A/N: See Chapter 1 for Disclaimer.

Chapter Summary: Lionel and Jenny take Louise out to dinner and come back to George's apartment with some shocking information.

Chapter 2: Choosing Louise

George and Lionel went back to George's apartment almost immediately after Louise left, and the moment they got there, Lionel called the Willises and told them to come downstairs with Jenny as soon as possible. They arrived a couple of minutes later, and to say the least, they were shocked when Lionel told them that his mother was still alive and that they'd just seen her. Understandably, it took them several minutes to really digest everything that Lionel and George were telling them, and Tom, Helen, and Jenny cried many tears of joy and relief.

"So you and Jenny are going to take Louise out to dinner tonight?" Helen asked Lionel as soon as everything had calmed down.

"That's right, Mrs. Willis," Lionel confirmed. "I figured it was the least we could do after everything she's been through lately."

"I can't believe it, Lionel," Jenny chimed in. "I just can't believe it. After all this time, after all these years, we finally have your mother back."

"I know," Lionel said with a smile. "I can't believe it either."

"Neither can I," said George. "After all this time, I thought I'd lost Weezy for good. I was so scared deep down that I'd never see her again. I can't wait for dinner tonight. I'm gonna tell Weezy everything. I'm gonna tell her all about us. And then I'm tellin' her that she can pack her things and kiss that bakery goodbye because she's comin' home to be with me where she belongs."

Lionel shook his head then and said, "No, Pop. With all due respect, you are not coming to dinner with us tonight."

"What are you talkin' about? Of course I am! Weezy's my wife."

"Not from her perspective, she's not. All her memories are gone. She didn't even know who we were. Pop, she doesn't know you from Adam. And I don't mean to hurt your feelings, but the last thing we need right now is for you to go to dinner with us tonight and you start running your mouth, saying a bunch of stupid things that'll just drive Mom farther away from us."

"Who do you think you are to say somethin' like that to me?! I haven't seen my wife in over six years and there ain't no way you're gonna keep me from her now!"

"Newsflash, Pop: you are not the only person who's been hurting these past six years! I know that it hurt you terribly when Mom disappeared, but it hurt all of us just as much as it hurt you, and we all have been suffering just as much as you have."

"Amen," said Helen.

"That's true," Tom agreed.

"You lost your wife, yes, but I also lost my mother. Jenny lost her mother-in-law and her friend. The Willises lost their best friend. And that loss has hurt all the rest of us a lot more than I think you realize."

"What's your point?" asked George.

"My point is, we lost six years with a person we all love so much, and we lost that time with her because of you. We don't know how Mom ended up all the way in Massachusetts and we don't know how she got into such a terrible accident, but we do know that she left because she was trying to get away from you," said Lionel, and the instant those words came out of his mouth, George visibly winced because he knew better than anyone just how true those words were. Even though he was usually too proud to openly admit it, he was constantly tormented by the cruel things he had said to Louise on that fateful day she disappeared. "Like it or not," Lionel continued, "it was you who got all of us into this mess six years ago. We all lost six years with Mom because of you. Because of your stupidity. Your arrogance. Your ego. Your big mouth. And after all that we have been through over the years because of you, there isn't a snowflake's chance in hell that I'm letting you come to dinner with us tonight. I am not going to lose another six years with my mother because you did something stupid to drive her away again."

The silence over the next few moments was deafening. Amazingly, George actually did manage to keep his big mouth shut then for the simple reason that there wasn't anything he could possibly say in his own defense, and he knew it. Like everyone else there that day, George knew painfully well how right Lionel was.

"Come on, Jenny," Lionel said quietly. "Let's go get ready for tonight."

"Okay, Lionel," Jenny agreed, and then they left, and the Willises followed a couple of minutes later.

"I really want to apologize for everything my father has put you through, Ms. Wood," Lionel told Louise at dinner later on that night. They had arrived at a lovely Italian restaurant and given the waiter their orders about thirty minutes ago.

"That's very kind of you, Lionel, but you don't owe me any apologies," Louise assured him. "You aren't responsible for the things your father does."

"Maybe not, but I still feel horrible about this whole thing."

"And that's a pretty common thing in our family. Mr. Jefferson is an expert at making other people feel horrible," Jenny quipped.

"So I take it that you don't exactly get along with your father-in-law," Louise observed.

Jenny chuckled and said, "Are you kidding? I've never been able to get along with him. He's always hated me because of my parents."

"Why does he hate your parents?"

"Because they committed the heinous sin of having a racially mixed marriage. He's always hated all three of us because my father is white. He's constantly calling my father a honky and me a zebra."

"Oh, that's terrible. No wonder you don't like your father-in-law very much."

"I love Pop, but it's just a cold, hard fact that he is not an easy man to deal with," said Lionel.

"I figured that out the minute he started trying to intimidate me into selling him my bakery."

"Believe it or not, though, there actually was a time when I did like Mr. Jefferson a little bit," Jenny admitted. "I always admired him for working hard, getting ahead, starting his own business, and getting out of poverty. But after…after he lost his wife…he just became so mean-spirited and cold, and today, there's just nothing in him to like anymore."

"Oh, I had no idea that Mr. Jefferson's wife had died. I'm so sorry, Lionel."

After a brief pause, Lionel decided that it was best to go along with it and allow Louise to believe, for the moment, that George's wife was deceased. "Uh, yeah, I'm sorry, too," he told Louise. "Like Jenny and I were saying, my father never was an easy man to live with. But after we lost Mom, it seemed that every trace of goodness that had ever been inside of him just died."

"Funny. Over the past couple of months, I've been so furious at your father for what he was putting me through that I could never imagine actually feeling sorry for him. But after everything that you just said, I do feel sorry for him. Even though he has so much, he truly sounds like a broken man."

Lionel looked directly into Louise's eyes then and told her, "He is a broken man, Ms. Wood. Losing my mom has completely destroyed him."

"Oh, that's so sad," said Louise.

"Yeah, it is," Lionel sighed.

"Well anyway, I think we've spent enough time dwelling on Mr. Jefferson," said Jenny. "Tell us about you, Ms. Wood. Lionel tells me that you have two daughters?"

"That's right," Louise said with a big smile. "I am blessed with the two sweetest, most beautiful little girls on the planet. And now that you've mentioned them, I've got to get out my wallet. I have a very strict policy that whenever I get to talking to anybody about my children, I have to show them off."

Lionel and Jenny grinned, and then Louise picked up her purse and took out her wallet and showed them pictures of Melissa and Angie. After she showed them the pictures, Jenny told her, "Your little girls are adorable, Ms. Wood."

"They certainly are," Lionel agreed.

"And I am the proudest mama on the face of the earth," Louise beamed.

"Tell us about Melissa. When did you adopt her?" Jenny asked.

"Oh, my adoption of Melissa became finalized a little over a year ago," Louise replied. "I won't go into too many details, but that poor little child has really been to hell and back in her short life. She really is amazing. She's only ten years-old, but she's wiser and more mature than many adults I know. And she's such a wonderful big sister. She's always so patient with Angie."

"Speaking of Angie, is she adopted, too?" asked Lionel, who was stunned at how very much Angie resembled Louise.

"No, Angie's not adopted," Louise replied, and Lionel and Jenny gave each other a shocked glance for a brief moment before turning their attention back to Louise.

"How old is Angie?" asked Jenny.

"She turned five last month. She's in kindergarten now and she'll be starting first grade in the fall. I can't get over how fast time flies by. It seems like only yesterday that she was a baby."

"If you don't mind my asking, is Angie's father white? Is she mixed like me?" Jenny inquired.

"Yes, that's right," Louise confirmed. "But I prefer not to discuss Angie's father. It's a very difficult subject."

"We understand, Ms. Wood," Lionel told her kindly.

"Speaking of children, do you two have any?" asked Louise.

"No, we don't. Not yet," Jenny responded. "We've been trying for the past couple of years but so far, it hasn't worked out."

"Well, you kids just hang in there. It'll work out sooner or later, I'm sure."

"We know it will," Lionel said while smiling over at Jenny.

"Actually, Lionel and I have been talking about it recently and we've been thinking that if we don't get pregnant anytime in the near future, we might start looking into adoption."

"Oh, that would be wonderful," Louise said with a smile. "Speaking as an adoptive mother myself, I highly recommend it. There's nothing that can truly describe the joy of taking a child into your home, into your life, and giving her all the things she's missed out on."

"I'll bet it's amazing," said Jenny.

"Trust me; it is," Louise assured them as the waiter arrived with their meals.

Once he set their plates down before them, they dug in and enjoyed their food, and they continued with their conversation as they ate. The rest of the evening raced by and it was over before they knew it.

"Thank you both very much for dinner tonight," Louise kindly told Lionel and Jenny at five minutes after nine that night. "It was terrific."

"Thank you for coming," Lionel told Louise.

"It was my pleasure. You two really are a lovely young couple. You know, Lionel, if your mother could see you now, I know that she would be so proud of you."

Lionel was clearly very touched by what Louise had just said, and he told her, "Thank you very much for saying that, Ms. Wood. I appreciate that. I really do."

"It's true," said Louise, and they all smiled at each other for several moments. Then Louise told them, "Listen, if in the future, you kids ever decide to spend any of your vacation time in the Boston area, swing by Haven Lake and come and see me."

"We will, Ms. Wood," said Jenny.

"Hey, listen, here's our phone number," said Lionel as he reached into his jacket pocket, pulled out a little slip of paper, and handed it to Louise. "If you ever need anything, give Jenny and me a call."

"Oh, that's so considerate of you. Thank you."

"Of course," said Jenny. Then after a couple more minutes of small talk, they finally said goodbye for the night and left.

As soon as Lionel and Jenny walked through George's apartment door later on that night, George, Tom, Helen, Bentley, and Mrs. Jefferson were all practically pouncing on them for more information about Louise. They asked a number of questions, which Lionel and Jenny quickly answered, and then things turned more serious when Mrs. Jefferson made a point of asking about Louise's children. Understandably, Lionel was reluctant to get into such delicate subject matter with his grandmother, his in-laws, and his father's next-door neighbor there; he would have been much happier discussing the whole situation with his father in private. But since his grandmother was pressing him, he basically had no choice but to tell everybody everything right then and there.

"Well…Mom says that she adopted a little girl named Melissa last year," Lionel said reluctantly. He knew his grandmother well, and he knew what kind of questions and insinuations were coming next.

"And what about the other little girl?" Olivia asked pointedly. "I'm assuming that she's adopted too?"

"Mama, don't be silly!" George snapped. "Of course she is!"

"Actually…" Lionel said hesitantly.

"What is it, Lionel?" Olivia asked her grandson with an evil look in her eyes, and Lionel could easily tell by looking into them what was going through her mind. Although Olivia Jefferson wasn't wholeheartedly cruel, she did have a potent mean streak running through her, particularly when it came to Louise. And whenever there was an opportunity for her to make Louise look bad in George's eyes, she relished in it and took full advantage of it. Even though there was a small part of her that had always liked Louise deep down, she still took great pleasure in doing things to cause problems between her son and daughter-in-law.

"Actually," Lionel sighed, "Mom's younger daughter, Angie, is not adopted."

"Wait a minute. Hold it. Are you tellin' me that Weezy had a baby?"

"That's right, Pop. About a year after Mom disappeared, she…she had a baby. A baby that's racially mixed."

"What?! You mean to tell me that Weezy went and had a baby with some jive honky?!"

"Yeah, Pop. It's true. Mom told us herself that Angie's father is white."

"Wow," Bentley gasped.

"Wow, indeed," said Tom.

"I can't believe it," said Helen. "I can't believe Louise actually had a baby."

"A baby that I ain't the father of," George said angrily.

"Well, I think that this explains a lot," Olivia said with an air of satisfaction.

"What do you mean, Grandma?" asked Lionel.

"Now we know why Louise left six years ago. Isn't it obvious? She was having an affair with another man who was living in Massachusetts, and she left us six years ago to go be with him. And on her way to his house, she got herself into that terrible accident she told you about. It was God's judgment on her for being such a terrible, unfaithful wife."

"What are you saying, Mrs. Jefferson?" asked Jenny. "Are you actually trying to tell us that God made Lionel's mother have that accident because she was having an affair with another man?"

"It's as good of an explanation as any," Olivia insisted. Even though a small part of Olivia had grudgingly liked her daughter-in-law in the past, now that she knew that Louise had had a child with a white man, she was determined to say whatever she had to say to break George and Louise up.

"And you think that despite the fact that Mom's legs were crushed in that accident and she had no memories, she continued messing around with this guy and had a baby with him?" Lionel asked in pure disbelief.

"Do any of you have a better explanation?" Olivia asked evilly.

"Yeah, I do, Grandma," Lionel responded. "I believe that sometime after Mom had that accident, she was alone, vulnerable, and afraid, and desperate for love and comfort. And I believe that since she'd lost all her memories and didn't know that she was married, she started seeing someone and they had a relationship for a while. And I believe that for whatever reason, they had a bitter breakup. Maybe he abandoned her after she told him she was pregnant. Maybe he broke her heart. And maybe that explains why it's so difficult for Mom to talk about Angie's father to this day."

"I think that's a much more likely explanation, Lionel," said Tom.

"So do I," Helen agreed.

"Well I still say it's far more likely that Louise was having an affair behind George's back!" Mrs. Jefferson childishly cried out.

Aghast, Helen cried out, "I can't believe what I'm hearing!"

"Neither can I," said Mr. Bentley.

"I can't believe what I'm hearing, either," said Tom.

Helen then walked over to Olivia, looked into her eyes, and said, "You want to know something, Mrs. Jefferson? In the time that Tom and I were blessed to know Louise and have her here with us, I always saw how badly you treated her. You always did everything you could to try to undermine Louise in the eyes of her husband. You always took such cruel pleasure in starting arguments between George and Louise. There wasn't anything you wouldn't do to try and drive a wedge between them. I used to brush it off. I used to tell myself, 'Oh, she's just being a typical mother-in-law.' And I kept my mouth shut because you were older and I was afraid I would come off sounding disrespectful if I dared to tell you what I actually think of you. But Louise was my very best friend, and she always will be, and because I love her so much, I cannot stay quiet about your despicable behavior any longer. Louise always treated you with love and respect, Mrs. Jefferson. Always. She never did anything in the past to deserve your mean-spiritedness or your rejection. And she doesn't deserve this kind of crap from you now, either. I know Louise, and I know that this whole idea you've concocted in your head about her having an affair with another man is nothing but garbage. Stupid, childish, senseless, ridiculous garbage. You know, old lady, I honestly believed that you seeing your son dry up and die on the inside like he has over these past few years would be enough to make you realize how wrong you were to try and drive him and Louise apart. But now, I see that I was wrong. You may be in your eighties, but inside, you're nothing but a pathetic, spoiled two-year-old, just like your son. And you're never going to change. You're never going to grow up."

Olivia was expecting George to get angry and start yelling at Helen in those next few moments, so to say the least, she was pretty dejected when George remained silent. Finally, Tom came up to Helen, laid a gentle hand on her shoulder, and said, "Sweetheart, maybe we should go."

"Maybe we should," Helen agreed, and then she and Tom said goodnight to everybody and went upstairs. Moments later, Lionel and Jenny also said goodbye and left.

Afterwards, when it was just George, Mrs. Jefferson, and Mr. Bentley there, Mr. Bentley walked up to George and said, "Mr. J., please forgive me. I realize that this probably isn't any of my business, but I read novels all the time, and in so many of the stories I've read through the years, characters have gotten themselves into so much trouble because they hastily jumped to conclusions without having all the facts first. I know that it's distressing learning that Mrs. J. had a child with someone else, but please, don't be too quick to jump to conclusions. Wait until you have all the facts first. Wait until you have all the pieces to the puzzle. Then decide what to do."

"I may never know what to do, Bentley," George sighed.

Mr. Bentley kindly patted George on the back then and said, "Hang in there, Mr. J."

"Bentley, would you please do me a very big favor and get lost?"

Mr. Bentley nodded and said, "Of course, Mr. J. I understand. I'll see myself out."

He left a few moments later, and then George headed towards the door, telling his mother, "I'm goin' out, Mama. I need a drink. Don't wait up for me."

He then slammed the door behind him.

George stayed gone for the next two days, and naturally, his mother was worried sick, and Lionel was worried as well. Finally, that Tuesday afternoon, George came home. After calming Olivia down and calling Lionel, George and Olivia sat down on his living room couch to talk.

"George, where on earth have you been all this time?" Mrs. Jefferson demanded to know.

"I've just been out, drinkin' and walkin'…and thinkin'."

"Thinking about Louise, no doubt."

"Of course I've been thinkin' about Louise! Who else would I be thinkin' about all this time?!" George snapped.

"There, there, son. I know that you're angry, and you have every right to be. The way Louise betrayed you is unforgivable. But as much as all of this hurts, it's a blessing in disguise. Now that you've finally seen Louise for what she truly is, you're free to let her go and move on with your life. She's built a brand new life for herself out in Massachusetts, and now it's time for you to have a new life, too."

"A new life?" said George, unable to believe his ears.

"That's right, George. It's high time that you started to move on. It's high time for you to get a divorce from Louise and put her behind you once and for all. Now listen, while you've been gone, I've been talking to an old friend of mine from our old neighborhood, Diane Robertson, and she has a beautiful daughter about your age who's been a widow the past two years. Her name is Eleanor, and–"

George angrily shot to his feet then, looked down at his mother, and yelled, "I don't believe you! I cannot believe what I'm hearing! I can't believe that even now, after all these years, you are still tryin' to drive me and Weezy apart! I never thought I'd say this, but when Helen Willis told you off Saturday night, she was right!"

Olivia got up in that moment and shouted, "George, how dare you speak to your mother like that?!"

"And how dare you try to get me to divorce Weezy?! If you honestly believe for one moment that I could even think of divorcing Louise, then you don't know me. You don't know me at all. Louise is everything to me, Mama. Everything. She always has been, and she always will be. My life these past six years has been pure hell without her. I am never more miserable inside than I am when I don't have Weezy by my side."

"George, Louise had a baby with another man! A white man!"

"I know that!"

"Doesn't that make you angry?"

"It makes me furious! But not furious enough to make me want to give up on our marriage. Like I said, I've been doin' a whole lot of thinkin' these past couple of days, and I realized some things."

"Like what?"

"Okay, let's say that you're right. Let's say that Weezy actually was messin' around with some honky in Massachusetts and that she went to see him on the day she disappeared. Let's say that he's the father of Weezy's little girl. At the end of the day, it don't change a thing, Mama. Not a single thing. I still love Weezy, and I know that no matter what has happened over these past six years, no matter what she's done, I can't live without her."

"You can't do this, son. You can't have a woman like Louise in your life. She'll only hold you back."

"The only one who's been holdin' me back is you. Why are you doin' this, Mama? Why are you still tryin' so hard to split me and Weezy up after thirty years of marriage? Do you really hate Weezy that much?" George asked his mother as his angry eyes burned into hers for several long moments, Olivia unable to say a word in her defense. "Helen was right," George continued. "Weezy's always treated you with love and respect. From day one, she has always treated you so much better than you've treated her. She's always treated the both of us much better than we deserved. I always demanded absolute loyalty from Weezy. Whenever we had fights, I'd always tell her that there was only one side my wife could be on, and that was either my side or outside. But I never treated Weezy with the same kind of loyalty I demanded from her. You constantly insulted my wife. You constantly disrespected her. And if I'd been a loyal husband, I would've put a stop to that garbage decades ago. Right from the first moment I fell in love with Louise, you have always made me feel as though I have to make a choice between you and her. And all these years, I've been too much of a coward to make the right choice, and Weezy has always suffered because of it, but it ain't gonna be like that no more. I'm gonna tell you now what I should have told you over three decades ago. If I have to choose between you and Louise, then fine. Here's my choice. I choose Louise. I choose my wife. I am gonna go to Haven Lake and I'm gonna tell Weezy everything, and then I'm gonna tell her to give up the bakery and come back home where she belongs. And I'm gonna take care of her and her little girls. And we are gonna be happy together whether you like it or not!"

George stormed off to his bedroom then, and Olivia sat down on the couch, buried her head in her hands, and started crying.