Collision Course, Chapter Thirteen
 
 

Eve came to her office after picking up the envelopes from the nurse. She locked the door, and calmly sat down at her desk.

She opened both envelopes, and pulled the reports out from both of them. She went from one, to the other, looking for the pertinent line. And, there it was, in black and white, for her to see:

Report One: Positive Match, 99.7% certainty.
Report Two: Positive Match, 99.8% certainty.

It was there.

Chad Harris was her son.

Eve got up and went over to the other filing cabinet, and pulled out the box that she kept there for safe keeping. She opened it, pulling out the baby booties that had been in her possession since a month before she was due to give birth to her son. She shook her head. Everything was going to change.
 

Gwen sat in the windowseat, looking out at the grounds. She didn’t hear Bobby when he knocked on the door. She didn’t hear him at all, until he touched her and she was startled.

" Sorry. I knocked, but, you didn’t hear.", Bobby says.

" I’ve had things on my mind."

" Like a certain proposal?"

" Bobby…."

" Gwen, I don’t claim to understand what’s going on in your mind. I believe I love Paul. After all, we’ve been together eight years. But, I don’t know if I could take him back if he treated me the way that Ethan treated you."

" Would you lose respect for  me if I did?", Gwen asks somberly.

Bobby sighs. " No. Our mother isn’t a profound speaker, but, she was right about one thing: what goes on in a relationship is between the two people. Living in New York, I have seen the oddest couples that man could create, yet, it’s true – I don’t live their relationships. I can’t. Because, I wouldn’t want someone to try and live mine with Paul."

" I see. You don’t sound too supportive."

" I can’t sit here and lie to you that I want this for you. I can keep my mouth shut from the moment IF you take vows with this clown. But, don’t ever come and bitch about him to me, Gwenny, if you run into trouble. I don’t believe I’ll be able to resist the temptation to tell you – ‘ I told you so.’"

" I get it."

" The human heart is capable of all sorts of understandings. I don’t know why this is so, but, it’s true. Hell, I even think Mom and Dad loved one another, as bizarre as that is as an idea. I believe it. They had their understanding. "

" I know. But, I never wanted to live ‘an understanding.’ "

" I hear you. Gwen, you know yourself. If you choose to believe Ethan, because your HEART tells you to do so…There will be no argument from me. I just believe you deserve better than that. If he hurts you again, I’m not responsible for my actions. Be warned."

Gwen kisses her brother. " Duly noted."

" I’ll give you some more time to think."

Bobby left the room, and Gwen thought about all that he had said. Only she knew her heart. What she wanted. Not for revenge, or what society wanted…what did SHE want? Gwen had to admit that at that moment, she didn’t have a clue.
 

Julian and Ivy met one another on the way into the hospital.

" Did you have a good nap?", Julian asked, trying to make conversation.
 

" Yes."

They rode in silence up to Penny’s room.

They knew that it was bad, but, they were unprepared by what they saw.

Their tiny daughter, nearly covered in plaster.

A cast on her right arm.

A cast on BOTH legs.

She had wrapping around her mid section, as to help out those bruised ribs. And some sort of device around her pelvic region.

Their hearts broke as they viewed her. They both rushed over to her.

Ivy kissed her daughter. " Oh, my poor baby. This is so awful."

Penny looked up at Ivy. " Feels worse than it looks, Mother." Penny deadpans.

Julian smiled weakly. " Now, THAT’s the Crane spirit."

" The doctors say that I will be like this for at least six to eight weeks. I’m not happy about this."

" No one would be, Princess. But, the time will pass. You’ll see."

Ivy was fussing around Penny, making sure that everything was as comfortable as possible for her. They were all silent until Penny spoke up:

" Mommy, when are you leaving? When do I get to meet my nurse?"

Ivy looked at Penny in shock.

" Leave? What makes you think that I’m going to leave you?"

" You can’t take care of me here, in Switzerland. You have other things to do."

" NOTHING is more important to me than your recovery. And, you’re right. I won’t be taking care of you in Switzerland. I’m going to be taking care of you at home."

Penny’s face perked up. " Home?"

" Yes. We’re not leaving you in the care of these incompetents. As soon as I can bully the doctor, we’re going home.", Julian said with a smile.

" Good. I can go to Ethan’s wedding. Tell me, is Theresa nice?"

" She’s the Housekeeper’s daughter.", Julian says with disdain.

" She’s VERY nice, Penny. And, Ethan loves her a great deal."

" All that matters is that Ethan’s happy. Isn’t that what marriage is about?"

Julian had to roll his eyes at that statement, and  Ivy had to look away herself. She kissed Penny on the forehead. " Out of the mouths of babes."
 

Eve sat in the coffeehouse on the outskirts of town. She came here, because she didn’t believe that she was going to run into anyone that she knew.

" Care for some more tea, Hon?", the waitress asked Eve.

" Yes, please." She poured the tea into Eve’s cup and replenished the lemons. Eve had two appointments today. Planning for her new life. Everything had to go according to plan. If not, disaster would result. She thought about the aborted call to Julian. Pilar had told her that he and Ivy were in Europe, dealing with their daughter. Eve now believed that was for the best. In all honesty, she could only deal with one thing at a time. The Julian part of it all could be dealt with later.

"  Hey Eve.", her first appointment said, slipping into the booth.

" Marlene. I’m glad you could meet me."

" Anything for you."

The waitress came up, and Marlene accepted some coffee.

" Marlene, I know that this is odd. But, I need a favor. I need to get a house. And, fast. I can tell you what I’m looking for overall: I’ll need four bedrooms. Doesn’t have to be very fancy, but, I’d like a lot of windows. I wouldn’t mind a ‘fixer-upper’. I’m going to have a lot of free time soon.", Eve says, looking into her tea cup.

There were a few moments of silence then Marlene reaches out and places her hand on Eve’s.

" Eve, when I was living in my own personal hell, getting beat nearly every other day, YOU were the one who gave me the courage, and held my hand, and showed me that there was another way."

" Oh no! I can’t have you thinking that TC’s abusing me! It’s not that."

" I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that. But, this does mean that your marriage is over, doesn’t it?"

Eve nods. " I believe it will be soon."

" No way of stopping it?"

" No."

" How soon do you need the house?"

" I need to know that I have someplace to live within the next forty-eight to seventy-two hours. I told you, I’m not choosy. You don’t have to worry about the money. I’ll have whatever kind of deposit you need in that time."

" Ok. I wasn’t worried about that. And, of course, I’m not to call your house."

" No. Either page me, or come see me at the hospital."

" It’s OK, Eve, I’ll find something for you. I’ll get to work on it right away."

" Thanks Marlene."

Marlene got up and left the restaurant. Eve ordered a simple turkey sandwich, and had some more tea. Twenty minutes later, her second appointment had arrived, and slid into the booth.

" Hi Eve."

" Hi Dawn. "

" We’ve never met within Harmony City Limits. It must be important."

" It is. I need for you to begin to liquidate my portfolio."

" Liquidate?"

" Yes. I need to be able to get my hands on large amounts of cash in a hurry. I’m undergoing some ‘lifestyle’ changes, and I’m going to need a new house."

" You’re buying one?"

" Renting for now. But, I’m going to have other expenses."

" DIVORCE expenses?"

" If it comes to that, yes."

Dawn nods, and pulls out her copy of Eve’s portfolio. " Ok, Eve. You already have  seventy-five thousand in money markets readily available. How much more do you want accessible?"

" The last report you sent me said that I had a little over twelve million. I want twenty-five percent ready."

" Three million?"

" Yes. "

Dawn nods. " You do know that by having so much be accessible, you’re opening yourself up to a possible grab by your husband and his attorney for the rest of it, considering he didn’t know about it."

" Well, I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it. All the accounts are in my name, and they’ll have to find the offshore ones. They don’t even know about you, and you know which channels to go through in order to not leave a trail."

" Well, usually, yes, but, with this kind of money in such a short amount of time."

" Ok, well drip the money to me as fast as you can. I’m sure that the seventy-five thousand will be enough to secure me a house and a lawyer."

Dawn looked at Eve. Twenty years ago, when she put out an ad in the Harmony Herald, no one had ever heard of a female financial planner. Eve was the second client she had. Even though Eve appeared to be happy with her husband, Dawn had always gotten the feeling that Eve was preparing for the day when the bottom dropped out. She guessed that day had finally come.

" Fine, Eve. I’ll begin procedures today."

" Thanks, Dawn. "

Dawn left, and Eve took out the piece of paper that had her list on it:

Tell Julian
New Home
Get Money
Find Lawyer
Tell Chad
Tell TC
Tell the girls

In the back of Eve’s mind, she had always worried about the day when her past would catch up with her. After losing everything once, she vowed that she would be prepared for the worst this time: the loss of her marriage, family, job, friends, and standing in the community. She couldn’t do anything about the last two, but hope that people would be forgiving, but, she was NEVER going to be poor the way she was when Julian abandoned her. That was why she had those accounts with Marlene. A set portion of her salary that she funneled to her. She bought enough ‘clothes’, so that TC didn’t know the difference.

She could pray for a miracle, but, Eve knew better. Her life hadn’t been about a lot of miracles. But, she knew how to survive.
 

Theresa heard a knock on the door and went to answer it. Her face lit up.

" Ethan!"

Ethan came into the house. Theresa rushed to the wedding books. " I have SO many ideas to talk to you about. I’m planning the most wonderful wedding. I hope you like it…of course, if you don’t, we’ll figure out something different. "

" Theresa…"

" Do you like these flower arrangements for the table? Or, how about these as the bridesmaid dresses? I thought something a bit more formal would help…Or, how about this for the menu.."

" Theresa, we have to talk."

Theresa looked up at Ethan. It was something serious.

" Yes, Ethan?"

" This is very difficult for me. But, it must be done. I have to call off the wedding."

" Ex…..excuse me?"

" I can’t marry you, Theresa. I’m marrying Gwen."