"Down, Grover!" Mother commands, but Tony doesn't mind the dog being the first to greet him.

"Hey, Grove, you been doin' a good job lookin' after everyone?"

Grover barks in that crisp way that only sheepdogs can. And, no, he hasn't treated us like his flock. It feels like we've done more caring for him than he's done for us, although the children love having a dog of course. Yes, he's technically Mother's, but since she now lives over my garage, well...

A lot has happened this year. Not that it's ever dull around here, especially since Tony entered my life, but this year in particular has been full of changes, although not the ones we expected.

The plan was that Tony would finish up college and then find a teaching job in the area. Then he and I would finally try to have a baby. After all, I'm 33 now and we can't postpone it forever.

Tony indeed graduated with a degree in Education. I was and am so proud of him! He's wonderful with children, and he's good at teaching people, whether it's cooking eggs with me or coaching Sam's Little League team.

The problem is, he didn't send out his résumé ahead of time, and so he didn't have a job lined up when he was done with school. He couldn't find one at first. And then one found him.

His counselor at Ridgemont recommended him for the position at Waller College. It sounded perfect for him. He'd be teaching History, which was his minor, and he'd also be the baseball coach. One problem: it was in South Bend, Indiana!

At first, Tony didn't want to take the job, but it sounded like a wonderful opportunity. I thought he should at least visit the campus and see what he thought.

"Angela! I can't move 756 miles away from here!"

"How do you know it's 756 miles?"

"Uh, I might've done a little research on it. You know, just, just in a daydreamy kind of way."

"I see. Well, why don't we take the kids this weekend, just for a little family vacation? It won't commit you to anything."

So we went, with Mother, too, of course. I pictured South Bend as a small town, but it's actually about twice the size of Fairfield, although with no city as big as New York nearby obviously.

I could see that Tony was very tempted but he didn't want to move that far away.

"What if we all move with you?"

"Yeah!" the kids exclaimed, eager for the adventure.

"I'm not leaving," Mother said.

"But you'll visit us, won't you, Grandma?"

"Hey, wait a minute, Angela, how can you just pick up and leave your agency?"

"Well, your contract is for a year. I can manage the agency long-distance for a year. I've hired some good people and they can look after things for me."

In the end, we agreed to at least try it for the Summer quarter. The kids would be out of school. We rented a nice three-bedroom house, smaller than back home but big enough.

It was fun in a way, an adventure. But the kids got homesick for their friends and grandparents (although both Mother and Tony's father Matty did visit for the 4th of July), and I missed my agency more than I expected. I've spent the last four years building it up and I'm very proud of it. Also, I had a lot of restless energy, which I tried to channel into oil paintings and afghans.

Yes, Tony and I talked about having our baby, but it seemed best to wait till his year was up in Indiana, especially when it became clear that I wouldn't be able to finish out that year. He offered to quit, but I still thought this was a wonderful opportunity for him.

"And after it's over, you'll find it easier to get a more local job."

"I guess. But I don't want to be apart from the family."

"I know. We'll all miss you. But really, it's not that different than if you'd kept playing baseball all this time." He injured his shoulder early on in our marriage. At first, he didn't know what to do with himself, but then I suggested he go to college, and that opened up new possibilities.

"Well, yeah, if you put it that way."

We stayed through Sam's August birthday. "Our little girl" turned eleven. She's very much a tomboy although she also likes dolls and sometimes dresses. She's wonderful at sports. I hope that when Tony and I do have a baby, it inherits his coordination. He hopes it's studious, like Jonathan.

"Our little boy" will be eight in a couple months. He reminds me of myself in some ways, but with unfortunately Michael's fondness for reptiles. It's easy to forget sometimes that our children don't biologically belong to both of us, because we've helped raise them together for five years. I honestly don't think Jonathan remembers a time before Tony and Samantha, and even for Sam I think the memories of life in Brooklyn with her mother have faded. I know I feel like my life didn't really start till the Micellis entered it.

Tony did worry about the family being without him, so he was relieved when Mother got kicked out of her apartment because of the no-pets rule. Although Mother and I argue a lot, Tony convinced us that I should convert the space over the garage into an apartment and she and Grover should move in. So we did, and we argued over that. Still, it is nice to have them close by and I know the children love it. I'll admit it is good to have another grown-up to talk to, although she can be terribly immature at times.

I considered getting another housekeeper but decided against it. The children are in school half the day and Mother looks after them when she's not in class. Yes, now she goes to college and loves it. She was a freshman when Tony was a senior, both at Ridgemont. She said, "If an old guy like Tony can go, why not a perky co-ed like me?" Of course, she's 52 and he's 31, although neither looks it.

Anyway, I'm a better cook than I was. I practiced in South Bend, another of the hobbies I took up. I'm not in Tony's league but I do all right. Luckily, the kids usually don't want anything elaborate. Even I can make a peanut butter & jelly sandwich, or mac & cheese.

When Tony visits, as he did once or twice a month this Fall, he of course prepares feasts for us. I overindulge, as I do with, well, anyway. I'm very happy that he's back for Christmas break.

And after the break, it'll only be four and a half months till Waller lets out for the summer. And then Tony can come home to us, for good I hope.

The kids push Grover aside and go get their hugs and kisses. I stay back, watching this family scene that I never get tired of. My family, my family. Why did I never feel like this during my first marriage? I don't think it was just that we had only one child and no dog.

The kids and Tony keep saying how much they miss each other, till Mother grouses, "Enough mush. When's dinner?"

Tony comes over and pinches her chin. "And to think some guys have battleaxes for mothers-in-law."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Come on, feed me!"

"You ever see Little Shop of Horrors?" Tony asks me and I laugh. "Come on, Angela, show me what I've got to work with in the kitchen."

I'm sure he could find everything. I've tried not to change things too much in his absence, which is another reason I didn't hire another housekeeper. I wanted everything here to stay the same as much as possible, especially "his kitchen." (He was the main homemaker until he left for Indiana. He's a bit possessive about the house as a result.)

But I lead him into the kitchen and over to the cupboards. "There's some tuna and some—"

Before I can finish, he grabs me from behind and whirls me to face him. "I have missed you so bad, Baby!"

"I've missed you, too, Tony," I murmur, nestling against him.

"The only good thing about being apart is the reunions."

I smile. "Yes, but we'll see each other every day for a month."

He nibbles on my neck and says, "Yeah, but you have to go to work five days a week. So there'll be the reunion in the evening."

"True. And even on weekends, there's the reunion after waking up." And then I think of his usual condition when he wakes up and I wonder how I'm going to make it through the next few hours until the kids are asleep.

"Mmm, yeah."

"Tony, Mother and the kids are in the next room. And you're supposed to be making dinner."

He reluctantly lets go of me. "Right. You'd better go back to the living room. It's too distracting to have you in here so soon after I came home."

I don't know any couple who've been together as long as we have who have as much trouble keeping their hands off each other. Yes, we've been apart some of that time, but that never seemed to help with Michael. And we weren't married quite this long, just four and a half years.

I give Tony a big kiss and then slip back to the living room. I think it's going to be a very warm Winter Break.