Chapter Fourteen: Monday, November 14, Glen Oak, CA
A/N:
Just in case anyone is following along with the actual Season 9 of 7th Heaven…. I had to do a lot of thinking about what might be different—and what might be the same—if Simon were home and Martin had never met Sandy. I suspect that Meredith and Martin would still be together, which would only frustrate Ruthie all the more because of her crush on Martin.
….
"Well?" Lucy pounced on Kevin as soon as she walked into their kitchen. She'd been at the church office working when he called to tell her his buddy from Buffalo had finally heard back from his buddy in Manhattan and she wasn't waiting until dinner to hear what it was. "You said you had something. Tell me!"
Kevin put Savannah back in her bouncy chair. "Lucy, you're going to want to sit down."
"I knew it!" It was bad news. Of course, it was bad news. She'd managed to weasel a little information out of Simon, like the fact that his "just friend's" mother had been pregnant when she got married. And okay, sure that happened sometimes, but she'd been pregnant with Caroline, and Caroline was her second child. One mistake you could understand, but two? Something wasn't right.
"No, Luce, I don't think you have any idea."
She frowned and took a seat at the kitchen table. He was too serious. "What's wrong?"
Kevin sat down across from her. "Catherine Chandler comes from money—which we already guessed. Her father, Charles Chandler was an attorney. Corporate law, mostly. Her mother, Caroline Chandler, passed away when Catherine was little. Cancer. Catherine went on to attend law school. She graduated from Radcliff with honors and went to work for her father's firm. Then, in 1987, she…honestly, Luce, it's like tragedy followed this woman around or something."
"What do you mean?"
"In 1987, Catherine Chandler was attacked in Central Park. Apparently, she was mistaken for someone else. It was bad, Lucy. They slashed up her face and…she was missing for several weeks."
"What happened?"
"She quit her job at her father's uptown law firm and went to work for the District Attorney's office. But…even before all that, Chandler, her father, they were pillars of their community. Charity work, support of the arts—"
"Tax write-offs," Lucy countered. "Come on, Kevin, don't give me that look. It's not like I don't think what happened was terrible, but I looked her up, too. She had to have had plastic surgery because she's a gorgeous woman. And she had two—two—children born before she got around to marrying their father. Assuming he is their father. Not that I'm judging or anything…okay, maybe I am." She admitted. "But we don't know anything about these people!" She hadn't been able to find out a single thing about Chandler's husband online. "I need to know what we're up against here."
"We're not 'up against' anything. It's Simon's life."
"And if he's making yet another colossal mistake?"
Kevin heaved a sigh. "Lucy, listen to me, okay. It wasn't just the one incident. In 1989, Catherine Chandler was abducted and held hostage by this crime boss, some guy called Gabriel. The authorities kept it all pretty quiet. She wasn't just missing for a couple of weeks. This guy had her for six months."
"Oh God." Lucy tried to imagine….
"She gave birth to her son, her first child while…when she was being held. And then this guy, this Gabriel…he left her for dead, Luce, and took off with her kid. It took authorities over a month to find him."
Lucy sat there, hand over her mouth, for several long moments trying to digest that, trying to imagine….Savannah…Kevin…. If anything like that had ever happened to her…if anything ever happened to either of them…. "What happened?" She finally found her voice. "Why…? How could someone do something like that?"
"The details are a little fuzzy. My buddy's friend in Manhattan said things were a real mess back then. This guy Gabriel had hooks into everything from the mayor's office down to dock workers. Chandler was investigating him. She must have gotten too close. After she was rescued, she went into hiding while the authorities worked to locate and rescue her son. A few months afterward, she returned to the D.A.'s office—and then she got pregnant again. Shortly after Caroline was born, Chandler finally got to marry the father of her children, some guy not in the society pages."
"But…whatever happened to the…." Man? Monster? "To the guy who did that to her and her family?"
"He's in an institution somewhere. Apparently, getting caught pushed him over the edge—not that I think anybody who could do that was all too stable to begin with. He hasn't said a word to anyone—not a single word—since the night Chandler's son was rescued."
"I…I just can't…I can't imagine what that poor woman must have gone through."
"Neither can I." He laid his hands on top of Lucy's. "So yeah, Catherine Chandler had two children out of wedlock, but given the circumstances, it looks as if people were willing to cut her a little slack."
"Do you think Simon knows?"
Kevin shrugged. "Does it really matter?"
"I…no. Maybe. I don't know."
"Are you going to tell your parents?"
"I think I have to." Lucy got up.
"Now?"
What kind of a question was that? "Of course, now!" She stood and strode out the door.
Meer moments later—hardly time to even begin composing what she wanted to say—she burst in her parents' backdoor to find Mom and Dad sitting at the kitchen table, and Simon leaning against the counter. Whatever they were discussing, Mom and Dad didn't look happy.
…
"Going back to New York?" Mom gawked at him as if he'd sprouted a second head or something.
"For…New Year's Eve?" Dad questioned.
"I know it's a ways away, but I figured I should tell you now, since I asked Mary if she could help me get a plane ticket." Not that Mary was in what anyone would call constant communication with their parents, but Simon would rather they hear this from him than someone else.
Before anyone could say more, the backdoor flew open and Lucy burst into the room—and stopped, dead in her tracks. She looked from him, to Mom, to Dad, back to him, and finally to Mom and Dad again. "I need to talk to you guys. Alone."
"Fine by me," Simon started to head towards the stairs.
"Simon," said Mom. "What about school? What about your job?"
"I'll be on break starting December twenty-second, remember? I'm already registered for next semester, and I'll be back before it starts."
"And work?" said Dad.
"Pete's isn't open on New Year's Eve, remember?" His family had been getting pizza from Pete's since before he was born.
"But—"
"I talked to Pete yesterday, okay?" Simon told him. "I'm giving him plenty of notice. He has no problem with my taking a few days off before and after New Year's Eve."
"What's going on?" Lucy finally asked.
"Simon's going back to New York," said Dad.
"For a week," Simon clarified.
"Have you called Matt to clear it with him and Sarah?" asked Mom.
Simon blinked—then he understood. "I won't be staying with Matt and Sarah, so no, I haven't called them."
Lucy shot him an incredulous look. "You can't afford a hotel."
"Cathy told me I could use her apartment."
"Use her apartment," Dad repeated, very slowly, as if somehow the words were foreign to him. "Why does that make it sound like she won't be in her apartment while you're there?"
"Because she won't. She hasn't lived there in years. She just keeps it for emergencies."
"And will Caroline be staying there with you?" asked Dad.
Simon huffed out an exasperated sigh. "No, Dad. Caroline will be staying with her parents. At their place."
"When are you leaving?" asked Mom.
"Not until December twenty-sixth—"
"That's the day after Christmas!"
"I know that, Mom. But I'll be here for Christmas. Doesn't that count for something?"
"When are you coming back?" Dad asked.
"January second. It's a week," he added before anyone could say anything else, because it looked like Lucy was going to.
"Simon, you barely know this girl," Mom told him. "Should you really spend a week with her family in a strange city? What if Matt and Sarah decide to come home for Christmas after all? Mary is in Chicago. Or Puerto Rico. Or…wherever. The point is, you'll be all alone."
It was hard to tell anymore where Mary was or what she was doing. She and Carlos were still getting a divorce—as far as anyone knew—but when he'd visited—unexpectedly and at the same time as the Colonel and Grandma Ruth back in September—he'd said Mary was spending time with him and Charlie every chance she got. He saw more of her now than before she'd filed for divorce.
"I'll be fine Mom. And I do know Caroline. We talk nearly every day. I talk to her mom at least once a week—"
"Once a week?" Mom looked…stricken.
"Mom, Dad, I really need to talk to you," Lucy cut in.
They didn't seem to have heard her—or they were so fixed on Simon that nothing else could seem as important. "What do you have to talk to this girl about every day?"
"Look, I don't want to argue with you guys, okay? I'm nineteen years old. That makes me an adult. And yes, I know, I'm an adult who lives in your house. But unless you're going to kick me out…?" He looked from one to the other and back again. When neither of them looked like they wanted to take it that far, he continued. "I'm not asking your permission. I'm telling you what my plans are as a courtesy, so you don't go and make some big family plans that include me, because I won't be here. And look, I don't know if it's going to make a difference or not, but her Uncle Devin is driving up from San Francisco with his family on the twenty-sixth, so we can all fly out together."
"What? Why?" Mom asked.
"He said he wants to get to know me a little better. He sent me an email," Simon explained.
Dad's frown deepened. "Why does he want to get to know you better?"
"Probably because I'm friends with his younger brother's daughter. I thought you and Mom were big on the whole getting to know the whole family thing."
"We are," Mom told him. "It's just…that would imply this is serious. Is this serious?"
Simon hesitated. "I want to say I don't know. And guess I don't, not really. Caroline is younger than me. She's never had a boyfriend, at least nothing serious, so I'm not going to put that kind of pressure on her—I mean…look, I know I'm older than she is, and I know how you guys feel about Ruthie dating older guys. But Caroline's parents are cool with me." Or at least Cathy was; but he suspected that if Caroline's father had an issue with him, Cathy would say so. Hopefully he'd get to meet Mr. Wells while he was there for New Year's, because more than anything, he knew how he felt when he thought about Caroline. She filled him warmth. With happiness. Sometimes he would almost swear he could still feel her heart beating, like he had when they held hands, or she laid her head against his shoulder. "What I know for sure is that I can't wait to see her again. And her mother, and her uncle, and a whole bunch of extended family and friends, so you guys have nothing to worry about, if you're really worried I'm gong to do something stupid. Again," he added before anyone else could. "Now I really do need to go. I have a test tomorrow and I'd like to talk to Caroline before it gets too late over there." At least with it out in the open that he talked to her every day, he wouldn't feel like he had to hide it anymore. Not that he'd been trying to hide it exactly, he just didn't make an announcement every time he called her and since he was using his cell phone, that he paid for himself, his parents had no idea, when, or how often.
He found Ruthie sitting at the top of the stairs. "Were you listening?"
"Only a little. I was going to go down to get a sandwich, but I heard voices. It sounded a little intense. What does Lucy want?"
He sat down next to her. "No idea. Are you okay?" She looked a little down in the dumps.
"I broke up with Jack today. For real. Or…maybe we broke up with each other. He's…I don't want to say he's too old for me, especially around Mom and Dad, because then they'll really get on your case about you and Caroline and I think that's different."
Simon smiled. "But Jack is too old for you?"
"We just don't have anything in common and now I feel like I went through all that work to go out with him for nothing."
"You helped the newspaper club get it's computer," he reminded her. When Dad had told Ruthie she needed to "take up a cause", do something for other people, she'd decided to collect soup labels for the school newspaper club so they could get a new computer. "Now the paper is running again. And didn't you just write that great story? I heard from Martin it made the front page."
"Martin told you that?"
"He cares about you, Ruthie—just not the way you want him to."
She leaned against his shoulder. "I like it better when we're not fighting."
"Me too."
….
Annie listened to what Kevin had found out about Caroline's family. Her mother. It was…it was horrifying. It didn't make her more comfortable with Simon taking off to New York. It didn't ease the fear that he wasn't going to come back this time. It certainly didn't explain why Cathy Chandler-Wells was so comfortable with her daughter dating—or not dating (did anybody believe that?)—someone Simon's age, but her heart went out to the woman, even for something that had happened so long ago.
…
Thursday, November 17, Glen Oak, CA
Fighting back another wave of guilt, Eric punched in the number he'd gotten from the Internet, for the Manhattan District Attorney's office and was routed to the correct desk with a minimum of fuss.
"Catherine Chandler," said a slightly tired sounding woman on the other end of the phone.
"Yeah, hi. This is Eric Camden?" He hadn't meant for that to sound like a question. "Your daughter is…friends with my son." He didn't want to say "dating". How could you date from three thousand miles away, anyway?
"Two of them," Catherine's—or Cathy's?—tone brightened significantly. "Although I suppose it's fair to say she knows Simon better than Matthew."
Matthew?
"Um…yeah." He'd rehearsed what wanted to say, but now that he had her on the phone, he was fumbling. "I um…I wanted to touch base with you. About New Year's Eve. Simon's visit?"
"Of course! We're all so happy he was able to get the time off work so he could join us this year. Let me know if he has any trouble renting a tux. I offered to help him find one here, but he insisted he would be fine. Don't tell on me, but I think he's trying to impress me as much as he's trying to impress Caroline."
Tux?
As in tuxedo?
"Yes, of course. Thank you. It's just…Mrs. Chandler…or is it Chandler-Wells?"
"How about Cathy?" she suggested.
"Cathy." Eric nodded. He tried to compose his thoughts. Her tone was…warm. She seemed kind. Considerate. Compassionate. "I um…Simon will be staying at your apartment…?"
"I hope that's not a problem. It's just off Central Park. I can send you the address if you like. And you know Simon will be flying in with Devin—my husband's brother—his wife and some of our friends."
"Yes. That…it was very kind of you. Of them."
She chuckled. "Kindness had nothing to do with it. Devin wants to meet Simon for himself." Despite her words, she sounded more amused than anything else.
"I have to ask. You're really all right with my son…and your daughter…?"
"Simon is a wonderful young man, Reverend."
"Please…just Eric," he said. "And we are talking about the same kid. About five ten, blond hair…?"
She laughed again. "I don't think any parent sees their child quite the same way other people do. For all that we love them and believe that they are these incredible human beings, we still see every flaw, every mistake they've ever made. So please, take it from an outsider, your son is a kind and considerate and thoughtful. You and your wife should be very proud of him. I can't say where things are headed between he and Caroline, but I like your son very much. More importantly, Caroline likes him, and we have always trusted her judgement."
