The Fine Print - Chapter 6
by yhh



Eve sat the table furthest from the rest, waiting patiently for Grace and Sam. She was glad they had finally returned her phone call. She was amazed they had agreed to meet with her. Now she just prayed they would listen to her with an open mind.
"Hello, Eve," Sam said softly.

"Hi, Sam. Where's Grace?" she asked. "Please have a seat."

Pulling out both chairs opposite of Eve, he sat down. "She's getting us some coffee."

So different than the decades or even a year or a month before, they sat in an uncomfortable silence waiting for Grace to join them.

In what had to be the slowest purchase ever, Grace finally arrived with two coffees and muffins on a tray. "Eve."

"Hello, Grace. Thank you both for coming and agreeing to meet with me."

"Thank Jessica and Kay. They were the ones that informed us that we were all innocent parties. You were desperate to keep your secret from TC and the rest of Harmony. And you gave me a son to love. In a perfect world, we would forgive and forget. But you did something much worse, you played on my worse fears. My fear that I had another family, another husband, another child out there that I couldn't remember and for some reason they couldn’t find me. How many times had I cried about that with you? How many times did you comfort me and tell me that was an unfounded fear? Yet, you allowed Ivy to use this fear against me. You sacrificed me in order to safe your secret. A secret you knew one day would come out no matter what. Not only did you hurt and destroy our relationship, what have you done to poor John? He's always wanted his mother and he thought he had one, but you destroyed that. You obliterated that. He has nothing. Less than nothing. Before you joined Ivy's evil plot to get my husband, my husband, at least he had his father. The man that had always been by his side, to soothe his fears, to wipe his tears, to cheer him on, to correct him when he was wrong and misguided, but now he can't even believe or turn to that man. And he feels like he can't turn to me, Sam, the girls, or Noah. He's left with no one. Your selfishness and cowardice did this. Has caused all of this." Tears streamed down Grace's face as she fiddled with the coffee cub. She couldn't do this. She didn't know if she would able be able to forgive Eve. "All of these lies and destruction because Ivy decided she wanted my husband back, damn his marriage and his children. She didn't care. And obviously neither did you- -"

"Grac- -"

Grace held up her finger. "No, don’t say a word. You know what the truly crazy part is? I still love you. And I miss you. When I found out John wasn't my son, you were the person after Sam I wanted to turn too. In my heart, you are still my sister. The woman, I was nervous to meet, in fear my boyfriend's best friend's girlfriend didn't like me. But that night, I found the greatest friendship I have ever known and a sister I had always wanted when I got out of the hospital. I can't talk to you right now. It's too soon. Two months is too soon. Sometimes I think twenty years will be too soon to deal with all the hurt and pain you caused. I know you were hurt and scared too, but I can't stop focusing on my pain and that of my children and husband to care." Pushing her chair back, Grace left her coffee and untouched muffin and walked out of the café.

Wiping the tears from her face, Eve prayed that she wouldn't break down in the café in front of everyone, particularly Sam. She did not want him feeling sorry for her.

"How's Ethan?" Sam asked softly.

Of course, that's why he stayed behind. Not to ask about her or to reprimand her, but to ask about the son he lost. "He's hanging in there. It's hard. He had to deal with not being Julian's son and being yours. And now he finds out he is Julian's, but just with a different mother than the one he's known his whole life. On top of all that, he has everything with Resa to deal with."

Sam nodded. Ethan hadn't been his son for long, but he had loved the younger man as fiercely as he loved Noah, Kathleen, and Jessica. He had even held John in the same regard as Ethan. He had always known that one day Grace's family could magically appear so he had been prepared. Secretly every few years, he would run her fingerprints to see if anything came up. He had been prepared for John, but Ethan had come out of no where. He never imagined having a child with Ivy and then suddenly there was Ethan. And now there was no Ethan and no John. In one sitting, he had lost two sons. Three if you counted the baby that died from SIDS. He had also lost any fond or happy memories he had of his time with Ivy. He, of all people, knew she could be selfish, self-absorbed and devious at times, but the lengths she went to to break up his marriage astounded him. What had happened to the woman he loved all those years ago? She was obviously dead and gone.

Looking at the woman sitting across from him, his heart went out to her. How had she lived so long with her secret? How didn't she crack from the pressure? From TC's venomous and scathing remarks about Julian all these years? How did she do it? "How did you do it?"

From their years of friendships and love, she knew exactly what he was asking. "You take one day at a time. And when that's too hard, you take hour by hour, minute by minute. You stay away from alcohol, the medicine cabinet, and avoid going to the top floors for a while. Every day will be a struggle. You have to immerse yourself in other things, but also allow yourself to grief. Slowly but surely it will get better."

Sam nodded. Putting aside all the hurt she had caused, he admired her courage. The pain he felt at losing Ethan and John was like nothing he had ever experienced. He barely summoned the courage to get out of bed this morning and that was with Grace by his side and knowing Noah, Kay, Jessica, and Maria were all still his. How did she get through the pain of losing Ethan without anyone to help her, support her? He had grossly underestimated the inner-strength she had. He had always known she was the stronger one in her marriage, but this blew him away.

Knowing she had been shunned by their friends, the neighborhood, her husband, and her children, he wanted to say something to let her know that she wasn't alone. Grace was right. His love for her hadn't ended even though he was incredibly hurt by her actions. But what could he say to her? He couldn't lie to her and tell her that TC was going to forgive her. His friend had found a rebound relationship with that unsavory and untrustworthy Liz. Simone could be as stubborn as her father so who knew if she would ever forgive Eve, especially while she lived with her vindictive father. So in the end, he said the only thing that he knew was true and would always remain so. "I love you."

The tears she'd been holding back erupted. "I love you both so much."

He nodded and went to be with his wife.

Using her napkin to dry her tears proved useless so she left a tip on the table and quietly exited.

"Mom?"

Eve heard her highly loved title being called. She looked up to see her youngest walking towards her. "Hello, Simone."

Taking in her mother's red eyes and sniffling, Simone wondered what was wrong. "Are you okay?"

She wanted to nod and say yes, but she couldn't lie to her baby. She had done enough of that. So instead she shook her head.

"What's wrong?"

"What isn't? Grace can't forgive me. Sam is torn as to what he feels. Your dad's anger is so overwhelming. Your sister is lost and I don't even know where to begin to search for her or how to help her. Ethan doesn't know if he's coming or going and neither does Chad. Resa has committed crimes that I can't even begin to understand. I've hurt the people I love most in this world. And my precious baby girl doesn't know whether to hate me or love me. The only things I have to smile about is that Kay and Maria moved back home and Noah is back. Other than that, my life pretty much sucks."

Simone was silent for a minute or two. Her eyes widened. When she'd asked her mother what was wrong, she hadn't expected such startling honesty. Her mother with her answer had treated her as an adult and not as a child. Wow, how times had changed. She stared at the woman who looked so much like the woman she had known and loved all her life, but this woman was different.

She had never seen her mother with such red eyes and bags underneath her eyes. Her mom to her had always been the epitome of strength and grace. The only time she had seen her mother cry like this was when she and Jess had fallen out of the tree house, while the rest of their family was away on a camping trip. A case of the mumps had her and Jess homebound and her mom had been the adult that had volunteered to stay behind. Jess had had a concussion and she a broken arm. When her mom had finally been allowed back into the emergency room cubicle, she had gathered them both in her arms and cried as she repeated how much she loved them both. She knew that day stuck out in Jess' mind as it did hers. It was the first and last time they had ever seen her mom lose it. Well at least until now.

Her mother's answer deserved an adult reply. "Whit is still recovering from the whole Chad isn't our brother thing, in time she'll be okay. She'll marry Fox, have the baby, and live happily ever after. Ethan and Chad have a lot to work through. Once again they've found out their lives have been a lie, but they too will be okay once everything settles down and they process everything. We all failed Resa, we should have seen this coming. Her obsession with Ethan wasn't natural. I was about to kill her if I had to hear one more time they were destined to be together."

A slight smile appeared on Eve's face upon hearing her Resa's favorite saying.

"But on the other hand, how could any of us have predicted she would go that far? Kidnap the surrogate and drug Ethan? He's not all that- -" Oops, she forgot she was talking about her half-brother.

"It's true. Many a days and nights, I wondered what had Resa so hooked. He is a nice guy, but his indecision was a- -"

"big 'Run! Run!' sign," Simone finished.

Eve smiled again and nodded. "Ethan may be family now, but that doesn't mean we aren't privy to his faults."

Simone let a smile slip. She had been worried that her mom was going to treat Ethan like the second coming of Christ because he was in her life. She was glad she was wrong. That was the last time she listened to Kay. Every since Charity entered her life, Kay could be a bit irrational when it came to new found relatives. "Chad knows deep down that you and Mr. Crane will always love him and be there for him." She was very proud of herself for not choking on Mr. Crane's name, as time passed she was able to say his name and her mom's name together without dying instantly. She didn't know what that meant and she wasn't about to dwell on it. "Aunt Grace in her heart has already forgiven you, but the pain and tears are blinding her right now. Look how quickly she forgave Kay and I for crashing her beloved 1965 cherry red convertible Mustang she had wanted for years and we totaled a day after Uncle Sam bought it. Uncle Sam just doesn't know how to help both you and Aunt Grace. And as for Daddy, well, you know how the Russell temper and stubbornness are." The teen shrugged her shoulders.

Tears started leaking again. Her baby had been forced to grow up since their lives began to unravel. This was a very adult woman speaking to her, trying to comfort her. Why couldn't her baby have enjoyed more of a childhood? But she knew why. It was because of her lies. Her deception. "And you?"

Turning away from her mother, Simone stared out into the water. She couldn't look her in the eye. "I don't know. My whole life was a lie. The only truthful thing you said to us was that your parents died. That's it. Oh and about your years in medical school, everything else is a lie. You were the one, who always said, 'Your punishment will be less as long as you don't lie.'" It was hard to process. The things her mom did and said sometimes played like a continuous loop in her head. She now understood the reasoning behind certain behaviors and warnings, yet it did little to take away the hurt and the pain. And with Daddy downing her mother at every turn, she didn't know if she was coming or going. Or how she was supposed to feel about her mom now. "And all you did was lie to me my whole life- -" She didn't know what else to say or how better she could explain it. Her emotions were jumbled.

Eve nodded. What had she expected? Due to her past sins, her youngest child had a lot to deal with, more than any child her age she have to. Maybe being under TC's constant influence wasn't an ideal place for Simone to be. She was sure her sister wasn't saying anything positive about her either. "Simone, I'm sorry. I never meant to hurt you. After so many years, I guess I started to believe my lies and think my past would never come to light. But obviously I was wrong and I've caused you, your sister, and your dad endless pain. If being with your- -" No, she didn't want to say it that way, Simone might think she was putting down TC. "My door is always open to you. Day or night. Rain, sleet, snow, and shine- -"

"I get it, Mom. You're like the postman," the teen smiled.

Eve nodded. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For distracting me. For making me feel better. For talking to me. For being one of three most precious gifts, I've ever been blessed with and ever will be."

Simone was about to respond when her cell phone rang. "Hi, Daddy…Yes, I'm on my way now…Love you, too."

"You better be on your way. You don't want to worry your dad."

Nodding, Simone put her phone back in her pocket and slowly headed towards home.

Eve watched her daughter walk out of her life once again.


Chapter 7
Chapter 5
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