Within a day, Sonny realizes he has more help on the house than he gave himself credit for. Apparently everyone in Salem was invited to the wedding, and they're all more than willing to pitch in.
He has painters, plumbers, carpenters and errand boys. And though it does occur to him in the middle of it all that if half of them had offered to help with the mansion before it became a wedding venue, they could;ve had the whole thing done in about half an hour, he decided to keep that to himself.
A little rude to say something like that out loud.
And he appreciates the effort, he really does. He reminds himself of that whenever he feels like certain parts of the house are getting further away from him with someone else looking after them.
He'd been looking forward to screening the verandas himself, but takes comfort in knowing some freak storm would most likely call for a rescreen.
He wanted to sand and varnish the ballroom floors himself too, but managed to buck up when he remembers all the other floors waiting for him.
And he definitely doesn't mind handing over painting the exterior to the other painters. It's a hot, tedious and exhausting job, and checking it off his to-do list allows him to tackle the ladies' room downstairs, as well as hang the blown glass chandelier he'd bought for the smoking room, as well as finalize plans for the mudroom, and…
Hey, there's more than enough to go around, he reflects.
Then there's the genuine joy get gets out of watching Abi come in and out after work. Even when she brings her mom. Jennifer Devereaux is a spit-and-polish version of her daughter, with eyes like a hawk and a no nonsense voice.
Chad's right, she's definitely scary. Sonny hides from her, whenever he could, with no shame to be seen.
On the second day, Sonny walks towards the rear veranda to see how progress is coming along. He's feeling pretty excited from the tile he's just set, covered in ceramic dust from cutting it.
The level of noise is incredible. Voices, radios, tools. As much as he loves having people, right now he'd pay anything just for five minutes alone in his house.
"Hey, I want those windows sparkling, you understand me? How do you expect the wedding to be beautiful if the windows are dull in the pictures. Put your back into it!"
The sound of Mrs. Devereaux has Sonny turning sharply on his heels and changing his path.
And colliding right into Marlena, almost knocking her down.
"Whoa, sorry. You okay? Didn't see you there. I was hiding."
"You've got a full house."
"No kidding. If this place isn't perfect by General Devereaux's standards, we're all gonna be executed." Sonny takes her arm as he speaks and, out of pure self-preservation, leads her into the library, and shuts the doors.
"Can I stay with you?"
Marlena smiles--just a small curve of her lips that doesn't reach her eyes. "You're such a good friend, Sonny, helping a friend out like this."
"The only thing I'm doing right now is staying the hell out of everyone's way."
"And you'd sell a kidney to have them all go back wherever they came from, so you can work on your mansion in peace."
"Yeah, well." Sonny shrugs, pushing a dusty hand through equally dusty hair. "There's still plenty to do once they're gone. We're not touching the third floor or the servant's chambers, as well as only one other room on the second floor. Tell me what's wrong, Marlena."
"I need to work my way up to that." She sets down the bag she's holding, then walks over to look at the books. There's still plenty that need to be shelved, but she can still see what it will eventually be. A castle of words, some old and well loved, some fresh and brand new. Small treasures, deep colors.
"You're definitely a visionary." She says, "You know exactly what you want, then you make it a reality. It's an incredible gift."
"Some people call it narrow-minded."
"Anything but. You have so many different channels working at once in that beautiful mind of yours. Working on them one at a time until they're done shows a lot of character. I'm very fond of you, Sonny."
"I'm very fond of you too. I wish you'd sit down, Marlena. You look exhausted." And worried. "Shall I grab us a cold drink?"
"No, don't you go and risk getting lynched by Jennifer Devereaux. You want a perfect example of someone who's narrow minded, look no further. Though I can hardly blame her."
"She's already told me to get a haircut before the end of the week so I don't look shaggy for the wedding." Sulking only a little, Sonny runs a testing hand through his hair. "And that she'll be putting fancy soaps, towels and everything else in the bathrooms the day before the wedding. I touch them, I'll lose a hand. And I'm supposed to get more plants inside the greenhouse. Apparently the house has no lungs without green plants."
"She's just nervous because Abi's her little princess. Her only daughter." Marlena presses her lips together. "Sonny, I hate myself for what I'm about to say to you, and I wouldn't blame you if, after I'm finished, you were to ask me to not come back."
The words alarm him, almost as much as the pain in her eyes. "Nothing you could ever say that would make you unwelcome in my house, Marlena. Who was it?"
"Oh God, if this ruins what I can see happening between you and Will, I'll never forgive myself for it. Kristen stole from you." Marlena blurts out. "She waltzed right into your mansion and helped herself."
With a sinking heart, she reaches into her bag, pulling out his carved box. "I found this in the guest room. I knew it belonged to you before I even looked inside and saw the cufflinks with your initials. I don't know if everything is still there, but that's all there is now. If anything is gone--."
"Let me take a look. Just do me a favor and sit down. Please."
Marlena nods, sinking into a chair.
He forces his anger away as he sets the box down on a table, opening it. He sees the ring box first, opening it, and the worst of his anger fades when he sees the engraved scrolls shining back at him.
"Okay." Sonny exhales. "The most important thing is still in there." As is everything else besides the couple thousand in twenties he kept with the money clip that had been passed down through three generations.
"Everything's here."
"You're lying." Marlena says flatly.
"Just the money. That's all."
"I need you to tell me how much she took so I can repay you."
"You seriously think I'd ever take money from you?" Some of the anger comes out, making her flinch. "Look at me. Do you honestly think I'd ever take money from you over this, or anything else?"
Her lips start to quiver, so she makes them form a thin line. "She's my responsibility.
"Like hell she is. Please don't insult me by talking about payback again."
Despite promising to not cry in front of him, one falls out anyway. "I know exactly what she is. And I know she'll never be what I've been hoping and working and wishing for since Lucas first married her. But she raised Will."
She pulls out a tissue, dabs at her cheeks. No more tears. "I knew she was going to steal from me before she took off again, but I never thought she'd go after you. I didn't even consider it, and I'm more sorry than words can ever say."
"Look at me. Does anything in my face say I blame you for any of this?"
"No, you don't. But God, I want you for Will I'm sitting here knowing my step daughter-in-law tried to rob you, and all I can think about is how much I want you for my grandson."
"Good, because I want me for him too." He picks up the ring box, crossing over to her chair. "I bought this for him. Think maybe you could put in a good word for me so when I give it to him, he accepts?"
Marlena looks at the ring, sighing. "It suits him. It really does. He has the kindest heart, Sonny, but it's covered in scars. Sometimes I think he doesn't know his own strength, and he'll gorget how to give back. I have to tell him about this."
"Yes you do."
"And you're gonna have to figure out how to stop him from pulling away once he does know. That's what he's gonna want to do."
"Don't worry about that. Where's Kristen?"
"Gone. Found this in the guest room this morning. Barely came out at all since the day before. When I went in and found it, I hid it somewhere she wouldn't look for it. Then we had some choice words about it. Then she just packed up and left. She'll be back," she says in that same hollow tone Sonny's heard from Will. "Maybe a year or two. And we'll go through it all over again."
"We'll deal with it once we get there." Sonny leans down and kisses her cheek. "I love you." When her eyes fill again, Sonny takes her hand again. "Whether Will's ready to hear it or not, we're family. That doesn't go away."
"When I meet your mother," Marlena manages, "I'm gonna give her the biggest spine crushing hug I possibly can."
"That'll definitely surprise her. Why don't we look at what's going on here, so you can protect me from General Devereaux."
He's not expecting it to take long, and he's not disappointed. Right around the time most of his free workers were leaving for the day, and Abi and her mom have him out in the back garden, Will strides around the side of the house.
