Part Nineteen
"I'm so mad at him, Whitney. I'm never forgiving him," Theresa vowed, melodramatically throwing herself to the twin mattress below. Whitney sighed, perching on the edge of the bed with one leg tucked beneath her. She opened her mouth to talk some sense into her exasperating best friend, but Theresa cut her off without a second thought. Just as well, Whitney decided. In Theresa's mind, anybody that interfered with her Cinderella story coming true was the enemy-even an innocent, helpless baby.
"He was supposed to take me to lunch at the Country Club. I've never been to the Country Club, Whitney," Theresa whined. "I bragged to all my friends about it. How are they going to believe the richest, most handsome man in Harmony is dating me, Theresa Lopez-Fitzgerald, if they don't see my picture in the society pages?"
"Gwen's doctor rescheduled the sonogram at the last minute," Whitney repeated for what felt like the thousandth time that day. "And Ethan promised to take you to the Country Club another day, didn't he?" Theresa gave the pillow in her arms a frustrated punch. "I bet Gwen paid the doctor to go out of town so she could ruin another one of mine and Ethan's dates. She's got enough money of her own," Theresa grumbled, sitting up and drawing her knees beneath her chin. "Why does she want Ethan anyway?"
Whitney's mouth set in a straight line, holding in another sigh. Choosing to ignore Theresa's comments, Whitney reminded Theresa of the agreement Gwen and Ethan had reached over a month ago when Gwen first revealed her pregnancy to Ethan. "I know you'd like to believe different, Theresa, but Ethan IS the father of Gwen's baby, and he made a promise to be there for his child no matter what happens between him and Gwen."
"She got pregnant on purpose. How can Ethan even be sure it's his baby?" Theresa's brown eyes lit up with the makings of an idea. "Dr. Russell can do a paternity test and prove it's not Ethan's baby, and Gwen will be out of Ethan's life forever," Theresa squealed. "Whitney, it's perfect! She's ruining everything. I finally got Ethan, and she and her baby are ruining everything for me. Last week Ethan was supposed to take me to the movies," Theresa told Whitney with wide, wet, teeming brown eyes. "We were supposed to see that new movie I told you about, the one I was really excited to see, and Gwen called. Ethan dumped me to have dinner at her parents' house, Whitney."
"I'm sure he had a wonderful time," Whitney responded, the sarcastic edge in her voice growing with each word, "explaining to Gwen's parents why he's not going to marry their pregnant daughter because he's going out with a girl still in high school. Honestly, Theresa." "I'm mature for my age!" Theresa shouted defensively. "I can't believe you, Whit. You're taking Gwen's side instead of mine. She's the bad guy. Not me."
Whitney bit her tongue and walked toward the door, trying her best not to hold Theresa's immaturity and narcissism against her. She'd grown up with Theresa, loved her like a sister, and knew that her heart was a generous heart when she wasn't too caught up in her own self-made dramas, but sometimes.sometimes Theresa made it a little hard for Whitney to LIKE her. Whitney paused in the doorway, letting her voice soften with affection to lessen the sting of the unwanted advice she was about to bestow. "I'm telling you this because I love you.grow up and get over yourself, Theresa, before you become someone I can't be friends with."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"J'adore les fleurs," Catherine told Sheridan happily as she pushed her small plastic yellow shovel back and forth in the dirt. Beside her, Sheridan smiled, tugging the gloves off her hands and gently laying them down in grass. Her blue eyes twinkled as she noted the little girl's progress or lack thereof tending to what actually amounted to a cluster of weeds. Smudges of dirt dotted Catherine's cheeks, hands, and knees. To Sheridan it seemed there wasn't an inch on her entire body untouched by dirt.
Gwen too apparently, judging from the highly amused expression adorning her face as she approached them, brown eyes alight with held-in laughter. Sheridan gave one of the black curls peeking out from beneath the red and white checkered bandana Catherine wore a teasing tug before climbing to her feet and greeting Gwen. She wiped her hands on the legs of her denim shorts as she spoke. "How'd the sonogram go?"
"Well," Gwen answered, handing over another grainy black and white picture. "Maybe there's hope for me after all," Gwen smirked. "This time I can actually SEE my baby." Sheridan crouched down, showing Catherine the picture. "Sheri!" Catherine exclaimed excitedly. "I can see it! I can!" Sheridan laughed, agreeing with her. "I can too." She stood back up, offering the picture back to Gwen. "What about Ethan, Gwen? He never was good at finding Waldo," Sheridan said, blue eyes dancing.
"True," Gwen replied, bursting into girlish, happy laughter when she revealed Ethan still suffered the same handicap. Dissolving into laughter herself, Sheridan slipped an arm through Gwen's arm, and they started walking toward the house, Catherine racing ahead of them. "Catherine!" Sheridan cried when the little imp headed straight for the sprinklers, drenching herself and becoming a muddy, dripping mess of long dark curls and bottled up energy in just seconds. Sheridan knew it was useless to try to prevent her from going to Luis when she saw him climb out of his jeep so she didn't even try.
"Luis! Luis!" Catherine squealed as Luis grabbed her up and held her at arm's length, her little sandaled feet dangling in the air as she giggled. "Somebody needs a bath," Luis grinned, bringing her closer and hugging her tight. He accepted Catherine's wet kisses to his cheeks and her fierce hug and held his arms out to Sheridan. Catherine's emerald eyes sparkled with happiness as Luis kissed Sheridan soundly on the mouth, and Gwen couldn't help but smile at the three of them, resting a protective hand over her own abdomen. "Catherine, you got Luis's uniform dirty," Sheridan scolded half- heartedly. "He can't go back to work with mud all over it."
"Gwen," Luis acknowledged the smirking blond observing them with a friendly smile. "I'm not going back to work. Not today anyway," Luis explained when three pairs of eyes grew wide, two with surprise and one with undisguised pleasure. "It's a slow day. That, and an old friend's in town," Luis revealed. "Sam gave me the rest of the day off so we could catch up, and I thought we'd all have dinner at the Lobster Shack this evening. You're invited, Gwen."
"Thank you, Luis, but I don't think," Gwen began only to be interrupted by Catherine. "Please," the little girl pleaded, full pink lips pouting irresistibly. "Sheri, tell Gwen she has to come." Sheridan turned to Luis, threading her fingers through his, and resolutely studying their linked hands as she asked him a question burning in her mind. "This friend, Luis, did you.how long have you known.what's." Luis chuckled, bringing their hands to his mouth and pressing a sweet kiss to the back of her palm. "Hank? HE and I grew up together," Luis stated, putting extra emphasis on the word 'he.' "He's my oldest friend, and Chief Bennett's brother," Luis told her, his dark eyes twinkling with amusement as all traces of jealousy left her eyes and demeanor. He let Catherine slide down his side and winked at Gwen as she grasped the little girl's hand and tugged her toward the house.
"Luis, I wasn't jealous," Sheridan protested. "I was just.okay," she relented when she realized he wasn't buying what she was selling for a nanosecond, "I WAS jealous, but only a little. Barely, if you could even call it that. But I was all set to yell at you and strangle you and ask you how you dared invite an old girlfriend to have dinner with us." Sheridan was out of breath by the time she finished her mini-tirade, and she didn't have time to protest any further before Luis caught her lips with his own, kissing any remnants of her earlier doubts away.
"Still jealous?" he teased. "No," Sheridan ducked her blond head in embarrassment, "but I think, no, I'm pretty sure a little more convincing wouldn't hurt." The corners of her mouth twitched with the threat of a smile as his handsome face loomed closer to hers, and she squealed with laughter as he hauled her up against him, attacking her face and mouth with playful kisses. "Convinced, because I think I still see the tiniest bit of doubt in your eyes," Luis said, unable to control the grin that he felt taking over his face. "No doubts, Luis," Sheridan replied, the brilliance of her smile almost overwhelming him, "but if you want to kiss me again, I won't complain." Luis kissed her sweetly, wrapping his arms around her in a tight bear hug with no complaint at all.
"I'm so mad at him, Whitney. I'm never forgiving him," Theresa vowed, melodramatically throwing herself to the twin mattress below. Whitney sighed, perching on the edge of the bed with one leg tucked beneath her. She opened her mouth to talk some sense into her exasperating best friend, but Theresa cut her off without a second thought. Just as well, Whitney decided. In Theresa's mind, anybody that interfered with her Cinderella story coming true was the enemy-even an innocent, helpless baby.
"He was supposed to take me to lunch at the Country Club. I've never been to the Country Club, Whitney," Theresa whined. "I bragged to all my friends about it. How are they going to believe the richest, most handsome man in Harmony is dating me, Theresa Lopez-Fitzgerald, if they don't see my picture in the society pages?"
"Gwen's doctor rescheduled the sonogram at the last minute," Whitney repeated for what felt like the thousandth time that day. "And Ethan promised to take you to the Country Club another day, didn't he?" Theresa gave the pillow in her arms a frustrated punch. "I bet Gwen paid the doctor to go out of town so she could ruin another one of mine and Ethan's dates. She's got enough money of her own," Theresa grumbled, sitting up and drawing her knees beneath her chin. "Why does she want Ethan anyway?"
Whitney's mouth set in a straight line, holding in another sigh. Choosing to ignore Theresa's comments, Whitney reminded Theresa of the agreement Gwen and Ethan had reached over a month ago when Gwen first revealed her pregnancy to Ethan. "I know you'd like to believe different, Theresa, but Ethan IS the father of Gwen's baby, and he made a promise to be there for his child no matter what happens between him and Gwen."
"She got pregnant on purpose. How can Ethan even be sure it's his baby?" Theresa's brown eyes lit up with the makings of an idea. "Dr. Russell can do a paternity test and prove it's not Ethan's baby, and Gwen will be out of Ethan's life forever," Theresa squealed. "Whitney, it's perfect! She's ruining everything. I finally got Ethan, and she and her baby are ruining everything for me. Last week Ethan was supposed to take me to the movies," Theresa told Whitney with wide, wet, teeming brown eyes. "We were supposed to see that new movie I told you about, the one I was really excited to see, and Gwen called. Ethan dumped me to have dinner at her parents' house, Whitney."
"I'm sure he had a wonderful time," Whitney responded, the sarcastic edge in her voice growing with each word, "explaining to Gwen's parents why he's not going to marry their pregnant daughter because he's going out with a girl still in high school. Honestly, Theresa." "I'm mature for my age!" Theresa shouted defensively. "I can't believe you, Whit. You're taking Gwen's side instead of mine. She's the bad guy. Not me."
Whitney bit her tongue and walked toward the door, trying her best not to hold Theresa's immaturity and narcissism against her. She'd grown up with Theresa, loved her like a sister, and knew that her heart was a generous heart when she wasn't too caught up in her own self-made dramas, but sometimes.sometimes Theresa made it a little hard for Whitney to LIKE her. Whitney paused in the doorway, letting her voice soften with affection to lessen the sting of the unwanted advice she was about to bestow. "I'm telling you this because I love you.grow up and get over yourself, Theresa, before you become someone I can't be friends with."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"J'adore les fleurs," Catherine told Sheridan happily as she pushed her small plastic yellow shovel back and forth in the dirt. Beside her, Sheridan smiled, tugging the gloves off her hands and gently laying them down in grass. Her blue eyes twinkled as she noted the little girl's progress or lack thereof tending to what actually amounted to a cluster of weeds. Smudges of dirt dotted Catherine's cheeks, hands, and knees. To Sheridan it seemed there wasn't an inch on her entire body untouched by dirt.
Gwen too apparently, judging from the highly amused expression adorning her face as she approached them, brown eyes alight with held-in laughter. Sheridan gave one of the black curls peeking out from beneath the red and white checkered bandana Catherine wore a teasing tug before climbing to her feet and greeting Gwen. She wiped her hands on the legs of her denim shorts as she spoke. "How'd the sonogram go?"
"Well," Gwen answered, handing over another grainy black and white picture. "Maybe there's hope for me after all," Gwen smirked. "This time I can actually SEE my baby." Sheridan crouched down, showing Catherine the picture. "Sheri!" Catherine exclaimed excitedly. "I can see it! I can!" Sheridan laughed, agreeing with her. "I can too." She stood back up, offering the picture back to Gwen. "What about Ethan, Gwen? He never was good at finding Waldo," Sheridan said, blue eyes dancing.
"True," Gwen replied, bursting into girlish, happy laughter when she revealed Ethan still suffered the same handicap. Dissolving into laughter herself, Sheridan slipped an arm through Gwen's arm, and they started walking toward the house, Catherine racing ahead of them. "Catherine!" Sheridan cried when the little imp headed straight for the sprinklers, drenching herself and becoming a muddy, dripping mess of long dark curls and bottled up energy in just seconds. Sheridan knew it was useless to try to prevent her from going to Luis when she saw him climb out of his jeep so she didn't even try.
"Luis! Luis!" Catherine squealed as Luis grabbed her up and held her at arm's length, her little sandaled feet dangling in the air as she giggled. "Somebody needs a bath," Luis grinned, bringing her closer and hugging her tight. He accepted Catherine's wet kisses to his cheeks and her fierce hug and held his arms out to Sheridan. Catherine's emerald eyes sparkled with happiness as Luis kissed Sheridan soundly on the mouth, and Gwen couldn't help but smile at the three of them, resting a protective hand over her own abdomen. "Catherine, you got Luis's uniform dirty," Sheridan scolded half- heartedly. "He can't go back to work with mud all over it."
"Gwen," Luis acknowledged the smirking blond observing them with a friendly smile. "I'm not going back to work. Not today anyway," Luis explained when three pairs of eyes grew wide, two with surprise and one with undisguised pleasure. "It's a slow day. That, and an old friend's in town," Luis revealed. "Sam gave me the rest of the day off so we could catch up, and I thought we'd all have dinner at the Lobster Shack this evening. You're invited, Gwen."
"Thank you, Luis, but I don't think," Gwen began only to be interrupted by Catherine. "Please," the little girl pleaded, full pink lips pouting irresistibly. "Sheri, tell Gwen she has to come." Sheridan turned to Luis, threading her fingers through his, and resolutely studying their linked hands as she asked him a question burning in her mind. "This friend, Luis, did you.how long have you known.what's." Luis chuckled, bringing their hands to his mouth and pressing a sweet kiss to the back of her palm. "Hank? HE and I grew up together," Luis stated, putting extra emphasis on the word 'he.' "He's my oldest friend, and Chief Bennett's brother," Luis told her, his dark eyes twinkling with amusement as all traces of jealousy left her eyes and demeanor. He let Catherine slide down his side and winked at Gwen as she grasped the little girl's hand and tugged her toward the house.
"Luis, I wasn't jealous," Sheridan protested. "I was just.okay," she relented when she realized he wasn't buying what she was selling for a nanosecond, "I WAS jealous, but only a little. Barely, if you could even call it that. But I was all set to yell at you and strangle you and ask you how you dared invite an old girlfriend to have dinner with us." Sheridan was out of breath by the time she finished her mini-tirade, and she didn't have time to protest any further before Luis caught her lips with his own, kissing any remnants of her earlier doubts away.
"Still jealous?" he teased. "No," Sheridan ducked her blond head in embarrassment, "but I think, no, I'm pretty sure a little more convincing wouldn't hurt." The corners of her mouth twitched with the threat of a smile as his handsome face loomed closer to hers, and she squealed with laughter as he hauled her up against him, attacking her face and mouth with playful kisses. "Convinced, because I think I still see the tiniest bit of doubt in your eyes," Luis said, unable to control the grin that he felt taking over his face. "No doubts, Luis," Sheridan replied, the brilliance of her smile almost overwhelming him, "but if you want to kiss me again, I won't complain." Luis kissed her sweetly, wrapping his arms around her in a tight bear hug with no complaint at all.