Unexpected Happenings, Chapter 17
 
 

" Tell me why the hell WE’RE here?", Luis said, pulling at his bowtie. He hated tuxedos. Almost as much as he hated Julian.

" We’re here because my brother asked me if I would come to his wedding. Luis, he’s my brother."

" So? Sheridan, for most of your life, he has treated you like crap."

" I know that, Luis. But, he reached out to me. I really think Father dying has set Julian free. Free to love."

Luis snorted at that last comment. " You can NOT be telling me that you actually think Julian LOVES Rebecca. Never were there two more suited for one another, but, LOVE doesn’t come to mind when I think about them."

Sheridan laughed. " Ok, I won’t go THAT far. But, Luis, Julian helped me when Father had that diabolical plot to kill me. I know that it hurt you to think that I was dead, but Julian protected me. He kept me alive, and brought me back to you. I told you about him reaching out to Ethan. How he apologized to him, and asked him if they could have a relationship. He’s trying, which is all I can ask. Sure, I think Rebecca is a money-hungry tramp, but she DOES seem to actually want to be around Julian, which is an improvement over Ivy. Whatever we may think, maybe this is what my brother wants for himself, and I’m going to support him."

" Yeah, well, I can’t wait for this to be over with. I just wanted to spend a nice quiet evening with my wife and growing baby.", Luis said as he lovingly put his hand on Sheridan’s expanding waistline. " Let the freak show begin."

Sheridan kissed him. " See, that’s why I love you so much."
 

Rebecca was in her room, at the mirror, looking to see if everything was Ok when Gwen came back.

" Are all the guests there? How do things look? Did the society columns arrive? I want this to be in every major paper around the world by tomorrow morning. They are going to know that there is a new Queen of the Crane Empire, and it is ME!"

" To answer your questions, yes, the guests are here; everything looks perfect; and I’ve seen 4 columnists…did you invite anymore? Everything is ready. The minister is at the Altar, and all it needs is the bride and groom."

" Groom? You mean Julian’s not downstairs yet?"

" No, Mother."

" Why not? He knows what time I want to start. I want for everything to be finished in time for the columnists to get it in tomorrow’s editions. The photographers have to have time to develop the pictures!", Rebecca exclaimed with a pout.

Gwen rolled her eyes. " Mother, you will be married. Now, let’s just look at you, and get those final touches just ‘so’."

Rebecca would never turn down a chance to look at herself in the mirror, so she and Gwen went back to do the ‘final touches’.
 

TC was sitting on his couch, looking around at the room. All the pictures on the floor. All the knicknacks that he and Eve had so carefully bought for their home.

Their home.

For the first time, it really hit him. They don’t have a home anymore. In the back of his mind, he had almost convinced himself that there was a way for it all to work out. That this wasn’t as bad as the voice in the back of his head had warned him it would be. But, it was. His heart was broken. The look in Eve’s eyes was something he would never forget.

He picked up a picture of Simone and Whitney, and his tears began again. He couldn’t imagine how he would tell his daughters that he had betrayed their mother and fathered another child. He thought about his daughters and the faith that they had in him. The faith that he had betrayed. How could this have all happened? How could he have let it.

He was so engrossed in his thoughts that he didn’t hear the knock on the door, or the person coming in.

" Mios Dio! TC, are you alright? Were you hurt by the burglars?", Pilar said as she rushed to TC’s side.

TC looked up at Pilar in confusion. " Pilar, what are you doing here?"

" I came to drop off some papers for the Church Scholarship Committee for Eve. Did you call Sam and report the robbery?"

" Robbery?"

" Yes, TC, to try and catch who did THIS to your house?"

TC finally connected with what Pilar was saying. " There was no robbery, Pilar. No robbery at all. Eve and I had a disagreement."

" Disagreement? About what? What could upset someone enough to do all of this?"

" An affair."

" Affair?", Pilar asked in shock. She couldn’t believe it. TC finally knew about Julian and Eve. No wonder there was no sign of Eve, TC destroying the room like this probably frightened her off.

" I’m so sorry, TC. I know it must have come as a shock."

" That my wife would react like this to me having an affair? No, I can’t say that I’m surprised."

" EVE did all of this?….YOU had an affair?"

TC nods his head. " Yes, and because of it, I’ve destroyed my family. What would my father say, Pilar? He would be so disappointed in me."

Pilar takes TC’s hand. " He would be disappointed in your actions, but still love his son."

" I’m a horrible husband and father."

" You have made an egregious mistake, yes. But, you are a wonderful father. "

" You should have seen her face, Pilar. She was destroyed."

" She’s upset right now, but after she calms.."

TC shakes his head. " No. No amount of time is going to calm Eve with regards to this. I’ve ruined my life."

" No. You can’t think like that. As long as you are all alive, and in the same place, it’s NOT ruined."

TC looked at Pilar. This woman who still held out hope that Martin and Antonio would come home. She was right. At least he knew that Eve was still around Harmony, and that his children were alive and safe. That was something.

" TC, do you want me to call Sam? Maybe you need him right now."

" Sam? No. I…..I need to think this through by myself."

" I can stay with you and talk."

" No, Pilar. Thank you, but, this is something I have to do alone."

" Ok. Well, you know my number."

Pilar hugs TC and leaves.

TC finds an old picture of him and his father. " Dad, I’m sorry. I let you down. I let everyone down."
 

Julian Crane looked at himself one last time in the mirror.

" Next time I see you, you’ll be a married man. " Julian cracks a slight smile, and begins to go to his door, when he hears his cellphone ring. He debates with himself as to whether he should answer it, and decides to do so.

" Julian Crane."

There was silence on the other end of the phone. " Julian Crane", he states, and is about to hang up his phone, when he hears the caller on the other end. The sound is unfamiliar at first, and then he recognizes that it’s crying.

" Hello? Are you ok? This is Julian Crane."

Nothing on the line, but the crying.

" Well, I’m about to hang up. Good-"

" Julian?", the voice says softly, barely above a whisper. Though the voice was a whisper, Julian could never forget it.

" Eve?"
 

The quartet leader looked at his watch. He was told, come hell or high water, he was supposed to begin playing the wedding march at this time. He had been threatened if he didn’t. So, he didn’t care if the groom wasn’t at the altar, he instructed his fellow musicians to begin playing ‘Here Comes The Bride’.

Rebecca hearing her song, lights up like a Christmas tree. " This is it, Gwennie! I’m about to become Mrs. Julian Crane."

Rebecca and Gwen went down the stairs, and made it to the entrance of the Crane Living Room. Gwen and Rebecca looked and saw that there was no groom.

" Where the hell is Julian?", Rebecca asked. Gwen shrugged her shoulders, and  looked to Rebecca to cue her as to what she should do. Rebecca, seeing all the guests turned around to look at her. She can’t run, so she squares her shoulders and walks down the aisle to the altar. Where she waits.

And waits.

The quartet continues to play.

And, they wait.

Rebecca is looking first nervous, and then the fury was coming into her eyes. Sheridan gets up and states, " I’ll see what’s taking my brother."

Sheridan goes upstairs, and knocks on Julian’s door. She opens it, and looks inside, but no Julian. She comes back downstairs, and realizes that he’s not at the altar. She goes to the library. No Julian. She goes one last place.

Sheridan comes back into the living room, and goes up to Rebecca.

" Where is your brother?", she barks.

" I don’t know. But, he’s not here. His car is gone."