A Night To Remember

Lucien left the Colonists' boardroom where Munro was interviewing witnesses to go check on Jean. When he opened the door to the dining room, he found her in conversation with her son.

Her son. The eldest of her boys, the second one Lucien had met. What sort of a man was he, this Christopher Beazley? Lucien knew the facts of him, of course, and had spoken to him over the phone to ask him to come see Jean's performance for her birthday. Lucien knew that Christopher Beazley, Jr. was Jean's firstborn, named for his father, had followed in his father's footsteps in joining the army, and had served in Korea. He also knew that Christopher's wife, Ruby, was not entirely Jean's favorite person but was pregnant with their first child, Jean's first grandchild. And Jean was so excited for that.

Seeing them there together tugged at his heartstrings. Jean was not close to either of her sons, and as far as Lucien could tell, it was their loss.

It was strange for Lucien to see Jean as a mother. She acted in that maternal role for the young people around them. To Danny, when he was here, and to Mattie and Charlie now. And all those young people from her church whose debutante dresses she sewed and such. She was a very caring person and wonderfully kind and helpful to those in need of her guidance. Her own children, however, seemed to be something different for her. Lucien could not quite understand it. With Jack just a few months ago and now with Christopher, Jean was not the same self-assured person Lucien had come to expect. She was…well, it was as though she was trying very hard for her own children to like her. And it broke Lucien's heart.

Of course, it could not have been easy for those Beazley boys, growing up on a farm that struggled so much after their father had not come home from the war. And they were so young. There was no way they could know how much their mother had struggled, how hard she'd fought to raise them on her own and put food on the table for them. Children aren't expected to know and understand their parents. Not when they're young. And sometimes, not even when they're older. Lucien knew that better than anyone.

Patrick Tyneman was arguing with someone and took Lucien's attention. He went to follow. On his way, he put a hand on Jean's arm and gave her an affectionate squeeze. Perhaps not the best thing to do in front of her son, but he'd not even thought about it. He just wanted to be near her, to show her that he was there to support her, even when he was busy. He had not always done the best by the people he cared about, he knew, but in that moment and on her birthday, Lucien just wanted to make sure Jean knew that he cared.