Scenes From a Soap Opera

Suspicious Minds

Valentine's Day happened to fall during Kyle's custody week with Harrison. This fact made him very reluctant to go out; he wanted to soak up as much time with his son as possible, but Summer had begged and because he felt guilty for several reasons he agreed. Diane had enthusiastically volunteered to watch Harrison, a fact that normally would've made Kyle suspicious, but he swallowed it for Summer's sake. So, the young Abbotts, dressed to the nines, went out for a romantic dinner.

Kyle's stomach clenched when Summer pulled up to the Athletic Club, knowing that CoCo was inside for Adam and Sally's wedding. He looked around the club's dining room, covered from ceiling to floor in red and pink, before turning his head towards the basement stairs. "Ow," He grabbed his shoulder after Summer had smacked it.

"Sorry," Summer sheepishly apologized. "I made reservations, the hostess was trying to take us to the table." Kyle waved her off and started to follow the hostess to their table. He took once last look towards the basement as he walked away. Summer followed her husband's eyes, curious to see what he was staring at. All she could see was the basement stairway and the sign celebrating the Newman/ Spectra wedding. Blah, she'd almost forgotten about that sham of a wedding.

"Why were you..." Summer turned to ask Kyle why he was looking at the basement sign so intently when she realized he was no longer standing next to her. She scanned the room until she found her husband sitting at a table, reading the menu. Her eyes narrowed in frustration. Did he seriously not realize that she wasn't behind him?

Summer slammed her purse down on the table, causing Kyle to look up from the menu. He was confused by her angry expression. "Hey, what's going on?" He asked even though he knew he was going to get a sarcastic reply. To his surprise and relief, she didn't answer him. Instead, she sat down and started studying the wine list. He raised an eyebrow at that; she hadn't had a drink in months, but he chose not to say anything.

Thankfully, the waiter, Ken, came over to break the growing tension. After rattling off the specials, he took off to get their drinks, leaving the slightly estranged married couple alone once again. Kyle pulled the menu up to his face; using it as a shield to look over to the basement stairs on the off chance he could get a glimpse of CoCo in her maid of honor dress. She had refused to tell him a single detail, and he hated to admit it, but it drove him mad.

"Why do you keep staring at the basement sign?" Summer's voice cut through his lust filled thoughts like a poison dart.

"I know your grandparents are downstairs. I was hoping that I could catch them so you could talk with them. You were just saying that you haven't seen them in a minute." Kyle answered, surprising even himself with how quickly that lie came out.

The expression on Summer's face was unreadable, but at least the irritated look she previously had wasn't there. Finally, she responded, "Thanks. That's sweet of you." It sounded forced, almost like she knew he was lying. Honestly, he wouldn't be surprised if she did; she always could read him like a cheap paperback.

Ken comes back with their drinks. "Do we still need a moment or are we all set?" He asks with the fake politeness of an experienced service worker. Kyle makes a mental note to give him a very nice tip. They each ordered the first thing they saw, and Ken disappeared to put their order in.

No longer having the menu to hide behind forced Kyle to keep his eyes from wandering. He and Summer settled into a simple conversation; talking about everything but what they should have, them. Contrary to popular belief, he wasn't an idiot; he knew that one talk about their imploding marriage wouldn't save it, but it'd be a start.

Ken returned with their entrees ending any chance for a serious talk. Suddenly all Kyle wanted to do was eat his dinner and go home. Home wasn't where temptation wearing a maid of honor dress was. Some Valentine's Day this was turning out to be. Summer's fingers appeared in his face, throwing him off guard.

"I'm ready to leave, but I've got to use the restroom first. Can you pay the bill?" Summer asked, annoyed that she had to ask for a second time. Once she saw his nod, she took off towards the restrooms. Kyle paid the bill and knowing Summer would keep him waiting, he wandered over to the bar. He scrolled his phone to pass the time until he got the sudden urge to turn around. And there she was, wearing an off-shoulder silver dress, hair styled in a messy bun.

"Hey," CoCo greeted her... actually she wasn't sure what to call him. She hated to admit it, but she was glad to see him. She needed someone to talk to about her parents; she wasn't going to bother Sally, not on her wedding night.

"Hey yourself." Kyle smiled; ignoring how easily the smile came for her and not his wife. "I was just thinking of you."

That caught CoCo by surprise. "Oh, were you now?" She teased. Kyle blushed, causing her to chuckle. "Those must've been some interesting thoughts if you're turning pepto pink."

Kyle, forgetting that he was in public, moved closer. "I knew that your sister's wedding was today and I was curious about your dress. Seeing how you refused to tell me what you were wearing." He spoke in a lower tone than normal, and it did something to CoCo's insides.

"Well," She stepped back and did a model spin. "What do you think?" She giggled.

"More beautiful than I ever could've imagined." Kyle answered in an awelike whisper. CoCo's breath hitched and her eyes closed.

"What's going on here?" Summer asked seemingly out of nowhere. Kyle and CoCo each took five steps back; both suddenly nervous over what she'd seen. "Kyle, I asked you a question. What's going on?" She asked her husband again.

"I was telling Kyle about Sally and Adam's wedding." CoCo answered. Summer narrowed her eyes. Why was CoCo answering for Kyle? And why was Kyle refusing to look at her?

"Why would Kyle care about my idiot uncle marrying your horrible sister?" Disrespect fully evident in her voice. CoCo refused to rise to the bait and excused herself. Summer gave her a sarcastic wave, the smug look on her face slightly falling when she saw how Kyle was still watching CoCo walk away.

"Was that really necessary?" Kyle asked his wife, still not looking at her.

"All I did was ask a question." Summer defended herself. "Why are you defending her? I thought you didn't know her."

"I'm not. I don't." Kyle huffed. "I'm just saying, she's not her sister, she's not Adam. She's innocent until proven otherwise and I think we should leave her alone." Not giving Summer a chance to question him, he left to get the car. Unfortunately for him, all that did was give Summer more reasons to doubt her husband. She had seen him and CoCo chatting away at the bar and saw red. Sally tried to steal her job, she was not about to let her demon sister steal her man. Those Spectras were on notice and Summer was never going to let her foot up.