A Fresh Start
Chapter One Hundred Eighty Four
After having dinner with Richard, Cassie and the boys, Reva leaves for the Beacon. "You will call me if you need me?" Cassie says, hugging her on the front porch.
"I will be fine." Reva says. "I'm staying at the Beacon. It's like vacation."
"This isn't a vacation and you know it. I don't want you moping around that hotel room, pining away…."
'I'm not going to be pining away. I still have my life and my work with the cancer foundation. I'm not totally dependent on Josh. And I'll still see him at Lewis."
"You need to make an effort…." Richard interrupts her.
"Cassie, let them work it out. But please call us if you need us." Richard says, hugging her.
"I will, I promise. Now go enjoy your first night home as husband and wife again. I think this time it's going to be a little different than last time."
"It most definitely will." Richard says, pulling Cassie to him and hugging her. "We don't have a press conference to attend, arranged by Edmund."
"No, we have two boys that need us… well you, to help them with their math homework." Cassie says.
"Then I better go. I'll talk to you later." Reva says, hugging Cassie one more time.
"I love you." Cassie says, holding onto to her for a moment.
"I love you too." Reva says before they release each other and Reva walks off the porch and to her car. She gives a final wave as she pulls away. Richard and Cassie go back into the house.
Pulling into the parking lot, she parks and then sits in her car for several minutes before she opens the door and gets out. Slowly she walks towards the hotel. Walking into the lobby, she looks around, not really sure what she was doing. She walks over to the stairs and starts up them. Maybe she's hoping in the back of her mind that Josh will show up and beg her to come back to Cross Creek.
When she reaches her floor, she walks down the hall to her room and standing outside the door, she pulls her room key from her purse. She pauses for a few moments before she slips the key into the lock and pulls it out. Opening the door, she stands in the doorway for a few seconds before she walks in and then lets the door close behind her.
"You were hoping they would vote for democracy?" Ava says, looking at him.
"Yes."
"You really didn't like being Prince."
"It's not that I didn't like it. Its that it's been completely marred by Prince George and Dax's actions, even Edmund's. Everything they did was to keep the House of Winslow in control of the monarchy. To keep the power to themselves."
"The same thing can happen with a President. He can do things that will keep the power in his control. No government is above manipulating the people to keep power."
"Maybe that's right, but with a democracy you have a choice. You don't with a monarchy. The family in line for the throne is the one in control and that is the bases for them to do the things that my father, Dax and Edmund did."
"You were going to tell me how you found out that you were Richard's brother."
"Like I said, Cassie forced me to be a part of Will's life. So I took a job working for Richard, redesigning the water ways here in the harbor. The earthquake had shifted the dirt in the harbor and the cruise ships and fishing boats stood the risk of being grounded because of it. That project lasted a couple months and because Cassie kept insisting that I stay close to Will, Richard became jealous. He saw something that I didn't even want to admit to myself. I was falling for Cassie. Anyway, he came up with the idea to send me on a year long cruise on the presidential yacht to promote San Cristobel. Cassie hated the idea and at first Richard agreed with her, but it was only to pacify her. We both agreed that I should leave the country.
The night before I was to leave, Cassie found out about the cruise. She was furious at me and at Richard. She came to see me after Richard finally told her why he wanted me to leave. She came to see me at the Rusty Anchor and I finally admitted that I was falling in love with her. She went back to the palace and she lied to Richard. I can imagine how uncomfortable the next few days were for them. But she finally admitted that she lied to him about me and then she came to see me again. Richard followed her and he was about to walk into the Rusty Anchor when he changed his mind and left. It was a couple days after that I found out that I was actually the Prince of San Cristobel."
"How did you find out? Did Richard tell you?"
"No, Camille told him the truth and then she retracted it and told him she lied. She said she found out and through Colonel Dax. After Camille retracted what she told him and he talked to Colonel Dax, he went to the garden and dug up my grave and found the rocks. That's when he told Cassie. Cassie wanted to tell me immediately, but Richard was afraid of what the people would say and what the monarchists like Colonel Dax would do if it came out that I was alive and he knew about it. He was afraid of what they would do to Will, since he would be the next in line to the throne. During all that is when the article ran and I found out. I confronted Cassie and Richard and they both claimed they didn't know anything about it until a few days before the article ran. Of course I wasn't inclined to believe them."
"What changed your mind?"
"Cassie mostly. She defended Richard. Telling me he was a good and honest man. In the meantime, Richard confronted Dax and offered him a new position on the other side of the island. Dax wanted to refuse it and he did but Richard gave him an ultimatum, he could accept the position or resign. After a few days, I made my decision and announced that I wasn't taking my place as Prince. That's when Camille threatened to take Cassie and Richard to court for Will.
The only way I could see to protect Will was to go along with her and give the country the chance to vote again for democracy or the monarchy. They voted for the monarchy and that left Richard and Cassie with nothing. After years of servicing his country. Richard was out in the cold. At my coronation, I gave Dax and Camille their just desserts. I exiled Dax to San Jamar and I divorced Camille and deported her back to the states. She thought she would be living the life Cassie had led, but I wasn't about to let her be Princess. She was a conniving and manipulative woman. She used Will and she hurt my brother and Cassie."
"But then you let her come back."
"I had Will. And I felt that he had the right to know his biological mother. I didn't know that she had planned Richard's accident. I knew she wanted me back but I never gave her any indication that I would ever take her back. She was here simply to get to know Will." William says, as the newscaster comes back on.
"With the final tally in and in a surprising surge of votes from the outer townships, the voters have decided to reinstate democracy. We'll continue coverage after we return from these messages."
Ava looks at William. "It looks like you got your wish. Is it possible for the outer townships to make that much difference?"
"I suppose it's possible. Most of the monarchists are the older generation and they live mostly in the Capital. Some of the college students support the monarchy, but most of them are for democracy and they live in the outer townships. In San Cristobel you have to vote from where ever you are born. So the student population could have swung the vote in the outer townships enough to change the election."
"Well, it looks like they did. What happens now?"
"The Parliament will take tomorrow to recount all the votes."
"So this isn't the official counting."
"No, the votes are counted twice and then if they get the same results then the results become official. After that we'll start planning for another election to determine who the new president will be."
"How long will that will take?"
"The amount of time will be up to the Parliament but I will impress upon them my belief that they need to make the election for as soon as possible."
"And then as soon as that election is over the new president will take control of the country and you will move to Springfield."
"Yes, I'll be in Springfield. And it will probably be before Christmas and if not then definitely after the New Year."
"Are you ready to spend everyday with me?"
"Everyday and every night." William says, leaning over to kiss her.
She moves into his arms and they stay that way until the newscaster comes back on. William reaches for the remote and turns the TV off. While she looks at him and smiles. "I know what you want to do, but I need to call Olivia and then you can have me all to yourself for the rest of the night."
"Okay, I'll go down and work on some stuff. When you're finished with Olivia, come and get me." William says, getting up.
"I will." She says, looking up and he leans over and kisses her.
"I love you." She whispers, when he releases her.
"I love you too." He replies, as he stands up. He leaves and Ava reaches for the phone.
James and Olivia are walking into her room after finalizing the details for her move to London. As they walk in the phone starts to ring, Olivia walks over to the desk picking up the phone she answers on the third ring. "Hello, Olivia Spencer."
"Mom, it's me." Ava says softly.
"Ava, hi." She says, pulling out the chair and sitting down at the desk. "How are you doing? How's Emma?"
"She's fine, we're both fine. She's been hanging out with William."
"Is she upset?"
"No, she's not upset. I know how to take care of her."
"I know, I just meant was she worried or scared. She's my little girl and we've never been apart like this. I don't want her to think I've abandoned her."
"She doesn't think that. I wouldn't let her think that."
"What did you tell her?"
"I told her the truth."
"Ava, she's a little girl."
"And she's going to have questions, about you, about what happened and where that leaves her. I've been there to answer them and I'm not going to answer them by lying to her."
"Like you believe I've done?"
"I didn't say that."
"They why did you call, your father already told me that you're not planning on giving her back to me. That you believe I'm unfit to take care of her."
"I never said you were unfit. I said I was concerned about the way you've treated her over the last few months. And that I'm worried what you will do if something doesn't work out for you in the future. You plotted to kidnap my father and then frame his wife for it because he decided that he didn't want to be with you anymore. You tried to kill me because Emma was hurt while I was watching her. And you've harassed me and William because we didn't live our lives the way you think we should."
"I know I've made some mistakes."
"Some mistakes, you committed a felony. And if my father hadn't've stepped in and asked the DA to offer you a deal, you would be on your way to prison right now instead of leaving the country with James."
"You sound like you're angry."
"You're damn right I'm angry. You tried to hurt my father and me because we didn't play by your rules. What's going to happens when Emma makes a decision that doesn't play by your rules?"
"So, what are you saying?"
"I'm saying I'm not bringing her back to you."
"Ava, she's my daughter."
"I know she's your daughter, but who's going to protect her if something happens."
"Does she want to stay with you?"
"To be honest, she doesn't know what she wants. She's confused and she's a little scared of you. She says you've been angry a lot and it's scared her."
"So, you're making the decision for her then?"
"Yes, I am. I have to." There is a long pause before Ava says. "I don't know if this will be permanent but right now I want her to have a stable home."
"She does have a stable home."
"If she has a stable home then why is she scared to be with you? I can't ignore what you've done or could possibly do, simply because you want me too. It doesn't work that way."
"So, you're saying I can never get her back?"
"I don't know if you can or not. But right now, no I'm not bringing her back to you and it will take a lot to convince me that you've changed enough that she's not endanger being with you."
"I understand." Olivia says quietly. "Ava, before you go can I ask you a question?"
"What?"
"Is protecting Emma the only reason you're doing this?"
"What other reason could there be?"
"Maybe you want me to be punished more severely than I was by the court. Maybe you want me to suffer because I tried to take your father away from you and because I tried to kill you."
"Well, at least now you're admitting what you did to both of us."
"I know how serious the crimes were that I committed towards you and towards your father. I know that I can't justify what I've done and maybe you're right to keep Emma from me. But I want you to know what I've learned in the last few weeks. Anger eats at you until you're not able to control what you do. You know what you're doing isn't right, but you can't stop what you're doing when you do it. Think about that and I'm sorry I put your through so much. I'm going to go and I'll talk to you later." Olivia says, hanging up before Ava could reply.
For a moment Ava sits on the couch. Sighing softly, she gets up and leaves the family room. Going to the nursery, she goes in to check on Emma before she goes downstairs. She knocks lightly in William's door. "Come in." He calls, looking up. She opens the door and walks in. "Hey, did you talk to Olivia?" He asks, putting the paperwork he was working on down.
"Yes, I spoke to her." Ava says, walking in and closing the door behind.
"You spoke to her." William asks, getting up and walking around the desk. "That sounds a bit formal."
"I called her and we spoke."
"Ava, what happened?" He asks, leaning against the desk.
She walks over to him and sits down in front of him. "I called her. I wanted to talk to her about Emma, but it seem like she attacked me the moment she got on the phone."
"What did she say?"
"She asked me about Emma. How she was doing and if she was upset? I told her the truth that she was fine and hanging out with you and that I knew how to take care of her and it went from there. And I sort of attacked her. I didn't mean to, but it happened."
"She's done a lot to you."
"But William, I was sort of nasty to her. She wasn't being her usual self. She was genuinely concerned for Emma. She wasn't manipulating me. She wasn't trying to dictate or control me. And I sort of laid into her. And then when we were about to hang up she asked me if it was more than just protecting Emma that made me decide to leave the country with Emma. She asked me to remember something that she's learned that from all this with Jeffrey. She said that anger eats at you until you're not able to control what you do. You know what you're doing isn't right, but you can't stop what you're doing when you do it. And to think about that and that she was sorry she put me through so much."
"She sounds like she's making some sense right now. What do you want to do?"
"I don't know. I honestly don't know." Ava says, looking at him.
"Baby, come here." He says, holding out his hand. She takes his hand and he pulls her up and into his arms. Wrapping them around her, he softly kisses the side of her head. "I want you to take a deep breath, and let this go for tonight. You don't have to decide anything right now, just relax."
"I didn't…."
"Shhh, just relax. We'll go upstairs and we close the doors and I'll hold you and we'll forget for the rest of the night everything that's going on with you, Olivia and Emma." He says, stroking her hair.
"Alright." Ava whispers, leaning back to look at him. "Do you need to finish…?"
"It'll wait." William says, turning the light off at his desk and taking Ava's hand. "I'll finish it in the morning and we'll decide about Olivia and Emma tomorrow or whenever you're ready. Come on, let's go." He says, taking her hand and leading her out of the office.
When Jeffrey walks out of City hall, he's surprised to see Sam leaning against his car. Smiling, he walks over to her. "I thought we were going to meet at the loft?"
"I thought I would meet you here. And we could take a walk in the park before we go to Towers. This might be one of the last days of warm weather we'll have, unless you don't want to...?"
"We can walk." He says, opening his car and putting his briefcase in the back before he closes the door and takes her hand.
They cross the street and he leads the way into the park. "What did you do today?"
"I was at the clinic till about three and then I went to salon and I had my nails done and a pedicure. And then I went to the loft and I straighten up a little bit before I got ready to meet you."
"Did you have any patients yet?"
"No, but they'll come."
"And you didn't hear from Cedars?"
"No, but when they give me privileges I'll see more patients coming into the clinic. And I'm thinking that I might bring in another doctor maybe a pediatrician."
"I think Dr. Sedgwick has always been the pediatrician in town."
"Well it can't hurt to have another one. And with school starting up, kids are going start passing stuff around. I'm also thinking I'll have a free vaccination day sometime in November. Let the town come in for a free flu shot and anything else they might want to pay for. Did you talk to Ava?"
"No, I called her but William said she was out taking a walk and she hasn't called me back."
"Do you think she'll give Emma back to Olivia?"
"I don't know. She has valid reasons for keeping her. Olivia's hurt a lot of people over the last few months, including Ava."
"What about James."
"She might be turning around with James. But what happens if he decides to leave. What happens to Emma then? Ava's worried about that and I can't say that I blame her."
"Have you talked to Olivia?"
"Yes, I saw her at Company. And I talked to her after convincing the judge not to have her arrested for breaking his no contact order."
"He wanted to arrest her for talking to you."
"He made a no contact order as part of his acceptance of the deal she made with the DA. I had to explain to him that we have a daughter together and that we can't completely cut all ties. I was able to convince him no to arrest her and we agreed to only meet in public and only about Ava. "
"What did Olivia say?"
"She was scared at first but I explain what the judge agreed to and we then started talking about Ava. I told what Ava said when I talked to her and I explain that I didn't think she would agree to bring Emma back."
"What did she say to that?"
"She was upset and worried. I also suggested that she consider leaving Springfield without Emma."
"What did she say to that?"
"She wanted to know when she would be able to see Emma and when she would have custody again."
"What did you tell her?"
"I reminded her to look at it from Ava's point of view. And I reminded her that I she may have hurt Emma when she went after me. She wants to say that Emma wouldn't be involved if she had kidnapped me, but we'll never know that. And I mentioned the incident while we were in Niagara."
"Do you think she'll listen to what you said?"
"I don't know. But I suggested that she should take sometime and figure out what happened these last few months and I reminded her that Emma has a life here, friends and family that would look out for and protect her."
"So, we're still waiting for her to decide what she wants to do, either try to fight Ava for Emma, or go away and figure out what's going on with herself."
"Basically, yes. We're waiting."
"I don't like waiting?" Sam says, looking at him.
"I know. Let's go get something to eat." He says, putting his arm around her and drawing her to him.
The sun had set and the temperature was falling. Sam might be right. This might be one of the last days of warm weather they will have for while. They walk back through the park and over to his car. Opening the door for her, he closes it when she gets inside and then walks around to his side. Getting in, he closes the door and then starts the car, leaving for Towers.
When they reach Towers, Jeffrey lets the valet take the car as he holds the door for Sam and they walk across the lobby to the elevator. Pushing the button for the elevator, they wait for it with the rest of the guests. "Oh, I forgot. I met with Billy today too."
"About the house?"
"No, the loft, I asked him to draw up plans to add the bedroom and bathroom to the loft for Ava and William."
"Did he have the plans?"
"Yes, and he showed them to me. I had him add another bedroom to the plans."
"You asked to add another bedroom, why?"
"Because if Ava decides to keep Emma, she's going to need a bedroom, so this weekend I'm going to be packing up my guitars and amps and take them over to the house."
"So, you're going to use the study to practice with the band?"
"No, I'm letting the study alone. After we've finished the loft and get moved into the house, Billy and I are going to tackle remodeling the garage. I may use that, but then we might also build a room onto the back of the house off the back patio. The garage is a little too far away from the house for us to rehearse in and the study is too close to your patients. But that's not going to be right now, he's going to finish these projects before we start working on the studio. Did you know that Lewis used to own one of the Spaulding subsidiaries?"
"No, how did that happen?'
"Apparently Spaulding bought controlling interest in Lewis Oil several years ago. That's the name of the company. And as part of the deal with Billy and Josh, Spaulding would keep them as CEO's for the division as long as they promised to do the construction for any new project Spaulding took on. The arrangement worked until Richard."
"Richard, what did he have to do with it?"
"He partnered with Spaulding to build a plant in San Cristobel. Phillip approached Billy and Josh about doing it. They refused and gave up the company to Phillip."
"They refused to build the plant because Phillip asked them to work with Richard."
"Yes."
"So, what happened?"
"They turned the company over to Phillip and they started Lewis Construction and it's been that way ever since."
"How did you hear about this?"
"Billy told me this afternoon. He happened to mention it and I asked him about it and he told me what happened. I'm sort of proud of them."
"It sounds like something Josh would do."
"Maybe so." Jeffrey says, as they walk out of the elevator and into Towers. "We have an reservation for six."
"Yes, Mr. Mayor, right this way." The hostess says, picking up a couple menus.
"Thank you." Jeffrey says, putting his hand on Sam's back as they walk through the restaurant. Jeffrey nods to several people as they go.
"Is this okay?" The hostess asks, turning to Jeffrey as they reach a table.
"It's fine, thank you." Jeffrey says, moving to hold Sam's chair before he walks around to the other side.
"You're server will be with you shortly."
"Thank you." Jeffrey says, as Sam nods, smiling as the woman walks away.
"So, what do want?" Jeffrey asks, picking up the menu.
"I don't know." Sam replies, picking up the menu.
They are looking over the menu when a young man walks up to them. "Hello, my name is Patrick. I'll be your server tonight. May I get you something to drink, maybe a couple of glasses of wine."
"No, we can't have any wine. My wife is pregnant." Jeffrey says, glancing at the young man.
"Of course…."
"J, if you want a glass of wine. You can have one and I'll drive us home."
"No, it's okay."
"J."
"Really, it's okay. I'll have a glass of tea."
"One glass of tea, and you ma'am?" The young man asks, looking at Sam.
"I'll have some water with lemon, thanks." Sam says, glancing at the young man and then back at her menu."
"Do you know what you want or do you need a moment to look over the menu?"
"I think we need a moment, thanks." Jeffrey says.
"Yes sir, I'll be right back with your drinks."
"Thank you." The young man leaves. "So, do you know what you want?"
"I was looking at last one on the bottom, left hand side." Jeffrey looks and reads the description and then shakes his head no. "Why not?"
"It's got mushrooms in it. I don't want to spend this evening at Cedars."
"Oh, I didn't see that. I've got a suggestion, why don't you order for us?" Sam says, pushing back her chair.
"Where are you going?"
"The ladies room, I'll be right back."
"Are you okay?" He asks, looking up.
"I'm fine. I've got to go to the bathroom." Sam says, leaving the table.
A few minutes later, their server comes back. "Should I come back when Mrs. O'Neill is here?"
"No, it's fine. We'll have the prime rib. One needs to be medium rare, the other needs to be medium well. We'll both have the house salad. I'll have the Italian dressing and ranch dressing for my wife's. We'll both have a bake potato. I want butter only on mine. She'll have butter and sour cream." Jeffrey says, closing his menu.
"Yes sir, would you like to order dessert now?"
"No, we'll wait till after we eat, thank you." Jeffrey says, as Sam walks up to the table.
"I'll go put this in and we'll have your dinner out shortly." The young man says, nodding to Sam as he walks away.
Sam sits down as Jeffrey starts to get up. "It's fine." She says, waving for him to sit down.
"I ordered the prime rib for both of us, medium well for you, salad with ranch and a bake potato like you like it. And I told we'll decide on dessert after we eat."
"You said you're going to pack up and move your guitars over to the house?"
"Yes."
"Would you leave mine at the loft?"
Jeffrey smiles for a moment before he nods. "I'll leave yours at the loft. Do you want to go out to the terrace while we wait for dinner?"
"Sure." Sam says, getting up as Jeffrey stands up.
Putting his arm around her, they walk out to the terrace. The lights from the buildings around town fill the night sky. And they can hear the sounds from the street below. The wind is still and the air is crisp from early fall. A full moon is coming up over the lake. "It's going to be a beautiful night." Jeffrey says, slipping his arms around her.
"Yes, it is." Sam says, stepping back into his embrace.
"I think we're going to be in for a hard winter. It's not usually this cool this early."
"The moon is full." Sam says, looking at the lake.
"I know. I'm glad I'm not the DA anymore. People can get crazy when the moon's full."
"It's got nothing to do with the moon."
"Simply put, people are crazy." Jeffrey says, kissing the side of her neck. "Like, I'm crazy about you and our baby."
"You're crazy and you're corny." Sam says, pulling his arms tighter around her.
"Are you cold?"
"Maybe a little bit."
"Let's go back inside. Our dinner will arrive soon." He says, releasing her and turning her towards the door.
They walk inside and Jeffrey is sitting down when their server brings their food. Putting it before them, he leaves and they start to eat.