Marlena Evans entered through the door of place that she had grown to call
home for the past seventeen years of her life. She crept cautiously upstairs,
careful not to wake the tiny blonde beauty that lie asleep on her shoulder. She
settled her daughter into her bed, turned on her nightlight, and left the room,
leaving the door slightly ajar as she did every night after she came home from
work. She stopped suddenly as she past the room that used to belong to Aunt
Helena, she felt a surge of emotions threatening to overcome her. She quickly
gained her composure and continued down the hall to her bedroom. Marlena’s
whole life had been one devastation after another. Her mother died when she
was very young, she never knew her father, and her mother’s sister, the woman
who raised her, had died of heart failure a couple of days earlier, leaving Marlena
even more lost and confused as to who she was and where she was going. Upon
entering the room, she wondered, as she did every night, just how her life had
reached this point.
Twenty-six year old Marlena was the single mother of three year old Kylie. Kylie’s
father, Roman Brady, had left soon after she was born leaving Marlena with all of
the responsibilities and all of the financial burden. Tears rolled down her cheeks as
she is transported back in time to a day still fresh in her mind…the day Roman
shattered her world and abandoned her and their daughter.
***Marlena rushed into the apartment that she shared with her fiancée Roman
Brady. She had been accepted into Johns Hopkins University and Boston
University both on partial scholarships, it wasn’t much but would help out a lot
financially considering that she and Roman had just had a baby. She knew that it
would be difficult with Kylie, but she knew that as long as she and Roman had
each other, they would be able to deal, she could get a student loan to pay for
the rest of her tuition, even get a part-time job if she had to, she would do
anything to make things work for her and her family.
“Roman? Roman, you’ll never guess what just…” She trailed off as she entered
the bedroom and found Roman packing his things. She had a gut feeling that
something was definitely not right. The look of shock on his face upon seeing her
indicated that he hadn’t expected to her to come so soon, so obviously he was
going to leave without telling her first.
“What’s this? I don’t remember you telling me about you going somewhere” She
didn’t want to believe what her heart already knew. Roman sighed heavily, putting his head between his hands as he sat down on the bed.
“I didn’t want you to find out this way…”
“Find out what, Roman?” She didn’t like the tone of his voice at all. It sounded so
empty, so final.
“Mar, maybe you should sit down before I tell-”
“I don’t want to sit down! Just tell me!” She was getting angrier by the second at
his patronizing demeanor.
“I- I-” He knew there was no easy way to say what he wanted to tell her, but he
continued anyway. “Look, things are moving too fast for me. I think that we
should take a break…” Marlena was beyond furious.
“Take a break? Don’t you think it’s a little late for that, Roman?”
“I can’t help the way I feel…”
“The way *you* feel? I thought you loved me?”
“I do, Mar, but-”
“But, what?” He sighs heavily before standing again.
“I don’t think I’m ready for this”
“What are you saying?”
He pauses as he shuts the second suitcase before he grabs them both off the
bed.
“I’m leaving…”
“You’re leaving?” She repeated in disbelief.
“Yes” He replies nonchalantly.
“So that’s it? You’re just going to leave me and *our daughter* just like that?”
“I wish I didn’t have to but, damn it, I can’t help the way I feel!”
“All I have heard from you since the moment I walked through that door, was
how you felt!”
“Try to understand-”
“Understand? I’ll never understand…”
As she stood she looking in the mirror before her, she felt a wave of nausea
washing over her…All thanks to the man that she loved and whom she thought
loved her, but it was painfully obvious that that was all a lie. It made her sick to
her stomach to see what type of person had had become. A woman filled with
hatred and distrust for the opposite sex…
The sky was dark and gloomy. Funeral weather. Marlena still couldn’t believe that
they we burying her Aunt today. Marlena’s cousin, Trista, had been trying to
keep herself busy, running around making all of the preparations. A few of their
friends had offered to take care of everything, but declined saying that keeping
busy was the only way for her to keep from falling apart. Everyone handles grief in
their own way, but Marlena knew that it would only be a matter of time before
her cousin finally broke down.
“I can’t believe this is happening. It all seems so surreal” Trista replies, staring out
the window as Marlena emerges from the bathroom.
“I know. Last night, Kylie asked me about Aunt Hel, and I didn’t know what to say,
I just lost it. I cried for hours. I don’t know if I can do this, Tris…” Marlena replies,
standing in front of the mirror, smoothing out the wrinkles in her dress.
“I don’t think I can either, but we have to.” She walks over to Marlena and stands
behind her, looking at her through the mirror. “Mama would want her girls to be
strong. She would want us to remember the good times”
“Careful. You’re starting to sound like those well wishers that will be showing up on
our doorstep afterwards” They laugh.
“Speaking of, we should be heading downstairs, since some have already shown
- Keith is probably about to lose his mind playing host.” She walks over to the
door, then turns around.
“Are you coming?”
“Yeah. I just need a minute”
“Okay. The limo should be here soon, try to be ready when they get here”
Marlena offers a wry smile before Trista walks out the door. Marlena walks over to
her jewelry box, pulling out a string of pearls that belonged to her mother. She
could still remember the day her Aunt her those pearls.
**”I can’t believe that today is happening!”
“I know! It seems like just yesterday we were graduating from junior high, going to
high school, now we’re graduating from high school…” Marlena stated as she
continued to apply her makeup.
“You do know what this means don’t you? No more curfews, no more screening
of our boyfriends! We are now going to be considered as adults” Trista informs,
unable to contain her excitement.
“I hope you don’t actually believe the nonsense that you are spewing out of
your mouth. As long as you live under my roof, you will abide by my rules. End of
discussion!” Trista walks out of the room in a huff. Helena turns her attention to her
niece as she is reminded of why she wanted to see her before the girls left for the
school.
“Excited enough?”
“Nervous is more like it. I worked so hard on my speech but I’m a wreck about
saying it in front of all those people.” Helena wraps her arms around Marlena.
“You’ll be fine… You’re an Evans girl, you’re tough, you can do this”
“I don’t think I can…” Helena reaches into her pocket and pulls out a string of
pearls and hands them to Marlena.
“What are these for?” She asked, looking at her Aunt confusingly.
“They were your mother’s…and now their yours.”
**
Trista enters the room, jarring Marlena from her thoughts.
“I just wanted to see if you were almost done. The limo is here, everyone
downstairs is heading out for the church.”
“I’m ready. Let’s go.”
A couple of weeks had passed since the funeral. Trista and her husband, Keith
Bennett had moved into the house, per Helena’s request in her will. Helena stated
in her will that the house and the trust fund that she had set up, was to be split
between Marlena and Trista. Neither of them had ever expected that Helena
had set up a trust fund for the both of them. She never uttered, nor hinted a
word about it. Marlena found it to be strange when it was also stated in the will
that the money was given to Helena by Marlena’s *parents*, as in her mother
*and* father. Could it have been a mistake, or could it have been a hint? Could
Helena have known who her father was all along? And if she did, was it truly a
secret that she took to her grave or could she have left something behind that
would finally give Marlena some closure…
Marlena was awakened by the obnoxious sound of the phone ringing. Looking at
the blaring red digits on the alarm clock, she silently wonders who could be calling
so early in the morning. Reaching over blindly, she picks up the cordless phone
from its cradle.
“Hello?” She answers groggily.
“Hello, Marlena. I’m sorry to call so early, I didn’t wake you, did I?” Caroline Brady,
Kylie’s grandmother, asked on the other end of the telephone.
“No, it’s only 8:30 on a Saturday morning” She thought inwardly. It was what she
wanted to tell her but she didn’t out of respect for the older woman.
“No, I was just lying in the bed. It’s still early and I wasn’t ready to get up just
yet…”
“Well, the reason I’m calling is I wanted to remind you about the Shawn-Douglas’
birthday party at the pub. I left you a message earlier this week about it but you
didn’t call me back, so I wanted to make sure that received it”
“I did. I meant to call you back, I’ve just had a hectic week. I haven’t had time
to do anything”
“I understand. Well, the party is at 2:00. I look forward to seeing my
granddaughter since I couldn’t keep her this week”
“We’ll be there. Bye.” She ends the call, then places the phone back on the
receiver.
She knew that sleep would no longer be an option as she heard the running
footsteps of daughter down the hall.
“Mommy!” She screamed as she burst through the door and leaped onto the
bed.
“Good morning, sweetie pie. Did you sleep well?” The little girl enthusiastically
nodded her head.
“Are you hungry?” This time she shakes her head no.
“Well, I think we should eat anyway, I’m starving” She rubs her belly to emphasize
her point.
“Me too” She replies mimicking her mother by rubbing her belly. Marlena laughs
at her daughter’s antics.
“Well, let’s go eat” She replies as she lifts the little girl onto her hip and heads to
the kitchen.
**********
{Doorbell Rings}
Marlena emerges from the kitchen to answer the door. She opens the door to
find her friend, Laura Horton, standing on the other side.
“Hey, sweetie. I got your mail…” Laura replies as she hands Marlena the mail, then
hugs her.
“More bills, I’m sure” She places them on the table beside the door without even
looking at them. “Come in, sit down” Marlena replies, holding the door and
motioning for Laura to come in.
“So, where’s my goddaughter?” Laura asks as she looks around the house.
“She’s asleep. She conked out after she ate her breakfast and watched cartoons
for about an hour or so”
“Well, there goes my reason for visiting…Trista isn’t here either?” Marlena feigns
hurt.
“And here I am thinking that maybe you had come to see me. Keith surprised
her with a trip to Green Mountain Lodge for the weekend”
“Ooh, Sounds romantic…Actually, I did come to check up on you. I haven’t
seen you or Kylie in a couple of weeks, I was beginning to think that something
was wrong”
“Aside from everything else that’s wrong in my life? No, I don’t think that there’s
anything else new” She laughs bitterly.
“I guess with everything else going on, I’ve been a little depressed and…I don’t
know, I just haven’t been myself lately”
“And I think I know just how to fix it. There’s this guy, he just moved here from
Florida, I forgot what part, Miami, maybe… He works at the hospital”
“I’ll pass”
“Why? He’s a very hot, very available, plastic surgeon-”
“Laura, I don’t have time for a man in my life right now. Graduation is right around
the corner. A man is the last thing that Kylie and I need right now”
“That is exactly why you should start dating again. Like it or not, that little girl
needs a father in her life and since Roman obviously isn’t stepping up to the
plate, you should move on and try again”
“Why should I? Look where it’s landed me. My little girl doesn’t know her own
father!”
“But it’s not your fault!” Laura sighs heavily.
“Look, Marlena, you are smart, beautiful, and you have an amazing heart. I think
it would be an hell of a waste for you to deprive yourself from being happy all
because of that asshole Roman.”
“Can we just drop this? I don’t need the headache of another heartache in my
life right now…”
“Alright. I’ll let it go…for now”
“Thank you…”
“I have to go… You are coming to Shawn-D’s party, right?”
“Yeah, we are”
“Okay, see you then” She gives Marlena one last hug before she walks out the
door.
After the kids ate, Hope led Shawn-D and the other children and adults over to
the corner booth while Shawn-D opened his presents. Marlena remained in her
corner booth on the other side of room, gazing out of the window.
Whenever she came to the pub, a state of depression would always seem to
overcome her, but after a while that depression would begin to develop into
blood boiling anger. The Bradys were hands down the most good hearted people
in Salem, your modern day “Leave it to Beaver” family with wholesome values
and morals. How two people like Shawn and Caroline could give birth to someone
like Roman, was something she would never understand.
Although Roman had abandoned her and their daughter, she tried not to let her
hatred of him deprive them of spending time with their granddaughter, but it only
seemed to get harder and harder, especially at events such as these. She looked
over at Bo, with Kylie in his lap and Hope by his side beaming happily, as they
watched their son rip into the presents. She couldn’t take it. She couldn’t help the
resentment that she felt watching the scene in front of her. That should have
been her and Roman, her daughter should be the one sitting in *her* daddy’s lap,
bonding with her daddy.
“I can’t take this. I need some air” She states inwardly as she ducked out of the
pub, hoping that no one would notice and follow her.
Despite the cold mid-October weather, Marlena found herself sitting on a bench
at the pier, looking out onto the water. Ever since she was a young girl, she would
come to the pier when she was upset or just needed to be alone to think. It was
calming somehow to sit and look out onto the water. She felt at peace, closer to
her mother and now her Aunt somehow, like they were watching over her,
assuring her that everything would be alright. She sighed heavily as she covered
her face with her hands closing her eyes.
“Oh, mama…or Aunt Hel, it doesn’t matter. I need your help…It’s time for me to
move on with my life, I know that, but I can’t. I’m trying but I can’t do it alone.”
She sighed again heavily.
“I’m tired of feeling resentful every time I see a father playing with his child or a
couple walking down the street who are so in love that they can’t even see
anyone else…” She pauses as she struggles to find her voice as tears start flowing
from her eyes.
“I want to be able to love again. Please…help me love again…” Her tears had
turned into quiet sobs. She didn’t even notice the person who had hear her
private admission…
He wanted to walk away. He knew he was invading the private thoughts of
someone who obviously didn’t realize that he was there. His heart sank at the
woman’s heartfelt plea to love again. He could relate to it because it was
exactly how he felt. From what he had overheard, this lady had obviously been
hurt badly by the opposite sex. The person responsible for her pain has to be the
biggest fool who ever graced God’s green earth. The blonde haired woman
whom he had been starring at for countless minutes now, had to be the most
beautiful woman he had ever seen and he had seen plenty. Her peaches and
cream complexion easily matched with what he had assumed to be an amazing
body, but couldn’t tell because of her coat and the angle from which she was
sitting.
He was so mesmerized in his visual exploration and thoughts that he hadn’t
noticed that the woman had stopped crying and had also become aware of his
presence and his fixation. It was also very obvious that she was not pleased.
“Any other day I could come her for hours and not be bothered. It would be just
my luck to run into a pier freak when I want nothing else but to be alone…” She
snatched her bag and got up from the bench in a huff.
He was taken back by her reaction. It was a public pier, for crying out loud!
“Excuse me lady, but the last time I checked, this was a public pier! And what do
you mean “pier freak”?” He asks, her outburst still lingering in his mind.
“I was referring to the way that you were gawking at me like-” She pauses, as if
she were thinking of a definite reference to describe his actions.
“Like what?” He asks defiantly.
“Like I was some piece of meat!”
“Well I’m sorry, but last time I checked, it wasn’t a crime to admire a beautiful
woman…” Marlena was shocked by his open admission and also flattered by it
but the stubbornness in her wouldn’t allow him to see it.
“That still doesn’t give you the right to stare or-” It then dawned on her that she
didn’t know how long he had been standing on the pier with her.
“Just how long were you here, anyway?”
“Is that your subtle way of asking me did I hear you talking to yourself?” This
comment infuriated her, causing her to light into him.
“How dare you eavesdrop on me? First, I catch you staring at me, then I find out
that you were listening in on my private thoughts…”
“You know you really know how to give a guy a hard time. Especially a guy who
feels very attracted to you and getting more attracted to you by the second…”
Marlena stifles a laugh.
“You are unbelievable, you know that?” John looks at her, his face unreadable.
“You really think that I am going to fall for that sorry line?”
“Actually, that wasn’t a line. It was an honest admission. Apparently, you don’t
believe I’m capable of being a honest man.”
“I haven’t met one yet…”
“Or maybe the men that you met weren’t really men at all—maybe they were
little boys pretending to be men, but not knowing the first thing about being one.”
His words rang true to her as she pondered that possibility, unnerving her to the
core. She could feel herself starting to soften towards him. Normally guys like him
wouldn’t even receive a second glance from her, let alone an argument, but
there was something about him, she didn’t know exactly what it was but she
found herself more than willing to find out what it was.
“Do you usually affect women this way?”
“Depends on what way you’re talking about.”
“Do you always seduce them with arrogant charm?”
“It’s been known to work on occasion”
“I guess that honesty thing was true because I was totally expecting you lie to
me, denying your game” She replied smiling.
“Wow! That’s the first time I’ve seen you smile since our—confrontation.” They
laugh. “I hope to see it more often…”
“You’re awful sure about that, huh? I don’t even know your name…”
“That makes us even, but it’s not a problem that can’t be solved.” He extends his
hand to her, “Hi, my name is John Black, and you are…”
Her smile widens as she takes his hand, “Marlena, Marlena Evans…”
“Beautiful name for a beautiful lady…”
“Here you go again…”
“I’m just being honest…” There is a long silence before she breaks it again.
“I think I’d better go. It was nice to meet you…” She replies staring into his cobalt
eyes.
“Earlier I made a comment about seeing your smile more often. Is that offer still
available?”
“If you try hard enough, it just could be. Goodbye, John” Marlena smiled as she
turned and walked away.
He could tell from the look on her face that he had thrown her for a loop with his
attraction to her despite her earlier outburst, which was exactly what he wanted
to do. As beautiful as she was, he could tell that her hostile attitude had probably
made many of men with any kind of interest in her run for the hills. Luckily for her,
John saw women like her as a challenge, and he was most definitely looking
forward to getting to know her better. He didn’t know how just yet, but they
would most definitely be meeting again.
“That’s why I think that it’s going to take a lot of effort on both our parts if we
have a chance on bagging the Meyers deal. Do you agree?” Kate Roberts asks
as she sits in the chair in front of her boss’ desk.
“Huh? Oh, yeah– yeah, sure…” John replies as rises from his chair and walks over
to the window, admiring the snowfall over the city. “Since we’ve obviously
wrapped up everything here, you might as well go home. It’s Friday night, you
should be out having fun” He states not breaking his gaze from the window.
“And so should you”
“I still have some work to do…” She knew he was using work as an excuse to stay,
so she called him on it.
“So do I, but you’re still sending me home. Whatever work you have to do can
wait…I’m taking you out to dinner” He turns around to face her.
“Kate-”
“No buts, no excuses. I’m going to call Tuscany and see if I can get us a last
minute reservation” Kate replies as she picks up the phone, quickly dialing the
number to the restaurant. John realized that it would pointless to argue the
decision any further, knowing that once Kate made up her mind about
something, there was no fighting it.
**********
“Thanks again for babysitting on such short notice, Caroline”
“It’s no trouble dear, I would never pass up an opportunity to spend time with my
beautiful granddaughter…” The older woman replies while gazing at her
granddaughter adoringly, who was contently watching cartoons in a corner
booth.
“So, where are you ladies off to tonight all dolled up?”
“We’re just going to Tuscany for dinner and drinks, nothing special…” Laura
looked at Marlena quizzically. Marlena returned her eye contact, silently pleading
that she wouldn’t say anything.
“Oh, well you two have fun”
“Oh, believe me, we plan to…” Laura replies with a wide grin and a tone of voice
that said a thousand words. Marlena just smiled and shook her head at her friend.
“Kylie, baby, come give mommy a goodnight kiss…”
**********
John knocks on the door of Kate’s office. John had already showered and
changed in his office fifteen minutes ago. He knew that women took longer to
get dressed but this was ridiculous, she had started getting ready almost forty
minutes before him.
“Kate, our reservation is at eight…It’s twenty till”
“I’m almost ready. Just have a seat in the lobby and I’ll be out in a second, I
promise!” John rolled his eyes at the door before occupying a seat in the lobby.
Kate:
His lack of attention during the course of our conversation didn’t go unnoticed
by me. I didn’t want to call him on it then, but whatever it was had to be major,
because John is not easily distracted when it comes to business. In fact, the only
time I remember him being this distracted was during his breakup with…No, no, it
can’t be her. She wouldn’t dare try to contact him after all she put him through.
No way. It couldn’t be her… John would have told me if it was her. Well, it might
not be her, but it is definitely a woman. Damn! Just when I get to John finally start
warming up to me, something gets in the way. Well, not this time! I’ve worked too
hard for John’s affections for some bitch to try and take him from me. Calm
down, Kate! What are you so worried about? You’ve helped John through so
much, he’s not going to just ignore that fact. He can’t! He loves you, he just
doesn’t realize it yet. Besides, if there is another woman, she obviously doesn’t
mean much to him since I’m the one that he’s going out to dinner with. Sooner or
later, John will realize what he means to me and when he does, I will live the rest
of my life happily as Mrs. John Black…
**********
“I can’t believe I let you talk me into this” Marlena complains as they enter the
bathroom.
“I can’t believe I was able to talk you into it either. What was your deal? I’ve
been trying to hook you up for months with no luck.”
“Momentary lack of insanity. I’ve never been interested in blind dates anyway”
“You haven’t been interested in dates of any kind lately. You know what I think?”
“I’m afraid to ask…”
“I think that a part of you were hoping that the guy I hooked you up with would
turn out to be that mystery guy that you met on the pier”
“That’s crazy…You’re way off base on that one…”
“Bull, you talked about the guy for a full two weeks. God knows how many times I
heard the story of how you two met.” Marlena can’t help but laugh.
“That doesn’t prove anything!”
“Okay, live in denial if you must…” Laura pauses for a moment, she can’t resist
teasing friend a little more. “Can’t you at least tell me the guy’s name? Maybe I
can help you find him. Hell, I may even know the guy!”
“I’m sure if you knew him, you would have had him for yourself already…”
“I’m liking this guy more and more. Hey, if you don’t want him, I’ll take him!”
“I’m sure you would!” She replies giving Laura a friendly shove, before checking
out her appearance in the mirror one last time. “I think we’ve kept our dates
waiting long enough. Don’t you think?” She replies, holding the door open for
Laura.
“As good as we look tonight, I don’t think they would dare complain” Laura
states as she walks out the door with Marlena close behind. As they approach
their table, Laura suddenly grabs Marlena, pulling back towards the entrance of
the bathrooms.
“Laura, what’s up? What’s wrong?” Laura’s smile widens, as she continues her
fixation at the entrance of the restaurant.
“Marlena, do you see that guy over there? He’s hot!” Laura has always
maintained an healthy appetite for the opposite sex and has never had a
problem with showing it. Marlena turns to see what “hot guy” has captivated the
attention of her friend this time. When she turns around, she is shocked to find the
last person she ever expected to see again, waiting to be seated. But she is even
more shocked to see the brunette overly attached to his side…
Marlena couldn’t believe it. There he is, the man that held her thoughts captive
since the day she met him, right in front of her…only with another woman! She
felt like she had been kicked in the gut. For the past few weeks, she hasn’t been
able to get him out of her mind, but judging from the way that his date was
clinging on him, it was seemingly obvious that she didn’t have the same effect on
him. She felt a slight twinge of jealousy seeing John with another woman, but as
much as she hated it, she couldn’t help it.
“Tall, tanned, and handsome… Now that is definitely my type! Too bad he’s
taken…” Laura rambles on, not noticing Marlena’s disdain at the mention of
John’s “date” possibly being his girlfriend.
“How do you know that he’s taken? Just because she’s with him, doesn’t mean
that they are together” Marlena replies somewhat defensively, watching as the
waiter seated John and his companion on the other side of the room.
Immediately recognizing the defensiveness in her voice, Laura turns to Marlena,
eyeing her quizzically.
“A little defensive, aren’t we?”
“No, I’m not. Let’s just go back to the table, the guys are probably wondering
what’s taking us so long.” At the mention of their date, Laura quickly refrains from
pursuing her questions any further, much to Marlena’s relief. She was determined
to dismiss all thoughts of John from her mind and focus on her date for the night,
although she knew that it would not be an easy task. She quickly gained her
composure as she followed Laura to their table.
*****
“God, why did I even agree to come here?” John asked himself as he sat and
listened to Kate ramble on and on. She hadn’t stopped talking since they left
Basic Black, not to mention the way she had been hanging on him all night, it was
all beginning to annoy him.
Although he would admit that Kate is a beautiful woman and any man would be
lucky to have her, she just wasn’t what he was looking for in a woman. Being
honest, he hadn’t noticed any of the many women that have been trying
desperately to get his attention since his breakup with fortune heiress, Marilyn
Hughes.
“John? Hello? Did you hear what I just said?”
“Wha- I’m sorry Kate, I just have a lot on my mind…”
“That’s the second time you’ve done that to me tonight. I’m starting to get
offended.”
“I know, I’m sorry, really…” As he apologized, he also took the opportunity to
excuse himself from their tedious conversation by going to the restroom. Hoping
that he could think of some acceptable excuse to end their “date” with no
questions asked…
Throughout their dinner, Marlena had found it very hard to maintain any interest
in her date, in fact she spent the majority of the night fixated on John and his
date. Marlena’s date, Chad, was so busy bragging on himself that he hadn’t
noticed that Marlena barely paid attention to a word that he was saying. She
listened only enough to nod, smile, and respond when necessary.
After the guys headed to the bar to pay the bill, Marlena and Laura decide to
make one last trip to the bathroom for “girl talk”. As Marlena rises from her chair,
she accidentally collides into another person making their way to restroom. The
man grabs her arm in attempt to steady both himself and Marlena, in hopes of
avoiding any further mild embarrassment for the both of them.
“It’s you…”
“In the flesh…”
“How have you been?”
“Fine. And you?”
“Same here” He responds as Laura clears her throat, interrupting the formalities
between the two.
“Marlena, I don’t believe you have introduced me to your *friend*…” She
emphasizes, ignoring the daggers shooting at her through Marlena’s glaring eyes.
“John, this is my friend Laura Horton. Laura, this is John Black.”
“*The* John Black? CEO of Basic Black? Marlena, you’ve been holding out on
me!” Laura exclaims.
“Not exactly…” Marlena states simply.
“We met only a few weeks ago…”
“Oh, so where exactly did you meet?” Laura asks inquisitively.
“Laura!”
“What, I’m just trying to put two and two together!” Laura had a theory about
John being the mystery guy that Marlena was hung up on a few weeks ago, not
knowing that her theory was dead on.
“It doesn’t matter where we met Laura”
“Yes it does. It wouldn’t happen to be the pier by any chance?”
“Actually it was…”
“I knew it!” Laura exclaims “I’ve heard a lot about you, Mr. Black. You wouldn’t
happen to be dating anyone at the moment?” Just as he is about to respond,
Kate walks up behind him and makes her presence known.
“John, there you are. I thought you were in the restroom?” She states, overly
attaching herself to John once again, as if warning the ladies’ not to get any
ideas. Hell, she might as well have an neon sign hanging over her head saying
‘BACK OFF, HE’S MINE!’.
“I guess that answers that question, Laura. It was nice seeing you again, John.”
Marlena replies before walking away, leaving John in shock.
“Mommy! Mommy!” Kylie screams, jolting Marlena from her doze on the couch.
Marlena instantly ran up the stairs and to her daughter’s room. The little girl sat
upright in the bed, looking as if she had seen a ghost. Marlena instinctively
gathers the girl into her arms, rocking her back and forth.
“Sweetie, what’s wrong? Did you have a bad dream?” Kylie nods her head
before nestling her head into the crook of Marlena’s shoulder.
“It’s okay, baby. Mommy’s here…”
“Mommy, can I sleep with you?” Marlena can’t help but smile when Kylie asks this
question. She knew that if she lets Kylie sleep with her, it would only be the
beginning of many nights of her daughter sleeping in her room.
“Baby, I thought we already talked about this. You’re a big girl now. You have
your own room, remember?”
“But I’m scared…” Kylie replies as she looks up at her mother with her best sad
face. Marlena could barely stifle her laugh as she looked down at her daughter.
“Well, how about if I stay in here with you until you go to sleep? Would you like
that?” Kylie nods her head once again and lies down on the bed with her mother
arms wrapped around her.
“Sing to me…” Marlena smiles again and complies as she starts to sing a lullaby to
her daughter as she drifts off to sleep.
*******************
Marlena, making sure not to wake Kylie, carefully untangles herself from her
daughter and crept out of the room, leaving the nightlight on and the door
cracked. She went back downstairs to the living room. She glanced at the clock
at the wall. 11:25. As she lie on the couch, she replayed the night’s events in her
head…
Marlena had returned from her date earlier than they expected. Laura and her
date, Scott, weren’t ready to end their night, so they stayed behind to have
some drinks. Obviously Marlena wasn’t into her date, but she can’t help but
wonder if her date with Chad would have turned out differently if she hadn’t ran
into John. Chad really wasn’t a bad guy. He was a good looking guy, blonde hair,
blue eyes, muscular, and a nice personality. He was a complete gentleman
throughout their date and any girl would be lucky to be with him but he just didn’t
have the same impact that John had when she first met him.
She couldn’t believe that John was actually dating that brown haired bitch.
Actually, she didn’t know what the deal was between them. The look John had
on his face made it seem like I had it all wrong, but I didn’t give him a chance to
explain. I just left. That may have been a big mistake on my part.
{The phone rings}
Marlena gets off of the couch and heads for the phone, wondering who it could
be calling this late at night.
“Hello?”
“Hi, Marlena…”
“Who is this?” She asked, not recognizing the voice.
“It’s John. I got your number from Laura. I hope you don’t mind me calling…I
really needed to speak with you”
“No, I don’t mind…What did you need to talk to me about?”
“First of all, I just wanted to tell you that you got the wrong idea about me and
Kate”
“Really?” Marlena replies sarcastically.
“Yes. She and I are just friends. She’s one of my executives actually…”
“Well, I couldn’t tell by the way she was hanging all over you all night…”
“I didn’t realize that you cared…”
“I don’t. I just pointed out the obvious and obviously, she doesn’t think of you as
just a friend…”
“I can assure you that if she doesn’t know friends, it’s definitely something that I
will have to make clear to her…”
“Good luck…So, is that the only reason you felt compelled to get in touch with
me?”
“Not really, I just felt the need to clear up that matter before moving on to more
important ones…”
“Such as?”
“Such as, your plans for the weekend?”
“Spending time with my daughter…”
“Oh…” The line is silent for a moment…
“I guess that put a damper on whatever plans you may have had in mind. Well,
I’m sorry John, but getting to know me also involves getting to know my child, so
if you can’t handle that…”
“Whoa, wait a minute, slow down…I wasn’t aware that you had any kids, it kind of
took me by surprise, but it didn’t make me reconsider getting to know you. Or
your daughter…”
“I’m glad to hear that…” She replies, her attitude shifting at the realization that
John really wasn’t shaken by her daughter.
“ Now as I was saying…What do you and your daughter have planned for this
weekend?”
Marlena’s smile broadens, “Not a thing…”
“That’s not good…I think we should change that…”
“Mommy! Mommy!” Kylie screams, jolting Marlena from her doze on the couch.
Marlena instantly ran up the stairs and to her daughter’s room. The little girl sat
upright in the bed, looking as if she had seen a ghost. Marlena instinctively
gathers the girl into her arms, rocking her back and forth.
“Sweetie, what’s wrong? Did you have a bad dream?” Kylie nods her head
before nestling her head into the crook of Marlena’s shoulder.
“It’s okay, baby. Mommy’s here…”
“Mommy, can I sleep with you?” Marlena can’t help but smile when Kylie asks this
question. She knew that if she lets Kylie sleep with her, it would only be the
beginning of many nights of her daughter sleeping in her room.
“Baby, I thought we already talked about this. You’re a big girl now. You have
your own room, remember?”
“But I’m scared…” Kylie replies as she looks up at her mother with her best sad
face. Marlena could barely stifle her laugh as she looked down at her daughter.
“Well, how about if I stay in here with you until you go to sleep? Would you like
that?” Kylie nods her head once again and lies down on the bed with her mother
arms wrapped around her.
“Sing to me…” Marlena smiles again and complies as she starts to sing a lullaby to
her daughter as she drifts off to sleep.
*******************
Marlena, making sure not to wake Kylie, carefully untangles herself from her
daughter and crept out of the room, leaving the nightlight on and the door
cracked. She went back downstairs to the living room. She glanced at the clock
at the wall. 11:25. As she lie on the couch, she replayed the night’s events in her
head…
Marlena had returned from her date earlier than they expected. Laura and her
date, Scott, weren’t ready to end their night, so they stayed behind to have
some drinks. Obviously Marlena wasn’t into her date, but she can’t help but
wonder if her date with Chad would have turned out differently if she hadn’t ran
into John. Chad really wasn’t a bad guy. He was a good looking guy, blonde hair,
blue eyes, muscular, and a nice personality. He was a complete gentleman
throughout their date and any girl would be lucky to be with him but he just didn’t
have the same impact that John had when she first met him.
She couldn’t believe that John was actually dating that brown haired bitch.
Actually, she didn’t know what the deal was between them. The look John had
on his face made it seem like I had it all wrong, but I didn’t give him a chance to
explain. I just left. That may have been a big mistake on my part.
{The phone rings}
Marlena gets off of the couch and heads for the phone, wondering who it could
be calling this late at night.
“Hello?”
“Hi, Marlena…”
“Who is this?” She asked, not recognizing the voice.
“It’s John. I got your number from Laura. I hope you don’t mind me calling…I
really needed to speak with you”
“No, I don’t mind…What did you need to talk to me about?”
“First of all, I just wanted to tell you that you got the wrong idea about me and
Kate”
“Really?” Marlena replies sarcastically.
“Yes. She and I are just friends. She’s one of my executives actually…”
“Well, I couldn’t tell by the way she was hanging all over you all night…”
“I didn’t realize that you cared…”
“I don’t. I just pointed out the obvious and obviously, she doesn’t think of you as
just a friend…”
“I can assure you that if she doesn’t know friends, it’s definitely something that I
will have to make clear to her…”
“Good luck…So, is that the only reason you felt compelled to get in touch with
me?”
“Not really, I just felt the need to clear up that matter before moving on to more
important ones…”
“Such as?”
“Such as, your plans for the weekend?”
“Spending time with my daughter…”
“Oh…” The line is silent for a moment…
“I guess that put a damper on whatever plans you may have had in mind. Well,
I’m sorry John, but getting to know me also involves getting to know my child, so
if you can’t handle that…”
“Whoa, wait a minute, slow down…I wasn’t aware that you had any kids, it kind of
took me by surprise, but it didn’t make me reconsider getting to know you. Or
your daughter…”
“I’m glad to hear that…” She replies, her attitude shifting at the realization that
John really wasn’t shaken by her daughter.
“ Now as I was saying…What do you and your daughter have planned for this
weekend?”
Marlena’s smile broadens, “Not a thing…”
“That’s not good…I think we should change that…”
“Mommy! Mommy!” Kylie screams, jolting Marlena from her doze on the couch.
Marlena instantly ran up the stairs and to her daughter’s room. The little girl sat
upright in the bed, looking as if she had seen a ghost. Marlena instinctively
gathers the girl into her arms, rocking her back and forth.
“Sweetie, what’s wrong? Did you have a bad dream?” Kylie nods her head
before nestling her head into the crook of Marlena’s shoulder.
“It’s okay, baby. Mommy’s here…”
“Mommy, can I sleep with you?” Marlena can’t help but smile when Kylie asks this
question. She knew that if she lets Kylie sleep with her, it would only be the
beginning of many nights of her daughter sleeping in her room.
“Baby, I thought we already talked about this. You’re a big girl now. You have
your own room, remember?”
“But I’m scared…” Kylie replies as she looks up at her mother with her best sad
face. Marlena could barely stifle her laugh as she looked down at her daughter.
“Well, how about if I stay in here with you until you go to sleep? Would you like
that?” Kylie nods her head once again and lies down on the bed with her mother
arms wrapped around her.
“Sing to me…” Marlena smiles again and complies as she starts to sing a lullaby to
her daughter as she drifts off to sleep.
*******************
Marlena, making sure not to wake Kylie, carefully untangles herself from her
daughter and crept out of the room, leaving the nightlight on and the door
cracked. She went back downstairs to the living room. She glanced at the clock
at the wall. 11:25. As she lie on the couch, she replayed the night’s events in her
head…
Marlena had returned from her date earlier than they expected. Laura and her
date, Scott, weren’t ready to end their night, so they stayed behind to have
some drinks. Obviously Marlena wasn’t into her date, but she can’t help but
wonder if her date with Chad would have turned out differently if she hadn’t ran
into John. Chad really wasn’t a bad guy. He was a good looking guy, blonde hair,
blue eyes, muscular, and a nice personality. He was a complete gentleman
throughout their date and any girl would be lucky to be with him but he just didn’t
have the same impact that John had when she first met him.
She couldn’t believe that John was actually dating that brown haired bitch.
Actually, she didn’t know what the deal was between them. The look John had
on his face made it seem like I had it all wrong, but I didn’t give him a chance to
explain. I just left. That may have been a big mistake on my part.
{The phone rings}
Marlena gets off of the couch and heads for the phone, wondering who it could
be calling this late at night.
“Hello?”
“Hi, Marlena…”
“Who is this?” She asked, not recognizing the voice.
“It’s John. I got your number from Laura. I hope you don’t mind me calling…I
really needed to speak with you”
“No, I don’t mind…What did you need to talk to me about?”
“First of all, I just wanted to tell you that you got the wrong idea about me and
Kate”
“Really?” Marlena replies sarcastically.
“Yes. She and I are just friends. She’s one of my executives actually…”
“Well, I couldn’t tell by the way she was hanging all over you all night…”
“I didn’t realize that you cared…”
“I don’t. I just pointed out the obvious and obviously, she doesn’t think of you as
just a friend…”
“I can assure you that if she doesn’t know friends, it’s definitely something that I
will have to make clear to her…”
“Good luck…So, is that the only reason you felt compelled to get in touch with
me?”
“Not really, I just felt the need to clear up that matter before moving on to more
important ones…”
“Such as?”
“Such as, your plans for the weekend?”
“Spending time with my daughter…”
“Oh…” The line is silent for a moment…
“I guess that put a damper on whatever plans you may have had in mind. Well,
I’m sorry John, but getting to know me also involves getting to know my child, so
if you can’t handle that…”
“Whoa, wait a minute, slow down…I wasn’t aware that you had any kids, it kind of
took me by surprise, but it didn’t make me reconsider getting to know you. Or
your daughter…”
“I’m glad to hear that…” She replies, her attitude shifting at the realization that
John really wasn’t shaken by her daughter.
“ Now as I was saying…What do you and your daughter have planned for this
weekend?”
Marlena’s smile broadens, “Not a thing…”
“That’s not good…I think we should change that…”
“Mommy! Mommy!” Kylie screams, jolting Marlena from her doze on the couch.
Marlena instantly ran up the stairs and to her daughter’s room. The little girl sat
upright in the bed, looking as if she had seen a ghost. Marlena instinctively
gathers the girl into her arms, rocking her back and forth.
“Sweetie, what’s wrong? Did you have a bad dream?” Kylie nods her head
before nestling her head into the crook of Marlena’s shoulder.
“It’s okay, baby. Mommy’s here…”
“Mommy, can I sleep with you?” Marlena can’t help but smile when Kylie asks this
question. She knew that if she lets Kylie sleep with her, it would only be the
beginning of many nights of her daughter sleeping in her room.
“Baby, I thought we already talked about this. You’re a big girl now. You have
your own room, remember?”
“But I’m scared…” Kylie replies as she looks up at her mother with her best sad
face. Marlena could barely stifle her laugh as she looked down at her daughter.
“Well, how about if I stay in here with you until you go to sleep? Would you like
that?” Kylie nods her head once again and lies down on the bed with her mother
arms wrapped around her.
“Sing to me…” Marlena smiles again and complies as she starts to sing a lullaby to
her daughter as she drifts off to sleep.
*******************
Marlena, making sure not to wake Kylie, carefully untangles herself from her
daughter and crept out of the room, leaving the nightlight on and the door
cracked. She went back downstairs to the living room. She glanced at the clock
at the wall. 11:25. As she lie on the couch, she replayed the night’s events in her
head…
Marlena had returned from her date earlier than they expected. Laura and her
date, Scott, weren’t ready to end their night, so they stayed behind to have
some drinks. Obviously Marlena wasn’t into her date, but she can’t help but
wonder if her date with Chad would have turned out differently if she hadn’t ran
into John. Chad really wasn’t a bad guy. He was a good looking guy, blonde hair,
blue eyes, muscular, and a nice personality. He was a complete gentleman
throughout their date and any girl would be lucky to be with him but he just didn’t
have the same impact that John had when she first met him.
She couldn’t believe that John was actually dating that brown haired bitch.
Actually, she didn’t know what the deal was between them. The look John had
on his face made it seem like I had it all wrong, but I didn’t give him a chance to
explain. I just left. That may have been a big mistake on my part.
{The phone rings}
Marlena gets off of the couch and heads for the phone, wondering who it could
be calling this late at night.
“Hello?”
“Hi, Marlena…”
“Who is this?” She asked, not recognizing the voice.
“It’s John. I got your number from Laura. I hope you don’t mind me calling…I
really needed to speak with you”
“No, I don’t mind…What did you need to talk to me about?”
“First of all, I just wanted to tell you that you got the wrong idea about me and
Kate”
“Really?” Marlena replies sarcastically.
“Yes. She and I are just friends. She’s one of my executives actually…”
“Well, I couldn’t tell by the way she was hanging all over you all night…”
“I didn’t realize that you cared…”
“I don’t. I just pointed out the obvious and obviously, she doesn’t think of you as
just a friend…”
“I can assure you that if she doesn’t know friends, it’s definitely something that I
will have to make clear to her…”
“Good luck…So, is that the only reason you felt compelled to get in touch with
me?”
“Not really, I just felt the need to clear up that matter before moving on to more
important ones…”
“Such as?”
“Such as, your plans for the weekend?”
“Spending time with my daughter…”
“Oh…” The line is silent for a moment…
“I guess that put a damper on whatever plans you may have had in mind. Well,
I’m sorry John, but getting to know me also involves getting to know my child, so
if you can’t handle that…”
“Whoa, wait a minute, slow down…I wasn’t aware that you had any kids, it kind of
took me by surprise, but it didn’t make me reconsider getting to know you. Or
your daughter…”
“I’m glad to hear that…” She replies, her attitude shifting at the realization that
John really wasn’t shaken by her daughter.
“ Now as I was saying…What do you and your daughter have planned for this
weekend?”
Marlena’s smile broadens, “Not a thing…”
“That’s not good…I think we should change that…”
It’s December, John and Marlena have been dating for two months now. Kylie
loved having John around, as many of Marlena’s friends had predicted. Marlena
was concerned at first about having to bring Kylie along during most of their
dates, even though John had assured her that he didn’t mind. It took her a while
to realize that John actually cared a lot about both her and Kylie; she had
convinced herself that it was impossible for her to find a man to accept both her
and her daughter. John was determined to make her realize that it wasn’t
impossible at all…
Marlena sat at the Java Café chatting with Laura and Hope. After Christmas
shopping for two hours straight, they finally decided to take a break.
“So, Marlena, tell me. How are things going with you and John?” Hope asked.
Lately, she and Marlena hadn’t had the time to just sit and talk about her new
love interest, but she could tell that for the first time in a long time that her friend
was truly happy.
“Better than I expected actually…” Marlena replies with a broad smile. “He’s
amazing to both me and Kylie…”
“Kylie obviously adores him. He’s all she talks about now” Laura replies.
“It’s sweet, you know, the attachment she has to him. He sounds like a keeper,
Marlena…”
“I don’t want to get my hopes up, but hopefully he is…”
******************
“Marie, would you get me the Barrington portfolio, please?”
“Right away, Mr. Black” The brunette replied as she left the office to retrieve the
portfolio. She emerged into the office minutes later, portfolio in hand.
“Here you go” She hands him the file.
“Thanks.”
“Did you need anything else, Mr. Black” Marie had only been John’s secretary for
a mere two and half weeks, so she often had the tendency to overachieve, but
John never complained. He knows that it is a quality much needed to make it in
business.
“Nothing at all. As a matter of fact, you can go ahead and take the rest of the
day off. I’m going to be getting out of here early myself.”
“Are you sure?” John laughs.
“Yes, I am. Go. Have a good weekend.”
“Thank you. You do the same…” Marie replies as she walks out of the office.
what day is it
and in what month
this clock never seemed so alive
John is scanning through the portfolio a few minutes later when someone knocks
on the door. Not looking up from the portfolio, thinking that it was Marie, he
replies.
“I thought I told you to go home…”
“That’s not exactly the greeting I was expecting…”
I can’t keep up
and I can’t back down
I’ve been losing so much time
His head snaps up at the sound of her voice. His smile almost matches hers as she
walks over to his chair and sits in his lap. She gives him a soft peck on the lips.
“To what do I owe this pleasure?”
“I was thinking of you, so I decided to stop by…”
“Lucky me…” He replies as he leans in for another kiss, this one more sensual than
the first.
cause it’s you and me and all of the people
with nothing to do
nothing to lose
“Are you almost done here?” She asks, breaking the kiss. He leans forward,
capturing her lip again before replying.
“Actually, I was almost done before you came and distracted me…” She laughs. “Why do you ask? Are we in a hurry?”
“Well, Kylie’s spending the night with her grandmother tonight, so I was wondering
if you and I could have a sleepover of our own at your place?” She replies with
seductive gleam in her eyes.
“Are you serious? I mean, are you sure about this?”
“I haven’t been more sure about anything like this in a long time…”
and it’s you and me and all of the people
and I don’t know why
I can’t keep my eyes off of you…
Marlena walks out of the elevator of John’s penthouse floor. Since John still had
some work to do, he gave her the key and told her to on over and wait for him,
promising that he wouldn’t be long. As she steps into the penthouse, she is
instantly overwhelmed. To her, it was like something out of a magazine,
something she always dreamed she would have. She had been there many times
since they had been dating, but she still couldn’t get over how beautiful his
penthouse truly was. You could tell by the dark décor of the penthouse that it
was male dominated, but at the same time it had a touch of elegance to it that
Marlena loved.
After putting the food into the oven, she took her overnight bag upstairs and
unpacked it. She couldn’t help the nervousness that begun to feel as she looked
over at the clock on the nightstand.
“8:30. He told me it would be a half an hour, give or take…It’s been an hour…”
She walks over to the balcony doors and watched as the snow had started to fall.
She couldn’t believe that this night was finally here. The night that she would
finally make love with the man she loves.
The man she loves… She never thought that she would be able to say that about
any other man after Roman, hell, she never even thought she would want to, but
with John it’s different. With him, she feels a security that she never felt with
Roman. She knows that he would never abandon her and that he truly loves her.
John had been so patient with her decision to wait before they made love. They
had come so close, so many times, but he would never go through with it, saying
that he felt that she still wasn’t ready. That may have been true, but
tonight…Something about it just felt different. She felt like it was *their* night,
everything about it felt right…
***************
“She is so beautiful…”
“I know. Smart as a whip, too” The older man replies as he and his son sit,
watching the little girl playing with her cousin inside the pub.
“You do understand why I can’t let you see her son. She doesn’t know you, other
than what me and your Ma tell her…” He places his hand on the younger man’s
shoulder.
“I know, Pop, but just let me go in and spend a little time with her. She doesn’t
have to know who I am yet.”
“Yet? What are you trying to say here, son?”
“Pop, I’m saying that I plan on sticking around and getting to know my little girl.
She’s the best part of me and I don’t want to miss out on that anymore. I’m
moving back home…” Shawn pulls his son into his arms, hugging him tightly.
“You don’t know how glad I am to hear you stepping up to the plate. Being a
man…”
“Yeah, I just hope it’s not too late…”
“It’s never too late, son…”
“I hope you’re right, Pop…”
**************
“It’s about time you showed up…” Marlena exclaims as she walks over to John
giving him a soft peck on the lips. “I was starting to think you weren’t going to
show up…”
Every word I say
I mean it
“And miss all of this?” He gestures towards the decorated dining table in the
corner of the room. He pulls her into his arms, kissing her again, this time more
thoroughly.
Every single day
I feel it
“Mmm, I missed you…” He states, breaking their kiss.
“I missed you too…Are you hungry?” He admires her from behind as she takes his
hand and leads him to the table. He stops abruptly, pulling her back into his arms.
But sometimes when you talk
It’s obvious you want
“I’m hungry for something, but it ain’t food…”
“Is that right, Mr. Black?” He nods his head. “So, why don’t you tell me just exactly
what it is that you are hungry for?”
To show it
So don’t blow it
“How about I just show you instead?” With that, he captures her lips once more,
parting her lips with his tongue. He falls back onto the couch, pulling her down on
top of him, as they continue exploring each others mouths.
Tell me what we got
Tell me it’s a lot
Tell me it’s the real thing
His hands start to wander down her body, underneath her skirt, gripping her
bottom. “John, wait…” She chokes out.
Tell me not to change and always be the same
Tell me that’s a good thing
It’s a good thing
Between his ministrations with both his hands and mouth, she can barely see
straight, nor think clearly. Ignoring her pleas, he quickly flips her over on her back,
pinning her underneath him. He unbuttons her blouse, exposing her full breasts. He
kisses her fully on the lips as he massages her breasts through her bra.
Tell me not to lie
Tell me not to wait
Tell me that you want
The same things as me
“Let’s take this upstairs” John replies as he takes her hand, leading her up the
stairs, to the bedroom. Dinner is long forgotten as they make love for the first
time…
Tell me that it’s fate
Driving me insane
Tell me it’s the real thing
That keeps me hangin on…
~~~~~
The Jarlena Journal 