"Where would you like to eat?" Scott asked as he pulled away from the curb.

"Gwen will probably meet Joe at Charley's thinking that's where we'll go," Kiki replied.

"Well, how about Chinese? I know a great place down town," Scott offered.

They both knew the movie theater was downtown and most late shows started between 9:15 and 9:30. With just about an hour to eat dinner, the evening should work out nicely.

Soon the couple were seated in a booth and had ordered. The conversation was polite and so far the night seemed to be textbook. Neither was very comfortable considering how they had been set up. Yet as time went on they gradually relaxed and were genuinely enjoying themselves when nine o'clock rolled around.

"Kiki is a different name. I've never met anyone with it," Scott remarked as the dishes were being cleared from the table.

"Actually, it's my middle name," Kiki replied.

"So what's your first name?"

"Rainbow."

"Rainbow?"

"You say it like it's a bad name," Kiki said with a slight laugh.

"No - it's not," Scott answered quickly.

"My mother never quite left the sixties," Kiki explained.

"My mother goes back to visit every once in a while," Scott said with a chuckle.

"So what did Gwen tell you about me?"

"Well, she said you had just gotten out of a serious relationship and that you act strong and tough but at heart you're a romantic softy," Scott replied. "What did she tell you about me?"

"Your name."

"That's it?"

"That's it."

"Tell you what," Scott offered. "I'll tell you me broken heart story if you tell me yours."

Kiki looked at him intently for a moment. She was not accustomed to men being so direct with her, at least not in such informal circumstances. Not being one to open up easily to strangers, Kiki searched his face for his intentions.

Scott's eyes were fixed steadily on her. His expression was open and interested, like he really cared about what she had to say. Talking to him, Kiki felt she had known him all her life instead of just ninety minutes.

Kiki looked down to her watch. "Well, since we missed the movie, I guess we could swap sob stories."

Scott leaned closer to the table resting his arms on the cool surface. This was his way of tell Kiki she was first.

"When I was in high school," Kiki began with a hesitant sigh. "I met a guy named Josh St. Matthew. We fell in love young. We didn't really know what love was, but we swore that's what we were in. Just before the end of our senior year, I got pregnant and we got married just after graduation."

"He did the honorable thing," Scott interjected.

"Yeah, I guess. Jane was born and we were a family for a little while. But we were both too young for that kind of commitment. One night I came home early from work and found Josh in bed with someone I thought was my friend."

"Ouch!" Scott remarked.

"Yep. I asked for a divorce and got custody of my daughter. I've lived with Rose ever since. Josh's parents still haven't totally forgiven him for it. It is their way of tormenting him at all family functions."

"I can see why you wouldn't want to jump into another serious relationship. Twenty years old and already a divorced single mother," Scott said. He continued with a somber tone, "Do you ever regret it?"

"What?" Kiki answered and took a sip of her soda.

"Not giving your daughter up for adoption and gotten a little older before you settled down to be a mother?"

Ordinarily, Kiki would have been offended by such a question. But she could she in Scott's eyes that he was merely curious and her answer would not effect what he thought of her.

"No," Kiki answered with a motherly smile. "I fell in love with Jane the first time I saw her. If I had never gotten pregnant, yeah, my life would have a lot different. But, she is a big part of my life and I would not give her up for anything."

"That's really cool. I've known people who were in basically the same situation as you and have said the exact opposite. It made me wonder what really made them think they could raise a child."

"So what's your story?" Kiki said, trying to change the subject before it got to ethical or philosophical.

Scott's smile faded. His eye darkened as memories he didn't want invaded his conscious mind.

"Growing up, I had this best friend I did everything with," Scott began. "Her name was Melody Parkfield - the only girl in the world who didn't have cooties. I spent more of my childhood with her than I did my own family.

"We knew everything about each other - we had no secrets between us. When we started high school, we started dating. Everyone there swore we'd end up married. After a while, we thought so too. We were one of those sickeningly sweet couples you only see in the movies."

"How sweet," Kiki said with a romantic sigh. She was afraid to know what happened to their happiness.

"About half way through our senior year, Melody was diagnosed with some kind of cancer. I don't really know anything about it because she never wanted to tell me about it. It was the only thing she had ever kept from me. Her philosophy was live for the moment, so she never let me know how sick she was. Melody didn't want me to treat her or think of her as being sick."

"That's so sad," Kiki interrupted.

"On May 11th of last year, she died. I know it sounds corny but with everything we had been through together, I really felt that part of me died. I was lost without her and for about seven weeks I refused to do anything. Then it hit - Melody would have slugged me for the way I was acting, so I changed my life."

"What did you do?" Kiki asked, fully intrigued by his story.

"That's another story all together. It's going on ten-thirty and I have to be up really early tomorrow," Scott answered. "I have to drive home for some family thing about my sister's wedding."

"Well, maybe I can hear about it next weekend," Kiki replied. "Since I still owe you a movie."

"Scott smiled. "Sounds great. I'll call you when I get back and we can work out the details."

The couple rose from the table and Scott paid for their meal. On the drive back to Kiki's house she told him how she would tease and torment Gwen by not telling her anything about the evening. Scott could only laugh and whole-heartedly agree with her plans.

When they reached the house, Scott walked Kiki to the door. She thought he would expect a kiss good-night - and Kiki would not mind giving him one. Instead, he took her hand and gently kissed the back of it before saying goodnight. He then turned and headed down the path. Entering the house, Kiki gave a dramatic sigh and leaned against the closed door, a love struck on her face. She stood there a minute just enjoying the nervous feeling in her stomach before heading to bed.