Chapter 11
Elvis braced himself then knocked on the Lane's front door. He'd discussed it with Georgie and told her what he wanted to do. She hadn't told her parents about the wedding yet, as she felt it was something that needed doing face to face. She was not quite sure how they would take it. She had sworn Fingers to secrecy, she knew he spoke to Marie a fair bit. She knew this was something that Elvis felt he should do and she could understand why he wanted to. So she had supported his decision and had let him be the one to tell her parents about the wedding.
The door swung open. "Alright Lulu." Elvis said, glad that it was her and not Marie who had answered. "What you doing here?" She whispered. "Is Georgie ok?" She suddenly looked a bit worried. He mentally kicked himself, he hadn't thought that they might think he was bringing bad news about Georgie. "No she's fine, it's nothing like that." He quickly reassured her. "Are Max and Grace here? I need to talk to them, to all of you." Elvis told her. Lulu's eyes widened in surprise. "Are you sure you want to do that Elvis?" She asked shocked.
Elvis laughed nervously. "Yeah, I'm afraid so."
She pulled the door wide for him to step into the hallway. "They're in the front room." Lulu said, leading the way. She pushed open the living room door and announced him. "Mum, dad, Elvis is here to talk to us - but Georgie is fine." She added quickly. Max and Grace, who had been watching the tv, stood up looking worried. Lulu grabbed the remote and turned the tv off.
"Do you mind if we sit down?" Elvis asked them. They nodded, puzzled as to why he could possibly be there.
"I don't mean to be rude Elvis but what are you doing here?" Max said. "I know you and Georgie have been seeing each other and she may have forgiven you but I'm not sure we are ready, as a family, to accept that yet after what you put our Georgie through." Elvis nodded, he'd known this wasn't going to be easy but he owed it to Georgie and to them. Georgie was their daughter and being the father of a daughter himself now, he had a small inkling of how he'd feel if someone upset his little girl in such an unforgivable way. He took a deep breath. "The thing is Max, Grace, Georgie and I are not seeing each other any more..." Before he could continue Max jumped in. "Oh thank god! She's finally come to her senses has she and now you've come crawling round here to try to get us to help you talk her round. Are you mad? I for one am glad she's not giving you another chance. You don't deserve her! There I've said it. That's how I feel." Grace had reached out and grabbed Max's arm to try to get him to calm down. "Max, be careful, think about your blood pressure." She pleaded.
"Is that it then Elvis?" Grace looked at him unsure if Max was right. Something just didn't seem right. She knew her daughter and she would be amazed if Georgie had broken up with Elvis. She knew Georgie loved him beyond reason. Had he ditched her again? Oh please god no! Her poor Georgie! Elvis was sitting there, looking a bit shell shocked after Max's little outburst. "Elvis?" Grace prompted. Elvis shook himself out of his reverie. "No. It's not like that at all." He said quietly. "The truth is, we were together in Afghanistan recently and...". He couldn't quite bring himself to say it, the way Max was glaring at him and with Grace looking at him like he'd just shot her puppy. "And what Elvis? Spit it out for god's sake." Lulu blurted out.
"...and we got married." He finished holding up his hand to show his wedding ring.
The silence was deafening. It seemed like an hour had passed before Grace said nervously. "I thought you just said, you and Georgie got married."
"He did say that." Lulu confirmed. She got up from her chair and came over to Elvis.
"Congratulations Elvis. I am happy that you and Georgie found each other again. You two were meant to be." She kissed him gently on the cheek. Max was just sitting on the edge of his seat in shock. He was trying to work out what the fuck was going on. How could Georgie, his little Georgie, have gone and married this bastard without even telling them. Without giving her mother and her sisters the chance to be there. Surely not. Grace was obviously having a similar inner monologue. "Whose idea was it Elvis? To get married out there like that?" Grace wanted to know. "What does it matter Mum?" Said Lulu before Elvis could respond. "They are married and it's up to us to let the past go and look to the future. Georgie has chosen Elvis. She's married him. That's all we need to know. Her life, her choice. You know she was never the same after he left. She's been our Georgie again since he came back. As long as he swears to look after her this time and do his best to make her happy, that's all we can ask." Lulu finished confidently. Elvis gave her a weak smile. "Thanks Lulu, I will look after her. I love her more than life itself."
"Yes, I believe you do." She agreed.
Lulu looked at Grace and Max. "It's time to let the past go. For Georgie's sake." She repeated gently. Grace looked at Max. He was staring at Elvis, his features still tortured by the shock of what he'd heard. "Max, Lulu's right you know. We've got to try to move on now. We owe our Georgie all the support we can give her - and Elvis - now they're married. You know how much she loves him, she's a smart girl, she wouldn't have given him this second chance unless he deserved it. We've got to do the same now." Max slowly nodded. He stood up and held his hand out to Elvis. "It's going to take me some time to get over what you did but I'm willing, for our Georgie's sake, to give it a go. Welcome to the family lad."
Elvis shook Max's hand and nodded. "I get it, thank you Max." Grace approached Elvis and reached up to peck him on the cheek. "Welcome to the family Elvis. If Georgie's chosen you, that's good enough for me but if you ever hurt her again I swear to god, you'll not know what's hit you." She warned him. Elvis inclined his head in acknowledgement.
He felt his body sag with relief. It wasn't going to be easy winning Georgie's family round but he'd made that first, all important, step. The worst was over.
Suddenly, the front door slammed. They all looked up in horror. "Oh my god!" Shuddered Lulu. "Whose going to bloody tell Marie?"
