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Crisis & Catharsis -- Part XXIII Matthew ran into the house ahead of Nora and straight up the stairs, the crisp slamming of his door signaling his arrival in his room. Nora turned to Bo. “He’s got a lot to process right now. Just give him some space. If it’s any consolation, he didn’t speak to me beyond ‘yup’ and ‘nope’ for weeks after Daniel.”   Bo shook his head ruefully. “It’s not.”   “I wonder where Rachel is?” Nora asked as she glanced around before poking her head into the kitchen. “I guess she must have gone out.” She returned to the living room and found a note on the desk. She picked it up and read it with a smile. “Well, well. It seems Rachel has been invited by Rex to check out his nightclub. Is she safe with him?”   Bo nodded. “If anyone can handle Rex, it’s Rachel. She was giving him a pretty hard time this morning when I came to pick up Matthew. I think she likes him.”   Nora laughed. “You REALLY need to explain that boy to me.”   Bo grinned. “He’s not so bad once you get used to him.”   “I’ll take your word for it.” Nora looked around uneasily. “Would you like some coffee?”   Bo shook his head. “No, thanks.”   Nora nodded. “Okay, then can you stay with Matthew?”   Bo looked at her cautiously. “Sure. But where are you going?”   Nora avoided his eyes. “Out… I have… I have a couple errands to run.”   Bo shook his head. “I know you, Nora. You’re going to find Paige, aren’t you?”   Nora stared him down. “Don’t even think about stopping me, Bo. We have more than a few things to discuss.”   Bo nodded. “I don’t disagree with you but I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to confront her on your own. Let’s wait for Rachel and I’ll go with you.” Nora shook her head. “At least let me get MaryAnn over here.”   “No, Bo. This is between me and Paige. I don’t need you to play referee.” Bo frowned at her. “I’m not going to do anything stupid. We’re just going to talk. Give me your cell phone.”   Bo stared at her. “My cell phone?”   Nora nodded. “I’m sure you have her number programmed on speed dial. I want to call her and arrange a meeting.”   “I really don’t think this is a good idea.”   Nora held out her hand. “Duly noted. Now give me the phone. I don’t have the strength or the patience to drive all over town looking for her.”   Bo dug in his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. He held it out to Nora. “I know better than to try to stop you when your mind’s made up. It’s number 3.”   Nora smirked as she took the phone from his hand. “I was always number 1 on your speed dial list.” Bo just shook his head as Nora turned and walked into her office, keying in the number and waiting for her to pick up.   Paige answered with a huge smile on her face. “Bo! I knew you…”   “Guess again,” Nora cut her off. “This is Nora Hanen.”   Paige was surprised. “Nora. I wasn’t expecting you…”   “I know,” Nora cut her off again. “You were expecting Bo. I’m using his cell phone. I knew you would pick up if you saw his number. Where are you right now? We need to meet.”   Paige’s trademark smile left her face. “Now? Now is not a good time.”   “Make it a good time. I want to talk to you and it would not be in your best interest to jerk me around right now. Where are you?”   Paige looked around nervously. “I… I’m finishing up at the hospital. I don’t want to meet here. How about Rodi’s in 10 minutes.”   Nora nodded. “Fine. I will see you then. And Paige, don’t make me come looking for you.” Nora snapped the phone shut without waiting for a response. She walked back into the living room and handed the phone to Bo.   Bo put the phone back in his pocket. “Well?”   “We’re meeting at Rodi’s,” Nora replied as she slipped her jacket on. “I’ll see you when I get back.”   “Nora?” She turned to look at him. “Don’t do anything stupid, okay?”   Nora chuckled. “I wouldn’t give her the satisfaction, Bo. I just want to look her in the eye and explain to her what she did to my son and reinforce your warning that she better stay far away from him.”   Bo nodded. “Warnings are good. If you want something more, we still have any number of LEGAL options available to us.”   Nora looked at him impatiently. “I am perfectly aware of the law, Bo. I’ll be careful.”   Bo smiled. “That’s all I ask. Remember, she’s not worth it. Good luck.”   “Thanks,” Nora said as she headed out the door.   Bo took a deep breath as the door closed behind Nora. He looked up the stairs, wondering if he should approach Matthew. He took out his cell phone and called to order a pizza before trudging slowly up the stairs. He knocked on the closed door and waited for a response. When none was forthcoming, he slowly pushed the door open and stuck his head through the opening. Matthew was propped on his bed, furiously punching the buttons on his Gameboy. He didn’t look up as Bo walked into his room. “Hey, buddy. I ordered us some pizza. You must be hungry.” Matthew continued with his game.   Bo sat on the edge of the bed. “Can you put the game down and talk to me?”   “I don’t wanna talk to you,” Matthew said, not looking up from his game.   “Matthew please. We can’t work this out if you won’t talk to me.”   Matthew glanced up briefly. “Where’s mom?”   “She had an errand to run. I thought we could talk.”   Matthew shook his head. “She said I didn’t have to talk to you right now if I don’t want to. And I don’t want to.”   Bo took a deep breath. “Okay. But I just want you to know that when you’re ready to talk, I’m here. And that I’m sorry.”   Bo got up from the bed. He walked over to the door and turned to look at Matthew as he flipped over on his stomach and continued to play his game. “I’ll call you when the pizza gets here,” Bo said before slowly closing the door.   Matthew looked behind him to make sure Bo had left. He tossed his game aside and punched angrily at his pillow. “Why do they always mess things up?” he asked the empty room as he wiped the tears from his eyes. Bo wandered back down the stairs and sank wearily onto the couch. The front door swung open and Rachel walked into the living room. “Bo, hey. I didn’t know you guys would be back so soon. Where’s mom?”   “She’s out. She had an errand to run.”   Rachel watched him closely. “Uh oh. Did the ‘errand’ have anything to do with Paige?”   Bo nodded. “I couldn’t stop her. And someone had to stay with Matthew.”   “Where is he?”   Bo nodded toward the stairs. “In his room. He’s not too happy with me at the moment.”   Rachel shook her head. “You can’t be surprised, Bo.”   “No, I’m not surprised. I deserve his anger. But it does make me sad that after all the effort I’ve put into developing a relationship with my son, I’m right back at square one because of Paige.”   Rachel sat beside him. “You do have your work cut out for you but there is a difference this time.”   Bo looked at her strangely. “And what would that be? Because from where I’m sitting, Matthew hates me.”   Rachel shook her head. “No, he doesn’t. He’s angry at you because mom was sick and it turns out it was Paige’s fault. But he knows you love him and once he calms down, he’ll remember that. He’s an awful lot like you, you know.”   Bo shook his head with a rueful grin. “And that could be our biggest problem.”   Rachel smiled. “But just like you, he’s a teddy bear too. He’s going to put you through your paces but in the end, he’ll forgive you and he’ll want to have you around.”   “I hope you’re right.”   Rachel grinned at him. “I am. Sisters know these things.”   Bo smiled as he shook his head. “Let's not talk about me. Let's talk about you. Specifically you and Rex.”   Rachel laughed. “Me and Rex? There’s nothing to talk about.”   “First you’re buying him breakfast and then you’re visiting his club? What happened here last night?” Bo teased.   Rachel shook her finger at Bo. “You’re not the stepfather anymore. You don’t get to ask those questions.”   Bo shrugged. “Matthew is still your brother.”   Rachel got up off the couch and looked down at Bo. “I really don't have to answer your question but in the spirit of sisterhood, I will say that Rex is so out of his league with me, he doesn’t have a prayer!”   She walked out of the room as Bo’s laughter echoed behind her.   *********************** Nora ordered a club soda at the bar and took a seat in one of the booths at the back of Rodi’s. Luckily the place wasn’t crowded. Nora didn’t want many witnesses in case things got out of hand. She wanted to keep things civil for Bo’s sake but not knowing what Paige would say, she wanted to keep all her options open. Nora had been sitting drumming her fingers on the table for about 5 minutes when Paige walked through the door, nervously looking around until she saw Nora. She hastily ordered a drink and walked over to the table, a strained smile on her face. She sat across from Nora and set her drink down. “Hi, Nora,” she said quietly. “How are you feeling?”   “Don’t pretend that you care, Paige.”   Paige shook her head with a sad smile. “I do care, Nora. Whether you believe me or not. I didn’t do what you and Bo think I did.”   Nora nodded. “So you say. So why don’t you tell me the truth as you see it.”   Paige smiled sadly. “You won’t believe me any more than Bo did.”   “Try me.”   Paige took a long drink, watching Nora closely. “Okay, I’ll tell you.”   Nora sat back in her chair. “Go ahead,” she said softly.   Paige leaned forward. “It’s true I was baking the cookies for you and it turns out they were laced with Hemlock, but I did NOT know that.”   Nora nodded. “So Bo said. You say this is Spencer Truman’s fault?”   “Yes, it was Spencer. He’s determined to ruin my life.”   Nora laughed derisively. “And he thought poisoning me would ruin your life? Seems to me, it’s the perfect way for you to get exactly what you wanted – Bo and Matthew. Instant family.”   Paige shook her head. “It wasn’t like that. I love Bo and Matthew.”   Nora sat forward again. “And you show that by trying to take ME out of the picture?”   Again Paige shook her head. “No, Nora. I know how much Matthew adores you. He’s very protective of you. He always managed to make it clear to me that you came first in his life and his father and I would always be second best. You should be very proud.”   “Matthew’s adoration of me gives you a perfect reason to want me out of the picture.”   Paige downed her drink. “This is obviously pointless. After the day I’ve had, I don’t see any reason to sit here and let you take potshots at me.”   Nora reached across and grabbed Paige’s arm. “You are going to sit there and listen to me for as long as I say. You do realize I have the ability to have you thrown in jail?”   Paige sneered. “You could. But I bet you didn’t come here to have me tossed in jail. It would do more damage to Matthew to drag this out in court. I know you don't want that. I’m betting that you want to warn me to stay away from your son and then forget I ever existed.”   Nora watched her. “Something like that.”   Paige nodded. “Bo already threatened me. I got the message. I am making arrangements to leave Llanview as soon as possible. You got what you wanted. I’m leaving town and Bo is all yours.”   Nora shook her head. “Who said I wanted Bo?”   Paige laughed. “Who are you kidding, Nora? Of course you want Bo. The whole town knows that. And now you got your wish, thanks to Spencer.”   The two women stared each other down until Nora sat back, shaking her head at the realization that Paige was telling the truth. “Spencer really did set you up, didn’t he?” Paige nodded. “What does he have on you?”   Paige looked away. “I’m not going to go into that. Let’s just say I did something when we were married that I’m not proud of and he is a master at exploiting my weaknesses. He set me up right under my nose and I never saw it coming.” She shook her head with a derisive laugh. “I was your doctor and I couldn’t figure out what was wrong with you, when all along he was making it look like I was the one making you sick. It’s genius in a twisted kinda way.”   Nora shook her head. “Wow. That really is twisted. Maybe we can figure a way to turn the tables on him.”   Paige shook her head with a smile. “No, he’s too smart for that. If I stay in town, he knows I cut a deal with you and he plots his next revenge, which will be worse than this. I’m just grateful Michael figured out what was wrong with you before it was too late. For what it’s worth, I’m sorry you got caught in between me and Spencer.”   Nora looked at her sadly. “And Bo? He lost big on this one too.”   Paige smiled. “Yeah. The worst part is seeing in his eyes that he doesn’t believe me. Even though I didn’t poison you, there is a secret I am keeping about my past with Spencer. I know how Bo hates secrets.”   Nora nodded. “Because of me.”   Paige shook her head. “It doesn’t matter why. I can’t level with Bo about my past with Spencer so it would have been an issue whether you were involved or not. Spencer would see to that. I just want to get away from him and start my life over.”   “That’s probably for the best.”   Paige leaned toward Nora with a smile. “There is one more thing you should know before I go. This isn’t over for Bo.”   Nora looked at her curiously. “What do you mean by that?”   Paige glanced around the restaurant nervously. “Spencer has a vendetta against the Buchanans. ALL of them. I don't know why but he is determined. Look at the way he set me up, Bo loses either way. If no one figures out why you were getting sick, you die and Bo is hurt. Michael figured it out, thankfully. But now Bo and I are finished and he is hurting. But I know Spencer and I doubt he will be satisfied with my leaving town. He will come at Bo again. I know he won’t listen to me but please tell him to watch his back. And Matthew’s.”   Nora paled. “Bo would never let Spencer or anyone else hurt Matthew.”   Paige nodded. “Assuming he sees it coming. He didn’t see this coming. Don’t you get that? Spencer was willing to let you die to further his agenda. That should tell you just how deep his hatred goes.”   Both women were quiet for a long while. Nora broke the silence. “Where will you go?”   Paige shook her head. “It’s better you don’t know. I’m going to just disappear. Maybe Spencer won’t feel the need to look for me.”   Nora nodded. “I hope it all works out for you.”   Paige stood and looked down at Nora with a smile. “I hope it works out for you and Bo too. You have a chance now. I hope the two of you are wise enough not to blow it this time. Matthew deserves parents who can behave like grownups. You and Bo haven’t shown him much in that department lately. Good luck to all of you. Tell Bo I said goodbye.”   Paige turned and walked out of the bar. Nora watched her go. She sat quietly in the booth for a long time, slowly finishing her drink and trying to process her conversation with Paige before gathering her purse and leaving the bar.   TBC