Clay reached out his arm and realized Holly wasn�t there. He rolled over onto his back with a grunt, glancing bleary-eyed around his room. Her clothes were no longer draped over the arm of the chair. I wonder how long she�s been up? I hope she slept okay.

He swung his legs off the side of the bed and sat up. "Hello, little girl," he said as he heard Raleigh's nails clicking on the hardwood floor to his side of the bed. "You ready for some breakfast? Daddy sure is. Give me one second then we'll go downstairs." He got himself to his feet and stretched his entire body. Ow�what did I do to my neck? Oh well, I always sleep funny when Holly's here�can't just splay out like I usually do. He scratched his bare stomach as he dragged himself to the bathroom. "Watch out, sweetie. Don't make me trip," he said to Raleigh, who was finding quite a bit of excitement in the sock that was flapping off the toe of one foot. "No, you're not coming in with me, weirdo."

It was a gorgeous L.A. morning. Holly took a few seconds to turn her face to the sun, closing her eyes and feeling its warmth as it shone through the kitchen windows, before setting her cup of water back down on the floor next to the large, comfy chair-and-a-half in the corner. This was her favorite chair in Clay's entire house. The most inviting chair, in the most inviting spot�nestled between the large kitchen and his funky-casual living room. She snuggled against the suede throw pillow and returned her attention to her book.

She smiled to herself as she heard Raleigh's nails coming down the steps. He's up. Clay appeared in the doorway, looking sleepy, but happy, with the dog bouncing excitedly at his side. "Good morning, sweetheart. How're you feelin'?"

He checked the drawstring of his pajama pants as he padded across the room to her, trying to stifle a yawn. "Better." He leaned down and kissed the top of her head. "Mornin', gorgeous." He turned to head to the refrigerator, glancing back over his shoulder when he realized Raleigh wasn't at his heels. "Raleigh! Leave that cup alone!"

Holly laughed when she saw Raleigh shake her head and trot away. "Naughty girl, drinking my water when you've got your own!" She picked up the cup and took another sip. Dog spit�who cares?

"Oh, honey, that's just so gross. Why don't you let me get you a new one?"

"Because you don't have to. She just stuck her nose in�it's not like she�oh never mind, it's too early to make ya sick." She gave him a playful wink before putting the cup on the floor again.

Clay sat the bottle of milk on the counter and pulled a large tumbler out of the cabinet. As he poured, he realized she was drinking water, which wasn't what he expected. "Did you forget the present I got you, honey?" He went over and pulled the jar out of the cabinet over the stove. "So you don't have to drink water in the morning?"

Holly closed her book and smiled at him. "I know, sweetie�I remembered. But�that ain't coffee, honey." She laughed as he looked down at the jar in his hand. "I'm sorry, but instant just doesn't do it for me. I love that you bought it, but maybe I'll just bring over my extra coffee maker and some beans. Is that okay?"

He picked up his milk, tucked a box of cereal under his arm, grabbed a bowl and spoon, and headed for the table. "Of course it's okay�mi casa es su casa. Anything of yours you want to bring over here is fine with me. I mean�you know�I want you to be comfortable."

"Don't I look comfortable?" She sprawled across the big chair, meeting his smile with one of her own. "And trying to turn me on with Spanish so early in the morning like that! What am I gonna do with you?" She was glad that he didn't have a problem with her always having to spend the night with him instead of them being at her house some of the time. There was a time when she could wake up with him in her own bed, but they'd gotten skittish lately. This secrecy thing was really beginning to wear on both of them, but they'd been successful so far at keeping prying eyes away. But, it would all change very soon.

Holly heard her cellphone ring. She swung her long legs off the arm of the chair and strode quickly to the coffee table, pulling the phone out of her purse.

�Hello? Oh, hey. No, it�s not too early.� She turned to Clay, who was peering at her over the top of the cereal box. �It�s Diana.� He raised his eyebrows in recognition. �Huh? No, I�m at his house. Yeah. Oh, okay. Sweetie, Diana says hi.�

Clay poured some of the milk from his glass onto his cereal and smiled. �Hi Diana,� he said in a singsong voice, as he pulled the calendar section out of the Times.

The previous months had been incredible. He'd been home for so long, and even though they'd been working a lot, they were still able to spend real time together. He was more sure than ever that she was exactly who he wanted to be with for the rest of his life. She was everything he ever wanted, and everything he never knew he wanted.

She was excited about his career, but not in any sort of way that made him uneasy. She was amused by it at times, loving the attention he was getting from his fans, completely confident that those women were no threat to their relationship. There was no reason for her to ever worry�he'd proven to her time and time again that he was nothing like Daniel. Her reaction to the news that he'd been nominated for an American Music Award was joyous, knowing him well enough to know that, although he professed to not need awards to know that what he was doing was worthwhile, he secretly got a charge out of the recognition and the feeling of victory. She loved that he was so passionate about his music, and enjoyed being able to see him perform when he did local concerts or appeared on talk shows�but always as just another audience member, never as any sort of VIP. She didn't want that.

But it was just his job. He was amazed how little she was interested in the celebrity of it, apart from doing everything she could to help him keep his privacy. She wasn't interested in his fame or his money. Maybe it came from growing up in Los Angeles, and developing a ho-hum attitude about celebrities because they were always around. He wasn't sure, but it made him that much more confident that she loved him, and not some idea of him.

And she was so incredibly real, unlike so many people he'd met since moving to Los Angeles. She was intelligent and funny. She was honest and hard-working and stubborn, and she drove him crazy a lot of the time, but he loved every second of it. And being able to have family in town made him feel so much more grounded. It had been nice having his brother nearby when he was in training at 29 Palms, but he was relocated so long ago. But this�being able to spend time with Holly's sister and her family in recent months�more than ever, Los Angeles felt like home to him.

He looked up suddenly when he heard Holly laugh.

�Hang on, I�ve got to tell him. Sweetie�yesterday when Diana was coming back from lunch with a friend of hers, you came on the radio and Emily got all excited and started saying �Unka Clay! Unka Clay!� And then Diana had to make up some story to cover it up.�

Clay laughed. �Awww. So, what station were they listening to?� Holly smiled and shrugged her shoulders. I guess Diana�s talking again. Oh well, it�s not important. He rested his chin in his hand and watched her for a bit as she paced back and forth across his living room.

This was the woman he was going to marry. He knew it. She'd agreed to go public with their relationship by being on his arm on the red carpet�any woman who was willing to do that was strong enough to handle anything. They'd talked about how her business could have a huge windfall from the exposure, once people found out who she was. But she was more concerned about the possible media frenzy hurting it, which meant hurting the people who had worked for her for so long. She'd already removed her name from all parts of DanceSpace's website, so that anyone "Googling" her wouldn't find it.

He walked over to the sink to rinse out his cereal bowl, and she came up behind him, slipping her arms around his waist and giving him a soft kiss on the back of his neck. She felt so warm after sitting in the sun all morning.

�Hi, Unka Clay.�

He turned to wrap his arms around her. �Hi, Auntie Ollie.� He kissed her on the forehead. �Sorry Diana had to make up a story. It�ll only be, what, another month?� It's so soon. Our whole world is going to change in only a few weeks. �I guess it�s partly my fault�I shouldn�t have called myself that the other night at dinner. I should have known she�d start saying it. But it just felt�right.�

�It was right.� She leaned in to kiss him, and he pulled back.

�Um, you�d better not. My breath can�t be good.�

Holly rolled her eyes. �Shut up.� She put her hand behind his head and pulled him in for a kiss. �Emily loves you. They all do. You are her Uncle Clay.�

He slipped his hands into the back pockets of her jeans and rested his head on her shoulder. "You know, when you say things like that, it makes me think you might want to marry me one of these days."

"You don't have a ring hidden in your jammies, do you?" She patted him around his waist�inching lower and lower.

"Sorry, no ring. I was just curious�you know�if you were planning on sticking around for a while."

Her hands slid up his back and hooked lightly over his shoulders as she pressed him against the counter. "Of course, I'll marry you. Someday. Once you've had a shower."

"Mmmm�join me?"

"Can't. I have to run by the house before my first class." She glanced at the clock. "Yikes. I've gotta leave pretty soon. And you've only got a little over an hour, right? Why don't you let me take care of the rest of the breakfast dishes and you get your shower? I've got my key, I can lock the door behind me. And I'll give you your shirt back now if you'd like."

He looked down, seeing how the shirt was unbuttoned far enough to show off her cleavage. "Oh, no�you wear that as much as you want. Looks better on you anyway." He pulled her hips towards him with a playful grunt.

Her phone rang again, and she rolled her eyes as she took it out of her pocket. "Crap, it's Suzanne. This better be good news." She kissed him and nudged him towards the stairs. "What's up, Suze? Is the contractor there? Oh, no, he did not tell you that. Put him on�he ain't gonna bullshit me today."

Raleigh whimpered from across the kitchen and Clay noticed her dish was empty. Holly stopped him as he headed to the pantry.

"Sweetie, I've got it. I'll feed her before I go. Now, git!" He kissed her on the cheek, mouthed thank you and headed upstairs.

He chuckled as he heard her all-business voice echoing in the kitchen. He knew she was trying to upgrade the outdated facade of the building to create a larger space for a sign with the new logo she'd designed. She couldn't afford to pay a bundle for a cosmetic change, and she'd be willing to drop the project entirely if she couldn't get a contractor to do it her way. Clay had offered to chip in to help her out, and she refused. There was just no way she was ever going to mix business with a personal relationship again. And DanceSpace's finances weren't Clay's responsibility�they were hers.

He leaned against the doorframe of the bathroom and pulled off his socks, noticing Raleigh had followed him upstairs. He squatted down to tickle her behind the ears. "I thought you were hungry! You go back down and eat the food Mommy gave you. Daddy needs a shower. He's Mister Stinky. You go see Mommy."

Raleigh sat and whined as Clay stepped into the bathroom and shut the door. He leaned in to check his face in the mirror, rubbing his chin. Nah. Not shaving. It's a dressing-down kind of day, anyway. Wait�what is that? He noticed a small red mark just below his collarbone. Okay, Holly, you try to talk me into leaving more buttons undone, and then you give me this. Maybe I'll just have to give you one and see how your students like it! He giggled for a moment at the thought of holding her down and forcing a hickey on her.

He untied the drawstring on his pants and slid them off his hips, dropping them to the floor just outside the shower door. He reached in and turned on the water, and while he waited for it to warm up, he picked up her bottle of shampoo and smelled it. She always smelled�green, like a meadow. Not flowery, just fresh and natural. What's in this stuff? He turned the bottle around, and shrugged his shoulders at the blend of botanicals he didn't recognize. He stepped in as soon as he noticed the steam, and put the bottle back on the shelf.

The water felt amazing. He'd been feeling stiff ever since he woke up, and the heat was incredibly relaxing. He turned the dial on the showerhead to "pulse" and let the spray beat him on the back of his neck. It stung his skin a little at first, but he knew that would go away. It felt too good to stop. He ran his hands up his chest and over his shoulders, wrapping them behind his neck as he tipped his head back, letting the water spill over his head.

He stepped forward and shook his head to get the hair off of his forehead, and soon realized that wasn't a good idea. Ow! What the heck did I do last night to hurt myself? I've never hurt my neck like that before. He tipped his head from side to side in an attempt to loosen his muscles as he poured some body wash Holly had given him into the palm of his hand. He absent-mindedly lathered himself, remembering the night before, and how they'd cuddled on the couch watching some Chinese movie she loved and he struggled to understand. He was getting better at watching these kung-fu fantasy movies, once he'd learned to just accept that sometimes people can fly if they studied hard enough at their dojo, or whatever it was called. Some of those women were really gorgeous and kicked major butt, so he had no complaints there, and Holly definitely had her favorites when it came to Chinese actors�so these movies sometimes ended up being more than just the fighting kind of action for them. Oh, maybe that had something to do with it. She did get a little�

Clay realized he'd been standing in the shower doing almost nothing for a while. He pushed the handle all the way to "hot" and turned the dial back to a softer spray and stood under it again, the spicy scent rising with the steam off of his body.

"Oh�God," he said aloud, closing his eyes and dropping his head forward. He put his hands behind his neck again and kneaded the muscles there. The water ran in streams towards his face, along his eyebrows, cheekbones, and lips, dripping down onto his chest. He put his hands against the walls of the shower to steady himself as he found he was becoming even more relaxed. He turned his head from side to side and felt some tension release just behind his ear. That's it�that's done it. He stood up straight and pushed the hair back on his head. He looked through squinted eyes at the bottles on the shelf in front of him, grinning as he decided to pick up Holly's shampoo again.

He poured a little into his hand, inhaling deeply as the shower filled with her scent. He closed his eyes again as he rubbed his hands together, then combed his fingers through his hair. That green smell, the smell on the pillow he hugged on the nights she wasn't there, was all around him, comforting him as it always did. This was the way her hair smelled the night they danced together in her studio, the night she let go her doubts and gave herself to him. He shut his eyes tighter when he felt the lather begin to inch down his forehead, and he tipped his head back and rinsed it away.

He let out a sigh and put one hand back on his neck, sensing the heat and pleasure where the pain had been. His other hand trailed softly down his stomach, flat against him, and he smiled at the feeling of muscle tone he would never have dreamed about years ago when his appearance and health were the last things on his mind. As his hand traveled lower, he discovered the end result of all the sensations he'd immersed himself in. The heat from the shower, the steam rising around him, the scents, and the thoughts had all combined to awaken him this way. He brushed the backs of his knuckles lightly along his length before turning and facing the spray.

It was just as he placed his other hand against the back wall of the shower that he realized that the temperature was beginning to fall. He smiled for a moment at the absurdity of trying to finish before the hot water ran out, but he imagined Holly purring in his ear, telling him to go for it�and that was all the encouragement he needed.

I�ll tell you one thing
If you would leave it would be a crying shame
In every breath and every word I hear your name calling me out

Holly checked the timer and peeked into the oven to see how the lasagna was coming along. She heard Clay coming down the stairs, talking to his mother on the phone about her plans to come out for the AMAs. She took a sip from her wineglass and picked up a dishrag to wipe a spot of tomato sauce she�d missed off the counter. My God, how long has he been talking to her? Didn�t she call when I was rinsing the spinach?

He walked into the kitchen, one hand shoved into his pocket, with Raleigh clicking along behind him on the tile, as always. As he went by, he did a little impromptu shuffle to the music, smiled and raised his eyebrows at her before passing into the living room. �Oh, it�ll be fine. You can just stay here at the house during the show. I�m planning on having people over anyway, you know, like a little party in case I win�no, I�m not making you play hostess, Mama, you�re a guest just like everyone else." She turned the volume down so she could hear him better. "We�re gonna come home right after, you know, if there�s any press stuff to do, then we�ll come straight home�no�no, she�s not, just�not all the time, she�s got her own�it�s fine, Mom.�

Oh no, what�s that about? Holly felt herself tensing up. It was nerve-wracking enough, knowing that she�d soon be seen by his fans and the press, that her picture was going to be all over the internet and women everywhere would be cursing her name�but to compound that with meeting his mother for the first time�

He strode back into the kitchen and picked up his glass off the table where he�d left it. �Of course�of course she is, you know that. And she�s gonna look wonderful. She always does.� He beamed at her, and she smiled back at him. �Yeah�yeah, she�s making me dinner tonight. She�s a great cook. Look, do you want to talk to her? She�s right here. Okay, hang on.� He held the phone out to Holly, whose eyes were wide with panic. �It�ll be fine,� he whispered. She turned off the CD player, took the phone from his hand, and he kissed her on the cheek. �I love you.�

She mouthed I love you, too at him, then looked down at the phone in her hand. She took a deep breath, smiled up at him, and jokingly crossed herself before putting the phone to her ear. �Hello? Yes, it�s nice to finally talk to you.�

Clay grinned and poured himself a little more wine, then sat in the armchair by the window, pulling his foot up underneath him. Finally. They�re talking�she�s smiling. So far, so good.

She paced the kitchen, occasionally moving things around on the counter and straightening Emily�s drawings on the refrigerator. �Clay says you�re staying for a week�yes, that will be terrific, a lot of time to�yes, I�m looking forward to it. What? Oh, yeah, that�s really exciting. It�ll be a little scary to have all those people looking at me, but I think�well, that�s true, I�ve been onstage before, so it�s not that, exactly�maybe I can pretend I�m performing and it won�t feel so scary!� She laughed, and relaxed a little. �Right. We�ll just have to hold each other up, I guess. He says he gets nervous at those things, but I don�t see it. Then again, I can�t feel his palms sweating when I�m not there�you�re right, it�s kind of a weird thing to look forward to, but I guess it�s a part of him I haven�t gotten to experience yet!�

This is great. I�m so glad I put her on the phone. This�ll make it much easier when Mom gets here. He reached down to scratch Raleigh behind her ears. Look at her poking fun at me with Mom. This is so great.

�Yes�as a matter of fact, I�m making him lasagna tonight�well, he said he liked it when I made it before. It�s my Mom�s recipe, she showed me how to do it before she�oh, he told you? Yes, six years ago. Thank you, that�s very sweet of you. I guess he�s been eating a lot of Mom�s cooking lately�yeah, I�ve been thinking about showing him how to make this, since it�s pretty easy.� She walked over to Clay and took his hand, kissing him on the knuckle. As she headed back into the kitchen, Raleigh followed her. �Yeah, Mom wasn�t one for complicated cooking, so he should be able to handle it. Whoops�sorry, Raleigh just snuck up on me.� She turned to Clay. �Sweetie, has she eaten yet? Her bowl�s empty, do you want me to�oh, no, it�s nothing�Clay just needs to feed Raleigh.� He pinched her on the thigh as he walked by, enjoying the moment.

�The only tricky part is making sure you get the spinach drained all the way, because�no, it�s just spinach and cheese, no meat. No, I�m not a vegetarian, I just�oh God no, I can�t see him ever�I promise, he�s�� Holly nervously took a sip of her wine. �No, believe me, everyone in California isn�t a vegetarian. But I don�t eat a lot of meat, no�well, dancing all the time, I can sort of feel when my body wants it and when it�well, it�s sort of like a craving, I guess, but I try not to let it get to the point where I�m�oh, I don�t let myself get deprived, no. And I definitely wouldn�t let Clay get�I mean��

He noticed when he got to his chair again that she was twirling her hair around her finger, and that meant she was getting anxious. He figured his mother was just trying to make sure he was eating well, and assumed Holly would give her the straight story. Come on, baby, there�s nothing to be nervous about. I�m sure she thinks you�re adorable.

Holly opened the oven, checking dinner�s progress. �Yes�yes, of course�no, not every night. Sometimes I�m teaching a late class and I don�t get to�oh, no, I�m at the studio a lot, so we only�yeah, we both work pretty long hours. That�s why it�s so nice to be able to cook dinner, relax, open a bottle of wine��

Clay looked up at Holly, suddenly wondering what his mother was saying to her. She looked almost panicked.

�No�oh, no, I don�t�it�s really rare that we get to�yes�yes, I understand. No, I really do. Absolutely.� She waved her hand frantically at Clay, letting him know she was ready to hand him the phone again. �Oh�oh, you know what? Looks like I�m about to need both hands here in a second, so I�m gonna give you back to Clay, okay? Yes, it�s been�it�s been very nice talking to you, too, Mrs. Parker. What? Oh, oh, I don�t�okay, thank you�Faye�okay, Miss Faye�yeah, okay. Okay, here�s Clay. Yes�see you soon�okay, goodbye.�

The look in her eyes worried him as he took the phone from her hand. He mouthed What? and she shook her head, turning away.

�Mom? Yeah it�s me, I�what?� He put his hand on Holly�s back before stepping backwards out of the room. His voice got quiet. �What do you mean? How can you say that? Come on, she�s not from the South, people don�t talk like that here. She didn�t mean any disre-�well, yeah, I�m having a glass of wine, but it�s not like I�m�yes, ma�am�I know, Mama�yes, ma�am��

Holly finished the wine in her glass and grabbed the bottle, muttering as she poured herself another glass. Great. Good job, Holly. Nice going. She felt bad for Clay, since he was obviously in there having to defend her, and himself. She couldn�t hear him very well�it was obvious he didn�t want her to.

She stood in the kitchen, leaning against the counter, wondering what she�d said that made everything go wrong. The cooking? Talking about my Mom? Oh God, and then the wine�I should have known better. She was already hating me, and then to make it sound like we were sitting here getting sloshed�

Before she realized it, her glass was empty again. Clay walked in while she was setting it shakily on the counter. The oven timer buzzed and she picked up a pair of oven mitts. �I�m sorry, honey,� she said with tears in her eyes, her cheeks feeling warm. �I fucked it up.�

�Holly��

�Sorry. But I did.� She hit the button on the timer and opened the oven. It was done enough. She turned the oven off and pulled the lasagna out, pushing the door closed with her foot. �She hates me.�

�She doesn�t.�

Holly set the pan down harder than she intended. �Yes, she does. I don�t know what I did to piss her off, except�" Except love her son.

She tossed the oven mitts aside and walked to the sink, not able to look up at him. She couldn't imagine what he was thinking right now, and she hoped he'd say something soon. She turned on the tap to rinse the colander, picking at tiny green specks with her fingernails.

Clay was completely stunned. He didn�t see or hear anything that sounded like a fight, or anyone not "liking" anyone else. He couldn't figure out what his mother had said to her to make her so upset. Since she wasn't talking, he decided to go over to her and wrap his arms around her.

The hug he gave her was warm and comforting, but she wasn't sure if she wanted it just then. She turned to face him, putting her hands on his chest and pushing him backwards slightly.

"So, what did she say?"

"Come on, honey, she loves you."

"She said that?"

His eyes dropped and he took a step back. "Well�no."

"I didn't think so." Holly bit her thumbnail as she walked across the room to slump in the armchair.

"That's not fair. I'm not exactly hearing you say you love her, either, Holly." He spread a dishtowel on the counter and set the hot pan of lasagna on it. "I mean, what did you say to her?"

She glared at him. "What did I say to her?? You heard what I said to her. I was being perfectly friendly and pleasant and fucking charming!"

Let it go, Clay. This isn't the time. "You're right. I didn't hear you say anything that sounded like it would upset her. I mean�apart from the wine thing."

She looked over at the half-empty wine bottle not far from him on the counter. "Right. And she's got a problem with wine, does she? Do you have some mysterious allergy to sulfites that you forgot to tell me about?"

"No, come on�it's nothing like that. It's just that�well, you know�my birthfather was�"

Holly tossed her head backward melodramatically over the arm of the chair. "Yes, I know. So was mine, remember? Some people are, and some people aren't. I'm not. You're not. There's nothing for her to get upset about here, Clay."

He pulled back one of the kitchen chairs and sat down, lifting Raleigh into his lap when she whimpered at him. "She was just worried about me, okay?" Holly rolled her eyes and mumbled under her breath. "You wanna say that again?"

"Have you ever given her one reason to be genuinely worried that you were a drunk? That if she took her eyes off of you for a second, you'd end up passed out in some bar�or there'd be some woman of ill repute plying you with drinks until�" She sat up, her eyes wide with realization. "She thinks I'm turning you into a drunk. I'm the woman of ill repute, aren't I? You have a glass of wine with dinner and suddenly your girlfriend's a whore!"

"Stop it. You're being crazy."

"Am I? What have you told her about me, Clay? What opinions did she have about me before you shoved the phone into my hand?" He looked away, hugging Raleigh close to his chest. Holly took a deep breath to calm herself. "I'm sorry, honey�but something was going on, on her end, when I was talking to her. Everything seemed fine�better than I thought it would be�then suddenly she seemed really, um�judgmental. I just want to know what she was thinking�what did she say to you? What was all that whispering in the living room?"

He didn't want to tell her. He was worried that he couldn't explain it well enough for her to accept it. It really wasn't as bad as she thought. It would work itself out. His mother was always like this to some extent when he started dating someone new, because she wanted to make sure he wasn't wasting his time with the wrong girl�and now that he was on his own in California, where the women weren't nice, Southern girls she thought he could trust�

"Clay?" He was still hugging Raleigh, who was beginning to squirm now that his face was buried in her fur. "Sweetie?" He looked up at her, and she could see that he was struggling. "Honey, what did she say about me? Was it just the drinking? I heard you say something about that before you got so quiet. What did you tell her?"

He set the dog down and brushed a few hairs off his jeans. "She was just reminding me that she didn't want me to end up�you know�and, uh�that was pretty much it."

"But what did you tell her, Clay?"

"I don't know. Nothing I guess. I mean, what am I gonna tell her?"

Holly pulled herself to her knees and leaned towards him. "You could start by telling her that you're a 28 year old man who is capable of making his own decisions, and you're not doing anything wrong." He sighed and looked away again. "You're not, you know. There's nothing going on here that you should feel ashamed of�is there?" He didn't answer. His eyes went to the floor. "Is there?"

His silence made her entire body ache. She got up and strode across the kitchen to the stairs. He reached out and took her arm as she passed him.

"Holly�I love you. You know I love you." She looked down into his pleading eyes, and although he looked like he was in terrible need of a hug, she didn't think she was the one he wanted it from.

"I love you, too, sugar. But I need to be alone for a bit, okay?" She disappeared up the stairs, and he heard her going into the bedroom.

She'll be fine. This'll be okay. Just give her a couple minutes. He decided to set the table, to give him something to do while she calmed down. She'll come back down, we'll have dinner, it'll be fine. This is all so silly. There's no reason for her to believe that Mom doesn't like her. Just because they're both a little uncomfortable meeting�that's normal. And Mom thinks she's great�I know she does. How could she think she isn't? Holly is such an amazing woman�so strong and independent, so smart, so funny and beautiful and�

He looked up and saw Holly standing at the bottom of the stairs with her backpack slung over her shoulder. She looked at the dishes on the table and felt a lump in her throat.

"Sorry, honey�I need to go home." He took a nervous step towards her. "I'm just�I think I need to think about things for a bit. I think you probably do, too. Something's�not right. And we've got to fix it before�" She wiped a tear from her cheek with the back of her hand before throwing her arms around him.

Clay buried his face in her shoulder. "I don't know what to do, I just don't understand�why are you leaving me?"

"Baby, I'm not leaving you. I'm just leaving your house...for a little while. I love you so much�I wouldn't be able to bear the thought of leaving you for good. You're a part of me. A part of my family. I just think if I stay here right now, I'll say things I'll regret, and I don't want to hurt you. Maybe if I go, you can figure it out for yourself." She hugged him as tightly as she could, wishing she didn't have to let go. But she could tell that anything she had to say about his relationship with his mother was going to be met defensively, and there wasn't anything else she felt she could talk about just then.

"Okay�if you really feel like you have to go..." He smoothed her hair with his hand and kissed her softly on the cheek. "But, you know, everything's going to be fine. You'll see. Mom'll get here in a couple weeks, and you two are gonna�what?" She pulled away from him, shaking her head. "Holly?" He followed after her as she walked across the living room to the front door. "What is it, honey? Say something."

She opened the door and turned to look at him over her shoulder before continuing through. "Cut the damn cord, Clay."

He leaned his forehead against the door as he closed it behind her. What the hell does she mean by that? Comes in here saying she can't stay, but won't tell me why she's leaving. She's being completely unreasonable�she'd better get her shit straightened out soon, cuz I'm not gonna put up with this weird moodiness�

He flopped down on the couch, hitting MEM 1 on his phone.

"Mom?"