Friday morning gave the promise of a beautiful day. It was still cold, of course, but the sky was a gorgeous shade of blue and what clouds there were masqueraded as puffy balls of cotton scudding by at a leisurely pace. Alan had awakened to an empty bed, but was unconcerned. Denny was like a big kid when they were going to entertain so he knew the older man had probably dressed and headed to the kitchen to micromanage Olympia the cook and her husband, Denny's house manager Rodeo. Alan smiled to himself. They're probably hoping I'll come down and save them. They are on their own.

He stretched his arms up and over his head while arching his back and luxuriated in the sheets like a big satisfied cat. He glanced over at the clock. Seven – fifty. Denny will be back here shortly with Rodeo in tow with coffee and something to eat. He relaxed all his muscles for a moment and then headed off to the bathroom. He looked in the mirror as he went through his morning ablutions. My God, look at me. If anyone had told me ten years ago that I would be married, to a man no less, and happier than I'd been in a long time, I would have asked for a hit of whatever they were smoking. And now…Wow. Just wow.

He exited the bathroom just as the bedroom door opened to reveal Denny in jeans and a sweatshirt followed by Rodeo in jeans, a white button – down shirt and a blazer carrying a tray containing a carafe of coffee, two mugs, cream and English muffin breakfast sandwiches. "Good morning, Denny! Rodeo, hi, you can put that right on the foot of the bed."

As the butler complied and then left, Denny shook his head in mock disgust. "The longer we're married, the lazier you become!" He toed off his sneakers and got on the bed even as Alan got back into it. "It used to be we would be in the office for hours by now."

Alan scooted down to the tray and carefully poured a mug of coffee, then added some half and half and handed it back to Denny. As he poured a cup for himself he replied, "That is true, but I decided after you were let go by that firm whose name I refuse to mention that money isn't the most important thing to me right now. Spending time with you is. My investments are earning money, but if you feel like I should be earning a paycheck, I can open my Legal Aid practice now. I can call Claire Fowler to start looking at properties again."*

Denny huffed, "It's too late now; I'm used to having you around!" He ruffled Alan's hair. "I am, you know."

Alan slowly moved back so that his back was against the headboard. "I do know. I was thinking while I was brushing my teeth how content and happy I am right now. For some reason, I've been thinking a lot about my time at Young Frutt and Berluti lately."

The older man slid the tray closer and plucked a sandwich from the tray. Taking a couple of bites, he chewed thoughtfully. "What made you think about that?"

"I don't know. Maybe it has to do with the fact that my life has changed so drastically for the better since getting fired from there. I think about those days, Denny, and I can barely recognize that man that I used to be. I can hardly believe some of the things I did. I was a mess. I used to put Eleanor in a terrible position. Every week, she was defending me to Eugene. I was just…self – destructive, I guess. I don't blame him at all for firing me."

"Well, if he hadn't fired you, I might have never met you. Look how much you would have missed out on if you were still there. That settlement that I won for you made you a millionaire, you came to work for the best law firm in Boston and you married Denny Crane!"

"Indeed."

"That's all ancient history; why are you thinking about those days? We have a dinner party to look forward to; focus on that!"

Alan began to eat a sandwich. "You're right. I will. What are your plans for today?"

"I have to head over to the lab this morning for blood work for my next appointment with Dr. Forrester on Monday. I was thinking of going shopping afterwards to pick up a new pair of jeans for tonight. We did tell everyone this was informal?"

"We did. While you're out, I think I'm just going to surf the Internet for a while. I haven't checked my email for a few days, so I'll do that, too."

The older man smiled and slid off the bed. "Sure you will, if you ever get back out of the bed. I'll see you later." He refilled Alan's coffee cup and picked up the tray to place outside the bedroom door.

"Bye, Denny," Alan called after him. Of course I'm getting out of bed; but first, another half – hour's nap.

An hour later found Alan sitting in the study in front of his laptop perusing The Boston Globe online in between checking out TMZ and other gossip sites. He checked his watch and thought, Denny will be home soon. I'd better check my email now. He opened his business email account to find the usual bills, statements and such. He glossed over it and then moved on to his personal email account. The first thing that caught his eye was one with the subject "Hi! Long time no hear from!" from Sexysheila .

He stared at the subject and sender for a few seconds. No, it can't be. Can it?, he thought as he debated whether or not to open it. Making up his mind, he clicked on the email and read its contents.

Hello, Alan! I recently returned to Boston after living out of state for some years and imagine my surprise to find out your old firm no longer exists! I Googled you and, my goodness, have you been busy! Your track record for the last few years is really impressive. I'm hoping this email finds you in good health. I would love to catch up with you. Call me at 413-555-0058. Anytime.

Hope to hear from you soon! Take care,

Sheila

"Sheila Carlisle," he mused aloud, "Does God still speak to you?"

*ref. "Married for Real"