Here - Chapter 26
Friday, 04-Aug-00 05:10:03

152.163.207.206 writes:
Here - Chapter 26

"Aren't you going to wish me luck??"

Luke looks at Carly briefly, then down at his watch, his unlit cigar clenched between his teeth, "For what?"

Carly watches her uncle as his eyes return to their object of attention: Claude.

It is midmorning. The club is not yet open, and Claude has volunteered to come in and take inventory for Luke. For free. Naturally, this largesse makes Luke even more suspicious of his vastly overqualified employee. He is watching Claude like a hawk. The bartender-cum-laude is at the far end of the bar, going through the stocked shelves and filling out an inventory sheet fastened to a clipboard.

Carly sighs, Claude has too much time on his hands... Out loud, she supplies, "For my driver's test!"

Luke blinks, surprised, and meets her eyes, "That's today?"

She glances at her watch, "Two hours from now." She tilts her head at him, "We discussed this yesterday, Luke. Remember? You gave the day off...?"

His eyes widen in recognition, "Oh yeah. That's right." Then he gives her the same dubious look he has just been aiming at Claude, "You're off today. What are you doing here? You need the car?? I thought you told me you made other," he makes quotes with his fingers, "'arrangements?'"

"I did make other arrangements," she tells him. Then she lies, "I was just in the neighborhood..."

He barks out a laugh, "God, Caroline, you kill me!" He knows nobody can just happen to be in the neighborhood of Luke's.

She rolls her eyes, annoyed that he always sees right through her. She blurts out, "Anyway, are you going to wish me luck or not?" She is anxious. This is a big day for her. By this afternoon, she could be well on her way to being free of the Port Charles Transit Authority; and one baby step closer to having her son with her more often -- on her own terms.

Luke stares at her thoughtfully, as if weighing his options. After a pause, he asks, "So if you pass this test, that means our little drives are finito?"

She nods, then raises a brow, "Unless you just want to go for a spin sometime."

He laughs again, "You're on a roll, kid." He shakes his head, his laughter dying with a wistful sigh as his eyes re-settle on the industrious Claude.

She does not miss the fact that Luke has not wished her luck.

Claude walks over to the bar, and he grins when he sees Carly. He is headed for the storeroom. He pats her shoulder as he passes, "Hey! Good luck on your test today!"

She smiles at him, then looks at Luke. "Thank you, Claude," she says pointedly.

Claude nods and continues on his way without stopping.

Luke shakes his head, watching Claude disappear, "There's something I just don't trust about that guy..."

Carly purses her lips, giving up. She sighs in resignation, "I'll see you tomorrow, Luke."

"Yeah, yeah. Tomorrow," he says absently, ambling for the storeroom.

She leaves the bar, stomping heavily -- to match her pout.

Claude waits for Luke at the storeroom doorway, a knowing grin on his face, "You're going to miss those little drives with Carly, aren't you?"

Luke grumbles, the cigar still hanging, "Yeah..."

Claude's smile widens.

Luke gives his employee a warning glance and says through teeth that would be gritted save for the cigar, "You say anything, Claude, and you're fired!"

Claude shakes his head, still beaming. hE begins working on the nearest cupboard and whistling Hank Williams.

Luke, realizing now just how impotent his threat actually is, mutters grudgingly, "Smartass science freak..."

********

"Carly? You here?" Bobbie calls softly. She knows that Carly is not at home - she'd watched her daughter leave the brownstone earlier - but she still wants to take no chances.

She continues to knock softly as she unlocks and slowly opens the door to Carly's room. She peers around the door, "Carly?"

No response.

After a cursory examination of the room, Bobbie is satisfied that Carly is not lying in wait and closes the door behind her.

A part of Bobbie feels immensely guilty for invading her daughter's privacy. A very small part. A part of her that shrinks incrementally with each new devastating or puzzling tidbit she hears about her daughter.

Bobbie feels she has demonstrated the patience of Job by waiting a few days since Emily and Liz's conversation at the diner, even if the waiting was for more practical reasons (e.g., her schedule at the hospital being more flexible today).

She frowns and looks slowly around the room.

Sonny...

Her eyes scan the top of the dresser and only find the usual personal care items. Comb. Brush. A generic bottle of body and hand lotion. Knock-off designer perfume. A few pieces of average quality costume jewelry.

Missing hours...

She opens the closet door and runs her hands through the meager selection of clothing. Jeans, T-shirts, a few sweaters and inexpensive dresses. Four pairs of shoes, all apparently getting good use.

Classes at PCU...

She reaches for the top shelf of the closet and feels for any items that Carly may have stashed there. She pulls a shoe box down and sits on the neatly made bed. Then, with only the briefest twinge of conscience, she lifts the lid.

Drugs???

Inside the box are papers. Pay stubs. Bank book. Receipts.

Unable to resist, she flips open the bank book, which details the activity of a penalty-free, low-interest-earning savings account. She sees with chagrin that the balance has never exceeded three digits.

Well, at least it's never been down to one..., she reasons, allowing herself the half-full glass.

For the moment anyway.

Deeper inside the box, Bobbie finds a large sheath of paper, folded in thirds and held flat by a rubber band. Inside the rubber band, a business card.

"Aubrey Harris...?" Bobbie reads softly. Then she sees the 'Attorney-at-Law' beneath the name and her heart jumps to her throat, certain that Carly keeping company with an lawyer -- and keeping it a secret -- can only mean that she is in some sort of trouble. Bobbie sighs sadly, "Oh God...Carly..."

A phone number and a post office box address are also provided on the card, but nothing else.

Carefully, Bobbie removes the rubber band and unfolds the papers, preparing herself for the absolute worst. She has to go back to Ferncliff...

But when Bobbie pages through the document, her trepidation turns to confusion, then elation.

She gasps, "A custody agreement?" She quickly reads through the sheets, which detail the current custodial arrangement for Michael. When she finishes, she brings a hand to her chest in relief. She is so happy that Carly actually took her advice for a change and had her visitation made official. Bobbie allows herself a short burst of motherly pride, then refolds the document and continues her digging.

Next she finds a statement from the PCU Financial Aid Office. And, beneath that, a wrinkled class schedule. It looks as if it has been crumpled and straightened at least a dozen times. Carly is in college... she realizes in amazement. Bobbie pulls the schedule from the box and looks at, but does not attempt to read, the faded printout, tenderly smoothing away the folds.

An open envelope from the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles momentarily distracts Bobbie from joyful visions of her daughter in the halls of higher education -- under her real name!!.

Bobbie is stunned. Inside the envelope is information about obtaining a driver's license and a copy of a form MV-285.

Included with the government-issued information, Bobbie is not surprised to find a tattered PCU brochure with classes circled -- most notably Driver's Education -- in Luke's distinctive green ink.

The last sheet in the envelope is a typed letter from Luke, written in dry business tone, confirming that one Caroline Benson works for him at his establishment and routinely leaves work after midnight.

Damn Luke.

But she does not dwell on Luke's prior knowledge for long. She is used to it. And now she is glad that she listened to her gut and did not run to Luke for the crumbs of information he would have undoubtedly dropped at her feet.

Finally, slowly, Bobbie returns the papers to the shoe box, the guilt smashing against her chest now.

It is not until a sudden wet dot appears on the financial aid statement that Bobbie realizes that she is actually in tears.

Bobbie is so relieved, so happy, so proud that Carly is doing something with her life, even when it seems as if she has lost everything.

Bobbie recalls all of the nagging and accusing and assuming she has been doing in regard to Carly and feels the deepest regret.

"But why didn't she tell me??" Bobbie sadly wonders aloud as she places the lid back on top of the shoe box.

She only feels hurt for a few seconds, however. She realizes that it does not matter that Carly did not tell her, that it does not matter that Carly has chosen to share these experiences with Luke -- and maybe even with Sonny Corinthos.

All that matters to Bobbie is that Carly is having these experiences. All that matters is that Carly seems to be growing and learning and moving forward with her life.

A sad, but satisfied, smile crosses Bobbie lips as she puts the box back on the closet shelf and silently leaves the room.

********

Sonny is sitting on the sofa, a pile of papers spread out on the coffee table. He is leaning toward the table, his elbow on his knee, his face in his hand. His other hand is clutching a pen and waving it angrily over the numbers. "Is this all I've got to deal with??"

Benny, standing to the side of the sofa, swallows, "Well, yes, Sonny. After we took Coroza out of the equation..."

Sonny snatches the proffered folder and rubs his eyes before looking at it. The last thing he needs is complications, and these awful numbers for the organization are definitely complications. If Pfizer caught wind of how shaky finances actually are, there is no way the man would make a deal with Sonny.

It is bad enough that Sonny feels ill-at-ease about this meeting -- now Sonny is to meet Pfizer's representative at the airport. It is bad enough that Sonny already has a bad feeling about Pfizer and his apparent game-playing. Now he has these pages in front of him. He had suspected how low the numbers would be sans Coroza, but to actually see it in red and black is devastating.

He feels as if he is teetering on the edge. If the Pfizer deal does not go through, Sonny knows his organization will be finished. And Sonny, most likely, will be dead or on the run by the end of the year. For his own survival, Sonny needs Pfizer. He does not like needing any deal.

Sonny jumps from his seat and sucks air through tightened lips. He curses under his breath. "I'm not showing this to Pfizer's man tonight."

"Of course not!" Benny shrugs and hurriedly goes to the desk, where his open briefcase sits. He pulls out another folder and holds it out to Sonny, "Use this one."

Sonny starts to scan the doctored sheets, his face dark and worried. He is going to have to do a heck of a lot of bluffing tonight and he does not know if he is up to it. His dour thoughts are interrupted by a crisp knock on the door.

Sonny rubs a hand over his face and calls out tiredly, "Yeah, what?"

Johnny pokes his head into the apartment, glances quickly at Benny, then says tentatively to his boss, "It's about time to meet Ms. Benson with the car."

At the mention of seeing Carly, Sonny's mood is lifted and his eyes clear.

Benny coughs lightly and lowers his head in an attempt to hide the disdain in his eyes.

The business manager is not quick enough for Sonny, who catches Benny's reaction. Sonny is about to snap at Benny when he remembers the conversation he'd had with Luke. He told himself to dismiss what his former partner said to him. Sonny told himself to ignore Luke's plea to leave Carly alone before she loses her son.

Then Sonny sighs, then digs his keys out of his pants pocket and pulls a key from the ring. He looks at the expectant bodyguard and tosses the key to him, "Why don't you take it over there?"

Johnny's brow furls in confusion.

Clearing his throat, Sonny explains, "I've got to finish up with Benny."

Johnny nods, knowing that Sonny was looking forward to seeing Carly because his boss had reminded Johnny to remind him about it at least five times that morning, but making no comment on the sudden change in attitude. "Okay," Johnny says simply, backing out of the door.

Sonny's chest is suddenly heavy with guilt. He knows instinctively how disappointed Carly will be when he is not there, but he tells himself he is doing this for her. Not to hurt her.

Right as the door is about to be closed, Sonny suddenly yells, "Johnny!!"

Johnny opens the door again and looks at Sonny curiously.

Sonny says gruffly, "Tell her good luck..." Then he waves the bodyguard away.

He stares at the closed door for a few seconds, debating whether to stop Johnny and go himself, before returning to the business at hand.

********

Carly hops off of the bus, jogs the half-block to the local DMV, and stands in front of the building to wait for Sonny and the car. She glances down at her watch, then rubs her hands together anxiously.

She finds that her palms are actually clammy and cold. Her heart is beating recklessly, her breathing is shallow and quick. She feels like she is sinking, falling into a deep, bottomless pit of quicksand. Recognizing the symptoms, she closes her eyes and forces herself to inhale deeply. She tells herself that she is just experiencing the onset of a panic attack and that she can talk herself through it.

Slowly, she opens her eyes and confronts where she is. I am going to get my license today... she realizes in awe. She is struck by how far she has actually come by myself.

She feels herself calming down then, confidence replacing fear and doubt. She smiles a bit, hugs herself, and bounces lightly on her toes in anticipation. Then she sees the black boat of an automobile rounding the corner. Her heart skips a beat and her smile widens slightly.

As the car closes the distance, she sees that it is not Sonny in the driver's seat, but Johnny. Her immediate reaction is one of anger and disappointment. How DARE he blow me off???

Johnny pulls up in front of her, taking the closest empty space, then climbs out of the car. He grins at her at first, then his smile fades as he reads her face.

By the time he is standing next to her, Carly's face is flushed and her arms are folded tightly across her chest. She barks, "Where's Sonny?"

Johnny stammers halfheartedly, "Uh, he was in a meeting..."

She purses her lips and rolls her eyes.

Johnny continues, trying to be encouraging, "He said to wish you luck though!"

"HA!" she scoffs and shakes her head. After letting out a long breath, she looks Johnny in the eye, gauging his truthfulness, "A meeting, huh?"

Johnny nods earnestly, handing her the key.

She takes the key, reluctantly accepting Johnny's explanation for Sonny's absence. She pouts and turns the key over in her palm, studying its shape and evaluating its weight. She imagines Sonny holding it in his own hand not so long ago and allows herself the fantasy of sensing his warmth.

After another cleansing breath, Carly looks at Johnny, raises her brows, and utters in a determined voice, "All right. Let's go."