Sacrifices of the Soul, Chapter 26
 

TC was watching Whitney practice with the tennis pro that he had gotten to come help and train her. But, his mind wasn’t on Whitney’s tennis. It was back in the past:

[FLASHBACK]

Grace and Eve were sitting on a blanket, watching the rowers come past in their boats on the Charles River.

" Eve, I wanted to thank you for arranging this picnic."

" Grace, it’s no bother. I thought all of us could use a break."

" I know. I can’t believe that I had this sudden craving for ice cream. I hope Sam isn’t mad at me."

" I don’t think Sam could ever be mad at you."

Grace blushed. " He’s wonderful, isn’t he?"

" He’s pretty special. And, he thinks you are too."

" You think? I don’t know what to think or feel these days. You can’t….you can’t imagine the terror of waking up in a hospital room, not knowing where you are or how you got there.", Grace’s eyes began to tear.

Eve reached out and put her hand on top of Grace’s. " Grace. You don’t have to worry about that. You will figure out your past in your own time. None of us are going to put any pressure on you."

" Eve’s right, Grace.", TC says, coming up with Sam, holding 4 cups of ice cream.

" She sure is, Grace", Sam replies, handing Grace her cup. " You don’t have to rush for any of us. We’re all friends here, right?"

TC and Eve nod in agreement.

" Sam, I hope you didn’t hate me wanting the ice cream first."

" Nonsense, Grace. I’m so happy that you want to eat. They told me at the hospital t hat you haven’t been eating much of anything. "

" No. I’ve been…sort of, I guess, depressed. Thinking about what I don’t have and don’t know."

Sam takes Grace’s hand. " You don’t have to be scared, Grace. You’ve got me, TC and Eve too. Even though we’re all going to be in different places this summer, we’re going to be there for you. You remember how to write, don’t you?"

Grace smiles. " Yes."

" Then, we’re all only a letter away.", Sam says, pointing to himself and TC. " And, Eve, she’ll be in town. I bet Eve will be willing to visit you."

" I don’t want to intrude, Eve.", Grace says.

" Intrude? There’s no intrusion. I’ll be busy this summer, but, I’m sure I’ll have one afternoon a week, where we could have lunch. "

" I would like that."

" Me too, Grace."

Grace ate her ice cream in record time. Sam laughed. "Grace, I didn’t think you knew how to eat like that."

Grace smiled. " I didn’t either, but, that ice cream just tasted so good. What have you got there, Eve?"

Eve unpacked the picnic basket, and they were all amazed by the depth of the selections: fried chicken, 2 salads, 3 different types of sandwiches, stuffed grape leaves, 2 desserts.

" Eve, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a picnic basket look this good. Did you make ALL of this?", Sam said in awe.

Eve nodded.

" Wow.", TC replied as he digged into it.

Everyone got a plate and piled on the food. Eve liked the fact that they enjoyed her food. Yes, she had made it all. Eve was an excellent cook. The life she led was a lonely one, and in order to keep up the pretense, you have to be without friends. One can study only so much, until it can drive you mad. There are only a few things to do when one gets that lonely: drink, drugs, or find a productive hobby. Since Eve had done the other two, and gave them up when she turned around her life, it left #3. She had taken up cooking, because it was something she could do inside of her apartment, which had a fantastic kitchen. Plus, she and Julian spent so much time there, that having different kinds of meals made it more bearable. Plus, over the years, Eve had met several group of women that were her mentors in the kitchen. She had learned the stuffed grape leaves, and other Middle Eastern dishes from some Arab women in the building. She had met them while she did the laundry. They didn’t only teach her their way of cooking, but, because they had spent so much time under a British influence, she learned Backgammon and Bridge from them too.  Then, there was the Indian maid and her boss, who had shown her all the possibilities with curry and other Indian spices. She had learned Thai, Russian and Mexican cooking from women in the building. There wasn’t much that Eve didn’t know how to fix. But, this was one of the rare times that she had an opportunity to fix it for a group.

" Sam, when do you leave?", Eve asked, munching on a grape leaf.

" I’ll be gone next week for almost the entire summer."

Grace looks sad. " I’ll miss you."

" Me too, Grace, but, when I decided upon the Reserves, instead of Active Duty, this was the training that I had to take."

" I know that. But, I’ll still miss you."

" You’ll be OK. You have that work with Dr. Toussant this summer.", Sam commented.

Grace looked apprehensive. " I know. But, would it be ridiculous if I said that I was scared?"

TC shook his head." Heck no, Grace. It’s not ridiculous. Dr. Toussant is one of the best. And, you really did get lucky that she was willing to work with you. "

" Well, we have Eve to thank for that.", Grace says.

" No thanks necessary, Grace. Dr. Toussant looked at your case, and thought that you would be very interesting to work with, this summer."

" I can’t believe that she also helped me get a job."

" She knows which kinds of work aren’t too taxing for you, this time in your recovery. She thinks the job will help you in your therapy."

" I hope so.", Grace says. " TC, are you psyched about your study project this summer?"

Sam and TC look at one another, with a stricken look on their faces.

" Did I say something wrong?", Grace says.

" TC, what’s Grace talking about?", Eve asks.

" Eve, why don’t we go for a walk."

TC and Eve get up and begin walking down beside the Charles River.

" TC, what did Grace mean? A study project. I thought you were finished with your Masters."

" I wanted to tell you tonight, but, since Grace spilled the beans, I guess now is the time. You’re right. I did finish all the work for my Masters. But, when I entered Harvard, I was accepted into the Ph.D. Program for History. I had made up my mind to just complete the double Masters, and then leave…but…"

" But?"

" I wanna help kids. I know that. I get a real sense of calm when I think about myself and young people. The kind of calm t hat comes with knowing that what you’re doing it right for yourself. And, I thought that maybe it was a waste for me to get a Ph.D., if I really wasn’t going to ‘use’ it."

" TC, that’s silly. Plenty of people with PhD’s don’t ‘use’ them directly. The knowledge is for themselves."

TC smiles. " That’s been my mother’s argument. Well, I had written 4 professors that I wanted to work with, and I had told myself that I would continue on in the Ph.D. program, if I was accepted by one of them."

" You’ve been accepted, haven’t you?"

" Eve, not just by ANY of the four, but by my #1 Choice! His name is John Hope Franklin, and, I think he’s one of the most brilliant scholars ever. And, he wants ME to come work with him. ME. He rarely takes students outside of his own school, but, he accepted me."

" Of course he did. You’re wonderful, TC." Eve turned away from him. " When do you leave?", she said quietly.

TC walked around to face her. " In a week. I’ll be gone until January."

" JANUARY!"

" Eve, it was the time that he wanted. I don’t want to be away from you, but.."

" This is your career, TC. I would never try to hold you back. I won’t lie. I’m going to miss you."

" Me too. But, there’s a 3 week break in between the end of summer and the beginning of fall term. Promise me that you’ll spend it with me? Eve?"

Eve looked at TC almost in a panic. Julian liked to take her on a trip during  the summer. Well, she could arrange it so that Julian thinks she had to work, and take their trip earlier.

" TC, I would love to take the trip with you. I’ll be looking forward to it all summer."

TC gave Eve a kiss. " It will work out, Eve. The time will fly. And, we’ll write all the time. I ….almost turned him down."

" TC, why?"

" Because, I didn’t want to leave you."

Eve was overwhelmed. " TC. I would never want you to make a decision of that magnitude, based upon me."

" I know. I realized that I was being crazy. We are two adults. And, that we want what’s best for the other. If we can’t trust one another to be away from one another, doing something productive, then what kind of a relationship do we have?"

Eve reached out and touched TC’s face. " No one has ever believed in me the way that you do."

" I can’t believe that, Eve. I can’t believe that some other guy didn’t notice a gem like you before. Their loss. My gain."

TC and Eve kiss once again, and turn around to join Grace and Sam.
 

[ END OF FLASHBACK]

TC sighs, and turns his attention to Whitney and her lessons. Watching Whitney, he can’t help but feel his anger subside. Maybe it wasn’t all a joke. After all, they had Whitney and Simone, and they are real proof of the relationship that he and Eve had.
 
 

Chad was in the middle of his morning duties at the construction site, when the foreman called him.

" Yo Harris! You got visitors!"

Chad looked down and saw Ethan and Gwen there. He went down to the ground, and to them.

" Ethan. Gwen. What’s up? Something happen to Julian. He sick or something?"

Ethan shook his head. " No, Chad. Nothing’s wrong with Father."

" Then, why are the two of you here?"

" Well, I have something to ask you."

" Here? Now?"

" I didn’t want to lose my nerve, or let anyone talk us out of it. Chad, Gwen and I wanted to know….would you be the Godfather to our child?"

Chad looked at Ethan and Gwen, who had a slight smile on her face.

" What? You gotta be kidding me."

Ethan shook his head. " No. This is no joke. We want this. Both of us."

Chad turned to Gwen. " You ain’t down with this, are you?"

" Actually Chad, it was Gwen’s idea. She thought it was a way for us to start anew."

" Ethan, would you mind it if I spoke with Chad for a minute alone?"

Ethan nodded and wandered away.

" Chad, I know that this might sound a little off to you."

" A little?"

" Ok, a lot off. But, I’ve been thinking about my baby, and what I want for him or her. And, I want good things for my child. The choice for Godmother was a no-brainer: Sheridan. But, the Godfather. I don’t have any other family, outside of my mother. And, you are Ethan’s only brother. Eventually, I believe your hard stance against the Cranes will soften, and you will want to forge some sort of a relationship with the family, which includes Ethan. Once upon a time, you two were friends. Now, you are brothers. I think Ethan would like to be friends again."

" He did stuff that I ain’t down with."

" I know that. But, it all worked out for the best. Ethan and I got married, and now, we’re going to have a baby. Life goes on. You don’t like the Cranes already here, fine. My child is innocent and hasn’t been born yet. You want  ‘positive influence’ on the Cranes, why not begin here?"

" YOU thought this up. So, that means, Ethan wasn’t down with it."

" Not true. His eyes lit up when I suggested it. He wants it as much as I do."

Ethan returns to the duo. Chad looks at him, and extends his hand.

" If you’re for real, I accept. I’ve never been a Godfather. But, I’ll try. "

Ethan accepts Chad’s handshake and smiles. " Thanks, Chad."
 
 

Julian and Sheridan were in the library, arguing over a charity proposal when Ivy walks in on them.

" Julian! You have to talk to Ethan."

" Ivy. What has you so upset?"

" You have to talk to Ethan."

" What could the Golden Boy have done to upset you so?"

" Do you know what my son is going now?"

" No…but, you’re going to tell me."

" He’s gone to ask CHAD to be the baby’s Godfather."

Julian let it sink in, and then burst into a wide smile.

" And?"

" And? Chad, the Godfather to Ethan and Gwen’s baby?"

" I love it.", Sheridan chimes in.

" Well, it’s rare, but, I agree with my sister. What’s wrong with it, Ivy?"

" Chad doesn’t even like Ethan."

" They’re brothers, Ivy.", Julian reminds her. " Since when does liking someone have anything to do with relationships in this family."

" Good point, Julian.", Sheridan chimes in.

" He might….might..harm the baby."

Julian’s smile turns to a frown. " I’m warning you, My Pet. Don’t you EVER say such things around Ethan and Gwen. Chad may not have much use for the rest of us, but, he would NEVER hurt a child."

" Oh, and you know this because?"

" Because, he is his mother’s son…that’s why. If Ethan and Gwen have decided upon Chad, then I am going to support MY son to the fullest extent. I think it’s a wonderful gesture, and I’m going to tell Ethan, as soon as I see him."

Ivy throws up her hands, and stomps out of the Library.

Julian looks over to see Sheridan grinning, ear to ear.

" Spill it, Sheridan. You’re aching to say something."

" I think it’s terrific. And, it’s a wonderful step in the right direction."

" What direction is that, dare I ask?"

" The direction of bringing your son into the family. You can’t fool me, Julian. Not about this. You want Chad as a part of this family so much. I can see it in your face. There was joy in your eyes, Julian. It’s such a rare occurrence with you, that I noticed it right away. There’s no crime in loving your son, Julian. The only one perverted enough to think so was Father, and he can’t say anything anymore. You want Chad as part of your family."

" And, if I did? A baby is one thing, Sheridan. The rest of us? An entirely different story."

" A step is a step. So, admit it….." , Sheridan teases.

" Ok. I want Chad as a part of my life. As a part of my family."

Sheridan folded her arms in an ‘I told you so’, position.
 

Ivy, meanwhile, had returned to the Living Room, furious.

" Gwen and Ethan can’t have Chad as the baby’s Godfather. That is bringing Chad TO the family. And, I can’t let that happen. I have to protect Ethan’s position as Heir. "

Ivy looked over the final guest list and preliminary seating arrangements for Ethan’s party. The original plan she had in mind for Chad, had to be changed. His experience at the party  HAD to drive him further away from the Cranes. Ivy believed  that by the time that night was over, Chad would want nothing to do with the Cranes ever again.