Scenes From a Soap Opera

The Beginnings of an Epic Reunion

Sharon Rosales arrived at the Fourth of July party hosted by her former in-laws with her former husband. Nick had been a constant in her life for almost thirty years, but ever since the death of her husband, Rey, he had spent everyday with her. The last time they had spent this much time together was when they were first married. 

"You ready for this?" She heard Nick ask her, concern lacing his voice. 

"Nicholas, I'm fine. It's just a Newman family gathering. Nothing to be scared of." The exes shared a knowing look before entering the backyard. The yard was decorated beautifully and very patriotic. Sharon had to admire her hard work, she and Faith did an excellent job. 

"The yard looks great." Nick complimented her. "You and Faith did a fantastic job." 

"Thank you." Sharon took his compliment. "Don't forget to mention it to your daughter. Most of this was her idea, I was just her helper." Nick nodded.  

They continued to look around to see who else was there. Nick spotted his mother talking with Faith and Noah. Mariah had been invited, but wanted to spend some time with Tessa for her long weekend. Sharon noticed Connor standing with Victor. She searched the yard for Adam, knowing that he had to be near by if Connor was here. 

"Huh?" Sharon stated. Nick looked over to her in confusion.

"What's up?" 

"Connor's here, but I don't see Adam. And there's no way Adam would leave Connor here."

Nick turned his attention to see his nephew standing with his father, his brother no where in sight. "That is weird. I also don't see Sally. They wouldn't ditch Connor to you know?" Nick made a suggestive gesture which Sharon scoffed at. 

"Really Nicholas? They're not in high school. Nor would Adam do that at a family party with his son right outside." She rolled her eyes. Nick really needed to take his mind out of the gutter. She playfully smacked him and he pulled her into a deep hug. The other party-goers started to stare but Nick and Sharon were in their element. 

Nikki rolled her eyes at her son and his ex-wife. She would never understand what her son saw in that blonde tramp. Connor was confused, but as long as his uncle and Sharon seemed happy he didn't care. Victor was amused, but couldn't bring himself to get worked up. He had long accepted that Nick and Sharon were endgame, he was just waiting for them to realize it. 

Noah and Faith had a completely different stance. The thought they had at Mariah and Tessa's wedding, about how good their parents looked together, was still there, but they knew it was for the best they didn't get back together. After all how many times had Nick and Sharon tried? They just couldn't get it right. Obvious to all the tension, Nick and Sharon settled right into the party. Thankfully Abby and Chance had arrived with baby Philip which took some heat off of them. 

"I wonder where Victoria is." Nick mentioned as he watched Adam and Sally walk across the yard after Adam's embarrassing proclamation. 

"She'll get here when she gets here." Sharon shrugged, not feeling in the mood to talk about Victoria. She'd done that enough over the years. 

Nick soon got his wish and Victoria arrived. However, she skipped right over all of them and ran after her kids to the pool. The same pool where Adam and Sally were hiding. That spelled disaster which was confirmed when Sally got into a fight with Summer. Shortly after that, Adam took Sally home, something that Sharon didn't blame him for. The rest of the party wasn't so exciting after that fight and before she knew it Nick was walking her home. 

"Did you have a good time?" Nick asked as they walked into her house. Faith was meeting some friends for the fireworks in Chancellor Park and would be home later. 

"I did. I wish I could've chatted with Adam some more, but after that fight..." She trailed off, not knowing if Nick wanted to talk about it. 

He groaned, "Of course, Summer and Sally got into it. She still doesn't like Sally after everything with Tara and Kyle. Adam should've known better than to bring her, she just always has to start some drama." 

Sharon swallowed the retort that it was most likely Summer who started that fight. Not that she believed Sally was incapable, but she could sense that Sally was trying to put her destructive ways behind her. But she knew that Nick would always take his daughter's side. "Adam loves her Nick, he's allowed to bring the woman he loves to a family event." 

"I know. I know." Nick sighed. "I'm happy that Adam's so happy and in love, I just wish it wasn't with her. That woman destroyed my daughter's life with a single ounce of guilt. It's hard for me to forgive that." 

"I understand that, but for what it's worth I do believe that Sally is genuinely remorseful for what happened with Summer. She's done a pretty good job of staying away from her hasn't she?" Nick had to concede the point. He still didn't trust the redhead, but he meant what he said to Adam all those months ago. As long as she left Summer alone, Nick would try to keep his opinions to himself. 

The former couple soon moved onto other more positive topics. They had lost track of time chatting. Something Sharon noticed when she got the text from Faith saying she was staying at her friend, Emily's house. "Oh my God, look at the time." She looked down to see Nick's hand on her leg, when did he get that close? She jumped off the couch. 

Sharon walked over to the fireplace, Nick followed. "Sharon what's wrong?" 

"Nothing, I just realized what time it was. You must need to get home." Sharon continued to stare at the fireplace. 

Nick stared at her confused as to why she all of a sudden was refusing to look at him. "Sharon?" She turned around to face him and a this overwhelming feeling of need washed over her. Nick must have felt the same thing because he pulled her into a comforting hug. They made eye contact and kissed for the first time in years. So many different emotions were plunged into that kiss, it was hard to separate them. 

After what felt like an eternity, they broke apart. The high school sweethearts stared at each other, eyes wide with shock. "I'm going to go." Nick stammered out, quickly bolting out of the home he once shared with Sharon. 

Sharon didn't speak, she just sat on the couch tears streaming down her face. What had she done? More importantly why did it feel so good?