And it was true, she thought proudly. Alex didn't really take after her, with her pale skin and coal-black hair. And he didn't much resemble his father, either. At over six feet, he was considerably taller than Joshua, for one thing. And his hair was a rich brown, rather than her husband's sandy blond. The only things they had in common were their dark blue eyes and the noses which dominated their faces.

Josh had apologized for that, she remembered fondly. It had been a few months after the wedding. They had been lying in bed in their apartment in Champaign, watching unborn Alex kick and push against the taut skin of Rachel's stomach.

“He's going to get my nose, poor kid," Josh said.

“Trust me on this.”

He leaned back against the pillows and rubbed his own impressive beak.

“Five generations of our family. All the way back to my great-great-grandmother. We all get the Naismith Nose."

Nearly twenty-two years later, that unexpected but dearly beloved boy-child sat in front of her. He was strong, healthy, generous, intelligent, and kind. The teenager he had been was slowly melting away, revealing the man he would become. A man with strong, even features, deep-set blue eyes, and an impressively masculine body.

“You're handsome enough for me," she finished softly, eying her son's long, lanky form. In the soft light of the lamps, his skin glowed with good health, his lean body almost bursting with energy.

~And me.~

The moment stretched. Just before it could become awkward, Alex blinked and climbed to his feet.

“So what's the deal with Dad coming up for a visit?" he asked. "I'll be glad to see him, but after the blowout you two had at Christmas, I didn't think you two would ever be in the same room again."

Rachel flushed with embarrassment, ashamed of her actions five months ago. Helped on by a Little too much Christmas cheer in the form of red wine, she had taken Joshua to task over what she considered a needlessly provocative art exhibit. Rachel was happy to admit that she was cheerfully oblivious when it came to religion. Her parents had never dragged her off to church on Sunday mornings, having better things, they thought, to do with their time. But there was a point where ‘pushing the envelope’ became ‘deliberately offensive.’

Joshua had flown past that point, probably giving it the finger and laughing gaily as it sailed by underneath him. Some of the pieces had been tacky, but amusing, such as the one where Santa's elves were looking up Mrs. Claus' dress. But others were sure to inflame even the most open mind. For instance, the one where the Virgin Mary had been giving Joseph a blow job in the stable, while a wide-eyed Baby Jesus looked on with apparent interest. Or the one where a group of naked carolers were invited into a house by a lecherously grinning man. Or the one where the Three Wise Men visited a whorehouse in Bethlehem.

She had refused to let the subject drop, complaining throughout

Christmas dinner. Joshua, as he was prone to do, had simply stopped responding to her. But when the meal was over, he had put on his coat, shook Alex's hand, kissed Sarah goodbye, and walked out the door. Ina short, terse voice-mail the next day, he had told Rachel exactly what he thought about a woman who treated her ex-husband that way in front of their children.

“I love your father, Alex," she said softly, her cheeks burning. "Even when I was angriest at him, I never stopped Loving him. Luckily for me, he's quicker to forgive than I am. I can hold onto a grudge for years.

With him, he either forgives you, or never speaks to you again. I got lucky at Christmas. But I'm not going to take that sort of risk a second time.

“Lately, I've been thinking. It might be possible,” she said, smiling slightly, “that I am as stubborn and pig-headed as he is. Maybe it's time I admitted I made a mistake. Maybe the problem isn't your father's art, but me.

“Anyway, he'll be up on Friday. I'm not sure how long he'll be staying.

A few days, at least. Maybe, hopefully, longer."