Theresa waited in Ethan's office, asking herself for the hundredth time what the hell she was doing there, all by herself and debating whether or not she should just leave.
Earlier, Ethan had cut in on her and Hank, demanding a dance. She wanted to refuse, but thought better of it, thinking the last thing the new and oh so respectable Winthrop Law Firm needed was yet another sordid scandal generated by his relationship with her, so she grudgingly agreed with as much grace as she could muster.
"You look absolutely beautiful tonight, Theresa," Ethan rhapsodized. "Like an enchanted princess from a fairy tale."
"Thank you," she answered with cool politeness, refusing to give him another opening.
"Aren't you going to speak to me," Ethan prodded after dancing with her in silence for a few minutes.
"I think we said it all in the steam room," Theresa informed him tartly through a polite smile. "You want to be 'secret lovers,' and sneak around grabbing hot quickies behind Jared and Gwen's backs. I refused. That's that."
"No, it isn't," Ethan insisted patiently.
"You're right, it isn't," Theresa conceded. "There's more, Ethan. Not only do I not intend to be your mistress, I plan to marry Jared and be a faithful wife to him. Now, that's that."
"No, it isn't," Ethan persisted doggedly. "We can't just leave it at that."
"Yes we can," Theresa insisted. "We're at a stalemate, Ethan. You have no intentions of giving up your 'family' with Gwen and I have no intentions of settling for anything less than a family of my own. It's time for us to say goodbye."
"We-we can't just part as hostile strangers," Ethan protested. "We share a child and have years of history to close the book on. I still want you in my life, Theresa. You're too important for me to forget. At least, let's be friends."
"Fine," Theresa snapped. "We'll be friends. Casual friends. It's a close friendship I don't want with you. The price is too high."
"Look, this is awfully cold," Ethan commented, "just wrapping up our relationship over a five minute dance, like this. We need to talk … in private … where we can sort things, figure out where everything went wrong. So, we can have real closure, or we will never be able to walk away from each other completely satisfied."
"I don't want to talk to you in private," Theresa retorted. "To me, the dance floor is the perfect place to end the tune I've been dancing to for almost a decade, now. I'm tired of listening to it and my feet hurt."
"What's the matter, Theresa," Ethan taunted. "Afraid that what I said in the steam room was true? Are you afraid of being alone with me because if you are, you just might give in to your passion for me? I know you still love me just as much as I love you."
"All right, Ethan," Theresa finally exclaimed. "I'll meet you in private … as long as it isn't some sleazy no-tell motel."
"I wouldn't dream of suggesting such a thing," Ethan smiled. "I'd like to meet you in my office."
"Your office," Theresa asked in surprise.
"My office," Ethan answered wistfully. "It's the last time we can share my dreams together. This gala opening tonight is my triumph and it just wouldn't be the same without you to celebrate it with me. Then, if you still want to, we can say goodbye."
"Oh, Ethan," Theresa breathed, touched in spite of herself. "Of course I want to share your moment with you."
"I thought you'd feel that way," Ethan murmured. "I'll meet you there in ten minutes."
And here she was, waiting for him. Just as she was about to have second thoughts and bolt, Ethan walked in with a bottle of the finest champagne and two glasses.
Fancy stood in her paste-on bra and thongs, talking to Pilar on the cell phone, as Gwen hung up her stained pink sheath, soaked a cloth napkin thoroughly with club soda and ran it over the mess the server had made.
"That's right, Pilar,' Fancy was saying. "The light blue silk shantung in my right hand closet and the matching pumps and could you bring me my blue topaz earrings and pendant? I'm wearing my pink pearl set and it just won't do any more. Okay. Bye."
"I think it's starting to come out," Gwen told Fancy, meeting her eyes.
"You've become quite the little domestic," Fancy commented snidely. "I can afford to simply have Breton's make me a new one, you know."
"I'm well aware of that," Gwen answered quietly. "It's just that economizing this last year or so is second nature to me out of practical necessity what with Theresa's antics where Ethan's job marketability."
"I'm sorry, Gwen," Fancy said suddenly. "Look, I know I'm being a bitch to you. I guess I'm still upset with you for discouraging Luis from being with me. I don't know why I expected any help from you. You are Sheridan's best friend."
"I'm Luis' friend, too. I'd like to be your friend, as well. You are my sister-in-law," Gwen replied. "I apologize, Fancy. I shouldn't have interfered and tried to talk Luis out of seeing you. Not that it did any good anyway. I just honestly didn't want to see any of you in a position that would end up being painful for all three of you."
"That's all right," Fancy said graciously, mollified by Gwen's answer. "I know your heart was in the right place and you were doing what you thought was best by all of us, but Gwen, no more interference. Aunt Sheridan and I are both big girls and I think we can come to terms with each other over Luis, eventually."
"I sure hope so, Fancy," Gwen remarked earnestly. "As I said, Luis is my friend, too. He … helped me through a rough time with Ethan and restored my sanity, I think."
"Oh, what did he do," Fancy asked curiously.
"He was … there for me when I needed him the most," Gwen said vaguely. "It was the night Marty died. It was hard for me, too. It brought up all kinds of memories that weren't helped by Theresa chasing Ethan and trying to dig up dirt on me in Rome."
"Oh, yes, I remember," Fancy said sympathetically. "Well, I'm glad to hear it."
"I just want Luis to be happy with a woman who genuinely loves him. He deserves that much, at least."
"Well, you can putt your mind at ease, Gwen," Fancy smiled. "I do love Luis very much and I would do anything for him. Aunt Sheridan will eventually see that and be happy for him. So that's that."
"Hello Luis," he heard Sheridan say and spun around in surprise.
"Hello, Sheridan," Luis said, looking annoyed. "Someone told me that the police station was trying to reach me about something urgent and private and ushered me into this room to take it on a private line. But when I called the station, they knew nothing about it. I wonder what the hell is going on. Is someone playing a practical joke on me?"
"Oh," Sheridan smiled. "That was just my ruse to get you in here alone."
"Why," Luis asked, genuinely puzzled.
"I wanted to talk to you about Fancy," Sheridan said.
"Fancy? What about her?"
"I want you to stop seeing her, Luis," Sheridan admitted baldly. "It bothers me … a lot … to see you two together."
"But you gave us your blessing the night Katie was born."
"Luis," Sheridan said. "Fancy ambushed me in front of Chris, our family, our friends and his coworkers to get that blessing. I didn't mean a word of it. Why can't you see how much it tears me up inside to see you two together?"
"Because you seem so happy with Chris," Luis answered. "Aren't you?"
"Of course, I'm happy with Chris and the children," Sheridan replied. "But I still love you, Luis."
"Enough to take the kids and leave Chris?"
"No, I can't do that," Sheridan said aghast. "I can't break up our family that way."
"Then let me go, Sheridan," Luis said. "I've come to care for Fancy. I think I could love her."
"No, Luis!" That cry came like it was wrung out of her heart. "I can't bear it!"
"If I can learn to live with the unpleasant fact of you and Chris, you can learn to live with the idea of Fancy and me," Luis reasoned.
"I just can't!"
"What do you want me to do," Luis asked bitterly. "Spend the rest of my life waiting for - what? Chris to oblige me by miraculously dying so we can reunite? Accept that I will never have a family of my own? Learn to live without love?"
"No," Sheridan burst out. "You won't be living without love. I still love you!"
"Even if I could, I don't want to live like a monk," Luis said bluntly. "I have needs."
"I-I can satisfy them," Sheridan said, shocking them both.
"Are you proposing to take me as your lover?!"
"Yes," Sheridan said, warming up to the idea.
"Damn you, Sheridan," Luis burst out angrily. "I always made it clear from the moment we met that I refuse to be some rich woman's plaything and now … after everything we've been through … that's what you're trying to reduce me to."
"I'm not trying to make you my plaything," Sheridan protested, baffled by his outburst.
"Aren't you," Luis demanded. "Maybe I should just quit my job at the force to make myself more accessible to you. I can be your gardener or your tennis coach or your pool boy or some other lotus-eating gigolo to scratch any itch of yours that comes up!"
"Luis, I love you, how can you be so crude," Sheridan cried.
"How can you be so damned selfish and insensitive," Luis countered.
"I don't understand-"
"I don't care," Luis snapped. "I'm tired, Sheridan. Tired of being at your beck and call. Tired of being your faithful white knight. Especially when you have been such a faithless lady fair."
"What do you mean by that," Sheridan demanded defensively.
"It's been a pretty one-sided love affair. When I thought you were dead, I would have pined over your memory forever. I was 'dead,' for what? Not even two months and you bring some guy you barely know as a date to my funeral, then marry him because he had a substitute child for Marty. Was Chris a substitute for me? Are Marty and me that easily replaced with you?"
"Of course not!"
"Well, you have a strange way of showing it. In fact, you had a pretty strange way of showing how much you loved Marty and me before I 'died.' When we found out you, not Beth, was Marty's mother, you sent me away, saying you would never forgive me until I found him and brought him back. You basically told me to return with my shield or on it."
"I was upset because you didn't believe me, Luis. I trusted our connection so much and you let us down."
"Maybe our connection wasn't that strong to begin with," Luis retorted bitterly. "Especially when there is never any reciprocity on your part."
"Reciprocity!?"
"Yes, that little word that Gwen likes to use now and again along with her term about 'courtesy begetting courtesy!'"
"Did Gwen have anything to say about our break-up," Sheridan asked with angry suspicion.
"Absolutely nothing," Luis answered. "She's been your biggest booster imaginable. Remember that she was the one who believed you about Marty, not me. She is the one who tried to talk me out of seeing Fancy even though you gave us your blessing, because she believed it would bother you."
"Well, she was right."
"She's right about many things. Especially reciprocity. You could have gone with me in search of Marty, yourself. Fancy followed me literally right into the lion's den in search of a child that wasn't even hers. Our child, Sheridan, yours and mine. She didn't sit at home in a snit, like you did!"
"Oh, Gwen was absolutely right when she warned me how angry you were with me," Sheridan exclaimed. "It's obvious she thinks you dated Fancy to get back at me."
"It may have started that way," Luis admitted, "But I admire Fancy and have really come to care for her. I could easily love her."
"But you love me! That counts for something, doesn't it?"
"No, it doesn't," Luis said. "I've had it, Sheridan. You've got a family with Chris. I want one of my own with a woman who genuinely loves me and isn't ready to throw me over for disappointing any illusions of perfection."
"Are you saying that's that," Sheridan asked in disbelief.
"Yes, Sheridan," Luis answered succinctly. "That's that."