Lucy poured herself a cup of coffee after a restless night. She had gone back and forth over the issue, but she still hadn't decided what to do. One minute she was determined to stand her ground and fight for her home and her family, unwilling to let anyone push her out. The next she was looking up real estate listings and planning how to pack, not wanting to live in a neighborhood with false friends who didn't want her or her son around. She found herself leaning more toward the former option but hated that she didn't have a definite plan of action.
"Hi, mom," Vince said meekly as he entered the kitchen. "I'm so sorry about everything. I never wanted to make trouble for you and Maura. I promise I'm never going to get myself in a situation like this again."
"I know," Lucy said sympathetically.
"I've been thinking. This is all on me and I don't want you and Maura to suffer when I'm the one they have a problem with. You two should stay here and I'll go."
"No!" Maura cried out as she overheard them from the next room. "You can't leave us. Where would you go?"
"I could get an apartment. Go live with my dad," he suggested with a shrug.
"You aren't doing either of those things," Lucy insisted. "You're too young to live on your own and if you went on the road with your father you would never finish high school. Absolutely not. I don't know if we're going to move or not yet, but whatever happens, we are all staying together. I promise you I will work out something."
Their conversation was interrupted by a knock on the door. Maura made a move to answer it, but Lucy insisted on seeing who it was first. When she saw Lawrence on the other side of the door she wasn't pleased.
"Unless you're here with an eviction notice, I want you to leave," she said curtly.
"I'm here with an apology," he said. When Lucy just squinted at him skeptically, but didn't shut the door in his face, he continued. "I got caught up in rules and regulations and I lost sight of what is truly important. I was wrong. I should have shut this down from the very beginning and I didn't.
"So I'm here now to offer my most sincere apologies to you and Vince and let you know the matter of expulsion is permanently dropped. I won't let it be brought up again."
Lucy stared at him for a long moment, making him wait as she carefully measured her response. "I do not accept your apology. It's too little too late. I want you to leave my property now and I expect to never see you on my doorstep or around my children again."
* * * * *
"Good morning," Zara greeted Cassie as she came down to the kitchen. "Did you get any sleep?"
"Not much," Cassie replied. She tried to sleep, but her mind was racing. She only managed to doze off due to utter exhaustion, but when she did sleep her mind was plagued with nightmares of Blaine not knowing her and only knowing Reese.
"I got the kids up and ready for school," Zara said as she handed her sister a bowl of cereal.
"Thanks. I appreciate it."
"They've been asking when they can see their dad. I told them to give him a little more time to feel better."
"That's probably for the best," Cassie said wearily as she sat down and mindlessly stirred the cereal with her spoon. "I'd hate for them to see him and he not know who they are . . ."
When Cassie broke down crying, Zara put an arm around her sister's shoulders to comfort her.
"How could he know her and not me? How could he not remember anything about our life together?"
"The brain is a complex organ," Zara shrugged. "You said there's a good chance he will regain the rest of his memories, right?"
"Yes," she said weakly.
"Then you just have to give it time."
As she heard Doug run through, Cassie wiped her eyes and tried to put on a brave face for her son. She walked into the foyer where Brooke was getting ready to go out the door.
"Carpool's here. Bye, Mom," Doug said as he gave her a quick hug.
Once the kids were out the door and the car was pulling away, Cassie turned to Zara. "I just feel so guilty."
"What for?"
"As much as I want Blaine to remember, a part of me is glad that he doesn't." When Zara looked confused, she continued, "He was so mad at me before the accident. What if he remembers everything just to hate me again?"
* * * * *
"Okay, thanks for letting me know," Reese said before she hung up the phone and let out a heavy sigh.
"Not bad news from the hospital, I hope?" Simon said as he walked into the kitchen.
"No, it's about work," Reese explained. "I think I'm out of a job."
"What happened?"
"Mr. Lind is closing the firm. He just doesn't have the heart to continue after what happened."
"Did they ever find his son?"
"No, but Mr. Lind is putting all of his money and resources into tracking him down," Reese explained before continuing. "Dustin was trying to salvage the firm, but with all of the negative publicity, we're losing clients every day."
"I don't think you have to worry. You're a good lawyer. I'm sure you'll find another firm or you could branch out on your own."
"The hard part is deciding what to do next."
"There's no rush. We're doing well financially and can afford for you to take some time off and regroup."
Reese nodded as she thought over the suggestion. "I guess so."
"And if you have some extra time, you could think about planning a wedding," he hinted.
"I could," she said hesitantly. "But I don't want anything big. Neither of us has much family."
"We have friends."
"Honestly, I would be happy if it was just you and me and Natalie."
"That works for me," Simon said agreeably. "But I think we should start thinking about setting a date and if you're going to be off work for a while anyway why not take the opportunity for a long honeymoon."
Reese shook her head. "I don't think that would be a good idea. I wouldn't want to leave Natalie for a long trip, not with everything that's going on with Blaine right now."
"Of course. I understand."
Simon sounded sincere, but Reese couldn't help thinking he was more disappointed than he let on. "But I'll start looking into venues and options for a small wedding and maybe a quick honeymoon and we can start thinking about setting a date."
No comments:
Post a Comment