--

Tony and his sons were back in Island Paradise. It was high noon, Bradley and Jean had rushed upstairs to change out of their winter clothes into light clothing for the beach - they missed the sea so much! Tony took off his jacket too and was about to go upstairs wondering where can Jeannine be.

The bathroom door opens and there she is. From her attire, you could tell she had spent the morning by the pool. And now she was coming towards him, looking beautiful and fabulous as always.

Tony remembered why he was with her: because she is beautiful, young -at least much younger than he is-, she makes him feel alive and best of all, she loves him unconditionally.

Seeing him, Jeannine came over and hugged him.

 "Oh Tony, I'm so glad you're back," she said in his ear, Tony felt his life made sense again.

"Are we really okay?" she asked.

"Of course we're okay, love," he replied without hesitation.

"I missed you, very much," Jeannine restated.

"And I missed you," he replied.

The kiss came without looking for it, and any shadow of doubt disappeared, Tony was sure now, there was nothing more to think about, he had made the right decision to come home.

At that moment he remembered as well why he stayed with Jeannine through the years, and why he finally married her. She doesn't ask him questions; no matter how far away he goes, she will always be waiting for him to give him love without complaint. That gives him endless peace and makes him fall more and more in love with her.

These are glorious moments, yes-- until Tony's phone starts ringing.

Tony knew very well who it was. To answer or not to answer, that's the question.

"Answer your call, I'll wait for you upstairs," said Jeannine, as she turned around. Tony wanted to go after her, but the phone kept ringing, he had no choice but to answer it.

"Hello? Hello, who is this?", Tony insisted as he heard a silence at the other end of the line.

"As if you didn't know" Jeannine thought to herself as she headed for the stairs. 

"Cassandra? What's wrong?" he asked as soon as Jeannine disappeared from his sight.

"Nothing, I just wanted to see how you're doing".

"How do you think I am?"

"Did you change your mind?"

"No". 

"Are you sure?"

"Cass, what do you want? I told you what my position was, and we parted on good terms, or at least I think we did."

"That's right, you were clear and I understood you, but that's not what I'm calling for. This is about something else."

"If it's about Bradley, he'll be there for spring break."

"It's not about Bradley either, this is a-- completely different matter."

"Well then, can we talk later? I really can't right now."

"I imagine so. Okay, I'll see you soon."

"Wait, what did you mean by 'see you soon'?"

"I meant that - that I'll see you soon."

"But how? Are you here in Island Paradise?"

"Not now, but soon I might be. Goodbye, take care, dear."

Cassandra hung up, Tony's out of breath. What is Cassandra up to? There is no way he can find out right now. He must go upstairs with Jeannine.