Kim ushered Andrew through the door of Alice's Restaurant.
"Can I play games?" Andrew asked excitedly.
"After you have some lunch, young man," Kim said. She put both hands on his shoulders and steered him to a booth that Alice Horton pointed them toward. Kim helped Andrew out of his new jacket, courtesy of an early morning visit to the local kid's clothing store.
The restaurant was fairly empty for a Saturday, and Alice herself came over to the table to take their order. "Kimberly, it's wonderful to see you," Alice said with a big smile. "And this gentlemen, why I bet he would like some Mickey Mouse pancakes?"
Andrew laughed. "No, silly, it's too late for pancakes."
"Phooey," Alice replied. "It's never too late for pancakes." She turned back to Kim. "How are you, Kimberly?"
"I'm fine," Kim lied, wondering if she had any hope of deceiving Alice. Nope, she thought to herself as she saw the slight frown on Alice's face.
"And how's Shane?"
Andrew answered before Kim could. "Daddy's coming home today!"
"That's wonderful news," Alice said, her eyes never leaving Kim.
Kim felt the color rising in her cheeks. "Yes, it is." Quickly, to change the subject, Kim glanced at the menu and said, "Why don't you bring Andrew a kid's cheeseburger and fries? I'll have a tuna salad."
"And I'll have a cup of coffee and one of your doughnuts, Mrs. H."
"Uncle Bo!" Andrew cried out, jumping out of the booth to give Bo a hug.
With a grin, Bo ruffled Andrew's hair. "Hey, there, little man. How's it hanging?"
"Bo!" Kim nearly shouted.
Bo rolled his eyes and nudged Andrew. "That just means 'how are you?' - in manspeak."
"Bo!"
"All right, all right." Bo grew serious. "Look, I do really need to talk to you."
Kim knew that look in Bo's eyes. It was the "My sis has a problem and I'm going to get it out of her" look, but she also knew that Bo would cause a scene if she did not at least talk to him.
As Bo took a seat on the other side of the table, Kim reached for her purse and pulled out some change. "Andrew, honey, why don't you go play some games until our food gets here? I'm going to talk to Uncle Bo." Andrew grabbed the coins greedily and nearly sprinted for the other side of the room. "Just stay where I can see you," Kim called after him. Then, with a sigh, she turned to her brother. "Okay, baby brother, what's going on?"
"I should be asking you the same thing," Bo said in a low voice. "I saw Shane last night, and that's one pretty down-in-the-dumps Englishman."
Kim hoped the warning was clear in her voice. "Bo, this isn't the time or place to discuss this."
"Yes, it is." He leaned across the table. "What are you doing, Kimber? I don't get it. A few weeks ago, you would have been over the moon if Shane wanted to get back together with you."
"That was a few weeks ago," Kim said evenly. "A lot's happened since then."
Bo shook his head, as if in disbelief. "So you're scared. I get it. Losing someone is hard, Kimber. I've been through it. But that pain you felt when you thought Shane died. . . . Not living life because you're afraid of feeling that kind of pain. It's not worth it."
Kim looked down at the Formica table-top. Was that it? Was her fear about how she felt at that moment the reason she was struggling? She remembered that feeling - the complete numbness, the emptiness that filled her. Kim never wanted to feel that way again, but, at the same time, she could not say that was the reason for her hesitancy. Or at least, she could not say it was the entire reason.
"You don't understand everything, Bo." She looked up at him. "There's a lot more to it."
"No there isn't," Bo said. "Look, Kimber, I'm going to tell you exactly what I told Shane a little while back. You're nuts. You're pushing away the man you love and I don't care why you're doing it. You'll regret it in the end." He paused before saying, "Don't be like me and Hope. Don't screw it up and only realize too late what you could have had."
Kim wanted to tell Bo this was not the same. Her issues with Shane were not the same as Bo's with Hope's. Hope never pushed Bo away like Shane did Kim. Hope and Bo had struggles, but they did not inflict the same pain that she and Shane inflicted on each other.
And there were the children to think about. Andrew had been through so much in his young life. How would he be affected if she and Shane got back together only to split up yet again? Their son had come through so many traumas already; there had to be some limits to his resiliency.
Thinking about Andrew, Kim turned her head in the direction of the games he was playing.
"Oh, for God's sake," she said, rising immediately to her feet. Across the restaurant, Andrew was not alone. Rachel Knight was standing next to him and feeding a quarter into the ski-ball game Andrew was playing.
Storming across the room, Kim grabbed Andrew's arm and pulled him away from Rachel. Tight-lipped, she said, "Andrew . . . go back to the table, sweetie. I'll be there in a minute."
"But I'm in the middle of a game, Mommy."
"That's okay," Kim said. "You can play later - after we discuss talking to strangers."
Andrew looked confused. "But she's not a stranger. She said she's Eve's friend."
"Did she now?" Kim asked, but she did not wait for a response. "Go on to the table, Andrew." She waited until he had walked away before turning on Rachel. "You stay away from my son."
Rachel smiled sweetly. "But he's such a nice boy. And I was just talking with him about his sister. You know-"
"Oh, I know," Kim spat. "So that's what you're planning next? You haven't done enough to hurt this family, so now you're going after Shane's daughter?"
"Kim. . . ." Bo's hand touched her shoulder.
Kim shook her head. "Don't tell me not to make a scene. After what she's already done, I don't want her anywhere near my family."
"Your family?" Rachel raised an eyebrow. "That's an interesting way of putting things. So am I to take it that you and ex-Captain Donovan are once again a couple. The 'hooker and the spy' once more?"
Before Kim could respond, Bo stepped between them. "Listen, lady. . . . You heard my sister. Leave her and her family alone. They've been through enough without you spewing more garbage about them."
"Garbage? Is that so?" Rachel looked at Kim. "Care to point out a single false thing I've printed? I think you'd find my facts are quite accurate."
"Just not the spin you put on them," Kim said angrily. "How do you sleep at night, knowing your distortions hurt innocent people?"
Rachel laughed. "I would hardly call you innocent, Ms. Brady - not with your history."
"Why you!" Bo shouted at Rachel, but Kim grabbed him before he could do anything. His outburst obviously attracted attention from others in the restaurant, because Alice Horton hurried over. Reaching them, she rolled her eyes.
"I should have known you would be in the middle of this," she said to Rachel. "Now I think you had better be leaving. You're not welcome here."
Rachel took a breath. "I'm just doing my duty as a reporter."
"I'll bet," Alice replied. She looked Rachel up and down, taking in the tight jeans and low-cut blouse that seemed to be the norm for the reporter. "Well, if you insist on staying, I'm sure I could fix you a bowl of split pea soup. I do have to warn you that I've been a little clumsy recently."
With a snort, Rachel glared at Alice, then at Bo and Kim. "Fine. I'll leave. But I won't be intimidated by you." She turned around and stormed out.
"Are you okay?" Alice asked Kim.
With a nod, Kim turned and started back for the table. "I will be. . . . I just can't believe that witch. Like she hasn't gotten her pound of flesh already."
"Well, I'll make sure she understands that she is not welcome in my establishment," Alice said. "I tried to be subtle the last time, but she just doesn't seem to appreciate subtlety."
Kim chuckled. "No, Mrs. Horton, I don't think she's the subtle type." She looked down at Andrew, who seemed confused by the situation. "It's okay, honey. You just have to realize that even when somebody says they know our family, that's not always true. So remember what Daddy and I told you about talking to strangers, okay?"
"Yes, Mommy." Andrew lowered his eyes.
"Hey, don't feel bad, kiddo." Bo slid into the booth next to Andrew. "Everything's fine now."
Alice smiled. "Of course, it is. And it looks like your food is ready, so let me bring it over."
As she walked away, Bo looked at Kim, then Andrew, and then back at Kim. He obviously did not seem comfortable continuing their conversation about her and Shane in front of Andrew. At that, Kim felt relieved.
But Bo made it clear that he was not going to let it go. He leaned forward once more and said, in a low voice, "We're not done, Kimber. I want you to think about what I said. Don't wait until too late or you're going to regret it forever."