Interlude 1; an article
Transcript of an interview : Kaitlin Cooper 'The Orange Woman'
Interviewer 'Siobhan Lucas' SL
Interviewee Kaitlin Cooper 'KC'
SL: So, Ms Cooper can you give us a brief description of your book for those of us out there not privileged enough to be privy to a sneak preview?
KC: Well, Siobhan (please call me Kaitlin) 'The Orange Woman' was inspired by my mother Julie Cooper-Nichol and my late sister Marissa with of course aspects of social oddities that not many Californian women get to experience. The title is a direct reference to growing up in Orange County and becoming a woman. I am an Orange Woman, my mother was the original Orange Woman. And that is what it is about, partially autobiographical, partly biographical, and part fiction and speculation…
Chapter Two; Ryan Atwood
The night Ryan went to live with Theresa in Chino changed everything for Ryan. It dragged him back down to the place he'd come from, somewhere he hadn't wanted to return, but did so because he knew that it wasn't the baby's fault or Theresa's and he wasn't the kind of man that was gonna stand by and let them suffer for something he was partially responsible for.
Then Seth ran away from home and Ryan felt guilty because in the back of his mind a voice was saying that if he hadn't left to play daddy to a kid that may not even be his then Seth would still be in Newport attending Harbor high school and being smothered by Kirsten and Sandy.
So he left to try and persuade Seth to go home because Ryan couldn't. To his surprise and hurt Seth met his request with anger and a blunt refusal. Theresa phoned while he was out of Chino and reported that she'd lost the baby and Ryan couldn't help but add that to the mountain of guilt he carried. So to alleviate some he moved back into the Pool House of the Cohen residence and attended Harbor high school and was smothered by Kirsten and Sandy's love.
Seth stayed in Portland for the school year and while Ryan never found out why he did know that Kirsten and Sandy knew and accepted that all they got of their son was the holidays during which Seth returned to Portland and attended school their. His grades improved, he hardly ever got into trouble and by the time he graduated he was a changed man. Ryan and Seth were never as close as before but Ryan was just glad that Seth seemed so happy and complete.
Ryan graduated Berkley university, which took a full year longer than normal due to the revelation that Theresa hadn't lost the baby and after a paternity test Ryan found out he was a father. However Kirsten and Ryan had become much closer as Seth's absence continued and she insisted that while Ryan had every right to have a role in the child's life that didn't mean giving up school, giving up his life. Kirsten paid for Theresa to have a nanny while she worked for the rent on a nearby apartment and the food on her table (at her insistence, not Kirsten's idea) and Ryan continued his education and helped raise their child, a little girl called Maria. Eventually Ryan became a major player in The Newport Group and brought his own place although he visited home often, donated to charities supporting young people, and had his daughter over for weekends and holidays.
Ryan kept in contact with Marissa but never got back together with her after discovering he really was a father. He made a choice and that was to not expose his daughter to the alcoholic mess that was Marissa Cooper. She learnt to stand on her own eventually and was currently engaged to a successful businessman who could afford to keep her in the style Caleb Nichol had kept her, her mother, and her sister in. Kaitlin went on to write a book about growing into a woman in Orange County which was very successful and made her enough money that she didn't need to rely on others. She was very happy and a good person despite her ability to keep up with Newpsies. Maria loved her. Summer Roberts married Zach but she divorced him nearly a year ago after catching him in bed with his secretary. Summer was overheard saying 'it's just so clichéd, I had to divorce him' when in privet Ryan knew she'd cried tears of pain and hurt. They had two children, a girl called Juliette and a boy called Isaac, Zac Junior, and they both boarded at a New York school because Summer wanted them to experience life outside Newport before eventually attending Harbor as would Maria but she was only thirteen, therefore safe for another few years. Taylor Townsend who had become Summer's friend during their senior year while Marissa was in rehab (for the last time), was doing well. She spent most of her year in the south of France having married a Frenchman called Pierre but often came 'home' to the O.C. without him. Ryan was pretty sure she regularly cheated on him but she sounded happy.
Ryan didn't have much contact with Seth. It saddened him but it also made him angry because he wasn't sure what he'd done wrong to be excluded from Seth's life, which hurt him equalling anger. They only ever saw each other at social functions and family parties, e.g. birthdays and Thanks Giving and Christmukkah, a holiday both Theresa and Maria had been assimilated into.
One such event would soon bring Ryan and Seth together for a period of two weeks was going to happen. Ryan was nervous but couldn't wait.
You Are Invited to the Wedding of
Marissa Cooper
and
Andrew Carmichael
