51,248 Words and DONE!!!

Oh wow- I am so glad to be done, but also really sad! I actually kind of loved the way I wrapped it up and really can't wait to share this novel with everyone. I ended up really loving my characters.
First, I have to include the first ending- I couldn't wait to use the line Katie wrote in one of her comments. I think you will all agree it was used to great effect and is a triumph:

“Oh, I like you, Jackie, I always have. Always. I will miss you. But you see, you don’t have a choice – you never have. Every single time you thought you were making a choice, it was me pulling the strings- even this mission,” he said, spitting out the word as though it was distasteful. “What a joke.”

“How long have you known?” Jackie asked, not because he was curious, but because he had noticed something remarkable. He kept his eyes fixed on Mr. Black, and he needed to keep Mr. Black’s attention on him, because behind Mr. Black were P.K. Subban and Will Hawthorne, and they were leading the patrons of Jackie’s Place out through the secret entrance in the storage room. As Mr. Black fell prey to the villain’s curse, which was to over explain, the room was slowly, but surely emptying.

“And that was the moment when I knew you had betrayed me…” Mr. Black concluded, a triumphant look on his face.

“Thrilling,” Jackie replied. “And when was the moment when you knew that you were defeated?” He asked, and Mr. Black tilted his head to the side quizzically. He looked around the now nearly silent room, and saw that the only remaining people in it were Jackie, Will, Gordon, and Annalise, the latter of whom was holding a gun to Jorn Alcorn’s head, and pointing a second gun in his direction.

“Hey guess what, asshole?” Annalise said, cold fury pouring through her veins. Although she and Mr. Black had never met, formally, she recognized him as the man she had seen arguing with her mother twice- once when she was 16, and again when she and Jack had broken up. This monster had his hands all over her life, her past, her present and she would be damned if he would get his hands on her future. This fucker’s time was up. “All of your greatest enemies call you Mister, too, you piece of shit.”

And then the epilogue...  Jackie Desmond reappears:

Jackie’s Place was much the same as she had left it, with a few small changes. The corner booth where she sat still bore images of Jackie Desmond- her favourite was the one where Jackie Desmond was perched on the back of a truck, speaking into a microphone- no doubt inspiring the crowd that swarmed the vehicle. Jackie Desmond’s partner was in the foreground, facing the camera, the pride and joy he was experiencing evident on his face. Yes, Jackie Desmond was still a hero of the resistance, although her fame had diminished along with the Ugh Ford movement, which was no longer necessary. At the end of August 2019, Ford and his new Chief of Staff, Jordan Peterson, had inexplicably fallen into the shark tank at Ripley’s Aquarium and been partially consumed. Apparently their brand of faux populist bullshit had not been to the sharks’ taste any more than it had been to humans. It was not known why or how they had fallen into the shark tank, but political commentators speculated that perhaps they had consumed a few too many variety store beers and become disoriented. It would remain a mystery.

And the story of Jack and Anna:

“I will do that,” she said, though he was no longer listening. Ethan would be happy to hear from Taylor Kitsch, he always was. They had all kept in touch this last year, Taylor Kitsch, David Boreanaz, P.K. Subban, Will, of course, Gordon, whom she saw practically every day. Everyone except Jack, who had disappeared following the explosion and fire. But lately, Annalise had felt certain that she had seen him, out of the corner of her eye- at the library, at the 24 Hour Jorts Emporium where she had met Gordon one day, at the grocery store. He seemed to linger at the edge of every crowd, or maybe it was just her imagination. Annalise had a feeling that he was around. That she would see him again. He was never gone from her life, not really. As if on cue, the bell above the door at Jackie’s Place rang gently. And there he was.

Annalise heard the song that was playing through the restaurant speakers, a classic by Gordon Lightfoot.

If you could read my mind, love… what a tale my thoughts would tell…

Jackie moved slowly toward her table, his eyes darting around both out of caution, and out of fear of meeting her gaze. His tentativeness broke her heart.

And I will never be set free… as long as I’m a ghost that you can’t see…

Were they finally free? After a year of looking over her shoulder, she began to think they just might be. His presence seemed to indicate he might believe so, too.

When you reach the part where the heartache comes… the hero would be me… Heroes often fail…

There had been so much heartache in their story, so much loss and sadness, but also so much heroism. Jack had always wanted to be the hero in the story, but in the end, they both needed to be heroes. They needed to save each other. Could they do it? After all this time?

And you won’t read the book again… because the ending’s just too hard to take…

There had been a time in Anna’s life where she had been certain she would not survive losing Jack- where she had been sure that loving him was too much of a risk to take. But maybe this time, they could write their own ending. Maybe this time, things could be different. Jack reached her table, and looked down for a long time before raising his eyes. His, like hers, were filled with tears. Tears of what had once been lost, tears of what could be found again, if they could be brave, so brave, and take one first step.

Annalise decided she would be the one to take it.

“Out of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world, he walks into mine,” she said, as tears spilled from her eyes. David Boreanaz and Taylor Kitsch were watching from the bar, clutching each other and smiling.

Jack smiled at her, and it was as though he had set down a heavy burden. He had been set free, and his smile was like light piercing the clouds. “How long have you been waiting to say that line?” he asked, his voice choked with emotion.

“About a year,” she said, and laughed. Jack sat down. And just like that, they began to write their own story. This one, Annalise was sure, would have a happy ending.

THE END