(See the first chapter for disclaimer, notes, spoiler, etc.)

Chapter Three: "Secrets"

Gregory slowly opened his eyes, feeling the ache in his knees wake him. He didn't feel his age. He still felt as vigorous as he always had…except for his knees. They felt every minute of being 65. Not that his throbbing knees mattered. It hadn't been a restful sleep. He didn't even remember falling into the torturous sleep. Where he dreamed of Alex's blonde hair and the expression on Olivia's face. You wanted the both of us. He sighed, rubbing his face awake as he turned his head to his left. Pale grey pre-dawn light crept in from around the lazily drawn curtains, casting just enough into the room for him to make out his wife's form. She was laying on her back and he sighed. After more than forty years, he knew that was not a position she slept in. She was awake too. "Did you sleep?" he asked softly.

She sighed, her gaze firmly fixed to the cathedral ceiling above them. "Not really," she murmured. "Dozed, I think…"

His breath caught in his throat as she reached out, her hand resting palm-up on his chest. He slipped his hand over hers, squeezing gratefully as she sighed again. Her fingers laced through his as she finally turned to him, their eyes meeting over the pale silk sheets bunched around them. "You were dreaming," she said softly. "What about?"

Her palm tremored as he replied, "You…and Alex."

Her eyes were steady as she watched him, but he saw the sad smile on her lips as she pulled her hand back. He watched, riveted, as she turned slowly onto her stomach and leaned up on her forearms. "You know," she began and his hand jumped as he resisted the urge to cup her face, "the only thing that gave me some comfort when we were awful to each other was your determination. If there was something you wanted, you just took it. You never denied yourself." She knew him. You don't spend nearly half a century with a person and not know every inch of them. The good. The bad. The unseemly. "Some part of me knew that if you really wanted to leave me and marry Alex, you would have. She and John were divorced by then. She was free."

But, he didn't want Alex. She may have been his first love, but she wasn't who he wanted. He reached out, not able to hold out any longer. He needed to touch some part of her. To remind himself this was real. She inhaled as his palm molded to her cheek and her eyes closed. "That sounds sad, doesn't it?" he heard her ask, opening her eyes again. "The pathetic type of thought one only finds at the bottom of a vodka bottle."

He shook his head as she looked down, sighing deeply. In less than ten hours, old wounds had reopened. Reminders of those horrendous years when they acted more like enemies than lovers. When they openly betrayed each other instead of cherishing each other. The back of his hand followed the line of her jaw before he cupped her chin. Her eyes turned up slowly, the puffiness beneath her eyes exaggerating the exhaustion clouding her face. "Olivia, I wanted you. I married you."

She blinked, watching him closely for a long moment. But, it was the truth. He never wanted any woman the way he wanted Olivia. She was the only woman he wanted to marry. The corners of her mouth curled as if smiling took too much effort. "Darling," she began softly, "did you really never suspect he was your son?"

He fell quiet, his fingers still against his wife's face. After Alex married John, he didn't see her as much as he used to. Alex and John did the things married couples did with their married friends, while he spent his little free time with an ever-revolving door of girlfriends. After she became pregnant, they saw each other even less. Their paths stopped crossing as regularly as it used to until he met Olivia and settled down. But, did he ever stop and wonder about Alex's child? Did he ever wonder if their lack of contact wasn't just due to his work schedule and bachelor's life or her family life? Did he ever stop and think the child was the reason why Alex faded to the outskirts of his life after she became pregnant? "Not really," he murmured. "Maybe once, for a moment, when she announced she was pregnant, but-"

"But?" He watched the calm curiosity in her eyes, the hazy blurriness as she tried to understand.

It wasn't a conversation. It wasn't a question he ever spoke aloud to Alex. He watched her carefully, wondering, from across the table at the restaurant. She turned to him, still laughing at something the person next to her said, as she met his eyes. Her smile fell away from her face as her hand dropped to her still-flat abdomen. She tilted her head, her sapphire eyes dulling as she slowly shook her head. "She just shook her head," he finally said, coming back to their bed and the feeling of his wife next to him. "I believed her." An ugly feeling twisted in his stomach. He believed her. He didn't doubt her. He accepted her silent reply without a second thought.

She watched him for a moment before a lightness of realization overtook her expression. "You're angry. You're angry with her." He nodded slowly, giving into the sentiment that danced on the periphery since yesterday evening. Alex lied to him. The one thing he would never thought her possible of. She lied…and he believed her lie. He believed her.

Slowly, she curled against him, her body laying flush against his as she rested her head on his chest. His arm came up around her, cupping her shoulder as she sighed. "I can't stop thinking," she whispered after a heartbeat. "Casey..." He lowered his face to her hair, sighing. "He was in our wedding. Do you remember?"

He exhaled deeply, the memory slamming into him. Alex had been the only one of their friends with a little boy. She agreed for Casey to be the ring bearer when Olivia, who fretted about not having one for the ceremony, asked if they could borrow him. He closed his eyes, remembering the way the little blonde boy chased the flower girl, Olivia's cousin's daughter, around the banquet hall at the reception. "I remember thinking how darling he looked in his little suit next to Briony," he heard her murmur.

He squeezed her shoulder as she wrapped her arm tighter around his chest. "Part of me wonders if she didn't know…" he murmured beneath his breath after the silence became too much to bear. She said nothing and he glanced down, watching the top of her head. She lay perfectly still, but he heard the way the breath caught in her throat. He watched silently as she leaned up, a mysteriously blank expression on her face. But, her eyes were full as she met his gaze. "What?" he asked, his fingers grazing her jaw line.

"If she didn't know for certain," she said softly with an emotion he couldn't quite place, "she would have certainly suspected. A mother- a mother knows."

"Come on, Mikey! Get those knees up!" Evy called out as she led her nieces and nephews through a morning exercise routine on the patch of lawn off the patio. She giggled, watching as Blake's attempt at standing mountain climber was more like jumping up and down. The twins were no better, but what they lacked in form, they made up through enthusiasm. "Yes! Get it, girls!"

The French doors that led to the kitchen opened and Caitlin poked her head out. "Breakfast!"

"Pancakes!" Owen shouted as he ran away from the group, followed closely by Mikey.

She slowed to a stop, breathing heavily. "They forgot to cool down," she heard Greg say, making her smile. The little girls ran off too, shrieking about chocolate milk.

She threw her arm around Greg and led him back to the house. "Have I mentioned you're my favorite?" she asked, ruffling his hair. He was though. While she loved all her nieces and nephews to pieces, Greg had been the first to call her "Aunt Evy". She was simply nuts about him and had been ever since the day her older sister gave birth to him. The twelve-year-old grinned and ducked his head as two pink spots materialized on his cheeks. "Our secret though, right?"

He nodded seriously and she followed him into the kitchen. She rolled her neck and adjusted the thin elastic headband holding back the flyaway wisps of blonde. "Where's Mom?" she asked, glancing around the kitchen. The kids and Dad were the only ones at the table, though he was engrossed in the Wall Street Journal. Sean and Charlie went for a run. Shasta was fighting to feed Tanner his breakfast.

He lowered his paper and she was surprised by how tired he looked. He was still in his robe, which meant he didn't swim laps in the pool like usual. "She's still sleeping," he replied, their eyes meeting briefly. She trooped over, using her t-shirt to fan her sweaty body.

"She wanted us to go get more candy for tonight. Mikey and Owen ate an entire bag yesterday."

Dad shook his head and turned back to the paper. "Don't bother her with that. My wallet's on my bureau. Take my American Express and pick up whatever you want."

She nodded and watched him for a long moment. He looked tired, but upset. He was frowning. Tentatively, she reached out and touched his shoulder. "Dad, is everything ok?"

"Fine," he said curtly as he turned back to his paper.

She stepped back, nodding. Her brow furrowed curiously, trying to remember if something happened last night. She had fun at her party as she danced the night away with Ryan. Her family had fun too. Didn't they? Her parents seemed fine when they got home. They barely batted an eye when she and Ryan left to go to their friend's house. "Pancakes?" she heard Caitlin offer and she shook her head. She glanced back at Dad, so beyond confused. "What's up?"

"Does Dad seem…weird?" Evy asked.

"I thought so too," she said softly, dropping her voice as she set the plate of pancakes on the kitchen island. She nodded as her older sister followed her to the fridge. "At first," Caitlin whispered, pulling open the double doors, "I thought it was because he was overwhelmed by all seven kids already going at 100% and he hadn't even had his coffee yet."

"No way," she murmured, reaching into the freezer side for the bags of frozen fruit. "He's a total goof around the midgets."

"Exactly." Caitlin sighed and glanced over her shoulder quickly. "I was going to ask Mom, but she's still asleep."

"Which is also weird." Evy gestured to the carton of almond milk with her chin and asked, "Grab that for me, will you?" She moved over to the corner counter where the blender was and spread out the bags. "Mom was so ridiculous about Dad and I not having plans for today because she wanted all of us to spend the day together. No way would she sleep in."

Caitlin nodded, watching as she dumped handfuls of frozen greens, mixed berries, and bananas into the blender's pitcher. "It could be nothing though," she said softly, nervously smoothing out the plastic lock on the freezer bag which held the frozen pomegranate pearls.

She shook her head, unscrewing the cap on the almond milk. "I don't think so," she murmured, adding a generous splash. She reached into the overhead cabinet for the can of protein powder. She dropped a scoop into the blender and shoved the can aside. "Dad's in a bad mood. Mom's not down. Do you think that-"

"Hi, Nana!"

"Nana, come eat pancakes with me!"

"Stop, Delilah! Nana wants to eat pancakes with me!"

Evy and Caitlin turned, seeing their mother coming down from the back staircase. She was wrapped up tight in her robe, the maroon silk accentuating her alabaster flesh. "I thought you were sleeping?" she heard Dad ask.

Mom looked up, shook her head briefly, and resumed making her way around the table to kiss each grandchild's head. She watched as Dad folded his paper closed and stood, holding out his chair for Mom. It was the only one left at the table. She scratched the material of her running shorts nervously, watching as Mom slipped into the chair and Dad leaned over to place his hands on her shoulders. He whispered something in her ear, something that made her nod and turn her face into his.

"At least they're speaking," she heard Caitlin say beneath her breath. She nodded dumbly and turned away, her chest tight. Her older sister's expression was clouded with old anxiety, making her a shadow of her bubbly self. She sighed and looked down at the blender. No one really spoke about the years when their parent's marriage had been a total disaster. When they didn't speak to each other. When they fought. When Mom drank. But, she knew all about it. Just like she knew her own childhood had been considerably different than her older siblings'.

"Cait, where's the pancakes?" Shasta asked and her sister moved away, forcing a smile to her face.

She glanced back at her parents. Dad was still standing behind Mom's chair, slowly rubbing her shoulders. They weren't mad, she realized as she popped the top onto the pitcher and set it on the base. They were…sad. She sighed deeply and pressed the On button, letting the angry drone of the blender drown out her urgent questions and thoughts.

Casey walked out of the new Starbucks, holding his cup of coffee. Well, it probably wasn't new. But, it was new to him. The chain coffee shop certainly seemed right at home in what used to be the Java Web. He sighed and crossed the street, heading to the pier. He always liked that spot. As he reached the other side, he stopped for a moment and turned his face up to the sun. The sun never felt the same way as it did here. Islamorada was as close to southern California as you could get on the East coast, but it still wasn't the same. He missed the balmy sun. He missed the Pacific. His kids thought the Keys were everything, but they didn't know what they were missing here.

"Casey? Casey Mitchum?"

He opened his eyes and turned, seeing Sean Richards slowly jogging over to him. He inhaled sharply as the younger man neared him, his resemblance to Gregory impossible to miss. Their father. An involuntary shudder went through him as Sean held out his hand, beaming. "Casey…Man, it's been a long time."

He nodded and shook his hand briefly before he wrapped both hands around his over-priced coffee. "It has been," he said as another man with dark hair joined them.

"This is Charlie," Sean said, gesturing to the man at his side. "Caitlin's husband." All he could do was continue to nod as Sean handled the introductions while his stomach churned. Sean was his brother. His younger brother. "-in town for Evy's birthday."

He snapped to attention and forced himself to focus. "Sorry, a birthday?"

Sean chuckled and nodded. "Yeah. My little sister turned 18 yesterday. Our parents threw a big party for her at the country club."

Yesterday. His youngest sister's birthday was yesterday when he was dropping the bombshell on their father. Had he even met Gregory's youngest child? Maybe once, when she was an infant. He nodded stupidly, grateful that Sean and Charlie continued to chat away and didn't comment on his silence. Last night, he wondered what Gregory had done after he left. Now he knew. He had gone to the country club and celebrated his daughter's birthday. When he left Gregory, the older man was bewildered into silence. He wondered if he walked into his daughter's party that way – bewildered and silent. He wondered if Olivia knew something was bothering her husband. Diana always knew when something was bothering him.

"So, what are you doing in town?"

Casey swallowed hard and forced himself to take a sip of the coffee. The hot beverage was like battery acid as it burned its way down his throat. "Just…just dealing with some family business."

Sean nodded as Charlie folded his arms against his chest. An awkward silence fell over them and he knew he should ask a question. Any question. Sean, where do you live now? How many kids do you have? It was the polite thing to do. But, he couldn't. He just couldn't do it. His brain was stunted, unable to command his mouth to move and or his throat to generate sound. "Well," he heard Sean finally say as Charlie looked down at his watch, "we'll let you get back to it then. It was nice seeing you again." He turned, watching as they resumed their run.

He watched them head back up-beach, the ritzy area of town where Gregory lived with his family. Diana was right. He did need to see him again. Nothing was settled and, for his sake, it needed to be. He couldn't keep living the way he had for the last few weeks. Confused, lost…and profoundly pissed off at his parents.