The Rest of Our Lives (Read 101,386 times)

[André DiMera]

That had to be so hard for Maggie to hear!

[heroicmuse]

What an emotional scene. I really feel for Maggie. She is not nearly ready to deal with losing Victor.

[Trey]

Poor Maggie... it's a lot to face knowing in 28 days you may be a widow.

[doolfan4life]

That was tough to swallow
I’m glad she left the room to take a moment
I feel like alcohol should have been removed from the room I’m a bit surprised Philip poured himself a drink in front of her given the nature of the conversation that was going to happen
He probably wasn’t even thinking about it
Maggie’s response was spot on to Victor’s personality
I’m also glad her and Philip had that pre talk before then others showed up, it should be comforting to know how Philip really feels about his father

[meemz]

Ah this was a hard one, ive always loved victor and philip relationship (ips and downs) , whats sweeter than teen philip asking victor dating advice!

I feel so sad for philip, come home chloe

Him standing by the bar and watching everything from afar is like hes just observing a dream , come to think of it This whole setback is such a Pinch me im dreaming moment

[mae00]

Poor Maggie. I know hearing that a time line had been placed on it made it worse for her. But Victor Kiriakis better be ready for a war. Maggie will NOT give up easily and I can see her going to the hospital and chewing him out good for not letting her in on this and that his butt better fight to come back to her. he will probably have to wake up just to shut her up. LOL

I hate that Philip is in this position, but I'm kinda surprised that he was insulted that Maggie would think that Philip didn't care that deeply about Victor. It wouldn't be a shock to anyone if Philip didn't fight for him. I understand how Philip sees things from the inside, but from the outside looking in, those two had a love hate relationship and it always seemed to be more hate than love.

[Kpatch]

Chapter 16

Chloe mindlessly flipped through a magazine in Mary’s waiting room on Friday afternoon, but she wasn’t focused on the journal. She was thinking about last night. She and Philip were supposed to talk after his meeting with Victor’s doctors, but at around 9 p.m. she got a text from him. It said, “Exhausted. Talk tomorrow?” She texted back. “Of course. Sleep well, my love.” Sitting in Mary’s waiting room, Chloe stared at the text exchange, suddenly gripped with the fear that this was a portent of things to come, the way they’d be communicating for the foreseeable future.

“Chloe.” Mary stood in the doorway of her office holding the door open. “Ready for you.”

Chloe put the magazine down and walked past Mary into the office. She took a seat. Mary sat in her usual chair waiting for Chloe to begin.

But instead of speaking, Chloe burst into tears. Mary held out a box of tissues and Chloe plucked out half a dozen. When she finally got hold of herself, she said, “I’m sorry. I didn’t see that coming.”

“Tell me what’s going on,” Mary said.

“Philip’s father had a stroke. We cut our Disney vacation short and on Wednesday, Philip went to Salem and I brought Parker back to Chicago.”

“How do you feel about that?”

“Awful. I mean, it made sense at the time. Philip wanted to see what the situation was and not subject Parker to everything. But now, we don’t know how long he might be there.” Chloe was speaking very fast as if she was afraid she’d run out of time before saying everything she needed to say. “See, Philip inherited the CEO job. He’s in charge of all of Titan now, so on top of dealing with his father possibly dying, he has this new responsibility. It’s too much.”

“For you or for Philip?”

Chloe thought for a moment before saying, “Both. Well, I guess I can’t speak for Philip but my heart aches for him. I know him so well and I know this is killing him. He’s trying to put on a brave face, but it’s just so much to deal with all at once. And he’s torn because of me and Parker and the baby.”

“Baby?”

“Oh. I didn’t have a chance to tell you. Just before the wedding, I found out I’m pregnant. That’s another thing I wanted to talk to you about. When and how to tell Parker.”

“Is this baby a good thing?” Mary asked.

Nodding, she said, “We were both thrilled at the prospect of anticipating a baby together, going to OB appointments, seeing sonograms, finding out if it’s a boy or a girl. But now, being apart, I feel so empty. I know it’s only been a couple days but I don’t know when it’s going to end. Or if it’s going to end. Things are going to change with Philip’s new job. I don’t know when Philip will be able to come home, or when me and Parker might go to Salem.”

“What’s stopping you from going to Salem?” Mary asked without emotion.

“Philip needs to focus,” Chloe said without hesitation, almost sounding rehearsed. “He needs space.”

“How does that make you feel?”

Her shoulders slumped. “Rationally? I understand, of course. But irrationally, I feel like me and Parker have been relegated to the back of the line. We’re not a priority for Philip right now. And how could we be with everything going on?” Chloe pressed a tissue to her nose and sniffled. “I think I told you that Victor and I don’t get along. In fact, for years he tried everything to keep me and Philip apart. He even gave Philip an ultimatum to choose between me and Titan just before we got married.” She waved at the air in front of her. “Philip’s not about to take that from his father, I know that. But I can’t help but thinking Victor won. He finally found a way to keep me and Philip apart.” She started crying again. “How crazy am I to be thinking that?”

“You’re not crazy, Chloe,” Mary said evenly. “We all have irrational thoughts that go through our minds from time to time, and this is a safe place to talk about them. No one is judging you. So tell me. Do you really believe this was Victor’s grand plan?”

“No. Of course I don’t think he purposely had a stroke to throw our lives off course,” Chloe said sincerely. “Believe it or not, I want Victor to get well. He’s Philip’s father and Parker’s grandfather and they love him. This isn’t about me, and I feel so selfish saying this, but, I’m miserable.”

“Of course it’s about you. All this? It affects you too. So tell me, what would make you less miserable?”

[heroicmuse]

I'm glad Chloe is having this session. Hopefully, it will help her work through her fears and resentments before they have a chance to create a wedge between her and Philip.

[André DiMera]

So glad Chloe is having a session with Mary!

[doolfan4life]

I’m glad she had this session
Everyone deals with grief differently
She didn’t want to add this to Philip and that’s fair enough
3 years later I still can’t really talk to my husband about how his fathers death has effected me because he never really deals with his own grief, I often listen the odd times he’s felt like talking about it but once he’s said what he needs to he shuts the conversation down
The only difference is unlike Chloe I loved my father in law as if he were my own father
Chloe’s guilt over her relationship with victor is driving a lot of this and add in pregnancy hormones it’s an awful way to feel
I think her and Philip need to discuss her bringing parker to Salem
Parker should be able to say goodbye if Vic doesn’t make it and if he does make it happy days for all

[meemz]

Interesting, very interesting 🧐

Its a very real thought “ victor won” she’s always been in this competition of sorts , proving herself worthy of philip to his parents. Started even during that dinner they had with victor as teens.

Shes also pregnant and her emotions are everywhere, moving parker to salem then a baby coming thats also alot of change on little parker. Tough situation with no right answer but they need one and trust they will get through it together.

[mae00]

Chloe needs to slow down. It's been 2 days and she's already freaking out about being shoved to the back burner.

This has always been Chloe's problem. She needs 24/7 reassurance and attention and when she doesn't get it, she goes into self destruct mode and starts seeking that attention elsewhere.

It's interesting that she thinks that Victor has won. Will she still feel the same way when she learns that Victor could be pretty much a vegetable with a very short time remaining?

[Kpatch]

Chapter 17

“Tell me, what would make you less miserable?” Mary asked Chloe.

Chloe looked upward as if that’s where she would find the answer. “I want everything to be the way it was. I want to live here in Chicago with Philip, work at Titan Media. I loved going to the Randolph Street office knowing Philip was one flight up and Parker was down the hall. Parker is so much better thanks to you and the staff at daycare.” She looked at Mary again and held up her hands. “But really what I want isn’t important. We have to deal with the reality of the situation, which is Philip in Salem with the weight of the world on his shoulders and me and Parker here in Chicago until he’s ready for us. Philip has a company to run, the whole company. The Media division is a few hundred people, but Titan Corporation is thousands of people. They need Philip’s leadership. I mean, every one of those employees has a life, a family that depends on their salary and their health benefits and their retirement plans.”

“What about you?”

“Well, I depend on Philip for much more than those things. I miss him so much. You know, tomorrow will be our one-week anniversary. Married one week and we aren’t even together.”

“Suppose you ended up having to move to Salem. What would that be like for you?”

Chloe shuddered. “Ugh. I have a lot of negative experiences associated with Salem, not the least of which is the prostitution.” She shuddered again. “I don’t want to live in Salem long term. And I definitely don’t want to live in the mansion. Plus, I don’t think it’s a healthy environment for Parker. I’ve lived there and it’s pretty claustrophobic. Did I tell you that my former mother-in-law is married to Victor?”

“Knowing the interrelationships in Salem, I guess that shouldn’t surprise me,” Mary said with a smile.

“Maggie’s a nice enough woman. A little judgmental at times, but she’s a kind, caring person.” Switching thoughts, Chloe said, “Parker has friends here. He starts Montessori school in the fall. We checked out a lot of academies here in Chicago. I have no idea what schools are like in Salem anymore. And what would Parker do without you?”

“Well, I know it’s not ideal,” Mary said, “but if it comes to it, we can try Zoom calls. Children sometimes have a hard time sitting still for a video chat, but it’s not unheard of. We can give it a try. Eventually you may find another psychiatrist in Salem.”

“As long as it’s not Marlena Evans,” Chloe mumbled.

“Let’s get back on topic. What I’m hearing you telling me is that you have no control over the current situation. What would make you feel like you had some control?”

Chloe thought for a moment. “I want to be with Philip. Parker needs his father and I need my husband. I want to feel connected to him again. I want to be able to comfort him, to be comforted by him, and to talk about the baby with him. I suppose … hmm I suppose we could go just for a visit, make it clear I’m not there to get in the way. I’m pretty sure Philip would be glad to see us.”

“It sounds like you’ve got a plan.” Chloe smiled a small smile and nodded. “What I’m most concerned about, especially with your pregnancy, is your stress level. I hear it in your voice and I see it all over your face and your body language. I can write you a low-dose prescription for Celexa. How far along are you?”

“About 11 weeks. I’d really rather avoid any drugs if I can help it.”

“That’s fine.” Mary scribbled on her prescription pad and handed Chloe the prescription. “Here. You can speak with your OBGYN about it, and since you have a hard copy of the prescription, you can have it filled here or in Salem, wherever it’s convenient. In the meantime, I’ll email you some stress management techniques.”

Chloe’s lips parted. “Oh my god, I just remembered that homework you gave me, that you said was due a month after the honeymoon trip.”

“Let’s table that for now,” Mary said calmly. “You have enough on your plate. We’ll come back to it eventually, but I don’t want it to become yet another source of stress.” Mary glanced at the time display on her monitor. “We’re almost out of time, so I’m going to email you an article that was published in Child Psychology Magazine. It was written by a colleague of mine and it offers good advice on how to tell a child you’re expecting a baby. Call me if you have any questions about it."

Chloe rose from her seat. “You know, Mary, my family has grown pretty attached to you.”

“We’ve been through a lot together,” Mary agreed.

“I know this isn’t goodbye or anything, but I want to thank you for everything. You’ve been a godsend. Is it okay if I hug you?”

Mary rose from her chair and stepped closer to Chloe. “I wouldn’t let you leave without a hug.” She opened her arms and Chloe embraced her.

[heroicmuse]

I think mae00 is right. Who marks their one-week anniversary? It's not like the 8+ months that Eric has been gone on the real DAYS, and Philip is an hour away. I wish Mary had called Chloe on this, though most of her advice was good.

I'm concerned about Chloe taking medication while pregnant. Hopefully the stress management techniques will help.

[André DiMera]

Hopefully Chloe will talk to her OBGYN before taking that medication.