And this right here is an epilogue. It's the (insanely brief) part of the story that comes between the first story and the prologue of the next one (and yes there is a distinct possibility that there will be a next one. I'm sorry, I know I thought you'd be safe, but I value my sanity more than I value yours, and Ginny is the one who will sic the Kraken on me if I don't give her a sequel. So. Sequel is very possible)

In the meantime, here's a very quick wrap-up to a crazy-long adventure. Thank you all so much for your continued support, and I look forward to seeing you for the next one!

000

000

Ginny and I clamped down on our delight as the Governor turned on his heel, and Elizabeth reached up to kiss Will beneath the blazing midday sun. I tried to focus on the pair of them, wanting to see the kiss, but the more I tried, the hotter and brighter the sun got. I squinted and shielded my eyes as the light became more and more dazzling, until finally the heat, combined with my heavy dress and packed-in stomach got to be too much. Waves roared inside my head, my stomach rose in my throat and the sky came crashing down around me. My knees refused to hold me up and I fell forward to meet the ground.

As blackness rose up before me I thought it was funny, surely I ought to have hit the dirt by now. But no, I was falling, falling . . . and still I kept falling as the darkness swallowed me whole.

000

I woke with a sudden, violent start as the music struck up around us, the credits rolled and the lights came on. Ginny twitched beside me, and I instantly apologized for kicking her. She blinked at me, and it took me a second to realize that I was once again in my shorts and tank top, air conditioning was rushing over us both, and my hair was marvelously, miraculously smooth and orderly.

I felt more human than I had in . . . two hours?

Could it really have only been two hours since the movie started?

I must have looked as confused as I felt, because Ginny asked me, with some concern, if I was going to be sick or something. I told her I wasn't, but didn't say anything else as I bent to collect my purse. Honestly, I didn't know what to say. If Ginny wasn't going to start talking about us getting sucked through a movie screen, I certainly wasn't going to bring it up. Let her be the one to look crazy first, I decided, and perhaps she was thinking the same thing, because neither of us spoke on the way out to the car.

"It gets better the third time around," I offered at last, as we drove through the darkened streets toward home. Ginny made a sound that might have been assent, and might just have been acknowledgement. "Did you fall asleep too?" I asked at last, and she took longer to answer before finally, cautiously, she said that she thought she had.

"Gonna come with me to see the sequel?" I wondered, and this time, as she spoke, there was no hesitation at all.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world."

We talked about other things the rest of the way home.

000

000

Done!

Here is the place where the review replies would normally go; unfortunately, in order to comply with guidelines I will no longer be offering in-text review replies. In fact I will also have to go back and delete all the old ones, just to be on the safe side. From now on I'll use the 'reply' feature on any signed review I get (unsigned reviews, unfortunately, don't offer me that feature! But if you give me your e-mail, I'll try to get one to you that way. I really do value the feedback, and I want to make sure you all know that!)