The Staredown

Harvey pulled Frida's minivan into the narrow parking spot on the third floor of the four-story parking garage. With barely enough room to open the driver's door, he squeezed himself out of the vehicle. At times like this, Harvey regretted how a small town such as Honey Hollow had such a large medical center. It made getting in and out of the hospital take longer than what should be necessary. Of course, Harvey and his family helped caused this problem by donating millions of dollars to help fund its various specialized wings. Those care facilities, littered with names of the town's wealthiest patrons, attracted patients from all over the region.

Walking rapidly down the parking ramp, Harvey cursed himself for going the wrong way and missing the third-floor stairwell. Rounding the corner, he spotted the entrance to the second-floor stairs but kept on walking. An elderly man, accompanied by a middle-aged woman, stood leaning on his cane as they waited for the elevator located next to the stairway door. Glancing to the row of cars opposite the pair, Harvey ran his left hand through his hair to block his face.

On a typical day, Harvey would gladly stop to talk to Chappy Noonan. The owner of The Gassy Spout, Honey Hollow's popular coffee house, was a kindly, jovial man who knew all the comings and goings in town. Unfortunately, that wealth of knowledge and a strong desire to share it led him to be an exceptionally chatty person. The type of talker that proved nearly impossible for only a brief conversation. I should stop and see what he knows about Orrin Rusk, but Willow's here, and I can't dilly-dally.

Fretting over all the possible fights his daughter and ex-wife could be involved in already, Harvey absentmindedly waited for traffic to clear before he could cross the street to the hospital. Near the circular drive at the medical center's front, he pulled out his phone to check for any messages. This momentary action left him open for another talkative person to notice him before he could avoid her.

"Why, little Harvey Diamond! Just the man I hoped to see."

Startled, Harvey pulled his attention from Larry's text message. A silver-haired woman around seventy showed off remarkable agility and speed for her age by scurrying over from the other side of the large circular driveway. Sighing, Harvey knew he had **** but to stop and talk to Zuzu Bem. A former local beauty queen, Zuzu still had a glamorous aura of class and sex appeal, which worked wonders in her role as volunteer extraordinaire and fundraiser champion. She also happened to be an old friend of his family. Dammit, there goes my hope of reaching Whitney's room without any interruptions.

"Good afternoon, Ms. Bem," Harvey greeted with a slight bow.

"Always the charmer," Zuzu remarked, a wry smile forming. "You know better to call me that, you little devil."

"Sorry, Zuzu, I couldn't resist. How have you been?"

"Oh, kiddo, I'm the one that's supposed to ask that. How are you doing?" Zuzu inquired, showing her concern.

"Whitney's doing better. I'm just about to go--"

"I've already been up to see her. I'm asking how you're doing, kiddo," Zuzu interrupted.

"Better than yesterday. I...it was terrifying to almost lose her," Harvey admitted, **** up.

The older woman swiftly embraced him with a soothing hug. Patting his back, she told him that it was okay to feel frightened, and it appeared that everything would be alright. Stepping back, Zuzu surprised him by punching him lightly in the shoulder.

"That's for not calling your Aunt Demi. She had no clue what happened until I called her less than a half-hour ago. You better do some serious apologizing to her, buster," Zuzu sternly informed him.

"Well, I still need to call my parents, but I'll call Demi first, I promise."

"You better. She can always deal with that jerk of a brother of hers," the silver-haired woman responded with a frown at the thought of Harvey's father. "But you've done well with Whitney. Such a lively, confident young lady. She reminds me a lot of Demi, but smarter about people."

"Yes, Whitney's not one to be taken advantage of by others. I'm more worried about her being the one that misbehaves. She can quite willful and that--"

"Nonsense. That girl has incredible potential. In fact, I would love to make her my final project for the Miss Honey Hollow Pageant. It's a damn shame that no one has won the state crown from our town since I did. Demi got robbed, I tell you," Zuzu commented.

"I don't know, Zuzu. I'm not sure Whitney's the kind of girl for pageants. And I worry that her ego doesn't need to be any bigger," Harvey responded, attempting to shoot down the idea. His aunt's older friend had been suggesting for years that Whitney compete in the junior-level pageants.

"Not the kind of girl?! Kiddo, she's got pageant blood running through her veins. Her great-aunt won the Miss Honey Hollow crown and finished as the runner-up at state. And her mother also made the state finals while representing Guzzle Crossing. It's her destiny to compete. I know that, and you know that." The elderly woman passionately argued as always.

"Fine. You can ask Whitney again, but I'm not pushing her into it. When she tells you no, you need to accept it."

"Oh, she'll say yes after I give her the full Zuzu treatment," the elderly but lively woman replied with a knowing grin.

Harvey shook his head while holding in a grimace. This upcoming battle of wills between the two women should provide fireworks. He only hoped he was out of town when it happened.

"It was great seeing you again, but--"

"Have you talked to your uncle lately?"

"Audie? No, not lately. I probably should check in if I'm going to be calling everyone else in the family," Harvey answered.

"Um, tell him I said hello, would you?" Zuzu asked, suddenly much less confident.

"You can call himself, Zuzu. I'm sure Uncle Audie would love to hear from you," Harvey informed her.

Audie Raffel wasn't his actual uncle. He was Hannibal and Demi Diamond's cousin on their mother's side. At one point, Harvey's grandfather had hoped that his nephew would take over Diamond Corp instead of his own son, but Audie had no interest in the business. Audie also had zero interest in dealing with his cousin, Hannibal. He was closer to his younger cousin, Demi. Zuzu had been a close friend, if not more, to Audie. Even to this day, Harvey didn't know what happened between the two of them. Zuzu never married, but she often spoke wistfully of his honorary uncle.

"Oh, I...um, I wouldn't want to cause any...uh, problems," she stammered.

"I don't think anyone would get upset if you called to let Audie know about Whitney's condition. Right?" Harvey queried. He watched as the uncomfortable look on the woman's face shifted to a pleased one.

"That's a wonderful idea, dear. That's why you've always been my favorite." The former beauty queen gave him another brief hug before hurrying away if an extra bounce to her steps. "See you tomorrow night!"

Let's hope she forgets about her idea of Whitney running in the pageant. Harvey thought as he finally entered the front doors of the hospital. A quick scan of the lobby confirmed the coast was clear of any other potential roadblocks, and he walked briskly to the elevators. While waiting, he finished checking his phone. Several text messages expressed concern over Whitney, along with others that were dismissive of the various stories that The Stinging Truth unleashed after dawn. His heart sank when he saw there was one voicemail pending, and he knew it had to be from his aunt. Harvey hated letting his beloved aunt down and knew he should've found the time to call her last night or early this morning. Strangely, there still wasn't any word from Dalton.

The ping from an arriving elevator allowed him to put off listening to Demi's message for a little longer. Hopefully, Zuzu does as Zuzu does and is calling Demi back right this minute. Harvey received another, stiffer shock as a young man, with his head down, barreled into him as he exited the elevator.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I wasn't--Mr. Diamond!"

"Owen, what are you doing here?" Harvey asked, more in surprise than anything else. He hadn't expected to literally run into his daughter's ex-boyfriend, Owen Nevin, at the hospital. Not after everything that had happened between the couple.

"Uh, I want to stop and see how Whitney was doing. And, I, um, wanted to apologize," Owen mumbled, staring at Harvey's feet. "And I want to apologize to you too, sir. If I hadn't been so jealous, then this wouldn't have happened."

While part of Harvey wanted to lash out at the young man, he held it in while taking a deep breath. Owen's jealousy had helped cause the chain of events that led to Whitney falling through the ice. Yet, it's not like Owen pushed her over the ledge. Harvey himself had warned his daughter only days before about how she carried herself around other guys. Whitney claimed she wasn't flirting with Sean at the hot springs, but her behavior could undoubtedly be misconstrued in that way.

"Don't beat yourself up over it, Owen. You didn't directly cause Whitney's accident."

Own lifted his head to meet Harvey's eyes. The older man could see guilt in them, but his face also showed a hint of gratitude for Harvey not blaming him.

"Thanks, Mr. Diamond. I'm awfully relieved to see that Whitney will be okay. I've thought long and hard on this trip about relationships, and I hope to do a better job in the future," Owen sheepishly admitted. "Thank you for your hospitality. I've...uh, packed my stuff and won't be returning. My being there didn't seem to make sense anymore."

"I see your point. I hope Whitney's learned from your short relationship as well," Harvey responded, holding his hand out. "Best of luck with your graduation and career."

"Um, thanks," replied the bewildered college student as he returned the handshake. Owen felt taken aback by how polite Whitney's father and uncle had been at the hospital. Even his ex-girlfriend didn't seem interested in making an issue over his role in her accident.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get upstairs and--wait, you just left Whitney, right?" Harvey started to say goodbye before another thought occurred to him.

"Uh, yeah, I did."

"Has Whitney's mother arrived yet?" Harvey inquired, practically praying that Willow hadn't arrived.

"Um, yeah, she did."

"Damn, I was hoping she hadn't already. I'm going to assume that Whitney mentioned her troubled relationship with her mother. How were things up there?" Harvey questioned, his stomach feeling a little uneasy at the possibilities.

"Yeah, she mentioned it," Owen responded, then he chose his words a little more carefully. "Uh, it felt like the mood in the room changed when Mrs.Dia--Whitney's mom arrived. There was an argument over another guy, but I'm not sure who he was. The nurses got involved, but then her mom wanted to know who I was and why I was there. She asked a lot of questions, but the room became almost frosty or icy. I--oh, gawd! I didn't mean to bring up ice; I'm really sorry. I meant--"

"Yes, I know what you meant. Don't worry about it, Owen. I best get up there as quickly as possible. Take care," Harvey said, finally getting on the elevator and letting the door shut. He ignored the dirty looks that several of the other occupants shot his way for holding up the elevator for so long.

Reaching the fourth floor, Harvey speed-walked down the hall. Entering the main section of the wing, several of the nurses glanced up from their work at the station as they noticed his arrival. He felt a surge of relief to see that Bridget's two nurses from the maternity ward continued to volunteer on this floor despite Sean's discharge. Eloa Agrela locked eyes with him and nodded. Libby Dall hurried around the nurses' station.

"Mr. Diamond, everything is fine, but Dr. Fort wanted you to know that she'll be stopping by later this afternoon with an update," the bubbly blonde reported.

"Thank you, Libby. I'm sure Whitney will be relieved to hear that. Um, is my ex-wife causing any problems?"

"She did complain that her male friend wasn't allowed to stay," Libby informed him.

"He wasn't?"

"Uh, yes, sir. Hospital policy over non-relatives being allowed to visit under special circumstances of the patient," Libby replied, trying far too hard to put on an innocent face.

"Ah, thank you. I'm sure that pleased Whitney greatly," Harvey responded with a knowing wink. I better make sure to thank Bridget for garnering such loyalty with her nurses. "I know I appreciate it even more."

"Best of luck, sir," Libby wished, blushing. She scurried back to the nurses' station, where five other hospital workers all waited to see if any fireworks exploded in Room 414.

I'll take a wild guess that most of them are regular readers of Nosy Nectar. Having your divorce covered extensively on a gossip site sure makes you feel like a celebrity to some people.

Bracing himself for the war he expected, Harvey entered Room 414. The first person he saw was his brother sitting in the chair by the window, the one Bridget occupied for most of her stay. Graham looked disheveled. His now messy hair showed signs of him repeatedly running his hands through it in distress. The button-up shirt he wore smartly earlier in the day looked askew. It was rumpled, had two more buttons undone, and his collar lay off to one side in a haphazard fashion. His hollow eyes brightened as he saw his older brother enter the room.

Next, Harvey appraised his daughter. Whitney looked less tired and more lively than she did earlier in the morning when he saw her last. Still, it was difficult to fully assess her health by her current mood. Her eyes were laser-focused on her mother. Willow had her attention so much that she didn't even break her eye contact to look over as she greeted him.

"Hi, Dad."

"Hey, pumpkin, how are you feeling?" Harvey inquired, leaning over to kiss her cheek.

"I'm bored."

"Your father asked for how you're feeling, not your mood, young lady," Willow clarified for her daughter.

"I'm bored but feeling less tired. Is that better, Mother?" Whitney answered and asked in a sarcastic tone.

Turning away from his little girl, Harvey faced his ex-wife. In many ways, Willow Rycroft represented an older version of his pride and joy. She had similar long blonde hair, blue eyes, and a fit ass. They also shared a sharp tongue and a stubborn streak. Where mother and daughter differed was that Whitney inherited a larger bust and a more adventurous personality from his side of the family. Willow had an uptightness that became further entrenched as she aged. Harvey liked to blame it on her family's obsession with appearances.

The Rycrofts had been the preeminent family in the river town of Guzzle Crossing. They owned the town mill that provided the bulk of the town's jobs up until a generation ago. Hard times **** Willow's father to sell their company to an international conglomerate shortly after inheriting it. Harvey often wondered if part of the attraction she saw in him came from finding an escape from the pressures she felt as a Rycroft in her hometown. Becoming a Diamond held its own pressures, but those were new and exciting to the coed he fell in love with. An intelligent, independent woman, Harvey had found those qualities highly attractive and found himself happy that their daughter turned out the same. Willow might have once been a beauty queen, but she wasn't all looks.

Always searching to be more than a Rycroft or Harvey's wife, Willow had surprised many by returning home to Guzzle Crossing after the divorce. In all the time that Harvey had known Willow, that was truly the first decision of hers that shocked him. Having grown to love the art world, Willow opened an art studio in her hometown, vowing to make local artists into stars. Specifically, she promoted those artists that incorporated wood into their artwork. There were many skilled woodworkers in the area once known for logging.

"How have you been, Willow?" Harvey inquired, moving over to hug his former love. Only Willow didn't rise from her seat as he expected. Instead, she continued to sit in the chair next to the bathroom door, staring back intently at her daughter. Uncertain what to do, Harvey bent over to kiss her cheek.

"Strongly reevaluating my decision to let you have custody of Whitney," Willow announced in a tight voice.

"Excuse you?" Harvey asked, surprised by her statement.

"You heard me, Harvey. It's become far more apparent that you're too concerned with womanizing and having a good time entertaining your friends to care for your daughter properly," Willow declared.

"Cut the bullshit, Mother!"

"Whitney, language!" Harvey and Willow scolded simultaneously, but for different reasons. Willow demanded respect from her daughter and for her to behave like a lady. At the same time, Harvey didn't want Whitney's attitude to exacerbate the situation.

"But, Daaaddd," Whitney started to whine. "She's been going on about this for the last ten minutes."

"Willow, you didn't want custody. We both agreed that letting Whitney stay in her home, at the same school with her old friends, was the best course of action for her upbringing," Harvey reminded.

"Clearly, a mistake has been made," Willow responded. "Whitney nearly died due to your negligence."

"Dad had nothing to do with my accident!" Whitney loudly insisted.

"He was the genius that took you to a frozen lake for a vacation," Willow replied.

"Willow, you know that's not why we stayed at the cabin," Harvey tried to explain, but she ignored him.

"And after seeing another boyfriend you went through in less than a month, I'm concerned that you've learned the wrong lessons from your father's womanizing ways. Being a star of the local gossip rags for getting around isn't something to be proud of, Whitney," Willow sarcastically pointed out.

"Are you calling me a slut?" Whitney challenged.

"No, honey, but you just implied your father is a male one," Willow chuckled but without any humor. "Perhaps it's time I took a greater role in raising you."

"I'm not moving in with you!" Whitney declared.

"Don't worry, Whitney, she can't make you. Even if she wanted to challenge the custody agreement, you're over eighteen," Graham chimed in, seeking to calm his niece down.

"Oh, Graham, can't you stop coddling her for one minute?" his ex-sister-in-law asked.

"I'm not coddling--"

"Leave Graham alone, Willow!" Harvey ordered. "I'm sorry that we ruined your vacation with your latest boyfriend, but you can't just show up here and insult everyone."

"Do you honestly think I'm upset about having to cancel my vacation? Harvey, I'm worried sick about my daughter's welfare," Willow said, almost breaking eye contact with Whitney to look at her ex-husband.

"You're worried about me?" Whitney repeated, breaking into laughter. "That's hilarious coming from a mother that I hardly ever see."

"I've tried many times, Whitney. You're the one that never wants to see me," Willow reminded her, slightly rewriting history. "Well, that's changing now. I think I might have to move to the townhouse here in Honey Hollow until you leave for college. You need a mother's touch in your life."

"What?!" all three startled Diamonds cried at the same time.

"Now, Willow, I understand you're distressed over the accident and acting out, but let's not rush into any sudden decisions. Your life is back in Guzzle Crossing," Harvey said, hoping to ease the tension in the room.

"I'm not going to leave my home permanently. I can spend time in both cities, but I'll stay here the majority of the time," Willow explained. "And I'm not acting out."

"You're not acting out? You showed up at the manor, all pissed off, and insulted people. People that you now owe sincere apologies," Harvey declared.

"What did you do?" Whitney questioned, but her mother ignored her.

"I'm not going to apologize to your paid women, Harvey," Willow answered, emphasizing the paid part of her reply.

"Valeria and Frida might be able to handle your rudeness, but Chastity was heartbroken to be called a whore. You need to--"

"You called Chastity a whore?!" Whitney screamed, sitting up on her bed. "You fucking bitch!"