Chapter 28

Mom. She’d called Sheridan ‘Mom’ last night just before falling asleep. The word had just…slipped from her lips. So easy. So natural. It felt like the most right thing in the world to her, but this morning Haley had something else altogether to ponder…saying it had felt natural. But what about hearing it? DID Sheridan hear her last night? Part of her hoped she hadn’t, but part of her wished she had. She wanted so badly to say it in the morning light and have Sheridan hear her.

These thoughts she pondered as she tiptoed out of Sheridan’s bedroom in the early morning hours, with the sun still climbing the sky. The tiles in the kitchen floor were slightly cool beneath her bare feet, and she hopped from foot to foot as she opened the refrigerator door, peering inside. Haley had big plans for this day with Sheridan. But it all started off with a big breakfast. A girl couldn’t think on an empty stomach.

She hummed happily under her breath as she cracked eggs into a bowl and glanced at the bacon, sizzling in a nearby pan. If Sheridan was one of those health nuts…where oh where did she get the bacon? “Grandma,” Haley smiled to herself as a light bulb went off inside her brain. Who else? A soft knock on the back door had Haley whirling around, and her smile turned into a tickled grin as she hurried forward to open the door.

“I was just thinking about you,” she said, taking her grandmother off-guard when she threw her arms around her. “Where’s Dad? He promised…” Pilar swept an affectionate hand through Haley’s tangle of brown hair. “Your father will be here soon. I brought your clothes, Mija.” “Grandma, will you…” “Go change,” Pilar ushered her out of the room, walking toward the stove with a smile.

Haley pushed the door to Sheridan’s bedroom open gently, surprised to find the bed empty. She breathed a sigh of relief when she heard the noise of the shower in the bathroom. Haley dug through the duffel bag her grandma had brought for her, withdrawing a purple tank top and a pair of denim cutoffs. She was just slipping her feet into her favorite sandals when Sheridan emerged from the bathroom, blond hair slicked back on her head, looking clean and refreshed and smelling wonderful.

“How do you always do that?” Haley’s forehead wrinkled as Sheridan walked toward her. “Do what?” Sheridan asked, wholly amused. “Smell good,” Haley answered her. “Aunt Theresa’s perfume is so strong we have to open all the windows in the house.” Sheridan laughed, reaching past Haley to grab the sundress she’d laid out earlier. “Aren’t you a little hard on Aunt Theresa?” “Please,” Haley rolled her brown eyes. “Hurry up,” she told her. “I got a surprise for you in the kitchen.” “A surprise, huh?” “Yeah, so hurry,” Haley repeated, darting out of the bedroom.

“Mija,” Pilar smiled, looking up at Haley as she finished setting the table. Three plates? “Grandma?” “I can’t stay for breakfast, Mija,” Pilar told her, resting her hands on her shoulders and smiling into her brown eyes. “I have to get to work.” “Ivy’ll understand,” Haley whined, unable to keep the disappointment from her voice. “Mija,” Pilar admonished, brushing her lips against Haley’s forehead. “Tell Sheridan good morning for me?” Haley nodded silently. “And you…be good. Promise me you’ll be good and not be angry with your father when he...” “When he what, Grandma?” Haley asked, puzzled at the strange turn their conversation was taking.

“You’ll see,” her grandma dodged her question, shaking her head slightly. “I want you to be good and give things a chance, Mija. Goodbye, Haley.” Haley tightened her arms around her grandma’s waist, confused. Why did she sound so weird? So upset? “Grandma,” she pulled back to look into her grandma’s brown eyes, trying to understand what she saw there. “Enjoy your breakfast with Sheridan and your father, Mija. I love you.” “I love you, too, Grandma,” Haley whispered against her grandma’s neck. Pilar released her, and Haley watched her as she walked the short distance to the Mansion. What had her grandma acting so weird? She didn’t have long to wonder because at the same moment that Sheridan entered the kitchen, a knock sounded at the front door, and Haley went running. “DAD!”

Her dad was so handsome, Haley thought, grinning up at him as she wrapped her arms around his waist. “You saw Grandma?” “Yeah,” Haley nodded. “And she acted real weird, Dad. What’s going on? Dad? Dad? Oh,” she giggled when she realized exactly why her dad attention was no longer focused on her. Sheridan. That’s why. He was gawking at her, dumbstruck. Haley turned around in her dad’s arms, leaning back against his chest and sighing happily. And Sheridan was beautiful in her blue sundress. So beautiful she had stunned her dad into silence. A traitorous smile flickered across Sheridan’s lips, and her blue eyes were shining as she crossed the room slowly to them.

Haley reached for her hand and grabbed her dad’s hand, resting on her shoulder. If they couldn’t speak or move, it looked like she was going to have to do it for them both. “Good morning, Luis. Great to see you. Good morning, Sheridan. Wonderful to see you,” she said in a deeper voice, making them both laugh. “C’mon,” she urged, pulling them both toward the kitchen. “Close your eyes. I said close them,” she arched a dark brow at Sheridan, biting her lip to keep from laughing. “Eyes better be closed,” she said in a stern voice, dropping their hands and hurrying to the table to make sure everything was set.

Satisfied, she turned back to them, rolling her brown eyes at their awkwardness. She grinned wickedly, walking back over to them. “Can we open our eyes now?” her dad muttered impatiently, a smirk on his lips. “Not yet,” Haley told him, tugging him closer to Sheridan. Her dad’s hand reached out blindly, closing around Sheridan’s. Haley’s smile was so bright it was a wonder they were blinking at its force and demanding some shades. “Open them!”

“So this is the surprise,” Sheridan said. “Haley, did you do this all yourself?” “Well…mostly. Grandma said to tell you good morning,” Haley grinned, bouncing up to Sheridan and her dad and gazing up into their eyes. “Do you like my surprise? Is it a good surprise?” “A very good surprise,” her dad told her, and Sheridan agreed. “Well…what are we waiting for? It’s going to get cold,” Haley said. “Dad,” she muttered under her breath. Her dad let go of Sheridan’s hand with such reluctance, Haley almost had to laugh.

“Thank you,” Sheridan told him as he pulled out a chair for her. “What?” Haley teased. “I’m not good enough?” Her dad laughed and pulled out a chair for her, too, and soon they were all seated. Was this what it felt like to share a morning breakfast with your parents, Haley wondered. Dad and Sheridan relaxed almost totally, and they talked about everything. How quickly summer had passed and how fast the beach party was approaching. Just a couple of weeks now. How much Sheridan had hated the idea of working at the Youth Center at first, but she couldn’t imagine a luckier twist of fate now. Haley leaned back in her chair and watched them with a smile, awed at how far they had come. Filled with hope that with summer’s end came the fulfillment of her wish.

When everyone had finished, Haley leapt to her feet, clearing their plates without complaint (it was her surprise, after all…complaining would have ruined the effect). “She must really like you,” her dad told Sheridan with a smile. “She’s never as quick to do the dishes at home.” “You’re so funny, Dad,” Haley rolled her brown eyes at him goodnaturedly. “Thank you,” he smiled. “I try.” Haley groaned, and Sheridan burst into laughter. “I love Sheridan. What about you, Dad?” Sheridan’s laughter died in her throat, and Haley bit her lip, not daring to turn around and face her dad after that little surprise question. “Um…I…I…I think Sheridan knows I like her. Very, very much.” “Very, very much?” Sheridan questioned. “Very, very, very much,” her dad further elaborated, and Haley wanted to squeal in frustration. Demand her dad kiss Sheridan right then. Right there. When were they going to quit dancing around each other? She wasn’t exactly the most patient girl, but it WAS getting a little bit exhausting.

“I’ll be right back,” Haley called over her shoulder, making herself scarce. To her way of thinking, her dad wasn’t about to lay a big one on Sheridan anytime soon with her in the same room. So she’d help things along a little. She ducked behind the kitchen door, quiet as a mouse. Fingers crossed as she peeked her dark head around the corner. Eavesdropping and spying were big no-no’s in Grandma’s book, but sometimes they were necessary, Haley thought, holding her breath and hanging on every word that escaped Sheridan and her dad’s lips. “Very, very, very much?” Sheridan’s blue eyes twinkled shyly at her dad. “Yes,” her dad smiled back at her, shifting in his seat to face her and taking her hand in his own. “What about you? How do you feel?”

Sheridan ducked her blond head, and Haley felt all warm and fuzzy inside with her softly whispered answer. “I’m in love with your daughter.” The humor in her dad’s brown eyes were visible even from feet away as he lifted Sheridan’s chin with his fingers. “Sheridan?” “I could fall in love with her father too, if…” she trailed off. It was coming! It was coming, Haley rejoiced inwardly as she watched her dad’s fingers move from Sheridan’s chin to cup her cheek, and their faces (and their lips!) inched closer. “If…” Sheridan’s voice dropped to a faint whisper, and her eyes fluttered close as her dad’s nose nuzzled against her own. “Luis?” she breathed, leaning her forehead against his. “Shh,” her dad silenced her unspoken question. Haley was dying inside. They were…they were…their lips were thisclose, and she just knew they were going to…what kind of enjoyment did God and Sheridan and her dad get out of prolonging this inhumane torture? “Kiss her. Kiss her, Dad,” Haley whispered as her dad’s other hand cupped Sheridan’s face, and he brought their lips even closer together (was it possible to be SSSSOOOO close and STILL not touch???), and…

A loud knock on the front door had them jumping apart, and Haley wanting to scream as she practically stomped to the door, flinging it open. “Good morning, Haley,” SHE smiled at her. “Are you and your dad ready?” Haley glared at her, crossing her arms around her middle and refusing to speak. SHE shrank away at what was surely a look full of murderous intent, and Haley’s hand grasped the doorknob, ready to slam the door shut in her face at that instant. “Beth,” Haley turned around at the sound of her dad’s voice. He didn’t sound mad. He didn’t sound surprised. He didn’t sound…He didn’t sound surprised! “You’re early.” Haley’s brown eyes bored into HER’s, making her flinch away in embarrassment. “Dad, what are you talking about? Early for what? Sheridan?” she looked past her dad to Sheridan standing in the kitchen doorway, a somber expression on her face.

“You haven’t told her, Luis? You told me you’d…” “Beth,” her dad soothed, moving forward and beckoning her to come inside. “You’re early. I was going to break the news to her after breakfast. You were supposed to wait on us at the Bed and Breakfast.” “I’m sorry,” SHE apologized. “I was nervous. And excited. And I could wait to start our trip…” “What trip? What’s she talking about, Dad?” Haley demanded to know. “Sheridan? Dad? Somebody please tell me what’s going on here?” Haley pleaded, dread washing over her in waves. Her dad brushed past HER, coming back inside Sheridan’s cottage, suitcase in hand. “Haley…” her dad began. “Daddy, no,” she shook her head, running to Sheridan and seeking the comfort of her embrace. “Haley,” her dad sighed. “Haley, it’s only a week. Maybe more, and I’m going with you. You won’t be alone.” “It’ll be fun, Haley. The three of us. Taking a trip together. Like a family,” SHE said.

“I won’t go. I won’t!” Haley screamed, racing out of the room.

Chapter 29

There should be a law out there against forcing kids to give deadbeat parents a second chance. Okay, Haley admitted to herself. Maybe she WAS being a bit harsh. Maybe not, she decided as she reminded herself…SHE had abandoned her and dad years and years ago. When she was barely crawling. If that wasn’t deadbeat Haley didn’t know what was. A week! Maybe more! She wondered if Aunt Theresa’s particular strain of airheaditis (so she made up a word…it happened) was contagious. That’s the only thing she could think of when it came to Dad’s complete 180.

Just hours ago he was thisclose to finally kissing Sheridan. Now he was driving his jeep to God knows where. HER sitting in the passenger seat beside him. If that weren’t enough to irritate Haley…SHE was sitting in her seat! “Still not speaking, Haley? I know you. You’re never going to be able to keep that mouth shut for a whole day. Forget a week,” her dad said. Haley glared at his smirking reflection in the rear-view mirror. Okay. That did it. She’d inherited a lot of things from her dad. Including stubbornness. She’d prove him wrong if it literally killed her.

Hours and hours they drove. Or so it seemed (it was exhausting reminding herself not to talk—if only to make HER squirm like she deserved). Haley rolled her brown eyes when her dad pulled the jeep into a motel that made the Bates Motel look like a fine establishment. Wonder of all wonders (suppose SHE called ahead?), there was only one room left. Haley cringed inwardly AND outwardly as her dad swung the door open. Pink walls and green carpet. She could do a better decorating job, and she was eleven! Dad wasn’t for real when he said there were no other rooms, right? This dump was actually full?!?!

“Well…” SHE said through clenched teeth. “I don’t suppose it’ll kill us to spend ONE night here.” Haley snickered when SHE picked up the thread-bare bedspread and took a hesitant peek underneath. “You and Haley can take the bed, Beth. I’ll take the chair over there.” Haley looked at the tiny chair then looked at her dad. No way was that happening! She was about to shout “You and me are taking the bed, Dad” when she remembered her earlier vow to silence. Instead she yanked a rock-hard pillow from the bed and went in search of the bathroom. The bathtub was more appealing than sleeping by HER side all night! Haley screamed hysterically when she pulled the shower curtain back. The most MAMMOTH roach known to man had already made his bed in their only bathtub. “Haley! Haley, what happened?” Dad asked. Haley looked to HER before pointing to the roach. SHE looked seconds away from a heart attack.

Needless to say, they didn’t stay the night. SHE said it wasn’t that far from her apartment anymore so Dad decided to drive the rest of the way. Haley didn’t remember the exact hour they arrived. Her brain was so fuzzy she didn’t register WHERE exactly they were until much later. She just remembered her dad lifting her up in his arms and carrying her up some stairs. And some more stairs. With HER following them carrying all the bags. She vaguely remembered her dad saying something to her about the goofy smile on her face, but she was too far gone to do more than mumble.

Her dad just laughed at her, and she wondered if breaking a vow of silence while you were half-asleep could be considered a TRUE break. It was like taking advantage of someone while they were drunk (how did she know? She didn’t, but she imagined the situations were just the teeniest bit similar). Like she said, she was out of it. It wasn’t fair. “This doesn’t count,” she remembered mumbling into her dad’s neck as he lay her down on a foreign bed and pulled the covers over her. “My lips are sealed,” he answered back, brushing her dark hair back from her sleepy face. “Sleep, Haley. We’ve got a busy day tomorrow.” Busy, she wondered. How could they be…the thought escaped her as soon as her dad shut off the lamp beside her and plunged the room into darkness. She was asleep before he even closed the door.

Her bladder woke her up the next morning. Big Gulps tended to do that to you, she thought, blinking at her unfamiliar surroundings. She needed a bathroom, but she had no idea where to find one. And she certainly didn’t want to wake HER up to ask her. Wait a minute, Haley thought, padding toward the bedroom door and widening the tiny crack to peek outside. SHE was already up, and it sounded like her dad was too. In the interest of protecting her dad, she decided she could hold it a little longer and slowly crept out the door and along the hallway. “Dad,” she groaned to herself. “Put your shirt on before you give HER ideas.” She grinned when her dad grabbed the shirt draped across the back of his chair and slipped it over his head. Her dad and she had a psychic connection. COOL! Wait a minute…what if he heard her? Uh oh, she thought, scrambling around the corner and holding her breath waiting for him to discover her.

Thank goodness he didn’t barrel after her, and she was able to take a relieved breath soon after, settling down in the floor and straining her ears to hear every word of their conversation. Most of it was just plain boring. HER asking “Would you like a bagel?” Who was she kidding, Haley scoffed. Her dad? Eating a bagel? Whatever. Where was the real food, Haley wondered, sighing as her stomach growled. “Did you sleep okay on the couch?” YES, YES, YES! Her faith in her dad was outstanding, but SHE was kind of sneaky as far as Haley was concerned. Yippee! Her dad slept on the couch! “Everything was fine, Beth,” she heard him say. Why did her dad have to be so nice to HER? SHE’D left him too.

“Really,” SHE asked. “I just wanted you to be comfortable…I know this whole thing is uncomfortable…and that’s MY fault…” Geez, Haley rolled her eyes. Understatement of the year. Did SHE always babble like that? SHE reminded her of somebody… “You’re right.” Haley’s mouth hung open in shock when she heard her dad say that. WOW! “This IS uncomfortable, and it IS your fault. But I don’t imagine I’m blameless in this whole mess.” Dad! That is SO not true! “You asked me to marry you, Luis. You didn’t force me to say yes.” Maybe SHE does have some sense in that head of hers, Haley thought. “It wasn’t anything you did that made me leave. It wasn’t anything that anyone did. Haley least of all. I just…we were so young, Luis. Too young. I had dreams. I wanted to go to college. It didn’t seem like a choice anymore with a baby and a husband.”

Haley thought her dad’s voice sounded sad, even a little tired as he answered her. “College was something I wanted too, Beth. But there are other things…if you’d told me, if you’d said something…we could have done something. You didn’t have to leave.” “Luis…it wouldn’t have worked. The truth is…I loved you. You were the first…But I wasn’t happy. I wasn’t happy being the married one when the rest of my friends were just starting this exciting time in their lives. And living with your family…they’re wonderful, Luis. They really are, but I needed space of my own. I still had a lot of growing up to do, and I couldn’t do that. And Haley…she was so innocent and small, and she depended on me for everything…” Haley’s breath caught in her throat, and she dug her fingernails into her palms. “She was a baby, Beth…” “MY baby,” SHE said. “That’s what made it so hard.”

Haley’s pounding heart was the sound for several seconds as she waited for HER to continue. “I didn’t want to be her mother…” Haley blinked back sudden tears. Swallowing over the lump lodged in her throat. “I didn’t want to be a wife. I wanted something different, Luis, and I resented being tied down…I resented my own daughter, Luis. I HAD to leave.” Haley wiped her tears away with trembling hands. Enough. She’d heard enough. SHE didn’t want her. SHE never had, and there were no second chances for people that didn’t deserve them. Haley closed the bathroom door behind her, staring at her tear-reddened face in the mirror’s reflection. Wishing she’d never heard those words. Angry with herself for the buried hope that had begun crumbling once and for all with HER words. “She didn’t want me.”

Chapter 30

Just one week. Maybe two. That’s what Haley kept reminding herself as SHE paraded her around for all her friends to see. Buffy (WHAT? Real people actually had that name?)…I’d like you to meet my daughter. She’s visiting. Aren’t you, Haley? Todd…have you met my daughter? It was sickening. And Haley hated every second of it. Dad tried to make it easier. He tried, not knowing she’d heard every word SHE had said that awful first morning. The act of silence wasn’t an act anymore. Haley didn’t want to talk to HER. Because then she knew…talking would give way to screaming…screaming would give way to tears. Tears were secret things. They wet her pillow each night, after SHE had dragged them from one end of New York City to another during the day. Tears were something she didn’t want her daddy to see. Just one week. Maybe two. And she’d never have to see HER again. That’s what Haley reminded herself. During the Yankees game. The Broadway plays. The Empire State building. Haley didn’t NEED to be impressed. She needed the only thing she’d never felt from HER—love.

On the 12th day, Dad left them alone. Haley begged and pleaded, not caring she was breaking her vow of silence. She just really, really did NOT want to be alone with HER. But her dad…sometimes he just knew…things. That even things that hurt the most have to run their course sometimes. Her dad’s heart was in the right place. She knew that. But that didn’t stop her from being steaming mad. Haley stomped to the little cubbyhole she’d subconsciously branded her own during their short stay and slammed the door. SHE’d looked upset, but Haley honestly couldn’t feel bad. There was a sense of justice in her heart at the thought that SHE was hurting. Even just a smidgen as much as Haley herself was. Haley watched the clock’s hands turn slowly, so slowly, and after a while, she heard the doorknob jiggle. “Haley? Haley, can I please come in?” Haley wanted to ignore her, but more than that she wanted to send her away. Far, far away from her. So she hurried to the door, shoving it closed, and yelling “NO!” “Haley, please,” SHE pleaded. “Talk to me. Give me a chance.”

Haley saw red as she flew across the bedroom and flung the door open, causing HER to step back in fright. “A chance? Give you a chance? You never wanted me!” There. That took the wind out of her self-righteous sails, Haley thought. SHE looked like she’d been slapped. “Haley…that’s…” Haley stretched to her full height, her chin jutting out stubbornly in a replica of her dad, and her angry tone wavered just a bit as she cut whatever SHE had been about to say off. “You think you can show up now….ten years later…and have everything be PERFECT? It doesn’t work that way. I don’t want anything to do with YOU. I don’t want you around my dad. You left because you didn’t want to be my mother. WHY DID YOU COME BACK?! WHY?! You can’t just do that, you know…pop back into my life and expect me to call you ‘Mom’. Well, I won’t call you that. You’ll never be that for me. Grandma was my mom. Dad was my mom. Ivy’s been my mom. And the one person who’s been more of a mom to me than YOU ever have…I’ve only just met her…you have to come back and try to ruin things with Dad and Sheridan. WHY?! You didn’t want us then. Why do you want us now?”

“Haley…please let me explain. You didn’t hear…” “I heard you. You said you didn’t want to be my mother. You said you resented me for taking away all your dreams. I didn’t ask to be born. I didn’t ask for you to be my mother. It just happened that way. I was a baby. I LOVED you,” Haley cried, swiping angry fingers over her tear-streaked face. When had THAT happened? “I LOVED you, and you left me. I thought it was all my fault all this time, but the truth…the truth is…you’re SELFISH! You don’t just do what you did. You don’t…” “Haley, Haley, Haley,” SHE begged, reaching for her and slamming her own tear-filled brown eyes shut when Haley jerked away at her touch. “Haley, you didn’t hear…Haley, please come sit down. You don’t even have to sit close to me. You don’t even have to look at me. But please listen to me and hear the WHOLE story. Because Haley…you got the gist of it right. But you didn’t hear it all. It was horribly SELFISH of me to abandon you and your father like that…” Haley scoffed, shaking her head as she reluctantly backed into the small living room. “This,” SHE pointed at her, waving her hands around the room at her dad’s pillow from the night before still laying on the couch. “THIS was selfish of me.”

Haley sat down on the couch where her dad had so recently lay and clutched his pillow to her chest, breathing in his comforting scent. She didn’t look at HER. She didn’t even acknowledge SHE was speaking. She just stared blankly ahead. “Haley,” SHE sighed. “I know I have no right to ask you to call me ‘Mom,’ and I won’t ask such a ridiculous thing. But Haley…I don’t want you thinking of me as…I have a name, Haley. You can call me Beth. I know I probably don’t deserve it, but it’s a much nicer name than the ones I’m sure you have for me.” Haley’s brown eyes met HER’s across the room, surprised at the understanding she saw there. “I think we’ve already established the fact that I’m a very selfish person, Haley. But I’m NOT an evil person. Sometimes I think I’m a bad person, but most of the time I think I’m just a human that makes extremely human mistakes. I’m not trying to excuse what I did,” SHE said. Haley plopped back against the sofa cushions. Annoyed SHE had anticipated her thoughts. “I DID say I didn’t want to be your mother,” SHE admitted, and Haley fought the urge to bolt for the door. Her tattered heart couldn’t take hearing it again. “But what you didn’t hear…” Haley raised pained brown eyes to HER face. Interest flaring within her despite her own protests.

SHE got up from her seat at the armchair and started pacing. Back and forth. Back and forth. And Haley buried her nose in her dad’s pillow once more. “Not a day has gone by that I haven’t regretted having those thoughts.” Haley’s mouth hung open in disbelief. “Haley, I was so ashamed that I put myself before my family that it took me years to gather up enough courage to…I had my college experience. I had my friends and my parties. I had the life I thought I wanted. A great job. I had my dreams back. I was doing something I’d always loved. I was writing. You know they say the best writers write from experience…or maybe I have that turned around,” SHE said, running a tired hand through her dark hair. “Anyway…I wanted to be one of the best. I wanted to be THE best. So I started thinking about my life, all the things that have happened in it…drawing from my own experience…and I realized what a truly terrible person I was. I felt so…Haley, the guilt was…the guilt was…” “You’re not going to make me feel sorry for you,” Haley muttered. “I’m not trying to,” SHE sighed in exasperation. “I’m just explaining to you the best I know how the WHY’S.” Great, Haley thought. And it gets even worse…SHE didn’t want to see her again because she loved her. SHE wanted to see her again to get rid of her awful guilt.

“Haley, I know what you’re thinking…” “No, you don’t,” Haley snapped, glaring at her and tucking her knees beneath her chin. “Well…I think I have a fairly good idea. Guilt wasn’t the only reason. I missed you, Haley. I wanted…I want to make things right. I know I’m never going to be able to erase all the hurt you’ve felt in the past, but I want to try to lessen the hurt you’re feeling now. You’re still my little girl, Haley,” SHE said softly. Haley blinked back tears, shifting her gaze from HER blurry image and staring at a point across the room. “You’re this beautiful person…this beautiful part of me and your dad, and I want to help you, Haley. I know I can’t make it up to you…I want a fresh start. Not as your mom if that makes you uncomfortable, but as someone you can count on. I want to be the person you need me to be.” “What about Dad?” Haley questioned, untangling her limbs and looking down into HER eyes. SHE sighed heavily and a sad little smile flitted across her lips. “Your dad and I have made our peace, Haley. This is about me and you. What do you need from me, Haley? Tell me. Tell me what you need, and I’ll do anything. I love you,” SHE cried. Haley’s chin trembled as HER hands cupped her jaw, and her breath left her in shaky gasps. “You love me?” “Never doubt it,” SHE whispered shakily, brushing Haley’s tears away with the pads of her thumbs. Haley’s arms clutched at HER neck, and she sobbed at the realization she’d finally heard those words from HER—her mother. She closed her dark eyes, her mother’s chocolate brown, intelligent eyes that saw everything, and basked in a moment she’d only dreamed about. And then she whispered…

“If you love me…set me free.”

Chapter 31

“Dad,” Haley whined from the back seat of the jeep. “We’re never going to make it.” “Haley,” her dad sighed. “I’m driving as fast as I can….” “You’re going to make it to the party, Haley,” another softer voice said. Haley met a pair of brown eyes identical to her own in the rear-view mirror, barely containing a sigh of disappointment. “Yeah…” she muttered. “AFTER the sun’s gone down.” “Well…think of it this way…you don’t have to worry about getting burned.” Haley rolled her brown eyes, and she knew Beth had caught it. But it was cool. It was different than all the other eye rolls Haley had sent her direction since her reappearance in her life. Don’t get her wrong. Things weren’t A-okay. But…HER and SHE were gradually fading from Haley’s internal vocabulary. ‘Beth’ still felt a little strange on her lips, and she didn’t really address her as such, but…but…but. The bursting pain had lessened in Haley’s heart, and though it wasn’t official (YET)…she felt lighter. Hopeful. And freer than she had ever been. “How much longer, Dad?” Her dad reached his hand out to her, curling it around her own when she slipped her fingers into his. “We’ll get there, Haley. I promise.” Haley settled back against her seat and closed her eyes. Willing herself to relax. Her dad promised. And he ALWAYS kept his promises.

Haley felt like jumping out of the jeep the second Dad’s headlights illuminated the ‘Welcome to Harmony’ sign and running the rest of the way. Like that would go over well would Dad, she thought, rubbing her hands up and down her denim clad thighs nervously. This was it. The REAL it. The moment where OPERATION MOM either sank or swam, and she couldn’t have been more nervous had she been living the ultimate nightmare. The one where for some insane reason she was the only person without clothes on in the middle of the school lunchroom. In this case it just had to be someplace public. Whoever said picturing people with their clothes off made things less awkward obviously wasn’t frequently terrorized by that particular dream. Why wish on others what you REALLY, REALLY did not want to happen to yourself? That was Haley’s philosophy. If she were one of those boy-crazy early bloomers, that little trick might be fun to try on Mr. No Last Name Todd though, Haley thought with a smirk. It might help her calm those butterflies she got in her stomach every time she saw him. WAIT A MINUTE! Sound of screeching brakes going of inside her brain. Eleven, she reminded herself. Boys were still annoying little jerks anyway. “Dad.” She chastised herself silently for the whiny edge to her voice, but she just…could…not…wait. Pins and needles. “We are SO late,” she fretted. “She’s going to think…” “Haley,” her dad’s voice was soothing and self-assured with only the slightest hint of nervousness. “She’s not going to…” He paused as he glanced at Beth in the passenger seat with a sympathetic look. “Even if she DOES think…we’ll just prove it to her otherwise.” Now if Haley didn’t know any better, she’d think that Dad’s brand of persuasion would present itself in a long-awaited honest to goodness KISS. “You’re going to have to do the convincing. I can’t help it I’m too young to drive.” “Haley,” Beth laughed. “Are you implying…” “Puh-leaze,” Haley rolled her dark eyes at them both. “Would a plane ticket have been THAT bad? Dad! Slow down! We’re here! We’re here!”

Haley’s sandals sank into the sand as she ran, making her feel like she was running in place. “Haley!” little Tommy Michaels exclaimed, bouncing up and down like an excited puppy. “You missed it! You missed it!” Haley couldn’t help but smile at his enthusiasm. “What did I miss, Tommy?” she asked, kneeling down in the sand in front of him. “I was afraid of the water, and it was cold…” Tommy paused to shiver, demonstrating just how cold the water was, and Haley had to bite the inside of her cheek HARD to keep from laughing at the incredibly animated expression on his cute little face. Water beaded at the ends of Tommy’s sandy hair as he spoke. “And the big kids were making fun of me. And Ms. Shwerry told them not to. Ms. Shwerry held my hand. I wasn’t scared!” Tommy’s eyes were wide as he related the story. “And Todd let me ride his surf board…” “Surf board?” Haley asked, a dark brow arching in interest. A surf board? Todd was a cowabunga dude?! No way! “Tommy,” a patient feminine voice interrupted their fascinating conversation. “It wasn’t a surf board,” the woman—Haley recognized her as Tommy’s mother—smiled down at her. “Tommy dreams big,” she laughed. “So does my aunt Theresa,” Haley smirked, climbing to her feet and dusting the sand from her knees. “Tommy?” she quizzed. “Do you know where Ms. Sheridan is now? It’s really important I talk to her.” “She was just here a moment ago,” Mrs. Michaels answered. “But she’s such a hit with all the kids, parents are dying to meet her. Good luck on finding her.” “Thanks, Mrs. Michaels,” Haley said. Grandma! Maybe she’d know where to find Sheridan.

“Mija! You’re back!” Haley smiled as her grandma’s arms went around her, squeezing tightly. “Let me look at you. You’ve grown so much.” “Grandma,” Haley rolled her eyes. “It was only two weeks.” “Children grow very fast,” another voice said. “Ivy!” Haley exclaimed, taking Ivy completely by surprise by throwing her arms around her neck. “How do you know?” “My nanny told me,” Ivy cracked, sipping on her drink. With the little umbrellas! “Ooo…can I have one, Grandma?” Haley turned on the charm, momentarily distracted from her real mission. “Mija,” Pilar scolded. “I knew it was too good to last. Not even five minutes, Grandma. You’re supposed to adore me longer than that,” Haley teased. “You,” her grandma shook her head, pulling her back in for another hug. “Where’s your father? You’re in one piece. How did the trip go?” “Geez, Grandma. Too many questions. Don’t you think, Ivy? Ivy?” “I’m curious too, Darling,” Ivy grinned. “I don’t know where Dad is,” Haley heaved a frustrated sigh. “He’s supposed to be right behind me. He has to tell Sheridan…” Haley clamped her own hand over her mouth just before blurting anything else out. Truth was she didn’t know what her dad was going to tell Sheridan. She just knew what she hoped he’d tell her. I love you. Stay in Harmony forever. Marry me. Those all sounded good to her. Although…the ole gag reflex was working just fine. Those were TOO sappy, corny, and her dad would look like a big wimp saying that stuff. Yep. The best thing he could do was not to say anything. KISSING Sheridan was the only option left. “He has to tell Sheridan what?” Ivy prompted. Haley could tell she was just itching for all the delicious details. “He has to find Sheridan first. **I** have to find Sheridan first. Where is she?”

“Haley! Haley! Haley! How was New York? Did you meet any movie stars? Did you meet Erica Kane?” Haley groaned. “What about…” “Aunt Theresa,” she muttered under her breath. “Grandma,” she whined. “I have a mission, and she’s not helping any.” Erica Kane is SO not real, Aunt Theresa. Please stop yelling. EVERYONE can hear you, and it’s making you… “Mija…” Thank you, Grandma, Haley cheered silently as her grandma grabbed Aunt Theresa by the arm and distracted her by pointing Ethan Crane out. Uh oh! Didn’t look like Ivy appreciated THAT. Sheridan’s Ethan looked like Bambi in the headlights. SCARY!!! “Sheridan, where are you?” Haley wondered aloud. Better yet…where was her dad? Left, right, the ocean, the rocks...she was nowhere to be found! Did she leave before they could get here? “Kay! Uncle Miguel!” Haley yelled, stumbling past another crowd of parents and kids. Haley stuck her tongue out when Uncle Miguel glared at her after jerking away from Kay. Yeah, like those two’s lips weren’t permanently attached anyway. They had to breathe sometime. Now was as good as any. “Have you seen Sheridan?” Haley panted, leaning her hands on her knees. Kay…thank goodness Kay took some pity on her…Kay smiled and pointed toward a spot farther down the beach where refreshments were set up on a table. “I think she went to get something to drink. She really kicked Miguel and Reese’s asses in volleyball,” Kay smirked. “Kay,” Miguel elbowed her in the ribs. “What?” Kay shrugged, a gleeful grin on her face. “It’s true, and you know it. Sore loser. Haley, your dad better hurry up and smell the coffee or he’s going to have quite the competition…” “You knew? Uncle Miguel, you squealed…” “Haley,” Miguel told her, “at this point, EVERYONE in town knows but Sheridan and Luis. It’s not exactly a secret they like each other…the way the look at each other…” The sound of music, some catchy dance tune Haley recognized from the radio, interrupted the rest of Uncle Miguel’s confession. That and Kay tugging him to his feet. “Miguel, I want to dance.” “Try the refreshment table, Haley…Haley, didn’t Beth stay in New York?” Haley ignored him, spotting Sheridan in the crowd several feet away. Her heart thudding in anticipation. She scrambled past some more kids she recognized, some she didn’t, and a whole lot of parents…Sheridan was just in her sights when she hit a very solid roadblock. “Todd!” Haley blushed ten different shades of red. What was that about all boys still being annoying little jerks? Haley was ready to eat her words. “Um…Haley. Hi. Wanna dance?” Ooohhhh! Why was this happening NOW? His voice was all stammer-ry, and he looked so…cute was not something Haley wanted to admit a boy could be, but Todd sure came awfully close. He wouldn’t give up on her, right? They had YEARS ahead of them. Dating years, she thought, quickly becoming horrified. She sounded like Aunt Theresa! Oh no! But she couldn’t help it. He DID look SO cute. And she wanted to dance with him. But she wasn’t one to lose sight of her mission, and it was drawing near an end. Impulsively, she leaned forward and kissed his cheek. “Save one for me?” she asked, not waiting for his answer as she pushed past Coach Russell and his wife. “Sorry,” she mumbled. “Sorry, Mr. Bennett,” she shot over her shoulder as she grabbed hold of a hand. “Sheridan!”

“Excuse me?” Haley dropped the hand she’d grasped in embarrassment. “I’m sorry…I thought you…I thought you were someone else.” “Don’t worry about it,” the woman reassured her. “I get that all the time.” “I really am sorry,” Haley apologized some more. Sighing as she backed away. She shrieked when something REALLY, REALLY cold hit her skin, drenching her from head to toe. “Oh my goodness! I’m so sorry! I wasn’t watching where I was going…Haley!” Haley looked up into Sheridan’s blue eyes, and she couldn’t help it. She didn’t know if it was relief from finally seeing her, amusement at the horror written all over her face for dumping a whole tray of drinks down somebody’s back, or something else. “So this is how you met my dad?” she grinned, her dark eyes sparkling. “Only you were in a car then, huh?” “You’re such a tease,” Sheridan laughed. Ignoring the fact that she was going to ruin that perfectly gorgeous baby blue bikini Haley just knew her dad was going to love (oh yeah…guys slobbered over that sort of stuff ALL THE TIME…why was a mystery to her) and pulling Haley into a fierce hug. “It hasn’t been the same without you. Two weeks never seemed so long.” I know, Haley thought. I know. “I missed you so much,” she told her, her voice muffled. She felt like crying when Sheridan kissed the top of her head. “I wanted to come home…I wanted to come home to you, but Dad…she told me she loved me, Sheridan. And I…I believe her. My mother loves me. Can you believe that? She’s sorry for leaving me, and she’s not evil like I wanted her to be, and it’s so hard…I wanted you to be there so much. ‘Cause everything hurt so much, and I didn’t want to face it, and…” “Breathe, Sweetie,” Sheridan smiled tenderly at her, brushing away her tears with the pads of her thumbs. “Of course, she loves you. Who wouldn’t?” “Things are better now,” Haley sniffled. “My dad…Sheridan? Sheridan?” Haley turned, following Sheridan’s line of vision and finding her dad. And Beth. Her dad was holding Beth close to him. It looked like he was hugging her, and then he…if Haley hadn’t known just how much her dad liked Sheridan and how OVER he and her mother were, she would have been worried. But she recognized the kiss for what it was. She felt a funny pang in her heart as she watched her mother walk away…walking out of her life again, but this time by Haley’s choice. Under Haley’s conditions. She felt her heart flip-flop in her chest just the slightest until it righted again when she saw her dad walking toward her and… “Sheridan? Where’d she go?” she wondered, brown eyes searching for her. The only woman in ten years that’d made her dad smile again. From the heart. “Haley?” her dad asked, taking in her punch-soaked tee-shirt, and the absence of Sheridan at her side. “Where…she was just here?” “Over there, Darlings. Over there,” Ivy pointed off in the distance. “Mijo…” “Thanks Mama,” her dad smiled, kissing her cheek, and nearly shocking the pants off of Ivy when he kissed hers too. “You’re welcome,” Ivy grinned. “Mija!” her grandma caught her by the arm. “Your father needs to do this. Alone.” Haley groaned as she watched her dad jog down the more secluded, quieter part of the beachside. She’d waited SO long for this, and Grandma wasn’t going to let her… “Pfft,” Ivy rolled her blue-green eyes at her grandma, making Haley giggle in delight. “If you think I’m missing this, Pilar…and to deny your granddaughter like this…” Haley squealed excitedly when her grandma shook her head in resignation. “I knew we were a good team,” Haley beamed at Ivy as they hurried after her dad.

The music was fainter, softer farther down the beach, and the rocks were slippery. If she weren’t so afraid they were missing something momentous, Haley would have laughed ‘til she couldn’t laugh anymore as they climbed and stepped carefully through the craggy rocks. “Leave it to Sheridan to play hard to get. Literally,” Ivy muttered, as her feet struggled to gain purchase. “Dios Mio,” her grandma uttered. In complete disbelief to what they were doing. “Hush up, Pilar. God is not going to strike us down for a little spying.” Of course, God chose that exact moment to ‘make’ Ivy Crane lose her footing and slip into the swirling water. “I can’t believe this,” Ivy hissed, finding herself ankle-deep in frigid waters. “What were you saying, Ivy?” Was that…her grandma was teasing Ivy, Haley thought with a grin. “Stuff it, Pilar.” Haley’s brown eyes went wide. Whoa! “I’m not dead, am I?” “No, I suppose not,” her grandma admitted with a smile. “But you’re gong to have a time explaining to everyone why you’re soaking wet.” “I decided to go for a little dip?” Ivy offered, teeth chattering. “Eavesdropping on your sister-in-law’s affairs that have nothing to do with you?” “I guess a smartass lurks within everyone,” Ivy quipped. “Luis is your son…” “Shh,” Haley hissed. “I think I hear them. I do. I see them, too.” Haley huffed as Ivy and her grandma practically pushed her aside to look around the alcove for themselves. “Hey!” her voice was a harsh whisper. “This is MY mission. MY dad. MY maybe Mom. Back off. Thank you,” Haley smiled when they obeyed silently. They were all ears when her they heard her dad’s soft call of “Sheridan.”

Sheridan turned around abruptly at her dad’s voice, swiping at her cheeks quickly, but Haley knew her dad wasn’t blind. Sheridan’s tears shone in the twilight, silver streaks against her cheeks, and Haley truly knew at that moment…Sheridan had had just as long a lifetime of hurt as her and her dad. Maybe more. And she thought, no matter how wrongly, that her dad was adding to it. Haley sucked in a sharp breath at a sudden, clear revelation, and her heart threatened to burst inside her chest. There were no if’s about it. Sheridan WAS already in love with her dad, she thought happily. It was in her eyes. Those blue eyes held nothing back, and Haley was glad ‘cause she was sure it was what gave her dad the courage he needed to do this. “You’re a challenge, you know that?” Ivy snorted behind Haley the moment those words left her dad’s lips. “Understatement.” Her grandma was about to say something, Haley knew, but she closed her mouth when Haley’s hand waved in front of it. “You crash into my car the first day we meet, and you run from me now. Why, Sheridan? Why are you running from me? Do I scare you?” Haley could barely breathe the moment her dad touched Sheridan’s tear-streaked face, and it looked like Sheridan was having the same problem, she thought. She’d smile if she were able. Sheridan’s eyes fluttered shut at her dad’s gentle caresses of her cheeks, her jawline, and Haley, her grandma, Ivy…they could all see the moment she dragged a shaky breath of air back into her lungs. “No. Yes. Yes, you scare me,” she admitted softly. “Why?” Haley heard her dad whisper, taking Sheridan into his arms and swaying them back and forth gently. “Smooth mover, your son,” Ivy teased wickedly. “Sweeping her off her feet without her even knowing it.” “Mrs. Crane…” Great, Haley thought. If they could stop bickering back and forth no matter how harmless, she could pay better attention. “Why, Sheridan?” her dad repeated, urging Sheridan closer, holding her more firmly so that she couldn’t run again, Haley suspected. Yeah. She got all the smarts Aunt Theresa and Uncle Miguel didn’t. She was a fledgling genius. “Once I let myself…you’re going to hurt me, Luis. More than anyone’s ever hurt me before because I’ve never felt this way. I’ve never cared as much or wanted something so much as I want you and Haley in my life…” “There’s so much to lose,” her dad added. Rather helpfully, Haley thought sarcastically. Sheridan nodded, refusing to meet his eyes with her own. “And with Beth…I have the cards stacked against me already. I told myself that, but it was useless. I’m so stupid when it comes to love. I already knew that, and I did it again. I fell for you…” And the cat’s out of the bag, Haley thought gleefully, chancing a quick glance to her grandma and Ivy. Of course they wore similar idiotic grins on their faces. Okay. Her grandma was a lot more subdued, but in the catalog of Pilar Lopez-Fitzgerald expressions of joy, teeth was about the most joyful you were going to get. “I told myself not to love you, and I feel like such an idiot because nothing worked, not even forcing myself to remember how horrible you were to me in the beginning.” “I was horrible,” her dad agreed. Haley wished she could see his face more clearly, but he had his back mostly turned to them, and it just wasn't easy. She knew her dad, though. She could HEAR the smile in his words. “I did it again,” Sheridan cried miserably. “Believed I could have something, someone who’s never going to belong to me. Haley’s hers.” Ah…NO! Haley LOVED Sheridan dearly, but she when was she going to realize she was doing ALL the talking. “You’re he…”

“Finally,” Ivy groaned softly behind Haley as her dad shut Sheridan up once and for all. That’s right. THE KISS. The one Haley’d and a whole team of people had been waiting for what seemed like forever. Her dad’s hands were cupping Sheridan’s face, and Sheridan’s hands were resting on her dad’s chest, and Haley felt she needed to look away, like she was intruding on something so private, so theirs she shouldn’t look. But she couldn’t turn away. One of her dad’s hands slipped from Sheridan’s jaw to cup the back of her head, playing with the golden hair there, and Sheridan’s hand traveled tentatively to his shoulder. The other still rest on her dad’s chest as he pulled her closer, practically crushing her against him. And WHOA! Haley would have covered her own eyes if Grandma hadn’t have done it for her. Things were getting pretty intense, and Haley even thought she saw something eleven year-olds weren’t always allowed to see in movie theaters. All Haley could tell with her grandma’s hands over her eyes was that there was a whole lot of heavy breathing going on, and…curiosity killed the freakin’ cat! She shoved her grandma’s hands away with a look that said ‘I’m eleven. NOT a baby’ and her face broke into an impossibly huge smile upon seeing her dad and Sheridan wrapped up in each other as close as could be. Sheridan’s arms were around her dad’s neck, and her dad’s arms rested at Sheridan’s lower back while his forehead pressed against hers. Noses and mouths together, they looked like they were sharing the same breath, and Haley felt a curious moisture reappear in her brown eyes as she watched her dad placed sweet, lingering kisses all over Sheridan’s face. Her brow, her cheeks, her nose, the corners of her lips, even the underside of her jaw, leaving no precious inch of skin untouched by his lips. He was kissing her tears away until she had none, and Sheridan was trembling as his mouth brushed against her ear. They had to strain their own ears to hear what her dad said, but it was well-worth it. “Not hers,” he whispered. “Not hers,” he repeated again. This time louder as he pulled back to gaze into Sheridan’s shimmering blue eyes again. “Yours. Yours if you want us and love us as much as we love you." Haley, her grandma, Ivy, her dad and the whole cosmic universe waited with bated breath for Sheridan’s answer to her dad’s extremely important statement. And how did Sheridan answer him? With a kiss, of course! “You did it, Haley,” Ivy whispered congratulations. “You really did it.” “Mija,” her grandma’s brown eyes smiled back at her. “No,” Haley shook her head slightly. “We did it,” she sighed happily. “How long do you think it’ll be before he pops the question?” Ivy mused as they crept away from the scene and back to the party. “It better be soon,” Haley grinned. “Hmm?” her grandma murmured as she helped Haley hop to the wet sand below. “I’ve been an only child TOO long.” “Dios Mio! Haley!”

Epilogue

“What? You thought the story was over? Uh…nope,” Haley rolled her brown eyes into the camera. “They kiss and happily ever after? Not to be rude (don’t tell Grandma or Dad), but this isn’t Disney! Not HBO either, come to think of it. So…was Operation Mom a success or not? Better question…did Sheridan and Dad EVER find out about my brilliant plan and congratulate me?” Haley mused, propping her elbows on her knees and leaning even closer to the camera. “Not exactly,” Haley grimaced. “Should I record over that?” she wondered aloud. “It sounded like a confession…” Haley’s panicked face loomed closer and closer to the camera, and the picture went black for a few seconds.

“Sorry about that,” Haley apologized. “Sometimes my imagination…it’s too much. Confession?” she scoffed. “NYPD Blue much? Ohh…I’m not supposed to watch that…Dad. If you’re listening to this, I only saw it once. ONE TIME ONLY. And nobody was naked in it. I swear!” The picture on the camera jumped and jostled as Haley strode down a long hallway. “This is it…the first official grand tour of my brand-new house. Well…not grand tour exactly. You want to see my room? Let’s go see my room.” The camera panned over a spacious but cluttered lavendar room, strewn with all the things that screamed a teen-aged girl lived there. It was in a curious state of change from tomboy to girly-girl. “Cool, huh?” Haley spoke to her imaginary audience. The camera zoomed in on a slim, leather-bound volume, the words “About a Girl…” engraved on the front. “We’ll go back to that later,” Haley promised. “I know you’re still dying to know what happened with my dad and Sheridan. I think the best way to do that is with pictures. We’re going to take a small break while I round up my supplies…”

The camera whirred to life again, and a glossy photograph of two enormously attractive, happy people came into view. “Sheridan looks real pretty, doesn’t she? Isn’t that red dress to die for? Dad told me he almost had a heart attack when he first saw her in it. She wore it on their first date, and this is the picture the guy at the Lobster Shack took of her and dad together. Looks like a good first date, huh? Don’t let its name fool you…The Lobster Shack is no shack. It’s not the Seascape either. But they had a great time. Can’t you tell? The smiles, people. The smiles. Dad needed someone to make him smile again, and boy, did Sheridan deliver…” The photo changed, and Haley grinned as she gave the scene meaning. “I don’t know if you’d call it a date or not, but this picture is me, my dad, and Sheridan on what Sheridan called her and dad’s ‘first real date.’ Dad taught Sheridan how to play baseball that day. She was very good. You want to know a secret?” Haley’s voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper. “I think she already knew how to play baseball. Beginners are never THAT good. Yeah…Sheridan just wanted to feel my dad’s arms around her. Grown-ups are SO stupid sometimes. Sheridan could have asked Dad to marry her that day, and I KNOW he would have said yes…In case you can’t see me, I’m rolling my eyes right now. You know what? If I show you all the pictures, my tape will run out. They dated a while. Then one day…they decided they didn’t like it…”

Haley snickered as she zoomed the camera in on her uncle Miguel and Kay making out like there was no tomorrow. Typical, she thought, rolling her dark eyes when Uncle Miguel kicked his bedroom door shut. OH! Grandma and the Bennetts would literally have a cow if they knew…To tell or not to tell. That was the question. Haley decided tattling wasn’t becoming for a…ahem…woman of her standing (thirteen…count ‘em…thirteen candles on her last birthday cake) so she tucked a bothersome brown curl behind her ear and walked down the hall toward the bathroom where Aunt Theresa and Whitney Russell were chattering and raising a ruckus like a bunch of circus monkeys touching up their makeup. Honestly…it wasn’t like they didn’t talk to each other every night. Haley had seen definitive proof. Aunt Theresa’s cell phone bill had put more than its share of gray hairs on her grandma’s head. Not like it phased Aunt Theresa. How else was L’oreal going to make money? Duh! “Haley!” her aunt Theresa shrieked. “I don’t have my eye shadow on yet,” she finished with a huff. Haley giggled when she captured Whitney’s shake of the head and lightning quick roll of the eyes. Ooo. If she was into blackmail…

“Haley! Mija! Put that thing away!” her grandma ordered, covering her face with her hands. “But Grandma,” Haley teased. “You look so nice today, and it isn’t everyday that Uncle Miguel graduates from high school AND gets to French kiss Kay in the same house as her parents,” she revealed with a sly grin and sudden change of heart. “Haley…Dear,” Ivy grinned into the camera’s lens wickedly as Pilar and Sam and Grace Bennett dashed down the hall, “you are SO good.” “And so dead as soon as Miguel finds out you ratted him out.” Haley turned around at the sound of her dad’s laughing voice. “Aww, Dad. Can’t a girl have a little fun? What is it, Dad? You look a little funny,” Haley smirked. “Haley,” her dad blanched. “French kissing? How…” “Experience,” Haley deadpanned, cracking up when she caught her dad’s expression of total panic. LIVE AND ON-CAMERA. Haley had the sudden urge to pop the tape into the VCR and hit rewind a thousand times. “Oh puh-leaze,” she rolled her dark eyes at him. “Like I don’t know what tongue-kissing is. You do it all the time with…” “Ha-wee!”

Haley giggled, whirling around and zooming in on the toddling little figure coming out of the kitchen, looking like she was going to fall any second. “Ha-wee!” she called again, a pout forming on her pink lips when she couldn’t find her. “Ivy?” Haley handed the camera to the older woman. “Haley, Dear…I haven’t a clue how to operate…” “Ivy, it’s rolling. Just point it. Right here. I’m here, Trista,” Haley said, holding her arms out, “come here.” Haley scooped Trista up into her arms, making her giggle when she kissed each chubby, tanned cheek. “Ha-wee!” Trista shrieked, kicking her tiny sandaled feet back and forth. In her position as proud and adoring big sister, Haley knew that was Trista-speak for twirling. “Ready?” she asked, slipping a hand to the back of the sleep-flattened blond curls at the base of Trista’s small skull and wrapping her other arm firmly around the tiny waist. Blue eyes sparkled, little button nose crinkled up, and full pink mouth opened in a stream of breathless, happy laughter. Haley struggled to regain her breath as they slowed to a stop. “No more. Haley’s head is spinning,” she explained as Trista slid the length of her body, swaying on her feet the moment they touched the floor. Laughter went up around the room as soon as Trista plopped down on her diapered bottom after only a few staggered steps, and Haley noticed for the first time that everyone was watching. Everyone. Trista was equal parts clown, equal parts shy. It looked like Bozo was on break when embarrassed tears welled up in her big blue eyes, and her little face started to crumple. Thinking fast, Haley pointed toward the kitchen door where another figure had just emerged, “Look, Trista! There’s Mama!” Trista half-stumbled, half-crawled the short distance and hid her teary face in her mother’s skirt.

Haley grinned as she watched her dad rise from the sofa, his brown eyes connecting with blue. Haley sighed happily. The way her dad looked at Sheridan… Correction! The way her dad looked at her mom was enough to make Haley melt. Without taking her eyes off her little family, Haley reached for the video camera, bringing it up to her face as soon as her hand closed around it. As family historian, she had to capture every moment to remember always. “Smile, Trista,” she said, creeping forward slowly. Haley snickered when Trista gave her that infamous Crane-Lopez-Fitzgerald glare of defiance. All she was missing were the arms crossed over her little chest, and she’d be fit to go, Haley thought. “Okay…if you’re going to pout…” The camera traveled up from Trista’s indignant little face, up, up, up… “Say hi for me,” Haley put forth her request, zeroing the lens in on her mom’s gently rounded belly. The sparkle of the diamond on Sheridan’s hand glinted as she rubbed her hand over her stomach softly. “I think he’s sleeping, Haley,” she laughed. “I love you, Sweetie, but I don’t think that’s going to be enough if you don’t move that camera off my fat…” Haley grinned when her dad interrupted her mom with a kiss. Caught on tape, of course! Her dad and mom nuzzled noses, and she zoomed the camera out to show his hand over hers on her pregnant stomach. “You’re not fat. I’ve never seen you look more beautiful…” “Toothache!” Haley groaned, her brown eyes dancing despite her words. What? She still LOVED to tease them. “Smile for the camera,” she repeated. “Grandma,” she waved her grandma over. “Will you…” Pilar took the camera from her granddaughter, and Haley scurried across the room and grabbed her baby sister up in her arms. Pilar smiled behind the camera when Trista blew raspberries at Haley, giggling and leaning forward to press her baby lips against Haley’s cheek a moment later. It was the perfect moment…

Haley’s tanned face came into view again. A little older. A bit more freckles scattered across the bridge of her nose. Braces off (woohoo)! “I said they didn’t like dating,” Haley grinned, crossing her own arms against her chest and arching a dark brow in amusement. “Not like they broke up or anything,” she said, giving the camera her patented eye roll again. “Stop your whining now,” she said, uncrossing her arms and leaning forward to stare directly into the camera. “I know. I know. Some of you had your hopes set on honeymoon video, and let me tell you…Spain is gorgeous! But…I may not be eleven anymore, but don’t think for a moment my parents would actually let me view THAT. They don’t even let me watch movies that are rated R yet, and I have a feeling…let’s just call it a Lopez-Fitzgerald gut feeling…R doesn’t even begin to cover what went on behind those closed doors,” Haley grinned, blushing slightly. “Eww…EWW,” she shuddered after a second’s contemplation. “There was a plus sign on the stick two weeks later. Get the picture?” Haley winked into the camera.

“So…” The camera followed Haley as she got up from the sofa and walked toward the fireplace where a whole collection of family portraits lined the mantle. “They did the whole wedding thing…you’ll have to watch that tape sometime,” Haley spoke softly. “Sheridan was SO beautiful, and I was in it…Sheridan got to share the beauty of Spain with the man of her dreams…Trista arrived nine months later,” Haley said, holding up a newer picture of her little sister. Blond curls longer, blue eyes bluer, her tanned skin not as dimpled or chubby in her hot pink swim suit, but still she’d smiled at Dad with the innocence of the baby she was fast leaving behind. “And then there was our baby brother…” she smiled, tapping the silver-framed photograph with her index finger. “That’s me,” she pointed to the gangly girl of thirteen, Trista’s baby lips pressed to her cheek. “Mom, Dad, Trista, Ryan before he was even Ryan,” Haley smirked, “Our first family photo. Our latest family photo…obviously, it’s not professionally done…”

Laughter was the only sound heard for several seconds. “Mom’s hoping Ryan outgrows his love of stripping BEFORE he goes to preschool…he’s going to DIE when he’s older and finds out this picture was displayed right here for all the world to see…” Haley placed a hand in front of the picture, hiding Ryan’s naked brown bottom, but the sight of her, Mom, Dad, and Trista all laughing hysterically in the picture made it almost impossible to get her giggles under control. “I got your back, Little Brother,” she said breathlessly, walking toward the camera. “Grandma should be ashamed of herself…” Haley’s laughter grew softer and farther away, replaced by the clatter of little feet adorned in borrowed high heels, and the picture on the camera jolted. The sounds of soft breathing audible as it jerked around the room. “Trista! You’re not playing with the camera again, are you?” Guilty giggles were recorded before the camera was hurriedly placed against a sofa cushion so that the culprit could make her great escape. “Trista!” Haley’s voice called over and over again as she searched for the sneaky little devil. And the camera continued whirring as a thin, leather-bound volume fell open, the words on its pages coming into sharp focus…

“To Haley…you’re finally free. Thanks for opening my eyes to the truth…always know and remember…there IS life after love.”

The End

Disclaimer: This story in is in no way meant to infringe upon the rights belonging to NBC or any entity thereof. All rights to Passions and any related content, including characters used, belong to "Outpost Farms Production Inc", James E. Reilly, and NBC.
This story is the property of the author. Copyright 2002. Nothing may be reprinted in whole or in part without the written permission of the author.
Is There Life After Love?- Copyright © 2002 - All Rights Reserved.