Alex Hudson sat in his favorite place, on top of the old picnic table under the palms, enjoying the sunset. Delilah sat dutifully beside him as they watched pelicans diving for their dinner. He rubbed her head.

"You miss them, don't you girl?" he asked, but the dog didn't seem particularly upset.

"Stop projecting," said a voice from behind. Pilar joined him on the table.

He felt his heart stop. Pilar was wearing only skimpy lavender bikini bottoms. She knew how that color set off her perfectly tanned, olive skin, and delighted in his reaction to her nearly-naked body. He stripped off his t-shirt.

"Don't want to be overdressed, " he joked. She smiled, serenely, and rubbed his arm. Pilar had once told him she was glad they had known each other since they were children.

"I loved watching you mature and grow into the man you are now," she had said.

Of course, Alex could say the same thing about Pilar. Sure, she wasn't voluptuous like some of the girls they had grown up with; her curves were decidedly more modest. But he loved that about her. She reminded him of a young, scaled-down Penelope Cruz, with flawless skin, long, wavy, blue-black hair and dark, bottomless eyes. And she had these full lips that drove him mad.

The heat of the day had begun to fade, with a soft, cool, offshore breeze. He watched it ripple through Pilar's hair and sighed.

"You're right. I miss them," he said.

His parents had stayed in New York after the party, and found an apartment. When the news that his mother was alive began to spread, she got offers from all over the place. One was a chance to audition for a new major film, based on the best-selling novel, Pinnacles of Rage, by her old friend Geoff Fielding. He said she would be perfect for the part of Mona, the burnt-out singer who gets involved in an assassination attempt on a police chief. As for his father, he and Tom Foley were working on songs for a musical together. It was based on a book that Alex had recommended to Finn: The Quetzal Forest, by V.J. Gorey. It was the memoir of a surfer from Long Island in the 1960's, who dealt drugs to finance his surfing around the world and disappeared in Central America, only to emerge ten years later with a book describing the weird, hallucinogenic surfing culture on Costa Rica's Pacific coast. To Alex, his parents were transformed. He'd always known that they'd loved each other, but now that he knew their full story, he sometimes had trouble getting his mind around it all, or what they actually meant to each other.

"Can you imagine Mom being a nobody that everyone made fun of?" he asked Pilar after they got home in Costa Rica to spend the rest of the summer before their senior year.

Pilar shook her head. She was just in shock at being able to live with Alex- her parents had divorced and moved back to the States, but had heartily approved of her relationship. "And then driving all the way from New York to Costa Rica alone," she said, "because she wanted to prove to your dad that they both would do anything for each other? My God, Alex, their story is..I dunno...epic."

He looked at her and nodded. They had spent the last two weeks surfing and making love. The breeze picked up and tousled his hair, and Pilar's heart skipped a beat, too. Alex looked like a tanned, darker version of his father. Tall and muscled from surfing and wood work, she just loved looking at him. And he was smart, and kind, and studying physics so he could better understand how to improve a boat's performance. She was studying design, and when they graduated and got married, Alex and Pilar were going to take over his dad's boat-building business. They both had good heads for figures, so the bookkeeping wouldn't be a problem- Finn had often complained about having to hire an accountant just to do the day-to-day stuff. He had been overjoyed when, as young teenagers, Alex and Pilar pitched in to do that for him.

And she loved how Alex changed his name to honor them.

"They deserve this happiness," Alex said.

Pilar nodded, and moved closer so they could lean into each other in silence. She couldn't help but be thankful for the struggles Alex's parents had endured- she would never have met Alex if it hadn't been for that. And she was grateful for how they had accepted her so completely.

"We're going to be like them," Alex said suddenly.

"Mmm hmm," Pilar murmured.

"Completely devoted." Then he smiled. "One time I asked Mom why she and Dad never seemed to fight."

Pilar smiled, dreamily. "What did she say?"

"She said they used to have silly fights and disagreements in high school, and she even described herself as being high maintenance." Pilar giggled. "But after four years of mourning him and then getting this second chance, Mom said she vowed never to let any disagreement end up in a fight." Pilar heard a catch in his throat. "She said two people who would do anything for each other could find a way not to fight. That was the least they could do." Then he turned and kissed her. "I will do anything for you," he said, as she caught her breath.

Delilah, knowing what was coming next, hoped there was some food in her bowl.

A/N: And so it ends. I want to thank all of my readers for their support over the years. Writing these fics has helped my writing immensely, and I will be busy for some time in the real world, and will probably not reenter the world of fanfiction. I wish you all the best and hope you find other authors you enjoy. Shanti.