HAPPY EASTER!
Sorry I'm a day late, I couldn't upload to the site yesterday :o(
...
On the 14th May 2019 Adam Chandler died in hospital after a brief illness. Stuart Chandler passed in his sleep at home that same night…
It was a great loss to the town of Pine Valley.
Two brothers born within hours of each other left the world the same way. Their passing meant a change to a number of lives, not least the Tasker-Montgomery Family.
…
"AJ and Emma sitting in a tree… K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" Miranda sang over the breakfast table.
"Don't tease your brother!" Bianca warned over the top of her newspaper.
"It's okay." said AJ, calmly, "She's only jealous 'cause Alejo didn't ask her out!"
"'Am not!" muttered Miranda, pulling a face.
"Now… now…" warned Bianca. "We play nice at the breakfast table!"
Now AJ and Miranda had reached their teens they had developed a knack for winding each other up.
"Where's your sister?" Bianca added, noting the empty place at the table.
"Gabster was just getting in the shower when I came down." said Miranda.
"Okay." said Bianca, these days their youngest always seemed to be running late.
Marissa entered from the dining room, with the morning's mail in her hand.
"Anything exciting?" Bianca asked.
"I'm not sure." said Marissa, pulling from the stack a handwritten envelope addressed to her; she didn't recognise the handwriting. She handed the rest of the mail over to Bianca and then lent in to give her wife a warm 'Good Morning' kiss.
She added a kiss on the top of the head to her two eldest kids as she past, just for good measure.
"No Gabby?" she asked, once her focus was drawn to the breakfast table and she had taken her seat.
"I'm here!" called Gabby, hopping into the kitchen as she pulled on her shoe.
"Sorry mom." she added pausing to kiss, first Marissa and then Bianca on the cheeks, "I had to borrow a pair of your socks."
"That's okay." said Bianca. "Just eat breakfast… or you're going to be late for school."
…
The kids quickly filled the quiet of breakfast with conversation about their favourite TV shows and Bianca let the sound wash over her… they were all growing up so fast; literally in Gabby's case. She was in the middle of a growth spurt and was now a whole head higher than her older sister and fast catching up with AJ.
Bianca always enjoyed having breakfast with her family every morning, it was best way to start the day. She quickly noticed though that something was wrong. Marissa was reading her letter and her face went suddenly pale.
"What's wrong, honey?" Bianca asked.
The kids stopped their chatter and turned to Marissa too.
Marissa blinked and looked up, her eyes turning to AJ.
"It's a letter from your father's doctor…" she mumbled, clearly shocked.
"Daddy?" AJ muttered.
Marissa nodded and swallowed nervously.
"He's coming to town for your Grandpa's funeral and he's asking to see you…"
"But he's locked up!" exclaimed Miranda, "He can't come here!"
Bianca reached across and squeezed her daughter's hand to hush her; her eldest girl was still very protective of her family.
"He's on a special release…" Marissa explained, "He'll be coming with his doctor."
Her eyes hadn't left AJ.
"Do you want to see him?" she asked.
"Of course he doesn't!" Gabby cried.
AJ stayed quiet.
He didn't know how to reply. He hadn't seen his father in five years… five very happy years. The only communication between them had been the odd card for birthdays and Christmas. The thought of everything JR had put his family through… it made him sick most days.
But he was his father…
As AJ's silence lengthened, Bianca interceded.
"It's okay, Bud, you don't have to decide right now. Think about it… Talk about it if you want. In the end the decision is yours."
…
On the school bus, Miranda turned around in her seat to look back at AJ.
"You're not really going to see him are you?" she asked.
"See who?" Emma asked.
She was sat beside AJ and noticed he was being very quiet.
"His dad's coming to town…" explained Miranda, "But you're not going to see him… You can't"
"I don't know." muttered AJ, looking genuinely pained at the decision. "He's my dad!"
"I think you should see him." said Emma, her own perspective coloured by her experiences with her mother. "It wasn't his fault what happened, he was sick. My mom… once she was in hospital and started getting the help she needed she was fine again. She's still fine. It will be the same with your dad… if he's been getting the right help he'll be your dad again."
"He wasn't mean because he was crazy, he went crazy because he was mean." Miranda protested.
"That's not what the judge said." said AJ quietly. JR never did go to trial for shooting Marissa; once his schizophrenia was properly diagnosed he was deemed unfit. "I just… I just wonder how much of it was him and how much was everything else…"
Miranda looked disappointed.
"So you are going to see him?" she asked.
"I don't know." said AJ, a deep frown on his brow. He was clearly torn "He's my dad…"
…
Bianca was catching up of e-mails in the study after work when the door creaked open and AJ peered in.
"Hey bud." she said, noticing his nervous expression. "'You need to talk?"
AJ walked slowly into the room, his head down… but he didn't speak.
"Is this about your dad?" Bianca asked, turning her chair so she could give the boy her full attention.
AJ nodded.
"What is it?" she asked.
AJ finally looked up and met her gaze.
"If I did want to see my dad, would mom hate me?" he asked.
"Your mom could never hate you!" Bianca exclaimed… but she caught the other meaning in the question too.
"You want to see your dad?" she asked.
AJ nodded again, a pained expression on his face.
Bianca patted the desk to encourage him to come closer, and when he was in reach she took his hand.
"Why do you want to see him?" Bianca asked.
"Because..." said AJ "I need to know who he is really… I remember him when he wasn't sick… I liked him then. Emma said that if he's getting the right help he'd be like that again. I know what he did and I know how much he hurt you both. I would never let him hurt you… I just… I just…"
"… you just need to see him." Bianca finished.
"And mom won't be mad at me?" AJ asked.
"She might be a little disappointed, but no, she won't be mad."
"Could you tell her I want to see him? It will be better coming from you."
Bianca squeezed his hand a little tighter.
"I think it will be better coming from the both of us, don't you?"
AJ nodded.
"Would you come with me when I see him?" AJ then asked quietly. "I don't want mom to have to be there but she'd be okay if she knew you were there to look after me."
"Of course I will." said Bianca with a smile, although the thought of being in the same room as JR turned her stomach.
AJ then surprised her with a hug.
"You're the best, Binks," he said, "And I want my dad to see that too!"
…
Bianca awoke with a start as something hit her hard in the stomach. Marissa was flailing in her sleep. She was dreaming… in the middle of a nightmare. Bianca scooted away to avoid any more accidental hits. Marissa was fitfully asleep, mumbling and muttering and clearly distressed… then she suddenly sat up, the gasp of a half-finished sentence on her lips.
"Are you okay?" Bianca asked, sliding closer again to comfort her wife.
Marissa turned to Bianca, her eyes wide as she tried to get her bearings.
"I don't know." she stammered.
"You were dreaming." said Bianca.
"I know." said Marissa, "It was weird… distressing…"
"You want to talk about it?"
Marissa frowned.
"I was dead… I mean it was now but I was dead… I'd been dead since the shooting. Only there was no crazy lady and it wasn't JR that shot me but David. JR was a free man but the weird part was that JR didn't really look like JR, he was too young…"
"You were dreaming about JR?"
"And you were there." said Marissa, still trying to make sense of everything she had seen. "You were still mourning me after five years. Miranda and AJ were there too but they were somehow too old. They'd aged ten years in five… and they were in love and kissing… almost eating each other's faces off… And there was something about human trafficking…"
"That does sound like a disturbing dream." said Bianca concerned. She then tried to lighten the mood. "What did I say about eating strong cheese before bedtime?"
Marissa didn't respond to Bianca's joke, she simply leaned into her wife's arms, resting her head in her chest, too disturbed by the whole thing.
"It was an anxiety dream." Bianca said, when she realised her joke had fallen flat. She embraced Marissa instead. "You're just worried about AJ seeing JR tomorrow and you have a lot on your plate right now with the funeral and everything?"
"Aren't you worried about JR coming back?" asked Marissa.
Bianca sighed, of course she was worried.
"It's just how you look at it." she said.
"How else can I look at it?" Marissa asked sitting back to look Bianca in the eye.
Bianca ran her fingers through her wife's long hair in an attempt to soothe her concerns; caressing her cheek as she went.
"That this isn't about JR seeing AJ. It is about AJ getting a chance to see his dad. Think of all the things you wished you'd had a chance to say to Roy… There are a hundred things I wished I'd told my father… He didn't even know I was gay, I never told him. I think AJ needs to do this for his own peace of mind; it isn't about JR at all."
"How do you do that?" Marissa asked, nestling closer once more. "You find the bright side of everything?"
"It takes practice." Bianca admitted.
Marissa did find a small laugh this time, a laugh at the familiarity of Bianca's warmth and affection.
"Try and sleep." Bianca whispered, kissing Marissa's brow. Bianca sank back into her pillows, taking Marissa in her arms with her.
Marissa snuggled against her and settled down again.
"I'll try." Marissa sighed hoping the closeness of her wife would chase her worries away.
Marissa lay in the dark for a long time not able to sleep, trying not to fidget and disturb Bianca. Lying there just listening to her own breathing.
"Maybe it would help to talk about it." Bianca whispered, making Marissa start in the quiet room. She thought Bianca was sleeping.
"I should have known if JR was here for the funeral he'd want to see his son…" Marissa sighed. "But with everything else..!"
"It's going to be okay…" Bianca soothed, well aware Marissa's tension wasn't all down to JR.
"How?" Marissa exclaimed in a frustrated tone, "Adam left me half his damn company in his will… ME! What am I going to do with a retail empire, I'm a lawyer!"
Bianca sighed.
"Adam left you Chandler for AJ's sake." she said, rubbing a comforting hand on Marissa's back. "He was always trying to get you more involved."
"And I kept telling him I didn't want it! What would be wrong about leaving it in trust until AJ comes of age?"
"That's lawyer thinking… not Chandler thinking." said Bianca sympathetically.
"But I won't be a lawyer any more… And now JR's coming to town. This just can't get any worse."
"…isn't your meeting with Scott tomorrow?" Bianca asked.
Marissa groaned.
"I was wrong… it got worse!"
…
Marissa and Scott's friendship ended the moment his sordid affair with Cara came to light. The pair had been messing around behind Madison's back for almost a year before anyone found out about it.
The worst part was that Scott had made her an unknowing accomplice in keeping his cheating from Madison. Marissa had stood up for him without knowing that Scott was blatantly lying to her face and she could never forgive him for that.
When the news of the affair finally did break… it was because Madison actually walking in on the pair of them in her own bed.
Scott and Madison's breakup had been clouded further by months of bitter custody battle over Holly. Scott won custody with some underhanded means, even tricking Adam into helping him. Stuart and Marion disowned him after that and poor Madison had a breakdown from the stress.
Madison was lucky that Ryan and Kendall were around to save her from herself… but Scott and Cara lost a lot of friends over their affair. It also damaged Kendall and Griff's relationship as they ended up on different sides in the aftermath. Kendall just couldn't understand how Griffin stayed loyal to his sister after everything that had gone on.
…
Marissa was tense before she entered the Chandler board room for her meeting. It was as grand and oppressive as she remembered. Scott was sat at the far end of the conference table in his usual seat. He clearly wasn't ready to sit in his uncle's now empty chair at the head of the table; even though, as far as Marissa was concerned, the Chandler empire was all his.
"You asked for this meeting?" Marissa asked coolly, taking a seat at the opposite side of the table. It was just the two of them in this big empty room.
"I did." said Scott. "We need to discuss the will and your new role in the company."
"Yeah, but the trouble is I'm quite happy with my old role." Marissa replied. She knew she was being contradictory on purpose but she really didn't want any of this.
"Unfortunately it doesn't work like that." said Scott sweating slightly. "You're a lawyer; you know after the Wendell versus Wendell business last year there are legal reasons for the change. As a major stake holder you have to have a presence on the board and you have to have a role in the company beyond the legal department…"
Marissa sighed.
"I'm aware of that." she said sadly. "Just tell me what I need to do."
"Marissa…" Scott began softly.
Marissa stiffened at the familiar tone; reminded of the time she thought of him as a friend.
"Marissa… This doesn't have to be hard." he pleaded. "We used to make a good team, you and me."
For the first time, Marissa could see past her anger enough to notice how pale and drawn out Scott was looking. She was reminded he hadn't just lost an uncle; he'd lost his father as well… a father he would never now be reconciled with.
She noticed… but she tried very hard not to let herself care.
"We were a good team when I thought I could trust you…" Marissa said, "I won't make that mistake again!"
"I'm sorry… I sorry I dragged you into the middle of things with me and Cara, I know it wasn't fair. But I thought you of all people would have understood."
Marisa bunched her fists as Scott's apology went over old ground she really didn't want to revisit.
"I understood nothing of what you put Madison through!" Marissa retorted.
"Really?" asked Scott. "Really? What if, when you fell in love with Bianca, someone told you you had to stay with JR for his and AJ's sake… could you have done that? Really? I fell in love with Cara… I still love her. It happened at the worst possible time and we handled it in the worst possible way but I was left with very little choice. You can't choose who you love!"
"But you can choose to be honest about it." Marissa replied.
She was very close to getting up and storming out of the room, knowing it wasn't a very productive thing to do.
"Look," she said slowly, trying to keep her temper in check. "I'm here about business... Let's put our personal lives in the back burner for a moment, because we are never going to agree, and you tell me exactly what is expected of me…"
…
AJ followed Bianca into the Yacht club, after holding the door for her as she swung effortlessly on her crutches.
They spotted JR sat at a table with a woman who looked too young and pretty to be his doctor but that had to be who she was. JR was laughing and chatting with her and he looked… normal. He wasn't a big as AJ remembered him and he looked shabbier around the edges, but he was undeniable his dad.
When JR looked across, he registered Bianca and a frown furrowed his brow. The young woman took his hand and spoke and JR's face transformed into a wide smile again; that is when AJ realised something might be up. The scowl was more familiar from his last days with his dad than the smooth smile JR was now flashing his doctor. That smile was what he used to cover up a lie. But what lie?
Well if his dad was still a bastard that wasn't going to stop AJ saying what he needed to say.
As AJ and Bianca approached it took JR a great deal longer to recognise his son. AJ knew he had grown and he was growing up; his voice was starting to break and there would be an embarrassing squeak, always when he didn't want it to happen. AJ wondered if JR was still expecting him to be the same mop haired little boy he'd been five years ago.
...
JR was nervously waiting at a table on the balcony of the Yacht Club restaurant. He remembered AJ liked the boats and he wanted to pick neutral territory to make things more comfortable for their meeting; only he was feeling anything but comfortable. He was trying all the breathing exercises that Dr Brownlee had taught him but it wasn't helping all the flows of contradictory emotions filling his head.
He wanted his son, he wanted him back right now… or he wanted to see him in a state because he'd missed him and he hated living with two lesbians... he wanted the clock to reset so he could live his life with his son and not have to deal with doctors and pills and rules anymore. At least Dr Brownlee was easy to manipulate he just had to smile and act contrite and she was putty in his hands. He knew his old doctor, Dr Stanhope, would never had allowed this meeting, knowing all too well that AJ was JR's Achilles heel.
"Try and stay calm." Dr Brownlee interjected, clearly noticing his growing tension.
"I'm trying." said JR flashing her a smile.
He scanned the room again looking for his son. That's when he saw Bianca; she looked good, even balanced on her crutches. It took JR much longer to realise the tall athletic teenager by her side was his son.
He got up from his chair almost knocking it over in his hurry.
"AJ I didn't recognise you. You're so grown up!"
Dr Brownlee then stood up and introduced herself.
"Why don't we take a seat?" she suggested. "AJ would you like a soda or something?"
"I'm good." said AJ quietly.
"JR." said Bianca tersely, taking a seat as well. "How are you?"
"Doing as well as can expected." said JR, unable to hold in the envy he was feeling the second he saw how great Bianca and his son got on. AJ must have noticed as he tried to draw his attention instead.
"Dad?" piped up AJ. "You wanted to see me?"
JR gave AJ a wide grin.
"I just wanted to talk… catch up… find out how you're doing. You look good. Do you do sports in school?"
"They want me on the football team next year." said AJ. "I'm not sure I want to accept though. I'm more interested in my sailing." His eyes drifted out to sea where a couple of yachts were steaming across the waves under full white sails. "I've got a boat you know? After Uncle Jack gave me sailing lessons, Binks brought me one as a present."
"We both brought it for you." corrected Bianca.
"But I know it was your idea." insisted AJ. "And it's named after you." He turned back to JR. "I called it Binks. It's only little but it can sail like a dream."
JR watched the exchange between Bianca and AJ with envy, they were so easy together. That's how it should be for him and his own son, his own flesh and blood, but somehow he couldn't find a connection. He tried every conversation starter he could think of.
"How is your home?" he asked, trying to remember AJ the last time he saw him. He could remember only patchy memories of talk and drawings and yellow walls amongst the haze of hatred and alcohol that had filled his head back then. "Did you get your room the way you wanted?"
"The house is great." said AJ. "I've moved though. Gabby's in my room now and I'm in hers, so she gets the toys and I get room for my computer and some privacy, away from my annoying sisters."
"You love them really." said Bianca with a grin.
"Yeah I love them." admitted AJ, "But they're still annoying!"
JR searched for another topic.
"And school, how's that going? Still getting straight C's?"
"A's and B's now… B's mostly. Miranda is getting higher grades in most subjects but I'm better at science and maths."
"You'd do even better if you spent more time on your homework." teased Bianca.
"Binks!" AJ moaned.
"And your drawing?" asked JR, scrabbling for another memory that would help him connect with his son. "You were spending a lot of time on your art projects before..?"
"Not so much now. There's no need for all the get better pictures now Bianca's home. Anyway Gabby is the real artist in the family. I've got some cool graphic software on my computer but I can't compete."
"So you like computers?"
"Not as much as I like boats. Soon my moms are going to buy me a racing yacht and then I can race properly. It will be Binks II!"
"When you are sixteen, not before." Bianca interrupted.
"Three years is not that long to wait." said AJ.
"No it really isn't." agreed Bianca; their kids were growing up so fast.
Silence fell. JR had run about of questions. It stung that every answer AJ gave drew him back to his home and family. Fortunately AJ filled the silence.
"So how is your …um …hospital?" he asked. "Do you have your own room?"
"I'm not at the hospital anymore." said JR. "I've moved to a care facility. I've got my own room there and my own kitchen. They've helped me get a job… I'm doing pay role for a haulage company… I get 24 hour supervision to make sure I take my meds. I'm doing good."
"I didn't know that." said AJ quietly.
JR was about to offer AJ his addressed but AJ spoke first.
"Dad." he said suddenly. "Are you sorry for what you did?"
JR blinked. He hadn't expected that. Even Bianca looked surprised by the directness of the question.
"I am sorry." said JR. He looked briefly at his doctor before continuing. "I'm sorry because my illness made me so blind I couldn't see that I was losing you. It made me a monster and so I'm sorry."
AJ licked his lips nervously not sure if JR was being honest or saying what his dad thought he wanted to hear.
"Really? You're sorry for everything?"
What could JR say?
Luckily his doctor stepped in to defend him.
"AJ." she said. "That man who hurt the people you love all those years ago wasn't this man here. He was undiagnosed and had a breakdown in thinking that was beyond his control. He lost his ability to marshal his emotions and judge his actions. We have helped him find a balance and through counselling and medication and he is much improved. And now has insight into his condition and has accepted it's treatment things can only improve."
"What does that mean?" AJ asked.
"It means yes." said JR in hollow tones. "Yes, I'm sorry. I wanted you all to myself. I was incapable of seeing how wrong it all was; now I am. I miss you. I was hoping we could start to build bridges. I'm sure Bianca and Marissa have been great moms but your growing up… a boy needs his dad."
"I've got Reggie and Uncle Jack, if you think I lack a male role model. I'd much rather talk to them. I trust them" said AJ.
That wasn't the answer JR hoped for, it stung. How could he prove that he was good guy?
"I could have stopped it all and contested the adoption, you know." said JR, desperately clutching at straws. "But I'd come to the realisation that you were in a good home. And even though I wasn't the one who made happy anymore, I wasn't going to be the one to make sad either."
"And we're grateful for that." said Bianca, although her expression didn't exactly match her words.
JR nodded.
"Can I say what I wanted to say now?" AJ asked.
"Of course." said JR.
"I came so you could see how happy I was and how much I love my family." AJ said, his voice quite firmer now. "I am glad you are getting better dad… but if you try to do anything to mess up my home or act like a jerk and try and screw this up for me I will never speak to you again!"
That stopped the conversation dead.
"AJ…" JR gasped.
"I want to be able to forgive you, but all can see when I look at you is the man who tried kill the two people I love most in the world; my moms. So if you love me and you want us to start... what was it?... to build bridges, first you have to promise me you aren't going to try and take me away from them!"
JR had such hope the more AJ talked, but he knew now he'd done too much damage to ever think that this would be easy.
His little boy wasn't his little boy any more… he was becoming a man. The worst part was he'd missed it all, he couldn't get back what is own selfish actions had lost him.
"I promise." said JR although the words stuck in his throat as he said them.
Finally JR caught AJ looking questioningly to Bianca and JR realised his time with his son was almost over.
"It was so good to see you." said JR.
"Yeah." said AJ absentmindedly. "I am glad you're better."
JR sighed and tried to push back the anger and jealousy that suddenly surged through him. He really and lost everything!
When AJ and Bianca were gone, Dr Brownlee gave JR a smile.
"Very good." she said. "Didn't I tell you, you're really making progress, you kept your temper?"
"I lied though," said JR quietly, "I do want him back."
"And what does AJ want?" The doctor prompted.
"He's got what he wants." said JR sadly. "And that isn't me."
…
Marissa returned home exhausted from her meeting, the fatigue mostly down the tension of everything that was happening today, not just the prospect of running a company like Chandler with someone she no longer trusted, but also because her son had spent time with his dad.
Coming home through the back door she found Bianca in the kitchen.
"Long day?" Bianca asked, seeing the worn expression on her wife's face.
"The longest!" Marissa sighed.
"He's in his room if you want to talk to him." said Bianca, already sensing the next question that was going to escape Marissa's lips.
"Thanks." she said, before pausing to kiss Bianca softly on the lips. "I don't know what I'd do without you."
"Luckily you'll never have to find out." Bianca replied with a grin.
...
Marissa found AJ on his bed, flicking through a pile of yachting magazines.
She knocked on the open door.
"Can I come in?" she asked.
"Sure mom." said AJ, shoving his magazines on the floor to make room for her beside him.
"And how did it go with your dad?"
AJ sighed.
"Okay I think." said AJ. "I told him what I wanted to tell him."
"And what was that?"
"That he wasn't allowed to mess up my life anymore and that no one has a better family than me."
Marissa laughed.
"You're just big ol' softy really aren't you!" Relief washed through her. "How did you dad take that?"
"I don't know. I think he thought I'd be pleased to see him. I was a bit but I still don't trust him. Even if everything wasn't really his fault, he still did it. I just needed him to know I wouldn't swap this home and this family for anything in the world."
"Nothing, not even your sailing yacht?"
"Maybe a part exchange for Miranda when she's being a pain." said AJ, "But no I love you guys."
Marissa grinned proudly at her son.
"So are you too big for a hug?" she asked.
AJ just grinned back which Marissa took of a yes.
"I love you too you know." she said, sneaking in a kiss on the cheek for good measure.
"Mom!" AJ whined, "That's enough, you're getting soppy!"
...
...
The next day the whole town came out for the joint funeral service of Adam and Stuart Chandler. It was a sombre affair with everyone dressed in black. There were no speeches, only poems and music with a wake held at the Chandler mansion with Brooke and Marion as the hosts. Both widows at least had the comfort of each other in their grief. Everyone was asked to wear a rose to the ceremony and when the two brothers were interred side by side everyone threw their flowers into the grave as one last goodbye.
At the wake, in a room full a respectful chatter, JR stood in the corner like pariah with a plate of sandwiches for company. He'd just buried his father but no one really approached him, not even Tad or Colby. Dixie was notable for absence, but things had apparently got quite bad between Adam and her before he died and she'd refused to come to the funeral. She too had taken Madison's side over Scott and it was the testimony she had been forced to make after Scott and Adam double crossed her that caused Madison to lose her custody case for Holly. JR was amused that his cousin was carrying on the tradition of the Chandler's being the bad guys. Somehow he couldn't see that happening with AJ.
JR watched the crowd to see what more had changed in town since his absence. It would seem Kendall and Griffin had broken up, probably something to do with Cara's involvement with Scott. Ryan seemed very close to Kendall now and Madison, so that looked like trouble brewing. David was there with a teenager who was strapped into a wheelchair. She appeared to steer with her mouth and with a finger was talking through a computer screen. Someone told him it was Leora but he couldn't quite believe it. Erica looked as fabulous as ever and surprisingly was still married to Jackson Montgomery, which must be her longest marriage on record.
Everyone was talking and JR was all alone. He couldn't really blame everyone for giving him a wide berth. Especially as he was standing at the site of his greatest crime.
Then he was surprised when Bianca approached him with Marissa by her side.
"JR." said Bianca. "We're sorry for your loss. Whatever you feel about Adam Chandler he certainly made an impact on this town."
"Thank you."
Marissa was just staring at him.
"Bianca tells me you're at a hostel now." she said.
"It's a residential care facility, it all part of my recover, lets me be independent while under treatment."
Marissa nodded.
"AJ said you meeting went okay."
"It was good to see him."
Marissa swallowed.
"He said the same."
"I am sorry." said JR.
Marissa sighed.
"Well time will tell if you mean it… But I am sorry for you loss."
"Thank you." said JR, he knew how much it must have taken for her to even speak to him after everything he had done, but a part of him resented the olive branch they were offering. They'd taken his son away… and raised him to be a smart, confident young man, a traitorous voice added to try and smother his ire.
"And I hear your going to be running Chandler for now with Scott." JR said to try and keep his internal conflict under wraps.
Marissa scowled.
"Yeah, Adam left me that pleasure. It AJ's legacy. I guess it was Adam way of saying thank you… I just really wish he hadn't."
Bianca put an arm around Marissa shoulder.
"You'll rise to the challenge you always do."
"I guess."
"What are you always telling the kids, 'if you don't try you can only fail'?"
"For what it's worth " said JR, "...which probably isn't much coming from me… you've got a lot more strength than I ever realised."
Marissa turned to Bianca and smiled.
"That's what the love of a good woman can do for you."
Bianca smiled back.
"I can see that too." said JR as he jealously watched them gaze lovingly into each other's eyes. "I can see that too…"
…