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Post by slyn11 on Dec 6, 2012 14:16:04 GMT -5
I was asked to put the two flashbacks of Philip's last birthday in the same post. Here ya go!
I wonder which lady will give him the best birthday this year....
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Chloe's Memory (phloe)
She had been with Philip on his last birthday, not that they actually took the time to celebrate, no one was in the party mood. Melanie was still in the hospital recovering from the gunshot wound, Philip had been practically living with her in her hospital room, only going home periodically to shower and shave. They all had just found out that Carly and Daniel were Melanie’s parents, so emotions were running high, and all focus was on Melanie.
Daniel was never around, spending most of his time with Carly and Melanie, so Chloe was left alone to grieve the loss of the baby she had created in her mind. The clinical term might have been hysterical pregnancy, a phantom baby created by her brain, but to Chloe the baby had felt very real. She felt like she lost a part of herself, when she was told there was no heartbeat, that her womb was empty. Empty that was the only way to describe it, she felt hollow and worthless, and at the time nothing seemed like it would ever be able to fill her again.
She had been wandering through the halls of the hospital that night, hoping to run into Daniel, instead she ran into him, Philip, sitting alone, in the hospital waiting room. Daniel was in with Melanie, and Philip was not so patiently waiting for the chance to see his wife. Chloe stood back for a bit, just observing him, unsure whether she’d go to him. She was pretty bad company in her current mental state, but then Philip had looked up, his eyes bright blue against the dark navy of his button down shirt, and Chloe couldn’t help but smile, probably her first genuine smile in days.
So they sat together, exiled from their loves, still shut out, but no longer alone. As always, they managed to find each other. He held her hand that night, as he sat by her side. It had started with a tight squeeze, a physical confirmation of his support and understanding, but instead of releasing her hand, he had held it, intertwining her fingers with his, letting their joined hands fall on his knee. They remained that way, connected, close, as they talked, not realizing the minutes had faded into hours. Then it was midnight, a bell clanged somewhere in the distance, perhaps someone’s watch, or an alarm set to alert the nurses of passing time.
It was then Chloe had remembered, staring into his eyes, longing to brush his hair from his face, that it was his birthday, officially with the 12 o’clock hour. Something about being with him at that exact moment, made Chloe stir, perhaps it was nostalgia, maybe her loneliness during Daniel’s current state of preoccupation, or it could have been something more, that little something that was always there, despite her best efforts to ignore it. Feeling a bit like Cinderella, sitting in the presence of her prince, content and at ease, Chloe let go of his hand, and caressed his cheek. If Philip was startled by her action, he didn’t let it show, instead he smiled and leaned into her palm.
“Happy Birthday,” she said, only loud enough for him to hear.
He smiled wider at her words, his dimples appearing prominently, the first real smile she had seen from him since the wedding. So taken with that smile, she leaned over and kissed him, soft and sweet, on his faintly stubbled cheek.
“Don’t forget to make a wish,” she said as she pulled away and settled back into her own seat.
Philip looked down at his lap, saying nothing, but his smile remained. Again something within Chloe stirred, making her pause in an attempt to decipher the feeling. There was something changing inside her, and for the first time since she had found out there was no baby, she felt a step closer to whole, a little less empty. Philip grabbed her hand again, jarring Chloe’s focus back to him. He was alerting her to the door opening, and Daniel hovering in the doorway of Melanie’s room, his back toward them, as he continued to speak with Melanie.
Philip jumped up, eager to go in to his wife, and Chloe’s heart inexplicably sank just a little. It had been so nice, just being alone with him, she wasn’t quite ready for it to end, for the painful reality of her life to resume. Chloe remained in her chair, watching Philip walk away, trying to pull herself together before Daniel arrived. Then Philip stopped, turning back to face her.
“Chloe.Thank you for tonight. I really needed this.” He looked down hesitating. “I really needed you,” he added when he finally looked up to connect with her eyes.
Chloe searched for the words to convey what she was feeling, to let him know what he had just given her in a few short hours in the hospital waiting area, but as it often happened in her life, especially with him, she couldn’t quite articulate her thoughts, all she could do was continue to stare, letting herself fall into those very familiar blue eyes. Philip took a step toward her, and Chloe rose to her feet, anticipating something, though she didn’t know what. Things had shifted somewhere in the midst of midnight and sweet kisses. Chloe could tell there was something more about to fall from his lips. But then the door behind them shut and Daniel finally exited the room, breaking their spell. Philip dropped his eyes, and turned his back, leaving Chloe feeling on the brink of empty again.
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Melanie's Memory (phelanie)
His breathing had changed, no longer warm and heavy on her neck, flutters of eyelashes against her skin, tickling her into a smile. He was awake.
“What are you doing over there?” he asked, his voice still scratchy from sleep. He reached for her hand and stroked her knuckles gently with the pad of his thumb. “Were you watching me sleep?”
“Busted.” She smiled. “I was trying to see if you looked any older.”
“Did I sprout wrinkles in a day?”
“I think you always had those, around the eyes,” she giggled as she caressed his face.
He shifted up on the pillow, so they were eye to eye. “Those laugh lines give me character and make me look distinguished.”
“I agree you look quite handsome, for an older guy.”
Philip scrunched up his face into a frown. “You make it sound like I’m a senior citizen. I’m only 28.”
“Happy Birthday Mr. Kiriakis,” she said planting a soft kiss on his lips.
Philip’s eyes shuttered closed as he smiled. “Thank you Mrs. Kiriakis,” he said nuzzling closer to her side.
“Any big plans for the day?” she asked.
“Definitely. I plan on spending it with my best girl.”
“Oh so you and your mom going to dinner?”
“You’re a little teaser today,” he chuckled, rubbing his nose against her cheek. “Mama’s boy allusions aside, I actually was talking about you. Me and you together all day. How does that sound?”
“Sounds like every other day. Just because I have to be stuck in this hospital room, doesn’t mean you have to be. I don’t want you wasting your birthday in this place.”
“The only place I want to be is with you.”
“I want you to have a good birthday though. I’m sucky company, I can’t even eat cake,” she said with a slight pout.
“We can celebrate my birthday later, when you’re released.”
“It won’t be the same. I was hoping this year I‘d get your birthday right.”
“What do you mean?” he asked turning to face her.
Melanie took a deep breath, and brushed the hair from her face. “Well on your last birthday we weren’t exactly close.”
“When you were working at Titan?”
“Yeah. I bought you a gift and I was about to give it to you when Stephanie came into the office. You sort of pushed me away after that, said it wasn’t appropriate to give you a gift,” she admitted reluctantly. She hated thinking back to those days, when he couldn’t stand the sight of her.
“I think that actually is in the company handbook,” he said clearing his throat.
Melanie could tell Philip was getting uncomfortable with the conversation, she should have changed the subject, but something wouldn’t let her. A part of her needed him to know how things used to be between them, how he used to make her feel.
“Didn’t stop you from accepting a gift from Stephanie. I sort of peeped around the corner and watched her give you an Ipod.” Stephanie had given him an Ipod and a kiss, even now, after being married to Philip, the memory of that moment, still hurt.
“I was such a jerk back then. How did you put up with me?”
“I have a soft spot for jerks I guess. Besides it wasn’t your fault you liked Stephanie and not me. I kept setting myself up to get crushed by you.” She never let herself get the hint with him, she always managed to convince herself to hold on another day, that tomorrow he would see the light. All those tomorrows added up to a year, a full year of being rejected.
“You know I liked you back then,” he said tilting her head up with her chin, so that she would look him in the eyes.
“I did know which made it worse.” She shook her head out of his grasp, not wanting to lose herself in the blue of eyes just yet. “It doesn’t matter now though, it’s in the past.”
“Ancient history,” he said pulling her onto his chest, careful not to disturb her tubes. “Thankfully I came to my senses and married you. Now we’re never going to be apart.”
He pressed kisses into her hair, held her so close she could feel his fingers boring into her arm. He needed her to believe him, she could feel it.
“Except today when you go out and celebrate your birthday away from the hospital,” she said looking up at him.
His whole body moved as he shook his head “Unless you’re coming with me, I’m not budging.”
“Stop being stubborn,” she scolded with a wag of her finger.
“Nope. So tell me what you got me for my birthday last year.”
Melanie tensed, it was embarrassing enough just reliving the day in her mind, she didn’t want to tell him the rest. “It was stupid, nothing compared to an Ipod.”
“Tell me. I want to know.”
She took a deep breath. They were married now, it wouldn’t hurt for him to know. “I bought you a CD. Barry Manilow - Unplugged.”
Philip was still for a moment, not saying anything. “Hmm what made you choose that?” he finally asked.
Melanie shrugged. “I heard some of the execs picking with you one day, teasing you about how you still have CDs and vinyl, saying you probably had Barry Manilow’s greatest hits.”
“So you decided to get me a gag gift?” He still hadn’t relaxed, as if he were holding his breath for her response.
“No I thought you’d like it, something about your eyes when they were teasing you, like they’d hit a nerve. So I snooped in your office once when you were at meeting, found your CD player and your CDs. I saw that you actually did have some Barry Manilow, hidden behind the others.”
He rested his head on top of hers as he spoke. “My mom used to play a lot of music when I was growing up. Before she had kids she used to be a groupie for some band, I think David Bowie or something, but anyway once she settled down she didn’t go to concerts anymore, but she used to have her own private jam sessions with her records. She would play The Dead, The Stones, and Bowie for hours.”
“How did Barry Manilow fit in there?”
“She had some of his stuff too. She used to wind down to it, smoke some weed, have a glass of wine, you know chill out.”
“I actually can picture Kate doing this.”
“After the Manilow I knew she would be coming upstairs to cuddle with me in bed, and she’d hum songs to me until I fell asleep. I like his music, it calms me.”
“Those are some nice memories you have there,” she said tearing up at the image of a little Philip sleeping close to his mom. It was amazing he kept something like that with him all these years, how he held the feelings he got from a song still close to his heart.
“I would’ve loved the gift Mel,” he said sliding down the bed so they were eye to eye once more. “I’m sorry I was too stupid to accept it from you.” He leaned in and kissed her, harder than he’d done since she had been admitted to the hospital, not letting the tubes hamper his intensity.
She shook her head, pulling away from his kiss. She didn’t need his apologies, not anymore. She just needed him. “I returned the CD, but on your next birthday I promise I’ll give you some Barry Manilow, to help keep you calm.”
“You keep me calm, just having you by my side, you’re all I need,” he said hugging her to his chest again, a soft sigh escaping his lips as she squeezed his torso to be even closer to him. “But I won’t turn down that CD.”
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