A.N. Apologies for the length of time since the last chapter. In my head, it was already finished, but I forgot to put it into print. It's been on my mind to finish it, and the news of the passing of Jackie Zeman at a too-young age got me moving, because Bobbie deserves a happy ending. So I will dedicate this story to her, and thank her for having given Bobbie life, in abundance.
Old Friends
Chapter 11
He floated all the way back to Anna's place, too surprised and elated to focus his thoughts. He'd gone to see Bobbie in the hope of exorcising their relationship of any remaining animosity, and had left her…well, he'd almost not left her at all. But whether it had been residual chivalry or wisdom, he'd pulled himself back. Theirs had always been a passionate relationship, but maybe that had been what had kept it from firmer ground.
This time…if there is a 'this time'….we need to be solid. The passion will always be there.
So they'd made a plan to spend the next day together, and the next. And then…. Jake had no idea. He was clear that he'd need to return to the border, and soon. But what would happen from there was a complete unknown.
Anna was pulling leftovers out of the refrigerator when he let himself into the apartment.
"You're back!"
His brows went up.
"Uh…yes?" Don't I semi-live here now?
Anna wasn't sure what to make of his response, nor the fact that he was there to make it.
"I just….well, you were gone most of the day. I was taking it as a good sign."
He grinned at her. "Ah. Well, your instincts are on target, as usual. It was a good sign. It was a good day."
"But you're here."
Jake grabbed a piece of the cheese she was putting out.
"Why, Anna Devane, I do declare!" In his bad southern drawl.
She laughed. "Oh, is that it? We're remaining honorable, are we?"
He corrected her, teaching finger in the air. "We're remaining smart." Deflating just a bit. "Seriously, it was a wonderful afternoon, better than I could have hoped for. Way beyond what I hoped for, really, because I hadn't dared hope for anything."
Anna stopped in the process of taking down dishes. "And…..?"
"And, we're taking it slowly. We need something solid under our feet. Honestly, we're too old for anything else."
Anna sniffed. "I don't know. I kind of think older age gives us freedom. I mean, what do we have to lose?"
It was Jake's turn to probe her.
"Is that what Valentin is about? Not having anything to lose?" Then, realizing he might have overstepped. "Sorry. You don't have to answer that."
The fact that she took so long to say anything at all told him he'd struck a nerve.
"I don't….I don't know. I mean, we've known each other forever. It's not like we just dove into a relationship. But…..I don't know."
Because maybe you're right. Maybe the fact that we let it become a relationship is because neither of us has any reason not to. But is that a good thing?
Jake could see that she was working something through, and regretted having brought it up.
Although….maybe you need it. And you are one of my oldest friends. So….okay, ruminate away.
But he was also hungry. "Why don't you let me take you out to dinner tonight?"
"Really?"
"Of course. Name the place. The only one I remember is Kelly's. There's got to be somewhere else. What's the fanciest place in town these days?"
"I thought you were a starving immigration lawyer."
He smiled again. "I am. But I also just saved a fortune on hotel fees, so…."
She returned the grin. "Ah. Okay, well the fanciest place is probably the MetroCourt. But it's also the place you're likeliest to run into people you know. Or who know you."
"Oh. You mean Lucy."
"Or Scott."
Jake thought it over, then heaved a sigh. "You know what? I don't care. If we run into them, we run into them."
Anna's eyes widened. "Wow. It really was a good day, wasn't it?"
Anna secured a corner table at the MetroCourt, granting them a certain degree of invisibility while making it possible to scope out the room for the people Jake might least like to encounter. They'd ordered drinks and were settling into conversation when Jake spotted a woman with vaguely familiar features approaching from Anna's blind spot. He alerted her.
"We've apparently attracted some attention. Are you considered a VIP here?"
"Me?" she laughed, as she looked over her shoulder. "Oh."
"Oh, what?"
"That's Carly. Bobbie's daughter."
The one he'd just learned about, for the first time.
No wonder she looks familiar.
Jake gave a small smile as Carly closed the distance. Then he greeted her.
"Hello."
Not certain how much Bobbie might have shared with her daughter, if anything at all. It had only been two days, after all.
The blonde nodded at him before turning her attention to Anna.
"It's good to see you, Anna. You and Valentin haven't been to dinner here in a while, have you?"
Anna bit back an amused smile at the pointed statement.
Leave it to Carly to conjure a scandalous triangle where there is none.
But, considering the identity of her dinner partner, and the depth of his relationship with Carly's mother, she took the high ground.
"Yes, it has been quite a while." Then, waving in Jake's direction, she added, "May I introduce you to a very good friend, a very old friend, actually? Carly Corinthos, meet Jake Meyer. Jake, this is Carly. She's Bobbie's daughter."
Jake rose to formally greet the daughter of the woman he'd once-and still-loved, his eyes studying her features, taking inventory of the similarities and differences.
Just as beautiful as your mother, in completely different ways.
It took Carly a long moment to place the name, but she accomplished it.
"Jake Meyer? As in, you were married to my mother?"
He grinned at her. "As in." Extending a hand toward Carly, he added, "I'm very glad to meet you. Your mom told me a lot about you yesterday."
Carly had to shake off her surprise before giving him her hand. "I'm glad to meet you, too. But…does this mean you've seen my mom?"
"I was with her today. We had a lot to catch up on."
The younger woman took in the man who had once been so important in her mother's life.
"Oh." Still taken aback. "So will you be in town for a while?"
"Not much longer, I'm afraid. I have obligations."
"Oh." Nodding her acknowledgement. "Well, I hope you have a good visit."
With that, she edged away, visibly uncomfortable, and making Anna chuckle.
"I guess she wasn't prepared to meet the man who might have been her stepfather."
Which was the first time Jake had thought if it that way. Might Carly have been the child he'd always wanted?
He didn't say as much to Anna. "I wish I had time to get to know her."
Anna, who was aware how Carly had betrayed Bobbie with Tony Jones, who had also technically been her stepfather, thought differently.
"Be glad you don't."
They'd settled back into reminiscing and had ordered their meals when the elevator doors opened to deposit a new couple into the restaurant. From the place where they were sitting, only Anna could see them.
"Don't look now, but be forewarned. Scott Baldwin just arrived. He's with Liesl Obrecht."
Jake had to force himself not to turn. "Who?"
"Liesl Obrecht. She's a physician at General Hospital. And…..and she was with Faison. I told you about him. She hated me when she first arrived in Port Charles."
Jake had to comb through the stories Anna had shared with him a few nights ago.
"Oh, yes, I remember." Then, giving her a conspiratorial wink, he asked, "So should we send their table a couple of Killer Cocktails?"
She laughed. "Wouldn't I wish. No, we've made our peace, Liesl and I. You're on your own with Scott."
Jake could only shake his head. "The last time we met outside of a courtroom, we both left bloody. I think I'll just let him remember me that way."
She grinned at him. "As you wish. What say we just enjoy a nice dinner and forget about who else is here."
Jake lifted his drink, indicating that she should do the same. "Here's to a peaceful dinner."
Which lasted only as long as the 'ding' announcing the next arrival of the elevator. Again Anna was the one best positioned to see.
"Uh-oh."
Jake knew it could only mean one thing. "Lucy?"
"Martin. He's the lawyer she's dating right now. But that probably means she's not far behind."
The next 'ding' sounded as though Anna had summoned it, and Lucy Coe entered into the room. As she looked about to find her date, her eyes found Anna….and then an unfamiliar male across from her.
Lucy's mind immediately started gossiping with her. I wonder who that is. I wonder if Valentin knows. I wonder….
Her wondering got the best of her, even before her eyes found Martin, and she headed toward the table to satisfy her curiosity. Planting a smile on her face, she focused initially on Anna.
"Oh, hi! How nice to see you, Anna and…" Looking, for the first time, at the male figure at the table. "And…..and….."
He looked up at her, not smiling, not frowning, not giving a thing away. Which was when she recognized him. He'd been her lawyer, after all. She was familiar with his lawyerly facies.
"Jake! Jake? Is that you? Jake Meyer?"
The two at the table exchanged a look before he answered.
"Very good, Lucy. You remembered well."
His words telling her that he remembered well, also. And that his memory would brook no infringement.
She was a little flustered. "Oh. Well, hello. I'm surprised to see you, after all these years."
Expecting him to fill in the blank. Which he did not do.
"I imagine you are."
Before she could speak again, they were joined at the table by yet another voice from Jake's past. Lucy's diversion to their table had drawn Scott Baldwin's attention.
"Well, well, well. If it isn't Jake Meyer."
"Hello, Baldwin." Making minimal effort to keep the contempt from his tone.
Scott wasn't quite put off. "So, what are you doing back in Port Charles?"
"Visiting some old friends. Which I'd like to do without interruption, if you don't mind."
His old adversaries got the message. But Scott couldn't help himself.
"Does Bobbie count as an old friend?"
Jake sent Anna a smile before looking up to respond. "Bobbie and I spent the day together." Then, appearing to remember something, he added, "Should we have cleared that with you two?"
Lucy had the grace to be embarrassed at the reference to their interference in Jake's marriage to Bobbie, and tugged at Scott's arm.
"Come on. Liesl will be looking for you, and I can see Martin is waiting for me over there." Then, addressing Jake and Anna once again, she said, "Enjoy your dinner." And she dragged her former co-conspirator away with her.
Two sets of eyes followed them back to their tables, and then met over their own. Anna spoke first.
"Remember, this was your idea."
Jake guffawed. "I know. I figured that, if I'm going to be here for any length of time, it was bound to happen. Best to get it over with."
Which got an enthused grin from his dinner companion. "Really? You'll be here for a while?"
Jake shook his head. "Not now. Not this time, anyway. I need to get back. There's too much to do, and too few of us doing it. But now that I've gotten a taste of home, well….who knows? Maybe I'll at least be a frequent visitor."
Anna gave a silent clap of her hands. "Really? Oh, I hope so! It's been so good to see you again, and….well, it's not only that I think there are a lot of us happy to see you. I think we really need you."
"Really?"
"Really. Do you know how long it's been since Port Charles has had a moral compass? I mean, yes, we all try to live well and to follow the golden rule and all that. Well, most of us do, anyway. But it's been….I think it's actually been decades since we've had someone willing to speak truth to power."
Jake waited while their meals were set before them.
"So, you think I speak truth to power."
"Don't you? Isn't that what you're planning with the cartels?"
Jake heaved a sigh before replying. "In a way, I suppose. But mostly I want to expose them. Speaking truth to power implies that you're willing to work with them. I guess I just want to speak truth about power."
Anna took a bite before responding, thinking about the fine….or maybe not-so-fine….difference.
"Okay, maybe. And maybe that's what Port Charles needs, too. It's not the place you remember, Jake. There are still a lot of good people here. But there are others who…..I guess they confuse me. Which they shouldn't, considering my past. I certainly have a history of toeing the line, and I've done wrong for the sake of good, or so I told myself. But sometimes it feels like we all do that, and not always for good reason."
Intrigued, Jake laid down his knife and fork, and leaned his chin upon his folded hands.
"Tell me."
She had to gather both her thoughts and her words, not having expected to have quite this conversation, though she'd brought it on herself.
"Well…..well, do you remember, back when Duke first came to town? When I was with him, but didn't know he was with the mob?
"Of course." He also remembered how devastated she'd been when she'd found out, and how emotionally rent she'd been in the aftermath.
"I told myself, back then, after…..well, you know. If he hadn't turned state's evidence, and promised to live a different life, I wouldn't have stayed with him. I couldn't have."
"You had Robin."
She nodded. "I had Robin. And I had a conscience that wouldn't let me act as police commissioner while overlooking the fact that my fiancé was committing crimes."
The tilt of Jake's head asked the question for him. And now?
Anna sat back and sighed. "There have been a great many years between then and now. A great many accommodations, and tolerances. Let's just say that Duke wasn't the only man of questionable morals to be a part of my life."
Jake leaned in toward her. "Anna, you've already told me about the other relationships. They don't change who you are."
She gave him a quick grin. "Thanks for that. But I fear they may articulate who I am. And I'm not proud of that fact. What I started to say, a few minutes ago, is that a lot of Port Charles has done something similar. We have a mob boss operating in our midst and being treated as a fine, upstanding citizen. I mean, granted, he's generous to a good cause, but…."
"But the money is tainted?"
She nodded. "It is. And so are the friendships. He and I are even friends, and I was the police commissioner for part of that time! It's the same with nearly everyone I know. He's still a mob boss, and still dangerous, but he…..or maybe his money….has become a part of Port Charles' society."
Jake understood. "It's not all that different with the cartels. They actually do some good. But they also do an awful lot of bad to accomplish it."
Anna laid her fork on her plate. "That's the thing. I think we tolerate a lot of things that we probably shouldn't, because of an occasional good deed. But he's so incorporated now….." Pausing before informing him. "He's married to Carly."
That sent the dark brows across from her aloft. "He's Bobbie's son-in-law?!"
"I'm afraid so."
It was Jake's turn to stop eating. "Wow. I didn't see that coming."
"Sorry."
Jake laid his chin on his folded hands. "No need. It's not something I can tackle now, anyway. And truthfully, it's none of my business. Not now, anyway."
Anna reached her hand across the table to touch his arm.
"I wasn't asking you to get involved, Jake. As you said, it's not really your concern. And it's also not an emergency. It's just…..well, it's just the way we are now."
He laid his own hand atop hers.
"My plate is pretty full, right now. But when it's not…well, it's good that I know what I'd be coming home to."
Which earned him a grin from his dinner companion.
"Oh, I like those words, and I love that idea! I really do hope you'll come home again, Jake."
He returned the smile.
"More and more, so do I."
Well before he felt emotionally ready, Jake knew he had to go back. There was too much left undone, both at the border and in Port Charles. Right now, despite the woman sitting next to him, the border called more urgently.
"They need me, Bobbie. There's help coming, thank God, but even when they finally arrive, they'll need me to show them what needs to be done."
"And how to do it?"
He looked at her, perplexed. "They're lawyers. Hopefully they know how to do it."
"I meant 'with empathy', Jake. They need to do it with empathy."
He reached out to rub her arm. "Trust me, there are very few people working at the border who lack empathy. But thank you for thinking I could give it to them. I think it's pretty much innate. You either have it, or you don't."
She understood. "Well, I'm thankful that you were born with it, then."
He lasered in on her eyes. "I'm not the only one, Red."
She leaned over to give him a kiss of gratitude. And several more, just because.
Bobbie came up for air to remark, "Last night was amazing, wasn't it?"
Jake grinned. "Amazing and familiar. What could be better? Except, maybe, to do it again?"
She laughed. "Well, considering you need to get to the airport, that will have to be on hold."
A dramatic pout sprouted on Jake's face. "Want to come to the airport with me? Maybe we could squeeze it in…."
Bobbie laughed again. "Believe it or not, I have something I have to do. Duty calls, and all that."
After claiming her lips one more time, Jake nodded. "Would it help if I told you that one of the reasons I love you is your allegiance to duty?"
That brought a giggle, and one final, deep, lasting kiss.
"Goodbye, Lover Boy. Come back to me."
His goodbye to Anna was a bit shorter and less romantic, if just as sweet.
"Thanks for putting up with me, even if I overstayed my welcome by more than a few days."
Jake dried the last of the lunch dishes Anna had handed him.
"You did no such thing. It was my pleasure, and I shall miss you while you're gone. Which I hope is not for very long."
Jake hung the towel to dry as he responded to her.
"Honestly, I don't even have a guess at that. There's a lot to do, a lot to teach the new arrivals, and…..well, I'm not sure where the rest of it is going."
She was aware what he meant. "You've reviewed it all with Robert?"
He nodded. "As far as I could take it. But there are still a lot of unknowns."
Which made Anna think to ask about something that had been troubling her.
"Does Bobbie know? About the cartels, I mean. Does she know?"
Jake ruminated a minute before responding. "Keeping secrets is what hurt our marriage, back then. I'm not going to make that mistake now. She knows as much as I know."
Anna nodded her acknowledgement. "The danger as well? The danger to you?"
Prevailing worry evident in her tone. Jake heard it, and sought to alleviate it.
"I'm not in any danger now, Anna. I haven't done anything yet. They'd have to read my mind to know what will come."
She frowned at him. "You're not that hard to read, Jake. It's only natural that you would react."
"But they won't know the approach I plan to take. The legal strategy is what puts them at risk, and I don't think they'll anticipate that. They don't see themselves as racketeers. They'll have trouble understanding that I do."
Anna heaved a great sigh. "I so hope you are right." Then, opening her arms, she beckoned him.
"Come here, I want to embrace my old friend one more time."
Jake willingly obeyed, both accepting and returning the warmth of her touch.
"One more time, but not the last time. I'll be back, Anna."
"You'd better be, Jake Meyer."
Jake put his backpack in the overhead compartment and took the aisle seat that allowed him an occasional stretch of his legs. He retained his laptop, hoping the wi-fi would function well enough for him to communicate with colleagues at the refugee camp. But they had to take off first, which meant his mind had plenty of time to review the past few weeks. He'd come back to Port Charles with no cognitive expectations, but an emotional longing, and that longing had been both nurtured and nourished by his connections with the people who had once been at the center of his life. For at least that brief period of time, they'd reclaimed their positions, and he felt the emotional tug of regret at leaving. Until…
Apparently he'd been lost in reverie, and not even realized there was someone waiting to get past him, to claim the window seat.
"Sorry." He stood to let the person pass, looking down to make sure his laptop case was not in the way. Then he sensed that oddly, the person seemed to have stopped in front of him, instead of passing to the seat at the window, and it made him look up.
"What?!..."
"Sorry, I just need to get to my seat. You see, I'm a nurse. And there are people who need me. At the border."
FINIS
If you made it through, thanks for reading. When I started it, I really thought there were only about two chapters of material in it. Obviously I was wrong. Apologies for glossing over much of the characters' known histories, but I find it challenging to incorporate all of the craziness of soap storylines into something reasonably believable. As you can tell, I much prefer to write stories that explore the depths of the characters and the relationships between them. The gray areas in the interstice. There is room for adventure, and this story could easily lend itself toward a sequel that might find out what happens if Jake does go after the cartels, and one or more WSB agents (and maybe a nurse) need to help him out. But that would be for another time, and possibly another author.
My thanks to the individuals who have made videos available from this time period. I had a ball getting to know Jake again, and visiting an era where soap stories were so much more relatable, meaningful and impactful than they are now.
