More attention and love for The Pigman and The Pigman's Legacy yes? Yes. Disclaimer: I don't own. They are by Paul Zindel.
Years after high school, after parents, after stress, after worrying about purpose and places in the world, after Mr. Pignati and the Colonel, John and Lorraine grew. That's not to say they grew up, not in the way some adults would define. They grew old, sure, aging doesn't stop for much of anything. John and Lorraine simply grew: a bit more mature, a bit wiser, more confident in themselves and what they wanted out of life. (They also grew in love, but that was one they could see.) The world was harsh and negative and mean, but John and Lorraine found happiness. They refused to be confined and pushed in and down by what others thought they should do. They never wanted to be their parents, and they succeeded in that. Love and hope, that's what their true friends, those two strong and kind old men, taught them. They appreciated their lessons in later years, but never put down their teenage selves, either. Youth, in all its foolishness and naivety, was not something to condescend when you are older.
John became an actor, Lorraine became a writer. They traveled all over the country for their work, sometimes even to different countries. They weren't household names, but they were successful enough to keep going. They were often separated, but they learned timezones and schedules and utilized the growing communications of video calls and texting on top of phone calls and loved seeing each other in person and made it work. Always faithful, they lived their lives the way they wanted, out and free and full of life. They kept tabs of each other's accomplishments and news with online resources, as well as interacted with their fans. (The fact they had fans made them giggle with glee, and when those fans found out they were dating, it was elected that they were the presidents of each other's fanclubs.)
As they hit their 30s, they still lived their lives so very alive, and in a way that would make their guardian angels proud. They never lost their spark of adventure and creativity and fearlessness. Never dull, boring, or bitter. And they wouldn't change that for anything.
In some theatre in Chicago, a play was halfway through it's 3rd week of running. A lively Saturday crowd gave it a standing ovation. The director came out at the end and told the crowd there was a special guest this evening. The play happened to be adapted from a novel by Lorraine Jensen, and since she worked closely on the process of adapting, she did her best to see as many productions of the play as possible, and she was here tonight. And Lorraine got up on stage, was handed a cordless microphone and talked and thanked and praised and was very comfortable in front of hundreds of people. And then, after 10 minutes passed and it was clear she was wrapping up, there was a rustling on the other side of the stage. And a honk that could only have been from a toy car. And out came one of the leads, still in costume, rolling in a tiny car (not a prop in the play, mind you), with a grin that could power the city. Of course it was John Conlan.
After the crowd's laughter and cheers at the entrance subsided, all attention was on the happy man too big for the tiny car and the woman in a state of amusement, surprise, and exasperation, holding her face in her hands, the mic cradled in her arms.
"Hi Lorraine!" He was still mic-ed.
"…Hi John." She sighed with a smile she just couldn't hide. "Please tell me you got permission to do this."
"Yup!" he said, and then climbed out of the car and sat cross-legged a bit closer to the center stage than the car, turned ¾ so to be able to face both Lorraine and the audience. He was still grinning and waved playfully at the audience, rocking slightly like an excited and content kid.
Lorraine just looked at him, and when he didn't say anything more, she said "Did you want to contribute something?"
"Nope!"
She laughed but still said "So you just wanted to come out and listen?"
He nodded enthusiastically. "I love listening to you", he said, putting his chin on his hands. The audience 'awww'-ed.
Lorraine smiled softly. "I feel compelled to explain, and so I will. This is John, as you all know, you just saw him be amazing up here for the past two hours alongside the rest of the cast and crew. What you may know, if you happen to follow either of us on social media, is that we're dating. And we have been for over 10 years now. And yes, he's like this all the time. And I won't talk your ears off gushing about how much I love him because then we'd been here all night and you all do have to be freed at some point." The audience laughed. "So I will just say that this man so important to me. He's been my best friend since we met, he's my main muse, and he's the best tonic for writer's block I could ever have, and I am thankful that he is in my life and that you all allow him to keep doing what he's meant to do. And I wish you all a wonderful night." The audience cheered loudly.
Just after things calmed down but before anyone could start to leave, John spoke up, still sitting cross-legged. "Actually, there was something I wanted to say." A pause, and then "You know, you all have been such a great audience, and it's true, everyone that works and performs here is so thankful that we get to keep doing this for audience after audience. And of course, Lorraine is my best friend and love of my life and often my impulse control and her writing is outstanding and I too can go on and on about her and I won't. But, I just thought you all deserved something a bit special tonight." He turned a bit more to Lorraine, smiling wide. She was smiling, and raised her eyebrows curiously. "Lorraine, will you marry me?"
As his words sunk in, she went from amused to surprised to joyfully pouting. The audience, of course, buzzed with excitement. "Well John," she said, voice full of that gleeful annoyance, "I will answer your question with a small rant." Fully talking to the audience, "I'm a meticulous person. I like planning and outlines. I'm not as stringent as I used to be, but I still prefer planning ahead. So it is not often that I give into impulses, but tonight before the show I had an impulse and I thought 'Might as well' and I went on a small errand and came here. And I talked with the stage manager and director before the show if I could go back stage after everything was done. And I'd keep it brief and praise the cast and pick out a few favorite things I liked. And then I'd turn to my boyfriend in front of everyone backstage and I'd simply go on one knee, say whatever my heart wanted in the moment, and ask him to marry me." The audience buzzed excitedly again, even louder than before – though that could have been because the backstage did so too. John, once the words processed, dropped his jaw and essentially fainted backwards onto his back and starfished on the stage, caught between amazement and laughter.
Lorraine continued, "So not only did he beat me to the punch but he managed to one-up me by asking in front of an audience and I am very bitter about this and I will complain to our children and grandchildren and it's moot now but you know what?! I'm asking anyway!" She stomped to where John was laying laughing and sat on her knees with faux defeated posture and half laughing, grinning wide, asked, "JOHN, WILL YOU MARRY ME?"
John quickly sat up and said "YES".
She threw her free hand in the air. "THEN YES" The entire room exploded in cheering.
Everything else was pretty much a colorful blur. At some point they stood up and hugged and kissed and exchanged rings. And then time passed in a blur, and suddenly there was a small semi-formal wedding full of love and silliness, and a row of empty seats at the front. For parents who let life harden them into disconnection, for the high school would-be friends that didn't care for different or didn't care for true friends, for a dog, for a cafeteria cleaning lady and a colonel, and for a pigman and his wife. All new chapters of a story worth living through.