The leaves had turned their colors, and had fallen off of the trees. The grass was more faded than usual, and the air had a nip to it, especially at night. School was in full swing. Fall was upon them in Newport Beach. Things appeared to be prosperous and happy from the perspective of an outsider, but on the inside of Newport, things were as grim as ever. Not much has changed in the past two months.
Two months later, and Kirsten had still not come home. She enjoyed living with Charlotte, and had not felt this free since she was in college, when she met Sandy. Kirsten enjoyed being able to not have to worry about what to have for supper, or hosting a party. She was free to do what she wanted, when she wanted. It was not that Sandy was a controlling husband, it was merely the fact that there was someone there watching her every move, even if they didn't intend to.
Sandy missed his wife more and more every day, but he knew that they were slowly becoming different people. There was not a minute of the day that he did not think about her, or trying to bring her home. However, he knew that he could not do that. Only she could decide when she wanted to come home to Newport. He felt very alone and depressed; however, he tried to hide it in front of Seth and Ryan as much as possible. Sandy tried to pretend everything was going to be all right, even when he did not know that. Especially in front of Seth, who now had to live there without his mother in the house, which was hard for him. Ryan could face the reality of things, even though he did not want to. It was hard for him to see a family he loved break up for a second time.
Ryan was still attending Harbor and achieving excellence without really having to make a considerable effort. Although, the school seemed more empty without Marissa there. It just was not the same when she did not plan the Kick Off Carnival or the winter dance. He tried to be as positive and helpful as he could for Marissa. He told her about the important stuff that she would need to know for public school, like don't use the bathrooms alone, someone might be getting beaten up in there. He also hoped for Kirsten to come home; however, he did not think it was going to happen. Of course, he did tend to have a negative outlook on things, considering his upbringing.
Marissa was adjusting to her new school. The rigor of the classes was considerably easier, but she liked the people who attended the school, which made the experience livable. Word had spread to her new school about what had happened; however, they were not like the gossip mongrels at Harbor. She and Ryan were still together, which made her happy, as well. Although things were not the way they used to be, things were not bad for Marissa Cooper. Her family was back together. Her parents were not dating, per se, they were just seeing if they could take each other's company for long periods of time, again. Kaitlin was back at home. Things were all right, over all.
Summer did not know how to handle school without Marissa. Her lifeline was gone. Usually, Marissa was in some of her classes, or at least in her lunch, and now, she was not there to talk to anymore. Her best friend at Harbor now was Seth, but listening to him talk about comic books all the time did not entertain her to any end. Now a days, she would just see Marissa after school sometimes. She felt as if her best friend were drifting away sometimes. Marissa was off making new friends at Newport Union, while Summer was still at Harbor with the same people they had known since first grade. Marissa's world was changing while Summer's was not.
Seth tried to be there for Summer, but he just did not know how. He tried to feel for her, but it was hard for him because he was unable to process anything emotional most of the time. Most of the time, his thoughts were else where. Seth thought about his mother a lot. He wondered when she was coming home, or if she was coming home. He wondered if it was something that he did, which caused his mother to want to stay somewhere else. He tried to hide how much he missed her, but sometimes it was evident.
Julie was trying to get at Caleb's will. His attorney said that the will could not be read for awhile for various reasons; however, Julie needed that money. She wanted to know if she had gotten anything out of it, or if when Caleb had gotten his divorce papers, he had changed his will, as well. She and Jimmy were still together, at the moment. They were trying to see if things between them would still really work, or if they would turn out like it did before. She and he were not rushing into anything because they did not want to upset Marissa's delicate emotional balance which was in place. They wanted to be sure of it before they went to the alter again.
Things had changed in Orange County. Everything was not like it used to be. Their worlds had been flipped upside down. Everything old was new again for the Cohen and Cooper families.