Tiiulicious
Cadet
This is one half of my Days of Our Lives fic. I don’t know yet if I’m continuing it. If I get enough reviews, I just might finish this one .
You’re in my heart
Nicole Walker stood at Salem Place and watched as the man she loved
doted on a daughter that he shared with HER. Nicole hated her with a
passion, she had caused her so much misery through the years and she
couldn’t understand why her man wanted to spend any time with that
witch. Nicole reasoned in her mind that he was only spending time with
her because of their children, because of their twins. Nicole had gone
through a painful marriage and a hellish divorce with Victor Kiriakis
and during a very difficult time in her life after the whole Brady
fiasco, he had been there for her. It had started when she had been
moping at the Brady pub and he had sat next to her and made her smile
and lifted her mood. They had spent a lot of time together and she had
fallen for him, her best friend in this town. Her only friend in Salem.
Since everything that had happened with Brady and Chloe, she had been a
social outcast; even Sami Brady was more popular at this very moment.
---
Roman Brady was spending a wonderful afternoon with his children and
with his ex-wife. He knew she wanted to resolve things and maybe, just
maybe he could forgive her and they could be a family again. Their
children needed their parents to be together, even thought the twins
were already adults. Rex and Cassie had suffered so much during their
childhood and Roman didn’t want to cause his children any more pain. He
wasn’t sure he could truly ever in his heart forgive everything Kate had
done to him, she had taken him for a fool and had lied and manipulated
him at every turn. Their relationship had caused him so much heartbreak
and had aliened him from his daughter Sami.
“Dad, you okay?” Cassie asked, seeing her father deep in thought.
“I’m fine, darling, I’m fine”, Roman said trying to sound convincing for
the sake of his daughter, but on the inside he knew he wasn’t fine. He
didn’t understand how his life suddenly had gone from being extremely
simple to being overtly complicated. One thing he did know, he loved
Kate, but he wasn’t in love with her. His feelings for her had dimmed
during everything that had happened on the DiMera Island, when he and
Marlena had found solace in each other. Only Kate could twist his
relationship with Marlena into something dirty and wrong. She had never
understood the relationship he shared with the lovely psychiatrist, that
she would always be important to him; Marlena was the mother of Sami and
Eric, his beloved twins. Adding to his emotional turmoil was the
relationship he had with Nicole Walker. They were friends and he enjoyed
spending time with her. But somewhere along the way, he had started
developing feelings for the stunning young blonde, but had kept those
feelings hidden. Mainly because he was old enough to be her father and
because he didn’t want to put Nicole in the middle of everything that
was going on with Kate. But also because he was afraid that she wouldn’t
return his feelings and he didn’t want to be burned again.
“Dad, what’s wrong with you and don’t even think about telling me that
your fine, because I can clearly see that you are NOT fine.” Cassie said
with a demanding tone while taking her fathers hand in hers.
“I’m just tired that’s all. I’m all shopped out, I think you and your
mother bought half of Salem today and made me and your brother to carry
all your purchases.” Roman said with a laugh and hugged his daughter. He
didn’t want to share his thoughts with her at this very moment, because
he knew Cassie didn’t approve of him spending time with Nicole. Cassie
wanted her parents to be together and he really couldn’t blame his
little girl for that. Although he had only a little over a year ago
discovered that Cassie was his daughter, that didn’t hinder his love for
the girl. Although their relationship had started off badly, they now
were extremely close. His relationship with his youngest son was more
difficult; Rex had bonded with Kate and blamed Roman for the divorce.
Little by little, their relationship was starting to mend and he wasn’t
willing to do anything that would further anger his tempestuous son.
He was pulled from his thoughts, when his son and ex-wife emerged from a
nearby store laughing and carrying multiple bags. They joined the
twosome at Java Cafe and seemed to be in a terrific mood.
“Dad, do you wanna see what mom bought me,” Rex asked grinning while
lifting one of the bags to the wooden table.
“I’m pretty sure you’re mother bought you everything that poor Tina had
in her store, but show me,” Roman joked while focusing his blue gaze on
his son, who seemed to be in the best mood that Roman had seen him in
long time. Obviously this afternoon had been a success so far.
“You remember dad, that I told about this black leather jacket that I’ve
had my eye on for ages, but they didn’t have it in my size,” Rex said
looking very much like the cat that ate the canary. “Well, mom had
ordered it in my size as an early birthday present and it is really
cool.” Rex emphasized his point by pulling the jacket from the bag and
gazing it adoringly.
“Wait, why does Rex get an early birthday present?” Cassie said annoyed
and gave her father her best little-girl-lost expression.
“Don’t worry, we got you something as well,” Kate said and nodded to
Roman who removed something from his pocket. It was a little, pink box
with silver and green ribbons around it.
Cassie snatched the box from her father’s hand and quickly started
removing the ribbons. After the ribbons were peeled off and she had
opened the pink box, a simple black jewelry case surfaced. Cassie
quickly opened it and squealed in delight. She lifted a silver medallion
from the case and beamed.
“Darling, look inside,” Roman suggested and glanced at Rex, who was
still fiddling with his new jacket and was way too busy to notice his
sisters joy.
Cassie opened the medallion and almost burst in into tears. Inside were
two pictures, one with the four of them together and one with Kate and
Roman together.
“When was this picture taken of you and dad together?” Cassie asked,
turning to face her mother after giving her father an enthusiastic hug.
“Yesterday, it was taken by your cousin Shawn,” Kate replied warily and
turned to gaze at Rex, knowing that there was still some bitterness
between the two. Rex and Shawn’s relationship was never that great to
begin with, but it only got worse when Shawn married Rex’s former
girlfriend Mimi.
“When did Saint Shawn find time in his busy schedule of girlfriend
snatching and heroism to take your picture?” Rex snapped, not wanting to
ruin a perfectly good afternoon discussing his ‘dear’ cousin.
“Lets change the subject into something more pleasant,” Roman said
quickly. He knew that his son had a short fuse and didn’t want their day
to end in a sour note.
---
Nicole felt nauseous at watching Roman and Kate play happy families with
Cassie and Rex. Kate wasn’t going to interfere in her chance to live
happily ever after with Roman. She was going to make sure Roman would
never even glance at Kate again. Maybe she would even ask for help from
Sami. The girl had been much nicer since she had married Lucas and most
likely would help to separate her father from the clutches of the wicked
witch of the west. Of course she wouldn’t tell Sami that she wanted
Roman for herself, because although she had been more pleasant of late,
Sami would never aid Nicole in getting together with her father.
With or without Sami, she and Roman were going to be together. She knew
Roman found her attractive, not that there was ever any doubt about that
of course and he seemed to enjoy being in her company. He had been
married to the beast, so it was only natural that now he wanted to be
with the beauty.
Roman had promised to take Nicole to dinner tonight and she was going to
hold him to that. She knew that Kate or Cassie would try to intervene
with their date, but the gruesome twosome weren’t going to get in her
way. She was going to head to Ballistix and find something Roman just
simply couldn’t resist. Maybe something red with a high hem and a low
neckline. Then at Tuscany, keep the champagne flowing and before he knew
it, he would fall hopelessly and utterly in love with her.
Those thoughts put a huge smile on her face, when she made her way to
the clothing store and stole one last glance at the foursome who were
currently sipping coffee and laughing at something.
“Enjoy your last family outing Kate, because by midnight, he will be all
mine.” Nicole thought maliciously and entered the upscale clothing
boutique.
---
Rex was still steaming from the mere mention of Shawn’s name, so the
rest of his family tried their best to keep the conversation light and
flowing.
“So, the guy was obviously checking me out, until Belle and her rugrat
entered the scene and scared the guy away,” Cassie complained to her
parents who were listening with different expressions. Kate was
listening to the story intently and giggling with her daughter, while
Roman looked quite unsettled. He hated the though of his daughter dating
around town with different boys and if he could decide, he’d ship her to
a convent till she was ready to get married.
Roman glanced at his watch and noticed that he ought to get going if he
wanted to make it to the Pub to see his mother before taking Nicole to
dinner at Tuscany.
“Well kids, I have had a great day, but I have to get going. I promised
ma that I’d visit today,” Roman said while pulling some money out of his
wallet and dropping it on the table.
“Dad, wait, I’ll come with you to see grandma,” Rex said and got up from
his seat and kissing his mother on the cheek. “Bye mom, bye Cassie, I’ll
see you at home.”
Roman turned to kiss the top of his daughter’s head and said his
goodbyes to Kate while waiting that his son was ready to go.
“Well son, lets get going. Most likely ma has made something delicious
that has our name all over it,” Roman said while guiding his son away
from the Java Café.
---
Cassie said goodbye to her mother while making her way to Ballistix. She
had invited her mother to join her, but Kate was going to go pick up
Will, who was staying with her tonight, while Sami and Lucas spent some
quality time together.
Cassie was hoping to find something fabulous that would take Tek’s
breath away. It annoyed Cassie that he seemed to be the only man she
couldn’t charm. Maybe he was afraid of what Roman would say if he went
out with his daughter.
When she entered Ballistix, she noticed a truly despicable face. Nicole
Walker was posing in front of a large mirror while almost wearing a red
dress.
“Well, well, well, isn’t it the resident slut of Salem!” Cassie quipped
while sneering at the older woman.
“Cassie, nice running into you. You gaining weight?” Nicole retorted
without looking at the other woman.
“Why do always hang around my father looking very much like a cat in
heat?” Cassie said nonchalantly while going through a rack of dresses.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Besides what goes on with Roman
and I, is none of your business. He is a grown man and you can’t tell
him what to do or who to spend time with.” Nicole said acidly while
twirling in front of the mirror.
“I knew it, you’re after my father, but think again. He won’t give you
the time of day, he’s a good guy and he doesn’t go slumming. He and mom
are going to reconcile and we are going to be a family.” Cassie stated
surely as she was shooting daggers at the other woman.
“Keep dreaming Cass. Roman doesn’t want your call girl of a mother, he
wants to be with me, not that I can blame him of course. “ Nicole added
while finally lifting her gaze to meet the other woman who was obviously
angry at her.
“I’m not going to let you sink your claws into my father. He doesn’t
want you; you were only a charity case he felt sorry for. Didn’t you
learn anything from what happened with Brady and Chloe? You won’t
succeed in coming between two people who undoubtedly still love each
other. Just like Brady, my father will drop you like yesterdays news to
be with the love of his life. Face it Nicole, you’re only good at one
thing and soon dad will realize that you don’t have anything to offer
outside of the bedroom!” Cassie said sharply.
“Well, your mother sure knows something about bedrooms, since in her
hooker days, she got familiar with almost every bedroom in Salem.”
Nicole pointed out as she made her way closer to Cassie.
“Don’t you dare call my mother that, she is a good person and a loving
mother. That’s something you don’t know anything about. Leave my family
alone, or else…” Cassie hissed looking furious.
“Uuuh, I’m so afraid.” Nicole said mockingly and walked away from the
redheaded woman. Cassie would have another thing coming if she thought
Nicole would let her parents reunite.
“That bitch. There is no way in hell I’m letting my father get sucked in
by that witch.” Cassie thought and reached for her cell phone. She
quickly dialed a number and waited for the person to answer.
“Hi, It’s me. I need your help,” Cassie said as the person she was
calling answered.
---
Rex and Roman were having a good time while they were making their way
to the Brady Pub. Rex was entertaining his father by telling a funny
incident that involved him, a half-naked woman and a German shepherd.
Roman was glad to notice that his son was in a better mood that he was
when Shawn’s name was mentioned. He just hoped that his nephew or his
new wife weren’t present at the Pub when they arrived. He knew that Rex
avoided places were he could bump into his cousin or his ex-girlfriend.
In honest, Roman didn’t blame his son for that, it had taken Roman years
to accept that Marlena was with John and he knew exactly how his son was
feeling.
“So, dad tell me, when are you going to take that vacation you’ve
promised to take a long time ago and take me, mom and Cassie on
holiday?” Rex said, turning to face his father and stopped walking.
“Well, I don’t know when I’ll be able to get some time off, since summer
is always a busy crime season,” Roman answered and looked very
uncomfortable at the thought of vacationing with his ex-wife.
“Come on dad, you’re the police commander of Salem, the head honcho, so
I think you can give yourself some slack.” Rex pointed out while
resuming walking.
“We’ll see what the near future brings. Maybe I’ll be able to take you
and your sister to Ireland this summer to see all of your relatives down
there,” Roman said and hoped that Rex wouldn’t react too badly to the
idea of going to Ireland without his mother.
“That’d be super, I’ve never been to Ireland. What’s it like?” Rex said
looking very pleased and apparently hadn’t even noticed that Kate
wouldn’t be coming along.
“You’ll have to ask your grandpa about that, he sure loves talking about
Ireland,” Roman said as the twosome reached the Brady Pub.
---
Nicole had made her choice and was now making her way to her apartment
to get ready for her date. Roman was going to pick her up at quarter to
seven, meaning that she had a little over three hours to get ready.
Roman wouldn’t know what hit him.
She took a long bath and spent at least 45 minutes fixing her hair that
it would look sultry. That was the look she was going for. She didn’t
want to look either desperate or like a hooker. Less was more when it
came to Roman. He didn’t want his future wife to look like a
streetwalker; he already had one wife like that. Believe it or not, she
was going to be Mrs. Roman Brady, the wife of the Police Commander of
Salem. Out of Roman’s five children, Carrie and Eric would most likely
approve as long as she would make their father happy. Sami, Rex and
Cassie would not like it, but they weren’t her problem. This was about
her future, it wasn’t a popularity contest. You don’t get things that
you want by being nice. Sami Brady-Roberts was a living and breathing
embodiment of that. Aside from Kate Roberts, Sami was the most conniving
and manipulating person she knew. But today, she was married to Lucas
Roberts and they were nauseously happy. Sami surely didn’t get Lucas by
being nice and agreeable.
She still had over an hour before Roman would arrive, so she opened a
bottle of champagne and just sat at her vanity table doing her make-up,
making sure everything was perfect.
---
True to form, Caroline Brady had made her famous stew and wouldn’t take
no for an answers. Her 5’2 figure seemed to tower over the Brady boys,
who viewed their mother as some sort of biblical figure. While growing
up, both Roman and his half-brother Bo learned not to question their
mother’s wisdom, as her advice was usually spot on. Even Rex, who seemed
unfazed by most people in Salem, listened his grandmother with a
reverence and an unfaltering adoration. In their minds, Caroline Brady,
could do no wrong.
Roman tried to eat just that much so it would appease his mother, but
not completely fill his stomach. He had promised Nicole a dinner and he
wasn’t going to disappoint her.
He had made a reservation at Tuscany earlier and Maggie had promised him
a good table. He knew it would cause a stir when he arrived to the
restaurant with Nicole Walker. Not only because she was much younger,
but also because of her reputation. It wasn’t uncommon to see the
recently divorced police commander spending time with the former Mrs.
Victor Kiriakis, but they had never before spent an evening dining
together in the past months that they had been friends.
But he was not affected by city gossip. The only opinion that mattered
to him was that of his family. He knew that he had an uphill battle in
front of him, if he was going to get his family to approve Nicole as a
part of his life. Even thought he and Nicole didn’t have a romantic
relationship with each other, he still cared about her more than he
would have thought three months ago. It was probably for the best that
they weren’t a couple, knowing his rotten luck in relationships. He had
been married three times and all those marriages had failed. Now, he was
focused on being a good father and an efficient police commander,
everything else was second in his thoughts, including romance.
Roman’s musing ended when he realized that if wouldn’t get going, he
would be hopelessly late in picking up Nicole. He needed to change into
something more formal and take a shower before he was ready to enter
Tuscany with the statuesque blonde.
He hurriedly said his goodbyes and rushed out of the Pub in such haste
that it drew a lot of interested stares from the pub patrons. He of
course was in too much of a hurry to notice.
---
Cassie was exasperated. The person she had counted on was failing her
miserably. She didn’t care that the person she had put all her hopes on,
had other plans. In Cassie’s mind, nothing was more important than
making sure that Nicwhore stayed away from her father. Obviously she had
to do this on her own.
Hell, she was used to that. She didn’t want to call either her mother or
Rex, since they would react very negatively. Getting her family back
together was now her responsibility and she would NOT fail. Failing was
not an option.
---
Nicole was getting restless, he was 10 minutes late. She knew Roman well
enough to know that he was always punctual and she started to worry that
something had happened to him. Just as she was about to lose it, the
doorbell rang, signifying that he had arrived.
Before she opened the door, she glanced at the mirror to make sure
everything was in place. Her red, full-length gown had a daring slit
that showed her legs and the décolleté was tastefully revealing. In her
years, Nicole hadn’t met a man she couldn’t charm and Roman would no
doubt be any different.
She opened the door and put on her most engaging smile.
Roman was rendered speechless when Nicole opened the door. He knew she
was beautiful, but he never knew she was this stunning. Her dress showed
off all of her curves and seemed to fit like a glove. Red was definitely
her color; no other color could bring out her glowing complexion and her
vivid blue eyes.
Nicole could see that he liked what he saw. He was staring at her as
though he had never seen her before. Obviously he was impressed and she
couldn’t help was to feel accomplished. This was going to be fun. But
nothing would top that feeling when she and Roman would exchange their
wedding wows in front of dozens of shocked Salemites. Kate would just
die.
“Well, don’t you look like a million bucks,” Roman said when he finally
remembered how to talk.
“You don’t look bad yourself,” Nicole retorted and wasn’t lying. Roman
looked extremely smart in his navy blue suit and black tie. Although he
was much older, he was still a very good-looking man.
Before Roman had arrived to pick her up, he had purchased a bouquet of
red roses, which he had completely forgotten to give her when she had
opened the door. Now he finally remembered and pulled the flowers from
behind his back.
Nicole was impressed, Roman had bought her favorite kinds of flowers,
red roses. It still amazed her that he seemed to know her so well. He
knew what she liked and what she didn’t like without ever being told. If
that didn’t mean they belonged together, nothing would.
“Oh, Roman, these are my favorites flowers. How did you know?” She asked
while taking the flowers to her kitchen to put them into a vase.
“Just a lucky coincidence, I guess.” He said with a boyish grin that
made Nicole want to take him to her bedroom and never let him go. They
hadn’t made love yet, but tonight would be the night.
After she had successfully gotten the bouquet in to the vase, Nicole
grapped her blood-red scarf and put it on her shoulders while they made
their way out from her apartment.
---
Across town Brady Black was helping his pregnant wife Chloe Lane-Black
to their car. She was only three-months along, but he insisted to make
sure she didn’t do anything strenuous and that included walking and
bending. They were yet to know the baby’s sex, but still Brady had
already started decorating a nursery for the baby. He had been working
hard for the past two weeks to make sure that their child had the most
fully equipped nursery in Salem that Chloe had insisted on taking him
out for dinner and out of that room for more than five minutes. She had
called Maggie Horton this morning and gotten them a table at Tuscany.
Brady was wearing a black suit with a white shirt and black tie that
accentuated his wife’s long and elegant black and white gown. Her
pregnancy wasn’t showing yet, so she wanted to wear the dress that Brady
had bought her from Paris during their honeymoon. She knew this would be
the last time she would be able to wear it until the baby was born. They
sat in Brady’s black SUV in silence listening to the soundtrack from
Mozart’s opera Don Giovanni, a combined favorite of theirs. They had
decided to use Brady’s car because he perceived it to be safer than her
black convertible that she had gotten from her father-in-law John Black
after she and Brady were married.
---
Cassie was in a horrible mood, she had been unable to get a hold of her
father and even her siblings were unreachable. Carrie was still
gallivanting somewhere in Africa with Mike Horton and was not answering
her calls. Austin was in an important meeting in his New York office or
so had his secretary told her. Eric was somewhere in the Colorado
mountains taking photos and Phillip was at home with his darling wife
Belle and their bundle of joy. Billie was still in Europe with Chelsea
and Sami and Lucas were at home ‘doing what newlyweds do’ as Lucas had
said when she had called asking for his help.
Lucas was her favorite brother aside from Rex. He was the one who could
always be counted on. When she had asked him for a favor, he seemed open
to it, but as soon as she had told him the situation, he had completely
refused to help. Quote on quote, he had said that he wasn’t going to get
involved with Roman and mom’s affairs and Cassie should also mind her
own business. Lucas had also told his sister that he wasn’t going to put
himself in the middle of his wife and his mother again and now that
things were finally resolved between Sami and Kate, he was just going to
sit back and enjoy the truce as long as it lasts.
She didn’t understand why Sami was always in the way of everything.
Cassie had a cordial relationship with her older sister, meaning that
they would stay away from each other as much as possible and if by some
misfortune ended up in the same company, their conversation consisted of
small talk and discussing the weather. Rex, for some incomprehensible
reason, got along with Sami and was even a groomsman in her wedding.
They talked and spent time together and even seemed to enjoy each
other’s company, which disturbed Cassie to no end.
For the past hour she had tried to reach her father, but he had shut his
cell phone and Cassie didn’t want to leave a message to his voice mail.
She had tried the police station just in case dad had decided to go back
to work. No luck, her uncle Bo answered from her father’s office and
said that Roman had left work at noon to meet her, Rex and mom at Salem
Place and had no intention to return until the next morning. She didn’t
understand why people who have cell phones didn’t answer them. She had
gone by her father’s apartment to see if he was home and even went
inside with the key he had given her. There was no sign of her father
and that made her even more aggravated.
---
Roman and Nicole had arrived at the Tuscany car park and now made their
way towards the upscale restaurant. He was a little nervous of what kind
of reaction people inside the establishment would have. He opened the
door for Nicole and the look on Maggie Horton’s face was absolutely
priceless. He and Nicole made their way to Maggie so that she would
escort them to their table.
“Hi, Maggie, how are you?” Roman asked politely while still laughing on
the inside at Maggie’s bewilderment. After all, Tuscany was known in
Salem as the place where lovers went to eat and dance and it obviously
unnerved Maggie that there could be even a slight chance that his
relationship with Nicole was romantic.
“I I’m good,” Maggie responded after a few second pause and still looked
extremely surprised. Then she carefully shifted from looking astonished
to her usual sunny predisposition with a smile that didn’t go all the
way to her eyes. She then checked their reservation from her guest book
and personally escorted the couple to their table, which was on the
right side of the dance floor. Roman pulled Nicole’s chair and then made
his way to his seat that was right across from hers.
Nicole was also cackling on the inside with pure unaltered satisfaction.
No doubt, good old Maggie Horton would go and spread the news of her
dinner with Roman to anyone that listened. She didn’t particularly like
the redheaded restaurateur, but when gossip needed to be spread through
the grapevine, no one could get the job done better than Maggie. First
she would inform husband Mickey, then possibly Julie Olson-Williams, who
would pass the story to daughter Hope Brady, who in turn would gossip
with cousin Jennifer Horton. Then Maggie would most likely converse with
Lucas Roberts, as she was his AA-sponsor. Lucas undoubtedly would pass
the information to his ‘dear’ mother Kate Roberts-Brady and if Nicole
was lucky, Kate would be informed about her former husbands dinner
rendezvous no later than tomorrow. Everything seemed to be going her way
and that’s the way she liked.
---
As the twosome surveyed the menu, another couple had made their way to
the restaurant. If there were two people in Salem that could possibly
ruin Nicole’s momentum it would be these two. It was no secret in Salem
that Chloe Lane-Black detested Nicole Walker and made no bones about her
desire to abolish the tall blonde from town. She viewed Nicole as a
malicious, manipulating bitch that needed to be put in her place. Chloe
had succeeded in ruining Nicole’s plans with re-emerging from the dead
and had married Brady Black from right under Nicole’s nose.
As the maître d escorted the Black’s to their table that was on the
other side of the restaurant, Chloe kept her eyes locked with the couple
that was now engaged in an intimate conversation. It was stroke of good
luck that from their table, Chloe had an unobstructed view to her
enemy’s table, while Nicole was not able to see them from her spot. Not
that Chloe actually thought that she would pay attention to anything
other than her dinner companion. Chloe noticed that Roman had asked
Nicole to dance and on the dance floor Nicole had flung herself onto
Roman. She was all over the police commander like a cheap suit. Chloe
was not the only one who had noticed the spectacle Nicole was making as
people in surrounding tables took notice of the way the two swayed on
the mahogany dance floor.
---
Nicole and Roman were in their own universe. Nothing or no one could
have intruded as the music had seemingly faded away. Roman had never
wanted to kiss anyone than he wanted to kiss Nicole, but he kept his
cool and continued swirling the blonde around the dance floor. He knew
it was the wrong time and wrong place for actions of that nature.
Nicole was eating up all the attention other patrons were giving them.
They were obviously shocked that Roman Brady, the respected police
commander and the oldest Brady sibling was dining and dancing with her.
All those people who had counted her out were going to be sorry, because
as she married into the fabled Brady clan and became Mrs. Roman Brady,
she would be in the forefront of the Salem social scene. The wife of the
police commander traditionally hosted the biggest charity ball of the
year, The Commander’s Ball, and the guest list was always full of movers
and shakers of the Salem social circles.
You’re in my heart
Nicole Walker stood at Salem Place and watched as the man she loved
doted on a daughter that he shared with HER. Nicole hated her with a
passion, she had caused her so much misery through the years and she
couldn’t understand why her man wanted to spend any time with that
witch. Nicole reasoned in her mind that he was only spending time with
her because of their children, because of their twins. Nicole had gone
through a painful marriage and a hellish divorce with Victor Kiriakis
and during a very difficult time in her life after the whole Brady
fiasco, he had been there for her. It had started when she had been
moping at the Brady pub and he had sat next to her and made her smile
and lifted her mood. They had spent a lot of time together and she had
fallen for him, her best friend in this town. Her only friend in Salem.
Since everything that had happened with Brady and Chloe, she had been a
social outcast; even Sami Brady was more popular at this very moment.
---
Roman Brady was spending a wonderful afternoon with his children and
with his ex-wife. He knew she wanted to resolve things and maybe, just
maybe he could forgive her and they could be a family again. Their
children needed their parents to be together, even thought the twins
were already adults. Rex and Cassie had suffered so much during their
childhood and Roman didn’t want to cause his children any more pain. He
wasn’t sure he could truly ever in his heart forgive everything Kate had
done to him, she had taken him for a fool and had lied and manipulated
him at every turn. Their relationship had caused him so much heartbreak
and had aliened him from his daughter Sami.
“Dad, you okay?” Cassie asked, seeing her father deep in thought.
“I’m fine, darling, I’m fine”, Roman said trying to sound convincing for
the sake of his daughter, but on the inside he knew he wasn’t fine. He
didn’t understand how his life suddenly had gone from being extremely
simple to being overtly complicated. One thing he did know, he loved
Kate, but he wasn’t in love with her. His feelings for her had dimmed
during everything that had happened on the DiMera Island, when he and
Marlena had found solace in each other. Only Kate could twist his
relationship with Marlena into something dirty and wrong. She had never
understood the relationship he shared with the lovely psychiatrist, that
she would always be important to him; Marlena was the mother of Sami and
Eric, his beloved twins. Adding to his emotional turmoil was the
relationship he had with Nicole Walker. They were friends and he enjoyed
spending time with her. But somewhere along the way, he had started
developing feelings for the stunning young blonde, but had kept those
feelings hidden. Mainly because he was old enough to be her father and
because he didn’t want to put Nicole in the middle of everything that
was going on with Kate. But also because he was afraid that she wouldn’t
return his feelings and he didn’t want to be burned again.
“Dad, what’s wrong with you and don’t even think about telling me that
your fine, because I can clearly see that you are NOT fine.” Cassie said
with a demanding tone while taking her fathers hand in hers.
“I’m just tired that’s all. I’m all shopped out, I think you and your
mother bought half of Salem today and made me and your brother to carry
all your purchases.” Roman said with a laugh and hugged his daughter. He
didn’t want to share his thoughts with her at this very moment, because
he knew Cassie didn’t approve of him spending time with Nicole. Cassie
wanted her parents to be together and he really couldn’t blame his
little girl for that. Although he had only a little over a year ago
discovered that Cassie was his daughter, that didn’t hinder his love for
the girl. Although their relationship had started off badly, they now
were extremely close. His relationship with his youngest son was more
difficult; Rex had bonded with Kate and blamed Roman for the divorce.
Little by little, their relationship was starting to mend and he wasn’t
willing to do anything that would further anger his tempestuous son.
He was pulled from his thoughts, when his son and ex-wife emerged from a
nearby store laughing and carrying multiple bags. They joined the
twosome at Java Cafe and seemed to be in a terrific mood.
“Dad, do you wanna see what mom bought me,” Rex asked grinning while
lifting one of the bags to the wooden table.
“I’m pretty sure you’re mother bought you everything that poor Tina had
in her store, but show me,” Roman joked while focusing his blue gaze on
his son, who seemed to be in the best mood that Roman had seen him in
long time. Obviously this afternoon had been a success so far.
“You remember dad, that I told about this black leather jacket that I’ve
had my eye on for ages, but they didn’t have it in my size,” Rex said
looking very much like the cat that ate the canary. “Well, mom had
ordered it in my size as an early birthday present and it is really
cool.” Rex emphasized his point by pulling the jacket from the bag and
gazing it adoringly.
“Wait, why does Rex get an early birthday present?” Cassie said annoyed
and gave her father her best little-girl-lost expression.
“Don’t worry, we got you something as well,” Kate said and nodded to
Roman who removed something from his pocket. It was a little, pink box
with silver and green ribbons around it.
Cassie snatched the box from her father’s hand and quickly started
removing the ribbons. After the ribbons were peeled off and she had
opened the pink box, a simple black jewelry case surfaced. Cassie
quickly opened it and squealed in delight. She lifted a silver medallion
from the case and beamed.
“Darling, look inside,” Roman suggested and glanced at Rex, who was
still fiddling with his new jacket and was way too busy to notice his
sisters joy.
Cassie opened the medallion and almost burst in into tears. Inside were
two pictures, one with the four of them together and one with Kate and
Roman together.
“When was this picture taken of you and dad together?” Cassie asked,
turning to face her mother after giving her father an enthusiastic hug.
“Yesterday, it was taken by your cousin Shawn,” Kate replied warily and
turned to gaze at Rex, knowing that there was still some bitterness
between the two. Rex and Shawn’s relationship was never that great to
begin with, but it only got worse when Shawn married Rex’s former
girlfriend Mimi.
“When did Saint Shawn find time in his busy schedule of girlfriend
snatching and heroism to take your picture?” Rex snapped, not wanting to
ruin a perfectly good afternoon discussing his ‘dear’ cousin.
“Lets change the subject into something more pleasant,” Roman said
quickly. He knew that his son had a short fuse and didn’t want their day
to end in a sour note.
---
Nicole felt nauseous at watching Roman and Kate play happy families with
Cassie and Rex. Kate wasn’t going to interfere in her chance to live
happily ever after with Roman. She was going to make sure Roman would
never even glance at Kate again. Maybe she would even ask for help from
Sami. The girl had been much nicer since she had married Lucas and most
likely would help to separate her father from the clutches of the wicked
witch of the west. Of course she wouldn’t tell Sami that she wanted
Roman for herself, because although she had been more pleasant of late,
Sami would never aid Nicole in getting together with her father.
With or without Sami, she and Roman were going to be together. She knew
Roman found her attractive, not that there was ever any doubt about that
of course and he seemed to enjoy being in her company. He had been
married to the beast, so it was only natural that now he wanted to be
with the beauty.
Roman had promised to take Nicole to dinner tonight and she was going to
hold him to that. She knew that Kate or Cassie would try to intervene
with their date, but the gruesome twosome weren’t going to get in her
way. She was going to head to Ballistix and find something Roman just
simply couldn’t resist. Maybe something red with a high hem and a low
neckline. Then at Tuscany, keep the champagne flowing and before he knew
it, he would fall hopelessly and utterly in love with her.
Those thoughts put a huge smile on her face, when she made her way to
the clothing store and stole one last glance at the foursome who were
currently sipping coffee and laughing at something.
“Enjoy your last family outing Kate, because by midnight, he will be all
mine.” Nicole thought maliciously and entered the upscale clothing
boutique.
---
Rex was still steaming from the mere mention of Shawn’s name, so the
rest of his family tried their best to keep the conversation light and
flowing.
“So, the guy was obviously checking me out, until Belle and her rugrat
entered the scene and scared the guy away,” Cassie complained to her
parents who were listening with different expressions. Kate was
listening to the story intently and giggling with her daughter, while
Roman looked quite unsettled. He hated the though of his daughter dating
around town with different boys and if he could decide, he’d ship her to
a convent till she was ready to get married.
Roman glanced at his watch and noticed that he ought to get going if he
wanted to make it to the Pub to see his mother before taking Nicole to
dinner at Tuscany.
“Well kids, I have had a great day, but I have to get going. I promised
ma that I’d visit today,” Roman said while pulling some money out of his
wallet and dropping it on the table.
“Dad, wait, I’ll come with you to see grandma,” Rex said and got up from
his seat and kissing his mother on the cheek. “Bye mom, bye Cassie, I’ll
see you at home.”
Roman turned to kiss the top of his daughter’s head and said his
goodbyes to Kate while waiting that his son was ready to go.
“Well son, lets get going. Most likely ma has made something delicious
that has our name all over it,” Roman said while guiding his son away
from the Java Café.
---
Cassie said goodbye to her mother while making her way to Ballistix. She
had invited her mother to join her, but Kate was going to go pick up
Will, who was staying with her tonight, while Sami and Lucas spent some
quality time together.
Cassie was hoping to find something fabulous that would take Tek’s
breath away. It annoyed Cassie that he seemed to be the only man she
couldn’t charm. Maybe he was afraid of what Roman would say if he went
out with his daughter.
When she entered Ballistix, she noticed a truly despicable face. Nicole
Walker was posing in front of a large mirror while almost wearing a red
dress.
“Well, well, well, isn’t it the resident slut of Salem!” Cassie quipped
while sneering at the older woman.
“Cassie, nice running into you. You gaining weight?” Nicole retorted
without looking at the other woman.
“Why do always hang around my father looking very much like a cat in
heat?” Cassie said nonchalantly while going through a rack of dresses.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Besides what goes on with Roman
and I, is none of your business. He is a grown man and you can’t tell
him what to do or who to spend time with.” Nicole said acidly while
twirling in front of the mirror.
“I knew it, you’re after my father, but think again. He won’t give you
the time of day, he’s a good guy and he doesn’t go slumming. He and mom
are going to reconcile and we are going to be a family.” Cassie stated
surely as she was shooting daggers at the other woman.
“Keep dreaming Cass. Roman doesn’t want your call girl of a mother, he
wants to be with me, not that I can blame him of course. “ Nicole added
while finally lifting her gaze to meet the other woman who was obviously
angry at her.
“I’m not going to let you sink your claws into my father. He doesn’t
want you; you were only a charity case he felt sorry for. Didn’t you
learn anything from what happened with Brady and Chloe? You won’t
succeed in coming between two people who undoubtedly still love each
other. Just like Brady, my father will drop you like yesterdays news to
be with the love of his life. Face it Nicole, you’re only good at one
thing and soon dad will realize that you don’t have anything to offer
outside of the bedroom!” Cassie said sharply.
“Well, your mother sure knows something about bedrooms, since in her
hooker days, she got familiar with almost every bedroom in Salem.”
Nicole pointed out as she made her way closer to Cassie.
“Don’t you dare call my mother that, she is a good person and a loving
mother. That’s something you don’t know anything about. Leave my family
alone, or else…” Cassie hissed looking furious.
“Uuuh, I’m so afraid.” Nicole said mockingly and walked away from the
redheaded woman. Cassie would have another thing coming if she thought
Nicole would let her parents reunite.
“That bitch. There is no way in hell I’m letting my father get sucked in
by that witch.” Cassie thought and reached for her cell phone. She
quickly dialed a number and waited for the person to answer.
“Hi, It’s me. I need your help,” Cassie said as the person she was
calling answered.
---
Rex and Roman were having a good time while they were making their way
to the Brady Pub. Rex was entertaining his father by telling a funny
incident that involved him, a half-naked woman and a German shepherd.
Roman was glad to notice that his son was in a better mood that he was
when Shawn’s name was mentioned. He just hoped that his nephew or his
new wife weren’t present at the Pub when they arrived. He knew that Rex
avoided places were he could bump into his cousin or his ex-girlfriend.
In honest, Roman didn’t blame his son for that, it had taken Roman years
to accept that Marlena was with John and he knew exactly how his son was
feeling.
“So, dad tell me, when are you going to take that vacation you’ve
promised to take a long time ago and take me, mom and Cassie on
holiday?” Rex said, turning to face his father and stopped walking.
“Well, I don’t know when I’ll be able to get some time off, since summer
is always a busy crime season,” Roman answered and looked very
uncomfortable at the thought of vacationing with his ex-wife.
“Come on dad, you’re the police commander of Salem, the head honcho, so
I think you can give yourself some slack.” Rex pointed out while
resuming walking.
“We’ll see what the near future brings. Maybe I’ll be able to take you
and your sister to Ireland this summer to see all of your relatives down
there,” Roman said and hoped that Rex wouldn’t react too badly to the
idea of going to Ireland without his mother.
“That’d be super, I’ve never been to Ireland. What’s it like?” Rex said
looking very pleased and apparently hadn’t even noticed that Kate
wouldn’t be coming along.
“You’ll have to ask your grandpa about that, he sure loves talking about
Ireland,” Roman said as the twosome reached the Brady Pub.
---
Nicole had made her choice and was now making her way to her apartment
to get ready for her date. Roman was going to pick her up at quarter to
seven, meaning that she had a little over three hours to get ready.
Roman wouldn’t know what hit him.
She took a long bath and spent at least 45 minutes fixing her hair that
it would look sultry. That was the look she was going for. She didn’t
want to look either desperate or like a hooker. Less was more when it
came to Roman. He didn’t want his future wife to look like a
streetwalker; he already had one wife like that. Believe it or not, she
was going to be Mrs. Roman Brady, the wife of the Police Commander of
Salem. Out of Roman’s five children, Carrie and Eric would most likely
approve as long as she would make their father happy. Sami, Rex and
Cassie would not like it, but they weren’t her problem. This was about
her future, it wasn’t a popularity contest. You don’t get things that
you want by being nice. Sami Brady-Roberts was a living and breathing
embodiment of that. Aside from Kate Roberts, Sami was the most conniving
and manipulating person she knew. But today, she was married to Lucas
Roberts and they were nauseously happy. Sami surely didn’t get Lucas by
being nice and agreeable.
She still had over an hour before Roman would arrive, so she opened a
bottle of champagne and just sat at her vanity table doing her make-up,
making sure everything was perfect.
---
True to form, Caroline Brady had made her famous stew and wouldn’t take
no for an answers. Her 5’2 figure seemed to tower over the Brady boys,
who viewed their mother as some sort of biblical figure. While growing
up, both Roman and his half-brother Bo learned not to question their
mother’s wisdom, as her advice was usually spot on. Even Rex, who seemed
unfazed by most people in Salem, listened his grandmother with a
reverence and an unfaltering adoration. In their minds, Caroline Brady,
could do no wrong.
Roman tried to eat just that much so it would appease his mother, but
not completely fill his stomach. He had promised Nicole a dinner and he
wasn’t going to disappoint her.
He had made a reservation at Tuscany earlier and Maggie had promised him
a good table. He knew it would cause a stir when he arrived to the
restaurant with Nicole Walker. Not only because she was much younger,
but also because of her reputation. It wasn’t uncommon to see the
recently divorced police commander spending time with the former Mrs.
Victor Kiriakis, but they had never before spent an evening dining
together in the past months that they had been friends.
But he was not affected by city gossip. The only opinion that mattered
to him was that of his family. He knew that he had an uphill battle in
front of him, if he was going to get his family to approve Nicole as a
part of his life. Even thought he and Nicole didn’t have a romantic
relationship with each other, he still cared about her more than he
would have thought three months ago. It was probably for the best that
they weren’t a couple, knowing his rotten luck in relationships. He had
been married three times and all those marriages had failed. Now, he was
focused on being a good father and an efficient police commander,
everything else was second in his thoughts, including romance.
Roman’s musing ended when he realized that if wouldn’t get going, he
would be hopelessly late in picking up Nicole. He needed to change into
something more formal and take a shower before he was ready to enter
Tuscany with the statuesque blonde.
He hurriedly said his goodbyes and rushed out of the Pub in such haste
that it drew a lot of interested stares from the pub patrons. He of
course was in too much of a hurry to notice.
---
Cassie was exasperated. The person she had counted on was failing her
miserably. She didn’t care that the person she had put all her hopes on,
had other plans. In Cassie’s mind, nothing was more important than
making sure that Nicwhore stayed away from her father. Obviously she had
to do this on her own.
Hell, she was used to that. She didn’t want to call either her mother or
Rex, since they would react very negatively. Getting her family back
together was now her responsibility and she would NOT fail. Failing was
not an option.
---
Nicole was getting restless, he was 10 minutes late. She knew Roman well
enough to know that he was always punctual and she started to worry that
something had happened to him. Just as she was about to lose it, the
doorbell rang, signifying that he had arrived.
Before she opened the door, she glanced at the mirror to make sure
everything was in place. Her red, full-length gown had a daring slit
that showed her legs and the décolleté was tastefully revealing. In her
years, Nicole hadn’t met a man she couldn’t charm and Roman would no
doubt be any different.
She opened the door and put on her most engaging smile.
Roman was rendered speechless when Nicole opened the door. He knew she
was beautiful, but he never knew she was this stunning. Her dress showed
off all of her curves and seemed to fit like a glove. Red was definitely
her color; no other color could bring out her glowing complexion and her
vivid blue eyes.
Nicole could see that he liked what he saw. He was staring at her as
though he had never seen her before. Obviously he was impressed and she
couldn’t help was to feel accomplished. This was going to be fun. But
nothing would top that feeling when she and Roman would exchange their
wedding wows in front of dozens of shocked Salemites. Kate would just
die.
“Well, don’t you look like a million bucks,” Roman said when he finally
remembered how to talk.
“You don’t look bad yourself,” Nicole retorted and wasn’t lying. Roman
looked extremely smart in his navy blue suit and black tie. Although he
was much older, he was still a very good-looking man.
Before Roman had arrived to pick her up, he had purchased a bouquet of
red roses, which he had completely forgotten to give her when she had
opened the door. Now he finally remembered and pulled the flowers from
behind his back.
Nicole was impressed, Roman had bought her favorite kinds of flowers,
red roses. It still amazed her that he seemed to know her so well. He
knew what she liked and what she didn’t like without ever being told. If
that didn’t mean they belonged together, nothing would.
“Oh, Roman, these are my favorites flowers. How did you know?” She asked
while taking the flowers to her kitchen to put them into a vase.
“Just a lucky coincidence, I guess.” He said with a boyish grin that
made Nicole want to take him to her bedroom and never let him go. They
hadn’t made love yet, but tonight would be the night.
After she had successfully gotten the bouquet in to the vase, Nicole
grapped her blood-red scarf and put it on her shoulders while they made
their way out from her apartment.
---
Across town Brady Black was helping his pregnant wife Chloe Lane-Black
to their car. She was only three-months along, but he insisted to make
sure she didn’t do anything strenuous and that included walking and
bending. They were yet to know the baby’s sex, but still Brady had
already started decorating a nursery for the baby. He had been working
hard for the past two weeks to make sure that their child had the most
fully equipped nursery in Salem that Chloe had insisted on taking him
out for dinner and out of that room for more than five minutes. She had
called Maggie Horton this morning and gotten them a table at Tuscany.
Brady was wearing a black suit with a white shirt and black tie that
accentuated his wife’s long and elegant black and white gown. Her
pregnancy wasn’t showing yet, so she wanted to wear the dress that Brady
had bought her from Paris during their honeymoon. She knew this would be
the last time she would be able to wear it until the baby was born. They
sat in Brady’s black SUV in silence listening to the soundtrack from
Mozart’s opera Don Giovanni, a combined favorite of theirs. They had
decided to use Brady’s car because he perceived it to be safer than her
black convertible that she had gotten from her father-in-law John Black
after she and Brady were married.
---
Cassie was in a horrible mood, she had been unable to get a hold of her
father and even her siblings were unreachable. Carrie was still
gallivanting somewhere in Africa with Mike Horton and was not answering
her calls. Austin was in an important meeting in his New York office or
so had his secretary told her. Eric was somewhere in the Colorado
mountains taking photos and Phillip was at home with his darling wife
Belle and their bundle of joy. Billie was still in Europe with Chelsea
and Sami and Lucas were at home ‘doing what newlyweds do’ as Lucas had
said when she had called asking for his help.
Lucas was her favorite brother aside from Rex. He was the one who could
always be counted on. When she had asked him for a favor, he seemed open
to it, but as soon as she had told him the situation, he had completely
refused to help. Quote on quote, he had said that he wasn’t going to get
involved with Roman and mom’s affairs and Cassie should also mind her
own business. Lucas had also told his sister that he wasn’t going to put
himself in the middle of his wife and his mother again and now that
things were finally resolved between Sami and Kate, he was just going to
sit back and enjoy the truce as long as it lasts.
She didn’t understand why Sami was always in the way of everything.
Cassie had a cordial relationship with her older sister, meaning that
they would stay away from each other as much as possible and if by some
misfortune ended up in the same company, their conversation consisted of
small talk and discussing the weather. Rex, for some incomprehensible
reason, got along with Sami and was even a groomsman in her wedding.
They talked and spent time together and even seemed to enjoy each
other’s company, which disturbed Cassie to no end.
For the past hour she had tried to reach her father, but he had shut his
cell phone and Cassie didn’t want to leave a message to his voice mail.
She had tried the police station just in case dad had decided to go back
to work. No luck, her uncle Bo answered from her father’s office and
said that Roman had left work at noon to meet her, Rex and mom at Salem
Place and had no intention to return until the next morning. She didn’t
understand why people who have cell phones didn’t answer them. She had
gone by her father’s apartment to see if he was home and even went
inside with the key he had given her. There was no sign of her father
and that made her even more aggravated.
---
Roman and Nicole had arrived at the Tuscany car park and now made their
way towards the upscale restaurant. He was a little nervous of what kind
of reaction people inside the establishment would have. He opened the
door for Nicole and the look on Maggie Horton’s face was absolutely
priceless. He and Nicole made their way to Maggie so that she would
escort them to their table.
“Hi, Maggie, how are you?” Roman asked politely while still laughing on
the inside at Maggie’s bewilderment. After all, Tuscany was known in
Salem as the place where lovers went to eat and dance and it obviously
unnerved Maggie that there could be even a slight chance that his
relationship with Nicole was romantic.
“I I’m good,” Maggie responded after a few second pause and still looked
extremely surprised. Then she carefully shifted from looking astonished
to her usual sunny predisposition with a smile that didn’t go all the
way to her eyes. She then checked their reservation from her guest book
and personally escorted the couple to their table, which was on the
right side of the dance floor. Roman pulled Nicole’s chair and then made
his way to his seat that was right across from hers.
Nicole was also cackling on the inside with pure unaltered satisfaction.
No doubt, good old Maggie Horton would go and spread the news of her
dinner with Roman to anyone that listened. She didn’t particularly like
the redheaded restaurateur, but when gossip needed to be spread through
the grapevine, no one could get the job done better than Maggie. First
she would inform husband Mickey, then possibly Julie Olson-Williams, who
would pass the story to daughter Hope Brady, who in turn would gossip
with cousin Jennifer Horton. Then Maggie would most likely converse with
Lucas Roberts, as she was his AA-sponsor. Lucas undoubtedly would pass
the information to his ‘dear’ mother Kate Roberts-Brady and if Nicole
was lucky, Kate would be informed about her former husbands dinner
rendezvous no later than tomorrow. Everything seemed to be going her way
and that’s the way she liked.
---
As the twosome surveyed the menu, another couple had made their way to
the restaurant. If there were two people in Salem that could possibly
ruin Nicole’s momentum it would be these two. It was no secret in Salem
that Chloe Lane-Black detested Nicole Walker and made no bones about her
desire to abolish the tall blonde from town. She viewed Nicole as a
malicious, manipulating bitch that needed to be put in her place. Chloe
had succeeded in ruining Nicole’s plans with re-emerging from the dead
and had married Brady Black from right under Nicole’s nose.
As the maître d escorted the Black’s to their table that was on the
other side of the restaurant, Chloe kept her eyes locked with the couple
that was now engaged in an intimate conversation. It was stroke of good
luck that from their table, Chloe had an unobstructed view to her
enemy’s table, while Nicole was not able to see them from her spot. Not
that Chloe actually thought that she would pay attention to anything
other than her dinner companion. Chloe noticed that Roman had asked
Nicole to dance and on the dance floor Nicole had flung herself onto
Roman. She was all over the police commander like a cheap suit. Chloe
was not the only one who had noticed the spectacle Nicole was making as
people in surrounding tables took notice of the way the two swayed on
the mahogany dance floor.
---
Nicole and Roman were in their own universe. Nothing or no one could
have intruded as the music had seemingly faded away. Roman had never
wanted to kiss anyone than he wanted to kiss Nicole, but he kept his
cool and continued swirling the blonde around the dance floor. He knew
it was the wrong time and wrong place for actions of that nature.
Nicole was eating up all the attention other patrons were giving them.
They were obviously shocked that Roman Brady, the respected police
commander and the oldest Brady sibling was dining and dancing with her.
All those people who had counted her out were going to be sorry, because
as she married into the fabled Brady clan and became Mrs. Roman Brady,
she would be in the forefront of the Salem social scene. The wife of the
police commander traditionally hosted the biggest charity ball of the
year, The Commander’s Ball, and the guest list was always full of movers
and shakers of the Salem social circles.