Dream a Little Dream

Chapter 44

“Come on, Jax!” Brenda called from the living room.

“Brenda, we don't have to leave for another hour!” Jax replied from the bedroom in exasperation.

Brenda Jacks paced the living room, tugging at the cuffs of her sand-colored crocheted sweater, worn over a matching tank top. She also wore denim cropped pants and bronze beaded thong sandals. She sat down on the couch and flipped through the features section of the Port Charles Herald. Not even the story on the latest shoe trends could hold her interest.

All she could think about was Benito, the little boy they were hoping to adopt. She and Jax were volunteering at the Ward House picnic today, and Benito would be there. Today would be another step closer towards adopting him. The agency wanted Benito to get used to Jax and Brenda before agreeing to their spending time with him alone.

“He's been through a lot,” the agent advised them. “He's both wary and needy. We have to see if he'll warm up to you before we can proceed.”

Jax came into the room, wearing a pair of jeans, canvas slip-ons and a coral linen shirt. Brenda leaped out of her seat.

“You're ready? Great, let's go,” she said, reaching for her sunglasses. Jax took her wrist in his hand.

“Brenda, stop,” he said softly. She looked at him in puzzled chagrin.

“What?” she asked.

“You have to calm down, Brenda,” Jax said. “You're too wound up and fixated on Benito right now. Kids sense that, and it'll upset him.”

“Jax, I'm fine,” Brenda said hurriedly. “Can we just get moving?”

Jax didn't move, instead just looking into her eyes. She looked down, then back up at him.

“This is too important,” he said. “We've been patient and come this far. If we freak him out and scare him off, it'll all be for nothing and we're back to square one in terms of finding a child to adopt. Besides, we're there to volunteer. Let's not make things awkward for everyone else.”

Brenda opened her mouth to protest, but couldn't think of anything to say. The slight relaxing of her shoulders told Jax he was reaching her.

“Sit back down on the couch,” Jax said. “Now, lay down. Close your eyes.”

Brenda smiled faintly and did as Jax bid. “Okay, now just take soft, slow breaths,” he said. “Focus on relaxing your eyes. Good...”

Jax spent the next 20 minutes going through her whole body, from her eyes to her toes. By the time her toes had uncurled, Brenda felt much more at peace. She lay there silently, eyes closed, for several minutes as Jax looked at her tenderly.

“Ready?” he asked softly. Brenda opened her eyes and gave him a gentle smile.

“You always know what I need,” she said.

* * *

“I can't believe you're bailing out on me like this!” Laura Spencer cried.

“Don't give me those guilt-trippin' eyes, Angel,” Luke said with a sigh, looking up from his plate of cold pizza as he ate his lunch on the couch.

Luke had just informed his wife that he would not be going to the Quartermaine Labor Day cookout the next day. She'd flown in from New York that weekend for the party, and to see Lulu through her first day at Port Charles High School. Their friends the Johnsons had been invited and, with them being new in town, Laura wanted them to have familiar faces around them.

“Luke, what about Epiphany and her parents?” she asked. “I'm not worried about Stan – Lucky and the younger crowd will be there for him. But Wayne needs help getting around, and after everything they've been through ...”

“They'll have you, Lucky, Lulu and the Prince,” Luke said. “Y'all will be fine. I'm sure the Q's will make them feel welcome – not even Tracy would be rude.”

An evil idea whisked into his head.

“And if you feel you need help with Wayne and Celeste, why not ask Coleman to come?” Luke suggested. “Alan and Monica wouldn't mind.”

“But why are you fighting so hard on this?” Laura demanded.

“You know I hate big social doings like this, Angel,” Luke said. “With Jason's homecoming and the Nurses' Ball this summer, plus Skye's wedding this winter, I think I'm doing my share for the year. So don't give me grief about opting out on this one.”

Laura sighed. She knew she wasn't being fair, but always felt embarrassed about having to explain her husband's absence from social events.

“Besides,” Luke said, as if reading her thoughts. “This is an excused absence. I'm working for Lucy at the Haunted Star so she can go to the cookout. Since I'll probably have to go away soon, Angel, I think I owe Lucy a few favors.”

Laura grimaced. She knew when she was beat.

“Oh, all right,” she said, her voice somewhere between a sigh and a grumble.

* * *

Ned Ashton walked up the back stairs at Vagabond, his legs feeling heavy with dread. He held a manila envelope in his hands, and it trembled slightly. He had to tell Epiphany Johnson and her family that their home was destroyed. Any hopes they held, he would have to dash.

Too soon, he was in front of the Johnsons' apartment door. He swallowed hard, raised his hand slowly, and knocked. He heard footsteps behind the door and took a deep breath.

Epiphany answered the door, looking at him with a questioning face. Ned summoned the ghost of a smile.

“Hello, Ms. Johnson,” he said, extending his hand. “I'm Ned Ashton, Dillon's brother.”

Epiphany gave a small gasp, then smiled quickly to try and hide it.

“It's nice to meet you, Mr. Ashton,” she said. “Please, come in.”

She let him pass, then introduced him to Wayne and Celeste. She scooted quickly across the hall to summon Stan. Ned found himself soon seated at the dining table, expectant faces gazing at him.

“Marcellus told me how you found him,” Stan said, breaking the ice. “Thanks so much for getting him out of there. It means a lot to us to know he and his mom are safe.”

Ned nodded. “I was glad to do it,” he said.

“How is Donella?” Epiphany asked. Ned shrugged.

“I don't know,” he said. He told of her breaking down crying in her sister's arms in the airport when they got to St. Louis. “Being with her sister will probably help,” he concluded. “But she went through something pretty traumatic. It'll be a long time before she's really all right.”

“She'll be all right,” Celeste said. “She's got people she loves around her and Gloria will help her start a new life. Just like Luke and Laura helped us.”

A moment's silence followed. Wayne broke it.

“You went ... to New ... Orleans,” he said to Ned.

Ned looked over at him. “I did, sir,” he said.

“You ... got to our ... house.”

“Yes, sir,” Ned replied, dread rising in his throat. Seeing the frail old man made what was coming even harder. But Wayne did not want to pussyfoot around.

“How bad?” he asked, looking Ned in the eye. Ned took a slow breath.

“Bad,” he said. “I took a boat out to your neighborhood. I'm sorry, Mr. Johnson, but your house was under water almost to the roof.”

Celeste and Epiphany gasped. Both had hoped against hope. But now, hope was replaced by reality. Ned looked down, knowing he had to tell the rest.

“The soldier I was with said it looked like the house was knocked off the foundation a bit,” Ned said. “And the water had soaked everything in the house. Anything you left behind is ruined, he said. And mold will take over the house. I'm so sorry.”

Wayne closed his eyes, a pinched look on his face. He remembered all the work he'd done on the house over the years, building Celeste her knotty pine kitchen cabinets in his garage workshop and her delight over them, the new ceiling fan he'd put in their bedroom just two years ago that made summer nights bearable. He remembered the marks on the pantry door, charting the growth of Epiphany, her sister Pearl, and later Stan. He remembered that one spot in the hallway where the floor would squeak no matter what he did. He remembered spending Saturday afternoons on fix-up projects like plumbing, a young Stan at his side handing him tools and holding the flashlight. He remembered setting up decades of Christmas trees by the front window, and Christmas mornings watching presents being opened under them. Some Christmases were pretty lean, but he and Celeste had always contrived to make something of the holiday. He remembered seeing Pearl in her Army uniform for the first time in the living room, and taking a picture of Epiphany in her cap and gown on the triumphant day she finished nursing school. He remembered Epiphany sitting between him and Celeste on the living room sofa, her head bowed and her hands trembling with fear and shame, telling them that she was pregnant and that the child's father had abandoned her. He remembered taking her in his arms and telling her it was going to be all right, even as his own heart shook with fear for her future and the future of the child. He remembered all the fear being shoved aside when Stan was born, replaced by fierce determination that he would beat the staggering odds against fatherless black boys in the inner city. He remembered the joyous dance he did around the kitchen table when Stan had announced the news of his college scholarship. He remembered looking back at the house as they drove away barely a week ago ...

“Daddy?” Epiphany's voice broke through his thoughts. “Are you all right?”

Wayne opened his eyes. “I'm ... all right,” he said. He looked over at Ned. “Are those ... pictures?” he asked, gesturing at the envelope.

Ned hesitated, looking questioningly at Epiphany and Celeste.

“Are they?” Wayne demanded.

“Yes,” Ned said.

“I want ... to see them.”

“Daddy, you shouldn't,” Epiphany said. “Mr. Ashton told you what happened. Don't torture yourself.”

“Don't ... treat me like ... a child, girl,” Wayne growled. “I need ... to ... see it. No sense ... hiding from ... it.”

Epiphany looked at Ned, shrugged and nodded. Ned handed Wayne the envelope. Celeste, Stan and Epiphany crowded behind him as he opened it.

Except for gasps of shock and low moans grief, the room was silent for several minutes. Ned wished he was anywhere else but there.

Wayne put down the photos on the table with a weary sigh. The rest returned to their seats, shoulders slumped and faces slack as they absorbed what they had seen.

“Well, that's ... that,” Wayne said. “It's gone ... just as ... we ... figured it was.”

“What now, Daddy?” Epiphany asked.

“Get the ... insurance settled,” Wayne said.

“If I can help in any way with that, please let me,” Ned said. Wayne nodded.

“Thank you,” he said, then looked at his wife, daughter and grandson. “Let's take ... care ... of that first. We'll stay on ... here for ... now, if it's ... okay with ... Luke and Laura. After we settle ... the insurance ... we'll see.”

Celeste nodded.

“You're right, dear,” she said. “We've got a good roof over our head, and good friends,” she added, smiling at Ned. “Epiphany, God willing, will have her job soon. We'll figure things out as we go.”

Ned rose. “I better get back home,” he said. “We'll see you at the cookout tomorrow?”

Epiphany smiled.

“We'll be there, Mr. Ashton,” she said.

“Please, call me Ned,” Ned said. “I'll see you tomorrow.”

* * *

The children hadn't yet arrived when Brenda and Jax walked onto the large Ward House property. Over the years, the Mary Mae Ward Foundation had purchased adjoining lots until it had almost an entire city block of land, two lots deep. One house was turned into a day care center. A long-term housing facility was also built. The rest was open play space, with sandboxes, swingsets and trees.

Brenda and Jax had contributed over the years financially, and by helping out with fundraisers. Jax had served on the board during the years when the development of the property was planned and executed. He'd stepped down a few years ago when business demands started stepping up and he was also traveling to visit Brenda in Las Vegas, or she was coming home to Port Charles for weekend visits.

“See? I told you there was no rush,” Jax said.

“I'm glad we got here early,” Brenda said. “We can settle in before ... the kids get here. Oh, look, there's Keesha!” She raised her hand and waved.

Keesha Ward ran over and hugged them both. “It's great to see you guys!” she said. “I wasn't sure I could get up here, but I was able to squeeze it in.”

“How long are you in town for?” Brenda asked, thinking of Jason.

“Just for today,” Keesha said. “I'm taking the train back tonight. I can get a sleeper on board, and get into the city fairly early for work. So, I hear you have another reason for being here today besides doing good.”

Brenda looked down and smiled. Jax beamed. “You heard right,” he said. “But we know the drill. We can't push ourselves on him today. We're just going to focus on helping out, and let it go from there.”

Keesha nodded. “Good plan,” she said. “Polly Campbell filled me in on his case, and I think it's the best way to go. It'll be all right, you two. Don't worry.”

Just then, more volunteers came, and Keesha had to go help coordinate who was going where. Brenda ended up at the lemonade stand. Jax would lead the pony rides. With a smile at each other and a kiss for luck, they split up for their assignments.

* * *

“I am going to kill my father,” Skye Quartermaine announced as matter-of-factly as if she'd said, “I am going to the grocery store.”

Lorenzo Alcazar looked up from his Sunday paper to see his betrothed in the doorway, a folded piece of paper in her hand.

“What has Alan done to warrant patricide?” he asked, his brow furrowed. Skye stomped into the living room and flung her purse and the paper on the coffee table.

“Not Alan, Adam,” she said, referring to Adam Chandler, her adoptive father who lived in Pine Valley, Penn.

“What now?” Lorenzo asked. He'd already met Adam, and had long known of his scheming, selfish, domineering ways that were – slightly – mitigated by genuine affection for his children.

Skye flopped on the sofa and lay there, sighing a dramatic sigh at the ceiling.

“He sent a letter that oozed Adam's special brand of odiousness,” she said. “He wants to ruin our wedding if he can't get his way.”

Lorenzo's left eyebrow shot up. “As long as we're getting married, a whole regiment of Adams couldn't ruin it, Sweetheart,” he said. Skye smiled gratefully.

“I love you for thinking that way,” she said. “But he's sure giving it the ol' Pigeon Hollow try.”

“What's he doing?”

“He says that if I insist on having both him and Alan walk me down the aisle, he won't come,” she said, slapping the letter on the table. “He tries to paint himself as a wounded victim, as if I am somehow rejecting him by including both him and Alan. Let's see ... here it is ... 'You're abandoning us for the Quartermaines. Is it because their blood is bluer than mine?' Talk about laying it on thick! He says that I'm also a victim, of my mother trying to manipulate her way back into Alan's bed by using me.”

“He's pulling out all the stops,” Lorenzo said. “Have you talked with JR or Hayley?”

“They're both so wrapped up in their own lives they're not much help,” Skye said. “Hayley thinks I should try and talk it out. JR says to call his bluff.”

“So, what are you going to do?”

Skye sat up. “I don't know!” she said. “As rotten as Adam can be, he's still my father. He raised me. God, I hate the thought of dragging Alan into this, because it brings up how he wasn't able to be my father when I was little, and the leftover anger at Edward and Adam over that. He can't get mad at Edward anymore, so he'll take it all out on Adam, who won't take it lying down. Then my mother will swoop in and try her hand at fixing things, which will probably just antagonize Adam and drive Monica crazy. And I'll just end up crying on Myrtle's shoulder. It's just such a mess.” She flopped back down.

“Your families sure put the 'fun' in 'dysfunctional,'” Lorenzo said wryly. Skye threw a pillow at him.

“This is so not going to be fun,” she said. “I don't know ... I guess I'll take Hayley's advice and try and talk with him, see if I can placate him somehow. If that doesn't work, I may just have to do as JR advised and call his bluff. What a mess.”

“No one can hurt you like family,” Lorenzo said. “After Luis went bad, my mother was never the same again. I thought she was going to die of a broken heart. She didn't, but she never really recovered. The hurt and shame were too much.”

Skye looked over at him.

“We're a pair,” she said. “You have hardly any family – just Diego and your aunt, uncle and cousin in Buenos Aires – and I have too much family.”

“By the way, I heard from my aunt yesterday,” Lorenzo said. “I sent them one of those save-the-date cards and she told me they're all coming. She made the plane reservations, and I e-mailed my uncle information on the Lady Jane Plaza along with some other information on Port Charles.”

“I'm so glad,” Skye said. “At least someone isn't giving us grief.”

“Don't worry, Skye,” he said. “This mess with Adam will work out. Don't let him manipulate you into feeling what he wants you to feel.”

“I know,” she said. “It's just ... I was hoping that for once Adam would just be happy for me and not advance his own agenda. I know deep down he's hurting. JR's caught up in his melodramatic mess with that Babe skank and her mother, Adam thinks Hayley moved across the country just to get away from him, and Colby is God knows where. But what he's doing here, it's just not right. I just hope I can talk him out of this without any bloodshed.”

“If anyone can, you will,” Lorenzo said. “But there's nothing you can do right now. How about a swim? Diego's gone for the day, we have the house to ourselves.”

A slow, dream smile spread across Skye's face.

“All to ourselves?”

Lorenzo grinned wickedly.

“All to ourselves.”

“Then let's skip the bathing suits,” Skye said, reaching down and taking off her shoes.

“You're on!”

* * *

Brenda sat at the lemonade stand, idly fanning herself. The children had yet to work up a thirst, although they were hard at it with the pony ride, inflatable jumping cage, kickball games, three-legged races, playground equipment, sprinkler and general running around. She'd looked over where the pony rides were, saw Benito in line, and smothered a sigh of envy.

A small commotion nearby caught her attention. She saw a Ward House employee firmly towing a little girl from the day care center towards the lemonade stand.

“No one's inside, so you can't stay in there,” the woman said in exasperation. “Why can't you play like the other children?”

“I don't wanna,” the little girl said sullenly. The woman saw Brenda at the lemonade stand and pulled the little girl that way.

“Here,” she said. “You can help out Mrs. Jacks with the lemonade.”

The little girl looked shyly at Brenda. Brenda smiled back.

“Hi,” she said.

“Hi,” the girl whispered, looking down and ducking her chin a bit. She had kinky blonde hair braided tightly into two stiff braids, cafe au lait skin, gray-green eyes and a pointed chin.

“Mrs. Jacks, this is Rebecca,” the woman said. “She can help you out.”

“Nice to meet you, Rebecca,” Brenda said, then turned to the woman. “We'll be fine.”

The woman left gratefully, glad to have the unsociable Rebecca off her hands. Rebecca looked at Brenda warily. Brenda noticed she had a book under her arm.

“Go ahead and read if you like,” Brenda said. “It's nice under the tree right behind me.”

The little girl's shoulders relaxed, a relieved look came over her face.

“Thanks!” she said, flopping down and opening her book. It was silent for a while. Then Rebecca looked up.

“You don't mind?” she asked.

“Not at all,” Brenda said. “Why should I?”

“She wanted me to be all social,” Rebecca said. “Sometimes I just don't feel like it, but she doesn't understand.”

“That's okay, I understand,” Brenda said. “Is it a good book?”

“It's great!” Rebecca said, her eyes sparkling. “It's called All-of-a-Kind Family. It's about a family of immigrants in New York way back like a hundred years ago. They're Jewish, so it tells all about their holidays and religion and stuff.”

Brenda silently marveled at the girl's articulateness. She couldn't be more than eight years old.

“That does sound interesting,” Brenda said.

“My mom was Jewish, so I want to know about it,” Rebecca said.

“Do you remember her?”

“A little,” Rebecca said. “She died a long time ago. I never knew my father.”

“I'm sorry about your mom,” Brenda said.

Rebecca shrugged. “It's okay,” she said. Brenda decided to change the subject.

“You like to read?”

“Love it!” Rebecca said. “I'm reading the Little House books, and Anne of Green Gables. My teacher said I might be able to start reading the Harry Potter books this fall.”

“Oh, I love the Anne books!” Brenda cried. “And the Little House books, too!”

“You do?” Rebecca asked. “Aren't you too big for those?”

Brenda laughed. “You're never too big for a good story,” she said. “And I didn't read them until I was grown-up.”

“Why not?” Rebecca asked, with the terrible directness of innocent youth. Brenda winced inwardly.

“When I was your age, I thought I was dumb, so I didn't read much,” Brenda said.

“Why?”

“Because my dad treated me like I was,” Brenda said, feeling a small stab as she remembered her lonely, love-starved childhood. “My sister Julia was really, really smart. So because I wasn't as smart as she was, he thought I wasn't any use.”

“But you're so pretty!” Rebecca cried. Brenda blushed a little.

“Thanks,” she said. “But that didn't matter to him. So I did what I could to get his attention, which was mostly acting up and being naughty.”

“Did it work?”

Brenda sighed. “No, but I didn't see that for a long, long time,” she said, surprised at how open she was with this girl. “After he died, I couldn't get his attention anymore, so I tried to get the attention of men like him, and it caused me a lot of hurt.”

“What happened next?” Rebecca asked.

“I met Jax, my husband,” Brenda said, smiling sweetly. “He saw past it all, and made me see I wasn't dumb. Friends told me that, too, and I began thinking maybe it was true. So one day, I was in a book store and saw Little House in the Big Woods. I read it in just a few hours, then went back and bought every one of the Little House books. Then I went back and bought Anne and all the other books I missed out on growing up. Now I love to read.”

“I'll read to you!” Rebecca said, opening All-of-a-Kind Family at the beginning. Brenda nodded, and Rebecca began.

“'That slowpoke Sarah!' Henny cried. 'She's making us late!'” Rebecca read, impressing Brenda with her language skills. “Mama's girls were going to the library, and Henny was impatient...”

They got through the first chapter before children began swarming the lemonade stand. They were so busy, that Brenda didn't notice a little dark-haired boy coming closer to the front.

“Hi!” he said. Brenda almost dropped the cup she was filling.

“Hello, Benito!” she said, beaming. “It's good to see you! Are you having a good time?”

“Yeah!” he said. “Mr. Jacks took me on a pony ride!”

“That's great!” she said, handing him his cup. “You have fun?”

He nodded as he drank. “Loved it!” he finished his drink and threw the empty cup towards the garbage can. He waved as he ran off with another boy, looking back once to wave again. Brenda waved back.

“He's so cute,” Rebecca said. “I see him a lot at the day care.”

“He is,” Brenda said, keeping her voice casual as she filled more cups. Finally, the crowd went back to playing. “So, where were we?”

Rebecca took up her book. “This chapter's called, Dusting is Fun,” she said. “'After breakfast Monday morning, Mama said, 'Henny, put aside your book. It's your turn to dust the front room today...'”

Brenda listened to Rebecca's reading, not letting herself be distracted by thoughts of Benito. He'll be back, she thought. It's a long day and there's lots of lemonade.

* * *

The Waterfront District branch of the Port Charles Public Library was quiet, as befitting a holiday weekend. Epiphany wandered the stacks, looking for the nursing textbooks. She wanted to study for her New York State nursing license exam. Now that she knew for sure that her family's home was destroyed, the promised nursing job at General Hospital took on an even greater urgency.

I can't fail, she thought. Too much is riding on this test.

Even with Luke and Laura putting a roof over their head and paying the utilities, the Johnsons' little hoard of money would soon be gone. God only knows when Stan would find regular work. It would be hard for him with as little experience as he had. Her sister Pearl helped as much as she could on a military salary, but she was far away and could be called to duty in Iraq or Afghanistan at any time. It was up to Epiphany to take care of her parents, and she had so much to do. The insurance claim would have to get started, they had to file change of address forms so her parents could get their Social Security and pension checks and Medicare.

Epiphany found the textbook she was seeking and settled down in a cozy chair. Reading the familiar subjects was comforting. She knew she could pass the test if she didn't get nervous.

She was startled when the lights flickered off then back on. She looked at her watch – more than three hours had passed, and it was closing time. With a sigh, she put the book back in its place and walked towards the exit.

A lovely late afternoon greeted her outside. She looked around, dreading returning home to her responsibilities and her parents' grief. Deciding to put it off for a little while, she walked in the opposite direction, towards Steve Hardy Park.

* * *

While Brenda served lemonade and was read to by Rebecca, Jax didn't have a moment's quiet. All the smaller children wanted a pony ride. Several went right back into line as soon as their ride was over.

One of those boys was Benito. It felt so natural to swing him up into the saddle, then swing him back down again. Benito crowed with delight each time.

He's getting used to me, Jax thought with a smile. Just then, there was a tug at his pants leg. Another child wanted a ride. Laughing, he swung her into the saddle.

* * *

Luke sat on the front porch, smoking a cigar. Judging by the smell wafting out the kitchen window, there would be apple pie for dessert tonight.

He looked around him. He'd always felt at home here, even though the place spoke more of Laura, with its soft colors and homey touches. Home for him was where she was, whether it was the shotgun-style house in New Orleans, the little flat they'd had near the Palais des Invalides in Paris when they were on the run, or the New York apartment.

Even though they had loved Mary Mae Ward's old house from the beginning, it had been hard to come down to a settled life after all those years going from place to place. In spite of the danger – or perhaps because of it – that life had also been an adventure. He had rebelled against what he'd seen as boring domesticity, and sought an outlet first in his club Luke's then in a friendship with Sonny Corinthos.

Luke sighed. At times he still missed Sonny. He had many friends, but few like Sonny. Sonny had understood him in ways even Robert Scorpio didn't, because of their both having wretched, deprived childhoods. Luke thought Sonny's darkness mirrored his own. But then Sonny lost his grip and Luke saw the differences between them. Luke realized afresh what a ballast Laura, the children, Bobbie, Ruby and friends were for him, something Sonny never had. The end of their friendship had been venomous after the fire where Lucky was believed to have been killed. Even though Lucky was actually alive, every bitter thing Luke said to Sonny about his failures leading to the fire was true.

Since then, Luke had made and kept friendships. Hutch was someone who understood the ugly part of Luke's past, and the struggle for redemption. Cameron Lewis was a surprising comrade, but his dry humor and candor about himself and the world were endearing. Lucy and Felicia brought out his wit and warmth. And having indomitable Epiphany back in his life would be interesting.

Luke realized part of his latching onto Sonny was looking for the connection he'd lost when Robert died. When his friendship with Sonny ended, so did Luke's looking for a friendship like that again. He and Robert had been Huck and Tom, Han Solo and Luke Skywalker. Nothing could replace that and he wasn't going to try anymore.

The screen door creaked, and Laura came out. She smiled at him looking out over the yard.

“Dreaming?” she asked softly. Luke turned to her and smiled.

“Nah, Darlin',” he said. “Just thinking.”

“Dinner will be ready in a while,” she said. “I need to talk with you about Lulu.”

Luke furrowed his brow. “What about her?”

“This is going to be new for you, Luke,” she said. “With me being in New York during the week, you're going to have to step up and do the dad thing in a way you haven't had to before. You'll have to be the one the school calls, make sure she's on top of her homework, make sure she has clean clothes, be there for her to lean on, keep her in line and such.”

Luke sighed.

“Laura, I can handle it,” he said. “But you also have to accept that I won't be parenting Lulu just as you would. She's going to be 16 in a few weeks. I can't help her with her homework, Darlin'. I dropped out of a crappy school and probably have an eighth-grade education at best in most subjects despite my doctorate in the School of Hard Knocks. She'll be on Orange Alert, so we'll always know where she is. I'll trust her to do what's right. But if she screws up, I'll be bringing the hammer down a lot harder than you would.”

Laura looked at him meditatively.

“Okay,” she said. “But it's going to be more involved than you think. You have to be home for dinner and things like that. And even with Serena, Brooke and Georgie, she'll still be in a new school and that can be hard. She'll need you. Mom can't do it all.”

“I know, Angel,” he said. “I've got things arranged. I'll go in to the Haunted Star in the mornings and be home most days for dinner. If I can't, she can come there. We've got Amy, Bobbie, Lucky and Nikolas. Also, Piph will help out. It'll be all right, Laura. And when I go, she'll stay with Lesley.”

Laura looked away, towards the purple asters along the white picket fence.

“Are you all right, Angel?” Luke asked. “Have you changed your mind about my going?”

Laura turned back to him.

“I don't want you to go, but I know you have to,” she said. “It has to be this way. We'll manage. Hopefully, you won't be gone long.”

Luke was looking keenly at her as she spoke. He could tell when she was just trying to be brave, and when she truly was. This case was the latter. He reached over and caressed her cheek.

“I'll get back to you as soon as I can,” he said. “And when I do, we're going away, just the two of us.”

Laura smiled sweetly. “I'll remember you said that,” she teased. “If you worry me too much, I may insist on a very luxurious trip to make it up to me.”

“Anything you want, Darlin'. Anything you want.”