Matters of the Heart
Chapter Twenty-Eight:
"Hi, Mom!"
Throwing down his bag on the couch, Will Roberts scurried into the kitchen and hugged his mother. Sami smiled down at him, leaning over to kiss his hair, and he made a face, pretending to be annoyed, but the truth was he didn't really mind when she did that, he just had to act like he did because he was a boy.
"Hey, little man," Sami said. "Did you have fun at your Aunt Jenn's?"
"Yeah," Will replied with a grin. "Abby and I taught her to make s'mores in the fireplace the way you make them for us. We had a blast."
"Good," Sami told him. "I'm glad to hear it."
"How about you?" Will asked innocently. "Did you and Dad have fun last night?"
He didn't miss the way his mother's cheeks flushed, or the tender look that passed between his parents, and Will grinned triumphantly. Looks like my plan worked after all, he thought in satisfaction. Mom and Dad had sex.
Abby so owed him five dollars.
"Uh, yeah," Lucas cleared his throat. "Your Mom and I had a great time, buddy. Didn't we, Sami?"
"Yeah," Sami agreed, a tad breathless. "We did."
Will smirked, giving his father a conspiratorial look. "I bet you did."
This time both of his parents looked embarrassed, so he decided to give them a break and change the subject, for now.
"So what's for dinner?" he asked eagerly. "I'm starving."
"Actually, I ordered pizza a while ago," Sami replied quickly. "It should be here any minute."
"Cool," Will said, nodding in approval. "Thanks, Mom, you know I love it when we have pizza."
"Yes, I do," Sami agreed, glancing over at his father anxiously. "Um... Will, sweetie, your Dad and I need to talk to you about something."
"Okay," Will responded slowly.
"Why don't we have a seat on the couch, buddy?" Lucas suggested, guiding them all over to the sofa. It didn't escape Will's attention that his parents sat close together, their thighs touching, a united front if he ever saw one.
Although he was a bit worried that he might be in trouble for something, at least he knew that they weren't going to give him any bad news about their relationship. "What did you guys want to talk about?" he inquired.
"We just wanted to keep you in the loop, as far as family matters go, that's all, sweetie," Sami said gently. "There's going to be a few things changing around here, and we wanted to talk about them with you before anything happens."
"Like what?" Will asked in confusion.
"Well, for starters I got a new job today," Sami answered.
"You're not working for Granddad John anymore?" Will frowned.
"No, baby, I'm still working at Basic Black," Sami assured him. "It's just that John gave me a promotion, so now I'm going to be working different hours and my office will be right down the hall from your Aunt Belle's office. You remember where her office is, don't you?"
"Yeah, I guess."
"I'm starting on Monday," Sami informed him. "So because your Dad and I won't be home until five, your Aunt Jenn has agreed to keep you over at her house after school. That way you and Abby can play video games and do your homework or whatever until your Dad or I can come pick you up."
"Is that okay with you, buddy?" Lucas asked.
"Yeah, it's fine," Will said with a shrug. "I like hanging out with Abby, and Aunt Jenn is pretty cool for an adult."
In truth, Jennifer Deveraux was probably his favorite aunt, and the crazy thing was he had quite a few of them. Aunt Carrie lived in Israel with Uncle Mike, so he didn't see her very often, and Aunt Billie lived in Europe, so she wasn't around much, either, but Aunt Belle still lived in Salem. As much fun as she was, sometimes she reminded him of the girls in the movie Clueless that Abby loved to watch.
"Oh, and we aren't, huh?" Lucas demanded playfully.
Will rolled his eyes. "You know what I mean, Dad."
"Notice the way he avoided answering the question," Lucas commented to Sami with a wink.
"That's because he doesn't have the heart to tell you how uncool you are," Sami retorted, her blue eyes twinkling.
"Funny, sweetheart," Lucas drawled. "Like you're so much cooler than I am."
"Hey, Will's friends think I'm cool," Sami protested. "Don't they Will?"
"Yes," Will answered truthfully. Cool and crazy, he added to himself, knowing better than to tell his mother that the other parents at school gossiped about her recklessness and his father's alcoholism, and that his friends always wondered what insane stunt she would pull next.
"They're preteen boys, Sami," Lucas said sarcastically, giving her a pointed look. "Of course they like you, you're a sexy woman."
"Way too much information," Will cried, covering his ears. "Are you trying to scar me for life, Dad? Geez."
"Sorry, buddy," Lucas apologized with a chuckle. "But you have to agree, your Mom is one pretty lady."
"Well, of course she is," Will retorted. "She's Mom!"
His mother gave him an adoring look, and for a moment he thought she was going to kiss his face all over the way she did whenever he said or did something that she just found 'so precious', but thankfully she restrained herself and just touched a hand to his hair and smiled.
"That's sweet, honey."
Will shrugged, not seeing what the big deal was. "It's the truth, that's all."
"He's right," Lucas agreed with a smile, his dark eyes warm as he gazed over at Sami lovingly. "You're beautiful, Sami."
Sami blushed, looking up at him with a demure smile, and Will snickered to himself, amused at the lovestruck looks on their faces. He certainly hoped they weren't going to look at each other like this in public all the time, it might get embarrassing after a while.
Afraid that if they kept staring at each other like that they would go blind, Will cleared his throat. "Uh, there was something else you wanted to tell me, too, right?"
"Yes," Lucas answered, licking his lips. "Yes, there was. Um, Will, buddy..." he paused, glancing over at Sami. "Your Mom and I are sort of together now. As in we're a couple."
"Yeah, I kind of figured you would be by the time I got home," Will retorted casually, not letting on that he was grinning on the inside. "That's why I stayed the night with Aunt Jenn... to give you some privacy." He eyed them both appraisingly, a small smirk tugging its way onto his lips, then added, "And it looks like it was a good thing I did."
"Will!" Sami cried.
"What?" Will shrugged. "I already took Sex-Ed, remember? It's not a big deal. You're my parents and you love each other, you're supposed to have sex."
"Oh God, Lucas... do something!"
"What?" Lucas demanded with a smirk of his own. "You're the one who said we should put him in those advanced AG classes, remember?"
"Ugh, never mind," Sami groaned, then paused to regain her composure. "The point is, Will, that your Dad and I... well, we love each other."
"I know," Will informed her, unable to keep from smiling at those words. "I've always known that, even before either of you did."
"What, are you clairvoyant or something now, huh, buddy?" Lucas asked dryly. "Sami, better warn Celeste she's about to be out of a job, our boy's going to be the town psychic."
"Ha ha," Will muttered, rolling his eyes. "I'm just saying that you guys don't hide it very well when you stare at each other all the time."
"We do not," Sami protested, then raised an eyebrow. "Do we?"
"You have no idea," Will snorted. "It's like something out of a lame soap opera, Mom."
"Yeah, well, your Mom and I aren't lame, Will," Lucas replied. "And we're not some crazy couple from one of those sappy, stupid soaps your Mom watches."
"Hey, Hours of My Life is not stupid," Sami insisted, swatting him in the chest.
"Whatever you say, sweetheart," Lucas responded in amusement. "Can we get back to the subject at hand?"
"Fine," Sami agreed with a mock sigh. "Have it your way."
"I always do with you," Lucas told her with a wink.
"Child present!" Will reminded them sarcastically, and both his father had the decency to give him a rueful smile.
"Right, sorry, buddy," Lucas said, clearing his throat as he became all business again. "Will... how do you feel about me moving in here with you and your Mom?"
Will blinked, startled by that question, because he honestly hadn't thought his parents would come up with that idea on their own, at least not this soon. He and Abby had already been plotting ways to try and get them under the same roof, but it looked like their scheming was for nothing.
"You practically live here already, Dad," he pointed out with a shrug.
"I know," Lucas agreed. "But if I were to move in with you guys, it would be different, you know?"
"Yeah, but different in a good way," Will argued. "I mean, I've always wanted to live with both of you together, and now you're in love, so why shouldn't we be living in the same apartment as a family?"
"You're okay with it, then?"
"Duh! This is, like, every wish I've ever made on birthday candles, shooting stars and coin fountains combined," Will informed them incredulously, shocked that they even had to ask. "The only thing that could make this better was if you were getting married."
"Will, honey," Sami said gently. "Your Dad and I have a lot of stuff to work through, so don't get ahead of yourself, okay?"
"But you guys will get married someday, right?" Will prodded.
"Yeah, buddy, we will," Lucas answered, and Sami looked at him in surprise, her blue eyes going wide, but Lucas kept his gaze on Will. "We're going to be a family, just the three of us, I promise, but we're not quite ready for that step just yet. Understand?"
"Yeah, I guess so," Will agreed. "And I can be patient, I've already had to wait my whole life, so what's another year?"
His parents exchanged a guilty look, as if feeling bad that they had deprived him of a normal, happy family for so long, but thankfully neither of them started to try and apologize for that. He would have hated to have to tell them that he'd been plotting to get them together since he was tiny, it might clue them in on just how sneaky he could really be.
"So when are you going to move in, Dad?" Will asked eagerly.
"Not for another month," Lucas answered, and Will bit his lip to keep his face from showing the crestfallen expression he was sure it was trying to make. "My lease is up then, and your Mom and I talked about it this morning and decided that I should just move in rather than sign a new lease."
"Oh," Will murmured. "Is this a secret?"
"What do you mean, Will?" Sami asked, scrunching up her nose in confusion.
"From Grandma Kate, I mean," Will elaborated. "She'll do anything to break you guys up, and if she knows that Dad's moving in, she might do something crazy."
"Look, buddy, your Grandma..." Lucas began.
"Hates me," Sami finished bluntly, earning a glare from his father. "Well, she does, Lucas, I'm not going to sugarcoat it. Frankly, I'm not too fond of her, either." Lucas opened his mouth to complain, but Sami didn't wait to listen to him, instead turning to look at Will. "Sweetie, your Dad and I love each other and we're not going to let anything or anyone come between us, we promise. So let us worry about your Grandma, okay?"
"Yeah, okay," Will sighed. "I just don't like seeing her always raving about what a horrible person you are, Mom. It makes me mad."
"I know, buddy," Lucas said grimly. "It makes me mad, too. Which is why I'm going to talk to your Grandma about it, okay? I'm going to get her to realize that you, me and your Mom are a family, and that she needs to just accept that."
"And if she doesn't?" Will asked.
Lucas and Sami looked at each other, neither really knowing how to answer that, but luckily for them there was a knock at the door just then, and a muffled voice came from the other side.
"Pizza delivery."
"Coming," Lucas called, standing up and pulling his wallet out of his back pocket as he headed for the door.
While his father was distracted, Will turned back to his mother. "Mom, you know Grandma's not going to accept you and Dad being together. What are we going to do?"
Sami pressed her lips together in a grim line. "I don't know, little man, but don't worry, okay? Your Dad and I will figure something out, I promise. In the meantime, maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea if you didn't go broadcasting our relationship to Grandma Kate, hmm?"
"Yeah," Will agreed begrudgingly. "You're right. I won't say anything to her, I promise."
"Good," Sami replied, reaching over to ruffle his hair fondly. "Let's go grab some of that pizza before your Dad eats it all."
"Like you're one to talk," Lucas drawled, closing the door and crossing the room towards the kitchen with the pizza box in hand. "The last time we got pizza, I saw you eat four slices yourself, honey."
"And how many did you eat, General?" Sami retorted, rising to her feet and heading into the kitchen behind him. "Ten?"
"There's only twelve pieces in a box, Mom," Will pointed out as he followed her.
"The way you two eat, we should start ordering the extra large," Sami muttered under her breath, opening a cabinet to grab plates and glasses. "Lucas, there's some soda in the refrigerator, will you get it?"
"Sure," Lucas agreed, setting the box down on the table.
Will lifted the lid of the box, letting the smell of the hot pepperoni pizza waft up into the room, and his stomach growled. Guess I didn't eat enough cereal for breakfast at Aunt Jenn's, he thought with a shrug. Oh, well.
His parents returned to the table at the same time and his mother began to put pizza on all of their plates while his father poured their drinks. Will didn't think he would ever stop being grateful for moments like these, where they were just like every other family, especially when in the past such moments had been so rare. As a little boy, he had saved and cataloged every fleeting moment of family time that he'd shared with them, always hungering for more and not understanding why they couldn't be like that all the time.
But now that his parents were together, he was certain that nothing could ruin their happiness, not even Grandma Kate.
I know I promised to stay out of it, Mom, Will thought grimly. But if Grandma tries anything... she'll have to deal with me.
"Here you go, buddy," Lucas announced, passing him a glass of soda. "Sami, here's yours."
"Thank you," Sami responded with a small smile and handed him a plate. "Here's your pizza."
Will accepted his plate from her and sat down, taking a bite, as he watched his parents smiling at each other. "You know," he said slyly. "Since you guys are together now, why don't you give Mom a kiss, Dad?"
"You know, buddy, that's not a bad idea," Lucas replied thoughtfully, turning towards Sami. "Come here, gorgeous."
Sami blushed faintly, but allowed him to take her in his arms, gazing up at him with a trusting smile. "Go ahead, General, wow me."
"Mission accepted," Lucas murmured before dipping his head down to capture her lips in a slow, tender kiss, one hand going to her hair while the other cupped her cheek. As soon as Sami's arms snaked up around his neck, Will turned away to give them some privacy, and grinned to himself.
He couldn't wait to call Abby as soon as his parents disappeared later so that he could tell her the good news. Maybe he'd even tell Aunt Jenn and Great-Gran Alice, they were both rooting for his parents to get together, too.
After another few seconds, his parents separated, leaving a sappy look on his mother's face and a smirk on his father's. "There," Lucas said, sounding quite pleased with himself. "Happy now, Will?"
"Yeah," Will answered with a broad smile. "I am. Aren't you guys?"
His parents exchanged a soft look, and it was his mother who answered, a beautiful smile on her face. "Yeah, I think we finally are."
