Ice Cream and a Diamond

            Jess frowned as she drove.  This was awful.  She had sent all three of them off, and they had been put through such an awful experience.  They would probably hate her or something.

            The exit for the hospital approached and she took it.  The building came up soon, and she turned into the parking lot.  Julia’s car was there, and she parked next to it.  Grabbing her bag, she got out and started to walk up to the door.

            The sudden beep from her cell phone was all that it took to stop her.  Maybe Ben had left her a sweet little love message.  When she hit the button, however, it was Julia’s voice that rushed out.  Yet it was different… She sounded happy.  There was laughter in the background.

            Hi, Jess.  We aren’t at the hospital right now.  We went to the mall to get an ice cream to celebrate Matt getting out of the hospital.  The mall is only a little down the road, so I’m sure you can find us!  Bye!

            Jess smiled.  It was good that they were having a good time.  She got back into the car and drove away, finding the mall easily.  Once inside, she located the food court on the directory and headed straight for the ice cream place.

            Only one table was occupied in the whole restaurant, and it was filled with four people.  A red-haired version of Lucky sat across the table from Matt, as they held hands over the table and laughed.  Beside Lucky was Julia, and beside Matt was another guy.  They all chuckled loudly as Julia threw a cherry at the guy with a smile.

            Jess smiled herself as she approached the table.  It seemed that they were done; the only items on the table were four empty plastic bowls and a bag from a jewelry store.  “Hey, everyone,” Jessica said.  “Are we done here?”

            She was met with four smiles.  Lucky immediately thrust her hand out.  “Look!”

            Jess took Lucky’s hand in hers.  She first noticed the bandage, but then her eyes fell on the diamond ring that Lucky was wearing.  It was her left hand…  She looked at her little sister in amazement.  “You two are engaged?”

            “I know we’re a little young,” Matt started, but Jess shook her head.

            “I’m very proud of both of you.  And, Julia, who is this?”

            Julia smiled.  “This is Gavin, my boyfriend.  Gavin, this is Jessica.”

            Gavin greeted her, but seemed much more content to gaze at Julia than to make friends.

            There was silence for a moment, but Lucky spoke again after a while.  “Jessica, I want to thank you for letting Julia and I go on this trip and for encouraging Matt to come after us.  This has been one of the best experiences ever.”

            Matt and Julia confirmed her answer, and Gavin looked as if he was likely to agree.  Jess smiled brightly.  “Well, if that’s the case, I think I’ll give you all a little more time here.  Julia can drive you back up in a week or so.”  She walked away to a chorus of thank you’s.

            They all sat back and smiled at each other for another few moments of silence.  This time, Gavin broke it.

            “Who’s up for another round of milkshakes?”

            “Me!” the other three cried simultaneously.

            “Or maybe,” Lucky said after a pause, “you should just get two milkshakes with four straws.”

            Matt leaned across the table to kiss her, and Gavin kissed Julia before getting up.

            Lucky smiled to herself and to Matt as he sat back.  Everything about this trip had been perfect.  Even the bad parts had seemed nice.  Maybe she had three cuts, but she got to have Matt bandage them up for her each night… and now it would be less tempting for her to wear all of those midriff-bearing shirts that Jessica so disapproved of.  All of them had improved with the trip.  Julia had learned to be a little more careful with who she fell in love with, and she had met the perfect guy.  Matt had learned not to keep secrets and had proposed to her.  Selene had gotten what she deserved, and Gavin had stumbled upon the person who he claimed was “the love of his life.”  Everyone was safe and happy, and the regrets had faded away.  Lucky knew that everyone would agree with her when she said, “This is all perfect.  Absolutely perfect.”

A/N: the end!  I hope you enjoyed it!  And if you’re following the Jessica Prentice stories, I have 2 that I could put up next… one about Jamie and one about Jessica when she met Jesse.  If anyone has any preferences, please tell me… and if you haven’t already, read my other Jessica stories!  I have a list on my bio that tells which are about Jessica and friends, and hopefully you’ll enjoy them.  Thanks to frenchvanilla, angelgurl3425374, Yaoilicious (who also helped me with ideas for some of it), anyone who read without reviewing, and anyone who reads it in the future!