Looking back it all seems so clear. Everything she said—Everything she did—it was all suspicious, and yet he turned the other way. Was he really that stupid? Kelly had tried to warn him. Dorian had tried. His father had tried….Hell, everyone had tried, but he didn't listen. Sighing, he placed the wedding photo back in the drawer of the night table. With the trial over, he could finally get back to his life…what was left of it. She and Cutter were rotting in a jail cell where they belonged and he was….well, he was trapped in his own prison. Reaching towards the bottom of the drawer, he pulled out the wrapped photo. Pulling off the newspaper clipping, he slowly turned it over. He'd started to throw it out so many times, but he never had. Looking at it now, it still made him smile. Kelly could always make him smile. Now, he thought sadly, she was making someone else smile.
It had been nearly a year since she'd left. When she stopped by the house to tell him she was leaving, Aubrey had held him to his promise. Telling her she wasn't welcome there was one of the hardest things he'd ever had to do, and when she told him it wouldn't be an issue much longer, he thought his heart would literally break into pieces. She explained that there wasn't anything left for her in Llanview. She needed a new start—a new life. Somewhere different—with someone different, and there wasn't anything he could say to stop her.
He thought that moment, the moment Kelly walked out the door was the lowest moment of his life, but it wasn't even close. That moment had come a few months ago, when Dorian paid him a visit. She'd brought him a clipping from a New York lifestyle article. Kelly was married. Dorian explained that the man was a business associate from London, someone she and Kevin had known for years. He was a good man, she'd told him. He'd take care of her. Though that should have made him feel better, it did little to lessen the blow. Looking at the picture of the happy couple, his heart broke. It should have been him.
Joey stared at the clipping a while longer and then looked back at the photo. He and Kelly had always been friends—the best of friends. Why should that change? Maybe he'd call her…just catch up. After all, surely she'd want to hear about Aubrey. At least he could tell her that he'd finally come to his senses, and he owed her an apology for not listening to her all those months. Dorian had left her number with him in case he ever wanted to get in touch. Joey took a deep breath and dialed the number.
With each ring, Joey felt himself growing more and more anxious. Suddenly he heard a click.
"Kelly?" he said, waiting for a response.
"You have reached the Amerson residence. Please leave your name, number, and a brief message and we'll return your call as soon as possible. Thank you." The automated voice was followed by a series of brief beeps and then silence.
Joey paused and then hung up. This wasn't something he wanted to leave on an answering machine. Flipping open the cover of his laptop, he quickly pulled up the white pages. With a few clicks and the help of reverse look up, he'd found the address. Grabbing a pencil, he quickly jotted it down. He'd always preferred to take care of his business in person anyway.
It was a good thing the flight to New York was brief. After nearly driving himself crazy trying to decide whether or not he should call, Joey finally determined a surprise would be the best course of action. Hailing a cab, he handed the slip of paper to the driver.
The driver glanced back into the rearview mirror and scoffed a bit, "Figures."
Joey was puzzled, "What?"
Smiling the driver responded, "You just…you look like the type. That's all…."
"The type for what? I'm just going to visit a friend. I've never been there."
"See, that's my problem," the driver responded, clicking the meter, and beginning to pull off, "I need to find some new friends."
Joey leaned back in the seat, still a little befuddled by the driver's comments. After what seemed to be an eternity, he leaned forward. "Ummm, You do know where you're going, right?"
The driver smiled back in the mirror, "Look buddy. I may not venture into these parts very often, but I know my way around this place. Every so often when an heiress or two has a bit too much and doesn't want to use Daddy's driver, they'll give me a call."
Joey was quiet for a moment as he realized what the driver's comments meant. "So, it's a nice neighborhood?"
"Nice?" The driver blew a quick puff of air. "These people walk around like they think they own the world. Wait til you see this place."
The two men drove in silence for a few more minutes before Joey heard the car's signal click. As he glanced over out the blurry window, he nearly let his mouth fall open in surprise. He was certainly never one to do without. He knew what money could do…He lived with it, but this…this was nothing short of spectacular.
"See.." the driver smiled, a bit amused at Joey's slack jaw.
After paying the tab and including a nice tip, Joey watched as the cab departed the winding driveway. Turning to stare at the palatial home, he had a moment of sheer panic. What if Kelly wasn't there? What if no one was? He'd let the cab drive off. Rushing up to the door, he rang the bell. In an instant, he heard the whoosh of air as the heavy door was pulled back.
"Yes?" the middle-aged woman asked as she stood before him.
"Hi," Joey managed, a bit taken aback. "I'm here to see Kelly…I'm an old friend." Joey smiled in an attempt to make the best of what was quickly becoming an awkward situation.
"Is Mrs. Amerson expecting you?" she asked her question clearly suspicious and not at all welcoming.
"Well, no…actually," Joey stammered, shifting his weight from foot to foot, "I wanted to surprise her. I happened to be passing through town and I looked her up. Could you just tell her that I'm here? I'm sure she'd like to see me." At least I hope she will, he thought.
"Mrs. Amerson isn't fond of surprises," the woman said with little emotion. "What is your name, sir?"
Joey cleared his throat. He suddenly felt as if he were in the dean's office, about to get rapped on the hand with the ruler. "Joey…Joey Buchanan. Please just let her know that I'm here."
Before anything else could be said the woman turned on her heel, shutting the door in his face. Joey stood there, unsure of what to do next. He took out his cell phone. Should he call her? And say what? I'm standing at your front door and your housekeeper won't let me in? That sounded incredibly pathetic. As he stood there contemplating his next move, he heard quick footsteps at the door. As he turned toward it, he saw it fly open.
"Joey," Kelly cried, throwing her arms around him. "I can't believe you're here."
For a moment, he didn't say anything. He couldn't. Talking might scare the feeling away—the sheer joy of holding her in his arms again.
"God," Kelly said, pulling away slightly, "It is so good to see you."
"It's good to see you too." Joey couldn't take his eyes off her. He didn't realize until that very moment just how much he had missed her.
Kelly smiled, "Come in…"
Joey slowly followed her inside. As he looked around he could feel his eyes widen, "Wow," he said, trying not to appear too stunned, "This is nice."
Kelly nodded, "Yeah, it is. It still doesn't really feel quite like home, but a lot of this stuff was in Michael's family." She shrugged, brushing it off. "Come on…let's sit down. Tell me about you….I want to hear all about everything."
"I'm sure you've heard about Aubrey," Joey said, settling on the incredibly uncomfortable couch—clearly more for looks than comfort.
"I did," Kelly admitted, "I'm sorry, Joey. I really am."
"You don't have to say that…besides, I should be apologizing to you. You tried to warn me about Aubrey from the beginning and I just wouldn't listen to you."
"You always see the best in people, Joey. That's not a bad trait to have." Kelly smiled at him. She'd not realized how much she missed him.
"So," he said, looking around the room, "Tell me about this guy…Dorian told me you met him in London?"
Kelly shifted uncomfortably, "Yeah, he was one of Kevin's business associates. We'd met a few times. When I moved to New York, our paths crossed again. We had dinner a few times, and you can figure out the rest."
"Yeah," Joey smiled, "love at first sight?" he asked more than stated.
"I guess," Kelly said, averting her eyes slightly.
Joey hadn't missed the subtle clue. He'd known Kelly far too long for her to believe she could pull anything over on him.
"Wait a minute…Kel. There's something you're not telling me here. This all happened pretty suddenly. How'd the two of you end up married so fast?"
Kelly looked at Joey, smiling and standing, "It's nothing really. I mean, it just made sense. I mean—I was single, he was single. We both wanted the same thing…to settle down…have a life." Kelly walked away a little. "Can you stay for dinner? Michael has meetings and he won't be home. I can have Mary run out and pick something up special. Is lamb still your favorite?"
She was covering—he could sense it, and he wouldn't let her—not this time. "Kelly," he said, standing and closing the distance between them. "I'd love to stay for dinner, and yes, lamb is still my favorite, but after you give Mary her list, you and I are going to talk. You're not telling me something and I want to know what it is."
Kelly walked back towards the room, but paused as she watched Joey. He stood, with his back to the doorway, surveying the photos on the mantle.
Each frame seemed to hold a moment, a carefully constructed moment in time. Joey placed the silver frame back in its spot and then picked up the black frame towards the end of the line. The wedding photo—Kelly was beautiful, but looking at her eyes—they seemed almost…resigned. It was as if she was smiling on the outside, but the inside of her was screaming something entirely different. He studied her expression for another moment, then looked at another picture. He was disturbed to see a similar expression.
"What are you looking at?" Kelly asked, startling him a bit.
"These pictures," Joey said, gesturing to the mantle. "They're beautiful."
Kelly nodded. "Thanks. Michael's family has a great photographer. We can barely go anywhere without it becoming a photo shoot." She smiled again.
Joey looked at her, at her eyes mainly, "Kelly," he started, grabbing her army gently and sitting her down, "Why did you marry Michael?"
Kelly looked at her lap, "I already told you. Why do you think I married Michael? Why do people normally get married?" She forced herself to look him in the eye, but she could only stand to maintain the eye contact for a brief moment. It was as if he could look through her.
"People get married for all sorts of reasons," Joey said softly, touching her shoulder. "Why did you?"
Kelly sighed, "Because," she said, filling her throat thicken with the beginning of tears, "Because I was having his baby."
Joey felt his mouth go dry, "You have a baby?"
"No," Kelly said, clearing her throat, and forcing herself to maintain her composure. If there was anything she'd learned in this short marriage, it was composure in the face of anything. "I lost it, a few weeks after…" She took another breath. "A few weeks after the wedding, I lost it."
Joey felt terrible. This wasn't what he expected to hear. He would never have pushed her to tell him if he'd known it was something like this. "Kelly, I'm sorry." He reached out to touch her hand. "I'm so sorry."
"It's ok. It's been months now." She looked up at him. "It was probably for the best anyway."
Joey was stunned. This didn't sound like Kelly at all. "What do you mean? Why would you say that?"
Shaking her head, she tried to explain, "I don't mean that I didn't want the baby…I did….more than anything, but Michael, he didn't really plan on having any more children." She noticed the look on Joey's face and immediately realized she needed to explain further. "He's really busy and more children just weren't…they just weren't part of his life plan."
"His life plan?" Joey looked at Kelly incredulously. "And what about your plans? What about what you want?"
"Don't get the wrong idea," Kelly added, "He was here for me. It's just that…when he found out I was pregnant, his parents…they were…they weren't exactly thrilled that we weren't married, so we…"
Joey nodded. Now it made sense. "So, he married you because you were pregnant."
"Right," she said, looking at the floor, "And then…"
"And then you weren't," Joey said, looking at her, suddenly understanding the photos more than he ever wanted to. "Kelly," he said, waiting until she looked back up at him, "Why did you stay married? I mean if you got married because you were pregnant…"
"You don't understand," Kelly said quietly. "He has a daughter. She's seven. Her mother died when she was six months old. Lily has never had a mother—or a father, really. She's been raised by nannies and tutors and put in this private school after that private school….just like…"
"Just like you were," Joey said, finishing her sentence. "You're staying for her."
"If I leave…I'll never see her again. That little girl doesn't deserve to lose another person in her life. I can't do that to her."
"Do you love him," he asked her, "Did you ever love him"?
Kelly sighed, "I thought I did," she said honestly, but then….I realized something. She looked into Joey's eyes, "You can't love two men."
Joey felt her words as if she'd hit him in the chest. He had to say something, anything to make her change her mind. "You could fight for custody," he said, his voice betraying his desperation.
Kelly smiled. He wasn't saying anything she hadn't thought of. She'd spent many nights home alone thinking of all the different ways she could get out of this. "Joey, I'm not her mother. I've got no biological claim to her. I've been in her life less than a year. No judge on the planet would give me custody….besides, these people…they've got more money than God. They own the judge."
Joey sighed. "So what? You're just…You're stuck here. You're married to a man that you don't love and who treats you like crap?"
Kelly shook her head. "He doesn't." She reached her hand out to touch his face. "He takes good care of me."
Joey stood up, turning his back to her. "He throws his money around. He buys this huge house so that you can live in it alone. He buys you these clothes so you can show up at all these social events on his arm and he makes sure you know where you're supposed to be and when you're supposed to be there. How is that taking good care of you?"
Kelly felt the tears begin to fall. "I have a beautiful home. I have a beautiful little girl and I have a man that loves me no matter what. That has to be enough."
Joey turned around to look at her. He softly kissed her lips, before whispering, "I love you." He turned and walked towards the door.
"Where are you going?" she asked tearfully.
"I can't stay for dinner. Sorry." He felt the wind hit his back as the door shut behind him. Aubrey certainly wasn't the only one sitting in prison tonight.