Lola sat on a couch, hands on her swollen belly, as she watched Kenna select dresses and accessories from her wardrobe and place them in a trunk. She interjected her opinion every once in a while but mostly she enjoyed the chance to just sit quietly and relax after weeks of traveling on her wedding tour. Kenna had told her that morning that her and Bash we're planning to stay for a few weeks at the estate Catherine had gifted them. Their wedding hadn't exactly been the type that you conclude with a wedding tour, but they both agreed that some time away from court would be good. Henry was relentless in his aggressive pursuit of Kenna and it had only gotten worse with his dismissal of Penelope and increasing madness.
"Kenna, when I left for my trip you and Bash were barely speaking let alone planning romantic getaways, what changed?" Lola asked.
"I wouldn't exactly consider this a romantic getaway, more like an escape from Henry's grip," Kenna answered, "but that's not to say that things haven't improved greatly between Bash and I."
Lola pressed for more details and Kenna told her about their dance on the terrace, their afternoon horse rides, the shared smiles. "I think I love him Lola," Kenna said, "he's not what I wanted but at the same time he's everything I ever wanted. Does that make any sense?"
Lola understood, Julien might not have been the wealthy man she had thought him to be but after owning up to his duplicity and past mistakes, Lola knew that at the end of the day she had a devoted and caring husband. She also knew that Bash could be the same for Kenna and she was happy to see that the two of them were moving on from their past heartbreak.
"Have you shared your feelings with him yet?" Lola asked.
"No, I'm worried he's still hung up on Mary and I don't want to be disappointed. We haven't even consummated our marriage yet, you know," Kenna replied, blushing, "sorry, too much information."
Lola opened her mouth to reply, but shut it quickly when she noticed tears forming in Kenna's eyes.
"I wish I could go back to when we first arrived at court," Kenna continued, "I never would have gotten involved with Henry if I could have known where it's led me. I'm finding happiness in the marriage he's forced me into but I worry that all the scars and baggage I've brought into Bash and I's relationship because of my involvement with him will keep us from becoming more than just flirtatious friends."
"Oh Kenna, you have to forgive yourself. Mistakes have been made by everyone since we arrived here. Look at me, I'm carrying the evidence of mine around with me. But my mistake has also become a blessing and yours can too," Lola replied comfortingly, "I haven't been around much since your wedding, but I've seen the way Bash looks at you and Mary has too. She told me yesterday that you've brought a smile to his face she hasn't seen since before she choose Francis over him."
"Really?" Kenna asked, brushing tears off of her face.
"Really. Now how about you finish packing so I can go take a nap, carrying around another person all day is exhausting," Lola joked, happy to see Kenna's smile return.
"Do you think I'd be a good mother?" Kenna asked.
Lola responded, "of course you would, but that means you have some work to do on your trip..." Kenna just rolled her eyes as Lola laughed softly. She had hope for her friend's marriage, she truly did.
After writing this I realized that the show has portrayed Greer and Kenna to be a lot closer in my opinion but I had already added so much context with Lola's baby that I decided to keep it as a conversation between Lola and Kenna. I wanted to lay some more foundation for Kenna's feelings before I continued on and hopefully this chapter did that. Thanks so much to those of you that reviewed, it's very encouraging :) I'll try to get at least one more chapter up this week.