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The Triumph Of AJ Quartermaine
Chapter Seventy Two
Not Out of the Woods
Johnny and Sonny had finally managed to get Jason out of the Happy Family house, mostly be reminding him that now was the time to get to Evans. Jax took off as well after promising to look into some of the scheme that had been discussed over the kitchen table. Bobbie was putting dishes into the dishwasher, shuddering still at the thought of AJ trying to do it. AJ finally had a spare moment to go upstairs and change into some casual clothes. Jerry had gone in search of Carly finding her in the study with Michael. "You know, I don't appreciate being sucked in to being your distraction."
"Six against one." Carly quips. "All bets were off. Mama, figured it out, didn't she?"
"Oh yeah, but if you ever want her to stop assuming you're scheming then you're going to have to stop scheming." Jerry states the obvious. Carly just rolls her eyes.
"Whatever. Is it safe to come out now?"
"Yeah, your mum is in the kitchen, AJ is upstairs, I think, and the rest of the lot have left."
"I'll go down to the courthouse tomorrow afternoon check on the property around the spa." Carly focuses on Micheal and making goofy faces for him.
"What about Evans?" Jerry asks softly trying to read any cues from Carly's demeanor.
"What about him?" Carly looks up at Jerry her eyes clear and her posture easy. "Evans is over. Ferncliffe is over. Even if Evans walks now, he's ruined; Edward can't use either against me. All I have to do is protect Michael's shares and money from Edward's tampering. The spa project will keep me busy enough that even Mama won't have to worry."
"You know most women just sign up for a design course, take a mommy and me class-- not plot the total destruction of people." Jerry informs Carly.
"I'm taking enough classes between the riding and the driving course, thank you. I don't have enough time for those other classes. I can learn more about design and textiles from Hassan than I could from some stupid survey course at PCU. Maybe by the time summer rolls around Michael and I can take a swimming class together." Carly shrugs. "I don't want Katherine Bell's total destruction-- I just want the spa. Have you ever really talked to Kitty? And people think that I'm a bitch." Carly shudders. "I worked for her. Believe me, it couldn't happen to a nicer gal."
"Oh I'm in, no worries there." Jerry sits down on the couch finally. Standing over Carly didn't seem to be intimidating her into being forthcoming. "Although I do owe her a vote of thanks for messin' Bobbie's marriage to Cassadine."
"Like she was doing Mama a favor there." Carly says sarcastically. "But the nice thing about that is that Mama isn't going to protest us going after the spa." Carly gets chipper. "Did you see the way she jumped in?"
"Yeah, It looks like you two finally have a project you can both get behind-- together."
Bobbie comes to the study door and watches for a moment, Carly on the rug playing with Michael and Jerry watching paternalistically from the couch. There's a fire in the hearth and the curtains are closed. Carly doesn't even seem like the girl that had come to Port Charles a couple of years ago. For one thing... she's calm. But the Spencer was definitely there, Bobbie thinks ruefully remembering the way Carly'd thrown a verbal bomb into the men around the kitchen table and stood back to watch. Got to remember to keep the firecrackers away from my girl. "Jerry, we should get home. I called Betty, but we're way later than I said we'd be."
"Right." Jerry rises. "Call me with what you get tomorrow, Carly. We'll have more of an idea where to go from there."
Carly rises carrying Michael with her and walks over to Bobbie. "Well Mama, it was an adventure."
"Yeah, that's one way of putting it." Bobbie says ironically. Bobbie kisses her grandson and then hesitating momentarily kisses Carly on the cheek as well. "I won't be a mushroom in my own family, Caroline. Which means that you and I are going to have a chat. Not tonight. But soon-- very soon. I am NOT going to find out what's going on from anybody but you-- understood?"
"Right." Carly sighs injecting a pathetic put upon tone to her voice. She watches as Jerry helps her mom on with her coat. Jerry shrugs into his own and placing a hand at Bobbie's waist walks toward the front door. Carly follows carrying Michael. She pauses at the open door watching as Jerry and Bobbie walk to their car and climb in. She waves and shuts the door as the car starts smoothly. Sagging against the door she exhales heavily, "Whew... that was close, wasn't it, Michael?"
From the stairs AJ calls out to Carly. "You're not out of the woods yet, sweetheart."
"AJ," Carly grimaces. "How was your day?"
"Well nothing could top lunch. But in light of the rest of the day I have to wonder if lunch was just another way to distract me from the topic of the day?"
"I don't know what you mean." Carly prevaricates.
"Fool me once and all that. I do appreciate that you used sex rather than violence to distract me. Just for the record, I prefer that." AJ keeps his tone light in deference to Michael's presence. But his face contradicts his tone. "I think that Michael is tired; it's way past his bed time."
"Well I was hoping that keeping him up later he might sleep through the night...."
"Good idea. Let's try it tomorrow." AJ reaches out to take Michael from Carly. "Come on, Michael. You must be zonked after all of today's excitement. Are you coming up, Carly?"
"No, I think I'll wait for you in the study." Carly sighs.
Cook's rooms at the Q mansion.
Dropping her bags inside the door and rolling her shoulders, Cook tries to work the kinks out from the long bus trip. "Thank you Lord, that Johnny was never a screamer and may I never be so cowardly again that Your punishment is sitting on a diesel sucking bus next to a fractious brat and an ineffectually bland mother." Cook begins to count her blessings. Cook starts mocking in a shrill voice, "Billy, that's not the way we act in public; Billy, please use your indoor voice." Cooks voice returns to normal "Billy, take your finger out of your nose before you pick your brains out." Cook shudders at the memory. Cook goes over to her small fridge and pulls out an ice cold beer. Twisting the bottletop off smoothly, she takes a long pull before going on. "Thank You for Mrs Q and Emily for they make the madhouse worth working in. Thank You for Johnny's continued good health even if he is breaking Your commandments left and right. I'm working on that with Your help." Just then Cook's phone starts ringing. She checks the caller ID. "And thank You for both Caller ID and voice mail. I'll return his call; I promise-- just not tonight." Cook pulls the pins from her hair and a long dark braid unravels down the middle of her back. "Thank You for you patience with my shortcomings. I try to be understanding with the idiots but I'm still convinced they're a trial You have put before me. Let me know when I get it right, Amen." With a salute of the bottle, Cook drains the beer. She rinses it out and places it in a bin set aside for recycling.
Going into the bathroom she turns the shower on as hot as it will go. Stripping out of her travel clothes, Cook holds them as far as possible from her as she drops them in the hamper. "Next time I go to a seminar, I think I'm going to try to get the old goat to let me tag a ride on the damn jet. Or at least take a train, the bus sucks." Cook climbs into the steamy shower and groans in delight as the tension finally eases from her bones and circles the drain. Taking her time she washes her hair and scrubs the bus smell from her pores. Finally as the water turns cooler, she shuts it off and climbs out, dries off and wraps her hair in a towel. Grabbing her nightgown from the back of the bathroom door she slips it over her head and swears as the towel unravels. "Damn. I'm going to be up all night waiting for this stuff to dry." Sighing but making the best of it, Cook grabs a comb and her Williams and Sonoma catalogue and settles in to combing her hair dry while drooling over double boilers. The phone rings again. Cook closes her eyes but reaches for the phone. "Hello?"
"Where in the hell have you been all of my life?" The Judge asks in a husky voice. He'd rehearsed what he'd say all the times that he had gotten the voice mail and finally he was hearing her voice.
"JD." Cook murmurs. "It's really late."
"Then agree to meet me. Tomorrow. You name the time and the place."
"I just got back, I haven't even checked in really." Cook dodges.
"Pick the time and the place, Cookie." Judge insists. "This has gone on too long already."
"Fine. 4pm outside the courthouse main doors. We'll go for coffee." Cook gives in.
"Goodnight Margarita." Judge says softly.
"Don't call me that." Cook relents slightly. "'Night JD. I'll see you tomorrow."