A Fresh Start
Chapter One Hundred Thirty Four
Ava works till about five and then Billy insists that she go home. When she gets to Company, she goes up to her room. After she takes a shower, she calls William. "Hello." He says, picking up after the third ring.
"Hey, it's me."
"Hi."
"I know you came up to spend some time with you and I sort of ditched you."
"You had to work, I understand that."
"Still, you came to see me, so I think we need to go out tonight."
"Where do you want to go?"
"There's a new band playing at Jon's Bar, maybe we could go there."
"Alright, when do I pick you up?"
"Can you meet me in an hour?"
"Of course I can."
"Alright, I'll see you then."
"Okay."
They hang up and Ava goes to get dressed. An hour later, she walks into Company. William is already there. "Hey Buzz." She says, walking by the front counter.
"Hello, Ava." He says, turning to a customer.
William stands up as she walks up. For a few seconds, he can't speak as he stares at her. "You look beautiful."
"Thank you." She says, leaning in to kiss him.
Stepping back, he holds out her chair before sitting down. "Did you have a hard day?"
"No, I was mainly there to supervise. The crew did most of the work. I thought I would have to be there all night, but Billy insisted that I leave at five."
"Well, I'm glad he did." William says, with a smile.
"Me too." Ava says, as Lynn walks up to them.
"Hi, Ava."
"Hello, Lynn."
"Your Highness." She says, nodding to William.
"It's just William." He says, smiling at her.
"Can I get you something to drink?"
"I will have a Sprite."
"And I'll have a Coke." William says.
"Okay, I've got one coke and one sprite. Do you need a moment to order?"
"I know what I want, do you?" Ava asks, looking at William
"Umm, yes I do. I'll have a Buzz burger and the steak fries."
"Do you want everything on it?"
"Yes."
"Mayo or Mustard."
"Mustard will be fine."
"Okay, one Buzz burger." She says, turning to Ava.
"I'll have a small salad, the tuna salad sandwich, the ranch potato salad and then some of Cassie's peach pie."
"Alright, I'll put those orders in and I'll bring your drinks out."
"Thanks, Lynn." Ava says, handing her the menu.
"Yes, thank you." William says, handing her, his menu."
"You're welcome. We'll have this right out."
Nodding, Lynn walks away and Ava turns back to him. "So, what did you do today?"
"I spoke with Parliament and then I went over to the Spaulding Mansion to speak with Alex about the situation with Alan and then I drove around Springfield for a while before I went back to my room. I had just come in when you called."
"What did the parliament say?"
"They are still negotiating."
"Does it usually take this long?"
"You have to understand we have different factions of the country and they all want to be heard, but no it doesn't usually take this long. The question is do we dissolve the monarchy and go back to democracy or keep the monarchy and I simply abdicate."
"So, there are still peoples in your government that want to keep the democracy."
"Yes, but when I go back if they haven't set a date for the vote I plan to call a special meeting of the Parliament and we're not leaving until we settle everything and set a date."
"After the vote, depending on the outcome there will be another election or the next in line for the throne will take over, right?"
"Yes." William says, as Lynn brings their food.
"What do you want to happen?"
"At this point, I don't care. It's up to the people and Parliament."
"You said you went by the Spaulding mansion."
"Yes, I wanted to discuss the options for the Spaulding plant if Alan is convicted and sent to prison."
"Do you think he will be?"
"I don't know. But the Spaulding plant is a major part of the San Cristobel economy. The plant supplies hundreds of jobs, jobs that were not there when Richard made the deal with Phillip. San Cristobel has a strong economy now, but we still need to Spaulding plant to continue operating. I also wanted to explain why I allowed US officials to go through Alan's private home on the island and seize his computers."
"Surely Alex understood that you couldn't be a party to anything illegal. Did Alex say that Spaulding is thinking about closing the plant?"
"She understood the reasons I allowed the US officials into Alan's house. And no she gave no indication that Spaulding was thinking of closing the plant. In fact, she offered to reassure the people of San Cristobel that I had no knowledge of Alan's supposed illegal dealings and she offered to raise the wages of every employee in the San Cristobel plant."
"That's good. So, for now you and the Spaulding are still in business together."
"For now, and it will stay that way hopefully after I leave." William says, as he finishes his dinner. "Do you want dessert?"
"I've got peach pie coming, but I'm sort of full so I think I'll tell Lynn to put it in a to go container."
"Okay." William says, raising his hand to get Lynn's attention.
"Yes sir." She says, walking up to the table.
"Can you put Ava's pie in a to go box and we'll need our check, please?"
"Sure." Lynn says, nodding before she turns away.
Five minutes later, she brings Ava's pie and the check. William hands her a credit card and she returns a few moments later for him to sign the check. Ava takes the pie upstairs and then meets William in the courtyard outside the restaurant. "Are you ready to go clubbing in the USA?" Ava asks, walking up to him.
"I haven't been a bar since the last time I was in the Rusty Anchor with Cassie and Richard before they left San Cristobel."
"You don't get to go out much, do you?"
"Oh, I can go out, but not to a bar and get drunk. It's not dignified for a Prince to be taking shots of tequila with the commoners." William says, with a smile.
"Well then, I think it's time you had some good ole fashion Saturday night fun." Ava says, taking his hand and leading to the parking lot. "We'll go in my car, so we'll blend in more." She says, walking towards her car.
"Okay." William says, smiling as they walk towards her car. He opens the driver's side door for her and then walks around to the other side. Getting in, she turns the key and the car, cranks but doesn't turn over.
"Damn." She mutters under breath.
"What's wrong?"
"The car won't start. It's the battery cables. They've been giving me problems, but I haven't had the time or the money to get them fixed." Ava says, reaching to release the hood.
Getting out, she lifts the hood and begins to tap on the cables. Looking up, she says. "Turn it over." William turns the key but it still won't start.
They try that for a few more times and then he gets out of the car. "Why don't we go in my car?" He says, looking at the dark blue Mercedes sedan a few cars down from her.
"The idea is to blend in. That car will stick out like a sore thumb with the crowd that will be at Jon's Bar. These are college kids and everyday people. They drive four wheel drives and muscle cars, not a Mercedes."
"Its either take my car or walk and I don't think you'll be able to walk far in those shoes." He says. "I mean the shoes make your legs look great but I don't think you're up for walking in them."
"Alright, we'll take your car and I'll call the garage Monday and put my car in to get fixed." Ava says, following him to his car. They leave a few minutes later, headed for Jon's bar.
"You know, I've been thinking about something." He says, as he pulls out of the parking lot.
"Okay."
"I know we're or I'm planning on coming to Springfield after the election."
"Yes."
"I was thinking that instead of finding my own place that maybe we could find a place together." He says, looking at her. She looks at him, more than surprised before he turns her attention back to the road, stopping at a stop light. "Maybe I said that too fast." He says, when she doesn't reply immediately.
"You want us to live together."
"Yes." He says, looking at her. "I'm not thinking we're going to get married. If that's what you're worried about. I've rushed the married thing before and you see how that turned out."
"You found your family."
"Yes, that's true. And I had wonderful years when I thought Will was my son, but marrying Camille after I had only known her a week was not the right thing to do. And I'm not saying that I don't ever want to get married again. I would like to someday, but right now I think living together would be good for both of us."
He looks at her as he turns into the driveway to the bar. As he's parking, she turns to him. "I've never been a committed relationship. I was married but that was only to please my adoptive mother before she died, neither one of us loved each other. And that relationship ended very badly. I was involved with Alan-Michael and he used me and Coop, I guess we just grew apart and he saw something in Ashley that he needed. The point I'm trying to make. I'm not sure I can be in a long term relationship."
"You're not the only one that's been in bad relationships. I was married to Camille. She got pregnant and she gave what I thought was my baby up for adoption to my brother. She forced me to take my place as Prince, which wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but she used Will as a pawn to get her way. We've never tried and being together, we might be able to do it." William says, reaching over to caress her cheek.
"I'll think about it."
"Good, that's all I ask." He says, leaning over to kiss her. "Are you ready to go in?"
"Yes." She says, as he takes the key from the ignition
JR walks into Olivia's. Looking around the restaurant, he spots James talking with a blonde woman as the hostess walks up to him. "May I help you?" She asks.
"Thank you, but I see my party." JR says, walking towards Cassie and James.
"…so you have everything planned…."
"Hello, father." JR says, walking up to the table.
James looks up, surprised to see him standing behind them as Cassie turns around to see who has walked up. "JR." James says, standing up. "What are you doing here?"
"I came to see the sister you've found." JR says, looking down at Cassie.
"Okay, then let me introduce Cassie Winslow, Cassie this is my son JR Marshall."
"Hello." Cassie says, holding out her hand.
"Hello." He replies, taking her hand and bending over he kisses the back of her hand "How are you today?"
"I'm fine." Cassie says, looking at James.
"We were discussing Cassie's wedding." James says, sitting down as JR releases Cassie's hand and sits down to Cassie's right."
"You're getting married."
"Actually, remarried to my husband."
"You're remarrying your husband, I don't understand?"
"It's a long story, but my husband was involved in a severe accident several years ago and up to a few months ago, I thought he was dead. And since he was declared dead we decided to remarry."
"If he was alive and you thought he was dead, where was he?"
"Washington DC, before his life support was turned off he was switched with his twin brother, who happened to have been involved in an accident about a week before Richard's accident. His accident left him brain dead. The agency where Richard was kept, spoke with his brother's family and they release Richard's brother to them and the agency switched Richard with his brother."
"So the man that died was actually his brother."
"Yes."
"And how did you find this out?"
"About a year before we moved to San Cristobel, Richard was President of San Cristobel. While he was President he received several death threats. Threats that his advisors took seriously, so seriously that they convinced Richard to bring in a body guard. The man they brought in was made to look exactly like Richard, completely and totally. This man impersonated Richard for the last year that we were in San Cristobel and until the police could catch the people they thought was responsible for the threats. About nine months after Richard's death, the man that had impersonated him showed up here in Springfield.
"That must have been like seeing his ghost, or something."
"It was, I was completely shocked the first time I saw Jeffrey. In fact, I saw him for the first time out in the lobby, coming down the stairs and I passed completely out. After the shock wore off and over the years I came to rely on Jeffrey for certain things and he saved my life a few times. But I was still in a really bad place. I missed Richard. I was mad that he was gone and I was running. So I did something's that I'm not proud of. This summer I decided to stop and take a break and go back to San Cristobel and get my life back together. About a week after I got down there, Jeffrey showed up to tell me that Richard was actually alive and that his accident wasn't and accident at all, it was premeditated attempted murder and that the agency that was used to track down the people making the death threats towards Richard had arrested the woman that was responsible."
"You must have been greatly surprised at the news that your husband was actually alive." Sarah says, walking up and standing behind Cassie. Cassie turns around to see who is behind her again as James and JR stands up. "JR, what are you doing here?" Sarah asks, walking over to the empty chair to Cassie's left.
"I thought I would come over and welcome my new sister to the family." JR says, knowing it would irritate her but that she couldn't say or do anything about it.
"Cassie, this is my daughter Sarah, Sarah, this is your sister Cassie."
"Hello." Cassie says, holding out her hand.
Sarah takes her fingers and shakes them. Before she could say anything JR says. "So you were telling us how you found out that Richard was actually alive. You must have been relieved to know that he was."
"Actually, I was angry."
"Why would you be angry when you have just found out that your husband was alive?"
"I wasn't angry that Richard was alive. I was overjoyed about that. I was upset that Jeffrey when he first came to Springfield he didn't tell me that Richard was alive and I was angry with myself."
"Who is Jeffrey?"
"Jeffrey was the agent that was used as Richard's decoy when his life was being threatened during the last year we were in San Cristobel."
"So this Jeffrey didn't tell you about Richard being alive. That doesn't explain why you were angry at yourself." JR says.
"That's right, why you were angry at yourself?" Sarah asks.
"I was angry about some of the things I had done since the accident and Richard's supposed death. And because I hadn't taken the time to slow down and think, if I had, I would have known that Richard wasn't dead."
"Why do you say that?" James asks.
"Because Richard and I have a connection, I would and will know if something ever happens to him and I'm not with him. I was so shocked and upset after the accident that I just froze." Cassie says, looking at James and seeing in his eyes that he completely understood what she was saying.
"So, what did you do that you were so ashamed of?" Sarah asks, trying to sound innocent but JR saw through her charade.
"I would rather not talk about that." Cassie says, as JR looks at Sarah but she ignores him.
"And you shouldn't have too, what happened after the accident is between you and Richard." James says, as their waiter walks up to the table.
"Welcome to Olivia's, may I get you something to drink?" He asks.
"I'll have coffee." James says
"So, will I." JR says.
"And I will too." Sarah says.
The waiter turns to Cassie. "Do you want some water, Mrs. Winslow?"
"No, I'll have some milk." Cassie says.
"Yes ma'am. Would you like to order now?"
"Do you want to order?" Cassie asks, looking at James.
"Yes, I'll have the special." James says.
"I'll have the same thing."
"I'll simply have some fruit." Sarah says.
The waiter writes down their order before he turns to Cassie. "I'll have some fruit, two eggs and toast." Cassie says.
"Yes ma'am. We will have this ready shortly and I'll bring your drinks out immediately." The waiter says, turning away.
"I admire you." Sarah says, looking at Cassie.
"Why?" Cassie asks.
"Because you're so relaxed to don't seem worried at all."
"Worried about what?"
"You're about to get married, so I'm sure you have a wedding dress that is specifically made for the occasion and yet you don't seem worried at all about what you eat."
Cassie starts to say something but JR interrupts her. "Sarah could I talk to you for moment." He says, standing up.
Sarah stands up and JR walks towards the front of the restaurant while James watches them for a few moments. "What are you doing?" JR asks, turning to her.
"I'm not doing anything."
"So that comment you just made about her weight wasn't intended to humiliate her."
"No, I was simply pointing out that I was amazed at how relaxed she was about eating with such an important event coming up." She says as James looks at her. "What?"
"And that comment has nothing to do with your quest to discredit her."
"How would what I said, discredit her? She's family, entrenched in our family or have you not noticed how our father stares at her. Pointing out that I'm impressed will not change that."
"Whether he does or not, she doesn't deserve what you want to do to her?"
"And what exactly do I want to do to her." Sarah asks. "I'm not trying to humiliate her." Sarah says, before he can answer the question. She turns back towards the table while JR stands there for a few moments before he follows her.
Ava and William walk into Jon's Bar. Lizzie is at the bar when they walk in. "Ava." She says, looking up from wiping off the bar.
"Hi Lizzie." Ava says, walking up to the bar with William behind her.
"Your Highness." Lizzie says, surprised to see him at the bar and with Ava.
"Hello Lizzie, please just call me William, no Your highness tonight."
"Of course, what would you like to drink?"
"I'll have a Sprite?" Ava says.
"And I'll have a beer." William says.
"One Sprite, one beer, coming up." Lizzie says, reaching for a glass.
"So, who's playing tonight?" Ava asks, leaning against the bar.
"Actually, Jeffrey."
"Jeffrey?"
"Yes." He says, walking up to them as Ava turns around.
"Hi." She says, hugging him. He hugs her back, releasing her after a few moments as William turns to them. "What are you doing here tonight? Is Sam with you?" Ava asks
"No, she's at home. Lizzie needed someone to fill in after the band she hired for tonight cancelled at the last minute, so she called me and Sam told me to go ahead, so here I am."
"Is she okay?"
"She's fine. She didn't want to spend a night in a smoke filled bar. She was looking at design options for the house and office when I left." Jeffrey says, turning to Lizzie.
"Do you want a bar?" She asks.
"That will be fine, William." Jeffrey says, turning to him.
"Hello Jeffrey." William says, holding out his hand.
They shake hands as Lizzie hands Jeffrey his beer. "I'm going to go setup."
"Okay." Lizzie says, smiling as he walks away.
"What?" Ava asks, noticing her smile.
"It's funny to see him be a Dad."
"Yeah, I know. He doesn't particularly like us being together."
"Why doesn't he like it? William's a great guy. He's a prince, literally." Lizzie says, glancing at William.
"Thank you, Lizzie." William says.
"You're also a lot like my father and that is what worries him." Ava says, leaning over to kiss him.
"I think we need to get a table before they're gone." William says, picking up their drinks.
William leads her over to a table. Holding out her chair, he sits down beside her. Taking her hand, he softly kisses the back of her hand. "Your dad looks really good."
"I know. He looks happy." Ava says, looking up at the stage and watching him setup the stage.
"You really think we're alike?"
"Yes." Ava says, smiling as she glances at him. "You remind me of him, but there are differences between you too."
"I'm glad of that. Don't think I could handle knowing that you only want me because I remind you of your father." He says, teasing her.
She reaches over and slaps him. "Don't worry about Jeffrey once he realizes and sees that you're not going to hurt me, he'll accept you." Ava says, leaning over to kiss him.
Olivia walks in with James. They walk through the crowd looking for a table and as they are walking through Olivia spots Ava sitting at one of the tables with William. James follows her line of sight and spots Ava and William sitting together. "Do you want to sit over there?"
"No."
"Why, do you know her?"
"That's my daughter."
"And the man she's with is the Prince of…."
"I know who he is."
"Let's go say hi." James says, walking towards the table with Olivia following reluctantly.
As James walks up, Ava looks up. "Mom." She says, seeing her standing behind a man she doesn't recognize.
"Hello." Olivia says, looking at William.
"Olivia." William says, still holding Ava's hand and refusing to release it when she starts to pull it back.
"I'm surprised to see you back up here."
"I missed Ava." William replies, glancing at her.
"Actually we missed each other." Ava says, looking at James. "And how do you know my mom?"
"Yes, introduce your friend, Olivia." William says, glancing at James.
"My name is James Marshall." James says, holding out his hand to Ava.
"Hello."
"It is a pleasure to meet you." James says.
"So how did you two meet?" Ava asks.
"We meet at the Beacon. I'm staying there while I conduct some business with Olivia and her partner." James replies.
"So, you are business associates." Ava asks.
"Well, yes. But I enjoy your mother's company. She a very bright woman and I admire that." James says, looking at Olivia.
"Thank you, James."
"What do you do?" Ava asks.
"He owns luxury hotels across Europe." William says.
"You've stayed in one of my hotels?" James asks.
"Yes." William replies.
"Being the head of state for San Cristobel, you can afford the best. Is that how you seduced my daughter." Olivia asks.
"Mom, he didn't seduce me." Ava says,
"Really, what would you call it?"
"A decision made by mutually consenting adults, who were fully aware of what we were doing."
"Edmund took advantage of me, both of them did."
"My father…."
"Your father believed he would get away with taking advantage of a teenage girl he got drunk at a party, but he didn't. And now he believes that he can toss me aside like yesterday's garbage."
Ava stands up. Jeffrey is on stage. He's finishing up getting ready when a movement out of the corner of his eye catches his attention. Looking up, he watches as Ava stands up, followed by William. "That's the problem. You refuse to believe you had anything to do with what happened that night. You went to that party. You were there, pretending to be older than you were. You accepted the drinks he bought. You got drunk and you were raped, but my father did not do that to you. And what did happen that night, he thought you wanted. You want to blame this all on him."
"He is responsible for what happened."
"And so are you. You brought this on yourself. You brought everything on yourself."
"I was raped."
"But not by my father." Ava says, raising her voice. Jeffrey puts his guitar down. Stepping of stage, he walks towards Ava. "I can understand why he left you. He was tired…." Olivia slaps her as Jeffrey reaches them.
"What the hell are you doing?" He asks, grabbing Olivia and turning her to face him.
"I will not allow my daughter to speak to me that way."
"If you want respect from our daughter, you have to earn it."
"You're giving parenting advice and you didn't even know you were a father until a year ago. I wonder how you're going to do when you're new son or daughter comes along. Or are you sure it's even yours."
"Leave Sam out of this, Olivia. She has nothing to do with the fact that you just attacked our daughter, for no reason but the fact that she told you the truth."
"The truth as you want her to believe so you can believe that you're not to blame for what happened that night."
"I'm not responsible for what happened that night. I didn't rape you. And when I came back after leaving you. I thought you knew and wanted what happened between us."
"How could I, I was drunk."
"We were both… I'm not going to argue about this."
"I suppose all of this is my fault." Olivia says, swiping her arms over the scene between them.
"It certainly wasn't mine." Jeffrey says.
"I think we should go." James says, stepping in and drawing her away from the table.
Olivia follows him as Jeffrey turns to Ava. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine." Ava says, gently touching her cheek.
"What happened?" Jeffrey asks, looking at both of them.
"I'm not really sure. We were talking and they walked up. I was talking to the guy that was with her, trying to find out what their relationship was. I asked him what kind of work he did and William answered the question for him. And that's when Olivia asked him if he seduced me by showing me the finer things of his life. I defended him and it sort of went from there."
"And you couldn't see that coming?" Jeffrey asks, looking at William.
"Dad, stop. Don't go after him because you're mad at Olivia. Even I didn't see that she was going to hit me and I was standing in front of her."
Jeffrey sighs and then looks at William. "I'm sorry, but…." He stops and sighs softly before he turns to Ava. "Are you really okay?"
"Yes. My cheek might be a little tender for the next few days, but I'm fine." Ava says, as Lizzie walks up.
"Is everything okay?"
"It's fine." Ava says.
"Do I need to have her escorted from the property?"
"No, leave her alone." Ava says, laying a hand on Jeffrey's chest.
"Alright, she can stay, but she stays away from you."
"I'll tell security to watch her." Lizzie says.
"Thank you." Jeffrey says.
"I think it's time you started." Lizzie says, looking at Jeffrey.
"Yes." He says, turning to Ava.
"I will be fine." Ava says, moving closer to William.
"Alright." Jeffrey walks towards the stage while Ava and William sits down and Lizzie goes to speak to security.