KING'S BAY MEMORIAL HOSPITAL
"I had a feeling I'd find you here,"
the voice says as a hand on Claire's
shoulder causes her to turn around.
She stifles the gasp that starts
to emerge. "Oh, hi."
"Hi," Andy
says. "I came by to visit
Brent and I thought you might be working."
"Indeed I am. So how are you doing?"
"Things could be worse."
"They always can," Claire
says wryly. "Never doubt that."
"I'll keep that in mind. You sound
a little down yourself."
"No, I'm fine," she answers. "There's
just tons of stuff going on, as usual." Suddenly she feels the need to
change the subject. "Have you had any luck with
your mother lately? I've
been thinking about the fire ... Do you think it's possible that
Nick had
something to do with it?"
"I don't know." The frankness of
his tone makes it clear that the thought has not only crossed his mind
but spent quite a bit of time lingering there. "From what I've heard, nothing
has arisen to suggest that, and if I'm even going to mention the possibility
to my mother, I need some proof."
"You're not having any luck with
her?"
"Oh, I'm having luck -- of the bad
variety. She refuses to listen to anything I say when it comes to Nick.
It's like she's absolutely unwilling to consider the possibility that staying
with him may not be in her best interests."
"I don't understand that. All those
months she spent trying to separate you and Danielle -- wasn't the point
that she wanted you to herself, that she was scared of losing you?"
Andy sighs heavily at the mention
of that time. "As far as I understand, yes. But my mother is very ..."
"Stubborn?"
He cracks a grin. "I was going to
say 'proud,' but I suppose it amounts to the same thing. Regardless ...
the point is that she's not one to grovel. Even the amount of begging me
to forgive her that she did do was surprising."
"So do you think she's just trying
to act like she's in control of the situation?"
"I think that the idea of remarrying
and finding happiness on her own came at precisely the right time for her
to prove to me that she doesn't need me," he says. "Just like I
made it seem as though I didn't need her when I became involved with Danielle.
She's desperate to show that she is capable of living a happy life without
me at the center of it, I think."
Claire rolls her hand over as she
continues the thought. "And Nick is giving her the perfect opportunity
to do that."
"Exactly." His tone shifts now, suddenly
infected by the weariness that the last several months have injected into
him. "I've tried, Claire. I have nothing concrete to show her, and I'm
beginning to think that even if I did, it wouldn't be enough. Maybe I've
done all that I can ... Maybe I should just let my mother and Nick be."
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