Collision Course, Chapter 18
 

Gwen stood outside blindfolded as Ethan led her to a room. He opened the door, picked Gwen up and took her across the threshold. He undid the blindfold.

Gwen looked around. This wasn’t Ethan’s room. This was an entire suite of rooms. She went around it. There was a large bedroom, his and her closets and bathrooms, and a sitting room. All elegantly decorated.

" Ethan, what is this?"

" I thought this would be our room."

" Our room.", Gwen said wistfully. She look at him in shock. " I can’t believe.."

" What?"

" This happened so fast that I didn’t get a chance to really pack anything for tonight?"

" I think you should look in your bathroom."

Gwen walked into her bathroom to find a selection of lingerie as well as her favorite perfumes, soaps and oils.

" WHEN did you have the time to do all of this?"

" Cranes can do anything, you know."

" I’ll slip into something a little more comfortable…"

" You do that?", Ethan said, smiling.

" Would you help me out of my dress?"

Ethan undid the back of it, and Gwen was on her way to her bathroom.  As he undid his tuxedo shirt and cuffs, he had to think about the events of the past few days. He had decided to marry Gwen and break ‘innocent’ Theresa’s heart, only to find out that she already knew about his paternity and didn’t tell him. That wasn’t what upset him. It was when he tried to end things with her, THEN she told him. It was a weapon for her to use when things didn’t go her way. That was something his mother, Julian or Alistair. He didn’t think Theresa was capable of such treachery.

Hearing those words from her mouth made his decision all that easier.

Taking off his shirt, Ethan thought about the decision he had made. It was so staggering, he had to sit on the edge of his bed and think about it. He had chosen his family over Theresa. He had made a choice, like a man, and he’d live with it.

Looking down at his wedding band, Ethan just stared at it. He knew that Gwen had made a leap of faith when she married him, and he was determined to make sure that the faith wasn’t wasted. He would be a good husband to Gwen, and even if he didn’t deserve her, he knew he was fortunate that she found it in her heart to forgive him. He wondered what Gwen would think if she knew that she had married not the son of Julian, but the son of Sam Bennett. Hell, he couldn’t judge anyone else, considering what he had done.

Ethan took off his pants and threw them across the room, as he thought of his mother. She had the nerve to stand there and try to lecture him about love. What the hell did she know about love, having lied to him his entire life. Julian had been happy about the marriage, and he knows that Julian likes the merger of the businesses, he couldn’t help but be touched by the talk he and Julian had earlier:

[FLASHBACK]

Julian led Ethan into the Library and closed the door.

" Ethan, I’m so proud of you marrying Gwen. Good choice, Son. Excellent choice."

" Father, I know that you’re happy as a clam about the merger."

" I won’t lie to you, Ethan. The merger means good things for the company and family. What I’m especially proud of you about is that you realized that rarely do men of our set get to marry women like Gwen. "

" Yes, she’s from the proper family.". Ethan deadpans.

" No, Ethan. She loves you. She really loves you. There’s no other explanation for this wedding. Ethan, love isn’t the happy times. The real test of love is the bad times. What happens after you hurt someone as deeply as possible, and they STILL love you. That is a gift, my son. A gift. Very few people are ever able to experience that kind of love, because few men are smart enough to realize when they have a second chance like that. You got one…most aren’t so lucky."

Ethan looked at Julian curiously. The depth of emotion in Julian’s voice made Ethan wonder: was he talking from experience, and if so, who was the woman?

" But, I have to tell you, Ethan. All that stuff I said about Crane philandering being a birthright and all…well, Son, I think the Theresa situation is about the most you can expect of Gwen to accept. What I mean is…..um.."

" No more cheating."

" Exactly. You’ve found a woman who loves you Ethan. Don’t mess it up."

Ethan could see the sincerity in Julian’s face.

" You…you really want me to be happy, don’t you, Father?"

" Of course, Ethan.  You’re a better man than I could ever hope to be. You’re a man who can admit his mistakes and go on. I may not like that your Grandfather has cut me out and named you Heir, but, I understand it. It has everything to do with the man that I’m NOT, and the man that you ARE. I just hope that I had a little something to do with that, though your mother would never think so."

" Mother isn’t the end authority as to who I am. You had a lot to do with it, Father. I love you."

Julian grabbed Ethan into a hug. " I love you too, Ethan. I couldn’t be more proud of you. You’re going to have it all: The Empire and someone who loves you. Congratulations."

" Thank you, Father."

There was an awkward silence between them, and then Julian spoke up, " I think Gwen will believe I’ve kidnapped you. Let’s get back to the party."

Ethan nodded and they went back.

[END OF FLASHBACK]

Ethan thought there was a lot of wisdom in what Julian had told him. He changed out of his tuxedo and into some pajama bottoms.  He lowered the light in the room to set the mood.
 
 

Gwen stared at herself in the mirror. She had chosen a beautiful white silk negligee.

" What are you doing? How could you have married him? What is going on in your head?"

Gwen sat down on the edge of her bathtub. She hadn’t thought about the wedding night. Suddenly, she was as nervous as she was the first time she and Ethan had made love, on her 19th birthday.  Suddenly, she thought possibly she had made a huge mistake. She loved Ethan, that much was true. But, this was marriage.

Marriage.

Could they pull it off?

Could Ethan make her happy?

Could she make Ethan happy?

Gwen looked at herself, and decided that she wanted to start her marriage off on the right foot….if there was going to be any marriage at all. She squared her shoulders, and went back into the bedroom. She was a little stunned by how romantic Ethan had set the mood by lowering the lights, and lighting candles. They lit him ‘ just so’.

Ethan looked at Gwen. She looked so beautiful in the gown.

Gwen came over to the bed, and Ethan began to kiss her, but, she pulled away.

" Gwen?"

" Ethan, I….I want our marriage to begin on an honest note, so I have something to tell you."

" What is it, Gwen?"

" I know that Julian isn’t your biological father, and that Sam Bennett is."

Ethan stared at Gwen in shock.
 
 

Theresa heard the blasting of music coming from the bar. She wandered it, not really knowing where she was. She walked in, and the smoke was strong, as was the beer  and alcohol smell.

This was a part of Harmony that they didn’t put on the travel brochures. This was the dark side. The folks they wouldn’t admit even lived in the town. Theresa went over to a table and sat down. A waitress came over to get her order:

" Whaddya havin’?"

Theresa looked up at her, and said, " Anything strong."

" You look underage, so the price is double."

Theresa opened her purse and took out some bills that she was supposed to be paying the caterer with and slammed them on the table.

" That enough?"

The waitress grabbed the money and left, coming back a few minutes later with a bottle of scotch, and a glass.

" This is a favorite, unless you want something else."

Theresa waved her off, and began to pour the scotch into the shot glass. She drank one…two…three. At the beginning of her fourth one, she heard a familiar voice:

" Listen, Punk! You tryin’ to cheat me! I don’t play that!"

" You listen, BOY! You better back up, before I teach you a lesson.", the biker with a dozen or so tatoos was fast approaching Chad, and five of his buddies were ready to get in on the action.

They didn’t know it, but, Chad wanted them to beat the crap out of him. He wanted them to beat him to a pulp, then maybe he wouldn’t have to feel. He didn’t want to feel. He had been here for hours, and yet, he was still feeling. He stood there, ready for his beating when a voice out of nowhere came yelling,

" Baby, I can’t believe you did this..AGAIN!"

Chad turned and there was Theresa.  She turned to the biker and told him, " Sorry, you can’t kick his ass right now. It’s all mine!"

Before Chad could say anything, Theresa began shoving him towards the other side of the bar, each shove getting more violent, as the anger about her life finally caught up with her. They got back to her table, and she sat down, and poured herself a drink.

Chad wasn’t really getting any of this. He didn’t know how Theresa could be in a place like this. He didn’t know what she was doing drinking scotch. Theresa didn’t say anything to him, but, motioned to the waitress who brought Chad his own shot glass. Chad filled it up and downed it.

" You wanna tell me what this is all about?", Chad asked, pouring himself another drink.

" Nope.", Theresa said, taking another sip of hers.
 

" You KNOW about my paternity? How?"

" Mother suspected it, and we found the proof on Theresa’s computer."

" And, you didn’t say anything about it?"

" What could I say Ethan? I didn’t know until you proposed that there was a possibility that you knew."

" Gwen, I…"

" Ethan, I know you so well. I knew that Alistair could threaten to cut you off, and you probably still would have married Theresa. But, banishment from the family itself, that’s something that you wouldn’t do. You love your family too much. I’m an adult, Ethan, I knew the real deal."

" Gwen…"

" Ethan, it’s OK. My mother’s been really helpful to me lately, helping me to sort out my feelings and what I want for myself. And, I did ask myself hard questions Ethan about you and whether or not I thought we could make a good marriage of it. The bottom line for me was twofold: a) did I love you, and b) would you resent me for the choice YOU made. Some men do, you know. They make choices and then resent another person for the choices that THEY’VE made."

" I know what you mean.", Ethan said, thinking of his mother.

" When I realized that I still loved you, after everything, and that I had to take you at your word when you said that you wouldn’t resent me, then I knew I had no other choice. But, I wanted you to know that I married YOU, Ethan. I wanted to be with you. I have more money and power than any one person should really have. I didn’t need to marry Ethan CRANE. I needed to marry ETHAN Crane, who I think can make me happy and build a good life with me."

Ethan looked at Gwen, staring at her.

" Ethan….is something wrong?", Gwen asked perplexed.

Ethan broke into a big smile. " No, nothing’s wrong. I need to make love to you, Gwen. Right now. Maybe tomorrow, I’ll be able to put into words what these last few moments have meant to me."

Ethan scooped Gwen up in his arms, and began to kiss her passionately. Before she knew it, both her gown and his pajama bottoms were gone, and they were making love more passionately than they had ever before.
 
 

It was coming close to 3 a.m., and Theresa and Chad were finishing another bowl of pretzels. Their table looked like a buffet of snack foods.

" Hey, you two, you gotta go. We’re about to close up. "

" Well, Theresa, we gots to go. I guess we can take my bike back.", Chad said, taking out his keys.

As soon as she saw them, the waitress took them. " The hell you will, and we’ll be busted once you have an accident killing yourself or someone else. There’s a motel next door. Gimme some bills, little lady, and I’ll get you a room."

Theresa did as she was told, and the waitress came back with a motel room key.

" You can get the keys to his bike tomorrow from the motel clerk. Now, get outta here."

Chad and Theresa stumbled to the motel room. Once inside, Chad laid back on the bed, and Theresa came back a few minutes later with some more snacks and some pop. She turned on the tv, and tried to get comfortable in the bed next to Chad. She decided that she was thirsty, and wanted a soda. She got it, and popped open the top, spraying the shaken up soda all over her and Chad.

" What the fuck?!", Chad said, being awaken by the soda on him.

" I’m sorry, Chad. I’m sorry…I’m sorry…I’m sorry..I’m sorry!", Theresa said, through the sobs and the tears that were overflowing from her eyes.

" Hey…hey…Theresa…come on….it’s not that bad. Theresa, Baby, please stop it. It’ll be alright.", Chad said, holding Theresa in his arms, her face buried in his chest. They stayed there a few minutes until Theresa spoke,

" The pain hurts so much, Chad."

" I know, Baby."

" Make it go away.", Theresa says quietly pleading.

Chad lifts Theresa’s face from his chest and looks into her eyes. Slowly he begins to kiss her, and she responds. After a few moments, they begin to strip one another of their clothing, and lost in the moment, they drown themselves in the comfort that the other one is providing, making love for the next several hours.