The Things We Do for Love

Angie swallowed. "Its hard," she admitted. "I try to study and make notes. "

"A job cant be enough. "

Angie wished she could argue with the veracity of the statement, but shed learned the truth of it long ago, when shed loved her job and longed for a baby. "No. "

"Maybe its time to reach out to someone else in need. "

Angie thought about that. The first image that popped into her mind was of the teenager shed seen in the Safe-way parking lot. Angie had been helped by helping the girl. That night, shed slept through until morning.

Maybe that was the answer. Helping someone else.

She felt herself start to smile. "My Mondays are free. "

Mira smiled back. "And most of your mornings. "

FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER, LAUREN WOKE UP FEELING completely safe. Davids arms were around her, holding her close, even in sleep.

She reveled in the feel of it, smiling, imagining a married life that would always be this way.

She lay there a long time, watching him sleep. Finally, she eased away from him and rolled out of bed. Shed make him breakfast and serve it to him in bed.

At his chest of drawers, she paused and opened the top drawer. Finding a long T-shirt, she put it on and went downstairs.

The kitchen was amazing--all granite and stainless steel and mirrored surfaces. The pots and pans shone silver in the light. She scouted through the cupboards and the refrigerator, finding everything she needed to make scrambled eggs, bacon, and pancakes. When breakfast was ready, she put it all on a beautiful wooden tray and carried it upstairs.

She found David sitting up in bed, yawning. "There you are," he said, grinning at her entrance. "I was worried. . . . "

"Like Id ever leave you. " She crawled up into bed beside him and settled the tray between them.

"This looks great," he said, kissing her cheek.

As they ate breakfast, they talked about ordinary things: the upcoming SAT test, football, school gossip. David talked about the Porsche that he and his father were restoring. It was the only thing he and his dad did together, and so David obsessed about the car. He loved the hours they spent in the garage. In truth, he talked about it so often she hardly listened anymore. He launched into something about gear ratios and speed off the line, and she found her interest waning.

She glanced out the window. Sunlight flooded the glass, and suddenly she was thinking about California and their future. Shed lost track of how often shed organized her college brochures based on scholarship feasibility. By her calculations, her best shot at a full ride was at private colleges. Of these, her favorite was the University of Southern California. It combined world-class athletics with top-drawer academics.

Unfortunately, it was almost an eight-hour drive from Stanford.

Somehow she had to convince David to consider USC. The second alternative was for her to choose Santa Clara. But truthfully, shed had enough of Catholic school.

". . . totally tight. Perfect leather. Lauren? Are you listening?"

She turned to him. "Of course. You were talking about the gear ratio. "

He laughed. "Yeah, about an hour ago. I knew you werent listening. "

She felt her cheeks heat up. "Im sorry. I was thinking about college. "

He picked up the tray and put it on the oversized nightstand to his left. "Youre always worrying about the future. "

"And you never do. "

"It wont help. "

Before she could answer, he leaned over and kissed her. All thoughts of college and their uncertain future disappeared. She lost herself in his kiss, in his arms.

Hours later, when they finally pushed the blankets back and got out of bed, shed almost forgotten her worries.

"Lets go ice-skating over in Longview," he said, burrowing through his drawers for the shirt he wanted to wear.