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Previously...the office of Dr. Megan Phillips

“Adele?” Tori smiled and sat down. Adele followed and replied,

“Yes, honey?”

“Was…it…is it hard?”

“To be the way we are?” Adele purse her lips and half-smiled. She put her hand on Tori’s shoulder.

“Yes, honey…very hard.” Tori’s eyes widened in surprise.

“But it’s worth it, since it’s just us being ourselves, do you understand?” Tori nodded slightly but she seemed confused.

“We are who we are…you know…like it says…by the grace of God, Tor…So it’s all good, even when it isn’t. And believe me, I know.” She sighed but shrugged her shoulders slightly as a hand gently squeezed her shoulder.

“She does, Tori…and you’ll know soon…We’ll all be here for you and for Elena. Okay?” Tori looked up to see the approving smile of her brother Danny. Adele reached over with her left hand and squeezed her fiancé’s hand.

“All of us! We’re family, you know?”

---

Two months later...the Pearson front porch...

Baby, baby,
when first we met
I knew in this heart of mine

That you were someone I couldn't forget.
I said right,
and abide my time

“Please tell me you know?” Natalie tilted her head and stared at Rick.

“That you care? Of course, but there has to be more than that; my strength is at an all-time low, which is good.” He looked away.

“You’re not as much of a jerk as you used to be?” Rick nodded, believing Natalie was serious.

“Damn it, Rick…you’re getting help. You’re seeing a therapist, and you…well, you have a lot to overcome.

“Yeah, compensation…” He laughed, but it wasn’t funny at all. In trying to prove his manhood after being the first of his father’s victims, he went out of his way. Add to that his own propensity for selfishness, and he was a relationship accident just dying to happen. And he struggled to see any improvement even though Natalie and others kept telling him how much he’d changed.

“The bottom line is I don’t want to hurt one more human being…I don’t want to get close enough to inflict that kind of pain to someone I care about.” Rick shook his head and his nostrils flared slightly; his face grew warm and his eyes welled.

“See, there’s what I’m talking about! You told me that you only cared about yourself…that you couldn’t change, but you have… you care so much about how I feel that you’re willing to let your past screw up the best thing to ever happen to you. You are not going to leave me, Richard Pearson, do you understand.” Natalie’s tears matched Rick’s as she stared him down, almost like playing chicken, but with the stakes much, much higher. Fortunately for both of them, Rick flinched.

“Oh, God, Nat…I love you so much…I’m so sorry…” He choked up. Natalie crossed the distance between them and jumped into his arms, showering him with kisses as they both hugged.

“Now that I’ve found you, Richard Pearson, I won’t let you go…ever!”

Spent my life looking
for that somebody
to make me feel like new
Now you tell me that you want to leave me
But darling, I just can't let you

---

St. Louis County Courthouse...a few days later...

Baby, baby,
when first we met
I knew in this heart of mine

That you were someone I couldn't forget.
I said right,
and abide my time

“I’m so….” Giada looked at Benny and smiled nervously.

”Enamored? Entranced? Enthralled?” Miri poked her mother in the ribs and Giada swatted her arm playfully

“Scared! Me too!” Benny smiled back as the clerk produced the marriage license.

“I’m sorry that….” Miri put her head down. A hand reached over to grab hers, squeezing it gently. Cindy smiled at her and then at her dad and newstep-mom.

“We’re lucky…Iowa is just next door. Maybe things will change.” Things always change, but Miri held little hope that Missouri would be changing their State Constitution any time soon.

“Maybe some day... but I just don’t see it. It doesn’t seem fair that we can get married and yet our children?” Giada shook her head.

“It’s okay, Mom… we can dream and we can think and plan and look forward to being with each other, no matter what.” Cindy turned and smiled at the clerk before pulling Miri in for a long kiss. Would it last? They had only just turned seventeen and sixteen, and childhood romances in the best circumstances rarely endure.

“I’m with you,” the woman behind the counter said quietly as the girls separated.

“My partner and I got hitched in Massachusetts when she visited her folks. I only wish the rest of the country would wake up.

“Maybe some day.” Benny kissed Miri and Cindy before grabbing Giada’s hand. He pulled out a box from his windbreaker.

“This was my mother’s, Gee….As God is my witness, you make me very happy, and you’ve made my family complete once again. I love you and your children, and I know you love Cindy and Vi just as much as your own. I know it’s a big step for both of us, but I know this is the best thing for us all.” He pulled his new bride in for a kiss and the girls applauded and whistled. The occasion called for some boldness, Giada’s youngest child by seventeen minutes, Elena now instead of Jerry, joined in the applause. It was the first time other than to therapy or a family gathering that she had dressed as herself.

“Mr. Rubio? I…I mean, Dad?” Her voice was tentative and almost fearful, but Benny’s disarming smile broke through the caution.

“I’m…I’m so glad Mom found someone who cares for her…thank…thank you.” Benny didn’t find it at all necessary to receive thanks from his new step-daughters, but he welcomed it just the same. Adele, Miri and Elena all hugged the newest member of the family as their new step-sisters continued to cheer. The clerk interrupted with a very loud whistle.

“Okay, okay, you’re having way too much fun, folks. Let’s just take it outside, shall we?” Everyone turned around and stared in shock until she added.

“We’re the ‘Show-me State,’ after all; maybe your children can show the world that Missouri isn’t as backward as some might believe, you know? Y’all have a wonderful afternoon, okay?” She smiled and the group smiled back as they exited the office.

“Latino AND Italian? What a combo.” Violet laughed as they walked down the steps from city hall.

“So…spice is the variety of life as well, huh Mom?” Miri said, but her words fell upon hard-of-hearing ears as Benny and Giada kissed once again.

“Get a room!” Cindy said and then thought better of it and kissed Miri. Elena and Adele looked at each other, perhaps for the first time as the two sisters they had always been meant to be.

“I feel sorta left out, how about you?” Elena asked, feeling more confident than ever about her new future.

“Well, dear sister, we are supposed to go over to the Pearson’s for the reception, and I know Tori and Danny are there waiting, so be patient. You’ve got a whole lifetime ahead of you, okay?”

---

The Pearson home a short while later...

“So…how…how are you?” Tori said with a halt in her voice.The two girls sat on the front porch. Two girls who had only a few months ago been boys; or rather had been girls who had been thought of as boys. Their relationship was still tentative; both had endured abuse as children, and while that didn’t make them who they were, it kept them in many ways from becoming who they were meant to be.

“I’m okay…I…I missed you.” Elena was shy, not because of the persona she had finally adopted, but because she was unsure as any sixteen year old might be. She was a ‘new’ girl, a ‘new’ friend, a ‘new’ girlfriend, a ‘new’ nearly everything, and she was a bit afraid of how it all might not work out much more than how it would. Tori reached out her hand and held Elena’s.

“I missed you, too. We don’t…we don’t have to do anything. I learned that we don’t have to do anything other than be ourselves. Okay?”

“Can…can I ask you something?” Elena put her head down. Even as Jerry she had always been a bit timid, but now more than ever she was nearly retreating into herself.

“Sure…yes.” Tori was stronger than ever; mostly because of the help she was receiving in therapy, but also because she was finally allowing herself the benefit of the doubt; practicing what she had just preached by being herself.

“When we kissed in the hospital for the first time?” Elena looked down and began to cry. Tori touched her cheek softly and lifted her face by her chin.

“Yes.”

“I…I didn’t ask the question yet.” Elena protested.

“You wanted to know was I a boy or a girl and were you a boy or a girl when we kissed, right?” Tori smiled; it was an expression she had rarely displayed growing up, but something she was enjoying getting used to. She laughed softly and continued.

“Yes….because we sorta were both, weren’t we.” Elena nodded at the words, and Tori finally said,

“But we’re girls, Elena… just girls….and that’s who we are supposed to be. So I have one question for you.” Tori smiled again, this time with just a few tears in her own eyes.

“Yes?”

“Can I kiss you?”

The answer was quick and silent but for a soft murmuring coo from both girls, and seemed to go on forever.

“You, my dear, are the prettiest girl in the room,” Danny said as he hugged Adele from behind, his arms squeezing hers.

“I bet you say that to all the girls.” She laughed softly, feeling only a bit insecure.

“You’re quite mistaken, Miss. I have never in my life said that before today,” Danny complained.

“I’ve never been in love before, and I’ll never ever have any need to fall in love again.” He kissed her lightly on the cheek.

“You sure about that? I mean, there are a whole bunch of women out there much prettier than me, Mr. Pearson.

“If there are, you’d have to point them out. I have the most beautiful woman in my arms, and apart from driving a car or fixing dinner or other such things, I have absolutely no intention of letting go.” He spun her around gently, and the levity of the moment departed quickly.

“Adele, honey, I know we still kid about it, but please listen carefully, okay.” Tears welled in Danny’s eyes as he continued; Adele went to shake her head but he said firmly but softly,

“No…before you say a word, listen, because I’m through arguing with you on this point. Every word from my mouth from now on will be positive but for what I’m gonna say right now. You are not less of a girl than anyone else. You are not less pretty in my eyes than anyone else. I may have lived only a few years more than you, but I’ve been around long enough to know you are not anything other than beautiful and precious and worth every bit of treasure this world has to offer. I love you, Adele Magliano. I’ve loved you since I caught you starin’ at me when I came to fix your roof.” She went to protest but he put his finger softly to her lips.

“Never again, Adele…. Every time from now on? It’ll be, ‘How’s my beautiful bride doin’ today?’ or ‘Why lookie here, Ms. Magliano, if you aren’t the sweetest thing this side of heaven,’ I know that sounds really corny, and maybe it is, but it’s all I’ve got since it’s right from my heart.” She looked up into his eyes and saw the most tender soul she would ever behold; the kindest man she would ever meet. And in that one moment, all the hurt and pain…all the shame and doubt of a lifetime vanished forever, finally replaced with the love of a good man.

Baby,
now that I've found you
I won't let you go
I built my world around you
I need you so,
baby even though
You don't need me
now

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Romance along the Mississippi River didn’t start with the Pearsons and the Rubios and the Maglianos; nor will it end with them. But these three families, carried along in life by their faith and their willingness to grow and change and become transformed, will likely be as good an example of what romance is all about. Love comes in all shapes and sizes and colors and forms and such; some not as welcome as others, but maybe that's just it; the variety of these families that helps us see that love truly does make the world go round. Thank you for your support and encouragement.

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Baby, Now that I've Found You
words and music by
Tony Macaulay and John MacLeod
as performed by
Miss Alison Krauss and Union Station
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvKtxTsVoMo