The MST, Ch. 23

Blair woke up and drowsily look around the plane. Most passengers were still awake. She looked at her watch, it was close to 10:00pm in New York. "We should be landing soon." she thought. It must be close to 4:00 am. in Paris. She wondered if Samuel was sleeping. Surely he was. Blair sat there and recalled the goodbye kiss she and Samuel had shared. It had been so presumptive of her, but she didn't regret her actions. The moment the kiss had started, it had felt so right. At one point Blair had been positive she was kissing Todd and it had been marvelous, and then he was gone. That had hurt, Todd seemed so out of reach. She knew it was wrong to do that to Samuel especially when he had no idea he and Todd were the same person. Still, she knew, and since Samuel was Todd, then the Todd at home was an imposter and she was going to find a way to prove it.

Of course, there was one big problem. She cared deeply for the Man at home and had willingly let Tea have him when she realized he was truly in love with Tea. But it was all a lie. The love Blair and Walker had shared started out real and had grown when she thought he was Todd returned to her. The same had been true for Tea. She believed she was married to the man of her memories how was Blair going to tell her he wasn't. This was going to get really messy especially when Samuel returned to the States.

The plane was descending and they'd be landing soon. Christian had nodded off, they were both still on Paris time and it had been a long day. Christian had filled her in on everything that had happened with Layla. He was a free man again. Layla wanted to concentrate on her career and that left Chris out in the cold. He was a good friend and she didn't like to see him unhappy. After their conversations, he had withdrawn emotionally but she figured it was just his way of coping. Blair looked out the window.  She could see the lights of the city below them. Hopefully, they would get down in time to make their connection to Philadelphia. She wanted to get home to the boys.

  Oh God, her boys, the only father they knew was Walker. How on earth was she going to explain to Jack that Walker wasn't his father after all? Blair knew she was jumping the gun but it suddenly hit her, that this revelation was going to impact an incredible amount of people in Llanview. It could literally turn the town upside down.

The plane landed safely and made its way to the terminal. Blair nudged Christian and he woke up. Once the plane stopped at their gate she and Chris started to gather their bags. Blair had just set her bag down in the aisle when she was bumped from behind. "Hey," she whirled angrily to confront the person behind her."Why don't you watch...You! Where did you come from?" Standing before her was Alex Olanov.

Alex was surprised. Quickly recovering she said."Why the back of the plane, Darling, obviously. How are you, Blair? Been on a vacation? How do you manage to find time away from your kids? But I really don't have time to chat. I'm on my way to glorious Bermuda and I don't want to miss my connection." Alex squeezed past and exited the plane.

Blair stared after her. Alex had avoided the question although Blair already knew the answer. Alex had been in Paris. Blair recalled the list Samuel had shown her all those hours ago. Carlo's name had been on the list and she had tried to warn Samuel about him. It seemed extremely unlikely that Alex was in Paris for fun especially at this time of year. It was too coincidental, Carlo's connection to Samuel and now Alex being in the same town. Had Alex been there on Carlo's orders? If she was, what had Carlo wanted her to do? Blair's intuition told her that it had something to do with Samuel. If Carlo was somehow behind Samuel's memory loss then he was probably behind Walker too. Just what was Carlo up to. It was a mystery that would have to wait as Blair and Chris exited the plane and ran to make their connection.

****

Samuel stopped and stretched. The crates had arrived early that morning and he had spent the last few hours packing his artwork and labeling the crates for delivery. The painting of Marty along with all of the paintings of Vicki and Dee had been packed for storing. He would carry his three girls with him. After lunch, he had to go to the bank. He was going to present Jessica with her portrait and open an account. Samuel had realized he needed to make it look like he was still in Paris for a while..he had come up with a plan that involved Tomas and he hoped Tomas would be willing to help. Five portraits of Blair stood uncrated, they would be going to the Gallery.

The plan had come to him when he had finished getting his plane reservations. Two people had shown a lot of interest in his art and he figured that if they thought he was still working in Paris he would be able to get into Llanview without them finding out. Tomas and the remaining Blair paintings were key to his plan. Samuel ate some lunch quickly and then called for a cab. He gathered up the six portraits in two portfolios and set them outside the door so he could lock up. Then he went to meet the cab. Because of the size of the portraits, one portfolio took up the front seat next to the driver, the other sat next to Samuel. Arriving at the bank, Samuel instructed the driver to wait. Adding a bonus to the fare, he was sure the cab would be there when he came out. Samuel picked up the wrapped portrait and entered the bank. He made his way straight to Jessica and waited his turn.

" Monsieur Toddman, what a pleasure to see you so soon. You look much better, I was so worried for you the other night. Is there something else that I can help you with?" asked Jessica.

" Yes, Jessica I need to open an account and I have a surprise for you. Let's open the account first, shall we." replied Samuel. He filled out all the necessary paperwork and produced his passport to make sure everything was legal. He also authorized deposits to be made directly into his account by the Tomas Gallery. When Jessica finished she handed him a bank book showing an open account of $30,000. Samuel was satisfied that the amount in the account was the type of money an artist might have on hand at a given moment. He hoped that whoever was having him watched would find out that he had opened an account. It would finally appear like he was settling in to stay. With the transaction completed Samuel smiled at Jessica and asked if she could get free for just a moment.

Jessica smiled and replied. " We always have time for our clients, Monsieur." Jessica turned to the teller next to her and announced she was taking a short break, she locked her station and came around to join him. " I am allowed only ten minutes, is that going to be sufficient, Samuel"

"That should be plenty of time. Come let's go outside in the sun. I think you're going to want to see your surprise properly." said Samuel, then he led her outside and walked her to a bench on the thoroughfare. Sitting down next to her, he turned to her. " Dear Jessica, I'm afraid this is the last time you're going to see me. You see I'm leaving Paris and I don't know how long I'll be away. Before I go I wanted to give you something to remember me by and also to thank you for your friendship. Please accept this. I hope it pleases you." Samuel handed her the painting.

Jessica took the package, she knew it was a picture of some type but she never envisioned what she uncovered. She was stunned, she remembered that Samuel had said he was an artist but she hadn't expected this. She sat there amazed at the likeness that Samuel had painted of her. Jessica had never felt so humble. "Samuel, I'm thankful I've been able to help you all these years and I will miss you. But you've given me a gift so beautiful I can't describe the way I feel about it except to say I love it. I'm honored this is how you see me. Thank you."

"I must go now, Jessica. Once again, Thank you." Samuel stood up leaned over and gave her a gentle kiss on the cheek, then he turned and entered the cab that had been sitting not too far away.

Jessica watched her mysterious Monsieur Toddman leave. Then she carried her portrait back into the bank. All of the guards and tellers admired the beautiful work of art he had left her, but she was sad because she knew it was Samuel's final farewell.

****

Samuel sat back in the cab for the short ride to the Gallery. It was all happening quickly. So much had taken place since the goodbye kiss with Blair. He closed his eyes and remembered her face coming toward him and the touch of her sweet lips. At the time he had thought she was kissing him because of the resemblance to her ex-husband Todd, but now he knew she had been kissing him, not for the resemblance, but because she believed he was Todd. He wondered if she knew the truth, as he now knew it. He had met Todd that night and it had changed everything. Samuel was more aware than ever that his life had been turned inside out that night but his existence was crucial to Todd's survival.

Todd and the other alters had definitely made progress with the barrier because memories were coming to him steadily. One heartbreaking memory had come to him as he was putting one of Vicki's paintings in the crate. One minute he, Todd, had been apologizing to Vicki for pretending to have DID and the next he was standing at the bottom of some stairs watching as his sister became someone else before his eyes. At that moment, Samuel realized his serene one also struggled with alters, and he knew why. Vicki had been molested by her own father, his father when she was just a child. That was the darkness he had sensed when she had first appeared to him and yet for all her suffering, she was there for him and for Todd.

He still was trying to wrap his head around the fact that Todd had allowed everyone to think he had been pretending to have DID rather than let them find out the truth. He knew Todd wasn't ashamed of him or the other alters, in fact, Todd embraced them all as fellow companions. The real problem lay with that buried secret that only Tom, Rodd, Pete and Ms. Perkins were privy to. If Todd admitted to DID he would have to admit a truth he couldn't accept. Samuel blinked, he realized the cab had been stopped for a while. He had been so wrapped up in his thoughts he hadn't heard the driver tell him they were at the Gallery.

After paying the driver the fare, plus the bonus, Samuel took the two art portfolios and entered the Gallery. It appeared he had picked the right time to get here. He could see no one around, but the door to Tomas' office was opened. He heard the sound of a chair moving, Tomas, or someone, must have heard the bell and was coming to see who had entered the Gallery. For a moment he stood in the shadow, the way he had done that first night. He waited to see who was going to emerge and he breathed a sigh of relief when Tomas came into view. Samuel stepped forward and allowed Tomas to see him.

"My friend, what an unexpected surprise. To what do I owe this visit?" inquired Tomas

"Tomas, I have a serious favor to asked and I'm relying on you're discretion to help me with a plan I have to put into play," said Samuel

Tomas was intrigued " Samuel, this sound most mysterious. Please tell me how I can help you."

Samuel looked around then said, "Let's go to your office where we can have some privacy."

"But of course, please follow me." Tomas led the way and when they entered he closed the door. "Samuel, what has made you so cautious?"

"Tomas, have a seat and I'll tell you what has brought me here. Do you remember the other day when I told you that I had no memories of my life before I came to Paris? Well, now I have reason to believe that my memory loss was manufactured by an unknown person or persons with their own personal agenda. What you don't know is that I have had people keeping tabs on me from the first day I got off the plane. It was the knowledge of those people, whoever they are, that has made me so reclusive the last 7 years. Now my memories are beginning to return and I don't want to send up any more red flags. I think they are aware that my status has changed, if they find out I'm aware of them, I will lose my one chance to find out who took my life away all those years ago."

Tomas was at a loss.  He could think of nothing to say in reply to Samuel’s revelations.

Samuel continued. "So this is my plan. I'm getting ready to leave Paris but I want to try and get out of town before they realize it. I'm hoping to make them think I'm still continuing to live my life here without too many changes. Here's where you come in, Tomas. I've brought you five more paintings of Blair and I need you to sell each one separately the way you've always done. Wait a couple of days or a week before putting another up for sale. I will not be able to collect my money, so I opened an account today at the bank where I've been exchanging my money. You are authorized to make deposits into that account. I also need you to keep me informed of the buyers of the paintings. I'll contact you on a regular basis to check on that. Will you help me, Tomas?" Samuel waited for Tomas to take it all in and said a prayer that he would agree.

"Samuel, the other day you came to my office and thanked me for asking your name. You were grateful for such a simple sign of friendship and I felt ashamed because I had taken seven years to ask that simple question. Well, today you come to me and ask for some help that won't require much more of me then I've given you these past years but this time more is at stake. I owe you, my friend. I'll help in any way possible." Tomas looked at his friend and smiled.

Samuel stood up and walked to his friend and extended his hand. "Tomas, Thank You, things have just become a little easier. There is one more thing Tomas, this must remain between you and me, no one else here must know I've left town." Tomas grasped the hand of his new friend shook it and said, "You have my word, Monsieur Anonymous."