A Fresh Start
Chapter One Hundred Five
For about an hour, Jeffrey and Sam walk along the street, looking at the different shops. They go into a few and buy the usual tourist things, t-shirts, postcards and key chains, but nothing really stood out until Sam notice a small shop tucked between two of the larger shops. "Jeffrey, look at that." She says, pointing to the shop. He turns to see what she's pointing at as she walks over to the window. The window was full of different things and all of it appeared to be old. "Let's go in." Sam says, taking his hand and walking towards the door.
Opening the door, Sam walks in and she immediately feels good. There is a couple behind the counter and both appear to be about ten years older than Jeffrey. The woman has short red hair and the man is about the same height as Jeffrey but heavier. When they walk in, the woman says. "Welcome."
"Hi." Sam says, looking around the store with Jeffrey beside her.
"Are you looking for something in particular?" The man asks with a deep voice.
"Umm, we're looking for something to show our child when he's born." Sam says, laying a book back on the counter.
"Oh, so you're expecting. Congratulations." The woman says.
"Thank you."
"And you must be the proud papa." The woman says, turning to Jeffrey.
"Yes." Jeffrey replies.
"Well again, congratulations to both of you."
"Thank you." They both reply.
"So, you want something for your baby." The woman says, walking around the counter.
She walks towards the back of the store Sam and Jeffrey following her, expecting the usual trinkets and tourist stuff for children. When they reach the back of the store, they find a workshop and inside is hand made furniture, everything for end tables to kitchenettes, bedroom suites to single frame beds. In one corner, there are several different pieces of furniture for children. "Jeffrey, look." Sam says, pointing to the different pieces of furniture.
"We've got everything you'll need for the nursery." The woman says, as Sam and Jeffrey look at the different pieces of furniture. Slowly they run their hands along different pieces. "My husband built all of this." The woman says.
"It's all beautiful, but we've got the crib and changing table and the other pieces of furniture. What I don't have is a bassinet and a rocking chair."
"You'll have one of those." Jeffrey says, as Sam looks at him but he'll only smile at her.
"I've looked at all the big stores and they all seem so manufactured to me." Sam says. "I want something that has character and shows a history."
"We've got a couple bassinets." The woman says, walking over to a back corner. "My husband built these about twenty years ago for a couple that we knew. They were expecting their first child and they didn't have a lot of money, so he took all his spare cash and he built these for them."
"What happened to the couple?"
"They moved away before he could finish them, and they've been sitting in our attic for years now. We used them when our kids were babies…."
"Surely you want to give them to you're kids."
"No, no I think they need to go with you and your husband." The woman says, slowly running her hands over the wood.
You can see were the wood has been worn from the years of rocking and touching but it all added character to the pieces. Sam turns to Jeffrey. He looks at the woman and asks. "How much do you want for both of them?"
"Both of them, are you expecting twins?"
"No, my daughter is expecting her first child too." Jeffrey says
"Oh well, congratulations to you both again." The woman says. "I think we can sell them both for $130." The woman says.
"We'll take them, but how are we going to get them home?"
"We can deliver them. Do you live around here?"
"No, we're on our honeymoon." Sam says, looking at Jeffrey.
"Congratulations, just married and you're having your first child together and your first grandchild." The woman says, glancing at Jeffrey.
"Yes, I know." Sam says. "Maybe we can ship them to Springfield."
"Who would pick them up? We can't ask Ava or she'll know."
"What about Reva… no we can't do that, Cassie or Richard. I'm sure they will let us keep them at the barn until we get back to pick them up." Sam says.
"Call and ask Cassie." Jeffrey says.
Sam pulls her cell phone from her purse and dials Cassie's number. After a few rings, she answers out of breath. "Hello."
"Cassie, are you alright?"
"I'm fine, I was upstairs tending to the boys and I didn't take the phone with me so I had to run and get it. Why are you calling me on your honeymoon?"
"I've got a favor to ask." Sam says, looking at Jeffrey.
"Okay."
"We've been doing some shopping, which by the way I found…." She looks at Jeffrey. "I'll tell you about it later, the reason I called is we've found two bassinets for me and Ava and we want to send them to Springfield but we can't ask Ava to pick them up so I was wondering if we could send them to the farm and we'll get them when we get back."
"Sure, that's fine."
"Thank you so much. You're going to absolutely love them. Their so cute and they're hand made from oak if I'm not mistaken. And you can see….." Sam looks at Jeffrey and smiles. "You'll see them when they get there. I'll give the owner of the shop your address and we'll have them shipped there."
"Okay, have fun." Cassie says.
"Thanks, and we are." Sam says, before hanging up the phone. "She said its fine."
"Good." Jeffrey says, turning to the woman. "We'll take both of them." Jeffrey tells her.
Sam goes to look around the store while Jeffrey pays the woman for the bassinets and arranges for them to be shipped to Cassie's farm. When he's finishes, he finds Sam at the front of the store, looking at the stuff in the window. Putting his arm around her, he asks. "Are you ready to go?"
"Yes." She says, taking his hand. "Thank you." She says to the woman and man and they leave.
"Where do you want to go next?" Jeffrey asks when they reach the street.
"Can we go back to the room? I'm feeling a little tired."
"Sure." Jeffrey says, putting his arm across her shoulders, she slips hers around his waist, slipping her hand into his back pocket as they walk back to the car.
Emma is quiet on the ride back to the Beacon. When they walk into their room, she sits down on the couch, she watches as Olivia paces around the room and after a few moments, she asks. "Mommy, why are you mad at Ava?"
"What?" Olivia asks, stopping and looking at her.
"Why are you mad at Ava? Was she bad?'
"I'm not mad at your sister?" Olivia says as she begins pacing again.
"But you were yelling at each other, like you were mad."
"I'm not mad at her. Now go to your room." Olivia orders before turning away.
She gets up and walks towards the door and her room. When she gets to the door, she stops. Turning around she asks, "Mommy are you mad…?"
"I told you…."
"…because of Jeffrey and the lady he married."
Olivia stops and looks at her. "What do you know about that?" Olivia asks, walking over to her.
"Nothing."
"Emma." Olivia says, taking her arm and pulling her over to the couch. "What do you know?"
"Nothing, I saw them the morning after the wedding."
"Where did you see them?"
"Here, at the Beacon, they were leaving because they had their suitcases with them. I was hungry so I went downstairs for some breakfast and they were on the elevator."
"What did you say to them? Did you talk to them?" Olivia asks, shaking her.
"I don't know, Mommy. I may have." Emma replies clearly scared.
"You tell what you said to them, now!" Olivia demands holding onto her arms tightly.
"I don't know. I don't remember. I know I said hi to Jeffrey and he asked me where I was going."
"And what did you say about me?"
"Nothing, I don't think."
"You don't think. Go to your room, you're grounded."
"Mommy, why? I didn't do…."
"You don't ask me why. You do as you're told. Go to your room!" Olivia says, pointing at the door. Emma gets up and runs from the room.
Josh isn't home when Reva gets home from the farm. When she walks in, she puts her keys and purse on the counter before she walks into the kitchen where she starts dinner. She calls Josh while she's cooking and when she gets his voicemail, she leaves him a message and then goes back to cooking. When she finishes, she goes upstairs for a shower. When she comes back downstairs, she sets the table and then pours herself a glass of wine before she walks into the living room. Sitting down, she waits for Josh to come home. An hour later, she calls him again, and leaves another message. A couple hours later, she calls him again and leaves another message. By midnight, she gets up and puts the dinner away. Before going to bed, she leaves a note on the door where Josh can find it. Around one am, he comes home.
He's not surprised when he sees that the house is dark as he pulls in. He wasn't expecting Reva to be home anyway. Getting out of his truck, he walks to the house. Hanging on the door is the note Reva left him. "Josh, I wanted to spend the evening to you to apologize for earlier and to tell you that I trust you and I will wait till you're ready to tell me what's going on, but since you can't answer you calls, don't bother to come to bed. The door is locked to the bedroom. You can sleep on the couch. Reva."
He stares at the note and then unlocks the door and walks into the house. He walks into the dining room and sees the table is still set for a dinner for two. Leaving the dining room, he thinks about going upstairs, but he knows that it will only make the situation worse. Going instead to the closet, he gets a blanket and walks into the study. Lying down on the couch, he tries to find a comfortable position to fall asleep in.
The next morning Billy is at the site for Sam's house. They have made a lot of progress in the last week. Most of the repairs to the outside of the house would be finished by the time Jeffrey and Sam returned form their honeymoon. He's overseeing some work in the master bath when his cell phone rings. Pulling his phone from his pocket, he answers the call. "Hello, Billy Lewis."
"Yes, Mr. Lewis." A man says.
"Yes, can I help you?"
"This is Conrad Jones from Tulsa. You came to see me about you're father's personal papers."
"Yes, give me a moment." Billy says, walking out of the room and into a quieter part of the house. "I'm back." Billy says, as he closes the door to the room.
"Mr. Lewis, when you were here before you were asking me to see your father's personal papers but I didn't have access then."
"Yes sir."
"That has changed and I now have access to them."
"Could you send those papers to me?"
"Of course, would you tell me why you want them?"
"I believe they have some information in them that I need. It's a personal matter."
"Alright, I would be happy to mail them to you."
"This is my address."
"Go ahead." The man says, reaching for a pen and the pad of paper beside him.
"15327 Chamberlin Rd, Springfield Il.55594
"I'll get these out today?"
"Thank you."
"You're welcome."
They hang up and Billy calls Reva. After a couple rings, Reva answers the phone. "Hello." She says, putting the last of the dishes from the night before away. She wouldn't've known that Josh had come home last night, except that she had gone out to get the paper and she noticed that the note she had written wasn't on the door. "Reva, its Billy."
"Hi." She replies, walking into the living room.
"I just received a call from the man that I talked to when I was in Tulsa and he's sending me H.B's papers."
"I thought he didn't have access to them."
"He said that he does now, and he's going to mail them to me today, so I should get them by tomorrow or the next day."
"Okay."
"Do you want to be there when I open them?" Billy asks. She hears Richard's voice in her head "maybe you should trust him to come to you when he's ready to tell you what's going on.' "Reva, did you hear me?" Billy asks.
"Yeah Billy, sorry I was thinking. What did you ask me?"
"When I get the papers, do you want to be here when I open them?"
"Yes." Reva replies, ignoring the voice in her head, reminding her of what she had said to Richard and Cassie. Last night had voided out anything she told them in her mind.
"I'll be sure to call you when I receive them."
"Thank you, maybe now we'll get to the bottom of whatever is bothering Josh and this feud he has with Jeffrey, and…."
Reva pauses long enough for Billy to ask. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. I've got a lot on my mind?"
"I'm at Sam's house so I need to get back to the crew."
"How is that going?"
"Great, she's going to be surprised at the progress we've made. We're almost finished with the outside."
"Really, she will be surprised."
"I've got to get back."
"Okay."
"We'll talk later."
They hang up and Reva goes back to the cleaning up the house.
At ten the next morning, William and Ava walk into Dr. Sedgwick's office. Ava goes up to the window as William sits down. A few moments later, she sits down beside him. "Is everything okay?" He asks.
"Yes, she'll call me back in a few minutes."
"Okay." William says and returns to flipping through one of the magazine.
He lays it down as the nurse opens the door and says. "Ava Peralta."
Ava stands up, followed by William. They follow the nurse to an empty exam room. Ava sits down on the exam table, with William beside her in a chair as the nurse takes Ava's vitals, righting them down on a file lying on the counter beside them. When she's finished, she says. "Dr. Sedgwick will be in shortly, if you can put this gown on." She says, handing her a paper gown.
"Thank you." Ava says, slipping off the table.
She starts to get undress as William stands up. "I'll wait…."
"You can stay. You've seen me before without clothes on." Ava says, looking at him and he sits back down.
"What's going to happen?" He asks, nodding towards the door.
"Dr. Sedgwick will come in. She'll ask me a few questions about how things are going. And then she'll examine me and then the nurse will come back in to draw blood and then we'll go." Ava says, sitting down on the exam table as Dr. Sedgwick walks in.
"Good morning, Ava." She says, closing the door. She turns around and notices William sitting next to Ava. "Oh, your Highness." She says, slightly surprised.
"Hi." William says, standing up.
"Hello." She replies, as William hold out his hand. "How is Will?" She asks, as they shake hands.
"He's doing well? In fact, I have to go by his school before I leave this afternoon."
"So, he's adjusting to being back in Springfield?"
"Yes, he seems quite happy with Richard and Cassie."
"Good." Dr. Sedgwick says, turning to Ava. "How are you?" Dr. Sedgwick asks, sitting down on a rolling stool.
"I'm good."
"Have you had any problems?"
"No, just the usual stuff, nausea and dizziness."
"And you're eating right?"
"Yes ma'am."
"And you're stress level."
"I've been a little more stress looking for work, but the stress level hasn't been too bad."
"That's not entirely true, Dr. Sedgwick." William says, as Ava looks at him. "She had a bit of a confrontation with Olivia yesterday."
"Ava?" Dr. Sedgwick says, looking at her.
"We had a small argument yesterday on Main Street." Ava says, glaring at William.
"Did this argument pertain to Olivia and the current situation with your father?"
"Yes." Ava replies.
"I know that she's your mother, but you must keep your stress level down. You can't control the stress from looking for work…." Dr. Sedgwick says.
"That's been taken care of." William says, as Ava looks at him
"Good, I know that it's going to be hard not to argue with your mother about the situation with your father, but if you have to avoid her, then you must and if you do see her try no to let it upset you."
"Yes ma'am."
"Good, now if you'll lie back, I'll examine you." Dr Sedgwick says as Ava lays back.
About ten minutes later, Dr. Sedgwick sits back and pulls off her gloves. "Okay, you can sit up." She says, throwing the gloves away as William helps Ava to sit up. "I'm going to take some blood to make sure your levels are right."
"Okay." Ava says, as Dr. Sedgwick says, walking to the door.
"The nurse will be in shortly, and remember please try not to overly stress yourself about Olivia and your dad."
"Yes ma'am."
"When she finishes taking the blood you can go. Remember to make another appointment."
"I will and thank you." Ava says, reaching for her clothes.
Dr. Sedgwick leaves as Ava gets up to dress. When she's dressed she sits down on the table. "Why did you tell her about Olivia?"
"You didn't want to tell Jeffrey about it, and I felt that she's should know, she's your doctor and she needs to know everything that's going on with you."
"I didn't Dad because he's on his honeymoon. And I don't see Olivia that much. She didn't need to know about one argument."
"You know that you're not going to completely avoid her. Dr. Sedgwick needs to know what's going on in your life." William says, getting up and going over to her. "Especially since Jeffrey and I won't be here to keep Olivia and you from fighting. And when Jeffrey will be here, he will be busy with Sam and their baby. My first priority is you and my child." He says, as the door opens and the nurse walks in.
"Okay Ava, I've got to get a couple of vials of blood." The nurse says. William feels Ava tense.
"Okay." Ava says, sitting down and holding out her arm.
He puts his arms her as the nurse preps her arm. When the nurse pulls the needle out, she turns her head towards him, laying her head on his shoulder. "It's okay." He says, holding her.
About a minute later, the nurse takes the needle out and bandages her arm. "Okay, you need to sit for a little bit before you go." The nurse says. "I'll be back in ten minutes to check on you."
"Okay." Ava says, as the nurse leaves the room.
"Are you okay?" William asks, still holding her.
"I'll be fine. I hate needles." Ava says, shivering slightly as she looks down at her arm. "And l nearly passed out the last time."
"Okay, then sit here until she comes back and then we'll go get something to eat afterwards, before we go to the school."
"Okay." Ava says, laying her head on his shoulder.
About ten minutes later, the nurse returns. "How are you feeling?" She asks, as she walks into the room."
"I'm okay." Ava says.
"Okay, make sure that you eat before you do anything and be sure to schedule your next appointment before you leave."
"We will." William says, helping Ava up.
They leave the exam room. When they reach the front office, William turns to Ava. "Can you wait for me out there, and I'll handle making the other appointment."
"Okay." Ava says, walking into the outer office as William turns to the receptionist. "Hi, how can I help you?" She asks.
"Umm yes, I need to make her next appointment and I need to make arrangements to have the rest of her bills sent to me."
"Yes sir, and who are you?"
"I'm the father."
"Of course, Sir. We have October 8th available at eleven am."
"That will be fine."
"Okay." The lady replies, writing Ava's name down. "Now, I'll need your information so that we can send the bill your insurance company and…."
"I don't have insurance, but I can pay for the charges. Just send the bill to this address." William says, waiting for her to get a pen.
"Okay sir." She says, looking up at him.
"Send all the bills to 500 La Avenida Palacio de Blanco, San Cristobel, and country code 23145."
"I'll make sure to update Ms. Peralta's file."
"Thank you." William says, walking away from the desk.
He walks into the outer office. Ava is sitting where they were before. Walking over to her, he helps her up and then they leave. When they leave the hospital, he immediately takes her to Company. Buzz is walking back to the counter when they walk in and he hugs her when he sees her. "I haven't seen you around here much."
"I know I'll be back later tonight." Ava says, smiling as he glances at William and winks.
"You know your mom…."
"I know I saw her yesterday."
"Okay, you come to get something to eat?"
"Yes. We just left the doctor's office and I have to get something to eat."
"Then take a seat and I'll be out to get your order."
"Isn't anyone here to help?" Ava asks.
"Umm, there will be in a few minutes. Ashley's on a delivery. Marina is coming in and Daisy is on lunch. The rush hasn't hit yet so I'll be right with you."
"Alright." Ava says, walking over to one of the tables with William following behind her.
They sit down and a few minutes later Buzz comes over. "Do you want your usual?" He asks Ava.
"No, I feel like a Buzz burger and some of your chili."
"Alright, a Buzz burger and chili. Your Highness." He asks, looking at William.
"I'll have the same thing?" William says.
"And drinks, I know what you want?" He says, turning to Ava.
"I'll have a coke." William says.
"Alright, I'll have it out."
He leaves and then brings their drinks to them as Ashley walks in, followed by Marina and Daisy. About ten minutes later, he comes back with their food. About thirty minutes later, they finish eating and William pays the bill while Marina and Ava discuss the wedding with Daisy. He walks up to them and then he and Ava leave a few minutes later. When they leave Company, they head immediately to Will and Emma's school arriving about ten minutes before show and tell is supposed to start. When Will sees William standing in the back of the room, he grins really big.
When it's Will's turn to talk to the class, he goes to the back and brings William to the front of the class. He tells them about how he thought that William was his real father up until that summer and how they found out that he was actually his uncle. He tells the class about San Cristobel and all the stuff that William had taught him when they thought he was going to be prince. And he tells him about all the stuff that Richard and Cassie have taught him. When he's finish the class asks William some questions and he answers all of them.
When it's Emma's turns she brings Ava to the front of the class and she does the same as Will, but Ava could tell that something was bothering her so when the class breaks and they go to recess. Ava pulls Emma aside and she kneels down to her. "You want to tell what's wrong?"
"Nothing, thank you for coming to my school." Emma says. "Can I go play now?" She asks, looking at Ava.
"Okay." Ava says, watching her run off to her friends.
William was busy with Will. He turns to see Ava standing at the side of the building watching Emma. "Will, why don't you go play with your friends for a little while. I want to talk to Ava."
"Okay." Will says walking away as William walks over to Ava.
"Hey, are you okay?"
"I'm fine, but something's bothering Emma and she won't tell me what it is." Ava says, neither one saw Will come up behind them.
"She's in trouble." Will says.
Ava turns to him and asks. "What do you mean, she's in trouble?"
"She wouldn't tell me everything, but she said that she got in trouble last night so she can't come to the farm this afternoon to play with me. She told me at morning recess."
"And she wouldn't tell why she was in trouble?" Ava asks him.
"No, which isn't like her because she usually tells me everything."
"Thank you, Will." Ava says, looking at Emma playing a few feet from her.
"You're welcome, Uncle William are you going to come to the farm before you leave." Will asks, as the recess bell rings.
"I don't think so, buddy. But I'll see you soon." William says, watching Ava walks towards the kids.
"Alright."
"You better go to class."
"Yes sir." Will heads for class as Ava pulls Emma away from the rest of the class.
"I've got to go back inside. I can't be…."
"I'll talk to your teacher. Will says that you told him you were in trouble."
"Yes. I can't go to the farm today. I have to go home right after school."
"Why are you in trouble?" Ava asks. Emma looks away. "Emma, you can tell me. Did you do something…?"
"No, but I'm still in trouble."
"I don't understand. If you didn't…."
"It doesn't matter. I'm in trouble and I can't go to the farm." Emma says, turning away.
"Emma, wait. You don't have to tell me anything." Ava says when she starts to say something. "Are you in trouble because you asked me to come here today?"
"No, I did something else."
"What did you do?"
"I…. it doesn't matter. She won't change her mind, so I can't go to the farm."
"Emma, what happened?" Ava asks, stopping Emma from leaving. "You can tell me." Ava says, tucking a few strand of hair back from her face.
"I talked to Jeffrey and that lady that he married and I told Mommy about it and she grounded me. I didn't mean to be bad. He saw me in the elevator the morning after the wedding and I said hi to him. And he asked me where I was going and I told I was going to get something to eat. That's all I said to him, but when I told Mommy about it last night, she got mad and she grounded me so I can't go to the farm today with Will after school. I have to go to class." Emma says, walking away as Ava stands up.
"Did you hear that?" Ava asks, sensing William standing behind her.
"Yes."
"She grounded her because she talked to Jeffrey and Sam." Ava says, turning to him, her eyes flashing with anger.
"Hold on, Ava. You can't…."
"She's taking this out on her. She has nothing to do with this." Ava says, turning away from him and following Emma.
"Ava, wait." William says, but she doesn't stop until she reaches Emma's classroom. William catches her before she opens the door.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm going to speak to her teacher and then I'm going to speak to my mother." Ava says, opening the class door. William waits out in the hall.
A few minutes later, she comes back out and they leave. Neither one says anything until the reach the car. "Ava, I don't think you need to do this."
"She's taking this out on her. I'm not going to stand by and let her do that."
"And you know what Dr. Sedgwick said."
"I'm not going to let her…."
"You know she'll get to you. And you'll start fighting again. And it's not good for you or the baby."
"I know that, but that's my little sister and she's not Olivia's pawn in this feud she has between her, my dad and Sam. Emma has nothing to do with this and she's not going to use her to take her anger out on." Ava says, getting in the car.
For a few moments, William stands outside the car. Ava rolls the window down and asks. "Are you coming?"
He opens the door and gets in. Closing the door as Ava starts the car. They leave a few minutes later, she pulls up to the Beacon. "Are you coming in?" She asks, as she turns the car off.
"I have too. I've got to make sure you two don't kill each other." William says, getting out of the car as she smiles.
"I'm not going to kill her, but I'll readjust her attitude a little bit." Ava says, as they walk towards the Beacon.
"I have no doubt that you will." William replies, putting his arm around her.