Chapter 78 Hostilities
Luke was angry enough to tell everyone what Terry had told him about Hallie’s shoplifting. He realized now it was probably true. She was an angry young woman, resentful of her family, and he could easily picture her doing some petty crime to blow off some steam.
He had had just about enough, and he wanted to let Terry proceed with her plan uninterrupted.
It was just as well that he ran into Terry in the hallway when he was on his way outside.
“Have you talked to her?” Her smile of anticipation seemed to say that she only expected good news.
Luke was not in the mood to indulge her. “I don’t want to be in the middle of this anymore,” he said, “You two sort it out between yourselves.”
“I take it your talk didn’t go well,” Terry called as he walked past her. “That’s okay, I didn’t really expect her to cooperate.”
Luke walked out onto the front porch, trying to find some relief in the fresh morning air. He wasn’t sure what to do anymore, but he decided to stay and let Terry’s plot reach its natural conclusion. If nothing else, he was curious about how it would all turn out.
But when everyone gathered at the breakfast table, Hallie wasn’t there. Luke suddenly noticed how ‘coupled up’ everyone was, except for him.
Gigi and Bob were really cute together as only old people can be. Bob grumbled about life, while Gigi grumbled about him.
Terry and Bill were making goo goo eyes at each other and holding hands. Even Vivian and Sam, though they were usually not love-dovey sometimes had a “secret” smile for each other that they probably thought no one else noticed.
Normally, Luke wasn’t bothered to be the only single in a room full of couples, but he didn’t just want to be coupled up; he wanted Hallie to be here.
He went upstairs to check her room, but it was empty. The disappointment must have shown on his face when he returned to the dining room.
“She’s gone for a ride,” Bill said, “I saw her down at the stables.”
“Well she chose a funny time to do it,” Vivian said. She looked over at Luke, as if knowing that their falling out must have had something to do with Hallie’s absence.
Luke felt a little relieved that she had just gone for a ride because he had started to get worried that she might have done something drastic after their latest talk, which was more like a fight.
He grew more ill at ease again when she didn’t show up for lunch. He kept glancing out the window to see if she was coming back.
At last, just before dinner time, he saw her riding towards the stables at a walk, both she and the horse slumping with exhaustion.
He usually put up a barrier against feeling guilty about things he had said or done, but suddenly the tide of emotion washed over him, taking him by surprise.
He had thoughtlessly ruined what could have been a good time, for Hallie too. She didn’t deserve that.
Finally, when she came downstairs for dinner, hair brushed to a brilliant shine, the determined look on her face seemed to say she was ready for anything Terry might dish out.
Suddenly, Luke knew he would never be able to say anything bad about her. Maybe if it was anyone else but Hallie, he would have done it just to be spiteful. But after he had some time to cool down, he realized he couldn’t do it to her. And he couldn’t let Terry do it either.
He noticed Terry was ramping up for the final assault. She was wearing her full set of makeup, crimson lipstick and sparkling eyeshadow included.
As Vivian served the turkey and everyone praised her wonderful cooking, Terry was preparing to pounce.
“Mama, do you remember when—” she began.
Luke cut into the conversation, hoping he wasn’t too late, “That reminds me of an interesting psychological concept. Would you like to hear it?”
“Well, sure,” Vivian said.
“Excuse me, I spoke first!” Terry insisted.
“No, you didn’t,” Luke said brazenly.
“What the hell, Luke!” Terry shouted. “You interrupted me.”
“Terry, what’s the matter with you?” Sam said. “That’s not how we treat our guests.”
Terry glowered but kept silent, probably hoping to show that she was the good daughter after all.
Luke seized the opportunity to continue. “Imagine if one of your friends told you that their kid had done something bad back in their teens, like shoplifting small items, for instance?”
“What kind of a strange question is that?” Vivian wondered. “Is there something you know about my friends that I don’t?”
“It’s purely imaginary,” Luke said, “I don’t know anything. But if this happened in real life, what would you do?”
“Okay, this is really weirding me out,” Vivian replied, “but if you must know, I would ask my friend how their kid is doing now. Are they well adjusted?”
“Yeah, more or less,” said Luke, while Terry was scowling at him in bewilderment. “They didn’t turn to a life of crime.”
“Then I’d tell my friend not to worry,” Vivian said with a reassuring smile, “Their child had gone through some sort of wild phase, but they’re out of it now. It’s water under the bridge.”
“Water under the bridge,” Luke repeated, as if mulling it over, while giving Terry a meaningful look. “I’m glad you think so because some people could be so judgmental.”
Terry looked livid. Luke gave her a teasing grin, knowing that anything she tried to say now about Hallie would be wasted.
He suddenly felt the pull of Hallie’s gaze, and as he turned to her, he realized she had to know that he knew about her teenage hijinks.
Something inside him stirred to life, some kind of sweet feelings that he thought might have never existed in his cynical heart. He felt happy to be alive because the look of delight in Hallie’s eyes shone so vividly.
Had she been worried all this time that he would find out about her shoplifting? Did she think that he of all people would judge her?
She smiled at him briefly, then went back to acting like nothing important was happening.
“Mama, daddy, have you ever noticed how Luke is the spitting image of Prince Lucas of Sarkadia?” Terry said, a subtle smile lurking on her lips, “Some people have been saying he is the prince. That’s why the news team was here the other day.”
“I don’t read the tabloids,” Sam said dismissively.
“Me either,” Bob chimed in, “Nothing but junk.”
“Take a look, mama,” Terry said, showing her a picture she must have had lined up on her phone.
“Oh, that’s not him!” Vivian exclaimed, “Luke is much better looking than that. Does it even look like him?...”
“Let me see that,” Gigi said.
Luke froze. He hadn’t actually expected Terry to do it. Maybe he should have known Terry was going to unleash all her weapons at once, but now it was too late. He had underestimated her...