STOLEN CHANCES - PART THIRTEEN

PREVIOUSLY

Tea closes her eyes and lays her hands next to Todd's. They sit there in each other's arms, watching the sun set while they enjoy feeling the evidence of their love come to life inside of Tea with each kick.

**************************************************************************************************

Blair looks at her watch for the sixth time in ten minutes. Meeting with Todd like this at the spur of the moment made her nervous. She didn't know what to expect from him under normal circumstances. This impromptu meeting only piqued her curiosity and heightened her anxiety.

Tea came out of the kitchen with a tray containing a pot of tea and 4 cups. Blair watched as she tried to carefully balance the weight of the tray and her growing stomach without falling, and finally successfully reaching her destination.

"It looks like I'm not the only guest," Blair says, nodding to the 4th cup. "Who else is invited to this . . . Whatever this is?"

"You'll just have to wait, Blair. A situation has arisen that needs to be handled delicately. We should be able to discuss this matter like adults."

"This matter? Delicate situation? Tea, what's going on? I'm assuming I'm here because this has something to do with my daughter. I demand you tell me about it now!", Blair says, getting a bit angry and standing up to face Tea.

"Blair, you need to lower your voice. Starr will here you," Tea says, trying to calm Blair down, but it's no use. Tea only succeeds in making Blair even angrier.

"How dare you lecture me on parenting," Blair says, raising her voice even louder. Tea continues to plead with Blair to stop yelling, but it's too late. Both women look up to see Starr standing at the bottom of the stairs.

"Tee! Why is mommy yelling at you? Were you naughty?"

"It's nothing, Sweetie. Your mommy and I were just talking," Tea says to try to calm the child down. She shoots a glare in Blair's direction. "Isn't that right, Blair?" Blair just rolls her eyes and stomps back over to the couch, pouting.

"I'm starting to think this is just a ploy to get an extra visit with Starr this month. Todd had his visit 2 weeks ago. He's got another minute, then we're leaving," she claims, still pouting from the last fight with Tea.

"Oh, don't leave so soon, Blair. The party's just beginning," Todd says as he mysteriously appears in the doorway, followed by Ryan and Michelle.

"Ryan! You're here," screams a gleeful Starr. She runs over to the boy and jumps in his arms. "Are you going to stay and play with me?"

"That's a good idea. Ryan, why don't you and Starr go upstairs for awhile. We need to have a grown up talk down here," Todd explains to the boy.

"Sure. Come on, Starr," he says to her, taking her hand as they walk up the stairs. When they're out of earshot, Todd turns to the audience of women he has waiting for his next words.

"Okay, Todd. You're here now. What's this all about?" Blair asks impatiently.

"Believe me, Blair. I don't want to keep you here any longer than you want to be here. I'll make this fast. But first, let me introduce you to a friend of mine. Michelle, this is my ex-wife, Blair. Starr's mother. Blair, this is Michelle. You just met her son, Ryan a few minutes ago."

"Nice to meet you, Michelle. Starr seems to be taken with Ryan. And he's good with her. Have they played together often?" Blair asks, still trying to figure out what was going on.

"In time, Blair. I'll get to that in time. Ladies, why don't we sit down,"Todd says to the women, helping the pregnant Tea down onto the nearest chair. He remains standing and clears his throat, ready to start explaining the reason for the gathering.

"I don't really know where to begin, so I'll just jump right in. There's some news that we need to tell Starr. I just thought it would be best for you to know about it before she does." He seems to be struggling for the right words, so Tea takes over for awhile.

"We figured this was the most responsible thing to do, Blair. Letting you know in advance so we all can be there for Starr in case she has any questions about anything," she simplifies. But Blair notices the strange looks passing between Todd, Tea, and Michelle. Something big was about to happen, and she was the last to know.

"Will you stop stalling and just tell me what's going on? And what does she have to do with anything," Blair says, pointing to Michelle.

"Alright, I'll just come right out and say it. Michelle and I are old friends. We've known each other since we were three. We grew up together, but lost touch after high school. We ran into each other a few months ago and she told me some interesting news. It turns out that Ryan is my son." Todd pauses, letting Blair have a little time to process what he just said. He watches as she slowly reacts to the news, not really knowing what she's thinking.

"Unbelievable...", she finally mutters.

"I know, it was a shock for us too, Blair. And it took me awhile to adjust," Tea says, sympathetically.

"No. It's unbelievable that you're falling for this," Blair says, glaring accusingly at Michelle. "Todd, all she wants is your money. Money that belongs to my little girl. Todd, your fortune is her birthright. I can't believe you would think I'd sit around here and allow you to split it up between all these other kids of yours. You can't be serious about this. What kind of proof do you have? You know, this wouldn't be the first time you were fooled by this scam."

"Proof? Blair, I don't need proof from everybody. Just frm back stabbing lowlifes like you. I've known Michelle all my life. I trust her. She wouldn't lie to me about something like this. I don't appreciate you even suggesting that she would sink to your level. . ."

"Todd! It's alright. You don't have to defend me," Michelle asserts. "But I also don't have to stand here and take this from her. I'm going up stairs with the kids."

"I'll come with you," Tea offers.

"That won't be necessary. Blair's leaving now," Todd bellows. "We just wanted to offer you some respect by including you in this decision, but you can't handle it. Get out."

"Fine. But not without my daughter." Blair runs up the stairs and returns dragging Starr behind her, kicking and screaming. Starr manages to break away and runs to Tea. The whole room stops as Tea takes the time to comfort the little girl. After Starr stops crying, Tea tells her to go back upstairs with Ryan.

"What did you do that for, Tea. It's obvious I'm no longer welcome here, and I'm not going anywhere without Starr," Blair hisses.

"That's where you're wrong. You can't waltz in here and harass my family and friends and expect me to let you take my stepdaughter after scaring her the way you just did. You are leaving, and Starr is staying. If you don't like it, we'll take it up with the family court. I'll get a court order against you so fast, it'll make all of your little bleached hairs stand on end. I'm sure they'll love to hear our accounts of the events of the day as opposed to yours." Tea stands her ground, looking Blair defiantly into the eyes, daring her to even think about removing Starr from the premises. But Blair, just angrily turns around and storms towards the door, giving them one final threat.

"You haven't heard the last of me about this," she warns and slams the door to emphasize her point, leaving the room in utter silence.

"I'm going up to check on Starr. She's never seen her mother act that way. She must be terrified," Todd says, finally breaking the silence.

"So, that was the infamous Blair Cramer," Michelle says, trying to lighten the mood. But she notices that Tea isn't amused. She watches as Tea attempts to clear the unused tea setting. Her hands are too shaky and she almost drops the tray. Michelle rushes over to Tea, and leads her easily to a soft spot on the sofa just before she bursts into tears.

"I don't know why I continue to let that woman get to me," Tea utters between sobs.

"From what I saw today, she's a horrible woman, Tea," she says, attempting to comfort Tea. "Listen to me, Girlfriend. You need to calm down. You can't get yourself all worked up because of that woman. You have to think about your baby."

The two women sit in silence for awhile, reflecting on the events that just occurred. Tea holds on to her stomach, silently swearing never to let Blair be any harm to her unborn child.

"Michelle. You have to be careful. Blair is a dangerous woman when she's threatened. And she feels that you and Ryan are a threat to her."

"What will she do?"

"Well, the last time someone threatened her, they ended up getting pushed out of a second story window."

"What happened to them?" Michelle asks, her eyes widened in disbelief. Her hands shaking with fear.

Tea wipes a tear from her cheek as she looks at Michelle.

"You're looking at her," she says in a whisper, her words hanging lethally in air. What they had seen that day was just the beginning. They needed to brace themselves for the wrath of Hurricane Blair.

TO BE CONTINUED