Peggy
was right we did all assume and I hadn’t noticed until thinking back right now
how verbal Rachel was in her declarations of love. I felt the tinge of jealousy
at Peggy’s earlier statement fade away as I settled into the safe feeling of
love I knew she felt for me if in a somewhat different way reassure from the
squeeze she gave my hand and the look in her eye.

——————————————-Rachel————————————–

The
night was drawing to a close as I found Andy on the balcony staring out at the
city we now called home. I once again wrapped my arms around her waist and
enjoyed a few quiet moments before forcing her to face me.

            “Are
you happy Andy?”

The
smile I received was blinding

            “So
happy that I cannot say, I am just a little overwhelmed, I needed a few minutes
just to breath. But yes I am happier than I can ever remember being. It’s just
a lot to take in and then Peggy….”

I placed
my finger on her lips to stop her from going any further,

            “I
know baby I heard, it is a good thing to hear you know that right? Just go with
it allow it to be said and soon you will learn to trust that it is true, when
you do that we perhaps we will stop saying out loud but for right now you need
to hear it and so we are gonna keep saying it.”

She
smiled again as she took me in her arms, her way of saying all she needed to. I
felt at home and at peace and knew that we were gonna have a great future, one
that would start tomorrow as in fornt o =f everyone we loved we committed our
lives to one another. With that though in my head we moved back inside the
evening was turning into night and we all need to get home.

I parted
from her to get the members of my family who were staying downtown safely
loaded into cars and headed back to the hotel and as I returned I chuckled to myself
at the divide in the room, there was no way we were gonna be allowed to get
away together tonight.

Andy was
stood chatting to Libby Connor and Karen under the watchful eye of Bette who
held a very sleepy holly and Shane with her arm draped over Katie’s shoulder
who would be escorting her back to Bette and Tina’s Bette. There was a group in
what I could only picture as the neutral zone was filled with Al, Dana, Kit,
Carmen, and all their offspring who would be going back to their own houses to
get a good nights sleep. Then awaiting me as I stepped forward into the room
were Tina, Angelica My sister Mandy and my Mum who would be staying at mine and
Andy’s with me. Overseeing the fact that we were all going where we should be
was a gleeful Peggy.

I kissed
my woman and our daughter good by asking Katie to keep watch for me which I knew
she would do, she worshiped Andy and would follow her to the ends of the earth I
think. After that I took climbed into a car with my mum and sister. It was
almost strange, it had been a long time since it had been just us Dupree girls
hanging out but it was nice, as I relaxed against my mum’s reassuring presence I
noticed that she was holding the envelope Al had given us as part of our gift
earlier and felt the blush rise like fire to my cheeks,

            “Uhm
mum, watchya doing with that envelope that is for Andy,”

I felt
her start to laugh as she replied.

            “Oh
Darlin, you thought that Alice wasn’t gonna show these photo’s to everyone just
because Bette banned her from putting them in the album they made you? I have
to say though the fact that among others they have photos of you in flagrante
in your kitchen a store cupboard and something that looks like Andy in prison
among others shows me that you two have been having a ball while you have been
here.”

I could
have died, and I was gonna kill Alice.