Beth Quartermaine strapped Kensi into her highchair and then snapped the tray table down securely. "Guess what? Broccoli, your favorite!" she said cheerily as she laid the plate and a straw cup of water on her tray table.
Kensington wrapped a chubby hand around a brocolli tree and started to gnaw. It truly was one of her favorite foods. Despite her sister in law's assertion to the contrary, not all kids hated green vegetables!
The ringing of the kitchen extension interrupted Beth's thoughts. She took a few steps across the room and picked up the extension without taking her eyes off her daughter. "Hello," she said as she offered a silent prayer that Mark wasn't on the other end of the line with some patient emergency that had inconveniently popped up just after five, would keep him at the hospital for hours, and would force her to cancel her plans with Carly.
"Betsy! You are not an easy woman to track down!" Jennifer Eckert Ashton Hornsby's voice boomed across the phone line.
Beth swallowed hard. Suddenly Mark calling with an unexpected patient emergency seemed like the lesser evil. "Hello, Jenny, this really isn't a good time. I just started to feed Kensi," she said.
"Is Kenzie short for Kensington?" Jenny asked.
"Yes," Beth said.
Jenny cackled evilly for at least a minute before she spoke. "Oh my gosh you really have lost it! You gave your daughter a last name as a first name?" Jenny asked.
Kensington had been Mark's idea. They had considered Mackenzie but he felt it was too common and trendy and had pointed out they could name her Kensington, honor her maternal heritage and call her Kensi. It had worked for her and her father had been positively beaming when they had told him. But seriously, Jenny had no place to talk. She had given her child a last name as her first name also. She had named her daughter Ashton, the last name of the husband whom she had cheated on before and during the entire marriage.
"Your opinion is noted. I really do need to feed my child. I have to go, goodbye," Beth said. She hung up the phone without giving Jenny an opportunity for another mean comeback. Sometimes she wondered if she and Jenny had ever truly been friends.
Beth forced a smile on her face as she returned to stand in front of Kensington's highchair. She had already eaten her way through half of her steamed broccoli so she added the small dish of plain yogurt. Kensi liked to dip the broccoli in the yogurt as if it was sauce. Jenny would assuredly find that disturbing as well but as she wiped yogurt off her daughter's face, Beth tried to convince herself that Jenny's opinion didn't matter.
The sound of the garage door opening and closing invaded her thoughts. Beth instinctively glanced at the kitchen clock. It was only 5:30; Mark had done well!
XXXXXXXX
When he stepped into his house from the attached garage, Dr. Mark Henry Quartermaine immediately heard the happy chatter from his daughter as she ate her dinner and smiled. It was so easy to take the good for granted but he was really a very lucky man. He had life, and mobility something his career had forced him to respect. Beyond that he was married to the perfect combination of smart, beautiful, and kind and their daughter seemed to take after her mama. Of course, he wondered if his father had once thought all of those same things. Perhaps he had before he got on the plane to deploy into Vietnam where he was killed by the Viet Cong in October 1967. His father had been thirty-seven at his death which was only three years old than Mark would be in November. That in itself was a bit of a hard pill to swallow.
"Daddy!" Kensington shrieked when he entered the kitchen.
"Hi honey, how was your day?" he asked as he leaned down and kissed the top of her little head.
"Park, swings!" Kensington told him.
Mark smiled. His daughter already had at least fifty words and probably more like one hundred words. She was even putting them together although not in full sentences as his father in law's latest wife seemed to feel she should be. His own wife had told him that sentences was more of a two-year-old milestone and that technically the kind of sentences Kensington had already formed like Dog barks would count for that. That fit with what he remembered from his pediatrics training in medical school so he thought she was more than fine. "Did mommy take you to the park?" he asked.
"Yes!" Kensington squealed.
"We went to the Library for story hour after lunch and then stopped at Lilac Park on the way home. She was exhausted by then so I didn't stop at the grocery store. Wegman's is open until midnight so I'll just go on the way home from the movie," Beth said.
"Sure, if you want, or if you give me a list, I can stop on the way home tomorrow," Mark offered.
"Maybe I'll see how tired I am after the movie. I'll try to go because it is always easy to shop when the store is basically empty. If you stop on your way home, you will have to contend with everyone else who had the same idea to stop on their way home from work," Beth said.
"Ok, I can help Kensington finish up her dinner and clean up why don't you go get ready to meet Carly," Mark suggested.
Beth wrapped her arms around him. "I love you," she whispered before she slipped out of the kitchen and headed towards the stairs to the bedrooms.
Mark smiled at his daughter and then wiped some yogurt off her face. He really did have a great life!
XXXXXXXX
Once again Carly Ashton found herself standing in her room sized closet with no idea what to wear. Her mother in law dressed in power suits with her own feminine flair. Somehow, Dr. Monica Quartermaine and Beth Quartermaine both managed to blend conservative and fashionable but Carly herself couldn't seem to find that middle ground. Then there was the issue of her expanding bust which made everything look a little more risqué than trendy and hardly appropriate to be worn by a Quartermaine wife. So, where did that leave her? Was having nothing to wear an appropriate reason to cancel plans at the last minute? Would Beth understand or just consider her another flaky friend?
Carly just shook her head and pulled another dress from the closet rack. She frowned again. Maybe a skirt would be better. Maybe…. She was still debating that when the phone rang. She reached down for the cordless phone she had set on the counter in her closet. Yes, her closet had counters!
"Hello," Carly said cautiously.
"Hi Carly, it's Ned. I just wanted to check in and make sure everything was alright," her husband said.
Ned was certainly an attentive husband and he seemed to be attentive in a genuine rather than controlling way. The more Carly got to know him she really questioned why he was twice divorced. "Everything is fine, I'm getting ready to go out to dinner with Beth and then we're going to a movie," she said.
"Oh, great, have fun! Are you going with Beth Quartermaine, or is this another friend Beth?" Ned asked.
"Beth Quartermaine. I think you have met all of my friends," Carly said. She decided not to add that, with the exception of Simone, all of them had known Ned first and liked him better.
"Ok, well I won't keep you from getting ready. I'll give you a call tomorrow after the hearing. I'm hoping it will only take one day but there is supposed to be a pretty bad storm tomorrow afternoon and evening so I may need to fly out first thing in the morning regardless," Ned said.
"Just be safe, I'll be fine," Carly said. She was trying to believe that.
XXXXXXXX
Beth Quartermaine pulled to a stop at the stop light at the end of Tulip Drive. Although it was a largely residential street the Wegman's Grocery faced onto Cypress Street and it's parking lot was on Tulip Drive so a light was essential to get in and out. It made sense to her but apparently installation of the light had been contentious topics of debate in the Lilac Park neighborhood, eight years earlier. Of course, maybe that made sense since the same people had debated the construction of the supermarket in the first place. That really made no sense to Beth since Wegman's was amazing!
When the light turned green, she made a right turn onto Cypress and cruised up two blocks to Ned and Carly's home and pulled into their driveway. She shifted into park just as she noticed that Carly had already stepped out onto the side patio from their kitchen. That impressed her; punctuality was great and not something that many of her other friends had possessed or maybe they just hadn't ever been on time when meeting her because she wasn't much of a priority to them. That was probably the case.
"I like that skirt," Beth said when Carly climbed into her Jeep Grand Cherokee. The SUV had been their compromise after Kensington's birth. Somehow Beth hadn't been quite ready to become a minivan mom and of course Mark had researched them and been unhappy with the rollover statistics so they had gone with a midsize SUV. There was plenty of room for Kensington's car seat in the back seat and all of her gear in the generous cargo area.
"Thank you," Carly said.
Beth noted the discomfort in Carly's voice. She didn't really understand it; of course, she didn't really know Carly well. She was unsure if she should ask if something was wrong. Would that be nosy or supportive? After a few moments of internal debate, she turned to Carly. "I know I suggested Café Decadence but if there is somewhere else you would rather go; I am completely up for that. Mark and I haven't been back in Port Charles long and it certainly has changed a lot since we were younger. I'd love it if you wanted to introduce me to some cool new place that you and Ned love now," she offered.
"Café Decadence is fine, I haven't been there in a while," Carly said.
"Ok, if you're sure, I love their strawberry lemonade and they usually stop serving that at the end of October." Beth said before she reversed slightly to turn and then pull out of the driveway back onto Cypress Street.
XXXXXXXX
As she sat at a table in Café Decadence on the Riverwalk, PCU Nursing Student Kim Randolph knew her date was old enough to be her father. She just wasn't sure if he actually was older than her father. He definitely looked older than her father which was almost enough to cause her to abort the plan, but only almost.
"So, this is the hip place these days?" Dr. Tony Jones asked.
"I like it," Kim said with a seductive smile.
"So, what is good here?" Tony asked.
"The spinach artichoke dip is really good. Let's start with that!" Kim said.
"BJ was allergic to artichokes," Tony said. His voice sounded far away as if he was back in some memory of his dead daughter.
Kim knew she needed to at least feign some sympathy but it was so hard because she pretty much hated small children. She took a deep breath and laid her hand over Tony's. "I'm sorry. Maybe we should order something else. I also like their Mozzarella Sticks," she suggested.
"No, let's get the spinach artichoke dip. I think BJ would want us to be able to move on," Tony said.
"I'm sure she would. It sounds like she was a lovely little girl," Kim said. She didn't believe a word of that. She was quite certain that BJ was just as much of brat as her younger brother Lucas.
"She was, she was seriously the best little girl in the whole world," Tony said. Once again, his voice got far away.
XXXXXXXX
Carly Ashton cringed, as she followed Beth Quartermaine to a table in Café Decadence, when she spotted her ex sitting at a table with one of her former classmates from nursing school. In a way they deserved each other but they were also both vindictive and cruel enough that seeing them together made her uncomfortable. When they sat down Carly debated if it would be safer to stay and risk one of Tony's volatile outbursts or if she was better off admitting all to Beth and exiting with a small shred of pride left. After all, Beth had lived in Port Charles for almost a year. Had she possibly not heard all the stories already anyway?
"Is everything alright?" Beth asked.
"I'm not sure," Carly said honestly. She was still calculating the risk benefit of her options.
"We can go somewhere else if you prefer. I didn't realize that Dr. Jones was going to be here. He always makes me uncomfortable," Beth said.
Carly felt her eyebrow raise involuntarily. "He does?" she asked.
"Yes, I know he has had a hard time. His daughter's death was tragic and I truly feel for him but whenever I have seen him at hospital functions, he has been so angry," Beth said.
Carly wondered if it was possible that Beth Quartermaine was one of the few people in Port Charles who had no idea she was the woman Dr. Tony Jones had cheated on his wife with.
"He and Mark haven't always seen eye to eye on patient care matters either. Of course, I don't know details because Mark is such a professional when it comes to patient confidentiality, as he should be. I have witnessed more than a few tense conversations between them at hospital events. In fact, if Alan hadn't diffused the situation at the Nurses' Ball this year, I think that Tony might have actually hit Mark," Beth said.
"Maybe you're right, maybe we should go somewhere else," Carly said. Tony had forbidden her from attending the 1997 Nurses Ball because Bobbie and Lucas would be there so she didn't know what had actually happened between him and Beth's husband but he had certainly been in a mood when he had left their home that night.
June 27, 1997
Caroline Benson curled into the couch in her fiancé, Dr. Tony Jones' new apartment in Sunset View Highrises. Although Tony had purchased the apartment at the beginning of the month it was supposed to be their new home. The home they would bring their baby home to in another six months. It sounded so good but nagging self-doubt still crept into Caroline's consciousness. If Tony was really so ready to commit to their new family then why wasn't she allowed to attend the Nurses' Ball?
In spite of her fears and insecurities, Caroline still had to smile when her fiancé emerged from their master bedroom in a tuxedo. "You look good!" she said.
"Do I now?" Tony asked.
"Are you sure I can't come? I could get ready quickly," Caroline asked.
"Carly, you know that Lucas will be there tonight and seeing you will be upsetting to him," Tony said.
Caroline supposed he had a point but that didn't make it hurt less. "It's only upsetting to him because Bobbie tells him it should be upsetting to him. Anyway, I'm going to be the mother of his little brother or sister," she said.
"Yes, of course," Tony said.
Yet, to Caroline, it sounded anything but certain. "You have told him about the baby, right?" she asked.
"Well, umm," Tony said.
"You promised you were going to tell him! At the rate you're going our child will be here before you get around to telling Lucas he's going to be a brother!" Caroline screamed.
"Lucas is already a brother," Tony said flatly.
Right of course, to the precious BJ. Caroline had never known Barbara Jean Jones; her school bus had been struck by a drunk driver in March 1994, almost two years before Caroline had arrived in Port Charles herself. "I'm sorry, I guess that came out wrong," Caroline said.
"You just will never understand," Tony said.
He was probably right. Caroline knew that, but it didn't mean he had to rub her face in it. "I'm sorry," she offered weakly.
"You should be," Tony said. He reached for his car keys.
Caroline hauled herself across the room desperate to be in his arms for at least a minute before he abandoned her. She lunged for him wrapping her arms around him but instead of reciprocating the hug he forcefully shook himself free and then shoved her away. It happened so fast that she lost her balance and went flying across the room. "Tony," she gasped in shock.
Tony just offered her a look of disgust and then slammed the door closed loudly.
That had been a bad night. Her first inclination had been to go to Jason. But, of course, Jason had been attending the Nurses' Ball to support his precious Robin. That had been the night she had sat on the couch aimlessly flipping through channels but not actually watching anything. That had been the night she had realized how alone she really was. So, when Tony had finally returned with apologies and pizza, she had accepted his apologies more because she didn't have other options than because she forgave him.
"I think you're right; I'll just leave a generous tip and we'll get out of here. Do you like either the Olive Branch on the Square or The Outback?"
Carly had never been to the Olive Branch. She suspected that Tony had been afraid they might have run into one of his colleagues. She hadn't been a big fan of the Outback once she realized that Miss Priss's family owned the restaurant. "Either is fine, or we could pick up something and go back to our house," she said.
Once the words were out, they surprised Carly. Had she just invited Beth into their home? She had always avoided bringing people home when she shared a single wide with her mother. But now she lived in almost four thousand square feet of luxury with a contracted cleaning service.
"If you don't mind, why don't we do that?" Beth asked.
Carly gulped. "No problem," she managed to croak. She supposed she had offered after all.