***Office***
The police asked Lauren to sit down on the couch. Sienna was dressed enough that she was able to speak to the police, so they took her to another room where she could talk freely.
The police questioned Lauren about Jonathan and if he was acting normally while they danced.
While they were doing that, Jennifer asked Isabella to count all the cash and see what they had vs. what they were supposed to have.
Isabelle did that rather quickly, and confirmed that $45 grand was missing.
Jennifer opened the desk drawer and got out Lauren's purse.
"Is this your purse?"
Lauren nodded.
The police came over and asked her why there was $45,000 in cash in the top of it.
"Sienna must have put it there".
"Why would she do that?"
"To frame me".
"Why would she do that?"
"I don't know".
Lauren looked away and sort of shut down.
Just then, the phone rang. It was the hospital.
Jennifer answered it.
"Hi darling. Everything ok at the gallery?"
"Yes, under control. How are you?"
"The doctor confirmed I was drugged. She wants to talk to the police".
"Ok, I will see you soon. Love you".
"Love you too".
Jonathan handed his phone to the doctor while Jennifer handed hers to the police.
The doctor confirmed to the police that Jonathan had been drugged and asked them to look for specific medicines.
The police officer removed the cash from Lauren's purse, and then removed a pill bottle, and pulled it out. Jennifer was watching Lauren the whole time.
As the police officer read the name of the pills to the doctor, Lauren hung her head.
After they hung up, the police officer looked to Jennifer and asked her if she wanted to press charges.
"Yes I do".
Lauren started to cry.
"Please don't. I can't afford a lawyer and I don't think I will handle being in jail very well".
"How dare you poison my husband, steal from my husband and I, and try to set up an innocent young girl who was trying to get back on her feet? What is wrong with you?!"
"She messed everything up. He was supposed to be mine, not hers".
The officers formally arrested Lauren, and put her in handcuffs and took her to the squad car. Jennifer signed the paperwork, and they took Lauren to jail.
Jennifer went across the hall to check on Sienna, and found Patrick in there, holding her close and the two of them talking and laughing.
"Mrs. Hart, how is Mr. Hart? I am so sorry about all of this".
"No need for apologies. You were a victim, like we were. Lauren is going to pay for what she did to you, to us, and to Jonathan".
"Good".
"You can go anytime you want, the police are done taking statements and we are closed."
"Thank you, Mrs. Hart".
Jennifer turned to Patrick. "Will you make sure she gets home ok?"
"Yes ma'am".
Sienna got up and hugged her.
Jennifer returned the hug and then went back to the office.
Isabella was redoing the totals, with the missing money added back in.
"If my math is right, and I think it is, since I did this 4 times to be sure, the gallery made a profit of $90,000 tonight".
"That's wonderful!"
"I agree. This is such a nice place".
"Thank you. And thank you for helping out, last minute. I really appreciate it".
"Anytime. I am glad we figured it out".
Jennifer got everything squared away and locked up, and headed to the hospital.
***Community hospital***
Jennifer walked into Jonathan's hospital room.
"Hi darling". She went over and kissed him.
"How are you feeling?"
"Better, now that you are here".
"Are they keeping you?"
"They haven't said. Tell me what happened with the police".
"Well, they got her to admit that she drugged you, and hit Sienna in the back of the head and undressed the both of you and embezzled the money hoping that all of it would lead to Sienna getting fired. And it was all because Lauren liked Patrick, and didn't want Sienna to go out with him. Isabella from the office was there and she was a tremendous help. She ran the front desk with Lauren while I was taking care of you, and then she did the totals at the end of the night to see if Lauren had stolen, and then she redid them after we recovered the money from Lauren to see what we really made. She was amazing".
"I will make sure to reward her. How did we do?"
"We made about $90 grand in profit".
"That's great".
"I told the police we were pressing charges, and they arrested Lauren.
He nodded.
He could tell she was exhausted.
She climbed into the bed with him, and curled up on his shoulder. Within minutes, she was asleep.
She slept until the doctor came in and Jonathan woke her up.
"Darling, the doctor is here".
She sat up.
"Hi".
"Hello, Mrs. Hart. Mr. Hart, I am going to have the nurse take one more blood draw. If your blood comes back within normal limits, you will be allowed to go home".
"Great".
"There are restrictions, though. I don't want you driving for 24 hours and I want you to rest and stay in bed, and stay hydrated".
"My wife won't let me out of bed, it won't be a problem".
"Jonathan, don't start!"
"Darling, he's a doctor. It's ok for him to know you can't get enough of me".
"Jonathan!"
He chuckled.
"She's a maniac".
"Jonathan Charles-"
He silenced her with a kiss.
The doctor waited till the nurse came in and then left.
"You are incorrigible".
"I adore you".
"That's sweet. You drive me crazy".
"You love me".
"More than you ever know".
She kissed him. By the time they were finished, the blood draw was finished.
She settled back down and snuggled back up to him, and fell asleep again.
He woke her up about 30 minutes later, and told her the doctor had said he could go home.
She got up and helped him get his shirt back on, and held his hand as they left the hospital.
She drove him home and they both headed straight to bed.
***Willow Pond***
Jonathan and Jennifer spent the day in bed, laying around and resting. Lt. Grey called and informed Jonathan that Lauren had been charged with several counts of assault, for drugging him and knocking Sienna out, and also with embezzlement.
"Thank you, Lt."
Jonathan hung up the phone and embraced Jennifer.
"Darling, in case I didn't tell you, the Max exhibit was amazing, and you are amazing for putting it together."
He kissed her tenderly.
"It just didn't seem right to open a gallery without him, and now everyone else can see how amazing he was".
"I agree".
"We are going to have to hire someone to replace Lauren at the Gallery. I can pitch in till we do, so that Sienna isn't alone there".
"What if we put Sienna in her place, and you pitch in and train her, and we find someone to replace Sienna and another to work alongside them in the gallery?"
"I like that. Sienna knows the gallery and has been there from the beginning, it's only fair that she be given a shot at running it. She doesn't have curator skills, but you could hire a curator just for that part and let Sienna do the rest".
"That's a good idea".
"How are you feeling?"
"I'm fine. I am just tired".
"Your color is back to normal, that's a good sign".
"Darling….you said I was passed out last night at the Gallery. What did I miss?"
"Do you remember dancing with me?"
"Yes".
"Do you remember dancing with Lauren?"
"Vaguely".
"Well, you and I danced and then I went to the ladies' room. And while I was gone, you got some champagne, and she drugged it and then you and her shared a few dances. At the end of that, you said you didn't feel well, so you and I were headed to the office so that you could lay down. But then Sienna came up and said someone needed to speak with me about a showing, so Lauren offered to take you to the office so I could deal with that. When I got in to the office, you were laying on the couch passed out. Sienna had gone in there to get receipt tape, and she didn't come back. When I got in the office, you were passed out on the couch, she was laying on top of you. Your pants were unzipped, your shirt was unbuttoned. She had been knocked out from behind, hit in the back of the head. And we found the money that was missing from the safe in Lauren's purse. Sienna filled in the gaps that she had walked in to the office to get receipt tape and Lauren was getting cash out of the safe. Sienna grabbed the receipt tape and was just going to go, because she didn't think it was suspicious since Lauren had access to the safe. But as she turned to leave, she was hit in the head."
"Darling, Sienna is a sweet girl, and I know that we have helped her out a lot lately….but I would never…"
"I know. I know you didn't do anything. I never thought that you did. It was obvious that it was all a setup".
He rolled over to face her, and caressed her face with his hands.
"You are the only one for me".
He kissed her nice and slow and they tenderly made love before falling asleep again.
***Epilogue***
It's been about 6 months since the gallery opened. Sienna is basically running the place, and she and Patrick are more in love than ever.
Lauren's trial is today, and everyone is at the courthouse to testify against her.
Jonathan, Jennifer, Sienna, Patrick, and Isabella are all in the hallway outside the courtroom. The DA is informing them that Lauren pled not guilty.
"We are going to have the 5 of you walk in, and introduce yourselves to the court. Then we are going to have one of you testify and the rest of you have to wait outside the courtroom until you are called in to testify".
They all agreed.
They all walked in, and introduced themselves to the judge. The judge told them they would need to wait outside the courtroom.
About 5 minutes later, the ADA came out and told them that Lauren had changed her plea to guilty, and that there would be no need for them to testify.
Jennifer and Sienna were relieved.
"I wasn't looking forward to facing her again".
"I understand. What she did to you and Jonathan was unforgivable, unfathomable. However, she can't do it to anyone else ever again. She will be in prison for a long time".
Patrick came over to where Sienna was.
"Babe, since we don't have to testify, how about we go down to the Pier and have lunch?"
"That sounds great".
Sienna hugged Jennifer goodbye, and then she and Patrick left.
Jonathan and Jennifer went to the Bistro for lunch, and then headed back to Willow Pond.
As they walked inside, Jonathan noticed that she was very quiet.
"You ok?"
"Yeah, I am just reflecting on how glad I am that this chapter in our lives is over. Sienna is onto a new chapter with Patrick, you and I are onto a new chapter without Lauren. I am just happy".
She looked at him.
"Are you ok?"
"I am happiest when I am with you".
He swept her into a passionate kiss.
***A few months later***
Jennifer was rushing around, getting ready. She had everything packed and ready to go. Jonathan was loading the car.
"I think that's the last of it. Makeup, curling iron, straightening iron, my outfit, bandaids…I think I have it all".
"Ok, let's go. They will be waiting on us".
She got in the car as he put the last of her bags in the car and then got in the driver's seat.
She was the first to arrive, and she was ready by the time the others got there.
Sienna walked in, and Jennifer was amazed at how gorgeous she looked.
They shared a long hug, and then things got busy. Jennifer looked amazing in a purple strapless gown and black sparkly spiked heels.
A few minutes later, it was time.
She walked down the aisle and took her place alongside Sienna and her sisters. She watched and teared up as Sienna and Patrick pledged their eternal devotion to each other and promised to love each other forever. As soon as they were pronounced husband and wife, they kissed and walked back down the aisle. Jennifer was escorted down the aisle by Patrick's father. Jonathan was waiting at the back of the church for her.
"You looked beautiful, darling".
"Thank you".
They shared a kiss. After the wedding party took about 2000 pictures, they all went to the reception.
Jonathan and Jennifer danced all night, and then it was time for the toasts.
Sienna and Patrick decided to start things off untraditionally and did the first toast themselves.
Sienna took the microphone.
"This is unusual, but that's us-doing traditional things in an untraditional way. Plain and simple, Patrick and I owe our being here and our being together to two wonderful people, and one not so wonderful person. For those of you who don't know the backstory, I spent 9 years of my life in a relationship that was horrendous and hellacious. One night, it all came to a head, and we had our final fight, and I was kicked out of the car while we were on our way home. I walked to the first house I could find, and asked to borrow a phone. And what I got in return was a place to stay for the night, clothes, a job, which led me to finding my husband, help finding a place of my own, and a friendship that I hope never ends. If you don't know the Harts, they are worth knowing. Because I listened to Jennifer and chose to value myself above the negative rhetoric that I had been listening to and believing for 9 years, I was able to rebuild my relationship with my family, and move on from the negative and find the love of my life. I am so thankful to you Jennifer, and to you also, Jonathan, for helping me believe in myself and put my best food forward and start a new life. Thank you just doesn't seem to cut it".
Jennifer and Sienna shared a tearful hug.
Jennifer took the microphone from Sienna.
"Not sure how the Matron of Honor is supposed to follow that, but I will sure give it a shot. You are remarkable. You did all of this because you finally believed that you could. I gave you some clothes, and a bed to sleep in for a night, and a glass of water, but you did the rest. When my husband hired you to work at our art gallery, it was a receptionist job. Within a matter of weeks, you are running the place. That is remarkable. I know that I am just a wee bit older than you, but I have learned in life that there are many different types of friendships. Some are short term, some are long term. Some are business, some are personal. The most special ones, are the ones that you don't expect. The ones that are born out of a need to make something better. The ones that are born out of the heart, like ours was. I had the best view of our friendship, because I got to see you blossom. You showed up at our house battered, scared, afraid, and cold, but you have grown and become such a beautiful young lady with the most lovely soul. I suspect that this young lady was there all along, we just had to uncover her and let her shine again. I am so honored to know you, sweet Sienna".
Sienna and Patrick were crying and hugging Jennifer.
Jonathan took the microphone.
"My part in this is, I listened to my beautiful wife. I usually don't go wrong with that".
Everyone was laughing and clapping. Patrick stated that he was so grateful that Sienna had gotten hired, because if she hadn't, it was high unlikely their paths would have crossed in any other way.
After the toasts, they moved on to the traditional wedding practices, like cutting the cake, and tossing the bouquet.
After it was all said and done, it was time for the bride and groom to leave. Everyone lined up, and grabbed a bottle of bubbles.
Jonathan and Jennifer were right at the end, right next to the car.
Everyone blew bubbles as the newlyweds ran through the crowd and to the car. Jonathan and Jennifer took Sienna and Patrick aside.
"From us, to you. Happy Honeymoon. We hope you enjoy Jamaica!"
Jonathan handed Patrick an envelope.
"Enjoy!"
They shared some hugs and then left.
Jennifer went and got her stuff and Jonathan took it to the car, and then came back and got her.
Jennifer and Jonathan walked to the car while Jennifer blew bubbles.
"Such a sweet wedding for such a lovely couple".
"You know, I think they might have it".
"What?"
"What you and I have. The way he looks at her, that's the same way I look at you".
Jonathan grabbed her and kissed her.
"I love you, Mr. H."
"I love you more, Mrs. H."
"Where are we going now?"
"Home".