Return to Kellerman's

Written By: Seuss Fan

(Note: I do not own this movie or any of its characters. Please do not sue me. Dedicated to Patrick Swayze. May his memory live on forever. It's been one year and we still miss you. We always will.)

Chapter 4: Cry to me…

Rhonda woke up the next morning wrapped in Tom's arms. She knew her father would be fuming when she made her way back to their cabin but at that point in time she could care less. She was happy, she was peaceful, and she was temporarily free from all the drama of the previous year. Before she could prevent the thought from entering her brain Rhonda flashed back to that dreadful day when she was informed of her mother's death. It was just a normal day like any other. Rhonda had just gotten on the school bus when she saw her father running down the street. Embarrassment was soon followed by dread as her father whispered the news.

"She what?"

"She was just running a quick errand and a drunk driver hit her.", Johnny repeated to his daughter as tears began to well up in his eyes.

"Is she…?"

"I don't know. I just got the call that she's in the hospital. Angel, babe, we gotta go."

Without another word Rhonda sprung out of her seat and flew down the steps of the bus.

By the time father and daughter arrived at the hospital, it was practically too late. Baby had been placed on life support; however the attending physician did not have very high hopes.

"Due to the severity of her injuries we placed her in a medically induced coma. However, she's not that strong. She won't be able to bring herself out of the coma. We have no choice but to pull her off the drugs, remove the life support and let nature take its' course."

"Are you saying that you're going to kill her?"

"We have no choice but to let her die."

"I can't believe this."

"Sir, I'm sorry but there's nothing I can do to save your wife."
"Nothing, you can do? You're a doctor! There must be something you could do."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Castle. But your wife's injuries are too severe. We can only keep her alive by using machines. We'd have to keep her on life support from now until eternity!"

"I don't care! I'm not letting you hurt my wife!"

"Dad, maybe we should just let him do his job."

"Angel, stay out of this!"
"Yes, dad."

"Sir, that's no way to treat your daughter."

"Don't tell me how to treat my daughter. I'll do whatever the hell I want. Now, you heal my wife!"

"Security."

"Dad, just calm down please."

"Angel, wait in the waiting room."

"But, dad I…"

"Angel, go!"

Hours later Johnny returned from the hospital wing looking like he had just seen a ghost.

"Dad, how's Mom?"

"Angel…" Johnny started to say as he began to crumble in tears.

"Did the doctor take her off the life support?"

"Yes. I let him. I couldn't argue with his logic for long."

"And, what happened? Is she okay?"

"I'm sorry, kiddo. Mom's gone."

Rhonda felt as if she was sinking into the floor. Just yesterday, she was picking a fight with her mother over paying more attention to her after school activities than to her homework. And now she was gone. Just like that she had disappeared from her life; never to be seen again.

Rhonda's recollections were disturbed as she felt Tom move beside her.

"Morning, beautiful."

"Morning."

"How do you feel?"

"Emotionally or physically?"

"Both."
"Emotionally, I think I need to talk things out with my dad. Physically, I feel fine."

"I didn't hurt you last night, did I?

"No. My first time didn't happen exactly as I thought it would but it still was quite pleasant."

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah. Why would you ask me something like that?"
"I don't know. You're just not acting like yourself."

"Don't worry. I'm fine."

"You sure?"

"I appreciate your concern but I'm a big girl. I need to learn how to take care of myself sometime."

"Call me later?"

"Of course."

"I love you."

"What?"

"I know it's a little abrupt but I had to say it sometime."

"I…uh..."

"It's okay. I know how I felt the first time someone said that to me. It's okay if you don't want to say it back just yet."

"I love you, too."

"Really?"

"Yes, we'll talk about this later. I gotta go. Love you."

"Love you more."

"Bye."

Rhonda arrived at her cabin to find that her father was nowhere to be found. Feeling fortunate that the opportunity had presented itself Rhonda sat down on her bed and proceeded to collect her thoughts. She knew that when her father returned the first thing he'd want to know was where she slept last night. Once she told him the answer there'd be a discussion about how she was too young to be sexually active, she'd use her mom as an example, and all hell would proceed to break lose. While replaying this potential sequence of events over and over in her head Rhonda concluded that she should possibly go down a different path. She decided that it'd be best if she just talked to her dad about her mother's death. Rhonda felt slightly guilty about using her mother as a segway to her losing her virginity but she felt like it was the right choice considering how she was feeling that day. After all, they never really had the chance to discuss their feelings after her mother had passed. Today seemed better late than never.

Around twelve Johnny returned back to the cabin. Originally he had the intention of relaxing before his 2:00 dance lesson but the minute he saw Rhonda sitting on her bed he had a change of mind.

"When did you get back?"

"Around 9:30."
"So, I'm guessing you spent the night with…?"

"Yes."

"Did you two…?"

"Yes."
"We should talk about this."

"I know."

"I mean it's not like I can turn back time but we still should discuss it. After all it's a big decision. It's not something you should do on impulse."

"I know."

"I know what you're gonna say next. Your mother was practically your age when she slept with me. She told you that when she gave you the talk. But that doesn't mean that what we did was right. It's one of those do what I say not what I do type of situations."

"I think we should talk about Mom."

"You tryin to distract me?"

"No. We'll talk about me. But I think we should talk about her first."

"I still don't understand the connection."
"There really isn't a connection but I just think it's important. We never properly talked about what happened after Mom passed. And you always used to promise that one day you'd tell me about how you guys fell in love. But you never did. So, before we have this deep, intimate discussion about my newly established sex life I want to talk about Mom."

"We can't talk about her after?"

"No."
"I guess I shouldn't delay this any longer. Dr. Schultz said it'd be good for both of us if we talked about our feelings."

"Would you like to start?"

"I think I owe you that love story."

"I like to hear that."

"Well, you kinda already know how it started so I guess I can pick up with our courtship."

"So, this is after the final dance?"

"Yes, after the final dance. You know more than you think you do."

"I used to listen in on some of your dinner party conversations."

"You're just like your mother."

"I know."

"Your mother and I continued to see each other for awhile after that final dance. It was hard with her in school but we made it work. However, after a few years we drifted apart. After all, she was growing up and I was growing up as well. We both tried to move on but after a year and a half we had to face the facts: We had ruined each other for other partners. There was no one on this planet for either of us. We were stuck together. After we had been back together for six months I decided it was time to make things official. Your mother was in her last year of school and I had known for a while that I wasn't going to be able to find anybody else so I figured it was about time for us to get hitched."

"You're so romantic."

"Don't interrupt. Every since that first summer your mother had kept coming back to help out the entertainment staff. That summer was almost as magical as the first. We spent almost every single minute together talking and dancing, just like the old days. I knew that I wanted to propose but I struggled to find the right moment. Finally, I decided I'd pop the question during the final dance. It was hard keeping my plans secret. You know your mother; always has to be on top of things. I even had my cousin Billy hide the ring to make sure she wouldn't find out. Finally the night arrived. I was so nervous durin the dance I could barely keep my frame locked. In the middle of the dance we did our traditional lift. But instead of leading your mother back onstage or getting members of the audience to help us out I proceeded to get down on one knee. The second I pulled the ring out your mother's jaw hit the floor. She was so surprised but she couldn't have been any happier. I was right up there with her on cloud nine."

"Aw. I officially take back that sarcastic comment I made earlier."

"What'd I tell you about interrupting?"

"Right. Sorry."
"So, I'm guessing you wanna hear about when you came along, huh?"

"It'd be nice."

"Your mother and I had decided that whatever happened happened. If kids came along that was great but if they didn't that was fine too. We wanted to go out, explore the world, teach dance and just have some fun. Unfortunately, the big man upstairs had other plans. Two years into our marriage a little pink bundle of joy came along. Both of us were so surprised. Even though it wasn't planned your mother and I couldn't have been happier. You really are our darling angel."

"I'm glad to hear that."

"And things will always be that way no matter what you do."

"I'm sorry I didn't talk to you about Tom first."

"It's alright. I probably wouldn't have listened to you anyway. I have been pretty pig headed regarding the two of you these past couple weeks."
" These past couple weeks? Dad, you've been acting like this the whole summer!"

"I know. I'm sorry, Angel. It's just that I don't wanna see you get hurt."

"But Tom's a great guy. He'd never disrespect me."

"I know. After all, I'm the one who hired him. I know he's a gentleman but you're my little girl. Just because I treated your mother well doesn't mean all dance guys are the same. They may seem sweet on the outside but a lot of them get into this business just so they can take advantage of adorable girls like you."

"Dad, I was raised by you. You think I'm gonna let some guy in a tux sweep me off my feet then leave me out to dry?"

"No, I guess not. Alright, you have my permission to stop sneaking around. I'm okay with you and Tom seeing each other."
"Thank you\, Daddy."

"You better go get ready. You're shift starts in half an hour."

"Right. See you at dinner, Dad. And thanks again."

"You're welcome sweetheart. Anything to make my little girl happy."