"Nope. But seriously, why the move?"

"I don’t know. It just doesn’t feel like home."

"And Chicago does?"

"Of all the places I’ve been, there’s something about this place that just feels comfortable to me. I know it’s strange, but it’s true."

Kerry nodded in acknowledgement, as the waiter set a glass of red wine in front of her. They both ordered their meals and Kerry continued with the conversation. "Are you with anybody right now?"

"No, nothing serious anyway." She didn’t want to tell Kerry that she compared every woman she’d been with for the past five years to her, and no one had even come close to measuring up. She’d never felt for anyone the way she felt for Kerry. "You?"

"No," Kerry took a deep breath, a troubled look crossing her face, "Not since Sandy."

Kim wondered whether or not she should pursue the subject. Given the consequences of her silence in the past, she decided to risk it. "Who’s Sandy?"

"She was my wife. She died in the line of duty, a firefighter," a wistful smile played on her lips. "We have a son."

Kim’s jaw dropped in surprise. After a long moment, she found her voice. "A son?"

"Don’t look so surprised, Kim," Kerry said, a smirk on her face.

"I’m sorry, I just…I…I don’t know," she laughed at her own lack of composure, "I guess a lot can happen in five years."

"Yea. It can"

"So how old is he, your son?"

"Henry is one and a half. Very smart, adorable like his mother. He stays with me half the time, with Sandy’s parents the other half." She pulled a picture from her purse, handed it across the table to Kim.

"Wow. You’re a mommy." Kim examined the photo. Henry was adorable, dark skin, dark hair, dark eyes. He obviously had Sandy genes. It made her wonder the woman looked like.

"Yup. I never thought I’d love motherhood so much."

"How long have you been a single mother?"

"A little over a year now. Henry was only three months old when Sandy died. It’s too bad he’ll never know his mother. She was an amazing woman." Kerry’s thoughts were drifting, but Kim wanted to know more about this woman Kerry had been so in love with.