Like Father, Like Son

Tyler reached for Sarah's hand as soon as her daughter gave her mother that look; that, "Did he really just say that?" look.

Michael smiled at Tyler and Sarah then stood up and turned toward Savannah. He moved closer and to the side of her so the other couple could see then knelt down and began speaking.

He took his girlfriend's hand then looked into her eyes and said, "Savannah? My life completely changed the day you demanded—politely, of course—to know why I said 'no' to your internship request. Since then, my life has gone from having little reason to be happy—outside of my son and my work. But now, my life is rich and full and a thing of beauty."

He reached into a pocket and produced a large solitary diamond ring before continuing. Sarah was already crying and Savannah was shaking as her hands covered her mouth.

"Savannah Winter, I am so very in love with you, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

He held out the ring then said, "Will you marry me?"

Savannah was crying now and Sarah lost it.

Savannah nodded several times as she said through her tears, "Yes! Yes, I will marry you!" as Michael slid the ring on her finger.

"Let me see!" Sarah almost yelled as she jumped up and hurried to her daughter.

Savannah held out her hand which her mom briefly took so she could admire the very large diamond. After a quick-but-careful look she threw her arms around her daughter and congratulated her while telling her how happy she was for her.

Tyler was hugging his dad and when they finished, the others also hugged.

"Looks like we blew the odds out of the water, huh?" Michael said after accepting a kiss from his new fiancee.

"No kidding," Tyler agreed as they sat back down.

"I saw some champagne in the wine cooler," Sarah said. "I can't imagine a better reason to break it out."

She got back up to go get it when Tyler took her hand.

"Hold on a minute," he said pulling back onto the sofa.

Sarah and then Savannah both gave him a look while Michael was grinning like the proverbial Cheshire Cat."

"Okay, what's going on here?" Sarah asked when Tyler started smiling, too.

"We did blow the odds up with that proposal," he said, looking at each person in turn.

"But just imagine if the other couple also got engaged."

Michael was still grinning as Savannah realized what was happening.

"Oh...my...God!" she said quietly as Michael squeezed her hand.

Thoroughly confused, Sarah said, "Will someone please explain what's going on here?"

Tyler then stood up, knelt next to Sarah, and began to speak.

"Because of who we all are, my dad and I didn't think this would take away from Savannah's special moment."

He glanced at Savannah who was shaking her head 'no' thereby agreeing with Tyler.

"Are you kidding?" she said. "This makes it all the more special!"

Suddenly, it hit Sarah, too, who also said very quietly, "Oh...my...God," as Tyler then produced an equally beautiful diamond ring,

"Sarah, I had no intention of falling in love when I came home. And marriage was the last thing on my mind. But then I met you, and all of that began to change. And now? Well, now I can't imagine my life without you in it."

Sarah was once again crying, but these were very different tears than the ones she'd just shed in happiness for her daughter.

"Sarah Winter? Will you make me the happiest man on earth...."

"Second happiest!" his dad called out causing a small burst of nervous laughter.

"No, THE happiest man on earth," he said correcting his father, "by agreeing to be my wife?"

Savannah was quite literally squealing with joy and squeezing Michael's hand as hard as she could.

Sarah was unable to speak. Her face looked as though it was screwed up in the worst kind of anguish imaginable, but she did manage to nod as she held out her left hand.

Savannah squealed again then ran to hug her mother. Once the final round of hugs was over, Sarah finally found her voice.

"When Savannah's father died, a part of me died, too," she began saying.

She reached for Tyler's hand and said, "I'd all but given up on ever finding love again." She looked at Tyler the said, "Let alone true love. The kind I found with you."

She managed a smile then told him, "And the last place I expected to find it was with someone my daughter's age."

There was some polite laughter before Sarah continued.

"Savannah? Honey? This IS your day. I am SO happy for you."

She looked back at Tyler then said, "I know how much my daughter loves your father and I also know how much he loves my little girl."

Savannah not only didn't take offense, she began crying again.

"And I need everyone to hear me say how much I love you, too, Tyler."

She leaned over and kissed her new fiancee who told her, "And I, too, love you with all my heart."

Sarah accepted his kiss then said, "Like father, like son, right?"

******

Five months later

News of the very unusual double wedding had made its way all across the country and then the world with organizations like TMZ offering huge sums of money for the exclusive rights to cover the ceremony.

After much discussion, all four of them agreed to accept the offer and use the money (after spending some of it on amazing-but-separate honeymoons) to fund what was now being called The Turner Project. The science community worldwide had embraced the concept leading many to refer to it as the pan-(cake) Turner Project. Along with the silliness of the name came even more very serious funding from both private and governmental sources.

With some very important modifications to the Large Hadron Collider near Geneva, Switzerland, the first particles with mass were rendered massless and accelerated faster than the speed of light just three years later.

In the meantime, both new brides had learned they were expecting at around the same time some ten months after their marriages seen 'round the world.

Savannah reaffirmed her willingness to sign a pre-nup, but Michael refused to let her. She began painting in earnest and thanks to her newfound notoriety (and the superb quality of her work) two local galleries proudly displayed her work. Several of the paintings sold rather quickly which created further demand resulting in additional sales.

As much as the possibility of a career interested Sarah, the happy reality of having another child at this stage of her life trumped any potential satisfaction a career might provide, and she happily continued staying home before and after the birth of her beautiful son.

In the end it really didn't matter if any other situation like this had ever existed anywhere else on earth. All that mattered is that two beautiful children were born into a very loving (if very unusual) extended family that stayed extremely close and where love continued to grow between Michael and Savannah as well as between Tyler and Sarah.

And as far as Sarah was concerned, each time she held her precious baby boy, she said a silent little prayer.

"Dear Lord. Please let my son grow up to one day be just like his father. Amen."