Diana Lynch couldn’t sleep.

She lay in the twin bed in Trixie Belden’s room, willing herself to sleep, to no avail. She looked up at the ceiling, illuminated from the bright full moon shining through the window, and tried to keep herself from crying.

She had been so excited earlier that day at school, when Trixie had asked her to spend the night. She had never been on a sleepover before, and she readily accepted. Upon arriving home from school, she immediately ran to the nursery, where her mother, looking frazzled as always, was tending to Di’s two sets of twin brothers and sisters. Di asked for permission to sleep over at Trixie’s, but at first her mother had said no, telling her that she needed Di to stay and help her with the younger children. Di sighed and said she understood, knowing how hard it was for her mother to take care of four toddlers, but Mrs. Lynch had seen the crestfallen look on Di’s face as she turned away. In a brief moment, Mrs. Lynch saw that taking care of four younger siblings was causing Diana to age beyond her nine years too fast, and she relented and gave her permission. It wasn’t long before Peter Belden arrived at the door to the Lynch’s apartment building to offer Diana a ride on his way home from work.

Now it was late at night, and although she and Trixie had had fun together that evening after school, now Di was feeling homesick. She had enjoyed eating dinner with the rambunctious Belden clan, and had been in awe of Trixie’s two brothers, who seemed so much older and wiser than she. But when Trixie turned out the light and snuggled under the covers, blissfully falling into a deep sleep almost immediately, Diana had suddenly realized this was the first time she had ever been away from her own family overnight.

Sobs threatened to spill forth as Diana wondered what her mother and father were doing without her there, wondered if they missed her at all, or were too busy taking care of the babies to notice. Afraid of waking up Trixie with her crying, knowing she would die of embarrassment if Trixie knew what a baby she was, Di quietly slipped out of bed and out into the hall. She didn’t know what to do, so she crept down the stairs to the kitchen, grabbed a paper napkin, and sat at the big wooden table blowing her nose in the near-darkness.

Suddenly the room was flooded with light. Di blinked as she tried to see what had happened. With a sinking feeling, she saw Trixie’s older brother, Mart, Trixie’s "almost-twin," staring back at her in surprise.

"Di!" Mart exclaimed softly. "Are you ok?" He walked into the room and looked at her with concern. "Is something wrong?"

Di quickly wiped her nose and then crumpled the napkin into her palm. "No," she answered quickly. "I’m fine. Just not sleepy. Not used to the quiet out here in the country," she joked lamely.

Mart quickly turned away to let Di compose herself. He hadn’t missed the sheen of tears in her eyes or the crumpled up napkin. He was pretty sure he knew why Di was upset, but he had no idea what to say to make her feel better. He had always been uncomfortable around her, ever since he had seen her playing with his sister in the schoolyard. He didn’t know how to talk to someone who looked as pretty as she was, and he was always afraid of saying something stupid. So he just never said anything. Even tonight at dinner he had managed to avoid any direct conversation. But now here he was, alone with her. He realized he’d better say something.

"Do you want a peanut butter sandwich?" he asked carefully as he walked to the pantry.

Di shook her head. "No, thank you. I should probably get back to bed."

Mart suddenly realized he didn’t want her to leave. Not yet. "Wait," he told her. "Let me make myself a sandwich, and then I’ll show you something."

Knowing that being here with Mart was better than lying awake in that lonely bed, Di nodded. She watched Mart make himself a sandwich, and laughed as he added as many items as he could think of to the initial peanut butter. Mart, enjoying the audience, soon had a sandwich so high there was no way he could eat it, but he tried. He managed to get one bite in before the majority of the contents oozed out the end and onto the floor. Di helped him clean up the mess, each of them trying to be quiet so as not to wake up the rest of the house. The difficulty of this task made the process even funnier, and by the time they finished, their laughter threatened to erupt. Knowing they were at the breaking point, Mart grabbed Diana by the hand and led her out into the warm September evening. He half-pulled her away from the house to the chicken coop, where they collapsed on the grass and gave in to their hilarity.

Once they’d laughed themselves breathless, Di finally was able to gasp, "So what were you going to show me?"

Mart jerked his thumb upward. "That," he said simply.

Di looked at him quizzically for a moment, then turned her head up to the cloudless sky. Her mouth formed a surprised O as she looked above her in wonder.

"Wow," she breathed. "I’ve never seen so many stars in my life. Where did they all come from?" she asked him.

Mart smiled a little, pleased to have shown her something new. "They’re always there, but you don’t really get to seem them from where you live."

Di furrowed her brow and looked back at Mart. "Why not?"

"Light pollution from the city," Mart answered matter-of-factly. "When you’re in town, all the streetlights and stuff keep you from seeing all the stars. Out here, we don’t have any streetlights or traffic lights, so they’re easier to see."

"Wow!" Di said, looking impressed. "How’d you know that?"

Mart shrugged. "I noticed one day when my dad and I were leaving the movie theater in town that there weren’t a lot of stars out, but when I got home, there were tons of them. I was curious how that could be, so I went and looked it up."

Di’s eyes shone. "You’re so smart, Mart. I wish I could be as smart as you, but I can barely figure out my homework as it is, much less find the time to go look up other things." Di tilted her head to look up at the stars again.

Mart was glad the moon wasn’t bright enough to show the blush creeping up his neck toward his blond crewcut. Di’s words had made him feel better than he could ever remember feeling. Normally he didn’t think that his desire to always learn things was all that impressive, especially since Trixie was always teasing him about being a know-it-all or a nerd. But here was Di Lynch, the prettiest girl in all of Sleepyside elementary school, telling him how smart he was.

Quietly, he said, "Well, it’s not that big of a deal. But someday I’m going to go to college and learn lots."

Di turned to look at him so quickly that her long black hair bounced. "You’re going to leave? Forever?"

Mart shook his head. "Not forever. When I come back, I’m going to be a teacher, and teach kids all kinds of things they don’t know."

Di gave him a shy smile. "That’s good. I wouldn’t want you to leave for good. I like knowing you’ll always be here."

Di looked at him, and he smiled back. The two of them turned their faces upwards again, and gazed at the stars in companionable silence.

 

Chapter 1

Sixteen years later

"Open your eyes, Diana."

Diana Lynch slowly opened her eyelids to reveal striking violet eyes framed by dark, lush lashes. She blinked a few times to accustom herself to the darkness.

"What the. . .?" she began. She heard a loud click, and suddenly the room was filled with a light so bright it hurt her head. She closed her eyes again to block it out, then slowly opened them. When she did, she gasped.

"Oh my God!" she exclaimed. She didn’t need to be told where she was; she recognized immediately that she was in Tiffany’s largest New York store. In the thirteen years since her father had become a millionaire, she’d been to Tiffany’s with her mother almost as many times as she’d been to the Sleepyside Country Club. And since becoming a high fashion model, she’d continued her mother’s tradition of buying a new piece of jewelry whenever the mood struck her.

Looking around at the glass cases, she shook her head in confusion. "What on earth?" she asked as she turned to look at the man standing beside her. He looked as handsome as ever dressed in the tuxedo he had worn to their elegant dinner that evening. He had promised a special surprise after dinner, but Diana was still unsure what they were doing at Tiffany’s, well after closing.

Her companion smiled indulgently, and then snapped his fingers once. Diana watched as soundlessly more than a dozen men and women appeared from behind the counters on either side of her, each one bearing a small jewelry box. As if on cue, they all opened their boxes at once. Diana gasped again. Suddenly she thought she knew what the surprise was.

"Surprise, my dear! I know that Christmas is still a few weeks away, but I couldn’t wait." The handsome man turned to her, smiling broadly, and said simply, "Pick one."

Diana resisted the urge to pinch herself, and instead, knowing that somewhere her mother was commanding, "Make me proud, daughter!", she walked up one side of the row and down the other. It didn’t take her long to decide. She found a stunning solitaire, easily five carats, and pointed at it, then stared prettily at her date. He strode quickly to her side, took the ring from the smiling jeweler, and then turned back to Diana. Bending to one knee, he looked up at her and flashed a perfect smile.

"Diana Lynch, you’re the most beautiful woman in New York, no, in the world. Would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"

A stunning smile lit up Diana’s face. She opened her mouth to tell him what he wanted to hear, and then, suddenly, the color drained from her face.

"Oh, God."

"What?" the man asked, his brow creased in consternation. "Do you not like this one? There are others." He waved his arm out to take in the many other rings being showcased around them.

Diana nearly fell backward as the fairy-tale quality of the moment passed and reality came back with a sharp blow.

"I. . .uh. . .I. . ." She looked away, dazed. In a moment, she looked back at him. Seeing that he was utterly shocked, she leaned down and quickly placed a light kiss on his mouth, then patted his head absently.

"Of course I’ll marry you, Brent," she answered, lost in thought. "Just. . .not yet." She turned toward the door, then turned back once again. She leaned into him once more, this time giving him a more passionate kiss, holding his face in her hands. She smiled her most winning smile.

"Hold that thought," she pleaded.

Then she turned and walked out the door.

 

Chapter 2

Mart Belden couldn’t believe his ears.

"Yes, Honey, I saw her! She hasn’t set foot in this town in five years, but there she was, standing in line at Wimpy’s, happy as you please. I swear it took everything I had not to walk up and beat the crap out of her."

Since he was eavesdropping to begin with, Mart knew better than to ask his nearly nine-month-pregnant sister how she could possibly beat the crap out of anyone. Instead, he just continued to listen in stunned silence from his vantage point just outside the kitchen door.

"I hardly think you’re in any condition to beat the crap out of anyone, Trix," Honey Wheeler said with a raised eyebrow. "But still, I can’t believe she’s here. I heard one of the twins saying in Crimper’s a year or so ago that she won’t even come into town for holidays or birthdays. Her family has just gotten used to going to their flat in the city if they want to get together with her." Honey shook her head. "It’s just so sad. I hope for Mart’s sake that she doesn’t stay long. Or, if she does, that they don’t run into each other."

Trixie nodded as she attempted to shift her cumbersome belly into a more comfortable position to ease the strain on her back. "I don’t know what Mart would do if he saw her. I haven’t told him that I saw her, of course. I figured if she wanted to see him, she’d find him."

Honey mused thoughtfully as she washed the last of the dinner dishes. With Trixie’s advanced condition, the group of friends had decided their annual pre-Christmas dinner should be held at the Frayne homestead, and that everyone but Trixie would help in the cooking. Both Christmas and Trixie’s due date were less than two weeks away.

"Mommy!" Three-year-old Maddy Belden came running into the kitchen, blond pigtails flying. "Petey told me that Santa Claus isn’t coming to our house this year. He said it’s because I’ve been bad. But I’ve been good, I promise." Tears welled in her hazel eyes as she looked imploringly at her mother.

Honey rolled her eyes, and gave Trixie a "You sure you want to do this" look before bending down to her daughter’s level. "Santa is coming to our house this year, sweetie. Petey just knows that he hasn’t been a very good boy lately, and he’s just trying to transfer the blame." At Maddy’s confused look, Honey smiled.

"Never mind, sweetie. Go see what your Uncle Dan is doing. Maybe he’s ready to string the popcorn for the tree." Maddy’s eyes lit up at that remark, and she turned and skipped into the living room. She saw her Uncle Mart standing in the shadows beyond the doorway, and was about to say something to him, when he quickly put his finger to his lips in a conspiratorial gesture. She smiled and put her finger to her lips as well. Maddy loved to play games with her Uncle Mart.

Turning from the sink, Honey said to Trixie, "Ready to go back into the living room?"

Trixie sighed, then laboriously drug herself to a standing position. "I guess I’d better start now if I want to get there before the kids’ bedtime." Honey laughed and helped her friend into the living room. There they found Brian, Honey’s husband, sternly commanding Petey, his five-year-old son, and Maddy to sit quietly or there would be no popcorn for them. Dan Mangan stifled a smile as he dutifully held onto the bowl of popcorn. Jim Frayne, Trixie’s husband, was busy stringing the lights onto their tree, a beautiful balsam fir just cut down from the Wheeler’s game preserve that afternoon. Trixie flashed a grateful look at Mart, who had offered to take charge of placing the ornaments on the tree, a job Trixie usually did in her non-pregnant days.

Mart looked a trifle confused, so Trixie offered, "If you just pull them out of the boxes and hand them to me, Mart, I can probably put them on the tree as long as we work on one area at a time." She grinned. "I’m not exactly up to dancing around the tree like I usually do."

Mart shook his head, clearing thoughts of Honey and Trixie’s earlier conversation. Although his mind was in turmoil, his smile was genuine as he gazed at his very large sister. "Nah. I can handle it. You just sit and direct from the glider rocker." Trixie smiled back her thanks.

"Can I get you something to drink, hon?" Jim asked his wife as he finished placing the lights. Trixie’s eyes lit up. "Big glass of ice water?" She nodded. On his way to the kitchen, he stopped by her chair to lean down and hug her. "How you doin’? You gonna make it?"

"She’s doing a lot better than I did with either of mine," Honey marveled. "Just yesterday she was tailing a suspected embezzler, and she was keeping up with him every step of the way." Honey sighed as she reached down to rub her foot. "I’m the one having a hard time keeping up."

Brian leaned over to his wife and kissed her lightly. "Well, you’ve got an excuse. And don’t think you have to chase after my sister. Just because she’s dumb enough to try to be a superwoman doesn’t mean that you have to be. I want my second little girl to be healthy and stress-free." Love shone in his eyes as he leaned down and kissed her slightly protruding belly.

Honey unconsciously rubbed her belly as Brian moved back to keeping peace among his children. "Four and a half more months. I’m ready for her to come now!"

She broke off as she heard a knock at the door. Everyone gazed around in surprise. Trixie spoke first.

"Were we expecting another guest?" Everyone looked directly at Dan. They all suspected that he had been secretly dating an unknown woman, but, to spare himself Trixie and Honey’s well intentioned but rather unnerving questions, he was being very tight-lipped about his love life.

"Don’t look at me!" Dan insisted. "This is a Bob-White thing. You know, it’s family, so I came alone."

Trixie shook her head ruefully as Honey, the closest to the door, rose to open it. "Dan, you know that anyone you would bring is always welcome to come. Bob-Whites and their friends are always welcome in our household." Everyone turned toward the door at the sound of Honey’s gasp.

Standing on the porch was Diana Lynch. . .Belden.

 

Chapter 3

Oh, no, Di thought.

She’d come to Trixie and Jim’s house purely on a whim. When she had come back to Sleepyside this morning, she’d found a lot of things had changed, not the least of which was the fact that Mart no longer lived in that tiny apartment they had rented in town right after they’d married. She had no idea where to go looking for him, so she’d hung around all of his favorite spots, or at least, what used to be his favorite spots.

Everyone was obviously stunned to see her. Some, she knew, were downright unhappy about it. She’d seen the look Trixie had given her in Wimpy’s this afternoon, and when she couldn’t find Mart this evening, for some masochistic reason she had decided to come to Trixie’s. It hadn’t been hard to find, since Jim had built a new log home on Ten Acres, within walking distance of his school for underprivileged boys. She didn’t know exactly why she’d come; she’d half-convinced herself it was because Trixie would know where her brother was living these days, but somewhere inside she knew there was another reason. Trixie had been one of her best friends, and the look she saw on Trixie’s face that afternoon had nearly broken her heart. She couldn’t stand to have Trixie so angry with her, and she had hoped for a chance to explain why she had done what she had five years ago.

So much for that, Di thought ruefully as she saw the pure malice blazing from Trixie’s eyes. She could see that, like earlier today, everyone was surprised to see her there. She studiously resisted looking at Mart, and instead, looked back at Honey.

"Hi," she said quietly. "I. . .uh. . ." She realized that there was some kind of party going on. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea.

Suddenly, the never-shy Maddy piped up. "Who are you?" Everyone seemed to hesitate in answering her question. Maddy’s brow furrowed in consternation. She couldn’t understand why all the adults around her were acting so odd.

"Are you coming in?" she asked Diana.

Every adult eye in the room, save Di’s, turned to look at Mart.

Damn her.

The thought ran through Mart’s head when he realized everyone was waiting for him to allow her entry into the party. He was angry with her for putting him in this position, but not nearly as angry as he was at her for betraying him. Even after five long years, it took only a moment for him to realize he still loved her.

Trying to ignore the pounding in his chest and the ache in his head, he shrugged. "What’re you all looking at me for? It’s not my house."

Slowly, all eyes turned to Trixie. She knew what they were waiting for. Would she let Di her home, after what she had done to her brother five years ago? The hell I will, she thought immediately. Trixie opened her mouth to say something to that effect, when she caught sight of Maddy, looking at her with a child’s innocence. Suddenly, Trixie heard herself just a few minutes before: "Bob Whites are always welcome in our household." She realized that in refusing Di entry into her home, she was being petty and childish. Unconsciously, Trixie rubbed her swelling belly. It wasn’t up to her to judge Di. Di’s problem was with Mart, and Trixie knew her brother wouldn’t want his family or his friends to be put in the middle of their argument. Trixie realized she owed it to her child, unborn as it was, to set a good example, and to show him, or her, what being a Bob-White really meant.

Trixie nodded, and put a smile on her face. "Of course you’re welcome, Di. Bob-Whites are always welcome in our household."

Di looked like she’d rather run. At her hesitation, Mart stood. He knew it would be better for everyone involved if one of them left, and he figured he’d make it easy.

"Well, thanks for the coffee and popcorn, gang, but I need to get going anyway." He hugged his sister and sister-in-law, then grabbed his coat off the hook and walked to the door. With a wave, he brushed past Di and went out into the night. Di turned back to the group, opened her mouth to speak, and then closed it. With a mumbled apology, she turned and followed Mart out the door.

"Mart!" she called after him. He stopped and turned to look at her in the moonlight.

"What, Di?" he said wearily.

"We need to talk," she began as she caught up with him.

He shrugged. "A little late for that, isn’t it? Maybe if you’d have tried to talk to me five years ago, instead of just leaving. . ."

Di opened her mouth to shout, "But I DID try!" but quickly closed it. This was not the place. "Please, Mart, can we just go somewhere private to talk?"

He was too tired to argue. Instead, he just turned and started walking. Di stared after him a moment, then rushed to catch up. She was afraid to speak, and so just walked in step with him in silence. They walked down Glen Road, and in a few minutes, they arrived at a small, white frame home, not unlike Crabapple Farm. A white picket fence surrounded a yard that was covered in a fresh blanket of snow. Mart opened the gate and stepped inside. Di looked at him questioningly.

"What’s this?" she asked.

Mart looked at her steadily. "This is my home."

Inside, Di stared in wonder at the small but well kept home. It was just as Mart always said it would be: furnished with simple but classic pieces, not too neat, but not cluttered. It looked warm and comfortable. It looked. . .like home.

She didn’t know what to say. Mart didn’t have that problem.

"What the hell are you doing here, Di?" he spat out angrily, tossing his coat on a chair and striding to the couch. He plopped down heavily and stared at the woman he had loved since he was ten.

"I—I—" Suddenly, she couldn’t remember anymore. How did she get here? Why did she come? More importantly, her mind persisted, why did you ever leave? She remembered the scene she had witnessed at the Frayne’s, how happy and comfortable and peaceful everyone looked. She looked around Mart’s home again, realizing it could have been hers.

But you don’t want this, she told herself. You want the fame, the freedom, and the joy of living a life without limits, without worries. Didn’t she? Yes, she decided. It’s too late to change the past. Move on. Get it done.

"I want a divorce, Mart," she said finally, her voice carefully even so as not to betray her nervousness.

Wham! Mart knew that he had just been kicked in the stomach. He wasn’t sure what he expected when he’d learned she was back in town, but this was definitely not it. To salvage his wounded heart, he struck back.

"I suppose you’ve finally met someone who’ll give you what you want? More than I could give you?"

Di’s head came up. "What’s that supposed to mean?"

"You know what it means. I was never good enough, couldn’t give you what you wanted, so you left."

Di’s voice shook with anger. "That’s bull and you know it! You were the one who thought you weren’t good enough. You had that damn chip on your shoulder from the minute we eloped. It didn’t matter that I turned down every dime of money my parents offered, lived with you in that apartment, scrimping pennies so that you could prove to yourself that you didn’t need anyone else, that you could do it on your own. You wouldn’t even let me get a damn job because real men don’t need their wives to work. Your stupid male pride didn’t care that I was going crazy, sitting at home being Mrs. Mart Belden—"

"And that was never good enough for you, was it?" Mart shouted, rising to stride across the room to where Di stood. He took her by the shoulders and continued: "You always had to have more, didn’t you? You couldn’t just let me try to do the one thing I always wanted to—prove to my parents, my brothers and sister, to everyone, that I could be something! To prove that I was just as good as Brian the doctor, or Trixie the super-detective, or Bobby the football star."

"Stop it!" Di shouted back. "Stop feeling sorry for yourself. That’s all you did for the two years we were married! I couldn’t stand it then and I can’t stand it now. You didn’t need to prove anything to anyone—except yourself, but you refused to see the truth. No one thought you were inferior but you, and nothing I or anyone else said could make you realize it." Angry violet eyes snapped as Di looked directly into Mart’s face.

Abruptly Mart dropped his hands from Di’s shoulders, then resolutely walked back to the couch. He looked defeated as he rubbed his hands over his eyes. When he spoke, it was with quiet resignation.

"Fine. Bring me the papers. I’ll sign them."

Di did a double take. She couldn’t believe she’d heard him correctly. She had expected him to argue, to tell her no way in hell would he agree to a divorce. But instead he had given in with barely a word.

It’s done, she told herself. You have what you want. So leave. But her feet refused to move.

"That’s it?" she asked softly.

"That’s what you want, isn’t it?" Mart said snidely. "Or did you think I was going to come to New York on my big white horse, declare my love for you, brandish a sword, and tell your new boyfriend that he’d have to marry you over my dead body?"

Yes! Di’s mind screamed.

"No, I didn’t think that," Di said defensively. "Why would you? You’ve known where I was for five years, and you’ve never come to see me once."

Mart shot her an icy look. "You left me," he said quietly, then he turned to stare out the window at the snow.

Di felt as if she’d been slapped. To salvage her pride and her heart, she tossed her blue-black hair and said coldly, "Fine. If we’re agreed, then I’ll have the papers sent over next week."

Mart shrugged. "Whatever."

Di quickly turned to leave, but then realized she couldn’t let it end this way. With her hand on the doorknob, she turned back to face him.

"Mart, I—I’m sorry." She swallowed hard to force down the tears. "I know you’ll probably never believe this, but I never meant to hurt you. It just got. . ." She trailed off, not sure how to explain it. "Complicated," she finished lamely.

Again he shrugged. "Yeah, I know. It’s no big deal."

"Really?" she asked tentatively, wanting to believe that he could find it in his heart to forgive her.

Mart saw the emotion in her eyes, and as hurt and angry as he was, he knew he couldn’t be the cause of her hurt. In his soul, he knew that he loved her too much, and probably always would.

"Really," he answered. He managed a little smile. "I mean hey—nobody finds their soul mate when they’re ten years old, right? Where’s the fun in that?" He forced a chuckle, but then his laughter died as his blue eyes caught Di’s violet ones, and they both remembered a starry September evening many years before.

 

Chapter 4

"Shhh. . .there he is!" Honey’s hazel eyes danced as she motioned toward the main aisle of Sleepyside Presbyterian Church, where her four-year-old son Petey was solemnly walking with his pre-school classmates toward the pulpit.

Diana smiled at the pride she saw in Honey’s face. "Who is he supposed to be?" Diana whispered back.

Honey, her eyes still on her son, answered softly, "One of the wise men. Balthazar maybe?" She broke off as Mrs. Green, the pre-school teacher, began the introduction to the well-known Christmas play.

Diana watched as Honey turned around in the pew to make sure each family member had seen her son walk up the aisle. Di shook her head in amazement. She still couldn’t believe she was here, just six days after that confrontation at Mart’s home.

She had expected that after Mart readily agreed to the divorce, she would be instantly shut out from his family and friends. She thought she’d spend a few days with her family, who were so thrilled to have her home, and then head back to the city for Christmas with Brent. But the day after the scene at Mart’s she was surprised to find Trixie and Honey on her parents’ doorstep at 11am, inviting her out for Sunday brunch. She accepted with a little uncertainty, thinking the two women were going to try to dissuade her from going through with the divorce.

It didn’t take long for Di to figure out that Mart had said nothing about the divorce to his sister or sister-in-law, and Di just couldn’t bring herself to break the mood with the somber news. The three of them talked and laughed through brunch, and to Di, it was almost as if she had never been gone. Honey spoke proudly of her children, and of Brian’s small but blossoming medical practice, while Trixie discussed Jim’s school for boys and the Belden-Wheeler detective agency. The two women also enjoyed complaining about their pregnancies, and each of them ate several helpings from the buffet at the Sleepyside Country Kitchen. Di had forgotten how much fun it was to just sit and talk with women who weren’t obsessed with their looks and staying thin, who had normal lives and didn’t jet off to Europe on a whim and complain about their rich boyfriends.

As the three of them laughed over the antics of Petey and Maddy, Honey mentioned her son’s upcoming pre-school pageant, and almost shyly, she asked Di if she would like to attend. Di eagerly accepted.

The next day, Mart called her parents’ house and asked her if he could come over. Di wasn’t sure if she was up to facing him, and briefly wondered if he was planning to talk her out of the divorce. After a moment, she realized she would have to see him again sooner or later, and agreed. She silenced her inner voice that told her she really wanted to see him again.

Half an hour later they were sitting in her parents formal living room. Di had expected Mart to be stiff and unfriendly, or perhaps overly caring and pleading, but she certainly didn’t expect him to ask when she would like him to sign the divorce papers. She sputtered that she hadn’t actually had the papers drawn up yet. When he asked if she wanted him to take care of it, she just stared at him wordlessly. He seemed so nonchalant about it.

What do you expect? her inner voice chastised. He’s had five years to think about it.

"Um, ok," she said finally. "If you want to. . ." She trailed off hesitantly.

"Sure," Mart responded easily. "I know your schedule is probably pretty hectic, and it won’t be any trouble for me to meet with my lawyer. He’s right here in town." Mart stopped, then looked at Di and smiled. "Hey, I hear you’re coming to see the big Christmas pageant on Friday. Would you like to ride with me?"

Di looked at Mart in surprise. "You want to give me a ride to church?"

"Sure. I might as well—you’re right on my way in."

"Don’t you think it’s a little—awkward?"

"It’s only awkward if you think it is. I mean, divorce or not, we’re still friends, right?"

Di was more than a little taken aback, but at the same time, she realized she wanted to be with him. He was right—they had always been friends, even before they had been married, and she missed his company. No one, not even Brent, could make her laugh the way he did. So she had agreed.

The next day, while shopping alone in Sleepyside, she ran into Mart at Crimper's. She had at least seven bags, and Mart offered to help her with them. Di was amazed at how quickly they fell into the easy camaraderie they had shared ever since they were kids. Soon, they were enjoying lunch together at Wimpy’s, and laughing about childhood memories.

Mart had "mysteriously" found a way to be with her every day this week, and now Di sat between him and Honey in church, with Trixie and Jim to Mart’s right in the same pew. Dan was directly behind them, and the Wheelers and the senior Beldens were next to him. Brian was standing along the wall, video camera in hand, every bit the proud father. Di saw the look that passed between him and Honey as their son settled in with the rest of his classmates at the front of the church. She saw the same look on Trixie and Jim’s faces as Jim leaned forward to touch his wife’s protruding belly. It was a look of pure love and joy, and Di felt an unexpected pang of jealousy.

You could have had this, she said to herself. These last few days, as she and Mart had almost effortlessly fallen back into the happy companionship they had shared when dating, Di began to wonder why she had ever left him. She certainly remembered the problems they’d had, and there was certainly no easy solution, but as they talked and enjoyed each other’s company this week, the problems didn’t seem as insurmountable as they once had.

She turned to look at Mart for a brief moment, and he smiled at her before turning his attention back to the children. Several times this week she had wondered if Mart was trying to win her back, but then, just when she was thinking that maybe they could work things out, he’d suddenly bring up the divorce again, or her modeling career, or the five years they’d been apart. There was never animosity with his words, just a casual acceptance, as if he was happy about her decisions and was ready to move on and, just as he had said, remain friends. It left her feeling hopeful and confused all at the same time.

Realizing there wasn’t much she could do about it now, she focused on the children in the play. Soon, it was Petey’s turn to speak. Honey had told Di and Trixie that Petey had practiced his one line dozens of times: "Now we must go worship the baby." When his time came, he walked to the front of the altar, solemnly looked out at the audience and spoke.

Di looked around her in surprise as Petey finished his line and walked over to the "baby" in the manager (really just a very plastic-looking doll). Did anyone else hear what she thought she just heard? She could have sworn that Petey said as clear as day, "Now we must go wash up the baby." She wanted to laugh, but no one around her seemed to find any humor in it, so Di figured she had just not heard him correctly.

A second later, Mart’s lips were so close to Di’s ear that she felt a shiver go down her spine. He spoke so quietly only she could hear his words: "I guess now we know why they say cleanliness is next to godliness."

Di let out a sound that had everyone thinking she was in pain, and all eyes in the church turned to her. Years of being in the public eye had trained her well, and she rubbed her elbow noticeably and looked around apologetically. As she expected, everyone assumed she had bumped her arm and the matter was quickly forgotten.

As soon as she felt certain that she was no longer the center of attention, Di discreetly jabbed Mart in the ribs with her other elbow. He simply grinned mischievously and gave her a sly wink before ignoring her completely.

Inside, Mart’s stomach was doing flip-flops. What is she thinking? he asked himself. Does she suspect anything?

Sometimes he couldn’t believe he had taken his sister and sister-in-law’s advice. He had decided to go back to the Frayne home Saturday night instead of moping around his house, and Trixie and Honey had corralled him almost as soon as he walked in the door. Knowing he was powerless to fight their curiosity, and being grateful he had someone to talk to, he poured out the whole story. The two women looked thoughtfully at each other a few moments, and then Trixie suggested this crazy scheme of "killing Di with kindness," as she put it.

"How’s that?" Mart asked tiredly as he sipped his spiked eggnog (more like rum with a dash of eggnog for flavor).

Honey nodded emphatically. "I’ll just bet if you show her all the reasons why she loved you, she’ll want to come back."

Mart raised a skeptical eyebrow.

"Sure she will!" Trixie declared. "Just pretend like you’re dating again. Remind her what a suave and charming guy you are."

Mart snorted.

Honey placed her hand on his sleeve. "Remind her of how much you love her, and she’ll remember how much she loved you. Because, I for one, think she still does."

If they could have, Mart's ears would have perked up a little.

"But don’t let her suspect that you’re courting her," Trixie added. " Just act like her best buddy. Pretend you’re fine with the idea of a divorce. Play it easy, and just see what she does."

"How am I supposed to do that? She’ll probably leave tomorrow to go back to the city."

Honey smiled. "Leave that up to us."

And so he did. When Honey told him the next day that Di would be in town through at least Friday, he rolled his eyes and pointed out that didn’t do him much good, since he had to work every day this week at the school. The next day Jim had told him that being principal of his own school had left him missing the days of teaching, and he asked Mart if he would do him a favor and let Jim teach the last week of his classes, "Just for fun," he’d said. Mart was sure Trixie had worked her own Christmas miracle to make that happen, but seeing Di again had reminded him how much he missed her, so he took Jim’s offer and put the extra free time to good use. While he wouldn’t exactly say he was stalking her, he did manage to find Di at every opportunity.

It had been the most enjoyable week he had spent in five years. Now, as he sat next to Di, he wondered for about the thousandth time if she was enjoying herself as much as he was. On their way to the play, Di had mentioned that she was planning to stay through at least Christmas, which was next Wednesday, and that brightened Mart’s spirits even more.

As soon as the play was over, the processional of children was led down the aisle and out into the hallway, followed by the grownups. Soon everyone was mingling and eating the brownies, cookies, and punch that had been brought by the parents. Di and Mart stood next to Jim and Trixie, chatting about the play. As they were all enthusiastically praising Petey’s performance, they heard a slight commotion coming from the other side of the hall, near the church entrance. Soon they heard a voice, growing louder as the person made their way through the crowd toward them.

"Excuse me! I’m sorry. I’m looking for Diana Lynch. Has anyone seen Diana Lynch? Is she here?"

Trixie, Mart, and Jim craned their necks to see who the person was, while Di’s face turned ashen as she recognized the voice.

"Diana! There you are!" Brent finally made his way through the mass of parents and children and found himself face to face with Di. He wrapped her in a warm embrace as Mart, Trixie, and Jim stared with wide eyes.

"Your mother told me I’d find you here. A children’s Christmas play? How quaint." He smiled at her, and as she allowed him to wrap his arm around her shoulder, Di felt a sharp pang of guilt. She’d hardly thought of Brent while she was gone, and hadn’t thought about him at all in the last few days.

Her friends looked at her expectantly, and even the senior Beldens and Wheelers were curiously looking over at them. Honey and Brian had just walked up to them with Dan, and they all seemed to be waiting for an introduction.

Di didn’t seem to know what to say, but Brent didn’t have that problem.

"Here, honey," he said as he reached into the breast pocket of his expensive leather coat. "You forgot this, and I knew you’d want to have it to show your family." He took her left hand and deftly slipped the five-carat diamond on her hand.

"I think we could use that thing to pay off my med school loans and still have enough left over to send Maddy to Harvard," Brian muttered. Honey shot him a warning look.

Di was too shocked and embarrassed to speak. She turned to look at Mart, but he was already making his way through the crowd to the exit.

"Mart, wait!"

Mart didn’t hear her because he was already in the parking lot, striding toward his car. Anger seethed inside him as he roughly opened the door and climbed in.

 

Chapter 5

The following Tuesday, Christmas Eve, Di sat on her mother’s bed, holding her head in her hands.

"How did everything get so mixed up?" she asked her mother, who was standing at the mirror performing her toilette. She looked at Di in the mirror as she applied rouge to her cheeks.

"You tell me," her mother said with an arched brow.

Di sighed and threw up her hands. "I don’t know! It all seemed so simple back in the city. I knew what I wanted, I was happy. And then I come back here, and Mart suddenly turns into. . .into. . ." She trailed off, not sure how to describe it.

"The man you fell in love with?"

Di looked at her with resignation. Her mother had said exactly what she was thinking.

Gayle Lynch turned to look at her eldest daughter. She shook her head slightly as she thought of the predicament Diana was in. Gayle knew that in her heart, Di still loved Mart. She also knew that the two of them had married too young. But now they were both older and more mature, and Gayle felt they could work through their problems if only they’d take the time to talk them over. She had had such high hopes when Mart had started coming around every day last week. She almost laughed as she wondered how Di could have been so naïve about Mart’s intentions.

Gayle and her husband, Edward Lynch, had always liked Mart, even after he had gone off and eloped with their little girl when she was barely eighteen. Mart had refused any of their help when he and Diana were struggling to make it on their own while he put himself through school, but he had always been polite and had obviously loved Diana deeply. When Di had come home two years after they eloped, her parents didn’t hesitate to take her in, but although they tried to help her by suggesting marriage counseling, Di would have nothing to do with it. She went off to New York with their blessing and her father’s credit cards, but it soon became apparent that Di could support herself with her beauty, and she’d never looked back.

Until now, her mother thought. Now she sees what she’s missed all these years with her glamorous friends and rich boyfriends. They had of course welcomed Brent into their home when he’d come by last Friday, and when he’d announced that he was Diana’s fiancé, they’d been stunned, but recovered quickly. They told him where to find her, and when Brent and Di returned, the Lynches had of course offered to let him stay. Diana had looked ready to object, but a look from her father clearly said, "You’ve made your bed; now you have to lie in it."

Diana had reluctantly agreed; after all, she was engaged to the man. She’d spent the next four days with Brent, helping him Christmas shop for her family in Sleepyside. But now she saw things about him she had missed before. Although he seemed at ease in her parents’ home, with the many servants and luxurious furnishings, he was less than enthusiastic about Sleepyside. He was polite, but she could tell he found small town life distasteful, and shopping at Crimper's seemed to be torture to him. He kept looking around, as if he were expecting more.

He took her to dinner (at the country club, of course) the one night they didn’t dine with her family. During the meal, he tried to be very nonchalant when he asked her how soon after Christmas she’d be returning to New York. She had been evasive, mentioning that she might like to take a break from her hectic schedule at least through New Year’s. He seemed unhappy about that, but said nothing.

It was at they were leaving the country club that they ran into Mart. She knew that he was probably there as a guest of the Wheelers, whom she had seen hosting a large party in the banquet room as they walked to their table. She hadn’t seen him in three days, and she found she was happy to see his familiar face. She smiled at him beautifully as they stood at the coat check, Mart waiting for his ticket, she and Brent waiting for their garments.

"Hi, Mart," she said cheerily. "Here for the Wheeler’s annual party?"

Mart just said, "Hmmm," and looked away.

"Hey there, I don’t think we’ve met," Brent said smoothly as he extended his hand. "I’m Brent Caldwell, Diana’s fiancé. I thought I saw you at that little play thing last Friday, but maybe I was wrong." He spoke the last as a question, waiting to see Mart’s response, since Mart had obviously been there, but left as soon as Brent arrived.

Mart stared at Brent’s outstretched hand for a moment, then pointedly ignored it as he grabbed the ticket from the coat check woman.

"No, I don’t think you’ve seen me before." He shot Di a look of anger, and she knew he was furious at her for not telling him of her engagement. Then he left without another word. Brent seemed perplexed, but seemed to forget all about it as he helped Diana with her coat.

But Di didn’t forget it. All the way home, she felt miserable. When they arrived home it was late, and Brent went to put his arms around her.

"It’s so archaic of your parents to make us sleep in separate rooms," Brent whispered as he nuzzled her ear. "We are engaged after all." He leaned in to kiss her, and it was at that moment that Di realized she felt no attraction to Brent whatsoever. She turned her head at the last minute so that his lips landed on her cheek, and he looked at her in surprise.

She smiled prettily and said, "Yes, well, my parents can be old-fashioned that way." With that, she turned and walked toward her bedroom, silently thanking her father for his conservative rules.

That was last night, and now it was the morning of Christmas Eve, and she had no idea how she was going to screw up this mess she had made of her life.

"So what do I do, Mom?" she asked quietly.

Her mother looked at Diana intently. "That depends. What do you want to do?"

Di hesitated a moment, then looked her mother squarely in the eye. "I want to go home." Di didn’t need to tell her mother where "home" was; Gayle already knew.

"Well, then. First, you need to take care of that man who is downstairs trying to make small talk with your father." Gayle sighed as she looked at Di’s hand. "Oh, but what a shame to give up that ring."

Di fingered the rock idly as she stared at it without seeing it. "He’d probably tell me to keep it," she mumbled. Her mother perked up at that remark, but Di looked at her and said firmly, "But I won’t, of course."

"Of course," her mother said with an even heavier sigh.

"But that’s the easy part. What do I do then?" Di asked.

Gayle finished applying her mascara, put her makeup back in the drawer of her sitting table, then rose and patted her daughter’s hand firmly.

"That, my dear, is completely up to you."

 

Chapter 6

"Edward, Gayle, so good to see you! And Diana! We’re so glad you came!"

Mart thought for sure he’d heard his mother wrong. But her turned around quickly and, found that he’d heard correctly. There was Di, coming into his parents’ home with her own parents, followed by her four brothers and sisters.

Isn’t that just what I needed, he thought to himself. He briefly contemplated leaving, just as he had done at Trixie and Jim’s, but then he thought, Hell if she’s going to make me leave my own parents’ house. I’ll just ignore her and that pretty boy fiancé of hers all night if I have to.

But as Mart watched the Lynch family removing their coats, Mart realized he didn’t see Diana’s fiancé, Brett, or Brent, or whatever his name was. Honey must have been thinking the exact same thing, because in a heartbeat she was at Mart’s side, whispering softly, "No ring."

Amazing how women always picked up on those kinds of things right away. But sure enough, Honey was right. Di had taken off her gloves and he saw that she did indeed have an empty left hand. No, wait, he realized he was looking at her right hand. His eyes watched as she removed her left hand from her coat pocket, and with a sinking feeling he saw that she was indeed wearing a ring. Then, suddenly, his heart soared.

Diana was wearing his ring.

Grabbing a plate, he went to the buffet and filled it with Di’s favorites: veggies from the tray, sweet potato casserole (with no marshmallows from the top), and a slice of turkey (no gravy). He would have taken more, but he figured that being a model would mean that she was watching her weight. He made his way across the room and smiled at her. She smiled back warmly.

"I brought you some food," he began, showing her the plate. "Are you hungry?"

Di looked at the meager offerings and laughed. "Hungrier than that!"

"Well, I thought that, I mean—"Mart sputtered, and Di laughed.

"You thought I’d be eating like a bird because I’m a model?" When Mart nodded, she easily grabbed the plate from him and made her way to the buffet table. As she stood in between Honey and Brian, she told Mart over her shoulder, "If I tried to subsist on what you’re feeding me, I’d never have the energy to make it through a shoot!" She then proceeded to fill her plate with at least one helping of everything on the table, and even added marshmallows to the sweet potatoes. Mart squeezed in next to her, and soon they were laughing as she and Mart competed to see who could cram more food onto their plate. Honey and Brian exchanged a knowing glance, and everyone in the room seemed to smile a little brighter as they watched Mart and Di enjoying themselves.

The Belden home was crowded, as it usually was for their Christmas Eve party, and Mart and Di had a tough time finding a seat. Finally, with no other alternative in sight, Mart grabbed his coat and Di’s and then motioned her to follow him outside.

"What?!" Di asked as she meekly followed him, trying to balance her plate of food as she pulled on her coat and gloves. "It’s freezing out here! And look—it’s snowing!" Di turned to go back inside, but Mart grabbed her by the arm with his free hand and dragged her to the two large chairs on the front porch. They sat their plates of food on the little table in between the chairs, and laughed about eating frozen food on Christmas.

It soon became apparent, however, that neither of them was interested in eating. After a prolonged silence, Mart spoke first. "Where is he?"

"Went home to his family in the city," she answered.

"And you?" he asked.

"I decided to go home, too," she replied quietly. "That’s if I’m still wanted there."

Mart wanted to shout for joy, but instead he just smiled. "It won’t be home until you’re there."

Wordlessly, they leaned across the little table and kissed, their breath mingling and sending up little puffs of frost as it chilled in the very cold air.

"Hey, you two! Knock that off! We’ve got to go to the hospital!" Bob Belden was poking his head out of the front door. "Geez, what are you doing out here? It’s freezing!"

Mart and Di looked at Bob anxiously. "What’s wrong? Who’s hurt?" Mart asked quickly.

Bob smiled. "No one. Well, at least not in that way. Jim just called. He and Trixie are on the way to the hospital. Trixie’s having the baby!"

 

 

Epilogue

It was nearly four A.M. on Christmas morning, and Mart was sitting on the couch in his little white frame home on Glen Road. He’d left the hospital two hours ago after seeing his new nephew for the first time. Little Winthrop Matthew Frayne was the handsomest little redheaded baby he’d ever seen.

The room was dark save for the lights of the Christmas tree, and Mart stared at it wordlessly. He thought of the past five Christmases, when he’d done this same thing. He’d stared at the tree, staying up all night usually, feeling melancholy.

But this time it was different. The radio was playing softly, and like most stations on Christmas, they’d gone to an all-Christmas-music format, with no commercials, one would assume so that they could give even the DJ a day off. Mart listened to the music. Ironically, it was a song he had listened to many times over the last five years, and it had always made him sad. But this night, it was different.

So tell me Christmas, are we wise
To believe in things we never see?
Are prayers just wishes in disguise?
And are these wishes being granted me?

For now I see the answering
To every prayer I’ve prayed.
She’s coming home this Christmas Day.

He heard a knock at the door, and he rose quickly to open it. Di smiled and looked up at him under snow-laden lashes. He held out his arms and she readily closed the space between them. They embraced without speaking for several long moments, until finally Mart said quietly, "You know, you didn’t have to go to your parents. I could have found something for you to wear."

Di smiled into his shoulder. "I wasn’t going home for clothes," she replied.

He stood back and looked at her quizzically. "Then what?"

She motioned him to the couch. When they were seated in the dark, with only the colored lights of the tree glowing, Di reached behind her and brought out a small, wrapped present. Mart took it almost reverently, and, as he unwrapped it, in his head he could still hear the song playing.

So tell me Christmas are we kind
More this day than any other day?
Or is it only in our mind,
And must it leave when you have gone away?

It’s different now; it’s changed somehow
And now you’re here to stay
She’s coming home this Christmas day.

"Oh, Di, it’s. . .wonderful!" Mart held up the Christmas ornament and stared at it in wonder. "Where on earth did you find it?"

Di smiled shyly. "I found it that year before I. . .left. I was going to give it to you then, but. . ." She hesitated as remembered their arguments in the months before she left.

Mart forgot about the ornament as he leaned over to embrace his wife. "I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I was stupid. We can work it out though." He leaned back to look at her, arms still around her. "Can’t we?"

Di nodded, her eyes shining with tears. "You weren’t stupid, Mart. We may have had our problems, but I’m the one who chose to leave instead of work things out. I’m the one who caused us both all this heartache."

Mart looked thoughtful. "No, it wasn’t all your fault. You were right about so many things. Look at how successful you are. I always knew you were beautiful, but I was so selfish, I didn’t want anyone else to have you. But you are beautiful, and it’s obvious that everyone else thinks so, too." Mart looked at Di sternly. "And you will continue to model. You’re too good to stop."

Di looked at him hesitantly. "You know, Mart, I, uh, well—I make pretty good money doing what I do."

Mart grinned. "Yeah, well, that’s good. Because I don’t!"

Di couldn’t help but laugh. "You won’t go crazy if I happen to make more money than you some months?"

Mart shook his head. "I’m not that same person I was five years ago, Di. Hell, I’m not the same person I was two weeks ago. Seeing you again, being with you, made me realize that what I thought I was trying to prove to everyone was just my own pride getting in the way of living a happy life. So by all means—feel free to bring home as much bacon as the modeling jobs will let you. And hey, if it means I get to travel to an exotic locale now and again, all the better!" He grinned again.

"Well, I’m not sure how many exotic locales I’ll be traveling to anymore," she admitted. "These last few weeks, I’ve been thinking about modeling something completely different than I’ve ever done before."

Mart cocked one eyebrow at her. "What’s that?"

Di smiled slyly. "Maternity clothes."

Mart let out a whoop. "Well let’s get started on that right now!" He picked her up in his arms and proceeded to carry her to the bedroom.

Di squealed and laughed, then asked, "But aren’t you going to put your new ornament on the tree?"

"I’ll let you do it," he said happily. Still holding his wife, Mart leaned over so that Di could reach the ornament he had left on the couch, and then he carried her over to the tree. She reached out and draped the string loop over a branch and together they looked at the unique ornament: a glittering crystal star shooting from shiny silver rays.

"It’s perfect," he whispered softly as he leaned down to kiss her.

And all at once the world, it doesn’t seem the same
In a single night you know it all had changed
Everything is now as it should be.

I had the ornament; I had the perfect tree,
I had the string of lights and the chance to see
Everything that my heart thought could be.

For of all the dreams
You were the first I knew
And every other one
Was a charade of you
You stayed close when I was far away.

In the darkest night
You always were the star
Who always took us in
Now matter who we are
And so she’s coming home this Christmas day.

The End

This whole story came about because I desperately wanted to see the movie "Sweet Home Alabama," but having an eight-month-old son makes it tough to get to the movies. One day, after seeing an advertisement for the movie yet again, I thought about doing a story for the holiday GWP, and the two merged in my mind. I have never seen the movie, so any coincidences are either purely coincidental, or arise from my having the commercial a thousand times! ;)

This has all the elements of the holiday GWP, including a Christmas song (the Transiberian Orchestra’s "This Christmas Day"), a holiday food, a traditional holiday decoration (the popcorn on the tree!), and a present. The only thing it DOESN’T have is brevity—it got too long to be part of the Holiday GWP, so I just decided to make it a regular old story.

Thanks to Lorelei for editing even as busy as she is! Love you, dear!

And thanks to everyone who seemed to look forward to a new story from me. You make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. You’re the best!

Hugs to all!

TBH Main