Meanwhile, in Sweet Paris, Alya sighed as her best friend Alix Kubdel yelled at her for resigning from the Nathan Kurtzburg fan-club. "Just because you've been pinned by the nerd-jock Nino Lahiffe doesn't mean you turn into a boring, old housewife!" "Alya!" Marlena called upstairs. "Get off the phone! I have to call some people." Alya hung up and sighed. "Oh, how lovely to be a woman." "Alya!" Marlena called again. "There's a call for you! The woman said that she'd been trying to reach you for nearly half an hour!" "In a minute Marlena." "She said it was long distance and I can't imagine who would be calling... What did you call me?" "Marlena. It's modern to call your mother by her first name. It makes the mother and daughter more like,... friends." "What about your father?" "I'll call him Otis, naturally." At that Otis stood up and announced. "I am not an old man. I was 18 in World War 2." When Alya picked up the receiver, she appeared faint. "Marlena?" She called. No response. "Mother?" "Hmm?" "Mommy!" "Alya, honey. What's wrong?" "Nathan Kurtzburg, Mommy. He's going to kiss me!" Marlena held her daughter against her.
"Well, I never thought I'd say it, but God bless Nathan Kurtzburg!"
