Chapter twenty two
Meg stood at the rail looking out over the beach and ocean, she sighed happily “Anything wrong?” she heard from behind and turned and looked at Ben “Not at all, it’s perfect. Couldn’t be better” Ben walked up and put his arms around her and he too looked out over the beach. Meg looked up at him “I was wrong, it could be better” Ben smiled at her “I love you Meg Cummings” he said and kissed her. Meg rested her head on Ben’s chest “I actually didn’t know that you could be this happy” “Apparently you can” Ben said softly and held Meg even closer. “Sorry to disturb” they both turned around and looked at Joan “We thought we’d go back to the house” “Ok mom” Meg smiled “Do you want any leftovers with you back?” Joan shook her head “Not even some turkey? There is a lot” she laughed “Ok then, I know your father likes some on the sandwich next day” They both went into the kitchen and fixed it all up and then Joan and Hank left. Sarah and Derek had gone back to their place earlier. “So, we’re all alone now?” Ben said and locked the front door “Do you want some more wine?” Meg shook her head “No thanks, I’ve had enough” she snuggled close to him “Why don’t we call it the night and go upstairs instead?” Ben grinned “That’s a good suggestion”
Meg woke up the next morning still in Ben’s arms feeling extremely happy. She rolled over and looked at Ben who was still asleep. Carefully she got out of bed and went into the bathroom to take a shower. He was still sleeping when Meg got out. She got dressed, wrote Ben a note and headed to the hotel. She had quite a lot to do so she could be by Ben’s side at the Boxing-day party at the Deep in the evening.
Ben woke up alone in bed “I guess Meg’s downstairs” he said and went down dressed in just his pajama’s bottoms and this robe open. He didn’t find her anywhere, but in the kitchen there was a note from her telling him she was at the hotel. The doorbell rang and with a cup of coffee in his hands Ben went to open it “Probably is Meg, with her hands full so she can’t open” he said to himself and opened the door with a sexy smile on his lips. “What a welcome” the woman at the door said. Ben put his cup on the shelf, pulled his robe together and got a hard look at his face. “Now, is that the way to great a guest?” the woman said “When the guest is uninvited it is. What do you want Maria?” “Can’t a friend come wishing Merry Christmas when she’s in town?” Ben was still standing by the door as Maria walked into the living room “I thought I made it perfectly clear that I didn’t want to see more of you than necessary” Maria’s mother was living in town and he couldn’t deny her the rights to go visit her, or her brothers. “But Ben” she pleaded “I just wanted to wish you and your girlfriend Merry Christmas” Maria looked around “Isn’t she here, or you’ve not let her move in?” she asked sarcastically as Ben had been reserved about letting her move in when they had been together. “Not that it’s any of your business but Meg’s her own woman and she comes and goes as she likes” he didn’t feel that he had to share more information with her. “Now I would like for you to leave, I’ve got things to do, places to be” Ben said and opened the door. Maria walked up to him and ran a finger down the opening of his robe “No matter what mood, you’re still sexy as hell Ben Evans” Ben ignored her and quickly closed the door behind her. He returned upstairs to put his jogging clothes on and then went for his morning run that usually cleared both his head and his mood.
Meg was busy at the office. The first thing she went thru was the bookings for New Years. She and Sarah had thru a friend managed to land a famous band to play and although it was a secret people had booked. There weren’t many tickets left and a lot of the people had booked rooms too. Of course the band would get the suits since they would bring their families. Meg couldn’t deny them that, it was after all New Year’s. There was a knock on the door and she looked up “Come on in Steve” she said “Everything ok at the front desk?” “Yes Miss Cummings” he answered “So what can I help you with?” Meg asked “Well… I’ve” he hesitated “That is, my girlfriend and I, we got some friends who’s also in college and well I was just wondering, could I buy four more tickets for the New Year’s party at the same price” he looked down to the floor. Meg laughed “But of course you can, didn’t you read the mail we sent out?” he shook his head “Well we decided that if there was tickets left we’d let you all have them for the reduced price if you wanted” “Thank you, you and Mrs Evans are very generous” Meg smiled at him “We can be even more generous if you all just learn to call us Meg and Sarah” Steve smiled back “I can’t talk for the others, but I will try” he turned towards the door “I better get back to work” “You do that, I will be out in a while when I’ve sorted this out” Meg pointed to the pile of papers she had on her desk.
It didn’t take long until the buzzer on the phone went off and Meg picked it up “Meg, it’s Steve at the front desk. There is a woman here that wants to talk to you” Meg was surprised “Who?” she heard Steve ask politely for a name and returned to the phone “Maria she says, shall I send her in?” Meg stood up “No, I’m coming out” Meg was curious; she didn’t know any Maria, at least no anyone who would be in California this time of the year. As there weren’t more than one person at the front desk it was easy to know who was looking for her “Maria I presume” Meg extended her hand “I’m Meg Cummings, what can I help you with?” she asked “Nothing really, I just wanted to see who the Kansas tramp that Ben’s picked up was” she started to walk by Meg but Meg was quick and grabbed her arm “There is no need for you to come in here and call me names when I don’t know who you are” Maria looked at Meg “You never heard of me?” she looked surprised “I’m the one who Ben was going to marry before you came along” she said superior. Meg looked at her “You’re kidding me, if you are the one who you says you are Ben never had any intention of ever marrying you and don’t come here and try to say that it’s my fault you two broke up. I know that Ben was cheated on by you and he was very hurt. So don’t you try anything. In fact consider this a warning, if you ever come here again acting like this again you can consider yourself bared” Meg nodded towards a guard “Please follow this woman to the door, she’s warned” Meg looked at Steve who looked terrified “This is not your fault at all, you did the right thing” she said with a smile “If you want anything I’ll be in the office”
Meg was still boiling when she got home, not so much about Maria now but that she had let her get to her that easy. She found a note from Ben on the shelf when she put her door keys down. He had gone to the Deep to see so that all things were ok. Meg went upstairs and took a shower, then she braided her hair as she knew she would get a nice volume to work with for a nice hairdo in the evening. When she was dressed she walked over to catch up a bit with her parents.
“Wow” Ben said as Meg walked down the stairs “I’m the luckiest man alive” Meg was dressed in a blue dress that glittered. She had her hair lose with just a few combs in it to keep it back. “You look” he took a deep breath “wonderful” he came towards her and offered his hand for the last steps. “Thank you” Meg smiled “You look very handsome yourself this evening Mr Evans” he was wearing his tux “Well it is the dress code for this event since your party on New Years is a masquerade and I don’t get to wear it then” Meg looked surprised at him “I thought all men hated getting dressed up” Ben laughed “I didn’t say I love it, but how could I not dress up when I’m getting the most beautiful woman in Sunset Beach on my arm. Are you ready to leave?” he asked. “Yes I am” she said and put her keys in her purse.
The club was full of happy people partying when Ben and Meg arrived. Of course Ben had to check on a few things and Meg went to talk to a few friends. Meg, Gaby and Caitlin was standing by the bar talking when Meg suddenly said “I don’t believe it” Both Caitlin and Gaby turned around to look what Meg was looking at “What do you mean?” Caitlin asked “Him” Meg pointed “Tim Truman” Gaby looked at Meg “Do you know Tim?” Meg nodded “How?” she asked and Meg rolled her eyes “Don’t get me started” “Now you have to tell” Caitlin filled in “To make a long story short, Tim’s my ex-fiancé and I don’t feel like talking about it” “You and Tim???” Gaby exclaimed “Then you won’t be happy when I tell you that Tim’s involved with Maria, my sister-in-law to be” Meg just stood there thinking, she hadn’t really made the connection earlier that day “Oh no, I had a run-in with her earlier today” Meg turned towards the bar and the other two went to stand on one side each of her “What did she get up to now?” Gaby asked “I know Maria’s been known to stir up trouble from now and then” Meg just shook her head “She was just talking about how I broke her and Ben up and so on…” “I’m so sorry about that Meg” Gaby put a hand on her shoulder “Oh Gaby, it’s not your fault, you can’t help how she acts” “She’s changed so much the last few years” Caitlin filled in “We went to school together and then she was a nice girl, I don’t know what or when but something happened and now she’s really bitchy” she continued. “Bitchy was the word, I’ve never met anyone like her before. But she and Tim can suite each other” Meg said and turned to the bar to take her glass “But let’s not talk about them, we’re here to have fun”
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All connections to Sunset Beach, any other soaps/series and real life characters are purely for your pleasure.
©tinadolphin@comhem.se 2010
A Blog with stuff made by me, if it's crocheting, writing or pictures made in Paint Shop Pro, it's all here! Enjoy and please comment :)
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Starting over chapter 21
Chapter twenty one
Meg excused herself and went to Ben’s office to pick her purse up. She had a little early Christmas present for Ben in it. Ben on the other hand was busy with his last minute preparations for their Christmas Eve dinner in the wine cellar. Meg came back to the bar which now was empty expect from Roger who came towards Meg with a glass of wine “Ben said to give this to you, let you know he’s downstairs and then get out of here” Meg smiled “Well then, thank you for the wine and Merry Christmas to you and your family” she said “Merry Christmas to you too” Roger said and then he left. Meg went towards the wine cellar. She found a white rose tied to the handle and as she opened the door there were a white rose on every step for the first set of stairs. She opened the second door and the roses continued to decorate the steps, but now there was a little box attached to each and everyone. Meg opened the first one and found a pearl, she looked up and saw Ben standing at the end of the stairs “A few extra this week because it’s Christmas” he smiled. Meg slowly picked them all up “You spoil me Ben Evans” she said before she kissed him. When they parted Ben showed Meg to the table where he pulled the chair out for her before he sat down himself “It’s nice to finally be able to be alone” he took her hand and kissed her fingers “I’ve missed you a lot lately” Meg smiled back at him “I’ve missed you too, but tomorrow we got the whole day together” “It will really be strange” Ben admitted “It’s only been me and Derek for a lot of years now” “Not any girlfriends?” Meg asked “No, somehow it’s not turned out that way” “Well, then I maybe should prepare you, we’re pretty strong in our wills when it comes to Christmas. No one touches mom’s turkey and God help the one that even goes near dad’s eggnog” Ben laughed “Sounds like a perfect way to spend Christmas, not doing anything” Meg shook her head “No way, the dishes is always the children’s bit and you and Derek are children too now” Meg sipped her wine “Mmm this was nice” “You think?” Ben asked “It’s a new one and I thought maybe we could have it with dinner tomorrow” “That sounds great, I think it will go well with the turkey”
Meg opened her purse “I’ve got something for you too” she said and handed Ben a box “You didn’t have to” Ben kissed her softly “Thank you” “Go ahead, open it” she told him as she put her pearls into the purse. Ben unwrapped the gift and lifted the top of the box off and inside he found a watch “Thank you Meg, it’s lovely” “I noticed that you’ve left the watch behind quite a bit or just put it in the pocket so I took a look at it and saw the buckle was broken so I thought this was something you’d need” Ben smiled “You sure notice the small details don’t you?” “Try it on” she urged him and Ben took it out of the box and put it on “It looks great” Meg got up and sat down in Ben’s lap. She put her arms around his neck and leant in for a kiss “Merry Christmas Ben” she said. “Merry Christmas to you too” Ben said when they pulled apart “Are you ready to go home?” “Yes I am” Meg said and stood up.
Early the next morning Meg woke up when she heard the doorbell. She looked at the alarm clock and it was already 8.30. She pulled on her robe and went downstairs. When she arrived there Ben had already opened the door and let the guests in “Mom, Dad you’re here” Meg rushed over to hug first her father “Merry Christmas Meggie” Hank kissed her on the cheek. “Merry Christmas” Meg said back and hugged her mother too. Ben was in his jogging clothes “Have you already been out?” she asked “No, I was on my way when the doorbell rang” he kissed her cheek “Good morning my love” “Good morning and Merry Christmas” Meg said back “I should go get dressed” “You do that and then you can show me where everything is and I will get started on the turkey” Joan said. Ben excused himself and went for his morning jog along the beach. When Meg returned downstairs she followed the smell of coffee to the kitchen. “So, how was the flight?” she asked her parents as she poured herself a cup and offered them refills. “It was good, when we finally took off” her father said “I’m so happy it stopped snowing” Joan filled in “I don’t know what a Christmas without my girls would be like” “Well you didn’t have to find out this year at least” Meg smiled. She showed her mom where everything was and then she went to check things out at the hotel. Christmas or not they still had guests and it made her happy.
Meg returned home just in time to set the table. She took out a tablecloth she had gotten from her grandmother a few years back and Joan got tears in her eyes when she saw it “We’ve had many happy Christmas dinners with tablecloth” she sighed “Too bad she didn’t feel like traveling” Meg said “Well you know how she is, she likes to be close to home” Meg hugged her mother “I hope she will come for the wedding though, and to meet Sarah’s baby” she paused “And the weather back in Kansas is better then too” “That’s true Meg. It’s really lovely that you want to use this tablecloth” Meg smiled “Now I just have to see where Ben keeps his good china, that I’ve never looked for” Ben came down the stairs “Did I hear my name?” he walked over and kissed Meg on the cheek “You sure did, we need to set the table” “And…” Ben teased her “Well I don’t think grandma would appreciate if we eat directly off the table cloth, don’t think she intended that to happen when she gave it to me” Meg said sarcastically and went on “So where do you keep the good china?” “You’re sure I’ve got any?” “Ben don’t scare me like that” Meg looked at him with fear in her eyes. “Sorry to say Meg, but I don’t have any. I only have glasses” Meg almost panicked and started to think about getting to the hotel and get some plates there, or using the everyday china “Our mother had some old china and glasses and since I’ve got the glasses Derek’s got the china” Meg realized she had been holding her breath “Then get over there and borrow it” she gently pushed him towards the door.
The china story was one of the topics around the dinner table “Well Meg, now you know what you can register for” Joan said “Yes” she agreed and looked at Ben “And I think I will drag Ben with me to all the shops to look at patterns” she teased and leant over and rested her head on his shoulder. Ben took her hand “Really? I’m not that particular, it can be your choice” Meg looked at him but couldn’t hide the smile “Oh it will be my choice, but you still have to come along” everyone started laughing and Meg turned to her sister “I think I’ll bring you along Sarah, that way you can go wish for presents for your baby shower” she said “Oh, a baby shower” Joan sighed “My big girl is getting married and my little one is having a baby, what great gifts we’ll get next year” Hank patted her hand in support as Ben stood up at the table “Since we’ve all finished and the ladies cooked all this great food I only think it’s fair that we” he looked at Hank and Derek “at least clear the table” Meg, Sarah and Joan went to sit in the sofa as they did and when they came back it was time for presents. It was a mix of bought and homemade gifts and when all gifts from under the tree was shared Ben walked over to the mantelpiece of the fireplace “Now, Derek and I got one more gift” he said and turned towards Joan and Hank “I know you both have worked hard all your life and you are proud of it and so you shall be. Your farm is a great place to come and relax and I hope we can do that for many years more” he moved over and stood just behind Meg “Meg and Sarah’s made a fantastic renovation to their hotel and they’ve both settled in here in Sunset Beach quickly in the short time they’ve been here” he nodded towards his brother “Derek and I have been both lucky and successfully with what we’ve done in our lives and got more than our fair share of money” he again looked at Hank and Joan “Considering my wedding to Meg and the birth of Derek and Sarah’s baby I know that, especially you Joan, will like to be able to come here more often so” he handed them the envelope “This is from me and Derek and I hope you will use them all” Hank opened the envelope “It’s 10 open tickets to use whenever you feel like flying out here, they’re not personalized so you can use them as you like” he put a hand on Meg’s shoulders “And when it’s time for the Christening and then for the wedding we’d like to help out with bringing the girl’s grandmother here too” Hank stood up and shook hands with both guys and Joan hugged and kissed them both “Thank you so much” she said and Hank looked at them “Thank you, I’m not going to be that proud that I’m not going to accept this more than generous gift” Meg got up and kissed Ben on the cheek “Thank you Ben, this was so thoughtful of you” still in his arms she turned and faced Derek “You too”
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All connections to Sunset Beach, any other soaps/series and real life characters are purely for your pleasure.
©tinadolphin@comhem.se 2010
Meg excused herself and went to Ben’s office to pick her purse up. She had a little early Christmas present for Ben in it. Ben on the other hand was busy with his last minute preparations for their Christmas Eve dinner in the wine cellar. Meg came back to the bar which now was empty expect from Roger who came towards Meg with a glass of wine “Ben said to give this to you, let you know he’s downstairs and then get out of here” Meg smiled “Well then, thank you for the wine and Merry Christmas to you and your family” she said “Merry Christmas to you too” Roger said and then he left. Meg went towards the wine cellar. She found a white rose tied to the handle and as she opened the door there were a white rose on every step for the first set of stairs. She opened the second door and the roses continued to decorate the steps, but now there was a little box attached to each and everyone. Meg opened the first one and found a pearl, she looked up and saw Ben standing at the end of the stairs “A few extra this week because it’s Christmas” he smiled. Meg slowly picked them all up “You spoil me Ben Evans” she said before she kissed him. When they parted Ben showed Meg to the table where he pulled the chair out for her before he sat down himself “It’s nice to finally be able to be alone” he took her hand and kissed her fingers “I’ve missed you a lot lately” Meg smiled back at him “I’ve missed you too, but tomorrow we got the whole day together” “It will really be strange” Ben admitted “It’s only been me and Derek for a lot of years now” “Not any girlfriends?” Meg asked “No, somehow it’s not turned out that way” “Well, then I maybe should prepare you, we’re pretty strong in our wills when it comes to Christmas. No one touches mom’s turkey and God help the one that even goes near dad’s eggnog” Ben laughed “Sounds like a perfect way to spend Christmas, not doing anything” Meg shook her head “No way, the dishes is always the children’s bit and you and Derek are children too now” Meg sipped her wine “Mmm this was nice” “You think?” Ben asked “It’s a new one and I thought maybe we could have it with dinner tomorrow” “That sounds great, I think it will go well with the turkey”
Meg opened her purse “I’ve got something for you too” she said and handed Ben a box “You didn’t have to” Ben kissed her softly “Thank you” “Go ahead, open it” she told him as she put her pearls into the purse. Ben unwrapped the gift and lifted the top of the box off and inside he found a watch “Thank you Meg, it’s lovely” “I noticed that you’ve left the watch behind quite a bit or just put it in the pocket so I took a look at it and saw the buckle was broken so I thought this was something you’d need” Ben smiled “You sure notice the small details don’t you?” “Try it on” she urged him and Ben took it out of the box and put it on “It looks great” Meg got up and sat down in Ben’s lap. She put her arms around his neck and leant in for a kiss “Merry Christmas Ben” she said. “Merry Christmas to you too” Ben said when they pulled apart “Are you ready to go home?” “Yes I am” Meg said and stood up.
Early the next morning Meg woke up when she heard the doorbell. She looked at the alarm clock and it was already 8.30. She pulled on her robe and went downstairs. When she arrived there Ben had already opened the door and let the guests in “Mom, Dad you’re here” Meg rushed over to hug first her father “Merry Christmas Meggie” Hank kissed her on the cheek. “Merry Christmas” Meg said back and hugged her mother too. Ben was in his jogging clothes “Have you already been out?” she asked “No, I was on my way when the doorbell rang” he kissed her cheek “Good morning my love” “Good morning and Merry Christmas” Meg said back “I should go get dressed” “You do that and then you can show me where everything is and I will get started on the turkey” Joan said. Ben excused himself and went for his morning jog along the beach. When Meg returned downstairs she followed the smell of coffee to the kitchen. “So, how was the flight?” she asked her parents as she poured herself a cup and offered them refills. “It was good, when we finally took off” her father said “I’m so happy it stopped snowing” Joan filled in “I don’t know what a Christmas without my girls would be like” “Well you didn’t have to find out this year at least” Meg smiled. She showed her mom where everything was and then she went to check things out at the hotel. Christmas or not they still had guests and it made her happy.
Meg returned home just in time to set the table. She took out a tablecloth she had gotten from her grandmother a few years back and Joan got tears in her eyes when she saw it “We’ve had many happy Christmas dinners with tablecloth” she sighed “Too bad she didn’t feel like traveling” Meg said “Well you know how she is, she likes to be close to home” Meg hugged her mother “I hope she will come for the wedding though, and to meet Sarah’s baby” she paused “And the weather back in Kansas is better then too” “That’s true Meg. It’s really lovely that you want to use this tablecloth” Meg smiled “Now I just have to see where Ben keeps his good china, that I’ve never looked for” Ben came down the stairs “Did I hear my name?” he walked over and kissed Meg on the cheek “You sure did, we need to set the table” “And…” Ben teased her “Well I don’t think grandma would appreciate if we eat directly off the table cloth, don’t think she intended that to happen when she gave it to me” Meg said sarcastically and went on “So where do you keep the good china?” “You’re sure I’ve got any?” “Ben don’t scare me like that” Meg looked at him with fear in her eyes. “Sorry to say Meg, but I don’t have any. I only have glasses” Meg almost panicked and started to think about getting to the hotel and get some plates there, or using the everyday china “Our mother had some old china and glasses and since I’ve got the glasses Derek’s got the china” Meg realized she had been holding her breath “Then get over there and borrow it” she gently pushed him towards the door.
The china story was one of the topics around the dinner table “Well Meg, now you know what you can register for” Joan said “Yes” she agreed and looked at Ben “And I think I will drag Ben with me to all the shops to look at patterns” she teased and leant over and rested her head on his shoulder. Ben took her hand “Really? I’m not that particular, it can be your choice” Meg looked at him but couldn’t hide the smile “Oh it will be my choice, but you still have to come along” everyone started laughing and Meg turned to her sister “I think I’ll bring you along Sarah, that way you can go wish for presents for your baby shower” she said “Oh, a baby shower” Joan sighed “My big girl is getting married and my little one is having a baby, what great gifts we’ll get next year” Hank patted her hand in support as Ben stood up at the table “Since we’ve all finished and the ladies cooked all this great food I only think it’s fair that we” he looked at Hank and Derek “at least clear the table” Meg, Sarah and Joan went to sit in the sofa as they did and when they came back it was time for presents. It was a mix of bought and homemade gifts and when all gifts from under the tree was shared Ben walked over to the mantelpiece of the fireplace “Now, Derek and I got one more gift” he said and turned towards Joan and Hank “I know you both have worked hard all your life and you are proud of it and so you shall be. Your farm is a great place to come and relax and I hope we can do that for many years more” he moved over and stood just behind Meg “Meg and Sarah’s made a fantastic renovation to their hotel and they’ve both settled in here in Sunset Beach quickly in the short time they’ve been here” he nodded towards his brother “Derek and I have been both lucky and successfully with what we’ve done in our lives and got more than our fair share of money” he again looked at Hank and Joan “Considering my wedding to Meg and the birth of Derek and Sarah’s baby I know that, especially you Joan, will like to be able to come here more often so” he handed them the envelope “This is from me and Derek and I hope you will use them all” Hank opened the envelope “It’s 10 open tickets to use whenever you feel like flying out here, they’re not personalized so you can use them as you like” he put a hand on Meg’s shoulders “And when it’s time for the Christening and then for the wedding we’d like to help out with bringing the girl’s grandmother here too” Hank stood up and shook hands with both guys and Joan hugged and kissed them both “Thank you so much” she said and Hank looked at them “Thank you, I’m not going to be that proud that I’m not going to accept this more than generous gift” Meg got up and kissed Ben on the cheek “Thank you Ben, this was so thoughtful of you” still in his arms she turned and faced Derek “You too”
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All connections to Sunset Beach, any other soaps/series and real life characters are purely for your pleasure.
©tinadolphin@comhem.se 2010
Monday, October 18, 2010
Starting over chapter 20
Chapter twenty
Meg set up her laptop on Ben’s desk and decided to work a bit before bed and that was where Ben found her when he arrived home “Even better in real life, than the photo id on my cell phone” Ben said and Meg spun around “You’re back” she beamed and rushed up to hug and kiss him “I’ve missed you so much Ben” she said in between the kisses. Ben took a deep breath “I’ve missed you too, I don’t know if I ever want to be away from you again” he swept her up in his arms and carried her upstairs.
The next couple of months went by fast. Ben and Derek made a quick trip to England to sort out the affairs with the estate. Meg and Sarah were busy with the hotel. In between they all managed to fly to Kansas for Thanksgiving since Joan wouldn’t have it any other way.
Since Meg had moved into Ben’s house the house she and Sarah owned was now occupied by the employees of the hotel if they needed a place to stay and both Sarah and Meg was happy about that since they didn’t really want to part from the house. One of the tenants though was Casey Mitchum the lifeguard and he was a wizard when it came to getting things fixed around the place.
Ben was sitting at the desk in the living room when Meg got back home “Are you home?” she asked and kissed him “Yes, I couldn’t get any work done in the office and I really need to wrap this Christmas party up” Meg sat down in his lap “I think you’re going to make a lot of children happy with this Christmas Eve party” Ben stroke some hair out of Meg’s face “For as long as I’ve arranged this event I’ve never felt like doing it as much as I have this year. And with you by my side I know nothing can go wrong” he kissed her softly “You’re hungry?” he asked and Meg shook her head and kissed him on the neck. “Oh Meg” Ben moaned and unwillingly pushed her away “Meg darling, I really need to finish this” he said but gave in to her kisses, he never could resist her.
Meg changed into her new red dress, put her hair up in a simple but still elegant do. She put her feet into her favorite pair of shoes and went down the stairs where Ben was waiting “Wow” he said when he saw her “This must be what Lionel Richie meant when he sang ‘Lady in red’” he walked over and pulled her into his arms and kissed her. Meg smiled at him “Thank you, you look quite handsome yourself tonight” she complimented Ben. “Are you sure we’re not overdressed for this evening?” “Not at all, when all the children’s left I’ve planned for you and me to have dinner in the wine cellar and for that we’re perfectly dressed” he took her hand “But if we don’t leave now, we’ll be late” they walked towards the door. Meg picked her purse up from the shelf by the door. At the Deep everyone was busy with the last minute stuff, soon all the children of Sunset Beach were coming. Ben had put in a lot of work with decorations and gotten all the toy stores in town to donate gifts which were now laying under a huge tree. “What kid wouldn’t love this” Meg said to Ben as they were standing at the bar with Derek and Sarah “And next year there will be a little Evans among them too” she added and smiled at her sister. “Well he or she will be here, but it will still be a bit young” Sarah said and put a protecting hand on the little bump on her stomach. “Have you heard if mom and dad have been able to leave Kansas yet?” she asked Meg “No, I haven’t. Last time I checked the internet the planes were still delayed, but they thought the snow was going to clear up” she sighed “I really hope they’ll be able to get here before tomorrow, I don’t know what a Christmas lunch it would be without mom and dad and then mom’s special seasoning of the turkey for dinner” Meg had bought all the ingredients, they were waiting for Joan at the house. Sarah hugged her sister “They will be here if I have to go to Kansas to get them myself. Derek’s promised me that I will get half a cup of dad’s eggnog” it wasn’t like Meg to be the worrying one of them. They were cut off by the first children and parents arriving. There were a big buffet with food and drinks, non alcoholic for everyone since this was all for the children. Just before it was time to open the presents Meg sneaked up to Ben’s office. She was there to check her phone to see if her parents had left any message about the flight but got the surprise of the day “Casey? What are you doing here?” she asked and he turned around with a costume in his hands “Didn’t Ben tell you? I’m moonlighting as Santa” he picked up a big fluffy pillow “Not a kid has yet recognized me during the years and most of the older ones I’ve taught to swim” Casey was not only a lifeguard he was a trained swimming teacher as well. “No, he never told me, actually I almost thought he would do it himself” she took out her cell phone “Anything important?” Casey asked and Meg looked up “Yes, my… our parents are coming for Christmas but it’s been snowing in Kansas” she read her new messages “But actually, they’re on the way now” she quickly hit a few buttons on the phone and was connected to the internet to check out the time the plane was going to land. “I’ll leave you alone” Meg said and went back downstairs. “Why does this always happen to me” Casey said to himself “I’m always too late” he sighed and got dressed. He couldn’t help but think of last Christmas when he and Rae had pretended to be married to get her parents to back off from them living together just as friends. It had all blown up when Rae’ ex-fiancé now husband Wei-Lee had turned up out of the blue. Casey put on the mask and went for the door.
Sarah and Derek were still sitting at the bar when Meg came back. Meg had together with Ben hosted the party up until it was time for Santa to come “This is great isn’t it?” Meg said to her sister “I can’t believe how wonderful and generous Ben is” and Sarah put her hand on Derek’s thigh “I can, he’s twin with my husband” she looked back to her sister “Heard anything yet?” Meg nodded “They’re on the way and they’re landing in two hours” “What is their flight number?” Sarah asked and Meg answered her “Good” Sarah went on “We’re collecting them” Meg started to protest “No Meg, you’ve done so much for me lately, sending me home from work so I could spend time with Derek when really it should be you that should spend time with Ben, the two of you got a wedding to plan, we already are married” Meg smiled “Maybe it’s because you already are married I want you two to spend time together” she said in defense “Meg, you’re always putting everyone in front of yourself. I know Ben’s got dinner plans for you tonight. I want you to relax and enjoy yourself. I know you want to meet mom and dad, but they probably just want to get to the hotel after having waited most of the day at the airport” Sarah said in her most convincing voice “And I know mom will be at your place first thing in the morning to get the turkey started” Meg hugged her sister “Ok, I’ll give in, you two can go get mom and dad”
“Ho, ho, ho” the words echoed thru the club “Oh, look it’s Santa” Ben said and pointed to the door “But why are you coming thru the door?” he asked “Because you haven’t built your chimney big enough” Casey answered and patted his big stomach and all the children laughed. To make the process of giving out the gifts all kids had played a game earlier on where they had searched all around the club for a note with a number on. Blue for boys and pink for girls and then the gifts all had numbers on them too. Ben was now stepping back, letting Casey run the show. He found Meg with his brother and Sarah at the bar “Another successful year brother dear” Derek said “Yes, it is” Ben smiled “Are you all up for a glass of champagne?” Derek looked at Sarah “You do what you like. I don’t have any problems driving” she said “Driving?” Ben asked and Meg put her arm around his waist “Yes, Sarah and Derek have offered to go pick mom and dad up, they’re finally on their way” Ben kissed Meg on the cheek “That’s great news. So three champagne then?” he looked at them all “No, I better not” Derek said and Sarah rolled her eyes “Now he’s doing it again. Being overprotective, I said I can drive you don’t have to do it” Derek looked at her “I just don’t want anything to happen to the things that are so precious to me” Derek held up his hands in defeat “Pour me one Ben, or I’ll never hear the end of it” Ben poured three glasses of champagne and some sparkling water for Sarah “To the first of many great Christmases” he raised his glass and the others joined.
When all the children had gotten their presents Ben wished everyone Merry Christmas and people started to leave, after all they did have things to do at their homes. Christmas Day the club would be closed but Boxing Day there would be a big party that had been sold out for a long time. Meg was looking forward to meeting a lot of her new friends. She was also looking forward to the big party she and Sarah would be hosting on New Year’s Eve. She had had help from a friend in Germany to book a band that probably would surprise a lot of people. “A penny for your thoughts” Ben snuck up behind her “Is that all they’re worth?” Meg turned around and smiled at him “No, they’re worth a lot more” Ben said “And I’m willing to give them to you for free” Meg admitted. “So, what are they?” Meg shook her head “Some are still secrets, but mostly I was thinking about how great this holiday season would be” “It sure will” Ben agreed.
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All connections to Sunset Beach, any other soaps/series and real life characters are purely for your pleasure.
©tinadolphin@comhem.se 2010
Meg set up her laptop on Ben’s desk and decided to work a bit before bed and that was where Ben found her when he arrived home “Even better in real life, than the photo id on my cell phone” Ben said and Meg spun around “You’re back” she beamed and rushed up to hug and kiss him “I’ve missed you so much Ben” she said in between the kisses. Ben took a deep breath “I’ve missed you too, I don’t know if I ever want to be away from you again” he swept her up in his arms and carried her upstairs.
The next couple of months went by fast. Ben and Derek made a quick trip to England to sort out the affairs with the estate. Meg and Sarah were busy with the hotel. In between they all managed to fly to Kansas for Thanksgiving since Joan wouldn’t have it any other way.
Since Meg had moved into Ben’s house the house she and Sarah owned was now occupied by the employees of the hotel if they needed a place to stay and both Sarah and Meg was happy about that since they didn’t really want to part from the house. One of the tenants though was Casey Mitchum the lifeguard and he was a wizard when it came to getting things fixed around the place.
Ben was sitting at the desk in the living room when Meg got back home “Are you home?” she asked and kissed him “Yes, I couldn’t get any work done in the office and I really need to wrap this Christmas party up” Meg sat down in his lap “I think you’re going to make a lot of children happy with this Christmas Eve party” Ben stroke some hair out of Meg’s face “For as long as I’ve arranged this event I’ve never felt like doing it as much as I have this year. And with you by my side I know nothing can go wrong” he kissed her softly “You’re hungry?” he asked and Meg shook her head and kissed him on the neck. “Oh Meg” Ben moaned and unwillingly pushed her away “Meg darling, I really need to finish this” he said but gave in to her kisses, he never could resist her.
Meg changed into her new red dress, put her hair up in a simple but still elegant do. She put her feet into her favorite pair of shoes and went down the stairs where Ben was waiting “Wow” he said when he saw her “This must be what Lionel Richie meant when he sang ‘Lady in red’” he walked over and pulled her into his arms and kissed her. Meg smiled at him “Thank you, you look quite handsome yourself tonight” she complimented Ben. “Are you sure we’re not overdressed for this evening?” “Not at all, when all the children’s left I’ve planned for you and me to have dinner in the wine cellar and for that we’re perfectly dressed” he took her hand “But if we don’t leave now, we’ll be late” they walked towards the door. Meg picked her purse up from the shelf by the door. At the Deep everyone was busy with the last minute stuff, soon all the children of Sunset Beach were coming. Ben had put in a lot of work with decorations and gotten all the toy stores in town to donate gifts which were now laying under a huge tree. “What kid wouldn’t love this” Meg said to Ben as they were standing at the bar with Derek and Sarah “And next year there will be a little Evans among them too” she added and smiled at her sister. “Well he or she will be here, but it will still be a bit young” Sarah said and put a protecting hand on the little bump on her stomach. “Have you heard if mom and dad have been able to leave Kansas yet?” she asked Meg “No, I haven’t. Last time I checked the internet the planes were still delayed, but they thought the snow was going to clear up” she sighed “I really hope they’ll be able to get here before tomorrow, I don’t know what a Christmas lunch it would be without mom and dad and then mom’s special seasoning of the turkey for dinner” Meg had bought all the ingredients, they were waiting for Joan at the house. Sarah hugged her sister “They will be here if I have to go to Kansas to get them myself. Derek’s promised me that I will get half a cup of dad’s eggnog” it wasn’t like Meg to be the worrying one of them. They were cut off by the first children and parents arriving. There were a big buffet with food and drinks, non alcoholic for everyone since this was all for the children. Just before it was time to open the presents Meg sneaked up to Ben’s office. She was there to check her phone to see if her parents had left any message about the flight but got the surprise of the day “Casey? What are you doing here?” she asked and he turned around with a costume in his hands “Didn’t Ben tell you? I’m moonlighting as Santa” he picked up a big fluffy pillow “Not a kid has yet recognized me during the years and most of the older ones I’ve taught to swim” Casey was not only a lifeguard he was a trained swimming teacher as well. “No, he never told me, actually I almost thought he would do it himself” she took out her cell phone “Anything important?” Casey asked and Meg looked up “Yes, my… our parents are coming for Christmas but it’s been snowing in Kansas” she read her new messages “But actually, they’re on the way now” she quickly hit a few buttons on the phone and was connected to the internet to check out the time the plane was going to land. “I’ll leave you alone” Meg said and went back downstairs. “Why does this always happen to me” Casey said to himself “I’m always too late” he sighed and got dressed. He couldn’t help but think of last Christmas when he and Rae had pretended to be married to get her parents to back off from them living together just as friends. It had all blown up when Rae’ ex-fiancé now husband Wei-Lee had turned up out of the blue. Casey put on the mask and went for the door.
Sarah and Derek were still sitting at the bar when Meg came back. Meg had together with Ben hosted the party up until it was time for Santa to come “This is great isn’t it?” Meg said to her sister “I can’t believe how wonderful and generous Ben is” and Sarah put her hand on Derek’s thigh “I can, he’s twin with my husband” she looked back to her sister “Heard anything yet?” Meg nodded “They’re on the way and they’re landing in two hours” “What is their flight number?” Sarah asked and Meg answered her “Good” Sarah went on “We’re collecting them” Meg started to protest “No Meg, you’ve done so much for me lately, sending me home from work so I could spend time with Derek when really it should be you that should spend time with Ben, the two of you got a wedding to plan, we already are married” Meg smiled “Maybe it’s because you already are married I want you two to spend time together” she said in defense “Meg, you’re always putting everyone in front of yourself. I know Ben’s got dinner plans for you tonight. I want you to relax and enjoy yourself. I know you want to meet mom and dad, but they probably just want to get to the hotel after having waited most of the day at the airport” Sarah said in her most convincing voice “And I know mom will be at your place first thing in the morning to get the turkey started” Meg hugged her sister “Ok, I’ll give in, you two can go get mom and dad”
“Ho, ho, ho” the words echoed thru the club “Oh, look it’s Santa” Ben said and pointed to the door “But why are you coming thru the door?” he asked “Because you haven’t built your chimney big enough” Casey answered and patted his big stomach and all the children laughed. To make the process of giving out the gifts all kids had played a game earlier on where they had searched all around the club for a note with a number on. Blue for boys and pink for girls and then the gifts all had numbers on them too. Ben was now stepping back, letting Casey run the show. He found Meg with his brother and Sarah at the bar “Another successful year brother dear” Derek said “Yes, it is” Ben smiled “Are you all up for a glass of champagne?” Derek looked at Sarah “You do what you like. I don’t have any problems driving” she said “Driving?” Ben asked and Meg put her arm around his waist “Yes, Sarah and Derek have offered to go pick mom and dad up, they’re finally on their way” Ben kissed Meg on the cheek “That’s great news. So three champagne then?” he looked at them all “No, I better not” Derek said and Sarah rolled her eyes “Now he’s doing it again. Being overprotective, I said I can drive you don’t have to do it” Derek looked at her “I just don’t want anything to happen to the things that are so precious to me” Derek held up his hands in defeat “Pour me one Ben, or I’ll never hear the end of it” Ben poured three glasses of champagne and some sparkling water for Sarah “To the first of many great Christmases” he raised his glass and the others joined.
When all the children had gotten their presents Ben wished everyone Merry Christmas and people started to leave, after all they did have things to do at their homes. Christmas Day the club would be closed but Boxing Day there would be a big party that had been sold out for a long time. Meg was looking forward to meeting a lot of her new friends. She was also looking forward to the big party she and Sarah would be hosting on New Year’s Eve. She had had help from a friend in Germany to book a band that probably would surprise a lot of people. “A penny for your thoughts” Ben snuck up behind her “Is that all they’re worth?” Meg turned around and smiled at him “No, they’re worth a lot more” Ben said “And I’m willing to give them to you for free” Meg admitted. “So, what are they?” Meg shook her head “Some are still secrets, but mostly I was thinking about how great this holiday season would be” “It sure will” Ben agreed.
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All connections to Sunset Beach, any other soaps/series and real life characters are purely for your pleasure.
©tinadolphin@comhem.se 2010
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Starting over chapter 19
Chapter nineteen
Just then Ben’s cell phone rang “Excuse me” he said as he took out of his inner pocket. He smiled when he saw the photo id of Meg “You’re a sight for sore eyes” he answered the phone and forgot about his company totally.
“That’s one way to answer your phone” Meg laughed “How are you? Funeral over?” she asked “I’m ok, funeral is over and I’ve been to the house” he sighed “Was it bad?” Meg asked in her own sweet way “Not really, it’s just I don’t know what to keep and not. And I don’t know what Derek would like to keep” “Maybe you should come back home then and wait with selling the estate until you and Derek both have been able to be there together” “You are so wise my dear” Ben said “I think I will do just that” Meg smiled to herself “You know it was a selfish idea at first, I’ve missed you so much” she said and told him about having trouble sleeping alone “Why don’t you sleep in my house then” Ben shrugged his shoulders “Then I don’t have to look for you if I get home in the middle of the night either” “Now who’s the wise guy?” Meg laughed feeling satisfied with the idea of staying in Ben’s house, she even got an idea what to do with hers and Sarah’s. They talked a bit more about this and that before they said bye. Seeing the happy face on Ben the bartender asked the short question “Wife?” Ben grinned “Fiancée, but I can’t wait until I can call her wife” Sophia on the other hand hadn’t given up her attempts to get to Ben “Can I buy you another one?” she offered and Ben shook his head “Thanks but no thanks, I’m going to get to my room now” she raised her eyebrows and Ben added “Alone, rearrange my flights and fly home to my fiancée” Ben extended his hand as the businessman he is “Sorry to say miss Sinclair but we’ll not be doing business not even when we get back to sell” he hoped she learnt her lesson. He then left the bar.
Ben couldn’t get a flight until a couple of days later so the next day he went back to the estate, took some photos himself and met up with the two real estate agencies that he had talked to. They both said they would send him their offers by e-mail. The things Ben wanted to bring back to America at once were papers and jewelry that was of any worth. He didn’t like the feeling of those things stuck in a house that he was that far away from. Besides it got him a chance to look things over until he and Derek could return. He didn’t know if Derek was checking his e-mails but he sent him one telling him about the progress or the lack of.
Derek and Sarah had been to a few small cities exploring. The last one on their list was called Rosario and by old folk’s tales it meant happiness to visit the city as newlyweds. “Do we really have to go home tomorrow Derek?” Sarah asked as they were enjoying lunch at the old square of Rosario “Unfortunately real life is waiting for us” He took her hand and kissed her fingers “Besides, Christmas is coming up and I’m looking forward to spending it with you” he looked her deeply in the eyes and Sarah smiled at him “I believe mom and dad will come too since Meg and I can’t leave the hotel” “I don’t mind that a bit, I’ve not celebrated Christmas as a family in years, it’s just been me and Ben” Their food arrived and after having eaten they walked around looking at some old buildings and other things. There was a few market stalls with this and that to buy and Sarah picked a few things up for her sister and mother to give them at Christmas.
Since Meg had worked long the previous evening she decided to go in a bit later and spend the morning packing a few necessary things up and take them over to Ben’s. She felt a certain kind of calm when she entered the house. She let herself fantasies about the future she and Ben would have, children at least two hopefully a boy and a girl and how they would decorate the two spare rooms upstairs for them. But first they would marry “I need to find a dress” she suddenly realized and dropped her boxes right there and then and went to find the telephone book where she looked up Gaby’s number, after all she was planning her wedding to Ricardo. “Hello, this is Gaby” she answered “Hi Gaby, it’s Meg. Meg Cummings” Gaby laughed “You don’t have to say your last name every time we talk” they had talked a few times when Gaby’s been at work. “Guess it’s a habit from dealing with so many people over the phone” Meg said “Actually Gaby, I’ve got a problem that you might be able to solve” “Oh, what’s that?” she asked curiously. “I’m looking for a wedding boutique” Meg answered “A wedding boutique, that sounds interesting” “Exciting is more like it” Meg beamed “Ben and I are getting married” “Congratulations Meg, I’m so happy for you both you suite each other really well” “Thank you” Meg answered “Well, I know a few. I could pop over to the hotel after work and give you the numbers” Gaby offered “That would be great, I’ll be there after 2 or so” Meg said before they hung up.
Two days later Ben finally landed in New York, his connecting flight to California was delayed he found out and he rolled his eyes “This has been one bad trip from the start” he said out loud but mostly to himself. He turned around from the monitors and bumped into a man “Excuse me” Ben said and looked up and started to laugh “Max, what are you doing here?” “I could ask you the same cousin?” the men hugged “Well I’m on my way home, been back in England” Ben told and Max nodded “Then we’ll be on the same flight, that is if it leaves at all” Max said “You know why?” Ben asked “Something about some technicians going on strike and the rest won’t work overtime” They went to sit down “So, are you travelling alone?” Ben asked “Yes, I have to check out a theatre and Fran decided to stay back here with the twins” “Where?” Ben asked curiously “Actually in LA, but if it goes well and we need to live out there I thought we’d look for something in your town” Max said “You could do worse than Sunset Beach” Ben laughed. “Been doing some research, seems like the town’s growing, new hotel?” “Not really” Ben said “It’s just newly renovated” Max nodded “Two sisters from Kansas I read” Ben couldn’t help but smile “And the ‘never ever let anyone this close again’ Ben Evans have fallen head over heels” Max laughed. “Well I didn’t know that Meg was one of those sisters when I first met her since that was in Mallorca during my vacation there” “I’m happy for you, you deserve to find true love Ben” Max knew how hard it had been on Ben when he had found out that Maria who he thought was his soul mate had cheated on him. “So, what about Derek, he’s up to his usual mischief’s?” Ben shook his head “Believe it or not Max, but Derek’s happily married and expecting a baby next year” “No way?” he said surprised “Derek Evans a family man?” Ben shrugged his shoulders “Well I was surprised myself too, but Sarah’s a lovely lady” “With a will of iron if she got Derek to settle down” “That’s true, but those Cummings’ sisters does have a will of iron, you should see what they did to the hotel” “Now wait a minute” Max said after thinking about what Ben had said “Cummings’ sisters?” “Yes, Meg and Sarah are sisters” Max just laughed “Don’t tell me they’re twins just like you and Derek too?” Ben shook his head “No, they’re not” he said.
“We’ve got some good news for all travelers going west. The flight for LA will start boarding in 10 minutes” the voice over the speakers said. Both Ben and Max got up from the seats and went over to the gate “I can’t wait to get back” Ben said “I bet you can’t if you got a lovely lady waiting for you” Max teased and Ben looked at him Fran really has changed you”
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All connections to Sunset Beach, any other soaps/series and real life characters are purely for your pleasure.
©tinadolphin@comhem.se 2010
Just then Ben’s cell phone rang “Excuse me” he said as he took out of his inner pocket. He smiled when he saw the photo id of Meg “You’re a sight for sore eyes” he answered the phone and forgot about his company totally.
“That’s one way to answer your phone” Meg laughed “How are you? Funeral over?” she asked “I’m ok, funeral is over and I’ve been to the house” he sighed “Was it bad?” Meg asked in her own sweet way “Not really, it’s just I don’t know what to keep and not. And I don’t know what Derek would like to keep” “Maybe you should come back home then and wait with selling the estate until you and Derek both have been able to be there together” “You are so wise my dear” Ben said “I think I will do just that” Meg smiled to herself “You know it was a selfish idea at first, I’ve missed you so much” she said and told him about having trouble sleeping alone “Why don’t you sleep in my house then” Ben shrugged his shoulders “Then I don’t have to look for you if I get home in the middle of the night either” “Now who’s the wise guy?” Meg laughed feeling satisfied with the idea of staying in Ben’s house, she even got an idea what to do with hers and Sarah’s. They talked a bit more about this and that before they said bye. Seeing the happy face on Ben the bartender asked the short question “Wife?” Ben grinned “Fiancée, but I can’t wait until I can call her wife” Sophia on the other hand hadn’t given up her attempts to get to Ben “Can I buy you another one?” she offered and Ben shook his head “Thanks but no thanks, I’m going to get to my room now” she raised her eyebrows and Ben added “Alone, rearrange my flights and fly home to my fiancée” Ben extended his hand as the businessman he is “Sorry to say miss Sinclair but we’ll not be doing business not even when we get back to sell” he hoped she learnt her lesson. He then left the bar.
Ben couldn’t get a flight until a couple of days later so the next day he went back to the estate, took some photos himself and met up with the two real estate agencies that he had talked to. They both said they would send him their offers by e-mail. The things Ben wanted to bring back to America at once were papers and jewelry that was of any worth. He didn’t like the feeling of those things stuck in a house that he was that far away from. Besides it got him a chance to look things over until he and Derek could return. He didn’t know if Derek was checking his e-mails but he sent him one telling him about the progress or the lack of.
Derek and Sarah had been to a few small cities exploring. The last one on their list was called Rosario and by old folk’s tales it meant happiness to visit the city as newlyweds. “Do we really have to go home tomorrow Derek?” Sarah asked as they were enjoying lunch at the old square of Rosario “Unfortunately real life is waiting for us” He took her hand and kissed her fingers “Besides, Christmas is coming up and I’m looking forward to spending it with you” he looked her deeply in the eyes and Sarah smiled at him “I believe mom and dad will come too since Meg and I can’t leave the hotel” “I don’t mind that a bit, I’ve not celebrated Christmas as a family in years, it’s just been me and Ben” Their food arrived and after having eaten they walked around looking at some old buildings and other things. There was a few market stalls with this and that to buy and Sarah picked a few things up for her sister and mother to give them at Christmas.
Since Meg had worked long the previous evening she decided to go in a bit later and spend the morning packing a few necessary things up and take them over to Ben’s. She felt a certain kind of calm when she entered the house. She let herself fantasies about the future she and Ben would have, children at least two hopefully a boy and a girl and how they would decorate the two spare rooms upstairs for them. But first they would marry “I need to find a dress” she suddenly realized and dropped her boxes right there and then and went to find the telephone book where she looked up Gaby’s number, after all she was planning her wedding to Ricardo. “Hello, this is Gaby” she answered “Hi Gaby, it’s Meg. Meg Cummings” Gaby laughed “You don’t have to say your last name every time we talk” they had talked a few times when Gaby’s been at work. “Guess it’s a habit from dealing with so many people over the phone” Meg said “Actually Gaby, I’ve got a problem that you might be able to solve” “Oh, what’s that?” she asked curiously. “I’m looking for a wedding boutique” Meg answered “A wedding boutique, that sounds interesting” “Exciting is more like it” Meg beamed “Ben and I are getting married” “Congratulations Meg, I’m so happy for you both you suite each other really well” “Thank you” Meg answered “Well, I know a few. I could pop over to the hotel after work and give you the numbers” Gaby offered “That would be great, I’ll be there after 2 or so” Meg said before they hung up.
Two days later Ben finally landed in New York, his connecting flight to California was delayed he found out and he rolled his eyes “This has been one bad trip from the start” he said out loud but mostly to himself. He turned around from the monitors and bumped into a man “Excuse me” Ben said and looked up and started to laugh “Max, what are you doing here?” “I could ask you the same cousin?” the men hugged “Well I’m on my way home, been back in England” Ben told and Max nodded “Then we’ll be on the same flight, that is if it leaves at all” Max said “You know why?” Ben asked “Something about some technicians going on strike and the rest won’t work overtime” They went to sit down “So, are you travelling alone?” Ben asked “Yes, I have to check out a theatre and Fran decided to stay back here with the twins” “Where?” Ben asked curiously “Actually in LA, but if it goes well and we need to live out there I thought we’d look for something in your town” Max said “You could do worse than Sunset Beach” Ben laughed. “Been doing some research, seems like the town’s growing, new hotel?” “Not really” Ben said “It’s just newly renovated” Max nodded “Two sisters from Kansas I read” Ben couldn’t help but smile “And the ‘never ever let anyone this close again’ Ben Evans have fallen head over heels” Max laughed. “Well I didn’t know that Meg was one of those sisters when I first met her since that was in Mallorca during my vacation there” “I’m happy for you, you deserve to find true love Ben” Max knew how hard it had been on Ben when he had found out that Maria who he thought was his soul mate had cheated on him. “So, what about Derek, he’s up to his usual mischief’s?” Ben shook his head “Believe it or not Max, but Derek’s happily married and expecting a baby next year” “No way?” he said surprised “Derek Evans a family man?” Ben shrugged his shoulders “Well I was surprised myself too, but Sarah’s a lovely lady” “With a will of iron if she got Derek to settle down” “That’s true, but those Cummings’ sisters does have a will of iron, you should see what they did to the hotel” “Now wait a minute” Max said after thinking about what Ben had said “Cummings’ sisters?” “Yes, Meg and Sarah are sisters” Max just laughed “Don’t tell me they’re twins just like you and Derek too?” Ben shook his head “No, they’re not” he said.
“We’ve got some good news for all travelers going west. The flight for LA will start boarding in 10 minutes” the voice over the speakers said. Both Ben and Max got up from the seats and went over to the gate “I can’t wait to get back” Ben said “I bet you can’t if you got a lovely lady waiting for you” Max teased and Ben looked at him Fran really has changed you”
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All connections to Sunset Beach, any other soaps/series and real life characters are purely for your pleasure.
©tinadolphin@comhem.se 2010
Monday, October 4, 2010
Starting over chapter 18
Chapter eighteen
A funeral suited Ben’s mood perfectly, the flights had been delayed so he was a day late landing in England, he was away from Meg and on top of all the lawyers had the keys to the estate and he couldn’t get them until after the funeral. He really would have liked to get a look at it and then decide on a real estate agent. He had a few lined up, one was a really old firm with great references. He finally arrived at his hotel at 10pm and was able to check in without any problems. When he was set up in his room he logged onto his computer and decided to try and see if Meg was on any messenger service and was up for a bit of a chat. “Just my luck” he sighed, wrote Meg an e-mail and then decided to try and get some sleep as the funeral was in the morning.
Meg felt sorry for Ben when she saw the e-mail. She was really missing him and would have loved to be with him. She looked up when she heard a knock on her door “Come in” and the person entered “Hi Casey” Meg smiled “What brings you here?” she motioned for the chair in front of her desk “Hi Meg” he smiled “I just thought I’d pop in before work and give you an update” Meg looked surprised “Don’t you remember, we talked about trying to see if your guests were interested in the beach” “Of course Casey, I was just thinking of something else” Meg answered “Or someone else?” Casey teased “Ben and Derek are some of my best friends and I can’t believe the way they both fell for you and your sister instantly” Meg smiled “We have a saying in Kansas, it must be Kismet” “Sounds like a great expression, how is Ben by the way?” “Good, irritated since he didn’t arrive in England until today, something about the flights being delayed and a few other things” Casey nodded. “Anyways, by the look of it I estimate between 25 and 50 percent of your hotel guests use the beach as well as the pool area. I did talk to your life guard on watch before I came there and thought that maybe we’d have some kind of exchange” Meg nodded “You know safety pamphlets and signs” Casey suggested “That sounds like a great idea, both me and Sarah wants this hotel to be as safe as possible” Casey stood up “I’ll get on it and I will come by another day so you can approve them” Meg followed him to the door “You do that Casey, if I’m not in just leave it in the reception and I promise to get back to you asap”
Ben dressed for the funeral, he really hated these occasions, especially here in England. It reminded him a lot about his mother’s. He got into his car and drove towards the church, he stopped by a florist to pick some flowers up. As next of kin he was seated in the front, at least at his mother’s funeral he had had the support of his brother. ‘If I only was the one that was in Mexico’ he thought. Then the service began. His aunt had wanted an old fashioned funeral so therefore the last part was to take place at the grave. Ben and the rest of aunt Louise’s friends followed the coffin and priest. She was going to her final rest at the same place as her parents and her sister. Ben hadn’t been here in ages, but it had been kept very well ‘Aunt Louise’s work’ he thought ‘I need to see to it that it keeps being looked after’ Ben made a mental note. When the priest had finished and the people had said their goodbyes and everyone said a few words to Ben they left. Finally Ben was alone, he crouched down in front of his mother’s headstone and arranged the flowers he had brought. “Sorry I’ve not been here in a long time Mom” he had tears in his eyes and felt a lump in his throat “You know I would have loved to but living in America doesn’t make it easy” he closed his eyes “Derek couldn’t come, he’s on his honeymoon, can you believe that? Derek’s married” Ben sat down not minding his trousers getting dirty or wet, he had loved his mother so much “Sarah’s a lovely lady and they’re having a baby in June” “You want to know about me” he smiled “Well, believe it or not but I’ve met my soul mate, she’s a Kansas girl and we met on vacation a few months ago. I know it might seem I rushed into things but I’ve asked her to marry me and we’ve set the date to September next year. I hope I can bring her here before the wedding, I want you to meet her” “Oh yes, her name’s Meg. Meg Cummings” Ben said proudly “And now you will laugh, she’s the older sister of Derek’s Sarah” Ben continued ‘talking’ to his mother. It was almost an hour later when he got up and left. He walked towards his car where a woman was waiting for him “Ben Evans?” she asked “Sophie Sinclair” she extended her hand “I’m with Stevens’ real estate” Ben remembered the name of the firm “I believe you might have something for us to help you sell” Ben didn’t know what to believe, how could professional people act this way? “Well yes” he answered and pulled his hand back “I’ve just not yet decided on any agent” he found his car key and unlocked the car “Well, let me give you my card” she took it out and scribbled something on the back “My home number in case you want to get hold of me outside the office” Was she for real Ben asked himself, was she flirting openly like this, what had the world come to. “Excuse me” Ben said and opened the door “I really need to get back to the hotel” “Ok, but please give me a call when you’ve decided, I promise I’ll make it a quick affair, estates like that are really on the market right now” She closed the car door for Ben and let him drive off. Ben was still stunned when he arrived at the hotel. It was almost 1 o’clock and with the time difference it was still in the middle of the night in California so Ben couldn’t call Meg just yet. He picked up the phone and called the lawyer’s office. He was put straight thru and got an appointment to come see the lawyer at once to get the keys to the estate.
Meg was tossing and turning in her bed, somehow she hadn’t slept very well the last few nights. She woke up and went downstairs to drink a glass of water. She still had a lot of the flowers left that Ben had had set up for the proposal. She brought her water with her and sat down in the living room. She closed her eyes and remembered that lovely evening minute by minute. She took a rose in her hand and smelled it. Feeling a bit at ease she laid down and fell asleep right there on the sofa.
Ben opened the front door. The last time he had visited his aunt she had been in hospital with a broken hip. He hadn’t been to this house since before he moved to America, it still looked as grand as he remembered it. He walked thru the hall towards the living room. Walking from room to room he remembered to many things, how would he be able to choose what to keep and what to sell on. He ended up in the kitchen remembering baking cookies with his mother and aunt as a little boy. Something felt both right and wrong about that memory. He thought back and remembered that his mother had packed them up really quick and said they were going for a little vacation. Knowing now what he didn’t then it must have been one of the periods when his father was drinking heavily. He sat down on a stool to think about what to do. He and Derek had decided it would be too expensive to keep the estate, especially since it wasn’t their family heritage, it had belonged to their ‘uncle‘s’ family. He got up and went up the stairs. Looking around the rooms he realized this wouldn’t be fixed in the two weeks he thought. He took out a notebook from his jacket where he had a few numbers to real estate agents.
He called two of the firms and made appointments for the next day to get the house evaluated. He tried a third firm as well but there he only got the answering machine, he left a message and if they didn’t call back by the evening he’d scrap them from his list as he already had with “Stevens’” That person looking him up at the funeral had really made Ben uncomfortable. He picked the keys up and went outside to have a look around before he went back to the hotel.
Ben walked into the hotel lobby where he bumped into Sophia again. Ben put on a fake smile as he didn’t for a second believe that she was there by chance. “Let me buy you a drink” She offered and since Ben was too well mannered to say no so he let her lead the way towards the bar. Luckily it was one of those brighter ones so hopefully she’d not get any ideas. “So Ben” she turned her stool towards him “May I call you Ben?” he nodded “Sure” was his short answer “You think we could help you sell the estate?” Ben shrugged his shoulders “I need to talk to my brother about it” she put a hand on his thigh “Did the house bring up memories?” she said sympathetically “Yes it did” Ben admitted “But that’s not the problem really. I just don’t know what Derek would like to keep from the house” “Maybe I can help you, we got great photographers that can take photos and you can send them by mail” Ben didn’t know how he could get out of this “Well I can’t get to my brother at the moment, he’s on his honeymoon” he saw a bit of shifting in her eyes since she had lit up when he mentioned he had a brother. He took a drink of his beer and felt her hand on his arm “We could go over there and take the photos anyway if you like” Just then Ben’s cell phone rang “Excuse me” he said as he took out of his inner pocket. He smiled when he saw the photo id of Meg “You’re a sight for sore eyes” he answered the phone and forgot about his company totally.
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All connections to Sunset Beach, any other soaps/series and real life characters are purely for your pleasure.
©tinadolphin@comhem.se 2010
A funeral suited Ben’s mood perfectly, the flights had been delayed so he was a day late landing in England, he was away from Meg and on top of all the lawyers had the keys to the estate and he couldn’t get them until after the funeral. He really would have liked to get a look at it and then decide on a real estate agent. He had a few lined up, one was a really old firm with great references. He finally arrived at his hotel at 10pm and was able to check in without any problems. When he was set up in his room he logged onto his computer and decided to try and see if Meg was on any messenger service and was up for a bit of a chat. “Just my luck” he sighed, wrote Meg an e-mail and then decided to try and get some sleep as the funeral was in the morning.
Meg felt sorry for Ben when she saw the e-mail. She was really missing him and would have loved to be with him. She looked up when she heard a knock on her door “Come in” and the person entered “Hi Casey” Meg smiled “What brings you here?” she motioned for the chair in front of her desk “Hi Meg” he smiled “I just thought I’d pop in before work and give you an update” Meg looked surprised “Don’t you remember, we talked about trying to see if your guests were interested in the beach” “Of course Casey, I was just thinking of something else” Meg answered “Or someone else?” Casey teased “Ben and Derek are some of my best friends and I can’t believe the way they both fell for you and your sister instantly” Meg smiled “We have a saying in Kansas, it must be Kismet” “Sounds like a great expression, how is Ben by the way?” “Good, irritated since he didn’t arrive in England until today, something about the flights being delayed and a few other things” Casey nodded. “Anyways, by the look of it I estimate between 25 and 50 percent of your hotel guests use the beach as well as the pool area. I did talk to your life guard on watch before I came there and thought that maybe we’d have some kind of exchange” Meg nodded “You know safety pamphlets and signs” Casey suggested “That sounds like a great idea, both me and Sarah wants this hotel to be as safe as possible” Casey stood up “I’ll get on it and I will come by another day so you can approve them” Meg followed him to the door “You do that Casey, if I’m not in just leave it in the reception and I promise to get back to you asap”
Ben dressed for the funeral, he really hated these occasions, especially here in England. It reminded him a lot about his mother’s. He got into his car and drove towards the church, he stopped by a florist to pick some flowers up. As next of kin he was seated in the front, at least at his mother’s funeral he had had the support of his brother. ‘If I only was the one that was in Mexico’ he thought. Then the service began. His aunt had wanted an old fashioned funeral so therefore the last part was to take place at the grave. Ben and the rest of aunt Louise’s friends followed the coffin and priest. She was going to her final rest at the same place as her parents and her sister. Ben hadn’t been here in ages, but it had been kept very well ‘Aunt Louise’s work’ he thought ‘I need to see to it that it keeps being looked after’ Ben made a mental note. When the priest had finished and the people had said their goodbyes and everyone said a few words to Ben they left. Finally Ben was alone, he crouched down in front of his mother’s headstone and arranged the flowers he had brought. “Sorry I’ve not been here in a long time Mom” he had tears in his eyes and felt a lump in his throat “You know I would have loved to but living in America doesn’t make it easy” he closed his eyes “Derek couldn’t come, he’s on his honeymoon, can you believe that? Derek’s married” Ben sat down not minding his trousers getting dirty or wet, he had loved his mother so much “Sarah’s a lovely lady and they’re having a baby in June” “You want to know about me” he smiled “Well, believe it or not but I’ve met my soul mate, she’s a Kansas girl and we met on vacation a few months ago. I know it might seem I rushed into things but I’ve asked her to marry me and we’ve set the date to September next year. I hope I can bring her here before the wedding, I want you to meet her” “Oh yes, her name’s Meg. Meg Cummings” Ben said proudly “And now you will laugh, she’s the older sister of Derek’s Sarah” Ben continued ‘talking’ to his mother. It was almost an hour later when he got up and left. He walked towards his car where a woman was waiting for him “Ben Evans?” she asked “Sophie Sinclair” she extended her hand “I’m with Stevens’ real estate” Ben remembered the name of the firm “I believe you might have something for us to help you sell” Ben didn’t know what to believe, how could professional people act this way? “Well yes” he answered and pulled his hand back “I’ve just not yet decided on any agent” he found his car key and unlocked the car “Well, let me give you my card” she took it out and scribbled something on the back “My home number in case you want to get hold of me outside the office” Was she for real Ben asked himself, was she flirting openly like this, what had the world come to. “Excuse me” Ben said and opened the door “I really need to get back to the hotel” “Ok, but please give me a call when you’ve decided, I promise I’ll make it a quick affair, estates like that are really on the market right now” She closed the car door for Ben and let him drive off. Ben was still stunned when he arrived at the hotel. It was almost 1 o’clock and with the time difference it was still in the middle of the night in California so Ben couldn’t call Meg just yet. He picked up the phone and called the lawyer’s office. He was put straight thru and got an appointment to come see the lawyer at once to get the keys to the estate.
Meg was tossing and turning in her bed, somehow she hadn’t slept very well the last few nights. She woke up and went downstairs to drink a glass of water. She still had a lot of the flowers left that Ben had had set up for the proposal. She brought her water with her and sat down in the living room. She closed her eyes and remembered that lovely evening minute by minute. She took a rose in her hand and smelled it. Feeling a bit at ease she laid down and fell asleep right there on the sofa.
Ben opened the front door. The last time he had visited his aunt she had been in hospital with a broken hip. He hadn’t been to this house since before he moved to America, it still looked as grand as he remembered it. He walked thru the hall towards the living room. Walking from room to room he remembered to many things, how would he be able to choose what to keep and what to sell on. He ended up in the kitchen remembering baking cookies with his mother and aunt as a little boy. Something felt both right and wrong about that memory. He thought back and remembered that his mother had packed them up really quick and said they were going for a little vacation. Knowing now what he didn’t then it must have been one of the periods when his father was drinking heavily. He sat down on a stool to think about what to do. He and Derek had decided it would be too expensive to keep the estate, especially since it wasn’t their family heritage, it had belonged to their ‘uncle‘s’ family. He got up and went up the stairs. Looking around the rooms he realized this wouldn’t be fixed in the two weeks he thought. He took out a notebook from his jacket where he had a few numbers to real estate agents.
He called two of the firms and made appointments for the next day to get the house evaluated. He tried a third firm as well but there he only got the answering machine, he left a message and if they didn’t call back by the evening he’d scrap them from his list as he already had with “Stevens’” That person looking him up at the funeral had really made Ben uncomfortable. He picked the keys up and went outside to have a look around before he went back to the hotel.
Ben walked into the hotel lobby where he bumped into Sophia again. Ben put on a fake smile as he didn’t for a second believe that she was there by chance. “Let me buy you a drink” She offered and since Ben was too well mannered to say no so he let her lead the way towards the bar. Luckily it was one of those brighter ones so hopefully she’d not get any ideas. “So Ben” she turned her stool towards him “May I call you Ben?” he nodded “Sure” was his short answer “You think we could help you sell the estate?” Ben shrugged his shoulders “I need to talk to my brother about it” she put a hand on his thigh “Did the house bring up memories?” she said sympathetically “Yes it did” Ben admitted “But that’s not the problem really. I just don’t know what Derek would like to keep from the house” “Maybe I can help you, we got great photographers that can take photos and you can send them by mail” Ben didn’t know how he could get out of this “Well I can’t get to my brother at the moment, he’s on his honeymoon” he saw a bit of shifting in her eyes since she had lit up when he mentioned he had a brother. He took a drink of his beer and felt her hand on his arm “We could go over there and take the photos anyway if you like” Just then Ben’s cell phone rang “Excuse me” he said as he took out of his inner pocket. He smiled when he saw the photo id of Meg “You’re a sight for sore eyes” he answered the phone and forgot about his company totally.
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All connections to Sunset Beach, any other soaps/series and real life characters are purely for your pleasure.
©tinadolphin@comhem.se 2010
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Starting over chapter 17
Chapter seventeen
Monday morning Ben popped his head into Meg’s office “Hi there, you left before I was awake” he lent over the desk and kissed her. “Sorry, Simon called in sick this morning and I had to come take care of the front desk until the replacement could come” Ben put his head on the side “Does that mean you won’t be home tonight?” Meg shook her head “No, I still got the evening free. I don’t want to miss it since it’s the last one together I two weeks” Meg had a sad look in her eyes “Are you really sure you have to be away for two weeks Ben” “Yes I have. The funeral is on Thursday and then I have to stay for the house to be cleaned out and hopefully sold” Ben and Derek’s aunt had died during the weekend and since their mother wasn’t alive anymore and aunt Louise never had had any children Ben and Derek was to inherit everything from her. “I wish I could go with you, or even better we could send Derek and Sarah” Ben sat down on the corner of the desk “Me too Meg, but with Sarah and Derek off on their honey moon this was the best solution” “I know, I know” Meg said and stood up “The timing is bad, but these are the kind of things in life you can’t foresee” Ben pulled her into his arms “Can’t argue with that, but I will miss you” he placed his lips on hers “I will miss you too” Meg said. “I need to leave” Ben said when they parted “I’ve got to talk to both Gregory and Mark about some business” he walked to the door “But I’ll see you tonight, 6-ish, my place” he said “I’ll be there” Meg answered as he walked out “Where else should I be, I’ve not been much at my own place these last few days” she said to herself and sat down with a file. At least she wouldn’t have trouble filling her time, they had opened the hotel at the right time, lots of guests had already arrived and the bookings were solid thru to March. Meg looked at her annual calendar on her computer “Booked thru March, Sarah’s baby arriving in June…” she trailed off and sighed “I’m a lucky girl living in California, it’s almost always sunny for a nice wedding” she didn’t know when they were to plan it in.
Sarah and Derek had decided on driving down to Mexico for their honeymoon, just some lazy days at the beach and a trip or two for some sightseeing “Are you disappointed?” Derek asked “It’s just since Tuys said it was safer not to fly away I…” he didn’t finish his sentence. “That wasn’t exactly what he said Derek, but I love you for caring and I wouldn’t like for anything to happen to the baby” she took his hand as they were walking along the promenade towards a restaurant they had been recommended “I’m happy as long as I get to spend some time with you alone” she was referring to the busy time that had been right up until her and Meg was able to open the hotel. At the restaurant they were showed to a table where they could sit and look out over the ocean “What are you thinking about?” she asked Derek “Sorry” he took her hand and kissed it “I was just thinking about Ben and how he has to get away to England to take care of everything” Sarah smiled sweetly at him “Remember he said for you not to worry or think about him, he would see to it that it all got settled” “I know, but you don’t know how big the estate is Sarah, there are a lot of things to sort out” Derek began “Well I think Ben can do that, besides all furniture and stuff might be just what the new owner would like to have, you know” she said and shrugged her shoulders “To keep the house in the same state” Derek smiled “I’ve married the most wisely woman in the world”
Meg finished up her files and looked at the clock, it was already 6.30 and she was late. She didn’t know if she should call Ben to tell him she was on her way, but again it took about 3 minutes quick walk to get to his door. She rang the bell when she did arrive but no one came to answer. She looked for the key in her purse and when she found it opened the door and called “Ben, it’s only me” at the same time as she noticed the dark setting of the room, the only lights on were candles and she could hear the fire going “Ben” she called out again and saw him coming from the kitchen “Great, you’re here” he came over and greeted her with a kiss “Mmm, that taste good” Meg said “You’ve been cooking?” “Yep” he said shortly “I wanted it to be just perfect so I did it myself” He closed the door behind her and reached for something on the shelf by the door “I’ve got something for you” he handed her a black velvet box. Meg took it and pulled on the white ribbon keeping it closed “I saw this and thought of you, I want you to have one each week up until our wedding day” Meg opened the box and found a perfect pearl “that way you will have enough for a necklace to wear at the wedding” Meg was stunned, she looked up at Ben “Oh Ben, it’s perfect, you’re really spoiling me” she kissed him “But we’ve not set a date yet” Ben took her hand and led her over to the table where he pulled the chair out for her “I thought we’d do that before we eat, that way you can start planning” he kissed her on the top of her head and sat down next to her and presented a calendar filled with both their already set appointments. “This won’t be easy” Meg said “No, but what do you think about May?” Ben asked her “No, I want Sarah to be my maid of honor and she will be very pregnant in May as the baby’s due in the beginning of June” “I didn’t think of that” he smiled at her “So, how far after the baby’s born then?” “About two months or so… I mean if we want to get off on a honeymoon, Sarah must be able to at least put in a few hours each day at the hotel” Ben flipped the calendar. “Ok, September then” he suggested. “September would be lovely” Meg put her hand on his “What do you think about the 14th?” she pointed to a Saturday in the calendar and looked at Ben “Wouldn’t that be perfect?” Ben looked puzzled “Ben Evans, it’s the date when we first saw each other on the beach in Alcudia” he smiled at her “If that’s the day you want for us to get married I would love it” “I want it if you want it” Meg said back and they both laughed. Ben took out a pen and marked the date in the calendar “I guess we need to check with the church as well, but with this long time ahead I doubt there will be any problems” a kitchen timer rang “Just in time” Ben got up “Dinner’s just about ready” “Do you need help?” Meg asked “Not tonight, I’ve got it all prepared” he went to the kitchen to get the wine first. “This is really a coincidence” Ben said as he poured the wine “I bought this the day you and I was out on the trip together” he smiled at her “Very appropriate to toast us setting a date for our wedding, don’t you think?” “Yes it is” Meg smiled and tasted the wine “It really is good” “I’m happy you think so” Ben said and went to get the dinner “It’s nothing fancy, just a lasagna” he said when he returned “A homemade lasagna is never wrong, it’s been a long time since I last had it” Meg said and moved the wine bottle so that Ben could put the form down.
“Are you all packed and so?” Meg asked when they sat in the sofa sipping the last of the wine “Kind of” “What do you mean?” Meg asked and settled so she had Ben’s arms around her “Well…” he nuzzled her neck “I wish I could pack you too” “So charming, you want to sent me along with the cargo?” Meg teased him “Maybe not, but I wish you could come with me” “Me too, but it’s next to impossible so I better stay here and we can always e-mail each other” Ben pushed the shoulder of her shirt to the side “That’s possible, but I can’t do this in an e-mail” he kissed her down the shoulder and up again and then did the same on the other side. Meg moaned softly and turned around “I will really miss you Ben” she stood up and took his hands “Come upstairs and make love to me” Ben stood up and they walked away from the sofa, just before the stairs he picked her up in his arms and carried her up to his bedroom.
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All connections to Sunset Beach, any other soaps/series and real life characters are purely for your pleasure.
©tinadolphin@comhem.se 2010
Monday morning Ben popped his head into Meg’s office “Hi there, you left before I was awake” he lent over the desk and kissed her. “Sorry, Simon called in sick this morning and I had to come take care of the front desk until the replacement could come” Ben put his head on the side “Does that mean you won’t be home tonight?” Meg shook her head “No, I still got the evening free. I don’t want to miss it since it’s the last one together I two weeks” Meg had a sad look in her eyes “Are you really sure you have to be away for two weeks Ben” “Yes I have. The funeral is on Thursday and then I have to stay for the house to be cleaned out and hopefully sold” Ben and Derek’s aunt had died during the weekend and since their mother wasn’t alive anymore and aunt Louise never had had any children Ben and Derek was to inherit everything from her. “I wish I could go with you, or even better we could send Derek and Sarah” Ben sat down on the corner of the desk “Me too Meg, but with Sarah and Derek off on their honey moon this was the best solution” “I know, I know” Meg said and stood up “The timing is bad, but these are the kind of things in life you can’t foresee” Ben pulled her into his arms “Can’t argue with that, but I will miss you” he placed his lips on hers “I will miss you too” Meg said. “I need to leave” Ben said when they parted “I’ve got to talk to both Gregory and Mark about some business” he walked to the door “But I’ll see you tonight, 6-ish, my place” he said “I’ll be there” Meg answered as he walked out “Where else should I be, I’ve not been much at my own place these last few days” she said to herself and sat down with a file. At least she wouldn’t have trouble filling her time, they had opened the hotel at the right time, lots of guests had already arrived and the bookings were solid thru to March. Meg looked at her annual calendar on her computer “Booked thru March, Sarah’s baby arriving in June…” she trailed off and sighed “I’m a lucky girl living in California, it’s almost always sunny for a nice wedding” she didn’t know when they were to plan it in.
Sarah and Derek had decided on driving down to Mexico for their honeymoon, just some lazy days at the beach and a trip or two for some sightseeing “Are you disappointed?” Derek asked “It’s just since Tuys said it was safer not to fly away I…” he didn’t finish his sentence. “That wasn’t exactly what he said Derek, but I love you for caring and I wouldn’t like for anything to happen to the baby” she took his hand as they were walking along the promenade towards a restaurant they had been recommended “I’m happy as long as I get to spend some time with you alone” she was referring to the busy time that had been right up until her and Meg was able to open the hotel. At the restaurant they were showed to a table where they could sit and look out over the ocean “What are you thinking about?” she asked Derek “Sorry” he took her hand and kissed it “I was just thinking about Ben and how he has to get away to England to take care of everything” Sarah smiled sweetly at him “Remember he said for you not to worry or think about him, he would see to it that it all got settled” “I know, but you don’t know how big the estate is Sarah, there are a lot of things to sort out” Derek began “Well I think Ben can do that, besides all furniture and stuff might be just what the new owner would like to have, you know” she said and shrugged her shoulders “To keep the house in the same state” Derek smiled “I’ve married the most wisely woman in the world”
Meg finished up her files and looked at the clock, it was already 6.30 and she was late. She didn’t know if she should call Ben to tell him she was on her way, but again it took about 3 minutes quick walk to get to his door. She rang the bell when she did arrive but no one came to answer. She looked for the key in her purse and when she found it opened the door and called “Ben, it’s only me” at the same time as she noticed the dark setting of the room, the only lights on were candles and she could hear the fire going “Ben” she called out again and saw him coming from the kitchen “Great, you’re here” he came over and greeted her with a kiss “Mmm, that taste good” Meg said “You’ve been cooking?” “Yep” he said shortly “I wanted it to be just perfect so I did it myself” He closed the door behind her and reached for something on the shelf by the door “I’ve got something for you” he handed her a black velvet box. Meg took it and pulled on the white ribbon keeping it closed “I saw this and thought of you, I want you to have one each week up until our wedding day” Meg opened the box and found a perfect pearl “that way you will have enough for a necklace to wear at the wedding” Meg was stunned, she looked up at Ben “Oh Ben, it’s perfect, you’re really spoiling me” she kissed him “But we’ve not set a date yet” Ben took her hand and led her over to the table where he pulled the chair out for her “I thought we’d do that before we eat, that way you can start planning” he kissed her on the top of her head and sat down next to her and presented a calendar filled with both their already set appointments. “This won’t be easy” Meg said “No, but what do you think about May?” Ben asked her “No, I want Sarah to be my maid of honor and she will be very pregnant in May as the baby’s due in the beginning of June” “I didn’t think of that” he smiled at her “So, how far after the baby’s born then?” “About two months or so… I mean if we want to get off on a honeymoon, Sarah must be able to at least put in a few hours each day at the hotel” Ben flipped the calendar. “Ok, September then” he suggested. “September would be lovely” Meg put her hand on his “What do you think about the 14th?” she pointed to a Saturday in the calendar and looked at Ben “Wouldn’t that be perfect?” Ben looked puzzled “Ben Evans, it’s the date when we first saw each other on the beach in Alcudia” he smiled at her “If that’s the day you want for us to get married I would love it” “I want it if you want it” Meg said back and they both laughed. Ben took out a pen and marked the date in the calendar “I guess we need to check with the church as well, but with this long time ahead I doubt there will be any problems” a kitchen timer rang “Just in time” Ben got up “Dinner’s just about ready” “Do you need help?” Meg asked “Not tonight, I’ve got it all prepared” he went to the kitchen to get the wine first. “This is really a coincidence” Ben said as he poured the wine “I bought this the day you and I was out on the trip together” he smiled at her “Very appropriate to toast us setting a date for our wedding, don’t you think?” “Yes it is” Meg smiled and tasted the wine “It really is good” “I’m happy you think so” Ben said and went to get the dinner “It’s nothing fancy, just a lasagna” he said when he returned “A homemade lasagna is never wrong, it’s been a long time since I last had it” Meg said and moved the wine bottle so that Ben could put the form down.
“Are you all packed and so?” Meg asked when they sat in the sofa sipping the last of the wine “Kind of” “What do you mean?” Meg asked and settled so she had Ben’s arms around her “Well…” he nuzzled her neck “I wish I could pack you too” “So charming, you want to sent me along with the cargo?” Meg teased him “Maybe not, but I wish you could come with me” “Me too, but it’s next to impossible so I better stay here and we can always e-mail each other” Ben pushed the shoulder of her shirt to the side “That’s possible, but I can’t do this in an e-mail” he kissed her down the shoulder and up again and then did the same on the other side. Meg moaned softly and turned around “I will really miss you Ben” she stood up and took his hands “Come upstairs and make love to me” Ben stood up and they walked away from the sofa, just before the stairs he picked her up in his arms and carried her up to his bedroom.
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All connections to Sunset Beach, any other soaps/series and real life characters are purely for your pleasure.
©tinadolphin@comhem.se 2010
Starting over chapter 16
Chapter sixteen
Meg was stunned, she had never seen anything so beautiful as the ring Ben showed her. Ben stood up and took the ring out of the box “So Meg” He held her hand “Will you marry me?” Meg smiled “Yes Ben, I love to marry you” she put her arms around his neck and kissed him. Ben pulled away “Let’s see how this looks on?” he put the ring on her finger “Perfect” “Oh Ben, I love you so much” she kissed him and hugged him tight. Their kiss grew more intense and soon they were making love in front of the fire. “I love you Meg” Ben said and pulled her close before he pulled a blanket over them both “I love you too Ben” Meg felt so safe in his arms and soon she was asleep. Ben felt his eyes getting heavy but if they wouldn’t like to have soar backs the next day he better see to it they got into bed. After carrying Meg upstairs and tucking her in he went back down to blow the candles out and see to it the fading fire wouldn’t be any trouble.
The next morning Meg woke up in her bed with Ben by her side, the last thing she remembered was falling asleep in front of the fire. With a smile she then looked at her left hand, if anything the ring was even more beautiful this morning “It’s far from as beautiful as you” she heard Ben say “How did you know what I was thinking?” she rolled over on her side and kissed him “Good morning fiancé” “Good morning to you too fiancée” Ben replied. He felt a big grin spread all over his face. “What?” Meg asked “Nothing, I just feel happy” Meg rolled back to the side of the bed to get out “What are you doing?” Ben asked and tried to pull her back in “Ben, however much I’d like to stay in bed with you, I need to get to the hotel, it’s our first day fully opened and I promised Sarah last night that I’ll handle things in the morning” She turned around and smiled at him “And then I have to call my parents some time during the morning, but first I need a shower” Ben got out of bed as well “Let’s save some water then” he grinned.
“Cummings” Joan answered almost out of breath “Oh sorry mom, did I catch you at a bad time?” Sarah said “Not at all, I was just outside picking some apples, I’m making a pie, not that you needed to know that” she rambled on “So how did the grand opening go? We were so sorry we couldn’t be there, but it’s harvesting times” Sarah laughed “Oh mom, we’d love to have had you there, but it went well anyways” She told more about the event and she motioned to Derek to pick the other phone up “Mom, is dad around?” she asked “As a matter of fact he just walked in” “Good, I… we got something to tell you both so tell dad to pick the other phone up” “I’m here” Hank said “Great dad” Sarah hesitated “You’re both on?” Hank asked “We sure are” Derek answered “And as Sarah said we’ve got something to tell you” “Have you set your destination for the honeymoon?” Joan asked “Well kind of, we had to make some changes on our plans” Derek said and took Sarah’s hand “Mom, dad” she said with her newfound strength “I would really have liked to tell you this in person, but this is as good as it gets” she knew her mother had a worried look on her face “Mom, you don’t need to worry” “Oh Sarah, you know me too well, but now you have to tell us what’s up and why you’re not going to Hawaii anymore, nothing’s wrong with Meg is there?” Sarah laughed “Nothing’s wrong anywhere, it’s just that I’m pregnant” “Oh Sarah, that’s so…” Joan had tears in her eyes “Congratulations to the two of you” Hank said as Joan took a deep breath “It’s just so great news Sarah, I’m really happy for you both” she was now sobbing and Sarah’s eyes was tearing up too “See Derek, this is why we should have told them in person” “Oh Sarah” Joan sighed again “I will try and come see you as soon as possible. I can’t believe it, my first grandchild” she then heard a beep “Oh Sarah, I’ve got another call waiting” “Ok mom, we can talk more later, I will get over to the hotel and check a few things” they hung up and so did Hank “Cummings” Joan answered her second call “Hi mom, it’s Meg” and Joan burst into tears “What’s wrong mom” Hank immediately pick the second phone up “Hank Cummings” he answered “Hi dad, it’s Meg” he smiled at his wife “Hi Meggie, we just had Sarah on the line” “Oh” Meg said “Did she tell you the news?” and Hank decided to tease Meg like he always did “Oh yes, she told us all about the big grand opening” and Joan rolled her eyes “You have to forgive your father Meg, yes Sarah and Derek told us about the baby” “I’ve got some news of my own” Meg said “Are you pregnant too?” Joan asked without even thinking of why they had had a visit from Ben the other day “No” Meg laughed “I’m not in a hurry like my sister, but it’s equally happy news, at least for me” she paused “I guess you know already, Ben said he’d been visiting you” “Oh yes, he did. It was so sweet of him” “That’s my Ben and last night when we had walked back to my house he had gotten it all set up with white roses, a fire and lots of candles and he proposed in the most romantic way” Meg sighed happily “And…?” Joan said “I accepted of course” again she heard her mom cry “I hope it’s happy tears mom” Joan looked at her husband “I don’t care if you need help or not here Hank Cummings, I’m flying out to see my girls” “You do that love” Hank said to her “Mom, dad I’m still on the line” Meg reminded them “Sorry Meg, I didn’t mean to ignore you and I didn’t even say Congratulations to you and to Ben too, is he there?” “Not at the moment, I’m at the hotel” “Well then, give him our congratulations too and I’ll call you when I know I can get away and have a flight booked” they said their goodbyes and hung up. Joan sat down at the kitchen table “What a morning Hank, and it’s not even 10 yet” “I know, the girls must have been excited, they usually aren’t up too early” he was counting the time difference in his head. “I need to look into a flight to Sunset Beach, but that has to wait. We still have guests coming this evening”
“Heard you called mom and dad” Meg said as Sarah walked into the office “Yes I did, you called them too?” Meg nodded “To tell about the opening?” she knew Meg usually was the one keeping their parents updated. “Nah, not really” Meg said and loved the surprised expression on her sister’s face. “I had other things on my mind” she rested her chin in her hands hoping Sarah would notice the ring, but apparently not as she sat down to go thru some paperwork “Earth to Sarah?” Meg flashed her hand in front of Sarah’s face “Has that baby of yours made you not seeing things?” she now put the hand down in front of Saran right on top of the papers she was reading. Sarah looked up at Meg, back down at the hand and up again and met Meg’s smiling eyes “Did Ben propose?” “Yes” Meg nodded and beamed “Look at it, isn’t it the most beautiful ever?” “No, you are” she heard Ben saying just before he put his arms around her from behind and handed her a single white rose. Meg turned around and kissed him. In the meantime Sarah got up and around the desk “No you two can do that later, I want to congratulate my brother-in-law” she rolled her eyes “I guess it will be in double sense now” she hugged Ben “Congratulations Ben, you did the second best choice, me having been the first” she teased “You being the first choice for whom?” Derek too entered the office “Oh good thing we made it a big office” Meg laughed “Good morning Derek” she kissed his cheek “And good morning to you too, although I thought I’d come and whisk my wife off to lunch” “Why don’t we all go” Sarah suggested and looked around “We need to toast Ben and Meg?” Derek looked at her as she had lost her mind totally “Oh, I forgot the news isn’t out on town yet” Sarah said “Meg show him” she took her hand and held it out for Derek to see “Your brother finally got down on his knee wanting to make my sister an honest woman” Derek looked at the ring, kissed Meg on both cheeks and hugged his brother “Congratulations to the both of you” he smiled “Let’s all go get some lunch, we certainly need a glass of champagne for this” he put his arm protective around Sarah “But not for you, you’ll get something without alcohol” Sarah started to protest “No Sarah, that little sip of champagne you had last night will be the last in a long time”
With a happy smile, happier than usual, Hank and Joan both greeted their friends in the evening. “Harvest must be good this year” Roger, Hank’s best friend joked “Well it’s little better than average” Hank agreed “You know that yourself I bet, I’ve seen your fields grow all summer” he poured them all some drinks and then put his arm around Joan, “but we got some great news we want to share with you all”. Joan rested her head on his shoulder, too happy to even say anything. “Our Sarah called us this morning and told us we’ll be grandparents soon” “This needs a toast” Roger said “To Hank and Joan” he smiled at his friends “And Sarah too of course” Joan couldn’t stop beaming “And to Meg” she added “She’s getting married” that set of the mood for the rest of the evening.
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All connections to Sunset Beach, any other soaps/series and real life characters are purely for your pleasure.
©tinadolphin@comhem.se 2010
Meg was stunned, she had never seen anything so beautiful as the ring Ben showed her. Ben stood up and took the ring out of the box “So Meg” He held her hand “Will you marry me?” Meg smiled “Yes Ben, I love to marry you” she put her arms around his neck and kissed him. Ben pulled away “Let’s see how this looks on?” he put the ring on her finger “Perfect” “Oh Ben, I love you so much” she kissed him and hugged him tight. Their kiss grew more intense and soon they were making love in front of the fire. “I love you Meg” Ben said and pulled her close before he pulled a blanket over them both “I love you too Ben” Meg felt so safe in his arms and soon she was asleep. Ben felt his eyes getting heavy but if they wouldn’t like to have soar backs the next day he better see to it they got into bed. After carrying Meg upstairs and tucking her in he went back down to blow the candles out and see to it the fading fire wouldn’t be any trouble.
The next morning Meg woke up in her bed with Ben by her side, the last thing she remembered was falling asleep in front of the fire. With a smile she then looked at her left hand, if anything the ring was even more beautiful this morning “It’s far from as beautiful as you” she heard Ben say “How did you know what I was thinking?” she rolled over on her side and kissed him “Good morning fiancé” “Good morning to you too fiancée” Ben replied. He felt a big grin spread all over his face. “What?” Meg asked “Nothing, I just feel happy” Meg rolled back to the side of the bed to get out “What are you doing?” Ben asked and tried to pull her back in “Ben, however much I’d like to stay in bed with you, I need to get to the hotel, it’s our first day fully opened and I promised Sarah last night that I’ll handle things in the morning” She turned around and smiled at him “And then I have to call my parents some time during the morning, but first I need a shower” Ben got out of bed as well “Let’s save some water then” he grinned.
“Cummings” Joan answered almost out of breath “Oh sorry mom, did I catch you at a bad time?” Sarah said “Not at all, I was just outside picking some apples, I’m making a pie, not that you needed to know that” she rambled on “So how did the grand opening go? We were so sorry we couldn’t be there, but it’s harvesting times” Sarah laughed “Oh mom, we’d love to have had you there, but it went well anyways” She told more about the event and she motioned to Derek to pick the other phone up “Mom, is dad around?” she asked “As a matter of fact he just walked in” “Good, I… we got something to tell you both so tell dad to pick the other phone up” “I’m here” Hank said “Great dad” Sarah hesitated “You’re both on?” Hank asked “We sure are” Derek answered “And as Sarah said we’ve got something to tell you” “Have you set your destination for the honeymoon?” Joan asked “Well kind of, we had to make some changes on our plans” Derek said and took Sarah’s hand “Mom, dad” she said with her newfound strength “I would really have liked to tell you this in person, but this is as good as it gets” she knew her mother had a worried look on her face “Mom, you don’t need to worry” “Oh Sarah, you know me too well, but now you have to tell us what’s up and why you’re not going to Hawaii anymore, nothing’s wrong with Meg is there?” Sarah laughed “Nothing’s wrong anywhere, it’s just that I’m pregnant” “Oh Sarah, that’s so…” Joan had tears in her eyes “Congratulations to the two of you” Hank said as Joan took a deep breath “It’s just so great news Sarah, I’m really happy for you both” she was now sobbing and Sarah’s eyes was tearing up too “See Derek, this is why we should have told them in person” “Oh Sarah” Joan sighed again “I will try and come see you as soon as possible. I can’t believe it, my first grandchild” she then heard a beep “Oh Sarah, I’ve got another call waiting” “Ok mom, we can talk more later, I will get over to the hotel and check a few things” they hung up and so did Hank “Cummings” Joan answered her second call “Hi mom, it’s Meg” and Joan burst into tears “What’s wrong mom” Hank immediately pick the second phone up “Hank Cummings” he answered “Hi dad, it’s Meg” he smiled at his wife “Hi Meggie, we just had Sarah on the line” “Oh” Meg said “Did she tell you the news?” and Hank decided to tease Meg like he always did “Oh yes, she told us all about the big grand opening” and Joan rolled her eyes “You have to forgive your father Meg, yes Sarah and Derek told us about the baby” “I’ve got some news of my own” Meg said “Are you pregnant too?” Joan asked without even thinking of why they had had a visit from Ben the other day “No” Meg laughed “I’m not in a hurry like my sister, but it’s equally happy news, at least for me” she paused “I guess you know already, Ben said he’d been visiting you” “Oh yes, he did. It was so sweet of him” “That’s my Ben and last night when we had walked back to my house he had gotten it all set up with white roses, a fire and lots of candles and he proposed in the most romantic way” Meg sighed happily “And…?” Joan said “I accepted of course” again she heard her mom cry “I hope it’s happy tears mom” Joan looked at her husband “I don’t care if you need help or not here Hank Cummings, I’m flying out to see my girls” “You do that love” Hank said to her “Mom, dad I’m still on the line” Meg reminded them “Sorry Meg, I didn’t mean to ignore you and I didn’t even say Congratulations to you and to Ben too, is he there?” “Not at the moment, I’m at the hotel” “Well then, give him our congratulations too and I’ll call you when I know I can get away and have a flight booked” they said their goodbyes and hung up. Joan sat down at the kitchen table “What a morning Hank, and it’s not even 10 yet” “I know, the girls must have been excited, they usually aren’t up too early” he was counting the time difference in his head. “I need to look into a flight to Sunset Beach, but that has to wait. We still have guests coming this evening”
“Heard you called mom and dad” Meg said as Sarah walked into the office “Yes I did, you called them too?” Meg nodded “To tell about the opening?” she knew Meg usually was the one keeping their parents updated. “Nah, not really” Meg said and loved the surprised expression on her sister’s face. “I had other things on my mind” she rested her chin in her hands hoping Sarah would notice the ring, but apparently not as she sat down to go thru some paperwork “Earth to Sarah?” Meg flashed her hand in front of Sarah’s face “Has that baby of yours made you not seeing things?” she now put the hand down in front of Saran right on top of the papers she was reading. Sarah looked up at Meg, back down at the hand and up again and met Meg’s smiling eyes “Did Ben propose?” “Yes” Meg nodded and beamed “Look at it, isn’t it the most beautiful ever?” “No, you are” she heard Ben saying just before he put his arms around her from behind and handed her a single white rose. Meg turned around and kissed him. In the meantime Sarah got up and around the desk “No you two can do that later, I want to congratulate my brother-in-law” she rolled her eyes “I guess it will be in double sense now” she hugged Ben “Congratulations Ben, you did the second best choice, me having been the first” she teased “You being the first choice for whom?” Derek too entered the office “Oh good thing we made it a big office” Meg laughed “Good morning Derek” she kissed his cheek “And good morning to you too, although I thought I’d come and whisk my wife off to lunch” “Why don’t we all go” Sarah suggested and looked around “We need to toast Ben and Meg?” Derek looked at her as she had lost her mind totally “Oh, I forgot the news isn’t out on town yet” Sarah said “Meg show him” she took her hand and held it out for Derek to see “Your brother finally got down on his knee wanting to make my sister an honest woman” Derek looked at the ring, kissed Meg on both cheeks and hugged his brother “Congratulations to the both of you” he smiled “Let’s all go get some lunch, we certainly need a glass of champagne for this” he put his arm protective around Sarah “But not for you, you’ll get something without alcohol” Sarah started to protest “No Sarah, that little sip of champagne you had last night will be the last in a long time”
With a happy smile, happier than usual, Hank and Joan both greeted their friends in the evening. “Harvest must be good this year” Roger, Hank’s best friend joked “Well it’s little better than average” Hank agreed “You know that yourself I bet, I’ve seen your fields grow all summer” he poured them all some drinks and then put his arm around Joan, “but we got some great news we want to share with you all”. Joan rested her head on his shoulder, too happy to even say anything. “Our Sarah called us this morning and told us we’ll be grandparents soon” “This needs a toast” Roger said “To Hank and Joan” he smiled at his friends “And Sarah too of course” Joan couldn’t stop beaming “And to Meg” she added “She’s getting married” that set of the mood for the rest of the evening.
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All connections to Sunset Beach, any other soaps/series and real life characters are purely for your pleasure.
©tinadolphin@comhem.se 2010
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