"I can't believe how tiny he is!" said Lili as she gazed at Neil and Hope's newborn son, Rocky, in awe. Hope had given birth the previous day after many hours of labor, and Lili had come to the hospital to visit her friend and meet the newborn.

Hope chucked.

"Not that tiny. He's almost nine pounds."

"Well, it's all over with now, and he's beautiful!" Lili was surprised to feel a tiny tug at her heart. She'd never even considered wanting to have a baby at least until she'd finished college - not that there was a man in her life now, anyway - but she couldn't help thinking how nice it might be for just a few seconds.

"He's a miracle," Hope agreed, watching as her new son yawned and then settled back into sleep. "I never even realized it was possible to love someone this much!"

Lili smiled.

"Is Neil happy about it?"

"He's thrilled to have a son," Hope replied. "His parents have been so nice. His Mom offered to babysit any time we need her to."

"And what about your parents?"

Hope gave a heavy sigh.

"They still won't have anything to do with us. My Mom doesn't like it that he's named after Neil's favorite movie. She thinks he should have a Biblical name instead."

"His middle name is Benjamin," Lili pointed out.

Hope adjusted the baby's blanket.

"That's not good enough for my Mom."

"But won't they even come see you?" asked Lili.

Hope shook her head.

"My Mom said not until we're both in church and Neil has accepted Christ."

"But he's their grandson!"

Hope snorted.

"Doesn't matter to them."

Neil and Hope had married a month before, on Hope's eighteenth birthday. The ceremony had taken place in the back yard of Neil's parents' home. Hope's parents had refused to attend, but Faith had come and brought Grace along.

"They sure don't know what they're missing," Lili remarked.

"Maybe Rocky's better off without them."

"Maybe so," Lili agreed, after giving it some thought.


February 1984

Lili collected her lunch and then searched for an empty table in the student center at the community college she'd attended since the previous August. She found one and began to munch her hamburger, glancing around at nearby tables as she did so. She happened to see a dark-haired woman who she recognized from her Literature class sitting with a dark-haired man she'd never seen before. The woman smiled at her.

"Would you like to sit with us?"

"Sure." Lili gathered up her lunch and moved to the other table.

"I'm Lynda, and this is Jonathan," said the other woman.

"I'm Lili." She took another bite of her hamburger.

"Where are you from?" asked Lynda.

"Here," said Lili when she could speak again. "Where are you guys from?"

"I'm from Akron, and Jonathan's from Seattle," Lynda told her.

"Cool." Lili dipped a French fry in ketchup. "Are you married, then?"

Lynda tittered.

"Oh, no. My husband's name is Joe, and we have a two-year-old daughter, Sabrina."

Lili swallowed a bite of food.

"My best friend had a baby last September. Rocky. He's so cute!"

"What are you majoring in?" asked Jonathan.

"Computer Science. You?"

"I'm just going for a general A.A.," said Jonathan.

"He's really just here to pick up girls," said Lynda.

Jonathan grinned and elbowed her in the arm.

"Am not!"

"Oh yeah? What about Tracy?"

"She came on to me!"

"Yeah. Right." Lynda looked at Lili. "Do you have a boyfriend, Lili?"

"No. I did a couple of summers ago, but then he had to move away. I've only been on a few dates since then, nothing serious."

From that day on, Lil ate lunch with Lynda and Jonathan every day. One day, she found them sitting at a larger table with several other young men. The most animated of them was tall and had red hair.

"Lili, this is Robert, Troy, and Giles," said Lynda.

"Nice to meet you all," said Lili.

The redhead, Giles, grinned and shook her hand.

"Nice to meet you, too!"