Chapter 2: Mary Anne

I looked around my old bedroom as I anxiously awaited my step-sister's arrival. It really was amazing how much had changed since I first moved into this house.

I had grown up in a house on Bradford Court, next to one of my lifetime best friends Kristy Thomas, and across the street from a friend from middle school Claudia Kishi. That all changed when my dad got re-married, and we moved into a new house, or rather, a new old house as in the house that my step-mother had lived in was built in the 1800's.

I loved that house, my step-sister Dawn did too. Unfortunately when I was in 8th grade the house burned down in a fire. We lost everything, but, we moved on and my dad and Sharon now have this fabulous new house, built on the same property as the old one that holds many new memories.

It was weird coming home after being in college. For the past four years I had only been "home" for holidays and breaks, and last summer I stayed on campus doing a research project so I didn't even come home last summer.

College had been far from easy, but I had fortunately managed to make the dean's list every semester. I was involved with many different things in college. One that was really fun was the swing club, which basically was a group that gave members the opportunity to learn how to swing dance. I had a lot of fun with that group, and even managed to drag my boyfriend into it from time to time, just so we could dance together. It's not that Logan didn't like swing dancing (or dancing as a whole); he just had limited free time during football season.

I was also on the student union board, helping plan on-campus activities and things of that nature. This included dances, activity fairs, and other things of that nature. It was fun, but time consuming. I dropped out of it my senior year to focus on my studies.

I also joined the band, well, the pep band. I had on a whim in high school decided to attempt to play the flute. As it turned out, I was a bit of a natural at it and performed in the band in high school.

The pep band was more fun stuff though, playing songs like "Louie, Louie" and "Danger Zone." It was nice because I'm in no way athletic but still got the chance to be involved and support the teams, especially since Logan was on the football team.

But, my all time favorite thing to do was to help tutor young kids at the local grade schools in the area. They had a program through the university where you basically were paired up with a kid and helped them with their studies. I enjoyed this, because I love working with children and it was so rewarding to see that my efforts were really helping them achieve their goals.

Thinking about college made me want to go back! It was still weird to think of myself as a college graduate, even though the reality was hard to refuse. Truth was, I already had a job lined up, but I just hadn't told anyone yet. I wanted to wait until I got most of my family together to share my news, since we would all be together shortly.

Tonight, actually. Dawn and Jeff (Jeff is Dawn's brother, and my step-brother) were coming home to visit. Jeff was staying for a good chunk of the summer, but Dawn had to leave at the end of July to head to St. Louis to move into her new apartment, so she would not be around all summer. I couldn't wait to see Dawn; it had been too long since we had seen each other last. I supposed it must have been Spring Break, as Logan and I had visited Dawn in California then. That was months ago. We had wanted to go to each other's graduations but unfortunately they fell within a week of each other and we couldn't coordinate both. Sharon did go out to California for Dawn's graduation though.

I wandered downstairs and plopped myself onto the couch. My cat Tigger jumped up into my lap and purred, clearly wanting attention.

Tigger was an old cat now, he really only wanted attention, love and food at this point. He wasn't big on playing much anymore.

I laid back, pet Tigger, and thought about what Kristy's idea had been for the party and smiled. Kristy always was the one who came up with the greatest ideas, it's no wonder she ended up doing PR. And for a sports team, how fitting.

That made me think of Logan. I smiled, I couldn't help myself. At 13, I couldn't imagine Logan and me ending up together, but we are. Again.

We had both dated others, and had serious relationships. In high school I was completely in love with Blake Harrison. We met my sophomore year (he had transferred from another school) and I thought he was the most gorgeous guy in the world (of course, I had thought that about Logan when I first met him).

We had some similarities, I suppose. We both were more of the studious type, and we were both kind of shy. We fell in love rather quickly, and it definitely was the most serious relationship I had ever had before. After awhile though, I realized that we had very little in common, so when we broke up senior year that had ended up being one of the main reasons we split. Our relationship had become boring, because neither of us could agree on fun things to do. He became more interested in computer games, and I slowly wanted to go out, be more social and just have fun. Blake was great, and we parted on mutual terms. We've stayed somewhat friendly, since we have a lot of mutual friends from high school.

When I got to college I was bit with what I call the "boy crazy bug," though my best friend from college Jenny said I was just horny (Jenny was always the more 'tell it like it is' type).

Something that my friends who I would be meeting up with this weekend would not believe is that I, Mary Anne Spier, was a bit of a wild child my freshman year.

I dated a lot of guys. I so desperately wanted to break out of this shy Mary Anne mold and become this fun, exciting not afraid anything type of person. My friends and I went to parties, drank, hooked up people (I did not sleep with any of them though, thank goodness) it was nuts. Then I met Brian O'Donnell.

Brian was this gorgeous guy I started dating second semester of my freshman year. Actually, we had met in the swing club. He was a fantastic swing dancer, and loved travel, sports and anything Irish related (he was born in Ireland, but came to the states when he was five. He had been there long enough to maintain the Irish accent though, which I found incredibly hot). Brian was cool, because he was always willing to go to a party, a movie, or out dancing…and on top of that, he still managed to be somewhat romantic. He was in my eyes, the perfect boyfriend.

Our relationship moved fast, something about college relationships I suppose, they are more mature. Six months into our relationship I lost my virginity to Brian. I had always thought that I would wait until I got married, but I was so in love with him and at the time I felt that I was both emotionally and physically mature enough to handle it.

Well, I was wrong. After a couple of months, I had a late period, and the stress and drama that came from those few days of wondering if I could have made a really big mistake freaked me out so much I decided I couldn't do it anymore. I wasn't ready for this. When I talked to Brian about it, he wasn't too pleased but promised we could take a step back in our physical relationship.

Well, we tried but for some reason after that things just got awkward, almost as if it were impossible to take a step backward in our relationship. We talked several times and it became evident that we wanted different things out of a relationship at the moment, so we agreed it was best to break things off. He didn't want to pressure me into something I wasn't ready for, and I couldn't ask him to wait for me to be ready for the type of relationship he was looking for.

After that, I really just didn't want to deal with any guys period. I tried to put Brian behind me but one night I ran into him at a party and he was making out with a new girl. I couldn't help it; I fled the scene and cried.

And that is when I ran into Logan, the first guy I ever had a crush on. I had almost forgotten that we had gone to the same school, even though I obviously knew he was on the football team.

He saw that I was upset and that my friends were no where to be found (not their fault, they hadn't seen me leave the party) and sat down with me and just listened to me as I vented about everything.

It had been weird, yet great opening up to Logan again. Logan had always been a great listener, and had always been sensitive to my feelings. I could see that he was angered that I had been hurt, and that he genuinely cared for me.

We didn't start dating right away. For the remainder of sophomore year we worked on re-building our friendship, hanging out and just getting to know each other again.

Right before we both returned home to Stoneybrook that summer, we kissed. It hadn't been planned, we were both watching a movie in his dorm room (his roommate had been out of town) and had cuddled on the bed. After the movie we had just laid there and talked, and when I sat up to think about walking back home we faced each other and it just happened.

That summer we officially started dating again (I sat again but really, it was more like the first time. This time it was completely different than our crush-like relationship in middle school, because we connected on a much more mature and deeper level). It was interesting that we had found our way back to each other, and in some ways too good to be true, but it felt right and I knew even then that this time, we really had something here.

I am glad that we did date other people though, because having those experiences allowed each of us to grow and learn more about what our expectations were in a relationship. I have treated each relationship (or hook up) as a learning experience, and I try not to live with regrets. I don't regret being with Brian, because I was in love with him, and he was with me. And it had been a special private moment.

I thought about how my Stoneybrook friends would react to knowing the college Mary Anne. I supposed this weekend would bring all sorts of interesting stories, and I was anxious to see how the rest of my old friends had turned out.

"Mary Anne, could you help me?" came Sharon's voice from the kitchen. Startled by the sound, Tigger jumped off of my lap, allowing me to get up and wander into the kitchen.

Sharon was trying to cook dinner for the evening. Since my dad and I are fond of meat, but Dawn is more vegetarian, Sharon had several things going on at once. I could see that she had some steaks and a casserole in the oven, and both needed to come out of the oven. I grabbed some hot pads and pulled out the casserole while she pulled out the meat.

"Thanks," Sharon said. I smiled. "No problem. I can't wait-"

"WE'RE HOME!" yelled a loud voice.

"Dawn!" I cried as I set the casserole down on the stove and hurried into the living room to hug my sister before she had a chance to even drop off her luggage.

"Hey sis, I missed you too!" Dawn replied, a bit muffled as Jeff rolled his eyes and went off to his room to drop off his stuff.

My dad appeared, (he had picked them up from the airport) and wandered into the kitchen to help Sharon. Dawn and I just stared at each other.

"You're glowing," Dawn said. "Why are you glowing?" Dawn inquired.

I blushed, "Oh no reason, let's get your bags up to your room-"

"Did Logan propose?" Dawn whispered in my ear. I dropped the luggage I had attempted to pick up and Dawn's mouth dropped. "To your room, NOW," I whispered as we picked up her stuff and headed to her room. As soon as we dropped her stuff on the floor Dawn sat on her bed.

"I knew it, I just KNEW it! Come on sis, don't keep me in suspense!" Trying not to get too excited, I pulled out the necklace from underneath my shirt which had been holding the ring Logan had given me two weeks ago out and Dawn gasped.

"Oh Mary Anne, it's beautiful," she cried as I showed it to her. It really was. Logan had gone all out on it. But I had asked that he keep it somewhat simple, so it was a solitaire diamond, princess cut on a platinum band. The brilliance of the diamond was amazing though. He had done his homework.

"Tell me everything, how did he propose?" Dawn asked excitedly but I shushed her. "Dawn, I haven't told anyone yet, except dad. Logan actually asked dad for my hand before he did it, so dad knew before I did. Sharon doesn't know yet, so I'll tell the story at dinner tonight," I replied in a whisper.

Dawn nodded. "Gosh Mary Anne, I can't believe you're getting married. Hell, I can't believe we just graduated college! When did we all become so grown up?" she asked.

I sighed. I knew exactly how she felt. I was excited and nervous about getting married, it made me feel somewhat old, and I knew that 22 was not old!

Dawn suddenly got serious. "When do you think you'll have the wedding? You haven't mentioned what your plans are in the job world or Logan's for that matter…" Dawn trailed off.

"Dinner's ready!" came Sharon's voice from below.

I looked at Dawn. "I'll tell you everything later, I promise. We better get downstairs before the food gets cold," I replied as I took the necklace I had been wearing with the ring on it off, so I could place my engagement ring on the correct finger. It was time to let everyone know that I would soon be Mrs. Logan Bruno.

At first, everyone was awfully quiet at dinner. No one had noticed my ring yet, well other than Dawn and my dad that is. Sharon asked Jeff about college, and he gave the standard boy answer. Jeff was going to San Diego State and had just finished his sophomore year(Jeff skipped a grade in grade school). We had no idea what he planned on majoring in (I had a feeling Jeff didn't either), but he seemed to be enjoying himself and he had met some great friends so far.

Dad eyed me, as if to say, 'Why don't you tell everyone your news?' I looked over and Dawn and she grinned. I made a point of reaching over for the water pitcher on the table that was near Sharon with my left hand. Sharon looked down and saw the ring and gasped. She grabbed my hand, preventing me from picking up the pitcher and stared.

"Mary Anne!" Sharon shrieked. "Is this-I mean are you-WOW, what a rock!" Sharon said in a rush as the rest of us laughed, well, all but Jeff. He was staring at us in horror. I don't think he was ready for this wedding stuff.

I decided to put Sharon out of her misery. Sharon let go of my hand and I put it in my lap. "Yes Sharon, Logan proposed," I finally managed to say. Sharon stood up, came over and pulled me up into a hug. "Oh Mary Anne, I just KNEW he would soon! I'm so happy for you, congratulations! When did all of this happen?" she asked as Jeff continued to look horrified by the scene and Dawn and my dad exchanged glances. Sharon looked at everyone and blushed slightly as she sat back down.

"Okay, I'm calm now. Tell us everything!" Sharon stated.

I knew Dawn was curious, and Jeff probably wanted to bolt and get away from the mush fest but he'd have to deal with that.

"Well, the last time Logan was home, he paid a visit to dad," I started as Sharon stared at my dad. "You knew, and you kept it a secret?" Sharon asked in amazement. My dad just smiled and winked. "Well, Logan made me promise not to tell a soul. I'll admit, it was hard," dad replied.

"Anyway, dad accepted Logan's intent to propose and Logan planned a trip to Chicago a couple of days before graduation. Since our exams ended the previous weekend, on Monday we took the train to Chicago for the night," dad eyed me as he heard this, he knew that Logan and I had stayed at a hotel that night and probably knew that I was no longer a virgin but it still freaked me out to admit that I had spent the night with my boyfriend, er fiancé in front of my dad.

I cleared my throat. "Logan had set everything up perfectly. We went to this really nice Italian restaurant that overlooked the lake. We had champagne, great food…the works. Afterwards we decided to take a walk along the lake. Logan had seemed kind of nervous all night, and I finally asked him about it. He must have decided it was 'now or never' at that moment because he walked me over to a secluded part of the walkway and pulled a box out of his pocket and got down on one knee," I started to tear up a little at the memory, sometimes I can be so sensitive!

I shook off the tears and smiled. "He said he couldn't imagine spending his life without me, and that he loved me so much and asked me to marry him. Obviously I said yes," I added as dad, Sharon and Dawn laughed, with both Sharon and Dawn a bit teary eyed. Jeff just shook his head. I knew what he was thinking 'girls.'

"And the rest is pretty much history," I finished. Sharon smiled. "Honey, I'm so happy for you! I can't believe you kept it a secret for so long!"

I smiled. "Well, I wanted to wait until I had my family, my whole family," I added eyeing Jeff and Dawn, "together to share the news. Logan did the same. He's telling the rest of his family tonight. Hunter and Kerry don't know yet," I stated.

Dawn couldn't take it any longer. "So when are you planning on having the wedding? And where are you guys going to live?" she asked excitedly as Sharon nodded.

"Well," I said slowly, "we're planning on having the wedding here, at the end of June."

Dawn practically spit out her glass of wine. "THIS June?" Jeff looked equally as horrified, though I think it was more about the fact that he knew he'd have to wear a tux than anything else. Sharon's mouth just dropped, as dad tried his best to keep his cool. He knew everything, of course but that didn't mean the thought of giving me away didn't scare him to death.

"Why so soon? And how are we going to get dresses in time?" Dawn asked incredously.

"Well, I have the dresses figured out already; we can go to David's Bridal and buy them off of the rack. I'm only having four attendants, you, Kristy, Jenny and Kerry. Dawn, I'd appreciate it if you'd be my maid of honor," I added.

Dawn's eyed widened. "Me?" I nodded. "Of course! I'd love to be your maid of honor!" Dawn got up from her chair. More hugs. Jeff sighed.

"The reason why we're moving the wedding along quickly is for several reasons. One is that everyone who we want to be a part of the wedding is home this summer. The wedding is going to be at the Methodist church downtown, and we'll have the reception at the Stoneybrook Country Club. Everything has been arranged for the most part, thanks to dad and Logan's parents. They worked together to book a lot of things for us."

"Having everyone available is obviously one reason; the other had to do with Logan's post-graduate job. Now, you all know that Logan opted not to take part in the draft," I stated as Jeff's ears perked up at the hint of football talk.

"Well, several professional teams have approached him and want him to play. Logan at first was nervous that I would have a problem with him playing, which is silly because I have always supported him. He's a very talented player and he should be playing professionally."

"So, Logan has accepted a place with the St. Louis Rams. He reports to training in July, so we wanted to have the wedding before then. We have no idea what position he'll get to play but he's a great kicker as you all know so after the pre-season we'll have a better idea of that. His starting salary is…well, more than I could ever hope to make counseling children so it's great."

Jeff, who had been so silent, finally spoke. "I can't believe Logan is going to be playing for the RAMS! That is so awesome!"

I smiled. "In case you're wondering, I do have a job. I'll be working for a small private high school in their counseling department. I'm still waiting to hear if I've been accepted into…" I trailed off and eyed Dawn, then continued "Washington University's graduate program in psychology."

Dawn squealed. "You might be going to MY school, and you're going to be living in the same city? Oh Mary Anne, this is great!"

I smiled. It was great, it really was. I was getting married to a wonderful guy, moving to a great city where I'd get the chance to live in the same place with my step-sister and one of my best friends…

Yet why was I so scared?