KING'S BAY MEMORIAL HOSPITAL
Andy waits, mesmerized, for whatever
it is Danielle has to say.
"I never really told you this at
the time," she begins, obviously torn between wanting to get this out and
not knowing how to express it. "Everything happened so fast ... after the
wedding, when I went back to San Diego and you followed ..."
The rambling is wearing on Andy's
patience. "What are you trying to say?"
"I ... I just want to thank you,"
she says. "I know how hard that time was for you. You have to believe it
was difficult for me, too."
His lips pursed, Andy gives the slightest
nod. It comes almost against his wishes: Part of him is still clinging
to the belief that Danielle's actions at the end of their relationship
were horribly selfish and that she had no regard for how he was hurt.
"You were willing to accept my decision,"
she continues, "even if it was hard. You didn't try to guilt me into staying
with you or cut me down. You knew how important it was for me to pursue
my career. I can't thank you enough for giving me that chance, for letting
me go out and do what I had to do--what I wanted to do--without making
it more difficult for me."
"There wasn't much I could do about
it, was there?" Andy shrugs. Danielle isn't sure if it's resignation or
sarcasm that she hears tinging the statement.
Andy's next words clear up the confusion
for her. "Trying to hang onto you or making the situation worse wasn't
going to bring back what I wanted to have between us. It was difficult
to let go, but in the long run it would have been harder to be stuck in
an unhappy situation."
She breathes a tiny sigh of relief,
clutching her hands together in front of her. "I'm glad to hear you say
that."
"I'm glad to hear myself say it,
too. Danielle, I want to thank you, too."
"For what?"
"For opening up the world to me,"
he says. "For helping me be my own man. Without you, I might still be stuck
in that mansion with
my mother!"
The thought that the mansion no longer
exists flickers across his mind and somewhere inside of him, a deep string
of sadness is plucked. He tries to focus elsewhere right now.
Clearly Danielle doesn't know how
to respond, but her expression tells Andy that she accepts his gratitude.
"So how are things?" she asks, the
curiosity that has been creeping in the back of her head suddenly springing
to the fore.
"Good," he answers quickly, as if
giving any other answer would be possible. "I'm doing well."
"That's good to hear." A slight hesitation,
and then: "How about your mother?"
"Difficult, as usual." They share
a momentary acknowledgement of their history with Katherine, like some
sort of inside joke. "She's remarried."
"Oh really?"
"Yes ... although if you ask me,
it's more of a fiasco than a marriage."
"I'm sorry to hear that. It would
be good for her to find some real happiness."
"That's the problem," Andy says.
"She's trying to convince everyone, including herself, that she is happy.
But this marriage--there are problems."
"That's too bad." Danielle hesitates
again but curiosity again gets the better of her. "How are you and she
getting along?"
Now it is Andy's turn to be at a
loss. "I'm not sure," he confesses. "Things were getting better, but then
she agreed to marry this man
and it's all gone downhill. I'm trying to
convince her that this marriage is not in her best interests, but she's
won't listen to me -- or she won't admit that she's listening."
A very genuine grin toys with the
corners of Danielle's lips. "You amaze me."
"What?"
"After all your mother put us through,
after all she did to you -- you're still willing to patch things up with
her and try to help her. That's admirable."
He can't quite agree, but he does
say, "I do care about her. She's my mother."
"Well, whether she realizes it or
not, she's very lucky to have you as a son."
"Thanks." The temptation to stay
and talk with Danielle is strong, but something inside of Andy knows that
they have said everything that needs to be said. And a new sense of urgency
has come over him.
"Can you do me a favor?"
"Sure," she says, looking a bit surprised.
"Tell Brent that I came by. I, uh,
there's something I need to go do."
"All right." Danielle gives a small
wave. "It was good to see you."
Andy is already hurrying back to
the elevator. "It was good to see you, too."
He steps into the elevator and disappears
from sight. Danielle remains in place, her arms folded in front of her.
What was that all about? she wonders.
One .
Two .
Three .
Four .
Five .
Six
Main Page .
Current Episode .
Episode Archives .
Story Recap .
Characters .
Making Prints .
Interact .
Around King's Bay .
Links
