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BALE HOME
Leslie Moore sets a platter of macaroni and cheese on the long dining room table. As she adjusts the rest of the food, making sure they're each properly spaced out. She wipes a bead of sweat from her forehead with the back of her wrist.
Upon hearing the doorbell, Leslie takes one last glance at the table before heading into the foyer. She runs smack into Robert Bale as he descends the stairwell, heading for the door as well.
"Robert!" Leslie cries out, gripping the stairwell banister to keep her balance.
"Oh, sorry," Robert says, touching her shoulder to make sure she's fine. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Leslie says. "Just a little frazzled."
Robert brushes a strand of hair from Leslie's face. "There. All better."
"I didn't mean my hair."
"Oh," Robert says, frowning.
The doorbell rings again, interrupting their awkward silence. She forces a smile and unlocks the front door, pulling it open to find Felicia Bale standing in the doorway.
"Felicia, it's good to see you," Leslie says, attempting to embrace her.
"I just came from a memorial service at the hospital site," Felicia snaps. "Can we forego the pleasantries until I've had a stiff drink?"
Felicia notices Leslie and Robert's stunned expressions.
"I'm joking," Felicia says. "I haven't been drinking. Get a grip, you vultures."
Leslie resists the urge to slap Felicia and instead turns to Simon Holden and his son Matt, both outside standing behind Felicia.
"How are you, Simon?" Leslie asks.
"We're fine," Simon responds. "Thank you both for doing this. I think a gathering to remember Alec and Phillip is just what we all need."
Leslie sighs heavily, noticing as Felicia turns up her nose at the food Leslie has prepared for the afternoon. "I think what we all need is for me to open up the wine cabinet."
And at that moment, she very much hated being pregnant.
Akilah, Vince's sister, stares out the window. "Yeah, I heard the doorbell."
"Are you okay?"
"I'll be fine," Akilah says, shrugging her shoulders. "It's just hard saying goodbye to Alec."
Vince smirk. "Because you had that crush on him for years?"
"Whatever," Akilah says. "We dated."
"For a hot minute! And only so he could make Jessica jealous."
Akilah shakes her head in irritation, turning to face her brother. "Why must you ruin my perfect memories?"
Vince rises to his feet, laughing loudly. "Sorry, little princess."
He goes to the door and heads out, leaving Akilah alone. She sits perched on the edge of the windowsill, wanting to say something deeply personal aloud while in Alec's room by herself, but still unable to find the words.
"Shit," is all she's able to muster.
As she climbs off the windowsill, she feels it shake slight beneath her weight. Irritated, she spins around and glares at it.
"I am not that fat," Akilah mutters, slamming her hand on the windowsill.
She's surprised as the wooden plank comes off, falling to the floor. There is now a very clearly visible notebook buried in the windowsill. She picks up the notebook and reads what's scrawled across the front of the cover.
"Alec's Journey," Akilah reads aloud, almost resisting the urge to burst into laughter. "He named his diary that?"
Akilah flips through the pages, confused by the intense scribbling she finds on the pages. She turns back to the first page, where she finds a date written down. It's August 24, 2007. Almost two years ago.
"I had another nightmare tonight," Akilah reads, suddenly realizing what's in this notebook. "Oh God. He wrote this when he remembered..."
"Akilah!"
Hearing her brother's voice, she hurriedly shoves the notebook into her purse and replaces the wooden plank. She adjusts it just in the nick of time, as her brother returns to the room.
"Mom poured herself cranberry juice," Vince says. "Without the vodka."
Akilah frowns. "That must mean Mrs. Bale is here."
"Yeah," Vince says, nodding. "Let's get downstairs before they kill each other."
"What are you doing here?"
"It's a pleasure to see you too, my lovely ex-wife," Michael Hanley says, stepping inside. "But that's not exactly right, is it? With that annulment, it's as if we were never married."
"All the better," Leslie says, gripping the glass stem. "You haven't answered my question."
"He's here to support Felicia," Robert says, appearing behind Leslie. "I asked him to come. For Felicia's sake."
Leslie offers Robert a dubious glance, then she turns around and raises her glass. "Welcome, Michael."
As Michael steps forward into the house, scanning the room for Felicia, Leslie turns to Robert and reaches for the door. "Any other surprises I should know about?"
Before she can close the door, a foot shoots out from the doorstep and stops it from closing. A man grabs the doorknob and pushes it open, revealing himself and a woman next to him.
"Sean," Leslie says softly. "And...my dear sister."
"Robert," Yolanda Holland says, brushing past Leslie and embracing Robert. "I'm so sorry for your loss."
"Thank you, Yolanda."
"Yes, thanks Yo-Yo," Leslie mutters.
"Can we have a word?" Sean says, touching Leslie's arm gently. "I want to speak to you about something."
"We are only married in name," Leslie says. "A fact that will be fixed as soon as the courts can settle this whole you're-not-dead-thing."
"Please."
Leslie takes a deep breath, nodding in agreement to Sean's request. She follows him toward the living room, but stops short when Yolanda steps between them.
"Have you told Leslie the great news?" Yolanda asks.
"Not now," Sean says.
"What? You'd think my sister would be glad that you're finally moved out of that musty old mansion and living with family now," Yolanda says, smiling. "Me."
Leslie narrows her eyes at her sister. She knows exactly what Yolanda is doing. And unfortunately, it's working. "You're living with my sister? After she was practically in cahoots with Michael?"
"I was not in cahoots," Yolanda retorts. "And that's nice, coming from a woman shacking up with her husband's best friend. At least that's better than going after his brother."
Leslie raises her hand, almost ready to slap Yolanda across the face. Before she can, someone gently touches her shoulder to hold her back. Expecting Robert, she's surprised to turn and find Denise Price next to her.
"Don't waste your energy," Denise says, staring at Yolanda and Sean. "You're pathetic."
"What the hell did I do?" Yolanda snaps, tossing her hands up into the air.
"I was talking to the coward next to you," Denise says, fixating her gaze on Sean. "Leslie...I remember that great macaroni and cheese of yours from Christmas. Is it in the dining room?"
Leslie nods weakly, attempting to shake Yolanda and Sean and everyone else out of her mind. "Yes, yes it is. Let me show you."
"Thank you," Jessica Bale says, smiling as she takes the photo from Kane. "I had so many dreams for him, you know? So many...things I wanted to give him that I was never able to do. So many things Alec and I wanted to do."
She returns the photo to the large scrapbook resting on the coffee table in the living room, then she takes Kane's hand.
"And thank you for coming," Jessica says. "You didn't have to."
"We're more than just co-workers," Kane says.
Not sure how to take Kane's comment, Jessica chooses to remain uncomfortably silent.
"We're friends," he finishes.
"Yes, of course," Jessica says.
Kane glances toward the door and sees Rebecca enter the house, with Aaron Maddock in tow. He's not surprised that Aaron showed up to pay his respects to his nephew, but he has no idea why his "mother" is here. Fearful of the scene she'll surely cause, he excuses himself from Jessica and goes toward the foyer.
"You invited him?"
Jessica spins and finds Vince standing behind her. She offers him a weary glance and crosses her arms, preparing herself for whatever rant is coming her way.
"Yes. He's a friend," Jessica says. "What does it matter?"
"He shouldn't be here," Vince insists. "This day is about Alec."
"You never seemed to care much about your best friend for the past five years, so why start now?"
"That's low, Jess."
"And so is you trying to control my life," Jessica snaps. "We're not dating anymore, Vince. We haven't been for a while. And if you want to remain friends with me, then I need you to butt out of my life when I ask you to."
Vince frowns. "And what if I can't?"
"Then that's your problem," Jessica says, turning away and joining Kane in the foyer.
"I'm concerned," Robert says. "Where's Michael?"
"He's in the bathroom," Felicia says. "I'd thank you for inviting him if it weren't so suspicious."
Robert scoffs. "Suspicious?"
"You hate Michael," Felicia says.
"He's your brother," Robert says. "And you've lost so much...I didn't want to keep your family away from you. Have you thought of moving back in with him?"
Felicia raises an eyebrow. "I'm living at Valerie's. I'm just fine there with Simon and Matt."
"Valerie is coming home soon enough. Don't you think it's a bit odd that you're living with your sister's husband?"
"Don't you think it's a bit odd that you're sleeping with your best friend's wife?"
Robert is completely floored by Felicia's comment. At first, he isn't sure what to say. He wants to believe that she's joking, but he can tell that she's not from the expression of disgust on her face. "I am not sleeping with Leslie."
"Of course, and I should believe you," Felicia says, rising to her feet. "Just like you believed me when I told you repeatedly that I wasn't sleeping with Michael?"
"I didn't know he was your brother," Robert says.
"Leslie's not your sister. And we all know how much you like to carouse. First Melissa, then your fucking wedding planner..."
"Then you in the Hanley mansion basement," Robert whispers.
Felicia slaps Robert across the face. He cries out in pain, raising his hand to his face to massage the bruise. He notices that their scene has already drawn everyone's eyes on them.
"Don't you talk to me like that," Felicia hisses. "I have lost two children already! Don't you think I've been through enough?"
"Mrs. Bale," Jessica says, entering the living room with Kane at her side. "Do you want to go outside for some air?"
Felicia snaps her head in Jessica's direction. "No, I don't need any goddamn air. And what the hell are you doing here with that twink?"
Kane is dumbfounded. "Excuse me?"
"My son's body is barely cold and you're already shacking up with the hot, exotic waiter!"
Michael and Sean enter the living room, both approaching Felicia. Michael reaches out to take his sister's arm. "Felicia, let's go upstairs. You can get some rest, you've been through a lot today."
"This is certainly awkward," Aaron whispers to Rebecca. He takes a sip from his glass of wine. Rebecca steps into the center of the room, clasping her hands together to get everyone's attention. "Come on, everyone! This is a cause for celebration!"
"Celebration, you nutjob?" Felicia demands. "My son and grandson are dead."
"And we're supposed to be remembering them with celebration, not depression."
"I don't know how they do things in Korea, but..."
"Rebecca, just change the subject," Aaron says.
"Fine," Rebecca says. "If everyone wants to be depressed, then let's talk about something else...Aaron and I are engaged!"
"Anything but that," Aaron mutters, downing the rest of his glass and sinking into a chair.
As Rebecca smiles, beaming at everyone in the room, her expression is surprisingly not shared by anyone else. Their own expressions are an equal mix of surprise, horror, and just plain confusion about what the hell is going on.
