Welcome to Gaia! ::

"He has manned up to his mistakes..." Lorey looked at her with a subtle wonder. So, all these years it was just two people not being able to communicate about their grief, because the other put up barriers. Perhaps, she thought, they could get over that.
She looked over her shoulder to see if Richard was coming out of the kitchen, and wondered if he could hear what they were talking about from there. Regardless, she spoke as calmly and clearly as she could despite her nerves.
"He can't fix what happened to Rose, no one can, just like no one can fix what happened to my mother. It's no one's fault but their killers. They were the ones who decided they should die, not us."

Lorey let that hang before addressing her again. "And I've found that whatever Richard wants to do is alright so long as he's safe and happy. We support each other because that's what a family does, because we love each other."

Lorey followed, silent. It wasn't until Richard had pulled out a seat for her that she said anything, and that was regarding his hand.
"Did you make sure nothing was stuck in it?" she asked as she gingerly took his wound. "Maybe we should go to the bathroom so I can see..."
She'd had a few injuries on the job because of broken glass from drunken guests, or because a trash bag held unkind contents. If Richard had a clean cut like that, she could deal with it with ease.

Lorey thought she was going to go nuts at the sudden ease. Perhaps they were just performing their dinner manners. Whatever was the case, Lorey smiled and gratefully took a little bit of everything.
The first thing she tried was a cold macaroni salad, which made her eyes light up. Meat was something she had to take in small portions or risk getting sick, but everything else was divine.
Towards the end of the meal, she felt twice her size and was surprised she still fit in her dress.

"That was lovely..."

Hope! Lorey knew things would get better somehow. It went right over her head that she was the catalyst for such a change, but with a heart swelling with happiness, she said as calmly as she could manage,
"I think you should start by saying how much you love him, and maybe apologizing for being the way you have been. If you want to."
Her eyes sent out a plea for her to take the advice. The simplest things could make everything better, she found.

Lorey nodded mutely, with a smile on her face. She'd done it. She'd told his mother exactly what had to be done for things to get better... now, the only thing left was for Richard to open his heart. There was the true test, and how she hoped he would remember everything she'd said about family, and how you had to stay together.

Lorey relocated herself out to the living room and waited patiently for whatever was going on to happen so she wouldn't have to be alone in a room surrounded by still photographs of the past.

Once the yelling started, Lorey got up from her place on the couch to distract herself with pictures. Yelling was something she could put out of her mind so long as she had something else to focus on. First there was a photo of a very young Richard, perhaps about three, with ice cream smudges all over his face. He had the biggest, happiest grin. Lorey wondered if that was the ice cream they had at his little parlor they'd visited.
The next was a prom picture, she supposed. Of course Richard looked dashing in his tuxedo, though she wondered if he had a date for the occasion. Lorey had never gone to a formal. They'd had no money for such a thing, and even if she had by some miracle made it to junior year, she had been forced to drop out anyhow.

The yelling continued, and while Lorey was looking at a picture of Richard's father, something poked her in the backside. With an indignant look, she peered at the little bot still offering her coffee cake.
"No thank you," she said, turning back around, but the little thing kept prodding her with the plate and beeping. "No thank you!" she said louder, moving with wide steps to the other side of the room. Still the little bot came gliding over with the cake, and had somehow procured a small cup of coffee.

Lorey pointed an accusing finger at the contraption, and with pinked cheeks said in her most demanding voice, "Oh for goodness sake, I said no--"
And then Richard came over to peck her neck, making her jump.

"Oh... well, you look happy," she said, inching over behind him as the bot once more made an advance with its dessert.

After Lorey had said her good byes and assured her that she would visit when she could, she was led out to the hallway. Richard looked so serene and happy, like a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders...
"So?" Lorey asked. "I told you there would be tea and cookies. But... was I right about everything else?"
Lorey looked up to him, filled with curiosity and impatience for an answer.