A Lonesome Time

Lucy Comforts Rocky

 When Lucy came home from the cemetery, it was 6:45 pm, so she had technically missed dinner. However, anticipating that she would be late, her parents had saved her a plate of roast beef and gravy. Lynn Sr. gave her permission to eat in her room, which is what she did.

While she was eating in the peace and quiet of her room, Lucy thought about the funeral she and her friends had just a few hours prior. Specifically, she thought about the speech she gave asking God to watch over Grandma Spokes. She meant every word of it and as she replayed the speech in her head, she felt a warmth in her chest.

After she finished eating her dinner and took her plate into the kitchen, Lucy went back in her room and changed into her pajamas to make herself comfortable.

As par for the course, Lucy's cell phone rings at 8:30 pm. When she sees it's Rocky, she's glad to be able to talk to him.

"Hello," Lucy greets.

"Hi," Rocky answers.

Lucy immediately notices that Rocky's demeanor is significantly different. Unlike the previous days he's called her, where he was much more cheerful, this time there was a hint of sadness in his voice. Something must have happened.

"You Ok, dear?" Lucy says softly.

"(Sigh). My grandma died today Lucy. She's gone," Rocky sighs in a forlorn tone.

When she heard Rocky tell her that his grandmother had passed, she froze. Even though she did not know exactly when or how Grandma Spokes died, her speech that she gave earlier at another creature's funeral suddenly had much more weight to it. It was almost as if her speech foreshadowed her passing, even if it happened before the funeral she just came from.

Of course, hearing the pain in Rocky's voice hit her close to home and made her heart sink a little bit. She knew that she had to be there for her love.

"I'm very sorry to hear that," Lucy whispers sympathetically, "Maybe you should talk about it."

Rocky pauses for a brief moment before speaking again, "Talk about it?" He wonders.

"I don't know if I'd want to talk about it," Rocky confesses.

Lucy silently pondered Rocky's refusal to talk about what affect his grandmother's death had on him. Even though the circumstances were vastly different, she reminisced about how isolated and distant she was when Rocky left. Her family was worried about her beyond belief and they knew that keeping her emotions bottled up was unhealthy.

Then Clyde came to her mind. His advice that he learned from Dr. Lopez helped her a lot in her time of loneliness and need. Rocky's situation was much more complex and he definitely needed someone to talk to in order to help his grieving process. Of course, what better person for Rocky to open his heart to than his girlfriend?

"Rocky, my love?" Lucy finally spoke.

"Yes?" Rocky replies.

"I know that you are feeling a lot of pain right now and it might be hitting you very hard," Lucy says, "But I've learned that bottling up your emotions is actually not a good thing. Even if you're feeling incredibly sad, it's better to talk about you feelings with someone you trust."

"You can trust me Rocky," Lucy continues, "I'm here for you and I'm more than willing to listen to whatever you have to say. And don't feel that you have to rush either. Take all the time you need to express your feelings. I'm all ears. Talk to me, darling."

Rocky was very touched by his girlfriend's willingness to listen to him, "Are you sure?" He wonders.

"Yes dear, talk to me," Lucy reassures him.