Previously…
– After learning of his one-night stand with Molly and the resulting pregnancy, a devastated Claire avoided Brent.
– Diane reluctantly helped Zane get a job at KBAY.
– Samantha showed Claudia the locket that she’d found among the late Henry’s belongings — the locket that was a perfect match for the one given to Diane by Therese DeLuca’s sister. Claudia reacted angrily but claimed not to recognize it.
– Elly bristled when Spencer questioned her about whether Loretta had blackmailed her.
The sound of a grunt momentarily fills Diane Bishop’s condominium. A moment later, she lets out a sigh of relief as the cork gently pops out of the bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon that she is holding.
“I could’ve come to you,” Diane says as she pours the rich red wine into two glasses.
“No need. I was out handling things for a few clients,” Sarah Fisher Gray says from the other side of Diane’s breakfast nook. “Besides, your text had me intrigued.”
Diane covertly swallows the lump in her throat as she passes one glass over the countertop to Sarah.
“Is it about the lockets?” Sarah asks as she accepts the wine.
“What?”
“The lockets that your dad and Therese DeLuca had?” Sarah’s voice lilts upward at the end, as if to question how it could be possible that Diane doesn’t know what she’s referencing.
“Oh. Right.” Quickly Diane takes a sip of her wine. “Samantha said she saw you right after she asked my mother about the locket.”
“It sounds like your mother has a terrible poker face.”
“I’ve known that for years. But yeah. Clearly she recognized it. I’m thinking my father must’ve had an affair with Therese before he and my mother got engaged. It’s very Claudia Bishop to hold a grudge fifty years later.”
“Yikes.” Sarah makes an exaggerated face as Diane rounds the counter and joins her. Diane sits on the walnut bar chair beside her friend.
“How’s Matt doing?” Diane asks. “Do they have the procedure scheduled yet?”
“Jake is awake, so they’re planning to do it soon. Mia doesn’t want to tell him who the donor is until afterward, though.”
“Do you think that’s a good idea?”
Sarah’s shoulders lift in a shrug. “I don’t even know if I’d recognize a good idea if it smacked me in the face right now. I hate the idea of him undergoing something like this — no matter how common it is, it’s still risky. But he’s determined to do it for his brother.”
“Like he’s atoning for everything that’s happened.”
“Yeah. And he insists that he should be the one to go through this, not Marcus, especially after the car accident last year. That’s Matt. He wants to bear the burden for other people even when he doesn’t feel like he has something to make up for.”
“It’s admirable, I’ll give him that,” Diane says. “If Natalie needed a kidney…”
Sarah widens her eyes. “Yeah, I don’t know how I’d feel if Molly needed one from me. Honestly, I hope Jake appreciates what Matt is doing. I’ve never been that close to him, but ever since Tori and Marcus got into that accident, I’ve seen a different side of him. He’s petty. It’s kind of nasty.”
“Then maybe we should invite him to join us for a drink.”
After a conspiratorial laugh, Sarah turns more solemn again. “We really thought he’d forgiven Matt for what happened with Nicole a long time ago. But it was like he had that one just sitting in the chamber, ready to fire whenever he needed it.”
“He sounds like kind of a dick,” Diane comments. “Are we sure he deserves Matt’s kidney?”
“Believe me, that thought has crossed my mind.” Sarah picks up her wine glass again. “So, I know you didn’t ask me to meet up to talk about my husband’s kidney, and if this isn’t about Therese’s locket… what is it you needed to talk to me about?”
Diane draws a deep breath as she prepares to come clean.
“I’ll be right back,” Travis Fisher announces to no one in particular as he pushes open the swinging door and steps out of the kitchen of Bill’s on the Pier. Clad in his food-spattered white coat and black pants, he weaves his way through the restaurant’s busy dining room, several steps behind April, the hostess who came to get him. As he nears the host’s stand, however, he slows when the unannounced visitor who asked for him comes into view.
Spencer Ragan always puts Travis on-edge, even though the two of them share what Travis has come to consider a kind of messed-up cosmic bond. Maybe that’s why, he muses as he sizes up the man who was supposed to be raised by the family that raised Travis himself. But he knows it’s more than that; Spencer’s volatile moods and actions have caused so much trouble for other members of the Fisher family, and Travis considers it largely an act of self-preservation to steer clear as much as possible.
Spencer pushes away from the wall on which he’s been leaning when he spots Travis approaching.
“Thanks, April,” Travis says, and then he tells Spencer, “I’m in the middle of work. It’s the dinner rush, in case you couldn’t tell.”
“Would you have preferred I showed up at your place?” Spencer counters.
“You know where I live?”
“No, but that isn’t the point. I–”
“Is it my dad? Or my mom?” Travis asks, suddenly panicked. Of all the reasons he can imagine for Spencer to pay him a visit, some crisis involving their shared parents is the one that makes the most sense. “What happened?”
“Tim and Claire are both fine,” Spencer says, managing to slip in a healthy note of condescension. “This is about something else.”
Travis again considers telling Spencer that he is too busy for this, but his curiosity is piqued, and with Loretta Ragan running around town, there is no telling what news Spencer might have. He motions for Spencer to join him in a less public space.
They move into the alcove that leads to the restrooms.
Travis folds his arms. “What’s up?”
“I’m really hoping you can help me here. It’s about Elly.”
“What about her?”
“I think she’s in trouble,” Spencer says. “That’s why I need your help.”
—–
By the time she hears the knock on her apartment door, Claire Fisher has already run through the encounter a thousand times in her head. Her hands are clammy and her stomach twisted as she answers the knock.
“Hi,” Brent Taylor says, the single syllable attempting to convey so many things. His eyes instantly plead with her for understanding.
All Claire can do is sigh and step out of the way to let him in.
“Thanks for making time to talk,” he says.
She closes and locks the door. “I suppose I’ve put it off long enough.”
“You needed space. You have every right to take it. But I’m glad we finally get to have a conversation.”
She senses his uncertainty, from what to say to where to station himself. Claire moves to sit in the armchair on the far side of the coffee table.
“I thought not having to see you would somehow make this hurt less,” she says, “but it’s been agony. Do you know that?”
“I’m sure. Yeah.” He nods contritely and perches himself on the edge of one of the couch cushions, as if ready to leap into action at any instant.
“How’s the baby doing?”
“The baby is fine. Molly’s been going to her doctor, and…” He shakes his head. “This isn’t about the baby. Or Molly.”
“Then what’s it about, Brent? Because it seemed to me that everything was going well between us until — well, I was going to say until I found out about Molly and the baby, but I suppose you and I had different perceptions of how things were going that whole time.”
She watches that land on him, hating herself a little for enjoying how much it pains him.
“There are only two things I can say that really mean much,” he finally manages. “The first is that I’m sorry. I know that doesn’t magically fix anything, but I need you to hear it. I’m sorry for hurting you, I’m sorry for betraying you… I’m sorry. You deserve — you deserve — better than this.”
Whatever response has been building inside her suddenly turns to dust. He’s right — the apology doesn’t even begin to fix this unfixable situation — but hearing him actually speak those words gives her an odd sort of release. She exhales loudly, as if she has been holding her breath for weeks.
“Thank you,” she says at last.
“It’s the truth.”
“So,” Claire says, fixing her eyes on him as if issuing a challenge. “If that was the first thing you had to say… what’s the second?”
—–
“It isn’t that big a deal,” Diane says, gazing down into the burgundy liquid in her glass. “Just something I wanted to give you a heads-up on.”
Sarah sits beside her, half-turned in the bar chair to face her best friend.
“That sounds a little ominous,” Sarah says.
“Nothing that big. I wanted to tell you before you heard from Tori, though.”
“From Tori? You’ve been talking to her? What happened?”
“She and Zane were at my sister’s over the holidays,” Diane explains. “I offered to help Tori find a job at KBAY if she were to see something that appealed to her. You know, thinking it would help her be a little more independent from Zane.”
“I like your thinking. So you got her a job there? That’s…” Sarah shakes her head ruefully. “I can’t believe I need updates from you on what’s going on in my own daughter’s life. I was hoping we were making inroads, but we’ve barely spoken to her. Even when she comes to see Billy, she does it when only my mom is home with him.”
Diane reaches over and places her own hand over Sarah’s in a sympathetic gesture.
“I know. But no, Tori isn’t working at KBAY.”
Sarah snaps out of her daze and looks up again. “Then what did you want to tell me?”
After sucking in another deep breath, Diane goes on: “It’s Zane. That creep came to me with a listing for an I.T. job at the station and asked for my help.”
“Wait. You got Zane a job?! Diane–”
“I know.” Diane holds up both palms. “My first instinct was to tell him to go to hell. But I saw the way he was with her — he’s got a real hold over her right now. I started to worry that if he were to go back to Tori and tell her that we’re all being spiteful and denying him opportunities…”
Sarah takes a drink of her wine and swirls it around in her mouth for several seconds before responding. When she does, however, there is something icy and distant about her. “Yeah.”
“I brought his résumé to H.R. and figured I’d leave it up to him to blow it. I can’t force them to hire someone. I mean, maybe I could, but I wasn’t going to do that. To my surprise, he got a second interview and landed the job.”
“Wow.” Sarah swishes the wine in her glass as she thinks some more.
“I’m sorry for getting in the middle of it,” Diane says. “He put me in a crappy position, and I made a decision to try and minimize damage. My goal was to help Tori, not him.”
After another lengthy pauses, Sarah gently bobs her head. “Yeah. I get it. I do.”
“You aren’t mad?”
“I’m not thrilled… but no. Not at you. I’ve been on the other end of that jerk’s manipulations. I hate to say it, but he’s good.”
“That’s what worried me,” Diane says. “At any rate, he has a job at KBAY now. As much as I hate the idea of seeing his face in the halls while I’m at work, I would’ve really hated knowing that I gave him more ammo to turn Tori against everyone else.”
“Thanks for telling me,” Sarah says, and Diane is relieved to watch her friend’s face relax into something resembling a smile. “I can’t say I would’ve played it any differently.”
“That’s how I was hoping you’d see it.”
“You have to promise me one thing, though.”
Diane cocks her head. “What’s that?”
“That you’ll keep an eye on that bastard at the station,” Sarah says. “Because this isn’t over yet. I’m not letting him take Tori away from her family forever.”
“Now that I can get behind.” Diane lifts her wine, and the two women clink their glasses together as the wheels in their heads turn.
—–
Travis regards Spencer with confusion and steps closer to the wall to let a patron pass.
“What kind of trouble?” Travis asks once they are alone again.
“That’s what I need help figuring out,” Spencer says.
“You’re, like, talking in riddles. I need some actual info here.”
“Then let me explain.” Spencer lets out an irritated huff. “You know how Elly worked with our lawyers during the custody case?”
“Yeah. And I still don’t understand why she wanted any part of that.”
“Maybe because she felt like Peter should be raised by his actual father?” Spencer responds with a sneer.
“And that’s why you guys cooked up whatever plot you had to set up Jason to lose the case,” Travis says. “I expected something like that from you and Natalie, but Elly — she wasn’t like that when we were together.”
“Travis, I swear I have no idea what happened to Jason and Alex, or what was going on with that P.I.”
“But Elly said she hired the P.I. Why don’t you make her tell you what that was all about?”
“I tried. She keeps stonewalling me.” Spencer glances quickly over his shoulder, as if to check that they are still speaking in private. “I think she’s telling me part of the truth.”
“Spencer, I don’t know what this has to do with me. I really need to get back–”
“Wait.”
Travis stops in his tracks and turns back around.
“I’m pretty sure that Loretta is blackmailing Elly somehow,” Spencer explains.
“So what? You’re worried about Elly?” Travis again sizes up the other man, and as he does, a lightning bolt of realization strikes him. “Oh my god. Are you into her?”
“What? No.” Spencer shakes his head emphatically. “No. I– I appreciate how she helped me with Peter, obviously. And I don’t want to see anyone else get hurt by Loretta.”
“Who you currently are letting stay with you.”
“That’s complicated. And I want to put an end to it ASAP. Whatever Loretta has over Elly — I wonder if it could be the key to getting Loretta out of King’s Bay.”
“How are you going to do that?”
“I don’t know yet,” Spencer says, again sounding annoyed at having to spell it all out. “That’s where I thought you could help. What do you know about the time Elly was away at law school? How much did you guys keep in touch?”
“Not a ton. We caught up here and there, but we weren’t exactly confiding in one another about deep, dark secrets that someone could use as blackmail material.”
“She never hinted at anything?”
Travis bites his lower lip as he thinks. Still, nothing even remotely fitting the bill comes to mind. “Not that I can think of.”
“Okay.” Spencer lets out a big sigh. “I need to figure this out.”
“To get rid of Loretta.”
“Right,” Spencer says, failing to pick up on the skepticism in Travis’s voice. “Do me a favor and don’t go running your mouth to Elly about how I asked?”
“Fine,” Travis says.
“Thanks, Travis. And let me know if you think of something.”
“Will do.”
With that, Spencer moves past him and exits the restaurant. Travis watches him go, still not entirely convinced of the purity of Spencer’s intentions.
—–
Brent scoots forward even more on the couch, as Claire forces herself to continue staring right at him.
“The second thing,” he says, “is that I love you. That was never a lie.”
Actually hearing him say that aloud causes her to wince.
“But you love Molly, too,” she says. “The day I found out — you admitted it without even having to say it. You’re still in love with her.”
“It’s different. But my feelings for you — they’re real. They always have been.”
“If you love someone, you don’t sleep with your ex and get her pregnant,” Claire says. “How long had you known that you’d rather be with Molly than me? The entire time we were together?”
“No! Claire — no. I’ve wanted to be with you. That’s what I’m saying. Molly and I — we were done. I thought you and I were on the same page that our relationship was… something different.”
She screws up her face. “Different?”
“Yeah. You and I…” Brent rubs his hands together as he thinks. “It wasn’t our first love. A lot of the, the fantasies or whatever — we’d already had those and seen how they compared to reality. It felt more comfortable, more mature.”
“I don’t know how mature it is to cheat on your partner and get another woman pregnant.”
“All I’m saying is that my feelings for you are genuine.”
“But you’re in love with Molly.”
He closes his eyes and sighs. “Yeah.”
Claire’s head spins as she tries to grasp at any of the words flying around inside it.
“Are the two of you back together?” she asks.
“No. It’s not like that. We’re just — we’re dealing with the pregnancy together, obviously. But I don’t want you to think that I’ve moved on like that.” He punctuates that with a snap of his fingers.
“That’s very noble of you, Brent.” Nervous energy forces her to rise to her feet. “I can’t believe this is how it ends.”
His anguish is apparent in his face, and again, Claire feels a twinge of pleasure at seeing it.
“I will always hate myself for hurting you like this,” he says as he, too, stands. “
She regards him silently for a long moment.
“I can’t believe I would’ve agreed to marry you,” she says. “I would’ve married you and had no idea you still had such deep feelings for Molly.”
“I don’t think I even realized it until we were locked in that trunk and could smell the gasoline and thought…” He shudders. “We thought we were going to die. It brought everything into focus in a new way.”
“What a blessing from the universe.”
“Claire–”
“Forget it.” Quickly she crosses to the door and undoes the lock. As she pulls it open, she turns back to him. “I think we’ve said everything we need to say.”
Brent looks at her, then at the open door, and back again. He stands frozen in place by the couch and glances around the apartment. Claire can almost see it the way that she is sure he is seeing it: a place that was so comfortable for them, a place they spent so many happy nights, and now it is simply… hers again.
“I’m more sorry than you’ll ever know,” he says.
She has to shut her eyes against the sudden threat of tears. “Thank you.”
All she can do otherwise is stand there with her hand on the doorknob. Finally, after seconds that feel like minutes, Brent moves his feet and walks toward her. Toward the door.
“Goodbye, Brent,” she says, using far more energy than the words should require.
He looks at her, as if he is going to speak again, but when his lips part, nothing comes out. All he offers is a sad dip of his head, and then he moves through the doorway.
As soon as he clears it, Claire closes the door. Her jittery fingers turn the lock. And then she leans back against the door, emotions crashing over her from a million directions, nearly submerging her. A sob cracks its way out of her throat, and finally, locked away from the world and with no way for Brent to see her like this, she lets the tears fall, hard and fast until she is gasping for air.
END OF EPISODE 1008
Is this truly the end for Claire and Brent?
Was Spencer crazy to go to Travis for help?
What did you think of Sarah’s reaction to Diane?
Talk about all this and more in the comments below!