"Mozelle," Lupus put down a piece of crust, then tapped his chest, shaking his head. "Not aristocrat."

"I know, I know. Your family was middle class--but it was middle class with pretensions, Lupus. You know darn good and well that your Mama and Daddy were hoping to marry you well." He blushed slightly, and she looked at her brother. "You know, I never thought of arranged marriages from the male's standpoint. I don't think many people do."

"Well," Dudley took a sip of soda. "It was different for the men. If they were in a loveless marriage, they could have affairs and mistresses, and usually they'd be ignored, or at the most, winked at."

Mozelle looked at Lupus. "Is that true?"

He nodded. "My father... I know of two."

"Ick." Morbid curiosity got the better of Mozelle. She had really come to dislike Dramilla. "Did your mother know?"

"She didn't want to."

"I've heard about that, but I never understood it. Anyway, Malanda cooked something like pizza, but it was topped with cheese and dates. Gag."

"Gag?" said Dudley. "I've seen you eat pineapple on pizza before."

"That's different."

"Sure it is." He started gathering the paper plates (another part of modern life that had fascinated Lupus), stacking them in the empty pizza box. "I need to get this cleared away before Wisteria gets here. She's very casual, except when it comes to cleanliness--it's an offshoot of her midwife training."

"Wisteria?" said Mozelle.

"Hippie parents."

"Gotcha, and who am I to talk? Lupus..." Lupus put down the glass he'd been sipping from. "You're getting used to the carbonation, aren't you?"

He smiled. "Tickles."

"You're supposed to save that line for when you try champagne."

"Tastes good."

"And it tastes better than champagne."

"Don't try to push your prejudices on him," said Dudley from the kitchen. "just because you don't like any form of alcohol that isn't mixed with frozen fruit juice. When he was raised they didn't have sodas, so he's used to wine."

"Tell me about it," said Mozelle. "It was that or water, and Malanda thought I was strange because I kept wanting to boil it before I drank it. Try explaining micro-organisms to an ancient Roman." There was a knock on the door. "Get that," he said. "She'll want to get a look at you before she even comes in."

As Mozelle opened the door, she said, "What's she going to do--read my aura?"

The plump, thirty-something woman standing on the steps had frizzy blonde hair, sort of like the Glenn Close character in Fatal Attraction. Her attitude, though, was radically different. She smiled at Mozelle. "Well, you have just about the warmest yellow glow I've ever seen! It's going to be a pleasure doing business with you."

Mozelle blinked. "Glad to hear it. You must be Wisteria."

"Wisteria Mimosa O'Hara."

"Good lord."

She shrugged good-naturedly. "I know. I feel like I should be peeing mint juleps."

Mozelle smiled back at her. "I think I'm going to like you. C'mon in."

Wisteria gave Dudley a hug. "Hello, Big Man." She gave him a quick scan, then frowned. "Something has upset you recently--your aura is muddied. Does it have something to do with why you asked me here?"

"Not directly," he said. "I just found out that my sister went through a nasty experience--I'm not going to feel peaceful about that for awhile. But we're hoping you can help us with the situation. This is Lupus."

Lupus bowed respectfully toward the woman. "Seeress?"

"Not exactly," said Wisteria faintly, studying him. "Dear, you're a fish out of water, aren't you?"

"Why do you say that?" asked Mozelle.

"Well, his aura, of course. The last time I saw one that turbulent, it was being exuded by an elderly Korean immigrant who'd gotten lost in the airport during holiday traffic."

Curious, and unable to stop herself, Mozelle said, "What color is it?"

"A lot like yours, a little darker."

Lupus gave her a 'you see?' look. "Great."

"Have a seat, Wis," said Dudley, "And prepare to suspend about a metric ton of disbelief. Mozelle, it'll sound a little more realistic coming from someone first hand, and we can use all the validity we can get right now."

Mozelle sat on the couch beside the woman and said, "It all started a couple of nights ago when I got locked in the museum..."

"...and when I turned around, there he was." She gave Lupus a faintly annoyed, but also faintly smug, look. "I've heard of chasing after a woman, but he took it to the extreme." There was a moment of silence while Wisteria stared at first Lupus, then her, then Lupus again. "Do you want the number to the local psychiatric hospital?"

Wisteria shook her head. "Your aura never wavered once while you were telling that tale. Whether it happened or not, you have unshakable conviction that it did."

"Oh, great. The standard movie-of-the-week line. 'Don't you believe me?' 'I believe that you believe it.' I suppose now you're going to suggest therapy."

"No," she said calmly. "First I'm going to suggest that you get that snotty tone out of your voice. I'm here as a favor."

Mozelle looked sheepish. "Sorry."

Wisteria shrugged. "You probably have your reasons to be snarky. Whatever happened, and where ever..." She looked at Lupus again, "or whenever he came from, I believe that you're both good people, who intend no harm. I believe we can work something out. When would you like to give birth?"

Mozelle blinked rapidly. "Pardon?"

"I can't just draw up the papers right now. I have to file a couple of reports, saying that a new client has come to me, at an advanced stage of pregnancy. We're in luck. A doctor friend of mine over in Louisianna lost his office in the last hurricane..." When Lupus looked sympathetic, she waved. "Don't cry over it. No one was hurt, and he raked in enough on insurance and government disaster compensation to move to better rooms. Anyway, he may have done all right in the physical finances, but his records were all screwed to hell and back. A power surge flash-fried his office computer, then it and the paper records spent a couple of days under about three feet of Mississippi river water. So, guess what? You were a patiend of Dr. William DeForest in Casey Ridge, Louisianna. You were evacuated to Houston, and there just wasn't anything left for you to go back to."

"I've had a hard life," said Mozelle dolefully.

"You don't know the half of it, dear. You're going to give birth a couple of weeks prematurely. The baby's going to come so fast that there's no time to get you to a hospital, Then I file the paperwork."

"It sounds too simple," said Mozelle. "Won't they want to check over the baby, or something?"

"We'll tell them that your present physician will take care of that."

"And when he doesn't?"

"If they bother to check, you decided you were going back to Louisianna after all." She smiled. "You missed the alligators."

"If I want reptiles, I'll just go to one of the clubs on the weekend." Wisteria laughed, and Mozelle bit her lip. "Is this really going to work?"

"I think so, as long as no one is actively looking for the young man."

"They won't be. Well, they probably were--about twenty centuries ago. So, are you going to name the father, or are you going to be a proud single mother, and give him your surname?"

Mozelle looked at Lupus. "What's your full name, Lupus?"

He straightened proudly. "Lupus Aurulius Augurinus."

"That's a mouthful," said Wisteria. "You might want to consider Americanizing it just a bit. I'm not saying don't be proud of your heritage, but the less attention attracted..."

"We ought to keep his first name," said Dudley. "It'll be easier if he doesn't look around for someone else every time someone calls him by name."

"Anyway, Lupus should fit right in today," said Mozelle. "It sounds like he was named for a soap opera character. But the middle and last names... Lupus, I know that your people were kind of touchy about anyone defaming their names. Is changing yours going to give you any major trauma?" He looked blank. "No disrespect intended?"

"Oh. No... No problemo?"

Dudley hid a smile, but Wisteria giggled. Mozelle rolled her eyes. "I think he caught reruns of Welcome Back, Kotter on TVland. Let's see... Aurulius Augurinus. Aurulius..."

"Julius?" suggested Dudley.

"No."

"Mozelle," said Lupus. "Julius is noble name. Past emperor."

"I know, but today it would make people think of OJ, and trust me--you can do without that. How about Arthur instead? That's nice and nondescript. And for the last name... August?"

"Augustus," said Lupus firmly. "Other emperor."

"Just as long as you don't try to give me 'this is my castle' crap, I don't mind." She looked at Wisteria. "I believe that we've settled on Lupus Arthur Augustus."

Wisteria nodded. "As good a name as any I've run into. You have no idea how tired I get of Jason, or variations of Shawn." She'd pulled a few printed forms out of her purse. "Now, let's start taking down some false information," she said cheerfully.