Chapter Two It was five o'clock. Sam sat in his home office in his small house correcting the multiple-choice tests. The front door slammed open and shut. Sam got up from his desk to check out what the noise was. There was a young teenage boy standing directly in front of him, taking a vanilla cola out of the fridge. The teenager was about fourteen years old, and had medium brown hair and green eyes. He looked intelligent but not nerdy, just like Sam did when he was that age. "Hi, dad!" "Son?" Sam questioned. Sam did not remember having a son. Then again, he did not remember being a college professor either. Sam was awestricken by the sight of the teenager. "I know, dad! I'm not going to ruin my appittite, since I know that we're going next door for supper tonight." "So, you're finally remembering your son?" a woman said from behind him. "It pays that you finally met him." "What's his name?" "Dad, you forgot to take your ginseng this morning, huh?" The teenager took the can and walked into his messy room, carrying his skateboard under his arm. "His name is Thomas Joshua Beckett, and he's your only child," Tina told him. "But, I don't remember being married." "Really? Wow!" Tina said startled. "How come 'wow'?" "Because, I always assumed that you did. You were married 5 times. You first got married in 1974 to Lisa Parson. Then, there was Elizabeth, who you met at Boston University. Then there was that fling with Sharon the dinasour doctor in Nevada, but that only lasted six months. Then, you were married to Ruthie and Maxine, the neurosurgeons." *Five times?* Sam thought. *Wasn't Al married five times before I up and changed everything. Four of my ex's have the same name as Al's ex's.* The only name he remembered was Lisa Parson, because he had gone to high school with her back in Indiana - but he certainly did not remember being married to her. In fact, Sam did not remember being married at all. "What happened to all of them?" "Well, you were divorced four times, and Ruthie died of cancer," Tina said. "You're single now, and a single parent now too. None of them could have anything to do with Josh, and that's why you kept putting the project on hold for so long." "Too bad!" Sam felt sorry for the son he had just met. "What can I say, except that you're a sucker for being in love." "Guess I am." Sam gave a look of disbelief about his new life as he ran his fingers through his white hair. "Don't feel bad about Ruthie, ok?" Tina told him. "I lost my husband to cancer too. You remember Gooshie." "Gooshie died?" "Yah, but that was a few years after you left. Five years later, we're still trying to find a proper replacement." Josh stampeded downstairs. "Who are you talking to, dad?" he asked. "Nobody, just myself," Sam told him. "Do you know who your mom is, son?" "Yah, Ruthie," he answered. "Were you praying to her again?" "Sort of." "Sam, you're going to be late for your date?" "Date? I have a date?" "Yes, dad! With Maria, our next door neighbor," Joshua filled in. "And please, don't be messing around in my social life this time." diana beckett (formally Monica Briggs) (C) June, 2002