Chapter 9
As AJ walked along the corridor of the courthouse, he spotted familiar bald
head. “Oh great, Taggert,” AJ said to himself with a groan.
“Why hello there Mr. Quartermaine. What are you doing here? Are you in court for
driving while intoxicated, AGAIN?” Taggert said with a smile.
“Now can someone tell me why the hell all the men in this city with guns insist
in giving me a hard time? First Jason's guards, and now you!”
“Well, what can I say? You're an easy target,” Taggert said, his smile widening.
“So what *are* you up to?” he asked, blocking AJ's way.
“None of your business.”
“Oh you think so? Hmmm… let's see. You're a Quartermaine, and all Quartermaines
do is cause trouble. Driving under the influence of alcohol, murder, kidnapping,
drugs, organized crime. If breaking the law was an Olympic sport, everyone in
your family would be gold medallists.”
“Are you finished?” AJ asked impatiently.
“No.”
“Well I am.” AJ tuned around and walked to the men's room, When he was done, he
headed outside to his car. As he got outside, he saw Detective Taggert put a
pink slip on his windshield.
“Hey! What are you doing?” AJ shouted.
““Now I know brains isn't an asset which all of you Quartermaines have, so I'll
explain.” Taggert picked up the slip and held it up. “This is a PARKING TICKET.
Drivers get it when they have parked in the wrong space. You have to read the
ticket, and pay the amount which it says. Do you understand?” Taggert said,
pronouncing each word slowly.
“What's wrong with where I parked?” AJ asked, grabbing the ticket.
“Well you see, this parking space has a picture of a wheelchair on it.
Therefore, it’s for people with HANDICAP DISABILITIES. It’s too bad. If you were
carrying your brother, I would have let you get away with it,” Taggert said as
he strolled away.
AJ cursed again for the second time that day, and got into his car.
*********************
Caroline and Shane stood in the park. Caroline was silent as she watched Shane's
back.
“It's Jason isn't it? He's the reason why you pulled away from me. You're in
love with him, aren't you?”
He waited for her answer, and with each passing moment, he felt as if a knife
was twisting and digging inside his heart.
“I don't know,” Caroline whispered. “I thought I was. I thought that maybe there
was a way I could find happiness with him. But now… now I'm cot sure. Now, all I
can remember is what we had together, and the life that we were supposed to
have.”
Shane turned around. “I know that your feelings for him are much deeper than
friendship. Just like our feelings are deeper than friendship. But Caroline… he
doesn't love you. He loves Robin.”
“I know.”
Shane moved toward her, and put his arms around her. “I love you. I would do
anything for you. I'd give up my life, just to save yours. You know that. I want
to be with you so much. There's not a day which goes by, when I don't think
about you, and how I messed up. I cheated on you. Yeah, I was drunk, but it
doesn't erase what I did.”
Shane sighed and continued. “I want another chance. I'm BEGGING for another
chance. Maybe I don't deserve it, but the love that we shared was so special and
so real. It hurts so much to be without you. You deserve someone to love you,
and you alone. Jason can't give you that. I can.”
He let go of her, and stepped back. “I came here trying to find out where things
stood between us, and hoped to rekindle our love. I know that you love Jason.
You haven't said those words, but I know.” He was quiet for a moment. “I'm going
back to the hotel. Call me tomorrow, and tell me what you think we should do.
You have to decide if you want to give our love another chance, or if you want
to win Jason's heart. I have to know. If you want to give me another chance,
I'll stay. But if you're sure that you want Jason, I'll leave. You have to tell
me, ‘cause I'll be damned if I'm going stay and watch you pine away for Jason.”
He started to walk away, then turned around. “Caroline, he doesn't deserve you.”
With that, he continued walking.
Caroline looked in her son's stroller, and saw Michael playing quietly with his
hands. She smiled, and bent down to give him a kiss.
“Ms. Benson?” Renaldo said, coming toward her. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I'm fine. You heard everything, didn't you?”
“No, I wasn't within earshot. But I didn't have to be. What I saw explained
everything.”
********************
Jason smiled as he watched Maxie and Georgie play. They looked like younger
versions of Caroline… blond and beautiful. He wondered if any daughters Caroline
had would be like that. They caught him smiling at them, and walked over.
“Hey Jason, want to play Barbie?” Maxie asked.
“What's Barbie?”
“This is Barbie!” Georgie said, holding up the doll.
“And this is Ken, Barbie's boyfriend. You're going to be him,” Maxie said,
holding up the male doll.
“Okay, I'm Ken. So, what do I do with him?” Jason said, wondering why these kids
were playing with miniature plastic people.
“You're gonna get married!” Georgie announced.
“To who?” Jason asked, looking amused.
“Either Barbie, or her friend,” Maxie said, holding up another doll with brown
hair. “Which do you want?”
Jason looked at the two dolls, the blond and the brunette. Jason started to
reach for the brunette, then switched to the blond at the last second.
“Good. Now kiss Barbie… no not you… KEN,” Maxie said giggling. “Now look… Ken
and Barbie have a baby,” she said producing a little pink carriage. “What's the
baby's name?”
“Michael,” Jason said without thinking, not realizing what this situation
implicated.
Robin, who was watching the three of them play, started to get upset. “Why the
hell does Barbie have to be blond? She's a blond bimbo… just like Caroline,” she
thought.
“Hey you know what? If Barbie was a real person, she wouldn't be able to stand
up straight, because her breasts would be too big for her body.” Robin
announced.
Georgie gasped, and looked shocked. Felicia gave Robin a look and said, “I think
that's enough Barbie for tonight girls.”
As Robin and Jason were leaving Mac's house, Robin turned to her boyfriend. “Why
did you pick Barbie over her friend?” she asked.
“Huh?” Jason replied with a blank stare.
“You picked the blond, and had a baby named Michael. Is that supposed to mean
something?”
“Um… didn't Maxie say that Ken was Barbie's boyfriend? That's why I picked her.
And as for the baby, Michael is the only baby I know. What are you getting so
worked up about?” Jason asked kissing her forehead.
“Nothing.”
Jason looked at her. “I know she knows me better than anyone… but does she have
to know my private thoughts and fantasies?” he thought.
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