Carol didn’t sleep that night. All she could think about, was what Lucus had told her. She hadn’t know his father well. Only the things she had heard. How he was a loner, poor man was always sad. Carol had seen him from time to time in town, Mr. James didn’t speak to her, he would nod his head in greeting. Then be on his way to what ever he had to do. Her dad, when seeing Mr. James would stop and talk with him but Mr. James never had much to say. Mostly he just seemed to want people to leave him alone.

  Lucus woke to the smell of bacon cooking. He felt like he’d fell off the roof. He slept very little last night, drifted to sleep right before dawn. Lucus was scared that Carol would be gone when he woke, so he couldn’t sleep. Now he could hear someone moving around downstairs, then Timothy was laughing. Rubbing his eyes, Lucus decided to climb out of bed. He knew that Carol was cooking breakfast but he didn’t know if he would be able to eat a bite until he found out if his wife and son was going to stay with him or not. He showered, then went downstairs. As he walked into the kitchen, Carol stopped what she was doing and turned to look at Lucus. He could still see the hurt there but not as much as the night before. She smiled sadly and told him that breakfast would be ready in a few minutes. He swallowed hard, then nodded his head.

  As they eat, Carol asked Lucus about going to town, “We need somethings from the market, and I’d like to go see my parent’s today also. It’s their wedding anniversary and I thought we could invite them over for dinner tomorrow night, if that is alright with you? Dad will be taking Mom out for dinner tonight, so what do you think?” she asked. Lucus had to blink, his thoughts were racing. Did she mean that she was staying, that she was going to leave him and take their son? He was afraid to ask but he could feel that he had to, he had to know. ” Does this mean that you are going to stay with me, Carol? Can you forgive me for being so stupid?” His voice was just a whisper. ” Lucus, all I could think about last night was our marriage. How we could save it and I do want to try. I’m sorry that your father was so hard on you, I only wish that you would have told me and not let me find out on my own, like I did. I wanted to die when I read those papers, I felt so used, but the more I thought during the night, the more I realized that you do love me. I believe I knew you loved me even before you knew. The way you touched and watched me gave you away. I could feel your love, Lucus. Maybe not when we first married but I did feel it not long after. I love you Lucus and I want us to be a family. I have just one thing to ask though.” Carol said. ” What’s that?” Lucus wanted to know. ” That we won’t hide any secrets from the other.” she answered. ” That is something I can promise will never happen again and Carol, I really do love you.” Lucus took her in his arms and kissed her tenderly.