Chapter 7
The last two days passed by at record time. Ethan couldn't even remember what had happened in the last 48 hours.
Ethan was standing in the rectory of St. Margaret's Church. He was putting on his cuff links and fixing his tie. The very thought of saying 'I do' to the wrong woman terrified him. Chad walked in and tried to console his friend, but nothing he said or did worked. Finally, it was time to go.
Ethan was standing at the alter, his best man at this side. The wedding march began. Everyone stood up as they saw Gwen enter with her father at her side. Gwen came down the aisle. Ethan looked over at Rebecca who had a huge, evil smile on her face. Ethan was screaming inside.
Gwen took her place next to Ethan. They held hands. The ceremony began.
Father Lonigan- "Ethan, do you take Gwen to be your lawfully wedded wife? To have and to hold? For richer or poorer? In sickness and in health? As long as you both shall live?"
Ethan looked over to Rebecca; her face gave him the answer.
Ethan pushed back the lump of guilt that had gathered in his throat.
Ethan- "I do."
Father Lonigan- "Gwen, do you take Ethan to be your lawfully wedded husband? To have and hold? For richer or poorer? In sickness and in health? As long as you both shall live?"
As Gwen was about to answer the church doors flew open with a loud BANG!
"I OBJECT!"
Ethan- "Theresa?"
Father Lonigan- "I haven't gotten to that part yet."
Rebecca stood up and rushed out of the pew she was in.
Rebecca- "What the hell are you doing here?"
Gwen seemed to be in a daze.
Gwen- "Theresa! Nice that you could show up. Please, sit. We were about to be proclaimed husband and wife." Gwen was all smiles.
Theresa- "I object to this union, Father."
Rebecca- "How dare you? Get out of here you little tramp!"
Theresa- "Ethan, Ethan please, you can't do this."
Ethan rushed to the back of the church and walked Theresa outside.
Ethan- "Theresa, what are you doing here?"
Theresa- "I'm stopping you from making the biggest mistake of your life."
Ethan- "Theresa, I told you, there is nothing for us. My future is with Gwen."
Theresa- "So, you're saying that you lied to me. You don't love me. You never did."
Ethan- "Theresa, I do care for you, but my place is with Gwen."
Theresa- "Ethan, just answer me. Do you love me?"
Ethan- "Theresa I…"
Theresa- "No, answer me."
It killed Ethan to say the words.
Ethan- "No, no I don't. I'm sorry."
Theresa- "Ethan, how can you do this? I know you love me."
Ethan- "Please, don't make this harder than it is-"
Theresa- "Ethan, you tell me you love me. You tell me that you want to marry me. And now all of sudden you don't?"
Ethan- "Theresa, Rebecca found out about us. She threatened to hurt you if I didn't marry Gwen. That changed everything."
Theresa- "But it doesn't change the fact that we love each other. How can you just expect me to forget how I feel? How can you expect yourself to forget how much you love me? You know, it's not fair for us to spend the rest of our lives apart when we love each other. It's not fair to us; it's not fair to Gwen. We can't shut off our feelings. We can't deny ourselves a chance at happiness because of circumstances. You can marry Gwen and move all the way across the world. But you will never be away from me, because I am always in your heart. And you cannot run away from that. I love you. And I know that you love me."
Ethan couldn't resist it anymore. He took Theresa into his arms and kissed her with a passion that neither of them knew existed.
Gwen came out looking for her groom.
Gwen- "Ethan? Ethan I think we should get back in there. Ethan?"
She saw Ethan and Theresa kissing.
Gwen- "What's going on here?"
Ethan and Theresa broke the kiss and stared back at Gwen.
Just then, Rebecca came out of the church, an evil look on her face.
Rebecca- "Ethan, what the hell are you doing? I thought we discussed this."
Gwen- "Discussed what? What's going on?"
Rebecca- "Oh, didn't you know, Gwennie. That little Therosita slithered into Ethan's life and stole him from you. She got him into thinking that he loves her. When in reality he loves you."
Gwen- "What?"
Theresa- "Please, Gwen, let me explain."
Ethan- "No, I will. Gwen, I love you. But I realized not too long ago that I'm in love with Theresa."
Gwen- "So wait a minute. You were going to marry me and then go sport around with Theresa?"
Ethan- "No, I was going to give her up forever."
Gwen- "Why would you do that?"
Rebecca tried to escape before Ethan ratted her out.
Ethan- "Not so fast, Rebecca."
Rebecca stopped.
Gwen- "Mother, what did you have to do with this?"
Ethan- "Rebecca said that she would have Theresa killed if I didn't marry you."
Gwen- "What?"
Rebecca- "Oh, Gwennie, I wasn't about to let your poor little heart be broken."
Gwen- "No, but you were willing to let me go into a marriage where my own husband didn't love me."
Ethan- "I do love you, Gwen. I'm just not in love with you. I'm in love with Theresa."
Gwen felt as though she was going to break down.
Ethan- "And I'm sure that you're not in love with me. We were pushed to be together. You'll find someone else that you can love in the way that I love Theresa. With all of your heart."
Gwen nodded and wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes…
Gwen went over to Theresa and offered her a hug.
Gwen- "Congratulations, Theresa. Ethan's a good man. In addition, I know that he loves you. Good luck to both of you. I hope you'll be very happy together."
Theresa- "You're okay with this?"
Gwen- "Ethan's right. We're not in love with each other. What we share is nothing but a good friendship. Besides, I have someone else too. Did you really think that I could go to all these foreign countries and not find someone else?"
They smile, including Ethan.
Gwen- "Ethan, do you have a cell phone on you, by any chance?"
Ethan reaches inside his jacket and pulls out his phone.
Ethan- "Here you go. Who're you calling?"
Gwen dials and holds the phone up to her ear.
Gwen- "Yes, hi. This is Gwen Hotchkiss. I would like to report something."
She waited.
Gwen- "My mother, Rebecca Hotchkiss. I am charging her with blackmail against my fiancé and myself.
Rebecca's mouth hung open. She couldn't believe her own daughter was doing this to her.
Gwen- "The threat was death…on the woman that he loves and death on the man that I love."
Again, she waited.
Gwen- "Yes, it is some soap opera, isn't it?"
Ethan- "Man that you love? What are you talking about?"
Gwen- "Thank you."
Gwen hung up and handed the phone back to Ethan.
Gwen- "I'm in love with Hank Bennett. I have been for a while. But of course, mother found out and told me that she would kill him if I didn't marry you. So, I had to go through with it. Oh, and mother, that was the Harmony PD, they should be here in about five minutes to take you away. In case you didn't know, blackmail is a federal crime."
Rebecca- "I was only trying to help you."
Gwen- "By forcing me into a marriage without love?"
Rebecca- "Well, I was thinking of you. I mean, Ethan can offer you way more than what that middle class Hank can."
Gwen- "I guess that's why you and father split up. You don't love him. Oh, and then the fact that you're screwing every millionaire in the state."
Rebecca- "How dare you speak to me that way? I am your mother."
Gwen- "Not for long, you're not. In a little while, you will be a new inmate. Oh, and there's a real nice lady at the Harmony's Women's Correctional Facility. She goes by the name of Charlie. She's really friendly. If you know what I mean. I'm sure you two will have a lot of fun together."
Hank comes out of the church.
Gwen- "Hank! Come here."
She leans in and kisses him.
Hank- "What's going on?"
Gwen- "Ethan's in love with Theresa. And we can be together."
Hank- "Really?"
Gwen- "Really. Come on."
They walk away.
Rebecca- "Gwen, we can talk about this."
Gwen doesn't listen. Just then, the Harmony PD shows up and takes Rebecca away in cuffs.
The last two days passed by at record time. Ethan couldn't even remember what had happened in the last 48 hours.
Ethan was standing in the rectory of St. Margaret's Church. He was putting on his cuff links and fixing his tie. The very thought of saying 'I do' to the wrong woman terrified him. Chad walked in and tried to console his friend, but nothing he said or did worked. Finally, it was time to go.
Ethan was standing at the alter, his best man at this side. The wedding march began. Everyone stood up as they saw Gwen enter with her father at her side. Gwen came down the aisle. Ethan looked over at Rebecca who had a huge, evil smile on her face. Ethan was screaming inside.
Gwen took her place next to Ethan. They held hands. The ceremony began.
Father Lonigan- "Ethan, do you take Gwen to be your lawfully wedded wife? To have and to hold? For richer or poorer? In sickness and in health? As long as you both shall live?"
Ethan looked over to Rebecca; her face gave him the answer.
Ethan pushed back the lump of guilt that had gathered in his throat.
Ethan- "I do."
Father Lonigan- "Gwen, do you take Ethan to be your lawfully wedded husband? To have and hold? For richer or poorer? In sickness and in health? As long as you both shall live?"
As Gwen was about to answer the church doors flew open with a loud BANG!
"I OBJECT!"
Ethan- "Theresa?"
Father Lonigan- "I haven't gotten to that part yet."
Rebecca stood up and rushed out of the pew she was in.
Rebecca- "What the hell are you doing here?"
Gwen seemed to be in a daze.
Gwen- "Theresa! Nice that you could show up. Please, sit. We were about to be proclaimed husband and wife." Gwen was all smiles.
Theresa- "I object to this union, Father."
Rebecca- "How dare you? Get out of here you little tramp!"
Theresa- "Ethan, Ethan please, you can't do this."
Ethan rushed to the back of the church and walked Theresa outside.
Ethan- "Theresa, what are you doing here?"
Theresa- "I'm stopping you from making the biggest mistake of your life."
Ethan- "Theresa, I told you, there is nothing for us. My future is with Gwen."
Theresa- "So, you're saying that you lied to me. You don't love me. You never did."
Ethan- "Theresa, I do care for you, but my place is with Gwen."
Theresa- "Ethan, just answer me. Do you love me?"
Ethan- "Theresa I…"
Theresa- "No, answer me."
It killed Ethan to say the words.
Ethan- "No, no I don't. I'm sorry."
Theresa- "Ethan, how can you do this? I know you love me."
Ethan- "Please, don't make this harder than it is-"
Theresa- "Ethan, you tell me you love me. You tell me that you want to marry me. And now all of sudden you don't?"
Ethan- "Theresa, Rebecca found out about us. She threatened to hurt you if I didn't marry Gwen. That changed everything."
Theresa- "But it doesn't change the fact that we love each other. How can you just expect me to forget how I feel? How can you expect yourself to forget how much you love me? You know, it's not fair for us to spend the rest of our lives apart when we love each other. It's not fair to us; it's not fair to Gwen. We can't shut off our feelings. We can't deny ourselves a chance at happiness because of circumstances. You can marry Gwen and move all the way across the world. But you will never be away from me, because I am always in your heart. And you cannot run away from that. I love you. And I know that you love me."
Ethan couldn't resist it anymore. He took Theresa into his arms and kissed her with a passion that neither of them knew existed.
Gwen came out looking for her groom.
Gwen- "Ethan? Ethan I think we should get back in there. Ethan?"
She saw Ethan and Theresa kissing.
Gwen- "What's going on here?"
Ethan and Theresa broke the kiss and stared back at Gwen.
Just then, Rebecca came out of the church, an evil look on her face.
Rebecca- "Ethan, what the hell are you doing? I thought we discussed this."
Gwen- "Discussed what? What's going on?"
Rebecca- "Oh, didn't you know, Gwennie. That little Therosita slithered into Ethan's life and stole him from you. She got him into thinking that he loves her. When in reality he loves you."
Gwen- "What?"
Theresa- "Please, Gwen, let me explain."
Ethan- "No, I will. Gwen, I love you. But I realized not too long ago that I'm in love with Theresa."
Gwen- "So wait a minute. You were going to marry me and then go sport around with Theresa?"
Ethan- "No, I was going to give her up forever."
Gwen- "Why would you do that?"
Rebecca tried to escape before Ethan ratted her out.
Ethan- "Not so fast, Rebecca."
Rebecca stopped.
Gwen- "Mother, what did you have to do with this?"
Ethan- "Rebecca said that she would have Theresa killed if I didn't marry you."
Gwen- "What?"
Rebecca- "Oh, Gwennie, I wasn't about to let your poor little heart be broken."
Gwen- "No, but you were willing to let me go into a marriage where my own husband didn't love me."
Ethan- "I do love you, Gwen. I'm just not in love with you. I'm in love with Theresa."
Gwen felt as though she was going to break down.
Ethan- "And I'm sure that you're not in love with me. We were pushed to be together. You'll find someone else that you can love in the way that I love Theresa. With all of your heart."
Gwen nodded and wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes…
Gwen went over to Theresa and offered her a hug.
Gwen- "Congratulations, Theresa. Ethan's a good man. In addition, I know that he loves you. Good luck to both of you. I hope you'll be very happy together."
Theresa- "You're okay with this?"
Gwen- "Ethan's right. We're not in love with each other. What we share is nothing but a good friendship. Besides, I have someone else too. Did you really think that I could go to all these foreign countries and not find someone else?"
They smile, including Ethan.
Gwen- "Ethan, do you have a cell phone on you, by any chance?"
Ethan reaches inside his jacket and pulls out his phone.
Ethan- "Here you go. Who're you calling?"
Gwen dials and holds the phone up to her ear.
Gwen- "Yes, hi. This is Gwen Hotchkiss. I would like to report something."
She waited.
Gwen- "My mother, Rebecca Hotchkiss. I am charging her with blackmail against my fiancé and myself.
Rebecca's mouth hung open. She couldn't believe her own daughter was doing this to her.
Gwen- "The threat was death…on the woman that he loves and death on the man that I love."
Again, she waited.
Gwen- "Yes, it is some soap opera, isn't it?"
Ethan- "Man that you love? What are you talking about?"
Gwen- "Thank you."
Gwen hung up and handed the phone back to Ethan.
Gwen- "I'm in love with Hank Bennett. I have been for a while. But of course, mother found out and told me that she would kill him if I didn't marry you. So, I had to go through with it. Oh, and mother, that was the Harmony PD, they should be here in about five minutes to take you away. In case you didn't know, blackmail is a federal crime."
Rebecca- "I was only trying to help you."
Gwen- "By forcing me into a marriage without love?"
Rebecca- "Well, I was thinking of you. I mean, Ethan can offer you way more than what that middle class Hank can."
Gwen- "I guess that's why you and father split up. You don't love him. Oh, and then the fact that you're screwing every millionaire in the state."
Rebecca- "How dare you speak to me that way? I am your mother."
Gwen- "Not for long, you're not. In a little while, you will be a new inmate. Oh, and there's a real nice lady at the Harmony's Women's Correctional Facility. She goes by the name of Charlie. She's really friendly. If you know what I mean. I'm sure you two will have a lot of fun together."
Hank comes out of the church.
Gwen- "Hank! Come here."
She leans in and kisses him.
Hank- "What's going on?"
Gwen- "Ethan's in love with Theresa. And we can be together."
Hank- "Really?"
Gwen- "Really. Come on."
They walk away.
Rebecca- "Gwen, we can talk about this."
Gwen doesn't listen. Just then, the Harmony PD shows up and takes Rebecca away in cuffs.