"It's amazing, Frank!" Joe exclaimed, his blue eyes twinkling. "You and Lyssa making it to the altar!"
"Yes, it is," Frank agreed, somewhat nervous and a little distracted. He ran his hand through his dark brown hair and looked at his blond-haired brother, through intense chocolate brown eyes.
"What's wrong?" Joe asked, concerned, sensing something was amiss. Joe sat down across from Frank in the chairs of the apartment he was sharing with his brother until tomorrow, when Frank and Lyssa would walk down the aisle together.
Frank looked square in the eyes, "Don't get me wrong, I love Lyssa with all of my heart," he paused, "but I had always thought me and Callie would be doing this today. We had always talked about it going through high school," he ended sadly.
"I know what you mean, bro," Joe tried to console, "I thought it would be me and Iola." Frank had to swallow at that, Iola was killed when their car blew up at a pre-campaign rally for the current President of the United States, Philip Walker.
"But, understand this," Joe reminded him. "It was her choice. You asked her to marry her, and she said no," Joe stopped, remembering the weeks of depression Frank went through, when after his relationship with Callie abruptly ended after the pair had finished high school and Frank felt he and Callie were ready for the long engagement that would get them through college, especially since they were going to colleges on opposite coasts. But for some reason Callie called it off, Frank even offered to transfer to the same college or a neighboring college, but she no longer wanted to be Frank's girlfriend and that had hurt Frank as deeply as any bad guy tried to.
That was until, through weeks of help from Joe, Joe's twin Alison and Joe's and Alison's friend since nursery school, Lyssa McCallum, that Frank had discovered his true love. Someone who made his feel special and alive. Someone who never felt she needed to compete with Frank's love of his siblings, although biologically Frank was the son of Fenton's older brother, Frank, Sr. who had been killed in a drunk driving accident, along with his mother, Reba. Lyssa was happy to spend any amount of time with Frank, where Callie, most often, wanted to monopolize her time with Frank, although Callie did seemed to get along with Joe, she never seemed to get along with Alison, although Alison's a sweet, vivacious blend of both of her brothers.
"I know," Frank sighed, "but I keep wondering what I could have done differently. I know she dumped me for Kevin Andrews, maybe if I was exciting enough."
"Frank!" Joe reprimanded. "You're a Private Investigator! Kevin Andrews is a rich playboy who was able to charm his way into Callie's heart with promises of being the center of his universe. Look how long that lasted!" Joe rolled his eyes at his older brother.
Frank laughed, "You're right, when Kevin started seeing Callie's best friend in college, Tessa Richards, and later married her, Callie got a taste of her medicine, and tried to get back together with me,." Frank remembered, "but by then, Lyssa and I were going steady, and she did for me what Callie would never do."
"What is that?" Joe asked, curious.
"She was able to share, where Callie never would," Frank informed him. "Callie admitted to me that she was intensely jealous of all the times I spent with, even though she knows why." Frank paused, not sure how Joe would take this news, but went ahead anyway. "She also admitted that she never liked Ali." Frank looked down, ashamed that he had dated her so long, for he sensed Callie's disdain for his younger sister, but dated her anyway.
"What?!" Joe exclaimed. "I know they were uncomfortable around each other. How did she phrase it?"
"She said, 'Ali is too much like your little brother and thank goodness she's a girl, I don't think I could of stood two Joe's walking around'," Frank replied to his brother. "I never knew of her intense dislike for you two. She also said, too bad that your parents died, then she would have replied yes to my proposal."
"She had that opinion of Ali, because she never sat down and got to know her," Joe informed Frank. "Ali always said that she asked Callie numerous times for a little girl time, but Callie would always find an excuse."
"Why didn't Ali tell me about this?" Frank asked, eyes wide with concern at the this information of his ex-girlfriend's brush offs of his younger sister, who at times very sensitive, but a very loving, caring person.
"She was hurt, and she didn't want to make you chose," Joe told his brother.
"Because she knew I would have chosen her over Callie," Frank filled in the blanks. "Joe, I made a mess of things without even realizing it."
"But you discovered your feelings for Lyssa and you and her are going to make a wonderful couple and great parents," Joe comforted. "So when are you going to start a new family?"
"Lyssa wants to start immediately," Frank informed his brother, "I think I do too," Frank's brown eyes lit up with happiness at this. "It's ironic, but when I ever talked children with Callie, she wanted to wait, and I did too, but with Lyssa, it's different."
"How so?" Joe inquired.
"I feel such an inner peace, and I feel completely whole when I am with her," Frank said wistfully. "That is just going to grow when we are officially man and wife."
"Yeah," Joe agreed. "I feel the same way with Vanessa. You feel more complete and you don't have to use words to communicate so much, and she always asks if I want to do something I normally wouldn't want to do."
Frank had to agree with that. Iola could get Joe to do something, even if he didn't want to do. Vanessa was different in that way, she always asked Joe first, and although initially Joe didn't want to do something, he almost always would, because she asked. Lyssa was the same, and she never raised a fuss if he canceled a date, even when he was fixing to leave, because she always trusted Frank to make it up to her. That is a quality Callie never had, whenever Frank had to cancel a date, whether it be when his siblings were in distress, or a last minute case their father, Fenton Hardy sent them on, she always had a tantrum and threatened to find someone who would pay her attention, but she never did.
Even her parents tried to tell Callie, that she would eventually push too far. They were surprised that Frank had actually proposed to her, but were not surprised by Callie's finding some guy of means and breaking it off too. Callie always enjoyed the pampered life she got as an only child, but she never was one to show commitment. As a young girl, she would go from friend to friend, dumping them if they didn't do things her way. They knew Callie could be a sweet, caring person, but she never allowed herself time to really get to know people before she would hurt their feelings, even telling Callie of the death of her older sister, Kelly didn't help her.
"Have you heard from Callie lately?" Joe asked, remembering hearing about the tragic death of Callie's older sister of 3 years just before she was born.
"She was dating Matthew Connors, the last time I heard," Frank replied, knowing Frank would remember him from his college football days.
"Oh, yeah. Matt Connors," Joe remembered. "Not much of a player, but his father's money kept him on the team."
Frank nodded, "But I heard from Tim Green, that isn't doing to well, Callie is even jealous of the time he spends working for his father. It seems he is a lot better businessman then a football player!"
"You mean, Matt's working for his father's company is getting to her?" Joe asked, incredulous. "Did she expect him to live off his father's money and not work? I knew Matt in college, in fact I saw him just a few weeks ago after we graduated and his Dad was so proud that he was joining the family business and Matt was beaming, he used to tell me that was always his dream to join his dad in running the plant."
"What do they manufacture?" Frank asked, knowing that Matt's dad owned quite a few plants in the country."
"They manufacture and distribute canned goods for the discount supermarket chains throughout the areas where they have plants," Joe supplied. "So people won't have to pay so much for chicken soup and such."
"How does Matt find that so exciting?" Frank wondered, shaking his head.
"Well, he really does have a head for business and he says his dad is letting him take over the job of traveling from plant to plant to make sure that each plant is sticking to the standard operating procedures of safety and quality his father set in motion years ago. They do have pretty good food, you almost can't tell the difference between their brands and the name brands."
"Yeah," Frank agreed, knowing that he and Joe brought the cheaper brands while going through college, but since they started working for their father were still buying them as both were putting aside money for houses."
"Have you and Lyssa found a house yet?" Joe asked, knowing that they had conducted some business earlier that afternoon.
"Yeah," Frank nodded. "You know that house a couple of blocks from Dad's that Lyssa said she always wanted?"
"You mean the Victorian that old Mrs. Graham owned?" Joe asked, aware that Mrs. Graham has passed away in a nursing home a few weeks ago.
"Well," Frank bragged. "We put down a huge down payment and Lyssa's dad and uncle's are going to move our stuff in there while Lyssa and I are in Maine. Frank and Lyssa had opted for a two-week honeymoon in a B & B while Lyssa's family painted and started decorating the house while they were gone.
"Do they know the colors to paint the walls?" Joe asked, not knowing why Lyssa would trust her family to decorate their new house.
"Well, as you know Lyssa's family is giving part of the down payment for the house as a wedding present." Frank paused, he signed a huge sigh of relief when Tad McCallum presented him with the gift. "As you know home building and remodeling is what Tad and his family do for a living. Lyssa is his personal assistant. Well, he's going to renovate the kitchen and bathrooms, and do the living room, family room, dining room as well. But he's going to leave the master bedroom to me and Lyssa." Frank wagged his eyebrows at his younger brother.
"What is going to be your conservative style or Lyssa's vision of the romantic getaway type of room she's always told me about," Joe teased his brother.
Frank laughed, Joe knew him all too well, Frank had always decorated his room in a simple no-nonsense style. He never bought anything with patterns and was happy with his white walls, whereas Joe had always had his bedroom walls with Wedgwood blue with a blue jeans fabric curtains and bedspread with red bandanna-type throw pillows and throws in his rooms.
"No," Frank chided his brother. "Lyssa has picked everything out, we are going to get started as soon as we get back, it shouldn't take us more than a few days, Dad gave me an extra week off," Frank paused, wishing for more and more that tomorrow was here already. "It might take us the whole weekend."
"Frank!" Joe explained in mock surprise. "Looking forward to married life!"
"Yeah," Frank replied, not rising to the challenge, knowing what his brother was thinking.
"Well, anyway," Joe continued, not surprised Frank didn't react. "Biff is planning on taking the day off at the gym he owns and manages and move in, and his girlfriend, Trina David is going to move in next door in with Vanessa on Sunday."
"Well, you and Vanessa are going to get married in a year anyway," Frank mentioned. "Why don't you just move in with her and let Biff and Trina have this one?"
"Because we promised each other," Joe put in, pausing knowing he had gone over with Frank with this one a thousand times.
"I know," Frank appeased. "The same reason Lyssa and I never moved in with each other. So has Biff asked Trina yet to marry him?" Changing the subject.
"No," Joe answered. "But I think he's about to. She is the only one who has bothered to stick around long enough to get to know him."
Frank nodded, knowing he had a tough time with getting to know a woman, as they would leave before anything got started. "I like her a lot, she puts up with a lot of his bravado."
"I think that comes with her having 3 older brothers," Joe replied.
"Three brothers?" Frank gasped, "I've only met Sam."
"Well, that's because Ken and Nathan live with their wives in New York City and their children," Joe answered him.
"You'll see at Thanksgiving, they were here a week ago for the weekend, but this summer they're spending their main vacation time with their wives families."
"So, they're a bit older?" Frank asked.
"Yeah, and twins," Joe replied.
"Mmm," I wonder if that means that when Biff and Tina have children, they have multiples, seeing as Sam and Trina are twins."
"It's possible," Joe surmised. "Vanessa is hoping for twins, maybe a couple of sets."
"Four?" Frank gasped. "Lyssa and I just want two, three at the most."
"Four's not so bad," Joe replied, "remember the Johnson family that lived next door to us, they had two sets of twins about my age, we had a ball."
"Yeah, you all ganged up on me," Frank grumbled. "But they were good kids, a real credit to their parents. Okay, I see your point, maybe more than three won't be too bad."
"Now," Joe said. "Are you feeling better about this marriage thing, and aren't you glad it's Lyssa and not Callie you're marrying?" Not meaning to trash Callie, but she had many faults and at times was unwilling to see them.
"Yeah," Frank reflected. "Now, looking back I can see where she had many of those faults I just didn't want to see…" Frank paused, reflecting back on his life so far, and now that he was more settled and knew exactly what he wanted. He often found himself missing his birth parents, but he honestly couldn't say that he regretted being the adopted son of Fenton and Laura Hardy, although they treated him exactly like their birth son, and was happy he had a younger brother and sister that looked up to him.
And, most of all, was happy they befriended a wonderful, caring loyal young girl, that will tomorrow at this time be his loving wife, Lyssa Michaela McCallum Hardy.