Thank you to everyone who read the last chapter. You're wonderful. It's time for part two.
Chapter 53: Hasn't There Been Enough Family Togetherness This Week? Part II
ABF: Hey, I'm here, and I brought the fruit trays that your sister ordered. Why couldn't she get them herself?
Ryan: You're the best. Sharpay and Chad are now banned from specialty foods of Albuquerque because they ran into Zeke there Thursday. He sucker-punched Chad. Sharpay made really good use of her martial arts training by threatening his testicles with her stiletto. Chad ended up beating the shit out of him anyway when Zeke tried to hit Chad again after Sharpay let him up. Nevertheless, they are now banned for life, so others must get their fruit salad trays.
ABF: Please tell me somebody has pictures of Zeke getting his ass kicked? I have wanted to beat the hell out of him since last summer when Penelope found out her boyfriend was dating your sister behind her back.
Ryan: Shar says Amanda did take pictures. However, she's unsure if she uploaded them before her cell phone was destroyed Thursday. She's downstairs helping with the cooking. I am currently hiding upstairs in Sharpay's room with her, Chad, Taylor, and Jason. We're playing cards.
ABF: I'll ask if I see her. She always backs up her photos. I'm very disappointed she didn't send them to me earlier. Why are you hiding upstairs?
Ryan: I try to go downstairs to help, but that happened to coincide with Julie catching Jack and Carolyn making out. It was ugly, and we were all sent back upstairs except for Amanda and Madison, who are well trained in the art of ignoring chaos.
ABF: Good call. I just met Chad's Aunt Mariah, who also thought I was him.
Ryan: God.
ABF: Yeah. Now I'm shocked we didn't come to our conclusion from yesterday earlier. I have been told to tell you to come downstairs. Kim and Troy just got here along with the uncle contingent. Grandma Karen promises to keep Julie from acting op.
Ryan: I doubt that. We will be down soon.
Xxx
"Here, let me take the fruit trays from you," a woman who looked very similar to officer Mariah said, grabbing the tray from him. She was just a little younger, with highlights and slightly longer hair. "I'm sorry, Mariah thought you were Chad. You and my son really do look alike."
"I assume you're Chad's mom Carolyn. I've heard a lot about you."
"Mostly good things, I hope."
"They were. It's OK." Not at all, but Zack is not going to let her know that. "I ran into Chad's Aunt Claudia yesterday, who also got us confused."
"It's the hair. However, you have an extra dimple. You do look a little older too."
"I am almost 3 years older than Chad. I'm glad you can tell us apart. I did find out yesterday that my mom was friends with the late aunt Amy." Zack said, making small talk with Carolyn. Deep down, he was wondering if she knew anything about him.
"Amy was a good person who had a lot of demons. Unfortunately, they caught up to her. But I will always remember her as the one who tried to get me the hell away from Charles. Maybe that's why I am trying to be that person for Tiffany." Carolyn explained as they walked into the formal dining room.
"Amy said that he ruined her best friend's life, and she didn't want that to happen to me. Later on, she offered to pay for my divorce. I regret she didn't live long enough to see it happen. She left me divorce lawyer money in her will that I used per her wishes."
"Was that because he also got that friend pregnant?"
"Shit! Your mother is Ximena?"
"Yes." Zack feels like this is better confirmation than a DNA test. Now he's really glad he didn't try to kiss his most likely half-brother. Shit.
"She told grandma Danforth, who is the queen of shotgun weddings, that she miscarried. Only Amy knew better, apparently. That is why she tried so hard with me." Her words confirmed everything in Zack's mind.
"I'm not shocked because Ryan put the pieces together yesterday, and it makes sense. Only Sharpay, Ryan, and you can tell us apart. Ryan said he would help me figure it out for sure before we start telling people." Zack explained.
"I assume we're not telling Chad until you get a DNA test?" Carolyn asked.
"Yes."
"I can help with that. My divorce from Charles was ugly. I have Chad and Charles's DNA on file already." That's not good.
"Did Chad know that it was that ugly?" Zack asked.
"No, and I'm not gonna tell him. Not after Thursday."
"I told Ryan that I don't wanna know if I'm related to Charles, just Chad," Zack explained.
"Chad is definitely the better person to be related to." Carolyn joked." I'll take care of it. Just make sure I get your cell phone number before the end of the day."
"You don't have to."
"I protect my kids and their siblings. I think you're on that list. I will help with this. I owe Amy that." Carolyn said just a few moments before her "sister-in-law" Liz dragged her back into the kitchen. Zack decided it was best to make his way toward Ryan. However, he ran into Taylor first.
"You actually came to continue this weird date tradition that you have going on with Ryan," Taylor said as she reached over to hug him. It was pretty normal for them to do that. If they're sharing a boyfriend, they might as well embrace. Not that he's entirely sure Ryan is his boyfriend yet. Taylor is referring to this as the test driving phase. He likes that phrasing.
"I like to be unique. I don't think Ryan will ever top our first date at a psychiatric hospital after a very weird car ride with his father. Or a second date running into the ex-girlfriend." Who he still wants to smack upside the head. He really hates Kelsi.
"Don't forget I found out we were only dating because Darby was paying Kelsi's parents off and probably Kelsi too," Ryan said as he walked down the stairs to meet them.
"Fucking bitch." He heard Mariah's wife Teresa say from the nearby couches.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to say that out loud. She is just giving me flashbacks to my own mother. She actually did do that too. I am not surprised my brother is following in her footsteps. Kelsi is my niece, and her father was my brother until I was kicked out of the family." That definitely adds a layer to all of this.
"The woman hated me, and so did her son. I'm sure my father would've done that too if he wasn't dead already when I finally came out." Mariah added.
"There's no point in sugarcoating it. We all feel that way about Darby and Kelsey's parents." Ryan added. "Thankfully, you will never ever have to meet Darby," Ryan promised.
"If she does show up, call me. I'll take care of it." Mariah said from the couch.
"Will do," Ryan replied.
"So, is everyone else here?" Zack asked.
"I think Kim's father is still on his way. But the uncles have arrived. We're going to have lots of Mamosas." Sharpay answered as she walked down the stairs with Chad and Jason. Zack will need those mimosas because he's now 99.9% sure his biological father is Charles fucking Danforth.
"Oh, good."
"Is Vanessa coming with him?" Taylor asked. "I know I said I would be there for Troy, but I'm not ready to see her yet."
"He's coming by himself. I made that request personally. However, Jay didn't want Kim to deal with Troy's angry family members alone. He has a weird sense of protectiveness. Thankfully he will probably be on our side today." Sharpay explained.
"One can hope." Chad and Ryan said simultaneously. It was definitely going to be an interesting morning.
XXXX
Husband: I wish you were here.
Vanessa: I wish I could be there. However, you know the smell of eggs is making me throw up. I don't want more people to find out about the pregnancy by me ruining their shoes. I owed Alexa a new pair of shoes due to my quiche reaction yesterday.
Husband: This is true.
Vanessa: Also, Sharpay is right. Taylor is definitely not ready to see me. This needs to go at her pace.
Husband: When I did tell everybody the egg excuse, she asked me if you really were OK. I told her that the morning sickness was normal, and Kim backed me up.
Vanessa: I'm glad she's at least concerned. As well as the fact Kim is a little less freaked out about the baby. Weirdly, the morning sickness is not as bad as it was with Taylor. Although I'm sure Taylor is not ready to hear that.
Husband: No, but I'm glad you're talking about it.
Vanessa: It feels good that it's not a secret anymore. I'm sorry I didn't tell you before. It shouldn't have taken another unplanned pregnancy for the truth to come out. I still can't believe I accidentally got pregnant at 44. I thought the baby was menopause.
Husband: You really couldn't because of the NDA. Maybe things happened this way to give you a second chance.
Vanessa: This included me going off my birth control this summer because it was causing neurological symptoms. Then being stupid and not going on something else because I thought l was too old to get pregnant.
Vanessa: I feel like the NDA doesn't really apply to you.
Vanessa: So what's happened so far?
Husband: I had to prevent Troy's friend Madison from hitting his Aunt Julie twice. She's very protective of him and Kimberly.
Vanessa: She flew up here to help Gabriella, so I already like her. Everyone needs friends like her.
Husband: Then Jack had to prevent me from hitting his former sister-in-law because she started to say inappropriate things about Kimberly. I'm sure she was only parroting her sister, but I really don't care. Also, Chad understands more Korean than I thought. I agreed to help him improve, so we can teach Alex together.
Vanessa: Obviously, Lucy poison the well there. Although it is nice to see you two not fighting. Troy sent me a text message from Vegas.
Husband: Thankfully, no one else is like Julie. Although the grandmothers have been strategically kept on opposite sides of the house to keep fighting from breaking out. Also, Chris is sad that Troy became a father before he and Zach could adopt. Also, your streusel was a big hit.
Husband: I'm well aware I was not on my best behavior in Vegas. I'm trying here.
Vanessa: I'm glad you're trying.
Husband: Currently, everybody is distracted by Alex.
Vanessa: Cuddly babies make things better.
Husband: We also have mimosas along with access to the full bar.
Vanessa: Let me know if I'm gonna have to come to pick you up.
Husband: It depends on how badly things go. I need to go protect Kimberly from Julie. I'm trying to stay mostly sober for that. The egg casserole just made her throw up, so I'm concerned. I'm going to need extra mimosas.
Vanessa: That doesn't mean she's pregnant.
Xxx
Kim can definitively say that a very Bolton family brunch was going significantly better than Thanksgiving. Of course, for that to happen, they just have to avoid arrest or hospitalization. Unfortunately, Julie is making it really hard to keep the arrest level at zero.
No one else here has called her a slut for getting pregnant at 18. Julie used nicer language, but the sentiment was still the same. This happened after she got sick. Julie made pregnancy jokes. Liz cut her off by mentioning she reacts the same way because of her egg allergy. Kim could overlook that because she was expecting it, and Lucy said much worse. However, Carolyn was off-limits.
"You know I am really trying to be nice to you even though your sister did a lot of not-so-nice things to my family and me. But I will not tolerate…"
"Allegedly." Julie interrupted. "You don't know if any of that is true. Your mother is not a reliable narrator. She could've made up everything, including the boyfriend and taking the million dollars to split you and Troy up." Julie argued. The denial is strong with this one. Maybe that's where Troy gets it from.
"The boyfriend is real." Jack interrupted. "His name is Joshua. I met him Wednesday. He actually apologized to me and then broke it off with Lucy. He didn't know she was married because she lied to him."
"You don't deserve that apology since you're already screwing Carolyn." Julie spat back.
"Not until I actually started the divorce," Jack remarked.
"I did not need confirmation of that." She could hear Chad say from one of the nearby couches.
"Not one bit," Troy added.
"I get that you do not like me at all. Honestly, I don't give a— I don't care." She said, correcting herself because Alex does not need more curse words in his vocabulary.
"I do, though." Troy interrupted. "I want everybody here so they could get to meet my son and maybe have your support. You don't wanna believe Lucy took $1 million to split us up. Or that she kept the fact I had a son a secret from me. It's fine if you don't want to believe it. That's you. Maybe I'm an idiot for caring what any of you think. Because I don't owe any of you anything. I don't need to explain the choices I made."
"Bad choices." Julie snarked.
"I'm aware I shouldn't have slept with Kim at 15 or, at a minimum, made better contraceptive choices."
"Like any at all." Julie interrupted.
"More like not using a backup after you being on antibiotics," Kim added.
"Which is less ridiculous than edible charcoal," Chad said from the back, causing all eyes to go to him. "Sorry, none of you know about Tiffany. Charles screwed somebody that was Kim's age and got her pregnant."'
"I am not even surprised. You know what Charles did to Ximena. She got lucky." Troy's Uncle David said from the back, causing both Carolyn and Zack to start choking. Then she noticed Jack look at Zack before draining his entire mimosa in one drink.
"It's your fault you're in this position," Julie yelled at Troy. Kim wanted to punch her, but her father was literally holding her back.
"It is. Your sister wants me to give up my responsibilities to Kim and to my son."
"She would never do that," Julie argued.
"Actually, she did." Jason interrupted. "Because I was there. Thankfully Jackie got video of everything. I think you need to see your sister kicking Coach Bolton out for supporting his son."
"Of course, there's video," Kim mumbled to herself as Jason played the video for everyone there. Julie seemed angry that grandma Karen just seemed really sad. Teresa seemed proud, though. That's when Kim remembered that Teresa was Jackie's aunt.
"I think we're going to leave. We will call a cab outside to take us to the hotel." Grandma Karen said as she literally dragged Julie out of the house before the shock could wear off.
"I'll text you your hotel information," Kim remarked.
"Troy and Kimberly, thank you for inviting us. I look forward to seeing you again soon alone." A.k.a. without Julie.
Xxx
Once Julie left, things went a lot better. No one else made a big deal of him getting Kim pregnant at 15. Not even grandma Katrina. Troy was actually a little worried about that. Although she did say something about not throwing stones.
David and Auntie J thought that Alex was absolutely adorable and are looking forward to coming up for Christmas. Uncle Zachary and Chris also adored Alex and Kim. Kim and Zachary bonded over screwed-up families and getting disowned at least once. Teresa also joined in on that conversation. Troy is also like 90% sure Kim will make a donation to Uncle Zachary's nonprofit.
Now they were piled up into the car headed back to the hospital with Maria and Madison. Ryan and Taylor, we're going to come in a separate vehicle. That way, Ryan and Troy can leave at 3:30 PM to meet Chad to go ring shopping. They have an appointment at 4 PM. Ryan is coming with them because he doesn't trust Chad to pick out the perfect ring for Sharpay alone. Also, Ryan might be a little bit of a masochist. Troy blames Darby.
"You know I was expecting more anger aimed at me," Maria remarked in the car.
"We lied and told Julie that you were one of Chad's aunts. Mariah backed us up." Kim explained.
"Did you just take advantage of the 'all Latinas look alike' bias?" Maria asked.
"Yes, we did," Troy remarked. "But I did not have the energy for more fighting."
"Understandable. It's been a long few days. I hope we will get to see Gabriella."
"I hope so too." He definitely owes her an apology.
XXXX
"You know I was expecting to at least drink three more mimosas," Zack said as Ryan walked him out of the house to the cab waiting to take him home. He will grab his car tomorrow because he was still a little too inebriated to drive. That happens when you realize that your mom lied to many people to avoid a shotgun marriage. After hearing Chad's stories about his childhood, Zack is extremely grateful for that. He just got out of a very interesting conversation with Jack and Carolyn in the guesthouse.
"I think Julie drank most of them before getting dragged away," Taylor remarked before making her way to an SUV that probably belong to Vince Evans. He knew Ryan only had a moped at the moment, and that was in New York. Which made more sense for the city.
"Troy thought she was going to freak out about all the underage drinking. She actually asked to see my driver's license before Mariah scared her away." Zack added.
"That's why we went with mimosas. It's harder for Julie to tell which ones were the virginal ones." Ryan joked.
"So, I assume you're heading over to the hospital now?" Zack asked.
"Yes, we might get to see Gabriella. Just so you know, I was drinking virginal mimosas because I knew I would have to drive. I'm not the strongest driver under the best conditions, so I'm not gonna risk it." Ryan told him.
"That's good." He knew Ryan needed to see Gabriella.
"I would invite you to come with us, but…" Ryan trailed off.
"I think this is something you need to do just with Taylor."
"Yes," Ryan affirmed.
"However, since I'm going to have to pick up my car tomorrow, I could always drive you to the airport. Maybe we could have lunch first?"
"Yes, I will definitely be there," Ryan said, leaning over to give him a chaste kiss on the lips. This is definitely going better than his last few relationships.
Xxx
"That went better than I thought it would. I thought Maria was going to have to arrest somebody before the end of it." Chad said as he laid his head on Sharpay's bed. The last Troy family member left five minutes ago, a good two hours after Troy and Kim got the hell out of there. But since they were there to be with Alex, it made sense. Which gave him about an hour before he had to get dressed for ring shopping. He would like to spend the hour making out with Sharpay.
"I think Mariah was sad that Julie was removed before she had a reason to arrest her," Sharpay remarked, laying next to him.
"She was definitely disappointed."
"Also, I noticed you avoid your mom for most of the morning. Every time she and Jack were anywhere near you, you would go to the other side of the room." Which was true.
"Remember, we agreed to avoid conflict. For Troy's sake. Julie was enough conflict for everyone." He still trying to wrap his mind around the fact that his mom is with Jack. But Julie had no right to say nasty things about his mom and Jack when Lucy was doing a hell of a lot worse.
"Even grandmas Karen and Katrina stayed in their corners. This is the first family event I've been to where the two women haven't started screaming at each other."
"Good to know. You're going to have to talk to your mom. Preferably before she leaves the state."
"I know." Chad sighed. "I just don't even know where to start that conversation. My mom is freaking out about us getting married, and I'm dealing with my favorite childhood fantasy coming true a little too late."
"I think she's starting to accept it. You know she introduced me to Grandma Karen as your fiancé. She did the same with Katrina as well." Sharpay told him.
"That's good to know." Chad snuggled closer into Sharpay.
"I know how you feel. Remember, I was mad at dad for not divorcing Darby earlier. It's OK for you to feel that way."
"Things would've been so much better with Jack as my dad. At a minimum, he wouldn't call me homophobic slurs at Thanksgiving."
"I think Chris trained him well," Sharpay remarked.
"As well as Mariah," Chad remarked just as he heard a knock on the door.
"Come in," Sharpay called out.
"Sorry to interrupt, but Kim accidentally took Alex's baby bag with her to the hospital because they never actually took it out of the car this morning. Somebody needs his diaper changed. Kim said you had baby stuff here." His mother walked in with Alex.
"Yes, he has his own little baby wardrobe here. I think Ryan is upset that I've turned his room into Alex's room." Sharpay explained, getting up from the bed.
"Which is honestly for the best because I don't want to hear him making out with Taylor and Zack simultaneously," Chad remarked. There are some things you don't want to know about your ex-boyfriend. He is happy for him, but Chad has limits.
"If you haven't realized it yet, Ryan is dating both," Sharpay added.
"I figured that out when I caught them making out in the foyer earlier with Jason. That would cause Darby to have a heart attack. Poor Jason was slightly traumatized by it all."
"I should send her pictures." Sharpay snarked.
"It would definitely fix a lot of things if she would just drop dead," Chad remarked darkly.
"I believe there's a Mark Twain quote that's applicable here. Something about not wishing someone dead but enjoying their obituary." Sharpay remarked.
"I think it's really a Clarence Darrow quote. Because I'm pretty sure I read it at some point during law school." His mom added.
"Law school seems to be more interesting than I thought it would be," Sharpay remarked as she grabbed Alex from his mom. "Alex and I are going to go to Ryan's room and get a fresh diaper and a new outfit. How did he get covered in caramel? Now I'm going to have to change too."
"Zachary and Chris. Teresa has pictures. They get him covered in Carmel, and then they run out the door, so I'm the one who has to change him." His mom sounded annoyed as she explained.
"And she did nothing to stop it." Sharpay was also annoyed. "Alex, you have to stop getting your clothes dirty like this."
"No, Yum," Alex replied.
"I really didn't expect a different answer. But I'm glad you can do more than one word now." Sharpay remarked.
"He called Julie an 'evil bitc' earlier." His mom added.
"You're such a bright baby. We are going to get new clothes as these two actually talk to each other."
"You don't have to. I can go change Alex." His mom offered.
"Nope, I'm covered in caramel, so you might as well take a moment to talk. We have a lot of really messed-up family relationships right now. I would like for you to two work whatever is going on out."
"Maybe later," Chad mumbled.
"Then you can sleep with Alex tonight," Sharpay said as she walked to the door connecting the two rooms. His mom was laughing at that point. "I will text Jack to enforce the same threat. Don't think I won't."
"She is completely serious about that, isn't she?" His mom asked when Sharpay was gone.
"100%. It's definitely not an empty threat. Sharpay is the most stubborn woman I have ever met. It sometimes takes days to convince her that she is wrong. We will both be relegated to the couch if we don't talk to one another." Chad explained.
"Yet, you still want to spend the rest of your life with her?"
"Yes. Are you still upset about the engagement?" Chad asked his mother with a touch of anger in his voice. "I heard you introduce Sharpay as my fiancé."
"If you say something enough, you get used to it. My feelings are complicated about the engagement. I'm happy you found someone that really loves you and supports you. Sharpay even realizes that we need a push to talk to one another." His mother told him this with a smile. "I'm just concerned with the timing. Maybe I am dealing with a lot of my own Charles-related regret. At least that's what Jack argued."
"This future stepdad thing is already looking up." Chad joked.
"I'm glad you're able to at least joke about that."
"I'm trying, and I'm not mad that you're with Jack. I'm mad that you didn't do it sooner," Chad confessed.
"A part of me is to, but I didn't want to become Tiffany. Even if I hated Lucy, I couldn't do that to her."
"But then Lucy totally fucked things up, and you took your chance?"
"Yes. Or maybe we just couldn't keep fighting the inevitable." His mom acknowledged.
"I get that. Did I ever tell you about what happened when I was registering for classes this summer?" Chad asked.
"I distinctly remember you saying that the line to register for classes was worse than TSA. But not that much else."
"It was worse than TSA. It was two hours, and I ended up standing next to Sharpay. Since this was the pre-iPhone days, we had no choice but eventually, talk to one another."
"How horrible."
"I think I felt that way at first until we started talking to one another. Not just about silly things like what classes we were taking. Even in that first conversation, I told her things that I never told Taylor. I did not see Sharpay again until school began because I spent the rest of the summer with you in DC. When school started, we just connected in a way that we didn't before."
"Was that when you stopped hating her?" His mom asked.
"Mom, I've never hated her. I've wanted to throw her and her golf cart into a lake, but I never hated her. Although I also wanted to push her up against the golf cart and…"
"Don't finish that sentence. I get the point. Jack said the same thing that you two were always connected. As well as told me about the fact that the faculty was betting on you and Sharpay getting together."
"They were also betting on Ryan and me." That gets an interesting look from his mother. "I'm willing to acknowledge I was equally confused that summer about him."
"He seems happy with Zack, though."
"He does. I'm happy for him. I really am. Also, your boyfriend is right. There's always been a connection. We just kept fighting it. Maybe some of it was I had to work through my feelings for her brother too."
"You're not with Sharpay because it's easier?"
"I don't think anything is easy. Although I don't think any other girlfriend would be totally OK with me making some inappropriate jokes with her brother. Sharpay thinks it's cute."
"Probably not."
"I'm not Charles, and Sharpay is not you. This isn't happening because the condom broke."
"I know."
"Do you really?" Because Chad wondered.
"Intellectually, at least. I want things to be better for you." His mother acknowledged.
"I'm with someone I actually love. Isn't that better?" Chad asked earnestly.
"It is. It makes a difference."
"You never loved Charles?"
"No." His mom answered quickly. He isn't surprised at all. "Honestly, I'm not sure if I even ever liked him."
"But you love Jack?"
"Yes, for a lot longer than I was even willing to acknowledge. Margarita is going to be ridiculously smug when I get home Monday. She's been calling him my boyfriend for months." Chad couldn't help but laugh at that.
"I'm glad you have somebody that you love. I'm glad that you're happy. Although seeing the bite marks is a little disturbing. I want to pretend all your sleepovers are platonic until Troy and I share a half brother or sister." Chad joked.
"Like that's going to happen."
"Kim's stepmom is nine years older than you, and she's pregnant. By accident. Although Sharpay did mention the jumbo Costco pack. Thank you for buying that. Although I don't want to think about you using it."
"I originally bought it for you. I just ended up needing it myself. Would you be OK if you got another half-sibling?" His mom asked.
"Not if it happened this second. I'm more OK with you and Jack than I am with the Tiffany situation." Because Tiffany deserves so much better.
"I thought you started to like Tiffany?" His mother asked. "Especially after you found out your dad didn't have a secret girlfriend after the divorce."
"No, dad just had one during your marriage. I like Tiffany as a friend. Although the thought of Tiffany being my stepmom was just weird. I'm really thankful that she's on her way to Cleveland to kick Charles out of her house and out of her life for good. I also don't want to think about the fact that the mother of my half-siblings is younger than my ex-boyfriend by a month."
"Jamie was how old?" His mom almost yelled. Shit, he didn't mean to tell her that.
"Probably older than he should've been. Although he probably didn't know I was 15." He confessed.
"That doesn't make the statutory rape go away." Carolyn was furious. He was screwed.
"As much as I would love for Jamie to get punished for breaking my heart, I would prefer you not go all mama bear lawyer on this. I'm well aware I shouldn't have done things with a 19-year-old at 15."
"I'm always going to be your mama bear lawyer. Sometimes, I wish you were still Alex's age, and I could protect you from everything." She said wistfully.
"Mom, that's part of the problem. I'm not a little kid anymore. You could have told me about Tiffany. You could have even told me you were falling in love with your best friend, and that's why you really went to DC. You can't protect me from the world anymore. Charles is a complete prick who will never accept me as I am. I get that. You can't hide reality from me like you did when I was little. Mom, you have to let me grow up." Chad was almost pleading at this point.
"I know. It's just you are my baby. I worry about you. I get that you're not making the mistakes I did."
"You're just worried I'm making all new ones?"
"Yes. Marriage at 17 is not something I recommend for anyone." His mother confessed.
"I know. Mom, it's not like we are asking you to sign the papers so we can get married tomorrow. Not outside of an emergency, at least. We're planning on a long engagement."
"How long? What do you mean by emergency."
"In a perfect world no earlier than 2011. Although ask Vince Evans about the bull shit clause he put into his kids' trust fund. That might speed things up, unfortunately." He hopes the man can fix that because it isn't fair to Ryan. At least not until he can legally marry Zack.
"I will. What about 2013? You'll both be done with college by then." His mother argued.
"Actually, I think we'll both be done by 2012." If Sharpay switches majors and Chad thinks she will as soon as she realizes that she doesn't want to stay where she is.
"Then wait until then."
"What about new year's eve 2011?" Chad suggested. The wedding will start on Sharpay's birthday but will end on my birthday."
"Ask me again in January of 2011."
"So that means you don't want to go with me to the jewelry store to pick out Sharpay's replacement ring?" Chad asked. "I feel like it's a bad omen for Sharpay to use a ring from an abusive marriage."
"You're Abuela buried that engagement ring with your grandfather. or possibly through it in a river. I never got the full story. The ring she gave Sharpay belonged to her mother, and that marriage lasted 51 years." His mom explained.
"I remember great Abuela and great Abuelo. They actually loved each other."
"They did very much. Growing up, I always wanted a relationship like their relationship. I think I found it." His mom smiled.
"I'm happy for you."
"However, that doesn't mean that I don't want to spend some time with you. Besides, I'm sure Troy is going shopping with you."
"And Ryan," Chad added.
"You're just trying to make this the most awkward shopping trip ever?" His mom asked.
"I mean, why not. Besides, you and Troy probably need to talk."
"This is true. We'll leave Alex with Jack and Sharpay."
"Which is for the best because Alex may try to eat the ring. That would just be bad. He keeps trying to get the current ring off of Sharpay's finger." His mom started laughing.
"You did that when you were a baby. I think I have pictures of that somewhere."
"You will send those to me?" Chad asked.
"Of course."
"I heard laughing, so I assume it's safe to come back in?" Sharpay asked.
"Yes. We've started to work out some of our issues. I'm going ring shopping with him."
"Just make sure he doesn't picks up anything garish." Sharpay requested.
"I promise."
To be continued…
I actually had to redo Carolyn and Chad's conversation because Carolyn is now a fully developed character in the story. Before, she was just a satellite character to Chad. Now that I am in my late 30s, I identify more with Carolyn. This is why I developed her characterization beyond the woman who really likes musicals.