Chapter 15
I will be the answer
At the end of the line
I will be there for you
Why take the time
In the burning of uncertainty
I will be your solid ground
I will hold the balance
If you can't look down
If it takes my whole life
I won't break, I won't bend
It will all be worth it
Worth it in the end
Because I can only tell you that I know
That I need you in my life
When the stars have all gone out
You'll still be burning so bright
Cast me gently
Into morning
For the night has been unkind
Take me to a
Place so holy
That I can wash this from my mind
And break choosing not to fight
If it takes my whole life
I won't break, I won't bend
It will all be worth it
Worth it in the end
Because I can only tell you that I know
That I need you in my life
When the stars have all gone out
You'll still be burning so bright
Cast me gently
Into morning
For the night has been unkind
© Sarah McLachlan - Answer
Candy stood by the window, the Santa Ana wind stirring the lace curtains as she looked out at the mountains glowing under the moonlight, waiting eagerly for her new husband to join her. It had been a long day but even though it was past midnight, Candy did not feel the least tired. She was too excited by the dayʼs events. Everything had happened so fast, she still could not believe she had found Terry and married him a few hours later!
After the ceremony, Eleanor had suggested they go to the Green Hotel in nearby Pasadena, favored by movie stars and winter home to some of the most prominent magnates of industry in the Eastern United States. Archibald added the Andrews owned a suite they could use.
The Hotel Green was an impressive, Mediterranean style structure, composed of two buildings, one known as The Annex, that were connected by a bridge across Raymond Avenue, and a tunnel under it. Guests arriving by train would pass through the annex, to the second floor, and be trammed across the bridge. The Andrewʼs suite was in the main residence, on the sixth floor, offering majestic views of the San Gabriel Mountains.
Hearing the bathroom door opened, she turned to greet Terry, a smile on her lips as she watched the man she loved walk across the room towards her. Fresh from a bath, she could not help but notice how handsome he was: his long brown hair still wet, his seductive smile revealing perfect teeth, his shirtless well-defined chest, his skin tanned by hours spent reading in the California sun, the numerous scars on his arm a painful reminder of the misery he had been through. He had confided in her on their way to Pasadena his cutting habit. Candy had fought hard not to cry. She had vowed to help him break the cycle. He had apologized profusely for his weakness, but Candy had reassured him she loved him no matter what. She had taken his arm and kissed every single scar. She did not need him to be perfect, and in her eyes, he was and would always be perfect.
He threw the towel and the shirt he carried on the back of an armchair and moved towards her. He wrapped his strong arms around her slim waist. She leaned back against his warm chest, pleased to feel his arms wrapped around her and his warm breath in her hair. They lost themselves in the contemplation of the moonlit landscape.
“Iʼm sorry Candy,” he finally said, gently placing a kiss on her temple.
“What for?” she leaned further and tilted her head back against his shoulder so she could see his face.
“For everything I did not do for you all this time…” he trailed off, unable to shake off the guilt and shame he was still feeling for his past behavior.
“Terry, please, donʼt… Stop torturing yourself. Iʼm the one who started this whole mess. You have nothing to be ashamed about. I just want to forget about all this time wasted without you.” Her voice was full of sadness just thinking about what both their lives had been.
“I wanted everything to be perfect for you, I wanted us to start perfectly,” he murmured as he leaned down to place a kiss on her lips. She pulled back, wanting to talk to him before he distracted her with his kisses.
“Terry,” she said softly as she watched the confusion on his face. “We did start perfectly.” She reached up to cup his face with one hand. “When we met, every time we ran into each other, when you rescued me from Neil, when you made me dance at the May Festival, the wonderful summer in Scotland. You have always been perfect.” She kissed his chin gently. “I might not have shown it, God I didnʼt even realize it until recently, but I have always loved you. You are my other half, you complete me.” She turned her green eyes to him and saw tears filling his deep blue eyes and trickling down his freshly shaven cheeks.
“I love you Freckles. Since the very first time I set my eyes on you. I wish I had the guts to admit it then, it would have save us lots of heartache. But now that we are together, nothing will ever tear us apart,” he said, his voice grave with emotion as he lowered his head to kiss her. Their lips met. She entwined her fingers in his long hair, her hands gently pulling his head closer to her. Their kiss was deep and long, full of passion, awakening new sensations in both of them. He gently moved her head to the side and nuzzled his way down the side of her face to her neck where he placed a rain of kisses, his hands moving from her waist to her breasts to her hips. He delicately pulled her nightgown up her legs and slipped his hands underneath, his fingers caressing her soft curls and exploring her moist core. A small moan escaped from Candyʼs lips. Holding her arms up, he lifted her nightgown over her head and placed a gentle kiss in her armpit. She turned her head to softly kiss his neck. She moaned louder as his fingers moved within her and found the center of her pleasure, rubbing it gently, his other hand caressing her breasts.
Their lips met again. A shudder of desire ran through him. Her small firm breasts pressed against his chest, she could feel his arousal against her stomach. She slowly removed his belt and pulled down his pants, her fingers slowly caressing him. He let out a moan of pleasure as he tore his lips from hers.
“Please Terry,” she murmured lustily into his ear, “ Love me.” Her voice was almost a growl. His own desire at fever pitch, he scooped her up in his arms and walked toward the bed, stumbling on his pants that were stuck around his ankles. Holding her tightly against him, they fell on the bed. He started sucking on her nipples, his tongue circling them. Candy, unable of any rational thought, was screaming in ecstasy, calling out his name, pulling on his hair, digging her nails into his back. Terry spread her legs apart and started to move slowly and gently, pushing into her a little bit at a time. Candy whimpered briefly at the quick stab of pain and let a gasp as he pushed and entered her. Distressed as he saw her eyes opening wide, he thought he had hurt her and stilled his movements. As he started to withdraw from her, her hands caught his buttocks and pulled him back inside her.
He started thrusting within her, slowly at first then faster and faster, Candy surprising him by matching his rhythm. Reaching down to join their mouths in a wet kiss, he held her hands and entwined their fingers, wanting to be as completely joined to her as he could.
The increased sensations pushed Candy over the edge, she saw shooting stars, and threw her head back, a moan of intense pleasure on her lips. She gripped him tighter and they both exploded into orgasm.
They lay breathless on their backs. Terry was tracing delicate whirling patterns on her breasts with his fingertips, as he waited for her to catch her breath. As she opened her green eyes, he leaned over and gave her a small kiss.
“I love you,” he said tenderly.
“I love you more,” she said, smiling. “Iʼm sorry if I was not very good at this, this is all new to me.”
“Are you kidding? It was marvelous! And donʼt worry, we will have plenty of time to practice.”
She nestled against him, their sweaty bodies beginning to cool in the air coming from the open window. He reached down and pulled the sheet over them, his hand returning to caress her hair. They both sank into a deep sleep, exhausted but satisfied.
When Terry awoke some time later the sky was beginning to turn pink, Candy lay beside him on her back, sound asleep and uncovered. He watched her sleep, knowing that he was the luckiest man alive. Reaching out to touch her, his fingers gently traced her small but perfect breasts and trailed lower, reaching down to gently caress her flat belly, wondering if they had created a child, a perfect little replica of Candy, another human being built from their love, someone they could shower with love the way they never were themselves. That thought put a smile on his face. Candy stirred in her sleep and finally opened her eyes.
“Good morning Mrs. Grandchester. Are you ready for more practice?”
Instead of answering, she rolled on top of him and started kissing him, slowly making her way down his chest. He realized with a smile that she was a willing student and a fast learner.
*********
Three days later, while they were still trying to determine where to go for their honeymoon, they received a phone call from Archibald: Elizaʼs trial had been set to start in two weeks. They had to leave immediately.
There was a daily train for Chicago leaving from Pasadenaʼs Santa Fe Station. Archibald and Eleanor had come to bid them farewell and wish Candy luck with her testimony. Archibald wanted to be present at the trial but work was to start on the new studio and he had to stay.
“Donʼt worry Archie. It will be fine.”
“I cannot believe Iʼm going to miss my loathsome cousinʼs public disgrace! Do you know for how long Iʼve been waiting for something like that? She is finally going to be exposed for the snake she really is!”
“I would not fret over it if I were you. Iʼm sure youʼll read all about it in the Los Angeles Times, and hopefully there will be pictures,” said Terry.
“Oh no, you really think so?” Asked a pale Candy. She really did not want to be at the center of a media circus.
“Of course! The press will have a heyday with this story Candy and Iʼm sure the details will spread from coast to coast. This is a member of the almighty Andrew family who is standing trial on attempted murder charges.”
“Thatʼs just great….” Said Candy, sulking.
“Donʼt worry Freckles, it will all be fine. Iʼll be there with you.” Said Terry, putting a comforting hand around her shoulders.
The conductor announced the train imminent departure and the Grandchesters had to board.
“Bye Mother, and thank you for everything. You were great through this all. Sorry for the trouble I caused you."
“Non sense, it was my pleasure honey. What are mothers for?” They all hugged quickly and Candy and Terry got in the train.
The trip back to Chicago was uneventful. They discussed their future, Terry not quite knowing if he wanted to go back to Broadway, or give Hollywood and the motion pictures a try.
They finally arrived and were greeted by Albert himself.
“Candy! Terry!”
“Albert,” exclaimed Candy, running into her adoptive fatherʼs open arms.
“Good to see you Albert,” said Terry, impressed by Albertʼs casual elegance. He still had trouble reconciling the image of his friend Albert the zookeeper with the wealthy William Andrew.
“Terry! Congratulations! Sorry to see you again under those circumstances. Welcome to our family. Weʼll have an official post wedding party when all this is over. Iʼm so happy for the two of you. You are both beaming with happiness. And you are so tanned! Gosh, I miss being outdoors.”
“Albert… Has all this been causing any problem to the family business?” Candy had to ask. She had been worried sick that Andrew Enterprises would suffer some serious loss because of the unwanted attention brought to the family.
“Not at all. Youʼd be surprised by what most people are saying about Neil and Eliza. It seems they are quite infamous throughout the city and nobody seems very surprised by what happened.”
Albert quickly put them up to speed during the short drive to the Andrewʼs mansion. Elizaʼs trial was to start the next day and would be followed by Neilʼs. Candy had been summoned to appear in front of the court on the second day.
Eliza had been in jail since her arrest whereas Neil had been free on bail since his release from the hospital. Those two trials captivated the whole town, and were the hot topic in newspapers throughout the country. The city was crawling with reporters. The Great Aunt Elroy could not handle the scrutiny and was in Lakewood, refusing to see anyone. She was mortified that her favorite grand children were in the middle of something so horrifying. She was convinced Candy was behind it all somehow and had been blaming Albert relentlessly for adopting her.
The day of Candyʼs testimony arrived. Candy walked in the courthouse with Terry and Albert, wearing a dark brown suit with a white ruffle shirt, her hair up in a tight bun. She was feeling a little nervous and was glad to have Terry by her side. The judge walked in, everybody stood up and the court was in session. It was the second day of Elizaʼs trial, Neil had been on the witness stand the day before and today was Candyʼs turn. Her testimony was more of a formality than anything else since Neilʼs testimony had been pretty clear in establishing Elizaʼs guilt. The defense would be trying to prove that Neil had lied in order to protect Candy whom he was in love with. The district attorney had warned her that she had to be prepared for some nasty counter questioning on the part of the defense, which would try to establish that Candy and Neil were lovers. Candy was feeling fidgety. When her name was called, Terry gave her hand a brief comforting squeeze and murmured “I love you” in her ear.
Candy stood up on shaky legs and slowly walked toward the witness stand. She sat down and faced Eliza who was quite a sight, wearing a crimson dress with matching hat, definitively not the traditional murder suspectʼs attire. She looked at her with mean eyes, a smirk on her face.
The bailiff came by Candy with a bible for her to swear on.
“Mrs. Candice White Grandchester, do you…”
He was interrupted by a furious scream:
“WHAAAAATT!!!!??? I thought I did not hear correctly the first time! That whore of a stable girl! She married my boyfriend, she stole him from me! I should have stabbed her instead of my moronic brother!” Eliza was standing up, stomping her feet. Her lawyer looked at her in disbelief. She had just admitted to her crime. Mrs. Leegan let out a cry and fainted.
Eliza realized what she had just said, put her hand on her mouth and sat down. The crowd went wild. The judge called for order. Candy was dismissed. The jury went on to deliberate and came back twenty minutes later with a unanimous guilty verdict for the attempted murder of her brother. The judge sentenced Eliza to life in a high security prison for the criminally insane. She was taken away kicking and screaming by two policemen, shouting insults and threats at Candy and professing her everlasting love to Terry.
Neil was convicted to five years in federal prison for attempted rape. However, he never completed his term. A fellow inmate who happened to be a former lover of Elizaʼs and considered Neil a despicable snitch had made sure his time in jail was as ghastly as it gets, sparing him no torture and humiliation. A mere two weeks from Neilʼs release date, as he was working in the laundry room, and ignoring his enemy numerous requests to pass the bleach bottle that was besides him, the man who could not stand the very sight of Neil anymore furiously grabbed the bottle, broke it and attacked Neil with it, severing a main artery. He died on the laundry room floor from severe bleeding.
The Leegans fled to South America to avoid the shame associated to their names. They were never seen or heard of again.
The Great Aunt Elroy remained in seclusion in Lakewood for a couple of years before falling into dementia and spending the remaining of her life in a nursing home, where she was a most difficult patient, abusive, aggressive, constantly cursing the nurses, and non-compliant. Albert had to make large monetary contributions to insure she was properly cared for despite her nasty behavior.
Candy tried to see Annie immediately after the trial but learnt that she was living in New York, attending Art School. Many years went by before the two former friends saw each other again on a Christmas day at Ponyʼs home. It was a somewhat awkward encounter, the warmth and complicity of their former friendship gone. They remained in touch, more out of courtesy than true desire, but never were the friends they used to be ever again. The subject of Archibald was never brought up. Annie never married. She opened an art gallery and lived with her parents. After their death in a tragic car accident, she felt extremely alone. She adopted a cat, a beautiful Siamese who had such a human personality that she decided to give her a human name and chose Ana Luisa, after her late mother Ann Louise Brighton. The beautiful Siamese was extremely vocal, active and playful. However, Annie never did bond with her and got extremely upset when Candy and Terry came by to extend their condolences on the loss of her parents, and Ana Luisa immediately jumped on Terryʼs lap and made herself at home, fully enjoying the head scratch Terry was giving her. A few months later, Annie could not take the loneliness anymore and decided to join a convent and became a nun. She sent Ana Luisa to Los Angeles where she instantly took over Terryʼs office and spent most of the time on his desk, sitting on top of various screenplays, papers and novels.
Archibald remained in Los Angeles where he handled all of Andrew Enterprises Los Angeles ventures. He enjoyed the Hollywood parties and made quite a playboy reputation for himself. He particularly enjoyed the cosmopolitan aspect of Los Angeles and the multitude of foreign girls who lived there. He ended up dating quite seriously Terryʼs personal assistant, a French girl named Sandrine with green eyes that reminded him of Candyʼs, much to Terryʼs displeasure for she was neglecting her work. She eventually got tired of Hollywood and went back to France, leaving behind a devastated Archibald who started hanging out in bars. On a night he had too much to drink, he was walking in the middle of Sunset Boulevard and got run over by a car. He was taken to the hospital with broken ribs. He was assigned a lovely Canadian nurse named Céline, sweet, caring and kind, who reminded him of Candy by her devotion to her work. When he was authorized to go back home, she became his private nurse. One day, as Céline was redoing his bandage, her fingers lingered more than was necessary on the young man chest and they spend the rest of the day in bed. They lived ten days of torrid passion, rarely coming out of the house, till Céline was required to return immediately to Canada where a former patient, a famous singer, was requesting her expert care. Archibald could not believe how unlucky he was in love. He decided to go to the Museum of Art to take his mind off his numerous heartbreaks and met a beautiful young Chilean artist named Paloma. They quickly became inseparable and Archibald was seriously considering asking her to marry him when she was informed she had landed the curator position at Santiagoʼs Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes she had been dreaming of most of her life and abruptly left. Heart broken once more, he decided to take a break from girls. He started going out for dinner and parties with Eleanor, who was now living part of the year in Los Angeles. They discovered they had a lot in common and enjoyed each other company tremendously. Much to Terryʼs horror, they started dating romantically, and eventually got married. Eleanor gave birth at the ripe age of 38 to a healthy baby boy they named Stear.
Albert continued assuming his role as the head of the Andleyʼs empire, building the company into one of the most modern, progressive and powerful of the United-States, providing his thousands of workers with outstanding working condition, health insurance and retirement plans. Each year, he took two months off to travel the world and George assumed the direction of Andrew Enterprises. One year, he came back with a gorgeous, exotic looking woman named Tuba he introduced as his wife. They had two boys who grew up to become key political figures, strengthening the Andrewsʼ influence in the economy and the way business was conducted.
Patty remained at Ponyʼs home, married a local farmer and lived a happy live. She eventually became the director of Ponyʼs home, turning it into a wonderful haven for orphans. She added an extra wing and opened a music school to benefit the little residents but that was also opened to the local children.
Susanna went back to Broadway to great acclaim and became one of the most popular actresses of her generation. Her dream to reach professional success had become a reality and exceeded her craziest expectations. Despite her professional success, her personal life was a disaster. She became estranged from her mother after her separation from Terry, blaming her for everything that went wrong with her life. She lived alone. She had several affairs with men who were already taken or did not want to commit. She died lonely at a young age.
As for Candy and Terry, they decided to make Los Angeles their home. Ever since his marriage, Terryʼs life was back on track. Candy was not only the love of his life, she was something solid for him to live for. The fog he had been living in all the time they were apart dissipated and he was finally able to enjoy life to the fullest. Quite often in interviews, he would mention how Candy had saved him from a life of depression and alcoholism. In his acting career, as well as in his love life, Terry was now a man beaming with happiness. Having reunited with Candy totally transformed him. She brought him the joy of living, stability, and most importantly unconditional love. Thanks to her, he felt like a simple human being, even though he was an actor known all over the country. She taught him to see life differently. He was more optimistic than ever before.
He got involved with the movies and ended up with a great screen career. He did not give up theater altogether and was playing on Broadway every other year. He eventually dropped acting all together and became an acclaimed screenwriter.
Soon after their marriage, Candy found out she was pregnant. The couple was ecstatic, and terribly excited at the perspective of starting a family together, something both of them had so cruelly miss during their childhood. Candy gave birth to a beautiful daughter, Maybelle Rose, to whom they gave a brother, Stephen Anthony, two years later. The birth of his children was a revelation for Terry who truly felt as himself for the first time in his life. He loved being a Dad and was pretty good at it, helping with the feeding, changing diapers, staying up at night, caring for them when they were sick and assisting Candy any which way he could. No matter how busy he was, he always made time for his family. They came first and he was known to cancel meetings and postpone shootings if one of his children was sick. He was committed to become the best Dad ever. He did not smoke anymore and only drank on social occasions. He wanted to see his children grow up, and be able to be with them and Candy for the longest time possible. A wish that was fully granted: they lived a long and happy life.
THE END
