a year younger than her. Princeton would be twenty-three in a few weeks, so that made Adel a year and a few months older than him. Kate couldn't believe Adel was twenty-four. She somehow seemed so much younger.

"I know it seems soon and like we might be rushing," Adel continued, "but sometimes you just have to go with your gut, you know? It felt right, and I knew Charles was the one." Adel giggled again, blushing.

"I mean, sure," Kate said, understanding. She couldn't help but feel really happy for Adel. She just seemed so… confident in her decision. Maybe Adel had a point and knew exactly what was right for herself.

"So Kate," Adel continued, "have you and Princeton talked about possibly getting hitched yet?"

This question sort of startled Kate. "What?!" she asked with disbelief. "W-What are you talking about? No! We aren't thinking about that right now! Please! You've got to be kidding me!"

"You mean you haven't discussed it yet?"

"Nope! Hehe, we've never talked about it," Kate replied hesitantly.

"Well, why not?"

Kate shrugged. "I mean, I'm so busy working on my school, I don't have the time to think about that sort of thing."

Adel gave her a curious look. "And he hasn't brought it up to you either? Not even once?"

Kate had to think about this for a second. "Well, no he hasn't…"

"Huh, I'm surprised by that. I assumed since you two were living together maybe you would have talked about it by now… You know, when I first met Charles, he was the last person on Earth I thought I'd end up with…"

Kate was only half listening now. It suddenly hit her that in the last six months she and Princeton were together, they hadn't even once brought up the subject of marriage. Not even when they decided to move in together.

She then thought about Brian and Christmas Eve's wedding the year before. Back then she had presented Princeton with the bouquet that she had to fight to get, and it was what happened after that changed everything. He broke up with her and walked away, leaving her humiliated.

At the time, she was sure she had lost him forever. Kate thought she had made a big mistake by even hinting at the idea of marriage so soon. When Princeton asked her to take him back a few weeks later, she knew at the time that it would be best to not bring it up for a while.

And then of course everything happened after that. She focused all of her time and energy on the school, Princeton did his best to support her and figure his own path out… Back then all that mattered was that he had helped make her dreams come true and they were together again, and that was all she needed. Marriage was something to think about later when the time was right.

Now that she was really thinking about it, Kate was pretty sure she wanted to be with Princeton for the rest of her life if he really did feel the same way. But that was just it. Did he feel the same way?

Kate felt a little sad all of a sudden. Adel was younger than her and already she had found someone she was ready to be eternally happy with. But if Kate and Princeton hadn't talked about it after all this time, what did that possibly mean? Did he not see her in that way? Would Kate never be able to talk to him about it? If she did, would he just walk away like he did the last time? If he did leave, would she ever be able to find someone she loved just as much as she loved him ever again? Would she ever be able to pronounce her eternal love to anyone?

Kate was so wrapped in all of these overwhelming thoughts, she didn't even notice the tears that began rolling down her cheeks. Adel quickly stopped talking when she saw this.

"Kate? Kate what's wrong?" she asked.

"What?"

"Kate, you're crying! Did I say something that offended you?!"

When Kate realized Adel was right, she panicked and wiped the tears away as fast as she could, trying to stop herself.

"Oh God, I'm sorry," Kate said as she took a deep breath. "No, you didn't say anything wrong…" She tried to think of a way to quickly recover from this. "I just… I'm just so happy for you, Adel! That's all! I think it's wonderful you found the person you want to spend the rest of your life with!"

Kate nodded her head vigorously, trying to be upbeat, but she ultimately knew that wasn't super convincing. She looked away awkwardly and felt beyond embarrassed that this happened.

Adel looked at Kate doubtfully, unsure if she was telling the truth or not. But she also hesitated to comment on it further, not wanting to impose if Kate was so insistent. She didn't know what to say at first, but then her face brightened, getting an idea on how to make Kate feel better.

"Hey Kate," she said. "I have to pick up my wedding dress in a bit, but after that, why don't we go get our nails done together?!"

Kate looked back at her and was suddenly alert.

"Really?" she asked.

"Yeah! But we better get going, we've got a lot to do before we get back to the house…"

On their drive to the dress store, Kate tried to forget everything that had just gone through her head. She didn't want to ruin the nice morning she was having.

"So, Adel, where is your wedding being held?" Kate asked.

"Oh! Well we're having the ceremony at the church that we used to go to when we were kids. It's been a long time since my family went regularly, but it's a really lovely church. It's small and intimate, it's just what I want. Plus it's kind of nostalgic in a way."

"That's really nice," Kate said, smiling. "What about after the wedding? Will the reception be there too?"

"Did you see our backyard? With all that open space and the trees and flowers?"

"Yeah?"

"That's where we're having the reception!"

"Really? Right back there?"

"Yep! I really wanted all of this to be in places that were special to me. You know, like places I spent my whole life growing up around. I mean, it was short notice and we could have maybe found a banquet hall or a hotel conference room to do all of this in, but somehow doing it at the church and the home I grew up in just felt more special to me. Plus, you know, we saved a lot of money that way! We're doing a red and white theme too, which is so romantic. Charles was so thoughtful to agree to all of it! He really is wonderful!"

Kate smiled at this, feeling both happy and a little sad at the same time.

They arrived at the dress store at 9:00 AM sharp when it opened. Adel had to try her dress on to make sure there weren't any last minute alterations that had to be made. While Kate waited, she examined all of the wedding dresses on display, along with all the different decorations. She couldn't help but feel sad all over again. She started to wonder if she would ever wear her own special dress on her special day?

Kate knew she couldn't let Adel know that she was feeling this way. She wasn't going to let her problem ruin Adel's happy mood. But she definitely had a lot to think about. She may even need to talk with Princeton about it. That is, if he would be able to sit through the first sentence.

"Kate Monster, what do you think?!" Adel's voice yelled from the other side of the store.

Kate turned when she heard her name being called, and then she almost dropped dead from the shock as Adel approached her. The dress was… stunning. Like most wedding dresses, its length went down to the floor, but this one hugged her body elegantly, almost like an evening gown. There was some lovely laced design work in the front and back that shaped her body perfectly. The sleeves were thin and stylish, and the front showed off her cleavage a little, but not in a slutty way. Adel also wore a long veil on her head that complimented the dress. There were even a few fake flowers on the top that made it look as though they were tied into her hair.

To Kate, Adel looked like a gorgeous white flower princess. She smiled and she could almost feel her tears starting again. With the utmost sincerity, she uttered, "You look beautiful, Adelphi."

Around the same time, Princeton was just opening his eyes after a long night of peaceful sleep. When he was awake enough, he let out a deep sigh with a great big smile on his face, almost as bright as the sun. He thought about last night, and about Kate. Even though it was kind of unplanned and awkward, it was a learning experience for them both, knowing now that they couldn't have sex without making a sound to save their lives. Princeton still felt embarrassed about it, but he tried to tell himself it was just harmless fun.

He turned on his back, adjusting himself, until he noticed someone sitting at the foot of his bed.

"Ah!" Princeton yelled with fright as he sat up, realizing it was his mother. She sat there, arms and legs crossed as if she was about ready to lecture him to death.

"Good morning, Princeton," Janet said, rolling her eyes at her son's reaction.

"Hi… Mom," Princeton said with embarrassment. He tried to cover himself, feeling uncomfortable to be lying in his underwear in front of her, especially since she was already dressed.

"You're up late," Janet observed, looking at Princeton's current state.

"I'm a heavy sleeper," Princeton grumbled.

"Well, that's strange because your father told me he ran into you last night downstairs. Do you want to tell me what that was about?"

His heart jumped, and Princeton quickly tried to think of an excuse, remembering what he said to his father. "Oh… right. I couldn't find the bathroom, it's been so long!"

"Huh, funny. I sent your father down to check because I could have sworn I heard strange noises coming from downstairs. Do you know what the was?"

"Oh… cat. Yeah, it must have been the cat!"

"Princeton, we don't have a cat."

"Well, you do now!"

"Really? Well then, what's its name? Is it Kate?"

When Janet said her name, Princeton knew right away that they were caught. There was no way he could get out of this.

Seeing that her son wasn't going to respond, Janet only sighed with disappointment.

"Princeton," she said, "answer me this question and give me the truth. Do you love Kate?"

Naturally, Princeton's first thought was to answer yes, he was in love with Kate and it didn't matter if she didn't approve. But Princeton didn't answer. Something inside him almost completely stopped him.

Looking at his mother sitting close to him, he suddenly didn't know how he would explain what he and Kate had shared the past six months, and what they had been through together.

What's wrong with me? Princeton thought. Why can't I just tell her?

This wasn't looking good. Princeton had to answer her. He had to say something. Anything would help.

"Define love," he said.

Not the right answer. Princeton stepped into his own trap.

Janet didn't say anything and sighed again. Shaking her head, she stood from the bed and turned to the door.

"There's breakfast downstairs, you're welcome to help yourself if you want anything," she said as she left the room, leaving Princeton alone with even more of his troubling thoughts.

What the hell was that?! Princeton asked himself. Why didn't you just tell her how you feel about Kate?

Princeton, with his robe on, solemnly made his way downstairs and into the kitchen. George was sitting at the table reading a newspaper, and Janet was just putting the dishes away.

"Well, look who's finally up," George said when he saw his son approaching.

"Hi," Princeton said as he poured himself some coffee. Then he noticed something missing. "Um, Mom, where's Adel? Did Kate get up yet?"

"Well," Janet sighed, "believe it or not, your sister kidnapped Kate this morning before any of us got up."

"No, she didn't," Princeton said, not wanting to believe it.

"Yes she did, she left a note and everything. God only knows when they'll be back."

Princeton took a seat at the table and could only wonder what horrors Kate was going through with his sister.

"Well," Janet said as she hung up a towel, "I have to go make sure everything is set with the caterers, then I have to pick up the dry-cleaning…"

Janet grabbed her purse and keys from the counter. She then stopped and looked at the men at the table as if she were expecting something.

"George!" she scolded.

George jumped and looked up at his wife. "Oh, right!" he said as he put the paper away. "And I've got to go pick up the wedding cake!"

Janet left out the back door without saying goodbye, and George put his jacket on before turning to leave.

"See ya later son!" he said, grabbing his keys. "I hope we can catch up some more later."

"Dad, wait!" Princeton said before George even had the chance to reach the back door. "Uh, I really need to talk to you about something."

George gave Princeton a puzzled look. "What about, son?"

"Look, I know this is going to sound weird… but I need to talk to you about Kate. I mean, you're a psychologist, you can probably help, right?"

"Well, I mostly work with children, but I guess if you need some advice we can talk." A smile suddenly appeared on his face. "You know, this is strange. Our Princeton is asking advice from us?"

Princeton rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I know, but I was upstairs, and Mom asked me something, and I didn't know how to respond, so I wanted to know if you could help me-"

"Alright, alright, calm down. Look, go upstairs and change, and you can come to the cake shop with me. We'll talk on the way there."

"Okay, that's fine. I'll go do that."

Princeton ran upstairs to his bedroom and grabbed his outfit for the day. Before leaving he took a quick minute to look at himself in the mirror, then suddenly got a very weird feeling about today. Something big was definitely going to happen.