Sana came over to our place one evening about a month later, looking worried. She said she had something to talk about, something about Donny.

After sitting Sana at the table and getting us some tea, I sat down to hear whatever bad news she might have. "What's wrong?" I asked, wishing Emmy were home so I didn't have to deal with Night Children drama by myself all the time.

"I thought it was important to tell you," she said, looking as if she didn't want to tell me at all.

Impatient, I demanded "OK, what's going on? Something's up."

"I... we... Donny and I..." Sana stammered, looking anywhere but at me. She looked embarrassed, but not ashamed or hurt, so I figured whatever it was couldn’t be too bad.

Suddenly, the light dawned. "You guys are having a relationship, aren't you?" It was more of a statement than a question, and Sana looked relieved to have it out in the open.

"Yes, we are. I felt it was necessary to tell you about this right away, to see if it was O.K. with you.”

“Um, I have two questions, I guess. The first is, is Donny treating you well? Is he showing you respect?”

“Oh yes, he is,” she gushed. “He’s wonderful! He’s so good to me, and so attentive!” She went on like that for a while longer, and I could tell that she was head over heels for that goofy redhead.

“My second question is how long has this been going on, and what do you mean when you said you needed to tell me right away?” I asked.

“I guess I’d been feeling things for him for a few weeks now, but last night was the first time we did anything. He told me he loved to look at me, and I told him that I loved the way he looked at me and he could look all he wanted.” She paused to think about how she was going to continue her story.

“I wanted to see the desire in his eyes, you know? It made me feel so good, to know this wonderful daylighter could see me as attractive, even though I’m a child of the night. I could tell he liked me, because of the way he cares for me. He’s so sweet, you know?” she asked, more than a little bit dreamily. “So I showed myself to him. I made it seem as if it was an accident, that I didn’t know he was home.”

“Uh, what do you mean ‘showed yourself to him’?” I asked.

“I walked out of the bathroom fresh from my shower with no clothes on,” she answered. “I wanted so badly for him to want me, and when I saw the look in his eyes, I knew he did.”

“Is that when he said he loved to look at you?”

“Yes, well, it was a few minutes later, but yes. That’s when I knew I didn’t want to put any clothes on. I wanted him to keep looking at me with that desire in his eyes.”

“Yeah, well. I can see how that might have done it, all right. So what else happened?” I asked, wondering how far things had gone.

“I told him I wanted him to kiss me, and touch me,” Sana confessed.

“Let me guess. He was perfectly willing to do both, am I right?” I asked, rolling my eyes.

“Yes, he was. And it felt good, Leah. Very good. I’d never kissed anybody before, so I didn’t know what to expect, but it was nice. I liked it a lot. And his hands on me, well, that was amazing. I felt like I was on fire, you know?”

“Uh, yeah, I know the feeling,” I admitted.

“It felt so good that we just didn’t want to stop. I wanted him to touch me everywhere, and I wanted to touch him, too. Soon we were both naked-”

“Yeah, I get the picture,” I interrupted. A thought occurred to me, and I asked “Did you guys use protection?”

“Protection?” Sana asked, puzzled.

“A condom? The pill? Anything?” I suggested.

“No, no condom, and we didn’t take any pills, either...” Sana replied, still puzzled.

“Aw, damn it,” I groaned. “What if you get pregnant?”

“That would be wonderful!” Sana exclaimed, her face lighting up at the thought (if you could describe a face as black as midnight ever lighting up).

“Um, what?” I asked, surprised by her reaction.

“If I could have a baby it would be the greatest gift I could imagine!” Sana said, positively glowing with pleasure at the idea.

The next morning when Donny and I met for our traditional coffee stop, I asked point-blank about what was going on. “Donny, Sana told me last night that the two of you did it.”

“What?” Donny nearly lost his coffee all over his shirt as we walked, he was so surprised by what I’d said.

“Sana told me that you two had sex, that’s what,” I answered him calmly.

“Uh, well, yeah, we did,” he admitted bashfully. “But why did she tell you?”

“All the night children tell me what’s going on in their lives, Don. You know that. I’m always the first one to know.”

“Yeah, I guess,” he conceded. “I mean, you and Emmy do so much for them.”

“There’s more to it than just that, but let’s get back to the topic at hand,” I said, mentally grimacing at my choice of words. “I want you to tell me about the relationship you two are having.”

“Jeeze, what’s up?” Donny pouted. “Are you her mother now or something?”

“Yes, I am,” I answered, making it clear that we were going to have this discussion, no matter how uncomfortable it might be.

Donny gave me a strange look, then relented, deciding to not push the issue. “Well, you know a few months ago when you first introduced me to the night children and I started working with them, I started to like Sana the most. I mean, she’s the most like us of any of them, the most adapted to our culture, right?” I nodded I understood, so he continued. “Then, when she had that trouble and needed a new place to live I offered that she could stay with me. I mean, it wasn’t really mine to offer, in a sense, because you guys are paying my rent, but anyway,” he babbled. I was hoping he’d get to the point.

“Well, I jumped at the opportunity to spend more time with her, so for me it was a total win having her move in with me. I mean, I liked her a lot, Leah. I really liked having her live with me. I liked cooking for the two of us, and I liked having someone home in the evenings, someone I could just talk to, you know? It didn’t take long for me to realize I was crazy about her, either.”

“You're crazy about her?” I asked for clarification.

“Oh, yeah!” he replied, warming to his subject. “She’s pretty, she has a good sense of humor, she’s sweet and kind, she’s smart, she has a sexy accent... I mean, what’s not to like?”

“I’m glad to hear it.” I admitted. “Now tell me what happened two nights ago.”

“It was kinda like some sort of porn fantasy,” Donny confessed. “I came home from my last afternoon class, right? I was sitting on the couch going through the mail when Sana walked out of the bathroom. She’d just taken a shower and didn’t realize I was home, so she was completely naked, just toweling off her hair.”

“Yeah?” I prodded to keep him talking.

“She was surprised- I mean, hell, we both were. But she took it calmly and walked over to see what I had in my hands.”

“She didn’t cover up?” I asked, knowing the answer. I just wanted to hear how the scene played out for him.

“No, she didn’t. When I asked her if she was going to, she asked me if I wanted her to. I said something like ‘No way, I’m glad you don’t have any clothes on’ or something stupid like that. She asked if I liked to look at her, and I said I did, and she told me she liked the way I was looking at her. She sat down next to me on the couch, and I mean right next to me. She asked if I wanted to kiss her, and I said I did, so we kissed. She asked me if I wanted to touch her, and of course I did, so...” he trailed off, lost in the memory.

“Next thing you know,” I said, giving him a little shoulder bump to continue.

“Next thing you know, we’re, like, totally making out. She’s pulling off my clothes and we’re going from ‘batter up’ to ‘home run’ over the next couple of hours.”

“So then what?” I asked.

“Well, we finally got up and showered (together, I might add) and went out for dinner. When we came home we climbed into my bed and made love again, then we fell asleep with her in my arms. In the morning I would have made love to her again, but she was still sound asleep, so I just kissed her for a bit then left for class.”

“You didn’t wake her up?” I asked.

“No, she was just too beautiful, too peaceful. I was just so amazed that this wonderful girl was in my bed- don’t tell this to anyone, Leah,” he suddenly demanded.

“Tell anybody what? You know I don’t spill secrets,” I said.

“When I pulled the covers back and just looked at her, Leah, she was so amazing, so ... so... I couldn’t help myself. I started to cry. I mean, nineteen years, and no girl even looks at me twice, and now, this amazing girl wants to be my lover? I was so nervous at first, but it was all so natural once we got started, you know?”

“You were a virgin?” I asked, a little bit surprised.

“Ssh! Not so loud!” Donny hissed, looking around to make sure nobody heard.

I reached my arm around his shoulders and gave him a sideways hug. “No, It’s cool,” I said. “Seriously.”

“Well, I’m not any more, I tell you. We’re making up for lost time, Sana and me.”

“Yeah?”

“Last night was more of the same. I couldn’t wait until Sana got home from work, and neither could she. It was killing me that she was later than usual getting home, but the moment she got back to the apartment she was tearing off my clothes like there was no tomorrow.”

“You know why she was late?” I asked, amused.

“Um, no...”

“Because she was at my place telling me what you guys did the night before,” I laughed.

“She gave you all the details?” he asked, floored. “And you still grilled me like the third degree?”

“There were a couple of details she told me that you might want to know.” I cautioned. “Some are good, some...”

“What?” Donny demanded, wondering if it was going to be bad news.

“Well, first off, she knew you were home.” The look in Donny’s eyes was well worth it, and I couldn’t help but laugh.

“You mean she-,” he sputtered.

Laughing some more, I said “Yeah. She told me she thought you were interested in her, and she wanted to see if you desired her the way she did for you.”

“Well, it worked,” he grinned, seeing the humor in it. “I’m glad she did, ‘cause I never would’ve been able to take the first step.”

“Another thing you might want to know is that it was her first time, too.”

“Seriously? I mean, are you kidding me?” Donny asked, stunned.

“Seriously. You’re her first, Don. I guess she’s been making up for lost time, too.”

“Wow. I mean, just wow,” he breathed, amazed at the news.

“O.K. Now, Donny. Here’s where the conversation gets serious. When I asked her if you guys used any protection, she didn’t even know what I was talking about.”

“I guess I just assumed...” Donny mumbled, looking bashful.

“Yeah, well, I guess there was no chance of either of you giving each other any STDs, so that’s good, right?” When he nodded, I continued. “But here’s the kicker. She wants to get pregnant.”

“What?” Donny exclaimed, too stunned to even continue walking to class.

I grabbed his arm to get him going again, and explained. “I talked to Emmy about it last night, and she told me that the night children have such a low birth rate that there are no unwanted pregnancies. Any woman that carries a baby to term is considered very fortunate, and any pregnancy at all is a ‘blessed event’” (I used my fingers for air quotes). “The odds are strongly against Sana getting pregnant, but she would absolutely welcome it if she did,” I told him, trying to make the point crystal clear.

“Well, I guess I need to pick up some Trojans, then.” he said, looking uncomfortable.

Since we were practically at the Bio building by that point, I grabbed his shoulder and said “C’mon. Let’s go someplace to talk. This is important.” Unresisting, Donny let me steer him away and towards a quiet bench in the shade. “Look, I need to make this clear, Don. Sana wants a child. She wants your child, and she’s not going to want you to use condoms. She’s not going to get on the pill, either. As far as she’s concerned, a kid would be the greatest thing that could happen.”

“Well, don’t I get a say?” Donny asked, somewhat petulantly, lowering my opinion of him a notch.

“Sure,” I replied, a little bit harshly. “Don’t have sex with her. Look, Donny, I guess what I’m trying to get at is that you may be getting into more than you realized with Sana. And no, although I don’t like saying it, I kinda don’t think you do get a say in it. I mean, this is part of the package with a relationship with a night child girl.”

“Well, what about you? I mean, you and Emmy, doesn’t she want kids, too?” Donny demanded, looking angrier than I’d ever seen him.

“Yes, we want to have kids. Actually, we need to specifically have at least a daughter. This has never been a secret between us.” I tried to stay calm, and I think it helped defuse Donny's emotions. “We’ve talked about how we are going to do it, and what donors we’d use and so on. We’re planning on it, Donny. Just like you need to think about it if you and Sana are going to have a relationship.”

Burying his head in his hands, Donny moaned. “I’m too young to be a dad. I mean, I’m still just a freshman, for chrissake.”

“Donny, my parents were twenty and nineteen years old when mom got pregnant with me. It happens all the time. People have to grow up in a hurry when they have kids to raise, but they do it. We all have to grow up some time, Donny. I didn’t expect this would be the year that I would do it, but I’ve done a whole lot of growing up in the last twelve months, Don. I mean, you asked if I was Sana’s mom? I kinda feel that way. I kinda feel like mom to all of the strays, you know? And they treat me like I'm their mom, too.”

“Yeah, I’ve seen that,” Donny agreed, leaning back on the park bench and tilting his head back to look at the branches above us. “So what you’re saying is that if I want to continue to have a relationship with Sana I have to be prepared to become a father, right?”

“Um, to put it bluntly, yes.” I agreed.

“But you said the odds are that she isn’t fertile, right?”

“Well, I’m not clear on that, actually. I don’t know if the night children women are infertile or the guys shoot blanks or both, but their birth rate is too low to sustain their population. Emmy’s parents actually believe that day walker genes might be the answer. They wanted Emmy to hook up with a healthy day walker.”

“So I probably won’t get her pregnant, but I might, and if I do, for sure she’ll want to have the baby.”

“Yeah, that’s it. There’s one more thing that Emmy explained to me, and I hope it doesn’t make any difference to you, but it might,” I said, really hoping I knew Donny as well as I thought I did.

“Yeah? What’s that?” he asked, looking me straight in the eye for the first time in what seemed like hours.

“The baby will be a night child. I guess what gives them their coloring is somehow carried on the X chromosome or something like that, and so any baby born of a night child mom is a night child, too. The baby might have your blue eyes, but it’ll definitely have Sana’s midnight black skin.”

Donny gave it a moment’s thought, then said “I guess that makes sense, somehow. I mean, I never really thought about it, but I’d have no problem with our kid looking more like her than me.”

I gave him another shoulder hug, and when that wasn’t enough, I wrapped my other arm around him and pulled him in for a great big squeeze. “So you’re gonna man up?” I asked.

“Can’t... Breathe...” he gasped, so I let him go. With his more typical humor, he said “Jeeze, Leah. You’re getting super freaking strong. You just about crushed the life outta me! But I have to say, there are worse ways of dying than being crushed to death in your cleavage!”

Laughing at the shove I gave him, he got serious again. “Yeah, I think I can man up if the circumstances arise. I mean, I’m crazy about her, Leah, I really am, and she seems to like me a lot, too. I want to try to make this work, you know?”

“She’s crazy about you, too, Don.” Suddenly, a thought occurred to me. “Hey, I have one more question for you, and this is a big one. If I bought the two of you tickets, would you take her back to Seattle to meet your parents for spring break?”

“Are you asking that because you aren’t sure if it’s too early, or if you aren’t sure how I think my parents will take it?” Donny asked, again looking me right in the eyes.

“Both, I guess,” I admitted.

“Well, my parents will be thrilled to meet any girlfriend I’d bring home, since I’ve never had one before and I’m pretty sure they have the feeling I might be gay- no offense, Leah,” he said, realizing he’d just put his foot in his mouth.

“None taken,” I assured him.

“They won’t care what she looks like, and Sana is so nice and polite that I know they’ll adore her.”

“What if they ask about her background?” I asked.

“Well, Dad’s a doctor so the whole ‘reverse albino’ story isn’t going to play out. I guess we’ve gotta go with the ‘very rare ethnic group’ line.”

“Well, it’s not a lie, is it?” I teased.

“No, I guess not,” Donny admitted.

“So I’ll do it. I know you were planning on staying here for the break, but if Sana can get the time off work I’ll buy you guys tickets.”

“Uh, why is this important to you?” he asked, and I have to admit it was a reasonable question.

“Because I want Sana to feel part of our society, for one. I mean, that’s what we’re trying to do with the strays, right? The other reason is that you don’t want your parents’ first news about your girlfriend to be that they are going to be grandparents, right?”

“No, I guess not,” Donny agreed, looking chagrined.

“So if you think you want to make this relationship work, commit to it, Don. Take her to meet your parents. Will they be O.K. With your girlfriend staying with you in their house?”

“Uh, no. I mean, they’re open minded, but that might be pushing it. We do have a guest bedroom, though... I’ll call them tonight and tell ‘em I want to bring my girlfriend up for the break and see how they react.”

“It’s a deal,” I said, grabbing his hand and shaking it.

Later that night in bed when I told Emmy about the visiting the parents thing she turned over and wrapped her arms around me, planting a big kiss on my lips. “You think of everything. You are so amazing, Leah. You come up with the most incredible plans all the time, and they make so much sense.”

“Thanks,” I said, blushing at the compliment. “I try.”

“You do more than try, Leah,” Emmy said as she rolled me onto my back. “You are so strong, so powerful, it makes me want you even more than I thought was possible.”

The next morning over coffee, Donny told me he had a talk with Sana.

“We talked about our future,” he said. “We decided that we want to try to make a go of it as a couple, and we are gonna face whatever comes together.”

“That’s awesome!” I crowed. “See, Donny, you grew up! Just like that!” I said, snapping my fingers.

Donny blushed and looked embarrassed, but continued anyway. “We want to take you up on your offer for tickets to visit my parents. Sana said that getting time off will be easy because so many students want extra hours during the break, so I called my folks.”

“How’d that go? I asked, sipping my latte.

“Good, real good. I told them I’d been seeing this girl since the term started, and that we were getting serious. I told ‘em I hadn’t wanted to mention anything until I was sure things were on solid ground, but now it’s time. I told them we’re even living together.”

“What did they say about that?”

“Well, Mom started talking about safe sex and so on, and Dad wanted to make sure we weren’t rushing in to things. Typical parents, I guess,” he grinned sheepishly.

“Did you tell them Sana is different?”

“Yeah, I kinda mentioned that Sana is of a different ethnic and cultural background than us, but they didn’t even bat an eye. Like I said, they were so pleased to hear I had a girlfriend at all that I could have told them I was dating a girl from Mars and they would have been happy to hear it.”

That got a smile from me, and I said “Yeah, well, that wouldn’t have been too far off the truth, would it?”

“No, I guess not,” Donny said with a grin, back to his usual goofy self.

Later, when I called Sana, she was thrilled that Donny was committing to be her boyfriend. “He is so wonderful,” she enthused. “I was afraid he would be ashamed of me, but he hasn’t been,” she said, her English accent getting stronger in her excitement. “He’s taken me to restaurants for dinner the last few nights, and he’s opened doors for me, and held my hand, and kissed me where others could see us. He’s been better than I could ever have hoped.”

“He told me you guys talked about your future,” I said, hoping that Sana would corroborate Donny’s story.

“Yes, we did. He told me that while he didn’t feel ready to be a father yet, if it happens, he would be as proud as any father could be. He also said that he wanted us to make a commitment to each other, and that he loves me.”

“He told you he loves you?” I asked, surprised. I mean, really, a guy dropping a bomb like that without being coerced into it? Wow. He really did man up big-time.

“Yes, he said he does, and I believe him. The way he looks at me makes my knees weak,” she confessed. “He is so sexy!”

Not how I would have ever described the guy, but O.K. As long as the two are in love, who am I to say?