still the one, part 2

May 5, 2087. Dallas Deppiesse is 22. Lucy (Harris) Deppisse is 20. (Summer Phoenix is 21, Tyler & Beau Jackson are 23, Maya Jackson is 25.)


Friends and family of the newlyweds gathered outside in the church yard gardens for dinner and dancing. They couldn't have asked for a lovelier spring evening—minutes before sunset, seventy degrees and mostly clear skies with a rose-scented breeze from the adjoining gardens.




Long-married and new couples alike were all inspired by the romantic setting.


None of them were happier than the newlyweds, of course.


Which didn't prevent them from being 100% themselves. Lucy agreed to put her phone away for the ceremony, but she insisted on live-tweeting the entire reception, Instagramming her dinner, and updating Facebook, too.


Uncle Sam and Aunt Delphie were on babysitting duty for the night, so that Dallas and Lucy could enjoy themselves and not have to chase after a toddler.



But Cassie was in a happy mood and didn't cause anyone much trouble.


Dakota begged for the chance to play DJ for the night. Bonus, she's free. Extra bonus, she's actually not bad at it. She'll consider tonight her musical debut, a glimpse of many rocking nights to come.


Another pair of newlyweds. Tyler and Maya are going three weeks strong tonight.


A first dance under the moonlight.


Nobody doubted that Lucy would make an absolutely gorgeous bride.


It didn't take Summer long to find a natural place in the crowds, even for as out of place she felt when she arrived. She wasn't asked to be a bridesmaid, much less maid of honor. In another life, in another time, she always assumed that she would be.

But after graduation, Summer and Lucy's lives took drastically different turns. Now, apart from a phone call or text here and there, she hasn't actually seen her once best friend since Lucy peed on a stick in Summer’s bathroom two years ago because she didn’t dare take that pregnancy test at her own home. Both of their lives changed in so many ways after that day.

But as Ryanne so bluntly informed her when they arrived this evening, Summer looked more dressed for a nightclub than a wedding. So Summer owned that spotlight and told an eager crowd about her new movie.

"I went for the audition, not knowing it was a lead role. Well, lead role in a sequel, anyway, but still. Bam! Totally landed it! It was the high school soccer that paid off. They loved that I did most of my own stunts. It was a very physical role, lots of fight scenes. Mostly it’s just grunts and gasps. You know, fighting sounds. Kind of like sex sounds. I got to train with a sword. We fight these giant mechanical monsters on a green screen. It’s surreal, but I’ve seen some of the footage put together. It’s kind of cool. Yes, I got to meet Chase Murphy. Yes, he is just as cute in person as he is on screen. Shorter, though, to be honest. Chase hooked me up with his agent. Now I have an audition for a really neat-looking vampire movie this summer. It’s very promising. And my life is so busy, but it’s so good, going all of these places, meeting so many people. A-list people. Serious talent, for real, but it’s no big deal. They’re cool! We’re all like besties now. They throw the best parties."


The small group whooped with approval. Summer laughed at the idea of having her first fans. Life had been wild these past couple of years, but she felt on top of the world.

An actress, who would have thought?

Summer never knew what she wanted out of life until she realized she was always meant to be a star. Maybe that sounds pompous, but she didn’t feel pompous about it. She was always the hottest girl in school, the loudest girl in the room, the brightest face in a crowd. She never imagined herself a movie star, specifically, but it felt right.




"She keeps looking over here, you know," Maya said. "You can go talk to her, you don't have to avoid her for my sake."

It was true, even from this far away, you could see Summer's face turn occasionally through the crowd to seek out Tyler's direction.

"I'm not avoiding her!" Tyler scoffed at the idea, although, he had been glad when Summer took a seat on Dallas's side of the church instead of Lucy's side where they were sitting. Tyler was far from ashamed of his sudden new bride—he was proud to introduce absolutely everyone to his charming and beautiful new wife. Everyone but Summer, that is. The idea of that eventual moment just felt daunting.



After Cassie's wedding cake sugar rush had peaked and then crashed, they decided it was past her bedtime. Delphie volunteered to take her back home for bed. She had partied herself out.


So Dallas and Lucy said goodnight to their little princess.





And Sam, finally relieved of his babysitting duties for the night, stole Ryanne away to the gardens to spend some time catching up. They've been long-distance for about five months now, eager to spend every moment of this long weekend together.


Lucy couldn't resist posting just a couple more pictures. One of the delicate heart-shaped cookies. One more of her handsome new hubby.

     So blessed to be hitched to this man, now and 4eva! #weddingbells #marriedlife #hottiealert

"Look! It already has fifteen likes!"

Dallas felt his ego stroked just enough not to be embarrassed by all the attention...



Until it was time for more dancing, that is. Dallas promised his sweetheart that they could perform one dance together. Lucy choreographed the moves and taught him with great patience over the preceding few months. It only spoke to her merit as a great dance teacher that he was able to learn any of the steps at all.


However, Lucy has always been the twinkle toes of this duo. Lucy studied ballet through her entire childhood—Dallas's expertise leaned more toward mathematical equations and space shuttle engineering. But he muddled through it.



Then Lucy happily took the stage for a few more songs on her own.


Neither Maya nor Charlie knew many people at this wedding, so they were happy to find a familiar face in each other. They both work for a robotics engineering firm out in Sierra Nova.


Beau found Summer surrounded by her adoring fans once again. He remembered in high school how Sarah used to crush on her. How he himself used to crush on her—his brother's girlfriend, as awkward as that was. But who didn't crush on Summer Phoenix back in high school? She was a movie star now, it seemed, so the whole world would be crushing on her soon.

"Can I steal you for a minute?"

"Of course."

"Summer the superstar. It’s been a while, huh?"

"Oh god, yes, it’s like I lost custody of you guys in the divorce."

"It’s kind of like that, isn’t it?"


Beau pulled his phone out to show her his and April's little princess.

"Oh my gosh, I missed Cassie being born, and Amber, too. You guys are just moving right along without me. Don't tell me Tyler has a kid floating around out there."

Beau went suspiciously tense. "I’m going to assume Tyler didn’t call you?"


"Call me when? No, I haven’t heard from him for a while. A couple of years, I guess. Rumor had it he was dating Keri Riley, but rumor also had it he was dating a bunch of different skanks. And I guess he’s tied up again now. Timing, huh?"

"Maya’s cool," Beau said. "Not a skank. She’s a scientist, actually—not that, theoretically, a scientist couldn’t also be a skank. There are all sorts of people in the world. Anyway…" He paused, signaling the impending end of their little light-hearted reunion. Summer felt like a bomb was about to drop. "I guess you should probably know… Maya is, um, Tyler’s wife. Ha, they actually got married."


"What? Married? Tyler Jackson got married?"

"Yeah, the crazy bastard."

"Was it quick?"

"Quick? Maybe, but not really. He’s been talking about Maya for years. Since, well, the moon I guess. The timing was wrong a few times, then things just finally clicked for them and they went for it. It was a small thing, just family. They got married in a cave by a Druid priestess. I, uh, have a picture on my phone if you wanted to see?"

Beau started to pull out his phone again, but Summer waved it off. "No, that’s okay." She wanted to see it, but she also didn’t.


"I half expected he might show up with the skankiest nakedest date you ever saw. I was ready for that. But a scientist wife, no. Tyler with a scientist? Ha, how's that going to work out?"

Beau shook his head, looking a little offended on Maya's behalf. His sister-in-law, it seemed. Oops.

"It could work out," Beau said. "I don't know. You'd have to meet her. They’re actually really happy together."

"But Tyler? Tyler isn’t old enough to be married."

"He’s two years older than Lucy, and Lucy just got married."

"But she’s Lucy, and he’s…"

"You know he always wanted to get married. You didn’t want to marry him, so why can’t she?"


Summer scoffed and rolled her eyes. "I don’t want to marry anyone."

"Okay." Beau shrugged. "And nobody’s making you."

Their conversation had gone awkward, almost hostile, and it was deeply sad. Despite everything, she and Beau had always been allies before.  

"But you, you sound like you’re doing great," Beau said, changing the subject. "The movie. I can’t wait to watch it."

"You should. I think you’d like it. Explosions and monsters and stuff."

"Sounds exciting."

"Oh, yeah. Yeah. Super exciting. And it was good seeing you again. This is good. I mean, congratulations on the baby and everything. And hey, wasn’t this wedding beautiful? You and April will have to get married next, so then everybody will be married. And, uh, I don’t think I got to try the steak. I heard it was great, so I’m gonna grab a plate before it’s gone, and it was good seeing you again."

There was a look of pity on Beau's face as Summer turned away.


But she had to go walk somewhere. She started toward the banquet table and the famed steak dinner that everyone raved about, but that meant walking clear through Tyler and his wife...


And Lucy who had become Maya's new best friend in five minutes flat, sharing old pictures of Tyler from back in high school. And who knows what else.


So Summer ran to the gardens to take refuge instead.

Only to find her sister there already, tongue down her boyfriend's throat.

You know, for as famous as Summer was quickly becoming, she hadn't yet learned to use her star power to get a date. She was now on a years-long dry streak. Her teenage sister was getting much more romantic action than she was these days.

And the most shameful thing of all, the most embarrassing, selfish, deluded thing, was that she had wondered, hoped, fantasized that maybe Tyler might come to this wedding alone. That their on-again, off-again could maybe be on-again for a weekend, or even just a night. That they could fall back into that comfortable old mess of a romance one more time.

And yes, of course she would have left him again to go back to her exciting new life, wherever that life took her. Of course, it wouldn't last.

But no. Surprise! He's married now. They would never be on-again, ever again.


The only quiet place Summer could find to escape was the darkened church.

Maybe Beau was right to give her that heads-up. She was mad at him, but she should thank him for it. Now she wouldn’t have to make a dumbfounded fool of herself, face to face with Tyler and his new actual wife.


She had asked Tyler to marry her once.

Don't go, and I'll marry you, she told him.

You don’t mean that, he had said.

He was right. She would have married him, if it meant keeping him out of the war. But no, she didn’t really mean it. Not the way he deserved.

Her part-time flighty love wasn't enough for him. So she knows on an intellectual level that she should be happy that he's found someone who can give back as much devotion as he gives to his relationships, instead of sitting here in a dark church, feeling selfishly sorry for herself.

But still, she feels sorry for herself.

The last words she ever spoke to him, on the phone however many years ago, was, “I love you.”

That mangled deficient love, open-ended into eternity.

Ryanne tiptoed into the darkened sanctuary and sat down.

"Hiya, squirt," Summer said. "You got some sins to confess, too?"


"Oh, you know, just, Sam said he loves me."

"Is he just trying to get in your pants?"


"Nah, I already let him in my pants."

"Ryanne! You’re in church!"

"Oh, yeah, I guess I am." Ryanne grinned mischievously.


"But... I think I love him, too. Do you think that’s dumb?"

Ryanne's face was scared but hopeful, a motherless girl seeking out her big sister for advice. Oh, how Summer wished she was wiser in love to provide any sage advice to the poor girl. But she only had her own experiences, for whatever they were worth.


"I don’t think you can ever regret loving somebody. No matter what happens in the end," Summer told her.

That answer seemed to make Ryanne happy.

"Come on," Summer said. "I’m gonna smuggle you a margarita. But first, I need you to grab me that last steak before anybody gets it. And a slice of cake. I’ve slayed a lot of green-screened monsters, I can spare the calories. There's just something I need to do first."

So Ryanne headed for the buffet table and Summer went for the bar. She knew who was standing there, and she wasn't daunted by it.


"Hey. Maya the scientist. I've heard so much about you. Hi, I’m Summer."

Summer waved first, then stuck out her hand, and the dazed girl finally shook it. "I've heard a lot about you, too," Maya said.

Not all good things, Summer knew. "So do you drink margaritas? I’m getting a pitcher for table three. Good conversation. I promise it won’t be awkward, if you guys are interested in catching up."

She glanced at Tyler, but then steered the question back to Maya. It was weird to look at him now, but maybe it wouldn't always be.


So they sat and they talked. Beau and April joined them. Then Lucy and Dallas.

April flew in and hugged Maya. "I love this girl!" April had only known Maya for approximately three weeks. "She’s so funny, you’d never guess she was a scientist, making wormholes and shit."

"I guess I left my dweeb costume at home tonight," Maya said.

Maya was funny, brilliant, gentle, and understatedly lovely. She was probably many more things that Summer would never know. She nodded at Tyler. Okay, I get it.


They shared old pictures, reminiscing about the glory days of their youth.

"Do you remember the time our sweet angel Lucy snuck out of her bedroom window after curfew with a ladder?"

"Do you remember camping at North Beach, with bonfires and beer?"

"Do you remember junior prom, skinny dipping at the lake?"

"Do you remember the time Vicky almost beat up Lucy in the courtyard after graduation, and I saved your ass?"

"Do you remember then how Sarah jumped in and saved your ass?"

"Do you remember senior prom, and that picture we took in front of Dallas's house?"

They laughed and laughed. Tyler, a bit tipsy now, blasted the remaining confetti bombs after each memory.

Lucy started to cry a little. "Aww, you guys. It makes me feel so homesick. It’s just like being back home in Lakeside Heights again. Seeing you guys here, dressed up like this, it's like that prom picture we took."

Almost like, Summer thought. Almost.

Then Maya offered, "Do you guys want an updated picture? I’ll take it."

"Wait," Dallas said, "Can we all be mature enough for that?"

"I can't promise maturity," Beau said.

"Of course, we can," Summer said. "Someday, I’m going to be super famous and you guys can have this picture to say you knew me back when."

—