"I'm hungry, Todd. Can't we stop somewhere?"

Todd shrugged. Since they'd stopped at the side of the road and had their talk, Todd had been driving nonstop for hours. He liked driving. It gave him a sense of control, and focus, and a time to think about all they had said to each other. He wondered if Tea could be talked out of her ideas about him seeing a shrink, and how mad she would be if he approached the idea. A rumble in his belly, interrupted his thoughts, and he knew he was hungry himself, but he didn't want to stop. They were making very good time.

"Please Todd...Look, there's a store up ahead. We can at least get some chips or something."

"Delgado, we're almost there."

"Almost where?"

Todd just smiled, and turned back to face the road. "Just one more hour, okay?"

"Todd, pull over to that store, or so help me, I'll open that door and jump out while we're still moving!"

He was surprised into a laugh, but a part of him wasn't completely sure that she didn't exactly what she was saying. He wouldn't doubt anything. "Fine, okay? We'll stop. Jeez!"

"Thank you." She smiled and put rested her hand on his arm.

"You're a crazy woman, Delgado. I'm not sure if I want to bring you with me now," he teased, pulling up into the small rest stop off the highway.

"Too late now, Mr. Manning. I'm already here," she said, socking him playfully in the shoulder.

Todd got out, and walked up ahead, peeking inside the window. He noticed there was a small restaurant inside, and it wasn't just a convenience store like they had thought. Tea, quick on his heels, smiled with relief.

"You sure you want to go in there, Tea. Five star cuisine, it ain't!"

"Positive. As long as it's edible, it's fine by me"

She started to reach for the door, but he opened it and started in ahead of her. Catching himself, he stopped and held the door open for her. She raised a brow appreciatively and went in. "Another rare display of manners, Todd? I'm impressed." He coughed, "Whatever." But she could tell he was pleased.

They sat down at a small booth, facing each other, red vinyl seats squeaking against their bodies. A young but tired-looking waitress came to take their orders.

"I'll have the large order of spaghetti and meatballs," Todd said, "Lots of sauce. And my wife will have--"

"I'll have," Tea cut in, glaring at Todd, "The meatloaf with mashed potatoes. Oh, do you have flan? I'll have that for desert. Do you want some dessert, Todd?"

"Sure. I'll have what the lady is having."

Tea smiled, but the smile evaporated the minute the waitress left to fill their orders. The look on her face was a storm brewing and Todd knew he was in the eye of it. A part of him wanted to shrink away from it, but a bigger part enjoyed pushing her buttons. That's what made being with her so much fun.

He put on his most innocent expression. "What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Todd Manning, I decide to come away you and you think that gives you the right to order for me? If you think this is going to be the basis of our relationship from now on, you have another think coming, mister!"

"Why are you so mad?" he asked, honestly perplexed." "It's just dinner in some greasy spoon. I wouldn't have set foot in a dive like this if it wasn't for you, anyway."

"I'm mad because I don't want you making my decisions for me, even little ones. I'm a big girl and I've gotten along for years before you came along. I already had one father and that's plenty!"

"Okay okay, sorry! Jeez, Delgado, get a grip!"

Her anger subsiding, but it left her shaking. It seemed to come out of nowhere, but it felt good though. At least he knew that she was and would always be her own boss, if he ever dared to forget.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have blew up like that, Todd."

"It's okay. I...you know...respect you and...all that crap."

"I know you do," she said smiling, and moved to squeeze in the other side of the booth where he was sitting. She snuggled up next to him, putting her head on his shoulder. He stiffened just a little bit, but he didn't push her away. "I can't wait to see where you're taking me, Todd. I just know we're going to be able to build a great life for ourselves. Don't you think so?"

"Yeah sure. You're crowding me here, Delgado," he said, but not without a small note of pleasure in his voice.

"Sorry, "I'll move," she said, starting to get up.

"No...no... it's okay. Whatever." He shrugged.

She smiled and settled back in next to him. Their food came and they started to eat, Todd with his usual lack of manners, and they were a little crowded, but neither wanted to move away from each other. They elbowed each other and grinned like kids.

"Okay Todd," she said, getting ready to stick another piece of the startlingly good meatloaf in her mouth. Do you want to tell me where we're going?"

"No."

"Come on, Todd!" She was exasperated. She could see a small grin forming at the corner of his mouth. "Tell me or I'll kill you!"

"I want you to see it, Delgado. The only way you'll appreciate it is to see it for yourself. Have a little patience."

"You know that's not my strong suit," she laughed.

"Trust me, it'll be worth it."

Trust him, she thought, After everything we've been through together, that's still the bottom line for us. Still, I've come this far, risking everything. And he promised me that things would change. Trust him? I guess I do.

"Okay," she replied simply, and continued to eat.

Soon, after leaving the surprised waitress a generous tip (and doing not much more than dropped bills on the table) they were back on the road. Tea stopped asking where they were going, figuring by now that she would be wasting her breath, and sat back to enjoy the scenery rolling by. Soon she dozed off.

Todd was concentrating on the road. His expression was serious, focused, but he was smiling inside. He was sure Tea would love the place he chose for them the live and he couldn't wait to see her face when they got there. It was the only place he'd encountered in his travels that had instilled in him a sense of peace. And the best part was, no one seemed to know who he was. His reputation had stopped at its entrance. He could start over. They could. And soon, when they were settled, they would bring Starr, and be a family again.

He thought about the year he had spent away from his family. He'd known then that he was unstable. At times he could hardly stand to face the day. He knew that Tea could make those feelings go away. Having her with him already made him feel better. Having Starr would too. He thought again about what she'd said about therapy. Maybe when she saw the place, when they were happy, she would see that he didn't need it. And he would do everything he could to make sure she was happy.

Tea had dozed off and Todd shook her awake gently, "Delgado...Delgado, we're here."

"We're here?" she sat up, "Did I fall asleep?"

"Yeah. Snoring like a buzz saw too," he grinned.

"I do not snore, Todd!"

Todd laughed, "Anyway, here we are."

They got out of the car and Tea's eyes widened as she took in her surroundings. "Todd, what is this place?" she asked in wonder, a big city girl looking at something seemingly out of time.

"It's called, 'Tonner's Mills' but I call it Second Chance."

COPYRIGHT NOTICE:: The stories published on The Florencia Lozano Home Page are the property of the individual authors. You may not: Distribute the text to others without the EXPRESS WRITTEN PERMISSION of the copyright owner. You may: print copies of the information for your own personal use, store the files on your computer for your own personal use, reference hypertext documents on this server from your own documents.

This site (and linked sites) is not affiliated with ABC Soaps and is not endorsed by them. The images, characters and settings are all copyrighted by ABC Daytime. All material included on these pages is for educational purposes, in accordance with the "Fair Use" Act.