Calving sat with his head in his hands in the middle of his living room while Riley tore his carpet apart, pacing. All he wanted to do was to go to Teddi, but he wasn't sure that he was wanted. He had to be there for her, didn't he? Riley walking back and forth in front of him like a caged bull was getting old fast.

"I'm sorry you're upset, Calvin, but you have to move on."

"You're whacked if you think I'm leaving Teddi now."

"She doesn't want to see you. It's over."

"Not this time," said Calvin.

"Listen to me, you just come back to California with me and—"

"No!" he roared, leaping to his feet. "I'm not a kid, Riley. You can't trick me into thinking you know what's best because I know that you absolutely do not."

Calvin headed for the door, but Riley grabbed his shirt and yanked him back. Calvin turned on Riley, fury pumping through every pore. They went to blows, brotherly fists burying between flesh and bone.

Riley pinned his brother down. "Is she really worth all this?"

Chest heaving, Calvin said, "She's worth everything." He used the force of his stronger body to shove his older brother off him. Now, it was Riley who lay pinned. He looked at Calvin, nose dripping with blood, his eye half pinched shut and had nothing to say. Calvin got up, grabbed his windbreaker, and left Riley in the middle of his apartment alone.

Calvin passed Lockhart's; it had closed for the jamboree, but he'd be expected back at work the next afternoon. Mr. Lockhart had given him such opportunity and maybe even a little false hope.

After a short while, Calvin found himself standing at the gates of Miss Pinchley's Home for Boys. He stared up at the familiar edifice, still brown and painted with old windows. The grass looked a little tall, but other than that, the orphan's home was as cleaned and scrubbed as it had ever been.

"Come on, Nestor. Don't drop it!" he heard a whispering voice drifting up the sidewalk behind him.

"If you think you're so much better at this than me, then you carry it!"

"Shh!"

Calvin chuckled at the boys who had yet to notice him. "Hey, fellas," he said, laughing out loud when Nestor nearly sent the phonograph he was holding crashing to the ground.

"Calvin!" The awkward thirteen-year-old yelped, rushing forward.

"Shut up, Nestor! We're going to get caught," his friend admonished.

Calvin laughed and ruffled the red-haired boy's head after he arrived next to Nestor. "How goes it, Dewey?"

Dewey stepped away from him, frowning warily. "Say, you wouldn't tell Miss Pinchley. Be a pal."

Calvin looked down at the large green object in Nestor's arms. "Where did you get that old thing from?"

"We can't say," Dewey replied quickly.

"It isn't stolen. Is it?"

"No. More like borrowed," supplied Nestor. "We have this great plan for tomorrow, see."

Calvin folded his arms and looked down at the lanky boys. "I'm listening."

"Well," Dewey began reluctantly, "I guess he's all right."

"It's Calvin, numbskull. Of course, he's all right."

Dewey went on, "Miss Pinchley and Mr. Waters are taking the smaller kids to the zoo in the city tomorrow. Actually, we're all supposed to go, but me, Nestor, Tony, and Flips are going to pretend to be sick. She'll let us stay back because of what happened to Tom Littlefield and all."

"What happened to Tom?" Calvin asked, alarmed.

"Oh," Nestor said, looking away. "He, uh, died. Fever, they said. After he got caught in a storm playing in the old abandoned tunnel. I don't know why he was there by himself, but Miss Pinchley doesn't like to talk about it."

Calvin's chest stung. Death knew no rhyme or reason. Tom couldn't have been more than fifteen.

"It's all right, Calvin. It's not like other kids haven't died here," said Nestor. Calvin nodded. He remembered a few who'd died of illness when he'd been living there. The funerals were always fast and the beds refilled pretty quickly. Miss Pinchley's was a nice institution to be placed in if an institution was what you needed. After a funeral, Miss Pinchley made it known that she did not want anyone dwelling on the loss. To revisit the subject was not allowed.

"We'll be all right, Calvin," said Dewey. "Tony and Flips are inviting Barbara Jean and Mary-Margaret over! So, we want to keep them entertained."

"Say no more," Calvin chuckled, working to keep the sadness out of his voice. "You just better not get caught."

Dewey stood at attention, saluted, but his resolve weakened when he looked up the walk way. Calvin empathized. They might have been able to get over the back fence, but there was no way they could sneak up the back storm pipe to their bedrooms with that radio. Calvin spoke conspiringly to the boys. "Okay, why don't I just ring the doorbell, and you two sneak in the back door while Miss Pinchley's distracted? Can you get over the fence all right with that?"

"Yeah, we left two crates on each side, so the up and over won't be too hard. Thanks for still bein' aces even though you're old, Calvin," Dewey said, looking all business about the mission.

"Right," Calvin said, stopping them short of the walk. "What about this Mr. Waters, is he here?" he asked.

"No, only Miss Pinchley and the baby nurse," explained Nestor. "She likes us, so she won't rat us out. Mr. Waters just comes during the day."

"I see. Well, get going, already." He shooed them off toward the darkness of the backyard. Once he heard them plop over the fence, he stepped to the front door and pressed the bell. Miss Pinchley opened the door with tired eyes.

"Calvin? Is something wrong, boy?" She ushered him inside without delay. Calvin watched over her shoulder as Nestor and Dewey hovered in the back of the dark living room, faces tense.

"I was just in the neighborhood and thought I'd stop by," he said, leading her down the front hall toward her office.

"Well, you sure are acting strangely. Are you sure there's nothing wrong?"

"Yeah, I'm sure," he said, thinking about Tom. He had been a good kid, but he knew that Miss Pinchley wouldn't want to speak about him. She would simply confirm what the boys had told him and move on. It was her way of keeping herself intact. Calvin understood that all too well.

"Yes, not yeah," she corrected him sharply as they stepped into her office. Calvin chuckled, bringing a curled finger to the bridge of his nose and a thumb to his lip to hide it. "Yes, ma'am."

"Why don't we sit down for a minute?" she said, coming around her desk and settling in her chair. Calvin's stomach swayed as the memories of being trapped and without a family filled him. Miss Pinchley had always been exceptionally kind to him. She favored him because of who his father had been and perhaps maybe even liked to think of him as her own son in those old days. Calvin cleared his throat, wondering why he'd come back at all but took the seat across from the slender-faced woman regardless. "Sure."

"I'm sorry the boys are sleeping. You could visit with them. Nestor has grown quite a bit. Still talks about you a great deal."

"Does he?"

She nodded, folding her hands on top of the table. "I should come and visit him more often."

"He's fine without you. They all are." Miss Pinchley was always frank. "I'm only sorry I didn't stay any longer than I did the day you were arrested."

"I didn't want you there in the first place."

She laughed. "Don't think of yourself as a disappointment to me or anyone else, Calvin."

"That's not the easiest thing to do for me at the moment."

"I don't know what it is Dr. Jessup wanted to tell you, and I am never one to pry, but I urge you to remember to think shrewdly, sharply and sagaciously." Calvin frowned. Teddi would know precisely what Miss Pinchley meant as she was the one with a penchant for words. "Just don't forget who you are."

"I know exactly who I am."

She looked at him for a long while. "Do you?" Before he could answer, Miss Pinchley asked, "Whatever happened to that ring of yours? Did it ever find its rightful owner?"

Calvin's eyes fell to his lap and he heaved a great sigh. "It has, but it's not ready to go where it belongs." He looked up and shrugged, laughing a bit to cover his sudden shyness over the question. He was a grown man for heaven's sake.

"Why is that?" Miss Pinchley continued to probe with both her eyes and her questions. "I'm waiting for the time to be right," he answered firmly. "And it will be someday."

"Don't wait too long," she said with a lift of her grayish brown brow.

"Thank you," Calvin said, standing. Miss Pinchley nodded and pushed herself away from the desk. "Yes, I'm quite tired myself, but I appreciate the visit."

"Of course."

Before he could leave, Miss Pinchley added, "I want you to live your life to the fullest. Don't worry about us here. We'll be fine. Thanks to your Theodora, and thanks to you boys who grew up so well."

Then Calvin felt compelled to ask a question that had come and gone in his mind for years though he'd never found the right moment to ask it. "You remember those packages Doc Jessup used to mail from here? I always wondered what those were."

"What packages?" She looked at him with an expression that told him she remembered all too well, but that the conversation was now over. He accepted this. It was then that Calvin realized what she'd meant about Nestor. Her home served to lead them to the road where manhood began and boyhood ended. If they regressed too far, she'd failed at her life's mission. He hugged the woman who'd raised him when no one else would. He wouldn't be back. He would see the orphans in town like little ducks behind their phoenix mother and would nod, acknowledging her great presence, but he wasn't to look back and long for yesterday.

When the door closed behind him, his heart filled with loss. He'd turned his back on the walls three years ago, but it was only now that he'd grown up, that he was ready to truly say goodbye. Calvin was embraced by an ominous summer night. There was no wind, but from the ocean wafted a balmy air that barely shook the summer leaves. He thought of Old Leo. He hadn't gone back there since the night Teddi's grandmother had cursed him so viciously out of their lives. Things were different now. He was no longer that little boy who needed to take refuge along its thick motherly branches. He would give Teddi a few days, but he would see her. He would pay his respects to Judge Donovan. He would do what he knew was right when the time was right.

***

Gertrude and her sister, Bea, packed up the last of the food. The mourners had finally vacated the Donovan home and the two women, not so young in years, were bone-achingly tired.

"I'm worried about that child," said Gertrude, wiping her hands with a towel then tossing it into the cleaning bin she'd get to in the morning. "She didn't eat an ounce of food."

"What about the old woman?" sighed Bea, as she walked to the coat rack near the back door.

"Not that I should care about the old bat, but I think she put something into her mouth. That sweet child is just tearing herself up about this."

Bea shrugged. Though generally magnanimous in nature, she had an opinion on the Donovans just like everyone else in town. "That girl was the apple of her grandfather's eye. Everyone's waiting for fireworks to burst through the rooftop with those two alone in the house together."

"It's too bad Liza could not stay," replied Gertrude, knowing this possibility truly did not exist.

"You think that would have helped?" Bea bit out a laugh.

"Theodora misses her."

The older women gathered their light jackets around them. Just as Gertrude was about to open the door, she heard a rapping on the other side. She pulled back the yellow curtain that hung over the window pane. "It's the Wynne boy," she whispered to her sister, who sighed, apparently quite anxious for the day to end.

"Did you leave something behind?" asked the Donovan's snow-haired maid after pulling open the door to a shifting Calvin.

"Well, in a manner of speaking, I did."

Gertrude looked confused but soon her face softened when she understood the young man's meaning. "She hasn't been downstairs for hours. She hasn't eaten at all."

"I was afraid of that. It's why I brought this," he said, holding up a brown shopping bag.

"That's sweet of you, dear boy, but she has plenty of food right here in the refrigerator if she wants to eat."

"This is something a little different. I know it's not the most nutritious thing, but—"

"Say no more. You probably know her better than I do now. Bea and I will leave you to it. Good luck, dear."

The two women left Calvin standing in the middle of the kitchen. He knew he had to do something for Teddi, even if it meant he was risking being gutted and sliced by Elizabeth Donovan. He took in the design of the kitchen. It was a lot more modern than the rest of the house, as if it had been renovated in the last few years. The cabinet doors were of fine light wood, the carvings along the borders appeared to be handmade. The counters were smooth, shiny and sparkling white. It starkly contrasted the somber feeling he felt permeating through the house. Though it was quieter than the abandoned streets had been after the Hurricane of '38, he could almost hear the mourners from earlier that day weeping over the loss of the beloved judge and expressing their sorrow to his widow.

He set the brown paper bag on top of the center island and removed its contents. His plan to soothe Teddi's sad heart and fill at least a corner of her stomach would probably be met with screeches and shouts from the old lady, or worse yet, from Teddi herself. He'd seen her that day at the funeral and gave her a hug of condolence, but she'd hardly looked up at him. He hadn't spoken to her about her concerns regarding Riley, who'd left the morning after the Jamboree. Right now, that didn't seem important. She had to know she was the person who mattered the most in his life. But she wasn't thinking about him and petty squabbles between the Wynne brothers tonight.

Butter, eggs, cocoa, sugar, shortening and flour. He'd save the frosting for later. An impetuous ache haunted the house, but he tried to ignore it.

Quietly, he moved through the lower cabinets in search of a mixing bowl. He soon spotted a nice-sized pair of bowls behind a stack of muffin tins. Slowly removing the obstructing objects, he placed them above his head where he thought the counter would hold them. Unfortunately, it did not, as the tins fell with a loud clatter into the deep sink, causing Calvin to wince and flush. He hadn't even started and already he was sending out alarms. Hoping Teddi and her grandmother had either not heard or thought the noise had come from Gertrude, he pulled out two thick white mixing bowls and placed them separately onto the smooth surface in the middle of the room. He found a few towels and placed them along his work space and got started.

The oven was heated and the eggs were cracked and poured when the kitchen door crept open to reveal a frowning woman with sad, hollow eyes.

"I thought I heard a noise. What is going on in here?" she said, her voice raw, nowhere near as icy as he was used to. He straightened his back and looked at her with determination.

"Hello, ma'am—" Calvin paused, his mind seeking a plausible excuse. When he found none, he stepped around the counter with a pleading look on his face after quickly wiping his hand on a nearby towel. "Forgive me for intruding, Mrs. Donovan."

"What are you doing in my kitchen?" she asked with a gently raised eyebrow.

Calvin swept his arm behind himself. "I'm making, uh—"

"Ah," she said, relieving him of another tongue twist, and walking toward Calvin's mixings. "Devil's food cake. Am I right?"

Calvin frowned. "Yes."

Mrs. Donovan stepped up to the bowl and looked inside. "Theodora's mother would make this for her on a rainy night," she said, turning to the young man whose reaction could only be described as utterly aghast. "Don't look so surprised, young man. I know my granddaughter very well."

Calvin sighed. "I know you do."

"I only want what's best for her."

Calvin nodded, having heard that phrase a hundred times from Mrs. Donovan's lips. It usually meant that she would like him to leave, and at a time like this, he wasn't in much of a place to argue.

As he started toward the door, Mrs. Donovan's voice halted him mid-step. "Would you hand me that apron?"

Calvin wordlessly moved toward the hook beside the coat rack and pulled off a blue and white apron. He held it out to Mrs. Donovan, who nodded a small, clipped thanks.

"Now," she said, after tying it on with her old, wide-knuckled fingers. "I'm a little rusty at this so you're going to have to show me the way."

Calvin blinked dumbly and stood there for a long moment.

"Well, I suppose Theodora has been truly blinded by love. She said you had a brilliant wit about you." Mrs. Donovan shook her head. "Nothing brilliant about the way you're behaving."

At that comment, Calvin felt himself relax considerably. It confirmed that the woman standing before him was indeed Teddi's grandmother, and he was not hallucinating.

"Come on, now. I know Mr. Lockhart doesn't allow you to dawdle in his kitchen this way."

Calvin shook his head clear and stepped beside her. "Well," he began off an exhale to relieve his tension. "I guess we can start grinding the cocoa."

Mrs. Donovan nodded and followed his lead. They managed to get through the task congenially and began sifting the other ingredients into the bowl.

"We'll add the cocoa last," Calvin said quietly.

Mrs. Donovan regarded him for a moment, looking as if she were mulling over an ancient memory. She smiled sadly as she watched Calvin stir the mixture. "You know my husband liked you very much."

Calvin did not know how to respond to that, but luckily she went on with little pause.

"He and I were notorious for our differences in opinion. He had a good heart. Like you have."

"I don't know if I'm so good."

"He knew."

As the hour passed and the scent of chocolate and sweet cake filled the air, Calvin and Mrs. Donovan coexisted in relative silence. It was partly uncomfortable but partly content. They had declared a quiet truce, and realized they were on the brink of a great shift within their worlds. It was a fearful realization for the both of them, but each was slowly beginning to accept its inevitability.

When they'd both began a third cup of tea while waiting for the oven to complete its duty, Mrs. Donovan spoke to Calvin from her place on the other side of the kitchen table.

"What makes you care so much for my granddaughter? After all of these years?"

"I just do." He swallowed. "She's special."

Mrs. Donovan nodded thoughtfully and just when Calvin thought she was going to respond, the door behind her opened to reveal a disheveled looking Teddi.

"Calvin?"

"Teddi," he said, rushing to her side. "We wanted to surprise you."

Teddi moved past him, frowning all the while. "Grandmother?"

Her grandmother smiled weakly. "Come sit and have some tea with us, dear?"

"What's going on?" Teddi, eyes red-rimmed and puffy, shifted her stare between Calvin and the old woman.

"We were just having a little chat," Mrs. Donovan explained.

Teddi looked like she was about to question the two of them further, when Calvin slipped his arm around her waist and pulled her close. "How are you feeling?"

Her head fell to his shoulder, and he sighed, relieved. She was going to let him in. "I'm all right. I fell asleep." She yawned a bit before lifting her head and shifting her eyes toward the oven. "That smell is heavenly. Is that what I think it is?"

Calvin nodded. "Devil's food cake."

"It's almost finished," supplied her grandmother.

Teddi looked at her with disbelief. "You helped?"

"I'm perfectly capable in the kitchen, young lady," Mrs. Donovan said, trying her best to sound haughty but coming off tired and broken.

"I just thought that—well, are you all right?"

"I'll be fine," her grandmother sighed, "but I think I'm ready to lie down again."

Teddi helped her to her feet. "Do you need me to walk you up?"

"No." Mrs. Donovan shook her head and touched her shoulder in the only grandmotherly gesture Calvin had ever seen her give. "Theodora, stay." She moved toward the door.

"We'll save you a piece of cake," said Calvin to her retreating back.

"You do that, young man," was the soft reply that drifted into nothing as she disappeared from sight.

As soon as she was gone, Teddi returned to Calvin's arms, but this time she held onto him fiercely. "Calvin—" Tears warmed his neck and soaked his shirt. "I miss him so much."

"I'm so sorry, Teddi." He rocked her back and forth. "I should have been with you this whole time. I didn't think you wanted me."

"Don't let go, okay?"

He squeezed her tighter, then moved to drop a kiss onto her temple. "I'll hold you for as long as you need me to, as soon as I make sure your house doesn't burn down."

Teddi pushed away from him, her forehead crinkling.

Calvin looked at her sheepishly. "The cake. I think it's done."

"Oh." She wiped at her cheeks as he went over to the oven to switch it off and pull out the tray.

"Calvin?"

"Uh-huh?"

"I want to help."

Calvin tried not to chuckle at the childishness he heard in her voice. "It's supposed to be your surprise."

The telephone rang and though it was late at night and Calvin was taken aback by its intrusion, Teddi seemed to find it commonplace as she picked up the receiver. "Hello?" she answered. "Hi, Uncle Richard. Grandmother wants to see you tomorrow. No, it's not important." Teddi paused and listened for a moment, then snapped, "You're not my father. I'm sorry I didn't mean that." She looked tired when she finally said softly, "Have a good night."

"What did he want?"

"He's just sad," said Teddi. "The judge was his father."

"I know that, but... Did he make you uncomfortable?"

"He's family. It's fine," she said, shutting her eyes for a moment, then smiling up at him.

"Okay. I get it."

She softened further. "So can I help with the cake?"

"After it cools," he said, trying not to sound condescending, "you can put on the frosting."

She smiled. "Like my mother used to let me do."

"Yeah." He walked over to kiss her cheek. "Let's go sit outside in the meantime."

"Okay."

They curled up together on the wicker bench on the back porch. Its soft blue and green striped cushions welcomed Calvin's weary body as Teddi rested in his lap.

Calvin's heart was mixed with tenderness and trepidation as his fingers glided along her soft skin. He wanted to comfort her, but he knew she needed to heal on her own. Still, it was good for her to know she was not alone in a world full of hate. Carefully, he placed his lips beside her and whispered with all the love in his heart, "I'll always be here for you."

She shifted in his arms and looked at him with round, frightened eyes. The back of her hand coursed a gentle path down his rough cheek, then cupped his chin. "Promise me?"

Calvin swallowed. "I promise. And I'm sorry about Riley."

Teddi's eyes slipped shut, and she licked her lips as if savoring the moment. "I love you, Calvin." It was something she'd taken months to say at the beginning of their relationship but now had become quite at ease with it. "That's all that matters, right?"

He sighed. "I love you, too," and placed a kiss on top of her silky strands of hair.

The time on the porch in each other's arms melted away and soon they were inside frosting delicious chocolaty goodness around the fluffy moist cake that brought Teddi more comfort than she could have imagined. They shared a single piece.

"That really was heaven, Calvin. Thank you."

He nodded and kissed her cheek as they stood by the back door. "I'll call you tomorrow. Make sure you eat some real food in the morning, okay?"

"I promise."