Thank you to everybody who read or reviewed the last chapter. I'm sorry this took longer than I intended to originally. I have lots of family stuff going on. On November 25, my uncle died due to complications of cancer. On December 1, I lost my brother-in-law to his fight with lung cancer (never smoked, most likely caused by industrial pollution). I spent the first half of December helping my sister taking care of things.
Let's just say I'm ridiculously behind in everything and the only writing I really got to do during this time was proofreading my niece's paper comparing Jazzercise and Zumba. The joys of being a fitness major.
Life also changed my plan for this story. I no longer feel like writing another Wilhelmina eulogy chapter right now (but apparently I'm okay with writing a funeral dinner party). Also my original ending to this story is no longer something I want to do for which Alexis is probably grateful for. Writing is how I deal with things so the content of this chapter was adjusted to help me work through my emotions. A lot of things have been inspired by what I'm going through. After watching my nieces these last couple weeks, I think I have a better handle on Nico's mindset if nothing else.
This is the final actual chapter but there will be an epilogue after this.
We are going to be jumping in time a lot during this chapter. Timestamps are going to be your friend here and in the epilogue.
I will put my goodbyes in the epilogue chapter but let me just say It's been a pleasure working on this story for the last three years.
Chapter 45: Life is Cyclical
December 12, 2006.
"I'm so sorry we didn't make it back in time for the funeral." Daniel said as he placed one arm around Nico to hug her. Yes, he seen her many times since being rescued, but he's so grateful to have her around considering the alternative.
They really were planning to get there in time for the small family and real friends only service but then planes are evil and the paparazzi are worse, because of course they find him and Betty on their last day in Puerto Rico. Basically they ended up missing their flight because somebody insisted they fly commercial. Unfortunately, that was the last direct flight to LaGuardia for at least five hours and they ended up waiting two hours to fly to New Jersey. They finally arrived halfway through the private repast at Rosa.
"It's okay. Technically you weren't invited and it was basically just a final goodbye at the gravesite before she was buried." Nico gives him a watery smile.
"I was Betty's +1." Daniel joked. "And even if your mom hated me enough not to invite me to her funeral I am going to be there for you. Even though the wedding didn't happen, I still think of you as my sister. I felt awful for disappearing to Puerto Rico when you needed me." By taking care of one part of his family he felt like he completely neglected another.
"You didn't disappear. You called every day and you did invite me to go along. I'm just..." 'drowning' Daniel thought to himself.
"You just didn't want to leave Monique?" He suggested instead.
"Yes. Last night was the first time I actually slept in my new bed at grandma Windom-West's house." Nico confessed.
"I get it." Daniel smiled at her kindly. "I'm pretty sure Betty and I are going to be sleeping on the floor of Alex's nursery tonight." This happened in Puerto Rico a lot, when DJ would let them get anywhere near Alex.
DJ already has an appointment with Dr. Alayna Suarez (no relation) child psychologist extraordinaire tomorrow. Losing your mother, grandfather, and having your little brother kidnapped all in the course of six months could be difficult on any child. Okay, they should have considered getting DJ professional help after he found out that Daniel is not his biological father and his real biological father is now his aunt but he was preoccupied.
"You have no idea how happy I am that it only took me and Alex getting kidnapped to get you and Betty to finally get it together." Now Nico's smile is genuine.
"We're not…" Daniel started to deny her accusation, but Nico was just giving him a look that told him there's no point in denying it.
"We're taking things slow." He shrugged.
"Amanda said that you're moving in together. That doesn't count as slow in any universe." And apparently Nico did not believe him at all.
"It's not like that. Betty's getting her own room next to the nursery as soon as we find a bigger place." Nico actually laughs at that because again she doesn't believe him. It's good to see her laughing.
"When were you talking to Betty's stepsister?" Daniel asked in an effort to move this conversation to safer ground.
"Amanda, along with her cousin, helped me plan the funeral." Instead he parachuted directly into the Wilhelmina danger zone.
"Funeral planning is never fun." Lucy's was a disaster because even though he can read French enough to edit an article in the language, his grasp of the verbal language is sometimes shaky, especially when the person he is speaking to is spitting out 600 words a minute.
"She also helped with this post-funeral dinner party." Nico points to the buffet and the giant picture of Wilhelmina sitting at the center of the main family table. It was not a model shot but a home photo of Wilhelmina cradling a baby Nico in her arms. It was enough to make anybody cry.
"She did a good job." 'Even though it seems creepy to celebrate Wilhelmina's life with a large buffet'. Daniel thought to himself.
"She didn't follow anything Wilhelmina had in her funeral binder, except for the plan for a tasteful family only funeral if she died under suspicious circumstances, such as if a political coup went badly." Getting murdered by your ex-boyfriend certainly qualifies.
"It would never be a political coup. It would be a magazine coup. And that didn't..." Daniel stopped himself before he said something really stupid.
"Did any of your family come?" Because he didn't see anybody here that he didn't know from the office except for Monique's mother.
"I think grandma Windom-West may still be holding on to baby Alex for dear life somewhere. She thinks your son is adorable." Nico was obviously hedging.
"Doesn't everyone?" Daniel quipped and Nico smiled again. He considered that a small victory.
"Monique stayed at the house with the army of home healthcare workers that grandma Windom-West is paying for." This doesn't surprise him. He needs to call Monique to see if she's up for visitors tomorrow. Baby Alex wants Monique time. "Monique's biological cousin came down from DC to spend time with her. However, I think she mostly did this because she hates her new boss. She may be the only one, along with Gio, that has any hope of convincing Monique not to go back to work until at least after the New Year."
"I meant Vivian's fiancé, AKA your grandfather."
"They broke up a couple of days ago and Vivian got me during the negotiations. I think I came out ahead." Now Nico was frowning. "Besides being extremely uncomfortable, there is no reason for him to want to be here. The small gathering of friends and family was close to the press. He wants to do some big memorial service later on. Maybe something around Fashion Week. He can do that if he wants but he's not turning this into a political spectacle."
"Doesn't have to be a spectacle. You can always turn it into a charity event. Maybe something to help prevent domestic violence" Daniel suggested.
"Monique and Kenny said something similar. Maybe it would be a good idea for something good to come out of this travesty." Time for another subject change, even if there's no way possible for this conversation to not be awkward.
"I could understand why you wouldn't want your grandfather here." Because his grandstanding even made the news in Puerto Rico. "But you have other family. What about your Aunt... Reba?"
"Her name is actually Renee and she is at Pinecrest. Also, it turns out she's my biological sister because my family just needed to be even more screwed up." Nico said again and Daniel just wanted to hug her again.
"What?" Daniel asked, confused.
"I had no idea how much Wilhelmina protected me from things until she was no longer here to function as a filter. The "Renee is actually my sister" secret came out during the will preview yesterday. Now that I wish you were here for." So did Daniel.
"Sorry, I know your biological dad was almost 2 decades older than Wilhelmina, but that's a little much. Seriously, he actually step with your grandmother?" Daniel asked incredulously. And he thought his family was screwed up. Nico's family was starting to make him feel normal.
"Other way around and it wasn't consensual. The guy was actually a relative of Wilhelmina's first step mother." Nico tells him as she continues to look at the floor.
"Oh. That is..." 'That explains why your mother was so screwed up.' But Daniel knows not to say that out loud without destroying his relationship with Nico.
"Really fucked up." Nico supplies for him.
"I was trying not to curse when Alex is in listening distance. He's a sponge and I owe about $200 to the swear jar fund." That was sort of true.
"Considering what happened cursing is the least you have to be concerned with." Daniel knew she was talking about the kidnapping and they were already looking into a good art therapist for Alex.
"It wasn't your fault. You protected Alex as best you could." He squeezed her hand.
"I know it's just…" 'How the hell do you get over something like that?' Daniel had no clue, so he is glad she couldn't verbalize that question. He had no idea what to say. He hasn't felt this loss since his Brother Alex's (fake) funeral and he fell into Betty. Speaking of Betty, he could now hear her screaming in the background at her stepsister.
"You and Kenny are getting married in less than two weeks?" Apparently, she was very unhappy.
"I guess Amanda told Betty what they're doing with grandma's wedding." Nico put her head in her hands as the two sisters kept arguing in the background. The word 'irresponsible' was thrown about a lot.
"Wait, did Amanda purchase your grandmother's wedding as if it were a black Friday sale?"
"No grandma gave Kenny and Amanda the wedding as a Fu- screw you to the senator. It's not a very amicable breakup, despite the press release that makes Vivienne look like the bad guy."
"That still counts as a curse word according to the swear jar protocol." Daniel joked.
"I realize that it's weird. Honestly, I think the real reason why a wedding is still happening is because my grandmother and Monique want to keep me busy and distracted by working on something happy. We only have 12 more days to switch everything over to an Amanda wedding including an emergency dress fitting tomorrow. Thankfully, Amanda finally asked Betty to be her best person." Daniel did not agree with that mostly because of all the screaming.
"With all this going on, I'm too busy to cry." Which was probably the point. He was so busy trying to make Mode his own to think about Bradford or Lucy.
"Why did she not ask Marc? They're like platonic soulmates."
"Kenny asked Marc so that Amanda can have all her favorite people in the wedding. Also, Kenny's grandmother, who already hates Amanda would not be happy with her having a male maid of honor." That makes sense, especially because most of Kenny's accountant friends stop speaking to him when he started dating the boss's daughter. "Technically, they were already engaged before Grandma Vivian offered them the all-expenses-paid Christmas wedding."
"It's still weird. I could've just had you plan a graduation party for Betty." Which he should do anyway.
"Is she still graduating considering?" Nico asked concerned.
"Betty is still walking next week, but she might have to take one class over next semester because the guy is a dick." Daniel told her with a touch of contempt.
"Having to deal with your kid getting kidnapped should automatically give you a pass."
"Or at least a modicum of compassion. Thankfully, most of her professors and the university itself are more understanding. She's getting an incomplete but will be allowed to make it up next semester with a professor who is not an asshole."
"Good idea." Nico grabs a petite cheesecake off the desert bar.
"You know if it becomes too much our door is always open to you. We can even look for a bigger house with your own bedroom." Daniel offered.
"I like Monique. She is the sane aunt I always wanted. Things will be fine and if not, there's always your future mother-in-law, Faye. Considering I'm certain you're only offering because you need a built-in babysitter for Betty private time, Faye will become your mother-in-law sooner rather than later."
"I told you we're not that back together again." He argued again and Nico rolled her eyes at him.
"Then why is your neck covered with bite marks?" She pointed at said neck.
"Alex was teasing." Nico just gives him a very dubious look because she knows he is lying through his teeth. Really, there's been nothing but kissing, mostly.
"It's true." Nico shakes her head at his words.
"It's December, you can at least wear a turtleneck."
"I didn't want to have to deal with your mother's ghost if I wore the wrong thing to her whatever this is." And yes he did try on six different outfits before they left Faye's villa this morning for the airport. Of course the panicking over proper attire originally was because Daniel assumed he would have to speak at the funeral even though he did not want to give another rousing speech or eulogy. Never try to eulogize somebody that you have very complex emotions about. It never goes well.
"Post-funeral dinner party. Your mom came up with the idea." Of course, she did. Daniel sighed again.
"She had one after Alex died or rather when we thought Alex died. It was a complete disaster. Faye and mom were fighting over dad. Jamie and Jordan were fighting over who was responsible for Alex killing himself and dad was being an asshole. Also, I'm pretty sure mom had to have her stomach pumped."
Daniel tries not to think about the fact that Carlo killed Bradford. Carlo was dead. He couldn't do anything else to this family.
"Okay technically I think that was a pre-funeral dinner party." Everything was kind of blurry.
"This is why we should be happy my grandfather didn't show up. I think he would have turned this into that, especially because Vivian wants to slap him. It was a bad breakup."
"Considering she now has custody of you, I'm sure it was." But then again, Vivian Windom-West had a reputation for dumping husbands and picking up children. At least that's what Mercedes said when they were 'dating' in high school.
"Instead, your future mother-in-law Faye and my grandmother are trying to calm down your girlfriend about Amanda's wedding and your mom is currently petting Jordan stomach as Alexis and Jamie each have an arm around her."
"Definitely nowhere near as catastrophic."
"Although, why is your mother petting Jordan stomach?" Nico asked confused.
"Because Jordan's pregnant. According to Betty, they did that all the time when she was pregnant with Alex."
"What?" That's when Daniel remembered that Nico wasn't around when they finally broke the news to the family because Carlo was a prick who screwed with his family.
"They were planning to announce it during Christmas, but Jordan was pushing herself too much when…" I was living through the worst few days of my entire life.
"Alex and I were missing?" Nico finished for him.
"Yes, and they got into a fight and mom found out she was getting another grandchild. She's been ecstatic ever since." And maybe this way she will stop conspiring with the Betty conspiracy group to get him and Betty back together. They will be fine on their own.
"Did they use Alexis'—sample?"
"Betty told me I'm not allowed to answer that question because biology is irrelevant, this is their child."
"I guess Life-and-death really is cyclical. The cops think that Carlo paid for the person that caused the miscarriage last time. They can't prove it, but…" Nico trails off paying more attention to the petite cheesecake that she's barely eating.
"They told you that?" Daniel looked at her surprise, but not really.
"I'm good at overhearing things I'm not supposed to."
"Very good." Daniel sighed. "Whatever happened in the past doesn't matter only what we do now."
"Good advice."
"That's all I have. Betty is better at this than me. You know, I met Betty at the funeral dinner party from hell."
"So it wasn't a total disaster?"
"It was the best thing that ever happened to me, outside of my children that is." Daniel said before he went over to rescue Alex from his future step mother-in-law.
December 17, 2006
"How does it feel to be a college graduate?" Daniel asked, now that they were in the car driving to whatever restaurant Daniel chose for her 'congratulations you survived college' dinner.
She had no idea where they were going because Daniel wanted it to be a surprise. It wasn't like they had been able to really go out on a date since getting back from Puerto Rico. She had to finish up her work for graduation and Daniel had 1 million things to settle with the magazine now that Wilhelmina was no longer there despite Marc stepping up to do most of the work until Daniel was ready to go back full-time in January. Daniel probably knows most of the lawyers by name at this point.
"Technically, I'm not a college graduate. I still have to finish up a class next semester." She is not happy about that but it was the best the university could do. Despite the circumstances.
"All you have to do is take the exam next month and that's because your professor is a dick."
"We went to Puerto Rico for almost 2 weeks." Betty said understanding her professor's perspective.
"It wasn't like it was a complete pleasure vacation. We were hiding from the paparazzi after our child was kidnapped. We were also reassuring both of our children that they were safe and protected. Besides, you would've been mobbed by the paparazzi if you went to class immediately after. That's not exactly conducive for learning."
"Good point." She told Daniel begrudgingly. "Can we just go home? I know we were supposed to do a big graduation dinner, but I would rather just hang out and watch movies." Betty had one hand on his leg. Because they have a babysitter tonight, maybe she was ready to do something other than make out on the couch.
"Considering where your hand is, are you planning on us watching porn?"
"Of course not." She raised an annoyed eyebrow at him.
"I'm not Amanda. It's been about a week and we have a babysitter."
"Not that I don't want to make full use of having a babysitter, but I thought we were going slow?"
"By Amanda standards, this is going slow. We would be at the altar Tuesday if we were going as fast as her and Kenny." So yes she's still a little bit upset about Amanda not only getting engaged while she was in Puerto Rico but waiting until she got back to tell her, after half of the wedding was already together.
"You've been really good this week with helping me focus on schoolwork. I think you deserve your own graduation present."
"I think I'm supposed to give you the present." Daniel's smirked at her.
"I'm changing the rules." She leaned over and kissed him on the mouth.
"I wish you would've told me this earlier. If we don't show up at that restaurant, your dad may kill me and if he doesn't your sister will." That's when she got there.
"My graduation dinner was never going to be a romantic dinner for two?" Because all major milestones in the Suarez family must be celebrated. Really she should've been expecting a surprise party.
"You know your family. Even before your father married Faye, he loved celebrating everything. Now he's married to a woman who loves to throw a good party. It's a dangerous combination. I'm just hoping to avoid a repeat of the Halloween ball."
"It worked out well for Monique." Daniel smiled at that. Gio has been by Monique's side the entire time. If that didn't say love nothing did. The only one spending more time with her was Nico.
"They're probably using this is another distraction for Nico." The only time she would leave Monique was when she had to go to class or work on wedding stuff. They probably want another reason to get her out of the house.
"Probably. It makes more sense than a wedding." Betty pouted and Daniel frowned at her.
"I thought you were okay with Amanda getting married to Kenny. You agreed to be her best woman."
"Because she's my sister, I couldn't say no. But do you think it's too fast?" Because I never thought Amanda would ever get married or date anyone for more than a month at a time. "A year ago I had trouble enforcing the 'do not bring strange man around Alex' rule. Now she's planning to spend the rest of her life with Kenny."
"Sometimes you just know that you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody. Maybe for some people it doesn't have to be as complicated as it was for you and me." Because you got me pregnant and Wilhelmina was crazy, may she rest in peace.
"Our relationship was definitely the definition of complicated."
"Things are a lot easier for Amanda and Kenny because they only need to worry about their own emotional needs and do not have anybody actively sabotaging their relationship."
"That's true."
"Why are you worried? You love Kenny." 'Because Kenny was a better option better than her dating your half-brother or his brother.' However Daniel didn't need to know that.
"I also love Amanda. I just want things to work out. A surefire way to ruin things is to rush into it." She told him just as Daniel pulled into his regular parking space at Rosa.
"I think they will." Daniel leaned over to kiss her on the lips. "Come on, let's get you to the party before they assume we are making really good use of the lack of babysitter." Betty kissed him one more time before they made their way into the restaurant.
The graduation party was chaotic. Loud music and at least 3 dozen people she's not sure she actually knows. Half of the staff of Mode and Hudson were there. Also, she's already had to change Alex twice. Seriously, why did Amanda give him such a messy appetizer? She shouldn't expect anything else.
At least there was no food fight this time and nobody got arrested. The police even showed up at Wilhelmina's repast a couple of days ago but that was mostly because the paparazzi tried to sneak in.
But it was definitely happier this time around. It would have to be. This was a celebration of a good thing not a Requiem for one of the most complex women that Betty has ever met. After everything, she has survived college and will have her degree soon. (As soon as she makes up that one class next semester.)
Her father made all of her favorite foods, Alex had yet to mess up his current outfit and Nico was actually smiling. She was receiving hugs and praise from old family friends. It was a serious contrast to the uncomfortableness of Wilhelmina's repast just a few days earlier.
However, her least favorite part were the speeches taking place before the staff bring out the main entrées. Even though she was forever linked to Daniel Meade now that everyone knows that she is his baby's mama, Betty was still uncomfortable being the center of attention. The hugging was bad enough now. She had to sit and smile while everybody hopefully said good things about her.
Jamie began by giving a brief overview of her time at Hudson and praised her for keeping him on task when he was dealing with Jordan's miscarriage. He also told everyone that seeing her with Alex and spending time with him made both he and Jordan willing to try again. She may have teared up a little bit when she looked over to see Alexis's hand on Jordan's stomach. Maybe she is a romantic at heart.
Hilda shared really ridiculous anecdotes about her adolescent crushes on Jonathan Knight and Lance Bass. There was now a PowerPoint going on in the background showing Betty during her various boy band phases along with the various bad jobs she had at the time. They were currently going through the Backstreet Boys T-shirts she wore during her cat hospital days.
Nico was currently mumbling something about AJ from the Backstreet Boys being better than everyone else because he sent Monique balloons post incident. She completely forgot that Monique was friends with a Backstreet Boy. Although, that completely explains her graduation gift basket from her former and future boss who was still in the middle of rehab. Lots of CDs and concert tickets.
Yes she was moving on to MYW. During the trip to Puerto Rico, she and Daniel talked about a lot of things, including their work life. Eventually they decided that if they were really going to give this relationship thing a real try then they needed some time apart from each other. That meant Daniel would be looking for a new assistant and she would become Monique's next apprentice. It was for the best, even if it meant working with Alexis until the EIC was back on her feet. It's taken a while, but he has forgiven her for faking her death and leaving Daniel to deal with the DJ/Lucy situation alone. Maybe she was able to let go because she couldn't picture herself without DJ. He was her other son.
Speaking of Alexis, she was now up on stage talking about her taking the job at MYW and how thrilled they are for her to be there. Then she moved on to tell a very embarrassing story involving a peach blouse and leaking breast milk when she left Alex with Alexis for the first time before she knew that the woman was Daniel's thought to be dead sibling. It wasn't a very fun story.
"I thought this was supposed to be a party, not a roast? Daniel asked Nico under breath.
"Hilda told me not to mention this part of the party to you. That's why you were asked not to give a speech." Nico shrugged at Daniel.
"That's definitely my sister." Betty mumbled under breath, just as her father took the stage.
"I just want to say a few words before my wonderful staff brings out dinner. Betty is the first to graduate college in our family. It hasn't been an easy road. There's been many detours such as Alex or your mother's death." Her father turns his gaze towards the picture of her mother walking Betty to her first day of school now displayed above him.
"There's even been a transfer or two." Now there was a picture of her first day of summer school at University of Manhattan and a maternity sundress that Amanda made her wear. You could definitely tell Alex was there.
"Betty, you not only survived it but you continue to thrive. I know that your mom wanted to live long enough to see this day. According to her, the saddest part about dying was not being here for these milestones but I know she would be as proud of you as I am." The image behind him changed to both her parents holding her at the hospital when she was only a few minutes old.
"I always knew you would do great things. Not just academically but in life. You are a wonderful mother to Alex." Now there was an image of her holding Alex for the first time.
"Are you crying?"
"A little." Nico wordlessly passes her a tissue. Apparently, she keeps a pack in her purse at all times.
"I wish you all the success in the world. He raised his glass. "I always wanted you to be the person that you wanted to be and you have. To the graduate." Over her happy tears you could hear the clink of glasses in the background. It was a good graduation party.
"Now let's eat."
"It was probably best that I didn't go up there." Daniel said once the main entrée was served. "I don't think I could top your father,"
"Probably not."
"Although I do want to say that I met you on what I thought was one of the worst days of my life. I didn't know how I was going to deal with losing my brother."
"Even if you got a sister instead."
"We didn't know that at the time but you turned the worst day ever to my third best day ever. I thank you for that every day. No matter what happens between us, I'm never going to regret falling in love with you."
"Actually, I think you could've followed him." Betty wiped to tear away and Daniel responded by kissing her.
"Although what two days were better than when we met each other?"
"The day Alex was born and the day the judge told me that DJ was by son."
"That seems fair." Betty said before returning to kissing Daniel. Said kissing only stopped when the sprinklers were activated.
December 25, 2006
Amanda Tannen-Somers-Suarez was the type of girl who always dreamt about her wedding. Up until about three years ago, this dream was mostly about which rich celebrity she would end up marrying. She never thought that she would be the accountant's wife or actually marrying for love, for that matter. But she couldn't help falling in love with Kenny. He won her head over feet.
Amanda was wearing a beautiful custom made Vera Wang dress that she always dreamt of. Of course, this only happened because she was a personal friend of Jamie. The dress was slightly off-white because it would just be way too hypocritical for her to wear an actual white dress and she looked better in cream anyway.
In her fantasy wedding, she never pictured her mom being there, of course, up until a couple years ago she had no idea that she was even adopted, let alone that Faye was her mom. But she was really glad Faye was there to help her get ready. She really was the best at everything fashion.
Faye gave her a vintage blue choker which counted as something old and something blue but not something borrowed because it was now hers to keep. Apparently it was another one of her wedding presents. Her something borrowed was the charm bracelet that she got for Betty after Alex was born. Although she did notice a new wedding Bell charm on the bracelet. It was cute.
Amanda was walked down the aisle by her stepfather daddy Suarez and adopted dad daddy Tannen. Spencer was there, but they were still trying to build a relationship, it probably helped that he is paying for her honeymoon in Tahiti (it's a magical place) and he understood her reasoning. He was happy to sit beside Faye in the beautiful white tuxedo that she chose for him.
Amanda swears that she saw both of her mother's crying as she promised to love Kenny for the rest of her life. It was the easiest promise she ever made in her life because Kenny was it. Of course the crying stopped when Alex ran away with the wedding rings. Thankfully Nico and DJ caught up with him before he made it to the lobby. Maybe she should have gone with Kenny's six-year-old cousin instead, even though both Amanda and Kenny think her husband is a dick.
Betty was a good maid of honor. She threw a great bachelorette party in Atlantic City. They would've gone to Vegas, but apparently it was too short notice for her to hire a private jet. Yes she refused to lose 15 pounds so she could get a smaller dress but Amanda forgives her for that because she still looked good and was giving a very good toast.
Better than Marc anyways, who started out by telling very embarrassing stories about various drunken incidents at various clubs complete with a PowerPoint filled with drunken shots of her. No one needed to see her throwing up on Hilda celebrity ex-boyfriend except for Hilda, who was clapping and asked for a copy of that picture. Now that she knows why they broke up, Amanda is happy she threw up on him.
"I first met Amanda two years ago at work. I'm pretty sure that you criticized my outfit." Betty said as she began her speech.
"Probably, but your dressing much better right now." Amanda smiled at her.
"But sometime along the way you became my best friend and my sister." Betty started again, ignoring her earlier words. "And not just because our parents are now married to each other. You were there for my premature birth and 3 AM feedings and I'll never forget you for supporting me like that."
"I also survived Alex's tendency to use my shoes as a teasing ring. I think I deserve bonus points for putting up with that." Amanda interjected.
"You probably do because you never really got that mad." Betty rolled her eyes before continuing. "Before Kenny came into your life. I don't think I ever expected to settle down."
"I'm not settling down." Amanda huffed.
"Let me rephrase it differently. I never expected you to be in love. Better?" Her stepsister asked, sounding slightly annoyed.
"Amanda stop interrupting." Her husband whispered in her ear and yes she loves calling him that.
"This is why I love you Kenny. He keeps you grounded and helps you become the good person I've always known that you were deep down inside. I don't feel like I'm losing a sister right now but gaining a brother and I always wanted one of those. I wish you all the happiness in the world. Be each other's best friend. Listen more than you speak. Standby one another through good and bad and all that comes in between."
Amanda wasn't crying when she raised her glass. It was just that ridiculous perfume that Kenny's grandmother was wearing, really, it was.
January 7 was a special day to Daniel because it was the day that Betty fell into his life, especially now that he knew that Alex was still alive and now his sister. For their two-year anniversary, Daniel had the perfect day planned out. It would start with breakfast in bed and possibly a massage.
Actually, it would start with Hilda coming to pick up the kids and dropping off breakfast for him to serve to Betty, while she was in bed. This was to be followed by other fun activities to be done in bed and lunch or dinner at one of the best restaurants in town, not owned by Betty's father. He had a beautiful necklace to give her at said dinner and then hopefully there would be more fun activities to be done on the bed or couch or wall or really any good, hard surface before the kids were dropped back off. He wasn't picky.
Of course this was all going to be a surprise, which backfired because Betty didn't know about what he was planning and therefore told their real estate agent that they would be happy to view houses on a Sunday without consulting Daniel first. Daniel was quite annoyed. He became even more annoyed when Hilda suddenly came down with the flu, which she happened to give to most of the other people willing to babysit Alex and DJ. The pool was smaller than usual because Amanda and Kenny were still in Tahiti, Jordan was throwing up all the time due to baby sickness, and Faye and his mom were in France for business. He was starting to regret not allowing his mom to take DJ with her to see his friends in France.
DJ was a little clingy right now and maybe so was Betty because they were looking at houses with both kids with them. Thankfully, DJ was keeping an eye on his little brother as they were dragged to house after house that would not work. Daniel was hoping that maybe they would find something that screamed family in time for them to make their 6 PM reservation but didn't see that happening.
"Just one more house and then we can go to your apartment and order pizza or something." Betty told him when she finally picked up on his restlessness. "I don't want to cook because tomorrow is our first day back to work. I am not looking forward to going back to work tomorrow." Neither was Daniel but his temporary assistant scheduled a book club meeting with Betty for lunch tomorrow and Daniel was looking forward to testing out the new blackout blinds for his office. He knew that everybody knew what they were doing because Betty was at MYW and Monique wanted her all to herself, it won't be seen as a black mark for her to be screwing another EIC, especially when she already has a child with him.
"I actually have dinner reservations at Savoy and they're willing to take the kids because we will be writing a review in the next issue of Mode." Daniel will do anything for his kids even give a restaurant free publicity.
"Their waiting list is worse than the waiting list at Rosa. What's the occasion?" Their realtor said from the front of the vehicle.
"Today's the anniversary of when we met." Daniel said smiling.
"You actually remembered," Betty said slightly shocked. "That explains why Hilda was originally supposed to babysit today before I told her about our meeting with our realtor."
"It's just a shame she got the flu." Daniel murmured to himself.
"That's so sweet." The realtor beamed. "I promise that if this house is not perfect for you, I will let you go so you can make your date."
Daniel sincerely doubted that anything the realtor showed them at this point would be perfect for their family. Nothing this woman has showed him in the last six hours was anything close to perfect. It was either too pretentious for Betty or way too small. They needed at least five bedrooms, if Betty insists on keeping her own. He doubted it because she was mostly sleeping with him now, platonically. Sometimes. Usually. Okay, it was rarely platonically but whatever. They already have a one-year-old together.
But this time the realtor was right. Five bedrooms, four bathrooms loft with a space that they could turn into a classroom for DJ and Justin. He and Hilda decided to call the school year a loss and use a tutor for the rest of the year. They would try to find a new school next year, but he's 90% certain that tutoring is the way to go, especially with Justin only wanting to attend his English classes to become a better magazine editor.
However, what truly won them over was the private rooftop playground with swing set nestled in the large rooftop garden. Most people who could afford a house like this in this area would put a pool up but the playground was perfect. Everything was half covered in snow, but you could still see that this would become a butterfly haven in summer. The kids were already testing out the playground equipment. Okay they were throwing snowballs at each other.
"Is this place perfect or what?" The realtor said smiling, already aware that she did a good job. Seriously, why couldn't she showed them, this place first?
"I think this is home." Betty said, looking at DJ playing in the snow with his little brother. Now they were doing snow angels.
"Home is wherever you are, but it is perfect." Daniel was already picturing them doing barbecues up here in the summer. He could also see himself sneaking up here to type up the children's stories that he writes for Alex and DJ. It was definitely a writer's paradise. Maybe someday he will actually finish one of those stories and send it off to a publishing house not owned by Meade.
"So I assume that you want to put in a bid?" The realtor's words brought Daniel back down to earth.
"Yes." Both he and Betty said simultaneously, realizing this was where they wanted to raise their family, together.
Two years ago on this very day, Daniel thought that he lost almost everything that really mattered to him. Instead, he met the woman who would bring him everything including another Alex. Despite the rocky road that they traveled, Daniel wouldn't change anything because that road led him to this rooftop with Betty and their two sons. This wasn't a happy ending, it was a happy beginning.
The end
But there will be an epilogue that will flash forward a few years so we can see how everybody is doing.
.