Oh, yes, the damn disclaimer: seriosuly, do we really have to do it? Because, Jeez, if I'd own them, I'd not be here writing it, I'd be the writeer of a TV Shows and, well, we'd have the LIsbon romance for real...meanwhile, I just "write, draw, create, dream, hope and believe in Bruno, waiting for him to be blessed bu the light of reason..." (No, this discalimer isn't mine, it belongs to one fo the girls who wite Mentalist fiction on the italian site efpfiction, but don't tell me many of you don't share this vision...)
Epilogue
"So, I've been told you're moving out next week..." in the kitchen, PJ was finishing the last touches to his "poulet au vin", a recipe his dad had thought him before he moved on his own in order to impress ladies ("when I told your mother seducing a woman over a meal was sophomoric I was lying, but don't tell her that"), and impress his girlfriend was what he had in mind; at 22, Patrick Michel Jane Junior was the copy of his father, charming like no one but as sensitive as his mother.
"Yeah, Scott's moving in with Jules. Dad keeps saying the two of them eloped during spring break in Vegas, but they deny it. Although, I have to say, Jules is always as red as a tomato – he smirked, remembering how his dad always joked about the fact that it was something the girl had taken from her mother- when dad brings this in the open. My guess is that they don't have the balls to admit it, but give them a year, and as soon as she'll get pregnant, they'll have to tell us the whole truth"
PJ served his almost 8 months girlfriend and smirked at her: the brown-head Katherine Brenda Flynn was, like him, a "daughter of the law", having as parents two detectives. He wasn't sure yet if it was going to last, but he was pretty positive they were both in for the long run (also because his dad had told him so less than a week before), besides, he liked her. And a lot.
"And you're not bothered by that?" she asked curios; that was something he liked about her, how curious of everything she was, like him and his siblings; he wondered if it was because they both come from families of detectives.
"Scott's the son of our parents' best friends. We knew him since we were 3 months old, we practically grown up together. The day dad saw Scott, he said he was going to marry Jules, and when they got together at 15, he looked at mum with his "I told you so" smile- he paused, smiling at her – it's not that weird, thinking about the two of them together. I mean, we knew it was going to happen, eventually. I'm just pissed off that I'll have to move inside the campus"
"Your dad knew it?" PJ smiled as he saw Kat's expression- he knew it was supposed to be something between a question and affirmation; it wasn't unusual when people referred to his dad. His dad was right: he could see himself with this girl, definitely.
"I'm not sure, I've never heard of him being wrong my whole life– he said as he left for a minute the table, excusing himself, moving to his room to take a couple of books; once come back, he mot so he could be at her side and not in front of her like before- Kat, meet my family"
Kat skimmed over the picture he was showing her, two newborns in a hospital room with a few years old baby and a blonde man and a dark haired woman. "Are those two you and Jules?"
"Yeah, we were, I think, something like 24 hours old. That's my brother Lucas in the picture with us, and, obviously, our parents"
"Wow, you are your dad's carbon copy… your brother looked a lot like you as well- she laughed, trying to conceal her thoughts from PJ, but as soon as he gave her the look, she had to confess him – do you think you'll be as fascinating as him when you'll be as old as he was here?"
PJ just laughed, and moved to show her other pictures, this time of 4 babies, where their eyes and hair were well visible "mostly, the males took after dad, and the girls after mum, even if Luc has mum's eyes, while Isabelle – he said indicating a newborn with a 5 years old Lucas and the 3 and a half years old twins – is the opposite"
"Is that a birthday picture?" she turned the page, and immediately saw a picture of happiness, with a cake and many people gathered around a table; looking at it, PJ explained who the people in the picture were, indicating them one by one as he spoke.
"That's Lucas' fifth birthday. There are the four of us, our parents, mum's brothers, aunt Claire and her children, Uncle Cho and aunt Elise, and uncle Wayne with aunt Grace with Scott – he paused a little, massaging his neck as he was slightly embarrassed – Cho, Wayne and Grace aren't really related to us, but we have seen them every day of our life, they worked with our parents for years, they are like family to us"
"She is so beautiful, breathtaking - While skimming over an old photo, Kat was stunned, as the baby she was seeing was the most amazing creature she had ever seen, practically perfect, like an angel; PJ looked at it, almost crying, skimming over it like it was some kind of treasure, releasing a breath he didn't know he was keeping – that's Lily, my older sister, half sister, actually"
"Are you two not close? It's the only picture of her, and you've never mentioned her…" PJ bite his lips; it was true, he had never mentioned Lily before with Kat, but not because he didn't want to. Talking about Lily was something he had to feel to do, and the right moment had never come. Hell, he wasn't sure it was the right moment, he hadn't intended to talk about her, but he had forgotten that the picture was in that album in particular…
"She should have been 33 next month… lord, she wasn't even five years old… – he said skimming again on the close image of a child, few years old, blonde curls and blue eyes; a small tear left his eyes, but he immediately recompose himself, another trait inherited from his father, but Kat had seen enough and had understood what he meant – we have one picture of her, each one of us, while dad has all the others. – he paused, smiling a little, gazing over the photo again – I've always thought that we've been lucky, to not a have a sister with blonde curls and blue eyes. Dad always said it didn't matter, but I know he'd be heartbroken."
"What are you thinking about?" she asked him after a few minutes of silence, her hand on his own, still skimming over Lily Jane.
"My parents… they know each other from 31 years, and are married from 25. If not for Lily and her mother's murder, they'd never met. Mum was leading the investigations, and dad, well, he felt guilty, and decided to offer his help. If not for their deaths, they'd never met. As teens, we've been troubled by this, thinking that had dad not lost his fist family, he'd never met our mum. But, I don't know, at certain point we started to think, maybe they guided dad to mum? You see, mum's catholic, and kept saying that Lily and her mum were watching over us, like our guardian angel…" he took a sip of the red wine, looking a bit lost, until Kat broke the silence, talking about something she had never admitted at loud.
"My father is mum's third husband. She divorced Don, the second, but Noah, the first one, died on duty when she was barely 25. When it happened, she left Chicago for Los Angeles, and met dad. You know, at the time she was a forensic investigator while he worked at Robbery and homicide, and she often ended working with him. – she laughed, thinking about how her parents used to behave around each other while at work, something she had seen not so often, since her dad retired when she wasn't even 10 – dad's 20 years older than her, and at the time mum couldn't stand him"
"And how did they get together, then?"
"Mum had moved to New York, and dad and his boss were there, working on a double jurisdiction case, the same case mum happened to work on. When they solved the case, dad's boss offered her a position back in Los Angeles, and she accepted"
She grinned maliciously, and PJ lifted his eyebrows, looking suspiciously at her. "I still don't see how they ended up together, thought…"
"Well, not that I'm supposed to know that, but apparently, when dad's best friend married my grandmother, they had a one night stand"
"And here I thought my family was weird."
"Yeah, well, few months later, mum ended in the hospital, with a bullet in her abdomen, and while at her side, dad understood he was in love with her. Moral of the story: after 12 years of flirting and bickering because dad was all instincts and mum all evidences, they finally got together, and within the year I was born."
"Grace says the same about my parents as well. Apparently, they flirted and bickered like an old married couple since they met. Mum was the head of her unit, always with the rules, while dad, a former fake psych, was always following his guts and using weird methods. He never listened to what his bosses told him, especially if it was mum doing the talking. I think she lost count if the times he hypnotized people without her allowing him to."
"Your dad was a fake psych who hypnotized people?" he so loved her half-questions, half affirmations…
"Yeah, dad's a mentalist, and mum says we all took a bit after him. Apparently, it runs in the family – he laughed again, thinking about all the times his mother didn't talk with his dad because he had made something stupid or pulled a stunt while working on a case – she says she always allowed him to do as he wished, and always forgave him because, at the end, he always got a confession and closed the case"
"Dad says that his old boss was a mentalist for him as well, she knew if you were lying just looking at you, and she was so good in manipulating people… - she smiled, taking a sip of wine – mum, instead, says she was just a good former CIA agent. You know, dad always said that, in order to get a confession, you have to lie and manipulate. He said his boss always said that, weren't they going to lie and manipulate, the cells would be empty, and she got so mad, she gave him the cold shoulders for days – again, PJ fell silent, but this time, his chin resting on his right palm, he was focused on her and her only – PJ, what are you thinking about?"
"My parents will celebrate their 25th anniversary in a couple of weeks"
"Yeah, I think you mentioned something like that" she misled at him, amused, black eyes lost in blue ones, locked.
"Would like to come and meet them?" as she smiled in response, PJ wondered if his father, the great and almighty mentalist who knew everything, the man he was named after, Patrick Michael Jane senior, was going to be right again; what a silly thing to say: Patrick Jane was always right, he had never been wrong his whole life. Yeah, he really loved Kat, and could see the two of them in the long run…
FIN
So, here it was, the epilogue. I've loved writing every word of this story, because your appreciation made it worth it. hell, i wnated to wrtite a one shot, and i ended making this! As you saw, the story was set into the future, it means there are still things in between, and who knows, maybe one day my children muse will come back and I'll write misisng moments, or who knows... but for now, here we are, and it's complete, as you can see from the word "COMPLETE" on top of the page... :)
By the way, for the ones of you who are part of the jello forever forum: the jellies are accepting nominees. i'm not saying, say my name, just, if you are interested, there are a lot of aamzing writers out there :)
I had a real great time, and I hope I'll be back soon with more Mentalist stories for you all... emnawhile, I'll keep following all you stories here as well!
