Part 26
Zander stayed at the library on campus to study one afternoon. Brenda had gone on to do some work at Deception.
Before he left, he stopped at Admissions to find out about a class for next semester. "Art History," he thought, "well, that'll give her an advantage, and I don't have the new father handicap. I wonder if there is anything in here that can balance it out." He flipped through the catalog and as he did this, his eye caught Emily Quartermaine talking to someone behind the counter.
Emily Smartassermaine, he thought to himself, smiling inwardly. He stared at her for a minute, seeing she looked no different, really she had put blond highlights in her hair, but she was always changing something about her hair and wondering how she could even think of trying to spar with Brenda. He felt guilty for a minute then, as he always did when he saw her or thought of her. This twinge of guilt lasted as he realized she was walking, and remembered the accident.
It was an accident, reverberated in his brain, his mother and Brenda's voices sort of mingling in this assertion.
He watched her walk out, then followed a bit, feeling a little better to see she walked without a limp.
He stopped on the path, reminded.
He called Peter.
"I'm here, Alex!" he answered. "At the Port Charles Hotel."
"OK. I'll call Carly and make sure she's ready. I'll pick you up."
"OK. I can't wait to see you!"
"Is Dad there?"
"No, he's out, but he knows he can't come. I can't wait to see Ginny. I talked to Mom this morning. She's a little down. I haven't seen Brenda yet, but Dad says she is easy to run into, and I know what she looks like."
Zander called Carly, then walked out to the parking lot.
Emily was still there, trying to get into a car. She looked a little stiff, trying to do this. He felt the twinge again.
She saw him. "Hi," he said, carefully.
"Hi," she said.
"How are you?"
"OK."
"You can walk and drive?"
"Yes."
"I'm glad."
"Thanks."
"Brenda told me you came over once."
"Yeah."
"Did you want to talk to me?"
"Yeah."
"What about?"
"Doesn't matter now."
"Well, OK, if you're sure. How's your family?"
"Fine."
"Your boyfriend?"
"What boyfriend?"
"The one you broke up with me for."
"Oh."
"I didn't get it then, but now I know you were right. I mean, I wouldn't have my daughter or Brenda, and I guess you wouldn't have him, and all that. Well, you were right."
"I guess," she said. Her eyes filled up with tears.
"Are you all right?" he asked, guilt gripping him again, and the stress of seeing her cry wiping out his defense against the guilt of somehow being responsible for her accident. "I thought you would be happy about everything and would talk about it."
A tear dropped down her cheeks. "Never mind," she said.
She got in the car and drove away.
Zander stared after this car, wondering what was upsetting her. He thought a minute, then he realized, she must have broken up with the guy, or she'd have said something about how happy she was. He felt guilty again. How could he have just assumed that? But it must have been an even better relationship, she'd called him on the phone and told him she didn't want to see him again, all because of this guy.
Or so he had thought. Now he remembered thinking she might have been making it up like she had when she'd broken with him before.
"Damn her, she causes a lot of useless pain," he thought, remembering how awful he had felt when she'd suddenly broken up with him over her grandfather's accusations, only to later say she had never meant any of it, but had only done it so he could keep out of jail.
"I swear, if she did that again, I don't want to feel guilty," he told Brenda on the phone.
"It's so strange. One thing to lie to say you love somebody, but I've never heard of anybody doing the reverse."
"I bet I'm supposed to feel guilty right now," he said. "She gave me up for my own good and I – I swear, there better have been another guy, at least at the time she called, or I'll – I don't know what."
"Stay away from that sort of lethal personality."
"Yeah!" he laughed. "That's what I'll do. I know I kidnapped her and I might deserve it – maybe that's it – she's subconsciously punishing me for that. I'd rather go to jail, but."
"A shrink would find it all very interesting."
"Yes. And I may need one, too. Pete said Mom was looking a little down. I wonder if that has anything to do with the paternity test. I'm going to get Pete now."
"You've got too much to worry about! But you and Pete should be happy. Go over right now."
"OK, Sarg. Thank you for listening."
"Any time, my love."
"Alex!"
Pete ran up to him and hugged him. Zander laughed and hugged him back. Pete ran, no limp.
Zander felt worlds better.
"You're walking without a limp!"
"But of course! Wanna race? You look great!"
"Who cares, so long as you can walk! I feel so much better."
"It was an accident, Alex, how many times do I have to tell you? Never mind, how are you?"
"Pretty good. How are you? Are you still gonna become a therapist?"
"Yes, I had another round with Dad this morning. He accepts its as an undergraduate degree, at least. It can count for pre-med, apparently."
"How's Mom about that?"
"Oh, fine, just wants me to do what I want to do with my life. It is nice having her back, so to speak."
"Yeah, that's been a real relief. Something to be happy about," Zander said, glad that for Peter, it was that simple.
He wondered again if Donna had gotten the paternity test result. Why would she be down about it? His mind veered back and forth as to which result might get her down and why.
But maybe it had been just getting the result, period. There was no reason to be happy about it, particularly, either way.
He wanted to go up and see her, but didn't now how to do with without Peter, and with Peter, he couldn't ask her.
"Let's go see your niece," he said.
"Hi, this is my brother, Pete, Carly," Zander was saying. "This is Carly's mother, Bobbie."
"Hi!" and "Nice to meet you" flew back and forth. Carly picked Ginny up out of the playpen and brought her over to Pete.
"Hey, aren't you a beautiful girl?" he said, laughing, trying to take her. Finally, he got a hold of her, Zander was saying, "come on Pete, you can do it. She holds her own head up now and it's way easier than it was."
"I can't imagine my little brother dealing with a newborn baby!"
"He did," Carly said. "I have some pictures to prove it."
"Good, I need those!" Pete laughed, then looked at Ginny again. She found his jacket button somewhat interesting, and pulled at it.
"Smart, too!" Pete laughed. "You can button jackets already, can't you, gorgeous?"
They sat down and played with her for awhile. Zander asked Carly about taking her for a walk; Carly agreed, and went to get the stroller.
So Peter and Zander walked through the park, with the baby in the stroller. Zander learned that Peter had two years of college behind him at a university in Switzerland. "The best school in the world for physical therapy," he explained.
Peter listened to Zander explain what he had done with his education so far, and laughed when Zander's described Brenda's role in it.
"If you've got a 3.1, you're doing just fine, Alex," Peter said. "Even Dad couldn't complain about that."
"He couldn't, but he would."
They laughed about this.
"I'm so relieved you can walk," Zander said. "For your sake, I mean, not mine."
"There's nothing to your sake, as it was an accident."
"I feel bad, still, and about Emily."
"Emily?"
"Well, this girl I went with, long before I met Brenda."
"Or Carly? You get around Alex! How do you do it?"
"Do you have a girlfriend?"
"Not so far. Nothing that lasts. No models! And no kids."
"I know that's supposed to show I'm irresponsible," Zander said. "But then now she's here," he said, patting the baby's head gently.
"Yeah, you look at her and you've got be glad," Peter sat down on a bench then, and pulled the stroller up. "Right, beautiful?" he said to Virginia.
Ginny was examining a blue baby toy, chewing on it. She looked at Pete as though she thought he might be mildly interesting. Pete made a face at her. Her face broke out into a big smile.
"There, see? She knows Uncle Pete is entertaining." He looked up. "Oh, speaking of Emily, there's one I know. Emily, come here!"
Emily was walking through the park, and she stopped and stared at Pete and Zander. Zander was quiet, knowing what he knew and they didn't.
"I didn't have a chance to tell you, Pete, but-"
"This is Alex, Emily," Pete was saying, already.
Emily turned pale, and stared harder. "This is Alex?" she finally said.
"Yeah, and this is the baby, that I was telling you about," Pete said, picking her up out of the stroller. "Isn't she adorable?"
"I've seen her before," Emily said.
"You have?" Peter looked surprised.
"Maybe Zander can explain it."
"That's me," Zander said.
"Zander?" Peter looked confused now.
"That's the name I use now, not Alex."
"Zander. But not the one you told me about, Emily, you mean, the Zander you were telling me about back in Switzerland, is, is,"
"Alex," Zander said, trying to help. "Here, let me have Ginny," he said. "This is too confusing to put that all together and hold a baby, too."
"But that can't be," Peter was saying, as Zander took Ginny, "you were talking about somebody kidnapping you, Emily, and that can't be Alex."
"Ask Alex," Emily said, nonchalantly, but her eyes welled up with tears again. "He can explain." She walked off.