Disclaimer: I'm only going to say this once: I don't own any of the characters and I'm not making money off of doing this. This is simply for fun.
Flashback to Marie and Evan's Summer (August 2000):
Marie, waves goodnight to Evan and then shuts her windows. Suddenly her room brightens up. Her mother is sitting on her bed, and her father is standing by the door, his hand perched on the switch. Marie is caught red-handed. "Mama. Papa."
"What were you doing with that boy?" Marie's mother demands.
"It's not what you think –" Marie begins to say as she wrings her hands together.
"It's past midnight, young lady! What do you have to say for yourself?" Her mother yells. "Well?!"
"I'm sorry." Marie says as she looks down at her feet.
"You are to tell that boy that you cannot see him again." She tells Marie.
"But m –"
Her mother cuts her off. "Ever!"
"You are to concentrate on your piano playing for the rest of your days here. We have worked so hard for you to get in Julliard! You are not ruining your future."
"I am not ruining it." Marie tries to say.
"Yes you are. That's what boys do. They're distractions."
Marie turns to her father, looking at him pleadingly. "Papa?"
"Don't think your father can help you out with this one." She says, not giving Marie's father a chance to say anything.
"But mama…"
"What are you trying to do to me? Do you want me to get sick? Are you trying to give me a heart attack? Have you no care of what might happen to me? I have worked so hard for you to be great, and this is what you do! You neglect your lessons. For What?" Marie's mother says. "A boy? There's ony one thing they're after. And that's sex!"
"Judy…" Marie's father begins to say.
"No! I have a right to tell my own daughter what to do. As long as she's living under my roof, she will obey the rules." Then turning back to Marie she says " You tell that boy that he is to never come by here again. And that is final. Disobey me, Marie, and you will have to bear the consequences. Is that understood?!" Her mother asks.
"Yes, Mama." Marie replies dejectedly.
"Good. Now go to bed. You have to start playing at eight in the morning tomorrow. With only thirty minutes break. You need to catch up for the times you were suppose to be in front of the piano."
Her mother leaves the room without a backward glance. Marie turns to her father, tears brimming in her eyes.
"You should not have snuck around Marie." Says her father before he leaves and shuts the door to her room.
Marie flops down beside her bed and sobs silently.
X
Like clockwork, Evan is standing in front of the front door to Marie's family home. He had just rung the doorbell when her mother suddenly appears at the door. This surprises Evan, because everyday since summer break began, Marie's parents have always been out of the house and the housekeeper was the one answering the door. Evan takes a step back when he sees Marie's Mother's scowling face.
"Marie won't be seeing you today, nor any other day. She is to concentrate on her piano playing."
Being the respectful and polite son that he is he says "I'm sorry to hear that Mrs. Ko, but is it possible if I could just speak with her, even for just a few minutes."
"Very well." She says. "Marie!" Marie appears by her side, looking chastised. "Five minutes."
Mrs. Ko steps out of the way and gives Marie a warning glance that Evan doesn't miss. "Hey!" He says. "What's going on? Did you get caught last night? Do you want me to talk to her? To your parents?"
"No."
"So do you want to pretend then? Pretend that we won't see each other?'" He says with a smile. "It'll be hard, but it''s worht it."
"No."
"What?" Evan asks, dumbfounded, the smile on his facce quickly disappears.
"She's right. I've neglected my playing. We can't hang out anymore." Marie says.
"Maybe you should try saying that without looking at your feet."
Marie looks up then, her eyes empty, her voice emotionless. "You should go."
Evan grabs her hand. "Are you sure about this?"
"Goodbye, Evan." She says to him before she shuts the door in his face.
Evan stands there, confused.
X
"Are you happy now, mama?" Marie asks her mother who has been standing nearby, hidden by the door.
"Don't be condescending, Marie." Her mother says angrily. "I only want what's best for you. You have a lot of promise. You were only two years old when you started playing the piano."
"Yes I was two. And I loved playing the piano." Marie says as she turns to face her mother with tears in her eyes. "Loved. Past tense. But you turned it into work. Everyday since then I had to play for four hours everyday after school. I'm surprised you even let me have my summers to myself."
"Well that was your father's doing." Judy says. "If it were up to me, you would never have spent it running around with that Cadman girl. And then you would be playing in concert halls by now."
"Laura. Her name is Laura. And you know that. She's been my bestfriend since we were little."
"That's neither here nor there. The fact of the matter is that you have not worked hard enough -"
"Did it ever cross your mind that maybe this wasn't meant for me? That I don't want to go to Julliard." Marie asks her with pain in her voice.
"How could you even say that to me?" She asks. "This has been your dream since you were little."
Marie lets out a snort. "My dream? My dream!" She yells. "You mean your dream! Don't make me something I'm not, mama. Just because you and papa are the best piano duo doesn't mean I have to follow in your footsteps."
"What are you saying? Are you saying you're not going to Julliard?"
"No, mama. Like the good little girl you want me to be, I'll go to Julliard. I'll even do my best just so that they won't have to send me back here!" She yells as she starts to run up the stairs. And then turns around to yell one more time. "That way I won't have to see you. Ever!"
"Marie!" Her mother yells, obviously distressed by he daughter's words..
"That's what you want isn't it mama?" Marie says at the top of the stairs. Her hands gripping the banister. "For me to be the best pianist. Well don't you worry. You'll get what you want." And with that last parting thought, Marie slams her door shut.
Back to the present:
"So you ended it?" Patty asks.
"Yup." Marie replies. "When Evan and I started seeing each other again I had to tell him what happened."
"Wow, and he forgave you." Patty says with a smile.
"Not at first of course. But when I told him, he understood." Marie says.
"That's still a big deal. I mean, most people in his position wouldn't have understood or cared." Katie states.
"Well that's coz my brother called Marie the one that got away." Jamie tells them.
"Awww!" Patty says aloud. "That's just so sweet."
"Yeah well after we got together, I had to make it up to him." Marie says. Laura bursts into giggles at that and Marie elbows her.
"He told you that you had to make it up to him?" Patty asks with a confused smile, looking from Laura to Marie.
"No…" She draws out. "I felt that I had to make up for it, you know, the blowoff."
"So what did you do?" Katie asks.
"Yeah, what did you do?" Jamie asks also.
"Come on, go ahead. Tell them." Laura encourages her.
"Huh, uh." Unsure if she should say. "Only a few people know of this. Laura and Jen."
"Okay, so what did you do?" Patty asks.
"I had sex with him." She says slowly.
"So? That's not so bad. A lot of people have sex after they've started seeing each other." Katie says. "My first time with Carson was maybe our fourth date, after grad –"
Marie cuts her off and says. "I had sex with him the same night we met again." Patty, Jamie and Katie's eyes grow wide at the confession. "Not that it was an apology. I wanted to have sex with him. But I was undecided. Anyway it doesn't matter." Jamie starts laughing. "What's so funny?"
"Does my brother know this?" Jamie asks, trying to stifle her laugh.
"As a matter of fact, yes." Marie says defensively. "I told him the very next day."
"What did he say?" Katie asks.
"He said that he figured it out after, well, after we were done and I had fallen asleep." Marie answers.
"Was it at your apartment or his?" Patty asks.
"What difference does it make?" Lauren asks as she drinks Her cocktail.
"Well, it makes a whole lot of difference. If it was his place, he couldn't very well kick her out of bed. And if it was hers, he could've left." Patty explains.
"It was mine." Marie tells her.
"Did he leave then?" Katie asks.
"No. Like I said, I told him the very next day." Marie says. "He said he wanted to wait and see if I was gonna tell him. And I did."
"What else did he say?" Katie asks.
Marie smiled then. "He said that it worked. And that he forgives me. And then he left the bedroom and made me breakfast."
"Awww, that's sweet!" Patty and Katie say in unison.
"Not so much –" Marie says.
"You mean a man making breakfast for you isn't sweet?" Katie asks.
"Well, that was sweet. But the weeks after? Ha!" Marie tells them. "He hung it over my head for over a month. Said that having sex with him wasn't really making up for it." Jamie sputters her drink at this. Laura snorts. "He said that if I enjoyed making love with him as much as he did then it really wasn't a sacrifice. Which is kinda good in a way, since it was his way of telling me that he loved every minute of it." Marie explains. Jamie is covering her ears and rolling her eyes at this. Laura grabs Jamie's hands to make her suffer through the story. "But he actually made me do stuff that I didn't want to do."
"Like what?" Patty asks.
"Like watch action movies at the theatre with him. Jog with him at 5 o'clock in the morning around the park on Sundays. Oh and watch the sports channel!" Marie tells them.
"Hahaha!" Jamie laughs. "That's it?!"
"Hey I hate doing those things okay. I like chick flicks and vegging out in front of the T.V. on Sundays." Marie says. "Those weeks were hell for me."
"And now? So I'm assuming you don't have to do those things anymore." Katie says.
"We've got two T.V. sets and we alternate every time we watch a movie." Marie replies. "But we usually end up watching chick flicks on T.V. when we're cuddling. I still got my way." She adds with a laugh."
X
"So what are you boys doing out here in the valley?" A cute bartender asks. The guys are at the Spa Casino, sitting at the bar, taking advantage of the night. Nick and Paul have decided to play the tables.
"How'd you know we're not from around here?" Rodney asks.
"It's easy to spot the out-of-towners." She tells him. "The locals usually stick to one or two spots. So basically you know who's who. It's a small town."
"It's not that small." Carson comments.
"Well, the Coachella valley does consist of several cities." Radek starts to explain. The bartender just stares at them as the group starts a debate.
"Sorry." John says to her. "We all went to the same school together. And these guys –" he points to Rodney, Radek and Carson. "- are the smart kids."
"Oh what school did you go to?" The bartender asks, obviously glad that John, the most good-looking one out of the bunch has spoken to her.
"Atlantis Academy." John answers.
"Oh! Wow! I've heard of that school. It's like a school for the elite and gifted, isn't it?"
"I guess." He simply says.
"So are you here for a reunion? Too early for one, isn't it?" She asks him.
"Nah. It's Evan's wedding week." And then clapping Evan on the back. "This here is Evan."
"Hey. How're you doing." Evan says, saluting her.
"Hi! A wedding week?" She asks.
"Yeah. A whole week of activities with close friends." Evan tells her.
"What kind of activities?" She asks as she pours some drinks.
"Spa for the girls, golf for us guys. Dinners. Then we're going up the tram. Then the girls wanna go shopping at a place called El Paseo." Evan says to her. And then he adds "And football."
"What about the bachelor party?"
"We had both already. The girls went to the Riviera, and then us guys went to the Parker. But we met up with the girls shortly coz those two bozos over there." John says, pointing towards Rodney and Carson. "Not the one in glasses... got into a fist fight." The girl's eyebrow cocks up. "Long story."
"So this is just your regular night out?"
"Yeah. We were at Shaker's earlier with the girls, akraoke and billiards. But we went our separate ways after the last song. One of our friends, Jennifer, got really wasted, so her boy took her home. The other girls decided to go to this place called Azul." John tells her.
"Azul's fun." She says to them. "That's where most people who work in the restaurant business end up." And then suddenly switching the subject, she asks Evan "So are you excited?"
"Absolutely. I've been waiting for this for a long time." Evan replies.
"You look it. I bet both your families are just as excited." She says as she wipes down the counter.
"Yeah." Evan says absently. And then he turns to John. "Dude, I gotta tell you something."
"What is it?" John asks as he takes a sip of his scotch.
"Marie's parents are coming."
TBC.
Note: Sorry to end it there… We'll tackle that on their wedding day. Of course.