The Slade story begins with Adam Slade arriving in Sunset Valley to start a new life, not just for himself but for the many generations that would come after him. That vision of a Slade legacy was passed down to his only son, Brandon, who, in turn, passed it on to his children, Cleo and Carl. Now, with the recent birth of Danielle, there is a fourth generation Slade waiting in the wings to carry on the family name.
In this chapter relationships are tested and secrets revealed ...
The morning after Cleo and Garett's 'rendezvous' in the shower Cleo was racked with guilt.
It had been an uncomfortable night for Cleo. It had taken her an age to get to sleep, listening to Pascal's slow, rhythmic breathing as he lay beside her, oblivious to what had happened earlier that day. Today he had left early to attend a Home and Garden exhibition in Riverview and would not be back until late afternoon, leaving Cleo alone with her thoughts. Knowing that she had betrayed the father of her daughter, the man who had been her rock when she lost her mother and father.
Now she was sharing breakfast with the man she had given in too.
"Sure Cleo." Garett agreed, not even looking up from his breakfast.
"I was exhausted from work and not really myself ..."
"Whatever you say Cleo, it just happened."
"And it won't happen again, it can't happen again."
Getting up from the breakfast bar Garett paused, looked back at Cleo and with the barest hint of a smile, "No, of course, it won't happen again."
"I've got to be at the station in about an hour, but sure, what's it about Carl?"
"Thanks sis, well you know I've been seeing more of Malia recently ..."
Cleo smiled, was this that conversation, had her little brother found his first real girlfriend?
"Yes, she's a really nice girl Carl, you make a cute couple."
Carl blushed, "Well, I don't know if we're a proper couple just yet."
Cleo had worried a little about her younger brother, he wasn't the most outgoing of people, and often found it difficult to speak to people at parties or, indeed, anywhere there were crowds. But ever since they'd met he and Malia clearly had some sort of bond and if anyone could bring a smile to his face it was Malia.
"OK, so you've known her for a while now, and you always seem happy when you're with her, right? I've seen that sappy grin you get when she turns up - which she seems to do quite a lot recently. So what's the problem?"
"Umm," Carl stammered, fidgeting and looking away, as if to compose his thoughts, "I ... err ... there ... ohh" His mouth twisting to form the words, but unable to actually speak them."
Carl flinched, "No! Nothing like that."
"So what is it then? Whatever it is, you can tell me, we've coped with a lot over the last few years, together. You know I am here to help you. With anything, just tell me Carl."
"Oh shit, OK, I'll just say it." He paused, and in one breath, so that he might say it too quickly for anyone, himself included, to stop him "I've also got feelings for Garett."
Cleo blinked, frowned, and stared at Carl. Did he really say that? "Garett?!" The disbelief gave way to shock. "You have feelings for Garett? I don't understand. How?"
He hadn't been at all sure how his sister would take it, but somehow she sounded more shocked than surprised. "Because he makes me feel good about myself."
As Cleo struggled to comprehend what Carl had just said her mind raced through all those moments she had seen Carl and Garett together. Those long conversations they had, the almost 'conspiratorial' closeness between them. Maybe that was it. Perhaps Carl had read more into Garett's support and friendship?
"Yeah, I love Malia but Garett, y'know, he gets me."
"Look Carl, you're obviously confused. You've got all these feelings for Malia and they're getting mixed up with your friendship with Garett. I mean, he's not even, you know, he's not ..."
"Gay?" Carl snapped, "Is that what you're saying, he’s not 'gay'? I thought you were better than that Cleo? It's not about 'gay' or 'straight' or 'whatever'. It's not about being confused, I know what I feel and so does he."
Cleo knew that Carl was right, it wasn't about labels, and it wasn't about whether he was in love with a man or a woman. But why Garett? She also knew that she had not really dealt with her own feelings for him, and her anger now was more to do with her own guilt than Carl's choice of girlfriend or boyfriend.
She was also concerned that if Carl had these feelings that Garett could become a destructive force in the house, that it might be better for all of them if he left, but until then ...
"Carl, I'm sure it feels real to you, but how many relationships have you had? Can you really know what love is? Trust me on this, it will pass. I don't blame you, or judge you for falling for Garett, he is a charming man but I really don't think it is what you think it is, the two of you."
Carl couldn't believe how negative his sister was being. He had opened his heart to her, hoping for understanding and guidance and, instead, she was telling him he didn't know his own mind!
"I am not a child! I don't need to have slept around to know who I have feelings for. And I don't need you to tell me!"
The two of them glared at each other, neither knowing quite how they had come to this.
Cleo tried to calm the situation, "I'm sorry Carl, you know I love you, that I want the best for you, but I just don't believe Garett thinks the same about you."
Carl didn't want to argue, she was wrong but now was not the time to fight about it. With a resigned "Whatever." he turned and left, leaving Cleo wondering if he had known what he'd just said ... "I don’t need to have slept around..."
-- * --
Carl went up to his study, hoping to do some writing, but the argument with his sister had unsettled him too much, he wasn't able to concentrate on the book, so he shut the laptop and went down hoping to relax in the hot tub.
When he got there Garett was already in the tub, soaking in the bubbling waters.
"You OK buddy, the book not going well?"
"No, no, it's nothing really, jus' wanna chill for a bit."
Something was clearly wrong but Garett wasn't going to push it, if Carl wanted to talk he would, "Sure thing, and you've come to the right place for chillin'."
For several minutes the two men sat back, relaxing into the steady motion of the hot water around them.
Carl broke the silence, "It's Cleo, we just had a fight. I don't think she wants me to spend so much time with you."
"Really? I thought your sister was OK with me staying here? But y'know if it's causing you problems I can leave."
"Look," Garett continued, "the insurance should come through on my old house in the next few days and there's a few good B&Bs around I can easily find somewhere to stay."
"No, you shouldn't need to do that, Cleo was probably just in a mood or something. This house is as much mine as it is hers and I want you to stay."
-- * --
Late in the afternoon Pascal returned from Riverview, Garett went out to meet him in the garden.
"Yes, it certainly was. There were a lot of interesting garden designs on show which have given me ideas to try out here. Plenty of good advice as well, on how to improve the quantity and quality of produce."
"And I thought you had the best soil there was here on Summer Hill?"
"Oh, we do, it is excellent soil," Pascal agreed, "but there's always room for improvement, new varieties, better supplements."
He wasn't really a gardener, nor that interested in Pascal's horticultural plans, but when you have bad news to break Garett thought it was only polite to do it as pleasantly as possible."
"Look, Pascal," Garett's tone changed and the smile left his face, "I really appreciate your generosity in letting me stay here after my house was trashed and I hate to do this but I think you deserve to know ..."
"There’s no easy way to say this ... I've heard talk around town that Cleo has been unfaithful."
"What!" Pascal was dumb-founded. The very idea that his Cleo could be seeing some other man was insane, "That's ridiculous! Cleo would never ..."
"I know," Garett said, as sympathetically as he could, "from the time I've been here I've seen that she adores you and Danielle, but that is what I have heard."
"But," he continued, "it's not just one idle gossip-monger, I've heard the same thing from several people, people I'd trust."
To Pascal, the thought that Cleo could play away was preposterous. Why would Garett make up such a story?
"Garett, I don't know what you've heard or why you would think it could be true, but there is no way Cleo would do that to me, to any of us."
"Believe me Pascal, I don't want to believe it either, but..."
Garett stood his ground, "You are right, there are people here who are jealous of you, but this is more than jealousy. I know you will hate me for telling you this, but I can't stand by and not let you know, not give you the opportunity to deal with it."
"Deal with it?" Pascal scoffed, his normally placid features contorted by anger. "You come here with baseless stories, to wreck my marriage ..."
Garett interrupted him, "But that's it isn't it? You're not actually married are you? After all these years, even after Danielle, has Cleo ever asked you to marry her?"
"You know what I mean! We don't need to be 'married', we are a family."
"No, but Cleo has never even mentioned it has she? And, let's face it, you're getting older and in her line of work – the stress of the job, the camaraderie of the station house, those men and women spending hours together – there is plenty of temptation."
"That. Is. Enough!" His whole body taut, his fists tightly clenched, Pascal was on the verge of lashing out to bring an end to these lies.
"I don't know what you hope to gain but I know one thing. You will never set foot in this house again. You will leave, now, take what you have and get out of this house. Now."
"OK," Garett conceded defeat, "I will leave but you should know that I have only tried to tell you the truth."
Inside the house, Garett had a quick phone call to make.
"Hi, yeah, it's done, I'm leaving here now so I should be with you in about an hour. ... oh yes, I know her well enough, she won't be able to stop herself and the little seed I've planted will blossom here just as theirs did in Twinbrook."
It didn't take long to pack his few belongings, and Garett was ready to leave the Slade house.
Before he left, though, he wanted to say goodbye to Danielle.
Before he left, though, he wanted to say goodbye to Danielle.
Kissing her lightly on the forehead, Garett put Danielle down, ruffled her hair and left 15 Summer Hill Court.
-- * --
When Cleo returned home from work she found Carl slumped, sullen, in front of the TV. Without even turning to acknowledge her presence, "You've got what you wanted, he's left."
Cleo was taken aback by the cruel tone in her brother's voice, "What? Who? Who's left?"
"Garett, he's packed up and gone. I hope you're happy."
"Carl, I don't know what you're talking about, I haven't asked anyone to leave."
"Yeah, whatever, you and Pascal made like he wasn't welcome anymore and now he’s gone."
Still confused as to what was going on, Cleo went looking for Pascal.
"Pascal, Carl tells me that Garett has left, and he thinks we had something to do with it?"
"Yes, we had an argument and I thought it would be better for everyone if he left, and he has."
Pascal was not the type of man who got into arguments, this did not make any sense.
"An argument? What about, what could have been so bad that he had to leave, so quickly?"
"It was nothing important really, he just said some things that I was not happy about, really it's nothing for you to worry about."
He couldn’t look her in the eyes, this was not a conversation he wanted to have but Pascal knew that sooner or later she would hear about Garett's lies.
"He said things about you ma chérie, unpleasant lies."
Cleo felt her stomach churn, what exactly had Garett said?
"What things Pascal, what did he say?" she insisted.
"He said that you were having an affair, he said that was why we have never got married."
"Oh god." Cleo’s mind was racing. Why would he do that? Why would he say anything now?
She could deny it, laugh it off as the ravings of a spurned suitor, she could reassure Pascal that there was nothing in it; they could get married, to prove it. But the guilt would be with her forever, the guilt of her betrayal.
No, there was only one way that she could live with herself.
"Oh god, I'm sorry Pascal."
"Cleo? Are you ..."
"I am so sorry. You know that I love you, that I love our daughter. It meant nothing, I was weak, it just happened, I don’t love him."
"Love him? Who Cleo, who?"
"Garett of course. I slept with Garett."
Pascal went cold. Garett had been laughing at him! He had let him stay here, with Cleo, behind his back.
"Where Cleo? Here in our house? In our bed?"
"It was nothing Pascal, believe me. It was once, he is nothing compared to you."
"When did you start lying to me Cleo? When did it start?"
Cleo could say nothing in response. She had cheated on Pascal for almost as long as she had known him.
As much as she loved Pascal, she had never been able to turn her back on Garett and if she admitted the full truth of it Pascal would never forgive her.
"I can’t bear to look at you tonight. I will sleep in the spare room and tomorrow, tomorrow, we will be honest, you will tell me the truth and we will decide what to do."
In some ways Cleo wished that Pascal would stay, that he would scream and shout at her and let his anger out but she knew that was not his way. She could only hope that he would accept that she had a moment of weakness and would find it in his heart to forgive her.
As she watched him walk silently out of their room, the fear of what would happen if Pascal couldn't forgive her ran like a cold current through her body, causing her stomach to lurch violently again.
Chapter 22: Crashing
2 comments:
Oh my! I finally got caught up, Poor Cleo, and Pascal, and Danielle. Stupid Garret. I am loving your story, can't wait to see what happens!
Thank you so much! :-) I don't know if you'll be able to forgive Garett, but there is a reason behind his actions - when his story is done I'll let you judge who (if anyone!) was playing the good guy ... ;-)
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