NOTE: Chapter 21 is RATED ADULT for sexual content.
(See first part for disclaimer, notes, spoilers, etc.)
Chapter 20
"Daddy! What happened here? Mom's car is destroyed and there is
glass everywhere," Caitlin exclaims. "And why is the fireplace going?
It's almost 80 degrees outside.""Your mother is gone," Gregory answers
without turning around, still placing album pages onto the flames.
"What do you mean 'gone'?" Caitlin asks.
"She left. Ran off with Del Douglas."
"She…WHAT!…Del Douglas? Are you sure?"
Gregory turns around to face his daughter. "Positive," he replies reaching into his pocket and pulled out the letter that Olivia left for Caitlin. Caitlin eagerly reaches for it and begins reading. Gregory walks over to the bar and pours himself a scotch.
"I can't believe it…I DON'T believe it. Mom wouldn't just leave," Caitlin states when she finishes the letter.
"Oh no? What's keeping her here?"
"Everything Daddy! Me, Sean, her friends….you."
Gregory emits a small burst of maniacal laughter. "Oh Cait," he manages in between hysterics, "do you really think your mother would stick around for my sake? Hell no."
"Don't you want her back?" Caitlin questions softly.
Gregory's eyes harden and Caitlin shivers at the hatred that brews in them. "No. Not after the way she left me. She made a fool of me….She and the man that I considered my closest friend. They can both rot in hell." He turns away from his daughter and starts walking up the stairs.
"Daddy…" Caitlin starts to say.
Gregory looks down at his daughter and says, "From this moment on, don't ever mention you mother's name in my presence. She is dead to me."
Caitlin watches her father disappear upstairs. She turns in a circle, surveying the damage in the living room. A picture catches her eye. Caitlin bends down and gently pulls the picture out of the battered frame. She looks at her parents wedding photo and sees the people they once were. She tucks the picture and all the others scattered on the floor into her purse. You may say you don't want her back Daddy, Caitlin thinks, but the decimated living room says otherwise.
Chapter 21
Olivia rolls over in the bed and slowly opens her eyes. The
sunlight streams through the wooden blinds of the luxurious suite in
their hotel, Casa De Campo. There is a room service cart with fresh fruit and coffee next to the bed. On the cart is a note from Del:
Gone to play 18 rounds. Be back later.
Olivia crinkles the note in her hand and lets it fall to the floor. She rises from the bed and wraps a robe around her nakedness. She goes over to the shaded balcony and admires the view. A slight breeze stirs her long hair.
Her mind rolls over the events of the last few days. A divorce for cause was filed the day after they arrived in La Romana. The lawyer explained it would take a week to submit the paperwork and file it with the Oficina de Registro Civil. Then, either she or Gregory would have sixty days to contest the divorce; otherwise, it would be final.
Olivia heard the door open and turned towards it. Del walked in, sweaty and tanned after a full morning of golf.
"Darlin', after the night we had I didn't expect you up at all today," he says as he pulls Olivia in for a kiss.
"Ugh, Del. You are sweaty," Olivia says, breaking from his embrace.
"Well, I need a shower…and someone to do my back," Del says. He lightly smacks Olivia's rear and walks into the bathroom. "By the way," he calls out, "there was a message from the lawyer at the front desk. He filed the paperwork. Gregory will receive notice that he is no longer married. So, you're a free woman."
Olivia walks into the bathroom and leans against the doorjamb. "I can't believe it's over. Just like that. Twenty years of marriage eradicated in a single week."
Del strips off his clothes and steps into the tiled shower. "Olivia," he sighs, "I thought we already covered this. You deserve someone better than Gregory."
"Are you that someone?" Olivia questions. She unties her robe and with the softest whisper of silk, the robe falls to the ground.
Del looks at her, appreciation and lust in his eyes. "As a matter of fact…" he replies as he pulls her into the shower and allows the warm stream of water to fall down on them both. Del rubs his body against Olivia's and allows his tongue to gently massage hers. Olivia though, has other plans….
As she falls to her knees, Del leans back against the shower wall and closes his eyes. It doesn't get any better than this, he thinks to himself.
Chapter 22
Caitlin impatiently knocks on the door of the small beach house and
waits for the owner to open the door. As she prepares to knock again,
the door swings open.
"Jeez. What do you want?" Annie Douglas demands.
"Have you heard from them?" Caitlin asks as she pushes her way into the house.
"Come right on in," Annie says sarcastically. "Heard from who?"
"Our parents," Caitlin shouts. She turns to look at Annie, "Your father…My mother…Have you heard from them?"
"Where did they go?"
Caitlin looks quizzically at Annie before responding, "Don't you know?"
"Jeez Caitlin. Is this '20 Questions'? What the hell are you talking about?"
Caitlin sits down on Annie's couch and wonders if they are already stepsisters. "Your father left town a week ago with my mother."
"Bullshit."
"It's true," Caitlin sighs, "my mother left me a letter. She said she would get in contact once they were settled, but it's been a week and I haven't heard from her."
"Well I didn't get a letter…No one bothered to tell me….Why don't you just get the hell out," Annie sneers.
Caitlin gets up and stalks out the door, slamming it behind her.
Annie sits in the spot Caitlin vacated. She pulls her knees up to her chin and starts to cry. "Daddy," she sobs, "why don't I matter to you?"
Chapter 23
Del and Olivia are sprawled across the king size bed in their hotel
room. Del slides over to Olivia and starts to nibble on her ear. Olivia
sighs contentedly and stretches.
"So, where are we going now? Or are we going to live out the remainder of our days in La Romana?" Olivia asks.
"We can go wherever you want, darlin'…wherever you want."
Olivia rolls over to face Del and says, "I want to go back to Sunset Beach."