Dr. Monica Quartermaine entered the pie tent at the Lilac Park Elementary Fall Carnival with a picnic basket containing two pecan pies, her contribution to the bake sale.
"Oh, Monica, don't tell me you had time to bake?" Andrea Floyd said in her syrupy sweet voice.
Monica forced a smile as she set the basket down on the long table and opened it. "I always make time for my children's school, so, here are two pecan pies as promised," she said.
"Of course," Andrea said as she raised an eyebrow in what Monica was sure was an effort to convey to Anette Hawthorne that she didn't believe her.
Monica simply removed the second pie from her basket without comment. Life was just far too short to get into some passive aggressive battle with Andrea Floyd.
"You didn't use a disposable pie plate! I can label them with your name but I can't force our patrons to return your pie plate," Andrea added haughtily.
"Those pie plates are just standard pyrex so, if I don't get them back, they are hardly irreplaceable. I'll be fine either way. Now, I'm off to try to ride the carousel with my children at least once before I get called back to the hospital, if you will excuse me," Monica said. She didn't wait for an answer but just strode out the other side of the tent to where Alan was waiting with four of their five children.
"Onward to the carousel?" Alan asked.
"Yes, yes!" Katelyn squealed.
"Yes, although somehow it is only quarter after one so keep your eyes peeled for my parents or Karen or Danielle," Monica said.
"Score one for Quartermaine efficiency," Allison said.
"I will say it is much easier to be efficient when father isn't there to point out our inefficiency at every turn," Alan said.
Monica had noticed that lunch was almost tranquil since Edward and Lila were attending some luncheon at the Country Club. She hadn't been about to point that out to her husband but if he noticed it himself perhaps it was fair game. "Good point, perhaps you can explain that to your father," she said.
"I think it's one of those things he just has to see for himself," Alan said.
Monica could see that. She could also see that her father in law never would. Life was once again too short, and really too long to push that issue.
"Is that why Aunt Tracy says it is much easier to love Grandfather unconditionally when he lives with us?" Kirk asked.
"Perhaps you could say that," Alan conceded as they entered the line by the carousel.
Monica was pretty sure that her sister in law had said that, and more, on multiple occasions. Ironically, she was also almost certain that, at least in his own mind, her father in law truly believed he was helping by living with them. To be fair though she supposed that despite all of his tirades and tribunals he did really love his children and his grandchildren. So, she was almost certain that it really could be worse.
XXXXXXXX
Robin Scorpio wandered through Wyndam's Department Store almost aimlessly. Apparently when Brenda had agreed to meet for breakfast, she meant that almost literally. After breakfast she had to go home, work on her statistics problem set and be available in case Monica had to go back to the hospital. That had left Robin desperate enough to call Keesha. Sure, they hadn't been super close since Robin had stolen her boyfriend but she figured Keesha should be over it especially since Brenda had mentioned over breakfast how cute a couple she and AJ made. Apparently, they were such a cute couple that they were carving pumpkins with the kids at Ward House so Keesha didn't have time to go shopping. She had invited Robin to join them at Ward House but that had sounded less than fun, and Robin had gotten the distinct impression that Keesha didn't really want her to come but had felt she had to extend the invitation to be polite.
So, with nothing better to do, Robin was browsing alone in Wyndam's. As was becoming typical in her life, even that quickly lost appeal and she was about to head back to her Uncle Mac's, order delivery from the Tea House,39 and just resign herself to a lame evening of a cable television. Then she heard a familiar, but annoyingly grating laugh and realized that Ned and Carly Ashton were about ten feet away looking at strollers. With that discovery, Robin decided it really was past time to get out of Wyndam's.
XXXXXXXX
Carly Ashton was pretty sure that the stroller Ned wanted to buy cost more than her mother's car had when she was growing up. At that price, you would think it would walk the baby itself or something but it didn't seem to and she wasn't exactly sure why it was so expensive.
"So, what do you think?" Ned asked eagerly.
"It's nice," Carly said.
"It can also work as a travel system with the car seat I bought last week," Ned added.
Travel system? What was a travel system?Carly was a little afraid to ask. "So, if I let you pick the stroller, does that mean you will also push the stroller?" she joked instead.
"Sure, but I'm sure you will probably want to take him out some while I'm at the office so if there is another model that feels more comfortable for you, we can get that. Or maybe you will like the McLaren I'm sure Grandfather already ordered."
From context Carly presumed that McLaren was an expensive stroller brand but beyond that she was lost. "Seriously this is fine. I was mostly kidding anyway," she said.
XXXXXXXX
As the carousel came to a stop Dr. Monica Quartermaine's pager started to blare. Monica hit the button to silence the noise with a wry smile. She supposed there was worse timing as she helped Katelyn down from her horse and then reached for her niece Serena's hand.
"I have to go back to the hospital so we're going to have a quick hug right outside this gate and then I will be tagging in your father and your Uncle Alan," she said.
Sweet, but very quick hugs were accomplished in seconds and she passed Alan a grateful and knowing look. He returned it in kind and she was punching numbers on her cell phone to call back the ED even before she was out of ear shot of her kids.
As she confirmed that Dr. Larmon had activated the catheterization lab she jogged across the parking lot to her car. Time was myocardium after all.
XXXXXXXX
"Oh, it's too bad that your mommy had to leave. Nothing is more important to me than my children," Andrea Floyd clucked.
Dr. Alan Quartermaine wrapped his arms more securely around his niece and daughter as he bristled at the catty remark from the PTA President. The implication was unkind but he rather doubted the face value of the original statement as well. After all none of the three Floyd children were within their line of sight so it wasn't like they were exactly having a quality moment with mom. "Sometimes even parents who love their children to infinity and beyond have to leave to tend to other responsibilities," he said.
"Yeah, my mommy saves lives! She's like a superhero, she just doesn't have a cape!" Katelyn added.
"Fortunately, you don't have to rush off to restore someone's cardiac perfusion, Mrs. Floyd. But Mr. Murty was hoping you could come over to the ring toss. Apparently, your son Jake got mad that he didn't win and is throwing the bottles instead of the rings," Emily said as she joined them with Kirk and Dylan in tow.
Andrea Floyd turned bright red and stalked off screaming "Jacob Garrett Floyd!"
"Please tell me no one got hurt," Alan said after Andrea's abrupt, yet very welcome, departure.
"No, Dylan and Kirk are rather quick on their feet. Allison stayed behind to help clean up and Mr. Murty sent me to find Mrs. Floyd."
"Ok, well in that case, I think sometimes timing is everything," Alan said.
"You mean because Jake decided to have his dramatic tantrum while Mrs. Floyd was nominating herself for mom of the year or because Mom didn't have to bail off the carousel while it was in motion?" Emily asked.
"Well, now that you mention it, I guess both," Alan said.
"Jake has a tantrum anytime he doesn't get exactly what he wants, exactly when he wants it. So, the fact that he had one while his mom was overestimating her importance isn't actually that mathematically impressive," Dylan said.
Alan had to laugh at that.
XXXXXXXX
Dr. Karen Baldwin-Cates walked in step with Danielle Stanton across the Lilac Park Elementary Playground. They both carried a full tray of caramel apples.
"I hate to say this but somehow I'm afraid we might not have enough caramel apples," Danielle said.
"We have a Baker's Dozen and there are only nine of us the last I counted. Plus, I think I saw Aunt Monica jogging across the field while we were waiting in line. If she had to go back to the hospital then we're down to eight."
"Good point! Did you decide to be a doctor because of your aunt?" Danielle asked.
Ironically Karen thought that she had been inspired by Dr. Monica Quartermaine when she had been volunteering at PCGH during college. Of course, she hadn't realized that the woman was her aunt at the time. "I actually didn't realize that Scott was my father until after I had started medical school," she said.
"Really? You and Serena are so close I guess I just figured you had known her all her life. I know you mentioned that it took you awhile to let Scott know he was your father but I guess I just presumed that was before Serena was born," Danielle said.
"I learned that Scott Baldwin was my father in December 1994. I didn't really get to know Serena as a sister until the next fall when she was three," Karen said.
"So, you never knew Dominique, I guess?" Danielle asked wistfully.
"Not really, I more knew of her. She kind of took Port Charles by storm during the brief period she lived here."
"Oh, so, you did grow up in Port Charles?"
"Yes, my parents both graduated from Port Charles High School. My mom was older by two years. They had a summer fling until he caught her making out with Cal Jamison in a stolen Porsche. Apparently, he paid her bail but broke up with her and went off to start his freshman year at Kent State. He had no idea my mother was pregnant and she felt he didn't deserve to know."
"Why?" Danielle asked.
"I guess because he broke up with her and she hadn't forgiven him for that. Logic, reasonableness, and my mother's perspective rarely exist in the same space. He met me briefly when I was four when his father was doing some legal work for my stepfather, Ray Conway, but I guess he presumed that Ray was my father. Eventually my mother slipped up and told me the truth when we were home for Christmas in 1994."
"I never knew who my father was until after Rex found me a few years ago. I knew from my birth certificate that I was born in Port Charles, NY at Mercy Hospital but that didn't really mean anything to me," Danielle said.
"How long did you stay in Port Charles?"
"I think just a few weeks. I don't remember any of this but my grandparents told me that my mom just showed up one day in early April with a baby. They hadn't even realized she was pregnant or anything. She ended up in a psychiatric facility a few weeks later so they raised me."
At face value Danielle's story seemed sad and Karen wanted to be sympathetic. She really did. But then she thought about how being raised by her grandparents would have been such a welcome thing. Unfortunately, her mother's parents had died shortly after her birth and her father's parents had no clue they were grandparents at all. "I'm sorry," she finally managed.
"Thank you and don't get me wrong, my grandparents were great. In some ways they really were my parents and I completely understand that there are kids who don't have it anywhere near as good as I did."
Like me, Karen thought but she didn't say that aloud as they had worked their way through carnival to where her Uncle Alan stood with her sister and most of her cousins. "Did Monica have to go back to the hospital?" she asked instead.
"She did," Alan said.
"I thought I saw her streaking across the field. Here, Serena, your favorite, Caramel Apples," Karen said as she extended one to her little sister.
Serena reached for the apple and then wrapped her arms around her sister in a hug. "Thank you! This has really been a great day, the only thing which could make it better would be if daddy was here."
"Yeah, I wish he could be here too. I know he is sorry he can't be," Karen said. She also knew her words were an understatement. Her father held a lot of, undeserved in her opinion, guilt for the times he had missed with her and the struggles and challenges she had faced. She suspected that made him particularly worried about what the current separation was doing to Serena. The situations were different though and she thought her conversation moments ago with Danielle had exemplified exactly that. Serena was losing out on time with their father and that was a tragedy. But Serena had a safe home with the Quartermaines which was going to make things significantly different than they had been for her.