Ch. 29
It was the end of another workday when Val approached Dante's desk, looked around the room to see who might have been watching them and then leaned forward to whisper in his ear, "Let's go have some fun tonight." He turned in his chair and gazed up at her with a smile, asking, "By fun, you mean what, exactly?" "I heard there's a place that's re-opening tonight—maybe you've heard of it? The Outback, I think it's called. From what I heard around the office today, the owner of the restaurant used to work here. I thought it would be fun to check it out."
"The owner used to work here? Oh, you must mean Mac, then. Yeah, he used to be my old boss. I haven't seen him in a while, though. I didn't know he was trying to re-open The Outback. We can go, see what he's doing there—why not?"
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If current numbers were anything to go by, the grand re-opening of the restaurant was going to be a huge success. The restaurant was packed with several of Port Charles' citizens out to support Mac in his latest venture. Without really planning it, Dante and Valerie matched in black on black with a splash of gold and they knew they painted quite a picture as they entered the supper club dressed to the nines. Mac was on hand to greet each visitor at the door while Felicia worked the room, welcoming each guest and accepting well-wishes. Dante glanced around the room and nodded before extending his hand to Mac, remarking, "Wow, Mac, full house, huh? This place looks great!" Reaching out to return the handshake, Mac answered, "Hey, Dante, good to see you! Thanks. I tried to recapture the old feel of the place while making it new at the same time. I think I hit all the marks." Mac included Val in his comments with a slight smile that was half frown. Dante took the hint. "Mac, this is Valerie Spencer. Val, this is Mac Scorpio, proud owner of this establishment and my ex-boss." "Glad to meet you, Valerie," Mac said, wondering further, "Spencer? As in…" "I'm glad to have met you as well, Mac. And yes, I'm one of 'those' Spencers. My mother was Luke's and Bobbie's older sister." "Was?" he gently inquired. "Yeah," Val softly replied, "Was. I lost her recently." "Oh, yes, I remember hearing something about that, now that I think about it. Around the time Luke-"
"Went off the rails a bit? Yes, it was around that time."
"I'm sorry for your loss, Val. I hope being here with family is bringing you some comfort, though." Val unknowingly smiled in Dante's direction and then she addressed Mac, "Little by little. I still miss her but being here helps. Most of my family has been great." Mac gestured to one of the waiters and called him over, saying, "Why don't you show Valerie here to a table? I wanted to talk to Dante for a minute, Val, if you don't mind?"
"No, go right ahead—I'll just wait at the table and enjoy the ambience. It really does look great, Mac. Good luck with it all. And it was nice to have met you."
"Thanks, Valerie. And same here." Val followed the waiter to a table and ordered a red wine while she perused the menu and waited for Dante.
Mac frowned at Dante before asking, "Is this what Maxie was trying in her excitable way to tell me? I know I've been out of the loop for a while but what happened between you and Lulu?"
"Why? What did Maxie tell you?"
"Just that you were a world-class jerk and your name was no longer to be mentioned in her presence. She actually said it like that but she wouldn't elaborate."
Dante sighed, closing his eyes for a moment and then explained, "It was just one of those things, Mac. Something that started with a lie and ended with anger and distrust. Lulu and I are over. Our divorce was made final a couple of days ago."
"I'm sorry—I know how tough that can be. But if Valerie is a Spencer, doesn't that mean that she's-"
"Lulu's cousin? Yeah, that's what it means, all right. Look, Mac, we didn't plan it, it was just something that happened. And for now, we've decided to go with it, that's all."
"Hey, no judgement from me. If you're happy, I'm happy for you. How are things otherwise? How is the PCPD getting along without me?"
"Jordan's a good boss, but your influence is still missed in the department. You sure ordering wine cases and silverware is your destiny? Don't you miss the buzz, the excitement of the streets?" Mac thoughtfully cocked his head as he thought about Dante's question. Finally he agreed, "Yeah, there are things about it that I do miss. There are moments when I think about returning to it. Then I think about people like your father, no offense, and I'm glad to be away from it. And I'll get enough action here, I hope." Their glances hovered over and throughout the room and then Mac said, "I think I made the right choice."
"Well, I wish you luck with it and I hope it works out the way you want it to." "Thanks, Dante. Go join your date before she thinks you've forgotten her. It was good to see you."
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After having found Val, Dante sat down at the table and they ordered their meal. While they waited, they chatted together. "I'm glad you suggested we come here, Val. It was good to see Mac again." He watched as Mac greeted some other patrons at the door before showing them to one of the last empty tables. "It's strange to see him here but he seems to be in his element."
"It looks like everyone who is anyone is in here tonight. I think your friend is hitting all the right notes. Of course the food will tell the tale but the atmosphere is good, the music is varied enough to appeal to differing ages, and it strikes the right balance between intimate and crowd-friendly." She nodded as she admired the room once again, remarking, "I like it."
Laughing, Dante said, "He'll have to get you to write a review for him. But I think you're right. It's a nice place—just hard to imagine it being a good fit for Mac." Their meals finally arrived at the table and they tucked in with appreciation. In the middle of their meal, Mac and Felicia, on the small stage toward the back of the restaurant, called for everyone's attention. Addressing the crowd, Mac thanked his patrons, saying, "Felicia and I want to thank you all for coming out to the grand re-opening of The Outback. We had been planning to re-open it for a while and we've worked hard to return it to its previous glory. I think we've succeeded, don't you?" The appreciative claps, wolf-whistles and shouts gave them their answer, and they smiled at one another before Felicia went on, "We wanted a place where memories could be made and remade, a place that reminded us all of the goodness of the past but still lets us look forward to the future. Thank you all for sharing this night with us. Enjoy yourselves, and come again often!" They came down from the stage to applause and milled among their customers and friends, accepting more well-wishes and remembrances from patrons who recalled The Outback of old.
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Dante had paid the bill and he and Val were preparing to leave when he heard Val's muttered, "Oh boy." He tried to see what had caught her attention when he saw them at a table near the front of the exit; Lulu and Dillon were sitting with Maxie and Nathan. "Should we try to avoid them?" she asked. "No, why should we? Plus, Nathan is my partner and I'm glad to see him out back on his feet. C'mon," he said decidedly, grabbing her hand and pulling her forward, "Let's go say 'hello.'" As they neared the table, Nathan saw them first and a grin of greeting came across his face. He rose to his feet and extended his hand to shake Dante's. "Hey, man, we didn't know you guys were here," Nathan said. "Hey yourself," Dante responded, adding, "It's good to see you out of that hospital and getting around. You look good."
"I told you, it's because I take such good care of my assets. It feels great to be able to do anything outside that bed! We wanted to mark my getting out of the hospital and Mac's grand re-opening gave us another reason to celebrate."
Val seconded Dante's greeting, noting, "You really do look well. When are you coming back to work?" "Bright and early Monday morning," Nathan answered, "But I'm on desk duty for the next few weeks. Not looking forward to that, but it beats nothing at all." They were all suddenly silent as they reflected on how close Nathan had come to 'nothing at all.' Finally, Dante addressed the table, saying, "Well, we didn't mean to interrupt your evening—we just stopped to say 'hi'. Maxie, I think your dad's on to something, here. You must be very proud of him."
"Yeah, I am. And he's happy, which makes me happy. I'm glad he found something after the PCPD that he could be passionate about." Silence fell once again, prompting Dante to say, "Well, enjoy your evening. Nathan, looking forward to seeing you on Monday. We'll have to talk…" He and Val nodded to Lulu and Dillon and Dillon nodded back while Lulu gave them a tight grimace that she probably meant to pass for a smile. After exiting the restaurant, Val let out a huge sigh of relief. "That was uncomfortable."
"A bit, but hey," he responded while lifting up her arms as if examining her for signs of trauma, "I don't see any blood or gouges. No nasty words exchanged, no blows given or dodged. I'd say that was a successful encounter. Let's go ho-" he stopped himself before completing his sentence.
Grinning widely, Val gave him an arch look and then she shook his arm as she repeated, "Yes, let's go home." He threw his arm around her and she put her head on his shoulder as they walked to his car.
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Deciding to take her lunch break in the park the next day, Val sat on a bench and enjoyed the coolness of the weather while munching contentedly on a California roll. She was mentally reviewing the tasks she needed to complete after returning to work when she realized she was no longer alone. Looking up, her eyes widened briefly when she saw Lulu standing there staring at her. Adopting a casual air, she leaned back against the bench and crossed her arms and legs, saying, "Lulu, hello. I didn't see you there. How are you?" Lulu walked up to the bench and sat down as she responded, "I'm fine, Cousin. How are you? You don't mind if I sit here, do you?"
"I don't own the bench or the park—sit wherever you like." They sat in silence for a moment and Val began gently swinging her foot back and forth as she waited for whatever Lulu had approached her to say. "So, The Outback, huh? Nice place, didn't you think?" Lulu finally asked.
"I did think so, yes. It seems as though Mac hit a home run with it, if last night was anything to go by. Good crowd."
"Yeah, a nice crowd. Lots of Port Charles' finest citizens out last night to help Mac and Felicia celebrate. It looked like a night for celebrating all around, everyone for Mac and Felicia, our group with Nathan… And you and Dante? What were you two celebrating, as if I didn't know?"
"Not really sure what you're talking about, Lulu. I heard some of the guys at work talking about how their former boss was opening a restaurant and I mentioned it to Dante. He was curious, so we thought we'd check it out."
"We, we, we. You two are a 'we' now, huh? I guess that was pretty obvious to anyone who was there, though, the way you were holding hands and all. You know, you made out very well for yourself, coming here, didn't you? Once you got the 'lay of the land' so to speak…" Val looked thoughtfully at Lulu and then asked, "Did I? I mean, I lost my mother, so I don't know how 'well' that went for me. Still, I guess in a way you're right. I lost her but I did get more family and friends. You would probably find that a good trade off. I do miss her, but I'm grateful for what I've gained."
"As you should be. Considering you were only asked to come here out of pity, you made out like a fat rat." Unable to stop herself, Val laughed delightedly, saying, "You DO have a way with words, Cousin! It's a bit comical, really. A while ago, what you said would have hurt me deeply, and did, as I recall, but now, I can see the bitterness behind it. I realize you need to release the venom in order to be whole again, so go ahead, say what you need to say."
"Wow, how gracious of you, Val! You come here and wreck my life and then offer the solution to heal me. How truly 'Florence Nightingale' of you! Thank you so much!"
"'Wrecked your life'? You're still holding on to that chestnut? Whatever you need to believe, I guess. Honestly speaking, though? If what you had was so solid, nothing I could have done or said could have 'wrecked' it. And I suppose you still can't quite admit that if you hadn't lied, if you'd only told the truth, we'd be having a totally different conversation right now. That's gotta be galling for you. You need to blame me—so be it, but deep down, down in places you'd rather not acknowledge, you know you set all this in motion." She huffed out another short laugh and then nodded. "Yeah, that's gotta hurt."
"You would have thought after the part you played in the death of my marriage, though, whether or not I 'set things in motion' as you seem to believe, you would have done the decent thing and left town. You were invited here out of the goodness of our hearts and you turned into a wrecking ball, destroying everything in your path. I can't believe you're feeling smug about that."
"I'm sorry—I do have to watch that 'smugness' thing; it gets away from me sometimes. At this point, it doesn't really matter why I came here. I'm here to get to know my family, which I'm doing."
"Even though you're not really welcome here? Even though everyone is just tolerating you?"
"Not welcomed by whom? You? Maxie? Who is just tolerating me? News flash, Lulu. You are about the only Spencer who is bothered by my staying in Port Charles. Everyone else has been very welcoming and they're glad I'm here, if the family dinner was any indication."
"What family dinner?"
"Oh, no one told you about the family dinner? Carly and Sonny, well, Sonny really, to be fair, threw a dinner to welcome me to the family. I finally got a chance to meet my cousins, Carly's kids. We had a great time. Oh, and Mike was quite gracious, too—not to mention a mean cook! He and Sonny had a cook-off and the results were fabulous."
"Mike? You mean Sonny's father, Mike?"
"No one told you he was in town? Yeah, Dante's grandfather, Mike. I'm kind of surprised by that—he said he was trying to reach out to Spencer but was having a hard time getting a hold of Nikolas. You might want to pass that on to your brother. Spencer's grandfather would like to see him before he goes back to New Mexico."
"I'm not your secretary, Val, to be carrying messages back and forth to my brother."
"It wouldn't be on my behalf, Lulu, it would be on Mike's, but suit yourself. He's a very kind man, very wise, too. I liked him. I'd say we liked each other. He's the one who actually officially said 'welcome to the family,' so I'm guessing he liked me…" Val trailed off allowing her last words to sink in.
"So that's what's making you feel smug, being accepted by a married man's family! Because of that, I suppose you don't care what you do, who you hurt or what damage you've done. You really are a piece of work, Valerie."
"'Married man'? You've been misinformed, I think. I am with a newly divorced man, though. We decided to wait until he was officially free before going ahead with any type of relationship—so glad we did that! And that man chose to free himself and to be with me, all on his own, no coercion necessary. So let's break it down, shall we? You threw away your marriage by lying to your husband, he slept with me, you two broke up, and he decided to end things with finality by divorcing you. And you're still pissed and hating me because hating me is easier than hating yourself. I know there's more to it, but that's the gist of it, isn't it?"
"One mistake you made—I don't hate myself. I'm angry at myself for letting things get this far and losing my husband, yes, but I don't hate myself. I do hate you, though. You're right about that. That'll never change. In me, you've made an enemy for life, Cousin. Let's see how far being smug will carry you in dealing with that reality."
"Well, Lulu, we all have our crosses to bear—I guess you'll be mine. I have a feeling that the love of my new-found family as well as the love of—others—will help me bear up under whatever you might decide to throw my way. Now as fun as this has been, I'd better get back to work. No telling who's been wandering around the squad room looking for me and wondering where I am. 'Til next time, Cousin."
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Valerie was pleased with herself as she returned to the PCPD. "Now that," she thought, "more than makes up for the last two times she and I 'talked'. More than makes up for it."
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