He saw that she couldn't answer him. He had embarrassed her, and although he knew how to take care of a woman's problems and certainly would love to take care of hers… She was the one woman he loved most in the world! But of course, it would kill her to think her own son would…

"Well," he changed the subject. "I guess while Pa and Natalie are arranging furniture, I'd better put in an honest day's work. Make lunch for me?"

"Is your father at your apartment?"

"Yeah, I couldn't get off work and he could, so he offered to be there when the furniture arrived and to help Natalie arrange it."

Liz felt an unreasonable tremor of fear. "When will the furniture arrive? Couldn't you have made arrangements? Most employers understand."

"Well, it's supposed to come first thing this morning so we'll probably all be here for lunch if that's all right."

"Oh, of course, it's all right. I'm sorry I seem so nervous, Kevin. Perhaps it's just that I know I'll miss the two of you."

"All right, thanks," he said, smiling, kissing her on the cheek a little lingeringly, it seemed to her, before he left.

Well, she wasn't going to sit around and brood. She would do the breakfast dishes, get dressed and keep her mind on… on… well, at least off what it should not be on, her son! What in God's name was happening to her? How could she think such strange thoughts? Was it because Kevin looked so much like Tom did as a very young man? Tom had been only two years older than Kevin was now when they had first met. Perhaps it was like returning to the past. Oh, how she wished she could. There were certainly a few things she would change about her own attitudes and behavior. It was not that she would give up her moderate ideals. No, she still believed in those. But surely the idea of moderate was a matter of interpretation. Before they were married she had been quite honest with Tom. She had told him quite clearly that she was a moderate person. At least she thought it was clear. Now she realized that what was moderate to her might be conservative to him! He had always called her conservative. Oh, God, what did words mean? Was there no way to communicate to each other with exact meaning?