New Beginnings, Chapter 52
by SIPort

Chad was standing at the patio door.

“ You have a beautiful place, Chad.”

“ Thank you, Veronica.”

“ You’re not close.”

” Be close to the man who stole me away from my mother? No thank you.”

” I’m sorry, Chad. I didn’t know the particulars.”

” It’s not your fault. And, I have been a bad host. Have you been enjoying yourself?”

” The party has been nice enough. The folks here are pretty suspicious of me.”, Veronica laughed.

“ I guess I’m lucky. I have people in my life that are protective of me.”

Chad finds Veronica looking at him. “ What? Do I have something coming out of my nose?”

” No. I just find your story quite remarkable. I bet you’re fascinating, Chad Harris.”

” Oh, I wouldn’t say that.”

” Ah yes, the fiery brunette who’s been burning holes in my head with her eyes.”

Chad laughed. “ That would be Theresa.”

” You serious about her?”

” Yes. When I had nothing, Theresa was my friend. And, through a lot, she’s been there.”

” You’re lucky then. You know that she likes you for you.”

” It’s a gift. So, why were you invited to this shindig?”

” I think it’s because my Daddy’s about to take his company public and make billions.”

Chad laughed., “ Oh yeah. That sounds like Alistair.”

“ They make a handsome couple, don’t they?”, Alistair said as he slithered up to Theresa.

” Couple? I don’t see a couple Alistair. I see two people who just met, talking to one another.”

“ Well, I see a couple of bright, dynamic young people that could be a force to be reckoned with.”

” Chad’s not going to do it, Alistair. He’s not weak, like Julian. He’s his own man, and he’ll make his own decisions.”

Alistair laughed. “ Oh, so you’re that sure of Chad’s feelings for you, Theresa? I remember once upon a time how certain you were of Ethan’s feelings for you. Something to do with fate?”

“ I was a foolish girl then.”

” And now you’re all grown up.” Theresa said nothing. “ You think you know Chad; I know Crane men. You’re history.”

Before Theresa could say anything else, Alistair had walked away.

Eve was sitting up, pretending to read, waiting for the door to close, when it happened, she called out.

“ Simone? Whitney?”

Soon Simone and Whitney came into Eve’s bedroom.

“ Hi Mom.”, Simone said as she sat on her bed.

” How was it? The party? How is Chad’s home.”

” Mom, it’s beautiful. I can’t believe nobody’s lived there for years. Chad has it all cleaned up. He has an entire wall of windows. I bet in the daytime, the sun that comes in is wonderful. He did a great job with the decorating.”

” Oh, I’m sure Theresa did the decorating.”, Whitney snarked.

Eve ignored it, and turned back to Simone. “ So, what is the décor?”

” I’d guess you’d describe it as elegant casual. Everything there you can sit on and be comfortable, but it cost a fortune.”

” And the party?”

” It was fun. There was a little awkwardness when we first came, between Whitney and Chad, but they got past it.” Whitney glared at Simone. “ Whit, it’s true. You had a momentary issue, and then decided to be an adult.”

” Is that right, Baby? You and Chad have made peace? About the Theresa issue?”

Whitney sighed. “ I guess so, Mom. I realize now that Chad and I wouldn’t have worked out, and I do think it’s possible for Theresa’s feelings to be genuine.”

” Whitney, why would you think differently?”

” Mom, Theresa has talked about being a Crane since the beginning of time. Wouldn’t it be natural for me to think that her interest in Chad is because of that?”

” No. I don’t think that’s natural. Are you trying to tell me that Theresa wasn’t a real friend to Chad?”

Eve was waiting for Whitney’s answer with an apprehensive breath, as a concerned mother.

Whitney sighed deeply. “ No. I know that Theresa was a true friend to Chad. She didn’t care that he had nothing.”

Eve smiled. “ Then Honey, don’t you want Chad to have a relationship with someone who knew him when he had nothing? That their relationship is based on friendship? That’s what I would want for Chad. Now that it’s known he’s a Crane, golddiggers from around the world will be making their way to Harmony.”

” Well, one’s already here.”, Simone  commented.

“ What do you mean, Simone?”

” She means that Chad had a surprise guest tonight.”

” Who?”

” Alistair Crane.”

” ALISTAIR?!”, Eve shouted, surprising both her daughters. Simone, who had been holding Eve’s hand, looked at her mother curiously.

” Mom, do you know how much you tensed up when Whitney said Alistair Crane?”

Eve looked to see both of her daughter staring at her.

” Simone, Alistair Crane is the closest thing to Walking Evil that exists in the world. Chad is certain that Alistair is responsible for what happened to him.”

” Mom, when did you talk to Chad?”, Whitney asked.

Eve looked at her daughters. “ Chad came to see me. I wanted to talk to him, after all, I was the doctor who performed his DNA test. I was concerned about him, and I wanted him to know that just because he was Julian’s son, it didn’t mean that I thought less of him. “

Simone smiled. “ Mom, that sounds just like you. So, about Alistair…he wasn’t alone. He brought a date of sorts, but I think she was for Chad moreso than for him. What do you think, Whitney?”

” Definitely. It was obvious, he wanted Chad to be with her.”

” Who was this girl?”

“ Veronica. …Veronica Townsend…”

” Of the D.C. Townsends? “

Simone laughed. “ Uh, Mom, I don’t know her social pedigree. How would you know?”

” I read, Simone. I read.”

” I don’t think Chad is interested, though.”, Whitney commented. Eve breathed a sigh of relief.

“ Girls, I’m tired. I stayed up because I wanted to dish with you two. But, we need a rest.”

“ Ok, Mom. We’ll talk tomorrow.”, Simone said as she kissed Eve goodnight. Whitney kissed Eve too and left the bedroom.

Eve picked up her cellphone and dialed Julian’s number...

” It’s me. Please tell me that Alistair isn’t trying to railroad Chad. We need to talk.”

Eve hung up the phone. How could she tell the girls that she knew the elder Townsends. That they owned a home not far from her parent’s house at Martha's Vineyard. How they were insufferable snobs, even when young, and she had read about the exploits of Harrison Townsend and his growing company. He could only imagine what kind of child Harrison and Ainsley, whom she knew from summers at Camp Atwater, had produced. Eve couldn’t help but be concerned when she heard that Alistair had shown up at Chad's party. Why was he there? Why had he brought the Townsend girl? She had flashbacks of her time with Julian; of seeing him at the Country Club with Ivy and the pain that it had brought her. She knows now that Julian didn’t love Ivy, but that didn’t stop it from stabbing her in the heart back then. Eve knew that Alistair in Chad's sphere was bad news. She hoped that Julian would be able to protect Chad from whatever Alistair had planned.