"Let's get something to eat before going upstairs," Tom suggested as he led Lucy towards the kitchen.
They both turned when Sonia squealed with a mouth full of corn dog as she descended the stairs.
"Lucy!" She cried excitedly as she ran to embrace Lucy with an empty plate in hand.
Lucy giggled as she hugged her, "Why do you seem so excited?" Lucy asked as Sonia pulled away as she quickly swallowed.
"I'm happy to see you, of course. And you too, Tom. Welcome back even if it's your house," Sonia said, and Tom smiled at her as he embraced her.
"Congratulations," Tom said, and Sonia pressed her lips together with a contrite look on her face.
"I should thank you for making Lucy insist I speak to Bryan," Sonia said, and Tom waved it off.
"That's nothing. I'm glad it worked out. Where is everyone else?" Tom asked, and Sonia pointed to the Den.
"Both your parents are seeing a movie. Jade just went out with Candace, you must have seen them on your way in. Bryan is upstairs getting ready for us to go house hunting," Sonia said, and Lucy raised a brow.
"House hunting?" Lucy and Tom asked in unison.
"Yeah. We can't live here forever, can we? Not with the baby coming. Lu, lets catch up later. I need to quickly drop this plate in the kitchen and go get dressed," Sonia said, and Lucy plucked the plate from her hands.
"I will help you," Lucy offered, and Sonia blew her a kiss as she hurried away, leaving them.
"It seems like everyone is going out," Tom said as he took the plate from Lucy and pulled her along with him.
"Shouldn't we say hello to them first?" Lucy asked as they walked past the Den.
"They're busy with their movie. We can do so before going upstairs," Tom said, and Lucy nodded.
She wasn't exactly very keen on seeing them right now anyway.
"Welcome home, Tom! You're right on time. You can sit down while I serve you," Samantha said, and both Lucy and Tom sat by the kitchen Island while Samantha moved around quickly to serve them.
"Thanks for the meals you sent over, Samantha. I enjoyed them," Lucy said, and Samantha smiled at her.
"Although I was instructed to do so, but thank you for thanking me," Samantha said as she set their meal in front of them.
"This looks delicious. Thank you," Tom said as he gazed at the plate of steak and baked potato.
"Enjoy your meal," Samantha said as she excused them.
"This was waiting on my desk when I returned to the office," Lucy said as she opened her handbag and took out a folded sheet of paper.
Tom opened it and saw the name written and other details written on it, "I guess she likes her job," Tom said referring to Cora who had submitted the friend's name he asked her to.
"What are you going to do with it?" Lucy asked curiously as she picked up her cutlery to cut her steak into smaller pieces.
Tom said nothing as he focused on cutting his steak quickly and then swapped their plates, "I will get in contact with the management of the club. She is a staff there so they should deal with her actions," Tom said and watched as Lucy visibly relaxed.
She had been worried he was going to take it up personally. It bothered her in a way that he seemed to always go the extra mile to punish people.
They both ate in silence, while Lucy contemplated whether or not she should tell him about her conversation with Kimberly.
Before she could make up her mind, Bryan walked into the kitchen, "There you are! For a moment I thought Sonia was seeing things. It's good to see you," Bryan greeted happily and Tom grinned.
"How is the expectant father doing today?" Tom asked, and Bryan squared his shoulder proudly.
"Great! I feel really great, Tom. I can't wait," Bryan said, and then glanced at his wall-clock.
"Sonia said you're house hunting?" Tom asked and Bryan nodded.
"Yes. Sonia prefers to live in Ludus since Lucy is here and I might not always be around. I'm in a hurry to meet up with the realtor right now. Let's catch up when I get back. Just wanted to say hello to you before leaving. Hi, Lucy!" Bryan remembered to call to Lucy as he hurried away from the kitchen.
"Hi! Bye!" Lucy called back making Tom smile in amusement.
After they were done with their lunch, they stopped by the Den to say hello to their parents.
"Lucy! I can't believe Tom left and you disappeared just like that. I missed you, you know?" Evelyn said as she went to embrace Lucy.
"I'm sorry. I should have called or said something," Lucy said apologetically.
"It's fine. Can we speak privately for a moment?" Evelyn asked, and Tom who was talking to his dad, shot his mother a warning look.
"I believe I owe you an apology. Let's speak privately," Evelyn insisted, ignoring Tom, as she took Lucy's hand and led her away.
"I will meet you upstairs," Lucy told Tom as she followed Evelyn.
Lucy tried not to frown as Evelyn led her outside to the patio where they had celebrated Desmond's birthday and they both sat on a bench.
If it was just an apology why did they have to sit? It shouldn't take more than a minute, should it? Lucy mused.
"How have you been?" Evelyn asked with a friendly smile.
"I've been good. And you?" Lucy asked, and Evelyn nodded.
"I'm alright. I wanted to speak with you privately for two reasons. First, I want to apologize. I wasn't snooping through your stuff. I saw the bag there and assumed it had fallen or something. I wanted to help you set it right, but then I saw the test kit and I got carried away with my excitement after I saw it. I'm sorry," Evelyn said, and Lucy sighed.
"It's fine. I'm glad the misunderstanding has been resolved," Lucy said with a small smile, and Evelyn nodded.
Neither of them said a word for some time and just when Lucy was becoming impatient and was about to ask her what else she wanted to say, Evelyn spoke.
"The first time I met you, I told you I really liked you. Do you remember?" Evelyn asked, and Lucy smiled when she remembered their first meeting (chapter 263).
"Yes."
"Some how reminded me of my younger self. And I was surprised when Desmond told me you reminded him of me when I was younger," Evelyn said, and Lucy smiled when she remembered her heartfelt conversation with him and how he had told her the same thing (chapter 339).
"I apologize in advance for what I'm about to say. I understand you might not appreciate it," Evelyn said, and Lucy frowned.
"So, why say it?" She asked, and Evelyn smiled.
"Because it's my nature to not be silent when I have something to say. Please bear with me," Evelyn said, and Lucy shifted uncomfortably, suspecting that she was going to talk about the marriage issue as well.
"You see, I know my kids. Tom, Bryan, and Jade. I know what their desires and passions are. I've always let them express themselves and be themselves. I love them and I always put their happiness above mine," Evelyn said, and drew a deep breath.
"Once when they were teenagers, I asked them what they wanted to be. Bryan said he wanted to be a very famous celebrity. That was expected since he was already pursuing his career as an actor from a young age. Jade being the youngest wasn't quite certain then. She said she wanted to be a superhero and fight bad people. She always hated injustice so I wasn't surprised she chose to study law. Do you want to know what Tom said?" Evelyn asked, and Lucy gave her a nod.
"He said he wanted to be very wealthy. But most importantly he wanted to be a great father and loving husband like his father," Evelyn said, and Lucy sighed deeply.
"Do you know how shocked I was during the dinner with his grandfather? (Chapter 567) I was taken aback to hear Tom whose dream had been to be a loving husband and father, suddenly regard marriage so dismissively. I couldn't sleep that night. I thought long and hard about it. And then the next day I saw the pregnancy test strip. I had to take it to him because I needed to understand what was going on," Evelyn explained, and this time Lucy nodded in understanding.
"After deliberating on everything, I figured you're the one who is against the idea of marriage, and not Tom. Am I right?" Evelyn asked, and Lucy nodded reluctantly.
"I'm not talking to you about this to convince you to change your mind. So, don't misunderstand me. I'm not asking you to end things with Tom either…"
"Why not? If you believe getting married and having a family is his dream, and it is what will make him happy, shouldn't you ask me to either change my mind or let him go?" Lucy asked with a frown, and Evelyn smiled.
"And what if you are what makes him happy? What's the point of getting married to someone else and having a family with someone else if he isn't with the person that makes him happy?" Evelyn asked as she reached out to touch Lucy's hair lovingly.
"I'm a very partial mother, Lucy. I love my kids endlessly. I would love Tom to have all the happiness he deserves with you. I can set my desires aside for Tom's happiness. I see you as my daughter in-law already. Although the wedding documents make things sort of official, but I don't think it is the documents that determines our relationship. I think it's the heart," Evelyn admitted with a small smile as she took Lucy's hands in her own.
"You know, I've been in your shoes before. As a matter of fact it took Desmond four years to convince me to be with him. I don't know. Maybe what you need is time, or maybe you really never want to get married, I can't tell. But whatever it is, I just wanted to let you know that as long as Tom doesn't mind, I won't mind either. And I know the rest of the family wouldn't too. So, you don't have to worry about us. That is, if you were worried. I thought you might be after that conversation during dinner with their grandfather. All I want is for Tom to be happy. And you too," Evelyn said, and Lucy's brows pulled together.
That was it? That was what she wanted to talk to her about? "Is that it?" Lucy asked before she could stop herself.
Evelyn nodded, "Yes. That's what I wanted to say to you. We can go back inside," Evelyn suggested as she rose.
"Can I ask you a question?" Lucy asked, and Evelyn sat back down.
"Sure."
"What was the reason you didn't want to get married and why did you change your mind about getting married?" Lucy asked, and Evelyn heaved a deep sigh.
"I was raised in a foster home. My mother was an alcoholic and my father was worst. I lost my kid sister because of them, and swore never to get get married or have kids. I didn't want to turn out like my mother and I was scared to marry a man like my father. I didn't want to have kids I might not be able to protect," Evelyn said, not wanting to go into the details of her dysfunctional family.
"So, why did you change your mind?"
"Hmm. My roommate back then asked me some questions that made me rethink my choices. Her fiance had just been diagnosed with a terminal disease then, and it was a tough time for her. She was upset and took it out on me once when I complained about Desmond not calling me as often as I expected him to," Evelyn said with a nostalgic smile.
"What did she say to you?" Lucy asked with interest.
"If you love him so damned much why not marry him and stop whining to me all the time? Some of us have real challenges, not self-made challenges! Or do you think he's going to live forever pining away for you? Would it take losing him for you to realize you want him in your life?" Evelyn said and then laughed softly.
"It's funny that I still remember her words, isn't it? After she said that she broke down in tears and then I consoled her. When she was calm she apologized to me. And then she asked me, 'Would you rather lose Desmond than marry him? If he was dying like Max, and getting married to him would save him, would you rather he dies than marry him? Does the benefit of marrying him not outweigh the risks? What harm can come from marrying him?' those were the questions she asked, and it took me almost a week to answer them," Evelyn said with a wide smile.
"What was the answer?"
"I figured I would rather marry him than lose him because I was too scared to give us a try. I like to believe my love for Desmond outweighed my fears. But it wasn't easy. When has love ever been easy? Love itself is a gamble. Giving your heart to someone and trusting them not to break it. Loving someone and trusting they won't die on you. Getting over my fears was a struggle, but Desmond was right there with me in the struggle, and it made it worth it. I don't know if that makes sense," Evelyn said, and Lucy shrugged.
"Can I ask why you don't want to get married?" Evelyn asked, and Lucy sighed.
"I've always been more career driven. I don't know. Maybe I'm scared of not having control over my life. I'm still trying to figure it out why I've never really fantasized about marriage. I don't know," Lucy said, and Evelyn smiled.
"I'm relieved to know you don't know why," Evelyn said as she squeezed Lucy's hand softly.
"Why?" Lucy asked with a frown.
"It means there is hope. If you had a strong conviction or reason against it, then changing your mind would be very difficult or impossible. On the other hand, I believe that if you don't know the reason yet, it means you probably haven't really thought about it. If it is something you didn't think about deeply and haven't really made up your mind on, then you can easily change your mind by yourself," Evelyn explained.
"I don't understand," Lucy said with a confused frown.
"For instance you are invited to an event. Let's say you have a cogent reason why you can't go. Could be because you have to be somewhere at the time, or you are ill. When you say you can't attend, it's because you very well know why you can't make it. But if you simply turn down the invitation without a reason just because you don't feel like, then there is every possibility that you can still be convinced or you can even change your mind in the last minute. Does that make sense?" Evelyn asked and Lucy nodded thoughtfully.
"Yes."
"Good. Let's go in now," Evelyn said as she rose and Lucy did the same.
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