40
"You scared the crap out of him, didn't you?" Fox asked with a smirk on his
face.
"He should've known better. He shouldn't have messed with me." Theresa said
firmly.
"You got that right." Fox said.
"Mommy!" Belle cried. "Come here!"
"Go on," Fox said. "I'll be here." Fox watched as Theresa ran over to Belle and
Little Ethan. He smiled as Belle placed the crown of daisies on Theresa's.
"Well hello son," Fox heard behind him.
Fox turned around and was surprised to find Julian standing behind him. "What
are you doing here?"
"I needed to get away from Rebecca." Julian frowned. "That woman is driving me
crazy."
"Well, father, I'm sorry, but if you're looking for sympathy you aren't going
to get it from me." Fox replied.
"She's quite the little mother isn't she?" Julian said as he observed Theresa.
"She's a wonderful mother, and you know, it's awful that you're still
trying to take Little Ethan away from her. Away from us."
Julian looked to the ground. "I've been thinking about that~" His voice trailed
off as he looked in another direction.
"And what about it?" Fox asked. "What? Are you more
determined that ever to take him away?"
"No." Julian replied. "I'm not going to take him away at all. I'm going to give
custody to you and Theresa."
"What?" Fox said in shock. "You are? Why the change of
heart?"
"I've tried to find ways of breaking you and Theresa up, and none of
them worked. This attempt isn't going to do anybody any good. I may as well end
it. There's no point to it anymore. You've surprisingly established a little
family of yours, and you and Theresa are in love. You're a better father to
Little Ethan than I ever was to you Fox." Julian said his voice full of regret.
"I'm sorry, Fox. But you won't have to worry about any custody battle. Little
Ethan's yours."
"How do I know you're telling the truth?" Fox asked warily. "How do I not know
that this isn't another one of your schemes?"
Julian stood up and cleared his throat. "You're just going to have to take my
word for it."
"Father?" Fox asked. One question had been plaguing
Fox's mind since Angela had shown up at his home.
"What is it Fox?" Julian asked.
"Were you trying to use Angela to break Theresa and me up? Is Belle really my
daughter or was that all fake?" Fox searched Julian's eyes for an answer. When
Julian averted his gaze, Fox knew the answer.
"Belle isn't your child. Her real father is somewhere in New York. He didn't want
anything to do with Angela or Belle."
"Why did you do that, father? Why were you trying to break up Theresa and me?"
"I'm not proud of my actions." Julian said quietly. "I have my reasons and
frankly they're ridiculous. I just hope you can establish a happy family, Fox.
From the looks of it you already have. Don't make the mistakes I did Fox. At
least you married a woman you truly love." Julian said his tone full of
sadness.
"Father?" Fox asked. "Will you and I ever be able to
have a real father-son relationship?"
"I suppose we can if we try." Julian said. "But it's not going to be easy."
"Nothing ever is." Fox commented.
Julian nodded. "I'll talk to you later son." Julian walked away leaving a
baffled Fox to his thoughts.
~*~
"You're back." Dylan said as Alex returned to the sandbox. "I didn't think
you'd still be here." She said.
"And miss the opportunity to build castles with Devin?" Dylan replied.
"Besides, I was hoping you'd come back."
Alex felt her cheeks burn. She knew she was probably turning beet red. "You did
huh?"
"Yeah, in case you hadn't noticed, I like you Alex." Dylan said smiling.
"Well, unfortunately I don't know if I can say the same." Alex replied as she
tucked a stray hair behind her ear.
"Aw, c'mon. You know you like me." Dylan said with a
glint of mischief in his eyes.
"You annoy me." Alex replied frowning.
"But you think I'm cute." Dylan replied grinning. Alex could not resist the
urge to smile. "You're so~"
"Cute? Adorable? Witty?"
Dylan suggested.
"Weird." Alex finished.
"Weird can be good. Okay, I'll take that." Dylan said standing up and brushing
the sand off his pants.
"I've never met anyone like you." Alex admitted. "You're different than any guy
I've ever met."
"And you are unlike any woman that I've ever met." Dylan said. "You're amazing,
you know that?"
"You're just full of compliments aren't you?" Alex said crossing her arms.
Dylan shrugged. "What can I say? I aim to please?"
Alex looked down and shifted nervously. "So~"
"Have dinner with me." Dylan said hastily.
"Excuse me?" Alex asked surprised.
"Have dinner with me. Tonight. Pretty
please?"
"I don't think so~" Alex said turning away.
"It'll be fun." Dylan said. "Please? Just a small little
dinner."
"I don't know~" Alex's voice trailed off.
"You know you want to." Dylan grinned widely. "C'mon Alex.
Just one dinner."
Alex looked at Dylan warily. "I suppose one dinner couldn't hurt."
"Great." Dylan smiled. "I'll pick you up at seven. Where are you staying?"
After Alex gave Dylan directions to her brother's home, Dylan walked back to
Fox while Alex walked over to Amanda. "Who was that guy?" Amanda asked.
"Dylan." Alex replied. "He's taking me out tonight."
"Really?" Amanda said nudging Alex. "You go girl."
Alex laughed nervously. "Yeah. Yay
me." Alex sighed. "What have I gotten myself into?" She thought to
herself.
~*~
Little Ethan yawned. "Ma!" He said
sleepily as he reached for Theresa. Theresa picked up her son. "Aw, are you
sleepy?" She asked. Little Ethan lay his head on his mother's shoulder in
response. Theresa looked down at Belle who was working on another daisy crown.
"Belle, sweetie, we've got to go home now. It's nap time."
"Already?" Belle asked frowning.
"Yes, already," Theresa said softly. "Let's go Belle." Theresa reached for
Belle's hand. Belle picked up her daisy crown and slipped her hand in
Theresa's. "Okay Mommy." She said.
Theresa and Belle walked hand in hand as they strolled over to Fox who was
still sitting on the bench. Theresa noticed that he looked differently. "Fox,
what is it?" She asked curiously.
"I'll tell you later. It's the craziest thing actually. I never expected it to
happen." Fox said still a bit bewildered.
Dylan rejoined the group with a grin plastered on his face. "I take it things
went well?" Theresa asked.
"Oh they went perfectly." Dylan said. "I knew I had it!"
Theresa laughed. "Well, we have to be heading on home. It's nap time for Little
Ethan and Belle."
"Drop me off at my place will ya?" Dylan asked. "I have a date to prepare for."
"A date?" Theresa smiled. "Ooh, go Dylan!"
"Just don't screw it up." Fox said patting his friend on the shoulder.
"Thanks for the vote of confidence." Dylan said frowning at Fox. "Anyhow, I'm
not going to screw this one up."
"All right, time to pile in the car." Fox said picking up Belle.
Theresa who was still carrying Little Ethan followed behind her husband. Dylan
walked beside her. As they passed the playground he looked around to see if he
could see Alex. When he did, he caught her eye and smiled. She gave him a small
wave. Alex's small gesture gave Dylan a boost of confidence. He could not wait
to have dinner with her that night.
After dropping off Dylan at his place, Fox drove home. He glanced in the rear
view mirror and saw that both Belle and Little Ethan were fast asleep. Once
they got home, Theresa carried Little Ethan while Fox carried Belle.
As soon as Belle and Little Ethan were tucked into bed, Theresa and Fox headed
to the living room. They sat in comfortable silence. The ticking of the clock
was the only sound in the room. Theresa found herself drifting off to sleep
until the sound of the doorbell woke her. Fox walked up to the door and found
two officers standing on the doorstep.
"Can I help you gentlemen?" Fox asked with a confused look on his face.
"You are Fox Crane, correct?" One officer asked.
"Yes." Fox answered.
"Mr. Crane, we have some unfortunate news to deliver. Angela Bellemin was found
dead in her home. We searched her home for any information on any family that
we could contact, but instead we found your name scribbled on a piece of paper."
"She's- she's dead?" Fox said in disbelief. "What happened?"
"She overdosed on drugs. She was on the floor of her bathroom. There were
syringes all over the place."
"Oh my God," Fox said stroking his chin. "What's been done with the body?"
"It's down at the coroner's." The officer replied. "We assume you're going to
take care of everything from this point."
"Uh- yeah." Fox said still in a state of shock. "Thank you for coming by."
"We're sorry for your loss." The officers said before they left.
Theresa came up behind Fox. "What are we going to do?"
"You heard?" Fox asked gravely.
"Every word. Poor Belle. How
do you think she's going to take it?" Theresa asked worriedly. Her heart went
out to the little girl. She knew that Angela was not exactly the mother of the
year, but she was still Belle's biological mother. They still had a connection.
"I honestly don't know. We'll break the news to her after she gets up." Fox
said. "In the meantime, I'll make arrangements for Angela's burial. I- I don't
know if any of her family is still around. I doubt it though. She's an only
child and both her parents died."
"Okay," Theresa said. "This is so sad. I didn't like Angela much, but she
actually died."
"I know." Fox replied as he hugged Theresa to himself. "But one thing is for
sure. We'll be there for Belle. I have a feeling that she's going to need us
more now than ever."
~*~
"Hey," Ethan said quietly as he watched Gwen feed Sarah.
"Hi," Gwen replied her voice barely above a whisper.
"Uh- you're busy, I'll just come back later." Ethan
said as he began to leave the room.
"It's okay, Ethan." Gwen said hastily. "Sarah's done
feeding anyhow. Let me get her cleaned up and put back into her crib. We can
talk down in the living room."
"All right. I'll wait for you down there." Ethan said
quietly. His mind was swirling with words that he wanted to tell Gwen. Mostly
they comprised of words of apology of regret and sorrow. Ethan knew that things
between him and Gwen were going to be rocky for awhile. He was relieved that
she was finally talking to him. He was even more relieved that she was giving
their marriage a chance.
As Ethan contemplated his relationship with Gwen, she entered the living room.
"Ethan." She said quietly. Ethan turned and put his hands in his pockets. "So~"
He said as he sat down on the couch.
"So." Gwen repeated as she took a seat beside him.
"Gwen, this isn't going to be easy." Ethan said clearing his throat.
"No, Ethan," Gwen said. "It's not going to be easy, but we're doing this for
our daughter." She said quietly.
"Yeah," Ethan said as he reached for Gwen's hand. At first Gwen flinched at his
touch, but she did not remove her hand from Ethan's. Instead she placed her
other hand over his.
Gwen's small gesture warmed Ethan's heart. "We've known each other our whole
lives." Ethan said quietly.
"We have." Gwen agreed. "We've had quite a history together."
"I was thinking~" Ethan began.
"What is it?" Gwen prompted.
"Well, I'd like to take you somewhere, if it's okay with you." Ethan shifted
nervously. He anxiously waited for Gwen to answer.
"Uh- Sure, I suppose." Gwen said a little flustered. "When?"
"Tonight." Ethan said. "I've already asked one of the maids to look
after Sarah."
"All right," Gwen said taking a deep breath. "What time?"
"Seven thirty. I'll wait for you
here." Ethan said.
"Okay." Gwen said. "Seven thirty sharp."
"I've
got to go down to the office for awhile. I haven't exactly been working much,
but I'll be back in time for our date."
"Date." The word made Gwen's heart skip a beat. After
Ethan left, Gwen remained in the living room. She felt as though she were
rediscovering the feelings she had towards Ethan. She hoped that her heart
would be mended. In time, Gwen felt it would. She just hoped that Ethan would
not break it again.
~*~
