§ § § -- March 6, 1999
Leslie stared at herself in the mirror in the upstairs bathroom, determined to be happy. It was Julie and Rogan's wedding day and she was the maid of honor; Julie had asked her to fill the role, and she had willingly agreed. She would just have to try to forget her own problems for the day. Determinedly she straightened herself, aimed a patently false smile at her reflection, rolled her eyes at the failed attempt at levity and gave up, leaving the bathroom and heading downstairs.
She watched with a sort of detached feeling while Julie's brother-in-law gave her away, Roarke performed the wedding ceremony, and Julie's three nephews and one niece peppered her and Rogan with questions about when they were going to get some cousins. Nothing Delphine said could deter them, particularly Julie's niece Ivy, who was hoping that Rogan and Julie would produce a daughter or two. Julie laughed and advised she wasn't promising anything, but if she did have a girl, Ivy could help choose a name.
Julie had babysat Lauren before, so Lauren and Brian had been invited to the wedding; Myeko was there too, covering the event for the Fantasy Island Chronicle. And Maureen was in attendance, albeit as part of her mother's catering company which was providing the food. So Leslie felt a little better, surrounded by friends; but it turned out to be Myeko with whom she was best able to commiserate. Myeko's budding romance with Steve Reilley, brother of actor Devin Reilley, had fallen through due to physical distance and the demands of their respective jobs; and she and Leslie found themselves standing on the sidelines, feeling a bit like third wheels, while couples danced across the huge side lawn of the MacNabb home and children chased each other around the perimeter.
"You know what else happened?" Leslie asked after some resigned conversation with Myeko in regard to the subject of marriage. "We heard from Jamie Marsh—you know, Helena's son. He's engaged to be married to a girl he met in Calcutta, and he asked if he could have the wedding here on the island. After all, he is Father's stepson…and I suppose that means he's my stepbrother, especially since I'm legally Father's daughter. When Father and Helena were married, I was only his ward."
"Geez," Myeko said, shaking her head. "Doesn't it seem to you like everybody on earth is getting married, and doing it here to boot? I guess I'm just jealous or something, but I heard through the grapevine that Toki's wife is pregnant. So of course, Alexander hopes it'll be a boy, and Noelle wants it to be a girl."
Leslie chuckled. "Typical! Anyway, Jamie says the wedding's set for June, and I have to admit it'll be really nice to see him again. He hasn't really stayed in touch since he left the island after his mother died, and in fact it's the first time he's contacted us since then, to the best of my knowledge."
"Really," Myeko said. "Well, let's face it, Mr. Roarke and Mrs. Marsh were married only a few days. I guess there wasn't time for all those 'step-relationships' to sink in, and Jamie probably didn't feel obligated to keep in touch."
"True," Leslie said. "But I'm looking forward to it."
Myeko smiled, then located Rogan and Julie in the crowd. "I wonder what Rogan's gonna do after he and Julie settle into married life. You think he's gonna come into her B&B as an employee somehow? Chief cook and bottle-washer, maybe?"
"Well, chief bottle-washer at least," Leslie kidded back. "Julie's already chief cook." They giggled companionably. "You know, I'm glad you're here. I feel a little less blue now, you know?"
Myeko nodded, hanging an arm over Leslie's shoulder and grinning. "Misery sure does love company all right. I feel less crummy too. Tell you what, let's go over and talk to Maureen and sample some food while most of the gang's still out there dancing."
Maureen brightened when she saw them. "Hi there…I saw you two hanging aside and talking. I thought you were looking for an excuse to leave."
"We were thinking about it," Myeko admitted cheerfully, scanning the buffet. "Or at least I was. I think Leslie's obligated because she's maid of honor."
"It's gotta be hard on you," Maureen said. Leslie and her friends had gotten together the week after Roarke's recovery and had caught up completely on each other's lives, so that they all knew the full story of the cure and how it had affected Leslie's future. "How's Marina doing, by the way?"
"She and her father both made a complete recovery, just as Rogan said," Leslie told her with a soft sigh. "And I hear the count's as steadfast as ever that she stays married to Christian. Maybe I'll just have to accept the idea that he and I will never be together, and get on with my life." Myeko and Maureen looked at each other.
"Does Christian know you're thinking like that?" Maureen asked a touch reprovingly.
Leslie shrugged and shook her head. "No, I'd never tell him that—I'm not actually seriously considering it anyway. It's just that sometimes, when things look really bad, the doubts start creeping in. It's human nature." She sighed, then spotted Roarke talking with some of the guests and smiled. "But Father's still with us, and back to normal, and so's the island…so maybe it was a very high price, but in the end it was worth it." She turned back to her friends and grinned gamely. "So…any chance we can sneak an advance tasting before the masses swoop down on the goodies?" Amid Maureen's and Myeko's laughter, she found a plate and filled it, her heart finally beginning to lighten.
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A/N: Well, that's it finally…this has been a lot of fun to write, particularly since I made reference to so many "canon" items throughout the story. Following is a full list of credits, in the order of their first appearances in the story.
The character of Maestro Edmond Dumont appeared in the December 20, 1980, episode "Crescendo/Three Feathers" (first story arc) which starred Monte Markham and Toni Tennille.
The "sinister" Roarke, Harry, Cal and Ariel are taken from the second version of "Fantasy Island" (bonus points to Harry2 for spotting the crossover!) which was produced by Barry Sonnenfeld and starred Malcolm McDowell, Louis Lombardi, Edward Hibbert and Mädchen Amick. It aired from September 26, 1998, to January 23, 1999. (More bonus points to Harry2 for catching my thinly-veiled reference to the dismal and well-deserved failure of this version of the series…)
Where, you may be wondering, did I come up with "P.Q." for our Mr. Roarke? It comes from two books written by Jane Seskin in 1978 and 1979 which were novelizations of two episodes (check eBay every so often; copies of them sometimes crop up there). She referred to Ricardo Montalbán's alter ego as "Mr. P.Q. Roarke". As for the H.R., I made that up; it was my way of distinguishing between the two Roarkes.
Miranda really was H.R.'s adopted daughter, taken from the remake's tenth episode, "Let Go", which first aired on December 26, 1998. The character was played by an actress named Tushka Bergen.
When Roarke talks to H.R. about the origins of Fantasy Island, it goes back to the original pilot film which aired in January 1977. A guest named Arnold Greenwood (Bill Bixby) asked if it had been his idea, and Roarke replied cryptically that he was consulted...
Mephistopheles, as given vivid life by the wonderful Roddy McDowall, appeared in two episodes: "The Devil and Mandy Breem" (original airdate October 25, 1980) and "The Devil and Mr. Roarke" (original airdate October 17, 1981).
Helena Marsh, Mr. Roarke's wife of a bare few days, was portrayed by Samantha Eggar in the tearjerker episode "The Wedding", which was first broadcast on November 3, 1979.
The Cabo de Varga was the cliff where Mandy Breem (played by Carol Lynley) first met up with Mephistopheles in "The Devil and Mandy Breem".
Delphine MacNabb Randolph appeared in the episode "Delphine/The Unkillable" which aired on April 11, 1981; Ann Jillian portrayed the character. And of course, Jamie Marsh was Helena's son, played by Paul John Balson.
Once again, thanks for reading not just this but all my tales, and believe me, there are many more to come!