(See first part for disclaimer, notes, spoilers, etc.)
Pt 8: "Casey (or 'One Flew Out of the Cuckoo's Nest')"
The distant caw of seagulls stirs Casey Mitchum out of deep contemplation. He has been staring out at the horizon intently for hours. The early morning haze finally burned away and he sees a cruiser in the distance.
Casey rubs his heavy eye and sighs tiredly. His back aches from sitting up all night on the beach. He leans back and grunts as the bones of his spine crack loudly. His stomach rumbles and he realizes he hasn't eaten since yesterday at lunch.
Dinner was spoiled by Mom's little announcement, he thinks bitterly. His fists clench tightly into little balls. How could she lie to me all these years?
He stands up slowly and grimaces as the feeling rushes back into his legs. Hobbling on stiff legs, he starts the long walk down the beach back to Surf-Central. Within minutes, the awful "pins-and-needles" feeling in his legs subsides and his pace quickens.
As Casey walks further down the beach, the houses become larger and larger. He wryly recalls that this small stretch of beach was dubbed "Richie Row." These dozen or so beachfront mansions were home to the wealthiest and most powerful residents of Sunset Beach.
Including the Gregory Richards family, he notes as he approaches their house. He stops and scans the outline of the house, from the third floor down to the ground level. He can't see much over the privacy wall. My god…Gregory Richards…my father? It can't be! He shakes his head in disbelief. It can't be.
Casey hears laughter and voices float down from the patio and over the wall. He follows the wall around to the beach access stairs on the side of the property. From this vantage point, he now has a clear line of vision onto the patio. He sees Olivia Richards sitting at the table in a bathrobe, laughing at something with her two children. My sister and brother…
He ducks into the shade of a palm tree as Gregory Richards walks out onto the patio and sits down with his family. From the shadows, he sighs disgustedly at himself. What is wrong with you, he asks himself. Hiding in the shadows like some voyeur?
"This isn't you, man," he whispers to himself.
As he turns to walk back down the stairs and continue on his way home, he hears Caitlin shout, "Casey the lifeguard!"
He inches back into the protective shade of the palm tree and watches as Olivia puts her hand on Caitlin's arm, speaking softly to her as she does. Oh, man, he thinks. They never knew either…
He watches Sean sink lower into his chair as Gregory speaks to him. Whatever Gregory is saying to him, he doesn't want to hear, Casey concludes as Sean stands up abruptly and goes into the house.
"Sean!" Casey hears Olivia call. After a moment, Caitlin follows her brother into the house.
Casey sighs and awkwardly shoves his hands deep into his pockets. Way to go, Mom. Your secret has hurt other people, too, he thinks. He tentatively steps out of the tree's shade as Olivia walks over to Gregory and sits on the arm of his chair, before moving into his lap and resting her head on his shoulder. He blushes when Olivia sits up and kisses Gregory on his neck. He takes a deep breath as he walks up the few remaining steps and onto the patio.
Though Casey is out in the open on the patio, neither Gregory nor Olivia notices him.
"What would I do without you?" he hears Gregory ask as he takes a step closer to them.
"Drive yourself mad with self-doubt?"
He stops shortly when Gregory kisses Olivia's hand and responds, "Yeah."
I can't do this, Casey panics. Not now…not like this. He turns back to the stairs and walks down them, breathing a sigh of relief when his feet hit the warm sand. He looks back at the house while running his hands through his hair.
"Oh, man," he sighs aloud. He turns back to the ocean and stares out at the roaring surf. "This is beyond twisted…"
"You changed your mind."
Casey whirls around. "Mrs. Richards."
Olivia smiles sadly as she tightens the bathrobe's sash. "I think you can call me 'Olivia'." She stands on the last stair and beckons Casey to her. "You changed your mind about coming up."
"How did you-"
"Gregory was called inside for a phone call. I saw you heading down the stairs as I got up…Don't worry," she says quickly when she sees a flash of panic on Casey's face, "Gregory didn't see you."
Casey clears his throat. "I, uh…How's he taking it?"
Olivia's eyes darken. "About as well as the rest of us, I suppose."
Casey nods curtly and folds his arms against his chest. He rocks back on his heels before glancing down at the ground.
As Olivia looks at Casey, she can't help but feel compassion for the situation he is in. He's more a victim in this situation than Gregory or I are, she thinks. Gregory never knew…He never withheld the truth from me. With Casey though, his mother has kept the truth from him his entire life. She shudders, trying to imagine what that kind of betrayal feels like.
"You knew when I stopped by a few days ago for the donation, didn't you?" Casey asks softly.
She nods. "You know why I couldn't say anything. It wasn't my place to tell you."
"Yeah," he sighs. "She broke the news over dinner. 'By the way, Gregory Richards is your real father. Pass the salt, please,'" he concludes with a snort as he recalls the confession that unfolded at dinner last night.
"Would you like to come up for a cup of coffee?" Olivia asks after a moment. "You look like you could use one."
"I really don't think that would be a good idea, Mrs. Richards."
Olivia small smile is devoid of joy. "He isn't a bad man, you know. He just intimidates the hell out of everyone." She pauses for a moment while Casey considers this. "Have a cup of coffee," she urges.
Though Casey has his doubts, he finds himself following Olivia up the stairs to the patio.
"How do you take your coffee?" she asks while gesturing him into the seat Caitlin vacated.
"Uh, black," he replies as Rose puts a fresh place setting down in front of him. "Oh, just the coffee is fine, thank you."
Olivia nods and Rose clears the place setting as quickly as she had put it down. She passes Casey his coffee and leans back in her chair. Rose removes the remaining breakfast plates from the table and goes back into the house.
Both sit quietly sipping their coffee. A strong breeze rustles the frond on the palm trees lining the patio. Casey reclines a bit in the chair, relaxing his still sore back and stretching his legs out in front of him.
"Do you think Caitlin and Sean are ok?" he asks with concern. "They seemed pretty shaken by the news, especially Sean."
"I think they'll be alright," Olivia answers slowly. "Unfortunately, with Gregory and I as parents, they witnessed a lot and learned to accept a lot at very young ages. We, uh, weren't always the best parents to them when they were growing up." She forces a smile that barely reaches her lips.
Casey opens his mouth to respond but is interrupted by the sound of the patio door closing loudly. He turns around and sees Gregory Richards standing by the now closed door, still holding a portable phone to his ear.
"No, I'm still here," he says into the phone as he walks over to the table. "San Francisco was a wasted trip and the discussions fell through anyway…No, no," he says looking at Olivia, then Casey, "I can't leave town right now…Good, keep me abreast of the situation." He clicks the phone off and places it on the table. "I was wondering when you'd be stopping by," he says to Casey. He picks up his coffee mug and drinks out of it before grimacing when the now cold drink touches his lips.
"Rose put up a fresh pot," Olivia offers as she holds out her mug. "Here, drink mine."
Gregory walks over to Olivia and takes the offering from her hands. "Thanks, Liv." He swallows some coffee and moves to stand behind Olivia's chair. "So, Alex told you?"
Casey sits up straighter and nods.
Gregory sighs deeply and leans forward, sitting the mug on the table. He reaches down and rests his hands on Olivia's shoulders. "Alex should've told you…and I…us a long time ago," he says quietly. He squeezes Olivia's shoulder gently as she starts to stand up. She takes the hint though and remains in her seat. He fingers her hair absentmindedly and wraps a lock around his finger. "I never thought she had it in her to keep something like this to herself."
"You and me both," Casey mutters. He looks at Olivia before asking, "I didn't even know that you and my mother were, well, had a-…relationship."
Gregory rubs Olivia's shoulders reassuringly. "I knew Alex vaguely because we both lived here but we really didn't become friendly until college," he begins. "We had mutual friends and spent time together. After graduation though, we realized we had the whole summer ahead of us and we started dating. It, it wasn't anything serious. We just enjoyed spending time together. Those were carefree days. School was over…We had our whole lives ahead of us," he says reminiscently.
Olivia shifts uncomfortably in her chair. Gregory looks down at her. He moves into the chair next to her and takes her hand in his.
"And as quickly as it started," Gregory continues, "it was over. The summer ended. We both knew it would. We agreed a long-distance relationship would be silly. I went to New York for law school and she moved to Europe to work." He glances over at Olivia and sees her staring off into space, while casually fingering the hem of his bathrobe. "After law school, I moved back here to begin practicing law. By the time your mother moved back to Sunset Beach, I was married to Olivia and we were expecting Caitlin."
Casey rubs his hands anxiously across the top of his thighs. "You never suspected that I was your son? You never did the math?"
"Never," Gregory states. "So much time had passed and things had changed so much that when Alex came back, we didn't see each other all that much. She came back married and with a child…I never assumed that the child, you, wasn't her husband's."
"What would you have done if my mother had told you she was pregnant before she left for Europe?"
Gregory sighs and rubs Olivia's hand. "That's the second time I've been asked that question in two days," he says, looking at Olivia and then Casey. "I honestly don't know. I'd like to think that I would have owned up to my responsibility and made sure that you were provided for."
Casey nods slowly and puts his coffee mug back on the table. "I, I don't know-…What happens next?"
"We survive," Olivia says softly after a moment's silence.
"Mrs. Richards, I'm so sor-"
"Tell me that's not an apology," Olivia interrupts. "You have done nothing to apologize for."
Casey stands up. "Thank you for the coffee. I really should be going now."
Gregory gets up from his seat. "Casey?" he asks as he turns to leave.
Casey turns around as Gregory extends his hand to him. With slight hesitation, Casey extends his hand and clasps Gregory's.
"If you ever need anything…" Gregory's trails off.
"Thank you," Casey says quietly. He pulls his hand back and smiles shakily at Olivia. "Mrs. Richards."
Gregory wraps his arm around Olivia's waist as they watch Casey leave the patio and start walking back up the beach to his home. "You're right, you know."
"Naturally," Olivia says with a small grin as she turns to face Gregory. "I'm always right."
"Always?"
"Yes," she replies as she places a kiss on his lips. "Right about what though?"
"That we'll survive."
Olivia turns back to the beach and watches Casey's retreating form. "I hope so…for all our sake's."