~~ Apartment over Luke's ~~
Laura stood outside the door waiting for Luke to open
his door. She had come to get him to sign the property
agreement so that their divorce could go through.
Luke opened the door surprised to see Laura standing
there. "Darlin what are you doing here?"
Laura prepared herself to get this over with so she
could meet Scott. "I'm here so you can sign these
because if you don't we have to start them all over."
Luke: "Come in then. What is that exactly?"
Laura: "The property agreement we need to be agreed so
the rest of the papers can be processed. Scott said it
needed to be signed with in twenty-four hours or we
would have to start everything over."
Luke took the papers and looked at them. "Well I
guess it's obvious we both want a divorce or we
wouldn't both be here. Signing this this property
agreement." Luke said with disgust as he tossed the
papers. Luke started to walk around the room. "How do
we split up twenty years of life memories. You get all
the good stuff and I get what neither of us wants to
remember? What about the kids you get Lulu at dance
recitals and I take her ice fishing. You remembers
Lucky's birth and I'll remember the day he made it all
the way across the country alone at age eleven." Luke
looked at her his voice filled with emotion. "How do
we do this. If after everything we've been through
fits on one piece of paper why the hell did we bother
in the first place?" Luke looked at her again.
Laura was on the verge of tears as she listened and
watched Luke. She waited until he was finished before
she began. "Luke you know why we fell in love."
They looked at one another silently for several
moments before Laura continued. "You know why we made
our vows it was destiny.'
Luke: "It was the 80's."
They both laughed a little bit before Laura started
to walk towards him with tears coming from her eyes.
"Would you change anything Luke? Would you erase one
second of our lives together?"
Luke looked at her as she stood right in front of
him. "Tell you the truth yeah I would quite a few
things actually."
Laura: "I wouldn't. Not a moment of it."
Luke reached over and wiped the tears from her face
and then held her hand for a moment before he started
walking around again. Laura followed his movements.
"What if we'd stayed on the road?"
Luke: "Those were the best days."
Laura wiped more of her tears. "All you had to think
about was your next meal, the next town, or the next
continent."
Luke: "We were so damned good at it."
Laura: "All we owned fit into that carpet bag."
Luke: "We lugged that bag around six continents."
Laura: "Yeah and who threw it out of the plane."
Luke: "Darlin I had to the plane was crashing."
Laura: "I jumped didn't I?"
Luke: "I knew you would."
Laura sat down. "Yeah know Luke when we were living
in that house together after putting Lucky to bed even
before Lulu was born. I used to wonder about that wig,
that big black curly wig. Way back when on our very
first adventure together."
Luke: "Oh yeah Lloyd and Lucy Johnson on the trail of
the left handed boy."
Laura: "Yeah Yeah. I would lie awake sometimes
wondering what happened to that wig and try to sleep
in that house I had to have so badly. I wish that the
road had been enough for me."
Luke: "So do I."
They looked at one another wondering how many more
memories they would go through and if they would both
sign the papers. Laura spoke first again. "I guess I
blame the house yea know for suffocating you. Making
our life together smaller."
Luke: "No you had to have a place to raise the kids."
Laura: "Right right right. I knew about Texas and how
you used to sneak out at night and listen to that
clear channel the blues station that came from Mexico.
Just you and the cattle."
Luke looked surprised. "You knew about that?"
Laura: "Yes Luke why do you have a need for that
darkness? Why do you have to sneak out alone and jump
across the border?"
Luke: "God I wish I knew."
Laura: "Hey its okay. You always came back. Another
life time."
Luke: "It's a whole other life."
Laura: "After all the places we've been and even after
all the damage we've done how could we end here?"
They both seemed sad like they really didn't want to
be doing this. Yet they were doing it because it
seemed what the other wanted.
Laura: "When I promised to stay with you forever I
meant it."
Luke: "So did I."
Laura: "Till death do us part."
Luke: "Something's dying right this second."
Laura: "Yeah."
Luke started walking around again. "Sometimes I dream
about our return to Port Chuck in that old pink
Cadillac." Luke came back over to Laura carrying
shots.
Laura: "Les and Lulu right?"
Luke: "Yeah Lulu Carmicheal you convinced everyone you
were pregnant."
Laura: "Nobody knew us."
Luke: "Almost nobody."
Laura: "I never thought I'd need more then what we
had."
Luke: "Most people don't get anywhere near what we
had."
Laura: "I guess that's true we were the penultimate."
Luke: "There's a top dollar word."
Laura: "Oh well so I went corporate."
Luke: "You sure did."
Luke handed her a shot. "To penultimate love."
Laura: "To us."
They both clinked shot glasses and took a sip. Luke
sat back down. Laura spoke again. "You remember when
we got locked in Wyndemes and found the r old clothes
and danced all night."
Luke: "That was a time then you were gone."
Laura: "You think I wanted to be gone."
Luke: "I needed you then the mayor's mansion was so
big and the walls were closing in on me it was like I
was living someone else's life. I had completely given
up then one night I walked out onto the terrace and
looked into the garden and there you were. In that
moment in that flash I felt the purest joy I've ever
known."
Laura: "We were blessed. We were golden for twenty
years."
Luke: "Give or take."
Laura picked up her shot glass. "Here's to give or
take." They clinked glasses again and took a drink.
Laura stood up and Luke followed.
Luke: "What happened to us darlin? When did forever
end?"
They looked at one another again pondering Luke's
well-placed question. Laura broke the silence. "What
are you saying Luke have you changed your mind about
the divorce and need more time?"
Luke: "What if I do?"
The phone rang once and stopped before Luke could
answer it. Laura looked at him. "Could this all be a
huge mistake?"
Luke: "I think we need to think about it more Angel.
We've been through way to much to not at least think
this through again."
Laura: "True we can always start the proceedings over
again later."
Luke" "True enough Darlin. What about Baldwin?"
Laura: "He won't like it but he will understand. What
about Felicia?"
Luke: "She's with Mac again and she isn't my Angel."
Laura looked at him again. "Can we really try again
after everything?"
Luke: "We don't have anything to loose Laura."
Laura: "True and we have had more good times then bad
ones."
Luke: "Yes we have. Once the cowboy is better and we
work through things do you think we take our princess
and the carpetbag and go on a little trip?
Laura: "I'd like that very much."
Luke looked at Laura and closed the gap between him
and Laura. He leaned in and touched Laura's face
before kissing her softly and looking into her eyes.
He broke the kiss and kissed away her tears. "To new
beginnings Angel."
Laura trembled a little bit. "Yes to new beginnings."
Luke found the papers and struck a match to let them
burn up. Laura smiled at him as they watched the
papers disintegrate. Luke wrapped his arms around her
and just held her close in his arms knowing they were
where they belonged home in one another's arms.
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