Runaway (Lilah, PG-13, Champagne Challenge #137)

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Runaway (Lilah, PG-13, Champagne Challenge #137)

Post by allegrita »

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Author's note: Written for the "March Madness" Champagne Challenge, #137. Rated PG-13. Lilah has a moment of March madness, and gets some advice from an unexpected source.

Thanks so much to PNWgal for reading this, and offering some really good advice. Thank you, my Ray-Lilah story sister. :hug: :hearts:

Runaway

The sky was a dark, ominous gray when Arlene woke up at dawn. Not like typical March weather at all. Around ten in the morning, the heavens positively opened, and she had to run out and rescue the washing from the line. She was yanking the clothespins from Mike’s shirts and bundling them into the laundry basket when she happened to glance down the side yard toward the street. Lilah Fordham was struggling down the sidewalk, lugging a big suitcase that banged against her leg with every step.

“What in heaven’s name is that girl doing dragging that bag around in this weather?” she asked herself. Then she made a little “tsk” sound. “Well, it’s none of my business, I suppose…” She turned to finish gathering up the wet clothes, resolutely putting the Fordham girl out of her mind. When the basket was full she picked it up with a little grunt of effort. It was so heavy… Arlene stood there in the rain, thinking. Then she bustled over to the house, up the porch stairs, and through the back door into her cozy, warm kitchen.

Dropping the basket by the door, Arlene hurried to the coat closet and shrugged into her raincoat. She grabbed Mike’s big umbrella from the stand and then hesitated, her hand hovering over a large camel hair coat. Giving her head a little shake, she slipped it off the hanger and hung it over her arm as she scooped up her purse with the other hand and stepped toward the front door, where she stopped again, a little bracket of worry lines appearing between her brows.

“She’s not mine to fret over,” Arlene said under her breath. “It’s not as if…” She sighed. The coat over her arm was heavy, its folds hanging down nearly to her shoes. Arlene hugged the coat to her for a moment, her eyes misting over, and then shook her head impatiently. “Well, land sakes, the girl needs help. I can’t let her carry that heavy case all by herself. It’s not good for her or the baby.”

Arlene opened the front door with a snap and hurried out to the car, fishing in her purse for her keys. She threw the coat and umbrella in the back seat and slid behind the wheel, sliding the key into the ignition. The car started with a throaty rumble and she threw it into reverse and backed down the driveway. Mike didn’t have to know that she hadn’t let it warm up. Sometimes you just couldn’t wait.

Arlene drove slowly down the street, peering into the shadows under the big magnolia trees that lined the sidewalk. Three blocks down, she spied Lilah Fordham and pulled the car over, giving the horn a soft toot. Lilah looked up, her dark hair plastered to her face, and then turned away, carrying that heavy case another few steps. Between the suitcase and her swollen belly, the girl looked like she wouldn’t make it another block.

Arlene turned off the engine and reached into the back seat for the big umbrella. She got out of the car and hurried around the front of it, stepping over the little river of rainwater flowing down the gutter. She opened the umbrella and held it over Lilah’s head.

“Now honey, you can’t be carrying that heavy bag all by yourself, it’s not good for you in your condition,” she scolded gently. Lilah kept walking, and Arlene stayed by her side, holding the umbrella over her.

“Mrs. St. John, I’m just fine, thank you,” Lilah said breathlessly. “I’m just on my way to the bus stop.”

“To the bus stop! Don’t be silly. I’ll drive you wherever you need to go, honey.” Arlene tried to take the case from Lilah’s hand, but the younger woman refused to let go. She turned away from Arlene, pulling the handle from her grasp. The suitcase swung away from her body with the force of her turn, and she stumbled onto the grass verge, tripping over the leather case and falling to her hands and knees.

“Oh heavens, I’m so sorry honey!” Arlene sank down next to Lilah, who was sitting on the sidewalk, inspecting her ruined stocking and bloody knee. She looked up Arlene and her face crumpled. Arlene enveloped her in a hug as she sobbed, patting her back and awkwardly trying to keep the umbrella over them until the sobs turned into sniffles.

Arlene hugged Lilah tight and then pulled back, looking earnestly into her sweet, sad face. “Listen, honey. I don’t know what this is all about, but you can’t do it like this. Let me take you home and fix up your knee, and we’ll talk about it. And then I’ll take you to the bus station, or wherever you need to go. All right?”

Lilah took a deep breath and let it out in a sigh. “All right. And thank you.”

“Nonsense. It’s my fault you fell down in the first place.” Arlene stood and offered Lilah a hand up. “Let’s get that case into the car. Don’t bother putting it into the trunk, it’ll fit right here in the back seat.” She helped Lilah lift the suitcase and slide it through the back door. Then she opened the front passenger door for Lilah and held the umbrella for her as she sat in the car.

Arlene hurried around to the driver’s side, closing the umbrella, and opened the back door to put the umbrella on the floor of the car. “Oh, I almost forgot. Here’s a coat for you.” She picked up the heavy coat and slammed the back door, then climbed into the driver’s seat. Lilah was shivering, and Arlene spread the coat over her. “Now, then, that’ll warm you up a little,” she said, starting the car. She checked carefully for oncoming traffic and pulled the car into a U-turn across the wide street, heading back toward home.

* * *
“Ow,” Lilah said as Arlene dabbed antiseptic on her scraped knee. Her stocking and shoe were on the floor, and a bowl of warm, soapy water with a red-tinged cloth sat on the kitchen table.

Arlene looked up with a smile. “You always did complain about Merthiolate. Even when I drew you a bunny next to your owies.”

Lilah smiled too, then winced as the little glass wand spread more orange liquid over her scrape. “It stings, is all.”

Arlene smiled and shook her head. “If it doesn’t sting, it won’t kill the germs. So do you want a bunny this time?” Arlene poised the applicator over the bottle. “Or a kitty?”

Lila chuckled and wiped her eyes again with Arlene’s handkerchief. “You always could cheer me up, Mrs. St. John. But I don’t think this problem can be fixed with a drawing.” She sighed and rested her cheek on her hand, her elbow on the table.

Arlene screwed the top on the Merthiolate bottle and quickly taped a square of gauze to Lilah’s knee. Then she picked up the bowl of water and the first aid kit and set them on the counter next to the sink. She turned to the stove and stirred the simmering pan of hot cocoa one last time, pouring the liquid into cups. Picking up the tray, she set the cups and a plate of cookies on the table and sat down opposite Lilah. Gesturing to the plate of oatmeal cookies between them, she picked up her cup. “So have a cookie and something hot to drink, and tell me all about it, honey.”

Lilah’s eyes didn’t meet Arlene’s as she reached for a cookie. She took a bite as if she wasn’t tasting the treat, and set it down on the edge of her saucer. She picked up her hot chocolate and cradled the cup in her hands, still not looking up. “I’m – I’ve decided to leave.”

Arlene’s own cup stopped two inches from her lips. “Leave? But – where will you go? What about… the baby?”

Lilah sighed and put down her cocoa without tasting it. “That’s just it. I’m seven months along. I’ve got to go now before it’s too late. I’ve got to get settled somewhere before…” She held the handkerchief to her eyes and her shoulders shook.

Arlene put down her own cup. “Lilah, are things so bad, with… with Ray?” she asked gently.

Lilah let out a sob and then gulped it back. “No. He’s been wonderful. I’m not saying it’s been easy, but… we’ve managed. And lately, it’s been a lot better. I just…” She faltered to a stop and looked out the window for a moment. “I just… can’t live like this anymore. I’d rather start out fresh, be a widow somewhere nobody knows me. I just can’t do this to Ray.” She picked up her cocoa and took a sip, and her eyes finally met Arlene’s. “I can’t stay, knowing that this baby is probably…”

Arlene reached across the table and clasped Lilah’s free hand. “That the baby is probably Mick’s.”

Lilah nodded mutely, a big tear sliding down her face.

Arlene squeezed Lilah’s fingers, running her thumb across the hard smoothness of the younger woman’s wedding ring. “Honey, you know… I wish things had been different. I wish you and Mick hadn’t tumbled into love. But it wasn’t your fault. It wasn’t either of your fault.”

Lilah’s face was stricken. “We both loved him so. It was that love that brought us together.” She swallowed another sob. “He promised Ray to take care of me. And that’s all it was, for a long time. He was just taking care of some things for me. We never meant…” Another tear fell.

Arlene squeezed her hand again. “I know, honey. I know. It was just one of those sad things. But it was a happy thing, too, wasn’t it? You got your Ray back. And he’s your one true love, just like Mike is mine. Ray’s the one you’re meant to be with.”

Lilah’s fingers tightened over Arlene’s, hard. “But how can I face him, how can I look at him when every day I get closer to having another man’s…” She took in a long, ragged breath and blew it out slowly. “I just kept thinking and thinking about it. And finally I decided it wasn’t fair to Ray. He deserves better than me.”

Arlene let go of her hand and sat back in her chair, her mouth in a hard little line. “So you think Ray would be better off, wounded and deprived of his wife and child, because you feel guilty about something that might not even be true.” She picked up her cocoa cup and took a sip.

Lilah’s eyes flew to her face. “What do you mean, might not be true? I did have an affair with Mick. I can’t take that back. I can never take it back.”

Arlene put her cup down and leaned forward. “So you’re telling me that Ray is completely paralyzed? That you and he have never… that he couldn’t possibly be the father of this child?”

Lilah picked up her cup, a flush rising in her cheeks. “Well, no, he’s not exactly… but we hardly ever… and Mick and I…” She took another sip, her face scarlet.

Arlene chuckled. “Mick’s his father’s boy, I suppose.” Lilah turned even redder and busied herself eating her cookie. Arlene let her be for a moment, and then went on the attack again. “And even if the baby isn’t Ray’s, you think it would be kinder to steal it from him, to abandon him, your wounded hero? Because you don’t feel worthy of him?”

Lilah looked down at her cup. “I don’t want to abandon him. I just… I don’t want him to be chained to an unfaithful wife.”

Arlene sighed. “Honey, you thought he was dead. You weren’t unfaithful to him. You were moving on, just like thousands of other grieving widows. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

Lilah looked up at Arlene and crossed her arms. “If I didn’t do anything wrong, then why has Mick disappeared? He sure must feel like we did something wrong. He never even came by to see Ray.”

Arlene stood up and walked to the stove, picking up the cocoa pan. She took it to the sink and filled it with water. With her back turned, she said, “You really think Mick would be welcome in Ray’s home?” She scrubbed at the milk skin adhering to the pan.

Lilah didn’t say anything.

Arlene put the clean pan in the dish drainer and turned around. “Listen, honey. I’ve been fixing your skinned knees since you were eight. I watched my son and Ray both court you, and I consoled him when you chose Ray over him. But Mick respected your choice, so did I. I thought then, and I think to this day, that Ray is the man for you. For better and for worse. And much as it breaks my heart to see you and Micky so brokenhearted, I think you both need to find a way to accept the blessings you’ve been given, and move on. You have a husband who’s been returned to you by the grace of God. And Micky has a life to make for himself. Without you. Do you know the guilt he’s suffered because of this? How much pain would you add to his guilt if you left your husband, took his child from him, out of some misplaced feeling that you don’t deserve to be happy?”

Lilah sat in the chair, her eyes huge, and let the torrent of words wash over her. When Arlene stopped speaking, she opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. She picked up her cocoa and took a little sip and then set the cup down carefully on its saucer.

“I didn’t think about it that way,” she said in a very small voice.

“Nobody does, honey. When our troubles are so big they block out everything else, we do some very stupid things.” Arlene walked behind Lilah’s chair and rubbed her shoulders for a moment in silence. Then she bent over and kissed the top of Lilah’s head.

Lilah looked up at Arlene. “So what do I do now?”

Arlene walked back to her chair and sat down. “You borrow a stocking from me, you go home, you make dinner for your husband, and you never tell him what you almost did.”

Lilah looked down at her hands, twisting her wedding ring on her finger. “I’m never going to stop loving him, you know. “

“Mick?” Arlene smiled. “Honey, it’s that darned St. John charm. It’s a family curse.”

Lilah smiled a small smile. “Do you ever wish I’d picked Mick?”

Arlene sighed. “I think you made the right choice, honey. Like I said, I think you and Ray were meant to be together, and to stay here in your home, and to be happy here. Together.”

Lilah sighed again. “Maybe you’re right. Ray and I… we’re homebodies.”

Arlene smiled. “Yes, you are. And Mick’s a dreamer. I think he’s got to go out into the big, wide world and find what’s waiting for him out there. And if he’s lucky, he’ll find a girl as good as you.”

Lilah looked wistful. “I hate that he’s left everything he loves, so soon after he got home.”

Arlene reached across the table again, and Lilah took her hand. “Honey, he’s going to rebound from this. And in a way, it’ll be good for him to have a little bit of fun before he settles down. My boy needs to find a decent occupation before he even thinks about marrying. Did you know he’s joined some musical group?”

Lilah smiled. “He used to play the guitar for me. He said he picked it up overseas. And he was good. Really good.”

Arlene sniffed. “Well, good or not, it’s not a proper career for a family man. So he’ll have his fun, and charm the ladies – oh, I’m sorry, honey, I didn’t mean to make you cry again–”

Lilah wiped her eyes. “No, he should charm the ladies. I want him to. He’s very… charming.” She sniffled and tried to smile.

Arlene made a face. “Too charming, if you ask me. But as I said, he’s got to settle down. And he’ll find the right girl for him. And he’ll be happy one day, honey. I just know he will.”

Lilah squeezed Arlene’s hands tight. “I hope so.”

“You just trust me. And now we have to get you home before Ray knows you’ve been gone. I suppose you left some tearstained note?”

Lilah put her hand to her mouth. “Oh lord, yes I did! I’ve got to get rid of it before he sees!”

Arlene stood up. “Then we’d better get you home, young lady.”

Lilah smiled and stood up. “Yes ma’am.”

Arlene patted Lilah’s tummy. “And when the baby comes, you’ll let us visit?”

Lilah covered Arlene’s hand with hers. “Of course. Any time you like.”

Arlene patted her tummy one last time. “Good. Now let’s find you that stocking.”
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Re: Runaway (Lilah, PG-13, Champagne Challenge #137)

Post by Lilly »

Oh, Alle! :hankie: :hearts: This is perfect. That's all -- just perfect. Every single word. :notworthy: :heart:


I'll be back when I can be more coherent, but I had to at least tell you how much this moved me today. It's one of the most lovely ML pieces I've read in a very long time -- and a totally unexpected take on the challenge.
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Re: Runaway (Lilah, PG-13, Champagne Challenge #137)

Post by cassysj »

This is just wonderful and what a unique take on the challenge. It would have to be hard for Lilah, pregnancy wrecks havoc with hormones under the best of circumstances and when you've had a situation like this it's even worse. Mrs. St. John is right she needed to stay and it was for the best. If Mick "disappeared" for a while it would make it easier people would get used to Ray & Lilah again and even though some may suspect the baby came from the "milkman" that dies down pretty quick when a family is formed.

I really enjoyed this story.
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Re: Runaway (Lilah, PG-13, Champagne Challenge #137)

Post by r1015bill »

alle,

This is just beautiful. Your Mrs. St. John really is an understanding woman given that she may be the grandmother of the child.
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Re: Runaway (Lilah, PG-13, Champagne Challenge #137)

Post by darkstarrising »

Alle, I just love Arlene :heart:

She's a caring woman, a loving mother who can't bear to see another one in distress. Distress brought about in part by her own son.
“She’s not mine to fret over,” Arlene said under her breath. “It’s not as if…” She sighed. The coat over her arm was heavy, its folds hanging down nearly to her shoes. Arlene hugged the coat to her for a moment, her eyes misting over, and then shook her head impatiently. “Well, land sakes, the girl needs help. I can’t let her carry that heavy case all by herself. It’s not good for her or the baby.”
I didn't get this the first time through, but the camel's hair coat belongs to Mick, yes? How appropriate that she uses it to help Lilah get warm again.

Arlene is a wise woman, one who tries to keep Lilah from making a monumental mistake by running away. The conversation between the two women regarding Ray's 'ability to father' was spot on for the time when such things weren't run of the mill conversation. I could just see Lilah turning all shades of scarlet.
Arlene put her cup down and leaned forward. “So you’re telling me that Ray is completely paralyzed? That you and he have never… that he couldn’t possibly be the father of this child?”

Lilah picked up her cup, a flush rising in her cheeks. “Well, no, he’s not exactly… but we hardly ever… and Mick and I…” She took another sip, her face scarlet.

Arlene chuckled. “Mick’s his father’s boy, I suppose.”
Really, really enjoyed this story, Alle, and loved the fact that Lilah had a friend who she could talk to.
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Re: Runaway (Lilah, PG-13, Champagne Challenge #137)

Post by Marigold »

Allegrita, this is absolutely beautiful! :hearts: :cloud9: I love the small details you put in this story (for example, Arlene opening and closing the car doors, and Lilah taking sips of her hot chocolate). They really helped me visualize the story. :notworthy:
Arlene patted Lilah’s tummy. “And when the baby comes, you’ll let us visit?”

Lilah covered Arlene’s hand with hers. “Of course. Any time you like.”
:heart: :cloud9:

Thank you! :rose: This was a wonderful response to the challenge. :hug:
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Re: Runaway (Lilah, PG-13, Champagne Challenge #137)

Post by librarian_7 »

This just makes me sigh in admiration. A wonderful response to the challenge.

One thing I always love to see--and struggle for in my own writing--is that way of making the understated, ordinary parts of life interesting. Like a young woman at a crossroads....making a decision, and getting help in it from an unexpected source.

Perfectly lovely.
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Re: Runaway (Lilah, PG-13, Champagne Challenge #137)

Post by francis »

This is so wonderful. And I can totally see Mick's mother mothering Lilah and Ray too, because they need it and because they stuck together from early on. This gives all three of them so much background. I'm so glad that Arlene found Lilah before she did something that would make them all feel sadness and guilt for a long time. :hug:
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Re: Runaway (Lilah, PG-13, Champagne Challenge #137)

Post by choccyterri »

:hearts: :hug: Alle, this is beautiful. :heart: It's the first time I've met your Arlene... I don't think that I've contemplated Mick's parents much before... but to meet his mother as a living, breathing, and caring woman. Such a treat, babes. :rose: And such a heartfelt woman to woman talk.

The way that, even though she's not supposed to be connected with Lilah, she still feels some sort of responsibility towards her...? Well, it speaks of the love that runs through her family. And the fact that the family went through life believing that the baby might have been Mick's? Well, it's kind of nice... And must have provided some kind of solace when they lost him. :sigh:

Just wonderful. Thank you for sharing it. :hearts:
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Re: Runaway (Lilah, PG-13, Champagne Challenge #137)

Post by PNWgal »

allegrita wrote:Thanks so much to PNWgal for reading this, and offering some really good advice. Thank you, my Ray-Lilah story sister. :hug: :hearts:


My pleasure, babe. :smooch:

I love this twist on the Ray/Lilah/Mick story...and I do like this look into Mick's mother. She comes across as practical, pragmatic and just a little bit sad.
allegrita wrote:Arlene squeezed Lilah’s fingers, running her thumb across the hard smoothness of the younger woman’s wedding ring. “Honey, you know… I wish things had been different. I wish you and Mick hadn’t tumbled into love. But it wasn’t your fault. It wasn’t either of your fault.”

Lilah’s face was stricken. “We both loved him so. It was that love that brought us together.” She swallowed another sob. “He promised Ray to take care of me. And that’s all it was, for a long time. He was just taking care of some things for me. We never meant…” Another tear fell.
Sometimes this kinda love happens, and I've always struggled with this concept that Lilah and Mick falling in love was somehow wrong. They both thought Ray was dead, and they both loved Ray.
allegrita wrote:I thought then, and I think to this day, that Ray is the man for you. For better and for worse. And much as it breaks my heart to see you and Micky so brokenhearted, I think you both need to find a way to accept the blessings you’ve been given, and move on. You have a husband who’s been returned to you by the grace of God. And Micky has a life to make for himself. Without you.
An interesting angle for a mother to take. But...who knows a son better than the woman he came from? Arlene knows Mick has to travel a long path to find himself, even if she had no clue where that path is going to lead him.
allegrita wrote:Lilah looked up at Arlene. “So what do I do now?”

Arlene walked back to her chair and sat down. “You borrow a stocking from me, you go home, you make dinner for your husband, and you never tell him what you almost did.”
This is exactly the kind of advise my mother or grandmother would have given out. Life isn't easy, nor is it always fun, and when you screw it up, you pick yourself up and you go on. Lilah needs to reach down, find that inner strength that all women inherently have and make the life she was given work the best way she knows how. And ultimately, I think she did.

Lovely, lovely, sweetie! :heart:
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Re: Runaway (Lilah, PG-13, Champagne Challenge #137)

Post by jen »

Alle

This is wonderful!!!

Arlene, Mick's mother, is just perfect here as she dispensing wisdom, hot cocoa, fixes Lilah's knee and mends lives as skillfully as she probably mended socks and clothes.

It is entirely plausible that Lilah may have decided to do something like this. So glad Mick's mom was there to pick up the pieces and help her put them back together.

Thank you!!!

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Re: Runaway (Lilah, PG-13, Champagne Challenge #137)

Post by allegrita »

Everyone, thank you so much for your kind comments. They mean so much to me. :ghug: :hearts:

Lilly, I'm really honored, thank you! I have such respect for your word choices, it's a huge deal for me that you liked this. :hug:

cassysj, I agree that it was the best thing for Ray and Lilah's sake, for Mick to leave. But what a sacrifice he made, and his family made it as well. I just can't believe that Mick's mom didn't suspect that the baby might be Mick's, but I never thought about her talking with Lilah till I woke up the other morning with this story bursting out of me. So I guess Arlene wanted to have her say. :hearts:

r1015bill, I think that Arlene felt almost like a surrogate mother to Lilah and Ray. She watched them grow up, she probably fed them peanut butter sandwiches and milk, and fixed their skinned knees and arbitrated their arguments. I think she loved Lilah, and that love would overcome her feeling that the situation wasn't her business. And I think she'd be perceptive enough to count the months and figure out that the baby might be Mick's...

darkstarrising, thank you--I love Arlene too. I think she's got a lot of my grandmother in her. :rose: You're absolutely right. I wanted to suggest that the coat was Mick's... and to show how much Arlene misses him. I'm glad you felt that the intimate conversation rang true... I tried to keep it true to the time, but also to show that Arlene had an earthy appreciation for the St. John charm. :winky: And I agree that Arlene is a very wise woman, and that she could see the truth when Lilah was just feeling overwhelmed and unable to cope. Thank you! :hearts:

Marigold, thanks so much! I've always written what I imagine happening, and I guess I have a very literal idea of the little day-to-day things that people do. I'm glad it worked for you!

librarian_7, I'm humbled, thank you so much, Lucky. :heart:

francis, thanks--and I agree that Mick's mom must have mothered Lilah and Ray along with Mick, and that her feelings toward all of them are motherly. She wouldn't want Lilah to do something that would cause so much damage to the people she loves.

choccyterri, I'm so glad you liked her! :cloud9: I first met Arlene when she was an old lady, in "An Unexpected Gift, in this office. It made me very happy to see her as a younger woman, but still with that spunky quality and that boundless love.

I have to admit that it gives me a little happy feeling that Arlene might have been able to watch Robert grow up, and think that maybe her son lived on in that boy... because you couldn't look at Robert and not wonder if he was Mick's, could you? :sigh:

PNWgal, you really helped me tighten up this story, thank you! I think that Arlene has a sense that her Mick has a long road to go before he finds a way to settle down. And I agree that she's a little bit sad, but she accepts things the way they are. And she cares for Lilah and Ray very much, and wants them to have a chance at happiness. I love your description of reaching down deep to find that inner strength. I think that's what Lilah was all about, really... she just had a bit of a crisis, and needed a little help to see the right thing to do. :comfort2:

jen, thank you so much! I'm really glad you found Arlene, and Lilah's predicament, believable. :hug:
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Re: Runaway (Lilah, PG-13, Champagne Challenge #137)

Post by Fleur de Lisa »

:happysigh: Absolutely lovely.

What a delightful woman Mrs St John is---compassionate, rational, worldly and a bit of a spitfire. Loved the blunt comments about her son's prowess! Lilah is like a daughter to her and the advice she gave her was perfect. Lilah and Mick fell for one another based on years of friendship and the (supposed) loss of a man they both loved and respected. Them falling in love and falling into bed together wasn't a crime. Lilah leaving Ray based on some misplaced guilt would have been. Enter Arlene with sage advice to save the day


Well done, alle :hearts:
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fairytoes
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Re: Runaway (Lilah, PG-13, Champagne Challenge #137)

Post by fairytoes »

oh Allegrita! I absolutely love this! :heart: Wonderful, wonderful answer to the challenge. :hearts: Thank you!
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Wonderful Banner by Redwinter
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Thank you!
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francis
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Re: Runaway (Lilah, PG-13, Champagne Challenge #137)

Post by francis »

A detail that I loved on second reading is that she would lend her one stocking. Stockings were so expensive back then, but no-one would be caught dead without them or with a ripped one. :comfort:
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