Will played another game with Vance and won again, this time without the drugs, so he bought the pool hall. With a lot of hard work, Will had the pool hall up and running in less than a month.

When Dee Dee closed her diner on Will's first day of opening, she went over to the pool hall. He'd been so busy that they hadn't had much time to spend together, not that she hadn't helped with some things like sweeping and polishing when she wasn't at the diner, but it was hardly quality time.

Will was behind the bar serving drinks. She went up and sat down at one of the stools. "What do you recommend, bartender?" she asked with twinkling eyes.

"I recommend the fruit punch, ma'am," he smiled, setting it down in front of her.

"How's business?" she asked, getting serious.

"Well, some customers get angry that we don't serve alcohol. Others like it and are saying they're going to stick to this place. Things are good, and it feels right."

She patted his hand affectionately. "I'm glad."

He cleared his throat. "Dee…"

"Yes?"

"Dee, I…Well, maybe we can…"

"Are you trying to ask me out?" she asked with a laugh.

"Yes," he said with a sigh of relief.

"I never knew shyness with women was one of your traits," she said, not finished with the teasing.

"Just with you—I mean—"

"I know what you mean," she assured him, "and I find it very sweet and flattering. Go out where?"

"This may not sound the most romantic, but why don't we go to church together Sunday?"

Her eyes were shining. "I think that sounds wonderful." For their entire marriage, she had wanted him to come to church with her, prayed for it, and now he would. She couldn't think of a better first date to start off their new relationship.

sss

He put his arm across the back of the pew so that his arm rested against Dee Dee's shoulders. It filled her with a warmth and excitement. It might have been ridiculous, but she had always envied the other women whose husbands did that; she thought it was such a protective, loving gesture. Frank had never had much of an opportunity to do so during a church service because Billy Joe was such an active child that he had ended up sitting between them most of the time, so he could get the benefit of reprimands from the both of them.

All during the service, they kept glancing over and smiling at each other. It wasn't that they weren't listening to the sermon, but they were both so happy to be attending church together.

Neither one of them opened their businesses on Sundays, so they went on a picnic after church. They laughed and talked about anything and everything. They shared some stories from their in-between years. Dee Dee mentioned that she wanted to see a new movie, so after the picnic, they went to the movies.

They held hands during the whole movie. They kept looking at each other and couldn't recall much of the movie when it was over.

He walked her to her door. They stood there, staring at each other for what seemed like the longest time.

At last she asked, "Are you ever going to kiss me, Will?"

"It's not that I don't want to, Dee. Believe me, but I guess I'm still a little afraid that this isn't real yet and that maybe I shouldn't be trying to rush things."

She slipped her arms around his waist. "It's real, Will, and I appreciate that you're taking it slowly."

"I'm taking it slowly for you, Dee," he told her softly. He took her left hand and gently touched where the ring was, "but I do want to marry you. I just want you to see that I really am different."

"I know you are," she said, resting her hands on the sides of his face. Then she pulled him down to her, and they kissed for the first time in years. It started as a tender, sweet kiss full of promises and hope and slowly built in passion as if trying to make up for all the lost years in one kiss.

"You wouldn't want to stay for awhile, would you?" she asked when they finally pulled apart.

Will pretended to be scandalized. "I'm surprised at you, Dee Dee Stanley. What would Aunt Belle say if she knew you were trying to pull her darling nephew off the straight and narrow and on a Sunday too?"

She smiled at his teasing. "I'm still not that kind of girl after all these years, so I believe your virtue is safe. I meant for coffee, and you know it."

"Sounds wonderful, Dee, but the truth is I wouldn't want to leave after coffee anymore than I do now. I'll take a rain check though."

"Good night then."

"Good night."

She stood at the doorway, watching until he got in the car and drove off.

sss

A few days later, Will and Dee Dee were having supper with Billy Joe and Mary Beth.

"So have you two gotten to know each other again yet?" Billy Joe asked with a wiggle of his eyebrows that left no doubt what he was asking.

Will and Dee Dee both seemed too stunned at first to answer.

Mary Beth was the first to speak. "That's not something you're supposed to ask your parents, Billy."

"You're not too old for me to turn you across my knee, Billy Joe Stanley," Dee Dee warned, finding her voice at last.

"What? We're all adults here," Billy Joe said. Although the way his mom was looking at him with the famous motherly glare that all mothers seemed to know, it made him feel more like 8 than 18. He wondered where he had gotten the impression that his parents hadn't been married just because she hadn't specifically mentioned a wedding. His mom was as straitlaced and puritanical as they came, and although she was only human, he couldn't see her getting pregnant before she got married.

"It's not about being adults," Will said. "It was disrespectful of you to ask, but the answer is no. We're not going to jeopardize the rebuilding of a solid relationship by being together before we get married."

"What's the big deal if you get together before you have some kind of a wedding ceremony?" Billy Joe argued. "You two were married before."

"The big deal is we're not married now," Dee Dee told him. "You know it goes against the Bible to be together with somebody before then. Don't pretend to forget what I know I taught you growing up."

Will gave a nod. "It's a lesson I was long in learning, son, but it was one I've learned well. If you're not ready for a lifetime of commitment, you're not ready for anything else. Nothing is as sweet as being with your spouse, I promise you. If you really truly love someone, it's worth any waiting you have to do, and if the person couldn't wait until you tied the knot, why they didn't love you enough anyway. God ain't going to give you a rule that's not for your benefit in the long run."

It was Billy Joe's turn to get embarrassed. He gave a quick glance in Mary Beth's direction, whose cheeks were red too.

"Sound advice," he said at last, "Dad."

Will's face glowed with happiness. It was the first time Billy Joe had ever called him that. Dee Dee looked pleased too, and she gave Will's hand a squeeze under the table.

sss

Will and Dee Dee went to Aunt Belle's for a visit together, and it was the first time Will had seen her face to face since finding out about Billy Joe.

After the customary hugs and greetings, Aunt Belle stood back looking at the couple, looking as pleased as punch as she said, "I declare you two make the handsomest couple I ever did see. I just know things are going to work out for you this time."

"I just don't know why you never told me about Billy Joe," Will grumbled to his aunt. "We might have gotten back together a lot sooner."

"For one thing, it's not my business to go poking my nose in your affairs. Dee Dee didn't want to tell you, and it was her news to tell, not mine. I also believe in the Lord's timing. Looking back, when they first moved back to Tennessee, you weren't ready, Will. You still weren't living right. Then when you were, you were a new Christian, and I think the information could have shaken your newfound faith. No, you found Billy Joe just when the good Lord intended. You were strong enough to set him off his wayward path, you knew how to forgive easier, and Dee Dee could see that you had really changed. She could see the change was not temporary either because you'd spent years without the bottle and with God. Things have worked out amazingly well it appears. In a way that only God could arrange."

"All things work for good to them that love the Lord," Will recited, seeming less disgruntled.

"Even the not so agreeable things," Dee Dee added.

"Amen," Aunt Belle said, "and if you two will follow me to the kitchen, I'll give you one of the more agreeable things: lemon meringue pie."

Will and Dee Dee both chuckled before following her into the kitchen.

sss

Billy Joe and Mary Beth were coming over to go out to dinner with them. Will had arrived early to the house, and they were waiting together on the couch.

Dee Dee could feel Will staring at her while she watched the door, and a smile crept across her face. "Ain't you got nothing better to look at? The least you could do is make some conversation."

"I don't have nothing better to look at, but if you want some conversation, I'll give it to you." He pulled her into his arms and said passionately, "We've been dating for over a month, Dee, and I don't want to wait anymore. I want you as my wife again. Let's set a date."

"Well, why don't we get married on our original anniversary? It'd make it easy to remember."

"That's 6 months away; that's too long, and besides, it would be much more fun to have two anniversaries to celebrate."

"I can't argue with that. How about next month? That should be plenty of time for people to clear their schedule and make preparations."

"Okay. How about the 11th? That's a Saturday, isn't it?"

"The 11th it is," she said with a smile.

Still holding her close, he ran his fingers through her long hair. "Have I mentioned that I like how you grew your hair out? It's stunning."

"You're going to get it all mussed up," she said with a quiet laugh to show that she wasn't that serious about it.

"I can't help it. It ought to be a crime for a woman to look this good. You're driving me mad with desire." He proved his words by starting a line of kisses on her cheek, following the imaginary trail down to her neck.

"Will," she said with genuine protest in her voice this time, although the look on her face and the way her arms enfolded him said she was enjoying it as much as he was. "Billy Joe and Mary Beth are going to here any minute, and Billy Joe has a key. What are they going to think if they catch us like this?"

"That they don't have the monopoly on love and passion," he said, drawing up to look at her with a devilish grin.

She smiled back, and he went for her lips this time. She willingly returned the kiss and even helped him out of his jacket because she didn't want it impeding their embrace.

Their kissing grew in fervor. His hand began to travel up her leg and he took the hemline of her dress with it, an action that brought her momentarily out of the spell that had been cast, and she pulled out of the kiss. "Will, we have to stop this before we get carried away," she said, sounding breathless and reluctant but firm.

He moved his offending hand back around her waist, but it turned out they didn't need the verbal warning because a knock on the door put a stop to it instead. Dee Dee jumped up and away from him like a teenager whose parents had just come home, causing Will to laugh.

"Not a word out of you, Will Addington," she said sternly, "and put your jacket back on."

He laughingly obeyed while she straightened her dress and hair the best she could without a mirror before going to the door.

Dee Dee hugged the young couple as they came through the door. "Give me a second to grab my keys, and we'll all go in my car."

The untidy hair and wrinkles in her dress were not lost on Billy Joe, as his mother's clothes always seemed perfectly ironed and her hair perfectly in place. "I didn't interrupt anything, did I?" Billy Joe asked, trying to hold back a smile, so he wouldn't get another lecture.

"You most certainly did not," Dee Dee said.

"You most certainly did," Will contradicted with a smile, making Dee Dee cast a glare his way. Will ignored it and continued, "I just proposed. Your mother and I are getting married on the 11th."

He looked at his mother. "Is that true, Mom?"

Dee Dee finally broke into a smile of her own. "It's true."

Billy Joe and Mary Beth gave hugs of congratulations to Will and Dee Dee though the news was hardly a shock to them.

"Will you walk me down the aisle?" Dee Dee asked Billy Joe when the hugs stopped.

"There's nothing I'd like better," he answered, a grin on his face as he watched his dad slip an arm around his mom's waist.

sss

Are you nervous?" Billy Joe asked as he took his mom's arm. They would be walking through the door into the sanctuary any moment.

She reached over and patted his hand. "I'm not. Well, maybe in an excited kind of way but not a fearful for the future kind of way."

"Were you nervous at your first wedding?"

"It happened so fast I don't know if I had time to be nervous. Our wedding night made me more nervous than the wedding, I think."

"If he ever gives you any trouble, you let me know," he said suddenly. "I'll knock some sense into him and take you to live with me to boot."

She laughed. "Taking your role of temporary father a little seriously, aren't you?"

"I mean it, Mom," he said with a serious expression.

"I know you do, son," she said with a fond look, "and I appreciate it."

"I love you," he whispered.

"I love you more," she said, playing an old game from Billy Joe's childhood of who loved who more.

"I love you more," he argued back with a grin.

The bridal march began to play. "I guess that's our cue," she said.

It was a genuine church wedding with all the trimmings unlike their last one, and the pews were filled with friends who made oohs and ahs of her in her long, pale blue wedding dress. Aunt Belle could be seen holding a handkerchief to her eyes as she cried happy tears.

When they reached the front of the church, a look passed between father and son before Billy Joe took his seat. It was a look that warned his father that he'd better take good care of his mother and an answering look from Will that said he would spend the rest of his life taking care of this woman they both loved.

The minister began, "Dearly beloved, we're gathered together here in the sight of God to join this man and this woman together in holy matrimony." Looking to Will, he said, "William Joseph Addington, do you take Dee Dee Stanley for your lawful wedded wife, to live in the holy estate of matrimony? Will you love, honor, comfort, and cherish her from this day forward, forsaking all others, keeping only unto her for as long as you both shall live? To have and to hold, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health till death do you part?"

"I do," he said, looking at Dee Dee with love and devotion, willing her to know just how much he meant it this time around.

"Dee Dee Stanley, do you take William Joseph Addington for your lawful wedded husband, to live in the holy estate of matrimony? Will you love, honor, comfort, and cherish him from this day forward, forsaking all others, keeping only unto him for as long as you both shall live? To have and to hold, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health till death do you part?"

"I do," Dee Dee said with equal love and devotion and an unhesitating confidence that showed how much she trusted him.

Will took the wedding ring from Harley, the same one he had given her originally.

The minister said, "May this ring be blessed so he who gives it and she who wears it may abide in peace, and continue in love until life's end."

Will slipped it onto Dee Dee's finger. "With this ring I thee wed. Wear it as a symbol of our love and commitment."

Dee Dee took the ring she had given to Will on their first wedding in her hand, and the minister said, "May this ring be blessed so that she who gives it and he who wears it may abide in peace, and continue in love until life's end."

Dee Dee slipped the ring onto Will's finger. "With this ring I thee wed. Wear it as a symbol of our love and commitment."

"I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride."

After a short, sweet kiss, they turned to face the pews, and Billy Joe saw the love, the happiness, and the determination shining from his parents' eyes, spreading across their faces, and he knew that this time they really would be together forever.

sss

The reception was festive. Their family and friends were almost as joyous about the celebration as they were. Will and Dee Dee playfully shoved the cake in each other's face and then kissed the icing off, causing hooping and hollering from the laughing crowd.

They got in the taxi that was taking them to the airport after the reception, the well wishers waving and smiling and shouting funny or sweet comments as they piled in.

They hadn't gone very far from the church when an awful, clanky noise started up.

"Oh, no. Please tell me you didn't hear that," Dee Dee said to Will. "If the car breaks down this time, I think I might just cry or go ballistic. I don't know which."

He gave her a reassuring hug. "I'm sure it's nothing." He looked at the driver, who seemed oddly amused. "Can we stop the car and have a look?"

The driver pulled off the side of the road, and Will got out to check. His first thought had been that the wedding party might have tied the traditional tin cans onto the back of the car, but a quick peek at the back of the car proved that theory wrong. Dee Dee got out too and watched as Will popped the hood.

"I don't see anything immediately wrong with it. They usually keep these vehicles running in good shape. I don't get it. You know it almost sounded like the noise was coming from the trunk, which doesn't make a lot of sense, does it? Unless you brought a suit of armor instead of lingerie with you. What exactly did you pack?" Will asked.

"Wouldn't you like to know," she teased. Then her eyes suddenly widened as if an idea had just occurred to her. She went to the trunk and opened it. Will had followed, and they both started to laugh. The tin cans had been placed inside the trunk.

The driver's eyes were twinkling when they got back in. "When they told me about your first honeymoon and the car trouble you'd had, I couldn't help but go along with the prank. I hope it didn't worry ya'll too much."

Will and Dee Dee smiled at him in response to show there were no hard feelings, and he pulled back onto the road.

"This has Billy Joe's name written all over it," she said with a laughing shake of her head.

"It was good," he said with a chuckle.

They made it to the airport and then made it to New Orleans just as it was beginning to get dark. They had 2 whole weeks in New Orleans as Harley was going to watch the pool hall and Mary Beth and Billy Joe had graciously agreed to keep the diner running during that time.

Will wasted no time in pulling Dee Dee flush against him when the door to their suite was closed, the thought of this moment having kept him going through the long plane ride.

"I thought you mentioned something about wanting to see some lingerie?" she teased though her voice sounded none too steady in this position.

"Forget the lingerie," he said before swooping in to kiss her hard on the mouth, beads of sweat from the southern heat making the hungry kiss salty but sweet. Pulling up for air, he said, "It's too hot for that anyway, but I will help cool you off, Mrs. Addington, by helping you take off your clothes."

"Aren't you the polite one, Mr. Addington," Dee Dee said as her hands moved to the zipper on his pants. "I'll be sure to return the favor."

There was no more need for words as the couple reacquainted themselves with each other's bodies, and the sound of a jazz band playing on the streets serenaded them.

sss

The early morning light was beginning to filter in, but it was still plenty dark. Will and Dee Dee were both still awake just enjoying being in each other's arms.

He stroked her hair lovingly while she rested her head on his chest. His content, happy expression suddenly changed to a look of anxiousness.

"Did you love Frank?" Will asked. It was a question that had been nagging at him for a long time and a question that he only had the courage to ask her in the safety of their bed.

"I did love Frank," she assented, not willing to lie to him even to avoid spoiling the moment. "It didn't have an instant, fiery start like ours, but it was real all the same. It was a sweet, safe love that grew out of mutual respect, and I still miss him sometimes."

He gave a trembling sigh, and she kissed his shoulder tenderly before continuing, "But if you think I had an easy time getting over you, I didn't. I buried the love and forgot about it because it was the only way I knew to move on. When I saw you again, I knew it was still there, and it scared me. That's partly why I fought so hard with you until I realized your change was genuine, and I didn't think it was possible, but I've fallen even harder for you now. I'm not just carrying a torch for you; it's a wildfire, and the flames aren't ever going to go out."

He laid a kiss on her forehead. "You do know leaving you was the hardest thing I ever did, don't you? The selfish part of me wanted to stay, but I knew I never wanted to hurt you again. I never got over you, not even for a minute, and I was never with anyone in our years apart. You were too firmly stamped in my heart."

A tear trickled down her face. "I was never really sure why you left."

"None of that," he said, kissing the tear away. "It hurts a man's ego to see his wife crying on their wedding night."

She laughed in response, and he playfully threw the cover over their heads as they proved their love for each other again in more than words.

sss

"You're a beautiful bride, but more than that, you have a beautiful soul. I'm so glad Billy Joe has chosen you for his wife," Dee Dee told Mary Beth in the dressing room, as she helped her hook on her necklace.

"Thank you for always being so kind to me. I know I might not have always been the best influence on Billy Joe."

"We all mess up sooner or later. It comes with being human. The important thing is you're getting your life right again."

"I just want you to know we both took yours and Mr. Addington's words to heart about waiting, and well, Billy Joe hasn't abandoned your teaching as much as you might think. He's already talking about how we need to start going to church. He believes in God and the Bible; he just lost his way for a while like I did. We both see what you and Mr. Addington have in each other and in God, and we want what you have."

Giving her soon to be daughter-in-law a hug, she said, "You couldn't have given me more joyful news. That's what a Christian parent worries most about their child, whether they'll find their way to salvation."

Mary Beth nodded. "You did a wonderful job raising him. I thank you from the bottom of my heart."

Mary Beth's mother came into the room in that moment and gushed over her daughter's wedding dress. Dee Dee with a smile and a wave left to give mother and daughter some time together.

Will walked Mary Beth down the aisle, since her dad was still in prison. Their vows and love were just as evident as Will and Dee Dee's had been. Billy Joe had had a unique ring made for his bride to continue in the tradition.

sss

A couple of months after Billy Joe and Mary Beth's wedding, they invited Will and Dee Dee over to their apartment.

"We didn't just invite you over to eat this time," Billy Joe said after supper. "We have a surprise for you."

"We're going to have a baby," Mary Beth finished.

Dee Dee and Will both gave cries of joy, but Will might have been the happiest of them all. He and Dee Dee were too old to have any more kids together, but the baby would be a part of them that he would get to watch grow up and shower with love and affection.

sss

"How long do these things normally take?" Will grumbled as he and Dee Dee sat in the hospital waiting room. They'd been there a long time already. He was impatient to meet his new grandchild and wished they allowed grandparents in the delivery room.

"It depends on the woman," Dee Dee answered. "It can be long or short. I hear the first ones are almost always long, but I can't say for sure."

"How long was yours?" he asked, turning a curious eye towards her.

"Oh, it was so long. I was in labor 26 hours," she said with a grin. "Before it was over, I was ready to put a pair of pliers in there and pull him into the world. He was a stubborn kid from day one."

"I wish I could have been there with you," he said, reaching over and taking her hand.

"There's no sense in grieving over the past and what can't be changed. There's only the future to look to, and it's a bright one at that. We'll be holding a sweet newborn baby before you know it."

He nodded in agreement and then folded his hands together in a nervous gesture.

Dee Dee pulled a magazine off the end table on her other side and looked through some of the articles, but she couldn't help but notice Will twiddling his thumbs and wringing his hands all the while he shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

She chuckled as she took another magazine and put it into his lap. "Here, read about something to take your mind off it. You're going to wear a hole in the seat of your britches if you keep moving around like that."

He picked up the magazine and flipped through it, but it was easy to see his heart wasn't into it.

It wasn't too much longer before a nurse finally came over to them. "Mr. and Mrs. Addington? They're ready to see you now."

"Good thing too. If we were here any longer, I think I would've had to have you committed," Dee Dee teased as they followed the nurse to the room.

"Don't tell me you aren't just as eager to see our grandbaby as me. It's just some folks are better at hiding it."

She smiled in a way that said she couldn't deny it.

When they went through the door, Mary Beth was laying on the bed looking exhausted but happy, and Billy Joe was holding the baby in his arms.

Billy Joe smiled when he saw them. "Grandma, Grandpa, say hello to your new grandson. Joseph Addington Stanley or Joey for short."

Dee Dee was the first to take him. "He's so beautiful. The second most beautiful baby I've ever seen," she said with a wink at Billy Joe. She walked him over to Will and let him take the baby. "Well, what do you think, Grandpa?"

As the baron held the baby in his arms, he knew he was instantly smitten, and he prayed a prayer of thanks to God for letting him have this second chance with his family. He looked so much like Dee Dee and Billy Joe with just a hint of him and Mary Beth thrown in for good measure. He would be the best part of all of them and have no lack of love or role models in his life. "With the genes coursing through this kid, he'll be holding a pool stick before he can walk."

They all laughed, unable to restrain their joy and happiness.

sss

"Grandpa, what happened to the princess and the baron then?" asked the little boy with big blue eyes and curly blonde hair, bringing Will out of his memories and back to the present.

Will had been telling him the story in a coded, fairy tale version to make it fit for the ears of a three-year-old. He looked toward the doorway. Dee Dee had been standing there, listening to the story.

She walked into the bedroom. "Like every good story, they lived happily ever after," she said as she tucked Joey in.

"It's not that the princess and baron never have problems anymore," Will told him, "but they both work very hard at making that happily ever after with the good Lord leading the way, and so they succeed."

The End