Part 41
"I really don't understand it," Bernard Bach said to Melinda Delaney. "The client's injuries were minimal, the impact was minimal. How did Monroe get a $250,000 verdict? That must be the most gullible jury ever impaneled."
"His ego was big enough already," Melinda said, stirring her coffee, with a big smile. "He's going to be unbearable!"
"It was the Southern charm," the could hear Sean's voice in the hallway.
"See?" Melinda said.
Bach laughed. "I wonder if there is a gag around here somewhere."
But the firm big shots were very proud, and took Sean out to lunch. Every last secretary, paralegal and file clerk was buzzing about the Big Verdict. The client came in to talk about how wonderful Sean was. All afternoon, Sean was in one lawyer's office and then the next, either comparing notes (with the ones who had tried jury cases before) or boasting (to the ones who hadn't).
All in all, it was a great day for Sean Monroe.
Skye worked at getting flyers designed and distributed around town. A band called the Dissenters had been hired on for the opening night gig. She went to the Port Charles Weekender and talked to the editor about doing an article on the opening of the London Underground and the Dissenters. She went to the Dockside Magazine to invite its whole staff to the opening and convince them to do an article on the club and the Dissenters after attending.
She went to Deception to talk them into having several models show up for the opening and mentioned that magazine photographers would be there.
It was really all very interesting. She talked for an hour with the band's lead singer, to get a feel for what the band was like.
She made sure flyers were sent around the PCU campus. She had a local company make a logo for the club, then ordered T-shirts, then got the manager to organize a contest where people would "win" these T-shirts. She went down to L & B Records to give everybody there a free pass for the evening.
She was having the time of her life. It was interesting, and she could be creative. Not like staid ELQ, where everything was pre-determined and set in stone.
Yvonne and the band rehearsed in an old warehouse at the edge of town like they always did. Then to relax, they'd go to Jake's and shoot pool. One night they wandered into Kelly's for no particular reason, and drank coffee instead of alcohol.
Wylie noticed the tall lawyer, the one he and Yvonne had heard say that a jury was sucking up his words like a vacuum sucked up dust, coming down the steps. A young girl followed him. She had a backpack on, and it looked like she was a college student. She put it down on the counter. She looked like she was arguing with the dust-maker.
He walked out, saying, "I've got to meet them in a few minutes." She looked disgusted, and followed him out, saying, "I wish you would have told me before I came all the way over here." She followed him out, leaving her backpack on the counter.
Wylie got up and went for the backpack. He went outside with it. She was looking after the lawyer, with a look of impatient aggravation. "You forgot your backpack," he said, holding it out to her.
"Thank you," she said.
"That your boyfriend?" Wylie asked. "He looked like he was getting on your nerves."
"Just a little," Emily said.
"That'll happen sometimes," he said. He smiled.
Emily thought he was cute.
"Well, thanks," she said.
"Any time," he said. He turned and went back in.
Sarah Webber got off the plane. Elizabeth ran up to her and hugged her. "This is Paul," she said, beaming. Sarah hugged him, though it was the first time she had ever seen him.
"So this is Sarah," Paul said. "I have heard a lot about you."
"I've heard a lot about you," Sarah said. "I'm so happy for both of you. It's so exciting. I bet Gran is spending most of her time on the wedding."
"She sure is," Paul said. "This is the most planned wedding of the century. Nothing can go wrong."
"When are Mom and Dad coming?" Sarah asked Elizabeth.
"Next week," Elizabeth said. "So we have plenty of time to have a blast."
Sarah laughed. "I'm going to plan the bachelorette party, as soon as the jet lag passes."
"First thing is to have your dress fitted," Elizabeth said, grinning. "Then you can plan the wild party."
"Not too wild, you understand," Paul said.
Skye leaned against Sean in his bed in his room over Kelly's. "That was pretty cool," she said.
Sean just smiled at the ceiling.
"Oh no!" Skye said.
"What have you thought of now?" Sean smiled at her. He pulled gently at a lock of her hair.
"Emily has a key to this room! She could walk in any time!"
"It used to be her room," Sean said. "But if they let her keep a key, they aren't the best landlords. Do they let somebody who leaves walk off with a key, without changing the locks?"
Suddenly, Skye froze. She realized she shouldn't have brought this up with him. How was she going to get out of this without revealing that she had conducted a search of his room?
She realized it was not too late.
"I think they do," she said. "Emily said once she still had her key."
"Maybe it won't fit," Sean said.
"Maybe not," Skye said. "Did she ever come in here with it?"
"No," Sean said. "I don't think she would, though. I'm sure she'd knock, even if she knew she had a key."
"Really, you're sure about that?" Skye asked. She felt further relieved when she realized that Emily probably didn't realize or remember that she had a key to a room at Kelly's. If she had, she'd probably have taken it off of her key ring rather than carry around the University of Kentucky and elsewhere for a year.
"Sure," Sean said. He turned and gave her a kiss.
"Ok," she said, running her fingers through his hair.
Joanna and AJ met Quinn and Zander at the Outback.
"I'm very short on ushers," Zander said. "It seems my male bonding needs work. Anyway, if you're going to come to the wedding with Joanna anyway, would you do it? Be an usher? I'll understand if you can't. Your family might not like it."
"I'll do it," AJ said. "My family can lump it."
Joanna squeezed AJ's arm. She was proud of him. He had been telling his family to take a hike on one thing or another quite often lately.
"Who else will be in the wedding?" Joanna asked Quinn.
"Jerry and Alexis," Quinn said. "Our first match."
"Tim and Brad," Zander added.
"Lisa and Diana," Quinn said.
"You don't have to do that, Quinn," Zander said. "I know you've probably got so many friends from college and high school you want in it."
"No, only one. I always knew to leave room for the groom's sisters, silly. So Lisa and Diana only take that space. And we're still working on the match of Tim and Diana. Lisa will be stuck with Brad."
"So who will go with AJ? Pete is the best man. That leaves you one more."
"Joanna goes with AJ. The maid of honor goes with Pete. That is Valerie Edwards."
"Valerie Edwards!" exclaimed Zander, "Who in the blazes is that?"
"My best friend from junior high school, my friend from high school. She's going to be my maid of honor and I'm going to be her maid of honor. I'll make sure you meet her before the wedding."
"Meet her, I've never even heard of her!"
"You don't know everything about me, yet, do you?" Quinn smiled. "I have dozens of friends like that you've never heard of. Valerie is in grad school or working in New York City. It's hard to keep in touch. But in the long run, we do."
"I guess I don't have to know everything now. I know the important stuff. I have a lifetime to find out the rest. Still, your friend so close that she's going to be your maid of honor, well, that's different."
"This goes way back. It's Joanna and Lisa and Diana and Alexis that come from now. Only one spot reserved for people who go way back. And you have a brother. If you didn't, who would know who your best man was going to be."
"You're right. I think I might have asked Joe to do it."
"A kind thought."
"It appears that this wedding party has been identified," Joanna said. "I'm honored to be in it."
"Me too," added AJ.