Thunder and Lightening: Chapter 35Home « Thunder and Lightening Index « Previous

- Chapter 35

Posted: April 11, 2005 - 08:43:57 pm



Sunday night, a week before Halloween, Jerry was driving to the old house to

check on the progress of the repairs. It was a little later in the evening than

he had intended for the visit, but he had stayed around the house until after

Abe had stopped working on his motorcycle.

The young man has spent the entire afternoon trying to get the engine to start,

but there was something the matter with it. Jerry didn't have a clue what was

the problem or even how to go about fixing it. Knowing that Abe was getting

frustrated, he had promised to take it to the bike shop for them to track down

the problem. Hopefully, they would be able to fix it in time for Abe to get his

driver's license on his upcoming birthday.

As he drove, Jerry reflected on the quality of his life now that the divorce had

gone through. Things had been rough for a while, but they were looking up. In

three weeks, he would be marrying Jenny and they would move into the house. It

would mean a major change in the tempo of life and he was looking forward to it.

Bill could ride his scooter to school and Melissa would be driving soon. He

wouldn't have to race out of the house so early in the morning or pick them up

so late from school.

Topmost in his mind was how life had settled into a simple routine. Every week

was the same as the week before, but every day of the week was different and

each was busy in its own way. Jerry liked the routine and took comfort in

knowing what everyone was doing.

Mondays remained hot breakfast day since it was Jerry's day off and he didn't

have to take the kids to school early. After school, Jerry would do something

with both kids. Usually they went to a movie, although on occasion they went

ice-skating or to a video arcade.

Wednesdays and Fridays had become hot breakfast days as well since he didn't

have to open the store those mornings. The kids appreciated not having to go to

school so early, but they had to stay after school until he could pick them up.

For the most part, that wasn't a problem since Bill visited with Sandy, Woody,

and Larry while Melissa participated in after school activities.

Thursday nights were spent at the therapist. All three of them were going for

anger management, although Jerry questioned the need for him to continue the

visits. He hadn't felt the rage a single time since he had been shot. After they

each had a turn with the therapist, they went out to dinner. Rather than Chinese

buffet every week, the kids took turns picking out a place to eat.

Friday nights were spent in Henry's garage building wall mounted waterfalls.

Bill and Jerry worked together and found that they made a good team. Working as

a team they were able to keep up with Henry. Melissa had taken to spending the

evening at the Henry's house visiting with Sharon. He was pleased that she was

making the effort to learn a little about other races.

Saturdays, Jerry worked and Bill stayed around the house while Jenny and Melissa

went shopping. Saturday nights were date nights. Jerry took Jenny out,

occasionally spending the night with her. Melissa went out with her friends;

occasionally spending the night with one of her girlfriends or, at least, that

is what she told Jerry. Bill stayed home alone, although Jerry did learn that

his son frequently visited Shauna. To prevent unwanted pregnancies, he made sure

that Bill always had some rubbers in the house.

Sunday mornings passed with Jerry and Bill working on the car while Abe worked

on his motorcycle. The three males enjoyed the time spend bonding under the

guise of working on cars. Sunday afternoons were spent with Melissa behind the

wheel of her used BMW while Jerry tried to pound holes through the floor of the

car as he applied the non-existent brake in the passenger's seat.

In amongst all of those activities, work on the house was continuing. Jerry

stopped by every Monday while the kids were in school to check on the progress.

Jenny and Melissa had surprisingly few arguments about decorating the house,

much to everyone's amazement. The only one who wasn't surprised was Jerry. He

watched as the two women started to bond. Melissa was learning that there were

other kinds of relationships that could exist between men and women.

The relationship between Bill and Melissa was best described as an uneasy truce

in which a real peace treaty had never been signed. The potential for a major

fight was always present just beneath the surface. Melissa took offense easily

and Bill was just waiting for an excuse to explode in her direction. Jerry spent

a lot of his time holding his breath expecting things to explode at any time.

All in all, Jerry was happy with how his life was going. He nodded his head in

satisfaction as he turned down the street to the house. The contractor had

assured him that the house would be finished by the end of the week, but he

didn't believe it. Last week there had been so much that remained to be done

that it seemed impossible to finish it in time for the wedding.

As he pulled up to the curb, Jerry noticed that the front door was open. It

wasn't like the workmen to leave the door open after finishing up their work,

but such things happened. He swore to himself while thinking that the door must

have been open since Friday night. It made him wonder what had blown in the

house over the course of two days.

He stepped out of the truck and started towards the house. He hadn't take more

than five steps when one of the neighbors called out, "I've called the police."

Jerry recognized the man and was surprised that he hadn't been recognized. He

replied, "It's me."

"I know. Your ex-wife just left here," replied the man, "and I just got off the

phone with the police. I wouldn't go in there if I were you until after the

police arrive."

A horrible feeling settled over Jerry as he considered the news. He couldn't

believe that she would actually come over to the house. He knew there was only

one reason for her to do that and that was to destroy it all over again. It

seemed as though his legs lost all their strength and he collapsed to his knees.

Shocked, he said, "Fuck!"

"She's a real bitch," commented the neighbor. He shook his head thinking back to

when she was living in the house after Jerry had left. It had not been a

pleasant time for the neighborhood. All of the neighbors complained about the

yard, but she had responded with abuse.

Jerry didn't have a chance to respond since a police car pulled up to the

driveway. An officer got out of the car and looked at the two men in the front

yard. One man was standing over another who was kneeling on the ground with his

fists clenched. He put his hand on his gun and approached Jerry thinking that

the neighbor had apprehended the suspect. As he drew close, he shouted, "Put

your hands up in the air."

Puzzled, Jerry looked over at the policeman. Realizing that the officer was

serious, Jerry raised his hands as he explained, "This is my house, Officer."

The neighbor said, "That's right. His ex-wife broke into it."

"Who are you?"

"I'm a neighbor. I'm the one who called you guys," answered the man.

The policeman relaxed a little, but didn't remove his hand from the butt of his

pistol. Pointing to the neighbor, he ordered, "Tell me what happened."

"My son came home about thirty minutes ago and told me that a woman had broken

into this house. I came out to check his story and saw that the door was open. I

could see his ex-wife inside the house through the front window. I went home and

called you guys. When I came out, she had driven off. A couple of minutes later,

Jerry drove up and I told him that I had already called you. Then you showed

up."

"Where were you when all this was happening?" asked the officer turning to

Jerry.

"I was driving over here. I'm not living in the house at the moment. My ex-wife

trashed the house when she moved out and I've been having a lot of work done on

it to get it back into a condition where we can move in," answered Jerry. He

looked at the open front door wondering how much damage his ex-wife had done.

"Have you been inside, yet?"

"No. I was waiting for you to arrive," answered Jerry.

The officer went to the front door and looked in the house. He stood there for a

minute and then called over to Jerry, "You need to come over here."

Terrified at what he was going to find, Jerry stood up and walked over to the

door. Even before reaching the door, he could see some of the damage through the

front window. Angry, he shouted, "Fuck!"

From the front door, he could see that his ex-wife had done a number on the

inside of the house. With a can of red spray paint, she had written 'Gorilla' on

the walls in huge letters. She had spilled one of the cans of paint left by the

workers in the middle of the living room carpet. The carpet was ruined, but at

least she hadn't stepped in it and tracked it through the rest of the house.

Jerry followed the police officer from room to room looking at the disaster. She

had painted every wall in the house. The carpet in the living room was ruined,

as was the carpet in the master bedroom. The bathroom was in the master bedroom

was in ruins. Repeating her actions from when she had moved out, she had taken a

hammer to the porcelain fixtures. Jerry knelt by the toilet and turned off the

water. He found that he couldn't stand and sat down heavily on the wet floor.

The policeman said, "She must really hate you."

"That's the only emotion she knows," replied Jerry looking around the bathroom

as his body went numb. He couldn't believe the damage she had done to it. Even

the shower door hadn't escaped intact.

"Let's go outside and get the detectives over here," commented the cop.

As the cop turned to leave, Jerry said, "I can't stand up. Could you give me a

hand?"

The cop helped Jerry out of the house. He stumbled since he couldn't feel his

feet. When they reached the yard, Jerry sat down again as his strength left him.

His wet clothes mixed with the dirt forming a thin layer of mud. He didn't care

about that. He realized that he hadn't seen the kitchen and his stomach

tightened at the thought of what he would find in there. He looked over at the

cop and asked, "What happens now?"

"We'll arrest her and file criminal charges for B&E, vandalism, and destruction

of private property," answered the cop.

"What about the damage to the house?"

"You'll have to deal with your insurance company on that. They'll probably pay

for the damages and then file a civil suit against her to collect their losses."

Jerry pulled the cell phone out of his pocket and dialed the number that he had

hoped he would never have to call again. On the third ring, his lawyer answered.

Jerry said, "Hello. This is Jerry."

"What can I do for you?"

"My ex-wife broke into the house and trashed it again," answered Jerry.

"Oh Jerry, I feel for you. That woman is bad news. You need to call the police

and then your insurance agent," replied his lawyer.

"The police are already here."

"Good. Call your insurance agent and have him get over there. The police will

charge her for the criminal acts. The insurance company will sue her for the

damages. There's not much that I can do for you on this one," replied the

lawyer.

"Okay. Thanks a lot," said Jerry. At least his attorney had verified what the

cop had told him. He wished there were some way to punish her in a more personal

manner. An image of her locked naked in a medieval stock while he charged people

a quarter to fuck her flashed through his mind.

After he hung up, he called Jenny to get the number for the insurance agent. She

answered after what seemed like a hundred rings. Irritated, she answered the

phone with a sharp, "What?"

"Sorry to call so late in the evening, Jenny. This is Jerry. I need you to help

me out here," replied Jerry taken aback by how she had answered the phone.

"I was in the shower," said Jenny in a less hostile tone of voice, "and I've got

shampoo in my hair. What's the matter?"

"My ex-wife trashed the house," answered Jerry. He knew that Jenny would be just

as upset about it as he was. She had put in a lot of time decorating the house.

His answer was greeted with total silence. He waited a minute and then asked,

"Jenny, are you still there?"

There was another moment of silence before she answered, "I'm still here. How

bad is it?"

"Very bad," answered Jerry. He didn't even know how to quantify the damage to

the house. In fact, he wasn't sure that he knew the full extent of damage.

"What can I do?" asked Jenny. She was fighting off tears as she thought about

what that woman had done to Jerry. They were going to get married in three weeks

and had planned on moving into that house.

"Could you call the insurance agent for me? I don't have his number with me."

"Sure. Are you at the house now?"

"Yes, I am," answered Jerry in a very tired voice. He felt as if someone had

drained the life from his body.

"I'll call the insurance agent and then go pick up the kids. We'll be over in a

little while," Jenny said. Her mind was racing as she went through everything

that had to be done. She added, "You should call the contractor and have him

come over to look at the house, too."

"Good thinking," said Jerry recalling that he had the contractor's number in his

cell phone. It was one of the few numbers that he called almost as often as

Jenny's number.

After exchanging good byes, they hung up. Jenny was going to rise the shampoo

out of her hair and then call the insurance agent. Jerry immediately called the

contractor. The detectives arrived while he was talking with the contractor.

When he finished his call, they asked him a few questions but there was little

he could tell them except his wife's name and address.

It was an hour later when the contractor showed up at the house. He entered it

and walked around examining the damage. Frowning, he came out of the house and

went over to where Jerry was still seated on the ground.

Jerry had not stood because he didn't trust his legs to hold him up. If there

had been a time when the rage would have been justified in emerging, this was

it. The absence of the rage made him feel vulnerable.

The contractor squatted and said, "It looks pretty bad, but most of the damage

is superficial. We're going to have to sand the walls to take off the paint --

otherwise it'll bleed though. The carpets are ruined and will have to be

replaced. Both bathrooms need to be redone. She took a hammer to the dishwasher,

oven, microwave, refrigerator, and the kitchen sink. They'll have to be replaced

unless you are willing to live with dented appliances."

Shaking his head, Jerry commented, "She undid two months worth of work in twenty

minutes."

"Yeah. It's a whole lot harder to build something than to take it apart,"

replied the contractor nodding his head as if he had stated a great truth of

life.

The insurance agent showed up. Getting out of his car, he went over to where

Jerry was seated. Jerry finally managed to stand and greet him. After

introducing the contractor and insurance agent to each other, the three of them

went into the house to assess the damage. They were in the den that had been

added to the house, looking at the wood paneling that had been painted over when

a scream echoed though the house. Melissa shouted, "I'll kill that bitch."

Jerry cringed at Melissa's voice realizing that he hadn't considered how the

kids would react to the damage. Stepping out of the den, he found Melissa on the

floor in tears. She was crying uncontrollably, her shoulders heaving as great

sobs escaped from deep within her. Decorating the house had been the first real

constructive thing she had ever done and seeing it ruined had wounded her

deeply.

Standing behind his sister, Bill stared at her in shock. He had never seen her

care about anything to this extent. Confused, he looked up at his father and

shrugged his shoulders trying to convey his lack of understanding. Jenny knelt

beside Melissa and was rubbing her shoulders making little noises intended to

sooth the young woman.

Jerry went over to Melissa and said, "Melissa, it can be fixed."

"She destroyed all my hard work. It'll never be the same," replied his daughter,

with pauses between each word as she sobbed. Never in her life had anything come

to mean so much to her as fixing up the house and returning to live in it.

"You'll see that it'll be fixed," reassured Jerry as he put a hand on her back.

Seeing that his words had not registered, he repeated, "It'll be fixed, don't

worry about that."

Very surprised that she cared so much, Bill commented, "Damn. I didn't believe

you had it in you, Melissa. I'm shocked to see that you to care so much about

something."

Melissa turned on Bill and spat out, "You must be enjoying this!"

"Not really," answered Bill. His puzzled frown suggested that he didn't really

know how he felt about this. For most of his life, he had wanted to see her care

about something and then see it destroyed, but the reality of the situation was

not the thrill that he thought it would be.

"Huh?"

"I didn't think... Well, I guess it doesn't matter what I think," answered Bill.

The fact was that he didn't know what he thought. The condition of the house had

impacted him as well. He turned away feeling very young and awkward. The word

'Gorilla' assaulted him no matter what direction he turned.

Jerry had watched the exchange with interest. He was surprised that Bill hadn't

taken the chance to gloat over his sister's tragedy. It wouldn't have surprised

him if Bill had used the occasion to point out that now she knew how he felt

when she had taken a hammer to his scooter. That his son had turned away clearly

ill at ease with the situation was good.

Jerry said, "Melissa, she didn't do it to hurt you. She wanted to hurt me."

"You aren't a gorilla," replied Melissa while staring at the writing on the

wall. As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she realized what she had

said. It puzzled her. She wondered when she had stopped thinking of him as the

'gorilla' and started thinking of him as her father. There wasn't any clear

event when she had said to herself, 'Ah, he's not a gorilla. He's my father."

"You just haven't seen me eat a banana," commented Jerry with a grin.

Jenny couldn't help giggling at the comment. Even Melissa looked up at him with

a grin. She was surprised that her father could joke about it that way. Looking

around the house, she knew that her mother had really intended to hurt him. She

said, "It's still unfair."

When Jenny went over to talk to the insurance agent to determine what was going

to happen next, Jerry helped Melissa off the floor and hugged her. The young

woman was surprised to find how much she enjoyed receiving a hug from her

father. It made her feel protected, even amidst the destruction that surrounded

her. After a minute, she pulled away and said, "Thanks daddy."

Jerry didn't let the surprise created by her use of the endearment show on his

face. He smiled and said, "I bet you and Jenny need to discuss what needs to be

done next."

"Sure," answered Melissa relieved at having something positive to do. She turned

and walked over to Jenny to see what had to be done to fix the house. It was

clear to her that they would have a lot of shopping to do to replace the things

that had been destroyed.

Jerry went over to Bill's bedroom, expecting and finding Bill looking at the

walls of the room. Bill turned when he saw his father and commented, "She

couldn't even spell Orangutan correctly. That was her little nickname for me."

Jerry looked at the walls and noticed the misspelled word. The cruelty of his

ex-wife was beyond anything he could imagine. While living with her for all

those years, he had become numb to it. Only after being separated from it for so

long did it really strike him afresh. Sighing, he said, "She's a nasty woman

that only knows hate."

"I was surprised by Melissa. She really did take pride in what she and Jenny

were doing here. I didn't think she could feel pride," commented Bill. He had

seen her react to the damage in the same way that he would react if someone had

smashed up his car with a hammer after all the work he had put into it. His car

wasn't done, but neither was the house.

Jerry put a hand on his son's shoulder and said, "I'm proud that you recognized

how she felt."

Shrugging his shoulders, Bill said, "Wasn't anything special."

"Sure it was. How do you feel about your sister now?" Jerry was curious about

how his son would answer that question. He watched his son think about the

question.

"I don't know," answered Bill after thinking about it for a full minute.

"Good answer," said Jerry relieved that his son hadn't stated that he still

hated his sister. It was an improvement of sorts.

Bill looked at his father with narrowed eyes and asked, "Aren't you going to

tell me that I'm supposed to love her or some shit like that?"

"I'd never presume to tell anyone how they are supposed to feel about another

person," answered Jerry. He frowned as he looked around the room and added,

"That's what your mother does."

The comment struck Bill like a slap across the face. At that moment, he truly

understood the true evil that his mother had done to Melissa. She had warped

emotions from honest expressions of feelings to a tool to be employed to

manipulate the people around her. He considered the long-term consequences that

his mother had on his sister. Bill shuffled his feet in place and then said,

"Yeah, I guess so."

"Yeah," agreed Jerry.

It was a quiet trip back to the house. For some reason that neither woman would

explain to Jerry, Melissa had chosen to ride back with Jenny. Bill and Jerry

were alone in the car driving through the dark night. Bill broke the silence

when he asked, "What do you think of Shauna?"

"She's a nice girl," commented Jerry. He didn't know what else to say since he

didn't know that much about the relation between his son and the girl. He had

discussed it with Henry once, but his friend had said that it was likely Shauna

was just having a little fun and that Bill was the lucky recipient of it.

"I mean, you don't think it's weird that I'm seeing a black girl?" asked Bill.

Smiling, Jerry said, "I think it's great that you're seeing a girl. I didn't

have a girlfriend when I was your age."

"Yeah, but what about the race thing," asked Bill. Although his father had never

said anything to him about it, he wondered at times if his father thought poorly

of him because he was dating a black.

"You guys have races? Wow, I would have thought that you would have spent your

time doing other things," commented Jerry. He looked over at the stunned

reaction of his son and laughed out loud. The poor boy was trying to find out

what his father thought and was receiving jokes in return. He smiled and said,

"Hey, I said earlier that it wasn't up to me to dictate how you felt about

others. I meant it. If you feel something special for Shauna, then you feel

something for special for Shauna. What should you care if some people have a

problem with that?"

"Do you have a problem with it?" asked Bill.

"Of course not. I just don't want to see you get her pregnant," answered Jerry.

"Why? Because you don't want a mixed baby?"

Jerry looked over at Bill and realized that his son was very insecure about the

relationship with Shauna. He explained, "That's not it. You're still young. One

of the things that traps kids in our neighborhood is that they get pregnant too

young. It's nearly impossible for a person to raise kids and go to college at

the same time. I'd like both of you to have every opportunity for a great

future."

Bill was silent as he considered the answer. Frowning, he asked, "So it doesn't

bother you that she's black?"

"It doesn't bother me that she's black," answered Jerry, putting it as plain as

he knew how. The fact of the matter was that he hadn't thought about it at all.

After a moment of thought, he added, "It seems to me like it bothers you a

little."

"I've never told any of the kids at school about Shauna. I'm not sure how they

would react to it," said Bill.

"What is the relation between you and Shauna?" asked Jerry. The fact that Bill

would hide the relationship suggested to him that it wasn't exactly a normal

girlfriend-boyfriend relationship.

It was a good question and one for which Bill didn't have a ready answer. She

called him her fuck-buddy, but he didn't really know if that was a good thing.

They had fun, but it was only sex. He answered, "I'm not sure. We have sex with

each other, but we don't do anything else together. The other kids in the

neighborhood know that we get together, but no one says anything about it. I

know she's sleeping with another guy."

"So the two of you are fuck-buddies?"

The question shocked Bill. He asked, "That's what she says, but I'm not sure

what that means."

"It means that you get together for sex and nothing else. No attachments, no

promises, and no commitments," answered Jerry. For a fifteen-year-old boy, that

wasn't a bad relationship to have with a girl.

Bill sat back in the seat and thought about it. There were times when he wanted

the relationship to go a little further. He wanted to take her to a movie or

with him when he went to visit his friends, but she wasn't interested in that.

After a minute, he said, "Okay. I guess that we're fuck buddies. I can live with

that."

"You can?" asked Jerry with a grin.

They reached the house without further conversation. Jerry parked the truck in

the front yard and climbed out. Looking around the neighborhood, he realized

that if his ex-wife had shown up here that she would have had a very different

reception. The folks would have taken the law into their own hands rather than

call the police. At least, that is what he chose to believe.

Feeling a sudden urge to relieve himself, Bill ran into the house. Jerry

followed at a more sedate pace, feeling far older than his calendar years. He

sighed as he sat down on the porch to wait for Jenny and Melissa to arrive home.

He wasn't there for more than five minutes when Bill opened the door and asked,

"Would you like a Coke?"

"Sure," answered Jerry appreciating his son's thoughtfulness.

"Catch." Bill tossed him a cold can and returned to the house. He could tell

that his father was feeling down and wanted to be alone for a few minutes.

Jerry opened the can and took a long draw from it. The cold liquid coursing down

his throat felt good. He thought about the damage to the house and his reaction

to it. The sight had drained him physically and spiritually, leaving him weak

rather than enraged. The pit of his stomach where the rage had once dwelt

remained vacant.

When Jenny pulled up in her car, Jerry stood to meet the two women when they

came up to the house. Melissa stopped, gave him a hug, and said, "Thanks dad."

"You're welcome," replied Jerry wondering what he had done. He watched Melissa

go into the house and then turned to look at Jenny.

"Confused?"

"A little. What did I do to deserve that?" asked Jerry.

Jenny smiled at her boyfriend and shook her head. He had no idea how the little

talk and hug he had with Melissa back at the house had affected his daughter.

There were times when her love for him threatened to overwhelm her and this was

one of those times. She smiled and answered, "You were there for her when she

needed you."

"I didn't do anything special," said Jerry as he replayed the events in the

house in his mind. All he had done was tell her that it would be all right and

that they'd fix up the house.

Walking up to him while putting as much sway into her hips as she knew how, she

said, "I know, you were just being yourself."

Watching Jenny walk up to him had a direct effect on his hormones. She was the

sexiest woman that he had ever seen. He hugged her and asked, "What did I ever

do to deserve you?"

Having his arms around her melted her heart. She wished that they could spend a

little private time together this evening. The events of the evening must have

had a terrible effect on him and she wanted to take care of him like only a

woman could. Her entire body ached with the need to comfort him. She smiled and

said, "I'm the lucky one to have found you."

They walked over to the porch and sat down, side by side in comfortable silence.

Jerry said, "I'm sorry to have interrupted your shower. For a while there, I was

in shock."

"You don't have to apologize for calling me. I'm glad you did. You must have

been crushed when you saw what she did."

It was hard to admit how weak he had felt when he had seen the word 'Gorilla'

painted across the walls. Taking a deep breath, he said, "She meant to hurt me.

I'll admit that she succeeded. Of course, I wasn't the only one that she hurt."

Jenny sighed as she thought back to her reaction. All of that hard work ruined

in one malicious act by a bitter woman. "You're right."

"You were hurt by it too," observed Jerry.

"Yes, I was. Now I'm angry," said Jenny. She looked across the dark yard at the

cars parked around the tree. Three weeks from that night they were supposed to

move into the refinished house. Bill's car would have ended up in the garage

where he and Jerry could work on it through the cold winter months. Those plans

had been ruined.

"Don't be angry," said Jerry.

"Why shouldn't I be angry?" asked Jenny with a trace of irritation in her voice.

She felt as if she had a perfect right to be angry. Her plans for the wedding

were ruined.

"We'll be moving in there soon enough," said Jerry. He looked over at Jenny

seeing that something was bothering her that went beyond the simple damage to

the house. He asked, "What is it that you are worried about?"

"Our wedding," answered Jenny looking down at the ground.

"We're still getting married, aren't we?" asked Jerry shocked that this could

affect their plans.

"We won't have a place to live," said Jenny on the verge of tears.

"We have three houses to live in. So what if none of them are perfect? We'll get

married and live together in your place or this place until our dream house is

fixed," replied Jerry as he put his arm around her shoulder. He pulled her tight

against him as though he feared ever losing her and was going to prevent it at

all costs.

Sniffing, she said, "I just wanted everything perfect."

Laughing, Jerry said, "If you wanted everything perfect, why in God's name are

you marrying me?"

The comment was exactly what Jenny needed to hear. It started with a little

smile that grew larger and finally turned into laughter. Relieved, she sought

reassurance, "I guess the wedding is still on?"

"Of course," answered Jerry. He kissed the top of her head and then added, "I

love you so much."

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