Chapter 11

A couple hours later, Stephanie, Roger, Jennifer, and the Bohemians returned from the reception, and Roger picked Stephanie up before she went inside the house.

"What are you doing, Roger?" Stephanie asked, confused.

"Well, I have to carry my new bride over the threshold, don't I?" Roger asked, grinning at her, and he carried her inside.

"Oh yeah, I knew that," Stephanie said, shaking her head and smiling up at him. Then she noticed Jennifer and suddenly, an infuriating thought occurred to her. "How could you do this to me, Jennifer?" she demanded, glaring at her best friend.

"I didn't tell her, I swear," Jennifer said, with Mark by her side.

"Oh, come on. How am I supposed to believe that?"

"I didn't tell her, Steph, I swear," Jennifer said. "I guess, with the heroin and the withdrawal… and you getting clean… well, she kind of went overboard with it and she told me she sent out a private investigator to find your parents, and that's how they got here."

"Oh my God," Stephanie said angrily, "this just keeps getting more and more screwed up. What other lies have you been telling through your teeth, huh, Jen?"

"Stephanie, we know how happy you are with Roger," Mark said, defending Jennifer. "Why would we try and change that? You've known Jennifer for years; is bringing the two people you hate the most into your life something she really would do?"

Stephanie looked up at Mark. "I don't know," she said. "Honestly, right now, I can't tell. I'm reserving my judgment." She looked at Jennifer. "Just go." She turned to go walk into the kitchen.

"But Steph…" Jennifer began, before Stephanie cut her off.

"I said go, Jennifer!" Stephanie said firmly, before turning her back on the two of them. Jennifer, respecting her friend's wishes, turned and walked out of the house, tears streaming down her face.

"I can't believe she would think I would bring her parents back into her life like that," Jennifer said, crying into Mark's shoulder as they walked outside.

"I know," Mark said, stroking her hair. "But just give her a while to think it over, Jen. She's really upset right now, and rightly so." Mark shook his head. "I know you didn't do this, but your mom did. There's nothing you can do about that, though; what's done is done. But after all those years of your mom caring for Stephanie, like Steph was her own daughter, well…" He gave her an uncomfortable look.

"Why would my mom do that, Mark?" Jennifer asked, looking up at him. "She always loved Stephanie, like she did me."

"Well, maybe the fortune had something to do with it?" Mark suggested.

Jennifer glared at him. "My mom has never wanted Stephanie's money," she said firmly. "Not one cent of it."

Mark shrugged. "Then I don't know what to tell you, Jen," he said, "except to come back later, when Stephanie's had a while to settle down and be with Roger. After all, Stephanie's parents aside, they did just get married."

"I haven't even gotten a chance to congratulate her yet," Jennifer said, looking up into his crystal blue eyes.

"That'll come," Mark said, smiling at her. "Just give it a chance to." A feeling of restlessness came over him. "Come on, let's go somewhere, OK? Just the two of us; it'll be fun, and it'll get your mind off Stephanie and Roger."

He began to walk away, but Jennifer took his hand and stopped him. "Mark, wait," she said. She looked up at him. "Thank you… for always being there for Stephanie and I… you and Roger both… whether Stephanie admits it or not, she does appreciate it."

"That's what I'm for, Jen," Mark said, and he leaned down to kiss her.

"What was that for?" Jennifer asked, surprised, after they had parted.

"I've been wanting to do that since I first met you," Mark admitted. "I just…"

"Haven't been able to get it out?" Jennifer suggested.

Mark smiled down at her. "Yeah," he said, breathing a sigh of relief. "As you probably know, I haven't got the best history with girls."

"Well, that's OK," Jennifer said, smiling up at him. "We can work on that. OK, now we could go somewhere," she added eagerly, grinning.

"OK," Mark said, and he took her hand and they walked away.

Stop the presses! I finally got Mark and Jen together! LOL. I've been wanting to do that for weeks, honestly, but I had to wait for the opportune moment; this just seemed to be it. I'm probably going to end this story in a couple chapters, but we'll see. Don't forget to review!

Until next time, lots of love,

Renthead07