Short installment today to make up for a long, long installment on Wednesday. The entire installment will be set around Luke and Kevin's date, so make sure to tune in!

AS THE WORLD TURNS

"Luke & Kevin" - Part 22

Luke looked around the whole room to make sure everything was just right. It all had to be just right, and if Luke had anything to say about it, everything would be perfect. He looked at the table with food already on it, wondering again if that was a good idea. Having the little date catered seemed to be too formal to him, but Lucinda assured him that it would add a touch of class to the evening, and if anyone knew class, it was her.

So there it was. A nice dinner on the table, some chilled soda water in a pail,, and a cheesecake in the refrigerator. There was a good movie in the VCR and all he had to do was press "play" when it was time to watch it. A Barry Manilow compilation CD played softly on the stereo.

Luke sat down on the couch as he snook a quick peek at his watch. Kevin would be there in only about six or seven more minutes. He looked around the room again, this time, however, he was proud of what he saw. He had set it up quite nicely given that he only had one day to plan it all. The room had a nice aura and that was enough to set the mood. How could anything go wrong?

And like some strange, twisted sign, the telephone rang. What kind of omen could that have been? For a second, Luke didn't even want to answer it. But then he thought. Kevin wouldn't know the number to the guesthouse. If he had to call Luke, he could have called him on his cell. Luke felt for his pocket, noticing that it wasn't there. Crap, he thought. He hopped up to answer the guesthouse phone.

"Hello?" he asked.

"Dahling," Lucinda said. "I'm calling to see if everything's a go for this evening."

"Oh! It is, it is. I'm feeling a little nervous, though."

"Oh, for whatever reason why? It's just a little date."

"I know," Luke replied. "But I don't think Kevin and I have really had any alone time in a long while now, so this'll...it'll be a good night, right?"

"Of course it will be. Just have a good time," Lucinda encouragingly. "I wanted to tell you, though, that you must have left your cell phone here in the living room earlier today."

"Oh! That's what happened. I just noticed that it was gone."

"Do you think you have enough time to come up here and get it?"

"Well...I don't really need it...but you know what, I think I better run up and get it. You never know what I might need it for," Luke decided. "I'll see you in a few."

~~~~~~~~~

"Looks like somebody's gonna have to go upstairs and tell Luke that dinner is ready," Lily unenthusiastically noticed. She, Holden, and the girls were sitting down to dinner when she realized the familiar sound of Luke's footsteps coming down the stairs was not there.

Holden looked up from his plate, not knowing what to say. "I...I think he went out."

"Went out? Are you sure? Luke knows that I like to be notified when he's not going to have dinner with us," Lily said, seemingly hurt by Luke's careless decision to ditch dinner with the family.

Holden, not wanting to make anything look uncomfortable in front of Faith and Natalie, let out a small laugh with a smile. "Come on, he's seventeen years old. I'm sure it's more attractive to go out with friends than it is to stay in with his parents and little sisters."

Lily's scrunched up her eyebrows. "It's not that he's out with friends, it's that he didn't call. And, you know what, since he couldn't pick up his phone to give us a call, I think I'll embarass him by giving him a call."

She stood up. "Excuse me, girls. Enjoy your dinner." She marched out of the dining room and into the living room, where she went into her purse to retrieve her phone. She was going to do it. She was going to disregard everything her mother had just told her not too long ago and tell Luke all about what she saw at the mall. She felt that Lucinda could have been right, that she just taking something completely context, but her gut, her instincts...they told her otherwise. She had a duty to fulfill, a duty as a mother, and she knew deep down in her heart that Kevin Davis was not going to get another chance to break her son's heart.

Holden followed her into the living room. "What are you doing?" he asked, in a tone that tried to tell her to stop.

"I'm making sure our son isn't getting attacked by some thugs again. Or worse. Mother told me to start handling things and I am, Holden, I am. The both of you just need to trust me on this one," Lily paranoically replied, dialing in Luke's number. "The sooner this gets out, the better."

"Wait a minute. What do you mean, the sooner 'this' gets out? What is 'this?'" Holden asked.

Lily covered the speaker of the phone. "I saw Kevin and some little...some little thing at the mall today."

Holden understood. "Okay...but is it bad for Kevin to have friends?"

"Friends? No, no problem at all. If they only seemed that way. Friends do not make out in public, Holden."

Holden's mouth dropped. He didn't know what to think.

At Lucinda's home, the matriarch stood with Luke's cell phone in her hand, waiting for him to arrive to pick it up. She looked at the screen at saw that "Not So Lil Lily" was calling. Lucinda knew her daughter well and she knew exactly what Lily's call meant. "I knew she wouldn't keep her mouth closed for long." Lucinda answered the phone. "Dear, you can stop wasting your time."

"Mother? Where's Luke? And why do you have his phone?" Lily asked.

"Your son is paying me a visit, paying a visit to his grandmother. And from the sound of your voice, I can understand why he'd rather be here than there."

Lily ignored her. "Mother, I know you told me not to tell him, but I have to. I just have to. If he doesn't find out now, he'll find out later and it's going to hurt so much more."

"I agree," Lucinda said nicely. "I would agree whole-heartedly if there were any reason to believe that any of this is true."

"I told you. I have a hunch."

"You may have a hunch, but I have a living, breathing person who is telling me that he has never cheated on Luke with anyone."

"You talked to Kevin?"

"I did. And I am telling you, please, darling, don't make the mistake of putting a strain on Luke's relationship with you. That's what it would be, a big mistake."

"What did Kevin say?"

Lucinda sighed. "I called him, dear. I called him and I simply asked him if he was being unfaithful to Luke. Do you want to know what he said? He said that Luke is the one and only person in his love life."

Lily smirked. "Of course he said that. He wouldn't admit to seeing other people, especially not to you. I thought you were smarter than that."

Lucinda was offended. Lily did not just insult her skills. "Oh, ho ho ho! No, you don't! I have proven over the years to have a much better sense of judgement than you, my darling daughter. I can tell when a person is lying and when they are not. If Kevin Davis is cheating on my grandson, I'd know it. I'd feel it!"

"But that's the thing, Mother! I feel it!"

"What you feel is your dislike for a fine young man. What is your hunch grounded in? Why exactly do you feel the way you do about this whole situation?"

Lily thought for a second. When she realized that she didn't have a true answer, she faltered. "You didn't see it! You didn't see the way they were...touching and kissing. You didn't see it, so you can't possibly understand it."

"Okay then," Lucinda began. "Fair enough. Until you give me proof that Kevin is cheating on young Luke, I forbid you to tell Luke about what you saw."

"Forbid?! You can't forbid me to do anything!"

"Oh, but I can," Lucinda corrected her slyly. She loved knowing that she still had some control over Lily's actions, even though her daughter was nearly 40 years old now.

Lily turned to look at Holden, but continued to talk to her mother. "Why do you care so much about Kevin? What do you owe him?"

Lucinda became slightly defensive. "I don't owe him a thing. I just...well I think it is unfair for him to have to not only lose his father, but also lose probably the most important person in his life now, in such a short span of time. No one deserves that. And then, I think about Luke. How would he feel if you told him this and it all turned out to be entirely untrue?"

"That's a risk I have to take," Lily said. "But I know what I saw, and I know what I'm doing. I'm trying my hardest to be a good mother to him and I think I'm doing a good job."

"Fine," Lucinda said. "Fine, but please remember, I thought I was doing a mighty fine job with you, too. And we've already had this conversation, so you know what I'm going to say."

"Yes. I do."

There was a brief moment of silence before Lucinda remembered that Luke would be coming any second to get his phone back. "Now, you won't talk to him at all about any of this?"

"No," Lily reluctantly agreed. "I won't. But when it all comes out, and it will, I'm going to tell him that you kept me from telling him sooner."

"Fine, if that's the way it turns out, great. I'll speak to you tomorrow. Good night."

Lily paused. "Goodnight. I love you."

"I love you too."

Lucinda turned the phone off just as Luke came into the living room. Luckily for her, he didn't see her closing the phone. "I believe this is for you," Lucinda remarked.

"Yes, ma'am, it is," Luke replied. He took the phone from her, but noticed that her spirits were low. "What's wrong?"

Lucinda didn't want him to ask any questions or worry, so she put on a smile and made herself lively. "Not a thing! Does something look wrong? Everything is fine."

Luke didn't understand what was going on, but he smiled anyway. "Okay. I think I'll get back down to the guesthouse before Kevin shows up looking for me. Thanks again, Grandma, really."

"Oh, it's nothing. Really, it's nothing."

Luke became serious. "It's a lot. I felt so bad about our fight last night, so it's really important for Kevin and I to...you know...make up."

"Well, I was partly the blame for the argument, so I'm evening myself out here."

Luke hugged her. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," Lucinda said. "Very, very welcome."

TO BE CONTINUED...