*****197:18

Megan and Melia and Danny rummaged on the bed, playing hide and seek, speaking the half human, half English version of baby talk the twins had adopted at almost two. Tracy was doing her make- up. She had re-done her hair three times and finally had to rewash it and do it again.

"What are you guys doing? Danny can you listen for the baby?" she called.

"Yes, Momma." He said and then giggled, ducking under the comforter and then attacking the little kicking legs he found there. Amid a myriad of giggles, Megan screeched in excitement.

"Daniel James, what is she screeching about?"

"I'm just getting her." He yelled and dove under the covers. Tracy peered around the corner to see the play on the bed and smiled.

"Okay, keep getting her." At least they were out of trouble. The cell phone buzzed.

"Yes?" she didn't recognize the number.

"Tracy? This is Zack. Richard just called, he's in Chicago. He'll be in LA in four hours. Where are you?"

"Zack!" Richard's brother, straightforward, to the point. She'd never spoken to him, but he sounded like his brother. "Hey, okay! Yeah, we're still in Huntington Beach, getting ready to go to the airport."

"How long till you get here?"

"Om, I have to get over to OC, about twenty minutes, then fly to LA, another twenty minutes. Then... wait." She said lightly, her heart skipping beats irregularly.

"Okay, so I got permission for him to get released in LA at his home stake center, and then we'll fly to SLC for his interview with Elder Harrison. Then we'll head to New York, is that still okay with you?"

She shrugged. "I'm fine."

"What about the kids? Are you bringing them?"

Her eyebrows rose infinitesimally. "Is there a problem?"

"Oh, no." he said. "Just checking. I talked to Richard, it's what he wants as well."

"Yeah, that's what he said." She agreed. Richard had called her last night as he was leaving Sidney and asked that these arrangements be met. He'd been hurried, hadn't talked more than five minutes. She assumed it was difficult to talk in front of the mission president.

"You realize this is going to be a big shock for him." Zack said. "Returned Missionaries have a hard enough time adjusting to their old lives, and he will have double the confusion."

"Are you thinking I shouldn't come? I don't want to confuse him, but he said he wanted us at the airport."

"I just don't think he understands how weird it is to come off not being able to touch a girl, to wanting to do more than touch her. It's weird, you feel like you've denied yourself all this time, and something is wrong. Some guys really have a struggle."

"If he struggles, I'll be careful not to upset him." She said slowly. "I'm not pushing him into anything Zack. I'm not engaged to him, we're just old very dear friends..."

Zack laughed. "He plans to marry you in a week. He told me he's very serious about this. I think you're the one who's a little hesitant." She heard him mutter 'old friends' under his breath.

"Many things change while people are apart for this long. I'm not saying that it isn't going to happen, I'm just saying let's give it a little time, and not rush into anything half-cocked."

"I'm with you, babe, shall we say see ya at the airport? It'll be about an hour then?"

"I didn't say I was ready to leave." She looked down at her bra and underwear. "I- what are you wearing?"

"The standard to meet with the stake president. A suit and tie."

Tracy turned to her closet and tossed several nice pairs of pants on the floor till she came to a silky blowy brown and tan spoon skirt, she pulled it out and stared at it critically. "Okay." She was preoccupied with wondering what Richard would see when he saw her in this.

She turned to the mirror and held it up. Melia was standing at her bathroom door. She cocked her head. "What do you think, Mia?" she asked and then into the phone. "See ya in an hour Zack. I'll be the one with all the kids. You'll be the one that looks like Richard."

*****