Unexpected Happenings, Chapter 54
by SIPort
Eve, Simone and Whitney collapsed on the chairs on the ship deck. They
were breathing hard.
“ Come on, John! Lady Jane! Jerry! Jax!” Eve yelled at the Jacks family,
who barely made it aboard, but found themselves next to the Russell women.
“ That’s it. I’m not letting you and Jerry be in charge anymore. You two
just don’t know when to stop!”, Eve admonished. “ This is the third
time we nearly got left by the ship.
“ But, we always make it, don’t we?”, Jerry said, smiling. Jerry motioned
for the waiter and ordered drinks for everyone.
Everyone had their refreshments. “ The girls and I need to go. We need
rest.”
“ But, we’ll see you for dinner, right?”, Jerry asked.
“ Sure Jerry. See you later. Jane, John, Jax.”
“ Bye.”, Whitney and Simone said together.
Once back in her suite, Eve ran a nice hot bubblebath. At first she was
ashamed of the luxury accommodations, but she had to admit that she loved
it. The room was her own refuge. Eve got into the bubblebath and thought about
the great time she and the girls were having. She had apprehensions about
the vacation at first, but now, she thought it was the right thing to do.
She had loved every minute spent with the girls. Listening to the music,
she just closed her eyes and relaxed.
“ Simone, today was terrific!” Whitney said as she collapsed on the couch.
“ Face it, Whitney. Everyday’s been terrific on this vacation. The Jacks’
are so much fun.”
“ Tell me about it.”, Whitney said, blushing thinking of Jax.
“ Something tells me that you’re thinking of Jax.”
“ Well, not all of us have boyfriends that we’re crazy about.”, Whitney
teased.
Simone sighed. “ I miss Reese.”
“ Have you written him?”
“ A postcard from every port. You know the only thing bad about this trip
is that nobody knows where to send us any mail. Reese and I made a deal;
he’d mail letters to the house, and I could read them at the end of the summer.
You know, if we knew where our grandparents were..”
“ Simone, come on. Mom has barely agreed to take us to meet them. We can’t
do anything to mess that up.”
“ I know. Whitney, I don’t hate Daddy anymore.”
“ Simone, I know you don’t hate him. I don’t think we ever really hated
him. I think we were disappointed in him. A lot. But, we always loved him.”
“ It’s too soon for me to go back to Harmony, because I can’t deal with
him, but the anger’s slowly going away.”
“ I understand.”
“ I’ve bought something for Daddy…and Chad, at every port.”
Whitney smiled. “ Me too. It’s hard for me to really take in that Chad’s
our brother, but he is.”
“ It’s not his fault, Whitney. He’s the innocent one.”
“ I know, Simone. Through no fault of his own, Chad is our brother. It’s
wild, but true. In a way, Jax has helped me a lot.”
“ Because he’s gorgeous, rich, charming?”
“ Yes. And, because…”
“ He’s interested in you?”
“ Well, I think he’s enjoying spending time with me. And, my ego needed
that. It’s hard to think that I was romantically interested in my brother.
To have another guy be interested helps the ego a great deal.”
“ I’m glad for you. I know how hard it was on you.”
“ You want to know what else I’m happy about? I’ve gotten to spend so much
time with my sister!” Whitney came over and started tickling Simone. The
two of them laughed hard.
Julian was in the library when Sheridan came in.
“ Well, I heard Rebecca had moved out her things.”
“ Yes. She saw the light where I was concerned.”
“ How much did it cost for the light?”
“ A small fortune, but well worth it.”
“ Where did she send her things.”
“ The last demand for her – a place on Fifth Avenue. I was going to haggle
about it, but decided against it. Called up Barbara Corchran, and did the
deal in 30 minutes. But, now, she’s off to Monaco.”
“ Monaco?”
“ Yes. Where else is there a concentration of rich prey for Rebecca.”
Sheridan laughed. “ I guess you’re right. Now, don’t you feel good?”
“ You were right. I have to clean up my act if I want to be worthy of Eve.”
Julian’s phone rang. “ Julian Crane….yes….I see…no..you were right to call
me….of course all the arrangements are approved….yes, you can change my
plans too. Thank you.”
“ What was that?”
“ I…um…had planned to meet Eve in Bermuda. It was going to be a surprise.
That was the travel agent I put in charge of Eve’s trip. Eve had called
requesting passage on another cruise. This time in Africa.”
“ Africa?”
“ Yes. Western coast. It leaves immediately after this one ends.”
“ Well, doesn’t that mean she’s having a good time with her daughters?
Isn’t that what you want?”
“ Yes. I’m trying to reform Sheridan, but you know that a part of me is
still Old Julian, and that selfish SOB wanted what he wanted when he wanted
it. I won’t lie to you, I was looking forward to seeing Eve again.”
Julian went to his desk. “ I didn’t show you these.”
Sheridan went to the desk. “ Postcards?”
“ From every port of call. Nothing much written on them, but I have
to tell you, just knowing she was thinking of me made my heart skip a beat.”
Sheridan grinned and punched Julian lightly. “ I swear, I see a new part
to you everytime Eve is mentioned. How could I have missed it all those
years. You are NUTS about the woman.”
“ Indeed I am. And how is my niece or nephew?”
“ Doing just fine. I’m so happy, Julian. “ Sheridan began to cry. Julian
held her in his arms.
“ I know part of it is hormones, but another part is that, for the first
time in my life, I’m happy Julian. I love Luis. I have him. I have my baby.
I have my brother. And, the best part of all is….”
“ That Father’s dead? Yes, it’s ok for you to say it and feel it, Sheridan.
He meant nothing but harm to you and me always. Now, we can have peace.”
“ I love you, Julian. “
“ Thank you, Sheridan. I don’t deserve your love, but I’m happy to have
it.”