Alexandra Cimarelli
Alexandra
"Alex" Cimarelli is the illegitimate daughter of
Scott Page and
Andrea St. John, born as a result of
their decade-long secret affair. Small of stature, Alex had olive-tinted skin,
green eyes with a mop of black hair. She was slender and quite lovely, and
looked exactly like her father.
Shannon Larkin learns about the affair and the existence of Alex after the death of her husband Scott in 2002, when Alex is seven years old. Shannon tracks down Andrea St. John, who worked the day shift at St. Patrick's Hospital in Larkin City as head pediatric nurse. Shannon surmises Andrea is out to get money from Scott's rather large estate, which she vows to prevent. However, unbeknownst to the Larkin family, their chef Cora Ann Hogan is Andrea's mother. Cora's main goal is to spy on the family, but her inability to control her drinking reveals her unreliability. After Andrea fails to obtain a large sum of money in a legal court, she flees Larkin City, leaving Cora and Alex behind. As Cora wants nothing to do with her own granddaughter, Alex is essentially left orphaned.
Angela Page steps in, her instant affection and compassion for her half-sister Alex overruling all else.
From The Twilight:
AFTER FEEDING ALEXANDRA HALF a ham sandwich and a glass of milk, Angie took her back to the living room.
She noticed her mother's absence instantly. "Where's Mum?" she asked Jamie.
"She went to bed."
Angie looked annoyed. "Can you watch Alex for a minute while I call Tom in Naples?"
"Of course," Jamie said, flashing a smile at Alexandra.
The child seemed reluctant to let go of Angie's hand. "I'll be right back," she soothed. "I just need to call my husband, and then we'll get you ready for bed."
Finally, Alexandra went and sat between Jamie and Désirée on the couch. Angie hurried back to the foyer to make her telephone call.
"Did you get something to eat?" Jamie asked.
"Yes," the child replied in a quiet voice. "Angie made me a ham-sammy."
After a brief pause, Jamie spoke earnestly. "I realize things are a bit confusing right now, but I promise they'll get better."
"I miss my mommy," she whispered. "And daddy."
"I know, and I'm sorry."
She glanced at Jamie, her eyes wary. "Are you friends with mommy? Is that why you're helping me?"
"You could say that," Jamie told her vaguely. "Since your grandmother can't look after you, your mommy wanted me and Angie to take care of you. Don't worry, Alex. We're nice people, and we won't let anything bad happen to you."
Angie returned to the living room. "Tom's going to take the next flight home," she reported. "Then I guess we'll go from there." She looked to Alex. "Are you ready for bed?"
The child came to her without a word, taking Angie's outstretched hand. Angie smiled, glancing at her brother. "I'll see you later. I'll go and get Alex settled."
As they climbed the grand staircase, Alex grew more talkative. "Do you live here?" she asked.
"I grew up here," Angie told her. "I still live here sometimes, but I also have an apartment in New York with my husband."
"It must be cool to have two homes," Alexandra noted wistfully.
Angie took Alex to her room on the third floor. She didn't want to leave the girl alone her first night in a strange place.
"You can sleep with me tonight," Angie said as they entered the bedroom. "Tomorrow we'll go into Larkin City and get you some new clothes."
"What about school?" Alexandra worried. "I have to go back to school."
"You can go back to school on Monday," Angie assured her. "You'll have the whole weekend to get rested up and explore the estate."
Angie let the child wear one of her old tee-shirts as a nightgown. She built a small fire in the hearth, adding warmth to the pastel room. After she tucked Alexandra in, she sat on the edge of the bed.
"All comfy now?" she asked.
Alexandra nodded, her eyes droopy with exhaustion.
"You've had quite a day, haven't you?" Alexandra nodded again, her eyes on Angie. "Tomorrow will be better. You'll see."
"Did you know my daddy?" Alexandra wanted to know, her voice quiet. The question came out of the blue, giving Angie pause for thought.
It was the perfect segueway to tell Alexandra they shared the same father, but Angie hesitated. Alexandra was only seven years old. As much as she'd been though in one day, could she handle another emotional revelation? Or would she even comprehend it?
Angie decided to take a chance. "I knew your daddy very well. He was my daddy, too, and Jamie's."
Alexandra stared at her.
"Do you know what it means?" Angie continued.
"I'm not sure," Alexandra said.
"It means I'm your half-sister, and Jamie is your half-brother. Sisters and brothers take care of each other, so I'll never let anything bad happen to you."
"That lady Shannon is your mom?" Alexandra asked curiously. "She was married to daddy before my mommy?"
"Right."
"Wow!" Alexandra exclaimed, her green eyes going wide. Then she had another question. "Why didn't I know you before?"
Impulsively, Angie leaned over and kissed Alexandra on the forehead. "It's a long, complicated story, honey. Someday, when you're older, I'll tell you all about it."
"Okay," Alexandra replied easily.
Angie was touched by her trust and acceptance. In just six hours, Alexandra was abandoned and taken in by strangers, yet with her natural childlike innocence she adjusted to each drama that came her way. She was obviously resilient, but too young to fully comprehend the changes in her life.
Angie watched her sister fall asleep, relaxed and safe in her new surroundings. After a few minutes Angie crept from the room, quietly closing the door.
She stood in the hallway, looking toward the stairway that led to the fourth floor. She was tempted to visit her mother, but then thought better of it. She knew Shannon wasn't pleased by Alexandra's unexpected arrival at the mansion. If they spoke now, they'd probably engage in another heated disagreement.
Instead, Angie turned the other way and returned downstairs.
Shannon has trouble accepting Alex's presence in the Larkin Mansion:
SINCE ALEXANDRA ARRIVED AT the mansion, Shannon avoided going downstairs until mid-morning, after Angie took the child to school. During the last few days, Shannon saw Alexandra in passing but didn't interact with her.
She knew she was being pig-headed and foolish. In truth, she was more upset by Angie's disregard for her feelings than she was by Alexandra's presence in the house. It as was if Angie continued to blame Shannon for Scott's affair and subsequent bastard child, therefore implying she didn't deserve respect in her own home and should simply tolerate the situation as punishment.
"And here I thought we resolved all that," Shannon thought wearily as she made her way downstairs Tuesday morning. "Angie just doesn't get it, she's wrong. I'm not responsible for Scott's wandering eye. He was a grown man in control of his actions, and knew very well what he was doing. I deserve respect in my own home. I'll be damned if I'll accept anything less, especially from my daughter. If she'd going to dig in her heels, I'll anchor mine."
Still irritated, Shannon entered the kitchen. Intent on making a pot of coffee, she failed to notice Alexandra sitting at the large table. She was eating a bowl of cereal, pushing the Chex squares around in the milk with her spoon.
Shannon began preparations for coffee. She nearly dropped the glass carafe when she heard a small voice.
"Hi, Shannon."
She whirled around, the carafe still in hand. "What are you doing here?" she asked before she could stop herself. "Aren't you supposed to be in school?"
"Angie let me stay home. I didn't feel so good, but I feel better now."
Shannon was irked by the child's use of the word HOME. "Where's Angie?" Her voice was terse. "Did she just leave you here?"
"Angie would never leave me," Alexandra replied with a trusting air. "She's my sister."
Shannon set the carafe on the counter, turning her back on the child. She didn't like being put into the forced position of conversing with Alexandra. She felt it was part of Angie's stubborn agenda, which included slowly ingratiating the child into the family. Shannon vowed she would not succeed.
Without further acknowledgment, Shannon made to leave the kitchen. Just as she reached the doorway, Alexandra spoke again. "Why don't you like me?"
Shannon came to a halt, sparing the child a brief glance. "I don't know you. How can I like or dislike you?" With that, she left the room.
Shannon met Angie in the hallway that led from the kitchen to the foyer. Mother and daughter ignored one another, each going their separate ways.
Despite Shannon's feelings in the matter, Angie and her husband Tom Cimarelli successfully adopt Alex:
JUDGE RYAN NICHOLS GRANTED the legal adoption of one "Alexandra St. John, minor child" to "Angela Page Cimarelli and Thomas Cimarelli of Greenwich Village, New York" on Friday, 4th April 2003. The adoption was ironclad, legalized in the absence of the child's natural mother. In their petition, Angie and Tom requested Alexandra's last name be changed to "Cimarelli," which was also granted.
Rather than return to the mansion to celebrate, Tom and Angie drove a rental car to Larkin Airport with Alexandra. They boarded Seth Markham's twin-engine Cessna to Bangor, where they took a New York City-bound flight to begin their new life together as a family.
Alexandra Cimarelli appears in The Twilight, Megan's Legacy, and Limb of Iniquity.
Excerpts from The Twilight ©Deidre Dalton. All rights reserved. Books in the Collective Obsessions Saga by Deidre Dalton may not be reproduced in whole or in part without written permission from the author. All eight books in the saga are works of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is purely coincidental.
*Author's Note: The physical appearance of Alexandra Cimarelli is based on American actress Angie Harmon. The image is not meant to be indicative of true personality traits of a real person, but rather a general idea of what I envisioned as the "outer shell" of a fictional character.
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