Theresa was sitting in front of her vanity, putting on the last touches of her makeup. She had decided on the outfit for the evening- a nice simple black dress. Nothing to fancy, but, fancy enough for the Sea Scape. Theresa didn’t know what to think about this evening with Chad. They were friends, and Theresa had to admit that she was looking forward to an evening out. She had been such a homebody lately. If she wasn’t at work, she was at home these days. Her friendship with Whitney all but ruined, and Ethan married, to say that Theresa had totally lost her focus, would not be an understatement. The only thing that had occupied her life longer than her love for Ethan, was her friendship with Whitney. Theresa looked at a picture of the two of them taken only months ago. Theresa never could have believed that her life would turn out like this….but, it has.

Before sad thoughts overwhelmed her, T heresa shook them out of her head, and went to put on her dress.

“ Only good thoughts.”, she said while stepping into her dress.
 

Chad was putting on his tux, and had everything on, except for the tie. He tried tying it himself, but, was all thumbs.

“ Dammit!”, he muttered.

He looked at the tie and thought about why he never thought he’d have to ever learn how to tie one. Chad’s thoughts immediately went to Whitney. He had never learned how to tie a bowtie, because, he thought that it would be one of the ‘special’ things that Whitney would always do for him.

Chad admonished himself for even thinking that way. “ Whitney won’t be doing anything for you, Chad.”

Chad hadn’t understood Whitney’s subsequent hostility towards him following that night, but, in time had come to believe that it was in turn with Whitney’s defense mechanisms. And, Chad thought that if that was the way that Whitney could get through this, then, he was in no position to say anything about it. The days of him having any right to say anything about Whitney’s life had ended nearly 6 months ago.

Chad picked up his wallet, which contained his brand new credit cards. He’d never had an American Express Card, and was surprised when his application was approved. He wanted to just dress up, and enjoy someone’s company. Most people had a weird look for him, or they looked torn as to how they should treat him. Theresa had been a port in the storm for him, and this dinner was a way of showing his appreciation for her continued friendship in his life.

Chad knew that the last year had been as hard on Theresa, as it had been on him. They were definitely kindred spirits of heartache, and she needed this night too. While Theresa had always been full of hopes and dreams, and had seen them all dashed, Chad had waited nearly all his life to even have <I> A </I> dream, so, when it crashed and burned, the devastation had been complete.

Chad checked himself in the mirror and headed out the door for the L-F house. He was ready for a good time.

Ivy Crane slammed the door to her bedroom with a fury. She had just returned home from the boating fiasco. Sam had gotten back to shore and left her for dinner, and then returned back to free a naked Ivy from the railing.

“ Sam Bennett! I can’t believe you. This is not the way a gentleman acts!”

“ That’s because a gentleman usually deals with ladies, something you were definitely not. Once again, let me spill it out for you, Ivy. I love my wife. I’m devoted to my wife. I’m not ABOUT to throw away everything I’ve built with Grace for a roll in the hay with you. I have to give it to you, Ivy. You’ve been around the Cranes long enough, you have Cranespeak down perfectly. Why don’t you search the crevices of your mind, and try to come up with an explanation for why I believe your ‘ it’s only between us’ argument is full of holes. The Ivy I THOUGHT I knew back then, would know.”

With that, Sam left the boat, and Ivy got dressed and returned home.

Ivy pulled out her locket and opened it to her pictures of Ethan and Sam.

“ Oh, Sam. Don’t you know how much we belong together? That WE share a child? That WE were a family first? If only you knew the truth.”, but Ivy stopped herself. She had come this far to secure Ethan’s place as Crane Heir. Nothing was going to stop her from continuing to do so.

Especially now that Chad’s existence has been confirmed by DNA tests. Chad is definitely a Crane, and the strongest threat to Ethan’s existence. With Alistair incapacitated, Ivy believed that it was possible that Ethan’s place as heir is no longer as assured as it once was. She tried to broach the subject of Chad and his ‘rights’ as a Crane with Julian, but, Julian had made it quite clear that he won’t talk about the subject of HIS son with anyone but his mother, and that isn’t Ivy.

Ivy went to her safe and opened it, and took out the copies of the pictures. The infamous pictures. After all of Julian’s posturing and Eve’s self-righteousness, she had been jubilant when the proof was finally in her hands, after she smashed the bird with a mallett down in the Crane basement, and out came tumbling the pictures. Not just any pictures. They were hot and lewd and down and dirty. At first, Ivy couldn’t believe it. The oh-so-righteous Dr. Russell enjoying herself with Julian. She had thought that this what she needed to get back Sam. But, Eve wasn’t exactly the most willing of accomplices, and after the ‘incident’, Ivy was sure that Eve wasn’t mentally all there. And, even if she was, Ivy valued her life too much to get on Eve’s bad side..life was too short.

It’s all moot, Ivy thought. Eve had been exposed in one of the most hideous ways possible, and the pictures held no value whatsoever. There were no power in them anymore. Ivy wasn’t sure where Eve was, it seemed like she had dropped off the face of the earth. Ivy just hoped Eve stayed away for a long time. Ivy thought for sure that Eve would have exposed HER when her own life fell apart, but, Eve was too busy dealing with the shattered remains of her life to give Ivy any consideration..and, thus, her pursuit of Sam was still a secret to Julian and Grace. Ivy thought Alistair might have known what she was up to, but, the old man was a vegetable following his stroke, and he wouldn’t be telling anybody anything. No, things were good for Ivy. She could go after Sam unobstructed..when Eve was exposed, Ivy had made sure to slither on over to Grace, and provide the ‘support’ she needed when her disappointment in her friend had upset her. Eve had been such a pillar to Grace, that when her past was revealed, Grace was shattered. Ivy made sure that Grace heard the whisperings about Charity, and that Eve had put Charity’s mental health in danger when she ‘took care’ of Charity during her ‘hallucinations’. It was on Ivy’s encouragement that Grace became outraged enough to get Eve thrown out of the hospital, and can possibly lose her medical license. That scheme didn’t work as well as Ivy had thought, because ‘someone’, Ivy knows that it’s Julian, has been delaying the Medical Review Board. Only a Crane could have that kind of power. Ivy wonders what other things Julian has been doing for Eve.

From Pilar, Ivy had heard that TC had thrown Eve out of their house and barred her from their children. Ivy didn’t know where Eve was, only that she had a room at the Harmony Hotel. Noone had seen her in months, and Ivy’s been able to work Sam all that time. Though, the boat trip didn’t go as planned, Ivy knew that she was going to succeed. She was working unimpeded, with Eve gone and Julian so distracted now that he was actually running the Crane Empire. He never bothered her anymore. In fact, Julian barely spoke to her at all. And, that suited Ivy just fine.

Ivy stepped into the hot tub, and thought about her next scheme to land Sam.
 

“ Gwen, are you sure about this?”, Ethan yelled into the bathroom.

“ Absolutely, Ethan. You’ve been working TOO hard, and it’s time that we took an evening for ourselves. Come on, it will be fun. “ Gwen comes out of the bathroom, dressed in a slinky black dress. Ethan whistles.

“ You like?” , Gwen asks, crossing the floor to kiss Ethan.

“ Very much.”

“ Well, enjoy this figure while you can. Because, soon enough, I’ll be like a beached whale.”

Ethan laughs and kisses Gwen on the cheek. “ You will NOT be a beached whale. You’ll be the mother of my child.”

“ Same thing.”

Ethan takes her hand. “ Come on, let’s go before your hormones kick in and you get irrational about this.”

“ Ethan Crane! Me? Irrational?”

“ My father warned me about this.”

Gwen rolled her eyes. “Ethan, Julian is the LAST person you need to be listening to.”, and they left.
 

TC Russell closed his cellphone and placed it on the table.

“ Still no answer, Daddy?”, Whitney asked.

“ No. Simone KNEW that I wanted her here too.”

“ Daddy, it’s only a tennis celebration, no big deal.”

“ Whitney, I know that’s what I told you, but, there was something else that I wanted to discuss with you girls, tonight. Something very important.”

Whitney felt the knot in her stomach tighten. She reached out and grabbed ahold of TC’s closest hand. “ Just tell me, Daddy. You can tell Simone later.”

“ Ok….I’ve filed the papers. I’ve filed for divorce.”

Whitney squeezed his hand. “ Oh Daddy, I thought you were talking about something BAD happening. I think it’s a very positive step.”

“ You do?”

“ Certainly. I didn’t think that you would stay married. After all, everything you had built your life upon was a lie. Why would I want you to stay married to a complete liar?”

TC sighed. “ I know, Princess. I thought about it, but , there is no way. My concern is mainly for you and  Simone and your welfare.”

“ By welfare, do you mean custody, Daddy?”

“ Yes.”

“ Well, I’m 18, so a judge can’t tell me what to do with regards to HER. But, Simone…”

“ Simone is still a minor.”

“ Daddy, you have to protect Simone! You can’t let her get near Simone. She’ll contaminate her, and turn her into every bit the liar  that she is. She’s a bad influence Daddy, and this is a delicate time in Simone’s life. Who knows what undue influence from the wrong element can do to her. Daddy, you always said that you would protect us, Daddy.”

“ I know, Whitney, but, she is your mother.”

“ What kind of mother would do what she did, Daddy? She laid a foundation for us based on lies. How cruel and vicious was it of her to do that to us, Daddy? I thought parents were supposed to PROTECT their children from harm. And, sometimes, unfortunately, that harm comes from a parent. I don’t see how anyone can look at her,  and not consider the situation that she placed us in, abusive. You would protect Simone from any person on the street that would abuse her…..this is no different. Simone’s younger  Daddy. Not just in years, but, in spirit too. She needs your protection. If you won’t protect Simone, who will? “

TC brought her hand up to his mouth and kissed it. “ You’re right, Princess. Simone is the one who should get my consideration. And, my protection. I won’t allow her to hurt Simone anymore than she already has. “

Whitney smiles at her father. “ I knew that you would do the right thing, Daddy.”
 
 

“ Ok Chad, what gives? What is the deluxe special?”

Chad moves closer to Theresa and motions for her to lean in to. “ Ok, there are certain things that you learn working in a place like this. I used to watch these guys come in with the ladies, and I used to marvel at how, eventually, this fantastic meal, from top to bottom, with right wines, would just appear. At first I thought that all these guys were just smarter than me, you know. But, one evening, when I was on my break, I just went up to one of these guys and asked him how he had learned to order the ‘right stuff’ at places like this. This guy told me that he couldn’t pronounce half the stuff he had for dinner, and that the Sea Scape helped out guys like him, who wanted to impress their dates. That everyday, they offer a 6 course meal, designed from top to bottom, wines included..you know, like the big meals they offer at Chinese Restaurants, but, way more expensive.”

“ But, I didn’t see it on the menu.”

“ See, that’s the beauty of it. It’s not on the menu, because the ladies would know what the story was. It’s like a closely kept male secret or something. The guy usually says something like ‘ I already pre-ordered, and the waiter knows what he means. Or, the guy told me to order the Deluxe Special Menu. “

“ No way. “, Theresa says with a smile.

“ Yep. So, you see, those in the know, don’t always have the answers. They use a cheat sheet.”

“ Lesson learned. “

“ Are you having a good time?”

“ Yes, I am Chad.”

“ I was wondering..what are you going to do?”

“ Do?”

“ Theresa, you hate that job of yours. What are you going to do with your life?”

“ I’m beginning to realize it.”

“ Realize what?”

“ How completely pathetic I must have sounded to anyone with a brain. I had pinned all my hopes and my future on becoming Mrs. Ethan Crane. There was no room for anything else. Nothing logical or solid or structured. No, my job was going to be Mrs, Ethan Crane, so what else in the world mattered? Nothing. Everything was wrapped up in Ethan.”

As if on cue, “ Well, well. Theresa. And  Chad! Now, this is a surprise. Ethan come over here and say hello to Theresa and your brother.”, Gwen smirked as she came up to the table.
 

“ Daddy? Whitney?” Simone called out as she entered the dark house. When she received no answer, she went to the front door and called out, “ They’re not here. Come on in.”

The young man came into the house and whistled. “ Oh, you gotta be kidding me. People actually live this way?”

“ Sure. Mostly everybody I know.”

“ Sugar, most folks don’t live the ‘Huxtables come to Harmony’ life.”

“ We aren’t the Huxtables..well, not since my mother..”

“ Yeah. Your mom had another life. Boo hoo. I feel for you, Princess.”

“ Well, it IS serious. My mother’s gone.”

The young man went over to the pictures. He saw Simone, TC,  and Whitrney. “ Where da pics of your mom?”

“ My father threw them all away.”

“ Damn! He’s one cold mutha.” He turns away from the pictures. “ Didn’t come here for no family reunion. You said that we could have privacy…. I didn’t see nothing wrong with my car.” He grabs Simone and begins kissing her harshly. He moved her over to the couch and soon had her on the couch with himself on top. It had been some time since he was with one this ‘ripe’: good looking, body with all the accents in the right places, and totally clueless. He could sense it when he was going a bit too far with her, and of course, he knew how to ease up, with the kissing, yet, making sure that his hands did their magic, keeping her hot for him.

When he stopped kissing her, Simone opened up her eyes. “ What’s wrong?”

“ Nothing, Baby, just thought we needed a break.”

Simone could not hide her disappointment. “Oh..Ok.”

He took a joint and was about to light it when Simone said, “ What are you doing?!”

“ About to get my groove going. Don’t start trippin’.”

“ Not in this house. My father will smell it, and I don’t need that kind of trouble.”

“ Damn! Are you a child? Do I got a ‘Pokemon’ Girl? I don’t need this shit. I got WOMEN that know better than to bitch. I’m outta here.”

He gets up to leave and Simone calls after him. “ Hakim, wait! I’m not a girl. I’m a woman…but, I have a brain. And, I know better than to piss my father off. If we do it outside, nobody will be the wiser.“

“ WE, Princess?”

Simone takes the joint out of his hand and puts it in her mouth and drags on it, as they go out the back door. Exhaling, “ Sure. You didn’t think that I would let you have all the fun, did you?”