Where Will All Come Home?

Chapter 1

Lesley Lu slept late that morning. At breakfast, she picked at her food, but ate very little.
“How did things go at Daddy’s this weekend, baby?” Laura asked anxiously as she spooned cereal into Sergei’s open mouth. The pleased baby grinned toothlessly at his mother, and banged his bottle on the tray of his high chair.
“It was fine,” Lesley Lu said, with a small smile. “I am getting more used to well-adjusted all the time.”
Stefan glanced at Laura. He tried not to interfere too much, but found the school’s interference in their private life intolerable. Laura had been surprised when the guidance counselor, Mrs. Tatum, had called from the elementary school, to announce that Lulu had been chosen to participate in a group for children of divorced parents. She had been shocked when Mrs. Tatum, incensed by Lulu’s inability to recall her last visit with her father, had called Luke, and demanded that he keep the visitation schedule agreed to in the divorce settlement. Laura couldn’t decide whether Luke had simply been bowled over by Mrs. Tatum’s overpowering personality as she had, agreed quickly because he had a hangover that morning, or found the forceful offer of group therapy for all of them more than he could handle. Bobbie and Sonny, however, had been so much in favor of regular visits that Luke and Alexis had more or less, been forced into agreement.
“Every time I go, it gets better.” Lesley Lu thoughtfully chewed a piece of toast. I have found some projects to do at Daddy’s now.”
Stefan sat up straighter, and laid down the morning paper. Experience had taught him the wisdom of monitoring Lesley Lu’s “projects”.
“Do you have, or need, adult supervision for these projects, Lesley Lu?” he inquired, with an intent look.
“Yes, Uncle Sonny and Uncle Mike supervise projects. They are lots of fun, and they understand that being adjusted is very hard. I explained to them that I was happy spending all my time at Wyndemere; everyone here needs me. What would you and Mommy, Grandma Lesley, Sergei, and Mrs. Lansbary do without me? BE LONELY, that’s what!” she ended emphatically. “But Uncle Sonny says that just because my life used to be a real sweet deal doesn’t mean I can’t end up with a sweeter one. He says me and my daddy are gonna be big buddies some day.”
Stefan tried not to snort. Listening to the philosophy of Sonny Corinthos was not his preferred way to start his morning. He cleared his throat and changed the subject.
“Are you prepared for your oral report at tonight’s PTA meeting? he asked.
“Yes, papa.”
“Did you practice with your father or Aunt Alexis this weekend?”
“I practiced with Uncle Sonny. I think he and Uncle Mike are coming to see me tonight.” She squirmed with pleasure at the thought.
“And is your father coming, as well?”
“No, I think he only has to give me an adjustment on weekends. I don’t think he signed up for school days.”
Stefan sighed. It was difficult to remain silent on mornings like these. That anyone could deny love to this child was beyond his imagination. That Spencer, who had lavished such affection on this first child, could treat the second with such disdain, brought up painful echoes from his own childhood: a rage banked, but glowing, alive beneath his impassive facade.
“I have meetings all afternoon. Do you want to have a final practice when I meet you and your mother at school this evening? Or would you and your mother have time to practice this afternoon? What is your preference? It is a great honor to represent your class by publicly presenting your report during Career Week.”
Darting as quickly as the hummingbird she reminded him of, Lesley Lu jumped out of her chair to give her parents and baby brother a quick hug. “I am tired of practicing, Papa. I will do my best tonight. I have to go feed Little Dimitri now, and check on the baby chicks before school.”
Stefan and Laura watched fondly as she zoomed down the hall, calling to Mrs. Lansbary as she ran toward the kitchen.

At seven o’clock that evening, Luke Spencer shifted uncomfortably on a folding chair in a gymnasium decorated with banners, and “career figures”, large paper cutouts of  human forms decorated by children to represent differing occupations.
“ When you told me that you needed me tonight, I had no idea that this was the urgent problem. Are you looking for life-altering career insight from second and third graders here?”
“You never know when a great idea might just come to you”, Sonny offered. “But the real deal is that your daughter is one of the chosen speakers. You need to be here, and you are,” he grinned slyly.
“Aw, Sonny. The problem is that this kid, I don’t see any evidence that she is my kid. Did I ever tell you about the first time she spent the night? She came downstairs with some little black-rimmed glasses on, with her shirt buttoned tight around her neck, and a blazer on. She was holding a newspaper under her arm, and she looked at me and said ‘Good morning, Spencer’. I drank two straight whiskeys before breakfast.”
“I wish I’d seen her. She was really disappointed in your reaction.”
“She told you?”
“Yeah, buddy. Lulu says even her best material doesn’t work on you. She said that at Wyndemere, she had ‘em rollin’with that stunt. Apparently Cassadine laughed so hard he spit out his coffeee, and had to change clothes before going to work. Even, you know, what’s her name, the housekeeper, had to leave the room. Lulu’s take on the deal is that you’ve got no sense of humor.”
“It didn’t look like a joke,” Luke muttered. “It was more like a nightmare. The  kid acts and talks like Count Vlad.”
Mike leaned over, and said “Oh, look. Laura, Cassadine, and the kids are here.”
Luke casually glanced across the gym at his ex-wife and her new family. The baby, he decided, did not look as intelligent as Lucky had at that age. Lulu, he observed with dismay, was dressed in a white cotton shirt, school tie, blazer, and plaid skirt. He just hoped she left her glasses at home. He shifted on the hard seat again, and glanced at his watch.
Across the gym, Laura handed Sergei to his father, while she smoothed Lulu’s hair one last time. While Stefan settled his placid son into his infant seat, Laura said “I’m gonna walk you back stage now where Mrs. Clark said you needed to wait with the other kids, okay?”
Lulu nodded.
“Daddy’s here with Uncle Sonny and Uncle Mike. Do you want to say hi real quick before you go backstage?”
“No, Mommy. I’ll talk to them after, if they stay. I’m having some butterflies.”
“Understandable, I’d say.” Her mother smiled reassuringly. “Chin up!” she said tilting the small face up for a kiss. “You’re gonna knock ‘em dead.” At least I hope so, Laura thought, as she dropped Lulu off to wait with the other kids. There was a lot riding on tonight’s show.

It turned out that the career reports were done in alphabetical order. At the point where a hesitant child was discussing his potential career in “Garbage”, Luke turned to his sister. “So glad you and Lucas could make it to tonight’s snooze fest. You didn’t get here until the letter ‘B’. Now you’ll never hear the straight skinny on the profession of arrow-making.”
Bobbie grinned. “Do you know what Lulu’s career choice is? Research. Capital R. Research. We’re here in plenty of time.”
Luke groaned, closed his eyes, and lay back as far as possible in his chair.Only a moment later, it seemed, a vicious elbow in his ribs woke him as his sister hissed in his ear, “At least wake up long enough to hear Lulu talk.” Straightening up, a bleary-eyed Luke saw a small hesitant figure come out on stage.
Looking at her mother and stepfather for reassurance, Lulu took a deep breath and began. “Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. It is my honor to appear here tonight to discuss my career interests. She held up an unrecognizable paper cutout, then put it down. First, it is necessary for me to give credit where it is due.”
Luke moaned. Sonny stifled a smile. Mike gave in and grinned from ear to ear.
Leslie Lu continued, First, I will thank my mother, Mrs. Laura Cassadine. She likes babies and she had me. If she didn’t I wouldn’t have any career interests at all.
“Short but sweet,” observed Sonny.
Stefan looked up from gazing at his cherubic sleeping son’s face. “I think”, he said “that she has deviated from her program. And it was going well, I thought.”
Laura grinned. “Sonny and I helped her re-write her speech. You ain’t seen nothing yet!” Stefan raised his eyebrows and settled back in his chair.
On stage, Lesley Lu was continuing. Next, I wish to thank my stepfather, Mr. Stefan Cassadine. He teaches me interesting Math, because he does not want ignorant churls to limit my education.”
Her teacher bridled on a back row.
“He tells me knock-knock jokes in six languages, because he loves me. He helps me with my many projects also. He is the funniest man in the world.”
Lesley Lu beamed. “My papa says that even if my mama, and Sergei and I weren’t his heart’s delight, that a consideration for public safety would still compel him to take an interest in my activities.”
“You hate me, don’t you, Sonny?” hissed Luke. “Why are we here? She looks like the Count. She thinks he is funny. What does that say about the kid? Warped, warped, warped!”
“It says a lot more about you. Shut up. The kid’s got maybe three, four, minutes to talk. Be quiet for once.”
“I also should thank Mrs. Tatum, the counselor. Mrs Tatum beamed, but her facial expression changed as Lulu went on. Before I met Mrs. Tatum I did not know about well adjusted . I did not know anyone had it or needed it. I didn’t want it, but she made me get it. Being well adjusted makes you sad, when you used to be happy. Well adjusted means you stay at your father’s penthouse on the weekend and cry yourself to sleep very quietly, because you miss your Mommy and Papa.”
Laura’s eyes filled with tears, but she nodded encouragingly at her little daughter.
Stefan shifted position in his chair, and folded his arms across his chest. He blinked hard.
Luke sat up straight in his chair, his face white. Lulu continued.
“But if Mrs. Tatum didn’t make my daddy let me come to his house, I would not be making this career speech, because when I went to stay at my daddy and Aunt Alexis’s penthouse, I got to spend more time with my Uncle Sonny, who has taught me a lot about careers.”
Stefan put his head in his hands. He had the beginnings of a raging headache.
“This means that I also must thank my daddy. My papa says that my daddy has disinterest and underestimates me. She broke off suddenly, and looked at Stefan. “It was not eavesdropping, but an accident. There is a rule about eavesdropping,” she explained to the startled audience, “we do not do it. And there is a rule about words. If you don’t
know the meaning, look it up. I looked up under-estimate. It was very helpful. Before, I just thought my daddy was the most boring man I ever met. He worked in a dark place all the time, pouring drinks and listening to people tell him sad stories. He had to look at a nekkid picture of the mean lady with too many teeth all night long. Then he had to come home to my Aunt Alexis, and mommy says she is just a snake in human form. I figured he had enough problems, so I was polite. That’s a rule too. ‘Be polite’.” Lesley Lu paused for a breath.
Luke looked at Sonny, and said “Ouch!”
“My daddy is a man who sees me on the floor with his tools and phone bugs and thinks that Ken is working on Barbie’s car. My daddy has not been able to breach the security system at Wyndemere in over a year, but still has not figured out that my mommy fired the security consultants and rebuilt the whole system from the ground up, herself. My Aunt Alexis says that what does he expect from me, my mommy’s not exactly a rocket scientist. That is also under-estimating.”
Laura shot an evil glance in Luke’s direction.
“Alexis said that on the phone”, Luke whispered to Sonny. “Did the kid tap my phone?”
“Yeah, but it was only a project. She thinks you’re too boring to warrant much attention.” Luke looked at his little girl with more respect. “Also,” Sonny whispered, “she had to use your phone. There’s another rule. ‘Fair is fair’.”
“Which means?”
Cassadine found her with the bugs and tools she lifted from you at Wyndemere.
He told her that since it was her daddy’s equipment and her daddy’s tools, she could only use them ...
“At her daddy’s house,” Luke finished.
“Exactly.”
“So now, I wish to thank my daddy for disinterest and under-estimating, because this has given me a lot of spare time to learn important career stuff from my Uncle Sonny and Uncle Mike. First off, Uncle Sonny says I would die of boredom standing in one room all day in a white coat, doing tests even if my big brother Nikki was with me. He explained that I already am headed towards a career like his, but it doesn’t start with an r.
“Way to go, Sonny!” Bobbie spat out indignantly. “Now she thinks she belongs back in the m’s.”
“I already have started my career. I am an entrepreneur. This is when you are a person with many interests, and you start different businesses. I have several. I grow carrots for my pony, and sell the extras to Mrs. Lansbary. I help my mommy with security sweeps, and she pays me extra for finding anything suspicious. I do math homework , but only up to 5th grade”.
Seeing several startled adult faces in the audiences, Lulu explained, “It is a good value. I show my work so my customers can explain it to the teacher the next day.”
“Today I started a new business, thanks to my Uncle Mike. Ever since he taught me to handicap the ponies, I have been interested in the job of book-making. This is about taking bets, not about the recipe books we made in Brownies. Everyone knew that Tyler Bradshaw was going to beat up my cousin Lucas after school. They thought Lucas would be smushed like a bug, but I know Lucas. He is small, but meaner than you would expect.   I gave good odds on Tyler.”
“The chumps lined up and I made a clear nine dollar and eighteen cents in profit.   I gave a cut to Lucas since he was the one who got punched, minus, of course, the dollar he owed me for doing his homework. This is what it is like when you are an entrepreneur.”
Lesley Lu looked out over her stunned audience. Stefan’s face was still buried in his hands, but his body shook slightly. Laura beamed at her and gave her a thumbs up sign.
Lesley Lu took a deep breath. “ Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for the opportunity to give my presentation,” and walked off the stage.
“She is a terror,” Luke breathed.
“She is your kid,” Sonny rejoined. “By the way, here’s the list of rules.”
“Do you think I need them?”
“Yeah, if you’re gonna be spendin’ more time with Lulu. I called Laura last Saturday and asked her to fax them to me.” He handed a folded sheet of paper to Luke, and turned to Mike.
“Way to go, Mike. How long she been doin’ the ponies for you?”
Immediately after the last presentation, ‘Z’ is for zookeeper , Mr. Welsh, the principal, buttonholded Luke and Laura separately, suggesting an 8:30 conference the next morning.
“I’ll be there,” said Luke. “This is my kid, and she’s okay. Don’t think I’m gonna let you give her a bad time.”
Bobbie kissed Luke good night, and headed for the door, telling Lucas “You and I are going to have a long talk about homework when we get in the car.”
Sonny picked up his coat. “See ya later, buddy. Oh, by the way, have you made toast this week? If you haven’t, see rule #8.” He winked, and walked towards Laura.
Laura hugged Sonny. “I don’t know how to thank you.”
“It’s okay. Lulu did it herself.”
Lulu ran up to hug her mother.
“You were great, honey!” said Laura.
“An impressive performance,” offered Stefan.
“Are you mad, papa? Mommy and Uncle Sonny said sometimes you have to change the rule from ‘be polite’ to ‘speak from your heart’.
“Your mother has been teaching me about that rule for some years. I am glad she and your, umm, Uncle Sonny aided you in the changes you made tonight. They were most appropriate.”
Stefan hugged her tightly. “ I have never been prouder of you,” he whispered.
Luke stuck his hand out to Lulu palm down. “How about going out for ice cream with your old dad?”
Lulu looked at her mother, who nodded.
“ If it is agreeable to everyone, Laura, I will see you and Sergei to the launch, so that you can take him home to bed. Spencer, I will meet you and Lesley Lu at the docks in an hour’s time for our return trip home.”
Luke ambled toward the door with Lulu, his tall, lanky form stooped a bit so he could talk to her more readily. “Have you ever tried to crack Daddy’s safe?”
“No,” answered Lulu, “but I know the combination. It’s 28, 32, 15.”
“How’d you get the combination, then?
“I just watched you open it one night, daddy.”
“How about your papa’s safe?”
“Oh, daddy, there’s a rule for that. If I told you his combination...”
“I understand,” he said amiably. “Fair is fair.” Hand in hand, they walked off into
the night.

**************
About an hour later, a young nurse, returning home after dinner at Kelly’s, was treated to a spectacle that she knew no one at work would ever believe. The dour CEO of General Hospital, Stefan Cassadine himself, was standing on the docks speaking animatedly into a cell phone with someone called Nikolas. He was laughing so hard that tears were running down his cheeks.

Where Will All Come Home?

Chapter 2

Lesley Lu sighed with satisfaction as Laura finished the story. Before her mother could close the book she said, “Just one more.”
“It’s really late, honey.”
“I will not be here tomorrow night. Please, mommy.”
“I hope you’re not trying to take advantage of the situation...” Laura hesitated as she looked into the child’s huge blue eyes.
“Maybe. But I miss you so much when I’m gone. Please. Just one. This one. Just part of it.”
Laura sighed. “It’s important that you and your daddy have some time together. I don’t want you to get all grown up some day and realize you don’t know your dad at all. It wouldn’t be fair to either of you.”
“You didn’t know your father, and you turned out okay.”
Laura smoothed her hair, and tucked the pale pink coverlet around her once more.
“Thanks for your vote of confidence! Part of one more it is! Close your eyes and make pictures in your mind while I read.” She kissed Lulu’s forehead and settled herself in the rocking chair close by the bed.
Lulu opened her eyes, and watched her mother open the book. Laura’s hair glowed in the light cast by the bedside lamp, as familiar lines from A Child’s Garden of Verse filled the room:

“Dark brown is the river,
Golden is the sand.
It flows along for ever,
With trees on either hand.”

Lulu’s eyes closed as her mother’s voice lulled her to sleep. Laura left the nightlight shining and slipped out into the hall. She walked quickly down the hallway into the nursery to check Sergei.
He was sleeping soundly with no sign of the sniffles that had kept the two of them awake for the past several nights. She stood in the dim light of his room, and gently touched his chest. She knew it was silly, but she always checked to make sure he was breathing. It was hard to believe that after having four children, she was still so paranoid.  She chuckled to herself as she thought how Sergei slept in the same position Lucky always had. Luke had said he looked like a frog, because he rolled himself onto his stomach and pulled his knees up under him, small bottom high in the air, arms bent at the elbows, hands flat on the mattress near his face. Sergei did, she decided, look a bit like a frog in his favorite position. Stefan slipped into the room beside her and surveyed their son with satisfaction.
“He seems to be sleeping comfortably tonight,” he whispered. “I was growing concerned, but it appears that both of you will have the opportunity to sleep well tonight.  And I also. I am no longer accustomed to sleeping alone.” He kissed her right temple affectionately as he slipped an arm around her.
“I never fail to be amazed that he sleeps that way. It looks so uncomfortable, but at least he turns his face to the side so that there is no concern regarding smothering.
From the time he could roll over, Nikolas always slept on his right side. If anyone moved him, he rolled back again. He would never have tolerated this position.”
“Lucky slept this way too...” Laura began. Sergei let out a sudden gusty sigh. His parents retreated quickly through the door into their own bedroom, fearful of waking him.
“Did Lesley Lu make any comment regarding this weekend?” Stefan asked as Laura untied her crimson velvet robe.
“She just wanted another story on the grounds that she would miss me, and I couldn’t refuse.” Laura paused for a moment, and looked down. “ She also pointed out that I never knew my father.”
Stefan hung up his own robe, and looked at her in surprise. “You have discussed your biological father with her?”
“No, but she is alarmingly insightful in some ways. I think that she is rather more like Luke than he knows. Sometimes she just knows things. He used to say information just came to him; he couldn’t help it. She is also formidably tough in some ways, and she likes her life as it is. If he can’t bring himself to claim her soon, it may be too late for him.”
Laura sat down at her dressing table and traced the raised pattern on the handle of her hairbrush with one finger. Her eyes glistened. “But I think that she’s doing as well as we can expect. Luke was really surprised by her last week. And he came to the conference with Mr. Welsh. Maybe Alexis will help him too, now that she’s not traveling as much.”
Stefan moved behind her, and removed the hairbrush from her hands. He leaned down and kissed the top of her head before brushing her hair carefully, slowly.
“Now,” he said, completing the work to his own satisfaction, “Come to me.”
“Consider me a boat coming ashore,” Laura said in an unusually feeble attempt at humor as she leaned against her husband’s chest.
“Stevenson again tonight?” he asked as she nestled her head against his neck.
“For the past several weeks.”
“You are tired. You have not slept for the past two nights. Everything seems worse late at night when you are tired. I know that this is true. You ,yourself taught me.”
He stepped back, cupped her face in his hands, and looked into her eyes.
“ I have faith in our daughter. Had we not chosen as we did over twenty years ago, Nikolas would not be alive today. She would not be alive today. Of all the things with which I reproach myself in the dark hours of the night, their existence is the counterbalance. A shining example of great good born of great pain. They both live because we loved,Laura. There is no shame in that.”
“Love me now, please.”
His lips closed on hers as they moved together. And, for a time, any world outside their embrace ceased to exist.
_ _ _

On Saturday afternoon Stefan sat at Kelly’s balancing Sergei in his lap while he talked with Alexis. Sergei energetically gummed the teething ring his patient father supplied as soon as they sat down. Alexis looked on in some amusement as the baby grinned broadly at her while keeping the ring tucked in the corner of his mouth, chubby fingers gripping it tightly.
“I never get used to seeing your eyes staring at me out of Laura’s face. You have to give her credit. She makes beautiful kids.”
“Would you like to hold him a moment?”
Alexis settled Sergei on her lap with some hesitation, but the cheerful baby flashed another grin and gnawed away. He grinned at his father, babbling happily, while his father responded in kind, leaning forward to touch the baby’s face and kiss his cheek.
“Do you think we were ever this happy as children?” Alexis asked suddenly. “I can’t remember being happy after my mother died, but before that I think that I must have been like this.”
“I can’t remember much. I know I loved our nursemaid, but she, of course, had orders to give precedence to Stavros in all things.”
“You were actually the one who brought me up,” Alexis said. When you were sent to school, I was devastated.”
“A frightened boy attempting to parent a frightened girl hardly constituted a suitable childhood for either.”
“You never seemed frightened to me. You appeared unflappable. A veritable island unto yourself.”
Stefan touched his younger son again, and grimaced. “Perhaps we should have been better off had we been brought up by wolves. They, at least, do not savage their young. I was always frightened, and with good reason. School was a haven. Once I knew that you too were at boarding school, I pretended that the island did not exist as much as was possible. Mother, of course, always knew my fear and reveled in it. I pretended to myself that it was not readily observable and worked diligently to overcome it.”
“Others may have recognized it. I am surprised, Alexis, that you did not. Laura certainly did, almost immediately. She responded with a protectiveness and a fury such as I had never seen before. She was a prisoner, locked in her room except for the occasional guarded walk, terrorized on a regular basis by Helena and Stavros. She thought that she had lost everything she loved, but still...”
“She came to me, she comforted me.” Stefan shrugged. “We comforted each other.”
He drifted off briefly into memories, but returned to the present with a start.
“Shouldn’t Luke have arrived with Lesley Lu by now? “Why did she spend the night with Bobbie again, rather than with the two of you?”
Alexis bounced Sergei on her knee and played with his tiny fingers. She then turned him so she could look into his face, and cooed to him before responding.
“I don’t know any details, except that there was some problem at the club last night. I returned from London very early this morning. Sonny was out, or Luke probably would have left her with him.”
Stefan snorted. She continued playing with Sergei, watching the baby’s eyes grow larger as she talked to him.
“Alexis, this situation could be easily resolved. You are an attorney. You could act on Luke’s behalf. A relatively simple procedure. He relinquishes parental rights. I adopt. The matter is settled to everyone’s satisfaction. You and Luke are free to spend your days and nights as you please, and my family’s life is no longer disrupted by these difficult weekends.”
“Not so fast, Stefan. I’m not sure that what you suggest would be in my client’s best interests.” She smiled and nibbled at the baby’s fingers resting on her lips.
Sergei reached for her hair, dropping his toy in order to taste a handful. Alexis laughed while she disentangled his hands from her hair, resettling him in her lap. She began to bounce him again.
“The serpent was said to be more subtle than all the beasts of the field. Have you discussed your desire for a child with Luke? Or do you hope to tempt him somehow by using Lesley Lu to create an instant family? And what becomes of her when she is no longer useful? You have always been jealous by nature, Alexis. What becomes of Lesley Lu when you no longer have need her as bait?”
“I always admired your devotion to Nikolas, Stefan. The unbelievable devotion of an uncle subordinating his own needs to those of his brother’s son. Of course, your devotion was unbelievable, you fraud! Am I to believe that your motivations are pure now? What would you get out of adopting Luke’s daughter? The satisfaction of having destroyed every vestige of his past life? Denying his child her own name?”
“I love her, Alexis, for many reasons, as I do Nikolas and Sergei. But you need not think well of me for it. I love her for the same reason he cannot. LesleyLu may be flesh of Spencer’s flesh, but thanks to modern medicine, she is bone of my bone. How could I not love her?”
An unpleasant silence ensued, interrupted only when Tammy called Alexis to the phone. Returning Sergei to his father’s arms, Alexis walked away. After a brief conversation, she returned.
“Bobbie is bringing Lesley Lu here. Apparently the basement of the club flooded last night due to some sort of broken water pipe. Luke can’t leave until the city workmen finish pumping out the basement and give approval to restore electrical power to the building. I’ll take Lulu with me and Luke will meet us at the penthouse later. He said they should be here anytime now.” She glanced at her watch.
“Is there any particular reason that you’re waiting here? Do you want me to relay a message to Lesley Lu?”
“She called home and asked for a few things. She expected to come here for lunch, and I agreed to meet her. Sergei and I can wait a little longer before we pick Laura up at the hospital.”
“As you like.”
The door opened suddenly and Bobbie rushed in with Lucas, Lulu and Michael trailing behind her. Stefan rose to greet Bobbie courteously, shifting his son to a more comfortable position as he stood.
“Sorry we’re so late. We were waiting for Luke, but we just heard from him.   Sounds like the club is a mess!” Bobbie exclaimed to Alexis. The two women began quietly sharing what little information they had.
“Papa, you came!” LesleyLu danced over to Stefan. “And you brought Sergei!”
“Of course. Here is a bag containing the items you requested. There is a surprise from your mother at the very bottom. For bedtime.”
“Sergei and I also have a surprise for you. Come see. You need no longer fear that he will begin kindergarten with dentures.”
“Four teeth at once! When did he get them?”
“Last night. I knew you would be excited. They are coming in quickly. I was pleased by your call, because it gave me an excuse to bring him to you. You have anticipated this moment for so long!”
“Precious baby, you have teeth!.” Lesley Lu hugged her baby brother. He responded by engulfing her nose in a sloppy baby kiss, and patting her shoulders and arms with excitement.
Michael Quartermaine who had silently followed Lulu into the restaurant, spoke for the first time. “I’m your baby, Lulu. Not him.”
Lesley Lu’s eyes rolled heavenward as if seeking strength. “Michael, sweetie, that was just a game. Sergei really is my baby. My little brother.”
“No, no,” Michael wailed. “You’re the mommy. I’m Lulu’s baby.” A tear trickled down one cheek.
“Carly is your mommy, not me. Please, Michael, quit crying.”
“What’s wrong with Michael?” Bobbie turned around. “ Did someone upset him?”
She looked inquiringly at Stefan.
“Perhaps he is in need of a nap,” suggested a baffled Stefan. As if on cue, the cooperative Sergei yawned hugely. “As is Sergei. Lesley Lu, we will take our leave now.  Your Aunt Alexis will take you to your father later. Enjoy lunch with your aunts and cousins. Remember to thank your Aunt Barbara for your stay at her home.”
“Yes, Papa. I will.”
“ Wenders has orders to pick you up at noon tomorrow, so that you may join us for lunch. In the afternoon we will ride together, if that is agreeable to you.”
“Yes, Papa.” Lesley Lu looked steadfastly at the toes of her shoes. Before they left, Stefan bent to kiss her, smoothed her hair and whispered, “We love you. Tomorrow will come soon.”
On his way out he could hear Michael’s singsong voice. “Lulu sits by Michael.
Lulu sits by Michael.”

_ _ _


A weary Luke Spencer walked in the door at 10:30 p.m. Alexis was curled up on the couch reading the latest Anna Quindlen novel. She took off her glasses, stood up, and stretched.
“Wow, am I in luck! I didn’t expect you home this early!” She moved across the room to kiss him.
“Hi, baby. Lucky I had a change of clothes at the club.” He set a package down gingerly near the door. “I can’t decide whether these need to be washed, or burned.”
“Most of your clothes would be improved by burning.” Alexis’s eyes sparkled with mischief. “What makes these any different from the others?” She wrapped her arms around him and started to bite his neck.
“Well,” said Luke conversationally. “They and I have been in far closer contact with a backed-up sewer than you probably...” Alexis squealed and jumped backwards.
“It has been one incredible weekend!” He kicked the couch to emphasize his point.
“I think I slept about two hours in between manning the pumps and waiting for various city workmen to come in and express their shock that I really expected them to fix the mess they made!”
“Then two guys just didn’t show up for work at all. This band we had booked came with the name of some chick they wanted to work the door. They said another band that had played Port Charles insisted she was the best, so the idiots demanded her! Claude finally located her, and the show went on - and a bad one, I might add. They reeked!”
“You’re on a roll! Don’t stop now.” Alexis smirked.
“So, there I was standing behind the bar and that picture of Helena was really getting on my nerves. Did you ever count her teeth? I think she has too many.”
Alexis looked puzzled.
“And a sorrier group of lost souls never leaned on my bar before in all the years I’ve been pouring drinks...,I’m wondering , ya know, where these people’s fathers were when they were kids. Maybe they’d’ve turned out better, or at least different somehow....”
“ Then one of the guys finally came in, and I left Claude with it and came home.”
This time the chair took the brunt of his wrath, but his vicious kick caught the wooden frame. Luke collapsed in the chair cursing his wounded foot.
“It’s not funny, woman!” Alexis stopped laughing and attempted sympathy.
“Okay, I can see you’re worn out. Hop over here and sit with me. Do you want   some food?”
“Nah. Thanks. Where’s Lulu?”
“In bed.”
“What did you two do?”
“We went to the park. She played with a little girl, I think from her old neighborhood. I read the paper. Then we ate dinner at McDonald’s. Afterwards we came back here. By the way, when did you give her a key?”
“I didn’t. Why?”
“I left my keys at the office, I think. Anyway, I went to Sonny’s place thinking that one of the guys would have a set, but no one was there, and when I got back, the door was open. I asked her and she said she opened it. She must have a key.”
Luke’s eyes narrowed thoughtfully.
“I bet Sonny gave her one when she was here before. I should have thought of that. Anyway, I let her choose a video to watch. I was ready for Disney, but she chose Gandhi so we watched the whole thing from beginning to end.
“When it was over, she said ‘Thank you. That was excellent. May I be excused to take my bath and work on some projects in my room?’ I looked in on her later and asked if she needed any help with her work, and she said no, thank you. I came out here to read.”
“Too polite.” Luke scratched his head thoughtfully. “What do you think?”
“Call an exorcist,” suggested Alexis. “She resembles a porcelain doll, but appears to be possessed by my brother’s spirit.”
“Hmm,” was his only response.
“Luke, seriously, I don’t know her very well, and she’s not helping me. Do you think I should have done something differently tonight?”
“No. Assuming you didn’t hiss or slither on your belly across the carpet, she was probably favorably impressed.”
Alexis stared at him. “Practicing attorneys can’t afford to be overly sensitive, but this is the second time today someone has alluded to my serpentlike nature. What’s the deal?”
“I’ve only been out of town three weeks, but I seem to have missed something significant. And the rules posted on the refrigerator - they don’t even make sense. Some of them were clearly drafted by Stefan, like number eight. ‘Prepare people for surprises.’  There’s no sense to it.”
“You haven’t made toast, have you?” Luke started across the room.
“No, but.... Where are you going now?”
“To check on my kid.”
Alexis stood in the living room reviewing their conversation. Sewers, teeth, losers, kicking, hissing, slithering, rules, toast.
“I’m not getting anywhere with logic,” Alexis said aloud. “Maybe I should make some toast.” She went toward the kitchen.
Luke quietly opened the door to the guest bedroom and looked around. He had never really paid much attention to the room before. It looked sterile. He fought back the memories of Lucky’s bedroom filled with toys, books, and worm farms, with smelly old Foster sprawled anyhow all over the bed. The bedside light was still on, and Lulu lay on her side, her face to the light holding a stuffed animal close to her chest. She looked small and lonely in the queen-sized bed.
There was an unexpected thud from the kitchen and a muffled scream. He shook his head. Curiosity always got the best of Alexis.
Lulu popped up. “Hi, Daddy. Did you get your club fixed up?
“Yeah. It’s fine. Listen, Princess. I’m sorry that I haven’t seen you this weekend.” Luke pulled a chair over and sat near the bed.
“I’m fine, Daddy. You were busy. I had projects.”
“What were you doing?”
“Papa brought me all my Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle books. I’ve been looking for a cure for boringness. Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle is magical, but I’m sure not.”
“Do I want to know who you’re gonna cure?”
“Michael Quartermaine. Am I really his relative?”
“Afraid so.”
“Well, Lucas says he’s adopted and I’m not, so that makes Michael my responsibility, not his. Michael is a great resonsibility. Even when we played Swiss Family Robinson, I had to be Michael’s mommy.”
“But the other kids played too?”
“Yeah, but it’s not like you think. Aunt Bobbie goes, ‘oh, how nice all the children are playing together.’ But, Lucas, Maxie and Georgie went outside and pretended adventures, and made me stay inside with Michael.”
“They dumped him on you, huh?”
“He doesn’t understand pretending at all! He thinks I’m his new mommy. I tried reading him Curious George books, because he likes the jungle, but he cried when the man with the yellow hat took George away from Africa. George loves the man with the yellow hat. He is his best friend. But Michael cried.
“Then when we met Papa and Sergei at Kelly’s he cried some more, because he didn’t want Sergei to be my baby brother!”
“Sounds like you’ve had about all the Spencer family fun you could stand for one weekend.”
“Daddy, can I just lay my cards on the table?”
“Please do.”
“You’re a busy man. You don’t enjoy adjusting me and I sure am tired of being adjusted. Our big problems here are Mrs. Tatum, that lady at my school who got you   started with this adjusting business, and Mommy, who has a problem with daddies.”
“Go on.”
“Papa will take care of Mrs. Tatum, if I ask him. He doesn’t want me at school anyway. He says I would learn more at home.”
“What about you? Do you want to leave school?
“ Actually, I like it, except for Mrs. Tatum. But Papa will fix it one way or the other. What I need your help with is Mommy.”
“How can I help with Laura?”
“Well, she never knew her own daddy. That’s why she thinks everyone else should know theirs. Did you know yours?”
“Yes.”
“Did you like him?”
“No,” Luke responded honestly. “Bobbie and I ran away. We never went back.”
“What happened to him?”
“I don’t know.”
“Papa didn’t like his daddy either. Did you know that?”
“Can’t say I’m exactly surprised.” Luke pulled a cigar out of his pocket, and looked at it, then put it back in again.
“So you see what I’m thinking, Daddy?”
“Not yet. Explain.”
“Help me with a big project. Help me find Mommy’s daddy.”
“Oh. So we find her dad. She realizes he’s like, a big jerk, and gets over the idea that children should see their fathers?”
“Exactly.” Lulu nodded with satisfaction.
“Well, we need to think this through a little more carefully. What if we find him and she likes him? Then she’ll want the two of us to spend even more time together.   That’s one possibility we have to consider. Also, we don’t even know if the guyi s alive.  Where will we start? We don’t even have a name.”
“Grandma Lesley may already have started. She is very smart, but she does not know how to do this kind of project. I think maybe you do.”
“How do you know she’s looking?”
“I asked her lots of questions. Then she got sad. And last week she started making phone calls and all the calls were about the same person.”
Lulu rummaged in the backpack lying next to her on the bed. “Here.” She handed Luke a scrap of paper with a name carefully printed on it.
“So you think that we should work on this together. For our mutual benefit?”
Lulu nodded.
“Well, I haven’t worked with a partner in a long time. It’s important to know your partner. You have to be able to trust ‘em. For a while we’d need to spend more time together, not less, getting to know each other. When you partner up with somebody, you have to learn how to work with them.”
“Okay.”
“Probably, for a while I’d need to pick you up after school a couple days a week to make our plans. That shouldn’t be a problem, because your Mom will think we’re getting along real well, and she’ll be pleased. It’ll be a great cover.”
“Okay, Daddy.” Lesley Lu stifled a yawn.
“Looks like you need some sleep. Are you comfortable there?”
“Yessir.”
“Does that horse thing have a name?”
“Dimitri.”
“Do you sleep with him every night?”
“Yes, I have two sleep friends. Well, I used to have two. She paused momentarily.
“But Dimitri is the only one I really need. I am getting too old for it anyway. ”
Luke’s sharp eyes noticed her casual hand movement as she pushed a scrap of something under her pillow.
“I need to think. Do you mind if I just sit here for a while?”
“I’m not afraid.”
“Sure, I know. I sit in here at night and rest sometimes. It’s quiet.”
“Well, okay. Do you mind if I listen to my tape? Mommy made it for me. It helps me to sleep.”
“Sure.”
Lesley Lu pulled a small tape recorder out from under the covers and pushed the play button. She lay down again, pulling Dimitri close to her chest.
Luke leaned back in the chair and listened as Laura’s disembodied voice floated in the air.
“I tried to get as many of your favorites as possible. I knew you wouldn’t want me to forget this one. Remember to close your eyes and make pictures in your mind.”

“Dark brown is the river,
Golden is the sand.
It flows along for ever,
With trees on either hand.

Green leaves a-floating,
Castles of the foam,
Boats of mine a-boating -
Where will all come home?”

Luke dozed. When he woke, Lesley Lu was sound asleep with Dimitri in one arm, and her other hand under the pillow. He smoothed her covers, and very carefully slid a hand under the pillow. He pulled out a battered, stuffed puppy and tucked it in place next to Dimitri, then stooped and kissed her forehead before crossing the room to plug in the   night light.
On his way out, he paused in the doorway for one last look at the sleeping child.
He smiled. “I’m still a babe magnet,” he whispered to himself. “I think I can pull this off.”


_ _ _

Quotations in this story are all excerpts from Robert Louis Stevenson’s Where Go the Boats?, published originally in A Child’s Garden of Verse.

Chapters 3-4

Where Will All Come Home?
Index