The Storm
Who I Really Am
Around two in the morning the snow finally began to taper off. Snuggled under the covers Gerard held Lucy in his arms with a content smile on his face. Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined this morning that the day would end like this. However when he looked down he saw Lucy’s eyes were open staring up at the ceiling. The brightness from the moon on the newly fallen slow offered enough light to see she wasn’t smiling.
“Hey” He gently stroked her cheek, ‘What’s wrong?”
Lucy turned her head to look at him. “Just feeling a bit overwhelmed”
“Talk to me” He urged.
Lucy sighed, “Right now there are a million thoughts going through my head and I’m having trouble grabbing on to even one.”
“Just start talking. I want to understand how you’re feeling.”
She thought a moment, “Well I’m wondering if I forgot to pack anything.” After dinner Gerard had helped her dig out her old suitcase and pack for tomorrow’s trip.
“We’ll just get whatever you need in LA.” He reasoned.
This caused another sigh from Lucy. “Money is still tight for me…”
He began to shake his head, “Don’t worry about that.”
“I have to worry about that.”
“No you don’t.” He insisted. “Look, I ain’t all that rich, not by LA standards anyway but I’m comfortable.” He brushed his lips against her forehead, “Whatever I have is yours.”
This time Lucy frowned, “No, it’s not.”
“Yeah, actually it is. Come on woman, I’ve given you my heart. Material things don’t even come close to being as important as that.”
“I…” She paused, “I have to tell you that day at the library when I Googled your name…” She waited until he nodded, “I watched part of one of your performances.”
He wasn’t sure where she was going with this, “Yeah?”
Lucy sighed, “You have to understand how weird this is for me. At first I couldn’t even believe it was you. I mean you had this bright red hair...”
He nodded, “Yeah, I’ve had lots of different colors.”
Lucy stared at him, “I’m still getting used to the idea of who you really are.”
“Who I really am is the man laying beside you. The guy I am on stage, well that’s my job.”
“I don’t even know any of your songs.” Lucy said softly.
Gerard smiled, “So you’re not a fan?”
“I don’t know.” Lucy tried to make him understand, “I don’t know anything about that part of your life. I’m not sure I’d fit into that life.”
Now he understood her real concern. “That part of my life, singing, is something I love but it is my job. But being with the people I love, that’s more important than anything.”
“I guess I’m just sorta scared about meeting your family.” Lucy admitted. “I’m scared to go to LA. For so long my life has been here, and this is very different.”
“Very different but nice.” Gerard said softly.
Lucy was still worried about so much, “Do you really think Sam will be okay with flying?”
“Yep, we’ll stop on the way to the airport and buy a kennel. She’ll be fine. I have a large backyard for her to play in. She’ll love it.”
This brought another frown to Lucy’s face.
“What?”
“Knowing you live in the house my grandmother built is something I’m still trying to grasp.”
“I’m sure it is.” He pulled the blankets up around them a bit higher. “As well as knowing I actually saw your grandmother.” He searched her eyes to see how she’d react.
“That’s still so hard for me to believe.” Lucy whispered.
Gerard knew this was something they needed to discuss, “But what’s harder is knowing I’ve actually spoken to Rafe, isn’t it?”
Her eyes grew wide. “Yes” She paused then asked hurriedly, “Can I ask you something?”
“Of course.”
“How does he look?”
Gerard understood in his heart how difficult this was for her. “He looked just like he does in that photo downstairs.”
“So he’s happy?” Her eyes glistened with tears, “Lizzy’s happy?”
Gerard hugged her to him before speaking, “They are together. But the times I spoke to him he was worried, worried about you. He wanted you to be happy and he believed I could be the one to make you happy.”
“How many times did you see him?”
Gerard had expected these questions, “Well like I said the first time I didn’t know who he was, that was the time in Bolder.” He saw she was staring at him waiting for him to continue. “Then the first time I saw him here at first I thought I had to be dreaming. Hell, I even said that.” The memory started to fill his head, “Rafe sorta laughed and said I could tell myself that in the morning but I needed to pay attention. He said he knew you and I had gotten close…” Gerard felt Lucy’s body tense and he had to make her understand. “Lucy, there is nothing to feel guilty about. Rafe said he understood you had feelings for me or you’d never have let me touch you.”
“That’s true.” She whispered blinking rapidly.
“He knew that, he was glad we’d found each other, he understood it was what we both needed. But he warned me how fragile you were...”
“He was disappointed in how I was living my life.” Her voice shook.
“Not disappointed Lucy. He was saddened by how you’d closed yourself off from the world. He wanted more for you.”
Lucy had no idea what to say.
“But he warned me that a storm was coming.”
“He knew the truth about...” She still couldn’t force herself to say it.
“Yeah, he knew I was married, he knew but he still believed we were meant to be together. He knew we needed each other.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” She whispered.
He wasn’t sure exactly what she meant. “About being married or about seeing Rafe?”
“Both”
“Oh Honey.” He sighed, “I know in my heart it was wrong not to tell you I was married but…” He paused a moment, “I was afraid. What had happened between us was something that seemed so right, I was afraid to lose that and I knew if I told you I would.”
“I had the right to know.” She said softly.
“Yeah, you did and I’m very sorry for taking that right away from you.”
For several moments neither spoke. Finally Lucy said, “And about seeing Rafe?”
“Would you have believed me?”
She forced herself to be honest. “Probably not, not at that time.”
“But you definitely would have felt guilty about us if I’d told you I was communicating with your dead husband.” He prayed she’d answer honestly.
Lucy sighed, “Yes, I’m sure I would have.”
“So you see how difficult this all was for me? I’d fallen in love with you but Rafe was right, you were fragile. So each day I’d hate myself for the things I didn’t tell you while falling more deeply in love with you.”
Lucy closed her eyes.
“Honey?” He waited until she opened them again, “Are you happy now?”
A single tear rolled down her cheek, “Happy, confused and scared all at the same time.”
He nodded, “I understand but believe me everything is going to be okay, I promise. We’ll figure this out together. We’ll make this work….” His voice was full of emotion, “If you love me as much as I love you.”
“I do love you so much...” Lucy tried to smile, “And that’s scary too.”
He brushed his lips against hers. “Yeah, I know.” Believing she needed some time to process what she’d learned he continued. “Now close your eyes and try to get some sleep. We should probably leave by ten. That way we’ll have plenty of time to stop and get the kennel and I’m sure it’s gonna take a lot more time to drive to Kansas City because of the snow.”
Lucy’s eyes fluttered shut. Suddenly she felt very tired and she welcomed that feeling. For now, she had too many unanswered questions in her mind and she just wanted to forget them all for a while. She snuggled closer to Gerard’s body trying to convince herself that their love could overcome any obstacles.
Gerard was tired but he found it impossible to fall asleep. Part of him was so happy that Lucy had forgiven him and that she was in his arms. But deep down he knew they did face a lot of obstacles. What if she couldn’t be happy in LA? What would he do then? It was hours before he finally fell asleep.
___________________________________________________
Gerard trudged through the snow back towards the house. He’d just placed her suitcase in the trunk of the car.
As he walked in his stomped the snow off his shoes. Lucy was standing watching him.
“Ready?” He asked.
Lucy nervously was looking around, “Well I made sure the fire is out in the stove, I’ve set the thermostat to 60, so the pipes shouldn’t freeze…”
He hated how nervous she was about leaving.
“Oh” Her eyes flew to the computer, “Did you take care of my site?”
“Yes” He nodded, “I put a note that you’ll be unable to handle any orders for a few weeks.”
“A few weeks?”
He’d expected this reaction, “Honey, you aren’t sure when you’ll be back.” In his mind he was hoping this would turn into a permanent move to LA but knew he couldn’t push the issue right now.
She nodded, “Right but I’m hoping to have some orders for the Christmas season and I’ll need time to get those out.”
“Calm down.” He said softly.
Lucy sighed, “Right, calm down.” However moment later she was in full panic mode again, “My camera.”
Gerard smiled, “Honey, I packed your camera and all the film.”
‘You did?”
“Yep,”
“Oh, I didn’t know that.” She took a deep breath.
“I know how you love to take photos and there are some great places around LA I think you’re gonna want to shoot.”
Lucy was once more looking around, “Okay than. Guess Sam and I are ready.”
Gerard called out to the puppy who immediately came bounding up to him. He reached down and lifted her into his arms. “Figured if I carried her that would be less snow in the car.”
Lucy grabbed her house keys off the table. As they walked out onto the front porch Gerard was smiling. “Still locking the front door?”
She knew he thought it was funny because it was really useless, the back door still didn’t lock. “Yes.”
When she turned to him after locking the door he spoke, “I have an idea.”
“What?”
“You trust Clyde, right?”
Lucy nodded.
“Why don’t we stop by the bar and ask if he’ll watch over the place while you’re gone?”
“Oh” Lucy hadn’t considered this. “I guess we could.”
He hoped this would ease her mind a bit. “Okay then, lets do it.”
Together they crossed through the snow to the car he’d left running to warm. Once Sam was placed in the backseat Gerard slid behind the wheel. He saw that Lucy was staring through the windshield at the house. “It will be fine.” He said taking her hand briefly. He just wanted to leave before she could change her mind. Quickly be began to back out all the while Lucy was still staring at the house.
When he pulled the car to a stop in front of the bar he turned to her. “Uh, do you have an extra house key?”
She gave him a surprised look, “Why?”
He held out his hand, “Give it up.”
Lucy frowned but fished in the bottom of her purse to produce the key.
“Be right back.” Gerard said.
“But I should talk to Clyde.”
Gerard shook his head, “You stay here with Sam, okay?” He got out before she could object.
Lucy sat with her hands clinched tightly until he returned.
“Okay, that’s taken care of.” Gerard said as he slowly backed out.
“He’ll watch the place? What did he say?”
Gerard smiled, “Well first I had to let him tell me off...”
“What?”
“Come on, Lucy. You have to know Clyde is pretty fond of you. He was upset because I’d hurt you and I totally understood that.”
“I never told him…”
Gerard cut her off, “You didn’t have to tell him anything. He knew I’d left and you were upset. But I made him understand how much I love you.”
“You told him that?” She whispered.
“Yep.” By now they were slowly heading down the snowy road towards the highway. Gerard sincerely hoped that road would be clearer. “I told him I was taking you home for Thanksgiving and he made me promise to take good care of you. And he’s promised to fix the back door lock, so the house will be secure.”
“Gerard, you shouldn’t have done that.”
“Why?”
“Well because he’s busy.”
Gerard laughed, “Honey, he said he’d be happy to have something to do. Now stop worry about the house, okay?”
Lucy sat back exhaling deeply, “Okay.”
Behind them in the back seat Sam was happily wagging her tail. She unlike her mistress was very excited about going on a trip.
_______________________________________________
Lucy’s nerves were totally shot by the time they finally touched down in LA. To his credit Gerard had tried to calm her down at the airport when she’d stressed over Sam’s flying arrangements, going through security when Lucy had been randomly chosen to be searched, and the actual flight which had scared her. Never having flown before Lucy was positive the plane would crash especially when they’d hit some turbulence over the Rockies.
When the shuttle had finally let them off in the long term parking where Gerard had left his car Lucy’s stomach was churning.
“Okay” He smiled “Let’s get home.” He placed Sam’s carrier in the back seat then opened the door so the dog could come out of the confined space.
“Maybe you should leave her in until….”
Gerard smiled, “Hey, she’s tired of being in there.” He shoved the keys into the ignition.
“I don’t want her to mess up your car.” Lucy worried looking back to check on Sam but instead getting a huge, wet dog kiss on her cheek.
“Don’t worry about that.” Gerard laughed when Sam gave him a kiss too then settled back to look out the window.
Lucy leaned back against the seat then closed her eyes trying to calm down.
“It’s gonna be fine.” Gerard said softly quickly squeezing her hand before putting the car into drive. “Everything is going to be fine.”
They’d driven a few miles before Lucy sat up to look out her window at the passing scenery. “I’d forgotten how huge it is.”
“It’s been a long time.” Gerard answered. He’d wondered how Lucy would react to being back in LA. “Uh, exactly where did you live?”
“East Compton.” She whispered.
“Oh”
Lucy forced herself to smile, “Yeah, it’s a rough area. That’s one of the reasons Rafe and I were glad to leave.”
He was already thinking ahead, “Uh, I’m not sure what I’ve got to make for dinner tonight. I should probably stop at the store.”
Lucy sighed, “I’m sure you have something we can fix.” The idea of stopping anywhere just overwhelmed her.
He understood, “I’m sure I’ve got some soup and stuff for sandwiches?”
“That will be fine.” She was still staring out the window.
“Lucy, take a deep breath” He said softly.
She turned to him, “Sorry.”
“Hey, I know you’re overwhelmed, it’s okay. But I promise you, things are going to work out.”
Lucy wished she could believe him. But being back here, in a place she never believed she’d see again was only part of the problem. Knowing tomorrow she’d meet his family….
“Deep breath.” Gerard urged again.
“I’m sorry.” She did as he suggested then closed her eyes.
Gerard drove on just wanting to get home, he believed once Lucy saw the house her grandmother had built she’d feel more at ease. But more than that, he wanted to have Lucy in his home, the home he hoped would become their home.
_______________________________________________
Lucy’s eyes grew wide as Gerard swung open the door.
“Welcome.” He said tightening his arm around her. For now the bags remained in the car. He was so excited to show her his home that nothing else mattered. He laughed when Sam bolted past them running inside.
“Sam” Lucy called out.
“Hey, it’s okay.” Gerard said softly as they walked in. “This is Sam’s house too.”
Lucy was so busy looking around she didn’t have time to process his comment. “Oh my.”
She was staring down at the beautiful metal inlay in the center of the tile floor of the entry hall.
“Great, isn’t it?” Gerard smiled.
“It’s beautiful.” Lucy whispered. “When Dad would bring us by here I’d try to imagine what the inside of the house looked like. This is more beautiful then I could ever imagine.”
They walked further into the large living room. Immediately Lucy’s eyes went to the glass wall leading to the covered porch. Gerard hurried ahead to open the doors. “I love sitting out here at night and in the early morning.” He explained. “I love the view.”
Lucy slowly walked out, “It’s breathtaking.”
“We’ll have our coffee here in the morning.” Gerard said planning ahead again.
The early evening shadows painted the hills a soft purple. It was so beautiful and yet... “I don’t know anyone who lives like this.”
The comment caused him to frown. He feared she was thinking that they were from two different worlds. Placing his arm around her he said softly, “Yeah, this view is great but it doesn’t hold a candle to the view from your roof.”
Lucy sighed, “Gerard, the only view I have is the stars and fields.”
“That’s right.” His arm tightened around her, “But think how beautiful the stars look, how bright and close. Like you could reach up and touch one. That’s not something you can see here in LA.”
Lucy remained silent.
“Come on.” He urged gently, “I want to show you the rest of the house.”
The tour overwhelmed Lucy. From room to room she saw so many beautiful and expensive things.
“This is Bandit’s room.” Gerard said pushing open a door then standing back for Lucy to take a peek.
“Nice” Was her only comment.
At this point he’d showed her almost everything except his bedroom.He nervously pushed open the door.
“Oh” Lucy took a step inside noting the glass wall leading to the huge yard and the fireplace. “You’re bedroom, I guess.”
“Our bedroom.” He said softly watching her face.
Lucy turned away.
“Honey.” He said slowly believing once again he understood her feelings. “I’ve completely remolded it since the divorce, new paint, new furniture, new everything.”
She remained turned, not facing him.
Gently he turned her around forcing her to look into his eyes, “No other woman has been in that bed. When I purchased it my deepest hope was we would one day share it.”
She glanced nervously over at the bed. “I don’t know what to say.” She whispered.
He wanted to make her understand something very important. “Originally Linds was pushing to sell the house in the divorce but I convinced her to let me keep it. I had to liquidate a lot of my assets in order to give her half of its value but keeping this house was important to me. It was my tie to you.”
Lucy’s eyes grew wide. “I….” She honestly didn’t know what to say.
The moment was shattered by the barking of a dog.
“Oh, no. Sam.”
Gerard laughed, “I’m sure she’d done exploring and wants to know where we’ve wandered off to.” He called out the dogs name and almost immediately the Lab bounded into the room.
“See? She’s fine.”
Lucy nodded.
Gently he cupped her face between his hands “Now, how are you?”
She felt so lost in his eyes, “Overwhelmed”
“And hungry?”
The question relieved her, giving her time to think, “A little.”
“Well let’s handle that first.” He said taking her hand to lead her out of the bedroom.
Lucy followed still feeling a bit like the girl who’d fallen down the rabbit hole.
Gerard insisted she sit at the small table outside on the veranda while he made their dinner. He knew Lucy needed some time alone to process all her emotions and he hoped the peaceful view would calm her nerves. Sam decided to follow him into the kitchen while he prepared the food.
“So do you like the place?” he asked the dog who was happily wagging her tail in hope of scoring a piece of ham.
Sam barked her answer and Gerard smiled taking that as a yes. Now he just had to win over Lucy.
Lucy looked away from the view when she heard Gerard grow nearer carrying a tray.
“Made us ham sandwiches and some soup.” He said as he placed the tray down carefully.
“Thanks” Lucy said softly. She sighed, “It’s hard to believe just this morning we were surrounded by snow and now…” Her gaze when out across to stare at the twinkling lights of the city.
He finished placing their dinner on the table then took a seat. “So…” He paused, “Uh, what do you think of the house?”
“It’s beautiful.”
He’d been hoping for a bit more of an answer. “Over the years things have been remodeled and added but the basic beauty of this place is all thanks to your grandmother.”
Lucy picked up her sandwich and took a small bite.
Gerard nervously took a bite of his own sandwich while keeping his eyes on her. He wanted to get some sort of conversation started. Lucy being this quiet worried him. “Uh, I called Mikey while I was making dinner. Alicia is really excited you’re coming tomorrow.”
Lucy nodded.
He tried another tact, “She wants us to come earlier than everyone else.”
Lucy had gone back to staring out into the distance.
He hoped what he was about to say wouldn’t make things worse. “She was wondering if you’d help her with the dinner.”
This caused Lucy to turn to look at him. “She’s actually making the dinner herself?”
Gerard frowned confused by the question at first but then he realized why she’d asked, “Yeah, sure she is. It’s not being catered.” He sighed, “I think you’ve got the wrong idea. Not everyone out here lives in the lap of luxury.”
“Oh believe me I know that.” Lucy answered. “My family lived in a very small house.”
He heard what almost sounded like anger in her voice.
“We didn’t even own it, the house was rented. By the time I was born any money my grandmother had made was gone.”
He was slowly beginning to understand. “I never really knew what happened to your grandmother.” He hoped this wasn’t a bad subject but he desperately wanted to understand what Lucy was thinking.
Lucy took a drink before answering, “She made a fortune, she lost it.”
He sighed, “Okay, so you don’t want to talk about it.”
Immediately Lucy regretted her words. “I’m sorry. To be honest I don’t know a lot of the details. In truth the first time dad drove by this place to show me and my sisiter the house I thought he was lying when he said my grandmother had built it. You have to understand I grew up poor.” She sighed, “That was the only life I knew until moving to Kansas.”
Gerard nodded hoping she’d go on.
For several minutes Lucy concentrated on eating then stopped. “I barely remember her she died when I was pretty young. I asked dad once about what happened, I mean I couldn’t understand how she could have had such a beautiful house once.”
“Did he tell you?”
“He said in the 1950’s things started going downhill for the company.” She smiled sadly, “But he was so proud of what she’d once had. I mean she started the company back in the 1930’s on her own. My grandfather died and she took the little bit of money she had and started her company. For a Hispanic woman, with little formal education, back then that was quite a feat.”
“Did your father ever live here?”
Lucy nodded, “When he was very little but he didn’t remember much. Grandmother remarried when he was only five. She and her new husband had problems almost immediately. According to my father the new husband spent money like it was water. Grandmother had to sell her company to keep up with his spending. Eventually this house had to be sold and once that happened, once there was no more money he left my grandmother.”
Gerard hadn’t known any of this history. “I wish I’d checked the property records when I bought this place. I didn’t know any of this.”
Lucy sighed, “I suppose you were only told that a woman who made her fortune in croutons built it, right?”
He nodded.
“Yeah, I’m sure that made the history of the house sound interesting.” There was contempt in her voice.
Gerard sat wondering what to say next. Lucy had gone back to eating her dinner obviously not wanting to discuss the topic any further.
He decided to try to get back to the original conversation. “Anyway about my sister-in-law…” he waited until Lucy looked up. “I really think you’ll like her. She’s originally a mid-westerner and believe me she doesn’t put on airs.”
Lucy sighed, “I didn’t mean to imply she did.”
“Hey, it’s okay. I know you’re sorta going into all of this blind. But she really does want to meet you and she’s hoping you’ll help her cook the dinner.”
“I haven’t cooked a Thanksgiving dinner in a very long time.” Lucy whispered. She set down her soup spoon, “But I’d be happy to help her.”
“Good” Gerard smiled. “So we’ll leave about nine in the morning.”
Lucy nodded.
After dinner Gerard retrieved their bags while Lucy washed the dishes. He almost made the mistake of telling her it was unnecessary because there was a dishwasher but realized she needed to do something here that felt familiar to her.
“Okay” He said once she was done. “What would you like to do now?”
Lucy who was drying her hands on a tea towel turned to him. “I’d really like to take a shower.”
“Sure.” He nodded, “Uh, your bag is in the bedroom.”
“Thanks” She brushed past him.
Gerard sighed. He’d hoped she’d want to shower together but obviously that wasn’t her thought. While she went to shower he decided to call Alicia.
“Hey, Gee.” Alicia answered slightly surprised her brother-in-law was calling, “What’s up?”
Quickly he explained some of the conversation he’d had with Lucy.
“Oh” Alicia said slowly. “I think you just need to give her some time to adjust. I mean think about if for a minute, it’s gotta be weird for her. She didn’t even know who you really were and now she’s seeing how you live.”
Gerard clutched the phone tightly, “Uh is Mikey there?”
Alicia was confused by his tone, “No, did you want to talk to him?”
He hoped he was doing the right thing but he needed help. “No, I just wanted to make sure I could talk to you without him overhearing. See the thing is…” he paused, “Okay, the thing is this is gonna sound weird.”
“Gee” Alicia said softly, “What’s wrong?”
He closed his eyes trying to word this correctly without giving too much away. “Do you remember anything about the history of my house?”
Alicia was very confused now. “Yeah, I think so. Something about a woman who made croutons building it back in the 30’s?”
“Yeah well…that woman was Lucy’s grandmother.”
“Holy shit.” Alicia sat down heavily on the sofa. “Are you serious?”
“Yeah"
“Wow” Alicia was stunned, “Did you know that before?”
He sighed, “I realized it after I met Lucy in Kansas but I never told her I knew back then.”
“Why not?”
He’d been afraid this was going to be difficult. “Well because I was trying not to talk about my life in LA.”
“Holy shit what a weird coincidence.”
He was relieved she believed that. “Yeah, weird.”
“So you did tell her before you got home, right?”
“Yes, I’d told her but…”
Alicia cut him off, “But she’s freaked?”
He sighed, “See the thing is her grandmother lost her business and had to sell the house years ago. Lucy’s actually grew up in East Compton.”
“Oh” Alicia said giving this latest information some thought. “I get it. I’m guessing she grew up sorta poor?”
“Yeah”
“And now she’s in the house her grandmother built, with a guy who’s got money and she’s freaked. That makes sense. I’m guessing she didn’t have a lot of money in Kansas?”
“Not a lot.” He really didn’t want to go into details. “She and her husband had inherited the property from his family.”
“I see.” Alicia’s mind was considering all the fact she’d just learned. “Well I can understand how this would be really weird for her. But don’t you worry. I’ll make Lucy feel right at home tomorrow.”
“She said she’d be happy to help you with dinner.”
“Good.” Alicia smiled, “That’s good. It will give us time to get to know each other.”
“Uh, I don’t want anyone to know about her grandmother.” Gerard stressed, “I mean unless she says something about it.”
“Got ya.” Alicia agreed. “I’m sure the same goes for her husband and daughter.”
“Definitely.” Gerard nodded while listening to make sure Lucy was still showering.
“God, how sad for her.” Alicia said softly. She was glad Gerard had called her, there was something she really wanted to know. “So, I’m guessing she forgave you for lying to her?”
Leave it to Alicia not to beat around the bush. “Yeah, she forgave me or they wouldn’t be here.”
“They?”
Gerard laughed, “Yeah, Lucy and her chocolate lab, Sam.”
“Oh” Alicia laughed, “Well you’re gonna bring Sam tomorrow too, right?”
“I wasn’t sure if you’d want me to.”
“Of course. I’m sure she’ll get along with our dogs. Hey, it’s a family gathering so Sam should come too.”
“Mikey is damn lucky he has you.” Gerard said feeling love for his sister-in-law.
Alicia was surprised, “Well, thank you.” She muttered.
“I mean it.” Gerard said honestly. “And thank you for your help.”
“Hey, I told you before you left, I get that you love Lucy.”
“I really do.” Gerard said softly. He looked up to see Lucy now clad in pajamas walk into the room. “Well, gotta go. See you tomorrow.”
Lucy sat down on the sofa.
“That was Alicia.” He explained setting down his phone. “I called to ask about Sam.” He figured that wasn’t a lie.
“Sam?”
He nodded, “Yeah, Sam is invited for dinner tomorrow too. Alicia said she’s sure the dogs will get along fine.”
Lucy frowned, “Sam’s not had much interaction with other dogs.”
“I’m sure it will be fine.” Gerard said reaching out to pull her into his arms. “Feel better after your shower?”
Lucy smiled, “Yeah, a little bit.” She looked around, “Uh speaking of Sam…”
Gerard laughed, “She’s in the TV room sprawled out on the sofa.”
“Oh” Lucy frowned, “She shouldn’t be on the sofa.”
“It’s okay.” He said stroking her arm, “I told her that sofa was okay to lay on.”
Lucy giggled slightly, “You told her and she understood?”
“Yeah, me and Sam discussed it.”
“You are a strange man Gerard Way.” Lucy said looking into his eyes.
“I’m just a guy in love with a beautiful woman and her dog.” His lips came down slowly to meet hers.
Breaking off the kiss he said “I’m gonna take my shower now. How about I start a fire and tuck you into bed?”
“It is a little chilly.” She whispered.
Gerard took her hand to lead her to the bedroom. Once he got a fire going he turned to her. “Want me to tuck you in?”
Lucy glanced at the bed then back at the fireplace. “Think I’ll just sit here” She said lowering herself to the pillows on the floor.
He smiled gave her one more kiss then headed towards the bathroom.
“Hey” He gently stroked her cheek, ‘What’s wrong?”
Lucy turned her head to look at him. “Just feeling a bit overwhelmed”
“Talk to me” He urged.
Lucy sighed, “Right now there are a million thoughts going through my head and I’m having trouble grabbing on to even one.”
“Just start talking. I want to understand how you’re feeling.”
She thought a moment, “Well I’m wondering if I forgot to pack anything.” After dinner Gerard had helped her dig out her old suitcase and pack for tomorrow’s trip.
“We’ll just get whatever you need in LA.” He reasoned.
This caused another sigh from Lucy. “Money is still tight for me…”
He began to shake his head, “Don’t worry about that.”
“I have to worry about that.”
“No you don’t.” He insisted. “Look, I ain’t all that rich, not by LA standards anyway but I’m comfortable.” He brushed his lips against her forehead, “Whatever I have is yours.”
This time Lucy frowned, “No, it’s not.”
“Yeah, actually it is. Come on woman, I’ve given you my heart. Material things don’t even come close to being as important as that.”
“I…” She paused, “I have to tell you that day at the library when I Googled your name…” She waited until he nodded, “I watched part of one of your performances.”
He wasn’t sure where she was going with this, “Yeah?”
Lucy sighed, “You have to understand how weird this is for me. At first I couldn’t even believe it was you. I mean you had this bright red hair...”
He nodded, “Yeah, I’ve had lots of different colors.”
Lucy stared at him, “I’m still getting used to the idea of who you really are.”
“Who I really am is the man laying beside you. The guy I am on stage, well that’s my job.”
“I don’t even know any of your songs.” Lucy said softly.
Gerard smiled, “So you’re not a fan?”
“I don’t know.” Lucy tried to make him understand, “I don’t know anything about that part of your life. I’m not sure I’d fit into that life.”
Now he understood her real concern. “That part of my life, singing, is something I love but it is my job. But being with the people I love, that’s more important than anything.”
“I guess I’m just sorta scared about meeting your family.” Lucy admitted. “I’m scared to go to LA. For so long my life has been here, and this is very different.”
“Very different but nice.” Gerard said softly.
Lucy was still worried about so much, “Do you really think Sam will be okay with flying?”
“Yep, we’ll stop on the way to the airport and buy a kennel. She’ll be fine. I have a large backyard for her to play in. She’ll love it.”
This brought another frown to Lucy’s face.
“What?”
“Knowing you live in the house my grandmother built is something I’m still trying to grasp.”
“I’m sure it is.” He pulled the blankets up around them a bit higher. “As well as knowing I actually saw your grandmother.” He searched her eyes to see how she’d react.
“That’s still so hard for me to believe.” Lucy whispered.
Gerard knew this was something they needed to discuss, “But what’s harder is knowing I’ve actually spoken to Rafe, isn’t it?”
Her eyes grew wide. “Yes” She paused then asked hurriedly, “Can I ask you something?”
“Of course.”
“How does he look?”
Gerard understood in his heart how difficult this was for her. “He looked just like he does in that photo downstairs.”
“So he’s happy?” Her eyes glistened with tears, “Lizzy’s happy?”
Gerard hugged her to him before speaking, “They are together. But the times I spoke to him he was worried, worried about you. He wanted you to be happy and he believed I could be the one to make you happy.”
“How many times did you see him?”
Gerard had expected these questions, “Well like I said the first time I didn’t know who he was, that was the time in Bolder.” He saw she was staring at him waiting for him to continue. “Then the first time I saw him here at first I thought I had to be dreaming. Hell, I even said that.” The memory started to fill his head, “Rafe sorta laughed and said I could tell myself that in the morning but I needed to pay attention. He said he knew you and I had gotten close…” Gerard felt Lucy’s body tense and he had to make her understand. “Lucy, there is nothing to feel guilty about. Rafe said he understood you had feelings for me or you’d never have let me touch you.”
“That’s true.” She whispered blinking rapidly.
“He knew that, he was glad we’d found each other, he understood it was what we both needed. But he warned me how fragile you were...”
“He was disappointed in how I was living my life.” Her voice shook.
“Not disappointed Lucy. He was saddened by how you’d closed yourself off from the world. He wanted more for you.”
Lucy had no idea what to say.
“But he warned me that a storm was coming.”
“He knew the truth about...” She still couldn’t force herself to say it.
“Yeah, he knew I was married, he knew but he still believed we were meant to be together. He knew we needed each other.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” She whispered.
He wasn’t sure exactly what she meant. “About being married or about seeing Rafe?”
“Both”
“Oh Honey.” He sighed, “I know in my heart it was wrong not to tell you I was married but…” He paused a moment, “I was afraid. What had happened between us was something that seemed so right, I was afraid to lose that and I knew if I told you I would.”
“I had the right to know.” She said softly.
“Yeah, you did and I’m very sorry for taking that right away from you.”
For several moments neither spoke. Finally Lucy said, “And about seeing Rafe?”
“Would you have believed me?”
She forced herself to be honest. “Probably not, not at that time.”
“But you definitely would have felt guilty about us if I’d told you I was communicating with your dead husband.” He prayed she’d answer honestly.
Lucy sighed, “Yes, I’m sure I would have.”
“So you see how difficult this all was for me? I’d fallen in love with you but Rafe was right, you were fragile. So each day I’d hate myself for the things I didn’t tell you while falling more deeply in love with you.”
Lucy closed her eyes.
“Honey?” He waited until she opened them again, “Are you happy now?”
A single tear rolled down her cheek, “Happy, confused and scared all at the same time.”
He nodded, “I understand but believe me everything is going to be okay, I promise. We’ll figure this out together. We’ll make this work….” His voice was full of emotion, “If you love me as much as I love you.”
“I do love you so much...” Lucy tried to smile, “And that’s scary too.”
He brushed his lips against hers. “Yeah, I know.” Believing she needed some time to process what she’d learned he continued. “Now close your eyes and try to get some sleep. We should probably leave by ten. That way we’ll have plenty of time to stop and get the kennel and I’m sure it’s gonna take a lot more time to drive to Kansas City because of the snow.”
Lucy’s eyes fluttered shut. Suddenly she felt very tired and she welcomed that feeling. For now, she had too many unanswered questions in her mind and she just wanted to forget them all for a while. She snuggled closer to Gerard’s body trying to convince herself that their love could overcome any obstacles.
Gerard was tired but he found it impossible to fall asleep. Part of him was so happy that Lucy had forgiven him and that she was in his arms. But deep down he knew they did face a lot of obstacles. What if she couldn’t be happy in LA? What would he do then? It was hours before he finally fell asleep.
___________________________________________________
Gerard trudged through the snow back towards the house. He’d just placed her suitcase in the trunk of the car.
As he walked in his stomped the snow off his shoes. Lucy was standing watching him.
“Ready?” He asked.
Lucy nervously was looking around, “Well I made sure the fire is out in the stove, I’ve set the thermostat to 60, so the pipes shouldn’t freeze…”
He hated how nervous she was about leaving.
“Oh” Her eyes flew to the computer, “Did you take care of my site?”
“Yes” He nodded, “I put a note that you’ll be unable to handle any orders for a few weeks.”
“A few weeks?”
He’d expected this reaction, “Honey, you aren’t sure when you’ll be back.” In his mind he was hoping this would turn into a permanent move to LA but knew he couldn’t push the issue right now.
She nodded, “Right but I’m hoping to have some orders for the Christmas season and I’ll need time to get those out.”
“Calm down.” He said softly.
Lucy sighed, “Right, calm down.” However moment later she was in full panic mode again, “My camera.”
Gerard smiled, “Honey, I packed your camera and all the film.”
‘You did?”
“Yep,”
“Oh, I didn’t know that.” She took a deep breath.
“I know how you love to take photos and there are some great places around LA I think you’re gonna want to shoot.”
Lucy was once more looking around, “Okay than. Guess Sam and I are ready.”
Gerard called out to the puppy who immediately came bounding up to him. He reached down and lifted her into his arms. “Figured if I carried her that would be less snow in the car.”
Lucy grabbed her house keys off the table. As they walked out onto the front porch Gerard was smiling. “Still locking the front door?”
She knew he thought it was funny because it was really useless, the back door still didn’t lock. “Yes.”
When she turned to him after locking the door he spoke, “I have an idea.”
“What?”
“You trust Clyde, right?”
Lucy nodded.
“Why don’t we stop by the bar and ask if he’ll watch over the place while you’re gone?”
“Oh” Lucy hadn’t considered this. “I guess we could.”
He hoped this would ease her mind a bit. “Okay then, lets do it.”
Together they crossed through the snow to the car he’d left running to warm. Once Sam was placed in the backseat Gerard slid behind the wheel. He saw that Lucy was staring through the windshield at the house. “It will be fine.” He said taking her hand briefly. He just wanted to leave before she could change her mind. Quickly be began to back out all the while Lucy was still staring at the house.
When he pulled the car to a stop in front of the bar he turned to her. “Uh, do you have an extra house key?”
She gave him a surprised look, “Why?”
He held out his hand, “Give it up.”
Lucy frowned but fished in the bottom of her purse to produce the key.
“Be right back.” Gerard said.
“But I should talk to Clyde.”
Gerard shook his head, “You stay here with Sam, okay?” He got out before she could object.
Lucy sat with her hands clinched tightly until he returned.
“Okay, that’s taken care of.” Gerard said as he slowly backed out.
“He’ll watch the place? What did he say?”
Gerard smiled, “Well first I had to let him tell me off...”
“What?”
“Come on, Lucy. You have to know Clyde is pretty fond of you. He was upset because I’d hurt you and I totally understood that.”
“I never told him…”
Gerard cut her off, “You didn’t have to tell him anything. He knew I’d left and you were upset. But I made him understand how much I love you.”
“You told him that?” She whispered.
“Yep.” By now they were slowly heading down the snowy road towards the highway. Gerard sincerely hoped that road would be clearer. “I told him I was taking you home for Thanksgiving and he made me promise to take good care of you. And he’s promised to fix the back door lock, so the house will be secure.”
“Gerard, you shouldn’t have done that.”
“Why?”
“Well because he’s busy.”
Gerard laughed, “Honey, he said he’d be happy to have something to do. Now stop worry about the house, okay?”
Lucy sat back exhaling deeply, “Okay.”
Behind them in the back seat Sam was happily wagging her tail. She unlike her mistress was very excited about going on a trip.
_______________________________________________
Lucy’s nerves were totally shot by the time they finally touched down in LA. To his credit Gerard had tried to calm her down at the airport when she’d stressed over Sam’s flying arrangements, going through security when Lucy had been randomly chosen to be searched, and the actual flight which had scared her. Never having flown before Lucy was positive the plane would crash especially when they’d hit some turbulence over the Rockies.
When the shuttle had finally let them off in the long term parking where Gerard had left his car Lucy’s stomach was churning.
“Okay” He smiled “Let’s get home.” He placed Sam’s carrier in the back seat then opened the door so the dog could come out of the confined space.
“Maybe you should leave her in until….”
Gerard smiled, “Hey, she’s tired of being in there.” He shoved the keys into the ignition.
“I don’t want her to mess up your car.” Lucy worried looking back to check on Sam but instead getting a huge, wet dog kiss on her cheek.
“Don’t worry about that.” Gerard laughed when Sam gave him a kiss too then settled back to look out the window.
Lucy leaned back against the seat then closed her eyes trying to calm down.
“It’s gonna be fine.” Gerard said softly quickly squeezing her hand before putting the car into drive. “Everything is going to be fine.”
They’d driven a few miles before Lucy sat up to look out her window at the passing scenery. “I’d forgotten how huge it is.”
“It’s been a long time.” Gerard answered. He’d wondered how Lucy would react to being back in LA. “Uh, exactly where did you live?”
“East Compton.” She whispered.
“Oh”
Lucy forced herself to smile, “Yeah, it’s a rough area. That’s one of the reasons Rafe and I were glad to leave.”
He was already thinking ahead, “Uh, I’m not sure what I’ve got to make for dinner tonight. I should probably stop at the store.”
Lucy sighed, “I’m sure you have something we can fix.” The idea of stopping anywhere just overwhelmed her.
He understood, “I’m sure I’ve got some soup and stuff for sandwiches?”
“That will be fine.” She was still staring out the window.
“Lucy, take a deep breath” He said softly.
She turned to him, “Sorry.”
“Hey, I know you’re overwhelmed, it’s okay. But I promise you, things are going to work out.”
Lucy wished she could believe him. But being back here, in a place she never believed she’d see again was only part of the problem. Knowing tomorrow she’d meet his family….
“Deep breath.” Gerard urged again.
“I’m sorry.” She did as he suggested then closed her eyes.
Gerard drove on just wanting to get home, he believed once Lucy saw the house her grandmother had built she’d feel more at ease. But more than that, he wanted to have Lucy in his home, the home he hoped would become their home.
_______________________________________________
Lucy’s eyes grew wide as Gerard swung open the door.
“Welcome.” He said tightening his arm around her. For now the bags remained in the car. He was so excited to show her his home that nothing else mattered. He laughed when Sam bolted past them running inside.
“Sam” Lucy called out.
“Hey, it’s okay.” Gerard said softly as they walked in. “This is Sam’s house too.”
Lucy was so busy looking around she didn’t have time to process his comment. “Oh my.”
She was staring down at the beautiful metal inlay in the center of the tile floor of the entry hall.
“Great, isn’t it?” Gerard smiled.
“It’s beautiful.” Lucy whispered. “When Dad would bring us by here I’d try to imagine what the inside of the house looked like. This is more beautiful then I could ever imagine.”
They walked further into the large living room. Immediately Lucy’s eyes went to the glass wall leading to the covered porch. Gerard hurried ahead to open the doors. “I love sitting out here at night and in the early morning.” He explained. “I love the view.”
Lucy slowly walked out, “It’s breathtaking.”
“We’ll have our coffee here in the morning.” Gerard said planning ahead again.
The early evening shadows painted the hills a soft purple. It was so beautiful and yet... “I don’t know anyone who lives like this.”
The comment caused him to frown. He feared she was thinking that they were from two different worlds. Placing his arm around her he said softly, “Yeah, this view is great but it doesn’t hold a candle to the view from your roof.”
Lucy sighed, “Gerard, the only view I have is the stars and fields.”
“That’s right.” His arm tightened around her, “But think how beautiful the stars look, how bright and close. Like you could reach up and touch one. That’s not something you can see here in LA.”
Lucy remained silent.
“Come on.” He urged gently, “I want to show you the rest of the house.”
The tour overwhelmed Lucy. From room to room she saw so many beautiful and expensive things.
“This is Bandit’s room.” Gerard said pushing open a door then standing back for Lucy to take a peek.
“Nice” Was her only comment.
At this point he’d showed her almost everything except his bedroom.He nervously pushed open the door.
“Oh” Lucy took a step inside noting the glass wall leading to the huge yard and the fireplace. “You’re bedroom, I guess.”
“Our bedroom.” He said softly watching her face.
Lucy turned away.
“Honey.” He said slowly believing once again he understood her feelings. “I’ve completely remolded it since the divorce, new paint, new furniture, new everything.”
She remained turned, not facing him.
Gently he turned her around forcing her to look into his eyes, “No other woman has been in that bed. When I purchased it my deepest hope was we would one day share it.”
She glanced nervously over at the bed. “I don’t know what to say.” She whispered.
He wanted to make her understand something very important. “Originally Linds was pushing to sell the house in the divorce but I convinced her to let me keep it. I had to liquidate a lot of my assets in order to give her half of its value but keeping this house was important to me. It was my tie to you.”
Lucy’s eyes grew wide. “I….” She honestly didn’t know what to say.
The moment was shattered by the barking of a dog.
“Oh, no. Sam.”
Gerard laughed, “I’m sure she’d done exploring and wants to know where we’ve wandered off to.” He called out the dogs name and almost immediately the Lab bounded into the room.
“See? She’s fine.”
Lucy nodded.
Gently he cupped her face between his hands “Now, how are you?”
She felt so lost in his eyes, “Overwhelmed”
“And hungry?”
The question relieved her, giving her time to think, “A little.”
“Well let’s handle that first.” He said taking her hand to lead her out of the bedroom.
Lucy followed still feeling a bit like the girl who’d fallen down the rabbit hole.
Gerard insisted she sit at the small table outside on the veranda while he made their dinner. He knew Lucy needed some time alone to process all her emotions and he hoped the peaceful view would calm her nerves. Sam decided to follow him into the kitchen while he prepared the food.
“So do you like the place?” he asked the dog who was happily wagging her tail in hope of scoring a piece of ham.
Sam barked her answer and Gerard smiled taking that as a yes. Now he just had to win over Lucy.
Lucy looked away from the view when she heard Gerard grow nearer carrying a tray.
“Made us ham sandwiches and some soup.” He said as he placed the tray down carefully.
“Thanks” Lucy said softly. She sighed, “It’s hard to believe just this morning we were surrounded by snow and now…” Her gaze when out across to stare at the twinkling lights of the city.
He finished placing their dinner on the table then took a seat. “So…” He paused, “Uh, what do you think of the house?”
“It’s beautiful.”
He’d been hoping for a bit more of an answer. “Over the years things have been remodeled and added but the basic beauty of this place is all thanks to your grandmother.”
Lucy picked up her sandwich and took a small bite.
Gerard nervously took a bite of his own sandwich while keeping his eyes on her. He wanted to get some sort of conversation started. Lucy being this quiet worried him. “Uh, I called Mikey while I was making dinner. Alicia is really excited you’re coming tomorrow.”
Lucy nodded.
He tried another tact, “She wants us to come earlier than everyone else.”
Lucy had gone back to staring out into the distance.
He hoped what he was about to say wouldn’t make things worse. “She was wondering if you’d help her with the dinner.”
This caused Lucy to turn to look at him. “She’s actually making the dinner herself?”
Gerard frowned confused by the question at first but then he realized why she’d asked, “Yeah, sure she is. It’s not being catered.” He sighed, “I think you’ve got the wrong idea. Not everyone out here lives in the lap of luxury.”
“Oh believe me I know that.” Lucy answered. “My family lived in a very small house.”
He heard what almost sounded like anger in her voice.
“We didn’t even own it, the house was rented. By the time I was born any money my grandmother had made was gone.”
He was slowly beginning to understand. “I never really knew what happened to your grandmother.” He hoped this wasn’t a bad subject but he desperately wanted to understand what Lucy was thinking.
Lucy took a drink before answering, “She made a fortune, she lost it.”
He sighed, “Okay, so you don’t want to talk about it.”
Immediately Lucy regretted her words. “I’m sorry. To be honest I don’t know a lot of the details. In truth the first time dad drove by this place to show me and my sisiter the house I thought he was lying when he said my grandmother had built it. You have to understand I grew up poor.” She sighed, “That was the only life I knew until moving to Kansas.”
Gerard nodded hoping she’d go on.
For several minutes Lucy concentrated on eating then stopped. “I barely remember her she died when I was pretty young. I asked dad once about what happened, I mean I couldn’t understand how she could have had such a beautiful house once.”
“Did he tell you?”
“He said in the 1950’s things started going downhill for the company.” She smiled sadly, “But he was so proud of what she’d once had. I mean she started the company back in the 1930’s on her own. My grandfather died and she took the little bit of money she had and started her company. For a Hispanic woman, with little formal education, back then that was quite a feat.”
“Did your father ever live here?”
Lucy nodded, “When he was very little but he didn’t remember much. Grandmother remarried when he was only five. She and her new husband had problems almost immediately. According to my father the new husband spent money like it was water. Grandmother had to sell her company to keep up with his spending. Eventually this house had to be sold and once that happened, once there was no more money he left my grandmother.”
Gerard hadn’t known any of this history. “I wish I’d checked the property records when I bought this place. I didn’t know any of this.”
Lucy sighed, “I suppose you were only told that a woman who made her fortune in croutons built it, right?”
He nodded.
“Yeah, I’m sure that made the history of the house sound interesting.” There was contempt in her voice.
Gerard sat wondering what to say next. Lucy had gone back to eating her dinner obviously not wanting to discuss the topic any further.
He decided to try to get back to the original conversation. “Anyway about my sister-in-law…” he waited until Lucy looked up. “I really think you’ll like her. She’s originally a mid-westerner and believe me she doesn’t put on airs.”
Lucy sighed, “I didn’t mean to imply she did.”
“Hey, it’s okay. I know you’re sorta going into all of this blind. But she really does want to meet you and she’s hoping you’ll help her cook the dinner.”
“I haven’t cooked a Thanksgiving dinner in a very long time.” Lucy whispered. She set down her soup spoon, “But I’d be happy to help her.”
“Good” Gerard smiled. “So we’ll leave about nine in the morning.”
Lucy nodded.
After dinner Gerard retrieved their bags while Lucy washed the dishes. He almost made the mistake of telling her it was unnecessary because there was a dishwasher but realized she needed to do something here that felt familiar to her.
“Okay” He said once she was done. “What would you like to do now?”
Lucy who was drying her hands on a tea towel turned to him. “I’d really like to take a shower.”
“Sure.” He nodded, “Uh, your bag is in the bedroom.”
“Thanks” She brushed past him.
Gerard sighed. He’d hoped she’d want to shower together but obviously that wasn’t her thought. While she went to shower he decided to call Alicia.
“Hey, Gee.” Alicia answered slightly surprised her brother-in-law was calling, “What’s up?”
Quickly he explained some of the conversation he’d had with Lucy.
“Oh” Alicia said slowly. “I think you just need to give her some time to adjust. I mean think about if for a minute, it’s gotta be weird for her. She didn’t even know who you really were and now she’s seeing how you live.”
Gerard clutched the phone tightly, “Uh is Mikey there?”
Alicia was confused by his tone, “No, did you want to talk to him?”
He hoped he was doing the right thing but he needed help. “No, I just wanted to make sure I could talk to you without him overhearing. See the thing is…” he paused, “Okay, the thing is this is gonna sound weird.”
“Gee” Alicia said softly, “What’s wrong?”
He closed his eyes trying to word this correctly without giving too much away. “Do you remember anything about the history of my house?”
Alicia was very confused now. “Yeah, I think so. Something about a woman who made croutons building it back in the 30’s?”
“Yeah well…that woman was Lucy’s grandmother.”
“Holy shit.” Alicia sat down heavily on the sofa. “Are you serious?”
“Yeah"
“Wow” Alicia was stunned, “Did you know that before?”
He sighed, “I realized it after I met Lucy in Kansas but I never told her I knew back then.”
“Why not?”
He’d been afraid this was going to be difficult. “Well because I was trying not to talk about my life in LA.”
“Holy shit what a weird coincidence.”
He was relieved she believed that. “Yeah, weird.”
“So you did tell her before you got home, right?”
“Yes, I’d told her but…”
Alicia cut him off, “But she’s freaked?”
He sighed, “See the thing is her grandmother lost her business and had to sell the house years ago. Lucy’s actually grew up in East Compton.”
“Oh” Alicia said giving this latest information some thought. “I get it. I’m guessing she grew up sorta poor?”
“Yeah”
“And now she’s in the house her grandmother built, with a guy who’s got money and she’s freaked. That makes sense. I’m guessing she didn’t have a lot of money in Kansas?”
“Not a lot.” He really didn’t want to go into details. “She and her husband had inherited the property from his family.”
“I see.” Alicia’s mind was considering all the fact she’d just learned. “Well I can understand how this would be really weird for her. But don’t you worry. I’ll make Lucy feel right at home tomorrow.”
“She said she’d be happy to help you with dinner.”
“Good.” Alicia smiled, “That’s good. It will give us time to get to know each other.”
“Uh, I don’t want anyone to know about her grandmother.” Gerard stressed, “I mean unless she says something about it.”
“Got ya.” Alicia agreed. “I’m sure the same goes for her husband and daughter.”
“Definitely.” Gerard nodded while listening to make sure Lucy was still showering.
“God, how sad for her.” Alicia said softly. She was glad Gerard had called her, there was something she really wanted to know. “So, I’m guessing she forgave you for lying to her?”
Leave it to Alicia not to beat around the bush. “Yeah, she forgave me or they wouldn’t be here.”
“They?”
Gerard laughed, “Yeah, Lucy and her chocolate lab, Sam.”
“Oh” Alicia laughed, “Well you’re gonna bring Sam tomorrow too, right?”
“I wasn’t sure if you’d want me to.”
“Of course. I’m sure she’ll get along with our dogs. Hey, it’s a family gathering so Sam should come too.”
“Mikey is damn lucky he has you.” Gerard said feeling love for his sister-in-law.
Alicia was surprised, “Well, thank you.” She muttered.
“I mean it.” Gerard said honestly. “And thank you for your help.”
“Hey, I told you before you left, I get that you love Lucy.”
“I really do.” Gerard said softly. He looked up to see Lucy now clad in pajamas walk into the room. “Well, gotta go. See you tomorrow.”
Lucy sat down on the sofa.
“That was Alicia.” He explained setting down his phone. “I called to ask about Sam.” He figured that wasn’t a lie.
“Sam?”
He nodded, “Yeah, Sam is invited for dinner tomorrow too. Alicia said she’s sure the dogs will get along fine.”
Lucy frowned, “Sam’s not had much interaction with other dogs.”
“I’m sure it will be fine.” Gerard said reaching out to pull her into his arms. “Feel better after your shower?”
Lucy smiled, “Yeah, a little bit.” She looked around, “Uh speaking of Sam…”
Gerard laughed, “She’s in the TV room sprawled out on the sofa.”
“Oh” Lucy frowned, “She shouldn’t be on the sofa.”
“It’s okay.” He said stroking her arm, “I told her that sofa was okay to lay on.”
Lucy giggled slightly, “You told her and she understood?”
“Yeah, me and Sam discussed it.”
“You are a strange man Gerard Way.” Lucy said looking into his eyes.
“I’m just a guy in love with a beautiful woman and her dog.” His lips came down slowly to meet hers.
Breaking off the kiss he said “I’m gonna take my shower now. How about I start a fire and tuck you into bed?”
“It is a little chilly.” She whispered.
Gerard took her hand to lead her to the bedroom. Once he got a fire going he turned to her. “Want me to tuck you in?”
Lucy glanced at the bed then back at the fireplace. “Think I’ll just sit here” She said lowering herself to the pillows on the floor.
He smiled gave her one more kiss then headed towards the bathroom.
I absolutely loved this story! You are a very gifted writer & I
hope to find & read your other stories. I also look forward to reading Gerard’s book. Thank you!
1/4/18