XXXIII



Alexandria drove quickly to her brother's home. She cursed under her breath thinking about Dylan. "I should've dropped him on his ass," She mumbled as she drove quickly through Harmony streets. Still flustered from her encounter, Alex opened the windows of her car hoping that the air would refresh her. The cool air filled the car and instantly abated Alex's pent up anger. Alex breathed in the cool air and let it playfully tousle her hair. "That's much better," She sighed.

Alex drove through Harmony, and finally turned onto her brother's street. She drove slowly so that she wouldn't miss his home. Alex glanced at the sheet of paper that held her brother's address. "Five sixty-seven" She mumbled as she peered out of her window to look for his house. She found the house at the end of the street. It was a quaint home with a fenced backyard and toys strewn all over the lawn. Alex smiled. It had been awhile since she had seen her older brother Tom. It had been ages since she had even seen her sister-in-law, and her nieces and nephews. Alex used the mirror in her car to check her reflection. She smoothed out her hair and took in a deep breath. "Here it goes." She said as she walked slowly up to the house.

Alex went up to the door and rang the doorbell. She heard children's laughter and the sound of their feet pattering across the floor. "I got it!" She heard one child scream.

"You're not supposed to open the door without Mommy or Daddy!" Alex heard one of the other kids protest. Alex then heard all of the kids screaming for their parents. She shook her head. Alex had to admit. Tom's kids were pretty comical and cute.

After about waiting for ten minutes on the front porch, the front door of Tom's home finally opened. Tom's wife Amanda looked at Alex in surprise. "Alexandria! What are you doing here! This is such a wonderful surprise!" Amanda reached out and hugged Alex. She hugged Amanda back stiffly. "I'm in town for awhile, and I thought I'd pay a visit to you, Tommy, and the kids. I haven't seen you all in awhile."

"You're telling me," Amanda replied. "Come in," She invited.

"Thanks." Alex smiled. The kids were now quiet. All three of them were still young. Alex looked at the two girls and one little boy peering from the corner of the house. "Kids," Amanda called. "Come see your Aunt Alexandria."

Shyly, all three children came to their mother. The two girls held to their mother's skirt as the boy looked curiously at Alex. "Hi," He said.

"Hello," Alex said bending down to meet his eyes. "Do you remember me?"

The little boy nodded. "You're my Auntie Alex. The cop. You live in Chicago too."

"That's right." Alex smiled.

"Do you remember me?" The little boy asked.

"Of course I remember. You're Devin." Alex responded.

Devin nodded. "Yup. That's me!" He said proudly.

"How old are you now Devin?" Alex asked. "You've gotten so big since the last time I've seen you."

"I'm six now." Devin said holding up six fingers.

"Wow," Alex said appearing amazed. "You're such a big boy now."

Devin grinned. "I'm a big boy Mommy!" He said.

Amanda laughed. "Yes you are, sweetie. He's the man of the house when Tommy's not around."

"Where is Tommy?" Alex asked.

"I'll get him!" Devin yelled as he disappeared out the back door.

The two girls still held onto their mother's skirt tightly. They were obviously shy, but they appeared interested in Alex.

"Hi, there." Alex said softly. "You remember me, don't you?"

The little girls who were fraternal twins nodded. Alex smiled. "You're Karen, and you're Kelly." Alex pointed to each child as she said their names. The little girls nodded "yes" to signify that Alex was right.

"Girls, aren't you going to speak to your Aunt?" Amanda asked.

"I'm four," Karen answered in a soft and barely audible tone.

"Me too." Kelly answered.

"That's nice." Alex said. "You too are getting to be big girls."

The little girls stared at Alex with wide eyes. She smiled hoping that they would respond, but they didn't. Instead, Alex cleared her throat and shifted uncomfortably. "So, where's Tommy?"

"Right here," Tommy said- his large voice booming throughout the house. "It's good to see you sis." He replied as he gave his sister a pat on the back.

"Same here. Looks like the only thing that's changed is that gut of yours. It seems to be growing." Alex said jokingly.

"What?" Tommy asked offended. "My gut is not growing."

Alex laughed. "If you don't watch out, it'll be just like pop's."

Tommy laughed. "Okay, okay, enough. Let's go to the kitchen and have some coffee. We have some catching up to do."

~*~



"He can have her for all I care," Angela muttered as she painfully stuck another needle in her arm. "She's not even his real daughter," She laughed sarcastically. "Bastard. I'm going to milk him for what he's worth, and I'll get the money I need. Yes," Angela said almost in a frenzy. "I'll get the money that I need to make sure I feel good twenty-four seven." Angela's body slouched as she found herself entering the same world she visited every time she wanted to escape her life. "I'll get my money," She mumbled.

~*~



Dylan whistled as he entered his apartment. He glanced in the mirror and flashed a wide grin. "That Alexandria," He said sighing contentedly. "Mm, what a woman!" He said as he reached into his fridge and pulled out a beer.

"I'm going to get to know that Alexandria." Dylan thought determined. "And, she's gonna fall for me. I know she's only pretending to be tough because she's a cop. Well, wait till Dylan Banning works his charms on her. She'll be crazy about me!" Dylan thought happily as he took a swig of his drink. "Just you wait and see."

~*~



"Shh," Gwen said as she rocked her baby. "It's okay, Sarah, it's okay, Mommy's here."

Sarah's cries hadn't subsided for the past couple of hours. Gwen tried every method possible to try to soothe her daughter. Unfortunately her attempts were in vain. Nothing seemed to placate the fussy child, and Gwen was on the verge of crying her own tears.
"I've tried everything," She thought to herself. "What else could I possibly do to try to get her to stop crying?"

Gwen patted Sarah's back and walked around the room. She even tried humming different songs, but Sarah continued to wail. There was no one that Gwen could turn to now since she had already moved to New York. Gwen stuck to her word. After speaking with Ethan, a couple of days later she and Sarah were on a plane to New York. They lived in a large apartment, just the two of them, and Gwen tried her best to provide for herself and her baby. She had a descent job that she went to three days a week. On those days Sarah was usually taken to the daycare that was located at Gwen's workplace.

Gwen had her lawyer prepare the divorce papers, and once she received her copy, she stared at the various pages that required her signature. One night, after looking through all the documents, Gwen reached for a pen to sign. With her hand poised to sign her name, Gwen found herself unable to move. She stared at the document. "I want this," She would tell herself, but doubt still pervaded her mind. She found herself questioning her actions. When Gwen found herself wanting to call Ethan to make up, Gwen reminded herself of all the things Ethan did. Gwen would then go into rage thinking about Ethan's inability to be a real man, and she would get ready to sign. But then, Gwen would think about the good times she had with Ethan. He was her childhood sweetheart. They had known each other for most of their lives. Did she really want to throw that away?

Gwen fought with herself daily. She couldn't bring herself to sign the papers, and she wondered if Ethan ever received his copy. Now that Sarah was crying, Gwen couldn't help but think of Ethan. She found herself wishing that he were there with her.

"What am I going to do now?" Gwen thought forlornly. The phone looked tempting to Gwen. She turned her back. "I can't." She shook her head. "I just can't call him."

Sarah's persistent cries penetrated Gwen's thoughts. They told her to do otherwise. Feeling desperate, Gwen dialed Ethan's number.

~*~