Chapter Fifty-Six: "One for the Road"

The sun was streaming through the skylight. Theresa stretched lazily in bed, looking up at the bright blue sky. It was going to be a wonderful day. Of that, she had no doubt.

She glanced at her alarm clock. 6:58. The alarm would begin blaring in two minutes. She reached over to her nightstand and flipped the switch.

How am I ever going to wait until 11:00 to see Ethan? she wondered. She was determined to keep busy until then. Swinging her legs over the side of her bed, she stood and walked into the bathroom. She ran water over her face and pulled her hair back before brushing her teeth. Walking back into her bedroom, she stripped the nightgown she wore and found some running shorts, a sports bra, and a sweat shirt.

It's got to be business as usual, she told herself.

She sighed. It was so hard! She was practically bursting with excitement. Yesterday's events had been so amazing! All the years of doubt were melting away. Ethan loved her. He'd never stopped! And now….now they were finally going to start a life together.

Pulling on socks and shoes, Theresa was all but ready for her morning jog, except that she still needed to feed Serendipity. Her cat greeted her in the hallway and looked up at her expectantly.

"I'm coming. I'm coming," she said.

She walked through the living room and into the kitchen pantry to pull out cat food. Passing back through the living room again, a photograph caught Theresa's eye. It was a wedding photo of Luis and Sheridan.

"Will you understand, Luis?" she wondered aloud.

It was no secret that Luis and Ethan barely tolerated one another. That small fact was not likely to change.

She picked up the photo. "I just wish that you and Ethan could see what Sheridan and I see. You're both such wonderful men. Pig-headed, but wonderful."

Replacing the photo, she went out the French doors to the deck, making her way to the beach.


Andrew Crane walked into the living room of his family's mansion. His father sat on the sofa reading the morning newspaper, drinking his morning coffee, flavored with just a hint of brandy.

Julian glanced up from his paper when he heard his son's footsteps. "You look a little worse for wear," Julian commented as he noticed the purple bruise along Drew's jaw line.

"I'm sure Ethan is sporting a few reminders of his own," Drew replied as he walked to the serving cart and poured himself a glass of orange juice.

Julian chuckled. "Quite honestly, I didn't think that Ethan had it in him. He's always been so….upstanding and responsible," Julian said with an exaggerated rolling of his eyes. "No doubt it's his mother's influence."

"I liked seeing Ethan get worked up," Drew replied. "I can't say that my jaw appreciates it very much, but it was worth it."

Julian raised an eyebrow. "Seeing you with Theresa last night brought some questions to mind, Son."

"Such as?"

"What you were thinking by bringing the Lopez-Fitzgerald girl to our family dinner."

Drew nonchalantly yawned. "You know I have a taste for the exotic."

"Yes, but there are better ways to sate that taste. It's bad enough that Sheridan didn't have the good sense to stay away from Pilar's brood, but you…I thought I'd raised you better than that. Theresa is a beautiful creature, no doubt quite a treat in the sack. Still, aren't there less complicated conquests out there?"

"I like complications, Father. I always have."

"Meaning that you want what someone else has. Namely, Ethan."

Drew ignored Julian's observation. "Where is Ethan, by the way? I was hoping to see him this morning."

"He and Gwen haven't come down yet."

Drew couldn't hide his surprise. After speaking with Theresa the night before, he'd been so certain that the marriage between Ethan and Gwen would be kaput by now.

"You mean Gwen is still here?"

Julian frowned. "Why wouldn't she be?"

"After last night, I assumed…"

Julian shook his head. "She's a Crane wife. She knows that comes with certain obligations to look the other way at indiscretions."

Drew swallowed hard. He still couldn't believe that Ethan had stayed. He obviously had Theresa dangling on a rather tight string, certain that her future with his brother was secured.

He raised an eyebrow. "Maybe my brother isn't so saintly after all."


Theresa glanced at her wristwatch. 11:05.

"Where could he be?" she spoke aloud. Standing from her seat on the park bench, she began to pace. Worry filled her. "I'm being ridiculous. I mean, it's only five minutes. He'll be here. I know he will."

She watched as a young couple walked past her. Between them, each held the hand of their toddler, still wobbly in his steps. They seemed so perfect.

That could be us someday, Theresa thought, happiness swelling in her heart.

How she wanted children! Perhaps not right away, but soon. To be able to love a little one, teach a child, share in new experiences…it all seemed like such a blessing from God.

She watched until the family was out of sight and began pacing again.

A few minutes later she looked at her watch again. 11:18.

"Where are you, Ethan?"

It was so unlike him to be late and not call. Ethan was always so responsible about things like that.

"I'll just give him a few minutes, and then I'll call."

"Who are you going to call?" a familiar voice asked her.

Theresa spun around. "Luis!" she said in alarm. "What are you doing here?"

Her brother looked down at his uniform. "Just a routine foot patrol. Why are you so jumpy? Aren't you glad to see me?"

Theresa hugged her brother. "I'm always glad to see you. I just-I just wasn't expecting it."

"But apparently you were expecting someone," Luis noted. "You never answered my question, Theresa."

Theresa took a deep breath. Should she tell him? There was no use in keeping it a secret from him. She'd learned the hard way what secrets could do to a person.

"I'm meeting Ethan," Theresa stated simply.

"What? Theresa, you can't be serious!"

A flurry of emotions surged through him. He remembered all-too-well how Ethan had broken his little sister's heart by turning against her. Luis didn't trust him; not one bit. In his mind, Ethan was just as corrupt as the rest of his family.

"Things have changed, Luis," Theresa replied. "We know things now-"

Luis interrupted her. "Things have changed? Theresa, he is a married man! That certainly hasn't changed!"

"It's about to," Theresa informed him.

Luis shook his head. "I'm sorry, but I simply cannot allow this, Theresa."

"You can't allow it? Luis, that might have worked on me when I was seventeen years old, but I am a grown woman. I make my own choices. I choose whom I wish to see, and I choose whom to love."

"Dammit, Theresa, Ethan Crane is nothing but a user! He has hurt you over and over again. Why would you willingly subject yourself to that?"

"Ethan is a good man, Luis. A very good man. We never would have been apart if it hadn't been for the lies that Gwen told. I know that I've made my share of mistakes, but she tricked him."

Luis shook his head, not wanting to hear his sister's words. "You've turned into the 'other woman.'"

"Luis!"

"I expected more from you," he said sadly.

Theresa reached out for her brother. "It's not what you think! I would never be any man's mistress! Never!"

Luis held out his hands. "I can't talk to you right now." With that, he walked away from her.

Theresa looked up at the sky. "Dear God, please let Luis understand. Please."

She glanced back at her watch before looking back at the sky again. "And let Ethan get here safely."


Sitting on the bench, Theresa looked at her watch again for the umpteenth time. It was almost 12:00.

She couldn't wait any longer. Pulling her cell phone from her purse, she dialed his cell phone number. It rang. And rang. And rang. And rang.

No answer.

A terrible fear gripped her. What if something had happened to him? What if there had been some kind of accident?

Dear God, no…

Stuffing the phone back into her purse, she quickly walked to her car, determined to trace the path Ethan would have followed from the mansion to the park.

Theresa sighed in relief when she saw the Crane Mansion in sight. She'd seen no signs of an accident on the road, but where could Ethan be?

She paused at the security gate, and the guard, recognizing her from the time she spent working for the Cranes, waved her on. As she drove up the long road that cut through the estate, she knew she had to find out. Surely someone inside would know of Ethan's whereabouts. Perhaps it would be a little uncouth to go there, but she had to know that he was alright.

She finally found herself at the front door of the mansion. Taking a deep breath, she rang the doorbell. A moment later, a young woman came to the door.

"May I help you?" she asked. Her eyes were downcast, Theresa noticed.

"I'm Theresa Lopez-Fitzgerald. I-I'm a friend of Mr. Crane's. May I come in?"

"Laticia, who is at the door?" Ivy asked as she came down the stairs.

"A Ms. Lopez-Fitzgerald."

"Theresa!" Ivy exclaimed. "Well, let her in. By all means!"

The young woman stepped aside and allowed Theresa to enter. Ivy approached Theresa, took her hand, and squeezed it.

"I didn't expect to see you, especially after last night," Ivy said as gently as she could.

"Last night was disastrous, but so many things have changed. Is Ethan here by any chance?"

Ivy frowned and hesitated. "I believe he is," she finally replied.

Theresa face broke out into a wide grin. "Oh thank heavens he's safe! I was so worried! We were supposed to meet at 11:00, but when he didn't show, I began to think the worst."

"You and Ethan care for each other, don't you?"

Theresa nodded. "Very much so. If circumstances had been different…" her voice trailed off. "I have to go see him! Is he in his room?"

"Yes, but-"

Theresa didn't listen. She hurried up the familiar stairs, making her way down the hall toward Ethan's room.

"Ethan? Are you in there?" Theresa asked as she stood outside of the door.

No answer.

She waited another moment before hesitantly turning the doorknob. Slowly opening the door, she gasped at what she saw. Ethan and Gwen were in bed….together.

It couldn't be.

It couldn't be!

It had been lies. All of it!

He didn't love her!

He had no intention of starting a new life with her.

"No!" she cried out softly. Her heart pounded so hard, she could hear it in her ears and feel the blood rushing. Tears began to fill her eyes.

Gwen stirred, propping herself up on her elbows, though careful not to awaken Ethan. The covers were thrashed about, and it was quite obvious to Theresa what had happened between them.

Groggily, Gwen looked at Theresa who was standing in the doorway. Satisfaction filled her as she saw the despair on Theresa's countenance. What goes around, comes around, Gwen thought.

"Didn't your mother ever teach you that it's impolite to enter someone's room without knocking?"

Theresa felt nauseated. Horribly nauseated. Everything seemed to be spinning around her. She gripped the door facing, trying to maintain her balance.

"What's wrong? Cat got your tongue?" Gwen asked.

Theresa closed the door and started back down the hall. She felt her throat closing up, threatening to form a sob. Her tears blinded her. She could hardly see where she was going. Leaning against the wall, she tried to take a breath, but it just wouldn't come to her.

"Theresa."

It was Gwen.

Wiping the tears from her eyes, Theresa spun around and saw that Gwen had hastily pulled on a robe.

"You shouldn't be here," Gwen said.

"Believe me. I wish I weren't," Theresa said as she started to walk away from the other woman.

"Wait, Theresa. There are a few things that you should know."

"I think I know enough," Theresa replied bitterly.

Gwen reached out and caught Theresa's arm. "No, I don't think you do." She sighed. "Poor thing. You look so shocked."

"Let. Go. Of. Me," Theresa said through clenched teeth.

Gwen stepped away from her. "Very well. Just so that you know, Ethan told me last night that he wants a divorce. He's leaving me."

"Wh-what?"

"That was what you wanted, wasn't it?"

"Then what the hell was that?" Theresa asked pointing to the bedroom door.

Gwen took a deep breath. "Theresa, Ethan and I have been together for a long time. We've spent years in each others' arms, in each others' bed. I drive him wild in ways that no one else could. He realizes that. We were saying goodbye to each other. I guess you could call it one for the road."

"You disgust me!"

Gwen crossed her arms. "Don't get so sanctimonious with me, you little home-wrecker! How many times have you crawled into bed with a married man? And then when you showed up to our family dinner with Andrew? Tacky, Theresa. Very tacky."

"You would know about tackiness, Gwen."

"Let's see…a lesson in etiquette from the housekeeper's daughter. Does anyone else see the irony in this situation?"

"You are a despicable woman, Gwen Hotchkiss."

"That's Gwen Crane."

"It wouldn't have been if you hadn't lied your way to the altar. When I think about what you did… how could you be so cruel? How could you hurt Ethan like that by destroying his faith in me and his faith in himself? How could you?"

Gwen smirked. It was just too easy to goad Ethan's little tart. "Is that supposed to hurt me, Theresa?"

Theresa's jaw clenched when she saw the look of delight on Gwen's face. She was enjoying this entirely too much. "No," Theresa replied. "But this is." She clenched her hand into a fist and swung, making contact with Gwen's right cheek.

The force and the surprise of the blow sent Gwen reeling backward, and she hit the wall.

Gwen rubbed her aching cheek, anger burning in her eyes. She could faintly taste blood in her mouth. "That's the last shot you'll ever take, Terrorsita."

"You can't do anything else to hurt me, Gwen."

With that, Theresa headed down the stairs.

Still rubbing her face, Gwen watched her go. "I wouldn't be so sure of that, Theresa."


Theresa practically ran to her car. Sobs escaped her throat as she rested her head against the steering wheel. She couldn't go anywhere. She couldn't even see straight.

"Why?" she cried out. "WHY?"

Everything she had believed in was gone.

Everything she thought she knew about Ethan had been a lie.

It was all an illusion, all a dream.

"How could I have been so stupid?"

"Theresa?" a voice asked.

Theresa looked up and saw Drew standing next to her car, concern filling his turquoise eyes.

"Go away, Drew. Go away."

"I can't. Not when you're like this. You found out, didn't you?"

"I am not going to talk about this with you," she spat out. With the sleeve of her shirt, she hastily wiped her tears away. Willing them to cease, she started her car and sped down the driveway.

Drew watched her and shook his head. "Damn him."


He was going to be sick.

Wearily, sluggishly, Ethan pulled himself out of bed and barely made it to the bathroom before vomiting. He felt a little better, but his head! He felt as though he'd been hit by a truck.

He rinsed his mouth and returned to the bedroom. Still groggy, he flopped down on the bed, his strength all but gone.

He'd been having the strangest dreams, erotic dreams. He was with Theresa, but at the same time, it wasn't Theresa. It didn't feel right.

Finally, he cast his eyes on the alarm clock. 12:45.

Ethan practically leaped up.

"Theresa! Oh, God, I was supposed to be at the park almost two hours ago!"

The door swung open, and Ethan saw Gwen walk in wearing her filmy robe. She was rubbing her cheek.

"Don't bother, Ethan. Theresa isn't there," Gwen told him.

"How would you know?" Ethan asked angrily.

"Because she was just here. These loose teeth of mine belong to her! Now I'm going to have to go to the dentist!"

Ethan was worried. "Theresa was here? Why didn't she come get me?"

Gwen looked at Ethan pointedly. "She did, Ethan. And she found us."

"Us? What are you talking about? There is no us. I love Theresa, and only her. I expected you to be gone."

Gwen approached him and touched his bare chest. "After the night we shared, how could I go, Ethan?"

"What are you talking about?" he asked as he jerked away from her.

Then it hit him. Memories flooded back. They'd argued. He told her that there was no future for them, and she had insisted that they drink one last glass of wine together.

The wine.

Ethan felt the blood drain from his face.

She had put something in the wine!

And the dreams…they weren't dreams!

Ethan gripped Gwen's arms. "What have you done?"

"It's not what I've done, Ethan. It's what we've done."

Ethan pushed her away, disgusted, and she landed on the bed. "You make me sick! You know, before, I actually felt sorry for you. But not anymore. I loathe you! I despise you!"

"We'll see if you're singing a different tune nine months from now. I'm hopeful that we created a baby last night, Ethan."

Ethan felt revulsion course through him. "A baby? That's impossible! We've talked about this and agreed it wasn't the right time. You're on the Pill."

"I was on the Pill," Gwen corrected him. "Not anymore."

He was going to be sick again.

"How could you, Gwen? What do you think you could possibly gain? Your stunts are not going to make me stay with you."

She had nothing to lose anymore. " I might not have you, but neither will Theresa."

Ethan's heart lurched.

His Resa.

She had to be devastated. He needed to find her, to make things right.

"Get out of here, Gwen."

"Ethan-"

"I'm not a violent man, Gwen, but if you stay here, there are no guarantees! You're a monster!"

Gwen sighed. She knew their confrontation wouldn't be pretty, but soon, he would be seeing things in a new light. She touched her abdomen, certain they'd created a child together.

"You'll see, Ethan. I'm not all bad."

"Get out!"

She shrugged and walked out of the room. Ethan sank onto the bed and then quickly jumped up. He didn't want to be anywhere near that piece of furniture. He would never sleep on it again.

What have I done?

Dear God, what have I done?