December 29, 1994, 5:26 PM—The Towers Club, Springfield
By the time they arrived at the Towers Club, it was almost 5:30, and darkness had fallen. The Christmas decorations and the overhead lights inside Towers had nothing on Roger and Holly, Blake thought as her parents exited the elevator arm in arm ahead of her and Ross. Since leaving the Justice of the Peace's house, the newlyweds had been practically radiating light. Blake had never seen her parents this happy. Oh, there had been a happiness about them since they had formally gotten back together in February, but this was happiness on a whole new plane…happiness to the millionth power. Blake had always wished for this, but had despaired of it ever happening, figuring that her parents were too dysfunctional to get it together, even though deep down she had always wanted them to be together, and she had always known that Roger had always wanted to be with Holly, ever since they had all returned to Springfield years ago. Then Blake had fallen in love with Ross and he had fallen in love with her…which, of course, couldn't be simple because Ross was one of Holly's exes, which had created a whole set of problems and difficulties of its own between Blake and Holly, and kayoed Ross and Holly's friendship for a good while there, and then there was the fact that Ross also went way back with Roger and they had always hated each other.
But somehow they had gotten through it all. The years of hurt and pain, of helping and healing, that the four of them had gone through had gotten them all to this place. As little as a year-and-a-half ago, Blake had never thought she and Ross would be both happily married to each other and on good speaking terms with both of her parents, much less that her parents would be deeply in love and happily married to each other. Yet here they all were, in exactly this state. It was enough to make Blake believe in miracles.
When they were shown to their table, Blake told their waiter before they had even sat down, "A bottle of your best champagne, please, right away." The waiter nodded and hurried off to fetch the champagne and glasses as Roger held Holly's chair for her and Ross held Blake's chair for her. As they settled themselves at the table, Blake said, "Order whatever you want tonight, Mom and Dad. It's on us." When both Holly and Roger opened their mouths to supposedly object, Blake hurriedly added, "You're humoring me, remember? Look, if all you want is champagne, that's fine by me, but whether it's champagne only or a full dinner with or without dessert, you're going to have to put up with me and Ross a little longer." Then something occurred to Blake. "Unless you have to leave right away for this mysterious honeymoon destination." Blake and Roger both looked at Holly interestedly.
"We have time for dinner," Holly replied. She looked at Roger, her eyes dancing, but she scolded him nevertheless: "You know, I expect it from Blake, but just this once, could you let a surprise be a surprise?"
Roger beamed. "Yes, dear," he said, pretending to look intently at his menu.
Holly rolled her eyes. "It's in driving distance," she said. "And that is the only hint you, and you," she added, looking from Roger to Blake, "are getting from me."
"Are you sure you'll be okay to drive tonight?" Blake asked.
Holly looked at her watch. "It's 5:30," she said. "It's not far. I want to be on the road by eight, though."
The waiter returned with the champagne then, and Blake was so determined to get her parents on their way by Holly's appointed time of 8:00 that she insisted they order dinner right away, so they did. Holly went with the trout amandine, Roger ordered the surf and turf, Ross got a steak well-done, and Blake opted for the pasta primavera. After the waiter left to take their orders to the kitchen, Blake poured four glasses of champagne, and once everyone had a glass of champagne in hand, she said, "I would like to propose a toast." Lifting her glass, she said, "To my mother and father, the newlyweds. I am so very happy for you, and I love you both very much. My only hope and wish for you is happiness and love, tonight and for the rest of your lives." She raised her glass higher. "To Mr. and Mrs. Roger Thorpe and Holly Lindsey."
As the others raised their glasses, Holly corrected Blake, "Lindsey-Thorpe."
"What?" Blake asked, thinking she hadn't heard her mother right.
"Holly Lindsey-Thorpe," Holly replied. "Since I'm known in the news industry by 'Lindsey,' I decided to hyphenate and use both names."
Blake was floored. She hadn't noticed that on the marriage license, but then she hadn't looked at anything but the line the Justice of the Peace had told her to sign. "Really?" she asked.
Holly nodded. "Really." She looked at Roger for a moment, lacing her fingers with his and squeezing his hand before looking back at Blake. "It just feels right. Besides, it'll look great on the Journal's masthead, don't you think?" she asked with a smile.
Blake grinned at her mother. "It really will, Mom," she said. She snuck a look at her father then, and saw in his eyes as he gazed at her mother that Holly's decision to take his name meant even more to him than it did to Blake.
"Far be it from me to ruin this lovely family moment," Ross piped up then, "but my arm is getting tired, and I think I see our waiter loading our dinners onto his tray, so Blake, honey, if you could finish the toast?"
It was only then that Blake noticed that all of them, including her, still had their glasses raised aloft. "Oh! Right!" she exclaimed. Looking at her parents once more, she beamed at them as she said, "To Mr. and Mrs. Roger Thorpe and Holly Lindsey-Thorpe…Mom and Dad…love and happiness, tonight and the rest of your lives. Cheers."
They all clinked glasses, Blake and Ross each took a sip of champagne, and Roger and Holly looked at each other and then linked arms before they each took a sip. The waiter then arrived with their dinners, and they had barely begun eating when Maureen Bauer saw them as she was leaving. She decided to go over to their table and say hello. "Hello, Ross, Blake, Roger, Holly," she greeted them as she came to a stop beside their table. "Getting an early jump on New Year's Eve?"
"We are celebrating," Blake said, "but it's not an early New Year's Eve. What are you doing here, Maureen? Is Ed here? Michelle?"
"No, just me. I've been here for almost four hours," Maureen sighed. "An interminable lunch meeting with some of the hospital's donors. We're planning on overhauling the cardiac wing at Cedars in the New Year. I was the only one in administration who didn't go out of town for the holidays, so I got stuck with the meeting. I'm heading home to Ed and Michelle now, but I saw you all here and wanted to say hello. If you don't mind my asking, what are you celebrating, if it's not an early New Year's Eve?"
Roger smiled at his old friend. "Holly and I got married this afternoon," he said. "And Chrissy insisted that we let her and Ross take us out to dinner afterwards."
"Congratulations!" Maureen exclaimed with a warm smile. "I'm very happy for you both. And Michelle will be thrilled. She's been rooting for the two of you since the 4th of July at Cliff House last year."
"Tell Michelle we said hello and Happy New Year," Holly replied.
"I will," Maureen promised. "Congratulations again. I've really got to get home. Good night."
They said their goodnights to Maureen, who waved at them from the elevator before the doors closed, finished their dinners, skipping dessert, and then headed to the waiting limo and back to Holly and Roger's house. Before Holly and Roger got out of the car, Blake said, "I won't ask where you are, but will you call me when you get there so I know you made it there safely?"
"We will," Holly promised. She leaned forward in her seat to give Blake a hug. "Thank you for all your help. We couldn't have pulled this together so quickly without you." She released Blake, then looked over at Ross. "And thank you for…well…you know."
"We're family," Ross replied. "Besides, you were there when I got married." Holly remembered her conversation with Ross on his and Blake's wedding day as she and Ross exchanged a look then, and she reflected that the four of them—she, Roger, Blake, and Ross—had indeed managed to become a family, despite everything that had happened between and among them all in the past, which was a miracle all its own.
"Are you kidding? I was thrilled to do it," Blake replied. After Holly had released Blake, Roger had opened his arms, and Blake moved to hug him. "I'm so happy for you and Mom, Daddy," she said softly so only he could hear.
"I am too, and I'm not going to do anything to blow it this time, I swear," Roger vowed. "I love you, Chrissy."
"I love you too," Blake replied, releasing her father with a squeeze to his shoulder.
"Congratulations," Ross said as Holly and Roger exited the car. "We'll see you next year."
"That's right, we won't see you again 'til next year," Blake realized. "Happy New Year."
"Happy New Year," Holly and Roger replied in unison.
"Have a good time," Blake said. "Call me when you get there. I'll see you when you get back. Good night."
Roger and Holly stood in the driveway and watched the limo depart to take Blake and Ross home. After they were gone, Holly turned to head for the house, but Roger swept her up in his arms. She smiled as she put her arms around his neck. "How long will it take us to pack?" he asked as he carried her to the front door.
"We're already packed," she replied. "Our bags are waiting there for us, in fact. So actually, we don't have to go inside. We can just get in the car and take off."
Roger grinned. "Now I'm even more intrigued than I already was," he said. He then carried Holly to the garage.
She beamed back at him. "You do realize you have to put me down so I can drive?" she inquired.
Roger gently set her on her feet by the driver's side door of her car. "Yes," he replied, "but after we arrive at this mysterious destination, be prepared to spend the entire honeymoon in or within reaching distance of my arms."
"There's nothing I want more," Holly replied, cupping Roger's cheek in her palm and leaning in to kiss him gently, quickly, before withdrawing her keys from her bag. And with that, they were in the car and on their way to their honeymoon.
So, anybody have any guesses as to where Holly is taking Roger for their honeymoon? The destination, and the reason for it, will be revealed in the next part.
