Episode #6

Monday, 4/30/07

Same Day, Afternoon

Rosehill Church, Inside

“Today I want to remember the good in my sister. No matter what mistakes she made, she brought into this world two fine children.” Vanessa Sterling looked towards her nephew Ben Harper and smiled. “And I know they had their differences over the years and I know her children had their own troubles, but they’ve both grown into such fine human beings.” Her voice caught in her throat. “I just wish… I wish that…”

“Aunt Van,” came the familiar voice from the back of the church.

Van looked up and towards the sound of the voice, her hand flying up to her chest in joyous surprise. She had come. Her sister Meg’s long estranged daughter Cal was slowly walking down the aisle towards her in the supportive arms of her husband Rick Latimer.

Rosehill Church, Inside

“Cal!” Van exclaimed, overjoyed by the sudden appearance of her niece. “You came! Oh, I was so worried that….”

“Hello, Aunt Van,” Cal Latimer said softly as she approached her. “To be honest, I… I almost didn’t come, but Rick, he….”

“I did a little coaxing,” Rick Latimer continued with a supportive nod and smile towards his wife. “I told her that no matter what Meg did in the past, none of it mattered now. The past is over.”

“Yes, it most certainly is.” Van reached out and grabbed Cal’s hands tightly, leading her towards the front of the church where Ben waited to take his sister into his arms.

“Oh, Cal, I’m so glad you’re here,” he said softly into her ear as he held her tightly.

“I’m… I’m sorry we’re late,” Cal muttered uncomfortably as she turned to look at the gathered crowd. “We… we almost missed our connecting flight and….”

“None of that matters – nothing matters now that you’re here.”

“We’re… we’re interrupting. I’m sorry, Aunt Van. We’ll just sit down and….”

“Wait.” Van refused to let go of her niece’s hand and held fast. “Cal, would you… would you say a few words in memory of your mother.” She softened her voice to a whisper. “I know you two hadn’t spoken in a very long time and I know there were a lot of hard feelings and resentment, but I think this is something that would be good for you to do.”

An uncertain Cal looked first towards Rick and then to Ben before taking a long breath. “You’re right, Aunt Van, as usual. I do need to say a few things.” She gave her husband’s hand a strong squeeze. “But not for her. I need to speak for me.”

Although Ben’s face registered a look of concern, Van’s radiated confidence. She had faith that Cal would be able to say just the right thing and released her niece’s hand to take Rick’s arm so that he could lead her to her seat next to Ben.

“I know that my being here might come as a surprise to a lot of you,” Cal began as she stood by her mother’s casket. “To be honest, it kinda comes as a surprise to me. As many of you know, my mother and I didn’t get along, to put it mildly. A lot of things happened in the past and I held on to a lot of animosity and resentment.”

“Yes, my mother made a lot of mistakes, but… she can’t be held totally to blame for the rift between us. I should’ve tried harder to… to reach out to her, to show her the love that I felt for her despite everything that she’d done. But I… well, I held onto a lot of that resentment almost like a security blanket. She’d hurt me and I suppose, in some way, I wanted to hurt her back.”

“I cut off all ties to her when I left Rosehill a long time ago and I forced her out of my life. I kept her from knowing her grandchildren under the belief that I was protecting them from her negative influence, but…” Her voice trailed off as she lowered her head, wiping tears from her eyes. “But, really, I was only trying to punish her – to hurt her back. I… I see that now and I’m…” Cal’s chest began to heave as her sobs began to spill forth. “Oh, Mother, I’m s-sorry. I’m so sorry.”

Rick quickly rose from her seat and went to her side, grabbing her arm to steady her. “Honey, it’s okay,” he whispered into her ear.

“I… I understand now,” she said softly, running her fingers along her mother’s picture. “You only did the best that you knew you. You loved us the only way you knew how….”

Rosehill Church, Cemetery

Chaz shoved his hands deep into his pockets as he walked through the gravestones. He hoped Joy would understand why he had to take off so suddenly, but he couldn’t hang around that church and risk being seen. It would be just his luck that he would be back in Rosehill after all these years. Chaz prayed to God that he’d managed to get away before he’d seen him.

It was then, at that moment, that Chaz saw the last thing he’d expected to see that day – the one thing he’d traveled all the way to Rosehill to see – his mother’s grave.

Understandably shocked by the unexpected discovery, he fell to his knees in front of the gravestone, his breathing heavy and labored. It was her – the woman he’d always heard about, but had never met… the woman who’d died giving him life.

Chaz carefully ran his fingers across the front of the stone – “Beloved wife and mother, Felicia Flemming Lamont.”

So transfixed by the sight of his mother’s grave, he didn’t hear the telltale footsteps coming up behind him, not did he see the watchful, loving eyes that held him in their warm embrace.

But he felt them.

“Hello, son,” Edouard Aleata said as he looked down at Chaz, kneeling by his mother’s grave.

Rosehill Church, Inside

“Cal, it’s so good to see you again,” Betsy Harper exclaimed, hugging her best friend as everyone started to mingle after the conclusion of the memorial service. “I’m so glad you’re here.”

“So am I,” Cal smiled. “It took a lot of convincing on Rick’s part, but I’m here.” She paused and turned to her brother Ben. “Do the police have any idea who did this? I know she wasn’t exactly the most liked person in the world, but why would anyone want to hurt her like this?”

“I don’t know,” Ben muttered with a shake of his head. “I’ve tried talking to the police, but they haven’t exactly been very forthcoming with any leads they might have. It’s like… it’s like they want to keep us in the dark about everything.”

“I’m sure they’re doing everything they can,” Van spoke up reassuringly. “But do we… do we have to talk about things like that today. Can’t all of that wait until tomorrow?”

“I think your Aunt Van is right, Cal,” Rick nodded. “Today should be about Meg. We should….”

“It’s so good to see you, Rick.” Dr. Andrew Marriott held out his hand, firmly grasping Rick’s.

“Andrew,” Rick muttered in acknowledgement. He and Andrew shared a spouse – Rick’s former wife Barbara – and that allowed for a slight bit of awkwardness.

“I’ve been meaning to call you and ask if you’ve heard anything more about Hank.”

“Oh, yes, Rick, what’s the word on Hank?” Van leaned in and listened carefully for news on her stepdaughter Barbara and Rick’s son. “Does the government have any leads?”

“All that they’re telling us is that his chopper was shot down somewhere over Iraq.” Rick carefully guided Andrew and Van away from the others as Cal, Ben, and Betsy went over old times. “They recovered the helicopter and the bodies of the men who were with him, but…” His voice caught in his throat, obviously concerned for the life of his eldest son. “There’s been no sign of him. It’s like… it’s like he’s simply vanished off the face of the earth. Officially, he’s MIA.”

“Dear Lord.” Van shook her head in disbelief over the latest potential tragedy in the family. “And you still haven’t told Barbara?”

“No.” Rick looked towards Andrew with a hard glare. “She has a right as his mother to know, but….”

“You know as well as I do that she simply couldn’t handle this news in her condition,” Andrew interrupted. It was an argument they’d had many times over the last few weeks. “She’s made so much improvement since we moved her to the facility here in Rosehill, but news like this could be too much for her and might set her back to where she was before.”

“I still don’t understand how this could happen,” Van sighed. “To all of a sudden, just…”

“I don’t understand it, either, Van,” Andrew muttered, “but I can’t afford to take chances. Not when she’s come so far.”

“Well, you’re her husband.” The subtle sarcasm in Rick’s voice wasn’t lost on either Van or Andrew and Van shot him a look of warning.

Ignoring Rick, Andrew turned his attention to Van. “Anyway, I’m sorry to leave like this, but I’m actually going to go see Barbara. I like to spend as much time with her as I can.” He smiled warmly as he reflected on the little time he got to spend in his beloved wife’s company.

“Give her my love.” Van kissed Andrew on the cheek before he walked out of the church, leaving Van and Rick to join the rest of their family, reflecting on memories of Meg.