Lady Lloyd, in town for a week at Jerry's invitation to visit her daughter, met Katie for brunch in the Mandarin's Asana restaurant. Katie had stayed the night with Jerry and though he had offered to accompany her, she had thought it best to go it alone. Her mother had already humiliated him by refusing to stay in his guest room and asking what was wrong with him, so she wanted to avoid more of the same.
They made polite small talk as they sipped their tea, chewed their food and daintily dabbed at the corners of their mouths as they tried to avoid the elephant in the room. Finally, Katie screwed her courage up and said, "All right, Mother; please tell me: What do you have against Jerry? What are your objections to our marrying?" She watched as her mother took another bite of her lobster omelet while she gathered her thoughts.
"First of all, my dear daughter, your father and I love you very much and only want what's best for you. We weren't very happy when you decided to move to America to practice law, but it is obvious that you have been very successful. Chang Poole and Schmidt is a world – class law firm and we are so very proud that you're doing well. We've been looking forward to you finding a man to love, marry and with whom to have a family. When Mr. Espenson contacted us, we were thrilled to hear you were engaged."
"But?"
"This Jerry person seems nice enough, Katie, but think of your children. You do want to have children one day, don't you?"
Katie flushed slightly. "Honestly, we've never discussed having a family. I mean, one day, it would be nice to have children or at least a child, but we really haven't looked that far down the road."
"Think about it now, Sweetheart. Do you want to take a chance on having a child who is as…odd as he seems to be?" Katie squirmed in her seat as her mother watched. "I believe you love this man, Katie, but trust me: Love isn't everything. It doesn't burn brightly forever. Just think about it, Dear."
"I don't have to think about it, Mother. I love Jerry and we will be very happy together. And for you information, Jerry isn't odd; he has a condition called Asperger's Syndrome. He controls it with medication."
Her mother's teacup hit the saucer with a clatter that drew the attention of nearby diners. "He's like that with medication?" she hissed. "Good Lord."
"Mother, let's just drop it."
"Fine. I assume you would like me to help with the wedding planning?"
Oh, dear. "Actually, Mum, I had asked Shirley Schmidt to help me and she agreed."
"I see." Lady Lloyd picked up her fork and resumed eating. "It would seem my presence here is completely unnecessary."
"I wouldn't say that, but having someone helping me plan a wedding she hopes never happens is a little awkward, don't you think?" When she got no answer, she followed her mother's lead and returned to her meal. Oh, dear.
Jerry was sitting at his kitchen counter holding a cold cup of coffee as he recalled what had transpired the night before. He had expected Katie to rip him a new one when she re – entered his apartment after seeing her mother into a cab. And she was still pretty annoyed, but she realized…
His doorbell interrupted his train of thought. "Who is it?"
"Alan."
He raced to the door and lifted his right hand from his thigh long enough to unlock and open it. "Alan! Hello! Come in!" He hopped and moved away to allow his guest to enter.
"Good afternoon, Jerry. I hope I'm not interrupting anything, but after your call last night, I thought I would make you one of my Saturday errands. Are you all right? Where's Katie? And more importantly, where is her mother?" As he spoke, Alan moved farther into the apartment, taking note again at how meticulously clean it was. He took off his coat and let it drop onto the sofa.
"Purrrrr, Katie and her mother went to brunch. I offered to go with her, but she thought it best pop pop that I not go." He walked back into the kitchen with Alan behind him. "Coffee?"
"No, thank you; I really can't stay too long. I just wanted to check on you." Alan slid onto one of the kitchen stools. "How did it end up with you and Katie? Are you two okay?" He saw tears start to glisten behind Jerry's glasses. "Jerry?"
"Oh, Alan!" Jerry cried before burying his face in his hands. "Katie was upset at first, really upset, but she told me that she knew pop pop pop pop that I was trying to do something nice for her."
Alan leaned forward to put his hand on Jerry's back. "Then why are you crying? It sounds like she's forgiven you."
Jerry grabbed a paper towel and wiped his eyes. "She did, she has. These tears are because…I don't know if I should marry her. My mother loved my father, I purrrrr know she did, but she suffered. Him always asking for toast, the looks she got from friends and relatives. Katie doesn't deserve that."
Alan rubbed Jerry's back silently while he sobbed softly. When the crying slowed down to snuffles he said, "I think it's up to Katie to determine what she does and doesn't deserve. My advice to you is not to borrow trouble. Let your fiancée tell you what transpired at brunch with her mother; your imagination is running away with you."
The bespectacled man wiped his eyes, causing his glasses to sit on top of his head. "You're pop right. Thank you, Alan."
"You're welcome," Alan replied as he smiled and stood. "I have to go; I told Denny I wouldn't be long." He grabbed his coat and put it on as he walked to the front door. "I really hope everything works out for you two. Take care."
Jerry held open his door as Alan stepped through and went to the elevator. When the doors slid open Jerry said, "Thanks, again. Goodbye" as Alan stepped in and the doors closed behind him. He hopped before closing his door. Alan's right about not borrowing trouble. When Katie gets back, we'll talk.