Now like I said earlier, finally Jonathan and Shawn…
Jonathan Turner stayed in the hospital for the next two weeks unable to move his leg. When he was finally let out the first place he went was Shawn's. The two decided to forget the past and base their friendship on the present. After Turner's release he was only allowed to use a wheel chair, which of course made him go crazy. The one month, four days, 13 hours, and 24 minutes spent in the chair was enough for him, when he received crutches he thought that he couldn't be happier. Crutches for another month (he didn't bother to count every second) and then finally a simple cane. Five months after his final operation Jonathan finally took his first steps without any help. He never needed another operation. It had been four years since Turner had taken a normal step and although he would always have the small, Atticus Finch-like limp he enjoyed every moment of walking. His love life was also cheerful. (Count 'em) fourteen days after that first step he was married (with Shawn as his best man) to Ms. Tompkins, in Philadelphia, where the two first met. They had two children together Jessica and Shawn (named after a special someone).
And finally, the moment you've all been waiting for…
Now, I am currently trying to decide if I should extend this chapter to include Shawn or if I should end it. (Sigh) Seeing as the eighth amendment protects US citizens from cruel and unusual punishment I have a feeling that I am going to have to finish this chapter. Okay, okay, okay you guys win…I'll finish it.
Shawn graduated with honors as an English major. In his speech at graduation he said that five years ago he didn't even see himself with a college degree; that changed. After graduation Shawn went to write for a small magazine and later for the Times. He did the inevitable a year after graduation; he got back together with his high school sweetheart, Angela. They were married two years later and had three children together, Leanne, Jonathan, and Jeffery. The five Hunters lived in New York for five years more, up until Angela received an amazing job offer in Los Angeles. She was hesitant to take it but Shawn said he wouldn't allow her to do anything else. In Shawn's goodbye column for the paper he wrote:
When I moved here from Philadelphia I thought that I would be able to start over, create a new beginning. What I hadn't realized is that with my idea of starting over I was running from my past, my crazy and dysfunctional past. My teenage years weren't exactly smooth sailing, my dad left to find my mom, I moved in with my teacher, my teacher was in a serious accident, my mom turned out to not be my real mother, and then, to top it all off, my dad died, leaving me to get close to my estranged half brother. So, what did I learn from my crazy experiences? Well, I honestly thought that it meant that I shouldn't get close to anyone in my life because within seconds they can disappear. That's what I thought, but now, looking back, I can tell that it told me to embrace life, not run away from it. So why on earth am I writing this? I guess for a goodbye, (although this is probably the weirdest goodbye article ever) but to tell you the truth, I don't know. I guess I'm writing this for a sense of closure, but also for everyone out there to realize that it takes but seconds for a life to change, so that you should embrace every moment of it. Every second should be embraced, because it can change as fast as it takes me to snap my fingers. Yeah, that's why I'm writing this, so that I can tell everyone to appreciate life because for it to change, it takes, but seconds.
The End
Dedicated to Malana Nicole Jamison
The best friend a girl could have
August 2, 1991-December 14, 2000