At the anniversary party.

Mom and dad are already at the town hall when Bryan and I arrived at the ranch. Jamaal sees us coming and starts to grin when he sees my face. "Welcome back, Dancer." I look at him and start to grin as well. I went to him and we hug shortly. "You're looking really good now." I chuckle about it and wave it away. Bryan came closer with the box. Jamaal looks at him. "I see you've got a haircut too." "Yeah, it was about time." Jamaal smiles and looks in the box. Bella is laying in it, panting with her tongue out. "Hey, missy, how are you?" He caress her little head with a smile. She licks his hand. "She's pregnant." Jamaal's head shot up and he looks at me. I roll my eyes.

Then we both start to laugh about it. "That old bastard… the ladies really love him." Jamaal looks at Bella again. "He's worse than any of us combined." Bryan walks to the porch and puts the box in a comfortable corner. "I'm gonna get you a blanket." He went inside. Jamaal and I look after him. I feel that pride coming up again. "How did you discover?" I look back at Jamaal. "Baby had her suspicions this morning, and after we dumped Britney at the airport, we went to the vet. I'll let her be sterilized after this." "Smart move, Rosco is too old to lose his balls now." "Martin told us that Chihuahua's have difficulties with pregnancies. I can't possible let her go through another one when the pups are born."

Jamaal laughs and pats my shoulder. "I'm going to prepare for the party. Aren't you getting ready?" "In a bit, need to finish one thing. Ma told me to stay here for you and Bryan, so I thought I could finish up the thing I was working on." I nod with a smile. "When does it start?" "What time is it?" I take my phone to see the time when I noticed I've got several messages. "It's six now, we still need to eat dinner." Jamaal smiles. "We still have an hour. You can eat at the party, ma and pa have arranged that there's a buffet the whole evening." I smile and nod at him. I look back at my phone. "I got so many messages." "From whom are they?" I sigh as I open my message app. "Several people." I answer as I scroll through the messages.

"I haven't been looking at my phone for days, maybe even longer." "Not a fan?" I look at him and shake my head no. "Me neither." "Britney…" I see I got many messages from her. "What did she wrote?" Jamaal became curious. I open the conversation. "It's one threat after the other, what does she expect me to do? Be her lap dog again?" Jamaal burst out in laughter as I keep reading the messages. "I do need to make sure that the locks are changed at the house in LA, and I'll be calling an estate agency." "You're really gonna sell it?" I look at him. I inhale deeply as I think. "Yeah, I don't see why I should be keeping it." "You could use it as a holiday house." "A one-million-dollar house as a holiday house?"

Jamaal's eyebrow went up. "That expensive?" I nod. "I hope I can sell it for the same price." "It will be fine, Dancer, just try to enjoy the evening before you're gonna do all those things." I open a few other conversations, one of them is from Dan Karaty. We've met after my last season of Dancing with the Stars. He has his own dance shows and wanted me as a judge in one of them. I see that he wrote that he's interested in my show. It makes me think, but it's something for later to reply to him. I see I got a message from Frances as well. Mom must have given her my number. I open in. 'I miss you! I can't wait to see your face and sweet smile again. I love you!' I smile happily. I look up and see Jamaal's smile. "From Baby?" He asks teasingly. I start to grin, and he chuckles about my face.

"You need help, Skittles?" I put my phone back in my pocket. I got no interest to write a message back to everyone. With some I will deal later and I'm gonna ignore Britney from now on. "I'm almost done." "You're sure?" He chuckles and pats my chest. "Where's your shirt?" I look down. "Britney ripped it this morning, I've been walking around like this the whole day without even thinking about putting a shirt on." Jamaal laughs about it. "So typical you." "I'm going to check on my son, be ready soon, okay?" Jamaal nods and walks away. I inhale deeply and smile. It's so good to be back home, no obligations, no parties I need to attend that I don't want, no one bothering me. It's good, the fame was nice for a little while but now it's time to leave that life behind me.

I walk to the porch and see that Rosco has joined Bella. He's laying next to the box, his head leaning on the box as he looks at Bella. She licks his snout a little. I smile as I watch them. Love is really everywhere. Rosco tilt his head and looks at me. "You're gonna protect her?" I see him waggling his tail a little. I squat and caress his head a little. "You're gonna be a great dad." Rosco looks at Bella again. I look at her and caress her head. "You want food?" She barks and sits up. I look at the box and rip one side open. On that moment Bryan came outside with a blanket. "Can she have this blanket, dad?" I turn my head to him. I see him holding my old baby blanket. He came closer. "That's my old baby blanket."

I take it from him with a smile, thinking about my childhood and how often I slept with this blanket. Bryan squats next to me and looks at Bella. "This is perfect for her." Bryan looks at me and smiles. "If you want to make a comfortable bed for her, son, then I'll be preparing their food." I hand my blanket back. Bryan takes it. "Okay, dad." I smile as I stand straight. "Will she stay here?" I look at Bella and remember Frances' words. "She's moving with us to Baby's. Rosco can visit her there every day." We look at Rosco who sits down. Bella went to him and sits between his front legs. They look at us. "They love each other." Bryan says with a smile. I smile too. "When she's sterilized after the birth, she can walk all over town with her old bastard." I caress Rosco's head once. Bryan chuckles about it. I went inside to prepare the food.

Bryan makes a bed for Bella and then looks at the two dogs again. He smiles as he watches them. "Come, missy, this is gonna be your bed until your babies are born." Bella came to him and sniffs at the blanket. He sees her waggling her tail and then looking at him again. I came outside with the bowl and plate. I walk to them and see how Bella is turning circles in the box. "Looks good, son." He looks at me and smiles. I put the bowl down for Rosco, and the plate closer to the box. Bella stands up and went to eat. "Let's prepare ourselves now." Bryan nods and we went inside. I went upstairs to my bedroom. Bryan looks around. "What happened here?" "Britney." I take a deep breath and clean a bit of the mess. I look at the bed. "I'll clean the rest another time."

Bryan sees the pictures and takes them. He puts two halves against each other so he can see the whole picture. "This is you?" I look at him and went closer to have a look. "Yeah, the one on the right is me, I was about thirteen I think." Bryan chuckles a little. "And the others?" He sees a girl and two boys in the picture as well. "Next to me is Jack." Bryan starts to laugh about it. I chuckle about his reaction. "Yeah, he was a little fat bastard." "And the others?" "Next to Jack is Baby, he didn't want to let me stand next to her for the picture." Bryan smiles as he looks at a much younger Frances. "She's cute." I chuckle about his reply. "And the other one?" I look at the picture again with a smile. "That's Hank." Bryan's eyebrows go up. I lay my hand on his shoulder.

"We were best friends." "Maybe you can be best friends again." I smile. "Maybe, we'll see. Let's just enjoy our lives here." He nods and lays the picture down. I turn and take our outfits out of the bag. Bryan takes his boots as well. We get dressed and I help him with the bolo tie. Bryan looks in the mirror from the closet and turns a little to the left and then to the right. "You're looking good, son." He turns and looks at me. I went to stand in front of the mirror as well to check on my bolo tie. "Baby won't be able to stop staring." I chuckle about it. He smiles as I turn my head to look at him. "Lucy will be having the same." I give him a wink and he starts to blush. "I like her a lot, dad." "I know you do. I can see how you react." "What should I do? I've always thought that being straightforward was the best way, but after Lucinda I'm not sure anymore."

He inhales deeply and then sits down on the bed with a sigh. I sit down next to him. He looks down at his hands that are laying on his lap. I lay my hand on his upper back as I think about the morning of our departure. I think about Hank. I know he has always been straightforward. He has been raised like that, but it's also in his nature. I think about yesterday when Amy and Lucy came to Sean and my son. They've been approaching the boys. It makes me think that Lucy is a lot like her father. I start to smile. Bryan looks at my face and sees my smile. "What?" I look at his face. "I don't think you've got to be afraid of being straightforward or not." "What do you mean?" "She came to ask you to be her dance partner yesterday." I wink.

I see him thinking about it. I wait a little bit. Then I see him starting to smile. "She took me to the others as well. She introduced me." I nod at him with a smile. "And today, she waved and said hi first." He inhales deeply. "I think she likes you." "What do I do?" "Let the things go as they come. You can't force anything. Have a dance with her at the party, spent time with her, talk to her, the rest will follow." I see him thinking and nodding. I smile as I stand up. "Thanks, dad." I look at him again. "I'll be always there if you need me." He stands up and we hug shortly. "Let's see if Skittles is ready." He walks outside. I look around one more time and sigh. We went downstairs and see Jamaal sitting on the couch. "You're ready, Skittles?" "Yeah, you two made me wait." I chuckle. He stands up and looks at us up and down.

"Damn! You two look really good. You've been to old Maverick?" I look at his outfit. "You look good too, brother." "Thanks, but not as good as you." I roll my eyes. "We've been to Mav indeed, how did you know?" "He's the best in town." I smile and put my hands in my pockets. "He repaired my boots." Jamaal looks down and smiles. He sees that Bryan has boots on as well. "Looking good, brother, and I see my nephew has some nice boots too." He looks at up and sees Bryan grinning. "You're becoming a real cowboy one day." I smile. "Let's go." We went to the car. I still need to bring it back since it's a rental, but that's a worry for later as well. I feel the impatience coming up. I want to see Frances again, I'm missing her. We step in and I drive to the town hall, which is just in the center of the town.

So, when we enter town, I park the car on the parking and step out. I look at the town's square. They've even been decorating the buildings around the square. Bryan and Jamaal step out. I lock the car. "Wow!" Bryan says as he stands next to me. Jamaal came to us and smiles. "They've been outdoing themselves." I nearly whisper. "Yeah, ma wanted it to be really big. That's why the whole town has been invited, and I think that the room inside is too small for everyone." I see people standing on the square. They're talking, some are drinking. The doors to the room are wide open. We walk to the building. People are greeting us. We greet them back with a nod and a smile. "This is gonna be the party of the century here in Pampa." Jamaal jokes. I start to laugh about it.

As we're near the door. I can hear someone talking. We look inside and see Franny standing on a little stage. She's giving a speech about mom and dad. I smile as I listen to her speech. Jamaal looks around and sees that all the tables are taken. Bryan is searching Lucy and smiles when he has found her sitting at a table with her parents. She looks at the door and sees us. She smiles wider and waves at him. He waves back at her. Roberta sees them waving and smiles. Hank looks at me and starts to grin. I look around and then spot his face. I give him a half grin and look around again. I see mom and dad sitting at the table in the center. Frances, Marge and Sean sit at the table too, but so does Mary and Philip. I inhale deeply as I watch Philip looking at his phone. Jamie and Bianca sit at the table as well as Billy and Penny.

"I need to end this speech soon. I'm already talking for about fifteen minutes." People laugh about it. I look at Franny again with a smile. Franny looks at the door and sees us. "I see that my brothers and my nephew finally have arrived." People turn their heads. Jamaal went to mom and dad. They hug him with a smile. I slowly walk inside with Bryan as people keep watching us. Franny smiles as she checks me out. "You're looking good, brother." She says through the microphone. I look at her and roll my eyes. She chuckles about my face. I came closer to mom and dad. I look at mom and see her having her hands over her mouth. Her eyes are watery. Dad rubs her back a little as he smiles when he looks at me. Mom takes my hands and looks up and down.

"You look amazing, it's a total transformation." I smile and give her a kiss on her cheek. She grabs my face and let her thumb stroke my shaven cheeks. I can see the admiration in her eyes. "Is this why you've been away the whole afternoon with your son?" "Yeah." She gives me a kiss on my forehead when she pulls me closer. I grab her in a tight hug. I close my eyes. "We thought that you've changed your mind and went back to LA." I let mom go and look at her face. "No one can ever change my mind anymore. I'll be staying here forever." Mom smiles and looks at Bryan. "You look just like your father." Bryan smiles and went to give her a hug. "Congratulations, mawmaw." She chuckles a little and grabs his head after the hug. "You're gonna keep the Castle name going, I'm sure of it." Bryan only smiles.

She let him go and Bryan looks at dad. "Congratulations, pawpaw." Dad smiles happily. "Come here, son." Bryan went to him and dad hugs him tightly. Mom looks down at my boots and smiles. "You've got them repaired." She looks back up. "Mav has repaired them for free." Dad looks at me when I said that. I look at him with a smile. "He said that he owed you some things." Dad chuckles about it. I went to him and he grabs my head. I look at his face and can see how happy he is right now. "I'm glad to see the old you back, son." I smile. Then he hugs me tightly and I grab him tightly as well. I close my eyes for a moment. Dad never has given me a hug like this before. This means so much to me. He let me go and pats my chest once. "Let's sit down." Mom says.

Bryan went to Sean. They did a fist bump when Bryan sits down next to him. I look at Frances and see her smiling at me. I hold my breath when I look in her eyes. Mom sits down again. "The seat next to Baby is for you, son." I look back at dad and nod. Carlos quickly went to Franny to help her off the stage. I turn and watch her coming to me with a huge smile on her face. "My god, brother, I nearly didn't recognize you from afar." I laugh about her joke as she gives me a kiss on my cheek. She lays her hand on my other cheek and smiles. "Looks really good. You want to give a speech?" I look at the rest of the family. I see mom nodding with a smile. "All right. Sit down, sis." Franny smiles. I look at Carlos and give him a short hug. He smiles at me as I walk to the little stage.

I step onto the little stage and take the microphone. I look at everyone in the room. I look at the door and see that people are coming inside. I inhale deeply. I'm not a big fan of speeches. I look at mom and dad. They're smiling at me as they're holding hands. I start to smile. "I haven't prepared anything for a speech. I didn't even thought I would be giving a speech to begin with." People laugh about it. Frances giggles. "Where do I start?" I think about the day mom called me. "When ma called me last week…" I start. "She told me about the anniversary and that I had promised her that I would come." I pause a little. "I, honestly, had forgotten about the anniversary because I've been very busy with the shows I've done." I look at my son. "My son told me he wanted to go. It had been years that we were here for a short visit." I see him smiling now. "It's good that I've listened to my son."

Jamie whistles once, loud and short. I look at him and chuckle. "Stop it, brother." He's laughing. "Anyway, my son has been telling me for a while that I haven't been myself. That I've changed too much, most of you know what I'm talking about." I see some nodding. "So, I told my son to start packing. We took the first flight here the next morning." I look at Frances again with a smile. "I'm so happy that we stepped in that plane that morning. For the time that I'm here now, so much has been revealing. I've came to realize that Pampa is my hometown. I even got my best friends back." I look at Billy and Penny who are smiling at me. Some whistle and I smile. "Ma told me that I wasn't myself, but she wasn't the only one telling me." I look at my family again. "There's nothing more important than having your family around. They know you the best, remember that." Bryan smiles happily.

"Ma, pa, I'm so happy to be back. It's so good to see you both being so happy." I see them nodding. Mom puts her hands over her mouth again and sniffs. "I'm happy that pa has listened to me, he's finally taking those damn pills." Everyone laughs about it. I look at dad and see him chuckling. "I hope I'll be having my parents around for many years to come. I think I can speak for my brothers and sister as well." I see them putting their glasses in the air. I look back at mom and dad. "You're the best parents someone wishes to have. I haven't always been a good son." I pause shortly and inhale deeply. "I'm sorry that I didn't came to visit more often or for not calling so much. I love you both so much."

Mom is crying and dad is comforting her a bit while having tears in his own eyes. I think about my plans. "Before I end this speech. I want to tell you all that I'm planning on buying the old dance school from Marcia and I will re-open it. It's about time the town starts to dance again." I watch how everyone starts to clap, some are cheering, others are whistling about it. I can see how much everyone seems to love the idea of having the dance school back. I take it as a good sign. I look at Frances and see her little smile. "I'm gonna stop boring you with my speech. I want to be with the love of my life now." Jamie and Jamaal whistle on their fingers. Frances giggles about it.