Disclaimer: 'Gossip Girl' belongs to Cecily von Ziegesar, Josh Schwartz, and the CW. No copyright infringement intended.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
It was the first Mother's Day where Chuck Bass actually had a mother. And it was a strange feeling. He had no idea what one did on this day, and he hadn't heard anything from Eric or Serena about any plans. He hadn't bought his stepmother anything, though he could easily do so if he needed to.
Did she expect anything from him? This had originally been a business deal to him, but he really did love this family, at least when Lily was paying attention to her children and not the Humphreys.
So, at nine a.m., Chuck entered his limo and asked for the flower shop. But instead of heading back to the apartment, he went to the cemetery because this was the only way he knew how to spend Mother's Day. With his mother.
There were few rituals the Bass men had as a family. And most involved the late Mrs. Bass and visiting the cemetery. His birthday and Mother's Day were times they went together, except last year. And now this year, they weren't going together because Bart Bass was already there, buried beside his wife. It would be the first time the 17-year-old boy visited his father since the funeral, and the first time he visited both parents together.
Chuck laid a single purple orchid in front of his mother's marker. It was the flower his father always left. He remembered once his father telling him that it was her favorite flower and color. And Bart used to shower her with the flower that meant love and beauty. Chuck brought it in memory of his old man, even though he knew his parents were together, finally, after almost 18 years.
He didn't even try to wipe the tear that escaped.
The boy's flower of choice was different. When he was old enough to read and understand that flowers were given to people they cared about, which was around age four, he searched and came across the flower that would be his signature to the woman he never knew: pink carnations. Which, luckily enough, also happened to be the color of clothes he wore most, along with purple.
Pink carnations meant "I will never forget you," which, despite never knowing her physically, he would always remember the woman that changed his life.
Chuck sat down and, gently and slowly, placed the carnation bouquet surrounding the orchid.
A soft breeze swept over him and he shivered. He didn't believe in ghosts or spirits, but sometimes he swore he felt her.
And the tears began rushing out. He covered his face in his hands and just cried for the woman and parents who never were.
It was past 11 p.m. when Chuck returned to the van der Woodsen apartment. The home was silent and he found his stepmother alone in the family room, just reading.
He quietly approached her and waited for her to notice him, all while keeping his hands behind his back.
With his strong presence, Lily looked up from the novel immediately and gave him a genuine smile. "Hello, Charles."
"Lily," he nodded in greeting.
Instead of wishing her a happy Mother's Day, he extracted his left hand from behind his back and held the bouquet of Lily-of-the-Valley flowers to her.
The blonde's face lit up as she accepted the item.
Before she could thank him, he gave her a smile, a "Good Night" and exited the room.
He only hoped that she knew that the flower meant return to happiness, because that's what she gave him: happiness in the form of a family. And even though he did not approve of her and Humphrey Senior, he was glad his father found her and had her for what few moments he did.
.end.