Gloria Presley, a sixty - eight year old woman for her late sixties with gray hair and brown hair was enjoying the evening view in her hometown, Colton, South Carolina. She had been retired for a few years now and is enjoying retirement as a chef for almost forty years and decided it was time to retire. Her children were planning to come out to South Carolina and visit her for a while, even if it meant for a short while. They were all adults now and had their own families and jobs and she doesn't get to see them very often. Her youngest son, Zachary is twenty – nine and the only child who came out to visit, and she enjoyed the company from her son.

Gloria had three other children who were in their thirties, and her oldest, Cynthia was the only one who is in her mid - forties and had been having problems recently, but she didn't say what the issues were, and Gloria decided to keep out of the problems Cynthia had been struggling with the past few months but again she told Cynthia she was always there when Cynthia needed her, and she often stayed out of her children's issues when they didn't need her to get involved.

Gloria didn't have much of an agenda today, but it was mostly a lazy day and that didn't happen very often. It was in the early sixties today in Colton and it was just the beginning of summer. She mostly enjoyed the fall season because the leaces changed. Earlier today, she went to a nursing home and paid a visit to her father, George, who recently turned one hundred and three years a month ago, but he was still going well with his health, and was hard of hearing, so he had to wear hearing aids, which seemed to help, but not much, Plus, he enjoyed his daughter's visit. Gloria was an only child, so she didn't have any siblings around, and that was why she mostly stayed with friends.

After the sun went down and it turned to darkness, Gloria and Zachary walked inside. Zachary was almost finished with college and was looking forward to start his new career, and that was a bank teller. Math was his best subject in school while growing up and still is today. Zachary never was crazy about dating, and he preferred being single. Like some people, Gloria was never that crazy about becoming a grandparent, but she ended up having four children from Cynthia, one from her son Travis, two from John and Catherine.

When the kitchen screen door slammed, Zachary looked a thte clock. It was still early in the evening. Like his mother, he always enjoyed sitting outside every evening and watch the sun go down. After the doos of the downstairs level of his mother's house. So he took off his glasses to wipe them so he could see better. He'd been wearing glasses for fifteen years and now was the time to have his eyes checked again. He had glasses because he was nearsighted.

"Mom, I'm going to my room and work on my studying for a while. I want to study since finals are coming up," Zachary told Gloria.

"That's all right, Zachary. I'm going to make a phone call to Deanna Quisenberry. It's been a while, you know," Gloria said as she watched her son ran to his bedroom. He was only an average student and always struggled with English, science, and also music. He did well with the other subjects. Unlike her son, Gloria always did well in English and always helped her children in English when she was needed. Since Zachary was the last child to graduate from college, he had to work on English on his own and not very often he had to find a tutor.

Even though Deena was younger than Gloria, the two women had a friendship for almost thirty years they don't have much time to talk when they thought should be more often. Deena lived in Edgewater Terrace, which happened to be in California, so there was a time difference between the two states. 'Deanna should be still awake. I'll give it a try and see what happens,' Gloria told herself. She'd met Deena for the first time twenty – three years ago when she was visiting Disneyland and stayed friends since. She listened to the phone ring for a couple of times before she heard Deena's father, Samuel in his seventies said, "Hello?"

"Hi, Samuel. Is Deanna there?"

"Hello, Gloria. She is. Let me go get her," he said as he put the receiver down.

Gloria had no idea Samuel and Anita were out in California to visit Denna. She heard her friend say, "Hi, Gloria. How are you doing?"

"Hello, Deanna. I'm doing well, thank you. I was surprised to hear your father answer the telephone. Are your parents visiting?" Gloria asked.

"Yes, they are. They leave at the end of the week," Deanna answered.

"That's cool. Zachary is with me for a while, so I'm not alone."

"That's good. How is he doing?" Deanna asked.

"He's doing good. He is studying for finals and school will end shortly. He graduates then."

"You must be proud of him. Does he know what he wants once he graduates?"

"He wants to be a bank teller. You know how well he does in math," Gloria answered.

"I do remember that. How are the others?" Deanna asked as she let out a sigh.

"Everybody is doing fine. Cynthia is struggling with some problems."

"That's too bad. Has she told you what her problems are?" Deanna asked, curious.

At age forty - three, Deana was divorced and had no children, and she had been enjoying life since the divorce.

"No, she didn't. It's not my business to find out what is wrong," she answered.

"Whatever is going on, tell her I'll be praying."

"Thank you, Deanna. I will pass it on to Cynthia. The others are doing well."

"What are they up to?" Deana asked.

It had been a while since their last conversation, so now was the perfect time to catch up.

"Let's see. Catherine and her husband are talking about coming up with the stray animals, so that is in progress. Travis and John are both expecting another child, so that means I'll be a grandmother again. Travis and his wife are getting close to the due date, but they wanted to be surprised on the gender. John is about five months than Travis to become a father again. What is new with you?" Gloria asked.

"A lot. I got a raise on my job. I am thinking of moving Mom and Dad somewhere to be closer to me if they needed me in the future. They like it here in Edgewater but they would want the perfect house that is easy to visit me. They do have an agent who is working with them to sell the house. Other than that, nothing much is happening."

"All right. Since nothing else new is being shared, it was good talking to you, Deanna. Talk next time," Gloria said.

"Maybe I can come to South Carolina sometime," Deena replied.

"You can, but it's pretty hot here in the summer. Talk again soon," Gloria said to her friend and then the two women disconnected.

2: Chapter 2

Note: Thank you to all who have been reading my stories here. I don't come here very often to post a lot of more updates but I will come here whenever I can. I do have a few other accounts but 2 I'm more active right now. Find me at www.fictionpress.com and fanfiction.net to see the latest updates. Username: Queen of Spiritual

A few weeks later, Zachary continued to stay with Gloria since he was now a college graduate. He was to start his job in a couple of days, so it gave him plenty of time to be with his mother and his older brothers and sisters before he headed back to where he lived.

Gloria always loved it when her children were able to make the time to visit her. And yes, all of the other family members her children had were also available to come. Travis and his family were able to come out for Zachary's college graduation. He graduated with a master's degree in math, which he was good with. He was also good at paying taxes and keep track of money's savings in a record book.

"Hey, Mom," John called from the top of the stairs, "could you come on up here for a few minutes?"

"I'll be right there," Gloria called back to her son.

She wanted to put the clothes into the dryer. Catherine, Cynthia, and Travis decided to spend some time at the gym to get some exercise. They are members of the recreation groups back where they lived. No, they don't live in South Carolina like Zachary does, and of course South Carolin awas humid in the summer.

Gloria shut the dryer in the ulitly room and turned the light out and closing the door behind her as she always did. She finally made it to the top of the staircase and found John waiting for her at Zachary's bedroom.

"Is there anything wrong?" Gloria asked.

"Well, sort of. I think it's time to go to the hospital. She says her water broke," John answered with worry.

He'd done this before by making all of those hospital trips for his wife. He was always nervous and worried when it came to the time when the child was on the way.

"You stay right here while I call the hospital. Do you want me to drive or do we need the ambulance?" Gloria asked.

"The ambulance is the best choice for us. We've done it before, don't forget.," John pointed out as she ran to the telephone in the living room.

He usually took care of that job, but this time he let his mother make the call for him this time.

Less than three minutes, Gloria was at Zachary's bedroom door.

"The ambulance is on their way, sweetheart. Where is Jessica?" Gloria asked.

"In the bathroom," John answered, still worried.

"And we can't afford to have twins or triplets. That's a bit too much for the both us," John said as Gloria helped him pack a bag or two to put some things so that Jessica would need while in the hospital with their newborn child.

About five to fifteen minutes later, the ambulance arrived.

Her other grandchildren were out in the backyard playing, so they didn't pay any attention to hear the ambulance arrive. Both Gloria and John thought it was a good idea so the children will not be distracted with the ambulance was involved.

During this entire time while the ambulance was at the house, Zachary was nowhere to be seen to watch his worried brother hop on to the ambulance to the hospital. Gloria glanced at the living room clock: 3:47 PM. So this told her that the grandchild would be born to late afternoon or early while dinner would be prepared.

Zachary wasn't in the backyard to look after the children playing. She wasn't planning on going along to the hospital with Jessica and John, so that meant she was stuck here at home to look after her grandchildren. Gloria remembered that Zachary went to town and see a movie that recently made it to theaters.

He usually bought his cell phone with him just in case anybody called him. He always kept his smartphone off while watching the movie. Some people had their phones on when the film was playing. The movie he went to see was rated PG-13. He never really cared too much for R rated movies, and he never planned on seeing any of them since they were violent.

While watching the film, Gloria called and left a message for him saying John and Jessica were going to be at the hospital since her water broke. She was in a lot of pain, Gloria could see when the paramedics came to the upstairs bathroom. She knew how Jessica felt at this moment since she had pain like that when her children were born.

When her husband was alive and they were expecting a child, it would be either the ambulance driving them to the hospital or he would have to do the driving. Today Jessica's situation involved the ambulance ride. She always loved it when she had a new grandchild and this year was one of them.

When the movie ended fifteen minutes later, he threw away his popcorn and Coke in the garbage, he turned his phone on again. He found his mother's message about John and Jessica. He didn't return her call back, but all he did was get on a bus and return back to Gloria's house. The bus ride to Gloria's was only fifteen minutes. He'd done this before several times. When he got off, he found his mother watching the children playing Frisbee in the backyard from the kitchen window.

Gloria heard the front door slam and saw that Zachary had returned.

"Hi, Mom. I got your call about John. Have he and Jessica left yet or are they still here?" Zachary asked.

Unlinke John, he didn't have a worried face but this time it was with curiousity.

"They left ten minutes ago," Gloria answered.

Zachary didn't respond to her reply.

"How was the film?" Gloria asked her youngest child.

"It went well as usual, but some of the parts in the movie didn't flow right, but the story was good. The movie did end with a cliffhanger, so I'm guessing the movie might have a sequel."

"Movies and other stories like to leave a cliffhanger so people want more to show enough interest to come back," Gloria told him.

"I know, Mom."

Jessica was in pain the entire ride to the hospital in the ambulance. John was next to her, holding his wife's hand during the ride to the hospital. Ever since Gloria made that call to the hospital, John himself was still nervous. He'd been like this every time he and Jessica were to have a child.

John silently told himself that Zachary should be home by now since the film was over. Right now wasn't the right time to think about movies. His newborn child was more important to him and Jessica. Every time they were to be expecting a new family member, he and Jessica didn't want to find out about the sex of the child. They always wanted to be surprised.

The ambulance made it to the hospital. John continued to hold his wife's hand. He usually did this when something like this would happen. Jessica always liked it when John held her hand when something like this happens, and that made her feel better.

John had to let go of Jessica's hand in order to let the paramedics could take the stretcher out and then put his wife on the stretcher. He decided to wait and hold her hand once they were able to find a room for her. He usually hung out with Jessica and the doctor since Jessica always felt better if he was right next to her while the baby came out of her womb. It always worked for her.

Since Cynthia was here in South Carolina to meet the new family member, that meant she would have to wait and visit her brother. She would be able to see pictures. Like a lot of people John and his family had a few social media accounts but didn't use the accounts very often, but during the new baby would be with them, both he and Jessica thought it made sense to share the baby pictures on facebook. He was sure a lot of their friends would like the pictures and leave comments.

He was still feeling nervous about the baby once the paramedics wheeled his wife to a room where the doctor would work on bringing the baby to this world. Once the paramedics left, John told her, "I'm going to call Mom and let her know we made it. And then she can meet her grandchild.

Jessica said painfully, "Okay, dear, but I can't wait very much longer to have the baby. It feels like it's going to come out any minute now."

After she said that, she continued to push the baby out.

John used his cell phone to call Gloria. She could come to the hospital. He heard her voice say, "I'll be on my way. Zachary will stay here at the house to look after the children. Travis and Catherine are out at the gym but I'll tell them about the baby."

"Thant's cool, Mom. Jess and I shall look forward to seeing you."

When he finished saying that last sentence, he closed his pont shut and put it in his shirt pocket. He saw the battery was low, but he'd wait to get home and charge it.

That's when he and Jessica saw one hand stick out. Jessica was still in pain, but the baby's head was already out of the womb.

"Oww!" Jessica cried painfully.

This was the first time she'd given birth without a doctor in the room and take care of it. That's when they saw a doctor come in.

"Sorry I'm late, but I had to wrap up the last patient's appointment," he said to both of them.

That's when he helped Jessica with the last of the baby's body.

"Since you weren't here, Doctor, she started to give birth, but this was what we have so far," John spoke up as Jessica continued to scream.

She felt better now since the doctor helped with the last of the baby come out.

"I'll go find Mom, Jess. You stay with the doc and baby. This way Mom will know where to find us."

"I'm not going anywhere, John," she told him still feeling pain in her voice.

She also felt tired after all of the pushing she'd done. John will share this experience with Gloria. He'd been told from his mother she never had their children come into this world without a doctor around, so now John and Jessica experienced it.

When John stepped into the waiting room, he already saw Gloria already made it. He could tell Gloria was waiting for a doctor to tell her the baby just arrived, but this time Gloria saw her son standing at the door. That's when John watched his mother get on her own two feet.

"Hi, Mom. How long have you been waiting?" he asked her after Gloria gave him a kiss on his cheek.

"Not very long. How is Jessica?"

"She's fine, but tired. The baby is with her right now if you want to come in and meet the baby," he said.

"Isn't that why I'm here for you and Jessica? Have you found out what sex the baby is?" Gloria asked, curious.

"I haven't yet since I just came here to see if you arrived," John answered.

"I'm sure she already knows," Gloria replied.

"Of course, Mom. Why wouldn't I not be here for my own wife? There's something I'd like to share with you, but not right now," he said once they made it back to Jessica's room.

"Jess, Mom's here."

He said that as he bent over to give her a kiss.

"Hi, Gloria," Jessica said with pain and tiredness.

Than Jessica added, "It's a boy, John. Any ideas on naming him?"

John looked at Gloria for some ideas.

"You're the father, John. You make the decision. I'm only Grandma," she told him.

What Gloria just told him was true. Their son had only been in this hospital for less than five minutes, which the two told them on the clock read 4:45 PM, so that meant his newborn child had been in this world for four minutes.

John looked back to his wife and said, "How about we name him Derek?"

"That's fine with me," Jessica told him.

He could tell Jessica seemed to agree on the name.

Gloria asked, "Would you want me to call your brothers and sisters so they could come here to meet Derek?"

"Don't bother, Mom. They can meet him when we bring him home with us."

"But I do know I'll be staying here for a while longer, and I do agree with John," Jessica told Gloria in her tired voice.

"I understand, dear. I'll still tell your brothers and sisters they could wait until you're ready to bring Derek home with you," Gloria said to John.

"Sounds like the best plan to me, Mom. You are welcome to stay here for a while longer so you can get to know him," John said as he looked in his mother's eyes.

"That's a wonderful idea. Let me find the nearest telephone to let your brothers and sister know."

"You don't need to do that, Mom. I have my phone with me. You can use it, but the battery needs to be charged."

"If it's low, John, Gloria can use one of these phones and make the calls."

Jessica did seem to agree with Mom, John told himself without sharing his comment with Jessica and his mother.

Gloria left the room to find a telephone. She called her house first. Zachary wasn't planning on leaving the house today after the movie he went to see. From what Zachary just told her, he gave her a good comment on what he did think about it, but he sounded like he didn't want to recommend it, and that was fine with her, but she wasn't crazy about going to the movies like some people were.

While making those calls, she thought Deana deserved a call about John and Jessica's child. Deana wasn't home and found out Anita and Samuel were out of the house also. She left a message for her friend anyway, and of course she would hear back as she normally did. When she finished leaving a message for Travis, she hung up. Deana had always loved children, Gloria reminded herself.

Then she went back to the room and said, "I should be heading back home. I'll see you later, John."

"Okay, Mom."

That's when she was gone.

3: Chapter 3

Note: I know it's been a while since my last postings, but I thought I'd update some of them today. Yes, I've been writing still but I will post when I can. I haven't forgotten you readers. Here's 3:

In the next day or so, Gloria and Deanna made plans for Deanna to come and visit South Carolina. Deanna hadn't visited South Carolina recently, so this meant this would be Deanna's second time here in South Carolina.

"I can fly out, Gloria. I don't think I could drive to and fro California and back."

"That's true. Maybe you can meet John's newborn son," Gloria replied.

"I would love that, Gloria. So that means his wife is back home?"

"Yes, she is. The baby is pretty healthy, so that's a good thing too," Gloria said.

"Not all babies are," Deanna reminded her.

"That's true."

"How much did your grandson weigh?" Deanna asked, curious.

"I was told five pounds, eight ounces. I could be wrong, though. I'm only Grandma."

"I know. Has the baby met other people besides the family?"

"Of course he did. He met about twenty people since then," Gloria answered.

"That's good. I wish I could adopt a child or two, but I'm too busy enough to look at orphanages and see what I want."

"I understand, Deanna. Now that I'm retired, I can be Grandma to my grandchildren, so I keep busy," Gloria replied.

"Besides, I'm happy with retirement."

"That's good. I'll call you later and see what works for me to come out and when you can be available."

"I don't have much going on rather than the family," Gloria added.

"Right. Sometimes it makes me wish we were closer in state," Deanna replied.

"Same with me, but we don't really have a choice."

"True. I'll call you again when I find out when I'm available."

"I'll be here when you do. Talk to you soon."

"Same here, Gloria. It was nice getting all caught up."

That's when Gloria put the phone back.

Deanna did what she promised Gloria by calling her back. Gloria wasn't home, so Zachary picked up. He'd met Deanna only once, but he'd heard a lot about her from his mother.

"Hello?" Zachary said on the second ring.

"Hello, Zachary. Do you remember me? Deanna Quisenberry?"

"Not really. Mom has talked a lot about you, though."

"I'm sure she has. Speaking of your mother, is she around?"

"No, she isn't, Mrs. Quisenberry. Would you like me to leave Mom a message so you can talk?"

"Please do, Zachary. She did mention a new baby. Congratulations."

"The child didn't come from me, so why do you bother telling me? I'm only playing the part of Uncle Zachary again."

"Still that counts."

"I know Mom did say John was nervous when the ambulance picked him and Jessica at the house."

"She didn't mention that."

"She didn't? I thought sh did."

"No. At least you told me instead of your mother."

"At least it doesn't really matter," Zachary replied.

"You're right," Deanna agreed.

Just then Zachary saw Gloria walk into the house. Gloria saw her son was on the telephone, but she didn't want to interrupt while Zachary talked with Denna.

"Mrs. Quisenberry, I don't have to leave you a message after all. Mom just stepped in. Hold on while I get Mom."

Deanna didn't say anything.

"Hello, Mom. How did your errands go?"

Deanna could hear the conversation between Zachary and Gloria.

"They went well. Thank you for asking. Who are you talking with?" Gloria asked.

"Ms. Bush. She wanted to talk with you when you weren't around."

"I'll go talk with her. Thank you for taking Ms. Bush's call."

"You're welcome, Mom."

Gloria picked up the telephone right where Zachary left it.

"Hello, Deanna. I see you were talking with Zachary."

"Of course. He and I had a pleasant conversation. I congratulated him about your new grandchild."

"That was sweet of you, Deanna. I do have a few pictures of him."

"I figured that. I'm calling you about the schedule for me to visit you in South Carolina."

"That didn't take long. Did you get to talk to your boss about having some time off?"

"Of course I did. This is why I called back."

"Tell me so I can write it down so I will remember," Gloria said as she grabbed a pen in front of her.

"I can only have a week off. I plan to come in the next week or two," Deanna began.

"What day is that so I can start cleaning the house?" Gloria asked, pen still waiting.

"I already ordered my plane tickets so I'd come prepared."

"That was smart of you," Gloria said.

"I will leave California on the twenty – second of this upcoming month. This is, what, only July?"

"That's right," Gloria said.

She had a calendar in front of her.

"What time will you leave for California and arrive in South Carolina?" Gloria asked as she used the pen to drum it a few times.

She thought to herself, 'Hurry up, Denna,' but didn't bother saying it out loud to be rude.

"Let's see. The ticket tells me I leave California on Tuesday at noon, and I will arrive to South Carolina around six or so," Deanna went on and then added, "I will leave South Carolina on Saturday at eleven at night, so that means I will be taking the red – eye."

"All right. I look forward to seeing you soon."

When Gloria finished saying that last sentence there was nothing else to say.

4: Chapter 4

Deanna looked up the flight schedule at the airport to see when the next flight would be from California to South Carolina. She found one that was available this upcoming Thursday morning. She decided to take that ticket. She thought a week's worth of her time with Gloria was enough, so she took the tickets.

After scheduling the plane tickets, Deanna went to her house once again so she could call Gloria and let her know she was coming on Thursday. She listened to the phone ring. This time she got to hear Cynthia say, "Hello, Presley residence. How may I help you?"

"Cynthia?"

"Yes. Who is this?"

"Deanna Bush. Is your mother around?"

"Hold on. I'm not sure if she's around, but I'll check anyway."

She listened to Cynthia in the background. She got to hear Zachary again. She figured Gloria was busy helping John with the new baby.

Cynthia came back.

"Are you still there, Ms. Bush?"

"Yes, I am."

"Good. I just spoke to Zachary. He told me Mom is out to help Jessica and John."

"She did mention the baby. Will you mind if I leave your mother a message?" Deanna asked.

"No, I don't mind," Cynthia replied.

She listened as Cynthia ripped a piece of paper so Gloria would see Deanna's message by the phone.

"Mom has told me about you, Ms. Bush, but I don't think we've met."

"I don't think so, either. Make sure your mother gets this message, okay?"

"Go ahead," she heard Cynthia say.

"Tell your mother I already got plane tickets to come out to South Carolina."

"I will, Ms. Bush. Is there more to the message I should have Mom see?" Cynthia asked.

"Yes, there is, Cynthia. Tell her my flight to South Carolina will be on Thursday so I should arrive sometime in the afternoon."

"Is that all?" Cynthia asked.

"Yes, Cynthia."

"Do you want me to tell Mom to call you back?"

"Not necessary. I'll just see your mother Thursday."

"Gotcha. It's nice to meet you, Ms. Bush. Did I pronounce your name right?"

"Yes, Cynthia. I shall look forward to meeting you."

"So should I. Do you want me to have Mom come and pick you up?"

"Sure. That will be great. Good – bye," Deanna said as she heard the dial tone.

She thought Cynthia was okay, but she'll have a better idea once she meets Cynthia on Thursday.

5: Chapter 5

Deanna wasn't surprised at all Thursday was now finally here. She packed last night and wanted to be on time for the flight to South Carolina. Her parents did know about her leaving for South Carolina to have a short visit with Gloria and her family but promised she'd call so they could come and pick her up from the airport.

Deanna mostly spent her flight to South Carolina by looking out of the window, reading and watching movies the stewards planned for their passengers. Once the began to watch the movie, it didn't seem familiar to her at all, but she still seemed to a movie since there wasn't much to do on boring flights. She really didn't sit by anyone on the plane.

She bought a book from home to read while on the flight to South Carolina. She was a spiritual person most of the time, but usually didn't make the Lord happy when she did something wrong. She didn't bother to bring her Bible with her, so she left it home to wait for her to come back after her visit with Gloria.

She made it to the airport safely without any delays. So far in her forty – three years, she never arrived to an airport with the pilots having problems. She did one thing while sitting on the plane besides reading, looking out of the window and watching the movie that was playing and that was praying. She didn't pray very often, but she did tell herself she could do that while visting Gloria and her children, but usually prayed for a visit and back to California safely. So far she seemed to think so.

Once she stepped off the plane, Deanna joined other people who were at the luggage claim to collect their suitcases. There weren't that many people waiting at the luggage claim, Deanna saw. It didn't take Deanna very long to get her suitcase. She thought it made sense not to make small talk with other people with her, so all she did was get her suitcase and left.

Once she left the luggage claim, Deanna headed to the nearest pay phone. Again she hoped Gloria would be home and could she pick Deanna up? Deanna listened to Gloria's ringing telephone. She waited about three rings until somebody answered.

"Hello?" she heard Zachary say on on the other end of the line.

"Zachary?" Deanna said.

"Yes. Who is this?"

Zachary could tell Deanna's voice sounded familiar, but he couldn't quite remember her name.

"Deanna Bush. Is your mother around?"

"Hold on. Where are calling from?" he asked.

"The airport," Deanna answered.

"Of course I'll be there, Deanna. Zachary did say you're at the airport."

"I called to see if I could get a ride like you promised."

"I'll be on my way shortly," Gloria told her.

Both of the women disconnected.

6: Chapter 6

Gloria told Zachary she was going to pick up Deanna.

"I can do that for you, Mom. You can work on the finishing touches for he guest room."

"Thank you, Zachary, but I did promise Ms. Bush I'd pick her up, but maybe you can take her to the airport after her visit is ready to head back to California."

"Okay, Mom, but there's still time to change your mind.'

"Not changing my mind on last minute, young man," Gloria told her youngest child.

"You better get a move on now before Ms. Bush decides to change her mind of taking a taxi to this house."

With that, Gloria grabbed her purse and car keys and Zachary watched her head to the garage door.

Several minutes later, Deanna saw Gloria walk into her direction.

"Deanna!" Gloria said with a smile on her face.

The two women hugged one another.

"How was your flight? I hope you made it without any problem," Gloria told her.

"I got her safely without any trouble. I'm ready to leave this place," Deanna told Gloria.

On their way to Gloria's car, Gloria told Deanna, "When I hung up the phone, Zachary offered to pick you up, but I did tell him I already kept a promise to you but I said when you're ready to leave, he could take you."

"That's a sweet offer from Zachary. He's a very nice boy," Deanna replied.

"Of course he is."

Once Deanna and Gloria made it to the van, Gloria unlocked the car. She opened the passenger's door after putting Deanna's suitcase in the trunk.

"Thank you, Gloria. That's really nice of you to go through all of this trouble," Deanna said once she closed the door as she got into the passenger's seat.

"Isn't this what friends are for?" Gloria asked as she turned the radio on.

"Of course, Gloria. Next time it's my turn."

"Fair enough, but at least it will be even."

"Right," Deanna agreed.

"So tell me, Deanna. How are your parents doing?"

"They're doing well, thank you for asking. When would be the right time for me to meet your grandson?" Deanna asked.

"I'll have to talk to Jessica and John and we shall go from there," Gloria said truthfully.

"Okay. It's been several years since I've been around children, so this holiday would be a good chance for me to help you with Derek."

"That's real nice of you, Deanna. I'm sure John and Jessica would appreciate that."

Gloria meant every word she just said and Deanna could hear it from her friend's voice.

7: Chapter 7

Before Gloria and Deanna were on their way to her house, Zachary decided to check Deanna's guest room to see if it needed any new additions to make it more presentable, but it looked like Gloria already did all of the hard work, but he figured it didn't hurt to double – check.

While growing up, Zachary was very organized. He is still like that till this day. People seemed to think Zachary took over on that area from Gloria's younger sister and she happened to be the same way. His father wasn't like him, but his father usually was always late when it came to family and friends.

He walked out of the guest room as he heard the telephone in the kitchen ring. He walked over to pick up the telephone.

"Hello?" Zachary said.

It was his older sister, Catherine.

"Zachary?"

"Hi, Catherine. What may I do for you?"

"Mom around?"

"No, she isn't. She went to the airport to pick up Ms. Bush."

"I forgot Mom was expecting a friend. Where was she from again?" Catherine asked.

"From California somewhere," Zachary answered.

"Oh. I just wanted to know if I should have John come to pick me and Cynthia up from the gym, but John did remind us his baby son arrived and said he would be happy to pick us up, but he didn't want to leave Jessica alone."

"I understand, Sis. I wouldn't mind doing that. How long have you two been waiting for somebody to pick you up?" Zachary asked.

"About five to ten minutes or so. I'll tell Cynthia we should be expecting you," she told her younger brother.

"Okay. I should be there shortly."

"We shall look forward to seeing you, Bro."

That's when Zachary put the phone back in its cradle.

Before leaving, Zachary thought it made sense to leave a note by the telephone to let Gloria know he was paying a visit to the gym to pick his sisters up and should be back soon. He found his car keys on his dresser in his bedroom. He usually kept the keys there so he could find them that way. He thought it made sense to keep them that way. He thought it made sense to keep them in the same place to see them later. Once he saw them, he turned off the bedroom light. Once he made it to the front door, he locked the door behind him and a minute or two he was gone.

Sometime after Zachary left, Gloria made a few left turns and one right turn to get back to her house. She and Deanna made very little conversation on the way home, but to her Deanna sounded tired and would like to have some time to herself for a while. If Deanna chose to do that first thing, that was fine with her.

This time she decided not to listen to the radio while driving. The radio can be good distraction while you're driving a vehicle, but with Deanna around, she didn't want too much distraction to do both at the same time, listening to Deanna talk and the radio playing the most popular hits for the month.

Gloria noticed Deanna was quiet and didn't hear a sound from her friend, but she decided against it to check and see why she was quiet, so she'd just let her friend have some time to herself. Several minutes later, both Deanna and Gloria heard somebody park a car in the driveway. That somebody was Zachary himself.

"Hi, Mom. I picked up both Cynthia and Catherine, but they decided to stay with Jessica and John to help out on the new baby," Zachary told her.

"I'm sure that they appreciated that," Deanna heard Gloria tell Zachary.

"That's what John told me, Mom. Did Ms. Bush make it safely?" Zachary asked.

"She did make it safely. She in the guest room now, but I haven't heard a sound from her since. It's making me think she decided to take a short nap," Gloria answered.

"Well, that makes sense. Do you want me to check in on her?"

"No need, Zachary. While she's doing that, I'm going to bake some apricot and strawberry with chocolate cookies. Want to help me?" Gloria asked.

"Sure, Mom. Two is better than one," Zachary answered.

And she did see Zachary had a very good point.

8: Chapter 8

Later that evening, Deanna and Gloria went out for dinner. Gloria decided to invite John, Jessica and their children along. Deanna hadn't been around children for a while now, so this would be a perfect time to meet Derek. John and Jessica both agreed to have Derek's middle name Preston, so it Derek didn't like it, tough. There would be no changing the middle name.

Cynthia, Catherine, Zachary, and Travis were not invited. Gloria didn't want to pay for her other childrens' meals and didn't want to pay a lot of money for eight people, so it made sense to pay for herself, Jessica, John, and Deanna. They didn't go to a fancy resturant, so they decided that Outback Steakhouse was the best choice.

Derek was too young to eat the food his mother and father were having and he recently came into this world. When he grows older, he can enjoy the food. But for now it was just baby food. One thing Deanna and Gloria found out that Derek didn't make any sound while they ate dinner, so he was a well – behaved baby.

"So, Ms. Bush, has this been your first time in South Carolina?" John asked.

He watched as Deanna took a few sups of Merlot.

When she finished, she said, "Yes, it is."

When she met Gloria for the first time and was able to know her better, she had never been to South Carolina, but Gloria had been to California several times.

"Mom, I don't think you ever told us about your meeting Ms. Bush. I'd like to hear about it."

"All right, John. I will share the story, but I'd like to have Catherine, Travis, Cynthia and Zachary to hear this story as well," Gloria told her son.

"Sounds good to me. This should be an interesting story to share," John replied.

"Don't worry about telling your brothers and sisters. I'll tell them myself," Gloria told John.

"Okay, Mom. Still I can do that myself."

That's when their meals arrived. Their waiter looked like he was in highschool, but this could be a good job to save up some money for the future when the time would come to have children of his own.

"Enjoy your meals," he said and left to go to a table that wasn't too far away from them.

"What do you plan to do tonight, John?" Deanna asked.

"Spend the evening with my wife and children," was his answer.

"While I'm here to visit your mother, would it be all right if I help out with Derek?" Deanna asked.

Gloria looked at Deanna and answered, "You don't need to help out. This is your holiday, and we don't want to let you help out on with household chores, Deanna. I'm the grandmother and that should be my job and not the guest's."

"Mom, let Ms. Bush decided for herself if she wants to help out with Derek. We could use as much help we could have," John said.

"All right, John. You win, but still this is Ms. Bush's time away from home, this would let her have a chance to be with me and not housework," Gloria told her son.

"Mrs. Presley, don't be so hard on Ms. Bush while she's enjoying herself. She can do whatever she wants, even if it means housework," Jessica told Gloria.

"All right. You do have a point, Jessica. We'll give it a shot and see what happens."

"Ms. Bush, this is only for you to help us in the day, but we can handle Derek by ourselves at night. Is that all right with you?" John asked.

"Yes, John. It does make a lot of sense. I thought this was a good opportunity to be around children. It's been so long and I'll be looking forward to it while spending my time with your mother," Deanna told him.

"We shall have you and Mom at our house tomorrow morning," John told her.

"Good idea," Jessica agreed.

9: Chapter 9

Now Deanna had a thought in her head. Even though she wasn't here very long in South Carolina, it felt like her holiday was nearing to an end. It made her feel good that both Jessica and John let her help out with the new baby. She'd enjoyed children since her first baby – sitting job when she was in the seventh grade. She looked back to that time.

Flashback:

Thirteen – year – old Deanna Bush was in school eating lunch with a few of her friends. That's when she brought up the subject of baby – sitting. She finished giving a few sips of water before sharing the news.

"Girls, I have something I'd like to share," Deanna said.

Both of her friends, Carol and Jill looked at Deanna. They both were baby – sitters themselves, but had been doing it for almost three months.

"What's the news, Deanna? You find your first love?" Jill asked.

"Not very funny, Jill. I got my first baby – sitting job. The call came in the other night," Deanna said.

"Did your mom and dad finally let you have your first baby – sitting job on your own or are they still going to supervise?" Carol asked.

What Carol had just said was true. Deanna was asked several times to baby – sit when she was twelve years old, but her mother, Anita had to come along and help her watch younger children.

"Yes, I got my real first baby – sitting job without Mom tagging along. This should be fun!" she said with a smile on her face.

Both Jill and Carol gave Deanna a high five and also clapped since it was about time their friend got to do it on her own for the first time.

"Baby – sitting is pretty easy," Jill replied.

Carol agreed with Jill.

"You'll like baby – sitting without adults around," Carol told Deanna.

"I know the rules. I've been watching Mom long enough to know it looks pretty easy. I do have a curfew though."

"Those aren't fun," Carol agreed.

"Carol's right, Deanna. When we get to high school, we won't have much of a curfew, but maybe for dating."

"I don't want to think about boys right now. It's a little bit too soon for that," Deanna told her friends.

"Tell us all about it. We want to know about it," Jill told her.

"You'll know," Deanna replied.

"How much do you charge your client?" Carol asked.

"I haven't thought about it yet. I'm sure Mom will help out with that and we'll go from there."

"I usually charge twenty," Carol told her.

"I charge fifteen," Jill joined in.

"When Mom and I figure it out, I'll let you know."

"How old are the clients?"

"The children are all under five years old. Mom thought I should start with that age then I can move up to older kids."

"What time do you start on what day?" Carol asked.

"Friday evening. Six – thirty till eight – fifteen. The folks do have a party to attend, so they asked me and I took the job."

"How many kids are you looking after?"Jill asked.

"Just two."

"I started out with just one child, remember?" Jill asked.

Both Carol and Deanna already knew this ever since Jill got her first sitting job.

End Flashback

That was all Deanna remembered for now, but of course there will be more memories to come. Gloria was going to do the driving, but since this was Deanna's first time in South Carolina, it made sense Gloria did the driving since she'd been in South Carolina for a long time. They didn't start going to John and Jessica's until Saturday morning. The more Deanna thought about it, the more excited she became.

10: Chapter 10

The next morning, Gloria drove themselves to John and Jessica's house. It was about nine – fifteen when the two women parked into the driveway. Deanna saw that it was time to have Jessica and John remodel their house, but since it was their house, the decision was up to them and not hers.

"Gloria, do you remember the time when you first started baby – sitting on your own?" Deanna asked.

"Not too much anymore. You're still young to have such a memory that goes pretty far enough to tell a story," Gloria answered, "but wait until you reach my age."

"I don't want to start thinking about that yet," Deanna said.

"Sometimes it makes me wish I was younger again, Deanna. Times do change, but we really can't turn the clocks back to when we were younger and wish we wouldn't have made mistakes."

"You're right, Gloria. I don't go to memory lane often, but I did look back to when I first got my baby – sitting job when I was thirteen. I was the last of my friends to baby – sit without any adults around."

"Almost every teenager looks forward to that. I didn't think I had my folks around when I had my first baby – sitting experience. I wanted to look after the younger children on my own, but since I was a teenager at that time, I felt more adult to do it on my own. Money was the best part of the day," Gloria told her as she rang the doorbell.

"True that," Deanna agreed when they heard Derek cry.

John was the closest to the front door than Jessica was, so he let his mother and Deanna into the house. "Jess, Mom and Ms. Bush are here," he announced.

Jessica was holding the baby boy in her arms so she could greet the two women.

"Hi, Ms. Bush, Gloria. We've been looking forward to helping us out," Jessica told her.

"I was, too. It's been so long since I've held a baby," Deanna told Jessica and John.

Neither of them said anything.

"Mom, Ms. Bush, feel free to find a seat," John told them.

"We will, John. Deanna and I would like to hold Derek first," Gloria replied.

"Would either of you care for some coffee? I made a second cup," Jessica offered.

"I'll have some, thank you," Deanna answered.

She followed Jessica into the kitchen.

"Are toy enjoying your visit, Ms. Bush?" Jessica asked, grabbing out a cup for Deanna.

"Yes, I am. I prefer being called Deanna," she told Jessica.

"All right. Gloria said you live out in California."

"Yes, I do. I've been living there my entire life," Deanna told Jessica.

"I haven't been to California in a long time. How often do you go visit Disneyland?" Jessica asked, piruing Deanna half a cup of coffee.

Deanna usually liked ther coffee black with a flavor of honey.

"Would you like something else?" Jessica asked as she and Deanna both heard Derek cry.

"Do you have any honey?" Deanna asked.

"We sure do. Would you like some with your coffee?" Jessica asked.

"Yes, please," Deanna answered politely.

"Let me know when to stop."

Deanna watched Jessica pour some honey in her coffee.

"That's good, Jessica. I'd like to join John and Gloria in the living room," Deanna told Jessica.

"That's where we're headed right now," Jessica told her.

That's when both women rejoined John, the baby and Gloria in the living room.

"May I hold him, please?" Deanna asked.

"Sure," Gloria said, handing her friend Derek.

"Thank you," Deanna said as she took the blue blanket.

Derek began to cry once more.

"I think he wants us, Ms. Bush," John told her.

"Please, John. Call me Deanna and not Ms. Bush," Deanna corrected him as she gave Derek back to John.

"Sorry. I guess we've been in that habit for a while," John told her.

"I understand."

Deanna and Gloria didn't stay all day long like Deanna thought they would. At least Jessica and John appreciated her help while she was here. When she and Gloria left at noon, and Gloria drove out of the driveway, she told Gloria, "I don't think that grandson of yours likes me. You've seen me hold him a few times."

"I did see that. I guess you could be right about Derek, but I'm pretty sure he'll get used to you," Gloria said.

"I hope you're right," Deanna said.

Deanna said nothing else.

11: Chapter 11

Every day towards the end of the week, Derek still thought he didn't like Deanna. That's what his mind said about her. Deanna knew right away when she held the baby in her arms that he didn't like her. She hadn't been around children so long, so this was why she wanted John and Jessica to let her help out. At least it didn't stop Deanna to come over and help out. The baby had no choice.

It was now the weekend. Even thought Deanna arrived earlier in the week, it was time she head back to Edgewater and start her job. At least she was able to get away from work and spend some time away from Edgewater and visit Gloria and her family. Gloria dropped Deanna off at the airport right after lunch. Today was Sunday, so this seemed to be a good day to hop on the plane and get home and to work on time. Once the two women arrived at the airport, they hugged a few times before Deanna's flight number was called.

"I had fun, Gloria. I really did."

"That's good to hear, Deanna. I also had a good time myself. It seems the kids seemed to enjoy you as well. Would you please call me once you arrive in California so I would know that you made it safely?"

"Of course I will, Gloria. I'm sorry Derek didn't like me."

"You don't have to apologize, Deanna. Besides, it wasn't your fault," Gloria told her.

"I know, but it looks like it was to me. I'll call when I arrive at the airport."

"Good. Thank you for helping out with Derek. Both John and Jessica really did appreciate your helping out with Derek."

"I know. Tell them I enjoyed being around a baby again. It's been so long," she said.

"I'll pass this on. You better leave how so you can find your seat," Gloria told her friend.

"All right. When I see you again, Gloria, it's going to be your turn."

"Good idea. Talk when you arrive to Edgewater."

Gloria watched as her frieend dropped her suitcase and walked off without looking back. There was no need for Gloria to call Zachary and have him pick her up so she took her own car to go back home. At least she was happy to see that Deanna made it safely to the airport. Gloria made it home without any traffic issues.

Zachary watched her drive into the driveway several minutes later. He opened the fron tdoor for her.

"Did Ms. Bush make it safely?" Zachary asked his mother.

"Yes, she did. She did tell me that she had lots of fun," Gloria answered.

"That's good that she did. And it's your turn to visit her," Zachary told his mother.

"She said the sam thing you did, Zachary."

Early that evening, Gloria received a telephone call. It was Deanna calling to let her know she recently arrived to Edgewater.

"Good you arrived to California without any delays," Gloria told Deanna.

"I know. Is there anything I can do for you?" Deanna asked.

Deanna didn't call from the airport, Gloria thought to herself.

Airports are usually noisy when someone made a telephone call.

"Actually, there is, Deanna. Tell Samuel and Anita hello."

"Will do. Hope to seeing you again soon," Deanna said.

"We'll see. Even the kids seemed to enjoy meeting you."

"Tell them the same thing from me," Deanna said.

The two women said a few more minutes before saying good – bue to one another.

Once Deanna put the phone back, she told herself, "It's good to be home."