Previously, On Concrete Shelves
- Emily Roscoe crashed her car on her way into town.
- Charlene walked out on Patrick Sutton.
- Adrian saw a much pregnant Cassie Lakhani.
- Kirsten arrived late to the dinner with Adrian by her side...
[.....]
[.....]
Scene One: Faustino Cottages #7; Charlie, Kirsten & Megan's Home
“What happened to the dinner?” Charlie Sutton called out as he wandered the house. It was the day after Christmas and things were starting to get back to normal for Charlie and Kirsten Sutton. Except one thing.
He placed Megan’s doll on the counter as he searched the house for Kirsten. Walking into the living room, he found his wife sorting through some of their bills. “Do you remember when you were so eager to get my parents to see Megan?”
Kirsten looked up at Charlie and recalled their fights.
“What happened?”
Watching as his wife scrunched up her face, Charlie sat next to her. “Do you not want them to get to know their granddaughter anymore? Because if that is the case then everything we have been fighting about has been meaningless.”
She didn’t have time for this. “No Charlie, I don’t want to keep your parents away from Megan. But I have tried my hardest to get them to see the point that blood is thicker than water.”
“So you want them to see her?”
Putting down the bills, she knew Charlie wasn’t going to let up. “Yes I want your parents to spend time with our daughter. I’m just so busy right now, I can’t worry about their stubbornness.”
“Does this busyness have anything to do with Adrian Stone?”
[.....]
Scene Two: Stone Creek.
“Wait, what are you doing?” Emily Roscoe called out in confusion as she watched Bentley Wilkinson walk over to the passenger side of the car. As they both faced each other, she pleaded for an answer.
Bentley shrugged. “You haven’t driven a car since the accident.”
This made Emily uneasy. “You know that I don’t have the money for a car,” the excuse was legit enough for a normal person to believe but Bentley wasn’t buying it. “What do you want me to say?”
He tossed the keys to Emily. “That you will drive me to the hospital, we have a lunch date with my mother.”
This was another thing that Emily was uneasy about. Bentley’s parents and although everyone has told her about their kindness and she even witnessed it at the Christmas dinner, she still felt like an outsider.
“I can’t do this Bentley.” She admitted.
Bentley’s face fell. “It’s okay Emily, my mother loves you.” But she shook her head. “So this has everything to do with the driving part? I thought so.” He walked around to the driver side of the car and took Emily into his arms.
“You’re not mad at me?”
“Why would I be mad at you Emily?” Bentley asked, he didn’t get much out of Emily before he continued. “Listen I know how hard it is for you to get behind the wheel after what you went through.”
“Thanks.”
“But don’t you want to overcome the car accident?” He asked the question that Emily had been asking herself for quite some time. Quite honestly she had been getting used to hailing cabs and memorizing bus schedules.
Emily looked at Bentley and shrugged. “I would like to not be so afraid of driving.”
Bentley smiled. “Then let me help you?”
[.....]
Scene Three: Kevin Saunders' Home
Kissing her shoulder, Kevin Saunders slipped his hand under the covers and caressed his lady visitor’s body. The way the curtains cast a gleam of light on her naked body only turned him on even more.
But she was asleep.
He looked at the clock and noticed that it was already ten in the morning. Kevin kissed her shoulder once again, but this time he led up to her neck and then her cheek. He could feel her stirring in his grasp.
“What time is it?” She asked, facing him groggily.
Kevin kissed her on the lips. “It’s time for us to talk.”
Charlene Sutton looked confused. There had been so much talking and screaming and yelling this past weekend that Charlene didn’t think she had enough stability to keep going. She sat up in the bed. “About what?”
“About us.” Kevin replied. “I know we already had this conversation but I think know we need to face it. We have been in bad for nearly two days and although it has been great Charlene, we need to return to our normal lives.”
“Are you kicking me out?” Charlene moaned.
Kevin chuckled. “Not quite.”
“Then what is going on Kevin?” This was about the time that Charlene wanted to go into panic mode. She didn’t want to return to Patrick’s home just yet, she needed time to collect herself. Charlene needed time to get all her anger out of her system.
Kevin took her hand in his. “This is the first time you’ve stood the night in my house Charlene. Whatever happened between you and Patrick, it forced you to break your own rules.”
“This doesn’t count.”
Kevin took a deep sigh. “But Charlene, it does. You told me once that you could only meet me at the Inn because it kept your worlds--our worlds separate. That it would keep you from falling completely in love with me.”
Charlene knew where this was going. Slowly she started to collect her things from the bed and she turned to Kevin who was about to ask her the one question she had been meaning to answer.
“Are you falling in love with me Charlene?”
---
Our love. Our fights. Our friendships.
On Concrete Shelves.
Forever, they shall be remembered.
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Scene Four: Sutton Enterprises; Patrick's Office.
The knock at his office door caused Patrick Sutton to shift and readjust his work suit. “Come in!” He called as he got himself settled in, clasping his hands together he watched as the person entered the building.
The dark-haired maven smirked at Patrick as she approached Patrick’s desk. “Mr. Sutton, we set up a meeting a couple days ago about the Alamein Project. My name is Catalina Cortez. It’s very nice to meet you.”
Patrick rose from his seat and shook Catalina’s hand. “Very nice to talk to you in person Miss Cortez. Would you like some water before we start our meeting?” Kindly he poured her a drink and then sat down.
There was something so exotic about the woman sitting in front of him. He couldn’t keep his eyes off of her and he knew she was having trouble doing the same. He could tell she was having trouble.
“I was under the impression that you needed a platform to sell your brand of watches?” Catalina nodded her head in agreement. “Well I’ve had some of my people look over your proposal and everything looks well enough to be finalized.”
Catalina smiled. “There’s just one thing.
“What’s that?” Patrick asked, eager to hear what she had to say. Silently trying to hold himself back from pouncing on the younger woman.
“I want to use my own workers.” Catalina spoke, she pulled out three sheets of papers with names and contact information. “I come from a strong mexican background and I’ve promised my workers they wouldn’t get cut out of a payment.”
“Why don’t you just pay them yourself from your earnings?” Patrick suggested.
Slyly Catalina looked at Patrick. “That wouldn’t be earnest of me? The deserve a good honest paycheck. You can look up all their information. Every single worker is legal in the united states. I can get you their documents.”
Patrick waved her off. “That’s not necessary.”
“I hope you understand Mr. Sutton that I am doing my best to care for my people and getting them into a industry where they can prosper is part of that.” Catalina spoke, her words demanding Patrick’s attention.
It turned him on even more.
“I don’t do this for anybody.”
Catalina leaned back in her chair and bit her lip slowly. “Do this for me?”
[.....]
Scene Five: Faustino Cottages #7; Charlie, Kirsten & Megan's Home.
Kirsten made sure that Megan was out of shouting distance and turned back to Charlie Sutton. “No, no no. You don’t get to swiftly inject Adrian’s name into our conversation like that. That was a long time ago.”
Watching as his wife seethed over the mention caused Charlie to become uncomfortable. “Then why did you offer him the apartment above the cafe Kirsten? Why did you have to go and do that?”
“He needed a place to stay Charlie.” She felt sick having to defend herself against her husband. “What was I supposed to say? He was my friend too before they left town. Adrian had always been good to me.”
Charlie’s nostrils flared. “Adrian Stone is Gail’s problem, not yours.”
“Adrian Stone might be Gail’s problem but he is my friend Charlie. It outrages me that you are trying to create a problem out of nothing.” Kirsten shook her head, lifting herself from the tension. “I have to go.”
“You have a dinner date with Adrian?” Charlie spit.
Kirsten spun around. “No, I have to meet up with your sister. Your parents kicked her out of the house the other day. But you’re so self-involved lately that you haven’t noticed that Gillian needs your help!”
Charlie’s posture softened. “Kirsten.”
But she wasn’t having it, instead she grabbed her bag and turned away. Wether it was her intention or not the door slammed behind her, causing Charlie to slightly jump. His heart sank.
[.....]
Scene Six: David, Helen & Gail's Home.
Adrian Stone watched as Dr. David Schmidt left the house, he knew that Gail’s father would be at work all day so he wouldn’t interrupt Adrian’s visit. He also knew that Helen Schmidt wouldn’t be home as well.
Slipping out of his truck he made his way over to the house and rung the doorbell. Gail Schmidt’s light footsteps echoing through the house as she stumbled down the stairs and towards the door.
“Hell-Adrian.” She looked as if she got the wind punched out of her.
“Gail, I need to talk to you.” Adrian said, the words he planned escaping his mind along with the heat that left his body cold. He rubbed his hands together. “Can I come in?”
Finally recovered, Gail shook her head and let him in.
“What’s going on Adrian?” Gail asked as she closed the door. Gripping the knob behind her back she leaned against it. “Last time we talked--well let’s face it I didn’t think you would want to talk to me again.”
Adrian turned around to look at Gail Schmidt. He noticed how flat her stomach was, it didn’t look anything like Cassie Lakhani’s stomach. Adrian tried to recall a time when her stomach did look like Cassie’s.
But nothing was coming to mind.
“How long were you pregnant?”
Gail clutched her stomach and lowered her head. “I wasn’t even through my first trimester.” She admitted, then let her hands fall.
Adrian approached Gail, she could feel her body tense up as she let him put his hands to her stomach. Closing her eyes she tried not to cry. It was the first time that Adrian had actually touched her in months.
For a second she felt like he was still hers. But she slowly began to pull away because she knew it wasn’t going to change anything. Their baby was dead. There was nothing they could do to change it.
“I want to work this out.” Gail’s eyes locked on Adrian’s face. “I need to work this out, with you. I’m not saying that we should get back together right now. But I’m saying that I still love you.”
A tear fell from Gail’s eye.
[.....]
Scene Seven: Stone Creek Memorial Hospital.
“Two blocks.” Bentley Wilkinson spoke as he turned to look at Emily Roscoe who was now in the passenger seat. He could tell she felt ashamed of herself so he took her face in his hand and kissed her. “That’s progress.”
Emily shrugged. “I still feel like I didn’t do anything.”
“You did enough.” Bentley responded, he looked at the hospital and then back at Emily. “If you want we can go talk to Dr. Schmidt and see if he can maybe prescribe you something to deal with anxiety?”
Emily smiled. “I haven’t seen him in awhile.”
“I’m sure he would like to check-up on you as well.” Bentley noted the closeness between Dr. David Schmidt and Emily Roscoe after her accident. “We can see if he wants to have lunch with us to make you feel comfortable around my mother?”
For a second Emily wanted to take Bentley up on the offer, but she then shook her head. “I think this is something I have to do on my own. The whole getting to know your parents.”
“What about the driving thing?”
Grabbing Bentley’s hand, Emily beamed. “That is what I have you here for. To help me overcome my fear of driving.” She watched Bentley. “So two blocks, maybe we can do three next time?”
“Maybe we can practice your breaking first.” Bentley kidded.
Emily playfully pushed him. “That’s insensitive.”
Bentley pulled Emily into a hug. “Three blocks it is then.”
[....]
Scene Eight: Sage Garden's; Alice's Haven Cafe.
After her meeting with Gillian Sutton, Kirsten went back to Alice’s Haven Cafe to check-up on the staff and to make sure business was going smoothly. Mostly she wanted to avoid another confrontation with Charlie.
She couldn’t put he anger into words.
“Do you have a minute?” Kirsten looked up to see her father-in-law in front of her. “We need to talk about my family.”
There wasn’t much Kirsten wanted to let on to Patrick Sutton. Having the upper hand on a Sutton meant to keep him out of her issues. So she motioned to a booth and followed as he sat down.
“Is there much to talk about?” Kirsten asked, she instructed one of her waitress to bring over two coffee’s. Then turned back to Patrick. “I mean the lack of family on your part.”
Patrick scoffed. “Gillian already open her mouth?”
“She didn’t need to Patrick.” Kirsten let up. She then tried to refocus the conversation. “The problem here is that you keep trying to control who your family becomes involved with.”
Kirsten could tell the words were sinking into Patrick’s pores. “I think you’re missing the point here Kirsten.”
“The point?” The waitress, Abigail Jenkins, arrived with the two coffee’s. She skillfully placed one in front of Kirsten and the other in front of Patrick and pulled out two stir straws.
“Yes, the point.” Patrick spoke, he glanced at Abigail and then back at Kirsten. “The point is, is that I am coming to you when it comes to the issues with my family. You need to fix this.”
“Me?”
Patrick grabbed a packet of sugar. “Things started unraveling when you got yourself pregnant by my idiot of a son. I still don’t know how that happened.” Kirsten started feeling uncomfortable. “I need you to convince Charlie that I accept Megan as my granddaughter.”
Kirsten took a deep breath. “Do you accept Megan as your granddaughter Patrick?”
Patrick didn’t respond, instead he focused on stirring his coffee.
“This is ridiculous.” Kirsten got up to leave, she had enough of the men in the Sutton family for one day. “Do you think you can just push people to give you what you want?” She tried her hardest not to make a scene.
“Do you not want Megan to grow up knowing both sides of her family?” Patrick questioned, looking up at Kirsten Thurlow. The constant reminder of whose daughter she was plastered all over her face.
Kirsten’s posture softened.
[.....]
Scene Nine: Callahan Condo's #22.
Catalina Cortez opened the door to her apartment and placed her bag on a chair next to the hallway. The conversation she had with Patrick Sutton went exactly like she planned, but the utter exhaustion she felt was something new.
Placing her keys on the counter she could hear someone in the living room. “Mija, can you lower that down?” She asked, slipping off her shoes and her coat and placing it into the closet.
But the television was still as loud as it was before. “Did you not hear me?” Catalina made her way into the room where her sister laid lazily on the couch. Her head phones in her ears and a book on her chest.
She was asleep.
Grumbling to herself she made mental note to tell her sister to turn the television off if she wasn’t using it. Most of the time she didn’t know where her little sister got her attitude from.
They were so different. Catalina conserved energy, she made sure everything she bought had a use and that everything she ate was for a reason. While her younger sister was the complete opposite.
Catalina gently took the head phones off her sister’s ears and carefully lifted the book from her tired body. Making sure to mark where her sister left off so she could continue in the morning.
“What am I going to do with you?” She asked her sleeping sister. “Sweet Isobel, what would mamá do?”
Catalina looked down at Isobel Cortez and knew she was sole responsible for this woman-child on her couch.
[.....]
Scene Ten: Joplin & Maverick Lawfirm; Kevin's Office.
Kevin tried to keep the thoughts of Charlene Sutton at bay. He needed to finish up the last of his work before his meeting with Patrick. There hadn’t been much that he dug up on Damien Crenshaw.
But he knew Patrick wouldn’t let Kevin reschedule their meeting. So he called Patrick to meet him at his offices anyways and drew up a couple leads to reason with why Damien would want Gillian to marry him.
Kevin sort of felt sad for Gillian. She was a naive little girl in the center of this tug-of-war. Patrick interrupted Kevin’s thought process and barged into the office.
“What do you have for me?” He barked.
Kevin sat up in his chair, an obvious territorial defense. “Well quite frankly, I don’t have much that you don’t already know. But it does seem that Damien Crenshaw doesn’t have his eggs in one basket so to speak.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean he has more than one motive for being in Stone Creek.” Kevin pointed to a couple financial papers that he managed to snag from Damien’s bank records. He then handed Patrick a copy of Damien’s passport.
“This confirms everything.” Patrick spit, he tossed the papers of Kevin’s desk. “Damien Crenshaw is not only out to destroy the Thurlow family, but also my own family.”
Kevin gulped, keeping himself under control.
“That man is a monster!” Patrick bellowed, he started to pace the room. “What can we do to diffuse this situation? I need something good on Damien Crenshaw so that he will leave town an not look back.”
There was silence between the two. “He doesn’t want money.” Patrick turned to Kevin and stopped in his tracks. “If he wanted money he would have already asked for that. So far he hasn’t asked for a cent.”
“He is waiting.”
“But for what Patrick?” Kevin shuffled through his notes. “He has his daughter in town, you know? Danielle Crenshaw is still unaccounted for.”
Patrick thought about it for a moment. Where would he hide his daughter so that nobody would recognize her? Nothing was adding up. How could you hide a grown woman from the world?
Then he stopped in his tracks. “But she is accounted for.” Patrick spoke, it was as if it all hit him at once. He remembered the talk he had with Kirsten earlier and focused on the pretty little waitress, he had never seen her before.
She wasn’t part of Stone Creek’s legacy. “I need you to check into the background of a petite little brunette waitress at Alice’s Haven Cafe. Do a full background check. Where she grew up. Her family. Blood type. Everything.”
Patrick’s wheels were spinning. “She doesn’t go by Danielle Crenshaw anymore. I don’t think she ever did. This is sick, Damien is hiding his daughter in plain sight! I got this bastard.”
[.....]
Scene Eleven: Sage Garden's; Alice's Haven Cafe.
Abigail Jenkins spent the last hours of work filling napkin holders. Sitting in the booth her face lit up. It was her favorite time of night. When everybody was gone and few stragglers were hanging around outside.
The cool winter breeze raking against the cafe’s windows.
She would get lost in the reflections of light dancing along the window panes as she opened up her locket and looked at the two faces inside. These were nights when she tried to remember what they sounded like.
What they smelled like.
“Hey, Abigail!” A voice called, it belonged to one of the busboys. “It’s time to go home. Clock out and I’ll give you a ride home!”
Abigail nodded her head. Looked back down at her locket and shut it. A small tinge of hope left in her eye she got up from her seat at the booth and made her way to the kitchen to clock out.
Another day, another night. Sometimes she felt like the bell of the boulevard, lost without any direction to turn. But the cool breeze always led her home. Winter was her favorite month.
[.....]
Next Time, On Concrete Shelves
- Marina learns that Ryan left town.
- Kevin makes progress on finding out the truth.
- Charlene gives Deborah something to think about.
- Someone threatens Cassie Lakhani...
