"Well… adios..." Alex turned to his family and waved before walking out of the kitchen, closing the door behind him.

Mallory couldn't help but feel a tinge of relief. Finally, after years of bugging her with his hot-headedness, her annoying older brother was gone. It would take

some getting used to him not being there, but she could handle it. The quiet alone was worth all of the money that Alex P Keaton would make at his new job on

Wall Street.

She'd meant what she'd said to him earlier. She had no idea what he was going to do at his job but there was no doubt that he'd do it well. He did

everything well, and she really was proud of him.

But something happened then. The family was silent, standing in the same positions, staring at the emptiness where the eldest Keaton offspring had stood.

Seconds later, the door opened and Alex appeared.

"I really love you guys."

He engulfed his parents in a hug and the rest of the family followed suit. But the hug only lasted a few seconds, for the honking of the car horn outside made

Alex draw back. "Well, this is really it. Goodbye."

"Bye. Again." Mallory said, giving a half-hearted wave.

And then he was gone.

She didn't have to look at her mother to know that the usually strong Elyse Keaton had burst into tears and was being comforted by her husband. Mallory's dad

was now the man of the family-a fact that Alex would relish and was probably thinking of right this minute as he rode to the airport for his flight to New York.

"It's okay, Elyse." Her dad was saying. He rubbed her mom's back, but the sobs kept coming. And the more Mallory tried to ignore it, the harder it became. She

swallowed hard. "I-I think I need to do some homework. I'll be upstairs if anyone needs me."

"All right, honey. I'll get dinner started soon."

"Dinner? Mom it's still morning."

Her mom's fake smile didn't fool Mallory at all. "Yeah, but you know, it's better to get things done early. What's Alex always saying?"

"Money is the most important thing in the world?" Jennifer offered.

"Um, well, yeah, he does say that, but-."

"Elyse, why don't you get some more rest?" Stephen said gently. "It's been a long few days for us and it feels like we've been up for hours. We could all do with

a nap. I know I could."

"That sounds nice, actually."

"Okay, well, I'll be upstairs… studying." The entire family turned and stared at her in disbelief, although she couldn't figure out why. "What? I really am going to

study!"

"Fine." her father said with a nod

"Bye Mom. Dad, Jenn, Andy."

Without another word, Mallory headed through the living room and up the stairs. As she paused on the landing, she glanced down at the living room where a

million memories ran through her mind; most of them of how much Alex used to bug her with his knowledge of pretty much everything in the world. She sighed

and went to her room. But in the hallway she paused.

The door to Alex's room was closed and she wondered, for a moment, if she should abide by his wishes and buy a velvet rope to put across the door. If she

charged admission, she could make plenty of money. After all, Alex was well respected, not only in the neighborhood, but in the city of Columbus. The thought

of making a ton of money made Mallory grin. She could put the money toward the nest egg she was building with Nick. Better yet, she could build a nest! Nick

would absolutely love that!

But before she could help herself she opened the door and walked inside. The room was void of most of Alex's possessions, but absolutely spotless, as only a

room belonging to Alex P Keaton could be. Looking around, a strange feeling welled in her chest.

She remembered the many times he'd been there for her; a shoulder to cry on, advice for any problem she might have, the times that he'd actually asked for

her opinion and appreciated her answer, no matter how dumb it was. The way he'd taken to Nick, even if it was clear that he didn't like Nick that much. Even the

time that he tried to get Nick to sell his art, much to Nick's dismay.

With a sigh she sat down on his bed and picked up his picture of Richard Nixon that sat on his dresser. She couldn't believe a man who looked like that could

actually have been elected President. What was it about this man that Alex liked so much? That, Mallory knew, was a mystery that would never be solved.

But the picture did more than just annoy her. It increased the whirling feeling in her chest until it almost hurt to breathe.

Alex was gone-and she had no idea when she would see him again. New York was a long way away and although he was making a lot of money, he was starting

a new job and just couldn't be flying back and forth to home. If Wall Street was anything like the boutique where Mallory worked, they wouldn't be too happy if

Alex were to take off so soon after starting a new job. What would the customers think?

Now she felt a void that she'd never experienced before. Who was going to be there to help her with her homework? Or give her advice? Or a shoulder to cry on?

Suddenly the images blurred before her eyes and she crossed the room, smiling at the picture of Alex that sat on his desk. She remembered the day it was

taken. He'd insisted that Leland College didn't have the right photographer to capture his true spirit and had taken it upon himself to hire a personal

photographer.

Mallory had to admit that the picture turned out to be the best she'd ever seen. Who knew her brother was so photogenic?

She carried the picture over to the bed and sat down, clutching it to her chest. And before she knew it, she was crying. God, she'd just die if anyone-

The door opened suddenly and she half expected to see Alex walk in, demanding to know what she was doing in his room. But when she looked up, she saw

Jennifer standing in the doorway.

"Mallory?"

Embarrassed, she brushed the tears from her cheeks. "Hey, Jen."

"What are you doing in here?"

"Oh, you know, measuring it for a sewing room."

"Really? I think it would be better as a music room."

"Alex wants it to be a shrine. I mean, how ridiculous is that, huh?" Horrified, Mallory's voice broke on the last word and she looked away.

Jennifer sat down on the bed beside her and brushed the hair from Mallory's face. "It's okay to be sad that he's gone, Mal. It'll be weird without him here, don't

you think?"

Mallory nodded. "Mmm hmmm…"

"Mallory-."

"I'm gonna miss him so much, Jen!" Mallory sobbed. "I miss him already! I mean, it's Alex! I never thought-."

Instantly she found herself in Jenn's arms, which made her cry even harder.

"I know… I miss him too."

"I-I don't know what I'm going to do without him being here! I mean-he."

Jen held her closer and rocked her back and forth. "It's okay, Mal. It's okay."

"Don't tell him I'm freaking out like this, all right?"

"I won't breathe a word. But if it's any consolation, I bet Alex is doing the same thing right now."

"No. No way. Not Alex. He'd never cry over me. But thanks, Jen."

"I don't want to admit it, but I'm going to miss him, too. Who's going to help me with my school projects by going completely overboard?"

"So, um what should we do? I mean, we can't exactly run after him and make him come home. The last thing I want to do is make him think that I miss him."

Jen laughed. "Same here. His head would be bigger than it was before if he knew that we actually missed him. But I have an idea."

"What?"

"Write him a letter. It's perfect. He won't expect it and it shouldn't take that long to get there."

"That's a great idea. Will you help me write it?"

"Sure. We can all write letters if you want! I'll get Mom and Dad and Andy-."

"Um, I think I'd like this to be just from me. That is, if you don't mind."

"No, not at all. I'd be glad to help you, but I'm pretty tired, so I'm going to go take a nap. You should get some sleep too. I promise, I'll help you later."

Mallory smiled and hugged her sister. "Thanks, Jen. Who knew that my little sister would be giving me advice?"

"What can I say? Alex's brilliance must have rubbed off on me. Well, goodnight. I'll see you later, Mal."

"'Night, Jen."

Mallory lay back on Alex's bed, clutching the picture of him in her arms. Within minutes she was sound asleep.

A week and a half later

It was upwards of midnight by the time Alex reached his apartment. He loved his job; it was the most incredible opportunity, but it was going to take a long time

to get used to these long hours. He'd been at work since 7am with only a few short breaks and a half hour for lunch-and even those were constantly interrupted

by some task that his superiors asked him to do. And he did each of them happily. After all, this was his dream job and he was determined to keep it that way.

He was grateful that The Big Apple was living up to its name as the City That Never Slept, for it made it easy to order take out. Tonight was Chinese. He was

fortunate to have co-workers who knew the ins and outs of New York City takeout-which establishments to avoid and which ones to embrace.

He picked up the phone and dialed the number that he knew by heart. New York Panda had the best Chinese food in the city and of the ten thousand Chinese

restaurants in Manhattan alone, that was saying a lot. The familiar voice answered and he greeted her warmly. Ming La knew his order by heart, which saved

him from butchering the pronunciations of the menu items.

"We'll have it to you soon, Mr. Keaton."

"Please, call me Alex."

"Okay, Alex. How are you liking New York City?"

"Oh I love it. It's fabulous." It wasn't exactly the truth, but it wasn't a lie either. Quite honestly he wasn't sure what to think of it. But he knew it would get

better with each passing day.

"Great. Glad to hear it. Call us again tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow for sure. If not then, definitely the next day."

"Perfect."

Alex smiled as he hung up the phone.

Less than a half hour later, he was sitting on his laughable excuse for a sofa enjoying his take out. As he ate, he leafed through the pile of mail that had

accumulated on his kitchen counter. Too many nights he'd come home almost too exhausted to eat and the mail found itself in a heap, just waiting to be

opened. But he couldn't ignore his bills and other important mail. He was a Wall Street executive now, working for most prestigious law firm in New York.

He tossed bill after bill aside; he'd get to those later, along with newsprint ads for insanely overpriced products that would have cost a third of that in Ohio. The

thought of actually paying such extravagant prices made him laugh and shake his head in disbelief. New York City was a different world indeed.

As he thumbed through the pile, he stopped when he saw a familiar sight; his address in Columbus was in the top left hand corner; written in Mallory's

unmistakable handwriting and in the middle of the envelope was his New York address. Intrigued he quickly tore the envelope open and then shook it to see if a

check fell out. Hey, if it worked for Andy's birthday cards, it was worth a shot, right?

Inside the envelope was a letter, written in Mallory's handwriting, on the silly, frilly pink and blue stationery that he'd given her for Christmas. At least she'd put

it to good use. He settled himself onto the sofa as he unfolded the letter and began to read.

Dear Alex,

I know this is weird, writing to you so soon after you left. You're probably not even in New York yet, but hopefully they'll save this letter for you until you arrive.

Anyway, I hope you're enjoying it there. New York seems like such a neat place and although I'll probably never get there, I'm glad that you're there. Not that

I'm glad that you're gone. I know I implied that I was glad that you're finally out of the house, but the truth is that I miss you already. I'm scared, Alex. I'm

scared that I'm not going to know what to do without you here. I mean, there are some things I just can't ask Mom and Dad about-and don't get me started on

Nick.

Alex chuckled. Nick was the last person that Mallory should go to for advice. The guy was completely wrong for Mallory, but it was evident that he cared for her,

so that had to amount to something.

Andy hasn't said much since you left-but actually he's asleep already and so are Mom and Dad so it's just me. I'm sitting at the kitchen table writing you

this letter. The house looks exactly the same as when you left and hopefully it will be that way when you come back. And Alex, I hope you come back soon. I

know you can't because you have a new job and all, but, well, you know what I mean.

Anyway, I should probably go because I need to sneak out of the house and mail this letter while everyone's still asleep. No one knows that I'm writing to you

except for Jen-and it was her idea. She found me in your room, crying. Oh God, I can't believe I admitted that. No, I swear I didn't mess up any of your stuff

and I was very careful with your Richard Nixon picture. I just- Well, never mind. Anyway, I don't want to take up the rest of this letter, so-take care and work

hard. Oh, who am I kidding? I know you'll work hard, Alex. You always do. And I'm proud to be your sister.

Love, Mallory

Alex rubbed his eyes, surprised when he realized he was crying.

He had no idea that he'd miss his family (especially Mallory) this much. He had an incredible urge to hop on the next plane to Columbus, but he knew it would be

a long time before he was able to do that. He made a pact to call them every night. He'd been so busy that he hadn't called them, except for a quick five minute

phone call to let them know that he'd arrived safely. Since then it had been nonstop work and he knew that it wasn't going to end anytime soon. But at the

moment he was wide awake.

He grabbed the first thing he found; a menu from New York Panda, folded lengthwise in four sections. He unfolded it, grateful that the blank was back. Pen in

hand he began to write.

Dear Mallory,

Forgive the sparseness of this stationary-okay it's a takeout menu-I can hear you laughing right now. But I just got your letter and felt like a quick response was

necessary. I'll spare you the details of my job on Wall Street-I can fill you in on that at Christmas. Believe me it will take a while. And the next time I write, I'll

make sure it's on my personal stationery with the title Wall Street CEO at the top.

Mal, I'm not mad at you for being in my room, as long as you left it the way you found it. And about that shrine, due to the current rise of inflation, I think $2

would be suitable for admission to the Alex P Keaton museum.

Look, I didn't say everything I wanted to say before I left, but I am proud of you. You've come a long way for someone who wasn't even going to go to college to

designing your own fashions. That's great, Mal. I'm very impressed. I'm proud to be your brother and you're going to go far in life, there's no doubt in my mind.

Take care and take care of Mom, Dad, Jenn and Andy. I meant what I said when I left. I really love you guys.

All my best,

Alex P Keaton.

The End