Written by J.P.G.

{Jacob Finding His Way is partly fictional. As I am writing this story, I am above the age of 21. If you want a story with lots of sex, look elsewhere. This is a love story. Seeing, as it is a love story, sex is in there, but it is in realistic balance in the characters' lives.

Any similarity to any real events, names, or life events is purely accidental. If you are underage, (according to your state laws, a minor), if this literature is offensive to you or to anyone around your viewing area, or it is illegal for you to view such content where you are reading it, stop reading the story.

This story cannot be distributed in any way, shape or form without the author's expressed written consent.}

Story Written by: J.P.G.

Edited By: "Daddy" Rick

Love Scene By: "Daddy" Rick

I have a home page for you to see what the characters look like or what the places look like. If you want to walk in their shoes, please go to: http://jacobmillertex.com/

Chapter 93

At the same time as the thoughts of the first wedding between his parents was crossing Jacob's mind, it was crossing his father's mind as well. He wanted to wake up on this special day with the woman he is going to spend the rest of his life with at his side, but that didn't happen. By tradition, he spent the night in another room so he didn't wake up and see his wife to be on their wedding day because it is considered bad luck. They needed all the luck they could get because the last time they took this journey together, it ended very quickly.

Even though all those thoughts and many more were running through Andy Sr.'s head, he really wanted to see his bride, but he wasn't going to do it because he didn't want to jinx anything. So he settled for the next best thing, hearing her voice. There was nothing that said if they talked before the wedding it would bring bad luck to them.

Getting up from the bed, Andy walked to the door and slowly opened it. Peeking out, he scanned the hallway to see if the coast was clear. Just when he thought it was all clear, the elevator door opened and he heard his sons and father-in-law's voice. Not wanting to be caught, he quickly closed his door and waited until he didn't hear their voices anymore.

When he didn't hear their voices anymore, he leaned his head as close to the door as possible to make sure there was no one out there. Once he was almost one hundred percent certain there wasn't anyone in the hallway, he slowly cracked his door open. Peeking out, he once again scanned up and down the hallway, and didn't see anyone. He waited almost a minute before slowly opening his door enough to slip out into the hallway.

Feeling like a teenager again, he slowly went across the hallway, every few steps stopping to rescan it. As he got up to his and Gloria's room, he lightly tapped on the door. When he didn't get an answer, he tapped a little harder. The second time he got a response. He first heard Gloria's voice come through the door and then the door knob turning. Quickly he grabbed the door knob just in time before Gloria had completely turned it.

"Please do not open the door!" Andy Sr. whispered. "We can't see each other, but we can talk to each other and I just couldn't start the day without at least hearing your voice. If you aren't the first person I see in the morning, I have a bad day." Gloria whispered yes. "But again that can't happen, so I will settle for just hearing that sweet voice of yours."

"I never thought the day would come again that I couldn't start the day without waking up with you at my side." Gloria whispered as she slid against the door to the floor. "I couldn't sleep at all without you in bed next to me last night. So I got up and walked around. Eventually I found myself downstairs in the storage rooms where our stuff is stored, at least the stuff that didn't get burned up in the fire." She chuckled, causing Andy to chuckle.

"I did some digging and I found the pictures of our first wedding." Gloria started to slide out pictures under the door for Andy to look at. "Were we ever that young?" Andy nodded his head as he looked at the first picture. "Were we?" Andy snapped out of it and realized that Gloria wasn't in front of him, so she didn't see his answer.

"To tell you the truth, I sometimes wonder that too. So much has happened from that wonderful day," tapping the picture of him and her outside the church posing after they took their vows just minutes before. "Gloria today is the fifth greatest day of my life. You letting me back into yours and the kids' lives again and agreeing to marry me for the second time after what happened the first time; I swear that I will never take you or the kids for granted again."

"When you asked me, `yes' was only one answer I could have given you. Even after what happened the first time, I wouldn't have given any other answer because I still loved you all through the years. My love might have gotten weaker as the time passed but got stronger than it ever was when we got back together!"

Hearing that, put even a bigger smile on Andy Sr.'s face than he already had. The day the fog lifted from his drug use he thought he'd lost any chance he had being part of his family's lives. However, he wasn't willing to give up. He went to work on himself and do whatever it took to become the guy he once was. The guy the love of his life fell in love with and wanted.

"Wait a minute. It just dawned on me you had said the fifth greatest day of your life. I would think this day would have ranked top two, not top five. Tell me what the other three greatest days of your life were and don't you dare say the day you got your driver's license."

That got a chuckle from Andy. "No way could I ever put the day I got my driver's license up there with this day and the first time we got married." Even though Andy couldn't see it, Gloria had a confused look on her face. "No, I would never make something that small on equal footing as today or the first time we got married. The other three days were the days you gave me three sons. Those are equal to today and the first time we got married. Not one of them is better or more important than the other."

Gloria loved her husband-to-be's answer. The confused look quickly disappeared and was replaced with joy in her eyes. Right then and there she was one hundred and one percent sure that the guy she had fallen in love with so many years ago is the guy sitting on the other side of the door talking about their past. He's the man she knows she will spend the rest of her days on this earth with. It's now going to be as she wanted and hoped it to be when they first met on that cold autumn day almost two decades ago.

For close to twenty minutes Andy Sr. and Gloria sat there on the opposite sides of the door, on the floor talking about their first wedding. The more they talked about it, the more they remembered about that day, the days leading up to it and the days after. They couldn't believe that back then they were able to put the wedding together in such a short period of time and with pretty much not a penny to their names. Almost all of it was paid for by Al and he is doing so again this time.

Down the hall from the two love birds, two of Jacob's close personal friends, more family in Jacob's eyes, were packing their bags to leave. David had gotten home really late the night before so he couldn't have the discussion with Jacob that he wanted to. However, he caught Jacob when he was heading back to his room to get ready for the wedding.

At first Jacob was hesitant to have the conversation, but David wore him down. Jacob knew exactly where the conversation was going and he didn't want anything to dampen his high spirits. Already he had a business meeting before his parent's wedding and that was more than enough seriousness for him for this day. Now, here he is going into a conversation that is surely going to dampen his spirits because he was losing two of his brothers.

David tried to be tactful about the news he is about to break, but no matter how he said it, he knew it was going to hurt Jacob. So he just blurted it out figuring it was best to rip the bandage off fast than to slowly take it off, but he saw quickly how wrong he was. Jacob's expression went from joyful to sorrow faster than David ever seen happen with him.

He prepared for the worst, but when Jacob finally spoke, David was surprised. Jacob didn't yell and go off the deep end. He was supportive and giving. Asking if he or Tom needed anything, and when he said no, Jacob did what he knew his friend was going to do. He made it clear if they needed anything, no matter what it was, call him first no matter what time of day it was. He didn't want Tom or him to have to wait for anything no matter what it was.

When the conversation came to an end and they were parting ways, David felt good with how it all came out. As he walked across the hall to his room, he questioned himself why he was so afraid of the conversation he just had. Then right when he got to his room, about to put in his key card, he heard Jacob calling out for him. A shiver went up and down his spine as he turned around and started his way back to Jacob.

Not knowing what was it that Jacob wanted to talk to him about was the worst, not the fact that Jacob needed to talk to him still. So when he reached Jacob, he nervously looked up at his friend and saw a smile on his friends face putting his worries to rest. However, when Jacob opened his mouth and asked what he was going to ask it made David nervous again. He knew the answer he was going to give his friend was going to hurt him even more.

Jacob knew there was no way Tom was going to make it to his parent's wedding, but he had hoped David would at least make an appearance. With everything that has been going on in his life in the last week, the wedding had slipped David's mind. He knew he was going to disappoint Jacob again.

Just like before, David answered the question without sugar coating it and prepared for the worst. But once again, Jacob surprised him, which as he thought about it the more he realized that he shouldn't have been surprised at all. Jacob's reaction and the way he took the news was characteristically Jacob.

However, towards the end of their conversation, Jacob's voice started to crack and he could see Jacob was hurt. Jacob tried to hide it, but David was able to see it, making him feel even worse that he was not going to be able to attend Jacob's parent's wedding. Wanting so bad to change his answer, David knew he couldn't. His heart was torn and wanted to be in two places, but knew he could only be in one and that is at Tom's side. He knew Jacob understood and would never hold it against him for making that decision.

After talking for a few more minutes, Jacob wished David good luck. As they were parting ways, Jacob reminded David one last time that if he or Tom needed anything to not hesitate to call and ask. It will get done. That put David at ease just a little as he shook his friend's hand and started making his way back to his room. This time they got his key card in and made into his room without Jacob calling him back.

A few rooms down, Nancy was packing her bags. She was moving out of the hotel into what used to be Alex and Matt's old house. Even though she was going to the wedding, she knew she wasn't going to have another chance to pack before her son came to pick her up the next morning. So many good things have happened finally. She has a reason to celebrate and wanted to stay for the entire wedding and reception.

For too many years she has been in a living nightmare since her two youngest were kidnapped and her oldest was raped and killed on a night she will never forget. Yes after the dust had settled, the life insurance paid out on her daughter's death, but to her it was blood money. Money that she hasn't spent a penny of because she knows she would feel guilty doing so.

Now that she has her two youngest kids back in her life, she has a reason to celebrate. Celebrate is what she plans to do through the night, or at least as long as they will let her. When the night is over, she will get back to her life and try and make it with her son and daughter in it. That's going to be hard to do since she has been out of their lives during the most critical years that they need their parents.

Even after coming to terms with that, Nancy wants to try and be part of her son and daughter's lives. Ralph looks like he is willing to give her a chance and a prime example of that is him taking back his birth name all on his own without any pushing. Her daughter on the other hand, she has no idea since she hasn't had a chance to even see her, more so talk to her. Not wanting to be rude to those that did raise her kids, she is letting them call the shots for now. However that will change if she sees them unwilling to work out a compromise with her dealing with the kids.

A comprise that lets her not only see her daughter, but speak with her and spend time with her. She knows at first she won't be able to spend time with her daughter all alone, but she hopes in time that will happen. After all her daughter doesn't know her at all since she was taken as a baby and the only parents she knows are those that brought her up.

Still after coming to terms with all that, Nancy feels there is a good chance she will have her family back. She is so confident in that happening that she is uprooting her life and moving it to a city she has never been to and where she barely knows anyone. Even with all that, she still wants to do it and that is why she took Jacob up on his offer when he offered her the house.

She will see the house for the first time when she moves in tomorrow, but she trusts Jacob and knows that he won't steer her wrong. Even if the house is in bad shape, she will invest the money to make it livable. If the furniture in the house is old and bad, she has her own furniture back home she will replace it with, which she probably will do over time even if the furniture is in good shape. She believes it isn't your home until you have your own things in it.

Noise and yelling in the hallway brought Nancy out of her thoughts and interrupted her packing. As the yelling got louder and closer to her room, she walked out to the hallway to see what was going on. At first she couldn't make heads or tails out of what was going on until she saw it was Jeremy who was making all the noise with his little fluffy dog.

Knowing that it took a certain way to talk to Jeremy to settle him down, Nancy didn't attempt to even try. She didn't know what to say or how to say it. The only thing she did know for sure is that if she said the wrong thing or said it in the wrong way; she could make it a lot worse. So she stood back and waited for one of the others that knew how to calm Jeremy down to come out and do it, which wasn't long.

Jacob was the first to walk out of his room, and then his grandfather and the others one by one after that. However, it was Jacob and Al who walked over to Jeremy while the others stood back and just watched like Nancy was doing. They all thought it was going to take a miracle to calm down Jeremy, but they were soon proven wrong.

Al and Jacob walked up to Jeremy slowly, talking in soothing tones. When they saw in Jeremy's eyes that he felt threatened and cornered, they took a couple of steps back, letting Jeremy walk towards them. It took a couple of minutes of going back and forth, but they finally did get Jeremy to let them touch him and guide him back to his room.

Once they got Jeremy back into his room, Jacob ran out and picked up Cupid and took her into the room closing the door behind him. Handing Cupid over to Jeremy, Jacob walked over to his closet and pulled out his suit while Al sat down next to his grandson and started talking to him. Between the two of them, they were able to not only calm Jeremy down, but keep him calm as they got him dressed for the wedding.

Once they were done, they both took a couple steps back and whistled at Jeremy. `You're going to get all the girls tonight!' Jacob signed as he walked up to his older brother and brushed the dust off of the shoulder of his jacket. `You look dashing in your suit. Mom might actually rethink about marrying dad and marry you instead.' That got Jeremy to blush.

`I'm her son, there is no way she will marry me,' Jeremy signed as he walked to his desk and sat down. He pulled out his coloring books and started to color as if his brother and grandfather had left the room already. Neither of them did for a while. They wanted to make sure Jeremy was okay before they did, but once they did, they stood outside the door for a few more minutes listening in until they were sure Jeremy was okay.

As they were heading back to their separate rooms, the elevator door opened and Ralph stepped out. Al barely recognized the young man walking towards him and Jacob. The last time he saw him was when he was a young kid, before the kidnapping. Even though he was made aware of the finding of Ralph and his sister, he didn't believe it until now. It took him actually seeing the young man to believe that miracles actually do happen after years pass.

"Jacob I don't know if anyone has told yet, but you did here finding Ralph and his sister, and then reuniting both of them with their mother was unbelievable. I thought there was nothing else you could do to make me even more proud than I already am of you, but you go and do something like this." Al surprised Jacob as he pulled him into a hug. "I know this has been said so many times, about so many that it has no meaning any more, but with you it's the truth. I have the greatest grandson anyone could have."

Turning his face, Jacob tried to hide that he was turning all shades of red. No matter how hard his grandson tried to hide that he was embarrassed, Al saw it. He didn't want to embarrass him anymore, so he let him go and headed to his room, passing Ralph along the way. Stealing a couple of glances of him, Al still couldn't believe the young man was found alive.

As Jacob was about to disappeared into his room, Ralph called out to him. He turned around and walked back into the hallway and met his old friend halfway. They did their normal `hellos' and `how's everything going' with each other, but that didn't take much time. The way Ralph was trying to prolong it, Jacob knew he had something serious on his mind that he needed to off load.

"You know I'm always here for you my friend so please relax and tell me what is on your mind that you need to talk about." Jacob placed his arm around Ralph's neck and guided him to the side of the hallway.

Taking a deep breath, Ralph was able to relax a little. "Well I'm kind of stuck about what to do." Jacob looked at his friend with a questioning look on his face. "I know, I know it looks like I have gotten everything I have asked for, but there is still one thing that hasn't been decided. The main reason that it hasn't is because it is up to me to make that decision."

Jacob was more confused now than when Ralph started. As Ralph went on talking about his parents giving him permission to go back to high school but it still didn't clear things up for Jacob. He was still confused and wondered if his friend was ready to even talk about what has him all up in arms. Then he did, he finally got to the real reason of the conversation.

"Jake I don't know what to do as far as who I should live with!" Ralph walked a few feet away from Jacob and gently kicked the wall a couple of times before continuing. "I mean in that room a few doors down..." Ralph pointed to his mother's room, "is my mother and logically my sister and I should be with her. But we have to think about my parents who had no idea that we were kidnapped. So why should they lose a son and daughter?"

No one said a word. Ralph was waiting for a reply from Jacob but Jacob thought that Ralph was taking another breath and was going to start talking again. It took a few seconds for him to realize that his friend was waiting for some advice, something Jacob wasn't ready or able to give on this issue. He knows his oldest friend is stuck between a rock and hard place.

"Look there is nothing anyone can really tell you my friend that you don't already know. Plus this is a decision you are going to have to make on your own. Yes, gather as much information and suggestions as possible before doing so, but at the end of the day it is going to be you sitting in the corner of your room making this decision. When you do, you can't allow anyone's advice be the main weighing factor of your decision. You will have to make it from here..." Jacob walked over to Ralph and patted his friend on the chest.

"Everything you have said as far as your mother and your parents is right. None of them deserve what is going on with them right now. Just like you, your sisters and your mother didn't deserve what happened to you guys those many years ago. It is going to be a hard decision. I think you should split your time equally between the two houses and in time make the decision where you are going to live. It is still too fresh for all of you guys to be making any a major decisions, not when it comes down to decisions that are so life changing."

Jacob and Ralph slid down the wall and sat next to each other on the floor. "Look, who knows you might not even like living with Nancy. You have grown up in a different environment than you probably would have grown up in if this didn't happen to all of you. You need to first make sure you can live happily with Nancy, with her rules and not throw a tantrum when things don't go your way."

Ralph turned and looked at Jacob with a look that meant only one thing. Jacob was out of his mind on what he just said. Jacob has seen the look Ralph had on his face to many other times to mistaken it for anything else. He knew he had to clear up what he just said right now or he will never get another chance to and it might harm their friendship.

"I'm not saying you will do that, but I have read articles about others that were in your position and when the kids return back home to their real parents, they get their way by throwing in their real parent's faces tantrums of being kidnapped. That isn't right, but again it isn't either side's fault. Every person involved in this is a victim and needs to find even ground without throwing into each other's faces the hell each of you has been through in this ordeal."

When Jacob glanced over at Ralph he saw in his friend's facial expression that he was close on clearing this up. "Look again I shouldn't been giving advice on this at all. It feels like I'm sticking my foot in my mouth here. So let me leave it at this; give your adopted parents and your mother equal chances here. If you do that, not demanding things that you know you shouldn't, the right answer to the question you just asked me will come to you in time. In that time, not only listen to your head, but again listen to your heart. If you do that, you won't go wrong."

What seemed like eternity, but not even a minute, there was dead silence. Neither of the boys said a word to each other. They just sat there next to each other staring at the wall on the other side of the hall. They were thinking the same thing, but not voicing their thoughts out loud. The first to break the silence was Ralph.

"Believe it or not, you did actually clear a lot of things up. I know this subject is as hard on you as it is on me and my family, but yet you have been the only one that I could talk to who will lay it all out there not holding back any punches. The few others I have talked to have given me advice that they think I want to hear, but not you. So thank you!

I'm going to do what you suggest and that is divide my time between the two homes I have now. How that is going to work, I don't know just now, but I will get it to work. While doing that I'm going to get to know my mother all over again. Hopefully when I do, my heart and mind will give me the answer that I have been seeking since I have decided to let my mother into my life."

Nothing else needed to be said. The conversation ended there as the boys got up from the floor, hugged each other and went their own directions. Ralph made it to his mother's room, but Jacob didn't. Just as he reached his door, Joey called out for him. Grinding his teeth, Jacob started to regret ever stepping out of his room, but he didn't show it. He turned around with a smile on his face and met Joey halfway between the elevator and his room.

"I know you are probably busy with the wedding and all, but I was wondering if the rumor I have been hearing is true that your brother Andy is going to be in uniform for the wedding." Jacob nodded his head. "Well if he is going to be in uniform I was thinking that maybe those of us that are in ROTC should wear our uniforms as well. That will surely show the respect to your mother and father for their service to this country on their wedding day."

Jacob couldn't believe that someone else wants to wear something other than what they all agreed to wear. He knows that after the wedding, the guys were not ever going to wear the clothes he had bought them several days ago ever again, but he thought they would have at least have no objection wearing it on this day. Heck he knows it is asking a lot since he and his grandfather are pretty much the only two in the family here in El Paso who wear cowboy boots.

"Joey I understand where you are coming from with respect and all on wearing uniform for my parents wedding since they served in the military, but we are not actually in the military. My brother Andy is and that is why I said yes! Put that aside for a moment, he is my father's best man and is in the military. So he should wear his dress blues."

"I see where you are coming from, but we are in a program that is preparing us to go into the military if we chose to do so. Once a week we are required to wear the army uniform just like your brother. The only difference between your brother and us is that right now we are playing soldier and he is actually being a soldier. Other than that, we do the same thing that your brother does in the military and sometimes a little more once we get up there in rank."

Jacob thought of the merit of Joey's reasoning and couldn't find any fault in it. He wanted to show as much respect to his parents as possible, but at the same time he didn't want to leave the others out there wearing something they were not real comfortable wearing in the first place. If they see that he is not wearing it, they might jump into a regular suit, which he wouldn't mind. It's just that they would not match and that is what Jacob was going for.

"Look Joey I have already had a long morning, and we aren't even in middle of it. You are asking to change something literally at the last minute that might send things into a tail spin. The others are going to wear the same thing and I think we should as well. It not only lets us all match, but we all agreed."

Jacob saw that Joey was going to object and he stopped him. "Okay, I understand where you are coming as far as wearing the uniform, but..." Jacob looked up to the roof as he was counting with his fingers. "Okay out of the groomsmen only two of us aren't in either ROTC or the army and that is Tony and Dewayne. You, Matt, Alex, and I are in ROTC and my brother in the military. So I don't think it..." Joey interrupted Jacob and reminded him about Caleb.

"Oh yeah I am sorry, then there will be three of us not able to wear a uniform. I still don't think it would look too bad if we go that direction." Jacob walked over to Joey and put his hands on Joey's shoulder. "If you get the other guys that are in ROTC to agree to wear their uniforms and the others to stay with the suits that I bought them, then I won't object. In fact, I will wear mine my ROTC uniform as well. But if one says no, things stay as is. Deal?"

Joey flashed his pearly white teeth at Jacob as he smiled and nodded his head. The two guys shook hands and agreed that the decision had to be made in thirty minutes before parting ways. This time Jacob made it into his room before anyone else stopped him. He breathed a sigh of relief, but the relief was short. Dewayne had just hung up the phone Gloria, who wanted to see Jacob.

At first, Jacob wasn't going to go, but that thought only lasted a few seconds. He walked over to his boyfriend, kissed him before heading over to his mother's room. All he wanted to do before the wedding was be with Dewayne, but now he has come to the realization that wasn't going to happen. If lucky, he will get thirty minutes alone with his gorgeous boyfriend, but that's all.

Before Jacob was able to knock twice, he heard his mother invite him in. Wondering what was going on and a little worried, Jacob slowly opened the door and peaked in. He saw his mother putting on her makeup. She saw Jacob peaking his head in by his reflection in the mirror. Putting down the eye brush, she turned around and waved her son in.

Not knowing why his mother needed to talk to him, he was a little nervous as he sat down in one of the chairs by the bed. By Gloria not saying anything right away, made Jacob even more nervous than he already was. The only thing that kept him sane was the look on his mother's face. It wasn't her angry, upset or you did something wrong look. It was more like the look she always has when she needed to talk with you about something serious, which Jacob had enough serious talks that he could handle for the day, but now he can tell there is one more coming.

Gloria got up from her seat and made her way over to the bed, sitting down next to her son. "I know how you are about schedules and this conversation is cutting it down to the wire, but I need to have it." Gloria moved even closer to her son, taking his hand into hers. "Everyone knows that your father and I are here on this day because of you and your grandfather, and I thank you for everything you've done as I did my father earlier this morning.

But that isn't the main reason I wanting you to come down to my room and talk with me. Even though it's something that needed to be said, it isn't the main reason." With Gloria clarifying that her thanks wasn't the main reason for her calling her son, she got Jacob even more nervous. "I know we haven't had a real heart to heart talk in a very long time. In fact, I don't remember the last time we have had a heart to heart talk. All the past talks we have had in the recent years have either been about coming over to Angel Corp. or the family, but nothing about us." Gloria waved her finger back and forth from her and Jacob.

"I had a prepared speech for this moment, but I forgotten most of it." Gloria looked away from her son for a few seconds before continuing. "So I'm just going to speak from my heart and I hope that's enough. There is so much I need to say and there really isn't enough time in my life time to say it because of all the stuff that has happened between us."

Jacob tried to jump in and comfort his mother, but she didn't let him. She asked him polity to let her continue without him interrupting her to which he agreed. Even though he knew where she was heading with this conversation and he wanted to not put his mother on the spot, he respected her request and let her continue.

"There are things I have done in my life that I'm not proud of. From when I was your age, even younger, to how I dealt with each problem when they came up with you kids. There is no excuse for how I handled things, and I won't make any. For the things I did wrong, I will acknowledge them and try and make amends for them, which will, at best, be hard to do.

Andy and Marie I have already had a conversation, but I left you for last because you of all my kids I have done the most wrong to." Jacob once again tried to stop his mother, but she continued, ignoring him. "I was wrong about many things with you, but primarily I really handled you coming out to me the worst. One of the many things that will haunt me for the rest of my life because no matter what I do to make amends for it won't fix it.

When you needed me to be there to support you, to lean on, I wasn't there for you. Instead I was the totally opposite of what a parent should be when one of their kids needs them the most. I look back to that time and I kick myself for everything I did. There were so many chances I had to correct my backwoods thinking and accept you as the gift that you are. Instead, I just kept pushing you away each time. I wish I could go back in time and hit that woman that turned her back on her son and tell her to wake the fuck up, but I know that isn't possible.

I have to live with those memories, but I also would like to let you know how wrong I was. You are my son and you should have been treated that way no matter what. There is no doubt in my mind that God doesn't make mistakes and because of that and the fact God makes each of us in his own image. You are not a sinner or abomination as our generation was taught.

Again I will not make excuses for what I have done in the past, but those were our teachings. Teachings that we were taught in our classrooms to church and sometimes at home. Teachings that I tried to carrying on with you kids. The same teachings I rebelled against with my father when I got married the first time with your father, but I was trying to push those teachings onto you guys. I knew they were wrong and I was wrong trying to make you guys live by them."

Gloria stopped and turned her head. She didn't want her son to see the tears that were starting to form in her eyes. As she thought about the things she had done, it broke her heart. Never in her wildest dreams did she ever think when she held her kids in her arms when they were first born that things were going to turn out the way they did. She never thought that she would become the thing she hated, her mother and push her mother's teachings onto her kids. The very teachings that she hated and eventually rebelled against!

"I told myself that I wasn't going to make excuses for what I did, and that is almost the very first thing I told you when you sat down." Gloria turned to look her son in the eyes again. "So I won't. I just wanted to give you a little background on why I thought the way I did and did what I did, but that didn't give me permission to do what I did, and more so since I rebelled against it. The teachings I was taught by my mother and marrying in your own race taught by my father were wrong back then, and more so now today.

The way I took the news about who you love Jake was wrong. The way I treated you when you told me was wrong. The way I treated Joey and almost treated Dewayne was wrong. Demanding what I demanded of you then was wrong. No one can change who they are as much as no one could change the color of their skin. Asking you to be what you couldn't be showed how dumb I was and how backward I was. There is not an excuse in the book that will make all what I had done right in anyone's eyes.

If your grandpa was able to accept you for who you are the minute he found out, I should have been able to do the same. Even your father accepted who you are the minute he found out, and he of all people I would have thought would have had a problem with it. But it was neither him nor your grandfather that had a problem with it; it was me, and for that I'm sorry. I am so sorry! Nothing I can do or say will ever make up for the wrong I did. But I can promise you this, for the rest of my life I will make sure I will never hurt you the way I did. I will cherish you as my son, as I do Andy Jr. and Jeremy and Marie as my daughter. No matter what happens from now on. "

This time Gloria didn't turn away from Jacob as the tears started to roll down her face. Seeing his mother crying for the first time in his life, Jake started to get all choked up. It didn't take long for him to not be able to keep back the tears as well. Soon after the tears started to roll down Gloria's cheeks, tears started to roll down Jacob's as well.

"Jake I was so wrong with what I did. I have a second chance with Davey, but I still hope I have a chance with you. Even though I wasn't there when you needed me the most, I'm here now with complete understanding of what I'm facing. God didn't make a mistake with you, Dewayne, Joey and all the rest of you. He made you in his image; one of his children."

Gloria voice kept cracking as she continued with a steady stream of tears now rolling down her face. "You love Dewayne, Dewayne loves you, with a love so strong that nothing can break it apart. It's the love that many straight couples wish they could have, but will probably never get to taste of a quarter of what you two have. Love is love as long as it is true love and that is what you two have and what you and Joey had, which I wish I was able to be part of. But I missed out of that because I refused to see the truth and stop trying to change you.

That will change now with you and Dewayne and I hope it's not too late." Gloria looked at her son and got an immediate answer, no it wasn't too late. She really wished she handled her son coming out to her better than she did, but she didn't. That is something she knows she will have to live with, but hopefully not be haunted by. And one of the ways she hopes not to be haunted by her past is by making it up with her son with his soul mate.

"Mom I knew the response you gave me when I told you about my sexuality wasn't you. I didn't know who it was, but I knew it wasn't you. It took you by surprise and I always held out hope that you would come around. No matter what others said or suggested me to do, I held out hope and look forward to where we are now. Little by little we got here, and now I know things can only get better between us. Hopefully our relationship can get back to where it was before."

Jacob fell to his knees and pulled his mother into a hug. Both of them couldn't hold back their cries. Not only tears were visible on both of them, but they were both crying out loud, unlike moments ago their cries were hidden. For the first time in a long time these two connected like they did before Jacob came out to his mother about being gay. Yes they saw each other since, worked with each other, but they never showed emotion and the mother and son love they had between them just a couple of years ago. Now it looked like that love is coming back.

Neither of them wanted to break the hug, but they both knew the clock was ticking. Not only the big moment was approaching fast, but due to their conversation, Gloria would have to redo her makeup all over again. The tears had smeared her eye shadow and blush to the point that she would have to wash her face and begin from scratch. Still knowing that, she didn't want to let her son go. She feared once they let each other go and parted ways, things will go back to the way they were before they had the talk they just had.

Little did she know that Jacob was feeling the same thing. He didn't want to let go of his mother for the same reasons. He saw her makeup and knew that she was going to have to redo it, but didn't care. Every second he could squeeze out of this is one more second he didn't have to fear the mother that has been around the last couple years would return. Simply put, the mother he grew up with was back and didn't want her to go again.

So the both of them held onto each other with dear life! It took a knock on the door to bring them back to reality, but not immediately. Both of them were engulfed in their thoughts and savoring every second that they didn't hear the knocking at first. It took Al yelling out Gloria's name for both of them to snap out of their moment and come back to the present.

Jacob reluctantly unwrapped his arms around his mother, as his mother answered her father that she would be right there. They both quickly got up, wiped their faces the best as they could, but Gloria's makeup was too far gone. Jacob had blood shot eyes, but he could play that off. Gloria went running to her bathroom, while Jacob made his way to the door to let his grandfather in.

When Al saw Jacob's eyes, he knew he interrupted something, but what he couldn't put his finger on it. He wanted to know, but decided that is was best not to ask figuring whatever was going on in here wasn't his business unless either his daughter or grandson let him know. Until then, he will stay out of it since his day was already packed with enough things that are driving him crazy. There is no way he could put one more thing on his platter.

Just as Jacob closed his mother's door with his grandfather behind it, Joey was stepping out of the elevator. He called out for Jacob, which Jacob at first didn't want to deal with anything more, but he remembered the deal he had made Joey before he had his chat with his mother. He turned around, wiping his face once more to see what progress his former boyfriend has made.

The conversation was short. Joey informed Jacob that the other guys that are in ROTC to agree to wear their uniforms. He further informed his friend that those that were not in ROTC agreed to still wear the suits that Jacob had bought them for the wedding. Hearing that, Jacob knew he had work to do since his uniform wasn't ready to be worn. Thanking Joey, he quickly made his way back to his room to get his Class A's ready for him to wear.

As he was pulling out his uniform from the closet he was struck with an idea. Looking over to Dewayne, he told him what he was thinking to see what Dewayne had thought about the idea. At first his boyfriend didn't say a word. He just sat there looking straight ahead, mulling over the idea before he gave Jacob his thoughts on it.

"I think that is an excellent idea, but you need to see if your father agrees with you. If he doesn't, I still think all of you guys wearing your uniforms are really showing your respect and honor to your parents for the service they did for their country."

Jacob smiled at his boyfriend as he walked up to him, gave him a quick kiss before heading out once again on another errand. Making his way as quickly to his father's room, Jacob almost stumbled halfway due to his legs still being in bandages. Catching himself, he made it to his father's room, without falling, knocked and went in without waiting for his father to answer.

"Dad, dad where are you?" Jacob called out when he didn't see his father in the bedroom. No sooner after he called out for his father, his father answered walking out of the bathroom. "There you are, I thought that maybe you had already gone down to the church." Out of breath, and his legs hurting, Jacob sat down in one of the chairs in his father's room. "I just came up with a great idea, but it is really your decision if it's going to happen."

Jacob explained the changes in the dressing that had happened in the last hour before letting his father into what he was thinking. He figured without that information, his dad would say no to his idea because he would think it was ridiculous. At face value, it sounds ridiculous and might not work if a couple of things weren't there, but Jacob held out hope that they were.

Meanwhile, while Jacob and his father put Jacob's plan into action, down at the church things were running a lot smoother than they were at the hotel. Jacob's security arrived first before the Governor's and started securing the area. Shortly after they arrived, the Governor's security arrived. At first, Jackson thought when he saw Mr. Benedict and Carter they were going to have a turf war, but it was far from it.

Benedict took care of the security around the area, such as placing the sharp shooters and other security on top of rooftops. Carter and his security details reported to Jackson, which was the surprising part. Jackson thought once they arrived, they were going to take over. Not only they didn't, they all are reporting to him, which his wasn't ready for.

After picking his jaw off from the ground, Jackson quickly gathered himself and started to give instructions on where they were weak. Jonathan didn't object to one request that Jackson made as far as his men. He backed up Jackson's orders and his men headed off to the areas where Jackson needed them the most, leaving the two heads of security standing there.

They took that opportunity to go over the days of events from the church to the hotel where they were going to use one of the ball rooms. Even though Jackson, Jonathan and Benedict had been going back and forth for over a week on how the security was going to be done, these two men were talking as if they were just making the plans for the very first time. It wasn't that they were changing anything of the plans. They just wanted to make sure they were all on the same page, crossing their T's and dotting their I's so to speak.

As the security was getting into place, guests started to arrive. Thanks to the E.P.P.D., who has blocked off every possible road to the hotel, those that were invited to the wedding were the only ones getting through. Even the press was held back five blocks from the church, where the road blocks were put up, well most of the press. The press that took to the air was harder to keep back.

The three heads of security knew that was going to be a problem, so they planned for it. The press that had helicopters in the air would be able to get video and pictures of the wedding party, their guests, the Governor's family and the Governor as they approached in their vehicle's, but once they arrived, they were hidden under the rented canopy. They might get most of the guests as they walk from the parking lot to the church. And they might even get a few seconds of those exiting under the canopy but that is all they were going to get.

On top of the protection they put on the ground, they put several helicopters in the air, besides a several more sharp shooters on rooftops than they normally do. If they saw anything that was out of place, the helicopters would make the first attempt to escort the helicopter in question out of the area. If the pilot of the helicopter refused to listen or turned off his radio, the sharp shooters would be given the go ahead to shoot those in the helicopter that presented a threat.

With security getting into place without a hiccup, Benedict, Jonathan and Jackson felt a little of the pressure off of their shoulders. Until the last dance was done and everyone had made it safely to their homes, they knew they were not going to be able to rest. Anything could happen, and particularly if they let their guards down, something they were not going to do.

Back at the hotel, most of the wedding party, their dates and the guests that were going with them were ready and making their way to the lobby. The only ones missing were pretty much the immediate family of the wedding party. They knew they were not going to see Gloria until she was walking down the aisle, but the rest they thought they were going to see.

Just as they were about to give up and start their way to the parking lot, several of the immediate family stepped out of the elevator. Shortly after the first bunch stepped out, the rest of the family, except for Al, Andy Sr., Gloria, Andy Jr., Jeremy, Jacob Toney and Davey, joined them in the lobby. The immediate family had already left to the church.

A few new faces were in the group that the El Paso group never seen before. They were Jacob's family from Wyoming, New Mexico and Brownsville, Texas. Aunt Marie was joined with her sisters Susan, Fran, Michelle, Rena and their husbands. Also among them were the cousins of Jacob's, Damien, Ana and her husband and brother and the list goes on.

Every family member from immediate family to first, second and third cousins, aunts and other relatives came in. Many hadn't seen each other for years. It took an event like this wedding to get the family together, which they all figured it was better than the other event that brings families back together; funerals. Each and every one of them prefers this kind of event over the latter.

As they all gathered together in a big group, no one said a word. They just looked at each other in silence for a few minutes. All those that were in the ROTC program were nicely pressed in their dress A's, except for the girls. They were in beautiful matching dresses. The guys that were part of the wedding party, but not in the military or in ROTC were dressed in the matching suits that Jacob had bought them just a couple days before.

Those that were not aware of the changes from matching suits to uniforms thought it was nice to see the young boys showing the kind of respect they were for Jacob's parents. Many kids today wouldn't put on a uniform that was required of them to wear one day out of the week that more than likely made them the punch line of many jokes.

Many of Jacob's family went up to Jacob's friends and thanked them for honoring Gloria and Andy Sr. the way they were. After the small talk and introductions were done, Susan, the eldest of Gloria's sisters took charge, which was needed because no one seemed to want to get control of the room and get things moving along.

Susan slapped her hands together to get everyone's attention. "Okay guys time is clicking away and we need to get to the church. Gloria, Andy and their kids have already left, so we need to get going ourselves if we don't want to miss the wedding. So I suggest we get into our cars and follow those that know where the church is located." The only thing Susan got from what she just said was blank expressions. "Come on, I thought Jacob surrounded himself with very smart friends. All I see standing before me is lost little boys and girls."

That lit a fire under all of Jacob's friends. None of them liked to be called dumb or little boys and girls. Joey gathered his group and headed out to the vans. Following him was Alex, Matt and the rest of Jacob's group from his house, plus Jacob's family. Once they were in their vehicles, Alex and Matt took the lead, with Jacob's family in the middle and Joey bringing up the rear.

It took them longer than they expected to get to the church. The freeway was barely reopening after being closed to let the Governor and his convoy go through. That didn't sit well for anyone in Jacob's group, but they took the knock and kept going. Once they exited off the freeway and hit the road block, they were escorted to the church by Jacob's security, getting them there with time to spare.

They made their way into the church and down the aisle to the front pews. Since the church was separated in half by family, Gloria's family sat on the left and Andy Sr.'s family sat on the right, followed by the friends of each family. The only friend that didn't get seated behind the family was the Governor and his family. He sat in the front row with the immediate family.

Those that were in the wedding party took their spots, leaving a few empty places reserved for Andy Jr., Jeremy, Jacob, Marie and Davey. They hadn't made it to the front yet, which got a lot of people nervous. As it got closer for the wedding to begin, the more the guests looked around for the missing members of the wedding party and the groom.

With a little over five minutes remaining, a young altar boy made his way down the aisle almost running. He whispered something to those that were standing at the front before turning around and making his way back down the aisle, followed by those in the wedding party he talked to.

Not even a minute after the wedding party disappeared out of view the El Paso High School Saber Guard walked out in two perfect columns. When they reached the halfway point, they stopped, turned to face each other. The guests took that as the queue that the wedding was about to start. Slowly they all stood up and faced the aisle.

The bells of the church started to ring as the last guest stood up. Just as the bells stopped, a door in the front of the church, on the right hand side opened with Jacob stepping out dressed in his dress greens. No one in Jacob's family had ever seen him in his ROTC uniform and they were surprised how he looked in it. From head to toe, he was nicely pressed. His hair was cut and combed to his shoes that were shined to a point that they were two mirrors.

It was so quiet in the church that you could hear the traffic outside on Mesa Street. So when the commander of the Saber Guard gave the order of attention, to say it startled a few of the guests is an understatement. The Saber Guard came to attention with a loud banging as their heels of their boots hit each other. In seconds the Saber Guard was at attention and the commander gave the order to present arms bringing out the sabers all at once and then hitting each other.

No sooner than the sabers clashed with each other the music started to play. The guests looked around to see where the music was coming from. It didn't take them long to find a live band in the upper balcony of the church. Then their attention was once again diverted to Jacob who started to sing `Making Memories of Us' as the wedding party started to enter into the nave of the church.

I'm gonna be here for you baby

I'll be a man of my word

Speak the language in a voice that you have never heard

I wanna sleep with you forever

And I wanna die in your arms

In a cabin by a meadow where the wild bees swarm

The first to start walking down the aisle were two young altar boys that were carrying crosses. They were followed by Andy Sr. and Andy Jr. both dressed in their Army class A's. Andy Sr. wasn't going to originally wear his uniform, but Jacob was the one that thought of the idea and at the last minute got it all together for him to wear and he didn't look too bad in. He actually still fit in his original class A's, surprising everyone.

And I'm gonna love you like nobody loves you

And I'll earn your trust making memories of us

They were followed by Dewayne, Jeremy and Davey, Alex, Matt and finally Joey and Caleb. As soon as the groomsmen made it pass the savor guards, Marie, the maid of honor made her way down the aisle with her Aunt Marie at her side. They were followed by Susan and Fran, Rena and Franseca, and finally Ana and Helen. All of the bridesmaids were dressed in blue dresses that came down to the floor in a small circle. The groomsmen were either in class A's or the suits that were picked up a few days before the wedding.

I wanna honor your mother

I wanna learn from your pa

I wanna steal your attention like a bad outlaw

I wanna stand out in a crowd for you

A man among men

I wanna make your world better than it's ever been

As the wedding party made their way to the front and took their places, all eyes turned to the back of the church as Father Gomez started to make his way down aisle. Right behind him was Gloria and Al, arm and arm. Gloria was dressed in a wedding gown not too different from the wedding gown she had worn her first time down the aisle. There were a few differences, the color was an off white and the train was a bit longer than her first gown. The veil covered her face so that you could barely see it, but other than that, it was the same. She looked as beautiful in that gown as she did the first one she wore. Everyone was at awe on how beautiful she looked.

And I'm gonna love you like nobody loves you

And I'll earn your trust making memories of us

We'll follow the rainbow

Wherever the four winds blow

And there'll be a new day

Comin' your way

I'm gonna be here for you from now on

This you know somehow

You've been stretched to the limits but it's alright now

And I'm gonna make you a promise

If there's life after this

I'm gonna be there to meet you with a warm, wet kiss

As Gloria made it to the front of the aisle, her eyes were not dry and almost everyone in church had misty eyes or straight out tears rolling down their cheeks. The music her son was singing, all could feel he was singing straight from his heart, about the way the two, Gloria and Andy, fell in love again. It is very rare that happens, and when it does, there's a wedding like the one that is happening now. There isn't a doubt in anyone's mind that these two are truly in love and this love is going to last to the very end.

And I'm gonna love you like nobody loves you

And I'll earn your trust making memories of us

I'm gonna love you like nobody loves you

And I'll win your trust making memories of us

As the music was coming to an end, Jacob made his way to rejoin his family. No one in the church knew what to do. They didn't know to clap or just stand there and wait for the ceremony to continue. At the end, they all stood standing up and watched as the younger version of Andy Sr. took his spot between Jeremy and Dewayne, and couldn't be more proud of him than they ever have been at that moment with the way he wasn't afraid to show his emotions through each verse of the song he had just sung.

There were a couple moments of silence as Father Gomez settled in and opened his missal. "Ladies and gentlemen, family and friends of Andy Hernandez Sr. and Gloria Hernandez we are brought here today on this beautiful Spring Saturday morning to witness these to rejoin in Holy Matrimony. They once took this path many years ago together, but were unable to stay on the same path. However, through time and darkness, they found their way back to each other. They didn't let life beat them down or take the love they have for each other away. Proof that what God puts together, no man can ever separate.

They made a life together over two decades ago. In less than four years after taking this walk and taking the vows they are about to take again, they created a family of three sons in a loving home and a life that they thought they were always going to enjoy together. However, in that time, they ran into hardships. Together they tried to work through the darkest days, but as too many marriages today, they were unable to and separated.

It is no surprise to anyone in this church that knew these two back then, their love never died. They were able to find each other once again and rekindle what they once had. After seeing that their love was not only still there, but even stronger, they decided to come before not only family and friends, but God Almighty and retake their vows of Holy Matrimony."

Father Gomez looked down at Andy Sr. and Gloria. "I am honored to have been chosen to reunite you two in the house of God. It brings hope not only to my heart, but everyone else's that love can conquer everything that gets thrown at it. If you truly love the person that you take the sacred vows with, nothing will ever separate you no matter what adversity comes."

Looking up and towards Al, Father Gomez continued to speak. "Who here gives this woman to be married to this man?" Al stood and walked over to his daughter and said I do. As soon as he said it, he handed his daughter's hand over to Andy Sr. and then walked back to his seat. Father Gomez looked directly at Andy Sr.

"Do you, Andy Hernandez Senior, take this woman, Gloria M. Serna, to be your wife, in accordance to God's Holy Decree? Do you promise to be a loving and loyal husband? To cherish and keep her in sickness and health? And, forsaking all others, to be faithful only to her as long as you both shall live?" Andy Sr. answered `I do.'

At this point those that had just misty eyes with the way the wedding started had broken down to tears rolling down their cheeks. Some of the guests were straight out crying as they witnessed the two retaking their vows. They already were choked up by how Father Gomez described the love these two have, and now them actually taking the vows put the water works in full speed.

"Do you, Gloria M. Serna, take this man, Andy Hernandez Senior, to be your husband, in accordance to God's Holy Decree? Do you promise to be a loving and loyal wife? To cherish and keep him in sickness and health? And, forsaking all others, to be faithful only to him as long as you both shall live?" Gloria looked over to Andy Sr. and smiled, but he couldn't see it, but he didn't have to see to know she was smiling. She said the words that he feared that she might have second thoughts saying a second time after rethinking of the past, `I do.'

Hearing those words, many other guests who were thinking the same thing in the church were able to breathe in a sigh of relief. These two retook their vows in front of friends, family and most importantly in the house of God. There is no doubt many of those that came into town days before thinking the marriage was going to end as it did before were wrong. Not this time with the love they are showing they have for each other. It's the same as before, but it is different. They can't put their finger on it, but the love is different which will keep them together.

Quietly Father Gomez cleared his throat before speaking the magical words that everyone was waiting to hear. "I know pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride!"

Andy Sr. and Gloria turned at the same time to face each other. Before Gloria was able to stop, Andy Sr. reached out and gently took a hold of the corners of the veil and slowly started to lift it up. As more and more of Gloria's face into view, Andy couldn't believe how lucky he was to have gotten back the love of his life. He stood there a few moments looking into the eyes of the beauty that stood before him. Making a promise to the Lord that he will never again hurt the woman he would lay down his life for. He thanked the Man above for the second chance he has been given as he leaned in to kiss his wife.

Gently he wrapped his right hand and arm around his wife as he leaned in and gently pulled her towards him. When their lips touched it was like fireworks going off in each of their bodies. They both felt like teenagers again at the end of their first date and kissing for the first time. At that moment it was confirmed to both of them that there would be no other in their lives they would ever be with. Today, they re-found their life partner.

As soon as they broke their kiss, they turned around to face their family and friends as Father Gomez presented them as Mr. and Mrs. Andy Hernandez, Senior. The church erupted into applause as everyone stood up. They kept applauding as the music started to play `Truly'. This time it wasn't Jacob who stood in front of the chapel and sang it was Brandon, Josh's brother.

I'll be your dream

I'll be your wish I'll be your fantasy

I'll be your hope I'll be your love

Be everything that you need

I'll love you more with every breath

The Saber Guard went back to attention and presented arms, creating the bridge for everyone to go under as the newly married couple started to make their way down the aisle towards the exit. They were followed by Father Gomez and the wedding party. Their family and friends stood there kept applauding as each of them passed them. The only time one of them stopped applauding was when they had to wipe the tears away that were rolling down their face.

Truly, madly, deeply do

I will be strong I will be faithful

'cause I'm counting on

A new beginning

A reason for living

A deeper meaning, yeah

The chorus stood up and began to sing, making it seem like the floor of the church was shaking with all of their voices coming down from the top balcony.

I want to stand with you on

a mountain

I want to bathe with you in the sea

I want to lay like this forever

Until the sky falls down on me

Hearing the sweet young voice of Brandon's surprised everyone because they thought if any of the Lopez boys were going to sing, it was going to be the famous one, Josh, not his younger brother. However, not even a minute into the song, they were stunned. The governor had two boys that could sing and sing really well. Brandon was a little different kind of singer than Josh, his voice was a lot lighter, but it was beautiful and right on key.

And when the stars are shining

brightly in the velvet sky,

I'll make a wish send it to heaven

Then make you want to cry

The tears of joy for all the

pleasure and the certainty

That we're surrounded by the

comfort and protection of

The highest powers

In lonely hours

The tears devour you

All eyes were on the wedding party as they made their way down the aisle. They were memorized by the young Lopez boy's voice, they were once again knocked off of their feet when the chorus stood up and started to sing. With their added voices, it felt like they were hearing angels singing in the house of the Lord.

Oh can you see it baby?

You don't have to close your eyes

'Cause it's standing right

before you

All that you need will surely come

I'll be your dream I'll be your wish

I'll be your fantasy

I'll be your hope I'll be your love

Be everything that you need

I'll love you more with every breath

Truly, madly, deeply do

I want to stand with you on a

mountain

I want to bathe with you in the sea

I want to live like this forever

Until the sky falls down on me

As the music was playing, Brandon rejoined his family and they started their way out of the church, followed by Jacob's direct family and then friends, grabbing rice as they reached the double doors. They divided into two columns when they reached the stairs leading into the church and waited for the newlyweds. A few minutes later, Andy Sr. and Gloria walked out of the church hand and hand as husband and wife for the second time in their lives.

As they made their way down the stairs, their family and friends tossed rice on them all the way down. When they finally got to the bottom of the stairs to their stretch limousine, they were covered in rice, but they didn't care. They turned around with big smiles on their faces, waving at their family and friends and then got into the limousine. As they slowly drove away, they stood up and out of the moon roof of the limousine they waved at those they came to see them tie the knot once again until they couldn't see them anymore.

TO BE CONTINUED...

WRITER'S CORNER:

{Welcome back one and all to another filled chapter of `Jacob Finding His Way'. This chapter was one of my hardest chapters to write in a while. Well really since chapter forty. That was the last chapter I have written that hit me really bad that had tears in my eyes as I wrote it. I know many of you after reading this chapter are wondering why I had tears in my eyes as I wrote it and it was hard for me to write it out, so let me tell you.

By now many of you know that I have recently lost my mother Gloria. At the beginning of this chapter I actually put up a real video of picture of my real mother and father when they first got married, so as you know that is a true fact in my life. When this chapter gets posted, it will be very close to almost four months since my mother passed, so it really hits home.

Many of you have given me suggestions to find my way through this point in my writing. Some said kill her off in the story as she passed in real life. Others of you said let her live in fiction. Since I cannot have her in real life, I have decided let her memory and life live on in fiction in my stories. Doing so, it was hard and at times I had to walk away from my desk to clear my head and get control of emotions before I continued. That is why this chapter was so hard for me to write. Although my mother is gone, and it is still fresh, she still will live on in my stories.

A lot happened and was touched on before the big moment. So I will go through each of them as quickly as I can because I know this chapter already is a lot longer than the chapters I have written most recently. For that I am really sorry, so let me get to the summation.

I will start with the talk between Andy Sr. and Gloria the morning of the wedding. The installed video is real pictures of my mother and father on their wedding day. I found them as I was going through my mother's photo albums recently and put them together in this video for my family and friends to see as tribute to her. I wanted to continue the tribute to her by sharing those photos with you my faithful readers. They were a very nice couple, only wish fiction came true.

Anyways I went off of where I was going. These two talked a while the morning of their wedding about their past. I'm sure they have had these talks already before, but their nerves had to be in full swing the day of their wedding. I'm glad they were able to talk about their first time.

I went from there to David and Nancy. David and Tom were touched on in the last chapter, but Nancy hasn't for a while, nor Ralph. David talked to Jacob and told him about the decision he and Tom made as far as Colorado. There shouldn't have been a surprise to anyone how Jacob reacted. In fact, there is no doubt in my mind once Jacob gets through the busy day he is in right now, he will turn his attention to Tom and David and do whatever he can to make sure they have everything they need going to Colorado, while there and coming back.

Now Nancy and Ralph what can I say about those two except there is a lot going on and more than the casual eye can see. First, Nancy is getting ready to move to Alex and Matt's old house. We found out that she has a little money out of life insurance of her oldest daughter. And we found out that Ralph is going to split his time between the two houses. I really hope things work out for both sides and that Nancy does eventually get to see her daughter, who she hasn't seen yet.

From what the wedding party was going to wear to Jeremy, the rest of Jacob's morning was really busy. He went from settling down his older brother, with help from his grandfather, to dealing with others that wanted to wear their uniforms rather than the newly purchased matching suits. If any of you have ever had a family member or a friend or knows someone that has someone like Jeremy, you know that a change in their routine sends them off the deep end. Jacob and Al handled it right and were able to get out of the situation without too much being destroyed.

The final conversation Jacob had before the wedding, or the second to the last, was with his mother. She sat down with him and apologized for the way she acted when he came out to her. She wished that she could redo that part of her life, but knows that she can't. So she did the next best thing. She promised her son that she will be the mother that she should have been when he came out to her and needed her to be in his corner. I wrote out this part to the true nature of my mother. She would have done what her fictional character did if it was in real life.

Finally the wedding! Wow, I mean really wow! I didn't think I had it in me to write it and more so the way I did. It came out pretty good, what do you guys think? From Jacob singing as his parents and the wedding party made their way in, to the ceremony and Brandon closing things off as far as the church part is concerned. This is a wedding for the books.

If you guys like the wedding so far, please tune in next chapter of this story and my other three stories because a lot more is going to happen. You barely have seen the top of the mountain. There is still the meal and then the evening events. Who is going to be the entertainment? It is going to be a country star, but who you will be surprised. And there is a lot more still to come in this plot before it is closed. So come on back and see what I have planned.

As always I can go on and on about the open plots in the story! If I do that, I can actually write several more chapters. So many plots can take a turn at any time. You might think it is going to go one way, but is lands up going another. Do not miss anything, or you will be kicking yourself for it. If I missed anything in my summation, my editor will hopefully go over it in his.

There is a so much to answer in the chapters to come. Stick around and keep reading the future chapters, and enjoy! Please email me and let me know how I am doing at jacobmillertex@aol.com, Thanks!}

EDITOR'S CORNER:

We all know the tradition that a groom cannot see his bride on the day of the wedding until she walks down the aisle. I've noted over the years that there's another tradition; the bride and groom find a way to at least communicate prior to the ceremony on the day of the wedding. Andy and Gloria were cute, almost like giddy teens having their talk with the door between them. I can sure see where Jacob gets his silver tongue with how Andy talked to Gloria and how he was able to deeply stir her heart.

Well, Tom and David's timing is sure lousy leaving for Colorado. David was torn not being able to attend the wedding and knew that Jacob would be disappointed. He was right, but both of them knew where the priorities are. What Tom and David are doing is the hard thing, but also the right thing. They need to get Tom into the rehab center, the sooner the better.

I'm glad that Jeremy's incident didn't go into a meltdown. That surely would have put a damper on the day. It's good that people that are around him yet not close to him know not to step in and try to manage a situation when he gets upset. I wonder about Jeremy's condition. It was rare back in the day to have someone with his symptoms. From what I can gather, Jeremy is autistic. I have three profoundly autistic grandsons and their nature is very similar to Jeremy's. If Jeremy's situation is autism, back then it was not widely known and there was no support or information about the syndrome. The Hernandez family and Alex do an incredible job managing the situation with Jeremy and, as I read it, Jeremy is generally a happy guy.

I was really touched by the conversation between Jacob and Gloria. There was so much that needed to be said for so long. Both were carrying emotional pain for a long time. Now that they have had this conversation, perhaps that pain will fade away totally and give them both peace of mind and heart. I had always harbored doubts that Gloria had truly seen the light but now I'm sure she has. The unconditional love a parent has for a child is powerful. Gloria's biases were so powerful that her maternal love was overshadowed. Now I'm convinced that the maternal love has won out and the biases have been banished.

As Jacob said, this wedding was one for the books! I once attended a full military wedding and Jacob nailed the scene perfectly. The Saber Guard sets an aura that has to be seen to be fully appreciated. I don't know what more I could add to the wedding scene past that. It's my sincere hope that Andy and Gloria do have a long and love filled life together. They both have gone through their respective hell in life and deserve to find complete and total happiness.

Until Next Time,

"Daddy" Rick