*very mild sexual reference, suitable for all ages

Author’s Notes: I intended to write a sequel to Welcome Home, but this is the story that emerged as my warped little brain controlled my fingers as they flew over the keyboard. So, instead of a sequel, this story is a "prequel." (Think of it like "Star Wars." You know, first there was the middle, then there was the beginning, and maybe, eventually, we’ll get to the end!) This story takes place about eighteen years before Welcome Home, which was set in the present. Enjoy! J

Good Things Come To Those Who Wait

Marsha

Saturday, May 1st

The early morning sunlight was beginning to stream through the large patio door as Trixie Belden slowly awakened. As she stretched to look at the clock, the arms encircling her body tightened their hold. Only then did she realize that she was not in her dorm room and that she was not alone in the bed. She smiled serenely and snuggled closer to the warm body sleeping next to her.

"Yesterday was an incredible day," she thought. "And last night, well…Honey would say it was perfectly perfect!" Thinking of Honey made her feel a little nostalgic and, for a moment, she wished she were back at Crabapple Farm so she could run up to the Manor House and re-hash the previous day’s events with Honey. Then she blushed and thought "There is no way I could tell Honey about last night, though!"

Fully awake now, Trixie managed to slide out of the bed without waking the young man who had arrived from New York the previous afternoon. Her eyes darted around the bedroom until she located the small suitcase she had seen him carry into the cabin the night before. She unzipped it and rifled through its contents until she found the pale blue silk robe that was obviously intended for her. As she slipped her arms into the sleeves, her eyes twinkled and her mind sang, "Happy Birthday to Me, Happy Birthday to Me…."

After making coffee in the small kitchenette of the cabin, Trixie, carrying a mug emblazoned "Deer Creek State Park Resort," stepped out a second patio door and onto a small deck. She sipped some of her coffee and then leaned over the rail to view the lakeshore beneath her. A chipmunk scampered over the small rocks along the shoreline and Trixie watched it for a while before tightening the belt of the robe and settling into one of the wicker chairs that furnished the deck. She breathed deeply and looked out across the water. The cabin was situated along Deer Creek Lake and the view was incredible. The trees in the forest surrounding the lake were just beginning to leaf, but she could still see the pink and white dogwood blossoms in the undergrowth. The sun had risen and its rays made the lake water shimmer. She could hear all kinds of birds and she could see the main lodge of the resort off to the left of the cabin.

Trixie sighed contentedly. "Every day should start with a morning like this," she thought. She had left the door from the deck to the bedroom slightly open, and paused to listen, but still did not hear any movement from within the room. She smiled as she added "and there is nothing I wouldn’t give to wake up every morning with his arms around me."

Trixie pulled her legs up and tucked her feet underneath her body. She leaned her head back and the expression on her face was pensive. The events of the past day were going to make it extremely hard to go back to campus and finish the remainder of spring quarter. "Oh, well," she thought, "I’ll get through it somehow--it’s only six more weeks. After finals, I’ll have to do some serious planning for next year, though."

Not wanting to even start pondering what the implications of the past day would have on

her future, Trixie decided instead to review the complicated events of the past eighteen months.

"It was all Mart’s fault," she thought. "If he had never invited me to come for Sibling Weekend, I wouldn’t have fallen in love with the campus."

November, eighteen months earlier

Mart Belden drove quickly up the spiraling ramp of the parking garage at Port Columbus International Airport. He finally saw a "Short Term Parking--OPEN" sign on the fifth level of the garage and he found a parking spot near the terminal. Knowing that he was cutting it close, Mart raced into the terminal and ran down the escalator to the main plaza. Checking the monitors for "Arrivals," he quickly determined that Trixie’s flight would be landing at Gate A7 in ten minutes. He hurried through the Main Concourse and waited impatiently to be cleared through the metal detectors at the entrance to Concourse A, before stopping at the correct gate.

"Whew," he thought. "I made it! She’d be furious if I’d been late." He grinned as he mentally pictured an irate Trixie. "And a furious Trixie is no way to start this weekend."

Mart had looked forward to this visit from his sister ever since he had arrived at Ohio State. It was going to be his first "in person" connection to home since he began his freshman year of college two months earlier. He had chosen the Ohio State University after visiting several colleges and universities. Most people were surprised to learn that the large, urban university had a top-notch College of Agriculture, which included a small farm on the west side of the Main campus, and a large research farm located about 45 minutes away, near a small town called London. One look at the three thousand-acre research facility and Mart had been convinced that OSU was the place he would be calling "home" during his college years.

"Ladies and Gentleman, United Airlines Flight 2187 from White Plains, New York and Detroit has just landed," announced a disembodied voice over the public address system. "The passengers will be arriving through Gate A7 momentarily."

Mart moved closer to the gate door, as did most of the people waiting for friends and loved ones to arrive. Passengers began filing out of the door and, briefly, Mart worried that Trixie wouldn’t be among them.

Suddenly, he spotted her and couldn’t resist yelling, "Hey, Beatrix, I’m over here!"

Trixie saw him waving frantically and made her way through the crowd until she stood directly in front of him. She grinned, dropped her carry-on bag and then hugged him soundly.

Stepping back, she slugged him in the upper arm while loudly proclaiming, "That’s for calling me Beatrix in public, almost-twin!"

"Owww!" replied her brother. "That hurt!"

"Of course it did. Honey and I are taking self-defense and weight lifting as electives this year. You know that Government and English 4 are the only required classes for seniors. We had to find something to fill up the rest of our schedules," explained Trixie.

"Well, I can tell you’re certainly passing your electives," said Mart as he rubbed his upper arm. "How about your other classes? Are you going to graduate and follow me through the hallowed halls of academia next fall?" he asked as they headed down the escalator to the baggage claim area.

"Of course I’m going to graduate," she retorted. "But it’s not you that I want to follow next year," she added silently.

*     *     *

"Well, that’s what I thought at the time," mused Trixie as she finished her coffee and set the mug on the small wicker table beside the chair. "I never dreamed things would turn out so differently."

 

May, one year earlier

"Can I ask one more question," implored the handsome young man across the table from her. They were alone in the Bob-White’s clubhouse and this conversation had been going on for several hours.

"Sure," she sighed, "but we’ve been over all of this so many times, I can’t imagine what else there is to ask."

Today was not the first time this issue had been discussed since November. Trixie had returned from visiting her brother Mart and had shocked everyone by announcing her intentions of enrolling at the Ohio State University in the fall, having fallen in love with the campus during her visit. She was initially startled to find an urban university could have some many trees and could look so peaceful, despite being located slightly northwest of downtown Columbus. Almost immediately, Trixie had felt at home on the campus and had spent a long weekend lounging with Mart’s friends on the Oval, attending the OSU-Michigan football game in the historic horseshoe-shaped Stadium, and walking along the Olentangy River. One the last morning of her visit, Mart had driven her to the OSU research farm in nearby London. To her amazement, she discovered that the small town of London was also home to the Midwest Crime Lab of the Bureau of Criminal Investigation.

"I’m going to Ohio State mainly for the criminal investigation program. I can major in criminology and intern at the BCI crime lab in London. But I also felt "at home" in Columbus," she explained for what felt like the thousandth time. "I know we had planned for me to stay here and commute to Marymount with you, but I don’t know..." her voice trailed away. She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly before continuing, "I just feel like I need to go away and be "just me" for a while, without being known as Peter Belden’s daughter or Honey Wheeler’s best friend or your girlfriend."

He stood up without replying and walked over to the window. He appeared to be intensely studying the vibrant colors of the late spring flowers in the Manor House gardens, which were visible through the window, but his mind was wrestling with the fear of losing her. After some time, he turned to face her, just as a beam of sunlight broke through the clouds and danced through the window. It landed on Trixie and the heart-shaped diamond pendant that had been his Christmas gift to her sparkled brilliantly and briefly.

"I know all of that!" he exclaimed, "and I understand it, even if I don’t like it. But, the question I wanted to ask was..." He paused briefly to verify that Trixie was looking at him and continued softly, "Will you miss me as much as I’ll miss you?"

Her eyes softened as she held his gaze for a long moment before she stood up slowly and walked silently across the wooden floor of the clubhouse. He opened his arms and she fell into his embrace. "I’ll miss you more," she whispered as the tears started to flow down her cheeks once again.

 

September, eight months earlier

"Finally!" Trixie exclaimed as she climbed out of her brother’s car, which he had just parked in the unloading zone in front of Stillman Hall on the campus of the Ohio State University. "I never thought we’d get here!"

"Yeah, me neither," was Mart’s reply. He also exited the car, glanced at his sister over the top of it and asked impishly, "So how does it feel to officially be a co-ed?"

"Just fine," she answered. "I still can’t believe you managed to get us assigned to the same dorm. What did you do.... sleep with the Resident Advisor?" she quipped.

Mart laughed. "Not quite. I just gave her all the cookies Moms sent me in those care packages from Crabapple Farm. It’s amazing what she would do for homemade cookies. I even sweet-talked her into something else, which will undoubtedly cheer you immensely." He leaned on the roof of the car and looked at Trixie with a concerned expression before adding, "Leaving him was harder than you thought it would be, wasn’t it."

Trixie nodded slowly. "Yeah," she answered quietly. "It was rough," was her only further comment.

He’d known that; she had cried all the way across New York and halfway into Pennsylvania. Now it looked like she was going to cry again. Mart allowed her some privacy by spending some extra time opening the trunk of his car and beginning to unload their belongings.

"Never fear, big brother Mart is here," he said brightly after a few minutes. "By also supplying aforementioned Resident Advisor with the cookies sent in Mrs. Vanderpool’s care packages, I was able to procure an additional favor. I was allowed to select your roommate from the thousands of possible candidates. And, just because I know how inept you are at domestic chores, I carefully scrutinized the housing applications of the female freshmen searching for a young lady who is talented in tear mending, button sewing and dust chasing. The candidate I selected is perfect. As a matter of fact, I happen to know she arrived two days ago and has already cleaned and decorated your room."

"Cut the crap, Mart," Trixie said grimly. "It figures that you would stick me with a goody-goody Betty Crocker-worshipping stranger for a roommate. Spare me the details, I’m depressed enough as it is."

"OK, fine, have it your way," was his reply. "You’ll just have to wait until you meet her, then."

With that, Mart grabbed Trixie’s suitcases and indicated that she should grab the box containing her cassette tape collection. Trixie picked it up and followed him into the dorm.

After stopping in the lobby and obtaining her room key, Trixie followed Mart up three flights of stairs and down the hall until he stopped in front of Room 3105.

He set the suitcases down and turned to look at his sister. "Trixie," he started, "I’m thrilled you decided to come here, and for what it’s worth, I think you did the right thing. Both of you need some time apart to become individuals and you need some distance between you to really contemplate where your relationship is heading."

"But," he continued, "I see no reason for you to spend this year living with a complete stranger."

With that small hint, he knocked on the door and stepped aside so that Trixie could see who was opening the door. He had counted on her being surprised, but he hadn’t counted on her dropping the box she was carrying as she recognized her new roommate. The box split open as it hit the floor and the cassettes slid in every direction.

"Barb Hubbell! What are you doing here?" Trixie shouted as she stepped over the scattered contents of the box and hugged her friend.

Barb laughed at the look of utter surprise on Trixie’s face. "When I wrote Mart at Christmas that I was considering Ohio State, he called me with an offer I couldn’t refuse--a chance to share a room with his sister if I came to OSU."

Trixie looked at her brother who had sheepishly entered the room and was standing next to Barb.

"I can’t believe you two kept this from me," she uttered through clenched teeth. Relaxing immediately, she grinned at her almost twin and her friend from Iowa. "But I’m awfully glad you did!" she shouted as she threw her arms around both of them.

*     *     *

"Having Barb as a roommate was a godsend," Trixie thought as she stood up and stretched. "I don’t think I would have survived the past few months without her."

Barb and Trixie had quickly settled into their freshman year at Ohio State and their friendship had blossomed into a relationship they would both treasure for the rest of their lives. The two had spent endless hours sitting in the amphitheater at Mirror Lake, in their dorm room, or on the grassy Oval discussing a variety of subject including men, both generally and specifically.

Trixie started through the patio door, which led to the bedroom of the cabin and smiled as she noted that he was now hugging her pillow. He looked so adorable and peaceful that she decided to let him sleep a little longer. "After all, he must have left New York before three o’clock yesterday morning," she thought as she padded on bare feet across the deck and entered the kitchen instead.

Trixie returned to the deck carrying the coffeepot. She refilled her mug and set the carafe on the small table. She leaned against the railing of the balcony and held the warm mug in both hands. Once again, she became lost in memories, more recent this time, as she watched a small sailboat skim across the lake.

 

 

Friday afternoon, April 30th, 2:45 p.m.

"I’ll get it," said Mart as he quickly rose from the beanbag chair in which he had been sitting. Much to Trixie’s amusement, Mart had become somewhat of a fixture in Room 3105 during the past few months. She was positive that he didn’t show up at three o’clock each afternoon just to watch "General Hospital" with her; she was beginning to think the return of her roommate, who had a two o’clock class, was what Mart really anticipated each day.

"Hello," Mart answered the phone on the third ring as Trixie lowered the volume on the television set. "Hey, buddy! How’s it going?" exclaimed Mart.

Trixie grinned as Mart waved her away, indicating that the call was for him. "Heck, it must be bad if his friends know he’s here every afternoon," she thought. She raised to television’s volume slightly as she half-listened to Mart give the caller directions to Deer Creek State Park.

The park was located about an hour from the OSU campus and was a favorite weekend destination for Mart and Trixie. The park included a large lake with a beach and several boat docks, a golf course, a shooting range, and hiking trails. Overnight visitors could choose to camp at one of the numerous campsites, reserve a room in the spacious lodge, or rent one of the small cabins scattered along the lakeshore. However, the main attraction, as far as the Beldens were concerned, was a stable where they could rent a couple of horses and ride for miles and miles on the bridle trails that ran throughout the state park and adjacent wildlife preserve.

Having lost interest in listening to Mart’s end of the conversation, Trixie turned her attention to the television, hoping that something interesting would happen on the day’s episode. The preview didn’t look promising and she was about to switch to "Phil Donahue" when Mart tapped her on the shoulder. He was grinning wickedly as he held the phone out to her.

"It’s for you, after all," he said cryptically. "But you have to look out the window before you say hello."

Looking puzzled, Trixie took the phone, nearly stretching the cord to its limit, and went to the window. She looked out and saw the usual flow of traffic--car, bicycle and pedestrian--on West 12th Avenue.

"Hello," she spoke hesitantly into the receiver.

"Hi, gorgeous," answered a husky male voice. "You have exactly ten seconds to get down here and give me a proper welcome."

Dazedly, Trixie’s eyes scanned the parking lot between the dorm and 12^th Avenue. Within seconds, her eyes landed on the familiar figure, leaning against his car, holding a mobile phone and smiling as he looked up towards her window. At first, being too startled to react, she stood absolutely still and silent.

Then, screaming "Yes! Yes! Yes!" at the top of her lungs, she dropped the phone to the floor, ran across the room and bolted out the door. Mart could hear her screaming as she sprinted down the hall and entered the stairwell.

"This is going to be great," Mart thought as he went over to the window and picked up the discarded phone. "Knowing Trixie like I do, there is no way I’m going to miss this scene." He watched as his sister emerged from the dorm, jumped down the steps and raced across the parking lot. She was a mere ten feet from his car when she tripped over nothing, somersaulted twice and landed in a heap at her boyfriend’s feet.

"Yep, Miss Grace & Dignity strikes again," Mart chuckled out loud as he left the window, hung up the phone, and sat, as usual, in the beanbag chair to wait for Barb to return…

 

Friday, April 30th, 8:45 p.m.

"Warm enough?" he asked her as they sat on the deserted beach at Deer Creek State Park.

Trixie was sitting with her knees drawn up to her chest, her arms wrapped around her legs and her chin resting on her knees. Her visitor was sprawled out on the blanket next to her, examining the stars as Trixie watched the twinkling lights of the lodge on the far shore of the lake.

"Yes," she replied as he pushed himself up and moved to sit behind her. She leaned back against him and the couple sat, facing the lake, his arms wrapped around her and her head fitting perfectly in the space between his chin and shoulder. Comfortable without conversation, and just happy to be together, they sat nestled together for quite some time.

They had arrived at Deer Creek earlier in the day, parked his car in a lot near the resort lodge and had spent several hours hiking the trail around the perimeter of the lake and talking endlessly about their friends, families, past adventures and the "somedays" that filled their future. Returning to the lodge, they had eaten dinner at Rafters, a casual restaurant overlooking the water. After dinner, while he was paying the check, Trixie had wandered into the gift shop and pretended to browse. She was actually playing their private version of hide-and-seek, and was waiting to see how long it would take him to determine her whereabouts. After fifteen minutes, he found her and they had decided to drive to the beach on the far side of the lake.

"Trix," he whispered, as his turned his head and brushed his lips across her ear. "I heard from Northwestern yesterday."

He paused as he felt her body become rigid in anticipation of what she was about to hear.

"I’m in," he said softly.

Trixie understood what he meant instantly and her heart soared. The possibility of his attending graduate school at Northwestern, along with the possibility of her transferring there to complete her undergraduate work, had been discussed in almost every letter and phone conversation between them since February. This news was good, very good, indeed.

She twisted around to face him and congratulated him with a kiss that seemed to make time stand still. Finally breaking away, she leaned back and looked at him as he grinned like the Cheshire cat.

"So," she deadpanned, "it looks like Barb will be missing a roommate next year."

His expression turned hopeful as he reached into a pocket and pulled out the key to the cabin he had rented earlier while Trixie was attempting to hide from him in the lodge’s gift shop.

"Uh, Trixie," he said hesitantly while dangling the key in front of her, "I was hoping Barb would be missing a roommate tonight."

*     *     *

Trixe, still standing at the rail of the balcony, just finished her second cup of coffee when she heard the patio door slide open.

"Good morning, sleepyhead," she said, turning to greet him, as she set her empty mug beside the coffeepot on the small wicker table.

"Good morning to you, too," he replied as he planted a quick kiss on her cheek before stepping back to take a good, long look at her.

"I see you found your birthday presents," he finally said, with an emphasis on the final "s."

She grinned at him and said, "Just following my natural ‘detectiving’ instincts, sir."

As she lifted her arms to embrace him, the diamond in the engagement ring, which he had hidden in the pocket of the blue silk robe but now rested on the third finger of her left hand, flashed rainbow-colored lights as the facets refracted the sun’s rays.

"I love you, Schoolgirl Shamus," he whispered as he held her tightly.

"I love you, too, Jim," she answered.

 The End

And, finally, I pulled a similar stunt on my husband. Having been a "couple" since 7^th grade, we had always planned on attending the same college. During the summer before our senior year in high school, I changed my mind and enrolled in a different university, three hours from the college he would attend. I lasted a year before transferring to Ohio State. (That year must not have been too detrimental to our relationship--we just celebrated our 15^th wedding anniversary!)

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