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Part Three – Confessions
Sheridan felt a sense of relief from her conversation with Julian. She had not killed anyone; she was sure she
could trust Julian on this point. However, she knew that something sinister had happened all those years ago. If
it had anything to do with Martin Fitzgerald, Sheridan would discover the truth. She owed it to Luis.
Sheridan looked again at her watch. Where was Luis? They were supposed to meet at the Youth Center for lunch. Sheridan
sat down on a chair in his office. She reached into her purse and pulled out the mail she had stuffed in there
earlier.
A letter from Hettie! It had been ages since she heard from her. Just as she was about to open the letter, Luis
came up behind her. "Hey, sweetie! Sorry I’m late." Usually, Luis never kept her waiting. In fact, it
was almost always the opposite. "Busy day?" Sheridan asked. "Yeah. First day back. Playing catch
up." Luis confessed.
Sheridan felt so guilty because his trip to Paris was the reason he was behind on his work. He realized this and
added, "Hey, it was well worth it though. How many people get to spend two weeks in France with the woman
they love? All the guys at the station are jealous. Plus, you made me look like a hero."
Sheridan smiled, knowing that he was telling her this to make her feel better. She replied, "Well, if you
don’t have time for lunch, I totally understand, Luis." Luis touched her cheek and answered, "No way,
Crane. You’re not getting out of our date that easily. I know you’ve got some hot love letter you want to read,
but it will have to wait until after our lunch." Sheridan explained, "It’s just a letter from an old
friend, a girlfriend." Luis was happy to know that.
Luis and Sheridan went by The Harbor Market to pick up some sandwiches and salads. They headed to Lighthouse Park
and set up the blanket under the old Oak Tree. Luis poured a glass of lemonade for Sheridan and handed it to her.
He noticed that she seemed very relaxed and happy. Whatever had been troubling her the night before had passed.
He asked, "How does it feel to be back in Harmony?" Sheridan replied, "It feels wonderful. I had
breakfast with Ethan this morning and talked with your Mom. It’s really nice to see everyone. And I even had a
decent conversation with Julian." Luis almost choked on his sandwich, "Julian? What did you two talk
about?" Sheridan offered, "The past, the present, and even the future a bit. We’re by no means the best
of friends now, but we have come to an understanding, and he knows how I feel about you."
Luis smiled and put his arms around her waist, "And what exactly did you tell Julian about us?" Sheridan
looked straight at him and said, "Just that I love you very much and that if he tries to interfere, I will
make his life a living hell." Sheridan saw the happiness and pride spread across his face. She continued,
"I have no real proof that Julian or Father was behind the misunderstanding at the wharf, but I put Julian
on notice that we will get to the bottom of it."
Luis wasn’t quite satisfied, "Misunderstanding? Sheridan, someone pretended to be me. Do you know how strange
that feels?" Sheridan answered, "I’m the one who had to sit and listen to you, or not really you, say
some terrible things about me. Do you have any idea of how much it hurts to have someone you care about say they’re
using you?"
Luis had a pretty good idea. After all, Sheridan claimed to be using him. Sheridan remembered, "Oh yeah. I
guess you do know what that’s like. I am so sorry for the things I said. I had no right to slap you. I just didn’t
want you to know how much you had hurt me." Luis didn’t want to go there again, "Let’s just forget about
it. I don’t like to think about that time."
Sheridan continued to relay the details of her meeting with Julian, "Luis, there’s more you need to know about
my talk with Julian. He told me some things about my past. I still have a lot of questions, and I’m hoping that
together we can find the answers."
Sheridan watched as Luis took all this in and she added, "Luis, I asked Julian about your father. Julian claims
that he and Father had nothing to do with Martin’s disappearance, but my gut tells me they did. And I think that
I may know something about it. I believe that the nightmares I’ve always had may be the key to your Father’s disappearance."
There, she had gotten it all out and the world had not ended. Luis was still there next to her and she was okay.
Luis looked at the ground and remained silent while he processed all this information. He finally spoke up, "That’s
what your dreams are about? My father?" Sheridan explained, "Well, I don’t know for certain, but they’re
pretty disturbing. And as I told you before, they started around the time Martin disappeared. I hope you know that
I wanted to be honest with you from the start, but I didn’t really know how to talk about this with you. I have
no proof of anything and even my nightmares are so vague. I didn’t even realize there may be a connection between
my nightmares and your father’s disappearance until a few months ago, right before we went to Santa Fe."
It was all starting to make sense to Luis now. He asked, "And that’s the reason you went to Santa Fe? To give
yourself some piece of mind?" Sheridan held his hand and answered, "Yes and no. I needed to know my involvement
in your father’s disappearance. I was so young at the time. I don’t remember ever knowing him. I wasn’t lying to
you when I told you I wanted to find answers for Pilar. That’s the truth. I love your mother, and she deserves
to know what really happened. And so do you. I can’t stand seeing you in pain, Luis. I want you to know what happened,
even if that means bringing down my family."
Their plans for a relaxing picnic had turned into a heavy discussion. Without even realizing it, an hour and a
half had passed. Luis needed to get back to work. Luis glanced at this watch. Sheridan asked, "I know you
need to go. Are we ok? Please tell me that you aren’t angry. Please tell me you don’t hate me."
Luis was overwhelmed by all this new information, but he was so relieved that Sheridan finally trusted him enough
to tell him the truth. He held her in his arms, "Of course I don’t hate you. I could never hate you Sheridan.
Don’t you know that by now? I’m just thinking about it all. I knew that you were hiding something from me, but
it never occurred to me that it might have something to do with my father. I guess I’m just desperate to find out
the truth, and yet I’m scared as to where this might lead."
Sheridan knew that Luis was afraid that if they proved what he suspected all along, that the Cranes were responsible
for Martin’s disappearance, that it might destroy their relationship. He kissed her goodbye and said, "We’ll
talk about this more tonight, Sher. We’re going to find out what really happened. We can solve this together."
Sheridan was glad that he said ‘together’.
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