Disclaimer: Characters are owned and produced by The Disney Channel, That's So Productions, Brookwell-McNamara Entertainment, It's A Laugh Productions and Warren & Rinsler Productions. I am just borrowing them for these stories. All original characters are the exclusive property of the author.
Author's Note: This is the last chapter of the Thunderstorm trilogy. It is a bittersweet chapter for me because I loved writing this story. It was my first story. It was my baby. And now my baby is all grown up. Because I am an author that loves bringing things full circle, the Thunderstorm story is going to end the way it began… Raven is going to tell you the story of what happened after the wedding. I'm going on ahead to start my new story. Rae's got the keys. She'll turn out the lights and lock up when she's done.
For Them The Bells Toll
Chapter 14
The Postscript: Breaking The Fourth Wall
Monday, September 18, 2017, 12 pm – Raven and Chelsea's condo apartment, New York City
Hey y'all. You can tell by the date that Chelsea and I have been married for 10 years, although according to the state of New York it's only been five years. They didn't pass same sex marriage legislation until 2012. But I didn't come here to start railing against the New York State legislature. I'm supposed to tell you what happened in the weeks, months and years after the wedding. Well, let's see…
Chelsea and I went back to Berkeley after the wedding and moved into a two bedroom apartment not far from campus. Chelsea and I graduated from Cal, with honors. After graduation, Donna Cabonna offered me a job as one of her junior designers in her San Francisco office. Chelsea was offered a paralegal position at a prestigious environmental law firm in the city while she went to law school at Stanford. She graduated fourth in her class and that same law firm offered her a job as an associate. Can you believe it? My Chelsea is an attorney!
So, now I know what you are saying. How did the two of you end up in New York? Well, I went to Fashion Week here about eight years ago. Chelsea flew in a couple of days later and we painted the town red. We went to Broadway shows, ate at fancy restaurants, you know, the whole New York City experience and you know what? We fell in love with it! We said this was where we wanted to spend the next portion of our lives. Now the only problem was finding employment.
Well Donna took care of that when she asked me to re-open the New York office she had closed when she moved to San Francisco. She trusted me that much! She gave me double the salary and moving expenses to make the move. It was a no-brainer for me. Now Chelsea had just started at her firm, so when she went to them and said that she wanted to transfer to their New York office, they were a little less than thrilled. But the senior associate that hired her remembered telling her that he wanted her as a part of their family and he signed off on the transfer.
That was back in 2010. and here we are seven years later still going strong! That's right. It's Me and Chelsea and… here's Mommy's baby! (Raven picks up her little girl). This is our little girl Tonya Victoria. She just turned five years old last week. This was a hard pregnancy on Chelsea. She was sick and had to be put on bed rest for the last three months, but it was so worth it. Tonya is our precious little girl. Oh hang on a second, Chelsea is calling me.
"I switched bags! The diapers are in the black bag!"
Sorry about that. I know, Tonya's five years old. She doesn't need diapers. But little Rich does! Remember when Chelsea and I went to C.J. and Barbara Martin's wedding in Boston seven months ago and I was pregnant? Well that little bundle I was carrying was Richard Christian Daniels. He's two and a half months old now. He is the most precious little man and we adore the blankets he sleeps on.
I don't know how many times I have cried walking through this house. I am just so blessed to be surrounded by love everywhere I turn. If someone had told me that by the time I was 31, I would have everything I wanted in life I would have told them they were crazy, and yet here I am. I have two beautiful children, my dream job, a great apartment in a great city… and the love of my life, Chelsea.
"You're talking about me behind my back again. By the way, the babysitters are on their way."
You all know Chelsea. (Chelsea sits down next to Raven). And the little one she's holding is little Rich.
"Who are you talking to?"
"Everyone that's been reading our story."
"Oh! Hi everybody! I hope Rae hasn't been boring you."
"Me? Boring? You know better than that! I was just telling them about what's happened in the years after our wedding."
"That's cool. Have you told them about Eddie and Gina?"
"Well if they read Maddie and London's story, I did mention that they were married. But why don't you tell them how it happened."
(Chelsea takes over the storytelling).
So Eddie and Gina had been dating for about three years when his friend JWill got signed by Island DefJam Records and he brought Eddie along as his DJ. Eddie stayed in Philadelphia while he and JWill started laying down tracks for JWill's debut album. Around the same time, Gina got a job as a news anchor at a small ABC affiliate in Salisbury, Maryland. They would see each other on the weekends and on holidays.
Well, about four years ago, they flew to Gina's home in San Bernadino for Thanksgiving and he proposed to her after dinner in front of the whole family. Only her mother and father knew. He had asked Gina's mother for her hand before dinner. She got on the phone and called Gina's father who also gave his blessing. She called us screaming the same way Rae did to her mother when I proposed to her. All three of us cried on the phone. They've been married for three years now.
So anyway, JWill's third album is coming out next week and Eddie has been working on his solo debut. He and Gina moved to a three bedroom townhouse outside of Philadelphia about two years ago, right after she became one of the new five o'clock anchors for Action News in Philadelphia. Professionally she goes by Regina Melendez-Thomas(Chelsea broke into her booming TV voice). And to this day, they are our closest friends. We talk to them several times a week and see them every other month or so. They are Rich's godparents.
And speaking of Eddie and Gina, they will be here any minute. They are Rich and Tonya's babysitters. Rae and I have a plane to catch.
(Raven interjects)
"That's right. We're headed to back to Malibu to see Miley Stewart."
Remember the vision Rae had on our wedding day? Well we got that a call from Miley not too long ago saying that she needed our help with her friend Lily. Seems as though she went and fell in love with her best friend and doesn't know how to tell her. Now where have I heard that one before?
So Rae and I are going out there to see her. Maddie and London are meeting us out there too. They are so sweet and they make a great couple. I loved being there when they finally got together. It was almost as sweet as when Rae and I got together.
(Raven interjects again)
"There was nothing sweet about the way we got together. It was primal and lustful. All up in a steamy bathroom, rippin' each others clothes off… kissin' all on each other… How long before Eddie and Gina get here?"
"About twenty minutes." (Chelsea answered).
(Raven gave Chelsea "that look" and takes over again).
This has been really fun y'all but Chels and I have to go. We've got some last minute household stuff to take care of before Eddie and Gina get here… Oh, who am I kidding? We are going to get busy before they get here, so we gotta go. But before we do, thank you for reading our story. We heard that the three stories have gotten over 22,000 hits and over 200 reviews. We want to thank each and every one of you for taking part in our story. We'll see you around in Miley's story. That's where we're headed now… after, you know. (Chelsea giggles).
Thank you, we love you and it's not goodbye, it's so long for now.
Love,
Raven and Chelsea