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Date Posted: 23:24:11 03/07/01 Wed
Author: Lacy
Subject: A Far Greater Treasure: Part Two

Here it is, angels, as promised. Let me know what you think =)

A Far Greater Treasure

Part Two

Carrie brushed a stray lock of hair from her face and wiped her forehead with the back of her hand; with tired eyes, she looked at the seemingly hundreds of boxes still needing to be unpacked and sighed. She had never enjoyed the moving process, but it was definitely ten times worse when you were moving back from a foreign country and you hadn’t really bothered to label boxes. Mentally kicking herself for not investing in some box labels she reached for the closest one and tugged at the packing tape. Allowing her thoughts to wander, she thought again of how lucky she and Mike had been to find this house so quickly. It was a medium-sized, two story white house in picturesque neighborhood; it even had a white picket fence in front of it and a wide porch that held a wonderful swing. It had a separate garage with an apartment over it where Jeremy had taken up residence and declared would be “the coolest apartment ever” in no time. Smiling slightly, Carrie thought again of how glad she was Jeremy had come with them to Salem; he was a Horton, after all, and he should get to know his family here. And, Carrie admitted silently, I really wanted him here. He’s more like my little brother than my stepson. I’ve just gotten so used to him being around the last couple years that don’t know if I’d know what to do with myself if he wasn’t here. Finally managing to get the tape off the box, Carrie turned her attention to it once more. Seeing that it was full of Mike’s medical books she stood up and bent over, picking it up and setting off up the stairs to the room that had been designated “Mike’s office”. Kicking the door open with her foot, she set the box down in the doorway deciding that Mike could unpack his own boxes in here. Her eyes fell on the lone clock sitting on his desk and she realized with a start that she was going to be late. She’d gotten a call from Sami a couple days ago and today was the day she’d finally get to see her half sister. Part of her was nervous—she and Sami hadn’t exactly been on the best of terms when Carrie had left Salem. To be completely honest, they’d never been on good terms. But Carrie wanted to change that; during the years she’d spend in Israel she’d come to realize how important her family was to her and that she wanted a relationship with every one of them. Besides, the major source of her and Sami’s squabbles had been Austin—and he was no longer in the picture. She’d known that he and Sami had dated for a while after she left, but apparently he’d fallen in love with Greta von Amburg and moved with her to Europe. All the better for me…and for Sami, Carrie mused. She held no animosity towards Austin, but she’d also realized that she should have never married him in the first place. Austin had been a sort of crutch for her—the source of her identity. She had been “Austin’s wife” and, had the marriage continued, she would have been “the mother of his children”. He hadn’t allowed her to breathe—to be Carrie and to be something outside of him. Austin was her first love, but as she well knew, your first love isn’t necessarily your soul mate. Shaking herself out of her reflections, Carrie moved to take a shower before meeting Sami at Tuscany’s.

*~*~*~

Carrie took a deep breath, smiled at Maggie, and began walking to the table where Sami sat. Stopping just behind her she said softly, “Hello, Sami.” As Sami turned to greet her, a smile crossed her face…a welcoming smile.

“Hi, Carrie. Sit down, please.” A little shaky, Carrie managed to make it to her chair without falling over something and once she was sitting down began to regain control of her nerves. She looked across at her one-time rival, and seeing nothing but happiness there, she allowed herself to respond with a small, but genuine, smile. Silence filled the air until Carrie willed herself to break the silence with a light remark.

“So you do still exist. I was beginning to wonder, what with all this being secretive about seeing you. In any case, it’s…good…to see you. How have you been, Sami?”

“I’ve been great. I’m sorry I didn’t make it to the welcome home party, but I’ve been absolutely swamped lately at work. Did Daddy tell you anything at all about me?”

“No, he didn’t. In fact, no one has. So what is this top-secret work you’re involved in, huh? Drug-dealing? Prostitution? Used car sales?”

Laughing lightly, Sami shook her head. “No, nothing so illegal. I guess I should tell you the whole story. After you and Mike left for Israel, Austin and I began dating; I know that’s no surprise to you, but I felt it was something I needed to tell you personally. At first it was so great—I finally had the man I had chased for, god, I don’t even know how many years. But eventually I began to feel that something was missing from our relationship; it just didn’t have the right feel—the right passion. I tried to ignore it for a while but shortly after Greta’s coronation, when I saw how close she and Austin had become, I realized that there really was very little between us. And once I admitted that, it was easy for me to see that Austin didn’t love me—he loved who he wanted me to become. He tried to change who I was; now, I admit that a lot of what he wanted was reasonable—giving up scheming, manipulations, etc. But he took it a point of self-righteousness, at least when it came to me. So finally, one day, after a lot of confusion, heartbreak, and deceptions, we finally admitted that he and I were not meant to be. He loved Greta and I had fallen for someone else. You see, through all this, there had been someone there supporting me, helping me get Will back, and loving me. I think you might know him—Brandon Walker.”

Sami paused here to observe Carrie’s reaction; she smiled at the slight jaw drop and the raised eyebrows. “Yes, I did say Brandon Walker. I know he’s not perfect, but he’s perfect for me in every way. He loves me just as I am and through him I’ve been able to give up a lot of my ‘evil ways’; all of my lies and schemes were really just a form of denial for me. In constantly blaming someone else for my problems, be it John or Lucas or Kate, I was trying to make myself out to be the better person. But I’ve started rambling. Back to what I was saying….I had fallen in love with Brandon Walker. It’s an all-encompassing, pure kind of love that I’d never be able to imagine; it’s the kind of love I’m sure you have for Mike and through loving Brandon I was able to understand why you did what you did more. I’ve grown up a lot in the last few years, Carrie, and the reason I asked you here today was to ask your forgiveness for all the things I’ve put you through and to ask if we can start over. I would very much like for us to be sisters instead of enemies.”

Carrie couldn’t quite believe what she’d just heard; she held Sami in an intense gaze and could feel a lump forming in her throat. Managing to speak around it she said, “Sami, I do forgive you, and I’d like to ask your forgiveness as well. I haven’t exactly been an angel towards you; and I must confess that I was hoping to have this sort of conversation with you today. I want us to be friends; I want us to move past everything that’s caused negativity between us. I know it won’t happen overnight, but I want to try.” She reached out across the table and caught Sami’s hand in her own. Smiling together, the two realized that a chapter in their life had just been closed, taking with it years of pain, heartache and stress. Tears flowed down Sami’s cheeks freely and Carrie discreetly dabbed the corners of her eyes with her napkin. The waiter appeared at the table and they managed to give him their orders until he once again left them in silence.

“So,” Carrie started, “You and Brandon are a serious couple, then?”

“Not exactly,” Sami said.

“I don’t understand. I thought you were in love.”

“Oh, I am—completely, one hundred percent, head-over-heels in love. But we’re not a serious couple.” With a twinkle in her eyes, Sami whispered, “We’re engaged.” She extended her left hand, showing Carrie an exquisite diamond solitaire. Carrie let out a low whistle.

“Sami, it’s beautiful. Congratulations. You and Brandon will have to come over dinner soon so that I can get to know my soon-to-be brother-in-law. Have you two set the date?”

“Actually, the engagement party is next week and the wedding is set for a month after that. You sure showed up at the right time, Carrie, because I am still searching for a maid-of-honor, and I would love for you to be her.”

“I would be honored, Sami. And I’m assuming that you two have been engaged a while, then, since the date is so close?”

“Yes, almost a year now. I needed that long to plan this wedding, which brings me to my next piece of news. I’ve opened my own business. I do event planning here in Salem and dabble in interior design when I have the time.”

“Wow! Congratulations. How on earth did you get into that?”

“Well, I organized the hospital benefit a couple years ago when Nancy Wesley was extremely sick and couldn’t do it. I really found that I loved it and had a knack for it so I gave my four weeks notice at the hospital, got a loan, and set up shop. You’ll have to come by my office; I hear you and Mike just bought a house and I know just the decorator for you.”

“Actually, that would be a fabulous idea; I can’t even arrange books on a bookshelf, much less decorate an entire house. And there is a special project I definitely will need you for.” Leaning close, Carrie whispered, “Can you keep a secret?”

“That’s one thing I’m good at. I won’t tell anyone,” Sami whispered back in a conspiratorial fashion.

“Well, the reason Mike and I moved back to Salem is because I’m having a baby…” Carrie’s words were caught off as a shriek escaped Sami’s lips.

“Oh, my god! I can’t believe you haven’t told anyone! When are you due?”

“In about six months and you have to promise me you won’t say a word to a soul because I want to tell everyone at the right time.”

“I’ll be as silent as the grave; and I am so doing your nursery as your present!”

~*~*~*

TBC

Coming Soon:

Carrie meets Sami’s assistant—someone who’s not too popular in Salem
Jeremy gets introduced to “the crowd” in Salem and meets someone very special
Sami’s engagement party takes place
A girls night out draws Carrie closer to her family and friends
Mike begins working on his most important project ever

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