"Ughhhh..."
Why was everything spinning? And why was the room so dark?
Wait...what room was this again?
"Ughhh...." Pierce groaned again and stirred on the floor, placing his
hand on the back of his head. He felt a rather large bump, which was sensitive to the touch and throbbed with a
painful intensity. He then realized that his eyes were closed, which would explain the darkness. However,
it took so much effort to flutter his eyelashes, but he managed to groggily open his eyes and then brace his hands against
the floor so that he could hoist himself up into a sitting position. The foggy haze he was swimming in began
to clear slowly, and he blinked as the room came into focus. The cleaning supply closet? What was he - ?
"Mom!" he cried suddenly, frantically looking around for her. But she
was gone - and he was alone.
Pierce stood up quickly, but the dizziness overcame him and he
had to grasp on the doorknob for support or else he'd fall over again. The throbbing on the back of his head kept pounding
and pounding like some bizarre percussion instrument, but he knew he had to get out of there. He stumbled
out of the lobby and back into the cold air, which immediately woke him up. Trying to ignore the painful throbbing,
he hurried to the chapel, where he was sure that everyone had congregated for the wedding.
He burst into the back room, causing everyone to scream with horror. But
when they noticed that he wasn't going to brutally murder them, but was instead in obvious discomfort, they rushed over to
help.
"Oh my God, I thought you were dead!" Ryan said as he guided Pierce to a chair.
"Are you alright? What happened?" Then his tone quickly changed, and he smacked Pierce on the arm - hard.
"Don't you EVER do that to me again, you bitch!"
"You didn't come back after ten minutes," Richard added worriedly.
"We thought for sure the murderer got to you."
"Well, almost." Pierce rubbed the huge bump on his head and sighed
heavily. "Apparently, they didn't like the fact that I was in the cleaning supply closet."
"I'll get you some ice!" William dashed off, but then came back inside
carrying a handful of snow. "I couldn't find ice, but dis is just as cold." He smashed the snow into Pierce's
hair before he could protest.
"Um, thanks, but I'm fine," Pierce replied, trying to brush the white powder
off of him.
"William, you have an important job to do," Angie informed him. "Make
sure that the flowers aren't moving. Go watch them."
"Right!" He gave her a salute and then hurried out front.
"But what happened?" Jenn asked Pierce. "Was the murderer just
in there, waiting to strike?"
"You guys...you're not going to believe this, but..." He paused and
looked at all of them as they eagerly waited for him to continue. "But...I found my mother."
"In the cleaning supply closet?" Jodie wrinkled her brow in confusion.
"You mean she was there all that time? Wow, she must really like mops!"
"You found your mother?!" Ryan repeated anxiously. That couldn't have
been true - because that would mean that Lorelei Forkiedough was here at the resort...and in danger of being murdered by some
deranged psychopath. Or maybe...she was the psychopath! "I can't believe that! I mean....are you
sure?"
"I'm positive. She matched the picture I had perfectly, and she knew
my name even before I told her - my full name. I just don't understand why she was in the cleaning supply closet,
tied up and gagged - like someone was trying to hide her."
"Oh God, oh God, oh God..." Ryan fanned his face off with his hands,
attracting curious stares from the rest of the group.
"What's your problem, Seaquest?" Jenn wondered. "Why are you acting
so strange - even for you?"
"Pierce...honey..." Ryan seized Pierce's shoulders and tried to look
serious. "I have to tell you something about your mother."
"What about her?"
"She's - "
But before he could go on, the minister who was performing the ceremony poked
his head through the doorway.
"We're ready to begin," he announced. "Has anyone seen the bride?"
"I'm here." They all turned towards the source of the feminine
voice. Virginia suddenly appeared at the back of the room, dressed in an elegant peach gown with matching dress
jacket. Her blonde hair was swept up in a bun, and was accentuated by the small peach silk hat that sat atop her head.
Scott stood behind her, scowling as usual, while he puffed away on a cigarette.
"Scott!" With an angry glare on her face, Jodie rushed forward to admonish
him, but Virginia held out her hand.
"Let me talk to him," she said coolly. "You all should start getting
seated anyway."
"Come on, Jodie." Jenn tugged on her arm, leading her out towards the
pews. The rest of the group followed reluctantly, glancing over their shoulders at the soon-to-be showdown between mother
and son.
"Well?" Virginia asked once everyone else had gone. "Are you ready
to walk me down the aisle - or not?"
"Let's just say that I'd rather be devoured by the flesh-eating virus than
walk you down the aisle, mother dearest."
"Scott, please!" Virginia exclaimed exasperatedly. "Why are you
doing this to me?"
"Oh, so I'm doing this to you?!" he said mockingly.
"Please! As usual, you find a way to make everything my fault! It's all been my fault since I was born!
I know the story, mother - You had to drop out of Columbia because dad knocked you up, you never got your degree and
ever since then you've been forced to ride on the coat tails of a successful businessman when you know that you could be so
much more!" As he spoke, he accentuated his words by waving his cigarette around in the air. "I get it,
alright? I was a mistake, I've always been a mistake and I always will be a mistake!"
"That's not true!" she insisted, clutching at her bouquet of peach and white
roses. "You weren't planned, but you certainly weren't unwanted. You're my son - and I love you." She placed
her hands on the sides of his face, but he just jerked away from her.
"No, you don't. You're nothing but a selfish wench who wasted her entire
life, not to mention ruined mine, and now all of a sudden you want to try and get married to some asshole in hopes that it'll
fix everything. Well, guess what - it won't."
"I can't believe this..." she grabbed the cigarette from his hand and
tossed it down onto the ground. "The smoking, the swearing, the bad attitude - you've turned into your father..."
"Isn't that what you WANT?" he yelled. "Isn't that what EVERYONE wants?!"
"No!" she yelled back, tears forming in her blue eyes. "I just want
you to be happy, Scott. Are you happy?"
"Of course not! And don't give me that, 'I just want you to be happy'
shit, because it's awfully hypocritical coming from you, considering you spent most of your life in a bitter, drunken stupor."
"I haven't done much that I'm proud of," she said quietly, her voice breaking
on every word. "But I am proud of you. You really are a fine young man, but you're so...angry.
I know that it's my fault and I know that I messed a lot of things up - with you, with your father - but I'm trying my best
and I don't think that it's too late to fix it. That's why I'm marrying Conrad - because he's giving me a chance to
be the person that I always wanted to be. Can't you understand that?"
"Mother - "
"Won't you please try to understand?" She placed her hands on his shoulders
and looked at him pleadingly. "Please, Scott....can you please try and understand?"
He stared back at her for a moment, his blue eyes cold and unforgiving and
his strong jaw clenched tightly. She seemed so sad and alone, even though she was about to get married.
However, the ice around his heart was too hard and thick for it to be cracked by her desperate eyes. It had been
forming for the past eighteen years and had grown a little bit thicker with every time she missed one of his science fairs
because she was drunk, or when she promised that she'd come and tuck him in at night, but then never came because one
of her friends called, or when he was forced to eat dinner alone because his father was working and she was out getting
an expensive manicure. No one could crack that ice - especially not his mother, who had let him down so many times
before.
"No," he finally answered callously, shoving her hands off of his shoulders right
when the organist began playing, 'Here Comes the Bride.'
Virginia's face looked absolutely crestfallen, but then she seemed to realize
that the music was playing for her. Smoothing down her dress, she looped her arm through Scott's and stood with him
right by the entrance to the aisle.
"Ready?" she whispered, glancing up at him. He glared at her in response,
but then began walking her down the aisle as the cameras went off and everyone stood up to acknowledge the bride.
"You'd think he'd look a little more thrilled to be there," Kim said to Jodie,
who was standing next to her. "Right now, he looks like someone gave him white wine instead of red."
"He's so not going to get over this," Jodie replied sadly. "He hates his
mother. Such a shame."
Virginia tried to smile as she headed up the aisle where Conrad was waiting, but
she could feel Scott pressing his fingers into her flesh in anger, and it was hard to keep her mood upbeat. Once they
got to the end of the aisle, Scott took his place by Richard, who was acting as the best man.
"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to celebrate the union of Virginia
Baker-Aldrick and Conrad Forkiedough..." the minister began grandly.
"Aww, this is so beautiful!" Ryan gushed as he dabbed at his eyes with a
hanky. "I can't wait to get married someday!"
"Then you better move to Massachusetts," Kim said, laughing slightly.
"Me, however...marriage is a scary thing that I will not be facing anytime soon."
"I think I'd like to get married," Jodie said thoughtfully. "But...I
suppose that I'll cross that bridge when I come to it."
"I'd love to plan a wedding," Jenn put in dreamily. "That'd
be awesome."
"Oh, so is there something you want to tell us?" Ryan asked coyly.
"Planning to take the plunge, hmmm?"
"The only plunge that I will be taking is the rubber one from K-Mart," she
replied. "And it's used to unclog my toilet."
"Ditto," Angie added. "A marriage ceremony is such an archaic and outdated
ritual - "
"Shhh! We're getting nasty looks, guys," David hissed. "Let's
just shut up and watch the corniness, okay?"
"And now, I am told that Virginia and Conrad have prepared their own
vows," the minister said. "These vows will seal their commitment to each other for all eternity."
"Conrad..." she turned to face him, and then slipped a wedding band on his
left finger. "Because of you, I laugh, I smile, I dare to dream again. I look forward with great joy to spending
the rest of my life with you, caring for you, nurturing you, being there for you in all life has for us, and I vow to be true
and faithful for as long as we both shall live."
"I think I'm going to vomit," Scott muttered. He fidgeted nervously
in his tux while the ceremony continued.
"Virginia...I offer myself to you as a partner in life. I
vow to love you in sickness and health. I commit myself to encourage you in good times and in bad. I will cherish and respect
you all the days of our life together. Starting anew once again, I give thanks that I have found you. May our marriage be
a gift to the world and our families as your love is a gift to me." He smiled slightly and gently placed a matching
shiny gold band on her left ring finger.
"Now it is time to light the unity candle." The minister led them up the
few steps where there was a large white candle on a silver platter next to four smaller candles. "If your children
would now join us, please."
Grumbling under his breath, Scott shoved Richard aside and stomped up to
the display. Trying to appear undaunted, Richard smoothed down his jacket and joined them as well. He cast
a fierce glare in Scott's direction as he grabbed a candle. The minister lit a match and set the wick of Richard's
candle aflame. Pausing only for a moment, Richard leaned forward and touched his wick to Scott's. The wick
burst into flame, illuminating his angry face. Somehow, he managed to resist the urge to throw the candle onto
the ground and instead touched the wick to Conrad's candle, who then lit Virginia's.
"The lighting of the center candle represents
not only the union of Virginia and Conrad in marriage, but the unity formed in this new family in which your lives will
now shine as one family," the minister said while they all gathered around the larger candle.
The five seconds in which they stood there, the light from the candles creating
shadows on the wall and on their faces, seemed endless. It was hard for them to believe that the moment had arrived,
but now it was real - and they had to finish what they started. At the same time, they all reached out and
touched each flame to the center candle, which quickly began burning in one single flame from all four of their
wicks. They then blew the flames out, and the smoke from all of their candles curled and mixed as it rose
into the air. The only fire burning was the one in the unity candle, and it seemed to burn brighter and higher than
the previous ones.
"For as much as Virginia and Conrad have consented together in
holy wedlock, and have witnessed the same before these witnesses, and thereto have pledged their faithfulness each to the
other, and have pledged the same by the giving and receiving each of a ring, by the authority invested in me as a minister
of the gospel according to the laws of the State of Vermont, I pronounce that they are husband and wife. You may
now kiss the bride."
Right as Conrad bent to kiss her, the door to the chapel burst open,
letting in a cold gust of air. Everyone turned to see who the visitor was, and there were gasps of shock and horror
when they noticed who it was - and the fact that he was waving a gun around in one hand, while dragging a helpless woman along
with him.
"Oh, sorry to interrupt this beautiful wedding!" Nicholas Callahan
shouted sarcastically. He wrapped his strong arm around the woman, who was gagged with a piece of duct tape and couldn't
speak. "I suppose we'll have to come back later, darling!"
"DAD?!" Pierce's face suddenly went white, as if he had seen a ghost.
In fact, he was sure that he was seeing a ghost - because his father was supposed to be dead. Pierce bolted
up from his seat and began stumbling over the twenty people in the pew who blocked the aisle. Richard recognized his
mother as the captive in Nicholas' grasp, and he quickly ran down the steps and up the aisle.
"Oh my holy God..." Ryan trailed off, his mouth dropping open. He looked
at everyone else, and their faces were just as white as Pierce's was. "I'm so about to pee in my
pants right now!"
"Dad..." Pierce breathed, and then he glanced at the woman - the one
he had been with in the cleaning supply closet earlier. Richard joined him, and then at the same time, a surprised
cry of "Mom!" escaped from both of their mouths.
Complete and utter silence now filled the room, and everything seemed
to come to a standstill. The two boys turned to face each other, a look of shock coming out across their face.
It was hard to tell if they were truly frightened or just surprised beyond words, but for a moment, neither of them made a
sound.
"What did you just say?" Richard asked in a hushed voice.
"No...what did you just say?" Pierce retaliated.
"I asked you first."
"I said...I said...'mom'..."
"That's what I thought you said. But why? Why did you say that?"
Richard demanded, and everyone could hear the fear in his voice.
"Because...she's...she's..." Pierce swallowed, and it took every single shred
of self-control in him to keep from flying completely off the handle. "....my mother."
"She's my mother too," Richard whispered, as if he finally understood what
was going on.
"Oh for God's sakes!" Scott snapped, breaking the somber mood. "Another
brother! That's just what I need! Does this nightmare ever end?!"
"Awww, how cute - Lorelei, your little boys have discovered each other,"
Nicholas jeered. "You knew it would happen eventually, right?"
"Mmpppph!" she squealed, her brown eyes wide with terror.
"Dad, you're supposed to be DEAD!" Pierce cried, running his hands through
his hair and feeling the slight urge to faint. "I mean....I mean...why are you alive? You were stabbed!
With a steak knife!"
"Sorry to disappoint you, son, but that maid Norma has bad vision - and plus, it's
hard to tell fake blood from real blood anyway."
"You FAKED YOUR DEATH?!' Pierce screamed. "Why...why would you do such a
thing?!"
"Calm down, calm down. I know that you really want me
dead, so you can get this lovely resort, but there's something you don't know."
"Apparently, I don't know a lot of things, do I?"
"Apparently not. But you see...this resort doesn't belong to you,
Pierce," Nicholas said with mock-sadness. "I know you think that I left it to you in my will, but...that's not
the case."
"What do you mean?" Pierce asked gravely.
"This resort really belongs to..." Nicholas paused and lightly traced the
barrel of the gun down Lorelei's cheek, and she began panting heavily as her eyes darted back and forth nervously.
"It belongs to your mother."
"....What?!"
"Yes, sadly enough, she was the one who really inherited it from her grandfather.
But, of course, Lorelei was always the flighty one, so she didn't have the slightest clue what to do with it or how to
run it...right, darling?"
"Mmmmppph!" she squealed angrily, attempting to twist free of Nicholas'
grasp, but he just laughed.
"No, you didn't. But anyway, Pierce had just been born and she
wanted to pack us all up and move to Connecticut so she could go to graduate school at Yale University - oh yeah,
how exciting that would have been for me! I didn't want to go and I wanted the resort - but she didn't.
Our interests were conflicting, so I decided that I'd take care of the situation. I would make sure to get the
resort and you, and she'd get her stupid doctoral degree."
"You forced her to go away?" Pierce whispered, completely floored.
"I didn't force her - but let's just say some, um, unfortunate
circumstances prevented the judge from regarding her as a stable mother, so I was granted sole custody of you." Nicholas
smiled evilly at his son. "Apparently, having three bags of pot in your sock drawer is a bad idea."
"My mother has never touched a drug in her life, you bastard!" Richard yelled.
"You PLANTED it there - and you know it!"
"Eh, so what if I did?" Nicholas said nonchalantly. "That's all water
under the bridge now."
"I can't believe you!" Pierce shouted, covering his face with his hands.
"You deliberately fucked up my life and sent my mother away so that you'd be able to run this stupid resort!
How could you do this to me?!"
"Oh, there's one more thing that I forgot to mention - your mother and I were
never legally married, Pierce."
"THAT'S JUST PERFECT, DAD! Let me guess - the only way you'd legally
get the resort is if she was married to you...right?!"
"You're so smart, son. But yes...we were both hippies back then, and
we merely exchanged rings at a Peter, Paul and Mary concert. It wasn't legal, but I didn't think it would matter
at the time. Unfortunately, the only way I'd get the resort is if we were married - "
"You...you....God, I HATE YOU!" The anger and frustration that Pierce
had held bottled up inside began to pour out in front of everyone, but at that moment he didn't care.
"Don't you understand?!" Nicholas' blue eyes raged with fury as he
tightened his grip on the gun. "I'm doing this for YOU, you ungrateful brat! I knew that I had to get Lorelei
back to this resort somehow, and when I discovered that her ex-husband was marrying that whore and schlepping the whole gang
of friends out here, I devised a plan. I'd fake my death, she'd hear about it and come running to rescue her two sons
and then I'd marry her here! Once I get legal control of the resort, I can then leave it to you - and you'll get what
you've always wanted."
"But what about those people?" Richard asked suddenly. "Dean Cain and
Mrs. Prescott - did you kill them?"
"Oh, that...heh...that was just for dramatic effect," Nicholas responded.
"It's not like anyone would miss them anyway."
"You're sick!" Pierce snarled. "You're a sick bastard and I hate you."
"I suppose you hate this place too - "
"I DON'T CARE ABOUT THIS RESORT!" he screamed. "I don't want it and
I don't care! Just leave my mother alone!"
"Sorry, son - no can do. This is your life, and this is your destiny.
Just accept it, and go along with it. You'll be so rich you won't know what to do with yourself - and trust me, all
of the ladies will come flocking."
"HELLO?! When are you going to get it through your thick head? I'm
GAY!" It was the first time that he had stated it in public - and to his father directly. The look on Nicholas'
face signaled that he wasn't all too happy to hear it, but Pierce was sick of hiding who he really was. "I don't want
to be with girls, I don't want to impress girls and I don't want to have girls come flock towards me! Because...I'm....GAY!"
"You rotten little shit!" Nicholas let go of Lorelei and lunged forward into Pierce,
taking him down to the ground. Like a madman, he swung his left first, and it came in contact with Pierce's eye. Nicholas
still had the gun in his other hand, however, but Lorelei quickly reacted. She ripped the duct tape off of her
mouth and attempted to pull Nicholas off of her son.
"Nick, stop it! STOP IT!" she shouted. "Let go of him - mmmph!"
She was cut off when Nicholas stood up, seizing her chin in his hands and squeezing her lips together. He threw
her body over his shoulder and marched up to the alter, with her kicking and screaming.
"We're getting married, and we're doing it now!" he barked to the minister as he
pointed the gun in the scared man's face. "So do the ceremony thing and let's get the show on the road."
"Err, uh....dearly beloved we are gathered here today - "
"No!" Conrad interjected. He pushed the minister away and stared at
Nicholas defiantly. "Put her down and never touch her again, Callahan."
"Is that a threat?" Nicholas sneered. He pressed the gun into Lorelei's
temple. "Because I suppose I could just kill her right now. I mean, I wouldn't get the resort, but at least I'd
have revenge for her prancing off to grad school and leaving me with a miserable, snot-nosed gay son."
"You chose to push her away - because of your selfish tendencies.
And now you think you can have it all, but you can't. So just leave her alone."
"Too late for that, buddy. I'll kill her!" Nicholas placed his finger
on the trigger and squeezed it slightly.
"NO!" Conrad growled and clamped his hands down on Nicholas' wrists, wrenching the gun
out of his grasp. It went sliding across the floor, and Nicholas immediately shoved Lorelei down the stairs and lunged
for the gun. Conrad lunged at the same time he did, and they both ended up wrestling around on the ground for supreme
control. Everyone stood on their tiptoes, trying to see what was happening, but it was all happening so fast that it
was hard to tell. Amidst all of the kicking, punching and grunting there was the sudden distinct sound of a gun firing.
It echoed off of the walls and caused a ringing sound to vibrate in everyone's ears.
They all rushed forward just in time to see Nicholas fall backwards, clutching
his chest. A river of blood poured from the wound, seeping through his blue silk shirt. He landed on the
floor with a loud thump - and this time he was really dead.
"Dad!" Pierce collapsed onto the ground next to his father, lifting the
body up and cradling it against his chest. The tears that fell from his eyes mixed with the fresh blood, leaving salty
stains on the front of his shirt.
Lorelei limped over to Pierce and knelt down next to him. Her hair
was a mess, her lower lip was swollen and she had bruises on her face, but she tried to smile at him as she took him
in her arms and hugged him tightly. He fell into her embrace, burying his face in her neck and sobbing like a crushed
and broken little boy. Except this time, he had a mother to hold him.
The next day, everyone gathered outside to say their goodbyes and last words.
A limo was taking Virginia and Conrad off to the airport, but the rest of them would either have to ride with Lorelei or with
Scott, who had driven them all there in the first place.
"Well, everyone in the car," Scott grumbled. "Who's riding with me?"
"So far I think it's just me, Kim, Angie and William," Jodie responded.
"Richard, Jenn and Ryan are riding with Lorelei. And...Hilary's riding in the paddy wagon, because they found her walking
along the side of the road yesterday, all disoriented and crazy. She's going to definitely have to get used to rubber
walls and a straight jacket."
"Okay. Great. Well..." Scott turned towards Pierce and
David, who were the ones who didn't have to go anywhere. "It was, um...nice meeting both of you. I guess."
"Nice meeting you all too," David said, waving to the crowd. However,
he pulled Kim aside so that he could talk to her privately. "So, uh...see you when we get back to FU - I mean, UF?"
"Sounds good," she replied, smiling broadly at him. "I'll bring the cheese
and you bring the...uh...cheese."
"It's a date. Except...without all of the awkwardness." He leaned
forward and kissed her briefly, causing everyone to cue up the "Awwwww" chorus.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah! Shut up, you ho's!" Kim jumped into the backseat
of Scott's car, not wanting to participate in any more mushy public goodbyes.
"My turn now!" Ryan grabbed Pierce and pulled him into a warm embrace.
He locked his arms around Pierce's waist and leaned his head against his chest, since Ryan was much shorter. "God,
why must I have to leave? Can't you just throw some water on me and use me as an ice sculpture for the main lobby?"
"I can't. Your hotness is just too overwhelming for our old guests, and they
might have heart attacks."
"I love your sarcasm." Ryan kissed both of Pierce's cheeks, and then
his mouth. He wanted to find out where exactly they stood...and whether or not Pierce would be willing to keep up a
long-distance relationship. Yet, everything had gone so wonderfully the past two weeks, that Ryan almost thought
it would be better to just live with the fond memories and not ask any questions.
"So..." Ryan pulled away and held Pierce at arms length. "Um...I...um...yeah..."
"So let me know when you're in your first Broadway musical," Pierce interrupted,
flashing his famous smile. "Because I'll be there - front row, of course."
"Really?" Ryan looked at him hopefully. "You mean...um...you'd come
see me in New York?"
"I think the more appropriate question would be..." he paused, pretending
to look contemplative. "The more appropriate question would be...why exactly do men have nipples?"
Ryan couldn't help but laugh, and he pulled Pierce into another hug. He listened
to the sound of Pierce's deep laughter in his ear, and it was quite possibly the most melodious sound that he had ever heard.
"Okay, you better get going." Pierce smiled again and gently broke free of
Ryan's embrace. "You have songs to sing and girls to make out with onstage."
"Ugh, don't remind me." Ryan rolled his eyes, blowing Pierce a kiss
as he disappeared into Lorelei's car. Everyone was now settled into their respective cars, except for Richard and
Lorelei, who remained standing by Pierce.
"So..." Richard began. The wind blew his hair back and sent a slight
chill running through him, but he hardly even noticed. "Pierce, I want you to come visit us. I know that...things
might be a little strange, but, um...I really think that this deserves a chance. Because, like you said, it's just the
growth of something else."
"I know." Pierce stared off into the distance as the wind stung his cheeks
and ears. The black eye that his father had given him was a dark purple color, and it was an obvious imperfection on
his handsome face. "I want to come visit too, but...I need to be here. There's no one left to run this place.
Except me."
"And me," Lorelei put in. She tucked a lock of hair up underneath her hood
and smiled at Pierce. "I've been thinking...you need someone here with you. And things back home are sort of dead
for me now that Conrad is married to someone else and Richard is away at school."
"But what about your job?" Pierce asked. "You're a college professor, and
they need you there too."
"But you need me more. I was absent for the first twenty years of your life,
but now I want to be around for the next twenty. Please say that you'll let me - it's all I want right now."
"Well...I guess...wow," Pierce stammered. "Yes - I want you to stay."
"Okay then." Lorelei squeezed his hand and hugged him with one arm.
She held out her other arm, and pulled Richard into the hug as well. "I love you both so much, and I'm sorry that
I didn't tell you sooner. But I promise that I'll always be there for the both of you, no matter what."
"I love you too," they responded at the same
time. Reluctantly, Pierce let go and allowed Lorelei and Richard to get into the car. Ryan was already in the
shotgun seat, while Jenn waited in the back.
"What a trip, huh?" she said to Richard as he sat next to her.
"I never thought that it would turn out like this. I mean, Pierce is your half-brother! How weird is that!
Who would have thought?"
"It was definitely a surprise," he murmured, wrapping his arm around her
shoulders and kissing the top of her head. "But...as Robert Frost once said, 'I can sum up everything that I've learned
about life in three words: It goes on.'"
"So you don't think a chapter of your life is ending?" Jenn asked.
"No," he replied, watching Pierce grow smaller and smaller as they pulled away
from the resort. "I think for all of us...it's just beginning."
