A Fresh Start
Chapter Ninety-Three
Jeffrey is coming out of the closet with his shoes and socks in his hand, tie hanging around his collar as Sam walks into the room with a towel wrapped around her. Looking up, he stops for a few seconds to watch her before he walks over to the bed and sits down. Dropping the shoes to the floor, he pulls on his socks before slipping his shoes on and then standing up.
Meanwhile, Sam is bent over brushing her hair, being careful not to pull to hard. When she stands back up, he standing beside her, reaching for the brush he brushes his hair before he starts to tie his tie. "I'm surprised Megan and LaKeisha haven't called me." Sam says, reaching for her make-up.
"Maybe they're sleeping. We were out late last night."
"Umm, I doubt it. The boys will be up early, unless she let them stay at Harley's, which I doubt because she's really picky about who watches the boys. And LaKeisha is used to functioning with very little sleep, just like me."
"Why don't you call them?"
"I will, but you have to get going. You're going to be late." Sam says, reaching up to adjust his tie.
"If I'm late, it's not going to hurt anything. I've got to meet with Billy about the project he's doing for the city and Richard about some company's that are interested in building in Springfield. And then after that I don't have a lot to do." He says, as he leans against the dresser to watch her do her make-up.
After Cassie talked to Reva, she calls Harley and after a couple rings Harley picks up. "Boys I want the room picked up." She says. "Hello."
"Harley, its Cassie."
"Hey, what's up?"
"I'm calling about Sam."
"What about her?"
"I think she needs to have a wedding shower too, what do you think?"
"Of course."
"Good, can you get Megan, LaKeisha and Ava to the loft?"
"Sure."
"Mom." RJ says, coming downstairs.
"And bring RJ and Will by the house and they can stay with Zack and Jude and I'm sure Megan will leave her boys over here too."
"Who's going to watch them?"
"Daisy, she's grounded." Harley says, as Daisy walks into the room.
"What did she do?"
"She snuck out the other night and I caught her." Harley says, as Daisy nods heading back upstairs. "So she's grounded for a month and if her attitude doesn't change it maybe for another month after that." Harley says, raising her voice.
"Alright, I'll bring the boys with me and they can stay with Zack and Jude. Listen, I've got to go. I've got to call Olivia and then get them ready. We'll be there within the hour."
"I'll call dad and have him start preparing some snacks for us."
"Good. I'll see you within the hour."
"Okay."
Cassie hangs up and then calls the Beacon to talk to Olivia. "Hello." Olivia says, after her assistant buzzes her and she picks up the line.
"Olivia, its Cassie, I'm not going to be in today, I've got stuff to do for the wedding."
"We had the meeting with James to discuss the deal he's proposed."
"You do whatever you think is right about that. I don't care." Cassie says, having forgotten about the meeting.
"You don't care if I sign a deal with him."
"No, you can handle it. I know he wants me, but I'm busy right now and I'm not satisfied that he's not up to something."
"Alright, I'll meet with him."
"Thank you. I'll be in tomorrow sometime before the rehearsal dinner to do some work."
"Alright."
Cassie hangs up and then gathers up RJ and Will and heads for Harley's. After dropping them off, she goes to Main Street to find something for Sam and Jeffrey. When she's finished there, she heads for Cross Creek.
After Cassie called, Reva had gotten up and gotten a shower and dressed. Once she's finished, she goes downstairs to get the gifts she bought for Sam and Jeffrey. She had been meaning to take them by the loft, but she hadn't taken the time. Wrapping them, she puts them in gift bags. Glancing at the clock she begins to wander about Cassie. She's reaching for the phone when she hears someone pull up outside. Getting up, she walks over to the kitchen window and looks out to see Cassie parking. Walking over to the door, she opens it as Cassie gets out of the car. "I was wondering where you were at?"
"I had to talk to Harley, get everything squared away with the boys and Olivia and then I had to do some shopping to get something for Sam and Jeffrey, they had to wrap it. So are you ready?"
"Yes." Reva says, going back into the house for her purse and the gifts. Walking out of the house, she locks it up before following Cassie to her car. Putting her stuff in the back seat with Cassie's, she gets in and they leave.
Jeffrey is leaving the loft as Cassie and Reva walk up. "Ladies." He says, holding the door for them.
"Good morning, is Sam home?" Cassie asks.
"Yes, she's upstairs." Jeffrey replies, looking at the gifts in their hands. "Is this something I'm supposed to be at?" He asks, nodding towards the gifts.
"No, this is strictly a girl thing." Reva replies.
"A girl thing, like her bachelorette party?" Jeffrey asks.
"No, no men allowed at this one." Cassie says.
"Okay, well she's upstairs." Jeffrey says, starting down the steps and Cassie takes the door.
"Jeffrey, wait." Reva says, turning to Cassie. "Could you take my stuff up and I'll be up in a minute?"
"Sure." Cassie says, taking Reva's bag and walking upstairs, as Reva walks over to where Jeffrey is waiting.
"Is there something wrong?"
"No, I wanted to talk to you about something."
"What?"
"Josh."
"I can't help you there, Reva. As you know, we don't see eye to eye."
"Yes, I know that. I was wondering if you had any idea why?"
"No, I've asked him. He won't give me a straight answer. It doesn't matter really."
"I know how Josh can be. I've lived with him long enough to know him, and the way he is with you is not how he normally is."
"You don't have to defend him to me. I don't care how he feels"
"I think you do and I know there's more to this than just what happened with Cassie and Richard and the rest of the things he says. I haven't figured out why, but I'm going to."
"Reva, don't jeopardize your marriage because of me. Josh feels the way he does, I doubt that I can change that and I've learned not to base my self worth on what other people think. If I did I would have left this town a long time ago."
"That's true, but still there's something more going on here and I'm going to figure out what it is. Where are you headed?"
"City Hall, I've got a meeting with Billy."
"About what?"
"A project he's doing for me."
"The house close to Cedars, you bought it."
"How did you know that?"
"I happened to see the plans on Billy's desk the other day. And I figured out that you bought the house for Sam. That was a very sweet thing to do."
"She wanted it." Jeffrey says, looking slightly uncomfortable.
"It was still sweet. Speaking of Billy, has he said anything to you about having HB's name?"
"He mentioned it. And I told him, as I've told everyone else. It doesn't matter."
"And you don't know where you got the name."
"No, I didn't even know I had a middle name until I found my birth certificate after my mom died."
"She never told you."
"No, she always said my name was Jeffrey O'Neill."
"And she never told you, who your father was?"
"No."
"Did you ask her?"
"Of course I asked her and she avoided the question. Listen, do you need anything else, because I'm already late for this meeting."
"Okay." Reva says, turning away.
"I'll see you later."
"Of course." Reva says opening the door to the building as Jeffrey walks away.
Sam is in the kitchen getting something for Cassie to drink when Reva knocks on the door. "I'll get it." Cassie calls, walking over to the door and opening it. Stepping back, she lets Reva in and then closes the door behind her and follows her to the living room. "What was that about?"
"Nothing, I wanted to talk to him."
"About Josh." Cassie asks, as Sam walks in.
"What about Josh? You know he and Jeffrey sort of it got into it the other day." Sam says.
"No, I didn't." Reva says, glancing at Cassie. Sam notices the look.
"What?"
"It's nothing." Reva says.
"Nothing, you slept in the guest room last night because of his attitude towards Jeffrey."
"Reva, what's she talking about?" Sam asks, before she walks into the kitchen to get Reva something to drink.
"Nothing, really, Josh and I had a fight after Cassie dropped me off last night."
"And it was about Jeffrey?" Sam calls.
"Yes, but I'm handling it and I'll figure out what has Josh so spooked about Jeffrey, it just might take sometime." Reva replies, as there's another knock on the door.
"I'll get it." Cassie says, walking over to the door and opening it. She lets Harley, Megan, LaKeisha and Ava in and then closes the door as Sam walks out of the kitchen.
"Okay, I'm going to stop going into the kitchen because every time I do more people show up." Sam says, stopping to look around the room as she hands Reva a glass of tea. "What's going on?"
"We thought we would get together and throw you a wedding shower." Cassie replies.
"A wedding shower! I don't… you guys don't have to do this. The party last night was enough." Sam says, walking over to the couch and sitting down.
"We want to, beside we've all been there and we were interrupted last night." Harley says.
"And we know how important it is to have your best friends there for you." Cassie says.
"Yes, besides I'm sure we can all give you some helpful tips for this new adventure you're about to embark on, both of them." Reva says.
"I'm not sure your tips work. How many times have you been married?" Cassie asks, teasing her.
"I'm just trying to get it perfect."
"You've married Josh three times and you were married to my husband as well as Billy, Alan, Buzz and HB." Cassie points out.
"And I've learned from each of them and I don't count Alan, he tricked me." Reva says, as Sam looks at both of them.
"There's a lot of history back there." Reva says, sitting down beside Sam as the rest of the girls take a seat.
"Yes, but if you tell her she might decided not to get married." Harley says.
"You want to talk about my track record with marriages, how many times have you been married?" Reva asks.
"Okay, so I'm not perfect. I've been married a few times." Harley says.
"A few times, there's Dylan, but you weren't married to him. And then there's Mallet and then Phillip and now Gus. And you were also involved at one time with Josh too."
"Yes, I was, but I stepped aside when you returned." Harley says.
"Yes, you did."
"So Cassie, how many times have you been married." Megan asks.
"I'm there with Harley. I've been married three different times. First to the father of my daughter Tammy, Rob Layne, and then Richard and then Edmund, and we have to include the engagement to Josh."
"You I never really thought about how many women Josh has been involved with." Reva says.
"Cassie, you were married to Richard while he was Prince. How did you do it?" Ava asks.
"I was absolutely terrified at first, and convinced that I couldn't be a princess, but I really didn't do anything. The staff did everything, arranged everything and kept us all on track. I'll admit I hated having to share Richard sometimes, but I enjoyed helping the people of San Cristobel and making their lives better." Cassie says. "And I believe that once William is free, he'll be headed this way."
"Why do you believe that?" Ava asks.
"Because that's his child you're carrying and his families here. He'll want to be with them."
"Well, he is coming to the wedding." Ava says, looking at Sam.
"It's fine with me, but I would warn your father."
"Jeffrey, why?"
"Because as much as he's supported your decision to have this baby on your own and raise it, he's going to want to protect you."
"Will wouldn't hurt me?"
"Maybe not, but Jeffrey's your father. And you're his little girl even if he didn't know about you until you were grown and he's very protective anyway." Sam replies.
"Well, I think we need to get this party started." Reva says. "LaKeisha, do you want help me pass out the gifts."
"Sure." LaKeisha replies, getting up to help Reva.
An hour later, Sam is down to the last gift. "This is from me." Reva says, handing her a small gift bag.
Taking the bag, Sam pulls the tissue paper out and finds a box about the size of dime store novel. She looks up and Reva nods. Pulling the box out and takes the top off. Pushing the tissue paper back, she finds a spiral bound book. "Lewis Traditions" and underneath that, "food for the Lewis family." Sam takes the book out of the box and then looks at Reva.
"These are the Lewis family recipes. My mother gave it to me the night I married Josh. Now you would think that being the daughter of the Lewis family's housekeeper I would have picked up some of the things that she did, but I was never one to stay in the house and do what girls do. I wanted to be outside with the men, tending cattle and riding horses and proving that I could as much as Josh and Billy could do. Sarah knew that Josh was a lot like his father, in as much as he likes good food and so she gave me this." Reva says, nodding to the book.
"I don't know what to say. Are you sure? I know you've got a daughter, surely you should give this to her."
"Marah is a lot like her mother, when it comes to the kitchen and given where she's at right now in her life, I seriously doubt she'll be fixing any man dinner anytime soon. So, yes I'm sure." Reva says, as Sam opens the cookbook. "I made notes and suggestions that I've tried on different occasions and I've marked some of the recipe's the Josh has liked over the years."
"Thank you." Sam says, laying the book down and getting up. She hugs Reva.
"You're welcome." Reva says when she steps back and Sam reaches up to wipe her eyes.
"Okay, since we've got the presents out of the way, let's eat." Cassie says.
"Yes, let's eat." Harley says, getting up and going over to the table.
Cassie and Harley serve everyone and then they all sit around eating and swapping stories about being married and raising kids.
Everyone but Megan left the loft about an hour later. Sam is flipping through the cookbook that Reva had given her. "I wonder if my mom would have given me something like this." Sam says, looking up.
"She probably would have. And your dad…."
"My Dad would have done whatever he thought he needed to do to keep me from marrying a sinner." Sam says, putting the cookbook down and getting up.
"You don't know that for…."
"Yes, I do and so do you. He wouldn't have accepted Jeffrey or our relationship, just as Jeremiah won't either, which is why I didn't bother to invite him to the wedding."
"Speaking of Jeremiah, have you heard from him again?"
"No. Well he called but Jeffrey wouldn't let me talk to him"
"And you don't know how he really did hear about you getting married?"
"No, he said he heard it from you."
"I never spoke to him. Why would I." Megan says, getting up to help Sam clean up and put things away. When they are finished, Megan turns to Sam and she can tell that she's tired. "Listen, I'm going to go get the boys and take them to the children's museum."
"I'll go…."
"No, you're tired."
"I'm…."
"You're tired, so rest and we'll get together later for dinner or something." Megan says, reaching for her purse.
"Alright." Sam says, following her to the door. They hug and then Megan leaves.
When the royal jet lands, the palace has arranged for a car to be there to pick him up. Getting in, he tells the driver. "When they finish loading the luggage take me Towers."
"Yes Sir."
Settling back, he waits for the ground crew to finish loading the car. A few minutes later, they leave. When they arrive at Towers, William tells the driver. "Wait here for me."
"Yes Sir."
Getting out, he goes in and checks in and then goes to his room. Leaving his luggage, he goes back downstairs and getting back into the car, he tells the driver. "Take me to Company."
"Yes Sir."
They pull up to Company a few minutes later. Opening the door, William says. "You can go now. I'll call you if I need you."
"Yes sir."
"Okay."
William gets out and then walks into Company. Richard is sitting at one of the tables. He looks up as William walks up. "William." Richard says in surprise.
"Hi." William says, sitting down.
"What are you doing in Springfield?"
"Ava invited me to Jeffrey and Sam's wedding, things in San Cristobel are shaping up and I thought I would come early. How is Will?"
"He's good. He's a little nervous about starting school but I think once he's settled in he'll be okay."
"How's Cassie?"
"Wonderful, we're getting ready for Jeffrey and Sam's wedding. The reception is going to be at the farm and then in a few weeks we're renewing our vows again."
"Good, by that time things should be settled in San Cristobel."
"Do you know what you're going to do now?"
"No, I might be spending some time here though." William says, looking up and seeing Ava walk in. She's talking to Olivia.
"Thank you for the…." Ava sees William sitting there as Olivia looks over and sees him.
"I'll be right back." William says to Richard, standing up as Richard turns to see who he's looking at.
William walks towards her and when he in front of them, Ava asks. "What are you doing here?"
"I decided to come early." William says
"I… I thought you had things to take care of in San Cristobel."
"Things are working out, and so I thought I would come up early." William says, as Olivia clears her throat.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Will, I'm sure you know my mother Olivia Spencer." Ava says
"Yes, Ms. Spencer." William says, holding out his hand.
"So, you're the man that got my daughter pregnant." Olivia says, holding out her hand.
"Mom!" Ava says.
"No, it's okay. Yes, the child that Ava's carrying is mine." William says.
"And yet you refuse to marry her." Olivia says.
"Mom, please. I've explained this to you. I'm the one that chose not to marry him."
Olivia looks at Ava and then says. "I've got to go pick up Emma. Think about what I offered." She says, looking at William one more time before she leaves.
"I'm sorry." Ava says
"It's okay. You didn't tell her I was coming."
"No, I haven't been talking to her that much."
"What did she offer?"
"Since Alex let me go as Alan's assistant, I've been looking for work and she offered to hire me for the Beacon."
"Are you going to take the offer?"
"No, I think it's best that I keep my distance from her. I'm sure I'll find something."
"I know you will." William says, reaching to caress her cheek.
"I'm glad you're here." Ava says, hugging him.
"I'm glad to be here." He mumbles in her hair, holding her as Jeffrey walks in.
He stops and watches them before he walks over to them. "Ava." He says, watching William as he releases her and Ava turns to her father.
"Hi, Dad." She says, hugging him.
"How are you?" Jeffrey asks, watching William.
"I'm good." Ava says, looking between William and Jeffrey and sensing the tension between them. "I guess Sam was right."
"Sam, what did she say?"
"She said I should warn you that he was coming."
"Coming to what?" Jeffrey asks, looking at Ava.
"The wedding, I was going to tell you but he came early. He wasn't supposed to be here until tomorrow."
"What about San Cristobel?"
"Things are being handled in San Cristobel." William says.
"And you're here in Springfield to, what?"
"To take Ava to your wedding and…."
"And, what?" Jeffrey asks.
"I don't know." William says, looking at Ava.
"We're trying to figure out how things stand between us."
"How things stand between you?"
"Yes." Ava says "I know he deserves to be apart of this child's life, we're just not sure what that means for us or how it affects us. Are you okay?" Ava asks, watching him.
"I don't know." Jeffrey says, looking at William "But you're right, he does have a right to know his child and to be apart of its life. I missed that with you. But I want you to be careful. I won't let her get hurt." He says, looking at William.
"I don't plan on hurting her." William says, as Jeffrey nods.
"I've got a meeting with Richard. I'll see you tomorrow evening." He asks, turning to Ava.
"Yes, I'll be at the rehearsal dinner."
"Okay, I'll see you then." Jeffrey says, walking away from them and sitting down beside Richard.
"You want to get something to eat?" William asks.
"No, let's take a walk in the park." Ava says, glancing at Jeffrey.
"Okay." William says, following her out of Company while Jeffrey watches them.
He walks over to Richard and sits down. "Are you okay?" Richard asks
"Yeah, I'm fine." Jeffrey says, as Lynn walks up to them.
"I'll have my usual." Jeffrey says, as Lynn nods and turns to Richard.
"I'll have to same thing." Richard says.
"Okay. We'll have that out in a few minutes."
"So, what's going on?" Jeffrey asks, as Lynn walks away.
"Well, I've been approached by two companies from Chicago. One of them I'm not sure will fit with Springfield. They've been sited several times for environmental violations and with the city council looking to improve Springfield's environment I'm not sure they will comply with the new standards."
"Have you mentioned this to them?"
"I have a meeting scheduled with their CEO next week to discuss this and see what they say about the violations and what they can offer to guarantee compliance."
"Okay and the other company?"
"I actually think they will be a good fit. The company is fairing well for several years now and they look to continue growing."
"Is there anything else?"
"No, I've got meetings with executives from Ohio and Indiana next week, but other than that, there's nothing else on the table."
"Okay." Jeffrey says, taking a bite.
"Are you going to tell me what was going one with you, William and Ava?"
"I know he's your brother, but I'm not sure how I feel about him and Ava being together."
"They have to figure something out. She is carrying his child."
"I know that, but you know William a lot better than I do. Do you think he's right for my daughter?"
"William is William."
"What does that mean?"
"It means he's his own person. He was a bit irresponsible when I first found out that he was my brother, but being prince has changed him a little bit, being prince and being around Cassie has changed him. And I believe he'll be a wonderful father and he'll take care of Ava and the baby."
"You don't think that once he's free of the palace and San Cristobel that he'll go back to being what he was before."
"I don't know if he'll be tied down to a suit and tie job. I think that part of the reason he's abdicating, he feels the walls closing in on him. But he'll definitely take care of Ava and the baby."
"Maybe, I'm just being a father, but I don't want her hurt. She's been hurt enough with her mother and I. And I know she's strong but I want someone to take care of her."
"You want for her what you have with Sam."
"Yes."
"She may have that with William, but from what I know they haven't had much time together. I think that's why he's up here this weekend is to spend sometime with her and see where their relationship could go. I think you need to let them do that."
"You think I need to step back, let go and see where their relationship is going?"
"Yes, I know it's hard. I would have been the same way with Tammy if she was still alive. It's our job to protect them, but sometimes we have to let them venture out and see what happens. It's part of being a parent."
"How do you know this?"
"Because I was never allowed to do anything but what my father thought was appropriate." Richard says, taking a drink.
"Alright, I'll try to relax and let them see what will become of this, but if he hurts her, he'll have to answer to me."
"I'm sure he already knows that." Richard says, smiling at him.
"I saw Cassie this morning."
"You did, where?"
"At the loft, she and Reva came by as I was leaving. They were throwing Sam a wedding shower and no men were allowed." Jeffrey says, pushing his plate away.
"Well we did sort of crash the bachelorette party? Speaking of that, what was going on with that guy that punched you?" Richard asks, sitting back.
"Oh, he is the doctor that the agency hired to take Sam's place and apparently he's from Oakdale. Sam asked him to do some work for him about the time that she and Olivia got into that fight outside Marsha's and he noticed the bruise and assumed that I was the one that had done it, even after Sam explained that it wasn't me."
"So he punches you because of that?"
"Yes." Jeffrey replies, as Lynn comes by to take their plates and leave the check for them.
"I'm surprised you didn't go after him when he punched you. The Jeffrey O'Neill I knew would have."
"I'm not the same guy I was in San Cristobel, even as a young man. Besides how would it look if I was arrested for assault, even if I was defending myself and Sam?"
"I guess that wouldn't be too good. But a part of you still wanted to do that, admit it?" Richard says, as Lynn comes for their checks. Reaching into their pockets, they each pull out a credit card and hands them to Lynn with their checks.
"Yes, I did, simply because the man wants her and we both know it and I would have loved to punch his arrogant face in, but can you imagine what I'd be getting at home if I had."
"Yes, I can and I don't think I would want to be in your place had you done that. Sam does seem like she can have a bad temper."
"Oh, she can. But I think the worst is when she ignores you and pretends you don't matter or she doesn't care, when you can't get her to react you're in more serious trouble than if she blows up."
"Been on the receiving end of those."
"Many times, many times." Jeffrey says, with a grin. Lynn walks up with their receipts, handing them to each of them, they sign and then hand them back to her and she turns to leave.
"And yet you're still marrying her, or she's still marrying you."
"I have my ways, as does she and she usually wins her point."
"I noticed you don't have much of a bruise." Richard says, nodding at Jeffrey's cheek.
"It didn't bruise but it's tender." Jeffrey says, getting up.
"You're lucky." Richard says, following Jeffrey.
They leave and walk out to their cars. "I'll look at those other company and have a report for you next week." Richard says.
"Okay."
"Are you going back to City Hall?"
"No, I'm finished for the day. And I probably won't be back into the office until I get back from the honeymoon, so do whatever you think is best with the other companies and as to the Chicago Company if you don't think they'll be good for Springfield then you can withdraw us from consideration."
"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow night at the rehearsal dinner."
"Okay, give my love to Cassie and the boys."
"I will."
Jeffrey gets into his truck as Richard walks to his car. He waves as Jeffrey drives past and then he too leaves a few minutes later.