The mystery had been solved. The bad guys had been vanquished. The moral order had been restored. Jack proposed to Mary, who threw her arms around him and gave him a big kiss. They set a date and were married in a chapel among friends, family and the investigating officers on the case.
And Jack and Mary lived happily ever after.
Until five years later. Mary has given birth to two children, which pretty much bound her to the house. Jack is making a good living selling bonds to people with too much money for their own good. And, because Mary is no fun any more because she is concentrating on raising the children, he's started flirting with the women who work in his office.
Mary, sensing something was amiss, confronted Jack. He denied doing anything wrong, but started drinking in order to alleviate his guilt. The tension in the home rose; Mary started taking Valium to help her sleep. Eventually, Jack tearfully admitted his wandering attention. The family unit was reunited. The moral order was restored.
And they all lived happily ever after.
Until a few years after that. Janet and Corey, the children, were starting to break away, always a difficult time for parents. Mary was beginning to resent the fact that Jack was seldom around to help with the kids. She didn't realize that he was on his third affair, having learned one or two things about deception over the years.
After a particularly loud argument, Jack stormed out of the house. Mary thought he would return after he calmed down, but she never heard from him again. Whether or not he lived happily ever after was anybody's guess. She kind of hoped he didn't.
Frantic, Mary called on Francine, her next door neighbour, for a little comfort. Francine helped her pull her life together. Mary was so grateful, she could hardly refuse when Francine started coming on to her. They became lovers.
The moral order was left to fend for itself.
Still, Mary, Francine and the children lived happily ever after.
Until Corey's wedding. He wasn't prejudiced, you understand, but Jody's family was pretty conservative, and he didn't want Francine's presence to precipitate a scene. Francine understood, but Mary insisted that she attend.
Mary had done a lot of growing up since Jack left her. She had joined a women's support group and kicked her Valium addiction. She opened a sexual novelty boutique with Francine and found, in her spreading middle age, she enjoyed the freedom that an independent income offered her. As she seemed to do more and more these days, Mary stood her ground and got her way.
There were no embarrassing incidents. Nonetheless, Corey, on his way to his own happily ever after, never quite forgave his mother.
Janet, on the other hand, lived with Mark, a very nice man who seemed to adore her. He, Mary and Francine became good friends.
Finally, it looked like the four of them might live happily ever after.
Until Mary started noticing that some of her friends were dying of unusual colds and cancers - what eventually became known as Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. Mary and Francine decided to devote part of the profits from their chain of boutiques - now a half dozen locations and growing - to finding a cure for the disease. They were distressed to find that, as the disease became more well known, few people continued to share their sense of urgency.
Francine's arm was broken by counter-demonstrators at a gay rights rally. Sitting in the emergency ward brought home to Mary how fragile life was, and she dedicated herself to living hers to the fullest.
Thus, she lived happily ever after.
Until, in her 60s, Mary was diagnosed with an advanced case of breast cancer. All these fancy modern ways of dying, and all she could manage was breast cancer! Operations were carried out, chemotherapy was attempted, but Mary's health deteriorated rapidly; after six months, all the life was completely drained out of her. Mary died in her sleep, surrounded by her friends.
At which point, living happily ever after became pretty much irrelevant.
