Living in the Past - Chapter 7
Brenda sat on the porch swing rocking back and forth, looking out at the greenery with the baby monitor close at hand.
"I’ve heard of baby blues lasting a few weeks, even a month or two, but Alex said there has to be a problem if it last seven months," Anna commented coming up the front porch stairs.
Brenda never even heard her come up.
"What’s bothering you, luv?" Anna asked easing onto her rocking chair while removing her suit jacket and kicking off her heels. "Ah, I’ve been dying to do that all day."
She tried to determine the problem by probing Brenda’s eyes and face, but she was drawing a blank.
Quietly Brenda spoke, "I don’t know, Anna. I can’t put my finger on it."
"Is it Alcazar?"
Brenda shook her head. "No, my conferene call sessions with Kevin are helping keep my nightmares under control." She tucked her feet underneath her. "Everything in my life is almost perfect, but something is stopping me from feeling complete."
"It’s home," Robin informed her, leaning against the door frame of the front door.
Anna and Brenda watched Robin make her way to the empty space next to Brenda.
"It’s what’s wrong with all of us. We miss home. The Pine Valley Inn has great food and beautiful rooms, but it doesn’t hold a candle to the Port Charles Grille and Hotel. Myrtle’s boarding house is cozy, but it’s not the same as the rooms over Kelly’s and then coming downstairs to get a nice, hot, melt in your mouth muffin for breakfast or some chili for lunch, now being made by Luke."
"When did Luke Spencer learn how to cook?" Anna asked. "I think I’ll skip the chili from now on."
"Actually, it’s pretty good," Brenda assured Anna.
Robin nodded in agreement. Anna still looked skeptical.
"Sorry to say this, but it’s true, Luke’s and the Outback’s entertainment beat Haley and Mateo’s place any day. Pine Valley is great, but Port Charles is home." Robin took her mother’s and Brenda’s hand. "Our antsiness is cause we’ve stayed too long, it’s time to go home where we belong."
"There is a house around the corner from Uncle Mac and Aunt Felicia with four bedrooms," Robin stated to her group of avid listeners.
"I’m sleeping where, may I ask, cause I’m not sharing a room with Dawn, and I’m too old to sleep on the couch anymore."
The women in the room turned to Tad as he slouched in the kitchen chair with his feet resting on the other.
"What?" he asked. "Although I wouldn’t mind sharing a room with you, luv," he said in an awful British accent. He winked at Anna.
"I was going to add, before I got interrupted," she said glaring at Tad, "that there is an extra room downstairs that could be used as a guest room."
Tad shook his head. "Downstairs? What am I the unwanted houseguest?" He paused and without even looking in her direction. "Brenda, shut your mouth."
Brenda closed her mouth, but her eyes were twinkling.
"Option number three," Robin began as she passed out another round of handouts, "is we buy back the cottage from Jax’s and add on."
Brenda, Anna, and Tad gave loud and emphatic "nos".
"I didn’t think so, but I had to make sure," Robin said. "Our final option is this warehouse on the docks." She gave everyone a colored advertisement from the house the real estate agent had emailed to her. "It’s been converted into a spacious house. It has a large office that could be converted into separate offices. A guest house that would be perfect for a small, upstart photo studio and dark room," she said looking at Brenda.
Brenda nodded her head and smiled.
"There is enough rooms for everyone so no one has to double up and once certain people start sharing a room, then we’d have an extra room for a- -
"I don’t know, Robby. Did you just say a nursery?" Brenda asked innocently.
Robin and Brenda laughed hysterically.
"Hardy, har, har. Look at Laurel and Hardy yucking it up over there," Tad said, gesturing to Robin and Brenda.
"There will be no more babies in this family, unless they are calling me Grandmum," Anna stated emphatically.
Tad smiled as he watched his woman at work, putting the girls in place.
"And no more babies, until I get some sons-in-law," she informed both her daughters.
"Hey, don’t look at me. I’m not the one with the baby," Robin declared. "Look at her," pointing to Brenda, "the naughty older sister."
"Thanks for ratting me out," Brenda said, throwing one of Robin’s handouts back at her.
"Ratting you out. Hello, Dawn is all the ratting out you need." Turning away from her sister, she turned to her mom and hopefully her future stepfather. "So when I put the downpayment down on the house, the real estate agent told me we could move in whenever we want."
"Robin, you put a downpayment down?" Anna inquired with a puzzled look.
"No, I didn’t steal the money, Mom."
Anna looked at Tad.
Raising his hands as a sign of innocence, "Don’t look at me."
Anna turned to Brenda.
"I’m innocent," Brenda said shaking her head.
Anna’s motherly gaze stared down Robin.
"It’s my money," Robin stated.
Her mother looked at her in disbelief.
"Sean gave me access to a trust fund Duke set up for me before he died."
"Why didn’t I know about it?"
"I don’t know. Duke told Sean not to tell anyone," Robin answered.
"Wait a minute," Tad interjected, in the midst of the heartfelt moment. "We had to sit through flow charts and hand outs for the last hour and you already bought a house?!"
"Yeah," Brenda concurred.
Suddenly, Robin’s handouts were flying through the air heading directly towards her.
