Alexis
looked out the terrace window, her coffee cup in hand, and smiled
at a New Year's Day afternoon filled with sunshine, the tree limbs
in the park glinting with a thick coating of new snow as a soft
white haze tickled their branches. She could almost smell the crispness
in the air, the unmistakable scent of snow she remembered from her
childhood.
Snow… ice castles… Shangri-La…
She sighed as she thought again about her quest to find her parent's
haven, the boxes of documents still sitting on the floor of her
office where Cameron brought them a few days before Christmas. She
walked past them countless times and after a few moments of indecision
usually just walked on by. She wanted to find their Shangri-La,
the secret hiding place with the fanciful name, but Alexis had the
inescapable feeling that when she finally opened the door to the
past, she would tumble through and be lost forever, never to find
her way out.
So for the holidays, she decided that a little measure of peace
was her small gift to herself and the box remained closed, her heart
under lock and key.
She glanced at the massive tree Cameron and Kristina chose sitting
between the fireplace and the terrace doors, regal as a dowager
on her throne, its branches sweeping half the room. She worried
for days that her daughter would crawl into that forest in her living
room never to be found again. But she had to admit, it was a beautiful
tree and it had been a wonderful Christmas, the first she can recall
enjoying in a very long time. Kristina was remembered by everyone
from Audrey Hardy to Lila Quartermaine who sent her an exquisite
set of hand carved blocks, from Zander who gave her a rocking horse
named Digby to the chef at The Grille who sent special cookies made
just for her.
Her daughter was going to be very spoiled.
And of course Luke who gifted her with something totally Luke-like
- a stuffed bear the size of King Kong.
She recalled opening the door on Christmas morning and screaming
at the 6-foot tall chocolate brown bear standing menacingly in her
doorway. The minute she heard the laugh she knew who was standing
behind it and reached around the bear to slap his head.
"Ouch! Is that any way to treat your friendly bear-keeper?"
Luke asked as he shoved the bear through the doorway and it fell
into Alexis's arms, knocking her into the desk.
"This is more like the Bear That Ate Port Charles - and probably
my daughter," she retorted trying to get traction under the
weight of fur and stuffing.
"She's a Cassadine… no fear of bears, Russian or otherwise.
Speaking of which, where is my little sweetcheeks? Her Uncle Luke
needs a hug this fine Christmas Day."
"In the kitchen with Cameron," she glared at him as she
dragged the bear into the living room and shoved it on the couch.
Luke took off for the kitchen before she could say a word and was
back immediately with her daughter suspended high above his head.
"Luke, my daughter isn't aerodynamic."
"Oh, Natasha, where is that sense of adventure I've always
loved about you? She loves the scary stuff… real daredevil."
He swooshed and whooshed her around the living room until he deposited
her in front of the king-sized bear.
Kristina stared at it with wide eyes and a confused expression on
her face. She looked from Luke to the bear and started to scream.
Cameron ran into the living room in his socks and couldn't stop
himself as he lost control on the hardwood floor, plunging headfirst
over the arm of the couch right into the bear's lap.
Luke held his hands above his head. "9.8, Doc… better
ring up the Olympic Committee."
Kristina looked at Cameron and started to giggle as she crawled
over and patted his face. He untangled himself and lifted her onto
the bear's lap. She poked at the fur as she ran her hands over the
glassy button eyes, finally tucking her head under its chin quite
content, thumb in mouth.
"See, Tash, she loves it."
Cameron brushed himself off. "And will probably need therapy
one day."
"Spoilsport!" Luke chuckled as he pounded him on the back.
"Merry Christmas, Quack."
"You seem awfully cheerful. Happy hour start early at Luke's
today?"
"Nah… just full to the brimster with the spirit and you
folks are my first stop."
Alexis rolled her eyes. "Lucky us. Can you stay for breakfast?"
Luke wrinkled his nose. "Depends on who's cookin'… no
offense sweetcheeks."
"None taken… Cameron is making pancakes and Belgian waffles
and some other things he won't divulge."
"Well, in that case, count me in. By the by, Emeril the shrinkster…
what did you get these lovely ladies for Christmas?"
Alexis tucked her head into her shoulder and smiled remembering
that morning before Luke arrived.
* * *
Cameron gave Kristina multiple gifts, some educational to stretch
her mind, some silly that was sure to stretch her Mommy's patience
but the hit of the day was the stuffed multi-colored cow that mooed
on cue when you squeezed it. He looked at her guiltily after Kristina's
first squeeze but she had to laugh as her cow-obsessed daughter
rolled around and mooed right along with her new friend.
Kristina fell asleep on the floor surrounded by new toys as she
joined Cameron on the couch. He'd made them hot cocoa spiked with
Godiva liqueur and brought out a tray of cookies and pastries to
nibble while they sat and allowed the Christmas morning glow to
envelop them.
"So, would you like your gift?" she asked cheerfully.
"You bought me a gift?" he replied in shock.
She poked him in the chest. "Of course, I'm classy." She
walked over to the tree and searched through wrapping paper and
Kristina's gifts until she found the large package hidden under
a branch.
It was so beautifully wrapped he hesitated to open it. But his curiosity
got the better of him and he felt like a young boy once again as
he gleefully tore the paper. He opened the box and found a first
edition of Shakespeare's Sonnets sitting in a well of lacy red tissue
paper.
He smiled as he caressed the leather. "You remembered…"
She was pleased. "You mentioned your enjoyment of Shakespeare
on one of our road trips so I had my antique dealer in London search
around until he found exactly the perfect gift. Open it."
He opened the cover and saw the inscription and his jaw dropped.
"This was Shakespeare's own."
She laughed as her fingers glided through his hair. "Look again."
He grabbed his glasses from the end table and squinted at the flowery
penmanship.
"For thou whom country and heart are one, from time immemorial
thou hast ruled with honor and by cherished word, for men shall
speak of thee until the end of time, history shall bend its brace
to thy glory evermore." The remainder of the writing was tiny
but he when he saw the inscription above Shakespeare's name, he
knew and he smiled.
"Queen Elizabeth I… this was a gift to the Queen from
Shakespeare. Alexis, I'm speechless. I don't know how you found
this… well maybe I don't want to know. This is the most wonderful
gift!"
She grinned. "There's another gift. Look beneath the green
tissue paper."
It was then he noticed the other level of tissue paper colored green.
He moved it aside and his heart stopped as saw nestled amid the
tissue a small square frame made of creamy brocade. On one side
of the frame was imprinted a picture of him and his son, a picture
he could not remember, a picture where both smiled and looked happy.
He turned it and looked over at her with tears in his eyes. The
other side was a picture of the four of them - Cameron, Zander,
Alexis and Kristina - a picture Luke took when Zander returned on
Thanksgiving Day. Family… imprisoned forever on brocade and
in his heart.
His eyes glistened as he replied gruffly, "I don't know what
to say."
She kissed him on the cheek. "The flag you made when things
were very dark in my life meant a great deal to me, to my heart.
I wanted you to have the same feeling in your heart, to look at
that and know that whatever else happens in life, family will always
be there to love you and guide you home."
He reached over and captured her lips knowing that words would fail
him in that moment. He finally leaned back and gazed into her eyes,
what he saw in their warm dark depths wrapping his heart with ribbons
of gold.
"Would you like your gift now?" he breathed as he caressed
her cheek.
"The kissing is a nice gift," she whispered as she deposited
soft kisses on his face.
"I think you might enjoy my gift," he murmured.
She leaned back. "Ok."
He laughed as he held out his hand and led her to the kitchen. She
stared at him puzzled. "You are giving me something for my
kitchen? Walking on the wild side, aren't we?"
He shook his head and pointed to the pantry closet. She made a face
and looked inside and laughed. There sat a brand spanking new coffeemaker
with a note that she would have monthly coffee delivery for one
year - pre-packaged, no fuss, no muss, no measuring.
He kissed her hand. "For when I'm not here to make it and for
those days you decide to take it into your head to surprise me and
make mine."
She snorted. "How I love technology."
"Oh, and look in the freezer."
She hesitantly opened the freezer door and peered in at the plastic
bags with the red bows. "What ARE those?"
"Hot wings and hush puppies from our favorite roadside dive.
Just thaw, bake and serve. Oh… and look in the cabinet."
She opened the cabinet and found 15 beribboned jars of barbeque
hot sauce and 10 of "Chocolate-Paint-By-Numbers". She
blushed remembering Easter, warm chocolate and a paintbrush and
on Labor Day a night of rowdy barflies, the heat of hot sauce on
her lips and the sticky touch of leather in the backseat of the
BMW.
He crooked a finger and she followed him to her office. "What's
here?"
He laughed. "Look around."
She looked around at her desk, at the credenza and the overstuffed
chair covered with the cotton throw and shook her head. "Well,
you must be David Cooperfield because I can't see anything out of
place."
"Well, how about something new?" he said as he guided
her over to the wall above the fireplace.
She stared and started to laugh, her sides hurting as she looked
at the fish she caught in Canada staring down at her from its perch
on the wall, a big gold bow between its eyes, a questionable gift
compliments of the taxidermist.
"You stuffed that smelly old fish?" she chuckled as she
gulped for air.
"It was your prize and that trip was special… I thought
you'd enjoy a remembrance."
She shuddered as she touched it and recoiled. "I'd rather remember
making love under the stars, thank you very much. This is so creepy…
the eyes follow me."
Cameron hugged her to him and danced around the room with her as
he sang, "Someone to watch over you…."
She reached up and kissed him. "I love your gifts."
He tapped her nose. "Oh, we're not finished yet."
They walked down to his room and she peered through the door. "Ah…
my big present is… big old YOU!"
He shook his finger back and forth. "You are getting ahead
of yourself…"
She looked him up and down and pointed. "So, it seems, are
you."
He blushed as he looked down and shifted position. "No, big
old me is your New Year's present because the saying goes whatever
you do on New Year's Day you do all year long. My next gift is on
the desk."
She walked over and a box stood on the desk, wrapped in blue and
silver. She quickly opened it and pulled out the frame and held
it up. She was quiet for a moment as she stared at it and then held
it to her heart.
It was a framed playbill from Il Trovatore, the opera her Mother
sang so long ago at her debut. Cameron had taken her to see the
opera at Lincoln Center as part of her Mother's Day surprise and
she thought how thoughtful of him to make her memory of that night
so special.
"That was a special Mother's Day surprise and a beautiful night
at the opera," she said as she kissed him, still holding the
frame to her heart.
"And you were the most beautiful woman on earth that night
but that is not what lies beneath the frame," he said gently,
stroking her hair.
Confused, she walked over to the window and held it up to the light
as she looked closer and every breath left her as she looked at
the date… and the players. It was an original playbill from
the night her Mother first sang before the world. The tears came
unbidden and splashed upon the glass, the repository of a memory
she knew only as myth and fable, never by experience.
"I can never repay…" she murmured through her tears.
He walked to the window and held her close, whispering into her
hair. "There is no need. And there is just one more."
They walked to the living room arm-in-arm and he guided them to
the tree and looked at Alexis as he waggled his eyebrows up and
down.
Alexis laughed. "So? Where is it?"
Cameron grinned. "Look at the tree."
She looked and all she saw was ornaments and strands of popcorn
and lights. He made a face, shrugged and pointed. She looked again
and saw it hidden on a branch.
A small square blue velvet box.
She swallowed convulsively as she retrieved it and held it in her
hand.
"Well, aren't you going to open it?" he asked, still grinning
like a little boy who just won the prize.
"Ok," she said as she opened it and noticeably relaxed
when she saw a locket. She removed it from the box and held it swaying
in front of her, its silver heart flashing in the light. The face
was etched with blue lacy curlicues and in the center was a small
diamond-shaped sapphire.
He whispered, "Open it."
She pressed the latch and found it split open into four sections,
the final symbol one of a shamrock, that harbinger of good luck.
In each section was a small picture, one of each of them, Kristina
and Zander.
"Did you read the inscription?"
She shook her head and turned it over. Four lives forever entwined.
Love, Cameron
Her tears fell once again as he took the locket from her hand, walked
behind her and drew it around her neck. She turned and threw her
arms around him and kissed him with passion and love and memory
of what was and what will be.
"Thank you, Cameron, for the most beautiful Christmas I have
ever had."
They stood there for a long time and held each other, a year of
road excursions, pain and sadness and disagreement filtering through
their minds. They had made a journey together, at times unwilling
companions, but each road they trod, each memory forged something
between them neither imagined that long ago night when a pregnant
woman entered a shelter in search of assistance for a friend.
They had become so much more.
* * *
She noticed movement below and saw Cameron walking into the park
holding a bundled up Kristina. Cameron turned toward her window
and waved, almost as if he knew that was where she would be. She
waved back and watched as Cameron began teaching Kristina the fine
art of making snowballs.
Snowballs… ice castles… Shangri-La…
Maybe it's a sign, she thought, all this snow.
She walked into her office and turned on the stereo and a Chopin
polonaise drifted through the room. She knelt down on the floor
and pulled the top box toward her, the one with the Russian letters
she found in Paris.
After a few minutes she had removed documents, parchments in obscure
languages, notebooks, a circular redwood container and knickknacks
and spread them on the floor. The documents were dry and legal and
in six different languages, four of which she spoke. Property transfers,
receipts for antiques and other items and yellowed stock certificates
in musty old folders had to be translated and reviewed. The parchments
were very old and she had no idea what language they contained.
She put them aside and leafed through the notebook, its pages filled
completely with series of numbers and letters, obviously in code
along with diagrams, some of landscapes as if the sketcher was doodling
and some that resembled a cross between a blueprint and electronic
circuitry.
She looked at the knickknacks, obviously things that meant something
to her parents. She was already frustrated when she opened the last
item from the box, the redwood container expecting to find something
equally as odd as the other contents of the box. She pulled the
cotton batting from inside the container and removed the contents.
Another knickknack, she sighed with annoyance at her parent's
love of junk.
She picked it up and held it up to the light and her heart stopped.
It was a snowglobe, the kind you shake and the flakes fall on whatever
is captured within. She stood up and took the globe to the window
and stared as she shook it and snow began to fall.
Encased within the world of the globe was a house built of stone.
The house was surrounded by small trees, their branches tipped with
ice and tiny needles. A cone of curling smoke appeared to waft from
a chimney set on the slate roof and a weathervane poked its head
toward the sky.
In front of the house were three miniature figures on skis - a man,
a woman and a child. She shook the globe again and rained snowflakes
on the little family. She noticed something on the wall of the cabin,
something small and rectangular but she could not see it clearly.
She walked to the desk and picked up her magnifying glass and strode
back to the window and squinted through the glass.
It dropped from her hand as she gripped the window ledge and stared.
A small rectangular sign in Russian said, "Shangri-La".
