Chapter 21            Belinda and Hayley stumbled terribly over what to tell Amanda. "Come on you
     guys. Daddy's bed is made, but I can't find him anywhere. We were supposed to
     be making birthday waffles with Mommy, and Hayley said we probably wouldn't
     get to, but she didn't say why."
         "Amanda, we're sorry about that," Hayley said. "You're right. Daddy hasn't been
     here today. Neither has Mommy."
         "Where'd they go?" Amanda asked, coming back downstairs. "Are they okay?"
         Belinda looked puzzled, but she let Hayley continue. "Oh, they're FINE! They've just
     had a sort of... adventure to go on. Something they needed to do before your
     birthday."
         "What kind of adventure?"
         "Oh, a very secret and exciting adventure," Belinda added. "They haven't even
     told me or Hayley about it yet... that's how secret and exciting it was."
         "But I'm sure they'll tell you all about it this afternoon at the party..."
         Amanda got a knowing look on her face. "I bet they were trying to find Aaron
     Armadillo. It'd be so cool if they did. Be right back!" She returned upstairs.
         "Aaron Armadillo?" Belinda asked Hayley, clue less.
         "I think it's one of those bean-bag baby things." Hayley dropped down on the
     couch. "Well I guess that worked, but what if Mommy and Daddy are still MIA in 6
     hours?"
         The phone rang. Belinda crossed her fingers and answered. It was the PVPD,
     passing on a message left early in the morning from Derek. "They're OK," Belinda
     sighed with relief when she hung up. "Derek apparently dropped them off at the
     Valley Inn just 2 1/2 hours ago. Sounds like the whole 'adventure' took them all
     night to take care of."
         "Thank God they're all right! Do you think we should give Janet's room a call?"
         "Well, you tell me, Hayley," Belinda answered with a sly smile. "If your Uncle
     Pork chop had the woman he loved alone after a night of going crazy, fearing
     he'd never see her alive again, would calling him first thing in the morning be an
     advisable thing?"
         "You're right, I had a brain freeze... but we'd better do a little spin doctoring in the
     name of birthday preparations, don't you think?"
         "I've got nothing pressing at the firm. Besides, I'm a little sleep deprived myself.
     Working on this party's a much better idea," Belinda agreed.
     "I'll take Mo-Mo to school, you see who else we can round up, ok?"
         "Meet you back here with reinforcements in an hour!"          Nestled in his chest, Janet awoke slowly to the blissful feeling of Trevor's skin
     encompassing her. She'd been asleep for hours, but she still felt a bit dizzy,
     deliriously free. Slinking a hand up to his shoulder she pulled herself closer to his
     throat, closer to his chin, determined not to lose this sense of unbridled joy
     coursing through her veins, for fear that something might try to take it away
     again.
        Her kisses woke him up, though he barely opened his eyes. He reached out for her
     face, finding it easily, cradling it in his palm as he often did before welcoming her
     lips with his own. As his hand moved up to the back of her head, he felt the
     comforter brushing against his skin as well and it made him open his eyes a little...
     just enough to realize they were both buried in blankets... and daylight was
     peeking through. He groaned regretfully.
         "I hope that's not you saying you're finally worn out, Counselor..." she whispered,
     nibbling his earlobe.
         "Absolutely not... that's me saying I'm afraid to look at the time."
         "So don't."
         "Babe, aren't you forgetting what day it is?"
         She continued grazing the side of his face for only a couple moments, then came
     to a dead stop. "Oh no." She untangled herself a bit and pushed the covers back.
     "Where's the clock?"
         "We ended up at the foot of the bed, remember?" Trevor was still cackling
     mischievously to himself as Janet sat up and gasped. "You don't have time to
     laugh, Trevor."
         "Uh-oh."
         "3:46!! In the afternoon? Oh my God!!"
         Trevor sat up too, rubbing his eyes in disbelief. "I was counting on 3:27 or better."
         "The party's starting in 14 minutes!" She leaped out of bed and into her robe. "How
     can it start without decorations... or a cake... or US?"
         Trevor lunged across the bed and picked up the phone. He caught Janet's hand
     as she searched for a brush on her night stand. "Tim? Yeah, I know. Believe it or not,
     we, uh... just woke up... As a matter of fact it WAS a super late night, thank you
     very much..." They talked just a little longer, with Janet trying unsuccessfully to
     wriggle away from Trevor's grip the whole time.
         "OK, here's the deal," he said, wrapping her into his lap. "Derek got people filled in
     this morning. Belinda got the decor going. Hayley swung over some goodies from
     Holidays. Tim made the cake..."
         "Tim?"
         "Don't panic, he'd made brownies before..."
         Janet buried her face in her hands.
         "Bottom line is, they've got it under control, so... let me share the shower with you
     and we'll be there in under an hour."
         "That's it?"
         "We've got good friends, Babe." He tickled her until she could squirm away and to
     the bathroom. At the door she gave a yelp and stopped. "My car... it's still at
     Holidays from yesterday.... how are we gonna get to the house?"
         "I'm on it," he laughed, picking up the phone. "Are you gonna panic like this at
     least 5 times a day when we're married? Because this is very entertaining..."
         "I'll see if I can kick it up to an even half a dozen," she said, rolling her eyes and
     getting the shower started.          Amanda greeted them before they even made it all the way up the driveway.
     "That must've been the best adventure ever," she observed as they all hugged.
         "Well... that's one way to put it." Trevor winked at Belinda, who'd filled them in on
     the way home.
         "Do I get to hear about it?"
         "Sweetheart, it's your birthday!" Janet laughed, hugging her extra tight, suddenly
     remembering how grateful she was to even BE there after last night. "You've got
     plenty to do already."
         "Well... yeah, I guess. But when you tuck me in tonight, I want that to be my story."
         Trevor and Janet gave each other a look.
         "Can you give me a hint? Please?"
         "Um... well... it's about bowling..." Trevor said.
         "It is?"
         "And cheese fries... and aging rock stars..." Janet added.
         "Yep. And let's not forget the lady that insisted your mom was a movie star, or the
     guy who just HAD to see "Wheel of Fortune."
         Amanda crinkled up her nose. "Maybe you should just read me 'Cinderella' or
     something."
         They laughed. "You've got it, sweetheart."
         "You know, that part about Mommy being a movie star I get, but... you guys really
     need to work on your adventures. They're pretty weird."
         She skipped on into the house, leaving Janet and Trevor to ponder the
     truthfulness of that statement before joining the party at last.

 

     THE END     Re-view Chapters 1/ 2/ 3/ 4/ 5/ 6/ 7/ 8/ 9/ 10/ 11/ 12/ 13/ 14/ 15/ 16/ 17/ 18/ 19/ 20/ 21