Written in 58 minutes. Some more scenes that took forever to write – and then Lizzie came over to lay on the keyboard, so it’s not as long as I wanted it to be.

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Sunday, September 14, 2024

Quartermaine Estate: Terrace

Olivia pushed her sunglasses to the top of her head, then squinted into the distance where her grandson was sweating profusely, pushing a wheelbarrow filled with soil from one path to another.

“So what’s the plan? We work him until he’s too tired to drink?” she asked. “Because I like it.”

“I’m going to fill every single minute of his day, and I don’t care if he hates me.” Dante folded his arms. “He’s gonna remember this the next time he lies to me.”

Olivia slid him a look out of the corner of her eye. “What are we more mad about here? The lying, the drinking, or the smoking?”

“It changes every few minutes. Honestly, Ma, I don’t know what to do with him. I never—” He shook his head. “I never saw this coming.”

“He’s not a bad kid—”

“Don’t.” Dante held up a hand, and Olivia closed her mouth. “I get it. Kids push boundaries, and that’s part of growing up. And I’m not trying to pretend I didn’t get into my fair share of trouble, but I like to think I didn’t go out of my way to disrespect other people. I didn’t do it to prove I could,” he added. “Rocco — trying to talk to him — it was like he was proud of himself for getting away with it for this long. I think he’s more pissed he got caught than anything else.”

“Well, yeah, but even the best teenagers are little sociopaths. They don’t care about other people until we force them to—”

“Well, I’m gonna force him,” Dante interrupted.

“Fair enough.” Olivia waited a beat. “And is the reason Danny’s not out here doing the same because Sam doesn’t agree with you?”

Dante looked back at the gardens, watched Rocco for a long moment. “I don’t know. Danny went home with Jason last night. Sam — she’s still…” He stopped. “She’s upset, she’s blaming herself—at least when she’s not blaming Jason— and I don’t think she’s really moved onto the next step step yet.” When his mother said nothing, he narrowed his eyes. “No opinion on that?”

“Well, you do have a type,” Olivia said dryly.

“Ma.”

“You know, that’s not right. It’s not fair. Lulu only liked to point the finger at other people. Sam always struck me as a victim.”

Startled, Dante turned to face his mother fully. “What?”

“You know, woes me, oh no, I messed up again, please come and save me—” Olivia wrinkled her nose. “She’s better with you, I think, but you know, old habits die hard. Hey, I didn’t hear anyone say you were done!” she called, raising her voice when Rocco laid back on the lawn, his legs and arms sprawled up. “Back to work!” She looked at Dante who was still staring at her. “What? You asked.”

“Never mind,” Dante muttered, then strode towards his son who hadn’t moved despite his grandmother’s command.

“Dying,” Rocco managed when Dante reached him. “Water.”

Dante nudged his son with his shoulder. “I don’t know. You got energy to talk, you can still lie. Maybe we need to pull some more weeds.”

Rocco grunted and rolled to his side. “I hope Danny’s scrubbing toilets somewhere,” he muttered.

Webber House: Living Room

Danny turned the page in the photo album, his fingers sliding across the smiling face of his aunt on her wedding day, twenty years earlier, posed with his father in the Quartermaine foyer. “I don’t think I’ve seen pictures of Dad this young before. Mom…she doesn’t really have any out at the penthouse.”

“Well, your dad didn’t take a lot of photos,” Elizabeth said. They sat next to each other, one of her large scrapbooks opened on her lap. “We usually had to corner him at a special occasion. I think there’s some of your mom in here—”

“That’s you and Dad—” Danny said, stopping her from turning the page. “This was before Jake was born right?”

“Mmm—” Elizabeth smiled, looking down at the photograph of her in the deep red dress she’d worn to Emily’s Christmas themed wedding,  clutching the bridal bouquet in her hands, Jason standing next to her, with a slightly bemused smile, his sister’s garter just visible in his fist. “Cameron would have been about six months old here, so about two and half years before Jake was born.”

The twist of the door knob drew both their attentions, and Jason came in a moment later. Elizabeth closed the scrapbook, setting it on the table. Danny rose to his feet, fisting his hands, then flexing them before closing them into a fist again.

“Hey. Um, Elizabeth was showing me pictures from Aunt Emily’s wedding. I—I never saw them before.”

Jason closed the door, came in further. “I haven’t seen them in a long time,” he said. “But it….it was a good night. How’d that come up?” he wondered, looking to Elizabeth.

“Just one of those things.” Elizabeth came around the sofa, and opened the cabinet to set the album back on the shelf. She bit her lip. “You weren’t gone as long as you thought you would be.”

“What did Mom say?” Danny asked. “Do I have…I mean, I have to go home, right?”

Jason hesitated, looked at Elizabeth for a moment, then back at Danny. “We’re going to stay here a few more days. Until I can get something permanent for us,” he added. “If that’s okay?”

“Of course. Why don’t I let you guys have some time?” Elizabeth suggested, taking a step backwards, but Danny shook his head.

“No. I—I, um, can you stay? I—I don’t wanna mess up what we talked about, and you—you can stop me if I do.”

“You’re not going to mess anything up, Danny.” Elizabeth rubbed his shoulder. “And I told you, your dad’s really great at listening. Just be honest with him, okay?”

“But—” Danny looked at his father. “You’re really angry with me.”

“I was angry last night,” Jason admitted. He tucked his hands in the pockets of his jeans. “Mostly because I didn’t know you were that unhappy. I was angry with you, yes. And myself, for not being there for you. I can’t undo the last two years, Danny. I would if I could. But I’m going to be here from now on.”

“I—I know. I mean, you said. But…” Danny waited for a minute, as if searching for the right words. “But you said that before. When you came home from Russia. And when Mom went to jail. And before the Floating Rib. But then you went away. And I didn’t see you much.”

“I—” Jason nodded. “You’re right. I’ve never been here as much as I should have been. I’m sorry for that, Danny, and I’ll take responsibility for my actions. But you have to own yours. Because no matter how angry you are with me or your mother, it doesn’t excuse what you’ve done.”

Danny dropped his gaze. “I know.”

“I’m disappointed that you were lying to your mother and Dante, and I don’t like the way you’ve been speaking to her. I know—” He held up a hand when Danny jerked his head up, his eyes suddenly hot with indignation. “I’m not saying your mother handled all of this well. I’m not even saying you didn’t have a right to be upset with her. But there’s always going to be someone who pisses you off. Your mother, me, Jake, someone at school—” Jason paused, lifted his brow. “Are you going to attack all of them?”

“If they deserve it,” Danny muttered.

“I get that. Being angry, wanting to lash out when someone’s hurting you. Making your anger everyone else’s problem.” Jason took a step towards him. “I dealt with that after my accident. When I didn’t know anyone, and I couldn’t be the person they wanted me to be. I spent a good year of my life, doing whatever I wanted, and not giving damn who I hurt. I hurt people who didn’t deserve it, but you know who I hurt more than anyone?” he asked. When Danny shook his head, Jason continued, “Myself. Because I was so determined to run as far as I could from the Quartermaines, I made choices I couldn’t take back. I don’t regret the choices,” Jason added, “because without them, you and your brother wouldn’t be here. But that doesn’t mean I wish I could have done things differently.”

Danny folded his arms. “But you do wish you hadn’t married my mother, right? Because she said that about you, and I heard you say that once.”

Jason hesitated, then nodded slowly. “Marrying your mother was a mistake. But you weren’t,” he added.

Danny didn’t look particularly convinced, and just shrugged. “Yeah, okay. I guess divorced people always have to say that.”

“We can talk about that all you want, Danny, but we’re not finished talking about last night. About the last year. I get that you’re unhappy and angry, but that’s no reason to ruin the rest of your life. You could have been picked up by officers who didn’t know Dante, and you might still be in juvenile detention right now. You and Rocco could have been seriously hurt—hit by a car. You could be at the hospital. Or the morgue.”

“I—I know. Um, Elizabeth told me about Jake. I didn’t…I didn’t really know about all of that. I mean, I knew he’d been kidnapped, and gone for a long time, but I didn’t know it was a drunk driving accident. And I guess what happened with your brother—” Danny’s voice faltered. He looked at Elizabeth. “Can you tell him what we decided, I mean, what you said I could do?”

“I—” Elizabeth bit her lip, then met Jason’s gaze. “I thought maybe Danny might want to talk to someone. There are therapists that specialize in teens with a substance abuse problem. I can ask at the hospital. If that’s okay with you and Sam—”

Jason came forward a few steps. “Is that what you want to do?” he asked Danny.

“Yeah, I think so. I mean, at least, maybe try it,” Danny said. He let his hands drop to his side, then folded them again, shifting his weight from one foot to another. “B-Because I…really like the way it feels when I’m…you know. And it makes everything go away. And I probably…shouldn’t be thinking about doing it again, but I am. Even after everything.”

Elizabeth’s throat felt tight as she watched Jason absorb Danny’s startling admission — something she’d suspected, but that he hadn’t even said to her. Jason’s eyes seemed slightly damp as he looked over at her. “I’ll get the name tomorrow,” she said. “And I’ll call in any favors I can. I know—I know a lot of people.”

“Thank—thank you.” Jason took a deep breath, then stepped towards his son. “Thank you for telling me that. For trusting me. We’re going to make this okay, Danny. Whatever we have to do. Whatever you need me to do. I’m not going anywhere.”

“You’re really okay with me staying here?” Danny asked, looking at Elizabeth. “You—you don’t think I’m gonna screw up Aiden more?”

“You didn’t screw up Aiden even a little bit,” Elizabeth assured him. “But the two of you are going to have to follow some rules.”

“Okay. What do you need me to do?” Danny asked his father. “I want to fix this. So just tell me the rules, and I promise. I’m not gonna screw up again.”

They heard voices outside the door, and Elizabeth went to go check, confirming her sons had pulled up out front. “Jason and I will talk it over tonight, and let you guys know tomorrow.” She looked at Jason. “Um, maybe I’ll text Dante to put together a bag for Danny and I’ll pick up after I drop Cam at the airport?”

“Yeah. That’s—” Jason’s expression was a little grim, and she wondered just how badly the conversation with Sam had gone. “Yeah, that’s probably a good idea.”

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