|
|
Leslie Holland jerks her head back and forth as Rick Astley blares on the club speakers. She grips her drink, relishing the condensation from the chilled glass. The club is hot and sweaty, but she's having a great time. "I love this song!" Leslie yells to her sister, Yolanda, as she dances along to beat with her. "I can't wait to get the album!"
"That's just because you're thinking about Sean when you hear it," Yolanda responds, laughing.
"What?" Leslie asks, craning her neck. "I can't hear you!"
"I said, 'that's just because you're thinking about Sean when you hear it'!" Yolanda yells.
Leslie still can't hear over the music. "What?"
Yolanda shakes her head. "Never mind! Can I have some of your drink?" She motions with her hand to make sure Leslie understands. Leslie pulls the drink to her chest.
"Nope!" Leslie grins. "Get your own!"
Yolanda rolls her eyes. "Fine! I'll have my brother-in-law treat!"
"You leave him alone! It's his birthday!"
HANLEY HOME
THE PRESENT
"Yes, next week," Leslie says, carrying plates into the dining room. "I think I'll use these. I'll have to clean them, obviously. They got a little singed in the fire."
Riley shrugs. "Or you could buy new plates."
"The kids are going to help cook," Leslie continues. "And Michael as well."
"They're excused, obviously. Although Eric was the only one who made a point of letting me know he wasn't coming."
"Right," Riley nods.
"Can you run into the kitchen and grab me the glasses I left out, please?" Leslie asks.
NYLON BAR
1989
"Mmhm," Leslie says, pursing her lips. "Well, I don't see you hitting the pavement!"
"That drink tasted kind of weird!" Yolanda shouts back. "It was crazy watered down!"
"You know bars..." Leslie shouts back. Yolanda's drunk enough not to realize her sister's drink isn't merely watered down, it's actually water. "...always out for a buck."
"Hey baby." Sean Moore pops in between them, moving in perfect time with the beat. "What's up?"
Leslie smiles at Sean, but remains silent. She quickly downs the rest of her drink and sets it on the bar.
PRICE HOME
QUEENS, NEW YORK
"Huh? I'm fine," Sean reassures her.
Denise kisses him. "That must have been some dream."
"Yeah," Sean mutters. "Just some old thoughts kicking around in my head."
"Better," Jessica answers, holding her son Phillip in her arms. "I think I'll finally be out of your hair soon enough."
"Don't worry about," Melissa insists. "Robert and I like having you around. Or rather, I like having you around when Robert's not here."
Jessica smiles. "It's nice having a girlfriend to talk to."
"Yes, and especially one that makes me feel younger," Melissa says, nodding.
"Well, thanks. And thanks for not..."
"Don't worry about it." Melissa holds up her hands, signaling she has no interest in prying. "I am not here to convince you to throw my son-in-law in jail."
"No, that's Vince's job," Jessica insists.
"But you haven't seen Alec at all since you left the hospital," Melissa continues. "And lord knows Robert can't ever notice anything wrong with anyone else when he's working. I'm just concerned about why you don't want to see your husband. Since he wasn't the one who attacked you."
"I guess I blame him," Jessica says softly. "We were fighting. And he left. And he was with Farrah...it's all just...it hurts. That's all."
"Enough said," Melissa says. "And honestly, you being here reminds me of having Erin around. So you just take your time recuperating."
Melissa goes to the window to open the blinds and let the sunlight into the room. As she turns away from the window to turn back to Jessica and Phillip, she doesn't notice the man standing outside the house.
If she had noticed him earlier, it would have been even more surprising to find him still standing outside. But he still remains, and he watches the house while smoking a cigarette.
"Melissa Bale," he whispers, blowing smoke into the air. "That has a nice ring to it. But I think I prefer the last name Maddock."
He finishes his cigarette and tosses it onto the sidewalk. Then the stranger takes one last glance at the house before he climbs back into his car and speeds off.
NYLON BAR
1989
"He's a cold-hearted snake, look into his eyes...Oh ohh, he's been tellin' lies..."
Paula Abdul purrs on the sound system as Melissa Maddock stumbles into the VIP room. "I think I'm going to name her Erin."
"That's a beautiful name," Hugh Rogers answers. He leads Melissa to a couch and sits her down. As she passes out on the couch, Hugh goes to the man standing near the door.
"How many drugs is she on?" Victor Lopez asks.
"Enough so she won't remember anything," Hugh insists. "We need to talk about what we're doing with this child."
"What, you want to get rid of it like the last one?"
"No," Hugh says. "It's too far along for that. She'll have to carry this baby to term. But then I want to get rid of it."
"Your wife's been wanting a baby," Victor suggests.
Hugh grins. "She's got her heart set on a boy."
"That's a shame," Victor says, staring at Melissa. She is sprawled out on the couch, completely unconscious now. "It's a damn shame."
Sean hands off drinks to Leslie and Yolanda. "Here you go, ladies."
"Thank you, Sean," Yolanda says, narrowing her eyes at her sister. "At least someone knows how to be a good host."
"Whatever," Leslie rolls her eyes and continues dancing.
"I'm gonna go to the bathroom," Sean says. He kisses Leslie on her cheek and wanders off to find the men's room.
"Want this?" Leslie asks, pushing her drink in Yolanda's direction.
"No, I'm good," Yolanda insists. "You've been knocking those watery drinks back, you should take a sip of a good, strong one."
Leslie forces a smile but doesn't raise the glass to her lips. Yolanda frowns. She understands what's going on now.
"Those drinks were water, weren't they? I've seen you do this before."
"What are you getting at?" Leslie demands.
"You're pregnant!" Yolanda exclaims, unable to hide her excitement. "You're pregnant again! You and Sean are having another baby!"
HANLEY HOME
THE PRESENT
"I'm sorry there's not enough excitement for you." Leslie sits at the dinner table with Vince, Akilah, and Michael. During the dinner, Leslie was the only one interested in sharing memories about Sean. Akilah is more interested in her Blackberry and Vince remained unusually silent. "Vince, are you going to say anything?"
"I don't see what the point is," Vince says, bitterness dripping from his words. "Dad's dead. I thought were finally gonna get over it."
"I just thought it would be nice to remember him once a year," Leslie insists.
"I think we all did enough remembering in New York," Vince snaps.
"Vincent, that's enough," Michael says, raising a hand to silence the table. "Perhaps we should just clear the table and call it a night."
Vince abruptly stands up and shoves one last biscuit into his mouth. "That's what the help is for, isn't it?" He strolls out of the room.
A few moments of awkward silence pass, until Akilah pipes up. "Can I go too? I have to prepare for my audition."
"Audition, honey?" Leslie asks. "For a play? School is almost over."
"No, for The Blackthornes," Akilah says excitedly. "That hot soap on the CW? I know you've heard of it."
"I don't want you auditioning for that show," Leslie says.
"What?" Akilah demands. "Why not?"
"Because I said so." Leslie stands up and begins to clear the table. "The only thing you should be preparing for is graduation."
"But Mom —"
Leslie doesn't bother to look up from the table. "End of story, Akilah."
Before Akilah can protest any further, the doorbell rings. Michael takes the opportunity to excuse himself from the room. A fight between mother and daughter is not Michael's idea of a fun evening.
He goes to the foyer and unlocks the front door, wondering why Riley hasn't answered the door already. But any thoughts of Riley immediately fly out of Michael's mind when he sees who is at the door.
"Oh God," Michael gasps. "What in the — what in the hell are you doing here?"
Sean Price stands outside the front door, a restless look on his face. He steps into the doorway and stares at Michael intently. "I need your help."
Michael has no words.
"I need your help, Michael. I need you to make all these memories in my head go away. Leslie, my kids, everything about my old life...I need you to make them all go away. And this time, I need it to be permanent."
