Tea is busy packing for her trip to Chicago. Truth be told...she is pretty nervous about this trip. What will she find? She shakes her head, trying to shake away the anxiety. She goes to the dresser and begins to throw some of her makeup in a bag. Her eyes fall to the official looking papers that are sitting there. Annulment papers.
"...whether this is the end of the journey, or the beginning..."
"...for now and forevermore..."
Her eyes fill with tears, recalling the vows she had exchanged with Todd. She picks up the unsigned papers and puts them in a drawer. Not yet, she thinks, I'm not ready to let you go Todd.
Her thoughts are interrupted by a knock on her door. She goes and answers it, and lets in Sam Rappaport.
"Sam, I didn't expect you to be able to meet me on such short notice."
"Well, it sounded important, Tea. What's up?"
"Okay, you're probably not going to believe this but...I need to talk to you about Todd."
Sam gives her a surprised look. "I think that might be the last thing I expected you to say."
Tea smiles wistfully, "Yeah, well, he's not the easiest guy in the world to give up on, believe me I've tried."
Sam looks at her, knowing how hard this all is on her. "What's up?"
"I heard from him."
Sam is shocked. "Where is he? Is he ok?"
"I don't know. You know Todd, he doesn't exactly make things easy," she says as she gets up to retrieve the key and the picture. "He sent me these, the key first, then the picture."
Sam looks at them both. "Well, the key I can't help you with, but the boy in the picture is definitely Todd."
"I figured that."
"And I'm pretty sure that is the living room of the Manning estate, the house he grew up in in Chicago."
"Are you sure?"
"Almost postive."
Tea gazes at the angelic face in the picture. It never stops hurting, the thought of what Todd had been through.
"Sam, you know Viki thinks that the DID may in fact be real after all."
Sam looks at her cautiously. "I know, she mentioned it to me. To be honest, Tea, I don't know what to think, but the DID were real, it wouldn't surprise me."
"I'm really beginning to wonder Sam...in fact that is one of my guesses behind this picture...this little boy...this is Tom...maybe that is what he is trying to tell me."
"I guess it's a possibility...with Todd you never know."
"Sam, you knew him when he was young. I was hoping you could tell me about what he was like."
"Well, Tea, he was really not all that different from the "Tom" we saw...I remember thinking that when I first saw him at the hospital, that was the kid I coached. Very sweet, happy...but he seemed to disappear in an instant."
Tea looks at him quizzically, "His fourteenth birthday? Sam, do you think that happened...the sexual abuse?"
Sam takes a deep breath. "I don't know for sure, but something happened that night...something that caused him to try and kill Peter Manning...something that changed Todd forever."
Friday Morning....Angel Square Fountain
Tea is sitting in the brisk morning air, sipping a hot cup of coffee. She is leaving for Chicago later this afternoon. Her conversation with Sam had been helpful. He had given her some places to check out, and had also given her the address of the Manning estate. She is beginning to sense she is on to something...her instincts tell her she is. All of the sudden, out of the morning silence, Tea hears a voice she has missed so much.
"Tee!"
Tea looks up to see Starr running towards her at full speed, followed closely by her nanny, Minnie. She opens her arms and encloses her stepdaughter in them, holding her close. Minnie stands to the side, letting them talk.
"Angelita! How are you?"
"Okay," says Starr, smiling adoringly at her stepmother.
"How come you're not in school?"
"I got a special day today, me and Mommy are gonna spend the whole afternoon together."
"That sounds like fun."
"I miss you, Tee."
Tea's eyes fill with tears. Things between her and Blair had been less than great, and the times she had gotten to see Starr had been few and far between. It was difficult for her, she couldn't love Starr more if she were her own child.
"I miss you too, sweetie."
"Do you miss Daddy?"
The innocence of the question struck Tea. She could only imagine how tough Todd's absence was on Starr.
She gently strokes the little girl's hair. "Yes, Starr, I do," she says softly, admitting it not only to Starr but to herself.
"Me, too. But Fred gives him all my messages. I'll tell Fred to tell Daddy you miss him too, okay?"
"Okay," Tea whispers, smiling, remembering the frog Todd had given Starr.
Minnie tells Starr that they have to get going, and Tea and Starr hug.
"Can I see you soon, Tee?"
"Yeah, I'll talk to your mom, okay?"
As Starr leaves with Minnie, Tea realizes the importance of solving Todd's mystery. It's not just for her, but for Starr, too.
Later that Morning...Tea's suite at the Palace
Tea is gathering her things as she gets ready to leave for the airport. There's a knock on the door. She opens it and is surprised to see Andrew Carpenter.
"Andrew, hi, come on in."
Andrew walks in. "Tea, I hope I'm not catching you at a bad time."
"Well, I'm leaving town for a few days, but I have a couple of minutes. What's up?"
Andrew takes a small package out of his pocket and hands it to her. "I think this belongs to you."
Tea gazes at the address. "It's from Todd...but how did you get it?"
"By accident. I saw it at the diner...Roseanne had thrown it away...don't be mad, I think she was trying to look out for you. I can't blame her...I've been torn about whether or not I should give you this."
"Why did you?" Tea asks, her eyes still fixed on Todd's handwriting.
"I'm not sure...in my opinion you should stay as far away from him as possible...but I know there's this bond between you two...I've known it for a very long time...and quite frankly it's not my place to decide whether or not you should have this package. Do with it what you want."
"Thank you," she whispers.
Andrew leaves, and Tea sits down, still holding the package. She tears it open and again finds layers of tissue. Instead of a picture, this time she finds what looks to be a newspaper article. It was an article from "The Northside High School Times" and the headline read "Manning's Miracle". She read it and found it was an article about a football game from Todd's freshman year in high school. He had made a last second pass to lead his football team to the district championship. Tea stares at the article in her hand, Todd's latest clue. She is now even further convinced that going to Chicago is the right thing to do.
Todd' room....Friday afternoon
Todd sits on his bed, wondering if Tea got his latest clue. He misses her so much, misses the way she is able to make the craziness go away. He feels the sudden need to hear her voice. He picks up the phone and dials her work number. Just hearing her say "Hello"....that would be enough for now. The phone rings, and her voice mail picks up. Todd listens intently to her message.
"You've reached the office of Assistant District Attorney Tea Delgado. I will be out of town until Monday. Please leave a message and I will return your call."
Todd smiles. Out of town?
He picks up her picture, his eyes wandering over her beautiful, smiling face.
"Are you starting to catch on, Delgado?"
To be continued.....