Author's Note: Yikes, I almost lost steam on this story at the worst possible moment—the final chapter! But here it is, and I'm thrilled to share it with you. Writing this story and sharing it with my fellow Annie fans has been great fun, and I'm sad to see it come to an end. Hopefully I will be able to write more in the future, but until that day, I hope you enjoy the concluding chapter of "The Family We Choose." Thank you again for reading such a long tale until the very end! It means the world to me.
EPILOGUE
The morning of December 31, 1933 dawned cold with a cloudless blue sky. Annie Warbucks's eyes blinked slowly open as a brilliant beam of sunshine sneaked in through the drawn curtains of her hotel room and flickered merrily over her face. For a moment, in the dizzy blurriness of sleep, she wasn't sure where she was. Then the realization hit her, and in an instant she was wide awake.
"Molly!" she cried, sitting up in bed and turning to shake the young girl sleeping next to her. "Molly, get up!"
With a groan, the little brunette pushed her older sister's hands away, stubbornly stuck her thumb back in her mouth, and rolled over.
Annie shook her again.
"Molly, get up! It's today! Today's the day!"
With a slow blink, the younger girl's dark chestnut eyes fluttered open. She turned her head and stared uncomprehendingly into the redhead's freckled face, which was grinning broadly as she waited impatiently for her younger sister to realize exactly what day it was. And then with a cry, Molly shot bolt upright in bed.
"It's today!" she gasped.
"It's finally here!" Annie hollered.
In an instant they had thrown off their blankets and raced out of the bedroom. Looking around wildly, they saw that the central parlor of their hotel suite was quiet and still. The couches and table were unoccupied, and the curtains were still drawn. The man they were looking for was nowhere to be seen.
"He can't still be sleepin'," Annie said in exasperation. "He always gets up so early at home. And that can only mean one thing—"
It only took a split second before the two of them had crossed the parlor and barged their way through the double doors leading to the hotel suite's second bedroom.
"You're working!" Annie exclaimed as the two disheveled girls took in the figure of Oliver Warbucks, who was sitting up in the elegant four-poster bed with a ticker tape machine ticking merrily on the bedside table, the morning newspapers spread out in front of him, and a silver pot of coffee steaming on his breakfast tray.
He cast an amused look at the girls standing in consternation in his doorway. "Good morning to you, too."
"Daddy, it's your wedding day," Annie said reprovingly. "You shouldn't be workin'!"
He chuckled. "Annie, believe me, I'm well aware of what day it is. And for the record, I'm not working. I'm just reading the news to keep myself occupied while the rest of you spin around in a frenzy until we leave for the church."
"I'm pretty sure it's bad luck to work on your wedding day," Annie said firmly as she gathered up the newspapers on the bed and tossed them in a crumpled heap onto the floor. Climbing into the bed alongside their father, both girls cuddled up under his arms and drew the warm covers over themselves again.
"Are ya nervous, Daddy?" Molly asked, looking up at him eagerly.
Oliver raised his eyebrows. "Perhaps a little." He smirked. "But don't tell anyone, it would ruin my reputation."
Annie looked at him in puzzlement. "Why are ya nervous? You asked Mom to marry you twice and she said yes both times!" She nodded in satisfaction. "I'm pretty sure she's gonna show up today."
Oliver looked askance at her, a flash of panic fleeting across his face. "Good Lord, I certainly hope so!"
Annie couldn't help but giggle. "We'll make sure she comes! Her dress is too pretty to go to waste."
Oliver laughed as he looked down at his daughters. "Well, I appreciate it." His voice grew quieter and more contemplative. "But I'm not nervous because I have any doubts your mother is going to show up, girls. I know she's been looking forward to this day as much as I have."
Molly wrinkled her nose. "Then why?"
He shrugged. "Well, this is a big change. You know …" He fell silent for a long moment. "Sometimes I forget that it hasn't really been that long we've all been a family. I lived my life mostly alone for so many years, until you girls came along. Sometimes it still feels like …" He trailed off.
"A dream?" Annie offered quietly as a smile turned the edges of her lips.
"Yes."
"The very best kind of dream," she whispered, snuggling closer to him.
"The kind you never want to wake up from!" Molly said happily.
"Exactly," he said hoarsely, and Annie thought—although surely she must have imagined it—that she heard a slight catch in his voice.
"But this isn't a dream, Daddy," she said, looking between him and Molly. "It's real life. And I just know we're gonna be the happiest family there ever was."
Ever since she was old enough to remember at the orphanage, Annie had dreamt often about her parents. Sometimes the dreams were just brief flashes of light and sound, so faint that she could barely remember them the next morning. Other times, the dreams were so vivid and real that the disappointment she felt when she awoke would sit in her heart like a heavy weight for the rest of the day. She had dreamed about what her mother's perfume might smell like, what patterns her father's woolen socks might be embroidered with, what her parents would listen to on the radio, what stories they would read to her to help her fall asleep.
But in all of her dreams, she had never been able to dream of their faces. They hid in the corners of her mind's eye, their faces always blurred or hidden in shadows, and try hard as she might she could never clearly make out their features.
Until now.
Now, when she closed her eyes, she dreamt of it all. She dreamt of Oliver's black bow ties, the scent of his cologne, how his smile turned into a guffawing laugh when Annie did something goofy, and how warm and safe she felt when he hugged her. She dreamt of Grace's warm smile, the beautiful colors of her soft dresses, the pretty melodies she played on the piano in the parlor before bedtime, and how loved she felt when Grace kissed her goodnight.
And when her dreams faded away in the morning light, she was never disappointed because it meant another day with her family was just beginning.
"You know, Annie," Oliver said softly, "I think you're right."
The three of them stayed comfortably curled up in the stately four-poster bed, occasionally talking in hushed tones and sometimes saying nothing at all, until they heard a vigorous banging on the door of the suite and the chatter of excited voices in the hall.
"Yoo-hoo! Everyone up in there?"
Annie and Molly shot out of the bed like rockets and ran into the parlor to open the doors for Emmeline, who bounded into the suite waving around a basket of combs, brushes, and hairpins.
"Oh, girls!" she exclaimed breathlessly, drawing the two of them into a hug. "Isn't this just the most exciting day? Good gracious, you're still in your pajamas! Come now, quickly, we've got to start getting ready! Where are your dresses? Have they been steamed and pressed? What about the bows for your hair?"
"Emmeline, for heaven's sake, do try to control yourself," Margaret chided her gently, coming into the parlor behind her. But she was smiling too as she cast a cheerful look at Oliver, who was standing in the doorway watching the scene in amusement.
"I didn't realize this suite would become such a hotspot of feminine activity," he said with an exasperated grin. "I should have insisted the lot of you get ready with Grace at her father's house."
Annie rolled her eyes. "And leave you stewin' in your nerves all alone? We couldn't do that!"
The rest of the morning flew by in a rush as endless pairs of hands combed, brushed, pinned, and combed again every inch of Annie's and Molly's hair. Watching Emmeline and Margaret get ready was a special treat, especially when Margaret finally allowed Emmeline to pin her hair up in an elegant updo rather than mirroring the braids and curls she had woven into Molly's hair in Emmeline's long brown locks. Emmeline and Margaret had just finished buttoning Annie and Molly into their dresses and fastening cream-colored bows around their waists when another knock sounded at the door of the hotel suite. Henry stepped away from helping Oliver fasten his cufflinks and opened it to reveal Punjab, dressed as magnificently as ever in a gold-embroidered tunic.
"I am here to collect the princesses," he intoned. Although his expression was serious, there was a happy brightness shining in his eyes.
Annie bit her lip and rushed into her father's arms, suddenly feeling—leaping lizards, was she feeling nervous too?
"You're gonna do just fine, Daddy," she said, looking up into his eyes with a beaming smile. "Try not to fall to pieces without us, okay?"
"We'll take good care of him, dears," Margaret said with a smile. "Now hurry, it's almost time!"
Molly hugged Oliver too, and the two girls bounded over to Punjab and took his hands.
"We'll see you soon, Daddy! Real soon!"
"Mind your dresses!" Emmeline hollered after them.
A shiny black town car was waiting for them in the circular hotel driveway, and as Punjab sped away from the hotel Annie and Molly clutched each other's hands in giddy excitement.
By the time the car rolled up in front of the modest clapboard home where Grace and her brothers had grown up, the girls could hardly contain themselves any longer. They threw open the doors and clambered out without even waiting for Punjab to get out of the driver's seat. Their breath puffed in front of their faces in the cold winter air as they raced up the sidewalk toward the front door. Douglas was waiting for them and opened the door wide, looking dapper in a crisp tuxedo.
"Well, hi there, girls!" he said excitedly, his gray eyes shining brightly as he knelt down to give them both hugs. "Don't you both look all dolled up. Say, is there something exciting going on today?"
Annie and Molly giggled.
"Of course there is, Grandpa, and you know it!" Annie exclaimed.
"Dad!"
It was Walter, calling across the street from the front porch of his own home. Another sleek black town car had just pulled up in front of the house, and Annie and Molly saw their future cousins race out of the house and dive into the backseat. Walter looked anxiously at his watch.
"Dad, where's Rebecca? Isn't she coming in our car? We've got to get going!"
"They're still finishing up in there," Douglas called back. "She can ride with us. You all go on and we'll see you there in a minute."
Walter shrugged his shoulders and grinned. "I guess that's the thing about weddings, isn't it? The bride arrives right on time. Everyone else is early." He waved, ducked into the car behind his children, and pulled the door shut as the wheels began to turn again.
"Come on inside, girls," Douglas said quickly, ushering Annie and Molly through the front door out of the cold winter air into the front hall. "I think your mother is just about ready, but for all I know it may still be a few minutes."
"Can we go up and see her?" Annie asked excitedly.
Douglas was about to respond when the familiar voice of Rebecca Farrell sounded from the upstairs hall.
"All right, everyone, here comes the bride!"
She came down the stairs first, looking lovely in a pale blush-colored dress. Douglas, Annie, and Molly craned their necks eagerly to peer up the stairs toward the second floor landing, and when their eyes landed on Grace, they all fell suddenly silent.
As she descended the stairs, Annie was vaguely aware that she had never seen anyone so lovely in all her life. Annie and Molly had both seen Grace's wedding dress before, but somehow she looked different in it today than she had at the dressmaker's shop. The soft lace of the full-length sleeves and bodice studded with intricate floralwork looked more elegant, and the pure silk of flawless ivory shimmered in the bright sunlight as it gracefully hugged her figure and cascaded to the floor. But more than anything, it was the warm glow of happiness that Annie saw reflected in her future mother's eyes that brought tears to her own.
"Leapin' lizards," was all she could whisper, feeling her words catch in her throat.
Grace chuckled, opening her arms and pulling her daughters in for a tight hug as she reached the hall. "Oh, my girls. I can't believe we're finally here."
"You look beautiful," Annie whispered, looking up at her in adoration.
"Like an angel!" Molly said softly.
Douglas too was nearly speechless, and clasped his daughter's hands.
"My dear," he choked out, "you look simply perfect. I wish …" He pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and dabbed the corners of his eyes. "I wish your mother were here. You look just as beautiful as she did on our wedding day." He squeezed her hands tightly. "She would be so proud of you."
"Do ya think maybe she and Daddy's brother Davey …" Annie began, before trailing off. "Maybe they know? Somehow? Even though they're not here?"
Grace smiled as she kissed the top of Annie's curly hair. "I think they just might, Annie." She gently took the arm that Douglas offered her. "Shall we?"
In the years to come, Annie would find that her memories of her parents' wedding ceremony were a bit fuzzy. She remembered thinking the church was quite pretty, still decorated with lovely red flowers and pine garlands for the Christmas holidays that had passed just a few days ago. The priest must have said important and meaningful words—he had sure said a lot of words, at least—but somehow she could barely remember any of them. And she remembered thinking that the hymns that the guests had sung together sounded lovely, even though she didn't know any of the words.
What she remembered instead were the faces of all the people she saw gathered there that day as she and Molly walked down the aisle at the head of the procession, and the love that had swelled in her heart as she looked over all of them.
Many of the Warbucks mansion staff had been given a reprieve of their duties for the day to attend the wedding, not to work but as cherished guests, and Annie smiled to see the looks of joy on their faces as they watched one of their own take on a new and even more important role in their lives. Punjab and the Asp didn't bother trying to contain the broad smiles on their faces. The normally stoic Drake puffed out his chest with pride. Mrs. Greer, Annette, and Cecille gracefully bowed their heads at the right moments. Mrs. Pugh, seated next to her son and grandson, began weeping as soon as the first notes of the organ began to play. Jack rolled his eyes in embarrassment and, meeting Annie's gaze, gave her a wink.
Annie's heart warmed to see Pepper, Kate, Duffy, Tessie, and July looking splendid in new dresses and hats and sitting with their families. They were her dearest friends in the world, and even Pepper had become a lot kinder after getting a bit more attention and being treated like the grown-up she so desperately wanted to be. A few months had passed since they had left the orphanage for good, and as time went on they talked about their time in the orphanage less and less often. There were so many better and happier things in their new lives to talk about. They were learning together in their own little school with teachers who were kind and eager to help them make up for lost time, they had siblings and mothers and fathers who loved them, and they saw each other plenty often for outings and visits. To be sure, none of their transitions away from orphanage life had been without challenges—but what were those compared to all the hardships in life they had already overcome?
Annie's gaze next fell upon Emmeline and Aunt Margaret seated in the front pew, and Uncle Henry, standing at her father's side up at the front of the church. On the other side of the aisle were arrayed Grace's family: Uncle Walter, Annie's new cousins, and other Farrells she hadn't even had the chance to meet yet. For her whole life, her imagination had been so singularly focused on dreaming of her parents that it had never even occurred to her to hope for more. To hope that she would one day know what it was like to have relatives: to have uncles who could play ball as well as Uncle Walter and tell tall tales like Uncle Henry, aunts who could bake bread like Aunt Rebecca and sing opera as well as Aunt Margaret, a cousin like Emmeline who had always had new mischief up her sleeve, a grandpa like Douglas who cherished each of his grandchildren with his whole heart.
As she and Molly reached the front of the church, they both beamed at their father and took their places slightly to the side, turning to watch Aunt Rebecca walking up the aisle and then, at long last, their mother.
Grace was radiant, a brilliant smile on her face as she walked down the aisle on her father's arm. The train of her wedding dress shimmered and rippled in the sunlight beaming through the stained glass windows of the church hall. Annie suddenly found herself remembering back all those months ago to the first time her eyes had beheld, from the dark recesses of Miss Hannigan's broom closet, the prim and proper young woman who had come to collect an orphan for a weeklong holiday. Had she known then, somewhere deep in her heart, that they were destined to be a family?
Aunt Rebecca had whispered to her in the car that she should be sure to glance at her father at least once while Grace was walking down the aisle, because the sight of a man's face when he sees his bride for the first time is something quite special. And she was right. The look on her father's face, the tenderness and reverence in his eyes as he watched her, was a sight Annie knew she would never forget. It was the sight of a man who had avoided love of any kind for so long, and who had finally realized that life was infinitely more beautiful if one wasn't afraid to let love in.
After the long line of shining black cars made their way from Connecticut back to 987 Fifth Avenue, the rest of the day flew by in the most magnificent blur. Annie and Molly had never attended a wedding in their lives, and Oliver Warbucks wasn't about to do things halfway. There was champagne to be opened and cake to be cut, dances to be danced in the mansion's elegant reception hall and—much to the delight of all of the younger guests—plenty of hors d'oeuvres to be sampled. Mrs. Pugh had huffed and puffed about giving up her kitchen to an outside caterer so that she could attend the wedding herself, but even she had to admit the dinner was quite scrumptious.
The guests looked glamorous, dressed to perfection in elegant gowns, well-cut suits, and brilliant jewelry. To watch them spinning around the reception halls in flawlessly spiraling waltzes was mesmerizing. Oliver had never been much of a dancer—and Annie knew that he usually resisted going to events where dancing of any sort was required—but she could tell even he was on cloud nine as he danced around the salon with Grace in his arms.
"Jack, come on! Please?!" Annie demanded from the corner of the salon, fixing the boy in front of her with a frown and crossing her arms combatively. "I've never waltzed in my whole life! Come on, let's get out there and join them!"
"It's not too hard, Jack!" Tommy and Lucy Smith called from across the room, laughing as they spun each other in wildly careening circles.
Jack's face was turning a bright shade of red. "What makes you think I know anything about dancin', Annie? I've never done any dancin' in my life!"
"Jack, why is your face gettin' all red?" Molly asked curiously.
Jack was spared the embarrassment of having to answer her question when Oliver and Grace appeared behind the children, bright-eyed and short of breath as the music quieted at the end of the dance.
"Annie, Molly," Grace said, a twinkle in her eyes. "If we could ask you to step away from your friends for a few moments, there's something the four of us need to do."
"What?" Annie asked in confusion. Then her face brightened. "Oh! Is it time to cut the cake already?"
Oliver laughed. "Not quite yet, Annie. But we've got an important guest waiting for us in the library."
The second floor library was quiet when the four of them walked inside, and it was empty except for a handful of men standing together and talking quietly in front of the mahogany bookshelves. Two of the men were strangers to Annie, but she recognized the third as Judge Brandeis, the man who had presided over her adoption months ago.
"Governor," Oliver said warmly, shaking one of the men's hands. "It's wonderful to have you here."
"I'm grateful for the invitation, Oliver, and offer my hearty congratulations," Governor Lehman said with a grin. "Never thought I'd be invited to attend a Republican's wedding, but I suppose there's a first time for everything!"
"We're honored you came," Grace said, before slightly raising one eyebrow. "I'm hoping you've received the authorization from Albany we've been discussing?"
The governor roared with laughter. "You'd better hold onto this one, Oliver! She's a perfect match for you—all business, even on your wedding day!" With a smile, he nodded. "And the answer to your question is yes, ma'am. The state assembly approved it last week before the holiday recess. You'll be all set to begin in the new year."
"Begin what?" Annie asked.
"An independent investigation into the New York orphanage system," the governor said, looking down at the children. "It's a sorry mess, I have to admit, and your mother has kindly agreed to take on leading the inspection team for New York City."
"And, Mayor LaGuardia," Oliver added, looking with a glint in his eye at the other man, "I trust that Mr. Donatelli is enjoying his, er, 'early retirement'?"
The second man laughed heartily. "I have no idea, Oliver. He has largely disappeared from the scene." He looked at Grace. "I think you will find, Mrs. Warbucks, that his successor is much more amenable to making the kind of improvements our fair city needs."
"I'm glad to hear it," Grace said with a smile.
"If you'll excuse us, gentlemen," Oliver said, motioning to shepherd them out of the library, "we have a matter to attend to with Judge Brandeis."
The other two gentlemen were seen out of the library, leaving the family alone with the last visitor.
"Thank you for coming, Your Honor," Oliver said with a warm smile, extending a hand to shake the aging man's hand vigorously. "It means a great deal."
"The pleasure is all mine, Mr. Warbucks," he replied, smiling as he shook Grace's hand as well. "My most heartfelt congratulations to both you and Miss Farr—oh, I mean Mrs. Warbucks, don't I?" He looked down at Annie and Molly, who were both staring up at him in surprise.
"It's nice to see you again, sir," Annie began, feeling a twinge of worry, "but what are we doin' here? There ain't a problem with our adoptions, is there?"
Judge Brandeis laughed warmly. "Good heavens! Of course there isn't, Miss Annie." He drew two blue packets of paper and his reading glasses out of his robe pocket. "I'm here because your father's name is the only name currently listed on your adoption papers. And now that you have a mother, we thought it would be good and proper to have her name listed as well, don't you agree?"
"Oh, golly, yeah!" Annie crowed, a thrill of joy flooding through her as Molly wiggled in excitement and Grace and Oliver exchanged smiles.
"So, let's begin."
After the judge had sworn in both Grace and Oliver, their hands resting clasped together on top of the Bible that Annie and Molly held up, he turned first to Oliver.
"Oliver Warbucks, are Annie and Molly Warbucks your legal adopted children?"
"They are," Oliver said, looking down at the redhead and brunette with warmth and tenderness in his gaze.
"You are petitioning the court to allow Grace Warbucks to legally adopt these children as well. Is that correct?"
"It is."
"How long have you been married to Grace Warbucks?"
Oliver chuckled, looking at his wife and dropping a kiss on her temple. "About six hours."
"And do you believe it is in your children's best interest to be adopted by her?"
When he responded, Annie heard a slight catch in his voice. "It is, without a doubt, in their best interest to have this wonderful woman as their mother."
Judge Brandeis then turned to Grace. "Mrs. Warbucks, in the time that you have known Annie and Molly Warbucks, have you developed a loving maternal relationship with them?"
"I have," she said softly, and Annie reached over to take her hand and give it a squeeze.
"Are you prepared to rear and educate these children as your own, to make a permanent and lifelong commitment to their welfare and wellbeing, and to teach them what they need to know in order to become good citizens of this country?"
"I am."
"Do you understand that, if you adopt Annie and Molly Warbucks, they will be your children as if they were born to you in your marriage?"
"I do."
"And is that what you want?"
There were tears shining in Grace's eyes when she answered, but her voice didn't quaver as she looked down at the girls and caressed their cheeks with her palms. "Yes, more than anything."
Judge Brandeis smiled broadly. "Well, in that case, I'm thrilled to finalize these adoptions and append my signature to these adoption papers. And I congratulate the four of you on the wonderful family you have chosen."
The night sky grew darker as the evening went on, and the sting of the cold winter air nipped at Annie's nose as she followed her parents and the crowd of guests outside into the garden. She marveled at the scene before her. Just as it had been the night of her adoption party, the house and garden were illuminated by thousands of beautiful lights twinkling in the dark night. When the clock struck midnight, the fireworks show was certainly impressive, as she had known it would be. Annie had dared her father to see if the wedding could top the display that he had put on for the Fourth of July, and judging by the crowd's gasps and oohs and aahs he might have succeeded.
But she found her eyes continually leaving the fireworks, and she couldn't help but think back to the night of her adoption party all those months ago. On that night too, she had stood with her father's arm around her watching the fireworks, but her gaze had more often been drawn to look at the man and woman standing beside her. Now, as she clutched her younger sister's hand and looked up at their father and mother, she knew that, for her and for all of them, this was only the beginning.
"I still can't believe it, Annie," Molly murmured sleepily, the events of the day finally overtaking her. "Who'da ever thought all our dreams from the orphanage would come true?"
Annie grinned broadly and hugged her sister close. "Me!"
THE END