This is the follow up to "Hunter Finds A Home" and "Cry For Help". Shawn questions if he will ever find real love when he surprisingly runs into an old flame from high school...This is set between BMW and GMW.
Rekindled
Shawn was taking a stroll through Times Square one winter afternoon, trudging through the slush after a big snow storm. He had been doing a lot of that lately, taking long walks so he could ponder the deeper meaning of life among other things. It was the most common way he came up with ideas for articles and stories, for him to get his head cleared like this.
Today it was about finding a woman to settle down with. Would he be able to have a love like Cory has for Topanga? Sometimes he still struggled with those demons of self doubt from time to time, questioning what place he has in this crazy world. Just out of his latest short term relationship, Shawn wanted something more, a connection between souls, something real, beyond just the physical.
He had not dated much since him and Angela broke up in college. His choice of career after graduation took up much of his time with lots of travelling, so being able having a relationship was very difficult. But now, he could pretty much be his own boss doing what he loved. Whenever he did have a girlfriend, it felt shallow, nothing could measure up to Angela. She was the closest he ever felt to real romantic love.
Often he would walk the streets, looking for inspiration. Passing by a bookstore, Shawn takes notice at a poster in the window. The woman on it looked awfully familiar, then he sees the name and recognizes her. It was freezing and Shawn was already cold enough, so he decides to go on inside even if it's just to warm up.
There was a table set up with a stack of books ready for signing. A few people were already waiting, the sign saying the event would begin in about fifteen minutes. So Shawn killed the time browsing the aisles, flipping through any book that caught his eye. He even saw an article he wrote recently for a magazine.
More people came in as the signing began. Shawn could see Amanda come out excited to see everyone. He was in awe at how beautiful she looked. Her dark brown hair was longer and the purple framed glasses were replaced by black ones. It seemed like she had matured and definitely for the better.
When it came to his turn up for her to sign his copy of the book, her eyes lit up, widened in awe. "Shawn Hunter, is that you? I never thought I'd see you again." She signs his copy and asks if he wanted to go out for a coffee after she was done at the store. He says yes and waits for her to finish.
Afterwards, they go down the street to a bistro where it was quiet, not too full of customers. They catch up, talking about everything under the sun. "I had heard about Cory and Topanga getting married. I still keep in touch with some of our old classmates, so I know the score. I've read some of your published articles, they are really good. Ever considered writing a novel?" Amanda says, "So, how's Mr. Turner doing these days?"
"He's here in New York, a school superintendent now. Just got back from seeing him with his wife, son and daughter. I was walking down the street, saw the poster and had to see for myself." Shawn responds, sipping at his hot tea. It felt good to run into an old friend. "You look amazing."
"My mom is still in Philly, she finally got married and now is a mother of three young, rambunctious kids." She tells him, "And still working at the same hospital too." Amanda had a look of content on her face. "Right after college I spent three years in Europe. Wanted to see the world."
Memories of them together in high school came back to him, good and bad. The first time they met, her sharing the darkest secret she had, and the bully who drove her to attempt suicide. It was a great relationship until they broke up at graduation. They had gone their separate ways at that point. Her going to a college in Maryland and him staying local.
Now here they are, together again, sipping hot drinks in New York as adults. She looks happy, Shawn thinks seeing Amanda sitting there across from him, She's probably already dating someone. Wouldn't hurt to ask her anyway. Better to be turned down than never to know.
"So, are you seeing anyone at the moment?" Shawn asks, hoping for a positive response. "Not right now, I did have a steady in college, but he wanted to push me into marriage and I didn't want that at the time. So we split up over that." Amanda tells him, "Since then, I've dated some, but nothing serious came out of them."
That brought great relief to him. He never could completely shake off the feelings he had for her. Sure Angela was wonderful and all, but something about Amanda always stayed with him. All she taught him and the trials they went through together. Maybe it was time for him to get back into serious dating.
"I have an apartment, about five blocks from here. It's not much, but it does suits my needs. Here's my number." She scribbles it on a slip of paper and handing it to him, "Where are you living now? Or are you just passing through?"
"Here in the city, up near Jonathan and his wife. Got a little place of my own." He gives her his number. She almost spits out her spiced tea. "Wait, Mr. Turner got married at last?" Amanda couldn't believe it, he had finally settled down.
"Absolutely, about six years ago. He waited until I was out at college to seriously pursue it. And I had to approve before he popped the question." Shawn explains, then talking about his brother and sister that came along soon after.
Before leaving, she gives him a copy of her first book. "My second one just came out, that's what the signing earlier was for. But I have a good editor who really does believes in me. Great seeing you again. Love the goatee. It really suits you." She reaches over and gently strokes his face. Something about facial hair had always attracted her.
Then they had to part ways, Amanda had to go grocery shopping before it got too late and Shawn had to get back to finish up a story he had been working on. He couldn't believe it, his former high school flame had come back into his life. A small smile came across his face, a warmth filling him despite being in the cold.
He sees her walk away and opens the book she gave him. Tucked inside of it was a business card with the address and number of a publisher, one he recognized as local. Scribbled on the back was a note, Need a publisher? Here's one, tell them I sent you. They will take time for you.
How did she know he needed one? Every one he had submitted manuscripts to turned him down. All he was living on was published articles he did as a freelancer and from time to time, took photos for magazines. Those took him all around the country, sometimes, around the world.
That paid really good, but he wanted more, he had a manuscript locked away at home that he felt was time to share with the world. I have to contact them sometime, maybe tomorrow when I have a free moment. Shawn thinks, slipping the card in a pocket of his long jacket.
Amanda gets back to her small apartment with a few bags of groceries. Seeing Shawn again was the highlight of her day. She would have to track down her old friends Cory and Topanga on Facebook later on. It's been quite a while since I even thought of them. But for now, she needed a breather. Picking up her phone, she calls her mom and tells her about seeing him again.
Shawn contacts the publishing house on the card the next day and was told they were always looking for new material. He sets up a meeting with them, submitting a few of his own original stories and the manuscript that he started right after high school to present. Thank God for Amanda, but then she had always told me more than once there are no accidents or coincidences. She always said verything has a purpose.
He also dials the number she had given him and leaves a text. "Thanks for the hook up with the publisher. Hey, want to go out sometime? Maybe dinner with Jonathan and his wife? Let me know."
She was busy typing away at her computer when it comes. Amanda immediately leaving a text of her own. "I would love to have dinner with you and them. Tell me when and where, but it would have to be at least Friday. Got a busy schedule until then."
The evening came and she decided to dress in an outfit almost identical to the one she wore that first day at John Adams High. Thankfully, Amanda still had the David Meece concert shirt and it fit pretty well. Jeans, long coat, knitted hat and long scarf (dark blue and white colors) and the boots.
They would meet at a local Chinese restaurant, nothing spectacular. Mr. Turner didn't know about Shawn's surprise guest. His wife was right beside him (they got a sitter for the kids) as they saw Amanda come in. At first Jonathan didn't recognize her, but it then hits him. This was the girl who stole my son's heart, now back in his life again? Whoa.
She was just as excited to see them all again. Two hours pass and between the trips to the buffet, it was all about catch up. Jonathan had settled down the last few years. Finally getting married and having kids of his own, along with the change from teacher to superintendent. He had moved to New York with his wife just before his son was born.
The publshing house took interest in some of Shawn's original stories, even his manuscript. They gave him an opportunity for a contract with them, which he graciously took. Soon enough, he joins Amanda as part of the Lamu House Publishing family. It was the breakthrough he so desperately needed. And it was all thanks to his old friend.
Shortly after, they started dating. Lots of time together and his love for Amanda deepened. It was like they had never broken up. Eight months in, he seriously started believing that she was the one and began to consider proposing to her. He had to think about how everything would change taking this step. How would she feel about this?
Shawn met with Jonathan over lunch one afternoon. There, he expressed his feelings about asking for her hand in marriage. About how everything would change and if he was ready to do it. "What made you decide Laura was the one for you?" Laura was Jonathan's wife.
Jonathan explains as best he could. "I don't know. I just knew she was for me. This is a huge decision that needs serious consideration. As I recall, you and Amanda were almost like Cory and Topanga at times back in high school. Maybe that was a set up for today. But you have to decide."
After that conversation, Shawn took his advice and seriously thought about what his dad had said. Some prayer and more input from others, he made his final decision. He would go for it. Take the plunge, settle down with Amanda. She's the one for me. I just know it.
What he didn't know was that Amanda had been feeling the same way about him. She thought about how much she really cared for Shawn and how those feelings had never truly gone away. The few guys she dated either wanted her in their bed or would push her into marriage when she didn't want that. She wanted to get married, but not for a few years.
Amanda thinks back to when they had first met. That was a day she would never forget. She was an insecure, shy girl who had bursts of confidence at times. A transfer student from the South that soon found solace in a trailer park kid that had just been adopted by the coolest teacher at John Adams High.
Sharing the darkest corners of her soul with Shawn, then actually trying to take her life. Him and Mr. Turner coming in and finding her bleeding out. He was willing to let me go and be a friend, but I didn't want that. Maybe back then I knew he was the one for me, who knows.
Then she rolls back her left sleeve, seeing the faint scars that reminded her of that night she tried to take her life. Over a decade later, they still made her shudder seeing them. They were also a symbol of her greatest triumph, defeating the enemy within herself.
Shawn decided that he would propose to her at a David Meece concert at a little church on the outskirts of the city in the winter one year to the day that they met again. Shawn had a friend who was helping set up the show and eventually made "special arrangements". Everything was going great, Shawn enjoying the show with his arm wrapped around Amanda's shoulder.
"What's wrong? You're so nervous." She whispers, taking notice, "You're tenser than a piano string." Shawn assures her he was okay and to enjoy the show. Then the moment came. His friend had spoken to David before the show about a guy who had wanted to propose to his girlfriend and make it unforgettable.
David always made his concerts part comedy, part music, part testimony. At one of his speaking portions between songs just after his testimony, he mentions someone having something to say and motions to Shawn and Amanda in the front row to come up. She was surprised as Shawn takes her hand and gets her up.
When they get up there, she was more nervous than Shawn was. "I believe you have something important to ask this lovely young woman," he says in that Texas accent, his trademark smile beaming.
Shawn's body was trembling as he almost stumbles over what he wants to say. "Amanda Carr, I never thought we be together again. The feelings I had for you back in high school never really went away. They just stepped to the side for a time, that's all. You opened my eyes to how much God loves me and He gave me you."
Then he drops to one knee and pulls out a small box. The crowd gasps and falls silent. "Amanda Elizabeth Carr, will you marry me?" Shawn looks up at her, praying for her answer. That was where he was the most nervous. Would she accept his proposal before passing out in a dead faint?
Amanda turns to her right, facing David. "You were in on this weren't you?" she whispers, and he smiles, telling her to answer the question. She gives him a wink and pulls out the mike from its stand on the piano. "I'll put this right back if you don't mind."
She turns back to Shawn, microphone in hand. "Shawn Patrick Hunter, why is this even a question? Yes. It would be an honor." She puts it back in place and when he rises up, gives him a kiss right there on the spot. He removes the ring from the box and slides it onto her finger. It wasn't much on his budget, just a simple silver ring with two small diamonds with a ruby in the middle, but she didn't care.
The next few days were busy. They saw Cory and Topanga to break them the news after telling their own families and starting the wedding nuptuals would be held at the church they attend (Shawn had started going again) in about five months and it was a small intimate affair, just friends and family.
Jack and Cory were Shawn's best men, while Amanda had Topanga and some other friends of hers as maids of honor. Of course, Sarah, her husband and kids were there with Jonathan with his own. Amanda had also brought her biological father (she sought him out while she was in college) and finally introduced everyone to him.
The day they married was the best day of their lives. They had agreed not to have sex until they married. He knew about her reasons for that. Shawn draws in his breath seeing her in the cream colored wedding dress. A simple lace veil over her face, and very little makeup. Not that she really needed it, to him it didn't matter. She was the most beautiful woman in the world in his eyes. They never looked back nor ever regretted their decision.
They recite their hand written vows and were then pronounced husband and wife. After the wedding, they had their honeymoon down in Florida, where they enjoyed the sights and sounds and of course each other. A week was all they could spare with their schedules and deadlines. Thankfully, the trip was a wedding present from the publisher.
About six months later, Shawn and Amanda move out of his apartment into a home not far from Cory and Topanga lived. It was also about this time she was starting to feel a little queasy in the morning. Her appetite had changed and she started gaining weight. She goes to the doctor, just to be sure. If this is what I think it is, then everything changes for us again.
The doctor confirms her suspicions. "Mrs. Hunter, you are pregnant. By what I can tell by what you've given me, at least two months." Amanda was shocked. How was Shawn going to react to this? We're going to be parents. They wanted kids, but not this soon.
Cory and Topanga had just announced they were having a baby, now they were having one of their own. Now she had to break the news to her husband. He was doing a joint project with another writer and wouldn't be back until dinner, but was aware of her appointment. This gave her time to prepare a special meal for them along with Cory and Topanga. The chicken soup Shawn had loved so long ago, this time with handmade noodles with lots of celery and some spice.
"Smells good, what's cooking? Special occasion?" Shawn comes in, smelling all the food. "How was it at the doctor's? Hope you're okay, we don't need to have some stomach bug going around." He kisses her and goes to take a shower because of their friends coming over. She had a special cake made and setting in the fridge.
Cory and Topanga come on over, her barely showing a belly. The meal was great, but it was the dessert and the suprise that made Amanda nervous. When they were in the living room after dinner, she begins to give hints at what happened at the doctor.
She puts on Amy Grant's "Baby, Baby" and brings out the cake. It was a chocolate cake and she had written in white frosting, Shawn, Congradulations, You're a father! Then she steps back and watches their faces. "You had to be the first to know. Just found out today."
Shawn was stunned. I'm going to be a father? Wow. I want kids but I was thinking later on down the line. But blessings come whenever they want. How far along are you?" he asks his wife, excitement and concern on his face. Then he kisses her full on the lips.
"The doctor says about two months. I have an another appointment next week." She says, a smile on her face, "I wanted to be sure until today." Turning to Cory and Topanga, she tells them how excited she was for them. "Now we have even more in common."
One of the perks of being a writer is that one can do it from almost anywhere. And Amanda took full advantage of that. Still working hard, pregnancy and all but careful not to overdo herself. Along with proofreading her husband's works, that was sometimes difficult to do.
Shawn and Amanda also learn they be having twins. A boy and a girl to fill their lives together with more happiness than they could ever imagine. He was at every check up, every ultrasound, even going to Lamaze classes with his wife. Then at eight months, Patrick Jonathan and Michaela Grace Hunter would come into the world three minutes apart. They would be born minutes after Topanga and Cory have their firstborn daughter Riley on the same day.
Thanks for reading! I love positive feedback on how I should go with the Hunters and their twins. How they grow up with Riley and eventually Maya in the GMW universe.