Bebe in LaLa Land: 15

 

The family of three return to Massachusetts for Thanksgiving. It is a time of discovery for Ed and Rose.
For John, too, but his discoveries are more difficult to deal with. This chapter is a series of contrasts between
one of the best Thanksgivings ever and one of the worst. It's a slightly different approach for me.
Thank you all for sticking with Bebe and me!

---

 
Author's Note: Please let me know your thoughts and critiques on this chapter?? ~Clara.
 
This version of Bebe in LaLa Land: 15 has been updated with many corrections towards spelling and grammar.~Sephrena.
 
Image Credit: Image created through the use of ai at https://perchance.org/beautiful-people .~Sephrena.

---

 
 
GOING HOME -or- IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHERE YOU'RE GOING, ANY ROAD WILL GET YOU THERE
 

"Hi." The woman smiled as she opened the front door of the charming, colonial farm house. "You must be Ed. I've heard so much about you. I'm Eileen, Rosemary's mother. Come right is."

"Thank you, Eileen." Ed came in and handed the woman a bottle of rather expensive wine. "Here, I brought this for you."

"Oh, well, that's awfully nice of you, Ed. That was t necessary, though, I mean, you and Rosemary are headed out for dinner, anyway. But thank you."

Ed smiled. "I know, but Rosie said that you liked wine. I don't know much about it, actually, but the guy at the store recommended this. I hope you like it."

She read the label and was impressed by the name of the winery. "Oh, I'm sure I will. Umm, did you just refer to Rosemary as Rosie?"

Ed nodded. "Yes."

"Huh," the woman smiled. "I have never once heard anyone refer to her as Rosie. She has always been Rosemary or Rose."

Ed laughed. "See, I didn't know her real name was Rosemary, or I would have called her that."

The woman smiled, but went to the foot of the beautiful, two hundred year old staircase and called up, "Oh, Rosie! Rosie! Your little friend is here." She looked at Ed with a smirk on her face. "She'll be right down. I'm sorry that my husband isn't here. I know he'd like to meet you, but he always flies to Florida for the weekend after Thanksgiving to golf with his brother. Do you golf, Ed?"

"Oh, um, no ma'am." Ed shook his head. "I never learned how."

"Well, despite the many hours that my husband spends trying to get better at it, I believe that the game is essentially just about getting a little ball into a hole. I'm sure you could learn. If you'd ever like to get to know Rosemary's father, you should probably learn how to play."

Ed smiled and nodded.

"Ed," Rose said from the stairway. "I didn't know that you were here. I'm sorry I made you wait. You're a little early." She kissed his cheek.

"Hey, Rosemary." Ed grinned as he kissed he back. "I've missed you."

"I've missed you, too," Rose replied as she immediately got caught up in Ed's beautiful eyes, "but if you ever call me 'Rosemary' again, I'll kick you from here to hell and back again." She smiled and kissed him, again.

"Ed tells me that he calls you Rosie," her mother teased. "As I recall, that name was forbidden in this house."

Rose smiled. "It still is."

"Then you need to explain that to your gentleman caller."

Rose smirked. "He has my permission. No one else, though. No one! Never!" Rose kissed her mother and took Ed's arm. "We'll be home late. Love you, mom."

As they walked to Ed's rented car, a Mercedes SL, Ed took her hand and teased, "You never told me that you didn't like to be called Rosie."

"Yuck! It's an awful name, isn't it? It sounds like a maid's name. Or a waitress in a greasy dinner?"

Ed chuckled. "No. I think it sounds beautiful and musical. Like the start of a beautiful, rosy day."

"See?" She hugged him as he opened the door for her. "That's why I love it when YOU say it."

He smiled and, before she could insert herself into the luxury sedan, he kissed her, but not like he'd not a thousand times before. This time he kissed her on her lips and the kiss was soft and warm and lingering. When, at last, they parted, she smiled at him and looked as if she'd just heard a very funny joke.

"What?" Ed asked with a nervous chuckle.

"I've been waiting five months for that kiss."

"And?"

"And... you did not disappoint, Mr McNeal." She gave him a brief, affection, second kiss, then pulled herself into the car.

Ed closed the door gently, then proceeded to let himself into the driver's side. "Your Mom was watching through the window." He said as he pushed the ignition button.

Rose grinned and took Ed's hand. "She's jealous. She loves you on the show. I think she's crushing on you."

"Want me to go back in and kiss her, then?"

Rose laughed. "You'd make her night, I can tell you that."

He put the car in gear and pulled out into the street. "I'll catch her when I drop you off."

As they drove through the early evening gloom of a November evening in rural Massachusetts, they chatted. Mostly, about how strange it was to come home after living on their own for months. It was different than college. Coming home from college was like... well... coming home. This was more like leaving home. They missed each other, and Bebe.

"Where are we going?" Rose asked. Ed had taken a route that she did not recognize.

"Well, since your family decided to live in the middle of nowhere, Boston was out of the question. I found a little five-star place up in Barre, though. It's a B&B, but Yelp says that their food is amazing."

"Well, aren't you something?" Rose chuckled.

"When you're taking a television star out to dinner, you have to prepare."

Marilyn's minivan was noisier than anything John had traveled in for months, except, of course, for Walter's beat up Dodge Journey. John sat in the back seat behind his mother. Nancy rode in the front passenger seat. It was dark and the unfamiliar, dark, two lane highway that was Rt 2 was getting smaller and more winding as they worked their way further and further into The Berkshire Mountains.

"Maybe we should do this in the daytime," Nancy murmured, a bit disconsolate.

"No, they said that we could check in at any time. Besides, we've been on the road for almost three hours. We're pretty close now. Honestly, I didn't know that you could drive this far and still be in
Massachusetts."

Nancy nodded. She looked into the back seat at her brother who was huddled in a sweatshirt and wrapped up in a New England Patriots' fleece blanket. "Why didn't you wear the coat we picked out for you?"

John took his attention away from the darkened window and said, "It seemed too nice to wear in the car for so long."

Nancy smiled. Her grungy little brother didn't want to mess up his pretty new coat. It was funny, but until now she'd been able to disassociate the little girl on Civil Disobedience from her brother. She knew it was John, but it really wasn't. It was just a girl on TV. Bebe was real though and she needed to come to terms with that.

"Johnny," she said, quietly, "I'm sorry."

John shrugged. "I know."

"No, Johnny, you don't. I should have been... better."

"Nan... it wasn't your fault."

She snickered. "But it was, Johnny. It was all my fault. I stole the drugs. I took them. And worst of all... I treated you like shit... and I'm sorry."

"In two miles," the voice of Google Maps said through the radio, "take the exit."

"We're nearly there," Marilyn said. "Ten minutes."

Nancy nodded. She was dreading this. She'd heard about the rigors of detox and she wasn't looking forward to it. She hadn't admitted it to her mother or brother, but she'd been taking the drugs for well over a year. She'd been able to go unnoticed for a long time, then Walter came into her life and things got a lot more complicated. She'd lost her position at Mass General and barely avoided an arrest. When the drugs weren't available as easily anymore, she became reliant upon Walter - that made things an awful lot worse.

"Johnny," Nancy said, again, "I'm very... well... thank you, Johnny. And I know that Johnny doesn't exist anymore, but.." her voice became a little shaky. "... no matter what... I never stopped loving you. I know that it didn't look like it, but..." a tear rolled down her cheek. "...I'm just so, so, sorry that I've been such a crappy, bitch of a sister when you needed me."

"Nancy," John was having a hard time controlling his own emotions, "who knows where I'd be if you hadn't diagnosed what was happening to me. I guess I was just too wrapped up in everything that was happening to me that I didn't pay attention to what you needed."

Nancy reached back and squeezed his hand. "Never again, Johnny, ok?"

He nodded.

"And Johnny," she smiled, "I'll never call you anything other than Bebe, again, but you'll always be my little Johnny."

"We're here," Marilyn said flatly as she turned into the driveway. She'd remained uncharacteristically quiet through most of the trip. She pulled the van to a stop in front of the stairs to the building. It was 9:45pm, it was dark and it was windy. How could she leave her child here? Didn't she need to be at home where her mother could help her heal? This wasn't right. These strangers... they didn't know Nancy. Was this the right thing. She undid her seatbelt and reached for the door handle, but Nancy stopped her.

"No, mom, I'll go in by myself. It's time that I started acting like a grownup."

Marilyn nodded and stared at her daughter. Her chin quivered as she watched her daughter pull her coat more tightly around herself and prepared to leave her.

"I'll see you on the twenty-third, I guess." Nancy was having a hard time speaking. "Mom... I'm so sorry I let you down."

"Nancy..." Marilyn's voice was filled with tears, even as she refused to cry. "You couldn't... Oh, honey, just get through this, baby. I love you."

Nancy nodded, then smiled at her mother, then at her brother, then, in a very quiet voice, she said, "Bye," and got out of the car, closed the door and walked up the stairs and into the building.

Marilyn watched until she was gone, then put the mini van in gear and drove to the end of the parking lot where she stopped, put the van in park, took a deep breath and let everything out, with deep sorrow filled moans and self deprecating shouts of, "You stupid, stupid woman! How could you not have seen that she needed you!? Stupid, stupid idiot!"

The the driver's door opened and a little girl appeared before her. A girl she recognized, but was unsure that she could never really claim as her own child, but the child wrapped her arms around her and held her tightly. "I'm so sorry mom. I'm so sorry." Then the child wept as well.

"Oh, my this all looks so beautiful," Rose said as her plate was placed before her.

"Is everything ok?" The proprietor of the elegant B&B appeared by the table. His smile was big and welcoming.

"Everything looks delicious." Ed smiled and spread his napkin across his lap.

"Wonderful," the man said. "And, by the way, I'm a huge fan of your show."

"Oh, thank you," Rose sang to him.

"I was just curious," the man looked about to be sure he wouldn't be over heard. "I saw your interview on Ellen and, well... I didn't think you two were... involved. If you don't mind me asking... is this a date?"

Ed and Rose exchanged smiles.

"First date, in fact," Ed said.

The man clapped once, then realized that he may attract unwanted attention. "I'm so happy for you both!" He left with a huge smile on his face. What a story this would make for years to come

"Oh, this is amazing!" Rose said as she sampled her trout. "How is yours?"

"It's delicious." Ed put down his knife and fork. "Rosie," he sounded more like a young man in love than he'd ever sounded before, "I know that this is our first 'official' date, but you know how I feel about you, don't you."

Rose took another small bite and looked around the charming dining room. "I do, Ed, and you know how I feel about you, too."

He held his palms open. "So? What do you say we give this whole 'being a couple' thing a shot, then?"

Rose smiled at his sudden boyishness. "Ed... You and I both know that there's a lot more to this than just 'going steady' or something like that. We live together, we work together and we are both responsible for someone else. Put that all together and it's already a mess. Then add in the fact that we have suddenly become some kind of celebrities and our lives, well, your life, anyway, seems to be the subject of a paparazzi frenzy, and I just don't know how we are meant to move forward."

"Move forward? As what?"

"As friends, Ed. As partners. As... lovers... whatever. It's all so damned complicated."

Ed nodded and thought, "How about this, then."

God, that smile and those eyes. She was melting.

"How about, for the foreseeable future, I'll love you and you'll love me and that will be how we live. Screw the press and the paparazzi. Everyday, I will love you with all of my heart and every night I will hold you until you're asleep and kiss you when you wake up. I'll be your friend and your boyfriend and when we're ready, I'll be your lover and, hopefully, someday, I'll be your husband. I've been thinking about this for a long time and that's the best plan I can come up with." He laughed.

Rose beamed at him, but once again looked as if she was about to laugh at some kind of a joke. "You are amazing, Ed McNeal." She looked around and no one was listening. She took a sip of water, put her glass down and leaned back. "I'm at a loss. I have nothing to say."

"Well, say 'yes,'" Ed smiled.

She took him in for a few more moments. So handsome. So smart. Such a good father to Bebe. He was, undoubtedly, a great guy. Probably the best she'd ever met or was ever likely to meet.

"Ok, Ed," she laughed, just a little, now. "Ok. I say, 'yes,' and I will do the same for you. Let's... be together."

"Excellent." Ed smiled. "I really do love you, Rosemary."

"I love you, too, Edward."

He laughed at that, then picked up his knife and fork and cut himself a slice of the prime rib on his plate. He put a bite into his mouth and grimaced.

"What's wrong?" Rose asked.

"It got cold," he laughed.

Rose laughed, too. "Mine's fine. Here. Take a bite."

"Are you going to be ok, mom?" John asked as his mother headed for the ladies room. They'd stopped about two thirds of the way back home to have a coffee. Marilyn had had a tough time after Nancy left the van.

"I'm ok, honey. I'll be right back."

John sat and sipped his hot chocolate, hoping he'd done the right thing.

"Hey, you're Alex, aren't you?" a man sitting at the counter of the Denny's restaurant called out rather loudly.

John smiled and gave a modest wave, hoping to dissuade the man from engaging, but it didn't work. He walked over to John's table and said in a very loud, probably tipsy, voice, "You are! You're that girl, Alex, on that TV show. I just said to my buddy, 'Look over there. That's that girl from the TV show, Civil Disagreements' or whatever. And you are."

"Hi," John said quietly.

"Well, geez, Alex." The man sat down opposite John as if he'd been invited. "What are you doing in Leominster, Massachusetts?" He remained loud and John could see other people taking note of him.

He smiled at the lout and said, "I'm from Massachusetts. I'm here to celebrate the holiday with my family."

"No shit?" The man was being overly friendly and ignorantly rude.

John forced a smile and nodded.

"Hey, Hey, Hey." The man had obviously had an idea. "Let's get a picture with you and everyone in the restaurant. Ok? Hey, everyone, let's get a picture with Alex, here, what do ya say!?"

The people, unused to a celebrity, applauded and started moving towards John's booth. He sighed. There was no way to avert this, now. Luckily, there were only about fifteen people in the restaurant at the moment.

"You stand on the bench and we'll all stand around you," the man instructed.

John took a second to grab his mother's coat and purse and put it near him before he stood on the bench. The people gathered around and one waitress took the first picture, she changed places with another waitress who took another picture. Then, phone after phone was passed forward so patrons would have a souvenir of meeting 'Alex' from 'Civil Whatever.'

They all thanked John, but as he got down from the bench, the original lout of a patron said, "Here," to a waitress. "Now, take one of just me and Alex."

John did his best to smile as they looked into the camera-phone, but at the last second, the man turned and planted a big, sloppy kiss on John's lips. As John tried to push him off, his buddies hooted and howled and applauded from behind the waitress-photographer. Everyone seemed to think that this was just good natured fun, but John was horrified and petrified by the man's aggression and lack of respect.

When he finally pushed himself loose, he grabbed the coats and purses at his table and hurried to the ladies room to the applause of the ignorant morons who were populating the restaurant.

"God," he whispered to himself, "I can't wait to get back to LA."

He pushed open the ladies room door to find his mother dabbing her puffy eyes in a mirror. "Mom, we have to go."

"Ok, honey, I just need to fix my face. Oh, you have my purse. Thank you." She took the pocketbook and began looking for her cosmetics.

"Mom... I really need to leave. I kind of had a situation out there. A drunk guy recognized me and... well, he kissed me and there was a lot other drunks applauding. I really need to go."

Marilyn gave a tired snicker as she touched up her lipstick. "Welcome to the downside of being a pretty girl, Bebe." She sounded very tired. "It's not all pretty dresses and makeup, my dear. It's also dealing with handsy drunks and their stupid friends. It's not a nice feeling, is it?"

"No," John said as he considered that, probably in a more private way, his mom had had similar experiences to this. "It isn't."

"Being a girl is different when you're not sheltered by a studio, dear. We are targets and objects for these jerks. You'll learn how to deal with it."

John felt nauseated by the idea of just living with people like this. Ed had called him a brat and Don had called him a princess, but John had just thought they were teasing. Maybe he actually was being overly-pampered in Los Angeles, who knew, but he knew that he didn't like being treated this way and wanted to get back to the safety of his new world.

"Come on, sweetheart," Marilyn patted his shoulder. "Stand straight and tall and let's walk out to the car. Don't even look at them. Just be yourself and keep to yourself. Ok?"

"Ok," John said and walked out the door with his mother behind him, offering him some protection.

"The stars are so bright when the air gets cool, aren't they?" Rose said as they drove down the narrow state road the led back to her town.

Ed tried to sneak a peak at the sky through the landscape that was cluttered with trees, but gave up, quickly. "If you say so. I'm afraid I'll hit a tree or a turkey or a deer. Do you have any idea how much this car costs?"

She smiled. Ed: The Pragmatic Romantic.

"Ed," Rose said thoughtfully. "What would you be doing right now if the show hadn't worked out?"

"I'd be a junior at Wentworth training to become an engineer. You?"

She nodded. "I'd be a senior at Emerson with almost no chance of being a successful actress. If it weren't for Bebe being so damned good in 'Shrew' and elevating all of us, I probably wouldn't ever have had a shot."

After a few moments of silence, she asked, "Do you think we'd be dating?"

Ed thought. "Probably not. You were pretty unattainable in my book. You still are, as a matter of fact."

"Ed! Stop it! I am not! Look, we're together. You ATTAINED me."

"Yeah, but I'm a lot different now than I was then."

"You mean your body? Well, yeah, but I thought you were cute before, too."

He laughed. "You would never have even noticed me if it weren't for 'Shrew.' I'd still be afraid to talk to you if we hadn't become friends first."

She smiled.

"And yeah," he teased, "I'm a lot more ripped now than I was last summer. Does that make you hot?"

She laughed out loud.

So did he.

He turned on to her road and slowed. "I had a great time, Rosie."

"Me too, Ed."

He pulled into the driveway and parked, got out and came around to open her door. He walked her to the doors the house and said, "Good night."

"Good night, Ed."

"I love you Rosie." He kissed her. It was tender and loving and warm and it gave them both chills.

"I love you, too, Edward," she smiled. "I'll see you at the airport."

She started to open the door, but Ed stopped her. "Oh, did you want me to come in and make-out with your mom? You said she had a thing for me..."

She laughed and slapped his arm. "Go home, Ed. Get some sleep."

"Ok. Love you!" He blew her a kiss and jogged to the Mercedes. The car purred and disappeared into the night.

"Mom?" John was staring out the windshield from the passenger seat as they drove down I-190 towards Worcester.

"Yes, baby?"

"Do you think that you'd ever consider moving to LA?"

She smiled. "Oh, I don't know, baby. I have a life here. I'm happy at Holy Cross and the house is paid for and, of course, there's the house at The Cape... I think I'm a Worcester girl till my dying day, baby."

John nodded.

"Are you happy there?" she asked.

He though for a moment. "I am. The weather is nicer. I know that it lacks the history and tradition that's part of the day to day here, but I like the food and the people. After meeting Walter and those people tonight... well, let's just say that my opinion of the people, of Massachusetts has dropped considerably."

Marilyn nodded. "Honey, there are people like that everywhere, it's just that in LA, you don't have to see them because your position keeps you sheltered. How many Denny's have you been in since you left?"

John nodded. "I see your point. But, I would love to be a part of the family, mom, and I just don't feel that way, now. I mean, look how much Nancy had changed and I didn't know anything about it."

Marilyn nodded. "I know, honey, and that's probably my fault, but can I make two points?"

John nodded.

Ok. Point number one - Although I knew that Nancy had been dismissed from Mass General, I had no idea that the changes in her personality were due to taking drugs. I know that sounds like a cop-out, but it's true. I only saw Nancy a few times this fall and I was working and had responsibilities there AS WELL AS being very concerned about sending my baby away under very odd circumstances AND being very, very proud of her achievements. So, to summarize," Marilyn's professorial-educator demeanor was on full display, "I had a lot on my plate. Ok?"

"Ok. That's a valid point." John nodded, used to his mother's logical mind.

"Thank you. Now, point number two - I find myself confused about how much I should tell you. See, if you were John, my twenty-one year old son, then I would have felt that you needed to know that Nancy was having trouble, but, you're not John. You're Bebe. How old is Bebe? Fourteen or fifteen years old? Should I burden a fifteen year old who is trying to find her own way in the world with the problems of her twenty six year old sister? No, I don't think so. Especially since Bebe isn't even being raised by me. I signed away my rights to Bebe. She's being raised by Ed and Rose and, believe me, honey, that point was driven home to me when I got the call that you were in the hospital. Ed made all of the decisions about your care - and they were all good decisions - and I was informed about them after the fact. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

John sighed and nodded. "I do, mom. I put you in a tough position. I don't really have the right to complain about that, now."

Marilyn took his hand. "You have the right to complain, baby, and so do I. I think that this just makes a few things very clear. I think we need to improve our lines of communication for one thing, but for another, I think we need to talk about what's really important and do that more frequently, don't you?"

John held his mother's hand to his cheek. "I do and we will."

The ringing phone woke Rose from her deep sleep. She glanced at the clock. It was 9:01am. She grabbed the phone and looked at the caller ID. 'Ed' it read. She pushed the 'accept' button and mumbled, "Ed? Is everything ok?"

"No, it is not?" he replied.

"What's wrong!?" A coldness seized her chest. What had happened!?

"I miss you," he whispered this sentence in a soft, intimate tone. "I don't like waking up in a house that you're not in as well."

"Aww." She sat up. "You're a sweetie, Ed, but it's a little early to be romantic."

"No," Ed's tone became playful, "calling you at 5:30, when I first woke up and missed you, would have been too early. I waited until a decent hour to call you. How about lunch?"

"Ed, you're almost an hour away."

"Perfect, then!" He pretended not to hear any protests, "I'll pick you up at 12:15 and we'll find someplace to get something light. Sound good?"

Rose pushed the bulk of her luxurious hair from her face and laughed, "Ed, I have to pack and get ready to go back..."

"Excellent! See you at 12:15!" He disconnected.

"Ed?" Rose said to the dead phone. She laughed as she shook her head and bounced out of bed. "He's like a puppy."

"And, after Nancy entered the facility, how did that make you feel?" Dr Shapiro was on the screen of John's old, desk top computer as they Skyped.

"A little relieved, I guess, but when my mom broke down, I felt a lot of guilt. Like, this was all my fault and maybe I should just mind my own business."

"Well, Bebe, you certainly could do that, but let's look at the big picture. If you hadn't helped her, would Nancy have sought help on her own?"

"Probably not."

"So, if her health and well being degraded, would that impact your mom?"

"Definitely, Yes."

"And if your mom was impacted, how would that make you feel."

"Bad."

"So?"

"So... I guess I did the right thing." It sounded more like a question than a statement.

"I certainly think you did, Bebe. I think you owe yourself a big pat on the back."

"Ok." John nodded.

"So, are you enjoying your time back home?"

He laughed. "No."

"Ok, I'm sorry. Are you looking forward to coming back?"

"Dr. Shapiro, I cannot WAIT to get back to LA! I miss everyone so much - and I hope this doesn't sound stupid, but as much as I miss everyone, I miss working even more."

"Ok, honey. Relax. You'll be back here before you know it. Umm, I need to ask you a very important question, though."

"Yes?"

"What did you do with Nancy's stash of Oxycodone?"

"I flushed it down the toilet."

"Really?"

"Yes. Why?"

"It's my job to be concerned about you, Bebe. Lots of young actresses get hooked on Oxy. I'm just asking to be sure. You understand, don't you?"

"I do, doctor. Thank you."

"Ok, Bebe, call me if you need me."

"Thank you, Doctor. I will."

There was a knock on the door. Rose's mother peeked out and saw the handsome suitor waiting. It was a cool, noon time and he wore a brown, leather bomber-jacket, a lilac shit, a shiny, green tie and pressed jeans. He struck a very handsome figure. "Rosemary," she hollered as she unlocked the door and opened it, "Ed is here."

Ed entered carrying what appeared to be a large bouquet of roses, but as he entered, he separated the two wrappers at the base of the flowers and handed one bouquet to Rose's mom. "These are for you, Eileen. I hope you like them."

"Oh, gracious," she cooed, "that's so nice of you, Ed!" Rose appeared at the foot of the stairs and her mother turned to her and displayed the long-stemmed roses to her daughter. "Look, Rosemary. Ed brought me flowers!"

Rose smiled. "He's working you, mom."

"I am, Eileen," Ed grinned, "but I'm working your daughter, too. These are for you."

He handed her the second bouquet. She smelled their rich fragrance. "That's very sweet, Ed. Thank you, but, mom," she handed the flowers to her, "these really are for you, too. I can't take them back to LA."

"Oh, how nice!" She said, then she stretched up and kissed Ed's cheek. "Thank you, so much, Edward. You're very kind."

"You're welcome, Eileen," he grinned, then looked at Rose. "All set?"

"I am," she smiled as she zipped up a warm jacket.

"Are you all packed?" Eileen asked.

"Nope. Not even close. I won't be long, mom." She kissed her mother's cheek. "Bye, bye."

There was a loud banging on the door. "Nancy! Come on, Nancy!" Walter screamed in the bright, cool midday, causing neighbors in this nice, middle class neighborhood to pull back curtains and look out to see what was causing the ruckus.

John came hustling down the stairs, but Marilyn beat him to the door. As he reached the bottom step, Marilyn held up her hand. "Stay right there. I'll handle this."

"Mom..."

"Stay RIGHT THERE. I mean it."

John stayed put. He was wearing a chocolate brown, warm, wool skirt Marilyn had bought him, and comfortable, baby-blue sweater she'd pulled out of Nancy's closet. It was a little big, but comfortable and the extra material helped create a very young, sweet look for John.

"Walter," Marilyn scolded as she opened the door, "just stop all of this racket!" She kept her left hand on the door and her right hand on the door frame, not giving Walter an invitation to enter.

"Where is she?" he demanded.

"She's not here, Walter. We had an argument and she stormed out."

"Yeah, well, where did she go? She lost her place, she didn't come to mine and she's not answering her phone. So where the fuck is she?"

"I told you, Walter, I don't know. I found her stash of pills and we had a huge fight. She's gone. That's all I know, and quite frankly, until she gets her act together, I'm not interested in seeing her back her."

"Yeah, sure," he was dismissive as he tried to push past her, but Marilyn held firmly.

"Walter, you need to leave, now."

"Nancy!" He yelled past her. "Nancy, what the fuck is going on?"

"Walter, please leave!" Marilyn was more scared than she let on.

"Nancy! Nancy! You can't hide forever, you bitch!" he yelled some more. "Nancy!"

"Hey, you," Mr McManus, their neighbor from across the street was coming up the walk. "You need to leave. Come on."

Anxious for a fight and artificially confident due to the drugs, Walter turned and confronted the silver haired man. "Back off, old man," he threatened. "This is None of your business."

"It's ok, Joe," Marilyn said. "He was just leaving."

"Bull shit," Walter spat. "I'm not going anywhere."

"You should go, buddy," Mr McManus said, "you're getting yourself into trouble here. I called the police. They are on their way."

Walter pushed Mr McManus on the shoulders, but the older moved very little. Despite the silver hair, Mr McManus was only a few years older than Walter. A life long athlete, he worked out with weights nearly every morning and he was not only a black belt in Tae Kwon Do, he taught the marshal art several evenings a week and was, in fact, at that moment, just returning from teaching a weekly self defense class at the YMCA.

"Oh, 'The police are on their way!'" Walter mocked. "Well, in that case, I'm going to beat you to a pulp nice and quick. How does that sound." He threw a wild, adrenaline fueled punch at McManus' face, but the other man side stepped it easily, then tripped the man to the ground and dropped a knee on his back just as a Worcester Police Department car pulled into the driveway.

McManus explained everything to the officer, who cuffed Walter and put him into the squad car. Walter screamed and swore the whole time. Within moments, another police car pulled up. After consulting with the first officer for a few moments, officer number two asked Mr McManus to come into the Foley house so he could take statements.

As they entered, Marilyn turned to John and said, "Bebe, please go to the kitchen and get some coffee for these gentlemen."

"Ok," he answered as he stepped down and turned to the kitchen.

As Mr McManus came in, he made eye contact with John. He smiled and nodded, but stopped and looked again. John turned and went quickly into the kitchen.

Marilyn and Mr McManus gave their statements to the police officer, who suggested that Marilyn take out a restraining order to keep Walter away from her property. With Mr McManus' prodding, she agreed to go to the courthouse on Monday to request it. The policeman said that he'd give her the appropriate paperwork. He pulled a form from his binder and began filling it in.

John entered with three mugs of coffee and some milk and sweeteners on a tray. He placed them on the coffee table and sat on the couch near his mother.

The policeman had been writing and explaining, but he glanced up to say 'thank you' and he came to an abrupt stop. "Oh, my..." he muttered, "...you're that girl... Alex, right?"

John smiled and nodded.

"Officer, this is my daughter, Bebe."

"Of course," the officer said. "Bebe Foley! I love your show!"

Mr McManus looked confused. "Show?"

"Yeah, Yeah," the police officer said, "it's called... oh, geez... Don Ferry is in it and it's great. What's it called?"

"Civil..." John started but the officer interrupted.

"That's it! Civil Disobedience! I love that show and you're great on it. Congratulations!" Then he turned to Mr McManus and said, "You haven't seen it?"

Mr McManus looked confused as he glanced from John to the officer. "Oh, Umm, no, I haven't. I don't have a lot of time to watch TV."

"Well, you should make time for this one," he smiled at John.

"Thank you," John smiled humbly.

When the officer completed his work, Marilyn escorted the officer to the door and thanked him for his help. Once he was gone, she turned to Mr McManus and thanked him, as well.

As McManus was headed out the door, he stopped and said, "Listen, Marilyn, can I ask... well, what I mean is, I've lived across the street from you for four years and... well... how is it that I never met your daughter before?"

Marilyn smiled and said as sweetly as possible, "Bebe was at a private school, Joe. She's a very talented girl. She needed to go to a special school."

"Oh." Joe smiled. "I see. She sure does look like a younger version of Nancy. I hope Nancy is going to be ok."

"Thank you, Joe. I hope so, too. This all kind of came to a head this weekend. We'll have to ride it out and see what happens."

"Look, Marilyn, I'm sorry about all of this, today. If you need help...well, just call, ok?"

"Thanks, Joe. Thanks for everything." She closed the door as he walked down the path.

"So, I'll pick you up at 4:30 tomorrow morning. We'll be at the airport in plenty of time and we'll be on our way home." Ed leaned across the car and kissed Rose for possibly the hundredth time since they'd had lunch at a country store that Rose had heard served sandwiches.

"That's just stupid, Ed. You'll have to leave your house by 3:00 to pick me up. I'll call a car."

"You will not." He kissed her again. "I'll sleep in your mom's driveway and I'll be waiting for you."

"Oh, you certainly will not! Go home, Ed. It's nearly 9:00 and I haven't finished packing.mi told my mom I'd be back early. She's probably having a conniption as is! If I don't get started..."

Ed cut her off with a kiss. She surrender to it and when their lips parted, she said, "Ok. You win. I'll see you here at 4:30."

He smiled.

"I called for a car to pick me up in the morning, mom," John said. He was in a short, pink nightie that offered very little warmth on a chilly November night in Worcester, Massachusetts.

"Don't be silly. I'll drive you, honey." Marilyn was hanging up her clothes.

"No, mom. I've already made your weekend too complicated. I'll take the hired car. Besides, you have things to do."

She touched her son's soft cheek. "Don't be so sad, baby. Everything will work out. You're helping Nancy a lot. This will be a fresh start for her."

John nodded. "I love you, mom. I'm sorry this weekend sucked."

"Don't worry, baby. Things can only get better."

Ed kissed Eileen's cheek as he grabbed Rose's carry-on. "Don't worry, Eileen, I'll take very good care of Rosemary."

Eileen smiled in the light of the entryway. She was a beautiful woman, too. Closer to fifty than forty and must have looked a lot like Rose when she was younger. Even a little disheveled from sleep and in a robe, she was striking. As Ed kissed her, she could smell the scents of fresh soap, shaving cream and a clean shampoo. He had obviously gotten up early and prepared to greet Rose. What a great guy! "I know you will, Edward - I know that you already have been." She looked at Rose as she arrived at the door. "Oh, you two are gorgeous together. Take care of each other, ok?"

Rose kissed her mother and fastened a belt around her coat. "We will, mom. I'll miss you. See you in a few weeks for Christmas." They exited the house and hurried to the warmth of the Mercedes.

John snuck quietly into his mother's room and left a note on her nightstand. He considered kissing her, but was afraid he'd wake her, so she snuck back out again and slowly and quietly descended the stairs. He'd spent six-and-a-half hours staring at the ceiling, unable to sleep as he reviewed the weekend. If he'd done the right thing by confronting Nancy, then why did he feel so bad? Why did his mother cry so hard when they'd dropped her off at the rehab center if he'd done the right thing? Was his mother safe with Walter knowing where she lived? It sure seemed like he'd screwed up his family's lives a lot more than he'd helped.

He waited at the door until a black, Lincoln Town Car pulled into the driveway. John pulled an old Boston Red Sox cap on to cover his hastily brushed and pony-tailed hair and hurried out into the cold, dark morning so the driver wouldn't beep the horn. He tossed his carry on into the backseat and climbed in beside it.

"Mmm, chai tea!" Rose sipped at the warm beverage that Ed had supplied.

"There are cranberry-orange muffins in that thermal bag. They should still be warm. The bag is plugged into the outlet in the dashboard. There's butter and marmalade in the bag on the back seat." Ed beamed at Rose. He had planned everything out so that even their ride back to the airport would be romantic.

Rose opened the thermal bag and found several muffins a paper plates. "Ooo," she cooed as she pulled the muffin onto a plate. "Better than warm. They're actually kind of hot. They'll melt the butter. Would you like one?"

Ed shook his head. "No. I don't want to get crumbs in the car. God knows what they'll charge to vacuum out a few crumbs." He grabbed his coffee and sipped it, making a smacking sound when he put it back down. "I love to be out and about when the sun rises, especially down The Cape. Watching the sunrise over the ocean is one of the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. You can't see that in LA."

Rose sipped the fragrant tea. "Nope. If you were inclined to go to the beach, you could watch the sun set, though. Today, we'll be lucky if the sun's up by the time we get to Boston. Watching the sun rise over the city can be beautiful, too."

Ed looked at Rose. "Not as beautiful as you and I get to see you here, in Boston and in LA. How great is that?"

Rose laughed at his silliness. "Oh, Ed... you're incorrigible. The on ramp for the pike is just ahead, here. Keep your eyes on the road."

"I'm just going to pull into this McDonald's to get a coffee, if you don't mind," the middle aged woman driving the town car called back to John.

"That's fine." John was focused on nothing beyond the window.

"You want anything?"

John reached into his purse and passed a twenty over the seat to the driver. "No, but here. Get yourself a full breakfast, if you want."

"Oh... thank you," she said.

Once she had the coffee and greasy bag of food in the car, the driver tried to hand John the change, but he held up his hand and shook his head. "Thanks," the Driver said.

She sipped her bitter coffee and watched the young woman in the mirror. "Where are you going so early in the morning, honey?" She asked.

Still staring into space, John replied, "Home, I guess."

"Where's that?"

"Los Angeles."

"Nice," the woman sipped more coffee and took a bite of the bacon, egg and cheese biscuit. "Have you every met a movie star out there?"

John gave a soft, ironic chuckle. "Yeah. A few."

"Really!" The woman was very interested, now. "Like who?"

John looked out the window, again. "Oh, Don Ferry and Anna Kendrick."

"Oh, my God! You met Don Ferry?"

John nodded. He didn't go so far as to tell her that he'd been to Don's house and he'd been to dinner with him several times.

"How about Tom Cruise? Have you ever met Tom Cruise?"

"Nope." John shook his head.

The driver watched the passenger carefully. She felt as if something was wrong. "Are you ok?"

John shrugged. "I will be... once I get home."

"How old are you, sweetie?"

"Fifteen."

"And you're traveling alone?"

At first John nodded, then said, "Well, no, I'm meeting my uncle and cousin at Logan."

"Good." The driver seemed genuinely relieved. "A pretty thing like you shouldn't be traveling alone. It's too dangerous for a young girl to go anywhere on her own, these days."

John nodded. He just seemed to lack the energy to continue remained engaged in conversation.

"Ok, sweetie," the woman said. She took another bite of her industrial tasting bacon, egg and biscuit sandwich and watched the young woman. "Why don't you try to get some sleep, honey?"

John nodded and closed his eyes for a few minutes, but to no avail. He was so anxious about everything that had happened this weekend that he could not rest.

"I'll take the car, Mr McNeal," the man in the red car-rental-company uniform shirt said when Ed pulled up to the curb.

"Great!" Ed pulled the luggage out of the trunk and handed the man a fifty dollar bill. "I loved the car. Just give us a moment to grab the empty coffee cups."

"No need, sir," the man assured him. "I'll deal with that. You're all set."

Ed took Rose's hand and they each used their free hand to tow their carry-on bags. They were both very young, very beautiful, very well dressed and very much in love. There weren't many people in the terminal at that time of morning, but those who were took note of the gorgeous couple and the joy that they seemed to radiate. Even if they didn't recognize them from TV, they noticed their smiles.

"I don't see Bebe," Rose looked around.

"She isn't here yet," Ed said.

"How do you know," Rose checked her phone, but saw no texts.

"If she were here, there'd be a crowd around her," Ed laughed.

Rose sent a text, 'UNCLE ED AND I ARE AT LOGAN. LET US KNOW WHEN YOUR MOM DROPS YOU OFF.'

'I'M HERE. I ALREADY WENT THROUGH TSA. I'M WAITING BY THE GATE.'

"She's already inside," Rose said.

Ed shook his head. "I told her to meet us here."

"What difference does it make?" Rose shrugged. She could tell that Ed was perturbed.

"The difference is I told her to do one thing and she did another. I thought that we were beyond that at this point. One weekend away and she's doing her own thing, again. That's dangerous, Rosie."

"Maybe there were too many fans out here, Ed. Don't go getting mad at her till you know what's going on."

He nodded and they moved to the the VIP line at their airline. Then, they moved quickly and smoothly through the TSA's VIP security line and they wandered to their gate where they half expected to see a mod of Bebe-maniacs swarming, but there were very few people there. They looked around and couldn't see Bebe anywhere.

Rose sent another text. 'WE'RE AT GATE 46. WHERE ARE YOU?"

They heard a chime and the girl sitting just in front of them, her back to them, checked her phone, then she turned around. Her hair was tucked into a baseball cap which was covered by the hood of her 'Boston' sweatshirt. She turned and saw Ed and Rose taking seats behind her. She stood and pulled her little bag around to join them. "Hi," she mumbled as she say next to Ed.

Ed nodded at the stranger, then looked again. "Bebe!?"

The child nodded.

Rose leaned over and pushed the hood off of the face of the person next to Ed. "Beebs? Is this a disguise or something? Are you even wearing makeup?"

John shrugged. "Makeup? No. Sorry. I left in the dark. I didn't think to do my makeup."

"Is something wrong?" Rose asked, suddenly very concerned.

"Just a tough weekend."

Ed, his irritation replaced with concern, turned in his seat. "Why? What happened?"

"Let's see." John took a derp breath, then began. "First, my sister and her drug dealing boyfriend picked me up at the airport and we had an argument in public, then I found out my sister was hooked on Percocet, then my mother hit the roof because I took fifty thousand dollars out of my trust fund, then Nancy slapped me and called me a faggot because I registered her for a rehab center, then she stole my mother's car, but came back then I made my mother cry like I've never seen before because Nancy actually went into rehab, then the drug dealer boyfriend threatened my mother... all in all, it wasn't a great Thanksgiving for the Foley family."

"Oh, my God," Rose said in a loud whisper, "is your sister ok?"

Ed's eyes were wide, too, but his response was, "You spent fifty thousand dollars in one weekend?"

John clarified the story to them both.

Rose checked the clock. They still had a little time before they boarded the plane. "Come on, Beebs," she stood and took John's hand. "Let's go to the ladies' room and get you cleaned up. You'll feel better."

John allowed himself to be led to the restroom.

"I can't believe your mother let you out of the house looking like this," Rose tsk-ed as she pulled off his cap, removed the hair tie and let his hair fall free over the hoodie so it could be brushed.

"I didn't wake her."

"How did you get here?"

"I hired a town car."

"Oh, for crying out loud, Bebe, you should have called us."

It's was just enough scolding to send John over the edge and he began crying and crying and crying. He held tight to Rose who held tight to him and tried, with little success, to offer solace.

Resting his head on her shoulder and breast was a comfort that he felt he'd missed forever. Her smell and her touch felt like home in a way that his mother's house never could.

They remained that way for a long time till Ed called in, "Rosie, they're boarding. Are you guys ok?"

"We'll be right out," Rose called back. Then to John she said, "Here. At least let me brush out your hair." She pulled a brush from her purse and did her best to make John more presentable. Then she handed him a piece of toilet paper. "Wipe your eyes, baby, and blow your nose. We'll do your makeup in Los Angeles, ok?"

He nodded and they left to board the plane.

"I told you not to panic, Blaine," Joanne chided. "Their plane just landed. She'll be another five or ten minutes before she's even off the plane. We're here in plenty of time!"

"Sorry, mom," the boy was anxious, "it's just that Bebe seemed really different all weekend. Like she was upset about something. I just wanted to be sure she was ok."

Joanne shook her head. "Relax, honey. I'm sure she's fine."

Ed was waiting for Rose to finish up with John in the ladies' room at LAX. A few people stopped to tell him that they loved the show and Ed was gracious, but he was concerned about Bebe. On the flight, there had been empty seats across the aisle so Bebe sat there and was uncharacteristically quiet for the whole trip. Rose told him that she'd been very emotional in the ladies' room, too.

As much as Ed wanted Bebe to be healthy, he definitely did not want to be the guy that had to say 'no' to her movie career, but if these things that happened at home had taken a toll on her health, well, then what choice would he have?

"All set." Rose emerged from the lavatory with John in tow. His makeup was fresh and his hair looked quite nice. His eyes were still redrimmed and puffy, but Rose had managed to get some color and mascara on them, so he looked much, much better.

"Where are they?" Blaine was getting very stressed. "The plane landed a half-hour ago."

Joanne was seated and had given up on trying to calm her son down.

"She's not answering her texts, she's not answering her calls..." Blaine turned to his mother. "I bet they never got on the plane in Boston."

"Blaine," she huffed, "Bebe is here. She's probably just in the ladies' room, or dealing with something with the airline. Maybe she left her phone on the plane, or something like that. Please, just relax."

His phone buzzed. It was a text. 'SORRY. LADIES ROOM WITH ROSE. LEFT MY PHONE WITH ED. ON OUR WAY. JUST A FEW MINS.'

Joanne watched him read. "Bebe?" she asked.

"Yeah."

"Ladies' room?"

He put his phone away. "I'd rather not say."

Joanne smiled. "She's fine, honey."

"She's sick, mom. Don't you remember that night at the hospital?"

"Of course I do, honey, but... oh, here she comes, now."

Blaine turned and saw Ed and Rose coming out of the hallway into the terminal lobby. A few seconds later, Bebe appeared. Blaine started jogging towards them.

John was still looking at his phone as they entered the lobby. He sensed someone moving quickly toward him. He looked up and saw Blaine hustling across the open area. John felt something he'd never felt before - his heart leapt. It literally felt as if his heart jumped and came back to life in his chest.

John gasped, dropped the handle of his carry on and ran, full out, towards Blaine. He wasn't thinking, he wasn't aware of anything except Blaine and his need to get to him.

They were just a few steps apart when John leapt into the air, arms and legs splayed. Blaine caught him and John's arms and legs wrapped tightly around the tall, handsome boy. His face buried in Blaine's shoulder, John's voice was muffled by Blaine's light coat, "I don't think I ever missed anyone as much as I missed you this weekend. I love you, so much!"

"I love you, too," Blaine grunted as he held Bebe tightly. He could feel her shaking and weeping as he tightened his grip and swung from side to side.

Joanne met Ed and Rose and they all stood about ten feet away from the desperate young couple.

"Looks like someone was homesick for the west coast," Joanne grinned. "Everything ok?"

"Everything's great with us." Rose indicated Ed and herself. "Bebe had a rough weekend."

"She looks pretty happy, now," Ed chuckled.

"Well, Blaine needed a good dose of 'vitamin Bebe' himself. He was a wreck. 'She sounds sad. Her texts have me worried.' I've never seen him so concerned."

Ed nodded. "The hormones make Bebe a little emotionally unstable. What's Blaine's excuse?"

Joanne chuckled at his joke. "Bebe makes him emotionally unstable."

Finally, John unwrapped himself from Blaine and Blaine lowered him to the floor. John's face was, once again, covered in tears. There was freshly applied mascara flowing along with the salty tears. Rose laughed, "Oh, good God!" She threw her hands in the air. "No matter what I do, that child is going to look like a raccoon today!"
 
 
To Be Continued...