Alone on his bed, Tom couldn't sleep despite the fact that the time was almost three in the morning. Perhaps it was because he had slept for hours during the day when Lucy was with him.
After dropping Lucy and Jeff off at their apartments at past 12 A.M. earlier after they all left party, he had wanted to stay back with Lucy to wait until her parents got back from Harry's, but Lucy had insisted he go home to get some rest while she busied herself with rearranging her closet and drawers until her parents' got back.
Because of Aaron's health they had thought leaving him alone with Jamal wasn't ideal, so both Tom's parents and Lucy's parents had spent the time with them pending when Harry and Candace would get back from the party.
The moment he got to his house, he had freshened up and busied with arranging the stuff he would move to Lucy's place.
The whole situation was amusing to him. The truth was he still had no idea what he and Lucy were doing or how to understand their relationship, but one thing he had resolved in his heart to do since he got back from his trip, was to go with Lucy's flow.
Every relationship was peculiar in its way and what he had with Lucy was even more so. He loved her. He knew she loved him. And even though he wanted more, and she didn't, their love had to be enough.
One thing he knew was that he'd rather have what they had now, than not have her in his life at all. She was his person. His soulmate. She made him happy and that was all that mattered.
Having her with him tonight as his partner had made one thing clear to him. Even though they were not married, everyone had recognized her as his partner, and she had acted accordingly too whether or not she realized she had been acting like his wife by conversing with his guests and acting as the hostess.
Although she had asked that they don't talk about Dawn until the weekend was over and they got the DNA paternity result on Monday, he couldn't help wondering how she would take it if it truly came out positive.
Thinking about Dawn, Tom sighed as he picked up his phone to take a look at her pictures. What would he do about the kid if she turned out to be his?
He needed to speak with his parents about all of this since they were leaving the next day. He would need them to hear it from him directly before leaving and to hear what they also had to say about it.
Without giving much thought to the fact that the time was just past 3 A.M., he rose from the bed and walked out of his bedroom.
He knew they were back from Harry's since he had heard their voices down the hall when they came in.
Once he got to their bedroom he knocked on the door, rousing them both from sleep.
His parents exchanged a look when they woke up and heard the knock again, "Am I dreaming? I thought all our kids were grown up?" Desmond asked when he glanced at the open window and saw it was not morning yet.
"Hold on," Evelyn called out to Tom as she got out of bed and adjusted her sleeping robe while Desmond turned on the light and glanced at the bedside clock.
He scowled when he saw that the time was 3:29 A.M. and they've been sleeping for only two hours yet were being disturbed. He walked into the bathroom to splash water on his face.
"Tom?" Evelyn asked in surprise when she opened the door and saw it was her eldest son knocking.
Tom never woke them up in the middle of the night. Not even when he had been a kid.
"Sorry to disturb your sleep. Can I speak with you?" Tom asked apologetically.
"Did someone have a nightmare? Need to join daddy and mommy in bed?" Desmond drawled sarcastically as he approached the door, and paused when he saw Tom.
"Tom?" Desmond asked, looking as surprised as Evelyn had been to see him.
"You want to speak with me?" Evelyn asked, and Tom shook his head.
"The both of you. I thought I might not be able to have some time alone with you if I wait till morning," Tom said, and his parents exchanged a look.
"Want to come inside?" Desmond asked, and Tom gave him a nod, and they stepped outside to let him in.
After they were all seated on the bed, Tom looked at them apologetically again, "I'm sorry for disturbing your sleep," he said, and they both waved it off dismissively.
"You wouldn't wake us up if it wasn't important. What is wrong? Did something happen?" Desmond asked with concern.
"Sort of. I think I might have a daughter," Tom said, and both his parents looked at him.
"Is Lucy pregnant?" Evelyn asked in confusion.
"No, mom! This isn't about Lucy. I met someone I've been with in the past, during my trip. And she told me we have a daughter together," Tom explained without meeting both their gaze.
Despite the fact that he was an adult perfectly capable of making his own decisions, he felt somewhat embarrassed to tell his parents he had made such a mistake that even Bryan who was the family playboy had not made.
Neither Evelyn nor Desmond said a word as they exchanged a look, each trying to process the information.
"How do you know she is telling the truth? Anyone could make up stories just to get money from you. I mean you're a very successful…."
"I don't think it's about money, mom," Tom cut in, and explained the situation to them in detail, and who Kimberly was.
"You mean she let you take the DNA samples yourself?" Desmond asked, and Tom nodded.
"And you say the kid looks like you? You believe she might be yours?" Evelyn asked, and Tom gave her a nod.
"Oh, lord! This isn't happening!" Evelyn murmured as she pressed both hands to the sides of her head.
"I know I've always said I wanted a grandkid, but not this way. This is wrong for everyone," Evelyn complained.
"Don't say that, Eve. You're not helping," Desmond chided as he patted her back.
"But it's the truth. It's going to affect everyone..."
"And who is the everyone?" Desmond cut in.
"Tom and Lucy's relationship. The kid's life will be affected too. Our relationship with Lucy's parents will be affected if things don't work out between Tom and Lucy..."
"I love Lucy and her family, but this is about Tom and the little girl..."
"Lucy is like our daughter-in-law...."
"Being LIKE is not the same as being it. She is not Tom's wife. She doesn't even want to be. Tom can make whatever decision that works best for him and the little girl. We don't have to make this about Lucy," Desmond cut in.
"Lucy matters to me, dad. Wife or not, she is an important part of my life and this is about her as well," Tom said, not liking how his father had dismissed Lucy.
"I know that. And I understand it. I'm only saying the kid is important and I don't like your mother complaining about how the kid's presence might affect everything else. How do you think the child would feel if she knew her supposed grandmother thought her existence was a complication?" Desmond asked, and Evelyn frowned.
"That wasn't what I meant. Besides I rightly said the kid's life will be affected too," Evelyn said defensively.
Desmond sighed as he thought about the entire situation, "When will the result be out? Do you need us to cancel our flight? We can be around until it has been resolved," Desmond offered and Tom shook his head.
"No. You don't have to stay…"
"That's nonsense! We will stay back until the result is out. It's not like there is anything urgent we are hurrying back to attend to. We will stay," Evelyn declared.
Despite their best intentions, Tom wanted them to leave so he could have time to be alone with Lucy, "No, mom. I'd rather you go home as planned. It's not like your presence would change the result of the test. I decided to tell you about it now so I do not have to explain it all over the phone if the test result comes back positive," Tom said calmly and Desmond nodded in understanding.
"Sure. You can let us know the result when it's out and we will figure out where to go from there," Desmond said, but Evelyn wasn't in agreement.
"What's there to figure out later? I think it's best we make the decisions now. If the child turns out to be yours, what do you plan to do?" Evelyn asked, and Desmond frowned.
"What else can he do other than be a father to his child?" Desmond asked matter of factly.
"I believe you don't have plans of pursuing a relationship with the child's mother. Do you?" Evelyn asked, ignoring her husband.
"She is already the mother of his child…"
"I want an answer from Tom, not you," Evelyn snapped at her husband, and he shook his head in exasperation. Evelyn was
"Other than being the mother of my child if it turns out true? Of course, I don't. Lucy is the only woman I plan to spend my life with," Tom said, and both his parents nodded.
"Then it's simple. If the result comes back positive, we will come back and you will invite the child and her mother down to Ludus so we can see them. We will have to discuss with her and agree on you raising the child…"
"Evelyn! You can't possibly take the child away from her mother," Desmond cut in.
"I'm not saying it's going to be a fight for custody or anything. We will all talk about it reasonably. The child would be Tom's child too, and she has spent three years with her mother already. The child needs to know her father and his family," Evelyn said reasonably.
"And if she doesn't agree to being separated from her kid?" Desmond asked with a raised brow.
"Why wouldn't she? I don't think she would mind Tom being involved in the child's life. I believe she tried to find Tom because she didn't want to raise the child alone. It's not like she expects him to relocate to her country because of the child or that she expects him to marry her for the child's sake. If she wants Tom to be involved in raising the child then she would have to let the child live with Tom. At least for some time," Evelyn said, and Tom sighed.
"Maybe we are thinking too far ahead," Tom said as he massaged his temple.
"It doesn't hurt to think far ahead. That way you won't be clueless when it's time to take a stand and make a decision. When the result comes, you can discuss all of this with Lucy. I believe she would want to be part of the decision making since she is also a part of your life," Evelyn said, and Tom sighed once again.
"You haven't told Lucy about it yet, have you?" Evelyn asked with a concerned frown.
"I have," Tom said, surprising both his parents.
"You did? When? How did she take the news?" Evelyn asked, and Tom shrugged.
"She has been supportive. She even followed me to the lab to drop the samples," Tom said, not seeing any need to tell them Lucy had fled from his office the moment he told her about the kid.
"That's good then. Don't worry, son. It's not the end of the world. This might turn out to be a blessing in disguise," Desmond said as he reached out to tap Tom's shoulder.
"Your father is right. Don't let it bother you too much. I'm sure we will find a way to make it work if she turns out to be your daughter," Evelyn promised as she reached for his hand and squeezed it gently.
"I'm serious about you going back as planned," Tom reminded his mother and she nodded.
"Alright. But you have to let us know whatever you decide. And we have to be here when you invite them over," Evelyn said, and Tom gave her a nods
"Sure. I will. You can't tell Janet or Andrew…"
"Of course not. It's not our place to do so," Evelyn cut in.
"You don't even have to ask," Desmond said at the same time.
Tom gave them a nod, "Thanks for hearing me out. And once again I'm sorry I disturbed your sleep," Tom said as he rose to leave.
"You're our son. It's your right to disturb our sleep," Evelyn assured him.
"I don't know about that," Desmond said, and Tom chuckled while Evelyn slapped his arm playfully.
"I will leave you both to get some rest while I try to do the same," Tom said as he headed for the door.
Once he shut the door the door behind him, Evelyn and Desmond sighed, "He looks very worried. I doubt he's going back to bed," Evelyn said with a frown.
"Anyone in his position would be worried. You could have handled it better," Desmond said, and Evelyn shook her head.
"It's your job to handle things better, remember? It's my job to react normally and balance things," Evelyn said as she snuggled closer to Desmond and rested her head on his shoulder.
"What are we going to do?" Evelyn asked with a sigh.
"Nothing. It's not for us to do anything. Tom has to handle this alone. With Lucy by his side hopefully," Desmond said, wondering if Lucy would be okay with raising the kid if Evelyn's suggestion worked and the child came to live with Tom.
Evelyn drew back to look at him with a frown, "But we can't just not do anything. We are his parents…"
"Tom is thirty. He's not a kid. He can handle this himself. I'm certain all he needs is the result and then he will figure out what he wants. Let's go back to bed," Desmond suggested.
"I can't understand how you are always so calm…"
"I know we did a good job raising the kids, Eve. So, I trust them. They won't fold over such little inconveniences. Tom won't be the first young man to find out he is a father out of the blue," Desmond said confidently.
"But the situation with Lucy…"
"That is also for them both to resolve not for us to lose sleep over. We have a flight to catch in a couple of hours. I'm going back to sleep. You can stay up and worry all you want or you can join me," Desmond said as he reached for the switch and turned off the light.
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