By Marilyn and B

Colleen was really looking forward to having lunch with Ivy. She waited a few days after the wedding to give her time to recover since she didn't feel well. This particular day was a bright beautiful one and Colleen figured maybe she'd see if Ivy was up to a trip to Coffs.

Cal was off hunting for a new car, Abby and Libby were taking care of tonight's issue of the Times so all systems were go.

Picking up the phone on her desk, she dialed Ivy's number.

Colleen agreed and then she hung up the phone. It would take her just a bit to get ready and by the time she drove over to Ivy's, a half hour had passed. She was all smiles when she knocked on the door for Ivy. Hopefully she'd get a tour of the new house before they left for Coffs.

She was fidgeting with anticipation as she waited for the door to be answered.

Having heard someone at the front door Ivy began moving the empty boxes away from it. After a minute or so she managed to get the door open. "Colleen. Hi there. I forgot to tell you about the other door... my fault." Kicking a box out of the way she opened the door wide enough for Colleen to enter. "Come on in I'll give you the penny tour."

Colleen stumbled inside with a giggle. "Hi there, Ivy. You're still in box hell I see."

She gave Ivy a little hug before stepping back to take in the surroundings. "Wow, nice digs. I'd love the penny tour and I think we have plenty of time. Lead on"

"At least these are all empty" Ivy replied while kicking yet another box out of her way.

"I guess we can start here. You have just entered the front door and this is the main hallway. The hallway is as almost as wide as the rooms off of it. So it is sort of a large room unto itself which is why we don't use this door. To the left is the library...or at least boxes of books in a room. Next to that will be my sewing/craft room. I haven't even begun to set that room up."

"I wish I could sew. Tried it once but I was afraid of having to get stitches in myself after my first encounter with a rabid pair of scissors." Colleen giggled.

Crossing the hallway diagonally Ivy led Colleen into the living room. "This is the living room the couch and chairs were delivery 2 days ago and the rest I still have to pick out. Thank goodness for the internet or we would still be sitting on boxes. This is the dining room, but I have nothing in here as you can see." Ivy led Colleen into the virtually empty room. "Those boxes have my father's Delft pottery in them so if I ever get around to getting a China cabinet it will be on display in there."

Opening a door at the corner of the dining room Ivy waved to Colleen to follow her. "Through this door is the kitchen. Watch your step in the hallway. The kitchen is actually a separate building from the rest of the house. As kitchen fires were prevalent in Colonial Times and this house is based on a Colonial structure back in New Jersey." Opening another door at the end of the hallway they entered the kitchen.

"Holy cow! I want a kitchen like this someday. I think I'm a better cook than a seamstress though. At least I've not killed anyone yet." she winked.

Ivy laughed. "That is the door we usually use" Ivy stated pointing to a door on the right. "There isn't much left of the colonial kitchen except the fireplace. But I do appreciate the modern conveniences in here. Even I draw the line on making breakfast in an open hearth. Through the door on the left of the fireplace is a half bath and the laundry. Nothing too exciting. Did you want to see upstairs?"

"Nothing too exciting? My gosh, Ivy this place is stunning. Yes, Yes I'd love to see the upstairs. After all, if the kitchen is the heart of the house then the upstairs has to be the brains, right?" 

Ivy smiled "this place is all because of Jim. I didn't have a clue what he was up to because I was working on the grocery. He did a good job. We have to go back through the dining room to get to the upstairs."

Leading the way upstairs Ivy kicked another empty box out of the way when she got to the top of the stairs. "The room directly across the hall is Ian's so I won't take you in there. But the room next to it is a guest room and is just the reverse orientation from Ian's. I still need to put up curtains and get some finishing things in here."

Crossing the hall she stopped in front of a door. This is the master bedroom. I haven't done any of the decorating in here yet so you will have to come back when I get it done. I have big plans for this room.  Opening the door she revealed a large room painted a light green and the windows dressed in white. A queen size bed was all the furniture in the room. Through there is the master bath it has a tub and a separate shower, his and hers sinks too."

"Did you want to see the attic? Jim is turning it into a gym of sorts." Walking back into the hallway Ivy opened the door to the attic. "Hello up there. Are you ready to be invaded?" Ivy called up the stairs. "Sure thing. Come on up." Jim replied.

"Alright Colleen we have permission" Ivy chuckled. The attic was as large as the main footprint of the house and had 12 ft ceiling with rafters. Jim and Ian were putting together some equipment. "Colleen. This is my uncle Ian and you know Jimmy."

"Nice to meet you Colleen" Ian said as he waved at her from where he was standing holding a frame of some sort steady as Jim worked on getting it stabilized on the floor.

"Welcome to the man floor" Ivy laughed.

"Hi Jimmy and it’s nice to meet you Ian. I've heard so much about you from Ivy." she waved.

"This place is amazing, Jim. Ivy explained about the house in New Jersey to me. It's great that you've been able to do all you have here. I'm sure it’s like having a piece of home in your new home, so to speak. It would be like Cal and I finding a brownstone here in the Glen to live in. Not much chance of us building one or finding one." she chuckled at the irony of it. "I'm happier in our big old farm house anyway. Having the newspaper offices attached is a bonus. We can hop out of bed and go right to work."

"The house meant a lot to Ivy...and to me she is...." Jim's voice trailed off as he looked at Ivy. "Don't you think you girls should get moving if you’re going to have lunch? We will be fine."  Ian smiled at his niece. "Go ahead go." Ivy and Colleen returned to the second floor. "Let me show you the balcony before we go. Opening a door at the end of the hallway at the back of the house Ivy stepped out onto the balcony followed by Colleen. "I'm thinking about putting some furniture out here. I think it would be a lovely place to sit and watch the sunset."

"It would be a very romantic place to watch a sunset. I must say, you have one of the most stunning places at the Glen."

Jim came down the attic stairs, he stopped in the hallway when he noticed the girls on the balcony and overheard Colleen's comment. 

She turned to look back at Jim and smiled "And one of the most devoted, loving husbands. Ivy you are one lucky woman. I could hope such things happen to me but ...anyway. I can tell you all about it over lunch. Jim is right, we'll be drifting into dinner service if we wait too much longer." 

"Too true." Ivy replied. She turned to leave the balcony and noticed Jim in the hallway. "Make sure you and Ian eat something," she waved as she passed him.

A few minutes later, the girls were in Colleen's car and on their way to Coffs. It really felt good to be getting out as far as Colleen was concerned. She'd been working pretty hard at the paper and it was time for a break.

"What do you think, Ivy? Would you be up for a little shopping after lunch? I really could use a new pair of shoes and a handbag to match. I know that sounds awfully girly of me but I need to be a little decadent. I think I've earned that much. Cal is off looking for a new car right now. I'm not even going to spend anywhere near what that costs!" 

"Sure why not. So...are you going to wait until we get to the restaurant to tell me what is going on with you and Cal?" Ivy unwrapped a ginger chew while she waited to hear all the details.

Colleen shrugged a shoulder. She wanted to talk about Cal and this was the perfect opportunity for her.

"You mean my non-committal hunk of a man who seems to worship the ground I walk on as long as I don't bring up the subject of marriage and children? What am I doing wrong, Ivy? Is it possible that we are not right for each other, that we have plenty of chemistry but no connection?"

Popping the candy into her mouth Ivy thought for a second. "It took him a while to figure out how he felt about you...maybe he needs time to get adjusted to everything. But then how long is he gonna need? How does he react when the forbidden topics come up?"

"Evasive, especially if I bring it up. Sometimes he goes on talking as if the subject were never mentioned. I don't know if he is scared of commitment or if he really doesn't care much. Maybe he is just using me to fill a void." Colleen sighed. "I hate the thought of that, Ivy. I ...I am in love with him. Have been for a long time."

Glancing at Ivy briefly then training her eyes back on the road, Colleen added. "I don't know how I'd feel without him. I came all this way with him because I didn't want to exist without him."

"Does Cal know that? Does he know why you came here with him or how long you have felt this way? My impression is this whole thing is fairly new to Cal. Maybe he doesn't know what you have invested in this already."

"You're wise beyond your years, my friend. I've never told him before. I waited for him to ...make the first move and now maybe I'm expecting too much."

Pulling into the lot of the restaurant, Colleen parked the car. She removed the keys from the ignition before she looked over at Ivy and smiled.

"I wish things for us were like they are for you and Jim. Maybe with a bit of patience they will be. Something may have happened to Cal in the past that has him worried, afraid to tell me that he loves me. I know he does, I feel it. He just won't say those three little words." 

"I wouldn't be with Jimmy if I hadn't been a little bold at times. Sometimes they just can't take a hint. Patience and persuasion is what you need. Speaking of needs, I need some lunch how about we go in?" 

"You’re on sister." Colleen replied. "I'm hungry enough to eat a horse and all this talk of matters of the heart needs to end. We need to have some fun, Ivy."

Colleen got out of the car and waited for Ivy to catch up with her. She took hold of her hand and towed her into the new Chinese restaurant.

"Honestly, I'm glad this is not a French bistro or there may actually be horse on the menu. Don't think I could deal with that right now."

"Oh, I don't want to think about anything like that. No jokes about what is in Chinese food either." Ivy tried to smile but she suddenly felt a little dizzy. She was relieved when they were finally seated. Looking over the menu she decided on steamed chicken and broccoli and she asked the waiter to see if they had ginger ale. "Colleen do you want to share an order of spring rolls?"

"That suits me just fine. In fact I'll have steamed chicken and broccoli as well."

Setting her menu down, Colleen noticed that Ivy was not up to par. "Hey, are you okay? You look a little out of it, Ivy."

Concern crossed her face as she summoned the waiter for a glass of water. "What's wrong?'

"Just a little spell. They come and go. I'll be fine." Ivy sipped the water and unwrapped another ginger chew. "These help, in fact I am going to have to order more for the store. I'm almost out." Seeing the concern on Colleen's face Ivy smiled. "Col, I'll be fine. Really."

Colleen wasn't too sure. She remembered how Ivy looked at the wedding and related it to this. "Ivy, we're friends. Is there something you want to tell me here? I mean its not the first time that I've seen you off kilter within the past week. What's up?" 

"Jimmy thinks I'm overdoing it. To tell you the truth I don't really know what is wrong. There are days I feel alright and then there are days that I don't. I get queasy and sometimes a little dizzy. Maybe I'm anemic or I didn't eat enough today, who knows. It is nice to do something outside of the norm though. Thanks for inviting me."

Colleen humphed. She was never one to beat around the bush. She couldn't be in her line of work.

"Right. If you don't mind me getting personal, are your boobs sore? Can you remember when you got your last period? Would you like to go buy one of those EPT tests right after lunch? Cause if you ask me you're going to be a mommy. You do have that look about you, Ivy."

Ivy stopped and looked at Colleen, her eyes filled with tears. "Maybe we should do that," she whispered.