Through the Darkness, Chapter Four

CHAPTER 4

August, 2013

After Jack left, Blair found she was having a hard time concentrating.  Being in Todd’s office, sitting in his chair, behind his desk, she couldn’t help but feel closer to him.  It only made her miss him more.  She grabbed her purse and opened it, pulling out her phone.  Going to the pictures, she found the one she was looking for and a tear formed in her eye.

It had been taken in the judge’s chambers after they had been married.  She caressed the picture, remembering the day.

Blair’s body was wracked by sobs, even as Todd held her.  She should have known this would happen.  Todd had sworn to her, just the other day, she wouldn’t lose him and yet, it was happening again.  He would be ripped from her.  She fought to control her emotions as Todd placed a soft kiss on her forehead.  It stilled her at last. 

“Never enough time,” he said, full of melancholy.  “Guess we never will have that fairy tale ending.  Not meant for people like us.”

She remembered being up at the cabin, echoing a similar sentiment and it was Todd who had corrected her. Something about that memory, coupled with the situation now, took root in her and she jumped off the couch, standing ramrod straight.  “No.  We are going to have that fairy-tale ending.”  She took a deep breath as she responded with, “Marry me.”

A bemused smiled played over his lips.  “Blair, it’s usually the guy who does the asking.”  He looked at her like she had been kidding and her features hardened.  “You’re serious?”

Blair merely crossed her arms. 

Todd stepped back and shook his head.  “No.  Absolutely not!”

“Why not?” she challenged him.  “You don’t love me anymore?”

“You know why,” he replied.  “And that is the furthest thing from the truth!”  He started prowling around the room, like a caged animal.  “Blair, they’ve already threatened you.  Hell, they’ve already taken a shot at you!  If they found out we got married…”  He turned to face her, his own eyes wet with tears.  “Us getting married…”  He couldn’t even finish his sentences. 

She went up to him and took his hands in hers.  “Todd, I love you.  And I am going to lose you again.  But if we do this, it’s something for you to hold on to.  Like you said you held on for those eight years.  It’s a reason for you to come back.”

“I’m never going to be allowed to come back,” he said softly.  He pulled his hands out of her grasp and went to the desk picking up the latest note. 

“We can do this in secret,” she said, almost begging.

A short, nonhumorous laugh choked out of him.  “When has anything stayed secret in this town?” 

“Todd, I’m trying to hang onto anything here!” Blair cried.  “Give me something to hold on to!”  He turned to her and she saw the pain in his eyes, going down to the depths of his soul.  “Please Todd.  If this is the last thing we do…”

He rushed to her, taking her face in his hands.  Their lips connect as melted into each others.  Then, he dropped down to one knee.  Holding her hands in his, he kissed them and looked up at her.  “Marry me?” he asked quietly, through his tears.

As the morning dawned, Todd and Blair informed Tea of the latest development with Victor.  Then, Todd headed out to Llanfair to say goodbye to his sister.  He stopped by and told Dani he had to go away on business.  Lastly, he headed over to LaBoulaie, to say his goodbyes to Sam and Jack.  Soon after the two boys left, Todd and Blair were in Judge Franklin’s chambers as he pronounced them husband and wife.  The clerk snapped the picture and they went back to The Palace Hotel for their wedding night.  By the morning, Blair’s heart was broken.

Blair was brought out of her revelry by the office door opening.  She wasn’t surprised when Tea walked in.  “Hey, I see you got my message.”

Tea’s demeanor spoke all business.  “You said it was important, so I came.”

“Victor kept you on retainer for The Sun, is that correct?” Blair asked.  Tea nodded.  “Would you be shocked to know that Todd never changed that?”

“What?” she questioned as Blair handed her the paperwork.

“As such,” Blair began again, “I need to file this with you.”

Tea didn’t even blink when she finished the second set of papers.  “Todd gave you control of the paper.  Well, it does make sense, you’ve done it before,” she remarked as she sat down heavily in a chair in front of the desk.

It was then that Blair noticed the circles under Tea’s eyes.  “Is everything okay?”

“No everything is the opposite of okay,” her sister-in-law said.  “Dani’s sleeping with her dealer’s boyfriend.  You remember the man she was with at the dinner?”  When Blair nodded, Tea told her, “His name is Arturo Bandini…and he’s probably the same age as Victor.”  Tea let out a bitter laugh.  “I ordered her to stay away from him.”

“And I bet that just worked,” Blair said.

“My husband’s been captured, his only help is a brother who hates him, my daughter is probably shacking up with someone her father’s age and there’s nothing I can do about any of it,” she whined.  “When did this happen?

“When did what happen?” Blair asked.

“You becoming the one with the stable relationship, the kids you don’t have to worry about and me…at the other end of the spectrum,” Tea explained.  Then she stood up, shaking her head.  “Never mind.  Alright then, thank you for making me aware of all this.  If you need anything, let me know.”  Without another word, Tea walked out, leaving Blair speechless.

She sat back as she thought about all of Todd’s children.  She remembered a time Jack had confided his fears at becoming like Todd, and thus, like Victor Lord, Sr.  Starr, of course, had been so like Todd, people around town rolled their eyes and whispered “Todd Manning, Jr.” about her.  Now, it seemed that Dani was morphing into another member of the family…her grandmother that seduced (or was seduced?) by a much older man.

It seemed the Lord branches continued to get mangled, even into the present day, with so much of the past known.

**********

Jack found the office of Dr. Larry Wolek at Llanview Hospital and when he walked in, he saw who he guessed was the doctor standing next to his secretary’s desk.  The woman stopped what she as saying and asked, “Can I help you, young man?”

Jack’s eyes flickered to Dr. Wolek.  “Um, are you Dr. Wolek?” he asked.  When the man nodded, he extended his hand.  “I’m Jack Manning, Todd Manning’s son.”  Jack was surprised at how easily the words slipped out of his mouth.  “I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions.”

Dr. Wolek looked at his secretary.  “I believe my appointments are over for the day.”  The woman nodded an affirmative to the inquiry and Dr. Wolek turned back to Jack.  “Why don’t you come in,” he offered as he pointed towards his door.  Jack followed and Larry closed the door when he stepped in.  “So, what can I help you with?  Are you not feeling well?”

“No, it’s not that,” Jack answered quickly.  “It is something I don’t think I can talk to anyone else in the family about.”  Jack sat down, trying to figure out how to go about this.  “You were married to Meredith Lord, right?”

Larry sat back in his chair for a minute, then nodded gravely.  “It was only for a few years.  She…she died in an accident.”

“When?” Jack asked.

“1973.  There was a hostage situation at Llanfair and, in trying to escape, she fell and…hit her head.  There was too much trauma to her brain,” Larry said.

“That was before her father died,” he said, almost under his breath.  He then looked back up at Dr. Wolek.  “What can you tell me about Victor Lord, my grandfather?”  As Larry lean on his desk, Jack continued.  “I don’t want to ask Aunt Viki because I’m afraid she’ll…And I don’t want to ask Aunt Dorian because it’s not going to be a good reaction from her either.  And there aren’t many people left in town who knew him.  But, he was your father-in-law.  So, you must have had some interaction with him.”

Larry had become surprised by the whole tone of the conversation.  He hadn’t honestly given much thought to Victor Lord in a long time.  But, here was the man’s grandson, sitting before him.  Larry knew the history Jack carried on his shoulders and he could see the young man in distress.  Larry nodded.  “What do you want to know?”

They sat in his office for nearly two hours as questions were asked and answered.  Jack was surprised to learn some of the information Larry had imparted to him.  He was unsurprised to learn his grandfather hadn’t thought Larry was good enough for his daughter or that Joe Riley was good enough for Aunt Viki.  But Jack felt it was a good talk.  It was the most honest answers he could have hoped for about the man.

As he walked out of the hospital, he passed the security office.  He noticed all the cameras around the hospital and wondered if they would have any in the psych ward.  Maybe he’d pay another visit to Uncle Larry.  He was sure he had more stories to tell.

He was still thinking about the conversation when he entered the foyer of LaBoulaie.  He heard his Aunt Dorian call out, “Who’s there?”  Jack walked into the living room to announce his presence.  Dorian turned around.  “Oh, I’m glad your home. Ah, did you have a substitute for your class today?”

Jack’s eyes narrowed.  “Yes, why do you ask?”

“You know how I say ‘honesty is the best policy’?” Dorian asked, almost sweetly.

“I have never heard you say that,” Jack stated, matter-of-factly. 

Dorian merely shrugged her shoulders.  “Well, I ran into a member of the board of education a few days ago and I may have mentioned that I thought your teacher, Miss Lane, seemed to be a little too…familiar with you the day I met her at the coffee shop.”  She then braced herself for the expected tirade.  Shockingly, none came.  Jack just stood there, arms crossed.  He looked very much like his father, at that moment.  “Look, Jack, it seems that it’s en vogue nowadays for teachers to take…more than the usual amount of interest in young, male students and it’s not right.  Especially not for a woman as attractive as Ms. Lane.  I received a call this morning after you left telling me that she had been dismissed.”

Jack rolled his eyes.  Part of him was peeved that his aunt was sticking her nose in his relationships.  But then, something made him remember the note that Todd had left him.  Be wary of anyone who comes into your orbit.  Why had Kate picked him up that day at the coffee shop?  He shook that thought out of his head.  Jack could then tell that Dorian was waiting for a response from him.  Sighing melodramatically, he said, “Fine, whatever.” 

He turned to toward the door, but before he got there, Dorian said, “You’re a handsome young man.  Believe me, in a few years, all the the girls will be throwing themselves at you and you’ll find someone much more appropriate.”

Jack merely nodded as he left.  When he got to his room, he realized that he hadn’t given Kate much thought since their last time together.  His thoughts had been occupied by his mother, his father and his family.  He looked at a picture on his desk, of Starr and him taken long ago.  He missed Starr but at the same time, it was invigorating being in on a family scheme, something Starr was usually the go to kid in this situation.  He also, for some strange reason, relished the fact that he knew something his sister had longed for most of her life…their parent’s reunion.  Much like Aunt Viki to Aunt Dorian, he’d be an immature brat with the information when the time came.

      

He was lying on his bed when his mother came in a while ago.  “Did you go talk to Larry Wolek?” she asked.

Jack nodded his head.  “Mostly what I’d expect.  But I think I’d have liked to have been at their wedding.  Apparently, Victor was blowing a gasket at the thought of giving his daughter away in marriage to him.”  Then he said, “He has some pictures he wants to show me.  I think he was happy to talk about Meredith with some, even after all these year.”

“I wonder what they’d have thought of me, Victor and Meredith” Blair said.  “I can’t think it would have been anything nice, given the experience of Tina.”  She looked at the clock on the table.  “Well, you’ve got class in the morning and it’s getting late.”  She kissed the top of his head. 

As she turned to leave, Jack said, “Not right now, but I think soon, I’ll be asking you for that second note from Todd.”

Blair nodded, a smile on her face.  “Good night, son.  I love you.”

“Love you too, Mom,” Jack answered as the door closed.