Emily and Mark went back to the island. They had spent time with Fred"s mom, Mark"s grandmother. It was awkward at first, and still awkward at the end. Mom was a gabby person, and she recovered from the loss of Dad surprisingly quickly, and Emily and Mark simply had to listen to her talk to them. The transition from strangers to family was a long process, but each side was happily and willingly trying to build that bridge. Mark had let go of his angst toward Fred and Emily, little by little, and he really did try-to open his heart.Mark found it more difficult to relate to Fred, though. Fred was, in his eyes, a bore. But Mark remembered his first meeting with Fred at the sketchiest bar in town, and the car ride, and he suspected Fred was more than what he seemed. His mother wouldn"t have fallen for the guy otherwise.
Mark agreed to finish high school. Fred suggested Mark to come over to where he lived to jump start his career as a musician after graduation. Emily wasn"t too happy about that; she finally repaired her relationship with her son, and she wanted to make up for lost time. Mark, on the other hand, fell in love with the idea, even starting to dream big about making it big. The three of them came to a consensus.
Fred went back to work after admittingly a long time off. His co-workers welcomed him back, and Fred melded into the background of the office once more. The advertis.e.m.e.nt team at Fizzy Pop and Mr. Belluci, the team leader, got used to letting Fred pick and choose the ads the company would run. Fred remained modest. It just became his thing. No one found it anything special. It was just what it was.
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Carlos and Sarah and Emily and Mark jumped into hugs when Emily and Mark landed. Mark and Sarah talked normally for the first time in their teenage lives, and they realized they had little to nothing in common. Sarah found Mark"s taste in music too old fashioned; she was a top 100 type. Mark thought Sarah was basic, but he kept that to himself. Sarah was straight edge, but popular and sociable, while Mark was a bit of a bad boy. Each of them was quite attractive to the opposite s.e.x. Mark had fooled around with girls, while Sarah thought she was too good for the boys around her. She had the highest of standards, like in everything else.
Carlos was just glad Emily was home. He had spent his time devising ways to puff himself up and maybe even erase Fred from her heart. He decided against badmouthing Fred, but that was part of the plan. He was going to woo her all over again. Emily just smiled. They were like a new couple again.
Sarah was at the top of her cla.s.s, and she had ambitions. When she heard that Mark would move off the island after high school, Sarah let Carlos and Emily know she planned to apply to college abroad. Carlos and Emily, who knew their daughter well, sighed and expressed support. Not that Sarah needed it. She always got what she wanted. It was a matter of course.
Meanwhile, the country was heading into a presidential election year, and Maria Cortez announced her bid. She had fulfilled her promise to not run for representative as an inc.u.mbent, and she was prepared to swear off public office for good. Her hair indeed turned white, and she stopped bothering to dye it a long time ago.
People kept screaming, "Run, Maria, run!" Mrs. Cortez had developed a strong sense of duty over the years, and she acquiesced. It wasn"t like the whole country supported her, however. Party lines, however dashed it seemed, were as clearly drawn as ever, and a new superstar emerged in the conservative party.
A brash, loud, man of a man.