"Thanks again Gil," Catherine smiled as Gil opened the front door quietly and stepped outside. "For watching Lindsey I mean."
"Anytime Cath, you know that." Gil smiled back.
"I know," she murmured, leaning forward to give him a brief kiss, surprised that he didn't seem hesitant to return it. "It doesn't make me any less grateful though."
Gil nodded and lowered his voice to a whisper, remembering that Lindsey was still asleep. "You should go back inside, it's cold. I'll see you tomorrow, Cath." He paused. "Goodnight." And with that, he turned and began heading down the drive. Catherine closed the door quietly and moved towards the livingroom window to peek past the curtain and watch him go down the street until he was no longer in sight.
"Is uncle Gil gone?" Lindsey's voice came from the sofa, startling Catherine slightly. She turned from the window.
"Oh you're awake." She moved towards the sofa to settle herself down on the arm next to Lindsey who was now sitting upright. "Yeah, he just left."
"Yeah, I've sort of been awake since I heard you coming in." Lindsey laughed a little. "I just couldn't be bothered getting up."
"Oh you have? You looked like you were sleeping to me," Catherine joined in her laughter.
"I have and I heard you talking to uncle Gil… Well some of it anyway."
Catherine's expression sobered a little. "Oh… Which part did you hear?"
"Well I know you asked him about what I thought of you dating." Lindsey caught her mother's gaze and held it.
"And?" Catherine pushed.
"It doesn't bother me that you date," Lindsey answered. "Or that you might bring a guy home to live with us sometime." Catherine let out a small breath she didn't even realise she had been withholding.
"Are you sure honey? I mean you know I wouldn't make that sort of decision unless I was really sure about it and it was okay with you."
"Yeah," Lindsey smiled reassuringly. "You'll need somebody around to look after you when I move out," she laughed.
"Hey, I can look after myself you know," Catherine replied, nudging her daughter gently. "I don't need anybody to take care of me or help me."
"I know that, I was only kidding. God, I can just imagine some poor guy wanting to look after you and his efforts being thrown out the window because you're so damn stubborn," Lindsey laughed. "But seriously Mom, I wouldn't want you to be lonely or spending all your time at work because there's nobody for you to come home to."
Catherine smiled softly at Lindsey and reached across to tenderly tuck her hair behind her ear. "You're growing up too quickly." She mocked a sad face, receiving a shy smile from Lindsey. "But you don't have to worry about me, I'll be okay honey. I mean I have your grandma, Nancy, uncle Gil… I won't be alone."
"Uncle Gil?" Lindsey repeated.
"Well… Yeah of course, he's been my best friend for years. Why?" Catherine asked curiously. Lindsey failed in her attempts to disguise her slightly cheeky grin. She pondered for a moment before daring to venture down the path she had frequently wanted to explore.
"Are you going to ask him to move in with us?" she raised an eyebrow, smirking at her mother.
Catherine's expression retorted into one of shock. "What? No! What gave you that idea? I just meant that he would be there if I needed somebody even just to share breakfast with or something," she quickly defended herself.
"… Or to make you laugh or protect you? Who knows, maybe he's good in bed too," Lindsey finished with a shrug, trying to make the conversation seem normal but knowing full well she was pushing her luck. "Not that that's really something I want to think about," she screwed up her face and shivered. Catherine's jaw dropped and she blushed furiously. She was unable to decipher whether she was imagining what her daughter was suggesting or not.
"Lindsey where are you going with this?" Catherine asked, folding her arms. She wanted to make sure she was on the same page as Lindsey but also make her aware of the fact that she was treading very thinly.
Lindsey's courage began to deteriorate with her mother's actions and she stuttered. "I… Well, you know… I've kinda… Well I've kinda noticed how you act around him," she took in a short breath, dreadng her mother's response.
"How I act? Like what, Linds?" Catherine questioned in a slight angry tone.
"You're sort of like… different, I guess?" Lindsey began to cower under Catherine's glare.
"In what way?"
"I don't know how to describe it. You know, lets forget I even brought this up, Mom. I won't mention it again. I just want to go to bed now." Lindsey moved to stand up but Catherine placed her hand on her shoulder, forcing her to stay seated.
"Oh no you don't. Tell me what you mean Linds." Lindsey slouched into the seat and sighed. "How long have you known uncle Gil, Mom?"
"Umm… 20 plus years. Why?"
"So you like him a lot, right?" Catherine sharply cut in. "Get to the point Linds, I'm tired too remember."
Lindsey sighed. "Well it shows how happy he can make you. And I'm not sure anybody else will compare to him… In terms of making you happy I mean. Plus I think you make him pretty happy too, Mom." Lindsey avoided eye contact, unsure of what her mother was going to say next but hoping she'd got her point across despite how vague she'd been.
"You're right…" was the reply, causing Lindsey to look up quickly. "He does make me very happy." She paused. "And I do like him a lot. But we're just good friends Linds. It sounds to me like you're suggesting there's something more there but there's not."
Lindsey grew a little frustrated. "Oh come on, Mom… You can't seriously-" A glimpse of Catherine's expression cut her off. "Okay… yeah. Well I'm going to go to bed. I'll see you later. Goodnight Mom." Lindsey leaned over to hug her mother and received a kiss on the cheek followed by a "goodnight". Then she scampered up to her bedroom, leaving Catherine dwelling on what they had just discussed.