- James got a disturbing phone call.
- Kevin admitted to wanting his ex. wife, Melanie, back.
- Marina figured out that someone turned in her article.
- Penelope pleaded with Catalina to claim insanity...
[.....]
[.....]
Scene One:
507 Auburn Rd., Stone Creek. “Wilkinson Cottage”
Gideon, Daphne & Penelope’s Home.
Fixing her outfit in the mirror, Penelope Wilkinson found it amusing that she was worried about how she looked. But it was the only thing that she could control, after David Schmidt told her about the cancerous tumor growing in her head. Control was a thing she saw little of lately.
She took a much needed deep breath and looked at the clock. “We can’t be late!”
Taking it as his cue to hurry up, her son, Gideon rushed into the room with his coat halfway on. “I know and we won’t be late mother, we still have two hours until the hearing starts. I wish you would take time to just sit down and relax, do you know how to relax?”
Penelope grumbled. “Of course I know how to relax! It’s just every time I do I start to think about this so called tumor growing in my head. Do you know how un-relaxing that is? When I start to think about it, it feels like it is growing bigger.”
“It’s not growing any bigger.” Daphne Wilkinson spoke from the doorway, putting her earrings on. “I know that it feels that way Nell, and I’m sure it is uncomfortable. I just wish that you would reconsider the surgery to remove the tumor, or at least most of it.”
“Daphne is right mother.” Gideon added, he turned to his wife who fixed his tie. “The only way to be sure that this tumor won’t hurt you is to get rid of it and David already said that once you are recovered from the surgery he would start you on Chemotherapy to get rid of the rest of the tumor.”
She shook her head. “I just can’t think about it right now, I hope the two of you understand.”
Once Daphne was sure her husband’s tie was straight, she looked over at her Mother-In-Law. “Helping Catalina is a very noble thing you are doing, you know that? There are going to be a couple people who give you some heat for it, but I know most people in Stone Creek will applaud you for it.”
“Do you think I’m looking for applause Daphne?” Penelope griped, she grabbed her purse. “Do you really think I care what these people think? I did. After the accident I was scared what everyone in this town would think of me. I cared about them for years and where did that get me?”
“Mother, Daphne is just trying to help.” Gideon pleaded, he turned to Daphne. “Do you mind heading to the car, we will meet you there, okay darling?”
Realizing that she was losing the battle, Daphne nodded her head. One last look at Penelope meant she was dropping the subject and then she headed out the door. This gave Gideon time alone with his mother, time to cool things down. “I don’t know how you are feeling mother, but you can’t lash out on those closest to you.”
“Why not, I know that you would never leave me!” She scoffed, then plopped down on the couch. “I don’t know what to do Gideon. I’m sorry for being so harsh to the two of you, really I am. I just feel so stuck. I know the surgery will help the tumor, but I can’t let Daphne operate on me.”
Gideon furrowed his brow in confusion. “Is this what all the fuss is about?”
“Amongst other things.” She admitted. “I don’t want Daphne to feel guilty for killing me.”
There was no way that Gideon could reply to the statement. It was as if a brick wall had hit him head-on, stripping him of any words. So he sat next to Penelope. “Daphne isn’t killing anybody. She is one of the best surgeons around Stone Creek, you know you are safe in my wife’s hands mother.”
“Am I?” Penelope asked, taking a moment to think about it. “I am an old woman, everything is stacked against me on this one Gideon. When old people get tumors, they usually die. Those are the facts and I don’t know if I can deal with that.”
“So you just want to do what, die?” Gideon barked, he couldn’t believe what he was hearing from a woman who barged her way through every obstacle that stood in front of her. “Just lay there and let the tumor beat you? What kind of legacy would you leave behind? What about Catalina, should she just give up as well?”
“I was just hoping to save Catalina from a prison sentence so that she could have a chance to live her life and then after the court case, just go on a couple cruises and, well to put it frankly, die!” Penelope shrugged. “It sounded like a simple plan.”
Gideon sighed, how could his mother be thinking so negatively. Taking her hand he tried to hide the fact that he was completely terrified of the next couple of months. “Who is going to sneak my grandchildren their first sip of wine?” Gideon thought out loud.
“What?”
He smirked, then looked his mother directly in the eyes. “You heard me, who is going to sneak my grandchildren their first sips of wine? I mean clearly I wouldn’t allow it and I know that Greta at least would feel the same way about minors having wine.”
“You people don’t understand that wine is a natural part to a child’s growth.” Penelope replied, hastily. “Back in my days, a child having a sip of wine was completely normal. I don’t understand why it is such a taboo to someone that I raised.”
“If you won’t stay alive for yourself mother, do it for your great-grandchildren.” Gideon reasoned, getting up from the couch, he offered a hand to lift Penelope off the couch as well. “Think about the wine they will be missing out on, on growing up to be healthy children.”
Penelope wrinkled her face in thought. “Fine, I will think about the surgery. But I am not promising you anything beyond that.”
“That works for me.” Gideon accepted. “Now let’s get down to the hearing for Catalina and help this woman live out the rest of her life as well.”
[.....]
Scene Two:
Now Town.
Thurlow Lumber Mill Offices.
Watching as his girlfriend filed papers and answered the phones for her boss turned Bentley Wilkinson on. He took the time to remember her as she multi-tasked and remained confident in herself as she was constantly under a pile of paperwork.
Strolling over to Emily, he smiled when she caught his eye. “I know that your lunch isn’t for another couple of hours, but I thought I would come up here and bring you a snack to keep you energized.”
The brunette smiled wryly, looking around Bentley and seeing no traces of this snack that he mentioned. “I might be wrong but I think my boyfriend made up that lie to come distract me while I’m working.” Knowingly, she looked at the blinking red light on the phone and excused herself from the conversation.
Bentley took the time to post himself at her desk, looking around and noticing a picture of herself as a little girl and two adults, who he assumed were her parents. He smiled warmly at the fact that she seemed so happy in the picture, even though he knew how much that Emily had been through.
“Alright.” She spoke, returning to his full attention. “What have you got up your sleeve today mister Wilkinson?”
Rolling his eyes at the formal initiation. “Well, I was going to bring you some donuts but once I got to the break room they were all gone. So I decided to go down the street and buying you some flowers instead.” Pulling something out of his pocket, he placed a picture in front of her.
“What is this?” Emily asked confused, but quite fondly amused.
Bentley sighed. “They were out of real roses.”
His girlfriend chuckled in clear amusement, trying to keep her laughter down so not to disturb anybody else on the floor. She didn’t want to alert her boss to the fact that she was being distracted by her boyfriend. So Emily looked at the picture once more and then gleamed at Bentley.
“Did you know that if it wasn’t for Lucy, neither of us would have known the other was attracted to them.” Emily thought back to when Lucy Hahn worked in town. At first Emily found her quite irritating, but she grew to like the bubbly younger woman over time.
Bentley has other memories though, mostly of hot steamy sex in the storage room with Lucy during lunch time. It was a subject he found uneasy as he was having sex with her around the same time that he started to talk to Emily. But he quickly discarded the fact.
“I like to think we would have found each other in time.” Bentley admits, sliding closer to her. “How about we have dinner tonight and then stay at your place?”
She smirked. “Do you not want to have another round of Marina walking in on us?”
Bentley snickered at the thought. “I just want it to be the two of us this time. No more distractions and no more people barging in while we are in the middle of our time. I like when it is just the two of us.”
He leaned in and kissed her.
“I would like that.”
[.....]
Scene Three:
Sage Gardens.
Stone Creek Train Station.
“You really should be with the family.” Kirsten Sutton spoke, giving her younger sister a hug. She knew that Marina would protest and she knew that Marina probably had a good reason to stay in town, although she was being very cryptic about it.
Their father approached to two of them and threw his arm around his older daughter. “Your sister is right Marina, is there any way that we can bribe that boss of yours to let you come to Paris? Maybe you can do a story over there? Anything to get you closer to your family right now.”
Marina sighed, she knew it would be hard to tell her family she was staying behind. But she knew that after everything that happened with the article and it’s impending publication, Marina had to set things right. Truthfully, she just wanted to deal with everything as soon as possible.
“When you get to Paris, give me a call okay?” She changed the subject, fixing her father’s collar. “I don’t want to be worrying about you while I am at the newspaper. Make sure you tell uncle Mathias and the kids that I love them and I will make a trip out there soon!”
James shook his head. “Of course sweetheart.”
“If I would have known that you were staying behind, I would have asked you to babysit Megan for me instead of Greta.” Kirsten let on, wrinkling her nose. The older sister turned to her father and patted his shoulder, prepared to head over to her family.
But Marina couldn’t keep it in. “The same rules would have applied to me, you know.”
Kirsten turned around, confused. “What are you talking about Marina? There were never any rules." Then it dawned on her. "If you are talking about the whole thing with Cassie. I honestly never intended to offend her or Clifton.”
“Either way, Clifton Briggs is allowed in our home.” Marina announced. “There is no way I would allow Megan to get hurt in my care, but you cannot ask me to keep my godson’s father away from him. Clifton is a good man Kirsten, beyond how he looks in your eyes.”
“I’m sure he is.” Kirsten replied hastily, uncomfortable with the situation. “I was just saying-”
Their father cut between the two. “What are you two talking about? From what I hear, this isn’t the time to be having this conversation.” He watched as Marina looked down at her shoes, and Kirsten at her husband and daughter on the other side of the train station.
“My family needs to band together and not bicker. Right now we have lost one of our own and it would do some justice if we all just got along, you hear me girls?” They both nodded. “Good, now I’m going to go see where Caitlyn has run off to, Marina, help your sister get Megan ready.”
The two looked at each other as James left, still unsure if the bickering would end.
Elsewhere on the platform, Caitlyn Thurlow sat on a bench that was a foot or two away from the train tracks. She remembered when she first arrived in Stone Creek and how she knew this was the place she would settle down. A smile appeared on her face as the Summer’s breeze lightly hit her skin.
“I was wonder if you had seen my wife,” James Thurlow spoke, hands in his pocket. He watched as she looked up at him and smiled. “She’s a pretty little blond, with big brown eyes that could captive you for hours, this gorgeous laugh that makes you feel alive and this strong belief that love is all you need.”
Sheepishly, Caitlyn looked away and then back up at James. “How did I get stuck with a man so charming as you? When I came to Stone Creek I thought I would get lucky and snag a self-involved rich-kid work-a-holic and instead, I get a man who is so understanding that it makes me cry.”
He sat next to her. “I love you.”
---
Our love. Our fights. Our friendships.
On Concrete Shelves.
Forever, they shall be remembered.
---
Scene Four:
Now Town.
Thurlow Lumber Mill Offices
Placing the meal on her husband’s desk, Deborah Nelson noticed that he is deep in paper work and tried to find the best way to distract him. She didn’t have much time before her next appointment and his temporary secretary, Emily Roscoe, told her he hadn’t taken a lunch yet.
So she decided that they needed to spice things up, she closed the door to his office and started to unbutton her shirt. This got a double-take from Frank. “Woman, what are you doing?” He gasped, his eyes locked on her fingers as they unbuttoned her shirt.
Deborah chuckled. “I’ve just had a long day at the office and I wanted to take a load off and since you haven’t left this desk in hours, I just thought that maybe, just once, we could do something out of the ordinary.”
“We haven’t been fighting lately, I think that is something out of the ordinary.” But he didn’t deny her advances and turned his chair to face Deborah as she made her way around his desk. Maneuvering onto her husbands lap, Deborah unlatched her braw and slipped it off.
Then she placed her lips near his ear and breathed out. “Just shut up and go with it, will you?”
Frank chuckled nervously, he slid his hand down her back and grasped her butt, which helped keep her balanced as she leaned in to kiss him. The last couple of weeks had been entire bliss between the two and this new turn events was working in their favor.
Had they been missing this the entire time? Deborah didn’t know if it would have helped, but she was sure enjoying it now. Loosening her husband’s tie, she began to unbutton his shirt and kissed his neck as gently as she could. She knew it was his turn-on.
It thrilled her to remember these things.
But then Frank stopped her. “We can’t do this now.”
Deborah looked at his confused. Her husband wasn’t a man to turn down sex, obviously they both knew his track record in the past. She took this as a sign that he didn’t want to take advantage of her right now or that he didn’t want to have Emily walk in on them, so she continued anyways.
“Emily is busy flirting with the Wilkinson kid, we can do anything we want and nobody will bother us Frank.” Deborah spoked, shifting her weight so that she could grab his right hand and place it on her breast. She bit her lip. “We can do anything we want.”
Frank leaned in and kissed his wife, this was definitely exciting him. He hadn’t remembered a time that they tried something so extravagant as sex in his office. Yes, last time they had sex it was on the kitchen floor, but that seemed so minor to this.
He hadn’t remember a time he had sex with anyone like this. Well, except with Lucy Hahn, his secretary. Images of the two having sex against his desk flashed into his mind and he immediately stopped what he was doing, trying to focus his attention on the situation at hand.
“Frank, are you alright?” Deborah asked, trying to shift her weight so they could both look at each other. She had her eyes closed and her head tilted back when she felt him stop touching her breast. His wife looked confused, had she done something wrong.
Just then a knock on the door startled to two, it took Frank a moment to realize he was the one keeping Deborah from falling on the floor. But somewhere in that moment he let go of her, so that he could try to stand up and beyond his control, Deborah tumbled to the floor.
“Mr. Nelson, is everything alright in there?” Emily called, concerned.
Frank opened his eyes to see his wife on the floor, trying her hardest to stop herself from laughing at the predicament. Although he still felt Lucy brushing her hands through his hair, he couldn’t help but find the situation funny as well and smirked.
“Maybe we should continue this at home?” He offered.
Deborah nodded. “Yeah, I think that works.”
[.....]
Scene Five:
Now Town.
Stone Creek Memorial Hospital.
There weren’t many places that Dizzy Roberts felt safe, but stepping foot into the Hospital made her stomach ease at the sight of being in a new city. She wasn’t there to see her best friend Gail, although running into her was a possibility she wasn’t shying away from.
After coming to Stone Creek, Dizzy felt that she was going to be around for awhile. Especially if her friend had the same insecurities as she did with her last pregnancy. Flashes of her past caused little bits of chills to run down her back. Sometimes she thought back to when Gail lost her first child.
“Dizzy?” Adrian Stone asked, she turned to face her once very close friend with a cautious smile. “What are you doing in the hospital? If you're here to see Gail, I was just with her and she is swamped with work today.”
The woman opened her mouth to speak, but stopped. “Oh, well maybe I should have called her first or left a text message. I’ve just been trying to navigate around town and found myself with more time on my hands then places to go.”
“Bored already?” Adrian scoffed.
She shook her head. “Just a little lost.”
There was a moment between them that made Dizzy feel uncomfortable, she could feel Adrian trying to work his way into her mind, she knew he didn’t trust her anymore. “How have you been now that you’ve moved back here to stone Creek?”
Adrian eye’d her suspiciously. “It’s been really good. My family isn’t really here anymore, they all left a couple years after I did. But things are going good between Gail and I.” He said the words, emphasis on their names, just to make Dizzy aware she wasn’t allowed to screw things over.
“I’m working at one of the car garages in Sage Gardens now.”
Dizzy smiled brightly. “That’s good, I’m proud of you. If you have to get back to work, I really don’t want to keep you all to myself. I’m sure that I can get myself back to my hotel and if I don’t make it there, then I’m pretty sure I can sniff out the closest bar.”
A chuckle forced it’s way out of Adrian’s lips. “Always the party girl.”
“You know it!” Dizzy replied, feeling tension shift out of the room. “But really, I don’t mean to keep you away from the things you need to do.”
“I’ll take that as my cue to leave.” Adrian quipped, “Hey Dizzy, whatever it is that you are here for, I really don’t care what it is. Just make sure you take Gail’s best interests to heart. There doesn’t need to be another incident like last time. I can’t afford to lose her again.”
Dizzy’s lip quivered. “I will.”
“Good.” He said before leaving her side and the hospital all together.
She turned back to the nurse’s station and breathed a sigh of relief. There had to be an easier reason to go about her move to Stone Creek. As one of the nurses’ attention fell on Dizzy, she smiled lightly. “I was wondering if you could point me to the office of Dr. Jeremy Joplin, the Chief of Staff?”
[.....]
Scene Six:
Now Town.
Stone Creek Courthouse.
As everyone began to arrive, Catalina Cortez couldn’t find the will power to look anybody in the eye. Instead the woman held her head low and slouched in her chair. Hoping to get everything over with and to spend the rest of her life paying for what she did to her sister.
“I need to talk to her!” Catalina could hear someone say from behind her, if she had to put any money on it, she would bet the voice belonged to Penelope Wilkinson and once the older woman found her way to Catalina’s side, she was right. “I need you to think about this.”
Catalina sneered, “What is there to think about?”
“You need to plead insanity, I already spoke to your lawyer and he said that he would help. We can get everything to go your way Catalina, if only you give us the signal.” There was worry in the older woman’s eyes, Catalina could see it, but instead she turned her attention to the stand.
“These people all want me to rot in jail, I don’t blame them after what I did.” She thought back to when she held the gun to Penelope’s head and demanded forgiveness, then to when she shot Patrick Sutton and then later to the hostage situation between Cassie and Audrey. “I am pleading guilty.”
But Penelope pestered onwards. “You will ruin your life!”
“My younger sister was my life,” Catalina said, coldly, “I was supposed to take care of Isobel, that was my only goal. But I screwed that up because I wanted to steal all of Patrick Sutton’s money and when that didn’t pan out, I shot him and left him for dead.”
Catalina turned to look at Penelope. “These people all look up to you, why would you help someone like me? Aren’t you scared about what people are going to say to you about this? Nobody knows me here, this isn’t some charity case they will praise you for.”
“When you have cancer and near death’s bed people stop yelling at you and start counting their blessings.” Penelope reminded the brunette. “Besides, I’ve never won these people over because of my good deeds like Anita Thurlow did. They respect me because every time I was dealt a shitty hand, I never doubled over and cried-”
Penelope stopped herself mid sentence when she came to a realization that her refusing to get surgery was a variation of giving up. Taking a moment for herself, it pained her to know that she wasn’t being a strong character for Catalina. “Just trust me on this one Cat, you have to continue living your life.”
“I don’t deserve this.”
“Isobel doesn’t deserve to watch you destroy your life from heaven.” Penelope bit, she knew it was a harsh way to manipulate Catalina’s mind, but hoped it would pay off in the end. When the lawyer instructed Penelope to re-join her family, she left Catalina to think about her options.
[.....]
Scene Seven:
Now Town.
Melanie’s Apartment.
“Well are you sure this was the right place?” Kevin Saunders asked for the seventh time, he recalled when he started asking the question. It was around the time he woke up this morning and decided he needed to see his ex. wife, Melanie.
Then he continued to ask the question while he dressed and then again in the car. But it didn’t loose it urgent-ness one bit as he hollered it into the phone, directing it at his friend, Deborah Nelson. “I’m sorry Deborah, I didn’t mean to scream, I just-”
He stopped himself. With a sigh, Kevin looked around the place and how bare the walls were. They didn’t remind him of the youthful obedience of his ex. wife. The way the room felt, cold and empty, just sent chills down his spine. Melanie was a changed woman.
It was definite in the way she had left the apartment.
Most of her things, things that Kevin had bought her and allowed her to keep were sitting in the apartment, waiting for Melanie to arrive back home after a long day of therapy with Deborah. Probably waiting for Melanie to leave again so she could sleep with the new guy in her life.
He regretted it all. “I just was hoping to find her here.”
“I already told you Kevin, your ex. wife was pretty adamant about leaving Stone Creek. I don’t know where she was going, some place in Seattle I think.” Deborah spoke over the phone, clearly not having anything to do with Kevin’s outburst. “I have to go, I have other clients to see.”
“What do I do now?” Kevin asked, clinging onto the phone call.
He could hear Deborah toying with the option to hang-up. “You continue living your life, just as you did when you divorced her. I don’t know the specific’s of this and for the first time in my life, I don’t want to give into town gossip. Just know Kevin, at one point, you wanted this.”
Did he? Kevin thanked Deborah for helping him out and then hung-up the phone. Before he left the apartment he noticed something on the counter, it didn’t catch his eye at first. But once the sunlight from the kitchen window reflected off of it he knew what it was.
Melanie was really gone, really ready to start her live anew in Seattle. Sitting on the counter before him was her wedding ring, the one he had made special just for her. Taking it into his hand Kevin sighed, maybe Melanie leaving town was for the best.
He didn’t know if it would be, but what he did know is that she left them behind. Kevin placed the ring back down on the counter and then proceeded to leave the apartment and his marriage to Melanie as well.
[.....]
Scene Eight:
980 Cutler St., Stone Creek. Faustino Cottages # 10
Natalie’s Home.
Opening her front door, Natalie hadn’t expected to see Marina Thurlow on the other end. But she did and there was no way of controlling her emotions towards the woman. “I know that you and Ian are together now, but I would rather not see you showing up at my door.”
Marina didn’t care, she barged into the house. Taking a moment to look around and see just how spoiled Natalie Marlowe had been. A whole place to herself, a cabin in the woods. It was true that James Thurlow had offered to get Marina her own place, but she denied her father that privilege since she wanted to do things on her own.
“Why did you do it?” Marina asked, turning to face Natalie who by now was completely shocked by Marina’s actions. The women stood feet away from each other, but neither broke eye contact. “Why would you turn in the article.”
Natalie looked at Marina confused, she covered her scar with her hair. “I have no idea what you are talking about Marina and right now I really don’t care. Can you leave my house before you give me more reason to kick your ass out of it?”
“No.” Marina spit, warranting the threat. “Not until we get everything out in the open Natalie. I know that you hate my relationship with your half-brother, but you need to understand that I love Ian. There is nothing that you can do to break us up.”
“I sure can try though.” Natalie taunted, slamming the door shut once she realized that Marina wasn’t budging. “Here is the thing Marina. When I heard that Ian told you about our father’s affair, I was livid. There wasn’t a bone in my body that wanted you out of his life, but Ian loves you and he would hate me if I hurt you.”
“Then why would you turn in my article?” Marina barked.
She stepped closer to Natalie. “You always try to play the victim Nat, I understand why, it is so easy to be the person that everyone is comforting. I’ve been there, I’ve been you and quite frankly I think I did a better job at it. But you standing here in front of me and lie about how much you care for your brother isn’t what I came here for!”
“Then please!” Natalie spat, irritated with Marina’s presence. “Please do tell me why you are here so that you can as quickly leave my presence and I can go back to my life.”
Marina pushed a copy of the article into Natalie grasp. “What the hell are you doing?”
“I wrote this article a couple days ago and upon reading it I decided that my career skyrocketing wasn’t worth watching Ian’s life crumble! But somebody turned it in for me and now it is going to be printed in a couple of days. Front page cover, no less!”
Scanning it, Natalie looked back up at her rival. “You bitch!”
Natalie pushed past Marina and ran into the Kitchen with the article, desperate to get rid of it. Turning on the stove, she looked back to see Marina standing in the doorway. “Are you seriously telling this to me now? After everything that has happened?”
As the papers burnt, she still didn’t feel a sense of clarity. “My family is going to be destroyed because of you Marina! How could you be so selfish and let this get out? How could you even write this article in the first place?” she watched as Marina began to realize that Natalie had no idea the article existed.
Tossing the burnt paper in the sink, Natalie turned the water on and watched as the flame extinguished and left nothing more than ashes. “Why would you tell me this anyways? I expect, that by the way you came over here so frantically you haven’t told Ian yet?”
“You didn’t turn the article in to my editor?” Marina asked, solemnly.
Tears streamed down Natalie’s cheeks. “Why would I watch my family crumble just to see your relationship to Ian destroyed? Do you actually think that I am that sick?”
“I just thought-”
Natalie pulled Marina by the shoulder and dragged her to the door. “I don’t give a shit what you thought Marina, because from what I’ve witnessed today, you obviously don’t have the brains to put two things together; I love my family and I love the money my parents shower me with.”
Opening the door, she pushed the un-welcomed guest out of her house. “Today you just destroyed everything I worked so hard for! Do me a favor, stay out of my life!”
[.....]
Scene Nine:
Train Leaving Stone Creek.
Charlie and Kirsten’s Cabin.
Shifting her weight to one side of the seat, Kirsten Sutton looked out her window as they made their way out of Stone Creek. They still had a long way until they were in Paris. Although Stone Creek was rising from the small town that she grew up in, to a hustling City, there still wasn’t a decent Airport. So they had to travel by train to Cuttlebone City so that they could take a plane to Paris.
“Do you think you will be able to get any sleep?” Charlie asked his wife, as he peered over her. “If not, there is a snack car downstairs that we can go to and maybe raid?”
Kirsten turned over to him. “That does sound like a great idea, but I really don’t think I want to get up from this spot.” She admitted, pulling the blankets over her body.
Her husband sat down next to her. “What has gotten into you? Is it everything that is going on with your Aunt Shannon and her family? Or does this have anything to do with the fight you had earlier with your sister Marina?”
“I just feel like everyone thinks I’m out to hurt their feelings.” Kirsten admitted. “I never meant to hurt Cassie’s feelings when I told her I didn’t trust Clifton. But I get this weird feeling when I’m around him and I don’t like it so I didn’t want him around Megan.”
“You are only protecting our daughter.” Charlie insisted. “There is nothing wrong in that.”
She rubbed her husband’s hand. “Even still, I was pretty harsh with Cassie the other day and I think that is why Marina was angry with me today. I just want to get to Paris and get everything over with. Do you remember when we first met?”
He smiled. “How can I forget that we first met in Paris? Did you know that my father sent myself and Gillian away to school in Paris so that we wouldn’t mingle with any of you Thurlow’s?”
“Look how that turned out.” Kirsten joked, slipping her hand into her husband’s. “When Aunt Shannon told me that she was only protecting me from the dangers in Paris, I never really thought she would be talking about you, Mr. Sutton. I never thought that we would be here, today, returning to Paris for her funeral either.”
They both sighed, leaning against one another.
[.....]
Scene Ten:
2634 W. Parker St., Stone Creek. Callahan Condo’s # 8
Emily’s Condo.
Sitting across from her boyfriend, Emily Roscoe couldn’t help but smile. The candle lit dinner was more than a success and even though she almost burnt the chicken she felt like it didn’t even matter now. Watching so many relationships hit the rocks, Emily always kept her heart protected.
Her parents relationship was never solid. Although Emily thought it was her fault, her mother insisted it was because her father didn’t know how to express his anger in another way. It was safe to say she was damaged by it.
But sitting across from Bentley Wilkinson, she knew he wouldn’t hurt her.
“What are you smiling about?” Bentley asked, taking a bite out of his food. He twirled his fork around the pasta and smiled back at Emily who seemed to be glowing. “The dinner is great by the way.”
It was nice to hear that from him. “I was just thinking about how peaceful it is over here. Where we are right now, in our relationship, I just feel like it is a good place. I was talking to one of the girls at work today and she told me about how Frank had an affair with-”
“Lucy.” Bentley hastily finished.
Emily looked at Bentley in shock. “How do you know it was Lucy?”
“That’s what I heard.” He replied, realizing that he might have jumped the gun. “Someone told me that the reason why Lucy was transferred to Sunset Valley was because she was carrying on numerous affairs with married men. I mean, it does make sense.”
“I don’t think she would do that.” Emily spoke, becoming suspicious of her own words. She looked at Bentley who now seemed uncomfortable in the room. “I didn’t know her that well, but I don’t think Lucy would have an affair with her boss. It would take a sick person to do that.”
Bentley sighed, “Or a lonely one.”
He remembered back to a conversation he had with Lucy once, after they had slept together for the first time. She seemed so sad and disappointed with herself, as if she had went behind her boyfriend’s back and slept with Bentley. Although at the time she was single.
At the time he didn’t know it, but Lucy was carrying on an affair with Frank Nelson.
“Bentley, are you okay?”
His attention shot up to his girlfriend, Emily, who was staring him down. “I’m fine, I was just-” Bentley stopped himself from saying something stupid and licked his lips. “I’m sorry, I’ve just been distracted lately with work. What were you saying?”
“Well, I’m glad you’re listening to me.” Emily scoffed. As soon as the words came out of her mouth she regretted them. “How is your grandmother holding up, has she agreed to do the surgery yet?” The change of subject helped Bentley clear his head.
[.....]
Scene Eleven:
Now Town.
Stone Creek Courthouse.
Walking out of the courtroom, Penelope Wilkinson could feel her son’s hand grip her shoulder. Although she knew it was a comforting gesture, she just felt blown away. “I can’t believe that my advice actually worked. That Catalina actually went through with pleading Insane.”
“We still don’t know how the case is going to work.” Daphne Wilkinson spoke up, standing by Penelope’s side. “But I was surprised too when she agreed to your plan. I do hope that whatever happens, Catalina can get the help to cope with everything that happened.”
“You don’t think it’s her fault, do you?” Penelope snapped.
Gideon sighed. “Mother, Daphne is just looking at this from a medical perspective.”
“I don’t mean any bad feelings Penelope. What Catalina was trying to get through to you in that courtroom is that she wanted to pay for her sins. Whether I felt she was at fault for everything that happened or not, it doesn’t matter. She is just really lucky she has a friend like you to help her out.”
Daphne excused herself from the duo as she went to talk to another colleague of hers.
Although the case was far from over, the fact that Catalina is being evaluated for her mental state during the altercations was a step in the right direction as far as Penelope was concerned. She watched as her friend was brought out of the room, still in handcuffs.
A smile upon Catalina’s face as she looked at Penelope. “Thank you.” the woman mouthed, and then turned her attention to the press waiting for her outside of the Courthouse.
“You did a good thing mother.” Gideon spoke from behind her.
Penelope turned to her son, misty eyed. “I want to go through with the surgery. Don’t ask me what changed my mind because I can’t tell you exactly when it changed. But just know, that I want Daphne to go through with the surgery to prolong my life. Oh Gideon, I’m completely terrified.”
Her son pulled her into a hug. “That’s why you have your family here, we will help you through everything.”
[.....]
Scene Twelve:
609 Camden St., Stone Creek “Above Alice’s Haven Cafe”
Adrian’s Loft.
Taking off her coat, Gail Schmidt walked over to her boyfriend who had spent the last couple of hours making dinner. “I talked to Dizzy today after work. She told me that she had a run-in with you early, after you had lunch with me at the hospital.”
Adrian recalled the less than stellar run-in that Gail was talking about and he immediately felt bad for losing his cool with Dizzy. Although he knew it was warranted at the time, he knew that it would get back to his girlfriend and probably end up with more fights between the two the necessary.
“And?” He asked, stepping lightly.
Gail stood before him. “She told me about how you were scared that something bad was going to happen. I mean after what happened last time Dizzy and i kept secrets, I wouldn’t blame you entirely to be scared. I know that she was one of your really good friends at one time Adrian.”
“Listen, this whole thing with Dizzy, I don’t want to fight with anybody.” Adrian announced, pulling her into his arms. He kissed her gently. “I just want everything to be fine between all of us. I know you haven’t seen Dizzy in a couple of months so I think it is a good idea that she is here.”
“You do?” Gail asked, confused.
He shook his head.
“Adrian there is something I have to tell you then.” Gail spoke. This whole time she was trying to find a way to tell Adrian about her pregnancy in a way that wouldn’t bring up the past. But then she brought Dizzy to town and it made things worse. To hear her boyfriend tell her everything was fine, Gail felt like she was a terrible person for hiding the secret now.
But her boyfriend thought otherwise, putting a finger to her lips. “I don’t care about anything other than being with you, right now.”
As he pulled her into a hug, Gail leaned her head on his shoulder. “I’m pregnant Adrain.”
“What?” He pulled away, completely conflicted with emotions.
“The whole reason I asked Dizzy to come to Stone Creek was because I was terrified that I might be pregnant and I found out the other day that I actually am pregnant. Today Dizzy told me about how you were afraid something bad might be happening with her in town, so I knew you had the right to know.”
“You were going to keep this from me again!” He spat.
But Gail shook her head in defense. “No! I just didn’t know how to tell you. To be honest, I didn’t know how to tell myself that I was pregnant again. Last time- Oh Adrian I don’t even know what I was thinking to tell you the truth. But I was going to tell you, once I found out how.”
The man took the information in, running a hand through his hair. “We are having a baby?”
“Yes.”
He got teary eyed as he tried to catch his breath. “Gail, this is incredible news.”
With the tension out of the room and the secret out in the open the two of them were free to hug each other in excitement. Although it pained her to keep the thought that her second child might succumbing to the fate as the first one, she pushed it to the back of her mind.
As of now, they were having a healthy baby.
[.....]
Scene Thirteen:
2121 Mason St., Stone Creek. Hoffman Village Apartment #34 [In Sage Gardens]
Ian’s Apartment
When she was a little girl, Marina Thurlow had wanted a pony. Her older sister, Kirsten, told her that their parents wouldn’t buy her one because she was too young. this angered Marina because that was Kirsten’s excuse for everything. So she spent hours cutting out pictures of pony’s that she liked.
Hoping that once their father got home, she would be able to show him her dedication to wanting one. This wasn’t like the time she had wanted piano lessons, or to start ballet because Jessica Andrews was boasting about how famous she was going to get.
Marina legitimately wanted a pony.
But before her father could get home, Kirsten took her poster board of pony’s and hid it in the hall closet so that she wouldn’t be able to present it to their father. In turn Marina went to Kirsten’s room and stole her favorite pair of shoes. Their fight went on for hours.
It was exhausting and so calculating and by the end of the fight, Marina wasn’t in the mood nor was she ready when her father did eventually come home. All she could think of was the fact that Kirsten was so determined to make her life hell.
So what Marina did next was horrible. During dinner, while Kirsten was talking about what she did at school for the day, Marina took it upon herself to pay her sister back. She filled her spoon with the hair dye she found underneath their father’s sink and she flung it at Kirsten, ruining her favorite shirt in the process.
She never did get the pony. But she did get grounded and it seemed like the most excruciating thing that ever happened to her.
Standing in front of Ian’s apartment however was even more difficult then that experience. Her palms were sweaty and her mind was racing into a million different corners. Marina had called him early and told him that they needed to talk, but she didn’t say why.
When Ian opened the door, everything hit her. The exhaustion, the calculations, the most excruciating pain. Marina only felt like this was the beginning of the end for her and as she shut the door behind herself she took a deep breath before confessing everything she did.
[.....]
Next Time, On Concrete Shelves
- Kirsten flashes back to how she met Charlie.
- Marina deals with the aftermath with Ian.
- Greta admits her fears about Miles’ safety.
- Things in Paris get complicated...
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