Previously, On Concrete Shelves...
- Kirsten Thurlow Sutton confessed to Adrian Stone that she is pregnant with his child.
- Lindy Llewellyn Yu approached Catalina Cortez about her place within the Sutton clan. When trying to reach out to Patrick Sutton, Catalina got closed out once again.
- Taylor Thurlow-Kern signed a contract with Marco Maldonado, an attractive, single man who runs his families produce business. When Marco made a move on him, Taylor felt thrown off.
- Helen Tyree Sutton promoted her granddaughter, Megan, as the Model Coordinator for HEAT. However, Cree Summers, arrived back in Stone Creek and has spent every minute causing trouble for Megan…
Places That Don’t Feel the Same
August 30th, 2027
On Concrete Shelves | Revisited
009 - Part Two
Scene One; Stone Creek
Now Town; Sutton Enterprises
Her manicured hands pulls strands away as she tries to recompose herself.
Catalina has had a knack for logistics since she was a young girl.
Having had to survive in the streets of East Los Angeles and keeping her younger sister, Isobel, fed and alive has given her the tools she’s used to this day. Sure, when she was a Project Manager and making more money her life was easier — but Logistics wasn’t exactly bottom of the barrel to be clear; Catalina could walk away today and she would still live an easy life. But after losing Isobel because of Penelope Wilkinson, and then losing Penelope…
There’s a determination that churns in her being that keeps her in Stone Creek. She has willed so much in her life. Willing for more here in the city that has lost her almost everything just feels like the correct path.
A semi-revenge, semi-redemption path, that is.
Now she finds herself in a balancing act; Patrick is no longer of any use to her, and Peter, Jr., keeps her at arms length these days… Lindy Llewellyn Yu had offered her a solution but it also comes with sacrifices. She has met many people in her life and Lindy confuses her the most. How could someone so successful, someone who could have anything — who has come from nothing, want something that is beneath her? It’s a question she could reflect back to herself, if she’s being honest.
A knock at her door causes Catalina to shake out of her thoughts.
“Peter,” she says, softly, “I didn’t think I would see you down here so late in the day.”
He offers her a smile, smaller than it once was, “I was looking for you, actually. The other day we were talking about the shipment logs that you couldn’t find. My aunt thinks that there must be some paperwork errors, nothing we can’t fix.”
“Is that what you came all the way down here for?” Catalina asks, she hides her discomfort, “I could’ve sent you the new logs if you would’ve just emailed me the confirmation codes for them. I’m confused.”
She leans over, her brown hair moves along her curves. “Surely, Kimberly wouldn’t have sent you all the way down here just for that.”
“She didn’t send me.” Peter replies, he stands somewhat straight as he says this.
Catalina can feel his inner dialogue guiding his posture. “I guess that doesn’t matter because you’re here now. Send me the codes and I can write up new logs for them right now and get these out on-time.”
She returns to her computer and opens up the necessary folders. It’s a nuanced issue that doesn’t take long to complete. So she knows that there are ulterior motives for him to be down here right now. It’s not like they’ve been in each other’s orbits often as of late. Catalina doesn’t know how she feels about that.
The Latina looks down at her hands and finds them shaking, so she hides them from his sight if only to keep her entire body from going into alarm. It has to cross her mind. Does he know that she went to Patrick for help?
Regaining her composure, Catalina looks up and directly at Peter. “Qué pasa?” Catalina asks as strongly as she can, “So what is the real reason that you came down here to see me? I’m not some dumb, naive girl. Tell me. What’s going on Peter?”
Scene Two; Stone Creek
Boulestridge Mountains; Sutton Cottage
She clears her throat. “I’m in the bathroom.”
Kirsten knows that if she doesn’t calm herself down he will immediately know that something is off. They may have been out-of-sync over the course of the last few months but he knows all her little tells, which makes her even more nervous.
“There you are.” He says cheerfully.
“I told you that I was.”
“Yeah,” Charlie says, “I just didn’t think you’d be right here in front of the mirror. I thought maybe you were in the shower getting ready for your day. What does your day look like? Are you getting ready to head to the cafe?”
She shakes her head. “Not yet.”
“So then you have a minute to talk?”
Charlie leans against the counter. “There’s been a distance between the two of us lately. A lot more than before Eric was born.”
She knows exactly what he means. There was a period before she found out that she was pregnant with their son. The two of them had spent some time apart and Charlie did exactly what he is doing now — put himself more into his work.
Now, however, he’s actually sleeping at the Inn this go around.
“Charlie, I don’t want you to feel stressed out about our relationship.” Kirsten replies, earnestly.
“I wouldn’t say that I’m stressed out, as opposed to just worrying about things just a little. I’ve been talking to my mom — she sniffed it out of me before I could say anything.”
She did stay with us for a while after she left Patrick, Kirsten thinks. “Of course she did. What did Charlene have to say about our relationship?”
“Nothing negative, Kirsten,” Charlie says, “she just wants to see us back to where we were when we had Megan. She actually thinks that us having had our time alone was a good thing. It gave me a little more time to process what I have been feeling and not chalk it up tome just being busy at the Inn.”
“You’ve always been busy at the Inn.”
He shoots her a look. “As have you with the cafe.”
“I’m sorry.” Charlie snips. “I’m not trying to create more tension between the two of us. I know that there is enough of that to begin with. I just wanted to have time with you alone so that we could sort our stuff out and not let it seep into our relationships with our children.”
“I can agree on that.”
“It’s been on both of us.” Kirsten admits. “You know that I’m a straight forward type of person. If it’s not moving me forward then I don’t have much time for it. I haven’t given us the time that we needed.”
“So where do you feel we go from here.”
Kirsten eyes the pregnancy tests in the drawer to her left. “We met as teenagers and we fought through every barrier that both of our families put up. We have been through a lot, Charlie. I don’t want anything else but us. There’s nothing else but us. So let me show you that I can open up and communicate better with you.”
“I would like that.”
She sucks in a breath of air. “I have to tell you something.”
Her heart and her head are in constant agreement, but not today. Her heart tells Kirsten that this is the right time to bring up her affair with Adrian and hope that they make it out of this. But, her head is telling her to tell him that they’re pregnant and sweep everything with Adrian under the rug. The affair is over now, anyways.
Kirsten turns to the drawer, her hands quivering.
“I have been trying to figure out when the right time to do this is… but nothing has been quite right. Then most of the time you’re not coming home from the Inn so I just kept moving on from it. But…”
The drawer opens and she produces both pregnancy tests. Her heart is pounding. “Charlie… we are having a baby.”
Kirsten knows that there could be repercussions to this reveal down the line if she’s not careful. But the window for this is closing and she knows that if she doesn’t reveal something to her husband now, she won’t get a chance to do it again.
So she shows him the first test and the two pink lines. Then she shows him the second test. “I have been having this battle in my head as to when to admit this is actually happening. I didn’t want to believe it at first because we haven’t been in the best place in our relationship.”
“Kirsten..”
“No. I should have told you.” Kirsten says, “I just wanted there to be a right time to do so and there hasn't been one. If you don’t want me to go through with this pregnancy then we can talk about it…”
Charlie takes the tests from her and places them on the counter. He then takes her hands in his own. “Kirsten. Stop talking.”
Immediately she closes her mouth.
“I would never ask you to do that. We have said since every single surprise pregnancy, and each one of them has been a surprise. We would go through each of them together as one united mind. I am here for you every step of the way.”
There’s a relief in the air. Kirsten can feel her nerves fall to the floor as he takes her into his embrace. She knows that telling Charlie that the baby is his could backfire, but she also knows that this small lie could repair everything for them.
So she leans into his embrace and closes her eyes in relief.
Our Love. Our Fights. Our Friendships.
On Concrete Shelves.
Forever, They Shall Be Remembered.
Scene Three; Stone Creek
Boulestridge Mountains; The Lakeside Inn
The bar isn’t at capacity yet, so stepping away isn’t unacceptable for Amanda.
The duo find themselves at a corner hightop table. After this morning with Marco Maldonado approaching Taylor in the lobby and then him spending the majority of the afternoon thinking about the encounter he felt the need for a distraction.
Enter his best friend, Amanda — who still hadn’t sent him the updated inventory numbers.
“You have me for another five minutes.” Amanda states. “I was told that there is a bus load of tourists here for some annual convention. The weather is nice outside but it’s not even five yet so god knows triple digits is going to bring them right back to the Inn for refreshments.”
Taylor holds up his hands. “Hey, I’ll be out of your hair just as soon as I get the liquor count.”
“I told you I would send those to you.”
“That was hours ago.”
“I know you well enough to know that I would never receive that email.” Taylor replies sternly.
She snickers. “Guilty as charged. However, I still think you’re visiting me at the bar for a different reason. Does this have anything to do with Marco Maldonado?”
“Why would you ask that?”
“It’s just, the way that you looked at him in the lobby earlier. It just seemed like he brought back a much needed spark. I haven’t seen you like this since Aidan was around. It was nice to see your smile back.” Amanda admits. “And that fruit basket. It was super, duper cute. Buenito.”
“I’m married, Amanda,” Taylor huffs, “which is exactly what I told Marco. He brought the fruit basket over as a ‘thank you’ gift for the team. Our contract means a lot to his family.”
“Yet his family wasn’t in that lobby.”
Taylor glowers at her. “We are keeping things civil. Besides, I would never cheat on Aidan.”
“I wouldn’t say to cheat on him… but three can tango, right?”
He hears what Amanda is saying. He had thought about it himself at one point, but he also knows that being married has been difficult enough and he loves the life that he has created with Aidan.
“Could’ve fooled me.” Amanda snips. “You’re the lovestruck housewife waiting for your husband to come home so that you could settle in. That sounds like the American way to me. Which is why I will never get married.”
A couple passes right in front of them; the smell of tequila enters his nostrils from the shots in their hands. Momentarily he feels a dizzy spell come over him, but he uses the table to steady himself.
“We are happy in our marriage, thank you very much. We just have a less than traditional first year under our belt. I have been doing a lot of thinking on that front. I owe a lot of that to you.”
“How so?”
He shrugs. “When I bumped into Berto at the nightclub I realized that he is doing the exact same thing he has been doing for years. Nothing changes with him. Aidan and I are constantly evolving both as a married couple and as individuals. He might be in Paris right now for a job, but that doesn’t mean he loves me any less.”
“Okay personal growth. I’m here for that.”
Before they can say anything else the low chatter in the room had started to pick-up; the expected crowd emerges amongst the bar, and with only one bartender, getting a drink is becoming a task.
“The liquor count, in my email by tonight.” Taylor tells Amanda before letting her off the hook.
She winks at him. “You got it bossy boots.”
Scene Four; Stone Creek
Now Town; Crunch
A Chappell Roan song plays in the background.
The trio has made it a tradition to stop by Crunch on Sunday’s for their bottomless mimosas and brunch. It also gives them time to catch up with each other as their schedules have started to naturally change as their lives have evolved.
“So last Tuesday.” Megan informs.
“Yes! Last Tuesday! Jane had just got home from a long shift at the hospital and we just decided that we needed a night out. I had been dealing with the bullshit that went down with your dad —” Lark turns to Jane who grimaces. “Sorry about that. But it’s the truth.”
Jane holds up her mimosa. “I have yet to talk to him about that, btw.”
“Don’t!” Lark begs. “I honestly didn’t want to get you involved in it at all. It had nothing to do with you or our friendship. I feel awkward about it as it is.”
“What my father does outside of my orbit has nothing to do with me. Am I concerned that he’s going behind Greta’s back and being sneaky about shit? Sure.” Jane admits. “But that doesn’t mean that I am going to ghost my best friend because of it. I do want to ask him exactly what he was thinking though.”
Lark holds her hands out and takes Jane’s hands. “Listen, girl, I’m serious I don’t want to pull you into anything that doesn’t concern you. Besides, it is something that happened and we can’t change the outcome.”
“There’s still an outcome and I don’t like that it hurt you.” Jane admits.
“Girl, I’m fine now.” Lark replies. There’s a hollowness to her words that she picks up on immediately. Even though she wants to reassure the girls with a stronger wording she second guesses herself. It’s not like Lark to lack self-esteem. But in this moment — maybe a little too much champagne — she feels herself fumbling.
“Anyways, back to my story,” she chuckles, “we went out for a few drinks and I saw the cutest guy at the bar. We locked eyes and he smiled at me and then one thing led to another and he bought us a few drinks.”
Jane jumps in. “He was so fine.”
“So what did you do?” Megan asks.
Lark looks to Jane and then back to Megan. “Nothing. I’m not trying to get in too deep right now. Especially with my mom on my ass about focusing on my career. Trying to juggle a relationship and a career… it just doesn’t seem fair.”
“That she did!” Lark laughs. It feels so good to be near her girls today. At the very least it keeps her mind off of the tension she’s felt trying to secure the next big broker deal. She looks over to Megan who seems to have her eyes locked in on someone off to the side of the bar. So Lark follows her gaze to see her cousin Reid standing with a group of guys she doesn’t recognize.
Lark clears her throat. Mostly to snap Megan out of her trance. She takes note to question Megan about the look she was shooting at Reid at a later time and for the moment, decides to keep the conversation light. “I didn’t know that my cousin was in town.”
“We ran into him outside.” Jane says innocently.
Lark turns to Megan. “I thought Reid was in Chicago for a few more months working with some big tech firm. Why didn’t you tell me the two of you ran into him outside?”
She treads lightly, eyeing her best friend closely.
“I didn’t think it was a big deal.”
“Valid.” Lark replies. Then she turns her attention back to her cousin as he makes small talk with the group of guys. There’s an uneasiness in the pit of her stomach as the group centers around the taller man. “Whatever Reid is doing here he has to be up to no good.”
Megan speaks up. “Maybe he’s just in town visiting his parents.”
“No.” Lark snips. “If Reid was in town just visiting, I would’ve been informed. There’s no way he would come back to Stone Creek to spend time with his parents. There has to be something else going on here.”
“Then why don’t you ask him?” Jane inquires. “He said something about some IT deal when we bumped into him.”
“At some point I might have to.” She then looks to both of her friends and lifts her mimosa. “But today I just want to spend time with my girls and catch as many good vibes as possible. Tomorrow I will deal with whatever mess Reid is getting himself into.”
“That sounds like a good idea.”
.:On Concrete Shelves:.
Scene Five; Stone Creek
Now Town; Sutton Enterprises
There’s a strength to Catalina’s words that she hasn’t felt in a very long time. It almost humbles her as they play back to her in her mind. They hit an echo chamber, however, and his calm composure alerts her to the possibility that she is wrong about his motives.
Maybe she is living in a realm of paranoia.
“Do you want me to be honest?” Peter speaks.
The hairs on the back of her neck begin to rise. Catalina has no clue if she wants him to be honest but she knows she has to answer him. “Please, do.”
The silence that was once prominent begins to fade with his words. The commotion of the shipping bays out back brings life into the office space. There’s a tingling where numbness was prevalent.
Catalina clears her throat. “Did you just mention your aunt and us having sex in the same breath?”
“Is that what is bothering you?” Peter raises a brow.
There’s a lightness that overcomes them. “Well, it is now. But that isn’t what has been bothering lately, si estoy siendo honesta. I mean. Honestly, Peter, I’ve just been thinking about what my purpose here is…”
He looks at her in confusion. “Without you, we wouldn’t have been able to take this company back from my uncle.”
“That still doesn’t place me anywhere.” Catalina admits.
A docking manager barges into the room. He’s a tall, stocky built latino man with a trimmed beard and a tight, black shirt. “Oh. My bad, Cat,” he says in a sultry, leathery voice, “I didn’t know you were holding a meeting. What’s up, boss man.”
Peter takes the greeting for what it is and turns to Catalina to take care of the intruder. She takes his cue and moves forward, past Peter and approaches the man. “No es nada, Javi. Did you come in here to talk about the Jefferson shipment?”
“I just wanted to let you know that the truck was loaded and I just sent it off. You’ll be happy to know, boss man, that we are back on schedule.” Javi says, lowering his gaze to meet Peter’s more annoyed eye.
“Thanks.” Peter offers.
Catalina pats Javi’s shoulder. “Good work, Javi, I will be expecting the paperwork signed off and on my desk before the afternoon shift clocks out. Now, I’ve got to get back to Mr. Sutton and what we were talking about. I’ll talk with you later, okay?”
Javi leaves the office and Peter swiftly turns to Catalina. “That’s a sturdy man, right there. Have the two of you spent a lot of time alone down here?”
This causes a stir within Catalina. “No. I’m his boss.”
“I was once yours.” Peter eggs.
She scoffs. “So you think that everyone is just like you? I can’t believe you even asked a question like that, Peter. I treat all the people who work under me with the same respect I would expect out of you.” Catalina rolls her eyes. “But I guess I was mistaken. You don’t seem to care about the people who work for you.”
“I care about you.” Peter replies.
“Let me make it up to you, Catalina.” He drawls. “How about we go to dinner tonight like we used to. We can go to your favorite place, Sisyphean’s. I know how much you liked when I surprised you with dinner there.”
Catalina thinks it over.
“We can even be seated at my family’s table.” Peter adds.
“I don’t think you can keep that sort of promise to me. Patrick and Gillian made it clear that the family table belonged to them.” Catalina admits. “The staff would alert them to our presence in a heartbeat.”
Peter leans forward with lust in his eyes. “I get everything that I want. Which means, you would get everything that you want as well.”
She gulps. “Okay then. Let’s do it.”
Scene Six; Stone Creek
Sage Gardens; Stone Home
The girls had Tully’s chauffeur follow them as they walked to the Stone’s residence from the elementary school. It gave them a semblance of peace as they spent time away from adults.
“Nah, really? What’s going on?”
Violet motions towards her little sister, Valerie, who they picked up from the middle school about ten minutes ago.
“No lie, my dad came home smelling like liquor again. It was a whole thing. I don’t think she slept at all last night.”
“Dead ass.” Tully says.
Violet nods her head. “Seriously. She’s been trauma dumping on me about stuff.”
“What’s trauma dumping?” Valerie asks, her face is scrunched with an eyebrow raised. Somehow she had caught up to them.
Violet, annoyed turns to Valerie. “This isn’t your conversation.”
“It’s nothing, little bug.” Tully offers.
Valeria shrugs and throws up her hands, pushing past the older girls with her backpack. “Whatever. I’ll just tell mom you called her a dumpster then.”
“Valerie!” Violet shouts.
Tully snickers, she turns to Violet. “Wouldn’t you be the dumpster, though?”
“Nobody is a dumpster.” Violet eyes her best friend and then catches up to Valerie, she pulls the girl to the side and kneels to her level. “I need you to pinky swear you won’t say anything.”
“What do you think I’m in kindergarten or something?” Valerie scoffs. “I want your allowance this week and then I won’t say a thing.”
Tully, impressed, raises her hand to give the ten year old a high five, but Violet knocks her hand down.
“Valerie, I’m serious.”
Violet shoves her hand up and covers the younger girls mouth. “Fine. Whatever. It’s only, like, $30 anyways.”
“And now I’ve got $50.” Valerie smirks. “You’re such a simp.”
“I’m not!” Violet snips. Then she turns to Tully, annoyed, but also glad to have some sort of freedom away from her mother’s smothering arms. “Come by the house later? I have something to show you.”
Tully flutters her brows. “Is this about what I think it is?”
“Yes.”
“I have a shift at the diner and then I can swing by afterwards. Backyard. Third board near the garden?”
Violet nods in agreement and watches as Valerie skips to their front door singing her new $50 song. Violet turns back to Tully. “Thanks for walking with us.”
Then she motions towards the black Mercedes following close by. “Looks like your ride is here.”
“Courtesy of the Dubs.” Tully says, in reference to her parents; Cameron and Cadence Joplin.”I swear they’re obsessed with me graduating high school without getting knocked up.”
“At least they don’t lock you down.” Violet replies, she holds a solemn look for a minute and then looks back up at Tully with a smile. “You’re the best friend I have.”
Violet nods. “At least until you runaway to NYC and leave me behind.”
“Violet!” Valerie screams from the front porch of their home.
Tully shakes her head. “You’re coming with me. Don’t forget that.”
“I don’t think my mom will ever let me out of her sight.” Violet says solemnly. “Even when I graduate. I don’t think I’ll ever be free.”
“Violet! I’m starving!” Valerie screams. “You have the keys!”
Tully grabs her friends should. “Nah, we will wiggle you free. Where I go, you go.”
“Promise?”
“Pinky promise.” Tully says with a smile.
Scene Seven; Stone Creek
Now Town; Callahan Condos
There’s a heaviness to her face. A slight hangover has accompanied a pounding thirst she tends to get from mornings like the one that she has had. Megan was grateful to spend time with her two best friends though. It was a much need group date.
Looking at her phone she see’s a text message from Reid. It looks like he replied to her two hours ago. Her eyes widen when she reads the message she had sent him to initiate the conversation.
A feeling comes over her.
When Megan and Reid reunited at the prep school it wasn’t as if they were close. Sure, they hung around two similar crowds. His, obviously, more obnoxious and posh than the one she was with. However, they were in proximity.
Megan also remembers how and why she got kicked out of the school. A brief flash of the side table in her bedroom flushes her cheeks.
“Hey, Megan,” Jane calls from the other side of the door. She steps into the spare bedroom where Megan keeps her things. “I was going to go grab some takeout from the Vietnamese place downstairs… did you want something?”
Observing the way Megan is sprawled out on the bed she then asks, “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” Megan replies hastily. She picks herself up off the bed and looks around for the bag that she was carrying earlier. “I don’t think I should be eating right now. My mom said something about a family dinner tonight.”
“Kirsten wants to have a family dinner?” Jane tilts her head. “You agreed to go? After what happened last time?”
“I think my parents are just working through something, that is all.” Megan responds. Even though she’s the one lying to Jane about dinner tonight, she doesn’t like the way she has framed the questions. “I really want to be there for Eric.”
After a beat, Jane replies. “Yeah. I get that.”
“I should head that way.” Megan says, she locates her bag and jumps from the bed. Then in the most awkward and quickest way she can, Megan starts going through the motion of collecting her shoes and a light jacket. “I’m sorry. Did you really want to hang out tonight? I didn’t even ask.”
“Do you think that influencer couple will be out again fighting about followers?” Megan teases with a grin.
“I don’t know.” Jane says solemnly. “I heard they broke up. But that’s okay. You should head over to your parent’s house and see how they’re doing. Tell them that I said hi! Tell Kirsten I owe her a gross ER story the next time that I see her.”
Megan salutes her friend. “Will do.”
“Don’t do that.” Jane says, she squints her eyes. “I’ll see you later. Be safe out there.”
The judgement in Jane’s tone is easy to read. But it’s uncertain if she actually bought the lie that Megan fed her. She feels slightly bad for doing it. But it has been done now so there’s no way to take it back. Instead she gathers the last of her things, her car keys and then heads for the door to the apartment.
Reid’s message said he would meet her at 8PM tonight.
On Concrete Shelves
Revisited
Next Time, On Concrete Shelves...
- Megan Sutton finally gets Reid Maverick alone so that they can re-introduce each other into their more adult lives. But will either of them bring up Cree Summers and where she fits into both their lives?
- After her conversation with Violet Stone, will Tully keep her promise to her best friend and move forward with all future plans together? Or will a surprise encounter change the dynamic of their friendship?
- Kirsten is piecing together where her life is going to go and what it looks like being a mother to three… but is everything on the verge of crashing down as more people hear the news?
- Peter Sutton, Jr., has spent weeks pouring his energy into keeping his aunt, Kimberly from spiraling around Lindy Llewellyn Yu. But how many more pieces to the puzzle is he fumbling without knowing it…
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