Pacey's Faux Pas - "After the Vows" Series

by Anne Shirley

PJ Fic: Pacey begins to suspect that his wife of one year is hiding something from him.

After the Vows Series

Pacey's Faux Pas

Part One

By Shannon Kathleen

Rating: R

Type: PJ

Boston

2007

Pacey leaned against the helm of the True Love as it cut through the water. He could smell the salt in the air as the wind hit his face filled with mist from the ocean.

The freedom…the exhilaration…the loss…

The shrill of the telephone tore him from his dream.

Pacey groaned as he rose from sleep. Before he opened his eyes, he reached over just as he did every morning, seeking the warmth he knew so well.

Emptiness.

Pacey groaned in protest.

No response.

He groaned louder.

Nothing still.

"Jo…" Pacey groaned again, this time with a hint of a whine.

Before opening his eyes, he could sense that the sun was too bright in the room, so Pacey buried his head in Joey's pillow. Today was their day to play. Where was she?

He could sense her walk into the room and around to her side of the bed.

Pacey didn't remove his head from her pillow. His body was now stretched out over onto her side too. He just lifted his arm up to her.

"What's all this moaning and groaning I hear?" Joey swiped at his arm.

Pacey rolled over and opened his eyes for the first time. Finally, the sight he wanted to see first.

"Oh, I see how it is." She finished her sentence with a giggle.

Pacey grabbed her arm and pulled her down on top of his bare chest. His low chuckle harmonized with Joey's delicate laugh as their bodies meshed. Everything about them had harmonized for the past seven years, especially in the last year since he had heard the words, "I do" slip from her lips.

"I was all alone here in bed," Pacey pouted. "Weren't we going to play that game this morning…remember?"

Pacey lifted the sheet up and dove down playfully out of sight.

"Pacey! Pacey, no!" Joey burst out laughing as he tickled her feet. He knew that was a form of torture to her.

He continued his torment up her exposed legs and under the white tank top she had been sleeping in. His head popped out of the sheets and he smirked up at her from where his head lay on her stomach. He looked innocent enough, but he kept his arms in a threateningly ticklish spot at her waist.

She looked at his face, the same boyish grin she had fallen in love with. Joey reached down and placed both hands on his cheeks and moved her hands into his hair in a twirling motion. With that small distraction, she suddenly slipped from under him and out of the bed. Pacey ripped the sheets from the bed as he freed himself to race after her.

She didn't have the chance to reach the door before he caught her waist and fell down on top of her on the floor. Conveniently, they fell onto their expensive wedding comforter that Joey had carefully placed out of their way the night before.

It didn't matter. All they knew was that they burned for each other.

The cloud-like down duvet created the perfect place to make love for the rest of the morning.

~;~

Joey and Pacey dozed in each other's arms until noon that Monday. Both were playing hooky from work and real life. They had promised each other this little gift of relaxation on that special day in their lives. Exactly one year before, they had said their vows to each other.

Joey opened her eyes to find Pacey's head cuddled against her chest. She bent her head to kiss his forehead. Was there a chance, she could slip out of his arms without waking him?

As she let go of him and crawled out of bed, Pacey moaned just a little bit, but he didn't wake up.

After Joey wrapped her robe around her nude body, she padded through their apartment in her bare feet.

All she had to do was press the redial button on the phone.

"Hello," the low male voice answered.

"Hi, it's Joey," she whispered. "I had a little trouble getting away from him this morning to call you."

Pacey's Faux Pas

Part Two

Joey tried to stifle her giddy laughter, but it burst from her mouth just as Pacey walked into the room.

"OK, then 3:30, I'll be there," Joey said into the phone as she turned around in the kitchen. Her eyes bulged to see Pacey standing in the entryway just staring at her.

He was looked like he had been mid-yawn and scratching the back of his head sleepily, but her words had caught his attention. Joey tried to smile naturally at him, but he could sense her edginess.

"Oh," Joey uttered quickly, hanging up the phone without a goodbye to the person on the other end. "Pace, you're up."

Pacey's brow furrowed as he spoke slowly.

"Yeah, so are you, I see…who was that on the phone?"

"Oh, just Bessie," Joey said and smiled at him. "Want some breakfast… or lunch, I mean?"

"Well, are you crazy? Why'd you hang up on her?" Pacey rushed over to pick up the phone as if she still might be on the other end of the receiver.

Joey poured a glass of orange juice and handed it to him.

"Oh, we were fighting…I'll call her back."

"Fighting…it must have been a funny fight. I heard you laughing."

"Aren't our fights always funny? The B&B guests used to love them. We were nightly headliners."

Pacey just shook his head. This conversation was making no sense, so he changed the subject.

"So, are you getting ready for a more romantic, mind-blowing night than last night? Oh, how do I continue to top myself?"

"Oh, that reminds me…" Pacey looked at her through the glass of orange juice he was drinking as she spoke. Even through the glass he could see her squint her eyes and tilt her head like she always did when she had bad news.

"What? Ahhhh, Joey, you're not going to tell me that you have to go into the office?" Pacey whined as he walked toward her. "It's our first anniversary."

She let him slip his arms around her waist before she began to speak again.

"No, Pace," Joey paused again. "So, you think after just one year, you can read my mind?"

"Joey…I've been able to read your mind for a lot longer than the year we've been married," Pacey stepped back to look her in the face. "Think back a few episodes in our lives…"

Joey grinned, and Pacey nodded knowingly. "Uh, huh! Now, just tell me what you were going to say. Go ahead, Jo, prove me wrong!"

"Bessie needs your help tonight," Joey squeaked out the words.

"My help?"

"Yeah, Bodie's gone, and Alex seems to have broken his arm this morning on the school playground, or something like that," Joey said. "She wouldn't have asked us to go down on our anniversary, but she said that Alex's crying for you."

Pacey sighed, knowing that he couldn't argue against that.

Joey shrugged, looking away. "Wouldn't it be fun to revisit the spot where we got married on our one-year anniversary?"

"I think it'd be more fun to revisit the spot where we consummated that marriage."

Joey threaded her arms around his waist and squeezed his backside playfully.

"Thanks, Pace," Joey whispered as she leaned her head against his chest. "You were pretty close at reading my mind there, but I don't think you know everything."

"Yeah, right." Pacey leaned his chin against her head before breaking out of her embrace.

"So, what are we going to do the rest of the day?" He asked

"Well…"

Pacey rolled his eyes.

"I need to go into the office for just a sec."

Twenty minutes later, Joey had transformed into the adult she was for the rest of the world, wearing a long but sheer short-sleeved dress and her dark hair tied back in a low ponytail.

"I promise to be back in at least by 4:30, and then we can hit the road."

She kissed Pacey as she collected some loose paper from the coffee table.

"What am I supposed to do while you're gone? My boss let me take the whole day off."

"Well, darn, I'm going to have to go to gas station attendant school like you did," Joey smiled as she closed the door. "My boss is just a complete bitch!"

It had been a running joke between them since high school that Pacey was going to end up pumping gas for a living. The joke became especially funny when Pacey got a job with a shipping company that specialized in oil and gas transport after finishing his engineering degree.

Joey had also made a career out of a high school mishap. In the last two years, Joey had started her own business, designing custom wall murals in the home and businesses of Boston's wealthy, which was a business venture that Pacey had inspired, and Bessie had backed financially.

Joey still did not completely trust the woman she had hired to help her manage the business yet, and felt she needed to check in before taking the next few days off.

"Fine, bye," Pacey said as the door clicked shut.

Pouting, he slumped down on the couch and flipped on the TV, still in his pajama bottoms and a t-shirt. Realizing that the stations only aired spastic talk show hosts and reruns of Full House, Pacey searched the coffee table for reading material.

A white piece of paper slipped from the table as Pacey sifted through the magazines. It looked like a bank statement, and he was about to stuff it into their bill drawer when he noticed that it wasn't for a bank that Joey and he held their joint account.

"Cape Cod National?" Pacey whispered to himself. How old was this statement? That's the old bank in downtown Capeside.

The phone rang before Pacey could read any further. Still clutching the piece of paper, he barked a greeting into the phone.

"Hello."

"Is Joey Potter there? I was disconnected a little while ago."

"It's Joey Witter, but, no, she isn't here. This is her husband; can I help you?"

"No, thank you."

The man hung up before Pacey could question him.

Pacey set the phone down on the cradle mystified. She's said she was talking to Bessie this morning. Had Joey lied to him? If so, why?

Pacey had almost forgotten about the strange paper in his hand. He glanced down again to see the words printed on the top: Cape Cod National Bank Statement - May 2007. Scanning down a little farther, Pacey noticed the name on the account.

Josephine Potter – Single Account Holder

How could she be keeping this from him? They had always shared all the finances.

What made Pacey stagger back down onto the couch again was the total at the bottom of the statement. Current balance: $15,452.56.

Pacey's Faux Pas

Part Three

Pacey and Joey's Apartment

Boston

2007

Pacey chewed on his thumb fingernail as he stared at the bank statement he had tossed on the coffee table.

How could all this happen in one day? And how could all this happen on this day of all days?

Where would Joey have gotten $15,000, and why had she never told him about it?

This was his wife, he kept telling himself incredulously.

Pacey popped up off the couch and raced to the front door. He threw it open. He would follow her today, Pacey decided. Looking down at his pajama bottoms, Pacey slammed the door shut in frustration.

How could I follow her? I trust her. There has to be an explanation for this.

Pacey decided he would just call her and ask her what this was all about.

Rose, Joey's business manager, answered the phone after two rings.

"Good afternoon, Possibility Murals."

"Hey, Rose, it's Pacey."

"Hi, Pacey, you guys enjoying your day?"

"Yeah, well…just a barrel of monkeys over here," Pacey scoffed. "Put Joey on, please."

Rose froze.

"Um, uh…Pacey, she's not here today," Rose stuttered. "I thought she was home with you. She said you had big plans for your anniversary."

Pacey let out a low growl into the phone that was inaudible to Rose.

"Try her mobile, hun. She just called me to let me know she's going out of town for the next few days."

"I will."

Pacey could barely dial the familiar number with his shaking fingers and had to start over twice before Joey's ever-present mobile phone began to ring.

~;~

Joey felt her phone vibrate from her purse as she hurried down onto one of the docks in the Boston marina. She was about to answer it, but she spotted the tall man she had promised to meet. Although he looked tan and outdoorsy, he was the only man on the dock wearing a suit.

Joey waved at him, and he could see the excitement in her eyes from where he sat on sat across the dock.

"Ben, hi," Joey said breathlessly. "So sorry about hanging up on you earlier today."

"Well, I guessed that he probably walked in the room when we were talking, right?"

Joey nodded sheepishly.

"I thought I had blown it today after all this time and planning."

"Oh, hope not, Joey," He smiled.

"OK, well…I think I'm ready finally…I can't believe it's really been seven years," Joey breathed in deeply and exhaled proudly. "Is this really happening?"

"Yes, now let's make it official," Ben said, laughing at the dramatic emphasis she added to her words.

~;~

Pacey looked up at the clock in the living room. 3:55. She'd promised to be back by 4:30, Pacey remembered.

He decided that it was best to just wait for her there instead of searching for her on the streets of Boston. He also didn't want to add jealous stalking to his past faux pas.

~;~

After about a half an hour, Joey looked at her watch. 3:55. She felt the sudden urge to get home right away.

Ben stood up when she did.

She looked at him to say goodbye and the day's excitement all came back to her at once. Joey reached out and embraced him.

"OK, then we're ready!" She said. "I'll see you tonight at 8."

Joey hurried away from him and back through the docks of the marina. She looked back only once, "Thanks!"

~;~

Pacey was dressed and sitting stiffly on the couch when the phone rang again. He grabbed it expecting to hear the enemy's voice again. Instead, Joey's voice flowed into his ear.

"Hey, Pace…"Joey said slowly. "All ready to go?"

He didn't answer her for a minute, trying to decide what to say first.

"Pacey, you there?"

A strange feeling crossed his heart that he had never felt before. Who was this woman who shared his life?

"Uh…yeah, I'm here."

Pacey realized that today was just not the day to start interrogating her. But he had to learn what was going on in her life and his own life at that matter. How had he been so blind? All this was strangely revealed all at once today. Why did Joey start to get sloppy in her deceit on their anniversary?

"I packed your stuff," Pacey said coolly as his foot unconsciously kicked her rolling upright.

"Oh, thanks," Joey could hear the ice in his voice, and she froze. "Are you mad about having to go home tonight?"

Before he answered, Joey toned her voice down licentiously.

"You know… it's going to be just as much fun tonight no matter where we are."

"Uh, huh," Pacey and it hurt Joey to hear the distraction in his voice. She knew he was mad about having to go home, but now she had to drop the bomb.

"Pacey, I need to do something else here in town…I gotta visit a new client's home, but can you head on down to Capeside, and I'll just take the 5:30 train after you."

"You want me to drive down there without you?"

"I'll just be an hour behind you, and then Bessie or somebody can pick me up at the station."

The silence on either end of the phone line was deafening.

Pacey knew by now that she was lying. He decided to just let her keep digging the hole for herself.

~;~

Joey hung up the phone and raced into the train station to catch the 4:15 train to Capeside. She found a seat and leaned her head against the cold window. When the train started to move, Joey let her hand fall to her chest, and she breathed out in relief.

She was still unsure of how to react to Pacey's silence. Could she pull this off tonight without hurting him first?

All day long, Joey had been trying to get in touch with Bessie unsuccessfully, which was one looming possible roadblock. She prayed that Bessie had gotten her messages and emails.

But Joey decided that it didn't matter anymore because time was running out. She just had to get away from him for a few hours.

Joey knew that she could use Alex as bait. Pacey had a soft spot in his heart for the 9-year-old boy he had watched grow from a newborn. And Alex felt just as strongly for his uncle.

~;~

Almost two hours later, Pacey begrudgingly drove his new black Toyota Tacoma into the small coastal downtown that Joey still called home. Just this morning, Pacey would have called it home too, but only if Joey was there. Home was Joey. So, the sudden homeless feeling that came over Pacey scared him.

He had spent most of the car trip trying to reason with himself.

Pacey knew that Joey's parents had left her and Bessie nothing. Bessie had given money to Joey when she wanted to start her business a few years before, but Joey had just begun to make a little profit. There was no way that Joey would have that much cash on hand.

Pacey pulled in the driveway by the side of the Potter Bed and Breakfast. A little piece of his heart began to thaw to see the familiar sight. He and Joey had not been home since Christmas, and it was already May.

Before getting out of the truck, he heard another car pull up next to him.

"Pacey!" He heard a boyish voice shout as Pacey stepped out of the car to see Bessie and her son.

Pacey held his fists up, getting ready to play fight with the boy. Pain shot through Pacey's head as Alex ran toward him. There wasn't a scratch anywhere on his body. The way Joey had talked he's expected a broken boy in front of him.

Had Joey really tricked him? What was going on?

Pacey almost completely snapped when he heard Bessie say, "Pace, what are you doing here? Is everything alright?"

Pacey and Bessie stared at each other with both foreheads creased.

"Oh, no…don't tell me. Let me guess… you didn't ask me to come, did you?"

Pacey's Faux Pas

Part Four Conclusion

Potter Bed and Breakfast

6:30

Pacey shook his head in disbelief. Bessie's surprise to see him definitely confirmed his fears. But he didn't want her to see that his wife had deceived him, so there was only one thing Pacey could do.

"So, Alex, …what about that carnival down by the marina this week? I came all the way to ask if you wanna go, man?"

Alex glanced at his mother and back at Pacey.

"Can we go on the Zipper?" The nine-year-old's eyes lit up.

"We used to go on that one until Uncle Dawson would barf up all the hot dogs he had engulfed."

Alex giggled at the image.

"Mom, please…I can use my own allowance."

"Ah, save your allowance, Al…your Aunt Joey let me have a little money this week. So, let's go spend it all!" Pacey gently punched at his arm with the back of his hand.

Bessie nodded right before the two boys jumped into the truck.

"You can ask Uncle Dawson, our Zipper record is 7 times. Let's beat that tonight and make him really mad."

"Yeah!" Alex cheered as he slammed the door closed.

Pacey usually loved to spend time with Alex, but strangely, he had never wanted his company more than this night – the night of his first anniversary with Joey and a night he should have been with no one else.

After they had driven out of Bessie's sight, she turned around and raced into the house. She had to reach Joey. Where was she? Wasn't today their anniversary? What was he doing here with Alex? She was going to screw everything up with Pacey!

~;~

Downtown Capeside

6:30 pm

Joey felt the euphoric feeling that home always brought back as she walked toward Leery's Fresh Fish on the marina.

Before stepping into the marina outdoor café, she glanced over to a dock about a quarter of a mile down. That's where she had made the biggest decision of her life.

If he had it to do over, would Pacey do it again? Joey thought as she stared at the boat docked in the same spot where True Love had been.

Down the Marina

An hour and a half later

Pacey bit into his caramel apple as he stood in line for their fifth ride. The sun was just beginning to set at 8p.m. Since it was almost summertime, and the days seemed to last forever. A small twinge of regret crept into his heart as he wondered where Joey was. While in line for food, Pacey had tried to reach Joey on her phone. The voicemail on her mobile always picked up instead.

Here in this town, they had promised to love and honor each other forever. That had not even lasted a year; Pacey thought, shaking his head. What had happened? He hadn't even seen it coming.

"What's wrong, Uncle Pace?"

Pacey snapped out of his deep thoughts.

"Ahhh, nothing," I just think your uncle is getting too old for these rides, and that's sad."

"Too old? No, look at that guy. He's gotta be 100 years more than you, and he's riding."

"I mean that I feel like Uncle Ooompa Loompa right now," Pacey took at his half-eaten apple in disgust and handed it to the boy. "Here eat it before I become him."

Together the boys crawled aboard the Ferris wheel, which was a ride that Pacey had hoped would help settle his stomach. At least he would have a small break from The Zipper.

"So, how's school?" Pacey asked and closed his eyes as the ride jerked them into the air.

"This girl Jenna hates me, and one boy always wants to fight."

"She hates you? I doubt that. Be careful about girls that pretend that they hate you."

"Gum got stuck in her hair."

"Did you do it?" Pacey crossed his arms and raised his eyebrow, slightly proud of the boy's mischievous spirit.

"Yeah, OK, but she says stuff like she's going to get me back when I'm not looking. So, she hates me now."

Pacey burst out laughing to Alex's surprise. How many times had Joey threatened to kill him in his sleep?

"Just keep driving her crazy, OK?"

The boy still seemed doubtful of his uncle's advice, but he forgot about the dilemma as he leaned against the railing of the gondola they rode in as it stopped near the top of the ferris wheel.

"Hey, lean over the edge like this." Alex instructed.

"You'll fall out if I do that," Pacey laughed but gripped the railing tightly.

"Come on, I can see all the boats and look at that." Alex pointed at the sun setting over the Massachusetts horizon.

With fraternal comradory, they took in the breathtaking sight together.

"I'm glad you came, Uncle Pace."

"Thanks, Al, you know…I am too."

The air against his skin had eased some of his nausea until Alex spoke again.

"There's Aunt Joey!" He suddenly exclaimed and Pacey involuntarily snapped his head in the boy's direction.

"Where?"

"There over on the bench by the boats! What's she doing there?"

Pacey watched in horror as a man sat down next to her and patted her hand lightly. She looked up and smiled at him. Before Pacey and Alex could get off the ride, Pacey was certain that Joey somehow was conspiring against him. Maybe she was hiring a hit man to kill him, he thought as he had watched the man take out a stack of papers. Joey mouthed a few silent words, and the man bent over to let her use his back as a writing base.

He felt completely helpless, trapped on the ride, swinging in the air above his wife. It seemed like a whole year went by until they neared the base of the ferris wheel and stopped completely.

Pacey felt his skin crawl as he raced out of the fair grounds with Alex at his heels.

His feet pounded down hard on the wooden boards of the Marina docks. Alex's lighter footsteps followed. Alex's voice calling her name startled Joey, who jumped up from the bench.

She looked up at Pacey, who stood there in front of her with utter confusion in his eyes alongside the anger and resentment. She had made a mess of this entire thing. Joey tucked the papers behind her back when she saw him. But he noticed her do it, and that little act of deceit turned his anger into rage.

"So, is this where we were suppose to meet tonight? What's going on, Joey?"

"Nothing, Pacey."

"I think that I deserve the truth. That's all I have ever given you."

"I was trying to call you all evening. Where have you been? Why are you and Alex out here?"

Pacey grabbed a confused Alex's arm and held it up. "Let me start by saying that this doesn't look broken to me."

Joey's eyes fell. Why had she told him that stupid lie, she asked herself. She looked around and noticed that people were starting to slow down and watch the interaction.

"Do you want me to leave?" Ben whispered out of the side of his mouth.

Pacey's enraged line of vision shot bullets into the stranger.

"You! Who the hell are you? And what are you doing with my wife? You called me today, didn't you?"

Ben glanced at Joey and winced. It wasn't his place to answer any of Pacey's questions.

"Tell… me…" The intense feeling of nausea from the rides washed over him and broke up his words.

"Pacey?"

He could hear her voice as his vision blurred. Pacey gripped the railing alongside the dock. His stomach cramped up again.

"Why are you doing this today? This is our first anniversary."

"Doing what, Pacey?"

He looked around and noticed that they were all standing on the very same pier that the True Love had been docked before the summer cruise that changed their lives. Eight years seemed to slip away. He could almost see the True Love docked there waiting for him life a faithful pet. His lost boat had lived on in his love with Joey. Now he almost felt like he was watching the boat drift away in the storm again.

Joey stepped closer to Pacey and laid her hand on his back as he doubled over. Ben moved closer to see if he could help the ailing young man.

"Is he sick?" Pacey heard someone asked.

"What's wrong with Uncle Pacey?" Alex asked. The entire event was confusing the boy.

"Pacey, please listen to me," Joey started, but stopped because she couldn't believe how much her husband was shaking. "I think that this is all a misunderstanding."

"Joey, I'm…going home… until you want to tell me what's going on." Pacey said. "I don't feel well…"

Upon his premonition, Pacey covered his hand over his mouth and ran for the side of the dock.

"Pacey!"

He leaned over as Joey raced to help him. His nausea settled down before anything humiliating happened.

She reached out, but he backed away. His embarrassment was overshadowed by his intense heartache.

Pacey turned his back to get away from the scene as fast as he could when Joey shouted at him finally.

"Pacey!"

He stopped in his tracks when he noticed a flag flying from the masts of the boat docked where True Love had been. Was he reading the words correctly? He stood there staring at it as a shiver ran down his spine. It was almost like he'd seen a ghost.

Pacey turned around slowly as Joey shouted, "Happy Anniversary!"

She raised her arm and threw an object in his direction. Pacey instinctively threw up his hand to catch it before it hit him. He opened up his hand to see a set of keys attached to a yellow buoyant keychain.

Pacey looked back at Joey standing down the dock smiling at him so proudly.

"What's this?"

"You'll have two women in your life to take care of now. If you still want us, we're both yours, Pace." Joey's arm swung out toward the 36' sailboat docked in the same place True Love once had been.

"Wha…"

Joey nodded enthusiastically.

"Since the moment that you lost the True Love I have been saving a little every month. I thought I could buy you one right away, but well, I guess it took me seven years."

Pacey still didn't move from his spot.

"I finally found a good deal," Joey pointed at Ben. "Sorry, I've been so distracted today. I wanted to set up such a romantic evening in the exact same place where we fell in love and got married. But I screwed it all up."

Ben handed Joey the stack of papers as he walked away.

"Sorry for the trouble," Ben said as he past Pacey on the dock. "But you're a lucky man."

Pacey finally smiled sheepishly yet he was still amazed by the entire episode. He took a step down the dock toward Joey.

"Wait!" Joey held out her hand to stop him.

Pacey froze again.

"Before you come down this dock, I need to know something," Joey said loud enough for people on the marina could hear her. "I wanted to show you that I would do it all again in an instant. I would make the very same decision. I would come running down this very dock to tag along on the adventure with you again."

A smile broke over Pacey's face as he waited anxiously to run into her arms.

"I just need to know if you would come down the dock to do it all over again with me too," She said in a softer tone of voice.

"Joey, I thought I proved that to you the day I waited for you to walk down the aisle."

She nodded and before she could speak, Pacey flew forward to catch her in his arms. Alex watched as they clung to each other, crying silently.

Pacey pulled away enough to reach for Joey's face. A shower of kisses followed his first intense kiss. Just like he had kissed her on their wedding day and the day their lives had changed forever over seven years ago.

"You are amazing, Jo!"

"Me? No, you deserve so much more. You have been the most trusting, faithful, loving, passionate, kind husband. You are the craziest, the boldest, the most fearless…" Pacey quieted her with another deep kiss.

As their kiss slowed, Pacey glanced over at the sailboat. He brushed his lips against hers before pulling away. Holding her close to him, he took a first look at the vessel that seemed double the size of the True Love.

"It's a 1987 36' Catalina ready for cruising," Joey said proudly. "That's what the ad said. What do you think?"

Pacey still just stared at it speechless.

"Well, I know that she'll never take the place of the True Love…" Joey pointed up at a flag flying on the highest mast, bearing the name of the long lost boat exactly like it looked back then. "I made that to prove that true love survives and always will. This boat can carry her memory."

Joey could see the tears in Pacey's eye when he looked down at her again.

"What did I do to deserve you?"

"I told you. Just by being you every single day, flaws and all. Come on!"

Joey grabbed his hand, and they both climbed aboard. She waved Alex over to pull him up too.

"So, what's her name, Jo?"

"Well, you can call her whatever you want. How about another unattainable idea? World Peace? Social Equality? Just call your boat that, and you're sure to attain it," Joey laughed.

"I think I'll call her Amazing Grace. Yep, that fits."

Joey looked at him, surprised by his quick decision.

"It's you, Jo…my Amazing Grace."

The End.

Coming soon…More stories in the After the Vows Series.