The Way Back: Chapter 8

"Todd? Todd, we're here." Blair shook him gently.

He sat up with a small start and surveyed the area around him. Quiet. Trees and more trees. Blair. He smiled at her. "Your singing put me to sleep"

"Yes, boring as ever. Now let's go, we want to see the sunset before it's too late, right?"

"Did you bring food?" He said, following her around to the back of the car. He got his answer when he spied five paper sacks in the back, plus her pink designer luggage. "Oh, okay, I thought we were up here for a quiet two days, not a month."

She laughed, and he did, too, as they both reached for the handle on her bag. As their hands touched, they found each other's eyes again, and stared, both of them, into each other for a while. "I didn't think I'd see those green pools again," he said, touching the hair framing her face with his index finger.

She smiled, tearing up. "Well, here they are."

Without thinking, her hand went to his face, touching his scar. It was like an involuntary act now, she noticed. He leaned in and kissed her, his lips taking her top one gently. She didn't pull away. When the kiss ended, their eyes locked again, and he went back toward her, this time pulling her closer and both of them opening their mouths and souls to each other. It finished with her resting her head on his shoulder, under his chin, and playing with the little chest hairs coming through the top of his shirt as she had so many times. He spoke first, "We have to get these groceries inside, and catch that sunset."

"All right then, Mr. Manning, let's go." They unloaded the back of the car, him carrying most of it, she trailing behind chattering here and there about the kids, the dinner, the sunset, the cabin. He listened, soaking in her voice and her presence. They entered the cabin, and a rush of emotion and memory came to him. The fireplace where he had burned the photos of Starr when she was a baby and he'd been foolish enough to take her from her mother. The conversations they had held in this very place; the day Blair told him she purchased the land on Llantano Mountain. It was enough, now, to just be in the same room with her and hear her voice. That voice kept me alive. He suddenly found himself lost in another remembrance of a small room, with one chair and a bunk, no windows and a locked metal door. A hand was coming toward him, holding the metal clamps he had come to fear. They blurred, and then he heard her scream.

"Todd!" Somehow he was on the floor, looking up at her, a bag of, fortunately, non-perishable items strewn around him. "Todd, are you all right? Oh, what happened?"

He looked at her. "I, I got dizzy I guess. Too much sun, maybe."

She helped him up, then picked up the items. "Don't," he said, "let me pick up my own mess."

"No, you can't be bending over, that's if you are dizzy. You want to tell me what really happened?" Easy, Blair, nothing ugly, remember?

He shrugged. "I don't know, really, I was just thinking of being here before, a bunch of memories came back. In the middle of them, a memory of my humble abode for the last eight years crept in there, and, then there was you, and I was on the floor."

"Are you all right?"

"Yes, I'm okay. Let's not spend any more time on this, okay? Let's get these things unpacked and catch that sunset. You said it's coming in, what, 25 minutes?"

"Oh! Yes, it is! All right, let's get the cold stuff put away, we have to walk a bit up the mountain to see it the best."

They worked together getting the few necessary items refrigerated, and then headed out on the path up the mountain to find the perfect perch to view the sunset from. On the way, they laughed and talked, Blair fell one or two times, of course wearing the wrong shoes, which Todd had to comment on. They reminisced and reminded each other of various times they got clumsy and made spectacles of themselves. Finally, they decided on a resting spot that would clear most of the trees and give a great view of the sunset. He put a blanket down and she sat on it, and he followed suit. He moved closer to her, and that was all it took. She moved in, laying her head on his shoulder, one hand on his bicep. She loved the feel of him through his shirt. He was always the most beautiful man she had ever seen.

"That's the land you bought, isn't it?"

"Yep," she smiled, "it is. And yes, before you ask, I still own it. I told you I would never sell it."

"But, you were with him, right? So, when did that all go wrong?"

She looked into his eyes, "is this really what you want to talk about during the sunset?"

He smiled back, "No, but I want to talk about it sometime. Is that okay?"

"Yes. Look." The sky was suddenly a palette of colors from deep purple to the reds and pinks of the close of the day. Clouds were outlined in vibrant hues and the edge of the sun was dipping lower by the moment, behind the edge of the tree covered hills. She rested her head back on his shoulder. She heard his ragged sigh, and realized his tears were falling again. She tightened her grip on his arm and snuggled closer.

"It's okay. You can feel different any time with me and cry with me, too."

They watched as the last trails of the sunlight disappeared. The sky darkened slowly, and before all light was gone, he suggested they start walking down the mountain. She agreed, and they made their way back to the cabin.

***

In Llanview, Tomas was dozing on the couch, when he was startled by the door opening and voices in the foyer. Glancing at the clock, he saw it was 3:00 a.m. He got up, and went to greet them. "You're home, how was your evening? It must have been good, it's so late. Everything okay?"

"It was fine. Tell Mr. Manning to keep his paws off me in public, however," his sister was distracting from the issue at hand, something she did quite well.

"I like my paws on you, Mrs. Manning," The Impostor said.

Tomas interrupted, "Uh, I am glad you two had a nice evening, but, mine was less than good. Blair was here. She believes the man at the premier is Todd Manning. And frankly, so do I. Which leaves the big question," and he pointed to his brother-in-law, "who are you?"

Tea's face twisted in disapproval. "Tomas, what happened, did Blair give you the cold shoulder already, mi hermano? Drowning your sorrows?" She pointed to two empty bottles of wine and a few Twinkie wrappers.

"She was here. She was angry. I knew she would be."

"For your information," The Impostor said, "I'm Todd Manning. Who else would I be? It was clear that guy was out of his mind, and some of you fell for it. I'm glad to say that Tea, my love, did not believe a word. She knows I am Todd Manning." He stepped up, hugging her around the waist, which lead her to kiss him over her shoulder more passionately than Tomas needed to see.

"You're not. And, even if that guy was out of his mind, you're not Todd Manning. Tea, how can you believe him? After the real man shows up at the premier, how can you believe this?"

"He's my husband, and I know he is who he says he is. Too bad for the rest of you. If Blair wants to be fooled by that escaped nutcase, then fine. He's probably an ex-inmate of Cherryvale Institution or St. Anne's. He's clearly had some kind of plastic surgery to imitate the original face that Todd had."

Tomas could not believe what he was hearing. Had his sister gone mad? "Hermanita, you must be joking. You believe this? Are you that blinded by love?"

"I'm not the blind one, and if you don't like it, " she walked to the door, "you can get out. I stand by my husband." She opened the door.

Tomas looked from Tea to The Impostor, and back. "I'm not leaving you here."

Tea said, "Then you need to keep quiet about this and trust me. I know my husband. I know who he is." And Tea was telling nothing but her truth.