Secrets of the Past
by Erin
(The action in this story takes place in the distant future. The year
is
2028, and Jessie and James are happily married with four children.)
Nearly twenty years had passed since they quit Team Rocket and Jessie
and James were enjoying the new life they had created for themselves.
Their twentieth wedding anniversary was only a few short months away, and
they were looking forward to it, as were their children, Alexander, 16,
Julia, 14, Jimmy, 12, and Amy, 10. They felt that their happiness
could never be shattered as long as they had each other.
One day, Jessie went up to the attic to find Alex and Jimmy
looking through an old trunk that was filled with things from the past.
Her curiosity got the better of her, as well as her maternal instincts,
so she decided to see what was going on.
"What are you two up to?"
"Just looking through some old stuff that you and Dad used to
have when you were younger," said Alex. "Everything in here looks as if
it came from a century or two ago!"
"Your father thinks that it has sentimental value," said Jessie.
"Including his old bottle cap collection!"
"Mother," said Jimmy. "Why didn't you ever tell us that you
and Dad used to belong to Team Rocket? I mean, we're not little kids anymore!
We'd understand!"
"Jimmy's got a point there," said Alex. "It's high time you
stopped keeping it a secret from us!"
"That was a long time ago," said Jessie. "Back before either
of you were born! The reason why we never told you was because, well, we
didn't think you'd like the fact that you're the children of two former
criminals!"
"That still doesn't mean that you should keep it a secret from
your own children," said Alex. "Since we're all old enough, I think that
the timing is right for you and Dad to tell us about your past!"
Excusing herself, Jessie left the attic and escaped to the master
bedroom and sat on the bed. She couldn't believe that her sons would actually
ask her about her criminal past, especially not when it looked like things
were finally going well for the family. James noticed how jittery she was
when he walked in.
"What's wrong, Jess?"
"James," said Jessie. "I think the children want to know about
our past! Do you think that it's all right for us to tell them that we
were once members of Team Rocket? I mean, I don't want them to think negatively
about their parents!"
"I do want to do the right thing," said James. "After all, they
were bound to ask us about it sooner or later! It has been almost twenty
years since we quit! And we did vow to give our children what we missed
out on, didn't we?"
"Of course we did," said Jessie. "But, I didn't think that I'd
hear the question so soon? And lying to them isn't going to help us in
this situation!"
"I think we should tell them, Jessie," said James, sitting down
next to his wife and stroking her face gently with his finger while gazing
into her dazzling sapphire eyes. "No sense keeping it a secret from them!
Don't you want the best for them?"
"Of course I do," said Jessie. "Very much so!"
"Then, I think we should go through with it," said James. "They
won't hate us for it, if that's what you're thinking! Believe me, Jess,
the last thing in the world we need is our children resenting us!"
"All right, James," said Jessie. "If that's what you want to
do, then I'm with you 100%!"
Later on, the four Rosewood children all gathered in the living
room. They had been called in for an important matter, a matter that
they obviously had been hoping for.
"I can't believe you're making them do this, Alex," said Julie,
giving her brother a stern look. "I mean, couldn't you give them the right
to privacy?"
"We were curious," said Alex. "Wouldn't you be curious to know
about what Mother and Dad did in the past, Julie?"
"Yeah," said Julie. "But, not right now!"
"You're such a worrywort," said Jimmy. "Besides, it's not like
we're being punished or anything!"
"I hope not," said Amy. "Because I know we did nothing wrong!"
Jessie and James entered the room about five minutes later.
They knew that something like this was coming, especially since they knew
how curious their children were.
"It has come to my attention that you want to know about our
past," said James. "Well, as uncomfortable as your mother and I both feel,
we're going to tell you about it!"
"On one condition," said Jessie. "We don't want a word of this
being spread around! I don't care how curious your friends get, you're
not to repeat what we're about to tell you!"
"We won't," said Alex. "You can count on us, Mother!"
"Now that we've got that cleared up," said James. "We'll talk
about our past! Your mother and I were indeed members of Team Rocket, but
we were constant failures! But, despite that, we managed to stick by each
other through thick and thin!"
"We didn't think you were failures," said Jimmy. "At least not
at raising us!"
"That's right," said Julie. "You guys raised us to be the best
we could possibly be! And your efforts paid off!"
There was a brief silence and then, James spoke again.
"That is true, and we're giving you kids what we missed out
on! Your grandmother, Miyamoto, died in an avalanche forty years ago, leaving
your mother all alone to fend of herself! I, on the other hand, despite
being rich, had a very rough childhood as well! But, then I met your mother
and we became fast friends! Over the years, we grew closer and closer,
until we eventually fell in love and after we quit Team Rocket, we got
married!"
"Wow," said Amy. "That was quite a touching story!"
"Now that you know more about us," said Jessie. "Do you love
us any less than you did before you heard about this?"
"No," said Alex. "In fact, we love you ten times more!"
"Thanks," said James. "Could you excuse us for a few minutes?
I'd like to speak to your mother in private!"
"Sure," said Alex. "I have to call Heather anyway!"
As soon as the children were gone, Jessie and James sat down
on the couch and cuddled up next to each other.
"You know," said Jessie. "I think I'm the luckiest woman in
the world to be married to somebody like you, James!"
"I wouldn't have settled for less," said James. "You should
know that by now! Why, if we hadn't decided to get married, who knows who
or what we'd be today!"
"I'm glad we did," said Jessie. "There's not a woman alive who
would love to be in my shoes! The day I married you, I knew that my dream
of marrying a rich man was finally a reality!"
"I love you, Jessica," said James, kissing her on the neck.
"You've made me the happiest man in the world!"
Jessie smiled and returned the kiss. "I love you too, James!
I'm glad that you're my husband and the father of my children! I couldn't
have asked for a better husband than you!"
Then, they got closer and kissed again. They knew that they
had nothing to worry about, especially since their love was what kept their
marriage alive for the first twenty years and they hoped that the next
twenty years after that were even better.
THE END