Instead of a wedding, there was a funeral. Everyone in the company was
beyond shocked. It just didn't seem fair or right that Stephanie had died
on her wedding day. Even the people who hated her and plotted against her,
hadn't wished death upon her, but death had come much too early for
Stephanie McMahon. Or as only she and Chris knew, Stephanie McMahon-
Jericho.
Yes, Chris had found out, and he had thought that it would hurt a lot more than it would. He was right for the most part. Thinking of Stephanie dead, it hurt him, beyond any hurt that he could've imagined. She was his partner-in-crime, his confidante...his wife. Though nobody knew that, and nobody ever would know Stephanie as his wife. It was better that way actually.
The funeral was in a few of days, according to everyone. He was going, of course he was going, he was married to her, it would've looked bad on his social conscience not to go to his wife's funeral. The plans he had for that day had to be cancelled, but it was fine, he'd go, and mourn and try not to think about her.
Hunter was devastated and that alone made Chris want to laugh. The bastard had never deserved Stephanie, and now he wouldn't get her ever again. It was almost sweet justice, if a person didn't have to die to get it. Every time he saw Hunter, whenever he came out of his house, his eyes were bloodshot and his hair unkempt. Looked like someone hadn't been sleeping. Chris had been sleeping fine.
Stephanie's parents were also beside themselves. Linda hadn't shown her face in days, locking herself in her room, and Vince was like a robot, just going through the motions. He wondered if Stephanie would like to see that. He decided that she would, despite her feelings towards her parents. He wanted to laugh at them too.
Maybe laughter was the only way to get through this whole silly thing. He marries Stephanie, and then she dies. He was still confused, but maybe that was just a cover-up. Thinking about Stephanie dead wasn't pleasant and so he kept his thoughts and actions occupied.
They had done a show dedicated to her the other day. It was a good show, very poignant. The only thing that had bothered him was everyone saying how great she was, how special and wonderful she was. They had all hated her, why were they changing their opinions now that she was dead? He guessed he should've prepared himself for this. Once a person dies, their faults disappear.
"I still can't believe she's gone," Dawn said as she walked with Chris down the hallway, "How are you doing?"
"I'm fine," he said casually, "Why wouldn't I be?"
"You and Stephanie were friends."
"We were," he said, still in casual mode.
"Don't you have any feelings towards her death?"
"I might," he told her, "But don't worry about them."
"It's alright to be sad Chris, we all are."
"Be sad all you want," he said, "You're not the one she betrayed, for all I care, good riddance."
That was a lie, but he couldn't take it back. He wanted to scream at everyone that she wasn't a good person; that they knew she wasn't. He almost hated being here. He loved wrestling more than anything, but he could leave it behind. It might be best to leave it behind since it was so intrinsically tied with Stephanie.
"That's not right to speak ill of the dead," Dawn said.
"But it's ok to speak ill when they're alive, whatever," he said.
"Chris, I can tell you're hurting," Dawn said, putting a hand on his arm.
"I'm not, but I am thinking about quitting the company."
"What?" she asked, in shock from his statement.
"You got me Dawn, I'm hurting because Stephanie is gone. She was my friend, my best friend and now she's...dead. I don't think I can be part of the company anymore. Maybe I can take a desk job or something, but being around the arena, knowing that she should be here, it's too much."
"Oh," Dawn said sympathetically as she saw the pain in Chris's eyes, "If that's what you want Chris, do that."
"I might," he said, baring his soul, "I think I'll go talk to Vince right now."
Chris left her then, Dawn staring after him sadly, watching him drag his feet. He found Vince's office and knocked quietly, knowing the man was in pain. A gruff voice called out for him to come inside and he walked in. Vince was at his desk, looking at something. As Chris walked closer, he saw it was a picture of Stephanie as a little girl.
"What can I do for you Chris?"
"Well Vince, as you know, Stephanie and I were friends," he started, seeing Vince flinch at the mention of Stephanie's name, "Best friends actually..."
"Yes, I know," he said, still staring at the picture.
"I don't think I can work here anymore, not without her here," he said.
Vince finally looked up at him, "You're quitting?"
"Well, I was wondering actually if there was any way I could still be with the company but you know, not travel?"
"Well, as you know Stephanie's," he choked her name out, "job is open. If you want to be a writer, you could work out of your home if you want...and if you want to travel, you have the option."
"I'd like that Vince," Chris said, "Thank you."
"No, thank you for being such a good friend to her."
And being her husband, Chris thought.
"You know, wherever she is, and I'm sure she's really close, I think she's happy, I know she's happy," Chris said with a little smile, "We should be happy for her."
"Thanks Chris," Vince said, "We'll get you a new contract."
"Thank you."
"Oh, Chris, um, I hate to ask you this, but you may be the only one around here who can do it. Stephanie...well, the mortician called and said she needed something to be buried in and...Linda can't do it, she's...well, not well, and Hunter isn't up to it either, and I'm...I'd just rather not. Would you mind going to her house and picking something out for her?"
"I'll do it Vince," he said.
"You don't know how much this means to us," Vince said as he handed him her keys, "You should be able to find something."
The next day, Chris found himself in Stephanie's closet. He inhaled deeply, yup, it still smelled like her. He looked around at all the clothes. How had he ended up here exactly? He didn't want to be here, but he had to be...for Stephanie, he guessed, or whatever, he didn't know anymore. He laughed as he went through some of her old lingerie, wouldn't it be hilarious if he gave that to the mortician. Or maybe not, if someone found out. But word had it, that she had wanted closed casket because she didn't want anyone looking at her while she was dead. She had said once that she'd rather be remembered with a smirk on her face than some cold, blue lips. When had she said that? He remembered and gave a small laugh.
He leafed through the various clothes and settle on a strappy black dress. He remembered the dress from when she had worn it a couple of times when they went out to dinner or something. He thought about just leaving it there, but took it anyways, might as well. He'd have to drop these off soon.
The next few days were a blur. They had found Stephanie's will, complete with instructions on her funeral. It was to be closed casket, she had insisted on that. Everything, down to what her headstone said were laid out for her family to follow. Before anyone knew it, they were at the church, wearing black, listening to the priest talk about Stephanie.
It was the same church she was supposed to marry Hunter in. The irony was not lost on anybody there. Chris sat in the back, just watching, looking at the picture they had chosen to use of her. Her casket lay up there, and he stared at it, not liking the picture it created.
"Chris, man, you sure you're ok?" Kurt asked as he saw Chris staring forward intensely.
"Yes," Chris snapped with a loud whisper.
The priest spoke, "Now we will have Hunter come up for the eulogy."
Hunter stood up solemnly and went up to the podium. He cleared his throat and looked down at Stephanie's casket, a plethora of lilies adorned on the top. Chris saw the lilies and smiled, thinking about how she had worn a lily in her hair at their wedding. He smiled at that thought. At least Stephanie had gone out with a bang.
"Stephanie was the love of my life."
Chris rolled his eyes at that.
"I loved her more than anything and I can't believe she's gone. It's almost surreal. We were supposed to be here for our wedding. She was supposed to be wearing white and walking down the aisle, not carried in a casket. I'm going to miss her, everything about her. Her smile, her laugh, the way she spoke. She was a light in my world. The light that made everything better."
Chris had never heard anything so cheesy in his life.
"I don't know what I'm going to do without her. I miss her so much, she was...beautiful, and I just--"
It was at this moment that Hunter chose to break down. He started sobbing and clung to the podium, unable to finish. Vince rushed up there and helped him to his seat. This was the final straw for everyone, there was only one dry eye in the house, and that belonged to Chris.
"If there is anyone else who would like to say a few words or share a memory about Stephanie, we invite you to come up now."
Some people got up, said a few nice things about Stephanie and then sat down again. They all lied, telling everyone how great Stephanie had been, and how smart and beautiful and kind. It made Chris sick to see this terrible display. Once JR sat down, Chris stood up.
"Chris, what are you doing?" Edge asked lowly.
"I'm going to talk about Stephanie."
Chris scooted to the aisle and walked down the aisle slowly, his eyes trained on the casket the entire time. He ran his finger over it lightly as he went up the few steps to the podium. He stared out at everyone crying and just shook his head. Bunch of hypocrites they were; it disgusted him.
"Stephanie was my friend," he started off saying, "And this whole thing sucks. Her dying, this funeral, it all sucks. Stephanie and I had a fight."
This made all those people present who were in on the plan squirm in their seats.
"She never apologized," he said, "I hated her for that, I hated her up until the moment she died, and I think that most of you did too. Stephanie had many, many faults, and not one of you can tell me she didn't. But those faults made her fun to be around, and a good person to boot. Good to me at least, and maybe to Hunter, but to the rest of you, I'm sure that you hated her. It's fine; you can hate her. Just because she's dead doesn't mean you can't hate her. I hate her because she left, how's that? I hate that she's not here, or if she is, I don't where, maybe she's hovering over us now, looking down and laughing because she got us all to think she was great. It would be very Stephanie to have her laugh at us."
He made eye contact with some people in the crowd.
"Steph will be missed, but don't miss her for the wrong reasons, miss her because your lives are going to be dull without her."
Chris came down from the podium while everyone digested what he said. It was all the truth, and everyone knew it too. He walked back down the aisle to his seat, Edge looking over at him, partly in shock, and partly in understanding. Leave it to Chris to say what was really on everyone's minds.
"That took guts," Kurt whispered.
"Yup," Chris said, "But it'll all be fine, trust me. It needed to be said."
Nobody went after Chris; nobody knew quite what to say following that. It would be a lie if someone went up there and exalted her. So the funeral was over and the pallbearers took up the casket and walked out slowly. Chris hung back a little, watching as it was loaded into the hearse.
The drive to the cemetery was slow and almost agonizing. Chris followed the long procession to the cemetery and parked where he was designated to park. It was a nice, little cemetery. Well-kept and airy, but cemeteries were always well-kept. He got out of his car and looked around, yes, this would be a nice place for an eternal resting place. He walked over to where everyone was gathered and watching the casket be put on the little stand in front of the grave.
He looked around at all the people who were attending. Many people were crying, and sobbing, and it wasn't a pretty sight. There were some people he didn't know standing off to one side. Maybe they were old college friends. He sized them up and saw one particularly good-looking woman. She was wearing a large brimmed hat and a tasteful black dress. He could see her jet-black curls falling around her face as she stood with her head slightly down.
Maybe he would go to hell for checking out other women at his wife's funeral, but he was heading to hell anyways, he might as well have fun while he was here. He made a mental note to talk to the woman after the funeral was over. It didn't hurt to move on so quickly after this. That was the right thing to do after all.
The priest said a few words and then started to have the casket lowered into the ground. People were sobbing, crying, Hunter looked like he was seconds away from throwing himself into the grave. That would be pretty funny, especially for a guy that had to manipulate the woman to get her to marry him. Finally, the casket was at the bottom and everyone was throwing the roses they had been given into the open grave.
Chris walked closer and threw his in, hearing the thud that it made when it hit the casket. He walked away, not looking back at that grave. He didn't want to. Eventually everyone had thrown their piece in and they stood there, just staring. Chris hung around the back as everyone started to leave. People filled out slowly, most of them standing around, talking to each other before heading to the reception.
He was left alone standing there, staring at her headstone, at the open grave. They hadn't started filling it in yet, but that was probably for the best, since he just wanted a moment alone. He looked at her headstone:
Stephanie McMahon
"An angel walked among us for a while, but she was called home again"
He laughed at it. Stephanie could NOT have thought that up. If she had, then it was just laced with sarcasm. There's no way she could say that with a straight face. An angel, she was never an angel. Maybe when she was a child, but certainly not as an adult, not after the things she had pulled. But he laughed nonetheless because leave it to Stephanie to lie even after her death.
He turned around from the grave and looked at the people a little ways down the hill, talking and crying together. He saw the woman that he had seen earlier, she was hanging around, looking at the other people there. Might as well make his move now. He sauntered over to her and stuck out his hand.
"Chris Jericho."
"Mary Stephans," she replied, shaking his hand, "How did you know Stephanie?"
He smiled, "Intimately."
"Rather straightforward aren't we?"
"I'm in grief," he said, "I barely made it through the funeral."
"That makes two of us," she said, "Stephanie and I went way back."
"Oh, so it would be totally inappropriate for me to flirt with you at her funeral?"
She gazed at him over her tinted sunglasses, "It would, but I think I can let it slide just this once."
"So Mary, what are you doing after the funeral?"
"I wasn't doing anything," she told him, "I was supposed to be getting back to someone, but they can wait."
"Good, because I didn't want to look foolish asking you out on a date and you having plans."
"Date? A bit hasty don't you think?"
"Not any hastier than I have been," he answered, "So, you in?"
"What have I got to lose?"
"Nothing," he replied, "Nothing at all."
They walked down the hill together and Chris looked over at the woman. Now that Stephanie was gone, he was going to have to find someone else to plot with. Maybe someone to settle down with. Maybe this whole thing would set him on the course to being a good person. He paused to think about that last one, and laughed. Him, being good? After the things he had done, after the things he was doing?
Not in a million years.
Yes, Chris had found out, and he had thought that it would hurt a lot more than it would. He was right for the most part. Thinking of Stephanie dead, it hurt him, beyond any hurt that he could've imagined. She was his partner-in-crime, his confidante...his wife. Though nobody knew that, and nobody ever would know Stephanie as his wife. It was better that way actually.
The funeral was in a few of days, according to everyone. He was going, of course he was going, he was married to her, it would've looked bad on his social conscience not to go to his wife's funeral. The plans he had for that day had to be cancelled, but it was fine, he'd go, and mourn and try not to think about her.
Hunter was devastated and that alone made Chris want to laugh. The bastard had never deserved Stephanie, and now he wouldn't get her ever again. It was almost sweet justice, if a person didn't have to die to get it. Every time he saw Hunter, whenever he came out of his house, his eyes were bloodshot and his hair unkempt. Looked like someone hadn't been sleeping. Chris had been sleeping fine.
Stephanie's parents were also beside themselves. Linda hadn't shown her face in days, locking herself in her room, and Vince was like a robot, just going through the motions. He wondered if Stephanie would like to see that. He decided that she would, despite her feelings towards her parents. He wanted to laugh at them too.
Maybe laughter was the only way to get through this whole silly thing. He marries Stephanie, and then she dies. He was still confused, but maybe that was just a cover-up. Thinking about Stephanie dead wasn't pleasant and so he kept his thoughts and actions occupied.
They had done a show dedicated to her the other day. It was a good show, very poignant. The only thing that had bothered him was everyone saying how great she was, how special and wonderful she was. They had all hated her, why were they changing their opinions now that she was dead? He guessed he should've prepared himself for this. Once a person dies, their faults disappear.
"I still can't believe she's gone," Dawn said as she walked with Chris down the hallway, "How are you doing?"
"I'm fine," he said casually, "Why wouldn't I be?"
"You and Stephanie were friends."
"We were," he said, still in casual mode.
"Don't you have any feelings towards her death?"
"I might," he told her, "But don't worry about them."
"It's alright to be sad Chris, we all are."
"Be sad all you want," he said, "You're not the one she betrayed, for all I care, good riddance."
That was a lie, but he couldn't take it back. He wanted to scream at everyone that she wasn't a good person; that they knew she wasn't. He almost hated being here. He loved wrestling more than anything, but he could leave it behind. It might be best to leave it behind since it was so intrinsically tied with Stephanie.
"That's not right to speak ill of the dead," Dawn said.
"But it's ok to speak ill when they're alive, whatever," he said.
"Chris, I can tell you're hurting," Dawn said, putting a hand on his arm.
"I'm not, but I am thinking about quitting the company."
"What?" she asked, in shock from his statement.
"You got me Dawn, I'm hurting because Stephanie is gone. She was my friend, my best friend and now she's...dead. I don't think I can be part of the company anymore. Maybe I can take a desk job or something, but being around the arena, knowing that she should be here, it's too much."
"Oh," Dawn said sympathetically as she saw the pain in Chris's eyes, "If that's what you want Chris, do that."
"I might," he said, baring his soul, "I think I'll go talk to Vince right now."
Chris left her then, Dawn staring after him sadly, watching him drag his feet. He found Vince's office and knocked quietly, knowing the man was in pain. A gruff voice called out for him to come inside and he walked in. Vince was at his desk, looking at something. As Chris walked closer, he saw it was a picture of Stephanie as a little girl.
"What can I do for you Chris?"
"Well Vince, as you know, Stephanie and I were friends," he started, seeing Vince flinch at the mention of Stephanie's name, "Best friends actually..."
"Yes, I know," he said, still staring at the picture.
"I don't think I can work here anymore, not without her here," he said.
Vince finally looked up at him, "You're quitting?"
"Well, I was wondering actually if there was any way I could still be with the company but you know, not travel?"
"Well, as you know Stephanie's," he choked her name out, "job is open. If you want to be a writer, you could work out of your home if you want...and if you want to travel, you have the option."
"I'd like that Vince," Chris said, "Thank you."
"No, thank you for being such a good friend to her."
And being her husband, Chris thought.
"You know, wherever she is, and I'm sure she's really close, I think she's happy, I know she's happy," Chris said with a little smile, "We should be happy for her."
"Thanks Chris," Vince said, "We'll get you a new contract."
"Thank you."
"Oh, Chris, um, I hate to ask you this, but you may be the only one around here who can do it. Stephanie...well, the mortician called and said she needed something to be buried in and...Linda can't do it, she's...well, not well, and Hunter isn't up to it either, and I'm...I'd just rather not. Would you mind going to her house and picking something out for her?"
"I'll do it Vince," he said.
"You don't know how much this means to us," Vince said as he handed him her keys, "You should be able to find something."
The next day, Chris found himself in Stephanie's closet. He inhaled deeply, yup, it still smelled like her. He looked around at all the clothes. How had he ended up here exactly? He didn't want to be here, but he had to be...for Stephanie, he guessed, or whatever, he didn't know anymore. He laughed as he went through some of her old lingerie, wouldn't it be hilarious if he gave that to the mortician. Or maybe not, if someone found out. But word had it, that she had wanted closed casket because she didn't want anyone looking at her while she was dead. She had said once that she'd rather be remembered with a smirk on her face than some cold, blue lips. When had she said that? He remembered and gave a small laugh.
He leafed through the various clothes and settle on a strappy black dress. He remembered the dress from when she had worn it a couple of times when they went out to dinner or something. He thought about just leaving it there, but took it anyways, might as well. He'd have to drop these off soon.
The next few days were a blur. They had found Stephanie's will, complete with instructions on her funeral. It was to be closed casket, she had insisted on that. Everything, down to what her headstone said were laid out for her family to follow. Before anyone knew it, they were at the church, wearing black, listening to the priest talk about Stephanie.
It was the same church she was supposed to marry Hunter in. The irony was not lost on anybody there. Chris sat in the back, just watching, looking at the picture they had chosen to use of her. Her casket lay up there, and he stared at it, not liking the picture it created.
"Chris, man, you sure you're ok?" Kurt asked as he saw Chris staring forward intensely.
"Yes," Chris snapped with a loud whisper.
The priest spoke, "Now we will have Hunter come up for the eulogy."
Hunter stood up solemnly and went up to the podium. He cleared his throat and looked down at Stephanie's casket, a plethora of lilies adorned on the top. Chris saw the lilies and smiled, thinking about how she had worn a lily in her hair at their wedding. He smiled at that thought. At least Stephanie had gone out with a bang.
"Stephanie was the love of my life."
Chris rolled his eyes at that.
"I loved her more than anything and I can't believe she's gone. It's almost surreal. We were supposed to be here for our wedding. She was supposed to be wearing white and walking down the aisle, not carried in a casket. I'm going to miss her, everything about her. Her smile, her laugh, the way she spoke. She was a light in my world. The light that made everything better."
Chris had never heard anything so cheesy in his life.
"I don't know what I'm going to do without her. I miss her so much, she was...beautiful, and I just--"
It was at this moment that Hunter chose to break down. He started sobbing and clung to the podium, unable to finish. Vince rushed up there and helped him to his seat. This was the final straw for everyone, there was only one dry eye in the house, and that belonged to Chris.
"If there is anyone else who would like to say a few words or share a memory about Stephanie, we invite you to come up now."
Some people got up, said a few nice things about Stephanie and then sat down again. They all lied, telling everyone how great Stephanie had been, and how smart and beautiful and kind. It made Chris sick to see this terrible display. Once JR sat down, Chris stood up.
"Chris, what are you doing?" Edge asked lowly.
"I'm going to talk about Stephanie."
Chris scooted to the aisle and walked down the aisle slowly, his eyes trained on the casket the entire time. He ran his finger over it lightly as he went up the few steps to the podium. He stared out at everyone crying and just shook his head. Bunch of hypocrites they were; it disgusted him.
"Stephanie was my friend," he started off saying, "And this whole thing sucks. Her dying, this funeral, it all sucks. Stephanie and I had a fight."
This made all those people present who were in on the plan squirm in their seats.
"She never apologized," he said, "I hated her for that, I hated her up until the moment she died, and I think that most of you did too. Stephanie had many, many faults, and not one of you can tell me she didn't. But those faults made her fun to be around, and a good person to boot. Good to me at least, and maybe to Hunter, but to the rest of you, I'm sure that you hated her. It's fine; you can hate her. Just because she's dead doesn't mean you can't hate her. I hate her because she left, how's that? I hate that she's not here, or if she is, I don't where, maybe she's hovering over us now, looking down and laughing because she got us all to think she was great. It would be very Stephanie to have her laugh at us."
He made eye contact with some people in the crowd.
"Steph will be missed, but don't miss her for the wrong reasons, miss her because your lives are going to be dull without her."
Chris came down from the podium while everyone digested what he said. It was all the truth, and everyone knew it too. He walked back down the aisle to his seat, Edge looking over at him, partly in shock, and partly in understanding. Leave it to Chris to say what was really on everyone's minds.
"That took guts," Kurt whispered.
"Yup," Chris said, "But it'll all be fine, trust me. It needed to be said."
Nobody went after Chris; nobody knew quite what to say following that. It would be a lie if someone went up there and exalted her. So the funeral was over and the pallbearers took up the casket and walked out slowly. Chris hung back a little, watching as it was loaded into the hearse.
The drive to the cemetery was slow and almost agonizing. Chris followed the long procession to the cemetery and parked where he was designated to park. It was a nice, little cemetery. Well-kept and airy, but cemeteries were always well-kept. He got out of his car and looked around, yes, this would be a nice place for an eternal resting place. He walked over to where everyone was gathered and watching the casket be put on the little stand in front of the grave.
He looked around at all the people who were attending. Many people were crying, and sobbing, and it wasn't a pretty sight. There were some people he didn't know standing off to one side. Maybe they were old college friends. He sized them up and saw one particularly good-looking woman. She was wearing a large brimmed hat and a tasteful black dress. He could see her jet-black curls falling around her face as she stood with her head slightly down.
Maybe he would go to hell for checking out other women at his wife's funeral, but he was heading to hell anyways, he might as well have fun while he was here. He made a mental note to talk to the woman after the funeral was over. It didn't hurt to move on so quickly after this. That was the right thing to do after all.
The priest said a few words and then started to have the casket lowered into the ground. People were sobbing, crying, Hunter looked like he was seconds away from throwing himself into the grave. That would be pretty funny, especially for a guy that had to manipulate the woman to get her to marry him. Finally, the casket was at the bottom and everyone was throwing the roses they had been given into the open grave.
Chris walked closer and threw his in, hearing the thud that it made when it hit the casket. He walked away, not looking back at that grave. He didn't want to. Eventually everyone had thrown their piece in and they stood there, just staring. Chris hung around the back as everyone started to leave. People filled out slowly, most of them standing around, talking to each other before heading to the reception.
He was left alone standing there, staring at her headstone, at the open grave. They hadn't started filling it in yet, but that was probably for the best, since he just wanted a moment alone. He looked at her headstone:
Stephanie McMahon
"An angel walked among us for a while, but she was called home again"
He laughed at it. Stephanie could NOT have thought that up. If she had, then it was just laced with sarcasm. There's no way she could say that with a straight face. An angel, she was never an angel. Maybe when she was a child, but certainly not as an adult, not after the things she had pulled. But he laughed nonetheless because leave it to Stephanie to lie even after her death.
He turned around from the grave and looked at the people a little ways down the hill, talking and crying together. He saw the woman that he had seen earlier, she was hanging around, looking at the other people there. Might as well make his move now. He sauntered over to her and stuck out his hand.
"Chris Jericho."
"Mary Stephans," she replied, shaking his hand, "How did you know Stephanie?"
He smiled, "Intimately."
"Rather straightforward aren't we?"
"I'm in grief," he said, "I barely made it through the funeral."
"That makes two of us," she said, "Stephanie and I went way back."
"Oh, so it would be totally inappropriate for me to flirt with you at her funeral?"
She gazed at him over her tinted sunglasses, "It would, but I think I can let it slide just this once."
"So Mary, what are you doing after the funeral?"
"I wasn't doing anything," she told him, "I was supposed to be getting back to someone, but they can wait."
"Good, because I didn't want to look foolish asking you out on a date and you having plans."
"Date? A bit hasty don't you think?"
"Not any hastier than I have been," he answered, "So, you in?"
"What have I got to lose?"
"Nothing," he replied, "Nothing at all."
They walked down the hill together and Chris looked over at the woman. Now that Stephanie was gone, he was going to have to find someone else to plot with. Maybe someone to settle down with. Maybe this whole thing would set him on the course to being a good person. He paused to think about that last one, and laughed. Him, being good? After the things he had done, after the things he was doing?
Not in a million years.