One Wild Night

On Tuesday morning, the Hank family and their visitors gathered together for breakfast as usual.

"I guess the next time we will be gathering this way again with everyone in attendance will be at the wedding," Evelyn said as they all ate, and both Bryan and Sonia smiled.

"Yes. And after that, we will all be gathered again for the Christmas party at Tom's place and then the family vacation," Sonia said with a bright smile.

"Yeah. That's right. I hope that everything will settle down now and there won't be any more dramas," Evelyn said, and they all nodded.

After breakfast, as they all left for their various rooms to prepare for their trips to their various destinations, Harry and Candace followed Aaron and Jamal to their bedroom.

"Why are you both following me?" Aaron asked as they walked together.

"I want to talk to you," they both said in unison and then scowled at each other.

"You both just said the same thing," Jamal pointed out in excitement.

"Yeah, we did. And that's because your mom is a copycat," Harry said, and before Candace could fire back at him, Aaron cut in.

"Are you both here to fight, or do you want to talk to me?" Aaron asked, and Candace scowled at Harry, who stuck his tongue out at her.

"So childish," Candace muttered with a shake of her head, and as though realizing what he was doing, he shut his mouth and scowled back at her since she seemed to be so talented in making him do childish stuff.

"Can I go meet Lucy?" Jamal asked, not interested in what was going on there since he knew he had little time left to be with Lucy.

"Sure," Aaron said, and Jamal ran off.

"So?" Aaron asked as they walked into the bedroom.

"I'm here to talk. I don't know about your immature son," Candace said, and Aaron shook his head.

"So, what do you want to talk about? Do either of you need privacy to speak?" Aaron asked since it was possible that either of them wouldn't want the other to know what they wanted to talk about.

Candace and Harry glanced at each other before shaking their heads, and because Harry was curious to know whatever Candace wanted to say, he gestured for her to go ahead, "Ladies first."

"Matt wants to come with us. I hope you don't mind. He wants to know where I will be living now," Candace explained, and both Harry and their father exchanged a look.

"That is very thoughtful of him," Aaron said, and Harry nodded.

"Jade will be coming with us as well," Harry announced, and Candace raised a brow.

"Are you coming with us?" She asked since Harry had not mentioned that to her before.

"Yes," Harry said simply without giving any further explanation.

"Don't tell me you miss me so much already that you decided to follow us," Candace said with a teasing smile.

"If that's all you both have to tell me, I suggest you take your bickering outside. I have to get ready to leave. You both should get ready too," Aaron said with dismissal, and they both exchanged a look before walking out of the room.

"Why does he seem so irritable?" Candace asked as she looked back at the door, which was now closed.

"I don't know. Maybe it has something to do with Sara's arrest," Harry said, and Candace scowled as they both headed for the stairs.

"I hope not. I see no reason he should be feeling upset because she got what she deserved," Candace said, and Harry nodded in agreement.

"Do you have a moment to talk?" Harry asked, and Candace raised a questioning brow.

"What have we been doing? Running?" She asked dryly, and Harry chuckled.

"Well, about the interview we were supposed to do after Sara's arrest…."

"Sara has been arrested now. Do you want us to do it now before I return to Sogal?" She asked, and Harry shook his head.

"No. I was thinking we should do it when you come for Bryan's wedding, and after that, you and I can go visit your mother in prison," Harry said with a mischievous grin, and Candace nodded.

"Is there a reason I have to show my face to your mother? I mean, wouldn't it be better if she never saw me? I'd rather she keeps wondering if I'm alive or not and be tormented by the thought. Don't you think so?" Candace asked, returning the favor, and Harry raised a brow.

"You don't want to meet her?" Harry asked with concern, and Candace sighed.

"On second thoughts, I think I should go see her. I'm sure she will be even more miserable knowing you and Dad got to me first," Candace said with a malicious smile, and Harry nodded.

"I'm sure by now she knows that we sent Crystal to her. Let's hope she doesn't commit suicide when she finds out her lawyer has listed you as the sole beneficiary to all that she owns," Harry said, and Candace frowned.

"What are you talking about?" Candace asked, and Harry shrugged.

"Since she wanted her daughter's name on her fake Will, I asked him to put your name on the legitimate Will. Don't you think you deserve some compensation for what she did to you? She sold you to get all she has now, so it's only right that everything she owns belongs to you. We also spoke about the inheritance your late adoptive parents left you, which Wilson stole from you. It is all being transferred back to you legally," Harry said, and Candace shook her head as tears gathered in her eyes.

"I don't need it. What am I going to do with all of that?" She asked, and Harry smiled.

"I'm sure you will figure out what to do. Besides, I want you to be wealthier than your baby boyfriend if you're going to be his sugar momma," Harry said and chuckled as he walked away before Candace could respond.

Away from there, Tom watched as Lucy and Jamal chattered while Lucy organized their luggage.

Even though he was looking at them, his thoughts were far from there. He was thinking about the conversation he planned to have with Sonia.

He didn't want to wait until Sonia and Bryan returned to Ludus before speaking with her. He wanted to know where he stood and to be sure he wasn't mistaken about what he had heard that night.

"What are you thinking about?" Lucy asked since he had been unusually quiet since they returned to the bedroom after breakfast.

"A couple of things. Please excuse me. I need to take care of something," Tom said as he rose from the bed.

"I hope there is no problem?" Lucy asked, and he flashed her a smile.

"Not at all," He assured her before stepping out.

He stopped by Bryan's bedroom and knocked on the door. It didn't take long before Sonia answered the door.

"Is Bryan in?" Tom asked as he looked ahead of Sonia into the room, and Sonia shook her head.

"No. He is downstairs with Matt," Sonia said, and he nodded.

"Can I talk to you for a moment?" Tom said, and Sonia looked at him with interest.

"Me? Is everything okay? Did Lucy cause any trouble again?" Sonia asked as she wondered if he had fought with Lucy.

"Again? Why do you sound like she is always causing trouble?" He asked with a frown, not liking Sonia's question.

Sonia smiled, "I guess everything is fine. You can talk to me," Sonia said as she walked out of the room and shut the door behind her.

"Let's go to the patio," Tom suggested since he doubted that anyone would be there, and Sonia followed him.

"I'm curious to know what you want to talk about. It's about Lucy, isn't it?" Sonia asked as they descended the stairs, and Tom nodded.

"Yes. But it's not because she did anything wrong," He said in Lucy's defense, and Sonia raised a brow.

"Is there something you want me to talk to her about? Or you want to know something about her?" Sonia asked since she couldn't think of anything else Tom would want to talk about.

"Yeah," Tom said, and Sonia frowned, not sure which he wanted.

Seeing that Tom wasn't in a hurry to speak yet, she quietly followed him until they got to the patio and were seated.

"Lucy has been acting a bit differently of late," Tom started, and Sonia raised a brow.

"Different? What do you mean? Is it good different or bad different?" Sonia asked in puzzlement.

"Not bad, different. It's good. Very good, actually. But her recent behavior is giving me reasons to believe she is changing her mind about marrying me and having kids. I want to know if I am right. You are her best friend, so I'm very sure you would know if she had changed her mind. Am I wrong?" Tom asked, and Sonia shook her head.

"I am not sure. We haven't had that conversation, so I wouldn't know. But..."

"Please, Sonia. Don't play dumb with me. This is important to me. I told you so before now. And before you think of denying anything, I overheard your conversation with her the other night in my bedroom," Tom said, and Sonia raised a brow.

"What exactly did you hear?"

"I heard what you said about her becoming more open to the idea of marriage. And what she said about not saying anything to me until she was done with therapy," Tom said, and Sonia pressed her lips together.

So, Lucy's secret wasn't really a secret after all, she thought with a sigh.

"If you overheard our conversation, and her recent behavior is also making you think that way, why are you asking me for confirmation?"

"I want to be sure I'm not giving myself false hope. And I also need your advice to know how best to proceed," Tom said easily.

Sonia sighed as she thought about it. Tom was her best friend's man and her soon-to-be brother-in-law, so telling him what he wanted to know wouldn't be like she was snitching on Lucy.

After all, Tom had overheard them himself. That wasn't her fault. It wasn't like what she was going to say would hurt anyone, either. If anything, it would make Tom happy. And a happy Tom equaled a happy Lucy, even though Lucy wouldn't know the exact reason for Tom's happiness.

"Please, Sonia," Tom said when Sonia remained quiet as though she was contemplating her response.

"You heard right," Sonia said simply, and Tom beamed a happy smile.

"Really?" He asked, and Sonia smiled back as she bobbed her head.

"Yeah."

"Is she really going to wait until after her therapy to tell me about it?" Tom asked, and Sonia shrugged.

"I guess she wants to be entirely certain before saying anything to you," Sonia said since she didn't have any intention of telling Tom about Lucy's Christmas surprise for him.

"What changed her mind? I guess it's the therapy? I suppose the therapist is doing a good job. I should give her more incentives," Tom said excitedly, and Sonia giggled.

"I don't think it totally has to do with the therapist. According to her, her therapist is good. But I think it is mostly because she loves you and is becoming less scared of the idea of spending the rest of her life with you," Sonia said, and Tom smiled.

"Thanks, Sonia. I have a favor to ask. Do you think you can convince her to tell me about it sooner? I thought I could stay quiet and wait until she was ready to talk to me about it, but I'm not so sure I can. I feel like if I keep this to myself much longer, I'm going to burst," Tom said, and Sonia giggled.

"What's the difference? Whether she tells you or not, you already know how she feels now," Sonia pointed out.

"Well, it's different. The moment she tells me how she feels, our relationship can go to the next level. Perhaps I should propose to her? Do you think she will accept my proposal?" Tom asked thoughtfully.

"Proposal?" Sonia asked, and Tom nodded.

"Even if we won't get married immediately, I would love her to be more to me than just my girlfriend. I want to see my ring on her finger at the very least," Tom said, and Sonia tried to hide her amusement.

It was funny that Tom was eager to propose to Lucy, who was also planning to propose to Tom. Maybe she could get him to propose during the Christmas party, too. That would be fun to watch.

The more she thought about it, the more she liked the idea. She couldn't wait to see who would be the first to propose since one of them was going to have to beat the other and propose first.

While a part of her hoped it would be Lucy so that Tom would be pleasantly surprised, she also hoped it would be Tom so that Lucy wouldn't deny him the joy of proposing to her, and so that Lucy would also experience the joy of being proposed to by her man.

"Well, if you ask me, I think you should propose to her," Sonia suggested, and Tom smiled.

"Really? You think so?" He asked, and she gave him a nod.

"Yes. You know what I think? The Christmas party would be the perfect time and place for it. Everyone would be there, and it would be a party she organized herself," Sonia said, and Tom grinned, liking the idea.

"I think it is a brilliant idea," Tom said happily and then paused.

"But do you think she will accept my proposal? What if she gets upset that I ignored her wish and did something like that? What if she turns me down?" Tom asked uncertainly, and Sonia smiled.

"Trust me, Tom. She is going to accept your proposal happily," Sonia said confidently.

"Thank you, Sonia. You don't know how happy you just made me," Tom said, and Sonia waved it off.

"You shouldn't thank me for that. It's nothing."

"I hope you don't mind helping me with the plans," Tom asked, and Sonia grinned.

"I would love nothing more than to help in any way I can. You have no idea how long I've been waiting to see Lucy take this step," She said with a smile, and Tom nodded happily.

"Can I trust you to keep this to yourself? I don't want anyone else to know of this. Not even Bryan," Tom said, and Sonia made a zipping gesture on her lips as they both rose to return inside.

Sonia had a mischievous smile on her face as she returned to her bedroom. Christmas was going to be so much fun. She couldn't wait.