Heart & Soul

Episode 48

Table For Two

By Allan Craig

 

The Bungalow

 

A soft tinkle of piano played out in the background as Josh and Amber took their seats, oblivious to the waiters rushing around the elegant restaurant. Their waiter handed them their menus, flashed them both smiles and scurried off, leaving them alone.

 

“So, what’s good here?” Amber asked, scanning the menu for something that caught her eye.

 

“I dunno, it’s been a while since I’ve been here,” the last time Josh was in the Rialto was on a date with Jessica, “Pretty much everything’s good depending on what you like.”

 

“You know, there’s this one place back h…” Amber cut herself off mid sentence. The very mention of her hometown and she shut down.

 

“Why do you always do that?” Josh had noticed her secrecy.

 

“Do what?”

 

“Avoid talking about where you’re from…it’s like, you’re hiding something, or something.”

 

“I just don’t like to talk about it,” Amber insisted, “It’s nothing; honestly, I just don’t see the point in living in the past when I’ve got my entire future ahead of me. And not one iota of my future involves River’s Edge.”

 

…

 

Across the restaurant, John and Alex were already midway into their meals, a half empty bottle of red wine the only thing between them.

 

“You know, I was surprised to hear from you,” Alex twirled her spaghetti with her fork, but she wasn’t interested in eating any of it, “I didn’t think you’d want to hear from me after what happened.”

 

“We kissed,” John took a sip of his wine, “We’re both grownups, this isn’t high school anymore Alexandra.”

 

The kiss wasn’t what Alex was talking about, but she just loved that John had brought it up, injecting more tension into their evening, “No, I mean because of Will. Has he been giving you a hard time, I trust?”

 

“To be honest I’ve barely heard from him, I presume he’s still coming to terms with your little bombshell.”

 

“Even still, you’d think he’d be eager to get to know the man he’s just discovered is his father,” Alex insisted.

”Well perhaps he would be if it wasn’t for the fact he’d already slept with my daughter,” John reminded Alex, “Before he found out he was my son.”

 

“I dread to think how Megan will react when this comes out,” Alex could see by John’s face that he was determined not to let this secret be revealed to everyone, “It will come out, you know, sooner or later. Why you think keeping it a secret is beyond me.”

 

“I suppose it’s the same reason why you felt keeping Will’s paternity a secret for decades. Besides, I’m only doing it to protect Megan.”

 

“How is it protecting her? If you’re honest with yourself, the only person you’re trying to protect is you!”

 

…

 

Across the busy restaurant, Will Abbot took a sip of his beer. He had stopped by the restaurant to pick up some take out for dinner and decided to have a drink while he waited. Totally unaware his parents sat only a few feet away from him, he tapped his fingers on the bar, awaiting his meal.

 

Kimberley Sterling walked into the restaurant, her jeweled Sidekick attached to her hand like a second skin. She scanned the restaurant for her old friend, Lila, who appeared to be absent, and took a seat at the bar.

 

“Well, well,” Kimberley glanced at her sister’s ex-boyfriend and shot him a smile, “It’s been a while since I saw you, stranger.”

 

“Hey, Kimberley,” Will smiled, this was the first time he’d seen Kimberley since discovering she was his half sister, of course, she didn’t know that little fact just yet, “When did you get back into town? The last time I saw you, you were in one of Ashley’s stupid celebrity rags.”

 

“Tabloids,” Kimberley rolled her eyes, “They can be such a pain. Yeah, I just came back a few weeks back. I wanted to see my little nephew, but Carrie’s being like way harsh on Greg and not letting any of….” Kimberley was cut off by the ringing of her phone. She swiveled it open and held it to her face.

 

“Hello…Lila, hey girlfriend! Where are you?...what? um, okay, that’s cool. Yeah, some other time,” Kimberley’s clear disappointment was evident on her face, “Yeah, love ya.”

 

She swiveled the phone shut, “Well, Will, it looks like it’s just you and me.”

 

Kimberley had always had a thing for Will when he was dating Megan, but now Megan was with Marc, she guessed there was nothing wrong with having a little fun…

 

…

 

Amber opened the door to the bathroom and headed straight for the sink. Standing at the mirror, she tossed her hair back out of her face and took a deep breath. She didn’t know what was going on…her meal with Josh was going really well, and suddenly, she felt dizzy and faint. She had excused herself and made a quick run to the bathroom, where she proceeded to fumble in her purse for some aspirin.

 

“You have to get yourself together,” she muttered to herself, “Snap out of it. This is the last thing you need right now.”

 

Stop trying to fight me, you know I’ll win in the end.

 

Amber felt like someone was turning thousands of tiny screws into her head, tightening them over and over. All she wanted to do was scream, but instead she held her breath, at least this way she wouldn’t be disturbing everyone else in the restaurant.

 

You’ve had all the fun, it’s my turn now.

 

…

 

“You know, John,” Alex played around with the remnants of her meal, but her eyes were fixed straight at John, “Just because you’ve managed to keep Will quiet, doesn’t mean your secret’s safe with me.”

 

“You wouldn’t dare,” John took a sip of his wine as a devilish smile appeared on Alex’s face. He knew fine well that Alex wouldn’t spill; this was all just part of the game.

 

She hadn’t changed a bit since they first got together, always teasing and winding him up. And he loved every second of it.

 

“Well you’ll just have to trust me, wont you?” Alex winked.

 

“I suppose I will, but seriously Alex, you can’t let this secret get out. Nobody else can know that I’m Will’s father until the time is right.”

 

“And when exactly will the time be right?” Alex demanded, “At this rate nobody’s ever going to know. And they have the right to know. Greg, Megan and Kimberley deserve to know they’ve got a brother…Megan especially.”

 

“It would destroy her if she knew,” John insisted, “It would destroy her, and her relationship with Marc. She can’t know yet, she’s been through too much lately. Seriously, Alex, this can’t get out, not yet.”

 

…

 

“You know, Will,” Kimberley edged closer to Will, who was looking increasingly uncomfortable the closer she got, “I always had a little thing for you when you were dating Megan.”

 

“Really?” Will’s voice couldn’t hide the fact he was absolutely petrified..

 

“Uh huh,” Kimberley ran her tongue over her full, glossy bottom lip, ”I mean, why wouldn’t I? Why wouldn’t any girl? That smile, those eyes…that body. I’d be blind if I wasn’t attracted to you. And I’d be lying if I said I had never had a thing for you.”

 

“Oh, right,” Will avoided making eye contact with Kimberley, instead his eyes roamed the ceiling of the restaurant, “Kimberley, I…” Will tried his best to tell Kimberley that he wasn’t interested, that nothing could ever happen between them. But how could he do that? Kimberley was one of those girls that had never been told ‘no’ in her life, not by anyone. He sensed she wouldn’t take too kindly to being turned down, so instantly his mind went into overdrive trying to think of an excuse to leave. His mental planning didn’t get too far; Kimberley cut him off mid sentence.

 

“You what? You want to buy me a drink? Thought so, bartender, I’ll have an apple martini.” Kimberley rested her arm on Will’s shoulder and slid it down his arm, running it back up again and lifting the arm of his fitted black t shirt to reveal his tanned, muscular arm, “Someone’s been working out.”

 

Will jumped from his stool, disgusted at the way his sister was talking to him. He understood Kimberley wasn’t aware that he was her brother, but still, it freaked him out none the less, “I better go. I said I’d meet a friend at Reilly’s for a beer and I’m running late.”

 

Kimberley was taken aback, was Will really turning her down? She couldn’t believe it, a guy was actually turning her, Kimberley Sterling, down! She removed her sequined shrug cardigan and draped it over the stool, and then draped herself over Will, “Come on, Will, haven’t you ever wondered what it’s like to do sisters?”

 

…

 

“Is that Will over there?” John asked. Alex turned around to see her son standing at the bar, with a pretty blonde draped over him.

 

“Looks like it, and he’s finally getting on with his life instead of moping over Megan,” Alex smiled, happy that her son was moving on, until she saw who the pretty blonde was, “with Kimberley?”

 

“It better not be,” John got up from his seat and threw his napkin down, preparing to separate his two children, “He’s flirting with his sister?”

 

“Sit down,” Alex got up, “What are you going to do? March over there and break the two of them up? Then what? What are you going to tell them? As far as Kimberley’s aware, Will’s just her sister’s ex boyfriend, she’s probably just having a bit of harmless flirting.”

 

“With her brother,” John insisted, “I have to put a stop to this.”

 

“You do that and you’ll have to tell them the truth. You’ll have to tell Kimberley that you’re Will’s father. And then what? The secret’s out.”

 

John sighed, he knew Alex was right, and that he couldn’t separate them. Thankfully, he saw Will brush Kimberley off and leave the restaurant once his takeout had arrived, leaving Kimberley sitting at the bar alone.

 

“You know, things would be a lot simpler in the long run if this secret was out in the open,” Alex picked up her handbag and coat and stood up from her seat, “Go talk to your daughter. I’ll call you.”

 

And with that, Alex walked out of the restaurant, leaving John sitting at the table alone. Why did Alex always have to be right?

 

…

 

It’s showtime.

 

Amber tossed her long, curly, red hair behind her shoulders and smoothed down her sexy black dress. She checked her makeup in her compact mirror before strolling across the busy dining room, fully aware of the stares she was receiving from various men, and loving it. As she reached the table where Josh sat, she rested her purse on the table.

 

“I was about to send out the search party,” Josh joked, “More champagne?”

 

“Keep it coming,” Amber lowered herself seductively onto her seat as Josh poured the champagne. As she sat down, her hand caught the strap of her purse and knocked it to the floor, spilling the contents everywhere. Amber quickly leaned onto the floor to begin picking up her possessions.

 

“Let me give you a hand,” Josh got down onto the floor to help Amber pick up her stuff. As she gathered her makeup bag, Josh spotted a small laminated card that had slid under the table and reached for it. It was her driver’s license. Her picture. The only difference was the name.

 

“Hey Amber?” Josh looked up, “Who’s April Bradshaw?”

 

TO BE CONTINUED…