Sometimes, Mom and Dad really do know best.

It was barely after ten pm when Everett pulled up to the MacDallan home. Chrissy knew her parents would still be awake, so they went outside. "Mom? Dad? I'm here for my car." she called out as she walked through the front door.

"We're in the living room, Chrissy!" Her mom called out from across the house.

Everett looked around, taking in all the photographs and pictures and everything else as they passed the front sitting room and office, through the narrow hallway past some stairs and a bathroom to the back of the house that folded out into the kitchen and living room. "Your house is nice," he said. "I like it. Nice and cozy." He smiled, a warm, comfortable smile.

They made their way towards the kitchen before they met her mother, "Oh, Everett!, What a nice surprise. We were just going to have some ice cream. Care to join us?" She asked from inside the freezer.

"Hello, Mrs. MacDallan."

"Oh, can the formalities. Call me Kathryn."

"Okay, Kathryn." He said, as she pulled some dishes from the cupboard. "We just ate way too much at the Riverwoods, and I don't think I could eat any more."

"Oh, did you have a good time?"

"Yes, Mom," Chrissy answered. Chrissy leaned on the counter with the palms of her hands, locking her elbows and jumping to sit on the counter. She noticed the flowers Everett had given her mother on the round dining table. "Those flowers look nice there, Mom," She said, nodding at the table.

"Well, thank you. Some nice young man gave them to me earlier this evening. Now, get off the counter, " she said, as she winked in their direction. "Are you sure you don't want some ice cream?" She asked, as Ian came over to the counter to retrieve some for himself.

"Oh," Everett found himself saying, "I couldn't possibly..." he stopped, mid sentence, eyeballed the carton, then grinned, devilishly at Chrissy. "Could I possibly bother you to show me where the water closet is?"

"Water closet?" Kathryn asked, eyebrows raised.

"Bathroom, Mom." They laughed as Chrissy jumped off the counter. "I'll show you. We passed it on the way in." He followed her out of the kitchen and down the hallway to the bathroom and asked, "Do you think you'll get lost on the way back, or do you want me to wait for you?" She asked, reaching for his hand.

He reached back and said to her, softly, "I think I'll be okay," and turned into the little room.

Chrissy rejoined her parents in the living room and put her feet on the coffee table to watch them eat desert.

"He seems so formal," Ian said, interrupting his desert to say it.

"But that's the way he really is." Chrissy came to Everett's defense. "What you saw has been completely consistent with his overall character."

"He really is darling," Kathryn said, before taking another bite of ice cream.

"Yea," replied, Chrissy. "I really like him." She sighed.

"You don't say," Ian said, feigning surprise.

"Dad! Knock it off!" Chrissy said, as she threw a pillow across the room at her father, who couldn't do much to block, because he was holding a porcelain bowl of ice cream. They all laughed together. No one seemed to notice the figure leaning in the doorway, with his arms crossed as they continued to talk for a couple of minutes, ". . .and it really has nothing to do with his career he left behind."

Everett smiled to himself, for he was really beginning to fall for Chrissy. He took care to backtrack his steps quietly, and made he reentry into the living room with a little bit louder footsteps. "Your home really is quite lovely," he said looking around him as he came into the living room. "Those pictures in the hallway? Is that your son, the missionary?" he asked as he sat next to Chrissy on the couch, but not as close as they sat on the benches at the Riverwoods.

"Yes, that's Jake." Ian said. " He'll be home in little more than eight months." He said so proudly.

"I don't know how hard it must be for you, but I know there are people he has come to love who take care of him and want him to succeed." Everett said. "It was that way for me."

"Oh," Kathryn replied, "That's so kind of you to say." Her whole face smiled and she said, "You know, Chrissy, you really ought to bring Everett around more often. A mom could get used to his complements and stuff."

"Yep." Chrissy smacked the 'p' on the end of the word and both she and Everett blushed. They both picked up that her parents were being sincere.

"Tell me, Everett," Ian said, "Why did you pick Utah?" he asked, as he leaned back into his Lazy Boy recliner.

Everett sat forward on the couch and explained about his conversion. How a very important person in his band had become a member and it had changed his life.He was a better guitarist because of it. He also got along better with the people he knew, but most importantly, he had a peace about him that Everett wanted part of, so he started to learn and along with all the good changes it made in his friends life, it change Everett for the better. It wasn't long after he had learned about the pre-mortal life that his younger sister was diagnosed with leukemia. And he knew deep to his bones that what he had learned was true, and for his sisters sake, and his, he needed to act and make a decision, so he was baptized. His parents didn't approve, and they fell out of sorts with one another, never completely cutting ties, just becoming strained. And his sister never fully recovered and has been sort of fragile ever since. So, in an effort to be around more members, he put his band on hold and came to a place where he could be around more of the same influence. Where he wouldn't be taken advantage of because of his celebrity status. He even mentioned that his parents were accepting missionaries now.

"And I had to pick the place where even only one person knew," he beamed over in Chrissy's direction, making a little red coloring rise up her neck.

"My parents are the only ones I ever told, really," Chrissy confessed, "They've known since we saw 'Hawkeye' in Las Vegas."

"We?"


"Me, and Angela, and Suzy."

"Oh, is that why she always acts suspicious?"

"Yeah. But she would have said something to me by know if she knew. . .."

"Well," Ian said, standing up and collecting ice cream bowls, "It's an honor to have you in our home."

"Thank you, Ian. Like I said before, it's my pleasure," and he squeezed Chrissy's hand.

"Come any time."

                                                   * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

It was eleven thirty when Chrissy and Everett finally left the MacDallan home. "Thanks, Mom, but I need to go to my place tonight."

"Well, you know if you want, you're always welcome to come home." Kathryn said as she walked the two young adults to the door. "Have a good night, sweetie. Thanks for coming over." She hugged her daughter and waved them out the door. "Come again," and then they heard the door shut.

As they took their leave, Everett took Chrissy by the hand and walked to her car on the side of the street. "They really do like you." She said as they walked. She held his forearm with her free hand and looked at the ground.

He bumped her side, only to make her lose her footing, but she regained herself quickly and giggled. "I like them too, Chrissy." He smiled at her and stopped at her car and leaned on the door. They stood this way, in amicable silence, for a full minute. Chrissy noted Everett's eyes dart to her lips as he pulled her close, and Chrissy, for the first time, realized how strong he really was. While he was bundling his arms around her waist, he noticed a flutter in the window of the house they just came out of. "I think your mom is watching."

Chrissy made a quick exhale and retorted, "I bet my dad just got after her, too." They both smiled as Everett rested his chin on top of her head. "You're tired," she said to Everett. "If you want, I can follow you home, or you can follow me home, or something." It was a little hard to see his face, that being on top of her head. It was obvious to both of them that they wanted nothing more than to be together, but it was also obvious to both of them that it was getting really late.

"I think I am going to make myself go to sleep now," Everett said, to no one in particular.

"Yeah, me too. I haven't realized, until now, how tired I really am" She took a step back to look in his eyes. "See you tomorrow at church?"

"Of course. I'm looking forward to it," and he moved his right hand on the back of her neck and leaned down and kissed her, gently on the lips. It wasn't his imagination when he felt his own breath catch at the same time Chrissy's did. What a truly magical moment. "I'll follow you," he whispered.

"Good night, Everett," she said as she stepped around him, to get into her car. "I'll see you in the morning. She had to get in quick and not look back, because she didn't know if she would be able to control herself if she did.