“ Chad, did you just say what I thought you said?”, Theresa asks, still almost in shock.

” Yep. Eve Russell is my mother.”

” Are……are you sure?”

” I didn’t stick around to hear the details, but, she had an entire folder of proof she wanted to give me.”

“ Chad, how could this happen? How could Dr. Russell be your mother?”

” Theresa, I don’t know. But, I don’t really care to know. Now you understand why I think I should leave.”

” Chad, no. You can’t leave.”

” Theresa, I can’t stay. The woman is MY MOTHER. I am in love with MY SISTER. Do you grasp that?”

For the first time, Theresa thought about Whitney. “ Oh My God.”

” Yeah, Oh My God. I have passion for my own sibling. Sort of puts a cramp in things, don’t ya think?”

” Chad, this is so awful. Really awful.”

“ Tell me something I don’t know.”

“ No wonder you were so upset.”

“ Yeah, and it’s the reason I have to leave Harmony.”

” No. You can’t.”

” Theresa, I can’t stay. What am I going to do, call Coach Russell, ‘Pops’? Whitney and Simone have NO idea that Dr. Russell had another child. Let alone, that child is me. This is NOT the stuff of happy endings.”

” You don’t know, Chad. Things could work out. But, only if you stay. If you leave, you’ll hurt. Today, tomorrow, forever. You’ll hurt. And, you’ll be hurting your mother.”

” Don’t call her that, Theresa.”

“ But, that’s who she is. She’s your mother.”

” If I leave town, it will be the best thing for everyone.”

” Not for her. Never for her.”

” Theresa, my existence can destroy her life.”

” Do you think she’ll just ‘erase’ the memory of finding you, Chad? She won’t. I have a mother who has lit a candle EVERY NIGHT FOR FIFTEEN YEARS, Chad. She will NEVER forget you. You will subject her to another kind of agony. You won’t be sparing her.”

Chad looked at Theresa. He was so confused. He really did think leaving Harmony was the best thing for all of them.

” Theresa, you don’t understand. The one FAMILY that I love more than anything, is the one that I would help to DESTROY? I can’t take that kind of guilt. Nothing would be worth it.”

” Why don’t you talk to Dr. Russell, and see what she wants you to do. Just talk to her once. Tell her that you’ll leave town if it’s what she wants. If she does want you to leave, ok, you can leave, knowing that you didn’t upset your mother. But, I don’t think that’s going to happen.”

” Theresa, there’s no way she’d want me to stay. I’m doing her a big favor.”

” You have to talk to her, face to face. If you talk to her and then leave, fine. But, promise me you’ll talk to her first. Chad? Promise me.”

” Ok, Theresa. I promise.”

“ Well, here are the newlyweds, and don’t they look terrific. Don’t they, Robbie?”, Rebecca asks beaming. Gwen sort of blushes, and Ethan can’t hide from the look of contempt on Robbie’s face.

“ Thank you, Mother. You were nice to invite us to lunch.”

” Being nice has nothing to do with it. I wanted to see how my little girl was doing.”

” Mother, I’m not your little girl, and Ethan and I are just fine.”, Gwen says, taking Ethan’s hand.

” You don’t have to worry about Gwen, Rebecca, I’ll take good care of her.”

” You better.”, Robbie offers.

” Robbie, you be nice to Ethan.”, Rebecca admonishes.

” No need, Rebecca. I have three sisters of my own, and I protect them. Robbie just wants the best for Gwen. I intend to keep her happy.”

” I hope so.”, he replies.

” Well, enough of the testosterone between you two. Gwen, let me see your Honeymoon Itinerary. I bet it’s grand.”

Gwen pulls out a sheet of paper from her purse. “ Oh, it is. Ethan has arranged everything. We’ll be gone for 12 weeks.”

” Twelve weeks? My, that’s long.”

” Well, it’s actually a working honeymoon. The first month is a pure vacation for Gwen and I. After that, as Head of Crane Industries, I thought this would be a good time to go around to the worldwide offices. Gwen will be there to help me take a survey of the company, up close.”

” I hope I can help, Darling.”

” I have no doubt that you’ll be of great help to me. You’re beautiful and smart as a whip. And, I know that you have my best interests at heart. You’ll be able to pick up on things that I miss. “

” I’ll try.”, Gwen says, leaning in for a kiss.

A bottle of champagne comes to the table. As the waiter pours the glasses, Rebecca picks up hers.

” I’m going to propose a toast. To Gwen and Ethan. May they be as happy years from now, as they are today. I really do think that you two were born to lead the Crane Empire.”

“ Mother….”, Gwen moans.

“  I know that sounds so businesslike, but, what I mean, is that you two are very extraordinary people, and it’s people like you, given the chance to do great things, will lead a terrific life. I’m so proud of you.”, Rebecca says, with tears in her eyes, all choked up.

Gwen, Ethan and Robbie all stare at Rebecca, and they have smiles on their faces. Robbie holds Rebecca’s hand, and leans over to kiss her.

” We know what you mean, Rebecca. You did great.”

They enjoy their meal.
 

“ Eve, is Chad Harris your son?”, Father Lonigan asks.

“ Yes, he’s my son.”

” You know for sure?”

“ Yes.”

” Oh, Eve. I don’t know what to say. I know about your family. And..”

” And, the lies that I’ve told them. They have no idea about my past, and now my past is in the present. You want to know how I told Chad? I had to tell him, because he came to my office yesterday, wanting to proclaim his ‘intentions’ towards Whitney. Father….my son is in love with my daughter!”, Eve begins to sob uncontrollably. Father Lonigan gets of his seat, and goes over to comfort Eve.

“ It will be ok, Eve.”

” How, Father? I’ve lied to my family. My children are in love with one another, and the worst part is, Chad’s disappeared.”

” Disappeared?”

” Yes, he’s gone. He didn’t come back to the house last night. And, I can’t find him anywhere.”

” Do you want to find him, Eve?”

” What?”, Eve asks in confusion.

” I mean, if Chad has left town, isn’t that the best thing for your family?”

” How…how could you say that, Father?”

” I’m trying to clarify things for you.”

” By telling me that I’m better off if my son, who I have grieved for EVERYDAY since the day he ‘died’, has left town? How could you even think such a thing?” There was notable hostility in Eve’s voice.

Father Lonigan smiles.  “ I’m glad to hear your anger, Eve. I just had to know what your thoughts were.”

” Father, as awful as this situation is, the only thing that could make it unbearable, is if Chad has left town. I can’t tell you how scared I am that I won’t get a chance to have a relationship with him.”

” Even if him leaving would leave your family intact?”

” But, my soul would be even emptier.”

Father Lonigan nodded. He took Eve’s hand, and said, “ Then, let’s pray. Let’s pray to God for guidance, and for Chad to return home, safe and sound.”

Eve nodded, and got on her knees with Father Lonigan. God fulfilled her longest prayer when she got those DNA tests. Now, she was going to ask again – for her son to be returned to her. As Father Lonigan continued on in his prayer, Eve felt a sense of calm come over her. For the first time, she thought things would be ok. As long as Chad didn’t leave town, she knew she could handle everything else. She had waited over 20 years for one miracle. She had loved her family with TC for almost that long. However angry they could be with her, she had to hope that her love and devotion for all these years would eventually overcome the anger. She had the least amount of hope regarding TC, but, she also knew that having been married as long as she had was a gift in itself. Whatever happened in the future, she had the memories of the past. And, that, and hope, would have to be enough.