"Please come in," Jack said to David and Ellen. "Abigail's in the kitchen. She'll be out in just a minute."

Abigail heard their voices and entered the living room. "I'm so glad you both could make it," she said, wiping her hands on her apron.

"Thank you for inviting us," David said. "Your home looks very nice."

"Thank you." Abigail smiled and blushed. She had spent most of the day cleaning.

"You should see the new sofa I just bought," Ellen bragged. "It goes so well with our living room carpet, much better than the old one did. I'm going to buy drapes to match."

"Dinner will be ready in about five minutes," Abigail told her guests. "Please, make yourself at home."

"My, everything smells so good," David said as he and Ellen and Jack sat down.

"Cheers," said Ellen, lifting her margarita glass.

"Hon, we haven't even started eating yet," David protested. Ellen ignored him. She swiftly finished that margarita and fixed herself another.

"How are the movie plans coming along?" David asked Abigail.

"Just fine so far. They're about to start interviewing actresses to play me." Abigail giggled.

"I"ll bet the actress who plays me will be prettier," said Ellen in between sips of margarita. The others ignored her.

"Remember our former high school teacher, Joanie Arcola?" asked Abigail. David nodded.

"I just met her sister-in-law, Lori Beth Cunningham. She seems really nice."

"Mrs. Arcola was always one of my favorite teachers," David said.

"How's business going, David?" asked Jack.

"Pretty good," David said. He noticed that Ellen was fixing herself another margarita. She had already had at least three or four. "Don't you think you've had about enough, dear?" he asked mildly. As he was planning to drive home, he had stuck to soft drinks all evening himself.

"What business is it of yours?" Ellen snapped.

David shrugged. "None, I guess." He looked helplessly at Abigail.

Ellen noticed and went ballistic. "What are you looking at her for?"

"I wasn't!" David insisted.

"Liar! I saw you!"

"Ellen, calm down," David told his wife.

"Don't you tell me to calm down!" Ellen turned her attention to her sister. "You think you're a mighty important person now, don't you? With a movie deal and all!"

"Well...no..." Abigail stuttered.

"Listen, Abigail. Every man you love I'll take away from you. I took David, and I'll have Jack too!"

"I've heard about enough!" Jack shrieked with fury as he glared at his sister-in-law. "While your sister was lying helplessly in a coma year after year, you were finishing school, getting married, becoming a mother, doing all the things Abigail would have loved to have done but couldn't. Abigail lost twenty years of her life, Ellen. And now that a miracle has given her her life back, and she finally has a chance for happiness, you want to take that away from her too? Why, Ellen?"

Ellen stared at Jack with her mouth wide open. She had never seen him angry before.

David's face was red with anger. "Come on, Ellen," he said fiercely, grabbing his wife roughly by the arm. Abigail noticed that there were bags under his eyes, and tonight he looked much older than his years. Abigail could clearly see the difference between the boy he had once been and the man he now was and it tore at her heart.

Jack waited until after his in-laws had left to speak. "How can he stand to live with that woman?" he asked of no one in particular.

Abigail was watching the tail lights of the retreating car as David and Ellen drove off but she wasn't really seeing them. Instead she was looking at David's eyes glowing with victory as his team mates proudly lifted him to their shoulders and carried him. He had just scored the winning touchdown. He was grinning ear to ear and Abigail knew that his smile was just for her. She jumped and clapped excitedly. She could feel the wind blowing through her hair and smell the hot dogs and pop corn from the concession stand. The other cheerleaders gathered around her, envious but fascinated.

Jack was there too. Abigail saw him standing quietly on the sideline, mopping his brow with a towel. His face was beaming. Abigail wondered why she had never really noticed him before now. He was just as happy about the winning game as David and his team mates were. And he had every right to be. If not for Jack's drive, determination, and encouragement, there would have been no victory for David's team that night.

Abigail didn't even realize that she was crying until Jack was there kissing away her tears. She rested her head on his shoulder and he put his arms around her and held her tight. He kissed her forehead and stroked her hair.

"Come to bed, Abby," he said gently. "You look so tired."

"Not too tired for you," she smiled sweetly. He grinned in response and took her hand.

Abigail thought about the huge fight sure to break out in the Holland household the next morning. Never mind the throbbing headache Ellen was sure to wake up with in the morning. Abigail reflected that in spite of everything she had been through and the uncertainties of her future, perhaps she was the lucky one after all.