Ned Ashton reached for his cell phone quickly when it rang. Carly was still asleep in the upstairs bedroom of the Quartermaine Penthouse and he was doing his best not to wake her. "Hello, this is Ned Ashton," he said.
"I did it! I made the Gymnastics team!" Shannon Quartermaine-Grabler shrieked excitedly.
"Good job Shannon! See, you just have to work hard and believe in yourself. How about we go out to lunch to celebrate?" Ned asked.
"We have to go to Dylan and Kirk's soccer game. They're playing that team from Sutton that is supposed to be really good and then there is the fall carnival at school."
"Ok, well, how about you pencil me in for next Saturday," Ned suggested.
"We don't have school on Monday. Maybe we could go then," Shannon said.
"Unfortunately, I will be in Washington DC on Monday because I have an FDA hearing early Tuesday morning."
"What is the FDA?" Shannon asked.
"The FDA is the Food and Drug Administration. They approve prescription drugs for market and sale. They oversee the testing that shows the drugs are safe and effective. ELQ Pharmaceuticals in the final stage of getting approval for a new beta blocker."
"Is Carly going with you?" Shannon asked.
"Probably not this time; a lot of travel can be hard on her right now," Ned said. Of course, the idea of leaving Carly alone in Port Charles wasn't completely comforting; especially knowing that the only other person she might reach out to would be out of town at least indefinitely.
"So maybe Carly could come to lunch with us on Monday. Mom is taking me shopping."
Ned searched for words for his sister. Carly had surprised him with how willing she had been to spend time with his family and she had never been anything but kind to his little sister but he really doubted she wanted to go to lunch with his mother if without him. Lois never had. "I think Carly has some appointments on Monday as well so that may not work for her either. So maybe it would be best if we both took you to lunch next Saturday."
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Carly Ashton wondered who her husband was making lunch plans with as she descended the stairs in the Penthouse. She shuddered a bit as it occurred to her it could be his mother. She really hoped that was not the case.
Ned was off the phone by the time she stepped into the sunken living room. "Do I dare ask who we're going to lunch with next Saturday?" she asked punctuating her words with a yawn.
"Shannon made the gymnastics team so I thought we could take her out to lunch to celebrate. I'm sorry if I woke you up," Ned said.
"It is almost eleven. As my mother would say, it's past time I was up and at 'em," Carly said.
Ned chuckled. "Even so, I'm sure that this final trimester of pregnancy must be exhausting," he said.
"That is what everyone says but, really, it hasn't been bad. Well, except, I want to eat anything which isn't nailed down," Carly said.
"We can order room service, or we could stop at Kelly's on the way home," Ned offered.
"Both?" Carly asked.
Ned laughed.
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Dr. Monica Quartermaine spotted her husband and then guided her youngest daughter up the stands around field 3 at Community Commons towards him. Glancing at the score board it appeared that there was another ten minutes left in the second half and her son and nephews' team was leading 3-1. Of course, in soccer, even youth soccer, the referee not the scoreboard clock was truly the official timekeeper so the period could last even longer.
"How is it going?" she asked as she settled Katelyn onto her father's lap.
"Pretty well; Kirk and Dylan both scored off assists from each other and Ross Barrington scored the other goal. I guess everyone is keeping their coronary arteries patent?"
"So far, let's hope," Monica said. She leaned into her husband's embrace and watched their son move the ball down the field. When Kirk scored she cheered along with the rest of the crowd uneasily. She forced herself to take, and then release a cleansing breath as she reaffirmed that Kirk and Dylan's soccer game was neither the time nor place to tell Alan about her own uncomfortable encounter with Dr. Tony Jones.
"Were your parents going to bring Serena to the school carnival or do we need to pick her up before we go?" Alan asked.
"They are going to meet us there, which is really convenient because this game is not likely to be over before noon. We still need to go home, have the kids change, eat lunch, and clean up after lunch. We will be doing very well if we're there by one. I told my dad we would meet near the carousel at one-thirty which may also be when we arrive," Monica said.
"You left soup in the crock pot, right?" Alan asked.
"Yes, I did, Minestrone, which is also doubling as the soup course for tonight's dinner with the Longworths. We're also having a green salad, and French beans with almonds. Your mother is making her signature rolls and I am expecting you to grill the salmon," Monica said.
"I'm impressed! How did you pull all of that together on such short notice?" Alan asked.
"We were originally having Salmon anyway; I just added a soup course. But don't tell your father that. Remind him that the next time he plans a dinner party in our home without at least notice, if not permission, he can move his party to the Port Charles Grille.," Monica said.
Alan smiled. "I love you!" he said.
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In Memorial Cemetery, Scott Baldwin packed the dirt back in on top of the tulip bulbs he had planted in front of his wife's grave. It was the first autumn that Serena hadn't helped. She had only been about nine months old that first autumn. He remembered sitting her in her carrier while he dug and planted. She had laughed and clapped her hands. She had Dominique's laugh which was more than a little bittersweet.
Scott shook his head at the memory and then reached out and laid a hand against Dominique's polished stone. "I thought I knew what scared was when you were battling cancer. But this, this, is a whole new level of fear. I could really lose her. I could lose our daughter!"
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Lucy Coe Stanton entered the apartment she had rented in Candlewick Park after she had ended her engagement to Dr. Kevin Collins. She had been spending most nights with Rex for weeks but had returned home to pick up some clothes before their flight to Paris. The apartment felt empty without Sigmund; apparently ELQ Enterprises, the owner of her complex, did not consider ducks an approved pet. Perhaps once Rex managed to establish dwelling rights at Serenity, Sigmund could move there. Perhaps…
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As she sat in the tennis bubble at the Port Charles Fitness Club, Melinda Bauer accepted that her son had absolutely no potential in tennis. She supposed that shouldn't surprise her, after all his father looked like an uncoordinated elephant on the court, except somehow it seemed that an elephant might have a stronger backhand than Warren possessed. Unfortunately for Kiefer, no one felt the need to let him win in the interest of corporate good will, so he was well on his way to losing yet another match and she could only shudder anticipating the violent tantrum the inevitable loss would provoke. Kiefer had inherited his temper from father as well.
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As he shared a table, in the main dining room of the Port Charles Country Club, with Rex Stanton and Alexander Cambias Sr., Warren Bauer realized he was crossing a moral and ethical line he hadn't crossed before. He might have flaunted his duty as an officer of the court; suborned perjury at least a thousand times; engaged in insider trading; and even orchestrated the murder of his first client but he had always maintained plausible deniability with a suitable patsy. That was how he rolled. Even so, treason was a new thing for him. He reflected on that. Not on the crime per se, or even the reality that he was willing to betray his country, but whether he had sufficient plausible deniability and whether Rex Stanton would once again be a suitable patsy.
Warren had known Rexford Stanton since he had been Avery Stanton's attorney in 1981. He and Rex had always had a bit of commensal symbiotic relationship even if Warren would deny that in most company. He had quickly learned of Rex's penchant for recreational hallucinogens and kinky sex. He had extended his connections and his discretion. In 1988 he had collected on that debt when he convinced Rex Stanton to plead guilty to insider trading in exchange for transactional immunity for Avery. He had arranged for the two-year sentence to be served at a cushy federal prison camp so he really hadn't considered it a huge hardship. At least not for Rex. There was no way he would have done it.
"Well, gentlemen, it's been fun, but I have a plane to catch. I'll be in touch," Alexander Cambias Sr. said as he started to rise from the table.
"Don't you have a private jet?" Warren asked. Once the words were out of his mouth, he regretted them. The reality was that as much as he might wish he was nowhere near, and probably never would be near the net worth of Alexander Cambias Sr.
Alexander chuckled. "Of course, but I also have places to go and people to see," he said
"I will be in touch once I return from Paris," Rex offered.
Warren recognized the devious gleam in his client's eyes. He had seen that the night Rex had assured him that Dominique would marry Leopold Taub at the end of 1987. Surprisingly he had made good on that promise by kidnapping his niece at gunpoint. Warren hadn't expected that and it was then that he realized there wasn't much Rex wouldn't do. He found that both exhilarating and terrifying.
"So, have you filed the custody petition?" Rex asked once Alexander had left the table.
"I will file it with Judge Preston's clerk on Tuesday morning. We want them to join the custody petition with CHINS hearing. It actually makes it easier for the judge to grant custody to you. Also, if this fails, it gives us a second bite at the apple as long as Scott is actually convicted. I'm sure I don't have to explain to you how important it is that justice be served through the court," Warren said.
"I said I would take care of that and I will," Rex said.
The devious gleam returned to Rex's eyes and contextually that was more terrifying than exhilarating.