Tea walks into the police station. On the way over she had phoned Viki and told her about the house and the postmark on Todd's package. Viki had agreed to do some checking on clinics and hospitals in Providence and the surrounding areas while Tea dealt with Blair.
Tea had begun to feel a little guilty about pressing charges against Blair. Not because she had any great love for Blair, but because of Starr. With Todd gone, if Blair was in jail, Starr would most likely end up with Dorian. Todd would hate that, and Tea wasn't crazy about the idea either. Besides, regardless of her personal feelings towards Blair, she was Starr's mother and with Todd gone, Starr belonged with her. Tea sighs, she is getting tired of the feud with Blair. The person it was hurting the most was Starr, and that's the last thing Tea wanted. Hank walks over to her.
"Ready?"
Tea looks at him, "Actually Hank, I've had a change of heart. As much as I would personally like to press charges, I have to do what's best for Starr."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah, I'm sure," she says, and walks over to where Blair is making her statement.
"Excuse me officer, you can stop taking Ms. Cramer's statement, I won't be pressing charges."
Blair looks at Tea, shocked. "You mean you dragged me down here just so you could change your mind?"
"Look Blair, I realize we have problems, but those problems should not affect Starr...she's the most important person here."
"Well, if you think that just because you didn't press charges, I'm going to let you near my little girl, you're crazy."
Tea shakes her head, "Blair, what if Starr wants to see me? I love her and she loves me. Todd's not here, she needs to be able to be with all the people that love her, even if that includes me. Besides," she pauses and stares directly at Blair, "I'm sure Todd would want me to be able to see her."
Blair sneers, "Ah, yes, Todd. That would be the man who lied to you and kept you in the dark...I have to admit it was fun to watch."
Tea grins at Blair, "Actually, Blair, you're wrong. It's beginning to look like you were the one he lied to, kept in the dark for all those months...not me...his wife." With that, Tea turns and walks out, leaving behind a confused, angry Blair.
Tea walks into the office of Milton Realty. She feels a strange mix of happy excitement and anxiety. She walks over to a middle aged man.
"Excuse me, I'm looking for Mr. Bottoms."
He smiles, "Well, you've found him. How can I help you?"
"I'm Tea Delgado...we spoke on the phone regarding the house on Llantano Mountain."
"Of course, Ms. Delgado. Please sit down," he says, motioning to a chair.
"Thank you, I was wondering if you could give me some more information."
"What would you like to know?"
"When was the land purchased by my husband?"
Mr. Bottoms takes out some papers and flips through them. "Uh...it looks like the land was purchased on November 1, 1998. The building started about a week later."
Tea's eyes fill with tears. He had done this before the wedding...before everything happened...
"He really wanted our future..." she thinks, almost surprised.
She struggles to control her emotions. "Could you give me the exact address of the house?"
He writes it down and hands her the slip of paper. Tea thanks him for his help and walks out ...heading for a look at her future.
Tea slowly gets out of her car, her eyes fixed on the beautiful house in front of her. There obviously was still work to be done, but what she did was see was wonderful. If it was possible, it was both large and yet homey. There was a large wrap around front porch, what looked to be a garage, and even a picket fence.
"I want the whole package...house, two car garage, picket fence..."
"Boy, Todd, you weren't kidding," she says softly, a smile playing on her lips. She is tempted to go inside and explore...but she stops herself.
"I'm going to wait for you Todd, the first time I go in this house it will be with you...the way it should be."
Tea continues to look at the house. After a few more minutes, her phone rings.
"Hello?"
"Tea, it's Viki."
Tea takes a deep breath. "Any luck?"
"Well, I checked all the hospitals and clinics and none of them have a Todd Manning registered as a patient."
Tea feels her heart sink. "Oh."
"Tea, that doesn't mean he's not in Providence. It's possible he could be seeing a private therapist or getting therapy on an outpatient basis."
"True, thanks for your help Viki, I really appreciate it."
"Tea, you know I will do everything I can do to help. What are you going to do now?"
Tea grins into the phone, "Well, I've heard Providence is lovely this time of year."
Todd's room
Todd stares out his window. He is still uneasy about the episode he had earlier. Pete was so scary...and Todd had to keep him away from Tea and Starr. He thinks about the substitute emergency card he sent her.
"So, Delgado, do I get to use it this time?" he says.
Her face fills his mind, her beautiful brown eyes that were the windows to her very soul...those eyes that had looked at him with such love and trust...and pain and betrayal.
"I never want to see that pain in your eyes again....you have to find me...we have to work this out Delgado...and when we do, I'm going to make sure you always know how much I love you."
To be continued.....