Chapter 10 – The Last Day

Tommy and Jude nervously walked back into the kitchen, where Ma Mere was making breakfast.

"Where on earth have you been?" she shrieked. "You left your daughter here and she cried all night long. And then, you expected us to take care of her without advance notice?"

Jude blushed vividly.

"Sorry, Ma Mere. We had some unfinished business to take care of," Tommy said smoothly.

"Oh, really? And what, pray tell, was that?"

"Jude left her purse back at the restaurant we went to and she remembered just as we pulled into the driveway. The restaurant was closed, so Jude and I decided to get a room in the hotel down the street and wait for them to open again," Tommy invented.

"Oh..." Ma Mere said, smiling brightly.

Jude crossed her fingers behind her back.

"So is there the possibility I could expect any more grandchildren anytime soon?" she asked, giving the pot a stir.

"Ummmnn..." Jude blushed even brighter if at all possible.

"Ma Mere... I really don't think that's any of your business. What we did or didn't do is ours completely," Tommy said.

Ma Mere brushed her flour-covered hands on her apron.

"Well, Anna is upstairs, wide awake. Maria just went upstairs to check on her."

"Thank you, Mrs. Detois," Jude said. She headed in the direction of the nursery.

"Oh, and Jude?"

"Yes?"

"Please, don't call me Mrs. Detois. After all, there is no Mr. Detois. Just call me Ma Mere," the older woman said warmly.

Jude smiled a bit awkwardly and headed upstairs, Tommy following her.

When they got upstairs, they spotted Maria and a strange man with dark skin and blonde hair in the guest bedroom. Maria was holding Anna and the strange man was looking over her shoulder at the baby.

"Maria?" Tommy looked at the other man strangely.

"Thomas," she greeted him, smiling broadly. "This is Peter. Peter, meet my older brother, Thomas."

"And you are?" Tommy asked in confusion.

"Her boyfriend," Peter said, extending a hand in greeting.

Tommy looked as though he had been hit over the head with a frying pan. He stepped back in shock and Peter dropped his hand, awkwardly.

"How long have you been dating?" Jude asked politely.

"About a year," Maria said, looking at Tommy worriedly.

"A year?" Tommy said hoarsely.

"Well, you can't expect for you to have been gone for eight years and me not to have grown up at all, Thomas," Maria said sarcastically. She got up and handed Anna to Jude.

"Yeah, well, I figured you would have told me about something as serious as this almost as soon as you saw me at the terminal. Or on the trip home," Tommy said angrily.

"Tommy," Jude said under her breath. "Be nice."

"It never came up. Besides, it's not like I jumped on Jude as soon as I met her," Maria said pointedly. "I figured you'd at least offer me the same courtesy! And, I'd like you to know that Ma Mere has never come close to catching me and Peter in an uncomfortable position like she nearly caught you and Jude last night!" Maria's eyes flashed triumphantly.

"Maria--"

"Tommy, I could easily run downstairs and tell Ma Mere that you and Jude aren't married and that you had premarital sex that resulted in Jude's pregnancy with Anna. Luckily, I'm not that cruel. So why don't you keep your nose where it belongs and leave me and Peter alone?"

"Maria, please. Don't tell your mother what me and Tommy did last night," Jude begged.

"I'm not saying I'm going to tell her anything. But you need to keep your boyfriend away from mine," Maria said dismissively. "Come on, Pete. Let's go."

Maria grabbed Peter's hand and pulled him out of the bedroom.

"Au revoir!" Peter called, as Maria dragged him down the stairs.

"Are you sure Maria's not going to say anything about our situation?" Jude asked nervously.

"Babe, I'm not sure about anything right now," Tommy said.

Jude smirked and tried to hold in her laughter.

"What?" Tommy asked.

"You called me 'babe.' That's got to be a first," Jude said.

"Maybe not to your face," Tommy said, raising his eyebrows.

Jude looked down at the floor.

"By the way, are you ready to go back to Canada anytime soon?" Tommy asked.

"Actually, I've been wanting to broach that subject for a while," Jude said. "It's not that I don't love Paris -- I do. I just miss home. I want to go back really badly."

Tommy nodded.

"I'll reserve the tickets for our home trip," he said, pulling out his cell.

Jude pulled Anna closer and hugged her as Tommy arranged their flight home. When he pulled the phone away from his ear and closed it, Jude looked at him expectantly.

"11:00 tomorrow morning," he said, kissing her.

"Mr. Quincy, you're a genius," she said as they parted.

"I know," he said, laughing.

"I guess we need to go tell your family, then," Jude said.

"Yeah. My dear ma mere, my beloved sister, and her strange significant other... what a group," Tommy said, turning on one heel and heading out into the hallway.

"Ma Mere?" Tommy called.

Mrs. Detois was putting breakfast on the table.

"Yes?"

"We've arranged our flight home. We're leaving at 11:00 tomorrow morning."

"But you've only been here for two days!" Maria exclaimed.

"Hey, I didn't say this was going to be a permanent visit!" Tommy said.

"You didn't say that you were only going to be here for two days, either!" Mrs. Detois cried.

"We have business to take care of back home. Jude's a famous singer slash songwriter slash co-producer. And I'm her partner in the studio. We have to leave," Tommy said.

Mrs. Detois walked over to her son and hugged him tightly. She pulled away and wiped away the tears sliding down her cheeks.

"Ma Mere, it's okay. I forgive you."

"No, it's not," Mrs. Detois said. "I messed up raising you. If I would have tried harder instead of just giving up... maybe we would be a lot closer than we are today. I want you to promise me something."

"Anything, Ma Mere," Tommy said, his voice cracking.

"I want you to promise me that you'll do your best to raise your own children the right way. I want them to turn out just as good as you did, if not better."

"You did what you thought was best," Tommy said, wiping away his own tears.

Even Jude was struggling to hold back her tears by this point. Maria's face was contorted in emotion and Peter was comforting her.

The Detois family sat down for one last family breakfast before they would be separated yet again. But this one was a lot more solemn than the one the day before had been, even though Tommy had finally forgiven his mother. Because this time, they knew it'd be the last family breakfast for a long time.

So, Tommy and Jude are on their way home... or at least they will be in the next chapter. Hope you liked it, even though it did get a bit mushy in the end.

PLEASE REVIEW!!!

--Leanne