When Alex arrived in Buffalo the next evening (after having gotten lost a number of times), he realized that he had no idea where he was going. And was Elaine at a hospital or a hotel? He didn't even know what number she had called from. He found a payphone and looked through the phone book. If he could find the house he'd probably have some way of finding Elaine. Oh what was the name now… He knew he'd heard Elaine mention her once or twice. It starts wit know that. But wait, wouldn't it be under her husband's name? Was she even married? No, he died, Elaine mentioned that. But still, she probably would have kept her married name. Slamming the book shut he started pacing around. He knew that he could probably get some information from Jason and Jennifer. Going back into the phone booth, he picked up the phone and called. "Hello?" Tony answered. "Oh Tony, it's Alex. Is one of the kids around?"
"Yeah, why?"
"Well, Elaine's great-aunt passed away last night and she called me and was upset and said she wish I was there so I decided to drive up. Unfortunately, I don't know where she called from and I don't know where she's staying… I don't even know what name to look for in the phonebook or if it's even listed."
"I'll ask one of the kids, hang on." Suddenly, Alex hollered, "Wait! Wait!" Luckily, Tony was still there and had only just started to get one of the kids to the phone. "What is it?" he questioned. Alex answered, "I can't ask them… they don't know about the death, do they?"
"Nope, I haven't heard from Elaine."
"Oh great…" he thought aloud. "What am I going to do?"
"I guess I could look and see if she has an address book lying around." Tony suggested. "That's a great idea." Alex uttered hopefully. He waited as Tony got up and wandered around looking for something that may have an address. Happily, he found a planner—and hoped that the information would be in it. Flipping through, he came across a page that said family. To both his and Alex's relief, there was an address. "What's the name?"
"It started with a C…"
"Claire?"
"Claire! That's what it was."
Alex jotted down the information as Tony read it to him. After thanking Tony, he hung up and went to find the house. It took him a while to find since he didn't have a proper map, but he managed to find it. Or so he thought. This looked like a fairly large house. Was Elaine from a rich family? How come he never knew? He double and triple checked that he was at the right address: he was. Cautiously he approached the door and knocked. It was now a bit after nine PM. Maybe I shouldn't have come at this hour… or at all. I don't know anyone in her family; they're going to think I'm some stranger. A man answered, "Can I help you?"
"Hi… uh, is Elaine Nardo here?" he asked nervously. The man answered, "Yeah, she's here. Who are you?"
"I'm Alex Reiger, Elaine's-" he was interrupted by the man, "Oh, so you're Alex?" Now Alex was under the impression that his name had come up in conversation... "Yeah… look, I'm sure what you've heard about me hasn't been the best right now, but I'm not here to cause any trouble. I'm here because Elaine didn't sound so good when she called me last and I at least want her to know that things are going to be okay. I just want to be here for her. If she asks me to leave then I'll leave, but I just want to be able to see her." The man grinned and extended his hand, "I'm Tommy, Elaine's brother." Alex shook his hand then Tommy welcomed him inside and started showing him to Elaine's room. As they walked down the halls Alex said, "I'm so sorry about your aunt; and for showing up at this hour."
"It's okay; it's not too late, and I haven't been able to sleep anyway—none of us really have. And thank you. I guess it wasn't really a shock though. She was always sickly and didn't really take care of herself."
"I'm sorry, what a shame… can I ask what caused her death?" he asked curiously, and Tommy answered, "Doctor said that it was a heart attack."
"Wow…" then he couldn't help but ask, "How did Elaine take it?" Tommy shrugged, "She was certainly upset; she's been locked in her room for a majority of the day. I think it hit her pretty sudden. But she's never liked leading on when she's upset—at least about something big or serious." Alex knew what he meant; she valued being strong and hated to admit when she was feeling weak.
When they got to Elaine's room, Tommy left. Quietly, he opened the door, being careful not to make noise in case she was asleep. However, she did hear the door open and turned over to see who it was. When she saw, she questioned through the dark room, "Alex… is that you?" He walked over and sat on the edge of the bed, "Yeah, it's me." She was so happy to see him, she hadn't realized that he heard her say that she wanted him to be here with her; or maybe he just knew. Sitting up, she clung to him as tightly as she could and which he reciprocated. After a minute or so, Alex looked at her and asked, "Are you alright?" She looked at him a moment, trying to get the strength to bravely answer 'yes', but the more she looked into his eyes, the more troubled she felt. "No, I'm not." she wailed. Everything that had been going on the past several days, and maybe even things from before then, came pouring out of her. He had never heard her cry like this before… it completely broke his heart. Lying down next to her, he held her tighter and tighter, letting her cry. He wanted to stop her, but he knew that she needed to get everything out; it appeared as if she'd been holding in quite a bit. He was amazed that no one came in to check on her, though at the same time relieved. Somehow, he managed to remain strong and keep himself from falling apart as well; he didn't want to complicate things any more. Right now, nothing else mattered except comforting her. "I'm so sorry, Alex. I feel like a complete fool for acting like this."
"Don't apologize, Elaine." he insisted as he gently stroked her hair. "Everything's going to be okay. Just take slow, deep, breaths." She followed his advice and finally started to calm down… eventually falling asleep—as did Alex.
The next morning was hectic. Funeral arrangements had to be made, Elaine introduced Alex to her family, they had to go shopping for clothes; Elaine had asked Alex to stay and he hadn't packed anything nor had she, Elaine had to tell the kids about their great, great-aunt and asked them if they wanted to attend the funeral (they declined because they didn't really know her and they didn't like the idea, though Elaine knew a big part was because they liked having Tony watch them), and all the other things that went along with a death. It certainly kept everyone busy. Alex and Elaine put any problems between them on hold; there wasn't any room right now. In fact, it was almost as if they had put their relationship on hold; other than sharing a bed and Alex comforting Elaine during her weak moments, their manner towards each other was completely amicable.
The night after the funeral, Elaine just wanted to get out of the house. The family stress was starting to get to her and she needed to get away. She and Alex went for a long walk around the neighborhood. They didn't say much, only when Elaine pointed out certain places or things. She thought back on her thoughts from a couple months (or so) earlier about wanting to take Alex stargazing. Figures. Here she was in the perfect place, even knowing a perfect spot, and she wasn't quite sure where 'they' stood. Though, she felt more confident that they still had a future together than she did when she left. He wouldn't have come all the way up here and wouldn't have been so wonderful if he didn't have any intentions of wanting to work on their relationship. She was tempted to bring up what needed to be discussed, but she was too tired. Inadvertently, they ended up walking to the stargazing place Elaine had in mind. Well… I guess it wouldn't hurt to stay here awhile, even with everything still up in the air. "Mind if we stay here for a little bit?" she asked timidly. "Not at all." he replied. They sat down side by side against a big rock. Again, they were silent for a while, but eventually Elaine found herself speaking. "My dad used to take me here when I was little. Whenever my brothers were really getting on my nerves, he'd sneak me out and we'd just sit here and look up at the sky. I loved those nights." Alex smiled and looked up at the sky himself. "I see what you mean about the stars; it's incredible how many there are. I never gave them much thought, you know? Kind of wishing I had now." Elaine leaned back a bit more and rested her head on Alex's shoulder. He replied by putting his arm around her. After a few seconds he asked, "So… how are you feeling?"
"A little bit better, thanks. Now that the funeral's over and I've had that closure, I'm just relieved it's taken care of. Also, despite all the stress, it's been good reconnecting with everyone. I hadn't realized how much I'd lost touch."
"Do you think they like me?"
She looked up at him and smiled sincerely, "They love you."
"I'm glad." he said as he kissed her head. Once more she glanced up at him, smiled softly, and said, "I can't thank you enough for coming here for me."
"You don't need to thank me." They looked at each other both wanting to kiss the other, but were unsure if they should. After a moment of contemplating, they delicately and semi-quickly brushed each other's lips. "I do have one question though…" Elaine then said. He inquired, "What's that?"
"How did you find me? I didn't think I ever told you the address."
"I realized that after I got here... I had to call Tony and see if he could find anything with the address. He found it in your planner, I hope that was okay. I would have checked with you but I didn't have a number either." Elaine laughed, "That's fine; I figured it was something like that. I was just curious. I really am glad that you came up here. I don't think I could have handled this without you."
"I'm glad too." They sat under the stars for a while longer before they began walking home. It was a lovely night; they didn't even need their jackets. Alex was particularly enjoying the fresh, clean air. The only thing that would have made this time better would be if they could get their talk over with so they could try and go back to how they were before Arnie came back—or better. Despite his not wanting to talk about things beforehand, he did now; they were in a different situation. Yes, it was terrible and very sad that Elaine's aunt had to die, but somehow there was some good that came out of it. He proved to himself (and hopefully her) that no matter what happens that his love for her reigns over all. The way he had been feeling before, he wasn't in the mind frame of mind to want to try and work things out. He was done with it all and couldn't bear the thought of things getting better just for it to crash all over again. Thoughts like, 'what if the next time it was her ex-husband?' had haunted him. He then started to think about Phyllis, what a way to thank her. Plus he felt bad that her relationship didn't work out. But he knew that he and Elaine would need a fresh start, and he presumed there'd be some limitations (not only for him but for her as well). After this past week with her and her family, it would be worth it. He saw a side of her he never knew. Not a bad side, he knew any bad she was showing was just from the situation and the stress. She appeared to be more demure around them; he was used to a louder and bolder Elaine. Of course he loved that Elaine, that's the one he fell in love with; but it her quieter and more reserved side was quite endearing. Elaine noticed that Alex was deep in thought, she was tempted to ask what he was thinking about, but by the way he kept glancing in her direction, she knew that it was something to do with her. She assumed it was good by the smile on his lips, so instead she simply wrapped an arm around his waist as they continued to walk.
