Lucy held up a hand. “I’ll go first. Before me, Rob kept dating the wrong kind of girl.”
“What was wrong with them?” asked Dustin. “Other than not being you.”
“The ‘not me’ part was a big problem,” Lucy said solemnly, “but really, he just took whoever showed up. He was too focused on his job to put effort into anything else.”
Rose scribbled on the notepad. “Why was he so focused on his job?”
Lucy sighed, looking up wistfully. “He was trying to live up to expectations set by his dad. I don’t think he realized he was doing it half the time, but almost everything he did was for his dad’s approval. He was afraid to think about what kind of lifehewanted, but once he did, he realized he had the perfect woman right in front of him.”
Lillian chortled a laugh. “The perfect woman?”
“I’m just repeating the man’s own words,” Lucy snapped. “It took him forever to find me.”
“I see.” Rose finished writing and looked up. “And what about you? Why did it take you so long to find him?”
Lucy crossed her arms over her chest. “What do you meanso long? I’m young. It didn’t take meso long.”
Lillian stifled a laugh. Time to referee. “There’s no need to get defensive. It’s no secret that your relationships before Rob were… not ideal.”
“I had bad luck! It wasn’t my fault.”
“Would it be fair to say,” Lillian said slowly, “that you were afraid of being in love,reallyin love, and losing that person, so you avoided and sabotaged and ran from things?”
Lucy stared at the table, her lips pursed, until finally she let out a breath. “Maybe.”
Rose laughed. “Am I allowed to write that down?”
“That’s life,” their mom said, cutting in. “No one is perfect. We have to figure things out as we go along.”
Just then, Chip walked into the restaurant and spotted them at the table. A smile spread across his face and he walked over. “Hey kids. Hey, Honey.”
“Well, if it isn’t our not-so-evil stepfather,” Lucy said. “Chip, why would you say it took me so long to find a boyfriend?”
He didn’t hesitate to answer. “Because you’re scary.”
The table erupted into laughter, with even Lucy joining in. “I like that.” She grinned. “I like being scary.”
“Mom,” Rose said, turning her attention, “why did it takeyouso long to find a boyfriend – now husband – and why was it Lucy’s fault?”
Everyone laughed again except for their mom.
She answered with sincerity. “It wasn’t Lucy’s fault; it wasn’t anyone’s fault. Romance didn’t cross my mind until all of you were grown up. I didn’t have time to date. I was too busy.”
Lillian reached across the table and put a hand on her shoulder. “I’m sorry, Mom.”
“Why are you sorry?” She patted her hand and smiled warmly. “It all worked out. I got to spend many happy years raising you girls, and when you were ready to go out on your own, I met Chip. What could be more perfect than that?”
Chip locked eyes with her and they smiled.
Lucy snapped her fingers. “Focus, newlyweds,focus! And no kissing.” Lucy shook her head. “Chip, what’s your story?”
He frowned. “What do you mean?”
Rose cut in. “How’d you know Mom was the one for you?”
“That’s a big question. Whew.” He rubbed his chin with his hand. “I’ve never thought about it. I just knew.”
“Not helpful,” Lucy said.
