Arrendale Heights

Episode 15 - Behind the Silence

2012-02-18T10:27:00.003-05:00

"Hold still, sweetie, I'm almost done," Jolene said as she finished fastening Lorna's hair in place. "There. Perfect."

"Hey, Jolene. Is it alright if Jenn comes over after school today? We're planning on working on our project for the science fair," Art asked.

"Sure."

"What are you asking her for?" Lance grumbled. "Shouldn't you ask Dad? She's not our parent."

"It's called being considerate," Art scolded. "Besides Dad won't care. He's not the one who's going to be here. Jolene is."

Jolene watched silently as Lance stormed off to the kitchen. It had been easy for her to get the other two children to warm up to her. Artie had been helpful and friendly since her first day on the job. Lorna had been a little wary at first, but as a fellow girly girl living in a house of males, they found plenty of common ground to bond over. Lance, however, was a tough nut to crack. She had tried to reach out to him, in several ways, but he was having none of it. She refused to give up though. She knew there had to be some way to win him over, given enough time.

"Don't mind him. He likes hardly anybody."

"I'm sure it's hard to . . . have someone new in the household," Jolene said, pausing to check her words and not bring up what might be a sensitive subject in front of the children. "I'm sure he'll get used to me if I give him time."

"Good morning," Lawrence greeted the family as he entered the dining room.

"Good morning, Daddy," Lorna greeted him with a hug.

"Good morning, princess."

"Dad, can Jenn come over after school today to work on a school project? Jolene says she doesn't mind."

Lawrence turned to Jolene, when she nodded her agreement, he answered. "That's fine."

"But there won't be any after school, until you actually go to school," Jolene said. "You'd better finish getting ready before your ride gets here."

"Would you like some breakfast before you go to the office, Mr. Arrendale?" Jolene asked as the children went out of the room.

"Yes, thank you. In a moment," he replied. "I should apologize for not being around much since you started. I often have long hours."

"No problem. That's why you need me, right?"

"I did want to check in with you and see how you're getting on."

"I'm getting on fine," she said enthusiastically. "I really enjoy it here. The children are great. They are so well behaved and you have a lovely home. I'm really happy here. Thank you so much for the opportunity to work for you."

"I'm glad to hear it," Lawrence replied with an air of relief in his voice. "I'm glad it's working out."

"Me too," Jolene smiled. "I hope I can stay here for a long time."

"Oh, look at the time," Cassandra said as she rose from the table. She turned to the children. "Get your things together. We need to leave for school in a few minutes."

As Brooke and Doug left the room and Cassie started clearing the breakfast dishes from the table, Blaine was struck by the silence that was hanging over him and his wife. He knew he was the one to blame for it.

He followed Cassie into the kitchen and wrapped his arms around her from behind while she was washing the dishes.

"I'm sorry if I've been a little distant lately," he said.

She frowned with confusion. "Distant? I hadn't noticed . . . What do you mean?"

"Maybe it's nothing then," he shrugged, rubbing the back of his neck. "I think maybe I've just been preoccupied lately. That phone call from Reese threw me for a loop."

"Me too," Cassie mumbled. "I think I've been preoccupied by it myself."

"You too? Why?"

Cassie shrugged. "It just seemed odd . . . unexpected," she answered vaguely.

Blaine nodded. "Definitely unexpected and odd . . . I'm still trying to figure out why she bothered to call me. I get the impression that I missed something she was trying to tell me."

Cassandra's expression darkened with worry. "What would she have to say, other than that she's moving in next door?"

"I don't know, I'm sure it's nothing though." Noticing Cassandra's concerned expression, he added, "If you're worried, don't be. I don't know if Reese called me because she was thinking about the past, but if she did, it is just the past. You and the kids are my only present and my only future and I wouldn't let anyone or anything get in the way of that."

Cassie managed a weak smile, trying to have faith in his words. She hoped they would hold true even if he found out their kids weren't his only children.

"Hello, Simon," Shayna responded when the person on the other end of the line answered. "I have great news for you. I have all of the final paperwork ready for your house. As soon as they are signed, you will be able to move in anytime."

"That's great. I can't wait to tell Reese," Simon replied happily. "When can I meet with you to sign them?"

"Any time you'd like. I could have them sent to the office this afternoon."

"That would be great. Thank you so much, Ms. Ramone."

"You're very welcome. Let me be the first to tell you, welcome to the neighborhood."

As soon as she hung up the phone, Shayna sat down at the computer to print out and fax all of the necessary documents to her former workplace.

Some of her former co-workers thought it odd that she would trade her position at the Townsend Corporation to manage Arrendale Heights and even stranger still that she would choose to work out of Lawrence Arrendale's home study rather than in a more formal office atmosphere. She had to admit herself that she had her reservations, but she really did enjoy working here rather than in a more traditional office space. With Lawrence at the office and the children at school while she was at work, she enjoyed the quiet and the lack of distractions. She was happiest when she could focus, uninterrupted on her work.

Although, today the quiet itself had become a distraction. She was used to some noises in the house as the housekeeper went about her work, but suddenly the house seemed too quiet. As soon as her paperwork had been successfully faxed to the office, she rose for her seat at the computer desk and ventured to the main part of the house to make sure everything was alright.

"Ms. Parker, what do you think you're doing?" Shayna asked when she found Jolene seated at the vanity in Lawrence's bedroom, holding one of Mrs. Arrendale's earrings to her ear as she studied herself in the mirror. She couldn't help noticing the bureau was open and one of Eileen's dresses hung next to the mirror.

Jolene jumped back so quickly at the sound of Shayna's voice that she nearly fell off the vanity stool.

"I was just putting away the laundry," she said quickly, her voice high and nervous as she gestured wildly at the laundry basket and the open bureau. "And I guess I got a little distracted."

Shayna studied her carefully. "What exactly were you doing?"

"I didn't mean to bother anything and I know I shouldn't nose around in other people's things, but I noticed the dress and the earrings and they were just so pretty. I was just looking at them for a second and admiring. I swear that's all. I was going to put them back exactly the way I found them, I promise."

"The next time you think you shouldn't do something, then don't." Shayna said sternly.

Jolene hung her head and promised, "It won't happen again." She turned away and quickly began putting everything back where it belonged.

"I think you should finish what you came in here to do and move on to your next task for the day without haste."

As Shayna left the room, Jolene returned back to her job of putting the clothes away. She was so embarrassed that she had been caught in her little moment of fantasy. She couldn't help wondering what it had been like. As she put the rest of the laundry away and was about to close the bureau doors before leaving the bedroom, she couldn't help feeling the fabric of the sleeve of one of Lawrence's shirts hanging on the closet and breathing in its scent. She closed her eyes just for a moment, wondering what it must have been like.

Episode 14 - Sooner or Later

2012-01-10T00:18:00.001-05:00

"I talked to Ms. Ramone today and told her we decided to take the house. We can move in by the end of the month. Do you think you can be ready by then?"

Reese took a deep breath, and looked up from the dinner she was preparing. "There's going to be a lot to get ready. But I think we can make it by then."

"We could always move it back if we need more time, but I don't think I want to wait any longer than necessary," Simon said with a grin as he took out the salad ingredients and closed the refrigerator door.

"I don't think we'll have to do that. We'll manage somehow," Reese replied. "At least I hope so."

"I'm glad everything worked out with Natalie's father. Did your conversation go alright?"

"Yeah . . ." Reese said slowly. "It was fine. It was . . . not how I expected it to go. It was a little odd actually."

"How so?"

"It was his reaction . . . or his lack of reaction," Reese said, looking up from the counter as she searched for the right words. "All these years, whenever I considered getting in touch with him, I tried to imagine how he would react. A lot of scenarios ran through my mind, but not this one."

She sighed. "I didn't know if he would be furious or excited or maybe both, but I always thought he'd at least be curious and I thought he'd probably want to have some kind of relationship with Natalie, but he just seemed so disinterested and so detached. That's not like him."

"Maybe he was just in shock and needed some time to process the news."

"Maybe," she said doubtfully. "But he didn't seem very shocked, not at all . . . I don't know why it's bothering me so much. I have no right to expect anything from him after keeping everything a secret from him. Something just seems off . . ."

"Maybe you should try talking with him again just to get some clarity."

"I think I will. We're going to be neighbors soon. We're going to be running into each other. It's going to have to come up again sooner or later."

"Hi, sweetie, how are you? How are you doing?" Amanda gushed over the phone.

Meghan twirled the phone cord around her fingers. "I'm fine."

"Are you getting along with living with your dad and Shayna? How's school?"

"Okay, I guess."

"That's good to hear. I wish you were here. It's been warm and sunny everyday since we've been here and the water is so blue. You would love it. Ben has been working a lot, but when he's not busy he's been showing me all the sights."

"I wish I were there too," Meghan pouted. Then she looked around to make sure no one was in earshot before continuing. "Any place would be better than here."

"Why? Aren't things going well? What's the matter?"

"It's okay," Meghan said slowly. "I just liked it better when I was living with you."

"Oh, sweetie," Amanda said. Her daughter's words tugged at her heart. "I did too, but your dad and I decided this would be the best for you. You could get some time with your dad and go to a better school."

"I like the school and it is nice to see Dad more. It's just . . ." she lowered her voice. "It's strange living here. I don't think I really fit in."

"With Shayna?" Amanda asked, finishing the thought Meghan left uncompleted.

"She picks on me," Meghan said, the words flowing quickly now. "We had this 'family meeting' about rules and stuff and dad did most of the talking, but you could tell she was the one behind it. She doesn't like what I do or how I dress. In fact she wants to take me shopping tomorrow and help me pick out some clothes that she thinks are more suitable," Meghan groaned.

When Meghan heard her mother exhale sharply over the phone before responding, she held her breath anxiously.

"Is it really that awful for you? You don't think you'll adjust if you just give it some time?"

"No," Meghan replied with a roll of her eyes.

"Well, sweetheart, there's really nothing I can do right now. I can't pull you out of school and have you come here."

"I don't want to leave the school. I actually like the school. I've already made friends"

"I'll be home in a couple of months. Why don't you try to stick it out until then and if it's still not working out, you can move back home with me."

"No, I don't want to do that really," Meghan said, as she noticed Julian walk through the kitchen. "I can stay here. I just wish she wouldn't pick on me so much."

"Why don't you let me talk to your dad."

"Okay," Meghan beamed. "Thanks, Mom."

"So what do you think of this outfit?" Meghan asked, holding up a very short, low cut top with an equally short skirt.

"I think if my parents saw me in an outfit like that, they would both say, 'you're not leaving the house dressed like that young lady.'"

"Dare me to try it on just to see how much I can annoy Shayna? Do you think she would flip?"

Judith shrugged. "I think it might take more than that to get a rise out of Ms. Ramone."

"Hmmm . . ." Meghan said thoughtfully as she glanced sideways towards the front of the store where Shayna was browsing the racks. "Oh my gosh, what is she looking at, power suits?"

Judith laughed.

"She's going to have me dressed like a mini version of herself. Oh my God."

To that Judith only giggled harder. "I could not imagine."

"Oh, great," Meghan muttered. "Here come Melissa and Sara."

Judith turned to see the two upperclassmen enter the shop. "I thought you were all friends?"

"We are . . . sort of, I guess. I did not want them to see me here shopping with Shayna. That's why I didn't invite either of them when Shayna said I could bring a friend. I didn't want anyone at school to see me shopping with my sort of stepmother."

"So you invited me instead?" Judith frowned and crossed her arms, but Meghan didn't seem to hear her.

"Oh no, they saw me and they're headed over," she hissed, before smiling and waving. "Hi, girls."

"Hi, Meghan. What's up?" Sara asked.

"Not much, just shopping," Meghan replied. "What are you two up to?"

"The same," she replied.

Melissa looked at Judith. "Aren't you Jeremy Wilton's sister?"

"Yes," Judith replied.

"What are you, a freshman?" she asked.

"Yes," Judith said. She tried not to let her annoyance show, but she cold feel her cheeks flush involuntarily at Melissa's remark.

"She's my cousin," Meghan explained.

Unable to stand by quietly any longer, Judith spoke up. "Her older cousin, by almost 2 months." When Melissa and Sara looked confused, she explained. "Meghan's a freshman too . . . Didn't she mention that?"

Meghan looked at her cousin in horror, but Judith didn't care. She was fed up with the other girls' attitudes.

Melissa and Sara exchanged a look.

"No, she didn't."

Meghan shrugged, trying to play cool and salvage some chance at maintaining her popularity. "I guess it never came up."

"Well, we'd better go," Melissa said. "Enjoy your shopping."

As the two girls walked away, they had already lost interest in the conversation with Meghan and Judith and were checking out a couple of cute guys who had just walked into the store. Meghan felt like she was being left behind in the shadows for good and her chance at being part of the popular crowd at school had vanished as soon as it had appeared.

She frowned at Judith. "Thanks a lot."

Episode 13 - Familiarity

2011-08-15T18:48:00.000-04:00

"So, how have you been?" Chloe asked, draping a napkin over her lap as she and Cassie sat down to lunch.

"I've been alright. How about you?"

"Fine," she answered quickly before turning a skeptical eye to Cassandra. "Are you really sure you're alright? You seem like you've had something on your mnd lately. James has noticed it too. I thought maybe you'd like to talk."

Cassie sighed. "I have had something on my mind," she admitted. "You know how I've been getting those bad vibes about the new house? I found out why I've had a bad feeling about it . . .Reese, Blaine's ex is moving there."

"Really? How do you know that?"

"I met her fiance and daughter when they were looking at the new house the other day. I can't believe they're planning to move in right next door to us."

"Ooh," Chloe grimaced. "I can't say I'd be thrilled to be neighbor's with one of James' exes, but it sounds like she's moved on and started a family of her own so it doesn't seem like she would be a threat to you at all." When Cassie looked doubtful, Chloe asked, "You don't think so?"

"I'm not sure what to think . . ."

"Oh come on, even if she was after Blaine, you know your husband is one of the most devoted, trustworthy family men I know. He would never do anything to hurt you or your family."

"I know," Cassie said, her stomach twisting with guilt.

"Then what is it?" Chloe said. She could tell there was more that Cassie was holding back. "What's really bothering you?"

Cassie desperately wanted someone to confide in, but if she couldn't bring herself to tell her husband everything, then she couldn't tell anyone else either. She had intended to tell him the full truth when he came home that afternoon, but the look on his face when she mentioned Reese made her feel sick to her stomach and her nerves took over. When he asked how old Reese's daughter was she fudged the age slightly, saying she was slightly younger than she knew she must be. She couldn't admit that to Chloe now, because if she did, she knew she'd have to tell Blaine the truth.

"I lied to him," she confided. "Reese called the house once before and I deleted the message before he could hear it."

"What did she say on the message?"

"Nothing much, just that she wanted to talk with him."

"Surely she must have known you were going to be neighbors and wanted to say hello before the move. I'm sure it was all totally innocent."

"I know. I just paniced and hit the button without thinking and . . . I feel terrible about lying to him."

"Then why don't you tell him what happened? I'm sure he won't be too upset about it."

"You don't think so?"

Chloe shook her head. "Over something minor like that, I wouldn't think so."

Cassie frowned, wishing her lies had only stayed so small.

"Or you could just forget about it and play it off as an accident. I wouldn't worry about it too much if I were you. The phone call, the move, the little white lie, are probably not as big of a deal as you're making it out to be. I'm sure it will all work out fine."

Cassie hoped she was right.

"Reese. Hi."

"Hi," Reese replied, a hint of relief in her tone. His voice was so friendly and familiar. It hadn't changed since the last time she'd spoken to him all those years ago. She couldn't believe she had backed out from calling him so many times over the years. Then she remembered why, she wasn't sure where to start. "I'm sorry to call you at work. I'm not interrupting am I?"

"No, it's perfect timing. I just got back from lunch."

"Good, I was hoping you would be. I tried to call your home phone first. I left a message there a few weeks ago, but I never heard back from you."

"I didn't get it. I'm sorry. I guess it must have gotten deleted by accident."

"Sure," Reese agreed, but she had her doubts that it was totally an accident.

"I heard you're moving to Arrendale Heights," Blaine spoke up. "Cassie told me all about meeting your family when they were checking out the house next door."

"Yes, we might be. I kind of wanted to talk to you about it before we made our final decision, make sure you're okay with it . . . with everything . . ."

"Yeah, sure I am," he replied. "Listen, what happened was a long time ago and when we broke up I hoped we'd still be friends. I'd still like for all of us to be friends."

"Are you sure you still feel that way?" Reese asked.

"Of course. Nothing could change that." He hesitated, wondering if he was treading too far. "I don't know the circumstances exactly, but if you were alone, if you needed me, even if just as a friend, I wish you would have called me. You could have let me know what was going on. I would have been there."

There was silence on Reese's end of the line as she tried to hold her emotions in check. "Then you do already know . . . about Natalie . . . Cassie really did tell you?"

"Yeah . . . I have to admit, I was really shocked . . . at first. Maybe I still am a little bit."

"I'm so sorry I didn't tell you at the time, or anytime after that," Reese said quietly. "I started to so many times, but you were already with Cassie, then you got married and had a family of your own . . ." she trailed off for a moment. "Don't you think we should get together, talk about this in person instead of over the phone?"

"No, it's alright. There's no explanation necessary," he replied. "Look, we went our separate ways and we have our own families now. What happened was in the past. When we see each other again let's just put the past behind us and start fresh."

"Oh, okay," Reese said slowly, mulling over his words. His reaction wasn't at all what she was expecting and she found herself at a loss for words.

"Great," Blaine replied. "I'll see you around." As he hung up the phone, Blaine looked up at the picture of his family on the corner of his desk. James was right, there was no point in dwelling on past relationships his main concern and his first priority was his family.

What started as just lunch plans turned into an extended lunch break followed by a session of retail therapy. Since Chloe was her own boss and business was slow at the moment and she was married to Cassie's boss, it was easy enough to take the rest of the day off. Besides Chloe reasoned that a day off to clear her mind would probably help Cassie be more efficient at her job the next day and if they took a little time to browse for decorating and design ideas, she might gain a little creative inspiration for the next event she was hired to coordinate.

Cassie only protested when Chloe suggested dropping her off at her house and picking up her kids from school for her, but when Chloe insisted, she gave in and let Chloe take her back to her house. She was surprised when a familiar car pulled into her driveway as she walked up to her house.

"Mom, what are you doing here?"

"I thought you might need me," Serena said as she unbuckled her seatbelt and got out of the car. "Something is going on, isn't it?"

"Yes, but it's nothing you need to worry about," Cassie said, trying to keep her tone light and hopefully keep her mother out of her business.

Serena eyed her daughter sharply, searching for a clue. "It's something to do with Blaine."

Cassie hesitated. After lunch with Chloe she was tired of talking about her problems and even if she hadn't been, her mother was not the one she wanted to confide in.

Cassandra's relationship with her mother over the years had been an unusual one. Serena had been away for much of Cassandra's life, sent to psychiatric wards first by Cassie's father, mostly to get her out of his way, and later because of the revenge Serena had inflicted on him for stealing away so many years she could have spent with her daughters.

For years, Cassie wanted nothing more than to have her mother back in her life, but when it finally happened, she came to realize that having Serena in her life might not be the best situation. For the benefit of her marriage and her family, she decided to keep a little distance between herself and her mother. She eventually found a balance between having her mother overly involved in her life and not in her life at all. It was a better situation for everyone involved, including Serena.

"You could save me the trouble of trying to figure it out on my own and just tell me," Serena said bluntly.

"I just found out that Blaine's ex, Reese, is moving in next door . . ."

Serena gasped, "With his child."

"What?" Cassie said, surprised. Then she whispered, "How did you know?"

"I always knew . . . I saw Reese just before she left town and she was definitely with child . . . why do you think I told you to get pregnant right away if you wanted to keep him? If he had found out . . ."

Cassie cut her off, not wanting to hear what she was going to say next. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't want to put you in that position. It was better that you didn't know."

"Unbelievable," Cassie muttered, yet somehow that kind of reasoning by her mother was not totally shocking.

"You know what you need to do now . . ."

"No, I don't even want to know what you're thinking. Just forget about this. Don't say anything to anyone about this, please."

"I think that would be for the best," Serena agreed.

As Cassie and Serena talked, Jolene walked past with her charges. Vanessa Varner had invited the Arrendale children over for an afterschool playdate and Jolene over for coffee and a chat. The children were eager to spend sometime with their friends and Jolene was eager to get to know some of the other people in the neighborhood.

As they walked past Cassie's house, Jolene caught sight of Serena. She knew her.

"Come on, Lance," she called back, trying to get the straggler to catch up, so they could hurry past before Serena took notice of her and recognized her too.

As soon as Jolene and the children walked up to the house, Vanessa and her children came outside to greet them.

"Hi, you must be Jolene. It's so nice to meet you. I'm Vanessa."

"It's nice to meet you too. Thanks for inviting us over."

"No problem. Lawrence's kids and mine are all really close. He's like a nephew to me, so I imagine we'll be in touch a lot," Vanessa said. "I just wanted to meet you and let you know that the kids are welcome over here anytime and so are you."

"Thank you so much," Jolene smiled. "I'd love to get to know people in the neighborhood better . . . it would help me with my job, knowing who the other parents are and who the children might be playing with. I was just wondering, who lives in the house next door?"

"Oh, that's Cassie and Blaine's house, the Kitteridges. They have a boy and a girl, close in age to Lance."

"Is there another woman that lives there? I saw two women talking outside just now. I thought about saying hello, but I didn't know if I should."

Vanessa turned around and looked into the neighbor's yard, just in time to see Cassie and Serena walk up to the house. "Oh, that's Cassie's mother, Serena. No, she doesn't live here. I'm little surprised to see her. She doesn't visit that often," Vanessa said thoughtfully.

"Oh," Jolene replied. "I was just curious."

"So, how are you all getting along?" Vanessa asked, changing the subject.

"Really well. I think we're going to get along fine. Arthur has been really helpful and I think Lorna is warming up to me."

"And Lance?" Vanessa asked quietly.

Jolene rolled her eyes, "I'm sure he'll come around eventually."

"If he doesn't, don't take it personally. He took losing their mother the hardest," she whispered, making sure the children couldn't overhear what they were saying.

"I heard about what happened to Mrs. Arrendale. It's so tragic . . . was it really just a freak accident?"

Vanessa nodded. "As far as anyone knows. It was dark when the accident happened and she was alone . . . there really wasn't any reason to suspect it was anything but an accident. It really was just a terrible freak thing."

"And this happened, what, about five years ago?"

Again, Vanessa nodded. "It's hard to believe it's been that long. It doesn't seem like it. I know to Lawrence, especially, it seems just like yesterday . . . Believe me, I know how hard it is to lose a loved one, especially when there's a doubt in your mind that they're really gone."

"Does he really have doubts after all this time? Is there reason to?"

"I don't think there is, but I think he does," Vanessa said and decided it was time to change the subject. "Why don't you come inside and sit down? Would you like something to drink?"

"Actually, if you don't mind keeping an eye on the children on your own for a little while, I might run back to the house and try to get a few things done before dinner and homework time. Can I take a raincheck?"

"Ok," Vanessa said, surprised at the sudden change of plans. "When do you want them back home?"

"I can come back to pick them up," Jolene offered. "Say in a half an hour?"

When Vanessa agreed, Jolene hurried back towards the Arrendale's house. When she glanced back, she was relieved to see that Vanessa was herding the children inside for a snack. Instead of heading straight towards the house, she started towards the Kitteridge's house. Her timing was perfect. She got there just as Serena was backing her car out of the driveway. Cassie had already gone back inside. She flagged Serena down and hurried towards the driver's side window as soon as the car had stopped.

"Hi, I think I know you," she said. "Do you remember me?"

Serena studied her a moment, narrowing her eyes as she searched the young woman's face. "Yes, I do."

"Can you do me a favor? If it comes up, please don't tell anyone where you know me from. Can you just pretend we've never met before?"

Serena stared at her, again with that penetrating, searching look. Finally she nodded. "I won't say a word."

Episode 12 - A Question of When

2011-07-26T16:24:00.244-04:00

"Bye. Have a great afternoon, everyone," Alma called once the bell rang. As the students filed out of the classroom, she breathed a sigh of relief. She had survived her first morning as a subsitute teacher without incident.

Once the students were gone she was left alone with the man who had spent the last period sitting in the back of the room observing. When the principal had told her that another teacher would be observing her classes she was afraid she would be nervous, but every time she happened to glance at Mr. Clark he gave her a bright encouraging smile that put her at ease.

"You're doing great," he said once he made his way to the front of the room. "Are you sure you're new at this?"

"Well, it's been a long time," Alma replied. She was shocked that she found herself blushing at his compliment.

"You're a natural. If you're feeling confident, I'll tell the principal that you can handle being on your own this afternoon."

"Okay," she agreed.

"You'll do great," he assured her, flashing a warm smile. "I'll walk you to the teacher's lounge for lunch."

"Thank you," she smiled as he opened the door for her. She wasn't sure what had gotten into her. She felt like a giggly teenage girl around him. She couldn't remember feeling this way around a man since . . . well, as far back as she could remember. She felt ridiculous.

When they arrived at the teacher's lounge Mr. Clark introduced Alma to Mrs. Nielson, the teacher who would soon be going on maternity leave and Alma would be subbing for if all went well. As Mrs. Nielson began heating up her lunch, Mr. Clark again assured Alma that she would do fine on her own and bid her a warm farewell that made her smile.

"Mason is something, isn't he?" Mrs. Nielson said once Mr. Clark had left the lounge. "What a cutie."

"What?" Alma asked, thrown off-guard by her comment.

"I think half of the female faculty . . . and student body, too, have a crush on Mr. Clark. And the other half have a crush on Mr. Gregory," she laughed. "If you're here long enough, just watch the way the ladies here act around them, you'll see."

"Oh," Alma mustered a smile. "I think I heard my daughter mention Mr. Gregory. Is he the art teacher?"

Mrs. Nielson nodded. "Is your daughter a student here?"

"Yes, she's a freshman. My oldest son is a junior."

"Hmmm," she said thoughtfully. "Wilton . . . Is Jeremy Wilton your son?" When Alma nodded, she continued. "He was in my class last year. He's a good kid. I enjoyed having him in class."

Natalie walked slowly through the hallways, a stack of books in her arms and a map of the school building balanced on top. Trying to gather her bearings, she flipped the map over to see if the other side made more sense. As she moved the map she lost hold of her books. She juggled them in her arms for a moment, before she lost her grip on them and they clattered to the floor.

She sighed and bent down to pick them up. She knew without looking around that all eyes were on her, but she tried to ignore them and not add to her embarrassment.

As she picked up the first book, she saw a hand reach out to help her. She looked up into the greenest eyes she had ever seen.

"Don't worry, I'll get it," he said.

"Thanks," she replied, brushing a stray strand of hair behind her ear as she rose to her feet.

"Thanks so much," she repeated as he handed her the rest of her books.

"No problem . . . you must be new here," he said.

"Did the map give me away?"

"No, it's just I would have noticed you before." He cleared his throat. "I'm Jeremy."

"Natalie."

"So where were you headed?" he asked motioning to the map.

"The cafeteria," she scoffed and rolled her eyes. "I feel kind of dumb not being able to find my way. I should know where the cafeteria is. I was just there for orientation last week."

"Don't feel dumb. It takes awhile to get used to this place."

"I think I just got turned around. I'm usually better with directions than this, I swear."

"I'm on my way to lunch. Want to walk with me?"

"Okay. Lead the way."

"Well, here we are," Jeremy said as they approached the cafeteria. He was about to say more when he was interrupted by a friend calling his name.

"I think I can find my way from here. Thanks again."

"Alright," he said. Again, he seemed to hesitate. When his friends called out a second time he started towards them. "I'll see you around."

"Hey, Natalie!"

Natalie looked around, surprised to hear her name and saw Maura waving at her. She walked over.

"Do you want to sit with us?" she asked.

"Sure. Just let me get my food."

"Do you think Meghan will want to sit with us too?" Maura asked Judith.

"It looks like she already found a place to sit," she said motioning towards the table by the windows.

"How did she get to sit there? Only Juniors and Seniors sit at that table. Never freshman."

"It probably has to do with Julian," Judith remarked as he said down next to Meghan.

"Still," Maura said thoughtfully. "Jeremy has this lunch too. Do you think he'll want to sit with us?" she asked hopefully.

"I doubt it," Judith scoffed.

"If we see him, I'll ask."

Judith nodded and said nothing. She started scanning the cafeteria. If everything was going to be all about boys this year, she needed someone to like too.

"Student council meetings start soon and elections for freshman class officers will be starting. Are you going to run for office?" Maura asked Judith as Natalie joined them.

"I don't know. I'm not sure," she replied.

"You should. It's so fun. We get to plan dances and school events and fundraisers. It would be really cool if we were on the council together."

"Yeah, it would," Judith smiled. She had to admit having something to talk about besides her brother would be a welcome change.

Judith wondered if she had thought too soon, when she saw Maura looking across the cafeteria at Jeremy who was looking in their direction.

Maura thought her heart skipped a beat when she noticed Jeremy smiling in their direction. When she offered a little wave, he seemed to jump. He blinked, breaking out of his daydream and gave a nod of acknowledgement to her, before turning away.

"So, Natalie," Judith said, eager to change the subject. "You said you might be moving to Arrendale Heights?"

"Yeah, it hasn't been decided yet."

"How did you get offered one of the new houses?" Judith asked. "My dad is one of the co-founders of the neighborhood and I heard him say the families that were given first offers to move in were hand selected. What's your connection?"

"My mom's fiance works for the Townsend Corporation. His boss, Mr. Arrendale, offered him a chance to move to the neighborhood."

Judith nodded her approval and took another sip of her drink.

"Your parents are divorced?" Maura asked.

"They aren't together," Natalie answered simply.

"Does your dad live nearby? Do you get to see him often?"

"I've never actually met my father. My parents split up before I was born."

"Me too!" Maura said excitedly. "I mean, I never met my dad either, for the same reason. That's so cool." When Natalie gave her a strange look, she clarified, "I just mean, nearly everyone I know either lives with both parents or at least knows both of their parents. It's kind of cool not to be the only one." Maura smiled, sure that she and Natalie would become good friends. "Do you ever wonder where he is and what he's like?"

"Sure," Natalie nodded. "Once in awhile." She had a feeling the wondering would soon be over. Now that they knew exactly where her father lived, it was just a question of when they'd get to meet.

"Hey, James. Is Cassie around?" Blaine asked as he walked into the club. "I thought I'd stop by and take her to lunch."

"You're too late. My wife already beat you too it."

"Oh," Blaine said, sounding disappointed.

"Do you want me to fix you something while you're here? I could whip up a sandwich or something from the back."

"No, thanks," Blaine replied.

James hesitated a moment, trying to read Blaine's body language and tone. "Why don't you sit down for a minute while you're here? Do you have the time?"

"Sure," Blaine said, sitting down on a bar stool. "I have a little time before I have to get back to work. What's up?"

"That's what I was about to ask you. Is everything alright . . . with you and Cassie? Chloe and I both noticed she's seemed out of sorts lately and you seem a little down yourself right now."

"Really? You think Cassie's seems upset?" he asked with concern.

"She seems like she's got a lot on her mind, anyway. What's going on?"

"It's Reese . . ."

"Reese? I hadn't heard anything about her in ages. She just . . .vanished."

"I know. She left town years ago, wouldn't let anyone get in contact with her, but now I guess she's coming back. Cassie told me she saw her fiance and daughter checking out one of the new houses."

"Wow," James said. "Well, it will be nice to see her again. I always liked Reese." When Blaine frowned he said, "But you don't seem so sure. And neither does Cassie. What's the big deal?"

"It shouldn't be a big deal, right?" Blaine said thoughtfully. "I'm just a little stunned. The whole reason she broke up with me, or at least she said, was because she wasn't ready to get married and have kids, but she has a daughter."

"How old is the daughter? People grow and change. Just because she wasn't ready then, doesn't mean she wouldn't ever be ready."

"But Cassie said the daughter was probably about 13 or 14 years old. She must have gotten pregnant right after we broke up. I can't believe she moved on that fast."

"It seems like you moved on with Cassie pretty quickly yourself."

"Yeah, but we took things slow and took our time with our relationship. Cassie insisted on it," Blaine replied. "I just can't wrap my mind around Reese moving on with another man and having a baby so soon after we broke up. And she's not even with the girl's father anymore. She has a new fiance. I keep wondering what happened. It couldn't have been an easy time for her. I don't know why she never told anyone. She could have called me if she was in trouble. I thought we were still friends. I would have helped."

"Why would she call you? You broke up and moved on," James stated. "You have your own wife and family now and she has her own life and her own family. Why should you care so much about an ex and why she never called on you?"

Blaine shrugged. "You think I shouldn't. I still thought of her as a friend."

"I think it's no surprise Cassie is so down. How would you feel if she wanted to run off to the rescue of one of her exes?"

"I didn't say all this to her," Blaine said in his defense.

"But she knows. Women sense these things and you know Cassie is more perceptive than most."

"You're right. I've been a jerk."

"No, man. If anything you're the total opposite of that. Just remember which woman is your wife and the mother of your children. Don't forget where your priorities lie. You'll be alright. I don't think Reese coming back won't be as big of a thing as it seems."

Blaine returned to his office feeling better about the Reese situation. He took James' advice to heart and decided to focus on Cassie's feelings about Reese's return more than on his own feelings about her moving on without him. He had a wife that he loved and children that he adored, why should he concern himself with how and when Reese found those things for herself?

As soon as he walked in, the phone rang. He managed to answer it just before it would have gone to voicemail.

"Hello, Blaine Kitteridge, Bay Pointe Technologies. How can I help you?"

There was a pause on the line before a voice replied. "Hi, um, Blaine. This is . . ."

He hadn't heard her voice in so long that he was sure that he had forgotten what it sounded like, but the instant he heard her speak, it all came back to him like they had spoken just yesterday, "Reese. Hi."

Episode 11 - The First Day

2011-07-02T19:23:00.003-04:00

Alma followed her carpool charges into the high school. The students were meeting this first day with a mix of excitement, nervousness, and dread. This time, Alma was experiencing those same feelings along with them. She felt the same first day butterflies in the pit of her stomach that she did back when she was in school. It was the anxiety of being in a new place with new people and hoping the day went well without too many mistakes or too much embarrassment. It had been a long, long time since she had been in front of a classroom. She just hoped that it hadn't been too long.

She followed the students to the door, then as she'd promised her daughter, they would go their separate ways. She knew how much Judith was looking forward to her first day at high school and her intention in taking this substitute job was definitely not to encroach on Judith's big day.

Judith had been talking about the first day of high school before summer vacation even started. She had probably been thinking about it since Maura started high school without her the year before. Now the girls were back together and Judith had her best friend to show her around on her first day. Alma wished she were so lucky.

"So you're officially a Junior now, an upperclassman," Maura said to Jeremy as they walked up the front steps. "Are you excited?"

He shrugged. "A Junior's not much different than a Sophomore."

Maura beamed at him, glad that he felt that way. "No, I guess it's not."

When someone called out his name, Jeremy turned around and waved to a group of his friends. "I'll see you around."

"Yeah, in Spanish class . . . We have Spanish together."

"Oh yeah. I'll see you then," he said before meeting his friends.

When Maura turned around she saw that Judith had gone inside without her. "Hey, wait up!" she called after her.

"Judith, what's wrong? Aren't we going to walk to class together?"

"I thought so, but I thought maybe you forgot."

"How could I forget? We've been planning today forever."

"Okay, maybe not forgot, but I thought maybe you were going to try to hang out with Jeremy instead."

"No, of course not. I was just talking to him for a minute. We seriously, only said like two words to each other. I wasn't going to ditch you. Did you seriously think that?'

Judith sighed and looked down at her shoes. "No."

"I'm so glad you're finally going to school here. I missed you all last year. Let's just go on with our plan. We'll find our lockers then I'll walk with you to your first class."

"Alright," Judith said, beginning to cheer up again.

"Where's Meghan? Is she coming with us?"

"I don't think so," Judith said, looking over Maura's shoulder. "It looks like she's found some other people to hang out with. I guess she has Julian to show her around."

"It looks like she's taken care of. Let's go find our lockers."

Before they could walk away, someone called out Maura's name. "Maura, do you have a moment?"

"Sure, Ms. Johnston. What is it?"

"I was hoping you could do me a favor. We have a new student who could use someone to show her around. Would you be willing to help her out?"

"Sure," Maura agreed eagerly. "I'm already showing Judith around, but we'd be glad to help out someone else."

"Thank you," Ms. Johnston smiled. She knew she could count on Maura for this task. "Maura, this is Natalie Burroughs. Natalie, Maura Stuart and . . . did you say, Judith?"

"Yes, Judith Wilton," Judith spoke up. She turned to Natalie and said, "Hi."

"Okay, have a great first day, ladies, and if you need anything, don't hesitate to drop by my office."

Vince had been walking the other way, but when he caught a glimpse of the new girl who was talking to his sister, he doubled back. He had to find out who she was. Unfortunately, before he could get close enough to say anything, he was cut of my Ms. Johnston.

"Good morning, Vince. I'm glad I was able to catch you before your first class. Could you come to my office for a minute, please."

He groaned, "What is it? I'm not in trouble already, am I?"

"No," she said with a smile. "There isn't any reason you should you would be, is there?"

"No," he answered.

"Good. Don't worry, this is nothing bad, I promise."

Vince glanced over his shoulder at the new girl, before following Ms. Johnston to her office. Why couldn't it wait?

"I have an updated class schedule for you," she said, handing him a piece of paper from her desk. "Mr. Gregory spoke to me after you were here for registration and said you were interested in taking an art class."

"Yeah, I guess. He said something about that to me."

"Well, we were able to shuffle a few classes around to work it into your schedule. Does the revised schedule look good to you?"

He nodded, "Yeah, fine."

"Well, let me know how it goes," she said. "By the way, I'd like for you to meet with me once a week. We'll start with Friday after school and we'll talk about your classes and catch up on how you're doing."

Vince frowned.

"We all really want to see you graduate at the year and I'm willing to do what I can to help you make that happen. Okay?"

"Okay," Vince replied and mumbled a half-hearted, "thanks," as he left her office. He couldn't say he was looking forward to those weekly meetings, but he decided to put them out of his mind for now and decided to see if he could catch up with his sister and her new friend before first period started.

"So, you're new here? Where did you move from?" Judith asked Natalie as they walked through the hallways with Maura.

"Sydney Greene," she replied. "Actually, I still live there. We haven't moved yet, but we will soon."

"What part of town are you moving to?" Maura asked.

"Arrendale Heights . . . maybe," Natalie replied.

"That's where we live. We might be neighors," Maura said excitedly. "So I guess you'll be moving into one of the new houses. Maybe you'll even carpool with us."

"Maybe," Natalie shrugged. "We haven't decided for sure if we're moving there yet or not."

"What's there to decide?" Judith asked.

"It's complicated," Natalie said, hoping they would leave it at that and not press her for details.

"So where's your first class?" Maura asked. "I'll show you where it is."

"237."

"Oh, that's right on the way to Judith's class. We'll stop by there, then go on to your class, okay Judith?" When Judith nodded, she continued talking to Natalie. "Do you want us to find you after class and we'll all walk to our second period classes together?"

"No, you don't have to do that."

"Are you sure? We don't mind," Maura insisted.

Natalie shook her head. "No, that's alright. I can follow room numbers and I have a map in case I get desperate. I think I'll be alright."

Meanwhile, Simon was settling into his new position at the main branch of the Townsend Corporation. Lawrence had invited him into his office to welcome him to the new position.

"How are you settling in?" Lawrence asked.

"Just fine thank you and thank you for this opportunity."

"You've earned it. You've been an excellent employee at our satellite branch and I am glad to have you here fulltime," Lawrence replied. "Have you made a decision about my other offer?"

"Not yet, but I promise you I will have an answer soon."

"Do you think you could let me know one way or the other by the end of the week? We really need to start looking at other applicants if you decide not to move into the neighborhood."

"Yes, I'll do my best."

Once Simon had left his office, Lawrence looked down at his watch. The new nanny should be reporting for her first day of work about now. He resisted the urge to call the house and see how she was working out. It was still too early.

As promised, he'd let the children have a part in chosing the new nanny. He let all three of them sit in during the interview process, provided they would be quiet and behave, and let them share their thoughts with him once each applicant had left.

"So what do you think?"

"She was nice. And pretty," Lorna replied.

Lance shot her a look and then pouted, "I didn't like her."

Following her brother's lead, Lorna added, "She was just okay, I guess."

Lawrence was not surprised by their reactions. Lance hadn't liked any of the applicants and came in with the attitude that he wasn't going to like anybody. Lawrence knew the younger children wouldn't be much help, but he hoped his oldest would have more useful insights to offer.

"I think I liked her the best," Artie spoke up. "She was kind of younger than the others, but she seemed more energetic and fun. I think she could keep up with us and keep us in line. She might be the one, Dad."

Lawrence took his son's word to heart and decided to take a chance on his choice, Ms. Parker.
Since he had an important client to meet with, he wouldn't be at home to greet Ms. Parker on her first day. He trusted Shayna with the resposibility of showing Ms. Parker around the household and going over her duties with her. He had no doubt she would do a better job than he could do himself.

"Right this way, Ms. Parker," Shayna said in her crisp, no-nonsense tone as she let the new housekeeper into the house.

"Ms. Parker sounds so formal," she frowned. "Just call me Jolene."

Shayna continued without missing a beat. "Before I give you a tour of the house, let me explain your duties. Mr. Arrendale told me that you met the children during your interview?"

"Yes, the seemed to be very nice children," she replied.

"Arthur is the oldest. He's thirteen and in Junior High. The Junior High dismisses at 2:00, so he'll be home first. He shouldn't require too much supervision, but you are expected to be here when he arrives home from school. Lance is eleven and Lorna is nine. They both attend the elementary which dismisses at 3:00. I will give you a schedule of their after school activities, which you will take them too and pick them up from. Do you have transportation?"

"Yes."

"Good. After their activities it will be time for homework, You are expected to stay at the house until Mr. Arrendale gets home. Typically he gets home by 6:00, but he often works late and you will need to stay later when necessary. That won't be a problem will it?"

"It shouldn't be."

"If it ever is, let me know and I'll try to find someone in the neighborhood to fill in. Just as long as it's not too often it shouldn't be a problem. You'll need to be here at 7:00 a.m. to help the children get ready for school in the morning. After they leave, you'll be responsible for doing the cleaning and shopping. Once those tasks are complete, any extra time you have before 2:00 is your own free time. If you'd like to take a long lunch with friends or something of that nature, Mr. Arrendale will not mind, as long as your duties are complete by the end of the day." As she spoke, she could see Ms. Parker's eyes glazing over. "Is that clear? Do you have any questions?"

"Crystal clear," she perked up. "It sounds like the usual thing. I'm sure I won't have any problems."

"If you do, don't hesitate to call me at any time. I'm often here during the day, working out of Mr. Arrendale's home office."

"Can I see the house now?" she asked. "I'd like to get started."

The last room, on Shayna's tour was family living room. Jolene seemed drawn to the Arrendale's wedding photos on the living room wall.

"Is that Mrs. Arrendale? She's so beautiful," she said in a dreamy tone. "What happened to her? Did they divorce or did she pass away or what?"

"She drowned, or at least that what the officials believe," Shayna replied. "She was lost at sea."

"Oh my. What happened?"

"The Arrendales were on a cruise, as an early celebration of their tenth wedding anniversary, when she fell overboard somehow. No trace of her was ever found."

"How tragic."

"Yes. Eileen was a very lovely person, well-liked by everyone. The entire neighborhood was devastated when it happened. Of course it hit Lawrence and the children very hard. The last several years have been very hard, especially for Mr. Arrendale . . . I hate gossip, but I think you should know that this is the situation since you'll be working in the household. I trust you will be sensitive and show consideration."

"Of course," she nodded. "You can count on me."

Episode 10 - A Chance Encounter

2011-06-20T21:31:00.000-04:00

"I thought this was supposed to be a really good school," Natalie remarked quietly as she and Simon passed Vince cleaning the graffiti off the school wall.

"No place is perfect. Let's just hope this isn't typical."

A few minutes later, registration completed, Natalie and Simon returned to the car.

"Are you happy with your class schedule?" Simon asked as he backed out of the parking space and drove out of the parking lot. "Do your courses look interesting?"

"Yes, they do . . . I noticed they have a journalism club. Maybe I can get on at the schol paper."

"That would be interesing."

"I wanted to last year at my old school, but they didn't take freshmen. If I'd stayed there I could have joined this year. I just hope that this school doesn't mind that I'm new."

"Hopefully not. Do you mind that you'll be switching schools and leaving your old friends?"

"No, not too much. My old school wasn't that great . . . I'm not sure I really fit in there anyway."
"Fitting in isn't everything," Simon remarked. "Even though in high school it may seem that way."
"My mom says I'm just more mature for my age than most teenagers."
"I can see that," he agreed. "I think that's a good thing."
They drove on in silence for a few minutes before Simon said, "I hope you don't mind that your mom couldn't take you to registration today. She's been pretty at the office lately, hasn't she?"

"Very. Thanks for helping out."
"No problem . . . I'm kind of glad it worked out this way. I think it's good that we have the chance to spend some time together and get to know each other a little better."
"Yeah, me too."

"While we're here, do you want to check out the neighborhood, see where we might be living?"
"Yes, I would," she said eagerly.
"You'll get to see the house and the neighborhood before your mom does."

As they turned into Arrendale Heights, he added, "Of course, the deal isn't finalized yet."

"I know . . . You're still waiting for my mom to get in touch with my father, aren't you?"

"Yes, that's right."
"She left a message for him, but he hasn't called back yet."

"I know," Simon replied gently. "I'm sure when she's not so busy wrapping things up at work and getting ready for the move, she'll try again. We'll get in touch with him."

"This is the address." Simon said as he parked in front of a house. "If we decide to move to this neighborhood, after we get in touch with your father, this is the house we would be moving into."

"What if we don't decide to live here? What if we can't get in touch with my father or if we do hear back from him and it doesn't go well?"

"Then we'll look around at houses in another part of town. Things will work out one way or another."

They were only parked a moment before a woman walked over. When they saw her walking their way, they got out of the car to meet her.

"Hello," Simon greeted her with a wave. "We were just looking at the house. We might be moving in soon. I hope you don't mind."

"Oh," Cassandra said with surprise. "Not at all. I just saw your car parked and I thought you might be lost or need help. I'm Cassandra. I live in the house just behind this one."

"So we might be neighbors then. I'm Simon and this is Natalie."

Cassandra smiled at him, but when she turned to look at Natalie her heart jumped a beat. She looked so familiar.

"Your daughter?" she managed to ask, her voice coming out higher than she expected.

"Well, not yet," Simon smiled. "She's my soon to be step-daughter. Her mom and I just got engaged."
"Congratulations," Cassie said as she studied Natalie, trying to put her finger on what was so familiar about her face.

"We just came from school registration," Simon continued. "Unfortunately Natalie's mother had to work and couldn't come with us."

Natalie frowned. She didn't like the way the woman was staring at her. It was making her uncomfortable. She turned away and hoped they could get back in the car and go soon.

Simon sensed the tension. "Is something wrong?" he asked.

"No, I'm sorry," Cassie said, shaking her head, trying to snap out of her stupor. She couldn't shake the nagging feeling that was pulling at her. It was that same feeling that lead her to walk by this house in the first place. "You just look so familiar to me, but I don't think we've met before, have we?"

"No," Natalie replied. "But my mom used to live in Bay Pointe, maybe you knew her. Her name is Reese."

Cassandra involuntarily drew in a deep breath. "Burroughs?" she asked, but she already knew the answer. Suddenly she felt like it took all of the energy within her just to stand.

"You knew her?" Natalie asked eagerly.

"Yes, I did," Cassie replied. "Years ago . . . I'm sorry, but you'll have to excuse me. I left my children alone in the backyard and I should get back to them. I just wanted to see if you needed any help."

"Nice to meet you," Simon called after her. "I'm sure we'll meet again sometime."

Cassie nodded and gave a half-wave as she hurried away.

"That was odd," Natalie remarked under her breath as Cassandra disappeared around the back of the house.

"Is everything okay, Mom?" Doug asked as Cassie returned to the house. "Who were those people?"

"Just the new neighbors," she replied distractedly. "They wanted to take a look at the house . . . Why don't we play inside for awhile, I'm feeling kind of tired. Your daddy will be home soon. Why don't you get your new school things together to show him when he gets back."

No sooner than she had spoken, Blaine's car pulled into the driveway. The children ran inside, leaving Cassie in the backyard wondering what she was going to do.

Thoughts were racing through her mind. Now she knew why Reese had called and why she had such a feeling of dread regarding that house. The thought of her husband's ex returning was bad enough, but with her daughter . . . it wasn't just Reese's face she saw in Natalie, but her husband's and her children's. For a fleeting moment, she wondered if Blaine knew, but she didn't think he did. He wouldn't have left one of his children unacknowledged and he couldn't - and wouldn't have kept his daughter a secret after all these years. He didn't know, but if they moved next door, he was going to find out. Where would that leave her and the family they had together? Where would they stand with this new family in his life?

"Hi, honey," Blaine said, greeting her with a kiss. "What's wrong? Are you feeling okay? You look pale."

Cassie took a deep breath. "I think we'd better sit down. You won't believe what just happened."

Episode 9 - Orientation

2011-06-03T17:23:00.001-04:00

Judith waited anxiously as Maura came back from the registration table, class schedule in hand. She peered over her friend's shoulder as she looked it over.

We both have C lunch," she said excitedly. "And P.E. fifth period!"

"That's great!" Maura replied. "Did you get that art class you wanted?"

"Yes. I'm so excited. I think this is going to be a great year."

"So do you know anything about these teachers?" Meghan asked, holding her schedule out to her cousin. "Are they easy? Tough?"

"I wouldn't know, but Maura might. She's a sophomore," Judith replied. "Maura, this is my cousin, Meghan. She just moved here to live with her dad."

"Hi," Maura smiled. Before she could say more, her mother interrupted.

"Maura, Vince and I are going to meet with his counselor now. I'll meet you back here when we're done."

"Is it okay if I ride home with Judith?"

"It depends on what Judith's mother says."

"She's in the office," Judith replied. "She's doing some paperwork or something for her new substitute job."

"Well, if I run into her, I'll ask her. Otherwise just wait for me here," Lucy said, before turning to her son. "Come on, Vince. We'll be back."

Maura waited for her mom and Vince to leave before saying, "I hope your mom says yes. I don't think I want to ride home with them after the meeting."

"Your mom still doesn't know about him skipping, does she?"

"No and she doesn't know that he's probably failing either."

"I'm sure my mom won't mind, if we can let your mom know it's okay before we have to leave."

"Did you say your mom is going to sub here?" Meghan asked Judith with a frown.

"Yes," Judith replied with a roll of her eyes.

"So what?" Maura asked confused by their reactions.

"Are you kidding?" Meghan replied. "Would you want your mom here all the time, knowing everything that's going on at school?"

Maura shrugged and said nothing.

"Oh my gosh and she's probably going to be calling my mom and telling her stuff all the time too."

"Maybe not," Judith said slowly, as she tried to look on the bright side. "My mom probably won't be here that much and hopefully she'll be in a different part of the school most of the time. Besides, there's probably not much that they would care about knowing anyway."

Meghan looked unconvinced. "You know what? I think I'm going to go ask Julian what he knows about these teachers. He's a Junior, he should know what there is to know."

"Wait," Maura said after seeing who Julian was with. "We'll come with. I wanted to ask Jeremy what his classes are. Coming, Judith?"

Judith sighed and reluctantly followed behind them, hoping this wasn't a sign of how things were going to be all semester.

"Thank you for coming in, Dr. Stuart," Ms. Johnston, the couselor, greeted Lucy with a handshake. "Vince, why don't you go with Mr. Shahan and get started on cleaning up the graffiti. We may call you back in later." Once Vince and the janitor were out of the office she said to Lucy, "Please, have a seat. We have a lot to talk about."

Lucy sighed knowing that couldn't be a good thing.

"Let's start with academics. As we discussed last spring, Vincent needed to make up credits in summer school in order to graduate on time. I have the evaluations from his summer school teachers and I'm afraid they aren't what we had hoped."

"He didn't pass?" Lucy asked, her hopes sinking.

"No. From what I can see his test scores were pretty good and he did well on the assignments he completed. His problems seem to be missing and incomplete assignments and poor attendance. He missed a lot of classes this summer and his grades reflect that."

"Wait. He missed classes? How many?"

"Several. He was present for about half of the class meetings. Was there any reason for him to be absent so often?"

Lucy exhaled sharply and shook her head. "No legitimate reason," she replied. "He should not have missed any classes. In fact, I thought he hadn't. I made sure he was up for school every morning before I left for work. On my days off or when I worked later, I dropped him off at the school personally. I can't believe he just didn't go to class."

The counselor nodded her head slowly and thoughtfully. "I was afraid of that. He will have to make up these credits before he will be able to graduate."

"Is that still possible? Is there still a chance for him to graduate on time?"

"There is. He will have to pass all of his classes and make up the credits he didn't complete in the summer in a night class. It's still possible, but it's going to be up to him to apply himself. Vincent is capable of doing this. He has the intelligence. He does well on the work he attempts and completes. He just isn't applying himself and taking the initiative to complete it. I'm confident he can do it, but whether he wants to and is willing to work at it is the issue."

"Is there anything we can do?" Lucy asked desperately.

"We can be vigilant. I think you're going to have to keep on top of him at home and make sure he's doing what he's supposed to be doing. Making sure he's attending class and doing the work."

"I have been, as much as I possibly can. Other than quitting my job and never leaving his side, I don't know what more I can do. Even if that was possible, I'm not sure it would help."

"I want to meet with him at least once a week during the school year, perhaps more often if necessary, and check in with him and his teachers to see how he's doing, if he's keeping good attendance and turning in his work. I'm willing to do whatever I can to help, but I'm afraid, ultimately, it's going to be up to him."

"I just wish I knew what to do to get through to him. He just acts like he doesn't care at all, like none of this is important," Lucy said. "I'm not sure what he's going to do. Sometimes I worry about how he's going to end up, especially when I start getting calls to pick him up at the police station because he's vandalized the school. I am so sorry and so embarrassed about that. I feel like I can't apologize enough."

"Don't feel like you need to apologize, Dr. Stuart. This incident is out of character for Vincent. He isn't a troublemaker at school. He is, however, impressionable. Any kind of slight misbehavior we've seen from him in the past has been from the influence of other kids. I would imagine this incident is the same type of situation."

Vince grumbled and mumbled under his breath as he dipped the sponge in paint thinner and began scrubbing at the brick wall.

Feeling eyes watching him, he looked sideways out of the corner of his eye to see a man standing on the sidewalk watching him. He ignored him and continued working, hoping the man would just go away and not bother him.

When the man continued to stare and then started to walk towards him, Vince scowled and braced himself for whatever remark the man was going to make.

"Is this your work?' the man asked as he motioned towards the graffiti.

Vince mumbled and shrugged, preparing himself to be lectured at again.

"Dumb question, right? You probably wouldn't be cleaning it up if it wasn't. You did paint it?"

"Yeah. Why do you want to know?"

"Because it's pretty good actually. Technically speaking, that is. If it had been authorized work, somewhere more appropriate, then you wouldn't have to cover it up."

"You like it?" Vince asked in disbelief.

"I probably shouldn't tell you that. I don't want to encourage vandalism. But yeah, I think it's good. Do you paint a lot?"

"Some. Mostly I draw."

"What do you like to draw?"

"Whatever," he shrugged.

"Well, it's good to be versatile and practice drawing many different things . . . Do you go to school here?"

"Yeah, I go here."

"Then how come you haven't taken any of my art classes?"

"I don't know. I never thought of it."

"Would you be interested in taking one?"

Vince lowered his sponge and turned to look at the man. Now he was getting his attention.

When Lucy came back from the meeting, Maura could tell she was in a bad mood. She decided not to press the issue of going home with Judith and instead said goodbye to her friends and followed her mother out of the cafeteria.

"Where's Vince?" she ventured to ask.

"He's staying here to clean up the damage he's done. I'll come back to pick him up later."

"Excuse me. Is that your son cleaning up the graffiti outside?" the man asked as he overheard Lucy talking.

Lucy sighed, dreading what he might say next. "Yes."

He smiled, noting the resemblance in their expressions. "I'm Mr. Gregory, the art teacher here at the Academy. I have to tell you, ma'am, your son is very talented."

Lucy was taken aback. That had not been what she had been expecting to hear at all. "Thank you," she mustered, not sure how to respond.

"I was just talking to him outside and I'd like for him to sign up for one of my art classes. I was just about to talk to Ms. Johnston about it and you, if you were still here."

"That's very thoughtful of you, but my son has a lot of credits to catch up on if he's going to graduate. Ms. Johnston was just telling me that he's going to have to take classes at night just to finish the courses that he's required to have to graduate. I don't think taking an elective like art is an option for him."

"I think it has to be an option," Mr. Gregory argued. "Talents need to be nurtured. I think your son would make a great addition to the school's Art Society, but he would have to be enrolled in an art class in order to join."

"I don't see how that's possible-"

"Anything is possible. Let me talk to Ms. Johnston on his behalf. Surely one of my classes could count towards the credits that he needs."

Lucy still seemed doubtful. "Even if that does work out, I'm not sure art classes are something we need to be worrying about right now."

"I think it's exactly the thing. If it's a class your son is interested in and good at, he's going to make a better grade in it that something that doesn't interest him. Being part of the Art Society will keep him busy after school so he won't have time to get into trouble and one of the conditions to being in the Art Society, like any other extracurricular activity at the Academy, is that the student has to maintain passing grades in all of their courses. That might be just the motivation that he needs to get those final credits."

Lucy mulled it over. He did make it sound promising.

"What do you say? Can I talk to Mrs. Johnston into getting Vince into one of my classes, provided it will count towards what he needs to graduate?"

Lucy nodded and shrugged. "Okay. At this point I'm willing to try anything to get him to graduate."

Mr. Gregory smiled. "I'll see what I can do."

Episode 8 -Fatherhood

2011-05-14T14:44:00.004-04:00

"So, what's on the plan for day? Anything special before school starts?" Blaine asked his children as they waited for breakfast to be ready.

"Mom is taking us shopping for new school clothes and school supplies today," Brooke replied happily.

Doug grimaced.

Blaine winked at him, before saying, "That will be fun. I'm sorry I'll miss that while I'm at work."

"When you get home can we go play basketball?" Doug asked.

"And go to the pool, Daddy?" Brooke chimed in.

"Sure."

Overhearing the conversation in the next room as she stirred the pancake batter, Cassandra took pause. There wasn't anything unusual about the conversation, but something about overhearing Blaine and the children talking about their day while she was making pancakes in the kitchen struck her as distinctively familiar. She'd been getting this sense of deja vu more often lately and it was unsettling.

"Is everything okay?" Blaine asked a few minutes later when he walked into the kitchen and found her staring absently out the window.

She jumped and turned her attention back to the stove. "Yes," she answered automatically. "You know, just the usual thing," she played it off. "Just having these feelings again. I just wish I knew what they were about."

"Is it that house again?" he asked. She nodded vaguely. "I wish I knew what it is you're sensing too, but try not to worry about it too much. You'll figure it out when the time is right."

"I'm sure you're right," she replied. "I'll try not to worry."

"I'll set the table for you," he offered before giving her a kiss and leaving the room.

"Thanks," Cassandra replied. She let out a sigh once he had left. She really did have a moment there, but more than any feelings of deja vu or premonitions about the new house, she was feeling unsettled because of that phone call.

Reese had been out of Blaine's life for more than fifteen years now and Cassie had hoped that they had seen the last of her. For along time she was afraid that Reese would come back to town and Blaine would leave her to get back together with his ex-girlfriend. It had taken a long time for Cassie to feel assured in her relationship with Blaine and confident that he really wanted to be with her.

After thirteen happy years of marriage and two children, she was suddenly feeling as insecure as ever and guilty on top of that.

When Shayna walked into the kitchen, she did not like what she saw; Meghan preening in the mirror in an outfit much too skimpy and Julian trying much too hard to act like he didn't notice.

It was a tender situation, Meghan moving into the household and everyone adjusting to their roles in the family. Shayna had tried to stay quiet, keep back and let Andrew parent his own daughter, but this was one instance where she felt she needed to step in.

"Meghan, can I talk to you for a second?"

"Sure," Meghan replied, taking one more moment to play with her hair before turning away from the mirror.

Julian recognized his mother's tone of voice and rose from his chair to leave the room before his mother even had the chance to ask.

"Meghan, I want to talk to you about your outfit. Isn't that top a little too small for you?"

"Oh no, this is the style," she insisted.

"Well, I don't think that style is appropriate for this household."

"What? What's wrong with it?" she asked innocently. "I used to wear this all the time at my mom's and she never said it was inappropriate."

"That's a different situation. Your mom can set the guidelines in her own house, but we're a mixed group here and because of that you need to be a little more aware of how you're dressed. Do you understand?"

Meghan frowned as she thought over Shayna's words. Slowly the meaning behind them sunk in and a smile crept across her face. Her eyes darted to the window, outside to where Julian had retreated, then quickly looked back at Shayna.

Shayna frowned, seeing that Meghan understood too well the point she was trying to make. She hoped that what she had said wasn't going to encourage rather than discourage her. "I think you should go change into something that covers up a little more."

"But it's so hot out," Meghan whined. Seeing that Shayna was not going to flinch, Meghan changed tactics. "Ok, I was thinking about taking a swim anyway."

Shayna shook her head as Meghan hurried back to her room. She had expected a challenging adjustment period when it was decided that Meghan would live with them, but she could see now that nothing about this change was going to be easy.

A few minutes later, Shayna passed Meghan who was on her way to the pool, wearing even less than she had been earlier. This time she held her tongue and went to find Meghan's father.

"Andrew, do you have a few minutes?" she asked after finding him reading in the living room.

"Sure," he said, putting his book away and giving her his full attention. "What is it?"

"Now that Meghan's living here, I think we need to discuss what the household rules are going to be for the children and how we're going to enforce them. I think it's going to be very important to make sure that we're all on the same page and in agreement if we are going to be effective at parenting."

"Okay," Andrew agreed. "But I'm not sure what there is to discuss. Shouldn't we just stick to the way things have always been. I think everything has been going fine. Why change it now?"

"Because our household situation has changed now. We never really had this discussion when we moved in together, because Julian had always been with me, we already had our rules and expectations established, we just had to include you in the picture. Meghan has never lived with either of us before, she's used to her mother's rules and her way of doing things, so I think we need to make expectations very clear and be united as her parental figures."

"I'm for that," Andrew replied, "but I'm not sure exactly what kinds of things you're talking about."

"Well, just a few minutes ago I had to have a word with Meghan about the way she was dressed and she ended up going out in a two-piece bathing suit that isn't really appropriate for her age, especially when there's a teenage boy in the house."

"I think you're worrying too much about little things, Shayna. They're just kids. Meghan's just a girl."

"No, she's not. She's 14 and thinks she's 14 going on 22. And it's not just that, there's also the new things that you got her for her room. I think you went a little over the top."

"Come on, you can't be annoyed with me over that. You sent me to buy her some new things to help her feel welcomed and to make the room her own."

"I meant things like bedsheets, and pillows and curtains, little decorative touches. Not a television and stereo system. You know I've never allowed Julian to have a TV in his room. It's just not good for kids to have access to technology unsupervised, plus it isn't conductive to sleeping or studying, the things they should be using their rooms for. It's not fair if we have separate rules for our separate children. It's just going to cause unnecessary resentment."

Andrew sighed. "You're going to have to forgive me if I'm not following you. Do you hear what you're saying? They're not kids, they are kids, they're going to get along too well, they're not going to get along well enough. I think you're over thinking this way too much." Shayna frowned, but he continued. "Maybe I went a little overboard in buying her things for her room, but I just want her to be happy here. I feel bad that I haven't been there for her more in the past. This is my chance to make things up to her."

Shayna smiled weakly, appreciating that his heart was in the right place. "I know you want to do what's right by her and that's something we want to do in every way possible." She paused a second. She needed some time to organize her thoughts, come up with a plan of more specific things they needed to decide and then regroup. "Let's just leave it at that for now, but I think we should think this over and talk more about it later."

"Hey, Dad. Come try some of this desert Mrs. McCarthy left for us. It's awesome."

Lawrence smiled at his oldest son and joined him at the kitchen table.

"Mrs. McCarthy is the best cook. I'm really going to miss her."

"I know. I think we all will."

"How is the search for a replacement going?"

Lawrence smiled at his son. Sometimes he reminded him so much of Eileen's father, Arthur, his namesake. He wished his father-in-law had lived longer so that he could have known his first grandson better. He had a feeling they would have gotten along famously.

"I'm going to start interviewing candidates tomorrow."

"Are you sure we really need to replace her? I'm a little old to have a nanny."

"Maybe you are, but your brother and sister aren't."

"I could help watch them after school."

"And do the cooking and the housework on top of your homework?"

"Okay, maybe not," Artie agreed. "But can we at least help you pick out who the new one is going to be? If she's going to be working with us, she ought to be someone we like."

Lawrence thought a second, then nodded his head in agreement. "Okay, I think that's fair. You and your brother and sister, if they'd like, can sit in on the interviews tomorrow."

"Thanks, Dad," Artie said as he got up from the table. "Are you up for a game of chess later?"

"Sure," Lawrence smiled. As Artie walked away, Lawrence's mind went back to another evening in the past.

He had come home one evening after working late at the office to find his wife Eileen waiting for him in the dining room with dinner ready. She was dressed up in a new blue dress and she was smiling that bright smile of hers that even then, still made him feel weak at the knees.

"I'm sorry I'm late. I just couldn't get away any earlier."

"That's okay. Sit down. I made something special tonight."

As they caught up on each other's days, Eileen seemed preoccupied, like her mind was somewhere else, but she was definitely happy. That smile didn't leave her face.

"I was thinking about redecorating one of the upstairs bedrooms, getting it set up as a nursery," she commented casually, as she stirred her soup. "I did a little window shopping today and saw some really cute things in one of the shops downtown."

"It's a little premature to be thinking about a nursery, isn't it?" he asked. "I don't think we need to start thinking about babies yet."

The smile faded from Eileen's face. "Why not?"

"For one thing, we've barely been married a full year. There's no need to rush into having children right away. There's plenty of time for that. Right now we should just focus on getting established and enjoying it being just the two of us."

"You - you don't want to have a baby."

Lawrence was confused. He could tell she was obviously upset, but he didn't understand why and he wasn't sure what to say to make it better. "I do, someday. I just don't think we should rush into having one now," he said as gently as possible.

Eileen excused herself from the table and retreated to the kitchen.

Lawrence followed her. When he found her sobbing, he felt terrible. He wasn't sure what he had said to make her so upset, but he knew he wanted to make things right.

"Eileen, I'm sorry. What did I say?"

"I thought you would be happy," she managed to choke out between sobs.

"Happy about what?"

"I was trying to tell you, that I found out today, that I'm pregnant. I wanted to surprise you. I thought you would be happy about this baby, but you don't want-"

When she said the words "this baby," something changed for him and suddenly his whole mindset from two minutes before went out the window. "'This baby.' We're going to have a baby?"

"Yes, but-"

"Forget about what I just said. I didn't know-"

When she looked into his face, he didn't have to say more, she knew he was just as happy and excited about this news as she was.

"I know," she laughed through her tears and threw her arms around him. "Next time I'll just have to be more direct about what I mean."

"You're already thinking about next time? Let's take this one baby at a time."

Eileen laughed, her smile returned. "You're not too upset that this didn't happen later?"

He shook his head. "We still have some time before the baby is born and one day when he or she is grown it will be just you and me again. We have our whole lives to spend together."

"Now who's getting ahead of themselves?"

It was one of his happiest memories, and now one of his most bittersweet.

Episode 7 - A Proposal

2011-04-08T03:04:00.003-04:00

Natalie watched as her mother anxiously flitted back and forth across the house, fidgetting with her hair or her clothes and repeatedly checking her appearance in the mirror.

She walked up behind her mother and looked over her shoulder into the mirror. "Relax, Mom. You look great."

Reese smiled at her daughter. "Thanks."

"Why are you so nervous tonight? You and Simon have gone out a hundred times and you've never been so jittery like this before. You're like a teenager going on their first date."

"I know. I'll try to settle down," Reese replied. She hesitated before saying more, wondering how much she should share with her daughter. After a moment's thought, she decided to open up about why she was acting so differently. "I'm a little nervous because Simon told me that he wants to ask me about something important tonight. That's why I seem out of sorts."

"Something important like what? Do you think he's going to ask you to marry him?"

Again, Reese hesitated. That was what she thought, but she didn't want to say so without being sure. "What would you think if he did?"

"I think it would be great . . . if that's what you want. You've been on your own for a long time and you deserve to be with someone that makes you happy."

"Well, I'm not even sure if that's what he's planning on asking me. He could just want some legal advice."

Natalie frowned and gave her mother a doubtful look. She wasn't buying that explanation.

Their conversation was interrupted by a knock on the door. As Reese went to answer it, Natalie called after her, "If he does ask, tell him I give you my blessing."

They began dinner with small talk about their days and how things were going at their offices. Reese's mind was preoccupied and less involved in the conversation than usual and it showed.

"Is everything alright, Reese? You've been extra quiet tonight."

"I'm sorry. I'm fine. I just keep thinking . . . you said there was something important you wanted to ask me."

"And you can't take the suspense any longer?" he grinned. "Yes, there is something very important I wanted to ask you about. Two things really and now is as good a time as any." He paused to clear his throat. "You know I've been working periodically at the main branch of my company."

"Yes."

"Mr. Arrendale contacted me recently and offered me a full time position at the office in Bay Pointe, plus the chance to buy a house in Arrendale Heights."

Reese's complexion paled and her mouth suddenly felt dry, but she managed to squeak out, "Oh? That's great."

Simon was thrown off guard, not sure what to make of her response, but he kept talking. "I, uh, know it's far to move, but I'd want you to go with me. Since we met, I can't imagine my life without you in it. We're so like minded, it's like we're perfectly matched. Whenever we're together, I'm happier than I've ever been. And I'm babbling. Can you tell I'm nervous? So my two questions are, will you marry me and would you want to move to Bay Pointe with me?"

Reese was struck speechless. She wasn't sure what to say. "Wow, this is . . . a lot to take in at once. I don't know where to start."

"I'm sorry. I can understand how this might be overwhelming. The offer from my job just came up, but I've been thinking about proposing to you for a long time," he said, his expression turning dreamy. "I don't want you to think the two questions are dependent on each other. They don't have to be both yes or both no. Let me just start with this, the most important of the two." He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a ring box. "Will you marry me?"

Reese breathed a sigh of relief. That was actually the easier of the two questions and the one that she was prepared to answer. "Yes, yes I'll marry you." As nervous as she was, she couldn't help beaming from ear to ear.

He smiled back at her, elated and relieved. "I've been thinking about proposing for awhile, but this job opportunity just gave me that little push I'd been needing." When her smile faded and a concerned look passed across her face again, he asked, "It's the move that has you uncertain, isn't it?"

She nodded. "Maybe we should go somewhere more private to talk about it."

Once they had finished dinner and paid the bill, they decided to take a walk around the city. When they found a quiet park bench next to a fountain, they decided to sit down and talk.

"I never really told you about my life before I moved here, about why I left Bay Pointe," Reese began, slowly and deliberately chosing her words.

"You never seemed like you wanted to talk about it."

"When I moved away from Bay Pointe, I wanted to leave the past behind and start over anew."

"Are your memories of that town so bad? Did something happen while you lived there?"

"No. There are some bad memories, but most of the time I spent there was good. But moving back there, especially to Arrendale Heights . . . Natalie's father lives in Arrendale Heights."

Simon looked concerned. "Is it that you still have feelings for him?"

"No," Reese answered surely. "It's not that at all. The truth is . . . I never told him about Natalie. He never knew that I was pregnant. I found out that I was after we broke up and at first I wasn't planning on keeping her. I was going to give her up for adoption, but obviously, plans changed."

"But you still didn't tell him?"

"I almost did. When Natalie was about to be released from the hospital after she was born, I found him and I was going to tell him, but I saw him with someone else, another girl he just started dating, and I backed out," she explained. "I thought about telling him so many times over the years, but then I found out that he got married and had kids. I just couldn't bring myself to get in contact with him."

"Even if he moved on with someone else, don't you think he deserved to know? Telling him wouldn't mean you'd have to get back together, but having a kid . . . it's something a guy should know, even if he doesn't particularly want to have one. If it were me, I'd still want to know."

"The irony is he did want to get married and start a family. I didn't. I didn't think I was ready for that yet and that's why we broke up."

"Then why didn't you tell him? It sounds like he was willing to be a father. He could have helped you and Natalie all these years."

"I know . . . it was a couple of things holding me back. I didn't want to show up and interfere with his new family and relationship. I wouldn't have minded having him in our lives, especially Natalie's life, but I didn't want her in our lives."

"Why? Because of her specifically or just because she was the other woman?"

"Her specifically."

"You didn't like her?"

Reese pursed her lips as she decided how to answer. "It's not really a matter of liking or not liking. She's just . . . kind of odd. She had her sights on Blaine the entire time we were together. She would have seen Natalie as a threat to their relationship. I didn't trust her. I still don't."

"Surely, that kind of thing would right itself out. Over time you all would have gotten used to the situation."

"Maybe, but her whole family is derranged. Her father was a criminal who tried to have me and Blaine, among others, killed because he thought we had crossed him. Her mother had been in a mental hospital and she ended up killing the father. I just thought it was better to keep Natalie and myself as far away from them as possible . . . but I did feel bad about keeping her from her father and him from her. He is a good guy. I'm sure he's a good father too."

"It's not too late, is it? Natalie may seem like an adult, but she's only fifteen. It's not too late for her to need her father. She's a very level headed girl. She won't let herself be drawn into any drama. We'll make sure of it."

Reese nodded in agreement. "But you see why I hesitate to move to Arrendale Heights. I can't just move into their neighborhood without any warning . . . I should talk to Blaine, tell him before we decide to move in next door."

"Does that mean you are going to tell him?"

Reese hesitated, unable to bring herself to give a definite yes. "Maybe I should talk about it with Natalie first. She should have a say about whether she wants to meet her father or not."

"I don't want to rush you, but I have to make a decision about the job and the move pretty soon or they're going to give the opportunity to someone else . . . but whatever you choose to do, I'll go along with."

When they arrived back at Reese's house, Natalie was waiting up for them. "Hi," she greeted them, immediately checking her mother's left hand. Seeing the engagement ring there, she jumped up, and said. "Congratulations. I'm so happy for you both."

"I'm glad to hear it," Simon replied. "Are you sure you won't mind having me as a stepfather, then?"

"Not at all. I think it will be good."

"So do I. Well, I'd better go and let you two talk. Good night, ladies." He gave Reese a quick peck and headed out the door.

"Talk about what?" Natalie asked once she and her mother were alone. "We already talked about the engagement and I'm really okay with it."

"It's not that. Let's sit down," Reese said and led the way to the couch.

"What is it?" Natalie asked curiously.

"Simon didn't just ask me to marry him. He's been offered a job and a house in another town and asked if we would move with him. It would be a better job for him, a better neighborhood, and a great school for you."

"What did you say?"

"That I didn't know yet, that I'd have to think about it and that we would have to talk about it. What do you think about moving?"

Natalie shrugged. "It would probably be okay, I guess." When Reese didn't respond right away, Natalie asked, "Was there anything else you wanted to talk about?"

"Yes . . . how would you feel about meeting your father?"

"What? Where did that come from?"

"He lives in the town, not just the town, but the neighborhood we might be moving to. If we moved there, we would probably run into him and his family."

"Oh."

"You don't have to make a decision about it tonight. There is sometime to think about it before we decide anything."

"Is my father . . . was he nice?" Natalie asked hesitantly. "He isn't somebody I wouldn't want to know, is he?"

Reese's heart sank. "No, he's a very nice man . . . I've actually felt guilty all these years for not giving you two the chance to meet each other. I didn't give either of you a choice in the matter and I should have."

"Oh, mom," Natalie said, seeing her mother's sadness and regret.

"It's up to you. If you want to meet him, I'll get in touch with him and we'll go from there. If not, either we won't make the move or maybe we'll find a different house near Bay Pointe that isn't so close to his." Reese started to stand. "When you've had a chance to think about it, let me know what you think."

"I don't have to think about it," Natalie said thoughtfully. "I think I'd like to meet him. I've always kind of wondered where I came from, the other side I mean."

Again, Reese felt a pang in her heart. Growing up in an orphanage never having known either of her parents, Reese knew from experience how her daughter felt. She hadn't wanted her to go through the same thing, but at least now she had a chance to make things right. "If you're sure that's what you want, we'll look him up. I don't think you'll be disappointed."

The next afternoon Reese looked up Blaine's number and worked up the nerve to call him. When the answering machine picked up, she was first thrown off guard and then relieved that she wasn't going to be speaking with him directly just yet.

"Hi, Blaine. This is Reese . . . Burroughs. I know it's been a really long time and I'm sure you probably think it's a little strange that I should call you now, after all of these years, but I wanted to talk with you about something. It's kind of . . . well, actually, it's really important. I thought maybe we could meet some time or we could just speak over the phone if you prefer. If you could give me a call back, that would be great. Thanks."

After leaving her number she hung up the phone, feeling nervous, but glad she had made a real effort to contact him at last.

*Message deleted*

Episode 6 - Gossip Time

2011-02-26T11:47:00.000-05:00

"Are you sure you're up to this, hon?" Vanessa asked her husband as six excited children ran past them down the steps and toward the station wagon.

"I'm a former cop and a SCIA agent. I think I can handle taking a group of kids to the water park for a couple of hours," Logan replied.

Vanessa just smiled at him and held her tongue.

"Besides Jenn and Art promised to be my helpers and keep an eye out for the younger ones."

"I'm sure they will. You all have a great time and try to come home all in one piece."

Logan laughed. That last statement was the same thing she said to him whenever he went away on a secret mission for his job. Surely this wouldn't be as tough. He winked at her, before giving her a peck on the cheek. "I'll try. Have fun with your ladies' meeting this afternoon."

"I think I'll owe you for this one," she hinted.

"I can't wait." He smiled at her as he rounded up the children and the all piled into the car.

Vanessa waved goodbye to them as they pulled out of the driveway. Before they were out of sight she saw the first guest to arrive walking down the sidewalk from next door.

"Hello, Lucy."

Lucy glanced back at the car that was just leaving and turned back to Vanessa. "Am I early?"

"A tad, but come on in," Vanessa invited as she led the way into the house. "I'm just finishing up a few things in the kitchen before the others arrive. Can I get you something to drink?"

"Yes, thank you. Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Sure, there's not much left to do, but you could help set out the hors d'oeuvres for me while I put this casserole for Lawrence in the oven."

"Oh? For Lawrence?" Lucy said, unconsciously frowning at his name.

"He's between housekeepers right now, so he can use all the help he can get. Logan offered to take all of the kids, ours and Lawrence's, out for the afternoon. I thought I'd send dinner home with them tonight to make sure they're eating right. . . Is everything alright, Lucy?"

"Yes . . . Of course, I think it's good of you to help with the children. They need it. I'm a little embarrassed that I hadn't even though to help for the kids' sakes."

"Don't worry about it, hon. We all know you have your hands full as it is. No one expects you to do more."

"What do you mean by that? That I have my hand's full?" Lucy asked defensively.

"You're a single mom with a demanding job and active in the community. Honestly, I don't know how you find the time to do all you do, Lucy. As for me, I'm home most of the time now and I have Logan, who is a great help with the kids and around the house. Our kids and Lawrence's kids are the same ages and get along well, so it's really nothing for me to lend a hand now and then."

"Oh . . ." Lucy said, sheepishly. She was feeling thoroughly embarrassed now. "I'm sorry if I'm acting snappy. I've been having troubles with Vince and Lawrence dropped by the other day to give me and earfull about it, so maybe I'm a little oversensitive right now, especially where Lawrence is concerned."

"I'm so sorry, hon. I had no idea."

"You should have heard how he spoke to me the other day. He really got under my skin."

"You know he hasn't been the same since he lost Eileen. My heart goes out to him. Not only did he lose the love of his life tragically, but he never really got any closure after the accident. How can you move on with your life when you don't really know what happened to someone? Trust me, I know from experience, you never really get past it."

Lucy nodded solemnly and replied in a quiet voice, "I don't think you ever do . . ." She paused for a moment, before pulling her mind back from the past and turning her attention back to the topic of conversation. "But that still does not give him an excuse to all but threaten to have me kicked out of the neighborhood association. And he's not the only one that misses Eileen. She was my best friend from the time we were born. Losing her was like losing a sister."

"I know, hon. We all loved Eileen . . . but don't you worry about what Lawrence said. I'm sure he just feels like he has to put on a strong front to make sure it doesn't look like he's playing favorites with anyone. Nobody wants you out of the neighborhood, not even Lawrence. You've been a part of this community since the beginning. You're like a member of the family to everyone living in this neighborhood. There's no way you would get voted out, if it even came to that, which I strongly doubt that it would."

"Thank you, Vanessa. That's nice of you to say."

"Speaking of family," Vanessa said as the second guest arrived. "Hi, Alma. Come on in."

"Hi. I'm sorry I'm late. I know I promised to help you get ready, but I got caught up," Alma explained as she joined Vanessa and Lucy in the kitchen.

"Don't worry about it, hon. Lucy's been helping me out and keeping me company. We're almost ready."

"I would have been here sooner, but Amanda dropped by and would not stop talking about her new boyfriend, the oceanographer, and their upcoming trip to the Caribbean."

"You should have invited her over. I would have loved to catch up with her. How is she? Was Meghan with her?"

"Actually, she just dropped Meghan off at Andrew's before she came over. Meghan's going to be living with him and Shayna now."

"Really? That's surprising."

"That was my first thought, considering all she went through to have Meghan and how desperate she was to have a child."

"What actually happened between Amanda and Andrew?" Lucy asked. "I know they had a really bitter break up, but I think that was around the time Maura was born and I was going through too much of my own stuff to keep up with anybody else. What happened?"

Alma and Vanessa exchanged looks. Neither was particularly keen on reliving this point in the past and there was no particularly kind way to retell this shady part of their sister's history.

Vanessa finally spoke first. "You know Amanda and Andrew had tried for a long time to have a baby with no luck. The doctors couldn't find any reason why they weren't getting pregnant. Anyway, Amanda was really desperate to be pregnant and have a baby. Somehow she ended up getting the crazy idea to pretend she was pregnant and planned to secretly adopt a baby to pass off as their own."

"She tried it, but of course it fell through," Alma chipped in.

Vanessa nodded and continued. "Everyone was furious with her when the truth came out, especially Andrew, understandably. Oh, it got ugly for awhile. They ended up fighting over everything, who would get the apartment, who would keep working at the company. Since they were arguing so much at work, they couldn't both keep on working there. Amanda ended up losing her job and since she didn't have any income, she ended up losing the apartment. Then to top it off, she found out she was finally, really pregnant."

"Of course, no one believed her after what she had tried to pull," Alma continued. "We had Edward personally do a pregnancy test and ultrasound on her before any of us believed she was telling the truth."

"And by that time she was probably four, maybe five months along, right?" Vanessa asked Alma.

"Something like that. She said she must have gotten pregnant when she first started faking that she was pregnant, just before she had to start padding her clothes to look like she was really pregnant," Alma rolled her eyes. She still couldn't believe her sister had cooked up that cracked pot idea. "Apparently she was too wrapped up in all the drama she had created to notice that she was really expecting at first."

"I kind of think she had given up on the possibility of it ever happening by that point," Vanessa added.

"Wow," Lucy said, struck speechless. "I had no idea all of that was going on. So I take it Amanda got full custody."

Alma nodded. "They both agreed on it. They were both too furious with each other to consider reconcilliation. Amanda was the one who wanted a baby from the beginning and Andrew was just bitter about the entire situation. He did come around towards Meghan after she was born."

"Whose idea was it that Meghan would live with Andrew and Shayna now?" Vanessa asked.

"Mostly Amanda's I think. She said she wanted Meghan to have the opportunities of going to a better high school. I kind of wonder if her new boyfriend doesn't have something to do with it as well. Maybe the appeal of motherhood has worn off for her."

"Surely not," Vanessa shook her head. "I'm sure it's just about what's best for Meghan. The Academy is an excellent school. I couldn't imagine not sending the kids there, given the opportunity."

The three women turned and looked towards the living room as they heard the sound of voices as the front door opened.

"I was telling James what I had in mind and he thought a band you booked at the club a few months ago might work. Do you think you still have their number?"

"I'm sure I would at home. Stop by my house after the meeting and I'll look it up for you."

"That sounds great, Cassie. Thanks so much."

As Lucy went to the living room to greet her friends, Vanessa and Alma finished preparing the refreshments in the kitchen.

"Speaking of school. Have you heard back about a teaching position?" Vanessa asked.

"Yes. They don't have any full time positions available for me, but they said I could be a substitute teacher. If all goes well, I may be taking over for a teacher who is going on maternity leave later in the semester."

"That's great. Has Ed come around about the idea yet?"

"In a way . . .He's not crazy about me going back to work, but he's okay with it. That's good enough for me," Alma said as she and Vanessa joined the others in the living room.

As usual Shayna was the last to arrive. Normally punctual to a fault, the women's meetings were one circumstance when Shayna made a point to be fashionably late. Shayna had only attended a few meetings before she figured out that the first twenty to thirty minutes were devoted purely to socializing and gossip. Not being particularly interested in either Shayna began making a point of arriving 25 minutes late, except when it was her turn to host, then it couldn't be avoided. It gave the others time to chat and get settled in before the real meeting started.

It didn't take long for the others to realize that when Shayna arrived gossip time was over and it was time to get down to business.

"Hi, Shayna. Have a seat," Vanessa said cheerfully as she got up from her seat and pulled a dining room chair over for herself.

"Since we're all here, I guess we'll get started," Vanessa, as president of the ladies group, started the meeting. "First on the agenda is the new school year. As we all know the kids will be going back to school soon, which means that it's time to start planning carpool schedules. Once we figure out our schedules and the kids' after school activities we'll sort that out.

"Also it's time to start thinking about out annual fall fundraiser. It's not too soon to start brainstorming ideas and deciding on a charity to give to this year. Any ideas?"

"I think a carnival would be fun for the kids," Cassie spoke up. "Maybe I could use my connections to try to get a band to play."

"I know a lot of caterers and food vendors that I've hired through my job that would be willing to lend a hand," Chloe added. "I can handle the decorations too."

"That sounds great. Thank you both for offering you expertise," Vanessa replied. "Do you have anything to pass on from the neighborhood association, Shayna?"

"A couple of things," Shayna said with a brief pointed look at Lucy before looking away. "Construction is almost complete on the new houses, so we'll have some new residents moving in soon. It would be nice to give them a warm welcome, take them a nice housewarming gift."

"Does anyone want to volunteer to take on the task?" Vanessa asked. "Cassie, is everything okay?" she asked, noticing her disconcerted look."

"No, I don't think so. I'm sorry. Excuse me," she said and quietly exited the room, leaving the others only able to look at one another and wonder.

"I would be glad to head the welcoming committee, if no one else wants to take the job," Vanessa said.

"I would but my schedule is so crazy, as always. If I'm free when you go to meet them, I'd be glad to come along."

"Great. Thanks, Lucy. Is there anything else, Shayna?"

"Just one small thing . . . a reminder really. It might be a good idea to make sure that we all remain conscious of the bylaws of the neighborhood. When you've lived here for awhile, as we all have, it's easy to become complacent. So as wives and mothers we should take a few moments now and then to remind our families of what's expected of them, so there are no violations."

Shayna deliberately tried not to look at any one person while speaking, but when her eyes crossed Lucy, her look seemed especially pointed.

Lucy had no doubt that Shayna felt the need to say that because of her, or rather Vince, and she knew that Vanessa and Chloe, at least, knew it too. She hated that Shayna knew all of her business, but she wasn't surprised that Lawrence had told her. He treated her like his right arm. She was livid and dying to give Shayna a piece of her mind, but she had too much dignity to make a scene. She held her tongue and her seat on the sofa.

"That's . . . something to consider, I suppose," Vanessa replied. "But I'm sure we're all fully aware of what's expected and are already making sure our families are doing what's right as well. If there's nothing else, then I think we should adjourn. Help yourself to the snacks and drinks, ladies and I have cheesecake in the kitchen if anyone wants any."

"I think I could use some air," Lucy said as she rose slowly from her seat.

Chloe was quick behind her. "I'll come with you."

"Can I get you anything, Shayna?" Vanessa asked as Lucy and Chloe walked out.

"No thank you," she replied. Normally she would stay longer after a meeting, not as long as some of the others, but long enough to be polite and what she considered to be socially acceptable. This time she sensed with the tension in the room, that it would be better for her to just go and as soon as possible. "I should get going. I have a lot of errands to run this afternoon. I'm planning a big dinner tonight to welcome Andrew's daughter."

"Our niece," Vanessa responded with a smile.

Shayna looked from Vanessa to Alma, putting the connections together. "Yes, that's right."

"Say hello to her for me and tell her I'd love it if she'd stop by for a visit. I'd love to see her again."

"I'll make sure of it."

As soon as they were outside, Lucy was about to go off about Shayna, but she was stopped in her tracks by Cassandra who was standing on the deck staring across at the neighboring lot where one of the newly constructed houses stood.

"Oh, Cassie. I didn't know you were out here," Lucy said, startled.

"Is everything alright?" Chloe asked.

"That house . . . I don't know what it is. I just get a bad feeling about it. Like once someone moves in there, it's going to change everything." Cassie shook the thought from her mind and turned around to face Chloe and Lucy as if she was coming out of a trance. "Maybe I should just try not to think about it . . . I'd better go back in side and apologize to Vanessa. Oh, and if I leave before you do, Chloe, just drop by my house whenever and I'll look up that phone number for you."

Chloe and Lucy just looked at each other as Cassie went back inside.

Episode 5 - Meghan Arrives

2011-01-29T09:32:00.001-05:00

Shayna slid the pan of rolls into the oven and moved across the kitchen to the island to review her planner.

There was more she hoped to have ready for Meghan's arrival, but she knew she would have to put that out of her mind for now and move on. She wasn't sure if even the most careful planning would truly prepare her for the addition of a fourteen year old girl to the household. She had a feeling this was something they were going to have to take day by day.

"Bye, Mom. I'm going down to the lake. I'll be back later."

"Not yet, Julian. Meghan's going to be here anytime and I want you to be here when she arrives."

"Why? I mean, she's not anything to me. Do I really have to be here?

"It would be a nice gesture. I know you aren't technically related since her father and I aren't married, but Meghan is practically your step-sister and she's going to be living in this household. It would be nice if we were all here to welcome her. You won't have to stay long."

"Alright, Mom, I'll wait . . . What smells so good? Are those your cinnamon rolls? I'll stick around for those," he grinned.

"They'll be ready in a few minutes. Thank you, Julian."

"Something smells good in here," Andrew said as he walked into the kitchen and gave Shayna a kiss on the cheek.

"That's what I just said," Julian laughed. "Mom's making cinnamon rolls to welcome Meghan."

"That was thoughtful of you," Andrew said to Shayna.

"It was the least I could do, really," Shayna replied. "I wish we would have done more to get ready for Meghan's arrival."

"What is there to get ready?"

Shayna stared at him dumbfounded. Men really did not have a clue. What would they do without the women in their lives to run things behind the scenes. "For one, I think we should have fixed up the guest room especially for her, to show her that she's really a part of the household now."

"I know, but I don't have any clue how to decorate a teenage girl's room. I don't even know what she likes."

"We should have called her or her mother to ask," Shayna sighed. "Well, this afternoon, you'll have to take her shopping and let her help you pick out some things for her room. It will give you a chance to bond and get to know each other. I have a list of a few things for you to pick up while you're out anyway."

"Don't you want to come too?" Andrew asked hopefully. Shopping for girly things with the daughter he barely knew left Andrew feeling anxious. He knew it would go more smoothly with Shayna to guide the way. "You would know better than I would what she would need."

"I'll make you a list of suggestions," Shayna replied. "I have too much to do today to go shopping. After you go shopping with Meghan and I finish my work for the day, we'll all meet up for a nice dinner tonight. That includes you too, Julian, so don't make any alternate plans tonight."

"Yes, ma'am."

When the doorbell rang, Shayna, Andrew, and Julian looked up, but initialy no one moved.

"You should get it Andrew," Shayna suggested.

Andrew nodded and opened the door to let his daughter and ex-wife inside.

"Hello, Amanda," Andrew greeted his ex-wife cordially, before turning his attention to his daughter. "Meghan, is that you? You've grown up so much since I've seen you last. I barely recognize you."

"Hi, Dad," Meghan responded as Andrew greeted her with a hug.

"Brunch is almost ready," Shayna announced. "It will be just a few more minutes. While we're waiting, Andrew can bring in Meghan's things, so she can start to get settled. Julian, why don't you show Meghan the house."

"Good idea," Andrew responded. He tried to ignore Amanda's smirk as he walked past her out the door.

As Julian followed Andrew, he couldn't help noticing Meghan smiling at him. Her father wasn't kidding about how much she had grown up. He was expecting to see the gawky little girl he remembered from her last visit. Instead the person he saw before him was definitely not gawky or a little girl anymore. Suddenly self conscious that he was staring, he looked away.

He looked down and nodded his head towards the hallway. "Come on. Everything's this way."

"How have you been, Amanda?" Shayna asked courteously once the others had left the kitchen.

"Terrific," Amanda smiled. "Things are going really great in my life right now. My job is going well. I'm seeing a great guy who just asked me to go on a fabulous trip with him. Things have never been better for me."

"That's nice," Shayna replied evenly. "I take it you're still a receptionist for R.J. and Associates?"

Amanda pursued her lips and tried not to frown at Shayna's indifferent and possibly condescending response. "Yes, I'm still with the competition. I'll admit I wasn't happy about the circumstances behind switching companies, but I enjoy working there."

"I'm not the competition," Shayna replied frankly. "I'm not employed with the Townsend Corporation anymore."

"Really?" Amanda asked. "Why not?"

"I decided to take a new position as the director of Arrendale Heights neighborhood association and as Lawrence Arrendale's personal assistant. I've found it more rewarding than continuing in the corporate world and I thought it would be a good idea to distance myself from the office once the relationship between Andrew and myself started to get serious. I've never thought interpersonal relationships at work were a good idea."

Amanda paused again, wondering again if Shayna's comments were a hidden dig at her. Andrew and Amanda had met and started dating when they worked at the Townsend Corporation, she as a receptionist and he as a business executive. They continued working together even after they were married. In fact, she only stopped working there after their break-up when their animosity got so bad that the company president, Lawrence Arrendale, insisted that one of them would either have to be let go. Of course, the company's vice president wasn't going to be let go so easily, but a receptionist was expendable. She ended up being offered a job at R.J. Major's rival company and worked there ever since. Her change in employment occurred just before she found out she was pregnant with Meghan, so that would have been almost fifteen years ago.

"Why don't you have a seat, Amanda? Would you like a cup of coffee?"

"No, thank you. I think I'll be going. I wanted to visit my sister, Alma, while I'm in the neighborhood and then I need to go home and pack. I'll just say goodbye to Meghan and be on my way."

"Okay, if that's what you want to do," Shayna said. Amanda was sure there was no tone of regret in her voice and that made her all the more eager to be out of this woman's house.

"So, this is the hallway, Mom and Andrew's room, the study, living room, my room, your room, the bathroom," Julian rattled off as Meghan followed him through the house. He wasn't really sure what to say about the house beyond that. He hoped that would be good enough.

"Yeah, I remember from when I was here before."

"Why didn't you say so?"

Meghan shrugged and smiled coyly. "Your mom was kind of set on the idea."

"She can be like that."

"So, I guess we're going to be neighbors . . . my room is right next to yours," Meghan grinned.

"Yeah," Julian blinked, slightly bewildered, not so much at the statement itself, but at the playful tone in which it was delivered. "I guess so. I hadn't really about it."

"Is that okay with you?"

"Sure," he cleared his throat and shrugged indifferently. "Why wouldn't it be?"

Meghan shrugged her shoulders and grinned again at him. "I don't know. I just wondered."

"Meghan," Amanda called as she approached Meghan and Julian. Once Amanda had Meghan's attention, Julian quietly slipped away. "I'm going over to Aunt Alma's house. Do you want to come with me?"

"Not really."

"Are you sure you don't want to say hello to your cousins?"

"No. I'm going to be seeing them all the time now, especially once school starts. I think I'd rather hang out here."

"Oh, okay," Amanda said, disappointed that she wouldn't be spending just a few more moments with her daughter before leaving her here. "I guess I'll say goodbye then . . . I'm going to call you often, even when I'm on the trip with Ben and don't hesitate to call me, any time day or night, if you need anything or if you just want to talk, I'm just a phone call away. If you decide you don't like living here or don't like the school-"

"Mom, I'll be fine. Don't worry," Meghan rolled her eyes.

Amanda gave her daughter a hug. "I'm sorry, but I can't help it. You're still my baby."

"Mom," Meghan whined. She was glad Julian had left the room. Otherwise she would have been mortified with embarrassment.

"Well, you are," Amanda insisted released Meghan from her embrace and backed away. "Just be good and if you need anything-"

"I know, I'll call," Meghan repeated impatiently.

"Right," Amanda said. It was hard leaving her daughter for the first time, but she knew she had to walk away. She tried to remind herself that this wasn't forever and that it was with Meghan's best interests at heart. "I'll see you soon, sweetheart."

Episode 4 - The Women in His Life

2010-12-19T00:56:00.000-05:00

"Lawrence, you're late," Shayna remarked with surprise as Lawrence walked into his home office.

He glanced at the clock. It was barely five after. Not terribly late by most people's standards, but he was usually right on the dot, if not early, as was Shayna. That's one reason they worked so well together. They were both punctual and appreciated when others around them were as well.

"I'm sorry to keep you waiting. I had some unexpected business to attend to," he explained.

"Anything I need to be aware of?" she asked nonchalantly.

"I had to stop by Lucy Stuart's house to talk to her about her son. A friend at the police station called to inform me that he'd been brought in to the station for vandalism."

"What action do you recommend be taken?"

"None, for now. I gave Lucy a warning and she assured me she has the situation under control."

Shayna pursued her lips and made a note in her notebook.

"You don't agree with how I've chosen to handle this?" Lawrence asked. "You think I'm being too lenient?"

"It's not my job to say," Shayna replied diplomatically. When Lawrence gave her a look, encouraging her to continue, she decided not to hold her tongue. "I think we have rules for a reason. We each agreed to the neighborhood bylaws and signed an agreement to follow certain rules of conduct when we moved to this neighborhood. If someone is not able to control their children enough to keep them from violating that code repeatedly, they should be held accountable."

"Repeatedly?" asked Lawrence.

"You honestly don't think this is the first trouble he's caused, do you?" Shayna asked. "Julian has told me about the reputation Lucy's son has at school and about the type of crowd he hangs around with. It makes me glad that I was able to raise my son to have the good sense to distinguish between who he should associate with and who he shouldn't. And he knows that Vincent Sexton is not someone to associate with."

When Lawrence remained silent, Shayna apologized, "I'm sorry if I'm speaking out of turn, but I can be very passionate when it comes to my son's best welfare and I know you feel the same way about your children. I apologize if I went too far."

"There's no need to aplogize. I understand. I've been grappling with how to handle this myself."

"I realize Lucy was a close friend of your wife and she was your first employer's daughter, but I hope you won't let personal history get in the way of what is fair to all. Doing that would ruin the integrity of the neighborhood. I know you to be fair."

"And I believe this is a fair decision. I've given Lucy a fair warning. Next time there will be consequences."

Shayna nodded her approval and made note.

"What is on the agenda today?" Lawrence asked, changing the subject.

"The paperwork for the new expansion has been approved by the city. We're ready to start looking for a contractor and taking applications for residency."

"Go ahead and look for the contractor but wait on the announcement that we're taking applications. I have a few prospective applicants in mind. I'll speak with them about the possibility and find out if they're interested. If not, then we'll announce the openings."

Shayna didn't look up as she quickly jotted down notes. "Would you like me to make the calls for you?"

"No, I'll handle it personally."

"I've recieved several resumes for your open housekeeper position. Would you like to review them?"

"No, I'll leave that to you. Call a few of the most promising candidates and do a preliminary interview. I'll meet with the top three or so that you think are the most qualified and make the final decision."

Shayna nodded as she finished making notes and then closed her notebook. "That's all I had on the agenda. Is there anything else you wanted to talk about?"

"No, that's it."

"I hope you don't mind if I don't get to the resumes immediately. Meghan is moving in with us this weekend and I'm sure her father has done nothing to prepare. I will review them as soon as I can and will set up some interviews first thing Monday morning, at the very latest."

"Thank you, Shayna."

As Lawrence followed Shayna to the door, he ran into Mrs. McCarthy, his housekeeper and the children's nanny.

"Good evening, Mr. Arrendale. How was your day at work?"

"It was fine. How were things here?"

"Perfect. The children are in the parlor finishing their homework and dinner will be ready in about a half an hour.

"That sounds fine. I wanted to take a moment to tell you, Mrs. McCarthy, in case I don't have the chance to later, how grateful I am for all you've done for me and the children these last few years."

"It's been my pleasure, Mr. Arrendale. You have been a lovely family to work for."

"I don't know what we would have done without you."

"Thank you, Mr. Arrendale. I wish I could stay longer, but as you know, my sister needs me. I hate to leave before you've even hired a replacement, but I'm afraid her health has taken a turn for the worse. If it wasn't so urgent, I would stay at least until you were settled with a new housekeeper."

"I know you would. It's going to be difficult to find someone else to fill your shoes, but don't worry. Your sister needs you now. We'll be fine.

"Thank you, Mr. Arrendale."

"No, thank you, Mrs. McCarthy. If there's ever anything I can do for you in the future, don't hesitate to call me."

Mrs. McCarthy smiled. Touched by her employer's kind words, she turned away. "I should go check on dinner."

Lawrence nodded and walked the other way towards the sitting room to check in on his children. When he looked in he saw Lance seated on the floor working on his homework while Art entertained their little sister.

The last few years had been rough on them all and he was glad whenever he saw his children happy and doing well. Mrs. McCarthy had been a godsend. He truly meant it when he said he didn't know where they would be without her assistance. He wasn't sure what he was going to do without her now. The thought of it being just him and the children again was intimidating. He knew the vacancy Mrs. McCarthy was leaving behind would be difficult to fill, but he hoped he, with Shayna's help, would be able to find a suitable replacement and soon.

He backed away from the doorway without disturbing the children and went back into his office to make a few phone calls before dinner. He was greeted, as always, by the framed photograph of his wife, Eileen, on his desk. She was the one person he really could not do without, but he had been trying his best since she had been gone. It was times like these, when the children were involved, that he felt her absence the strongest and he questioned why things had turned out this way.

Episode 3 - Trouble

2010-08-17T00:48:00.009-04:00

Maura picked up her little dog and hurried across the street. She heard her mother's voice even through the closed door and the tone that was used did not make Maura want to go inside. She decided to wait until after her mom was done with Vince before she walked into the house.

"Stuart Vincent Sexton, get down here. I'm not finished talking to you yet."

Vince sighed before turning and walking back down the steps. He couldn't believe she still had more to say. He thought he'd heard it all on the way home. He hoped she wasn't just going to say the same things over again. He wasn't stupid. He got it the first time.

Knowing better than to talk back to his Mother when she was this mad, he stood in front of her silently and waited for her to say whatever she was going to say. He hoped she would just get it over with right away and let him be.

When Lucy spoke this time, her voice was much lower than it was a moment before, "Stuart, you're almost 18 years old. You're almost an adult, so it's time to start acting like one. You need to start making better decisions, your own decisions. In life you aren't always going to have someone to bail you out or give you another chance. In fact, this school year coming up is your last chance for high school. It's time to start taking things seriously." Lucy paused with a sigh. She wondered if she was just wasting her breath. "I think you know that I don't expect to have another day like this . . . Go on upstairs. I'm sure you have some homework or studying you should be doing."

Vince opened his mouth to respond, but thought better of it. Instead, he simply answered, "Yes, ma'am," and went to his room.

As soon as Vince headed upstairs, Maura ventured inside.

"Hi, Mom. What's going on?" Maura asked timidly. "Vince is in trouble again, isn't he?"

"Yes, a lot of trouble," Lucy sighed. Then she glanced down and noticed the little, black dog at Maura's feet. "Where did that dog come from?"

"I found him on the way to Judith's house. He was just cowering in the ditch on the side of the street. He looked so alone and scared. I just couldn't leave him there," Maura poured her heart out. "Do you think I could keep him, Momma, just until I find out who he belongs too? Please?"

Lucy mustered a smile for her daughter. Maura was such a sweet girl with so much love to give, to people and especially to animals. It was hard to say no.

"Yes, but only for awhile. If you can't find out who he belongs to, you'll have to find a new home for him."

"Oh, thank you, Momma!"

"And he needs to stay outside. We don't know if he's housebroken."

"Ok, whatever you say," Maura agreed happily. "I'll go make up a bed for him outside right now."

Maura scooped up the little dog in her arms and planted a kiss on her mother's cheek, before skipping outside.

"Don't worry, little puppy," she whispered in the dog's ear once she was out of her mother's earshot. "Momma talks strict, but once she sees what a sweet little doggie you are, she'll let you stay in the house." She was also hopeful that if they didn't find the dog's owners, her mother would let the dog stay for good.

As soon as Maura was outside, Lucy flopped down on the couch. It had been an exhausting day. As if her job at the hospital wasn't demanding enough, she didn't even finish her shift before she had to take off to deal with Stuart - or Vince as he prefered to be called now that he was older. She couldn't help calling him by his given name sometimes. After all, he would always be her baby, even when he tried her to her breaking point. She still hoped he would get it together and start turning his life around before it was too late. If he didn't, she didn't know what she would do.

She did the best she could, but sometimes she couldn't help feeling that she hadn't done right by him, that he would have done better if he'd had a father in his life. She never would have imagined that she would end up a single mother of two kids with two different fathers, and with neither one of them in her children's lives. She wasn't sure if it was more sad for Vince, whose father slowly slipped out of their lives after the divorce, or for Maura, who never knew her father at all. She thought that it was just sad over all.

She was about to pull herself up from the couch and head upstairs for a shower, hoping the warm water would help relax her after a stressful day, when she heard a voice at the door.

"Lucy? Hello!"

Lucy walked to the front door and found her best friend, Chloe, standing in the entryway.

"I saw Maura out front and she said you were home. Did another animal follow her home?" she asked with a grin.

"You know how Maura is with strays, she can't bear to see an animal lost or alone."

"I'm surprised you're home. I just saw your car in the driveway on my way home and thought I'd drop in and see if you're planning on coming to the meeting Thursday night." When Lucy responded with a blank stare, Chloe could tell her friend wasn't her usual self at the moment. "Is everything alright?"

"Not really. It's been a rough day, to say the least."

"You know what, you go sit on the patio and put your feet up and I'm going to go in the kitchen and get us a couple of glasses of wine and you can tell me all about it."

Lucy smiled at her friend. "How do you always know the right time to show up and always know just what I need?"

"It must come from being friends for so long," Chloe replied. "I'll meet you out there."

Once the two women were settled on the patio, Chloe asked, "Ok, so what's up?"

"You aren't going to believe this. I got called away from work today and had to leave early to go pick up my son at the police station."

"Oh my God," Chloe exclaimed in disbelief. "What happened?"

"He and these other boys were caught spray painting graffiti at the back of the school. Of course, the others ran away before they got caught and Stuart ended up being the only one that was caught. I just don't know what to do with that boy anymore. He just doesn't have the sense to not do things he knows he's not supposed to do and to not hang out with people who are not a good influence on him. He's not a bad kid . . ."

"No, he's really not," Chloe readily agreed.

"He's just so impressionable. Honestly, it scares me that he's almost 18 and a legal adult. He's almost old enough to be out on his own, or at least he's supposed to be getting to that point. He still has so much growing up to do and I'm starting to wonder if he's ever going to get to where he needs to be."

Chloe just shook her head. "I hope for his sake and yours that he's just a late bloomer. How's he doing in summer school?"

"I don't know, but I'm supposed to meet with his school councelor next week, so I don't think that means he's doing very well. I don't understand him. I was such an overachiever when I was his age. I worked so hard to get good grades and I had so many goals and dreams for myself. I wanted to go to college, I wanted to be a doctor. Vince seems to have no goals for himself. He doesn't even seem to care if he finishes high school or not. If he doesn't graduate, I don't know what he's going to do. What happened today cannot be a preview of what his future is going to be like. I cannot let that happen."

"Oh, Lucy, no you can't. I know you won't let that happen and if there's any way I can help, I will do whatever I can to help you both."

"You have already done so much to help us," Lucy said gratefully. "I don't know where we would be if you hadn't shared that apartment with me when I was newly divorced, unemployed, and had two babies to take care of. There was no way I could have gone back and finished my residency if you and Eileen hadn't been there to help out with the kids when they were small."

"That's why Vince and Maura are like my own kids to me. If you need someone else to try to knock some sense into him, I won't hesitate."

"I know you wouldn't," Lucy laughed before growing serious again. "But I don't know if it would do any good."

"Do you think it would do any good to talk to Craig about it?"

"I doubt it. Since he remarried and started a new family of his own, he's been almost totally absent from Vince's life. A call or a card at Christmas and maybe Vince's birthday, if he remembers, is all he's done in years. For as hard as he fought for custody when we split up, he certainly gave up easily . . .I don't think I'll bother to call him. I can't imagine him having anything positive to offer."

"Let's hope the school councelor will be of more help. I'm sorry, I can't do more, Luce."

"Me too."

As the women stood up and shared a parting hug, Chloe said, "Call me anytime you want to talk."

"Ok, I will and I'll be at the meeting on Thurday, unless they call me in to the hospital. I'll see you then, if not sooner."

As Lucy started to pick up the empty wine glasses and go back into the house, she heard footsteps coming back to the patio. At first she thought that Chloe had come back for something, so she was surprised when she turned around and saw Lawrence Arrendale walking down her garden path.

"Hello, Lucy."

"Hi, Lawrence. What brings you by?" Lucy asked lightly, but his presence had brought a sudden sickly feeling to her stomach. She didn't think his visit was meant to bring good news.

"I heard about what happened with your son today and I'm very concerned with the path he seems to be headed down."

"I'm not pleased with what happened today either, but I'm taking care of it," Lucy said, standing up straighter. "I can handle my son and he knows that I will not tolerate him doing anything like this again."

"I hope you can keep your son under better control. I don't have to tell you, I'm sure, that part of the appeal of living in Arrendale Heights is that this is an exclusive and a safe neighborhood. We don't want any of our residents, regardless of their age or how long they've lived here to be involved with any illegal activities of any sort. It damages the integrity of what this neighborhood stands for. If you weren't such a long time member of our neighborhood association and if you hadn't been such a good friend of Eileen's, I would have had to suggest that the board vote on whether or not you should be allowed to continue to remain a part of our neighborhood. Because I know that nobody in this neighborhood wants it to come to that and because of your outstanding reputation, Lucy, I'm willing to let it go this time and give your son another chance to turn around and live up to what this neighborhood expects of him. You need to make sure that nothing like this happens again or next time you will have to face the board of directors."

Lucy was so furious, she wanted to clench the wine glasses in her hands until they shattered, but instead she gritted her teeth and held her temper. "Don't worry. I have already seen to it and it won't happen again. If there isn't anything else, I have other things to do."

"That's all," Lawrence replied.

As Lawrence turned and walked back down the garden path, Lucy stormed into the house and slammed the door behind her.

Episode 2 - Getting Away

2010-07-22T19:08:00.004-04:00

Released from her grocery helping duties, Judith hurried outside with her little sister close behind her. As she suspected, Maura had already arrived at the house.

"Sorry, I wasn't out here to meet you. My mom made me help with the groceries," she apologized, breathless from her sprint out of the house.

"No problem, I wasn't waiting long."

"You could have come inside and found me."

"That's alright. It's a nice day out and Jeremy was just telling me what he was doing with his car."

"I can see that," Judith huffed. It was no surprise that Maura had been sidetracked by Jeremy. It was no secret to anyone with eyes that she'd had the biggest crush on Jeremy since the beginning of Junior High. Judith couldn't help being annoyed though, when her best friend seemed more interested in hanging out with her older brother than with her.

"Is this your little dog?" Jacqueline asked. "He's so cute."

"No, he's a stray I found. I'm going to try to find his family, but if I can't find out who he belongs to, I'm hoping my mom will let me keep him."

As Jacqueline played with the dog, Maura turned her attention back to Jeremy. "So . . . do you think you'll have it finished soon?" Maura asked.

"I don't think so. It needs a lot of work and I'm still learning how to fix it as I go."

"I'm sure you're a natural at it. So are your parents really going to let you drive it once it's running? Do you think you could give me - me and Judith - a ride when its done."

"Probably. We'll see."

Maura laughed a giddy laugh and clapped her hands together. "Great. I can't wait. I bet it's going to look sooo good when it's done."

"Hey Maura, my mom said we could go to the park for awhile before dinner. Want to go?" Judith interrupted.

"Yeah, sure. Okay. I'll see you later, Jeremy."

Jeremy waved a short goodbye and turned his attention back to the parts under the hood.

As the girls started to walk towards the street, they heard a small voice call after them.

"Wait for me!" Jacqueline called. "Mom said I could come too, remember?"

"Right," Judith groaned. "Come on.

The girls crossed the street to Wilton Park, one of Maura and Judith's favorite meeting spots. The park, named after Judith's father, one of the neighborhood's founders, was located right in the middle of Arrendale Heights and was conveniently located inbetween Judith and Maura's houses.

"Do you think Jeremy will really take me for a ride in his car when it's finished?"

"Maybe. I don't know."

"It's pretty cool that he can already drive and everything. I wonder if he'd let me drive his car when I get my permit."

"I really doubt it. I don't think he'd let me drive it if I was old enough to get mine."

"That's because you're his younger sister. He might think differently if it was someone else," Maura said hopefully.

"Who cares about Jeremy and his stupid junk car anyway," Judith asked, tiring of this line of conversation.

"Maura does. Duh!" Jacqueline chimed in.

"Jackie! Mind your own business," Judith snapped. "Why don't you go play on the swings or something?"

"Swings are boring. You and Maura are way more interesting."

"If you don't stop bugging us we'll go back home."

"Fine," Jacqueline begrudgingly agreed, before running ahead to play with Maura's dog.

Judith sighed. She suggested going to the park to get away from her family, instead Jacqueline was tagging along and all Maura wanted to talk about was Jeremy. "Sorry, my mom made me bring her along."

"It's alright. I think it's kind of neat that you have a little sister. I always wished I had a sister."

"You can have Jacqueline if you want. It's not as great as you think," when Maura didn't answer, Judith took the opportunity to change the subject. "Did you talk to your mom about registration yet?"

"Yeah, but I don't know what day we're going to go. It depends on when she has to work and if she's on call at the hospital. I think she's going to try to plan a meeting with Vince's councellor at the same time, at least that's what I overheard."

"Why?"

"To find out if he can graduate after this year like he's supposed to. He's going to be in big trouble when my mom finds out that he's been skipping a bunch of his summer school classes."

"She still doesn't know he's been skipping?"

"No, she has to be at work in the morning before he has to leave for school. She makes sure he's up in the morning before she leaves, but some days he just doesn't go. Usually it's when his friends come over and talk him into hanging out with them instead. I wish he would listen to Mom and stop hanging out with them. They aren't good friends and I don't even like being around Vince when he's with them."

"They aren't at your house a lot are they?" Judith asked with concern for her friend.

"No. Mom said they weren't allowed at the house, so when they come over they don't stay long They don't want to get caught."

"It looks like your mom's home," Judith said, nodding towards Maura's driveway.

"She's not supposed to be home yet. It's too early," Maura said curiously.

The girls watched as Lucy got out of the car and Vince got out on the passenger side. He walked up to the front door with his head hanging low as Lucy marched decisively behind him.

"This doesn't look good," Maura remarked. "I'd better go home and see what's going on."

"Ok, call me later," Judith called out as Maura hurried across the street.

Episode 1 - Long Forgotten

2010-06-08T15:23:00.007-04:00

Alma tapped the eggs against the side of the frying pan expertly and heard the familiar crack and sizzle as they broke open and met the hot grease at the bottom of the pan. Two eggs overeasy for her and Edward, his just slightly more runny than hers. The younger children prefered scrambled, but they would just have to make due with fried this morning. None for the older children, probably. Always a picky eater, Judith would probably prefer just toast or cereal over eggs of any kind. Jeremy, on the other hand, would eat just about anything, but he would probably end up taking his eggs cold, if she made any for him, as he rarely awoke early enough for breakfast with the family when it wasn't a school day.

"Give it back, I need that!"
"You weren't using it."
"Yes, I was. Besides it's mine. You don't need to touch it."
"I won't hurt it."
"Mooommm!"
"Jacqueline, leave your brother's things alone," Alma said, a tired sigh in her voice. It wasn't even 9:00 yet and it was already starting. She had started counting down the days until school started weeks ago and was thankful that summer vacation was reaching its end. "I need you to help me set the table. And Joseph, why don't you go upstairs and wake up your brother? Tell him breakfast is ready, please."

As the younger children scrambled away, Alma's teenage daughter spoke up. "Fall orientation is next week," Judith started excitedly.
"Yes, I know," Alma replied. Judith had mentioned it everyday this week.
"Are we going to be able to go on Monday morning, like you said we might?"
"We'll try to."
"I hope we can because I have to get there early so I can make sure I get the classes I want before they're all filled up. I'm hoping Maura and I can get at least one class together, which might be hard since she'll be a sophomore and I'll be a freshman, but I really, really want to get into the first semester art class because I have to take that before I can take any other art classes. I wonder if that's the one Mr. Gregory teaches. Maura says I should try to get into his class. All the girls think he's really cute."
Alma looked up suddenly and said in a firm voice, "You are too young to think of your teachers as cute."
"It wasn't me that said it," Judith protested. "Besides he's a younger teacher."
"Even so," Alma said as she transfered the eggs from the pan to the plate with the already cooked sausage and took it over to the table.
Alma's husband, Edward, looked up from his morning paper as she walked past. "Alma, isn't this your old roommate?"
"Roommate? What roommate?" Alma asked as she continued serving breakfast.
"Don't you remember when we were first married, you were renting a room from another teacher you worked with? Wasn't her name Bernice? Is this her?"
Alma leaned over her husband's shoulder and looked at the item in paper he pointed out to her. The picture in the obituary was an old one, the solemn face, long forgotten, looked exactly as it did all those years ago.
"Yes, that is her," Alma said as she finished setting the table and sat down herself.
"I haven't thought of her in years," Alma said thoughtfully.
"The funeral is today. Do you think you'll go?"
"It's been sixteen, almost seventeen years since I've seen her last and we weren't on the best terms then..." Alma said thoughtfully, her mind going back to a time before she was married with four kids. It seemed so long ago and her life so different then. She couldn't help wondering what Bernice's life had been like since they'd last seen each other. "I think I will go."

~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~

Alma walked alone into the quiet funeral home. There were only a few others gathered, less than a dozen people total. She recognized a few of them from her teaching days, fellow teachers from the elementary school where she and Bernice had met all those years ago.
The service was simple and brief and afterwards, one of the teachers she had recognized approached her.

"I'm sorry, I know I recognize you from Bay Pointe Elementary, but I don't remember your name."
"It's Alma Wilton, but you might have known me by my maiden name, May."
"Oh yes. I'm Jeannie Danaher."
"It's nice to see you again. I recognized you too, but it's been a long time."
"It has. How long ago was it?"

"About 16 or 17 years ago. I quit teaching when I was pregnant with my oldest son and he's going to be a Junior this year."
"Time flies by, doesn't it?"
"Yes it does . . . Are you still teaching?"
"Yes, I'm still at it, but I'm at the middle school level now."
"I always thought I'd go back to teaching, but it never happened."
"Why not?"
"I got too busy with my family, taking care of my children," Alma replied

"I know it can be hard to juggle everything," Jeannie agreed. "Sometimes I wish I'd quit working when I had my kids and spent more time with them when they were small, but, at the time, we really needed the extra income. Hopefully it will all pay off in the long run. I hope that someday soon I'll be able to afford to retire like Bernice had and I'll have extra time to spend with my family then. Who knows, maybe by that time I'll have grandchildren to spoil."
"When did Bernice retire?"
"I don't know, it was quite awhile ago."

Alma glanced over at the casket and wondered aloud, "I wonder how she spent her retirement. I know she didn't have any children or much family at all."
"I heard she mostly kept to herself, didn't go out much. I read in the obituary that she ended up leaving everything to her cats. The poor dear didn't really have anyone else. It's kind of sad really."

As Alma drove home she thought back on her life. The funeral had reminded her of her mother's funeral. When her mother died, years ago, she didn't have many people in her life either. Her mother had suffered from various illnesses and senility in her later years. She didn't go out and didn't have friends to come visit her. She became totally dependant on the care and company of her daughters, namely Alma.

Alma's mother worked hard after her husband died, raising her two daughters on her own and putting them through school. After Alma graduated, she became an elementary school teacher. She originally chose the profession because it seemed a sensible way to help the family, but as time went on she found she really did love the work and her students.

When she was in her late 20s, her mother started to get sick and needed a full time caretaker. Since Alma's younger sister, Amanda, made more money as a secretary than Alma did teaching, it was decided that Alma would give up her job to take care of their mother, while Amanda worked to support the family financially.

Those were hard years for Alma, watching her sister move forward with her life, going to work, falling in love, and getting engaged, while her own life seemed to be at a stand still. Taking care of her mother became her whole life and any hope of having anything else in the future was fading away.
When she was in her early 30s things started to change quickly. Amanda got married and offered to stay home with Mother, so Alma could have a chance to go back to teaching. Shortly after that, their mother died, they had to move out of their house, and Alma started renting a room from Bernice.

During that time she started dating Edward, or Dr. Wilton, as she knew him then. He had been her mother's physician. The first time he stated his intentions, she balked at the idea of marriage and starting a family. She had only just gotten her freedom back after years of taking care of her mother. She wasn't ready to trade that in for taking care of a husband and raising children.
After living with Bernice for awhile she started to have a change of heart. She didn't want to end up alone, like Bernice, with no family, few friends, and a house full of cats her main source of companionship. The next time Edward approached her, she accepted him and they were soon married.
They weren't married long before they were pregnant with their first child, Jeremy. Since Alma was already in her mid 30s and Edward was more than a decade older than her, they decided not to postpone having children. Alma had planned on going back to work after Jeremy was born, but she ended up getting pregnant with Judith instead, who was followed a few years later by Joseph and Jacqueline. After becoming a mother to twice as many children as she'd planned on having, Alma's hope of going back to teaching had become a distant memory, forgotten until today.
When she first got married, Bernice had told her it would be this way, that she would start having kids and not return to teaching. Alma hadn't believed her at the time. Her goal had always had been to return to work, but Bernice had been right. Being the mother of four and the wife of a busy doctor and an active member of the community had left her too busy to think about resuming her career. Until today. Now she was starting to have regrets.

As she drove away from the funeral home, walked the familiar aisles of the grocery store and then returned home, Alma continued to think about the past and what could have been and started to wonder if what could have been could still be. She wondered if she was foolish to think about resuming her career when she was at an age where most would be thinking about retiring. But the more she thought about returning to teaching, the more it sounded right to her.
"I need someone to help me with these groceries," Alma announced as she walked up the front walk from the garage to the house.
"Sorry, I can't right now, Mom," Jeremy said, holding up a pair of grease covered hands. "I'd have to clean up first."
"Judith, can you get the other bags out of the car? Joseph and Jacqueline, you can help too."
Judith sighed as she set down her sketchbook and went to help her mother.

"I'll need help putting these away too," Alma reminded her older daughter before she could sneak out of the kitchen.
"But, Mom, Maura's on her way over. She's going to be here any second."
"You can still help. Maura will wait for you."
"Is it ok if we go to the park for awhile?"
"If Judith goes to the park, can I go too?" Jacqueline spoke up eagerly.
"Yes, to both of you, if you help me with the groceries first."
Judith looked at her younger sister and frowned. She let out a heavy sigh, but restrained herself from protesting any further. She knew it would do no good for her to complain. Her mother would only insist that she let Jackie come along with her.

When Edward walked into the kitchen, Alma told the girls that they could go. She would take care of the rest of the groceries herself.
"Hello, dear," Edward greeted his wife with a peck on the cheek. "How was the funeral?"
"Very small and simple. Bernice didn't have many friends or family to speak of."
"Then it's good that you went. I'm sure the few loved ones that she did have were comforted to see another face there to remember her, even if you weren't close."
"Yes, I suppose so," Alma replied. "Remembering Bernice has started me thinking. I never did go back to teaching like I'd always planned."
"There was never time," Edward said. "Raising four children and running a household is a fulltime job in itself. I wouldn't expect you to work outside of the home as well."

"I know you wouldn't expect it, but it was something I wanted to do and the more I think about it, I think it's something I still want to do."
"You're thinking about teaching again?"
"Yes, I am."
"But, Alma, it's been so long."
"I know, but the kids are all in school all day. They're getting old enough to take care of themselves more."
"Are you sure that's a good idea, now? You know I've been planning on stepping down from my position at the hospital in a couple of years. I thought we were planning for retirement together, not a new career."
"What would I be retiring from? I'll still have the household to run, the children to take care of. If I went back to work, that wouldn't change your plans to retire from the hospital. If I don't think about doing this now, then I never will."
"Well," Edward sighed. "You know I would never stand in the way of something you wanted to do. But there's no rush to make a decision, right? Let's think about it for a few days. You can make up your mind about it, if you haven't already and I can get myself used to the idea."