The Second Time Around (Read 7,678 times)

[gapeach]

He better have a good answer AND PROOF that he is telling the truth!!

[Kpatch]

Poor Philip. Knowing him, there's a good excuse, but Stephanie's old wounds just opened up and she's too hurt to hear it. I hurt for both of them!

[unavitasegreta]

Chapter Thirty-Eight

“Ivy!” Kayla exclaimed, not expecting to see Stephanie’s mother-in-law at University Hospital. “This is a surprise. I hope you aren’t here to see a doctor.”

Ivy shook her head. “No, I’m here about Stephanie.”

“What about her?” Kayla asked.

“What happened?”

“I … what happened … when? What is going on?”

“I don’t know,” Ivy shrugged. “We got a message asking if Ava could stay with us in New York for a few extra days. Of course, I’m not going to say no to that. I love the little monster like crazy. Then Stephanie wasn’t home when we dropped Ava off a few days later. It’s been a week and all the nanny will say is that Stephanie is busy. She’s not answering my calls. And look how vague she is when I text her…”

Kayla took the phone that Ivy held out to her, pulling her glasses on to look at the screen.

“You haven’t spoken to her lately…” Ivy started.

“No,” Kayla confirmed, reading Ivy’s phone. “Only texts. I just assumed she’s been busy, but now that you mention it…” She handed Ivy her phone back and took out her own, scanning through her messages from Stephanie. They were pretty vague and short.

“Nothing is wrong with Ava. Julian and I picked her up for dinner last night and kept her until daycare this morning. We tried to talk to her, but she just wants to talk about starting pre-K and her new friends.”

“She has friends?” Kayla smiled.

“I think they’re more like followers. You know how Ava is…”

Kayla nodded. “Maybe nothing is wrong with Stephanie then and she’s just busy at work.”

“Do you really think that?” Ivy asked, skeptical. Kayla didn’t have an answer. “Do you think this is about that man she’s been seeing?”

Kayla sighed. “I don’t want to think that, but…”

“What do we do?” Ivy asked.

“If you’re worried about Ava…”

“I told you she’s fine,” Ivy stated. “I am worried about Stephanie. I may not have given birth to her, but she’s my daughter too.”

“Hang on one second,” Kayla held up her hand, then reached for the computer mouse. She clicked a few times, started typing, and then pulled her stethoscope from around her neck. “Okay, let’s go.”

“Where?” Ivy asked.

“Chicago, of course.”

“Of course,” Ivy replied, following Kayla to the elevator.

[heroicmuse]

Ooh road trip!

I'm glad Kayla and Ivy don't have petty jealous problems. Stephanie needs both of them now.

[Kpatch]

Stephanie is retreating. I adore Ivy! She is the best mother-in-law ever. I hope the two moms will be able to pull Stephanie out of (what I assume is) her funk. Kayla will want to kill Philip, I am certain of that.

[fluffysmom]

Just got caught up on the story. Philip should have known better than to keep a secret about Melanie.

I hope Kayla and Ivy can help up Stephanie.

I hope Stephanie will listen to Philip soon.

[unavitasegreta]

Chapter Thirty-Nine

“Oh, thank god, you’re here!” Stephanie exclaimed, seeing her mother-in-law come into her bedroom. She folded her suitcase closed and zipped it up.

“You should have called,” Kayla told her, crossing the room to hug her daughter.

“We’re here to cheer you up,” Ivy added.

“That’s sweet, but it’ll be fine. I just need to be on the scene to fix things.”

“On the scene with Philip?” Kayla asked, confused.

Stephanie looked up and she tugged the suitcase off the bed. “Philip is definitely not going to China with me!”

“China?” Ivy frowned.

“What is in China?” Kayla asked.

“One of our factories had a huge fire and we’re supposed to roll out a new perfume next week. They think the entire batch might be contaminated. I have to be at the airport in twenty minutes. I was afraid you didn’t get my texts!” she rambled on.

Ivy looked at her, confused. “What texts?”

Stephanie looked behind her, at her mother. “Did I accidentally text you too, Mom? I meant to just send the message to Ivy. You didn’t have to come all this way to stay with Ava.”

“What … where are you going?” Kayla asked.

“China,” Stephanie told her. “Our factory caught fire. Huge crisis. Everyone is freaking out. I thought I didn’t have to go, but it’s been almost a week and no one knows what is going on over there. I’ve barely seen Ava. I slept at work the other night. She’s going to be so excited that you’re both here.” Stephanie stood her suitcase uprright and popped up the handle.

“You’ve been working?” Ivy asked.

“Yeah…” Stephanie replied, looking around for where she’d put her carryon bag. “Oh, passport…” She turned back to the bedside table, opened a drawer, and started to rummage through it.

“We thought you were depressed…” Kayla prodded.

“I haven’t had time to be depressed,” Stephanie stated, finding her passport. She pushed the drawer shut and looked around for her carryon.

“So you and Philip broke up?” Kayla guessed, watching Stephanie. She was clearly avoiding looking at either of them.

“I don’t know,” Stephanie replied, finding the bag and unzipping the top. “Well, I do know. Yes, we broke up. But I don’t want to talk about it. I have enough to deal with right now,” she insisted. “Ava is on a field trip to Wrigley Field. I can’t wait until she gets home. Can one of you tell her that I’ll call tonight as soon as my plane lands?” She shoved the passport into the bag and then zipped it back.

Ivy and Kayla watched as she walked to the door, neither sure what to say.

“Uh, yeah, sure,” Ivy finally replied.

“Thank you, thank you!” Stephanie let go of the suitcase handle long enough to hug first her mother, then Ivy. Her phone then buzzed. She felt her pockets until she found it. “Okay, my car is here. Got to go. Love you both! Figure out who can stay with Ava. Thanks. Bye!”

Ivy and Kayla watched as Stephanie left the bedroom. When they heard the front door close, they turned to one another.

“What just happened?” Kayla asked.

“I’m not sure,” Ivy admitted.

“So she and Philip did break up,” Kayla said sadly.

“She seemed okay with that.”

“She’s not,” Kayla insisted. “I know my daughter. She’s trying to focus on whatever is going on at work to avoid her emotions.”

“Like how she threw herself into taking care of Ava after Ashby died,” Ivy remembered.

Kayla nodded. “I had a feeling things wouldn’t work out for them. I wish I’d been wrong.”

“Me too,” Ivy agreed, touching Kayla’s shoulder.

[heroicmuse]

I'm glad Stephanie has these two women in her life. When she is ready they'll be there for her. That's even more important than whether she and Philip work things out (though I hope they do.)

[fluffysmom]

I'm glad both ladies are there to support Stephanie when she is ready to open up.

[Kpatch]

China? That's a long trip. I hope Stephanie isn't gone for long though. Philip will be beside himself not being able to see her and try to make things right. Maybe he will follow her there if he finds out where she is. Oooh, Maryanne can tell Philip. Maryanne likes him. LOL.

[unavitasegreta]

Chapter Forty

“Did you hear anything from Philip?” Maggie asked, closing the door to Parker’s bedroom. Victor was standing in the hallway, typing on his phone.

“No,” Victor sighed. “And Brady hasn’t heard from him either.”

“Daniel said the same thing when he dropped off Parker. I know it was a stretch to ask him, but I thought Melanie might have heard something.”

“This is our fault,” Victor said sadly.

She stepped next to him, resting her hand against Victor’s chest.  “Why would you think that?” 

“If we talk out here, we’re going to wake Parker up,” Victor told her, taking her hand and continuing down the hallway.

“What did you do, Victor?” Maggie asked, following him into their bedroom.

“I didn’t do anything,” he defended, turning around to face her.

“You said-”

“I know what I said,” Victor snapped, a scowl on his face.

“So what did you do, Victor?” Maggie demanded.

“I didn’t do anything,” he repeated, clearly annoyed. “I was referring to our anniversary,” Victor reminded her.

“Oh,” Maggie spoke. “You don’t think that had anything to do with it, do you?” she asked, fingering the necklace that rested against her collarbone.

“I hope not,” Victor sighed, wrapping his arms around her. “I’ve caused my son enough heartache.”

“You and Kate both,” Maggie added.

“You aren’t helping,” Victor noted.

“Sorry,” Maggie replied, resting her head against Victor’s shoulder. “I’m sure they’ll be fine. Look at how many times we broke up.”

“That was different,” Victor insisted.

“How?”

“Because I’m irresistible. You could never stay away from me for very long.”

Maggie pulled back and looked at him incredulously, trying to hide her smile and act serious. “You have lost your mind, Victor!”

“I did,” Victor confirmed, “it happened the day you walked into my life.”

Maggie laughed, “good save, Kiriakis.”

“Have you spoken to Kayla since she got back from Chicago?” Victor asked, guiding her toward the loveseat.

“She didn’t say much,” Maggie replied, sitting down. She tucked her legs beneath herself. “But she did seem pretty angry with Philip. I didn’t want to push it, so I changed the subject.” She reached for Victor’s hand. “I’m sorry, sweetheart.”

“You tried,” Victor sighed.

“Being with Stephanie has inadvertently brought Philip back into your life. I know you don’t like to talk about these things, but their break-up doesn’t have to mean that you’ll lose that contact.”

“He’s already not taking my calls,” Victor pointed out.

“He isn’t taking anyone’s calls,” Maggie reminded him. “I know that you love Daniel. And you certainly love Brady and Justin and Sonny like they’re your own.” Victor didn’t respond, thus Maggie continued. “I love Jennifer and Hope, but it doesn’t make me miss my daughters any less.”

“No, it doesn’t,” Victor agreed, squeezing her hand.

[unavitasegreta]

Next Week:

Stephanie has an unexpected visitor.
We learn how Ashby died.

[Kpatch]

What a powerful chapter. I actually felt Philip's pain through Maggie and Victor's conversation, even though Philip wasn't even in the scene. I loved Maggie's point about loving other members of the family, but it's not the same as loving your own children. Well done!

Thanks for the previews too! Nice pre-emptive move, because you know we were gonna ask.

[fluffysmom]

I feel bad for Philip that he seems to have withdrawn from everyone. Victor seems to want to help Philip but doesn't know how.

Thanks for the interesting previews.

[heroicmuse]

I loved the Magic scene, especially Maggie admitting she misses her daughters (something which is missing from the actual show)

Can't wait for next week, especially to learn the backstory on Ashby!