"So…" Sandy said. "How are the all-star and the starlet?"
Marina held out her hand, but didn't say anything.
"Is that what I think it is?" Sandy asked.
"Yes…" Marina said, almost squealing. "Shayne proposed to me this morning…"
"Wow…" Sandy said. "Congratulations… So when are you two getting hitched?"
"I said that I wanted to get married ASAP…" Shayne said. "But you know her; she wants the big wedding… So apparently we have to wait until the baseball season is over and her filming wraps up…"
"Filming?" Sandy said.
"I got a movie!" Marina said.
Shayne laughed. "You don't wanna know how much it took from me just to get her out here for today…"
"You know how directors get…" Marina said. "But I was able to convince him that he needed a day off…"
"Just a day?" Sandy asked.
"Yeah…" Shayne said. "After the reception, we're catching the first plane back to LA…"
"Always busy, huh?" Sandy said.
"Yeah…" Shayne said.
"So…" Marina said. "Enough about us… How've you been?"
"I've been great…" Sandy said.
"You meet anyone yet?" Marina asked.
Sandy looked over at Shayne. "You didn't tell her yet?" He asked.
"Huh?" Shayne said. "I wasn't sure that you wanted people to know…"
"Yeah well…" Jeffrey said, walking up behind Sandy and wrapping an arm around him. "It's pretty much common knowledge around here…"
Marina was taken aback at first. She had expected a much younger man, and certainly not Marah's ex. "Well… Umm…." She said. "Wow…"
Shayne laughed.
"How could you not tell me that Sandy met someone?" She asked, punching Shayne playfully in the arm.
"Well… You know now…" Shayne said with a smile.
"I must admit…" Marina said, looking at Jeffery. "The kind of man I expected was… Well… Not you…"
"Come on…" Shayne said. "Just be happy that my little bro found someone…"
"I am…" Marina said. "I'm happy for you, Sandy…"
"Thanks Marina…" Sandy said, smiling softly.
"So…" Shayne said. "You two ever gettin' hitched?"
Sandy was taken aback by the question. "Umm…" he said. "I think that we live in the wrong Springfield for that…"
"Well, don't you all just look chummy?" Marah said as she entered the room.
"Hey sis…" Shayne said, wrapping his arms around her. "Long time no see… I've missed you…"
"I've missed you too, Shayne…" Marah said. "And you too, Marina…" She gave her friend a hug before turning her gaze to Sandy. "Sandy…" she said, almost snidely, before walking away.
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Sebastian moved off of the bed and started to pick his clothes up off of the floor.
"What're you doing?" Alex asked. "You kiss me like that and then nothing?"
"I only kissed you to shut you up…" Sebastian barked. "And what in the hell does it look like I'm doing?"
"You don't hafta leave, you know…"
Sebastian laughed. "I think that they're called one-night stands for a reason…" he said.
"It could be more than that, you know? If you'd just let it…"
"You just met me last night…" Sebastian said. "How could you possibly know something like that?"
"I just know…" Alex said. "I mean… There's something about you…"
"Don't tell me…" Sebastian said. "I remind you of him…"
"Him?" Alex asked.
"You know…" Sebastian said. "Jack…"
"How do you know anything about Jack?" Alex asked.
Sebastian chuckled. "I don't…" he said. "I just know his name because you called it out last night…"
"And that bothered you?"
"Like I said before…" Sebastian said. "They're called one-night stands for a reason…"
"I could help you… You know…" Alex said.
"Help me what?" Sebastian asked.
"Help you with whatever scheme it is that you're cooking up…"
"What makes you think that I'm cooking up anything?" Sebastian asked.
"Oh…" Alex said. "Jack used to get that look in his eyes…"
"Yeah… Well… I hate to break it to you…" Sebastian said. "But I'm not Jack…"
"I know…" Alex said. "I don't… I don't want to be with Jack… Just… You know… Somebody who's a lot like him… And… You know… Won't try to kill me…"
Sebastian laughed. "Well, Alex…" he asked, arching an eyebrow almost devilishly. "How can you be so sure that I'm that man?"
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"Any particular reason you dragged me over here to this desolate little corner?" Jeffrey asked.
"Jeffrey there's just… There's something that I need to know…"
"What?"
"When we were… Were you two… I mean, already…"
"No, Marah… We weren't…"
"But you already wanted to… That's why you sent me away…"
"Marah… No… I sent you away to protect you…"
"That's not true…"
"Yes it is…"
"Then why didn't you send my brother away? Huh? He certainly wasn't protected, Jeffrey… You think that I don't know he got beaten to near death because of you?"
Jeffrey sighed. "I just… I thought he would be safe, because I thought that nobody knew…"
"Did you even love me?" Marah asked. "Ever?"
"How could you even ask me something like that?" Jeffrey said. "You know that I did…"
"Were you in love with me?" Marah asked.
Jeffrey averted his eyes from her. "Marah… This is your mother's wedding… I don't think that this is the time or the place to…"
"You know what…" Marah said. "Don't even bother, Jeffrey… I think that I already have my answer…" She turned to walk away when Jeffrey grabbed her by the wrist.
"Marah, wait…" Jeffrey said.
"What?" Marah snapped.
"You know… Your brother… He… He really loves you, Marah…" Jeffrey said. "You can hate me all you want, but please… Just… Don't take it out on him…"
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"I know it sounds crazy…" Alex said. "But I need this…"
"You're not exactly hideous, you know?" Sebastian asked. "I'm sure you'll find another guy who's willing to fuck you…"
"I'm not just talking about that…" Alex said. "Why won't you let me help you?"
Sebastian laughed sardonically. "Well…" he said. "Just look at what happened to the last guy that you helped."
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Marah wiped the few tears from her eyes before knocking on the door half-hesitantly. "Mom…" she said.
Reva opened the door. "Marah…" she said, her whole face lighting up. "I've missed you so much…" Reva wrapped her arms around her daughter.
"I've missed you too, Mom…" Marah replied.
"So…" Reva said. "Tell me… How is Paris?"
"It's… Great…" Marah said.
"Honey, is something wrong?" Reva asked, looking into her daughter's eyes.
"No, Mom…" Marah said. "Of course not… I just… You know me… I always get teary eyed at weddings."
"Honey, the wedding hasn't even started yet…"
"Mom… This is supposed to be your happy day…" she said. "You don't need to sit here listening to my problems…"
"Marah…" Reva said. "That's what mothers are for…"
"I just…" Marah said. "I thought that I could handle it… You know… But… Seeing them together… I mean… How happy they look with each other… It just… It gets to me… Mom… It's just… I missed him so much, and… It's like… He didn't even think twice about me after I was gone…"
"Are you going to be OK?" Reva asked.
"Yeah…" Marah said. "I just need a few minutes to compose myself that's all…"
"Believe me…" Reva said. "The last thing that I wanted was for another one of my children to become involved with Jeffrey O'Neill… But… Marah… For what it's worth… He really does love your brother…"
"I know…" Marah said. "I can see it… I can see it in his eyes every time that he looks at him…"
"You're going to find somebody…" Reva said. "Somebody better…"
"And what if there is nobody better?" Marah asked.
"There is…" Reva said. "You may think that you'll never find love again… And then, when you least expect it… Boom… There it will be… And not only will you find love again… But you'll find it even better…"
"What makes you so sure of that?" Marah asked.
"Because…" Reva said. "I did…"
Marah smiled softly. "Yeah…" she said. "If you can, then… I guess… So can I…"
Reva smiled. "Now…" she said. "Could you help me get into this thing? I think that you made it three sizes too small…"
Marah laughed. "Sure Mom…" she said. "I'll help you…"