Rosemary had known for a long time exactly what she wanted to do for his birthday and exactly what she wanted to give him for a gift. One Saturday when he had to work, she had driven up to Hastings and ordered him a Law School ring (he hadn't had the money to buy one when he graduated and just hadn't got around to it since). Should I get the emerald for his birthstone or the sapphire to match his eyes, she wondered. She decided on the emerald, ordered his name & graduation year inscribed inside, and drove back happily with part one of the birthday plan finished. They had promised that the ring would be delivered in plenty of time.

The day of his birthday dawned. First she served him breakfast in bed. His mother had had to buy day-old bread when he was young. That was all they could afford. But when she could get a few eggs, she mixed in some powdered milk and water and made French toast, one of the best things you can do with stale bread. Brown sugar boiled in water served as the syrup, but for Lindsey and his sister Elaine especially, it was a real treat. Along with the French toast, fresh squeezed orange juice, and fresh brewed coffee that she had just ground, she had placed a vase with a rosebud and a small box on the tray. Opening the box, he was absolutely overwhelmed to find the ring. "You went to all this trouble for me! You are unbelievable." After breakfast was over and the tray removed, she let him thank her properly.

Advising him to dress casually, she put on a sundress as it promised to be a very warm day. Fortunately, as it was still May, school wasn't out yet, so everything should work out beautifully. As she didn't want him to know where they were going, they took her car and she drove. She refused to drive his BMW, which actually belonged to W&H.

Although she had given serious consideration to blindfolding him so he wouldn't know where they were going until they had actually arrived, she decided against it. If a policeman would see it, what would he think!

As they drew closer to their destination, Lindsey began to realize where she was taking him: the one place he had always wanted to go when he was a boy but knew he could never afford. When he grew up, he had nobody to go with (a brief thought that he could have gone with Elaine, Tony, and their little girl if they had lived crossed his mind, but he forced himself to stop thinking of what could never be). Grinning from ear to ear, his heart pounding with excitement, Lindsey and Rosemary held hands and walked into Disneyland. The summer crowds had not yet arrived, although there were some school groups there, so they were able to ride almost everything. She bought him mouse ears with his name embroidered on them and took his picture with Mickey Mouse. They ate lunch at one of the character lunches and Minnie Mouse sat on his lap for another picture. They ate ice cream and cotton candy until Rosemary was afraid they'd both be sick. When they left, Lindsey had tears of happiness in his eyes. He had never imagined that anyone could love him as much as Rosemary did, or that anyone would go to the trouble that she had to give him the most memorable birthday of his life. But there was more. She had ordered a cake delivered to the apartment, chocolate with chocolate buttercream frosting and red roses and, of course: Happy Birthday Lindsey! Knowing that he was the luckiest man in the world, he fell asleep in her arms.

At work the next day, Holland asked him how he enjoyed his day off. He wouldn't tell him about Disneyland, of course, but he did show him the ring. After all, it was hard to miss. "She's quite a special lady," Holland said, wondering just how much more time he'd give them until he set his plan in motion. When he told Lila that she would have to fill in for Lindsey while he was on vacation, she was not amused, but he didn't care. After all, he was the boss! Lee, the fawning little toady, volunteered to take some of it on as well. Holland let him, but he was starting to get suspicious of him. Chris Tyler would also take a little, but he was still obsessed with the Gruber deal!

The vacation was a truly memorable one. Flying to San Diego, they crossed over into Tijuana for a few hours, and then visited the city. They rented a car and took the Pacific Coast Highway all the way up to Seattle, stopping for several days in San Francisco. They spent most nights in bed & breakfasts, most with beautiful ocean views. But for lunch they ate another of Lindsey's comfort foods: McDonald's burgers. He had loved McDonald's as a child, especially as he thought it belonged to his family. They only went there on very special occasions, especially as the family grew and its fortunes dwindled, but occasionally he would scrounge for soda bottles to return for the deposits or stand by the supermarket offering to help people carry bags of groceries to their cars for a nickel. Then he would take Elaine to the McDonald's down the block, where they would each get a hamburger & shared fries & a Coke. This was the first vacation he had ever had. They took lots and lots of pictures. They each put on about 3 pounds as well! Leaving the rental car in Seattle, they flew home. Unfortunately, neither of them knew that they would never be this happy again.

They went to the movies, to concerts at the Hollywood Bowl, and to Orange County to see American Ballet Theatre dance Swan Lake. Although Rosemary loved seeing Susan Jaffe in the dual role of the Swan Queen and the evil Odile, she had a dream that night about herself as the Swan Queen, Lindsey as her prince, Lila as the evil Odile (although they looked nothing alike), and Holland as the wicked sorcerer Von Rothbart who schemed to keep them apart.

Another of the joys of that golden summer was their friendship with Rob Thompson, her friend from KCMO, and his wife Janice. They had gone to their house or out to dinner on several occasions. The girls, Beth & Lisa, took to Lindsey right away, even calling him Uncle Lindsey. Beth, especially, reminded him of Elaine as a child. He wondered what Elaine's little girl, whom she had planned to name Mary Lindsay, would have been like. But just being friends with another couple was such a pleasure. Rob & Janice helped him give Rosemary a half-birthday party in August because he couldn't wait until February to celebrate it. He decided that it was about time to stop worrying about Wolfram and Hart (Holland was being so good to him lately) and marry Rosemary.

Then he was assigned to defend Vanessa Brewer, the blind assassin, and all Hell broke loose.