The following is a work of fiction. Any similarities are entirely fortuitous. The story may contain profanity and references to gay sex. If such content offends you please leave now. The author retains all rights to the story. Do not copy or use without written authority from the author. Write Bobby at brokendreamboi@yahoo.com with your comments.

Fly Me Away Epilogue

Danny

The professor let our class out twenty minutes early. Everyone was clearly relieved given that it only took seconds for them to exit the room. I was among the few stragglers left behind, but I didn't care. Biology is my favorite subject anyways-not my best mind you, and Professor Adams is an amazing instructor. But in all honesty I'm pretty sure meteorology is the field I'm going into. I have a meteorology class on Tuesdays and Thursdays-my now two favorite days of the week. It's been a month or so since classes started and I'm already top of the class. The professor is kind of a sarcastic, funny guy, but that makes the class all the more interesting. He really knows what he's talking about.

Months after my surgery, I'm doing so much better. I haven't had one migraine at all, not even a small headache. The gash in the back of my head is disappearing underneath the growth of my hair that was previously shaved off. There weren't any complications with the gash itself either. And it's healing pretty well, too. The doctor warned of possible infection before I left the hospital, but thankfully nothing like that happened. But if my post-surgery good news wasn't enough, guess what else? My stutter is almost entirely gone! I'm not sure if it was because of the surgery or because of Brandon... Maybe both? I don't know and honestly I don't even care as long as it's gone! Things have been so much easier without that stupid stutter!

Brandon's court date was anything but boring. James was playing the innocent victim until our lawyer brought in the evidence-me. I had to testify against him and let loose everything he's ever done to me. So, successfully, mom and dad were able to countersue James for all that he's put me through. He was also expelled from the school district. Unfortunately, Brandon didn't have as good luck as we did. He had to spend fourteen days in jail, which was a much better sentence than the previous ninety, though. The two of us went to Disneyland the day after he was released. It was nice to be held by him again. The time he was in jail was the second worst of my life. About a week after that, he called Mrs. Dern and scheduled his first therapy session. He's been going every week since. He's been doing so much better with everything. We're always so happy.

He never patched things up with his dad. Although, I didn't really expect him to since at their last encounter I overheard him say that then would be the last time that he would formally see him. Speaking of Brandon, though, he received his GED around the same time I graduated, which apparently was a very lucky break. He even got a job at a sporting goods store in one of the many shopping plazas in the city.

I'm waiting for my boyfriend to pick me up from the college campus. Let me tell you that being here was the biggest struggle ever. Not because I couldn't afford to come here or because the college wouldn't let me in, but because Brandon wouldn't let me. You see, I'm currently attending a community college. My previous plans had intended me to attend the university here in the city because of all the scholarships I was able to receive, and my GPA didn't hurt either. Brandon and I fought relentlessly about it. He wanted me to continue my goals at the university instead of the community college he was going to. He argued that a community college wasn't a place for someone as intelligent as me, but you can bet I had an argument for that one. Going to a community college doesn't make me or anyone else less smart. What it does make us is very economical. Community college is extremely cheaper than starting at a university. So, for much less money I get the same two-year degree I would get at a much more expensive educational institute. Plus, I get to transfer after I get my Associates Degree anyways. As long as I get an education, I don't care where it comes from and neither should anyone else. Saving money is a very smart thing to do, and I don't regret going to community college at all. Don't let anyone ever tell you that a community college doesn't count or isn't as good as a university. You're going to school and getting an education to better yourself so don't let anyone put you down because of that.

A pair of hands started at my shoulders and ran down my chest. If it wasn't for the person's scent, I would've freaked out. "Where did you come from?"

Brandon sat next to me, our legs touching. "From the counseling office. I finally declared my major."

I got super excited when he said that. Brandon's been undecided on his major for quite a while now. I mean, some people take way longer to figure it out, but he's definitely not like other people. He does things in a fast paced manner. "Which is?"

"I've decided to go with law enforcement," Brandon smiled. "Seems like a lot of fun to me."

The first thing that came into mind when he said law enforcement was danger. "Isn't being a cop kind of dangerous?"

"It can be, but I'm gonna start with something small first. I'm going to apply to be a parking enforcement officer just to get a feel for things. It's not very similar, but it'll do," Brandon rubbed my knee, trying to reassure me I'm sure. "There's nothing to worry about, though."

"So, what, you just take law classes then?"

"Yeah, that's pretty much it besides my general ed," He stood up and pulled me up with him. "Let's go home and eat. I'm starving!"

My life has become so much more interesting since I've met Brandon. It seems like such a long time ago that we met. Lately we've been talking about future plans like our first house, our first car, and so on. It's a lot of fun thinking about that stuff, but it's never a good idea to focus too heavily on the future when the present is just as great.

Brandon

"So, how've you been, Brandon?" Mrs. Dern questioned.

I went over everything in my head before I answered. "I've been doing pretty good lately. Everything is just so perfect right now."

"How so?"

"Well, Danny's stutter is consistently disappearing. School is actually going great. I'm growing more and more attached to Carmen and Alan every day. My life is just perfect right now. I love it."

Mrs. Dern went to her filing cabinet and pulled out a folder. She looked through the contents merrily, seeming pleased with something. "Brandon, I think it's time that we discontinue your therapy sessions. Over the past few weeks, you have been coming in here and sitting for an hour explaining to me how everything is perfect. What good am I anymore?"

"Well... Um..." I really didn't know what to say. I've honestly never even thought about discontinuing our therapy sessions. Seeing her once a week is my one hour of release. Although, over the past few weeks I haven't really had much to say. She helped me with my parents within the first month, and anything else after that was irrelevant compared to the parent thing. "What if I need you again?"

"Then I'm just a phone call away. We can start sessions again immediately. But if you don't feel you're ready to stop, then we do not have to. I'm just making a suggestion based on my observations."

I feel like... Well, I feel good. Mrs. Dern is right in that I've been feeling perfect for quite a while now. "No, I think I can move on."

"Well, good," she smiled. "So, anything you want to say in your last hour?"

"Yeah, um, I finally decided on a major, or career, I guess." Mrs. Dern raised her eyebrows. "I want to get into law enforcement."

"Wow, that's a strong field to get into. What made you decide to go into law?"

"I'm not really sure. Being a cop just seems kind of fun and stuff."

Mrs. Dern and I talked more about my career choice. She had some funny stories about encounters with police. Leave it up to her to have a story for just about everything. When I left her office, my eyes actually watered a little bit. I'll see her again I'm sure, but I've spent months with her. It's just hard to say goodbye to someone I've become so close to. Then again, it's not like I'm saying goodbye forever. The two of us can still have lunch together like we have a few times before. Mrs. Dern is just such an amazing person.

Carmen and Alan had dinner ready and waiting for me upon my arrival home. They've been super supportive ever since the incidents a few months ago. They're the parents I never had and it's great. Danny's doing so much better with everything. Not hearing his stutter is still kind of weird to me. He's got a great voice, though, and hearing him say I love you without a long L or broken Y is pretty nice.

"So, how was everyone's day?" Carmen started.

Danny spoke up first. "Mine was pretty good. Found out I got an A on my biology lab."

"Great, Danny," Alan said happily. "We've got several deals about to close at the office. One of them is going to be bringing in $300,000. I was thinking about buying a new car."

"What kind?" I questioned. I love cars so this was pretty exciting to me.

"I was thinking about a Mercedes maybe,"

I saw out of the corner of my eye Danny give Reno a piece of his chicken. I just smiled and shook my head. "Ooh, what class?" I responded back to Alan.

"E,"

"AMG?"

"Yeah!" Alan and I busted up laughing. Carmen just chuckled and shook her head at us. And Danny seemed completely lost.

The three of us ate and talked about anything that came to mind. This is my family now. I have a caring mother and an amazing father. Then there's my boyfriend. What can I really say about him? No words can really do Danny any justice. I guess no words are needed then. Danny is just a one of a kind person and I'm so grateful that I ever met him. Our life together is just starting. There will be bumps in the road just as there will be lots of smooth sailing. Danny and I stared into each other's eyes from across the table. A thought crossed my mind. No matter what happens down the road, our love will remain constant and true.

I hope you all enjoyed Fly Me Away. From all the e-mails I've received over the story, I'd say it was a huge hit. There are a couple of things I'd like to let you all in on. First of all back in April 2009, my mom went in for surgery. Can you guess what she had? Yep. She had Chiari malformation. Her surgery went without a hitch and those terrible migraines were defeated. That, however, was the good news. The bad news was that the incision where the doctors went into her skull became infected. She had to take a whole new set of pills and had to continually visit her doctor to make sure everything was okay. Now almost a year post-surgery, she is almost completely fine. She complains that she still feels numb in her head, and she has lost a lot of weight. Other than that she is perfectly okay.

Secondly, when you hear the word cookie you immediately think of chocolate chip or sugar or even an Oreo. Does macaroon immediately come to mind? I doubt it. I chose to include macaroons as a salute to Desperate Housewives. In an episode, one of the wives was noted as smelling like coconut, to which she responded she had just finished baking macaroons. When I first wrote about it, I had never tried macaroons. A few weeks ago I bought a package of them and WOW. They are now my favorite cookie! Anyways, I was on the phone with my best friend Manny one night and I realized the macaroons are a metaphor for Danny. Macaroons aren't your normal type of cookie. Like I said earlier, you hear cookie and I'm sure macaroon doesn't come immediately to mind. Danny is an unordinary person-in a good way. See the similarity? I thought it was a very interesting metaphor that was made in complete accident.

Before writing this story, I didn't have much knowledge about the mentally handicapped. I was one of those people unaware that there are different types of handicap ranging from mild to severe. I was one of those people swayed by the media that mentally handicapped people meant a person was completely incapable of living a normal life. I hope that I gave you all a new light on the subject, though.

I had a lot of fun writing about Danny and Brandon. This story was one of the easiest for me to write-go figure. My next story, Mad World, will take a little bit of time to be posted. I want to write the first few chapters just as I did with this one. Also, I'm going to be experimenting a little bit. Mad World is going to be a kind of mystery story. I've never done something like that so bear with me.

Feel free to write me at my e-mail address that's given atop every chapter. Also feel free to join my group: Shades of Wisteria. Oh, and don't forget about my instant messaging screen names! And don't worry about bugging me because you WON'T.

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