August 24th, 2027
On Concrete Shelves | Revisited
PART ONE
Scene One; Stone Creek
Outskirts of Sage Gardens; Thurlow Lumber Mill
There’s an odd wind pulling at the leaves as James Thurlow passes through town; a mid august week usually sits stale with blistering heat around Stone Creek. Though he doesn’t chance his A/C blowing any less than full blast. The weather here has a habit of bringing in the nastiest of things; allergies, heat, hot rain.
It doesn’t take him long to pull into the employee entrance of the Thurlow Lumber Mill and maneuver his truck into a parking spot. James grabs his black Stetson cowboy hat from the passenger seat and shifts his way out of the vehicle.
He peers out at the morning crew doing their rounds; a few people taking a coffee break near their trucks with their hardhats tucked to the side — one catches James’ attention and gives him an attentive nod in greeting. Others around the grounds are either, making their way towards the orchards of Redwood and Southern Yellow Pine trees on the dozen acreages his family had purchased over the last few decades, or filing into the lumber mill for an honest days work.
James made it his mission to do continuity check-ins after the fiasco that landed Derek Cotta in a coma and linked him, amongst others, to a drug trafficking ring that thankfully wasn’t connected to the mill. Though, it did land Ryan in the hot seat for some time as Derek was the friend he hired for the season.
A headache develops every time he thinks about the situation — especially the uncomfortable proposition his mother, Anita, had made in order to keep the company away from the media coverage. It pains him knowing that he didn’t get the opportunity to help both Ryan and Marina in their time of need… but he is grateful for his mother’s happenstance to travel abroad more frequently so he could re-hire Ryan to run the mill and help provide for their four year old son, Henry.
“Mr. Thurlow.” A frazzle haired brunette greets as she moves with a co-worker through the building. He pats the co-worker on the shoulder and offers a handshake to the two of them before branching off and making a straight line towards Ryan’s office.
He sees Baird first; a burly man with a distinguished nose and brooding eyes whom happens to be the guy in-charge of controlling the graphs of trees that are ready to be cut and which areas needed to be regrown for production.
James catches both Ryan and Marina standing up towards the back of the office and he knows the little one isn’t too far off as the toddler’s scream of excitement was definitely the loudest he had ever heard. “Ba ba! Ba ba!”
He falls to a knee and scoops the tumbling toddler into his arms. “You are getting so big!”
He watches his youngest daughter make her way over to him and lifts himself and the toddler up to greet the brunette. “I think I will make the call when it's time to stop lifting this little cowboy into my arms. My back has been holding up quite well if that’s what you’re concerned with.”
Marina smiles. “I’m just looking out for you daddy.”
“Thank you, sweetheart,” he says, kissing her on the forehead. “What are the two of you doing here today? Not that I’m complaining but I’m not too sure if the mill is the safest space for a toddler.”
“You’re right, sir,” Ryan chimes-in in the background. “They were just bringing me lunch. I forgot to pack my bag this morning. I rushed over here for first rounds.”
But this gets a head shake from Marina. “Relax, you used to bring us up here all the time when we were younger. Though now I’m starting to see that you have more loyalty with your grandchildren than your actual children. I’ll have to hold a meeting with Kirsten and Emmet soon about this shocking discovery.”
James looks back and forth between the small family. There was a time, very long ago, that he only wanted for Ryan Bauer to leave his daughter alone. Now he knows better. “You make your fair points like always sweetheart.”
“Thank you daddy, though,” Marina turns to Ryan, “we should be on our way out of here because I have a very important meeting with Caitlyn later today and — well shit,” Marina stops mid sentence and pulls out her phone sending a few quick messages and then sliding it back into her pocket. “I almost forgot to send Tully her babysitting money.”
“How’s Tully doing?” James asks with a warm smile upon his face.
Marina smiles with her entire face. “Well… she’s a Joplin so she’s especially efficient at her job — I can’t complain, and she always brings these cute little treats that Henry can’t get enough of. So, again, I can’t complain.”
This gets minor interest from the toddler, his full attention is still upon his grandfather’s mustache. This alerts Marina to her next task at hand and James watches as she shuffles the toddler onto her hip, gives Ryan a kiss on the cheek, and pulls her father into a full embrace with Henry in-tow.
“We shall see our favorite guy later tonight.” She says, more as demand than a question. “I’ll leave the three of you to discuss whatever it is that you discuss in this warm and stuffy office space.” Marina winks towards her husband and Baird.
After she leaves and closes the door behind her, James turns to both Baird and Ryan, “Is my daughter speaking up for the two men I put in-charge of the mill?”
They both shake their heads back and forth. “You know Marina, she’s a little more melodramatic and very outspoken.”
“I guess she gets that from her mother.” James replies. “Though that topic isn’t why I am here today… the three of us need to make a few important restructuring maneuvers here at the mill before our company goes into further conversations with SRQ Industries and the merger.”
“So we’re still going through with it?” Baird questions.
James nods. “In order to keep Thurlow Industries full steam ahead for the betterment of the company’s future this merger is more a safety protocol than anything else… though, like I said there are a few decision we need to be making and we need to be transparent about those things.”
Ryan nods. “Whatever you have to say I am sure that Baird and I can keep everyone in-line here. You won’t have to worry about that.”
“Let me explain what I need first before you both start making me promises you might not be able to keep.” James states.
Scene Two; Stone Creek
Now Town; HEAT Headquarters
“I would ask you what you were doing here so early," Helen Tyree Sutton states as she peers into the office adjacent to her own, "but I don’t think I have enough coffee running through these veins for when you reverse that question on me!” she says as she places her bag on the desk of her own office, and then just as quickly pops back into her CFO's office.
Natalie looks up. “I’ll do you one better. I have a pot warming up near the table by that window," she points, "… and to answer your question — don’t worry I won’t ask it back. Why would I want to be spending my time at home when there’s no one there but myself and Amanda’s newest rescue cat she named… cat.”
“That sounds dreadful.” Helen admits.
“Yeah, well, since she is my only friend in this town and the cottage was a gift from my parents — that I don’t have to pay rent on… I figure, until she gets knocked up or married I couldn’t turn her away with free room and rent.”
Helen moves over to the coffee and examines it before pouring herself a cup — and one for Natalie as well. Then, with every dramatic bone in her body she turns and leans against the table in a hunched forward way. The dangling diamond cross that usually sits within her bra creeps out and makes a swishing movement.
“Just make sure that Amanda understands the arrangements, even if it’s been the same way for years,” Helen says, sounding more like a mother than a boss. “Years have a way of changing perspectives with people.”
This gets Natalie to look up once again. “I don’t think she’s smart enough to be that cruel.”
“Maybe I should be giving that advice to Amanda instead…” Helen snips, before bringing over a cup of coffee for Natalie. “I tease; I do wish I had a friendship like the two of you have, but I’ve never been the friendship kind.”
“I’m going to keep my mouth shut so that I don’t risk my job.” Natalie replies.
This gets a chuckle out of Helen. “Good girl. Speaking of your job though, there are a few things we need to think about now that the contracts have been paid out for the models. Have you been in contact with Macy’s about the work our girls did for their Christmas catalog yet?”
“I spoke with them this morning and they want to do some touch-ups before they pay out the contracts just in case they need our girls back for reshoots.”
Helen plays the words over in her head. “That’s fine, but I need you to tell them that if our girls aren’t available for reshoots then it’s not our fault. I didn’t read that in their contract this year so they better let us know ahead of time because I don’t like to be inconvenienced.”
“Understood.”
Natalie holds up her red pen, and then lets her eyes lift from the papers in front of her to connect with Helen’s. “Also I was going to talk with you about the digital numbers for the magazine. Apparently, Shannon Thurlow slapping your husband a couple weeks ago was the draw for our month. Maybe you can get them to have another interaction?”
“Funny.” Helen says, her eyes widen at the thought. “But I would rather keep those two away from each other until either of them dies… doesn’t matter which one.”
Taking a sip of her coffee once again before placing it on the counter next to her, she knows that there’s nothing to take away from the encounter between the two. Patrick even mentioned it to her after it happened. Having someone film the encounter itself was bad luck but then Helen went ahead and pushed the story even further by providing an entire breakdown of the missed teenaged romance between both Patrick and Shannon; numbers never lie, especially with it having to do with small town royalty.
Helen stands forward. “We do, however, need to figure out more ways to exploit the people of Stone Creek. I know that we’re not tabloid reporters but there are only so many TikTok dances and poorly scripted ‘caught on camera’ good samaritan acts that they won’t be getting clicks for long. We have the legacy of being in the fashion business for decades but that can’t keep everyone a float.”
“Our numbers are fine.” Natalie replies.
Helen shrugs. “Every great titan has their time in the sun. I don’t want ours to end.”
“Especially since you just gave me the best raise I’ve had in a years.”
This garners a laugh from her boss. “Speaking of raises, we do need to talk about my granddaughter again.” Helen replies. “I want to revisit the idea of making Megan the Model Coordinator so that you won’t be doing both jobs — you can have your raise, it’ll help motivate you enough to keep watching our bottom line.”
“You mean dealing with queen bee Cree.”
Natalie raises an eye brow. “Let’s not forget who appointed themselves that title, okay? All I am saying is, Megan handled herself pretty well and since Cree has been in Paris for the last year it’s been a lot easier around here for Megan to find her footing.”
“Do we think she’s ready for this role?”
“There’s no one else I would even offer it to. Megan has really proven herself with being here on-time, understanding assignments and keeping the other girls from getting too distracted. She's a great model — don’t get me wrong. But I do think she is ready to move on from all of that and this could be a better future for her.”
Helen nods. “That’s exactly what I was thinking. I don’t like seeing my granddaughter with no direction in life just floating by… when I was her age I had already lived my life in front of the tabloids and ran away to college to start over fresh. Maybe this could be her restart? ...This could also give me bragging rights.”
“How so?”
She huffs, “You don’t see any of my ex. husband’s children trying to claw their way into his family business… this could be the start of my own family legacy.” Helen grabs her coffee cup in glee. “Can you imagine that? Me the better grandparent? Yeah. I'll send her a text right now!”
A knock at the open door causes them both to swing towards it, mouth’s ajar and with their brows raised. For a slight second Helen thought her granddaughter and somehow gotten word by some damned carrier pigeon or smoke signal and teleported through time or something out of a damn Netflix special; however, the person standing between them gives Helen less hope and a lot more worry.
“I figured the two of you would be here this early.” Cree Summers says with a scrunch of her nose and a deep sarcastic tone, she speaks, “I’m back!”
Scene Three; Stone Creek
Boulestridge Mountains; Willow Glen Manor
Shannon Thurlow sits at her vanity.
The lines on her face seem deeper than they were only a few weeks ago. This has never been something that bothered her as much as it has begun to today. She knows that aging is a part of life — and after her near death experience and having to hide from her ex. husband, Mathias, she has always been thankful for the life she has been given.
But today is different.
After spending the majority of the night talking with her long-term fiancé, Jon Stout, over the phone there is also a weariness that lingers upon her. Shannon can see it in her eyes on the mornings after long phone calls. They’ve been playing this dance for years now. She feels as if her life is on pause but her skin and her body never got the memo.
How has she survived a manipulative and psychopathic man, juggled integrating back into her children’s lives after they assumed she was deceased and been swept up off her feet by the very man that saved her… to be sitting in a giant home alone wondering if she is enough. At an age where she should have all of the answers about life by now.
Or at least she had thought she would.
Shannon sighs.
There’s no need to be worrying about any of this right now. Especially if there won’t be any resolution. So she finishes brushing through her hair and continues with her morning routine. She is due to meet her brother soon, to help go over contracts and the walkthrough with Vinessa Torsney.
Vinessa has been a friend to Shannon the moment they met years ago. She met the younger woman when they were consolidating some of Jurado Overseas smaller businesses and remembered being so in awe with the way that Vinessa had navigated the complications with ease. So when asked who to bring on for the merger… the answer was an easy one for Shannon.
Now, however, with her mother and her son both in Paris re-organizing the rebranded Thurlow-Jurado Overseas for the merger and with her brother, James, handling the majority of the operational projects this leaves Shannon feeling alone facing the board.
She sighs once again, heavily, in a lonely home.
Scene Four; Stone Creek
Boulestridge Mountains; Sutton Cottage
Kirsten Thurlow Sutton moves through the house and into the kitchen. The sound of the toaster heating up alerts her to a presence within the home. It’s not unusual for someone to be there — though her husband, Charlie, had already packed his bag for work and she had seen her youngest, Eric, off to school already.
She assumed that their daughter was staying with one of her friends this week. Now, however, she hopes that she was mistaken. Maybe Megan spent last week with Jane Wilkinson and is spending this week at home? Kirsten feels as if she no longer is able to keep up with her family these days.
The August heat is already rising, the streams of daylight coming from the large kitchen windows begin to warm up the room. The season has a few more heat waves before it cools down in October, with the last two record highs not too far off, it begins to feel as if she will never get to enjoy a cool Summer in Stone Creek again.
A ‘pop’ from the toaster startles her and right on cue her daughter enters the kitchen giving way for a sigh of relief from Kirsten. “I thought I had the house to myself this morning.”
“I don’t know,” Kirsten admits, “I haven’t had one of those in years. Are you on your way to Jane’s this morning… or do I have you for a little longer?” She asks, a question that can go either way she supposes.
This gets a quizzical look from Megan. “Is there something that you’d like to talk about?”
“I would like to get to know my grown daughter.” Kirsten jokes, though these days the family is in and out of the house so often it feels like she doesn’t know any of them in their current state of being. She does admit work keeps her busy as well. So she can’t exactly put the blame on any one person.
Kirsten watches as her daughter plates her toast and brings it to the island. Instinctively, Kirsten turns towards the fridge and grabs a container of orange juice, the crate of eggs and eyes the butter. “You can’t eat just toast for breakfast.”
It sounds more accusatory than she hopes it would, she places a smile on her face in hopes to portray a more concerned motherly tone. “Would you like me to fix you something before I head out to the diner?”
“You’re doing that thing you do again.” Megan scolds.
Kirsten slumps her shoulders. “What thing?”
Silence falls between the two of them before Megan scoots her plate to the side and leans forward against the island. “It’s obvious that there’s something on your mind and you’re trying to distract yourself; only dad’s not here for you to scold and Eric is already at school so you can’t baby him. So now you’re only choice is me… “
“That’s not fair.” Kirsten snips.
“So what is causing this motherly dotting thing that you’re doing?” Megan asks, she reaches out and takes the carton of eggs from her mother’s grasp and places them on the island counter. Then she eyes the orange juice. “Or would you rather just fatten me up until I’m a piñata and you can take your anger out on that instead?”
“I just want to spend time with you, I feel like I hardly see you these days.” This is not entirely a lie and she feels a little better shifting things within a realm she can control. “Is it that bad that I take interest in your life?”
She waits to see if Megan takes the bait… after a few beats and a shift in her daughter’s posture she feels that she has.
“Fine.” Megan states. “I’ll bite”
This lets Kirsten begin to shift her own posture and feels the temperature of her own body begin to cool down, relaxing her in the process.
“But we aren’t going to just sweep this under the rug like the last time. I’ll bring this conversation back around at some point, mother.” Megan breaths, before continuing the conversation, “You’ll be happy to hear that I have accepted a job offer.”
The further the conversation moves from Kirsten, the happier she feels. “That’s great news! Hopefully this gets you further from that no-direction career with my mother after the last few years of modeling.”
“Actually,” Megan draws, “Helen offered me a promotion; There was an open position that needed to be filled.. you’re looking at HEAT’s newest Model Coordinator!”
A sudden urge over takes Kirsten. She can’t stop from coughing as her mind processed not only the huge misunderstanding but also the news of her daughter’s continued employment by her mother, Helen.
“Thats… something.” Kirsten holds a painful smile. “So, are you dating anyone?”
This garners a chuckle from Megan. “What is with this family and their continued distrust with Helen? I know that she’s never made the best decisions even if they were staring her right in the face… but she has come a long way.”
“You’re smart enough to know that she tends to cross back over to the wrong side of the morality line when she’s bored of being Mother Teresa.”
Megan narrows her eyes. “We both know she’s no Mother Teresa.”
“Finally, the sense is coming back to you.” Kirsten snips. “Look, I’m not trying to control your life but when you first came to us about working for your grandmother we really did have reservations and I am the first to admit that you’ve flourished as a model and as a young lady… but this isn’t a career path either of us wanted for you.”
“Shouldn’t dad be here for this conversation since you’re forcing your opinion as his right now?”
Kirsten shrugs. “Fine. I’m happy that you’re finding your way in the world. I would just hope that you would keep an open mind going forward? Make sure that this is the right path for you and be careful with your grandmother… okay?”
“I’ll be fine. Though I don’t know why I’m the one getting the heat here when I’ve been open about everything and you’re clearly avoiding whatever started this conversation in the first place.”
Kirsten thinks back to this morning and the pregnancy test she stashed away.
The older blonde scrunches her nose. “Can I just cook you breakfast and we go about our day like we normally do?”
This garners an eye roll. “Easy on the butter, okay?”
Our Love. Our Fights. Our Friendships.
On Concrete Shelves.
Forever, They Shall Be Remembered.
Scene Five; Stone Creek
Granger Grove Gated Community; Thurlow Residence
A giggle carries from one room to the next as Iris Galloway Thurlow moves through each of them; a thin buttery soft pale blouse tucked into a flowing maxi skirt and a denim vest — her outfit for the day. She’s been waking up early in preparation for the summer break to end as she starts teaching again. Although she doesn’t know how long she can keep that up as her pregnancy courses along.
Iris rubs her growing belly.
In minutes, the source of her giggling follows behind her, however, he is dressed in way less than she; a pair of boxers, a white t-shirt and a single sock upon his foot.
“I was looking for you.” Emmet says slyly.
“Well you found me!” Iris giggles some more as she fumbles with her heels. “But I have to tell you kind sir that I can’t stay long and I am serious this time!”
He knows she’s referring to the protest earlier in their bedroom before he lifted his wife back onto the bed to show his gratitude for the life she has helped him create. Emmet licks his lips as she backs away from him. “One more time won’t hurt.”
“I thought getting you away from the Boulestridge Mountains would shave more time off than that.” He replies playfully. “But I promise, we have time.”
There’s a sparkle in his eye that Iris knows too well. From the moment she met Emmet he has always surprised her with how in awe he was with the world. As if a snow storm hit every house but his own, each and every time and even if it had covered his in layers of snow she still didn’t think he’d mind. It was a far cry from how she was raised.
A sadness temporarily takes over her as she thinks back to her adopted family and the tragedies that took them away from her; but that wasn’t a memory for today and as quickly as she unpacked it she tucked it back up and shoved it deep down. A smile reappearing on her face as she locked eyes with Emmet.
“How about we compromise?”
He frowns and then takes his index finger and frames his face. “You’re turning all of this down? I can’t believe the words that I am hearing.”
Iris giggles. “It’s a compromise Emmet, relax! I promise that you will love it just the same. It’ll help me release some of the nerves that come with preparing an elementary school class room as well, so consider it a win-win for the two of us.”
“Fine.” Emmet smiles back at her. “What is it that is on the table?”
The mantle behind Iris is clearly in view and the pictures of the two of them on their wedding day sit nestled next to each other, along with a slew of other ones from the reception and of family through the years. A single bluetooth speaker sits among the picture frames.
“Alexa,” Iris says, watching the speaker come to life. “Play our wedding song.”
The bluetooth blinks to life and in her monotonous voice she repeats the command back to the duo in the room.
“When I look into your eyes…”
Iris reaches a hand out to her husband knowing that her cold palm will soon be replaced with his warm one. The melody continues to fill the room as they move closer to one another. She recalls a time when the simplest dance between the two of them could solve a world of problems.
“It’s like watching the night sky. Or, a beautiful sunrise…”
She thinks back to the day they got married and how Emmet accidentally locked himself inside a closet because his nerves got the best of him. His father, James, and brother-in-law, Ryan, had to pry the thing open because Emmet was paralyzed in fear that he would disappoint her. That was the side of him she loved the most.
So earnest and true; a bone made of evil couldn’t live within his body for it may just reject it just as suddenly.
“And just like them old stars, I see that you’ve come so far…”
“To be right where you are, how old is your soul?”
The brunette sways along with her husband — her face she moves from his chest so that she can continue speaking to him. “I’m actually surprised that your father hasn’t called you this morning.”
With his eyes closed, Emmet nods along, “He’s having a meeting at the mill with Ryan and Baird, actually, so they could all be on the same page going forward.”
“The merger?” Iris inquires.
He nods. “Yeah. He had myself and the HR Department draft up a few new contracts for the employees at the mill.” Emmet stops dancing and pulls away to look at his wife. “Is this what we want to talk about while we are enjoying our wedding song?”
“Not necessarily, however,” Iris digs, “I will be teaching a lot of the children of those workers so knowing a little bit more doesn’t hurt, just in case.”
“You know my father wouldn’t do anything to hurt the people that helped our company get off the ground.” Emmet replies. There’s a slight calculation that Iris can’t place, though, she feels it's better not to call attention to it.
So she nods along. “You’re right.”
Leaning back into his chest she continues dancing with her husband. Though the conversation may not have taken the turn she expected, she shakes it away so that she can enjoy the peace that they have now. Soon, they won’t be the only ones inhabiting the walls within their home.
Soon she will be raising babies with the man of her dreams.
“Wait.. is this song about a breakup?” Emmet asks.
Iris listens to the lyrics as they sway. “Oh. I think you’re right.”
Scene Six; Stone Creek
Outskirts of Sage Gardens; Thurlow Lumber Mill
“I think if we are going to come forward with that kind of offer we might as well just give everyone their final checks because they won’t be staying that much longer.” Ryan says.
Baird steps forward. “He’s got a point boss man. It was hard enough when you came to Ryan and I with the idea of salary but now you’re talking about an entire management team. There are a lot of different personalities involved now.”
“Which is why I came to the two of you before I made my decision.” James Thurlow says. He folds his arms and leans back against a desk that sits adjacent to the large office window that overlooks the warehouse. “You know the team better than I do — which doesn’t make me feel any better, either. What kind of incentives can we offer them, what flexibility would they need? The two of you are able to provide a background on everyone so that we continue to keep their best interests in mind.”
“Salary may not be in their best interests.” Baird mutters.
Ryan slams an elbow against his friend’s arm. “What he means is that a lot of people really count on the over time around here, James, and I don’t think they will feel safe knowing that that isn’t a possibility anymore.”
“Over time is a silent bleed for a company — especially a company that still resides local to one community such as ours. I’m not saying that we should remove the reliability of a secure pay grade… actually, I think we should place more incentives in place so that our people shouldn’t have to feel they need to rely on over time.”
“They don’t mind working it.” Baird speaks up.
He can feel the push from both men so decides to navigate the conversation at a slower pace so that he can stir them in the right direction. It wasn’t that he wanted to take anything from his employees… it was quite the opposite. Re-establishing a foundation within the company has been the key for the last two years and with the merger happening sooner rather than later locking them into a more formal contract will only protect his people moving forward. Especially those at the mill level.
“I never intended for my employees to be cancelling plans and missing family dinners just so they can keep a roof over their heads and food in their bellies.” James retorts. “The fact that this has been going on for so long without either of you informing me of this doesn’t bode well for anyone.”
“So then what can we do?” Ryan asks.
“We can start by helping these families find a happy median and start getting them back home before dinner. Introducing a salary program to upper management at the mill can provide the security of getting a guaranteed paycheck every single week. I don’t want anyone working over time anymore.”
“A couple of our guys have been complaining about sick time.” Baird adds. “One of our managers is a single parent and can’t afford to take days off work but has found it quite difficult finding time to take their kids to the clinic whenever they’re sick from school.”
“Okay.” James nods. “So then what do you think we can supplement in order to help make this easier for them? I can’t bring the clinic to the mill… but can we look into better healthcare so that they don’t have to choose between work and their children?”
The conversation begins to flow between the three men and for the first time in a while James can feel his eagerness start to wane. As if he is finally able to see things moving in the right direction and he can finally breathe.
“I like the way you think.”
Baird clears his throat. “Boss man, are you sure that everything is okay?”
The sentence lands a little softer than his words earlier. “Baird, you have my word that I will always do what is in the best interests of my community before anything else. That’s why I have come to the two of you first before we start rolling any sort of benefits or contracts out to the teams.”
The three of them agree on the next few suggestions and James finds himself looking at his watch, knowing that he is due for a visit to the offices.
“So what’s next?”
James takes the notes that Ryan had jotted down and waves them in the air. “Next I take these to the offices and speak with the team. Emmet will look over the contracts and legalities of everything and I’ll have Frank look at the finances to make sure that we can make the recommended accommodations.”
Baird steps forward. “Can we have your word that we don’t go through anymore rounds of layoffs?”
“Baird..”
“No.” Baird snips. “These are our people and we work beside them. I understand that you need this merger to make sure that the company stays a float no matter what and I understand that you have the best interests of our community… but it was hard during the pandemic and I don’t want to have to go back to the person I had to be.”
James pats the younger man’s shoulder. “You have my word.”
.:On Concrete Shelves:.
Scene Seven; Stone Creek
Sage Gardens; Gladys’s Bistro
Marina sends out a quick text to her sister, Kirsten. Despite the friction they'e had in the past she knows how much hurt her older sister is feeling right now. Though, there's a part of the younger brunette that wants to rub this in her face. Marina has started to see life differently now that she has her Henry to think about.
Waiting a few seconds staring at her phone for a response, she then feels the pressure of the toddler in her back seat. So she tosses her phone into her bag and makes it her mission to gather her child and their things in the quickest way possible. The sooner they can get out of this parking lot the sooner she has answers as to why Caitlyn asked her to meet for brunch.
Marina nods. "Everyone says that, but all I can see is his father especially in his little mischievous grin. I swear, between the two of them I know I have my work cutout for me in a few years." The words she has recited before a few times, in fact, it's a script within her dialogue that she pulls out in order to sift through the awkwardness of her emotions.
The truth is, after the string of miscarriages, every single day she gets to spend with her son feels like borrowed time that neither one of them has. It haunts her deep down. As if one day she is going to wake up and he is going to be gone. Just like that.
It took Marina two years before she agreed to leave the house, and then ten more months before she was able to leave Henry with her father and Caitlyn so that she could spend time with Ryan, alone. Having Tully around to help with Henry has been a blessing, but Marina hasn't left the two of them alone... and she has paid Tully extra to keep that information secret.
"Just wait until he starts dating." Caitlyn chimes in.
Marina shakes her head. "I think I would rather not think about my child's dating life... especially after all the headaches that I had cause my dad."
"You turned out just fine, Marina."
This is information that gives her a small fire of comfort as she begins to navigate the road of motherhood. Knowing Caitlyn for as long as she has, Marina knows she wouldn't say it if she didn't mean it so she gives Caitlyn a hug and then takes a deep breath to ask a much bigger question.
"So, what is this brunch all about, anyways?"
Caitlyn gives an awkward smile, before taking in air. "I think it might be better if I brought you in to sit with the girls and I so that we can talk about it."
"I don't know if I like the sound of that Caitlyn."
"I promise this is only going to help."
Marina reluctantly agrees.
“You didn’t tell me that a gentleman was joining us!” Diem Joplin hollers from her spot at their favorite booth. The ladies make their way towards the woman with her Farah Fawcett curls and giant pink pearl statement necklace as she scoots up and out of the booth entirely.
Meeting them halfway, Diem leans down and scoops Henry up as he giggles at the gesture.
“I am sure someone has already said it today,” Diem says in her boisterous voice. “But he is getting more and more handsome every single time I see him. I think Seth is going to have to watch out! I might have a new man in my life.”
Marina laughs. “We were just talking about how I don’t want to talk about his dating life for a very very long time!” She gives Diem a tight hug and squeezes Henry between the two of them. One would think the connection between Marina and Diem was odd. But the relationship that once was between Diem and James had been so long ago; the feud between Marina and Olivia had already been squashed and Diem has always treated James’ kids like her own.
Diem takes her index finger and thumb and gestures her zipping her lips and throwing away the key before pursing her lips once again, “Well we are definitely a long ways away from that but you need to start preparing yourself now. This one is going to be a heartbreaker that’s for sure, darling.”
“We will all be here when that time comes.” Caitlyn chimes in, moving the women along to the booth where Daphne waits patiently.
It takes a minute for all the women to find their seats and get their bearings while the waitress comes around for drink orders; water for Caitlyn, lemonade for Daphne, Chardonnay for Diem while Marina orders a Pepsi.
“As much as I love sitting here and spending time with you ladies,” Marina states as Henry fusses with her hands at the table. “I know that there is a certain reason for this early lunch date and I can’t help but be quite curious as to what that reason is?”
Caitlyn looks from woman to woman before she makes eye contact with Marina. “Well, it’s not the easiest thing to talk about after the whole ordeal with Ryan and that Derek Cotta guy — which I know wasn’t Ryan’s fault at all.”
“It wasn’t.” Marina declares.
“I have been spending a lot more time with the city council and I think that the way you handled yourself in that situation has been such growth for you, Marina. The young girl that you were all those years ago has grown up to be a very caring and strong woman.”
“Thank you.”
Caitlyn continues. “I think it’s time that you think about your future, now, however. What is it that you want to really do with your time?”
Marina gestures to the little man who keeps trying to keep her hands from clasping together. “Honestly, I think that my time has been completely occupied by Henry ever since he was born. I mean, I know that he is going to start school soon and I won’t have him as much… but this has been something I have wanted for so long and after the miscarriages the only thing I can think of is being his mother.”
“We thought you would say that.” Daphne replies.
“So what is it that we are talking about?” Marina asks.
Marina opens her mouth. “Truthfully, I know that we talked about me maybe taking on some cases from time-to-time until I could get back into it fully. Especially right now.”
“How has that been going?” Daphne asks.
“I think it’s been going fine…” she turns to Diem. “Has it not been okay?… Ladies, I am getting really worried sitting here in the hot seat right now. Not that I can’t hold my own, but I’m starting to think that none of you think that I can…”
“I’m sorry to interrupt.” The waitress says, trying to navigate the awkward conversation she just overheard. “I have your drinks and I can take the orders if everyone is ready for that right now… or… I can come back?”
“No.” Marina tries to smile through her confused expression. “I think we are ready to order.”
Scene Eight; Stone Creek
Now Town; Thurlow Industries
Emmet tugs on the sleeves of his suit jacket. He knows better than to wear one during the summer months but this one in particular is giving him more hassle than not. He makes a mental note to have it re-hemmed so that it no longer maintains its stay as an accessory. As the elevator makes its stop at the floor just below his own office, Emmet takes the jacket off altogether and slings it over his shoulder. The brown leather messenger bag that Iris bought him a few years ago for his birthday in his right hand.
“I did. But I was already in the car on the way over. I don’t text and drive.” Emmet says, the words feeling like an after school special as they leave his mouth. “It’s just not a thing that I do.” He continues, objectively.
The duo move back into motion as they make their way over to one of the three conference rooms on this level of the building.
“Right.” Bentley snickers. “Either way man, I am glad that you’re here. Your father is on his way over as we speak. He wants to talk about the new contracts I presume but I wanted to have a small little meeting with you and Isabelle before he got here.”
Emmet raises a brow.
He knows that Bentley isn’t one to sneak behind his father’s back for no good reason, so he lets the meeting happen. “Are we planning a corporate takeover because I don’t know if you remember but the Sutton’s have already played that card.”
The fact that Emmet is able to create so many jokes from the great fumble that happened a few years ago between the Sutton clan amuses him dearly. Though it seems that Bentley isn’t from the same strand of humor. Emmet shrugs.
“Dude, I just wanted you to look at something that may sway your perspective as we move forward with the merger. Aunt Isabelle pointed it out a couple days ago so I have been trying to work around it. There’s just no way of working around it.”
“So then why are you coming to me?”
Bentley stops at the door to the conference room. “You’re the numbers guy, my guy. You have to be the first person I contact if the numbers aren’t adding up… right?”
“I’m not the numbers guy anymore. That’s Frank. Again. I’m the lawyer guy… my guy.” Emmet replies, uneasily.
Though they grew up together, Emmet had always felt a little less important compared to Bentley and his more confident persona. So it wasn’t the easiest adjustment when after Emmet spent the majority of his twenties in school studying to become a lawyer… he found himself working alongside Bentley who notoriously used college girls to help him write his term papers.
It wasn’t that Bentley didn’t deserve his degree. He had proven it time-and-time again as he built the interface for the company's online platform and also single-handedly built the ‘Go Green’ Initiative that launched Thurlow Industries into the next phase and kept the company afloat during the pandemic.
Emmet just felt less adequate once again compared to his friend who seemed to always be on cruise control — especially when faced with adversity.
Bentley frowns. “That’s the same thing. Isn’t it?”
“It’s clearly not.” Emmet replies in annoyance.
As they make their way into the room Emmet see’s Isabelle Wilkinson Rhodes standing near a window appearing to have her eyes glued into some distant future, almost unaware that the two men were there. A few interns moved around the conference room. Emmet was more surprised, however, to see Frank Nelson sitting at the head of the oval table.
“This is a corporate takeover.”
The sarcasm from his father’s long time friend isn’t lost on the younger man. When Frank was sleeping with his secretary and then lost his position as CFO for the company it was Emmet who temporarily took over before Reichen Calbourne came aboard. Though, he guessed that didn’t work out either.
“Frank, let’s not show teeth today.” Emmet chimes as he makes his way over to Isabelle who is now focused on the men in the room. He gives her a kiss on the cheek and helps her join them for whatever meeting Bentley pulled them all together for. “This better be good. I don’t think my father would appreciate a meeting that doesn’t involve him — or my grandmother for that matter.”
“Anita has been out of the country for weeks now,” Frank states, “I doubt she will want to be taking video calls while she’s trying to figure out the issues with Thurlow-Jurado Overseas.”
Emmet had already known all of this. He was informed that his grandmother and cousin, Aidan, had decided to restructure the company for the overall merger especially since the two companies had married into a contract before Mathias decided to go on the run.
“This is a fucking soap opera.” Emmet mutters.
“Shall we begin?” Isabelle asks.
“Let’s.”
Bentley stands in front of the three people sitting at the table and pulls out a small controller before pointing it at the screen behind him. An intern scurries over to the light switch and turns it off while another nearly trips over a cord bringing pamphlets to the team.
“As I was saying in the message this morning. We have a few serious things to consider before the merger happens and I don’t feel comfortable other than to bring those things to your attention. The three of you are the three most influential people in this company. You are also the most levelheaded here; I know that the bottom line is important to everyone in this room.”
There’s something in his voice that puts Emmet to ease. It may be how Bentley has found a way to compliment him even if it’s hidden in a slew of words and technicalities. But alas, he lets him continue.
“I have been doing some digging into SRQ and I have found that they don’t exactly have the same values as we do here at Thurlow Industries. The way they move their finances around and the way they manipulate the media doesn’t align with the transparencies that we define ourselves on.”
Frank scoffs. “Most companies don’t align on the same values when they begin a merger, kid. This isn’t some profound news and it isn’t groundbreaking sleuthing like you seem to think that it is.”
Bentley continues. “I get that. Look. I really get that. But we can’t turn a blind eye and cross our fingers and hope that the merger is going to go in our favors. I have started to calculate the numbers and the reality is we are going to be shutting down some departments here on the corporate side of things. I already know that James isn’t going to fold at the warehouse level and that is fine. It’s admirable. But the reality is SRQ is a much stronger and widely known company. The closures will come from our end.”
Now Emmet feels unsettled. “Did you bring us all together to save your ass?”
Isabelle shifts forward. “Benny, you know that James is proud of all that you’ve accomplished. There’s no way that he would shutdown the ‘Go Green’ Initiative.”
“Yeah kid.” Frank scoffs. “Your initiative basically pays for itself.”
Bentley sighs. “He may not want to shut down my department but what if he has no choice in the matter after the merger. You’ve said it yourself in the initial meeting we had about the merger, Frank. Money is only going to be allocated to departments that both companies believe in. This is my pitch to the three of you in hopes that you’ll stand by my side if the ‘Go Green’ Initiative turns out to be something they don’t believe in.”
“Why haven’t you spoken to Vinessa about this?” Emmet asks.
Bentley licks his lips. “Because, I still don’t trust her.”
“That makes two of us.” Frank snips.
Scene Nine; Stone Creek
Now Town; Sisyphean's
Shannon barely has time to place her phone back inside her handbag before the hostess guides her through the main room and into a more, intimate, room -- one in which her mother has a table reserved all year around. Although she isn't one to utilize the table these days she felt it necessary to have this meeting in a place that was both private and secure.
Already waiting for her is a glass of chardonnay and a charming man with a glint in his blue eyes. Shannon feels the anxiety rise up through her stomach, if only slightly before she strings a smile upon her thin face and moves over to greet him with a hug and a kiss on the cheek.
The brassy blond sits down across from him. "Not that I'm complaining but I am now starting to think this conversation is going to cost me something."
"Don't act like you didn't come here already knowing that." Noah smirks.
If she were younger and maybe lonelier the looks he has been giving Shannon since she walked through the doors would give her cause to worry. She breaks a smile and grasps the neck of the wine glass before her. "How have you been, Noah? How's that wife of yours?"
"She's doing quite fine," He responds, "keeps herself occupied raising our children and swiping my black card. I've been great, myself," Noah fades off before raising a brow, "though, we have other things to talk about today. I reached out because I heard a few things that might have your interests."
"How so?"
Noah leans back. "I heard that your brother is merging with SRQ Industries which is bound to be more hassle than it is worth if I'm being honest."
"You know my brother, he would rather count his blessings than his conquests," Shannon takes a sip of her chardonnay before she raises two fingers to flag down a waitress, ordering a different drink and then continues the conversation, "SRQ is the best company to merge with here on the west coast and I trust his judgement."
"There's that twitch again." Noah locks eyes with her. "You do this thing with your eye when you're not happy with something. I remember when we were in our twenties and we caught your sister-in-law in a lie. You also did it when you took a sip of the chardonnay that I ordered you -- it used to be your favorite, by the way, and then you did it when you tried to sell me that bullshit right now."
Shannon suddenly becomes more aware of her expressions, more so than ever before, "I don't have a twitch."
"I'm telling you that you do."
"If I am nervous it is that I was the one in-charge of connecting my brother and the representative of SRQ with our old friend, Vinessa." Shannon admits, though as soon as the sentence leaves her mouth she regrets it immediately.
Noah flashes a look that lets Shannon know he's on his way down memory lane. "How are those nice set of legs doing these days?"
"That's enough, Noah," Shannon snips, a roll of the eyes and a curl of her lips. "It's not that I don't trust Vinessa. It's just not a position that I have been in before. Making decision's like this on behalf of the family. At least when I was running Jurado Overseas it wasn't my company."
"I trust her." He adds.
This still doesn't give her the vote of confidence she was looking for, though she doesn't know what exactly he needs to say to make her feel better about her own decision. Shannon's drink arrives and they order their food before the waitress leaves them alone again.
"Listen, I know that you're in a position that you're uncomfortable about, I get that, but Vinessa has never given us any reason to doubt how capable of a person that she is." Noah says, then he continues with a slight bit of humor, "because if she was anything less than capable we wouldn't be friends with her and you definitely wouldn't have recommended her for the job."
"You're right."
He winks. "I can read over any contracts between the two of you, if you'd like, you know, as an old friend would do."
"That would be nice." Shannon agrees.
"Great. Have someone send the contracts over to me whenever they're available to do and I'll continue to look things over until I find something we can roast those fine legs of hers with and toss her in the trash." Noah then adds. "I'm kidding, I swear."
He then continues, "So now that we are on the same page about Vinessa I wanted to talk to you about something else. It seems that there is a shell company buying up property around here and it's starting to cramp my style and then I remembered something..."
"What is that, Noah?"
He sucks on his bottom lip and shrugs. "That you have a portfolio of properties that dashing, dastardly dead ex. husband of yours left in your possession. I figure maybe we could use one of those as a decoy to figure out what exactly they're planning?"
Shannon shakes her head. "That portfolio was passed down to my children when I went into the witness protection program. There's no way that I would risk their investments in any way. I can't help you there, I'm sorry."
"I thought we were friends." Noah chastises. "How am I supposed to help you investigate Vinessa if I'm too worried about my own business prospects here in California? That's just not fair, Shan," he snips.
Something about the way he says her name makes her skin crawl. "Noah..."
"Shan..." He mimics. "I need your help, as a friend."
On Concrete Shelves
Revisited
Next Time, On Concrete Shelves...
- Patrick Sutton has a dramatic conversation with his sister, Patsy Sutton-Clarke about something that could turn the tables in his favor. While his daughter, Gillian, has other plans for the future of their newest venture.
- Kimberly Sutton and her nephew, Peter Sutton, Jr., move forward with their control over the family business. They set their sights on a mutual collaboration with a shrewd business woman named Lindy Llewellyn Lu.
- Megan Sutton seeks out advice from her two closest friends; Jane Wilkinson and Lark Maverick who both have their own dramas happening at the same time. Can the trio find more control in their lives as they navigate adulthood?
- A new player enters the arena and the past will come forward to either form greater bonds or beak them entirely as the new phase of Sutton Corps comes to fruition...
As a new reader, the storylines introduced are quite intriguing. In time I am sure I will be able connect past stories such as Derek's coma and the family's struggles. James feels like quite a ground and responsible character, but I feel like he has probably had a lot of pressure on his shoulders for a long time and is just trying to keep everything together. I definitely identified with Marina, that balancing act between family and a career, especially with her history of miscarriages which mirrors my own. You do find yourself torn between cherishing every single moment but also trying to still be yourself as well as a mother.
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