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"Luke & Kevin" - Part 20


All My Shadows

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Our next installment sets up some plans for our title couple, but at the core of today's drama is a startling confession from an aunt to her niece. The story continues!

AS THE WORLD TURNS

"Luke & Kevin" - Part 20

"Well, you look awfully busy this afternoon," Luke said to Lucinda as he walked through the door of her home office. In actuality, Lucinda sat, reclining in her chair, enjoying some sort of alcoholic beverage. "I do recall a certain special lady once telling me that the answers to life's problems aren't in the bottom of a bottle..."

"Life's problems? Darling, I have no problems right now. This is just a drink for joy," Lucinda replied, taking a sip. "What brings you here?"

"Actually, I have a bone to pick with you," Luke said, sitting down.

"A bone to pick? With moi? Whatever do you mean?" Lucinda asked, a bit surprised.

"Well," Luke began, with a smile, "Kevin and I got into a little fight all because of little old you."

"Me?! Sweetheart, if I inadvertedly did anything to jeopardize your relationship with Kevin, you do know that I apologize, right? I apologize whole-heartedly! But I do have to ask...what exactly happened?"

"Grandma, please, don't apologize, I'm kidding," Luke assured her, putting his hand on top of hers as it lay on the desktop. "Kevin and I just got into a little tiff, that's all. I overreacted about something and had a big old [!@#$%^&*] fit. Excuse my language."

"Honey, I've said worse," Lucinda said.

"Well, yeah. You see, Kevin and I were sitting around at his cousin's apartment and the subject of you came up and somehow I conjured up in my mind that Kevin blamed you for his father's death, and it's all such a convuluted story, and I just don't...I don't want to get back into it."

Lucinda nodded. "Understandable. On both parts, I mean. I can see why Kevin would think that I should be responsible for his father's accident."

"But you're not!" Luke exclaimed. "And I wasn't going to let him think that you are."

"Okay," Lucinda said, trying to change the subject. "So, tell me then. If you're not here to read me the riot act, why are you here?"

Luke settled back in his seat. "Well, you've entertained gentleman callers more than a few times in your day, correct?"

"Right," Lucinda replied, a smile forming on her face.

"You should know, then, that after a fight comes a night of...shall we say, reconciliation."

"Haha! That is my boy!" Lucinda bellowed. "What do you plan? Oh, in my younger days, we'd go dancing, or to the beach, or to the drive-in. What is it that you kids do nowadays?"

"Well, we actually were gonna go see a movie, but Kevin's not really feeling that anymore, so I was thinking that maybe we could spend some time...in your guest house?"

"Oh," Lucinda said. "Well, of course, you're always welcomed to the guest house. You didn't even have to ask me about that."

"Oh, I know, but I when I say 'spend some time'...I kinda mean the whole night."

"The whole night?" Lucinda asked, not completely understanding Luke's motives for a second.

Luke, on the other hand, had his eyebrows arched up in a position that suggested something risque. He hoped Lucinda would get the hint without him having to actually tell her. She was a cool grandmother, but she was still a grandmother.

"Oh! Oh! The whole night," Lucinda suddenly exclaimed. "I do believe I understand where you are going with this."

"Mhm," Luke nodded. "I just wanted to make sure it'd be...you know, all right with you."

"Sweetheart, of course it is. I mean, you're both level-headed young men...you both have good sense, I think, despite the whole alcohol thing."

"There won't be any alcohol, I promise, I swear on my life. The most intoxicating thing we'll have is Crystal Light."

Lucinda laughed. "Good. And, well, neither one of you can get pregnant, so I don't see the harm."

"Right! Right! That's a very important point. I should tell that one to Mom."

"Your mother, your mother...have you told her about your plans for this evening?"

Luke shook his head. "We both know how she'd react."

"I'm afraid you're right. But to come to her own defense, I have to say that she did seem to be preparing to fully accept your relationship earlier today when we saw Kevin at the Lakeview."

"The two of you saw Kevin at the Lakeview? When was this?"

"Earlier today. I assume he was there with his mother."

It all became clear to Luke now. The reason why Kevin decided to knix the movie was not because he was sick but because he had to endure a meal with his mother. Luke could only imagine how that had turned out.

"Okay," he said to Lucinda. "So it's all set?"

Lucinda thought for a second. "Sure. Why the hell not?"

"Great! Thank you, Grandma. You are helping out in more ways than you can imagine," Luke said as he got up and started for the door. Lucinda started to walk behind him.

"I hope it makes up for whatever confusion I caused the two of you last night."

"It does. Believe me, it does!" Luke said in parting. He gave her hug and then went on his way.

Lucinda felt good about herself then. She felt as if she was important in his life, as if she actually meant something to him. It felt good to be a significant figure in her grandson's life. It made her feel young and lively again, not to say that she had ever felt old and homely. This just released her and kept her on her toes.

Settling back down behind her desk, hot off the heels of the warm family visit, Lucinda could feel her cell phone vibrate in her pocket. "Ugh!" she groaned out loud. "Can a lady savor just one special moment in a day, without business affairs bombarding her?"

She took the phone out of her pocket and read the tiny screen. "Oh-ho!" she sighed out. "Business, the daughter, business, the daughter, business, the daughter! They're both work!"

"Why did it take you so long to answer?" Lily asked when Lucinda finally put the phone to ear.

"I was very busy working, dear, working to keep this company afloat. You're lucky I even answered at all! Now what is troubling you so much that you had to call me only an hour after we last talked?"

"Mother, I hope you are happy because I just got the proof I needed, the proof that screams why Kevin is all wrong for my son!" Lily's voice sounded highly upset.

"Dear, what are you blabbering about?" Lucinda asked loudly, roughly sliding her free hand through her hair. Her fingernail caught one of the hairs, and she gently pulled it out, examining it because that was truly a more exciting experience than whatever it was Lily was going on about. Lucinda smiled at the thought, however, even though she knew it was wrong to think such a way of her daughter.

"I just saw your best bud, Kevin, over here at the Oakdale Leaf Mall. And would you like to take a stab at what I saw him doing?"

"Trying on the newest Barbara Ryan original? Because, darling, that would truly make me turn against him..."

"Will you get serious, Mother?! I saw him with...with some girl! Some girl that I didn't even recognize. I have no idea where she came from, who she was, or anything like that! And get this, this is the best part. Not only was he with this girl, but they hugged, they kissed, and I think I even saw some phone number exchanging going on."

Lucinda at long last placed her full attention on Lily. "Oh, really? And what makes you so sure that it had to be what you are thinking? Surely you could have been mistaken."

"Mother, I know what it looks like when two people are...involved with each other. Now, we have to tell Luke before that Kevin has anymore of a chance to...to brainwash him! That's exactly what he is doing! He is brainwashing my son and I swear I will not let him get away with it!"

Lucinda heaved a big sigh, carelessly shifting her eyes around the room. All of those good feelings she had? Gone. That special moment she felt she had had with Luke? No longer existing. Of course Lily was overreacting...or was she? And that's what worried her. "Look, just make sure you know what you're doing before you tell Luke anything."

"I saw it as plain as day, Mother. As plain as day! Luke is going to thank me when I tell him. You told me to start handling these kinds of situations better, didn't you? You told me to take action! Well that's what I'm doing now. I'm taking action and you should be proud of me!"

Lucinda could feel that Lily felt very passionate about this. Damn, that girl loved her kids more than anything else in the world. Even when she was bound to make a gigantic mistake, she was so determined to do it because she felt it would be right. It was true, Lucinda decided. Learning did not stop at a particular age, especially learning from your mistakes. Lucinda didn't know for sure, but as sure as she knew her own daughter, she knew that Lily was on her way to making a mistake that could truly put a major dent in her relationship with her son.

~~~~~~~~~

Sheryl Davis slowly opened the door of the bathroom in her niece Nora's apartment. With her head firmly back, her eyes closed, and her arms stiffly pointed diagonally from her body, she walked through the door. As she pulled it close behind her, she paused for a moment, to lean on the door for support. She let out a sigh of internal pain. What had she let her life become? What was she doing? Why? Was this new way of living any better than her old way of living, as the victim of her husband's mental conflict?

The front door opened and Sheryl immediately fell out of her trance, yet she was still a bit jittery. She looked around for an instant before deciding to just face Nora and Kevin, which, indeed, was the last thing she really wanted to do. She walked down the short hallway that ran from the living room, straight through the kitchen, and ended with the door to Nora's room, with the guest bedroom door on one side and the bathroom door on the other.

"I still don't see what makes you sure that Major's is going to be having a sale anytime soon," Kevin said, a continuation of whatever he and Nora had been talking about before they entered the apartment. Neither one had any bags, but they both sank down into the sofa as if they'd be working out all day.

"Trust me, Kevin, trust me. If there's anything I know, it's my sales. I never miss a good sale," Nora said. She smiled at Kevin before turning her head and noticing Sheryl coming through the kitchen. Nora looked back at Kevin, to see his reaction.

"The two of you went shopping," Sheryl observed in a shaky voice. "Did you buy anything for me?" she asked, putting on a grin. She looked such a mess now, very different from the way she was at breakfast. Her skin was pale, her hair was uneven, and her lips were chapped.

"How was your nap?" Nora asked, as if Sheryl taking a nap was a big secret that she had just found out.

"Nap? I didn't take a nap. I came home, watched a little television, and that's it," Sheryl replied. "I'm too up to take a nap right now. I have energy in me and it wouldn't dare let me go to sleep."

Kevin and Nora both felt something weird in the way Sheryl talked. Was she not remembering what had happened just a few hours earlier? She had no simple words of apology for either one of them? Kevin felt that she owed him one, but his experience with her, as far as her leaving him with his father, told him not to expect anything. "I'm going out with Luke tonight. I'm gonna go take a shower," he dryly said to Nora, facing only her.

"Kay," she said in reply. Kevin rose up from his seat and walked past mother to the bathroom.

"You just let him go out for the night like that?" Sheryl asked Nora.

Nora ignored her question, rose from her own seat, and walked to the counter that Sheryl stood behind. "What...in the hell...is wrong with you?"

Sheryl laughed. "What's wrong with me? What's wrong with you? What's wrong with anybody these days?"

"Okay, you're way too young to be hitting menopause, so..."

"What? Menopause? Nora, stop it!" Sheryl exclaimed, still laughing.

"Just a few hours ago you were begging, pleading for Kevin to leave town with you, but now you seem like you couldn't care less. What gives? What changed?"

Sheryl carefully backed up into the kitchen, sitting down on the tabletop. "You know, that's something I wanted to talk to you about. I could have used your help back there."

"My help? Wait, you thought I was gonna help you tag-team up on your son, guilt-trip him? Have you lost your mind?" Nora swiftly marched around the counter and into the kitchen, hands firmly on hips. She was ready to kindly hand her dear aunt her ass.

"Why are you so hell-bent on trying to ruin this for me?! What did I ever do to you?!" Sheryl asked.

Nora couldn't believe this! What was this woman talking about? Why was she acting so strange? This was not her Aunt Sheryl. Absolutely not. Nora could only look at her, up and down, wondering who she was. Who was she?! This woman with the ragged hair and dirty face. Who could she be?

"Why, Aunt Sheryl," Nora calmly began, closing her eyes, "is it so important that Kevin go to Chicago with you?!" She opened her eyes and raised her voice as the question went on. "Just answer it. That's all you have to do."

"Because!" Sheryl responded to Nora's toughness. "Because he just needs to! I need to have somebody with me!" Sheryl was now crying, her face becoming a mecca for tears.

Nora immediately lost her edge and knealt down beside her. She automatically connected Sheryl's weeping to Sean's passing. "I'm sorry," Nora said as she put her arms around a bawling Sheryl. "I'm so sorry, I forgot. I forgot. I didn't mean to yell at you. It's okay now."

As Nora tried to calm her down, Sheryl could feel herself slipping back into form, back into who she was. She became herself again. She pulled away from Nora and looked around the room.

"Do you want something to drink?" Nora asked her.

Sheryl looked down at her. "Nora," she said, not answering the question. "Nora, we have to talk."

"Okay. We can talk. We can talk about whatever you want to talk about."

Sheryl could feel another tear coming down her face as she stared directly into Nora's eyes. "Nora...you have to promise...you can't tell Kevin. You can't..."

"I won't! I promise. Now what is it?"

"I....I.....I can't bring myself to say it....Nora....."

"Come on, you can say it. Just take your time."

"I need help, Nora," Sheryl said, her voice barely there as she whispered. "I need help."

"Help from what?!" Nora exclaimed, trying her hardest to stay patient.

"Nora...I...I...there is no Dr. Alex Steele...he does not exist. I don't have a job...and I live in an abandoned warehouse...and I...I am a prostitute."

Her voice cracked on the word. She was now crying again and her thoughts had to come through that.

"I'm a prostitute," she repeated.

Nora's eyes grew wider than she could have ever imagined. She did not hear what she just heard. No, she did not. It was not true! Not true at all! No way in the world would her aunt ever think of doing anything like that!

"I'm so sorry, Nora," Sheryl continued. "But now...but now you understand, don't you? You can now understand why I need Kevin to come back with me. I need my son more than anything right now."

Nora remained speachless. The path between their eyes was filled with confusion, confession, hurt, betrayal, regret...and every other emotion in the book. Nora gathered her thoughts, as broken as they were, to form one final reply.

"Okay."

TO BE CONTINUED...

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