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Chapter Fifteen
Lulu's heart squeezed in her chest as if Dillon had reached in and took hold of it.
She thought, He wants me to say!
Then her logical side said, Don't go acting like a silly schoolgirl. He didn't say to stay here to be with him.
"I live in California. Why would I stay here?"
"Clark is on the east coast. Maybe you should be too. So when he comes around and decides to let us in we'll both be just a car drive away."
"That makes sense." she said and thought, See? It's not about him wanting me at all.
"Plus," he said then paused
His mouth curved into a easy smile. Her heart sped up.
He continued, "I like having you around. I have my family and work associates but you're my friend. And they're not too many of those in my life who knew me back in high school that I still like being around now. Lets see? There's you and ... just you."
Lulu had waited years to hear him say he wanted her around. Yet she knew he wasn't alluding to some grand romance. But it still felt good.
It made her feel less crazy. Like maybe she didn't imagine the connection between them.
"I'm not leaving anytime soon." Lulu said "Not until I get to spend time with our son. Do you think we should go see him? Force the issue?"
"Absolutely not. He's been through a couple of crazy months. Let him come to us. He's worth waiting for."
And so are you, Lulu thought
Clark stepped off the train and took his first look at Port Charles. It's pretty, he thought.
It was downright silent here compared to New York. He wondered if he could even find a cab.
He asked a woman he stood nearby, a suitcase in her hand, "Excuse me? Are there any hotels nearby?"
"Sure are. There's the Port Charles Inn, The Metro Court and Kelly's, a boarding house where you can rent rooms over a diner. You staying in town long?"
"I don't know."
"Well, if you think you might, go to Kelly's. Tell whoever's behind the counter that Felicia Jones sent you. The owners are old friends of mine, Bobbie and Luke. Luke is a little... well, you need to get his sense of humor to get him but Bobbie is sweet. You'll like it there."
"Thanks a lot."
"No problem, kid." Felicia said
Clark walked away thinking, They sure are friendly around here.
He wandered in front of the train station and saw a single cab sitting by the curb.
He got inside and said, "To Kelly's please. Do you know where that is?"
"Of course. I used to date a girl that worked there. Oh, but that was about 35 years ago now. Her name was Tammy. You ever know any Tammy's?"
"Um, no."
As they rolled down the street the cabbie said, "They are fun girls. So, why are you in town? See a man about a horse?"
"Huh?"
"Got business?"
"No, it's... a family matter."
"What family?"
"Excuse me?"
"Hardy? Webber? Corinthos? You not one of those gangster boys are you?" The man turned around to peer at him.
"Watch the road!"
The cabbie nearly ran into a person riding his bike but he swerved in time. The man on the bike didn't yell out a cuss word like Clark expected, instead he waved.
"Hi, Jax!" the cabbie shouted in greeting as they passed the man.
Clark thought, This town is really small. It's just like the one in that movie Dillon Quatermaine directed.
He always thought of his biological father that way - as Dillon Quatermaine. The same as the other directors he admired, the classic ones like Steven Spielberg or Cameron Crowe or the brand new one who did all the Kung Fu Aliens in Outer Space movies Matthew Hanson. He would never call them Steven or Cameron or Matthew without thinking of their last name too.
The cabbie blabbered on, "So what family you visiting?CassadineScorpio? Smith?"
"Spencer and Quatermaine."
"Oh, good people. Yep. They've lived around her since the cows came home."
"The who went where?"
"Just an expression." The cab stopped "So you plan on staying a while?"
Clark already felt like a part of this strange little town. No stranger in New York City ever treated him like on old friend as soon as he met them. "I just might."