I Left My Heart in San Diego

"Billie, sweetheart?" I called through the apartment.

He poked his head around the corner leading to the bedroom. I could see his hair was wet, and he wasn't wearing a shirt. "Yeah?" he replied.

"I'm going out to meet my stepmom for lunch," I said to him. I walked over to him and kissed him.

"Your stepmom? You could just say Ollie," he said, raising an eyebrow.

I chuckled and kissed him again. "Good thing you're cute. When you were on tour, I met up with my biological father, and his new wife - my other stepmom," I explained quickly.

Billie kissed me this time, and I grinned at me. "That's awesome, babe. You have fun; I'll take care of Cadence," he said.

"Thank you so much, Billie. I love you!"

He grinned at me. "I love you too!"

I hopped into the other room to kiss Cadence. "Goodbye, sweetheart," I whispered.

I closed the door to the apartment and walked out with a smile on my face. Morgana and I are going to have so much to talk about.



"Arizona!" I heard. I whipped my head around to see the source of the call, and saw a blond-haired woman waving at me. I smiled and waved back; as I walked up to her, she said, "Hey! Glad you found the place okay! Now don't worry about anything, I have it all covered."

"Oh, Morgana, I couldn't let you-"

"No, really, Arizona, I insist!"

I sighed and smiled at Morgana again. "Oh, alright. So what's good here on this menu? I'm starving!"

"Well, I don't come here terribly often, but my girlfriends tell me that the pecan-crusted salmon is exquisite, and white wine goes beautifully, but you won't be drinking, of course. Oh, why don't you sit down!" Morgana gushed.

I laughed as I sat. "Morgana, calm down! I'm really not a prize to be gushed over or anything."

Morgana chuckled nervously as she sat down next to me, and then said, with her wine glass in her hand, "Well, that may be true, but I bet that husband of yours thinks so!" She took a sip of her wine and set the glass down. I absentmindedly wondered what number glass that was, and then thought that I didn't have to worry, but then brushed the thought off and concentrated on the waitress that was standing next to the table.

"Can I start you off with something to drink?" she asked me.

"Just a glass of water, please."

"Sure." She turned to Morgana. "Would you like another glass of wine?"

"Oh, yes, please."

With her pen poised, she looked at both Morgana and I and said, "Are you two ready to order?"

"Y'know, I haven't peeked at the menu yet. Do you mind giving us a minute?"

The waitress smiled and tucked her pen and pad away. "Of course. I'll be right out with your drinks."

I smiled at her as she walked away, and then picked up the menu. "Hmm...is there anything else here that you recommend, Morgana?"

"I've only been here a few times myself, so I'm not much in a position to speak on the subject." She put down her menu and emptied her wine glass. "I think I'm going to try that pecan-crusted salmon my girlfriends recommended."

I smiled and looked at her over my menu. "It really does sound good, but I don't think the baby likes seafood. Every time I've had it, either at home or out, I would always get stomachaches." I looked back over the menu and smiled again. "I do think that this beef stir-fry would be delicious, though."

"What's in it?" Morgana asked.

"Well, aside from the beef, there's green and red peppers and caramelized onions, all over a bed of white rice," I answered, putting the menu down.

"Oh my, that does sound delicious." She noticed that I had put my menu down. "Is that what you've decided on?"

I nodded. I then saw our waitress returning out of the corner of my eye. "Perfect timing, too," I remarked as she approached the table.

She set down a glass of water on front of me. "Here's your water," she said. I smiled at her in thanks and then she turned to Morgana, picking up a tall wine bottle with a cloth. As she poured, she asked, "So what can I get you?" She pulled out her pen and pad after she had set the wine bottle back on the tray.

Morgana went first. "I'm going to have the pecan-crusted salmon, please, with mashed sweet potatoes."

"Alright," the waitress said, scribbling. She then turned to me. "And what will you have, miss?"

"I'm going to have the beef stir-fry, please," I said, taking Morgana's menu from across the table and placing it on top of mine.

"Alright," the waitress said with a smile, sticking her pad back in her belt and taking our menus under her arm. "Your food will be out in a few moments."

"So, you said you were married when I met you with Everett?" Morgana asked.

I grinned. "Yes," I said. "I've been married nine months."

"Well, congratulations."

"Thank you."

"And we saw your daughter before, too?"

"Yes, her name is Cadence. She's eight months old."

"Wow, so you gave birth basically right after you got married?" Morgana asked incredulously.

I grinned again. "Yeah, it was a pretty exciting couple of months."

Morgana gestured towards my belly. "And you're pregnant again, of course."

I waved the hand that was on my belly. "Yep."

"Do you know the sex yet?"

"Yeah, we're having another girl."

"Congratulations. Have you thought of any names yet?"

"No, we just figured out the sex a couple days ago, so we haven't had much time to think about it."

Morgana nodded. "I see. So what does your husband do?"

I took a sip of my water. "He's in a band."

"Oh, really? What kind of band?"

"A punk-rock band."

"Ah, I probably wouldn't know it then. I'm much more into classical and jazz music. My daughter might know who they are. She's very much into the rock scene. Are they local?"

"Yes, Billie grew up around here."

"Is that your husband's name?"

I chuckled. "Oh, yes, his name is Billie Joe. No one really calls him that, though, so it's just Billie."

"That's certainly different. Will you be bringing him to the wedding?"

"Your daughter's? Yes. I might be bringing Cadence, but I'm not sure yet."

"Well, you have some time to think on it. I will tell you, though, my daughter has been very uptight about everything that has to do with her wedding, so if you think Cadence will cause any problems at all, have someone look after her," Morgana suggested.

I chuckled. "Alright, I'm sure my mom won't mind looking after her for the day."



"Well thank you for the delicious lunch, Morgana," I said as we left.

"Of course, Arizona! It was great to have some time to talk and get to know you!" she gushed. "So Everett and I will see you and your husband at the wedding?"

"Definitely."

"Wonderful! You take care of yourself now, you hear me?"

I laughed. "Of course I will. And you don't let your daughter stress too much over the little things. It may be her day, but she should be happy, not stressed out," I said.

Morgana smiled at me as I started towards my car. "I'll tell her to keep that in mind."

"Great. See you in a couple of weeks."