What the hell were you thinking?" Rose said in a tone that contradicted the smile on her face. She was sitting on the couch watching Jane draw as Kiki entered the room.

"I have no idea," Kiki answered.

It was five minutes before seven and Josh was due any minute. Rose had found out about their date when he called Monday to tell Kiki he would pick her up at seven rather than seven thirty. Ever since the phone call, Rose had been trying to get her granddaughter to call him back and cancel the whole thing. It was no secret Rose despised Josh. She had since the day Kiki and Jane arrived on her doorstep in tears, and ready for a divorce.

"I still think you should cancel. He doesn't deserve a second chance," Rose said turning to Kiki. There was a definite contempt in her voice.

"It's not a second chance," Kiki said. "It's just dinner. It's not like I'm gonna sleep with him."

For the past three days she had been trying to rationally explain to Rose, Gwen, Joe, and herself, why she had agreed to go out with Josh. In the end, the only thing she had was a headache and the idea that when it came to Josh, there were no rational explanations.

"I hope not," Rose stated flatly.

"Look, he's Jane's father, at very least we should be able to be around each other and be civil."

"So let him be Jane's father," Rose replied quickly. "That doesn't mean he still has the rights of your husband. I mean, he cheated on you and you divorced him. And now he thinks everything should just go back to being fine and dandy? I don't think so."

"And what if it had been Granddad? You wouldn't have given him a second chance in the same situation?" Kiki asked as an attempt to justify something that wasn't even a second chance.

"Absolutely not."

Kiki's jaw dropped in surprise. Rose just looked at her with a perfectly calm expression, her blue eyes filled with sincerity. She pushed a stray lock of her silver-blonde hair behind her ear as she continued.

"As much as I loved that man, if he had ever cheated on me, I would have thrown him through the window."

"And you probably could have," Kiki said with a giggle.

"You're damn right I could have. But in forty-eight years of marriage, he never gave me a reason to," Rose said proudly.

"Could you please watch your language around my daughter?" Kiki asked nicely. She knew that Rose only cursed when she was especially passionate about something.

The door bell chimed and Kiki immediately became self-conscious. She ran her hands over the short, black linen skirt to straighten it and then gently pulled at the bottom of the lavender midriff she was wearing. She looked to Rose and asked, "How do I look?"

"Too good for him," Rose answered shortly.

Kiki sighed in an exasperated way and let her arms drop to her side. She made her way to the door and forced her nicest smile, the butterflies in her stomach multiplying with each step. Rose began picking the crayons up from the coffee table and putting them back in the box as Kiki put her hand on the knob and took a deep breathe.

Josh stood smiling pleasantly at the door, a bunch of wrapped flowers in his hand. He dared not enter the house until he was invited. Rose frowned on him actually entering her home, and he knew it. Out of the corner of his eye, Josh saw Jane moving toward him as fast as her little legs could move her. Bending down to be at the toddlers level, Josh hugged the little girl. Kiki moved down and put her knee to support herself.

Josh stood and looked to Rose who was slowing moving toward the door. Holding out the bundle of flowers to Rose, Josh smiled as politely as he could, "For you."

Taking the flowers, Rose forced a small courtesy grin. There were a million insulting things she wanted to say to him, but she held her tongue as she noticed Kiki looking up at her.

"Thank you," Rose said. She continued, mumbling under breathe, "There aren't fresh, but I guess I should not have expected that."

Rose could always spot fresh flowers from the not so fresh flowers, a trait that made the arrangements she created all the more beautiful. Owning her own flower shop for nearly thirty years had given her a good eye.

Kiki kissed Jane and said her goodnights. Standing straight again and smoothing her clothes, Kiki turned to Josh and smiled, motioning for them to leave. He leaned down to kiss Jane and waved good-bye to Rose, and then held the door for Kiki.

Together they walked down the flower-lined path and Josh opened the car door for Kiki. She smiled a thank you and wondered what he had planned for the evening. First, they went to an early movie. It was an obvious date movie starring Sandra Bullock. The theater was filled with couples, guys arms draped across the backs of their dates seats. When Josh attempted to do the same, Kiki calmly turned to him and reminded him that they weren't on a date.

After the movie, Josh said that dinner was going to be a surprise. And Kiki was very surprised when they pulled into the parking lot outside Josh's apartment complex. It was there that Josh informed Kiki that he would be cooking a candle light dinner for the two of them. Except dinner would not be cooked.

Once inside the apartment, Kiki was amazed at how many pictures of Jane there were. As she sat down on the couch she noticed a silver frame positioned under the table lamp. The frame held a picture of Kiki and Jane sitting at the end of yellow plastic slide. A flood of memories over took Kiki. She remembered that summer day so vividly and the way then-thirteen month old Jane giggled wildly in her arms all the way down the slide. It was a few months before the divorce and her life had seemed so perfect.

What really caught Kiki's attention, however, was the small, wallet-sized picture stuck in the bottom right side of the frame. It was of Kiki and Josh on their wedding day. They both smiled so proudly as they stood side by side, surrounded by flowers. A warm feeling grew in Kiki's stomach as she looked at the two pictures.

For a few minutes she had let her guard down and forgotten why she divorced Josh. He entered the living room from the kitchen and sat down next to her.

"Two days I'll never forget," Josh said softly. "I keep them out for when I miss having the two of you here."

Kiki looked at him and smiled. Looking into his eyes, she lost her self and the logical part of her mind was shut off. Before she could stop herself, Kiki was drawn into a sweetly passionate kiss. Her arms found their way around Josh's body and pulled him close to her as she slowly leaned back on the couch. In a short moment, Josh was on top of Kiki, their bodies pushed together and locked in a deep, unending kiss. The rest of the world seemed to melt away and everything felt very right. Things were as they were supposed to be.

After about ten minutes of kissing and groping, the phone rang. Neither paid much attention to the interruptions, too caught up in each other. Josh's fingers worked on the last two buttons of Kiki's blouse as he kissed just below her collar bone. She closed her eyes and ran her fingers through his hair. Biting her lower lip, she felt her heart pound with each kiss his mouth gave her flesh. The answering machine clicked on.

"Josh?"

The feminine voice snapped Kiki back to reality. She pushed him back, and looked deep into his reddening face.

"I'm sorry you had to brake our plans for tonight. But I guess having to help your sick sister is a good enough excuse. Call me when you get in. Maybe we can get together tomorrow night and I can show you all the things I would have liked to do tonight."

Kiki raised her eyebrows in shock and wiggled from beneath him. A grin covered her face as she realized what had happened. He had actually canceled a real date to take her out. She wondered if the pictures were left where they were intentionally. She knew how smart Josh was and how manipulative.

"I can't believe it," Kiki said, pulling her blouse closed.

"It's not what you think," Josh replied quickly.

"No? Who was that? A phone sex operator who likes to call you or an eighty year old woman with an especially sexy voice that wants you to wash her cat tomorrow night?"

Kiki spoke in a rather amused tone. She realized he had not changed that much and that he was doing just fine as a bachelor.

"Kiki," Josh said in a defeated tone.

"No, don't explain. Don't even attempt to explain this one Josh. There's nothing to explain. You're a single, twenty-one year guy. I'm not surprised that you have a life behind Jane. In fact, I'm proud of you. And of myself right now."

"Why?"

"Well, I needed just one little thing to tell me I was over you. That phone call did it," Kiki said proudly with a smile to match. "Josh, I will always love you and I want you to always be there when Kiki needs you. But, you and me just won't work. Not now anyway. You're having too much fun being young. And if I wasn't totally over you, I wouldn't be able to ask you to take me home right now."

Josh looked a little confused, but in Kiki's mind it all made perfect sense. No matter how much she loved him, things with him could never be as they once were and Kiki knew that now. She didn't have to wonder what he was doing nights anymore. And she finally felt as if there was some closure to that part of her life. She could live without his touch, without his kiss, without him. It was that simple. A wave of relief swept over her with the revelation.

After taking her home, Josh still did not understand what Kiki had been talking about. She doubted he would ever truly understand it. She almost felt like a new woman. There was no kiss goodnight and Kiki had an extra bounce in her step.

Inside, Rose waited patiently to hear what had happened but was a little disappointed when Kiki would not tell her. Wearing a self-confident and satisfied grin, Kiki would only say, "Be proud of me Rose. I finally figured it out."