D/C: The same as always, if you recognize it, I probably don't own it. If
you don't, I probably do.
A/N: Not to give anything away, but remember "new places, new faces". That should pretty much sum this chapter up.
Theresa's POV
Class was going to start in half an hour, so I had to get Little Ethan ready to go downstairs to Mrs. Landower, the widow who had agreed to watch him during the school day.
"You don't know how much this means to us, Mrs. Landower," I exclaimed, handing Little Ethan to her.
"It's my pleasure, Theresa. Now my grandson has a little playmate. Xander?" she called to the living room. A little boy, about three years old, sporting dark brown hair, toddled in, holding a hand-crocheted blanket. "Theresa, meet my pride and joy, Xander. You'll meet his daddy later on today."
"I'd better go, thank you again, Mrs. Landower," I told her, kissing Little Ethan on the forehead.
"Have a nice day at class, and don't be afraid to make new friends!" she called, over the sounds of two little boys playing with stuffed animals and laughing loudly.
***********
I rushed to the office to pick up my schedule for the classes I would be taking.
"Theresa, meet Lyn Black. You have very similar schedules, and she knows the ropes from last year. Lyn, meet Theresa... I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch your name?" the older secretary asked.
"Lopez-Fitzgerald. I changed my name back after my divorce became final. Nice to meet you, Lyn," I told a tall blonde girl, about my age, with blue eyes, sporting a striking outfit.
We got to class on time and sat near the middle of the classroom.
"I'm Professor Cuthbert, and welcome to sociology class. As most of you know, I'm a fairly strict teacher by most teaching standards, because I believe that you were coddled by your parents and your high school teachers. I'm just here to teach you how to live in the real world," a tall male, with salt-and-pepper hair, wearing a not-so fashionable outfit that should've been burned after it was released by the designers.
***********
The rest of the day went by in a blur. Professor Cuthbert was loud and obnoxious. Professors Smith and Walters were nice, and showed slight exentricity towards their teaching fields. Another professor, who chose to go by "Mister" Halliway, instead of Professor, was young and looked like he belonged on the cover of a teenage magazine, instead of being a malpractice law expert. Since I only took four classes a day, so I could spend the nights with Little Ethan, I was sorry to leave my new friend behind.
During lunch with her, I told her a little bit about myself and about Little Ethan. In return, she told me about her family, and about the little girl she was raising alone, because her husband was murdered three months after their wedding.
"He was the most caring man I ever met, with sky-colored eyes, and bleached blonde hair, I was in heaven, until that asshole stopped his life before it was supposed to. I can't even say his name anymore without crying unstoppably," she remarked. She looked down for a moment, before regaining her composure. "Tell me about your husband."
"Julian was an asshole, who only cared about getting me drunk. That's the only way I can explain it. I was engaged to his former stepson, and I almost gave my life in his stead, but he didn't trust me. I named my son after him, Little Ethan. God, I miss him. I know someone sent that letter to the tabloid to separate us. I just can't imagine who, or exactly why," I told her.
"Is it really you? Theresa, the one who was engaged to the former Ethan Crane, now Winthrop? So you're telling me that you were married to his ex- stepfather, the Julian Crane? No wonder you changed your name. Well, onto a better, less depressing subject. How old is Little Ethan? Mattie's almost a year and a half," she said, trying to change the subject.
"Little Ethan's about a year and a half too. What a coincidence. You have to meet him. He looks more like my brothers every day. I miss them. Miguel and Luis and Antonio. I feel like I haven't seen them in years, athough it's only been two weeks," the conversation kind of ended like that. I gave her my address and made plans to see her that night.
***********
I knocked on the door at Mrs. Landower's apartment. There was a brief shuffling going on inside, before a man opened the door, tall with bleached blonde hair that was growing out to reveal a darker shade of hair at the roots. "You must be Theresa. We've been expecting you," he said, stepping aside and motioned for her to come in. "I'm Mrs. Landower's oldest, Alex. Xander's my son."
"Yeah, I'm Theresa," I told him, as I stepped inside. Mrs. Landower was standing in the kitchen, mixing cookie dough in a large plastic bowl.
"I see you've already met Alex. Come in, and have some cookies and milk. I've been working on these since my baby boy came home. Alex, go get the boys. Their lunch is at the table," she said, indicating two plastic kiddie plates with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and sippie cups with milk in the same Sesame Street characters.
"Here's the boys. I have to get back to work Mom," as he leaned over to kiss her. He tousled Little Ethan's hair after he kissed his son's cheek. "It was nice to meet you, Theresa."
"The pleasure was all mine," I smiled and watched him leave, taking a backpack and a leather jacket from the chair by the door.
Mrs. Landower handed me a plate of still-warm chocolate chip cookies and a tall glass of milk. "Thank you, Mrs. Landower," I told her.
"Please, Theresa. Call me Livia. I see you fancy my son," she hinted, smiling. "It'll do you both a world of good. He lost his wife, not long before my daughter lost her husband."
"What's your daughter's name, Livia?" I asked.
"Lyn. Lyn Black. She called me just before you came over, and said that you had met each other at school today. Her daughter stays at her other grandmothers' house during the day, but she brings her over after her classes," she surprised me.
***********
I was shocked, even after Little Ethan and I came home to wait for her that afternoon.
I checked the answering machine. Mama called twice, asking how school went. Ethan wanted me to call to make sure we were getting settled in all right. Whitney called and practically begged me to call her back.
"Hello?" she asked, after I called her cell phone.
"Hi, Whitney, it's me. You sound... so worried. What's going on?" I asked.
"Well, for starters, Chad proposed to me. And I've accepted..." she was cut off.
"Whit, why didn't you tell me sooner? That's great! But what's so wrong about that?" I asked.
"Well, Dad isn't very happy. In fact, he threw Chad out of the house and threw Mom's crystal vase at the door behind him. And Mom is pacing all over the house. Is there something she isn't telling us? I don't know, but I have a feeling she's worried about something," she managed to tell me.
"Whitney, just talk to her. I don't want you to end up like I did. Please, talk to her and find out what's wrong," I did a little begging myself.
"Okay," she said, sniffling a little bit.
"Now, get off of this phone and talk to her," I instructed her.
We got off the phone and I called Ethan.
"Hello?" Gwen asked, in that sharp voice of hers that cuts the silence just enough for you to want to punch her for it.
"Gwen, is Ethan there? He called me, and wanted to talk to me?" I asked.
"Theresa, he's at work, and he told me you'd be calling. He said to tell you that he'd call you back tomorrow, okay?" she answered, kind of angrily.
"Thanks, Gwen," I told her, before we hung up.
***********
Lyn's POV
I found the building with no problem at all, because I'd been there over a hundred times before, first visiting Mom, later with Alex and Xander.
First I stopped at Mom's apartment. "Mom, are you here?" I asked, after letting Mattie and myself in with my key.
"Lyn? Is that you?" she asked.
"Mom, I'm just stopping in for a minute. Theresa's expecting me, but I wanted to stop by and make sure you were okay before I went over. Where's Xander and Alex?" I asked.
"Alex took Xander to the store for me. Where's Mattie?" she asked looking around.
The little girl peeked out from behind my legs and ran to her grandma, her blonde hair back in a loosened ponytail. Mom leaned down and gave her a kiss on the forehead. "I just wanted to bring her over really quick before I went up to Theresa's," I told her.
"Take a batch of cookies with you, and all of you can have a nice snack tonight," she suggested.
"Not tonight, Mom. We're taking the kids out to the park, and I'd better not make her wait," I leaned over and kissed her cheek.
"I'm begining to think your brother fancies Theresa-especially Little Ethan," Mom said.
I laughed on my way out to the elevator.
***********
The babies were sitting on the swings and kicking their legs around while Theresa and I talked.
"Why didn't you tell me you were Livia's daughter?" she asked.
"Well, for starters, you didn't ask, and we only made the connection after you were on your way home from class. Now, tell me about Ethan. He seems to be a catch," I inquired.
"Ethan was the love of my life. But I couldn't do the same thing with Little Ethan to him as Ivy did to Ethan. I loved him too much to do that to him. Not to mention it would kill Little Ethan when he got older to realize the man who loved him wasn't really his father. You get the picture," she explained.
"Sadly, yes. I know what it's like to love someone and to lose them at a high point in your life. My husband wanted me to go to college while he was in the Air Force. In fact, his military benefits, he wanted half of them to go to me for school, and the other half to Mattie. He drew the papers up himself. At first I was wary about being away from her, but it got easier in time," I sniffled.
"Tell me about your brother," I asked, trying to lighten up the subject.
"Alex? What's there to know about Alex?" I asked, almost jumping out of my seat.
"Chill out. Just tell me what you know about him," she laughed.
"Alex is just... Alex. When Xander's mom died, he got custody and everything. Lisabeth's parents wanted a clean break, and didn't care who got Xander. I still think they're gonna regret it one day, and try do do something about it. Mark my words, the biggest mistake of his life was marrying Lisabeth Derringer. I hated her from the moment I set eyes on her, and Alex thought that marrying her after a one night stand would be the best thing. But no. The second she got out of the hospital after Xander was born, she was sleeping around again," I gritted my teeth at the mention of her name.
"Sounds a lot like Ivy and Gwen. Ivy lied about Ethan's being Sam Bennett's son. And now, I think Gwen and Rebbecca had something to do with the tabloid. I can't really explain it, but I think it's true," she started to complain.
"Mirror-images, if I'm not mistaken," she said, shrugging my head.
Just then, her cell phone rang.
"Hello?" she asked.
"Didn't Gwen tell you I did?"
"Sure, come on out. In the morning I have class, but I have afternoons free."
"He's fine. He has two playmates now. Mattie's his age, and her cousin Xander is three."
"All right, 'bye!" and we hung up.
"That was Ethan. He's coming out next week. You'll get to meet him then," she told me.
"He really sounds great," I said, a little wistful.
***********
A/N: Not to give anything away, but remember "new places, new faces". That should pretty much sum this chapter up.
Theresa's POV
Class was going to start in half an hour, so I had to get Little Ethan ready to go downstairs to Mrs. Landower, the widow who had agreed to watch him during the school day.
"You don't know how much this means to us, Mrs. Landower," I exclaimed, handing Little Ethan to her.
"It's my pleasure, Theresa. Now my grandson has a little playmate. Xander?" she called to the living room. A little boy, about three years old, sporting dark brown hair, toddled in, holding a hand-crocheted blanket. "Theresa, meet my pride and joy, Xander. You'll meet his daddy later on today."
"I'd better go, thank you again, Mrs. Landower," I told her, kissing Little Ethan on the forehead.
"Have a nice day at class, and don't be afraid to make new friends!" she called, over the sounds of two little boys playing with stuffed animals and laughing loudly.
***********
I rushed to the office to pick up my schedule for the classes I would be taking.
"Theresa, meet Lyn Black. You have very similar schedules, and she knows the ropes from last year. Lyn, meet Theresa... I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch your name?" the older secretary asked.
"Lopez-Fitzgerald. I changed my name back after my divorce became final. Nice to meet you, Lyn," I told a tall blonde girl, about my age, with blue eyes, sporting a striking outfit.
We got to class on time and sat near the middle of the classroom.
"I'm Professor Cuthbert, and welcome to sociology class. As most of you know, I'm a fairly strict teacher by most teaching standards, because I believe that you were coddled by your parents and your high school teachers. I'm just here to teach you how to live in the real world," a tall male, with salt-and-pepper hair, wearing a not-so fashionable outfit that should've been burned after it was released by the designers.
***********
The rest of the day went by in a blur. Professor Cuthbert was loud and obnoxious. Professors Smith and Walters were nice, and showed slight exentricity towards their teaching fields. Another professor, who chose to go by "Mister" Halliway, instead of Professor, was young and looked like he belonged on the cover of a teenage magazine, instead of being a malpractice law expert. Since I only took four classes a day, so I could spend the nights with Little Ethan, I was sorry to leave my new friend behind.
During lunch with her, I told her a little bit about myself and about Little Ethan. In return, she told me about her family, and about the little girl she was raising alone, because her husband was murdered three months after their wedding.
"He was the most caring man I ever met, with sky-colored eyes, and bleached blonde hair, I was in heaven, until that asshole stopped his life before it was supposed to. I can't even say his name anymore without crying unstoppably," she remarked. She looked down for a moment, before regaining her composure. "Tell me about your husband."
"Julian was an asshole, who only cared about getting me drunk. That's the only way I can explain it. I was engaged to his former stepson, and I almost gave my life in his stead, but he didn't trust me. I named my son after him, Little Ethan. God, I miss him. I know someone sent that letter to the tabloid to separate us. I just can't imagine who, or exactly why," I told her.
"Is it really you? Theresa, the one who was engaged to the former Ethan Crane, now Winthrop? So you're telling me that you were married to his ex- stepfather, the Julian Crane? No wonder you changed your name. Well, onto a better, less depressing subject. How old is Little Ethan? Mattie's almost a year and a half," she said, trying to change the subject.
"Little Ethan's about a year and a half too. What a coincidence. You have to meet him. He looks more like my brothers every day. I miss them. Miguel and Luis and Antonio. I feel like I haven't seen them in years, athough it's only been two weeks," the conversation kind of ended like that. I gave her my address and made plans to see her that night.
***********
I knocked on the door at Mrs. Landower's apartment. There was a brief shuffling going on inside, before a man opened the door, tall with bleached blonde hair that was growing out to reveal a darker shade of hair at the roots. "You must be Theresa. We've been expecting you," he said, stepping aside and motioned for her to come in. "I'm Mrs. Landower's oldest, Alex. Xander's my son."
"Yeah, I'm Theresa," I told him, as I stepped inside. Mrs. Landower was standing in the kitchen, mixing cookie dough in a large plastic bowl.
"I see you've already met Alex. Come in, and have some cookies and milk. I've been working on these since my baby boy came home. Alex, go get the boys. Their lunch is at the table," she said, indicating two plastic kiddie plates with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and sippie cups with milk in the same Sesame Street characters.
"Here's the boys. I have to get back to work Mom," as he leaned over to kiss her. He tousled Little Ethan's hair after he kissed his son's cheek. "It was nice to meet you, Theresa."
"The pleasure was all mine," I smiled and watched him leave, taking a backpack and a leather jacket from the chair by the door.
Mrs. Landower handed me a plate of still-warm chocolate chip cookies and a tall glass of milk. "Thank you, Mrs. Landower," I told her.
"Please, Theresa. Call me Livia. I see you fancy my son," she hinted, smiling. "It'll do you both a world of good. He lost his wife, not long before my daughter lost her husband."
"What's your daughter's name, Livia?" I asked.
"Lyn. Lyn Black. She called me just before you came over, and said that you had met each other at school today. Her daughter stays at her other grandmothers' house during the day, but she brings her over after her classes," she surprised me.
***********
I was shocked, even after Little Ethan and I came home to wait for her that afternoon.
I checked the answering machine. Mama called twice, asking how school went. Ethan wanted me to call to make sure we were getting settled in all right. Whitney called and practically begged me to call her back.
"Hello?" she asked, after I called her cell phone.
"Hi, Whitney, it's me. You sound... so worried. What's going on?" I asked.
"Well, for starters, Chad proposed to me. And I've accepted..." she was cut off.
"Whit, why didn't you tell me sooner? That's great! But what's so wrong about that?" I asked.
"Well, Dad isn't very happy. In fact, he threw Chad out of the house and threw Mom's crystal vase at the door behind him. And Mom is pacing all over the house. Is there something she isn't telling us? I don't know, but I have a feeling she's worried about something," she managed to tell me.
"Whitney, just talk to her. I don't want you to end up like I did. Please, talk to her and find out what's wrong," I did a little begging myself.
"Okay," she said, sniffling a little bit.
"Now, get off of this phone and talk to her," I instructed her.
We got off the phone and I called Ethan.
"Hello?" Gwen asked, in that sharp voice of hers that cuts the silence just enough for you to want to punch her for it.
"Gwen, is Ethan there? He called me, and wanted to talk to me?" I asked.
"Theresa, he's at work, and he told me you'd be calling. He said to tell you that he'd call you back tomorrow, okay?" she answered, kind of angrily.
"Thanks, Gwen," I told her, before we hung up.
***********
Lyn's POV
I found the building with no problem at all, because I'd been there over a hundred times before, first visiting Mom, later with Alex and Xander.
First I stopped at Mom's apartment. "Mom, are you here?" I asked, after letting Mattie and myself in with my key.
"Lyn? Is that you?" she asked.
"Mom, I'm just stopping in for a minute. Theresa's expecting me, but I wanted to stop by and make sure you were okay before I went over. Where's Xander and Alex?" I asked.
"Alex took Xander to the store for me. Where's Mattie?" she asked looking around.
The little girl peeked out from behind my legs and ran to her grandma, her blonde hair back in a loosened ponytail. Mom leaned down and gave her a kiss on the forehead. "I just wanted to bring her over really quick before I went up to Theresa's," I told her.
"Take a batch of cookies with you, and all of you can have a nice snack tonight," she suggested.
"Not tonight, Mom. We're taking the kids out to the park, and I'd better not make her wait," I leaned over and kissed her cheek.
"I'm begining to think your brother fancies Theresa-especially Little Ethan," Mom said.
I laughed on my way out to the elevator.
***********
The babies were sitting on the swings and kicking their legs around while Theresa and I talked.
"Why didn't you tell me you were Livia's daughter?" she asked.
"Well, for starters, you didn't ask, and we only made the connection after you were on your way home from class. Now, tell me about Ethan. He seems to be a catch," I inquired.
"Ethan was the love of my life. But I couldn't do the same thing with Little Ethan to him as Ivy did to Ethan. I loved him too much to do that to him. Not to mention it would kill Little Ethan when he got older to realize the man who loved him wasn't really his father. You get the picture," she explained.
"Sadly, yes. I know what it's like to love someone and to lose them at a high point in your life. My husband wanted me to go to college while he was in the Air Force. In fact, his military benefits, he wanted half of them to go to me for school, and the other half to Mattie. He drew the papers up himself. At first I was wary about being away from her, but it got easier in time," I sniffled.
"Tell me about your brother," I asked, trying to lighten up the subject.
"Alex? What's there to know about Alex?" I asked, almost jumping out of my seat.
"Chill out. Just tell me what you know about him," she laughed.
"Alex is just... Alex. When Xander's mom died, he got custody and everything. Lisabeth's parents wanted a clean break, and didn't care who got Xander. I still think they're gonna regret it one day, and try do do something about it. Mark my words, the biggest mistake of his life was marrying Lisabeth Derringer. I hated her from the moment I set eyes on her, and Alex thought that marrying her after a one night stand would be the best thing. But no. The second she got out of the hospital after Xander was born, she was sleeping around again," I gritted my teeth at the mention of her name.
"Sounds a lot like Ivy and Gwen. Ivy lied about Ethan's being Sam Bennett's son. And now, I think Gwen and Rebbecca had something to do with the tabloid. I can't really explain it, but I think it's true," she started to complain.
"Mirror-images, if I'm not mistaken," she said, shrugging my head.
Just then, her cell phone rang.
"Hello?" she asked.
"Didn't Gwen tell you I did?"
"Sure, come on out. In the morning I have class, but I have afternoons free."
"He's fine. He has two playmates now. Mattie's his age, and her cousin Xander is three."
"All right, 'bye!" and we hung up.
"That was Ethan. He's coming out next week. You'll get to meet him then," she told me.
"He really sounds great," I said, a little wistful.
***********