Guess who's back!
Dun-dun, dun-dun-dun-dun. DUN-DUN, DUN-DUN-DUN-DUN! (Sorry, I have the DM soundtrack stuck in my head).
If you haven't read my little author's note at the beginning of Ch. 1, I would encourage you to for the backstory behind this story. Other than that, I'll just add that as a big fan of these characters, I'm super excited for DM4 (in just TWO DAYS), and since this story leads up to it, I told myself I'd get the rest of it out before the movie.
Special shoutout to Andreacherrypie for your sweet review of Chapter 1! I'm sorry it's been so long...I hope you're able to enjoy the rest of the story :).
The persistent churning in Lucy's stomach meant that she had feigned much of her enthusiasm at breakfast time. Even so, she couldn't help but smile genuinely as she and her daughters approached Bake My Day. Ghosts of Gru were everywhere.
Their first mission. She could still picture the way he jumped out of his skin when he finally noticed her making a face at him from behind the counter. The blobs of icing spattered across his face. The way his eyes widened—ever so slightly—at her touch when she attempted to swipe it off.
Their first date. They'd talked for hours. Lucy learned about macaroni rockets and a mother who believed so little in her son's dream that he decided he wouldn't just make it to the moon—he would take it, too. Gru listened intently when his openness about his childhood enabled Lucy to share what she'd lost in her parents. They only stopped when Gru finally glanced at the clock and said he really needed to get home to say goodnight to his girls before they dropped off to sleep. That only served to make him even more attractive to her.
"We should do this again," he'd said, a goofy grin invading his face despite himself.
And, in the warmth of the bakery where they'd become professional partners, the same goofy smile plastered Gru's face as he got down on one knee and asked her to be his partner for life…
"Lucy?" a tiny voice piped up. Like a mist, the vision of Gru lifted, but left a delicious coolness in its wake. The reality of Agnes' warm brown eyes quizzically staring up at her hit.
Lucy's reality was just as beautiful as the memory, if not more so.
She had Gru, and now she had them all.
"Lucy, are we gonna go inside and get the cake?"
Lucy blinked, not usually one to get so distracted from the task at hand by emotion. "Yeah, sweetie! Sorry, I was a little lost in thought there."
There would be time for reminiscing later. Right now, they would make more Bake My Day memories.
Lucy swung open the door, and the cheerful jingle of the bell greeted her. Edith and Agnes ran up and pressed their noses against the cool glass case, admiring the array of pastel colors and animal-themed cupcakes. Margo prided herself on being too mature to demonstrate such excitement over sweets, but as she looked on, a smile tugged at her lips.
"Lucy!" the woman behind the counter, Natalia, gushed. "One of our favorite customers! Oh, and you brought the girls with you this time, too!"
"Hi Natalia! We're here to pick up the little Father's Day surprise for Gru."
"Perfect! I'll be right back with it." Natalia turned and pushed open the café doors, which flapped behind her as if to wave to Lucy in greeting.
Lucy smiled warmly. Despite how strangely her relationship with the little bakery started, she loved being a regular here. She inhaled deeply. Confectioner's sugar and notes of cinnamon overwhelmed her senses.
Margo, who'd stuck beside Lucy, couldn't ever remember watching her mother stand so still. She looked up into Lucy's eyes intently. Were those tears swimming in them?
Spotting a blurry Margo watching her out of the corner of her eye, Lucy squinted and inhaled deeply again, as if to suck the tears back in. But it was no use. Being enveloped in the warmth of the bakery was like feeling Gru all around, being wrapped in his warm hug…
Suddenly the lump lodged in Lucy's throat felt to be the size of a golf ball. Margo watched in horror as the emotion in Lucy's eyes dissolved into panic. Lucy whirled around to face her daughter. "Uh, Margo? Do you think you could do me a favor and grab the cake from Natalia? I have to…go to the bathroom."
Margo nodded, her eyebrows creasing with worry. "Yeah, sure." To feel some measure of control, Margo walked up and placed her hands on Agnes' shoulders. She stared after her mother with concern as she staggered off.
"What's up with her? Do you think she really is sick?" Edith wondered aloud, tugging on one of her beanie tassels.
Margo's eyes were locked on Lucy, but she did detect a rare note of concern in Edith's tone.
Margo weighed her options. There was no denying that Lucy looked terrible, so Margo couldn't pretend everything was fine as she usually did. But she also didn't have to let on how bad she suspected it really was. "Yeah…I think she's just…really not feeling well," said Margo absent-mindedly.
Rousing Margo from her thoughts, Natalia emerged with the cake. "Oh, where'd your mom go?"
"Her stomach's kinda acting up today," Margo mumbled, handing over Lucy's card to pay for the cake.
"Oh, that's too bad. Tell her I hope she feels better so she can enjoy that cake with you all later."
"Thanks, Natalia. Hopefully she'll be feeling better the next time you see her!"
Margo nodded her head in the door's direction, wordlessly commanding her sisters to follow her. She guided them toward the fountain.
"Shouldn't we just wait in Bake My Day, so she'll know where we are?" said Edith, gesturing to the bakery.
Margo whipped around and shoved the box of cake into Edith's arms. "No. You guys are going to wait right here while I go check on Lucy. Edith—do not eat that cake, and don't get yourself or Agnes killed."
"Very funny," Edith replied dryly.
"I'm not kidding. I know what you're capable of."
Without another word, Margo took off, hoping Edith would cooperate. Upon finding the bathroom, she went in and discreetly peeked under stalls for that familiar pair of silver heels. She didn't have to look far. Her ears quickly attuned themselves to suspicious sounds that immediately alerted her that her mother was getting sick.
Margo hesitantly raised her hand to the stall door. Maybe Lucy would be angry that she'd left her sisters with the cake. Maybe Lucy would be angry that she suspected what was really going on.
But she couldn't bear the thought of the sunny and fearless Lucy Wilde feeling so helpless.
She rapped on the door.
"Lucy? It's Margo."
Lucy clenched the sides of the toilet seat even tighter. She couldn't even remember when she'd started gripping them for support. I should have known she'd come worrying if I didn't hurry up. "I'll—I'll be out in a second, sweetie."
Lucy cringed at the pained quality to her voice.
After cleaning up the mess that unfortunately didn't make it into the toilet, Lucy opened the door. She wearily attempted a smile.
Margo almost flinched at the sight of Lucy's miserable face. She didn't even ask if Lucy was okay.
It was obvious she was not.
"Lucy, maybe we should go home. Or we could call Gru to—,"
"No. No, I am a-okay, honey. Please don't worry about me, and please, please don't call Gru. I know if you say the word, he'll come straight here. I want to make today special for him, not ruin it! I feel much better now. Scout's honor."
Margo appeared skeptical. "Are you sure?"
"Yes. I'm fine now, okay? But, hey, thanks for looking out for me."
"No problem. I guess it's kinda my duty when Gru's not around."
As her daughter wrapped her arms around her, Lucy felt a pang at the mention of Gru. After all, she really did need him right now…
As if on cue, Lucy's phone vibrated in her pocket, interrupting the hug. She fished it out and felt her eyes widen when she saw the caller ID. "It's Gru," she said, with a hint of panic in her voice. "I guess I should answer it. If I don't, he'll just get worried about me being sick."
Sighing, Lucy picked up. "Hello?"
"Hey, sweetie, how are you feeling?"
"I'm fine." Lucy bit her lip, hoping she'd sounded reassuring enough. But then she noticed the background noise: traces of minion laughter, zaps, and rapid clicks. Gru would never pick up the crack in her voice over all that racket. "Where are you right now?"
"We…may or may not have taken your laser tag suggestion."
Even over all the noise, she could hear the smile in his voice, which in turn made her smile. She recalled Gru telling her how he used to play at the arcade with his minions as a child, how they'd crawl into claw machines and steal prizes galore for him. Lucy let out a laugh for the first time since they'd entered the mall, feeling slightly better now that she was talking to Gru. "Did you really?"
"I said maybe." But he was laughing, too.
"I hope you guys are having fun. Oh, and Gru? Make sure you guys are home in, like, two hours, okay? I love you."
"Love you too. Bye."
"Well," Lucy said, feeling more like herself after talking to Gru. "Let's go find Edith and Agnes before Edith gets them killed," she teased.
Margo smiled.