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"That was Geraldine," I muttered, and they all laughed.

Misty took off the dress. Jade blew out the candle and turned off the music. She paused and looked back as we stood in the doorway.

"See," she said, "it is our special place, and we'll always be special to each other?'

All I could do was hope and pray she was right.

"But something happened last night, something very special and precious. Stuart's voice suddenly overpowered my father's and I could feel him being pushed out of me, shut out of me. I could love someone and someone could love me, and maybe that's more important than worrying about the truth and Geraldine and everything else," I said. "I think I'd even be willing to go to prison now, if I had to. I'll just say that I did it all myself. No one has to worry."

For a long moment, no one spoke.

"I think we should trust Cat's instincts on this," Star said, nodding. "Let her tell him. Jade?"

"There's no point in doing all we're doing if we don't allow ourselves to change and grow in new directions. Doctor Marlowe might even be happy about it," Jade added with a smile.

We all looked at Misty.

"All right:' she said. "Maybe I was being too selfish, worrying about my own love life. I'm sorry, Cat."

We hugged.

"Do you want to tell him today?" Jade asked.

"I should. I can't think of another lie about her." "Maybe we should all be there," Star suggested. Jade looked at me.

"It's not a bad idea, Cat. Then we'll leave you alone with him."

"All right," I said. Now that they had agreed, I began to feel nervous about it. Jade sensed it and reached out again.

"Hold hands," she ordered. She lowered her head and we clasped and lowered ours. "Deep breaths, clear your mind, refresh your spirit. We've got to call on each other, strengthen each other."

16 The Bonds of Fate

" Hi," Stuart began excitedly as soon as I opened the door. He came in quickly. "I thought you might want to go to a movie tonight. We could have dinner at Yin-Yangs which is right near the movie and..."

He paused when he saw all the girls sitting in the living room.

"Oh, a meeting of the sewing circle, huh?" he joked. When no one laughed, he looked at me with surprise. "Anything wrong?"

"We all want to talk to you, Stuart," Jade said. "Please come in and sin" She nodded at an empty chair.

'What's going on? Say, aren't you meeting my cousin later? He said something about taking you to the beach club for dinner tonight. Star, Misty, hi," Stuart continued as he walked into the living room. He glanced at me and sat. "So? What's this all about?" He smiled. "Planning another party?"

"It's about us and about Cat," Jade replied with a sternness in her voice. She turned to me. We hadn't discussed just how we were going to go about this, but I assumed we would all speak.

I sat to Stuart's right, facing him, but I didn't say anything.

'We're not a sewing circle, but we do have sort of a club,' Jade continued.

"We call it the OWP's," Misty said.

"OWP's?" Stuart smiled. "What's that?"

"Orphans With Parents," she explained. He looked even more confused.

"Excuse me? How can you be an orphan if you have parents?" he asked. Every time he spoke to one of them, he glanced at me.

"Without going into great detail, Stuart, we all met at a therapist's office," Jade continued.