Sunday at his folks' was a celebration; of his return, of their pregnancy and of their engagement. He was pleasantly surprised when he learned that Ashleigh had been coming to visit each Sunday, even without him. He was equally surprised when she stayed in the kitchen with the ladies and he walked in for another soda and saw Ashleigh and Alma whispering and giggling at the sink.

He couldn't have been more pleased. The only drawback was that he wasn't able to rough house with ...