Chapter 46: Resolutions
Thanksgiving Day two months later was somewhat of a special day. Everyone had gathered at the Appleby’s house for dinner. It was also the last day that Darren and Chance were going to be in the US for a year. Both were heading to Australia in preparation for the wedding and the upcoming world tour. All had gone well in the last two months, except for the planning of the wedding. That was the last thing on Chance’s mind at the moment.
The evening was slowly coming to a close as the little party was winding down. Chance and Darren sat on one of the comfortable couches in the lower level rec room with Dan, Shiri, Majandra, Brendan, Jason, and Katy. They sat in from of the TV screen watching a football game completely mesmerized. No one moved until a commercial interrupted the game. It was then that they opened their mouths and talked at once to each other.
Chance hated how no one could hear over someone else’s voice. She stood up and shouted, “SHUT UP ALREADY!” She finally had their attention. “Okay, speak a little more quietly, please. I’m trying to hear my fiancé.” She sat down on the couch again and curled up into Darren’s lap. He stroked her hair and placed a gentle kiss on her neck.
“Good job,” he said. “Nobody would have shut them up like you.”
“Well, I was expecting a quiet evening with family and friends, but I completely forgot about football. It was never really a tradition at my house. We usually just ate dinner, then that was it. No TV, no football, no nothing. Coffee and cake maybe, but that was about it,” Chance explained.
“I don’t blame you for wanting a quiet evening at home. So do I, but we have to do this, so we can’t complain,” Darren replied. He stroked her hair with his hand.
“Why don’t we leave? We’ve got a big day ahead of us tomorrow with the move and all. We need some rest. Besides, I think its going to be the last time we’re gonna get any sleep in the near future. I still have the wedding to plan. Oh, my God! I don’t even have the dresses picked out, let alone the colors! I’m so screwed,” Chance said nonchalantly. Darren took her hand and pulled her off the couch with him.
“Sorry to be leaving so soon, but we have a very busy day tomorrow,” Darren announced as he and Chance made their way past the others in the room.
“Hold it!” Brendan yelled as he stood up. He snaked through the pile of bodies on the floor and managed to get up right next to Chance. “We’ve been through some really crazy stuff on the set, and I know we’ve never been really close, but I’m gonna miss you.”
“Aw, Brendan! Don’t start with that stuff. You’re gonna make me cry,” Chance replied as she began to feel the hint of tears forming behind her eyes. She gave him a big hug then started on the rest of the gang still in the room. “I’m gonna miss you guys so much! We’ve become such great friends in the last few months that I really don’t wanna leave all of you! But I have to since I’ve got a world tour starting right after the wedding. I’m gonna hate leaving ‘Roswell’ behind. It was the best show I’ve ever worked on, and you guys were so great. You were my family. I’m gonna miss you so much. Bye!”
Chance turned away from her friends and started to cry as she and Darren walked up the stairs and into the upper level of the house. They said goodbye to everyone else and headed home for the rest of the night. In the morning it was off to the airport to board a plane headed for Australia.
Twenty-four hours later, Chance and Darren landed in Australia. Jet lagged and tired, they headed for Darren’s old apartment in Brisbane.
“Not bad,” Chance said when she stepped through the door.
“I can do better,” he snidely replied.
“What do you mean?” she questioned.
“Nothing,” Darren said as he walked into the bedroom and turned on the light. He flopped down on the bed and closed his eyes.
“Daz, where am I supposed to sleep?” Chance whined as she plodded into the room barefoot. He moved over and she lay beside him. “Do you realize this is one of the last few nights we’re gonna be able to do this?”
“Yeah, so why don’t we just go to sleep and get it over with?” Darren answered keeping his eyes closed.
“Fine, whatever,” she replied, snuggling into a pillow and closing her eyes. Chance didn’t realize how tired she was until her head hit the pillow and she fell asleep. She awoke the next morning with a blanket covering her shoulders and the smell of bacon in the air. She rolled over to find that Darren was gone and stood up.
Before heading towards the living room, Chance made a short stop at the bathroom to check her hair. Satisfied that nothing was really out of place, she made her towards the kitchen and found Darren sitting at the table reading the morning paper. A small plate of pancakes, eggs, and bacon was set beside him.
“Morning,” he cheerfully said as Chance plopped down in the chair next to his.
“Morning,” she replied. She began to pick at the food with her fork as he sat behind his newspaper silently reading. “Do you know how weird this is?”
“What?” Darren asked.
“You and me sitting here not talking about anything. It’s too quiet; we’re not fighting over the last piece of toast, or the last pancake. What’s happened between us?” Chance answered as she kept picking at her food.
Darren shrugged and returned to reading his paper. Chance stared down at her plate and suddenly became full. She was about to stand up when out of nowhere, he reached out from behind the newspaper and stole a forkful of eggs off her plate.
“Hey!” Chance almost yelled. “That was mine!”
“Want me to give it back?” Darren replied still chewing.
“Ew, no,” she said, finally hungry again. “Ok, I need some juice.” Chance stood up and opened the fridge door. She pulled out the bottle of orange juice and was just about to take a swig when Darren caught her hand.
“That’s just as disgusting. And by the way, this isn’t your house anymore. My rules apply,” he said, pouring the juice in a glass and handing it to her.
Chance made a face and sat back down. Things were definitely back to normal, but not for long.
Later on that day, Chance found herself in the middle of a radio stations studio answering questions for a DJ she had never even heard of. About halfway through the interview, she was asked about the wedding, and she completely freaked out.
“Oh, my God! I haven’t even begun to plan my own wedding! What am I going to do?” she nearly screamed. Darren cut her off from saying anymore to calm her down.
“With the world tour coming up and then her show, we kinda haven’t had the time to actually go out and get ready for the wedding, but I’m sure now that we’re here in Australia, everything will go smoothly,” he said as Chance chewed her nails. The DJ cut to a commercial and Darren turned to her. “What’s up with you?”
“The wedding! We’ve been engaged for, like, seven months and I haven’t made a single arrangement! Now it’s about a month before the wedding and I’m freaking out because nothing is done! We have the church and the reception hall, but nothing else! It looks like we’re gonna have to elope! And you know what? I WILL NOT ELOPE! I’ve been waiting my whole life for the wedding of my dreams, and I’m going to get it, but somehow, it seems out of my grasp,” Chance replied, her voice sounding as hopeless as a drowning puppy.
“Calm down. You’ll get it planned and ready, and I know you’re gonna do a great job with it. Step out of your pessimistic cube and think positive for once. You’ll get a lot further,” Darren comforted as he gave her a tight hug.
“I hope you’re right,” she said.
~~~~~~~~~~
Darren pulled out his cell phone and quickly dialed a familiar number. It had been three days since Chance had freaked out about the wedding plans, and it was time to take desperate measure. “Hello?” a sleepy feminine voice said from the other end.
“Shiri?” Darren replied.
“Yeah, hey Daz. What’s going on?” she replied yawning.
“Well, I need your help, big time,” he said.
“With what?”
“Chance went ballistic a few days ago about the wedding. She has nothing planned, and frankly, I think she’s going to have a nervous breakdown if she doesn’t get help soon,” Darren explained.
“What do you want me to do?” Shiri asked.
“I want you, Majandra, and Kate to come out here and help her if you can. And I’ll pay for the flight. Please, Chance really needs your help,” he began to beg.
“Darren, this is such short notice. I have to call everyone and see what their plans are for the next few weeks, and if all is in the clear, I’ll give you a call, okay?”
“Okay. Call back soon.”
“I will.”
~~~~~~~~~~
“I’ve got a surprise for you,” Darren said as he placed a blindfold over Chance’s eyes a week later. He led her to his Jaguar and they sped off away from the apartment.
“What is it?” she eagerly questions as the wing flew through her hair. She loved the Jag. It was her favorite car to drive besides the Vet.
“If I told you, it wouldn’t be a surprise, now, would it?” he replied, slowing at a stop sign.
“Are we there yet?”
“No, but we’ll be there in a sec.” Darren drove down a tree lined road past a few large houses. He was headed for the one at the end of the street with the tall security fence and beautifully crafted front gate. The house itself was small, but took up a wide area. There were six bedrooms, five baths, a large kitchen, an enormous living room with fireplace, a game room, a pool, a guesthouse, and a studio, which was one of the only reasons Darren even bothered to look at it.
“Okay, now we’re here,” he said, helping Chance out of the car and leading her down the driveway. He took the blindfold off her eyes and showed her their new home.
Chance stood wide-eyed as she stared at the beautiful house. “Wow!” was all that she could utter.
“Welcome to our new place,” Darren said as he pulled out his key and opened the door.
The moment they stepped inside, three voices yelled, “Surprise!” Chance jumped back bumping into Darren as he closed the door.
“Oh, my God! You guys!” Chance said when she saw Shiri, Majandra, and Kate. They ran up for a group hug. “So, what are you guys doing here?”
“Well, we saw that you were having trouble getting the wedding together, so we came out here to help,” Majandra answered.
“Actually, Darren called us and told us about your little freak out session at the radio station and practically bent over backwards to get us here,” Shiri added.
“Thank you all,” Chance said, still reeling from the day’s events. “So, where do we start first?”
Shiri, Kate, and Majandra exchanged anxious glances and in unison answered, “Dresses!” Seconds later, they dragged Chance off into their rental car and drove into Brisbane with every intention of finding Chance’s perfect wedding dress and their perfect bridesmaid’s dresses.
“What exactly are you looking for?” Kate asked as she glanced back at Chance from the driver’s seat.
“I haven’t really thought about that yet,” Chance replied.
“Okay, what’s the wedding going to be like?” Kate kept interrogating.
“Well, it’s going to be a very big wedding. I think we invited about 500 people, and most of them are showing up. Oh, and we can’t forget that this is going to be broadcast live all over Australia,” Chance answered, but was soon interrupted by Majandra.
“Live across Australia!” she nearly screamed. “Damn, girl. What’s up with that?”
“I completely forgot to tell you guys. Out here, Darren is close to being a prince. Whatever happens to him is big news. That means the wedding is going to be broadcast live, and I’m the princess. Isn’t that so cool?” Chance almost squealed.
“You are so marrying into the right family,” Shiri commented. “Too bad Dan and I didn’t announce it like you did. We’d probably get the same treatment. The more I think about it, the more I think you suck!”
“Oh, come on, Sis,” Chance said as she hugged Shiri. “You’re still going to be in the wedding. And you married the right guy. He’s so perfect for you.”
“You guys are making me cry!” Majandra sarcastically whined from the front seat. She pretended to wipe her eyes with her hands as Kate pulled into a parking space near the first bridal shop.
“Okay, we’re here,” she announced, getting out of the car. The four of them made their way into the large store and began to look around.
“Since you’re going to be in the spotlight, I suggest going with the biggest dress you can find,” Majandra said as she and Chance walked down the endless aisles of dresses. “Something that no one else can possibly afford. Maybe some diamonds, silk, even handmade embroidery. That’ll all work.”
“If you find me that dress, then maybe I’ll buy it,” Chance replied. “But only if it’s exactly the way you say it should look.”
“Guys! I think Kate and I found some really nice bridesmaid’s dresses,” Shiri yelled from across the store. Majandra and Chance followed their voices down a few more aisles until they reached a rack of beautiful soft pink dresses.
“Those are so cute!” Majandra sarcastically said as she looked at one that Kate was holding. “Does it come with a barf bag?”
“Majandra!” Shiri retorted.
“Chance, do I have to wear pink?” Majandra complained.
“If you find a nicer color than pink, then maybe,” Chance replied as she began to walk down the rack.
“What about blue, or green? Please, anything but pink!” Majandra begged.
“Okay! Quit bothering me! I need to find a dress, too! You know?” Chance snapped back as she walked away from the others. A glittering light soon caught her eye. She walked towards it and found the must beautiful dress she had ever seen in her life. It was perched on a mannequin in the back of the store illuminated by a single light. The dress was made of pure silk and had stunning embroiled designs. Each little design had a little diamond set in between the stitches. The train extended to the floor and probably past the door if it wasn’t neatly curled up into a ball behind the dress. Chance longingly stared at it. This was the dress of her dreams.
“Perfect, isn’t it?” a voice came from behind her.
Chance turned around a saw one of the sales ladies staring back at her. “Yeah,” she squeaked.
“That dress is one of a kind. Only three have been made, two of which we’ve already sold off to very prestigious clients. It costs $250,000, but it’s worth it,” the woman said. She had a smirk on her face that led Chance to believe she thought of her as a penniless bride to be. Then again, she looked the part with her flared jeans and tank top. She decided to test her theory.
“Could I try it on?” she politely asked.
The woman began to laugh one of those you-gotta-be-kidding-me laughs. “Right, and risk getting it dirty? You have to be kidding me!” she spat into Chance’s face.
“Do you even know who you’re talking to?” Chance hissed.
“No, who?” the woman retorted, still in fits of laughter.
“Chance Malone,” she sternly answered. The sales lady stiffened up. Her stony gaze inspected ever inch of Chance’s body until she was finally satisfied. “Don’t believe me? Take a look at this.” Chance pulled out her driver’s license and handed it to her. The woman frowned.
“I’m so sorry, Ms. Malone,” she began to apologize.
“That’s not necessary. I’d like to speak to your manager,” Chance replied. The sales lady walked off towards the front desk.
“There you are!” Shiri said as she came up behind Chance.
“I found the dress, but it took me a while to convince the bitchy sales lady that I was actually the Chance Malone. She had the nerve to laugh in my face, but now I’m gonna get the last laugh when I talk to the manager,” Chance said as she waited.
“Someone’s gonna get fired!” Majandra sang.
“Shut up,” Kate said when she saw two women approaching them.
“Ms. Malone, I’m very sorry for the treatment you received from one of our personnel. I’ll take care of the matter as soon as possible. As for right now, is there anything you would like?” the manager said in a soft, warm voice.
“Yes, I’d like to try this dress on,” Chance replied as she pointed to the illuminated dress.
Kate, Shiri, and Majandra gasped. Kate’s mouth hung open as Majandra said, “Oh, my God!”
“Wow,” Shiri added, unable to take her eyes off the stunning piece.
The manager took the dress off the mannequin then handed it to Chance. She tried it on in the fitting room and showed it to the girls.
“You look so beautiful,” Kate whispered.
“You are so going down in history,” Majandra replied.
“I can’t believe my little sister is getting married!” Shiri bawled. “Chance, you look so wonderful. I wish you the best of luck even though it’s a little early.”
“Oh, you guys! Stop it! You’re making me want to cry!” Chance said as she pulled them in for a group hug.
~~~~~~~~~~
“Are we really ready now?” Darren asked as he lay back on the grassy hilltop about the mansion to look up at the stars in the night sky.
“Yeah, everything is ready to go,” Chance replied as she lay back beside him. The looked at each other and smiled.
“I can’t believe I’m actually going to marry the girl of my dreams,” he said in a happy tone of voice. Chance rolled up to him and kissed his cheek. “And I can’t believe I still get goose bumps when you kiss me like that. It’s so great having you around. My life means so much more now that you’re in it.”
“Aw, Daz,” she giggled. “You’re making me blush.”
Darren propped himself up on his arm and pulled Chance into his embrace. His lips found hers in the darkness, and they began kissing.
“Guys! Guys! You’re not gonna believe this!” Shiri’s yells soon reached their ears, stopping them from going any further. They lay on the ground and waited for her to arrive with the news. “This… is gonna make… your day,” she panted after running up the steep incline.
“What is it already?” Chance impatiently asked. Shiri handed her a letter she pulled out of her back pocket.
Chance cautiously opened it. Her hands began to shake as she read through it. “Oh, my God!” she nearly cried, handing the paper to Darren.
“We’ve been nominated for twelve Grammy’s! Holy shit!” he yelled, them wrapped his arms around Chance’s neck.
“Congratulations, you guys,” Shiri said. “You’d better get inside. The show is in two day, so you gotta start packing.”
“Two days!” Chance and Darren exclaimed at the same time.