DISCLAIMER: I do not own Three's Company or any of the characters involved in this story.
A/N: Okay, on the surface this chapter might look like a lot of Jack & Chrissy fluff. But it isn't fluff. There is a purpose behind it. The fluff in this chapter is necessary to lay the groundwork for the exciting and fun filled events that happen leading up to and including the wedding. This chapter also begins to help set up the alternate "Three's a Crowd" spinoff that would take place in this timeline if Jack and Chrissy had wound up getting together.
With that being said, this is one of the more fun chapters I've written as I think it has more of the Three's Company feel to it than some of the more recent drama filled chapters that I've written have. Also, after reading this chapter you should start to have an idea of some of the fun stuff I have planned for the chapters leading up to the finale of Jack & Chrissy's wedding.
A day has passed since Janet and Phillip's wedding. With one wedding now in the rear-view mirror, another wedding is now on the horizon as Jack and Chrissy have already begun making plans for their special day and for their future together as husband and wife.
With Janet and Phillip now on their honeymoon, Chrissy has been staying in the apartment with Jack and Terri. However, she hasn't been sleeping with Jack. Rather she's been staying in the other bedroom with Terri and sleeping in Janet's old bed. Being the daughter of Reverend Snow, and having old fashion small town values, Chrissy has told Jack that she won't sleep with him until after they are married. And Jack has no problem with it. After Reverend Snow's touching blessing upon hearing of his daughter's engagement to him, Jack in no way wants to do anything that would damage Chrissy's father's opinion of him.
However, even though they aren't sharing the same bed, neither Jack nor Chrissy have been shy about being openly affectionate with one another. But still, the only one who knows about their engagement thus far besides Janet and Chrissy's father is Terri.
They are planning to break the news to everyone else today as they have decided they want to expedite their wedding so that they can move into their new house to live as soon as possible. However, what they don't know is how everyone will take the news. Jack already knows that Larry will probably be against it as he will no longer have his best friend to share in the adventures of the life of a swinging bachelor. But the even bigger question is how they will break the news to Mr. Furley. For five years Mr. Furley has allowed Jack to live in the apartment with two women because he thought Jack was gay. How will he react when he finds out that they've been pulling the wool over his eyes the whole time?
It is just a little before 8 o'clock in the morning and Chrissy's eyes slowly open as she awakens from a restful night's sleep. She yawns and then sits up in bed. She slowly gazes around the bedroom which she once shared with Janet. But now Janet has been kind enough to lend Chrissy the use of her bed until she and Jack are married and moved into their own place.
As Chrissy looks around the room, her eyes take in the walls and the pictures on them. She then turns to her left and sees Terri sound asleep in the bed closest to the door, which for many years was Chrissy's bed. But now, it feels weird sleeping in what had always been Janet's bed.
Realizing that she's got so much to do in such little time to get ready for the wedding, Chrissy pushes the covers off and hops out of bed, wearing a white nightie. She grabs a white, pink and yellow robe that had been hanging on one of the corner posts of the bed, and puts it on, tying it around her waist. She then walks out of the bedroom, making sure that she does it very quietly as not to wake up Terri.
As she comes out of her bedroom, Chrissy quietly opens up the door to Jack's bedroom and tip toes inside and softly closes the door. She smiles giddily as she takes a look at Jack who is sound asleep in his bed underneath the covers, but his bare feet are sticking out of the bottom of the bed. Jack is moaning and grumbling in his sleep as it is evident that he's been very tired as of late.
Chrissy tiptoes over to his bed and then playfully begins tickling his feet with a big smile on her face. She giggles quietly as Jack starts to laugh in his sleep. She then moves up and begins tickling his side, sparking an even louder laugh from Jack. Chrissy smiles playfully as she's having fun teasing her sleeping fiancé.
Chrissy then slowly pulls the covers down and notices that Jack is hugging a pillow while he's sleeping. She then leans in and starts to kiss him. First she kisses him on the ear lobe, causing him to move his head. She then kisses him on the cheek twice. Then, she starts to softly whisper in his ear.
"Jack." Chrissy whispers
"Oh, not today, Mommy. The other kids at school will make fun of me." Jack mumbles as he talks in his sleep. Chrissy smiles as she thinks Jack is so adorable when he's sleeping. Chrissy then leans in and kisses him on the lips soft at first but gradually pressing her lips firmer onto his. Slowly Jack begins to open his eyes and wake up. As he does Chrissy releases from the kiss and leans over him looking into his eyes and smiling as he slowly wakes up.
"Is this a dream? Because if it is, I don't want to wake up." Jack mumbles as he opens his eyes and his eyes come into focus as he looks up at Chrissy in her white, pink and yellow robe. Her golden blonde hair is kind of looking a little wild as she just woke up herself and hasn't combed it yet.
"Good Morning, sleepy head." Chrissy says to Jack in a cheerful and chipper tone as she tugs on Jack's up to get him to get up. "Rise and shine. We got a lot to do today to get ready for our wedding."
"Ohhh, Chrissy. I'm exhausted. Didn't we just go through all this wedding planning last week with Janet and Phillip's wedding?" moans a tired and groggy Jack.
"Yes. And now it's our turn. I mean this is the only wedding I'm ever going to have. You do want your bride to have the nicest wedding possible, don't you?" Chrissy whines as she gives Jack the puppy dog eyes look, tugging at his heart strings.
"Oh come on, Chrissy. You know I can't resist when you look at me like that with those eyes." Jack says.
"Jack, come on. We need to be ready for our wedding. Please! Oh, please Jack, do it for me." Chrissy whines as she nuzzles up to him affectionately.
"Oh, okay. All right." Jack says as he finally sits up in bed.
"Oh Jack, thank you." Chrissy says. At that point, Jack lies back down and grabs Chrissy by the arms and pulls her on top of him. Chrissy begins to laugh playfully as Jack begins smothering his fiancé with kisses on her face and neck. "Jack, what are you doing?" Chrissy asks loudly as she laughs.
"Well, you said we need to get ready for our wedding. So, I'm just making sure I get plenty of practice in so I'll know what to do on our honeymoon." Jack jokes as he continues to plant kisses on Chrissy.
"Jack! Jack, come on!" Chrissy says as she laughs. "All right, you leave me no option."
In response, Chrissy begins to tickle Jack's stomach. As Jack begins to laugh uncontrollably, Chrissy continues tickling him playfully until Jack winds up rolling off of his bed and onto the floor, taking the sheets on his bed with him as he grasps onto them.
"Hey! That's no fair. You cheated. You know where I'm the most ticklish." Jack jokes as he lies on the floor.
"Come on, Jack. The wedding is in one week and we got a million things to do before then." Chrissy says as she grabs a pillow from the bed and playfully smacks Jack on the head with it. "Plus Daddy's already arranged for us to meet with Reverend Thomas this morning so we can check out his house." Chrissy says as Jack slowly stumbles to his feet. He trips over his sheets and tumble onto the bed and off the other side in a comedic fashion.
"Reverend Thomas?" asks Jack as he shakes off the cobwebs from having stumbled and fallen over.
"Yes Jack. Daddy's best friend since minister school who is nice enough to be letting us stay in his house on the beach for the next two years at a really great deal. So, we had better not be late." Chrissy says.
"Remind me again why we're rushing the wedding instead of taking our time. I mean why not wait a month or two and take our time with all the planning at a slower pace." Jack says as he gets up off the floor slowly.
"Because I already told Janet next Saturday. And she and Phillip are cutting their honeymoon short so that they can be back here in time so that Janet can be my maid of honor." Chrissy says.
"Is that the only reason?" Jack asks.
"No. Terri also really wants to see us get married before she moves to Hawaii. Once she starts that new nursing program, it's going to be really hard for her to travel. So for her, we need to get married before she leaves." Chrissy says. Jack nods his head slightly.
"Well, that's all well and good, Chrissy. But I'm afraid it's going to take a little more than that to get my old motor running." Jack says as he yawns deeply, indicating he is very tired.
"All right, well how about this?" Chrissy says as she walks over to Jack and puts her arms around Jack's waist and nuzzles her head on his shoulder. "The sooner we're married, the sooner you can stop cuddling with your pillow at night and start cuddling with me. How's that old motor of yours running now?" Chrissy asks. Jack makes a loud race car engine noise from his mouth.
"I think I can feel it starting to rev up already." Jack says as he starts forcing his eyes to open wider.
"Good. Now you go into the kitchen and cook us some breakfast. I'm going to jump in the shower and get ready." Chrissy says as she kisses Jack once on the lips and starts to walk out. But just as she starts walking away, Jack grabs her and pulls her back to him.
"I got a better idea. How about we both jump in the shower at the same time and we can start cooking together in there." Jack says with a nerdy grin and slight chuckle.
"Jack! Shame on you. We both agreed. None of that until after we're married. It's important to my father and it's important to me to save that for marriage." Chrissy says.
"I know, Chrissy. And it's important to me too. It's just, one whole week. That's a long time." Jack says. Chrissy starts to smile at him. "What are you grinning at?" Jack asks.
"Looks like I got you moving now." Chrissy replies. She kisses Jack once more and walks out of the bedroom. Suddenly Jack realizes something he needs to do. He quickly goes into his dresser drawer and grabs something small out of there and rushes out into the living room after Chrissy as he has a surprise for her. Just as Chrissy reaches the bathroom door, he calls out to her.
"Chrissy!" Jack whispers loudly so that he doesn't wake up Terri. Chrissy stops and turns around and looks at him.
"What is it, Jack?" Chrissy asks.
"Since we're going to be meeting Reverend Thomas, you're going to want to look your best." Jack says.
"What are you saying?" asks a confused Chrissy.
"Well just make sure you wear something nice." Jack says.
"Oh, what are you? Mr. fashion police?" Chrissy says as she laughs while snorting in her trademark way.
"Look, just make sure everything looks the way it should. Make sure your hair is nicely brushed." Jack says to Chrissy.
"Okay Jack. Jeez. You're going to be my husband, not my mother." Chrissy says, starting to get irritated.
"And you'll want to make sure to put on all your make up." says Jack.
"Oh, so you're saying I need makeup now? I thought you said I was beautiful enough that I didn't need make up." Chrissy says raising her voice. Jack begins to grin slightly as he's leading up to something. "All right, fine Jack. I'll put on makeup."
"And you'll want to make sure to put on your diamond engagement ring." Jack says as he pulls out a small black velvet box, which was what he had pulled out of his dresser drawer and holds it up to Chrissy.
"Okay fine, Jack, I'll make sure to put on got on my diam…." Chrissy starts to say in an irritated tone, but she stops midstream as soon as it dawns on her what Jack just said. Jack opens up the velvet box and Chrissy's mouth gapes in astonishment as right there before her very eyes is the most beautiful looking diamond ring that she's ever seen before.
A gold band with three heart shaped diamonds, one big one and two smaller ones at it's side sparkle up at Chrissy as her breath is completely taken away. Chrissy's mouth gapes as she is at a loss for words. Jack grins at her as he loves her reaction. This ring was a little pricey for him, but he bought it on a payment plan to show Chrissy how serious he is and that he is ready to make a commitment to her.
"Oh Jack, it's beautiful." Chrissy says as her eyes start to well up. Jack hands her the box and she looks at it closely. "But can you really afford this?"
"Chrissy, don't worry about it. If it makes you happy then it's worth every penny." Jack says to her.
"Awwwwww. Jack, I love you so much." Chrissy moans as she leans in and kisses Jack passionately and then hugs him.
"And I love you, Chrissy." Jack says as he hugs Chrissy tightly and continues to hold her close. The two of them just hold each other tightly for about a minute before finally releasing from the hug.
"Well go ahead, try it on. See if it fits" Jack says. He takes the ring and slides it onto the ring finger on Chrissy's left hand. Chrissy holds out her left hand in front of her face to see how the ring looks. "You like it?" asks Jack.
"Jack, I love it. It's perfect. I'm never taking it off." Chrissy moans.
"Never?" asks Jack.
"Well, except for when I'm showering, or swimming, or eating cake." Chrissy replies.
"Eating cake?" asks a confused Jack.
"Yeah, I don't want to get frosting inside the diamonds, then they might sparkle more than what they are suppose too." Chrissy says. Her dimwitted remarks confuse Jack but he still smiles at her anyways as he loves everything about her and wouldn't change one characteristic. "Oh Jack, you make me so happy. I just hope that when we're married, I can make you half as happy as you make me." Chrissy says sincerely to Jack.
"Well I know something you can do that'll make me very happy. And you don't have to wait till we're married. You can do it right now." Jack says.
"What's that?" asks Chrissy.
"It would make me very happy if you'd let me get in the shower with you and soap down your back." Jack says to Chrissy in a seductive manner as he wiggles his eyebrows at her and grins slightly.
"Mmmm, nice try." Chrissy replies back as she playfully taps Jack's nose with her index finger.
"Oh come on. I've already been in the shower with you once. Remember when we were handcuffed together and hiding from that cop." Jack jokes.
"Go make us breakfast, Jack. I'm in the mood for some pancakes." Chrissy says as she turns around walks into the bathroom.
"Well listen, if you change your mind I'll just be….." Jack starts to say as he initially begins to follow Chrissy into the bathroom. But she shuts the door before he is able to make it in, closing it right on his nose. Feeling pain from where the bathroom door was slammed on his nose, Jack begins to make faces and stretch his facial muscles in a comedic fashion as he tries to shake off the pain. "I'll just be in the kitchen straightening out my nose." Jack jokes out loud as he finishes the statement he started to make. He turns around and walks off to the kitchen in a funny way as he continues to try to shake off the pain.
A bit later, both Jack and Chrissy have gotten dressed and are in the kitchen. Jack is at the stove cooking breakfast while Chrissy is sitting on the left side of the kitchen table. She is busy stuffing wedding invitations into envelopes and licking the envelope shut. Amazingly enough she was able to type out and make copies of the invitation to her and Jack's wedding in a day. Her many years of experience as a typist and receptionist are no doubt paying off.
As Jack continues to make breakfast, he looks over at the pile of finished invitations that are stacking up on the table. "Chrissy, I can't believe you did that many invitations." Jack says.
"I know. But you'd better get me a glass of water. I'm going to run out of spit from licking all these envelopes." Chrissy says, making another dimwitted joke.
"No, I mean do you really have that many people to invite?" Jack asks.
"Well let's see. There's my family, all my cousins, aunts and uncles, old friends from school, old co-workers…." Chrissy says.
"All right." Jack says.
"…friends of co-workers, people I knew at the gym, my gym instructor, the guy who use to deliver donuts to the office every Friday…" Chrissy rambles on in a humorous way.
"All right, Chrissy." Jack says.
"Oh and then there's Elmo." Chrissy says.
"Elmo? ELMO? As in your former boyfriend, Elmo? As in Elmo the walking skyscraper?" asks Jack in a voice of disbelief. Chrissy nods her head. "Chrissy why on Earth are you inviting him to our wedding? The guy is enormous. I don't think we can serve that much food!" Jack says.
"Well okay, fine. If it makes you feel better, I won't invite Elmo." Chrissy says.
"Whew. That's a relief." Jack says.
"But I am inviting Mr. and Mrs. Roper." Chrissy says.
"The Ropers?" Jack says. "Chrissy, if Mr. Roper finds out I'm marrying you, that means he's also going to know that I lied to him for all those years ago about being gay so that he'd let me move in here with you and Janet."
"Oh Jack, he won't care." Chrissy replies.
"Chrissy, come on. This is Roper we're talking about here. The guy takes a lot of pride in being right and on top of things." Jack says.
"I don't know, Jack. Mrs. Roper always use to say he never got on top of her." Chrissy jokes as she starts to laugh and snort at the same time.
"Chrissy, the point is that the guy is not going to take too kindly to finding out that we lied to him and then continued to fool him all that time." Jack says.
"Jack, that was a long time ago. Mr. Roper's moved on. Maybe Mrs. Roper has already told him by now anyways." Chrissy argues.
"Well, if it's all the same to you, I would really just rather avoid that whole awkward scene entirely if I can help it." Jack explains as he flips the pancakes that he's cooking for breakfast.
"Oh come on, Jack. We can't not invite the Ropers to our wedding. That would be mean. After all, if Mr. Roper hadn't allowed you to move in here, I would never have had the chance to get to know you and fall in love with you and we wouldn't be getting married. We just have to invite them." Chrissy whines
"Chrissy, I already have to lay the earth-shattering news on Mr. Furley. I'd really prefer not to have to drop earth shattering revelations on two middle aged men the same week." Jack explains.
"Well, you won't have to." Chrissy tells him.
"What do you mean?" Jack asks.
"What I mean is you tell Mr. Furley and I'll tell Mr. Roper. Then we both only have to do it once and then they'll both know that you're not gay and can come to the wedding." Chrissy says. Jack considers it for a minute and then nods his head.
"Hey, you know that's not a bad idea, Chrissy. Then finally they'll be no more secrets. Everything will be all out in the open." Jack says. At that point, Terri enters kitchen wearing a night shirt having only heard the last sentence of the conversation
"What will be all out in the open?" Terri asks.
"Oh, we were just talking about Jack not being gay." Chrissy says to Terri, who looks back at her with a confused and perplexed look on her face.
"Well, you're the one marrying him. If you still have doubts about that then you might want to consider pushing the wedding date back." Terri jokes with a smile as she pats Chrissy on the wrist and sits down on the right side of the table.
"No not me. We were talking about Mr. Roper and Mr. Furley." Jack says to Terri.
"Wait, they're gay?" Terri asks. Jack laughs and shakes his head.
"Look, never mind, Terri. Hey, I'm making Chrissy some pancakes for breakfast. You want any?" Jack asks.
"Sure, Jack. That sounds great. I'll have a couple." Terri replies.
"How do you want them? Fluffy? Dark? With Bananas? Blueberries?" Jack asks.
"Oh you know how I like mine Jack. Plain with a lot of whip cream on the top." Terri replies.
"Sounds kinky." Jack replies, almost on impulse.
"What?" shouts Terri.
"I mean coming right up." Jack replies.
"Seriously Jack, you're about to get married. You shouldn't talk about things like that, especially with your fiancé sitting right here." Terri says.
"Well why not? I like whip cream on my pancakes too." Chrissy replies to Terri in her innocent sounding tone as it becomes clear to Terri that in Chrissy's innocence, she didn't pick up on the inuendo of the conversation. Terri looks at Chrissy and laughs while shaking her head.
"Forget it." Terri replies as she starts to pick up the newspaper that is sitting in the middle of the table. At that point, Chrissy is eager to show off her engagement ring to Terri.
"Hey Terri." Chrissy says as Jack starts to cook two more pancakes on the stove.
"Yes?" Terri replies
"Do you notice anything different about me?" Chrissy asks. Terri looks up at her and looks her over.
"You got new eye liner?" Terri asks, taking a wild guess.
"No." Chrissy replies. Terri looks closer at her face trying to figure out if anything has changed.
"New lipstick?" Terri asks.
"Nope. Look closer." Chrissy says with a grin as she puts her left hand on her face and begins to strum her fingers. Terri notices this but still doesn't notice the ring.
"New nail polish?" Terri asks when she sees Chrissy strumming her fingers.
"Terri, come on!" Chrissy says impatiently as she starts to wiggle her fingers making it more obvious. Suddenly Terri sees the engagement ring Jack gave her on her left finger and gasps.
"Oh Chrissy. Oh wow. That is just gorgeous." Terri says as she looks over the ring closely while Chrissy glows.
"Jack surprised me with it this morning." Chrissy says.
"Wow. Jack, it's beautiful. It must have cost you a fortune." Terri says as Jack puts a couple of pancakes and some fruit in front of Chrissy
"Hey, money is no object. Especially when it comes to keeping the one I love happy." Jack says as he kisses his fiancé on the cheek.
"Yeah, I know. But wow. This is such a sweet sentiment. Jack, I'm impressed, and you know that's not an easy thing to do." Terri says.
"Well, there's a catch." Jack says as he puts two more pancakes on a plate with some fruit on the side and places it in front of Terri
"What?" asks Terri.
"Chrissy's not allowed to leave me until the ring is completely for." Jack says jokingly as he puts Terri's breakfast in front of her. Chrissy playfully smacks Jack on the rear. At that point, they hear Larry's trademark knock on the front door. Jack walks over and pokes his head out of the kitchen door.
"It's open Larry!" Jack shouts. Larry walks in the front door. "Hey listen, stay right there. I got something really important I need to talk to you about." Jack says to Larry. He then walks back into the kitchen and opens the refrigerator and takes out a can of whip cream and a bottle of syrup and puts them on the table.
"There's some whip cream and syrup for your pancakes. Listen, you girls enjoy your breakfast. I have to go have a serious talk with Larry and I'm not sure how he's going to take it so you two might want to stay out of the living room for a little while." Jack says softly to Chrissy and Terri.
"Uh oh." Terri says.
"What, are you finally going to put your foot down and tell him that he has to pay back all the money he's borrowed from you over the years?" Chrissy asks.
"No. I'm going to break the news about our engagement to him and ask him to be my best man." Jack says jokingly. The girls chuckle as they know Jack is joking. But they also know that Larry probably won't be the happiest person to hear that his buddy is getting married as that means he will no longer have his number one bachelor buddy to go on double dates with and cover up the lies he tells to all the women he tries to schmooze.
As Jack walks out of the kitchen, Terri begins to talk to Chrissy as the two of them eat their pancakes.
"Hey Chrissy, listen I've been meaning to talk to you about something." Terri whispers to her.
"What is it?" Chrissy asks.
"Janet called me at the hospital last night and…." Terri starts to explain.
"You were in the hospital? Gosh Terri, I wish you would have told me. I would have come got you. Are you feeling any better?" Chrissy blurts out dimwittedly. Terri closes her eyes and shakes her head in disbelief for a moment at Chrissy's dumb remark.
"Chrissy, I'm a nurse. I work at the hospital." Terri says.
"Oh. Oh yeah." Chrissy says as it dawns on her.
"Anyways. Janet told me that she and Phillip are going to be back from their honeymoon a few days before your wedding. And she and I both decided that we'd like to throw you a little bachelorette party on the night before you get married." Terri says.
"Really?" asks Chrissy.
"Yeah. I'll talk to Larry once Jack breaks the news to him and we'll get him to take Jack out on that night and find a place for him to stay. That way us girls can have this apartment all to ourselves." Terri explains.
"What? Jack's not invited?" Chrissy asks. Terri rolls her eyes for a second and puts her head down on the table in frustration before lifting it up.
"Chrissy! The bride and the groom traditionally don't see each other on the day of the wedding until they are at the altar together. It's considered bad luck. So we girls will have a party here in this apartment. And Jack, Larry, and the guys can have a bachelor party somewhere else and spend the night there. So, I need to know some girlfriends of yours that you would like to invite to your bachelorette party so that I can start planning it. Ok?" Terri explains to Chrissy.
"Oh, I get it." Chrissy says. "Wait, Jack and Larry can use the house that Jack and I will be moving into once we're married."
"The house you'll be moving into?" asks Terri.
"Yeah, one of Daddy's friends is going to be in Africa for two years and is letting Jack and I live there. It's a nice house on the beach with a couple of bedrooms, a game room, a nice back yard, a pool, hot tub." Chrissy says.
"Sounds like paradise." Terri replies.
"Yeah. Jack and I are going over there this morning to check it out. Say, why don't you come with us, Terri?"
"Well, I don't have to be in at work until 4. It's my last week at the hospital and they're sticking me with the late shift. Are you sure you don't mind?" Terri asks.
"Not at all. Besides, we could use a second opinion." Chrissy says as she and Terri continue to eat their pancakes.
Meanwhile out in the living room, Jack walks over to Larry who is still standing near the front door which is slightly open.
"Larry, I'm glad you're here. I got a major announcement to make. Wait until you hear this. It's going to blow you away." Jack says quietly to Larry.
"You decided to finally switch aftershaves?" Larry says out loud jokingly.
"What?" Jack says with a chuckle. "No. Chrissy and I are getting married next Saturday." Jack says. Larry looks at Jack as if he's crazy.
"Why?" Larry asks.
"What do you mean why? Because we're in love and we want to spend our lives together." Jack says to Larry.
"Oh , what kind of a ridiculous reason is that to do such a crazy thing?" Larry replies in an emotional yet a very comical way. "Jack, you need to get your head screwed on straight."
"My head is just fine, Larry. Now I've made up my mind. And to prove it, I just gave Chrissy her engagement ring. Wait till you see it, it cost me a pretty penny if you know what I mean." Jack says.
"You're serious?" Larry asks
"Of course, I am." Jack replies.
"Oh my God, Jack! How could you?" Larry screams again in a comedically emotional way.
"Larry, calm down." Jack replies.
"Jack, do you realize that you just committed the two biggest sins there are?" Larry says. Jack looks at his best friend thinking he's strange. "You're getting married and you've blown your wad on one woman. Jack, what were you thinking?" Larry says as he grabs Jack by the shirt and looks down at the ground and starts weeping in a funny way.
"Listen Larry. I know you're not a big fan of this, but there's something else I need to ask you." Jack says.
"Not now, Jack. I don't think I can hear anymore." Larry says as he continues to look down at the ground.
"Larry, I want you to be my best man." Jack says.
"You're serious?" Larry asks as he stops comedically weeping and looks Jack in the eye. Jack nods his head in affirmative. "You really want me to stand there with you while you kiss your freedom goodbye and get dragged off in chains of Holy Matrimony?" Larry says as he starts comedically weeping again and looks down at the ground.
"Larry, listen to me. What I have to say is very important." Jack says. Unbeknownst to either of them, Mr. Furley has shown up at the apartment to fix the sprayer on the faucet again. He has opened up the door slightly and starts to walk in when he sees Jack and Larry talking. Mr. Furley then starts to eavesdrop on the conversation.
"Nobody has been a better friend to me than you have. You've stuck by me through thick and thin. You drove me crazy at times, but you've proven yourself to be loyal. And I'm about to take the most important step in my life and I want you there with me. How can I possibly get married if you aren't there standing by my side at the altar?" Jack says to Larry.
As Mr. Furley overhears the conversation, he once again misunderstands the context of what Jack and Larry are talking about and thinks that Jack is talking about him marrying Larry. Mr. Furley's mouth gapes and his eyes open up wider as he continues to listen in.
"Jack, listen to what you're saying here and think long and hard about this for a minute. Do you really seriously want to get married?" Larry asks. Mr. Furley mouth and eyes open up even wider as his body begins to shake in disbelief at the words he hears and the context of what he thinks they mean.
"Larry, I've never been so sure of anything in my life. This is what I want. And I want you there with me." Jack says. Mr. Furley begins to shake even harder as is mouth is just gaping wide open.
"But why so soon? I mean I'm flattered that you think this much of me. Really, I am. But I mean this is a life changing decision. Have you really sat down and weighed the pros and cons?" Larry says to Jack as Mr. Furley continues to listen in.
"I have Larry. And my mind's made up. This is what I want. I'm a new man. I'm ready to make a commitment and you should really be thinking about doing the same. I mean neither of us can spend the rest of our lives trying to hook up with the first pretty face that walks into the Regal Beagle every night. There comes a time when we have to grow up and realize who it is that's most important to us, who we love and trust, and who we want to wake up lying next to for the rest of our life. And I know exactly the one I want lying next to me every night. I know it's meant to be, and even though you don't want to admit it, Larry, I know deep down that you know it too." Jack says to Larry
At that point Mr. Furley's eyeballs open fully and he looks like his eyes are about to pop out of his head. His jaw gapes as wide as it will go as he listens to what he thinks he's hearing about Jack and Larry getting married. Not being able to listen to anymore, Mr. Furley goes barging into the apartment.
"Now cut that out!" Mr. Furley yells.
"Mr. Furley?" Jack and Larry say simultaneously as they turn to look at him.
"You two have finally lost your marbles. Now I have had all I can stands, I can't stands no more." Mr. Furley says as he marches into the apartment carrying his tool chest.
"Mr. Furley, look." Larry starts to say.
"No, you look, Larry. You and I have both known all along what Jack here is all about. But I never for a minute thought that you'd allow him to get into your head and suck you into his own private little fairy town." Mr. Furley says as he puts his hands on his hips and tries to be stern but as usual winds up only looking ridiculous.
At this point, Chrissy and Terri hear the commotion going on in the living room and decide to come out. The girls emerge from the kitchen and see Jack, Larry, and Mr. Furley standing behind the couch arguing.
"What is going on here?" asks a confused Terri.
"That's what I'd like to know." replies Jack.
"Oh, don't try to play dumb with me, Jack. I know what I heard." Mr. Furley says.
"Heard what?" asks Chrissy.
"About the wedding." Mr. Furley screams
"Oh great, so you told him. Well, at least it's all out in the open now." Chrissy says to Jack with a smile, thinking that Mr. Furley is talking about hearing about her and Jack's wedding.
"Ah ha! See, she just confirmed it!" Mr. Furley screams as he points at Chrissy. Then suddenly the look on his face changes to one of disbelief. "Wait a minute. Chrissy, do you mean to tell me that you knew about this wedding? And you approve of it?" Mr. Furley asks.
"Well of course she approves of it, Mr. Furley. Why do you think she said yes to the whole thing?" Terri replies causing Mr. Furley to gasp in disbelief.
"Are you saying this has your blessing? And what about you, Terri? I suppose you approve as well?" Mr. Furley asks.
"Well of course. Who am I to stop two people in love from wanting to be together and eventually start a family?" Terri says. Mr. Furley's eyeballs go super wide once again as he continues to misunderstand the entire conversation.
"I can't take anymore. You people are all insane." Mr. Furley says as he starts to back up towards the door.
"So wait, does this mean you aren't coming to the wedding?" Chrissy asks. Mr. Furley shakes his head as he thinks Chrissy is asking him about going to Jack and Larry's wedding.
"Oh no. You all may have lost your marbles, but you aren't sucking me in to your little world. I won't let you people get inside my head." Mr. Furley says as he starts to walk backwards faster towards the door.
"Oh come on, Mr. Furley. It'll break my heart if you don't come." Chrissy whines.
"Stay away from me!" Mr. Furley says, raising his voice, as he gets to the door.
"Mr. Furley!" Chrissy whines as she walks toward him.
"I'll scream!" Mr. Furley shouts, his eyes as he holds up his hands like he's going to start karate chopping, even with a toolbox in one hand. He looks over the four of them and shakes his head. "I knew it. Everyone in this place is turning fruity on me. Pretty soon this apartment building is just going to turn into one giant fruit salad!" Mr Furley says. "I got to get out of here. What was I thinking when I told Bart I'd manage this place."
Mr. Furley turns around and darts out the door and down the steps back to his own place as Jack, Larry, Chrissy, and Terri are left looking at one another. Jack shrugs his shoulders and holds his hands out to his side.
"Don't ask me." Jack says in regards to Mr. Furley's crazy outburst.
"So Larry, has Jack told you the good news?" asks Terri
"Oh you mean about Jack's funeral?" Larry says in a Freudian slip of the tongue.
"Larry." Jack whispers and elbows Larry in the ribs.
"Oh, I'm sorry. You mean the wedding, Jack and Chrissy's wedding. Yes, Jack has told me the news. I guess congratulations are in order." Larry says. His tone of voice is inconsistent with the words that he's saying. It's obvious and everyone can tell that Larry is not happy to hear that Jack is marrying Chrissy.
"Larry's very happy for us." Jack says to Chrissy. "Aren't you, Larry?"
"Oh yeah. Elated." Larry replies, the sarcasm is showing on his face and in his tone.
"Gosh Larry, you sure don't look happy for us." Chrissy says.
"Oh, I am. I am. I'm just overcome with joy." Larry says trying his best to put on a happy front but only doing a mediocre job at it.
"Great, so you'll be Jack's best man then?" asks Chrissy.
"Actually Chrissy, I just asked him but Larry hasn't agreed to it yet." Jack says.
"Oh please Larry. You just have to. If you won't do it, who will?" Chrissy says.
"Well, I don't know. What's in it for me?" asks Larry. In typical Larry fashion, he wonders how he will benefit from being Jack's best man.
"Uhm, you get to hang onto the wedding rings until the ceremony." Terri says.
"Do I get to keep them?" asks Larry.
"No!" Terri replies back. Jack, Terri, and Chrissy try to think of another reason to convince Larry to be Jack's best man.
"Well Janet's going to be my maid of honor. That means you'll get to escort her up the aisle after we're married." Chrissy says.
"Janet? Yeah, but she's already married. There wouldn't be much point in that." Larry says.
"Wait a second, I got it!" Terri says. "Larry, as best man, you get to organize Jack's bachelor party."
Just then Larry's head lifts up as enthusiasm comes to his face. "That's right, a bachelor party! Jack, do you know what this means? We get to have a bachelor party!" Larry says. The excitement is returning to his voice.
"Larry, listen. Jack, Terri, and I are heading over right now to check out the place that Jack and I are going to be living once we're married. It might be a place where you can have the part at. Why don't you come with us and check it out?" suggests Chrissy. Larry considers it and then shakes his head.
"Yeah, and even if you don't want to have the party there, at least you'll get to see the house where Chrissy and I will be leaving." Jack says.
"A house? Forget it, that sounds too boring." Larry says.
"You know what girls, Larry is right." Jack says as he winks over at Chrissy and Terri, indicating to them that he's about to use a little reverse psychology on his best friend. "He wouldn't be interested in seeing this place. I mean why would Larry be interested in seeing a two story, two bedroom house with an ocean view."
"Ocean view?" Larry repeats.
"That's right Larry. An ocean view. And a backyard, and a game room." Chrissy says.
"Game room?" Larry says, his head and his attention perk up.
"Yeah buddy. Pool table is already intact. Big screen TV in the living room, gourmet kitchen, swimming pool, oh and a hot tub. You wouldn't be interested in seeing that." Jack says.
"Did you say a pool and a hot tub?" Larry says. Suddenly, Larry gets visions of gorgeous dates over to the place where Jack & Chrissy are staying for some hot tub fun.
"Yeah, but you don't want to see it, Larry. It's too boring for you. So come on girls, let's leave Larry alone to his exciting apartment." Jack says as he continues to use his reverse psychology.
"Hey! What are we standing around here for? Jack, Chrissy, let's check this place out. I'll drive." Larry says. Jack starts to laugh as he knows that he can play his best friend like a fiddle.
"Are you sure, Larry?" Jack asks.
"Of course. I got to make sure my old buddy and his new bride's castle is fit for a king." Larry jokes as he suddenly now is showing a lot more enthusiasm that he has in a while and rushes out the door. Jack, Chrissy, and Terri all look at each other and chuckle about how they were completely able to change Larry's mind and attitude as they follow him out the door.
Larry has driven his car with Jack, Chrissy, and Terri as passengers to a rather large driveway in a very ritzy and upscale neighborhood in the Los Angeles suburbs. On the way in, they passed several Lincoln town cars and even a Rolls Royce. The homes are nicely and evenly spread out on both sides as it is evident that the neighborhood is very upscale
As they pull into the driveway, they notice that there is a nice front yard with several trees around the perimeter of the property. The yard and the grass has been kept up. A sprinkler system is watering the front lawn. The house is a two story white house that looks very picturesque. The driveway is shaped like a big U with two places that cars can enter or exit from. There is a garage building that is separate from the house off to the side with a garage for cars. On the side of the garage there is an outside staircase leading up to a door which appears to be a small room or an apartment above the garage.
As Jack, Chrissy, Terri, and Larry exit the car after Larry turns it off, the first thing they can hear is the sound of ocean waves in the background. When they look to the side of the house, they can see the ocean blue in the background, and it becomes immediately evident that the beach and ocean are directly behind the backyard of the house.
There are birds chirping and seagulls can be heard in squawking in the background. There is a gentle breeze that accommodates the sound of ocean waves. There is a feel about the home that is tranquil and peaceful. The foursome look around in wonder at the amazing place that Jack and Chrissy will soon be calling their home for the next two years.
"Oh wow. This place is amazing." Jack says.
"Wow Chrissy, you and Jack really hit the jackpot here. Just look at the grass and the trees. It's incredible. This must have cost a fortune." Terri says.
"Yeah. It took Reverend Thomas and his wife 30 years to save up enough money to buy this place. It was their dream house." Chrissy explains. At that point Jack walks over to Larry.
"So, what do you think, Larry?" Jack asks.
"What do I think? I think I've died and gone to the playboy mansion." Larry whispers to Jack. Jack's smile turns to one of irritation as he smacks Larry on the shoulder.
"Will you cut that out. This guy we're meeting is a minister and Chrissy's father's best friend." Jack says to Larry in a loud whisper.
"Must be one hell of a good friend to let you guys stay here." Larry replies. The group of four make their way to the front door, which is on a porch. As they walk up the two porch steps and reach the front door, Chrissy turns around to look at everyone.
"Okay you guys, Reverend Thomas is one of my father's oldest friends. He's like family. In fact, he and his wife were my Godparents. So, everyone be on your best behavior." Chrissy whispers. At that point, Jack, Terri, and Chrissy all turn their heads simultaneously and look at Larry who looks back at them with a puzzled expression.
"Why do you all look at me when she said that?" Larry asks.
"Never mind. Just be good." Chrissy says as she turns back towards the house and rings the doorbell. Within a few seconds, the front door opens and a nice older gentleman with gray hair dressed in a collared shirt, sweater, and brown slacks opens the door and a smile immediately comes across his face when he sees Chrissy standing there.
"Chrissy!" the man greets as he reaches out and gives her a hug. "It's so good to see you again. It's been too long."
"Yes, it has been a while." Chrissy replies as she releases from the hug. "Reverend Thomas, I would like you to meet my fiancé, Jack Tripper." Chrissy says as she steps aside to allow the reverend to get a good look at Jack.
"Ahh, the prince that came and stole our Chrissy's heart. Hello Jack, I'm Reverend Wade Thomas. It's good to finally meet you. I've heard so much about you from Chrissy and Reverend Snow." Reverend Thomas says.
"Oh, all good I hope." Jack jokes with a shy laugh as he shakes his hand.
"Nice firm grip there, Jack. I like that. It's been my experience in the past that men with firm handshakes are usually good, honest, and decent men." Jack says. This sparks a snicker from Larry who can't hold it in. This creates an awkward moment in which everyone briefly turns to look at Larry. Chrissy looks to immediately change the subject.
"Oh and I hope you don't mind. But I invited a couple of our close friends along to look at the house." Chrissy says.
"Not at all. Any friend of Chrissy's is a friend of ours." Reverend Thomas says in a friendly tone.
"This is Terri, she's a nurse down at Wilshire Memorial. She's been living with Jack." Chrissy says. Jack's face immediately grows a look of concern as he realizes the way that came out sounded all wrong.
"Ah ha ha ha. What Chrissy means is that Terri's been sleeping in Chrissy's bed. Ahhhh ha ha, I mean that she's been my roommate, or she became my roommate after Chrissy moved out, all though not right after Chrissy moved out. See, we had Cindy first for a little while after Chrissy, then when Cindy left, we needed another roommate, and that's where Terri come in." Jack stutters nervously with an awkward grin as he blushes slightly.
"It's a pleasure to meet you." Reverend Thomas says to Terri.
"Likewise." Terri replies as she's a little embarrassed by Jack's nervous delivery of his explanation of Terri being his roommate.
"And this here is Jack's best friend and best man at the wedding, Larry." Chrissy says as the reverend goes and shake's Larry's hand.
"Pleased to meet you. So you're Jack's best friend, huh?" Reverend Thomas says. "You know friends are the true treasure in life. I bet you and Jack have been through an awful lot together, huh?"
"Oh, if you only knew the half of it." Larry replies, clearly having a double meaning behind what he's saying. At that point Jack reaches back with his right foot and stomps on Larry's toe. Larry grimaces in pain briefly but manages to avoid screaming out. This was Jack's comedic way of giving Larry the message to shut up. At that point an older woman appears from another room and walks over to where everyone is standing.
"Rachel dear, look who's here." Reverend Thomas says to the woman who is presumably his wife.
"Chrissy! Oh Chrissy, it's so good to see you. Wade just told me the other day about the exciting news." Mrs. Thomas says as she walks over and hugs Chrissy.
"It's good to see you too, Mrs. Thomas." Chrissy says as she hugs her back.
"Rachel, this young man right here is Chrissy's husband to be, Jack." Reverend Thomas introduces. Jack shakes her hand.
"So nice to meet you. Oh, you were right, Chrissy. He sure is a handsome young man." Mrs. Thomas says.
"And these are their friends, Terri and Larry." Reverend Thomas says as Mrs Thomas waves at Larry and Terri.
"Hi. It's nice to meet you." Terri says.
"Oh, the same." replies Mrs. Thomas says.
"Well, shall we give you all a tour of the old homestead, let Chrissy and Jack get acquainted with their new home for the next two years?" Reverend Thomas asks.
"That would be great, Reverend Thomas. Thank you." Chrissy says.
The reverend and his wife begin showing the foursome around. The tour starts on the second floor in the master bedroom which Jack immediately notices is nearly 3 times the size of his bedroom. The bed is a beautiful brass bed and there is an ocean view from the window of his bedroom. They are then shown a second bedroom on the upstairs floor that is also nice and spacious with a queen size bed in it. There are also two bathrooms on the second floor.
The tour then goes down to the first floor where Jack is in awe of the gourmet kitchen that is there in the house. The stainless-steel stove and oven sparkle as if they're brand new, and the refrigerator is twice the size of the one back in the apartment. They are then shown a game room which does have a pool table in the middle of it which is surrounded by old fashion bookcases on the walls.
They are then shown the living room with a very large screen tv. The reverend says that he and the wife don't watch much tv but they have it there for when there are guests visiting. Jack and Chrissy are both in love with this place as it seems so spacious and luxurious compared to the apartment that Jack had called home for the last eight years.
As Jack and Chrissy are having visions of themselves living a quiet married life in their new luxurious home, Larry is loving the house as well, but for different reasons. He finds himself becoming super envious of Jack. He can see that if he was in the position of being able to use this house, it would drastically increase his potential of being able to impress gorgeous looking women and to make them believe the lies that he tells many of them about being rich and well off so that he can score with them. Mentally, Larry goes over in his head the number of women that would be all over him if he only had a place like this to bring them back to.
Finally, the Reverend and his wife take the group out back where there is moderate sized swimming pool right there almost at the back door. The back yard is open and the lawn is well kept. There are plants and flowers along the perimeter. At the rear end of the back yard is a path that leads down to the beach and off to the right is a path that is surrounded by some tall trees which lead to the hot tub. Jack, Chrissy, Larry, and Terri are in awe of how amazing this place is, and the mere fact that they will be letting Jack and Chrissy live there for the next two years is overwhelming.
"Wow, this place is incredible. I can't even begin to thank you Reverend for even considering letting Chrissy and I stay here." Jack says.
"No need to thank me, Jack. You two will be doing us a favor by staying here and keeping it up." The reverend says. "Why don't we all take a seat out here by the pool."
They all walk over to a table near a corner of the pool where there are several deck chairs surrounding the table and they all take a seat.
"Can I bring anyone anything? Lemonade? Iced Tea?" Mrs. Thomas asks.
"Oh uhm, I'll take some lemonade." Larry says.
"That'll be great. Thank you." Terri replies.
"Why don't I just make a pitcher. I'll be right back." Mrs. Thomas says as she walks back into the house.
"So reverend, why are you going to be leaving a beautiful home like this for two years?" Jack asks.
"Well Jack, I got the call about six months ago. And God told me that I can't just rest now that I've made a good life here for Rachel and our family, but I have to help others in the world who are less fortunate than me be able to live better lives and have better homes than the ones they do. So, before I get too old to physically be able to do it, Rachel and I are going to be going to South Africa for a couple of years to tribal villages to help build better homes and communities and to share the word of God." Reverend Thomas explains.
"Wait, you got a call from God?" asks Terri. Reverend Thomas nods.
"Do you happen to get his number by any chance?" Larry asks. Everyone turns to look at him as if to say 'Shut up, Larry.'
"So anyways, while we're in Africa, we won't have access to phones or a lot of modern-day conveniences that we take for granite here in our culture. So, Rachel and I need someone we can trust to look after our home here while we're out of touch. We didn't want to just leave our house sitting unoccupied for two years without anyone watching over it, especially with burglaries running rampant today. We worked too long and hard to save up the money to buy our dream house here. So, we didn't want to just place an ad in the paper and wind up renting our home out to some random stranger. We knew if we were going to let someone live here and take care of our home, it would have to be somebody we knew and could trust. And Praise the Lord, He could not have sent us a more perfect one that my lifelong friend, Reverend Luther Snow's daughter Chrissy, who has always been like a daughter to Rachel and me."
"That's so nice." Teri says.
"Reverend Thomas, we're really flattered by this. Jack and I just don't know what to say. This is an amazing wedding gift for us." Chrissy says.
"Well, I'm glad. I just wish we could be there to see you walk down the aisle this Saturday." Reverend Thomas says to Chrissy.
"Oh no. You won't be?" asks Chrissy in a disappointed tone.
"Unfortunately, No. Our mission group for South Africa leaves in two days and we have a lot of work to do over there. So, the two of you can move in anytime after that. We're leaving all the furniture, so everything you saw in the house will be at your disposal." Reverend Thomas replies. At that point, Mrs Thomas returns from the house with a pitcher of lemonade and six glasses on a tray.
"Here you go, kids. Help yourself." Mrs. Thomas says in a hospitable manner.
"Reverend, if you don't mind me asking. How much does a place like this go for? Just give me a rough estimate. Are we talking six figures here?" asks Larry. As usual when Larry's mind isn't on women, it's on money.
"Oh yes. Closer to seven actually." Reverend Thomas says.
"S…..S…..S….Seven?" Larry stutters in disbelief. He seriously underestimated the cost, but now sees this place as a gold mine if Jack and Chrissy would ever allow him to use it to impress women. He doesn't figure any woman would turn him down if they thought he lived in a home worth almost a million dollars.
"You bought this place on a minister's salary?" Terri asks.
"Well not just a minister's salary. You see, this was Rachel and I's dream house. We had our eye on it for over 30 years, going all the way back to our early 20's. It took many years of both of us working 2 sometimes even 3 jobs to save up the money we had to finally put a down payment on it. And we made a lot of sacrifices along the way working at some of the most awful jobs and having to live in the run-down neighborhoods we were in that had only one room with one single bulb hanging from the ceiling on a string. But we always knew that with God's help in the end he'd see us through the storm and lead us to the promise land. And finally, five years ago, all that hard work and sacrifice paid off as we finally moved into our dream home here." Reverend Thomas explains.
"That's truly inspirational, Reverend." Jack says.
"It sure is. Right Larry?" asks Terri who looks over and sees that Larry is lost in his own imaginary world.
"Oh boy, is it ever." Larry says as he still can't get over the idea that his best friend is going to be living in a place like this and the possibilities that he has if he can just worm his way into being allowed to use it.
"Now listen." Reverend Thomas says as he pours himself a glass of lemonade. "Chrissy, Jack, the rent will be the same as you are paying now. The only reason we're even charging rent is not for our own profit, but to help finance our mission in Africa. I've already talked to your father, Chrissy. And he's agreed he'll collect the rent from you guys once a month and see to it that the money is used for the purpose that it's intended to. Now, as you know, there is a small apartment above the garage which in the past we've rented to people in need. But for now, we plan to leave it empty. However, if ourselves or Reverend Snow see fit, we may decide to rent it out again. And if we do, the ones we rent out to would have access to the pool and hot tub. But the house will remain strictly yours, Chrissy. And Jack's."
"What do you mean you only rent it out to people in need?" Jack asks.
"Well, just like with the house, we don't just put an ad in the paper. But from time to time, people in church, or friends of people we know have been down on their luck. So, we've opened up the apartment and welcomed people until they are back on their feet. We consider it our way of helping the Lord do his work and look out for the less fortunate who need guidance." Reverend Thomas says.
"So, you expect us to bring in people to stay there?" asks Chrissy.
"You? If and when anyone does rent out that apartment while you guys are staying there, it will be completely up to your father, Chrissy. We don't want the two of you to be burden with such a thing. You two just need to keep the yard and house neat and go about the business of being married. Your father is the one we trust to make the right judgment if and when the time ever comes to rent out the apartment above the garage." Reverend Thomas says.
"Right judgement?" Larry asks.
"Yes. This is our dream home and a nice, peaceful community we live in. So Rachel and I only want people of good sound moral judgement living here on our property. That's why we're grateful to have you here Chrissy and Jack too once you guys are married. We hope you will find your time here as peaceful and pleasant as we have." Reverend Thomas says as he takes his glass of lemonade and holds it up to make a toast. "Jack, Chrissy, here's to your marriage, your future, and your happiness. May God bless you both." Reverend Thomas says as he drinks his lemonade.
At that point, everyone there begins talking amongst themselves as several different conversations break out. Jack decides to use this time to break away from everyone and he politely dismisses himself to walk down to the beach. Within a few minutes, Larry follows him down to the beach.
As Larry makes his way down the path at the back of the back yard to the beach, he sees Jack standing by himself on the beach staring out at the ocean. He walks up to Jack all excited and slaps him on the back.
"So buddy, looks like you really hit the jackpot here. This place is incredible." Larry says with excitement in his voice.
"Yeah. It's amazing. And that kitchen, what I wouldn't have given to have a kitchen like that in the apartment the last 8 years. It's incredible. The meals I'll be able to make for Chrissy in there." Jack says.
"And that game room, and big screen tv." Larry said as he whistles.
"Yeah buddy. We'll really be able to watch the Lakers play ball now on that thing." Jack says.
"Now, you said we. That means you and me?" Larry asks intently.
"Of course, it does." Jack replies. "Look Larry, I already told you just because I'm moving out of the same building doesn't mean I'm going to be losing my best friend. I mean anytime you want to come over and have dinner with Chrissy and I, or watch a ball game, or take a dip in the pool or hot tub you are always welcome."
"You really mean that, Jack?" Larry asks.
"Of course I do, Larry. We're best friends, right? That's not going to stop just because I'm getting married." Jack replies.
"Oh, thank you!" Larry says as he comedically hugs Jack, who looks uncomfortable.
"Larry, please don't hug me on the beach. They're people around." Jack replies.
"Oh Sorry." Larry says
"Is that what has you bothered about this whole wedding? You think that just because I'm marrying Chrissy and moving that we're going to stop being friends?" Jack asks.
"Well, I don't know. Maybe a little." Larry says.
"Come on, Larry. You know me better than that. I live be the old motto. Once a friend, always a friend." Jack says.
"Jack, I'm so relieved to hear you say that. And I'm excited for you too. You and Chrissy getting married and moving into this amazing house out here by the beach. It's just great. Oh buddy, I can't wait. The times we're going to have out here. The beach parties, the barbeques, the women…" Larry says with excitement in his voice. At that moment Jack turns to look at him with a serious expression on his face.
"Woah, woah woah. Wait a minute." Jack says, interrupting Larry. "What are you talking about? I'm not throwing any beach party."
"Well not at first. I mean, you and Chrissy will want a few weeks to get settled. I understand that. But once you do, the women down at the Beagle will all be dying to come out here and check out the hot tub and…." Larry says.
"Larry! I'm not throwing any party. Not next week or next month or next year." Jack says.
"Well fine then, you don't have to. I'll do all the work. All you have to do is just be there and…." Larry says.
"No Larry, you still don't get it. You're not throwing any party here either. Neither of us are because there's not going to be any parties here. Ever." Jack says. Larry looks at him with a befuddled expression.
"But you said I could come over and use this place anytime I wanted. You said I'm still your best friend." Larry says.
"You are. But I meant that just you could come over. I didn't mean that everyone from the Regal Beagle and every woman in your little black book could come party here every weekend. You heard what Reverend Thomas said. This place is his dream home. It took him and his wife 30 years to save up for it and he is nice enough to let Chrissy and I live here. And I have a responsibility to keep his up looking nice and to not allow anything to happen to it. And that means no parties." Jack explains. Larry just stares at Jack looking confused.
"So, what are you going to do out here this whole time?" Larry asks.
"I'm going to take care of this place and be responsible like Reverend Thomas and Reverend Snow expect me to. And I'm going to work hard and be the best husband I can possibly be to Chrissy." Jack says. Larry looks at Jack with a disappointed expression.
"Where on Earth did you get a crazy idea like that?" Larry replies in a comedic fashion. Jack takes a deep breath and tries to figure out a way he can delicately say what he knows he has to. Finally, he puts a hand on Larry's shoulder. "Jack, you've just been handed they keys to paradise here. You can't let this opportunity go to waste." Larry cries.
Jack looks at Larry and takes a deep breath. He knows exactly what is running through his best friend's mind. But he knows he has to be firm and truthful.
"Larry look, we've had a heck of a ride these last eight years. We've had an absolute blast and you've been the best buddy I could have asked for. And like I said, you'll always be my friend and wherever I'm at, you'll always be welcomed. And I know you're not ready to settle down and get married, and you may never be. And that's fine, it's your life. But please try to understand. I am ready to get married and start a life with Chrissy. And when I start that new life that means I won't be able to do a lot of the things I've always done. And especially with the trust that Reverend Thomas and Reverend Snow have in me. I'm going to have to do everything I can to prove that I'm worthy of that trust." Jack explains in a nice, polite, and sincere tone.
"What are you trying to say, Jack?" Larry asks.
"I'm saying the party's over for me, Larry." Jack says, trying to be as sympathetic as he can.
At that point it really hits Larry. Jack's been the best and only true friend that he has ever had. He knows that he'll never find anyone who will allow him to borrow money and never pay it back. He knows he'll never find anyone else who will play along with all of his lying to women to get them in the sack. And he knows he'll never find another guy friend who will journey the exciting life of bachelorhood with him the way that Jack has.
"Look, I'm going back up to the house before Chrissy starts wondering what happened to me. You coming?" Jack asks.
"Yeah. I'll be up in a minute." Larry replies. Jack gulps and looks sad at Larry as he knows exactly what's running through his best friend's mind. He turns around and starts walking back toward the house leaving Larry there on the beach with his own thoughts.
TO BE CONTINUED
