A/N: See Chapter 1 for Disclaimer.
Chapter Summary: During Lionel's visit to Haven Lake, he tells George that he thinks the time has finally come for him to tell Louise that he is her husband.
Chapter 13: Telling Louise the Whole Truth
The next few months practically passed by at the speed of light, and before Louise and George knew it, it was the twenty-fifth of May in 1984, one year to the day that they'd started seeing each other in Haven Lake. Mark and Estelle gladly agreed to watch Melissa and Angie for Louise that evening while she surprised George with a romantic candlelight dinner in her apartment to celebrate. George had forgotten the exact date that they'd become a couple the year before, but to his credit, he did remember that it had happened in late May.
"I wish I'd remembered the date we first got together like you did. I feel terrible that you went to all this trouble, makin' this beautiful dinner for me, and I ain't done nothin' for you," George told Louise truthfully as soft, romantic music played in the background.
Sitting across the dinner table from him, Louise gave him a loving smile and said, "Don't worry about it, George. I know men have a harder time remembering these things than women do. And besides, I didn't do this for you just to get something out of you in return."
"I know that, sweetheart," George said kindly as he reached across the table, took Louise's hand in his, and gave it an affectionate squeeze.
"I can't believe it's been a whole year since you and I first got together. Time always flies by so fast, doesn't it?" asked Louise.
"It sure does," George agreed. "It seems like only yesterday that you and I got together. I can't believe it's been a whole year already. I feel the same way about Lionel. It seems like it was only yesterday that Lionel was born. And now he's all grown up with a wife and two sons of his own."
"I know what exactly what you're talking about. For me, it feels like it was just yesterday that I brought Melissa home to live with Angie and me when she was eight years-old. And it feels like it was just yesterday that I held Angie in my arms for the first time. And now look at them. Melissa's going to be a teenager next January. A teenager. And Angie, that tiny newborn baby girl I cradled in my arms just a moment ago is now seven years-old. Seven. I can't believe it."
"Before we know it, they'll be tryin' to date."
"Bite your tongue!"
"I said they'd be tryin' to date. I didn't say they'd actually be datin'. While most men my age are gettin' ready to slow down and relax, our girls are gonna have me busier than ever. I'm gonna be spendin' every second of my retirement years beatin' boys off with a stick!" George teased while Louise laughed. "It'll be difficult keepin' so many boys away from our door in my old age but I'll do it. Those two ain't gonna be datin' 'til they're at least thirty-five!" George declared.
In the next moment, Louise picked up her glass of grape juice and clinked it with George's glass of wine as she said aloud, "Right on!"
"I may not get a whole lot of rest in my retirement years, but one thing's for sure. With you and the girls in my life, I ain't never gonna be bored," George said with a laugh, and Louise laughed as well. But then a couple of moments later, Louise's expression turned a little more serious.
"George, now that we're talking about the girls, there's something important I want to discuss with you."
"Of course," said George as he mentally turned up the volume, so to speak. He sensed it that what Louise was about to say was something serious, and he wanted to make sure he heard every word she said.
"When I was pregnant with Angie, the doctors were saying that there was a good chance I wouldn't survive giving birth to her. So a little while before she was born, I told Mark all about my concerns, and he agreed that he would be Angie's legal guardian in case something happened to me. And when I adopted Melissa, he agreed to become her legal guardian in the event of my death as well."
George immediately got worried hearing Louise say this, and he grabbed her hand and asked, "Baby, is somethin' wrong?"
"Oh no, George. Not at all. I'm fine."
"Oh, thank God," said George as he sighed a sigh of relief. "You scared me."
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you, love. But I'm trying to come to a point, here."
"Go ahead, sweetheart. I'm sorry I interrupted you."
"No, that's fine. Anyway, my point is, even though I'm doing well right now, we both know that that can change at any time. We both know I'm not in perfect health. And even though we're not married, you are the man of my life now, and you always will be. And over this past year, I think Melissa and Angie really have come to think of you as their father. And it just doesn't seem appropriate for Mark to be their legal guardian anymore. Should something unexpected happen to me, I think it should be you who has custody of the girls and takes care of them. I want it to be you who takes care of them. At least, that's how I feel. What about you?"
"I hate talkin' about stuff like this because…I just can't bear the thought of anything happenin' to you, Louise. I can't bear to think about the possibility of you dyin' before I do. I can't bear to think about me bein' on this earth without you," George said solemnly, and Louise gave him an understanding nod.
"I know what you mean. And I feel the same way about you. Nobody ever likes thinking about these things, George. Nobody ever likes talking about these things. But we have to at some point. It's important."
"I know it is, sweetheart. And you're right. You're absolutely right. If, God forbid, somethin' unexpected should happen, I don't want it to be Mark who takes care of Melissa and Angie. I want it to be me. I'll call up my lawyer first thing Monday morning and have him start drawin' up whatever papers we need to sign."
"Thank you. That brings me to something else."
"Another morbid subject, Louise? This ain't exactly a fun way for you and me to be spendin' our anniversary, you know."
"Just this one thing and then I'll be done with it."
"Okay."
"All these years, Mark has had my power of attorney. In the event that I'm incapacitated, he has the legal right and authority to make all medical decisions on my behalf."
"And now you want it to be me," George concluded.
"Yes," Louise told him truthfully, and George nodded his approval.
"Again, you're right. As the man in your life, I should be your power of attorney. I should be the one who makes medical decisions for you if you're ever in a situation where you can't make them for yourself. I'll talk to my attorney about that, too; have him take care of it."
"Thank you, George."
"Okay, now you done got me started, 'cause now I've got a morbid question to ask," said George.
Louise chuckled a bit and said, "Uh oh. What is it?"
"How do you feel about bein' on life support?"
"Well that depends on the situation. If there's no hope of me ever getting better and the only thing that's keeping me breathing is machines, I wouldn't want to live like that, because that wouldn't really be living at all. In a situation like that, I'd say pull the plug."
"Yeah, I think I'd say the same thing," George agreed.
"I'd also say to pull the plug if I were brain damaged and it was irreversible. If I couldn't think for myself or even remember who I was, if I was just lying in some hospital bed completely unaware of my surroundings like a vegetable, I wouldn't want to live that way either."
"Again, I agree. If I were ever in a situation like that, I'd want you to pull the plug, too."
"But if I were on life support and there was a chance that I could make at least somewhat of a recovery, still be a mother to our girls, still be able to contribute to society in some small way, then I wouldn't want you to pull the plug. I would want to try to have that chance."
"And I'd do everything in my power to help you. I'd spend every last dime in my bank account if I had to."
"I know you would. But anyway, I think we've had enough morbid conversation for the evening. How about dessert, huh?"
"That's a great idea," George said with a smile.
"I'll go get it."
"No, sweetheart. Just stay where you are. Relax. I'll bring it out here for us," said George as he rose from his seat. He then walked over to Louise and gave her a big kiss.
"Thanks, hon," Louise said with a smile.
"Sure thing," said George, and then he went out to the kitchen while Louise let out a contented sigh and really began to relax. Louise had felt pretty bad about bringing up such morbid topics on their anniversary and she hadn't done it intentionally. It had just come up in conversation that night. But now, she was glad she did have this conversation with him. Since George had put her mind at ease, she now felt so much lighter.
The following afternoon, a Saturday, Louise, George, and the girls enjoyed a lovely picnic lunch together in the park. And when they got back to the bakery, they were all treated to a very pleasant surprise. Lionel had decided to surprise his parents by bringing Jenny and the twins to Haven Lake that year for the first week of his two-week vacation. (They would be spending the second week visiting Jenny's parents and Lionel's grandmother in New York.) The moment George, Louise, Melissa, and Angie saw Lionel and Jenny and the babies there that day, they were beyond thrilled to say the least. They had already checked into the B&B nearby, and they really were looking forward to the upcoming week they would be spending with Lionel's parents and younger sisters in Massachusetts.
While Louise, Melissa, and Angie all immediately went to their apartment upstairs with Jenny and the babies, George motioned for Lionel to stay behind because he wanted to talk to his son alone.
"What's up, Pop?" Lionel asked him with a smile after all the others had left.
"Well first of all, I wanna say thank you for surprisin' your mother and me like this. I can't tell you how good it feels to see you and Jenny and my beautiful grandsons."
"It feels good to see you and Mom and the girls again, too."
"Did you know that yesterday was the one-year anniversary of your mom and me becomin' a couple here in Haven Lake?"
"No, I didn't. Hey that's great, Pop," Lionel said happily as he slapped his father on the back.
"She surprised me with a romantic candlelight dinner last night to celebrate. We had a real good time."
"I'm glad to hear it."
"You know what your mother asked me last night, Lionel?"
"What?"
"She asked me to take care of Melissa and Angie for her in case somethin' happened to her. She asked me to be their legal guardian in the event of her death. And she asked me to be her power of attorney so that if she ever got to a point where she was too sick to make her own medical decisions, I'd be able to make 'em for her."
"Oh, wow. Hey Pop, there's not anything wrong with Mom, is there?"
"I asked her that last night and she insisted that she was fine. I guess she just wanted to get these issues settled in her mind so she wouldn't have to worry."
"Yeah, she probably just had that conversation with you so that she'd have some peace of mind. I mean, it's never fun talking about these things, but it's good to know where you stand. It's good to know what your loved ones would want should something unexpected happen."
"Right."
"And I'll tell you something else, Pop. Jenny and I have only been parents for six months now, and I can tell you that we'd never trust our children with just anybody. If you and Mom couldn't be Aaron's and Adam's legal guardians in the event of our deaths and the Willises couldn't be either and Jenny and I had to choose somebody else, choose one of our friends, we would be so careful in who we chose. We wouldn't choose anybody we didn't have complete trust in. We wouldn't choose anybody we didn't already trust with our own lives."
"What are you sayin', Lionel?" George asked as he looked into his son's eyes.
"I'm saying that Mom asking you to take custody of Melissa and Angie in the event of her death is a very big step for her. It proves that she has a huge amount of trust in you. And isn't that what you've been working so hard for these past two years that you've spent here in Haven Lake? Mom's trust? You've been waiting for Mom to get to a point where she trusts in you enough to no longer be frightened of marriage. If she's willing to trust you with her own daughters, I'd say you've reached that point. I think this is it, Pop. I think the time's finally come for you to tell Mom the truth. The whole truth."
George nodded and sighed, and then he told Lionel, "You're right, son. I don't like it, but I know you're right. I just…I don't know. I'm scared. I'm so scared that when I tell her everything, when she realizes that I am the cause of all her suffering, the cause of her bein' stuck in that wheelchair…I'm terrified that she won't be able to forgive me. That I'll lose her forever."
"I know how scary it is for you, Pop. I'd be scared, too. But you can't go on hiding the truth from Mom forever. She deserves to know the truth. She deserves to have all the pieces to her past. She has a right to know everything about who she is."
"I know, Lionel. I know," George said solemnly. "I know you're right. I know I've got to tell her. I know it's time. I know."
"So will you tell her?" Lionel asked his father, and he reluctantly nodded.
"Yeah," George sighed. "I'll tell her. I'm takin' Louise out tonight to that Italian restaurant that opened up here a few months ago that she likes so much. Leah's granddaughters are havin' a big slumber party at their house tonight and they've invited Melissa and Angie. They'll be gone to the slumber party tonight, so when I bring Louise back to her apartment, we should have the place all to ourselves."
"That's good. You guys should be alone when you talk about all this."
"Yeah, we probably should be," George agreed. "I just pray to God that Louise doesn't hate me when she finds out that I did this to her."
"Saul Donaldson did this to her in his hellhole, Pop," said Lionel, trying to get George to stop beating up on himself so much.
"And I was the reason why she ended up in his hellhole in the first place," George argued as tears came to his eyes. Unable to think of any words to comfort his father in that moment, Lionel simply reached out and hugged him.
After Suzanne picked up the girls and took them to the slumber party that evening, George took Louise out to eat like they'd planned. Unfortunately, because he was so terrified of the discussion he knew he had to have with her later on that night, he was in a pretty somber mood. Louise could easily tell that something was bothering him and she tried to get him to open up about it, but he told her that he'd rather wait and talk about it after they got back to her place. They finished their meals very quickly then and returned to Louise's apartment.
"Okay, sweetheart. We're back home now, and the girls are over at Cindy's and Kimmy's big slumber party tonight, and it's just you, me, and the cats. Now tell me. What is it that's got you so worried and upset all of the sudden?" Louise asked kindly, and then she reached out and took George's hand and gave it a loving squeeze as he anxiously stood before her in the living room.
"Louise…what do you think of me as? Your friend? Your boyfriend? Your significant other?"
"I guess a little bit of each. Why?"
"Louise…sweetheart…I haven't been tellin' you the whole truth during all this time that I've been comin' out to Haven Lake to visit you. I'm not your friend. I'm not your boyfriend. And I'm not your significant other. I'm your husband. Lionel is your son. Jenny is your daughter-in-law. Aaron and Adam are your grandsons."
"I think I understand what you're saying, George. Even though we're not legally married, I know we couldn't possibly love each other any more if we truly were husband and wife. Even though I never wore a wedding dress and came down the aisle and said, 'I do,' as far as I'm concerned, you are my husband and Lionel is my son and Jenny is my daughter-in-law and Aaron and Adam are my grandsons. And I know that as far as you are concerned, I'm your wife and Melissa and Angie are your daughters. We all belong to each other now. And we always will."
Unable to stand the tension any longer, George finally blurted out, "Your name – your original name – was Louise Kathryn Mills. Today, it's Louise Mills Jefferson. You were born on the twenty-ninth of August in 1932 to Harold and Abigail Mills. Your father died when you were two years-old, and you and your older sister Maxine were raised by your mother. Your sister Maxine broke yours and your mother's hearts when she ran away from home as a teenager. You never saw her since. And your mother died many years ago.
"I met you in Harlem when you were fourteen and I was sixteen," George continued, holding Louise's gaze firmly with his eyes. "After just one date with you, I fell in love with you and I fell hard. I always thought I knew what it meant to fall in love back when I was a teenager, but until I met you, I didn't have a clue. I was so stupid when I was a kid. I used to talk a bunch of garbage to all my buddies about how you were 'hot to trot' and how funny I thought your name was and how I had to call you by the nickname I gave you, 'Weezy,' to keep from laughin'. But like I said, it was all garbage. Pure garbage. You were never 'hot to trot.' You were a good, sweet Christian girl, and you wouldn't let me touch you until we were married. When we got married in October of 1952, you were as pure as the beautiful white wedding gown you wore. And on our wedding night, you were also the first woman I ever made love to. And you're the only woman I ever made love to. I was datin' another girl named Ruby when I first met you, but after our first date, I forgot about Ruby real quick. And I never told anybody this before, but the reason why I always called you 'Weezy' instead of Louise when we were kids, the real reason, was because I felt so unworthy of you. You were the most beautiful girl I ever saw in my life, on the inside and the outside, and I thought your name, Louise, was the most beautiful name I ever heard. Every time I heard your name spoken, every time I said it out loud, it just overwhelmed me and I couldn't take it. It was like the name of a princess. Like the name of an angel. I couldn't believe it that you were mine. I couldn't believe that out of all the guys in the world, you actually chose me. I had to call you 'Weezy' all the time just to keep from gettin' choked-up," George confessed as rivers of tears now streamed down his cheeks, and down Louise's cheeks as well.
Louise grabbed some tissues out of her purse and dried her eyes, and then she handed some to George so he could dry his eyes too. In the next moment, she asked, "When did we have Lionel?"
"We had Lionel thirteen months after we were married, in November of 1953."
"Why didn't we ever have other children?"
"You actually got pregnant two more times after we had Lionel, but both of those pregnancies ended in a miscarriage. For some reason, we just weren't able to have another baby after we had Lionel. We never knew why."
"What did we do for a living while we were still in Harlem?"
"We basically did whatever work we could get our hands on. You worked as a maid a lot of the time to help make ends meet. And I worked at a bunch of different jobs. In those days, we always had to struggle just to scrape by. Then one day I got a job in a dry-cleaning store. I watched everything the boss did and I got to thinkin' that maybe one day, I could open up my own dry-cleaning store and then I could finally be the boss and start makin' a lot more money and get us out of the old neighborhood."
"You certainly succeeded."
George then grabbed one of the dining chairs and sat down in front of Louise, and he took her hand and told her, "No, baby. It was the good Lord and it was you. God and you were the ones who succeeded, not me. Everything I have today, the business, the high-rise apartment on the East Side, all this money, are things I only have because of the good Lord above and because of you. We had so many setbacks in those years. It seemed that every single time I made just a little bit of progress towards my dream of startin' my own business, gettin' rich, makin' it out of the old neighborhood, some setback would always happen to undo that progress. As you already know, I can be pretty impatient sometimes. And as bad as I am today, I was even worse back then. Every time a setback would happen, I'd get so mad and frustrated and I'd want to quit. Just completely throw in the towel. If it hadn't been for you, if you hadn't been there and kept me goin', I would've quit a long time ago. I would've given up. I always used to take all the credit for myself. I always used to make a bunch of speeches about how I 'climbed the ladder of success, rung by rung, with nothin' but guts, drive, determination.' But I was a fool. You always worked just as hard as I did to get us where we were. As a matter of fact, there were times when you actually worked harder than I did. And you put up with so much. I was a very hard man to live with back in those days, and you were so patient with me. So patient. If God hadn't brought you and Lionel into my life, I probably would've wasted it completely. I probably would've ended up the way many of my buddies ended up: in jail or in the graveyard. Like I said, every good thing I have in my life, I only have because of Jesus and because of you."
Shocked by George's sudden revelation, Louise just sat there in silence for a while, trying to digest everything her husband had just told her. Finally, she asked, "When did we move into our high-rise apartment on the East Side?"
"In January of 1975 when I opened up my third cleaning store. You were kidnapped off the street by that beast one year and three months later. The seventh of April, 1976, to be exact. For six long years, you were gone from my life. You'd just vanished. Just disappeared. You were gone without a trace, and I didn't know why. I didn't know what had happened to you. I didn't know where you were. I didn't know what to do to get you back. The only thing that kept me goin' in those terrible years was the thought that you were still out there somewhere and that maybe, just maybe, you might come back to me someday. And one day when I least expected it, you did. I never will forget that day when you showed up in my office in that red dress. You were gorgeous, Louise. You were absolutely gorgeous. I was so shocked and so overwhelmed to see you again that day that it was all I could do to keep from cryin'. I can't even begin to tell you how relieved I was that you were still alive. During those six terrible years, I was scared to death that somethin' had happened to you. That I'd lost you for good."
"George, why…why didn't you tell me all of this two years ago?"
"Mark told me about how terrified you were of marriage. He warned me that if I tried to spring everything on you all at once, you'd probably file for a divorce. He was the one who suggested that I take things slow. Give you a chance to get to know me. Give myself a chance to get to know you again. And there's another reason, too. There's another reason why it's been so hard for me to tell you the whole truth."
"What is it?"
"On the day that you disappeared…on the day he kidnapped you off the street…the reason why you were even on the street in the first place was because of me. I was so angry at you because you were standin' in the way of a big cleaning contract I wanted to sign with some guy who owned a chain of hotels. At the time, it seemed like the business deal of a lifetime, but you wouldn't support it because you had a bad gut feeling about him. And with you bein' a fifty percent partner of Jefferson Cleaners, no contract with a client could be valid if you didn't cosign it with me. We fought about it for weeks. I gave you so much grief. So did Mama. But on that day, we were both really cruel. We ganged up against you and we said such mean things to you," George told Louise as more rivers of tears began streaming down his cheeks. In the next moment, he confessed, "You were out on the street that day because of me, Louise. Because I chose to be selfish and cruel. Because I was hurting you and you were trying to get away from me. If I had chosen for once, just for once, to put you and our marriage ahead of my own selfish ego and greed, we wouldn't have been fighting, and you would never have wanted to leave our apartment that day so you could get away from me. You would have been safe at home where you belonged. All the beatings you went through, all the times he raped you, all the health problems you have now, you not bein' able to walk, all of it is because of me. I didn't wanna tell you because I was so scared that you wouldn't be able to forgive me. I was so scared of losin' you again. But I know I couldn't keep everything from you forever. You have a right to know the whole truth. And there it is. That's the whole truth."
After the longest silence, Louise took both of George's hands in hers, and she lovingly told him, "If you hadn't fought with me that day and I hadn't walked out of our apartment building, out onto the street where I was kidnapped by the Forty-Niner, I wouldn't have been there to help protect Melissa. And I wouldn't have been able to adopt Melissa later on. And I wouldn't have had Angie. Although I certainly wouldn't want to go through it all again, I'm glad I ended up here in Haven Lake with my girls. I'm glad that, thanks be to God, I was able to overcome so many obstacles and learn how to run my own business and take care of Melissa and Angie. I believe all of this has made me a stronger person, a better person, than I would have been otherwise. I have no regrets about my life, George. None at all. And I don't blame you for all of the awful things Saul Donaldson did do to me while I was in the hellhole. All married couples fight, George. And maybe you were being selfish and mean that day, but still, you had no idea that any of this would happen to me when I walked out of our apartment."
George then leaned over and gave Louise the most fervent hug, and he just clung to her for so long while he broke down into sobs. "Louise, if I'd known what was gonna happen, if I could've done anything about it, if I could've been there with you, I would've taken everything for you, baby. Everything."
"I know," Louise said softly.
"Do you really think you can forgive me for all of this?"
"Like I said, I don't blame you for what he did to me. I don't blame you for what happened. I don't think there's anything to forgive. But if you feel like you need my forgiveness, you have it."
George practically smothered Louise with kisses all over her face, and he just hugged her and held onto her and cried for so long. Finally, as he was still clinging to her, he said, "I'm gonna make all of this up to you, baby. I swear."
Their long embrace ended then, and Louise looked into George's face and told him, "Honey, I don't want you spending the rest of your life with me, spoiling me with all your money, taking care of me when I'm sick, helping me take care of the girls, just out of guilt and obligation. If you're going to choose to be my husband from now on, don't do it because you blame yourself for me being in the hellhole. Don't do it because you feel guilty and you feel like you have to make something up to me. That would be a miserable way for both of us to live. If you're going to be my husband from now on, do it for one reason and one reason only."
"What reason is that, baby?"
"Because you're in love with me and you want to be with me."
George hugged Louise and held onto her once again as even more tears filled his eyes. And as he clung to her, he said, "I've never wanted anything more in my life than to spend every single day of it with you. That's the truth, baby. That's the God's honest truth. And I ain't never been more in love with you than I am right now."
The embrace ended in that moment, and then Louise looked into George's eyes and told him, "Then in that case, George…my answer is yes."
"Your answer is yes? What do you mean?"
"Yes…I will give up the bakery, and the girls and I will come to live with you in New York. That's what you've wanted all along, isn't it?"
"Yes. Oh baby!" George cried out as he clung to Louise once again, now crying tears of joy, not sadness. And Louise held onto George and cried joyful tears as well.
After their long embrace ended several moments later, Louise said, "You know, it's funny in a way."
"What's funny, sweetheart?"
"Well, I don't remember our wedding. I don't remember anything about our married life. So to me, it feels more like I'm engaged or something. Maybe I'll really feel married once we're all settled in our apartment in New York."
"You know, I didn't think about it from your perspective, but now that I do, it makes sense that you'd feel like that. From your perspective, you've never had a wedding before."
"Nope."
"Well you're gonna have one now. You and I are gonna have the most beautiful wedding two people ever had."
"But George, we're already married," Louise said with a laugh.
"So? People can renew their wedding vows if they want to. We've done it."
"We have?"
"Yeah. About…well, about a month before we lost you, you and I actually had a second wedding in our apartment."
"We did?"
"Yeah, we did. But it doesn't matter now. What does matter is that at the end of this week, before the kids leave, I am gonna see to it that you have the wedding of your dreams. Everybody's gonna be there. All our children and grandchildren. I'll call Mama and the Willises and Bentley and have them come, too."
"Who's Bentley?"
"Harry Bentley. He lives in the apartment next to ours. He's our neighbor."
"Oh."
"And he's our friend, too. He's always been very kind to us. You'll like him."
"I'm sure I will."
"And of course, we can't forget Florence."
"Of course not. And we can't forget Mark and Estelle, either."
"Of course not," George said with a smile.
"Not to mention Leah and her daughter and granddaughters, and Frank and Heather and Elizabeth and their families."
"And Ralph."
"Who's Ralph?"
"Our doorman."
"Sounds like we're going to have a pretty big wedding. And we have less than a week to get everything prepared. There's so many things we have to do."
"You're right. We do have a lot of things to do. But there ain't nothin' more important than this," said George, and then he rose from his seat and got down on one knee before Louise. As soon as Louise realized what George was doing, she covered her mouth and fought to keep from crying yet again that night. In the next moment, George looked up into the face he adored so much, and he asked, "Louise Wood…will you marry me? Will you let me be your husband again?"
"Yes. I will," Louise answered in an emotional whisper, and then George got up and gave her the longest, most passionate kiss he'd ever given her to date.
"I can't believe this is happening. All those years you were gone…part of me really was convinced that I'd never see you again."
"And I was convinced that things like love and romance and marriage were just not in the cards for me. I was convinced that it would always just be the girls and me. I certainly never saw anything like George Jefferson on the horizon. And I could never have hoped for a better surprise."
Again, George passionately kissed Louise, and he whispered, "I love you so much, baby."
"I love you too, George," Louise whispered.
George then helped Louise move herself from her wheelchair to the couch before sitting down next to her. After they were comfortable on the couch together, Louise just relaxed and rested her head on George's shoulder and George lovingly wrapped his arm around her, both of them feeling like they were in heaven.