OTHER WORLDS #7: WHAT GOES AROUND

We do not live in this world alone, but in a thousand other worlds...

February, 1998:

"You're back!" cried Rachel.

Carl put his suitcase down in the foyer. "You sound surprised." he said.

"You were so angry - so hurt - when you left that I was afraid you were gone for good." said Rachel.

"I had to go away on business, Rachel. I told you that." said Carl, "I did welcome the opportunity to spend some time alone, though. It gave me a chance to decide if I can live with the fact that, in any conflict between your children and myself, you will always take their side."

"Carl, that's not true! I would never take Matthew's or Amanda's side against you!"

"No? If I had not discovered for myself that 'Hadley Prescott' was Amanda in a brown wig, would you have told me?"

"Well, no." Rachel admitted.

"Because you felt that you must protect your daughter against my retaliation. Do you not understand that I would never harm Amanda or Matthew, no matter what they do? I could not inflict that kind of pain on you, Rachel."

"Carl, I didn't tell you about Amanda being Hadley because I didn't want you to know just how contemptuously you have been treated in your own home!" said Rachel. "Do you think I don't understand how you feel? My children treat you the way Iris treated me when I was married to Mac! One time, she paid one of her friends to seduce me! When he failed, she simply told Mac that he had succeeded! That was nearly the end of our marriage, right there! Iris never stopped plotting against me until the day Mac died. There were times when I wanted to scream: 'It's Iris or me, Mac! Throw the bitch out of your life!' - but I didn't, because I knew how much Mac loved his daughter, in spite of everything. Just as you have never tried to make me choose between our marriage and my family. Don't think for one moment that I don't know how forebearing you've been."

"As long as I have your love, Rachel, I can endure anything."

"Oh my darling, never doubt my love! You and our babies are my life!" She threw herself into Carl's arms; they kissed passionately.

"Our babies!" said Carl, "How I've missed them!"

"Let's go wake them up." said Rachel, "Then you can sing them back to sleep with that drinking song they like." They headed upstairs, with their arms around each other.

****

Carl had been lucky to make it back to Bay City that night, for the snow had turned into a real blizzard; the airport was closed just after his plane landed.

In spite of the weather, Shane Roberts insisted on driving Vicky back down the mountain from Michael's cabin, where she had followed him.

They sat in silence; the click-click of the windshield wipers was very loud.

Finally Vicky said, "At least in California you won't have to put up with weather like this. I hear they've got great beaches out there."

"Yeah." said Shane, "Ah'll walk on the beaches, and think of you. Ah love you, Vicky. That's never gonna change. Ah'll love you as long as Ah live."

Suddenly, the headlights of another car glared though the thickly-falling snow - close! Too close! The road was too narrow for them to avoid a collision!

"JUMP!" Shane pushed Vicky out the passenger door, just before the two cars smashed headlong into each other!

****

Back at the Cory Mansion, Paulina and Joe had had an argument that ended in 'reconciliation': the two of them had started making out on the living room couch. The action got hot and heavy, and Joe decided that it would be a good idea to close the sliding doors to the foyer. He had just gotten to his feet when Sofia burst through the front door.

"Joey, I looked eveywhere!" she cried, "I can't find Paulina! I shoulda done what you told me - I shoulda watched her like a hawk!"

Behind Joe, Paulina sat up and turned on the lamp nearest the couch. Sofia jumped. "OH! I didn't know you were there!"

"So,Joe told you to spy on me, did he?" Paulina's voice was grim.

"He's - concerned about you."

"You mean, he thinks I'm still taking drugs!"

Joe's cellphone rang. "Carlino! - She's here. Cancel the APB."

Paulina couldn't believe her ears. "You called the COPS on me?"

"You disappeared. With my son. What was I supposed to think?"

"That I took Dante along when I went to meet my pusher, of course!" said Paulina. She grabbed the telephone, and dialled. "Hello, Cindy? It's Paulina. Can you come over to Rachel's house, right now? It's important. - Thanks." She hung up and glared at her husband. "If you won't believe me when I tell you that I'm not taking drugs, maybe you'll believe Cindy! She's a nurse!"

Sofia backed towards the door. "Maybe I better be leavin' now." she mumbled.

A few minutes later, Cindy arrived. "What's this about, Paulina?"

"Cindy, you were at the house the night the fire started. Tell Joe that I wasn't on drugs!"

There was a long silence.

"I - I can't do that, Paulina." said Cindy, "I can't say for certain that you weren't on drugs."

"I thought you were my friend!" cried Paulina.

"I am your friend." said Cindy, "I'm sorry, but I'm saying what's best - for everybody."

After Cindy exited, Paulina was silent for a long moment. Then she looked Joe straight in the eyes.

"All right, Joe," she said, "Have it your own way. The minute I got out of rehab, I started taking pills again. I got stoned, set fire to the Christmas tree, and burned your father's house down. Now are you happy?"

"Now that the truth is finally out in the open, we can make a fresh start." Joe replied, "We can get you back into rehab, we can- "

Paulina turned away and went upstairs. Joe followed her to their bedroom, where she took out a suitcase and started packing.

"Blue-eyes , you don't hafta go to rehab tonight!" he said, "It can wait until mornin' - Hey, those are MY clothes!"

"That's right." said Paulina, "You're leaving! Because if you refuse to believe a word I say, we have no business being together!"

"You just admitted that you're still hooked!"

"NO! I just told you want you wanted to hear, like I always do! Well, not any more! It's over! I want you out of my life! I don't love you any more, and I want a divorce!" (:-D)

Note: In NBC's AW, these things didn't happen at the same time, but this is MY AW, and they did.

To be continued