Celia Quartermaine sunk down onto the couch in her bedroom of their suite at the Port Charles Hotel and carefully weighed her options. It was almost six o'clock so, if she was going to cancel her evening with Matthew Sinclair then she needed to call him. They were supposed to be joining her cousins Ned Ashton and his wife Carly; Dr. Mark Quartermaine and his wife Beth; and Hugh Lars Quartermaine and his wife Marla. All of the other couples had cancelled so it would be just her and Matt. That was a bit terrifying but perhaps dinner with her father was even more terrifying. That was probably another issue all together.
Celia shook her head at her final thought and then picked up the cordless phone she had set down beside her and dialed her best friend Holly's number.
The phone rang three times and then Holly Sutton Scorpio said, "Hello, can you hold for just a moment."
Celia laughed. She knew she wasn't actually on hold. She had likely just interrupted a parenting moment.
"Just stay in the backyard, ok, buddy?" Celia heard Holly say. Then she heard a sliding door opening and imagined her godson Brandon was on his way out to his backyard playset.
"Hello, I'm sorry," Holly said when she finally returned to the phone.
"No, really, it's my bad. I wasn't thinking about the time difference. You must be just getting home from picking up Brandon," she said.
"I am but it's fine. Brandon was going outside to play anyway. What's up? Are you all ready for Matt to pick you up?" Holly asked.
"Change in plans, major change in plans and I'm not sure if I want to still go through with this?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, my cousins all cancelled. Apparently, Ned's wife is in the ICU at PCGH," Celia began.
"Oh, that's horrible. She is the one who is pregnant right? Or is that Mark's wife?" Holly asked.
"Mark and his wife Beth have a seventeen-month-old, Kensington. Mark is a physician and apparently he got stuck picking up call for someone so they can't come. Ned's wife Carly is pregnant with a little boy. I guess she had an ulcer that ruptured and now she is in the ICU," Celia said.
"That is horrible! I only met her a few times while visiting Robin, but she seemed so kind. I hope she and the baby will be ok," Holly said.
"I think you're thinking of Ned's second wife, Lois, and she was very kind. They divorced last year."
"Oh, well…" Holly said her voice trailed off without really completing her thought.
Celia thought her friend sounded a bit embarrassed which was kind of silly. Ned was her cousin and she frequently had trouble keeping his relationships straight. "Yeah, it can be a bit hard to keep Ned's relationships all straight," she said.
"No, I was just thinking about something else," Holly said.
It was Celia's turn to feel like an idiot. As much as she had tried to grow up and shed her spoiled heiress persona, sometimes she could still be so clueless. "Oh, Holly! I'm so sorry. I really am an idiot, or a horrible friend, or both," she said.
"No, you aren't. How could you possibly say that after the way you were there for me when Robert and I lost our baby and the way you have always helped me with Brandon? You're my best friend, Celia and you certainly aren't horrible. Now, what about just going to dinner with Matt by yourself? Do you not want to do that?" Holly asked.
Celia had no idea what she wanted to do. "Not really, but maybe I would rather have dinner with my father even less. He is always all weird about everything when we're back in Port Charles."
"I would imagine at this point, the town represents much confusion, conflicted emotions, and a general feeling of loss," Holly said.
"Is that how you feel about Port Charles?"
"Sometimes…between everything with Robert and Bill I guess I have more questions than answers. But I've had to accept that is the way things are going to be because they are both dead. Perhaps there is more uncertainty for your father," Holly suggested.
Celia considered that. A year earlier then County Prosecutor, Michael Schultz had reconsidered whether her mother had been able to stand trial. Many had considered it an election stunt and when Abigail Mitchell had beaten him at the polls the issue had been dropped. "Perhaps," Celia said wistfully. She took a deep breath. "But I think dinner with Matt is definitely a safer bet than my father so I guess I should go get ready. Give my Godson a hug for me!"
"Of course, and don't stress too much about Matt. Just relax, whatever is meant to happen will," Holly said.
Celia wished it could be that simple.
XXXXXXXX
Brenda Barrett frowned at her reflection as she ran a brush through her hair. It had been a long day, and she had really been looking forward to taking a long bath and watching mindless television. Or she had until Jax had called and informed her they had other plans. As tempting as it was to call Jax out on his egotistical belief that she should drop anything, and everything, to accommodate him; Brenda couldn't quite go there. Her sister, Julia, would blame her inability to stand up for herself on her relationship with Sonny which was ironic because in many ways it was Sonny who had helped her stand up for herself. Of course, Julia would never see that.
Brenda reached for a barrette and pulled the top part of her hair back. Just as she snapped the clip her cell phone started to ring. "Hello," she said as she held her cell phone in an awkward position and started to reach for some mascara.
"Hey, Bren," the voice of her best friend greeted her.
"Lois!" Brenda said. She laid the mascara back down on her vanity relaxed her grip on her phone. Jax was just going to have to wait!
"How are you?" Lois asked.
"I'm ok," Brenda lied.
"I'm sorry; I really wanted to call you last weekend but life kind of happened," Lois said.
Brenda heard how tired Lois sounded. She was sure it was hard to be a single mom to a very energetic three-year-old. Was all of that really easier than facing Ned? She wasn't brave enough to ask that question. Instead, she said, "It's ok, I understand."
Except she really didn't!
"I really tried to shuffle things around so I could make it to the dedication of Stone's wing. Unfortunately, I couldn't quite make it work. Miguel says it is really cool though," Lois said.
Brenda doubted that Lois had ever had any intention of making it Stone's Wing Dedication. That would have required returning to Port Charles something Lois avoided at all costs. Or usually, she did. She had made an exception for what was supposed to be Brenda's wedding. Except the wedding hadn't happened because two days before Sonny had decided that he loved her too much to let her become Mrs. Michael Corinthos. Logically, she knew she should be grateful for Sonny's concern for her life and safety. It was just hard to not see it as another situation where she wasn't allowed to make the decisions about her own life. That wasn't really something she wanted to discuss with Lois though.
"It really is ok. Miguel is a great friend," Brenda said. She heard Lois's caught breath and realized the implication that could be made from that. Had she intended that?
"I'm sorry Bren, I know I haven't been the greatest friend," Lois said. Her voice trailed off although it sounded like there was more that she wanted to say.
"I wasn't saying that, Lo!. This has just been a bad couple of years."
"It has, but I want to do better. I really miss you, and Brookie misses you. I have this whole weekend off. I know it is a little short notice but what do you think about taking the train down tomorrow night and we can have a girls' weekend?" Lois asked.
Brenda's heart melted a little. It would be good to see Lois and Brooklyn again. Then she remembered she and Keesha were supposed to be hosting Carly's baby shower on Sunday. "I wish I could, I already made plans with Keesha for most of the weekend. Sorry!" she said. It was the kindest version of the truth she could come up with.
"Please, don't feel badly, it was short notice. It's just my schedule has been crazy lately and I really have missed you, so I just thought…"
"I have missed you too. I wish it would have worked out," Brenda said. She really did wish it had worked out. She would definitely rather spend the weekend with Lois and Brookie than at Carly's shower. She couldn't exactly explain that to Lois though.
"So how is everything going with modeling for Jax Cosmetics? Is it better because you don't have to deal with Kathy La Belle on a daily basis," Lois asked.
Brenda considered that for a moment. No longer having to deal with Katherine was definitely a plus. Of course, dealing with Jax was it's own special kind of disaster at times as well. "Oh, but Jax still has Deception Cosmetics stock so I had to go to the Shareholder's Event as his date a few weeks ago. That was special!"
"I can only imagine. I definitely do not miss that aspect of being married to Ned," Lois said.
Did she miss other aspects of being married to Ned? Brenda had to wonder. It probably wasn't really fair to ask that question, so she didn't. She just forced a nervous laugh.
"Is everything else ok?" Lois asked.
"Yeah, sure, I'm just getting ready to go out with Jax," Brenda said.
"So, should I let you go? Or do you want to talk about why you're dreading it because you sound anything but thrilled," Lois said.
"You're the one who advised me to move on," Brenda said.
Lois sighed. "I think I encouraged you to think about what you really wanted and to set some goals that were your own. If Jax ties into that, ok. If he loves you and supports you, even better," she said.
"But you don't think he does?" Brenda challenged.
"Honestly, Bren, I don't think Jax loves anyone except for possibly himself and I think he is a bit too inherently selfish to really support someone else on a path towards their goals unless that also somehow works towards his goals. But maybe that isn't fair and maybe I don't know him well enough to conclude that," Lois said.
Brenda considered that. She saw far too much truth in Lois's words to be angry. She just couldn't quite admit that aloud. "You don't want me with Sonny because his life is dangerous, ok fine but then you don't get to also have a problem with every other guy I want to date!"
"Bren, honey, that just isn't true," Lois said.
"Isn't it? You thought Miguel and I were making a mistake, you thought I was wrong for AJ and now you have a problem with Jax," Brenda said.
"If Jax treats you well and you're happy then I'm happy for you. For the record, it wasn't that I thought you were wrong for AJ, or even that he was wrong for you. It was that I thought you were both in rather vulnerable places that summer which can be a bad combination," Lois said.
Brenda was curious why Lois thought that AJ was vulnerable during Summer 1996. Perhaps she meant because he had broken up with Nikki Langton although it was hard for Brenda to consider the end of that relationship a loss for him.
"Bren? Like I said before, I know I've not been a great friend and I'm sorry. But I do want to do better and frankly I don't want to lose anyone else," Lois's voice broke through the silence.
"You aren't going to lose me. I really do have plans with Keesha this weekend. I have some Jacks Cosmetics thing in the city at the beginning of November and I promise we will get together then," Brenda said.
"Ok, can you email me the dates? I guess I need to get Brookie bathed and to bed. I do miss you, Bren."
"I know! I miss you too and I guess I need to get ready to go to dinner with Jax and his business associates. In my opinion you're definitely getting the better deal."
"Oh, I know I am!" Lois said. Her voice sounded lighter for the first time in the conversation. "Goodnight!"
After Brenda closed her cell phone, she wondered about what had triggered Lois's emotional vulnerability. That brought up a lot of other questions she was afraid to ask. Perhaps her evening with Jax would at least serve as a distraction. Perhaps….
XXXXXXXX
In her suite at the Port Charles Hotel, Katherine Bell rummaged through her lingerie drawer. Underneath a layer of unmentionables lay a veritable treasure trove of pharmaceuticals. Her supply was diverse and vast. Some were for personal use, others were intended for others, and some medications could fit into both categories. Her fingers closed around the bottle of fen-phen. It had moved into the latter category. She swallowed hard with regret.
Over a year ago, she had ventured to Pine Valley, PA for an appointment with Dr. Jonathan Kinder. He had joked that he had prescribed her enough of the weight loss drug to turn an elephant into a mouse so to be careful with it. He hadn't realized that she had actually had no intentions of actually taking the medication herself. She had actually been a little offended that he had even suggested that she could need a diet pill. But after some overindulgent stress eating, some metabolism changes, and two weeks in the hospital she had turned into a woman who needed diet pills. She had faced that bitter reality when she had seen the flashing and taunting 150 on her bathroom scale.
As she popped three pills in her mouth, she vaguely remembered that Dr. Kinder had advised she take the pills with plenty of water. Instead, she swallowed the pills dry. Why risk the water weight gain?
XXXXXXXX
Hugh Lars Quartermaine laid the hot water bottle over his wife's lower abdomen and then reached for her hand. "Maybe I should give Alan a call," he suggested as he gently lowered himself onto the edge of the bed.
Marla Quartermaine rolled her eyes, released a frustrated sigh, and then involuntarily winced at the pain that had evoked. "I told you I will be fine, you didn't have to cancel your plans," she said.
Hugh Lars released his own sigh. "I love you, Marla, and I want to be there for you. Please, honey, don't shut me out anymore," he whispered.
His wife took stoicism to a new level. She could be dying, and he would be the last to know she needed anything. She claimed she didn't want to bother him. She said she knew he was busy at ELQ, and she appreciated how hard he worked to provide for their family. He was busy sometimes and he did work hard but none of that was as important to him as their family. None of that was as important to him as she was. He loved her even more than he had when they had exchanged vows more than eleven years ago. Despite that he felt her slipping away with each passing year. He gave her hand a squeeze as if that could help him hold on. Maybe it could because she squeezed back.
XXXXXXXX
In her suite at the Port Charles Hotel, Katherine Bell awoke feeling clammy and nauseous. Her chest felt heavy as if she couldn't get a breath. She didn't generally believe in karma, but it was almost like she was actually experiencing all the symptoms she had been complaining of for sympathy to Nikolas for the past few days. Ugh!