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.
~*~
