Vicky searched her parents' home for several minutes, looking for Joe. She began to fear he had run off, but finally she found him in her old bedroom, looking at her childhood doll collections and various school awards.
"Hey," she said softly when entering. "I was beginning to worry you ran out on me; not that I'd blame you."
"No," he replied with a sad smile. "I just needed a few minutes alone. Sorry if I'm intruding here; I just never saw where you grew up."
"You're not intruding," Vicky answered, hugging Joe tightly. "Anything that's mine is yours now, you know that right?"
"Sure," he said simply, though Vicky could sense his doubt.
"Don't listen to a word he said," Vicky said forcefully, looking into his eyes. "I told off my father, we're done trying to get them to understand. Let's get out of here, baby."
"OK, but let's stay in here a few moments," Joe replied. "I like being in here, it still feels like you somehow."
They both sat on the bed, and held each other. Very few words were spoken in that time; it was as if both were trying to figure out exactly how to move on from the events of the evening.
A few days later, they were making their way up the NJ Turnpike to spend Christmas with Ken and Annie. Joe spoke very little of the disastrous Mullen holiday party, and that worried Vicky greatly. She was afraid it was going to stop him from doing something she sensed he was planning for this trip. Something she now desperately wanted him to do: ask her to marry him.
Vicky wanted to tell him to not worry about her parents; that she would say yes without a moment's hesitation. But she sadly realized he wouldn't want to ask her, at least not right now. The wounds of that night were still too real for him. So she decided not to press it; Vicky remained confident that within a few months he would come to terms with their reality and realize their happiness was the most important thing.
The Chambers home was beautifully decorated for Christmas, with colorful lights on the house and Santa and his reindeer in the front yard. All of the houses in the neighborhood were colorfully and uniquely decorated, which delighted Vicky. This was how Christmas always was supposed to feel, she thought. In her parent's neighborhood such displays were frowned upon; decorations must be "tasteful" and "non-intrusive."
Annie squealed with delight as Vicky and Joe entered the house, hugging Vicky first before even acknowledging her brother.
"Hey, I'm here too," he teased. "You know, the brother you've known your whole life."
"Shut up," Annie replied, reaching out to hug him as well. "I'm happy to see both of you, idiot."
Vicky smiled as Joe came out of his shell around his family. She hated that her parents had crushed his spirit so much, and vowed never to let them do it again. Even if it meant cutting them out of her life; for the first time, she was willing to consider that possibility, and she realized the thought no longer bothered her. As long as she had Joe it wouldn't matter; she just needed to convince him of that.
The family sat around the tree on Christmas Eve opening presents, as was the Chambers family tradition. Joe and Annie were opening and exchanging gifts, Ken took that moment to walk over to Vicky.
"How are you doing?" he asked her softly with concern. "Joe told me about the party."
"I feel so terrible Ken," Vicky lamented. "He's trying so hard, but they just don't want to listen. I've told him I don't care, but I just worry it's going to hold him back; that I'm going to lose him."
"Don't worry about that," Ken said reassuringly. "I know my son; he suffers from the unfortunate disease of needing to be liked by everybody, and he usually is. But it won't stop him from being with you. He loves you; anyone with a brain, anyone who's really looking, can see that."
"Maybe you could tell Henry and Caroline Mullen that," she replied with a sad smile.
"They'll get there," Ken said, though without any conviction. "Anyway, enough sad talk, I wanted to give you something." He handed her a small rectangular box.
Vicky opened it up, finding a beautiful Mont Blanc pen inside.
"It was Olivia's," Ken began to explain. "She used it to put comments on papers she graded. She always said that she used a good pen because the kids deserved to see she put time and effort into reading their work."
"That's lovely Ken," said Vicky with a smile. "But are you sure you want me to have it? It must have a lot of sentimental value to you, to your family."
"I wanted you to have something of hers, you're a member of the family now too in my eyes," Ken replied. "I figured it would be good to give you something from her job. I want you to know that she would have loved how smart and successful you are. She would have been thrilled Joe found a woman like you."
"Oh Ken," Vicky reached out to hug the man she hoped would be her father-in-law, holding back tears. "I'll treasure it always."
"What's going on over here?" Joe quizzed as she saw the hug.
"Your father just gave me something very special," Vicky replied with a smile, showing him the gift.
"The pen?" Joe said with a smile. "It has a lot of miles on it...I have some papers of my own with marks all over it from that thing."
"I wanted to see it in good hands," Ken answered his son. "I can't think of anyone else I'd rather see it with now."
Joe reached out to hug his father, then Vicky, tears in his eyes. "Well, I guess I should give you my big gift," he said to Vicky. "I was going to wait until later, but we might as well let these two see." Joe reached into his bag of presents and pulled out a small box, small enough for a ring.
Three sets of eyebrows were raised at this, none more than Vicky's. Her heart threatened to pound out of her chest at the thought he dream would be realized. But she immediately saw Joe's reaction to all their stunned looks; he looked sheepish and somewhat embarrassed. This wasn't what they all were hoping for, she quickly realized.
Upon opening the small box, Vicky saw sparkling diamond...earrings. She immediately hid her disappointment; they were beautiful and undoubtedly cost her boyfriend a great deal of money.
"They're beautiful," she beamed to Joe, giving him a kiss. "You shouldn't have spent all this on me."
"I wanted to," he replied, relief flooding his features as he saw Vicky genuinely loved the gift. "Anything for you, Vic."
Ken and Annie stood off to the side, trying to hide their own disappointment that the gift wasn't a ring. Annie moved to say something, but her father stopped her, and gave her a look which said "It's not our business." Annie nodded reluctantly and went back to her own gifts.
Soon, all was forgotten as the rest of the gifts were exchanged. Joe loved his gifts, especially the new briefcase he received from Vicky. It would make him look super professional when he returned to the DA's office after Christmas.
A few days later, Joe found himself admiring that very same briefcase at his desk at work. The week between Christmas and New Year's was typically slow for the court system, but still people were needed to man the office during this time.
It gave Joe some time to think, away from Vicky, about how he would proceed. Though she had told him she no longer cared about her parents' approval, a large part of him was still unsure. There must be a way to win them over, he thought. But as he racked his brain he couldn't think of anything. Suddenly his thoughts were broken by his office phone ringing.
"Is this Joe Chambers?" the voice on the other end asked after Joe said hello.
"Speaking," he replied.
"Joe, this is David Reynolds, of Lang, Darcy & Reynolds in New York." Joe recognized the name; it was a large firm that worked on a lot of social and environmental cases. They were known as the "Firm with a Conscience" by many in the field; that term wasn't always used as one of endearment.
But Joe respected their mission; it was the kind of firm he dreamed of working for, but as far as he knew they only recruited from the Ivy League schools. He had no idea why they were calling him.
"Yes, can I help you?" he asked confused. "Are you working a case with our office?"
"No, Joe, I wanted to talk with you," Mr. Reynolds replied. "We have a program here we think you'd be perfect for. I created it for young lawyers from smaller law schools. I put myself through Hofstra law and graduated at the top of my class, but found none of the big Manhattan firms even wanted to interview me once they found out where I went. I was lucky to have a family friend who worked here or else they never would have given me a second glance."
"So when I became a I senior partner here, I wanted to make sure others like me; smart people who are every bit as qualified as any Ivy League graduate, got an opportunity to work at a place like this," he continued. "The program starts here in New York, and then there is a 3-year residency program in Europe, 18 months in London, and then another 18 months in Brussels. You'll learn what we do from the ground up, work on many of our domestic and international environmental cases, and make all sorts of contacts both here and overseas. By the end of it, you will have more opportunities to advance your career than even someone with a Harvard diploma."
Joe didn't know what to say; he still thought he was dreaming. "Are you sure you want me for this? How did you find out about me anyway?"
"Yes, you were referred to us by several prominent lawyers in Philadelphia," Mr. Reynolds replied.
"Who recommended me?" Joe asked curiously. "Was it someone affiliated with Temple?"
"No, I believe they worked for Henry Mullen," Mr. Reynolds explained. "I'm sure you've heard of him."
Joe's heart raced at the news; could he have misjudged Vicky's dad? But just as quickly, it sank as he thought about the description of the job and realized what the real motivation was. And Joe didn't want to get it that way, even if it was a dream job.
