Thank you to everyone who read or reviewed the last chapter. This is the second to last chapter of this story. It is also the longest chapter in the entire story (until possibly the next one.) For this story, that is saying something.
Warning: More dark subject matter and funerals. Also there is some sex in this.
The Future is in the Past: Part two
April 9, 2023 New York City
Taylor slowly made her way through the throng of reporters outside of Sharpay's apartment building. It seemed too reminiscent of when she had to do this in the middle of the night, 14 years ago. Instead of coming down from Boston, she was coming up from Maryland. The only real difference was the trip took half as long thanks to the new Acela + line. Unfortunately, she's here for the same reason as last time, except this time it was the death of a husband instead of the death of a father. She couldn't decide what was more unforeseen dying trying to protect your daughter's mother in law or dying in a plane crash because of speculated mechanical failure. Both were equally tragic and unexpected.
According to Sharpay, Ryan has not left her guest room except to go to the bathroom since yesterday, not even to eat. This doesn't surprise her. Vanessa did the same thing last year when Jay died. Actually, she broke every single dish in the house before she locked herself in a second floor bedroom. She even dismantled the chairlift just so it would be that much harder for Kim to come after her and Kimi was too emotionally distraught to try. They couldn't get her to come out until Taylor arrived two days later. That was a mess.
At least she didn't hear the sounds of broken dishes as she knocked on the penthouse door. That had to be a good sign. Olivia answered the door. She looked a lot like Chad except a little darker but she did style her hair the same way he did in high school. Her dress was black and her eyes were obviously red from crying. Olivia was particularly close to her uncle; his unexpected death probably hit her hard as well. The only thing Taylor could do was to hug the young girl.
"Aunt Taylor, I am so glad you're here." She says squeezing her tighter. That's what the girl always called her probably because she spent too much time with Alex who really was her nephew when they all lived in California together.
"I'm sorry for your loss." Taylor said letting go. It seems like the right thing to say especially because they were not just empty words. She liked Zack even if part of her felt like he took her second chance with Ryan away from her. By the time she got her head together enough for a real relationship with anyone by the end of her first year at Stanford, Ryan was already in a long distance relationship with Penelope's friend, Zack. Unlike her and Chad, Ryan and Zack could actually do the long distance thing successfully. It helped that he got a job right out of college working for Beijing Gardens international in the New York Office. She thought it wouldn't last more than a year, it lasted more than 13 and only ended with an explosion in the Nevada Desert.
They're still not quite sure why flight 724 crashed. There is speculation, but no answers. To Ryan who just lost his husband of six years, it really didn't matter. His husband was dead.
"I'm okay, mostly. Well, I'm as okay as you can be after your uncle dies in a plane crash. I feel guilty but that's all. At least I'm not as bad as Uncle Ryan. He has not even cried since he got the official phone call. He just sits there. I even brought him his favorite croissant from down the street and nothing." The teenager explains.
Her words do not surprise Taylor. It was the exact same thing she saw 14 years ago. He sat on the couch with a vacant expression as CNN played in the background, details of the shooting played on a loop. To this day, she has no idea how long he just sat there alone in his apartment being completely unresponsive. It's better this time. He has Sharpay and Chad along with the twins. Really, the only thing that does surprise Taylor is that Olivia feels guilty.
"Why do you feel guilty? It is not your fault that his plane crashed. Some things just happen." Taylor doesn't like saying something like that to a 14 year old, but it's the only thing that applies to something so random.
"I should have begged him to stay for career day. If he stayed, then he wouldn't have been on the plane." Olivia explains in perfect teenager logic. She's not sure how to respond to such a statement except to remember something from a conversation she had with Kim years ago after a particularly bad breakup with a guy who was a complete ass which led to her lamenting over the fact that she let Ryan get away.
"The future is in the past." Kim said with wisdom beyond her 23 years.
"What does that mean?" Taylor said taking another drink of whatever alcohol was on hand.
"It means playing the 'what if' game is pointless. You can't change your past choices. Those choices are responsible for the present. Only the decisions you make now can make any difference because they affect your future." Kim explained.
"That's a wonderful philosophy in theory. I need more alcohol to accept it." Taylor said reaching for the bottle but Kim pulled it away from her.
"No you don't. You do not get to have a pity party tonight. So you lost your chance with Ryan and he is now hopelessly in love with someone else! So what? That's life. Being single is not the end of the world. On the bright side, at lease you can still walk." She said with a smile as she placed the liquor bottle in the pocket of her wheelchair.
"You're at the point that you can joke about being paralyzed?" Taylor asked her step sister.
"It's been nearly two years. I can either laugh about it or cry and I did most of the crying in the hospital. I could be playing the 'what if' game. Maybe if I went to the after party directly instead of hanging out with the parents, I wouldn't have been there when Lucy shot up the place. Then I would still have the ability to walk, my uterus still in working condition, and Caroline's daughter Vangie would have a built in played mate. But here's the thing, maybe if I wasn't there things would be a lot worse. Lucy most likely would have started with Caroline and where would we be now?" Kim asked making Taylor picture the worst case scenario of Caroline dying that night as well. That would have destroyed Jack and Chad.
"You have a point." Taylor said grudgingly.
"You can't change the past; you can only learn to live with the consequences of it."
"Is that why you went back to school to finish up your education training as soon as you could? You don't need to work. I know Troy just got a record deal. Besides you're still the heir apparent to Beijing Gardens." Taylor pointed out.
"Why not? I'm in a wheelchair not dead. If I act like I am, then Lucy wins. You know how much I hate letting the bitch win. So what if I cannot have more kids? I have Alex and a husband who loves me completely, wheelchair and all. I can't live the life I could've had, but I can live the life I have now. Dwelling on what you can't have will just eat you up from the inside." Kim explained.
"Baby, there's no point of playing the what if game. It will eat you up from inside." Taylor said quoting Kim's words in the present.
"Besides, I think I did a wonderful job yesterday. Although, I am a little worried about your friend Kimber confessing to me that her period is late and she's been sexually active for over a year." Chad said looking worried.
"She's not my friend! I don't have any among the young and shallow. However, I'd told her to talk to you before but she was afraid. You're like the cool parent at my school."
"I see you are continuing a longstanding family tradition of turning career day into a public service announcement for the greater good. I still remember ninth grade when your mom talked about child welfare services." Taylor said with half a smile.
"Did Graham really do that?" Olivia asked. "Were you just as mortified as I was yesterday?"
"Yes." Both Chad and Taylor say simultaneously although she was sure he was saying yes to the latter question.
"I'm not sure that's possible. Graham Bolton probably never talked about making out with one of your uncle's onstage. Did you have to tell everybody about kissing Uncle Ryan in high school? We are already targeted enough as it is. Next year we are getting Grandpa Jack to come up. There is no way a former assistant college basketball coach can be embarrassing." Olivia muttered as she made her way to the kitchen. This place is huge for being in Manhattan.
"Do I want to know how that conversation came about? Taylor asked as soon as she was sure Olivia was out of the room.
"Not really although I'm banned from another school career day for answering questions about bisexuality. I'm glad you're here." Chad said kissing her on the cheek.
"Nothing will keep me away even if my campaign manager is unbelievably irritated that he has to rearrange my schedule." She said with half a smile remembering the argument that ensued. "Fortunately it was Marc so he understood." (Mostly because she now had wonderful blackmail material on him.) She kept that part to herself.
Because they lived in the same city (sort of) due to his husband now playing for the Wizards, Marc was her other BFF after Ryan. He was the one who convinced her to run as a third party candidate for the new Middle political party to take over her sperm donors vacant senate seat after the truth finally came out. She was not even the only child that he fathered outside of his marriage. She had two other brothers and three sisters on that side in addition to the two boys that he had with his actual wife. In the age of TMZ News, it was impossible for things to stay buried forever.
"How is our favorite basketball husband?" Chad asked.
"Absolutely fabulous, as usual, he offered to plan the funeral or at least have his business partner, Kerri, take care of that." Chad seemed relieved at her words. Just like 14 years ago she was sure he was the one holding everyone together. She remembered arriving to the house after being picked up by Zack. (Apparently by that point he and Ryan were already e-mail friends and he asked his new friend for a favor because he didn't want to bother anyone else. That was in her mind the beginning of the end.) Chad was the one making all the arrangements with Marc's help. He was the one dealing with the Evans international lawyers and the vulture like press. It was his job to keep Sharpay and Troy from falling apart.
"Thank god. I wasn't looking forward to going coffin shopping alone." He joked but it was only halfhearted.
"When have you ever had to do the funeral stuff alone? Marc has always been there. He's the only event planner I know that does funerals." She said in her own attempt at levity. It only got her half a smile.
"That's true. Then again he is the only party planner that also does political campaigns." Chad shot back.
"We have three more months to go until the election." She said being reasonable even if she was currently ahead by six points. Considering she was a third party candidate that was remarkable, then again the tabloids did help her with name recognition.
"But hey at least it is a special elections so you don't have to wait until November." Chad said with a smile that did not reach his eyes. She knew that Chad was very close to Zack. He was one of the few players that wasn't a complete bastard to him at A of U. He was also the one who was able to convince Chad to step back on the court when he transferred to Stanford. (Thankfully Chad was able to gain eligibility quite quickly.)
"I'm young. I'm barely old enough to be running for a senate seat." She says with a pause. "How bad is he?" she finally asked getting to the reason why she was here, Ryan.
"He brought out the Johnny Cash." Chad said with a grimace. "Hurt has been playing on repeat for the last three hours."
"That's not good. Last time it was Emotions, both versions." She said remembering the music that Ryan listened to the entire plane ride to Albuquerque 14 years ago.
"Sharpay had an entire morning play list. When her dad died it had everything from Eminem to Backstreet Boys on it. When her Drama Mentor died there was lots of show tunes involved." Chad explained with another sad smile.
"God, I hate this. He was so young. They were thinking about starting a family." Taylor said taking a shaky breath, not sure how to continue. How much was lost because of a plane crash? How much has changed now? This can't be like 14 years ago.
"Come get a coffee before becoming philosophical." Chad says pulling her to the kitchen.
"Okay. I think the caffeine may do me some good." She said following him. The house that always seems so vibrant seemed lifeless. There was no loud music in the background or Ryan showing his niece and nephew the latest dance steps. Zack and Sharpay were not arguing over something silly. No Chad and Zack making snide comments about the absurdity that out of everyone it was little Jimmy that made it to the NBA. (Apparently trying to prove that the bisexual guy could play ball just as well as anyone else was the motivation he needed to become a phenomenal player.) The atmosphere seemed so awkward. The only sound that could be heard was the soft Johnny Cash coming from the guest bedroom. It was as if the whole apartment was morning, not just Ryan.
The situation in the kitchen just confirmed that. Sharpay was actually dressed in black. Even though she did not wear anywhere near as much pink as she did in her high school days, seeing Sharpay in all black was disconcerting. Olivia was now just picking at the pastry, unwilling to eat. Isaac was the only ones speaking, but his eyes seemed so haunted.
"Mom, I just don't understand why Uncle Ryan is so upset because Uncle Zack died. He hasn't left the room yet. I didn't cry at all when Charles died." Taylor doesn't know how to respond. How can somebody be so hard at 14? Maybe it comes from visiting your biological mother twice a week in a long-term care center. Maybe it comes from the fact that your maternal grandfather was gunned down by your other grandfather's first wife.
"That's because that man was never really your father. He was a sperm donor. He was no different than the person who was gracious enough to give Kim and Troy an egg so she could have Gabi. Charles had no claim on you or your sister. There was nothing more there. Also, it's hard to be upset about a man who died resisting arrest after being on the land for 12 years. I didn't shed a tear when Darby died three years ago. The situation is different with Uncle Zack. He was 35 and died in a plane crash. Nobody saw that coming. We all loved Zack but your Uncle Ryan loved him more. He just needs time to wrap his mind around this." She explained this in a way that Taylor never could. Sharpay was a good mom.
"That's because Darby died of alcohol poisoning." Isaac said with a snort.
"How do you know that?" Chad asked his son.
"Google," Both Olivia and Isaac answer simultaneously.
"Of course," all three adults responded by rolling their eyes.
"It has nothing to do with how she died but rather how Darby lived. She was not a very good person." Sharpay said cryptically trying to protect the twins from the worst of it. Sharpay was a very protective mother but unlike Taylor's parents she never lied to her children. She always told him the truth even if the truth was painful. Taylor respected her for that.
"A lot of that was on Google too." Olivia said. "We are 14 years old and have grown up with the fact that our sperm donor put our biological mother in a coma. We can handle the truth. You have never sugar coated anything before, why start now?"
"You are right." Sharpay said with shaky breath. "Darby was abusive and she hit me a lot, in addition to years of mind games. By the time she died, I can honestly say that I didn't love her anymore because of the way she treated me and everyone else. Zack was a good person. He did charity work. He coached girls' basketball at the local Boys and Girls club. He was perfectly OK being the house husband of a Broadway choreographer. He loved his job. He loved you guys. He was the most wonderful person in the world. Most important of all, he loved your uncle more than anyone else in the universe." Sharpay said halfway on the verge of tears.
"Ryan isn't just morning your uncle," Taylor started, "He's also letting go of all the plans he had. It was like that for Vanessa, my biological mom, when Jay died last year. His massive heart attack was just as sudden as the plane crash. She had these visions of her and Jay growing old together, seeing Kimi off to college and dancing together at Alex's wedding. Vanessa said that it was harder to accept those things never happening than anything else." Taylor said remembering the conversation with her biological mother.
"What about when grandpa Evans died? I really don't remember him at all. Were you upset when he died?" Isaac asked and Sharpay frowned at that. There was an unspoken agreement among the group not to talk about those horrible days in April 2009 when Vince Evans lost his life and Kim lost her ability to walk and her unborn child.
"You were still practically a newborn at the time. At first I just cried. Grandma Caroline was supposed to go to the hospital to get her baby checked out but she needed to find me first. Fortunately, the one who would become your aunt, was fine. Right before he d… Your grandfather made her promise that she would take care of me and Ryan. Her first fulfillment of that promise was to tell me personally." Sharpay was almost shaking at that point.
"It was not just your grandfather's death, we weren't sure if Kim was going to make it at that point. It was a bad time. It took a few days and a lot of support but I came out of it." Sharpay explained not even saying Lucy's name. No one did in their group. Troy went so far as to have Lucy taken off his birth certificate. Legally speaking, Caroline Sanchez-Bolton was now his mother. Kim did something similar when she found out that her biological mother was the one who got Lucy out of jail.
"What about Uncle Ryan?" Olivia asked bringing Taylor back to the conversation at hand.
"I think his initial reaction is pretty similar to now." Taylor added remembering how lost he was.
"After the initial crying, I was numb. I just couldn't believe it. I do not think I believed he was really dead until I saw his body. I threw up twice." Sharpay said trying to keep her emotions at bay. She remembered that. Ryan was shaking the entire time and also spent a lot of time throwing up in the bathroom. She actually had to go into the men's room to check on him. Maybe it was best if this conversation ended as quickly as possible.
"It's a pretty day outside and you guys do live in New York, maybe you should do something. You can go to central park or maybe do some museum hopping." Taylor suggested try to keep Sharpay from going into tears. This type of grief was not good for kids. She remembered Zack making a similar suggestion 14 years ago to keep Ryan from falling apart although that involved ski ball.
"I wouldn't mind going to see the polar bears." Olivia suggested halfheartedly.
"You guys get ready and I will see if I can get your Uncle Ryan to eat something." Taylor said as she filled a plate with fruit, cheeses, and a croissant. She even made Ryan his favorite cup of coffee. The family was already out of the house by the time she actually made it into the guest bedroom.
"I brought cheese and croissants." She called out as she walked into the dark room. There was no light in the room except the glow of his iPod.
"Go away Sharpay." He calls out without even looking at her.
"I know Chad had some confusion with that back during his freshman year of college, but I'm not your sister. Considering we actually had sex many times a long time ago, I think that's a good thing." Taylor said as she continued walking over to him and placed her plate of food on the bed.
"Taylor?" He said her name as a question.
"Of course, it's me. Besides Kelsey, who else could it have been! I don't think you've had sex with that many people." She joked.
"I haven't seen Kelsey in years. It's like that old Gotye song. That is the complete opposite of you and me. I think My Boo is more appropriate. Besides, I only count you and…" He starts but it ends in a sob. Taylor's only response is to crawl in the bed beside him and hold him as he cried.
April 26, 2009
Its 7:01 AM when Amanda lets Zeke, Penelope, and Zach into the Evans family condo. She's still up at that time because she hasn't slept at all. It was impossible under the circumstances.
"We brought food." Zeke says solemnly not looking at her as he walks to the kitchen table.
"When in doubt bring food." Zach mumbles to Penelope. Under other circumstances she may have found that funny.
"Put it on the table. I doubt that Sharpay will feel like eating any time soon, but the rest of us could use a bagel." She said pointing to Marc, Jimmy, and Kerri who were asleep on various pieces of furniture. Jimmy did not want to leave his ex girlfriend alone and Marc mostly stayed for her. Penelope only left earlier to scare the reporters away from Kim's house.
"How is she doing?" Penelope asked not needing to clarify who 'she' is because they all knew it was Sharpay.
"She is an absolute fucking mess. You saw the initial reaction last night." Amanda said referring to the near fainting, crying, and extreme denial that followed Caroline's arrival. "When she went to the hospital to see Kim she completely lost it. It was just too much for her. They had to sedate her when she found out that not only did Kim lose the baby but they were removing her uterus to stop the hemorrhaging in an effort to save her life. Chad took Sharpay home because he thought a familiar setting would be better for her." Amanda said trying not to cry herself remembering that conversation with one of the doctors. Kim is a really good friend of hers and things right now are just so uncertain.
"How is Kim doing?" Zeke asked.
"Stable but still in critical condition, she's out of surgery, according to Jack. He called about an hour ago. He spent the night at the hospital. When Kim wakes up she will have a new little sister waiting for her." Amanda said with half a smile, the safe birth of Kimi Kim was the only good thing that has happened in the last 24 hours. (Seriously Mr. Kim chooses the strangest names for his children but at least in this case the new baby was named in honor of her sister.)
"What are you talking about?" Penelope asked.
"The shock of what happened to her stepdaughter sent Vanessa into premature labor. Kimi Kim was born at 5:22 this morning." Amanda explained remembering Mrs. Kim's water breaking in the waiting room when the cops tried to explain to her what happen.
"Oh god. She's early right? Kim wasn't planning to have the baby shower until after finals. Kim asked me to make the cake." Zeke asked as he started to ramble.
"A few weeks, but the baby is fine." Amanda said with a reassuring smile that wasn't completely fake. "The newborn is a good distraction for Mr. Kim."
"How is everyone else?" Penelope asked as she took a seat at the table.
"In various stages of the seven stages of grief. Most seem to be stuck on guilt, but that's an improvement from the denial of yesterday." She said thinking of Mr. Bolton and Sharpay. "Jack is at the hospital with Taylor's father keeping an eye on him. Caroline cried herself to sleep about 2 hours ago in the master bedroom with Sharpay sleeping on her lap. She also feels guilty because Mr. Evans died saving her or at least that's how she sees it." Amanda said before being interrupted.
"How the fuck did Lucy get out of jail?" Someone asked.
"I don't know. She's back in jail now. Does it matter?"
"No"
Even though she is completely drugged, Sharpay will not let go of Caroline. She is the closest thing to a parent Sharpay has left. She's terrified of losing someone else." Amanda said with shaky breath.
"I thought that Darby was still alive?" Zeke probably only asked that because he was not here when everything fell apart last fall.
"Yes, but she is persona non grata in Sharpay's Life. You missed a lot last semester. Let's just say, the bitch might as well be dead for what she put Sharpay through." Amanda could not keep the bitterness out of her voice as she explained. "Chad has been trying to keep everything together for Sharpay's sake but I know this is affecting him to."
"What about Ryan?" Penelope asked.
"According to Taylor not well at all. He found out from CNN."
"Fuck." All three said at the same time. That was her reaction when Taylor told her.
"Taylor called a few minutes ago to let me know that they would be boarding their flight any moment. She says he is practically non responsive."
"I already knew he was on his way but I didn't think it was that bad. Ryan sent me a text message asking me if I would pick him and Taylor up from the Airport when their flight gets in." Zack told her. This surprised Amanda.
"Ryan sent you a text message? I didn't know you two were that acquainted beyond causing complete chaos at the rehearsal dinner. Actually, I'm surprise that he was in a state to send a text message. Taylor said that she practically had to dress him." Amanda said sadly. Finding out your dad died from CNN would probably do that to anyone.
"We have been exchanging text messages and emails for the last month. I sent a message about the play last night before everything went to hell. He replied this morning asking me to get him from the Airport. That's the entire message said." He said with concern in his voice.
"I'm just glad he sent you anything. I take that as a positive sign. Troy is also a complete mess. He feels guilty because his mother was the one responsible according to the phone call I got from Gabriella before they left for the Airport this morning. Gabriella and Troy should be getting here soon. I need to pick them up but I don't want to leave Chad here alone with three children to take care of on top of everything else. You don't want to know how hard it was to get Alex to sleep last night. He kept asking for Kim." Amanda explained on the verge of tears again.
"What about me?" A half asleep Marc called from one of the couches.
"You can help with everything else but you're not a child anymore. You told me on more than one occasion that the best thing about being gay is you never have to worry about having children accidentally." Amanda said with a snort.
"Let's be honest your strength lies in planning things not changing diapers. Have you ever planned a funeral before? I have no idea where to start." Chad said as he walked into the room holding a sleeping Alex. "Poor child" Penelope mumbled under breath.
"No, but it can't be any harder than trying to plan a wedding in about 12 days. Classes are canceled until Wednesday because of what happened. We have time. Although if he wanted a traditional Jewish burial that may be a bit harder to pull off." Marc said apparently being aware of the 24 hour burial thing.
"I have no idea. This is not exactly the type of thing we talk about at Saturday lunches. He was not even 50 yet." Chad said in a daze as he kept rocking the toddler. As long as Alex stayed asleep he won't ask where his mom is. She has no idea what to say to the child. However, she does know where to start with funeral arrangements.
"Mr. Evans' assistant emailed me a file that contains his wishes for his funeral. He was never that religious so you don't have to worry about a burial time limit." Amanda said as she took her corporate blackberry out of her pocket to access her Evans international e-mail account.
"He was always one step ahead." Chad said with a small smile.
"That's one less thing to worry about. Can you send me a copy of that?" Marc asked her.
"Already done, I really need to leave to get Troy now." Amanda said looking at the clock on her blackberry.
"I can do that." Zeke offered. "I can even bring baby Bolton with me." Zeke said as he reached for Alex not realizing that his words made Amanda feel like crying. The new baby Bolton was gone.
"No, I will go. Though, I probably should take Alex with me. I'm sure he wants to see daddy." Amanda said fighting back tears.
"Amanda you're exhausted. Did you sleep at all last night?" Chad asked her.
"I'm fine." Amanda said grabbing her purse.
"Friends don't let friends drive sleep deprived." Chad said taking her car keys from the table and giving them to Zeke.
"Fine." Amanda said as she ran out of the apartment. She was almost to the car When Zeke caught up with her.
"Look, I know you're not fine. You were on the verge of crying back there. Please stop pretending otherwise." Zeke's words were a little too close to the truth for her comfort.
"I can't cry. I didn't just lose my father. I don't have a right to." She said opening the door to the car so she could gently place the sleeping toddler in his car seat.
It was there from last night when she drove all the babies' home from the sitter. She was the only one coherent enough last night to get the kids. She was the one who call Taylor and made arrangements for her to get Ryan. She's the one who arranged for their flight to New Mexico. She is the one who called Jackie to get Kelsey's number because she knew Ryan can't be alone for that long. Thankfully, Jackie called the stranger for her not that it did any good apparently. She was the one who arranged a flight for Troy and Gabriella. She was the one who threw away Caroline's bloody suit even though Amanda threw up afterwards. She was the one who held Kerri as she cried herself to sleep. Not only did Mr. Evans offer her a scholarship to a private school of her choice so she wouldn't have to put up with another year at East High, he also pay for her to see a psychologist that specializes in sexual assault before they were even related in a roundabout way through the twins.
"Yes but you did lose the guy who gave you a job that doesn't involve French fries and is paying for your college education." He said putting an arm on her shoulder. Amanda just stepped away as she got in the passenger seat of the car.
"You forgot about the fact that one of my good friends is currently fighting for her life." Amanda quipped as she buckled her seatbelt.
"See there is another reason why you should cry." Zeke said as he got in the driver seat.
"I can't. Somebody has to be the strong one. Chad is trying but this is hard on him. The woman who used to make him cookies after basketball games tried to kill his mother and the fiancée of his best friend who happens to be one of his good friends. She succeeded in killing his father in law. He's strong, but nobody is that strong." She said that last part softly.
"You're right, nobody can be that strong including you. If you need to cry, you can cry with me. I will not tell anybody." He said pulling Amanda to him. She finally allowed him to.
"What will I do if she doesn't make it?" She asked him in tears.
"I'm not sure yet, but I promise to make you cookies when this is all over with."
"With chunks of good chocolate in it?"
"If that's what you want." She actually smiles through her tears at that.
April 08, 2023
Zeke waits impatiently in the parking lot of the Albuquerque Airport for Taylor and Ryan to arrive. His fiancée offered to have a car service do it but despite his busy schedule he wanted to see Ryan himself. He knows Ryan needed as much support as he can get. Losing the person that you thought you would spend the rest of your life with is never easy whether it be by divorce or plane crash. Zeke knows by personal experience that it is the worst feeling in the world to realize that forever was anything but. His response was to sell off all his restaurants in Chicago and moved back to New Mexico within the first 48 hours. According to Sharpay and Taylor, Ryan was still too numb to have a real response yet. He guesses that's the difference between death and divorce, the numbness did not set in until the divorce papers actually arrived.
If it wasn't for Penelope convincing Amanda to show up to his new apartment with commercial pizza and cheap alcohol two years ago he probably would have stayed curled up under the covers even though he had a daughter to take care of. (Said evil ex wife wanted nothing to do with their little Ivy.)
He owes Ryan for forgiving him for what he did to Sharpay years ago, that's why he's here. Thanks to his ex wife he now knows how much damage he really did. They say what goes around comes around and he definitely did get his.
He owes Penelope for many different things. He's not sure how it happened but Penelope, his high school girlfriend that he stabbed in the back because he was such a complete cowered, is his best friend. She was there for him for the divorce and the transition to single parenthood. He would do anything for her and right now she was slowly coming undone. She's known Zack for forever. The thought of him being dead was slowly killing her inside. She wasn't quite ready to see Ryan without Zack. That would make his death real and Zeke doesn't think Penelope can handle that in the waiting area of the Albuquerque Airport. When she asked him to do this, he could not say no.
Besides taking the afternoon off meant that he gets to spend more time with Ivy. With the wedding coming up in less than two months, he wanted to make every opportunity to spend time with his little girl. Ivy loved Amanda, but he knew it was important to make sure that his little girl knew how important he was to her. Besides Ivy loved Ryan because every time he was around he would teach her a new dance. It makes perfect sense to him. He loved to bake and his daughter loved to dance. It was just one of those things. Unlike with him, he would encourage his daughter to do whatever she loved.
When he sees Ryan walk to the car with Taylor clutching his hand Zeke sees a haunted expression that he only saw one time before. It was in this very waiting area nearly 14 years ago that he saw broken Troy being led to the car by Gabriella. It was like Troy was not even there, but just going through the motions. Who could blame him, a woman who was his wife in heart, if not law was in a medically induced coma caused by his mother shooting her in the uterus. The actions of his mother also caused the miscarriage of his second child. Zeke knows what that feels like now after dealing with one miscarriage himself. But at least it really was a miscarriage not something like murder. Now Ryan has that look and it makes Zeke sick to see him like this.
He knows better than to ask Ryan if he is OK. He learned that from Troy. His only response was a quick no and asked if Zeke had any cookies with him. This time Zeke knows it's best not to say a word. Instead, he just hugs Ryan and gives him a bag of his favorite cookies. That seems to be what Ryan needed. For years, Marc has been telling Zeke that he needs to put out a line of condolence cookies. Considering Ryan's reaction, he might consider it.
Ryan sits in the backseat next to Ivy as he begins to eat one of the cookies. He stays back to help Taylor with the luggage.
"Thank you for bringing cookies. I think that is the first thing he even since yesterday and he threw that up anyway after he saw Zack's body. I had to give him a lot of drugs to even get him on the plane. He's terrified of them now. Thankfully he has a brother in law with an M.D. They're going to get here tomorrow because Ryan would not allow them to take the same flight here." Taylor said with a sad smile.
"I can understand all things considered. Why did he even go to see the body? We all know how badly that went last time." He wasn't there when Ryan and Sharpay went to claim their father's body. However, Amanda and Taylor were there along with Chad and they all refuse to really give details. Although he did know that Sharpay squeezed Amanda's hand so much that it was covered in bruises. (This was slightly better than three months later when Nikki's father died of lung cancer. She managed to break both Marc and Amanda's hands because she squeezed so tight. The future wedding dress designer was stronger than she looked.)
"The same reason that he went to the morgue last time. He felt like he had to. Actually, I think it's worse this time. He was so young. 35 year olds shouldn't die." Taylor said with unshared tears as she placed another suitcase in the trunk.
"I understand as much as someone can who has never gone through anything like this. Although if Ryan is having such a hard time flying, why did he decide to bury Zack in Albuquerque? Why not have him brought back to New York." That question has been on his mind ever since Penelope told him that she would be working to put the funeral together. Kerri surprisingly enough was Marc's business partner after an injury put her professional basketball dream on ice permanently along with their third partner Nikki who also had her own wedding dress business. Kerri usually ran the Albuquerque branch office of Marc's party planning empire even if she did spend a lot of time in DC during basketball season. (No one in this group questions the relationship between Marc's business partner and his husband, not even his fiancée Amanda.) Now that Marc was essentially taking a leave of absence to run Taylor's senatorial campaign, Kerri was in charge of everything.
"Because this is home." Ryan said that as he opened the door. "Do you realize that I can hear everything? This Car is not soundproof. You could just ask me how I'm doing." Ryan said in a way that told him this guy was definitely related to Sharpay Evans.
"I was going to go with absolute s—." He started before remembering that there was a four year old in the backseat .
"That's about right. The cookies are good." Ryan said as he began to consume a second one.
"I thought you could use something sweet. We can try to get you something more substantial when we get to Kim's house. I made some soup." They were planning on an informal wake of sorts there because the house was humongous. Actually, the word House was an understatement. The Bolton mansion was three times bigger than the old Evans mansion with built in wheelchair ramps and elevators everywhere. It was Kim's paradise. She even had the kitchen designs so she could cook from her wheelchair but it was still every chef's wet dream with professional cookware and stainless steel appliances. He was going to be having fun in that kitchen this afternoon.
"That's okay, maybe later." Ryan responded not looking at any one. That was the last thing anybody said until 10 minutes later when his young child started pleading with her favorite pseudo uncle to teach her a new dance.
"I'm not up to it right now baby. Maybe in a few days." Ryan says as an excuse. No one buys it especially, not Ivy.
"Are you sad because Uncle Zack is not here?" The question alone made Zeke go through a red light. He swears she gets the lack of tack from her egg donor. Unfortunately, she gets her perceptiveness from her as well. That is a bad combination in a four year old.
"Yes. That is why I don't feel like eating anything or teaching you a new dance."
"Will you feel better when uncle Zack gets here?" His four year old asked causing Taylor to mumble various curse words under breath. Last night he and Amanda sat Ivy down to explain what happened. This was the first time somebody that she knew died that she was actually old enough to understand. Thankfully, when Mr. Kim died she was too little to ask questions. He remembered watching Kim and Troy tactfully explain everything to their then five year old daughter Gabi (who looks a lot like Gabriella, not that he's going to say anything because he knows that they used donor eggs, in addition to the gestational carrier). He thought he and Amanda followed their example, apparently not.
"Uncle Zack is not coming. We told you last night that he died in an accident." He could see Ryan wince in the backseat as the bag of cookies fell down to the floor. Zeke doubted he would eat another one any time soon. Maybe Ivy did get her lack of tack from him after all.
"I know, but I don't understand death." The little girl explained.
"I don't either." Ryan mumbled under breath.
"Does that mean he's not coming back like mommy?" Ivy asked in a way that broke his heart. He felt it was best that he pull the car over before he answers. Maybe that would give him time to come up with an answer better than 'your mom is a heartless gold digging bitch and that's why she's not coming back."
"Not exactly, unlike your mommy, he did not choose to leave. He's also not coming back." Taylor explained for him.
"Okay, but mommy said she wasn't coming back either." The four year old said as she grabbed Mr. Fluffy. Penelope gave her that silly Build-a-Bear after the divorce. For the first three months, she could not sleep without him.
"You can have Mr. Fluffy." She said giving the bear to Ryan. "He made me less sad when mommy went away but I don't need him anymore because I have mommy Amanda now. Maybe he will make you less sad." He almost cried at that. Taylor actually was crying but she would not all in one example of his these and you will let anybody see.
"Maybe," was all Ryan said as he grabbed the stuffed teddy bear from her! It must have did some good because he consumed an entire bowl of soup when they arrived to Kim's house. He even survives all the hugs and well wishes from his friends. Of course, Ivy and Taylor are the only ones he allows to get really close. Maybe there was something special about Mr. Fluffy after all.
April 26, 2009 through April 30, 2009
Sharpay does not understand death. She doesn't understand why her father left her all alone in the world. She feels like an orphan. She doesn't believe Caroline at first but the blood on her suit doesn't lie. She shuts down by the time they arrive at the hospital. Only the conversation with Kim's medical team breaks her out of it. That's when she falls apart again. She's not sure what pill the doctors give her but at least she can breathe again. She doesn't think that she has breathed at all since Caroline told her.
She wakes up the morning after wishing it was all a dream. Of course the fact that Caroline is lying beneath her tells her it's not. She remembers not allowing the closest thing she has left to a parent leave the room. She does not get up from the bed until she hears Olivia crying. Her daughter and son are the only reason why she doesn't want to join her father. She has to stay around for her children and Chad if nothing else. Of course, Ryan too. At that moment she realizes she has many reasons to stay and few to go.
She stops outside the door to see Chad in there with Penelope as she helps him change the dirty diapers.
"How are you doing, really?" Penelope asked with genuine concern.
"You know you're the first person to ask me that question. So far everyone has asked me about Sharpay, my mom, or Kim." Chad said almost sarcastically.
"Yes but you were affected by this too. He was your father in law." Penelope explains.
"He was a good man, sometimes." Chad said with a sad smile that broke Sharpay's heart even more than before if it is possible to break something that's already shattered in a million pieces. "He may have screwed up a lot but he loved Ryan and Sharpay unconditionally. That is more than I could ever say for Charles. He died so my mother could live." Sharpay knew her husband was crying at that point.
"You don't know that. Everyone says that Mrs. Bolton has become unbalanced. Who knows what she was planning." Penelope said as she passed him a clean diaper.
"She has always been unbalanced. The sweet lady who made me cookies after school was never real. In hindsight, I can only pick up on all the snide comments she made about my mom and Jack, especially after my mom's divorce. There was always this jealousy there. She was going to kill my mom. I have no doubt about that. Even Vince knew that." His words were bitter and broken.
"How can you know that?" Penelope asked him to explain.
"By his last words to my mom, he made her promise to watch over Sharpay and Ryan as if they were hers. He said that he knew his time was coming soon and at least this way he knew that his children would be okay." Chad's words were broken with tiny sobs that he was trying to push away. What did that mean? Sharpay thought to herself as she felt weak again. She ran to the bathroom in an effort to make it look like she wasn't crying.
Once she felt strong enough to leave, she was hugged by Jimmy, Kerri, and Marc. They all had the decency not to ask her if she's OK because they already know she's not. Kerri forces her to eat a scone, she gets half way through before she becomes sick again because Marc asked her for input on her father's funeral. She doesn't want to think about caskets and funeral homes right now. That would make this all too real. She leaves the kitchen, making some excuse about needing to feed the babies. Penelope leaves but not before offering her services to help take care of the twins and Alex. She also offers to get everyone else out of her condo. Sharpay just smiles in thanks. That was the first time Sharpay has smiled in the last 12 hours.
Fuck, it's only been 12 hours. How can her entire world be different in just 12 hours?
She grabbed Olivia and sits down in the rocking chair. Chad takes the chair beside her. She says nothing until Olivia drinks half of her bottle.
"I don't want to plan my father's funeral." She said in a monotone voice.
"You don't have too. That's what we're paying Marc to do." On any other day, about anything else that would be a joke. Not today.
"He just asked for my input. I want nothing to do with it. Just tell me where to show up. Maybe in a few days I will be far enough along that I can take being at my father's funeral but I am not ready to pick out caskets or arrange for a funeral plot." Sharpay explained as she allowed a tear to fall down her cheek.
"Okay." Chad says squeezing her hand. "The only thing you have to do is show up and look absolutely beautiful."
"No one looks good at a funeral." She said with a sniffle.
"You always look good." Chad says with a smile as he reaches over to kiss her on the cheek. The touch of his lips is the only thing that feels real at the moment.
"Just tell me everything is going to be okay. Even if it's a lie, just tell me everything is going to be okay." Sharpay pleaded with her husband as more tears began to fall.
"Everything will be okay, someday." Chad tells her and just because it is him, she believes every word.
She stays in the nursery with Chad for what seems like forever until Troy stops by. He wants to offer his condolences before he saw his girlfriend. Maybe he just needed his friends with him before he saw Kim. She would not fault him for that. She fell apart herself seeing Kim covered in bruises. It seems so much worse than with Tiffany.
Troy apologizes to Sharpay even if she finds it's silly. He blames himself for her father's death, for Kim being in ICU, and everything else. She tells him that it's not his fault, he doesn't believe her. That is okay because Sharpay doesn't believe Chad when he tells her that this isn't her fault either. A part of her blames herself. If she didn't force her father to come to her production, he wouldn't have been there when Lucy shot up the place.
Caroline drives her and Troy to the hospital because neither her nor Troy are ready to be behind the wheel of a car right now. Gabriella stays behind to watch the children until Mrs. Zara arrives to take over and to actually make Amanda and Chad get some sleep. Both have been up all night dealing with everything she couldn't. She's actually glad that Gabriella is there for once but don't tell anybody that.
They find Mr. Bolton sitting by Kim's bedside. Apparently, she was well enough now to have visitors in her room for more than 5 minutes at a time. Sharpay can only see this as a good sign. There's a lot of crying as father and son talk. Mr. Bolton also blames himself for what happened. Sharpay only blames him for marrying a complete lunatic. But if he never fell for Lucy than Troy would not be here and that would just be horrible. So therefore, she can forgive him for that because a world without Troy Bolton is a world she does not want to live in. After an hour, Caroline was finally able to drag her fiancé away most likely to make him eat something and possibly go home to change clothing.
The next moment she really remembers was something out of a fairy tale. The moment that Troy kisses Kim on the forehead her eyes open. That was probably the happiest Sharpay felt since this nightmare began, even if the doctors promptly kicked both out of the room.
When she watched Troy tell Kim everything that happened it felt surreal. She let the couple be alone to mourn their child even though Kim can barely say a word, but she can cry. It was just too private of a moment for Sharpay to keep watching. Being the best friend that she is Kim called her back in to give her condolences even if it is nothing more than squeezing her hand. It was one of the few moments where she didn't feel completely numb. She stayed there until Gabriella arrived to force Troy to eat lunch or maybe its dinner at that point. Time has lost all meaning except for the fact that she found out her father died 18 hours and 43 minutes ago.
Chad was there to make her eat something too. He only succeeds because they end up having sex in the bathroom of the restaurant. It was rough, against a wall and left her with bruises but she didn't care. When he is in here she can pretend that everything is the way it should be. When she comes back down from her orgasm high everything was in shambles again.
She does not remember too much of the evening besides changing diapers and trying to color with Alex. She wonders what her therapist would think of her drawing a picture of her father the way she last saw him. Her mourning music was on in the background including Yesterday, Crossroads, When I'm Gone, Emotions, You Are Not Alone, and Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely.
Ryan arrives sometime around when Chad forces her to eat a bowl of Zeke's tomato basil soup. The Sharpay mass goes on because she realizes her brother's more of a mess than she is. At least she found out from Caroline not CNN. Fuck Kelsey, for not trying harder. At least she had Chad to get her through this. Ryan had her, apparently Taylor, and his new friend Zack who volunteer to pick him up from the Airport. Sharpay would ask about that under any other circumstances. Nosy sister would have to take a backseat to concerns sister.
He cries a lot. She can never remember Ryan crying but he does. The only thing she can get him to eat are some of Zeke's cookies. That's okay because if it wasn't for Chad that would be all she would eat. (He keeps bribing her with sexual favors to eat more.) They stay up talking about silly things like their father sneaking the three into the kitchens at Lava Springs after hours for ice cream when they were eight years old. Those were the memories that they were trying to hold onto not the blood on Caroline's suit or the graphic details of their fathers' final moments being aired on CNN repeatedly. She cannot even turn on the TV right now.
She shares the bed with Ryan because she doesn't want to be away from him. He is her twin. They share a special bond. They need to mourn together. Ryan is in worse shape than she is and that is saying something because she is a complete wreck. She has a husband and children to help her through this. What does Ryan have beyond her?
The next morning her father's body is released from the coroner's office. Cause of death was listed as cardiac arrest caused by tackling she who will not be named to the ground. That surprises her until her conversation with Caroline when she finds out how sick her father really has been for the last three years. No wonder he was so OK with her marrying Chad at 19, he knew he wouldn't be around to see it if it happened any later. She's furious at him for keeping this secret from her but he's no longer here to hear her angry rant.
Ryan and she make the silly decision to go see their father's body. It was a mistake. She wasn't ready. Ryan sure as hell wasn't ready. Is anybody ever ready to see their father like that? Ryan locked himself in the bathroom at the morgue. Taylor had to call in reinforcements to get him out in the form of Gabriella and Zack. (Again, under any other circumstances she would ask why Taylor begrudgingly called Zack but she was too out of it to care.)
Sharpay threw up a lot. Chad and Amanda's hands were both covered in bruises because she squeezed so hard. Then she broke a mirror in the bathroom.
Gabriella and Zack have decided that the best way to distract Ryan is to take him out for games, pizza, and karaoke. She personally thinks this is Gabriella's planned to also get Troy out of Kim's hospital room. She finds out from Amanda the things fall apart when somebody does the song Gone.
Her genius husband arranged for a therapy session. She manages to break a table and tear apart a pillow during the session but she feels better afterwards. In that room was the only time it was okay for her to show her anger for Lucy and for her father. She was angry with Lucy for trying to kill Kim and Caroline. She was furious at her father for not telling her how sick you really was. If she knew, at lease you would have had a chance to say goodbye. If Lucy didn't do what she did at least they would have had a few more months. That revelation just made Sharpay angry all over again. She can't do that anywhere else because she didn't want to fueled the guild of Caroline, Troy, Mr. Bolton, and even Kim. It wasn't their fault (although she was a teeny bit angry at her mother in law for going along with her father's lie once she was brought into his confidence.)
Chad arranges for his mom to take the kids for the night. There was lots of sex and crying. It was the angry type with Sharpay on top and the headboard being broken in two. There was also throwing things and screaming. She was starting to feel something again. It was a start.
Tuesday morning she woke up at 6:00 AM, got dressed in her teacher clothing, fed the babies, and got Kerri ready for school. She let her charge stay home yesterday but she doubted Ms. Jackson will let Kerri continued to live with her and Chad if she starts skipping school.
She wasn't sure why she went to east high that morning. Maybe it was so she didn't have to be around as Chad, Caroline, and Marc plan her father's funeral and wake for Wednesday and Thursday. Jack was not expecting her to come back. Actually, he wasn't coming back, ever. Apparently Principle dick didn't see having your future daughter in law in ICU as a legitimate reason to miss classes despite the fact that he has 110 personal days saved up. She gets to see Jack tell his boss to go fuck himself and quits his job when he and Caroline picked up the babies yesterday. It was one of the few things that made her happy. Maybe Sharpay just craved the monotony of normalcy. Going to East High was as normal as it was going to get.
She was accosted by reporters as she left her house. Apparently a university official gave her address to the press (most likely directed by Richard's uncle in retaliation for being responsible for his nephew finally getting what he deserves). Thanks to Lucy the story got buried in the middle of the paper.
She asked the vultures to give her time to grieve for her father in peace and their response was to take more pictures of her. Thankfully, they could not follow her onto the private East High campus. Apparently, Jimmy warned his fellow classmates to not asked stupid questions. Even Tiara or whatever was nice to her. That alone was disconcerting.
The substitute teacher was just happy that somebody was there who knew the lesson plan. As long as she was teaching she didn't have to think about her father's funeral.
That reprieve did not last very long because her next step was to pick up funeral wear for the twins. Aunt Claudia offered to watch the twins during the proceedings because she believed funerals were no place for small children but she felt like she would fall apart if she didn't have the twins with her. Besides the twins' biological mother was in a coma and their biological father was a wanted fugitive. What was the point of sheltering the children from the cruelty of reality? Life was pure misery with little sparks of happiness interspersed so that the misery doesn't completely overwhelm you.
She spent the afternoon with Kim and Troy. Kim is better, if still in pain. Not that she can feel anything below the waist. Personally, Sharpay is just happy she's not dead. She arrives just in time for Vanessa and Taylor to bring down baby Kimi Kim (poor child) to meet her big sister.
While visiting her best friend she received several phone calls from the lawyers. She didn't return any of them. Whatever they had to say could wait until she put her father in the ground.
The next day she woke up and went through the motions again. Her time at East High was a little easier. The students were much more focused on the fact that Coach Bolton quit his job than her father's death because Coach Bolton's former wife is crazy. It made things a little easier.
Classes at A of U were harder. It took Sharpay an extra 15 minutes to get to one class because she refused to walk anywhere near where her father were shot. Everybody just looked at her with sad expressions. Most offered her condolences that made her uncomfortable. A few of Richard's friends called her various synonyms for prostitute. This made her smile because it meant that everything was going to be okay.
Most of her teachers were surprised she showed up for classes except for her writing teacher. He lost his mother two years ago to breast cancer and understood her need to maintain some normalcy. She survived the first 20 minutes of class until they broke into groups for some project. When she relies that Kim wasn't there for her to work with she broke down in sobs. She's not sure how Chad knows to come and take her home. He forces her to take a bath with all the girlie stuff she likes. She wishes she had time to take a nap but she had a wake to go to.
The entire thing was unnerving. Thankfully Caroline knew enough people in high places to keep the vultures away from the viewing, at least the ones in the press. Opportunistic family and father's fake friends were another thing altogether. Their fake smiles and tears made her sick. If she was going to survive she did not dare a look at her father's casket. Ryan did and it led to him having a heart to heart with his new 'friend' in the men's room. Although that's probably better than what she did with her husband in a supply closet.
The funeral was depressing and complicated. It was just for family and real friends. Sharpay was glad that Marc thought about that so she didn't have to deal with the phoniness of the night before. Though Darby did try to crash and was promptly punched out by a very angry Caroline. The cop on duty who happened to be her brother didn't see anything. She and Ryan drew straws to see who would do the eulogy and Sharpay won or lost depending on how you look at it. It took all her acting skills not to throw up on the way to the podium.
"My father wasn't perfect. He missed more birthday parties than Ryan or I Care to remember and we are not even going to talk about Christmas. But he was always there when we needed him the most whether it be a bad break up or the quick adoption of two children because your friend is in a coma. Ryan and I know that he loved us unconditionally. I only hope that I can follow that example with my own children. We love you daddy." She said with tears falling down her cheeks.
That was as much as she could take. Sharpay had to get the hell out of there.
She found herself walking to nearby AMC and Kim's hospital room after she sent a quick text message to her husband letting him know where she was. Apparently, she wasn't the only one who had the Idea because Gabriella was sitting next to Kim and the two were engaging in a very loud argument. Apparently she and Taylor traded off who would take care of Ryan and Kim during the funeral and wake.
"Troy loves you unconditionally. He doesn't care that you're never going to be able to have another child. He doesn't care if you're going to be able to walk again." Apparently Kim was given that bad news earlier. Sharpay was already too exhausted to really react to that. "He has been by your side every moment." Gabriella yelled. Sharpay has never seen her that angry before.
"Maybe he just feels guilty." Kim said in a soft voice.
"That is complete bull shit." Gabriella yelled. "Is that the same reasoning you used when you justified running away to New York and hiding Troy son from him for two years!"
"I did not hide anyone." Kim argued back. The fact that she was arguing made Sharpay feel better, that meant Kim was coming back to her.
"Yes you did. You did not even tell me that Alex was Troy's child. If I knew I would have driven Troy to New York myself." Sharpay said as she walked into the room.
"Good thing you're here even if you're supposed to be burying your father. Maybe you can talk some sense into your friend. She wants to break up with Troy. I'm going to go get some French fries and when I get back I expect you to be thinking like a rational person." Gabriella said leaving the room as quickly as possible.
"You want to break up with Troy. Why?" Sharpay asked completely confused.
"Why are you here?" Kim asked with concern.
"It got overwhelming and I needed some best friend time before I put my father in the ground. Now why do you want to break up with Troy? Sharpay asked with hands on hips.
"Because he shouldn't have to spend the rest of his life with a crippled woman without a uterus. He has so much potential. I will just drag him down." Kim explained with self pity.
"I can't believe I'm saying this but I agree with Gabriella. That is bullshit. Troy loves you." Sharpay explained.
"I love him too. That's why I need to set him free." Sharpay cannot believe she is hearing this.
"I seriously wish I had Amanda with me. I'm bringing her tomorrow for your newly disabled persons orientation and pep talk. Amanda cannot even communicate in writing or read a newspaper without software, but she's still attending school on scholarship. Hell, her IQ is as high as Chad's. She's brilliant at everything she does. It's just a disability, it doesn't change who she is. It will not change who you are." Sharpay said trying to encourage her.
"It's hard for me to believe that right now." Kim said softly.
"Okay, let's think about it this way, Lucy shot you because she wants to break you and Troy up by whatever means necessary even if it meant your death. If you break up with Troy, Lucy wins. That mother fucking bitch took my father and my future niece or nephew, I am sure as hell not going to let her take away your happiness. Fuck her. Live your life. Don't let her take it away from you." At that moment Sharpay realizes that was exactly what she needed to do herself. She couldn't just go through the motions she had to live her life. Otherwise, Lucy would win. Sharpay hated to let anybody else win.
April 10, 2023
The cemetery at Albuquerque Gardens was just as gloomy as it was nearly 14 years ago when she buried her father here after Gabriella told everyone that she was hiding in Kim's Hospital room. Zack was being buried in the Evans family plot next to her father. Kerri did a good job of arranging everything with a little guidance from Marc. (He was too busy rearranging Taylor schedule, so she could be off for the funeral to be there for Ryan, to do everything like he normally did.) Kerri was family, so of course she would do a good job even if Ryan was to out of it to help decide anything except that his husband would be buried in Albuquerque. The girl Sharpay took care of for her last year of high school was good at keeping things together when they were falling apart. That's how she fell into Marc's party planning empire.
Just like at her father's burial 14 years ago it was raining, It seemed appropriate. Unlike at her father's funeral she actually made it through her brother in laws eulogy without running away after. Even at her favorite teacher's funeral Chad had to drag her back from the car. Unfortunately Penelope didn't fare so well this time and now her favorite event planner was freaking out because she can't find the decease's childhood friend who was supposed to say a few words at the burial. It wasn't like Zack's family was actually going to show up, they were as homophobic as great Aunt Clara (RIP). Ryan was such a mess that left Penelope to do this who was nowhere to be found. The missing person was enough to made Kerri throw up in a hedge.
"Okay the fact that you are sick is not a good sign. I will find Penelope so that you're perfect funeral is not ruined." Sharpay offered.
"The throwing up is normal for me these days. I'll be fine after I use my mouthwash." She said taking the bottle out of her purse.
"Throwing up every 20 seconds is only normal if you're pregnant." The dear in headlights expression from Kerri told her everything she needed to know.
"I'm sorry. I didn't want to tell you because…" Kerri started but had no idea how to finish.
"I'm not pregnant and never going to get pregnant." Sharpay supplied for her.
"Pretty much, I'm also not three months yet and you know how these things are." Kerri said with worry.
"I'm sure you'll have better luck than me or Kim. Think positive. I assume this was an accident since you don't have a boyfriend. Please tell me it wasn't some random guy you hooked up with at a bar one night. Chad is going to kill you for not practicing safe sex." Sharpay said picturing the worst case scenario in her head.
"As far as the press is concerned, this is a very planned pregnancy and I am Jimmy and Marc's gestational carrier." Kerri said nervously. Why did Sharpay have a feeling that in Vitro fertilization was not involved? Kerri and Jimmy have always had a interesting relationship. Sharpay has stopped asking questions about it when she walked in on Kerri losing her virginity to her ex boyfriend who had permission from his boyfriend to do so. She leaves those bizarre conversations to her husband who has seen and heard much worse. That right there was the real reason she was shocked that Kerri and Marc not only shared a business but are the best of friends.
"I assume that is a slight fabrication." Sharpay says slowly.
"Jimmy is the biological father. We just decided to do this the old school Babylonian way because I hate needles." Kerri said with a nervous laugh. She would ask Chad about that reference later. He knew more about ancient sexual culture then the encyclopedia.
"I don't want details. Just remember I love you anyway and everything will be okay." Sharpay says hugging her. "It's best that I don't know the exact details, that way I have plausible deniability when I am accosted by TMZ. You can tell Chad later because he's covered by doctor/Patient confidentiality."
"He's a sex therapist, a celebrity bisexual polygamous and siblings spouses is probably almost normal in his business." Kerri says with a laugh. That was definitely TMI.
"I'm going to go find Penelope before the burial." Sharpay said trying to get away as quickly as possible. She thinks of Kerri as a cross between a sibling and her own child. She does not want to know about the sex life of either. It's even more uncomfortable that Kerri is pregnant even though it was completely unplanned, despite what she said. Sharpay wanted to have a child with Chad so badly that it hurt. This wasn't there
She wasn't actually trying to fine Penelope when she wandered into the cemetery restroom but she found her there anyway. She was actually there to just scream in peace.
"Crying is usually the more appropriate response at this sort of thing." Penelope said walking out of the stall.
"I did that earlier." Sharpay joked but it fell flat. "The crazy and pregnant funeral planner is looking for you. You're needed for the next part of the ceremony. She would be in here but she's busy throwing up in the daffodils due to the next NBA or WNBA player in her stomach." Sharpay said sarcastically.
"So you know that she's pregnant." Penelope said with a sigh.
"Did everyone know that but me?" Sharpay asked in annoyance.
"She threw up on my shoes when we were picking out caskets." Penelope quipped. "She wanted to keep it quiet until you were in a better place."
"After the funeral or until I got over the fact that I will never get pregnant?" Sharpay asked.
"I'm not sure. You know how much Kerri loves you. You are her world. I thought you and Chad were still trying, anyway?" Penelope asked.
"I got the news that pregnancy would be impossible about 2 hours before you called me and everything fell apart. Ryan was consoling me and my broken ovaries at the nearest Starbucks when everything went to hell."
"I'm sorry. I would give you my ovaries if I could. We all know I'm not using them. I owe you for Richard spending the last 14 years in jail before Karma got him for both of us." Penelope told her.
"You don't owe me anything. I did what I should have done a long time ago. I have two wonderful children already. I just need to let go of broken dreams. I have other options if I'm really desperate. Gabriella is giving eggs out left and right. She would be of great egg donor if I needed one." She said in a joking matter to break the tension. Sharpay was the only one besides Chad that knew officially Gabriella was the egg donor for Troy and Kim's youngest daughter.
"Because everybody wants superstar singer and actress Gabriella as their babies mama instead of a no-name schoolteacher from New Mexico. Seriously, everybody and TMZ knows that Gabriella is the biological mother of Troy's daughter." Gabriella Montez actually ended up being the drama queen of East High class of 2008. She was a successful actress and musical star. She was discovered with Troy when they both did American Star Maker together after Kim made both do something fun that summer instead of just watching her go through rehab. A good sob story will get you ahead in any situation. As much as Sharpay wants to despise Gabriella for getting her dream, Sharpay realizes that she has more than Gabriella ever will. Also she owes Gabriella for making sure Kim did not make the worst mistake of her life. She also owes her for leaving the set of her latest project so she could be here for Ryan. Her brother is currently wedged between Gabriella and Taylor.
"You know the day before all this happened Zack asked me if I would be their carrier? I never got a chance to tell him yes." Penelope said in a whisper. Sharpay wanted to cry at that moment for her future niece or nephew that was lost but she couldn't risk losing it at the moment.
"Are you going to be okay?" Sharpay asked.
"Not today, maybe tomorrow." Penelope said taking the tissue from her.
"Let's get out there." Sharpay said taking Penelope's hand.
April 30, 2009
Troy was mentally exhausted after attending the funeral for his best friend's father in law. He tried very hard to forget that this funeral was caused by the woman who gave birth to him. He could not think of Lucy as his mother anymore. He hated her more than anything in the world. She took his child away from him. There's no forgiveness possible for something that heinous. The last thing he wanted to have was a very serious conversation with Gabriella and Penelope, who was staying with him to take care of Alex. Although really as far as Troy was concerned this was Penelope's house too. So he expected her to be there. Of course, he did not expect Gabriella to tell him that his fiancée was planning on breaking up with him because she no longer felt that she deserved him.
"How do I convince her that I don't care if she is in a wheelchair or could give me another child?" Troy asked the two women in the living room.
"I suggest wedding rings." Penelope suggested and Gabriella just nodded in agreement.
"Be serious." Troy said with a frustrated sigh.
"That's what I'm suggesting. You need to show her that you're serious. A marriage license would do that, as long as you actually keep your marriage vows." Penelope said with a vicious smile.
"I think she's right. She needs to believe you are not going anywhere. Kim is absolutely terrified right now. She just lost her ability to have more children and chances are she is never going to be able to walk again unless there's some medical breakthrough in the future. She is afraid that she's going to lose you too." Gabriella explained. Troy really did not need that much convincing.
"Okay. Penelope how fast can your friend Marc put a wedding together?"
"Pretty fast, considering your bride still can't leave her hospital room." Penelope replied snidely.
"Call him. We have a wedding to plan." Was all Troy said as he prepared to ask his future stepmom for the phone number of her favorite judge.
To be concluded.