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Introducing our exclusive online daily soap opera for Insider members. Like current soaps on air, Best For Last features daily written episodes focused on the drama surrounding Laurie, Seth, and a host of other players.
Get immersed in stories and characters you’ve never seen before and let them become family, like the players we see every day on Days of our Lives, General Hospital, The Young and the Restless, and The Bold and the Beautiful.
Continue from Episode 15
1985
“Mr. Briggs?” Seth knocked on Lauren’s grandfather’s study door.
No matter that he’d been coming to the house for almost seven years now, at Jeremiah Briggs’ personal invitation. No matter that Lauren – and the entire staff – kept telling him to make himself at home. Seth stubbornly continued acting like a guest. He insisted on washing his own dishes. He made his bed and swept up after himself in the guest-room, even scrubbing down the shower and toilet after each visit.
He wouldn’t let Lauren buy him clothes, not even so much as a swimsuit or goggles, despite their using the pool every day during the summer. He rang the doorbell, even if he knew the door wasn’t locked. And, when it came to Mr. Briggs’ study, he knocked. And waited.
“May I have a moment of your time, sir?”
Jeremiah Briggs craned his neck to check behind the boy. “Where’s Lauren?”
“I wanted to speak to you in private.”
“Hm,” Mr. Briggs said. “And here I thought we had a case of ‘And anywhere that Mary went/The lamb was sure to follow.’”
He’d meant it as a joke, but when the boy failed to crack a smile, continuing to stand there stiff as a board, grim, arms behind his back like a military parade review, Briggs decided to match his demeanor.
“Well, then, what can I do for you?”
“I’d like a job, sir. At one of your construction sites, if that’s at all possible.”
Briggs’ eyes narrowed. “How old are you now?”
“Sixteen. I have legal papers to work.”
“Confident, ain’t you? What if I say no?”
“If not you, sir, then I’ll look for work somewhere else. I need the money.”
“I don’t like hiring part-timers. You never get your money’s worth. By the time they get started, it’s time to pack up.”
“That won’t be a problem. I’d prefer to work full-time.”
“Same thing. I spend all summer training you, then soon as you’re earning your keep, time to go back to school.”
“I can work year-round,” Seth said.
“Aren’t you only a Junior? Senior?”
“Graduated early.”
“And what have your parents got to say about that?”
“My parents aren’t a factor,” Seth said stiffly, thinking that, in all the years he’d been coming here, this was the first time Mr. Briggs ever expressed any interest in his parents. Granted, he had no way of knowing that, in fact, Jeremiah Briggs had thoroughly investigated the boy before Seth ever set foot in his house.
When Briggs continued looking at him expectantly, Seth reluctantly clarified, “My father’s been in prison since I was 2 years old. Attempted murder in the course of committing felony armed robbery. He won’t be getting out any time soon.”
“And your mother?”
“Drugs.”
“If the situation is so dire, why didn’t you have Lauren come talk to me on your behalf?”
“I speak for myself, sir.”
“Hope you don’t expect any special treatment, being a friend of Lauren’s.”
“Never, sir.”
“And nobody’s going to cut you any slack for being a kid, neither.”
“I wouldn’t want them to.”
“You know, you’ve got a sweet deal, here. Spending the summers laying about -”
“I have always been very grateful for your generosity. Thank you, sir.”
“Don’t thank me, thank Lauren. Hell, first few days she was here, I thought she was going to cry her eyes out for missing you. Child made it seem like she couldn’t live without you.”
Briggs reached for a stray piece of paper, scribbled down an address, and handed it to Seth. “Got a new job starting tomorrow morning. Report at six am. Tell the foreman I sent you.”
Continue to Episode 17
About the Author
Alina Adams wrote the “As the World Turns” tie-ins, “Oakdale Confidential” and “The Man From Oakdale,” and co-wrote “Guiding Light’s” “Jonathan’s Story.” She was the Creative Content Producer for “Another World Today,” and worked on the 2013 relaunches of “All My Children” and “One Life To Live.” Her books include romance novels, figure skating murder mysteries, and the historical family saga, “The Nesting Dolls,” from HarperCollins. Read more at: AlinaAdams.com
