---

Previously

“Kelly? What are you saying?”

“It’s not so much what I’m saying as what you are, Moira. Everything we’ve talked about leading up to today says...what you’re saying to your family and me…maybe what you’re having a hard time hearing yourself, is that you’re the same person you’ve already been, right?”

“Yes...yes” Moira nodded, already feeling some relief in anticipation.

“So…would it follow that it’s okay for Moira to continue to like…even love the same things Jimmy did?”

“Yes,” She went from optimistic to fearful in a moment, hoping she was right. Kelly nodded and continued.

“So if it was okay…not wrong for Jimmy to really like girls, wouldn’t it be okay…perfectly alright for you to still like girls?” She nodded.

“And wouldn’t it also follow that it would be okay…even a good thing to contact this girl…what was her name?”

“Mika,” she nodded.

“To contact Mika? To get to know her? To see where things go?”

“Yes?” One last plea, hoping she answered "correctly." Kelly nodded, expecting a glowing smile, but instead the girl burst into tears. With almost as much energy and emotion over her fear of being wrong, the girl wept out of relief of being right; of finally fitting in and being okay. Kelly leaned back in her chair and sighed deeply before saying one last time,

“Yes, Moira, absolutely yes!”

---

The McKenna Home several days later...

“Hello, is this the Streeter household?” Moira said softly, almost in a whisper. She was very worried even after rehearsing several times what she would say. She found she need not have worried.

“Yes, this is the Streeter home; may I ask who is calling.” The man on the other end seemed pleasant enough.

“This is Moira…Moira McKenna…I’m a…I’m a friend of Mika’s.” Her voice was even softer.

“Did you say Mika? She’s not home. She just went out with her boy friend. This is her Dad…Can I have her call you when she gets in?” The man spoke clearly; too clearly.

“No…no…that’s okay.” Moira hung up the phone and walked into her room. She fell on the bed and cried until she fell asleep.

---

A little later...

“Hello, is this the McKenna home? This is Mika…Mika Streeter. Is Moira home?” She asked. Archie looked around and didn’t see her. He walked into her room and found her lying in bed. Rather than disturb her he went back to the phone.

“She’s asleep. You can call back in a little while if you like.” He smiled wanting to be clever, added,

“She hasn’t finished crying.”

“Oh, gosh…Is anything wrong?” Mika’s voice trembled.

“Oh…geez…I think she’s upset.” Archie was being his old teasing self; some habits die hard. He looked over at Moira’s door and smiled wryly before continuing.

“Something about someone having a boyfriend? I really don’t know actually, just that she’s been in her room crying for the last hour.” He looked over once again and shrugged his shoulders. He wasn’t trying to be cruel, and oddly, his teasing actually accomplished something good for a change as Mika said softly,

“I’ll be right over…please don’t bother her until I get there, okay.” Archie looked one last time at her doorway and said,

“You got it!” He hung up the phone, hoping for the best prank he had ever pulled, but when he got to the door to Moira’s bedroom he heard her sobbing.

“Oh fuck…” He shook his head and knocked on the door.

“Go away!’ The voice called from inside the bedroom.

“Nope…” He tried the door found it unlocked. Pushing it open he walked in to find Moira lying face down on her bed. It seemed almost weird to see her like this. When he looked at Moira in that regard, his attitude changed from that of a kid brother who looked up to Jimmy to a brother who wanted to protect his sister.

“What do you want?” She wasn’t curt or rude, and Archie looked at her with sympathy.

“I just wanted to know how you were doin’…. You know? You’ve been cryin’ for almost an hour, and I figured it had to be sumthin’ important.”

“I’m okay…you don’t have to stay with me, Arch….really.” Moira sniffled and sat up.

“For someone who’s okay, you sure look awfully fuckin’ sad!” Archie struggled to purge his favorite modifier from his vocabulary.

“Sure I’m upset…but I’m okay, alright? You don’t have to stay with me.” She shrugged her shoulders; she wanted the company, but not if Archie felt he had to stay there.

“What the fuck, Moira, make up your mind!” Archie snapped, but instead of being upset, Moira smiled and shook her head, almost as if she couldn’t believe what she had just heard.

“That’s the sweetest thing you’ve ever said to me, Archie. Thanks!” She shrugged her shoulders again and Archie shook his head.

“’What the fuck’ is sweet?”

“No…Archie…you called me by my name.” She began to tear up again.

“Oh Fuck…don’t start cryin’ again…I’m sorry!” He pled, but Moira cried even as she smiled at him again.

“Archie…yoooo….you calllleddddd…..meee….Moyyyyyyy….rah.” She sobbed. He walked to the bed and sat down. Hugging her awkwardly, he looked just as his father poked his head in the doorway.

“What’s wrong?” Kellan asked as worry crossed his face.

“Everything’s okay, Dad.” Archie shrugged and Kellan matched the expression and smiled.

“Dad?” Archie spoke up just as his father turned to leave.

“Yes?”

“She’s okay, right?” Kellan walked around and looked at Moira’s face. She clung tightly to her little brother, and while there were tears streaming down her cheeks, she had the most content smile you’d likely ever see. Kellan walked around again and nodded.

“Yes, Arch…she’s okay.” He smiled and turned to leave again before Archie called out one last time.

“Dad?” Kellan turned once again to see a very puzzled look on his face.

“Yes, Arch?”

“If this is what ‘okay’ looks like, I’d hate to see what the fuck bad looks like.” Kellan resisted the twin urges to either laugh out loud or correct his son’s profanity, but instead smiled and said as he walked out the door.

“Me, too, Archie my boy, me too!”

---

Meanwhile, at the home of Andrew and Connie and Annie Mangano...

“Annie, there’s some mail for you.” Andrew looked at the return address on the envelope and cringed. “Grace and Peace Fellowship, Harding Avenue, Des Moines, IA 50301,” the envelope was addressed by hand to Miss Anne Mangano.

“Okay, Dad.” Annie walked tentatively toward the front hallway where her father stood.

Even with the profession of faith, so to speak, their relationship was anything but back to normal. Andrew still struggled with the presence of a daughter at the dinner table where once sat a beloved son. He loved Annie, in his own way, and things were getting better day by day, but he had a hard time relating to this new female whose needs and wants were decidedly different from the son he had raised to the age of sixteen.

I need to know that I will always be
The same old someone that you knew
What will it take till you believe in me
The way that I believe in you

“This letter came today.” Andrew handed it to her as if it were radioactive. Their experience at the church, while enlightening and freeing, was not a comfortable one to say the least, and he feared what the letter held. Annie took her left index finger and pulled the loosely glued flap open. She unfolded the letter and found it to be written, not typed, and on plain paper rather than church stationary.

“Dear Miss Mangano,

Please accept my profound apologies for my behavior the Sunday you and your family and friends attended the church services. I am ashamed of what I said to you and your family. I am even more ashamed for the bad example I set before the Church in general and my family in specific. I do not pretend to understand completely what you present yourself to be, but that is from my perspective as a parent as well as a minister, and has more to do with my own prejudice than anything about you. With the help of some minister friends of mine to whom I have made myself accountable, I have come to see that you have done nothing wrong, and it is to my eternal regret and sadness that I accused you of such in front of so many people.

Please forgive me for my actions, and please do not hold the Fellowship accountable; my views were entirely my own, and I wish to absolve the church of that responsibility. It took my own child…my …daughter…to show me how wrong I was and what a fool I’ve been. I have taken some time since that Sunday to spend with my family, and have come to at least appreciate your perspective much more as I get to know the daughter I never realized I had. To that end, I have taken a leave of absence from the Church. I will be returning sometime at the end of next month, hopefully a better human being and husband and father because of it, but I owe you a debt of gratitude for your willingness to be brave in the face of my horrible behavior.

I Timothy 4:12 says….’ And don't let anyone put you down because you're young. Teach believers with your life: by word, by demeanor, by love, by faith, by integrity.’ You’ve taught me a thing or two, and I am thankful for that.

Best Regards, Vito Pastore

Over the next several days, both Mangano families and the McKenna family received similar letters from Rev. Pastore, and each member of the church received a letter of apology as well. Annie looked at her father, who just smiled and hugged her; still a bit awkward, but getting better every day.

---

Meanwhile, back at the McKenna home...

A knock came at the door. Kellan opened it to find Mika Streeter standing on the front porch. He opened the door wide and invited her in. Archie started to walk away when Kellan grabbed him by the collar.

“And where would you be off to, Arch?” Archie shrugged and put his head down, fearing the worst. Mika smiled and said,

“Oh, your son invited me over. I’m here to visit Moira.” She smiled at her own mention of Moira’s name.

“She’s in her room; you can go right back.” Kellan used his hand to point to the door, which was ajar. As Mika turned Archie shrugged his shoulders in apology. Kellan smiled at his son.

“If you need us, we’ll be in the kitchen.” Kellan ushered his son into the kitchen and pointed him in the direction of the sink. It was piled high with the dishes of breakfast and lunch. He smiled at Archie who shrugged one last time before he rolled up his sleeves and got to work.

“Moira?” Mika said as she knocked on the door. A voice nearly whispered.

“Come in.” Mika walked in to find Moira sitting on her bed, her back to the wall, reading a biography of Gershwin. She smiled and walked over. Without asking, she plopped on the bed next to Moira and said,

“Oh Gosh…Gershwin….Rhapsody In Blue….Porgy and Bess…wow…you like Gershwin?” Her smile was greeted by a sheepish half-frown.

“Yes….Mika…what are you doing here? I thought you had a date?” She turned away. She was embarrassed, and her face began to grow warm.

“I wanted to explain.” Mika pled, but Moira cut her off.

“No need to explain. You’ve got a boy friend. It’s okay, really.” That word okay slipped too easily into the sentence, and Mika grabbed her by the hand, startling her.

“No…not okay….” Moira went to protest and Mika put her hand up.

“That wasn’t my father on the phone. That was my brother.” Moira’s eyes widened.

“He doesn’t approve of my…choices. So when a girl calls up he assumes that it’s a girlfriend or someone who’s….interested. He tells them I’m out with my boyfriend and that usually puts people off.

My last girlfriend clocked him…knocked him on his ass. You’d think he would have learned. Coming from a family like ours, he’s been diagnosed with a psychological disorder.” Moira was speechless but her expression said “really?” and begged an explanation.

“My dad says he’s a clinical jackass!” She laughed softly and her hand brushed Moira’s arm, sending a shudder up the girl’s back.

“I feel like such a fool.” She needed not explain further; her red face and eyes let Mika know she’d been crying.

“I’m so sorry, but at the same time I’m honored.” Moira looked at her in question.

“You cared enough about me to be disappointed when you thought I didn’t like you that way.” Moira went to protest but Mika put her finger to Moira’s lips.

“I saw the look in your eyes when I walked in. I had the same look in my eyes when I got in my car after the birthday party. And I cried, too.” Moira looked at her almost sideways.

“Why would you cry?” She bit her tongue; afraid she’d reveal anything else. She felt almost exposed.

“Because every time I see a girl I really like, it never goes any further than giving them my number. Most times they don’t call, and when they do, if I answer the phone I chicken out…I never follow through.” She bit her own lip, almost a mirror image of the fear and doubt on Moira’s face.

“But why? I’m not…you don’t know anything about me…you don’t know….”

“That you play the mandolin? That you love Gershwin and piano and music? That the McKenna family didn’t always have three girls?” Moira grew red; more from shame than at any other time in her short life. Mika grabbed her hand and held it in both of hers.

“You don’t remember me…Ms. Petrova…your piano instructor…I’m her daughter. Streeter is her married name; my Dad...Step-dad...oh you know what I mean. I used to sit and listen to you play. I had a crush on you then even though you were younger than me.” Moira went to pull away.

“You were a girl then, Moira…you just hadn’t figured it out yet. But I think I had…at least I’d like to think I did.” She laughed softly even as her hands caressed Moira’s hand.

“But…” Moira went to protest once again. Mika spoke softly.

“Moira…I don’t know where this is going to go. I’ve only had two other girlfriends in my life (other?) and things didn’t go so well. They only were looking for a novelty…like I was some thing they wanted to try out. But you…you’re different.” She winced when she heard herself speak the last word.

“I’m make-believe, too, Mika. I’m pretend.” She misted up. Part of her felt embarrassed because she couldn’t stop crying after nearly eighteen years of hardly crying at all. Things would balance themselves out as she adjusted to the newness of expressing her emotions, but at that moment, it was entirely to be expected anyway; another girl had essentially shared how special she felt Moira was.

“Not make-believe, honey…the real deal…you’re someone who’s touched a nerve in me…you’re like I just walked across the floor and a spark jumped from your hand to mine.” She said this while contuing to caress Moira’s hand.

“But you…you’re…” Moira felt outclassed in a way…out of Mika’s league so to speak. Mika felt like she was bailing water out of a leaky boat in the middle of a lake; getting nowhere fast, as some would say. She looked at Moira and smiled wryly as if to say, “You have given me little choice.” Pulling Moira close she kissed her full on the lips.

Moira’s eyes grew wide in shock and her expression changed from surprise to wonder to joy to tearful joy and back to joy again. Mika kissed her on the neck and hugged her tightly as she said over and over, “It’s okay…It’s okay.”

Archie was just returning from a trip to the bathroom when he looked into the open doorway and saw the two kissing and hugging. In his own inimitable fashion, he exclaimed,

“What the fuck? Dad!!!! Commere! Look! Moira’s got a girl friend!” He smiled broadly and then turned to see his father’s glare, but rather than correct his son, Kellan smiled and replied,

“That she does, Archie, my boy; that she does!”

---

Cup o’ Kryptonite Comic Warehouse, Des Moines, Iowa a few weeks later

I don't want clever conversation
I never want to work that hard
I just want someone that I can talk to
I want you just the way you are

“You got the new Wolverine? I heard they changed him again?” Archie asked the girl behnd the counter.

“Yeah…it’s over on that rack next to the WoW display.” She pointed and Archie walked over. As he reached into his pocket he bumped into someone.

“Oh...sorry,” the girl said as she picked up the Atom figurine she was carrying and placed in the display case above the rack.

“My bad….hey you work here?” Archie asked as he turned his back to her facing the comics rack.

“Yes…I help out my second cousin sometimes…He’s the weekday manager.” She smiled and Archie thought there was something familiar about her.

“Do we know each other? I swear you look like someone I know….” Archie did a supreme job of not using his favorite modifier. The girl smiled and said,

“We haven’t met…but I think I know you anyway.” She blushed and turned her head.

“Fuck…someone like you you’d think I woulda remembered.” He wasn’t being sexual in the least; the girl was actually a very nice kid. She grew redder, more out of what she was about to say than the complement.

“I….I saw you in church last month.” She shrugged as if to apologize.

“Oh yeah, when the shit hit the fucking fan.” That modifier again. She half-frowned at him and he shrugged his shoulders.

“Sorry. You were there?"

“I sorta was in the middle of it….I saw your family and the other families. And I saw you stand up for that girl….”

“Oh yeah…Annie…my sister’s girlfriend.” Archie surprised himself with the ease to which he replied.

“You were there? Did you stand up?” He looked at her wondering about her familiar face.

“Ummm yeah…I sorta was on the platform.” She winced as Archie mouthed ‘what the fuck’ slowly.

“You’re the pastor’s kid?” He smiled and tilted his head. She bit her tongue expecting the worst.

“I can see why you said you’re a girl.” She was waiting for a punchline that never came. Archie took another solid step into the world of humanity and said with a smile.

“You’re pretty. Not a babe, but very pretty.” Almost an insult for anyone else, it was the nicest most wonderful moment in her brief life, and she began to cry.

“Oh fuck, I’m sorry.” He was.

“No…no…nobody ever said that to me at all. It’s all good…really.” Archie didn’t understand his own sisters; how was he expected to understand a girl he had just met. And while he wasn’t completely uncomfortable with her…after all, his older sister was…well, one of ‘them,’ he wasn’t sure how to relate to her. Not so much what he should say as what he shouldn’t say; he really wanted to be kind.

“Oh…okay. I never told anybody except my twin sisters they were pretty…maybe my Mom before she died.”

“Gee, I’m sorry…that must be hard.” The girl said. Archie nodded.

"Not as hard as being treated like crap all your life when you're really okay, right?" She sniffled and wiped her face with her sweater sleeve. Nodding, she held out her hand…

“I’m sorry…I’m Riella…Riella Pastore.” She smiled.

“Oh…yeah…Archie…Archie McKenna.” He smiled and things became awkward for a whole variety of reasons, not least of which was that Archie was a boy in transition, having no experience with girls at all. She turned to walk away but Archie continued.

“You like 360? I’ve got the newest Halo game…wanna come over to my house?” He smiled awkwardly.

“OH…no…I don’t really care for that….” He frowned until she added,

“I’m really into the new Madden though.” Archie beamed and said,

“Fuck…yeah…I got that, too. Glad he’s not doing the game any more…what a….” Archie was going to add his favorite modifier one last time but smiled and said,

“What time you get off?” She looked at the clock over the counter. 5pm. She smiled and said,

“Right now!”

"Cool!"

---

On the front porch at the home of Pete and Marie Mangano and family...

"Love me?" Annie looked at her girlfriend and smiled.

“I don’t know…I guess.” Maureen smiled back and kissed Annie on the cheek.

“What? Well, in any case, I love you…very much.” Annie leaned closer. Maureen playfully offered her cheek but Annie grabbed her chin softly, turning her face to kiss her.

“Oh no…you’re not going to get away that easy.” Colleen sat on the front step. Dina went to get up but Colleen grabbed her hand, pulling her back down.

“Daddy says maybe a double wedding, but after we graduate college.” Colleen said. Dina looked at her and smiled.

“Whatever you say….right, Annie?” Dina looked back and saw that Maureen and Annie were decidedly preoccupied. She turned back to Colleen and smiled before leaning in closer to her girlfriend.

“Whatever you say.”

“You know what you remind me of?” Maureen kissed Annie on her cheek right next to her left eye. She continued to kiss her on her nose and her chin and her mouth, but not before finally saying.

“You’re so lovely…so wonderful; graceful in fact. With your long neck.…you’re just like….a swan. Annie just stared at her sweetly until Maureen said once again,

"Yeppers...a swan!"

---

Epilogue
TD Ameritrade BallPark, Omaha, Nebraska, The College World Series, Eight Years Later.

“Now batting for Iowa State, Second Baseman, Archie McKenna.” The overhead speaker blared. Kellan stood up and yelled,

“Archie….take him the other way!”

Archie couldn’t hear his Dad, but he felt him…and somehow his Mom as well. Several figures stood up and cheered along side Kellan McKenna. His daughters all cheered for their baby brother, a baby no longer. Moira and Mika both wore Iowa State sweatshirts and ball caps. Maureen sat next to Annie, her stomach large with their second daughter while her sister Eileen was sitting on Mommy Annie’s shoulders.

Colleen and Dina were cheering too, but Colleen wore the colors of the rival Nebraska Cornhuskers, being an assistant coach for Nebraska’s Women’s Softball team. The only one missing was Archie’s girlfriend. Actually, that’s sort of wrong, since she wasn’t his girlfriend any longer.

Riella Isabella Pastore McKenna cheered her husband of six weeks as he stepped up to the plate. He turned and nodded to the family before turning to the catcher and smiling.

“Great day for a fucking ballgame, huh?” He said just before he hit the first pitch of the game for a triple.

Some habits are just hard to break, yes?

Don't go changing, to try and please me
You never let me down before
Don't imagine you're too familiar
And I don't see you anymore
I wouldn't leave you in times of trouble
We never could have come this far
I took the good times, I'll take the bad times
I'll take you just the way you are

I said I love you, and that's forever
And this I promise from the heart
I could not love you any better
I love you just the way you are

---

Just the Way You Are
words and music by Billy Joel
as performed by Diana Krall
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YiOYsnET6Iw