Written in 53 minutes.
Sunday, October 15, 2000
Luke’s: Main Bar
Jason slid into the chair across from Sonny, then angled himself slightly so that he could at least see the entrance from his position. He’d always understood why Sonny liked this area of the club — on his side, against the wall, there was a bench-type seating that stretched across the entire section, with a half wall and then a wooden lattice that stretched up the ceiling. It was just to the right of the entrance, and Sonny could see the entire bar — and also keep an eye on who was walking into the bar while his own presence was shielded until that person was all the way inside.
But anyone meeting with Sonny would be vulnerable to the room, and Jason had always done his best to avoid sitting in it when the club was open.
Unfortunately, the night was in full swing — the band was playing, the dance floor was filled, and the bar was packed with regulars.
“Been a while, hasn’t it?” Sonny asked, tapping the edge of his cigar in the ashtray. “Remember when we were here almost every night?”
“Uh, yeah, I guess.” A lifetime ago, Jason thought. Before Sonny had abandoned Brenda at the altar, Luke’s had been his primary meeting place, especially when Luke was out of town on one adventure or another. When Luke and Sonny had been partners in friendship as well as business.
That part of their lives had ended more than a year ago, when the garage had been burnt to ashes, Lucky one of the casualties of Sonny’s war to take back the territory.
“Sorel’s been sniffing around here,” Sonny told Jason. “Here, the Oasis, and a few other places. Most of them on the border, like Luke’s. But a few of his guys have been to Kelly’s.” Which was most definitely not a border property.
Jason exhaled slowly. “You think he’s going to try some thing?”
“I think Sorel is under the impression that I’ve pulled back from this part of the business. You know, since we opened the warehouse, and I’ve been stabilizing the international routes.” Sonny tipped his head. “Haven’t been thinking about the clubs. The bread and butter. I got the contacts for that side of it, but you know these players better than I do.”
And they hated Jason more for selling out to Moreno, but sure, that meant Jason knew the players. “Okay, so—”
“So I’ve been thinking about what you said this morning. About how we gotta figure out how we’re going to make this work with you sticking around longer. And I think this is how we do it. Divide and conquer. You take the point here,” Sonny said, nodding towards the bar where Luke was visible through the crowds. “And the other places. I’ll call Tommy. He’ll get you set up. Maybe Luke will let you work out of here like we did in the old days.”
It was a solution of sorts, and Jason knew that Sonny meant it as an olive branch. “Have you talked to Luke about this?”
“Luke knows I’m planning to stick close.”
“That you’re planning to,” Jason said. He paused. “He might not want me around. There was—he just might not me sticking so close.”
“Sorel’s got his eye on these places, Jase. And we both agreed that Sorel might be dumb enough to think certain people are back on the table with you around. I figure you’d want to take the lead on this. Since Elizabeth is involved.”
Which was the exact reason Jason might be the worst person for the job. Elizabeth might not have an issue with the bar fight at Jake’s, but Lucky certainly did, and Luke tended to follow his kid. Or might take exception to the bruised jaw Jason had left Lucky with.
“Look, if you’re not sure—” Sonny held up his hands. “Run it by Luke. If he vetoes it, we’ll figure something else out.”
Hardy House: Kitchen
Elizabeth slid into the chair, smiling wanly when her grandmother set down the bowl of clam chowder. “You really didn’t have to go to the trouble—”
“I’ve never become comfortable with cooking only for myself,” Audrey said, taking another chair at the small table in the corner of their kitchen. “I looked after your grandfather for so many years, and then Tommy stayed here for a while after we…” Her smile faded slightly. “After we lost Steve. And then you and Sarah—you’re doing me a favor, dear.”
“Maybe.” Elizabeth dipped her spoon into the bowl, then swirled it around. “I know you probably want to know why I came here today. Or sat upstairs the whole time.”
“I do. But only if you want to tell me.”
“I…” Elizabeth sighed. Hours she’d spent alone in her teenaged bedroom, planning the words in her head — what she would say to Lucky, to Chloe, to her grandmother, to Emily—to anyone who might not understand. And the moment she’d opened her mouth, all of that careful preparation had fled. “I really was a brat when I moved here, wasn’t I?”
Audrey folded her arms on the table, and Elizabeth looked away, uncomfortable with her grandmother’s penetrating stare. “A brat,” she repeated. “You know, I find that I don’t quite like that word. I don’t find it to be a useful description of anyone, particularly not you. You were rebellious. Resistant. And a little brittle.”
“Brittle,” Elizabeth repeated, squinting. “I don’t think anyone’s used that one before.”
“Brittle bones are easily broken. Fragile,” Audrey added. “One look, one brush, and they might crumble. You were rebellious, yes, my darling. But it was a mask. A disguise you wore to hide who you really were. And it took some time before you trusted me to see that person.”
“Rebellious and brittle. Selfish, too, right?” Elizabeth asked, picking up the spoon. “Shallow?”
Audrey was quiet for a long moment, her brow furrowed. “I suppose I could have used those words. You certainly resented any attention Sarah received, and at first, I assumed it was because you wanted it for yourself. After all, look at what you did to capture my notice. You ran away from the Johnsons, used my credit cards to order pizzas, got caught smoking, used my car without a license—” Audrey tipped her head. “You pulled some…stunts with your sister, trying to embarrass her. Yes, there were some elements of selfishness in all of those things, I think. And I was…at a loss to understand how to help you. Until I realized who I was really seeing when I looked at you and your sister.”
“Oh, yeah?”
“I had an older sister, you know that. Lucille. The golden daughter who could never do anything wrong. Who chose the safe, expected life. She became a nurse, went to work, and while she never married, she remained respectable and above reproach.” Audrey smiled. “My parents worshiped her, and I was often frustrated because I never seemed to measure up. I tried. I went into nursing just to show her she wasn’t so special. And then I became a stewardess so I could pretend that I was so much better than she was, jetsetting around the world, never having to answer to anyone.”
“Until you met Gramps.”
“I never intended to stay in Port Charles. To build a life. But I was glad that I did. That the twists and turns of my life gave me Steve, my Tommy—” Audrey reached out, covered Elizabeth’s hand. “You and your sister. And of course, your brother. Once I realized that you were me, and Sarah was your Lucille, I tried to use that. I think we were…I think we were making progress, don’t you? You seemed…happier. More settled. Until…”
“Until I was raped.” Elizabeth’s stomach turned over, and she pushed the bowl away. “I keep thinking of who I used to be. Who I am now. And how much of is it because of the rape.”
Audrey flinched the first time Elizabeth had used the word, but she did better the second time. “Is that an important question for you to answer?”
“I didn’t used to think so. I didn’t…” Elizabeth bit her lip. “Do you remember when we went shopping for that dress? For the dance? How many I tried on?”
“Yes, you were kept specific. You wanted a certain color, and a certain style. You knew what flattered you, and you were correct. You looked so lovely that night. I hope that’s all right to say.”
“It’s—yes. Yes,” Elizabeth repeated, and the second time, she knew she meant it. “I was so miserable, so unhappy with myself for lying to Lucky. For not being able to shake off his rejection. Because for a little while, I’d felt so beautiful and ready for anything. I was so sure…” She looked down at the table, picked at a seam in the Formica. “I was so sure that Lucky would take one look at me and fall in love.”
“Elizabeth.”
“It’s okay. It is. Um, my point is—” Elizabeth took a deep breath. “That used to be something I cared about. My colors, and the type of clothing that flattered me. I’m…I’m short, but I have long legs for my height. A-and I’ll never fill out a shirt the way Pamela Anderson does, but I know how to make the most of what I have. I just…” She met her grandmother’s eyes. “And I don’t just know that for me. I know it for you, for Emily — and for everyone. I’m good at that kind of thing.”
“You have an artistic eye,” Audrey said. She lifted her brows. “But, yes, a flair for fashion. Is this your way of telling me that you’ve decided to take the job?”
“Yes. I-I don’t know if it’s something I’ll want forever, but Chloe’s offering me an opportunity to do something I only dreamed of when I was younger. I—” Elizabeth brushed a tear from her cheek, sniffled. “I used to think that those things — being selfish and shallow a-and rebellious — that it was the reason Tom Baker hurt me. Because if I hadn’t been those things, I-I wouldn’t have been in the park that n-night. So I put them in a box and I put them away. I became someone else. Someone that people liked and respected. Loved,” she said softly, looking back at her hands. “I don’t know if the people in my life would be here if I were still that girl.”
“Elizabeth—”
“I don’t know if Lucky can love me the way I am now. The way I think I want to be. But I don’t know if I love him the way he is now, either. So I guess what I’m saying is…I need to find out. And Chloe’s giving me a chance to do that. I need to take it. I have to do this.”
Luke’s: Bar
“Don’t usually see you in here,” Luke said when Jason slid onto an empty stool. “Not with people around.”
Jason made a face. “I’m here on business. Sonny told you about Sorel, didn’t he?”
Luke popped the top from a green bottle of Rolling Rock, then set it down in front of him. “That he’s nibbling at the edges of Sonny’s fledgling empire? Yeah. He mentioned that.”
“He wants me to handle it. The clubs. You, Kelly’s, the other places.”
“He wants you to deal with the anklebiters while he handles the big fish.” Luke smirked, folded his arms and leaned against the bar back. “Not the first time he’s trying to get you to clean up his mess.”
“This is…actually my mess,” Jason admitted. “I sold out to Moreno. Everything that’s happened since comes back to that.”
“Maybe. Or maybe Sonny hasn’t been focused on the big picture. He likes to think he’s Don Corleone, you know—” Luke nodded over to Sonny’s booth. “Sitting there, granting favors like it’s his daughter’s wedding day. But he’s just like his namesake. Hot-headed to the core and probably gonna end up shot up at a toll booth.” At Jason’s mystified look, Luke scowled. “Oh come on, tell me you’ve seen the Godfather.”
“The movie?”
“No culture, none of you.” Luke made a face. “Okay. So Sonny’s leaving this to you. What’re you telling me for?”
Jason lifted his brows. “I didn’t think you’d want me around.” He paused. “Unless you don’t know that I knocked your kid unconscious at Jake’s the other night.”
Luke pursed his lips, tilted his head. “Cowboy had some bruises when he came by earlier today. Didn’t mention you. You have a good reason to slug him?”
Jason considered the answer. “I wanted to hit someone and his face was there.”
“That is…” Luke considered. “That’s a fair answer. Look, if you’re half as observant as you used to be, then I guess you know Cowboy and Lizzie are having their issues. You planning to get in the way of that?”
“In the way?” Jason echoed. “What does that mean?”
“Well, it means that last year Sorel thought Lizzie was a great way to get to you. Put a bomb in her studio to take you out, and didn’t much care she would get blown up with you. He’s got a long memory, guys in this business always do. You left town, I heard, in part, to make her safe. Now you’re back. And the only way to keep her safe is to stay away.” Luke paused. “Which is easy since she’s in a relationship with my kid. So I’ll ask again — you planning to get in the way of my kid and put Liz back on the board for Sorel to screw with?”
Jason picked up his beer, considered his answer for a long moment. “I’m planning to let Elizabeth decide what she wants to do,” he said finally. He got to his feet. “And yeah, Sorel thought she was a way to get to me. He’d be right. Is that a problem for you?”
“Only if the next bomb ends up in my bar or hurting that girl. I’ll leave the rest of it up to you. And her. And Lucky.”
“Then we don’t have any problems. I’ll see you around, Luke.”
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