Post by rsafan on Feb 23, 2007 1:09:00 GMT -5
Chapter 45
“So is it definite? Mimi’s moving to L.A. I mean.” Chelsea asked Shawn as they sat at the Pub having lunch. In the two weeks since Mimi had returned to Salem, things between the two had gone from bad to worse and neither party was saying anything about what was going on behind closed doors. Chelsea figured the best thing she could do was support her brother, especially since Philip and Belle had reached an agreement, of sorts, regarding Claire that hardly included Shawn seeing her. To be faced with losing another child, not to mention your wife, must be torture for him.
Shawn shook his head, “She said she’d let me know next week what she’s decided.”
“If you ask me, I think she’ll decide to stay in Salem.”
“What makes you say that? Bonnie is leaving and Connor’s already gone, they might not be moving to L.A., but they’re leaving Salem, why would Mimi decide to stay when she has no family here?”
“She may not have family here, if that’s what she has with her mom.” she replied, thinking of how Bonnie had ‘lost’ Zach last year, “But Zach has a big one, a real family that does all the things real families do. She’s not going to deny her son that, especially since she knows what its like growing up without all of that. She loves your…our family, she’s always wanted an ‘in’ with the Bradys and Zach is her ‘in’ for life.”
“She could do that with Patrick in L.A., as far as Mimi’s family goes, he’s more than half decent and could make a reasonable attempt at doing the family thing. And besides you’re ignoring the one factor driving her to L.A., she’d be far away from me.”
Chelsea shook her head, “I disagree, I think that’ll be a deciding factor in her staying. But I’m telling you now Shawn, if she decides to stay, you have to make a concerted effort to get her back. You have to haul out the big guns.”
“Mimi moved out four months ago, I hardly think the big guns are going to have much effect.”
“She hasn’t filed for divorce yet and that’s saying a lot.”
“That’s only a formality, one I’m sure she’ll take care of in due course.”
Chelsea stared at her brother and for the first time in months felt like giving him a resounding slap, “Oh what the hell, you’re right and more to the point so is Mimi. No wonder she doesn’t believe you love her, I don’t believe you do and I think she’s better off without you. I’d never want to be with a guy who wasn’t even willing to fight for me. You know what Shawn, I’m sick of your ‘woe is me’ attitude and you’ve just turned me off my lunch.” With that she stormed out of the Pub leaving Shawn to his melancholy.
The other occupant of the room glanced up from the report he was studying, “Did I do something to upset you?” he asked tentatively.
She looked at him and could feel the red creeping up her neck; she had completely forgotten she wasn’t alone in the office, “No.” she assured him quickly, “you didn’t do anything, you’re perfect…I didn’t mean…Not that there’s anything wrong with you, that I can see…Oh God”
He raised a brow at her flustering and smiled, “Let me guess, guy troubles? Boyfriend upset you?”
She glanced up from where she’d hid her head in her arms in embarrassment. His smile was disarming and she found herself responding, “Brother actually, idiotic brother who is acting like a complete fool.”
“So the boyfriend’s just perfect?” he asked.
“If I had one, things would be far from perfect. That’s just the way my life tends to roll out, but I kinda like it that way.”
“Right, who wants perfect, perfect is boring.”
“Exactly, everyone needs a little excitement in their lives and I’ve certainly had my fair share.”
“So tell me about this idiotic brother of yours.”
She shook her head, “I couldn’t, not while I’m on the clock and I don’t want to waste your time.”
“Well then, it’ll be a waste of both of our times since I’m going to be sitting here wondering why your brother’s so idiotic and you’re going to be sitting there thinking about the same thing. If we get it over with we might be able to finish in time for me to take you out to dinner.”
“We wouldn’t need the dinner if we finished here, our business would be concluded.” All she needed was for him to sign the d**n papers; then she could leave and rant about Shawn to her mom. She shouldn’t even be in today and she certainly shouldn’t be sitting here right now. This was and after school thing and she had a ton of work to get through before the end of the week.
“Who said anything about business?” he asked her, “Why Chelsea, you surprise me. Don’t tell me you don’t even know when a man is flirting with you.”
That caught her off guard, but flattered her at the same time. This guy, who was obviously very successful in the business world, was flirting with her, a university undergraduate, what were the odds of that happening? “I…ummm…I think…”
“I’ll take that as a yes to dinner. Now tell me about your brother.”
“To a complete stranger?”
“We’re dating now remember?”
A bit early in the ‘relationship’ for family problems don’t you think? And besides it would be unethical of me to date a client.”
“Unethical but not boring, you don’t strike me as the boring type.”
“I really couldn’t…”
“I’ve already insisted, now the sooner you tell me about your brother, the sooner you can tell me about yourself over dinner.”
“Okay, where do I start?” she thought about it and soon had related the entire situation to him.
He sat and listened to everything she said, waited till she’d finished her little rant and then asked her, “Have you ever stopped to consider that maybe he’s scared?”
“Scared? You think my brother is scared? Of what exactly?”
“His wife walks out on him, with hardly any explanation as to why. She tells him to go back to his ex-girlfriend, gets her own apartment and she copes quite famously without him-”
“That’s just the way she is, she could cope in any situation.”
“Exactly, so here he is in love with a woman who’s walked out on him, who hasn’t given any indication to wanting him back and from all appearances doesn’t need him back. And you expect him to walk up to her, this woman he really loves, and beg her to come back? What if she turns around and tells him ‘no’, or worse yet-”
“Worse? If she says ‘no’, at least he’ll know where he stands. Instead he simply dreams up ways of getting her back without actually going after her. Maybe, no not maybe, if he made an effort, let her know how much she means to him I’m 100 percent sure that she’ll go back to him. She gave him three weeks to convince her to stay and so far he’s done absolutely nothing, nothing that I know of at least.”
“Would you stop interrupting me? Like I was saying-”
“Since we’re in a ‘relationship’ you’re going to have to get used to my interruptions, I believe girlfriends are notorious for this.”
“Girlfriends?”
“Well, I don’t go for casual relationships so if you’re interested, you’ll just have to deal.” The longer they spoke, the more she liked him and the more she liked him, the more confident she was around him. He smiled at her comment and she felt her stomach do a little flip. She hadn’t felt that in a really long time, that flutter you get when you’re with someone you really like, someone you could potentially date.
“Getting back to your brother, the worst thing that could happen was he’d make a total fool of himself and she turns around and says, ‘sorry, I don’t love you anymore.’ Call me a coward but I’d rather not know that the love of my life was no longer interested.”
“You’d rather sit back and do nothing and have her walk away anyway? That’s not only cowardly, that’s stupid too. If that’s really how your mind works, I’m not sure I really want a relationship with you. Especially if you’re so unwilling to go after what you want.”
“If you ask me, your brother needs motivation.”
“His wife walking out wasn’t motivation enough?”
“She hasn’t been dating or sleeping with anyone that he’s aware of. She’s been looking after his son, her whole focus right now is on his son, she might be on her own, but she’s still staying at his sister’s place and generally spending time with his family. If I’m not mistaken, she works at his grandfather’s company; I’d say she’s still on his turf.”
Slowly she smiled, “I think I know exactly where you’re headed with this and I think I know just what to do.”
“This isn’t going to affect our date tonight is it?” he said it simply to see her blush, and smiled to himself. It was a rare occasion when a man actually came across a woman who still blushed.
“So is it definite? Mimi’s moving to L.A. I mean.” Chelsea asked Shawn as they sat at the Pub having lunch. In the two weeks since Mimi had returned to Salem, things between the two had gone from bad to worse and neither party was saying anything about what was going on behind closed doors. Chelsea figured the best thing she could do was support her brother, especially since Philip and Belle had reached an agreement, of sorts, regarding Claire that hardly included Shawn seeing her. To be faced with losing another child, not to mention your wife, must be torture for him.
Shawn shook his head, “She said she’d let me know next week what she’s decided.”
“If you ask me, I think she’ll decide to stay in Salem.”
“What makes you say that? Bonnie is leaving and Connor’s already gone, they might not be moving to L.A., but they’re leaving Salem, why would Mimi decide to stay when she has no family here?”
“She may not have family here, if that’s what she has with her mom.” she replied, thinking of how Bonnie had ‘lost’ Zach last year, “But Zach has a big one, a real family that does all the things real families do. She’s not going to deny her son that, especially since she knows what its like growing up without all of that. She loves your…our family, she’s always wanted an ‘in’ with the Bradys and Zach is her ‘in’ for life.”
“She could do that with Patrick in L.A., as far as Mimi’s family goes, he’s more than half decent and could make a reasonable attempt at doing the family thing. And besides you’re ignoring the one factor driving her to L.A., she’d be far away from me.”
Chelsea shook her head, “I disagree, I think that’ll be a deciding factor in her staying. But I’m telling you now Shawn, if she decides to stay, you have to make a concerted effort to get her back. You have to haul out the big guns.”
“Mimi moved out four months ago, I hardly think the big guns are going to have much effect.”
“She hasn’t filed for divorce yet and that’s saying a lot.”
“That’s only a formality, one I’m sure she’ll take care of in due course.”
Chelsea stared at her brother and for the first time in months felt like giving him a resounding slap, “Oh what the hell, you’re right and more to the point so is Mimi. No wonder she doesn’t believe you love her, I don’t believe you do and I think she’s better off without you. I’d never want to be with a guy who wasn’t even willing to fight for me. You know what Shawn, I’m sick of your ‘woe is me’ attitude and you’ve just turned me off my lunch.” With that she stormed out of the Pub leaving Shawn to his melancholy.
*****
“Ugh…I just cannot believe him!” she shouted suddenly.The other occupant of the room glanced up from the report he was studying, “Did I do something to upset you?” he asked tentatively.
She looked at him and could feel the red creeping up her neck; she had completely forgotten she wasn’t alone in the office, “No.” she assured him quickly, “you didn’t do anything, you’re perfect…I didn’t mean…Not that there’s anything wrong with you, that I can see…Oh God”
He raised a brow at her flustering and smiled, “Let me guess, guy troubles? Boyfriend upset you?”
She glanced up from where she’d hid her head in her arms in embarrassment. His smile was disarming and she found herself responding, “Brother actually, idiotic brother who is acting like a complete fool.”
“So the boyfriend’s just perfect?” he asked.
“If I had one, things would be far from perfect. That’s just the way my life tends to roll out, but I kinda like it that way.”
“Right, who wants perfect, perfect is boring.”
“Exactly, everyone needs a little excitement in their lives and I’ve certainly had my fair share.”
“So tell me about this idiotic brother of yours.”
She shook her head, “I couldn’t, not while I’m on the clock and I don’t want to waste your time.”
“Well then, it’ll be a waste of both of our times since I’m going to be sitting here wondering why your brother’s so idiotic and you’re going to be sitting there thinking about the same thing. If we get it over with we might be able to finish in time for me to take you out to dinner.”
“We wouldn’t need the dinner if we finished here, our business would be concluded.” All she needed was for him to sign the d**n papers; then she could leave and rant about Shawn to her mom. She shouldn’t even be in today and she certainly shouldn’t be sitting here right now. This was and after school thing and she had a ton of work to get through before the end of the week.
“Who said anything about business?” he asked her, “Why Chelsea, you surprise me. Don’t tell me you don’t even know when a man is flirting with you.”
That caught her off guard, but flattered her at the same time. This guy, who was obviously very successful in the business world, was flirting with her, a university undergraduate, what were the odds of that happening? “I…ummm…I think…”
“I’ll take that as a yes to dinner. Now tell me about your brother.”
“To a complete stranger?”
“We’re dating now remember?”
A bit early in the ‘relationship’ for family problems don’t you think? And besides it would be unethical of me to date a client.”
“Unethical but not boring, you don’t strike me as the boring type.”
“I really couldn’t…”
“I’ve already insisted, now the sooner you tell me about your brother, the sooner you can tell me about yourself over dinner.”
“Okay, where do I start?” she thought about it and soon had related the entire situation to him.
He sat and listened to everything she said, waited till she’d finished her little rant and then asked her, “Have you ever stopped to consider that maybe he’s scared?”
“Scared? You think my brother is scared? Of what exactly?”
“His wife walks out on him, with hardly any explanation as to why. She tells him to go back to his ex-girlfriend, gets her own apartment and she copes quite famously without him-”
“That’s just the way she is, she could cope in any situation.”
“Exactly, so here he is in love with a woman who’s walked out on him, who hasn’t given any indication to wanting him back and from all appearances doesn’t need him back. And you expect him to walk up to her, this woman he really loves, and beg her to come back? What if she turns around and tells him ‘no’, or worse yet-”
“Worse? If she says ‘no’, at least he’ll know where he stands. Instead he simply dreams up ways of getting her back without actually going after her. Maybe, no not maybe, if he made an effort, let her know how much she means to him I’m 100 percent sure that she’ll go back to him. She gave him three weeks to convince her to stay and so far he’s done absolutely nothing, nothing that I know of at least.”
“Would you stop interrupting me? Like I was saying-”
“Since we’re in a ‘relationship’ you’re going to have to get used to my interruptions, I believe girlfriends are notorious for this.”
“Girlfriends?”
“Well, I don’t go for casual relationships so if you’re interested, you’ll just have to deal.” The longer they spoke, the more she liked him and the more she liked him, the more confident she was around him. He smiled at her comment and she felt her stomach do a little flip. She hadn’t felt that in a really long time, that flutter you get when you’re with someone you really like, someone you could potentially date.
“Getting back to your brother, the worst thing that could happen was he’d make a total fool of himself and she turns around and says, ‘sorry, I don’t love you anymore.’ Call me a coward but I’d rather not know that the love of my life was no longer interested.”
“You’d rather sit back and do nothing and have her walk away anyway? That’s not only cowardly, that’s stupid too. If that’s really how your mind works, I’m not sure I really want a relationship with you. Especially if you’re so unwilling to go after what you want.”
“If you ask me, your brother needs motivation.”
“His wife walking out wasn’t motivation enough?”
“She hasn’t been dating or sleeping with anyone that he’s aware of. She’s been looking after his son, her whole focus right now is on his son, she might be on her own, but she’s still staying at his sister’s place and generally spending time with his family. If I’m not mistaken, she works at his grandfather’s company; I’d say she’s still on his turf.”
Slowly she smiled, “I think I know exactly where you’re headed with this and I think I know just what to do.”
“This isn’t going to affect our date tonight is it?” he said it simply to see her blush, and smiled to himself. It was a rare occasion when a man actually came across a woman who still blushed.
