Everything I Do-Chapter 14
"Are you sure you’re ready for this?" Keesha asked, as she was about to push the doorbell at the Quartermaine mansion.
Faith took a deep breath and nodded her head. "It’s either now or never. I have waited a long time for this; I think that I’m ready."
"Okay," she said as she pushed the button and they waited for their call to be answered.
"Keesha," Reggie said as he saw her. "It’s been a long time since you were here, too long."
"I’ve missed you, too," she said giving him a hug. "Is everyone here?" she asked when they were ushered inside. She was hoping that AJ wasn’t. She didn’t want to deal with that today. She had not seen him much since they had broken up, and she would like to keep it that way. Ever since that day when he suggested she was not happy about getting married to Jax, she wanted to avoid him.
"Yes," he answered her. "They are all in the living room having breakfast. You can go in now if you want. They will be glad to see you. I have to get back to the kitchen. I’ll see you later."
"You seem to really know the Quartermaines really well. They have a high opinion of you I gather, after all, you are Justus’ cousin," Faith commented.
"I’m afraid there’s a lot more to it than that. I think that AJ might be here today, one of your cousins. He and I used to date, not too long ago, either. The break-up wasn’t the best in the world."
"You used to date one of them?" she asked. "Wow, I’ve really missed a lot."
"Not really," she said rolling her eyes. "Are you ready to go in?" she asked knocking lightly and then turning the knob to go in. "Good morning," she said brightly and with a smile as her eyes searched for AJ. She was glad that he wasn’t there.
"Good morning, Keesha. This is a surprise," Monica said gesturing for her to come into the room. "We’re glad to see you."
"Yes," Edward said smiling as he came over to give her a hug. "Is this about your wedding to that pirate?" he asked a sterner tone.
"Edward," she admonished him. "He is not a pirate, okay, and this is not about my wedding."
"Who is this lovely young lady?" he asked shaking her hand.
She smiled at him. So this was her grandfather. He certainly seemed grandfatherly enough, but the things Keesha told her about him did not seem grandfatherly. "I’m Faith Ward," she said simply and looked around at the shocked faces of her newfound family.
"Faith," Monica said. "You said you are Faith Ward?" she asked.
Faith nodded her head. "Yes, I am," she answered her.
Monica looked around at everyone else and back at her and smiled. "Well," she said coming over to her with open arms, "we have been waiting a long time to meet you. Welcome," she said giving her a hug.
Faith had to admit that surprised her. She knew that Justus had been more or less accepted into the family, but she did not think that she would be so readily accepted. "Thank you," she said quietly.
"Yes," Alan said getting and joining them. "We are very glad that you came."
"Yes, dear," Lila said as well. "We are extremely delighted that you decided to come and meet your family. I am sorry that your cousins are not here at the moment, but they should be here shortly."
Faith smiled at her. She found it a little hard to believe that Edward’s wife was being so nice to his granddaughter by another woman. She looked at Keesha, and she merely smiled and shrugged. Their silent communication was broken by Edward.
"We most certainly are glad that you have come," he said leading her to sit down and brought Keesha with them. "Keesha, we are grateful to you for bringing her here."
"Not a problem," she said smiling. "She wanted to meet her family, so I just helped."
He turned back to Faith. She looked so much like her cousin, but he could see Justus in her features as well. He smiled and took her hand. "Where are you staying? There is plenty of room here."
"Yes," Monica chimed in. "You are more than welcome to stay here," she said extending an invitation.
"That’s very kind of you, but I was staying with Keesha, if that’s not a problem for her," she said looking at her cousin. These people seemed well meaning enough, but she didn’t want to go as far as staying with them.
"Of course it’s not a problem for me. Besides, Edward, the two of us have a lot of time to catch up on," she said smiling.
He nodded and smiled. "Well, at least, you will spend the day with us," he hoped.
"Well," Faith responded. "I am going to lunch with Keesha and her fiancé…"
"That’s right," Keesha said jumping in. Edward was coming on too strong, she could tell. Of course he was excited about meeting his granddaughter, but this might be too much for her to handle. Keesha wasn’t sure if Faith could handle the Quartermaines under the present circumstances. Edward would probably make her CEO or something before the end of the day. "I really want her to meet Jax," she said making it impossible for Edward to argue.
He turned to face Keesha. "I still don’t see what you see in him. You know there is still time to change your mind about that one," he advised her.
"Edward," Lila interjected. "You will do very well to keep your nose out of Keesha and Jax’s concerns. He is a very nice young man, and you will not try to dissuade her. It is good that Faith wants to spend some time with her cousin and her intended. I am sure she will have more than enough time to spend with us in the coming days."
"Thank you, Mrs. Quartermaine," Faith said. "I promise that I will come back and meet everyone else. I just wanted to let you know I was here for Keesha’s wedding."
Alan nodded and smiled. "And we are very glad you did. I will have you know that my father will not do without spending some time with you. Would you ladies care to join us for breakfast?"
"If that is fine with Keesha," Faith answered looking over at her.
She smiled. She really didn’t want to be there if AJ came, but she agreed anyway. "That would be fine."
*****
"So," V asked as she poured herself a cup of coffee. "Do you have any idea why she has come back now?"
Mac looked up at her from the file he had been reading. He sighed. "You’re not going to let this go, are you?"
She shook her head. "No, I’m not. I didn’t think this was something I had to let go. I just want to know why Miranda has decided to come back to Port Charles now. And, it would be nice to know why she has decided to make you her new best friend."
"Is that jealousy I detect," he teased her. He shook his head. "A lot has happened between the two of us in the past, and I’m happy to be there as a friend for her. She needs a friend right now."
"Is that what she told you?" she asked as she sat in the chair on the other side of his desk. "Has she told you that she needs a friend? Are you sure it’s only a friend that she needs and nothing more? Because, if it is something more, then I’m afraid she’s looking in the wrong place," she informed him.
He smiled. "I am very sure of that. She knows that she shouldn’t expect anything more. She already knows that you don’t like her."
"How did she ever get that idea?" she asked not denying it. She was not happy about Miranda being in their lives. She didn’t know the whole story behind the Miranda situation, but she was sure that it wasn’t good. Mac was reluctant to talk about it, and his insistence to help her out made her a little weary. And suffice it to say she was not happy about the fact that Miranda was staying with them
"V, you have nothing to worry about. Could you at least cut her a little slack? She really wants to be your friend, and I really want the two of you to get along. Can you do that for me?" he asked, really hoping she would be able to.
She shrugged as she stood up. Looking at her watch, "I have to go. I’ll probably be late tonight; I have some things I have to do."
"Dare I ask what sort of things?" he said standing and joining her on the other side of the desk. "Or, should I be content in the fact that you will not tell me."
She sighed and kissed him. "I’ll try to be home early, okay," she relented as she grabbed her purse from the chair. "I’ll see you later," she said kissing him once more before leaving.
Surprise, surprise, she said to herself when she saw Miranda a few steps from Mac’s door. This was getting a little irritating. Why was she hanging around Mac so much? She pasted on a fake smile. "Hi, Miranda," she said.
Miranda also gave her a lukewarm smile. "Hello, V. I was just going to see Mac; is he in? I brought him lunch," she said indicating the picnic basket in her hands. "You are more than welcome to join us," she offered.
V could tell that she was not sincere about the offer. She shook her head. "I have some things to do today. Maybe some other time. I’ll see you later, Miranda."
"Okay," she said smiling as she walked the remainder of the way over to Mac’s office and knocked.
V looked back at her. There was something definitely there about that woman that she just did not trust. Jax was just going to have to give her all the information on her past, or she would just have to find out herself. It was time to pay her best friend a visit soon anyway.
*****
"So, what are your real impressions of the Quartermaines?" Keesha asked as they got settled at their table. Faith had been quiet on the way over, and she wanted to know what she thought about her family.
"They seem like nice people. I must say they are not at all what I expected. Edward doesn’t seem like the man that I read about and the man Justus described. He seems so nice."
Keesha smiled at her. "Don’t let that fool you, Faith. Don’t get me wrong, I like Edward. He’s nice to me and for the most part I like the other Quartermaines, too. I don’t know, this may be a little difficult to explain," she said sighing. "Take Jax for example. When you meet him, you’re probably going to think that he’s nice too, which he is, but that’s not the only side of him. That’s probably the only side of him you’re going to see, though. He, like the Quartermaines, have their business and personal modes."
"Hence the pirate remarks," Faith said catching on. "I was wondering about that."
Keesha rolled her eyes. "Trust me, I don’t think that even I want to cross Jax in business, but I can still love him. That’s the kind of relationship I think that you will have to have with the Quartermaines. You may not always approve of what they do, but you love them anyway."
"I don’t know," she said shaking her head. "But, I will tell you that you’ve gotten me a little frightened of meeting this fiancé of yours, though," she said laughing.
"I hope not," she said smiling as she looked towards the door, "because, here he is. Hello," she said standing to give him a hug and a small kiss. "Prompt as always. This is my cousin Faith Ward," she said introducing them.
He smiled as he extended his hand. "It is nice to finally meet you. I have heard a lot about you."
She returned the smile and shook his hand as well. "And, I have heard a lot about you as well. You must certainly make my cousin very happy," she smiled at the both of them.
"I certainly strive to," he said pushing in Keesha’s seat before he sat down. "You have been to Quartermaine mansion this morning, right?"
She nodded. "Yes, we had breakfast with them. I was told that there were more members of the family, but that they were at a meeting."
"Yes, we were at that same meeting. You’re cousins drive a hard bargain," he said smiling.
"And you drive a harder one," Keesha said knowingly.
"You know me so well, Luv," he said taking her hand. "I must ask this. What did you think of your illustrious family?"
She shrugged. "They seemed like very nice people."
"Edward must be on his good behavior today," he joked. "Has Keesha asked you to be in the wedding yet?"
She smiled and nodded. "Yes, she has. I must say that the plans for the wedding are so beautiful. And, Keesha’s dress, it’s magnificent."
"Really, could you tell me a little more about this dress?" he asked. "Ouch," he said playfully as he rubbed his arm where she hit him.
"No, she will not tell you anymore about my dress. Impatience is not becoming, Jax," she said shaking her head. "Are we ready to order? I’m starving."


