The Long And Winding Road
Note: I don't own the show, the characters, etc.
Chapter 12--The Morning After
It was Sunday morning at the Nelson/Simpson home. Emma sat at the kitchen table eating a doughnut and reading. There was a knock on the back door. Putting down her book, Emma opened the door and found Courtney standing there.
"Hey! Come on in."
"I figured I'd better come over and see for myself exactly what's been going on this weekend."
"Oh?" Emma asked coyly as her friend entered the house. "What makes you think something's been going on?"
"Call it a hunch…or the fact that you don't normally call me up at 1:30 in the morning screaming 'It happened! It happened! Me and JT! We're me and JT!' I took that to mean you two finally came to your senses and became a couple. Then I hung up on you and went back to bed."
"Sorry about that," Emma responded. "I suppose I was a little excited."
"Just a little," Courtney teased as both of them sat down at the table.
"Be thankful. The family had to hear about it a lot longer."
"But they're happy for you, no doubt."
"My mom is thrilled," Emma confirmed. "Then again, JT IS the first guy I've gotten involved with that she really likes. Snake just walks around with that 'I told you so' smirk."
"Let me offer you my congratulations as well, Emma."
"I accept, and offer you one of these doughnuts in return."
"Thanks," Courtney said, grabbing a doughnut. "If YOU'RE actually eating a doughnut, things really must be worth celebrating."
"I've never said doughnuts didn't TASTE good; only that they aren't good from a health standpoint. Today just seemed like a day to splurge. Even so, JT will probably pass out in shock when he hears of today's strange breakfast choice."
"I take it this won't be a permanent change?"
"No," Emma replied. "My insides don't have to worry. It's merely a happiness-induced junk food fluke."
"It's quiet around here," Courtney then commented. "Where is everybody this morning?"
"My folks took Jack to the zoo today."
"Sounds like fun."
"But work for me," Emma remarked. "Once they get home, it's up to me to de-program my brother. Can't have him, no matter how young, thinking it's a good thing that all those animals are kept in cages and put on display for the public's amusement."
"Perish the thought."
"Don't mock."
"Okay, I'll leave the mocking up to JT. Oops, I guess I should say 'your boyfriend.'"
"That DOES have a nice ring to it, doesn't it?"
"So where IS JT?" Courtney asked.
"What do you mean?"
"Let's see. This is your first full day together as a couple. It's a Sunday. I was expecting to find you two permanently attached and unable to let go."
Meanwhile at the Santos home, Manny was in her bedroom, still sleeping. But it was a restless sleep. She was tossing and turning. And dreaming.
She was dreaming of a house with a white picket fence and a swing on the front porch. Inside this house, Manny was doing housework wearing a formal dress and a pearl necklace. JT walked in through the front door wearing a business suit and carrying a briefcase.
"Hi honey, I'm home," he announced.
Manny met him at the door with a martini.
"Hello darling," she greeted. "How was your day?"
"Wonderful," JT replied, setting his briefcase down. "I landed the Anderson account. Do you know what that means?"
"Partnership at the accounting firm?" she guessed.
"Yes. With a large increase in salary."
"That IS wonderful, JT."
"It won't be long before we can afford to make these dreams of yours in color instead of black-and-white."
"You're so generous."
"How is my family on this fine evening?" he asked.
"Today was report card day, JT. Little James T. Yorke Jr. got straight A's."
"Really? That's swell. JTJ is a real chip off the old block."
"And as you can see, I am still very much expecting."
JT looked his wife over and smiled.
"Eight and a half months pregnant with twins, and yet you still found time to clean the house and make a five-course meal. I'm so glad I married you. You are something else."
"I'll say she's something else!" Emma called out, suddenly coming into the living room from the kitchen.
"Why look, Manuela, it's Emma, our wacky next door neighbor. Hello, Emma!"
"Hello, handsome," the blonde said as she walked toward JT. "I couldn't help overhearing, as I was eavesdropping like a wacky neighbor should. Did you say you were about to become a full partner?"
"Yes indeedy."
"That's marvelous. Now you can afford that divorce attorney I recommended."
"Divorce attorney?" Manny asked.
"The best in the state," Emma told her.
"Are you sure that's wise, Emma?" JT asked. "I have a reputation to uphold in the community. People would think I couldn't maintain order in my home."
"The community understands your struggles," Emma explained. "One look at this pathetic little hussy and it's clear that she tricked you and trapped you. It's not your fault."
"But what about my children?" JT questioned Emma.
"Who could raise YOUR son better? Her…or me?"
"When you put it that way, there's only one answer. You. Only you, Emma."
"You can't mean that," Manny exclaimed. "I love you, JT."
Manny then kissed JT on the cheek.
"You see that, JT?" Emma asked, sounding outraged. "She kissed you on the cheek…and it's still light outside. She has no modesty. No class. As for the children she's carrying…even if she manages not to be careless enough to have yet another miscarriage, don't assume that the twins are really yours. You know she's never believed in being a faithful wife."
"That's not true, Emma. I've made mistakes but I've learned from them. I'm a better person now."
"You're right, Emma," JT said. "You're always right. How could I have been so blind for so long?"
"Don't give it a second thought," Emma told JT before turning her attention to his wife. "Manny, it's time for you to go. We'll pack up your belongings and leave them by the curb. You can collect them in the morning, if the garbage man hasn't picked it all up first. You won't be living here anymore. But you are still welcome to come back twice a week. For all your faults, you do an excellent job of cleaning house. And don't worry about JTJ. After I've moved in, he'll have a new mommy. One he can finally be proud of."
"No!" Manny shouted out in panic. "Wait! JT, tell her you love me! That I'm a good mother!"
"Goodbye, Manuela," he said instead. "Welcome to your new home, Emma."
"Stop! Stop!" Manny yelled as Emma was pushing her out the front door.
Suddenly Manny's eyes opened and she quickly sat up in bed.
"No!"
Now awake and her dream over, Manny looked around and found herself alone in her bedroom, tears in her eyes.
Back in the Nelson/Simpson kitchen, Emma continued talking to her friend about the recent turn of events.
"Courtney, you must watch too many romantic movies," she said.
"Oh really?"
"Yes. JT and I are together…finally. And I couldn't be happier. But we both still have too many responsibilities to just gaze into each other's eyes 24/7. I still have a little homework to finish up. JT was going to finish his early this morning before he went to church, which is where he is right now."
"I didn't know he went to church," Courtney remarked.
"It's the one his mother attended. He started going there back in the summer. Not regularly, but every once in awhile. He says it's peaceful for him and makes him feel closer to her."
"Good for him."
"Yeah, I agree," Emma said. "See, back in May, I'd tried to get him to go see the school counselor. I told him it could help him deal with things regarding his mother's death that, as his friends, neither Craig nor I would be equipped to help him with."
"JT didn't agree?"
"He said he felt our counselor probably couldn't help a girl depressed over a bad hair day, much less a student with real concerns. So he wouldn't go see her."
"That's funny, Emma, if uncharacteristically cynical for JT."
"I know, but who could blame him for a little cynicism after what had happened with his family. A mother who's just been killed, and a father who - by choice - is hardly ever around. I decided to let the idea of seeking help drop for awhile.
"Then in June, he decided to visit his mother's church, since she had liked spending time there. He said being in a quiet place and around people who were friends of hers has helped him deal with things. So now, maybe once a month, he'll attend a service there on a Sunday morning. It's probably the closest he'll get to something therapeutic."
"I'm glad things are working out for him," Courtney responded.
"So am I. Anyway, after church today he has just enough time to grab a quick meal before he's off to the theater to manage things in the office for a few hours. We ARE going to eat together tonight at his place, though."
"Uh-oh. Can he cook?"
"Courtney…"
"Because I KNOW you can't cook."
"We're ordering pizza," Emma explained.
"That sounds safe enough."
"So glad you approve."
"So, you won't get to spend a whole lot of time together today, but it sounds like you have everything under control. You take your romance when you can get it, I guess."
"True, but I'm telling you, Courtney, it all feels so right."
Emma started smiling.
"What is it, Emma?"
"Well, it's not like I haven't heard from him today. He did call first thing this morning."
"That doesn't sound so unusual for the two of you."
"Ah, but this morning he called just to tell me he loved me and would be thinking about me today."
"My, my, my. You really DID catch him, didn't you?"
"You better believe it," Emma said proudly.
"Oh, by the way, Emma, I saw Patrick this morning. He was helping out at Ryan's when I stopped in for some coffee before coming over here. He told me a little about your evening."
"Who would have guessed that one of the best nights of my life would take place at The House of Dead Cows."
"Maybe you should go back there every year as an anniversary," Courtney suggested jokingly.
"I'm not sentimental enough to ever go back to that steakhouse. But it did serve its purpose, I'll admit."
"I also heard that you nearly had a run-in with one of your favorite people."
"Ah yes," Emma said, rolling her eyes at the thought. "Man-Hungry Manny. Apparently I had just missed her. But it's not like we were in competition for JT and would have started pummeling each other in the parking lot. JT may be as skinny as Olive Oyl, but I'm not Popeye and Manny's not Bluto."
"But you do like spinach, Emma. Though I'll never understand why."
"Ha, Ha. Getting back to the point, a part of me would have been interested to see what kind of song and dance Manny did for JT last night. Too little, too late, as she soon found out. She has to face the fact that she had all the chances she's going to get."
"Think she'll cause you any trouble?"
"No," Emma replied confidently. "If only because she knows that JT won't put up with it, even from her. Besides, now that we're together, I'm secure enough to know that nothing can change that."
"Good for you!"
"That said, JT wants everyone to get along, so I've agreed to try to get along better with Manny."
"Then you might not want to call her 'Man-Hungry Manny' to her face."
"Give me SOME credit, Courtney. Besides, I never said it would happen immediately. First, I have to try to remind myself of Manny's good qualities. That alone could take weeks to figure out."
"You could say she has good taste in guys, since she fell for JT."
"If she had good enough taste," Emma countered, "she'd never have taken him for granted and thrown herself at other guys."
"And now the claws are back out."
"No, Courtney, not this time. Seriously, if JT wants everyone to be friends, I'll give it a shot. A better effort than I've made in the past. But enough talk about Manny. Once we were by ourselves having a real meal last night, JT and I had the best time."
"That's great."
"I don't know what you were so worried about on Friday, Courtney. I knew everything would be fine if JT and I simply started being honest with each other."
"Right, Emma. Suuure you did."