A.N.: This chapter is dedicated to Mrs. Nikki Slater for being the first to review to the last chapter. I would also like to give special thanks to Mrs. Nikki Slater for reviewing to every chapter so far. I've kind of thought out the rest of the story and decided that I'll probably have a total of 16 or 17 chapters altogether.
Mrs. Nikki Slater: Yes, Rob is married. Believe it.
Ithyphallophobia: Yes, Rob does love the woman he is married to, so you will both die. And fights are very good. I like fights.
Quietly Losing Control: At least someone agrees with me. Thank you.
Lunetta-Chan: …Thanks.
CeeCeeCaffeine: Yes, I left a cliffie. I always leave a cliffie. And ha! The fork wins again. It shall remain triumphant over the spatula.
monkeyAml: Again: yes, Rob is married. And no, his wife will not die no matter how much you wish it.
iluvmybeagle: Thanks so much for the review.
metamorphosis00: It is very fair. Why should Rob have to wait for Jess that long especially if she wasn't even planning on coming back?
maliaphire: Oh yeah, I'm way over that. That whole thing happened months ago. Thanks for reviewing.
IluvMegCabot!: Thanks for agreeing with me. I appreciate it.
Smiley0925: …Shock…
lkinder: Yes, Rob is married. What you said was funny though. Thanks.
Kippie: All of the questions you asked are explained in other chapters. I even went and read over the story to make sure. So just read it.
Fire In The Sky
Someday"Really? How interesting." I handed the frame back to her and walked to the door leading to the kitchen.
Kat looked at me with a look of outrage and hurt, "That's it? You don't care that the guy you love-my father-is married to another woman. You don't care at all?"
I sighed and pulled her into a hug, "Listen to me: you are the most important person in my life and I've had sixteen years of not being with your father. I can't expect him to wait that long for me."
She had been looking into my eyes during my proclamation, but she turned her head once I finished. I never thought about it before, but I think that my sweet little daughter was trying to set us up. She was disappointed because now there was no way we would get back together. It was kind of sweet in a way. I mean, she knew that I was still a little depressed from not being with Rob, so she was going to try to pull us together again. If she asked me before, I would have told her that it wouldn't have worked.
Her voiced held the sadness that she had been feeling, "So, you guys won't be getting back together?"
"Sweetie, if you had asked me that in the car or even three years ago, my answer would be the same. We both have to move on with our lives and I don't think I could deal with being with your father again. Come here." I pulled her into a hug and she held me tighter than ever before.
"Well let's go have some dinner."
The meal was fabulous. I had forgotten how much I missed Mom's cooking. She had made a lot for some unknown reason, so we had just enough between the four of us. Throughout dinner, we all talked and laughed like a real family. Not that we're not a real family, it's just that we don't really even know each other.
Before we left, we gathered some blankets and snacks. Well, even in Indiana, it can get cold at night and if we got hungry, we had to have some food available. Mom thought that we should bring chairs with us. You know, the beach type chairs. But, Gary said that we could all just sit on one of the blankets. Kat and I didn't mind sitting on the blankets. We actually do that every year and lay down to watch the fireworks over our heads.
We piled into our car and headed over to the outskirts of town. We would have taken their truck, but we didn't think we could all fit. And there was no way we were riding in the back of his truck.
There were already a lot of people there by the time we arrived. I recognized a lot of people. My whole family was there and I was keen on picking a spot where they wouldn't see us. I didn't point them out, but I just told everyone to sit "over there" and the "there" happened to be far away from them. I also noticed some people from school. Actually, a lot of people from school. I saw all my friends from Chicks' and I got up to go see them.
"Hey guys."
"Mastriani, what a surprise!"
"Yeah, I know. Do you guys want to sit over with us?" I pointed to the spot where Mom, Gary, and Kat were sitting.
They shrugged and said different versions of yes. So, we all trudged over to the pile of blankets we had set out. It's a good thing that we brought about a dozen of them. We all had a lot of fun with them though. They were amusing Kat with tales of theirs. It was funny for all of us actually, especially because I was involved in some of them.
About a half hour before it got dark, a guy-the mayor-got a microphone and started speaking. Nobody could really see where he was, but we could hear him, "Thank you all for coming out here today. I would like to thank the people who set this all up and the firemen and police officers that are working today. Also, I would like to pay tribute to Jessica Mastriani to who this whole celebration is for. She brought this town together. So, here's to Jessica."
I heard a chorus of "To Jessica" and I looked down at Kat and saw that she was as surprised as I was. They dedicated this whole thing to me? Wow. I was still trying to process that into my slow-working brain when Hank got up and ran somewhere. I wasn't really paying attention as to where he was going. I didn't really care.
The mayor got back on his microphone and said, "I have just gotten news that Jessica Mastriani is here right now. So, Jessica can you come over here?"
I looked around wildly until I saw Hank standing to the side of the guy with the microphone. He gave a sheepish smile and waved his hand. I guess to make sure I didn't run, Greg took my arm and steered me to them. To tell the truth, I probably would have run. I was scared. I saw everyone looking at me, and my parents crying. Well, my mom was crying. My dad had tears in his eyes, but he wasn't actually crying.
"Jessica, it's wonderful to see you. Would you care to say anything?"
I tired to shake my head and turn away, but Greg still had my arm and the guy practically threw the microphone into my hand. I bit my lip for a second and then said, "Well, um, first of all, I think I should say that both the two of you are dead." Everyone laughed at that. I didn't think it was funny. I was seriously going to kill them. "And second of all, I think I should say that I'm very surprised. When Mom said that we were in time for the fireworks tonight, I hadn't expected everyone to be here on account of me. Um, I just got here earlier today and I'll be leaving again in a few more. There's just some business I have to take care of. I know that some of you want to meet me again and everything, but I just…can't. And as I look out at all of you I see a lot of familiar faces. I don't know how I "brought the town together" and to tell you the truth, I don't really care. I'm happy for all of you. So, I guess that's it." I tired to go back to Kat, but Greg was still holding onto my arm and he wouldn't let go.
Hank stood to the side of Greg and he said, "I think the town earns an explanation as to why their hero doesn't really care." I guess they took it personally. Damn.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Kat running to me. She pulled me away from Greg and Hank and said, "Leave her alone. You know her secrets, and you know that they can't be told."
"Kat, it's okay. They're right. These people do deserve an explanation." I put my arm around her shoulder and pulled her close to me. I took a minute to breathe before I lifted the microphone back to my mouth. "As you probably all know; I left before I finished high school. I went to Carmel, California and lived with a friend of mine, and her family. I also joined the FBI. My friend was my partner. We came back here one time for a case. Kat was two, so it was about thirteen years ago. Um, we left and when back to Carmel. My partner and I moved to Washington D.C. with our families and we have lived there for the past twelve years. And we came back today because I have some business to take care of."
Greg shook his head and said, "And what's your daughter's name?" I wasn't getting out of this without telling. And I thought I could trust him! Well, he did keep the secret for more than fifteen years. That has to count for something, especially since he's one of Rob's best friends.
I sighed heavily, but before I could say anything, Kat grabbed the microphone out of my hand and said, "My full name is Kathleen Marie Wilkins, what's it to you?"
There was silence. Nobody dared to even speak a word. I heard the first firework over my head, and the sound rocketed through us like an empty wave.
A.N.: I actually wrote this chapter twice. The first time, I didn't like it, so I wrote it again. This one is actually longer and a whole lot better in my opinion. So, if you all can do me a favor and review that would be greatly appreciated.
Oh, and anyone who reads The Choices We Make, you should know that I'm not updating until I get some more reviews.