1056: Think

Technically they had an agreement that allowed Lucy to see Hope whenever she pleased. They’d had an agreement since Hope was born. That agreement hadn’t just been washed away because Lucy had rarely taken Michael up on it, because she’d made a choice that she’d thought would be easier or maybe better for her biological child. Lucy would have to be told, legally, if that agreement had changed. Michael would have sat her down for some sort of heart to heart, she wouldn’t blindside a person like that. So technically Lucy had no obligation to report a visit from Hope.

But shouldn’t Lucy be as kind and respectful as Michael? She should let Michael know that Hope had paid Lucy another Halloween visit. Michael should know that her daughter was reaching out, the girl’s parents should know that their daughter was entering tricky, sensitive territory.

But it wasn’t like anything had happened with the visit. Hope hadn’t identified herself at the door. She’d just shown up in costume with a boy in tow, like any other kid that night.

Except other kids didn’t look a little bit like Lucy and a little bit like Paul. That was different.

For all Lucy knew, it had been a dare or something. A dare to ring her birth mom’s doorbell. It sounded like something one kid might dare another to do. It made a kind of sense. Hope hadn’t even said anything beyond the standard Halloween greeting, then she accepted the candy and left.

Unlike when Hope had previously landed on Lucy’s doorstep with her adoptive dad Curran, there had been no one there this time to stop her from speaking her mind. If she’d wanted to say something or ask something personal, she could have.

It probably had been a dare.

A thoughtless dare. But nothing really. Nothing to alert Michael over. Nothing to make Hope feel as though her privacy had been violated, like she had three parents spying on her.

So Lucy decided against sending the email. She’d leave it alone. For now. Maybe.

The doorbell rang and Lucy gladly moved to answer it rather than stay in her head waffling the rest of the afternoon away.

“Hey,” Tansy said, hugging her middle. “You’re sure it’s okay I stopped by? I mean, I’ve been thinking things over a lot, but we’re not even at the same school anymore and you’re not even being paid-”

“Tansy, I’m happy to talk with you anytime. I’m invested in you. I’m another person who cares, like Xavier, like your family. I want you to always feel like you can come to me. And to be honest I could use some company. I have a decision to make and I’ve been going back and forth about it. I think focusing on something else will help. So tell me what’s going on with you.”

They settled at the kitchen table, each with a bowl of trail mix heavy on raisins and chocolate chips. Time passed with small talk exchanged and then some leading finally brought Tansy to the reason for her visit.

Episode 1057: Complicated