"Mr. Jordan, did you get that down?" Victoria Burgess asked sternly.
Justin snapped out of his stupor and quickly made the note. "Yes, madam."
"Honestly, I don't know where your mind is today," she muttered as she rose from her chair. "I should get going. I'm meeting with the garden club for brunch. I'll be back later this afternoon. In the meantime, you will see that these tasks are taken care of?"
"Yes, madam," Justin nodded as he followed Mrs. Burgess to the door.
"Oh, I nearly forgot. Could you call Lucy this afternoon? I need to set up a meeting with her to discuss the schedule for Pheasant Run."
Justin blinked and paled slightly, but managed to retain his demeanor. "Of course."
"I'll see you this afternoon, then," she said as she stepped outside.
Justin closed the door behind her and slowly wandered over to the phone. Call Lucy . . .the task was more difficult for him than it sounded, but he thought it might be better to get it out of the way rather than postpone the task. Drawing up his courage, he picked up the receiver and dialed.
"The Stuart-Sexton residence. Madeleine speaking."
Justin unconsciously breathed a sigh of relief when the maid answered instead of his former employer. "Hello. This is Justin Jordan. Is Miss Stu- uh, Mrs. Sexton in?"
"Oh hi, Justin! No, she's not. Haven't you heard? She's in the hospital."
"The hospital?" he choked. "Is she alright? What happened?"
"I don't know. I wasn't here when the ambulance came. We're still waiting to hear . . . Do you want to leave a message or something?" she asked, distracted. Since her employers were away, she was spending her day catching up on the soaps as she worked and the commercial break had just ended.
"No, don't trouble her. If she asks, tell her I'm calling on behalf of Mrs. Burgess."
"Ok, I'll let her know. Bye."
Justin let the receiver slip from his fingers as he dropped it back into place. Lucy, in the hospital? He couldn't believe that it was true. If something was seriously wrong . . .he tried to chase the thought from his mind. She had to be alright.
Justin slowly walked away from the telephone and picked up the list of tasks Mrs. Burgess had left for him. He glanced at it without reading the words before absently dropping it back on the desk again. Knowing he wouldn't be able to do anything until he knew for himself how Lucy was, he decided to leave the list for later and headed to the hospital.
Serena wandered around the living room, studying pieces of furniture. Finally coming to a conclusion she announced, "The arrangement of this room is all wrong. Here, help me move the piano towards the desk."
"I'll try," Cassandra answered uncertainly as she grabbed one end of the piano. Together they pushed it a few feet down the wall.
Serena regarded her surroundings once again and shrugged, "That's a bit better . . . This room is so cold and plain. It's in desperate need of redecorating."
"I don't know if we can afford to decorate," Cassie objected. "We're lucky Vanessa is letting us stay here or we couldn't even afford a place to live.
"It would be an investment. Hear my plan," Serena said as she sat down on the couch and motioned for Cassandra to sit next to her. "I'm going to start a business from the house, reading palms and tarot cards. And to do that I need to create the proper atmosphere."
"I see."
"Darling, why don't you quit that diner job and join me. You have the gift too, don't you?"
Cassie nodded. "I guess if it takes off I could try," she said uncertainly. Since her father was gone and Serena wasn't likely to find a conventional job given her past, Cassie had the burden of supporting herself and her mother. Working as a waitress didn't earn much money, but it was enough to keep them going.
Serena clasped Cassandra's hands, "What's bothering you, Cassandra? You seem so . . . heartbroken. Yes, that's it, heartbroken. What's happened?"
Cassandra sighed, "Nothing really. There's just this guy I like. I mean, the first time I saw him it was like I felt this instant connection to him, but now he's dating someone else . . .I just know he's the one for me. I can feel it every time he's near. I just know. But there's nothing I can do about it . . . because of her."
Serena drew back, her expression darkened. "The heart can fool you, Cassandra. It can make you blind. When I met your father I felt the same way. I loved him dearly, but he betrayed me and cast me away. You have to keep a clear head about these matters and not let your heart overrule your common sense, your intuition."
"This isn't like you and Dad. This guy is nothing like my father. He's a good person, honest and really nice. And what I feel for him isn't just infatuation, I know it isn't. I think this is my intuition telling me that we're meant to be together."
Serena studied Cassandra, "Who is he?"
Cassandra squirmed. She didn't want to say, but somehow she felt her mother would find out anyway. Perhaps she already knew. "It's Blaine," she mumbled.
Serena's dark expression seemed to fade, "Oh! Well, there may be something you can do."
"What?"
"Invite him over to dinner. If I think you're right about him, then I'll tell you what to do." She stood up briskly. "I think I'm going to stop by the fabric store. Surely, we can fit some drapes in our budget."
Justin walked quickly through the bare white hospital corridor. The receptionist at the front desk had given him Lucy's room number without any difficulty, but now that he was here, he was starting to have second thoughts about coming.
As he approached the door to Lucy's room, the sound of voices startled him and he stepped back.
"Isn't he beautiful?" Lucy asked.
"He's amazing," Craig replied, gazing proudly at the baby in his arms. "I can't believe I have a son. What are we going to call this little guy?"
"I want to name him Stuart," Lucy answered. "After my family."
When Craig seemed surprised by the idea, she explained, "It seems like there should be something that still carries my family's name. Maybe he can bring some good back to it."
"I'm sure he will," Craig grinned. "Have you already picked a middle name too?"
"No, what do you think?"
"I had an uncle, Vincent, who meant a lot to me when I was growing up. Since we're going with family names, I'd like to honor him too."
"Stuart Vincent Sexton," Lucy tried out the name. "What do you think of that?" she cooed at the baby. "That's going to be your name, little guy."
As Lucy smiled up at her husband and their new baby, she thought she saw something move outside the door and her smile faded.
"What's wrong?" Craig asked.
Lucy blinked and decided she must be imagining things. "Nothing. I'm just tired, I guess."
Justin turned from the hospital room and slowly made his way back down the hallway. He felt a complete fool. He couldn't believe he had just abandoned his work and dropped everything to rush to the hospital, and for what? Nothing. Lucy was fine, she was happy with her new family, and he had no reason to be there. She wasn't anything to him now, but a former employer.
As he left the hospital, Justin decided to stop by the apartment before going back to the Burgess' and see if Audrey had been in yet.
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