Subj: Collinwood 2001 Year One Part Seventeen
Date: 4/29/01 12:16:22 PM Central Daylight Time
From: N.E. Collins

Carolyn's hot clam chowder was now her cold clam chowder. Her cold crisp salad was warm.

Vicky ventured to approach the question once more. "I can't imagine WHAT is keeping Carolyn for so long now? Maybe I better go check on her,"

But Joe stopped her cold with his all too casual comment. "There's no need to do that, Vicky. See, I KNOW what Carolyn is up too."

Vicky was daunted by Joe's matter-of-fact statement, but she tried not to show it. "You do?"

"Oh, yeah," he said. "And just between the three of us I am gonna let you guys in on a little secret if you haven't figured it out for yourselves by now." Joe leaned in like he was breaking a confindence. "Carolyn Stoddard is the center of the entire universe and we all revolve around her."

Both Bill and Vicky had a little laugh of relief at this revelation. "And right now, she is not in the bathroom getting all prettied up for me. No. What she's doing is making me wait for HER. And I know for a fact that if I leave before she comes out, MAN! Am I gonna hear about it! But since I DO have a job that I WOULD like to keep, my hands are tied."

Joe pushed up from the chair that he had been sitting astride and Bill Malloy rose from his chair. "Yep, women like to keep their men on a short lease, m'boy."

"You know it, m'man. You know it." Joe resigned himself agreeably.

"Miss Winters," said the older man, "it was a real pleasure having this time to visit with you. If you'd like I could give you a ride back to the estate?"

Vicky thanked him, but decided to stay and wait for Carolyn.

"Maggie, would you look through my jacket and see if you can find those crakers I put in one the pockets? I can't have this soup without sum proper crackers." Sam Evans set his bowl down on the small kitchen table and called to his daughter in the next room through the french doors. "I think my jacket is over there by the easel."

Maggie stopped her dusting and went to the task, but not without complaint. "Honestly, pop, I don't know why you can't just BUY crackers at the store like regular people instead of stuffing your pockets full with free ones you snatch from The Blue Whale."

Sam grunted from the next room. "Well, unlike you I am NOT made of money and if I can save a nickel here and there I don't see why you should make such a fuss about it."

The games had begun. It was Maggie's shot. "Well, you might try saving MORE than a nickel by not going to The Blue Whale every chance you get. You MIGHT try to find a better job than driving a taxi cab in this one horse town when it's NOT the tourist season. You might..."

Sam winced a bit with every might from Maggie's lips. He spooned up some hot soup and blew on it too hard. The broth splattered out of the spoon and plopped in a glob on the table top.

Maggie found the jacket and she was going through the pockets when she smelled the aroma of fresh paint. Oil based paint. "Pop? Have you started painting again?" She reached to remove the cover that was masking the new work underneath.

Sam came hurriedly into the room all frantic. "Maggie! Don't look at that!"

Maggie looked sideways at her father. "Oh, pop, don't be silly! You ALWAYS let me look at what you're working on." She lifted the bottom right edge of the tarp.

"I said NO!" Sam Evans leapt forward tripping over some books on the floor and barely just catching his fall.

Maggie rushed to his side. "Pop! Are you alright? Did you HURT yourself?"

His breath came back to even and he assured he wasn't, but what he made her promise him afterwards was more disturbing to her than if he had hurt himself. "Maggie, I want you to swear... swear on your mother's grave that you will not look at that painting. Come on now, swear to me!"

Carolyn came briskly into the dining room of the cafe. She was smiling from ear to ear and Vicky could have sworn she had heard her humming a little tune to herself when she walked in. "Oh, Vicky, I almost feel ashamed of myself for what I just put Joe through." She leaned over and posed on the back of her chair. "I don't know WHAT he's done to deserve me." She giggled and Vicky just sat there and said nothing. Carolyn took a look at her wristwatch. "Oh! Is it that late already? Oh, Vicky, we've gotta get home. We have to get ready for tonight. We have a million things to do if we're going to be the bells of the ball. I still haven't decided what I'm going to wear. Have you?" Vicky silently accompanied a more than chatty Carolyn as they made their way out the door.

Dark Shadows is a Dan Curtis Production.