Prologue: Sunset Valley Chapter Three

Roxanne knew she was getting older when the rides on Old Dusty weren't as entertaining as they had been. She patted the well worn leather seat. Imagining the vast expanse of a desert in the west kept getting interrupted by the sound of cars. But she still took one last ride. 

Hugging her teddy bear proved as equally useless for comfort. But the memories were too sweet to just throw her away. Roxanne whispered the last few secrets before placing her in a special place in the room. Maybe she would need her one day.

The morning of her birthday, Anita gave Roxanne a special present.

(forgot to turn off headline effects again! I'm sorry! >_<)

"What is it, Mom?" Roxanne asked, shaking the package, hearing the contents roll around. "It sure is heavy."

Anita smiled a little, hinting she knew exactly what it was, but she wouldn't tell Roxanne. "Why don't you run upstairs and open it? It's very precious, though. Just like you, sweetie."

Roxanne gaped at the gem. Every color of the rainbow danced inside, seeming to light up her room in a prismatic light show. She stole one of the couch cushions and set the gem on it. She knew this kind of gem was rare, but she wasn't about to let the kids coming over for the party see it. It was staying in her room, out of the sight of prying kids. Maybe she'd show it to Donny...

"Morty!" Roxanne cried as the party started. She had to stand on her tiptoes just to hug him since he'd gotten so tall. "You came!"

"'Course I did! Wouldn't miss one of your parties for the world!" He ruffled her hair, earning him a quick little pout and glare that quickly melted into a giggle fit.

"Happy birthday, Roxanne," one of the shyer kids in her class said, offering a pat on her shoulder.

"Thanks for coming." Roxanne couldn't remember his name. He rarely said anything in class, so to have him show up for a party with tons of people was unheard of.

"I'm just here for a little bit. I don't like crowds."

"Thanks." It felt so heartless...but she really didn't have anything better to offer him.

(Dang it. I forgot headline effects...again)

"Donny!" she screamed, nearly knocking him over as she rushed to hug him. "You came!"

"Why would I miss this party?" he asked in a choked voice, trying to pry Roxanne's arms off him.

"Because your dad has some big business meeting you have to go to."

"Oh, sure. Dad passes out cookies and coloring books for everyone all the time."

Roxanne had only one wish that day: that this kind of happiness would never end, and that she would always be with the people who loved her.

Everyone cheered as the smoke curled off the candles. Roxanne realized that it was the first time she'd wished for something that wasn't a toy or anything bought in a store. Maybe she did know what it was like to be a grown-up.

Donny came to the door one night, asking for Roxanne. Being older, Roxanne never realized how handsome he was, how he always took her hands and held them longer than he should have.
He smiled at her, taking her hands, caressing her knuckles. "Roxy, I'm here to ask you on your very first date."

Roxanne pulled her hands back, her face turning the same shade of red as the pillow upstairs on her desk. "Donny, I'd love to go, but my dad says I can't date until I'm sixteen. That's a whole two years from now."

"Then I'll wait. I'm patient."

Donny kept good on his word. Roxanne lost the headband she adored as a child and let her hair flow freely. She didn't want it short for a long time. When sixteen arrived, Donny whisked her out the door and down to the art museum. For the first time since they had been children, they were alone. They were alone, and both were feeling the fluttering in the chests of first love.

"You know that prom is coming up in a few months, right?" Donny said without preamble, his voice cracking a little. He cleared his throat. "I was wondering if you have plans that night."

Roxanne chuckled a little. "Oh, I'm swamped, Donny. I've got a whole list of plans: watching romantic chick flicks, eating a gallon of ice cream while my mascara runs down my face as I cry over true love...YES, I'LL GO WITH YOU!" She didn't mean to yell, but the rush of being asked to prom overwhelmed her inhibitions of being quiet in public.

Donny, level-headed as ever, took her hand. "Then it's a date. Dress up, little Roxy. I don't want you looking terrible."

Clive watched, feeling both proud of his little girl as she headed out in her red dress (a tip from Anita that a red dress would make her stand out in the crowd of girls at school), and a sense of loss. She had grown up so quickly. She was going to prom with the boy of her dreams. As much as he didn't want to admit it, he was happy for them both. He had a suspicion that after high school, it wouldn't be long before there was a wedding in Sunset Valley.

Roxanne came home from the dance, reeling from her first kiss. Donny had called to the DJ, pointing at the two of them, yelling loudly that she'd never been kissed yet. With that, he had spun her around, dipped her down, and kissed her as the spotlights blinded them to the cheering crowd. She won Prom Queen not long after that. Her heart still did little jumps and backflips as she thought about that kiss. She'd been wanting it for so long that when it happened...it seemed like they were the only two in the gymnasium.

Roxanne returned the dipping move in their picture that she set on her dresser. Donny played the part of the swooning woman very well. Kicking off her shoes, Roxanne laughed at the picture one more time before changing into her pajamas and sleeping, still spinning and twirling in her dreams with Donny holding her.

They met at the beach the next day after school. Donny kept shuffling his feet, unwilling to look at her. "Roxanne, I'm so sorry! I should have asked you if you wanted a kiss! I just got caught up in the moment, and it was so perfect and-"

She kissed him on the cheek in return. "Shut up, Don."

Holding hands, they sat down at the beach, watching the ocean waves lap against the shore. Before, where silence meant one of them was scrambling to come up with something to say, now the silence comforted them both.

"Wanna catch the game?" Donny asked after fifteen minutes of watching the ocean.

"Sure." Roxanne knew full well they'd be too busy talking to even notice what happened in the game.

To her surprise, the game intrigued them both. They had risen to their feet, screaming and cheering as their team pushed through a rough first half in to a narrow win. Outside, Donny paused. "I brought flowers in case...well, first in case you didn't forgive me for the kiss, and second if the game sucked."

"Donny! They're beautiful." She inhaled the scent of the orchids, imagining the tropical island where they grew before pulling him into a hug.

As she hugged him, she squeezed his shoulders. She pulled back, flexing her fingers. "Donny, how come you're so tense."

"Dad is...expecting a lot from me." He didn't say much else. The Whitefall Corporation was going to him when he graduated high school.

Roxanne spun him around. "Hold still." She launched to every massage technique she'd learned from her mother. Donny's shoulders unwound. He gave her a grateful smile as he took her hand and they headed back to the beach.

"D'you ever just want to, just, y'know, run away?" he asked as they stargazed together.

"Not a whole lot. I'd miss my mom and dad too much if I left." Roxanne squeezed his hand a little tighter. "Do you want to run away?"

"Why do I have to inherit the company anyway? I mean, don't I get a choice in the matter?"

"Maybe if you run away, you can start your own company. I mean, your filthy rich, right? So you and I will elope somewhere far away and start a whole new life together!"

Donny sat up a little straighter. "But you just said you'd miss your mom and dad."

"That's if I run away and never come back. As long as we visit, it's fine."

"You'd really do that for me?"

"Anything, as long as it make you happy, Donny. As long as I'm with you, I'll be happy too."