After the dark of sadness comes the glory of happiness!

A mysterious woman!

Ridge had been living in San Francisco for a couple of days now. He lived in a small apartment, nothing special, he didn't need much space just for himself. He threw himself into his work with great enthusiasm. Eric had made the deal with his old friend, Ridge should keep his old assistant Rosa and this turned out to be a fortune for Ridge. Rosa was a tough, very experienced businesswoman, she had worked in this store for years and was very familiar with the premises and the customs, she was a real support to Ridge. At first they had to renovate and redecorate the store, later they were going to hire more employees. Ridge decided he would do the interviews together with her.

One day Ridge came from a meeting and was on his way back to work when he got stuck in a traffic jam while driving through the shopping district. As he waited, he watched the people coming in and out of the stores. Suddenly his attention was drawn to a woman standing in front of a shop window with her back turned to him. This sight electrified him. This stranger had based on her hair and her stature great similarities with Taylor. Spellbound, he continued to observe the mysterious woman, thinking hard, could it possibly be Taylor? "Does she live here in San Francisco?" Despite all his questions, the kids had never told him where she stayed, not even the slightest hint came through their lips. He had only assumed Taylor couldn't live too far away, since his children never made a long trip when they visited their mother.

So it was indeed possible that she had moved here. Ridge suddenly remembered the strange behaviour Thomas and Steffy had shown, when he mentioned San Francisco. That would be an explanation. He didn't take his eyes off the woman for a second, fervently hoping for a chance to see her face. At first it looked like Ridge would have no luck, the woman strolled slowly down the street, not turning around, however the way she walked also reminded him of his ex-wife.

All of a sudden a child came whizzing along on a scooter and the woman had to swerve to avoid being run over. When she turned around and Ridge saw her face, the steering wheel almost fell out of his hand. The stranger was definitely Taylor. He couldn't believe it, so she actually lived here in San Francisco. He was so fixated on her that he didn't notice, the line of cars in front of him kept going and a loud honking concert began. Finally he woke up from his shock and drove on, out of an impulse he didn't really know why, he followed her inconspicuously to a parking lot. Taylor didn't even seem to notice that someone was following her. Ridge pretended to park his car, but in reality he was waiting for Taylor to get into her car and drive away. He latched onto her heels. Ridge wondered where she was going, maybe she was on her way home, on this way he could find out her address. But Taylor headed down a district with office buildings. She disappeared into one of the underground garages. This one was secured with a barrier and designated as an employee parking lot. Ridge concluded that Taylor's working place was in this office complex. He parked his car and took a closer look at the signs on the building. Among other companies, it housed a psychiatric center. This confirmed his suspicions. He made a picture of the sign, which was all he could do at the moment.

A little later he arrived at work with an enormous delay. Rosa had already wondered where he was staying. Ridge disappeared into his office without a further explanation. There he had a drink. He had to let all the new information sink in. Slowly, he pieced together the puzzle. Taylor lived and worked here in San Francisco. He was a little surprised that she lived so close to Los Angeles. Ridge thought she probably did this mostly because of the kids. He wondered if she knew he was living here now, but concluded that if Thomas and Steffy hadn't told him a word, they must have kept quiet with their mother, too.
Ridge pondered about how he should react now, he couldn't pretend that nothing had happened. Since Taylor's disappearance, he had been waiting for an opportunity to finally talk to her. The unresolved situation between them was weighing on him, now he saw his chance to sort everything out with her. If he was honest, he had missed her a lot in the last months. There were so many times where he longed for a chat with her or just a hug. As they say, you really appreciate the true value of a person first, when she is no longer there.

The only question was how he could get in touch with her, he only knew where she worked and she should not find out that he had spied on her. Calling her was not an option either, first of all how should he explain that he knew where she lived and secondly she would probably hang up immediately. There was only one possibility left. Their first meeting had to look like a coincidence.

Ridge had a plan, he knew Taylor and her regular habits. At home she had usually made lunch at the same time every day; it was sure to be the same here. He would wait outside her office around lunchtime. If she was sitting in a restaurant, he could easily run into her there purely by chance.
The very next day, he went into action. His plan seemed to work perfectly. Lurking outside Taylor's office and stealthily following her was no problem. However, there was another obstacle. She never spent her lunch break alone, either she was together with some colleagues or accompanied by a man he didn't know. As Taylor sat in a bistro with this man for the third day in a row, Ridge began to wonder if this guy was more than just a friend. He watched them attentively; they seemed very familiar with each other and laughed a lot. Ridge was displeased to see how close Taylor and the stranger were with each other. She seemed much more at ease and cheerful than back in L.A.. Ridge didn't know why, but somehow this sight disturbed him, moreover this strange guy spoiled his whole plan. It was important for him to meet Taylor alone.

Day after day he waited for his chance. Finally it was Friday, it looked like he would succeed. Taylor was sitting alone on the terrace of a pizzeria. Ridge saw her talk to someone on the phone and then order. He waited to be sure, beside now that the moment was here, he suddenly became very nervous. He couldn't estimate at all how she would react. As Taylor was already eating her salad, he was sure that she didn't seem to expect anyone. He gave himself a jolt and went to her seat. At first, she didn't notice him, she was reading an article. He cleared his throat.
"Hey Taylor! Don't be shocked! It's me!"