Chapter 3

"John, I don't know where the chocolate ice cream is. I'm telling you that I put it in the freezer when I bought it last night. If it isn't in there, then maybe Mom took it outside already." Natalie had a spatula in one hand and a cup of icing in the other. She was fixing the spots on the cake where someone had been unable to wait for her birthday party.

"She's the one who asked me to come inside and get it. The kids all want chocolate with their cake."

Natalie sighed, annoyed that she was always the one who knew where things were. Putting the icing down, she walked over to the freezer and moved a few things around with her free hand. Reaching past a very old frozen dinner, she spotted the yellow box they were looking for. Reaching in, she pulled it out and handed it over to her husband before turning back to the birthday cake.

John sensed her mood and quickly exited the kitchen with the ice cream. Natalie could hear him announcing himself outside as the door swung shut.

She looked down at the cup of icing in her hand, remembering another time she had been decorating a cake for someone's birthday.

"That looks great, Nat," Antonio said, sliding past her to look at the birthday cake they'd ordered for Jessica. "She's going to love it. She's had such a tough year. This party is going to really surprise her." Natalie smiled, handing him the cake to take out into the main room. Jessica would be coming home any minute. Natalie watched Antonio humming to himself as he double-checked all the decorations. She sighed, wishing she had someone like that in her life. Christian would have done something special for her today, since it was her birthday too.

"Damn it," she muttered, cursing herself for allowing her mind to drift to John. She couldn't help it. No matter what she was doing, she couldn't stop herself from thinking about him and wondering what he was doing. She reached into her pocket and felt the letter still there. She pulled it out to look at once again. The Stanford heading stood out in bright red letters. She hadn't opened it yet. She was more worried about it saying yes than politely declining her application.

"Check the bottom left drawer, Nat, I think we need more spoons!" Antonio called. Natalie quickly shoved the letter back inside her pocket. What she would later discover that night was that the letter wasn't turning her down, but inviting her to join the School of Medicine Class of 2009. Sitting in her room, she had read the letter about twelve times now. It still said the same thing. "Mrs. Natalie Vega, we are delighted to invite you to join the Stanford University School of Medicine Class of 2009…" She sighed. This wasn't what she wanted, but it was what she had to do. She couldn't stay in Llanview. It was too close to John … and Evangeline. No matter where she went in town, they were always around. She thought it would get easier seeing them together, but it didn't. It only got harder. She could see they were falling deeper in love. There was no way she could stay here any longer. This was her sign. She had told herself that if she got into medical school, she would take that as a sign that it was time for her to move on. Llanview had brought her nothing but unhappiness. Sure, it had brought her a family and her beloved Christian. But Christian was dead and tons of people lived away from their families. She could still see them for holidays.

"Natalie, come on," Viki said, interrupting her thoughts. "Natalie! What is taking so long?" Viki walked up behind her. "Oh sweetheart, the cake looks beautiful. Victoria is going to love it." Natalie smiled, as she picked the cake up and followed her mother outside.

Victoria was having a blast. She was only two years old, but she was already the life of the party anywhere she went. She could steal anyone's heart within seconds of meeting her. Natalie figured she must have inherited that from her grandmothers, as neither she nor John really had that quality. Victoria also had her grandmother's blond hair. No one quite knew how that happened with a brunette and redheaded parents.

John came over and put his arm around Natalie as they watched Viki cutting the birthday cake for the other kids. Natalie smiled at him, her mind still on her earlier thoughts.

She kept the letter for two more weeks, before deciding to send back the deposit securing her spot in the class. She didn't know how to tell the family. Everyone would know why she was leaving. They all knew she was still in love with John. It drove her insane that people felt sorry for her. So, she waited until the last minute to tell anyone about moving. She told the family she was going to a spa in California to rest, when she was actually going for orientation and to find an apartment.

"What do you mean you're moving to California?" Viki asked, as the family was gathered at the dinner table. It was Asa and Renee's anniversary, so the whole family was together.

"When?" Jessica asked.

Natalie took a sip of her water and sat it down, "Tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" they all, repeated in shock.

"You need somewhere to live, a job, plans, Natalie!" Viki exclaimed.

"It's already taken care of, Mom."

"I'm going back to school." She took the letter out of her pocket. It was a bit wrinkled by now.

Viki opened it, reading it silently. "Stanford? You got into medical school and didn't tell anyone?"

Jessica snatched the letter away from her mother as Natalie tried to explain. "I know this seems sudden, but I didn't think I'd get in. I mean, my grades weren't that good. I thought they'd turn me down, but they didn't. I didn't know how to tell you all. These last few months have been … crazy and I didn't know if I was going to go, anyway. I just … I need to start over again. Christian is gone and I have to figure out what to do with my life. This doesn't mean I won't ever be back, but I have to do this. I can't stay here."

Everyone was silent. They knew why she couldn't stay and they weren't going to argue with her. They all wanted her to let go of John. He just wasn't right for her. Not even Roxy liked the idea of Natalie and John together anymore.

"Well, I suppose I need to tell Nigel to open another bottle of champagne. We've got two events to celebrate tonight. Our anniversary and Natalie's acceptance into medical school," Asa stated, breaking the somber mood. As he bellowed for Nigel, everyone returned to their conversations and the tensions cooled down. Natalie looked over at her mother. She could see that Viki didn't want her to go, but she knew her mother would never stand in her way.