*~* Chapter 1 *~*
Kayla sat at a corner table at Mario's. She hated the first night in a new town. She hated trying to find her way around to the good restaurants and shops. She was sipping on a Manhattan and reading the city guide trying to find some of the attractions. She was in town for a medical clinic under the supervision of Monica Quartermaine and would be here for a short time. When the waiter brought her entrée to her he noticed the city guide.
"If you're looking for a better Italian restaurant, you're not going to find one in Port Charles. Mario's is the best," he said placing her plate in front of her.
"Oh no…" she replied with a laugh, "I'm in town for a short time and I was looking for some of the attractions. Is there anything around worth seeing?" she asked.
"Well, just outside of town, there is an exquisite view of the city overlooking the harbor."
"I'll have to check it out. Thank you."
"Certainly, would you like another Manhattan?" he asked.
"Yes, please." She responded turning to her eggplant parmesan and the city guide.
Just as she began to eat, she noticed a familiar man enter the restaurant and speak with the Maitre'de. He had a beautiful young woman on his arm. The couple looked so handsome together, although she thought the woman was a bit young for him. She put her head down quickly when they began to walk toward her. She was hoping not be recognized and of course, they had to be seated at the table next to hers. This was the one man that she had hoped not to run into, although she knew his family was from Port Charles.
She felt her body begin to fill with envy as she watched him with this young woman. She couldn't help but to listen to their conversation. "May I start you off with a drink?" the waiter asked them.
"Water with lemon for me please." The young woman responded.
"Root beer for me," he told the waiter.
"Root beer," Kayla thought to herself "whatever happened to Bourbon on the rocks."
The waiter returned with their drinks, ready to take their order. "Are you ready to order, Sir?"
"Yes, I believe we are…the stuff manicotti for the lady and Penne Pasta for myself, please," He said.
The young lady smiled, "how did you know that stuffed manicotti is my favorite?" she asked.
"Simple, I am learning everything there is to know about you. It's my job, you know." He responded nonchalantly with a smile.
Kayla rolled her eyes at the statement and whispered to herself "if this gets anymore sickening sweet, it is going to give me a cavity." She looked at the young woman who made a slight giggle at his comment. As Kayla studied her, she determined that she couldn't have been any older than 27 or 28. Then she noticed the engagement ring on her finger. The sight of that ring tied her stomach in a knot. "He's engaged?" she whispered to herself, in disbelief. "I can't believe this…"
"So, fill me in on the wedding plans…" the man said to the young woman.
"Everything is pretty much taken care of. I still can't believe I let you talk me into this big wedding."
"You can have anything that you want. We can make the biggest must attend event of the year in Port Charles. Even bigger than the Nurse's ball," he smiled.
"Well, we've already reserved the same room and caterers."
"Already been talking to Lucy, I take it," he said with a smile.
"If you want to plan an event right, talk to Lucy…but, a big wedding like that is going to cost a lot money," she insisted.
"Oh come on…how many times do I have to tell you…don't worry about the money. I am paying for the whole thing. It's the very least that I can do."
"I know you keep saying that…but…"
"No buts…I'm in charge and what I say goes."
Kayla couldn't believe her ears. He was planning a big gala event for his wedding. How could he do this? How could he just move on like that? She was quickly forming a not to flattering opinion of this young woman. She knew what this young woman was about. She wanted a rich older man and she found him. He had fallen for the oldest trick in the book; since when is Scott Baldwin that stupid.
"Is Serena excited about the wedding?" the young woman asked.
"Of course she is…I don't think that she has stopped talking about it since you asked her to be in it."
Kayla's thoughts quickly turned to Serena. How could he do this to that little girl? He was bringing this gold digger into his house with that precious little girl. This woman was barely an adult herself, how could she possibly be a mother to Serena.
Kayla couldn't take it any longer. She was going to tell him just what she thought of him. She took one last sip of her drink before rising and heading to his table. Anger was raging throughout her body, but she remained calm as walked up beside him. "Well…if it isn't Scott Baldwin…" she announced. "How have you been?"
"Kayla…hi…" he said beginning to stand up.
"No, please don't get up on my account. I just came by to congratulate you."
"Congratulate me?" he asked looking puzzled at the young woman sitting across from him.
"On your wedding…So, I guess this is what I get right?"
"Kayla…I don't…" he started only to be interrupted. So he decided to just let her speak her mind. As the restaurant grew quiet as everyone stared at them.
"The last time that I saw you, you told me that you were only going to be gone for a couple of days. Then, I never heard from you again. I guess this is the way that it's done, eh, Scott?"
"Um…don't you think…." The young woman started looking at Scott. Scott quickly put up his hand and shook his head to cut her off mid sentence.
"Oh you have her listening to you quite well. Well, honey, you sure look good but you will never be as good to him as I was." Kayla grunted.
"Excuse me…" the woman began in defense but then interrupted by Scott.
"Karen, calm down," Scott said placing his hand on hers smiling.
"Oh so that's her name…Karen…I bet you're after his money, right?"
"Well actually, there is the trust fund." Karen replied.
Scott put his hand up and shook his head trying to stop Karen from engaging in a public argument, "Karen…"
"Trust fund? You work rather quickly, don't you." Kayla retorted.
"Well it took some doing, but I finally found my sugar daddy." Karen replied with a sly smile pulling a sugar packet out the holder at the side of the table. Scott began to chuckle at his daughter's comment and action.
"Well, I'll tell you right now, honey, he's not worth it. All he does is love them and leave them."
"Kayla, could we plea…" Scott started as he jumped up from his seat, but was only cut off by Karen.
"Well he is stuck with me for, at least, the rest of his life. Isn't that right?" Karen replied glancing at Scott. Scott nodded as the waiter came over to ask if he could bring another chair.
"No, thank you, I was just leaving…"
Scott turned to the waiter, "bring the chair, please."
"No, I'm leaving. Honey, you can have him, I don't need him anymore," she said as she turned and exited the restaurant at a fast pace.
Scott ran out into the lobby to try to catch her, so that he could explain, but it was too late. She had already walked out of the door. He put his head down and returned to his dinner with Karen.
"What was that all about?" Karen asked when he returned.
"Kayla and I were dating back when I was in Canada," he explained. "When Serena disappeared, I just took off…"
"And you decided to stay here and never went back to set things straight with her…" Karen said finishing his sentence.
"Something like that…" he said looking towards the lobby. "I don't know why she's in town, but I'm sure I'll run into her again soon. Maybe next time she'll let me get a word in edgewise."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Just outside the door of the restaurant, Kayla stopped and leaned against the wall. She put her head back as tears rolled down her face. "Why him…" she said to herself. "Why do I let him work me up like this?"
"Having a rough day?" she heard from a young man standing next to her. She lifted her head from the wall and looked at his deep brown eyes. "You could say that, I guess." She replied.
"Well why don't you let me take you to Kelly's and buy you a cup of coffee? It looks like we could both use it." He offered holding out his arm for her.
"No, thank you. I think I'm just going to go back to my hotel and try to forget that this day ever happened."
"Ah…new in town, eh? Well in that case, you definitely need to go to Kelly's. The apple pie there cures all your ailments." He said with a smile.
She couldn't resist the big smile that he had on his face. He seemed so friendly and kind. "Okay, why not…I'm Kayla."
"Great…it's a pleasure to meet you Kayla, I'm John," he said as she loop her arm with his and they walked down the sidewalk towards Kelly's.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Eve walked into the on-call room and flopped down on the couch next to Chris who was flipping through a medical journal.
"What's with you?" he asked. "Have a hard day?"
"Ah, like you care…not so much a hard day, just a long one," she replied slightly lifting the corner of his journal to see what he was reading. "So, you have cold feet yet?"
"About what?" he asked.
"About the wedding you, moron…"
"Oh, no. Karen has it all planned. I just need to show up." He said returning to the article he was reading.
"Typical man." Eve said with a smirk.
Chris put the medical journal down and turned to Eve with a huge smile painted on his face. "Honestly," he started, "I can't wait. I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with Karen. I can't believe that I found a woman as great as her. She brings out things in me, that I never knew existed."
"She does have a gift to bring out the best in anyone." Eve replied.
"Yeah, a gift I'm sure she didn't inherit from her father," he replied.
"Oh, come on, Scott's not that bad. He can be a bit overbearing and hard to take sometimes, but he will never stand in the way of anything that makes his children happy. Think about it, he's paying for the entire thing, right?"
"I think he's doing that more for Karen, than for me. Scott Baldwin has never like me and he never will."
"The way I see it…he doesn't have to like you. Only Karen has to like you. And you know Karen, she isn't about to give up what she wants just to please him. She never has and she never will. She's just as hotheaded and stubborn as he is."
"I guess you're right," Chris said as his pager went off. "Oh, that's the ER, I'll talk to you later." He said as he left Eve alone I the on-call room.
Eve picked up the journal that Chris was reading then threw it back done on the table. "Men are so boring," she said as she got up to take a shower and head home for the evening.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Kayla and John sat in a corner booth at Kelly, sipping coffee and eating Kelly's famous apple pie. John could tell that something was really bothering her but wasn't sure that he could get her to open up to a complete stranger.
"So what brings you to Port Charles?" he finally asked.
"I'm here for a medical clinic being instructed by Dr. Quartermaine."
"Dr. Quartermaine? Alan or Monica?" he asked.
"Monica," she said with surprise, "You know them?"
"Ah, yeah, I do. They are close friends with my ex-wife's family. I haven't seen them in years though."
"There's that word…" she said with a frown.
"What word is that?" he asked with concern
"Ex…"
"Is that what made it such a bad day for you?"
"That did it…" she finally said. "I ran into my ex-fiancée at Mario's. We were living happily in Canada and his daughter was kidnapped. When he went off to find her, he told me he would be back in a few days…."
"He never came back I take it?" John asked with obvious interest.
"No he never came back. And to make matters worse, I see that he is engaged to this bimbo who is young enough to be his daughter. I know she is just a gold digger who is after his money," she began as she just let her frustration flow.
"Ah…I see" he began.
"He is planning this huge wedding. The must attend event of Port Charles. I just don't understand, how could he just leave me like that and never think twice about it?" she asked more to herself than to John.
"He sounds like a jerk to me. I wouldn't let him get the best of you. I realize that it must hurt to see this happening. But you've moved on, and for the better it looks like to me. A talented doctor who is about to study under one of the world's best Cardiologist. I think you have your priorities right where you want them. If I were you, I would just tell him to kiss off." He said with a defiant smile.
Kayla couldn't help but to laugh. "Your right, John. I am better off without him."
"See there, every once in a while, I know what I'm talking about."
Kayla sat at a corner table at Mario's. She hated the first night in a new town. She hated trying to find her way around to the good restaurants and shops. She was sipping on a Manhattan and reading the city guide trying to find some of the attractions. She was in town for a medical clinic under the supervision of Monica Quartermaine and would be here for a short time. When the waiter brought her entrée to her he noticed the city guide.
"If you're looking for a better Italian restaurant, you're not going to find one in Port Charles. Mario's is the best," he said placing her plate in front of her.
"Oh no…" she replied with a laugh, "I'm in town for a short time and I was looking for some of the attractions. Is there anything around worth seeing?" she asked.
"Well, just outside of town, there is an exquisite view of the city overlooking the harbor."
"I'll have to check it out. Thank you."
"Certainly, would you like another Manhattan?" he asked.
"Yes, please." She responded turning to her eggplant parmesan and the city guide.
Just as she began to eat, she noticed a familiar man enter the restaurant and speak with the Maitre'de. He had a beautiful young woman on his arm. The couple looked so handsome together, although she thought the woman was a bit young for him. She put her head down quickly when they began to walk toward her. She was hoping not be recognized and of course, they had to be seated at the table next to hers. This was the one man that she had hoped not to run into, although she knew his family was from Port Charles.
She felt her body begin to fill with envy as she watched him with this young woman. She couldn't help but to listen to their conversation. "May I start you off with a drink?" the waiter asked them.
"Water with lemon for me please." The young woman responded.
"Root beer for me," he told the waiter.
"Root beer," Kayla thought to herself "whatever happened to Bourbon on the rocks."
The waiter returned with their drinks, ready to take their order. "Are you ready to order, Sir?"
"Yes, I believe we are…the stuff manicotti for the lady and Penne Pasta for myself, please," He said.
The young lady smiled, "how did you know that stuffed manicotti is my favorite?" she asked.
"Simple, I am learning everything there is to know about you. It's my job, you know." He responded nonchalantly with a smile.
Kayla rolled her eyes at the statement and whispered to herself "if this gets anymore sickening sweet, it is going to give me a cavity." She looked at the young woman who made a slight giggle at his comment. As Kayla studied her, she determined that she couldn't have been any older than 27 or 28. Then she noticed the engagement ring on her finger. The sight of that ring tied her stomach in a knot. "He's engaged?" she whispered to herself, in disbelief. "I can't believe this…"
"So, fill me in on the wedding plans…" the man said to the young woman.
"Everything is pretty much taken care of. I still can't believe I let you talk me into this big wedding."
"You can have anything that you want. We can make the biggest must attend event of the year in Port Charles. Even bigger than the Nurse's ball," he smiled.
"Well, we've already reserved the same room and caterers."
"Already been talking to Lucy, I take it," he said with a smile.
"If you want to plan an event right, talk to Lucy…but, a big wedding like that is going to cost a lot money," she insisted.
"Oh come on…how many times do I have to tell you…don't worry about the money. I am paying for the whole thing. It's the very least that I can do."
"I know you keep saying that…but…"
"No buts…I'm in charge and what I say goes."
Kayla couldn't believe her ears. He was planning a big gala event for his wedding. How could he do this? How could he just move on like that? She was quickly forming a not to flattering opinion of this young woman. She knew what this young woman was about. She wanted a rich older man and she found him. He had fallen for the oldest trick in the book; since when is Scott Baldwin that stupid.
"Is Serena excited about the wedding?" the young woman asked.
"Of course she is…I don't think that she has stopped talking about it since you asked her to be in it."
Kayla's thoughts quickly turned to Serena. How could he do this to that little girl? He was bringing this gold digger into his house with that precious little girl. This woman was barely an adult herself, how could she possibly be a mother to Serena.
Kayla couldn't take it any longer. She was going to tell him just what she thought of him. She took one last sip of her drink before rising and heading to his table. Anger was raging throughout her body, but she remained calm as walked up beside him. "Well…if it isn't Scott Baldwin…" she announced. "How have you been?"
"Kayla…hi…" he said beginning to stand up.
"No, please don't get up on my account. I just came by to congratulate you."
"Congratulate me?" he asked looking puzzled at the young woman sitting across from him.
"On your wedding…So, I guess this is what I get right?"
"Kayla…I don't…" he started only to be interrupted. So he decided to just let her speak her mind. As the restaurant grew quiet as everyone stared at them.
"The last time that I saw you, you told me that you were only going to be gone for a couple of days. Then, I never heard from you again. I guess this is the way that it's done, eh, Scott?"
"Um…don't you think…." The young woman started looking at Scott. Scott quickly put up his hand and shook his head to cut her off mid sentence.
"Oh you have her listening to you quite well. Well, honey, you sure look good but you will never be as good to him as I was." Kayla grunted.
"Excuse me…" the woman began in defense but then interrupted by Scott.
"Karen, calm down," Scott said placing his hand on hers smiling.
"Oh so that's her name…Karen…I bet you're after his money, right?"
"Well actually, there is the trust fund." Karen replied.
Scott put his hand up and shook his head trying to stop Karen from engaging in a public argument, "Karen…"
"Trust fund? You work rather quickly, don't you." Kayla retorted.
"Well it took some doing, but I finally found my sugar daddy." Karen replied with a sly smile pulling a sugar packet out the holder at the side of the table. Scott began to chuckle at his daughter's comment and action.
"Well, I'll tell you right now, honey, he's not worth it. All he does is love them and leave them."
"Kayla, could we plea…" Scott started as he jumped up from his seat, but was only cut off by Karen.
"Well he is stuck with me for, at least, the rest of his life. Isn't that right?" Karen replied glancing at Scott. Scott nodded as the waiter came over to ask if he could bring another chair.
"No, thank you, I was just leaving…"
Scott turned to the waiter, "bring the chair, please."
"No, I'm leaving. Honey, you can have him, I don't need him anymore," she said as she turned and exited the restaurant at a fast pace.
Scott ran out into the lobby to try to catch her, so that he could explain, but it was too late. She had already walked out of the door. He put his head down and returned to his dinner with Karen.
"What was that all about?" Karen asked when he returned.
"Kayla and I were dating back when I was in Canada," he explained. "When Serena disappeared, I just took off…"
"And you decided to stay here and never went back to set things straight with her…" Karen said finishing his sentence.
"Something like that…" he said looking towards the lobby. "I don't know why she's in town, but I'm sure I'll run into her again soon. Maybe next time she'll let me get a word in edgewise."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Just outside the door of the restaurant, Kayla stopped and leaned against the wall. She put her head back as tears rolled down her face. "Why him…" she said to herself. "Why do I let him work me up like this?"
"Having a rough day?" she heard from a young man standing next to her. She lifted her head from the wall and looked at his deep brown eyes. "You could say that, I guess." She replied.
"Well why don't you let me take you to Kelly's and buy you a cup of coffee? It looks like we could both use it." He offered holding out his arm for her.
"No, thank you. I think I'm just going to go back to my hotel and try to forget that this day ever happened."
"Ah…new in town, eh? Well in that case, you definitely need to go to Kelly's. The apple pie there cures all your ailments." He said with a smile.
She couldn't resist the big smile that he had on his face. He seemed so friendly and kind. "Okay, why not…I'm Kayla."
"Great…it's a pleasure to meet you Kayla, I'm John," he said as she loop her arm with his and they walked down the sidewalk towards Kelly's.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Eve walked into the on-call room and flopped down on the couch next to Chris who was flipping through a medical journal.
"What's with you?" he asked. "Have a hard day?"
"Ah, like you care…not so much a hard day, just a long one," she replied slightly lifting the corner of his journal to see what he was reading. "So, you have cold feet yet?"
"About what?" he asked.
"About the wedding you, moron…"
"Oh, no. Karen has it all planned. I just need to show up." He said returning to the article he was reading.
"Typical man." Eve said with a smirk.
Chris put the medical journal down and turned to Eve with a huge smile painted on his face. "Honestly," he started, "I can't wait. I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with Karen. I can't believe that I found a woman as great as her. She brings out things in me, that I never knew existed."
"She does have a gift to bring out the best in anyone." Eve replied.
"Yeah, a gift I'm sure she didn't inherit from her father," he replied.
"Oh, come on, Scott's not that bad. He can be a bit overbearing and hard to take sometimes, but he will never stand in the way of anything that makes his children happy. Think about it, he's paying for the entire thing, right?"
"I think he's doing that more for Karen, than for me. Scott Baldwin has never like me and he never will."
"The way I see it…he doesn't have to like you. Only Karen has to like you. And you know Karen, she isn't about to give up what she wants just to please him. She never has and she never will. She's just as hotheaded and stubborn as he is."
"I guess you're right," Chris said as his pager went off. "Oh, that's the ER, I'll talk to you later." He said as he left Eve alone I the on-call room.
Eve picked up the journal that Chris was reading then threw it back done on the table. "Men are so boring," she said as she got up to take a shower and head home for the evening.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Kayla and John sat in a corner booth at Kelly, sipping coffee and eating Kelly's famous apple pie. John could tell that something was really bothering her but wasn't sure that he could get her to open up to a complete stranger.
"So what brings you to Port Charles?" he finally asked.
"I'm here for a medical clinic being instructed by Dr. Quartermaine."
"Dr. Quartermaine? Alan or Monica?" he asked.
"Monica," she said with surprise, "You know them?"
"Ah, yeah, I do. They are close friends with my ex-wife's family. I haven't seen them in years though."
"There's that word…" she said with a frown.
"What word is that?" he asked with concern
"Ex…"
"Is that what made it such a bad day for you?"
"That did it…" she finally said. "I ran into my ex-fiancée at Mario's. We were living happily in Canada and his daughter was kidnapped. When he went off to find her, he told me he would be back in a few days…."
"He never came back I take it?" John asked with obvious interest.
"No he never came back. And to make matters worse, I see that he is engaged to this bimbo who is young enough to be his daughter. I know she is just a gold digger who is after his money," she began as she just let her frustration flow.
"Ah…I see" he began.
"He is planning this huge wedding. The must attend event of Port Charles. I just don't understand, how could he just leave me like that and never think twice about it?" she asked more to herself than to John.
"He sounds like a jerk to me. I wouldn't let him get the best of you. I realize that it must hurt to see this happening. But you've moved on, and for the better it looks like to me. A talented doctor who is about to study under one of the world's best Cardiologist. I think you have your priorities right where you want them. If I were you, I would just tell him to kiss off." He said with a defiant smile.
Kayla couldn't help but to laugh. "Your right, John. I am better off without him."
"See there, every once in a while, I know what I'm talking about."