"So how did it go?" Vince asked Roxie when she returned. "Did you tell your dad?"

Roxie nodded. "I did, and he started drinking. It was impressive."

"And you're not worried about telling your mom?" Vince asked.

Roxie shook her head. "Of course not. She'll probably jump for joy because I'm doing something so grown up. Either that, or fear for the kid's life. I don't know."

"Are you still nervous now that all this has had time to sink in?"

Roxie sat down. "Well, I'll admit that I'm not exactly jumping for joy, but I don't hate the idea. I don't know why." She looked at him. "Tell me why I don't hate the idea!"

Vince shrugged. "I don't know. They're your thoughts, not mine."

"I'm scared," Roxie admitted. "What if the baby is born and something goes wrong? What if we mess up and can't keep it alive? Actually, if that happens, it will probably be my fault somehow, since I'm the mom and all."

"Nothing is going to happen," Vince said. "I think you're getting yourself all worked up prematurely. But at least you're worrying. That means you've grown up. Even a few months ago, you probably wouldn't have cared what happened to anyone else besides you or me at all."

Roxie nodded. "That's true. I do care about this baby. More than I thought I would."

"And you'll only like it more when it actually comes," Vince said.

"How do you know all this?" Roxie asked.

"Tessa told me our parents gave her that same song and dance when I came along," he said. "She wasn't too eager to have another sibling," Vince said. He looked up at the clock. "I think I'll head over to Enid's. Do you want me to tell her you won't be coming into work today? Or do you think you'll be able to handle it?"

"I'll come into work," Roxie said. "I could use the distraction."

"What 'cha reading, Caroline?" Selina asked as she walked into the restaurant they were having lunch at and noticed Caroline reading a book. Caroline shut it quickly and looked up at her. "It's good," she said, holding it up. "Have a look."

Selina took it and looked it over. It had a man and a woman embracing each other. The man wasn't wearing a shirt and the woman's dress was torn off the shoulder. "This is one of those schmultzy romance novels, isn't it?" Selina asked. "How can you read something like this? It's garbage!"

"Well, just because something isn't educational or whatever, that doesn't make it garbage," Caroline said. "Read it. Love it. Expand your literary horizons."

Selina shook her head and put the book back on the table. "Are you nuts? If Elijah found me reading something like this, do you know how much it would piss him off? Besides, I don't see why I need to drown myself in fantasy when my reality is just perfect."

"Oh, I don't know," Caroline said. "Why don't you try a little experiment? Read the book and see how he reacts to it. If you're as unaffected by it as you say and he still throws a fit, what does that say about him? You have the right to read whatever you want without it being any of his business."

"But I don't want to read this at all," Selina said. "And I don't want to start a bunch of trouble just to prove a point. I love Elijah and I don't want to go out of my way to upset him. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go to the bathroom." And with that, she stood up, and strode off. Once she was gone, Caroline slipped the book in her purse and zipped it right back up again.

Selina returned a few minutes later and sat down. "Everything all right?" She asked Caroline, who was smirking.

"Yeah," Caroline nodded, sobering. "Everything is perfectly perfect. So what are you gonna eat? I'm not too hungry myself."

When Selina got home a couple of hours later, she emptied out her purse to separate the change from the rest of the stuff, like usual, and groaned. "Caroline!" She muttered under her breath, picking up the book. "I'm not gonna read this. I'm not." She put it back in her purse and put her purse over her shoulder, then headed out to the kitchen where Elijah and Gregory were sitting and watching her. "I'm gonna head back to the bakery now," she said. "I just came by to drop off my leftovers. Feel free to eat them if you want. I put them in the refrigerator. They're in a white box."

"Mama go?" Gregory asked, toddling toward her and taking her fingers in his little hand.

Selina nodded and patted him on the head. "Yes, Gregory. Mommy has to work, but you get to stay here and spend time with your daddy." Gregory stared at her for a second more and then his lip began to tremble and he held up his arms.

"Oh, all right," Selina said, picking him up. "I'll take you with me. But just this once." Elijah gave her a frown and she shrugged. "Don't look at me like that," she said. "I have a feeling you would get just as upset as him if I didn't react the same way when you were upset. Just keep that in mind."

"Just don't give him too many sweets," Elijah said. "It's not good for him."

"Oh, all right," Selina heaved an exaggerated sigh. "I guess I can taste test everything myself. And if Abby asks about you, what should I say?"

"Tell her to go find a boy her own age," Elijah said without looking up.

"You really are a hypocrite, you know. She's just a girl."

Now, Elijah did look up. "I can't believe you're encouraging this. I would have thought you'd have snapped her neck out of jealousy by now."

Selina's eyes widened. "I can't believe you'd want a girl dead just because she has a crush on you!"

Elijah shook his head. "It's not that. Of course it's not that. I just...I just wish you'd stand up for us, you know? You're so blase about this whole thing that it just seems like I don't mean anything to you."

"Well, that's just ridiculous!" Selina said. "You know that's not true. And what would you have me do? Beat her over the head? Kill her? Get in a huge cat fight with her where she proclaims 'If I can't have him then nobody can'? And then I say something equally silly? Not to make light of your feelings, but..." She paused. "You can't blame me for not having a super emotional, passionate response. We're too comfortable for that. I love you, you love me. It's not like I have to worry about your eye wandering or anything. That's the sort of thing that provokes passionate, emotional responses, which I think are unhealthy and stupid." She shifted Gregory a little. "Now if you'll excuse me, Gregory and I are going off to work."

She left Elijah alone to ponder what she'd said, hoping that it would assure him that he had nothing more to worry about. She went to the bakery for a few hours and then came back. She found a note from Elijah in the kitchen that said he was in his office, reading.

Throwing the note in the trash, Selina put Gregory in his room and decided to reach into her purse and take out the book. She looked it over and turned it around in her hands, scoffing. "Still crap," she said. "But I'm not in the mood to read anything that will tax my brain too much, so I might as well start it." She curled up in her own chair, her feet dangling over the arm rest. She opened the book and began reading. She was absorbed in it enough that she didn't hear Elijah come in to the living room.

"You're back!" He said in surprise. "I didn't hear you come in."

Selina quickly shut the book and tried to put it somewhere in the chair where Elijah wouldn't see it. "Of course you didn't," she said. "You were in your office reading. I wasn't expecting a welcome or anything."

"Are you reading?" He asked.

Selina nodded. "Yeah. Just something I found somewhere. It's not even that good."

"It must be," Elijah said. "You started pretty badly when I spoke to you. I don't even think you heard me come in."

"No, it's not," Selina said. "In fact, I think I'll stop reading it right now and throw it away."

"Don't be silly," Elijah said. "I'm interested to find out what sort of book would have you so absorbed. Come into my office and read with me."

"Oh, no thanks," Selina told him, shifting a little as the book rolled around underneath her. "That's really not necessary. Your office is your special space and I don't need to be in there unless you and I are having sex."

"Are you all right?" Elijah asked her, coming closer to the chair. "You seem nervous."

"No," Selina shook her head. "I'm not nervous. What reason would I have to be nervous?"

Elijah shrugged. "I don't know. I think only you can answer that." He kept staring at her and Selina finally decided that the only thing that would make him go away was if she told him the truth. "Here it is," she said, pulling the book out from underneath her. "Here's the book I'm reading, if you're so interested."

Elijah took the book away from her and frowned. "Why are you reading this? It's trash."

Selina sighed. "I know, but I thought I'd try something a little different to read, you know? Something off my beaten path. Something that just...that's like the book equivalent of candy."

Elijah's eyes widened. "There you go again!" He said. "Talking about change and doing things that are out of the ordinary. Am I a part of this? Am I boring you?"

"No!" Selina said. "Of course not. For god's sake, Elijah. It's just a book. And you were the one who wanted to see it. I didn't pull it out and wave it gleefully in front of your face."

"So you were going to hide it from me?" He asked. "You were just going to keep reading it and not say a word about it to me? Do you think so little of me that you no longer have to be honest? Selina, I would never lie to you and I would hope that as my wife, you'd extend me the same courtesy, but obviously not."

Selina narrowed her eyes. "Of course I would be honest with you, if it was over something that mattered, but you know what? This doesn't. You shouldn't be throwing a tantrum about the things I read. They shouldn't concern you. If I want to read a schmultzy, stupid romance novel, then damn it, I will read a schmultzy stupid romance novel, and there's nothing you can do about it!"

"Well, fine!" Elijah shouted after her as she strode out of the living room. "You enjoy whatever sexual satisfaction you get from reading that book because you certainly won't be getting any from me!"

Selina turned, a grin on her lips. "Oh, please," she said. "I bet you I can outlast you on that."

But despite her bravado, as one day became several days, she decided that it was time to bring them both back to their senses. They weren't even speaking except for "Would you like some coffee?" and "No, thank you," at breakfast, and Selina had a feeling that even Gregory was beginning to notice.

"I know how to fix this," Selina said to Gregory while she mixed up cupcake batter at the bakery. She was relieved that the grand opening was a week away. It gave her an excuse not to be at home. At least here, she had people to talk to. She handed Gregory an egg. "Would you break this for me, please?"

Gregory looked at it for a moment, then dropped it on the floor, where it cracked and yolk seeped out onto the tile.

"That's a good try," Selina said to him. "But next time, do it over the bowl, okay?" She ruffled his hair and got another egg, tapping it twice on the edge of the mixing bowl and dumping the yolk inside. "Like that. See?"

Gregory nodded as if he understood. Selina continued pouring ingredients into the mixing bowl and as she put a batch of cupcakes into the oven, she heard a knock on the kitchen door. "Come in," she said.

"Hi," Abby said, but didn't come any farther than just inside the doorway. "I know it's probably none of my business, but why hasn't your husband come around lately?"

"Oh, we're fighting at the moment," Selina said. "The only time we talk is at breakfast, and even then, it's only a sentence or two."

"Well, that's a shame," Abby said. "I'm sorry." But her eyes were twinkling.

"If you're thinking what I think you're thinking, I'd advise against it," Selina said. "My husband is a bit advanced for an inexperienced girl like you. Have you ever even had a boyfriend?"

Abby shook her head. "Not in real life, no. But sometimes, I read novels and pretend that the men in the books are my boyfriends. Is that weird? It's weird, isn't it?"

Selina shrugged. "Whatever floats your boat. I'm not gonna judge."

They stood in silence for a moment before Abby finally said, "Anything that needs to be put in the display case?"

Selina nodded at a cake that had just finished cooling. "Go ask your grandmother if she would put that out."

"Oh, I could do it!" Abby said eagerly. "I won't drop another one, I promise."

"Well, all right," Selina said. "But I think it would be best if you and your grandmother carried the cake out together."

Abby nodded and disappeared.

"Cuh-Cay!" Gregory said.

"What?" Selina asked.

"Cuh-Cay!" Gregory repeated. He pointed at a batch of cupcakes that were cooling. Selina took one out and broke off a piece, handing it to him. "Be careful," she said. "It might be a little hot still."

But Gregory had consumed the whole piece before she'd finished speaking. "Well, I guess you like that," she said. "Let's get you a little more." She handed him another piece and then continued talking about the same thing she'd been talking about before Abby had interrupted them.

"The way to make things better with your daddy is to take him away somewhere, where the two of us can talk alone. Maybe a tropical island or something, where he can't escape. Like Hawaii, or Tahiti. You know, I've not been to either of those places," she said to Gregory. "I mean, I thought about going to Hawaii a couple of times. The first was when I was dating this military guy in the early '40s. He wanted me to come and visit him. But wouldn't you know it, just the day before my boat took off, Pearl Harbor was bombed by the Japanese and that wouldn't have been such a merry vacation, now would it? And then, I thought about going again after it became a state in '59, but then everyone and his brother wanted to go and it was impossible to get a flight, so I just let it go and in time, I forgot." She sighed and picked him up. "Let's go get some tickets to Hawaii, for me and your daddy. What do you say?"

When they got home with the tickets, Selina put Gregory in his room, but didn't see Elijah anywhere. She was relieved. It would be easier to put the tickets where she wanted to put them if he wasn't around. She walked to their bedroom and slowly opened the door, praying that the hinges wouldn't squeak. She looked inside and didn't see Elijah anywhere. She breathed a sigh of relief and gripped the tickets tighter as she tiptoed around to Elijah's side of the bed to place them on his bedside table. But as she was setting them down, she heard an exclamation. "Here you are! Now what are you doing?" She started, dropping the tickets as Elijah sped behind her. "I got something for you," she said finally. For us."

Elijah's lip curled. "And who exactly are you referring to when you say 'us'? It can't be me, since you find me boring and lacking in several areas, so us must refer to you and your secret lover!"

"What secret lover?" Selina asked. "Have you completely lost your mind? I don't have any secret lovers!"

"Of course you do!" Elijah said. "Because that's what you do when you get bored with someone. You just dump them for someone else without so much as a word. Or do you not remember how you and I came together?"

"That is completely different than this!" Selina said. "You can't compare what happened with you and me and Nicky to what is going on here, because what is going on here is all in your head!"

Elijah slowly picked the tickets up off the bedroom floor and looked them over. "Hawaii," he said. "How nice. You and the mystery man eating pineapple on the beach, going swimming in the surf under the moonlight, maybe seeing a volcano?"

"Yeah," Selina said. "That's what I was kind of hoping we would do."

Elijah let out a growl and snatched the tickets out of the envelope and ripped them to little tiny pieces, letting them float to the ground while Selina let out a shriek. "What the hell did you do that for? Now the whole thing is totally ruined!"

"Well, good!" Elijah told her. "Now you can stay home and think about the hurt you're causing me!"

"Oh, yes!" Selina said. "It's all about you, isn't it?! Well, I'm sorry. But you have just ruined what would have been a very good time for both of us and I have to leave so I don't end up doing something in anger that I know I'll regret later when you're not acting like a total ass!" She stomped out of the room, got in her car, and headed for Enid's.

"Well, someone looks angry," Roxie said as her mother stormed into the bar. "What happened?"

"None of your business," Selina said. "Just take out whatever's closest and start pouring."

"Vince told everyone not to let me have access to any alcohol whatsoever when I'm here by myself," Roxie said. "So you won't be able to drink this problem away. You're gonna have to talk about it."

Selina looked at Roxie and scoffed. "If I told you, I doubt you'd care. So let's just find someone who can handle alcohol and they can pour me a double scotch."

"A double scotch?" Enid said in surprise. "You never have anything that strong. What's happened?"

Selina sighed. "Me and my husband are having a fight because he caught me reading a sappy romance novel and now he thinks I'm cheating on him, which is totally not true."

"It better not be," Enid said to her. "It really makes me angry to watch women throw away perfectly lovely relationships just because of one little problem. Not everyone is lucky to have even one boyfriend, so you shouldn't just go around throwing them away cause you think there'll be other better ones."

"Enid's been a bit lonely lately," Roxie said. "That's why she's in a mood."

"I used to be in charge of fertility and marriage, you know, back when my father and sisters and I were gods for that pagan tribe in Cornwall years and years ago. It was my job to make sure people got together and had babies and I guess old habits die hard."

"You want to meet someone?" Selina asked.

Enid nodded. "Of course. But there are so few nice guys out there today. They must all be hidden away somewhere."

"This might not make you happy right away, but my parents split up recently, my mom got together with my father -in-law, and I assume my daddy is still by himself. He's nice. You'd like him."

"I know your father's not a werewolf. You got that from your mother," Enid said. "So your daddy is-?"

"A vampire," Selina finished. "There's no problem with that, is there?"

Enid shook her head. "He could be a three-headed martian as long as he's nice. I'll give him a shot. But before we go any further, what are you planning to do about your husband? How are you planning to fix things between the two of you?"

Selina shrugged. "I don't know. But why is it me who has to fix things? Why can't he put in a little effort?"

"Because he's a man," Enid said. "Sometimes they won't see reason unless you beat them over the head with it or yell it all the top of your lungs."

"You know," Selina said, "There's that empty billboard down the road from here. I might be able to do something with that..."

Feeling very tense, Elijah sat down in his chair and tried to relax. He'd never tell Selina, but it was hard taking care of Gregory, much harder than he realized. As much as he loved Gregory, he hoped Selina would stop acting like a child soon and come home so she could take care of him. Rubbing his temples, Elijah sat down and turned on the television to take in the news. The first story caught his eye and made him be overcome with worry. It was, "Woman Stranded on Billboard." And, as it turned out, it was Selina who was dangling from the billboard where she'd written a message proclaiming her love for him that was very hard to miss. Elijah threw down the remote, grabbed Gregory, and after dropping him off at Elissavetta's, drove downtown to where the billboard was. He was stopped by a police officer as he tried to reach Selina.

"No, it's all right," he said. "I'm her husband. If you let me through, I'll climb up and coax her down. She really doesn't like heights."

"You're Elijah?" The police officer asked him. "You are one lucky man, you know that?"

Elijah nodded. "Yes, I do," he said thoughtfully. "Yes, I do know that. Now."

"Well, all right," the police officer nodded. "Go on through." Elijah eased his way through the crowd of excited onlookers, medical personnel, firemen and other police officers until he was finally standing right in front of the billboard from where Selina was perilously hanging. "Help!" she cried. "Somebody help me, please!"

"Just try to stay calm!" Elijah called back. "I'm here and I'll get you down! Just take some deep breaths and close your eyes if you need to." He then turned and said to the head police officer, "I can deal with this. Everyone else can go back to their work now. Thank you so much for your concern."

"Are you sure?" The officer asked. "How are you planning on getting up to rescue her?"

"Well, don't things like this have ladders?" Elijah asked. "I'll just climb the ladder."

It took awhile, but eventually, he managed to get everyone to leave. Then, he leaped onto the billboard and looked down at Selina. "Give me your hand, darling," he said. "I'll get you off the rope."

"No," Selina shook her head. "I can't let go. I just can't."

Elijah held out his hand. "Trust me," he said. "I promise I won't let you fall."

Finally, Selina took a deep breath, let go of the rope with one hand, and grabbed Elijah's. "I've got you," he said. "I've got you." He put his arms around her, and although one of her hands was still firmly clutching the rope she'd been hanging from, she seemed to have loosened up a little.

"Now do you think you can let go of the rope with your other hand?" He asked her. "We won't be able to get down from here until you let go."

With a squeak, Selina let go of the rope and Elijah pulled her to himself, holding her tightly as they stood on the billboard ledge. Selina was breathing hard and in tears.

"What would make you do something like this?" Elijah asked her. "I mean, I appreciate it, but I've never seen you look so scared!"

Selina put her cheek on his shoulder. "I just wanted to let you know that there was no one I loved more than you," she said. "And I figured it would take a pretty big gesture to make you realize I didn't have any imaginary lovers or anything."

Elijah nodded. "Well, about that...I'm sorry. I should have believed you, but I didn't, because I love you too and was scared to death of losing you. I was stupid."

"Yes, you were," Selina said. "And I accept your apology." She paused. "And if I ever mention anything about the two of us needing more excitement, remind me of this moment and I'll take it back immediately." Then she looked up at him. "Can we get down now, please?"

By the time they were back on the ground, Selina had calmed down. "Are you all right now?" Elijah asked.

"I will be," she nodded. "Just a minute." He let her go and she went to throw up in a nearby bush, then came back. "I'm all right now," she said.

"Are you certain?" He asked. She nodded and they got in his car and drove in the direction of home.

"So where's Gregory?" Selina asked. "Your mother's?"

Elijah nodded. "I can do a lot of things, but watching him and saving you at the same time isn't one of them. What happened back there? Why did you throw up in that bush?"

"Oh, I don't know," Selina shrugged. "Dizziness, vertigo, fear, who knows? But the important thing is, I'm better now."

They drove along for awhile, and then Elijah felt Selina slowly bringing her hand up his thigh. "Pull over on the shoulder," she said. "I want to thank you for rescuing me."

"Now?" Elijah asked. "In the car?"

She nodded. "Yeah. And if anyone comes to hassle us, we can make them go away!"

"We're almost home," he said. "Can't you wait? It will be much more comfortable."

"No," Selina said. "I can't." She reached over and gave the wheel a turn, sending the car spinning into the grass until it came to a sudden halt. "That's better," she said. "Now let's go to the back seat."

"You aren't going to give up on this, are you?" He asked.

She shook her head and they both climbed into the backseat and made out for awhile. When they were finished, their clothes were askew, but on. Elijah started the car again and drove the rest of the way home, where they stripped off their clothes in the doorway and spent the rest of the night making love on the living room floor.

The next morning, Elijah woke up to the sound of a scream and a thud. He saw that he was alone in the living room. He put his shorts on and checked the rooms near the living room for the source of the noise. When he opened the bathroom door, he felt himself go cold. Selina was sprawled seemingly unconscious on the bathroom floor. He got down on his knees and lightly slapped her cheeks.

"Wake up!" he said. "Please wake up!"

Selina's eyes slowly opened. "What happened?" She asked. "Why am I on the floor?"

"I don't know," Elijah said. "I was hoping you could tell me that."