The Monroe Legacy - G.3 Chapter Nine - All Change

Andrew Cai Monroe was born at Lucky a Palms a General hospital with both parents and his Uncle Gray in attendance. He brought noise and chaos to the house which had long been absent and Grey found that the days were beginning to pass happily. He missed Eva desperately and spent every Sunday catching up with the search and helping wherever he could, but the rest of the week he tried to focus on the present and the possibility of a future.

His new-found positivity had also brought back the pleasure of working, the kitchen team once again becoming like a second family to him. He was on first name terms with his boss and the two were firm friends, staying late to perfect recipes and moan about the restaurant's owner. As he got closer to Rachel, Gray began to wonder about what she had said to him about his life not being the only one that had been destroyed. As much as time as they spent together she never asked him about his last or offered any information about her own.

When, shortly after Andrew's first birthday, Saffron announced that she and Leyton had found a house they wanted to buy, Gray handled it better that he had thought he would. While he would miss them, their new place was only a five minute walk away and it would give him a chance to put in place something he'd been planning for a while.

Andrew Cai Monroe

Gray loved his parents' home, but it was riddled with ghosts and memories. Every corner held a reminder of Eva, of Hallie or of Cai. Gray decided that the time had come to let go of the bad memories and remember the good whilst making some new ones.

Gray moved out the same day Saffron and her family did, pausing only to rest his palm on the weathered front door. He was ready to move on, to strip away the old and to find a way forward.

He stayed with Rachel while the rebuild was underway, neither Violet or Saffron had the space or the flexibility to deal with his work hours and young children. Rachel's guesthouse was nicely furnished and she even let Gray pay a little rent so he wouldn't feel he was intruding. Her home was pleasant but kind of impersonal and being there made Gray wonder even more about Rachel's past, she was so to the point about most things but her life before Lucky Palms was a firmly closed book.

The two months passed uneventfully, outside of work Gray still preferred his own company but occasionally him and Rachel would share a meal and spend the evening talking or reading together. It was comfortable.

The last night before Gray would move home and take a week in Rachel knocked on his door with a strange look on her face. Far from her usual collected self she seemed nervous.

 

'Gray, my car won't start, could you give me a lift somewhere.'

Gray happily agreed and they were soon on the road. Rachel had given directions to a park near to City Hall but no indication of why she was going. Gray wondered absently if she had a date, she certainly had the jitters, fidgeting with her hair and clearing her throat.

As they approached their destination Gray saw groups of people with picket signs gathering at the park and caught Rachel's arms as she went to rush out of the car?

'Do you want me to wait while you..... Protest?' He asked, genuinely surprised by their destination.

Rachel was flustered. 'Oh... Um. Up to you. I mean I can probably find someone headed our way. You decide.'

 Seeing her so out of sorts made up Gray's mind and he turned off the engine and pulled out a book.

'I'll be here' he said.

Rachel nodded and rushed away.

After twenty minutes Gray's curiosity got the best of him and he pulled on a coat and melted into the crowd. The protesters seemed mainly female and from what he could see in the banners they were protesting the time limit for having an abortion, posters proclaiming that babies were viable beyond the time that termination was legal. Gray had never really considered it before, shuddering at the thought of it. He was about to return to his car when a familiar voice cut through the hubbub.

Rachel stepped up to a podium and introduced herself as the crowd cheered. Her nerves gone she began to tell a story. It didn't take long for Gray to realise she was talking about herself, the emotion cracking her voice even as she worked up the crowd, laying bare her past out for everyone in attendance to judge.

She had married young, to spite her parents and soon afterwards had found herself pregnant. Her husband hated kids and begged her to terminate the pregnancy, but she wasn't sure, she waited until the last moment, hoping he would change his mind or that she would feel right doing it. When he threatened to leave if she went on with the pregnancy she finally agreed to an abortion.

She caught sight of the foetus before they could take it away and what she had seen had shattered her belief that she had done the right thing. It had shattered her. At twenty one weeks her baby had had a face, it had had fingers and it had been sucking it's thumb, it could have survived if it had been born. Her daughter would have been five now. Rachel wasn't pushing to remove peoples right to choose, just to shorten the deadline, if a child could survive alone the what right did she, or anyone else, have to end it's life.

As the crowd cheered and waved their banners, Rachel stepped down, her shoulders sagged and she was visibly drained and as she did so she caught sight of Gray standing there. She looked away, avoiding his gaze.

Gray went over and touched her arm, forcing her to engage.

'I suppose you think I'm a terrible person now.' Rachel said bitterly, 'to allow a douchebag husband to take away my child with hardly a fight, that's why I never told you.'

Gray was shocked, it hadn't even occurred to him that she might have come to that conclusion.

'Rachel no! I think what you just did was incredibly brave. You just put your own dirty laundry, your pain in the spotlight to help other people make better choices. To try and make the government prevent other people from having to go through what you've gone through.

You could have told me. Maybe not at first, I was too caught up in myself. But recently, I would have understood. If anyone can understand that kind of loss it's me.'

With that he scooped her into a hug, feeling some of the tension leave her as he stroked her hair.

Rachel's confession had changed something for Gray. The passion with which she had fought to be heard, her honesty and her resolve to make things right, those were things that Gray needed in his life.

As Rachel pulled out of the hug, wiping her eyes Gray did something impulsive. Something neither of them had imagined happening.

He kissed her.

For a second everything was still and perfect.

But then Rachel jerked back, her face shocked and her guard firmly back up.

'What the hell Gray?! I told you my story, I didn't drop my pants. Why would you think it was okay to kiss me?!'

Gray flushed red. He had no idea why he'd done that. Raking his hands through his hair he stuttered and apology

'I'm... I'm so sorry. I think - I just don't know. God Rachel, I don't want to ruin our friendship. Can we pretend I didn't just do that'

And with that he rushed back to the car, desperate to get away. He was halfway home before he realised that Rachel didn't have a lift.

When he got back to the guesthouse he packed his suitcases in the car and drive to Saffron's. He could do one night in the couch and then move in the morning. Gray slept poorly, trying to convince himself that it was because the couch was lumpy rather than because he was trying to make sense of the evenings happenings.

The cold light of day didn't she'd any light on the situation. The more Gray thought about it the more he wished he hadn't kissed Rachel. Not because it might damage their friendship but more because now he thought of it, and he couldn't believe he hadn't before, he thought that he might like to kiss her more regularly.

She was one of his best friends, they shared a love of cooking and a sense of humour, she wasn't afraid to put him in his place or argue with him, she wasn't scared of his past. Rachel was everything Aisha hadn't been, confident, open and caring, and now he might have blown his shit before he even realised he wanted one.

Gray was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't notice they'd arrived at the house until the driver opened the cab door and asked if he was okay. Stepping out he surveyed his new home.

He had seen drawings but it was better than he had hoped. Clean minimalists lines and bold colours were a much better match for the Lucky Palms scenery. It was smaller, with just him he didn't need bug empty rooms to remind him of who he was missing, and the kitchen was bespoke and top of the range.

Gray was thrilled, it was the perfect space to try and build a new life for himself, he only wished that he was as clear in what he wanted from that life as he had been 24 hours ago.

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Find out what happens next in Chapter 10 - Holding On To You