The months following the Chadwicks’ indictments were tough on everyone. George was still haunted by memories of his mother and Jennie. He had carried them around for so long fueling his revenge. Now that justice had been served to Joseph, he wondered what to do next. Until he had the answer, he threw himself viciously into his work. Sometimes he slept in his office for days at a time.
Stephen, who had been planning his revenge for so long, did not think of what he would do once he had it. Spending much of his time on the beach watching the ocean, wondering what he had to live for now that his parents were truly gone, he realized that he had no family. No close friends.
Trying to throw herself completely into her work, Sable was plagued with thoughts of having a murderer for a grandfather who had killed her mother. Quickly realizing that overworking herself was not relieving the pain, nor taking away the dark memories, she spent a lot of time at the park sitting on a bench.
Staring at the ducks in the lake, who had not a care in the world, she wished vehemently that she was one of them. Her wish did not come true. Whenever she would leave the park, life was still waiting for her.
Lorna had broken up with Nick, who from time to time could be seen standing outside of her hospital room, just staring at the door. Never entering. She was not afraid of Nick, knowing that eventually Nick would leave. He did not love her. She knew it and understood that more clearly now. Their relationship has always been one sided; she just could not…would not…do it anymore.
Her mother Jean had no idea how to communicate with Lorna. Jean had spent so many years talking at Lorna that she never learned to talk with her. Their relationship was strained.
Forgiveness was hard. Having had Harry as a father did not help Lorna when faced with her mother. With all she had to come to grips with, having to fight the hatred coursing through her body whenever she thought of her mother was taking a toll on her body. She had a hard time holding down food; she vomited often.
After sitting on the beach and watching the waves for a couple days, Stephen knew he had to have Sable in his life. He loved her. He loved her very much. He had avenged his parents, though he still felt numb inside; it did not bring him the peace inside that he thought it would. Though he did feel a sense of satisfaction, and a sense of justice, he still felt empty inside.
He had not smiled in weeks, but the thought of Sable and having her as his wife made a slight smile cross his lips. Who would have thought, surely not him, but he loved her and wanted her in his life. Standing up, he dusted the sand off himself and went to give her a call. With each step he took, his heart pounded loudly, hoping that she would be home and would want to talk to him. Sable was about to leave her office when the phone rang.
“Hello,” she said, as she was juggling papers from one hand to the next.
“Hello Sable…how are you?” Sable froze as several sheets of paper scattered to the floor unnoticed; it never ceased to amaze her that his voice had a soothing effect on her senses, while scattering it into chaos at the same time.
“Stephen…I’m okay; it’s good to hear from you…how are you?” she said breathlessly, quietly.
There was a slight pause. “I’m well. I needed time to think…I miss you,” he ended softly.
Sable smiled. It was the first time she had smiled in weeks. “I miss you too,” she said softly, as her once chaotic mind settled into a rhythm with her now pounding heart.
Stephen knew as he listened to Sable’s voice that she was a part of him. “Sable? Will you have dinner with me tonight? I realize that it is short notice, but if you can…please?” he asked quietly, pleading, and she could not deny him if she wanted to.
“Yes…I’d like that.” Breathless, she bent to pick up the scattered papers on the floor.
“Okay…thanks…I’ll pick you up, say around 7:30?”
“That’ll be fine. Could you pick me up at my father’s?” Her voice hopeful.
“Sure. See you at 7:30 then.”
“Yes.”
It was a strange conversation for them both. Neither knew what to expect from the other. Neither one wanted to hang up the phone because they had not talked for days, much less have seen each other since the Chadwicks’ conviction. They both thought of one another, but neither had picked up a phone.
It was Sable who finally spoke. “Stephen?” She was breathless and excited at the same time. When she did not receive a response, Sable said his name again.
“I’m here. I just missed hearing your voice. I wanted to hear you call my name again,” amusement ringing in his voice, though he spoke barely above a whisper. She didn’t know what to say or think because her mind had turned to mush from that statement.
Then after a moment of silence, Stephen told Sable that he would see her at 7:30 and that he could hardly wait.
Sable felt like Jell-O. The papers she had picked up went scattering to the floor once again.