A Fresh Start
Chapter Forty Nine
An hour later, Jeffrey and Sam walk into the café. Megan, Patrick and the boys are waiting at a table when they walk in. Walking over to them, Jeffrey holds Sam's chair for her and then sits down beside her as their waitress comes up to the table.
"May I get you something to drink?"
"Coffee." Jeffrey replies, looking at Sam.
"I'll have some Orange juice." Sam replies.
"Coffee and orange juice coming right up." The waitress replies, turning she walks away.
"So, are you ready to go?" Megan asks, looking at Sam.
"Yes, my stuff is already on its way to Springfield, the car is loaded."
"You know, I'm going to miss you." Megan says, reaching for her hand.
"I know, but you, Patrick and the boys can come to visit. And I'll come back to visit too."
"Are you going to let Jeremiah know?"
"I thought about it, but what is the point." Sam replies as the waitress brings the coffee and orange juice.
"Do you need a moment…?"
"No, I'll have two eggs, over easy, bacon and toast." Jeffrey says, putting his coffee cup down.
"I'll have some fruit, two scrambled eggs, bacon and toast." Sam says, as Jeffrey looks at her. "What?" She asks.
"Nothing." He says with a smile.
"I'm hungry." She replies, as the waitress jots down what they ordered.
"That's two eggs, over easy, bacon and toast, and two scramble eggs, bacon, fruit and toast, anything else?"
"Yes, I want some yogurt too." Sam replies
"Okay. And what can I get you?" She says, turning to Megan and Patrick.
"This is on separate checks." Patrick says
"Okay." The waitress replies, flipping to the next page.
"I'll have the short stack with sausage." Patrick says.
"I'll have the same thing she's having." Megan replies, nodding towards Sam. "But no yogurt."
"And how you gentleman." She says, nodding to the boys.
"We want a cheese…."
"They'll have the French toast sticks, applesauce and milk." Megan replies, ignoring the boy's protests
"I'll get this in and your food should be out in a short while."
"Thank you." Jeffrey says, smiling at her.
The waitress notices the smile and smiles back as Sam looks up at her. Reaching for Jeffrey's hand, she holds it possessively until she walks away. "So, what are you going to do when you get to Springfield?" Megan asks.
"I'm going to take a couple days and get settled and then after that, I don't know what I'll do." Sam says, sipping her orange juice.
"You can take all the time you need to get settled." Jeffrey says, squeezing her hand.
"It's about a twelve hour drive, so you should be there by this evening." Patrick says.
"Actually we're going take our time, but we should be there by tomorrow." Jeffrey says, sipping his coffee.
For a few more minutes they chat until their waitress brings their food. Sitting everything on the table, she refills Jeffrey, Patrick's and Megan's coffee along with Sam's orange juice before she walks away. Everyone starts to eat, as Patrick asks Jeffrey. "Which way are you going?"
"I thought I would go up 267 to Interstate 70 until we hit Springfield." Sam replies.
"Oh." He says, surprised that Sam answered the question instead of Jeffrey.
"Don't you want to go back to Washington and catch the freeway?" Megan asks
"No, I think its better if we just head north and catch Interstate 70." Sam replies.
When they've finished eating, their waitress comes to clear the table, laying the separate checks on the table beside Jeffrey and Patrick before she walks away. Picking up the check, Jeffrey lays his credit card on the table while Patrick pulls out enough cash to cover the bill. Standing up, they both toss a couple of dollars on the table for the tip before walking out behind Sam, Megan and the boys.
Sam and Megan are standing by Sam's car. "You promise you'll be careful." She says, hugging her.
"I promise, but Jeffrey will be with me. We'll be fine."
"I don't want you to go?" Megan says, stepping back and reaching up to wipe a tear from her eye.
"Hey, I'll be back and you can come to see me, at the wedding. And I'm counting on you to be there when he comes." Sam says, hugging her again to keep from crying herself.
"I know and I'll be there for all that, but it won't be the same."
"No, it won't but it's time…."
"I know it's time for you to live your life. You've waited so long for this." Megan says, reaching up and tucking some of Sam's hair behind her ear as the boys walk up.
"Aunt Sam, can we go with you?"
"No babies, I'm going to Springfield with Jeffrey." She says, kneeling down to them.
"But we want to go with you and spend the day with you, like we did over spring break."
"I know, but you can come to visit me in Springfield and by then I'll have a new cousin for you to play with." She says, reaching for them. "Okay." She says, hugging them tightly.
"Okay." They reply, hugging her.
Patrick takes the boys and puts them in the car, while Sam and Megan hug one more time. When they step back, she asks. "Do you want me to tell Jeremiah where you are, if he calls?"
"I don't know why he would call you, but do whatever you think is best." Sam says.
"Okay." Megan says, as Sam slips behind the wheel and Jeffrey closes the door behind her and walks around the car as Sam rolls the window down. "You'll call me when you reach Springfield?"
"Of course." Sam replies, reaching for her hand "I love you."
"I love you too." Megan says, squeezing her hand for a couple seconds before she lets go.
Putting the car in gear, Megan steps back and watches her back out and leave. When Sam pulls out onto the road Jeffrey reaches for her hand, holding it in his as she looks over at him and smiles. Megan slowly walks to the car with Patrick neither one speaks as they drive home.
After the boys are upstairs, Cassie turns back to Richard. "Are you…?"
"I'll be fine." He says, looking up and smiling weakly up at her. "Go on and fix them something to eat." He says, nodding towards the kitchen.
Cassie walks into the kitchen as Richard gets up and walks over to mantel, putting the picture back. He looks at it for a few more seconds before he continues to explore the house.
He's in the back of the house when he hears Cassie call for the boys to eat. A few minutes later, she's there beside him. He's standing at a closed door when she walks up and he looks at her.
"I couldn't keep it open." Cassie says, opening the door.
Walking in, Richard looks around at what would have been his study. On the walls were pictures from San Cristobel and on the perfectly clean desk are recent pictures of Cassie, RJ and Tammy.
"That was the only time I did come in here." Cassie says, when he notices the pictures on the desk.
"You kept this closed off."
"Yes, for a while I didn't even stay here."
"Where were you at?" He asks confused.
"We stayed at the Beacon. I felt so close to you there. It was the last place I saw you."
"You mean at Josh and Reva's…."
"No, the day you died, the day Reva turned off the life support. I was at the Beacon, and I saw you. I know that sounds crazy, but I saw you." Cassie says, as Richard puts his arms around her. "I felt so cold after you left."
"I'm sorry, Cassie. If I…."
"I know." Cassie says, laying her head on his shoulder for a few seconds. "But now I have you back." She says, squeezing him tightly.
"Yes you do." Richard replies, tightening his embrace. "How are the boys?"
"They are fine. They were eating when I left them." Cassie says, taking a step back. "Are you hungry?" She asks.
"No, not really, do you mind if I hang out here for a while?"
"No, go ahead. I need to call Harley and let her know I'm back and I'm sure it's going to be long conversation, because I'm sure Reva has told her about you." Cassie says, smiling.
"Okay." Richard says, smiling back as he releases her.
Cassie walks out of the study as Richard walks around the desk. Sitting down in the chair, he looks around the room. This was supposes to be his study, but he has no idea where he is suppose to start.
When he left for Chicago five years before, he had been working as a car salesman and was Ambassador at Large for San Cristobel, now he had no idea where he stood. Reaching for the phone, he dials the number to the embassy in Washington DC. After a couple rings, one of the guards answers the phone. "San Cristobel Embassy."
"Yes, this is Richard. I'd like to speak to my son."
"Yes sir." The guard replies. "Could you hold please?"
"Yes, of course." Richard replies
The guard puts him on hold while he goes to find Jonathan. He finds him in the nursery, taking care of Sarah. "Sir, your father is on the phone for you." The guard says. "He's on line one."
"Thanks." Jon says, as the guard turns to leave.
Jon finishes changing Sarah's diaper before he walks over to the phone. Picking it up, he pushes the button for line one. "Dad." Jon says
"Jon." He says smiling at his voice. "Are you okay?"
"We're fine."
"Have you spoken to your Mom?"
"Yes, she called me right after you got off the phone with her."
"We're waiting on the palace to work out the final details for you and Sarah. You can't stay at the palace, there's too much of a risk that Alan will find out about it, and not only would that not, be good for either of you, but it could pose serious questions for William and he can't afford that right now."
"No, I understand."
"The plan is to find a place for you and Sarah to stay outside the capital. Probably in one of the smaller cities, that way you'll be able to find a job and Sarah can go to school. Of course, your mother and I will be there every step of the way and we'll help how ever we can, but we have to be careful, even though you'll be under William's protection we still have to be mindful of Alan."
"I won't draw any attention to us. I know how to lay low." Jon says.
"Alright." Richard says, relaxing a little bit.
"Mom said you're back in Springfield. How does it feel?"
"I don't know… bittersweet."
"Where are you staying?"
"At the farm with Cassie and the boys."
"Yeah, I heard the Ambassador discussing it with one of his assistants. Doesn't that feel weird to know you adopted your own son?"
"It's… I don't know… a shock."
"Do you have any idea what happened, how it happened?"
"William is looking into it."
"But?"
"But, I think Edmund had something to do with it. At the time, he knew that would be the one way to hurt me and your mother and he desperately wanted to do that."
"Because you took the throne away from him, did he hate you that much?"
"He hated me more than we'll ever know. I think." Richard says.
"Does he know that you're alive?"
"No, not that I know of." Richard replies, looking at a picture of Tammy.
Jon senses the change in him. "Are you okay?" he asks.
"I'm fine, I'm just sitting here in my study, or it would have been my study before the accident, but now I don't know what it is?" Richard replies, looking around the room.
"It can still be your study."
"For what, I don't have a job."
"I'm sure anyone of the companies in Springfield would be happy to hire you."
"I'll have to work on that. The last time I was here, I ended up working as a car salesman."
"For luxury cars, and from what Cassie and Mom said you were good at it."
"Yeah, I was. But that was five years ago, I had contacts then. I've been dead for five years."
"I'd bet some of those old contacts will still be there for you and since Edmund is locked up, I'd bet William would let you be Ambassador again."
"William has other things on his mind right now. He's got to deal with the Will situation. I'll figure something out. I did last time so I don't want you worrying about me." Richard says, looking at the picture of Tammy again.
"Okay. I've got to go. It's time to feed Sarah."
"Oh, alright. Give her a hug and a kiss. I'll talk to you again."
"I will and we'll talk again." Jon says. Richard is about to hang up when Jon says, "Dad."
"Yes son."
"I wanted to ask a favor of you."
"Okay."
"Could you go by Tammy's grave and keep it up. Keep flowers on it. I know Cassie goes by, but if…?"
"I'd be happy to and I tell her everything that's going on with you and Sarah." Richard says, looking at Tammy's photo.
"Thanks, Dad."
"Alright, I'll talk to you later."
"Yeah."
"Remember to give my little granddaughter a hug and kiss from me."
"I will." They hang up a few minutes later.
Ava is sitting in one of the booths when Olivia walks in Company. Walking over to her, she sits down as Ava looks up.
"Are you busy?" Olivia asks.
"I'm waiting for Alan." Ava says, taking a drink of water.
"I was wondering when you are coming back to the Beacon. You've been gone a few days."
"Actually, I think I'm going to stay here at Company and then I might start looking for an apartment, maybe a loft or something."
"Is this because of the other night, because I hit you? I didn't…."
"You meant it, and yes that's part of it, but the Beacon was okay for just me but I'm going to be a Mom and this baby needs to have a place of its own. Besides, I think it'll be good for us to have some time away from each other."
"So, you're pushing me away?"
"No, I just think we need to take a step back. Did you buy that building?" Ava asks, changing the subject.
"Ah, Mel's looking over the contract right now."
"So, you're really going to move Olivia's."
"Move Olivia's, why?" Alan asks, walking up to their table.
"Hi, Alan." Olivia says, as he sits down beside them.
"Did you say something about moving Olivia's? Where and why are you moving it?"
"Ah, well I think the Beacon needs a change and I'm thinking about buying one of the building's down by the docks." Olivia replies.
"Which one?"
"Ah, I'd rather not say." Olivia replies
"I'm only asking because I don't want you to get…."
"I know what I'm doing Alan, remember I learned from the best."
"Yes, but…."
"Don't you have more pressing matters to worry about? I hear you were indicted for bribing a public official."
"Alan, we need to discuss the China deal." Ava says, interrupting Alan and Olivia and reminding him why he asked to meet her here.
"Yes." Alan says, looking at Olivia.
"I'll talk to you later Ava." Olivia says, standing up.
She walks away as Alan turns Ava.
While Richard is on the phone with Jon, Cassie is on the phone with Harley.
"So, he's alive." Harley asks as soon as she realizes that it's Cassie.
"Yes."
"And he was in DC all this time. Is that why Jeffrey came to Springfield?"
"He was in a coma. I don't think Jeffrey came to Springfield just for that reason, although he did know that Richard was alive."
"And he didn't tell you."
"He was the one that told me in San Cristobel, but he was under orders from agency. They didn't want to tip off Camille that he was still alive. Richard was in the agency's custody until he was released from the hospital."
"So Camille tried to kill him?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"I'm not really sure. I never actually talked to her, but Jeffrey said that she wanted to hurt me."
"And what better way to do that, then to take Richard away from you."
"Beside my kids, there's no one else and I guess she did have some form of a heart."
"What do you mean, she did have?"
"She was tried and put to death in San Cristobel. The agency turned her over to William."
"So, I guess you're glad to be back. You, Richard and RJ can get settled in."
"You haven't seen the news?"
"No, I've been busy with a case, why?"
"Something else happened while I was in San Cristobel."
"What?"
"You knew that Will was in the hospital."
"Yes, Reva told me. Is he okay? Nothing happened…."
"No, he's fine. But something did happen. Once he got over the infection, his liver started to fail again."
"What! Is he okay?"
"He's fine, but to be prepared his doctor asked us to be tested to see if Richard, RJ or I were a match for him."
"Okay."
"Since Richard is his uncle, there should be some genetic match between him and Will, but there shouldn't be for me, since…."
"Are you saying…?"
"He's our son."
"Will is your son, how can that be?"
"We don't really know exactly what happened. William is looking into it, but we left before we had any answers."
"He's your son. He's really your son?"
"Yes."
"You adopted your own son."
"I know."
"Do you have any idea how that happened?"
"Like I said, William is looking into it, but Richard and I think Edmund had something to do with it."
"Edmund, of course. Given what was happening at the time, with the country and between you guys and him, but did he hate you that much?"
"I don't know. There was no love lost between Edmund and us at the time, there's still no warm feelings there, even though I was married to him. Taking a child away from us, it's something Edmund would do."
"So, what do you do now?"
"We settle in here, Richard and I haven't really talked about what we'll do now. For the next few months, we'll be dodging the press. Once the novelty of Richard's return wears off, and something else happens the focus will be off us."
"What about Will?"
"That's one of the reason's we come home. The press in San Cristobel would be so much more intense then here."
"But you realize that they will…."
"Yes, I know they will, but we'll have better control here. We can protect him here and here he's not the former heir to the throne. It'll die down after awhile, when the novelties worn off, just like Richard."
"I hope you're right. Listen, I know we've got more to talk about, but I've got to go pick up Zach and Jude from Rick's."
"Okay."
"I'll talk to you later."
"Okay."
They hang up and Cassie walks downstairs. Richard is sitting in the living room when she walks in. "Hi." She says, sitting down beside him.
Hi." He replies, putting his arm across her shoulders.
"What are you doing? I thought you were in the study."
"I was, but I can't really do much in there."
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I called Jon."
"Is he…?"
"He's fine. He was taking care of Sarah. We talked about San Cristobel and I told him that Reva and I would always be there for him. We talked about Tammy."
"Tammy."
"Yes, he asked me to go by her grave, keep flowers on it, talk to her and tell her what's going on with him and Sarah, things like that."
"What else did you talk about?"
"About the study."
"The study?"
"Yes, I realized that I'm back where I was when we first moved from San Cristobel. I've got to find a job."
"You don't need to worry about that right now Richard. I'm working at the Beacon again, and you just got out of the hospital."
"I know, but I realized when I walked in the room that I have to start looking for away to support us."
"We can always go to Jon's Bar and ask Lizzie for a job washing dishes Dewayne." Cassie says in a Texas drawl.
"I think my dish washing days are over Stell, but we might be able to find some field's I can work in." Richard replies, imitating her."
"We have a lot of field's right here on the farm." Cassie replies, smiling as she snuggles closer to him. "Seriously Richard, don't worry about this, we're okay." Cassie says, looking at him.
"We have to take it one day at a time. How did it go with Harley?"
"She had a million questions about you and about Will." Cassie says, as the phone starts to ring. Reaching for it, she answers on the second ring. "Hello, Winslow residents."
"Yes, Mrs. Winslow this is Roger Michaels with the Springfield Journal…."
"We have no comment." Cassie says, hanging up the phone.
"A reporter?"
"Yes, and so it begins. We're going to have to make sure to keep the gate closed when we come in or leave." Cassie says, putting the phone down on the table.
"Alright, but we can't keep them from following us in public."
"I know, but like I told Harley, when the novelty wears off they'll find someone else to hound."
"Maybe we should consider doing an interview. Does Holly…?"
"No, Vanessa owns WSPR now."
"Dinah's mother!"
"Yes, she bought it."
"So she's back! And she not in jail?"
"Yes, she's free."
"But she helped Dinah escape after she killed Hart."
"I know, but I dropped the charges against Dinah."
"You're okay with them being here?"
"Actually, I don't see Vanessa that much. She's at Lewis occasionally, but since you left Dinah and I've gotten to be fair friends." Richard looks at her disbelievingly and Cassie smiles. "I don't know, I guess loosing you mellowed me a little bit, and if Tammy, RJ, or Will were in that kind of trouble, I might do what Vanessa did. And after everything that's happened over the last five years it seemed petty to hold on to that grudge, especially since every thing is okay with Dinah. How can I forgive Dinah and not forgive Vanessa?"
"I don't know, but I remember how it was at Reva's wedding, between you too."
"I know, but like I said I don't see her that much and being angry at her when I've forgiven Dinah seems sanctimonious."
"A lot has changed while I was away."
"Yes, and yet it's stayed the same." Cassie says with a smile.
49.10