Disclaimer: I own ONLY AnneMarie, Fabiola, Madam Velosomikh, Madamé Císerosa, K.C. Anderson, Amelia Herrington, and baby Mariah.
Summary: This may be out of order in whatever way, but hey, its my story, I get to decide how it goes. ;-) Sorry if it takes a while for me to get it posted, but I've been writing it in whatever time I get between classes and stuff and I'm laptop less so its all scribbled down on paper and I've actually gotta find time to type it all up. But hopefully I'll find enough time somewhere. :-) Also, I've decided to make it easier on people to let me know what they think, and give me more ideas of what to write. If you would like, I can be reached via email or Yahoo! messenger at or via AOL instant messenger as PrincessSpzMnky . Feel free to drop me a line if you'd like. :-) Happy Reading :-)
Hi Everyone :-)
Well, here is chapter 101! I do hope you are all enjoying reading this story. Just like I mentioned last time, I still have yet to decide what to do about ending/not ending this story.
Luna, thank you sooooooooo much for your words of encouragement. I absolutely loved reading your message. It was very encouraging. Definitely one of the best I've ever received. :-)
Krystal, thank you soooooo much for all your kind words these past few weeks. You always just sit there and let me bitch, and you are always so supportive. Don't you just want to slap the crap out of me? LOL ;-) Haha, I so totally love you for it!
Lizzie . . . My big sister, and the best one in the whole world. I seriously don't know what I would do without you.
JAA, oh my goodness, what in the WORLD am I going to do when you move! You have been so good to me this week. Especially Monday night. You really are my best friend in the entire universe and my role model. I can only hope that when I finally decide to "grow up", I will be half the parent that you are. Honestly, I would be a complete and total wreck if it weren't for you. You have always stood by me, and loved me, no matter how much I don't deserve it. And no matter how badly I want to give up, you have always encouraged me to just keep on fighting for what I want. I wouldn't have made it through these last 8 months without all your endless love and support. Thank you sooooooooooooooooooo much for always being there for me, even when no one else is. It is going to be sooooooo hard to say goodbye to you this summer, when we both move away. :-( You are the world's best aunt, mother, sister and friend that any kid could ever ask for. I love you sooooooo much, and I miss you already. Oh, and one more thing . . . Who is going to feed me when you leave?
TBF, I'm so sorry for everything that has happened between us lately. I really do love you, and I wish like crazy I could fix everything, and make it all better. We had some really great times last year. I can't believe you hung up on me though! That is so unlike you! What the heck! Geez, in all the time I have known you, you have NEVER held a grudge, or been that rude to anyone! I know a lot has happened between us since July, but my goodness! What did I ever do to deserve you to hang up? I'm sorry for whatever it was, and I would like to make it up to you. Please forgive me. I miss you so much! I miss just hanging out with you, seeing your smile, those amazingly blue eyes, the way you always made me laugh . . . The way you always had a way to make me feel better, no matter how bad things actually were. What happened to us? Call me ok? We need to talk . . .
LMS, thanks for the bitchfest. ;-) Love ya lots! You're the best big sister in the world. See you in July. :-)
BR, It's been a long time! Man, I miss that "professional opinion" of yours. You have always been such a totally great friend to me. Thanks for everything.
Rey, my laugh buddy. LOL Man, we've sure had some totally awesome laughs! ;-) Haha, I wish you could come visit this summer. It's going to be totally great! Thanks for always being there, and bringing a smile back to my face, during all the rough times. :-)
DRA, 16 years, HOLY CRAP! LOL ;-) Man, why do you put up with me? LOL We so need to be neighbors again. It sucks that we had to go and "grow up". ;-)
SR, thanks for the smiles.
Crystal, my "little sister", I heard you're in the hospital . . . I am so sorry sweetie! I miss you soooooooo much! How's married life? It's funny, you're so much younger than me, yet you're the "adult". LOL I hope you get better soon. I really miss talking to you. You always made me smile. I'll try to call tomorrow. :-) Get better soon. Love ya lots :-)
To all of my fans, all over the world . . . Thank you all for all the endless love and support. Your reviews and words of encouragement have been amazing! They've brought a smile back to my face, during some of the absolute roughest of days. I'm sorry to everyone who caught me on a bad day. Unfortunately, there have been a lot of those lately. :-( I have just been so depressed since . . . Well, we won't go there . . . But thank you for all your kind words, and I'm sorry if I was snappy and/or bitchy. Things have been really rough lately, but hopefully they'll improve soon. :-) Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this new chapter, and I look forward to hearing from all of you soon. But in the mean time, be sure to visit my website and SIGN THE GUESTBOOK :-)
Dreams
Speech!
An Hour Later . . .
"Thank you everyone for being here today, to join our family in celebrating Tommy's PhD." Christine said as she gathered all the guests' attention. "Today is one of the proudest days of my life . . . My baby boy, once again has proven that he can do anything he puts his mind to. Never, in my wildest dreams, did I ever imagine Thomas getting a PhD, much less one in anthropology. But as usually, Tommy continues to amaze me. Tommy, come here please." Kimberly gave Tommy a quick kiss, then pushed him toward his mother. "Look at this face . . . Is this a face that you could ever say no to? You all know my son. How often did we ever say no to anything?"
"Not enough." Tommy laughed.
"Exactly! But even though Tommy was completely spoiled rotten and always had way too much freedom, somehow he still turned out ok . . . Thirty something years ago, Daniel and I never thought we would have children . . . But then Tommy came into our life, and everything changed . . . Thomas has always been everything we could ever want in a son . . . Tommy has always been an easy child to raise."
"No he hasn't. He was a nightmare!" Daniel joked.
"Thanks Dad!" Tommy laughed again.
"Ok, so Tommy might not have been the easiest child in the world to raise, but he has always been one of the most respectful, most caring, most compassionate people I have ever known . . . He raised his little sister practically on his own, and couldn't have possibly done a better job."
"More like she raised me!" Tommy commented.
"I remember the day Tommy told me he was going to marry Kimberly . . . He was 17!" Christine paused as everyone in attendance laughed. "I thought I was going to have to either kill my son, or at least tie him up for the next few years . . . But just before I could give Tommy a lecture, he asked me to go to the mall with him, to pick out a promise ring . . . I have never been prouder of anything in my entire life, than I am of my son . . . Tommy has been such a blessing. If it weren't for him we would have never gotten the chance to almost have a daughter, with both Kimberly and AnneMarie . . . Those two absolutely wonderful women, and now little Mariah too, have become the three most important, most influential people in my family's life, and Daniel and I have Tommy to thank for that . . . Darlene . . . Where are you? . . ." Christine asked, looking among the assembled guests for Kimberly's mother. "You wanted to say something too . . ."
"Hi," Darlene started, as she joined Christine at the head of the large group. "many of you don't know me, but I am Darlene Dumas, Kimberly's mother . . . Tommy has been a huge blessing in my life . . . Ever since he moved to town, he has stood by my daughter's side, looking out for her, no matter what anybody around him said . . . Even when I didn't want to trust him, I couldn't help but give into that face . . .Tommy has become a wonderful addition to my family just as my daughter has to his . . ,. There isn't a better man than Tommy, who could love and provide for my daughter and granddaughter, the way that Tommy has . . . He has literally laid the world at Kimberly's feet, and worshiped her the way she deserves . . . I am so proud to be Tommy's mother in-law, and even more proud of him for the example he has set for his daughter, but getting his doctorate today . . ."
"Mom . . ." Kimberly said softly, as he stepped up next to her mother. "Hi everyone . . . Since everyone is here to talk about how great my husband is, I guess I should put my own two cents in too . . ." Kimberly smiled as she looked around the room at all the assembled guests. Friends, family, various work associates; all gathered together in support of Tommy. "As both mine and Tommy's mothers have already said, Tommy has been a gigantic blessing in all of our lives . . . I wouldn't be who I am today, if it weren't for Tommy . . . Just about everything good in my life has happened because of him . . . Tommy has been my rock, my heart, my soul, my shoulder to cry on . . . He's my strength, my savior, my lover, and most of all . . .He's my best friend . . . Tommy is my entire life! . . . I'm the woman I am because of Tommy . . And when my mom says he's laid the world at my feet, she's not kidding . . ." Kimberly met Tommy's eyes as a gentle smile spread over his face, causing her own eyes to mist with tears. "Most of you; especially Aisha, AnneMarie and Jason, know that I am not exactly the easiest person in the world to please . . . But somehow, Tommy makes it seem so easy . . . So I just want you all to know how grateful I am to have such a completely amazing husband, who I am more than proud to encourage my daughter to look up to . . . I have never had to worry about anything with Tommy, because over the years I've learned that as loon as we're together, everything is going to be just fine . . . So on behalf of all of us today . . . Tommy . . . All I can say is that I love you . . . And I am so lucky to be your wife, and the mother of the most amazing four year-old on the planet . . . You are the best thing that has ever happened to any of us, and we are so proud to be here with you today, to celebrate your graduation . . . If anyone deserves any of this, it's you . . . So from the bottom of my heart . . ., Thank you for being the wonderful man, husband, and father that you are. And for being such a wonderful big brother to AnneMarie. We love you more than you know, and we are so proud . . ."
"I love you . . ." Tommy whispered as he pulled Kimberly into his arms, wrapping her in a tight embrace. " . . . I love you so much . . ."
"Speech, speech, speech . . ." the assembled crowd began to chant as Tommy hugged his wife.
"Yeah, how can I follow that?" Tommy laughed as he turned back to face the crowd still holding onto Kimberly. "I really don't know what to say . . . I never thought I would go back to school. Heck, getting a PhD has never even been a goal of mine! . . . But now, here I am . . . Not only did I graduate, but I now have three cool initials behind my name . . . Darlene you always wanted your daughter to marry a doctor, didn't you?"
"Doesn't every parent?" Darlene asked innocently, as everyone else laughed.
"I have a degree in both anthropology and paleontology." Tommy mused. "How totally random is that! . . . I don't really know what to say right now . . . Thanks for being here everyone . . . Thanks for always supporting me and my family . . . It's been a long few years, but we've all made it through in one piece, and I know that I for one am stronger now, than ever before . . . If I should thank anyone, I guess it should be my family . . . Mom, Dad, AnneMarie, David . . . Darlene . . . Sam . . . You guys have loved and supported me regardless of my choices and whether or not I deserved it . . . You have meant more to me, than anything else on this planet . . . Oh, AnneMarie, remind me, I owe you twenty bucks . . ." Everyone laughed. "I have to thank my little girl too . . . Princess Mariah Maylene . . . Anyone who hasn't met my daughter, you're missing out . . . She's the adorable little girl in the pink dress, who probably has a cookie in on e hand, and my brother's wallet in the other." Everyone laughed some more as AnneMarie playfully slugged David. "Mariah is the most precious little girl in the world, and my absolute biggest fan. No matter how much I screw up, or how many days I spend away from my family I am still number one in my daughter's eyes . . . It's funny, she came home from pre-school last week, and told me that they learned about heroes . . .And you know what she said when I asked who her hero is? . . ."
"Mariah, who's your hero?" Darlene asked.
"Daddy . . ." Mariah smiled, as she stood with AnneMarie and David.
"I am my daughter's hero . . ." Tommy echoed as his eyes began to mist. "You have no idea what it's like to be a hero until you hear the words come out of the mouth of the one person on the planet, that you know loves you unconditionally . . . I have never thought of myself as a hero but that's what I am to my daughter . . . And the reason why . . . I'm Daddy . . . The simplest most logical reason in the world. I'm Daddy . . . But you know . . . My daughter is my hero . . . he's always excited to see me, and has a way of always making me feel better, without even trying. So Princess, thank you. I love you Sweetheart . . . And last, but definitely not least . . . The absolute most important person in the world to me . . . The one person I have always been able to go to with my problems, who has always understood me, and never once judged me. The one person I have always been able to rely on for everything. The person who has always held my heart, in the palm of her hand. The one person who I absolutely can not live without, who encourages me to keep on going, no matter what the cost . . . All I can think to say right now, is thank you, to the most absolutely amazing wife a guy could ever ask for . . . I couldn't have done any of this without you." Tommy said, gazing into Kimberly's eyes. "It should be you with the PhD, not me."
" . . . Tommy . . ." Kimberly said softly, as she gently wiped the tears from his eyes.
"So . . ." Christine continued, as Tommy hugged his wife again. "From our family to yours, thank you all very much!"
"Wow Tommy, you're crying!" Jason said, playfully slugging his best friend.
"Jase, he's human." Kimberly started. "Be nice."
"Seriously Jase, it's really not that big of a deal."
"I'm just giving you a hard time Man."
"I know . . . It's just . . . It just hit me . . . This is the last time that all of us are going to be together like this . . ."
"Tommy . . ." Kimberly said softly.
" . . . I know . . . It's so strange . . . I never thought we would be leaving this place . . . I miss it already."
"Tommy, stop." Kimberly told him.
"Hey can I have everyone's attention for a minute?" AnneMarie's voice rang out above the crowd. "Hi . . . Um, not everyone here knows me, but my name is AnneMarie Payton-Oliver, and I am Tommy and David's younger, yet smarter sister . . ." The crowd erupted in laughter. "It's true, I am the brain of the family . . . I just wanted to say thank you to my brother, for being the best parent a girl cold ever ask for . . . When my mom died I was kind of scared to go live with Tommy, buy I am really glad that I did . . . Tommy and Kimberly made moving to Angel Grove easy . . . They took me in, well Nana and Papi too . . . They all took me in and raised me as their own daughter . . . Tommy has always been there when I needed him. Even when he was on the road with Uncle John, as soon as I needed anything, Tommy was right there to take care of me. He's always been the one person I can count on for everything. This past week I have been so busy getting ready for my own graduation I didn't really even thing about everything I would be leaving, until today . . . I have spent the last 11 years with my brother, but I never really realized just how much he meant to me . . . So . . . I just wanted to give Tommy this present." AnneMarie said as she reached behind her, and retrieved a present from David. "Tommy . . . Thanks for everything. I love you."
"I love you too." Tommy said as he stepped up to his sister, and wrapped her in a hug.
To Be Continued . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .