FanFic100: #075 Shade
“You’re gonna like her.” She looks at Evan and bites back an amused smile.
“That’s about the tenth time you told me that, son. Since we arrived here, that is.” And that’s not even counting the circa 5000 times in the last few hours since they started their little road trip in the City.
A little embarrassed, Evan looks down. “Yeah, okay, but… I just… I want… uh…”
“You do know that I will use this moment every time you try to tell me you’re a mature man in his mid-thirties who handles equipment worth millions of dollars on a daily basis and can do as you please, right?” He almost frowns at her.
“You’re evil, mom. Just plain evil.” Don’t laugh now, she thinks, just don’t laugh. Evan’s nervous - has been ever since he suggested she meet Laura - and she knows better than to belittle her son’s distress by laughing about it.
She takes a deep breath and stops, stopping him with her. Then she puts her hand on his forearm, knowing that it will serve to calm him down at least a little because it has always worked that way. “Listen, Evan, you don’t have to be nervous about it. I won’t give her a hard time. I just want to get to know the mother of my future grandchildren. Okay?”
He takes a deep breath, closes his eyes and nods. “Okay. And mom?” She raises her eyebrows. “You’re gonna like her.” With that he gives her one of those mischievous grins that always got him out of trouble when he was still in his teens. She just rolls her eyes and together they round the last bend.
A few yards away, there’s the café with chairs outside, some of them covered by an umbrella. She can see Evan glancing around searching for a few moments, until he settles on a woman sitting at a table that’s strewn with papers, scribbling away, marking passages, trying to ban stubborn red hair from her face… she looks at her son again and she’s sure that he has no idea about the light shining in his eyes the moment he sees her.
They have reached the table now but Laura keeps working, absolutely oblivious to the world surrounding her… “Just a moment, Evan. Just… a moment.” Okay, maybe not totally oblivious. She watches as Laura finishes her notes with a flourish and then finally she gets a first look at her face. Hazel eyes that display a softer version of the light in Evan’s eyes when she looks at him, a mouth that’s just a little too wide to be called perfect but that’s still pretty dangerous, according to Evan… and curving into a little smile just now. “Hey.”
“Hey.” Right now she’s pretty sure that either of them would notice - or mind - if she just discreetly backed off and left them alone. It surprises her a little how apparent it already is that they can try to tell themselves and everyone else that they are nothing but friends and that there will never be more all they want… but that everyone else can see it’s anything but.
She clears her throat and Evan even jumps a little. He also blushes and a quick glance to Laura tells her she has seen it, too. “I’m sure you were just about to introduce us.” Was that a suppressed snort she just heard from Laura?
“Yeah… uh, yeah, I was. Mom… this is Laura Cadman. Laura, this is Edith Lorne, my mother.” Despite being in the second half of her pregnancy Laura doesn’t waste time and stands up, as it is proper and she can see at first glance what Evan probably would have never guessed if Laura hadn't told him: It’s very obvious she’s expecting twins.
“Pleased to meet you, Mrs. Lorne,” Laura says and sticks out her hand, putting a loose strand of hair behind her ear. For a moment Evan looks like he’d love to lend her a hand there but then he seems to have remembered that good old “We’re just friends.”-litany he’d given her since he revealed the news about Laura and racks his hair a little awkwardly.
She takes Laura’s hand and smiles back, determined to lighten her son’s nervousness. “Pleasure is all mine. Please, call me Edith.” Just as they are about to sit down again, Evan suddenly clears his throat.
“Uh… mom… Laura, I just realized… I forgot something in the car. I’ll be… right back.” And with that he’s gone, leaving her behind with a slightly flustered Laura. However… Laura catches herself amazingly fast and throws her little amused grin as she sits down.
“Let me guess… his very subtle way to give us some time to get acquainted?” She knows she should be offended at the sarcastic and irreverent note in Laura’s voice but since she thought almost the same thing - and something along the lines of “coward” as well - she decides to let it slip.
“Yes, something like that. So… we should use it, shouldn’t we?” Just for good measure she adds a mildly stern look. As much as she thinks she already likes Laura… there are still a few things she’d like to get straightened out… and Evan probably assumed that already, therefore making his quick exit. It also does have an effect on Laura, albeit a pretty mild one since she only bites her lip a little embarrassedly and starts collecting all the papers on the table. Well then… better not lose any more time and get to the point fast. “Laura… I can call you Laura, right? Can I ask you something?”
Laura, still a little busy with the papers simply shrugs and nods. “Sure, go ahead.” But in the way she isn't quite willing to meet her eyes; she can see that Laura at least has a suspicion about what will come now.
“No offense, but… what in the world possessed you to keep Evan in the dark about being pregnant for so long?” It’s something she’d wanted to know from the moment her son had told her about it all. Of course she could think of a few reasons herself but… for some strange reason she wants to hear it from Laura.
Laura has the decency to squirm in her seat… and takes her time with an answer. She looks around, careful not to look her in the eyes for a few more moments; trying to straighten out the hair that gets constantly ruffled by the light breeze… but then she settles with a slightly sheepish smile and finally looks her in the eyes again. “You also think I behaved like a selfish bitch and an idiot, don’t you?”
No… no, she doesn’t. She just wants Laura to confirm to her that she isn't and that Evan fell in love with the right woman, despite the strange circumstances it might have happened. Because that he is in love is absolutely beyond doubt. “No, I don’t. I’d still like to know it, though.”
It doesn’t seem like Laura believes her and for a moment it also seems like she already managed to alienate her but then she sighs. “Right. Guess I owe you an answer. Just… just for the record: The reason I didn’t tell him was not that I didn’t think him capable of handling the situation the right way or that I wanted to keep the child from him or something like that.” She nods, gesturing for Laura to go on. So far… she hasn’t disappointed her. “In fact… I did it because I knew he would be totally decent about it. Look, I know that might sound totally screwed up now but… I didn’t want him to do that because I didn’t want to hurt him and because it was basically my fault.”
Interesting, she thinks. She’d thought that the first thing Laura would give her as a reason would have had something to do with her own career - which, that much she knows about military regulations, would have gone down the drain if it all of that would have become public - not that she would go and take all the blame. However… “Let me get this straight: You knew he would support you and because of that you didn’t tell him?”
Laura bites her lip again and takes a deep breath. The short look on her face of being uncomfortable and the momentary twitching of her fingers on the table tell her it has to do with something other than being interrogated. She’s tempted to ask if Laura’s okay but then decides against it. The stories Evan told her about Laura on deployment… told her enough to keep from asking that. “Um… yeah. Look, I didn’t want him to risk his career for me or anything, only because I wasn’t careful. It wouldn’t have been… right. And it still isn't.”
It occurs to her… that Laura might be absolutely oblivious to the way Evan feels about her or at least for some reason doesn’t want to acknowledge it… well, yet, she hopes. And it also occurs to her that Evan obviously hasn’t told Laura about his decision to request being transferred back stateside yet. She definitely has to have a serious talk with him about that. “I… see.” She really does. Laura cares enough about Evan to get the totally twisted idea that it’s her duty to keep him from giving up anything for her. Right now… she’d love to give them both a slap to the head and then lock them up until they admit to each other there’s more to the bond between them than just the kids. Unfortunately… it’s not her place to do so. “And I take it being proud of being a Marine had nothing to do with your decision to raise them on your own?”
At this, Laura actually blushes and that almost makes her laugh. Who has ever heard of a blushing Marine? “Well… the Corps ethos is pretty much all-encompassing.”
“I guessed as much. I don’t think, though, that letting a Zoomie - that’s what you call Air Force officers, isn’t it? - that letting a Zoomie take care of a few things will hurt… or will it?” Laura makes the attempt of saying something… but then seems to think better of it.
“No, guess it won’t.” Judging from what Evan told her about Laura… this was really some kind of admission. She’ll never fully get behind all this inter-service rivalry… but it will surely make for some very interesting years to come. “And speaking of the devil…” She turns around to see Evan coming back, pretending not to be carefully approaching them to see if it’s safe to intrude again. Goodness, what did he think she would do to Laura? Or, well, Laura to her. Rolling her eyes, she gestures for him to come over.
When he arrives she can’t help saying, “Can’t remember you ever having been one of the forgetful kind, son,” and even adding a little motherly reproach to her voice.
He clears his throat. “There’s a first time for everything, mom.” Then he obviously decides there’s been enough talk about his - presumed - shortcomings and adds while sitting down, “So… no bloodshed yet?”
Before she can admonish him for this careless remark, Laura has already given him a slap on the forearm and immediately a bickering match between the two ensues. She leans back, settling in for an afternoon of watching these two desperately trying to tell themselves and the world that they’re just friends and making the decision that should they still be trying to keep up this charade after the twins are born, she’ll personally see to it that they end up in a locked room and simply have no other chance than to admit to themselves and each other what everyone else can already see clearly. Yes, she thinks, a very good plan.
~*~
TBC in There Goes My Future