November 21, 1989

Port Charles, NY

When he stepped into Kelly's, Julian realized that Anna Devane Scorpio Lavery Scorpio was already seated at a table by the far wall. That surprised him, as he was a few minutes early and Duke had frequently joked that while his wife had many wonderful qualities punctuality was not among them.

"I am sorry to keep you waiting," Julian offered as he sat down opposite Anna.

"I'm a bit early. My lead turned into a bit of a dead end, so I decided to knock off early for lunch," Anna said.

"Are you still trying to trace the counterfeit money?" Julian asked.

"Robert feels that the FBI has official jurisdiction on that matter," Anna stated very matter of factly as she stirred a little more sugar into her tea.

Anna's bored act didn't exactly fool Julian. Just because she acknowledged what her PCPD Chief Husband had said about the jurisdictional issues didn't mean that she agreed with him, or that she would back off in any way. He smiled through a wave of sadness as he recalled how Duke had claimed that while it had been Anna's sparkle that had originally drawn him in, it was her spunk and creativity that had kept him interested.

Alexis would get uncomfortable and deny if he ever told her that she sparkled but, in her own, much more muted, way Julian saw that she clearly did. He also saw that as much as first the Cassadines, and perhaps later the harsh reality of law school, had tried to extinguish her spitfire personality some remnants of it still remained. They were buried beneath the surface but Julian believed he could coax them out again. He was also starting to accept that he wanted to try.

"I see," Julian said as their waitress, Melissa McKee, approached the table.

"Are you ready to order now?" Melissa asked.

"I'll have the chili," Anna said.

"Actually, that sounds good, I'll have the same. May I get some coffee as well?" Julian asked.

After Melissa had departed, Julian pulled a file from his briefcase and laid it on the table in front of Anna. "These are statements for the trust Duke set up for Robin. It is invested conservatively but there should be enough there for college, and, probably, even law school. I predict that this bull market will end sometime in first half of next year but bear markets never last long so everything should have more than stabilized by the time Robin needs any of that money."

"If you say so," Anna said.

Julian did say so. His undergraduate honors thesis at Harvard had been a study of market analysis and the impact of the political climate on the market. By summer 1990 the midterm election would be mere months away and both parties would be posturing to maintain or take over control of the house and senate. Neither party would be willing to risk the political consequences of an extended bear market.

"Did Duke tell you that Robin wants to go to law school?" Anna asked.

"He mentioned it a few times. He really cared for Robin. She wasn't his daughter but he would have done anything he could for her. I suspect that Robin was one of his biggest motivators to agree to turn state's evidence against my father."

"That didn't bother you?"

"Actions have consequences, and my father made the choices he made. I can't completely fault someone for trying to hold him accountable for those choices."

"Ironically your father might have used those same words to justify that ambush," Anna said.

"My father wasn't a good man, Anna. I'll never try to claim otherwise. Duke was a good man and I considered him a friend. For that reason, if you, or Robin, ever need anything, you only need to ask."

"I appreciate that," Anna said.

Anna's words were simple, yet, Julian saw a deeper sincerity in her eyes. He wanted to believe that she saw equal sincerity in his eyes. He needed her to trust that Duke had been his friend. He needed her to understand that his kindness and concern for her, and her daughter, had everything to do with that friendship and, really nothing to do with the Jerome Crime Syndicate.