Gertie

Chapter 32

Marlena and Carrie sat on a bench at the pier watching the barges on the river float by. Carrie said softly, "I can't believe John is my uncle. It's so surreal, especially since a part of me still considers him to be my dad."

    "He still thinks of you like a daughter, Carrie. That hasn't changed, you know," Marlena said.

    "He left. He left, and I was stuck in a house with an angry man who tried to run the house as if it was a communist dictatorship," Carrie told her.

    "Carrie, that's not fair. Roman—"

    "—don't defend him, Marlena. Please don't. After everything he's done to you, he's the last person you should be defending. His rigid, unbending nature ran off all of his children. Sami and Eric went to Colorado, and I've only just returned from Paris."

    "You're right. I know, you're right. I-I...I feel sadness for him," Marlena said. "Stefano stole seven years of his life, and when he came home, we'd all replaced him. We thought John was Roman. That must have hurt him."

    "I get that. I do, but it's been more than four years. He has had enough time to deal with this. He won't go to therapy, and he still tries to run my life. He doesn't bother Sami," Carrie said sadly. "He leaves her alone."

    "Sami is...Sami," Marlena said with a smile. "She is able to set very firm boundaries with your father. I think, in some ways, she's so similar to Roman, that he fears her."

    "Maybe I should have stayed away, instead of coming back to this mess," Carrie murmured.

    "I know this is hard, but...I hope you stay," Marlena said, hugging her tightly. "I'm glad you decided to come home for your internship. You can get to know Gertie, and Eric is home now, too. Talk to John. Please? He loves you so."

    "But he's not her father, I am," Roman said with venom stepping onto the pier. Looking at Carrie, Roman tells her, "Funny how I find out, you're back in town, from Ma."

    Carrie stared at her father for a moment, feeling dread pool in the pit of her stomach, "The last time we spoke didn't go very well."

    "Roman, maybe you should talk to Carrie when you aren't so angry," Marlena interjected, standing up slowly.

    Roman glanced quickly at her growing belly with disgust. "Always the therapist, aren't you Marlena?" Roman said snidely. "I hear you're having another bastard baby with my brother."

    Marlena felt his vitriol course through her body, and she shuddered from it. It was a baby, an innocent life, and he was speaking about it with such hatred. Carrie looked at Marlena with a soft smile, ignoring her father completely, "You're pregnant? It's dark out here and I didn't notice."

    Shooting Roman a dirty look, Marlena said, "Yes...well, I was getting ready to tell you." Turning to Roman, Marlena said gently, "Roman, I understand your anger. What Stefano did to you, what he did to all of us, was unfair, but—"

    "—I don't need any of your psycho babble, Doc. Everyone is fucking happy that John really is family now, right? Ma went, and had a baby, she never told anyone about, and low and behold, John Black is pulled back into the family fold!" Roman said. "Kim, Bo, Kayla...fuck even Pop, all happy as clams about it, but I will never accept him. Never. My fucking kids love him more than me!"

    "If you just tried to connect with us instead of ruling over us, maybe we could love you!" Carrie shouted in rage, as she stood from the bench. "We are not possessions!"

    Marlena tried to get him to see reason, "Roman, you were a stranger. They didn't know you, and then John left them so quickly..."

    "John left them! That's right! He walked away, and they blamed me for it," Roman raged. "I didn't make him leave. I didn't make him walk out on them, but still they blamed me for it!"