Second Chances - Chapter 30 (FINAL) - Hello My Name Is Chrissy free porn video

Sunday, October 5, 1997 I woke up on my own. I sat up in bed. I remembered last night... or rather I remembered what I wished for. I suddenly got really nervous. What have I done? I'm stuck in 1997 now. I'm stuck as Christina now. I was so caught up in the moment I really didn't think it through. Breathe Chrissy. You asked for this. You wanted this. Yeah, But now it's real. I looked at the mirror in front of me. This is very real. This is me. This is me forever now. I'm 17 year old Christina Demarco. There is no Tony anymore. Breathe. Remember this was a gift. OK. Now what? I recalled what the guardian angel told me. "I'm sending you back because you earned the right to explore the rest of your life as Christina. What you do with the next 20 years is up to you." OK, I can do that. I was really looking forward to exploring life as Christina. That part is easy. But what do I do with my life? Should I do everything the same as Tony? Should I do it the same, but better? Should I choose a completely new path? I thought of another thing the guardian angel told me. "Christina sacrificed her own self-interest in order to save her rival. She did the right thing. If Christina turned out to be a self-centered asshole, I most certainly would not be entertaining your request." Huh. I wonder if this is another mission in disguise. Just one I'll be doing by myself. I think the guardian angel wants me to take my gift and give back to people around me. It won't be enough to just redo parts of Tony's life. It won't be enough to attempt to save Chase. I need to use this gift to better everyone around me just as I was doing the past two weeks. Yeah. That's exactly what I'm going to do. And I know exactly where I'm going to start. * * * I got out of bed, ate a quick bit of breakfast, put on a bra, t-shirt and jeans and drove to Amber's house. I made sure to stop at a convenience store first. I got a bottle of Advil and a large bottle of Gatorade. I parked behind Amber's car and walked up to the front porch. I knocked on the door. A very hungover Amber answered the door. Man, she looked like shit in the daylight. She was still in her dress from last night and her makeup was smeared from last night's tears. Her eyes were bloodshot. She just started at me with a blank expression. I said nothing and held up the Gatorade and Advil. She came outside and sat down on the porch. I sat next to her. I handed her the Gatorade as I opened the Advil for her. I got two pills out and handed them to her. She took the pills and washed them down with the sports drink. She sighed. "About last night," she said holding her head. "Nothing needs to be said," I replied. "I'm embarrassed. I don't remember much. But there are things I do remember. I remember being a bitch to my friends. And I remember being a bitch to you. But I also remember you. You came to my aid when I pushed everyone else away. Despite everything I did to you, everything I called you, you took care of me." "I meant what I said. I really want us to be on the same team." "I.. I do too," she said. She looked around. "I'm embarrassed you saw all of this," she waved at her unkempt yard and house and she started to cry again. "Amber, I'm not here to judge," I put my hand on her shoulder. "I promised I'd help you last night. That offer still stands." "I'm embarrassed to talk to Brit about my home situation; about my grades," She wiped her tears. "You should find a way to talk to her." "I will. When I'm ready," She stared off into the distance. She extended her bare foot into the tall grass and was swishing it in front of her. "You said you can tutor me?" "I can. After cheer practice if you want. We can go to a coffee shop. We can go to my place. We can just sit in the school library." "I'd like that." We sat there for a minute. Amber closed her eyes as shadows of leaves and sunlight fell on her face. She took a deep breath. We both listened to the cars go by and the fall morning breeze rustle the trees. Amber took another sip of her Gatorade. "You're a good dancer." "Thank you," A compliment from Amber? First thing in the morning? Score one for Chrissy! "When I was awake this morning staring at the ceiling I had this idea," she said. "Adding swing dancing to our competition routine would be awesome. Maybe you and Fay - could teach us - or join us?" "You want me and Fay to join your cheerleading squad?" I asked. "At least for competition season," she said. "I know nothing about cheerleading," I said. "Sounds like you need a tutor," she said. I saw a slight smile form on her face. "I'll have to check my schedule. With track and student council and band. But it does sound fun" She was silent again. She took another chug of Gatorade. "Thank you. Thank you for this second chance." "Second chance?" I asked. "I screwed this year up so far. With the squad. With you. Your sister. With my friends. I can't even imagine if I drove my car last night." I was silent. She was silent for a moment too. "Can we-," she started to say. "I will miss-." I was silent, letting her finish her sentence. "Even if we're friends... can we still... be on different teams? In Gym class." I let out a laugh. After all that happened she was worried that we won't be rivals anymore? "You enjoy being rivals?" "Yes. I do." She let out a slight chuckle. "Yes. We can be competitors and friends at the same time. I will gladly always bring my A game as long as you bring your A game." "Deal" She said, letting a little laugh but grimaced then held her head. "My head fucking hurts." I stood up. "Yeah. That might last all day. I should go and let you get over this. You need some rest. See you tomorrow at school?" "Yeah," she said. "Bye Amber," I said. "Bye Christina," she said. "Chrissy," I corrected. "My friends call my Chrissy." * * * When I got home, I wasn't feeling well. Maybe that nervousness this morning did a number on me. I was very uncomfortable. Not hollow like last night. Quite the opposite. Maybe last night's late-night-dinner did not sit well with me? It only got worse as we watched the Giants game. I'm sure there's a joke in there about the Giants game-play making me ill, but that wasn't it. They were winning. There is a piercing pain just below my stomach. It feels like... a cramp? A cramp? Oh shit! I walked to the bathroom cradling my abdomen. Sure enough. I had my first period that afternoon. I was officially a woman. This must have been the guardian angel's final practical joke. Oh God. It's so gross! Why did I look? I was too embarrassed to ask Mom or Cindy for help. So I rummaged under the sink and found a box of Tampons. And I.... read the directions on the box. It seemed like a logical approach at the time. It seemed to have worked fine. Weird. Gross. But I was surviving. * * * After the game, but before dinner, Mom came home from the pharmacy where she got the photos developed from last night. The pictures of me and Chase were amazing. I looked amazing. I want to keep some of these. OK. I wanted to keep all of them! At dinner time, my dad embarrassed me in front of Chase. Of course, I wouldn't have expected anything less from him. "Chase," Dad said. "Yes sir?" Chase responded. "Have you heard about any of Chris's ex-boyfriends?" "No sir I haven't" "Good." Dad let out an exaggerated maniacal laugh. "Would you like some meatballs or sausage?" as he offered the bowl to Chase. I realized what he was insinuating and my face turned beet red. "DAD!" Cindy laughed. I turned to Cindy. "You laugh now. He's going to do the same thing to you when you bring home a boyfriend!" Thankfully that didn't scare Chase away. * * * Later that night after Chase went home, I was in the den on my computer. The radio was playing Tears for Fears's "Head over Heels". I deleted the mission spreadsheet I had made. I saw an e-mail from Val with a whole bunch of new requirements, logos, and new ideas for her parent's future coffee shop. She ended the e-mail with "I'm excited to be Demarco Consulting Group's first customer!" The future memory came back. The memory from the altered timeline. I laughed at the reference to my future company. Then I realized I was missing all of Tony's post-1997 memories. It was scary. I tried thinking about the future. It wasn't there. I couldn't think past today. I remembered the guardian angel. I remember being from 2018. But I couldn't remember 2018 at all except for my interactions with the guardian angel, and now that reference to my company. I did remember that Chase died in 2006 though. I remember talking about some future stuff with Chase during our date, but I can't recall what it was... Smart phones was it? It was like waking up from a dream. Those memories were just out of reach. I was married. No, I was divorced in the original timeline. I don't even remember my future ex- wife's name! Despite that being scary. It was also exciting. I now get to experience everything for the first time all over again. Maybe that's what alternate Tony was trying to tell me. I pulled out my Junior yearbook and the football predictions I put in there a week ago. I decided something right then. I'm not in Tony's past. I'm in Christina's present. I took the folded paper with me as I walked out of the den and into the family room. I found a lighter at my parents wet-bar and I continued to my back porch. I flicked the lighter and burned the paper. I stomped it out on the patio's bricks. I returned inside and sat back in my computer chair. "I await my future with open arms," I said. "I'll eventually get back to 2018. But I'll have to take the long way." The song ended. "Time flies..." December 1997 Fall turned into winter. School was harder now that I no longer had Tony's skills and experience. I actually had to think about my homework. I still pulled out good grades, but it took more time and effort to re- read things. Amber sat Brittany down and told her about her home struggles. Her grades, her parents, her grandmother, her living situation. Brittany consulted her parents and eventually offered Amber to stay with her for the remainder of the school year. The deal was Amber had to quit that night job she had and get her grades up. That's where I came in. Every other day, I would tutor her to help get her grades back up. It wasn't that hard, actually. Amber's actually very smart, but her home situation really had set her back. I continued to contribute to track meets. I never managed to break my own record though. Julie got her wish as I eventually got to be a part of the relay team too. Between Julie and Amber pushing me to be my best, I did become quite the competitor. I enjoyed every moment of it. The victories and the losses. Just kidding. I didn't enjoy losing. But I did enjoy the thrill of competing. Chase took me to the movies to see Titanic. When the movie was over, we were on the way to his bike when he stopped me. "Chrissy. I've been meaning to tell you this since homecoming. But I didn't want to tell you too soon to scare you off." "What is it Chase?" I was bundled up in my jacket. I was shivering. Couldn't this wait til we got home? "I love you, Chrissy." I simply melted right there in the parking lot. I kissed him. "Chase, I love you too," I definitely didn't feel cold anymore. February 1998 Amber offered Fay and me a spot on the cheer competition team. I convinced Fay by telling her that her and I were a package deal. She agreed to the same terms I did. More dancing than cheering. Cheerleading wasn't so bad. Thankfully it was competition season so it was mostly gymnastics and dancing. Thankfully I didn't actually have to "cheer" for sporting events. Cindy was so excited I joined them. She attempted to teach me everything she knew. I was only able to learn a few gymnastics moves. I was flexible from my time in Tae Kwon Do, but I wasn't that coordinated. Thankfully when we got around to choreographing our routine, Fay and I were doing more dancing than tumbling. Oh yeah - so about that. My dancing memories were blocked too. I was forced to take a few dance lessons. But it all came back to me easily. With school I found that all it took was re-reading something that was blocked and it came back. So when it came to dancing I found that I had to do a move a few times before I retrieved that skill from my head. Sometime in the winter, Jess came out to the cheer squad as gay. She was expecting a huge shock from the girls. But most of the squad had already figured that out but never told her. After she came out of the closet, she had many more dates. Apparently there were more bi and lesbian girls in our school than we knew about. She never stopped hitting on me though. When Jess came out to the squad, Cindy leaned into me and whispered, "Chris- that date you had with a girl a few months ago. Was that..?" "Shhh," I said to her. "Remember what I said about kissing and telling?" I looked pretty good in a cheer uniform. This was twenty years in the making. I came a long way from Tony wearing a cheer skirt during the Powder Puff game. We made nationals pretty easily. We were the only squad that seamlessly incorporated swing dance routines in their choreography. Boy oh boy did we celebrate being National Champions. We were the first sport at our school to win a national championship. Suck it, football team! Val's family's coffee shop had a successful grand opening. The website I made for them was getting a lot of hits. As a result, I was getting a lot of local companies asking for my services. This part time job certainly helped me get some extra cash. I gave some money to my Dad for the Internet bill. He gave it back saying he was just teasing me. I saved it all for college. June 1998 Senior year flew by. Because I spent so much time with Amber tutoring her, we actually became really close over the course of the year. It now makes sense that Alternate Tony took Amber to the prom. There were a few moments I thought that we could've been more than friends - If I wasn't dating Chase that is. I caught her staring at my lips once while we were studying. I get it. We've been through a lot. Now that she smiles and is nice to me, she is much more attractive than she was as a bully. But of course, I'm still dating Chase. Amber maintains that she's straight also. Jess propositioned Amber a few times to test that theory. Amber never took the bait. I applied to and got into several colleges. Dad and I visited each of them. The moment I stepped foot on each campus, I remembered visiting them as Tony. I knew instantly which college Tony went too when I visited it. Despite a chance to take a different path, I opted to go to that college. I liked it then, I liked it again. I guess there are just some decisions you'll just repeat every time. Amber shared with me the colleges that accepted her into a pre-med program. I didn't realize that field interested her. She got the scholarships she was seeking this whole time. She surprised me with accepting the same college I was going to. In the original timeline she died before she even got a chance to apply to colleges - Now here she was going to mine. I can't explain how it felt to see her go from nothing to going to college with me. I was now going to have a front row seat to see Amber grow into a woman she never had the opportunity to be. I took Chase to Senior Prom. Senior Prom was much less eventful than homecoming. I was NOT voted Prom Queen. That honor went to Amber, of course, whose entire disposition changed over the past eight months. I graduated high school for the second time in my life. I was excited. My whole family came out for it. We had a big party at my house. This time I invited all of my friends. I had a lot of them by that point. Ron, Chase, the track team, the cheer squad, a number of people on the student council and the marching band. I looked back at my school year and the promise I made to myself when I became Christina permanently. I felt I was successful and being able to lift everyone up around me. I wanted to share this gift with everyone. August 1998 Chase and I broke up. I was devastated. I mean, I was prepared for this and the guardian angel hinted that it was a possibility, and the majority high school romances typically don't go the distance. I just didn't think it would happen. It wasn't a fight. It was college. I'm heading cross-country. Chase is staying here. I was willing to attempt a long-distance relationship. He wasn't. I didn't blame him. He kinda hinted that he wanted me to stay here. I hinted that I wanted him to go cross country with me. I couldn't skip college. Without Tony's skills and memories, I needed school and couldn't ditch it. Chase wanted to focus on his music. I respected that. In the end, we parted ways. A lot of tears were shed that evening. But I still had my resolve. I knew one of the reasons I came back was for Chase. I didn't have the full view of the future, but I knew I would see him again, and I would have another chance to save him - even if we were only just friends. The year 2006 was still in my head. I still had time. I just need to keep tabs on him. 1999 Amber and I become college roommates. Originally Tony went to the all- boys dorm. Since Dad was paying, he made me go to the all-girls dorm. What he didn't know was that I was bi. Whether or not that would have factored into his decision - we'll never know. It wasn't easy living with Amber at first. Amber was used to living in squalor. I had to teach her how to clean up. She learned some things from Brittany's family when she stayed there, but with no parental types around, she reverted into being a slob again. I found myself tutoring her in basic cleanliness of a dorm room. There was this one time she put dish detergent in the dorm's shared washing machine. Soapy foam was everywhere! We couldn't stop laughing for hours. Thankfully we didn't get in trouble for that. 2001 Same as Tony's timeline, once Cindy graduated high school, my parents sold their house in Jersey and moved to the Carolinas. Cindy went to a university down the road from my parents new house. I tried to keep up with my old high school friends best I could. Ron was doing the same stuff in the previous timeline. Julie and Val were doing awesome in their degrees too. Julie actually came down for spring break and we hung out all week. Chase wound up moving to California with some band members. I kinda wished he moved down to me instead. While I dated a whole number of guys and girls during the two years of college, my dating life took a backseat to my studies lately. Then there was that gorgeous fall Tuesday morning in September. I was busy doing homework when Amber yelled, "Chris! Come out here!" I rushed out to our living room. "What?" "A plane just flew into one of the Twin Towers," she said. I looked at the TV and all of the memories of today flood backed. I hugged Amber tightly and she didn't know why. I wasn't prepared for this. Damn the guardian angel. I was angry. I wanted some kind of warning. If I knew this would happen, could I have prevented it? I didn't want to watch this again. But I couldn't look away. As we watched the second plane hit the World Trade Center, Amber and I just sat on the couch crying, as the country stopped. I've been in the past for almost 4 years. This was the first time I actually regretted wishing to relive these 20 years over again. 2002 Both Amber and I graduated. Amber got a job right away. I had to move back to my parents house. Later in the year I got a good offer to join a larger consulting company up in Washington, DC. The moment I accepted I realized that I joined the same company as Tony. I know what you're thinking. I could've chosen a new career path. But I just enjoy it way too much. I remembered what Tony had to say about that company, and I resolved to make sure I didn't make the same mistakes. Ron and his college girlfriend moved to Virginia only 30 minutes away from me. I was excited to have another friend in a big and strange city. Actually it wasn't that strange. Deja vu would kick in a lot. I'd recognize events and places from my previous life. That certainly helped. Both of my grandparents died this year. I took solace in knowing that I enjoyed as much time with them over the past 4 years as I could. I was grateful for the last four years and treated every visit with them knowing it could be the last. 2004 A college friend had introduced me to Facebook. The moment I saw it I slammed my first to the desk. Shit. That was supposed to be me! I got an unexpected call from Val. We kept in touch mostly through email, but this time she called. She was venting because the company she was working for kept treating her poorly. The company was full of misogynists and didn't respect her finance degree I had similar experiences. Despite being the better programmer at my company, my male colleagues kept wanting me to take minutes, make coffee and clean the damn fridge and microwave. Tony was never asked to do any of that. When I was passed up for promotion, I realized that I was at a dead-end job. The difference between me and Tony? Tony never realized it. I realized it in two years. I was not going to put up with this shit. I learned what I needed to learn from this company. I decided now was my time to act. I called Val back. I told her to move up to DC with me. We'd start our own company like we dreamed about in high school. I used the money my grandparents left to make the initial investment. And Demarco Smith Consulting was founded. We were in the middle of signing our leasing paperwork for a small office when I got a call from Ron. "Chrissy!" he said. "I'm getting married!" "That's great!" I said. "When's the wedding?" "Next June." "Congrats!" "Chrissy?" "Yeah?" "I remembered what you asked me back when we were in high school." "What did I ask?" "You asked to be a... um... groomsmaid... in my wedding. Would you still like to be one of my groomsmen?" A huge smile formed on my face and I chuckled. I had forgotten about that. "Absolutely!" Later that year, Cindy decided to go to grad school at a local university near me. I was happy to have my sister so close to me again. 2005 By now, I knew how to game the guardian angel's memory block. I took a few graduate business classes, and unlocked all of Tony's business degree knowledge. I was going to need that if I wanted to make our company successful. Business was rough at first. Nobody wanted to trust a pair of 24 year old girls. But I used some of the contacts I made at my previous company to get an edge up on the competition. After month's of putting together a proposal and prototypes, Demarco Smith Consulting got its first big contract. Val and I celebrated with night out on the town with our friends. Ron and his fianc?e eventually assembled their bridal party. Like the original timeline, I wasn't Ron's best man. So naturally I wasn't surprised when his best man - Chase, emailed his groomsmen including me. The groomsmen had back and forth emails on what we wanted to do for Ron's bachelor party. They were concerned about me joining them. I explained not to worry about me. "Treat me like one of the guys. I'll go along with whatever." They didn't believe me, so this necessitated a phone conversation with Chase. I called him. We reconnected. I assured him that I was OK going to strip clubs with the guys. I had to remind him that I had essentially come out as bi to him on our 2nd meeting ever. Chase and I caught up during that phone call. I asked if he was seeing anyone. He said he was seeing some girls on and off. There as one girl he was thinking of asking as a date to Ron's wedding. He asked about me, and I explained I was single at the moment and was putting so much time and effort into the company. We flirted a little - just enough so the seed was planted in his head that I was available if he was. I wound up renting a house outside DC in the Maryland suburbs. A lot of my money was tied up in the start-up, so I needed a roommate. That's when I met Emily. She was Tony's roommate in 2005 too. We hit it off immediately. I introduced her to Val and Cindy, and we had a lot of girls nights out on the town. Unlike Tony, I had no desire to hook up with Emily. I realized what year it was, and now that Chase was partially in my life again, I realized it was game time and I needed to focus on the task at hand. During Ron's bachelor party, I wore a little sexy dress I had picked up a year back to go clubbing with. Did I wear it for Chase? Maybe. Our first stop was that aforementioned strip club. The strippers actually gave ME more attention than the guys. There was a moment I saw Chase sitting alone when the other guys fawned over the strippers. I asked him if he was getting a lap dance like the other guys. He said that as best man, all of his money was for Ron to have a good time. I then sat on his lap and whispered. "You are such a great Best Man, if you keep this up you may earn yourself a free private one later," He tried playing it cool, but a certain appendage gave his thoughts away. After a night of fun drunken debauchery with the guys, Chase offered me to crash at his hotel rather than drive home. I took him up on that offer. And... we had sex all night long. We were no longer teenagers, and we had six years to catch up on. Just like that we started talking about "us" again. The long distance thing no longer seemed to be much of an issue now that we were adults with our own money. He stopped talking about finding a date for Ron's wedding, as we both started making plans together instead. Every other weekend, we took turns flying back and forth to each other's cities. When it came time for Ron's fianc?e to pick out bridal gowns, she consulted me on what I wanted to do. The bridesmaids all wore pink, but she was thinking something different for me. I knew that I wanted both to be a groomsman and to have a great bridesmaid dress. We settled on a dress of the same style as the bridesmaids, but black to match the groomsmen's tuxedos. The afternoon before Ron's wedding, Ron and his father took the groomsmen all out golfing. I joined, naturally. But, I sucked at golf. I decided to make the best of it so I can spend more time with Ron, Chase and the rest of the groomsmen. It's not like I knew any of the bridesmaids, anyway. Ron's dad was hobnobbing with some executive looking men. They realized we were a bachelor party and asked all of the guys in our group what they did for a living. After asking all of the guys, one of the executives lastly turned to me. "So little lady, what do you do for a living?" Little lady? I replied, "I'm the CEO of a small consulting startup in DC." Those executives were floored. Someone needed to pick those guys jaws up off the green. I gave them a pair of business cards out of my purse anyway. The next day Ron's wedding rolled around, Chase and I were already dating for two months. We were sitting outside with the rest of the bridal party drinking scotch and smoking cigars. Between puffs of the cigar, and sips of scotch, me and Chase would kiss. The rest of the groomsmen kept telling us to get a room. Ron's mother offered to take a picture of all of us. I handed over my digital camera to her. Chase and I put our arms around each other. It was then I realized this was the picture I used to have. But it was different now. No Tony. Chase's original girlfriend wasn't here. I had taken her place. Another life saved. Good job Chris. I turned around and kissed my boyfriend again. The summer flew by. Chase eventually moved in with me and Emily. Since It was a two bedroom house, Chase and I obviously shared a room together. Chase offered to help pay the rent too. Emily and Chase got along too. All three of us would sit around drinking wine and beers and watching reality TV. Emily said we were the cutest couple she'd seen. In September, we visited some family in New Jersey. We also celebrated my 25th birthday while there. A few days later, Chase brought me back to the Seaside boardwalk. It was the anniversary of our original first date eight years ago. Practically the same spot we shared our first kiss, he stopped me. "Chrissy, I know we've been only back together for less than a year. We've only been living together for a few months. But I realized something during this time," He looked into my eyes, then knelt down. "I should have never let you go." He pulled a diamond ring out of his pocket. Holy Shit! I gasped at the sight of the ring. Was this really happening? "Chrissy, will you marry me?" I was speechless. Well. I knew what I wanted to say. I just couldn't get the words out because I was hyperventilating. I teared up, embraced him and finally managed to get out the words, "Yes. Yes. Yes." Little that I knew, all of my friends were hiding out of sight taking pictures of us. Chase had organized this whole thing and invited back Ron, Julie, Amber, and Cindy without me knowing to share in our proposal party. I hadn't even seen Julie or Amber in years, but suddenly it was like old times again. Except this time I had a pretty rock on my finger. 2006 We spent the winter looking at wedding venues, looking at catering and such. We picked a June wedding date. I asked Emily, Val, Cindy, Amber, and Julie to be my bridesmaids. When the decision to choose a maid of honor came up. I was stumped. Each one of these ladies had a huge impact on my life. Each one of them was my best friend during a crucial part of my life. In my original wedding as Tony, I asked Ron to be my best man. But Chase beat me to it, so Ron was already in the bridal party. Would it have been weird if Ron was BOTH best man and man of honor? I dunno. But I eventually asked the woman who knew me longest, my sister Cindy. It took me a little longer to find my wedding dress than it took me to find my homecoming dress. There were a number of dresses I narrowed it down to. But I settled on a Lace Sweetheart Trumpet dress. Yeah, I had no idea what those terms meant either until I got engaged. Val and I were featured in a local business magazine for an article on "Up and Coming Woman Owned Companies". The article spent considerable time on the fact we were both only 25 and were kicking ass and taking names! By this time, Demarco Smith, or DSC as we started to call it, had grown to have four contracts and twenty employees. We were mostly getting by with my creativity and Val's ability to talk all of our clients into things only my team and I could give them. We worked very well together. Things were looking good for us. One Sunday in early May I was sick. I don't know if it was the breakfast I had or some stomach bug, but I got really nauseated. As I was puking in the toilet, a thought crossed my mind. Was I pregnant? No. That can't be. I was on the pill. Maybe it's just vertigo. Granted I did miss a few pills earlier in the month while I was traveling for work. And the room isn't spinning. As I'm sitting on the bathroom floor, trying to convince myself that it's only vertigo, I called out to Chase. "Chase, can you run the store for me? I'm too nauseous to get up." "Sure, what do you need?" he poked his head in. "Pregnancy test," I said. The look on his face was in sheer shock. "Yeah. Right away." He rushed out of the room and out the door. Emily poked her head into my bathroom. "Did I hear that right?" "Yeah," I said. "Just a precaution. I dunno. I'm on birth control." "Did you miss any?" "Maybe." She raised her eyebrow and just looked at me. "I guess no more wine for you on our American Idol nights." A cold chill went down my spine, as the memory of that phone call from Ron came back. I found the strength to lift myself up and not puke and I immediately dashed out of the bathroom, pushing Emily to the side. "No No No No," I yelled running down the hall. I ran out the front door. Chase was still in the driveway sitting on his running bike. He saw me. He pulled off his helmet and we made eye contact. We stayed there for seconds just staring at each other. It was almost as if he could read my thoughts. He turned off the bike and walked back to me. He kissed me on the lips despite the fact I've been puking all morning. "Chrissy," he said. "I remember our first fight vividly. I want you to know. There's nothing more important to me than you. I love you." "I love you so much," I said. Tears were flowing down my eyes as I hugged him. When the original accident happened, Chase was living in a different state with his girlfriend. I really believe his life was saved the moment he moved in with me. But I had this feeling today was the day it was made official. Chase would live longer in this timeline. Chase took my car to the store instead of his bike. He came back with a pregnancy test. I was pregnant. The next day Chase sold the bike. It wasn't my plan to have kids this early. We were very nervous about it. Granted my parents had me when they were 22. But in 2006, 25 was considered early. I guess fate decided this was how my life would go this time around. Our wedding was the following month. We swore Emily to secrecy about my pregnancy. Thankfully I wasn't showing yet, so no one was any wiser. I remembered being the groom in my previous wedding despite it being in an alternate timeline 9 years in the future. I remember being excited and nervous the moment my wife, whose face I couldn't remember yet, turned the corner and walked down the aisle. This time I was the bride. Dad proudly escorted me down the aisle. Chase had that same excited and nervous look on his face when he saw me. I think I saw a happy tear roll down his eye as I slowly walked down the aisle. For our first dance as husband and wife, I got to select the song. Chase got to choreograph it. I chose Chantal Kreviazuk's cover of "Feels like Home," This was my message to the universe. I had no regrets. When we had our dance, it was my turn to have a happy tear roll down my eye. We finally told our friends and family after the honeymoon that I was expecting. Everyone was excited. I was still nervous. Being pregnant and actually giving birth was never in my life plans. My life plans had included being a proud father. Nervousness aside, this was a gift. Months later I was excited to go out shopping for maternity clothes. I want to say that I looked very cute as a mom-to-be. I remembered when I was Tony, seeing how radiant pregnant women looked. So every time I looked at myself in the mirror holding my baby bump, I was simply glowing. We moved out of that shared house and got one of our own. While I'm sure Emily was thrilled to have a pregnant woman waddling around the house, we decided it was time for Chase and I to get our own space. 2007 Our son, Anthony was born in late January. He's got my eyes. His father's face. I had always dreamt of being a father. Never in my wildest dream as a boy did I imagine I would be a mother. Cindy got engaged later that year. With our family growing, It didn't take long for my parents to decide that they wanted to move closer to us. 10 years into my life as Christina, I was on top of the world. I knew I took a huge gamble walking away from Alternate Tony's life. He had it made pretty good. But I walked away from that inorder to live as Christina. I knew that his life cast a big shadow that I needed to get out from under. Regardless of the decisions I made, I couldn't be happier with my choice. 2012 I still love playing softball. So when the opportunity to have our company employees form a softball came, I jumped on it. Yeah, I was 31, but I could still ball with all of my younger employees! We wound up competing in a league with other similar companies. We certainly competed against my former company. I used post-game activities as networking. There was this one game, I was up to bat. Chase and our son and daughter came out to cheer me on this evening. They were off to the side sitting on a blanket. I managed to hit a home run. My first one ever as Chrissy. As I ran around the bases, I could see my family cheering Mommy on. My co-workers gave me high gives. The opposing team's catcher came up to me. "That was a nice hit." I recognized her. It was my former wife. Memories of our dates were suddenly unblocked in my mind. "Thank you," I said to her. She smiled and turned around and walked back to her team. I wondered if I should introduce myself to her. That was another lifetime though. Maybe I should at least get her name. Since Tony had failed her in the original timeline, and I essentially walked away in the second, I only found it best to let it be. I let her walk away without getting her name. I could only hope her life would be better without me in it. I walked back to my family, Chase, my two kids Anthony and Eliana and gave them all kisses and hugs, grateful for all for the second chance I was given. Saturday, April 7, 2018 My name is Christina Demarco-Saverio. Friends and family call me Chrissy. You can call me Chrissy too since you're reading this. I'm 37 years old, Well, technically I'm 57. I only look 37. For my first 37 years I was lost. I was drifting aimlessly, scarred by various insecurities. The last 20 I found myself and have made every day count since. I was lucky to get to relive 20 years of my life. I believe the guardian angel was always going to give me the full twenty years. Those first two weeks were only a test or a trial-run. At least that is what I believe. I tried to not only make my life better, but my friends and family. I tried to teach everyone to be confident. To live in the present. I've been married to Chase for almost 12 years now. Anthony is 11 and looking forward to middle school next year. He is super smart like me. He's also extremely talented like his father. Can you believe, he has his own YouTube channel where he plays his music. He can't believe he's actually making money off of it. He's only 11! We are very proud. Eliana is 9 now. She's the cutest thing. She has her father's striking blue eyes. I tease Chase that when she gets a little older he's going to have his hands full with all the teenagers who will come knocking at our door asking to date our daughter. He's already rehearsing his "dad meets the boyfriend" jokes. He wants to rival my dad. I keep begging him not to. Both kids are runners at school. I'm still faster than both of them, but Anthony is quickly catching up to me. It's now my 20 year reunion - at last! So I sat in the same hotel lobby where I sat... Was it twenty years ago? Or was it only seconds ago? I was nursing my beer like last time. Staring at my reflection- of Christina in the mirror. I smiled at myself. I had aged pretty well. Yeah, I had some age lines under my eyes, but it's nothing I couldn't hide with makeup. I was wearing a vintage black sleeveless dress. Chase came out of the elevator looking as suave as ever in a tuxedo. He was joined by Ron, Val, and their respective spouses. "Shall we?" Chase asked. "We shall," I said getting up from the bar. We walked down the hallway of the hotel to the ballroom. I've had to wait 20 years - no wait - 40 years for this reunion. We walked into the hotel's ballroom. The first person to see me was Amber. A very pregnant Amber. "Chrissy!" she screamed and ran at me and hugged me. "It's so good to see you. It's been years!" "I know!" I said. "I see you have a new addition to the family." "Ug," she said. "This one was an accident. I told my husband we were stopping at 3. But then we had a little too much fun down in Cabo. I'm done after this! Being pregnant at 37 is awful! They call me old!" I chuckled at that. "How's work?" I asked. "I know you actually moved closer to us, but we haven't found time to visit" "I accepted a new role at NIH. I'm working on a pandemic research and response team. It's really fascinating stuff." "That is great!" I said. "If you ever need any analytic tools-" "I know I know" Amber cut me off. "DSC." She smiled. "I've already been talking you up!" I smiled. Fay and her husband came up to me next. "Chrissy!" "Hi Fay!" I said hugging her. "How is my daughter doing?" Fay asked. "Erin is doing great," I said. Erin, Fay's 18 year old daughter is an intern at Demarco-Smith. "She's so bright, Fay. You should be very proud." "I am," she said. "Thank you for finding her a job." "No. She earned it. You prepared her well. Don't tell her yet, but we're going to offer her a full time job soon." Fay and her husband absolutely beamed with pride for her daughter. "Demarco!" Julie yelled across the room. "Julie," I said opening my arms. We came in for a hug. "So what's the plan tonight?" she asked. "You know the guys. Shoot some pool, go to the diner," I laughed. She laughed. "Actually, I was thinking about the shore. It's been a while," I said. "I will go wherever you go!" she said. So, unsurprisingly, Julie got a job as a track coach for one of the local universities. She's always been a huge motivator. At least to me. The rest of the reunion... was pretty lame. I mean, reunions are kinda lame now that I've been to one. It's just funny I had to wait 40 years to realize it. After we got our price-of-admissions worth of drinks, we decided to leave. Unfortunately not everyone was there for various reasons. I heard Brittany was on a family vacation, Jess was just unable to get away. All of my friends followed me out. We piled into multiple cars. In my car, Ron and his wife joined Chase and I. Ron called "shotgun!" and jumped into the passenger seat next to me. Just like old times. Chase and Ron's wife sat in the back. "We'll see you there!" Amber said, finding her own car. Ron started playing with my car's touchscreen. He scrolled through albums. He chose Metallica and touched 'Play'. "That's more like it!" he said. Ron's wife sighed. Chase laughed. As we all piled out of our cars, it was me, Chase, Ron, Val, Amber, Julie, Fay, all of our spouses. We walked down the boardwalk laughing, reminiscing and catching up. At one point, we walked out to the beach. It occurred to me tonight that I no longer had any more blocked Tony memories to unlock. From here on out, everything will be new. My second chance was over. I'd like to think I took full advantage of it. Everyone sat down on the beach under the glow of someone's cell phone and the lights of the boardwalk behind us. I realized we were at the same spot where Chase and I had our first date. At the same spot Chase proposed to me. "Care for a dance?" Chase asked. "Always," I said. Chase picked up his phone and scrolled through music. His phone started playing Chris Stapleton's "Tennessee Whiskey." "Good song!" Ron's wife said, pulling a reluctant Ron up. My husband held out his hand. I took it and we slowly danced on the beach. "God Chris!" Amber said "Do you always have to show us up!" She laughed. I laughed at her teasing. Amber turned to her husband. "She did this CONSTANTLY during college." "Hey would you like to do better?" I said. "Hey now, you have me at a disadvantage! I would if I wasn't 8 months pregnant!" Amber's husband attempted to pick her up and dance. She slapped his hand away. "No. Do you remember what happened last time we danced to this song?" She was rubbing her baby bump. We all laughed. I turned my focus to the man in my arms. My husband. I tuned out the world and just melted into his eyes. * * * A stranger walking along the boardwalk stopped and watched the couples laughing and dancing on the beach. She smiled. "I knew you could do it, Christina." The stranger noticed an older man staring at the couples on the beach. "Look at those middle aged grown adults acting like kids," the older man said. "They should act their own age!" "Envious?" the stranger said to the older man. "Oh," the older man said, surprised the stranger was talking to him. "I just meant when I was their age I had things like responsibilities. I acted like an adult." "You sound like you want to get some regrets off your chest," the stranger said. "What do you say I buy you a drink and you can tell me about it." "Sure," the older man said. "I suppose I could use a drink. I did have a rough day." The stranger and old man continued walking down the boardwalk. THE END ----------------- Author's Notes and Acknowledgements * First of all, I want to thank all of the reviewers who engaged me throughout the writing of this story and kept trying to guess the ending, and kept really diving into the nuances of these characters. You are all the reason I was excited to keep writing and publish at a rate of 10,000 words a week! I wound up with around 250 chapter comments across 4 sites. I read them all, and tried to reply to all of them (on the sites that actually had a "respond" button). So thank you to those on: TGStorytime: Elron, Amanda Lynn, Lailaluvs00, Robyn Hood, Roadbandit, HeatherNYon, four, and Nyssa. FictionMania: Dontrust, Amy, jane, CPTSD, A Lurker and Princevoodoo. DeviantArt: JoeJedfJsj. ScribbleHub: KatherineFtw, Nodlehs and gothicshark. I also got a number of private emails too. Thank you! * I've been a reader at these various sites for 4 years. I started actually reviewing and commenting on stories around a year ago. Some of the great stories here convinced me to try my hand at writing. I hadn't written fiction since high school when I wrote fantasy stories. I started this story in late July. I can't believe it blew up into a 115K word novel. * I am the same age as Tony/Christina in this story. I was a Senior at the same time she was, so I really wanted to capture the mood and feeling of being in high school in the late 90's. Writing this was a cool nostalgia trip as I flipped through my own yearbooks, researched the top songs, movies and tv-shows. On a quick tangent. I realized while flipping through my own senior yearbook every girl in my high school who wasn't preppy or goth wore jeans and t-shirts. Real life almost never looks like TV, movies, or how we remember it. So in order to make Christina more fashionable and dress more feminine, I leaned into a more preppy look. On the same token. I realized the best 90's music was from the early 90s or the late 90's (1998 & 1999). When i kept pulling up 90's music on streaming playlists, almost all of these songs would never have been playing on Christina's radio in 1997. * Since this was my first story. It wasn't perfect, so I acknowledge that. I forgot to name Tony's wife. I forgot to give the guardian angel a name. The whole "save the cheerleader go back to your boring life, fail and stay in a better past as the opposite gender" wasn't thought out too well. I made a number of other mistakes. I tried to course-correct as best I could. * Lastly, I did lose a friend to a car accident after senior prom in 1998. I also did lose another friend of a friend and his newly wed wife to a motorcycle accident in 2007. This story is dedicated to them. * So what's next? I'm not sure. This story was cathartic. I no longer have any desire to revisit my high school days, so I won't be writing any similar stories to this. Yeah, I left the story open for a sequel with the guardian angel, but really I liked the circular nature of it. I was looking at some of the other TG genres. Some suggestions were "werewoman", or "the global gender-switch" genres. I don't know, but I'm certainly open to suggestions. I might actually just take a break for a while. This has been an intense 10 weeks! Thank you for reading! ~TFES8