Holly turned on the lights and held the door for Josh to come in. The heat hit them like a tidal wave. Holly took her jacket off and opened a window.

"You know, I had half a mind to jump out of the car right there and then. I thought you had some nerve, coming over to my house at this time of night."

She threw her purse on the kitchen table and turned towards Josh, who was still standing in the doorway.

"Then I remembered. Reva used to live here. This used to be her house."

Josh cleared his throat. "Yeah…I just wanted to drive past it actually. I do that sometimes. I didn't mean to bother you, but seeing you at Towers made me think of the place."

He stopped and looked around. Holly gave him some time to take it in and started rummaging through the cupboard. Digging out a bottle of red wine, she asked softly, "I bet you need a drink. Is this strong enough for you?"

Josh smiled. "It's perfect, but I really don't want to intrude."

"It's no problem at all. You can look around if you want, but I'm afraid a lot of things have changed."

After a small tour, Josh joined her and sat on the sofa. As she poured the wine, Josh studied her face and mentally compared her to Reva - as he did with every woman. They were certainly different, although both were very attractive in their own way. Just like his wife, Holly had had her share of lovers in this town. But while Reva was impulsive and fiery, Holly was cool and mysterious.

He had to admit he always felt a little uncomfortable around her. Reva and he came from the same world, but Holly had always moved in other circles. Most of all, her connection with Roger made it impossible for them to really become friends. What did she see in that creep anyway?

As if reading his mind, Holly broke the silence. "It must be hard for you to be back here, without Reva. Everyone always talked about the great love that you two had. It reminds me of…well never mind."

"Reminds you of what?"

Holly sighed then looked him in the eyes as if to defy him. "Of my own story. With Roger".

Josh almost choked on his drink. "Come on Holly, you can't seriously compare what Reva and I had to what you went through with Roger!"

Holly stood up straighter. "Why not? We have a child together. And our relationship was rather…explosive. Just like you and Reva."

"Still, even if Reva and I had our ups and downs, there was never any violence between us".

"Are you going to tell me that Reva never tried to hurt you on purpose, to get back at you? Because I heard differently," Holly replied curtly.

Josh's temper started to rise. "He cheated on you so many times. He tried to kidnap your child".

"She married your brother, THEN your father. Just to spite you". Holly promptly retorted.

"He forced himself on you!"

Holly swallowed hard. After a pause, she replied bitterly. "I know…No one is going to let me forget it."

Josh's anger left him as he saw sadness creeping onto her face. "I am sorry, Holly. I shouldn't have said that."

Holly got up, refilling her drink as she paced across the living room.

"I know what everyone thinks. They think I am crazy for even speaking to him."

She downed her drink as if to get the strength to go on. "It's so easy to judge from the outside. We should know better but we all do it anyway. Regardless of everything that Roger did to me, he is still the first love of my life. The first man I ever made love with. The first man I seduced." she said as she let out a little laugh.

"I was crazy about him. I couldn't stay away. As for the…rape, well, we dealt with that in our own way. People don't know what went on between us since we came back to town, how much we tried to come to terms with what happened. It took fifteen years, but I know now for a fact that Roger would never hurt me, or anyone else in that way. It's not in him anymore. And I forgive him. I know most people would say I'm crazy for even being in the same room with him but believe me, forgiveness feels much better than hate."

Josh slowly got up. She looked so vulnerable, he thought as he approached her.

"You're right. Only you know the whole story. Don't be too hard on other people though. Some are judgmental, but most of them just don't want to see you hurt again."

"Well, to be fair, Roger and I didn't have the most blissful of marriages." They both cracked up, relieved that the tension was gone.

"I'll admit the same."

Holly became serious again. "I think what really made it impossible for our marriage to work out was Roger's monstrous ambition. He used to think that everything was his due. Money, women. He won't use violence to get it anymore, but he still can't commit to a serious relationship. As soon as the thrill is gone, so is he."

They went back to the sofa. Josh emptied the bottle in their glasses. "This is good stuff! Let's make a toast. To crazy relationships."

"Yes. They make us who we are."

They switched to small talk while finishing off their drinks. While Josh talked about his stay in Italy, it was Holly's turn to subtly analyze him. She noticed the way his shirt clung slightly to his chest because of the heat. He certainly was handsome, although in a totally different way than Roger. The Lewises always were the good guys.

Josh finally stood up to leave. "If you don't mind, I think I should call a cab. I might have had a little bit too much to drink."

Holly rose too. As she did, a strap from her dress slid of her shoulder. "Alright" she said in her alto voice. She caught him staring at her naked shoulder.

He cleared his throat and picked up the phone on the coffee table. As he did, everything went black.

Holly tried the light switch once more. "First the air conditioning, then the car, now this…"

Josh put the phone back on the receiver. "Don't kill the messenger, but the phone's dead too."

"What?"

"Looks like there is a problem with both the electric lines and the phone lines. You want me to take a look?"

"If you are as drunk as I am, you wouldn't know a cat from a donkey in your condition."

Josh took her hand in his so that she wound not bump on any furniture. "Come on; let's just take a look outside. I can't go anywhere until I sober up anyway, and since I can't call a cab, we might as well go for a little walk."

Holly said nothing but didn't try to take her hand away as he led her outside. In fact, she mused, it felt rather nice.

It did not take them long to figure out what had happened. Just around the bend on the road, a huge tree had fallen on the lines, cutting both the power and the phone. After assessing the damage, they slowly walked back to the house, fanning with Josh's jacket. Once inside, Holly fumbled around, looking for candles. She lit a couple and brought them in the living room.

They faced each other awkwardly. They both felt that something was happening but did not dare to act on it. Their attraction was so sudden, so unexpected. And yet, so real.

Holly lifted her hair to cool herself, looking away and Josh noticed how the candlelight made her face even softer. Before he could stop himself, he closed the distance between them and touched her hair.

"Funny…I always had a thing for blondes, but redheads seem terribly attractive all of a sudden" he said with a husky voice.

He then pulled her to him, and when he saw that she did not push him away, he kissed her. Holly's mind was racing. What about Roger? She then reflected that he was probably in bed with Jenna at this very moment. She looked up to see Josh looking at her expectantly. She smiled as he crushed her against him and they both fell on the couch.

"Oh my…" was her last coherent thought.

Roger woke up and sat bolt upright in his bed. Something was wrong. Very wrong.

"What is it, Darling?" Jenna asked, half-asleep.

His throat was tight and he felt like someone had been sitting on his chest. "I must have had a nightmare". But he knew it was more than that. He felt like he had just received a terrible blow. What was going on?

He did not sleep again that night.