Angela Nicole Parker

Day 6 --- And in the End I Won

  
     I'm not a petty person. Or at least I never use to be. In fact, I remember a time not too long ago when I prided myself on my ability to put side my own feelings and try to be empathetic to the feelings of others.

    That was a lifetime ago.

    They say that life never works out the way you think it will, and to prepare yourself for twists and turns that you cannot even imagine. "They" are right. I've always prided myself on being able to figure things out and to predict what's coming next. I have to admit that even I, with my so-called wild imagination, never saw this twist coming. The music starts playing and the bridesm
aids make their way down the aisle.

    I think to myself that lavender is a really girlie color.

    Juliet stands in the doorway, ready to make her entrance, and right on cue she strolls down the aisle with the biggest smile I've ever seen. She looks absolutely breathe-taking. I can see all the guys in the church looking at her, their eyes following her every step. I even catch my husband sneaking a peek at her. All eyes are on her, but not his eyes, not the one pair of eyes she wished more than anything were looking at her now.

    That warm feeling that I have been having all day comes rushing back.  Bobby gives a sly wave to his wife as she passes him and takes her place next to the other bridesmaids. Juliet makes eye contact with him and smiles.

    I think, not for the first time, how ironic it is that the only guy in Norton City that seemed to be immune to Juliet's charms when we were growing up would end up being the guy that she married. She now had my Bobby, like she once had my Paul. No matter, Bobby liked me first anyway.

     Lucy follows Juliet down the aisles. I've never seen anybody so happily perform their maid of honor duties. Perhaps, like a lot of people in the church, she just can't quite bring herself to believe that this day has come.

    I turn my attention to the back of the church and I see Paul standing proudly next to Jennifer. They've decided to walk each other down the aisle.

    How 21st century.

    Jennifer and Paul

    Paul and Jennifer.

      Doesn't it just sing? The City Chronicle’s two star reporters joined in holy matrimony. The superhero    and his lady finally get their dream and the whole world rejoices. Isn't it swell?

      Everything about the pairing is perfect, especially knowing how things might have been instead…

     Jennifer looks radiant. There is just no other word for it. I shake my head in disbelief.  Jennifer Rose head over heels in love. Talk about fodder for my old wall of weird. I guess it's always the ones that vow never to get married that always find themselves entangled with some guy they can't live without.
      I've never been jealous of Jennifer. I know it may seem impossible to believe, but it's true. After all, she always seems to just do things a hare better than me, but that depends on what your definition of "better" is.

      Somebody once described me at Jennifer Rose with blonde hair.

      They couldn't have been more wrong.

     Jennifer and I have always had similar goals, but different ways to go about them.

     She is the star reporter at the very respectable City Chronicles. I am the editor of much maligned "tabloid" the Inquisitor. She is marrying "Earth's Greatest Hero." The one and only Knight Star I am married to one of the "other" heroes, "The Gold Lightning," my Gerry, a guy destined to forever be regulated to second class hero status. I know how that feels.

      I was always all sass and heart, while Jennifer was always all brash and attitude; well at least she was until she fell for Paul. What was it about him that turned hard nose modern women into mush? I mean who would have ever thought that any man could get the president of the She-Man Man haters club down the aisle. Must be that good ole' country charm or maybe it's the alien thing.

      Jennifer asked me to be a bridesmaid, but I refused. Why be a participant when you can be a spectator? That's where all the fun is at. Right? I told her that I wasn't sure if I would have the time or if I'd even be in the country when the wedding took place, but who was I kidding? I wouldn't miss this for the world.

     Paul looks incredibly handsome in his tuxedo. Once upon a time the sight of Paul Montgomery turned my insides into jelly. Not anymore. I watch him walking down the aisle with Jennifer and I remember the time my dad told me that sometimes not getting what you want is the best thing that can happen to you. I look at Gerry and once again I am blown away by how wise my dad is.

      I haven't been in love with Paul Montgomery for a long time.

     Not since we were kids. Not since he hesitated and didn't save Lucas when he had the chance. Not that the situation was entirely his fault, Lucas had hurt a lot of people and caused so much damage, but somehow the fact that he thought about letting a person die when he had the power to save them changed my feelings for him forever.

       I tried to hold back the tears, but one still fell. I remembered that horrible day. That time when I was kidnapped and held captive in that barn, inches away from death, and Lucas came to the rescue. Carter was behind it. I know he was. He was trying to prove that Paul was special and he used me as bait in an attempt to force Paul to use his abilities. Instead his brother showed up to save me. I have to admit I didn't think that Lucas had it in him. I didn't think he really cared.  I always thought he was using me to get at Paul, but he wasn't. His love was for real. He nearly had me out when Paul arrived. I was freed, but Lucas was trapped. And then the unthinkable happened. Paul hesitated for a second. That one second cost Lucas his life and created a rift between Carter and Paul that will never heal. Paul knew at that moment that Carter was capable of anything. He cut all ties with Carter and vowed to make it up to Lucas by bringing Carter down and not letting anyone else down. Two promises he could never keep, but I have to give it to him for his efforts.

     Speaking of Carter, I saw him skulking outside the church. We didn't speak. He knows better then to talk to me. I did notice that he looked absolutely heartbroken. His obsession with Jennifer is really starting to border on pathetic now. Who knew that the bastard had a heart to break? Good. He deserves to rot in hell.

   As Jennifer and Paul exchange vows, my husband puts his hand around my shoulder and I lace my fingers with his.  I remember when Paul told me that he was in love with Jennifer. I was shocked. My high school crush and my cousin? It took me a while to process it, but after awhile it occurred to me that it made sense in some perverted cosmic way. Paul whined about how Jennifer only wanted Knight Star and not him. I told him not to worry; Jennifer would eventually come around, but he might just have the opposite problem when she did.

     I was right.

     After playing hard to get Jennifer finally opened her eyes and gave into the wonderfulness that is Paul. She loved Paul, but couldn't deal with Knight Star. She called off the wedding. He whined to me about his loss. I told him she would come around.

     I was right again.

     The wedding was back on. Nobody was really surprised. I was just surprised that he had finally told her she was Knight Star. I still can't believe that she never figured it out for herself. I did; but that must be the tabloid reporter in me. Respectable reporters would never guess that their partner/best friend/lover is actually demigod. Boy that would have made an incredible front-page story for the Inquisitor. There I was with the biggest story in history and I had to sit on it: Jennifer Rose, Pulitzer Prize winning reporter, fooled by a pair of glasses and some gel. What a total bummer.

    Juliet could never deal with Knight Star. She never understood his need to belong to the world.

     I remember when Juliet told me that she always thought that Paul would come back to her, that one day he would realize that there was room for love in Knight Star's life, and when he did he would beg her to share his life with him. On that day, after a decade of denial, she had finally summoned up enough courage to tell Paul how she felt, only to have him interrupt her with his sad tale of unrequited love for Jennifer Rose.

    She was crushed. I tried to be supportive, but inwardly I laughed.

    How did it feel Juliet? How does it feel to bare your heart and soul to the man you love and hear him cry another name instead?

    That day she went on and on about Jennifer. How she wasn't right for him. How she was just some loud, snoopy reporter who could never give Paul what he needed. How she wasn't even his type.

     I don't tell Juliet about the night Paul lost his virginity to me in the Montgomery's hayloft right before graduation.

     The priest pronounces the happy couple "man and wife." I'm sure Jennifer, feminist that she is, loved that part.

      Paul kisses Jennifer with a passion that I never thought he was capable of. The preacher even comments on it before he presents "Mr. and Mrs. Paul Montgomery" to their ecstatic friends and family. 

 The church echoes with applauds and cheer.  Bobby's roar is the loudest. I'm sure that part of it is pure happiness that his oldest friend has finally married his soul mate, but I know Bobby, and I know that he is also cheering about having the competition so completely and happily out of the way.
Paul and Jennifer are beaming.

Such happiness…such vindication.

     I turn and see Juliet. She has turned away, a single tear falling from her eye. Lucy turns to her and remarks that she knows how happy she is for Paul, since he is like a brother to her, and her heart is bursting for joy for her big sister. Juliet mumbles something about only wanting Paul's happiness, but I know that those are not tears of joy. Juliet may want Paul's happiness, but only on her terms. That's just the way she is. Those are tears for what was and what will never be again.

     I smile.

      We lock eyes for a moment and I am still smiling. She smiles back. Her eyes thank me for my support and my smile brightens. Does she really think I'm here to lend her moral support when my best friend and my cousin are finally getting the ending they deserve? Then again this is Juliet Harper-Ross we are talking about. The girl who always thought that the world revolved around her.

     The more things change the more things stay the Sidney…

      The Montgomerys make their way down the aisles and I wonder if Juliet's face will freeze in that horrid fake smile that she has plastered on her face.

     I've never considered myself a petty person, but there was just something about today…

    I turn to look at Gerry and squeeze his hand. He kisses my hand and tells me that he knows from experience how lucky Paul is to be getting a Sullivan woman. I think back to a time when Paul and I were kids and I poured my heart out to him in a letter in a feeble attempt to strip him of his Juliet blinders. I told him that their were girls you grow out of and girl's you grow into. I catch a glimpse of Juliet waving at Jennifer and Paul as they get into their limo and all I can think about was that I was right.
    The reception is lovely.

    Mr. and Mrs. Paul Montgomery are all smiles. They are practically oozing love and happiness.

      Everyone takes their turn wishing the happy couple all the best.

     Megan and Stuart tell Paul that they have never been prouder of him.

     Paul is genuinely thrilled to see me. We hug and I feel the rift that developed between us so long ago finally seal itself shut. We have come full circle: friends to lovers to enemies to family. Yes Paul and I have been through it all and we've come through the fire scathed, but still bonded. A friendship no longer tainted by the love thing,  a pure love that he and Juliet with their Romeo and Juliet past can never have.

    It is time for Bobby to make the toast. It is beautiful and profound. After it is over Paul hugs Bobby and Jennifer even sheds a tear. Juliet is crying too, but not for the reason everybody thinks.   I look at my glass and notice that there is an inscription on it: "Jennifer and Paul Together Forever."  I can't help thinking how much I enjoy reading that inscription. I notice Juliet looking at her glass and know that she is thinking something completely different.  I pour myself another drink, high on the idea of Juliet's pain. I try to hate myself for the thought, but I can't.

    Jennifer and Paul do the newly married thing; they dance, they kiss, they toast, they cut the cake.

    I see Juliet trying to catch Paul's gaze, but it's all for not. Paul can not take his eyes off of Jennifer.   
 
     He doesn't even know that Juliet's there.

     I take another swig of my drink.

     Payback is a bitch.

    The bride and groom announce that they are leaving for their honeymoon. Bobby and Juliet, the dutiful best friends that they are, rush up to them to say their good-byes. Juliet waxes philosophical about love and marriage.

     I gag at her hypocrisy.

    Juliet continues to gush over the newlyweds and Paul pulls Jennifer even closer and tells them that he hopes that he and Jennifer will be as happy together as his two best pals are.

    Bobby smiles. Juliet doesn't.

   Oh yes, that famous Paul Montgomery sensitivity.

   Jennifer throws the bouquet and Lucy catches it. The room once again bursts into applause.
   Aunt Laila is all smiles, but Uncle Sidney, still smarting that Jennifer married a lowly "farm boy from Kansas" is still sulking with his drink at the table. Laila and Lucy pull Jennifer aside for a talk, while Juliet finally gets Paul alone.

   The snoopy reporter that I am I can't help but move closer so that I can hear every word that they are saying.

    Paul kisses her on the cheek and tells her that their little high school fling taught him that he should hold onto love and not flee from it. That he wants her to know that she was the one who gave him the strength to take a chance at love with Jennifer. He thanks her and walks into the arms of his wife, leaving Juliet shattered.

     I relish every moment.

     Juliet takes me aside and tells me that it wasn't until this very moment that she realized that it was Jennifer, and Jennifer only, that is in Paul's heart and that she could never be anything more to Paul then a special friend.

     I hug her and remind her of how lucky she is to have a guy like Bobby as her husband. So loving, so supportive, so dependable…she agrees. She tells me that she is truly happy with Bobby, but there is still a part of her that wonders what might have been if she hadn't pushed Paul away with her jealousy and her neediness…if somehow she could have fought harder to hold onto his heart.

      I tell her that it's no use thinking this way. She and Paul were just never meant to be. She muses      about how weird it feels to be the girl who got away, the "first love" instead of the "true love."
      Forever second place

      I tell her I know what that feels like.

     Gerry and I dance the night away and I can't remember the last time I've been this happy. I remember my own wedding and I can hardly believe how lucky I am and how perfect things have worked out. He twirls me around and dips me and my stomach does somersaults like it did when I was 14 and kissed Paul for the first time. Gerry's kisses are the sweetest things that I have ever known and at that moment it feels as if I'm gliding through the air. The beeping of Gerry's communicator brings me back to earth.  It's the Knights of Justice. He has to go. With Knight Star temporarily happily ever aftering it's up to the "other guys" to save the day.

     I kiss him goodbye and tell him to be careful. He tells me that there is no way that he'd ever not come home to me.  I taste his mouth again.  I've never loved him more.  I turn and notice Juliet picking up the bouquet that Lucy discarded on the bridal table.   I look around for my little cousin and see her dancing with Reggie Ewing. My mind starts swimming with the possibility…

   Juliet is startled when Bobby comes up and hugs her from behind. He kisses her on the cheek and can't stop talking about how great it is to see Paul so happy and in love. He finally notices her strange mood and he asks her what she is thinking about. She smiles and says their wedding.

   What a liar.

    Bobby, Juliet worshipper that he is, believes every word. He smiles brightly and they kiss.

   She picks up Jennifer's bouquet again and I see her face: wistful, resigned.

   I 've never considered myself a petty person, but this victory is just too sweet not to savor. No, I'm not the one who married Paul Montgomery, but it was my flesh; my blood; my TYPE.
    In the end, the snoopy reporter beat the fairy princess.

     So in the end I won.