Chapter X (The Resurrected - A love story by Billy Shaw)

Dawn and Halli dressed up in their shiny new copper metallic silk dresses. They stood together in the middle of the living room admiring each other. I walked out of our bedroom and stood behind Halli. Slipping the new necklace over her head, I let it drop silently over the silk and down to her little chest.

"Wow, Daddy! This looks just like your wedding rings! Is this my wedding necklace? Is it, Daddy?"

"Yes, Daughter. This is your wedding necklace. I hope you like it."

"I love it! Thanks, Daddy! I love you too!" she said as she wheeled around to hug me.

"Are you guys ready to leave? Where's Jerry?" I asked.

"He's still in the bathroom. He borrowed some of your clothes, Billy." Dawn said.

Then he came out and we were ready to go. Jerry was dressed about as casually as I was.

"Wow! You women look spectacular! You guys are breathtaking!"

"Thank you sir." Dawn said demurely and curtsied.

"Jerry. Here's the keys to my Subaru. And here's a cardkey. The same key operates the garage doors and opens our front door. So are we all ready?"

"Ready Daddy!"

"Let's do it."

We all went over to Kelly's house together. Halli piled off my lap and turned to give me a hand getting out of her car. Dawn remained in the car to go park it once we were out, and Jerry followed Dawn around to the parking area. Halli and I stood there waiting for them to come back.

Then we all walked up to Kelly's door as a group and knocked.

Kelly came to the door and opened it for us. She was wearing a light brown suede jumpsuit with a wide green belt that matched her large earrings.

"Come on in, you guys! Wow! You look fabulous, Dawn! You too, Halli!"

Halli pulled Kelly down to her head and whispered in her ear, "I want to meet Anastasia! Is she here?"

Kelly laughed and took her by the hand. She led us all into her large living room and presented Halli to Stasia.

"Stase. This is Tamara Shannon. Tamara, this is Anastasia."

"Very pleased to meet you, Tamara. Call me Stasia. OK?"

"OK! You can call me Halli. Kelly does."

The two women shook hands for about a second before Anastasia bent down and hugged my daughter tightly. Still holding her, she looked up at me and said, "God Billy! She's beautiful! Kelly was right. She's a little angel!"

"Stasia. This is my wife Dawn. Dawn, this is Stasia." I said, holding Dawn around her waist.

Stasia stood up and walked over to Dawn. "It's more than a pleasure to meet you, Dawn. You're the reason I'm here in the first place. I couldn't resist finding out for myself what kind of woman Billy would marry."

Halli walked over to her mother and reached out for her hand. We walked over to a massive pit group in the middle of Kelly's living room. I sat down first and Dawn sat down lightly against me with Halli on her lap. Jerry sat down on the opposing sofa with Kelly on one side and Stasia on the other.

"Chris is upstairs in the bathroom. I think he's blowdrying his hair! He'll be down when he's finished preening." Kelly said with a laugh.

"Billy. You guys all look exactly alike! Your whole family! I've never seen anything like it before." Stasia said.

Dawn slipped off her shoes and pulled her legs up onto the sofa. She was reclining on me like a pillow. Halli kept looking at Kelly. Then at Stasia. Then at Kelly. Then back at Stasia. Then she pulled her mother's ear close to her mouth and whispered, "Mommy! She's even more beautiful than Kelly." Dawn pinched her gently in a ticklish place on her side and she started to laugh.

"Can I get anyone something to drink?" Kelly said as she stood up. "Halli. Would you like some lemonade, love?"

"Sure, Kelly!"

"Billy? Dawn?"

"That would be great, Kelly. Thanks!" Dawn said.

"Sure. Me too." I said.

She turned to face Stasia and Jerry.

"Sure." Stasia said. "Thanks."

"Jerry?"

"Sure, Kelly. Thanks."

As Kelly walked off to the kitchen, Halli jumped off Dawn's lap and ran after her. "I'll help you, Kelly!"

"She sure is a friendly little girl." Jerry said.

"She really loves Kelly." I said. "She adopted her as her big sister."

"Stasia. Did you get a chance to go riding today?" Dawn asked.

"For a while at least. Carl and Jerry took me out. Carl tried to drag me down something scary and I refused to do it. That's the last I saw of him. Jerry went with him too. They left me alone so I came back down to find Kelly and Billy. That was my riding for the day."

"Dawn! Carl's engaged to be married!" I said. I had completely forgotten about it.

"Awright! Any idea when?" she asked. She was still leaning up against me and her words didn't have far to travel. I could smell her fragrance. She was wearing the same vanilla fragrance she did on our first ski date.

"He's saying something like next week."

"Good going Carl!" she beamed. "Finally. The end of a saga."

"This is only the beginning. Before, all I ever had to do was listen to his love saga. Now we're both gonna end up listening to baby stories! So it turns out Carl and Jerry know each other."

"Really?" Dawn asked as she looked at Jerry.

"I used to work at the Basin. Years ago. Before I moved back east." Jerry said.

"Was this your first time at the Basin, Stasia?" Dawn asked.

"Yes, Dawn. Day One. But it was so beautiful today! I'm going back tomorrow and spend all day there. Kelly said she'll take me out and show me a good time."

"You should have seen her this morning!" Jerry said turning to Stasia. "She built a jump with a snowcat and spent an hour doing impossible looking aerials. She had her own gallery by the time she was finished."

"Hey you guys! Hey Billy! Dawn!" Chris walked into the living room.

"Chris. This is my buddy Jerry from back east. Jerry, this is Chris."

"Hey Jerry. Good to meet you."

"Likewise. Thanks for sharing your home with us." Jerry said.

"Anytime, mate."

"And I'm assuming you've met Stasia." I said.

"Hi Stase. Is Kelly treating you right?" he asked with a smile.

"Wonderfully. Both you guys are. Thanks!" she said.

"So I heard Kelly rearranged some snow this morning. How did she look, Billy?"

"Better than ever, Chris. I mean that. She looked even better than I do!"

"In your dreams, mate!"

"Well she did! Ask Jerry. He was there."

"She ripped, man. I've never seen a boarder rip like that."

"So she's ready for Vail?" Chris asked.

"She was ready two months ago. I just hope Vail is ready for her."

"Vail's ready, man. I was there yesterday. They've got the biggest halfpipe I've ever seen. I tried riding it and could barely get up to the lip. It's huge!" Chris said.

"Has Kelly been there yet?" I asked.

"It's supposed to be closed. I was there because the groomer needed help shaping the pipe and he called me up. If Kelly had shown up there, she could have been disqualified."

"Oh. Well then."

"But me and Kelly are taking your girlfriend riding tomorrow. Jerry, you wanna come along?"

"Stasia? Is that OK? It's not everyday I get to hang out with Kelly Stone."

"Sure Jer. You don't have to ask me."

Kelly came back with a little rolling service and Halli was helping to push it. She dispensed a load of lemonade and started handing it out to her guests. Halli took a glass and walked up to Stasia and stood there quietly offering the refreshment. She had a serious look on her little face.

"For me, sweetheart? Thank you Halli!"

"Look at my necklace, Stasia. Daddy gave it to me tonight. He calls it a wedding necklace." and she held it up for Stasia to have a good look at.

"Wow! That's gorgeous! That's beautiful, Halli! I'll bet you love it, don't you."

"I like the necklace alot. But I love my Daddy."

"Do you have any boyfriends, Halli?"

"I have a friend named Erik. His mommy and my mommy are best friends. We had Erik and his parents over for dinner this week. It was really fun! Then we all went in the hot tub but me and Erik went in the swimming pool."

"Do you like to swim, Halli?"

"Oh yeah!"

"This girl was born to be around water." Jerry said. "Do you ski, Halli?"

"Yes. I'm on a racing team for kids. The season's over though. It was really fun. It was my first year racing. I'm gonna do it again next year!"

"Do you go skiing with your Daddy?" Stasia asked.

"All the time! Me and Erik are going skiing tomorrow. Daddy's taking us. Right, Daddy?"

"That's right, Halli. I'm trying to talk your mommy into coming with us."

"Would you, Mommy? Please?"

"Sure, sweetheart. I'll come skiing with you and Daddy. Call Erik and remind him, OK? You can use Kelly's phone."

"OK!" she said as she ran out of the room to call her friend.

"You were right, Billy." Stasia said. "You and Dawn make wonderful and beautiful little kids together!"

"Stasia. I want to thank you for our peace lillies." Dawn said. "They're lovely and it was a wonderful thought. Thanks."

Stasia started to blush. "Did Billy tell you about them?"

"Billy tells me about everything, Stasia."

"So you know about Billy and me?"

"And about Jerry and you."

"I really didn't know I'd come here and find Jerry and Billy together. I had no idea."

"And?" Dawn asked.

"It's cool. I see you and Billy are as beautiful as any couple I've ever met. And Jerry and I are as yet unfinished business." She reached over and took Jerry's hand. She started playing with it using her other hand. Jerry was looking pretty casual. Comfortable in fact. But he was starting to blush.

Dawn looked at me and winked almost imperceptably.

"Kelly says you and Billy are very special people to her." Stasia offered. "She's lucky to have special people around her."

"Kelly's a very special person too, Stasia."

"Oh stop it you guys!" Kelly said with a smile.

"No! She's right!" Chris piped in. "Kelly's as special as I could ever handle. We've been special to each other since we were both fifteen. Right, love?"

Then Kelly and Chris came together and hugged and kissed each other right in the middle of the room, the way they did it in the hot tub. Breathing for each other, as Halli put it.

Dawn took my head in her two hands and started breathing for me too. I didn't care where we were or who was watching. I took her tightly and gave her a deep and passionate kiss. Then I pulled away from her lips and looked into her eyes for a few seconds.

Then I turned to Jerry and Stasia. They were looking at each other and talking in hushed tones. But I interrupted anyway. "So Jerry. This is what it's like to sit in a roomful of newlyweds. Sorry." and I went back to kissing my wife. Then I looked up a moment later and saw Jerry and Stasia going to town. Even more passionately than Chris and Kelly. I motioned to Dawn to have a look.

Then Kelly disengaged herself from Chris enough to come over and sit next to Dawn. With Chris still attached. "Dawn. I've got a surprise for you. A present."

"No surprises, Kelly! Please!"

"No Dawn! This one's OK. It would even pass the Halli acceptability test. Peter helped me with it. Even Billy helped me with it. Right Billy?"

"Dawn, Kelly's re-edited your video. Except there's no skin. It's a snowboarding and skiing video. A Kelly Stone Production. You're a skier in an action flick. Your name isn't even in the credits. As a matter of fact, there aren't any credits. There's not even a title. Just high quality home video. It really rocks, too. You were right."

"Oh! Well that makes me feel better." she said sarcasticly.

"No Dawn! It's a tribute piece." Kelly said. "There's only one copy and it's for you. You spent all that time and money trying to make me a star and I hated to see all that good footage go to waste. It's yours. You can destroy it if you want to. But you need to see it first. You really need to see this, Dawn."

"OK. Pop it in. I'm all eyes."

So with Jerry and Stasia relatively engaged with each other beyond the surrounding activities, me and Dawn and Chris and Kelly watched about thirty five minutes of our present to Dawn. Somewhere in the middle of the film, Halli came back into the room and sat down in front of the television screen. She sat quietly and didn't say anything until it was over. Then she was the first one to talk.

"Mommy! That's the first adult video you've ever let me watch. Gosh you're beautiful on TV. Even prettier than Amanda!"

"That's what we call a home video, Halli." Chris said. "Friends and family make home videos to remember the good times. Just like the one I made of our weddings. Wanna see that one next?"

"Good God Chris! We've got guests! You can't show wedding videos and expect guests to sit through them. It's inhumane!" Kelly said.

"OK love. Just asking." Chris offered.

"So Kelly." Dawn said. "What would you do with that footage if I simply gave it back to you and said do what you want to? I'm just curious."

"Seriously? Like if I could do anything?"

"Anything. Just fantasize because I haven't given it to you."

"Dawn. I'd add one more woman. Another snowboarder. A world class femme. We'd all get equal billing and I'd call it Women of the New Millennium. I'd shoot jumps that would make men's jaws drop where they stand. I wouldn't even ride like a woman. I'd ride like a snowboard champion. I'd have shots of the halfpipe competition in Vail. I'd make a sports video. I don't need skin. Really."

"Really? Women of the New Millennium? A snowboarding and ski video?"

"That's what I always wanted. The skin scene was an interesting angle but it's your own scene. I can afford to do without it. The sport of snowboarding itself can do without it. We can stand on our own merits. I mean, I can go back and make another thirty five minutes of Kelly Stone and the world never has to see Cassandra Hallidey again. It's just that you look even better than I do up there! You're still the queen. Don't ever think I don't know that. And you ski better than I snowboard. It's just that simple."

"So you need a third woman. A world class looker. Interesting. Like maybe somebody else Billy might have trained? Not tweaked. I mean, really trained?"

"You're the queen, Dawn. Now I need a princess. A princess that Billy's trained to ride like a woman. And that's all she needs to do. I don't need another world class rider. I needn't upstage myself in my own production!"

"You're asking for a very specific princess. You haven't asked her yet, have you."

"Of course not! You haven't said I could use your footage." Kelly said. "I'm learning not to jump the gun with you. And Peter forbade me to say word one to anybody until I talked with you about it. He's so scared of you he won't breathe if you tell him not to."

"You know." I said. "There's no real connection between your using Dawn's footage and your using this particular princess. If Dawn burns her tape tonight, you still have a princess to recruit. So what's this have to do with us?"

"I need you guys. Both of you. Between the two of you, she could be a trained assassin if you guys wanted. All I need is a drop-dead gorgeous snowboarder who knows how to ride like Billy keeps talking about. And she's already trained. You taught her already."

"Look Kelly. You don't know this woman like I do. You can't make decisions for her like you can Halli. She's your world class femme alright. But she's her own woman. Totally and completely her own. You'll never make her do anything she doesn't want to do. I can't be making decisions based on her will. And neither can you. So this whole discussion is completely meaningless until you talk to her about it. And if you think I'm going to help you sway her will, I'm telling you right now you're wasting your time."

"OK. So let's ask her." Kelly said simply.

"Hold up one second there." I said. Then I turned to Dawn. "I can warm up the car. Just say when."

"No Billy. This isn't the same scene I'm scared of. We can sit and hear Kelly out."

"Stasia? Can you come over here a second?" I asked.

"Sure. Be right there." She disengaged herself from Jerry and sat down next to Dawn and me. "What's up?"

"Dr. Anastasia." I said. "Kelly needs a rider for a video. Not a Women of the Resurrection thing. She just needs a Shannon trained world class femme and she wants you to be in her snowboarding video. Any thoughts?"

"You want me to be in a Kelly Stone video?! Why?"

"Look Stase." Kelly said. "You're more gorgeous than Dawn and I put together. There aren't five women in the world I would say that about. And you ride. Dawn and Billy could teach you to ride the way you look. But they don't have to because Billy already has. You spend a day riding in front of a camera and that's the end of it. Then you go about the rest of your life and an occasional snowboarder might think he recognizes you."

"Oh no it's not." Dawn said. "That's never the end of it. You're in Kelly Stone's first video with Cassandra Hallidey and the Women of the New Millennium. If you're not into the fame scene, then you don't need to bother with this. Sorry Kelly. I have to speak up here. Neither of you has the first idea about the end of it."

"So let me get this straight." Stasia said. "Kelly's offering me fifteen minutes of fame. And Dawn's telling me there's no such thing. So one of you is wrong. Billy?"

"Believe it or not, they're both right. It is possible to garner your fifteen minutes of fame. But not here. Not with these women. It'll last more than fifteen minutes. Kelly understates the issue. And Dawn is interested in protecting her family and her choices. So for her there's no such thing as overstating her case. But it comes down to a matter of lifestyle. If you don't need to walk down the hall in a hospital and have people recognize you for the world class femme you don't need to be, then Dawn's right. Otherwise, you'll live with the choices you make for as long as people remember you. It could be you on that magazine cover. And they spread it all over the hospital. You saw it yourself. So let me make this simple. Wanna be famous or not?"

"Dawn? Is Billy telling it like it is?" Stasia asked.

"He's not overstating the case, if that's what you're asking."

"Can I think about this some? I mean, are you looking for an answer right now or what?"

"Think about things, Stase. If you want to ride in my video, let me know. Otherwise, don't hassle it. I'm not pushing you to do anything. I just thought you might get off on it." Kelly said. "But Stase. My producer's coming over here later and I'd like to take some pictures of you. Would you mind? You can have every last photograph back if you want. We have a darkroom here in the house and you can see yourself on film."

"Producer?"

"His name is Peter. He's a friend of Dawn and Billy's. He won't bite. He's a local. He specializes in ski photography. He shoots most of my photos and he's making me rich."

"Kelly. Dawn and Billy are right. You're understating your case and you know it." Stasia said quickly. "You're offering me instant fame and riches. Why?"

"Why?" Chris answered just as quickly. "Because every part of you screams out I'm a Woman of the New Millennium!"

All of us looked up at Chris. Like he had the floor. "You're so millennial you've got men writhing in the aisles! It's not your beauty, love. It's you! Something about you hangs men out to dry. You're the perfect balance to the Dawn and Kelly Show! Kelly knew it the first second she saw you. I'm sure of it!"

"Hangs men out to dry? Something about me hangs men out to dry?!" She looked over at Jerry but he and Halli were playing a game of checkers. They were both oblivious to anything we were saying.

"Don't be coy with us, Lassie." Kelly said. "You're a maneater. Who the hell do you think you're sitting here with?!"

"What?" Stasia managed.

"Look around you. That's Cassandra Hallidey and I'm Kelly Stone. You're every bit a player in our league so don't act coy around us. Just don't."

"Just what in the hell are you people talking about?!"

"The last two men you managed to fuck up are sitting here in the same room with you." Kelly said. "Right now. But they both care about you. Believe it or not, they're probably the best friends you'll ever have. Chris is absolutely right."

"I am?"

Kelly managed to retract her elbow just enough to crack him squarely in the ribcage.

"Kelly." Dawn said. "Being millennial doesn't mean parading yourself around the stage for increasingly public consumption. That's nonsense. Even Amanda doesn't think that way."

"That's not what Chris is saying! Chris is saying that some women just turn it on and it never goes off again. That's what Stasia does. That's what fucks men up."

"I turn what on? What never goes off again?"

"God she's a natural!" Chris said in awe.

"Billy!" Stasia implored. "What in the world are they talking about?"

"Your innate charisma, if you will. Chris and Kelly believe you have an intrinsic quality that makes you marketably millennial. Dawn is learning to dissociate hers from fame and fortune. But Chris and Kelly are exploring your dark side. You know... your secret desires. If you're murky enough, then you can afford to be a big star. If not, then we just sit here and watch you spontaneously combust. Unless you walk away."

"Frankly dear, you can afford to sit this one out." Dawn said gently.

"Dawn's right, Stasia." I said. "And Kelly won't mind having a doctor friend she can rely on. Me neither. Besides. Kelly's not asking you to develop your dark side. She's just interested in finding out how much of it you've already got. Right Kelly?"

"Stasia. Everybody in this room loves each other. But we all know each other. We're not strangers. We're just hanging out."

Jerry came over to our little group and sat down beside Anastasia.

"She beat me. Five games in a row. That little girl sure knows her checkers!"

"But she always lets her Daddy win, Jerry." Dawn said with a smile.

I looked up at Halli and found she was engrossed in Dawn's video. She had rewound the tape and started looking at it again. Dawn saw it too.

"No Kelly. You can't have my video. I want to keep it for myself. And Billy and Halli."

"No problem, Dawn. Really. And I'm serious. It's the only copy. You'll never see yourself by surprise. I promise. So that's the end of it. Meanwhile, I've got a ton of pizza! Let's go in the dining room and chow down!"

We all went into the dining room and sat down to the spread Kelly had prepared. Kelly and Halli went into the kitchen and started bringing out pizzas two at a time. There were six large ones of different varieties. Kelly brought out some wines and sat them on the table. They were chilled and tasty.

Anastasia sat beside Jerry and Halli. She didn't look any worse the wear for the little headtrip we'd been doing on her, but she wasn't as bright and bubbly as she could have been. It did have the effect however, of driving her closer to Jerry. At one point Jerry excused himself to find the bathroom and I volunteered to show him where he needed to go. So we both left the table together.

"Wow man! What did you tell her?" I asked. "She lit up like a Christmas tree on you!"

"Man! You were right! I told her I don't want a relationship. I'm here on vacation and I'm not committing to even a single date with her. I told her I was into a fling and that's all she needed to hear! She was all over me!"

"Well?"

"That's fucked up, man. That's too fucked up. You were absolutely right. Turns out you know your women."

"Are you still in toxicosis?"

"Strangely enough, I can't tell. I thought I was. But maybe being around the real her is wearing it off or something. Maybe its the altitude."

"No man. It's not the altitude. If it were, I wouldn't have gone into therapy. Anyway, here's the bathroom. See you back at the table."

I returned to the dining room and scored myself another slice of pizza.

"Thanks for having us to dinner, Kelly." I said.

"Anytime you guys. I mean it." she said happily.

As I ate, I could feel Dawn's hand resting very gently across my thigh. I looked up and winked at her discretely. She waited a second and when she thought nobody was looking at her, she ran her tongue around her lips seductively and winked back. We played at this for a matter of minutes until Kelly completely nailed us at it.

"Come on you guys! If you keep acting like newlyweds you're gonna get me and Chris all worked up again!"

"Are Mommy and Daddy being compelling again?" Halli asked. "Try being more placid, you guys!"

Stasia looked like she was gonna bust a gut. "How old are you?!"

"I'm seven. And a half."

"Where did you and Dawn meet each other, Billy?" Stasia asked.

"It was in Florida. I was a dancer and Billy was a dancee." Dawn said.

"Oh really." Stasia replied flatly.

"Actually, Billy's roommate Frank was dating one of women I worked with. Billy used to come in with Frank while he waited for his girlfriend to get off work. That's when Billy and I started hanging out together."

"Oh." she replied again. "Did you guys start dating?"

"Circumstancially." I tossed in. "It's kind of a long story."

"But circumstancially was enough to get Halli started?" Stasia asked.

"Well she's sitting here, isn't she?" I said with a smile.

"I suppose so." Stasia said.

"Stasia. Billy didn't know about Halli until pretty recently. I never told him. So that's why he never told you. Or anybody else."

"So then you guys got back in the swing of things?" Stasia asked.

"How can you tell? Am I showing already?" Dawn stood up and turned sideways. "Am I showing already?!"

"No Dawn. You're beaming though." Kelly said.

"Mommy's sending out happy rays! She does it all the time now!" Halli said.

"You mean I don't turn it off, Halli?"

"Not since you got together with Daddy!"

"You know, Stase. You gotta see the three of them together in their hot tub. It's like looking at a three-headed mermaid! They bunch up together and hang out until their skin starts to wrinkle up. It's adorable!" Kelly said.

"She's right." Jerry said, returning to the table. "I was in there with them this afternoon. Halli used Billy's head for a diving board. And me for a landing zone. Good thing she's light!"

"So how did Billy find out about Halli?"

"I told him." Halli said instantly. "Mommy said I could tell him. So I did!"

"Cool!" Jerry said.

"Are you going to be a mommy, Stasia?" Halli asked. "And have a princess of your own?"

"I don't know, sweetheart. I gotta find a man first."

"Wow! That's kinda like what Carl said the first time I met him. Isn't it, Daddy!"

"Well actually, Halli, you asked Carl if he'd met the woman he would marry. And he said he didn't know yet. Turns out he had. They're getting married, Halli. Carl's going to be a husband and a daddy. All at the same time!" I said.

"Just like you, Daddy!"

"Pretty much, sweetheart."

"Stasia! Do you love Jerry?"

"Why yes, Halli. I do. Some of the time"

"Are you guys gonna get married too?"

"No sweetheart. We're just practicing. For when we grow up. I'm not getting married yet."

"Really? Why not?"

"Because I'm still in school. I need to finish school first. Just like you do." she said.

"Oooh! But you're like, grown up and stuff! Am I gonna have to be in school when I'm all grown up? Am I, Daddy?"

"You will if you want to be a doctor like Stasia."

"Or Amanda?" Halli asked.

"Yes. Amanda spent years in school. Long after she grew up." I said.

"But didn't Amanda get married and have you, Daddy?"

"Well yes. In fact she did. But she quit school to do that. Then she went back and became Dr. Amanda." I answered.

"Kelly. Can I have some more pizza?"

"Sure Halli! Help yourself."

"Thanks!" she said and began her second round of devourment.

After we finished dinner, I excused Halli and Dawn and myself since we needed to get Halli to bed. It wasn't particularly late, but we were going skiing as a family tomorrow and all of us had already done a full day of the things that we do.

Halli said goodnight to Kelly and Chris, and went politely up to Anastasia. She hugged her and told her goodnight. But she really lit up on Jerry. She hugged and kissed him and told him that she loved him. Everybody told everybody else goodnight and then we left. Jerry stayed behind with Stasia at Kelly's place. Halli and I walked with Dawn to get the car.

"Well that wasn't quite the Kelly scene I could have envisioned. I guess I'm just getting overly apprehensive these days." Dawn said as she walked with me hand in hand.

"Yeah! That was placid, Mommy. Just like you guys!"

"Halli's right. That was placid enough for me." I said.

"So do you think your girlfriend got what she came for?" Dawn asked.

"She's getting a whole lot more than she planned on. She didn't know Jerry was out here with me. She didn't expect to be staying at Kelly Stone's house. And she didn't expect to be offered instant riches and fame. I don't know about the thing with Jerry, though. That's kind of a surprise. I would have expected the two of them to be floundering around each other instead of the way they were acting."

"Yeah! That struck me as kind of flaky." Dawn said.

"Well, it turns out there's more to the story. I had told Jerry that he should try a new approach. Like spring fling mode. So he gives it a shot and the next thing you know... well, you saw what happened. Either that or she was putting on a show for our benefit."

"Our benefit?"

"You know. To save face. Avoid playing the fool. Whatever." I said. "But I really think she's in fling mode. She's been that way for as long as I've known her. I just never figured it out until Jerry and I started comparing notes."

"But you told me she's been married before. Right?"

"Right. It was a disaster. There's more. I'll tell you later."

We all piled into the car and headed home.

In the quiet of late evening, with Dawn in my arms and Halli sound asleep for the night, my wife and I had a chance at more candidly adult conversation.

"So she's the one who drives men into therapy, huh."

"Her ex-husband killed himself over her. Less than two weeks ago. So she doesn't drive all of her men into therapy. Just the ones who survive."

"But Kelly was right, Billy. She's one of the most gorgeous women I've ever seen. Is she as beautiful inside?"

"Not really. I think she's pretty hollow inside. But her golden traits are feminine independence and strength of will. As far as being a major source of happy rays, well, she's just not there yet. She's plenty intelligent. But not particularly warm. And she isn't really that much fun to be around once you get hooked. She gets deprecating and sarcastic. But only just enough to satiate her need to be that way. She's not overbearing about it until she goes off on a rampage about something. And she's fairly volatile. On the whole, I feel like I'm describing an unhappy child."

"Then what was it about her that attracted you?"

"Her independence and sense of self. It wasn't the beauty thing or I'd have been attracted to her when I first met her. And I really wasn't. It was a year later that things started cooking. And when it started to happen, I wasn't even in pursuit mode. She came onto me. And after that I was hopeless."

"Was it the same with Jerry?"

"The exact same. Jerry and I went over our respective experiences and damned if they weren't identical. But Jerry's right back in the deep fryer. I never took it that far. I cut my losses the first time she burned me. I never intended on giving her a second chance at me."

"But you and Jerry seem to want the same things out of a relationship. Why would she be attracted to men who want deep relationships if all she wants is a spring fling?"

"Good question. Maybe you should ask her. I mean, one of the deep paradoxes of men and women is the whole issue of The Nice Guy. Women want to marry the nice guys but they can't stand dating them. The guys who get all the women are the bad boys. Women go apeshit over their angry young men. That's why I've refused to get involved with women I wasn't already in a friendly relationship with. Then I get to act like a nice guy and everybody wins."

"Really? You never did the hot and steamy passion scene on first contact?"

"Not as an adult. That's not how I relate to the people I'm interested in."

"Not even for the sex? Even if you know it's good sex?"

"Good sex is part of shared intimacy. I can't be intimate on first contact. I don't think anybody can. But Jerry's in a position to be intimate. He and Stasia know each other well enough to have more than a fling. I applaud his sense of optimism."

"But what if she were still in love with you. What if she only came to recognize it later?"

"Then she fucked up. Shit happens."

"You think she'd take that for an answer?"

"I sure do. And she did."

"Really!"

"That's the way things work in an adult world. You told me you married an adult. Well I'm telling you you're right. Fortunately for me, I managed to marry one too. You're probably way more adult than I am. But I'm catching up quickly enough to raise my children and be a reliable partner."

"Yes. You are. Being an adult has some distinct advantages. It has some problems too. It means taking responsibility for things that scare away children. So maybe she's scared." she said.

"You can be scared as an adult. We've had this discussion before."

"Does anything scare you now, Billy?"

"Losing you or Halli scares me. Those are the most frightening things I could possibly think of." I said.

"Much agreed, my love. That frightens me too."

We held each other tightly and enjoyed our togetherness in silence and stillness. Until we slept.

All of us awoke early and got ready for a day of family-style skiing. Steffi dropped Erik off and he and Halli fixed their own breakfasts while Dawn and I were getting our stuff together. Then we headed down to the shuttle bus and rode up to the Basin.

Erik and Halli raced each other all morning while Dawn and I tried to keep up without hurting ourselves. Dawn claimed that she was starting to feel subtle losses in mobility. But honestly, she was only a few months pregnant and I think she was just trying to make me feel better.

We found Kelly and Chris and Stasia and Jerry. And Peter. Peter was taking stills but he had a friend of his along. His friend was operating a fairly large video camera and shooting footage of Stasia. Her quality and style of riding was very different from a top competitor like Kelly's. In fact, she reminded me of what I figured Dawn would look like after a couple of seasons on a board.

They were all busy doing their stuff when Jerry came up to Dawn and me.

"Hey guys!" he said.

"Hi Jerry!" Dawn said with fascination. "How'd it go last night? With Stasia."

"Well, Peter shows up with a coupla professional skiers in tow and they pretty much partied with Kelly and Chris all night. Me and Stasia hung out for awhile and then we went on the back porch and spent all night talking and looking at the stars."

"All right Jerry!" Dawn said with satisfaction.

"The woman's still in fling mode?" she said with a giggle.

"She's not. But I am. I won't have it any other way with her. At least not yet." he said. "She's acting the same way she did the first couple of times we were ever together. I'm not screwing it up this time."

"By acting honest." I interjected.

"Huh?" he asked.

"You're not screwing it up this time by acting honest." I repeated.

"Why, no. I'm not screwing it up this time by acting honest." he parroted in agreement.

"How did she take to a Kelly and Peter party scene?" Dawn asked.

"It was a little intense. Some of Peter's girlfriends showed up and everybody started doing coke and acting like beautiful people. I'm not sure she was really into it." he told her. "There was alot of dancing and taking pictures and hanging out with Kelly Stone."

"Did Peter manage to take any photos of Stasia?" Dawn asked.

"No! She was absolutely not into it. She was more than camera-shy. She was practically combative... adamant about not having her picture taken."

"So what's she doing out here with a videographer?" Dawn asked.

"It's a favor to Kelly." he said. "She agreed to let Kelly have some samples of how she rides. Kelly's fascinated with her. With everything about her. It's spooky."

"Really!" Dawn said. "And that's all there is to it? Sample video?"

"We talked about this alot last night." Jerry said. "She remembers every word you and Billy told her. I don't understand one word of it and I suspect she doesn't either. But she remembered what you guys told her about Kelly's offer. And we talked about it."

"And?" I asked.

"She's scared, Billy." he said.

"Scared? Of what? Of Kelly?" I asked.

"Actually, she's scared of you guys. She couldn't believe you and Dawn could sit there for ten minutes and talk about things she can't comprehend. About fame. She was totally confused about whatever you guys talked about. And I think it's the not knowing. For her, not knowing about something draws her in like ..."

"A moth to a flame." I quickly injected.

"Like a moth to a flame." he said, rolling it around in his mouth like he was tasting a new offering for the first time out of the vineyard.

"So what do you think, Jerry?" I asked. "Is Kelly going to make Stasia a star?"

"Billy. She hates everything about herself. She hates her life. She hates what she does to men. She told me all of this last night."

"But I'm asking you what you think, Jerry. Is Kelly going to make Stasia a star?" I repeated.

"Good lord, man! I'm clueless about this shit! I really am. I wouldn't know stardom if I were standing on the stage of the Academy Awards! It's just too weird for me. I don't get a good feeling about any of it though. It's just not my thing."

"You're a wise man, Jerry." Dawn said. "So are you still looking for a relationship with her? Beyond a fling?"

"I'm still in love with her if that's what you're asking." Jerry answered.

"And?" Dawn and I both asked in unison.

"Jesus! You guys are starting to act like each other!" he observed.

"Then listen to us both." I said as Dawn looked at me intently. "There's magic in the second time around. There really is, Jerry. It's..."

"Beyond words." Dawn helped.

Stasia came over to Jerry and pushed him over in the snow. Then she jumped on top of him and started tickling. Dawn and I just stared at each other and at the two of them. That was about all the encouragement she needed. Dawn pushed me over and started tickling me around my stomach. Kelly came over and saw two adult couples rolling around in the snow tickling their partners. Then Chris came over. He nailed Kelly too and the three couples rolled around in the snow looking for all the world like frolicking marmots in early spring.

Erik and Halli cruised up to the group.

"Halli? What are your parents and their friends doing?!" he asked her.

"They're making a movie! At least I hope that's what they're doing." she answered. "They really look silly. Except for Kelly. She looks like she's gonna start doing that breathing thing with Chris again. They do it all the time."

"That breathing thing?" he asked. "What's that?!"

"Oh! That's where they put their mouths on each other's faces and start breathing for each other. It's really weird! Like Jerry and Stasia are doing! Look Erik! They're doing it right now!"

"Weird!" he said.

"Totally!" she agreed. "Let's get out of here before they all start doing it!" Then they headed away and down the hill together.

"Did we just embarrass our daughter in front of her boyfriend?" I asked Dawn.

"Let's go see!" And she pulled herself together enough to get up and give me a hand. Then we put on our skis and raced each other to try and catch the embarrassed little couple.

We caught up with them down in the lift line.

"Hi Daddy!" she beamed at me as I skied up to her.

"Hey you guys! How's the skiing?"

"Great!" said Erik. "We've been racing each other all morning!"

"Who's faster, Erik?" Dawn asked.

"Oh, we're about the same, Mommy." Halli said.

"Is that true, Erik? Are you as fast as Halli?" she asked.

"No way, Dawn. She's the fastest girl I know!"

"I wanna be the fastest girl in the world!" she said. "Even faster than Kelly!"

"That's the girl who does that breathing thing." Erik said authoritatively.

"That breathing thing?" Dawn asked.

"Like those other two were doing in the snow!" he said.

"Were you guys making a movie?!" Halli asked excitedly.

"Well Billy? You're the Daddy. Think of something!" Dawn whispered to me.

"Erik. Let's you and me ride up on the lift together. OK?"

"OK! And Halli and Dawn can ride up together behind us?"

"Sure! Let's go, son."

So Erik and I got on a lift chair together.

"Say, Erik. You wanna know how to ski faster than Halli?" I asked. I really hoped I could divert his little mind long enough for us all to forget about that breathing thing.

"Don't worry, Billy. I can smoke her. I really can. I just don't bother anymore because it makes her mad and I don't want to see her that way."

"Cool! How do you do it?" I asked.

"I just point my skis straight down the hill and I tuck it. But Halli likes to make turns and show off, so she never catches up. You know?"

"Sure I do. Can you make turns and still go fast?"

"Uh huh. I do it like this." And he showed me the best he could sitting down how to tuck and rail his skis like a little racer imitating his coach.

"Neat! Do you think you could beat me doing that?"

"Oh, probably. Wanna find out? Just us guys?" he asked.

"OK. But Dawn can smoke the two of us. She used to be an Olympic racer." I said.

"That's OK. I'll let her win, too."

"You would? Why?"

"Because she's Halli's mom! I don't need to beat her. Just like I don't need to beat Halli!"

"But you'd be willing to beat me?"

"Oh sure! You're a guy!"

"So Erik. Has your coach taught you a racing skate?"

"Racing skate? What's that, Billy?"

"It's when you ride your inside ski and start pushing with your outside ski until you go so fast you can't lift it off the snow to skate with."

"And that's called a racing skate?"

"Yep. It's a cool feeling. We can try some if you want."

"So how's that work? You lift up your outside ski and start skating with it?"

"For as long as you can. Then you just leave it on the ground and ride both your skis into the next turn."

"Cool! I see the older kids doing it all the time but I never knew what they were doing! A racing skate!"

We got off the lift and I showed Erik a racing skate in a large circle on a piece of flat slope. He did it too. As a matter of fact, he did it too well.

"So you already know how to do that, huh?"

"Pretty much. It's an outside step-turn. Right?"

"Pretty much. Wanna race?"

"Should I like, try and beat you?"

"Just go as fast as you can. Ready when you are."

We both raced down the slope doing the same kind of turns. He was fast alright. Really fast. I caught up to him and we both stopped.

"So you're saying that Halli's faster than you are except when you try to win?"

"Uh huh."

"You're pretty fast. Do you usually win?"

"Uh huh."

"Do you like to win?"

"Oh, I don't care. Every time I win, somebody else loses. It's sad that it has to be that way. But Halli likes to win. It's like she needs to win."

"But you don't. Is that what you're saying?"

"That's right. I don't really care. Do you care about winning?"

"Not really. I just like to get down the hill in one piece."

"Does it scare you? Are you scared to go fast?" he asked.

"Sometimes. Does it scare you, Erik?"

"It's a different feeling than being scared. It's like being on a rollercoaster. A really fast one. Have you ever been on the one in Denver?"

"No I haven't. Is it scary?"

"It's neat!"

Dawn and Halli came up to us.

"Thanks for waiting, you guys!" Dawn said.

"Me and Billy were racing!" Erik said. "He was showing me racing skates!"

"Hey Erik! Why don't you show Halli, OK?" I said.

"OK. Halli! Wanna race?" And they were off again.

"So did you manage to divert him long enough to forget about that breathing thing?"

"Of course. But it would have been harder with Halli. He's a really cool kid. I like him."

"I do too. I'm glad he's Halli's friend. She's developing a penchant for picking the cool ones."

"Well, she's always had a penchant for copying her mommy." I said with a smile. "So you ready to race?"

"Don't make me hurt you." she said. So I gave myself a healthy head start.

Dawn and I got down to the bottom and met up with Erik and Halli.

"So who won?" I asked.

"We both did!" Erik said. "We came down side by side. Isn't that right, Halli?"

"We were dancing, Daddy! First I would turn and then Erik would turn and then I would turn and then Erik would turn. We did that all the way down the mountain. It was cool!"

"Let's go do it again, Halli!" Erik said.

"OK! Let's ride up the lift together."

Then Halli and Erik rode on one chair and Dawn and I rode on the next one.

"So they're into dancing instead of racing." Dawn said. "That's interesting. Do you think they're maybe about ten years ahead of themselves?"

"I don't know. Neither one of them seemed to be very interested in that breathing thing." I said jokingly.

"Give them time. It's probably better that they learn how to ski first." she said. "So what do you think Kelly's really up to, Billy?"

"I wouldn't know. And to tell you the truth, I really don't care. As long as it doesn't affect me or my family, she can go to town on whoever the hell she wants to."

"But what would you like to see happen with Stasia? Any preferences?" Dawn asked.

"My preference would be to see her and Jerry live happily ever after. I mean, I don't harbor any ill-will toward her anymore. But honestly. I don't really care. Why? Do you?"

"Well, she is a nice enough person. As long as you're not dating her."

"As long as I'm not dating her? Or as long as anybody's not dating her?"

"Well you can forget about you, lover. That's not going to happen. Not while I'm around."

"It's not going to happen, period."

"I wonder if she really knows that." Dawn said.

"There's no telling what she knows. But that's the second time in as many days you've brought it up. Is she making you uneasy? You can tell me the truth. It won't chase me off the chairlift."

"Billy. I think she'd make anybody uneasy. She's making you uneasy and she's making me uneasy. I'm being honest here. Both of us are uneasy. Are we not?"

"Dawn. You and I have a pretty good thing between us. The best thing I've ever had. She's not capable of fucking it up. There's no chance. We can fuck it up ourselves. But nobody else. Nobody else can do that. Would you agree?"

"When times are good, I would agree. But when times are bad, who knows what could happen?" she said.

"Then maybe we need to be ready for the bad times. Is that what you're saying?"

"I don't know. Maybe."

"So what's your idea of the bad times? Are we together or apart?"

"Maybe when we don't get along so well. Maybe we'll fight and rip each other apart. Maybe you'll get tired of me. Maybe you'll get tired of seeing me get bigger and bigger as I sit around the house waiting for another mouth to feed. It happens. Is that when Stasia starts looking better to you?"

"Dawn. You're gonna be at the very core of my existence even if you're getting bigger and bigger and there's no little cakes in the oven. And I'll be getting floppy and old and maybe I'll start losing my hair. I mean, it works both ways, you know. So if I start getting old and senile, maybe Stasia will start looking better to you!" I said with a smile.

"You mean start fighting Kelly for her?" she smiled back.

"I wouldn't know why you'd have to!" I shot back. "If Stasia starts looking good to you, then Kelly and Stasia together would probably look twice as good. Wouldn't you think?"

"Billy, that's really weird! I mean, the whole scene is weird! Here you've got a history with Stasia and I've got a history with Kelly!"

"But I was never uneasy with you and Kelly. Let's just come right out and say it. I was never jealous of Kelly. You could be doing two videos a week with Kelly and practicing the rest of the time just to stay sharp, and I wouldn't be jealous of Kelly. That's not to say that I wouldn't be jealous of you though."

"You're jealous of me!" she said as she started tickling me viciously. "Say it! You're jealous of me because I got to do Kelly Stone! Say it!" and she started laughing as she tickled harder.

"Cool it woman! You knock me off this chairlift and we'll see who's sorry." and I started to tickle back.

So we stopped tickling each other as we stared down about twenty five feet to the ground. The height encouraged us to behave ourselves.

"So we're both jealous of beautiful women." I said with a laugh. "At least we have good taste. But I daresay you've made better choices."

"Maybe I know the subject a little better." Dawn said. "But I'm still back where I started. I keep wondering what Kelly has planned for Stasia."

"Stasia's not Halli. The only person whose plans count for anything is Stasia. But Jerry says she's listless. You heard him yourself. I believe his words were she hates her life and what she does to men. She's a planner, Dawn. All she's ever done in life is plan. It's what she's best at. That's how people become doctors."

"And Kelly's the exact opposite. She hasn't planned anything." she said.

"Yet Kelly's happy and Stasia's miserable. Some people can live for the process. They learn to trust it. Life takes them for a ride and they go with the flow. Kelly and I have talked about these special processes. She trusts them the same way I do. Stasia still thinks that the forces of life are out to get her."

"Yeah. Kelly's as optimistic as you are, but she's not as evangelical about it." she said.

"So maybe she should be. Maybe she'll get her chance with Stasia." I replied.

"Perhaps. I still wonder what it is Kelly's thinking. Maybe we could have a chat with her. The three of us have never really sat down and talked. I've talked with her. And you've talked with her. But whenever the two of us have talked with her, there was always somebody else around. Let's just do us three and see what happens."

"And you're doing this because you're concerned about Stasia?" I asked.

"No. I'm concerned about Kelly. You've said as much yourself on occasion."

"Oh! I know what you're getting at! You're concerned that Kelly is becoming another Cassandra Hallidey and you wanna know what she thinks she's turning into!" I said.

"In so many words. Yes." Dawn said.

"I've seen it. I know what you're saying. Kelly's been into your oven scene since the first day you guys met. What did you tell her that first day, Dawn?"

"Oh, woman stuff. You gotta admit it worked, huh?"

"I'm wondering if it wasn't the same woman stuff she turned right around and told Halli. I'm wondering if it isn't the same woman stuff she's going to lay on Stasia. Is it that compelling, this woman stuff?"

"It is in the hands of the right woman. It's meaningless to all the other women." she said.

"So Kelly's practicing the art of choosing the right women. That's her attempt at becoming Cassandra Hallidey." I replied.

"Oh Billy. It sounds so dramatic when you say it like that. She's going through your basic apprenticeship in fame. It's all part of the oven."

"You say it's meaningless in the hands of the... terminally unfamous. So what happens if the wrong woman ends up in the oven with her? Do they simply broil to a crisp?"

"It's more dangerous than that. Even the right woman can end up crispy. It happens all the time. Nobody knows how they'll handle fame. The only way to find out is to find out."

"So what made you think Stasia was better off sitting it out? Is she your idea of the wrong woman for the oven?" I asked.

"No question about it. It takes more than good looks. It takes a burning desire. That's why the oven isn't so uncomfortable to the people who burn for it from the inside. Stasia doesn't know from shit about the burning desires of the right people. Kelly had it to begin with. And Kelly's flames just burn brighter every time she sees a camera."

"Oh! I'm starting to connect the dots here. Your own flame burned out and you knew the oven would toast you if you weren't... equalized from within."

"Exactly! Well said Billy Shannon!" she said as she reached over to kiss me. "So let's go skiing with our daughter and her boyfriend!"

We slipped off the chair and down the ramp. Halli and Erik were waiting for us when we got there.

"Mommy! Would you dance with us down the hill? It's really cool!"

"Alright Halli! Is everybody ready?" she asked.

"Let's dance!" I said.

Then we all went down the hill two abreast in synchronized turns. Erik and Halli were side by side and Dawn and I were behind them. We held our box formation all the way to the bottom of the hill. Halli was right. It was fun!

"That ripped, you guys!" I said almost out of breath.

"We all got here at exactly the same time!" Erik said.

"Hey! That's more fun than beating you." Halli said to Erik.

"Yeah! It's more fun than letting you win, too." he said with a smile.

"As if!" she yelled as she kicked off her skis and jumped on him. She wrestled him to the ground and started tickling him. They were both laughing hard as they rolled around in the snow.

"Hey you guys!" Dawn said. "Get up and put your skis back on. Me and Daddy wanna do that again! OK?"

"OK!" they said in unison.

"This time I wanna ride with Daddy! OK?" Halli said.

"Sure thing. Let's go, sweetheart!" I said. We raced each other to the liftline.

We got on the lift together and Dawn and Erik followed behind.

"Thanks for taking me and Erik skiing, Daddy!" she said.

"Thanks for skiing with Dawn and me." I said. "Erik skis pretty good, doesn't he?"

"He's great, Daddy. He's faster than me but I think he lets me win. Why does he do that?"

"He told me that whenever somebody wins, somebody else has to lose. And he doesn't care enough about winning make somebody else feel bad. At least that's the way he explained it to me."

"But he could still win if he wanted to?" she asked.

"I guess so. He's a pretty fast little racer. He has what we call good form."

"Do I have good form too, Daddy?"

"The best, Halli. You're a pretty fast racer too. And you're more interested in winning than Erik is. That's important to a racing coach."

"So if Erik isn't interested in winning, how come he races on my team?" she asked.

"Maybe he likes hanging out with you!" I said with a smile.

"Maybe! But he wins. He beats almost everybody." she said. "It's like he can't help it. Oh, I know when he lets me win. But he never lets anybody else win. Not if he thinks he can beat them!"

"Well there you go! He's a born racer but he likes you too. Are the two of you the best racers on your team?" I asked.

"Sometimes. Alot of us take turns being the fastest." she said. "Daddy?" she turned to ask me a question.

"Yes Halli."

"You said I could be famous by beating people."

"I said by being the fastest, Halli." I replied.

"If we all take turns being the fastest, do we take turns being famous?" she asked.

"That's the way it is on the U.S. Ski Team. They all take turns being the fastest and then when they race in the Olympics, one of them ends up faster than the others. Does that make sense to you?"

"Oh! It's just like on our racing team. One of us wins at the end of the year and then we all do it again next year!"

"Exactly. So who won this year?" I asked.

"Erik did. He won the boys racing."

"Who won the girls racing?"

"This other girl who's a coupla years older than me. She's really good, too!"

"Do you ever beat her?"

"Oh sure! I mean, we raced every week. Nobody wins all the time. At least not on our team." she said.

"So I guess that means you're all pretty good."

"We're all fast, Daddy! But I'm gonna be the fastest!"

"Really? Why?"

"Because I'm gonna be the fastest! And then I'm gonna be famous!" she said.

"Did you know that your mom was thinking the same way when she was growing up?"

"Sure! She was on the Olympic team, Daddy. Until she hurt herself."

"Would you like to be on the Olympic team, Halli?"

"You know it!"

"Have you talked to Dawn about it?"

"Of course, Daddy! That's why I'm on a racing team. She said I could race until I got tired of it. That's what she told me. But I'll never get tired of it."

"OK. But if you do, or if you get tired of skiing, you don't have to do it. Dawn and I aren't going to make you do anything you don't really enjoy doing. Just remember that. OK?"

"So how come you won't let me do something I really want to do, Daddy?"

"Like pasting your picture across a magazine spread?"

"You know what I'm talking about. How come, Daddy?"

"Because your mother says no. That's going to have to be good enough for the both of us until you're old enough for her to say yes."

"How long until that happens, Daddy?"

"Can't say, Halli. You gotta ask your mother. She knows about these things."

"Because she's famous and you're not?"

"Exactly, Halli! That's exactly why." Finally! A woman who understood something about fame!