Swans Crossing: The Return

©1997 by Stephanie Blydenburgh

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Chapter Thirty-Seven

The phone on the wall rang over and over again while Callie stared it down. "I could be out," she rationalized over the incessant ringing. "I mean, I do go out."

"Callie!" Captain Walker boomed from down below. "Are you going to answer the phone? It's bothering me!"

She looked at it again. It was probably Jimmy, and although she wasn't still angry at him for his less-than-tactful suggestion, she hadn't asked her father about her sister and the accident. She didn't want to seem like a chicken. She was tough, but she just wasn't... ready.

"Hello?" Callie said, finally giving in to the phone's demands.

"Callie!" Sydney exclaimed in a mock scolding tone. "Your phone has been ringing off the hook. Where have you been?"

"I was out," Callie lied. "I do go out."

Sydney laughed. "Of course you do. But this is really, really important, so I'm glad I caught you."

Callie twirled the phone cord around her finger and grinned. She wasn't even annoyed by Sydney's pushiness; at least she didn't have to explain to Jimmy why she hadn't talked to her father yet. "What's up?"

"Well, to make a long story short I really need your help." She quickly brought Callie up to date on her charity fair idea.

"So what does this have to do with me?" Callie asked, not quite understanding.

Sydney sighed. "See, I asked Danathan to help me and--"

"Wait a minute? Who's Danathan?" Callie interrupted.

"I guess we haven't really talked in a while," Sydney said, laughing sheepishly. "See, Danathan is..."

"Yes?" Callie prompted.

"Well, I met him... and I kept seeing him..." She paused for a minute. "Gosh, I really don't know how to describe him!"

Callie raised an eyebrow. "Are you saying you like this guy?"

"No!" Sydney said quickly. "Of course not! I'm with Garrett, you know."

"I know. It just sounds like there's something there," Callie pointed out.

"Well there's not. He's just this guy that I met when you were in Brazil. He's sort of a friend, who just keeps appearing everywhere I go."

"Sounds kind of creepy to me," she told her honestly.

"Are you going to help me or not?" Sydney asked, growing annoyed at Callie's unsolicited opinions.

"I will. What do you want me to do?"

"I asked Danathan to help out with the treasury. Actually, he volunteered himself." Sydney could imagine Callie furrowing her brow with concern. "Before you say anything else, I am being cautious. That's where you come in. I don't know him very well, and I thought maybe you'd sort of keep an eye on him. You know, be his assistant or something. Are you good with numbers?"

Callie shrugged. "I guess."

"That's good enough for me. So you'll do it?"

"Why not?" she agreed. "It should be a good distraction," she added under her breath.

"Thank you so much! You're a great friend," Sydney said sweetly. "I'll be in touch with more details."

The girls said their good-byes, and Callie hung the phone up on the wall. Now that it wasn't ringing, she was faced with an even more demanding task... talking to her father.

Glory gave Carolyn a skeptical look. "Oh come on! You are so good enough for Neil! I think you'd be the perfect couple."

"I think you're getting ahead of yourself, Glory. There's a lot of stuff that you and Neil don't know about me, and I'm not sure if we'd be the next Swans Crossing super couple like you and J.T.," Carolyn explained self-effacingly.

Glory laughed. "Well, maybe so, but I still think you should give it a chance. How about if you and Neil double with the ‘super couple’ on Valentine's Day in a couple weeks? I'm sure we can think of something fun for us to do, and we'd all have a great time."

"You want to spend Valentine's Day with me and Neil?" Carolyn asked incredulously.

"Sure," she replied with a smile. "I'd spend any day to see Neil on a date."

Carolyn nervously played with the edge of a placemat on the counter. "What makes you think he'd even say yes?"

"I've seen the way he looks at you," Glory said confidentially. "He never seems to want to hang out with girls. Except for you."

Carolyn looked resigned. "Well, what have I got to lose? I'll do it."

Glory smiled triumphantly. "Great! This is going to be so much fun!"

Carolyn sighed, and did her best to smile in return. "I hope so."

Sandy drummed her fingers against the counter at the local music store while Owen wandered around, as if he was a little kid in a candy shop. She rolled her eyes in Mila's direction. "We'll be here for hours," she whispered.

Mila snickered. "But he's only got to get some new drum heads."

"It doesn't matter. It'll take him forever just to find them, and then he'll get distracted by something else." Sandy glanced over Mila's shoulder. "So, you and Owen are okay now?"

Mila sadly watched him shuffle through sheet music. "I guess so. Things are a little bit strained between us, but I suppose they'll eventually be all right. I mean, he liked me all summer and it never hurt our friendship, so now that I know how he feels it really shouldn't either."

Sandy nodded. "You're right. I'm going to wander around a little bit," she said, and then left to walk around the music store. As she stared up at the displays she sensed someone come up behind her.

"Do you need some help?" an employee asked.

Sandy smiled politely. "Oh, no. I'm just looking."

The girl stared at Sandy curiously. "Do I know you from somewhere?"

Sandy looked back at her. She had white blond hair, several holes in her ears, and ripped up jeans. Sandy doubted she had ever met her before. "I don't think so..."

"You're a singer aren't you!" the girl exclaimed. "Some local pop band, right?"

Sandy nodded slowly. There was something in the girl's tone of voice -- something condescending that made Sandy feel insecure and didn't make her want to talk about her band... the thing she was truly most proud of. "Yes, that's me," she said softly, and then turned on her heels to go back to the counter with Mila. She heard an amused giggle from behind her, making her feel about two inches tall.

Sydney took a plush terry cloth towel off the hook in her bathroom and wrapped it around her damp hair. Humming to herself, she went into her bedroom to examine a pile of clothing on her bed. It was Friday evening and Garrett had asked her to go out to dinner. They really hadn't been on a real date since homecoming, and she was immeasurably excited. She picked up a black, long sleeved dress and held it against her body. It looked good, but it was a little boring. Surveying all the clothes in her closet told her she was in desperate need of a shopping trip. She threw the dress aside and grabbed another garment. She was examining it when the telephone rang. She reached for it and answered, "Hello?"

"Hi Sydney."

Sydney stifled a groan and flopped down onto her bed. "Danathan. I'm sort of busy; can we talk later?"

"How does tonight sound?" he asked.

"What?"

He cleared his throat, sounding a tad bit nervous. "I was wondering if you would like to have dinner with me at the Swan Club. We can discuss the benefit."

Sydney caught sight of Garrett's framed picture on her vanity table. "I have a boyfriend, Danathan."

"I know," he said in an almost bitter tone. "That Booth boy."

Sydney didn't like the patronizing sound of his voice. "That's right. And we were actually going to go to the Swan Club tonight for dinner."

"What time?" he asked.

"Eight o' clock," Sydney responded slowly.

"Perfect. I'll see you guys then."

"Wait!" she shouted, but only heard the hum of the dial tone. "Great," she muttered, sensing this was going to be a huge disaster. She began dialing another number... of the one person who could help her in all the catastrophic situations she got herself into.

If I don't do it now I'm never going to do it, Callie thought to herself as she paced the floor of the sub. It's my dad after all. I can talk to him.

She drew in a deep breath and before she lost her nerve, she headed down the steps to where her father was working. "Dad!" she called.

Her father looked up. He was penciling something on a map, appearing to be hard at work.

"Can I talk to you about something?" she asked, nervously playing with the ends of her hair.

"Of course. What is it?"

She cleared her throat. "Well--" she began, and immediately was interrupted by the ringing of the phone. "Not again!" she groaned in frustration.

"That's the problem with having friends. They're always wanting something," Captain Walker said seriously. Reluctantly, Callie headed back up to the main deck.

"What?" she answered testily.

"Oh Callie! I'm so glad I caught you! You have to help me!"

Callie recognized those words immediately. They could only have come from... "Sydney," she sighed, irked at the untimely interruption. "What's going on now? I already agreed to help out with charity fair."

"I know. But I need something else. Something even more important than keeping an eye on Danathan," Sydney explained breathlessly.

"But it has to do with him... doesn't it?" Callie asked. Hearing the panic in Sydney's voice, she guessed that her friend was in over her head with this Danathan person.

"Yes," Sydney admitted. "See, he just called and said it was important for me to meet him for dinner tonight to talk about the benefit. With Garrett."

"With Garrett?" Callie repeated in surprise. "That's going to be comfortable."

"Do you think you could come along, too?" Sydney asked.

"You want me to come?" Callie said, stifling a groan. She wasn't really in the mood to socialize.

"Yes," she pleaded. "You ask Jimmy and we'll make it some sort of triple date or something."

"With Danathan by himself?"

Sydney shrugged. "I guess so. So will you come?"

Callie was silent for a moment.

"Please! I wouldn't ask, but this is going to be totally embarrassing as it is, and if I have you to back me up it would really help."

Callie wasn't sure why Sydney was asking her for all this assistance and not Mila or someone she was closer to, but she did sense that Sydney was in danger of getting in over her head like she had last summer. Maybe if Callie was there she could stop it before it started. Besides that, if she was out for the evening she'd have an excuse for not grilling her father about Vanessa. "All right. It sounds like it'll be... interesting," Callie agreed.

"Thank you so much! I'll meet you guys at the Swan Club at eight!"

Callie laughed and hung up the phone. She went to her bedroom to start getting ready for the evening. This was just the kind of distraction that she needed.

After her trip to the music store with Owen and Sandy, Mila checked out early on practice and went home. She was tired from a long week at school, cheerleading, and band practice. She just wanted to lay down on her big pink bed and do absolutely nothing.

As soon as the elevator door opened to her expansive room, she heard the ringing of the phone. She slowly went over to her desk and picked up the red high-heeled shoe and pressed the talk button.

"Hello?" she answered wearily.

"Hi Mila, it's Grant," he said in a friendly voice.

Mila's tiredness melted away. "Hi Grant! What's up?"

"How come you're home on a Friday night?" he asked curiously.

"Oh no reason," she answered demurely.

"Are you busy?"

"No," she replied with an excited giggle. Every time she talked to Grant she became very giddy.

"Well, how would you like to have dinner with me tonight?" he asked.

A date!! she thought to herself ecstatically. "I... I'd love to," she said with an eager smile. "What time?"

"How about in an hour? We'll go to Gicones," he told her.

"Gicones?" she repeated, her eyes widening. "Gicones is really expensive. Are you sure you can... afford it?"

"My dad's business is back on track, so I can definitely afford it," Grant explained.

"Well that's great!" she said happily.

Grant thought back to his conversation with his father earlier in the week.

"I guess this means I can finish up the semester back at school," Grant said after his father told him their family was financially stable again.

Mr. Booth nodded. "Yes, that's exactly what it means."

Grant's face fell. "Great."

"Anyway, would you like to go? There's uh... something I need to tell you," Grant said, quickly changing the subject.

"It sounds wonderful. I can't wait," she told him. Then she said good-bye and hung up the phone.

Grant thought about what he had to tell her. No Mila, he thought to himself. I'm sure you can wait.

Nancy watched the blue lights from the television flickering on the wall. She was so entirely bored of watching mindless sitcoms that she felt like she was going to go crazy. Kevin still hadn't called, and she kept thinking of what Sandy had told her that afternoon at school: "And Nancy? Call him!"

Nancy stood up. "Yeah!" she said aloud. "I should call him. Why should I wait around for him to call?" She groped for the telephone in the dark, and dialed Kevin's familiar number.

"Hello?" Mrs. Hall answered.

"Hi, is Kevin there?" Nancy asked, wondering what kind of excuse he was going to have for not calling her for such a long time.

"Actually dear, he's been grounded this week," Mrs. Hall explained.

Nancy wasn't expecting that. "Grounded?" she echoed in surprise.

"Yes. He didn't do so well on his report card, so I haven't let him use the phone this week."

Nancy almost laughed with relief. "Well that's great!"

"Great?"

"No," she corrected herself quickly, realizing what she had just said. "I was just wondering where he had been all this time and why he hadn't called." Nancy noticed she was babbling. "Just tell him to give Nancy a call when he's not grounded anymore."

Nancy hung up the phone and smiled. So Kevin hadn't been ignoring her! She felt so silly having worried and whined to her friends all that time when there really had been a simple answer to it all. And Sydney had tried to convince her that Kevin didn't like her anymore. Upon thinking of Sydney, another thought entered Nancy's mind: the skating competition! Because she had been so consumed with thinking Kevin had dumped her, she hadn't practiced at all! And the competition was the following afternoon!

Nancy grabbed her skates from the front closet, slipped on her winter coat, and headed out the door. She had to practice before it was too late.

A few minutes after eight o' clock, Jimmy and Callie arrived at the Swan Club.

"So how are things at home?" Jimmy asked while they waited for the rest of their party to arrive.

Callie groaned. "I haven't talked to my dad yet if that's what you're asking."

"Hey," Jimmy said, sensing she was getting angry, "If you're not ready to talk to him, then you're not ready."

She sighed, and then looked up at him apologetically. She didn't mean to be on the defensive all the time. "How did I get to be so lucky?"

He smiled at her teasingly. "You are lucky... aren't you?"

She gave him an affectionate push. "Oh please. Don't start acting like..."

"Garrett!" Jimmy called, noticing his friend enter the country club. Callie snickered, realizing that she had almost insulted Garrett to his face.

Garrett walked towards them, Sydney clinging to his arm. She was elegantly dressed as usual, but her expression seemed very distracted. "Hi you guys. It looks like I'm sharing Sydney with you tonight."

Sydney looked in Callie's direction gratefully. The whole way to the club Garrett had sort of complained about the fact that he and Sydney were not going to be alone that evening.

"So where's the other guy we're supposed to meet?" Garrett asked.

Sydney searched the crowd for signs of Danathan. "I don't think he's here yet."

"Who else are we meeting?" Jimmy asked. Callie had forgotten to explain to him exactly why they were there.

"His name is Danathan. I'm helping him help Sydney with her charity event," Callie explained. Jimmy gave her a quizzical look. "I'll tell you later," she whispered to him.

"Danathan?" Garrett repeated. Callie shot Sydney a look. Apparently, she hadn't fully explained things either. "Why does that name sound familiar?"

Sydney opened her mouth to tell Garrett that Danathan had been at her New Year's party when she saw a tall, dark man out of the corner of her eye. "There he is," she said, waving in his direction. As he came towards the two couples, Sydney noticed he wasn't alone. On his arm was a tall, thin, red-headed... woman.

Chapter Thirty-Eight

A long, awkward silence passed between the three couples. Sydney stared at the young woman with a hurt look in her eyes. Callie elbowed her.

"Sydney, this is Heather Kagan, my..." Danathan glanced at her, and she gave him a steely glare. "My girlfriend."

Sydney didn't respond for several moments. "Um, nice to meet you." She looked over her shoulder at her friends. "And uh, Danathan, this is Jimmy Clayton, Callie Walker, and this," she smiled at Garrett, "this is Garrett Booth. My boyfriend." She smiled again. Two can play at this game, she thought to herself.

Danathan nodded politely. "Yes. We met at the New Year’s party."

Garrett snapped his fingers. "That's where I know you from. Why didn't you tell me, Sydney?"

Sydney shrugged. "I forgot?" she offered lamely.

"Why don't we sit down?" Callie suggested, sensing the tension in the air.

"Good idea," Sydney muttered. The six of them strolled to their table, and sat down. Sydney watched with jealousy as Danathan pulled out Heather's chair. She wasn't sure why she felt envious toward his girlfriend, but for some reason she did.

Silence loomed over the table again as they studied their menus. Sydney was still staring at Heather, and Jimmy glanced up from his menu a couple of times in the direction of Danathan and Heather.

In a weird sort of way he thought Danathan and Heather resembled an older Jimmy and Callie; he was dark-haired and she had red hair and dark eyes. In fact, the more that he looked at her, the more she looked like Callie.

"So, uh, tell me about yourselves," Jimmy said to Danathan and Heather. Something told him he should try and find out more about her... just in case.

"Well, I am pre-med at the University of Maine," Danathan began.

Callie sipped her water. "We have a couple of friends doing research there. Maybe you know them."

Danathan laughed in a condescending way. "I seriously doubt that. It's a rather large institution."

"Do you go to the University too?" Jimmy asked Heather.

She looked at him curiously. She wasn't really sure why he was giving her and Danathan such attention. "No," she responded slowly. "I... work."

Her voice too! Jimmy thought to himself incredulously. He didn't want to even let himself think about what the possibilities might be, but there was something so strangely familiar about the girl. "So, um, are you guys originally from Swans Crossing?"

"I'm from New York," Danathan said. "And Heather was born out of the country."

Jimmy's mind wandered back to what Callie had told him about her childhood. She was born in Canada... out of the country! "Well, that's interesting. What country were you born in?" he questioned her.

Heather was about to answer when the waiter arrived at their table to take their order. As he went around the table, Heather and Callie both ordered the sushi. "What do you know! You and Callie here seem to have a lot in common," Jimmy commented, feigning surprise for the coincidence.

Heather smiled at him warily.

"Callie?" Sydney hissed. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

Callie stood up and looked at the other people at the table. Garrett was sitting in silence, Heather looked uncomfortable, Danathan looked angry, and Jimmy kept asking them questions. It was a very strange scene. "Sure," she replied, placing her napkin on her chair and heading toward the cabanas with Sydney.

"What's with Jimmy?" she demanded, placing her hands on her hips.

Callie looked back at the table, where Jimmy was leaning across the table talking to Heather again. She shook her head. "I have absolutely no idea."

"Well, could you get him to stop the twenty questions?!"

"What's the matter?" Callie asked her, noticing how she was becoming very flustered.

Sydney sighed. "I don't know! I just feel so uncomfortable, and I never even thought that he might have a...."

"Girlfriend?" Callie supplied.

"Yeah. It doesn't matter. I mean, it shouldn't matter... but it does and I don't know why," Sydney tried to explain.

"Do you have feelings for him, Sydney? Honestly."

"I don't know," Sydney replied with a moan. "This is all way too much for me right now. I think there is something that... draws me to Danathan. But I really care about Garrett."

"Well, maybe there's something missing in your relationship with Garrett that you think you could get if you were with Danathan," Callie offered.

"Maybe. So what should I do?" Sydney asked.

"Well, just don't act on anything until you know for sure how you feel," Callie advised. "If you tell Garrett that you might have feelings for another guy he's going to flip out." Sydney nodded.

"Thanks Callie." She looked over at the party. "Do we really have to go back there?"

Callie laughed. "You wanna ditch them?" she teased.

"Sort of. But I created this mess." She took Callie's arm. "Come on."

They went back to the table, and while Sydney sat down, Callie stood behind Jimmy. He was still questioning Heather and Danathan, acting like a talk show host. She cleared her throat.

"Callie!" He turned to her and smiled. "I was just asking Danathan and Heather how they met."

She grabbed his arm. "Well, you can get their answer after this brief commercial break." She glanced at Danathan, Heather, Sydney, and Garrett. "Excuse us for a moment."

She dragged Jimmy off to the area where she had just been talking to Sydney. "What are you doing?"

Jimmy shuffled his feet, appearing very eager to return to the dining area. "What do you mean what am I doing?"

Callie frowned. "What I mean is," she said in a lowered voice, "why are you flirting with Heather?"

Nancy skated around the park, listening to the sound her skates made as they sliced through the ice. It was so peaceful there at night, colder too, but Nancy was enjoying the way a slight breeze whipped past her in the otherwise still night. She gained momentum as she circled the pond, and then leaped into the air, and landed perfectly... the most perfect jump she had ever executed. She punched the air triumphantly. If she could just perform the jump like that at the competition there was no doubt in her mind that she'd beat Sydney.

She heard clapping in the dark, and the crunch of footsteps approaching in the snow. Nancy stopped skating with surprise, wondering who else would be in the park this late at night.

"Is someone there?" she asked timidly. She didn't really like being alone at night.

"It's Kevin," Kevin said, stepping into the light surrounding the pond.

Nancy smiled with surprise. "I thought you were grounded."

"I got off for good behavior," Kevin explained, grinning at her. "You know, I've missed seeing you."

"I've missed seeing you, too," she admitted shyly.

"You're getting really good since the last time I saw you skate," he commented.

"Thanks," Nancy replied, not bothering to mention that she hadn't really practiced all week. She and Kevin stared into each other's eyes for a minute, enjoying the silence of the beautiful moonless night. Then the world moved in slow motion as Kevin leaned towards Nancy, placed his hands gently on her shoulders, and kissed her on the lips. She melted under his touch, and couldn't even believe what was happening... her first kiss! As she stood in the floodlights of the skating rink kissing Kevin, she felt on top of the world, and like she could accomplish anything.

Mila dabbed a drop of perfume behind her ear and grabbed her purse. She looked into the TV screens by her dressing area and examined her outfit. She was wearing a long floral dress with bell sleeves and a white crocheted vest. She had put her long blond hair in hot rollers, creating a cascade of golden curls. She smiled at her reflection and headed to the elevator.

When she reached the ground floor she saw Grant, dressed in a navy blue suit, waiting for her, a bouquet of pink tulips in hand.

"Oh! Thank you!" she exclaimed, taking the flowers from him. She handed them to Felicia, the new maid, to put in some water.

"You look especially beautiful tonight," he complimented her, and held out his hand. "Shall we go?"

Mila nodded and placed her hand in his. "Mama! I'm leaving!" she called.

The countess rushed into the foyer, Tutu perched on her shoulder. "Have a splendid time, my angel!" she exclaimed, pecking her daughter’s cheek.

"Thanks. I'll be home later Mama."

"And we'll be careful," Grant added for good measure.

They said good-bye and headed out the door towards the Booth's BMW. Grant opened the door for Mila and he started the car. He pressed down on the accelerator and they started off on their date.

Heather gave Danathan a cross look. "Darling," she said, her voice dripping with sweetness. "May I speak with you for a moment?"

Danathan looked straight at Sydney. "Sure," he answered, walking away from the remaining couple without a word.

"Well, this is fun," Garrett remarked sarcastically, loosening his tie. "Sydney?"

"Yes?" she answered distractedly, wondering where Heather and Danathan were off to.

"Why are we here?" he asked.

Sydney was taken aback. "What?"

"Well, this triple date is ridiculous!" Garrett exclaimed with frustration. "I mean, you still haven't told me why we had to meet this Danathan guy and why Jimmy and Callie are here, and I haven't had much time to be alone with you! Apparently, everyone else wants to be alone too," he pointed out, surveying the empty chairs.

Sydney gave him a devilish look and scooted her chair closer to him. "We're alone now," she whispered, pushing the thought of Danathan out of her mind for the time being.

Garrett smiled for the first time that evening and placed his hand on her cheek. "Yes, we are," he replied, tenderly kissing her.

Meanwhile, in the trophy room, Heather stood with her arms crossed in front of her chest. "Danny!" she whined. "This doesn't seem to be working. She probably isn't even going to pay for our dinner!"

Danathan frowned. "Well, you've been hanging all over me. I get the feeling that Sydney keeps coming around because she has romantic feelings for me."

"Well, of course Danathan," she said sarcastically. "With your good looks what girl could resist?"

"Just tone down the 'darlings' okay?" Danathan snapped.

Heather pouted her lips and wordlessly followed him back into the dining room.

The light from the candles flickered on Grant's face, illuminating his handsome features. "This is really nice," Mila said, gingerly eating a piece of bread on her plate.

Grant smiled. "I thought you'd like it here. You know," he began thoughtfully, "I really should have brought you here for homecoming. I feel so horrible about the way it all played out."

Mila thought back to that warm fall evening.

She spotted Grant across the parking lot, stepping out of his car. Mila's heart fluttered. He looked spectacular in a traditional black tuxedo, and he was carrying a small box. It was her corsage. Mila took one glance at it and panicked.

Oh no! she thought. It's red! My dress is pink! That's going to look terrible together! She took a deep breath, and waved to him. Get a hold of yourself, Mila, she scolded herself. You're going with a wonderful guy; who cares if you're corsage clashes?

She smiled shyly at him as he approached her.

"Hey Mila," he greeted her.

Mila's voice caught in her throat. Just being near him was making her heart pound at an unbelievably fast rate. "Hi Grant."

"You look really pretty," he complimented her.

She lowered her eyes modestly. "Thanks. You look nice too."

He looked over her shoulder towards the teenagers filing into the gym. "So have you seen Sydney?"

Mila shook her head slowly. "No... why?"

He held up the corsage. "She's my date. Who are you going with?"

"It wasn't the best night of my life," Mila admitted truthfully. "But that's all in the past now." She looked down at her place setting for a moment. "Actually," she said slowly, "it worked out for the best."

Grant gave her a confused look. "What do you mean?"

"Well, the whole homecoming thing was set up by Sydney. I made her do all the pandering for me. Even if we had gone out together for homecoming, things would be different now."

"They would?"

Mila nodded. "I mean, we're on this date because we got to know each other. It's different than being set up. It's like, we both want to be here in this restaurant with one another. We made it happen."

"That's pretty mature," Grant remarked, studying her pretty face through the glow of the candle. "It's so hard to believe you're only fifteen."

"That's another thing. I used to feel like a child because you didn't like me and liked Sydney."

"I never liked Sydney," he broke in.

"But now because we've taken this slow, I don't feel that way anymore," Mila concluded. "In fact, I think this is the most sincere date I have ever been on."

"Well I'm glad to hear that," he replied with a sad smile. "Especially now."

"Especially now? What are you talking about?" Mila asked, trying to read his expression.

"Mila," Grant said, taking her hand over the table. "There's something I really need to tell you."

Jimmy knitted his eyebrows in confusion. "What do you mean? I'm not flirting with Heather."

Callie rolled her eyes. "You were asking her a million questions!"

Jimmy took her hand and led her into one of the cramped cabanas.

"What's going on?" she asked.

He hovered over her. "Callie," he said softly. "I was not flirting with her. I promise."

Callie smirked and closed the cabana curtain. "Prove it," she told him, tugging softly on his tie. Their lips met in a long kiss. As Jimmy ran his fingers through Callie's long curly hair he completely forgot all about what was going on in the dining room. Abruptly, Callie pulled her lips from his.

"What's wrong?" Jimmy asked huskily, wanting to return to their activities.

Callie turned away from him. "Well, if you weren't flirting with her then what is up with all the questions?" She tilted her head towards him. "You're not the most social person in Swans Crossing, you know."

"I wasn't being social either," he said.

"Well then what's going on?"

Jimmy sighed. "I'm doing some investigating."

"Investigating?"

Jimmy peeked through the curtains at Heather, and her striking resemblance to Callie. "Don't you notice anything strange?"

"Well Danathan seems a little bit creepy, and Garrett's being uncharacteristically quiet--"

"No, no," he interrupted. "I mean about Heather."

Callie looked at him quizzically. "Heather? No, not really."

"You don't notice that she looks like you? That she could be your..." his voice trailed off.

"My what?" she whispered hoarsely, knowing exactly what the next words out of his mouth were going to be.

"Your sister."

Chapter Thirty-Nine

The reaction Callie gave him was not what Jimmy expected. A slow smile spread across her face. "Are you kidding, Clayton?" she asked with a laugh. "You think Heather is my sister?"

Jimmy gave her a serious look.

"You really almost had me going there for a minute," she said, laughing harder. He didn't find it amusing. She noticed this, and quickly, her laughter ceased. "You're serious."

"Well, why shouldn't I be? It seems sort of obvious to me." He pointed outside the cabana to where Heather and Danathan were now heading back towards the table. "Look at her, Callie. She looks like you."

Callie glanced outside and gave Jimmy a patronizing look. "She has red hair. So do lots of people. Is Glory my sister?"

Jimmy sighed, and Callie continued. "How about Jazz? She's a red-head. Gosh, I must be related to half the population!"

"Cut it out Callie, I get it. But there's just something about her. Her eyes, her voice, her mannerisms. She reminds me of you," he told her honestly.

"I'm sorry," she apologized, realizing that she had been mocking him when all he was really trying to do was help her. "But see, ever since she disappeared I've thought about her, you know? And I've imagined running into her on the street, or seeing her in a store, and I always knew I'd have some feeling. I'd take one look at her and say, ‘There she is. That's Vanessa Walker.’"

"But maybe you're so close to this situation that you can't see what's right in front of you," Jimmy declared.

"I get feelings about people. You know that. And right now I don't have a feeling one way or another about Heather. Now, I understand that you want to help me find her, but let's not go around and suspect everyone, all right?"

He nodded. "Can I still ask her a few questions?"

Callie patted his chest playfully. "No Arsenio, I think your interviewing days are over. Let's go back and eat."

Jimmy followed her out to the dining room, not so sure if he was going to give up that easily.

Mila looked expectantly at Grant. "What is it?"

He was quiet for a few moments, not quite sure how he should tell her what he needed to. "Mila? I'm leaving on Sunday."

Of all the things she had thought he was going to tell her, this was most certainly not one of them. "You're leaving? Where are you going?"

He laughed sadly. "Don't you remember? I'm in college. I had to take some time off when my dad lost money, but we're okay now, so I have to go back to school."

"In Vermont?" she asked in a small voice.

He nodded. "It's really not that far, and I might come home for the summer."

She let a single tear fall and didn't bother to wipe it away. "I don't understand. If you knew you were leaving then why did you ask me out tonight?"

Grant looked deeply into Mila's eyes. "Ever since I jilted you on Homecoming I have felt terrible."

"So this is a mercy date?" Mila broke in.

Grant looked horrified. "Of course not! Mila, I like you. I like you a lot. I just never realized it until I saw what a beautiful and sweet girl I passed up escorting to her dance. I think I'll always regret that, and I didn't want to go back to school without taking you out at least one time."

She smiled through her tears. "Do you really mean that?"

He reached across the table and laced his fingers through hers. "Of course I do. I want to make this a night we'll both remember." He stood up, still holding her hand. "Come on, let's get out of here and go make some memories!"

Sydney flopped onto her bed without even bothering to get changed. "What a horrible night!" she said out loud, yanking off her heels and throwing them across the room. After Heather and Danathan and Jimmy and Callie had returned to the table things had gotten even weirder. Danathan brought up the charity drive, and they briefly discussed it. But Heather interrupted several times by leaning her head against Danathan's shoulder, and when the food arrived she placed little pieces of it in his mouth. It was utterly sickening. But Danathan looked thoroughly ticked off every time she got near, and conversed with Sydney through most of the dinner. Garrett didn't really say much of anything, and pouted for most of the night. Jimmy attempted to ask Heather about her favorite color or whatever trivial little facts he was interested in, but Callie stopped him by kicking him underneath the table. Sydney imagined his legs must be black and blue by now.

I just hated seeing him with that other girl! Sydney thought angrily. She didn't know why it mattered so much; in fact, life would be so much easier if she had never even heard of Danathan Hartfield. Yet there was something about him that intrigued her. Maybe it was his mysteriousness or the fact that he was significantly older than her, but something made her want to be around him. It defied all logic, but the strange attraction was there... however primitive.

Sydney crossed the room and sat down at her mirror, studying her reflection. She had always liked the way she looked, with her long brown hair and large green eyes, but now she just looked... like a fifteen year old girl. Heather on the other hand had something that Sydney didn't. Maturity. She was older, and could never be accused of looking or acting like a child. Sydney sighed, and grabbed her hairbrush. She worked on putting her hair into a ponytail to sleep in, but when she lifted her hair up to her chin, she gasped at the reflection. With her hair just skimming her chin she could easily pass for seventeen.

Sydney quickly changed into her pajamas and leapt into bed. She wanted to get a good night's sleep so she could get to the beauty parlor first thing in the morning. As she drifted off another important activity for the next day flashed in her mind. Oh, yeah, she thought groggily. That skating thing.

Glory heard the front door slam shut, and she slid off her bed where she was reading and came out into the hallway. "How was your date, Garrett?" she asked in a low whisper, for their parents had already gone to bed.

Garrett rolled his eyes. "Don't even ask, all right?"

"I already did," she pointed out.

He walked into her room and sat down in one of her wicker chairs. "Will you answer a question for me, sis?"

She sat down next to him. "Of course."

"All right. Should a guy be offended when his girlfriend invites the whole world along on a special date?"

Glory gave him a blank stare. "What are you talking about? Who did Sydney invite?"

Garrett threw his hands up in frustration. "That's the thing! I don't even really know! She invited Jimmy and Callie along, but then there was this older, twenty-something couple there, too. She said it had something to do with the charity drive, but I just don't see the connection. If you ask me, there was something really, really strange about tonight. Sydney and Callie were acting all secretive, and Jimmy kept asking the one girl all these questions. And this Danathan guy wouldn't stop looking at her! It was like I had entered the Twilight Zone!"

Glory tried not to laugh at Garrett's distress. "I'm really sorry, Garrett."

He stood up and let out an exaggerated sigh. "I know. Look, I'm going to bed."

"Good night," she said as he crossed the room.

He still looked bewildered as he turned back to his sister. "Yeah," he muttered. "Good night."

Mila giggled as she looked at the large purple turtle that Grant had won for her. "This thing is so scary!" she exclaimed.

He let out a loud laugh as well and pointed out it's large, buggy eyes. "Yes, it's probably by far the ugliest stuffed animal I have ever seen. But it's so ugly that it's cute."

She nodded in agreement. "So where are we off too now?" she asked, noticing that Grant was leading her by the hand out of the crowded arcade where they had been playing skee ball for an hour.

He grinned. "Well, I plan to take you to all the childish places I can think of. What do you think of," he rose his eyebrows, "roller- skating?"

Mila looked down at her long flowing dress. "Roller-skating?" she repeated dubiously. "In this?"

Grant opened the door to his BMW and tossed the large turtle inside. "Oh, come on! We'll be the only people there over ten!"

She giggled and hopped into the car. As Grant stomped on the gas pedal and headed towards the roller-skating rink, Mila looked out the window at the trees whizzing by and sighed. This was turning out to be the most amazing date she had ever been on.

Grant maneuvered the car into the parking lot and shut off the ignition. They headed into the run down skating rink, which hadn't been remodeled since the early seventies, and jogged inside to get out of the cold. Mila couldn't believe that they were going roller-skating in the dress clothes they were wearing, but the next thing she knew she was wearing hideous brown rental skates and Grant was trying to drag her out on the floor.

"I've never done this before!" she admitted, trying to keep her balance.

"You're kidding!" he shouted over the loud music.

She shook her head, and gripped his hand for support. Slowly, he led her out onto the floor and they began skating in a circle with all of the young, adolescent kids. Grant laughed when multi-colored lights began flashing and the DJ played "Shoop" by Salt n' Pepa. "The ultimate skating anthem," he remarked, laughing. He took her other hand and skated backwards while she shakily skated in front of him. They worked up a sweat circling the rink, going so fast that their hair blew back and Mila's dress trailed behind her. After Mila had taken her fifth spill, Grant decided it was time for them to leave. They turned in their skates and on the way out the door he noticed there was an photo booth near all of the arcade games.

"Hey!" he exclaimed. "We have to get our picture taken!"

They crowded into the booth and Mila blushed when Grant pulled her onto his lap. She put her arm around his shoulder and they leaned their heads together. "Smile," Grant said as he and Mila grinned for the camera flash. On the second photo both made a goofy face, and out of nowhere for the third picture Grant gently kissed Mila's cheek. She turned towards him and smiled shyly. He had a romantic look in his blue eyes when he tucked a blond curl behind her ear. They leaned towards each other, and when their lips met in a lingering kiss, the camera took the final picture.

Sydney wrapped a white cashmere scarf around her neck; the wind was whipping against her bare skin. Of all the days to get a haircut, she thought to herself. As she made her way to the Swans Crossing Ice Arena to put on her skates and stretch she saw Garrett, bundled up and waiting for her. When he saw her his jaw dropped.

"Wow!" he exclaimed, coming over to her side to examine her new hair style. "You look..." his voice trailed off timidly.

She patted her chin length hair and smiled. "What?"

"Sexy," he concluded with a shy grin. She elbowed him playfully, but was secretly pleased. If Garrett liked her new look she was sure to impress Danathan. Stop it! Sydney scolded herself. He was far too old and she was finally getting things together with Garrett. They hadn't had an argument since homecoming, and Sydney wanted to keep it that way. It was all too confusing.

Luckily, she didn't need to think about it much longer, for Nancy and Kevin came up behind her, holding hands.

"Glad you could make it, Sydney-O. I was sort of thinking you had forgotten." Nancy crossed her arms in front of her chest and smirked.

"I haven't forgotten," Sydney said, stepping up to her. "I've cleared a spot for my trophy."

Nancy laughed. "I wouldn't be so sure about winning." She looked over at Kevin and beamed. "I don't have a thing distracting me." She then recognized the faraway, distracted look in Sydney's eyes. "What about you?"

Sydney had no comeback as Nancy turned on her heels and flounced away. "Don't worry about her," Garrett advised, touching Sydney's shoulder. "You're going to do great."

Out of the corner of her eye, Sydney saw Danathan enter the building holding Heather's hand. "Yeah, right."

Over breakfast that morning, Callie decided it was time to talk to her father. He wouldn't be engrossed in his work and most of her friends were already at the skating competition so there wouldn't be any interruptions.

"Dad?"

Captain Walker looked up from the morning newspaper. "Yes, Callie?"

She had been planning what to say all night, but now her mind drew a blank. "I uh... we're doing a project in school," she began.

Captain Walker did not look enthralled. "Mm-hmm..."

"Well, it's about our family. Where we come from. Who our relatives are."

He became a little flustered and choked on his orange juice. "Well, I'm sure that your teacher isn't looking for all the answers," he said nervously.

"I know," Callie interrupted. "But I am."

The skating competition had not yet begun when Garrett went up to the bleachers and sat down next to Jimmy. Sydney was on the ice warming up, and he was eager to see her program. "Hey Jimmy," he greeted him jovially.

Jimmy looked up at his friend and smiled. "You're sure in a different mood from last night."

Garrett thought back to that very strange evening the night before. "Yeah, well last night was really weird." He paused and looked at his friend. "You were acting kinda weird yourself. What was with you and Heather? You wouldn't stop asking her questions!" Jimmy didn't say anything, and Garrett continued. "I mean, if you're thinking of dumping Callie for her, stick with Callie. I mean, they look the same and Callie at least has the sense to be dating you and not some creep like Danathan."

Jimmy nodded in agreement. He was still thinking about Heather and her likeness to Callie, and how she had deemed his observation as inaccurate. It just wasn't adding up. Heather looked quite a bit like Callie, and she was quiet, and from another country. There was something that needed to be done about this incredible coincidence... he just wasn't sure what.

"Are you all right?" Garrett asked, noticing that Jimmy was staring off into space.

"Uh, yeah," he muttered. "I was just thinking about last night."

Garrett groaned. "Let's not even talk about that, okay? I really didn't like that Danathan guy."

Jimmy laughed, knowing what Garrett was talking about. Danathan was smooth, suave, and he seemed to have Sydney under his spell. "You really shouldn't worry about it, Garrett. Sydney's with you... for some odd reason."

Garrett punched him playfully. "So Clayton, what are you doing for Callie on Valentine's Day?"

Jimmy rose an eyebrow. He hadn't even realized that Valentine's Day was so soon. "Gosh," he remarked, deep in thought. "I haven't even thought about it yet. What are you going to do for Sydney?"

Garrett rubbed his hands together. "Well, I have lots of ideas. All I know is that this is the first time we're celebrating as an official couple and I want to make it really special."

Jimmy was about to ask him what he meant by special when he noticed Danathan and Heather sitting on the other side of the skating rink. He stood up. "I'll be right back," he told Garrett as he made his way over to them. He wasn't quite sure what he was going to say, but he had to do something.

Captain Walker sighed with resignation. "I've honestly been waiting for this day for a long time. I knew you weren't going to content with being in the dark forever. In fact, I'm a little bit surprised you didn't ask before."

"I was scared," Callie admitted. "I still am. But I think I can handle the answers now."

The captain hugged his daughter. "All right. What do you want to know?"

She looked up at him, her face full of emotion. "Do you think Vanessa's still alive?"

"You had to ask the difficult question," he said, avoiding having to answer her. "Couldn't we have started a little slower?"

"But this is what I want to know," she told him in a small voice.

"All right. I think it's hard for a parent to ever give up hope. I've spent such a large part of my life looking for her, and I want to believe that someday I'll find her," Captain Walker replied honestly.

"Is that why we're here?" she asked suddenly. "Did we come back to Swans Crossing because you got another lead?"

He cast his eyes to the floor. "Sometimes we move because I hear from the private investigators that someone who matches her description has been spotted. Other times it's because I get tired of staying in one place that doesn't seem like it's the right one."

Callie crossed her arms and looked into her father's eyes curiously. "You didn't really answer my question, Dad. Is Vanessa the reason we're in Swans Crossing?"

Sandy was surprised to see Saja sitting in the stands at the ice arena. "Hey!" she called, taking the seat next to him. "Are you still grounded?"

He grinned. "As of today I'm a free man." He shyly slipped his arm around her shoulders, and she snuggled closer to him.

"Well, good. It's been sort of boring around here without you," she told him with a happy smile.

"Anything new with you?"

Sandy thought back to her trip to the music store the other day, where the interestingly dressed girl had more or less made fun of her music. "No, nothing really."

Saja was about to ask Sandy another question when Mila came over and sat down on the bleacher in front of them. "Hi you guys," she said, leaning in between the couple.

Sandy noticed that Mila was beaming, and while she looked tired, she was grinning from ear to ear. "What's going on?"

"I had the most amazing date last night," Mila commented dreamily.

"With who?" Sandy asked.

"Grant Booth," she answered with a sigh. "I tell you, he was without a doubt the most incredible guy I have ever gone out with. It was his last night in Swans Crossing and he made it so memorable."

Sandy raised her hand to stop Mila's banter. "You're going to have to back up. Where's Grant going? And why aren't you upset?"

Mila giggled. "Well, he's going back to school in Vermont," she had that dreamy look on her face again, "I don't really know why I'm not upset. I guess it's because it ended on such an fantastic note. And I'm sure we'll go out the next time he's in town."

Sandy smiled. "So... details!"

Saja coughed and pretended not to be listening to the conversation.

"Well, he took me to dinner at Gicones."

"Gicones?!" Sandy exclaimed. "Swanky."

Mila laughed. "Then we played games at the arcade, and after that we went to the roller-skating rink."

"How cute."

"But it gets even better after that," she remarked.

"There's more?"

It was getting to be far too much for Saja. "I'll be right back," he said, overwhelmed by the gushy gossip. Sandy giggled as she watched him aimlessly walk towards the concession stand.

Mila's mind wandered back to the night before as she related the story to Sandy.

After they left the skating rink, Grant and Mila hopped in the Booth's BMW. Mila buckled her seat belt and glanced up at him. "I had a good time tonight."

Grant looked back at her strangely. "Well... I didn't think the night was over yet. There's one more place I wanted to show you."

Mila agreed and in a few minutes he had driven the car up to the cliffs. Mila, unlike all her friends, had never been to the cliffs, and was surprised at the beautiful view of the Atlantic Ocean. "Wow. It's gorgeous."

Grant nodded and unlocked his door. He got out of the car and grabbed a wool blanket from the backseat. Mila followed him outside into the chilly night. Grant spread the blanket on the hood of the car and took her hand. "Come on," he said, climbing up onto the blanket. Mila cautiously sat next to him. "See the stars up there? They feel a million miles closer up here." She stared up at the black sky. It looked like velvet with holes poked in it, and bright white lights shining through.

"It's beautiful," she commented. "Do you come here a lot?"

He nodded. "Whenever I visit Swans Crossing. No matter how pretty it is in Vermont, France, or Switzerland where I've gone to school, nothing is as breathtaking as this place, at this time of night."

Mila scooted closer to him, and leaned against his shoulder while gazing up at the sky. "Do you miss it here? When you go away?"

Grant looked at the stars for a minute before answering. "Yeah, I do. I try not to let it bother me because my dad expects a lot out of me. When I was in high school it would be unheard of if I asked to stay at home and go to public school. We had a lot of money in the eighties... lots more than we do now. But it wasn't even a matter of money. I just had to go to prestigious boarding schools because they thought I could excel there. Sometimes though, I felt like Mom and Dad never really wanted me in town. I know Garrett and Glory think our parents favor me, but sometimes I think they... at least they get to live at home."

Mila looked up at him, searching his soulful blue-green eyes, short blond hair, a five o' clock shadow on his chin, and his usually smiling mouth that was currently set in a frown. She had always thought he was perfect, and had the perfect life. But seeing him insecure made him seem more human... and in a strange way even more perfect. "I'm going to miss you, Grant. I want you to know that I want you here in Swans Crossing."

"You're a sweet, wonderful person," he told her, kissing her lips lightly. "See that star?" He pointed to one of the brightest stars in the sky. "Sunday is Valentine's Day. Go outside that evening at ten and look at this star, and I'll do the same in Vermont. It'll be like we're still together."

Sandy swooned at the end of Mila's story. "That has to be the most romantic thing I've ever heard."

She nodded, surfacing from her hazy, dreamlike state. "Isn't it? I'm totally looking forward to tomorrow. Even if he's miles away, it is for sure going to be the most memorable Valentine's Day ever."

Sandy bit her lip in thought as she saw Saja walking up the bleachers trying to balance cups of hot chocolate. "Yeah, I have a feeling it's going to be a great Valentine's Day for all of us."

Sydney stood in front of the mirror, practicing her smile. She was on in ten minutes, right after the younger division. Nancy sauntered confidently into the bathroom and stood next to her, arranging her curly hair.

"Sydney dear, you're not going to believe the gossip I just heard."

"I thought you weren't going to be distracted by anything," Sydney deadpanned.

Nancy scowled. "I am most certainly not distracted. If you don't want to hear my story, then fine."

"No, no. I'll hear it."

Nancy grinned. "I just heard Mila talking to Sandy about her most amazing date with Garrett's much older brother before he went back to Vermont."

"So?" Sydney said with disinterest.

"They were out all night," she told her, raising her eyebrows suggestively.

"Oh, come on Nancy, you don't honestly think..."

Nancy gave Sydney an innocent look. "I'm not saying anything. It's just they were gone until dawn and he is so much older..."

Sydney laughed. "Do me a favor, Nance. Stick to the ice skating." She turned and left the bathroom, with Nancy hot on her heels. As soon as they had left, a girl came out of one of the stalls, and grinned at what she had just overheard.

"Well if it isn't Danathan and Heather!" Jimmy exclaimed, pretending that it was a surprise that he had run into them.

Both smiled cordially. "Good to see you, too," Danathan replied. "You're Jimmy, right?"

Jimmy nodded. "Yep. Are you guys here to see Sydney skate?"

Heather gave Danathan a dirty look and nodded. "Yeah, I guess so," she said bitterly, wrapping her sweater tightly around her shoulders. She appeared very distressed and annoyed. She turned to her boyfriend. "Danny, I'm going to get something to drink. Do you want anything?"

His dark eyes were scanning the skating rink for Sydney, and he hardly even noticed that Heather was speaking. "No, that's all right."

Heather stood up and started stomping down the bleachers.

"I'll come with you," Jimmy offered, seizing the moment when he could grill her for more information without anyone getting angry at him.

She shrugged, not seeming to care one way or another if Jimmy tagged along.

"So, uh, Heather? How's it going?"

"Not too bad," she replied, and then added, "and yourself?"

"Good, good. I, um, I had a stressful morning though. All my older brothers were hogging the bathroom." He looked into her dark eyes, searching for some sort of reaction. "Do you have any siblings?"

Her eyes widened slightly with surprise, but she quickly blinked it away. "No," she answered shortly. Jimmy, however, noticed that at first she seemed frightened at his question, and noted this.

Without another word, she went up to the concession counter and ordered herself a cup of coffee. When the employee returned with her coffee and read her the total, Heather reached into her purse and started rummaging through it. Her face flushed and she looked up at Jimmy. "I must have forgotten my wallet at home. Do you have a dollar I could borrow?"

He nodded and pulled out some cash from his pocket. She accepted and paid the woman behind the counter. "Thanks so much," she said to him, and then hurriedly walked back to where she had been sitting. Jimmy was more confused then ever.

"Listen Callie, there are only so many questions we can address in one morning, okay?" Captain Walker rubbed at his temples, and Callie figured this was her cue to stop.

"All right. Can we talk about this later?"

Her father nodded and headed down the stairs, his fingers still pressed against the side of his forehead.

Callie stomped her foot on the ground in frustration. As usual, her father didn't want to talk about the important but controversial aspects of their lives, so Callie was left wondering. She probably would be wondering all of her life.

She sighed, grabbed her brown suede jacket, and headed up the ladder. Once she was on the dock she stopped at her mini-bike. She knew all of her friends would already be at Sydney and Nancy's skating competition, and if she didn't hurry she might miss the entire thing all together, but her mind was swimming with all of the unanswered questions about her sister. Obviously Vanessa had something to do with the Walker's moving around, but Callie wasn't sure how her sister would have ended up in some of the exotic places where they had docked. In addition to that, this was the second time they had ended up in Swans Crossing. The first time they had been on a quest to find Vanessa; Captain Walker had told her that. But Callie was growing tired of moving around, and her father was getting frustrated with the lack of leads. So she convinced him that there had to be one place they could go where there might be a lead, and just stay and investigate. Captain Walker chose Swans Crossing. Once they were there, Callie got caught up in things with Barek and had almost forgotten their plan. But when Captain Walker made a mysterious trip to Brazil and then they ended up moving there, Callie's interest was piqued again. Furthermore, after Callie had run away with Jimmy and ultimately returned to her father's house, she was certain she would never see him again. But within a couple of weeks, they were back in Swans Crossing. The captain wouldn't have gone back unless it was important... so could Vanessa be in town right at that very moment?

Callie rolled her eyes. I'm starting to sound like Jimmy, she said to herself, and remembered the previous night when she had thought Jimmy was being ridiculous for suspecting that Heather was really Vanessa.

She climbed onto her bike and put on her helmet. She had to go to the skating competition, hang out with her friends, and have a carefree time... she was starting to lose it by thinking so much.

After the children's competition, Sydney's name was called. She took a deep breath and rubbed her hands together. She looked over at Garrett. "Wish me luck!"

He squeezed her hand. "Good luck."

Before she lost her nerve, she skated out onto the ice. The music she had selected came on over the stereo. She raised her arms in the air and circled the rink, making dance moves and leaping across the ice. She skated towards the center of the ice and did the spin she had been practicing. It went perfectly, and she gained confidence when she finished it successfully and was met with a smattering of applause. She did more dance moves, smiling widely as she passed by the judges. It was going so well! She was incredibly pleased by her performance, and felt confident enough to complete her program. Once again she made her way to the middle of the rink and took one look out into the audience. As she rose into the air for her double axle jump, she saw Danathan and Heather in the stands. Once she was in the air she knew this was going to prove to be a fatal distraction... and when she landed on the ice with a thud she realized she was right.

A few people gasped, and she quickly rose to her feet. But the damage was done. Sydney saw the judges making notes on her fall, and tears sprung to her eyes. Right then and there, because of Danathan, she had just ruined her chance of winning.

Chapter Forty

As the skating rink cleared out, Sydney sat on the bench, staring off into space. Garrett approached her cautiously and sat down. "Are you all right?" he asked.

Sydney thought about the question and turned to face him, her face stained with tears. "How could I possibly be all right? I just lost a competition. Me!"

"Sydney, winning isn't everything."

She rolled her eyes. "Am I hearing this from Garrett Booth? The one who basically ruined my life so his father could win the election? The one who almost killed himself to win a motorbike race two years ago? The Garrett Booth who cheated to win some stupid reading contest in the third grade?"

He folded his arms in front of his chest and scowled. "Real nice, Sydney."

"You know that it's true. Winning for us is important. And how am I ever going to live down the fact that Nancy Robbins beat me at something? My reputation is never going to be the same." She tucked a strand of her newly shortened hair behind her ear and made a halfhearted attempt to brush away the tears with the back of her hand.

"But what can you do about it? The contest is over," he pointed out.

Sydney's eyes landed on a dark figure heading towards the arena door. "I can talk to the person who's responsible for my losing."

Garrett gave her a quizzical look. "Nancy?"

She shook her head and trotted after the figure, leaving Garrett behind. "No," she muttered to herself. "Danathan."

After the skating competition Glory and J.T. went to Swans. As soon as they sat down Glory cleared her throat. J.T. knew this meant she had something to tell him. "What is it?" he said, knowing something was up.

"Well, I've been thinking about Valentine's Day," Glory began.

J.T. grinned romantically. "Me too."

"I was wondering if you would mind a whole lot if Neil and Carolyn went with us to whatever we decide to do?" Glory asked, looking at J.T. hopefully.

"What?!" he exclaimed. "Why?"

"Remember? We wanted to hook the two of them up," Glory replied.

J.T. nodded. "Yeah, I know. But our plan backfired and the two of them ended up comrades instead of dates."

Glory played with the edge of her menu and smiled authoritatively. "But I finally got Carolyn to admit that she likes him. We have to do something. So I told her that we'd go out as a foursome on Valentine's Day."

Even though he was slightly annoyed that Glory had made plans without him, he had to smile. "Carolyn actually has a thing for him?"

Glory giggled. "Amazingly so."

"Well then, I guess that should be all right. I'll talk to Buckeyball tonight and see if he'll go," J.T. agreed. "But can we do something romantic so the whole night won't be spoiled?"

Glory smiled to herself, growing excited about the holiday. "Of course. Judging from the feelings that Carolyn seems to have for Neil I'm sure she'll want to do something romantic, too."

Meanwhile, Nancy sat at the counter in Swans watching the way the lights glinted off of her golden trophy. "Can you believe it, Kevin?" she asked excitedly. "I mean, I actually won over Sydney Rutledge."

Kevin stirred his drink with a straw. "Yes, I think you've mentioned that a few times tonight."

"I know, but I can't help it. It's just such a huge deal for me."

Kevin stopped stirring and looked up at Nancy quizzically. "What is it between you and Sydney? Have you always been in competition?"

Nancy shrugged and lowered her eyes. "Yeah, I guess so. It just seems like Sydney has everything and I always got the leftovers." She eyed her prize again. "That is, until now."

"You know Nancy, I'm sure this trophy isn't the only thing you've ever had over Sydney. You're a wonderful girl," Kevin told her shyly.

Nancy sighed modestly. "It's just that ever since we've been in grade school Sydney was always the ‘it’ girl. Actually..." Her voice trailed off. She had never really talked to anyone about this before.

"Yes?" he prompted, the look in his eyes showing Nancy that she could trust him.

"Actually, I've always wanted to be like Sydney. A lot. I guess I always thought that if I was like her I could have the things she did. It seemed better than being myself," Nancy admitted, keeping her eyes cast downward.

Kevin saw how for the first time since he had met her she was letting her guard down. "You know that's not true. Look at what's happening now. You're being yourself instead of a Sydney clone and look what you've gained."

Nancy glanced up and saw that she was in Swans with a guy she really liked and she had just won the skating competition. "You know what... you're right. I think I need to start being Nancy Robbins and not Sydney Rutledge."

He grinned. "That's right!"

"Right," Nancy echoed. But if the Nancy who imitated Sydney Rutledge wasn't the real Nancy than who was?

Owen sighed and surveyed his band. Mila's eyes were glassed over and she was humming some cheesy love song. Sandy was drawing circles on the back of a piece of sheet music, pouting. "What is with you two?" he asked in frustration.

Mila smiled. "Not a thing! I couldn't be better."

"Nothing," Sandy replied monotonously.

"Come on. We really have to practice. Sydney wants us to play at the charity drive on Monday," Owen explained.

"Why?" Sandy suddenly asked. "They've heard the song on the radio. They know all of our stuff."

"What are you talking about?" Owen questioned her, giving her a confused look.

Sandy grabbed the microphone and got ready to sing. "Forget it."

Danathan had his hand on the doorknob when Sydney came running up to meet him. "Danathan!" she yelled. "Wait a minute!"

He looked slightly annoyed, but stopped. He shot Heather a look, who scowled and went out into the parking lot. "It's too bad you took a spill today, Sydney. You really could have won the competition."

"Oh, give me a break!" Sydney exclaimed, placing her hands on her hips.

"Excuse me?" Danathan said, taken aback at her outburst.

"You heard me. The only reason I lost is because you were here."

He rolled his eyes. "What? How could I have caused you to lose?"

She tugged on her hair and threw up her hands. "Because! You really creep me out! You're always showing up wherever I do! You follow me around and act like you're interested in me even though I'm far younger than you and we're both involved and you know everything about me even though I never say a word about my personal life and...." Sydney ran out of breath and stopped ranting at him just long enough to catch it. "I just want you out of my life!" she yelled. Several people turned around to stare at them.

"I'm scheduled to work at your little charity drive," Danathan reminded her quietly.

Sydney gave him a steely glare. "I know. So you can do your work there and then that's it." She turned on her heels and flounced away... well aware that he was staring after her.

"Glory," J.T. said over the loud crash of bowling pins, "this isn't what I had in mind."

Glory looked down at her semi-formal dress and bowling shoes and sighed. "Me neither. How was I supposed to know Carolyn likes bowling?" J.T. just groaned in reply. "We are going to dinner afterwards."

"Yeah, but with them," J.T. said through clenched teeth.

"Neil's your best friend!" she exclaimed. "Don't you want him to be happy?"

J.T.'s eyes landed on Neil, who was seated at the electronic score computer, trying to punch in their names. He was muttering something about the bowling alley being desperately in need of an upgrade under his breath. "He doesn't look very happy to me."

"So are we doing, guys against girls?" Neil asked as soon as he had punched up the correct menu.

"No!" Glory quickly jumped in. "How about... me and J.T against you and Carolyn?" Neil shrugged as if he could care less, and then entered their names. Carolyn went first, knocking over a few pins. Glory congratulated her while Neil sat silently, drumming his fingers against the side of a chair. "J.T.," Glory hissed.

"Yeah?"

"Get your friend to quit being such a creep!" Glory commanded. She went over to Carolyn's side and smiled. "This is going well," she whispered. Carolyn said nothing and stepped down from the lane.

"Hey Neil, it's your turn."

Neil picked up his bowling ball and waited for the computer to record Carolyn's score.

"You know," Carolyn began, "I'm really sorry that I bowled such a weak first frame."

"That's okay," Neil replied. "Everyone knows that bowling is more of a guys’ sport anyway."

Carolyn's jaw dropped, and she whipped her head around to glance at Glory, who shrugged. J.T. slapped his palm against his forehead.

Neil stepped up to the lane and threw the ball, which bounced before rolling into the gutter. He came back to the seating area dejectedly. Carolyn brushed past him. "Yeah... more of a guys’ sport."

J.T snickered and Neil looked embarrassed. "Fine, maybe you can bowl better than I can, but I still know way more than you do when it comes to physics."

"Oh really?" Carolyn said, placing her hands on her hips. "I think I've broken many an equation that you haven't been able to at the U. Just because you're a guy doesn't mean you know more than I do, Neil Atwater."

"Girls," Neil muttered. "They're always getting so sensitive."

"Hey!" Glory broke in. "Why don't we order some food while J.T. takes his turn."

"We're going to be eating dinner soon, right?" Carolyn asked.

Glory sighed and nodded. "How about we go pick some songs on the jukebox." She grabbed Carolyn's arm. "Come on," she urged, tugging her towards the jukebox. "And Carolyn?" she said as soon as they were out of the guy's earshot. "Do not listen to a word Neil says!"

Callie could hear the shuffling of her and Jimmy's feet against pavement and cars whizzing by. "Jimmy! Where are we?!"

He laughed and led her by the arm. "We're almost there."

Callie giggled, and hoped that there wasn't anyone on the streets watching her being led around blindfolded. "You know you could have just surprised me by telling me what we were doing tonight!"

"Would you just stop complaining, Walker Woman? If I had told you that would ruin all the fun. Besides, we're here." He reached into his pocket and Callie could hear him inserting a key into a door. He led her through the doorway, and when he pushed it open she heard a bell ring. The door swung shut and he gently tugged the blindfold away from her eyes. "Surprise!"

Callie's eyes widened when she saw where they were. Jimmy had taken her to his family's restaurant which had already closed for the evening. All the chairs were placed on top of the tables and the lights were off. The only area illuminated was one table, lit by two candles, and adorned with beautiful place settings. A card with their names on it sat in the center of the table, and a bouquet of Valentine's day balloons was tied to one of the chairs.

"Table for two, right this way," Jimmy said, looping his arm through hers. They sat down at their table, and Callie was silent. "Aren't you going to say anything?"

Callie smiled. "It's hard to. I'm... speechless. Once again you've managed to prove how completely amazing you are."

He grinned modestly. "Oh, come on."

"No, I mean it. First with the Christmas surprise and now this. I'm starting to feel like I'm not doing enough for you."

Jimmy shook his head. "Oh, no you don't. Just you being here is enough for me."

A blush crept across her cheeks and she played with the edges of her napkin nervously. "You know, I never thought we'd actually be together on Valentine's Day. I mean, after our breakup and everything that happened in Brazil."

He reached for her hand. "But everything seems to be working out perfectly for us."

Callie thought back to all of the things that had come out about her past recently. "Well, not entirely perfect." She cleared her throat and opened her menu.

"I hope you like chicken parmesan, because, uh, that's what the cook made for us," Jimmy told her.

She laughed, breaking some of the tension. "That's fine." She closed the menu and was about to set it aside when the name emblazoned in gold on the cover caught her eye. "Josephine's." Tracing her finger along the letters, she looked up at him. "What does this mean?"

Jimmy shifted in his seat. "What?"

"I mean, I never asked what the name of your dad's restaurant was, but why is it ‘Josephine's’?" She noticed he was looking incredibly uncomfortable.

He sighed with resignation. "I guess I haven't been entirely forthright with you lately."

She knitted her brow in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Josephine was my mom. She, like your mom, died when I was pretty little," Jimmy confessed in an emotional voice.

Callie immediately placed her hand on top of his. "I'm sorry."

"My dad loved her so much, and everyday when he comes to work it's like a little piece of Mom is still here." He lowered his eyes and sighed. "She was a really wonderful woman. Full of life, and she really made my dad happy. She was the love of his life."

While Jimmy sounded sad, from the tone of his voice Callie could also detect that he thought his parents' story was touching. "How did she die?" she questioned him cautiously.

Jimmy looked deeply into her eyes before answering. "She died in a car accident."

Callie didn't hide her surprise. "You mean our mothers died in the same way?"

He nodded. "It's so hard, isn't it Callie? I mean, to not have a mother lecture you about your curfew."

"Or give you advice," Callie supplied.

"Or just be there when you've had a really horrible day," he added.

"And just to generally guide you through life," Callie concluded, her voice breaking slightly.

"It's good to know that someone else can understand what it feels like," Jimmy said with a sad sigh.

"Jimmy? Why didn't you tell me this before? When I told you about my mother?" she asked suddenly.

He was quiet for a moment, chewing on his bottom lip in thought. "Because I didn't want to take away from your problem by talking about my own."

Callie laughed, despite the fact that she felt like crying as well. "You really are the perfect boyfriend!"

Jimmy blushed. "Cut it out! Come on, let's hurry up and eat. There's one other place I think we need to go."

The crickets chirping in the background provided the musical score for Sydney and Garrett's Valentine's Day date. Sydney sat on the blanket and hugged her knees to her chest. "You're lucky all the snow has melted," Sydney remarked.

Garrett smiled. "I figured this would be the perfect way to spend Valentine's Day together. In our special place."

Sydney looked around No Man's Land. She could see her breath and Garrett's rising from their mouths, the crisp night air illuminating the stars, the trees still barren from winter, and the ground damp from the melted snow. It was quite a sight. "You know," she said, lazily studying the ivy growing on the wall, "this place has such a different feel to it now that we're together. Over the summer I hated coming here. Now it..."

Garrett took her hand. "Means something?"

She grinned at him. "Means a lot."

"Well, I was going to wait until after we ate dinner, but what the heck. I can't wait to see the look on your face when you open this," Garrett said, pulling out a box wrapped in red and silver wrapping paper. "Happy Valentine's Day."

"Oh Garrett," she breathed, taking the package from him. "Thank you!"

"Come on, open it," he encouraged her. She quickly tore through the paper. From the look of the box she could tell it was jewelry, and held it up to her ear, shaking it. Garrett laughed. "Would you just open it?!"

Sydney laughed as well, and lifted the lid of the gray felt box. Inside was a sparkling tennis bracelet. "Garrett! It's beautiful!"

"Do you like it?" he asked.

She had already clasped it on and was admiring it from all angles. "I love it!"

He smiled. "It's hard to shop for the girl who has everything."

"Well, you did well," she commented, leaning close to him. Their lips met in a long, sweet kiss that seemed to go on for a blissful eternity.

Reluctantly, he pulled away from her lips and started emptying out the picnic basket. "Are you cold?" he asked. She nodded, and he wrapped another blanket around her shoulders.

"You're such a wonderful guy," she murmured.

"You know, you're sure in a better mood now than you were yesterday."

Sydney’s mind wandered back to her conversation with Danathan. It had felt so good to take her power back, which she had been quickly letting slip through her fingers every time she was around him. "I finally took care of what was bothering me," she replied simply.

Garrett could tell from her vague answer that she wasn't willing to pursue the conversation any further. "So, are you looking forward to your charity drive?"

Sydney nodded, examining the expensive foods Garrett had packed for them. "Mm-hmm... except for Danathan."

Garrett looked up in surprise... realizing that this was the first time Sydney had ever really mentioned the mysterious Danathan in a negative way. "What's his story anyway?"

Sydney opened her mouth, wanting to tell Garrett all about him. She had promised herself that she would take great care of her renewed relationship with Garrett, and that there wouldn't be any more secrets between them. But this was something she just couldn't tell him about... especially since she couldn't explain it to herself. She took Garrett's hand and squeezed it affectionately. "It really doesn't matter anymore. After the benefit I don't think we'll be hearing of Danathan Hartfield ever again."

When the clock struck ten in Mila's pink bedroom she wrapped herself in her bathrobe, slipped on her slippers, and went out onto the balcony. She carried with her a single candle that she placed on the ledge. She breathed in the crisp February air and looked out to the sky. It was a beautiful night, and the sky looked just like it had when she and Grant had gone out on that magical date. Her eyes searched the evening sky until she found the bright, glowing star. She focused on it for several minutes, just watching and enjoying the peaceful evening, until her eyes flooded with tears and she could no longer see the star. "Happy Valentine's Day, Grant," she whispered into the empty night.

Saja watched Sandy from across the table with admiration. It was one of the first times he finally realized that the two of them were most definitely an item. They had been unofficially official since before the concert at the beginning of the school year, and there was so much he wanted to tell her. So he had taken her to his favorite Chinese restaurant on the edge of town, and had packed his own special fortune cookie. He had removed the slip of paper and replaced it with one he had written on. "Sandy, will you be my girlfriend?" it read. He knew it was going to be romantic once she opened it at the end of the meal.

"Thanks for taking me out, Saja," Sandy said, taking a bite of her food.

"Of course. Valentine's Day is a special holiday, and I'm glad I have someone to spend it with this year," Saja told her shyly.

Sandy smiled, but seemed a little distracted.

"Are you all right? Your aura seems to be a bit clouded," he commented.

"I'm fine," she replied. She looked up, and saw someone familiar enter the restaurant. It was the girl from the music store, the one that had haunted Sandy's thoughts for the past few days. She had to talk to her. She had to find out why she had made fun of her songs, why she had inadvertently resurrected part of the old Sandy Swan.

She jumped up from the table.

"Where are you going?" Saja asked.

"I just have to do something," she explained hastily, wandering to the front of the restaurant where the girl was standing with her date.

Saja watched her go. "Well, this is working out well."

"Are you sure you don't want to go to the Swan Club for dinner or anything?" J.T. asked, loosening his tie.

"I'd rather have you guys hang out where I did before I met you," Carolyn said, explaining why they were waiting to be seated at a 24 hour diner.

Neil wasn't listening to the conversation but rather studying the sign posted in the front of the diner. "Hmm. No card playing allowed."

J.T. shot a glance at Glory. "Happy Valentine's Day," he said sarcastically.

Glory grabbed his tie and led him to the corner. "Would you cut it out, J.T.?"

He threw up his hands. "Cut what out?"

"All of the comments you've been making all night." She crossed her arms in front of her chest. "I'm so sorry you're having such a horrible time."

"You know that's not it," J.T. told her in his defense. "It's just that this wasn't how I imagined our Valentine's Day to be." He pulled her into his arms. "I wanted to be alone with you."

She smiled shyly. "Oh, J.T."

"Hey! I've got an idea." He took her hand. "Carolyn! Neil! We'll be back in one second!" He pulled her outside into the parking lot.

"What are we doing?" she giggled.

J.T. held out his hand to her. "My darling, may I have this dance."

Glory laughed. "Why, of course." They swayed to imaginary music while people pulled in and out of the diner parking lot.

"Now this is much better," J.T. whispered into her ear. "Happy Valentine's Day, Glory.

"Happy Valentine's Day."

After eating and talking for several hours, Jimmy and Callie stepped outside of the restaurant. Both of them were laughing and crying at the same time. Over a very romantic dinner they had shared stories about their mothers and the different experiences they had had as children. Some were funny, and some memories were painful, but it was so relieving to both of them because they had never really opened up to anyone about them before. Jimmy was always too quiet and reserved with everyone else in town to open up, and Callie never really let herself get close enough to anyone to let them know that a lot of times she missed her mother so much it hurt.

It was a little after dawn, and the couple strolled down the deserted streets of Swans Crossing. "Is there really anywhere else to go? It's so early," Callie whispered into the still morning.

"Just one more block," Jimmy replied. He rounded a corner, and then his destination came into view.

"Church?" Callie asked.

Jimmy nodded. "My dad doesn't have much time to go with us anymore, so we hardly ever get to attend. But I remember for years we'd go here every Sunday and all the holidays to light a candle for my mom."

Callie squeezed his hand. "This is a wonderful idea." They approached the beautiful brick Catholic church and he pulled the door open for them. "You know, I've never been to church before."

"Never?" he whispered in disbelief.

She shook her head. "There was never any time traveling around like my dad and I did. But I've always found religion to be beautiful and fascinating."

Jimmy stopped in the foyer of the church and placed his fingers in the holy water. Callie watched as he made the sign of the cross and followed his lead.

The two made their way down the aisle and Callie looked up at the beautiful stained glass windows in awe. Jimmy walked up to the alter, deposited some money, and headed over to where several candles stood, flickering in the dim morning light. Carefully, he lit one of the candles for his mother and stared at the flame. Callie smiled at him, and then lit a candle for her mother. Jimmy started walking off to sit down, but Callie touched his arm. "Wait," she said. She took an unlit candle and touched it to the wick of the candle she had lit for her mother. "For Vanessa," she whispered.

Jimmy gave her a meaningful look, and they retreated down the aisle. He stopped at a pew and knelt down, making the sign of the cross before going into the pew. Callie followed him, and they knelt down side by side, folding their hands in silent prayer for their families.

"Excuse me!" Sandy called, jogging to catch up to the girl who was headed for the buffet line.

The girl showed no recognition of Sandy. "Yeah?"

"Remember me? I met you in the music store. I'm the one in the cheesy pop band," Sandy said with an edge to her voice.

The girl smiled. "That's right! What's up?"

Sandy didn't smile back. "How come you said what you did about my music?"

She grabbed a plate and placed an egg roll on it. "Oh, come on. If you're in a band you have to be able to take some criticism."

Sandy lowered her eyes in embarrassment. "But I want to know why you don't like us."

She stopped spooning sweet and sour chicken onto her plate and sighed. "You really want to know why I don't like your music?"

Sandy nodded.

"Because it is cheesy. You need something harder. Something with an edge. You're too Mariah Carey, too Janet Jackson. You need to try something like grunge music," the girl explained.

"Grunge?" Sandy repeated with confusion.

"Oh wow! You don't even know what grunge is! It's 1993, girl! You've never heard of Pearl Jam, Nirvana?"

"Not really," Sandy admitted.

She laughed. "Well then there's your problem. You need to write about something more meaningful than breaking up with your boyfriend. Something real... something full of angst."

"Angst?" Sandy repeated.

"Mm-hmm. I'm Rachel, by the way," the girl introduced herself, extending her hand.

"Sandy Swan."

"Well, if you don't mind Sandy Swan, I'm going to eat my dinner now. But if you want some help writing some lyrics or something I'd be more than glad to offer it," Rachel said.

"Right, thanks," she replied, wandering back to the table deep in thought.

"Sandy!" Saja said when she returned. "What was that all about?"

"What?" Sandy asked, shaking off her bewilderment. "Oh, nothing."

"Well, the check came. And uh, here's your fortune cookie," he told her, pushing the special cookie in her direction. She quickly waved it away from him.

"No thanks, Saja. I hate fortune cookies."

Sydney inserted her key in the door at eleven, which was a little earlier than she had promised to be home. She paused in the doorway and smiled. It has been such a wonderful evening, she thought to herself as she admired Garrett's beautiful gift and could still feel the tingling on her lips let over from his many kisses. She sighed contentedly. It was a perfect holiday.

Humming to herself, she turned on the light in the living room.

"Sydney!" Mayor Rutledge gasped.

Sydney’s eyes widened. She saw her mother kissing a tall, dark- haired man. She quickly turned on her heels and started towards the front door again.

"Wait! Don't leave," the mayor said, smoothing down her blond hair. "I know this must seem strange, but I want you to meet my new... friend."

Sydney turned to the man. "Friend?" she echoed, raising an eyebrow.

Mayor Rutledge cleared her throat with embarrassment. "Um, Sydney, this is Alex Hartfield."

Sydney's voice caught in her throat. "Hartfield? Danathan's father?"

Jimmy dismounted his bike in the school parking lot Monday morning and greeted Saja, who was waiting there for him. "Hey Saja! What's up?"

Saja shrugged. "The sky, the clouds, my entire love life coming to a destructive end in the cosmic plane... you know... the same."

"Right," Jimmy said slowly. "What's this about your love life?"

"Well, now, I consider myself an expert at astrology, fighting battles, lifting myself to a higher state of being..."

"Saja," Jimmy warned.

"But I think I am lacking in the romance department."

Jimmy grinned, thinking of his date with Callie on Valentine's Day. "Well, I think I can help you there. What's going on? I thought things with you and Sandy were going really well."

He shrugged. "I thought so too. But then at dinner she totally blew me off. I even had this fortune cookie made especially for her." He reached into his pocket and pulled out the crumbled remnants of the cookie and the slip of paper.

"'Sandy, will you be my girlfriend'," Jimmy read. "That's a really cool idea."

"Right, but she didn't even take it. And she was so quiet and distracted all through dinner," he complained.

"Well," Jimmy said. "There's not much I can tell you. Just talk to her today and see what's up. I'm sure everything's fine."

Saja shrugged again. "I sure hope you're right, my friend."

Sydney bounced up and down on her heels, waiting for Callie to arrive at the office where they were supposed to meet. As soon as she saw her friend coming up the hall, she started walking towards her. "Callie! We have to talk!"

Callie smiled. "Okay, what's going on?"

Sydney raked back her hair dramatically. "Life as I know it is over."

Callie gave her a skeptical look. "What do you mean?"

"My mother is dating Danathan's father," Sydney blurted out.

Callie's eyes widened. "You're kidding!"

"I wish," Sydney said softly. "Callie, what should I do? I walked in on them kissing, and I know she went away with some guy over the holidays. What if..." Her voice trailed off. She didn't want to even think of her mother seeing this man seriously.

"Look Sydney," Callie began, "tomorrow is a really big day for you. As soon as the charity drive is over talk to your mother and find out the entire story. Until then just throw yourself into planning the benefit."

"But I told Danathan after the charity drive that I never wanted to see him again. What's going to happen when I tell him our parents are seeing each other?"

Callie looked up, and pointed to Danathan, who was coming out of the office wearing a visitor’s name tag. "Speak of the devil."

Sydney laughed wryly. "The devil's right."

Feeling eyes following her as she walked down the hall, Mila clutched her books to her chest. "Is there any reason everyone's staring at us?" she asked Nancy.

Nancy smiled confidently. "Probably because of my stunning performance at the skating competition on Saturday."

Mila nodded, wanting to accept this explanation, although she could tell that the students whispering and pointing were talking about her. Trying to ignore them, she twirled the combination on her locker and tossed her books inside.

"I'm going to head to class, Countessa," Nancy said, stepping away. "Ta!" She waved good-bye and then headed off in her own direction.

"Mila!" Glory called, sprinting up the hallway and clutching onto her back pack.

"Hey, Glory. What's wrong?" Mila asked, noticing Glory seemed very flustered.

Glory looked over her shoulder, and then took Mila by the arm. "Can I talk to you about something?"

Mila nodded and the girls went into a corner near the drinking fountain.

"Okay," Glory started, her face flushing. "This is totally embarrassing and maybe a little out of line, but I think I have to ask you and find out the truth instead of listening to what people are saying," she babbled.

Mila's blood ran cold. "What are people saying?"

Glory nervously shuffled her feet. "Mila... what happened between you and my brother?"

"Hi Sydney," Danathan greeted her. Callie took a few steps away from them. "I know you don't want anything to do with me anymore, but we do have to get through this charity drive, so I thought you, Callie, and I could work on the budget."

Sydney nodded. "Right."

Callie gave her a look, trying to urge her to tell Danathan about their parents. "Come on," Sydney said, ignoring Callie's looks. "I'll show you to the student council room and we'll get right to work."

"What do you mean what happened between me and your brother?" Mila questioned Glory in a strangled voice.

She put her hand on Mila's shoulder sympathetically. "People are talking."

Mila still was not understanding her. "Talking about what?"

Glory sighed, realizing she wasn't going to be able to tactfully hint at the subject with Mila... she was actually going to have to spell it out for her. "People are saying that you and Grant did more than you did."

She still looked confused, and then realization washed over her. "Oh," she said flatly.

Glory rose an eyebrow. "Did you?" she asked with surprise.

"Of course not!" Mila exclaimed. "How could you even think that?"

"I don't know. You just didn't sound too surprised when I told you what people were saying," Glory explained.

"I don't believe this," Mila groaned. "Why would anyone think such a horrible thing about me?" Glory lowered her eyes, and Mila noticed this. "There's more isn't there?"

She nodded. "Yeah. They’re saying that because you've had a lot of boyfriends in the past and one of them was a rock star and that, well, you know..." Unsure how to phrase her explanation, Glory's voice trailed off. "It's just that people are saying you don't have a very good rep."

Tears welled in Mila’s eyes. "You don't believe it, do you Glory?"

"No! I mean, two of my brothers and my boyfriend are the ones you dated and they're not like that. Especially not J.T.," Glory assured her.

"Right. I mean," Mila said, wiping away her tears, "if you don't believe it than I'm sure it will all blow over in a few days."

The bell rang, and as the girls headed off to class Glory looked over her shoulder at several students standing around watching Mila and whispering. "Yeah. You're right," Glory told her... hoping that it was the truth.

Jimmy tossed his backpack on the kitchen table and grabbed a soda from the refrigerator. He had a lot of homework to do, namely beginning the research for his family project. After he and Callie had been talking about their mothers he realized he was actually excited about learning a little more about his family history. He cracked open his drink and headed over to where the entrance to the attic was. Pulling down on a chain, he released the ladder which led up to the small crawl space.

Once he was up in the attic he groped around for the light. Upon turning it on he realized he had his work cut out from him. The Clayton's rarely used the attic anymore, and it showed. All of the kids’ old toys, swing sets, wagons, and other things were cluttered into one area. The moth-eaten brown couch and orange furniture that his parents had displayed in their house in the seventies were shoved in the other corner. Many cardboard boxes full of miscellaneous things were sitting in the middle of the crawl space, covered in dust.

He found one box labeled "photo albums", and he tore at the tape holding it closed. He rifled through the photos, smiling at the many shots of him and his brothers when they were very small and pictures of his parents’ wedding. He set those aside and dug deeper into the box. His hand fell on something soft, and he pulled it out. It was a dusty, cloth-covered diary that he had never seen before.

"I wonder whose it is," Jimmy said aloud, hesitating before cracking the book’s spine. Curiosity won over and he opened the diary. The first entry was dated June 1, 1966. Jimmy's eyes widened as he traced his finger along the faded, familiar writing. "It's my mom's!"

Sydney paced along the side of the wall at No Man's Land, waiting for Garrett to show up. She had so many weird thoughts running through her head. She couldn't believe that Danathan's father and her mother were dating, and she didn't know what to tell him. And even though she had told Danathan that she never wanted to see him again, as soon as he had shown up at school she felt powerless once again.

"Sydney?" Garrett called, appearing on the other side of the wall.

She stopped pacing and looked at him, her eyes wide with confusion and fear. "Hi Garrett," she answered in an effort to sound normal.

"Glory said you told her it was important that I meet you here. What's going on?" he asked in a concerned voice.

Sydney broke down. "Oh Garrett, I don't know! It's all Danathan's fault. His dad is seeing my mom, and if that wasn't weird enough he seems to know all these things about me, and he creeps me out but I want to be around him and I don't know why!"

"What?!" Garrett exclaimed. "You mean you have feelings for this guy?"

"No!" she replied. "I just keep finding myself around him.... it's like I can't control it. He seems to have this... power over me."

Sydney could see the rage flashing in Garrett's eyes. "I'm going to kill him!"

"Garrett, wait!" Sydney protested, running to the hole in the wall to try and stop him. "Please, Garrett, don't!"

Garrett hesitated. "Listen Sydney, I'm not going to let this Danathan guy steal you away from me."

"Garrett, I don't like him. Really."

"You said that he has some power over you," he said.

"Well..." Her voice trailed off.

Garrett looked threatening. "Don't worry, Sydney. From now on I'm not going to let him hurt you. I'll make sure of that."

June 1, 1966. Dear Diary, Today was finally the last day of school, Jimmy read. He quickly counted off on his fingers and realized that this was his mother's last day of her senior year. Then he continued reading:

"I finally am out of this school and I never have to go back. You don't know how liberating that is! Everyday I had to walk down those halls and see the "group": Muffy Rutledge, Valera Rosnovsky, Grant Booth, and Elia Walker. Even their names are pretentious! I can't even imagine what those kids are going to do when they don't have me and Rob and the rest of us "poor" kids to make fun of anymore. I guess they'll just spend a ton of money and raise kids of their own in huge mansions. I sure wish I could provide that kind of life for my kids. Ma and Pa would have a fit if they knew this, but Rob and I have been talking about getting married a lot lately. I know what you're thinking... we're too young. But I love him so much, and I know he feels the same way. We have the same thoughts on how we want to live the rest of our lives. We want to get good jobs and raise our kids so they can be in the "in" crowd at Swans Crossing High. Rob says that a few months after graduation he's going to take the money he's made from working at his dad's office, sell off his old bug, and buy us a motorcycle. Then we can drive out to Vegas and get married. My parents are always saying Rob Clayton and I are far too involved, but I mean, come on... this is the late sixties! I know I'm responsible... and diary, I'm ready to begin the first day of the rest of my life!"

Sydney surveyed the crowd. It was finally the day of the charity event, and all of Swans Crossing High was seated in the gym, waiting for Sydney to make a speech. She turned around and saw Callie and Danathan seated at a table with a cash box. Different carnival games were set up around the gym, and Sandy, Owen, and Mila were setting up their music instruments in the middle of everything. She had to smile to herself. Things had really come together on fairly short notice.

Sydney went up to the microphone and cleared her throat. There was a smattering of applause, and as soon as it ceased she began talking. "Hey everyone! I'd like to welcome you all to the first ever Swans Crossing charity event!" The students clapped again, and Sydney smiled confidently. "There are lots of games you can play, and donations are gladly accepted. We also have Swans Crossing's hottest local band, Inspiration, playing for us today! Show them you enjoy the music by contributing to the tip jar. Everything goes to a good cause!" She stopped and listened to the cheering. "Now," she began as everyone quickly quieted down, "I'm sure you're all wondering what charity we're donating to. This year instead of contributing to a particular charity we decided to help out one organization we all take advantage of: Swans Crossing High. SCH has recently been faced with budgetary problems, and your donations can greatly help our school. Now..." she said, and Owen did a drum roll. "Let the games begin!"

Sandy took the microphone to provide music for the students, some of whom were crowding around the band to hear them, and some who were heading off to play games. She took a deep breath, and started to sing the song she had just written, and had only recently shown to Owen and Mila. "Truer lines were never spoken, than those from your lips, I want to crawl my way up, from the darkness you bring forth, but everything's so hopeless, I don't know what I'm living for."

Sydney listened to the lyrics from across the room, where she was proudly watching money pass between students and student council members. She couldn't believe what she was hearing... Sandy wasn't singing anything she had approved of, but rather a dark, depressing song.

As soon as it ended, Sydney marched up to the makeshift stage. "Sandy!" she yelled.

Sandy looked up from adjusting her microphone. "What?" she asked. "Sydney, we were just about to play the next song."

"Well it better be one of your old ones," Sydney said, placing her hands on her hips. "Because I think you just totally ruined the atmosphere!"

Sandy gave her a confused look. "What do you mean?"

"That song you played. It was way depressing," Sydney commented dryly.

"It's called ‘angst’, Sydney," she replied, rolling her eyes.

"Well, whatever it's called, I don't like it." She rifled through the sheet music and handed "Cross that Line" to Owen. "Here. Play this."

Sandy reluctantly started her song, and Sydney grinned, pleased that they were listening to her.

"Excuse me, Miss Rutledge," a voice from behind her called. Sydney whipped around, and saw Mr. Bronson, the vice principal, standing before her. "Can I talk to you about something?"

Sydney tried not to lose her cool, even though the tall man was quite intimidating. "Of course. Are you enjoying the fair?"

He loosened his tie. "Well, yes, but I need to ask you a question."

"All right," Sydney said.

"Can you please tell me, Miss Rutledge, where you got the classified information about the school's budget?" he asked, fixing his face into a stern frown.

"Classified?" Sydney repeated, furrowing her eyebrows in confusion. "I didn't know it was classified information."

"Well, who told you then?"

Sydney shrugged nonchalantly. "Neil Atwater."

Callie took a twenty dollar bill from a student and counted out her change. She handed it to her along with the seven dollars in carnival tickets she had asked for.

"Callie!" Jimmy called, pushing his way through the crowd. She looked up, trying hard to keep track of all the money coming in.

"Yeah?" she said, handing another kid his tickets.

"How did you get roped into doing this job?" he asked with an amused grin.

"Sydney," Callie answered testily.

"Well, when you get off I really have something to show you," Jimmy told her.

"What's that?"

"My mother's diary," he replied. "Walker Woman, you wouldn't believe it, I mean, it's a whole book of experiences my mother went through when she had just graduated from high school."

She smiled. "Wow. I sure wish I had something like that," she remarked wistfully.

"It really makes me feel like a little part of her is here again," he said softly. "It's like the prayer I said on Valentine's Day was answered."

Callie took the hand not filled with money and placed it over his. "That's really great, Clayton."

Jimmy looked up and saw Heather milling around the carnival, obviously waiting for Danathan. "Hey, I'll be right back," he told Callie, wandering over in her direction. He hadn't forgotten his promise that he'd find out once and for all if Heather was really Vanessa Walker.

Garrett saw Danathan at the ticket table and realized that this was the perfect opportunity to let him know that he needed to stay away from Sydney. "Excuse me," he said. Both Callie and Danathan looked up and saw Garrett standing before them, an angry look on his face.

"Yeah?" Danathan asked distractedly.

"I kind of need to have a word with you," he told him.

Danathan rolled his eyes and looked around at the big line of students waiting to get their tickets. "I'm a little busy here."

"That's fine. This will only take a minute. I just have one small request," Garrett said icily.

"Fine," he agreed.

Garrett stared him down. "Stay away from Sydney!"

"So, are you enjoying yourself?" Jimmy said, coming up behind Heather.

She shrugged. "Not really. I hate being around all these kids." She paused. "No offense."

"None taken. So, uh, how old are you?" he pried.

She laughed. "You sure do ask a lot of questions, don't you? I'm eighteen."

Jimmy thought back to Callie's story about her sister's disappearance. "She'd be eighteen now," she had said. This just keeps getting weirder! he thought.

"So, have you seen Danathan?" Heather asked in an annoyed tone.

Jimmy nodded. "Yeah, he's over there working the ticket table with Callie. My girlfriend." Your sister, he wanted to add, but held his tongue.

"So, he's not around that Sydney girl?" she asked.

"No, why?"

"It just seems like he's been all over the girl. I mean, I know it's part of the plan but..." She looked up at Jimmy. "Never mind. I'm going to go see him." She quickly trotted away before he had the chance to ask what she had meant.

Neil sat in the office, tapping his foot nervously. He couldn't believe that Sydney had ratted him out! "So Mr. Atwater, you broke into the school's e-mail?" Mr. Bronson questioned him accusingly.

"I didn't, um, break in. I just hit a button and uh..." His voice trailed off.

"But you did spread the classified information around school?"

Neil lowered his eyes. "Well, I mean, I did tell Sydney, and J.T., and Glory, but I don't think I spread it around school..."

"You're suspended for a week, Mr. Atwater!" he bellowed.

"But, but, Mr. Bronson!" Neil exclaimed, jumping to his feet.

"Don't argue with me or I'll make it two weeks. Now," he said, pointing to the office door, "you may leave."

Neil lowered his head and retreated from the office dejectedly.

After school Neil headed to the University, not sure what to make of his punishment. He had never been in trouble before... except for UB2B, and his parents had grounded him severely for that. He hated to think of what would happen once they found out he had been suspended for a week.

When he arrived at the bio lab he groaned. Carolyn was there, working on some equations. After the Valentine's Day outing Neil felt incredibly weird being around her. It was almost like J.T. and Glory had been trying to set them up.

She smiled when she spotted him and waved for him to come over. "I didn't think you'd be here today, Neil," she said cheerfully.

He didn't smile back.

"What's wrong? You look like someone died," she commented.

"Someone's going to," he muttered under his breath.

"What happened?" she asked, her voice full of sincere concern.

"I don't want to talk about it," he replied sharply.

She didn't want to push him. "Fine," she said, turning back to her work.

He didn't like this. "Well, maybe I do want to talk." She gave him a crooked grin. "It's just that this is going to shock everyone."

"I don't shock easily," Carolyn assured him.

"I got suspended," he blurted out.

Carolyn's eyes widened. "Okay. I'm shocked."

He relayed the whole story to her, while she listened intently. For the first time in his life he was talking to a girl like she was a person and was genuinely seeking her advice.

When he was done, Carolyn nodded sympathetically. "Look Neil, as long as this never happens again you'll be all right."

"But it'll be on my permanent record!"

"Records aren't everything," she muttered.

Neil noticed that something was up with her. "Personal experience?" he asked.

Carolyn bit her lip and turned away from him. "Yeah," she said in a quiet voice. "I have a permanent record. I..." She looked back at him, and for the first time realized she could trust him. "I used to be sort of a troublemaker."

Callie, Danathan, and Sydney came walking up the hall after school. Jimmy waved to them, and while Sydney and Danathan went inside the student council room Callie stayed to talk to him. "Hey!"

He smiled at her. "I'm glad you're finally finished with the grunt work."

She rolled her eyes. "Not quite. Sydney wants me to help her count all the money."

Jimmy looked around to make sure the hallway was empty, and then he took her by the arm. "Walker Woman, I was talking to Heather today..."

"Not again," she groaned.

"Just listen to me. She said something really strange."

"Like what?"

He lowered his voice. "She said something about how Danathan hanging around Sydney was ‘part of the plan’."

"Plan?" she repeated with surprise. "What kind of plan?

He shrugged. "She took off before I could ask her. But I think there's something really fishy about the two of them."

Callie nodded slowly. "I think so too. Look, if what you're saying is true I better get in there and make sure Sydney's okay alone with him."

"All right," Jimmy agreed. "I'll wait out here for you."

She slipped into the student council lounge, and Jimmy sat down against the wall and retrieved his mother's diary from his backpack.

June 4, 1966 - Dear Diary, Today was the most incredible day of my life! Rob got a motorcycle for his graduation present, and he came to pick me up. What happened next was something out of the movies....

Josephine sat on her front porch, enjoying the warm sunshine. She sipped the lemonade her mother had made her and sighed with content. The summer of '66 was going to be the best ever. She had been dating Rob Clayton for around eight months, and it was true love. Sometimes they would drive out to the cliffs in Rob's VW and look out at the stars, talking about the future. And now that school was over there was nothing stopping them from making that future come true. Except maybe for the money issue.

"Hey, Josie!" a sing-song voice called out. It was Margaret "Muffy" Rutledge. She was behind the wheel of her shiny new car. "Whatcha doing?"

Josephine played with the ends of her long, black hair and got up from the porch. "Nothing, Muffy. Just relaxing."

"Well, maybe you and Rob want to come over to the Swan Club later. A bunch of us are going to figure out a way to sneak in," she said with a devilish look on her face.

"But you guys are members," she pointed out.

"Sneaking in would be way more trippy. We stole some spray paint and we're going to paint the swans! So, are you up for it?"

Josephine shook her head. She wasn't sure why Muffy was being so nice to her, but there had to be some sort of ulterior motive. "No thanks. But maybe I'll see you around this summer."

Muffy shrugged. "All right. Later!" Josephine watched her speed away, and then she heard another engine coasting up the street. She saw a huge motorcycle come into focus, and a driver in tattered bellbottoms and a black T-shirt jumped off and pulled off his helmet. "Rob!" she exclaimed.

Robert Clayton smiled. "Hey, babe! Look what my parents got for me!" She circled the bike in awe.

"Rob, this is incredible!"

He took her hand. "Come on, let's go for a ride."

Josephine looked back at the house. She should probably tell her parents she was leaving, but she was officially an adult now. "All right," she agreed, and she hopped on the back of the bike. The couple sped off, and Rob directed the huge machine towards the cliffs. As soon as they were there he turned off the engine and he and Josephine stepped off the bike.

He knelt down and took her hand. "I love you, Josephine," he told her in an emotional voice. "Will you marry me?"

Sydney smiled at the stacks and stacks of money sitting on the table in the student council room. Her charity day had been an immense success. She stood up to stretch and watched Callie and Danathan counting out the cash. And Danathan has been on fairly good behavior, Sydney thought to herself. Yelling at him must have worked!

"Hey Callie," she said, breaking the silence in the room.

"Yeah?" Callie answered, losing her count.

"Would you help me get rid of these posters?"

Callie agreed, and the girls took an armload of advertisements for the benefit and made their way down to the trash compactor. "You know, I'm really impressed, Sydney."

Sydney smiled. "Thanks. I think we really made a ton of money. I bet we can make even more next year!"

Callie laughed at her friend's enthusiasm. "So have you told Danathan about your mom?" she asked as they stuffed the posters in the trash and headed back to the room.

"No," she replied softly. "And I don't know if I'm going to, either."

"Sydney," Callie said warningly. "If you don't tell him..." Her voice trailed off when they came back into the room. Danathan wasn't there... and neither was the overflowing cash box.

Sydney gasped. "Oh my god! The money! It's... gone!"

***

I hope everyone enjoyed the last chapter of Swans Crossing: The Return! It's been a great experience, and I have all the readers to thank! A special thanks to Miss Swan for publishing this novel on her web site! Look for the sequel to SC: The Return, Swans Crossing: Sweet Sixteen, coming soon! -->

Editor's Note: Unable to locate "The Return, Swans Crossing: Sweet Sixteen".

"Clayton Family Secrets" storyline (c) 1998 Miss Swan

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