Thursday - 6/23
SALEM PLACE
Kevin stood at one of the high-top tables at the Java Cafe, reading the menu boards. Mimi came in and ran over.
MIMI: Hey! Sorry I’m late!
KEVIN: You’re not late. You’re right on time, actually.
MIMI: Oh, thank goodness! Hi!
Mimi and Kevin laughed and hugged.
KEVIN: Hey, Meems. Good to see you again.
MIMI: You too!
Kevin and Mimi put in their orders and, after getting their drinks, went for a walk in Salem Place.
KEVIN: Man, this place has changed!
MIMI: Tell me about it. It’s different from what it was back when we were kids.
KEVIN: Remember DotCom?
MIMI: Oh, how could I forget? We all spent a lot of time hanging out there.
KEVIN: Yeah. Do you know if it’s still around?
MIMI: No idea. I just moved back, honestly. I came back to town for the reunion, and after spending a few days, decided to make my stay a bit more permanent.
KEVIN: That’s cool.
MIMI: What about you? Would you ever consider moving back?
KEVIN: Eh, probably not. As much as I sometimes miss Salem, and it is nice to come back for reunions and such, I prefer D.C.
MIMI: I get that. For years, I couldn’t imagine moving back after living in Arizona. But, here we are.
KEVIN: Here we are. So, what did make you decide to move back?
MIMI: Honestly, the reunion, as weird as I’m sure that sounds. Seeing Shawn and Belle, Philip, you…it brought back so many good memories.
KEVIN: No, that doesn’t sound weird at all. It makes perfect sense.
MIMI: What about D.C., then? That’s gotta be awesome.
KEVIN; It is! I’m working with this tech company, and it is amazing!
MIMI: I’m glad for you! You’re doing what you always wanted to do. That’s so great!
KEVIN: Thanks. It’s so good to see you again!
MIMI: You too! These last few weeks, they’ve brought back a lot of memories.
Kevin nodded.
MIMI: Kev?
KEVIN: Yeah?
MIMI: Do you ever miss it? You know, the way things used to be?
KEVIN: I’d be lying if I said I didn’t think about it from time to time. Not all of it, of course. Not Jan Spears or Jason Masters. But, there were a lot of good things about high school, too. I suppose more than anything, I miss you and I hanging out together. I kinda wish we’d lasted post-graduation.
They had stopped walking.
MIMI: So do I. To be honest, I don’t even remember why we broke up in the first place.
KEVIN: I got a tech scholarship out of state, and you went to Salem U. It wasn’t a bad breakup or anything.
MIMI: Just unfortunate that it had to happen at all.
They took each other’s hand and looked each other in the eye.
MIMI (softly): I’ve missed you.
KEVIN: I’ve missed you, too.
Mimi stepped forward, and she and Kevin kissed.
LOFT
Claire and Chase walked into their apartment.
CHASE: Here we are, home sweet home!
Claire sighed happily.
CLAIRE: It’s so nice to…be back!
CHASE: It’s nice to have you back. This place has been really quiet without my Songbird here.
CLAIRE: Well, it won’t stay like that for long.
CHASE: Sounds perfect to me.
Claire and Chase kissed.
CLAIRE: Looks like…you kept this place pretty clean.
CHASE: I do my best. Alanis, Joey, Ciara and Trix stopped over yesterday and gave me a bit of a hand. We all wanted to make sure it looked nice for you when you came home.
CLAIRE: Aw! That’s really sweet! Are any of them…stopping by?
CHASE: They said they might later. They wanted to give you time to get settled back here at home.
CLAIRE: Gotcha.
CHASE: So, what do you want to do first? Do you need help unpacking?
CLAIRE: No, I…should be good. What I really want to do is eat…real food. I appreciate the times you…were able to bring me outside food, ‘cause the stuff at the hospital was…not great.
Chase chuckled.
CHASE: I gotcha. Well, real food it is, then. What can I make you?
CLAIRE: Whatever. At this point…I’m happy just to be home. I’ll eat whatever you cook.
CHASE: Ah, a surprise then. Coming right up.
Chase kissed Claire on the cheek, and she laughed. Then, he went into the kitchen and got things out to prepare to cook.
DIMERA MANSION
Johnny entered Rolf’s lab. E.J. was there, watching a monitor.
JOHNNY: Father?
E.J.: Ah, there you are, my boy.
E.J. and Johnny hugged.
E.J.: Good to see you.
JOHNNY: You too. Hey, thanks for being subtle this morning. Meadow still doesn’t exactly know about all this, if you know what I mean.
E.J.: Yes, I gathered as much. You know, you’ll have to tell her at some point.
JOHNNY: I know, I know. It’s just…I’m not sure how she’ll react. She’s not like anyone else I’ve ever met before.
E.J.: Well, if she truly cares for you as much as you care for her, she’ll love you no matter what you do. Besides, you’re helping the family, she should respect that, if nothing else.
JOHNNY: Well, she is all about family.
E.J.: Then, I’m sure she’ll understand.
JOHNNY: The thing is, I think I’m kind of at the point where I’m moving beyond this.
E.J.’s brow furrowed.
E.J.: Beyond the family?
JOHNNY: No, of course not! I know that the family is everything, I know that we have to preserve the DiMera legacy and all that. I just think this project’s run its course, don’t you?
E.J.: In what sense?
JOHNNY: I mean, the tapes, they’ve run their course. They were fun, for a while. And we achieved our goal, people were weirded out by them. But, it’s been a while since the last tape, and I know, you were the one who convinced Uncle André to wait for me to be finished with this year of school, a fact for which I’m very grateful. The thing is, because it’s been a while, if the tapes start showing up again, it’ll just look suspicious. I mean, the Salem P.D. were already onto us before, if we make a move now, they’ll probably figure it out. They’re not as stupid as they look.
E.J. rubbed his chin, thoughtfully.
JOHNNY: Just think about it. If we just stop with the tapes, we can move on to bigger and better things.
E.J.: I am. Hmm. Yes, I see what you mean. The question is, how do we convince André that this is the best course of action?
JOHNNY: I’ve thought about that, too. We just need to provide a convincing scapegoat, and I know the perfect person.
