One Wild Night

977  Wedding Date

As Tom and Lucy drove home after the party, Lucy giggled as she looked down at the bouquet on her thigh and remembered Tom's performance.

"I can't believe you did that in the presence of all that audience," she said, and Tom grinned as he turned to look at her.

"By now you should know I can do anything for you in the presence of anyone. I don't care about them. All I see is you," Tom said, and Lucy giggled as she leaned her head against the window, her mind swirling with thoughts.

Following Tom's question to her when they danced earlier, she had begun to think seriously about a suitable wedding date for them. She would like them to get married within six months of their engagement.

Her birthday would have been perfect so they could celebrate the anniversary of their meeting, but it would fall on a Monday.

She picked up her phone and scrolled through the calendar, pausing at Tom's birthday. It was in March and coincidentally it was on a weekend.

"What are you doing?" Tom asked, breaking into Lucy's thoughts.

"Checking my calendar," she said, glancing up at him.

"Why? We have plans?" Tom asked with interest. Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Lucy grinned at his use of 'We'. "Yeah, we do. I'm making plans for your birthday," she said, and Tom chuckled.

"I've never made a big deal out of it. So, whatever plan you're making, make sure it's between us only. And talking about plans, you promised we'd go to a strip club after the wedding, remember?" He asked as he glanced over at her, a teasing grin on his face.

Lucy smiled, but she shook her head. "I haven't forgotten, but we can't do that now. It's morning already. We should catch some sleep before we have to go to the office."

Tom laughed softly. "I wasn't asking to go tonight. I was thinking next weekend."

"Next weekend?" Lucy mused, her smile widening. "Alright, next weekend it is."

For a moment, silence settled over them again, and Lucy couldn't help but think about how she would have loved Dawn to be her flower girl at her wedding.

When Tom noticed Lucy was unusually quiet. He glanced at her before focusing back on the road. "Why the frown, Jewel? What's on your mind?" He asked since he noticed a slight frown on her face.

Lucy sighed, her voice soft. "I was just thinking about Dawn. I just can't make sense of Kimberly's decision. Refusing to let us see Dawn… I thought she'd be reasonable, especially with everything that's happened."

Tom reached over and gently squeezed her hand. "I know it's frustrating, but I think we should let them be. If she wants us to keep our distance, we should respect that."

"If only we could reach your parents. I'm sure they will know what to do. I just don't want Dawn to grow up without knowing us," Lucy whispered as she stared out at the passing streetlights.

Tom remained silent for a moment, "It's been a long night, let's not worry about that," Tom said as they pulled into the driveway of the house a moment later.

As they walked into the house and headed for the stairs, they both noticed a faint glow coming from the den door which seemed to have been left open and they heard the  sound of the television.

Tom raised an eyebrow. "Did one of the staff leave the TV on?"

Lucy shrugged, but there was a hint of curiosity in her eyes. "Maybe someone's still up."

They walked inside quietly, their footsteps light as they made their way to the den. As they reached the doorway, they stopped in surprise.

"Mom? Dad?" Tom's voice was filled with disbelief as he saw his parents sitting on the couch, casually watching TV.

Evelyn turned to them with a warm smile, while Desmond looked up from his spot on the couch. "Surprise," Evelyn said with a grin as she rose.

Lucy rushed forward to embrace her. "What are you doing here? When did you get in?"

"We arrived a short while ago," Desmond said, standing to greet them. "We heard you were at a wedding, so we decided to wait up."

"You look stunning as always, Lucy," Desmond added with a smile as she hugged him.

Lucy laughed, feeling a wave of warmth at his compliment. "Thank you. I was just talking about you some minutes ago. Did you come all the way here because you heard about what Kimberly did?"

Evelyn's smile faded as she raised an eyebrow. "What did Kimberly do now?"

Before Lucy could explain, Tom quickly interjected. "It's been a long day. Let's talk about it later. We'll need Bryan and Jade here too."

But Evelyn was persistent. "Oh no, you can't leave me hanging like that. What did she do? I need to know before I go to bed."

Desmond, who had been silent, nodded. "Yeah, we should know what's going on. Did she cause another trouble?"

Tom sighed, knowing there was no escaping this conversation now. "Kimberly's husband adopted Dawn, and Kimberly's asked us not to come near her anymore."

Desmond and Evelyn exchanged a glance, and Desmond spoke first. "I see. Well, that changes nothing. Our decision from the last time still stands. Kimberly can do what she wants now, but Dawn will get her inheritance when the time is right, and she'll decide if she wants to be a Hank or not when she's as an adult. We will keep an eye on her from the distance."

Tom and Evelyn nodded in agreement. "I agree. Now, let's all head to bed. We'll talk more in the morning if we need to," Evelyn said, and Desmond turned off the television.

Although Lucy wasn't exactly pleased with their decision, she knew better than to object or argue. If the Hank family were okay with Kimberly's decision, then she had to be too.

"I've missed you, Lucy. It's so good to see you," Evelyn said with a soft smile as all headed for the stairs together.

Lucy returned the smile. "I've missed you too. And you too, Demsond. We all have," Lucy said as they climbed the stairs.

Once they reached the top of the stairs, Tom asked, "How long are you staying?"

Evelyn glanced at Desmond before replying. "We only dropped by to check on everyone and see Sonia. We'll be leaving in a couple of days."

Desmond added, "Yeah. We didn't go to Bryan's immediately we arrived because we got here so late and didn't want to disturb them, but we plan to visit them in the morning and spend the next couple of days with Sonia before leaving."

"I'm sure Sonia would love that. They were at the wedding with us," Lucy said, and Evelyn frowned.

"Why is Sonia out partying in the middle of the night when she's pregnant and requires rest?" Evelyn asked, and Desmond chuckled.

"You seem to have forgotten that your favorite statement when you were pregnant with the kids used to be pregnancy is not an ailment. Let her have her fun," Desmond said and Evelyn huffed.

As they walked to their rooms, Tom suddenly remembered something. "Did you hear about Henry's death?"

Evelyn nodded. "We saw the news. It was hard to miss. Is Mia coming back?"

Tom nodded. "Yes, but not immediately. She's taking a vacation but should be back before Christmas."

"A solo therapeutic vacation," Lucy added.

"That's good. I'll see her when we come around then," Evelyn said with a relieved smile.

"What about Jeff?" Desmond asked with interest.

"He will be coming back by the end of this week," Tom said, and after that they exchanged goodnights at the doors to their rooms.

After Tom and Lucy had freshened up for bed, Tom spoke up, his voice thoughtful. "I know you were hoping my parents would want to contest Kimberly's decision."

Lucy sighed as she pulled back the covers. "Yeah, I was. But I also know that there is no reason for them to do that, especially considering the distance. I just wish things were different. I don't know."

"I understand. But I agree with them. Let Kimberly do as she pleases. We shouldn't let it get to us. Dawn is a smart girl. When the time is right I'm sure we will be able to reunite with her."

Lucy remained quiet for a moment before nodding, understanding his perspective but still feeling unsettled. "I guess you're right," she finally said, snuggling closer to him.

Tom wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close. "Yeah. So, don't let it bother you."

"I still hope Aaron will be able to take Jamal over there to see her," Lucy said as Tom kissed her forehead.

"I hope so too. Let's go to sleep, Jewel. Tomorrow is going to be another busy day," Tom said, his voice thick with sleep.

"Yeah. Goodnight," Lucy said with a yawn.

"I love you."

"I love you, too," Lucy whispered.

Lucy listened to Tom's breathing as he slept off, and then shaking off her worries about Dawn, her thoughts drifted off to her wedding plans again, and she smiled.

Tom's birthday would be perfect for their wedding. That way they could celebrate the anniversary of when they first met on her birthday, and then celebrate their wedding anniversary on Tom's.

Tom would never have an excuse to forget their wedding anniversary date, Lucy thought with a smile as she drifted off to sleep.

As she slept, she dreamt of their wedding and their beautiful future together.