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When Cassadines Fall
Family Dynamics
Sunday morning bright and early. Ricky goes to the restaurant recommended by his father. He raps on the window to get the attention of the little girl with a tray sorting out fresh flower arrangements to the tables. Rita nods. She sets down the tray and comes over to the door to unlock it. As she pushes the door open to let Ricky in she complains. "Your father got me in so much trouble."
"Excuse me?" Ricky questions. When his dad had indicated a little girl he didn't know he meant literally little! Other than the gals who played in the WNBA all women were little girls when standing next to Pete Robideau.
"Our home number is unlisted, unpublished, not to be released on pain of death. And Daddy was not amused when I got a call from a strange man."
"I don't know why he had to call you anyway." Ricky says resentfully.
"Well I figure his method is twofold. This way you get a good breakfast and me talking to you at all. I told your Dad the last time he was in I wouldn't talk to anyone about Maddy. Nobody is going to talk to anyone about Maddy. The word went out last night. Is this table okay? Did you want coffee? I just made a pot. Cookie will be pulling cinnamon rolls out of the oven any minute. Do you want the paper?"
"Yes, yes, yes and if you mean I could get a cinnamon roll then yes to that one too."
"Be right back." Rita comes back with a menu, coffee, paper and water. She drops them off and keeps moving. They'd be opening in an hour and she had things to get done. She keeps an eye on Ricky until he gives the universal sign-- menu on the edge of the table. Rita holds her empty tray at her waist and asks. "Have you decided?"
Ricky recites his order. "Do you need to write this down?"
"For one person?!" Rita snorts. "Please! I don't think so." Rita examines the table critically to make sure that everything is up to Cookie and Johnny's standards. Rita goes back to the kitchen and puts the order up.
"Rita Regina Porter, we don't open for an hour yet."
Rita nods. "This is that guy's son; you know the out of town guy who wanted to make sure his son eats properly while he's in Port Charles?"
"The one who called our house?" Cookie's tone clearly indicates what she thinks of that.
"I already chewed him out. But Cookie, this guy can't miss meals. And his dad was just thinking about him since he's all alone in town."
"We're not the Welcome Wagon." Cookie reminds as she puts an extra portion of hash browns on the grill. "Here take this out to him while he waits." Cookie puts a cinnamon roll on a dessert plate. "Are you done with your sidework?"
"The tables, yes-- I'm just starting on the waitress stations." Rita nods taking the hint, picks up the cinnamon roll. Cookie really does prefer to have the kitchen to herself.
When Ricky's order is ready, Cookie knowing Rita had better be busy brings it out herself. She's about to chew Ricky out herself when she notices two things: a) there isn't a crumb left of the cinnamon roll and b) the boy is looking at the want ads. "You want more coffee?" She says gruffly instead.
"Thanks. This looks great."
"Of course it does." Cookie walks away and stops by the waitress station that Rita is stocking. "He needs more coffee. Find out if he wants a To Go order before he leaves."
"Yes, ma'am." Rita reaches for the coffee pot and then remembering the way Pete had doctored his breakfast reaches for the tabasco too. She refills Ricky's cup and sets the hot sauce within reach.
"What did you mean when you said the word had gone out about Maddy?"
Rita shrugs. "Maddy knows a lot of people but there are only a handful of people who know where she is staying or anything about her. My brother's girlfriend stopped by the restaurant late last night and told me and Johnny both there's a bad man in town looking to make trouble for Maddy. So now nobody will say anything and will let Maddy know if they've been contacted." Rita is distracted by a pounding on the front door. She goes to see who it is. Sighing she opens the door. "We're closed."
"Not to me, baby sister." Vicki steps in giving Rita an overly firm pat on the cheek. "I'm family remember?" Three of her sorority sisters follow her into the restaurant.
"Since when? You hate Johnny's guts, and he doesn't like you either." Rita retorts snottily.
"My friends have heard about this place and wanted an early breakfast. So run along and bring us a menu or something. Actually make it coffee ... and a large tomato juice."
Having experienced the former hostess in action, the one Johnny fired for her overconsumption, Rita gets real blunt. "You're drunk."
"And you're a pain. I'll sober up but there is no hope for you."
Rita pales. She exhales. Vicki always knew how to push her buttons.
And she'd been working on not letting Vicki get to her. "We're closed. Come back after ten."
Vicki points to the other customer in the restaurant. "Then what is he doing here?"
Cookie comes out of the kitchen studiously sharpening her butcher knife, periodically checking the edge. "He made a reservation last night; I didn't see your names on the book. Get out now and take a cab. You won't like jail when you get busted for DUI."
"You murdering, gold-diggin' bitch. I can't believe my father married you." Vicki sneers. Her friends are starting to whisper in her ear that they should just go. "I'll tell him how you treated me!"
"Don't forget the part how you were drunk off your underage ass and verbally abusing your sister again. No wait. Rita, by all means, seat your bulimic, bleach blonde, drunkass sister and her nasty friends."
Vicki steps toward a table and then stops in her tracks. "What are you up to?"
"I'm cooking, and I have a few recipes I set aside for another blonde bitch that I'd love to test on you."
"Vicki, lets just go." One of her friends tugs on her arm.
"Fine. It wasn't my idea to come here anyway." Vicki flounces off and brushes by Rita as she does so. Rita locks the door after her.
"Sorry. I shouldn't have let her in."
"She's your sister, even if she is an idiot. Forgive me, Lord." Cookie looks to the heavens and then shaking her head walks back in the kitchen.
Rita comes by the Ricky's table and refills his coffee. He looks up at her. "Are you okay? That looked like more than a love tap."
Rita turns her head to the side. "Can you see it?" She worries biting her lip.
"A little pink but nothing much." Ricky reassures.
"Cookie would go nuts and so would my dad."
"What did she mean, the cook, about having a few recipes?" Ricky wonders.
"The Cook, my stepmother..." Rita explains. "Probably poison or at least something that would have made the bunch of them sick as dogs. Look, I'm really sorry about you seeing that. Breakfast is on the house."
"No, really it's no problem. My dad and I get into it sometimes. I'm cool."
"Yeah, but at least you know he loves you." Rita goes back into the kitchen to see if there is anything she can do to calm Cookie down.
Jerry rolls over leaning up on one elbow and looks at his sleeping wife. Damn even in her sleep the woman looked hot: no makeup a little dried drool at the corner of her jaw. He nuzzles her neck. Bobbie's arm comes up to hug him close. "Good morning, wife."
"Good morning, husband." Bobbie's eyes open and she makes eye contact. A slow smile builds. "What time is it?"
"Early yet. Lucas is probably already up. I don't know what it is about kids and weekends. Total lumps Monday through Friday and up with the roosters on the weekends." Jerry softly laughs.
"Ah the mysteries of parenthood." Bobbie rolls into Jerry's arms and cuddles in close resting her hand on the middle of his chest. She could feel his calm steady breaths below her hand.
"So how do you know Sophia Moriz?" Jerry toys with her hair.
Bobbie stiffens and bites her lip. Jerry runs a thumb over her lip freeing it and then brushes his hand against her face. "I don't know her. I know of her."
"Now this is beginning to sound interesting." Jerry prompts.
"Jerry, you know what it was like for me as a kid. I've never made any secret of my past. How living in a whorehouse was better than living at home. That I..."
"Yep, Baby, I know." Jerry interrupts. "We've both done things in the past that are understood... in the past. Believe me with my history of blowing **** up both figuratively and literally-- I'm happy to not have married a saint. Miz Sophia is part of your past?"
"I won't say that Ruby was old when Luke and I went to live with her but she'd been around the block. She got the money for the house by... using what skills she had. But it's a hard life, and she saw the writing on the wall. She started socking money away to open her own place. She used to tell tales about what it was like when she was working. You know... Everyone in the medical community knows Monica because she is the best. Everyone knows Edward in the business community 'cause he is a player.
Well everyone knew about Sophia Moriz. I don't know if it's the same lady, but Sophia Moriz was notorious-- at least to the church going crowd. She was an independant. She had the best clientele. She traveled the world. It was like a fairy story; Sophia was one of us, but she'd made it. Ruby bragged on actually meeting her... it was at some party some politicos threw down in Florida. Ruby was working the room with some other local girls who'd been brought in. Sophia Moriz was there with the bigwig. There is no way it could be the same woman."
"I don't know. You see the way my father reacted?" Jerry grins. "Talk about the past coming back to bite ya in the butt. Sophia said she knew him before he married Lady Jane. That marriage ruined him."
"Thats what jogged my memory last night. The combination of her name and marriage ruining things. That was one of Sophia Moriz' rules. I won't say it's mostly married men who go to hookers, but it's the bread and butter of the business. Thing is when you're working at the top of the game you start getting married guys who treat you like they're your master or something. They get real possessive, jealous and bossy. They don't want an independant; they want a mistress, a wife on the side. You get the apartment, the presents, maybe an allowance; you become an item on an expense account. But since they're paying all the bills you better be available whenever they want you. It's no way to live." Bobbie takes a deep breath. "Jerry, I adore you-- you are my touchstone, a better father to my kids than blood could have been. And I want to be with you, only you, until the day I die. But I have a life outside of you-- I have my kids, my brother, my work, my friends. I have money that I earn from work I do." Bobbie says earnestly.
"And I would never try to change that because that is what makes you... you." Jerry reassures.
"And that's how I figure I finally got it right." Bobbie presses a lingering kiss on her husband and turns his thoughts to other matters.
Maddy is about ready to pull her hair out. It shouldn't be this hard! There were thousands of sites on the internet about therapy dogs. But so far she'd only found one study that actually documented the benefits of pets and how they were good for your blood pressure. She'd cruised the professional sites-- American Psychological Association, New England Journal of Medicine, Journal of American Medical Association even Psychology Today. Nothing. No studies that she could find. If she was going to convince some reluctant shrink she really wanted more info than a bunch of stories that when put together were pretty damn convincing but not scientific.
"Maddy, you have anything you want dropped off at the drycleaners?" Nik asks from the door of her room. Cinnamon looks up from where she is curled on the throw rug on the floor. "Maddy?"
"What?" Maddy realizes what he asked. "No, thanks I'm fine. Niknik, what do you know about Kevin Collins?"
"He's good." Nik comes into the room. "What are you doing?"
"Research on Therapy dogs. I got to get Collins on my side if I'm going to get Cinnamon in to see Larry."
"Well yes, that would be the proper route if you aren't willing to take advantage of the fact that the Cassadines own General Hospital."
"You hit people over the head too often with money, and they get pissed. And if they can't beat you, they'll sabotage you instead." Maddy informs him. "If I have to do it that way-- then I believe me I'll ask, but I'd rather have Larry's doctor okay with this-- considering he's the one deciding when Larry gets out. So what do you know?"
"When my sister was ill-- I understand he was very comforting for Lucky. A sounding board. About the same time, my mother broke under the stress of Lulu's illness and the return of the Cassadines to her life. Kevin took care of that too."
"Not too personal I hope but what about you Cassadines-- anything there?"
"While I'm sure there are many that believe our family would benefit from therapy we prefer to revel in our collective psychosis." Nikolas explains wryly. "Since change is unlikely, we prefer to not rationalize our ill behavior."
"Present company excepted of course."
"Oh Of course. I was referring to the extended family." Nik says. "The closest to insight was when you attempted to analyze my grandmother and I told you then... I don't care why she is evil. I just deal with the fact that she is."
"Right. So is this Collins guy reasonable? I mean we're talking bringing a pit bull into a locked psycho ward."
"Of all the psychiatrists on staff I think you have the best chance with him. He has the reputation for being innovative. Very much into art therapy, has his own experience with dealing with repressed memories. When conventional therapies fail he's willing to use what works."
Maddy exhales in a deep rush. "Good. I'm starting to feel a little bit better. Maybe I have enough now. Which means I can actually work on my homework and get it done before instruction tomorrow. Everything has been so haywire this weekend-- first catching up from being gone and then..." Maddy allows her voice to fade off. Nik knows what the rest of the stuff was. She looks at the empty coffee mug at her elbow. "Come on-- I need more coffee and you have errands to run I guess." Nikolas follows Maddy up the stairs.
Cinnamon pads along behind. She'd been remarkably civilized for an outdoor dog but she was used to having her humans in sight at all times. If you can't see them how can you protect them?
Maddy makes a straightline to the vacuumn pot of coffee. After doctoring it up the way she likes she looks over by the back door. "Oh you have got to be kidding me. Nikolas, tell me that you aren't taking everything you own to the dry cleaners?" Nik doesn't say anything. How had he screwed this one up? "Why did you have Larry put in a state of the art front loading washer and gas dryer in the basement if you weren't planning on using it?" Nik still doesn't say anything. "Let me guess, this was something Mrs Lansbury handled... you'd wake in the morning and there'd be clean and pressed clothes at the foot of your bed."
"In my dresser and closet."
"And now you've figure out that elves didn't do it."
"I was living out on my own at the cottage." Nikolas reminds. "I'm not totally incompetent."
"Oh no-- you did a great job with the house and you were aces with me down in New Orleans." A thought occurs to Maddy. "What did you do with your work clothes at the end of the day?" Nik says nothing. "Oh my gosh you threw them away, didn't you?"
"Madeliene, I can afford to buy new clothes."
"That is so not the point." Grabbing the bags of laundry from the doorway Maddy dropkicks them into the basement. "Come on, Prince. I'm going to teach you how to sort clothes. And if you totally hate it after you tried it once then I'll give you the name of a laundry service that does pick up and delivery."
Port Charles Grille
Edward pushes Lila's chair into the restaurant. Reggie if off parking the car. Ned and Alexis were coming on their own. Alan is still keeping a suite in the hotel and Monica hadn't returned from her date with him the night before so in all likelihood there would be six for brunch. Emily was off at church as was her custom on Sundays with Jason and Michael. Jax, Jane and John come down from the bank of elevators. They'd made arrangements to have brunch there today.
"Mrs Jacks." Lila calls out her soft tones carrying across the room.
"Mrs Quartermaine." Jane comes over to greet them before their table is ready. "Please-- it's Jane."
"And I'm Lila. If you're here for brunch I hope your husband and Jax will join us."
"Lila." Edward mutters under his voice but figures it's too late now. "By all means join us." Edward flags down the maitre de and informs him of the change in plans. "And call up to my son's room and tell him that he is keeping his mother waiting."
"That won't be necessary, Father." Alan says from behind Edward. Living at the hotel is agreeing with him. His stress level had dropped and the urge to drink or use was a little voice more easily shoved to the side without listening to the bickering at the mansion. Alan seats Monica and then takes his own seat after Jane sits down. John and Jax look at each other and grimace but take a seat anyway.
"Did we miss anything?" Ned asks as he seats Alexis.
"Considering you spend all your time penning ditties and getting fitted for leather britches. You dare to ask that question?! Thank Goodness, AJ is on top of things at ELQ. That boy knows where his bread is buttered. I know I made the right decision when I backed him for CEO." There is a rush of voices correcting Edward since he had not only not voted for AJ but he'd also been snowed by AJ's slick maneuvers to get the job. "Is there any coffee in this place?" Edward ignores the naysayers and gets the staff hopping filling water glasses and getting other beverages.
Lila leans toward Jane who is seated near her. "I was trying to contact you last night to discuss some community matters. I know once settled in you will want to have your finger on the doings in Port Charles."
"John and I were having dinner with Jerry and his wife." Even if it hadn't gone as well as she'd liked she was happy to share.
"Bobbie must be happy to have Jerry home from New Orleans." Alan suggests to make conversation.
"Very. And the lad was happy to see his wife as well." John replies. "It was good to see one of my sons settled into marital bliss." John casts a narrowed eye on Jax. The boy was getting a little old to be playing playboy. There still might be a chance of a political career if he married the right woman. But Jax seemed to be still hung up on that diminutive model, Brenda. Brenda has suited Jax but she was dead and his son still among the living. Life had to go on.
"He still not speaking to you?"
"Ned!" Alexis rebukes him.
John sighs. "Things are still... strained." He admits. "I thought there was some progress when we were all looking for Emily and the other little girl but I'm afraid Caroline is the stumbling block."
Monica mutters loud enough to be heard. "You could do us all a favor and use whatever connections you used to have an put a hit on her. Then everything could get back to normal."
Alan removes his hand from the back of Monica's chair and reaches for his water glass. "Well that was nice while it lasted." He says to no one at all.
"Monica, what is this I hear about you brawling in public?" Edward questions his daughter in law.