"Yes, you do look very nice, Mary Alice. What's the special occasion?" Beth asked as she settled into the chair across from her. She had indeed taken particular care with her appearance even to the point of putting on lipstick and earrings. "Is that a new perfume?"

Mary Alice preened a little as she tweaked an earring. "Elizabeth told me that today was going to be a very meaningful day, and Mary backed up her statement, so they are in agreement."

Beth's eyes grew wide as she looked at Mary Alice. "Mary?" Beth questioned.

"Yes, Mary. I've known her for ages. She was very pleased that you sought her out all of those years ago. She's always kept an eye on you and Mave, but having you visit her home meant a lot to her."

There were no words. Beth shook her head as she looked at Mary Alice in silence. There were so many questions, and she didn't know where to start. She decided to start with the one that was the most important. "Why is today going to be a very meaningful day?" Beth had a hard time believing that it was going to be any different from any other day, especially if her bad luck held.

It had been a week since she had seen Wyatt on the courthouse steps. A week to relive that mortifying moment over and over again in her head, while it got worse every time she pictured it. He had actually looked through her as if she wasn't there.

Mave had called her many times, but Beth wasn't up to talking to her. It would take time to forgive her. Beth missed her sister, but she felt she needed to make a point this time, and she felt the best way to cease all contact. To help her with the no contact rule, she was going to take a trip since he had some time off. Beth had thought long and hard about all of the different places she could go, and her final decision was one of her favorite places, the family house in Savannah. It would give her a chance to spend a little alone time to get her head on straight.

"I'm not sure," Mary Alice said in response to Beth's question. "I think they want it to be a surprise for both of us."

Beth didn't know how to respond to that one either. "How does Mary know Elizabeth or vice versa?" It tickled her to think of her grandmothers hanging out together in the afterlife.

"They both watch out for you," Mary Alice shrugged as if that explained it all.

Beth nodded as they sat looking out the window together. "Oh, before I forget, I'm going out of town for a few weeks, so I'll be missing a few Saturdays."

Mary Alice looked at her and nodded as if she already knew about it. "Roger is going to be disappointed when you tell him. He relies on your card games."

"Why don't you play with him?" Beth suggested.

"I guess I could." Mary Alice shrugged.

"You guess you could, what?" A voice said from the doorway, and Beth froze. She knew that voice. It was Wyatt's.

"Wyatt!" Mary Alice cried as she stood up and moved towards him. He gathered her close in a hug as Beth turned around in her chair to look at him. He didn't try to hide the shock in his eyes as she realized that it was Beth sitting in the chair.

Beth stood, licking her lips nervously, unable to meet his eyes as she took a quick peek at him from under her eyelashes. He would probably think she had set this up on purpose.

"Beth," Mary Alice turned to Beth, "Wyatt, this is my good friend Beth." Mary Alice looked between them with pride. Whether it was because she adored Wyatt, which she obviously did, or because she had a new friend, Beth couldn't tell.

"We know each other, Mother," Wyatt said.

This time it was Beth's turn to look shocked at his use of the word mother. Beth's eyes met his quickly before they darted away.

"You do!" Mary Alice exclaimed. "That's exciting. How do you know each other?"

"We know each other from the plantation. Beth came to visit a few years ago, and we met."

"Yes, Mary told me she had visited." Mary Alice nodded. "But Beth never mentioned that you two had met."

Wyatt looked between the two women, and Beth knew he was trying to gauge how much Mary Alice had told Beth about the fact she talked to spirits and if Beth believed her. "Why should she. She didn't know that you knew me, did she?" He wasn't testing as much as making a statement to see how it felt to believe it.

"I'll go so that you two can visit," Beth suggested as she attempted to move past Wyatt without looking at him, but she could tell he was on a fact-finding mission by the intent look in his eyes.

"I insist you stay and visit too." He said, motioning towards the chair.

"Well, you should at least sit next to your mother." Beth wanted to be near the door in case she needed to make a quick getaway and not trapped in a chair with Wyatt blocking her only exit.

Wyatt's lip turned up in amusement. "What kind of gentleman would I be if I let a lady stand and I sat?" he asked, motioning to the chair with his hand. "You have always insisted I was a gentleman, Beth." The way he said her name made her toes curl.

Beth sat and rubbed her palms on her jeans. It was like it had been five years earlier. All of her confidence where he was concerned was long gone.

"I did raise a gentleman, didn't I?" Mary Alice wanted confirmation as she sat across from Beth.

"Yes," Beth agreed.

"This must be what Elizabeth and Mary meant when the said today was going to be a meaningful day. I get to reintroduce two of my favorite people." Mary Alice settled back into her chair.

"Elizabeth?" Wyatt asked. Beth could feel his eyes moving between the two women.

"Yes, Beth's grandmother and namesake. She came to me when Beth did. She told me all about Beth and how she had visited her in a dream and that when the time came, I would help give fate and helping hand. Mary also chimed in and had a lot to say on the matter."

"I thought you made that dream up to make a point?" Wyatt said to Beth, who was looking at her hands, wishing the ground would open up and swallow her.

"No, I didn't," she said, clearing her throat. "I'm not one to make things up or have flights of fancy."

There was a heavy silence as what Beth said registered with Wyatt.

"She told you about the dream?" Mary Alice asked, looking between the two of them, confused. She knew it meant something important, but she wasn't sure what.

"Yes." Was all Wyatt said in response, his attention focused on Beth's bent head.

Finally, Beth couldn't take it anymore, and she stood. "I should go, Roger is waiting for me." She stepped to move past Wyatt, who caught her hand to stop her.

Beth looked at his hand tangled with hers, and the connection made her want to cry. That simple touch should mean so much more, but she knew it never would. She had lost.

"Who's Roger?" he asked.

"He lives across the hall. We have a standing date to play cards. I visit Mary Alice. Then I visit him." Beth pulled her hand away from his and clenched it by her side.

"You'll be back after your trip?" Mary Alice asked, needing reassurance.

"If Wyatt doesn't mind, I'll be back." Beth forced her eyes to his, looking for his agreement.

"It's fine with me," Wyatt said softly. "Where are you going?"

"It doesn't matter." Beth gave a sad smile before she nodded to Mary Alice. "I'll see you later, Mary Alice." Then she made her escape. She didn't get far; however, before Wyatt stopped her in the hall by grabbing her arm.

"Beth, what's wrong?" he asked. She could hear the concern in his voice, but she wouldn't let it give her hope.

"Nothing," she shook her head. To tell him her heart was breaking would have little impact on him or the situation, and it would only make her feel weak.

"Beth, look at me. It's almost as if you're afraid of me." He placed his hand under her chin and lifted it, forcing her to meet his eyes.

She was unable to say anything as his green eyes searched hers, looking for answers.

"I have to go," she said after a moment when she could no longer stand his touch or gaze. She wanted to be comforted, but she knew the only comfort that would make a difference would have to come from Wyatt, and he was the only one who couldn't give it to her.

Turning away from him she walked down the hall towards Roger's room. She was going to be a weak opponent today, and Roger would be disappointed in her.

She was glad that she was leaving town that afternoon. It would keep her to busy to contemplate the fact that she had been visiting with Wyatt's mother for over six months without even realizing it. If it had been a month earlier, she would have said it was fate. Now all she could think was that it was a horrible coincidence. Beth would have to think hard about whether she could handle being Mary Alice's friend now because she was sure that Wyatt's name would come up whenever she visited, and Beth didn't know if she could handle that.