Jenna smiled. "Well, it's nice to meet you, Lucy, and welcome to the neighborhood. If you need anything at all, don't hesitate to stop by."
Lucy turned her gaze away from Selina to look at Jenna. "Thank you so much. I'll be sure to keep your generous invitation in mind." She grinned. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to give the movers more instruction about where to put my things."
Jenna nodded. "No problem. We'll see you around." And with that, the four of them headed back to the Gilbert house and settled into the kitchen again. Selina took a seat next to Elena, and Jenna looked at them both. "So," she said, looking at Selina, "who are you?"
"Oh, I'm sorry," Selina told her. "My name is Sophia Warren. I moved here from Charleston awhile back. Elena and I met at school."
Jenna smiled. "It's nice to meet you." She paused. "Warren. Would you, by chance be related to our new neighbor? How did she know you?"
Elena looked at Selina, curious how she was going to respond to Jenna's query.
After giving herself a moment to think, Selina said finally, "we aren't actually related. Before my father died, he went through a midlife crisis and left my mother for a younger woman."
"And is that her?" Jenna asked.
Selina nodded. "Yep. I never really forgave my father for leaving my mother and it is the one thing I regret; that we never actually reconciled."
"I'm sorry," Jenna said.
Selina nodded. "Thank you."
"We have something else to tell you," Elena said. "Remember the locket I Jeremy and I found in the front yard of Roger Stensrund's house?"
Jenna nodded. "The one that supposedly belonged to the Lady in Red? Yeah, I remember it. Where did it go? I told the mayor I'd have it for him before the next Founder's Day. He was amazed that you two had found such an important piece of town history."
"Well," Elena replied, "it's really not going to be possible for you to get it to the mayor before next Founder's Day."
Jenna frowned. "Why is that? What happened to it?"
"Well," Selina answered, "the Lady in Red, of course, was a member of my family, and when my uncle found out that I had the locket, he insisted on having it back so he could take it and have it appraised on one of those shows where they tell people that the junk they have in their attics actually has value. I tried to tell him not to, but when my uncle gets an idea, it's really hard to distract him from it."
"Oh," Jenna said sighing. "I guess that's all right then. For a moment, I thought you were going to say that it was lost or broken."
Selina and Elena exchanged looks and then laughed weakly. "What made you think we were going to say that?" Elena asked.
Jenna shrugged. "I don't know. I'm sorry to see it go, though. It really is a pretty piece of jewelry."
"It is," Selina said. "But things don't last forever, do they?"
Jenna shook her head. "I guess not."
"There's one more thing I have to ask you, Jenna," Elena said. "Sophia is getting married to Stefan's brother Damon and they've decided to elope to Vegas with the two of us as witnesses. Would you mind that?"
"As long as I'm coming with, I don't mind," Jenna said. "I've always wanted to go to Vegas." She looked at Selina and smiled. "Congratulations."
"Thank you," Selina replied. "And speaking of Damon," she said, looking up at the clock on the wall, "I should probably be getting home. We still have a few more things we need to get settled."
"I'll drive you," Elena said.
"Thanks," Selina replied. "It was nice meeting you," she told Jenna. "And thanks for letting Elena come to my wedding."
"No problem," Jenna said, smiling. "I hope I'll see you again some time."
"So," Elena said as they were driving away, "what do you think the connection really is between you and our new neighbor?"
"Well," Selina replied, "I believe it's exactly what I told your aunt; she's someone Daddy got involved with and didn't tell me about. Well actually," she paused. "He did tell me about her. If she is who I think she is, she's the person responsible for making him a vampire."
"Who do you think she is?" Elena asked.
"The nurse at the hospital where they stuck Daddy after he caught typhoid fever. He said that the reason why she turned him was because she felt bad that he was never going to get to say goodbye to Mama and me, and that he and she were never romantically involved, but after that little introduction, I wonder."
"You mean you think they were?"
"Well, why else would she introduce herself as Lucy Warren?" Selina asked.
"You make a good point," Elena agreed. "But your father was a good guy, and he really seemed to be in love with your mother. I doubt he'd get involved with anyone else. And if he had, he would have been honest and told you that he'd been in another relationship."
"So are we thinking that your new neighbor is delusional?" Selina asked.
"I don't know," Elena shrugged. "We'll just have to wait and see."
When they reached the boarding house, Elena dropped Selina off at the door, they waved goodbye to one another, and Elena sped away. Selina opened the door and practically fell onto the carpet.
"Well that was quite an entrance," Damon remarked, looking up. "Have a good day at school?"
"I guess," Selina said, pulling herself up and sighing.
"Stefan said you made quite an impression."
Selina nodded. "I do my best." She paused a moment, then said, "something weird happened today. Something that might not be good."
"What?" Stefan asked.
"Well, I went home with Elena after school so we could talk her aunt into letting her be a witness at our wedding, but before the talk started, we went next door to meet their new neighbor. And it was the weirdest thing: she knows me, but I don't know her. It's just like it was with Daddy."
"What was her name?" Damon asked.
"Well," Selina replied, "I know who she is even if don't remember meeting her. When she introduced herself to Elena's aunt, the name she used was Lucy Warren."
"Wasn't the vampire who turned your father named Lucy?" Damon asked.
"Yep," Selina nodded. "I think they're the same person. She was there when I was a kid and Daddy would visit me and Dr. Stensrund. That's what she was referring to when she said she hadn't seen me in a long time. But here's what's bugging me: Why did she tell Elena's aunt that Warren was her last name? Daddy told me that he and Lucy were never involved because Dr. Stensrund wouldn't allow it for some reason."
"What if your father was mistaken?" Stefan asked.
Selina frowned. "Stefan, don't be silly. I think my father would know if he was involved with someone or not."
"Just stay with me on this," Stefan told her, undeterred. "What if he and Lucy were involved, but he didn't want to tell you because he didn't want you thinking he'd been unfaithful to your mother?"
Selina's eyes widened. "Are you suggesting that my father wasn't totally honest with me?" she asked.
"It's possible," Stefan replied.
"Or," Damon said carefully, frowning at Stefan as he watched Selina's face. "It could be that she's just delusional and she and Matthew really had no relationship outside of his transformation at all."
"That's what Elena and I think," Selina put in, her expression lightening. "That she's delusional. What do you think brought her here? If she's here to reunite with Daddy, she's going to be really disappointed when she finds out that he's not around anymore."
"Is that why you're so worried about her being here?" Stefan asked Selina. "Do you think she's dangerous and going to be a threat to the entire town?"
"I don't know yet," Selina shrugged. "I only spoke to her for two seconds. She seems harmless enough, but you never know."
"Do we know for sure that she's the vampire who turned your father, or are you just guessing?" Damon asked. "Do you know if she's even a vampire at all? She could just be a relative of yours that you didn't know about who happens to have the same name as the vampire who turned your father."
"For now, it's just a guess," Selina admitted. "But I think it's a pretty solid one. If she's a relative I don't know about, how would she know me?" Selina asked.
"I don't know," Damon shrugged. "I'm just trying to think up possible reasons why she'd know you. To tell you the truth, I'm just as clueless as you are right now."
"Well, I'm going to warn Elena to keep a close eye on her," Selina said. "And I just might do some spying myself. If she's just a regular human, that'll be a weird coincidence and a relief, but if it turns out she's a vampire, then we'll have to figure out what she's doing here, and then head it off in case it's something nefarious."
The woman called Lucy Warren watched as the men packed up after placing the last couch in the living room. It had been a long day that was for sure, and full of surprises. Like that visit from her neighbors. She would enjoy getting to know them. And of course, getting reacquainted with Selina. She hadn't seen her since she'd been alive, and she had absolutely no idea who had changed her, but Lucy hoped things had gone well for her since she'd last seen her.
Lucy decided that she'd find out from the neighbor girl Elena where Selina lived and then pay her a little visit. She had many questions to ask her, one in particular: If Selina knew where her father happened to be. She probably wouldn't be able to answer it because as far as Lucy knew, she had no actual memories of her father; he and the doctor had wiped her mind clean every time he visited her so she wouldn't inadvertently let her mother in on his existence when he was supposedly dead, but there was the possibility that since they were both vampires, she might have run into him at some point and then stayed in contact with him.
And if Selina did happen to know where her father was, then she'd tell Lucy and the two of them would go and find him. Then he'd see her and fall in love with her. He was probably very lonely; she figured his wife had been dead for years. There was no doubt in her mind that this time, when she proposed they be together, he would smile, say yes, and whisk her away to some place secret.
Lucy was grinning now. The thought of being reunited with Matthew Warren had been with her for years, ever since her father had scolded her for turning him as he lay dying. That had surprised her; she thought her father would be pleased that she hadn't let Matthew die; he had been very fond of him. But that hadn't been the case. Her father had scolded her for turning Matthew without alerting him first; because of her carelessness, he'd said, Matthew had been buried alive, in a manner of speaking, and could've experienced terrible difficulties if no one had come and dug him up.
Her father. He was probably still around here too. She hadn't seen him since their fight following Matthew's transformation. Maybe it was time to bury the hatchet and tell him she was sorry for disobeying him. If she did that, maybe he'd be more agreeable to her marrying Matthew. She went into the kitchen and wrote on the calendar on the refrigerator go see Father tomorrow to apologize for fight. She'd told people for years that her name was Lucy Warren, but tomorrow, for the first time since 1847, she'd be herself again and go by the name she was born with: Lucy Eleanor Stensrund.