The interviewer thanked Mr. Laurel again with a handshake, gave his condolences and went out of the apartment. Stan nodded to himself as Ida closes their front door. She looks at him, rubs his shoulder, asks him if he was well. He sighs telling her in a sarcastic tone, "As well as can be, I suppose."
"Come on, it almost tea time. Let us sit, rest, Stanley. Lucille say she will come later."
"Oh, yes, with that interview, it almost slipped my mind. Thank you, dear. You're too good to me." Stan says.
"Someone needs to be." Ida replies with a smile.
Stan wraps his arm around her, kisses Ida's cheek and pulls her close.
A few hours later, Lucille arrives to the Oceana apartment. She greets Ida in a solemn tone. It was the first time since the funeral that the two women had seen one another and weeks since she had seen Stan.
She carried with her a binder, halfway full of papers. Lucille knew the contents and when she first read them was tempted to dispose of the writing. However, it was something her husband wrote about him and Stan's lifetime together, things she did not now, things she knew but did not want to realize. Thinking it was only right to show him what Babe thought of them, Lucille knew he wrote it for a reason.
"Good afternoon, Stan." Lucille said in a sharp tone. A part of her was upset over the things she read, feeling she was confronting a mistress at the same time Stan was a dear, sweet family friend that cared about Oliver deeply and was grieving also.
Stan brought Babe a happiness that she could not, no matter how dutiful Lucille was. Sitting at the table, Ida and Stan looked at one another then at Lucille. They could feel the tension coming from her by the look on Lucille's face, mannerisms and aura.
She sits down across from him at the table, breathed in slowly, closing her eyes and slowly breathes out. Her eyes flash open, locking on Stan's face.
"Stan... There is something I have to tell you. Babe wrote somethings... A lot of things, about the two of you. I noticed him doing this about two or so years ago after we came back from Italy when you two were finished with that movie. I only thought it was right for you to see what he thought of you. None of the writings have anything to do with business, family, friends, nothing. Absolutely nothing except for... For the life you shared together, at least for the most part. There are things he left out."
Stan looks down at the binder Lucille slides to him. He froze in place then blinked reaching for it. He asks Ida for his glasses, nervous, filled and conflicted on what the contents are.
"Lucille... Babe and I... We..."
"You loved him..." Lucille interrupted.
Stan crossed his legs, moving them slightly, darting his eyes with a few blinks. Ida hands him his glasses and rest her hands on her husbands shoulders.
"Lucille, it has been hard on all of us. Stan misses Oliver, greatly." Ida says in a soft tone. "We discuss this, yes? We know that-"
"Ida that is not the point!" Lucille snapped, first looking at Ida then at Stan. Lucille puts her palms flat on the table, does her best to keep back the emotion starting to leak from her eyes in the form of tears. She swallows and says, "You can read that in your leisure, Stan, however from what I read and understand you had him keep back his own words, his emotions. There were things that I could never provide, but I thought you two could share things. He kept saying 'I wont say the words', 'I will do what you asked, Stanley'. Did you ever, once... allow Babe to tell you that he loved you? Did you tell him that you loved him?!"
"Somethings do not need words, Lucille." Stan replies "I... We lived our emotions. Sometimes words can get in the way. in my experience words can be bad luck and I only-"
"Bad luck, Stan?!" Lucille cried.
"Lucille you are emotional, I understand, I am widow also, I lost husband too, years ago." Ida says sitting next to her husband. "Stanley answered your question. The two had a... ah... Special relationship. What else can there be said?"
"You're right Ida, not much to be said. What they did, they did. However... I'm coming to you as a friend, Stan. I know you loved, that it wasn't something lustful or a midnight call. In all of the years I have known you and was married to Oliver, you never told one another you loved each other!
Babe was the most sweetest, soft spoken, gentle giving man... And for you to tell him or convince him in anyway not to tell what was in his and your heart, not to fully share that... that is what should be also grieved. Because you were afraid to love him or confirm it in words! You're a writer, you know words are powerful!"
"You come in here thinking you know me because of whatever Babe wrote." Stan snaps.
"Stan your blood sugar-" Ida urges.
"No, Ida! Mrs. Hardy is using me as a beating board for Babe's passing, fine!"
"Stan, that is not what I 'am saying. I'm honestly concerned about you... And sad that you and Babe just... The two of you did so much together... What was the problem telling one another you loved each other?" Lucille says shaking her head. She then wipes away tears and sniffs loudly.
"Well you sure have a unique way of showing your concern, dear!" Stan says sarcastically. "I was in his life before you got hired to that accursed studio, you know that, the world knows that! Yes, it has always been hard for me to express myself in many ways, apart of me still thinks it is wrong, however we were happy! Nothing about being with Babe was ever wrong to me... It still isn't." Stan says in a stern tone.
"You wish to know my feelings...? I wanted him to walk through the door, not you! I wanted to go before he did, yeah? Or just pass..." Cries Stan. He brings a hand to his mouth as his eyes fill with tears.
Ida rubs and holds Stan. He sniffles, wipes his tears and looks down. Lucille goes over to Stan and embraces him.
"I loved him, Lucille... I still do! How dare you!" Stan cries.
"Yes, Stan. Please let it out. We all loved him. Say it for Babe, say it for yourself." says Lucille tearfully.
"I always hated you calling him Babe... We couldn't be together the way we truly wished... We had many ups and downs, and yes there were things I told him not to say... Nonetheless, he married you! You got to sleep with him every night waking up to his warm face that the dawn itself was envious of... Can I not at the least... Have the honor of calling him Babe to myself...?" Stan asks emotionally.
Lucille nods, wipes away his tears, then hers.
"Thank you, Lucille. He never called Oliver, Oliver, you know this." Ida says in a crackling voice.
"Alright... Now... Enough of that mush...! I suppose we both had pent up grief... I suppose we always will." Stan states solemnly as his eyes lower to the side.
"Yes, it is still fresh... When you... Love and care for someone it will always be open, because it is a space only they can fill." Lucille replies as she sits back in her chair.
"Dammit, Lucille, I told you no more mush!" Stan laughs.
Lucille and Ida chuckle loudly. Stan then nods his head and says, "A Babe shaped, hole..." Stan then weeps heavily.
Ida holds him close to her as Stan covers his face with his hands, crying heavily.
"Darn, it Stan" Lucille chuckles tearfully. "I just sat back down." Lucille rubs his back, kisses the top of his head and looks at Ida.
"He never really cried, has he Ida?" Widow Hardy asks.
"No, he did not-" Ida is interrupted by a the door bell.
Everyone pauses and looks at the door. Lucille offers to answer it so Ida can continue to comfort Stan. She looks through the peephole and gasps. Lucille almost tares open the door, getting in a defensive stance at who is in the doorway.
"You!" Lucille shouts.
"What, who is it?" Ida says looking past Lucille. "Oh, alright, come in."
"Unexpected, surprise visit. I thought it would be good for Stan to have spontaneous support." Says Buster.
"I'm sure, Buster!" Lucille says sarcastically. "Well wont you-"
"Thank you, dear" Keaton interrupts as he walks past her.
Lucille slams the door, looking at Buster make a b-line for Stan. Mr. Keaton is dressed in a formal casual fashion, with a bouquet of two dozen white roses in hand, tied in a silk white ribbon. He then lays in on the table and looks down at the reddened eyed Stan.
"I came just in time! I will take over ladies, thank you, a van is downstairs to escort you away." Buster inappropriately jokes, embracing Stan, rubbing his shoulders and back, then kisses his head and then laying the side of his face on top of Stan's head.
"Buster..." Stan brokenly sighs. "I do not know what you may think. I loved Babe and we had... Have a undying commitment to one another, nothing, no body, no part of hell will ever change that."
Buster lifts his head and pauses his caressing. "We are using, the word 'love' now, are we?" Says Keaton in slight shock.
Stan looks at Ida, then Lucille and replies, "We always did, in our life together... Yes, I love, Babe... And always will."
"What in Satan's blazing army did I miss?" Buster asks.
Ida, Stan and Lucille laugh tearfully.