And so we come to the end. Thank you all so much for joining me on this fun little journey. Enjoy!

Standard disclaimer applies: Anything you recognize belongs to JE

Chapter 9

Helen Plum hung up the phone after saying goodbye to Emily Bartolli. Emily had called to boast of her daughter Sarah's engagement. Helen had offered congratulations to the happy couple and spent a few more minutes listening to some 'Burg gossip. There was a rumor going around that Stephanie and Joe had broken up for good, and Emily was fishing to try to get confirmation. Since Helen hadn't spoken to Stephanie in a few days, she honestly said she hadn't heard a thing about any breakup and got off the phone as quickly as possible.

It occurred to her that she hadn't heard from her mother in several days, either. Of course, her mother was probably too busy to call, now that she was shacking up with some old geezer Helen thought with a shudder. She dialed Stephanie's cell phone first, but it went straight to voicemail. She left a message asking her daughter to call and inviting her to come for dinner that night.

Next she dialed her mother's cell phone, but that too went directly to voicemail. How strange, thought Helen. Leaving another message, she invited Edna and Bernard to dinner the following evening. She didn't want the distraction of her mother while she grilled Stephanie on the rumors about her and Joe.

It wasn't until she was going out to the market to get a chicken to roast for dinner that Helen thought to check her cell phone for messages. She saw that she had two text messages, one from her mother and one from her daughter. Both appeared to be pictures. Curious, she opened the picture from her mother first. It was a picture of her mother in an off-white dress that was much too young for her, holding a bunch of flowers and standing beside a casually dressed older gentleman and a man dressed to look like Elvis Presley. Then Helen noticed the Just Married banner over the threesome. Oh, dear God, Helen thought, crossing herself automatically.

Next she opened the text from her daughter. It was Stephanie in a floor length white gown facing a man in a black suit. The man was dark complected with an impressive physique. His dark hair hung straight, and Helen could tell instantly that it was not Joe Morelli. She looked closer and realized it was that bounty hunter. Carlos, she thought. She refused to call the man Ranger. Carlos and Stephanie were holding hands, looking deeply into each other's eyes. They were standing in front of a man who appeared to be reading from the slim folder he was holding. Behind them was a beautiful fountain and, behind the fountain, was a magnificent building that reminded Helen of a palace or something. It really was a stunning picture.

Then Helen noticed something written at the bottom of the picture. She grabbed the reading glasses she had come to rely on more and more and put them on so she could read the caption. Looking down at the picture one more time, Helen could finally make out the words.

"Just Married! Bellagio, Las Vegas NV."