Unexpected Happenings, Chapter 14
 

TC had gotten the phone call. He drove out to the isolated part of the forest preserve where she was already waiting for him. He got out of his car and went over to her.

" Hello, Grace."

" Hi, TC."

" You called me out here. Why, Grace?"

" Because, I think we have things to discuss, TC."

" Grace, I told you. No one can ever know about us. I can’t lose my marriage."

" TC, I know how you feel. But, I need more. "

" What?"

" I need to know why I keep having what appear to be memories of the two of us. It's both of us, but we were so much younger. Younger than when I first met Sam. Is it possible, TC? Did I know you before I met Sam?"
 

" Hi Girls. I'm glad you came to lunch with me.", Sam told Jessica, Kay and Charity, as they sat in one of the secluded dining rooms at the Sea Scape.

" This isn't good, is it, Daddy?", Jessica asks.

" Baby, I can't say that it is. "

" What's wrong, Uncle Sam?"

" Your mother thinks we should live apart for awhile, and sad to say, I have to agree with her."

" Mom forced you out?", Kay asked furiously.

" No. I was clinging to lies, and your mother wants to live with truth. I…..I have messed up. I'm sorry."

" You slept with that BITCH, didn't you!", Jessica says, accusingly.

" Jessica, that is between your mother and I."

" The hell it is, Daddy. If it involves this family, it's between ALL of us!", Jessica responded heatedly.

" Jessica is right, Daddy. If our family is imploding, don't we have the right to know the WHOLE picture?", Kay chimes in.

Sam looked at the trio of girls. He had prided himself on being a solid family man all his life. His family was his pride and joy. But, who was he kidding? He had messed up, and the kids needed to know who was to blame. Grace would have a hard enough time on her own; he didn't need the girls giving her strife. Plus, he was supposed to be the man of the family.

" Yes, I betrayed your mother."

Sam couldn't even look at them when he said it. When he finally raised his head, he saw tears forming in all of their eyes. The look of disappointment on Kay's face was something that he would never forget. They were silent for a few moments. Kay and Jessica openly wept, because both of them knew their parents. And despite all the platitudes, neither one believed that their parent's marriage could be repaired.

" Do you love her?", Charity quietly asked, so soft, barely above a whisper.

Sam looked at his daughters. The look of shock on their faces told him how hard this was for them. He didn't know what to say. He thought up 10 lies, and then realized that lies is what allowed all of this to spiral out of control in the first place. So, he decided to tell the truth.

" I don't know."

There was more uncomfortable silence between the four of them and then Sam spoke up. He pulled out several of his cards and placed one in front of each of the girls, in addition to keys on a keychain.

" I'm not going to be staying at the police station anymore. I rented a small house. It's down the block from your Uncle Hank's place. The address and phone number are on the back. The keys are for the house. They are your copies.  I…I don't have much in it. I'm sorry, Girls. I'm sorry that I've disappointed you. I'm sorry that I broke apart our family. I'm sorry that I hurt your mother. I love you. All of you. I can only ask for your forgiveness. I'll always be your father. My door is always open. I…..I guess I don't have anything to say. "

Kay and Jessica just stared at their father. Then, they looked at one another. Communicating in some silent language, they got up from the table, leaving the cards and keychains in their place. Once they had left, Charity silently got up, gave Sam a sympathetic look, and took all the keychains and cards on the table.

Sam dropped his head into his hands and began to sob.
 
 

Rebecca stepped into the huge marble tub, filled with her favorite bath products. She made herself comfortable, and then took a sip from the champagne that she had ordered the staff to have available.

As she sipped the champagne, Rebecca thought about it. It was only a week away. A week before she would become Mrs. Julian Crane. She smiled that self-satisfied grin and patted herself on the back. She had known that there would be two obstacles to her being Queen of the Crane Empire: Ivy and Alistair. Ivy, because she was Julian's wife, and Alistair, because Rebecca soon came to realize that she would never enjoy the full perkdom of the Crane Kingdom as long as he was alive.

Oh, how she had worked to rectify both situations. Exploding Ethan's paternity the way that she did, she was able to get Ivy out of the Crane Family. Ivy had been such a bitch when it came to the divorce, but Rebecca made sure that Julian paid her off - even though it was against Alistair's wishes.

Alistair was another story. Rebecca had suspected, but really didn't have an understanding of the depth or the scope of Alistair's power in the family. Julian would never be under HER control, as long as Alistair was around.

So, that meant that Alistair had to go. Which she arranged.

Rebecca had to laugh out loud. So many people thought she was nothing but a slut and a bimbo. They never bothered to look at what she actually received her college degree in - Chemistry.

Yes, Reboobca Hotchkiss (people can joke, but anyone who saw her college picture, knows that hers are REAL), was a chemistry major. She always loved it. It was her dirty little secret.

And, another little passion that nobody knew about was that she loved murder mysteries. She had read them since she was a child. Murder mysteries and criminology texts - they were a diversion for her. It was how she kept her mind sharp.

It was also what would help her when she decided to put her plan into action. She knew that if she was at Julian's side long enough, that Alistair would summon her. It was the only way that it could happen.

After she helped Julian close a big deal by throwing a wonderful dinner party, Alistair summoned her to his yacht in the Mediterranean. She hadn't seen him in years, but recognized him right off the bat.

He invited her to dinner, and he complimented her on her people skills, which had helped improve the Crane bottom line. As his hand slid over her thigh under the table, she understood what that meant, and she was looking forward to it.
 

It wasn’t long before she and Alistair were in his bedroom. He had especially enjoyed the wine that Rebecca had brought with her, it being a very rare vintage. They had finished the entire bottle.

Rebecca and Alistair were soon involved in wild lovemaking. Rebecca was insatiable that night, and found herself astride of Alistair. She had been monitoring him, and she enticed him into playing a rare roleplaying game, where she tied him up, and he was at her mercy. She was in the middle of the ‘game’, when it finally came. What she had been waiting for-

The mixture of poisons that she had concocted were taking effect. Alistair began to go for his chest, but, he couldn’t because his hands were tied up. He looked into Rebecca’s eyes, and saw it, as she kept on with her thrusting. Involuntarily keeping him in the throes of passion, she was helping keep his heart attack, or whatever was happening to him continuing. Rebecca kept it up until she  had timed it to where nobody even non-human could survive the level of poisoning that she put into him. Well, she did, only because she drank very little, and she had given herself the antidote right before boarding the yacht. When the time was right, Rebecca grabbed a blanket and went into ‘crazy’ mode. Alistair’s assistant came into the deckway to see a scantily clad Rebecca, and looked inside to see a dead Alistair. Having been trained by Alistair in the art of discretion, the assistant had to slap a ‘frantic and overwrought’ Rebecca, and began to order her around, all the while, Rebecca’s whines, cries and whimpers overtook the room. But, Rebecca followed orders. She got dressed, hands trembling. The assistant made sure that Rebecca was on her way back to shore on a helicopter before she called Julian and informed him of Alistair’s ‘heart attack’. In her hurry to ‘clean up’ the potential embarrassing mess for the Cranes, the assistant didn’t notice Rebecca, who needed time alone, dropping the empty wine bottle and glasses into the ocean.

The funeral for Alistair Crane was attended by over fifteen hundred mourners, including 3 former Presidents. And Rebecca had been right by Julian’s side the entire time.

Rebecca looked at her engagement ring from Julian. Fifteen carats, and dazzling from any angle. She would become Mrs. Julian Crane. She had earned it.
 
 

" TC, I asked you if it was possible that I knew you before I met Sam?"

TC looked at Grace. He was confused. He thought that part of his life was over.

" TC?"

" Yes….Yes, Grace. You knew me before you met Sam."

Grace looked at TC with surprise.

" HOW? WHY? Why didn’t you tell me all this time that I knew you? How could you go for years and not tell me?"

" Because…I didn’t know if it really was you. When I met you, you acted as if you didn’t know me. And, then, I saw you with Sam. You loved him. He loved you. You couldn’t remember your past life, and that is what I figured I was to you. The past. A past that you couldn’t remember, and you were better off not knowing about."

" ALL THESE YEARS YOU’VE KNOWN ME AND SAID NOTHING?"

" What could I say to you, Grace? That I think I knew you in another lifetime. That if you were the same woman, that I loved you more than life itself, and I didn’t know what to do when you disappeared from my life?"

Grace was in shock. She just stared at TC.

" By that time, Grace, you had Sam, and I had Eve. I thought life would be better off if I said nothing. It had taken a lot for Sam to get over the gal who broke his heart, and it had taken a lot for me to get over mine. I…..I wasn’t in any kind of emotional health to fight another battle. As time went on, and we built our families, my decision totally seemed like the right one. Then, you found Charity, and then your sister Faith, and I thought that it was possible that Faith, and not you, was the one I had a relationship with all those years ago. No…to tell the truth, I only entertained that thought for a few moments, I knew it was you. But, Grace..we had lives. Happy lives that didn’t need to be ruined. We had found lasting love….or, so I thought."

" You….you loved me, and I…I loved you?"

" Very much."

" TC…what happened?"

" I can’t tell you what happened. I don’t know. You left to find your family. You told me that it might take a few months. You never came back. I went to the place where you letters came from in Connecticut, and nobody had seen you in awhile. I just thought you had left me and didn’t have the courage to tell me. It wasn’t until Sam brought you to Harmony, and presented you as his ‘girl’, that I knew the truth: something had brought you to Boston, you nearly died, and spent months in the hospital recuperating and then working with the mental health specialists who were trying to help you regain your memory. I…..I had lived your relationship from Sam’s side. I saw him come to life once again. I SAW him fall in love with you, and how he blossomed because of it. When I saw it was you, I couldn’t take it from him. Not when I couldn’t offer you anything. You were a new person, Grace. You didn’t remember your old life, and that is where I fit. "

" I can’t believe this.", Grace said crying. " You don’t know what these memories have been doing to me. They frighten me and calm me at the same time. They’re so beautiful, TC. So beautiful." Grace reaches out and touches TC’s face. He allows it, but then breaks away from her.

" Grace, this isn’t possible. We can’t do this. I’m still trying to keep my marriage together. "

" I know. I just…" Grace is interrupted by the ringing of her cellphone.

" Grace Bennett….yes….yes….are you sure? How is it possible? Ok,….yes..I’ll be in tomorrow. Thank you." Grace hangs up the phone and just stares at it for a few moments.

" Grace, is something wrong?"

" TC….that was my doctor. I went in for my annual physical. I…I’ll just say it. I’m pregnant."