Jennifer's Hart

"Fifteen years ago if anyone had tried telling me that one day I’d be sitting in a car outside of a rowdy public high school waiting to pick up a teenager of my own, I would have called them a liar and spit in their eye."

Jennifer Hart anxiously tapped the steering wheel with her nails and scanned the hordes of young people milling about in front of the school after last dismissal.

There were kids everywhere. They were on skateboards, roller blades, bikes, and scooters. They were planted on the steps and perched on the low cement wall that was meant to keep them off the lawn. However, at the time she could see several Frisbee games in progress- on the lawn. Kids ran past screaming, and walked past calling and laughing loudly. A couple sat on the stone steps kissing passionately, oblivious to all that was going on around them.

A motorcycle roared up to her driver’s side.

"Hey, Mrs. Hart!"

It was KB, a frequent guest at her home. She suspected that he had latent hoodlum tendencies.

"Hello, Thomas and how are you?" She smiled. He was at least polite.

"Fine, Mrs. Hart. Well, see you later."

He roared off, making the bike cop a small wheelie and belch smoke as he accelerated into traffic.

"J.J. where in the world are you?" She was anxious to get away from this noisy crowd. "There must be every color of hair in the spectrum out there." She thought, her attention temporarily drawn to the many assorted styles and hues.

This was a high school for gifted and talented students, so extreme creativity was to be expected and was obviously being actively encouraged.

Seconds later she spotted the familiar LA Dodgers baseball cap with the ponytail swinging out of the back.

Justine Jennifer Hart, better known as J.J., descended the school stairs with several boys orbiting around her. A short white tee shirt emblazoned with DKNY stretched across her bosom and reached just to the waistband of a pair of tight black jeans that hugged her narrow hips. She was tall and willowy with dancing blue eyes and a megawatt smile. She and the boys were engaged in an animated conversation, and J.J. was laughing and bantering back and forth easily with them.

Jennifer enjoyed observing her daughter from a distance; at those times that J.J. was not aware that she was being watched by her mother. At fifteen, she already had her father’s casual and sexy self-assuredness. Thankfully, J.J. didn’t seem interested in dating or in consciously attracting boys just yet.

Watching her, Jennifer was forced into a satisfied smile. The girl was coming into her own, and the aura of confidence she exuded made her physical appearance even more striking. She walked with her head high and her movements were sleek and smooth like a champion racehorse, that shiny auburn ponytail in constant movement. She possessed her mother’s good looks, and feminine charm, but her father’s rapier wit, nerve, and directness. An excellent student and athlete, she constantly made her mother proud, despite the fact that, like her father, she could be naughty and headstrong at times.

It was an extraordinary thing. Even after all of these years, it still felt a little strange to think of herself as someone’s mother. She had long ago accepted that it was not in her to be motherly- except when it came to her own child. It was if the powers that be had only given her enough of that particular juice for this particular child. But with J.J., it was pure and it was oh, so sweet.

Jennifer often mused since the night that her daughter was born, that if she had known that having Jonathan’s child would bring this much joy and satisfaction into her life, she would not have waited so long or been so hesitant to take on this particular adventure. The changes she’d been so afraid to make turned out to be changes that they both needed to make in their lives at the time that their daughter was born.

J.J. stuck her books through the open passenger side window handing them to her mother, and calling to the boys behind her,

"You can be that sucker’s bet if you want to! You’re just gonna to lose your money. They don’t stand a chance against LA!"

Jennifer shook her head thinking of a long departed friend, his bookmaking deals that originated in their kitchen, and his ever- present cigar.

Max, you would deeply love this girl!

"We’ll just see, J! Hey, Mrs. Hart!" Came the calls and waves from the boys. "Bye, J.J.! Nice to see you Mrs. Hart!"

J.J. opened the door and slid onto the passenger seat of the black Mercedes. She took her books back from her mother and kissed her cheek.

"What’s shaking, Mother Dear?" She grinned at Jennifer, crinkling her nose.

Jennifer, herself, deeply loved this girl.

"Hello J.J." She smiled, marveling at that precious face that belied the rough vocabulary. "Honey, I don’t think it’s very ladylike to use the term ‘sucker’ out loud like that, and you’re not taking sports bets at school again, are you?" Jennifer started the car. "I thought Marnie was coming home with you."

Marnie was J.J.’s best friend and an almost constant companion.

"First of all, ‘sucker’ was the most accurate description of his silly wager, and no, Mom, I’m not taking bets. Daddy said not to do it on school property any more." J.J. answered sweetly, then quickly adding, "He said to take them at the coffee shop across the street."

She winked at her mother and grinned mischievously.

"And as for Marnie, she came to my Humanities classroom to tell me that she was staying after for tutoring or something. She said that she would get a ride to our house after school in time for her mother to pick her up at 5:30."

A red flag immediately went up in Jennifer’s mind. "But I thought that the last thing, last night she called you to say that she was riding home with you after school to study with you. When did this tutoring thing come up? J.J, you know I don’t like it when you girls switch up on me at the last minute."

J.J. took off her cap, and removed the band that held her ponytail. She shook her hair loose. It was long, thick and wavy. She was anticipating the ride home, and she liked to feel the wind blow through her hair.

"I didn’t switch up, Mom." She stated. "I’m in the car with you."

J.J. did know.

She was very aware, that in their past, her parents led a rather precarious life with several close calls, kidnappings and near death experiences. Now, they were always careful to stay in contact and to keep each other notified when their plans changed. All of her life, it had been impressed upon J.J. that she was to make no moves or alter any plans without notifying her parents or Marie, their housekeeper. A charged cell phone was her constant companion.

"All I know, Mom, is that Humanities is my next to last class. She met me at the door of the classroom right after that class and said that she was staying. I’m pretty sure that she said for math tutoring."

"With whom?" Jennifer asked, reaching for the phone in the dashboard of the car.

"I guess with Mr. Morrisett. That’s who we have for math."

"Did she call her mother and let her know?" Jennifer asked pushing the buttons on the phone. She hated when one of these girls did this to her.

"I don’t know. She didn’t say."

J.J. scanned the crowd as her mother punched in the numbers on the phone, hoping that Marnie had changed her mind. Jennifer Hart was going to wring her neck when she did catch up to her. J.J. hoped that Marnie would realize that in time to make it to the car.

Jennifer let the phone ring, and when the answering machine picked up, she left a message for Marnie’s mother detailing what J.J. told her about Marnie’s change of plans.

J.J. was out on the patio with a Coke, absorbed in her homework. As if he were assisting her, Third, her shaggy little dog, sat in the other patio chair. Third was actually Freeway the Third. Freeway II and I had been Jennifer’s dogs, but Third clearly belonged to J.J. Jennifer could see them both from where she sat at the kitchen table with her laptop attempting to edit and sort some story notes for a new article that she was writing, anxious for Marnie to arrive. The waiting was getting on her nerves and her neck was beginning to stiffen.

"Jennifer, J.J.!" Came the familiar call from the front of the house.

The heavy front door closed shut, and she got up to greet Jonathan. He was setting his briefcase down as she entered the foyer. He stood upright just as she approached.

After all this time, they still delighted in the sight of each other after having been apart, even for short periods of time. He reached for her and pulled her to him. She still loved the smell of him, the feel of him. He kissed her deeply, and when their lips parted, she lay her head on his shoulder.

"Hello, darling. It’s good to have you home." She felt his hand move into her hair. He still loved putting his hands in her hair. He loved smelling her hair.

"It’s always a treat to come home to you." He said into her ear, kissing it lightly.

They released each other, and she took him by the hand.

"Come in here with me." She said leading him to the couch.

"Ooh", he grinned. "The couch? It’s been a while since the couch!"

"No, silly!" She laughed pulling his hand away from the buttons on her blouse. "I just need you to rub this knot out of my neck."

She sat down pulling him down next to her. Turning her back to him, she pulled her hair around, exposing her neck.

"Right here." She said, indicating the spot with her fingers.

"Right here?" He asked, kissing the spot softly. She could feel the familiar heat rising.

How did he do that with just one kiss in that one place?

"Jonathan! Be serious! I’ve got a kink! Please rub my neck."

He continued to nuzzle her neck.

"I’ve got a kink of my own. What are you going to do for me?"

"You’re horrible!" She exclaimed, enjoying the sensations that the vibration of his voice was sending through her. "But please rub my neck. There’s a tension knot in it."

He discontinued his kisses.

"O.k., o.k. But I think my way would have relieved your tension much faster and much, much better." He began to rub her neck. "What are you so tense about? J.J. making book in the lunchroom at school again?"

The mention of his only child- and partner in crime- as far as Jennifer was concerned, widened his smile and brought a twinkle into his eyes.

"No, but she did mention your suggestion about the best location to set up shop again. Jonathan, how is it that she knows how to do that kind of stuff?"

She moved her head to the movement of his hands. "You and J.J. are not any good together. I was teaching her to read stories and I find out you were teaching her to read racing forms and then-"

"Jennifer, she does have a race horse!" He cut in.

"Only because you bought it for her- as a visual aid for when she reads the racing forms! Honestly Jonathan, J.J. would be doing time in Juvenile Hall right now if it weren’t for me!"

She moved back a little to allow him to get to more of her neck.

" I’m tense because of Marnie."

"J.J.’s friend, Marnie?"

"Yes," His hands felt sooooo good. "I was supposed to pick both of them up from school today, but J.J. said that at the last minute Marnie told her that she was staying after for tutoring. She said that she’d get a ride here in time for her mother to pick her up. I don’t like it. It sounds like she’s slipping around to me. Oh yeah, darling, right there."

"Sounds like you’re familiar with the old slipping around routine."

She could feel his mischievous grin.

"I was a teenage girl once.’ She admitted. "I was able to commit a transgression or two in my day while slipping around. I know how it works and what stories are told." Jonathan was reallllly good with his hands. "She hasn’t gotten here yet. You know how I hate last minute changes like that with them. You can stop now. I think you got it."

He stopped rubbing her neck, but his hands were now gently massaging her shoulders. She felt herself relaxing into him. He was so smooth with his moves, and she knew that she was powerless against them.

"Where’s J.J. now?" He asked in her ear.

His voice was husky and sent a shiver down her back. He knew what it did to her when he talked near her ear like that.

"She’s on the patio with Third doing her homework. Marie’s downstairs with the laundry…"

She felt his hands move down to her buttons again. He undid the first two and slid his hand inside as his lips were now nuzzling her ear.

The gate buzzer sounded.

"Damn!" They thought in unison, getting up to answer the call.

"Hart residence" Jonathan announced into the speaker.

"It’s me, Mr. Hart." Said a small voice. "It’s Marnie. I’m supposed to get picked up by my mother here at your house at 5:30."

Jennifer looked at her watch. It was now 5:20.

"Marnie, is your ride still there or will you need a ride up to the house?"

They could see Marnie on the monitor, but not a car.

"Mr. Hart, my ride pulled off already."

He buzzed the gates to allow her step inside. "Alright, I’ll be there in a second to get you. Stay put."

It was a quarter of a mile from the front gates to the main house, so unless you were driving in, it was a bit of a distance to walk up.

Jonathan handed Jennifer his suit coat, and grabbed his keys. "I’ll be right back."

J.J. entered the foyer carrying her books just as the door was closing behind him.

"Did Marnie get here yet?" she asked seeing her mother standing by the door.

"Yes. She just arrived. Your father has gone down to get her."

J.J. could hear the tension in Jennifer’s voice.

"Not a good sign." She thought to herself.

"I think I’ll just go on up to my room now." She said aloud.

As she eased up the stairs, she sent a psychic message to her friend at the gate.

"Marn, my mother can speak a bunch of different languages, and she can cut you to ribbons in each one of them. The worse thing you can do to Jennifer Hart is to not be where you are supposed to be. I shudder to think what she’s going to do to you in her mother tongue."

She closed her bedroom door behind her.

Jonathan was back with Marnie in minutes. Jennifer was now seated back on the couch facing the foyer in the great room. Her legs were crossed and she was leaned forward in what J.J. described as ‘interrogation mode’. Marnie came in carrying her books. She was a shorter girl than J.J., cute dimpled face, straight dark, bobbed hair, sharply dressed, and much more fully developed. She also looked scared.

Jonathan would not have mentioned anything to Marnie about her being upset on their way up to the house. He would have been his usual charming, affable self, leaving the dirty work to her. Why was this girl looking so frightened?

" Hi, Mrs. Hart. Where’s J.J.?"

Jennifer patted the place on the couch next to her. "Sit down, Marnie."

Jonathan’s footfalls could be heard going up the front staircase. Jennifer noted to herself that he would be in search of his daily tonic, J.J.

"Marnie, where were you? I thought you were coming home with J.J."

"I stayed after to get help from our math tutor."

Marnie would not meet Jennifer’s eyes. Mrs. Hart was very pretty, but her eyes could be scary, especially if she was upset. Marnie could tell from her tone that she was angry.

"When did you decide to stay? J.J. says that you didn’t tell her until almost the end of the day. Don’t you have to make arrangements for that kind of thing in advance?"

Marnie shifted position nervously. "I’m doing so poorly. I really needed to get some help. I’m going to fail, Mrs. Hart, if I don’t get my grades up."

She looked as if she wanted to cry.

Jennifer eased up.

"Marnie, I am only upset because I don’t like last minute changes with you girls. You know me well enough to know that. I have told you two that over and over again. Did you let your mother know that you were changing your plans? She thought you were going to be here with us from the time that school was over until 5:30."

"No, I didn’t think to call her."

"Marnie, what if something had happened to you? Your mother would have thought that you were here and you wouldn’t have been. Mr. Hart and I are responsible for you if this is where you’re supposed to be. Do you understand?"

"Yes Ma’am, I’m sorry."

Jennifer noticed that Marnie still would not look at her. Two red flags went up.

J.J.’s door was closed, so he knocked.

"Come on!" called the voice inside.

Jonathan opened it.

J.J. was lying back on the many pillows on her big bed with a book open on her lap, holding the headphones of the CD player away from her ears, and looking to see who was at the door. She put the headphones down, closed the book, and sat up when she saw it was her father.

"Hey Daddy! I thought you were Marnie."

He bent down, and she hugged his neck and kissed his cheek.

J.J. was his wonder. From the time he met her, he had always wanted a child with Jennifer. But fearing that their active lives would have to change too much, she resisted him for years. It was always been his unspoken belief that Jennifer’s reluctance to be a mother stemmed more from a fear of failure on her part.

No matter what, he had wanted to spend the rest his life with her, so he respected her wishes. Just when he had resigned himself to accepting that a child was not to be, there she was. As Max had left his life, J.J. glided in.

She was smart and she had savvy. He liked that. He couldn’t get enough of her. Any child that he and Jennifer had together, he knew would be special, and she was. He watched as Jennifer enhanced her intellect, and he cultivated her smarts. Even now, maternal was not an attribute easily associated with Jennifer, but she turned out to be an even better mother to this, his only child than even he believed she would be. And aside from life with Jennifer, being a father to this kid, was the most fun he had ever had.

The only regret that he he felt was that Max had not lived to see her, and that J.J. had not experienced the joy that was Max.

"Daddy, you know you still owe me 22.80 from the game last night. I haven’t forgotten."

"You aren’t going to give me a chance to get even or try to recoup my losses?"

"You’ll only end up owing me more. Marnie still downstairs getting the rubber hose from my mother?"

"Yes, she is. Why do you think I came straight up here with you? Your mother was waiting for her on the couch. I didn’t want to be witness to it."

Taking a seat in the overstuffed chair by the window, he picked up a deck of playing cards that lay on the side table and absently started shuffling them.

"Was my mother waiting for her in Interrogation Mode?"

He nodded. They both laughed.

"Listen, why didn’t you tell Marnie that she shouldn’t stay today? You know how upset your mother gets when you girls don’t stick to the set plan."

"I don’t know." J.J. shrugged. "I guess because she caught me at the last minute in the hall, I didn’t think about it." She crossed her legs under her.

Watching her, it amazed him how she and Jennifer could affect that Lotus position like that, with their long legs.

J.J. continued, "I’ve been trying to help her with her work, and that’s why she said she was coming here today. But Marnie wants me to do the work for her. She doesn’t even pay attention when I show her. I don’t think she really wants to learn how to do it herself. She doesn’t seem to care about school much these days."

"Well, if we follow your line of thinking, doesn’t it seem a little strange that she would stay after school with a teacher for tutoring?" Jonathan cocked his head giving J.J. time to process his query.

She was quiet for a moment. "Yeah, that is a little weird, now that you mention it. What else could she be doing?"

She and her father exchanged a knowing look.

"Yeah right, any number of things." J.J. said nodding with him.

"Is she having any problems, J.J. At home or something?"

"She hasn’t mentioned anything specifically. She’s always had to go back and forth between her parents. I don’t think she sees her father that much any more. Then she has all those step- parents. I think her mother and the last stepfather have broken up. She said that her mother had packed up all of his stuff and put it by the door. But, Marnie didn’t like him anyway. She doesn’t like her current stepmother either. Usually she doesn’t do her homework lately for any of the classes that I have with her. I know that she’s been signing the missing homework notices herself that the teachers send to her mother."

Jonathan put the cards down and rose from the chair.

"Well look, Marnie is your friend. Sounds like she’s going through a rough patch. You keep an eye out for her. That’s what good friends do."

He peeked out into the hallway. "I guess the coast is clear." He smiled back at her. "You want this door closed?"

"No, it’s alright. You can leave it open just in case there’s something left of Marnie to crawl up the stairs to me."

Jonathan was already lying on the bed reading a book when Jennifer came into the bedroom from the bathroom. She was rubbing the back of her neck as she sat on the bed next to him. He put the book on the night table and looked to her.

"Is your neck still bothering you? Want another rub?"

"Oh yes, if you don’t mind." She turned her back to him and lifted her hair.

He began to massage the spot.

"What’s wrong now?"

"Why does something have to be wrong?"

She began relaxing under his expert touch.

"I’m working on your neck again, aren’t I?"

"Mr. Hart, you know me only too well. I guess I’m still bothered about Marnie. I don’t think I got the whole story. It’s been on my mind all evening. This tutoring thing just doesn’t sit well with me. She wouldn’t look me in the eye, and she looked scared about something before she even realized that I was upset with her."

"She was rather quiet on the way up to the house." Jonathan mused. "You know, normally she’s a real chatterbox, especially with me. I don’t think she said a word after she said hello."

"Did you talk to J.J. about her when you slunk up the stairs like a coward to avoid the confrontation?"

Jennifer rolled her head in rhythm to the movement of his hands; her hair had fallen forward. She was unaware of the effect that her movements were having on him.

"I don’t slink and I’m no coward. I just decided to go up to see my daughter while you conducted the Grand Inquisition in the living room."

God, he loved this woman with this beautiful neck. He wasn’t going to be able to do this much longer without expanding his skills to the other areas of her lovely body.

"I spoke with J.J. about it briefly. She said that Marnie’s mother and stepfather might be breaking up. She mentioned, also that Marnie wasn’t doing very well in school these days, but that she thought Marnie wasn’t really trying. What did Marnie say?"

"Well, Marnie gave me that same song and dance about not doing well in school. She thinks she’s failing and says she needed the help. But Jonathan, the point of her coming home with J.J. today was for J.J. to help her with her work. And when her mother came for her, Marnie wouldn’t even let Maureen come in. It was as if she didn’t want me to talk to her. She just ran out and jumped into the car as soon as it pulled up to the door. I had already left a message on their answering machine earlier, so Maureen will know what happened today once she listens to it, anyway. "

Jonathan pushed the spaghetti straps of her silk nightgown down to work on her shoulders.

"J.J. did tell me that she felt that Marnie wanted her to do the work for her more than wanting to learn how to do it herself."

He leaned forward and began softly kissing her neck as he continued his efforts on her shoulders.

"Maybe Marnie could feel J.J. shutting down on her, so she went seeking help elsewhere." He said between the kisses, and becoming seriously aroused when he felt her begin to sag slightly against him. "You know, J.J. isn’t one to allow herself to be used by anybody."

"Mr. Hart, do you still have that kink?" Jennifer asked him seductively, contracting her shoulders and allowing the nightgown to fall to her waist. "You know, the one that you mentioned earlier?"

"As a matter of fact, I do, Mrs. Hart."

He slid his hands down her arms and around his lovely wife to hold her warm flesh in his hands and feeling her respond to his touch.

"Are you going to do something to help me with my kinks now?" He was whispering close to her ear again.

She leaned back into him allowing him full access to her body. He buried his face in her hair as it fell back around her neck.

"I’m only too happy to be of assistance." She purred. "I really don’t object to being used…by you."

Part II

J.J. slammed her locker shut and immediately came, face to face with KB. The letters ‘KB’ stood for ‘Kissing Bandit’. Her mother had given him that name after she had caught the two of them kissing in the gazebo when they were twelve. He was tall and pleasantly slim, clad in denim and heavy black riding boots. With curly black hair, and laughing blue eyes, he was growing into a handsome, young man. His real name was Tommy Steele. KB was the name that stuck. They had been friends for years.

J.J. jumped back startled. She slapped him on his arm.

"Boy! You scared me to death! What do you want?"

He leaned against the locker, smiling, with his arms folded.

"I was just wondering if you wanted to ride home with me on my bike?"

"I have track practice." She said leaning into the lockers, stretching her hamstrings. "And besides, you know I could sooner ride Jack the Ripper home piggyback before Jennifer Hart would let me ride home on the back of your motorcycle."

She knew that even though her mother liked him, she considered him a borderline thug, especially since he had started riding the motorcycle and wearing those steel toed boots. Her father on the other hand had taken to him. Tommy didn’t have a father. He spent a lot of time at the Harts and being with Jonathan. Her father was his mentor.

Tommy popped the gum he was chewing, and stuck his hands in the pockets of his jeans.

"I aint scared a’ Jennifer Hart." He stated with bravado.

His gaze lowered to admire J.J.’s long shapely legs as she stretched.

"A whole lot you’re not scared of Jennifer Hart. That’s why you ran like a little punk when she caught you kissing me in the gazebo, and that’s why you left me there to take the rap by myself. And quit looking at my butt."

"And a mighty fine butt it is." Assessed Tommy. "And that kissing thing was three years ago. How long am I going to have to live with that?"

"For the rest of your life, Mr. Kissing Bandit. I thought Marnie told me this morning that she was riding home with you on the bike?" J.J. peered over at him questioningly as she continued her warmup.

"She was supposed to, but right before last period she said she couldn’t go because she had some after school thing to do."

"Math tutoring?" J.J. asked.

She stopped and faced him, folding her arms.

"She didn’t say anything about tutoring. She just said some activity. I thought I saw her go into Mr. Morrisett’s room with his senior aide, that Craig guy, on my way down here, though. So it could be for tutoring." His voice turned to pleading. "Come on, J., call your father. He likes me. He’ll let you ride with me, and then he can let your mother know not to come get you after practice. You know I hate to ride by myself."

"What you hate." J.J. said looking him in the eye and poking her finger into his chest, "Is not feeling a girl’s tits on your back when you ride. And I am definitely not the one. See Ya!"

She pinched his cheek playfully and trotted off down the hall toward the field, her long ponytail bouncing behind her. He watched her as she moved away from him.

"That is one fine girl." He thought to himself. "And I, Thomas (KB.) Steele, kissed her first."

J.J. was distracted during track practice. Why was Marnie switching stories so much? When she thought more about it, she could recall several instances in the past few weeks that Marnie had not followed through on plans that had been made. She wasn’t been calling as frequently either, and had been hard to find at school.

J.J. and Marnie Benson had been friends since they were five. Marnie lived on Willow Pond Drive also, but several miles down from the Hart estate. Marnie’s parents were divorced and since that time each had remarried more than once. The girls visited back and forth until three years ago when Marnie’s mother, Maureen married her third husband.

Jennifer and J.J. drove down to pick up Marnie for a day of shopping. Marnie’s mother was out when they got there, but the new stepfather was there waiting with Marnie. He stared and made suggestive comments to Jennifer that unnerved her to the point that she had taken the girls and almost thrown them into the car to get out of there. J.J. saw how the man looked at her mother, and although she didn’t understood all that he had said to her at the time, she took note of her mother’s unusual reaction. After that, Marnie, as always, was welcome at the Hart home, but J.J. was no longer allowed to go Marnie’s to visit.

There were big differences between the two girls but through the years, they remained fast friends. Both were only children in their homes, although Marnie had step and half siblings. J.J. enjoyed people, but she did not always have to be surrounded by them. A very popular girl, she maintained a small circle of close friends that included Tommy, and Marnie, but she also liked having time to herself.

Marnie, on the other hand, craved social activity. She too, was popular and well liked, but she had always been a needy child. She liked to be noticed, going out of her way to get someone to pay attention to her. She was constantly inviting other girls to spend the night at her house.

She especially liked J.J.’s father. She chatted him up whenever she was over and he happened to be at home. J.J. was always willing to share her father with her friends. All the kids liked Mr. Hart. Jennifer Hart, on the other hand, was her mother, alone, and that was how J.J. liked it.

J.J. was focused and excelled in academics and athletics. Marnie had been a good student also until this year, the tenth grade. She always preferred mingling with friends outside of school to organized school activities. Lately she seemed to lack all interest in school and seemed to be drifting away from her friends.

"What after school activity could she be involved in?" J.J. wondered as she ran laps on the track.

Marnie never mentioned anything she was doing after school and she always told everything. Why did she say that she was riding home with Tommy only to turn around and tell Tommy that she had something else to do? What’s with the tutoring thing? Marnie didn’t even like math. And why did she seem to be avoiding her? Something was not right with this picture.

"Hey Hart! Hey, J.J.!" The coach’s voice broke into her thoughts. "You gonna hit the showers or are you gonna run till school opens again tomorrow?"

J.J. slowed and looked around. Everyone was walking across the field. She hadn’t even heard the whistle that signaled the end of practice.

She trotted off the track, grabbing the towel that Coach Rogers held out to her.

"I’m sorry." She said. "I’m a million miles away today."

"We need you here, J.J. You’re going to be one of my best runners and I need you to be focused."

Coach Rogers liked J.J. For a sophomore and a rich kid, she had a lot of moxie.

"Get some rest. Work out those issues you’re having, and come back ready on Monday."

"I will, I promise."

J.J. started for the locker room.

After showering and dressing, J.J. filled her gym bag and headed for the parking lot where she knew her mother would be waiting to take her home. The door was propped open and she could see the Mercedes. The top was down, and she could see her mother in the car talking on the phone. At that moment, J.J. decided to act on a hunch she’d had all during practice. Leaving her bag by the door, she quickly turned and ran back through the gym into the school building. Taking the back hall, she stealthily made her way to the math wing. There was nobody in the hall, no teachers and no kids. J.J. crept to the door of Mr. Morrisett’s room. The door was closed. She couldn’t see in through the small window because there was a math poster on the other side that covered it. She slowly tried the handle, careful not to make noise, the way her father had shown her during the lock-picking lesson. The latch wouldn’t turn. The door was locked. J.J. leaned in to see if she could hear anything. Nothing.

Feeling a bit relieved; she sighed and started back toward the stairs. She knew that her mother was not going to stay in that car if she took too much longer coming out of the building. And she definitely did not want Jennifer Hart having to come in looking for her.

Just as J.J. was passing the Coke machine in the hall, the door to Mr. Morrisett’s room opened. She hastily slid herself into the space between the wall and the machine and positioned herself to see.

It was Marnie. What was she still doing here this late? As Marnie passed her, J.J. could see that her face looked flushed. She appeared to be nervous, watching around herself and racing for the staircase.

J.J. waited until she heard Marnie go down the hall before she squeezed out of her hiding place. Just as she did, Mr. Morrisett’s aide stepped out of the classroom.

He was Craig Thorne, a senior who excelled in math and assisted Mr. Morrisett. He also tutored underclassmen. He was brilliant, and it was widely assumed that he would be the top recipient when senior academic scholarships were awarded later this year. He was also a fullback on the football team and a contender for an academic scholarship. Most girls considered him quite a hunk. To J.J., he just seemed full of himself.

Jamming her hand down into her pocket, she grabbed some change.

"Well hello, Miss J.J Hart. " Craig called condescendingly, when he spotted her. "What are you doing up here so late?"

He sauntered up to her smiling a plastic smile. She could feel his eyes on her, as he stood much too close. J.J. dropped the coins into the machine slowly and pushed the buttons casually.

"I had track practice, and thought I left a book I needed in my locker. I came up here to get it, but it wasn’t in there."

"J.J., you’re looking real good these days."

J.J. Hart was young, but she was a real looker, even if she was a bit standoffish.

"Is that official now that you’ve decreed it?" She asked , looking him eye to eye, raising her eyebrows slightly.

She’d seen him watching her during the days that he was working with Mr. Morrisett during her class session. He seemed disappointed that she didn’t request his assistance like the other girls. He had offered it, but she didn’t need the help.

His comment angered her, but she thought it best to remain more neutral since they were alone. The soda dropped down to the bottom of the chute.

"See you later. My mother’s waiting." She said before he had a chance to answer her.

She really did not like him. Why was he closed up in that room with her friend?

Strolling slowly toward the back hall, she popped the top of her Coke and took a long swallow, sure that his eyes were still on her. She gave him enough time to have something to look at.

He was watching. Why wouldn’t a girl like that not be interested in a guy like him? He just could not understand.

By this time, Jennifer had indeed gotten out of the car after sitting for what seemed like an unusually long time. Other girls on the track team had emerged from the gym and left already. She asked the last two if they’d seen J.J.

"Sure, she’s here, Mrs. Hart, but J.J. was the last one off the track. She should be out in a minute."

That was ten minutes ago.

She or Jonathan picked J.J. up and dropped her off wherever she went. Since her birth, J.J.’s security was their number one priority. Gone were the days of home invasions, them being kidnapped or taken hostage, having people drop dead around them, when they were so heavily into mystery and adventure. It was fun in the beginning, but after Max died, and with J.J. coming into their lives, that kind of craziness just could not be.

A feeling of serenity, peace, and fulfillment that neither of them knew that they wanted, and sorely needed, replaced the wildness of their earlier lives. They were careful to do all they could to keep J.J out of harm’s way. It wasn’t always so easy to keep harm out of J.J.’s way, so she bore watching in either case.

Checking her watch as she leaned against the car. "I’m going to give her just two more-

"Here I am, Mom!" J.J. called running out of the gym. "I’m sorry I took so long!"

The girl threw her bag into the back seat. Then she opened the front passenger door and threw herself in. Jennifer watched all of this activity with raised eyebrows. She got back behind the wheel and looked J.J. over.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes, Mom. I’m fine. I’m just tired."

She leaned over and kissed her mother’s cheek. Then she looked up at Jennifer. "Mom, why are some guys such jerks?"

"What brings this on?" Jennifer asked.

"Nothing really, just asking." She waved her hand, dismissing the thought.

Looking over at J.J., Jennifer could tell that something was definitely wrong, but her face was closed. J.J. tended to try to deal with her problems in her own way and in her own time. Jennifer started the car and resolved that if she were needed, she would be there when the call came.

III

"Did J.J. eat dinner?" Jonathan asked. He was sitting on his side of the bed playing with Third.

When he got home she was already in bed, and Third was curled up right outside of her door. When he knocked, there had been no answer.

"Is she feeling alright? I’ve never known her to go to bed so early."

Jennifer came in from the dressing room and sat down on her side of the bed, still brushing her hair.

"She came home from track practice and worked on her homework in her room. She said that she wasn’t hungry when I asked her about dinner. When I went in to check on her later, she had fallen asleep. She didn’t feel warm to me, so I don’t think she’s sick. She did say that she was tired on the way home in the car."

Telling him that J.J. seemed upset wouldn’t be wise. He would want to know all of the particulars and she didn’t have any yet.

"I missed my smile and my hug tonight." He frowned pensively scratching Third’s ears. "If it weren’t for this little fellow, I think I’d go into complete withdrawal."

She put her brush down and climbed into bed, pulling him down to her smiling she leaned over him, her hair falling onto his chest.

"I’ve got just the fix for you!"

She eased Jonathan’s arm from her side where he had protectively draped it while sleeping soundly behind her. She eased silently from the bed. Picking up her gown from where it lay next to the bed, she slipped it over her head. Wrapping her robe around her, she padded barefoot out into the hall, closing the bedroom door softly behind her.

Not bothering with the lights, she made her way down to J.J.’s room, and quietly opened her door. From the moonlight streaming through the windows, she could make out her slender form lying on her side facing away from the door. Third, the naughty rascal now lay curled at the foot of the bed, on top of her covers. She must have gotten up, let him in and gone back to bed, Jennifer surmised.

Thinking that her daughter was asleep, she started backing out.

"Mom."

"J.J?"

"Mom, come in. And close the door."

As if he could understand that Jennifer had been invited in, and that he wasn’t supposed to be on the bed, Third quickly jumped off and crept underneath.

J.J. sat up and turned on the bedside lamp as Jennifer closed the door and came to sit on the side of the bed. The soft light illuminated their faces. J.J. was a younger, blue eyed version of Jennifer, including the light freckles across the nose and cheeks. The picture of Jennifer’s late mother on J.J.’s night table reflected that Jennifer bore a striking resemblance to her own mother.

"Ma petit coeur," Jennifer cooed looking into those eyes. "What’s wrong?"

J.J. reached for her mother’s left hand and fiddled with the large stone in her wedding band. She loved that ring and diamonds were her favorite.

"Mom, I don’t know if anything’s wrong. I do know that something’s not right. I don’t know what to do or if I should do anything at all. Listen, I don’t want you to get involved. I just want your opinion and your advice."

"Tell me what’s going on, J.J."

J.J. released Jennifer’s ring and flopped back on the pillows, looking at the ceiling. Jennifer adjusted some of the other pillows and lay back next to her.

"I’m worried about Marnie. Last week she didn’t come home with us like she was supposed to because she said she had math tutoring. The next day, she didn’t even have any math homework. Yesterday morning I invited her over to work on her history project that’s due. She blew me off saying that she was riding home with K.B. After school K.B. was trying to get me to ride home with him on his motorcycle-"

Jennifer cut in, "You told him ‘no’-"

"Yes, I told him ‘no’. Besides, he had been ogling me the whole time he was asking me to ride. Anyway, he said that Marnie had come to him the last period to say that she was staying for an after school activity, so she wouldn’t be riding. Mom, you know she doesn’t do school activities."

"Is that it?"

"No. After track practice, I went back upstairs to see if I could see Marnie. K.B. said that he thought he saw her going into Mr. Morrisett’s room. At first I didn’t see anybody, but as I was leaving to come back downstairs, she came out of his classroom."

"Did you talk to her then?"

"No, I hid. I didn’t want her to think I had been spying on her or anything even though I was. I waited until I heard her go down the hall and came out of my hiding place. Just as I did, Craig Thorne came out of the classroom that Marnie came out of. He saw me, so I acted like I was just getting a Coke out of the machine. He walked up on me all close and starts right in with how good I look.

Mom, why do guys always have to assess girls like we’re just a collection of body parts? Just a face, some boobs, legs, and a butt. I get so sick of it. And he had just been closed up with Marnie! They weren’t doing any tutoring in there."

"J.J., we’ll talk about the guy thing another time. Let’s deal with Marnie now. How do you know that they weren’t working?"

"Mom, first, the door was locked. Why would a senior lock himself in a room with a fifteen-year old, sophomore female? Then, I listened at the door. I didn’t hear anybody talking. And then when Marnie came out, her face was all red and her lips were all red, like they get when people kiss a long time."

Jennifer turned to look at her and then suppressed the urge to ask how she knew the physical results of extended kissing. She tabled that question too for another conversation at another time.

"Mom, at the beginning of the year when I was late getting back to school, Craig kept trying to get me to stay after for tutoring. This was even before he knew if I needed help. I told him that I was in school while we were in France, and that I had studied the work that Mr. Morrisett was teaching when I was there. Craig kept insisting that I was probably behind and needed to get up to speed. For about a week or two he kept bugging me to stay after. Finally I just went ahead and told him whose daughter I was and that I was not allowed to stay after school without the actual teacher calling and making prior arrangements Jonathan or Jennifer Hart. Up till then, I don’t think Craig made the connection to my last name and my father. After that he didn’t mention anything to me about my staying after with him.

Jennifer lay with her eyes closed while J.J. was been talking. That was to keep J.J. from reading her eyes. J.J. and Jonathan had a habit of attempting to gauge her reactions by looking into her eyes. Tonight she preferred that J.J. just be able to talk. She didn’t like what she was hearing about Craig.

"Mom? You’re not asleep are you?" J.J. asked, confirming that she was checking.

No, sweetie. Just thinking." Jennifer placed her hand on J.J.’s and squeezed lightly.

J.J. had always been a brilliant student. Their world travels were the one thing that hadn’t changed when J.J. was been born. It was fun doing it all over and showing the world they knew to their child. From the beginning, the little girl was a quick study and a good traveler. If anything, her intellect had been enhanced by her experiences.

J.J. spoke French, Spanish, and Russian fluently, so she was able to attend school in those countries. If they were elsewhere, they traveled with a tutor. Jonathan tried very hard to minimize pulling J.J. from regular school, but he refused to leave her behind with Marie or anyone else if he and Jennifer were required to both be away for a long stretch at the same time. Family was priority with him, and J.J. was to be with them.

J.J., for her part, rarely discussed her parents outside of the context of being her parents. She understood early that Jonathan and Jennifer were unusual people, even among the other affluent and famous Bel Air residents. As she grew older, she recognized that her parents’ status sometimes influenced how other people reacted to her. Either they expected her to a spoiled rich brat, assumed that she was snooty and stuck up, or they went out of their way to be nice to her.

At age eleven and entering junior high school, she sat her parents down and explained to them that she wanted to go to public school rather than private school, as she had done up to that time. Traveling with her parents had exposed her to different people and lifestyles. J.J. explained that she wanted to go to a regular school with regular people, not one where just the people who could afford it sent their kids. They compromised with her and arranged for her to attend a magnet school for academically gifted students, and then made the necessary arrangements to ensure her safety. She now attended the same type of high school.

Jennifer had been careful in attempting to raise J.J. in as unspoiled a manner as possible. She constantly had harness Jonathan’s impulses when it came to lavishing gifts on J.J. as he did with her. His having been a poor orphan as a child seemed to make him want to make up for what he had missed by giving the world to both of them.

At a month old, he commissioned J.J.’s first piece of jewelry, a bracelet. It was their two entwined gold hearts engraved with J’s. A diamond was set in the center of both hearts. J.J. had worn that bracelet all of her life. Since that time, there had been diamond studs when she got her ears pierced, both times, an authentic Kenyan tree house on the rear grounds, a pony, the damned racehorse…….

Having grown up the child of wealthy parents herself, Jennifer knew that it was important to J.J. that she establish herself as her own person. For her to have to resort to using their names to get someone to leave her alone meant that she’d felt extremely pressured.

"Why didn’t you tell us about this?" Jennifer asked.

"I really didn’t think anything of it at the time. I thought maybe he felt because I was a girl and the class was Calculus, I wouldn’t be able to keep up. Or that since I had been going to school out of the country, I hadn’t received an equivalent education. I thought, too, that maybe he was just trying to get next to me. I don’t know. I just handled it. He left me alone after that. I‘m acing the class now."

She handled it. It was done. No further discussion was needed. She was a true Hart.

"J.J., have you talked to Marnie about any of this?"

"I tried to call her tonight, but she didn’t pick up. I left a message for her to call me back, but she didn’t. I called her mom’s line and her mother said that she was asleep. Mom, we have always talked almost every night, sometimes more than once, but lately, it’s like she’s avoiding me. This has been going on for about a month or two and it’s getting worse. Something is wrong with Marnie, but I don’t know what it is and I can’t get close enough to her to find out what it is. We’ve always talked about everything. What could be going on that she can’t tell me about it?"

Jennifer rolled onto one elbow and faced J.J. She hoped that J.J. couldn’t see that she didn’t feel as calm as she was trying to sound. Her intuition told her that Marnie was sailing in murky waters for a girl so young.

"I think you should talk to Marnie first. If she won’t come to you, then you’ll have to go to her. I don’t think that you can jump to any conclusions before you talk to her."

"Mom." J.J. said quietly. "I still don’t think she’s doing any tutoring with Craig."

"Why not?"

"She didn’t have any books at all with her when she came out of that classroom and neither did he."

Jennifer slid back onto the silk sheets and pulled up the covers. It appeared that Jonathan had not stirred from the position in which she had left him. Just as she settled down into her pillows, she felt his arm encircle her waist and draw her body to his. He snuggled into her neck and kissed her.

"Why did you put that gown back on? I like to feel your skin against me. You two have a good talk?"

"Jonathan!" She whispered, startled. "I tried not to wake you up. I’m sorry."

"You know I can’t sleep when you aren’t with me." She adored the feel of his voice behind her. It was comforting and sexy. "Is J.J. alright?"

"She’s working through some things."

"Female things?"

"Sort of."

"Are you being evasive on purpose?"

"I would never try to evade you, darling."

She rolled over and pressed a soft kiss his face, making sure to allow him to feel her against him. She could feel him tugging at the hem of her gown and she lifted herself to permit him to lift it off her. He liked it in the middle of the night, and he was asking way too many questions.

Part IV

"Marnie, how come you didn’t call me back last night?" J.J. said into the telephone. "I left you two messages. Then I called your mother’s line and she said you were asleep. It was seven o’clock at night when I called, Marnie! Why were you asleep at seven o’clock?"

The voice on the other end still sounded sleepy. "J.J.? What time is it?"

"It’s time for you to be up for school! Are you still in the bed? You’re going to be late!"

"I must have slept all night, then. I don’t care. I don’t think I’m going."

"Yes you are! Get up and get dressed! Meet me in the first floor restroom before first period. Don’t let me down."

"O.K., O.K., I’ll be there."

J.J. slammed the phone down.

Third sat on J.J.’s bed looking up at her, his shaggy little head tilted to one side.

"She’s making me mad!" She explained to him, rubbing him under his neck more to soothe herself than to appease him.

She adjusted her ponytail through the back of her cap, took a last look in the mirror, grabbed her books and ran down the stairs.

Her father was coming through the foyer, sipping from a travel mug.

"Want a ride in?" He asked. "I missed you last night."

He hugged her with his free arm.

"I missed you, too, Daddy. Are you driving your car?"

"Yes, seeing as how I am on my way to work."

"O.K., but you know to drop me off on the corner."

She released herself from his arm. "Hold on, Daddy. I’ll be right there. I have to say bye to my mother."

He walked out of the front door, shaking his head, to wait in the car. What kid didn’t want to be seen by her friends getting dropped off in a Rolls? Only his.

In the kitchen, Marie was loading the dishwasher. J.J. could see the top of her mother’s head through the kitchen window. She was sitting outside on the patio.

"Good morning, Marie. I was just looking for my mother, but I see her."

Marie smiled warmly. "Hello Sweetie. You’re not eating?"

"No, I’ll get something at school."

J.J. stepped out onto the patio, and Jennifer looked up from the newspaper.

J.J. reflected that her mother looked particularly pretty in this morning sun.

"Are you ready to go?" She asked, putting the paper down and reaching for her keys that lie on the glass table.

"I’m going to ride in with Daddy. I just wanted to tell you thanks for listening last night. Sometimes I just need to hear myself think out loud and see if I’m making sense."

J.J. slid her arm around her mother’s neck and put her cheek up to her face. "I love you, Mom."

Jennifer watched as J.J. left her. She shook her head slowly, amused.

"Those jeans just seem to get tighter and tighter." She thought to herself.

Her heart was full.

It was oh, so sweet.

"Daddy, were you a jerk when you were a teenage boy?" J.J. asked suddenly as Jonathan made his way through the heavy Los Angeles morning traffic.

Caught off guard, he laughed aloud. "Probably, baby. I don’t remember."

"Do you remember making stupid comments to girls about how they looked?"

"I didn’t think they were stupid at the time, but I probably did do that. What brings this on?"

"I just get so sick of guys. They don’t even know a girl that well and they’re all in her face like she’s supposed to appreciate that they pay her some attention. Why can’t they just say ‘hi’ or strike up a decent conversation? Why is it always about how we look?"

He noted to himself that she must have been dwelling on this particular irritation for a while. She was really worked up about it.

"My mother told me a long time ago that this was going to happen, but I didn’t know it would be like this. I feel like I’m in a fishbowl sometimes. I even caught KB checking me out. He’s been like a brother to me all of my life! Daddy, boys are so nasty! All they think about is sex!"

Jonathan thought wryly, "Yeah, I did tend to do that a lot. Still do."

J.J. had taken off her cap and pulled her hair down. The morning was still cool and the windows in the car were down. The breeze blew her hair, lifting it around her face like a soft red cloud. Jonathan stopped for a light and looked over at her.

It hit him like a gunshot. Damn. She WAS beautiful! She looked just like Jennifer. In the morning sunlight, she even glowed like Jennifer. When the hell did SHE grow up like this? No wonder she was catching it from the fellas.

He grew serious.

"Justine, your mother has taught you a lot about how to handle yourself as a lady and as a person. She knows what’s down the line for you because she’s been there. But, she didn’t have her mother with her to talk with like you do. Because of that, I think there was a lot of sadness in her life. She really doesn’t talk about it, but I can sense it sometimes. She had to handle herself on her own. You’re a little more fortunate because at least you know what to look for."

He wished he could look at her instead of watching the road because he wanted to be sure that she clearly heard and understood what he was saying.

"You can’t control what people think. Not about you. Not about how you look. Not about what you have. You can only control who you are, and what you do. You’re very attractive, and guys are going to say things to you that you may not want to hear. That’s the nature of the beast. You can’t change that. People are going to be what they are. All you can control is how you allow them to affect you, or not. I know that you don’t allow anyone to disrespect you and I wouldn’t expect that, but as far as guys go, some of us are dumb like that."

For the rest of the ride J.J. pondered what her father said. Nearing the school, he slowed at the corner that he normally dropped her off on.

"Daddy, you can go on and drop me off in front of the school." She finally said, looking over at him.

"I’m the daughter of Jonathan Hart. The car he drives when he goes to work and drops his daughter off on the way just happens to be a Rolls Royce. That’s who he is and what he likes. That’s who I am. And we can’t control what other people think about us."

They both smiled.

She did understand.

Jonathan pulled in front of the school and J.J. took her time getting out. A few heads did turn to admire the car, and to see who was getting out of it. With her hair down and windblown, Jonathan couldn’t get over how striking she had become, in what seemed like, overnight.

"Thanks for the reality check." She said, sticking her head back in the window and blowing him a kiss. He watched her as she walked into the building. Heads turned as she passed through the crowd.

She’s a winner, Jennifer, just like you.

After her father dropped her off, J.J. made her way to the restroom to wait for Marnie. She put her hair back up and took a seat on the windowseat. She waited until the start of first period. Marnie still had not shown. J.J. hesitated, and thought about skipping class to give her time to get there, but then decided she’d better go. KB wasn’t in this class to cover for her, and they called her house to check her attendance when she didn’t show for a class, especially the first period.

At the end of first period, as she was leaving the room, she found KB was waiting for her at the door. He was practically out of breath.

"J.J., your old man is here! He’s got Marnie with him. He found her hitchhiking."

"KB, I told you about that ‘old man’ stuff." J.J. admonished him. "Did he look mad?"

"Your old- your father always looks mad to me. Nice guy, but he’s got those eyes. He picked Marnie up, brought her in and walked her all the way to her class. Then he put her inside the door even though it was the end of first period. The word is that the Rolls is out on the front walk. Now he’s looking for you."

"And just how would you know all of this?" A booming male voice came from behind him. "Where were you that you could see me with Marnie? "Why weren’t you in a class?"

KB turned slowly, his eyes wide. Jonathan Hart appeared to be at least nine feet tall and getting taller as he stood in that hallway over him. Other kids on their way to their next class turned, too, curious as to who the man with the big voice was.

Whose daddy is that?

Some who knew know were whispering, filling in the others.

Among this throng of young, eclectically dressed people, Jonathan Hart was an imposing, distinguished figure dressed in an obviously very expensive suit. The reflection of the overhead lighting glinted off his thick, meticulously styled salt and pepper hair. He looked down on KB with piercing blue eyes and right now, a deeply furrowed brow. KB, usually brash and outspoken, backed up a step and gulped hard.

"I got here late, Mr. Hart, sir, so I didn’t go to first period."

"So, you ditched class, too, I see. I thought you and I just talked about accountability last weekend? What the hell is going on up here? He roared. "You kids just come and go as you please here?"

J.J. grabbed her father’s arm and pulled him over to a corner. "Daddy, please!"

He realized that he was embarrassing J.J., but he didn’t care. Marnie and KB were special to him. They spent too much time around his pool for too many years. He was not going to let them mess up without some intervention on his part. He felt like a father-figure to both of them at times.

"J.J., I don’t like this." He said to her in a slightly lowered tone. "Marnie’s out in the street hitchhiking. I get here with her and find that KB’s not in class."

He looked directly, questioningly at her through narrowed eyes. "What about you? Were you in your class?"

"Daddy. I just finished first period."

She pointed to her notebook and silently thanked the heavens that she hadn’t ditched like she started to while waiting for Marnie in that restroom. "Did you want me for something?"

"Ah,yes." He answered, as if it just came to him that there was a point to him finding her. "Before you leave here today, you have a talk to Marnie and try to find out what’s going on with her. I won’t have your mother tossing, turning, and walking the floor another night worrying about you and Marnie. That’s the best way to get me involved in whatever is going on and you girls don’t want that. Your mother didn’t want to tell me anything last night, and I’m not really sure that I want to know.

Cut to the chase. J.J., and get to the root of this problem, because obviously there is one." He bent and kissed her cheek. "I love you, baby."

He turned and pointed to KB,

"And you get your ass to class. I will be checking."

He strode off down the hall, the sea of teenagers parting in his wake, heads turning to watch, as he went by.

A cute girl with dreadlocks, who had been rummaging in the locker next to the corner where J.J. and her father had been talking, observing the entire exchange, leaned over to J.J. after her father had walked off.

"J.J., girl, your daddy sure is fine! I don’t know about you, but he made my day!"

J.J. turned to look at her, and couldn’t help laughing, secretly thinking that same thing.

"Put your tongue back in, Charmaine and wipe that drool off your chin. My mother has the lock on that."

"Don’t hurt nothin’to look, though!" Charmaine grinned back devilishly and high-fived another girl who was standing near them. "Does it?"

After J.J. informed her that she was driving in with her father, Jennifer took the opportunity to go for a morning run. She wanted to clear her head before sitting down to work. She still had the girls on her mind. She returned exhausted and dripping wet with perspiration.

Just as she stepped out of the shower, she heard the sound of the gate buzzer. Marie was downstairs, so she didn’t bother responding to it. As she was applying body lotion, Marie’s voice called to her from the intercom.

"Mrs. Hart, Mrs.Tolbert, Marnie’s mother is at the gate. She says she would like to speak with you if you have the time to see her. She apologizes for not calling ahead."

Jennifer stood in the mirror. Here she was with wet hair and naked, but no way was she going to turn this woman away.

"Buzz her in, please, Marie. I’m just stepping out of the shower, If you’ll make her comfortable, I’ll be right down. I’d like very much to talk with her."

The Hart’s housekeeper greeted Maureen Tolbert at the front door. She accepted the offer for coffee and took a seat on the couch that faced the foyer to wait for Jennifer Hart. As the housekeeper disappeared into the kitchen, and she was left alone, she took the opportunity to reflect upon her surroundings.

The house was massive; a foyer as large as two rooms in an average home, stone walls, a huge stone fireplace that was an entire wall itself, expensive furnishings, book collections, and artwork, an elegant ebony grand piano; it was all beautifully and tastefully done. But, for all of its vastness, there was the comfort of a home. She could feel the life and love of a real home. Among the various other exquisite paintings and family photographs about the room, a large oil painting of Jennifer and J.J. Hart dominated a wall near the entrance to this room.

It was stunning. They were both wearing long green dresses. J.J. was sitting at Jennifer’s feet, leaning against her mother’s legs and looking up at her. Jennifer was reaching down to touch J.J.’s face. A soft light that had been placed above it illuminated the painting. The colors were warm; the red in their hair, the colors of their eyes, and the hue of their skin had been so accurately captured. J.J. appeared to have been about twelve or thirteen when painting had been done. Maureen reflected on how much J.J. looked like her mother and on how the artist managed to convey the essence of the love and admiration that was shared by the two of them.

A twinge of envy coursed through her.

Willow Pond Drive had been named for this home and estate, which was called Willow Pond. The story had been in all of the media when the original house burned to the ground about sixteen years ago. She remembered seeing pictures of the smoldering ruins and the massive stone walls of the home, which were all that remained after the fire. Jonathan Hart rebuilt this house, according to the original specifications, for his wife when he learned of her pregnancy.

Looking around at just the room in which she was sitting, she was overwhelmed by the amount of money and effort that it must have taken to put this home back together. The depth of feeling that this man must have, to go to such a Herculean effort for his wife and child, must be awesome. It occurred to Maureen that she’d been married three times and had yet to find happiness.

J.J. and Marnie met in a private kindergarten in Bel Air. Marnie would come home every day chattering excitedly about her friend, J.J. and what they had done together in school. One day, the phone rang and a small voice asked for Marnie. The little girl identified herself only as J.J. and that started the ten-year telephone marathon between the two girls.

J.J. eventually invited Marnie to visit her at home. J.J.’s housekeeper called to confirm the time to bring Marnie and provided her with the address. She was delighted to find that J.J. lived on their same street. Delivering Marnie to her playmate, she was floored to find that 3100 was the address to the Hart estate and that little J.J. was actually J.J. Hart, daughter of Jonathan and Jennifer Hart. Feeling a little intimidated, she rang the bell at the gate, but all of that trepidation passed when she met J.J. and her parents at the front door. The Harts, for all of their money, power, and fame, were two of the nicest people that she ever met. She came to trust them completely with Marnie. When Marnie was safe with the Harts, she could deal with some of the disorder of her own life.

Jennifer Hart entered from the kitchen. In her hands, she carried an ornate wooden tray with two steaming coffee cups, cream and sugar, and spoons.

"Well hello, Maureen." She smiled pleasantly, setting the tray down on the coffee table and taking a seat on the other facing couch.

Maureen took note of her hostess.

She was wearing an emerald green silk caftan that flowed about her slender body and a pair of simple silver sandals. Her hair appeared to be wet and it was twisted into an elegant knot at the top of her head. Several loose tendrils curled on her long, graceful neck. Small diamonds sparkled at each ear.

"I must apologize. I had a break this morning, so I’ve been out jogging. I was just getting cleaned up. I must look a mess. Please, help yourself."

"Who was she kidding?" Maureen thought incredulously.

Jennifer Hart was at least ten years older than she, had obviously just left the shower, wasn’t wearing a lick of makeup. She had an unexpected guest, and still she was gorgeous, elegant, and courteous.

She felt the need to explain herself, "I’m so sorry to come unannounced, Jennifer, but I don’t know what else to do. I am so worried about Marnie. The two of us can’t have a conversation that goes even three words before we’re screaming at each other. I got your message about Marnie not coming home with you. I was so angry with her that I forgot to even call you and thank you for letting me know. She has been lying and sneaking around like that for the past few months. I know that it has a lot to do with her stepfather and me. Things have just been a mess at our house. I had to put him out."

As she spoke, Jennifer was taking stock of her guest.

Maureen was a younger woman, about thirty-five, petite, and pretty. Her father was in oil, and she was living in Bel Air on her trust fund, child support, and alimony. She’d always given Jennifer the impression that she was flighty. Marnie spent a great deal of her time in their home and was always going places with J.J. but other than brief phone calls or chats when picking Marnie up or dropping her off, they really didn’t know that much about each other.

As far as she could recall, in all these years, this was the first time that Maureen had actually come this far into the house. She always seemed ready to leave Marnie at their door so that she could get on with what she wanted to do. In the time that the girls had known each other, Maureen had divorced Marnie’s father, remarried, divorced again, and remarried. In the beginning, it had made her resentful that Marnie was left with them so often, but Jonathan reminded her that Marnie was good company for J.J., and maybe they could be a positive factor in her seemingly chaotic life.

Maureen looked like she wanted to break down.

Jennifer wanted to reach out to her, but she didn’t want her to lose it before she finished explaining the reason for her visit.

"If I might ask’" Jennifer said softly. "What was the reason for your having him leave?" She knew, but she hoped that she was wrong.

Marueen’s face turned red and she looked very uncomfortable as she began, "Marnie had been telling me that Bernard was looking at her in a way that made her uncomfortable, and saying things to her that were inappropriate whenever I wasn’t around. I didn’t want to believe her. I knew that she didn’t like him much. Her attitude had been so negative toward him and my marrying him. I thought she was just trying to make trouble"

She dropped her face into her hands for a moment, looked up, and then continued.

"We got into an argument over it, and she finally let it come out that the reason that J.J. didn’t visit us anymore at home was because you and Jonathan wouldn’t let her. I assumed when she first said it, that it was because you keep her close, you know for security reasons. But then Marnie said that it was because you didn’t feel that J.J. was safe around Bernard. At first I resented that. But then…" she hesitated, and took a deep breath. "I caught him peeking at Marnie when she was in the shower. Oh Jennifer…she knew that he was doing it!"

She broke down in tears.

Jennifer didn’t know what to say. For a moment, she sat stunned. She had known that whatever the problem was, it would be something truly unsavory, but to actually hear it confirmed, shook her to the core. She forced herself to get up and she sat went to Maureen. She sat next to her and put her arm around her, allowing her to finish crying.

"Jennifer, she told me. I didn’t believe her. I told her to lock her door if she felt so insecure. She purposely left the door unlocked, so that I would catch him at it. I packed his things and put him out when I saw it for myself."

Jennifer pulled tissues from the dispenser on the side table.

"Did he leave? Were there any problems?" She asked while Maureen wiped her eyes and her face.

"Yes, he did leave. I told him that I would file charges, if he didn’t. But Marnie has been so defensive and angry since then. I can’t get her to do anything. She’s not doing her work in school, and I think she’s doing something with a boy from school. I overheard her making plans to meet him after school."

Involuntarily, Jennifer felt herself draw air into her lungs. J.J. had suspected something. Now the hope was that things hadn’t gone too far. She hoped that Marnie was not acting out her anger by doing something that would only be destructive to her.

"I came here to see if J.J. had said anything to you." The tears still flowed.

"I just don’t know what’s going on with Marnie any more. Before all of this, Marnie would always tell me about things that she and J.J. did and things that J.J. said. Marnie always talked about how you and J.J. discuss everything. I know that when J.J. was allowed to come to our house, I was surprised by some of the things that she seemed to know and even the way that she behaved. She always seemed older than she is- so mature. I get embarrassed to discuss certain matters with Marnie. J.J. seems so self- assured. I allowed her to fill in gaps with Marnie. I know how J.J. carries herself has a lot to do with how you’ve raised her. You have such a wonderful relationship with your daughter. I never worry about Marnie when she is with you."

Her gaze drifted over to the oil painting.

Jennifer took a moment before she replied.

"Thank you. My daughter makes it easy. I have been extremely fortunate with her. J.J. told me that she and Marnie hadn’t been talking as much lately. That’s bothered her. I told her to try and find Marnie and sit down and talk with her. I’m hoping that they’ll get together at school today."

She felt that was enough to say given what had already been revealed.

"Jennifer, will you please let me know if J.J. is able to talk with her? I need an inside track so that I can know how to get through to her." Maureen said standing.

"I’ll call you if J.J. tells me anything. She doesn’t always, you know." Jennifer answered standing also.

She could not help feeling a little annoyed at being put in the middle, but she knew that this would probably be the only way that Marnie would get the help that she needed. It looked like it would be a while before Marnie told her mother anything on her own.

Jennifer walked her to the door.

Just before going out, Maureen turned around to her. The look on her face conveyed her sincerity.

"Jennifer, thank you so much for today, and for all the times that you and your husband have looked out for my daughter when I wasn’t on my job."

Jennifer reached out and took her hands. They hugged.

She sometimes had to stop and remind herself that everyone was not as fortunate in life as she had been in her own.

Part IV

After a few inquiries, J.J. finally caught up with Marnie in the lunchroom. She spotted her sitting at a corner table. Wading through the tables and students, J.J. waved and spoke to friends as she made her way to Marnie’s table.

"Hey J.J.!" Somebody yelled. "Heard your dad set it off outside your English class this morning!"

She responded by holding up her hand, signaling that she was not going to dignify that comment with an oral response.

Marnie and the girls she sat with were talking when she reached their table.

"Marnie, I think we need to talk." She announced without waiting for a break in their conversation.

Marnie looked up and stiffened at seeing J.J standing over her.

Marnie immediately became defensive.

"Why? Is something wrong?"

J.J. did not back down. "Don’t make me embarrass you in front of Cheryl and Tiffany here. You know that I will."

"Cut to the chase, J.J. Get to the root of the problem. There obviously is one."

J.J.’s narrowed, piercing blue eyes bored into Marnie’s. The look in them told Marnie that she would do just as she said.

"Can you guys excuse us? J.J. seems to have a problem with me that she feels we need to iron out." Marnie said to the other girls, trying to sound flippant, but secretly terrified of what J.J. might do or say to embarrass her if she didn’t comply.

She was well aware that J.J. was not afraid to show off in front of company.

Tiffany and Cheryl gathered their things and left the table without comment.

In the fifth grade, J.J. had beaten a boy up for saying something derogatory about her mother. He had never lived it down. Although they continued to attend the same schools, she had never uttered a spoken to or about him since that time. He ceased to exist for her. J.J. was not a bully, nor was she mean, but somehow, that legendary school incident, together with her assertiveness and self-assured manner made respecting her space a given.

J.J. sat down across from Marnie on one of the seats that had been vacated. Their eyes met. Marnie had to break down and she smiled a small smile. Her posture softened as she took down the invisible shield. They had been friends too long.

"What’s so funny?" J.J. asked, puzzled.

"Your father is crazy, J.J. He caught me hitching this morning. I saw the Rolls coming and I tried to walk away real fast before he could see me. J.J., the man drove a Rolls Royce Corniche onto the sidewalk and made me stop and get in the car with him. He brought me to school, and drove the car up the walkway right up to the damn steps. As if that wasn’t enough, he escorted me personally to my class. I was trying to tell him over and over that I was hitching because I had missed the bus, and that first period was almost at the end. He shoves me in the door anyway and tells me to soak up something the last few minutes!"

J.J. snickered. It was funny if you weren’t the person it was happening to.

"You know how my daddy is. He hemmed up KB, too. Cussed at him in the hall with everybody looking."

"What did KB do to make him mad?"

"KB claimed that he was late getting to school, and that’s why he didn’t go to first period. He was trying to let me know that my father was here, but Daddy walked up on him while he was telling me about you."

Marnie sighed. "It’s been a wild morning, J."

She seemed tired.

"Have you been to any class today? I mean, other than the one my father put you in?"

"No. I just didn’t feel like it." Marnie ran her hand through her dark hair that usually shone like glass, but today looked sort of dull and oily. "J.J., I’m a mess. My life’s a mess."

J.J. noticed that Marnie’s clothes looked like she’d slept in them. Normally, Marnie was one of the school’s fashion trendsetters. Certainly she was a member of the fashion police force there.

The lunchroom was loud, and they could barely hear each other without raising their voices.

"I wish we could go outside, J.J."

Marnie knew that J.J. was a scholar and that she took school seriously. Skipping class was not something that J.J. normally did. She also knew that the Harts had an arrangement with the school and their private security that they were to be notified immediately in the event of an unexcused absence.

"Let’s go." J.J. said, standing up and stacking her books.

Marnie rea

Part V

"J.J., your mother is going to be mad as hell if she finds out that you’re ditching the rest of your classes today. Won’t they call her?"

Marnie and J.J. settled in on the lawn behind the school building. They had carefully selected a place out of easy sight of nosy school officials.

Marnie used the jacket she’d been wearing for a pillow and lay back on it. J.J. pulled her hair loose from the ponytail. All of a sudden, the band that held it felt too tight. She sat upright with her legs crossed, looking down at Marnie.

"I only had two more classes. KB is in both of them. I told him to cover for me if I didn’t show up and to get the homework. I get A’s. Nobody is going to freak out about me missing a lesson. KB'll make up something to cover for my missing person. He’s good at that kind of thing. Lord knows I’ve covered for him enough times." She said, running her hands through her hair, pulling the tangles loose.

Marnie, what’s going on with you? We’ve always talked about everything. All of a sudden, I don’t hear from you. You’re acting all shady, like you’re avoiding me… I want to help. I can listen, if you can talk."

Marnie rolled over on her stomach. She toyed with one of the many silver rings she wore on her fingers.

"It’s such a mess, J.J."

"You’ve told me that. Now will you elaborate?"

"To start, my stepfather is a pig and my mother is stupid."

"Marnie, please don’t call your mother stupid."

J.J. played that day at Marnie’s with her own mother, in her mind. Yes, the stepfather was a pig.

"But she is stupid, J. I kept telling her that he was doing stuff and saying nasty stuff to me, but she wanted to be with him so much that she wouldn’t even listen to me."

J.J. thought she felt her heart stop beating. "What was he doing to you? He didn’t-"

"Hell no, you didn’t read about his dead ass in the newspaper or hear about it on the eleven o’clock news, did you?"

They both laughed at that.

"No, he just kept talking about how I needed breaking in, how I looked like I was old enough to have it, stuff like that. I knew he was going to try something before too long. I was so scared that I couldn’t sleep at night. Then I found out that when I was taking a shower, he was peeking through the door. J., I don’t lock the door because the bathroom is inside my bedroom. You know. It’s like yours. The pig was sneaking into my room. He was invading me, my space, and my privacy."

Marnie was still on her stomach, but J.J. saw a tear fall from her face onto a blade of grass. She ran her hand down Marnie’s back.

Marnie continued, " I told my mother that he was doing that, and she said for me to lock my door. What the hell is that for her to tell me? Why should I lock my goddamn bathroom door in my bedroom in my own house? He’s just not supposed to do that! She acted like I was doing something wrong. She is so stupid!" Marnie’s shoulders shook as she was racked by silent sobs.

J.J. continued to stroke Marnie's back. Her mother did that for her when she was really upset about something. It would calm her. She hoped that it did the same for Marnie now.

They were quiet for a few minutes.

"She made me so mad that I started screaming at her. I told her why your mother wouldn’t let you stay down to our house any more. You and I never did talk about that, but I knew why and I told her. Bernard acted so nasty with your mother that time. I was so embarrassed. Your mother wouldn’t let you come back, but I had to live with that rat bastard."

"Did you ever tell your dad?"

J.J. couldn’t imagine any girl’s father allowing his daughter to live like that if he knew about what was going on. She knew that her own father would very likely attempt to kill someone for violating her in any way. She wondered if her mother had ever told him the whole story about Marnie’s stepfather. Probably not. Bernard Tolbert was still drawing breath and walking without a limp.

Marnie rolled over on her side. "J.J., my father’s got another whole family. And they’re little boys. He doesn’t need me and my problems. And anyway, lately, if I don’t call him, I don’t hear from him."

She rolled back over. "I stopped calling you, J.J. because I could only bring you down. You’ve got it made. You’re smart, you’re rich, you’re pretty-"

"But, you’re all of those things!" J.J. cut in.

"But you have your parents, too. And you have the best parents. Your dad looks out for all of us and your mother is good people. Out of all of our friends’ mothers, your mother is the most real person. Even when she was all over me about not coming home that day, it was O.K. She didn’t just go off screaming and stuff like my mother would have. She told me why she was mad. It’s like you can tell that she respects you. Your mother would never let her husband misuse you."

J.J. mused for a moment, choosing her words carefully. Then very quietly, she said, "No, Marnie. She wouldn’t have." She had never revealed what she was about to say to anyone before now.

"The only man that she would have had me or any kid by is my dad. If it weren’t for him, there would be no me. She didn’t want kids."

"What!" Marnie rolled over, shocked.

It was J.J. who was now looking away.

"What are you talking about?"

J.J. chewed at her lip a moment and quietly continued thoughtfully,

"I have wonderful parents and a wonderful life." She began. "And you know how I feel about my mother. It goes beyond just loving her because she’s my mother. I respect her. I’m proud of her as a person aside from being my mother. You know what I mean, Marnie?"

J.J twisted her hair around her finger absently. This was difficult for her.

"Marnie, you know her journals that she writes in and keeps? And the finished ones that she stores in the library?"

"Yeah, the leather ones."

"Yeah, those. I knew it was wrong, but I read one. I was just a kid and curious about what kind of stuff she wrote in them. She and my dad were out for the evening and I was there with Marie. She was downstairs so I got one and took it to my room. It just happened that it was the one from the year that she was pregnant with me. I started reading it, and I couldn’t stop.

She really didn’t want any children ever. She was scared to have kids. She was afraid that she couldn’t love anybody but my dad. She wrote that she knew he wanted her to have a baby, but she was didn’t think that she could be a good mother because she never really wanted to be a mother.

I felt really bad while I was reading it. I felt like maybe I had interrupted her good thing by showing up when I did. She kept talking about their lives changing when she had the baby. But you know, Marnie, if anybody’s mother was stupid, it was mine."

"Why do you say that?" Marnie was stunned.

The magnificent J.J. Hart had a chink in her shiny armor. She could not believe that J.J. was calling Jennifer Hart stupid. J.J. absolutely revered her mother.

"She was always a great person by herself. Before me, and before she met my dad, she traveled the world, had written two best-selling books, and met and knew all kinds of famous people. She earned a Phi Beta Kappa key. She went to the Sorbonne in France on a fellowship. She dated all kinds of rich and famous men. Then she fell in love with a wonderful, wealthy, handsome man who just happened to also love her, and she married him on a whim.

But, if she hadn’t trusted my dad, she would never have known what an even greater person was to become. She would never have known that she really was capable of loving a child. And that I would love her back like I do. My dad would never have known what being a father was like, and she would have been hurting him even though she loves him. She wrote in that journal over and over that she knew that a baby was what he wanted. She was stupid to doubt herself. She would have sold herself short. I’m not saying that all women should have babies, but it’s right for some people. It was right for her and for me. Who else could be my mother like she is and with me being as crazy as I can be?"

"J.J. does your mother know that you know?" Marnie asked earnestly, forgetting her own troubles for the moment.

Her friend amazed her. J.J. could analyze and break down situations like nobody else she knew.

"No. I put the book back, and I never touched any of them again. A person’s private thoughts should remain private, even if they’re your mother’s. If something ever happens to her, I’m going to put those journals away so that nobody else can do what I did until we are both out of here."

J.J. reached out for Marnie’s hand. "Marnie, you’ll be stupid too if you let this thing with your stepfather shut you all the way down. You’ll be selling yourself short. Yeah, your mother was wrong to let this stuff go on so long, but at least she finally did get rid of the creep. People are who they are and we don’t all do things the same way. My mother gave us a chance and we worked out. Give your mom a chance to make this right."

The girls sat silently for a long time. Then J.J. asked, "Marnie, are you involved with Craig?"

"Involved? Now you sound like your genteel mother interviewing someone for one of her stories."

"Ok then, I’ll be me. Are you screwing Craig? Is that better?"

Marnie giggled and then sighed. "No, but he wanted me to. He said that he was going to fix my grade if I did it with him. I made out with him a few times in Morrisett’s room after school and in Craig’s car, but I couldn’t go through with it all the way."

"I knew he was a pig." J.J. thought.

" J.," Marnie continued in a hushed voice, "I felt so dirty after that thing with my stepfather, that I just didn’t care. I didn’t care about school. I didn’t care about what happened to me. And you have it all together all the time. I felt like I couldn’t do anything for you except depress you. I wasn’t mad at you when I didn’t call you."

"I know now." J.J. assured her.

"When I was hitching this morning and your father caught me, I had just about made up my mind to do it with Craig this afternoon. I was late, I missed my ride, I had missed the school bus, and I thought that after I didn’t meet you this morning that you would be through with me. I didn’t have anything to lose. Maybe if I did it with Craig…. Stupid, wasn’t it?"

She lay on her back and turned her face to J.J.

"You’re my best friend J. You got great parents. They look out for all of us. Your dad scared me back to reality this morning."

That was two reality checks for Jonathan Hart today, J.J. noted. Three, perhaps four, if you counted KB and his ass.

"J.J., do you think that Craig will tell everybody about what I did with him? You know how guys like to talk and brag." She sounded worried.

"I don’t think you have to worry about that. Craig would get into a lot of trouble if the right people found out that he was making out with an underclassman in the math room after school when he should have been tutoring. He’s got too much on the line to risk that. If he starts talking," J.J. nodded slowly as she spoke, in that way that Marnie knew so well.

"the right people will find out."

Marnie was sure they would.

J.J. looked at her watch.

"My mother will be out front in a few. We’d better go."

"We?"

"Yeah, you have a lot of homework to catch up on. And we have a lot of catching up of our own to do."

They got up, brushing tell-tale grass from their jeans. J.J. looked up at Marnie with a twinkle in her eye.

"Hey Marn, just as an aside, I know you’re devastated and all, but since you thought you were going to do it with Craig, making out with Craig must have felt pretty good. Why don’t you fill an inexperienced friend in….?"

Shocked, Marnie’s head snapped around and then caught the mischief in J.J’s eyes.

"J.J., you are crazy, just like your damned daddy!"

They both laughed out loud.

Walking into the building, they came out of the front, like they normally would, to meet their ride.

Jennifer Hart sat out front tapping her nails against the leather steering wheel cover watching the teeming mass of youth, waiting for her daughter.

J.J. and Marnie came down the stairs together. They were both talking and smiling and both were carrying books. J.J. got into the front seat, and Marnie climbed into the back.

"Hi, Mrs. Hart." Said Marnie, getting settled.

"It’s nice to see you, Marnie."

She turned to smile at her.

KB roared up on the driver’s side and stopped. It startled her, and in whipping around, she felt her neck stiffen immediately.

This boy and this bike!

"Hey Mrs. Hart! Sorry if I scared you." He pulled a folded sheet of paper from his back pocket, and handed it to her. "Will you hand this to J.?" He asked, leaning in to catch J.J.’s eye.

" J.J., these are those ‘instructions’ you told me you needed." He peeked into the back seat. "What’s up, Marnie? How come you’re not riding with me?"

"I got lots of homework. I’m going to work with J.J."

"Suit yourself. See you all."

He pulled off into traffic.

Jennifer held onto the paper a moment, cutting her eyes over to J.J., puzzling over what she was sure was a hidden message, then she leaned over and handed it to J.J. She kissed her cheek.

"I’m proud of you." She whispered.

"I’m proud of you too, Mom." J.J. whispered back.

Finale

Now it was dark and it was quiet. Still awake, she lay with her head on his broad chest listening to the rhythm of his heartbeat. He was gently stroking her hair and neck,

He was running what she had told him about Maureen’s visit through his mind.

Finally, he asked, "Did J.J. say whether or not she talked to Marnie today at school?"

"I assume that they talked. They came home together with me and worked out on the patio for a long time. It was almost dark when Marnie called her mother to come for her."

"Did J.J. mention anything about what they talked about?"

"No. We didn’t talk about it at all."

"Good. They must have worked it all out."

He knew that if J.J. hadn’t come to her mother, there was no longer a problem.

He put both his arms around her and entwined his fingers to keep her close.

After a time, she spoke, "Jonathan, if I had been a single woman with a young daughter when you met me, would you have still wanted to marry me?"

"Jennifer, you wouldn’t be a single woman with a child. Any child you gave birth to would have been mine, and with my child, you wouldn’t have been alone. You would have been my wife."

"Are you saying that you are the only man on earth that could have gotten me pregnant? You arrogance is showing, darling."

"I think if you check the records, I am the only man on earth that got you pregnant… unless there’s a little something you haven’t told me."

"I guess you do have a point." She conceded.

"I love you, Jennifer. I know that you worried about it, but you’ve done a good job with our daughter."

"She has a lot of you in her, Jonathan and that makes it easy to love her so much. She’s the best surprise you’ve ever given me. And we’ve done a pretty good job with our daughter. Good old Max knew what he was talking about, didn’t he?"

"Watching her grow up does make life an exciting business, doesn’t it?" He smiled in the dark, thinking about her at the poker table. She played like she was born to it. "She’s a lot fun."

"And a lot of work, but I wouldn’t have her any other way. She makes motherhood easy. I never would have thought that one child could move themselves so totally into my heart"

When they fell asleep entwined in each other, his arms were still about her, her head was still resting on his chest, and their Hart was sleeping down the hall.

The End

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