Retreat then Restore...Revisiting the Past

She went away, and now she's back...but how does she explain the fact that she wasn't dead, and didn't kill herself?

Just a word of warning to all...My exams start in May and there's going to be a lot of pressure on me work wise until the end of June. So posts may be sparse.

'I do not need any deliberation,' stated the judge. 'It is perfectly clear to me that Diane Lloyd is no criminal psychopath as Mrs Cunnick suggested, in fact a decent human being devoted to her child. So full custody goes to Ms Lloyd and Mr Griffin.'

'You killed him!' yelled Gwendolyn. 'You psychopathic bitch! You killed him!'

Rising from her chair, she went for Diane and punched her in the face, forcing one of the officers to restrain her.

'Enough!' yelled the judge. 'Mrs Cunnick, you will be arrested for assault, and I will be granting an exclusion order in Ms Lloyd's favour. This case is adjourned. Take her away.'

Diane could not help but sigh in relief and smile contentedly that Gwendolyn's true colours had shone through, even though her jaw hurt.

'We'll have it all Diane,' promised Ric as he led her and Cassie out of the court room. 'The whole white picket fence fantasy. I can't wait to marry you.'

'I can't wait to marry you either,' said Diane, snuggling further into him. 'I am so relieved that all of this is over.'

'Me too,' he replied, planting a chaste kiss on her forehead.

'I just hope that Gwendolyn gets the help she needs, I don't think that she's mentally stable,' replied Diane in concern.

Ric, giving a small chuckle, said, 'That's typical you.'

Smiling at him, she said, 'What?'

'She tried to take your baby away from you, she punched you in the face, and you're concerned about her wellbeing?' asked Ric with a laugh. 'You really are the most caring woman that I know.'

'I don't wish her any harm,' said Diane. 'She blames me for the loss of her son, and as psycho as he was, and she is, a parent's love for their child is unconditional. Having Cassie taught me that. No matter how many lines they cross, or how much trouble they get into, to a mother they'll always be as innocent as the day they brought them home from the hospital.'

'Maybe we'll be bringing a bundle of joy home from the hospital some day?' asked Ric, trying to be subtle.

Laughing, Diane replied, 'Ric, subtlety was never your forte. But I do hope that we will, some day. Maybe we should practice tonight?'

'I am feeling in the mood for celebration,' replied Diane. 'We can go home, plan the wedding, and have our own private celebration once Cassie is in bed.'

'Sounds like a plan to me,' replied Ric. 'There is a lot of lost time we have to make up for.'

'Mmm, 3 years,' replied Diane. 'Let's go then.'

Arriving at home, Diane laid Cassie in her cot and soothed her to sleep before going into the kitchen and making a cup of tea for her and Ric.

Sitting down, she handed him the cup, and they drank a sip from it in unison, relishing the warmth of the beverage.

'So,' said Ric, placing his tea cup on the coaster. 'How do you want to get married?'

'You're the expert,' replied Diane with a smile and a wink.

'Ah, touché,' he replied. 'I want you to have the wedding of your dreams. Anything that makes you happy, makes me happy, so what do you want us to do?'

'I want a small wedding,' said Diane. 'Really small, me, you, Cassie and a witness or two.'

'We could ask your parents,' suggested Ric.

Diane winced as if she'd just been hit in the face.

'Are you really going to let them believe that you're dead still?' asked Ric.

'My relationship with my parents is...complicated,' replied Diane quietly.

'I know,' said Ric. 'I know that your dad is a strict control freak, and your mum is a doormat and they never really understood you, but they're your parents. At the very least you can visit them and tell them that you're alive.'

'I could email them,' suggested Diane.

'Like they'd believe it was you,' said Ric. 'You need to visit them, before the wedding.'

'Fine,' said Diane with a huff. 'But you're coming with me.'

'I am okay with that,' replied Ric. 'But you might want to shield me from your dad, because he kind of punched me at the memorial service.'

'Oh,' said Diane. 'That sounds like Dad alright.'

'So, moving back to the subject, wedding,' replied Ric.

'How about Ghana?' replied Diane. 'Ever been married there?'

'Strangely, no,' said Ric with a smile. 'Why choose there?'

'It's where we were happiest,' admitted Diane. 'Before everything went wrong. We didn't care about what issues we had going on back home, we just wanted each other.'

'It's a good reason,' replied Ric with a broad smile. 'So you want a traditional Ghanaian wedding?'

'Very much so,' replied Diane. 'The Ghanaian silk, the traditional music, the bananas Ghana.'

'Well then it will be that way,' replied Ric. 'We'll organise it for around Christmas time, the weather will be more bearable then.'

'Sounds good,' replied Diane. 'And we can invite Kumi and your mum, maybe Abra if he's around.'

'Abra's always hanging around somewhere,' said Ric. 'He won't be too hard to find.'

'So that's sorted then, we'll have a beautiful Ghanaian wedding,' announced Diane.

'Indeed,' replied Ric, pulling her closer to him and hugging her gently.