Some notes:
*Story is told in Theresa's POV
*Starts exactly a year after Passions debuted
Adulthood: Chapter 1
I woke up, depressed. Today was my
eighteenth birthday, but I was still sad. "His wedding is tomorrow… he was
supposed to be married to ME," I thought bitterly. Just then, I heard a
knock on the door.
"Come in," I said.
My brother, Luis, walked in.
"Morning, Theresa," he greeted me. "How are you feeling?
Lucky?"
I smiled. "Not exactly… but
I'm an adult today! That's something to look forward to!"
"Actually, you're not
officially an adult until you're twenty-one, but that's not the point. Any
plans for today?" Luis asked.
"Well, I was thinking, maybe I could hang out with Whit at the Book Café for a little bit, then go over the plans for…" I almost said Ethan and Gwen's wedding, but Luis still didn't know that I was working for them. I guess, since I'm eighteen now, I should tell him… besides, he's dating Sheridan, so I guess it wouldn't hurt…
"Plans for what, Theresa?"
I took a deep breath.
"Ethan and Gwen's wedding."
Luis got a confused look on his
face. Then… "What? Theresa, what are you saying?"
"Luis, before you get mad,
remember that you're going out with Sheridan, so please consider that before I
tell you what I'm saying."
At the sound of Sheridan's name,
Luis lightened up a little. "Okay, little sis. Tell me what you're saying.
I promise I won't say anything until you're done talking."
I smiled. If being eighteen was going
to be this great, I wanted to stay eighteen forever! "All right, Luis.
Remember how I was trying to get a job, and I got fired at all of the ones you
tried to get me?"
"Yeah…"
"Well, Mama told Mrs. Crane
about me, and she decided to try me out. So I went there, she hired me, and
I've been working there ever since."
Luis took everything I said in.
"So you've been working there for months now? And you didn't tell
me?"
Mama, Miguel and I were too
worried about what you'd do when you found out… so we kept it from you. Anyway,
I'm also the wedding planner for Ethan and Gwen's wedding."
"Wow… I don't know what to say,
Theresa, I'm proud of you, but at the same time…"
"I know, I know, Luis, but
it's all out in the open now. Ethan and I have actually become friends
now," I said. "And with you dating Sheridan, I'm surprised that you didn't
find out from her."
"Well… she kept it from me
too. I can understand now. If I were you I'd be afraid of me too." Luis
and I laughed. "Well, Theresa, I'm glad that you told me. Even though I
don't approve that much--" at that, I made a face, "Sheridan's there to watch you, and so is
Mama."
"Luis, I'm eighteen now, I can
take care of myself," I complained.
"Yes, but you're my sister,
and I love you." He gave me a hug.
"Thanks, Luis… I love you,
too." He gave me a kiss on the cheek and said, "Well, I better be
going… I have… things to attend to. Happy birthday."
"Thanks, Luis." I
smiled and watched him go.
~Later~
I walked home after a day of
putting the finishing touches on the wedding. As I opened the front door, I
noticed that it was unusually dark… and quiet. I walked into the living room.
"Hello? Any--"
"SURPRISE!!!!!!" The
lights flew on and I saw a million faces smiling at me, most of which I knew,
but some of which I didn't.
"Oh my… You guys did all of
this? For me?" I asked, incredulous. There was plenty of food on the
table, and a lot of presents on the floor.
"Of course, Theresa,"
Mama said, stepping forward. "We all love you. And there's three other
surprises for you," she said, beaming. All of a sudden, two men and a
woman came and joined her. "Theresa… you've grown so much," one of
the men said.
I looked at them, confused. Then I
looked at the woman and hugged her. "Poe! Omigosh,
you came!"
Paloma,
my older sister, pulled back and looked over me. "My little sister has
grown into a beautiful young woman," she said, tears in her eyes.
"Poe, don't cry, I'm still
the same Theresa you know and love," I pleaded.
"Yes, but you're much
prettier now…oh, haven't you noticed Papa and Antonio?"
I looked at her in shock, then
at the two men. "Papa? Is it really you?"
"Yes, Theresa. It's me.
Come here, angel." I ran to him and he swept me up in a big hug. Luis,
Poe, Antonio, Miguel, and Mama watched as we reunited. "Oh my gosh… this
is the best birthday present ever… to have my whole family with me!" I
said, with tears in my eyes. Then I looked heavenward. "Thank you," I
whispered. "Thank you so much…"
"Hold on, Theresa, you didn't hug
me yet," Antonio cut in.
"Tony… I missed you
too…" I hugged my big brother tightly. "What happened to you and
Papa?" I asked.
"Now is not the time, Theresa. Later, when we're all winding down. Right now, it's time to party!" Everyone applauded and I finally took the time to notice everyone else. Charity, Kay, Jessica, Whitney, Simone, Chad and Reese were there, along with their parents. Sheridan and Ethan were there, with Gwen, and three other people I didn't know were with them. I suspected they were Ethan's brother and sisters, coming for the wedding. Some other people from school were there. Our living room was jam-packed. Miguel, Tony, Poe, Papa and Mama went for the food while Chad put on some music.
Ethan, Sheridan, Gwen and Ethan's
brother and sisters came over to us. "Theresa, happy birthday," Ethan
said. "Oh, I want you to meet my brother, Richard, and my sisters Marie
and Jasmine."
"Hi," I said.
"I'm Theresa Lopez-Fitzgerald," I said warmly.
"Hi, Theresa. Nice to
finally meet you. We've heard so much about you from Ethan and Gwen,"
Jasmine said. She was about my age or maybe a year younger. Her sister Marie
was just a little bit older than me, and Richard was about twenty-four or so.
"Thanks." I smiled.
"Have you met many people yet?"
"No," Richard said.
"I'm glad Ethan took us here, though. It's nice to meet people that live
in Harmony…" He trailed off. I followed his gaze and realized he was
staring at Poe. I smiled inwardly. "Oh, and Sheridan… um, yeah," Marie said, then
turned away as she saw her aunt and Luis kissing.
"Oh, don't mind them. If
you think that's bad…" I snickered. Then I felt someone pull my hair.
"I heard that,
Theresa," they said in unison. They looked each other, and then everyone
laughed. It felt so good to have all this love in the room… I smiled.
Wait a second… have you gotten everything yet? Well, if you haven't already guessed, I'm Theresa Lopez-Fitzgerald. I live with my Mama, my older brother Luis, and my younger brother, Miguel. Antonio is the oldest out of all five of us, and Poe is the middle child. Ethan Crane is the man I have loved for years, but he doesn't know that. It hurts to be planning his wedding to another woman. Anyway. Sheridan, his aunt, is dating my brother (as you can tell)… Whitney Russell is my best friend in the whole wide world, and even if she won't admit it, she's in love with Chad Harris (the DJ of Harmony). I know her too well. Well that's enough rambling for me. Let me get back to telling you the story.
So my surprise party was wonderful. I got a lot of spending money from Sheridan (Luis, normally, would have gotten upset, but since we're dealing with Sheridan, he didn't say a word, only smiled), a bracelet from my sister, a necklace from my brothers, and earrings from my mom and dad. They all teamed up and saved for me. I couldn't thank them enough. And they were all ruby, my birthstone. (Today is July 5, 2000.) Anyway, what else did I get? Oh yeah. I got a beautiful dress from Whitney, and matching shoes from the Bennetts. Charity went out on a limb and made me a beaded necklace. She said it was special and to always wear it; it was supposed to be good luck or something. I gratefully thanked her. But the best gift was from Ethan. He gave me a promise ring, almost as beautiful as the one that he had bought for Gwen. He promised me that he and I would always be friends, and that he treasured my friendship as one of his prized possessions. I smiled and almost cried, but I stopped. After presents and cake and stuff, there was the piñata. When I went outside, though, there was someone waiting for me. "Oh, my…"