"Joan! Grace!" Helen called up the stairs. "Adam's here and Luke's ready."
Panic coursed through Joan. Butterflies rioted in her stomach. This was it. In a matter of seconds, she was going to walk out of her bedroom and down the staircase where Adam was waiting for her. In a matter of moments, he'd see her in full prom regalia.
"You look fine, Girardi," Grace said for the fifth time in three minutes. "Let's go already. The sooner we leave, the sooner it'll be over. Better yet, we could just not go."
"I don't want to look fine." Joan glanced at the vision that was Grace. The midnight blue halter dress Joan had talked her into accentuated her petite figure. Under protest, she'd submitted to a soft, wavy bob and subtle makeup job. With her fists on her hips and an impatient scowl on her face, she looked like an ultra-glam girl warrior. The thought of Luke's reaction to Grace's new look was almost enough to overcome Joan's nervousness. Almost. "This is prom. I have to look better than fine. I need to look fabulous."
"Rove would think you're the embodiment of beauty in a garbage bag." When Joan didn't look convinced, Grace marched across Joan's bedroom and spun her around to face the mirror. "That's not a garbage bag."
Standing in front of a full-length mirror, Joan did a final, last-minute assessment. A shining mass of chestnut curls tumbled from an elegant updo. Wispy tendrils framed her face and caressed the sides of her neck. Hair, check.
The tiniest hint of blush adorned her cheeks; she was flushed with anticipation as it was. The barest, most delicate lip color she could find made her mouth look moist and kissable. Her eyes had received the most attention. Light pink to soft rose eyeshadow made her eyes sparkle. Makeup, check.
Her rose-pink silk gown, for which she'd hunted for three months, was both wrinkle- and lint-free. The fitted bodice with its cascade of small crimson roses narrowed into a flared, ankle-length skirt. A quick turn assured Joan that nothing puckered, pulled, cinched, bulged or embarrassed her in any way. Dress, check.
"Can we go now?" Grace asked as a relieved smile lit Joan's face.
Picking up her matching fringed shawl and clutch purse, Joan glimpsed her reflection one last time. "Yes."
"Finally." Grace scooped up her purse—Joan had talked her into it as well for practical reasons—and stalked out of the bedroom.
They were almost at the staircase when Joan came to a stop.
"What now?" Grace asked, plainly exasperated.
"You go first."
"What?"
Joan smiled. "I want to see Luke's face when he sees you."
"You go down first, then you can see it up close and personal." Though her tone was angry, Joan could swear Grace was blushing.
Wisely suppressing a giggle, she coaxed, "Please?"
"Ugh." Disgusted, Grace rolled her eyes. "Why am I friends with you?"
"Because life would be dull without me."
"Sounds like a nice change." She turned and stalked down the stairs.
Peeping around the corner, Joan could just make out Luke. His entire face went slack.
"You look lovely, Grace," Helen said.
"Unchallenged." The sound of Adam's voice sent a little tremor up Joan's spine, but she didn't take her eyes off of her brother.
Grace stopped in front of him and waited. Luke opened his mouth but nothing came out. He'd been struck speechless. He couldn't even move. Finally, he breathed, "Grace."
"Don't say anything else," she warned, a genuinely amused smile on her lips. "You'll just hurt yourself."
Joan clapped a hand over her mouth to keep from laughing.
"Where's Jane?"
"Coming," Grace said as she took the corsage Luke silently gave her.
"That's my cue," Joan whispered to herself. Cursing the staircase for being so long, she took a deep breath and started down. Her mother's gasp drew her attention. Helen stood off to the right with Will. Tears glittered in her mother's eyes while her father wore a look of stunned admiration. She flashed them a smile as her eyes sought Adam.
She found him standing in front of the rail opposite the bottom of the steps. Joan paused and gripped the banister. Not even her fondest daydreams had prepared her for how handsome he looked in his tuxedo. Time and space faded away and he was the only thing that mattered or existed. In that instant, she forgot how to breathe.
I'm going to marry him one day.
The thought flitted through her mind, unbidden. A sense of rightness flooded her being, a tender smile graced her lips, and she remembered to breathe. The thought, though new, felt like something she had always known: familiar, ever-present in the back of her mind. Just her consciousness of it was new. Her eyes never leaving him, she made it to the landing and stood for a moment, letting him see her without any barriers.
His awestruck gaze slid over of her. Slowly, he raised his eyes to hers. In unison, they started toward each other until they met at the foot of the stairs. "Jane," he breathed much as Luke had just moments ago. "You look . . . there aren't words for how beautiful you look."
She fingered his jacket lapel, delighting in the feel of his warm, firm chest beneath. "You look pretty amazing yourself."
"I aim to please."
Joan smiled. She knew that he only wore the tux because she had asked him to. She also knew that whatever he saw in her eyes now more than made up for any discomfort he felt. Hand resting on his shoulder, she drifted closer to him. "I am definitely pleased," she whispered as he leaned in to kiss her.
"Ahem."
Adam jumped back and Joan gasped at Will's pointed cough. Both had forgotten they had an audience. Muttering an apology, Adam held up a previously unnoticed plastic container.
Inside lay a small cluster of red, pink, and white baby roses surrounded by baby ferns. Thin gold and copper wires held the bundle together, the ends peeking out from among the blooms. "You made it?" she asked, overcome by the sweetness of the gesture.
He lifted the corsage revealing two thin strips of pale pink ribbon and shook his head. Tying it to her wrist, he said, "I modified it."
"Thank you."
"My pleasure."
"Can we move this thing along?" Grace grumbled.
"Your mother's eager to take pictures," Will added. "I'd hate to disappoint her."
The two-or-three picture session Joan had anticipated became five minutes of posing and rearranging. She was just short of horrified while Adam was trying not to laugh. Luke finally came out of his stupor to ask if Helen planned to do a prom retrospective and Grace wore such a deep glower she looked like a mini thundercloud.
"That's enough, Helen."
Reluctantly, she put down the camera. "But they're my babies, Will."
At the identical looks of mortification on Luke and Joan's faces, Will wrapped his arms around his wife and kissed her temple. "Go," he told them. "Have a good time."
The four had almost made it to the door when Will said, "Adam, Luke, come here for a minute."
Grace and Joan shared curious glances as the boys listened to whatever Will told them. Apparently, he didn't have much to say since the boys turned back to the girls mere seconds after they reached him. Luke wore a look of fascinated horror while Adam seemed to suffer from embarrassed amusement.
"Let's go before your parents think of anything else," he whispered when they reached the girls.
"Tell me that did not just happen," Luke said after the front door closed behind them.
"Dude, it did," Adam choked out. His head dropped and his shoulders began to shake. Alarmed, Joan reached out to comfort him when she heard his snort of laughter.
"What happened?" Grace demanded as she pulled a shell-shocked Luke toward the waiting limo. Joan and Adam followed.
"He said have a good time and to look out for you two," Luke explained as he helped Grace into the limo.
When the four were settled, Joan looked from Luke to Adam and said, "What else?"
Adam looked at Luke to continue but he shook his head as if he couldn't bring himself to repeat what his father had said. Tamping down his renewed laughter, Adam said, "Your dad told us to 'avoid intimate situations.' We're to bring you back the way we found you."
"Huh?" Joan asked seconds before comprehension dawned. "Oh, my god. He didn't."
"Unfortunately, he did," Luke said.
Grace looked from Luke to Joan with surprisingly sympathetic eyes. "Your family is seriously cracked."
"You think!" Joan exclaimed, her cheeks flaming. "Your dad is way normal compared to ours."
"Mine, too," added Adam.
"You're lucky," Luke agreed.
"You know, I don't think I've ever met your mom," Joan said wonderingly. "Is she normal, too?"
"Pretty much," Adam answered before Grace could.
Grace rolled her eyes at her friends and muttered, "Just crazy."
Joan nestled into the curve of Adam's side and stared up into his sparkling eyes. "Promise you'll still love me despite the irrefutable evidence that insanity runs in my family," she requested teasingly.
Wrapping his arm around her waist, Adam pressed a kiss to her forehead. Smiling, he rested his forehead against hers and said, "It'll take more than that to make me stop loving you, Jane."
Joan laid her head on his shoulder, truly content for the first time that night. Everything was right in her world just because she was in Adam's arms. His words replayed in her mind. Oh, yes, he was The One. She couldn't imagine finding anyone better to spend the rest of her life with.
"I'm going to walk the park," Joan announced as she and Helen finished straightening the buffet table. "You know, make sure that none of the kids are doing anything I would have done at their age."
Helen gave her daughter an I'm-not-amused look. "Not funny."
Laughing at her mother, Joan wrapped her arm around her shoulders and squeezed. "I'm just joking. We were good kids."
"I know." Helen hugged her daughter back, then gave her a once-over. "This is the happiest I've seen you since the argument."
"Grace and I talked." Smiling at the memory of their conversation that morning, Joan shrugged happily. "I don't know what made her break her silence, but I think we're going to be okay."
"I'm glad to hear it."
"So am I." Her happiness at the end of her recent slump bubbled over and she kissed her mother on the cheek. "I'm going to take that walk now. I'll be back," she said over her shoulder.
The past three weeks since the argument had been especially difficult for Joan. Grace had been so furious that she'd barely spoken to or looked at her. Her parents had been disappointed in both of them. And it had taken two weeks for Leila to look at Joan without whimpering and hiding behind Rebecca. The only good thing that had come out of the incident was the distraction it provided from Adam's continued silence.
Joan realized he was busy. Going home after taking a month-long break was bound to require a lot of his attention. Rationally, she knew that he couldn't call her every day and talk for hours. But the short, irregular phone calls they had made her doubt the future of their relationship. What if being back in New York undermined the closeness they had regained? What if he decided that it would be too complicated to get back together? The questions and uncertainties became so numerous she felt like snapping. It was little wonder to her that Grace had. And, for all of her obsessing in the five weeks since he'd gone back, what did she have to show for it? Nothing but confusion, frustration, and more questions.
"Hey."
"Hey," she answered, glancing at the source of the voice beside her. She did a double take. "Adam?"
He smiled one of his impossibly sweet smiles at her. "In the flesh."
"I didn't know you were here," she said as she stepped into his embrace. Her eyes drifted closed as she savored being in his arms again.
Adam chuckled against the side of her neck. "You were lost in thought when I showed up. Otherwise, you would've heard the commotion. Apparently, I have quite the fan club."
"I told you so." Joan pulled back and glared at him pointedly. "And I meant that I didn't know you were in town."
"I got in this morning." He stepped back and put his hands in his jeans pockets. "I called your place a little while ago and Grace told me you were here. She said you were having a seniors' picnic."
Joan spread out her arms as if encompassing the entire park. "This is all my doing."
"Impressive."
"Thanks." She drank in the sight of him. He looked good, refreshed. New York apparently agreed with him. The thought saddened her a little. "Walk with me?"
"Sure." He fell into step beside her. Joan studied Adam out of the corner of her eye as they made a circuit around the park. He was quiet as usual but something about his silence disturbed her. The tenuous state of their relationship had plagued her for weeks. His rather reflective mood, his distance, brought out her insecurity in force. "How was your flight?" she asked softly.
"Good."
"And New York?" she ventured when he relapsed into silence.
"Illuminating." A thoughtful frown marred his brow as he examined her. Finally, he said, "I did a lot of thinking about us."
Dread filled her at his somber tone. She silently prayed that the conclusions he'd come to were not the ones she feared.
"You were right not to go to New York with me."
"I was?"
Nodding, he said, "Our relationship has never been easy. Even though we were virtually inseparable, there was always something that came between us. At first, it was our insecurities and fears. We never quite mastered the ability to be truly open and honest with each other. I think it was because we were afraid of hurting each other and ourselves. Then, our aspirations got in the way."
Tears burned at the back of Joan's eyes at his words. Everything he'd said was true, but she wanted to deny it. They had been better than their problems. Why didn't he remember that?
"But for all our problems, being with you was the most natural thing in the world to me. There's something about you that reached me when no one and nothing else could. You reintroduced me to the world. I don't know where I'd be today if you hadn't come into my life. We meshed so perfectly. It never occurred to me that we needed to learn how to live without each other."
"I don't understand."
"You didn't come with me because you needed to figure out what you wanted for yourself, right?"
Joan nodded, unwilling to admit her past feelings.
"You also found out who you are without me. I went through it, too. I had to learn how to be—how to cope—on my own. It wasn't easy. It certainly wasn't pretty. Losing you was far worse than I'd ever imagined. But it was good. I didn't want to see it before, but you were right. We aren't the same people we used to be."
"We haven't changed that much."
Adam's lips twitched at the comment knowing he'd said the same thing not so long ago. "We've changed enough, Jane. All those years apart, living on opposite sides of the country; we were bound to outgrow who we were and what we had."
Her throat closed up at his words. He'd outgrown her?
"It took going back to New York to make me realize that." He stopped and faced her, his earnest hazel-green eyes holding hers. "Jane, we don't have the same relationship we had in school. And I don't want that relationship with you anymore."
"I see." Joan lowered her head and focused her heartbroken gaze on her hands. He didn't love her anymore. Something had happened in the past five weeks to change his feelings for her. Or maybe he'd just thought he had feelings for her when he was here, only to discover that he'd "outgrown" her when he got back home. She'd lost him for good this time.
With infinite tenderness, Adam took her hands in his. "Look at me."
She shook her head. If she looked at him now, she'd lose her self-control and bawl in front of Arcadia High's entire faculty and staff, not to mention half of its student body. She had too much pride for that.
His sigh tousled her hair. "Jane."
"Look, I get it, okay?" she declared, jerking her hands out of his and crossing her arms over her stomach. "You don't want to be with me. I get it."
Adam tipped her chin up, but she still wouldn't meet his eyes. "Look at me, Jane," he demanded.
Reluctantly, Joan raised her eyes to his gentle, smiling face.
"I could live without you, but my life would be a poor imitation of what it is meant to be. You are my missing piece, Jane. Without you, I'm okay. But with you, I'm whole.
"I want more than what we had in school. We weren't ready for this kind of relationship then. Neither of us really knew who we were individually. But we do now. I think we're both ready to move past our fears."
Adam cupped her dazed face in his hands and kissed her forehead. "I want to be with you, Jane. I love you. And I know you feel the same way about me. But I've learned my lesson. I'm not going to rush you. There are so many obstacles in our way. We'll take our time, as much time as you need. I just wanted to let you know that I'm here and I'm yours and I'm never leaving you again."
Her heart swelling, Joan let out a shuddery little chuckle. So many thoughts and emotions swirled inside her; she couldn't make sense of anything except for the fact that Adam loved her. He loved her and wanted to be with her.
Gently, he brushed her hair off her face. "That's all I really wanted to say—that I'll wait until you're ready. Anyway, I know you're busy right now. This picnic isn't going to run itself, so I'm going to go visit with your mom. Can I see you later?"
Joan nodded, still too overcome to speak.
"I'll see you tonight," he whispered as he brushed a kiss across her lips. Then he walked around her toward the table where Helen stood with some of the other faculty.
Stop him, a voice inside her insisted. "Adam," she said, her voice soft from shock. She cleared her throat and called after him. "Adam!"
He stopped and turned toward her. "Yeah?"
"I don't want to wait."
"What?"
"We've wasted too much time as it is. I don't want to wait. I know what I want. It's the same thing I've always wanted."
"Jane," he began gently, "you don't have to . . ."
"Yes, I do." Joan took a couple of steps toward him, not certain how to proceed. Listen to your instincts, your heart. Learn to trust them. Trust yourself. Taking a deep breath as God's words echoed in her mind, Joan decided to stop thinking and just let the words come. "I'm tired of playing it safe. Where did that get me? Alienated from the one person I need more than anyone else. I won't do that again.
"I want a life and a family with you, Adam. Little boys with your artist's soul and poignant smile. Little girls with your amazing heart and beautiful eyes. I want to laugh and cry and sing and dance and just be with you. All of life's ups and downs, its good and bad moments, I want to experience all of it with you."
She raised her hands as if they could explain the riot of emotions inside her. "Not being together these last few years made me realize how much I need you. You are my missing piece. And, yeah, I guess I could live without you, too. But why would I when no one else comes close to you?"
A small smile pulled at the corners of Adam's mouth. She returned it and moved even closer to him.
"I know we have problems that need to be worked out. And I know we haven't been back in each other's lives for that long. But I know that you are the one I'm meant to spend my life with. I've known since I was eighteen years old. Maybe even before then. Adam, I love you so much. I don't need time. I'm ready now."
Hands stuffed in his pockets, Adam closed the distance between them. "You're ready?"
She nodded and tucked an errant lock of hair behind her ear. "Absolutely."
Adam pulled his hands out of his pockets and knelt before Joan. He held an open ring box. A diamond engagement ring rested inside, its band made up of woven straps of burnished copper and gold. "Are you sure?"
With one hand covering her mouth and the other over her stomach as if to stop the rampaging butterflies inside, Joan tried to get her suddenly blank mind to function. She was vaguely aware of the enthralled silence of the park. She uncovered her mouth and tried to speak but no words came out. Desperation set in as she struggled to find words. The last thing she needed was for him to be angry with her.
Adam just smiled up at her and took her hand off of her stomach and held it. "Marry me, Jane."
Just like that, her paralysis faded away and she could think again. Joan returned his smile. "Yes," she whispered.
"Yes?"
She nodded. "A thousand times, yes."
Cheering erupted throughout the park as Adam slipped the ring onto her finger. He got to his feet and pulled her into his arms. "Are you sure you're sure?"
Joan giggled and took his face in her hands. "I'm sure and I'm yours and I'm never letting you go again," she whispered before kissing him. His arms tightened around her as he deepened the kiss, one hand buried in her thick hair. She arched against him, letting herself melt into his kiss. A sense of peace settled over her. This was where she belonged.
Eventually, Adam ended the kiss and rested his forehead on hers. "You're crying," he said as wiped a tear away.
"I'm happy." She smiled up at him. "You made my ring."
"With a friend's help."
"How did you know I'd say yes?"
"I didn't. I just wanted to be prepared if the right time came."
"I'm glad it did." A gang of excited students swarmed them, cutting off Adam's answer. As a group of slightly envious cheerleaders congratulated her, Joan noticed her mom making her way toward them, weeping happily.
A movement over Helen's shoulder caught Joan's eye. Lovely Woman God leaned against a tree, a pleased smile on Her lips. "Thank You," Joan mouthed. Lovely Woman God nodded, then waved and walked off into the crowd.
For the first time in a long time, Joan felt perfectly content. All the pieces of her life were in place. Things weren't perfect; there were still issues to resolve. But things were on the right track. She was confident that everything would work out for the best. Joan gazed at Adam. Her fiancé—her heart fluttered a little to call him that—gazed back.
Life was good.
The End.
A/N: Okay, so there it is. Yes, I know it's super fluffy, but I wanted a big finish. There are some loose ends, but rest assured that they'll be tied up in the next story.
I am so excited to have finished this. I've never finished a story before; certainly not one this long. I couldn't have done it without your reviews and stories. The reviews spurred me on and made me feel like I was producing something people would want to read. The stories helped me stay in character and provided insight that I didn't previously have. So thank you all.
I hope you enjoyed this story as much as I have. Now on to new and, hopefully better, things.
Alexandri