And the story continues. Thank you Steve and Dusty for commeting even though I don't comment as much as I should on you guys' blogs! I'm enjoying them both, BTW.

Part 16 means a little snag in the star relationship of this story! Hopefully, they can get past it. I want to take some time to give you all just a little preview of the next story, "Enter Christina," which centers on the arrival of Don Hughes's daughter. Christina Hughes comes to Oakdale to go to the local university. Instead of having her stay in the dorms, Tom and Margo decide that with Casey out of the house (and the dorms completely filled, anyway), it would be best if the 18-year-old "good girl" stay with them. They figure that the best way she can learn more about her family is by actually staying with them. Christina comes to town and sooner rather than later, proves to be quite more than what was expected. The center of the story expands to include Lisa, who uses her experiences in life and love to help Christina make decisions about her own ways of living. The story comes immediately after L&K finishes and promises to be a multi-generational tale of how a reformed bad girl tries to keep a young woman from following in her path.

But until then, here is part 16 of L&K!

AS THE WORLD TURNS

"Luke & Kevin" - Part 16

Sheryl couldn't believe her eyes. She and Kevin used to be so close...or maybe that was the way they used to be. When the boy was a pre-teen, he always looked up to his mother, it seemed. If faced with the decision of spending the day fishing with his father or spending the day running errands with his mother, it was clear to all three of them what he would choose. Kevin and Sheryl had such a connection because it was always them. Always. Sean would work all day and, unlike a normal person, he wouldn't come straight home. No, he went out with the guys to bars and strip clubs. Thus, Sheryl and Kevin were left home alone.

Maybe, she once thought, she should have taken Kevin with her when the divorce went through. At that moment, it would have made them both happier than ever. But she knew that someone in that marriage had to seek the help that they needed more than anything, and if Sean wasn't going to do it, she was. And getting the help meant time alone, time to organize everything in her life. Now, she was finished. She felt that she was whole once again, something she hadn't been in about twenty years. Now, she wanted her son back. She wanted to renew their relationship and take it to new lengths. She predicted how nice it would be to have serious adult conversation with him, to hear the opinions that her own child had made about life.

"Um..," Sheryl began. There she stood in her niece Nora's apartment, looking at her teenaged son and his "best friend" kissing. This was not just some sort of childish, playing around kiss. No, this one was on the lips, squarely on the lips, and she was shocked. She heard Kevin tell her that morning that he was gay, but she never would have imagined this. "Um...I'm going to go see some friends," she made herself say.

Instantly, Luke and Kevin broke apart and spun around to look at her as she stood in the hallway. "Mrs. Davis," Luke said, preparing some sort of explanation for what she had just saw, but there was no use. The startled look on her face said it all. Her eyes slowly moved from matching Kevin's to matching Luke's, adding an element of question to her expression. What did she want?

"I'll be back later," Sheryl said. "Yeah, I'll...uh...I'll be back a little later on."

Kevin just stood with his eyes trained on her, silently asking, "What do you think about that?" He wanted to be bold enough to say it aloud, but somehow, he had Luke's best interest at heart. He didn't want to have to go toe to toe with his mother, either, so perhaps it was in his best interest as well. Whatever the case, he simply nodded as Sheryl scooped her purse and keys and headed out the door.

After she had gone, Kevin went to the window to watch her drive away. Once she was finally, truly gone, he turned around, faced Luke, and devilishly declared, "That's the end of that. Now where were we?"

Luke obviously felt different about the situation. "Kevin, your mother just found out that you're gay by catching you - "

"No, no," Kevin interrupted. "She knew. Hell, I told her this morning when she came here in the first place. If she chose not to hear me, that's all on her. If she wants to make a scene like that and go drive herself off some cliff, let her."

"Make a scene? Kevin, she didn't know what was going on, she was shocked!"

Kevin threw his arms up in the air and began to pace. "I should have known that she would have tried something like this. I knew it! Of course she comes in here and tries to ruin my relationship."

"Kevin, it's not that big of a deal."

"No, Luke, no. She's mad because I don't want her anymore, so I guess that she figures that if she can break us up, I'll have nothing to stay here for."

Luke didn't want to hear that kind of talk. "What do you mean you don't want her? What kind of thing is that to say? She's your mother!"

"Well, she sure didn't want me five years ago, so what makes her think that she can just waltz on in here and - "

"She didn't just show up out of the blue. Your father died."

"Ugh," Kevin thought to himself. "My father," he said out loud. "You know, it's no wonder I'm so screwed up. With parents like those, who wouldn't be a mess?"

A streak of pity ran through Luke. "Kevin, you're not a mess."

They looked at each other as Luke slowly walked toward him, taking Kevin's hand. "But you have to work things out with her. If I'm able to get along with my mother, and talk to her, and laugh with her...well, then, you should be able to get along with yours."

"It's different, Snyder. It's just different. I felt betrayed when she left me with him, and you know, it was a long time ago, but it still hurts. Do you realize what hell it was living alone with that man? I just learned not to show it."

They hugged. Just then, Luke's cell phone rang. He stepped back to answer it and was pleasantly surprised to hear Lucinda's voice. "Hey, Grandma!"

"Yes, hello, darling grandson of mine," she said.

"What can I help you with?"

As Luke and Lucinda talked in the living room, Kevin went into the kitchen. He hoped that Lucinda didn't tell Luke about his visit that morning. He didn't particularly feel bad about the visit, but he knew that Lucinda was a smart woman. She definitely knew that he was not happy when he went to see her. Hopefully, Luke wouldn't get defensive. No, that wasn't like Luke.

He poured two glasses of wine and went back into the living room. He only caught the very end of the conversation. Relief went through him as he felt sure that they hadn't talked long enough for him to even pop into the discussion. He soon discovered that he was wrong.

"So, Grandma says that you went to see her this morning," Luke said as he sat down next to Kevin on the sofa. Kevin gave him his glass of wine, but Luke quietly set it on the table next to the sofa.

"Yeah," Kevin answered. "We talked for a while."

"She says that she thinks you might have some kind of animosity towards her for some reason."

"Well...yeah, at first I did, but not anymore," Kevin quickly said, almost glossing over it all.

Luke let out a little laugh, as if what Kevin said was a joke. "I thought we talked about this a few weeks ago. Remember, when you said that you didn't want to live in her guesthouse because she was the reason why your father was a drunk?"

"I didn't mean that," Kevin said, remembering the conversation...

"Well, when she fired my dad, that was when he started to drink more, and..."

Luke was insulted. "Kevin, your father was a stinking drunk way before a few weeks ago! You can't blame my grandma for that."

"I know!" Kevin exclaimed. "He just...I don't think it would do him any good to know that I'm staying with the woman he can't stand."

"Well...the old man did what he did for a reason, he had his reasons. One of them was the fact that he no longer had a job, and well she was the one who fired him..."

"Ha," Luke said. "You make it sound like she purposely went there and said 'You, you're fired, you're out.'"

Kevin didn't want to do this. He didn't even care anymore. "Well, it really doesn't matter anyway, does it? He's gone, he's not here anymore."

"Yeah, and you seem like you're blaming my grandmother for that. Kevin, you know the kind of man your father was."

"Can we please just not talk about it anymore?"

"Okay...how about we talk about how you just poured me a glass of wine, when you know that I shouldn't be drinking."

A shock went through Kevin's spine. "Oh my God, I don't know what I was thinking!" He quickly picked Luke's glass up from the table and put it on the counter. Luke sat on the sofa, his eyes rolling. He didn't know why he felt so annoyed by Kevin today. Maybe it was harmones.

He then stood, obviously ready to leave. "Where you going?" Kevin asked.

"Home, Kevin. I'm not feeling too well, and I just think that I need to get on home," Luke replied, yawning here and there.

"Well, are you sure you don't want me to drive you or something? I don't want anything to happen to you."

"I'll be fine, Kevin," Luke declared. "I don't need you to drive me."

"Okay..."

Luke took his keys out of his pocket and started for the door. Kevin followed him. They kissed one final time before Luke left, and within in minutes, Kevin was alone in the apartment. He felt like the night had been a complete disaster. Something deep inside him told him that somehow, he disappointed Luke. What the hell was it? Oh, it had to be the whole thing with Lucinda. Kevin honestly didn't mean anything when he said that her firing his father from Worldwide had to do with the suicide. Hell, since he now knew that Lucinda offered Sean another job in Chicago, Kevin actually felt gratitude towards her. He could only wish that his father was smart enough to take the offer.

Whatever the case, Kevin now felt that he had to make things right with Luke. He felt so stupid about the whole wine thing; that's something that he should have remembered. And of course, if Lily ever found out, she'd probably want to kill him again. Kevin sighed and looked down at the two glasses of wine. They were exactly what he needed now. Exactly what would make his self-doubt go away.

So there he sat on the sofa, one glass per hand. Somewhere along the line, he went and got the rest of the bottle, and by the time Nora arrived a half-hour later, he was nearly wasted. She could see him sitting on the couch from the window, and Nora was not the type to fish around for her keys in the dark, so she just knocked. And knocked. And knocked five more times on the door until she decided to use her key.

"And just what makes you too good to get up and answer the door?" she asked when she got in. Kevin stretched back on the couch and closed his eyes. "Good Lord, kid...you're drunk. You're plastered."

All Kevin could do was burp.

"Well," she said as she sat down. She put her purse down beside her. "You want to tell me what's driven you to this?"

Kevin slowly looked at her, his eyes slowly opening. "Nothing," he managed to cough up.

"Oh, it's something, cuz. It has to be something. What is it? Is it...your father?"

"No, it is not that. That is over and done with, and I don't even feel like bringing that up again," he responded harshly, heavily accenting each "that."

"Oh, hold on, hold on. I am not the one," Nora said defensively. She roughly grabbed at the sleeves of his shirt and sat him up. "Now you listen to me. The answer to life's problems do not lie in the bottom of a bottle of wine."

"What about a can of beer?" Kevin asked, laughing at his own lame joke.

Nora slapped him. "I'm not joking! Now you promise me something! You're not going to do this again. You're not going to drink yourself half-blind."

Kevin jerked out of her grip and stood up. "It's just a little too late for that, Nora. A little too late. Luke's gone."

"What?" Nora asked, standing up. "What happened?"

"Well, we had a little spat a while ago and now he's pissed off at me and now he's gone. Thanks to me, and thanks to the liquor. And to make matters worse, my dear old mother, and apparently you too, have decided for me what my life is now going to be."

Nora looked at him. "What in the world are you talking about? Do you even know?"

"I'm talking about Chicago, Nora! Chicago! I'm talking about how you think I'm too much here for you and how my mother wants me to move in with her."

"Kevin, sit down. Nobody ever said anything about you being too much for me. Sheesh, kid, you managed to get my place cleaned up and prettied up. Why would I want to throw that away?"

They sat down.

"Now, you're mother is your mother, and I'm only your cousin. I can't tell her what to do with you. I can't tell her that you need to stay here in Oakdale. That's her decision to make."

"Well, it should be mine! I'm old enough!"

"Not yet. Not for a few more months. Until then, you have to do what she says. I didn't want it anymore than you did, but she is your mother."

Kevin sighed. "She can't do this to me. She just can't. I didn't go to Chicago trying to rip her life from under her. I bet she has a boyfriend, a new man. I just know she does. She didn't like it when Dad had Shari there living with us, so why would it be okay for me to live with her and her boyfriend? It makes no sense."

Nora took his head and put it close to her heart. "Nothing makes sense nowadays. I just got home from a date with Jack and he tells me that he's having feelings for his ex-wife again. Some lame Carly chick. I could probably kick her ass."

Kevin sat back up and smiled. "For some reason, I feel I should say thank you for that."

"You're very welcome. Now you have to make me that promise."

"What promise?"

"No more drinking."

"Nora, it's not that easy. When you grow up with two alkies for parents -- "

"If you promise me that you're going to at least work on it, I'll talk to your mother. I'll try to convince her to let you stay here."

Kevin looked at her. "Okay. I promise."

They hugged and Nora slowly patted his back.

TO BE CONTINUED...