The Devil You Know: Chapter 53

Starr knew the task of planning her mom and dad’s wedding would present many obstacles.  Unfortunately, the greatest one would be her Aunt Dorian.  While Dorian had gotten better about her father in the past year, Starr knew Todd and Dorian could still be a combustible combination in any setting.  Throw in her Aunt Viki and it may become dangerously explosive.  But she also knew she had to get in touch with Dorian and let her in on the plans or she would never hear the end of it.  So, a few days later, after calling all her other relatives, including her cousins Kevin and Joey (though she knew the chances of them showing up at her parent’s wedding were slim to none) and taking a deep breath, she dialed her aunt.



“Starr, it’s so wonderful to hear from you!  And seasons’ greetings to you!” Dorian enthused from her end of the line.



“Hello, Dorian,” she replied.



“And how are the holidays treating you?  How is that young man of yours, Michael Corinthos, I believe his name is?”



“Michael’s fine,” she said, rather lamely.  Talking to Dorian about her boyfriend was more uncomfortable than talking to her parents about him.  She knew very well what Dorian’s feelings were about the men in the lives of the Cramer girls generally were.  She needed to get onto the topic at hand.   “Actually, I was calling about the holidays.  What are your plans for them?”



“Oh, well, the Senate is in recess, of course, so I was planning on returning to Llanview.  I was hoping I’d have all my girls back home for them as well, especially since I really didn’t get to spend Thanksgiving with you,” she said in that sweetly nasty way she was good at.



Starr closed her eyes and bit her tongue.  She knew this wouldn’t be easy.  Oh, well, here it goes anyway.  “Well, actually, Aunt Dorian, I was hoping you’d come here to Port Charles for Christmas…and especially for New Year’s.”



“Oh, Starr, that sounds wonderful!”



At her end of the conversation, Starr blinked.  That was too easy.  “You like the idea?”



“Well, of course I do.  I get to spend time with my beloved family, my niece and her children.  We can do a French Christmas theme, just us Cramers,” Dorian replied.



“Well, the idea would be spending the holidays at our house.  You know, with Mom and Jack and Sam…and Dad,” Starr explained. 



“Well, yes, of course your father would be there.”



“And Aunt Viki and Uncle Clint, and Uncle Victor and Aunt Tea are planning on staying through New Year’s, too.”



Dorian’s voice got noticeably less enthusiastic.  “Well, of course the Lords would have to be there.” 



 Starr shook her head.  “Aunt Dorian, I’m going to be honest with you.  There’s another reason why I want you to come.  Mom and Dad, they’re getting married on New Year’s Eve.”



“They are?  But Blair didn’t say anything to me,” Dorian informed her.



“Mom…kind of doesn’t know.”  Starr took a few moments to explain the wedding planning.  She told them that with her mother being pregnant, Starr knew her father would want to get them married as quickly as possible.  And with the New Year coming around the corner, Starr felt it was the best way to kick it off.  Then she told Dorian how Jessica and Tina were helping her.



“Stop right there,” Dorian fumed.  “Tina is planning this?”



“Well, she’s helping me…” Starr began.



“I will be up there in the morning.  There is no way that woman is planning my niece’s wedding…even if it is to her brother,” Dorian said forcefully. 



“Alright, but this wedding is a surprise, Aunt Dorian.  As in, you’ll just be coming for the holidays.  Understood?”



“Of course, my dear.  I understand perfectly.  David and I will see you tomorrow.”  With that, she hung up.



Starr didn’t even have a chance to respond to Dorian’s last comment.  She clicked the phone off and collapsed onto Michael’s shoulder.  They had been at Kelly’s while Starr was making the calls. 



“Bad news?” he asked, supportively.



Starr picked up her head and looked at Michael.  As she answered his question, she saw Viki and Clint come in.  “Aunt Dorian and David are coming here.  Tomorrow.”



Michael’s eyes went wide, remembering David from Thanksgiving weekend.  “I should alert my mom, I guess?”



It was Viki who answered.  “I think that would be advisable.  And alert the authorities.  Hurricane Dorian is about to hit town.”



“And she’s going to offer her help with the wedding,” Starr said in a less than delighted tone. 



“Oh dear,” was all Viki said. 



Michael looked a bit perplexed at Starr’s aunt.  “When I was in Llanview, I got the feeling you two don’t get along.  Is there some problem—”



“She was married to my father, I believed she killed my father, she has a habit of trying to social climb and we just…have some history,” Viki said curtly. 



“Your aunt,” he said to Starr, “was married to your father?” he asked Viki.



Off to the side, Clint just shook his head.  “Michael, there’s too much history there for one explanation.”



“And as it stands, I have too much to do.  First thing, warn Aunt Tina,” Starr said. 



“I’ll take care of Tina for you,” Viki said.  “And I will take care of Dorian when she gets here.”



Starr smiled.  “Thank you.”  She pulled out her phone and made another call.  When that ended, she said, “Now, I need to go to the bridal shop and look for Mom’s dress.”  With that, she kissed Michael, said goodbye to her aunt and uncle and left.  Michael exited the diner a few minutes later.   



Jack Manning dropped his head into his hands.  He knew his sister’s request was coming but he was hoping to not get roped into her plotting.  Now, that seemed to be impossible. He was there sitting on the bleacher at Port Charles High still in the pose when Molly walked up.  “Is there something wrong?” she asked with concern.



Jack picked up his head and smiled at his girlfriend.  “No, just my normal family craziness,” he answered. 



“What happened now?  Another return from the dead?”  It was a joke, but with his family history, it may not have been far off.



“No, much more mundane, actually.”  He took breath, and then said, “My parents are going to be getting remarried.”



“Really?” she asked, her eyes getting dreamy.



He smirked at her, knowing that would be her reaction.  “Yeah, but the thing is, they don’t know it yet.  Starr is planning a surprise wedding for them on New Year’s Eve.”  Jack didn’t think it was possible Molly to get even dreamier.  “But the trick of it is, we need to get a lot done under the radar.  And I’ve been tasked with getting the tuxedo of my dad, and Starr is being a pain about it.”



“How so?”



Jack pulled out his phone and brought up a picture.  Molly thought she had remembered seeing it before.  “This is from their first, well, actually their second wedding and my sister wants me to find something exactly like it.”  He took the phone back when she was finished.  “My mom always believed that this day, this moment, was the most perfect one of her life.  Starr found my dad’s wedding plans, which is basically this wedding all over again but they’ve been stalled for a while now.”



“So Starr’s doing it herself,” Molly concluded.



“Well, Jessica is helping her and my Aunt Tina too.  But Starr wants to put a rush on it, especially now that my mom is pregnant,” Jack explained.



“You’re mom’s going to have a baby?  Oh, that’s so great!  Congratulations, Jack.”



“Yeah, she’s still very early on, but when my dad passed out at the Nurses Ball, he kind of found out.  And then Mom passed out in the hospital and they ran test and well, that was when we found out,” Jack said.



“Wait, how did he find out when he passed out?”  Molly was confused.



Jack turned red when he realized what he had said, but Molly was waiting expectantly for an answer.  “When my dad was shot this summer and in the coma, he was kind of in limbo.  When he was there, he said his sister was with him.”  At Molly’s further perplexed look, Jack went on.  “My dad had a sister who actually died a long time ago.  He name was Meredith.  She was my Aunt Viki’s full sister.  Anyway, when he was in the coma, when he was having the surgery and when he went catatonic after his performance, he said Meredith was with him, all the times urging him to go back to us.”  He smiled.  “They’ve already named the baby Meredith Victoria, after her, Aunt Viki and even Uncle Victor.”



Molly smiled at Jack, then stood up and held out her hand.  “Come on then,” she said.



Jack stood up but didn’t understand.  “Where are we going?”



“To start to get what you need to for the wedding,” she said, a smile brightening her face. 



Jack took her hand, returning the smile.  “Thank you, for everything.”  He leaned in and kissed her and they left.


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