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deranged,” Diana muttered.
    “Maybe so, but you’re still in love.”
    “Will you please stop saying that?”
    “Only when you stop denying it.”
    “I’m denying it because it isn’t true,” Diana said, getting to her feet. Grasping for straws, Diana said the first thing that came to mind. “You said it yourself, I’m unemployed and—”
    “Oh, no you don’t,” Brenda said, waggling her finger. “You just told me that your finances would carry you through. And you and I both know that with your background, you won’t have any problem finding another job, which leads me right back to the fact that you’re in love.”
    “How can I convince you that I’m not?” Diana said, eyeing the woman who had raised her.
    Thinking for a moment, Brenda asked, “Did I ever tell you about the first time your father met your mother?”
    “What?”
    “You heard me.”
    “Um…no, I don’t think so, but you never talked about them that much. I wasn’t sure if it was to ease my pain or yours.”
    “A little of both, I suspect,” Brenda said quietly. “You were so young and so confused. It didn’t make sense to dwell on the past and keep the wound open, so I didn’t. I’m sorry.”
    “No worries,” Diana said with a soft smile. “You always answered my questions when I asked about them, and besides, if I remember correctly, I was quite a handful back then.”
    “You most certainly were!” Brenda said with a snicker. “I’m glad you grew out of that when you hit your twenties.”
    “Hey!”
    Both women began to laugh remembering their arguments over clothing, boyfriends and curfews. After a few minutes, Diana asked, “So what’s a story about my parents got to do with me convincing you that I’m not in love?”
    Patting the cushion next to her, Brenda said, “Come. Sit back down and I’ll explain.”
    Returning to her spot on the sofa, Diana pursed her lips as she eyed her aunt suspiciously. “So, enlighten me.”
    Amused by her niece’s defensiveness, Brenda said, “When your father was sixteen, your grandparents insisted that he go to the final school dance of the year. He was a very smart young man, and involved in every sport there was, but when it came to social gatherings, he avoided them like the plague.”
    “Why?”
    “He was shy, and even though he was an extremely handsome, he felt totally uncomfortable around girls. He managed to come up with excuses for all the other school dances, but by the time the last one rolled around, he had run out, so reluctantly he went.
    “I don’t think I’ll ever forget that night. Mom and Dad had gone to bed, but I had stayed up to read for a while. Ross walked in just after ten, and I swear, when he came through the door, it was as if someone had turned up the lights.
    His smile was so bright it was almost laughable.”
    “I’m not smiling like that,” Diana stated.
    “No, you’re not, but there’s more to this story, if you don’t mind,” Brenda said, her eyes sparkling with amusement.
    Leaning back into the sofa, Diana crossed her arms and said, “Fine. I’m listening.”
    “Like I was saying, your father appeared to be in a very good mood when he came home that night, but after changing his clothes, he came back downstairs, sat down, picked up a magazine and proceeded to stare off into space for over an hour without saying a word. Of course, I was a bit confused because one minute he seemed happy and then the next…the next he seemed almost mystified. Beyond curious, I finally asked him what had happened at the dance, and he told me that he had met a girl. I think his exact words were…a wonderful, beautiful girl.”
    Goosebumps appeared on Diana’s arms, and quietly she asked, “My mother?”
    “Yes,” Brenda said in a whisper, looking at her niece. “Oh, he must have rattled on for a good hour about Kathleen, telling me everything he could remember about this girl he had just met.”
    “Wait, it was a school dance. Wouldn’t