"Are you sure you want to head home?" Jude asks, clicking his bag shut. "We could wait a little while, you know."
"Wait until what? We're married." Lucy spins around the room, her yellow sundress swirling around her. "Might as well spread the word."
Jude laughs and kisses her hair. "I suppose so."
She smiles and skips over to her bag. "This is so… amazing. I mean, I never thought that I would get married."
"Yeah." Jude smiles and picks up some canvases. "Soon after we'll have to go to Liverpool to see me mum."
She smiled, nodded a bit, and turned back to her bag. "My mom said she has something… A surprise." She beamed.
"A surprise?" Jude repeated, tasting the words. "You know, I never really thought that your mum would approve of marrying a boy she's only seen once."
Lucy shrugged. "She'll get over it." She ran over with her bag around her shoulder. "Now lets go."
-
Lucy ran up the steps. "Mom!!" She yelled, pushing open the door. Jude followed behind, carrying her bags. "Mom, I'm home!!"
"Lucy!!" She beamed. "I have a surprise!!"
Lucy looked inside and saw Max sitting at the table. "Max!!" Lucy dropped her bag and ran over.
"Luce!" Max said back, wrapping his arms around her. "Havent seen you in a while."
"I have so much to tell you!! Both of you!!" She grinned. "I missed you, Max!"
Jude walked in with the bags.
"Jude!" Max beamed, standing up and grasping him in a hug.
"Oh. Jude. You were over for Thanksgiving, right?" Lucy's mom asked, looking at his ripped jeans and paint stained hands.
Jude nodded. "I was, yeah."
"You… come to see Max?" She suggested, not wanting to hear what he was going to say.
"Uh, actually…"
"Me and Jude are getting married, mom." Lucy said, grinning. "Isnt it great?"
There was a huge silence between Jude and her mom.
"Mom? Jude?"
She looked at Lucy, and then back at Jude. "Lucy, I need to speak with you."
Jude felt worry gather up in his throat. Lucy and her mother walked into the dining room while Jude dropped the bags and sat down gingerly next to Max.
"Shit." He whispered, holding his head. "She hates me, dosent she?"
Max placed a hand on Jude's shoulder. "Don't feel so down, she hates me, and I'm her son."
Jude looked up and listened.
"I cannot believe you, Lucy." They heard her say. "Him? He's Max's friend. He probably does more dope then Max himself."
"Mother!!"
"Lucy, think about what you're doing. He has paint all over his fingers. He looks disgusting."
Max winced. "Ouch."
"Sh." Jude commanded, listening.
"He is an artist, mother!!" Lucy screamed. "He has a beautiful soul. You don't even know him!!"
"I know well enough to know that he isn't wealthy." She snapped.
"Who cares about money when you have love, mother?!?" She screamed.
"Lucy, I thought you were the girl who knew when to say when."
There was silence.
"I don't really know what kind of girl I am, mom." The edge of her voice cut the silence. Jude knew she was crying.
She sighed. "Why him?" She hissed. "Why not some graduated, cleancut, clever, funny… Some one like Daniel."
Lucy held her head. "Don't talk about him!!" She shrieked. "He's dead!!"
Then suddenly there was another voice that Jude didn't recognize.
"No I'm not."
There was a tense silence.
"Who is Daniel? Is he here?" Jude hissed. Max shrugged.
"He was Lucy's old boyfriend. Drafted. He died in the Vietnam war."
"Daniel." Lucy whispered. "You… you're…"
"I ran from war to find you, Lucy."
"But you… you were dead! I went to your funeral!"
"The coffin was empty." He replied, obviously smiling. "They couldn't find my body. They presumed I was dead. They wanted to tell everyone that I served the country, so they buried an empty coffin."
Lucy was definitely crying now. "You ran from war??"
"To find you." Daniel said, trying to make himself look better. "I love you."
Jude stiffened in his chair.
"Oh man, this is bad." Max whispered.
"Shut up." Jude snapped, listening.
"Daniel, I…"
"Lucy, you don't have to explain. We can get married, and run away to wherever you want to go. You told me you wanted to travel the world, didn't you? You said that you wanted to travel."
"Daniel, I thought you were dead." Lucy whispered. "I moved on. My mother moved on. We learned to live without you, Dan."
There was a tense silence.
"There you go man, she gave him up for you." Max said, patting Jude's knee.
"You said you loved me." Daniel whispered.
"I did." Lucy said a bit coldly.
More silence.
"Get off of me!!" Lucy suddenly screamed.
"Lucy, I thought that…"
"I'm sorry Daniel!!" She screamed. "I found someone else!!"
Lucy came bursting through the kitchen door, wiping her eyes and running outside.
"You better go, man." Max said, looking at the door that slammed shut.
"I know." Jude stood up and walked to the door. "What should I say to her?" He asked, turning slightly in Max's direction.
He shrugged. "Well, it cant get much worse, can it, Jude?"
Jude nodded, and pushed open the door.
"Lucy?" he said, walking over to her on the chair. He head was in her arms. She was sobbing, and it shook her whole body. "Lucy…" He walked over a bit quicker and wrapped his arms around her.
He rocked her back and forth.
Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away
now it looks as though they're here to stay
oh I believe, in yesterday.
Lucy continued crying. "Jude… I'm so sorry you had to hear that."
Jude looked up, letting her cry on his shoulder. "I didn't really know what was going on, love."
Lucy wrapped her arms around his neck, her fingers pressing against his dark hair. "Daniel, he came back. From the war, to find me."
Jude remembered all the broken pieces of conversation that Lucy had told him about Daniel. The medal, the braveness, the war… yes, it was all coming back to him.
"Do you still love him?" Jude whispered.
Lucy continued crying. "I love you, Jude."
Jude pressed his lips together and kissed her hair. "I love you too, Lucy."
"Help me to understand this, Jude. I don't know what to think."
Jude rocked her back and forth. "I don't really know what to think either, Luce."
Lucy looked through tearstained eyes to see Daniel standing by the door. She pulled away from Jude.
"Whats wrong?" Jude asked, looking through her eyes.
Lucy flicked her eyes back to Jude. "Nothing."
Jude turned around to see Daniel standing at the door. He held up his hand. "Thanks mate, but you've done enough, thanks."
"Jude." Lucy whispered.
He looked at her. He pushed the hair out of her eyes. "You love me, right?" He whispered. She nodded. "Don't break my heart." She looked at the ground. Jude placed a hand on her chin and turned it up. "Listen. I love you."
"I love you too." She whispered back. She kissed him gently and then stood up. "Now look at me, bawling like a litlle six year old." She laughed humourlessly and wiped her eyes.
Jude stood up and hugged her. He kissed her hair and held her waist close to his. "I love you. I wont ever stop loving you." He whispered.
Lucy stroked the back of his hair. "I know." She whispered.
