STOLEN CHANCES - PART ELEVEN

PREVIOUSLY

"Alright. But you have to be on your best behavior. Don't give Todd any trouble"

"I won't, Mom. I promise. Thanks a lot," he says giving Todd the phone back. And just like that, plans were made and Todd was about to spend his first day with his son.

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Tea needed a few days to absorb the shock of Todd's news, but it's been weeks since they've had a chance to talk. He's been in and out, but he's spent more time at the Sun than he has at the penthouse. She was beginning to miss him. A lot. And what was more, she needed him. He was her husband and it was no big surprise that he had secrets from the past. But he had just resolved to bury those secrets and put them behind him. They were about to get on with their lives. Until one of those buried secrets came back from the dead. It was a shock, but she had to get over it for the sake of her marriage. This crisis wasn't about her. Sure she was hurt, but Todd needed her. It wasn't his fault that this Michelle person showed up out of nowhere and blew their lives right out of the water.

"Um, Tea? Are you done with any of those plates? I can move some of them for you." Tea is surprised by the seemingly sudden appearance of Cristian at her table.

"Cris. You scared me."

"I'm sorry, Tea. You looked like you were deep in thought or something. I didn't want to disturb you. Are you alright? You've been here for awhile all by yourself. And there's an awful lot of food. My mom says that pregnant women have to eat for two, but you got enough food here for a football team, Tea," Cris teases, unsuccessfully trying to make her laugh.

"Don't worry too much. I'm about as well as I can be right about now, Cris. But thanks for asking. I can't really get into it right now . . . ", her voice trails off as she catches a glimpse of the person entering the door. The last person in the world she'd expected to see.

Tea watches as the surprise visitor walks over to the counter, stopping to speak to Carlotta.

"Hi. I'm here to pick up an order I called in a little while ago. The name is Westlake."

"Michelle Westlake? Oh yes. Your order is right here. That'll be $6.49."

Michelle pays for the food and is about to turn and walk out the door when she drops some change on the floor. She bends down to pick it up, and as she stands up, she catches Tea's glare. Both women just stare at each other, as if in a trance. Michelle hesitates for a moment, then walks over to Tea's table.

"Is this seat taken?" Michelle asks, still wondering if she made the right decision coming over.

"No, it may look like there's enough food here for half of Llanview, but it's just me. Me and junior," Tea adds, patting her stomach with a smile. The smile fades as she looks back up at Michelle. "Please, join me."

"You don't mind?"

"I think it's about time we talked, don't you think, Michelle? Cris, I don't think I'll finish all of this."

"That's cool, Tea. I'll just have my mom wrap it up for you."

"Thanks a lot Cris. I'm sure I'll be starving later."

Michelle nervously sits down across from Tea while Cris finishes clearing away the plates. It was obvious to Michelle that Tea knew all about her past relationship with Todd. And based on the look in her eyes, she's not pleased to meet the mother of Todd's other child. Michelle looks down, not knowing what quite to say to Tea. But Tea seems to have it all figured out.

"We weren't properly introduced that night at the Palace. Tea Delgado Manning," Tea says coldly, thrusting her hand towards Michelle to shake.

"Listen, Tea. I really didn't come here to start problems."

"Then what are you doing here?"

"My father is sick. He's being treated at the hospital here."

"I'm sorry. I was reading about him in the paper. He's a great man. He was an inspiration to me throughout law school," Tea tell her, feeling a little bad now that she had just subtly implied that Michelle was in Llanview for less than honorable reasons.

"Well, you didn't have to live with him. I did. And so did Todd. You didn't have to suffer the consequences of his actions. He was a horrible man. Not so much to me. He treated me like a princess. I know that he loved me, but it seemed like that love came with a price. A price that Todd couldn't pay, unfortunately," Michelle says, looking down again, still unable to fathom the effects of her father's actions on so many lives.

"I take it he didn't approve of your relationship with Todd."

"Not at all. He hated Todd. He wanted to keep Todd away from me. But we were determined not to let him split us up. Unfortunately, the great and powerful Lincoln Westlake was greater and more powerful than either of us had ever imagined."

"What happened exactly, if you don't mind me asking? Why didn't Todd ever know he had a son?" Tea asked curiously. She could see now that Michelle wasn't the enemy. She was as much a pawn in whatever game her father played as Todd was. She sympathized with Michelle.

"Well Tea, like I said before. My father was a powerful man. He had connections all over town. I went to get my pre-college physical and that's when my doctor discovered I was pregnant. Only, he didn't tell me about it. He told my father."

"And your father forced you to leave town without telling Todd about the baby?"

"My father threatened to take my baby away if Todd ever found out. Even still, I tried to contact Todd. I wrote him a letter a few years later telling him where to find us. He never came. I just figured he didn't want to. I didn't find out until I ran into you guys at the Palace that night that he didn't get my letter. He had no idea about the baby. Tea, he was so hurt. He thought I had abandoned him."

Silence falls across the tables as both women reflect on how Michelle's desertion affected Todd. Tea holds onto her stomach, only then truly realizing the torturous decision Michelle had to make. The man she loved or her child. Tea felt lucky that she didn't have to make that choice. She had both. A sense of compassion and empathy washes over Tea and she looks up at Michelle with tears in her eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Michelle. I've been awful to you and to Todd," Tea says, letting the tears flow.

"Tea, you have nothing to be sorry for. None of us were expecting this. All we can do now is deal with it. But I think we can do that. I mean, we've been together for almost an hour now and there's no scratches or hair pulled out," Michelle says, shooting a tentative smile in Tea's direction.

Tea gives Michelle and odd look before allowing the sobs to turn into laughter. The last thing she expected from her meeting with Michelle was to be laughing.

"I take it everything is cool between us, Tea."

"Yeah. Everything is cool," Tea says, smiling back at Michelle. "I think everything is going to be fine."

TO BE CONTINUED