Twenty years ago…
Angela Baxter Hubbard sat in the corner propped against the wall for the first couple of days. She was shattered on the inside. Her lifeline, the love of her life, Jesse Hubbard, was taken away by a gunshot to the heart. She held herself and shook until her body failed to move any longer. The drugs they gave her were beginning to wear off. But they were not needed anymore as her body went numb from the pain…in her heart. Then everything fell silent.
Jesse Hubbard tried to figure out where he was, as he lay wavering in and out of consciousness. The last thing he remembered was telling Angela how much he loved her and to take care of there son, Frankie. He sat in the corner shaking from his gunshot wound. The drugs they gave him were beginning to wear off. But they were not needed anymore for his body went numb from the pain…in his heart. Then everything fell silent.
Present Day…
“Okay, what?”
“What?”
“What? Angela I know you. What’s on your mind baby?”
“Well Jesse here we are, together again as if the last twenty years never happened. But they did. Jesse. And…I told you every last detail of my life. I told you about my relationships with Cliff and Jacob. It wasn’t our kind of love Jesse. Nothing will ever be that strong…”
“Ain’t that the truth?” Jesse knew where Angela was going. He’d put it off as long as he could. Twenty years had gone and come. It wasn’t his choice to leave her but it was his choice to stay away. Guilt is a staggering emotion to live with. He didn’t want to weight that on Angela. But Jesse knew he stalled long enough. “So basically you want to know if there was anyone special in my life.”
Angie smiled. He still knew her so very well. “Well Jesse was there someone you want to tell me about?”
“Okay Angela here we go, from the beginning.”
“There was someone that I grew close to. I met her about a year after I went into hiding. She seemed to understand exactly what I was going. It was as if she was also running from her own ghosts. She wanted to start a family and settle down. I didn’t want to father another child on the run, so I broke it off with her. She ran out of the house crying, screaming that I was going to regret this. Witnesses say she was driving erratically right before the car went over the cliff. There was an explosion and she died instantly.”
Angie assisted Jesse in wiping a the tears away that were falling freely down his face. He took her hands and held them in his.
“Jesse I can’t begin to imagine what you went through. I’m so sorry you had to go through it alone. And I hope that you realize that car accident was not your fault. God you must have been dying inside.”
“I was baby. But it wasn’t because I felt a lost for her it was because of the lost I felt for you. I thought about you and Frankie and I just broke down and cried and cried. I just started walking along the highway, next thing I knew, I wake up three days later in a hospital the next town over. I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t stand, it hurt to breathe. I lost it Angela. I lost control of my self and …I had a nervous breakdown. I admitted myself and stay until I could feel again.”
It was Jessie’s turn to wipe away the tears from falling from her face. As he gazed affectionately into her, Angie pulled him into her and an embraced him whole.
“I’m sorry if I pushed you Jesse. I’ll understand if you don’t want to talk about this anymore.”
“You didn’t push me Angela. I want to share this with you. I need to.”
Jesse rose to his feet and walked over to the bay window. He took a brief moment to collect himself before he continued.
“After I was released, I found out that the people who ‘killed’ me were the same ones responsible for her car accident. I finally got it in my thick skull that I had to stay away from you and Frankie. I couldn’t live with myself if anything happened to the two of you. So I pretty much stayed to myself. And there you have it. Twenty years of living under the radar thinking about you."
"So Mrs. Hubbard what’s your story?”
“I’ve told you my story Jessie.”
“Yeah, you told me about Cliff and Jacob and some other guy. But baby I want details.”
“Details of what?” Angie laughed at Jessie’s choice of words.
“Well let’s start with Cliff Warner. What was his story?”
“Well Cliff was very supportive, especially with all the time I took off from the hospital. And after his wife, Nina died we really leaned on one another.”
“Nina…Nina, why does that name sound familiar?”
“Nina Courtland was Palmer’s daughter. She died a short time after you. It feels so strange saying that.”
“I’m so sorry Angela. I will never stop apologizing for what I put you through.”
“Baby don’t, as long as you’re here with me you never have to apologize again.” Jessie reached over and kissed her on her forehead.
“Cliff was offer the Chief-of-Staff position at Pine Valley East and he took the job. I choose to stay here. He remained one of my dearest friends and we still keep in touch today.”
“So he’s happily married with his own family right?”
“Yes he is Jessie.”
“Just checking.” Angie couldn’t help but laugh at his wonderful sense of humor. “Continue.”
“A few years later Joe Martin called me into his office and told me about a clinic that needed a lot of attention in New York. He asked me if I would be interested in running it and I jumped at the chance.”
“My Angela, running her own clinic.”
“Well when I got there the place was in a state of disorder, there were no medical supplies, no beds, and hardly any staff. I had to start from scratch. That’s where Jacob came in. He owned a blues bar next door. The first time I saw him; I fainted where I stood. His resemblance to you was uncanny.”
“He must really be a good looking guy.”
“When I found out he wasn’t you, I disliked him immediately.”
“Good for you Angela!”
“But he did have a way about him and I eventually softened up to him.”
“It’s always the good looking ones that manage to suck you in.”
“Can I finish my story of are you going to keep interrupting me?”
“Finish your story. I’ll just sit back and listen while staring into those gorgeous brown eyes.”
“I fell in love with him and Cassandra. We were married a year from the day we first met.”
“Isn’t that romantic…okay I’ll be quiet.”
“The first year was really hard. Cassandra’s mother left when she was a baby and Jacob had a really hard time adopting her.”
“Wait, so Cassandra is not Jacob’s biological daughter?”
“No, her mother showed up one night in his bar with Cassandra in tow looking for a job. Jacob hired her as a waitress and let her stay in an empty apartment above the bar. In time, they fell in love and he always thought of Cassandra as his own. They were suppose to get married and he was going to adopt Cass before she left.”
“What do you mean she left, just like that?”
“One day out of the blue she started complaining about how she couldn’t do this anymore. Jacob tried to calm her down but she ran out of the house and never came back. Jacob was heartbroken especially when Cass would cry out for her. He still tried to adopt her and he ran into a lot of red tape. After we got married and convinced the judge we were a real family, he made the adoption official for the both of us.”
“You know Angela, I can’t even sit here and ask how could a mother do that to her child, when I did the same thing.”
“It’s not the same thing Jessie.”
“What’s different Angela? She left her child and so did I. I just hope that if she ever decides to come back, Jacob can forgive her the same way you forgave me.”
“Well I’m all for forgiveness Jessie. But I for one am thankful that Summer gave me the change to become Cassandra’s mother.”
“Wait, run that by me again. “Did you say Summer?”
“Yes that was her name. Why?”
“Well this may be one hell of a coincident but you know the woman I told you about? Her name was also Summer.”
