"I was afraid you wouldn't come out this morning," Mike said as he took a hold of her hands.
"I wouldn't miss seeing you one last time," Ginny said as she ran her hand down the length of one of his sideburns.
"Don't talk like that Ginny. You make it sound as though we'll never see each other again," Mike said with a smile as an attempt to lighten the moment. Ginny just looked at the ground and didn't say a word. Mike began to fear the worst as his smile disappeared from his face.
"I will see you again, won't I?" Mike asked.
"No, I'm afraid not," Ginny said, not being able to look at him.
"Oh come on, I'll scrimp and save everything so I can come out and see you," Mike said.
"I'm afraid I can't let you do that," Ginny said, finally looking at him with a tear stained face. Mike finally realized what Ginny must be doing, so he decided to try and justify the situation.
"Look, I don't get it. Peter is ok with us seeing each other as long as it makes us happy. I was happy, weren't you?" Mike asked.
"Yes, I was very happy with you, but I know Peter didn't mean what he said. He would say or do anything if he thought it would make me happy, no matter how much he disapproved of it. Besides, it was hard on Nick to see me with a man besides his father," Ginny explained.
"So, I'm really never going to see you again," Mike said sadly.
"No, I'll write a note to Peter later on and tell him I'll send him money if he wants to come out and see me. I don't know if I could ever come back to California now," Ginny told him.
"Can I call you?" Mike asked.
"No," Ginny choked out through her tears.
"Can I write to you?" Mike asked.
"No," Ginny replied once again.
"I don't believe this. You give me the best two weeks of my life and I'm supposed to forget it like it never happened. You've changed my whole life. Do you know I'll never be the same again?" Mike asked her as he stared straight into her eyes.
"I'm sorry Mike, but my children's happiness has to come first, even above my own. That's what being a mother is all about. I know Nick was miserable, and Peter was uncomfortable, and I'm not sure if Chris and Ann ever caught on to our relationship. I'm sure they wouldn't have been thrilled either.
"Please Ginny, don't just cut me off. We can try and start over. We can be just friends," Mike pleaded. Ginny didn't want to hurt him anymore, so she began to walk away.
"I love you Virginia!" Mike hollered out to her. Ginny turned around and slowly came back to him.
"Don't say that. I know you don't mean it," Ginny said.
"I do mean it. I've never shared my troubles, my dreams, and my heart with anyone except you," Mike said, now crying.
"Love is a forever word. I'm sure ten years from now, when my enthusiasm and beauty will be harder to maintain, you wouldn't have a thing to do with me. You're a young man Mike. You have all the time in the world to find a young lady who'll love and understand you, and who would want to settle down with you," Ginny said.
"I don't want all that. I want you!" Mike exclaimed.
"I had better get inside and finish packing. By the way, you don't have to forget about me. I'm not going to forget about you. The memories don't have to die," Ginny said, as she wrapped her arms around Mike and gave him one final kiss. As she disappeared inside the pad, Mike crumbled to the ground. There in the sand, he cried harder than he had ever cried in his life.
Several hours later, everyone gathered in the living room to tell the Torks good bye. Mike however, stood in the background as he leaned against a kitchen wall with his head down and his hands shoved in his pockets.
"Goodbye everyone, and thank you for letting us stay here," Ginny said, as she hugged Micky and Davy.
"Hey Micky, I should have a driver's permit the next time we visit. Maybe I could drive the Monkeemobile," Chris said with excitement.
"Not a chance! That thing is Mike's pride and joy. He'd kill me if I'd let a kid behind the wheel," Micky said as he hugged the young teen.
"Goodbye Davy, goodbye Micky, I'd tell you to give Coco a goodbye kiss for me, but that would be sick," Nick said, shaking the two gentlemen's hands.
"Yes it would. Thank you for not asking me to do it. Did you get her address by the way?" Micky asked.
"Yes, and I'm going to write to her everyday and call her every Saturday and kiss her picture at night and…" Nick babbled on.
"Ok Nicky, we get the point already," Ann complained.
"My dear lady, have we agreed to be pen pals," Micky said to Ann.
"Yes, and I'll write you every day, you cutie," Ann said as she batted her eyelashes.
"Let's not get carried away. We have to give those fifth grade boys a chance, don't we?" Micky asked.
"Yes Micky, but I'll miss you," Ann said, hugging her first crush.
"Are we ready?" Peter asked.
"No, I need to say something to Mike first," Ann said. When Mike heard this, he went over to where Ann was. She motioned for him to bend down so she could whisper in his ear.
"Thank you for making my mom happy. She didn't cry herself to sleep the whole time we were here," Ann whispered. Mike was stunned that at least one of Ginny's children was happy about their relationship. He just looked at Ginny and saw her surprised look. Apparently, she had overheard what Ann said.
"Hey Mike, aren't you going to the airport with us?" Peter asked, figuring that he would want to spend some more time with his mom.
"Naw, you're a big boy. I think you can handle this yourself," Mike said, trying to hide his pain. Nick couldn't believe that Mike had past up the chance to spend some more time with his mom. In fact, since he no longer felt threatened, he kind of felt sorry for Mike.
"Hey Tex, take care of yourself," Nick said as he playfully punched Mike in the arm.
"You take care of your mother," Mike said as he placed his hands on Nick's shoulders and looked him straight in the eye.
"I will," Nick said, as he shook Mike's hand.
"Well, we had better get going so we won't have to fight the freeway traffic," Peter said.
As everyone exited and said their final goodbyes, Ginny walked over to Mike and gave him a hug.
"I'll miss you," she whispered in his ear.
"I'll miss you too," Mike said.
Once the car rolled out of the driveway, Mike sulked up to his room. Davy went up to check on him.
"Hey, you ok mate?" Davy asked.
"I have to be. What's done is done," Mike said dryly.
"That was a noble thing you did. You gave her up without losing a shred of dignity," Davy said.
"Whoopee! I'm 'tough as nails' Mike again," Mike said sarcastically.
"You know, 'Mike with his head in the clouds' was a nice change of pace," Davy said. This brought a brief grin out of Mike.
"Thanks man," Mike said.