At the Stuart house, Lucy and Craig were saying goodbye again. Now that his arm was fully healed from the accident, Craig was eager to get back to work. It was too late for him to rejoin James on their tour now, but he had other options. While he was recovering, he started composing some new songs and now he was going to meet with a studio executive to discuss the possiblity of getting them produced.
Craig lingered at the doorway, reluctant to let Lucy go. "You know the more time I spend with you, the harder it gets to leave you. But it won't be for long, I promise."
"I know," Lucy said sadly. "But I'll still miss you."
"I'll call you later tonight," Craig promised and with a last goodbye kiss he was out the door.
Lucy sighed as she watched the taxi pull away with Craig inside. Once it was out of sight, she went into the dining room to have a cup of coffee and read the morning paper.
As she perused the society pages, one headline made her cry out. In an instant Jordan was at her side, asking if everything was alright.
"It's nothing," Lucy insisted. "Everything's fine."
"Can I get you anything?"
"No. Thank you, Jordan."
As Jordan left the room, Lucy began reading the article. It was all about Eileen and Hector's upcoming engagement party. She had been upset when she learned that Eileen insisted on marrying Hector and Lucy had made her feelings about their plans clear, but hearing about the party from the papers and not from Eileen herself, just added insult to injury.
Lucy sat at the table a few moments, enraged, before getting up and walking into the kitchen. It didn't seem right to be discussing her problems with the help, but she needed someone to vent to. Otherwise she would drive herself mad.
Lucy lingered in the doorway, until Jordan looked up from his work and asked, "Yes, Miss Stuart?"
"Everything isn't fine," Lucy said as she paced the room. "My best friend is having an engagement party without so much as telling me about it. I had to read about it in the newspaper." She stopped wandering around the kitchen and faced Jordan who only watched her silently. "And I have no right to be upset about it. I wouldn't have gone even if she had invited me and if Craig and I were having an engagement party, I'm not sure I would have invited her either. I just hate that it has to be like this."
"I don't want to interfere," Jordan said hesitantly, but Lucy urged him to continue. "but if you aren't happy with the way things are, perhaps you should be the bigger person and offer to make amends."
"That's what Chloe told me to do," Lucy said thoughtfully. She hated to give in on this. She hated seeing Eileen with Hector, but she also hated not seeing her friend at all. "But she's making such a huge mistake and she won't listen to reason. When I tried to talk to her, she just turned the conversation back to me and Craig."
"I'm sure you know what's best. But you may be surprised what a simple gesture can do."
Lucy nodded, but her mind was already elsewhere. She wanted to ask Jordan if Eileen had been right about her and Craig, if he thought they were moving too fast, but stopped herself. She was already getting too personal. That question would be going too far. Instead she said, "Thank you for listening, Jordan," and walked away.
Meanwhile, Veronica was helping Eileen make the final arrangements for her party. They went over the guest list, the food, the decorations, the entertainment, and last but not least they discussed what they were going to wear.
"Well, it sounds like you have it all together," Veronica said with a smile. "Are you ready?"
"I think so." Eileen replied. "I'm definitely excited about it. It's going to be a great party."
"I know it will be. No matter what, it will be great," Veronica said. "I still remember how excited I was when your father and I were going to get married. I was so nervous that something was going to go wrong, but I was worried for nothing."
"Because everything worked out fine?"
"Because even if it hadn't, it wouldn't have mattered."
"So I shouldn't worry then?" Eileen surmised.
"Right. Just enjoy your party and your engagement. And don't forget the most important thing is that you're marrying the man that you're going to spend the rest of your life with."
Eileen forced a smile and thanked her step-mother for the advice. After a moment she asked. "How did you know that my dad was the one you wanted marry? Was there ever any question or did you just know?"
"I had a few doubts at first," Veronica admitted. "In fact, I never told you this, but I almost married someone else."
"Really?" Eileen asked with interest. "Why did you choose Dad instead?"
"I knew I would be happier with him, because we were more compatible." Veronica paused a moment in thought, "Honestly, it just came down to one thing. I had to ask myself who I loved and who I wanted to share my life with and the answer was Arthur. And I've had no regrets."
Eileen hoped she would be as lucky.
No comments:
Post a Comment