On Concrete Shelves | Welcome back to Stone Creek |

Scene One

Now Town; Stone Creek Memorial Hospital

 

The sound of the monitors in the room were unsettling for Marina, although it should be said she wasn’t afraid of them but more for the child she has been carrying. She flutters her eyelids open and notices the presence of her husband at her side. It has been a few days since she arrived at the hospital, this much she knows.

 

Marina lifts herself up and immediately feels Ryans hand adjusting the pillow behind her so she can lean against it. “Thank you.”

 

“Anything for you.” He says.

 

She knows this is true, and that her husband has always put her first. Marina smiles warmly at the man and instinctively rubs her stomach. Marina can feel the solidity of it and the baby moving around inside. “Has Dr. Roberts come by with any news?”

 

Her words are soft and fragile, so much different to hear them bounce around the room the way they do. She winces momentarily, but tries to play it off so that Ryan doesn’t make a spectacle. 

 

Ryan shakes his head. “Nothing new, but that is always a good thing.”

 

Marina nods along. She knows the old saying but still just wants to be out of the hospital room. “So they haven’t said anything about when we can leave this place?” She says, a little more forced than she had intended.

 

“I spoke with Dr. Roberts earlier and she thinks that keeping you one more night won’t hurt anybody.” Ryan says, to which irritates Marina. “But, if we are on our best behavior, it’ll only be one more night.”

 

She eyes him with suspicion and then smiles. “You need to stop reading my thoughts, Mr. Bauer or you’ll be in trouble.”

 

“I know you well.” Ryan replies with a chuckle. “I did, however, find something you may be pleased to know. Although, my suspicions tell me it is something you already know.”

 

“What is that?” She asks curiously.

 

Ryan licks his lips. “We are having a baby boy.”

 

Marina tries to hold back a guilty face, but he catches it this time. She opens her mouth to speak instead, but nothing comes out. A smile appears on her face as she shines a bright red. “Fine. I already knew.”

 

“I had an idea.” Ryan says, bemused.

 

“How so?”

 

He takes her hand is his, which is remarkably warm for some reason, and begins speaking, “you do this thing when you’re really eager — mostly when you’re about to solve a case. There’s this flutter in your eyes when someone brings up the topic and I’ve noticed it in yours when anyone asks about the gender.”

 

Marina watches her husband as he smiles, pleased with himself, she musters. “Okay, fine, I knew we were having a boy. I just couldn’t help myself when Dr. Roberts asked a few months back. I figured, I would be having a baby so I wouldn’t have to act surprised when he arrived.”

 

“So, what are we going to name him?” Ryan asks.

 

She shrugs, even when she found out the sex of their baby, she didn’t think about a name. So the question is still so daunting. “Do you have anything in mind?”

 

“I’m not great at naming things.” Ryan admits. “When I was a kid we had a rabbit and I named him Thumper, so I think I should just leave that up to you.”

 

“I’m sure something will manifest itself when he arrives then.”

 

Ryan nods. “I suppose it will.”

 

“Mr. Bauer,” a curly haired nurse walks into the room, “I’m sorry to interrupt, but could I speak with you outside for a minute? It’s about your guests in the waiting room.” She seems so disheveled but Marina can’t figure out if it’s because of her job or whatever is happening out in that waiting room.

 

Scene Two

Now Town; Stone Creek Memorial Hospital

 

Click! Clack!

 

The sound of her heels against the concrete gives Helen Tyree Sutton the encouragement and confidence she needs for the remainder of the day. This morning, she sat down with her husband for breakfast and discussed his latest endeavors — which coincidentally align with her own these days. So seeing it as a sign from above, she found her best skirt and blouse combo and made her way for the hospital to see her youngest child, Marina.

 

Spotting her worst nightmare, Helen scurried across the hall and into the nearest waiting room, which happened to be the one she would need to find her daughter’s room. Helen shimmies her skirt to the appropriate length, and then notes her ex. Husband is in the room near the north hall. This would prove easier than flirting with someone at the nurses station.

 

“James!” Helen places her hands together, clasping her small — useless clutch bag, between both hands. “I am so happy to see you here.”

 

He arches an eyebrow. “It’s nice to see you too, Helen.” 

 

Helen moves closer to him. She notes how handsome he has become with age, and also, how much weight he seemed to be gaining. Helen guesses it must be Caitlyn and all her damned pot roasts. 

 

“What’s going on?” James asks.

 

She points a finger at him with a smile. “Exactly, I thought I would swing by and see how Marina and the baby are doing. Last time I was here I think Anita wanted to toss me out a window… I forgot how much of a bond we built throughout the years!”

 

This gets a chuckle from the bearded man before her. “You know, Helen, my mother has this notebook of all the people she doesn’t trust and you’re number one on that list. You’re lucky if she just threw you out a window.”

 

Helen shrugs. “Which is why I was hoping to see Marina while the beast is occupied down the hall?”

 

There’s this thing that he has always done when contemplating one of her ideas. James flicks his tongue and then pulls his face into this sour look with a deep breath, and that’s when she knows she’s almost won him over. So Helen continues…

 

“Marina is my daughter, and even though we don’t have the best relationship I just want her to know that I am still here for her. I’m here for that baby as well. I only want what is best for both of them.” Helen says, then throws in. “Ryan, too.”

 

“How do I know this isn’t some sort of ploy?”

 

Helen scoffs. “It’s not James. I really mean it this time. I haven’t been able to form a connection with Marina these days, especially after she came back from New York. I just feel like I’m losing my daughter. This pregnancy really scares me.”

 

“It scares me as well.” James admits.

 

There it is, he lowers his guard towards her.

 

“It’s silly but I have been wishing on stars every night in hopes that she would have an easy pregnancy this time around. I just, I, I don’t even know what I would do in our daughter’s shoes but I know that I wouldn’t want to face it without my mother.” Helen says, partially admitting the truth. Although she has always had a close relationship with her mother growing up, Helen would much rather the woman stay in Beverly Hills these days.

 

James nods his head. “I‘ll see if she’s up for any visitors right now.”

 

“I thought I heard a tramp in here.” Anita Porter Thurlow snarls, the two turn to see the older woman standing in the hall. “What in the world is the she-devil doing here?”

 

Scene Three

Boulstridge Mountains; Sutton Cottage

 

Kirsten Sutton moves around the kitchen. 

 

It has been years since she was able to have two children in her home, and even before Eric was born Megan spent a lot of time at her father’s home with Caitlyn while both Kirsten and Charlie tended to their businesses. Of course, it does hurt that she never spent that much time with Megan, but she tries to pay it forward by spending the necessary time with her toddler.

 

She places a few cheerios in front of the boy in his high chair and then moves back over to the sink to clear up breakfast dishes left over from this morning. Today she reminds herself to text Iris when she will drop Eric off before her shift.

 

“Oh, little man, you are going to have a great time with aunt Iris today,” Kirsten says, placing a hand under his chin. He shakes the hand away and dives for more cheerios. “Hopefully you can teach her about having children of her own.”

 

After sending the text, she hears footsteps coming down the stairs. When she last spoke with her cousin Dylan, Kirsten was under the impression that Dylan only wanted to ruin her life. It took a few trips to the treehouse in the back of their yard and a few tugs of cigarettes to understand who was really ruining her life: Kirsten. So she made the decision to confront Charlie about what he wants to do moving forward.

 

Her nerves ache. A feeling that Kirsten hadn’t felt in so long came rushing back and all she wanted to do was run out the back door and grab the pack of cigarettes she had stashed away in the treehouse.

 

“Hey,” Charlie says, he makes his way into the kitchen through the hallway. “I didn’t expect to see you still here.”

 

Kirsten tries to keep a smile on her face as he moves forward and kisses her cheek. She can smell the eucalyptus and mint of his body wash. Kirsten would rather fall into his arms and forget anything had ever happened.

 

But she knows she cannot do that. So instead she builds up as much encouragement as she can to look him in the eyes and speak. “I know that I was supposed to drop Eric off before heading into work but I think we need to talk about something while Megan isn’t in the house.”

 

“What’s that?” Charlie asks, confused.

 

“It’s something that we have been needing to talk about for so long and I really didn’t want to have this conversation in front of Megan. I mean, I really don’t want to have this conversation in front of Eric either.”

 

They look at their son. “Do you want me to take him into the other room? I still have his playpen setup.”

 

Kirsten nods heavily and watches as he carries their son out of the room. Watching them go through the kitchen doors makes Kirsten once again second guess her most recent decision. “Iris said she would stop by to pick up Eric soon.”

 

“How do you feel with Iris watching him for the first time?” Charlie asks. He makes his way back into the room. “Because, you have to remember she used to be a preschool teacher.”

 

This brings a smile to Kirsten’s otherwise very weary face. “I know, it’s silly. I guess I feel like after seeing Megan grow up so fast and we missed out on that, being separated from Eric is so hard to do.”

 

“But Caitlyn takes him all the time.”

 

“True.” Kirsten replies, “However, Caitlyn has always sort of been like a mother figure to me so it’s a lot easier for her to have Eric than Iris. But now that Marina is leaving the hospital soon, Caitlyn will be over there helping Ryan with her.”

 

Charlie thinks it over. “Right. Anyways, what was it that you wanted to talk about before I head out?”

 

Kirsten wrings her hands together. “There’s no doubt in my mind that we have drifted apart in the last few years and I know that I have had a huge part in that, Charlie. It’s taken me awhile to really think this through and to figure out what I want out of our marriage and I have to tell you, I have finally come to a conclusion.”

 

“What’s that?” The apprehension in his voice is apparent.

 

“I love you, and I love our family. I don't want anything else but this.”

 

A beat passes. Kirsten can feel the tension building in the room as the silence continues and for a second she wishes that she had Iris come earlier to get Eric out of the house. But she didn’t think of that and now she just hopes that whatever is coming next isn’t going to put strain on their household.

 

Charlie sighs, heavily. She can feel it hitting her as the sound leaves his body. “I don’t really know what to say to that.”

 

“Say that you want it as well?” She asks.

 

“I do, Kirsten.” But. “But if we are going to go back to being this big happy family then I need more out of you then this promise to love us again, if that makes sense? I feel like I’m not getting everything to reassure me that you won’t leave.”

 

Kirsten furrows her brow. “Okay, so what do you need?”

 

“You need to fire Adrian from the cafe.”

 

Scene Four

Sage Gardens; Old Granger Manor

 

Her morning jog through the backwoods energized Gillian Sutton Crenshaw for the rest of her day. The sound of Aleena in the foyer with her toddlers brought a calmness to Gillian. Mixed in with the euphoria of running past the old troll bridge and taking a minute to relax and enjoy the view of the stream running under the bridge helped calm her mindset and distract her from the mess that Sutton Enterprises is going through right now.

 

Especially after her husband's announcement.

 

“Oh, Mrs.Gillian,” Aleena says, greeting the blonde, “I was trying to get the children ready for your movie day but then Mr. Crenshaw said you were all staying home? I’m so confused.”

 

A chuckle escapes her lips as she moves over and rubs their nanny’s arm. “What my husband means is that we have decided to bring the movie day here to the manor. I had someone put the old projector up in the living room this morning.” 

 

Gillian looks at both her toddlers with a warming smile. There’s no denying which of the two resembled Gillian and which was the more calmer version of Damien. Charlotte wiggles free from Aleena’s grasp and tugs at the white turtleneck she’s dressed in. While Phoenix is slumped on the floor with his finger in his mouth and the free hand collecting whatever dust was left on the floor boards.

 

“How about we get the two of you in pajamas instead?” She eyes the tikes and immediately sees Aleena perk up at the words. 

 

“I can go grab the ones with the footies.” Aleena states.

 

Gillian shakes her head in agreement. “I’ll take these two monsters off your hands and meet you in the living room, Aleena, thank you.”

 

As much as she wants to take all the credit for raising her children, Gillian knows a huge impact that Aleena has had on them in the last two years. There’s nothing more than gratitude she has for the older woman. 

 

“Hey.” Her husband greets as he moves down the stairs and passes Aleena on her way up to the toddlers’ room. It amuses her to see Damien Crenshaw dressed in a grey t-shirt and old plaid sweats. “Are we almost ready to spend our day snuggled up watching movies with the kids?”

 

“I would like nothing more than to spend time together.” Gillian then looks down at Charlotte who keeps wiggling out of Gillian’s grasp. “If only this little one would cooperate.”

 

Damien bends down to Charlotte's height and smiles. “There’s cookies in the living room.”

 

The words send both toddlers into a frenzy; Charlotte wobbles past Phoenix who is too excited to notice his sister had knocked him over onto his stomach. He climbs onto all fours and crawls into the living room.

 

“One of these days they’re not going to fall for your bribes anymore.” Gillian scolds her husband before he pulls her into an embrace and kisses her on the lips. Feeling his body against hers makes Gillian so comfortable. “Oh, are you now trying to bribe me?” 

 

A soft chuckle later, Damien replies. “I don’t know, is it working?”

 

“I’m just happy that I have you and our children here with me today.” Gillian says, she thinks back to the message she sent her secretary about working out of the house for the rest of the week. She knows that this could be something that hurts her in the long run, but keeping a distance from her aunt and cousin right now feels like the right choice to make.

 

Gillian sighs. “I’m just happy that we support one another.”

 

“I’m always here for you, Gillian.” Damien replies. “I will always be here for you and our children, no matter what. I think when the dust settles after that announcement, you will see that we made the right decision.”

 

“Should I be telling you that?” Gillian coolly says. 

 

He smirks. “I can see that there is worry in your eyes.”

 

“It’s not so much worry as it is anxiety about the headache that I am going to be facing at work when I do eventually return to the office.” Gillian quips. “That is, if they haven’t sent me packing by then. I am still waiting for that second shoe to fall and for my aunt to tell me I no longer work for Sutton Enterprises.”

 

“Have you heard anything yet?” Damien asks.

 

Gillian shakes her head. “I haven’t, no.”

 

He leans in for another kiss. “Then let’s not worry about that right now. I think the only thing we should be worried about right now is the state of that living room when we make our entrance. I have an image of Charlotte on the floor with all the throw pillows scattered around her.”

 

This would be true if Gillian hadn’t already asked someone to create a comfy seating area around the projector with pillows and blankets and her favorite shawl on the arm of her chair.

 

Before they could enter the room, however, the doorbell rings and a man enters the manor in quick form. He stops in his tracks and turns back to the door and then at the two standing in the foyer. “Don’t you lock your door?”

 

Gillian throws her father a look of bewilderment. Patrick Sutton stands before the two in a long sleeved flannel and slacks. “I just got home from a run — what are you doing here?”

 

“You just walk into people's homes like that?” Damien asks.

 

“It was open!” Patrick protests.

 

Gillian throws her hands on her hips. “Dad.”

 

Patrick Sutton throws his hands in the air and then stands up straight. “Okay, fine. Look I had to come by today because I have some very important news to share with the two of you.”

 

Gillian looks from her father to her husband and then back at her father in confusion. It wasn’t like Patrick to show up out of the blue like this, and if it’s news he wants to share with the both of them… it’s got to be something really important.

 

Scene Five

Boulstridge Mountains; Calbourne Cottage

 

When Charlene lived at the Holly Oak Manor with Patrick, she started collecting little trinkets and souvenirs from around the world. There was a shelf in the living room that was dedicated to all of her small things; glassware, toy animals, glistening objects that she tended to at least once a week. Patrick made sure that she never wanted for anything — which compared to how Charlene grew up, was more than she could ask for.

 

However, as they grew old and separately, it became apparent that there was a price for what Patrick had offered her. In time, Charlene began to lose touch with old friends, her family members stopped giving advice and became cold, and in the end, her children grew up and fled their home.

 

The trinkets and collectibles weren’t as satisfying as they were when she was younger and the home they shared began to feel like a prison.

 

She peers out into the living room of the cottage that her husband, Reichen, purchased for her a few years ago. How she had begun collecting things once again, although this time, she used her money sparingly so that she could invest it into her restaurant responsibly. When she divorced from Patrick, Charlene asked for nothing from the marriage. All she wanted to do was get away from his clenched fist and to get back into her children’s lives.

 

“You’re doing it again.” Reichen says. Charlene looks over to the large couch in the center of the cottage and sees him lying down shirtless and a throw blanket covering his lower body.

 

Charlene shakes herself from her thoughts. “Doing what?”

 

Reichen pulls himself up and she watches as the waistband of his Calvin Klein boxer shorts appears from under the covers. “That thing that you do when you have way too much on your mind.” He motions towards the mantle. “I saw you fix the same thing three times already this morning.”

 

A small smile finds itself on her face. “I didn’t know I did that.”

 

“Yeah you did, Charlene.” He states. “I have known you for a long time already and the one thing I know about my wife is that she is well aware of every little quirk and habit that she has. You told me about them when we started dating. How you had to watch yourself around Patrick when the two of you were married.”

 

She wrings her hands, and then joins him on the couch. “Alright, you caught me!”

 

He laughs. “Tell me, what has got that pretty little mind of yours so flustered.”

 

“I was just thinking about when I found you outside the cottage. When I was on my way back home from the restaurant I just kept thinking about everything that could’ve happened to you and then I see you hunched over and drunk on our porch.”

 

Charlene can tell she has entered awkward conversation as he pulls his lips into a thin line and seems to be holding his breath. “I guess, I just want to know what happened?”

 

“That was a terrible thing that I did.” Reichen admits, he helps Charlene move the throw blanket around so that she can be under the warmth of it as well. “I never meant for you to find me in that state. You have to understand that that is probably the most humiliating moment of my life, having to watch your face when you realized that I was intoxicated.”

 

“I could never judge you, you know that.” Charlene says.

 

Charlene was raised with an alcoholic father who spent more time at the local bar than at the dinner table, and then her marriage to Patrick was no walk in the park. So she knew entering into a relationship with a recovering alcoholic would be tough, but not once did she hold it against him. Reichen has been such a strong and determined person in her life that she couldn’t put him in the same category as her father or that of her ex husband.

 

“I guess what I really want to know is what happened that led you to pick up the bottle again?” She asks once more. “When you left town you said that you were going to see your family because your father was sick. I know that that is tough, especially since you were never close to them. So I understand—“

 

He stops her. “He’s dead.”

 

“What?”

 

“My father died before I was able to get there.” Reichen tells his wife. “I wasn’t even able to say goodbye to him. I was too late.”

 

Her heart sinks. There’s a sadness that overcomes the two of them and she feels like a fog is now affecting the peripheral of where to go with the conversation. So she stops herself from asking anything else and leans into his embrace. 

 

“I’m so, so sorry Reichen.” His heartbeat against her ear. 

 

“I’m not.” He breathes.

 

Scene Six

Boulstridge Mountains; Sutton Cottage

 

In the silence, Kirsten mentally starts to kick herself for not having Iris pickup Eric sooner. She now knows where this conversation is going and even though she is angry she also knows that this is part of what she needed to hear. The room starts to feel smaller. Her eyes begin to water.

 

“I— I don’t understand if this is an ultimatum, or…”

 

“It’s an ultimatum.” Charlie says, matter-of-fact. “When I found out about the affair, I mean, I knew you had something with Adrian in high school and when he came back to Stone Creek I knew that there was this underlying thing. But I was hoping, and I was wishing you had the strength to not act on it.”

 

Everyone talks about how it feels to be punched in the stomach, but Kirsten never imagined that it would feel like this. It takes everything in her being to stand up straight and not fall over as her stomach begins to tie knots. She would much rather Charlie actually punch her than letting his words to do it themselves.

 

“Charlie.”

 

He shakes his head. “I love you and I will always love you Kirsten. There were times when I thought I was going to lose you and I just chose to ignore the elephant in the room. But that was not the right decision to make for myself, or for our children. So, I ask this one thing of you… he has to go.”

 

“I’ve never been put in a position like that.” Kirsten admits.

 

“Then maybe you should have thought twice before sleeping with that man. Because if you don’t remove Adrian from the equation then I will be forced to remove myself from this one.” His eyes began to fill with tears. “Do we have a deal?”

 

She no longer is inside her body any more. Kirsten is watching the scene unfold before her; she is leaning against the cherry oak dining table and Charlie stands tall on the other end of the room. This is the very kitchen where they held family dinners, where Megan bumped her head against the counter trying to get cookies out of the cookie jar, the very kitchen where they promised each other they would get married and forgo his family's fortune in order to follow their dreams.

 

“I just feel like we are choosing the wrong way to go about this.” 

 

His jaw drops open and immediately she knows she chose the wrong words. “I think you sleeping with Adrian was the wrong way to go about this, Kirsten!” He shouts. He now is shades darker than he has ever been before.

 

“I’m sorry, Charlie,” Kirsten says, “I just feel like you’re choosing the Patrick Sutton way to go about this entire thing! Blackmailing your wife?”

 

“This isn’t blackmail, and quite frankly I’m insulted that you just compared me to my father when you’re the one acting a lot like your mother!”

 

Kirsten shakes her head. “No! No! We are not going to raise our voices right now and we are not going to lose control. This isn’t who we are. We have never been these people before and I won’t stand for it, Charlie.”

 

Eric’s wails from the next room alerts Kirsten that they have been too loud and have interrupted his play time. Kirsten watches her husband disappear from the room and hopes that it isn’t the last time he does so. 

 

Scene Seven

Now Town; Stone Creek Memorial Hospital

 

As soon as Anita spoke, Helen knew she was in over her head so she turned to James for help to which she knew wouldn’t come to fruition. So, with as much restraint as a pup with a bone Helen turned on her Gucci heels and faced Anita Thurlow. 

 

“I thought I’d come over to the hospital and see if you’d throw me a line like that!” Helen snips, she pulls her hands to her hips with her clutch clasped in her right hand and a stance she hopes intimidates Anita enough so she can steer clear of any windows.

 

Anita raises an eyebrow and scoffs at the line. “You seem to never disappoint and if you were my favorite, I would give you props for that.”

 

“Mother.” James warns, but neither woman pays much attention to him.

 

Helen groans. “Look. I really don’t want to cause a scene here, okay? All that I want to do is see my daughter, is that too much to ask for Anita? Last time I was here I did what you wanted and I left it all alone...”

 

“She doesn’t need to be seen by you, Helen,” Anita says, she crosses the room, “I don’t know if you remember but Marina wished you out of her life for the last scheme you tried to pull.”

 

“That was years ago.” Helen reminds her. “Besides do you think I would come here to cause trouble for my daughter? The doctors said she needs no stress… I think I have complied nicely.”

 

Anita waves her off. “You’ve never been a mother to any of my grandchildren.”

 

“You wouldn’t let me!” Helen raises her voice.

 

“You were too busy sleeping your way through half the men in this town, Helen, what in the world do you mean I wouldn't let you?” Anita replies. “Do you think my grandchildren didn’t notice when you skipped out on birthdays so you can chase every penny, nickel and dime this town threw your way?”

 

Helen scoffs. “I don’t touch money, it’s disease-ridden!”

 

James pushes himself between both women, and Helen can feel the warmth of her ex. Husband beside her. She tries to lock eyes with Anita, but James is now in her way and his baby blue eyes are pleading with her to calm down.

 

So she moves back and away from James and Anita. “I am going to see my daughter today, if that’s the last thing I do.”

 

“Oh, please,” Anita says from behind James, “do you always have to be so dramatic Helen? I’m beginning to see how you faked that tumble down the stairs that led to poor Daphne Wilkinson almost getting murdered.”

 

Helen can feel her blood boiling. She never really understood the phrase when she was younger, but now, standing feet away from Anita, she understood the heat and the rage. “This is what she does! She brings up my past like she doesn’t have skeletons wedged deep down in her a—“

 

“That’s enough!” The voice of Ryan Bauer bellows from the north hallway.

 

The three family members stop what they’re doing and turn to see the man glaring at them with annoyance. It’s in that moment that Helen notices everyone looking at the three of them as they stage a royal rumble in the waiting room.

 

She straightens her black skirt and walks over to Ryan. “I am sorry about all this commotion, Ryan.”

 

“I doubt she is.” Anita snips.

 

“That’s enough.” Ryan says in a lowered, but still demanding voice. “Why is it that I can’t even have a moment's peace with my wife in her time of need? Is this how it’s always going to be from here on out?”

 

He moves past Helen and aims his next words towards Anita. “Are you just going to stand out here like some vulture waiting for prey?”

 

“Excuse me?” Anita retorts.

 

Helen takes note of the tension between the two and prepares to watch the show, she moves further back away from them and folds her arms in curiosity. She never expected the family to turn on each other like this. Especially between Ryan and Anita, Helen always thought Anita liked him more than she liked Emmet.

 

“Listen, I will do what you want me to do as far as the company is concerned Anita, but that is the last of it. You do not get to stalk these halls and hover like this while Marina is here.” 

 

“Hey, Ryan,” James starts.

 

But Ryan shoots him a look. “I expected as much from Helen, but of you? Come on James. I will be the first person to admit that I have met faults but the doctors said no stress on Marina or the baby and I get pulled from the room because my guests are causing commotion out here?”

 

“It’s a misunderstanding Ryan.” James replies.

 

Ryan nods his head. “Then let me clear this one up, okay?” He points to Anita who looks startled to be getting the attention. “She goes.”

 

“Ryan.” Anita pleads.

 

But he shakes his head. “No. I gave up my job working for your family's company because you think that I had something to do with my best friend's overdose, but I am not going to tread lightly with my wife’s health.”

 

Clearly, Helen has missed a lot of information. So many things are fluttering through her mind as she watches both James and Anita start collecting their things to leave. She says her goodbyes to James and then turns to Ryan before he makes his way out of the waiting room.

 

Scene Eight

Boulstridge Mountains; Sutton Cottage

 

Charlie reappears into the room carrying their son in his arms which makes Kirsten feel as if he just brought a shield to their argument. There’s nothing she can say now that won’t be witnessed by their son. She looks at his soft innocent face and thinks back to when he accompanied her on her trip to see Melinda a few weeks ago.

 

This fact makes her sweat as she thinks about the alternatives to their marriage and what would happen if Charlie ever found out that she had gone to see a lawyer. So she tries to see things from his viewpoint.

 

“So,” Kirsten says, starting to feel like she’s being cornered. “If I decide to let Adrian go, then you will think about working on our marriage with me?” She asks, the conversation needs to come to some sort of agreement, she knows that now.

 

Charlie nods his head. “I just need to know that you’re fully aware of the situation that I am in with Adrian working at the cafe. I didn’t mean to sound harsh, but I don’t know how comfortable I feel with him being there.”

 

“Understandable.” She says. There’s now less eggshells Kirsten feels she is walking on. “Okay, I want to make sure that our marriage survives because we have been through so much already. I don’t like the ultimatum side of this conversation but I know what I need to do.”

 

“I just needed to be clear.” Charlie replies. 

 

Kirsten moves closer and takes Eric’s hand in hers. “Okay. Okay, I will talk with Adrian and we will have to reach some sort of agreement on how to proceed from there. I don’t want to leave him just jobless.”

 

“He’s a big boy, Kirsten.”

 

Her phone comes to life on the kitchen counter and immediately she knows that it’s a message from Iris. So she pulls herself away from the conversation so that she can reply. “Iris is on her way over.”

 

“I don’t want a marriage like my parents had.” Charlie says, almost out of thin air. “If we continue to go down this road and if people like Dylan Tyree know more about our relationship than we do. We will end up just like Patrick and my mother.”

 

Kirsten knows that her husband is right. “Then I promise that moving forward it will be the two of us and nobody else.”

 

“Same.” Charlie replies, he takes both Kirsten and their son into his arms as they hold onto each other.

 

Scene Nine

Now Town; Stone Creek Memorial Hospital

 

“Wait!” Helen calls, she moves down the north hall as fast as her Gucci heels would take her in hopes that her son-in-law would slow down so that she could speak with him. This wasn’t how she thought she would be spending her morning, and if she knew better she would have gone with the golden Prada flats she had her eye on in her closet.

 

“Ryan, wait!” Helen makes one last attempt — which seems to slow him down for a beat. She uses this time wisely and grabs his arm to secure her standing. “Look, I have no idea what is going on with that monster of a woman and you — I don’t care what it is. I just want to see my daughter.”

 

She knows it’s a stretch, but Helen would sooner see Anita plowed down by a bus than to see Ryan shut that door on her face and prove Anita right; her children have had conflicting feelings for her for so long. 

 

“Please, Ryan.” Helen says one more time.

 

He clears his throat. “We have had a really good working relationship before, so I will let you in on this one favor. I just hope you understand the severity of this situation right now and how I don’t need anything leaked to Anita.”

 

This excites Helen to no end. “It would be my pleasure to hold secrets and glory away from that beast.”

 

“She’s, like, an eighty year old woman, Helen.” Ryan replies.

 

Helen shrugs. “So is Penelope Wilkinson, but that didn’t stop her from driving her car into a bar and killing someone.”

 

“She was having a seizure.”

 

“Fine. Whatever.” Helen shakes her hands. “But you need to tell me something Ryan, because I can’t go into my daughter’s hospital room not knowing the safe words and what information I’m not allowed to tell her.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“I’m not an idiot.” The redhead says, she looks around the hall and finds a nurse passing by with a couple of forms. So she stops herself from saying another word until she leaves the vicinity. “Whatever you were fighting about with Anita and James sounded like some sort of secret, although honestly, doesn’t seem like you three understand the general rule of how to keep a secret—”

 

“Helen!” 

 

“Right.” She says with a smile. “What the hell were you three talking about and why does it have anything to do with a guy in a coma?”

 

He falls silent.

 

“Fine. I’ll just walk into my daughter’s hospital room and accidentally blurt out whatever bits of information that I do know about Derek Cotta and you stepping down from your job.” Helen motions for the door. “Lead the way, will you?”

 

Ryan seethes and she knows she has him right where she wants him. It takes a few more seconds, she figures he’s thinking of some sort of escape plan. Helen knows Ryan to be a smart man, so she watches him curiously.

 

“Okay, look, Helen. This is the truth, but you cannot say anything to Marina about this because I need her to not to stress out about this.” He says. “Derek Cotta is an old friend from back home, I gave him a job. However, he seems to have taken to old habits and overdosed on some sort of drug and when they questioned him he pointed the finger at me.”

 

Helen holds her left hand to her mouth. “Oh, my!”

 

“I didn’t do anything.” 

 

“Of course not, I believe you.” Helen shakes her head.

 

“Anita thinks in order to save the family company I have to step away from it so they don’t get any negative press following the overdose.” Ryan states, he takes a deep breath to recollect his thoughts. “So that’s what is going on.”

 

As much as she hates to admit it, maybe she does ask too many questions. It takes her much longer than she had hoped to digest the information but she doesn’t hate herself for it. Instead, Helen shakes her head and then locks eyes with Ryan. “Wait. So you're just going to lie to my daughter about all of this?”

 

Ryan looks puzzled.

 

So she smacks his arm. “You better figure out a way to tell her the truth.”

 

“It’s not like I’m trying to lie to her on purpose.” He says, rubbing his arm.

 

Helen shakes her head. “Doesn’t matter because you know damned well that she will hold it against you when she finds out that you hid this from her. You more than anyone should know what Marina will do if something doesn’t add up.”

 

Helen steps away from Ryan briefly, then turns back to him. “You should’ve just lied to me or something. I can’t go in there now and be a part of this bombshell of a lie. Marina already thinks of me as a bad mother.”

 

She chuckles at the irony. “You better fix this Ryan.”

 

Scene Ten

Sage Gardens;  Old Granger Manor

 

“Okay, dad,” Gillian says, she has already checked in on the toddlers and gave Aleena the okay to change and entertain them while they deal with the intrusion of Patrick into their home. At this point she is filled with obvious questions, so in order to stay out of everyone’s way and to keep the children distracted she moves them into the dinning room.

 

“What is it that you need to speak to us about?” She asks.

 

Patrick seems as smug as ever today, so she knows it’s not anything too serious that he would need a loan from either one of them. Which is definitely something she is grateful for as having witnessed his crisis over the last two years.

 

“Right!” Patrick says with enthusiasm. “What I am about to tell you is a top secret and I cannot have either of you two telling anyone else other than the people in this room. Can I get you to promise me that?”

 

“Depends on what it is.” Damien replies.

 

Gillian folds her arms one over the other. “Yeah, what the hell is going on?”

 

Patrick rolls his eyes. “Fine. I just want to tell you that I am grateful that you have decided to throw the middle finger up to that smug little asshole nephew of mine. Damien, hats off to you!”

 

“I don’t understand how that helps you.” Gillian says, knowing he wouldn’t bring it up otherwise.

 

“Well, my gorgeous daughter, if you really want to know. Damien deciding to invest in the city of Stone Creek and it’s residents means that Sutton Enterprises will be left high and dry in the next few months and they will be needing to pull together their resources.”

 

“I still work there.” Gillian protests.

 

Patrick waves off the comment. “Don’t jump ahead sparky. What I mean is that I have been working on a plan for the last year. I have had a spy inside the building giving me all the information I needed to move forward with my plan to take over SE from Peter and Kimberly.”

 

He licks his lips in excitement.

 

This, Gillian sees and shutters at her father’s nefarious plans. “I still don’t understand what you mean by this.”

 

“Who is your spy?” Damien asks.

 

Patrick lights up at the question and Gillian knows now that Patrick has been practicing this speech for quite some time. So she goes over to the dining room table and finds herself a seat. She has known her father so well over the years and how subtlety was never his strong suit.

 

“That is a great question!” Patrick shoots back. “You will never guess that I am about to tell you my spy is Catalina Cortez.”

 

Gillian looks puzzled. “Isn’t that the woman you hired years ago who ended up in a mental hospital?”

 

“Exactly!” Patrick shouts excitedly.

 

She turns to her husband. “This isn’t making me feel better about his plan.”

 

Patrick scoffs. “Everyone has a past, my little bumblebee. So how about we put the judgement to the side and listen to what I am about to tell you; eh? I was able to help Catalina out of a jam and she agreed to help me take over SE.”

 

“So where has she been this entire time?” Damien asks, intrigued.

 

Gillian really wants to reign Damien in and keep him from goading her father anymore than he has already. But she, too, is intrigued at this point by what he has to tell her so she lets her husband carryon in hopes that Patrick will get to the point eventually.

 

“Catalina has been wandering about right in front of your face, darling,” Patrick directs at Gillian, “I was able to get her hired on as Peter’s secretary.”

 

At this point, Gillian’s jaw drops. “Esperanza is the spy?”

 

Patrick nods smugly.

 

Gillian waves her hands in the air. “Do you understand what you have done, dad? Like seriously, I— I don’t know what to say. I mean she has been really nice to me and I really thought it was because I’m a semi-nice person, but I guess it turns out that she’s been working for you the entire time.”

 

Gillian takes a moment to digest the information. “So, I guess that makes sense. Esperanza is sleeping with Peter, though,” she turns to Damien, “I overheard one of the interns talking crap about the two of them. My office gives me direct access to the gossiping.”

 

Then she turns back to Patrick with alarm. “You sent this woman into the lion's den on purpose! What the hell are you thinking?! Do you not understand what kind of person Peter is? Do you even care?”

 

“Relax, Esperanza is doing just fine in there.”

 

“Says the man on the outside of this.” Damien retorts.

 

Gillian rises from her seat at the table. “You better have a foolproof plan on what you’re going to do next because I can’t even stomach what will happen if Peter, or aunt Kimberly find out about that poor woman.”

 

Patrick cocks a brow at his daughter. “Just a second ago you were judging her for being in a mental hospital and now you’re sympathetic towards her?”

 

“Patrick, what the fuck is going on here?” Damien asks.

 

Gillian follows suit. “Exactly daddy, what the hell is your endgame and why are you coming to us about it?”