A/N: A bit more background to Will and Angela's friendship. This is from the early days of SLG and also features a little bit of Diane.
Cambridge, UK, February 2008.
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My Eyes Adored You (Frankie Valli)
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Angela's paternal grandmother has recently passed away in England. Her grandfather had died some years earlier. Angela and David were staying at the house Genevieve and Robert had made their home for the last fifty years. Will arrived the following day.
…..
Will and Angela lay on the kingsize bed in her room. Staring at the ceiling, their fingers entwined, they were content to stay in quiet contemplation together. Will rubbed his right thumb in circles on the top of Angela's left hand. It was a gesture that he often did – a comforting, familiar gesture that harked back to the early days of their friendship.
After a while, Will said, "I was just thinking about the first time I came here," he smiled and turned to look at Angela. She, in return, looked towards him, "Yeahhhh," she replied.
"Yeah," Will nodded, "I was so in awe of this place, it was like something out of Inspector Morse!" he chuckled, "and then there was the E-type," he said in the excited little boy tone he had whenever he talked of the car, "like a really cool Inspector Morse! I still can't believe you kept that from me," he looked her directly in the eyes and pulling his sad puppy dog face.
She laughed quietly at him, "I wanted to see your face when Grandpa said you could use the car in the garage!"
Will laughed and turned on the bed to pull Angela close to him. She reciprocated and snuggled into his side, resting her head on his chest. Feeling the soft wool of his cashmere sweater against her skin she drifted off to sleep. Will lay there quietly before he too fell asleep.
When they woke, the lunchtime sun had been replaced by early afternoon dappled light. Angela stirred and her movements caused Will to ask if she was OK. She nodded before saying quietly and a little emotionally, "I told Granny."
"Told her what?" Will asked, still a little sleepy.
Angela sat up and leant down the side of the bed, pulling something out of her purse. She gave the small pink envelope to Will. "I showed her this," she said, a tears forming in her eyes. Will knew the contents of the envelope like the back of his hand and pulled her close to him again, kissing the top of her head.
…
Two days earlier:
Angela sat on the side of the bed next to her grandmother. They talked and laughed about events in their lives.
"Not long before your Grandpa died, we talked about any regrets we had or things we wished we had done."
Angela looked at Jenny and asked, "Did you have any?"
"No," she shook her head, "not regrets, exactly, we were very fortunate to do everything we wanted, visit many different places, see our son and our granddaughter grow up," she smiled at Angela and squeezed her arm, "hell," she exclaimed, "we even flew the Concorde!" They both chuckled. "But," she began a little more seriously, "although we didn't have things we wished we had done, there were things we wished had turned out differently."
"Like Mom," Angela said sadly.
"Yes, sweetheart," Jenny nodded at her, "we wished your Dad had had a long, happy marriage like your Grandpa and I, but that isn't everything. We both wished we had had more children. We wanted a big family, maybe three or four children, and bought and renovated this big house in the hope that it would reverberate to the sound of many children and grandchildren. Sadly, it wasn't to be," she said looking down and twisting her gold wedding band between her thumb and middle finger.
"Why didn't you have more children after Daddy?" Angela asked. She realised that she had never questioned why her father was an only child. She knew why she was an only child, but had not contemplated the previous generation; she just assumed it was timing and to do with her Grandpa's military service taking him away.
Jenny smiled and took her granddaughter's hands in hers. "We were only blessed once. After David was born, we suffered through four miscarriages and were advised not to try again. We were older by then, and it was not considered right to have children later back then. I know things are different now and medical science has moved on. But, not being able to give David a sibling was something we felt sad about." Her comments caused both women to become teary-eyed.
"Oh Granny, I'm so sorry," Angela said.
"Thank you, my dear. I hope that if you decide to have children, you do not have to go through what we did," she gave a weak smile at Angela.
Angela looked down, contemplating her next move. "I'll be back in a moment," she said and got off the bed.
When she returned, she sat back on the bed next to Jenny and handed her a small, crisp, pink envelope. "I understand," she said looking at her grandmother.
When Jenny looked at the contents, she said, "Oh Angela," and put her arm around her granddaughter, letting the picture fall into her lap, "tell Will I'm sorry."
…
After she had recounted the event, Will felt his arms tighten around Angela and they lay on the bed until it was time for dinner.
…..
Two days later, Will stood in the arrivals hall, alongside hundreds of other relatives, drivers and tour guides who were eagerly awaiting the passengers of several flights to clear customs. To distance himself from the buzzing throng, he held up a card with 'Diane Lockhart' written on it. It was partly a joke, as she would see the funny side once she saw it and her eyes lifted to the grey chauffer's style cap that he was wearing, and it was also necessary as he was in danger of being swallowed up by the crowd.
The doors opened and another swell of eager passengers exited in front of him and he heard the familiar laugh of Diane Lockhart as she noticed his sign. She walked quickly towards him and brought him into an embrace, kissing him on his right cheek. "Thank you for collecting me," Diane said, "how are David and Angela?" she asked as Will took her bag as they walked out of the terminal.
"David is okay," he sighed, "Angela is basically alright, but is hurting a lot, although she refuses to admit that trying to support her Dad is too much for her. I'm glad you are here," he smiled at his legal partner.
"Me too. Maybe I can take some of the pressure off Angela and be there for David, so she can grieve for her grandmother," she said looking at Will. He nodded. He'd hoped that his arrival had helped Angela, but he didn't know what he could do for David. Angela's father was very much an English gentleman and didn't easily give away his feelings, so he was glad that Diane – one of his oldest friends – was here to hold his hand and bear some of his burden, if he let her.
"Genevieve and Robert were always so kind to me," Diane began, "it seems almost surreal that they are both gone. I thought Jenny would live forever!" she laughed, raising her arm and purse in the air. Will chuckled, "Yeah."
Their conversation continued as they walked through the parking lot until Diane saw the car Will had brought and let out another, throaty laugh, throwing her head back and smiling broadly. "Seriously?" she questioned.
"Well, it was either an orange Mini or this, which is really fun to drive," he said, his voice increasing with joviality over the last clause. He unlocked the doors and noticed Diane roll her eyes as she walked round to the passenger side of the car.
Will chuckled and placed Diane's bag in the vehicle before he climbed behind the wheel. Starting the engine he looked at her excitedly and nodded enthusiastically, "Feel like a Bond girl yet?" he asked as they pulled out of the parking space. Diane shook her head, smiling as she turned to look out of the window as they left Heathrow behind them.
They talked about David, Angela and Diane's flight before they broached the subject of work. "How were things when you left? Will enquired. He had travelled to England several days before Diane, so that he could be there for Angela and help her and David with arrangements. It was the first time he actually realised how alone the Austens actually were. Angela was the only child of an only child and her father had had only one uncle, who was now deceased. David and Angela only had each other on this side of the Atlantic, and, in all honesty, only very distant relatives of Angela's mom on the other. She had been there for him when his father had died and helped him through some tough personal and professional issues, so this was his time to be there for her.
Diane sighed and raised an eyebrow in Will's direction. "Well, we still had a firm when I got in the elevator. I still think we should have told Jonas that neither of us will be there for a few days. It feels disloyal."
"No," Will shook his head, "if Jonas finds out, he will come back and cause chaos, as is his will. It is better this way. They may fight but at least they both have the interests of the firm at heart." While the two named partners were in England, David Lee and Julius Cain had been left to oversee the running of the office. It was a dangerous move as both equity partners held a deep animosity for each other, but Diane, in particular, hoped having to work together would create some common ground and greater co-operation.
"They have their own interests at heart," Diane corrected. "David in particular has created his own personal fiefdom in Family Law and is thrilled with the ability to stretch his wings."
Will laughed, "Yeah, but he knows we are here for Angela and David. However much he hates Julius and sneers at me, he has great affection for Ange."
Diane nodded, "Yes, he wouldn't do anything stupid at the moment. Maybe in a few months," she speculated.
Will laughed as he pulled off the road and into the driveway of Genevieve and Robert's home, "We're here," he announced.
….
A/N: So, this was a little update and, for those of you reading it, it linked in to my other story, "Never Trusted Her" – hope you got the reference. Let me know what you think.
