After work, Robbie came home a bit later than Laura. Laura had dressed in a relaxed manner. She wanted a quiet and thoughtful evening with Robbie. When Robbie got in the door, Laura gave Robbie a quick kiss then started to remove his tie.
Robbie commented, "You can't get enough of me. You are ripping off my clothing after I barely have the front door closed. No wonder I adore you! "
Laura just smiled up at him as she continued to fully remove his tie.
Robbie was prepared for a smart, but humorous answer from Laura, but he noticed that she remained silent. Not like his Laura.
The evening meal was simple but good. Laura reached for Robbie's hand several times, to squeeze it, caress it, or just to lay her hand upon his for a few moments. Robbie noticed that, too.
After their meal Robbie put on some soft music. Robbie then grabbed Laura's hand and led her to the sofa. She came along very willingly. No TV, no book, just a relaxing musical background and the two of them entwined on the sofa.
Robbie quietly asked Laura, "Is everything alright? You've been quiet this evening."
"I'm alright I guess I wanted to ask you if I'd done the right thing with James and making the point about him needing to value his sister more closely?"
Robbie felt Laura's body stiffen a bit, she was worried that he might have thought that she'd over stepped her boundaries by doing what she'd done, to make a point. He reassured her "Laura, what you did was fine. It needed to be done, and you did it in a tone and manner that would register with James." Robbie held her closer and smiled at her to make sure his approval was understood by Laura.
"Thank you, Robbie. When I understood that James and Nell were often at odds with one another, I thought of you and the kids, just after Val's death. The years of pain the three of you went through was terrible and it took so much effort for you to all realize that the only reason it hurt so much was that you all loved each other so much. If you had not all cared for each other so deeply, none of you would have cared so much about what the other did and said. " Robbie remained silent. Laura was saying something from the heart, and he wanted to make sure he heard it and understood it.
Laura chose her words carefully as she continued. "It came down to a profoundly deep love that you had for one another. The great victory is that the Lewis' came through it well, and I am very pleased, happy and proud to be a part of the Lewis family. As a healer by profession, I hope that I can help James and Nell see that they have something wonderful in their sibling relationship, if they would just be willing to see it."
Robbie remained quiet, but held Laura as tightly as he could against shoulder and kissed her hair, then placed his chin on top of her head as she nestled into him more closely. Neither of them said anything for a long while.
Eventually, Robbie noticed that Laura had fallen sleep, so he gently woke her, so they could go to bed and get a proper night's rest.