So I thought a lot about writing an alternative ending to Hometown Girl, and I admit, I had a small hankering myself to see Chris and Nina happy. So to jog your memory's, this chapter picks up after chapter forty six if you'd rather read a happier version.

Chapter Forty Seven

"Did you ever play that game when you were a kid? Where you'd try and make out the shapes of the clouds?"

Jesus, I missed him.

Memories of Chris came flooding back without warning. It was as though I had suppressed a million memories of he and I together since we'd been apart. But now we were back together, the floodgates were open again. They came back to me day and night; I could be walking to the store, reading a magazine, or brushing down my front steps when I would hear his voice in my ear as clearly as if he had showed up at my door from California. The cloud memory came when I was lying in the yard watching Mikey run through the grass in an attempt to catch crickets.

"Did you ever play that game when you were a kid? Where you'd try and make out the shapes of the clouds?"

I frowned.

"Nah."

"Sure, you did." He shifted slightly underneath me. We lay in the field next to Fran's house staring up at the summer's sky, my head on his chest. "Everybody played it."

"Not me. I was probably counting my ma's beer bottles."

He chuckled.

"Well, then you missed out on a rite of passage. Come on, let's play."

"Huh?"

"See that cloud up there? It looks like an elephant."

I looked in the direction he was pointing but I couldn't see anything except wispy clouds against a deep blue sky.

"Nope. Don't see it."

"Sure, you do. There's his trunk. And his back. And there's his tail."

"It's just clouds."

I could feel his frown without looking up.

"Why are you so grumpy?"

"I'm not grumpy. This is stupid."

"It's fun. Close your eyes. Close your eyes and dont think about anything. Then look again."

"Do I have to?"

"Yes."

So I closed my eyes. I breathed in the scent of the corn field, the touch of his hand against my warm skin. And then I looked.

"A heart."

"What?"

"I see a love heart. Right over there. But it's the gap in the clouds, not the actual clouds. You see?"

"Thinking outside the box already. I like it." His chuckle warmed my insides. "Of all things, huh? A heart."

I elbowed him.

"What's that mean?"

"It means that you love me. That you're crazy about me. That you could stay like this in this field forever."

I scoffed and slapped him idly with the back of my mind.

"What makes you think that, big shot?"

"Because." He caught my hand and linked his fingers through mine. "I was thinking the exact same thing."

888

"I need to stop watching movies I've read the book of."

I was waiting to cross the street when I saw a poster for the film True Grit- based on the novel by Charlie Portis. It had been some time since I'd been to a movie. Ace and I rarely went anywhere after Mikey was born. Chris and I had gone all the time though.

"I need to stop watching movies I've read the book of."

It was a warm summer's night and we were walking back from the drive in. Chris and Gordie were still working on getting the skylark finished so we'd walked in and sat down at the seats up front.

"What are you talking about? That movie was awesome!"

We didn't always agree on choice of movie but watching the Carpet Baggers had been an easy agreement. I liked the name of it and Chris said it was one of his favourite books. We had only made out a couple of times which wasn't like us at all since I was so engrossed in the screen.

Chris pulled a face.

"You haven't read the book. It kinda killed it for me."

"What are you talking about?"

"Think about it. Any film you ever read the book of turns out to be a disappointment."

"That's not true!" I felt indignant. "Gone with the Wind was way better than the book."

"You read it?"

"Yes."

"All of it?"

"Well, no. But thats because it was so damn dull. I watched the entire movie though!"

"Not the same thing. The book is way darker than the glossy shit they put in the movie. Movies have to censor everything. It takes out essential messages, completely excludes the Ku Klux Klan from the running and-"

"The KKK is in Gone with the Wind?"

He looked at me and laughed.

"Glory, how much did you read before you fell asleep?"

"Hey!" I protested. "Okay. To Kill a Mocking Bird. That movie rocked."

"It was decent. But you lose Scout in the movie. It becomes all about Jem. I felt kinda disappointed at the limitations of her character. And again, all the dark stuff is excluded. No implications about incest, and all the racial challenges get rolled into a damn court room drama. It's bullshit."

I was stumped for a second.

"I never thought about it that way..."

"Well, you have now." He grinned at me. "Maybe we should both stop seeing movie versions of good books."

I stopped walking for a second, pulling him to a halt.

"Chris?"

He raised his head towards me and i leaned up and kissed him hard on the mouth. He kissed me back, smiling as we pulled apart.

"What was that for?"

"For being so damn smart. It's hell a hot."

"You're hell a hot." His fingers tightened around mine and he pulled me closer to him, planting a kiss on my cheek.

888

"Will you do me the honour of becoming my wife?"

"You're insane!"

"No, I was insane for not asking you five years ago."

The phone started ringing while I was trying to go over my course work. My book keeping class was tough and I was always tired by the time Mikey was in bed. Tonight I was pretty sure I was adding it all up wrong. I sighed and got up to answer the phone.

It was probably for Gordie. Who was out with the new History teacher at the high school- showing her the town- which would have taken all of twenty minutes. He'd been gone three hours.

Probably Mrs Lachance, I thought. After all the years of neglect, Gordie finally moved out and suddenly she was almost an overbearing mother.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Beautiful."

I smiled into the phone.

"Hey."

There was something about his voice that just made me feel crazy happy.

"How you doing? You have a good day?" He was at a payphone, i could hear the noise and laughter of a crowd in the background.

"It was busy," I said, "Tiring. I'm remembering how much I hated math."

"Hey, you're good at math," he said. "You just need to remember that."

"I'll try. How was your day?"

He sighed a little.

"It got a whole lot better as soon as I heard your voice. I miss you, Nina."

"I miss you too," I said. "When are you coming home?"

"Tomorrow." I could hear he was grinning. "I was going to surprise you but I couldn't wait. I picked something up today and I kinda feel like I have to give it to you in person."

I clenched and unclenched my fist before looking down at my bare fingers.

"What time, tomorrow?"

"My bus gets in at six. Gordie'll pick me up."

"Mikey'll be asleep by the time you get here," I warned.

"So I'll see him the day after. All I wanna do is hold you in my arms and kiss you."

"You are so soft," I laughed.

"With you, I am," he agreed.

The two of us laughed intimately.

"Babe, I'm out of quarters," he said quickly as the phone began to beep. "I'll see you tomorrow. Love you."

"Love you," I called back but the phone died so I wasn't sure if he'd heard me or not.

I finished the math homework much more quickly after I went back to it. Chris made me feel smarter, and more confident. He always had.

888

It was past 7 o clock when I heard Gordie come into the house.

I practically ran into the hallway, nearly shoving Gordie aside as I threw myself into Chris' arms.

"Ah jeez, get a room," Gordie complained as I buried my face in Chris' neck and he squeezed me tightly to him, smoothing back my hair. He smelled so good.

"Come for a walk with me?" Chris dropped his bag on the floor and I raised my eyebrows at him.

"Now?"

"Yeah, come on." He was tugging me towards the door when I looked at Gordie.

"It's cool. I've cleared it with Gordo. Let's go."

Gordie made a gagging gesture and shooed us outside.

"Where are we going?" I slipped my hand into his and he stopped to give me a long lingering kiss before grinning at me.

"It's a surprise."

Considering we hadn't seen each other in so long we were quiet. It wasn't uncomfortable, we had always been easy company but he was thoughtful and walking quickly. I was tired and doing my best to keep up with him.

Weirdly I started to get a sense of de ja vu as we cut into Folly's Field and as he led me to the wooden bench on the far side I suddenly realised why. We had come up here the night of Gordie's birthday party.

We had sat on this bench until the sun had come up.

"Here, sit down." Chris pulled me onto the bench beside him.

"Last time we were here, I remember feeling like my whole world was crashing down. I lost it before when you went back to Ace but I had always told myself you couldn't be happy with him and that maybe one day there'd be hope for us.

I opened my mouth to respond but he put a finger to my lips.

"But that day up here, after I'd seen you with Mikey, I realised I couldn't have you back anymore. You had a husband and a beautiful son and a life that was happy. I sat here wishing on a star-" He pointed into the sky "that star- for a do over. Where I would refuse to leave you- that day in the bar- that day at Ace' s place-"

"Chris, stop-" I didn't want to be reminded of our past, of how I had chosen Ace, of how I had hurt him.

"No, I'm not finished. Because I got my wish- I got my do over. And I'm not wasting anymore time." He slipped down beside the bench on one knee, producing a beautiful diamond engagement ring from his pocket.

"Christina Willis, will you marry me?"

I let him take my hand and slide it onto my ring finger before I nodded.

"Of course, I will."

And then he kissed me.

888

Telling Mikey was one of the most scary things I'd ever done.

"Mommy and Chris love each other, sweetie. And that doesn't mean I'll ever stop loving your daddy, okay?"

Mikey frowned.

"Does it mean you'll stop loving me?"

"Of course not!" I was horrified that he would even ask, but Chris swooped in to the rescue.

"Ya know what, Mikey? When I told your Mom I loved her, she made it very clear that you are and her come together. So loving your Mom means that the three of us are gonna be a team. What do you think about that?"

"Sounds pretty cool," Mikey thought about this. "Will you come with me every weekend to watch baseball?"

"Wouldn't miss it," Chris said seriously.

"And do you like the Blue Diner milkshakes?"

"I'll have you know," Chris rolled up imaginary sleeves and leaned towards Mikey conspiringly. "You're looking at The Blue Diner's vanilla shake champion. When I was a little older than you, I could drink eight shakes a day."

"Wow!" Mikey's eyes went wide and I did the natural Mom thing of wishing Chris wasn't condoning that amount of sugar to my son.

"Maybe I can take you for a shake some time?" Chris offered.

"Now?" Mikey asked enthusiastically.

Chris looked at me and I shrugged.

"Sure. Why not?"

Before Mikey could rush away to find his shoes I folded him into my arms and gave him a big kiss.

"I will never love anybody more than you, Mikey. Don't you forget it."

Mikey hugged me back and then looked over at Chris who was pulling his sweater on.

"Mom, are you gonna marry Chris Chambers?"

I looked into Mikey's blue eyes and nodded.

"Yes, baby, I am. You think you'll be okay with that?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "That'd be cool."

We ran into Gordie and Sarah at the Blue Diner. Sarah was the new history teacher at the high school and Gordie had been seeing a lot of her.

"Uncle Gordie!" Mikey yelled, clambering over me to throw himself at Gordie who was walking towards us. "Guess what? Mom and Chris Chambers are getting married!"

You could have heard a pin drop it went so quiet. I could feel every eye in the place watching us as Gordie calmly carried Mikey over to our table.

"Well, I guess the news is out." Gordie pulled a face as he sat down beside Chris. He had been the first person we had told when we had got back the night before and of course he'd been happy for us.

"Screw 'em," Chris shrugged then clapped a hand over his mouth when Mikey started laughing.

"Chris Chambers said a bad swear!"

"He did, and he shouldn't have," I said. "Honey, is there another Chris that you know?"

"No, why?"

"Why do you keep calling him Chris Chambers?"

"Because I like the way it sounds," Mikey grinned.

Sarah approached and I slid over to give her room to sit down. She was petite and pretty with natural red hair and sparkly green eyes.

"I don't believe we've met," Chris said, extending his arm across the table. "Chris Chambers."

Sarah laughed as Mikey climbed from Gordie's lap to Chris'.

"Yeah, Mikey told me. I'm Sarah. Nice to meet you."

"Are Chris and Sarah gonna move in with us now, Mom?"

Gordie looked like he wanted to strangle Mikey where as Sarah laughed.

"I think it's a little early for me and Sarah, buddy, but I'm hoping that eventually Chris will move in with your Mom and take her off my hands. Chris can take out the garbage and mow the lawn from now on."

"Does that mean you're moving out?" Mikey looked visibly distressed.

"Not right away, kiddo, but one day, yeah. It won't change anything though. We're still best buddies."

"You promise?"

"Promise."

"Sarah's not gonna be your best buddy?"

"No way! Bro's before-" Gordie hesitated as Sarah, Chris and I all glared at him. "…ladies, " he finished with a smile.

Everybody laughed except Mikey who looked a little confused. Clarissa came over and took Sarah and Gordie's order before congratulating us and walking away.

"Excuse me," Sarah stood up and headed for the bathroom.

"Momma, I need to go too," Mikey said.

"I'll take him," Gordie offered, sliding out of his seat and waiting for Mikey to follow suit.

Left alone, Chris smiled at me across the table, taking my hand and fingering my engagement ring.

"You sure you like it?"

"It's perfect."

"And you're sure?"

"Chris, we told Mikey. Of course, I'm sure."

"Good." He leaned over and kissed me. "I'm so happy."

"Me too." I smiled at him before I caught a glimpse of Vince Desjardins mother over in a window booth. She looked anything but happy for us.

"Not everyone is gonna be happy though, you know…" I said hesitantly.

Chris shrugged.

"As long as you, me and Mikey are happy, everyone else can get fucked."

888

The first few days of Chris being back were bliss. Although I was acutely aware that he would be returning to California soon and it would be another three years before he would be able to move in more permanently.

"Why don't you come to California with me?" We were on the couch. He was sitting, I was lying in his lap, my legs stretched out across the seats.

It wasn't the first time he had asked me the question and I sighed.

"I can't do that to Mikey. He loves Castle Rock. And Gordie. And Fran."

"We can visit," Chris said.

"It's too much for him," I said."Losing Ace, finding you."

"I guess you know best…."Chris looked thoughtful. "I wonder if I could transfer somewhere in State?"

The thought had never even occurred to me.

"Is that possible?"

"It must be," Chris said. "I'll do some research. See what we can work out."

Before I could answer there was a loud banging on the door. I glanced at the clock. It was ten pm. Gordie was due home but he had a key and he would have known the back door stayed open until the last person went to bed.

"Who the hell is that?" I murmured, getting to my feet.

I went to the door and pulled it open, startled to realise that Vince and Fuzzy were standing there.

"Hey. What do you guys want?"

"Get him out here." Vince was drunk. I could smell the whiskey on his breath.

"Get who out here? You know what the time is? Just go home." I tightened my cardigan about myself and started to withdraw from the door.

"Everything okay?" Chris appeared behind me and seeing Vince and Fuzzy, he put a hand on my shoulder.

"Hey, Nina, go and get Mikey a glass of water. I'm not sure I remembered to give him one."

I stayed obstinately where I was.

"You heard him, Christina. Go inside!" Vince barked.

"How about you get the hell away from my house?" I snapped back at him. "Before I call the cops?"

Fuzzy, who had remained quiet throughout the exchange, suddenly spoke up.

"Cops? You're threatening us with cops? We're your husbands best fucking friends."

It was all making sense now. Chris had done the math quicker than me as usual. I noticed how he slipped past and stood in front of me.

"Come on then, guys. You say whatever it is you need to say."

"Ace has only been dead five minutes. You're sniffing around his wife just the way you did when she was his girl. Playing happy families with his kid? What kinda shit is that?" Vince's voice was getting louder and louder.

"How about we talk about this tomorrow when you're sober?"

"How about fuck you?" Vince put out a hand and gave Chris a hard shove. Chris just about kept his balance.

"Stop it!" I yelled. "My son is in bed!"

"Ace's son!" Fuzzy snapped. "Ace's son is in his bed while you're in bed with this son of a bitch!"

"That's enough!" Chris snapped. "Nina, go inside. Please!"

I had never been so grateful to hear Gordie's beat up old car approach. He was out of the car on seconds seeing unfamiliar figures on the drive.

"What's going on?" He was breathless on arrival. Chris was still trying to get me to go back inside.

"Mind your business, Lachance. We should have beat your ass for shacking up with Ace's wife too."

"So why didn't you?" Gordie came and stood next to Chris, his tone low.

"Because Ace put up with you. But he never would have put up with this punk sniffing around his wife and kid."

"Ace isn't here," Gordie said. "Why don't you find a liquor store to rob or something?"

Fuzzy reached out to grab at Gordie and I screamed.

By now, Chris was beyond negotiating. He took my elbow and pushed me towards the door. I opened my mouth to protest but before I could say anything to him, he said:

"They are not bringing this to our door. To Mikey's door. Lock it behind me."

And then he pulled the door shut.

"If we're gonna sort this out, let's do it away from the house," I heard Chris say.

The voices moved away so I couldn't hear anymore.

I paced the floor for what felt like hours but was probably minutes. I heard footsteps on the drive and yanked open the door before they had a chance to knock or open it.

"Are you okay?"

It was like old times seeing Chris scratched and muddy- after a fight with either his old man or Eyeball. Gordie's shirt was torn.

"Hey, we're fine." Chris enveloped me in warm arms and kissed my hair. "We need to talk though."

"I'm gonna hit the hay," Gordie said, reaching out to shake Chris' hand. He squeezed my shoulder as he passed with a yawn. "Don't worry about it, Nina. Chris beat the tar out of Vince. Let the haters hate."

Once Gordie was gone from the room, Chris and I sat down on the couch. He was staring into space vacantly before he realised I was looking at him accusingly.

"What? Hey, I didn't want to fight him. I dodged three swings while trying to talk him down."

"They're still grieving."

"Hey, I know that. But that's the last time he comes to this house yelling the odds like that."

I touched the side of his head gently and he winced.

"You need ice?"

"No, but I need you to listen, okay? I need to know. About Mikey. I know we haven't talked about it and I guess I was trying to give you time, but I need to know."

"You mean you want people like Fuzzy and Vince to know?" I felt defensive. Why was this coming up now? What was the rush?

"No, I don't give a shit if them or anybody else ever knows. But I need to know. For me. It won't change anything. I will always treat him like a son, but I gotta know. Do you understand?"

I was quiet, staring down at my engagement ring as I turned it over in my mind. Of course I got it. I would want to know too if I were Chris.

"Babe? What are you thinking?"

"Just that…" I trailed off and he used his finger to lift my chin and look into my eyes. "If he isn't Ace's, that'd be the last piece of Ace gone."

"So you want him to be Ace's?" He looked a little hurt by my comment but did a good job of not letting it seep into his voice.

"No," I shook my head. "But I guess- you're still here."

He digested this for a second before nodding his understanding.

"And Ace is too, in some way. Even if I am Mikey's Daddy, Ace raised him for four years. And from what I can see, he did a pretty kick ass job."

I nodded and sighed, snuggling into his chest.

888