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                         Swans Crossing: the Reunion	
		          Chapter 2: Second Thoughts
		           By Michelle Rutherfurd

	Sydney stood in front of her full legnth mirror, admiring her 
elegant yet sexy black silk tube top and silver silk drawstring pants, 
accented by a pair of sparkly strapped black flat-footed sandals and a pearl 
choker. Her long dark hair was pulled tightly into a french twist with some 
curls flowing out of the top and a few tendrils pulled out to frame her 
face. She knew it wasn't even a date, and her and Garret were just going to 
hang out around Swans Crossing, but she would be seeing all of her old 
friends for the first time and wanted to look nice. She looked at the clock 
on her nightstand. Quarter till. She slicked on a peach colored lipstick, 
grabbed her purse, and hurried out to meet Garret at Swans Soda Shop.
	On her way there, she pulled her diamond engagement ring off her 
finger and slipped it into her bag. "No need for Garret to see it before I 
can tell him." Actually, her feelings for Garret were very mixed right now. 
Despite all the fighting they had endured over the years and the way things 
had been left when she went off to Paris, Garret Booth always had and always 
will have a special place in her heart. And now, being with him again, she 
was almost having second thoughts. "And it doesn't hurt that he's still so 
good looking," she thought. For a moment she allowed herself to imagine 
what it would be like to be with Garret again, and to live together here in 
Swans Crossing and raise children in the place they grew up.
	Sydney stopped abrubtly on the road and said outloud to herself, 
"NO! I'm in love with James now. He's charming and sweet and his family 
wealth can insure that I and my future children keep up the wealthy family 
reputation." She was shocked at herself for even considering leaving James. 
Sure, they didn't have that exciting, passionate relationship that she and 
Garret had once shared, but that didn't matter. Things have changed. "And 
they must stay that way," she decided, just as she reached the Soda Shop. 
	She stepped inside and looked around for a moment. Finally, a place 
where she had nothing but good things to remeber. Mostly teens filled the 
small shop, dancing and sitting at booths talking and laughing. A few 
grownies were scattered around the place. "Oh my gosh! I'm a grownie now!" 
she realized for the first time. Before she had time to let that sink in, 
she spotted Garret. As she walked over to him, she tightly clutched her bag 
that contained her ring and reminded herself once more that her 
relationship with Garret must stay completely platonic.
			*	*	*	*	*
	"Oh, Sandy, it's so good to see you again! Call me tomorrow," 
Sydney said as she hugged her friend goodbye.
	"Of course, Sydney! I'm so glad you're back!"
	"Me too. Goodbye Owen! Good bye Bobby, or should I say Saja? I'll 
see you guys around."
	The group parted and Garret and Sydney headed out to walk over to 
the Tool n' Die where they expected to see Jimmy. After a soda at the Soda 
Shop, and a quick visit to the Swans Club where Sandy and Owen performed on 
Saturday nights, they were off to meet up with the rest of the group. 
	"Wow! I'm so happy for Owen and Sandy. I can't believe they have 
three albums out! And Saja, I mean Bobby, owns the club now? Everybody seems 
to be doing great."
	"Yeah, well, you're about to see that not everybody in the gang is 
doing so great."
	"What do you mean?"
	"Well, two years ago, Jimmy and Callie got engaged. But then 
Callie's dad freaked out and insisted she leave with him. Jimmy hasn't 
heard from her since."
	"Oh no!" Sydney said empathetically.
	"That's not all. After you left, Nancy moved to New York City to 
'follow her dreams' and a year later, she came back all bitter and 
depressed. Apparently she came to a tough realization in the big city. Mila 
insisted she be moved into her house and Glory tries to get through to her, 
but she's always so withdrawn. She became as rude and distant as ever. She 
works at the stables taking care of the horses. But ever since she moved 
back she's been a first class bitch and hasn't been the least bit sociable."
	"Well, she was never exactly Miss Congeniality, but that's really 
too bad for her. Are her and Mila very close? They must be if they live 
together."
	"Actually, Mila never did to well with the whole normal education 
thing. After a year of college, she gave up and went back to Hollywood to 
continue acting. She's still pretty famous, and she flies in every summer. 
She'll be in next week I think."
	"So you and Mila. Did that ever work out?"
	"Well, I thought we had something going, but she when she moved I 
knew I was only fooling myself. There's only one girl in the whole world 
I'll ever really love." He stopped and turned towards her, the moonlight 
bouncing off his eyes. His face was solemn and serious as he said, "You, 
Sydney. It's always been you."
	At first Sydney didn't know what to say. She only stared deeply 
into his eyes before replying, "I still have feelings for you too, Garret, 
but it's something we have to ignore. Things have changed. I've changed."
	"I know. I can tell. You're not a superficial bitch anymore, Syd. 
And it only makes me want to give us another try even more. I've changed, 
too. I've done a lot of growing up. I've also done a lot of thinking. All 
the games, the lies...I was just trying to deny my feelings for you. I've 
always been crazy about you. And that won't ever change. Can't I have a 
second chance, Sydney? I know you still care about me too."
	For a moment, as she looked deeply into his eyes, reminiscing about 
all the times he had held her back when they were together. She could almost 
feel that warm glow again now. She did still care about him. She couldn't 
deny that. And for a moment the thought of leaving her fiance and staying 
here in Swans Crossing for good crossed her mind again. But she quikly 
dismissed it, and looking away from him.
	"Garrett, I really can't handle this right now, ok? Let's just talk 
about this later." And with that she hurried off ahead of him to the tool 
shop to see Jimmy. 
			*	*	*	*	*
	"A kindergarten teacher? That is the perfect job for you Glory! Do 
you like it?"
	"Yeah, it's great. I love those little kids," Glory answered as she, 
Sydney, Garret, and J.T. sat on the front porch of the Booth house drinking 
Glory's infamous lemonade and making small talk.
	"And J.T., how does it feel to be such a successful scientist?"
	"Well, don't give me too much credit. Neil is the brains behind 
most of our experiments."
	"Don't be so modest. You're half responsible for winning the Nobel 
Prize for U2B2. And let me guess: Neil still hasn't paid to much attention 
to his love life."
	"Nope. Still D.A.O.--Dead on arrival."
	They all laughed.
	"You know what," Glory said. "We should have a little Swans Crossing 
reunion tomorrow at the Swans Club. Just the ten of us, that is unless Mila 
flies in before then."
	"That's a great idea Glory," Sydney responded. "It's just a shame 
Callie couldn't be here. And poor Jimmy. He tried to hide it, but you could 
tell he's still hurt. Well, it's getting late and I have a lot of sleep to 
catch up on. I'll call you tomorrow morning about our little reunion party, 
Glory. I think I'll also have to stop by the Rosnoskvy mansion and talk to 
Nancy. See you all tomorrow. Good night!"
	"Good night, Sydney," J.T. replied.
	"And welcome home," Glory added.
	"Sydney, wait!" Garret said as he ran after her. "You can't just 
ignore what we talked about earlier. Come on, just give it another chance."
	"Tomorrow, Garret. We'll talk tomorrow. I'm too tired to deal with 
this now."
	And with that she disappeared into the darkenss.
			*	*	*	*
	"Garret, Callie and Jimmy called. They'll be a little late."
	"That's fine. What about the babysitter? What time does she want the 
kids dropped off at her house?"
	"Ralph's driving them over in about an hour."
	"Alright. Have Glory and J.T.'s car been fixed yet, or will they 
need a ride?"
	"No, they'll meet us at Mila's along with everyone else."
	"You know something, not one day goes by that I don't feel as though 
I am starting to love you more and more, if that's at all possible."
	"Oh, sweetheart, I'm so happy I stayed in Swans Crossing. It's so 
good to be raising our children in the house I grew up in and living in a 
town we all love so much with all of our old friends. And it's especially 
good to be right here, right now, in your arms, Garret Booth. I love you."
	"I love you, too, Sydney Booth."

	Sydney woke up with a start. "What a wonderful dream!" she thought. 
"I was living here in my hometown with all my friends, married and madly in 
love with Garret, and with beautiful children of my own. It all felt so 
right. For the first time since mother died, I felt truly happy." But Sydney 
knew that that happy dream must be forgotten. She knew she had to tell 
everyone about James. As she walked over to her vanity table and picked up 
her ring, which she just hadn't felt like putting back on since her talk 
with Garret, she decided outloud, "Tomorrow at this little party I'm going 
to have to tell everyone about James. It's time they know." And yet still, 
she couldn't help but basking in the warmth of her dream of Garret. She 
couldn't help but consider giving him a second chance.

		    Copyright: Michelle Rutherfurd, 1999

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