Free Friends Forever by Danielle Steel Page B

and he didn’t want to let him down.
    “Well, then I guess we’ll have to help you,” Izzie said matter-of-factly. She had well-organized study habits, and good grades. She was stronger in English and history, and Andy was the top sciencestudent in school, and between the two of them, Izzie figured they could get Billy’s grades up, if he was willing to work hard, and he said he was. Billy was determined to do anything to get into a top school to play football.
    They organized a study program for him. Andy tutored him during his free periods at lunchtime—they met in the library every day. And Izzie worked with him after school. Billy’s two friends stuck with him with unwavering dedication for the rest of the year, helping him with papers, preparing him for quizzes and tests, and breaking down the material into digestible chunks he could understand and manage, and by the end of second semester, Billy was in the top third of his class with a strong B average in almost every subject, and the occasional A on a science quiz, thanks to Andy. They had done a heroic job tutoring him, and Billy was where he needed to be to qualify for the scholarship he wanted. It was a major victory for all three of them, and Sean had joined in to help him in Spanish, since Sean had become fluent. And by the end of junior year, Billy’s adviser couldn’t believe what he’d done and the improvement he’d made. He had no idea how Billy had gotten there. And Marilyn was ecstatic too. Billy was on his way to having his dream come true. And so was she. Jack Ellison asked her to marry him in June, and she accepted.
    They didn’t want to wait, and they agreed to get married at his ranch in Napa in August. She told the boys the morning after he’d asked her. She wanted them to be the first to know. Brian was thrilled, he loved Jack more than his own father. And Billy stayed drunk for two days. He told his mother he had stomach flu, but Izzie, Gabby, and the others knew the truth of how upset he was,and how he had reacted to the news. He was devastated. It was the first time he truly understood that his parents would never get back together, his father would never sober up, and even if he did, Marilyn didn’t want him. She was going to marry Jack.
    Billy’s childhood ended that summer. He was so distraught about his mother’s marriage that he began drinking in secret and smoking marijuana when he was alone. No one knew what he was doing or even suspected. He hid it well. And he got so drunk at his mother’s wedding that he passed out, and Sean and Andy had to carry him to his room, with Izzie and Gabby helping. They thought it was just a one-time excess. Marilyn was so happy and excited that she didn’t even notice he was missing as they cut the cake. The party went on until four in the morning, and she told Connie she had never been as happy in her life.
    “Where’s Billy?” Connie asked Sean later that night, when she saw him talking with Izzie at a quiet table far from the dance floor that had been set up for the occasion. Jack’s Napa restaurant had catered the event and the food was great.
    “I don’t know, Mom,” Sean said vaguely, glancing at Izzie, his partner in crime. “Maybe he got tired and went to bed.” He didn’t tell her that Billy had passed out hours before, and was unconscious in his room.
    Connie and Mike danced a lot that night. It was a beautiful wedding, and made everyone feel romantic to see how happy the bride and groom were. Marilyn had confided to Connie that they wanted to have a baby. She was forty-two years old, and thought she still could. They were going to start trying right away. Connie had a strong feeling Billy wouldn’t like it, but by the time the babycame, he’d be leaving for college, and Marilyn had a right to lead her life, she’d been unhappy with Larry for a long time. And Jack was good to her. He was down-to-earth and easygoing, and crazy about Marilyn and her boys. His sons were at