| IN SICKNESS BY TIMA |
CHAPTER 105 |
PREVIOUSLY:
Tea: We'll make it work together. I didn't exactly have a perfect childhood, either. I feel just as lost as you do about how to be a good parent. But, the one thing that I trust is that this child will feel secure in how much we both love him, or her. That right there will be more than you, or I, had when we were growing up.
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IN SICKNESS
chapter 105:
[In the parking lot of a small, older motel...]
Todd: If you think it's ugly on the outside, wait until you get inside.
Tea: It isn't ugly at all. It's...quaint.
Todd: That's worse than ugly. Are you sure you don't want me to take you somewhere else? I can afford better...way better.
Tea: This is perfect.
Todd: We could just bulldoze the place and put up one of those skyscraper hotels.
Tea: Don't you dare. It's charming and cozy.
Todd: Your hormones are making you see things that aren't there.
Tea: It does have a certain charm. You have to admit that.
Todd: You think I have a certain charm, too. No wonder you like this dump. You've got a thing for losers.
Tea: You are not a loser.
Todd: This dump is. It's losing tons of money.
Tea: We'll turn it around...together.
Todd: We're only here for a couple of days, remember? I'm not the innkeeper type. I don't look good in sweaters.
Tea: I disagree. Besides, you have been wanting to get away from Llanview.
Todd: When we ditch that town, it will be to go somewhere better. Even Llanview is better than this dump.
[Tea opens her car door.]
Todd: Wait!
[Todd quickly exits the car and rushes around it to help his wife out of the vehicle.]
Tea: If you're not careful, I'll come to expect this all the time.
Todd: This is only for when you're pregnant. If you want me to keep doing this kind of stuff, you'll have to keep getting pregnant.
Tea: We could discuss that while we're here.
Todd: I thought you wanted to wait until after you've had the kid, to see if you ever want to put yourself through that again.
Tea: We could wait to make a final decision, but we could discuss it now.
Todd: Can we make a deal?
Tea: What?
Todd: No talking about the big C.
Tea: That might be impossible.
Todd: No one here knows about it. We're not getting the results for a couple of days. We could have a couple of days where that doesn't exist.
Tea: Just because we don't talk about it won't mean that either of us will be able to stop thinking about it.
Todd: Stupid idea, huh?
Tea: I understand why you want that. If I have it again...
Todd: You don't.
Tea: ...so much of our time will be devoted to it again. This may be the last time, for a long time, that we can truly feel cancer-free. We could try to pretend the possibility doesn't exist.
Todd: It wouldn't work.
Tea: We can try.
Todd: I know you -- you want to talk about it.
Tea: If I have it, we'll have plenty of time to talk about it. The next two days are just for us. No cancer allowed. This will be like our honeymoon. We never really did have one.
Todd: Get in the car!
Tea: Why?
Todd: No wife of mine is going to settle for a honeymoon in a dump like this. We'll go to that hotel on that island where it costs twenty grand a night, or whatever it is.
Tea: Do you remember when we saw that report about it on TV?
Todd: If I didn't remember, why would I be bringing it up?
Tea: Do you recall what my response to that was?
Todd: I think you were really happy.
Tea: I was laughing my ass off that anyone would pay that much money for one night.
Todd: I want you to feel special.
Tea: I feel special whenever I'm with you, whenever you look at me, touch me, talk to me, kiss me, make love to me.
Todd: Okay...I get it.
Tea: Share this with me. That will make me feel special.
Todd: Fine! Let's get this over with.
[Todd takes her hand in his and leads her toward the motel's office.
As they enter the office, Tea notices as his hand grips hers slightly tighter. Her gaze follows his toward the elderly woman sitting on a stool behind the counter. The woman looks up from the crossword puzzle she was moments earlier engrossed in. A smile quickly appears on her weathered face as she looks toward the Mannings.]
Todd: Goofing off on the job again, huh, Gerry?
Geraldine: Todd Manning! If I had known you were coming I would have made your room up special for you.
[Tea watches the lightness in Todd's eyes as the woman leaves her perch behind the counter and approaches them.]
Todd: I didn't want you ruining it with flowers again.
Geraldine: What do you have against flowers?
Todd: They stink!
Geraldine: They brighten up the rooms.
Todd: I hate that, too. I'm going bankrupt on your flower bills.
Geraldine: Oh, now, you are not.
[Geraldine playfully swats at Todd's arm, causing Tea even more surprise. Obviously, they're on quite friendly terms, causing Tea to wonder why Todd never mentioned this woman to her.]
Todd: You didn't rent my room out, right?
Geraldine: Of course not. I did go through and shovel it out after you left. It was quite a mess. I believe there are some introductions in order, young man.
Todd: Go ahead, introduce yourself.
[Geraldine again playfully swats Todd's arm, causing Tea to smile. She extends her hand toward the woman as she introduces herself.]
Tea: I'm Tea Delgado.
Todd (quickly adding): Manning.
Geraldine: I was hoping that was who you were. If Todd had brought another young lady here, he would have had a stern lecture, and a swift kick in the behind, from me. I'm glad we could finally meet. Todd has told me so much about you.
[Tea is surprised as she finds herself enveloped in the arms of this stranger. As Geraldine ends her embrace of Tea, she turns toward Todd.]
Todd: Don't even think about it.
[Geraldine reaches her hand out and caresses his cheek.]
Geraldine: So much like my Billy.
[Geraldine turns her attention back to Tea.]
Geraldine: Did this husband of yours tell you what he did for my Billy?
Tea: No. As a matter of fact, he hasn't told me anything.
Geraldine: Thanks to Todd, my Billy has a good chance of getting out of prison soon.
Tea: Billy? Is that your son?
Geraldine: Grandson. If Todd hadn't bought this place from me for much more than it's worth, I never would have been able to handle the legal fees for his appeal.
[Tea looks at Todd.]
Todd: Enough of this chit-chat. Do your job and get me my room key.
Geraldine: Don't be so bossy. I don't have to work here, you know.
[Geraldine goes back around to the other side of the counter and retrieves their room key. She hands it to Todd.]
Geraldine: How long are you staying this time?
Todd: A couple of days. All that housekeeping junk can wait until after we split.
Geraldine: Your wife might like clean towels tomorrow.
Todd: Give us extras today.
Geraldine: You want some private time, huh?
Todd: Can you make that happen?
Geraldine: Of course I can. I make everything happen around here. You know that. You'll have complete privacy, unless you want to come out and share a meal with an old woman.
Todd: Maybe tomorrow, okay? We're both kind of tired.
Geraldine (to Tea): I look forward to getting to know you better. I want to make sure you're good enough for my boy.
Todd: You can grill her tomorrow.
[Todd gently pushes Tea out of the office and back into the parking lot.]
Tea: Her boy?
Todd: She's old. She thinks she's a grandmother to everybody.
Tea: That's very sweet. You're very sweet...helping her with her grandson's appeal. Maybe I can help, too.
Todd: No way. You're not a lawyer anymore.
Tea: I most certainly am.
Todd: You're having my kid.
Tea: Which doesn't preclude me from also being a lawyer.
Todd: Let's not get into any of this junk right now, okay? We're here for other things.
Tea: We're here to forget about the biopsy. Distract me by telling me about Gerry.
[Todd leans against the side of their car as they continue their conversation.]
Todd: Her name is Geraldine. Her husband ran out on her a long time ago, leaving her with a bunch of kids and this dump that was totally in hock. She made it work enough for her to get by. Her grandkid was a messed up kid who did a lot of stupid stuff, including getting caught and shipped off to prison. She lives in that little house next to the office. She was all set to unloaded this place to someone else. She wasn't going to get much for it and she was going to lose her house. I made her a better offer.
Tea: She's lucky you came along when you did.
Todd: You're not ticked off?
Tea: Did you think I would be? Is that why you lied to me?
Todd: I didn't lie...exactly.
Tea: You told me that you had to buy this motel because you had trashed your room and it was the only way to keep from going to jail.
Todd: I did trash the room. I thought she'd be like everyone else and bring the cops in. She didn't. She took me to a bar and bought me a beer, instead. She thought I was broke. She was offering to make a deal for me to work off the repair bill.
Tea: You didn't have to lie to me. I would have understood. I respect what you did.
Todd: I think it was everything that happened to you. I think it turned me into a total sap.
Tea: Even before I got sick, you did very sweet things for strangers on a regular basis. And, you often tried to cover it up then, too. This is part of who you are, Todd. It doesn't make you a sap.
Todd: What does it make me?
Tea: A kind, generous person.
Todd: You won't tell anyone, will you?
Tea: Why do you always want to hide the sweet part of you?
Todd: I don't know. Feels like the right thing to do, I guess.
Tea: I think you should rethink that.
Todd: I think that we need to get back in the car and get some shopping done before all the stores around here close.
[Tea leans closer to him and kisses him lightly on the lips.]
Todd: What was that for?
Tea: Because I felt like it.
Todd: Maybe we should skip the shopping and go right to the room.
Tea: Maybe we should.
[Todd takes Tea's hand in his again and leads her toward their motel room.]
to be continued...
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2002 COPYRIGHT BY TIMA
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