A/N: See Chapter 1 for Disclaimer.

Chapter Summary: George is dismayed when he learns about Louise's second job at Ballard's.

Chapter 10: Nothing to Prove

When George enjoyed breakfast with Louise, Melissa, and Angie in their apartment the next morning, it couldn't have been more pleasant. He talked and joked and laughed with Louise and the girls, and he petted the cats, and he patiently allowed all three of them to walk all over him and get a bunch of cat hairs on his clothes without a word of complaint. Moments later, Suzanne arrived with Cindy and Kimmy to pick the girls up and take them to their house, and Melissa and Angie left to spend the rest of the weekend with them. Then right after Suzanne and the girls left, George returned to his chair at the dining table beside Louise, who was sitting at the table in her wheelchair. Unfortunately, in the following moment when George asked Louise what she wanted to do that evening, the pleasantness between them began to get a little sour.

"I'm sorry, George, but I'm not free tonight. You see, I'm doing a bit of moonlighting," Louise informed him.

"Moonlighting?"

"That's right. I had some financial setbacks last year and I needed some extra money, so I took a weekend job. Every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday evening, I play the piano over at Ballard's. Joseph closed his restaurant last night to go to the mayor's ball with his wife, but I usually go to his restaurant every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday and play the piano from six to eleven."

Visibly hurt, George asked, "Louise, why didn't you tell me?"

"I don't know, George. It just never came up before."

"Answer me just one question."

"What's that?"

"Ain't I the man in your life now?"

"Of course you are. But what has that got to do with anything?"

"Ain't it the man's job to provide?"

"Not necessarily. There are more and more families now in which it's the woman who provides, or at least does some of the providing. This is 1983, George, not 1883. And besides, it's not as if we're married, you know. You and I are a couple now, but we are not married."

"We could go down to the courthouse on Monday and take care of that," George said with a mischievous smile.

"Be serious," Louise said with a bit of a laugh.

"I am serious."

"What you are is silly," Louise teased. "Back to what I was saying, you and I may be a couple now, but we're not married. The girls and I are my responsibility, not yours."

"It really hurt me that you just said that. What kind of man do you think I am? Do you think I wanna just come in here, have a little fun with you, take you out on the town once or twice a week, and then go back to my high-rise apartment in New York and just forget about you and the girls for the rest of the month while you're back here workin' two jobs at once? Do you really think that little of me, Louise?"

"George, it's not that. I don't think little of you at all. I think you're a beautiful man."

"Then what is it?" he asked impatiently.

"I…I don't know. I guess I just wasn't expecting so much, so fast. We've only been a couple since Wednesday. And anyway, I'm not going to come running to you every time I need money. That's just not the kind of person I am. My independence means a great deal to me. I'll admit that life as a single parent isn't always a bed of roses, but no matter how difficult it can be sometimes, I want to stay as independent as possible for as long as possible. For as long as my health will allow me to. And most importantly, I want to set a good example for my girls. I owe it to them to teach them to be strong, capable, independent women someday, not weak, silly damsels in distress who always need a man to save them from everything."

Louise's left hand was on the table in that moment, and George lovingly laid his hand on top of hers, looked into her eyes, and told her, "Louise, you are not a weak damsel in distress. You have more strength and courage in the tip of your little finger than most people have in their entire bodies, including me. You're the most remarkable human being I've ever known. And you are not a single parent. Don't you ever say anything like that to me again. Your kids are my kids. Don't you know that? As far as I'm concerned, I'm their father. You are not doin' this alone. We're in this together. We're raising Melissa and Angie together. Do you hear me?"

Louise touched George's cheek, smiled, and said, "Oh George, you really are so sweet." And in the next moment, they kissed for the longest time.

"Now tell me what's goin' on. What is it that you need the extra money for? Whatever it is, I'll take care of it."

"You don't have to worry, George. I already managed to save up enough money to take care of the unexpected bills I had last year. Now, I'm taking all the money I'm earning with my second job at Ballard's and I'm putting it in a savings account at the bank for the girls. My previous financial setback may be over, but I'll still have to put the girls through college someday."

"Correction: we'll have to put the girls through college someday. And from now on, you can kiss that second job goodbye because I'll take care of their college education. You don't need to worry about that for another moment. You just leave it all to me."

"I appreciate that, George. I really do. But like you said, you and I are in this together. We're equal partners in everything. So I'll stay on at Ballard's until I get half of their college money saved up, and then you can provide the other half."

George shook his head and said, "I don't want you workin' at two jobs anymore. I don't like you pushin' yourself so hard. You're already pushin' yourself way too hard with just the bakery. Louise, your poor body has been through so much. Too much. And you shouldn't be pushin' yourself so hard like this. It's dangerous. You should be takin' it easy now. You should be resting."

"George, just because I'm in a wheelchair, it doesn't mean I'm completely helpless."

"I know that."

"I really do appreciate all your concern, sweetheart, but you have nothing to worry about. Even though it does get difficult at times, I assure you that I can handle it."

"I know you can handle it. But you should never have to."

Louise looked at George and smiled, and then she told him, "You really are so thoughtful and loving, and I do appreciate it so much, but I don't want to give up the bakery and start depending on you for everything."

"Why not? Why are you always makin' such a big deal about bein' independent? What's wrong with dependin' on people who love you and want to make your life easier?"

"Well for one thing, when I was in the hellhole…you know, with him…"

"Right," George said quietly, locking his eyes with hers.

"Every time he was beating me, he kept telling me over and over again that I was going to die there. And then he would say that even if I didn't die, even if I somehow managed to escape one day, I would be nothing but a useless, worthless cripple every day for the rest of my life. That I would be nothing more than a burden on all the people who would have to care for me. That I was completely worthless and I didn't deserve to live. That I'd never do anything worthwhile with my life. So every time that I open up the bakery for business, serve a customer, drive, help Leah with the support group, earn all the money I need to provide for my girls, take care of life's problems on my own without being a burden to others, I know that I'm proving him wrong. And that gives me a level of satisfaction that no words can describe. And there's another reason, too," said Louise as George was now visibly fighting off tears.

"What is it, baby?" George whispered. "What's the other reason?"

"In my support group, I don't know how many times over the years I've heard battered and abused wives talk about how worthless their abusive husbands made them feel because their abusers were the breadwinners of the family. So many women over the years have opened up to Leah and Mark and me in our support group and talked about how their husbands just loved to hold it over their heads and lord it over them because they made all the money and paid all the bills. I've heard so many horror stories over the years about how abusive husbands have used being the breadwinner as an excuse to reduce their wives to a subhuman level; treat them like a subhuman object that they had the right to control. Lord only knows how many selfish, sexist husbands have used the breadwinner excuse to try to take their wives' humanity away from them over the years. There are good husbands out there who provide for their wives because they truly love them, but there are many more husbands in this world who only provide for their wives out of pure selfishness and not love. They just do it to give them an excuse to try to turn their wives into subhuman slaves and feed their selfish macho egos. There are so many men in this world who stupidly believe that they can only feel important if they continually put themselves ahead of their wives and treat their wives like crap."

With tears now visible in his eyes, George just pulled Louise into his arms and gave her the tightest hug for so long. "You never, ever have to worry about that with me," said George as he continued to cling to Louise. "Do you understand? You never have to worry about that."

The embrace ended then, and Louise said, "I know you would never hurt me like that, love. But even though my head knows that to be true, in my heart, I'm still afraid. I so appreciate you wanting to help me out like this. You are so kind and loving and you have one of the biggest hearts I've ever seen, and I love you for it. I really do. But if you're asking me to give up my business and my independence and just be completely financially dependent on you from now on, my answer is no. I'm not ready to take that step, George. Not yet. I might be ready for it sometime in the distant future, but I'm not ready for it today. Can you understand where I'm coming from?"

George quickly wiped his eyes and nodded, and he answered, "I do understand, sweetheart. It just…it just really hurts my heart, the thought of you pushin' yourself so hard, workin' two jobs at once, when here I am with all this money and I can't use none of it to help you."

"Well you can use some of it to help me. Like I said before, George, you and I are equal partners in everything from now on, and that includes the girls."

"Right," George agreed.

"And as soon as I get half of the girls' college money saved up, you can contribute the other half to their account."

"Yeah, but I wanna do so much more than that."

"What all do you want to do, George?"

"I know you're not ready for us to be married yet. I know you wouldn't want to leave the bakery and you and the girls come to live with me in New York. But I want y'all to come out to live with me in Manhattan someday, and I wanna give you the kind of life you deserve. The same kind of life every rich businessman's wife enjoys in New York. I don't want you spendin' all your time workin' your butt off, pushin' yourself too hard, all stressed out and wreckin' your health. I wanna see you spendin' your days havin' fun at the theatre, goin' out to eat at expensive restaurants, shoppin' for fancy clothes and fancy jewelry. That's the kind of life you should have."

"That's very sweet of you, George, and I appreciate you saying that."

"It's the truth."

"But I'm not ready for marriage and I'm not ready for New York. Not yet."

"I know that, sweetheart. I know. I just worry about you. I don't like seein' you pushin' yourself so hard like this. Tell me, Louise. About how much money are tryin' to get saved up for the girls' college education?" George asked, and then Louise gave George a ballpark figure, and she told him how much money she'd already saved. Unfortunately, it would probably take Louise at least another year or two before she'd reach even half of her goal. However, a kind but sneaky idea came to George's mind as he and Louise discussed the situation for a while. Then after he took them out to eat lunch and brought Louise back to her apartment, George returned to the B&B. As soon as he got there, he was informed by the owner that his son had just called a few minutes earlier. George then walked upstairs to his room, closed the door behind him, and called Lionel. He answered on the second ring.

"Hello?" said Lionel.

"Hey, son."

"Oh hi, Pop. Listen, I'm glad you called. Jenny and me, we've got some great news."

"Oh yeah? What's up?"

"It's something you've been waiting to hear for a long time. Pop, you're going to be a grandfather."

"Hey!" George happily cried out. "That's great!"

"Yeah, Jenny and I are going to be adopting a baby in December. You see, there's a lady at our church; she's a lawyer who specializes in adoptions. Her name is Rose Arnold. And she has a younger cousin named Evelyn Jones who's eighteen years-old. She's a freshman in college. And this girl just found out three weeks ago that she's pregnant, and she doesn't think she can take care of a baby and work on getting a college degree all at the same time, so she's decided to give her baby up for adoption. She's three months pregnant now and she's due on the tenth of December. And Rose helped Evelyn come to an agreement with Jenny and me. Rose has known us for a long time now and seeing as how her cousin knows us and trusts us, Evelyn has agreed to sign over all parental and custody rights of her baby to Jenny and me after it's born. And we all talked it over, and Jenny and I have decided to let Evelyn stay with us in our bigger guest room until she has the baby. That way, we can be completely involved in the baby's life all the way through the pregnancy. Jenny and I can be there for every doctor's visit and know how the baby's progressing. And whenever Evelyn and the baby need anything, we'll be right there."

"Hey Lionel, that's great! It's about time you kids made me a grandfather!" George said aloud, and Lionel laughed. He then asked, "Do y'all know anything about the birth father?"

"Not a whole lot. We know that he and Evelyn broke up with each other just a few days before Evelyn found out she was pregnant, and we know that he's claiming that the baby's not his, even though Evelyn insists that he was the only boyfriend she ever had and the only guy she ever slept with. And Evelyn's parents are furious at her for getting pregnant out of wedlock and they're barely speaking to her. And they certainly aren't helping her financially. Evelyn and the baby are kind of on their own right now, which is why Jenny and I offered to let her stay with us during her pregnancy."

George nodded with approval and said, "You did the right thing, son. You did the right thing. When is she movin' in?"

"She's moving in this Friday."

"And she's gonna keep goin' to her classes at college every day while she's livin' with you and Jenny?"

"That's right. Her parents are still paying for her college tuition and books, but since she got pregnant, they stopped paying for her living expenses. And they most definitely will not be paying for any pregnancy-related expenses, either. That's where Jenny and I come in."

"Like I just told you, son, you and Jenny are doin' the right thing. Oh son, I'm so happy for you. I'm so happy for you and Jenny. And I'm so proud of you kids. I'm proud of you both."

"Thanks, Pop. That means a lot. It really does. And I want you to know that Jenny and I are proud of you, too."

"What are y'all proud of me for? I didn't do nothin'."

"We're proud of you for staying the course and not giving up on Mom. We're proud of you for being so patient over this past year and winning Mom's heart. I know it hasn't been easy for you."

"You're right. It hasn't been easy. But even though this past year has been hard for me, I ain't got no right to complain because everything I've been through is a cakewalk compared to the hell your mother's been through."

"That certainly is true," Lionel agreed.

"It's drivin' me crazy, Lionel. It's drivin' me crazy seein' your mother pushin' herself so hard all the time. Seein' her work her butt off runnin' the bakery every day, raisin' two little girls on top of that. She's been raped and beaten; she's had both of her legs broken over and over and over again. She's got heart problems. She's the last person on earth who needs to be pushin' herself so hard every single day like this."

"I know, Pop," Lionel said sympathetically. "I know."

"And to make matters even worse, I just found out that she's taken a second job."

"A second job?"

"That's right. She's moonlighting. She's playin' the piano at some fancy restaurant in Boston every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday night. She's puttin' all the money she earns there into a savings account to pay for the girls to go to college someday. And even though we're a couple now, she won't quit her job and let me take care of it. I got her to agree to let me give her half of the money that she wants to get saved up while she works at her second job to earn the other half."

"Oh, man," Lionel sighed.

"And that's not even the worst part. We got to talkin' about it. I told your mother how much I wanted her to stop pushin' herself so hard; how much I wanted her to start dependin' on me now to take care of her and the girls, and she said she wasn't ready for that yet. And then she got to tellin' me about what a bunch of women from her support group have told her over the years. They told her all about how their abusive husbands would lord it over them all the time because they were the family breadwinner. She told me how they tried to use their bein' the breadwinner as an excuse to order them around and try to control them all the time; how they made them feel like they were less than human. Like they mere objects for their husbands to control. That killed me, Lionel. That just killed me inside."

"I know it must have," Lionel said quietly.

"How many times, Lionel? How many times did I yell at Weezy over the years, 'I'm the man of this house and I pay all the bills and what I say goes'? How many times did I selfishly try to put Weezy down just so I could feel more important? How many times did I make Weezy feel like she was an object and not a person? How many times in our marriage did I make your mother feel like she was less than human? Like she was just a subhuman slave for me to control?"

"Hundreds of times, Pop," Lionel told his father truthfully. "Maybe even thousands."

"I was such a horrible person all those years. Such a horrible husband. Weezy should've left me a long, long time ago, Lionel. For her own sake, I wish she would have. She would've been so much better off without me."

"I wish I could argue with you, Pop, but I can't. Mom really would have been better off without you in the past. That's true. But the past is the past, and now is now. And even though Mom would have been better off without you in the past, I know she's not better off without you now. Jesus has really changed you over this past year, and thanks to Him, you are now a complete one-eighty from the sexist, self-centered fool you used to be. Thanks to Him, you've become a very thoughtful and kindhearted man. Furthermore, we both know that with Mom's health being the way it is, it's not a good idea for her to be on her own now. She needs you, Pop. She really does."

"I know that. And I think that at the end of the day, I actually need her even more than she needs me. My life is so empty without her. So worthless."

"I know what you mean. I feel the same way about Jenny."

"I know you do. And you make sure you show her how much she means to you, Lionel. You show her every single day. You find every opportunity you can to show Jenny as much love as possible. And you always, always treat her with respect. Your wife is not your sidekick or your employee or your slave, Lionel. Your wife is not beneath you. She's your partner, your equal partner, understand? Don't be all chauvinistic and stupid like your father. Don't look down on Jenny because you work and she stays at home. Bein' a housewife is work, too. Jenny takin' care of the house is just as important as you payin' the bills. Remember that. Promise me that you'll remember that; that you won't repeat my mistakes."

"I will remember, Pop. And I won't repeat your mistakes. I promise."

"You're a good son, Lionel. And you're a good husband. And when the baby comes in December, I know you're gonna be a wonderful father."

"Thank you, Pop. That means the world to me. It really does."

"It's the truth," George told him, and then after talking for another minute or so, they told each other that they loved one another, and then they said goodbye.

George went with Louise to Ballard's that evening, and during the ride there in Louise's van, George announced to Louise that he was going to be a grandfather in December. Naturally, Louise was thrilled to hear the news, and as soon as they arrived and she parked the van, she leaned over and gave him a big, long, passionate kiss. After they went inside, Louise bought George a drink and a steak dinner to celebrate. Louise had already eaten before she and George left but George hadn't had dinner yet, so despite all his protests, she insisted on treating him to dinner to celebrate his good news.

And George wasn't the only one with some good news to celebrate that night. As soon as Louise was finished playing her last song for the evening, her boss Joseph called her back into his office to speak with her in private. Louise was scared that she'd done something wrong or that she was getting fired for some reason, but thankfully, it was nothing like that. Joseph informed her that business had really been booming for him over the past few months, and because of all the extra money his restaurant was making, he had decided to reward Louise for all of her good work by doubling her salary. Louise was absolutely stunned at first, and as soon as the shock wore off, she was both thrilled and grateful. She couldn't thank her boss enough, and after thanking him and saying goodnight, she wheeled herself out to the foyer where George was waiting, and she told him the news. George then told her how happy he was for her and how proud he was of her, and he gave her a long, loving kiss.

That was basically what it was like for Louise and George over the next several weeks. They were both as happy as could be over their new relationship, Louise's raise, and especially their future grandchild. Their only problem was George's unhappiness over seeing Louise push herself so hard. And to be perfectly honest, Louise was becoming more and more exhausted by her demanding schedule, and what was even more distressing to her still was the fact that she wasn't able to spend as much time with Melissa and Angie as she used to. Louise knew that her girls really missed her, and she missed them even more. But even so, she still wasn't ready to start being financially dependent upon George. Understandably, the idea really scared her, and George knew he couldn't blame her for feeling that way, especially considering the horrific way he had behaved as a husband in the past. As hard as it was for George, he knew he would have to be patient and wait for Louise to put her trust in him in her own time, when she felt ready to do so. But little did they realize that that time would actually come much sooner than either of them expected.

In late July, eight weeks into their relationship, Louise really began struggling. George had (reluctantly) left for New York the day before. He usually spent two weeks of the month in his Manhattan office, running his business, while his general managers took care of the business for him during the other two weeks as he was visiting Louise in Haven Lake. However, George just couldn't tear himself away from Louise at all during the month of June, and he ended up staying in Haven Lake during the first three weeks of July as well. Finally, George forced himself to return to New York in the last week of July, and the day after he left, a Sunday, was when all of Louise's troubles began.

That Sunday night, Louise began having horrific nightmares. Louise had suffered nightmares many times before over the years, reliving the hellhole in her dreams. And when her terrible nightmares returned that night, Louise barely got any sleep at all. Her nightmares stubbornly persisted over the next two weeks that George was gone, and because of them, she hardly slept. To make matters worse, on the first Thursday in August, two days before George would be returning to Haven Lake, Louise began experiencing the most horrific headache she'd had in a long time. For years after her harrowing experience in the hellhole, Louise suffered from debilitating headaches. She hadn't had one in over a year, but now, unfortunately, her headaches had come back with a vengeance. As difficult as it was for her, she bravely pushed through her pain and exhaustion and ran her bakery, just as she always did, and she kept her struggles to herself. Mark, however, knew Louise better than anyone, and he could tell just by looking at her that day that she was not well at all. So that Friday morning, Mark called George and told him how concerned he was about Louise, and the former workaholic who had constantly put his business ahead of his wife in the past now did not hesitate to leave work behind and get on a plane so that he could be by her side. George arrived at Haven Lake at eleven-thirty that Friday morning, and when he came into the bakery and asked where Louise was, Frank and Heather told him that she was back in the kitchen. And when George walked into the kitchen and saw that Louise was crying, it really worried him.

"Hey," George said gently as he went to Louise.

Louise grabbed some tissue from the box of tissues that was sitting on the counter and she quickly dried her eyes. In the next moment, she said, "Oh, George." George then gave her big, long hug and kiss, which really helped Louise's heart. "George, what are you doing here? I thought you weren't coming until tomorrow."

"Mark called me this morning. He said he could tell you weren't feelin' well. He said he was worried about you. So I packed my suitcase and got on the earliest flight to Boston."

"Oh, that's so sweet. But you didn't have to do that."

"I wanted to come, baby. I'm supposed to be by your side when you're not feelin' well. What is it, Louise? What's the matter?"

"It's nothing serious, George. I'm just tired."

"Okay, sweetheart. I'll take you upstairs so you can lie down and rest."

Louise shook her head then and said, "The day's not over yet. It's still five and a half hours to five o'clock. Besides, even if I were to go upstairs and lie down, I'd never be able to sleep."

"Why not?"

"Well the reason I haven't been sleeping over the past couple of weeks is because I've been having nightmares of the hellhole. And on top of that, I've got a splitting headache. I've had it since yesterday and it won't go away."

"Baby, if your head's been hurtin' that long, then you really need to see a doctor. What's your doctor's number? I'll call him. And if he can't see you today, I'm takin' you to the emergency room."

Again, Louise shook her head, and she told George, "I've been getting these headaches for years. It's a side effect of all the head trauma I went through in the hellhole. Stress triggers them, and so does lack of sleep. I don't need a doctor, George. I just need a few nights of decent sleep without nightmares, and then I'll be alright. Don't worry. I just need to have a good cry, get everything all cried out of my system, and then I'll be able to push through to the end of the day."

"No, Louise. No. You're at the end of the day right now. I'm gonna go out there and tell Frank and Heather to take care of the bakery for the rest of the day, and then I'm takin' you upstairs and callin' your doctor."

"But George–" Louise protested.

"No buts," said George. He then went out and told Frank and Heather that Louise was sick and that she needed them to take care of the bakery for her for the rest of the day, which they were happy to do, and then George went back into the kitchen and pushed Louise out to the elevator and took her upstairs.

Estelle was in Louise's apartment visiting with the girls and keeping an eye on them for Louise that day. Melissa and Angie were worried when they saw how bad Louise looked, but Louise reassured them that she was going to be fine. And after George helped Louise get settled in bed, he went out to the living room to call her doctor. Unfortunately, he was all booked up with patients for the rest of the day and he wouldn't be able to see Louise until that coming Monday at the earliest. Estelle then told George that one of her sisters was a retired nurse, and she called and asked her to come over. She arrived about fifteen minutes later, and after she examined Louise and called her doctor and got authorization from him, she gave Louise two injections, one of a powerful painkiller and one of a sedative, which mercifully put her into a very deep sleep. When Louise woke up several hours later, she knew there was no way she could work up the strength to go to Ballard's that night, and she asked George to call Joseph for her and tell him, which he was more than happy to do. Louise was going to try to make it to work the following night, but George got Joseph to agree to let Louise have the whole weekend off, which was a big help to her.

Unfortunately, later on that night, Louise's nightmares returned. Thankfully, though, George had been sitting in the living chair that was beside her bed, and the instant Louise began to cry and scream, George woke her up and held her and rocked her for the longest time. It did hurt George's heart that Louise had cried out for Mark to help her and not him, but at the same time, he knew that with all they had suffered through in the hellhole together, it was understandable that her subconscious mind would only think of Mark, and he didn't get offended or angry. And he certainly didn't blame Louise. He knew that the only person he could blame was himself because it was his fault she'd ended up in the hellhole in the first place.

Over the next few nights, George stayed in the chair beside Louise's bed. And when the nightmares came, George woke Louise up and held her and rocked her and comforted her as much as he could. Louise continued to suffer from horrific headaches and exhaustion during that time, which made her so sick that she had to stay in bed even though she was so anxious to get back to her everyday life. But thankfully, by that Wednesday, Louise's nightmares finally subsided and she began getting all the sleep that she needed, which in turn stopped the headaches.

It was now seven in the morning on the second Friday in August, and Louise was starting to feel better than she had in a long time now. As soon as she opened her eyes that morning, she was ready to get up and face the day. Melissa and Angie were still sound asleep in their beds, and George was sound asleep in the chair near Louise's bed, and Louise just let them all sleep. And as they all slept peacefully, Louise pushed herself up out of bed and into her wheelchair and got showered and dressed, and then she wheeled herself into the kitchen and started making breakfast for everyone.

"Just what do you think you're doin'?" George asked as Louise began cooking waffles in the waffle iron. George was still in his pajamas, and he was also wearing his blue silk robe and slippers.

Louise chuckled a bit and responded, "What does it look like I'm doing, silly? I'm making breakfast."

"I was gonna go out and get breakfast for us."

"You've been buying breakfast for us all week. Now that I'm feeling better, it's time for me to return the favor. And I know how much you and the girls like my waffles."

"Louise, it's seven-twenty-one in the mornin'. It's too early for you to be up. You should still be in bed. You need to rest."

Louise smiled and told George, "Stop worrying so much. I'm feeling better this morning than I've felt in weeks. And it's all thanks to you. If you hadn't been there with me these past few nights, sleeping in that chair beside my bed, helping me through my nightmares, I don't know what I would have done. And I'm sorry. I know it's been a real inconvenience for you, having to sleep in a chair and all, but with us not being married, it would've made the wrong impression on the girls if I'd allowed you to sleep in the same bed with me."

George then walked into the kitchen, put his hands on Louise's shoulders, bent down, and gave her a very long kiss. "Stayin' with you this past week was never an inconvenience, Louise. It was a privilege. I mean that."

Louise looked up at George with a smile, put her hand on top of his, and said, "You're such a dear, sweet man. I appreciate everything you've done for me so much. I want you to know that."

"I do know that. And I want to do more to help you. A lot more."

"What more could you possibly do that you haven't done already?"

"I can think of a number of things."

"Such as?"

"Such as me puttin' all the money in your savings account that the girls will need for them to go to college so you can quit that second job. Me payin' for a maid to take care of the apartment for you so you don't have to worry about it. Me payin' for more workers to help you take care of the bakery; take more of the burdens of your business off your shoulders. Me payin' for Melissa's tutor and her therapy sessions. You've told me before what a big financial strain that is for you," George told her, and then Louise protested by shaking her head. In the next moment, George told Louise, "I know how you feel about wantin' to stay independent, and I don't blame you. I understand how you feel. But you have got to stop pushin' yourself so hard all the time, baby. You have just got to. I know it's hard for you to give up some of your independence, but you simply cannot go on tryin' to do everything all on your own all the time. I know the nightmares and the sleep deprivation caused your headaches to return and made you sick, but I think you also got sick because you've been pushin' yourself way too hard for way too long. You've been through so much, Louise. Your poor body has been through so much. You've got to start takin' better care of yourself. And not just for your own sake, but for the girls' sake and my sake and the sake of all the people who love you."

"George, your offer is very generous, and I really do appreciate it. I appreciate it very much. But I just wouldn't feel right about it. And like I told you before, I'm not ready to give up my independence. I'm just not."

"Let me ask you somethin', Louise."

"Ask away."

"What if it hadn't been you that was sick? What if it had been one of the girls? Imagine for a moment that Melissa is all grown up and out on her own. Now imagine that all the beatings Melissa's suffered in the past started affectin' her health. Imagine that Melissa suddenly got sick the way you did, and she was too sick to hold down a job and take care of herself, but she kept workin' anyway, kept pushin' herself too hard, and she wouldn't slow down and she wouldn't let you do anything to help her. How would that make you feel? Wouldn't it break your heart?"

After a long silence, Louise said, "You know…I never thought of it that way. But George, I'm not trying to hold onto my independence because I want to hurt you."

"I know that, sweetheart. I know that. I know that after all the times that monster told you that you would never amount to anything, it makes you feel better to run your business by yourself and take care of the girls by yourself because doin' everything by yourself makes you feel like you're provin' him wrong. But Louise, baby, I'm tellin' you right here and now that after all the hell you have endured, after everything you have accomplished, you have nothing left to prove. Absolutely nothing. You proved him wrong simply by surviving that hellhole. You proved him wrong a long time ago. You have nothing left to prove anymore. You have nothing left to prove to that monster or to yourself, and you definitely do not have anything to prove to me. You're the most extraordinary person I've ever known, and there's not a moment that I'm not blown away by you. Not a single moment. And I will never, ever try to lord it over you or control you or treat you like a second-class citizen just because I'm takin' care of you financially. I'd rather saw off a limb than do anything to disrespect you. I mean that."

"Oh, George," Louise said sweetly, and then they gave each other a long kiss. "Okay, love. You win."

"You mean you'll give up that other job and start lettin' me help you?" George asked excitedly, and Louise responded with a nod. "Oh, thank you," George said happily, and then he gave Louise the longest, most passionate kiss.