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Date Posted: 21:33:25 06/24/01 Sun
Author: Lacy
Subject: A Far Greater Treasure--Part 03

A Far Greater Treasure—Part 03
By Lacy


Hey everyone, sorry it’s been so long. The prologue and Parts 01 and 02 are still posted below for anyone who needs a refresher or who hasn’t read them!


“Ok, Carrie, I think I have the general idea of what you’re looking for down here and we went over the upstairs yesterday so that only leaves one thing left for us to talk about…Carrie?” Sami stopped chattering abruptly.

“Hmmm? Oh, I’m sorry, Sami. What did you say?” came Carrie’s absent-minded reply.

“I said that I think we only have one room in this house that we need to go over for decorating purposes…the baby’s room? Where have you been today; it’s like your mind’s not here.”

“No, I guess not. Morning sickness was especially bad this morning and I really haven’t felt well all day…my mind’s just been other places. You know Mike was going to University Hospital today for something…he wouldn’t tell me what…and I…I guess that bothers me, you know?”

Moving to stand in front of Carrie, Sami placed one hand firmly on Carrie’s shoulder. “Honestly, you worry too much. You know he’ll tell you as soon as he’s ready—it’s probably just an interview…no big deal. Relax…he’s fine and worry’s not good for the baby. Which brings me back to the subject at hand…the baby’s room. That’s all we have left to plan and if you don’t mind I’d like to go ahead and get that laid out today so I can start getting this house together…we have enough time before Brandon and Mike get here…what do you say?”

Carrie jumped slightly as the doorbell rang but nodded to Sami and moved to answer the door. “That must be my assistant…” Sami threw over her shoulder as she began walking up the stairs. Carrie tugged the wooden door open and was greeted by a blast of cigarette smoke. She coughed and moved back. A tall, blonde was standing with her back to the door and, hearing the door open, dropped her cigarette and ground it out with a what must have once been a killer pair of designer stilettos. She turned and Carrie could barely control a gasp as she looked into the face of Nicole Walker—but not the Nicole she remembered. Nicole had been beautiful, young, alive…and now, her face was prematurely aged and wrinkled, her teeth stained from cigarettes, and her hair looking messy and somewhat unkempt. Nicole was wearing a worn black pantsuit and as she moved inside, Carrie caught her eye…there was no life in those eyes, only a lot of pain. “Nicole…hi, sorry for my silence but Sami didn’t tell me you were working with her,” Carrie managed.

“Nice to see you too, Carrie,” came the reply, tinged with bitterness. Carrie motioned Nicole to follow her and the two went upstairs to the room that had been lovingly dubbed “Baby’s Room”. Nicole set down three huge books in the middle of the room and indicated for Carrie to sit down. The three women converged around the books and Sami began to explain, for the millionth time, that the first place to start when decorating a room was to choose a color scheme.

“Ok, Carrie, you know the drill. Now, since you’ve decided not to find out the sex of the baby, it would probably not be a good idea to decorate in blue or pink. Gender-neutral colors like yellow, green, or lilac would probably be better. Do you have a preference?”

“You know, I actually think I would like blue. You know, who ever said blue was the ‘boy’s color’ anyway? Soft blues and yellows would just be adorable and so soothing…” Carrie trailed off as Nicole rolled her eyes and jumped up, grabbed a measuring tape, and began to measure the windows in the room. Carrie noted the agitation on Sami’s face and moved to pick up the book with paint samples in it. “Look at this blue,” she continued, pointing to a soft sky blue. “Can’t you see this color for a baby’s room?”

Sami nodded and flipped open the wallpaper book. “Look,” she said, pointing to several blue baby borders. “These would match perfectly,” and with that the two were once again absorbed in the decorating process. An indefinite amount of time later, the pair was broken out of their debate by a dim phone ringing. Nicole practically ran across the room and dug a cell phone out of her purse.

“Hello?” she answered. “Yes…what? Oh my god…. I’ll be right there…” and she hung up. Shooting Sami a look she said, “I have to go. Good luck and congratulations, Carrie. I’ll be seeing you around.” She gathered her things off the floor, the stilettos causing her to slide and slip. When the two heard the front door slam seconds later, Carrie immediately pressed for an explanation.

“Nicole Walker is your assistant? Sami are you crazy? I have nothing against her personally but I’ve heard some stories…”

“Carrie, just stop for a second. First, remember that Nicole is Brandon’s sister, and there are some things you don’t know. Second, Nicole has been through some rough times and she made some bad choices—but so have I. She was riding pretty high, you know…president of Titan and all. It even looked like she and Victor Kiriakis were getting pretty cozy—we even heard engagement rumors. But then one day it was all over. Victor had kicked her out, she had no job, no experience, and nowhere to go…and she was four months pregnant. When Brandon asked me to help, how could I say no? Everyone deserves a chance to turn their life around; poor Nicole, she’s had problems. She has a son, Jamie, who is adorable, but whatever happened between her and Victor must have been unbearable. She has an alcohol problem and is prone to fits of depression. She and Jamie are living with her mother—you remember Faye Walker—but she hasn’t licked her demons yet.”

“And you’re continuing to help her because…?”

“Because I wish someone had helped me when I needed it.” Sami stopped as she heard a voice calling from downstairs and Carrie smiled.

“That’s Mike, with Brandon, no doubt. Come on, Sami. Let’s go downstairs. I don’t know why you feel so strongly about Nicole, but I must say it’s…admirable.” The two women began to head downstairs, leaving concerns about decorating and Nicole behind and heading into the arms of the men they loved—and who had just happened to bring home dinner.

*~*~

Jeremy hunched over his café latte and scanned the crowds rushing through Salem Place. It was definitely different from Jerusalem—but good. He’d spent the last couple weeks learning the town and looking for work. He’d done finance work for a major bank in Jerusalem, but finance opportunities were slim in Salem. The two best options seemed to either be Titan or one of John Black’s many enterprises. Stirring another pack of sugar into the already sugar-laden drink, Jeremy let his thoughts wander. His reverie was broken by the sight of a petite blonde struggling with an overload of shopping bags; Jeremy frowned—she looked familiar. Then it clicked; that was Belle Black. They’d met at the party at the Pub. Figuring it couldn’t hurt to offer his assistance he walked over and lightly tapped her on the shoulder. Belle spun around a frown on her face.

“What?”

“Sorry, Belle. Do you remember me? I’m Jeremy…Mike Horton’s son? We met…”

“Oh, Jeremy, hi. I’m so sorry for snapping at you…I’m just a little frustrated with all these bags at the moment.”

“I saw. I came to offer my assistance.” Belle’s face broke into a smile.

“Thank you so much. I would appreciate it. You know, I haven’t seen you around town much,” she commented, letting Jeremy take half her bags. “Have you had the chance to meet anyone?

“Not really. I’ve been job hunting and outside of the herd of people at the Pub a couple weeks ago I haven’t really had the chance.”

“Hmmm…tell you what, Jeremy. Shawn and I and some friends of ours are going to go bowling tonight—don’t laugh. Bowling is a great sport. Why don’t you come with us? It’ll give you the chance to meet the crowd here in Salem.”

“Thanks, Belle, but I don’t think I want to come along on some couples thing…”

‘It’s not a ‘couples thing’. There will be lots of people there without dates. Come on….you don’t have a good excuse not to go. Please?

Jeremy grinned. “Well, I can’t very well refuse when you start begging can I? What time?”


TBC

Coming Soon:

Sami’s engagement party
Jeremy meets the girl of his dreams
There’s trouble for one couple in Salem
Mike starts his most important project ever
A girl’s night out brings Carrie closer to family and friends
Nicole shares a secret with Carrie

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