New Day Dawning
It was
mid-morning of a gorgeous June day and the Quest Compound hummed with
activity. The sound of voices and
laughter could be heard everywhere. Benton opened the front door of the Quest home, walked out onto the
flagstones of the main front courtyard and looked around him in amused
satisfaction. Spread out before him on
the wide expanse of lawn was canopied tents with tables and chairs. And there were people everywhere he
looked. Some stood in small groups,
some drifted from group to group, and some stood alone just observing the
milling crowds. Behind him, on the wide
path to the lighthouse he knew there was another set of chairs. These chairs were lined up in neat rows on
either side of a wide, carpeted pathway that ended in a latticed, wooden
archway covered with flowers. And there
lay the centerpiece of today's activity.
Today was
Jessie and Jon's wedding day. It had
been four years since his son walked in the door behind him to meet his new son
and daughter for the first time. A lot
had happened in that time. He wondered
sometimes what life would have been like if they had managed to find Surd's
virus in QuestWorld and had eradicated it before it could have done any
damage. But it said a great deal about
how far this family had come in those four years that none of them would
willingly change anything any more. The
bad had faded almost to nothing leaving only the good behind. And what remained none of them would EVER
give up.
Benton moved
from the courtyard out onto the lawn greeting his guests. The crowd was huge. The guest list had rather snowballed. He had heard Jessie say the other day that
her original planned guest list of 250 had exploded so that at last count she
had sent out over 750 formal invitations to the wedding. And their RSVP list said that virtually
everyone was attending! There were high
school and University friends and associates of the young couple, friends and
business associates of both Benton and Race, visiting dignitaries, heads of
state, presidents of foreign governments, renowned scientists and scholars from
all over the world, more secret service and spy-types than he cared to count
(both working and here solely for the event), long-time friends from the
communities both here and in Florida, and extended family members of everyone
involved. Even the President of the
United States had elected to come! There were children of every shape and size everywhere he looked. All of the girls affected by the drug plant
were here along with their children . . . even young Amy and her quints (they
had all made it, thank God). The
children ran around the huge lawn, laughing and screaming, completely involved
in their own mysterious games. Benton
moved quickly toward the head of security and warned him again about seeing to
it that all of the children stayed away from the cliff wall. He would have no tragedies here today!
As he moved
among the various guests he checked his watch . . . 10:30. Race had better get here soon or they would
have to delay the start of the ceremony and Jessie would kill him. Benton shook his head. He seriously believed the man was
crazy. Elena Stazney would have been
perfectly happy to fly from Prague on a military jet from her home country, but
Race had insisted on picking her up and bringing her in personally . . . said
he thought it would have less political ramifications that way. Benton suddenly grinned. Political ramifications . . . like hell!
"Benton!"
He turned at
the sound of familiar voices and was met with the grinning faces of two very
old friends. "Prasad! Madame Fornier!" He kissed the cheek of the beautiful Frenchwoman and shook hands
enthusiastically with the grinning Mongol. "I'm so glad you could come!"
"But surely
you do not think we would have missed such an occasion as this?" was Madame
Fornier's response. "Benton, we have
known both of them since they were small children. At such a joyous time, of course we would be here!"
Prasad asked,
"But where is Race? I have been
searching everywhere for him."
Benton
chuckled, "Keeping himself busy flying in guests. He would be a raving lunatic by this time if all he had to do was
circulate and talk with the guests."
Prasad roared
with laughter. "It is not like our Mr.
Bannon to be unable to deal with situations!"
"Ah, but those
situations do not normally involve the marriage of his only daughter," was Madame Fornier's laughing response. "And Benton, the sign on the door of your
plane . . . ! It is soooo funny, yes?"
Prasad looked
at the two laughing faces. "I did not
fly in on a Quest jet so I have missed this one. What sign?"
"But it is
precious," was the woman's delighted response. "It says 'Go ahead, ask me about my grandchildren'!" And they all dissolved into gales of
laughter.
"And," gasped
Benton finally, "he has one on every single vehicle we own, including the snow
cat!"
Benton
suddenly became aware of two people standing slightly behind him and he turned,
still laughing. "Neela . . .
Pasha!" He reached out and hugged the
beautiful Indian woman and shook the old peddler's hand. Turning he introduced the two new arrivals
to his old friends. As they talked
Benton suddenly became aware of how happy he was at this instant. There was a time, not so very long ago, when
he thought this kind of joy would never be possible again.
"Grampa . . .
Grampa!" Benton turned at the sound of
the high, excited voice. Running full
tilt at him across the lawn was a small, reddish-blonde dynamo. The child was running as fast as her legs
could carry her and her soft green dress flew behind her, waving like a
flag. About ten feet away, he saw her
stumble and he just knew she was on her way to falling into the
flowerbed not far away. He jumped
frantically, grabbing for her before she hit the ground. He snatched her up, lifting her into his
arms as he staggered, desperately trying to keep his feet.
"Rachel!" he
gasped. "What are you doing?!" The child reached out, put her arms around
his neck and hugged him so tightly he couldn't breathe. "Rachel . . . " he wheezed.
Rachel
released her hold on his neck and bounced in his arms, waving her fist under
his nose. "Grampa, look what I
found! Uncle Hadji took me walking on
the beach an' this was laying in the sand, an' Uncle Hadji says it's a crino
an' he says it's really old an' that it used to be alive! Isn't it neat!"
Benton looked
a bit dazed. "Your Uncle said it was a what?" Capturing her hand, he squeezed it
gently. "Let's see what you have." Carefully, she opened her fist and she
showed him a small, round fossil. He
moved it around in her hand gently with one finger while a grinning circle of
adults watched.
"Your Uncle
Hadji is right . . . it's very old. It's a crinoid . . . a small animal that used to live in the oceans
millions of years ago."
"But how did
it get here?" Benton
looked at his granddaughter. Her green
eyes stared at him in eager fascination, her expression rapt.
"Well, when the
animal died it sank to the ocean floor and was buried in mud. Over time the hard parts were turned to
stone and it was eventually broken away and washed up on shore by the water. I'll tell you what, why don't you let me
keep it for now and tonight we'll put it under the microscope and you can see
what it really looks like. How would
you like that?" In response the child
dropped the fossil into his open hand and then looked around at the group of
people surrounding them. It had grown
substantially during her exchange with Benton. He noticed that among others, General Axton, Commander Bennett, and
Colonel Marcus had joined them. He
hadn't even heard they were planning to attend. Rachel blushed and hid her face against his shoulder, suddenly
shy. He gazed at the circle of grinning
adults, suddenly indescribably proud of this little girl. He stroked her hair gently. "Hey, I want you to meet some of my
friends." He looked at the adults and
smiled. "If you can't guess, this is my
granddaughter, Rachel . . . " Everyone
greeted Rachel gravely and before long she was chattering animatedly with the
various adults.
Finally, she
asked him, "Can I get down and play?"
Benton looked
at her doubtfully. "I don't know if
that's a good idea. You promised
your mother you would stay clean until after the ceremony." He inspected her carefully. "So far you've managed that . . . barely . .
. but if I let you down again I'm not sure we'll be that lucky."
"But it's
taking so longgggg!" the child wailed.
"Well, we
should be pretty close now. I bet all
we're doing is waiting for your Grampa Race to get here. And he's due any minute." As if in response to that thought, Benton
heard the sound of a jet engine approaching. Everyone looked up in time to see a sleek jet arrowing for the trees not
far from the compound. "And there he is
now." Looking up, the child watched the
plane intently.
"When are we
gonna go for a ride again?"
"Very
soon. I promised Alice Starseer that
I'd look at an excavation site out west for her."
"Am I gonna
get to help?" the child asked anxiously. Everyone laughed and Benton reassured her, "Yes, you are going to get to
help. I couldn't prevent it if I wanted
to. None of us can keep you out of the
dirt! Do you know where your brother
is?"
"He's with
Uncle Hadji." She wrinkled her nose in
disgust. "He's putting flowers on him."
Benton
laughed. "It's called a boutonniere,
and he's supposed to wear it."
"It looks
silly!"
"Maybe, but
your mother and father will be very unhappy if he doesn't wear it. And all the rest of us will be wearing them,
too, so he won't look that silly."
"Oh. Wellllll . . . okay then. I promised Jonny
that once everyone was gone I'd help him take if off and squash it for him."
Benton gazed
heavenward. "Please don't do that,
Rachel. Your mother would be very
angry."
"Benton!"
He turned and
greeted the newcomers warmly. "Elena!" Reaching out he gave
President Elena Stazney a hug. "It's
wonderful to see you again!"
"And you. I am so glad I could be here! And this lovely young lady . . . is this
Jonny's daughter?"
Rachel looked
at her, perplexed. "Jonny doesn't have
a daughter. He's too little."
Elena looked
at Benton in confusion and he chuckled. "Yes, this is Jon's daughter. Her brother, Jonny is around here somewhere." Understanding dawned in Elena's eyes and a
small smile played across her lips. "Rachel, this is President Stazney. She is a very old friend of mine."
Rachel said
gravely, "Hello."
Bowing
slightly to the child she said, "My apologies, Angel. I have known your father for a very long time . . . since he was
about your age. He will forever be
'Jonny' to me."
The child
looked at her. "Oh. Well, I guess that's okay. But don't call Jonny, Junior. Daddy gets really mad when people do
that." A mischievous smile played
across her lips. "But I call Jonny that
when I want to make him mad . . . "
"Rachel!"
Benton reprimanded her sternly. She
giggled and all the adults laughed.
"What's
funny?" Benton turned and saw Race
moving to join the crowd. Rachel
immediately began to wriggle.
"Grampa!" she
cried, reaching out for him. Race
captured her, swung her up over his head and gave her a little shake. The child laughed delightedly.
"Hi-a,
sweetheart. Just look at you! I don't believe it . . . you're all dressed
up and you're still clean!"
"Grampa Benton
won't let me go play!"
"Well, I
should hope not . . . you'd be filthy in 30 seconds. You're too much like your mother was at your age."
Rachel looked
at him gravely. "Am I really, Grampa?"
Race nodded,
smiling. "Absolutely. She couldn't stay clean for five minutes
either."
She looked at
him out of large green eyes for a second and then wrapped her arms around his
neck and hugged him tightly. "I missed
you, Grampa. I love you." Race and Benton stared at each other for a
long minute, both remembering everything that had happened in the last five
years.
Race hugged
the child tightly. "I love you too,
sweetheart," he whispered in a choked voice.
Benton cleared
his throat and turned back to his guests. He saw Neela looking at him. She
smiled knowingly and he returned that smile. A short time later, Benton looked out over the yard and saw his son
standing in an open area scanning the crowd. Benton was struck by how handsome he looked in his black tux. Over the last four years he had hit his
final growth spurt so that he now stood several inches over six feet. His shoulders were broad and his build
testified to the active life he and Jessie chose to lead. And he still looked so much like his mother
. . . she would have been so proud of him today.
He raised his
hand and waved. Jon caught sight of him
and raised his hand in response, turning to move toward them. Benton suddenly became aware of Rachel's
voice.
"Down! Let me down, Grampa . . . "
"Rachel . .
. watch out, you're going to fall . . .
hold still . . . Rachel!"
"Daddy!!!!!!"
Before Benton
could turn to see what was going on he saw the child light out across the lawn
at a dead run toward her father. Rachel
Quest loved everyone and had little fear of strangers. But watching the child, he saw again that no
one compared to her father in her affections. Every time they were separated and then reunited, even if it was
for as little as 15 minutes, Rachel greeted him as though he had been gone for
weeks. Benton knew logically that
Rachel could not know about the early separation of Jon from his family. But sometimes he found himself wondering
just how much the child did understand. She had always instinctively clung to him and, of the two children, she
seem to have a stronger sense of Jon's moods. No matter what, Rachel could always make her father laugh.
Jon caught the
child in his arms and held her tightly and Benton could see him say something
to her. She laughed and hugged him
again. As they two of them looked at
each other, Benton was struck again by how much the twins looked like their
father.
At his elbow
he heard Elena say softly, "Such a striking pair, Benton. You are truly a lucky man."
He looked at
her and smiled. "Yes, I am. You can't even begin to know how lucky . . .
"
Jon crossed
the rest of the distance and joined his father.
"Hi,
everyone. I'm glad all of you could be
here . . . "
"Daddy . . . .
Daddy!!"
"What?"
"Can I get
down and play?"
"No."
"But . . . "
"No."
"Plllleeeaaaassssseee
. . ."
"No! And don't you dare pout. If you could stay clean for five minutes I'd
let you down, but you can't so you just stay here."
He grinned as
he noticed that Marie Metier and Jade Kenyon were standing on either side of
Race, sending jagged looks at each other. And Diana Cruz stood fairly close at hand as well. Jon could see her assessing the competition. AND he had heard someone say Natasha Rostova
was here somewhere, as well. As Jon's
eyes met Race's he could read acute discomfort. It was all he could do to keep from laughing out loud. Race loved women and he still got along
relatively well with most of his former paramours. But having them all in the same place at the same time looked
like it was going to be a bit much. This promised to be an interesting day, all the way around. Jon eyed his father carefully. And Alice was here. He really hoped his father wouldn't do
something stupid here . . . like letting her leave again without telling her
how he really felt. His father had
grieved for his mother for a great many years. But it was time he let that grief go and found someone else. Jon liked Alice . . . and he knew his father
did as well. And of course there was
Elena, too. Jon sighed to himself. For a brilliant man, his father could be
really slow sometimes . . .
General Axton
said to him, "I understand, Jon, that congratulations are in order for more
than your wedding."
"Sir?"
"You also
graduated from college as well, I believe."
"Yes,
Sir. Both Jess and I did. Two weeks ago."
Elena
exclaimed, "Angel! I had not heard
that. That is wonderful . . . Benton,
why didn't you say something?"
Benton
laughed, "There's just been so much going on. Race and I are very proud of both of them. They both graduated from Columbia . . . Jon with a dual
Bachelor's and Master's in Engineering and Jessie with a double Bachelor's in
Computer Science and Environmental Biology."
Jon grinned at
the group. "She couldn't make up her
mind which degree program she wanted the most so she did them both."
"So what do
you plan to do now?" Commander Bennett asked.
"Both of us
will work for Quest Enterprises. We've
always planned to do that." He smiled
at his father who smiled back.
"Daddy!" Jon turned to see Hadji walking toward the
group and his young son running across the grass as fast as his legs would
carry him. Grinning, he reached out his
free arm and caught him as he arrived, lifting him as he stood.
"Hey,
kiddo! What have you been up to? I've been looking for you."
Hadji walked
up, grinning broadly, as Jonny answered, "Uncle Hadji has been making me put on
these flowers and they smell. Can't I take them off?"
"No!" Rachel told him. "Grampa Benton says you have to wear it."
"But I don't
want to!"
"So?"
"You said you
would squash it for me."
"Well, I
won't."
"You
promised!"
"I don't
care. I promised Grampa Benton I
wouldn't. He said Momma would be mad .
. ."
"Liar!"
"I am not!"
"Are to!"
"Am not!"
"Are to!"
"Hey! Hold it down. You both promised me you wouldn't bicker today." Jon looked from one of them to the other.
"Please, try not to argue."
He could hear
Benton and Race laughing. Race
commented to the crowd, "Payback is such a wonderful thing . . ." Jon knew that the general laughter was at
his expense, but he just grinned.
Both of the
children hung their heads. "Okay,
Daddy." "Yes, Daddy."
Suddenly, out
in the distance he caught sight of a familiar flash of red. His smile faded and a small frown of worry
creased his forehead. Race and Benton
saw Jon's change in expression and turned to follow his gaze. Both men caught sight of the source of Jon's
concern . . . Estella.
Jon glanced
over at Race and then said quietly, "So she decided to come after all."
Race
nodded. "She said she was going to."
Jon bent down
and set his son on the ground. "Jessie's angry about this, you know."
"I know. But she has a right to be here. She is her mother."
Estella looked
over suddenly and her eyes locked with Jon's. They stared at each other for a long time. Abruptly, Jon shifted Rachel and handed her to Race. In a quiet voice he said to the others
around him, "Excuse me. I'll be right
back." And with that he set off across
the grass toward Estella Velasquez. Both Race and Benton watched with misgivings, praying a scene between
the two wouldn't develop. The one
remaining sore point left out of the last five years was the relationship
between Jessie and her mother. The
breach between those two had been deep and had never been mended. Jessie, normally a fair and generous
individual, had steadfastly refused to forgive her mother for whatever had
transpired between them after the twins were born. The two had not spoken since. All of them had tried to discuss it with her during that time, but she
would have none of it. She would simply
say that her mother had made her choices and that was the end of it. Race often said that it was pure
stubbornness . . . and that the two women were too much alike for their own
good.
"Is there a
problem, Benton?" He looked down at
Elena as she laid a concerned hand on his arm.
He laid a warm
hand over hers and smiled slightly. "I
hope not . . . " as he directed his attention back to the two. Jon had reached her and said something. Estella responded. Well, they appeared to be civil . . .
"Estella. It's been a long time. I'm glad you came." Jon looked down at this woman. He thought she had aged in the five or so
years since he'd seen her last. There
was something deep in her eyes that he couldn't quite define . . . a
combination of pain, anger, and some other emotion he couldn't quite
identify. He hoped this wasn't a bad
idea.
"Yes, it has
been. I have to admit I was a bit
surprised. I didn't expect to be
invited."
"You're
Jessie's mother. You have a right to be
here."
"But it wasn't
her idea."
"No," he
acknowledged, "it wasn't her idea."
"Whose idea
was it?"
"Mine." She looked at him long and hard. "I was hoping that the two of you could
resolve your differences."
"Do you know
why Jessie and I fought?"
"Yes."
"She told
you."
He shook his
head. "No. But she didn't have to . . . I knew you hated me for what I had
done. And there is only one thing I can
think of that could possibly have made Jessie angry enough to bar you from this
house and that was your insistence that she take the children and leave
here. She has been determined from the
beginning that she and I and the children would be a family. And when you tried to separate us . . . well,
it was more than she could accept."
"It was despicable
of you to have left her right when she needed you the most. Particularly after what you had done."
"Perhaps. But it was something I had to do . . . for
both of us."
"Oh, yes, I've
heard that before," Estella said bitterly. "You're just like Roger. Revenge
was always uppermost in his mind, too. Of course, he always used to call it duty."
Jon looked at
this bitter woman quietly and felt sad. Jessie was still angry with her mother, but she silently grieved over
the separation as well. It was bad
enough that their children would not have a paternal grandmother. He had really hoped that they might at least
be able to have a maternal one. But it
was looking more and more like that wasn't going to be possible. Jessie would never allow the twins near this
woman as long as she remained this bitter.
"Estella,
please don't be this way. I want for
all of us to be a family. I want you to
know your grandchildren and for them to know you. But someone is going to have to give a little here. You have a right to be angry with me. You might even have a right to be
bitter. But don't you think it's time
to let go of those feelings and try to move on? Don't you want the opportunity to watch your grandchildren
grow up?"
Jon could see
the anger in her eyes but before the sharp retort could be expressed a tiny
voice interrupted, "Daddy?"
Jon looked
down and found both Rachel and Jonny standing beside him. He laid a gentle hand on their heads and
smiled. "Yes?"
"Daddy, who is
this lady?" Rachel asked. And Jonny
chimed in, "She looks like Momma."
Jon looked at
them and then at Estella. Finally he
said, "This is your grandmother
Estella. She is your mother's mother." The stricken look on her face reminded Jon
that she hadn't seen either of them since they were about ten days old. He said softly, "Estella, this is Rachel and
Jonny." And suddenly Jon prayed. Could it be that these children could
accomplish what none of the adults had been capable of doing during these last
several years?
They stared at
her for a long time. And then Rachel
moved over and reached up to her. Instinctively, Estella responded and picked her up. Rachel hugged her and said, "Hello,
Gramma. We're glad you're here. Grampa Race has told us about you." Young Jonny moved over to her and grasped
her hand.
Estella looked
from one to the other and Jon suddenly saw that she was crying. And in that instant Jon thought that it was
probably going to be all right.
Estella looked
at him and asked in a soft, choked voice, "Can I see my daughter?"
Jon smiled and
looked at the two children. "Rachel,
Jonny, would you take your Grandmother to your mother? She's upstairs with Mrs. Evans and Alice." Estella set Rachel on the ground and the two
of them began dragging her in the direction of the house, both of them
chattering non-stop. Estella looked at
bit dazed but followed willingly. Jon
watched them for a minute and then moved back toward his family. He saw the question on the faces as he
rejoined them. He smiled slightly and
said, "I think it's going to be okay."
"Woman always
was more stubborn than a ten year old stallion around a new filley."
Jon grinned at
Doug Wildey. "Hi, Grandpa. Who, Jessie or Estella?"
He snorted. "Both of 'em. Heck of a woman you picked there, boy."
"Yeah, isn't
it great?"
Hadji nudged
Jon. "We should probably be going. We are already late and Jessie will be
anxious to get started."
Jon stared at
the house for a minute and then shook his head. "Let's give it 15 or 20 minutes, Hadj. I think Jess is going to need a little extra time."
Race followed
his gaze and nodded. "Give it about 10
minutes or so and then Benton and I will go. We're the ones who have to get Jess anyway. But you and Hadji better get going." Jon nodded, smiled at his guests and moved away with his brother.
"Momma?"
Jessie turned
from the mirror at the sound of her daughter's voice. Rachel stopped just inside the door to their private apartment
and looked at her mother. Her white
gown fell to the floor in layers of satin, beads and lace. Her veil was securely anchored to her red
hair and both fell down her back in a long cascade. She was radiant.
"There you
are, Rachel! Are you still clean?"
Rachel ignored
the question. "Momma, Jonny and I
brought someone to see you."
Jessie looked
at her in puzzlement. She and her
brother stood in the doorway, not moving, with identical serious expressions on
their faces. This wasn't like either
one of them at all. "Well, who is
it? Can't it wait until after the
ceremony? We're already late . . . "
"Please, Momma
. . . " Jonny pleaded.
And suddenly
Jessie was staring across the open space at her mother. Her smile faded and behind her she heard
Mrs. Evans indrawn breath. Everyone was
silent for a brief instant. Finally,
Jessie turned to the two women with her and said quietly, "Alice, Mrs. Evans,
would you take the children and go find Jon and the others and tell them we're
ready to start? As soon as Dad and Dr.
Quest get here we can get this show on the road."
Mrs. Evans
reached out a hand to her. "Are you
sure you'll be all right, child?"
Jessie reached
out, hugged the older woman and kissed her cheek. "Yes, I'll be fine. And
thank you for everything."
Alice kissed
Jessie's cheek as she moved by. She
stopped briefly and looked Jessie in the eyes. "Give her a chance before you pass judgment, Jessie. She deserves that much." Jessie sighed and nodded slightly. And then they were alone.
Both women
eyed each other warily. A lot had
happened since they last stood in this room.
"I understand
you finished your degree."
"Last month,
yes."
"Congratulations."
"Thank
you." There was a long silence.
"The children
have grown."
"They'll do
that in four years."
"Yes." Another long silence.
"Mother, why
are you here? You know I won't tolerate
your bitterness toward Jon. And I won't
have it around my children. I didn't
even know you had been invited until Jon told me."
Estella
signed. "I know. I've talked with him. Jessie, I don't know what to say to
you. Yes, I was angry when I left here
the last time. And maybe I was wrong to
leave in a huff. But all I wanted to do
was protect you and the children. Jon
is so much like Roger and no one knows better than I do what it was like trying
to live with that. He should have been
here, not running around searching for revenge."
Jessie shook
her head. "No, Mother, you're
wrong. He was exactly where he should
have been, doing exactly what he had to do. If he hadn't, today would never have been possible. You know, I could forgive you for being
angry. I could even forgive you for
speaking your mind. What I could not
forgive was the way you passed judgment on him without knowing all the
facts. When you first found out that I
had been raped, all you wanted to do was come and take me "away". Not only didn't you ask any questions, you
didn't want to know . . . you refused to even listen when I tried to explain. Jon did it and that was it. And you blamed everyone in this
house, even though none of them were at fault. And when I tried to tell you what actually happened you just cut
me off. You didn't care. You just wanted someone handy to blame. And once you realized that I didn't hate any
of them, you became angry with me, too.
"And then you
never even came to see me. You just
called and harangued me about the whole mess every opportunity you got. Did it ever occur to you that the primary
targets of your anger were the two people I needed the most? And, regardless of what had happened, I
loved and wanted Jon? He's stood by me
through all of this, even though it's been a hundred times harder for him than
it was for me. But you wouldn't allow
yourself to consider that. All you
wanted was someone to focus your anger on. And after the children were born and you did come, all you ever did was
continue to insist on taking me away to Colombia. You wouldn't listen to me . . . you simply used my situation as a
focus for your anger . . . for both my situation and your anger over your
breakup with Dad.
"Well, Mother,
I wouldn't have it then and I won't have it now. Jon desperately wants us to resolve our differences. He wants our kids to have a grandmother. I want that too. I've missed the way we used to be. But if the price is living with your bitterness, then I want you
to turn around and walk out now. And I
don't want to see you ever again. I
will never allow Jonny and Rachel to think anything bad of their
father. But if you can set that aside
and see Jon and Dad and the rest of my family for what they are . . . well,
then, I'm very glad you're here."
Estella was
silent, staring at her daughter. Finally, her shoulders slumped and she sank into a chair. "I'm sorry, Jessica. I was wrong. I don't know what else to say. I had such high hopes for your future. And when all of this happened I thought sure that all those things were
dead. I had visions of you becoming a
frustrated, angry, stay-at home mother who would end up bitter at all her lost
opportunities. And you're right, I
blamed everyone in this house for it . . . especially Jon and Roger." Estella smiled sadly at her daughter. "What I didn't do was take you into
account. For some reason I just assumed
you'd be destroyed by this. Maybe because
I would have been if I'd been in your shoes. But you weren't. You accepted
the situation and moved on. And what
you have done with it is incredible."
"And I could
never have done any of it without Jon. I would have been destroyed if I had lost him. He's been my rock through it all. And I've been his. Now there's nothing left but him and I, our two kids and a really
bright future. Can you let yourself be
part of that?"
"Yes. If you'll let me."
There was a
knock on the door as Jessie crossed the room to her mother. She held out her hands and her mother stood
as Jessie called, "Come in . . . " When
Race and Benton entered the room, the two women were holding each other tightly
and trying not to cry.
In front of a
crowd of close to 2,000 people, Jonathan Quest and Jessica Bannon took the vows
that made them husband and wife. At
their side stood their son and daughter. The ceremony was short and simple.
The minister
looked at the two young people. "I now
pronounce you man and wife." He smiled
at Jon. "You may now kiss the
bride." The two of them turned to each
other and with gentle hands he raised the veil that covered her face. Then he took her in his arms and kissed her
deeply. After a minute, Jon could feel
a small hand tugging at his jacket. Reluctantly, he broke the kiss and looked down at his son.
Jonny looked
up at him earnestly, "Daddy, there's people watching!" Jon could hear a spattering of laughter from
the crowd. He looked from his son to
his wife. And they both started to
laugh. The minister joined in and the
crowd quickly followed. Jonny and
Rachel just exchanged confused looks. Jon reached down and hugged his son. Still chuckling, the minister addressed the crowd.
"Ladies and
Gentlemen, may I present to you Jonathan and Jessica Quest . . . and family."
Benton Quest,
Race Bannon and Estella Velasquez stood back and watched. It seemed incredible that this day could
ever have arrived. For all of his interference, in the end, Jeremiah Surd had
lost. Like a phoenix rising from the
ashes, these two had risen from absolute disaster to ultimate triumph.
No parent
could ever ask for more.
THE END
© 1997 Debbie Kluge
This story is
dedicated, with gratitude, to Allison Weinstein whose suggestions broke a
tremendous case of writers block and allowed me to finish this monster. Thanks Allison!
DISCLAIMER: The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest
and all characters, logos, and likenesses therein, are trademarks of and
copyrighted by Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc., and Hanna-Barbera Cartoons,
Inc., a Turner company. No copyright infringement is intended by their use in
this story. All other material, copyright 1997 by Deborah A. Kluge. All rights reserved. Characters and stories are in no way
affiliated with, approved of or endorsed by Hanna Barbera or Turner
Productions. This is created by a fan for other fans out of love and respect
for the show, and is strictly a non-profit endeavor.