Patti brought Danny a cup of coffee, at McKinley Engineering.
"Oh, thanks, Patti, you don't have to do that," Danny said.
"I still feel bad about messing up that report the other day."
"Forget it. You have a teenaged daughter. I had one once. Life is stressful."
"Yes. The divorce only makes it worse."
"I didn't know about that."
"I haven't said anything here at work, but it's to the point where I may as well."
"I'm really sorry."
"Thanks for the thought."
"How many kids do you have?"
"Taryn, Tony and Dasha. Taryn seems to be taking it in stride, but she's almost 18 and trying to be independent, of course."
"That's the age. My son Tim is in her class. Can you believe they are graduating?"
"Nope. Time flies. Oh, at the graduation. I'll probably have to deal with the sight of my ex-husband to be."
"Tell me if you want me and my son-in-law to go and deck him."
She smiled. "Only if he brings his girlfriend. Or, should I say, strumpet. I'd use stronger language but I'm at McKinley Engineering."
Danny laughed. "Go out on the town tonight and use stronger language, Patti."
Patti did go out to the London Underground. Kevin had called and asked to take the kids for the evening. Taryn had protested that. Patti liked that she did that, but knew from talking to her attorney that it wasn't a good idea to side with a child over a thing like that.
"If you're angry with your dad, that is understandable. But if you go you might get a chance to talk to him about it."
Patti went up to the bar. She saw Toby Breyer there. "Hey," she said.
"Hi, Mrs. Polk, where's Taryn?" he asked.
"Visiting with her father."
"She ain't gonna like that."
"She doesn't, but she needs to do it. By the way, would you mind calling me Patti? I know it's odd, but I can't stand Mrs. Polk just now."
"I understand. Are you going to change to your maiden name? My mom did that."
"Did she really? Even thought it changes her name to be different from yours?"
"Yep. Said there was no way she was using it."
"I'll have to think about that," Patti said. "I was going to leave it to make it so I didn't have a different name from my kids. You mind if I talk to your mom about it?"
"No. She lives in town, too. I'll bring her down here sometime. If Taryn can do it, I can."
"Did she get married again?"
"No, not so far, anyway."
Clay Delaney, the bartender, came over. Patti ordered a scotch and soda.
"How's the car?" Clay asked Patti.
"It made it over here," Patti said. "I appreciate your advice, really I do. I'm going to take it to that guy you mentioned next week."
"You really need new spark plugs."
"The life of a new divorcee," Patti sighed. "I was one of those women who always leaned on their husbands for the automotive stuff."
Clay laughed. "You can rely on me, if you want."
A few blocks up, Jason Quartermaine took his bike into a shop for some work. Another customer came in. "That your bike?" he asked.
They talked motorcycles for awhile. The other guy said he was Matt Delaney. He was a teacher at Port Charles High.
"I went there," Jason said, and introduced himself.
"Oh, you, I know all about you," Matt said. "Your name is all over the gym."
Jason just smiled.
"Football star," Matt said. "Is that right?"
"Yes," Jason said. "Now I'm a doctor."
"Don't need to do any tackling for that, eh?"
Jason laughed. "For sure, not. I'm a pediatrician."
"Working with kids is just great, isn't it?" Matt said. "Monsters."
Jason laughed. "You've got them in a tougher context. Have to deal with them longer term."
"Yeah, by the end of a day I'm usually ready to take most of the little brats to jail."
"Do they know you have a motorcycle?"
"Drive it to school every day," Matt said. "I have to be cool some way, you know."
"Yes," Jason agreed.
"But I thought you doctors flew planes in your spare time," Matt said.
"Not me. This is my thing."
"I hear you."
Back at the London Underground, Patti told Clay that Taryn had gotten a couple of bad grades. "But as long as she graduates, I guess it's OK," Patti said. "She's already been accepted at PCU."
"Senior slack-off," Toby said. "It might have happened without the divorce." Then of course, there was her little run in with the cops. But Patti wasn't supposed to know about that.
Clay wondered if Patti knew Taryn was dating both of them. It seemed like she did not.
He looked up to see his brother coming over. "Hey, Matt!" he said.
"This is my big brother Matt," Clay said to Patti. "He's a high school teacher. He can tell you about senior slack-off."
"That is an observable phenomena," Matt said. "Are you a high school senior?" he asked Patti.
"This is Taryn's mother. Mrs. Polk," Clay said to Matt.
"No, let's go with Patti," Patti said, shaking Matt's hand. "I'm getting a divorce, and I'm not too into my married name right now. The flattery that I'm the high school senior, I'll take."
"That would be Taryn," said Matt. "Is she slacking off now, at the end of her senior year? Shame on her."
"She's doing all right, considering the divorce."
"My grades went down during my parents divorce," Toby said. "But I was a freshman. And my grades were never that great, anyhow."
"Is that often a factor when a student's grades go down?" Patti asked Matt.
"Yes, very often."
Toby left, saying he had to go and work out some guitar parts.
A little while later, Taryn came in. She saw them all and came to the bar.
"Hi Mom," she said. "Hi, Clay."
"So this is the lovely Taryn," Matt said.
"You remember me? I was at your brother's party, with Clay."
"Another brother?" asked Patti.
"There are four or five," Taryn told her mother.
"Five all told," Matt said.
"Taryn, I'm about to get off," Clay said. "Mikhail is here. Do you want to go for a ride? I have something to ask you."
"Ohhh, what could that be?" Taryn grinned. "I think I'll go just out of curiosity. Are you OK here, Mom?"
"Sure, honey. Have a good time. Get her home at a decent hour, Clay."
"Of course I will, Mrs. – er, Patti."
"Patti!" Taryn exclaimed at Clay calling his mother that.
"I'll explain in the car," Clay said.