When Eleanor and Robert DuValle arrived at Rossi's home that evening, Christine was in panic mode and had been for the past hour.
"What am I going to say to her?" Christine worried as she and Reid arranged appetizers on the kitchen island. "How do I explain 'things'?"
"Don't worry," Reid reassured her. "Eleanor already knows about the circumstances surrounding this set of twins. She really just wants to see you and reassure herself that you are okay."
Christine needn't have worried. The minute she opened the front door, Eleanor swept in and enveloped her in a hug.
"Finally!" Eleanor gasped. "You can't believe how glad I am to see you!" She then promptly broke down in tears. "I have been waiting for this for so long!" she continued as she sobbed. "And, now that we are finally face-to-face, I just don't know what to say!"
"Well, I'll start by saying I how glad I am to see you again!" Christine sobbed as she clung to the older woman. "Now, now, I can finally believe it is all over!"
As the two sobbing women slowly made their way down the hall towards the kitchen, Reid looked at the distinguished looking gentleman left standing on the doorstep. "Robert!" he greeted him. "Please, come in."
"Good evening Spencer. Don't mind if I do," Robert DuValle replied as he stepped inside and looked around the spacious foyer. "Eleanor tells me this is the home of the famous David Rossi. You know, I've read all his books."
"Yes, it is," Reid confirmed as the two men followed the women into the kitchen. "Christine is staying here with him until the babies are born."
"How are David and Diana these days?" Robert asked. "It has been a while since Eleanor and I have seen them."
With that as an opening, Reid promptly launched into a description of the twins' latest exploits.
When the women's sobbing had finally subsided, Christine assumed her duties as hostess, and made sure everyone had drinks and an opportunity to sample the various appetizers.
"I hope you like Italian," she told the older couple as they sat around the kitchen island. "Sonia, Dave's housekeeper, specializes in it and I am planning on serving some of the dishes she left for us."
"Don't worry about us, my dear," Eleanor told her as she picked up Christine's hand and held it tightly. "Just let me sit here and look at you!"
"Well, there is a lot of me to look at," Christine glanced down at her slight bulge.
"Another pair of twins, I understand," Eleanor smiled.
"Yes, I always was an overachiever!"
Later that evening, as the two couples were eating dinner, Eleanor smiled at Christine and commented. "I understand you wrote a book."
"Who me?" Christine looked innocent.
"Don't lie to me, Missy! By the time I was half way through the first chapter I had figured out who the 'mysterious author' was." Eleanor seemed amused by the denial.
"I really enjoyed it, too," Robert added.
Reid gave Christine a puzzled look. "You wrote a book?" he questioned.
"That's how Dave found me," Christine explained. "Our mutual publisher sent him an advanced copy and, like Eleanor here, he figured it out."
"A book?" Reid repeated his question. "You told me he had read something you had written, but a book?"
"I told you it was fiction," Christine reminded him. "I never said anything beyond that, and you never asked."
"There are approximately 328,259 books published in the U.S. every year, and Rossi spotted the one that you wrote?" Reid asked. "What is the title?"
"Summer Smiles, Winter Tears," Christine replied. "If you are interested, there is a copy in your room upstairs."
"That book was on the Best Sellers List for weeks!" Reid exclaimed. "The author is – Nichole Spencer." Reid shook his head. "I never realized! I'll have to read it tonight."
"Other than my foray into the publishing field, what have the other women been doing?" Christine asked.
"Well," Eleanor began. "First off, let me assure you that after what she pulled today, Sheila McKay is going to be in social limbo for the upcoming holiday season! Social climber that she is, she has been using my name, in addition to her '5 minutes of fame', to score invitations to A-list parties. After today, she is going to be on a list she really doesn't want to be on – The one of Social Pariahs!"
"Retribution?" Christine suggested with a smile. "Probably well earned! What about the others? How are they doing?"
"Well, Valerie Prescott's husband is busy running for public office," Eleanor told her. "So, when you see her, watch out. She's trying to raise funds as well as line up votes."
"I don't even know if I am still registered to vote," Christine confessed. "That's another thing I need to check on."
"And, Phillipa Bigelow is divorced," Eleanor sounded resigned. "Her husband couldn't deal with the – aftermath – of her abduction. However, on the bright side, she did enroll in law school and is now finishing up her last semester."
"And doing quite well," Reid contributed. He blushed slightly. "She's called me several times for help with her moot court casework."
"I wondered about how everyone's spouses would handle things," Christine remarked. "Therapy is available, but to so many people there is a stigma attached to that."
"Well, I had no qualms about getting help," Robert smiled at his wife and picked up her hand to hold it. "After everything we have been through, I wasn't about to let 30 years of marriage go down the drain."
"Lucky you," Christine smiled at the happy couple.
"And, there is a decision you need to make," Eleanor continued. "It concerns your share of the monies that were donated to us after we were rescued."
"Money? Donations?" Christine questioned.
"Yes," Eleanor confirmed. "A number of very generous people contributed to a fund that was set up to help cover the bills involved in our recovery from our ordeal. Obviously, we didn't need it so, as a group, we decided to make a donation to a local Woman's Center that specializes in helping abuse victims. Your share of that fund is still in the bank."
"What did the center do with the money?" Christine asked.
"They set up an outreach program, with a new center located on the far north side of D.C.," Eleanor explained. "The center is named 'Vicki's Place' after Victoria Gainsville. Her daughter and granddaughters volunteer there."
"And," Eleanor continued. "They, as well as Vicki's husband, want to meet you."
As Reid watched in dismay, Christine seemed to shrink three sizes. "Do they know what I did?" she whispered.
"That's why they want to meet you," Eleanor explained kindly. "They want to tell you that they know and understand, and that they know that Vicki would understand as well. They also want to thank you personally for what you did for Vicki while she was with us."
"Let me think about it," Christine hedged. "In the meantime, why don't you get me the bank's information? That does sound like a good use of any money that's waiting for me, although - ."
"What?" Reid could see her thinking.
"I have been thinking about something," Christine confessed. "After my unfortunate experience with having to take the twins home from the hospital all by myself on a city bus, I would like to see that no one else ever has to do that."
"You want to set something up at the Lake Tahoe Hospital?" Reid guessed.
"Yes!" Christine declared. "I know they have a program that provides car seats for babies whose parents don't have them. I wonder if I could tie in a program that provides taxi service for those mothers who don't have transportation. I know how that experience affected me, and I'd like to try to avoid that happening to someone else!"