Saturday came and Lucy was completely stunned at her father's good behavior. It was the same when Lisanna visited him with the girls to say goodbye. But when she would often visit her dad, most of her visits were because he ordered her to. The whole purpose for those command were marriage contracts and arrangements, which she refused and hated
Jude said he wanted to see how Lucy's room looked like and now there he was, wandering around her room. He praised the light pink wallpaper, her writing desk, her mirror closet, and almost everything that was present in her room. When he opened her closet, he looked at the boxes on the bottom and caught an interest on one; the pink and black vintage box.
"I see you still have the box your mom gave you," Jude said with a smile. "What do you have in there?"
"They're all letters," Lucy answered, leaving out the two special ones. "I write her letters whenever something big happens."
They heard one of the Strauss siblings call her name. "Coming!" Lucy yelled. "You gonna be okay up here dad?"
He nodded, "if it's alright with you. I'd like to stay in your room a little longer."
Lucy placed the vintage back into the closet and closed it. "That's fine. Just relax and we'll call you for lunch."
Natsu came by late afternoon and took Lucy's dad to the airport. Jude was delighted that he didn't have to call for a ride and Lucy tagged along while the Strauss siblings stayed back to watch over the house. The ride was long but because of Natsu's light personality, Lucy was at the backseat listening to music with one earphone on while the two of the conversed.
"So, how are you and Miss Lisanna?" Jude asks.
Lucy slapped her dad on the shoulder. "Dad!"
Natsu snorted. "It's okay. And we're okay Mr. Heartfilia."
"Please, call me Jude."
"Okay Mr. Jude."
"Just Jude."
"That wouldn't feel right if I just call you Jude," Natsu grinned. "Mr. Jude or Heartfilia. Your pick."
Impressed, the man crossed his arms. "Mr. Jude it is. Hey Lucy, why didn't you ever date this guy? I would've said yes to him."
"You were too busy arranging marriages for me."
Jude laughed, "that's because I didn't think you were interested in finding a boyfriend. I'm getting old you know."
"What?" Lucy huffed. "I've liked guys before!"
"You did?" Natsu waved. "You never told me about that! Who were those guys?"
"Yeah, Lucy who were they?" Jude turned to look at his daughter.
"Guys! Quit prying! It was a long time ago. It doesn't matter now."
"Things could turn around Lucy, stop being such a nega." Natsu commented.
"Just because Lisanna found you doesn't mean I'll find one like she did!"
The ride wasn't long enough for Jude to appreciate the time he had at Magnolia. He glanced at the airport through the windows and checked his phone. "Well, this is my stop. Thank you so much for dropping me off, Natsu."
"No problem, Mr. Jude. Come visit again if you have the time."
"I will, take care of my daughter for me," he points out to the sleeping Lucy at the backseat. "And here, I know she didn't accept any money to fix Lisanna's car."
"If she didn't take money from you, what makes you think she's going to take it from me?" Natsu returns the money. "She's a stubborn girl, you know."
Jude gave in, "I'll have to agree with you on that one. She's just like her mom."
"Hey, Mr. Jude, we all miss her. If it wasn't for the two of you, Lisanna would have been gone and we wouldn't have Lucy in our lives."
With a confirming pat, Jude grabbed his belongings and walked inside the airport.
"You don't want to wake her up and say goodbye?" Natsu calls out to him.
Jude shook his head. "Let her sleep, she's a heavy sleeper. I'll see her again anyway. Just tell her I love her."
"Lucy?" Natsu tried waking her up. "Lucy, your dad's leaving."
The girl didn't respond and her dad was already inside.
"You idiot," Natsu started driving home. "You pretty, little idiot..."