Alex was worried about his mother...and he really didn't know who to talk to about it. He knew that Dustin and Angela had been very close friends, and so Alex had chosen Dustin to confide in. After the death of both her parents and her husband, Angela had rarely left the Pleasant home. Even though her sister Lileth and her family were often visitors to the house, Angela rarely ventured to visit them. If they wanted to see her they knew they would have to come to Angela's home.
Alex was worried because Angela had been negligent in paying off the bills, just allowing them to pile up near the computer. She figured she would get to them...eventually. It wasn't that she didn't have the money...she did. She just didn't have the energy or the incentive to pay them off. And...today... the repo-man was going to come and start taking some of their things. Alex and Dustin looked out the window as the truck pulled up. Alex looked up at Dustin in question. What were they going to do about it?
The repo-man had a job to do, and he went right to work. He very quickly repossessed the items that were listed, and was quickly gone. He knew not to hang around for long once he had gotten what he had come for. Some people tended to get very angry at him.
"Don't worry, Alex" Dustin said, "I'll talk to your mom. It'll be okay." Dustin knew that it was time for Angela to face up to the fact that...yes...a terrible thing had happened to her. But...she still had a son that needed her more than ever. It was time...no...
past time...for her to get on with her life! Angela wanted to live in the past, while her life was passing her by. As Dustin talked to Angela, he could see that she was getting very upset with him. But he also knew that, for the sake of Alex, Angela needed to move on. At first Angela was very angry with Dustin. How
dare he say such things to her!! What did he know about it. He had a wife, a family, children!
"That's true," said Dustin. "But, don't forget. My father died, leaving my mother with 2 sons and another child on the way. But...we made it Angela...and so can you"! When Dustin said this, Angela suddenly realized how wrong she had been. She had thought only about herself...not realizing that others had experienced things just as bad as she had...if not worse. "Thank you Dustin," Angela said. "I don't think anyone else in the world could have gotten through to me today...except for you. Thank you for being such a good friend!"
That night Angela stood at the door of Alex's bedroom, watching her son as he slept. "I'm sorry Alex," Angela whispered. "I'm going to try to make it up to you." Walking to his bed, Angela bent down and kissed him gently on the cheek. She loved her son more than she could ever say.
The next day, she called William. She had met William at University. He used to hang out with all of them. He had called often to see how she was doing. After Alex's death, William had come over often. After time had passed, he had asked her out on several occasions. Angela had always declined. She just hadn't been ready to date anyone else...not yet. But...was she ready now? She called, inviting him over for lunch.
William had been happy...and completely caught off-guard...to hear from Angela. When she asked him over for lunch, he had happily said yes.
William watched as Angela cooked their soup for lunch. "I hope you don't mind me hanging around in here while you cook" he said. He just wanted to be near her. He thought she was beautiful...though she looked sad at times when she didn't know anyone was watching. William wanted to take the sadness away...and replace it with joy. But how??
Angela set the table as William put the finishing touches to the soup "I'm adding my secret ingredient" he said. "Let me know if you like it!" Angela was impressed. A man who was comfortable in the kitchen...and who was extremely good-looking as well! Just one thing bothered Angela about William. He reminded her in some ways of Alexander. Is that why she was attracted to him?
Angela and William enjoyed a nice lunch and spent the next few hours talking. William was working the evening shift and had to leave for work. But...not before he had the opportunity to flirt a little bit with Angela. He was nervous about it. How would she react to him? Angela was flattered by William's attention, and reacted in a very postive manner. He left with a promise that they would get together again very soon.
"Bring it on!" Angela was ready to get on with her life.
Author's Note: Thanks to Autonomous Casual Romance (ACR) it's easy to figure out who is attracted to whom. Takes a lot of the work out of my hands :) Angela and William seem very compatible.
Casey invited Darren in and the three of them were watching television. Darren felt that now was as good a time as any to tell the two of them the truth. "I would like to talk to the two of you" Darren said to Casey and Donald. Casey had gotten up to go to the kitchen to get them something to drink. At Darren's words, Casey stopped and turned around. "What is it?" she asked.
"Why don't you sit down first" said Darren as he sat next to Donald. "Now, I know what I have to say will come as a surprise to both of you. But, it's something you both have a right to know." Casey and Donald looked at each other as Darren began to tell his story. Darren told them about Donald's mother, Kaylynn Langerak....that she had died tragically in a fire when Donald was just a toddler. Darren had adopted Donald and raised him as his own...but Donald had a father...a father that was still alive. Donald's father was Don Lothario...and Don was also Casey's father. Casey and Don were half-siblings!
"I remember my mother...vaguely. I was little more than a baby when she died" said Donald. "But...I never knew who my father was."
"It's hard to imagine that...when I was a baby growing up here...my father had another baby just a few months older than me. And...that we are really brother and sister!" Both Donald and Casey sat in silence. "I thought about telling you before now. In fact, I was certain that Mortimer had told Don and Cassandra that I had adopted you. He knew about it, you know...before he died. But...he didn't tell. He took that secret to the grave with him. I was so afraid that Mortimer, with all his money, would try to take you away from me. That's why I have kept silent for so long."
The three of them sat in stunned silence, thinking of the words that had just been spoken. They didn't notice Nina standing outside the doorway. How long had she been there...and how much had she heard?
Apparently she had been there long enough....for she went straight to Cassandra and told her everything she had heard.
Casey was sad. She had looked forward to moving back home...to getting to know her little sister and even George better. She hoped everything would be all right between them all. Her family was so imporant to her.
