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Post by Franklin Hubbard on May 3, 2011 16:40:02 GMT -5
"None taken." Frankie chuckled. In all honesty he could get a little knuckleheady now and then, and was sure with his father and kid brother in the mix there was gonna be potential for rowdiness but nothing crazy. It was just a guy thing. Seeing Angie still looking skeptical Frankie figured it was as good a time as any to switch gears. Between him and his dad they'd talk her into it in time, but if they pressed it now it wouldn't do any good. Luckily as if on cue, the waiter came by with their dinner orders. "Steak fillet with a baked potato and Caesar salad?" "That's me, thanks." Frankie said as the waiter set his dinner down in front of him, to his relief. He was starving and wanted more than anything to dig in right then and there. But politeness won out and he waited patiently for everyone else to be served.
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Post by Mrs. Angela Hubbard on May 4, 2011 20:47:20 GMT -5
“You know like what,” Angie said with another pout trying not to let her visibly flinch thanks to Jesse’s play. When Jesse pulled her closer, against her many attempts a smile played at the corner of her lips.
Angie looked between her son and then her husband one last time before the waiter popped up and began to serve them. “We’ll talk later,” she whispered pecking his cheek and getting right so she could enjoy her dinner. “Grilled chicken salad?” Angie smiled and gave the man a sure nod. “Thank you so much.” Usually Angie would go for more than that, but after the big lunch she had earlier that day, she felt this was enough for her. The man gave her a nod and moved to Madison who’d ordered Pesto Crusted Trout, steamed broccoli and a nice house salad. Afterward he moved to Jesse. Angie hadn’t heard what Jesse ordered, but she had an general idea of what it was.
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Post by Chief J. Hubbard on May 5, 2011 19:37:24 GMT -5
Once his food, which was Grilled Pork Chop and all the delicious sides it came with, was placed in front of him Jesse thank the waiter and asked for another round of drinks.
Just as he was about to pick up his utensils to cut into his meat he heard his wife clear her throat. “Right.” He chuckled. “Let’s say grace.” He announced to his son and Madison. Theirs heads bowed and Jesse said grace in a way only he knew how. Afterwards everybody said a quick amen and began to enjoy their dinner.
Half way in Jesse cleared his throat and relaxed a little more in his seat. “Madison I heard about your father getting sick. I know that’s the last thing you want to talk about but I was wondering if you heard anymore about him.” Jesse could really careless about the man especially after everything he done to her. He was more concerned about her and how she was doing. If James had been in contact how was she holding up with that.
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Post by fradison on May 6, 2011 20:07:12 GMT -5
Hearing Mr. Hubbard ask about her father made her palms suddenly become sweaty. “Uh yea… We… I…” She dropped her head and sighed. She wasn’t sure if telling Mr. Hubbard the real deal behind her father’s call was a good idea. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust him or think he would judge her in anyway, it was just she wasn’t so sure if he and his wife would be comfortable knowing that there was a possibility that their son could be in some danger by coming to her rescue. Stopping her from answering her father’s many calls.
“The last I heard about his uh… his condition, it was a few weeks ago,” she answered with a slight chuckle. “As far as how he’s doing now I haven’t the slightest clue… I mean I’m not ignoring him I’ve just been so busy I have--” Angie raised her head. “Say what you want to say,” she urged. “Look, we will certainly not turn up our nose at you if you said you are avoiding him. I mean even if we did this is your life and you know what’s best and what isn’t best for you." Sighing heavily, Madison nodded. Well since she put it that way… “Alright, I have been avoiding him. To be honest I only talked to him once. The other times it was my mother calling for him or one of his friends.” She felt a hand gently squeeze her knee and looked down to see it was Frankie’s. “No matter how many times I’ve tried to tell them I just don’t want to be apart of that. I don’t want to deal with him, they just ignore me and continue talking. So I’ve just decided to cut off all communications with them. I’ve changed my cell and I’ve even moved.” As soon as the words passed she tensed and slightly gasped. “Oh! You have a new place? Where are you staying now?” Angie asked before turning her attention to Frankie. “Some kind of friend and son you are,” she teased. “Madison, honey had I known I would have gotten you a housewarming gift. Oh what am I talking about. I still can get you something.”
Madison chuckled nervously. “I live closer than you think,” she muttered, glancing over at Frankie and giving him an apologetic look. It slipped, she mouthed.
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Post by Franklin Hubbard on May 7, 2011 11:23:05 GMT -5
Cutting into his steak but still tuned into the conversation, Frankie almost dropped his fork and knife when he heard Madison mention she'd moved, and his mother guilt him Emily Post style about his not telling her to get a housewarming gift. Hearing his girlfriend mutter, Frankie was sure his parents heard as well. But mouthed a quick 'it's okay' and gave her a reassuring smile. Knowing it was time to spit it out before he got too nervous and tense to enjoy his food. "Yeah um..you see, after all this craziness started with, Beardsley coming back in the picture. Madison and I..we came to a decision. The best decision we could've made in my opinion. Mom, Dad, if you two want to send a housewarming gift make it out to my address. Madison moved in with me." He said, knowing his statement would turn heads, but wanted to state his case fully. "Now, this was not a sudden, thing. This didn't happen overnight. Madison and I have always been friends, and after Randi left I realized just, how good a friend she was. She was there for me. More than anyone. And we began to take things slow just, to see where we'd end up. Now we've ended up here. And we're happy about it." Frankie said, reaching for Madison's hand and bringing it up on top of the table, giving it a gentle squeeze. He wasn't nervous but was just anxious, he wanted to hear what his family thought.
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Post by Mrs. Angela Hubbard on May 8, 2011 21:09:44 GMT -5
Angie was saying something to Jesse when Madison muttered something. Not quite sure what had been said, Angie looked back across the table at her son and his friend. Jesse did the same. “I’m so sorry. What were you saying?” Angie asked right before Frankie grabbed their attention and began to speak. She hung onto his every words, wondering where he was going with this and when she heard him say that Madison had moved in with him, Angie’s eyes narrowed. “She lives… with you?” She asked just to be sure she heard him right. “Frankie, wh--” He began to speak again. Angie was going to cut him off when she felt Jesse give her hand a squeeze. It was his way of saying to let the boy finish.
Nodding at him, she cleared her throat and settled into her seat. Hearing the way he spoke about Madison being there for him and then watching him bring their hands up and settle them on top of the table, made Angie gulp. And come to the realization that this was not just a friendly thing. This was more! How in the hell had that passed her, she thought. “So… uh…” She cleared her throat and looked away. “You guys are not only living with one another but you’re a… a couple. Correct?” She asked. Though it was an obvious yes when she looked at their perfectly entwined hands and the beautiful smiles they both wore. Ones she and Jesse worn when they gotten together so many years ago.
Since Frankie had been the one to break the news to them, Madison decided the least she could do was answer Mrs. Hubbard. “Yes ma’am. We are,” she replied, glancing at Frankie. “Like he said it wasn’t something we just jumped into. It was something that just evolved on it’s own,” she tried to explain. “It was out of our hands. Though I can’t say I would have stopped it from forming, because I feel a lot for Frankie.”
She wasn’t sure if she was afraid or just nervous about what her boyfriends parents would say, but she knew she wasn’t going to back down. And she certainly wasn’t going to let them come in between something that made her feel so alive and happy. She loved Frankie and he loved her and she couldn’t imagine going through the rest of her life without him in it.
“Look, Mr. and Mrs. Hubbard, I completely understand with my past that you would be worried about him, but I can assure you th--” Angie raised a hand. “Please,” she whispered and straightened her shoulders. “You’re both grown, have minds of your own, have lives of your own. And you are more than capable of choosing who you want and don’t want to be with.” Angie let go of Jesse’s hand and stood. “Excuse me for a minute,” she muttered, turning on her heels and walking away.
When she made it outside she threw her head back and sighed. Right anybody within hear shot would have figured her deal was the race, but it wasn’t. She could careless about their races, because love did not discriminate. She knew that especially from her near marriage to Cliff way back when. So it wasn’t that. What made her walk away, what the issue was that she was worried about her son’s heart. His well being. Randi screwed him over something horrible just a few short months ago, made him jump through hoops just to make her happy and she left him. And she now feared that Madison would do the same. She could see that Madison had changed a lot since that whole ordeal with Henry North and her horrid past and Angie was happy to see the woman transform. She trusted her. But not to the extent of trusting her with her baby boy’s heat. Not that she had a say in the matter because like she said he was a grown man, but she still didn’t want him getting his heart broken all over again. She could have very well been wrong about Madison doing that, but it wasn’t something she couldn’t shake.
Another thing Angie feared was, if Madison decided to leave him would her son be able to move past it. Would he be able to take another heartbreak?
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Post by fradison on May 8, 2011 21:11:58 GMT -5
After Mrs. Hubbard got up and left the table, Madison cleared her throat and looked down. She didn’t think it would have been like that. Granted, she knew the woman wasn’t going to ask for the best champagne in the house, but she definitely didn’t think she would have gotten up and walked away.
Madison looked toward Mr. Hubbard, who looked just as shocked as she and Frankie, that his wife had left. “That didn’t go as well as I thought it would have,” she sighed before looking toward Frankie. “Did I say something wrong or…” She couldn’t even finish.
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Post by Franklin Hubbard on May 9, 2011 19:40:53 GMT -5
The whole time Madison was speaking Frankie was focusing on his parents, trying to read them and gauge their reactions to this. He'd gone into this thinking they'd be happy for him. He knew that they felt equally hurt by what Randi had done, and he knew that they'd come to care for Madison. He was expecting this to go smoothly. But the tension amped up right away and now he wasn't sure what to do, how to act. And that feeling tripled when his mother actually got up and walked away from the table! That was something he hadn't expected in the least. Stunned Frankie slumped back in his seat, thrown and upset by this turn of events, and racking his brain to think of where to go from here. Hearing Madison's voice he sighed and squeezed her hand, half to calm himself down. "No...no you didn't." He insisted, shaking his head firmly. "You did nothing wrong, I just..wasn't expecting this, that..she.." Trailing off, totally lost he glanced at Jesse desperate for a clue as to what to do next. More than anything he wanted Angie to approve of his being with Madison. But knew if she didn't it wasn't gonna stop him from being with the woman he'd come to love so much.
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Post by Chief J. Hubbard on May 10, 2011 0:51:12 GMT -5
He knew it.
His gut had been telling him that something was going on with his son and Madison and not just in the friendly way. He hadn’t missed the looks that passed between them. He was trained for stuff like that. Yet hearing his son say it didn’t make Jesse angry or even shocked. What really shocked him was his wife getting up and walking away. Jesse watched her retreating back before he turned back to his son and his girlfriend and sighed. “Hey this is not your fault. Neither of you.” He assured.
“Frankie you know how your mother gets when something is sprung on her. I mean I didn’t think she would do this but your mother is who she is.” Jesse didn’t know what to say himself. He was still in shock by Angie leaving like what the boy and the girl said was something out of the way.
Sometime later when Angela didn’t return Jesse sat up straight and bore his eyes into Frankie and Madison. He was going to have to handle this because obviously Angie wasn’t up to it. Though he had a feeling why. “It’s obvious you both feel a lot for each other. Am I correct?” He asked. Both of them gave him nods. “Well mine and Angie’s approval is not needed Not that you were asking I'm sure. Just putting it out there just in case..” He straight out said.. “Before you say anything hear me out.. Like your mother said. You are both grown and have lives of your own and what you chose to do with it is completely up to you.”
“All I want Frankie is for you to be happy. I know your mother wants the same. She probably has a funny way of showing it but I know she does. After that number Randi pulled on you awhile back happiness is all we want.”
“Anyway.. Do you guys love each other?” He asked of them both. “If the answer is yes then that is all that matters. Frankie you know better than anyone what love can do. Look at me and your mother. Not even her father and his many attempts to destroy everything we felt for each other could keep us apart. Not even my faking my death and leaving to protect you and her could keep us apart.”
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Post by fradison on May 22, 2011 20:02:13 GMT -5
Even though both Hubbard men assured her that she did nothing wrong, Madison felt she did. Everything had been going pretty damn good up until she told them she and Frankie weren’t only living together but were a couple as well.
While Mr. Hubbard turned and started reminding Frankie about the way his mother was, Madison stared at the stitching of the table cloth. Maybe asking Frankie to do this now wasn’t the best time. Maybe it was still too soon. She wasn’t quite sure. But judging from the way Mrs. Hubbard walked out and had yet to return, it was. Madison was still in deep thought when Mr. Hubbard began to speak again and pointing out little obvious facts. He asked if she and Frankie felt a lot for each other and he got a nod from her along with a school girl blush. She felt so much for Franklin Hubbard it was ridiculous. It really had to be a crime to adore somebody so much, she thought.
At the mentioning of Randi and what she did to Frankie, Madison gave his hand a supportive squeeze. Letting him know she was right there and wasn’t going anywhere.
“I do, Mr. Hubbard,” Madison said, looking up after he asked if they loved each other. Feeling she should say it out loud. “I do love Frankie and just like you I want nothing but happiness for him. You’re right after the way Randi treated him,” she started, looking at her man that was at her side. “He deserves all the happiness in the world. And I’m not saying I can give him that much, but I will try to give him as much as I possibly can.”
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Post by Franklin Hubbard on Jun 9, 2011 18:33:49 GMT -5
"I know that, I do." Frankie assured, giving Jesse a soft smile. He knew his parents loved him and that they had come to care for Madison. Even Angie. But even though he knew his mother reacted that way because she was scared his heart would get broken again, and that things would settle down and be smoothed out eventually, a part of Frankie was still hurt at her leaving the table. "Yes, of course Dad!" He answered right away, as Jesse told him nothing had kept him and Angie apart. He knew that better than most, and was humbled hearing a comparison between his parents love and his and Madison's. Madison's words though humbled him all the more, and he looked back at her with just as much love in his eyes. "You've given me more than you'll ever know. And don't forget it." He smiled, and brought her hand to his lips to kiss before gently letting go. "And thanks again, Dad. I..hearing all that from you means a lot. And I know Mom feels the same as you." He said sincerely, but looked to the empty seat next to him and sighed. "What about now though, should I go find Mom, try to talk with her? Let her cool off some more..?" Frankie trailed off, his eyes wandering over to where Angie had walked out. He wanted to reassure his mother nothing was wrong and make everything right as soon as possible. But wasn't sure if it would be a wise move tonight.
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Post by Mrs. Angela Hubbard on Jun 11, 2011 22:45:33 GMT -5
Running her fingers through her hair, Angie turned on her heels and stared at the door. Her mind was made and there wasn’t anything anybody could do to change it.
Angie came up behind Frankie and Madison and cleared her throat. After taking a minute or two to get herself together she walked back in and took a little detour back to the table. This was how she popped up behind them. “Neither,” she said, walking around to her seat and grabbing her purse off the back of it. “Jesse, we need to go home. Mrs. Ellis called and said there’d been an emergency and Cass has yet to make it home. So I told her we were on our way,” she said in this oh so calm tone. When Jesse looked at her probably trying to determine if what she said was true or if it was a lie Angie remained neutral. Seconds ticked away before Jesse stood up and pushed his chair in.
“It was uh… It was nice seeing you again Madison. And Frankie thank you for the lovely evening,” she said with a pleasant smile while Jesse took out his wallet and said something about taking care of the bill on the way out. Angie fixed her purse strap on her shoulder. “Goodnight.” And with that Angie walked away once again. This time she had no intentions on coming back.
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Post by fradison on Jun 12, 2011 19:56:13 GMT -5
Madison was about to suggest that maybe she should go talk with Mrs. Hubbard when suddenly the woman’s voice sliced through the silence that had fallen over the table. Tensing a bit she heard the woman’s cold reply and saw out the corner of her eye as she came around the table and reached for her purse. “Mrs. Hubbard, I—“She was cut off when the older woman looked to her husband and said that they had to leave. She wasn’t sure if Mr. Hubbard believed what she told him, but Madison didn’t. Call her crazy but she didn’t believe that they had to leave because everything was telling her so.
“And you as well,” Madison replied even though she was sure what she said was another lie. It may have been nice to see her before she heard about she and Frankie, but not now. “Goodnight Mrs. Hubbard,” she muttered, before she pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and looked away.
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Post by Chief J. Hubbard on Jun 13, 2011 11:02:58 GMT -5
“I think right now we should let her cool down.” Jesse suggested just seconds before Angie popped up saying they had to leave. Because of the way she said made Jesse believe e her but then again because of what was happening he didn’t’. A little voice told him in his head to not believe her. The chief in him told him not to believe her. “Alright.” He sighed standing up and pushing his chair. Jesse remained silent until Angie walked off without so much as a backwards glance.
Jesse watched her walk off and then turned back around to the kids at the table. He couldn’t read Frankie’s expression but it was clear to him that Madison was hurt.
“I’m sorry about that you guys.” He said apologizing for his wife. “Hey don’t worry I’ll talk to her.” He assured going over to hug Frankie and Madison. “It was really nice seeing you again Madison and I do hope one day we’ll be able to do this again. The right way. My promise.”
“You both be careful getting home and if you need anything give me a call.” Jesse gave them another assuring look before he walked away, paid the check and joined his wife outside where he fixed her with a disappointing look. “That was wrong Angela and you know it.”
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