Ficlet: Mend (GH, Lulu, Lulu/Johnny, Lulu/Bobby)
Title: Mend
Author: empressearwig
Prompt: 62 - Hiding My Heart
Pairing/Character(s): Lulu, Johnny/Lulu, Lulu/OC
Rating: PG at most
Disclaimer: GH characters aren't mine, and neither is Bobby, who belongs to normative_jean.
Word Count: 2728
Spoilers/Warnings: Part of the Lana!AU. It is a sequel to What Becomes of the Broken Hearted.
Summary: “But I’ve had to figure out a different future without you, and that’s what I want to talk to you about, okay?”
Author's Notes: Bobby is generously borrowed from normative_jean, whom I hope doesn't think I mangled her creation too badly. Written for theechochorus.
March 17, 2011
Lulu knelt at Johnny’s grave.
She traced the letters of his name with her left hand, the light that used to glint from her engagement ring gone. The absence of the ring was just a physical trace of the changes that had happened in the last year.
She shuddered, hand brushing over the final date carved into the marble tombstone. Sometimes it seemed like just yesterday that he’d died, and at others it felt like a lifetime ago.
She took a deep breath. “Hi Johnny,” she said haltingly. “I can’t believe it’s been a year since I lost you. It seems like just yesterday that you were here, loving me and planning our future.” She smiled sadly. “But I’ve had to figure out a different future without you, and that’s what I want to talk to you about, okay?”
She paused, as if expecting the headstone to answer.
When it didn’t, she pressed on. “I’m living in London now, you know. Going to school making new friends, a new best friend, actually. I only met him six months ago, but he’s become such a big part of my life…”
October 5, 2010
Lulu threw down the textbook she was reading in disgust.
Bobby looked up from his laptop. “What did that book ever do to you?”
She made a face at him. “Bored me to death,” she quipped cheekily. She looked over at him, pleading with her eyes. “Can we go do something? Anything? Please?”
He looked down at the clock on his computer. “Can you wait like half an hour? I really need to finish this.”
She pouted, folding her arms across her chest, and sliding down in the chair. “Fine, but I’m watching the clock.”
He chuckled and looked back at the computers screen.
She watched him instead.
She tried to be subtle about it, only looking when he was fully absorbed by whatever he was doing on his computer.
She noticed how quickly his long fingers flew across the keys, how he tugged on his hair and frowned whenever he read something he didn’t understand, how he smirked whenever he found something stupid, how he tapped his foot more quickly when something excited him.
It all fascinated Lulu. Bobby fascinated Lulu, really. A month before she hadn’t known that he existed, and now a day felt incomplete if she didn’t hear from him at least once.
She looked for slightly too long, and he caught her staring.
“What?” he asked self-consciously.
“Nothing,” she rushed to assure him. “Just day dreaming.”
He cocked an eyebrow and smirked. “About me? Why Lulu, I didn’t know you had those kinds of ideas about me,” he drawled.
To her utter mortification, Lulu felt herself blushing. To cover, she tossed a pillow at him.
“Hey, hey!” he cried as he covered his laptop with his body, letting the pillow hit him in the head. “I thought we talked about your casual attitude towards violence when my baby is around.”
Lulu’s face froze and she felt tears pricking at the corners of her eyes.
Bobby regretted the words instantly, stumbling over himself to apologize. “I’m sorry, Lulu, I wasn’t thinking when I said that or I wouldn’t have,” he rambled, watching her face closely for a reaction.
She waved the apology away as she brushed a hand over her eyes and smiled too brightly at Bobby. “It’s fine, I didn’t mean to react like that.”
Bobby looked unconvinced.
“I’m fine,” she insisted, the smile shifting to a smirk. “But if you really want to make it up to me, you could take me out for ice cream…”
He laughed and shut his computer. He stood and stretched. “If you’re thinking about your stomach, I can’t have upset you too much,” he teased. He took a step towards her, holding out a hand. “Friends?”
She laughed and took the hand, letting him pull her to her feet. “Friends.” She let go of his hand. “Should we go?”
Bobby blinked. “Right…” He gestured for her to pass by him. “After you.”
She walked past him and out the door, grabbing her purse as she went.
Bobby watched her walk past and stuffed his hands into his pockets as he walked out to join her.
He didn’t want her to notice that his hands were trembling.
March 17, 2001
Lulu smiled wistfully at the memory.
“Bobby’s really one of the nicest guys I’ve ever met, at least when you get past the sarcasm. He worries when he thinks he’s hurt someone, even if it’s accidentally. And you have no idea how nice it can be to hear an American accent, even if it’s a horribly obnoxious Boston one.”
She laughed.
“You’d probably hate him,” she said sadly. “He isn’t much for grey areas, at least not in terms of right and wrong. He never says it, but sometimes I catch him looking at me with a curious expression, as if he can’t believe I’d have ever been in love with a mobster.” She paused. “Sometimes I don’t believe it either, not that you were really that at heart. You did what you felt you had to, despite what you really wanted to be doing.”
“But I’m not supposed to be reminiscing am I?” Lulu mused. “I promised I’d tell you about my life, what I’m trying to do with it now that I’m forced to be without you.” She hesitated for a second. “What I’m going to tell you about now is going to ensure that you’d hate Bobby. But you deserve to know, and it’s a part of my rebuilding my life. So please don’t hate either of us, alright?”
December 31, 2008
Music blared from speakers scattered across the room, and crowds of people were crammed into Lulu’s tiny flat.
Bobby leaned down to yell in Lulu’s ear. “You still think this party was a good idea?”
She turned to him with wide eyes and shook her head frantically. She tugged him down by his shirt collar so that she could reach his ear. “Why didn’t you talk me out of this?”
He smirked and patted her on the head. “I tried. You refused to listen.” He gazed around the room, noting the empty balcony. “Hey, do you want to get some air?”
She nodded.
Bobby laughed and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, navigating her through the crowded room and out into the cold December night.
Lulu sagged back against the railing of the balcony. “I feel like I can breathe for the first time in hours,” she said dramatically. She looked up at Bobby and smiled. “Good idea.”
He leaned back on the railing next to her. “Not a problem.” He looked at the crowd inside. “You do throw a great party, Lu.”
She giggled, and looked up at him, a wide smile on her face. “I do, don’t I?” She sighed. “Let’s hope that’s some consolation when I’m cleaning up tomorrow.”
“Why clean it yourself?” Bobby asked. “You have a rich prince for a brother. Send him the bill.”
“Even better idea.” Lulu shivered.
“Hey, you’re cold,” Bobby noticed. He stepped in front of Lulu and rubbed his hands up and down her arms. “You know, it is December. Perhaps a strapless top was not the way to go tonight?”
“But I look hot in this,” Lulu said matter-of-factly.
Bobby stopped rubbing and stared at Lulu in shock.
“Are you going to disagree with me?” she challenged.
He started rubbing her arms again. “No, ma’am, I don’t believe I am.”
Beneath them, people started pouring out into the street.
Lulu looked down at them. “It must be almost midnight.”
“Did you want to go back inside?” Bobby asked, hoping she would say no.
She smiled up at him. “No, I think it’s nicer out here, don’t you think?”
He smiled back. “I do.”
The crowd below them and inside the apartment started counting down. “Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one, Happy New Year!”
Lulu looked up at Bobby, and said happily, “Happy New Year.” She pulled him into a hug.”
He whispered into her ear, “Happy New Year, Lu.” He pulled back and smiled at her.
As she beamed back at him, Bobby was suddenly struck with the sensation that he had to kiss her, and it had to be this instant. Without thinking about it any further, he tugged Lulu back into his arms, and to her surprise, affixed his lips to hers.
When she didn’t respond, Bobby started to pull back, but found Lulu moving towards him, kissing him back.
The kiss only lasted for a moment longer before Lulu drew back, staring at Bobby with wide eyes. She rushed past him into the apartment, leaving him to stare after her retreating back.
March 17, 2011
“I didn’t mean to kiss him, you know,” Lulu said. “It just sort of happened. I hadn’t even really considered him like that before. But then he was kissing me and it had been so long since anyone had kissed me that I was really more reacting on instinct than anything.”
She laughed a little.
“I was really pissed at him, too. I didn’t go home for New Years because I was heading back after to go to Lucky and Maxie’s wedding, which I still consider an abomination by the way, and Bobby had agreed to go with me, mostly because he wanted to see Robin, or at least that’s what I thought. So we had this incredibly awkward trip to get through together, and we hadn’t talked about what had happened, so I didn’t know what he was thinking and I wasn’t sure how I was feeling about what had happened. We suffered through a transatlantic flight in virtual silence, and then at least we got a break, because he was staying with Robin and Patrick and I was staying at Wyndemere with Nikolas getting things ready for the wedding itself…”
January 15, 2011
Lulu leaned over to whisper in Nikolas’ ear, as they watched the bride and groom dance their first dance together as husband and wife. “Don’t you have déjà vu watching this?”
Nikolas shot his sister a puzzled look. “What?” Understanding dawned. “Oh, you mean because we held Elizabeth and Lucky’s first wedding here, too?” He shrugged. “It was what Lucky and Maxie wanted, so who was I to say no?” He shot Lulu a look. “Besides, I like Maxie and think she’s good for Lucky. You should try to think the same.”
Lulu sniffed. “Sorry, you’re fighting a losing battle there.”
Nikolas laughed. “Ah, Lulu, it’s good to know some things don’t change. You’ve got to get over hating Maxie, though. You’re family now.”
“Please don’t remind me,” Lulu muttered. “It was bad enough I had to stand up there and pretend to be happy for them. Expecting me to like her is a little too much to ask.”
As the dance ended, the room erupted in polite applause. Lulu clapped along with everyone else, and as everyone else trickled on to the dance floor, Lulu stood and said, “Excuse me, please. I’m going to need some more champagne to deal with this. I’ll be at the bar.”
Without waiting for a response, she walked off. Flagging down the bartender, she politely requested, “Champagne, please.”
From beside her, Robin’s voice came. “Make that two, please.”
Lulu looked over at her in surprise. “Shouldn’t you be out on the dance floor with your gorgeous husband?”
“Have you ever seen Patrick dance?” Robin countered dryly. “It’s not for the faint of heart.”
They laughed together.
Robin sobered, as the bartender set glasses in front of them. “Actually, I wanted to talk to you. We haven’t gotten to catch up with you since you got back. How are you liking London?”
Lulu picked up her glass and took a sip. “I love London. But I don’t think that’s what you want to talk about.”
Robin sipped her own glass and tried to look innocent. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Lulu laughed. “Robin, for the daughter of two spies, you’re a terrible liar, you know that?”
Robin laughed ruefully. “I do know that. I keep meaning to work it.”
“So why don’t you just ask me about Bobby?”
“About Bobby?” Robin asked coyly. “Is there something about Bobby you want to tell me?”
Lulu leaned back against the bar and watched the crowd of dancers. “Why don’t you tell me what Bobby told you?” she countered, taking another sip of champagne. She spotted Bobby on the dance floor spinning little Lana around in her frilly party dress. She tried to keep the smile off her face, but a hint of it crept out.
Robin spotted the smile, and triumphantly cried, “Aha! Okay, now I will tell you at least part of what he said.”
Lulu tried to look uninterested. “Bobby said something?”
“Please, you can stop the innocent act,” Robin advised. “You have interest written all over your face, and I can tell you that when Bobby was telling me about your adventures in London together, he was wearing an incredibly dopey smile.”
“Really?” Lulu squeaked.
Robin nodded. “He did. Lulu, I’m going to break my rule against meddling and tell you that Bobby thinks the world of you. I know it hasn’t been that long since you lost Johnny and I know you must still miss him, but if you’re at all interested in Bobby, I think you should go for it.”
Lulu blushed a little. “I don’t know what to do, Robin.” She downed the rest of her champagne, setting the empty glass on the bar. “When he kissed me on New Year’s Eve, I was so surprised.”
“Why were you surprised?” Robin asked gently.
“I don’t know.” Lulu shrugged. “I just didn’t realize he thought that way about me. And Robin, until he kissed me, I didn’t realize I could think that way about him. I mean, is that possible? To be romantically interested in someone else less than a year after the person you think you’re going to spend the rest of your life with dies?”
Robin looked a little sad. “I know it’s hard to believe, but yes. It’s very possible.”
Lulu eyed Robin curiously. “Really?”
Robin nodded. “Really.” Before she could say anything more, Patrick approached.
“Ladies,” he said, grabbing Robin’s hand and pressing a dramatic kiss to it, while nodding at Lulu.
“You’re in good form,” Robin observed.
“I am,” Patrick acknowledged. “And in honor of that, you are coming to dance with me.” He grabbed Robin around the waist and starting tugging her backwards onto the dance floor.
Robin shot a desperate backwards glance at Lulu, and mouthed ‘sorry’.
Lulu just laughed and turned back to the bar to signal for another glass of champagne.
From behind her, Bobby said, “The prettiest girl in the room shouldn’t be drinking alone.”
“Ah, but I wasn’t,” Lulu countered, spinning around to face him. “I’m drinking with you, obviously.”
“Obviously,” Bobby returned. He held out a hand. “How about instead of that drink, we dance?”
Lulu hesitated for a second, but placed her hand into his, and let him lead her onto the dance floor. She stepped into his arms and looked into his eyes.
They started moving in time to the music.
March 17, 2011
Lulu fell silent for a moment, spent from talking out loud to no one.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen,” she said finally. “Bobby and I might be something, we might just be friends, I don’t know. But I do know that I want to know what’s going to happen, and I want to believe that you’d be okay with my decision to move forward.”
She traced her fingers over the letters spelling out his name a final time, and rose to her feet.
“I love you, Johnny,” she whispered, turning and walking out of the cemetery.
Outside the cemetery gates stood Bobby, propped up against the side of a tree. Lulu came to a halt in front of him.
Bobby ran a hand comfortingly along her back. “Did you say what you needed to say?”
She nodded. “Let’s get out of here.” She held out a hand, which Bobby unhesitatingly took.
Together, they walked away from the cemetery.
Author: empressearwig
Prompt: 62 - Hiding My Heart
Pairing/Character(s): Lulu, Johnny/Lulu, Lulu/OC
Rating: PG at most
Disclaimer: GH characters aren't mine, and neither is Bobby, who belongs to normative_jean.
Word Count: 2728
Spoilers/Warnings: Part of the Lana!AU. It is a sequel to What Becomes of the Broken Hearted.
Summary: “But I’ve had to figure out a different future without you, and that’s what I want to talk to you about, okay?”
Author's Notes: Bobby is generously borrowed from normative_jean, whom I hope doesn't think I mangled her creation too badly. Written for theechochorus.
March 17, 2011
Lulu knelt at Johnny’s grave.
She traced the letters of his name with her left hand, the light that used to glint from her engagement ring gone. The absence of the ring was just a physical trace of the changes that had happened in the last year.
She shuddered, hand brushing over the final date carved into the marble tombstone. Sometimes it seemed like just yesterday that he’d died, and at others it felt like a lifetime ago.
She took a deep breath. “Hi Johnny,” she said haltingly. “I can’t believe it’s been a year since I lost you. It seems like just yesterday that you were here, loving me and planning our future.” She smiled sadly. “But I’ve had to figure out a different future without you, and that’s what I want to talk to you about, okay?”
She paused, as if expecting the headstone to answer.
When it didn’t, she pressed on. “I’m living in London now, you know. Going to school making new friends, a new best friend, actually. I only met him six months ago, but he’s become such a big part of my life…”
October 5, 2010
Lulu threw down the textbook she was reading in disgust.
Bobby looked up from his laptop. “What did that book ever do to you?”
She made a face at him. “Bored me to death,” she quipped cheekily. She looked over at him, pleading with her eyes. “Can we go do something? Anything? Please?”
He looked down at the clock on his computer. “Can you wait like half an hour? I really need to finish this.”
She pouted, folding her arms across her chest, and sliding down in the chair. “Fine, but I’m watching the clock.”
He chuckled and looked back at the computers screen.
She watched him instead.
She tried to be subtle about it, only looking when he was fully absorbed by whatever he was doing on his computer.
She noticed how quickly his long fingers flew across the keys, how he tugged on his hair and frowned whenever he read something he didn’t understand, how he smirked whenever he found something stupid, how he tapped his foot more quickly when something excited him.
It all fascinated Lulu. Bobby fascinated Lulu, really. A month before she hadn’t known that he existed, and now a day felt incomplete if she didn’t hear from him at least once.
She looked for slightly too long, and he caught her staring.
“What?” he asked self-consciously.
“Nothing,” she rushed to assure him. “Just day dreaming.”
He cocked an eyebrow and smirked. “About me? Why Lulu, I didn’t know you had those kinds of ideas about me,” he drawled.
To her utter mortification, Lulu felt herself blushing. To cover, she tossed a pillow at him.
“Hey, hey!” he cried as he covered his laptop with his body, letting the pillow hit him in the head. “I thought we talked about your casual attitude towards violence when my baby is around.”
Lulu’s face froze and she felt tears pricking at the corners of her eyes.
Bobby regretted the words instantly, stumbling over himself to apologize. “I’m sorry, Lulu, I wasn’t thinking when I said that or I wouldn’t have,” he rambled, watching her face closely for a reaction.
She waved the apology away as she brushed a hand over her eyes and smiled too brightly at Bobby. “It’s fine, I didn’t mean to react like that.”
Bobby looked unconvinced.
“I’m fine,” she insisted, the smile shifting to a smirk. “But if you really want to make it up to me, you could take me out for ice cream…”
He laughed and shut his computer. He stood and stretched. “If you’re thinking about your stomach, I can’t have upset you too much,” he teased. He took a step towards her, holding out a hand. “Friends?”
She laughed and took the hand, letting him pull her to her feet. “Friends.” She let go of his hand. “Should we go?”
Bobby blinked. “Right…” He gestured for her to pass by him. “After you.”
She walked past him and out the door, grabbing her purse as she went.
Bobby watched her walk past and stuffed his hands into his pockets as he walked out to join her.
He didn’t want her to notice that his hands were trembling.
March 17, 2001
Lulu smiled wistfully at the memory.
“Bobby’s really one of the nicest guys I’ve ever met, at least when you get past the sarcasm. He worries when he thinks he’s hurt someone, even if it’s accidentally. And you have no idea how nice it can be to hear an American accent, even if it’s a horribly obnoxious Boston one.”
She laughed.
“You’d probably hate him,” she said sadly. “He isn’t much for grey areas, at least not in terms of right and wrong. He never says it, but sometimes I catch him looking at me with a curious expression, as if he can’t believe I’d have ever been in love with a mobster.” She paused. “Sometimes I don’t believe it either, not that you were really that at heart. You did what you felt you had to, despite what you really wanted to be doing.”
“But I’m not supposed to be reminiscing am I?” Lulu mused. “I promised I’d tell you about my life, what I’m trying to do with it now that I’m forced to be without you.” She hesitated for a second. “What I’m going to tell you about now is going to ensure that you’d hate Bobby. But you deserve to know, and it’s a part of my rebuilding my life. So please don’t hate either of us, alright?”
December 31, 2008
Music blared from speakers scattered across the room, and crowds of people were crammed into Lulu’s tiny flat.
Bobby leaned down to yell in Lulu’s ear. “You still think this party was a good idea?”
She turned to him with wide eyes and shook her head frantically. She tugged him down by his shirt collar so that she could reach his ear. “Why didn’t you talk me out of this?”
He smirked and patted her on the head. “I tried. You refused to listen.” He gazed around the room, noting the empty balcony. “Hey, do you want to get some air?”
She nodded.
Bobby laughed and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, navigating her through the crowded room and out into the cold December night.
Lulu sagged back against the railing of the balcony. “I feel like I can breathe for the first time in hours,” she said dramatically. She looked up at Bobby and smiled. “Good idea.”
He leaned back on the railing next to her. “Not a problem.” He looked at the crowd inside. “You do throw a great party, Lu.”
She giggled, and looked up at him, a wide smile on her face. “I do, don’t I?” She sighed. “Let’s hope that’s some consolation when I’m cleaning up tomorrow.”
“Why clean it yourself?” Bobby asked. “You have a rich prince for a brother. Send him the bill.”
“Even better idea.” Lulu shivered.
“Hey, you’re cold,” Bobby noticed. He stepped in front of Lulu and rubbed his hands up and down her arms. “You know, it is December. Perhaps a strapless top was not the way to go tonight?”
“But I look hot in this,” Lulu said matter-of-factly.
Bobby stopped rubbing and stared at Lulu in shock.
“Are you going to disagree with me?” she challenged.
He started rubbing her arms again. “No, ma’am, I don’t believe I am.”
Beneath them, people started pouring out into the street.
Lulu looked down at them. “It must be almost midnight.”
“Did you want to go back inside?” Bobby asked, hoping she would say no.
She smiled up at him. “No, I think it’s nicer out here, don’t you think?”
He smiled back. “I do.”
The crowd below them and inside the apartment started counting down. “Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one, Happy New Year!”
Lulu looked up at Bobby, and said happily, “Happy New Year.” She pulled him into a hug.”
He whispered into her ear, “Happy New Year, Lu.” He pulled back and smiled at her.
As she beamed back at him, Bobby was suddenly struck with the sensation that he had to kiss her, and it had to be this instant. Without thinking about it any further, he tugged Lulu back into his arms, and to her surprise, affixed his lips to hers.
When she didn’t respond, Bobby started to pull back, but found Lulu moving towards him, kissing him back.
The kiss only lasted for a moment longer before Lulu drew back, staring at Bobby with wide eyes. She rushed past him into the apartment, leaving him to stare after her retreating back.
March 17, 2011
“I didn’t mean to kiss him, you know,” Lulu said. “It just sort of happened. I hadn’t even really considered him like that before. But then he was kissing me and it had been so long since anyone had kissed me that I was really more reacting on instinct than anything.”
She laughed a little.
“I was really pissed at him, too. I didn’t go home for New Years because I was heading back after to go to Lucky and Maxie’s wedding, which I still consider an abomination by the way, and Bobby had agreed to go with me, mostly because he wanted to see Robin, or at least that’s what I thought. So we had this incredibly awkward trip to get through together, and we hadn’t talked about what had happened, so I didn’t know what he was thinking and I wasn’t sure how I was feeling about what had happened. We suffered through a transatlantic flight in virtual silence, and then at least we got a break, because he was staying with Robin and Patrick and I was staying at Wyndemere with Nikolas getting things ready for the wedding itself…”
January 15, 2011
Lulu leaned over to whisper in Nikolas’ ear, as they watched the bride and groom dance their first dance together as husband and wife. “Don’t you have déjà vu watching this?”
Nikolas shot his sister a puzzled look. “What?” Understanding dawned. “Oh, you mean because we held Elizabeth and Lucky’s first wedding here, too?” He shrugged. “It was what Lucky and Maxie wanted, so who was I to say no?” He shot Lulu a look. “Besides, I like Maxie and think she’s good for Lucky. You should try to think the same.”
Lulu sniffed. “Sorry, you’re fighting a losing battle there.”
Nikolas laughed. “Ah, Lulu, it’s good to know some things don’t change. You’ve got to get over hating Maxie, though. You’re family now.”
“Please don’t remind me,” Lulu muttered. “It was bad enough I had to stand up there and pretend to be happy for them. Expecting me to like her is a little too much to ask.”
As the dance ended, the room erupted in polite applause. Lulu clapped along with everyone else, and as everyone else trickled on to the dance floor, Lulu stood and said, “Excuse me, please. I’m going to need some more champagne to deal with this. I’ll be at the bar.”
Without waiting for a response, she walked off. Flagging down the bartender, she politely requested, “Champagne, please.”
From beside her, Robin’s voice came. “Make that two, please.”
Lulu looked over at her in surprise. “Shouldn’t you be out on the dance floor with your gorgeous husband?”
“Have you ever seen Patrick dance?” Robin countered dryly. “It’s not for the faint of heart.”
They laughed together.
Robin sobered, as the bartender set glasses in front of them. “Actually, I wanted to talk to you. We haven’t gotten to catch up with you since you got back. How are you liking London?”
Lulu picked up her glass and took a sip. “I love London. But I don’t think that’s what you want to talk about.”
Robin sipped her own glass and tried to look innocent. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Lulu laughed. “Robin, for the daughter of two spies, you’re a terrible liar, you know that?”
Robin laughed ruefully. “I do know that. I keep meaning to work it.”
“So why don’t you just ask me about Bobby?”
“About Bobby?” Robin asked coyly. “Is there something about Bobby you want to tell me?”
Lulu leaned back against the bar and watched the crowd of dancers. “Why don’t you tell me what Bobby told you?” she countered, taking another sip of champagne. She spotted Bobby on the dance floor spinning little Lana around in her frilly party dress. She tried to keep the smile off her face, but a hint of it crept out.
Robin spotted the smile, and triumphantly cried, “Aha! Okay, now I will tell you at least part of what he said.”
Lulu tried to look uninterested. “Bobby said something?”
“Please, you can stop the innocent act,” Robin advised. “You have interest written all over your face, and I can tell you that when Bobby was telling me about your adventures in London together, he was wearing an incredibly dopey smile.”
“Really?” Lulu squeaked.
Robin nodded. “He did. Lulu, I’m going to break my rule against meddling and tell you that Bobby thinks the world of you. I know it hasn’t been that long since you lost Johnny and I know you must still miss him, but if you’re at all interested in Bobby, I think you should go for it.”
Lulu blushed a little. “I don’t know what to do, Robin.” She downed the rest of her champagne, setting the empty glass on the bar. “When he kissed me on New Year’s Eve, I was so surprised.”
“Why were you surprised?” Robin asked gently.
“I don’t know.” Lulu shrugged. “I just didn’t realize he thought that way about me. And Robin, until he kissed me, I didn’t realize I could think that way about him. I mean, is that possible? To be romantically interested in someone else less than a year after the person you think you’re going to spend the rest of your life with dies?”
Robin looked a little sad. “I know it’s hard to believe, but yes. It’s very possible.”
Lulu eyed Robin curiously. “Really?”
Robin nodded. “Really.” Before she could say anything more, Patrick approached.
“Ladies,” he said, grabbing Robin’s hand and pressing a dramatic kiss to it, while nodding at Lulu.
“You’re in good form,” Robin observed.
“I am,” Patrick acknowledged. “And in honor of that, you are coming to dance with me.” He grabbed Robin around the waist and starting tugging her backwards onto the dance floor.
Robin shot a desperate backwards glance at Lulu, and mouthed ‘sorry’.
Lulu just laughed and turned back to the bar to signal for another glass of champagne.
From behind her, Bobby said, “The prettiest girl in the room shouldn’t be drinking alone.”
“Ah, but I wasn’t,” Lulu countered, spinning around to face him. “I’m drinking with you, obviously.”
“Obviously,” Bobby returned. He held out a hand. “How about instead of that drink, we dance?”
Lulu hesitated for a second, but placed her hand into his, and let him lead her onto the dance floor. She stepped into his arms and looked into his eyes.
They started moving in time to the music.
March 17, 2011
Lulu fell silent for a moment, spent from talking out loud to no one.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen,” she said finally. “Bobby and I might be something, we might just be friends, I don’t know. But I do know that I want to know what’s going to happen, and I want to believe that you’d be okay with my decision to move forward.”
She traced her fingers over the letters spelling out his name a final time, and rose to her feet.
“I love you, Johnny,” she whispered, turning and walking out of the cemetery.
Outside the cemetery gates stood Bobby, propped up against the side of a tree. Lulu came to a halt in front of him.
Bobby ran a hand comfortingly along her back. “Did you say what you needed to say?”
She nodded. “Let’s get out of here.” She held out a hand, which Bobby unhesitatingly took.
Together, they walked away from the cemetery.