| The Courtyard Chapter 9 |
| Steve and Francine got out of the car with Hanna when they pulled up in front of her apartment building. They had been caught in a blinding wall of photographers when they made their escape from Se Chic as reporters climbed over each other firing questions. Tommy getting thrown out of the gallery had caused enough of a scandal, but the fact that Hanna was related to one of television’s biggest stars would certainly make for tabloid fodder. Neither Steve nor Francine had considered that when they escorted her daughter out of the building. They were only concerned with getting her home safely. “Don’t worry about Lance, sweetheart,” Francine said in sympathy. “I’m sure that he will come around.” Hanna shook her head slowly, her tears in check for now. “He thinks I betrayed him,” she returned. “He wouldn’t even listen to me.” “I’m sure that all of this coming out in the paper isn’t going to help matters any,” Steve said when he noticed a car whipping into the parking lot and heading their direction. “We definitely don’t need to put on another show for them.” He wrapped his arm around Hanna’s shoulders and began to usher both women into the building when a screech of tires had them glancing back. “Hanna! Wait!” Tommy called as he jumped out of his rental car. He left the door standing open and the motor running in his hurry to get to her. He held his arms open wide when she started toward him. “I’m sorry about all that baby, but I...” Hanna’s hand contacted against his cheek with a satisfying crack and his head snapped to one side. “You bastard!” she spat at him. “It wasn’t enough for you to ruin my life once, you had to come here and do it again?” “I came here because I love you,” he said as he gripped his jaw to make sure it was still intact. “You don’t know the meaning of that word.” “I made a mistake, Hanna. One mistake. How was I to know that it would turn out so badly?” She paused at that and looked at him suspiciously. “You got fired, didn’t you?” “I didn’t get fired, I...” “You got caught,” she said succinctly. “What did you do, Tommy? Sleep with the boss’s daughter?” she accused him, then saw the spark of guilt in his eye. “Oh my gosh! You did! Tell me something Tommy, did you ever learn how to spell the word idiot or do you just like being a walking definition of it?” She turned her back on him and saw her mother and Steve standing on the curb waiting for her, but she still had questions that she needed answered. “Why Tommy?” she asked with a shake of her head. “Why come here? Why come to me?” She looked back over her shoulder at him. “What could possibly prompt you into making up a story like we’re still married? What do I have that you want?” “I want you, Hanna,” he said quickly, placing his hands on her shoulders. “And it’s not a story.” She jerked away from his touch as she turned back to face him. “What do you mean it’s not a story? I divorced you before I even left Minnesota so that I wouldn’t have the hassle of out of state courts. But, of course, you wouldn’t remember that because you didn’t even show up for the hearing.” “It was rescinded,” he said and saw the shock, then disbelief in her eyes. “I have the proof right here,” he added, then hurriedly removed an envelope from his inside jacket pocket to hand to her. “It’s all there. The judge that you went in front of was indicted. He was removed from the bench and most of the cases he heard in his last year were rescinded, including our divorce.” When she looked up at him still skeptical as she opened up the papers, he continued. “I saw it in the newspaper, but I didn’t make the connection at first until I received a letter from the courts. That’s when I contacted your attorney and he gave me that.” Hanna didn’t bother reading the first of the material he handed her because she had seen it before. It was a copy of her divorce decree and it had a red stamp marked void in the center of every page. An additional page generally outlined the suit against the judge and the reasons behind her petition becoming invalid, but she couldn’t read it. Her entire world had been shattered because of something that someone else had done. “I don’t believe it,” she said softly, her initial anger gone. “Believe it baby,” he returned, placing his hands back on her shoulders. “I was stunned when I first read it as well, but then I realized that we had been given a second chance.” When she looked up at him sharply, he rushed on. “Don’t you see, sweetheart? We were meant to be together. It’s fate.” “Fate?” she shot back. “You think that a crooked judge is fate?” “No baby. It’s fate that we’re still married.” He sighed heavily as he pulled her closer. “I love you, Hanna, and I had no idea how much I needed you until you were gone.” “Don’t you mean until your meal ticket was gone?” she countered. “I was in Saint Paul for months after the divorce became final, or supposedly became final,” she amended as she held up the papers he had given her. “You didn’t even have the nerve to come back and get your things while I was there. You had to sneak in while I was at work.” “I’ve done some things that I’m not very proud of,” he admitted. “But I never stopped loving you. I knew I had made a huge mistake and I was afraid to face you.” She tried to shrug his hands off again, but he had taken a much firmer grip. “Do you really think I’m that stupid? You’re jobless, probably homeless too and there obviously aren’t any good prospects to sponge off of so you decided to track me down.” “You’re my wife!” he said vehemently, giving her a hard shake. “Not for long!” she yelled in return, then saw Tommy propelled back several steps when Steve’s hand landed squarely against his chest. “Get your hands off of her,” Steve ordered, pointing a finger at him in warning to keep his distance. Tommy brushed a hand against his shirt in distaste of the touch as he turned his eyes on Steve. “So, the actor finally decided that he had some balls, did he? Tired of everyone else getting the lines?” he asked mockingly. He held out his hands in invitation, then glanced around the empty lot. “I don’t see any of your stuntmen around here Mister Big Shot. How are you going to play the hero when there isn’t anyone else around to make you look good?” Hanna put her hand up to Steve’s chest when he looked about to react. “Don’t do it Steve.” She shot Tommy a glance. “That’s exactly what he wants. He’s an expert at manipulating people. He’s had a lot of practice at it.” “That’s right. Listen to your step-daughter,” he taunted. “Besides, we wouldn’t want to mess up that pretty face.” “Grow up Tommy!” Hanna ordered. “This isn’t high school and you’re not the quarterback anymore. You’re just a pathetic excuse for a human being looking for someone else to leech onto and it’s not going to be me.” As she started to turn with Steve at her side, she only caught a flash of motion, then felt something hit her on the side of her head. It took several seconds for her to realize that it had been from the recoil of a blow landing against Steve’s jaw. It had barely registered with her when Steve had thrown his first punch, then a second and a third which dropped Tommy to the ground. Steve breathed heavily from anger rather than exertion as he stared down at him. When he felt someone take his arm, he glanced over to see his wife at his side. “Don’t bother coming back here again,” Francine warned her son-in-law. “Or I’ll make sure that there are so many lawsuits against you that you won’t even be able to get a job as a photographer in a department store.” Steve slowly turned away, wrapping an arm around his wife’s shoulders, then reached out for Hanna to do the same with the other. She started to turn into his embrace, then gave Tommy another look as he rose to his feet. “I don’t ever want to see you again,” she said softly, then wrapped her arm around Steve’s waist to go inside. “This isn’t over Hanna,” Tommy said as he bounced nervously from one foot to the other. “You’re still my wife and I have rights.” He sputtered slightly when the trio continued to walk away, then he started back to the driver’s side door of his car, his mind racing to find a way to turn things around. “I won’t let you go, Hanna!” he called to her, but he wasn’t certain that he was heard as the apartment door closed behind them. “I’m so sorry about all this Steve,” Hanna began apologizing as soon as they were inside. “Your jaw is already starting to bruise.” She grimaced slightly at the purplish stain, then headed for her kitchen. “We had better get some ice on that before it starts to swell.” Francine and Steve followed her and took a seat at the kitchen table while she stuffed ice cubes into a plastic storage bag. Hanna handed her mother the makeshift pack, then set about to make a pot of coffee. “I’m really grateful to both of you for standing by me like that,” Hanna said. “Standing by was all that I did,” Francine returned, then gave her husband an admiring look. “My baby is the real hero.” “But you let me handle the situation myself instead of trying to tell me what to do,” Hanna returned as she brought sugar and cream over to the table. “I appreciate that as well as Daddy leaping to my rescue,” she said teasingly. Steve couldn’t stop himself from smiling, then paid the price when a sharp stab reminded him of where he was struck. “I’m glad that I could help, daughter,” he said with more caution for his jaw. “I just couldn’t stand by when he grabbed you like that. I’ve seen enough crap like that to last me a lifetime.” “All joking aside,” she said as she returned with napkins and spoons. “Thank you, Steve. It’s nice to know that there is someone that I can count on.” Francine started to take offense at that remark, but then she realized that her daughter wasn’t taking a stab at her. She was thinking about Lance. “That’s a little harsh, don’t you think?” Hanna turned away from them again to start searching her cupboards for something sweet. She didn’t want to talk about Lance. It hurt too much just to be thinking about him. “I hope that bruise isn’t going to get you in trouble with the show,” she commented instead to Steve. Any conversation was better than none except for analyzing what was left of her relationship with Lance. “That’s the last thing that you should be worried about,” he returned. “Getting a divorce from that jerk should be the first.” “That won’t be a problem,” Francine announced. “We can just fly down to Mexico and get it done in a day.” “We?” Hanna asked as she set out a plate of chocolate chip cookies. “Are you planning on going with me?” “Of course!” she returned. “I’ll have the flight booked tomorrow and we can get it over with now.” “I do have to work, you know.” “Then we’ll go this weekend,” she suggested instead. This weekend. She never knew how two words could hurt so deeply as she thought of the trip that she was suppose to take that weekend. A trip to Santa Barbara with the man that she loved. And lost. “I can’t afford a trip to Mexico,” Hanna countered as she went in search of her silver plated serving set. “I used up most of my savings just coming out here.” “Don’t worry about the money, Hanna,” Steve inserted. “Francine and I will take care of that.” She paused at that and turned to look at her mother and step-father. “That’s so sweet. I can’t believe that both of you would go to so much trouble for me,” she said with a catch in her throat. “What is family for if we can’t help out the ones we love?” Francine asked as she reached out to take her husband’s hand for his generosity. Hanna turned back to the counter when tears threatened to fall. She eyed the coffee pot sternly and willed it to work faster so that she could have something to do with herself. “I appreciate everything that you’re trying to do, but I can take care of all that later.” “Why would you want to stay married to Timmy any longer than you have to?” Francine asked. “Tommy,” she corrected. “Whatever.” “It’s just that I’m going to have to make sure that there aren’t going to be any further complications from the first divorce,” Hanna said as she pulled the coffee pot out impatiently, sticking a cup onto the warmer to catch the liquid that was still draining. Her nerves were so high strung that she was afraid that she was going to snap if she didn’t have something to occupy her hands and, indirectly, her thoughts. “Now you’re making excuses,” her mother charged. “I’m not making excuses,” she returned defensively. “You can’t possibly want to stay married to that low life, do you?” “Don’t be ridiculous!” Hanna shot back as she shoved the coffee pot back under the drainer, inadvertently spilling what had been caught in the cup. She jerked a dish towel from the dowel rod over the sink and wiped at the spot more vigorously than necessary. “The last thing that I want is to be married to Tommy, but I want to make sure that the divorce is legal this time. I don’t need to have him showing up on my doorstep every few months.” “That’s for sure,” she agreed as she watched her daughter carry over the serving tray and proceed to pour their coffee. “Now what are you going to do about Lance?” Hanna’s eyes darted up to her mother’s, then she sat the silver pot down on the tray with a clatter. “There’s nothing to do,” she said quickly, then grabbed the floral center piece off of the table to move it to the top of her refrigerator, then replaced it with the serving tray as she sat down. “What’s that suppose to mean?” Francine asked with a frown. “He’s right,” she returned with a shrug, hoping to appear casual. “I did the exact same thing to him that Brenda did. Why should I expect him to forgive me when he can’t forgive her?” “You can’t be serious,” Steve said as he leaned closer to her over the table. He had heard the stories of Brenda and he knew that their situations were completely different. “Brenda was with the man knowing that she was married. You honestly thought that you were divorced.” “But I’m not,” she said swiftly to get it out before her throat tightened. Francine shook her head at the way her mind was working. “Hanna, darling, there is a difference between being a responsible adult and a martyr.” When her daughter gave her a confused look, she went on. “You are not the one to blame in all this. You were acting on the assumption that you were free to date or even remarry if you chose.” “But Lance doesn’t know that,” she returned in a wispy voice. “And he never will as far as I’m concerned.” “You’re not going to see him again?” her mother asked incredulously, then saw her shake her head. “What is wrong with you?” she demanded. “You’ve got a man who’s hopelessly in love with you and you’re walking away from that?” “He can’t be very in love with me if he can believe that I would use him like that,” Hanna said rapidly, her tears finally spilling over. She bolted up from the table and walked back over to the counter to snatch a paper towel down from the rack. She wiped her face quickly as she ordered her emotions to stay in check. “Lance is a man worth fighting for,” Francine told her as she moved to stand behind her. “You can tell him what happened and he’ll understand.” Hanna shook her head, turning back to her mother now that her tears were under control. “It will just look like a desperate attempt to hold onto him. He told me what he said to Brenda when she threw herself at him.” She shook her head once more. “I couldn’t stand to hear those same words directed at me. I’ve been humiliated enough.” “Humph. Pride or martyrdom.” She held out her hands like she was weighing them on a scale. “Personally, I would have gone for one or the other, but you’ve done a great job putting both of them together.” She sighed heavily as she stared back at Francine. She couldn’t argue the point when she knew that her mother was right. But she couldn’t change how she felt either. “I know that you’ve always strived to be my friend instead of my mother, but right now, I could sure use my mom.” Francine’s head tilted to one side as she put her hands over her heart. “Oh sweetheart, I’m always here for you. You’ve just never needed me before.” “I think that’s my cue to leave,” Steve said as he rose from the table. He gave his wife a quick peck. “I’m going back to the hotel. Just give me a call when you’re ready to leave.” “Go ahead and get some sleep,” she returned as she gave him a tender hug. “You’ve got to shoot tomorrow and that bruise is going to be hard enough to cover up without having dark circles under your eyes too. I’ll just call a cab.” He gave her a loving smile at her understanding, then another kiss before looking over at Hanna. “You call if you need anything,” he said firmly. She gave him a nod, then received a peck on the cheek before he left. She gave her mother a smile once he had disappeared. “I think that one’s a keeper.” “I think so too,” she returned with a warm glow in her eyes. “And after six husbands, I should know.” She received a small laugh for her efforts, then she gave Hanna a tight hug. “Why don’t we take our coffee into the living room where we can be comfortable,” she suggested. “Maybe we had better grab the cookies too because I have a feeling that we are in for an all-nighter.” Hanna smiled again gratefully. “Thanks Mom.” * * * |