Chapter Forty-One
Next day…
"Tony…"
Tony looked up in surprise at the sight of a fully dressed and pressed Lucky standing in the kitchen doorway. Lucky was dressed in new, blue chinos and a matching striped dress shirt with shiny cordovan leather loafers. "I thought you'd be camped out in your bed all morning, Lucas Lorenzo Spencer Junior," Tony admonished. Tony finished loading the grounds into the coffee maker, poured in the water and pressed the on button. He started looking around for the bread so he could burn some toast. "What are you doing up? Are you feeling okay?"
"I'm fine except for a killer headache. I set my alarm for seven," Lucky explained. "It did take me an hour to get up out of the bed," he laughed. "But, I don't want to miss church." Lucky creased his brow, rubbed his nose and leaned against the doorjamb with a hand in one pocket. "Did you like that church that we visited last week?" he asked.
"It seemed nice," Tony agreed. "The congregation was medium sized, a mixture of ages, not all old ladies or anything," he laughed.
"And some good looking single women," Lucky added slyly.
"And me with eyes for only one," Tony muttered to himself.
"What was that, Tony?" Lucky teased.
"It seems I only have eyes for your Aunt Bobbie," Tony admitted. "She's a mighty fine woman."
"And a Spencer, too," reminded Lucky with raised eyebrows.
"Like I could ever forget that important little detail," Tony said. "Redheaded, beautiful and a Spencer. It should be outlawed, maybe it is in some parts of the world," he snickered.
"I wish you and aunt Bobbie would get back together," Lucky said lightly with a bit of hope.
"You, me, and Lucas, too, I'm sure," said Tony. "But, we have to give it some time. I'm not sure how Bobbie feels yet. She's still grieving over her breakup with Roy." Tony looked surprised at his own words. "Sorry, I didn't mean to bring him up, Lucky. I know he's a sore point with you. Me, too, I guess."
"What Roy needs is a little late-night visit from Taggert or Luke Spencer." Lucky looked a bit pained and pensive. "Where's Luke when you need him?" he asked no one in particular.
Tony pulled down two mugs from the cupboard and began pouring the coffee. "Cream, no sugar, right?" he asked Lucky. "Sure," said Lucky easily. "Is it industrial strength?"
"Of course. Nothing else in this house," replied Tony. "Double strength. Here you go." Tony handed Lucky a cream colored mug with the cartoon advertisement of a pancake house on its side.
"What we need is a woman's touch around here," said Lucky as he accepted the mug and turned it around, looking at its fading design. "Why does every mug in this house have either Dunkin' Donuts or White Castle on its side?" he asked quizzically.
"Because that's where you get the free mugs," said Tony.
"Have you asked for a raise recently?" inquired Lucky innocently. "Or asked Santa Claus for a better serving ensemble?"
"Smart-ass," Tony shot back quickly as he threw a dishrag in Lucky's direction.
"Them's fighting words," said Lucky in mock rage as he looked around the room for a weapon.
"Not another food fight," sighed Tony. "You remember what happened last time. It took three hours to clean up the mess."
Lucky smirked and shrugged his shoulders as he bit into a burnt piece of toast smothered with peanut butter. He made a face, turned over the toast and regarded its black exterior.
"Yep, what we need is a woman's touch," he stated emphatically.
"Eat your toast, drink your coffee and let's go to church," Tony said, waving a dismissive hand in Lucky's direction as he crossed the kitchen, gripping his coffee in a possessive hand. "I need time to get ready. Not all of us can roll out of bed instant fashion plates," he sniffed, rolling his eyes at Lucky's immaculate attire.
Lucky just shook his head as he frowned
and stood at the sink scraping at the toast with a knife, trying to find the remnants of
what used to be a perfectly fine piece of bread.
~*~*~*~
Emily was studying algebra at her desk when there was a knock on her bedroom door. She crossed the room, opened the door and laughed delightedly as she clapped her hands together at the sight of Reginald holding a dozen red carnations. "For me?" she squealed excitedly.
"For you, Emily," Reginald replied with dancing eyes. "Someone must like you a whole lot."
"Oh thank you, Reginald," Emily said smiling as she reached for the vase of flowers. She closed the door and placed the vase on her desk. She removed the small white enveloped card and read the note.
~*~
Dear Emily,
My heart is yours. I love you so much, you take my breath away.
Thanks for standing by me. I promise not to let you down again.
All My Love,
Lucky
~*~
Emily's eyes filled with happy tears as she bent over to breathe in deeply the heady fragrance of the spicy-sweet carnations. "I love you, too, Lucky," she whispered aloud, fingering the soft, moist red petals.
~*~*~*~
"Mom!" Emily plopped beside Monica onto a chintz-slipcovered loveseat in the living room. Monica looked up from her newspaper and smiled. "You look all glowing and happy, Emily," she commented approvingly.
Emily picked up a small, decorative pillow, threw it up in the air and caught it several times, then hugged it to her chest. "I received flowers today - from Lucky," she said with a blush and a grin. "He said I have his heart." Emily hugged the pillow tighter.
Monica's eyes softened, and she placed a hand on Emily's arm. "Emily, that's so nice. Lucky is a sweet young man."
Emily looked into Monica's eyes. "I love him, mom," she said with a catch of emotion in her throat. "I think I always have, but I was too young and stupid to know. And you remember how things were with Juan."
Monica shook her head. "Don't remind me," she said tersely.
Emily shrugged her shoulders and rolled her eyes. "I must have gone through a bad-boy phase," she explained. "I guess I was immature." Emily fingered the slipcover seam and shrugged again as she looked down at the sofa.
"Maybe your time in France was for the best," Monica suggested gently. "I sure have enjoyed the young lady that I've seen since you've returned. I think Lucky is part of that, too. He's had a lot of problems, but you've stood by him all the way. And, I think he respects you, as well. You haven't missed curfew once since you started dating him. Of course, if he ever hurts you, all the Quartermaines will be standing in line to rip his guts out and feed them to the crows."
"I think Jason has already declared first dibs for that honor," said Emily a bit worriedly. "He seems to hate Lucky. He told me he wouldn't talk to me anymore if I didn't stop seeing Lucky." Emily kicked lightly at the sofa. "Jason and Lucky had a big fight a couple of months ago, but Jason needs to get over it. He thinks he's being protective, but he doesn't listen to me or treat me like I have a brain."
Monica looked concerned. "I know your brother Jason is important to you, Emily, but he can be overbearing sometimes." Monica patted Emily on the knee. "He'll come around eventually. Especially when he realizes how much he misses his little sister."
"I hope so," Emily said tensely as she bit a hangnail. She abruptly hit the sofa arm with her hands. "Why do the Quartermaine men insist on being so RIGHT all the time. Can't they let other people have their opinions?"
"When you figure that one out, you'll be nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize," said Monica witheringly. "Until then, just smile sweetly and go do what you want."
Emily giggled. "I want to have Lucky over here for dinner, but he's afraid to come. He thinks grandfather will rake him over the coals for being a no-good Spencer."
Monica chuckled. "Well, I make no promises for Edward's behavior, but you might be surprised. He has eyes, and he can see how happy you are with Lucky. Why don't you ask Lucky to come for dinner this week?"
"I'll ask, but it's up to him to come," Emily stated with resignation.
~*~*~*~
Later that night…
Bobbie laughed delightedly as she wiped off her café latte mustache. "I didn't know they could do such things with coffee - whip it up, spin it around and out it comes all sweet and delicious."
"And five dollars for the thrill," commented Tony wryly as he sipped his special brew.
"Thanks for inviting me for coffee, you sweet cheapskate, you," Bobbie said with twinkling eyes as she reached her hand to cover Tony's. "I really enjoy your company. Talking to you is like the best of old times."
Tony looked up quickly with a hopeful expression. "I feel the same way," he said carefully. Tony paused then jumped in. "How would you like to go to dinner some evening? Maybe to that new rib joint off of route 38?"
"I'd love the company and the food," agreed Bobbie, "but are you trying to fatten me up, mister?"
"Any ounce of fat that heads your way always ends up in all the right places," Tony jested wickedly with an even gaze and a jaunty eyebrow.
Bobbie blushed furiously as she looked down into her coffee cup. "And he's nimble with a compliment as well," she said shyly. Bobbie recovered quickly and reached over the small table to squeeze Tony's biceps. "Somebody's been working out lately," she said suggestively and merrily.
"Wonder why," Tony replied smoothly with a lilt in his voice while he caressed Bobbie's hand.
Bobbie suddenly looked serious as she sat back and wrapped her fingers lightly around her coffee. "Tony, I have some bad news."
Tony pulled an angry face. "You're not going to tell me…"
"Yes, Lulu won't be coming for the holidays. Laura changed her plans at the last minute." Bobbie's eyes filled with tears. "I was so hoping that Lucky could see his little sister for a whole week. And, I miss Lulu, too. Even Lucas wonders where his little cousin is. What are we going to do, Tony? The situation with Laura seems to go from bad to worse. She's so unstable. Having a conversation with her over the phone is nearly impossible. She won't or can't focus."
Tony's jaw clenched briefly. "We fight back. That's what we do," he said intently.