A/N: I can't believe I'm up to Chapter 30 already. I could probably have condensed a few chapters, but anyway. I see at least another 5 or 6 chapters maybe more to get to where I eventually want it to end. Thanks to all my reviewers. I hope I'm keeping you interested.
Disclaimer: I should probably do this before I get sued, but obviously, Josh was smarter than me to think all these guys up first, so they're his, the plots mine.
Chapter 30
"Julie, I don't know what you expect me to do" Sandy was exasperated and more than weary from talking to Julie.
She had come over early Sunday morning hoping to win back Sandy and/or Kirsten first and then enlist their help in talking to Marissa and Ryan. When Sandy had called on Saturday to inform her that Ryan would not be in the office on Monday she had broken down and pleaded with him to forgive her and listen to her. Then she had asked to speak to Kirsten and done the same with her.
"Kiki, please, you have to understand why I did it" Julie pleaded. "You know what Marissa's life was like before the accident. It was one of continuous drama and turmoil. Her and I always seemed to have more bad moments than good. I just thought I could free her from all that."
"That's touching, Julie" Kirsten snarled "but you failed on all fronts. First of all, what could have been a minor obstacle is now a life changing event. Second of all, you didn't even follow through. You turned her from a troubled teen with a family who cared about her and a boy who loved her to a lonely young adult abandoned by the only two people she knew as family. You may have done more damage than anything from that so-called troubled time in her life. It was really about Ryan wasn't it?"
Julie was sobbing and Kirsten took note that she actually sounded like they were real tears. Julie avoided answering Kirsten's question by changing the subject. "Can I come over tomorrow so we can talk about this, and maybe you could help me convince Ryan and Marissa to talk to me."
"Fine, Julie. Come tomorrow morning. I'm just dying to hear your explanation." Kirsten said in a tone that conveyed the exact opposite of her words.
So, there Julie was at Sandy and Kirsten's on Sunday morning. She had brought Jamie with her and sent him to play with Sophie and Nate. She had been there when Ryan had called and had been wildly gesturing at Sandy to let her talk. Sandy had taken his cue from Ryan and decided that it was best not to throw Julie back in the mix just yet.
"Julie, he said he would talk to Marissa and she would decide when she was ready to talk to you." Sandy explained. "Ryan has always had Marissa's best interests in mind and has helped you more than once to steer Marissa in the right direction, or do your bidding for you. Which brings us to something we have both been wondering…" he looked at Kirsten. "Aside from what you've done to Marissa, which in our mind is unfathomable and inexcusable, how could you do it to Ryan?"
"I know, I know. But at the time I blamed him for everything, and he was partly why I wanted her out of here." Julie was digging herself a deeper hole.
"Oh so, sending him to Mexico after Volchok to avenge Marissa's supposed death, what was that? Did you want him to get caught? Was that just adding insult to injury? I don't think so. You knew that he was the only one who would do what you wanted because he loved her, and when she died, a part of him died." Sandy was now yelling at Julie. "You have watched that boy grow into an incredible young man. He thought enough of you to warn you off his dad AND bring you into ATCO as a minor partner. You are the mother of his brother for god's sake, Julie. Were you EVER going to tell the truth? And Friday, why did you react the way you did when you saw them together. You know that far from being the worst thing for her, he's the best."
Julie buried her head in her hands and began to sob uncontrollably. Kirsten moved to sit next to her and console her. She wasn't sure she could forgive her friend anytime soon for what she had done to Marissa and her adopted son, but she could empathize and she could see she was feeling the pain of what she had done.
"Sandy, maybe you should just leave Julie and me alone for a bit. Maybe you should take Nate, Jamie and Sophie out for breakfast now. They're playing a board game in her room." Kirsten's voice was soothing and assertive. Sandy knew his bad cop routine was over and now it was Kirsten's good cop that needed to take over. Almost thirty years of friendship with Julie had taught them how to deal with her. This was the worst they had had to deal with and neither was sure if they could move past this.
"Nate!!! Soph!! Jay!! Let's go. Short stacks are calling!" Sandy yelled up the stairs. The teenager and the first graders soon joined him and they were gone.
"Kiks, I've really blown it haven't I?" Julie spoke through a cloud of tears and smeared mascara. Kirsten handed her a Kleenex "To be honest, I'm not sure what I was thinking at the time, or if I was. It seemed like the fix to all of Marissa's problems. Looking back, I can't believe I pawned her off on Cindy. I mean, when I did that, we finally had the relationship I always wanted which was great. We were friends, but then I wanted to be her mother again and I couldn't tell her the truth so I gradually drifted away. She'd almost finished college, was leading a normal, drama free life. I figured it was safe to let her go."
"But Julie, she's your daughter. How could you just let your child go like that?" Kirsten asked in disbelief.
"I don't know. I guess, I figured I'd put her on a better path and that I could concentrate on not screwing up Kaitlin and Jamie's lives, and I did. I mean Kaitlin was a wild child too, but we became and still are really close. She's doing her PhD at Harvard and we talk all the time, and Jamie is my joy. I just want to make things completely right with Marissa now. I wouldn't blame her if she hated me forever, but I at least want the chance to try. Kirsten, please. Help me."
Kirsten was softening more. "And what about Ryan? If he and Marissa get back together, is that ok? Because, you can fix all you want with Marissa, if you don't make things right with him too, there's a whole lot more at stake than a relationship you let go of years ago."
"I know. Ryan is a great guy. I know that now. I've known for a while now, and it's been another constant source of torment for me. I don't know why I reacted the way I did the other night. He's been a great step-son, he's an amazing business partner, and he'd make a great son-in-law in our twisted incestuous family." Julie laughed uncomfortably. "After all you are still my ex step-daughter remember?"
They both laughed, seemingly breaking the final barrier of anger and resentment that Kirsten had.
"All right, Julie. I'll talk to Ryan and MAYBE he will lead the way back to Marissa, but you have to let it happen in its own time. Absolutely no Julie Cooper Nichol (almost Cooper Roberts Bullit) Atwood stunts". They laughed together again at Julie's romantic past. "You have to promise me."
"I promise, Kiki. I'm glad we talked. On top of everything else, I couldn't stand it if I lost you too."
Kirsten smiled faintly. She was still inwardly furious with Julie for what she had put Ryan through, but felt a sense of empathy when she realized her fierce emotions regarding Ryan's well-being had probably been comparable to the emotions that were the catalyst in Julie's own actions regarding her daughter. The one thing that she knew for sure is that if Ryan and Marissa were to have a chance this time without all the angst and drama of their teenage romance, Julie was going to have to be a welcome and understanding part of it and it was going to be up to her, and hopefully Sandy, to pave the way to a reconciliation. Kirsten leaned over to Julie to give her hug.
"I'm not saying I condone what you did or agree with it, Julie, but I will do my best to help you." Kirsten said sincerely and started to make another pot of coffee.
Julie breathed a sigh of relief. She had gone through the gamut of emotions since she heard Ryan say the name Melissa Hooper. Her first instinct had been to protect her secret at all costs, when that had not worked and she had come face to face with Marissa, her next reaction had been to revert to her original feelings. Keep Ryan and Marissa apart. Nothing good ever came of them being together when they were teenagers, or so she thought.
Now she had had time to digest all that had happened in the last two days. She had seen the way Ryan was with Marissa and there was no mistaking a man in love. Clearly his feelings had never changed, and now she could see that a man she knew, liked and trusted wanted to take care of her daughter. She had called her sister in hysterics confessing her regrets for everything she had done, and spent the better part of the last two days fighting the tears so Jamie didn't see
Eight years of secrets and lies had come crashing down on her and all she wanted to do was make things right. Once again she would be in debt to Sandy and Kirsten, and probably Ryan too, for helping her mend fences with her daughter. Julie fidgeted with the cup of coffee Kirsten had just placed in front of her and looked at her friend with a tear stained face.
"Thank you" she said quietly, and Kirsten knew it was for much more than the cup of coffee.
Sandy arrived back a short time later with Nate and the two little ones who had clearly had a vast amount of sugar on their little excursion as Jamie was literally bouncing around the house.
"Mommy, Mommy, Uncle Sandy got us chocolate chip pancakes and a chocolate milkshake and we covered them in syrup. We didn't really mean to put so much but Sophie wouldn't give me the jar and then I tried to take it and it kinda spilled, but we ate the pancakes anyway and…." Jamie just could not get all his words out fast enough.
"Ok, sweetie, just calm ok? I think we'll go home now and we'll come back and visit again later in the week." She rubbed the top of Jamie's head and turned to Sandy and Kirsten.
"Thanks for taking him out Sandy, and well…um…just thanks." She felt herself start to break down again and quickly hurried a protesting Jamie out the door.
Nate, being the extremely observant teenager that he was, and now having a little insight into the whole picture with Ryan and Marissa and Julie, sensed there was something Kirsten needed to talk to Sandy about.
"Hey, Sophe, why don't we go pick up our game of Snakes and Ladders in your room" he said, trying to herd the seven year old out of the kitchen. He caught Kirsten's eye as he left and she nodded her appreciation silently.
As they left Sandy turned to Kirsten with a look on his face that told her she was going to have some convincing to do.
"She got to ya, didn't she?" he said incredulously.
"We talked, yes. Sandy, she's destroyed by this whole thing. She has so many regrets you would not believe, the most recent, but certainly not limited to, the way she reacted on Friday." Kirsten looked at Sandy with pleading eyes.
"Oh no" Sandy said hanging his head. "You told her we'd help patch things up didn't you?"
"I said that we would talk to Ryan, but it was entirely up to him to deal with Marissa and have her make her own decision on when she's ready to talk to Julie."
"So are you going to tell him, that you think it's ok that Julie not only had Marissa living a lie for the past eight years, but him too? Because that's what it amounts to. If none of this happened. There's no cage fighting, no Mexico, no deferring college for a year, no Taylor. No lost boy trying desperately to be man and love again. You think we can convince him that it's all ok now?" Sandy was not happy with the turn of events and his tone was harsh.
"Sandy, we haven't always agreed on our parenting strategies, but I think that if we really want him to be happy and continue with a normal happy life, that I'm sure is going to include Marissa, because really…who are we kidding…then Marissa has to mend her relationship with Julie and so does Ryan. Otherwise all the same issues come back again. Marissa fights with Julie and runs to Ryan. Ryan gets in the middle in his effort to help causing strains on his relationship with Julie, which is so much more than it was back then. His business is riding on them fixing this now, for now God's sake. If there is anything I can do to make things better for Ryan, I'm going to do it, with or without your help." She turned to leave the kitchen.
"Ok" he said quietly. "We'll do it your way, but I have no idea what to say to Ryan."
Kirsten turned back around and smiled at her husband. "Thank you. I know the great Sandy Cohen will think of something to say." She kissed his cheek and walked back out the kitchen.
Sandy frowned as he took his phone out of his pocket and began to dial Ryan's number. This was going to be an interesting conversation.