Heart & Soul

Episode 49

Who Is She?

By Allan Craig

 

Wesley strolled out of the deli clutching a brown paper bag containing some lunch, and a coffee in his other hand. He spotted John and Alex walking down the street together and instantly his blood began to boil.

 

So what? They were just flaunting their relationship in public now, laughing at him behind his back for all those years he was a fool?

 

“You two absolutely disgust me,” Wesley hissed, marching over to them.

”Well hello Wesley,” John cleared his throat, “Always a pleasure.”

 

Alex squirmed uncomfortably between the two men. She tightened her grip on the leather strap of her handbag and straightened up her posture, her back as stiff as a board.

 

“I wish I could say the same,” Wesley snarled, “You two make me sick. You ought to be ashamed of yourself.”

 

“We’re both single adults,” John insisted, “We’re doing nothing wrong.”

 

“He’s right, Wesley,” Alex added, her nerves clear in her voice, “We’ve done nothing wrong.”

 

“Oh really?” Wesley folded his arms, glaring at his ex wife, “So the fact you’ve ripped this family apart is doing nothing wrong? The fact your daughter hates you so much that she’s travelled halfway across the world to be as far away from you as possible isn’t wrong?”

 

“Ashley’s left town?” although this news was weeks old, it was breaking news to Alex, “You never said.”

 

“Why would I?” Wesley could see the shock and hurt on Alex’s face, “Why would I tell you anything? You didn’t care about what effect your little revelation would have on this family, so why should your family care about you?”

 

“Now that’s just enough,” John interrupted, “I won’t have you talking to Alex like that.”

 

“You don’t get a say in this,” Wesley stared John dead in the eye, “You’re just as bad as her. How dare you put my son under so much pressure to keep your secret? That’s just not on.”

 

“But he’s not your son, is he, Wesley?” John knew he shouldn’t take this opportunity to wind Wesley up, but he couldn’t resist, “He’s mine.”

 

“I really wonder why I’m going along with Will’s wishes to keep this a secret. Granted, I’d be embarrassed if I had you for a father,” Wesley grinned as he realized he had the upper hand, “But why should I keep this a secret? Why should I do you any favours? I might just phone the tabloids, let it leak. What the hell? You’ve taken everything from me, why shouldn’t I do the same to you?”

 

Josh’s Apartment

 

Kyle rubbed his hands as he waited for Natalie to answer the door. Even though things had been going well between them, the constant reminder that she was carrying Leo’s baby was a source of tension, to say the least.

 

The door opened and Natalie smiled, letting Kyle in so they could begin the discussion she was dreading. He gave her a kiss on the cheek before heading in and taking a seat on the sofa, followed by Natalie.

 

“So how did the scan go?” Kyle could see Natalie was showing a little.

 

“Yeah, it went okay, the baby’s progressing along at the right rate,” Natalie patted her stomach, “I can’t believe I’m five months gone already. Not long now.”

 

“Have you started to think about what will happen when the baby comes?” Kyle asked.

 

“Well, yes and no,” Natalie wasn’t sure what to say next, she didn’t want to discuss the future too much, scared to say the wrong thing and scare Kyle off, “I know it’s going to take up a lot of my time, but I don’t want to give up on our relationship before it’s begun.”

 

“Me either, but sometimes…”

 

“And I don’t see why me having a baby should come between us,” Natalie went on, cutting Kyle off before he got the chance to say anything negative, “I know you’re a little young to be getting involved in such a serious situation, but just because I’m having a baby…doesn’t mean I’m going to force you to play daddy.”

 

“The last thing I want is to end things, Natalie,” Kyle insisted, “But I need to know that you’re not still holding a candle for Leo. I know you’ve made it pretty clear already, but what if, four months down the line, he decides he wants to be with you and his child?”

 

“Leo being a part of my, and this baby’s, life isn’t something I can change,” Natalie explained, “But getting back together with Leo is the last thing I want. Seriously.”

 

Sterling Enterprises: Greg’s Office

 

“You busy?”

 

Greg looked up from his desk to see Kristen standing in his doorway.

 

“No, come in,” Greg motioned for Kristen to enter the office, “What can I do for you?”

 

“I just thought I’d stop by with some pictures of Adam,” Kristen removed her coat and draped it over the back of a chair as she sat down, “Carrie had them done by a photographer a few weeks back and I managed to grab a few for you.”

 

“Thanks very much,” Greg was touched, he had felt so left out of his son’s upbringing so far that, for Carrie’s own sister to come by, really made him smile, “I definitely wasn’t expecting anything like that from Carrie.”

 

“Well she doesn’t really know,” Kristen confessed, pulling a brown envelope out of her handbag, “I think she was cautious in case you give Diane one.”

 

Greg rolled his eyes, “Well what does she expect? Obviously my mom’s going to want to be involved in the upbringing of her first grandchild. She’s missed so much already, it’s not fair the way Carrie is treating her. And treating me for that matter.”

 

“She’s just a little confused, that’s all,” Kristen tried to stand up for her sister, but she knew fine well that Carrie was just being stubborn and pig headed, “With the divorce, Adam being around, and the engagement. Her head’s everywhere.”

 

“Yeah, the engagement,” Greg’s fist clenched, “But, seriously, Kristen, thanks for the photos. I just wish I’d been there when they were taken.”

 

Greg slid open the envelope and looked at the first shot; Adam in a tin bath tub. He was getting big, Greg felt like he hadn’t seen his son in ages. Kristen watched as a smile appeared on Greg’s face.

 

“I understand,” Kristen wanted nothing more than to talk some sense into Carrie, but she knew Carrie could be just as stubborn as she was, if not worse, so it was pointless.

 

Main Street, Oakridge

 

“Seriously, John,” Wesley folded his arms, “Why should I keep this secret for you when all its done is tear my family apart?”

 

“Exactly, Wesley,” John tried to reason with Wesley, “Why make another family go through that?”

 

“Don’t you dare play that card with me John Sterling,” Wesley snarled, “As long as you and your perfect little family are okay, that’s all that matters, huh?”

”It’s not like that at all,” John insisted, noticing Alex’s silence on the matter, “But what would be the point?”

 

“In letting the truth out?” Wesley’s blood boiled, “You really make me sick. The pair of you. You deserve each other.”

 

Wesley looked them both up and down with a look of disgust before turning in the other direction and walking off.

 

Metro Hotel: Amber’s Room

 

Amber’s packing frenzy was interrupted by a knock at the door. Presuming it was the maid, she headed over and opened the door, only to see Josh standing in the hall. Before she got the chance to close the door, his foot was stopping it.

 

“Can we talk?” Josh didn’t know what Amber was hiding. Ever since he’d found her driver’s license, that read April Bradshaw, she’d been ignoring his calls. She even ran out of the restaurant when he found it, “I don’t know what it is I’ve done.”

 

“It’s not you,” Amber insisted, “But desperation really isnt a good thing in a man Josh, you might want to remember that for the future. I’m gone, okay? Forget me.”

 

“You know I can’t forget you,” Josh walked into the room, “What is it with you Amber, or is it April? You’re constantly blowing hot and cold with me, I don’t get it.”

 

“You don’t need to get it,” Amber insisted, careful not to wake her sleeping child as she stuffed more clothes into a suitcase, “All you need to ‘get’ is that I can’t stay in town. Especially not now you know who I am.

 

“So who exactly is April Bradshaw?” Josh demanded, “And why did you tell me your name was Amber?”

 

“Because I wanted to, ‘kay?” Amber stopped her frantic packing to catch her breath, “I don’t need to explain myself you.”

 

“You can’t keep running away,” Josh insisted, “Just stay in Oakridge. Where else are you going to go? Besides, you can’t keep dragging Emily around everywhere just because you fancy it. It’s not good for kids to have no routine.”

 

“That’s none of your business. And how dare you bring my daughter into this,” Amber hissed.

 

“Who are you, really?” Josh tried to calm the tone, “And why did you come to Oakridge?”

 

Fix Coffee House

 

Alex and John sat down at a table with their coffees, still reeling from Wesley’s outburst, not to mention the tension it caused between them.

”It just had to happen,” Alex apologized, “I’m really sorry about that.”

 

“What have you got to apologize for?” John stirred his coffee, “It’s not your fault your ex husband’s a complete asshole.”

 

“He does have a point though,” Alex ripped open a small sachet of sugar and poured it into her mug, “Why should he keep our secret? What’s to stop him telling everyone?”

”If Wesley knows what’s good for him, he’ll keep schtum,” John insisted, although from what he saw, his day was about to get so much worse. The doors to the coffee shop opened and Diane strolled in, stopping in her tracks with a wicked smile when she spotted John and Alex together, before marching over to their table.

 

“Well, well,” Diane smirked, “I thought this affair was done and dusted decades ago. I heard Wesley kicked you out, Alexandra, but I didn’t think you’d be crawling back to John so soon.”

 

“Go away, Diane,” John rolled his eyes, “You’re the last thing I need right now.”

 

“Bad day?” Diane faked a sympathetic tone, “How...well deserved.”

 

“Do you get some kind of kick out of tormenting people?” Alex began to stir her coffee, “Or is it just that you’re so bored and lonely that it’s all you have to keep yourself busy with?”

 

“Listen Alexandra,” Diane leaned in close, “You may have got away with those little remarks the last time you were bedding my husband. Sure, I turned a blind eye in the past, but now I’ve got no reason to play nice with you. So less of the lip.”

 

“I’m quaking in my Jimmy Choos,” Alex stood up, her clear height advantage on Diane giving her a dominance, “What John and I do is none of your business. He DIVORCED you, remember? A few decades too late, but it’s done now. So why don’t you go and cling to your latest man…his brother, I believe?”

 

Sterling Enterprises: Greg’s Office

 

“So then I said to her that I wanted some sort of concrete arrangement for Adam’s custody down on paper before I went through with the divorce,” Greg explained to Kristen, “And she just flipped out. It’s like she can’t handle it now that she doesn’t have the upper hand in this situation.”

 

“What you need to realize is, Carrie isnt against you seeing Adam,” Kristen tried to make sense of the whole situation, “It’s the rest of your family…well, you’re mother…that she wants kept away.”

 

“I know that,” Greg agreed, “And I can totally understand where she’s coming from after the way my mom was to her, but she was only doing it out of love, and Carrie can’t see that. Besides, Adam’s my son too. I should be able to see him without Carrie’s supervision; or Nate’s for that matter.”

 

“I know, I know. As much as she’s my sister and whatever, she is being a little harsh on the Sterlings. But you know Carrie, she’s stubborn. Just like daddy.”

 

“Yeah, I know,”

 

“Listen, I gotta run,” Kristen stood up, “I said I’d help my mom do some stuff for Carrie’s baby thing…like, you know, a girl’s night in.”

 

“Well thanks for coming by Kristen,” Greg smiled, “And thanks for the photos.”

 

Josh’s Apartment

 

“The only feelings I have for Leo,” Natalie continued, “Are bad ones. The guy takes no responsibility for his actions, doesn’t care.”

 

“I understand that,” Kyle smiled, “But I just need to know it’s for real. I want to be there for you, and this baby, as much as possible, but only if know it’s not going to pulled out from under me if Leo decides to change his mind.”

 

Natalie was touched. She couldn’t believe Kyle was going to make such a big sacrifice for her, and her baby.

 

Fix Coffee House

 

Josh entered the coffee shop with Amber, who was pushing a half asleep Emily in her pram. As they took a seat on the brown leather couch, Amber was clearly on edge. Josh had convinced her to come for a coffee with him so she could explain her situation to him.

 

“Look, Josh,” Amber stared at her nails, polishing them on her shirt, “I have no idea why you think this is any of your business, but it’s not.”

 

“I just want to know who you are,” Josh insisted, “It’s one thing to give a false name to a stranger…but I thought I was getting to know you and you still lied to me.”

 

“I didn’t lie,” Amber insisted, “April Bradshaw’s just now who I am anymore.”

 

Across the room, John, Alex and Diane continued their conversation.

 

“Joseph and I are friends,” Diane lied, still keeping their engagement a secret from the family, or at least trying to, “He offered me a place to stay. That’s all. So butt out.”

 

“Oh right, so it’s okay for you to commentate on everyone else’s lives,” Alex rolled her eyes, “But yours is off limits?”

 

“I don’t have to listen to this,” Diane turned around, but stopped at the sight of the pretty redhead sitting with Josh. She turned around again to John and leaned in close.

 

“John, is it just me or does that girl over there look really like Andrew and Natasha Bradshaw’s daughter?”

John looked over to the girl and could see where Diane was coming from. But still, why would April Bradshaw be in Oakridge?

 

TO BE CONTINUED…