Homer had never felt this excited in a long time as he happily sang to himself while he styled his hair to get ready for his date. He had been preparing himself for this day all week and was very glad that the day was finally here. Maybe this time things would work out better. Maybe things would last and maybe he would be happy again. Of course he still had to get past the first date and get to know Emily, but he remained positive. Something good had to come out of this.

He quickly dabbed some cologne onto himself and once he felt that he smelled fantastic, he grabbed his car keys and skipped down the stairs humming happily to himself as he went. His father was in his usual place by the television and probably would not have even said anything as Homer walked out the door, but instead got a whiff of Homer's scent.

"Ya trying to sneeze your date to death?" Abe asked.

"...What do you mean?" Homer asked before he could turn the knob.

"Well you probably overdid it on the cologne there," Abe replied.

Homer took a whiff of himself and let the scent linger for a minute. It didn't seem to bother him one bit and simply shrugged. "Seems okay to me."

"Okay, but if she gags, its probably because of you," Abe said.

Homer ignored the remark and quickly ran out the door to his car. There was a light rain falling, but it was nothing to be too concerned over. The air felt cool and nice to Homer and he knew that sooner or later it would let up and the night would be perfect for looking up at the stars. The roads were a little slick, but he simply ignored it as he made his way to Emily's house. She had given him directions a few days ago, and he already practiced on where to find her place, so he was able to arrive at the house just in time. Surprisingly, Emily was very prompt and was actually walking out the door when he arrived. He watched her walk toward him, she was wearing a modest black dress, one that was not too long and not too short. The top was almost like a tank top only it was thicker and did not reveal any of her chest. But Homer did not care, she still looked lovely. Quickly he got out of his car and made his way to the passenger side where he opened it to let Emily in. When Emily reached the car, she stopped before entering and looked up at Homer with a smile on her face.

"Ah being chivalrous tonight are we?" Emily asked.

"Uhhh..." Homer replied nervously. "I that means you like what I just did," Homer replied.

"Very much so," Emily replied as she sat down in the car.

Homer let out a nervous sigh before closing the door for her and making his way back to his side of the car. So far things were going smoothly, of course he should have known what chivalrous meant, but he hadn't been on a date since breaking up with Jenna and he knew he did not want to mess anything up. He just needed to remain calm and be himself or things would not work out.

They made their way down the road, Homer keeping his eyes on the road in front of him while Emily sat beside him, watching the light rain fall on the windowpane. She didn't say anything and to Homer, this seemed a bit awkward so he knew he had to break the ice.

"Nice weather we're having huh?" Homer asked.

"Yes it is nice, I always liked rain, just because it brings in new life and it smells lovely in the end," Emily said with a dreamy sigh.

"Yeah, thunderstorms are pretty neat too," Homer replied.

"They're especially nice while sitting down and reading a good book or even a poem. I know quite a few good poems about rain," Emily replied.

"Oh really, what's a good one?" Homer asked a little curiously. Truthfully he wasn't sure what to think of the idea of listening to a poem, but he wanted to have a good night with her. He did not want to act like a jerk and tell her that poems weren't his thing.

"Hmmm...let me think here, oh this one is always fun to tell. It's by a poet named Mitchell D Wilson" Emily began.

"Falling down, pooling up.

Out of the sky, into my cup.

What is this wet that comes from above.

That some call disaster, and others find love.

The harder it falls, the less it is nice,

the colder the falls, the harder the ice.

The rain has an art that I may not get.

So I stand still here and get soaking wet."

"Do poets have waterproof pens and paper? Because I bet he would have lost a few lines if he didn't," Homer replied with a smile.

"That's an interesting thought, maybe so, I'm just not a poet, I would rather be a writer," Emily replied.

"You would probably need good imagination for that," Homer said.

"And a love of books," Emily replied with a sigh as if she was imagining her own whimsical story about a young girl falling for the right guy or maybe even a fantastic adventure taking place in another universe. There was just so much you could do out there.

Homer only nodded, he knew he was close to where they needed to be. He drove slowly to make sure he did not miss it, and it wasn't long before the little cafe appeared. Homer brought his car to the closest available parking space he could find and escorted Emily into the restaurant.

It was a quiet night, only a few people were actually in the restaurant so Homer and Emily were able to be escorted to their seats right away. In the first few minutes, they ordered their drinks and then their meals before finally striking up a conversation. Homer was the first to start.

"So what do you like to do?" Homer asked.

"Oh you know, read, maybe work on my garden at home, keep the cat entertained, the usual, how about you?" Emily asked.

"Well before I worked for you guys I used to work with a friend of mine on a fishing boat down in Key West..." Homer began before Emily jumped up with excitement.

"Key West! Where Hemingway lived?" Emily asked.

"Yeah, never visited his house though," Homer replied.

"Oh I would love to go there one day. Have you ever read any of his books?" Emily asked.

"I glanced through The Old Man and the Sea," Homer replied a little nervously.

"Oh we need to fix that then, I just finished A Farewell to Arms. It's such a great book as it tells of the ravages of war and how rain can play a big part in a story," Emily replied in an excited way.

Homer was of course not a book reader, so he really was not sure what to do at this point other than nod or say "uh huh" He remembered that the advanced high school class had to read that work of literature while he and his other classmates were stuck with Tom Sawyer. This was one thing he knew he did not have much in common with Emily. She seemed to have a deep love for books and imagination. Something he was definitely not capable of having. His imagination was not as fun as Emily's probably was, usually he would try to imagine what things would be like if he and Jenna ended up staying together and it didn't go very far. He just saw both of them watching the beach and just sitting there happily. But at least it was something.

"It was interesting how Hemmingway went into some very gory detail about how war can be like. The main characters name is Henry and he falls in love with a nurse who brought him back to health. And then of course the end where he ends up all alone after Catherine passes away in childbirth. Such a heartrenching ending and Hemmingway can make it sound so sad as he is walking away in the rain," Emily sayed

"Hey I might have wanted to read that book one day," Homer replied with a smile.

"Well at least I warned you," Emily said while the waiter brought over their salad. Emily quickly took a bite before continuing. "So what else do you like?"

"Well I fished while I was down in Key West so that was fun. I also liked to surf and just relax and have a good time. I was born here, but I'm still trying to get used to things after being gone for so long," Homer replied.

"Yeah those kinds of things happen, but you'll get the hang of it. I've never given much thought to surfing, it looks to complicated. Plus the idea of sharks stalking you and whatnot," Emily said as she took a bite out of her salad. "Not my cup of tea."

"Well we never actually had that problem, rocks was my main issue," Homer replied.

Emily only nodded and was soon distracted by her meal. They ate in silence for a long time. Homer contemplating on how the night was going. So far he felt that it was going okay but truthfully, Emily really wasn't for him. She seemed to be the quiet type who rarely went out and was not into the same humor as him. It was a nice date, but he knew it would not end like Jenna's did. At the moment, he was really starting to miss Jenna. He wished he had a phone handy just so he could talk to her again. Maybe even get advice on how to charm this bookworm of a girl.

"So, any books you should recommend for me?" Homer asked.

"Hmmm..." Emily thought. "...recommendations are hard, especially with those you don't talk to as much. I will say though that I have often compared people to Shakespeare plays."

"But aren't those the most tragic stories ever?" Homer asked as he remembered how he had to read Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, and Hamlet in his sophmore English high school class. Each one of them drove him nuts as characters kept dying while the story just got more boring. Save of course for Macbeth, that Lady Macbeth, she really knew how to talk her husband into murder. There was actually a pretty cool version to that play from the Japanese called Throne of Blood. It was a lot more interesting and the dialogue was not so strange like the plays they had to read.

"Don't you remember, some of his plays were comedies like The Tempest and Much Ado About Nothing. Much Ado About Nothing is one of my favorites, I just love how the main characters Benedick and Beatrice just get into these long arguments about how they hate each other. But in reality they really love each other."

"Do they know this?" Asked Homer almost quizzically.

"I'm not telling, you'll have to read it. But it is a great play about deception and how not everything is what it should be."

"Ah, interesting," Homer said, trying his best to sound enthusiastic but really wasn't doing the best job and Emily noticed.

"I'm boring you aren't I?" Emily asked.

Homer stared back in surprise, he didn't want to answer that question because then everything would most likely go downhill from there. But as he looked back at Emily, he noticed that her eyebrows were raised and that she would be upset if he lied. Of course she would probably be upset if he told the truth too.

"Sorry, I guess I wasted your night then," Homer said dejectedly. He was now ready to run, to leave the table right then and there and never see this woman again. Sure he would have to to pick up his paycheck, but right now, never getting money again sounded better than running into her every other Thursday.

"It's okay Homer, I'm not mad. I knew we would only be together one night, and it's not wasted, it's good to go out once in a while. Plus I wanted to see if I was wrong about you," Emily replied.

"Wrong about what?" asked Homer.

"That we just aren't compatible. You see Homer, I can see you lost someone you really liked before you came into my life. I'm not sure if I want to know how you lost her but I know you are trying to get past that. But not every girl you meet will be like her, I know I am not. I can sense that she was fun, energetic, and the perfect girl for you. You both shared a common bond that is rare in couples these days. I'm afraid I cannot do what she did for you, I just prefer quiet nights at home with my cat and curled up to a good book. I do like going out, just not very often. I guess you can call me boring. I hope to one day be an English teacher, if I can ever continue college, it's too damn expensive these days."

Homer stared back at Emily, she was so right about Jenna it was scary. How did she know this, was there some weird vibe in him that only others saw? Apparently he just couldn't let go of the past, no matter how hard he tried. He could have kept Jenna if Marge never showed up again in his life. And he could have kept Marge, if he didn't make such a stupid mistake all those years ago. Would he ever find anyone? It was upsetting to even think about, especially when he was sitting in front of a girl who seemed to read his mind like a Sherlock Holmes novel.

"You're right Emily, her name was Jenna. I made a mistake and I wish I can turn back time to fix it," Homer said with a sigh while looking down at his dinner but now feeling too full to even want to eat any of it.

"Did you cheat on her?" Emily asked.

"No way, I would never do such a thing. If I loved someone I would always stay by their side until they wanted to let go or they never wanted to leave me," Homer replied.

"Ah, a gentleman. Not many of those out there any more. But whatever you did, maybe one day she will come back to you. I had a friend who broke up with her boyfriend for three years until finally one day she realized how important he was to her and they are now happily married. They have a kid on the way too. They definitely deserve each other," Emily said.

"Good for them," Homer said sadly

"You'll find someone Homer, don't worry. You have many more years ahead of you," Emily said.

Homer only nodded and throughout the rest of the dinner, he remained silent and mostly picked at his food. He was in such a bad mood now that he was just ready to head home and hide in his bed. Emily had brought back painful memories of the breakup with Jenna and the night of the prom when Marge stayed with Artie Ziff and not him. Strange how long ago that was, nearly six years had gone by. Time sure was moving fast.

And just like the years, the minutes were also moving by quickly and it wasn't long before Homer found himself escorting Emily to her door now that the rain was falling harder that evening. Emily searched for her keys while Homer waited patiently, he know planned on going to Moe's for a beer. He just needed to drown his sorrows away.

"Thank you for the evening Homer, I'll see you around. Keep your chin up, and I am sorry it didn't work out," Emily replied as she walked into her house.

Homer stood at the door for a moment before finally walking back to his car. He unfolded his umbrella a little early, letting the rain drench his entire body. He didn't care if he got sick or not, he just wanted this night to be over with. He decided then that he needed to be among friends and it wasn't long before he made his way to Moe's, hoping that maybe his friends could cheer him up.

That same evening, on the other side of town, Artie had been summoned to Olivia's house. He was really in no mood to be there but Olivia was persistent and he had to leave Marge behind while she cleaned dishes. He told her that she needed him for some important business, he had been saying that a lot lately and he began to wonder how long he would keep it up before Marge became too suspicious. He knew she was now, but he had no idea how to tell her he was cheating on her without getting into a huge argument. It was bound to happen sooner or later, she would know about the child one day, but for now he just wanted to keep it a secret.

Artie pulled in to the apartment complex and ran as fast as he could up the stairs to avoid the rain. He didn't have to worry about knocking, Olivia was standing at the door waiting for him with a look of annoyance on her face.

"So this can't wait until tomorrow?" Artie asked in a whiny voice wishing he was back home helping Marge.

"No, I need to talk to you about this now, in private!" Olivia said angrily as she pulled Artie in before slamming the door. Whatever the problem was, it was not a good one and Artie wasn't sure what to do at that moment.

"What's troubling you this time?" Artie asked as he sat down in the living room while Olivia took a seat next to him and held his hand.

"I want you to divorce Marge," Olivia said.

Artie quickly let go of Olivia's hand and jumped up as he headed out the door. "I told you before, I am not leaving Marge, especially when she is heavily pregnant. Do you know what happens to babies who have stressed out mothers, it's not pretty," Artie said.

"Good one less child to worry about," Olivia said as she stood in front of the doorway.

"Listen I will help you with the child, I'll pay for the damn thing, I already have a separate checking account," Artie replied.

"That's not good enough, you are the father of this child and as father you need to be there for it," Olivia said.

"And what about Marge's, am I supposed to just let them both fend for themselves?" asked Artie.

"You will if you loved me and if you want to protect your ass!" Olivia exclaimed as she pointed at him angrily.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Artie asked as he moved away from the door. There was obviously no way of getting away from Olivia now.

"It means I won't tell anyone about this little miracle unless you take care of me," Olivia said.

"I am taking care of you!" Artie said angrily.

"That's not enough, you are stuck with me now Artie Ziff whether you like it or not," Olivia said as she pinned Artie to the couch and began to caress him. At that instant, his cheating instincts kicked in and he let out a happy sigh. That is until he realized what he was doing.

"Can't you just offer this child up for adoption, it will save us a lot of grief, especially for me," Artie said.

"Because I don't want to," Olivia said with a small giggle like it was the funniest reason in the world.

Artie growled under his breath. This woman, this very woman who he found very attractive was really making life difficult for him at the moment. He was married to Marge and he wanted to stay that way for the time being. He loved her, he always had, he couldn't help it if his mind wandered to this insane woman in front of him, she was so beautiful and an amazing lover that it was hard to give up on her. To him, she was like a cigarette, only more deadly.

"Listen I need to be there for Marge when the baby comes, in fact I need to help her because it's my child and I can't leave him for that. My little AJ will need me, I am naming him after me, hopefully he won't do what I am doing now, but maybe he will be just as smart," Artie said.

Olivia stared at Artie for a long time, almost like she was sizing him up. Artie knew that face, usually it meant she was about to seduce him, making him stay longer so they could do their dirty work. Of course she was pregnant now, no way she would spread her legs for him. But of course this was Olivia, she probably didn't care.

"You are paying for this child then, and you must be there for me when I go into labor. If not, your reputation in the office will be soiled is that clear," Olivia said angrily.

Artie stared back at her, hating her right now for being pregnant. But of course it was his own damn fault and he had to pay for it, literally. "Crystal."

"Good, now we must think of a name for the child," Olivia replied.

"But I need to go home," Artie said annoyed.

"Do you want me to tell Marge?" Olivia asked.

Artie grumbled under his breath and stayed put. "What did you have in mind?"

It was going to be a long night.

"A/N: Yeah definitely not my favorite chapter and I blame it on the fact that I am ready to start chapter 30 as soon as possible. Chapter 30 has been on my mind since the beginning, and one of the main reasons as to why I came back to this story. I hope to not disappoint in this next chapter, especially after this one and I apologize for how this one turned out. But please review when you can, hopefully I will have the next chapter up fairly quickly.