Tea: I am so full right now. Dinner was great, Todd.

Todd: Yeah?

Tea: You're a great cook...just like I remember.

[Todd notices a wistful sound in her voice. He's not certain what's happening here. He left Llanview early this morning to take care of a business deal, hoping to stick it to Asa Buchanan yet again for all of the problems he's caused in his life. Now, here he is having dinner with his ex-wife who it turns out is still his wife. They're getting along. They're enjoying themselves. He knows it can't last, though. He knows that the longer he stays here the more likely it will become that he'll do something stupid to screw it up. He doesn't want to leave, though. He enjoys being near Tea again. She still knows how to make him feel okay with just a look.]

Tea: Todd?

Todd: What?

Tea: You seem to be somewhere else. Do you need to call someone and let them know you won't be home until late?

Todd: Nah.

Tea: You know, that would be the thoughtful thing to do.

Todd: I'm not a thoughtful guy.

Tea: You can be...when you want to be.

Todd: So, you don't want dessert?

Tea: Not right now.

Todd: We can wait until later.

Tea: What about your pilot? You do plan on going back tonight, right?

Todd: Don't worry about it, Delgado.

[There are several moments of uncomfortable silence.]

Tea: We should probably get these dishes, and that mess you made in the kitchen, cleaned up.

Todd: It can wait.

Tea: It would be easier to take care of it now.

[As Tea stands up and leans toward him, gathering up dishes, he places his hand on hers.]

Todd: It can wait, Delgado.

Tea: Todd...

Todd: You want me to start a fire? It's kind of cold in here.

Tea: Sure...I guess. I'll just put these dishes in the kitchen while you do that.

Todd: Whatever.

[Todd begins the fire in the living room's fireplace and watches it for a few minutes. He doesn't know where this night is going. He doesn't want to know. It feels good to be near her again, to smell her perfume, to look at her, to feel her. He knows that if he thinks too much about this it will all fall apart.

Todd turns the lights off in the living room and returns to the kitchen to check on Tea. He finds her frantically working, cleaning up his earlier mess.]

Todd: I thought you were going to wait on that?

Tea: It was even worse than I remembered it. I really should take care of it now. It is getting late. I'll understand if you need to be leaving.

Todd: It's not that late. Why are you trying to shove me out the door?

Tea: You clearly don't want to stay.

Todd: That's clear to you, is it?

Tea: It was clear to me the moment I woke up and found you gone.

[Todd is tempted to leave to avoid this conversation but he doesn't move as he watches Tea continuing to frantically scrub the stove, countertops, anything to avoid direct eye contact right now.]

Tea: Actually, I suppose that's not true.

Todd: What isn't?

Tea: I didn't know right away that you were gone. I thought you were in the bathroom. Then, I thought you were in the kitchen. Or, sitting outside staring at that stupid ocean. I even thought that maybe you had just gone out to get us something special for breakfast. But, the hours went by and you didn't come back. I guess I could have worried that something horrible had happened to you but I've had so much experience...

[Tea stops her scrubbing as she stops speaking. It's been so long since she cried about Todd leaving her. She really had hoped that they could have a pleasant evening without any emotional outbursts but she knows that she was fooling herself. Her pain is still too raw.

Without saying anything, Todd walks out of the kitchen. Tea turns and watches his back disappear from her view. She expects to hear a door slam but is surprised when she doesn't. She does her best to pull herself together and bring her emotions under control.

A few minutes later, Tea calmly joins Todd in the living room. She's surprised that he has all of the lights shut off. The only light in the room is coming from the fireplace.

Tea takes a seat on the sofa and is surprised when Todd leaves his perch by the fireplace and joins her on the sofa.]

Todd: So, is everything okay here? I mean, the plumbing works, right? And, everything else is okay?

Tea: There have been a few minor things but I've taken care of them.

Todd: You don't have to. Just call my people and they'll fix whatever you need fixing.

Tea: What I need fixing, your people can't help me with.

[Todd surprises Tea by placing his arm across the back of the sofa and turning toward her.]

Todd: And, what's that?

Tea: Maybe we shouldn't do this tonight?

Todd: Are you inviting me to dinner tomorrow night? Because, you know I can't cook more than one night in a row.

Tea: I remember the rules, and our routine, Todd.

Todd: Yeah, so do I. This is the part where you try to talk to me and convince me that I'm a human being capable of feeling stuff.

Tea: I don't need to convince you of that. You already know that.

Todd: So, you still think that even after what I did?

Tea: I would have preferred...

Todd: What would you have preferred, Tea?

Tea: I don't know. I guess at the time I thought that I would have preferred that you talk to me but I guess hearing you tell me that you weren't interested in continuing to try to have a relationship with me probably would have hurt just as much as the way you actually handled it. I know that trying again was ultimately a mistake but I don't regret it, Todd. I really did have some wonderful times with you, including many times in this very house.

Todd: Yeah?

Tea: Yeah. I don't regret my decision to leave Llanview with you and give our relationship another try. At least now we know that it just wasn't meant to be.

Todd: And, you're glad about that?

Tea: I'm not glad that it didn't work out but...

Todd: You sure about that?

Tea: Trust me. I'm very sure about that. I tried, Todd. And, I was willing to continue trying. You clearly realized that, for you, it wasn't something worth trying for anymore. So, now you've moved on and I really do hope that you find what you're looking for, Todd. I want you to be happy.

to be continued...