• tab Many years ago, during a hot summers day, a young girl walked down the street hand in hand with her mother. She was a stout girl, no taller than 4'. She had short black curled hair and light hazel eyes. Her mother was nearly 5'7" and had curled brownish red hair. Her eyes were a light brown. They both wore spring dresses and sandels to keep the heat of the day from them.
    tab While they walked down the sidewalk, the girl noticed an ice cream stand. She tugged on her mothers dress and looked up at her with her hazel eyes. "Mama, can I have some ice cream? Please?" Her mother smiled and nodded. They walked toward the stand. The girls' mother told her to choose something while she got some money from her purse. She did ecstatically and quickly. She pointed to a pink ice pop. "This one please." She told the vendor standing there. He smiled and reached into his cart. He pulled out the ice pop and handed it to her. Her mother paid the man and they continued on down the sidewalk.
    tab They passed antique stores, everyday home and garden stores, and even high end restaurants. The girl just licked away at her ice pop, tasting the bubblegum flavor with every lick. Her mother looked down at her with a smile. "Are you enjoying your ice pop Zoey?" Her mother asked.
    tab Zoey smiled with pink around her lips. "Yes Mama, I am. You want a taste?" She asked holding it up. Her mother shook her head with a smile. "No thank you sweetie. You enjoy it, ok?"
    tab "Ok Mama." Zoey said as she continued eating it. After Zoey had finished her ice pop, they arrived at a restaurant. It was not as elegant as the rest they had passed, but it was still nice. Melodys' mother took a tissue from her purse and handed it to Zoey. "Here you go honey, wipe your face so we can go eat."
    tab "Yes Mama." Zoey said as she took the tissue and cleaned her face. After she finished she took the tissue to a trash bin that stood on the corner of the sidewalk. She dropped it in and headed back to her mother. They both walked inside the restaurant. The air was crisp from the air conditioning unit and the aroma of pasta could be smelt. Zoey and her mother walked up to a podium where a waitress stood. She looked up at them and greeted them. "Welcome to Italia Anima. The usual spot Mrs. Stel?"
    tab Zoeys' mother smiled with a slight sigh under her breath. "Jenni, how many times have I told you to call me Melissa? Yes we would like our usual table please." Jenni laughed and asked them to follow. She led them to a booth that was in a section of the restaurant that had a calming aura about it. Jenni put down a coloring sheet for Zoey and some crayons. "The usual then Melissa?"
    tab "You know what we love to have Jenni." She said with a slight laugh. "Tell JD that we are here while you're back there, please."
    tab "Of course Melissa, I'll be right back with your drinks and your bread."
    tab Zoey sat there in her seat coloring and drawing. Melissa smiled as she watched her daughter. She thought of the day she found out she was having a baby. She was so nervous about telling her boyfriend and her parents. It took every ounce of her courage just to come up with something to draw the conversation that direction. Afterward, her boyfriend stood there with an astonished look on his face. He didn't say anything, he didn't move, he just stood there staring. At first Melissa thought he was thinking of something to say, but when he didn't even answer her she knew something was wrong. He sat down and began crying. He looked at her and hugged her then kissed her. "I'm going to be a father. I'm so happy." He said while holding her. Melissa was happy as well. One part of her trial was over, now came the more difficult part. While her boyfriend was at work, she went to her parents and told them the news. Her father just glared at first then he smiled. "Congratulations to you. It is JD's baby, correct?"
    tab "Yes daddy, it is."
    tab Her father nodded. "You have my blessing to get married anytime you see fit. You are getting married, aren't you?"
    tab Melissa nodded. "Yes, we will be." She smiled. She was brought back to her senses by Zoey asking her a question. "Huh? Oh, sorry honey, what was that?"
    tab "Do you like my picture Mama?" Zoey held up a drawing of a fish swimming through the water. Melissa nodded with a smile.
    tab Just then, a man came up to them with drinks in hand and a basket of bread. "Here you are miss. I appologize for the wait."
    tab Melissa looked up at first with a question then with a smile after she saw who it was. "JD, you didn't have to come deliver this. We would have waited for you to bring the main course."
    tab "I wanted to see you both." He set down everything and gave Melissa a hug and a kiss. He turned to Zoey and stroked her hair while hugging her. "Hi little one, are you being good?" He asked with a stern look.
    tab She looked up with a smile. "Yes Daddy, I am. Like my picture?" She said as she handed it to him.
    tab "Yes I do, it looks so real. Where did you learn to draw like that?" He said as he handed it back to her.
    tab JD sat down next to Melissa and they talked while Zoey continued drawing. They talked until lunch had been brought. After lunch, Melissa and Zoey both gave JD a hug. Melissa gave him a quick kiss and they said goodbye. "I'll see you this evening. We will talk more about marriage then." JD said as he walked with them toward the door. Melissa nodded and they left.
    tab Several years later, Zoey stood in front of a stove with a spatula in one hand and a box of spaghetti in the other. She was now a young woman. She was a tall as her mother and just as beautiful. She had on a pinkish blue apron with The Cook Needs Some Lovin' on it. As she went to put the pasta into a pot of boiling water, a hand overlapped hers that was holding the spatula. A voice from behind her whispered. "No little one, you can't cook spaghetti with a spatula. Use a past spoon when it comes to spaghetti. Spatulas are meant for flipping, a pasta spoon is meant for past itself."
    tab Zoey looked back to see her father standing there. "Okay Daddy. What kind of spices would you use for the sauce though?"
    tab "That, sweetie, is for you to find out on your own. You have to find your own way of expressing yourself through spices." JD took the spatula from her and replaced it with a pasta spoon. He walked out of the kitchen and toward Melissa who sat on the couch with a little boy no older than 5 on her lap asleep. JD sat down quietly and stroked his hair. He whispered to Melissa. "He is so cute sleeping. Should I take him to his bed?"
    tab Melissa smiled and nodded. She slowly picked him up and handed him over to JD. JD held him and walked down the hall quietly to his sons' bedroom. He placed him on his bed and began to quietly walk out. He closed the door enough to soften the noise from the outside. JD walked back down the hall and grabbed his keys from the table. "Bye little one, be careful not to burn yourself or anything." Zoey waved as she put a pinch of oregano into the sauce. JD smiled and turned toward the door. He was just about to step out when he remembered he forgot something. He walked back to the couch and gave Melissa a kiss goodbye. "I'll see you in a few hours. Love you."
    tab "Love you too, be careful out there. It has been rainy all night."
    tab JD nodded. "I will. Tell Lucas if he wakes up, that I'll see him when I get back." Melissa nodded and JD left.
    tab A few hours later, Lucas woke up screaming. Melissa quickly ran to his room and picked him up. He was crying and screaming like someone had hurt him. Melissa tried to soothe him back to sleep, but he wouldn't calm down. Just then, the phone rang. Melissa called to Zoey to answer that while she tried to calm down Lucas.
    tab When Lucas had finally calmed down Melissa walked to the living room to find Zoey on her knees crying. The phone was on the floor next to her. Melissa knelt down next to her. "What's wrong? Why are you crying?"
    tab Zoey looked up at her mother. She handed her the phone. "It is for you mom." She said as a tear fell from her cheek. She got up and ran to her room.
    tab Melissa looked at the phone then put it to her ear. "Hello?"
    tab "Mrs. Stel, this is Chief Waterson, I'm the chief of the Fire Department. I regret to inform you that your husband was killed in an explosion at the restaurant Italia Anima. My deepest condolences to you ma'am."
    tab As soon as she heard the news, she dropped the phone where she stood and fell to her knees. She did the same as Zoey. She felt so empty and helpless. She picked up the phone and put it back on the jack. She wiped away her tears and walked down toward Zoeys' room. She knocked on the door and walked in. "Zoey, I'm going down to your fathers' retaurant. I have to see it myself. You stay here and keep the door locked. I'll be back."
    tab Melissa drove down to the restaurant and saw the entire place still smoldering. 'No one could have survived that.' Melissa thought to herself as she got out of the car. She ran up to where the front entrance used to be. As she began crying again, she heard a rustle from where the kitchen was. She ran over there, avoiding all smoldering posts and dangerous obstacles. As she got to where the rustling was, she noticed that it was the freezer that held all the meats and perishable items. Melissa called for someone to come help. A firefighter came and opened the doors. As he did, JD fell out from inside. He was shivering from the cold. Melissa held him and smiled as she cried. The firefighters carried him to an ambulance.
    tab Melissa went with JD to the hospital. He passed out on the way there, but it was nothing serious. The medic who was watching over him told her that it was just exaustion. The next morning, Melissa brought their children to the hospital where JD was staying. He had some burns, but nothing too bad. He told them what happened and told them that he was going to be alright. Zoey stood next to her father with a smile on her face. "Daddy, don't ever leave like that again. You have to stay around so that we can have our own restaurant."
    tab JD nodded. "Yeah, I don't plan on doing that again anytime soon. The next time I am going to check everything before I turn on the burners." They all laughed. Melissa walked over to the bedside and kissed JD romantically. Both Zoey and Lucas turned away and said "YUCK!". JD and Melissa just laughed and continued.