The Fine Print - Chapter 12
by yhh
"Simone, honey, are you okay?" Eve asked concerned, taking in her daughter's
distraught appearance.
Walking inside her mother's new house, the teen threw her arms around her
bathrobe clad mother.
Eve was frightened. She and Simone spoke sporadically, mostly through emails.
And her youngest daughter had only visited her new home once before. Something
must be terribly wrong for Simone to be here now. "Honey, whatever it is
you can tell me. Are you hurt?" the mother questioned gently as she led her
daughter to the sofa.
Finally gathering enough strength, Simone lifted her head from her mother's
bosom and spoke. "She threw out our pictures. She put them in the trash-
-like- -like we didn't exist. We existed! We were a family! Daddy didn't
say anything to her. Why didn't he say anything to her?! Doesn't he care-
-" the younger brunette sobbed as she lowered her head once again.
Tightening her arms around her daughter, Eve rocked her and sang softly
the song her mother sang to her when she was hurt or in pain. She should have
known Liz was involved. Why couldn’t that woman be happy? Liz was officially
Mrs. Thornton Chandler Russell. What more did the viper want? But she already
knew the answer; her younger sister wouldn't be satisfied until every trace
of herself was gone from the house, from TC's, Whit's, and Simone's memory.
Liz Sanbourne wanted to be the only wife and mother TC and the girls had
ever known. Her sister was fighting a losing battle.
Was she hurt TC had married Liz so quickly after their divorce? Not really.
She felt bad for TC, for the fact that a good man was stuck with her controlling,
manipulative, never satisfied sister for the rest of his life. Liz would
have to murder one of the girls in order for TC to leave her. His pride wouldn't
allow him to admit marrying Liz was a mistake and it sure as hell wouldn't
let him have two divorces under his belt. Her heart ached for the grief
and misery that lay ahead for her ex.
She had surprised herself by not being heartbroken when she found out about
Liz and TC. Taking a step away from the situation and being truly honest
with herself, Eve realized she had slowly been distancing herself emotionally
from her marriage- -maybe even falling out of love with TC, when Julian and
she started acknowledging their past, particularly when the search for their
son began. She hadn't even realized it at the time, but it was the only explanation
for her not being devastated by the rapid changes that happened in her marriage
and to the man whom she had been married to for over twenty years.
Maybe she was being cynical; maybe all Liz needed was the love of a good
man to bury the younger woman's insecurities. She didn't think so, but for
TC's sake she would hope for the best. She and TC had shared too much for
her to wish him ill-will, though sometimes when his tongue ran away from
him it was hard to remember that. "She's scared."
"What?"
Lifting her daughter's head, she wiped her face with her bathrobe. "Liz
is scared that you won't love her- -"
"How can I love her or even like her? I can barely tolerate her. She destroyed
our family."
"No, she didn't. I did. Your father did. Liz was just the catalyst- -"
"How can you say that? How can you be so- -so kind towards her?" Simone
asked puzzled.
Eve sighed. "If I had been honest with your dad on our first date or when
I knew our relationship was turning serious, then Liz would have had nothing
to hold over my head. If your dad didn't have me on a pedestal or have such
a temper and intolerable attitude towards all things Crane, then maybe we
would still be a family. It's all speculation. We, as the adults, all made
choices and now unfortunately, you, Whit, Grace, John, Sam, Noah, Kay, Jess,
Charity, and not to mention countless others have been hurt and I’m so sorry
for that. I never wanted to hurt you, your sister or your dad. As for my
kindness to Liz, I wouldn't call it kindness, per se. I left her alone with
our Aunt Irma knowing that our aunt's craziness would all be directed towards
Liz. I never once went back or called so I think some of my feelings have
to do with the guilt I feel. I suffer from my own sense of survivor's guilt.
I don't know if my years in Boston were better than her years with Aunt Irma,
but I know those years were hard on her and that Liz wasn't as strong as
I was. And also, even with all the lies I've been telling over the past two
decades, I've been blessed with having some pretty incredible people in
my life. I'm not sure Liz has. I can't afford to waste any more of my time
or energy on hating, disliking, or even thinking about Liz. I have other
things to concentrate on, like repairing my relationship with you, your
sister, building one with Ethan, Gwen, Ethan-Martin- -"
"And Julian?"
Ah, here it was the long awaited Julian talk. Eve nodded. "And yes, with
Julian." She waited to see how Simone would react to that and much to her
delight she didn't see total disgust and hatred flash in her daughter's
eyes. If anything, she thought she saw acceptance. Could it be? Had she
really seen acceptance? As she began to ask Simone about her feelings, the
doorbell rang. Looking quickly at her watch, she knew it was Julian ready
for their date. What should she do? The doorbell rang again.
"Mom, aren't you going to get that?"
"Yes, let me take care of this and we can continue our discussion." The
doctor ran to the door, opened it, and found Julian's face buried behind at
least a two dozen lilacs, her favorite flowers. "Julian, they're beautiful."
"They pale in comparison to you, my dear," he replied, handing her the
flowers and lightly kissing her on the lips. Taking a step back, he took
in her appearance. Her hair and make-up were completed, but based on the
feel of her in his arms she only had on her underwear and slip. "Eve, is
everything alright?"
"Julian, Simone is here- -"
"Mom, you don't have to whisper."
Julian stepped into the house to see Eve's youngest daughter sitting on
the couch. From the look upon her face and Eve's, it appeared they were in
the midst of a very heavy conversation. "Please forgive me, I've interrupted."
"Julian, can we reschedule- -" Eve started.
"Mom, no. I'm the one that should apologize. I didn't even notice you were
getting ready to go some place. It's my fault. I'll leave," Simone said,
getting up. While she was coming around to the idea of her mom and Mr. Crane,
she wasn't completely comfortable in his presence or their presence together.
"You will do no such thing, young lady. You will sit right back down and
continue your discussion with your mother while you wait for dinner to arrive.
You enjoy lobster and filet mignon, yes?"
Who didn't like lobster and steak? Simone nodded.
"I'll have the Country Club deliver your dinner within the hour," Julian
announced. "It was nice seeing you here, Simone."
Simone nodded again. She didn't know what to say to him. Why was he being
so nice to her? To get in good with her mother? But he was already in- -her
mom was living in his guest house on his property and was obviously going
on dates with him. Could Julian Crane actually be nice? Whitney had told
her he could be, but she hadn't truly believed it. She had always thought
he was selfish, but here he was foregoing his date with her mom so she could
continue talking with her mom. The younger woman didn't want to be, but
she was impressed.
"Darling, I will talk to you in the morning."
Eve nodded and walked him to the door. "Thank you."
"No thanks is necessary. Your daughter is here in your home, where she
belongs. I love you." Kissing her softly, Julian let his lips linger before
stepping back and closing the door.
"He loves you?!" Was she really surprised by that? Whitney had told her
all about Julian's mystery woman so she knew he had loved that woman. But
for that woman to be her mom, her dad's wife- -wait, Eve Russell was no longer
her dad's wife, it was Liz now. For that woman to be her mom was mind blowing.
But to actually hear him say those three little words, she was stunned.
"Follow me to the kitchen, so I can put these beautiful flowers in a vase."
Simone followed her mom taking in the details of the interior that she
never noticed on her other quick visit. The Cranes knew how to decorate
that's for sure. Sitting at the breakfast nook, she waited for her mom to
answer the question.
"Yes, Julian loves me. A part of him always has."
"Have you always loved him?" She prayed the answer she heard didn't ruin
her thoughts on her parents' marriage.
"I loved him, but I wasn't in love with him. The man I was in loved with
when I moved to Harmony as a brand new bride was your father and no one
else. I was completely faithful to your father throughout our entire marriage."
Looking into her mother's eyes, Simone saw the truth and was hurt. Why
couldn't her father have remained equally as faithful? After everything
her dad had done and said about her mom, her mom remained faithful even
with Julian begging for another chance. Wow, her mom really did love her
dad.
Savoring the last bite of her lobster, Simone put down her fork and looked
over the beautiful set table. Based on this feast and the amazing job the
Country Club staff did at setting the table, it was obvious the Cranes didn't
know the meaning of doing things halfway or a simple dinner. Maybe there
were some perks to having Crane connections. "Mom, can you tell me everything
again? I'm ready to listen now."
Eve's heart rejoiced, but she had to know. She had to know why. "What changed
your mind?"
"Dad, Liz- -" The teen refused to call that woman aunt. "Kay. Now that
John and Ethan are no longer her biological brothers and she's moved back
home to help her parents, she realizes how much she's missed out on by shutting
Aunt Grace, Charity and to some extent Uncle Sam, Noah, and even Jess, out
of her life. They all have stories and a history together that she and Maria
are not a part of. I don't want that for us. I don't want to be on the outside
looking in. If I can forgive, Whit over that Chad nonsense, then can't I
forgive you for making choices way before I was even thought of?"
Her baby was growing up and so was Miss Kathleen from the sounds of it.
With tears in her eyes, she began her story.