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                         Swans Crossing: the Reunion	
		          Chapter 4: Possibilities
		           By Michelle Rutherfurd

	Jimmy woke up with a splitting headache and sore back at the Tool 
'n Die. He had fallen asleep working on Sydney's butler's new hobby, a 
motorcycle. Rock music played softly from the radio. His hungry stomach 
grumbled. 
	Looking around, all he could see were things that reminded him of 
Callie. Though it had been two years since Callie and her father suddenly 
disappeared from town, leaving only a rushed goodbye note, Jimmy's heart 
still longed to hold her again. He remembered the last night he was with 
her. 
	They were outside the Swans Club after a swim, on their way back to 
the Tool 'n Die. They decided to walk rather than ride, so they could talk. 
When they came to a stream at the side of the road, they sat down for a few 
minutes. It was there, by the moonlight, that Jimmy offered Callie Walker a 
rose, then a ring, and along with it, his heart. 
	Then, the next day when he hurried to her house, or submarine 
rather, to take her out to breakfast and talk about a wedding date, he 
found the sub completley empty and Callie and her father no where in sight. 
It was then that he spotted the note on the bare floor. He had it memorized: 
"Jimmy, I'm so sorry, but when I told my dad, he got all upset and said we 
were leaving Swans Crossing. I'm so sorry, but I have to go. I'll try to 
call or at least write when I get wherever we're going. Goodbye, Jimmy. I 
love you. Callie." 
	He had gone through every emotion thinkable: saddness, anger, 
longing... If only he could find her! About a year ago he hired a private 
investigator, but whenever he thought he had found her, he would find 
another empty motel room, another deserted apartment. "Her father sure is 
making an effort to keep us apart," he thought. "And it's working. It has 
for almost two years exactly."
	Thorouly tired of all these depressing thoughts, he decided to drag 
himself to Swans for a quik breakfast before going home to clean up. He 
needed to get out. He needed to clear his mind and find a way to find her. 
But mostly, he needed some food.
			*	*	*	*	*
	"Hey, Saja! What's up?" Owen called out as he entered the Swans 
Club.
	"Not much, friend. How about you? How is your new album coming 
along?"
	"Oh, it's great. Sandy wrote this great song and we gave it try 
yesterday and it sounded awesome! This album is sure to bring us some fame. 
And some more money!"
	"Well, I'm glad to see you're doing so well. Just remember, money 
can't bring happiness."
	"Not necessarily true. So anyways, I was thinking you and I and 
Sandy and my date could all eat out tonight. What'd you say?"
	"Sounds great. Who is your date?" he asked slyly.
	"Well, she's not my date yet. I still sorta have to ask her."
	"Well, who is it you had in mind?"
	Trying to answer, Owen gave his friend a sheepish look. "Well, 
you're probably gonna laugh, but I thought since she's back in town and all 
she might enjoy it so..."
	"Still madly in love with Mila, huh?"
	"Oh man, it's one obsession I'll never kick! I have all her movies; 
I've watched them so many times I have them all memorised!"
	"Yes, friend, you've got it bad. I pity your lack of self control."
	"I guess we can't all be as lucky as you. Sandy's a great catch, 
man."
	"I know it. But lately she has seemed a little distracted. Like 
she's thinking of someone else. Maybe I'm just being paranoid."
	"I haven't noticed her acting any differently. If anything, she's 
been extra sweet lately."
	"Hmph. That's something." Secretly, a bad thought was entering his 
mind. Sandy always used to have a big crush on Owen, since they were little. 
Could it be her old feelings were returning? Well, even so, it would do no 
good. Owen didn't feel the same for her. He was in love with Mila.
	"Yeah," Owen was saying, "Sandy's been a dream lately." He had a 
far away look in his eyes, one that sort of scared Saja. 
	"Well let me ask you this. What is her new song about?"
	Owen snapped back to reality. "Oh, it's about a girl and her life 
long crush finally working things out."
			*	*	*	*	*
	"Neil, I'm telling you, there is nothing wrong with her smile!"
	"But I hated the way she kept biting her lip when she smiled," Neil 
replied, referring to his date from the night before. "Things just weren't 
working out. I'm gonna tell her I don't think we should see each other 
anymore."
	"Ya know, Neil, if ya don't stop complaining about any and every 
small, tenney-wenney, little fault in the girls you date, you're never 
gonna get a girl and be as happy as Glory and I are."
	"Speaking of happiness, it's great that Nancy showed up last night, 
isn't it? And she looked great! She looked, stunning... just...wow!"
	"Neil Atwater, I detect a crush!"
	"What?! On Nacy Robbins? That's insane!!"
	"Guess what, loverboy: love's a crazy thing!"
			*	*	*	*	*
	Glory hung up the phone and sighed.
	"Thanks for letting me use your phone, Sydney."
	"No problem. What was that all about anyways?"
	"Oh, I was just talking to this 'Missing Person' company that I 
hired to look for Callie. I thought it'd be a great surprise for Jimmy if 
she happened to be at the wedding."
	"And?"
	"Well, the guy I was talking to seemed to have spotted her father 
so I thought this was our big break. But the man who talked to Mr. Walker 
found out that Callie had moved out a few weeks ago. She just left her 
father, just like that. He said Mr. Walker seemed heartbroken. He wasn't 
even sure where she had gone to. Looks like we're back where we started."
	Nancy was fast asleep in the guest bedroom and Mila and Sandy had 
left moments ago. Now Sydney walked over to where her friend sat at the 
dining room table with a glass of orange juice and stared at Glory with an 
exstatic expression on her face.
	"Are you kidding?" Sydney cried enthusiastically. "That's great!"
	"How is that great, Sydney? We have no idea where Callie could be!"
	"Duh, Glory! Think about it: she left Swans Crossing two years ago 
and left behind her great life, her great future husband. When she finally 
got the chance to get away from her controlling, overprotective father, 
where do you think she's gonna go? Back to her old, happy life! I bet she's 
right here in Swans Crossing! Or at least on her way here."
	"Yeah, but if she was so happy here, don't you think she'd call or 
write or something? We haven't heard anything from her since she left. 
Wouldn't she contact Jimmy, at the very least?"
	"Maybe her father kept her from doing that. I say we go out and 
look for her today. Walk around town a bit, check in all the local hotels 
and see if they have reservations for Callie Walker. Maybe she's already 
here, just kinda afraid to face all her old friends."
	"That doesn't seem right. Why would she be afraid to face all the 
people she loved? What, like she had some big secret or something?"
	"Trust me, it can happen." Sydney seemed to get a far away look in 
her eyes as she thoguht about Garrett. "So anyways, let's go get ready to 
find Callie Walker. It's time to put an end to Swans Crossing's other manic 
depressive's problems."
			*	*	*	*	*
	"Good morning, ladies," Garrett called out to Sandy and Mila 
outside that same morning. "Still not too old for sleepovers, I see."
	"Of course not!" Mila answered. 
	"Well, may I ask if I happened to be the topic of your conversation 
at any point?"
	"Yeah, we were talking about pompous jerks, and your name came up 
quite a bit," Sanyd replied.
	"Ha ha, very fun. I meant something positive. Particularly from 
Sydney, maybe? I think things between us may heat up again."
	"Yeah right, Garrett. I doubt her fiance would like that very 
much."
	Garrett stared at Mila for a second, speechless. "You're kidding, 
right?"
	"No, I saw her take off that ice berg of an engagement ring last 
night when we got to her house. I'm surprised I didn't notice it over 
dinner. I figured you guys all did, though. I thought she had already told 
you before I got there. She did tell you, didn't she?"
	"No," Garrett answered, an icy look in his eyes.
	"Oh shit," Sandy muttered under her breath. 
	"Well, I mean I could be wrong. It may not necessarily be an 
engagement ring, ya know. And maybe I didn't see anything at all. It was 
just my imagination. And I'm sure I'm wrong because Sydney wouldn't keep 
that from us."
	"Of course she would. She's Sydney Rutlegde, world's best liar," he 
replied, more angry than both girls had ever seen him before. 
	"Well, Garrett, we gotta run," Sandy said quikly, pulling a 
stuttering Mila away by the arm. 
	As he wathced them leave, he thought back to his high school days. 
All that time, he'd always had a thing for Sydney. Because of her, he 
convinced his father to let him finish high school here, in Swans Crossing. 
Even when he was with Mila, or any other short flings, he always had a 
thing for Sydney, whether he wanted to admit it or not. Now, he wanted so 
much to be with her. He longed for them to be together again. And now, it 
could never happen. Not if she was engaged to be married.
	Just then, Sydney herself came out her front door with Glory close 
behind.
	"Hey Sydney!" he called out. "Come here a sec, we gotta talk," he 
said as she walked over to where he was standing by the street. 
	"What is it, Garrett?" she asked.
	"Sydney, no more lies, no more games, no more pretending. Are you 
engaged?"

			Copyright Michelle Rutherfurd 1999

If anyone has any questions, comments, or ideas, please e-mail me at 
glitter495@aol.com. I'd love to hear from you! Thanks for reading!! :-)