For Disclaimers see Ch. 1
Author's Note: So, when I sat down to write all of this stuff, I thought I was close to the end. I mean there really didn't seem to be much left. And I was bound and determined to finish telling the tale of these young women that has had a strangle hold on me for what seems like forever. And I'd very nearly had it all done and everything in place and was feeling pretty proud of myself when Luce took me aside.
She told me that if I left things as they were at the moment she'd send Kylie over my way to talk to me; that terrified me. Now, I like Kylie, I really do, but when she thinks you're doing something wrong, she's like a dog with a bone. And I knew I really didn't want her aimed in my direction. Especially when it comes to the love of her life. So, I told Luce I'd take another stab at it. And here we are, with yet another chapter and more on the way. So when you read this, remember, don't blame poor old me because it's not quite the ending yet. I'd tell you to blame Kylie, but I'm not really sure that's a good idea either.
As always, please read and enjoy. Reviews are welcome at modern.bard@yahoo.com
* * *
Luce stood outside the hospital building, taking several deep breaths as the sun beat down on her. Her eyes closed as she let the warm glow of it wash over her upturned face, feeling the tension that had been riding her for hours slowly leaving.
The hospital was such a claustrophobic environment; normally, it didn't bother her. But with everything that had happened to them last night, being in one for an extended period of time was proving difficult. She suddenly had a much better understanding of people like Kylie, who sometimes experienced near panic attacks at the simple thought of going into one. And she was very glad that the love of her life had her family with her to distract her from her own anxieties about them.
She stood there for several moments, regaining her equilibrium, while the world moved on around her. When she took a deep final breath and opened her eyes again, she felt much better; more human.
The day had turned out utterly gorgeous; a beautiful blue sky with only few wisps of clouds to mar it's azure dome. And the sunlight beat down on her in very pleasant waves. The one downside at the moment was her lack of sunglasses which made her squint in the bright outdoor light. But even that, she could live with for the moment. After last night, she could live with a hell of a lot. After last night, she could've lived with a blizzard.
She gave herself a sharp mental shake at that sarcastic thought. No sense in tempting fate; especially not with how strange her luck had been in the last few days. She just might find herself in the middle of said blizzard if she wasn't careful.
She started walking, glad that they'd ended up in one of the newer hospitals in the city. A great many shops and casual restaurants had sprung up around it. Since she had no car at the moment and no one to take her anywhere, she was very thankful that everything was within easy reach. The only difficulty she could foresee having was picking the right place. There were quite a few choices.
She walked a few blocks, pondering her choices, watching the list growing longer when something in a display window caught her eye. She stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, mesmerized by the twinkling behind the window. Despite the severity of her errand, she stepped closer.
It was a display window for a small jewelry store but it wasn't like any display she'd ever seen before.
Seemingly random things were scattered in the small space and yet they'd still been placed well enough to catch a great deal of light and catch the eyes of the people passing by.
And they sold rings. That made Luce pause, last night's conversation and resulting marriage proposal still vivid in her mind. She wasn't one to be believe in fate, but this seemed a bit too much divine intervention for her to ignore. After all, she had promised Kylie a ring. And she had always been a woman of her word. Her mind made up, she opened the door.
It was an amazingly chaotic place. Caught somewhere between a new age shop and a jewelry store, the inside managed to capture aspects of both. There were crystals scattered across almost every bit of free space available. With other bits and pieces thrown in for good measure. And the jewelry, which was very abundant, had a common theme among most of it. Stars, leaves, branches and crystals being most prevalent.
But there were also simple metal bands, bands with simple geometric themes and bands decorated with sparkling jewels just like in any jewelry store she'd ever been in.
Despite the chaos, it somehow ended up being very soothing. And after the last 24 hours, soothing was exactly what she need. She stepped up to the nearest case, her eyes zeroing in on the rings inside.
As she stood there avidly looking, the clerk came in from the back room of the store. “Good morning; I wasn't expecting anyone to come in this early.”
Luce looked up at the young woman. “Good morning. I was walking by and your window caught my eye.” She indicated the display that had stopped her dead in her tracks and practically dragged her into the store.
The woman nodded, pleased. “My niece just redid that for me, actually. She did a good job; very eye catching.”
That made Luce smile. “Yes, it is.”
“So what can I help you find today?” The clerk leaned on the counter a bit.
Luce took a deep breath wondering if this was all going to sound nearly as strange out loud as it did bouncing around her head. “My girlfriend proposed last night and is demanding a ring. I wasn't expecting to buy one so soon, but your store really caught my eye.”
The clerk's eyebrow rose. “She proposed but you're buying the ring?” If she was uncomfortable at the idea of two women getting married, she didn't show it. The idea that Luce, however, was having to provide the ring when she was the one being asked seemed to scandalize and shock her.
“To be honest I was probably going to be the one to propose, she just beat me to the punch.” She paused at the almost scandalized look from the clerk. “We don't exactly have a conventional relationship; even for the LGBT community.”
The clerk sighed and shrugged. “Name one that really is? But that's not the important part is it? You need a ring and I might be able to help you with that.” She began pulling out ring trays, setting them in front of Luce so she could look them over.
Once they were outside the case, Luce was astounded at the sheer variety to be had. They came in all different designs and materials. Some with several metals, others worked in one but all were so beautifully done, it took her breath away. “Is this your work?”
The clerk nodded and then shrugged. “Well, most of it. Some of it's my nephew's; he seems to have a real knack for it. Metal just loves him. Haven't found a thing yet he can't duplicate and then tweak if he puts his mind to it.”
“They're all gorgeous.”
“I'll pass along the compliment.” She pulled out a few more trays as Luce came near the end of the first selection.
Luce stopped as the clerk set a tray down and one of the rings in it caught her eye. For one surreal moment, she expected a beam of light to enter the store and just suddenly land on the ring lighting up the room with brilliance as she reached out to touch it.
It was simple ring, set in a finely worked silver wrought leafy pattern. And in the middle, between the intertwining branches, was a rather large but still gorgeous moonstone. On either side sat pieces of light green jade accents.
She picked it up and turned it in the light, imagining it on Kylie's hand as she did so. It was beautiful and she knew, she'd found what she wanted.
She smiled as she held it up to the clerk. “I'll take it.”
The clerk smiled as she pushed the remaining rings out of the way and pulled out a box. “It's a size 7 at the moment. I can go a full size in either direction but it'll take me a couple of days.” She took the ring from Luce and put it in the box carefully and began writing up the order.
Luce watched her put the ring in the box and felt a bit of pang of loss at seeing it disappear. “For the life of me, I can't remember her ring size.” She looked lost for a moment.
The clerk smiled a bit at that.“Why don't you take it today and bring her back with it so we can size it properly.”
Luce nodded. “I can do that.” She pulled out her credit card.
The clerk smiled as she took it, being sure to drop her business card into the bag she'd placed the box in. “She's going to be blown away by this.” She handed Luce the receipt and a pen.
Luce smiled as she signed the receipt with a flourish. “I hope so.” Then she scooped everything up and left.
The next thing she knew, she was standing outside the store, ring bag in hand feeling a bit shell shocked; as if she'd gone through a whirlwind and just been spit out the other side. For a moment, she wasn't sure she could move. Despite knowing this was what she wanted, the ring felt like a stone in her hand.
Not in a bad way, not at all in a bad way. But now that she'd bought it, there was no denying the truth of it, no pushing it back under the rug. The ring and everything it implied was suddenly just so much more real than the abstract concept of a strange conversation/wedding proposal in a hospital bed.
The thought made her shiver. And she stood there for a long moment fumbling for the sunglasses she slowly realized she didn't have, trying to give her hands something to do to distract her mind long enough to calm back down. She hadn't been this nervous after Kylie proposed, she'd be damned if she let a sudden case of uncertainty get the better of her.
To think that her entire universe could be suddenly be encased in the small confines of a seemingly innocuous paper bag. It was mind warpingly comforting even as it made her heart pound. But she wanted this; wanted everything it promised, everything it implied.
She just had to figure out how to give it to Kylie before she jumped out of her skin and without her family knowing. Because she'd learned something about Kylie's family; they were all hardcore romantics. Their reaction to seeing the ring was likely going to be bad enough; but if they actually witnessed it being put on? There was no telling the fireworks show that was likely to shoot off.
They were a rather noisy, nosey group of people and it should have terrified her that she was willingly becoming a part of that. But, it didn't. In fact, it was almost like her solitary and lonely soul was looking forward to it. That should have scared her too.
But then again, at least her mother would be surrounded by the big family she'd always craved; something Luce always felt a twinge of guilt over. And the Rogers clan seemed to love her mother a great deal, having accepted the woman into their fold without hesitation. Someone they'd protect and nurture nearly as well as one of their own.
Luce frowned thinking of her mother; she'd have to find a way to warn her before she caught sight of the ring on Kylie's finger; or worse some excited well meaning family member called her bursting with good news. She deserved to hear it from her own daughter's lips that her only child was getting married.
Then again, her mother might already know; she'd known how Kylie really felt even before Kylie did. The woman was downright scary at times.
For some reason, that made her start laughing softly to herself and it broke the final bit of paralysis brought on by her panic. Luce took the bag firmer in hand and began walking down the sidewalk again. She still had lunch to get after all; she'd been distracted by the jewelry shop and the ring, but now it was time to get down to the very serious business of feeding Kylie. Before the woman decided to get out of her hospital bed and come after her.
She shivered a bit at that thought; nothing scared her more than Kylie's temper. Unless of course that temper was directed at her. And nothing would put her in the cross-hairs faster than dangling the promise of non-hospital food in front the shorter woman only to forget and come back empty handed. She wasn't even sure the ring would save her.
And she just knew that the rest of the Rogers family would gladly sacrifice her to get out of the room in one piece. In their circumstances, she wasn't sure she wouldn't do the exact same thing.
And for some reason that thought made her laugh herself silly.
____________________________________________________________________
On her way to find Kylie lunch, her mind still trying to decide what exactly the other woman might want to eat, she passed by a store for her cellphone company. She groaned aloud as she realized that her phone had probably been destroyed last night. If by some miracle it had escaped a fiery death, the efforts of the firefighters to put out the blaze would have quickly put it into a watery grave.
She made a quick change in direction, hoping that Kylie's stomach could take one more delay and opened the door.
She was immediately greeted by a rather happy young man with a broad smile on his face. “How may we help you today?”
His cheerful voice was thankfully pleasant but Luce found her rather dark sense of humor rearing it's ugly head at the sound of it. She ignored it for the moment. “My phone was sort of destroyed last night, I was kind of hoping to get a new one.”
He started tapping the touch screen of his tablet, humming softly to himself. The pleasant and obviously happy melody he was humming made Luce wonder about him. And again her twisted sense of humor woke up. Was it company policy that he be this pleasant? And if it was, did that mean he was faking it or was he being drugged?
That lost thought made her snort softly. He looked up at the noise but when she merely raised an eyebrow, he continued on with his tapping.
The humming stopped abruptly. “May I have your account number and we'll see what we can do for you.”
She rattled it off to him.
More tapping, more humming. There was another pause as he asked her. “What was the nature of the destruction?”
“House fire.”
To his credit, he only hesitated slightly before the tapping and humming started up again.
He looked up from his tablet again. “Do you have the phone with you?”
She shook her head. “No, and I probably won't be able to get it for a few days either. Not until the firefighters and the feds release the scene.”
This time there was a longer hesitation as he gave her a slightly appraising look. But then, the tapping and humming started up again.
He was being drugged, she decided. No one could fake being that happy. And she was also pretty sure she'd never met anyone that was naturally that way either. It had to be drugs. She gave another soft snort.
There was a pause in the humming as he looked up again. “Are you alright? I can get you a tissue if you need one.”
She shook her head. “No, thank you. Just have a tickle in my throat I think.”
“Feel free to grab yourself a cup of coffee. I just made it about 15 minutes ago so it should still be pretty good.” He waved a hand at a counter behind her, which had not only two coffee pots on it, but a rather decent selection of flavored creamers as well. There was even tea and hot cocoa if she wanted that instead.
She'd never seen that in any of the other stores she'd visited. It seemed she had hit the ritzy part of town. She chuckled softly to herself as she mixed up a cup of coffee and sipped at it. All the while listening to the clerk tap and hum behind her.
Finally, the tapping stopped and he approached her. “Alright, Ms. Donovan, it looks like you planned ahead and luckily insured the phone. We can easily replace it with the same model you had before. But you were also due for an upgrade if you wanted it and we can certainly do that for you today as well. Whichever, you prefer.”
She looked around the store for a moment, sipping her coffee thinking. Her phone had worked just fine; though she'd started running out of memory. She'd started having to dump things on a nearly weekly basis and she hadn't been happy about that. Although, she was quitting her job and going off in a completely new direction. Would she really need any of her old stuff anymore?
That was something she wished she could take more time to think about. But she really needed a phone today.
“Is there a newer model of my phone out?” She asked the young man.
He nodded. “Yes, in fact they seriously upgraded a couple of features on it that I think you might like.”
“Like what?”
“They beefed up the memory for one; one of the biggest complaints in the model you had was there wasn't enough.” He walked over to a display near them and picked up one of the models.
“I'd started noticing that myself recently. What else?”
“The camera is an all new design; some kind of new wave technology that they're looking to use to change the market a bit.”
That tidbit caught her attention. “How nice is it?”
“See for yourself.” And with that, he snapped a quick picture of her standing there, coffee cup in one hand, ring bag in the other, looking a bit disheveled and worn out.
She managed not to flinch at the flash, having learned first hand that most camera flashes were very unkind things. Often bleaching everything out closest to them. But she was pleasantly surprised when he turned the camera around and not only had it not done that, but the clarity of the picture was well beyond what her last camera phone could do.
She set down her coffee cup before taking the phone from him. There was no way she was setting down the ring! She started looking through the phone, liking the clarity and quality of the screen which was again much better than what she had before. She scanned the specs from the tag on the shelf and gave a soft whistle. They'd gone and at least doubled the memory.
“I'll take it.” She said handing the phone back to him.
He gave a beaming smile. “What color?”
“Silver or black if you have them; doesn't matter which since I'm going to cover it up with a case anyway.”
He gave another smile and disappeared into the back to get her new phone.
He came back out a few minutes later with her phone in a box and spent the next several minutes at the counter unpackaging it and reprogramming it. When it was finally ready, he handed it to her.
“It'll take a few seconds longer for the phone to completely sync to the network and download the saved imprint of your previous phone. Once it does that, you should be good to go; your contacts should update tonight the same time they've always done before.” No sooner were the words out of his mouth than the phone beeped loudly, vibrating almost violently in Luce's hand. The clerk gave it a concerned look, looking like he badly wanted to take a step back from it. “Damn, that can't be good.”
She sighed loudly, looking at the phone as text messages and emails flooded into it. “I had a bit of excitement last night when I lost the old one. It's catching up to me now.”
The phone rang in her hand and she recognized Jerry's number. Yet another person she hadn't thought to call. Swearing softly, she put the small device to her ear. “Donovan.”
“Luce, thank God you're alright!” Jerry's voice came through so loud she saw the clerk wince in sympathy.
She put her hand over the phone and stage whispered to the young man standing there avidly watching. “Are we done?” At his nod, she quietly thanked him and turned to leave. She felt like giving herself a V-8 slap to the forehead. “Damn, Jerry, I didn't even think of calling you.”
He chuckled. “You were kind of busy. I'd have expected you to be a bit distracted.” He paused. “You are ok, right?”
She nodded. “Yeah, a bit singed and sooty at the end but we both made it out ok.”
“I'm glad, I'm really, really glad.”
His voice sounded a bit distracted and she could hear the soft and distant sound of hands flying across a keyboard. “Jerry, what are you doing?” She asked a bit suspiciously.
“Sending out a corporate email to let everyone know to stop staring at their TV and wondering if you're alright. The damn news has been blasting your name for the past couple of days. Apparently arson tied to shoot outs with hitmen and South American drug lords is big news in this city. Probably the most exciting thing they've seen since last Tuesday.” His indignant and disbelieving tone made her chuckle softly. After a moment, he went on his tone quiet and somber. “You had a lot of people worried here, me included.”
Touched by that admission, she felt a bit choked up. “I appreciate that; I'm sure Kylie will too.”
“Is she alright?”
The quiet question made her throat close up a bit more; a soft echo of those horrible moments on the sidewalk rolled through her mind again. She shoved it away ruthlessly as she answered, her voice only a bit thicker than normal. “Yeah, a bit more banged up than I am and feeling it this morning but we're both alive so that's what really counts.” She cleared her throat a bit.
“Damn right.” He paused, uncertain for a moment. “I'm sorry this happened Luce. I never in my wildest dreams thought you'd become a target of this damn thing. If I had, I'd have told the feds to take a running jump off the nearest pier.”
That made her angry. “Dammit, Jerry, stop apologizing, no one could have anticipated this.”
“That's not the point here, Luce, and we both know it. I value you, as both an employee and a person; it would have killed me if something were to have happened to you or someone you cared about simply because of this damn job.”
She shrugged her shoulders but was silent. She couldn't argue with that and they both knew it.
“How is she? And I mean, really, how is she?”
The soft spoken question made Luce pause a moment and sigh. “How do you think she is? Her house was burnt to the ground, her cat's missing and presumed dead, and she was beat up and tied up in the house before they torched it. How would you feel?”
“Pretty damn shitty.” There was another pause. “Keep me posted on her, I'd like to know how she's doing. And the cat too.” The last was said in a bit of a rush.
It was such an odd request, catching her attention and making her zero in on it. “What? The cat, why?”
He gave a strange coughing noise on the phone, as if he were clearing his throat and his voice became a bit defensive. “I happen to be a bit of a cat person, if you must know.”
That made her laugh a bit; she never would have expected that of him. “Alright, I'll keep you posted.”
“Have you given any thought to that favor I owe you?”
She blinked a bit at the abrupt subject change, caught a bit off guard by his question. It seemed a life time ago that she'd pulled the promise from him for a future favor. She hadn't thought much beyond finagling another week or two off out of him at the time. But now she had a pretty good idea what she really wanted.
“Yeah, I have.” Her voice was quiet but firm.
“And?” He prodded.
She took a deep breath and jumped. “I want out.” The silence stretched out over the phone so long she started wondering if maybe he'd dropped dead at the news. Or maybe he was thinking that if he didn't respond, she'd take it back. She felt her temper snap. “Come on, Jerry, after this are you really that surprised?”
He sighed. “No, I can't say that I am. So you want out completely?”
She reached up to rub her forehead; she could feel a terrible stress headache coming on. “Yeah; it's time for me to move on. I think it's been time for awhile now I just needed a little push to get me going.”
Another pause, shorter this time. “Do you have any idea what you'll be doing?”
She smiled thinking of the land waiting for the house she and Kylie were going to build. “I'm going to breed and train horses.”
“Really? I had no idea you were even interested in that. No, wait, didn't you tell me something about your grandfather having a horse ranch once?”
She chuckled softly. “Yeah, so you could say I'm going into the family business.” She paused again. “I want something different, Jerry. Something more than a head full of memories about browbeating people into doing what I want or them telling me their deepest darkest secrets. And if I never see another oil rig, it'll be too soon.” That last was said with a half growl full of such fervent zeal it was amazing it didn't drag an amen from him.
He gave a soft sigh. “Do me a favor, don't go changing your number without telling me?”
“Jerry, I'll help if I can but I really think I just need a clean break from this shit.”
“I wasn't asking because I might need your help, Donovan. I was asking because I want to keep in touch. For someone so observant, you can be a mite oblivious from time to time.”
That comment stopped her cold and she stood there with a slightly chagrined look on her face, thankful that he couldn't see it through the phone.
“And let me know if you ever need a backer; I'll come running with my pension.”
Taken aback, she could only growl into the phone. “I might not make it, Jerry. I'm more likely to fall flat on my face the first step out of the gate and we both know it.”
He gave a noncommittal sound. “Maybe, but we also both know that you don't fail often. And let's just say, I have a feeling about this one.”
She smiled at that, touched at the his show of confidence; however misplaced she felt it was. The smile grew as inspiration struck. “When I get things going, I'll give you a call. I'm sure Emily would love to come up and see the horses.”
There was a small choked sound from the other end. “Thirteen year old girl, unrestricted access to a horse ranch; seems your sense of timing is still spot on.”
She laughed. “She might grow out of it by the time I'm ready. Then again, if you come for the wedding, maybe not.”
There was a longer pause this time and the faint sound of scratching came across the line.
“Jerry?”
“Hold on, just jotting something down; seems my wife owes me $20.” .
She should have felt annoyed that he was betting on her love life. But given the last couple of days, the anger seemed like too much of an effort; so she just started laughing softly.
He continued. “Alright then, you've got my number, I've got your number and my wife to insure we don't lose touch. And before you ask again, yes, we will be there for the wedding. All three of us; with bells on and ready to throw bird seed.”
“I thought you threw rice at a wedding.”
“Normally yes, but when you have a 13 year old budding ecologist who read somewhere that rice might harm local songbirds, you throw birdseed. A bit more friendly, don't you think?”
She gave a noncommittal sound.
“Now that we've got that sorted, get off the phone and go spend the next couple of weeks recovering from this at least.”
She smiled warmly at the concern in his voice. “I plan to.”
“And, Luce?”
“Yes, Jerry?”
“If you need to talk, just call.”
The offer took her aback a bit in surprise. She blinked, feeling her eyes stinging a bit. “I will, Jerry, thanks. For everything.”
And with a soft click, he was gone. She stood there for several moments gathering herself, relishing in the warm feelings the call had given her. It was probably the most pleasant and stress free conversation she had ever had with him. And it hadn't been because she was quitting.
In all the years that she'd known him, he'd never sounded quite so human as he did today. Or so happy. Which was a rather strange thing for him to be feeling since he'd once claimed that if she ever quit, he'd have no idea how to begin replacing her.
Maybe, she wasn't the only one who'd realized it was time for her to move on.
That errant thought made her snap out of the strange melancholy mood that had swept down on her. She shoved the new phone into her pocket and gathered her wits before rushing off once again in search of lunch for Kylie. She did have a life to get on with after all.
_______________________________________________________________
Luce walked back towards the hospital, food bags in hand feeling as if she'd been drug through the neighborhood backwards on roller blades without a helmet or any protective gear. She'd decided some time ago, that the foray to get Kylie's lunch that day would likely go down in history as one of the most frustrating and almost fruitless endeavors she'd ever undertaken.
After her phone call with Jerry, it'd taken her nearly another hour to find and get lunch for her fiance; a reality that frustrated the taller woman to no end. Although, truth be told, having found a new restaurant to haunt had made up for it a bit, it still seemed as if the universe had subtly turned against her from the moment she'd picked the ring up.
Beginning with the fact that, after hanging up with her boss, or soon to be ex-boss, she still had no idea what to bring Kylie back for lunch. There'd been quite a few choices in her immediate vicinity and that had been part of the problem; there'd almost been too much choice. The overload of it all was nearly overwhelming. And it took another 20 minutes of wandering before she'd thankfully stumbled upon a place that she knew would be perfect.
A little fried chicken joint set back from most of the hustle and bustle of the rest of the area; set back far enough that she almost missed it. And she would have missed it if the wind hadn't suddenly changed, enveloping her in the wonderful aroma of fried chicken and simmering gravy. She'd let her nose lead her closer, amazed at the sight of the place. A rather small red shack that looked plain and unappealing; until your nose caught a big whiff of what was pouring out of the place. Then her mouth and tastebuds highjacked her brain and it was all over.
That was when she saw the line and she groaned, realizing she was likely going to be standing there for a bit. But, she knew without a doubt that Kylie would love whatever she decided to get from this place; she knew she'd love it too. So there was nothing for it except to take her place in that line of shuffling, hungry bodies and wait.
She passed the time by playing with her new phone, finding a few new games on the thing and even downloading a few new ones while she stood there, slowly moving closer and closer to the front. Around her, things moved relatively quickly; the crowd seemed to remember their manners for the most part. Moving along quickly and mostly quiet; each person grabbing their order without a great deal of fuss or delay.
She was thankful for that; after last night, she wasn't completely sure how much patience she had for people at the moment and no wish to test that patience. Despite the number of people crammed into such a small place, it didn't feel claustrophobic or crowded. Something which she was surprised about. She'd been boardrooms that'd felt stuffed to the gills in comparison to this place; and that'd been with only a fraction of the people to start with.
Of course tension probably had a lot to do with it; and nothing created more tension than being forced to stand in front of her and justify the choices you'd made or try to keep the secrets you didn't want anyone finding out about. These people were completely relaxed and carefree in spite of their hunger and she was finding it strangely soothing.
Then it was her turn to step up and grab her order, which she did rather enthusiastically, making sure she had napkins and silverware before darting out the door. Relaxed though they might be and strangely soothing as it was, she was afraid it would suddenly turn into a Twilight Zone episode on her and they were seconds away from snapping and swarming her like an undead zombie horde.
She shook her head ruefully as she made her escape from the place, making a beeline for the hospital. She'd been watching too many horror movies with Kylie lately if that was the first thing she expected to happen in a crowded restaurant. Then again, what had happened to them just last night seemed like a plot line from a thriller movie so maybe her caution was a bit justified today.
She hurried back to the hospital, letting her long legs eat up the distance, bag of fried goodness on one arm, ring bag still clutched possessively in the other. It wouldn't take her very long to get back considering she was determined to not be distracted for a third time. She only hoped Kylie hadn't lost patience and decided to start rampaging through the hospital.
Although the sudden image of Kylie running amok down the halls in a wheelchair dragging an IV stand while everyone ran in terror managed to make her laugh.
It wasn't until she crossed the threshold of the main entrance that she realized with a jolt that the ring bag was still in her hand; out in the open for everyone to see. That brought her up short and she stood in the entryway for several seconds with a panicked and annoyed expression on her face.
She knew she couldnt' just walk into Kylie's room with that in her hand in front of all of Kylie's family. They would zero in on that like a pack of starving hyenas about willing to drive a lion off a fresh kill. Worse yet, she wouldn't make it two steps past the door before Molly pinned her down.
Any pretense the two of them had about telling the family once things had calmed down would be gone. She knew she just couldn't handle the chaos such an announcement would bring; not today at any rate. And besides, she wanted a moment or two alone with the woman she loved to slip the ring on her finger. If Kylie's family saw it first, she'd never have that moment; all she'd have was a rowdy bunch of onlookers sighing and giving her words of encouragement if they thought she was getting nervous. It was enough to drive a person off the deep end.
She had to admit though, it'd be completely unforgettable. She snorted at that errant thought, ready and willing to kick that small part of her brain that had produced it well into next week. She wasn't likely to need anything to make the moment anymore unforgettable than it already was. Certainly not the carryings-on of well meaning family members.
She set her food bags down on the nearest open horizontal surface and slid the ring bag off her arm hurriedly; she didn't want the food getting cold after all. And, folding the plastic around the box so that it no longer looked quite like a box, stuffed the whole thing in her pants pocket.
It looked rather stupid but you couldn't tell what it was; just that she was carrying something around in her pocket that was probably best left outside her pocket. And that was fine with her.
She snatched up the rest of the food and rushed off to Kylie's floor.
When she left the elevator and made a beeline for Kylie's room, she was struck by the lack of noise. Reaching the room, she walked in and was amazed to discover it empty except for Kylie who was lying in her bed, dozing quietly.
Not sure what to make of the fact that Kylie was alone, she set the food down on Kylie's hospital table and quietly closed the door; giving the two of them a bit of privacy.
She sat down on the side of the bed, reaching out to touch Kylie's hand gently as she did so. The smaller woman took a deep breath, her eyes opening as she slowly smiled at Luce.
Luce reached up to touch her cheek. “Hey there, beautiful. Ready to eat?”
Kylie nodded, shifting a bit as she tried to wake up. “Sorry, I guess I fell asleep.”
Luce shrugged not surprised by that; she expected Kylie was going to be tired for the next few days. “Let's see if eating helps with that.” She pulled the wheeled hospital table closer and started unpacking their lunch.
The smell wafted out the minute Luce opened the first container and slowly filled the room. The promise of that smell woke Kylie quickly and she shifted a bit to sit up as Luce set the meal out in front of her.
She took a deep breath, groaning out loud as she did so. “This smells amazing. Where in the world did you find it?”
Luce laughed at the longing in Kylie's voice. It was so strong, she half expected the smaller woman to forgo any silverware and start scooping everything up with her hands. “If I were a betting person, I'd have bought a lotto ticket; it's just been that kind of day today.” She handed Kylie some plastic silverware. Kylie didn't snatch it from her fingers, but it was a near thing, snapping the fork and knife out of the plastic so fast, Luce swore she saw the plastic wrapper melt.
Then she watched as Kylie dug into her potatoes, swirling the first bite onto her fork before grabbing a small amount of cole slaw. The bite disappeared into Kylie's mouth and the smaller woman's eyes closed in sheer pleasure as the food melted on her tongue. Luce swore she nearly saw tears.
She laughed at the sheer joy on Kylie's face. “I thought I was the only one that could put that look on your face.”
Kylie waved a fork at her, already grabbing her chicken leg to take a bite. “Don't laugh, I've seen you eat cheesecake.” Then she was making happy noises over the chicken.
That did make Luce laugh. “Good choice?”
Kylie nodded, mumbling around a mouth full of food. “Very good choice.”
She smiled at the obvious pleasure on the other woman's face. “Then this would be great time to give you this.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out the plastic wrapped box, slowly unwrapping it as she did so.
Kylie continued eating as Luce finished unwrapping the box and opened it, holding it out to her. Seeing what was inside, she was suddenly speechless and the food was completely forgotten. “Is this...” she couldn't finish.
Luce nodded. “I told you, I should have bought a lotto ticket today; I hit the trifecta. Got a new phone, found a killer place for fried chicken and this practically fell in my lap. You really wouldn't believe the day I've had so far.”
That made Kylie laugh as she carefully wiped her hands on her napkin and took the box from taller woman and just looked at it.
Luce felt a small shot of panic at the reaction and she suddenly wondered if maybe Kylie was having second thoughts. “You didn't change your mind did you?”
Kylie gave her a shocked look. “Of course not, it's just...” she trailed off, hands stroking the box.
“It's just?” She prompted.
“I thought I'd have a little bit more time before you surprised me with this. I asked you to marry me and you said yes; I thought that the ring would be an after thought kind of thing after that.”
Understanding dawned. “But it's not.”
Kylie shook her head. “No, and with everything that's happened in the last day, it's just a bit more overwhelming than I expected is all.” She sniffled a bit, reaching up to brush the sudden tears from her eyes.
Luce took the box from her hands and opened it, knowing that in this moment, Kylie needed the help.
Kylie looked at the ring, her breath catching. “Oh, Luce, it's beautiful.”
Luce smiled, taking the ring out and sliding it onto Kylie's left hand without fuss or preamble. They were both feeling so much right then, dragging it out any further would be cruel. Besides, their lunch was getting cold.
She didn't say anything, simply closed Kylie's fingers as the ring slid home, giving those same fingers a gentle kiss as she set the hand back down and turned back to the bag to pull her food out. Next to her, Kylie stared at the ring for a moment longer, obviously still feeling a touch overwhelmed. Then, with slightly shaking hands, she picked up her forgotten fork and went on eating.
She scooped up the chicken leg she'd discarded a moment ago and bit into it again, her eyes half closing at the taste.
Luce laughed at the look of sheer pleasure on her face. “That good, huh?”
Kylie nodded. “You have no idea.”
Luce finished setting out her own lunch and following Kylie's example, took her first bite of mashed potatoes and coleslaw. The flavor burst onto her tongue like a tidal wave, sweeping her under and away. And for a moment, it was just her and the food alone in the room. She heard herself groan softly; she didn't close her eyes but it was a very near thing. When she came back to herself enough to swallow, Kylie was giving her a knowing look.
“Told you.”
She laughed. “So I did good then?”
Kylie smiled. “You, my love, did very good.” And they both knew she wasn't just talking about the chicken.
Luce smiled and was about to try her own fried chicken when there was a soft knock from the door. She went to open it just as a nurse popped her head in.
She gave Kylie a smile. “Someone said you hadn't gotten a chance to order lunch from the cafeteria. But from the smell in here, I don't think you need to.”
Kylie shook her head, still eating away. “No, my fiance here was kind enough to bring me something.”
The nurse smiled again, giving Luce an appraising look. “Well, if that's from George's, you can't go wrong. Best fried chicken I've ever had in my life. I could eat there three times a day. Of course I'd be as big as blimp, but it'd be so worth it.” Her wistful tone made them chuckle. “Go ahead and enjoy your lunch and if anyone gives you a hard time about outside food, send them to me. Let me know if you need anything, honey.”
Kylie nodded. “Thanks, I think I'm good.”
The door shut again quietly as the nurse left.
Luce turned back to Kylie who was already nearly through her rather large lunch. “Did you like the sound of that?”
Kylie smiled. “I did. And I liked the look in her eyes when I said it. Like a tiny shadow of disappointment that she couldn't quite hide. Made me want to get up and start dancing while yelling, 'That's right, bitches! She's all mine!!'.”
Luce roared nearly choking as she started laughing. The image of Kylie dancing on the bed, screaming at the top of her lungs was just too much.
There was another knock on the door, this time much louder than the nurses and Kylie gave a sigh. “That sounds like Molly.”
That sobered Luce a bit. “You want me to make her go away?”
Kylie sighed. “No, it wouldn't really help. She'd just hunt us both down.”
“Good point.” Luce wiped the tears from her eyes and got up. “Finish your lunch. I'll deal with the insane asylum.”
Kylie did as ordered as Luce crossed the room and opened the door for the family. Molly stood just outside the door, patient as could be, a pleasant smile on her face. But Luce wasn't fooled for a moment.
“If you two are done making out in here, can you make sure Kylie's decent? She has visitors again.”
Luce arched an eyebrow at the rather pointed comment but let it pass. Molly was pregnant after all. But the part about visitors worried her a bit. “Visitors? The same visitors she had this morning?”
Molly shook her head. “No, while you guys were still asleep, I called the family to let them know she was here. And we decided that sending everyone all at once would not only drive the two of you crazy, it'd probably get all of us kicked out of the hospital too. So, we decided to do it in shifts. This morning was the first one; the second is actually patiently waiting in the longue. The third shift will be by sometime around dinner. Of course, there wasn't enough time for the other two groups that left, but they'll be by starting tomorrow morning.” She gave Luce another sweet smile that made her toes curl.
Luce did some quick math in her head trying to estimate how many people that was and nearly whistled out loud at the numbers she came up with. She'd always known Kylie had a large family; it had just never really struck her just how large that was. She gave a soft curse and moved away from the door, letting the three of them back in.
Her mother, of all people, was smiling broadly. “Cheer up, lighteyes. It is not as if you have to see them all the time after all.”
That realization made Luce smile a bit as she watched Kylie finishing her lunch. “I hadn't thought of that. What about you? Aren't you feeling a bit overwhelmed?”
Her mother shrugged. “Not nearly as much as you, I fear. You forget, I have always wanted a large family. Your father and I were not blessed with that, but it seems now we will be. It is very nice.”
Something about the way her mother was looking at her made her wonder what she was thinking; how much she knew. When she was young, her mother had the uncanniest knack for finding out what her daughter was up to; often pulling the plug on the fun long before it got going. At the time it made her seem as if she were reading Luce's mind.
When Luce was older and asked her about it, her mother had told her that there were times she just had a guilty face. Was that how she looked now? As if she had a secret? Had she lost her boardroom face entirely? Or was she just an open book for her mother? Luce had no idea about any of it.
But the thoughts terrified her quite a bit and she found herself finishing her lunch rather hurriedly; almost as if she had a secret to hide. As she finished the last bite of the chicken and shoved what was left of the potatoes and coleslaw in front of Kylie, who seemed to have an even larger appetite than normal, she decided that maybe now might be a good time to get it our. Before her mother started asking probing questions in front of her future in-laws.
“I would kill for a cup of coffee, Ina . Care to come with me?”
Her mother gave her a slightly surprised look but simply nodded before stepping back out of the room. Luce followed after giving Kylie a quick kiss on the cheek which drew a catcall from Keith. As she left the room, she looped her arm through her mother's and they began strolling down the hall heading towards the cafeteria.
They were almost to the elevator when Luce heard Molly loudly ask, “Kylie Madeline Rogers, what is that on your hand?”
She snickered slighly and looked at her mother. “I don't envy her right now.”
Her mother smiled at her. “It appears you have something to tell me, my darling girl.”
Luce shrugged. “Can we do this downstairs, I really do need a cup of coffee.”
That seemed to mollify her mother for the moment but Luce knew it wasn't likely to last. Thankfully, it took only a few moments to get down to the cafeteria and get her settled with a cup of coffee. But she sat there stalling for a moment or two, staring down into the cup, not really sure how to begin.
“Lighteyes, I have always been a patient mother with you; even when there were times I wanted to rip your head off, I still did my best to be patient. Now is not really a moment when I wish to test the limits of that.”
Luce blushed a little. “Sorry, we weren't planning on telling anyone today. It just happened last night.”
“It seems you had a very busy night.” Her mother mused.
That made Luce laugh. “Yeah; met a drug lord, got into a fight with a hitman, survived a house fire and my girlfriend popped the question while we were laying in a hospital bed together.”
Grace's eyebrows shot up at that. “This happened afterwards????? ?????”
She nodded.
Her mother shook her head, chuckling and it got Luce started. It seemed to take on a life of it's own, and didn't want to stop and the next thing Luce knew, it had gone from a simple chuckle to downright laughing out loud, tears rolling beginning to roll down her face, her mind finally snapping at the absurdity of it all.
“I guess it sounds pretty crazy when you say it all out loud like that.” She took a deep breath, another peal of laughter rolling out of her as she wiped tears from her eyes.
Her mother was in no better shape, gladly taking the napkin from Luce when she offered. She too took a deep breath trying to regain control of herself. “Oh, Luce, you have never done anything in half measure. I am not the least bit surprised by any of this; although I am highly entertained.”
“Stress does some really crazy things sometimes.” Her mother gave a small nod and Luce sighed softly. “We really didn't intend to do this now; at least I'm pretty sure we didn't. We never even got around to discussing it before last night.”
“And how do you feel now?”
“Like I've been run over by a freight train.”
“Lighteyes, if this is not what you want...” mother trailed off, her surprise at even having to tell her daughter that completely evident.
Luce shook her head sharply. “No, Ina, that's the thing. This is what I really want; I'm just scared to death of it. That I'm going to do something to screw it up. I'm not used to feeling terrified about things. At least not things in my control.”
Her mother took pity on her, chuckling softly as she patted Luce's hand. “I think it is time I let you in on a little secret, my darling girl. That fear in your heart that threatens to stop it from beating and chokes you up whenever you think about all this too much? It is perfectly normal. It simply means that this is important; that this means something. And it is your heart's way of telling you take your time and pay attention.”
That made Luce laugh softly. “Were you scared when daddy proposed?”
Her mother shook her head ruefully. “Scared does not begin to describe it; I was terrified. He was such a wonderful man, such a caring person and he wanted me in his life for all of his. It was such a daunting thought. I used to have nightmares about it in the beginning. That somehow, we would grow apart and learn to hate each other because of it. It does happen; quite often and I was terrified that it would happen to us. It broke my heart to think about it.”
She shouldn't have been surprised at the answer, but yet she was. Her mother had always been such a strong person; nothing ever seemed to faze her. Learning that she was just as human as everyone else around her amazed Luce. “What did you do?”
“Thankfully, your Uci took me aside and gave me a good reminder that she and Tunkasila had raised me in a very loving home; that they had given me a wonderful example of a good and healthy relationship through their own marriage. And then she reminded me that all things that we truly care about take effort; even love is not so simple and easy a thing. We fear because those things mean so much to us; only a fool feels no fear about things that mean something to them.”
“Did it help?”
Grace nodded. “A great deal. I was still scared from time to time; worried that something would come along and derail us like so many others around us. In the beginning we both made mistakes, there were some hurt feelings on both sides. But we fought back and rebuilt and we made it. And I am proud to say that there is not a day that goes by that I did not love him with all of my heart. Even now.”
“That used to terrify me; the idea of being so wrapped up in someone else that when they're gone, it's like you lose a piece of yourself.” Luce's words were soft, hesitant. As if she were almost afraid of letting out this one secret she'd never told anyone; not even Kylie.
Her mother nodded in understanding. “Because you do. But you cannot help that from happening, Luce. You cannot stop people from caring about you or yourself from caring for others; that would be inhuman.”
“I do know that. It was just so hard watching you and then Uci trying to recover. You both walked around like your souls were bleeding. It broke my heart to see it. For the longest time, I locked myself away hoping that would never happen to me. I wasn't sure I could survive it.”
And just like that, a great deal of Luce's adolescence began making a strange sort of sense. She'd always been a difficult, passionate, stubborn child. After the loss of both Adam and her father, her daughter had become quiet, sullen and a great deal apathetic. Grace had always thought she was trying to cope with the deaths of two of the most important people in her life; in a way she was right, but not for quite the reasons she'd thought. It was a rather uplifting eye opening moment; and she was glad for the insight into such a difficult and dark time for both of them.
She reached out and took her daughter's hand, giving it a firm squeeze, smiling in spite of the sting of tears in her eyes. “I am glad you realize how foolish that was.”
Luce smiled back. “I do, now.”
“I am glad Kylie broke you out of your shell.”
She nodded, seeing the same storm of emotions she was feeling reflected in her mother's dark eyes. It was a bit uplifting to know she wasn't the only one feeling a bit overwhelmed today. “So am I. I really love her, Ina .”
“I would expect so considering you said yes to her proposal.”
Grace's dry comment startled a laugh out of her.
Luce took a deep breath, trying to shove everything she was feeling back down a bit as she sobered, looking at her mother. “We don't have any idea about the wedding yet, where it'll be, when it'll be, nothing. But when we do figure it all out, will you be my best man?”
“Do you mean maid of honor?”
Luce almost rolled her eyes a bit. “I'm asking you to stand up with me, does it matter what we call it?”
“I suppose not. Yes, my darling girl, I will stand with you.”
“Thanks, Ina . I love you.”
“I love you too, lighteyes. Now let us get back to your fiance and her loving family. I have a very distinct feeling we may need to rescue her from them.” She stood, her shoulders braced for a fight as she added. “And I want a better look at that ring.”
* * *