"Why did you have to drag us down here, Jack?" Jen whined, looking at Joey for help and receiving an understanding eye-roll from her.

"Because it’s fun... and we need a lot of fun right now," Jack declared, unimpressed.

"Uh-huh..."Joey chimed in, "... very funny. It’s hot, it’s crowded and it’s... loud."

Jack shook his head, put one arm around each girl and practically shoved them forward. "That’s exactly what it’s supposed to be like." He inhaled deeply and a satisfied smile spread across his face. "Ahhh... and the smell of fresh barbecue in the air..."

"Yummy." Jen snorted and scrunched her face up.

"Come on girls, I know you love it." Jack sighed. It wasn’t an easy job to entertain his two favorite girls these days. But he had promised to take care of them and this included taking their minds off the unpleasant events of the last few days. The Capeside Memorial Day Parade and Barbecue seemed to be a good way to spend the holiday in his mind, apparently he had been wrong.

"And you know that those... umm... forced patriotic activities are not really our most favorite things to do or attend." Joey tugged at her shirt and sighed.

She knew Jack just wanted to keep her occupied so that she wouldn’t dwell on what had happened and she truly appreciated it, but she wasn’t in the mood to stand on the overcrowded sidewalk and watch a parade, that she had attended the last time when she was five years old.

"You said the same about school spirited activities and then... Miss Lindley here became head cheerleader, I joined the football team and... you...." Jack tried his best to come up with anything but failed miserably.

Joey crossed her arms in front of her chest and grinned. "See, my point exactly."

"And you do remember why I had the misfortune to become a cheerleader." Jen poked Jack in his ribs and smirked.

"Okay, okay... I give up." Jack desperately threw his hands in the air.

"Really? Can we leave then?" Joey stopped in her tracks and asked hopefully.

"Poor Jackie is overruled!" Jen laughed and gave Joey a high five.

Both girls were about to make a 180 degree turn, when Jack spied a sweets booth that sold cotton candy. Licking his lips he decided to play his last trump card. "Yeah, yeah... fine. Two against one... I know, but maybe you should risk a glance to your right," he suggested calmly.

"Huh?" Jen tilted her head and looked at him before her eyes followed his directions and a shrill but happy squeal escaped her lips. "Yay.... cotton candy! I haven’t had that since... since the carnival in our sophomore year."

"Jen... please... don’t tell..." Joey sighed, already knowing that the tables had suddenly turned.

"Oh please, come on, let’s get us some sweet sins and then we can go, okay?" Jen used her best puppy dog eyes on Joey.

"Guess now I’m the one who’s overruled here, huh?" Joey mumbled and trudged along with her two friends.

~*~

"So you’re still starting to work at Leery’s Fresh Fish tomorrow?" Jen asked between chewing the sweet, sticky and colorful sugar threads.

"Yeah..." Joey brushed a strand of hair out of her way and popped a red fuzz of cotton candy into her mouth. The more she ate, the more she liked the parade that was marching down Main Street.

After they gave in and were fed with ungodly amounts of sugar, that worked its way into their system much like serotonin would do, they settled in the shade of a tree, a little off the crowd.

"But what does Bessie say? I don’t think she’s very happy about that, is she? And you haven’t told Mrs. Leery..." Jack almost choked as a bite of his grilled burger went down the wrong way while he attempted to throw his two-cents in.

"No, not really... but she knows that I need the money..." Joey sighed, wishing there was another way then having to work at Leery’s. "And we talked about... you know, telling her, but what good would it bring? It’s over and... she can’t be blamed for what..." her voice trailed of, not wanting to go back to what happened a few days ago.

Jen glared at Jack who guiltily lowered his head. "Sorry," he mumbled while mentally kicking himself.

"It’s okay... really. It’s just... let’s just not talk about that, okay?" Joey nudged Jack’s arm softly, telling him that he had no reason to fret over his little slip-up.

"You know, your idea wasn’t that bad... the floats are...well, interesting," Jen tried to change the subject as subtly as possible, craning her neck to get a better view.

"See, I said so hours ago... but you two nonbelievers..." Jack shrugged and grinned.

"Yeah, yeah... whatever..." Jen muttered before a certain float caught her sight. "Now look at that... the Capeside High Minutemen’s very own... floating football."

Jen and Jack giggled, joking about the team while Joey just smiled indifferently. Her mind had drifted into the past, the colors of the floats passing by nothing but a blur of the present and memories.

"Joey... Jo...ey... earth to Joey?" Jen waved her hand up and down in front of Joey’s face until she finally blinked and narrowed her eyes on Jen’s.

"Huh?"

"Where were you?" Jen laughed. "Because... I’d like to go there, too... you look so ... happy."

"Oh... some childhood memories, of a parade and ...a self-made float... and..." Joey explained, her voice still laden with remembrance.

"Oh please... don’t say ‘and Pacey’... that’s just too much!" Jack rolled his eyes in mock disgust.

"Okay, I won’t say it." Joey stuck her tongue out and reached for some more of her cotton candy.

~*~

"Ahh, Joey... I’m so glad you’re working here." Gale sank down on the chair next to Joey and sighed.

The lunch rush had just ended and the restaurant began to clear of patrons, most of which were tourists. The morning and afternoon had been nothing but stressful and all of the staff were pretty exhausted.

"Is it just me, or is this worse than last summer?" Gale propped her arm on the counter and supported her head tiredly.

"I don’t know... I wasn’t here..." Joey exhaled and bit her lip. Until then she had comfortably avoided any private conversation with Gale, which was fairly easy, because they had so much to do. Now there was no way to escape her.

"Yeah, right... anyway, I’m just happy you are here." Gale smiled and reached for Joey’s hand. "Come on, take a seat. We’ve well deserved a little break."

Joey tensed as she felt Gale’s light touch. Forcing herself to stay calm, she slid on the chair and reached for the glass of ice water Gale poured for her.

"So... umm, I don’t really know how to ask you this..." Gale started and carefully folded some napkins. "But, do you know anything about this... fight Dawson got in before he left? He didn’t want to talk about it, shrugged it of to tell you the truth, but I can’t help and wonder what happened."

Joey closed her eyes. She could feel Gale’s questioning glance burn into her and the urge to run out of the restaurant as far away as possible, almost overpowered her senses.

"A fight?" her voice was small and shaky as she refused to look up.

"You don’t know about it?" Gale sounded disappointed. "Well, after his farewell party he got into some kind of fight, and when he came down for breakfast the next morning, well, he was quite bruised and had a black eye. He didn’t say what happened and when Doug came over the day before he and his father left for California, he wanted to talk to him in private. After that, we asked what was going on and he simply said, that a girl got in trouble and he wanted to help or something."

"Oh, really?" Joey snorted.

Her tone caused Gale to frown. "What do you mean, Joey?"

"Uh... nothing... I meant nothing. I’m just tired." Joey tried to make excuses, asking herself how she was supposed to survive without telling Gale what had happened, when she failed miserably on the very first day.

"Joey, I’ve known you since you were a few days old. And, don’t get me wrong, honey, but... you seem kind of... off these last few days... and your comment just now..." Gale sighed and shook her head. "You know that you can always talk to me... no matter what and no matter how things are between Dawson and you. You’ve always been like... the daughter I never had... before Lilli..." Gale pleaded with her.

Joey scooted uncomfortably on her chair. What Gale just told her, was part of the reason why she never wanted to tell her about Dawson’s drunken attack. How could she? What good would it bring? Would Gale believe her, or would she think that her son, her own flesh and blood could never harm another person like this, especially not her?

"I’m okay, really," Joey lowered her head to hide the traitorous glint in her eyes that would give her white lie away before she spelled it out. "I’m sorry if I appear to be off or whatever. I’m missing Pacey terribly... and well, Dawson and I, let’s just say that he wasn’t too happy that Pacey and I are back together." At least that was no lie at all. She could only hope Gale would be satisfied with her explanation.

"I know. After what happened at prom... I think he never thought you would... umm... get back together." Gale told her softly. She knew that her son was hurt and being his mother she wanted nothing more than to see him happy. And she couldn’t deny that for some time, she hoped he and Joey would end up together. But she was also there to witness Joey and Pacey together and thus she knew that Joey would never be happy with Dawson.

"Yeah..." Joey sighed. She hated the whole situation, she hated everything. She used to think of Gale as a mother figure and now she was lying to her, although it was for her best.

Gale searched Joey’s face sadly. She knew there was more than she was telling her, but she obviously didn’t want to talk about it. Maybe this was how things were when the kids grew up. They stopped talking to their parents, started to keep their secrets and started to create a life of their own, far away. Dawson was already half way on the other side of the country, and Joey would leave soon as well. There was no sign that she was considering to break the silence that suddenly engulfed them.

"Okay, ready to get back to work?" Gale suggested. Maybe they would continue their conversation another time.

"Sounds good." Joey stood up and smoothed invisible wrinkles on her shirt. She was relieved. For the time being the interrogation was over.

~*~

Joey plopped down on her bed, feeling utterly exhausted. It was only her second day at the restaurant and yet she wished it was her last. Not only was it crowded beyond belief, but the presence of Gale was driving her crazy. Or maybe not her presence, but the tension that hung in the air, threatening to suffocate her. Stretching her achingly tired limbs she rolled on her side and ran her fingertip over their picture.

She started to doze off as her cell phone began to beep. Groaning she reached for the bag she had dumped on the floor and fumbled with the flap to retrieve the peeving item. Finally finding it in the depths of the bag she lifted it and opened one eye to identify the caller. A smile curved her lips as she saw Pacey’s name in the display.

"Hi, honey." Her tiredness was blown off immediately.

"Ah, the wonders of modern technology. Can’t surprise you anymore, huh?" Pacey’s voice sounded happy and Joey could almost see him smile.

"Yep, actually you could surprise me if you hid your ID... but I’m not going to tell you how to do that..." she smirked and sat up, curling against the wall and staring at their picture.

"Is that a challenge, Potter? You think I can’t find out how to do it?"

"You know that I know you can do anything you wanna do." Joey pressed the cell phone closer to her ear, wishing she could just crawl in there and come out at Pacey’s end.

"Uh-huh... well, I’ve got something to tell you... but first things first: how did the first days at Leery’s go?" Pacey’s tone was still light, but hinted his underlying uneasiness.

Joey sighed and closed her eyes, resting her head against the wall. "Umm, okay I guess. The restaurant is pretty crowded and there’s a lot to do. It’s just..." Joey paused and fiddled around with the small cuddle-pillow.

"Just what, Jo?" Pacey tensed and frowned. He knew it wasn’t a good idea for her to work at the restaurant.

"Don’t worry, only... Gale wanted to talk about why and where Dawson got his black eye and everything."

"What?" Pacey’s eyes widened just thinking about how Joey had to feel about that.

"Yeah. He told her some ludicrous story about how he tried to help a girl who was in trouble." Joey shook her head, still angry and hurt from what he had done.

"What?" Pacey’s vocabulary was seemingly reduced to a single word. He couldn’t believe the impertinence Dawson was showing and had to walk up and down the deck.

"That’s what I thought, but... who would tell their mother that they almost..." Joey licked her lips, trying to get the word out, the one that was still so unbelievable, "...raped someone."

Pacey rubbed his eyes. He hated the small undertones in her voice that betrayed her otherwise brave behavior.

"Of course, nobody... and certainly not Capeside’s golden boy..." he muttered bitterly.

"Not so golden after all," Joey said softly. "But... can we change the subject? Tell me about your day."

"Oh... okay... there’s indeed something to tell." Pacey chuckled and plopped down on the bench. "You wouldn’t believe what happened yesterday."

"Do tell, Witter," Joey asked impatiently and eager to get the sad thoughts out of her head.

"Curiosity killed the cat, Jo, sweetie... remember?" Pacey grinned, picturing her rolling her eyes.

"Whatever..." Joey rolled her eyes but smiled.

"Okay, you know... Leon, our cook? He broke his right arm yesterday, that’s why we’re a little behind our trip schedule by the way, and the thing is: they selected me to help him out..." Pacey told her proudly.

"They want you to cook?" Joey asked teasingly, smiling happily that he was obviously enjoying himself immensely.

"Why... I’m offended, Josephine... are you indicating that my abilities in the food department are questionable?"

"Indicating? Let me think... I can’t remember seeing you in the kitchen, doing anything other than...." Joey scoffed good-naturedly.

"Careful there, toots..." Pacey warned.

"Than drinking milk or juice right out of the carton... which you do in a very sexy way, might I add."

"Nice save, Jo... but just you wait until I’m back..." Pacey chuckled.

"Can hardly wait," Joey whispered but Pacey heard her murmur nonetheless.

~*~

"So how’s our little chef doing?" Jen asked raising her eyes from Jack’s laptop.

"Good. He’s really happy with his new job..." Joey replied after pushing her cell phone back into her bag.

"But?" Jack put the real estate printouts down and looked at Joey.

"But... since last week... he always wants to talk to Bodie to get some new recipes or helpful advice... and I’m playing secretary or something between the two," Joey grumbled and returned to her chair next to Jen.

"Awww, feeling neglected?" Jen teased, nudging Joey’s shoulder.

"Maybe." Joey frowned and shrugged. "It’s not like I’m not proud of him for working and learning so hard and fast... it’s just... when we talk on the phone... those are the best minutes of my days and they get cut short by Bodies cooking lessons."

"I can’t wait to see... or better taste a sample of his newfound skill." Jack grinned and browsed through the many realty ads they had collected and filed into a thick folder.

"And why do you think you’ll be able to enjoy it...ever?" Joey held her hair up, trying to cool herself off a bit.

"Duh... because I’m pretty sure he’ll be in Boston... and cooking for us could very well pay his way into our house on a permanent basis." Jack rolled his eyes upon her lack of comprehension.

"Well, we do need to have a house in Boston to begin with..." Jen pointed out, pressing an almost melted ice cube against her wrist.

"Damn, Jen... watch what you’re doing," Jack yelled and pushed her hands away. "You’re dripping all over the ads."

"Sorry," Jen mumbled sheepishly, wiping her hands on her jean shorts.

"All the houses are... very expensive..." Joey stated, concerned as she looked through the latest printouts.

"Yeah... but nothing compared to New York... besides, Grams’ is selling her house here and my father will take care of the rest... claiming it as a tax write-off, of course," Jen snorted. "Apropos...you’re still off work this weekend, right? Sticking to our plan to drive up to Boston for house-hunting."

"Yeah, sure. I’m already counting the minutes," Joey sighed.

"That bad, huh? Is Mrs. Leery still bugging you?" Jack asked sympathetically while keeping a protective eye on Jen and the folder.

"Not really. I think she understands that I don’t want to talk about Dawson anymore. Of course she thinks it’s because of how he reacted to Pacey and me getting back together. But she keeps throwing sad glances at me all the day... I can’t stand it," Joey sighed and added quietly, "Never could."

"Hmm." Jen frowned, not quite knowing what to say or how to offer some comfort for her friend. She knew that Joey hated it to be pitied, no matter the reason.

All three fell silent for a few moments. Life was a bitch sometimes, but lately it seemed to be especially bitchy.

"Ah, children... I can’t believe it’s so hot this early in June." Grams appeared out of nowhere, bearing a tray with small bowls, filled with her famous chilled fruit salad.

Jen turned around, shading her eyes with her hand. "Are you feeling alright, Grams? Maybe you shouldn’t sit outside during the noontime heat." Jen was concerned. Over the last few days Grams wasn’t really in the pink because of the climate.

"I’m feeling better, Jen. Thank you. And here in the penumbra, I’m sure I’ll be fine. We have to discuss our trip to Boston, right?" Grams declared and sat down between Joey and Jen.

"Right... and your fruity cool-off here will help us immensely," Jack grinned and helped himself to the closest bowl of sweet seduction.

~*~

"Uhhh... man, it’s too early, bro’," Rafe groaned tiredly and pressed his head into the pillow, trying to shield his eyes from the disturbing light.

"I’m sorry," Pacey chuckled and zipped his shorts. "But you do want to get breakfast, huh?"

"Yeah... later, much later," Rafe relented, now hiding under his pillow. "Why did you have to start cooking anyway?"

"Let me think... could it be because you and Leon got drunk and Leon fell on your way back... breaking his arm?" Pacey suggested still grinning. Rafe was not a morning person at all.

"A lie." Rafe turned his back toward Pacey.

"Uh-huh, what ever makes you happy, my friend." Pacey slipped his shirt on and yawned. He did like the new work, but it was indeed a little early. "Alright, any special wishes?" he asked as he turned towards the cabin door.

"Yeah... gweh!" Rafe mumbled almost asleep again.

Pacey grinned and opened the door. During the past few weeks he had learned a lot new things and some Jamaican English was just one aspect. And this expression was kind of Rafe’s favorite saying in the morning, meaning nothing else than ‘go away’.

Leon was already in the galley, trying to make coffee and grumbling at the difficulty of pouring water into the can with just one hand, as Pacey walked in.

"Mornin’, Leon."

"Hmm, you’re late, Witter," Leon looked up and sighed.

"Or... you’re early," Pacey retorted winking at him. "Couldn’t sleep well, huh?"

"Not really, no." Leon rubbed his eyes tiredly. The big Latino scuffled over to a bar stool and clumsily climbed on it. "This damned cast sucks!"

The frustration in his voice was obvious and Pacey decided to swallow the teasing remark that was tempted to roll off his tongue.

"Anyway, time to get started. It ain’t pretty if people get cranky because their breakfast isn’t ready," Leon stated and watched how Pacey easily sashayed into the morning routine.

He was still surprised to see him working and finding his way around the proverbial kitchen, after such a short amount of time, as if he had never done anything else. Of course he had taught him the basic things after he stepped in for him, but surprisingly Pacey didn’t need much instruction and now he did it mostly by himself, sometimes checking with him, but he invented his own methods and ideas. In Leon’s opinion Pacey was a natural born cook.

Pacey poured the perfect amount of self-made pancake dough into the pan, mixing it with fresh blueberries. It was Bodie’s highly acclaimed recipe and he was extremely proud and touched that he had told him how to copy it. Feeling Leon’s eyes boring into his back, Pacey quickly turned around, a little afraid to tear his eyes from the golden treat that sizzled in the hot pan. "What is it? Something wrong?"

"Huh? No, not at all." Leon wondered where the reasons for Pacey’s insecurities about his abilities came from. "I’m just... you know, I’ve never seen anybody take to cooking that fast and good as you have. Did ya ever consider making something out of it?"

"Of cooking? Are you kidding? And... pancakes aren’t that difficult now, are they? I even managed to make quite decent ones before you started to teach me." Pacey frowned and turned his attention back to his task at hand, flipping the round cake exactly at the perfect moment.

"That’s why I’m asking. You’re good at this. You’ve got natural talent," Leon insisted.

"Nah..." Pacey uttered doubtfully. He really didn’t get why Leon was making such a big deal out of this.

"Monkeyshine! Believe me, I know what I’m seeing. You’re doing great and you have fun while doing it. It’s as simple as that. You should start thinking about it," Leon affirmed, nodding so vehemently, that he almost tipped over with his stool.

The coffee was ready and Pacey handed Leon a big mug. He smiled thankfully, blowing at the hot concoction. They were silent for a while and Pacey reflected on their short conversation. Leon was right, in a way at least.

Cooking was fun and despite his initial reluctance towards the job, he really loved it. Maybe he shouldn’t dismiss Leon’s advice so fast. Maybe he should at least consider this possibility and keep it in the back of his mind. After all this was why he accepted the Dean’s offer in the first place, the possibility to find something to do with his life. Maybe this was one that could imply a change for the better.

~*~

"Jack... I really thought you were more than apt at reading a map, but apparently I was dead wrong," Jen groaned and snatched the map from Jack’s hand.

"Well, excuse me if my concentration starts to wane after, what is it... ten hours, that feel more like a hundred," Jack snapped and turned to the backseat, where Joey and Jen sat slumped, exhausted and obviously annoyed. At least Jen was.

"We could’ve been almost home by now if you hadn’t guided us into the wrong direction. Capeside is south of Boston, on the Cape... not in the north!" Jen continued to complain.

"Now, now... children, there’s absolutely no need or reason to bite each other’s heads off," Grams intervened calmly, briefly gazing into the rearview mirror.

"No? I beg to differ." Jen narrowed her eyes and stared at her grandmother.

"Jennifer, we’re all tired and it’s hot, but no, there’s no reason to heat up the atmosphere with ill-tempered arguments. Look, we didn’t drive too far and I suggest we make a little excursion to Charlestown. Quite a lovely part of Boston, or a suburb really, refresh ourselves before we head home. Maybe we should’ve had a break before returning to Capeside anyway."

"Oh joy... and how far away is this... Charlestown?" Jen was in a very bad mood and refused to accept anything that might lighten it a bit.

"The next exit right here on the I-93... it’s exit 28 I believe." Grams smiled softly, completely ignoring her granddaughter’s foul attitude.

A few minutes later the car rolled down Bunker Hill Street toward Monument Square, where Grams intended to park the car. It had been a while since she was here last, but it hadn’t changed much. The quaint streets were lined with gas lamps and most of the brick row houses, stone buildings and wooden residences dated back to the early nineteenth century. New buildings fit in nicely, not necessarily imitating the pre-war style, but complimenting nevertheless. Several small parks and the Monument Square added to the beauty. The wharves and the old Navy Yard had been redeveloped and Grams thought Charlestown to be by far the most beautiful part of the Boston area. Maybe it was just her, but she loved it. The sense of a small town city was prominent, as well as the flair of a big city in the background.

The late afternoon sun shone brightly, but a fresh breeze coming in from the Mystic River and Boston Bay felt wonderful on their heated skin as they got out of the car.

Grams had found a spot close to the hilly Monument Square and Jen’s mood became friendlier by the second, especially after she caught sight of a small café, which offered outdoor seating in the shadow of old trees.

"You were right, from what I’ve seen so far, this is a beautiful place," Jack affirmed Grams prior statement and looked around.

"It is. See, Jennifer, sometimes a misguided way does make sense in the end."

"Well," Jen sipped on her iced cappuccino and leaned back in the chair, "okay, it could’ve been worse, that much is true. But ‘making sense’? This whole weekend didn’t make sense, just like the last weekend didn’t make sense either. We’ve spent hours and hours and hours in Boston and on the road, visited uncountable open-houses, read hundreds of realty ads... and what did we get? Nothing. And I swear to God, if I have to read just one more ad, about how wonderful, neat and spacious a Boston townhouse is... I’m going to scream, really."

"Nobody said it would be an easy task to find a house here, child," Grams stated softly.

"I’m far away from thinking about ‘easy’, but even ‘possible’ seems to be a little farfetched." Placing the chilled glass back on the table Jen crossed her arms defiantly.

"Remember the one that said ‘4 bedrooms, large living and dining area in a perfectly renovated jewel’?" Jack started to laugh almost hysterically as he remembered the mere ruin that awaited them.

"Please... I’m trying to erase that picture from my tortured mind and eyes," Jen shook her head disgustedly. "Not only that ‘jewel’ is obviously a sneaky and mean secret code for a rotten pile of bricks that once upon a time might have resembled a tiny hen house type of a building, but ‘perfectly renovated’ has to indicate the fact that no four or more legged animals have the guts to stay there for even one minute."

Grams’ lips curved into an amused smile. Sometimes this was everything you could do to escape the threatening first stages of lunacy. It was true, most of the houses they had seen were in a desolate condition and in no way suited for them.

"Yeah, maybe we should consider the commuting thing again. After our recent trips, the idea doesn’t sound so bad after all... I mean, what are a few hours on a train or in a car, compared to living in a wonderful, intact and absolutely clean and pest-free house?" Jack held his side that painfully protested his never-ending attack of laughter.

"Or maybe I should just try to get a room somewhere near campus or something," Joey mumbled barely audible.

Jen frowned and tilted her head, narrowing her eyes at Joey. "What? I hope I misheard you just now."

"No, the point is... we’ve seen a lot of acceptable houses, that had three bedrooms, were situated in a good neighborhood, were actually affordable and ...if it weren’t for me... you would’ve signed a contract by now." Joey avoided the surprised and appalled glances her friends shot at her and looked down on her hands, chewing on her bottom lip. She really felt like a big and heavy millstone around their neck. After all she had asked them if she could move in with them and if it wasn’t for her, they would have fewer problems on their back.

"Bullshit, Joey!" Jen almost yelled and was tempted to shake some sense into her friend, but a hushing motion of Grams silenced her.

Grams reached for Joey’s hand and took it in hers. "That’s absolute nonsense, my dear. True, if you weren’t joining us, we might have needed one less bedroom, but we’d have missed out on having you with us and that means much more to us than any house ever could. I told you before, the more the merrier and if it were possible I’d probably take all of our good friends from Capeside with us. But that’s not the point. The point is, we’re very glad and happy that you’re staying with us, actually you’re not just staying with us, but we’re one family here."

Joey sighed and struggled with the tears that threatened to spill. "I’m sorry, I’m just so... emotional these days..." sniffing a little she looked up.

"And understandably so, honey. You’ve been through some hard and trying times. But you have to understand that you’re absolutely no burden for us." Grams stroked lightly over Joey’s hair and smiled as she saw that Joey understood.

"And none of those sorry excuses for a house were really worth considering, Joey," Jack declared, not knowing what else to say to offer her some comfort – and it wasn’t a lie either. All of them had been horrible.

Joey’s lips hesitantly morphed into her lopsided smile as she watched Jack pulling disgusted faces.

~*~

"Umm, excuse me please, but I couldn’t help but overhear what you were just talking about." A lady, probably a few years older than Grams appeared at their table and cleared her throat. "I want to apologize for that, but maybe you can forgive me, if you listen to what I have to say."

"Well, I don’t think there’s anything to forgive you. Would you like to take a seat?" Grams asked politely, although a bit astonished.

"Oh, thank you very much."

Jen, Joey and Jack watched the woman pulling a chair from the adjacent table over to them and sitting down. Exchanging curious and surprised glances, they were impatient to hear what the woman had to say.

"As I said I couldn’t help learning that you’re searching for a house, here in Boston, aren’t you? Oh, I’m Mrs. Perkins," she extended her hand first to Grams, then to the others.

"Nice to meet you, Mrs. Perkins. Yes, we are indeed looking for a house." Grams tilted her head and smiled politely. "I’m Mrs. Ryan."

"Nice to meet all of you, too," Mrs. Perkins smiled and fanned herself with a makeshift napkin-fan. "See, I know you must think... what does this crazy old woman want from us, huh?"

Jen tried to stifle her laughter by biting into her index finger, which caused Jack to giggle and fake a fit of coughing, which finally resulted in Joey’s hiccup, the one she always suffered from whenever she tried to swallow her laughter.

Grams raised one brow admonishingly towards the three mischievous teens before turning her attention back to Mrs. Perkins.

"Anyway, I must say I do feel sympathetic to you... I would think the same. But I should get to the heart of my whole speech here. The thing is, I own a townhouse here in Charlestown, but I want to move to Florida next month. I know, it might seem a little late to put my house on the market only weeks before I’ll leave... but I just couldn’t bring myself to sell it... and I could never sell it to just anybody, if you know what I mean. When I heard you talking about searching for a house, I just thought... well, I could simply ask you if you were interested in taking a look at it?"

Mrs. Perkins reminded Joey strangely of Andie, well... a grandmother version of Andie, but still.

Four pairs of eyes stared at Mrs. Perkins excitedly. Maybe they had reached the point were they didn’t care anymore who offered them what and just jumped at every chance that came up.

"Umm, that’s... surprising..." Grams replied a little startled, "...but I guess... we’d love to take you up on that offer."

"Great," Mrs. Perkins smiled and rummaged through her gigantic purse, looking for a pen. "Here, that’s my address. It’s close by, but give me like 20 minutes? Do you have your car here?" Mrs. Perkins handed Grams a tiny piece of paper on what she had hastily scribbled the needed information.

"Yes, we do. Fine... we’ll be there. Thank you very much for your invitation." Grams smiled and folded the note neatly, putting it into her purse.

~*~

"Well, it’s just a little bit... odd, don’t you think? I mean, for a woman to come over and invite us to inspect her house?" Jen frowned as all of them kept an eye on the house numbers.

"Right. Who knows, she might be... a wanted murderer, disguised as a friendly, old lady, who just waited to catch such naive people like us, to trap them in her..." Jack prophesied their upcoming doom in a dark voice.

"In her very nice and impressive townhouse, you mean, right?" Joey interrupted him with wide eyes as Grams stopped the car in front of number sixteen, Mystic Street.

"Now... that’s what I call an extremely nice house." Jen stepped out of the car and crossed her arms in front of her chest, taking everything in.

Mystic Street was a beautiful, tree lined, residential street that disembogued into Medford Street, which was the last street before the Mystic River framed this side of Charlestown with a few large docks stretching into the water.

Number sixteen was one of the old, wood frame houses, probably from the first half of the 19^th century. Its wood was a dark brown and the windows featured white frames. There were two entry doors, one directly on the street level, and another, the main entry up on the first floor, reachable by a traditionally steep stairway, complete with a black iron banister. The building was huge, about twenty-two feet wide and four stories high, including the ground level.

"It’s a beautiful house," Grams said quietly, leaning back against the car.

Just at that moment Mrs. Perkins opened the garden floor door and waved. "There you are, I thought I heard a car stopping." She smiled, motioning for them to cross the street.

"This is so lovely," Grams stated, still eyeing the building.

"Why, thank you. I loved this house, but it’s so big, too big for me. After my husband died, I moved down into the garden apartment and rented the upper triplex. Such a nice family. He’s a lawyer... but they moved back to England this spring." Mrs. Perkins sighed and pivoted a set of keys in her hand. "Maybe you’d like to start with the upper triplex?"

"That would be fine." Grams nodded and they followed Mrs. Perkins up the stairs.

The front door opened into a bright foyer and to the open living room. An old brick clad wood burning fire place sat on the long wall and windows opened to the front and back of the house. Further down the hall they found a small powder room and a large dining area with an open kitchen. A door to the right opened to a wooden staircase that led down into the garden.

Mrs. Perkins guided them back to the foyer where they climbed the stairs up to the third floor. Joey, Jen, Grams and Jack followed her with wide eyes and open-mouthed. They felt like they had to wake up every minute from this dream, because it was really too good to be true.

The third floor accommodated a large master room, which was the size of the living room, had a wood burning fireplace and windows to the back and front as well. In the rear of the floor was another bedroom with French doors, and a huge bathroom with an old-fashioned claw-foot tub and a nice sized separate shower. There was even a small room, which was just big enough for a dryer and a washer.

"So, now to the fourth floor," Mrs. Perkins gasped a little, but continued to climb the stairs. Joey lingered for a while and sat down on the bench-like window seat, facing the stairwell. If you can fall in love with a building, than she did right on first sight.

The fourth and final floor finally accommodated two more bedrooms, the one to the front featured again a fireplace. There was yet another bathroom, but the greatest feature was the lovely large deck, that was accessible through a glass door and was situated above the third floor’s second bedroom and the first floor’s kitchen. It opened into the garden and one could also catch some glimpses of the Boston skyline.

After a few more minutes of overwhelmed admiration they returned to the garden apartment, which was also accessible from the parlor floor. In contrast to the triplex the apartment was fully furnished and radiated a strong feeling of a home. In the front was the living-dining-open kitchen room, of course with a fireplace and in the back a bedroom and one large bathroom. Right next to the bedroom a door opened into the slightly savaged garden and a nice patio.

All of them were stunned for quite some time and all of them immediately knew that this was the house, the one they’d been looking for so desperately.

"Are you sure you want to move?" Jack asked unbelievingly.

"Yes. It’s not an easy thing to do, but... the house is lonely... and much too big for me. It was in my husband’s family since it was built in 1829 and it was always so full of life, young people, children..." Mrs. Perkins drifted off into fond memories, but quickly directed her gaze back to them. "But... my husband and I sadly weren’t blessed with children of our own... and now that he’s dead for more than ten years..." she sighed and wiped her eyes softly. "Well, it feels like it’s dying... and that breaks my heart. And my friend counts on me. We’re too old to live here, so many stairs..." she laughed silently.

"May I ask the price?" Grams inquired carefully. Although they had sold the house in Capeside for a good price and knew that Theo Lindley, Jen’s father, would take care of the rest, she wasn’t sure if they were able to afford this building.

"Of course, I’m sure we’ll find some common ground. You know, I think you’d love it here... and I think you’re the right people for this house.

Jen, Joey and Jack didn’t really listen to the negotiations that started right in front of them. They were already imagining living here. It would be so perfect.

"You know, this is so great... and I’m so in love with the fourth floor fireplace room!" Jen exclaimed excitedly.

"Well, we’re not sure yet, that we’ll ever move in here." Joey extenuated Jen’s enthusiasm.

"I don’t think Grams will let this slip through our fingers." Jack opened the door to the garden and slumped into a wicker chair that sat on the patio.

Jen and Joey followed and sat down on the fitting bench.

"It must be expensive, maybe too expensive." Joey frowned. Somehow everything came back to money and she hated that.

"Uh, don’t worry... it’s not like my dad doesn’t have enough of it. You know, they were always great in spending money for everything and especially if it was feeding their social position," Jen stated dryly.

"It would be like a ...dream." Jack blushed, annoyed with himself because he didn’t want to act or talk like a stereotypical homosexual and referring to a house by means of a dream, sounded just like that.

"Yeah... you know what I think?" Jen leaned closer to Jack and touched his arm softly. "I think the fourth floor would be perfect for us... our own little world."

Joey watched them quietly. Somehow she envied their relationship. Most of the time they appeared just like an old, married couple. And she missed Pacey. Taking a deep breath she turned her eyes away, fiddling with the hem of her shirt.

Jen sensed the sadness of her friend and scooted closer to her. She didn’t know when she became Miss Heartache-Mender, but somehow she did... and she was really busy at that. Jack and especially Joey needed this.

"Hey, don’t look so sad. I’m sure Grams will sign the contract right away. Did you see her eyes? And.... what do you think of..." Jen started but was interrupted by Grams and Mrs. Perkins.

"Well, children... I guess we found our home," Grams announced smilingly.

Jen squealed something incomprehensible and flung herself around Grams neck. Joey and Jack stared at Grams and slowly big smiles edged their way onto their faces.

"Careful, Jennifer," Grams scolded lightly and patted Jen’s back. "I think it’s the perfect home for us... I’ll move into this wonderful Garden apartment... because, well... I’m not getting younger and all those stairs..." she shook her head. "And you’ll live more independently like this... it’s perfect."

Jen moved back to Joey and grabbed her hand. "See, what do you think about the master bedroom, huh?"

"What do you mean? It's much too big... I thought Grams..." Joey muttered and stared at Jen as if she was crazy.

"Well... no... didn't you listen to her? And too big? I don't think so." Jen grinned and winked at Jack.

"Right, we all know that you won't be alone in that room anyway..." Jack smirked and ruffled Joey's hair.

"What do you mean?" Joey's eyes widened as they darted back and forth between her friends.

"Oh please..." Jen rolled her eyes, " ... Pacey?"

"Pacey?" Joey repeated slowly and confused.

"Joey, sweetie... did you get too much sun today?" Jack teased her, "Because, really... we all know that Pacey will move to Boston. Neither he nor you could stand to be apart, no matter what.... and again, neither of you could afford an apartment of your own... and there's absolutely no doubt that Pacey will move in with you and thus with us."

"What? We never talked about that." Joey blushed. They really never did that.

"As if that was necessary..." Jen snorted.

"But... Mrs. Ryan..." Joey muttered helplessly.

"Ahh, please... call me Grams, Joey... remember, we’re one family and thanks to my dear granddaughter I kind of opened up to modern times. I still think marriage should be first... but the times are different and changes are a good thing... and you two are grown up."

"What’s wrong with you, Joey? One would think you didn’t want Pacey to move in with you?" Jack frowned. Maybe the horrific experience did have a lasting effect on Joey, one that caused her to question this particular idea for what reason whatsoever.

"No... I mean, I don’t know... no... I mean, we never talked about that..." Joey stuttered and worried her lower lip with her teeth.

"What if Pacey doesn’t want to?"

"Yeah, definitely suffering from sunstroke." Jen shook her head and pressed her palm against Joey’s forehead to feel her temperature.

Joey relaxed a little and even smiled lopsidedly. "Okay, maybe that was a stupid question... but... I don’t know if we’re ready for that step..."

"Well, ask him. And we do have another free bedroom..." Jack suggested, relieved to see her smile.

Joey gazed at him, but her mind drifted far away.

That was the difficult part. After asking him to return to her, somehow asking him to stay... the question of moving in together, that was huge. It would definitely be a major change for both of them.

A lot of things had changed recently and even more things were to change in just a few weeks. Maybe they were ready for them, maybe not. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, right?

Actually her heart was jumping with joy... but asking was the part she dreaded. She wasn’t good at that, she had enough proof of that flaw. But maybe it was time that she changed that, too.

Looking up into the blue sky, she smiled, already changed.

~*~

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