Prettyinpinkgal: Guess what? I ACTUALLY CAME UP WITH A REAL PLOT FOR THIS STORY. (cheers) It's small, but it works.

Disclaimer: I don't own "Tuck Everlasting".

FOSTER EVERLASTING

CHAPTER ELEVEN: LUNCHEON

James and Winnie arrived just as the Tucks began eating. They stopped as soon as the door opened, a little abruptly, as if not waiting for her for the meal was almost as bad as not waiting for her to drink the water. Then they noticed the man standing next to her, and Jesse and Miles sent each other meaningful looks, although Miles's meaning was something along the lines of "Well, what do you know?" and Jesse's was basically, "Why the censored is she with him?"

"Oh, good, you're just in time!" Mae said, her motherly nature kicking in. "Have a seat, you two. I'm Mae Tuck."

James bowed. "James Kendel, ma'am."

"It's been so long since I've seen such old-fashioned manners, before," she chuckled. "Although I'm not one to judge what 'old-fashioned' is."

To the average listener, it might have seemed that she was only commenting on how she was older than the barely-adults populating the room, but everyone in the little cottage knew well that she was indeed talking about age, only in more extreme terms.

"I'm glad you're so kind, Mrs. Tuck," James said a little softly. Winnie glanced up at him and saw that he meant it. And little wonder: Although he was fairly convinced his uncle's mad obsession led to his downfall, she could imagine what a relief it was to feel that miniscule, shadowy doubt fade away under the truth: that Mae Tuck was a sweet, warm person, and looked as if she couldn't, and wouldn't, hurt a fly.

Mae flapped her hand in the air as if brushing away his comment. "Please, dear, everyone calls me Mae. This is my husband; we all just call him Tuck. And this is Miles, my eldest, Jesse, and his fiancee Natasha."

"Oh, yes, I've heard about you-" Winnie pinched his hand "-all," he added, glaring at her while she smiled so angelically, it was a little frightening.

They both sat and all began eating eagerly.

"So James," Jesse said casually, not noticing Natasha's glance. "How do you know Winnie?"

As James had a mouthful of food too thick to swallow immediately, Winnie answered in his stead. "He grew up in Treegap, and he was the son of my father's friend."

When James finally swallowed, he said, "Yes. Actually, the first time we met was when our families were pushing for us to wed."

Winnie Foster never claimed to be a saint. This was evident to her especially now, as she felt slight satisfaction at the fact that Jesse's food went down the wrong way and he was currently guzzling water like a drunk with beer.

"When was that?" Jesse demanded once he could breathe.

"Shortly after I drank the water," she answered lightly.

"But that was..."

Clatters filled the room as everyone sat down their utensils. "That was thirty years ago," Tuck finished Jesse's comment, looking gravely at the newcomer. "You know about the spring then? Who have you told?"

"The spring doesn't really pose much of a threat now to our way of life," Miles pointed out. "Winnie's grave is there."

"That was his doing," Winnie said. As James didn't really feel like explaining the entire thing all over again, and thinking that maybe the news of his relations would be a softer blow if Winnie was the one delivering it, he requested that she reiterate what he told her earlier. She did so with accuracy and haste combined.

"Good heavens," Mae Tuck whispered. Despite how her body never changed, she looked her age for a moment as old guilt and grief returned tenfold what they were when the murder occurred.

"Don't trouble yourself about it," James said, seriously but with a smile. "I remember my uncle. My parents would not have driven him away for some curiosity over a mysterious family. He must have been drowning in the mystery, not just dipping his feet in for fun. Things must have gotten serious."

"Very," Tuck grumbled. Winnie noticed him tightly holding Mae's shaking hand, and could not help but smile slightly.

James looked at Natasha. "I heard you are immortal, too. How'd that happen?"

Natasha briefly relayed her history. Winnie listened with no little curiosity, as she had not really spoken very much with Natasha yesterday for obvious reasons. When she got to the part about meeting Jesse, Natasha's eyes softened and she looked up at him with a brief smile. Her eyes drifted naturally down before they whipped up to meet Winnie's as though ashamed. Although Winnie could not say her heart was already mended, she shrugged a bit with a wry smile, as if to say, "It is what it is." Natasha seemed to appreciate this, although she kept her glances at Jesse and her romantic comments to a minimum now.

"In all your travels," James inquired presently, "have you all never encountered another spring with such powers?"

"Well, if we have," Jesse answered, "we wouldn't know it. The deed's already been done for us. We haven't heard of any other beings like us, although it's not like we go around advertising it."

"But there is the taste."

"Yeah, true. I know I've never run into anything like it before when I was by myself."

The rest answered the same.

"It's such a shame a supposed blessing like this had to be such a curse," James said with a touch of bitterness.

Mae sighed. "It is what it is. We find daily blessings instead. We think how amazing it is, watching the world come along, finding diseases vaccinated when they previously decimated the countryside, watching mannerisms change. We stay together even when we're apart, too, and that helps." And here her eyes laid intently on Winnie, as if saying, "I made a misjudgment last time. From now on, no matter what happens, I will keep you near me at least in heart."

Winnie appreciated this, and the future looked a bit less bleak.

Although she did not notice it, Jesse watched the appreciation and love appear in her face as she took in Mae's words, and his own lips spread into a gentle smile not unlike her own.