Chapter 22: Intervention
The group ate their meal in relative silence- except for Chad who continually tried to fill the void of uncomfortable silence between the Boltons and Brendi, who was clueless to the uneasiness- and left the restaurant. Troy gave his parents his key to the apartment and told them to wait there while he took Brendi back to her dorm, with Chad riding along so Troy could take him to the airport as well.
When Jack and Lucille arrived, they were greeted by an empty apartment. Lucille took it upon herself to look around while Jack used the restroom, trying to find any clue she could to put the pieces together in the puzzle of Troy and Gabriella's crumbling relationship. As Jack was coming back into the living room, he spotted a piece of paper on the normally clutter-free coffee table. He picked it up so he could take a closer look at it.
"Hey, Luce. Come here and take a look at this," he called out to his wife, after he read the note. He handed it over to her when she came into the room and stood beside him.
"T-Went to run some errands and then to the gym. Should be back by 4:00. Enjoy the day with your parents. -G," Lucille read out loud. "Huh," she said. "So apparently she's not planning on being here with us today." She creased her eyebrows in motherly fashion and looked at her husband.
"Ouch! Well, that hurts," Jack pouted. "That's not like her," he pointed out with a second thought.
"Well, little does she know that you and I will still be here at 4:00."
"Lucille, do you think that it's a good idea for us to meddle in their relationship? It seems to me like we should let them work this out." He received a glare in response and knew he was fighting a losing battle. If one was to meddle in their son's life, Lucille would be the first in line. Jack held his hands up in surrender, letting out an exasperated sigh. "Fine. We'll be here."
An hour and a half after they sat down on the couch and turned on the television- Jack softly dozing while Lucille watched an old black and white movie on TCM-, the door opened and Troy walked in. Lucille filled Troy in on the note they found and after Troy woke his dad, the two men in her life decided to go out to the court located toward the front of the complex, leaving Lucille behind.
"Dear, are you sure you don't want to come?" Jack asked her.
"You two go," she told them. "I know you want it to be a guy's game. I'll stay here and finish my movie. Besides, I want to talk to Gabriella when she gets here."
"Mom, don't meddle. Please?" Troy begged her. Lucille picked up on the panic in her son's voice and stood from her place on the couch then crossed the room to stand in front of him. She brought her hand up to his face, standing on her tip-toes to kiss him gently on the cheek.
"Honey, I won't meddle. I promise. I just want to talk to her, woman to woman."
Troy saw the seriousness in his mother's eyes and relented. "Alright. Dad, let me grab some clothes for you real quick and as soon as we change, we can go down."
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A few minutes before 4, Lucille heard the door open and glanced up from the television screen to see a shell-shocked Gabriella standing in the door way.
"Lucille? I- Um, I didn't think anyone would be here," she said, uncertainty and nerves evident in her voice.
"The guys went to the park to play ball. They've been gone about half an hour, so that gives us plenty of time," Lucille told her.
"Time for what?"
Lucille noticed the timidity in Gabriella's voice and watched as she fiddled with the keys in her hands. Lucille knew that was a nervous trait of Gabriella's- fiddling with her hands; she'd witnessed it many times in the past few years since Gabriella had practically joined the Bolton family. The one time that really stuck out in Lucille's mind was the kids' graduation day from East High, when Gabriella was about to go on stage to give her valedictorian speech. Instantly, her heart went out to the young woman.
Here she is, just trying to find her place in the madness of life and she probably thinks Jack and I are upset at her, she thought to herself.
Lucille softly patted the couch cushion next to her. "Gabriella, honey, come sit down. I want to talk to you before the guys get back."
Gabriella averted her eyes- she knew what Lucille wanted to talk about- and nibbled on her lip. She slowly made her way over to the couch and sat down, playing with the top of her water bottle to ease her nerves. "What do you want to talk about?" she asked, shyly bringing her eyes up to look at the face of the woman who had been like a second mother to her for several years.
Lucille offered a small smile. "Honey, you're an extremely brilliant young woman. Playing the naive role doesn't look good on you. You know what I'm referring to, don't you?" Gabriella lowered her eyes to her lap and nodded her head. "Good. Why don't you tell me what happened? I've heard Troy's side; now I want to hear yours."
Gabriella swallowed and took a long breath, let it out slowly, and then started telling Lucille the story. "When Taylor was here, I had a meeting with my study group and she came with me. There was a guy there who's been in most of my classes and study groups... just basically a friend of mine. He had asked me out once and I told him I had a boyfriend, and he kept asking me out after that- just teasingly, of course, especially after he saw a picture of Troy for the first time- probably once a week. 'When's it going to be my turn?' he would ask me. It kind of became an ongoing joke between the two of us.
"Well, he asked me out again that night of our study group while Taylor was here and she questioned me about it. I made the mistake of telling her about him and then she started mentioning all this stuff about how attractive I am, how I have all these guys falling at my feet, I'm being unfair by not paying attention to them, and how do I even know that Troy is 'the one' that I want to spend the rest of my life with. She told me that I shouldn't wait around for someone who obviously doesn't feel the same way. I argued back that yes, he does, and she then threw the non-engagement back at me. 'If he really loved you, he would have proposed by now,' she kept saying. I called Troy and told him about all this- I guess mainly to calm myself down and maybe try to hear some sort of confirmation in his voice- and we ended up sort of arguing over the phone." She paused to take a deep breath and get a sip of water, swallowing the lump that was forming as she thought back to all of the emotions that she felt during those few days.
"This was while Troy was at the tournament in Georgia, wasn't it?" Lucille verified as she gently ran a hand down the back of Gabriella's French braid, trying to pass some comfort on to the young woman sitting on the couch beside her. "Then what happened?" she softly prompted following Gabriella's nod of confirmation.
"Troy and I kind of reached an agreement to leave the topic alone and we would talk about it more when he got home," Gabriella told her, playing with her water bottle some more. She lifted her eyes to focus on a spot on the wall opposite her and took another breath to calm her emotions before continuing. "Although, I kind of broke that promise to him."
"What promise was that?" Lucille was careful to keep her voice soft, calm, and level. She wanted Gabriella to feel comfortable talking to her, not like she was choosing sides.
"I promised him that I would wait until he got home and we could finish talking about it then. But things didn't happen that way. I allowed Taylor to talk me into a lunch date with Davis. It was the same day Troy was getting home," she shrugged sadly, "I thought I'd be back here before Troy. But he was earlier than I expected." She took a deep breath before continuing. "When Troy got home, he saw Davis and I getting home from our lunch before I had the chance to talk to him first. We argued, of course. He packed a bag and left. I stayed at Mom's and he stayed with Andy and Matt. That was when Taylor left, too." Gabriella felt her composure failing miserably.
"What happened after that? Fast forward to the break up."
Gabriella found herself fighting the tears that had long since formed. "I um... I talked to Sharpay one evening-"
"Oh, honey!" Lucille said with a small chuckle. "Sharpay? Really?"
Gabriella smiled slightly through her tears at Lucille's reaction and gave a small nod of confirmation. "Yes, really! But she did give me some advice. Some good advice, believe it or not." She proceeded to tell Lucille about her conversation with Sharpay and how her advice made Gabriella realize that she did indeed need to take that step for her own well being.
"So what did Troy say to that?"
"Um… basically, we just decided that we need to take some time and figure out where we stand with each other," Gabriella told her with a trembling voice. "It was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do and he was just so supportive. That made it even harder- seeing the pain in his eyes but hearing him say that he understood." Lucille gave her a small sympathetic smile. "Well, he understood at first, anyway," Gabriella continued under her breath.
"I can only imagine how hard that must have been. And you decided to stay here in the apartment, even after you broke up with him?"
Gabriella nodded. "Only for financial reasons. It wouldn't have been fair to leave him with all the bills and rent and stuff after we worked our monthly budgets accordingly. But Lucille, it's been awful around here. We haven't even seen each other much since then. I get up in the morning and most times he's already gone. He comes home at night and I've already fallen asleep. He has been here as I'm getting ready and leaving for the few dates I've been on. He's been very sarcastic the whole time and I think he may have gotten drunk, or at least tipsy. I came home one night and saw about five or six beer bottles in the living room. He won't talk to me, he won't look at me. Not unless he has to, anyway. It's like I'm basically dead to him." Gabriella paused and looked fully at Lucille through the tears that clouded her vision. "I know it's all my fault, but I miss him, Lucille."
Lucille took Gabriella in her arms and held her, stroking her hair the way she knew Maria would do, while her "daughter" sobbed in her arms. "I know you do, Sweetie. I know you do."
Lucille let her cry for a few minutes before speaking again.
"Gabriella?" Lucille nibbled somewhat nervously on her own bottom lip for a moment. When the young lady in her arms quieted her tears, Lucille asked the question that she really needed to have answered. "Between Troy's attitude shift, and the dates you've had, please forgive me for being blunt, but I just... It has to be asked before I proceed with what I want to tell you."
Gabriella sniffled and mumbled a quiet "Ma'am?". Only then did Lucille continue.
"Do… do you still love my son?" Lucille carefully posed her question.
Gabriella froze in her arms. The silent tears dripped down her cheeks as Lucille's question lodged in her mind and heart. She breathed shallowly as she thought about the answer. Then again, she didn't have to think. Gabriella pressed her lips together. The silent moments were only additional seconds to confirm what she had known all along. No matter how many dates she experienced, or the hours that Troy spent ignoring her while sitting right beside her… It didn't even matter that he might parade any number of women through that apartment to show her that he could also find other 'dates'. The truth was that her feelings hadn't changed at all – except now she loved him more.
"Yes," Gabriella whispered loud enough to make Lucille breathe a sigh of relief and smile, "I do still love him. Maybe even more than I already did."
The two passed another few silent moments sharing their mother/daughter embrace.
"Can I tell you something?" Lucille pressed her lips to the top of Gabriella's head for a gentle kiss before continuing in her non-meddling/meddling mission. "Troy and this airhead bimbo went to lunch with Jack and I today. He was missing something."
"What?" Gabriella asked in a muffled voice, with her head buried in Lucille's chest.
"The sparkle that has been in my son's eyes for the past five and a half years is what was missing. The way he looked at this girl- it wasn't the same. His eyes were very vacant and he talked at her, not to her." Lucille paused and gently pulled Gabriella away from her bosom so that she could look the young lady in the eyes. "He misses you, too, Sweetheart. He may not say it directly, but he does. You know he does. And you know that's why he's acting this way. May I give you some advice?" she asked, and continued when Gabriella nodded.
"If he's anything like Jack, give him time. I understand what Taylor was trying to do – trying to make you think. But you know Troy, Taylor doesn't. Not like you do. He's scared of making such a huge commitment because he knows it's not just him that it will affect. He's thinking about the future for both of you. I guarantee it. Jack went through something similar a few months before he proposed to me. Give Troy time. He'll figure out his priorities soon. He's a very practical person and has to see things from every angle before making a final decision. Remember when he decided to come here for school? It took almost losing you. Gabriella, Sweetie, I don't think it'll be long before he realizes what an incredible woman he will be getting as a partner. But you both know marriage – even getting engaged – is a huge step. Just give him some time."
Her heart broke to see Gabriella so broken, but she hoped that what she just told her may have given her some comfort. "Besides I think Jack may pound some sense into him with a basketball if he has to," she added with a wink at the dark haired young lady in her arms, and placed a second kiss to the top of her head.
"I'm sorry you and Coach have to be here to see this," Gabriella said with a sniffle.
Lucille looked at her, shocked that she would have even said such a thing. "What, and miss both our kids' graduations from college? We wouldn't do that!" Gabriella chuckled and gave a small smile, causing Lucille to hug her tighter. "There's that beautiful smile we've missed! I'm just glad I can be here for you. And don't you worry, Jack and I will play interference if we need to while we're here. Where's Maria? I thought Jack said she was sitting with you at the ceremony?"
"She was, but she left about fifteen minutes or so before it ended. She's traveling this week," Gabriella told her as she leaned forward and snagged a tissue off the coffee table. "She'll be back Thursday evening, just in time for my graduation next Saturday."
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While the two ladies were back at the apartment visiting with each other- although Troy knew that despite his mother's promise, she was indeed meddling- the father/ son duo were busy getting lost in their ritual of a two-on-two game of basketball. During the first half of the game, Jack was letting Troy play to let out the frustrations that Jack knew were hidden deep inside his son's psyche. But after their first five minute water break, Troy began playing much harder and causing Jack to work harder to keep up with him. Jack was still in good shape for his age, but had been warned by his doctor to start taking things slow. He was beginning to wonder if the heavy breathing that he was currently doing would be considered "taking it slow" until Troy broke the long standing "no talking during two-on-two" rule the two Bolton men had instated long ago.
"Taylor has successfully screwed up my entire plan and basically taken away my whole life in the process," Troy told his father as he wiped his sweaty face on the towel he brought with him.
"What plan?" Jack asked, catching his breath while twisting the top back on the water bottle he held in his hands.
"Proposing to Gabriella," Troy answered, avoiding his father's raised eyebrows and slightly stunned, flushed face. He set the towel across the back of the bench and picked the ball back up again and walked over to the free throw line, lining up his shot. "I have a way that I want to do it. I don't want Gabriella to have any questions about where we are going to be after graduation." He took the shot and caught the ball when it bounced off the backboard instead of going in the net. "I want us to be settled and for her to know that I will make a life wherever she is. Albuquerque, Alaska... China... I don't care! I just want to be with her!"
"Have you told her this?" Jack asked, receiving a glare from Troy. "Okay, dumb question. Continue..."
Jack watched as Troy lined up another shot... and missed. He knew that Troy only missed his shots when something was really bothering him and the only solution was to just let him go at it.
"I've got Maria's engagement ring."
Jack raised his eyes in surprise as he caught the ball. "I- I'm sorry... You have what?"
Troy turned to face him and raised his hands in defeat. "I know. I- I should've told you and Mom, but-" He sighed as he walked to stand in front of his dad and crossed his arms across his chest. " A while ago, I asked Maria for her permission to marry Gabriella. I'm amazed in all of this that she - that Maria, I mean - that she didn't say anything to Gabriella or to you guys. She gave me her engagement ring."
"Then I guess you have her permission, huh?" Jack snorted.
"Yeah." Troy nodded before taking the ball from Jack's hands and walking back over to the free throw line. "Except now I don't know if that's what Gabriella wants or not."
Jack watched as his son took the shot and- once again- missed. "Have you tried finding out?"
Troy threw an exasperated look in his dad's direction and threw his hands in the air. "She's going out with other guys, Dad! We haven't had a real conversation in weeks." He sighed as he turned to face the basket once more. "It's like I'm living with a total stranger."
Jack caught the ball from another missed shot and looked at his hurting son. "No, Troy, you're living with a young lady who is head-smart, but has a fragile heart. I bet she's scared to death about the graduations and wondering if you'll still love her if her future takes her across the country again."
"Our future," Troy mumbled as he walked back over to the bench and picked up his water bottle.
"What?"
"It's not just supposed to be her future, Dad. It's supposed to be our future. Why doesn't she get that?" He sat down on the bench and took a drink. Jack slowly walked over to the bench and stood in front of his son . He stood with his hands on his hips and took in Troy's appearance. "Because you haven't given her any indication." "Like hell I haven't!" Troy snapped, standing so he could look his father in the eyes. "What have the last five years been? Every time we think about graduating and talking about what kinds of jobs we want... What the hell has it meant when we've talked about waiting a few years to have kids and how we'd like to finally get out of an apartment and have a house of our own, so we can have a back yard for them to play in? How is that not giving her any indication?" Jack couldn't hide the grin that slowly made its way onto his face. "You've talked about having kids already?" he asked. "Really not your business, but yes, Dad, we have," Troy told him with a huff. Jack took a step closer to Troy and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Then quit stalling, son, and propose to the girl! I'd love to see my grandchildren before I'm eighty, you know?" he said, smirking. Troy rolled his eyes. "That is so not what this conversation is about, Dad." Jack looked Troy in the eyes, making sure that he had his son's full attention and took a deep breath. "Troy, what are you waiting for, Son? You love her. You want a life with her. You want to have children with her and a home. I know you want things to be in order and you have a plan… but are you risking losing the girl you love in the process?" He watched Troy's resolve weaken at that thought. "So again I ask you... what are you waiting for?" TGFTGFTGFTGFTGFTGFTGF
The two ladies sat on the couch, enjoying each others' company and watching television, before the two guys came back in a short time later. They were both sweating and still out of breath and went straight to the kitchen, each grabbing a water bottle out of the pantry.
"What have you two been up to?" Jack asked, as he leaned down to place a kiss to Lucille's cheek.
"We've just been visiting with each other. Catching up and whatnot," Lucille told him. She lifted her gaze and looked in Troy's direction in the kitchen. Their eyes met and she gave him a knowing look. Troy let out an exasperated sigh and exited the kitchen.
All four of them could feel the tension in the room as Troy and Gabriella still avoided saying anything to the other. "I'm going to get a shower," Troy announced after another moment. . "Mom, how about a dinner date, just you and me?"
Lucille offered Gabriella a soft smile before turning in Troy's direction. "I'd like that very much, Troy," she said with a smile at her son. Jack looked at the two ladies sitting on the couch and focused his attention on the younger of the two.
"Well?" he said.
"Well, what?" Gabriella questioned.
"If the two of them are going out tonight, that leaves you and I here together."
"Oh," she said softly, glancing between Jack and Lucille. "Actually, J-Jack, I can make myself scarce if you would rather. I'm sure there's an empty spot in the library that I can occupy and work on job applications for a while..." She stopped when the sound of a scoff escaped Troy's mouth.
"Don't be silly!" Lucille told her, while sending a scolding look in her son's direction, only to have him roll his eyes in response. "We came to spend time with both of you – despite the current circumstances. I've had a little one on one time with you, now it's Jack's turn."
Gabriella gave a small smile. "Well, in that case, what did you have in mind?" She directed her question at Jack.
"Actually, Gabriella... Let the old man catch a breath for a few minutes and then maybe we can take a walk?"
Gabriella cast a fearful look in Troy's direction- remembering what it was like in high school when Jack would talk to her- but when Troy turned his back on her and went into his room, she lowered her eyes to her lap and agreed.
"Okay. I think that would be nice."
Jack shared a look with his wife and rolled his eyes.
"Besides, it seems my son needs a slight attitude adjustment," he said, before turning and looking around the room. He spotted Troy's basketball sitting near the door and got an idea. He walked over to it, reached down, and grabbed the ball before looking back at Gabriella.
"You know, I think you both need to take some time to think. Really think." He paused and gave the ball a spin on his finger. "Go back to the beginning and give the last several years or so some good, hard thought." He gave Gabriella a pointed look with his eyebrows raised as he spun the ball once more and listened for any reaction from Troy's room. He took another deep breath and held the ball out toward Gabriella. "Why don't you come with me?"
"Jack, the doctor told you to take it easy," Lucille warned.
"Actually, Lucille, if he's with me on the court, then I think he will be taking it easy!" Gabriella joked.
The three laughed and Gabriella grabbed a water for her and another for Jack from the pantry as the two of them bid their goodbyes to Lucille and made their way to the court where he and Troy had been at just a short while previously. He opened the gate and let Gabriella walk in first and tossed her the ball.
"You take it out," Jack told her.
Gabriella rolled her eyes. "Coach..."
"Humor me? Please?" he begged.
She let out a deep breath. "Look, Coach, I know you're not happy with me right now. I'm sure Troy has told you about everything that's been going on. I'm just... I'm not sure I want to play a game of basketball against you."
Jack held his hands up in front of him in surrender. "No game, just shooting. That's all."
Gabriella took the ball and passed it to him with a small grunt. Jack took the shot immediately and let the ball swish through the net. Gabriella stepped forward, rebounding the ball, but then just stood there rolling it around in her hands, trying to gather her thoughts before she voiced them
"I still love him, Co- Jack," she admitted sheepishly.
Jack raised his eyebrows in disbelief. "So it's Jack all of a sudden?" When Gabriella shrugged her shoulders and averted her eyes, he continued. "I know you still love him. So why all the dates?"
"I um... I guess I needed to prove to myself that Troy is the one I love."
"You guess?" he asked, catching the ball when she tossed it back. He stood at the free throw line dribbling for a moment. "Don't you trust your heart?"
"I thought I did," she told him without hesitation.
Jack shot the ball through the hoop and coaxed her to continue. "But?"
"But there's a lot coming at us. College ends and real life begins," she said, in a well, duh tone as she caught the ball when it bounced off the rim of the hoop. "I - I'm just not sure what that means for me... and Troy."
"Do you really want to push him away, Gabriella? Do you really want him out of your life?" Jack asked her seriously.
"No! I just... I just need to be sure of myself. I don't want to hurt him. I want what's best for him and I just don't know if that's really me, or not. I love him too much, Jack. I don't want him to feel stuck with me. I'm scared that if real life sends us in different directions that it'll really..." she paused, as she tried to find the right words. "I don't know... It's just going to be a difficult time. I thought if there's someone out there - someone else - that might be able to put up with me..." She tossed the ball back in Jack's direction.
Jack snorted at the absurdity of Gabriella's logic. "Are you listening to yourself?" He took the shot and caught the rebound, giving the ball to Gabriella and pointed to the free throw line. "Come over here," he instructed her.
"Jack-"
"No," he cut her off. "Just come here."
Gabriella sighed and moved to stand on the line next to Jack. "I just needed to think about me for a little while and test the waters."
"And don't you think that's hurting Troy?" he asked her. "You say you love him, right?" Jack paused, watching as she nodded and dribbled the ball. "Shoot it." He watched as she took the shot and the ball swished through the net. "But you know you're hurting him, going out with other guys. If you think you're confused, imagine what he's going through," he told her softly as he caught the ball.
Gabriella lowered her eyes to the ground, staring at her feet, and lifted them in time to see the ball coming at her when Jack tossed it back. "I don't have to imagine," she said as she caught it. He pointed to another spot on the court and Gabriella moved to stand there. "He's gone out with this one girl over the last couple of weeks. I've had the... the pleasure of meeting her once. It's not a good feeling." She took the shot and again the ball swished through the net.
"Are you the jealous type?" Jack again caught the rebound and pointed to another spot. Once Gabriella was set in place, he tossed the ball to her again.
She held the orange object in her hands and looked at him. "When it comes to Troy? Yeah, I guess I am."
"Does that tell you something?"
"Yeah," she responded without hesitation. "It's made me sure that I love him."
"So why are we out here shooting hoops while he and Mom go out to eat? By the way, it appears that my son has taught you well."
Despite her efforts to hide it, Jack spied her smile as she shot and scored again.
"We're shooting hoops one, because it was your idea and two, because I haven't had a chance to talk to Troy yet. I owe him an apology - a big one. And right now he's too angry with me to even be in the same room, not to mention listening to me."
"He may be angry with you but he's still in love with you," Jack pointed out gently.
Gabriella nodded a little sadly and received the bounce pass from Jack. "I'm not sure how or why, but I hope he is."
Jack held his hands out and signaled for Gabriella to pass the ball back to him. When she did so, he tucked it under his arm and walked the few steps over to her. She crossed her arms over her chest and looked down at the ground.
"Hey, look at me." She nervously brought her eyes up to his face. No matter how close the two of them had become over the years, he was still the gruff Coach Bolton that she met five and a half years ago. "Luce and I love you both. I may not have believed it when you were in high school, but I know now that you are one of the best things to ever happen to our son. I understand that you want to be sure...but don't let that beautiful head of yours out-think your heart, okay? Troy loves you and wants a future with you. If you're looking for something to be sure about, hold onto that as a fact.. In all the chaos that's getting ready to happen in your lives, that's one thing you can count on. If you love him, Gabriella, don't play this game anymore."
Gabriella nodded and took a deep breath. "Yes, sir," she said softly. "Hey, Coach?"
Jack smiled softly at hearing the familiar name come from her lips. "Yes?"
She stood on her tiptoes and placed a small kiss to his cheek, before wrapping her arms around Jack's middle. "Thank you... I love you, too!"