The Divorcee's Redemption

49: Hormones

Gary had agreed to take complete responsibility for his wedding that was to be held the next week.

No matter how much I insisted, he said he wanted to do something by himself so I let him. All his life, every party or function was always monitored by me before it took place. Even though I wasn't personally involved, Mathew and Jay took care of most things but I did keep an eye on them.

Maybe, Gary had finally grown into a man who was willing to shoulder responsibilities. His parents would be proud, just as much as I was.

But as I came out of my study, quiet sobs startled me.

"Lucy?" I opened her door but it was pitch black inside. She had even drawn the curtains which prevented even the garden lamps from illuminating her room.

As soon as I entered, she was quiet. Her blanket pulled over her head was the only thing I could make out in the dark. I took a few steps into the room and stopped near her bed, it was almost midnight now and she was supposed to be asleep.

Thankfully, she wasn't shaking or crying. Maybe I was just hearing things. Quietly, I exited her room and got changed to go to the gym.

After the freeze, I filled the gym with all sorts of equipment that Jim often dreamt of owning. The guys used to come around all the time until they slowly drifted away because of work and other responsibilities. Since the drive was short, I'd always come here to work out as I couldn't help but feel Jim's presence next to me.

"Let's dance, ballerina!"

He would laugh and annoy me so much. All his taunts would motivate me to work out even more till I was dead tired. Danny had once advised me that working out at my age was extremely good and that I had to keep it up no matter what. But it was getting hard. Fucking old age.

When I was done, it was nearly one in the morning and I drove home soon.

To my surprise, Lucy was in the kitchen. Her eyes were red and her face blotchy as she chewed on a banana. From the peels on the table, it was her third and I regarded it as one of her midnight cravings.

God, I couldn't even imagine the things that Chelsea might have endured without me.

"Are you alright, Cupcake?"

I took a seat at the dimly lit kitchen island and poured a glass of water for myself.

"Y-yeah..." She mustered a smile.

"You have been crying, Lucy. What's wrong?" I took her hand and kissed it.

She gobbled more bananas without looking at my eyes. Something was terribly wrong here.

"Dad..." She sniffed, swallowing everything.

"Yes? What can I do for you?" I smiled at her.

"Can I come with you to the gym next time?"

I wasn't expecting that question, especially since Lucy wasn't athletic like Chelsea. Her mother was in fact the laziest ass in the world but whenever Lucy thought that she was getting fat, she'd stick to a new diet or go swimming with Annie or go for frequent walks.

"Don't you go for walks around the block at lunch?"

"I do but," she bit her lips, "It's not enough."

"Even if you come to the gym with me, you're going to get easily tired in your condition... And it might even turn out dangerous."

"I want to go!" She snapped, her eyes filling up again.

"Okay, Cupcake, I'll take you. But have you talked about it with Danny?"