Thompson vs Thompson (closed for Gr8chtr)

So what plans do you have for the day?

Strangely, this was a hard question for Daniel. When he invited Teri to spend most of the weekend, he didn't have any particular plan. The other times that they had spent the night together, something big was going on - her epiphany that she wanted him as a lover, their second sleepover when they affirmed their lovers' status, their get-away weekend in Richmond, and so on. It was oddly different to have no agenda. It was once, and at the same time, both delightful and a little scary. Having no special agenda was what couples had who were living together.

But, the obvious presented itself quickly to Daniel. His mug was now filled with a cup of the coffee that Teri had made; it was now time to eat.

"Well," Daniel said with light spirit, "since you made us coffee, I will make us breakfast. In anticipation of your company this morning I procured all of the necessary ingredients for cinnamon pancakes. Back in the day, this was my specialty. "

As he moved toward his cupboard, Daniel turned and laughed, "Unless, of course, you just want Kellog's cornflakes. I mean, after all, I'm a single guy, sometimes I just eat junk!"

After the delicious cinnamon pancakes, the two of them decided to take advantage of the beautiful autumn day and go for a hike where they had gone on their last hike. The view from the large rock where they stopped for water showed the entire valley. The pines mixed with the reds, golds and orange leaves giving a fantastic fall display that made the valley look like it was on fire.

Teri leaned back against Walker's warm body. The feel of his arms around her filled her with security and love. In his arms is where she had found the only home she desired.

"You know how you asked me to meet your family?" she paused, taking a deep breath. "I think I am ready."

You know how you asked me to meet your family? I think I am ready.

Daniel worked hard to stifle a tear in response to Teri's revelation. His throat felt like he had swallowed an apple whole. He knew what a big step this was for her, and what that implied for their relationship.

Daniel kissed Teri on the back of her ear while continuing to have his arms wrapped around her, her warm and wonderful body relaxing into his embrace. "Thank you," he said quietly, "I am moved deeply."

Slowly unwrapping his arms and turning Teri to face him, Daniel pulled her close and drew her into a kiss - a kiss that was both affectionate and erotic. "It's about 3 weeks until Thanksgiving. I'm sure that my mother would welcome you to the feast."

Before Teri could respond, he started to laugh. "However, my mom is kind of old-fashioned. We might have to sleep in separate rooms."

Teri could hear the satisfaction in Walker's voice. She wasn't a fan of holidays, but Thanksgiving was the least objectionable one. There was an undercurrent of fear that his family wouldn't like her, but she knew it was a natural fear and not one of her crazy ones.

They hiked their way back down to the car and headed back to Walker's house. Teri was tired, but it was the good tired of healthy exercise and fresh air. Back at his place, they showered and made dinner together. The quiet together time made it easy to picture them doing this on a regular basis. The more time they were spending together, the more natural and comfortable it became.

Sunday morning came and Teri almost wished she hadn't put the time limit on the weekend. She had enjoyed the weekend, but she had left a lot of things needing to be done. She needed to do some research on child emancipation for her case.

For Daniel, and he suspected for Teri as well, the time between the end of their weekend at his house and the Thanksgiving holiday long weekend practically flew by. It wasn't that he had little to do at work; in fact, he had taken on a couple of new cases as well as the usual string of wills and other stock legal documents that clients wanted prepared. Nor was it for lack of spending time with Teri. In the nearly three weeks since he had proposed, and Teri had agreed, spending Thanksgiving with his family, Daniel and Teri fell into a comfortable pattern of talking on the phone every day that they didn't actually see each other, texting back and forth, and spending most of their weekends together at one of their places.

The time flew, for Daniel, because having Teri meet his mom and his brother and his wife was both exhilarating and scary. He hadn’t introduced any girlfriend to his family since they had first met his ex-wife, Jill, and only one other time before that. And, he wasn’t getting any younger. He knew that his mom, though loving, would certainly be asking only thinly disguised questions about whether he and Teri were close to being engaged, did Teri want to have children someday, and so on.

On top of that was the awkward issue of sex outside of marriage. For a woman who came of age in the ‘60s when “sex, drugs, and rock and roll” was the cultural mantra, his mom was rather old-fashioned. Though not ultraconservative she was still a practicing Catholic and tended to hew the line on the Church’s teachings about sex. Daniel hadn’t been able to hide the fact he and Jill had lived together prior to marriage, but his mom had pointedly placed Jill in a separate bedroom any of the times when she and Daniel had visited prior to their wedding day.

Daniel and Teri bounded out of Teri’s apartment just after sunrise on Thanksgiving Day, hoping to beat at least some of the holiday traffic as they drove to his mom’s home in suburban Philadelphia. Arriving just before lunch they were greeted at the door by a beaming Judy Walker, apparently thrilled to see her son and his girlfriend. Daniel had anticipated just such a welcome, but his mouth dropped open at his mom’s comment once he had introduced Teri to her. “I have lunch almost ready,” Judy purred. “Danny, while I finish up in the kitchen and get to know your lovely friend a bit, why don’t you just take your and Teri’s bags up to the back corner bedroom. That’s where you and Teri will be staying. Brian and Suzy will have the front room.”

Teri felt as if she had just blinked and it was time to go to Walker's for Thanksgiving. It was probably for the best that she had been so busy, because she was so nervous about meeting his family that she probably would have been looking for ways to get out of it.

His mother greeted them in a warm way that helped Teri feel less self-conscious but when she told Walker to take their bags up to one bedroom, Teri didn't know what to do or say. She hadn't expected that. The look on Walker's face told her that he was surprised also. She wasn't sure how to respond. The idea that they would be intimate in a house where everyone might hear was enough to make her turn around and walk out. Still, they were adults and they could manage to get through a couple of nights. She took a deep breath and laid her hand on his back to let him know that she was okay with it.

What had her even more nervous was the fact that she would be left alone with his mother. Heaven knew what his mom would ask her. Did she even know the answers or would she come out looking like a fool?

Her hand on his back went from the comforting flat palm to a nervous grip of his shirt.

Teri's hand on his back calmed Daniel down just a bit from his shock over his mom's sleeping arrangements, but it didn't last long. Teri's grip on his shirt made him realize how anxious she must be, whether it was the thought of them sharing a bedroom in his mother's house, or Teri having to spend a couple of minutes alone with his mom, or both he wasn't sure.

Ascending the stairs with their bags he admonished himself for being so anxious. He and Teri were both over 30. though just barely, were accomplished, professional adults living their own lives, and were - obviously to any adult living in 2017 who wasn't a hermit in the desert - a man and woman who had sex as part of their relationship. Why be anxious? But, by the time he reached the back bedroom, Daniel had his answer. Everything else aside, he would always be Judy Walker's son, indeed, he would always be "Danny" to her, and introducing your girlfriend to your mom would always be nerve-racking.

The realization that his anxiousness was normal actually calmed Daniel down some. Moreover, it cleared his mind enough for him to realize that his job was to toss their bags on the bedroom floor and return to rescue Teri from her one-on-one with Mom as quickly as possible. Suppressing the urge to bolt down the stairs and, therefore, signify his rush, Daniel descended the stairs efficiently, trying to look calm.

He and Teri caught each other's glance immediately. He couldn't tell by her expression exactly how things went, but his mom saw through his ruse. With what Daniel thought was a bit of a grin on his mother's face, Judy Walker said, "Danny, you should have taken time to unpack. Your clothes will be all wrinkled. And, besides, Teri and I were just beginning to have a nice chat."

Teri decided in that moment that if she was going to be involved in an interrogation she was going to be the one doing the questioning.

"Yes, Danny, go find something to do."

She turned her back to his surprised look, struggling not to grin.

"Now, Judy, tell me everything I need to know about Daniel if he and I are going to be together."

Yes, Danny, go find something to do. ... Now, Judy, tell me everything I need to know about Daniel if he and I are going to be together.

Judy Walker didn't raise no dummy. Daniel knew when he had been beat. Prior to arriving at his mother's home he had worked hard, but not entirely successfully, to suppress a feeling of smugness. For months he had had to tiptoe around not expressing how much in love he was with Teri and how much he wanted them to articulate a future as a couple, but he was worried that any pressure would scare Teri away. In fact, he had nearly done so more than once. But, here he was. He had carefully guided them to the point where Teri accepted his invitation to meet his family over Thanksgiving. And, he had anticipated clearly, including informing Teri, that his mom would cling to the pretense that he and Teri were a chaste couple.

In just a few short minutes, first his mom, then Teri had totally taken command. Teri had just done what nearly every man fears; she had, at least temporarily, joined forces with his mom to undercut any idea that he was in control of the situation. On top of that, Teri had teased him in a self-confident way that she had never done before. The psychological distance from "Walker" to "Danny" could be measured in light-years.

As he tried to figure out how to respond an odd thought floated through Daniel's mind. The news had been full lately of how awful was Robert E. Lee, the patron saint of the state where Teri and he were currently living. But, unlike George Custer, General Lee know when he was beat. So did Daniel Walker.

Trying not to show his nervousness, he turned and said, "OK, I'm going for a walk. Have fun discussing my life."

The two women rolled their eyes at his parting words. Guys could be so defensive.

As they began to work together to finish up on the different sides for the Thanksgiving meal, they also talked. Judy learned about Teri's sister and her two friends that worked together at the office. She learned about Teri's latest case which was about a teen wanting emancipation. Teri learned about Walker's divorce and some stories about his school days.

An hour later, the two men were watching a football game and the three ladies were laughing and chatting as they set the table and brought out dish after dish of delicious smelling food. The men came when called and, with the game running in the background, everyone ate until they couldn't eat any more.

Teri had been nervous about meeting the family, but Walker's family was totally different from her uptight, rigid parents. This was more like being with Beth and her family. She leaned back in her chair, glad she had worn a dress and not pants, and sighed, "Judy, that has to be the best dinner I have ever eaten. Thank you for having me."

Daniel couldn't have had a better Thanksgiving; it was the best one he had had since his marriage to Jill had begun to crumble. He tried not to think of that. Teri was certainly not a replacement for his ex; they were very different and so were the relationships that he had with each of them. He also tried to push back memories of before his parents' divorce. Holidays had seemed so much happier then.

There was also a side benefit of having Teri there. Although he and his brother, Brian, got along well, they were not close. With Brian firmly married to Suzy, and hints of maybe a child in the not-too-distant future, he had often felt like the proverbial "fifth wheel" when he was at family gatherings with his mom, Brian and Suzy. With Teri along Daniel felt free to hang with his brother watching football without feeling like the odd guy out.

But what was especially delightful was seeing how quickly and how well Teri seemed to be fitting in with his family. Daniel never doubted Teri's social ability, but clearly she didn't relate comfortably with other people quickly. When she complimented his mom's dinner and thanked her, Daniel was tempted to throw his arms around her and hold her close, although his sense of propriety wouldn't allow him that much spontaneity.

Through examining his own life and observing the lives of both friends and clients Daniel had concluded firmly that love was expressed more in actions than in sentimental expressions. Knowing that Brian was, unlike himself, an avid football fan he slowly arose and said, "Thanks, ladies, for all that you have done. I know that Brian will need to watch the end of this game, which I have no investment in. So, I will take care of the dishes while the rest of you relax."

By the time the weekend was over, Teri was ready for some downtime. Between the last few weekends with Walker and Thanksgiving with his family, she was feeling the need for some alone time. Sunday night, she sat in her bathtub soaking in calming bubbles and thinking about the upcoming week. She had a meeting with Dotty Summerfield at four about her desire for emancipation. The biggest barrier to her getting what she wanted was that she needed to have a place to live. Teri had some ideas about that, but she needed to talk to Dotty first. She also wanted to meet Dotty's mother. She couldn't help the girl move out on her mother if this was all just a case of teenage angst. On the other hand, Dotty sure didn't come across as an angry teen, she was more like a desperate one.

Sighing, Teri pulled the plug with her toes and let some of the water drain. Then she leaned forward, replaced the plug, and turned on the hot water. Once the tub had reheated, she sipped some of the wine she had brought into the room with her and picked up her phone.

“Hey, did I tell you that I enjoyed meeting your family?” she asked Walker.

Arriving home Daniel spent a couple of hours doing some housekeeping that he had not taken care of before he and Teri bolted off for the Thanksgiving weekend holiday with his family. Although the holiday visit had seemed to go very well, and he was very pleased with how it turned out, he worried just a bit that perhaps Teri was just putting on a good face. He knew that she wanted him to feel secure in their relationship and that, out of kindness, she might cover up any downside that she had experienced. Before he allowed these worries to blossom the phone rang.

Hey, did I tell you that I enjoyed meeting your family?

Teri's upbeat voice on his phone and her message drove Daniel's fears from his mind. In fact, he realized that he was re-experiencing the warmth that he had felt on the second night at his mother's house when he and Teri had very quietly made love after everyone else had apparently fallen asleep.

Before Teri could get out much more than her opening statement, Daniel replied warmly and sincerely, "And, did I tell you how much I enjoyed having you there with my family?"

Daniel's mind drifted momentarily away from listening to the rest of what Teri was saying. Did he mean "...having you there with my family", or "having you there as part of my family"?

Life was good. Life with Teri was great.

Monday morning found Teri at her desk perusing her file on Dottie Summerfield. They had an appointment when Dottie got out of school. Teri needed to be very careful what she discussed with Dottie as child emancipation can get tricky. Courts could be very picky about letting a minor break from their parents' custody. If the parents objected, then Dottie would be turned down. If the situation at home was bad, then the parents objection could make things worse for Dottie.

At 3:30, Teri felt that she had a better handle on the requirements and what Dottie could expect.

"Dottie's here."

"Thanks, Patty."

"Hi, Dottie,have a seat. How was school?"

"Hi, Miss Jackson. School was fine. Here is my pay stub. I work afternoons at CJ Construction in their office. They gave me today off so I could come see you."

Teri looked over the stub. Dottie was working the maximum number of hours a week allowed teens. She was making $12.50 an hour which was quite a bit higher than Virginia's minimum wage of $7.25. "Twelve-fifty is a very good wage, what do you do for CJ Construction?"

"I was hired to file papers, answer phones and things like that. But, Mr. Jungston said he would pay me more if I also took initial orders and handled the payroll. They taught me in school how to use payroll programs on the computer and Mr. Jungston sent me to this office where they gave me more training on how to do input and how to report it to the workers. I have been working there for a year and doing the payroll for the past six months."

"That is very impressive, Dottie. Most payrolls are handled by accounting firms. It is very unusual to have a teenager do this job. It shows that you can handle responsibility, which is good. There are several steps to becoming emancipated and it can take up to six months. The courts want to know that you can live independently over a stretch of time without your parents' help. I think your job will satisfy the court, but you need to show that you have a place to live. It can't be "living with a friend", but you can have a roommate as long as you show that you are paying your fair share of the living expenses. Living expenses also include health insurance, car insurance if you have a car, and, of course, food. Before we go on, can you tell me about why you want to apply for emacipation?"

"My father left when I was five. My mother didn't handle it well. I think, maybe, she had some issues before he left, but I don't know for sure. She won't go see a doctor. She was always...um.. fragile so I was responsible for taking care of her. I didn't go to school until I was seven. Some neighbors called some people and they came and told my mom I had to go to school or she could be in trouble. So, I went to school and came home to take care of my mother. She couldn't work, she said she was too fragile so the government would send her a check. I guess she saw some doctor who signed a paper saying she couldn't work, I don't know for sure. But when the checks came, she would sign them and I would take them to the ATM, deposit them, and then take out money to pay for the rent, utilities and food. We didn't have a car, but this town is pretty small and I can get around on my bike." She paused.

"Can I get you something to drink? Water or a soda?"

"Water would be great, thanks, Miss Jackson. It is a long story I guess." She drank a third of the pint of water before continuing.

"Anyway, when I turned ten, some people came to the house and talked to my mom about me. Apparently, the school had some concerns about neglect because they hadn't seen her since the first day when she filled out the papers for me to go to school and asked Child Services to check on me. The house was as clean as I could keep it and I had just been to the grocery store, so as far as everyone was concerned, my mom was doing a good job of taking care of me. No one asked me what was going on. A kid's word doesn't count for much, I guess. I don't think I would have wanted to leave her back then anyway. So things went on. I went to school and took care of the house and mom. But, around the time I was in sixth grade, I realized that mom's fragileness wasn't really so much about being sick but she was drinking. There had always been a bottle in the cabinet over the refrigerator. But I hadn't paid much attention to it. I didn't realize that it was not the same bottle. I knew that mom sometimes took money out of the checking account, but it was her money, so I didn't question it. But one day in sixth grade, there was some kind of a teachers' meeting and they sent us home early. I forgot to tell my mom and when I got home, she was sitting at the kitchen table drinking from the bottle. I asked her what was wrong, and she just laughed and said it was her afternoon tea time. I didn't really understand what she meant. I began to keep an eye on the bottle and soon realized that she was changing the bottle every couple of days. When I asked her about it, said I was worried, she laughed and said that the scotch helped her feel better. I wanted her to feel better so I just nodded and went to make dinner. The drinking got worse and soon she was constantly yelling at me and blaming me for whatever problems she thought she had. I kept going to school and taking care of the house, but I was having a harder time taking care of her. She added hitting me to her screaming and I knew things were not going to get better. When I was fourteen, I read in the library about emancipation. I told mom that the government wasn't sending enough money and I found a job working in a restaurant in the kitchen washing dishes and doing food prep. It paid minimum wage but what was more important to me, it offered me a way of staying away from the house. The law only lets a kid work twenty hours or I would have worked even more."

She took another drink of water, then glanced at the clock. "Do you need to be somewhere, need to get home?" Teri asked.

"Not yet. My mom will think I am at work for another hour or so. I want you to understand why I have reached my limit at home." She took a deep breath. "I started giving half my money to my mom and started my own savings account. I knew that some day, I would have to leave home. I figured it would be when I was eighteen. I was also worried about what would happen to my mom if I left. She hadn't ever taken care of herself and now that the drinking was getting so bad, I somehow knew she never would. I could picture myself being forty years old and still taking care of her. Don't get me wrong, Miss Jackson, I love my mother, she is my mother. But I hate my life. I am afraid that if I stay, I will hate her, or worse, one of these times when she loses her temper, I might hit back. I need to get out of there. It isn't good for her or me. I have been taking advance classes at school, and I can graduate after my junior year. Once I graduate, I can start working full time. I know Mr. Jungsten would hire me full time; he has told me several times. He even said, if I wanted, he would help me go to school to get my accounting degree. But, it is two years before I am eighteen, and, if I am going to survive, if my mom is going to survive, I need to get out of there. There is a group of women at the church that helps with people that need help because they can't take care of themselves. I talked to one of them, Mrs. Smithson, and she said if something happened to me they would keep an eye on my mom. I was thinking that maybe if I wasn't there taking care of her all the time, she might have to learn how to take care of herself. Do you think that might happen, Miss Jackson?"

"I don't know. Maybe. Sometimes a person learns how to do something if there is no other choice. It is good that Mrs. Smithson and her group would check on your mom. But, it is hard to know what your mother would do. Are there any other relatives that you could go live with? Maybe some friends? Are you sure emancipation is the way you want to go? You will need to have your mother agree to it. Will she?"

"I don't know about any other relatives. Mom says she was an only child and her parents died before I was born. I don't know anything about my dad's side of the family. I don't really have any friends besides Mr. Jungsten. I was too busy taking care of my mom to have friends. I spend my time studying, taking care of mom and the house, and working. I don't see any other way out of my life besides emancipation, but I don't know what my mother will say. I haven't ever talked to her about it."

"Okay, it is time for you to get going. You need to ask your mother what she would think about signing the papers and you need to explore the idea of finding a place to live. It is hard to find someone that would rent to you since you are a minor. You will have to do some asking around to see if anyone would let you rent a room or an apartment. Why don't we meet again next Monday at the same time if you can get the time off work? You can let me know what your mother says. If she says no, then we have to take that into consideration when planning our next steps."

"Okay, Miss Jackson. Thank you for listening to my story. I will talk to my mom and see what she says, but what if she says no. Can she stop me from leaving?"

"I will have to talk to a judge once we find out what she says. I will know better then."

Dottie stood, held our her hand, and thanked Teri once again. Teri shook her hand and walked her to the front door. Her mind was whirling at all she had learned and she was worried that she wouldn't be able to help Dottie. She really wanted to help Dottie move forward. She was a very mature young lady and seemed to be very level-headed. No one should be in an abusive situation, but if, the court didn't emancipate her, she could end up in the foster program and that wasn't good either. She went back to her desk to review her notes. She had a lot to think about. Teri wished she could talk about it with Walker, but confidentiality prevented it.

Life was going well and Daniel knew it. He had successfully freed Estevan Morales from the sheriff's clutches and, to boot, the sheriff had just plain given up. Estevan would be free at least until ICE scheduled a hearing date for him. Daniel, of course, agreed to represent him. However, he knew that he couldn't do much more. Remarkably, though, word got around their little corner of rural Virginia and immigrants began to flood the C & W firm. Needless to say, this pleased co-partner Jose Castellanos immensely, and his pleasure was not mostly about the money.

More importantly, though, was Daniel's relationship with Teri. The Thanksgiving weekend had, at least for him and he thought for Teri as well, really deepened their connection. Teri was now really caught up in a case to which she was dedicated and immersed. She didn't tell him much about it, but it was keeping her so busy that there was little chance of them seeing each other except on the weekends, and maybe on a Wednesday, but not overnight.

Daniel missed Teri, he realized, more than he had imagined that he would at this point. He yearned to see her more, but he was aware that he had pushed pretty hard when he invited her to share Thanksgiving with his family. Several times before he had pushed hard enough to threaten their budding relationship. With some regret, he kept his own counsel.

Teri was busy at work. It seemed as if the holidays were just rushing up and if she didn't pay attention, they would pass her by. One night after work, she went to the jewelry store to buy earrings for Patty and a bracelet for Beth for Christmas. She couldn't help looking over the engagement rings while she was there. She wondered which one Walker would choose if he was going to select one: would he go for a solitaire diamond or a colored stone. She had always been partial to opals, but she wasn't sure if that worked for an engagement ring.

Laughing at herself for even thinking about it, she began to wander down Main Street, looking for something that would be appropriate to give to Walker. She wasn't used to buying things for a man. She planned to buy Beth's husband a gift card for a local restaurant. After perusing both sides of the business section of town, she gave up. Maybe she should talk to Beth for ideas. She should also find out if she was expected to buy for his mother and brother.

Honestly, shopping was not one of Teri's favorite things to do.

Back home, she called Walker to find that he was busy also. He shared the good news about Morales. Teri had wondered what happened with that case. She told him she was working on an emancipation case, but she couldn't really say much more than that. Living in a small town made it even more necessary to be confidential about cases.

Meanwhile, she was hoping to have some time with Walker over the weekend.

Time was growing short to make plans for Christmas, and Daniel was getting a little worried. He had decided, wisely he thought, to not push anything on Teri, but there were others involved. Since the breakup of his marriage he had routinely spent Thanksgiving and Christmas at his mother's, usually accompanied on one day by his brother and his brother's wife, just has had been true this past Thanksgiving. His mom already had sent him two e-mails wondering politely about his plans. She had also seemed overly interested in asking him what he was giving Teri for Christmas. Daniel could not figure out what sparked his mom's interest. His family exchanged one gift each, but it was not a big part of their holiday. So, why this interest now?

Sitting in his office on Friday in between clients Daniel mulled all of this over. The thought finally struck him that the best thing to do about Christmas plans was to simply ask Teri what, if anything, she wanted to do, then see where that conversation led. This clarity was a relief to him, but it didn't help much with thinking about what to get Teri for Christmas. He knew that many men bought their wives or girlfriends jewelry, and he had noted that when Teri dressed for work she always wore modest, tasteful earrings. Like most men, though, he hadn't noticed carefully enough to have a good sense of what she would like.

He decided to consult with Maria Lopez, the firm's secretary. She occasionally offered him unsolicited advice about all kinds of things, so he knew that she would welcome being asked. When he saw that Maria wasn't busy, Daniel sat down at her desk and explained his dilemma about choosing a gift, but that he thought that maybe a pair of earrings would be good. Did Maria have any advice? He was pleased to learn that Maria thought that earrings would be appropriate and also gave him some pointers as to what to avoid and what to look for. She even pulled up some pictures online that illustrated what styles would be good, offering of course, that she didn't know Teri very well. Daniel was surprised, though, that on several occasions she pointedly referred to women liking to get rings for Christmas. He was pretty sure that Maria would have noticed that Teri didn't wear any rings. When he pointed that out to her, Maria scrunched up her face, and headed to the restroom mumbling clearly loud enough for him to hear, "Los hombres son tan densos".

Daniel closed up his office, put on his coat, and wondered outside. It was only 3:30, but he felt done for the day. Maybe he would check out the only jewelry store in town and see what they had in earrings. But, his mind was reeling. Why had Maria repeatedly mentioned rings? And, when he pointed that out, why had she gone off in huff declaring that men are so dense? And his mom uncharacteristically kept asking about what he was giving Teri. What was that about?

As he approached the display window of the jewelry store on Main Street the light finally went on. Maria was right; "dense" described him to a tee, at least on this issue. A feeling of warmth began to wash over him as he thought about the possibility - at some point - of he and Teri being engaged. The warmth didn't last long before it was replaced by a feeling of cold, not generated by the moderate Virginia winter, but by a fear that he had let his fantasies go too far. That made him realize instantly that the answer to his dilemmas both about how to spend Christmas and what to get Teri could only be answered by them as a couple. They were in this together.

"Daniel Walker", he told himself, "is no longer single. Embrace it."

Pulling out his phone as he stood in front of the display he called Teri. Trying not to seem too anxious, he led them through some pleasantries, then plunged in. "Teri, I know you're busy, but if at all possible, it's really important to me that we see each other tomorrow and spend the night at one of our houses. I want to talk over what, if anything, you want to do over the Christmas holiday. And...well...," he paused briefly to collect himself, "I love you so much, Teri, I'd like to talk about where we're going as a couple."

"Um..okay. I love you, too. Do you want to meet for dinner? Either house is all right with me." Caught off guard by the seriousness of Walker's tone and words, Teri's mind raced. Was he breaking up with her? "How about if we go to your house?" she added quickly. She figured that if this was the end, she wanted to be able to leave on her terms. It seemed strange that he would say he loved her and break up with her, but stranger things had happened.

She waited for his response, not sure where her life was suddenly going.

Daniel's heart leaped for joy when Teri told him that she loved him too, accepted his invitation, and even more so because she suggested going to his house. He liked staying with Teri on her own turf, but there was something that always seemed a little less private about an apartment over the office where she worked.

Daniel didn't try to hide the joy in his voice. "Great!", he exclaimed, "That will be perfect. I will whip up a nice meal for us; how about if you bring some dessert and a bottle of wine? We can cozy up in front of my fireplace. It's supposed to be pretty cold tomorrow night. "

Walking back to get his car Daniel felt as though his feet weren't touching the ground. This was the first time that he had raised the possibility of a serious discussion about their relationship without any apparent hesitance from Teri.

Besides, the first words from her after he spoke was "I love you too". Whether this was the beginning of a new phase he wasn't sure, but it felt as though they had just turned a corner of some sort. And, it didn't feel like an impending disaster. Nice!

Although Teri liked to bake, she was just too busy. She packed an overnight bag and stopped off at the bakery on her way to Walker's apartment. She looked over the various choices and decided on some tiramisu. A quick stop for some wine left her confused. She wasn't sure what they were having for dinner so did she get red, white or rose? After a quick discussion with the owner of the store, she selected a rose.

She had talked with Beth and Patty about gifts for Walker and his family, but, now that she was heading for a "serious discussion about their relationship", Teri decided to hold off for a few days. For all she knew, she wouldn't need to buy anything for them. She really, really hated it when Walker made things seem so mysterious. Why couldn't he just say what he had to say instead of hanging it out there over her head for hours or days?

As she parked her car she muttered, "Okay, let's get on with this."

As he spent the couple of hours necessary to tidy up and clean his house in anticipation of Teri's arrival, Daniel had some time to think over his phone call with her. She didn't seem scared, but he had, after all, intimated that he had something big on his mind. Actually, he realized, he didn't. He just wanted to see where she was and let her know that he wanted to continue the depth of their connection that he felt when they had shared Thanksgiving at his mom's house. And, there was the practical issue of what to do about Christmas.

As he was cleaning a thought struck him that had been running around in the back of his mind for about a month. The house that he was renting wasn't nearly as close to either of their offices as was Teri's in-town apartment, but it wasn't far either. In nice weather he biked to work. It was modest in size by contemporary American middle-class standards, but it did have three bedrooms, a very usable kitchen, and a sizeable combined living room and eating area. He used one of the bedrooms as his own - where he and Teri slept when she was there - used the second bedroom as his study, and used the third bedroom as really nothing more than a storage area, which he didn't really need. His cozy house, he realized, could easily serve as the home for a co-habitating couple.

As soon as the possibility of Teri and him living together was well-formed in his mind, he worked hard to push it away. Teri was certainly not ready for such a suggestions, was she? Was he? When he told her that he wanted to talk about "where we're going as a couple", he did not have this on his agenda. Better to push this idea to the back of his head. But, doing so turned out to be harder than he thought.

Though his struggle to bury the idea of living together wasn't very successful, as he worked on the dinner preparations Daniel did manage to think reasonably about how he could calm any anxiety that Teri might have. And he acted on his plan.

When Teri arrived at his door with wine and dessert, looking almost overwhelmingly attractive both personally and physically, he took bags and set them down, helped her off with her coat and hung it on a hook, then tenderly but firmly took her in his arms and held her close. Breaking just long enough to initiate and complete an ardent kiss, Daniel wrapped his arms around her again and spoke softly into her ear. "Teri Jackson, I love you deeply. I worry that I might have scared you when I said I wanted to talk about us as a couple. I don't have any big surprise or demand or question. I just want to talk."

Pulling back from their embrace he kissed Teri sweetly on her lips, and took her by the hand. "Let's open your wine, sit on my couch, talk for a little while, then have a nice dinner and enjoy each other just like we did in Richmond and at my mom's over Thanksgiving."

Walker certainly had her confused. She was jumping from the fatalistic idea that they were breaking up to thinking they were fine to wondering where in the middle they might land.

She entered his apartment, handed Walker the wine and desert boxes, took off her coat, and had a seat on his couch. She had left her overnight bag in the car because she wasn't sure if she would be using it here or not.

Once Walker was seated, she turned to him and said, "What is up?" She thought she had struck a light, but curious, note without giving away her concerns.

What is up?

Teri's question was an obvious one, and, Walker thought, not a bad way to open this conversation. The problem, though, was that he wasn't quite sure himself. He decided to just go with the flow.

Daniel softly slid his hand into hers as he spoke. "Well, first, there is a practical, but somewhat pressing question. I really want to spend Christmas with you, but we haven't discussed this at all. I don't know if you have plans or what. Since the breakup of my marriage with Jill I have spent at least a day or two at mom's, often with my brother and his wife, but before that sometimes I spent Christmas with Jill's family. So, I'm open to whatever you'd like to suggest, although if you want to spend Christmas without me, that would be hard for me." He realized that as he said the last part he had started unconsciously to hold Teri's hand tightly.

Before Teri could respond with any thoughts about Christmas Daniel continued. "Then...well...it felt so good when we were together over Thanksgiving and mom's house and before that in Richmond that...well...I really would like to see more of you. I know that you are very busy on a case that means a lot to you, but...well...often my times alone back here at my house have felt pretty empty without you."

Daniel could feel his face blushing and his heart speeding up. He hadn't planned to be this emotional or blunt about missing Teri. His honesty might have scared her. He knew that it scared him some.

Teri felt confused. Walker was holding her hand so tightly it was going to sleep, yet she didn't want to tell him or pull away. It was obvious that what he was feeling was intense but to Teri, the topic didn't seem as big of a deal as he was making it. She had assumed that they would be together for Christmas, until he had called to tell her that they needed to talk.

It dawned on her how far she had come. Four months ago she would have been in a total panic at his words, now, she was feeling confusion not fear. How odd.

"You scared me when you said you wanted to talk. Your voice was so upset that I thought you wanted to break up. I think I have come a long way as I am not freaking out at your words. It surprises me to be honest. But, I can see that I still have some work to do on trusting our relationship. I trust YOU, I just seem to assume the worst at times. I need to work on that. But I know you love me and I love you, so why I think you are torpedoing the relationship every time you say you want to talk is beyond my comprehension.

I think that some of it is the tone you get when you have something to tell me or ask me. Maybe you aren't any more secure in this relationship that I am? I don't know. I assumed that we would be together for Christmas, but I hadn't really thought about other family members. As you know, my relationship with my parents and sister has been strained to put it mildly. I have started to reconnect with my sister, but I have spent the past few Christmases with Beth or alone. Sometimes I go on a ski trip or south to the beaches, but I always feel the pinch of aloneness at the holidays.

I enjoyed the time at your mother's, but I don't want to impose so soon after Thanksgiving. But at the same time, I want you to be with your family. You are close to your family which I think is wonderful and I would never want to create any distance between you and them. So, you need to tell me what is best for you. Do you want to go to your mom's alone? Do you want to go together? You have to tell me. I will keep loving you no matter what you want to do.

Daniel listened sensitively as Teri talked about her initial reaction to his message. He felt a warm glow welling up inside him as she continued on speaking about trusting and loving him, and knowing that he loved her.

Then she laid him bare. Maybe you aren't any more secure in this relationship that I am?

He had spent so much time thinking about Teri's insecurities around relationships, and theirs in particular, that he had not looked very deeply inside of himself. He realized that he also had "some work to do."

Daniel continued to listen to Teri's thoughts about Christmas, but what really filled his mind was how similar they were in so many ways. They were, in fact, in the same boat.

That thought made him laugh. As soon as Teri stopped talking, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, initiating a firm and teasing kiss in the process. Smiling broadly he said, "You know, Teri, you're right. I think we're two of a kind. And, you know what? Oddly enough, I think that means that we're going to go forward just fine. You and me, our occasional anxieties in tow, hand-in-hand, arm-in-arm forward into the future."

He pulled back some, still smiling as the warm glow returned to him. "In fact, Teri. I'm going to make you a promise right now. From now on anytime that I feel the urge to have the serious talk (he surrounded that phrase with air quotes), I'm not going to make a big announcement, and possibly scare both of us. How's that? We're going to have lots of opportunities to talk about our relationship as the need arises."

"And," he added, "about Christmas? I have no desire to spend Christmas without you. In fact, I'd like to suggest that we take a nice couple of day trip somewhere to celebrate our first Christmas as a couple. Maybe on the way back or before New Years we can stop my my mom's house for a one-day stay."