Laura was sitting on the bench in the garden of the country estate. Lesley was beside her and LuLu was on her lap. The longer they stayed in the country, the more it felt like home. It was a beautiful summer day, the time was late afternoon. The threesome had been picking flowers to make an arrangement for the dinner table. Stefan was still at General Hospital visiting his ailing mother.

Lesley took the basket of flowers with her as she returned to the house. “I’ll be in shortly to help with the arrangement, Mother,” Laura called after her. Turning her attention to her young daughter, Laura asked, “What did you do this morning while I was at the hospital?”

LuLu replied, “I made cookies with Mrs. Lansbury.”

Laura laughed. “Let me guess. Were they chocolate chip cookies?”

LuLu nodded, her shy smile spreading across her face.

“I thought so,” Laura said, returning her daughter’s smile. “I think chocolate chip cookies are Mrs. Lansbury’s favorite kind, too.”

“Where’s Stefan?,” Lesley Lu suddenly asked.

“He’s still at the hospital with his mother,” Laura answered. “She’s very sick.”

Lesley Lu frowned at this news. “I’m sorry,” she said softly.

At that moment, Stefan entered the garden, having just returned from the hospital. He was massaging the back of his neck to relieve some of the tension he was feeling. It was amazing how knotted one’s muscles could get during hospital vigils. He paused as he looked up to see Laura and Lesley Lu sitting on the bench. A smile began to tug at his lips as he watched them talking quietly together. He found he enjoyed watching the two and hesitated in joining them. They were such a beautiful sight to him. When Laura hugged Lesley Lu to her, the little girl spied Stefan over her mother’s shoulder.

“Stefan!,” she cried happily, squirming from her mother’s grasp and running to greet him with her arms outstretched.

Unable to resist the look of joy on her face, Stefan scooped the little girl up in his arms.  She threw her arms around his neck in a big hug and rested her head on his shoulder. He held her to him, gently stroking her hair. “How did you know just what I needed?,” he whispered to the child in his arms.

She pulled back in his arms to look in his eyes. “What?,” she asked.

“A great big hug,” he grinned at her.

She smiled at him, her smile so like her mother’s he felt his breath catch in his throat. “Is your mommy feeling better?,” she asked. “Mommy said she was sick.”

“No, Lesley Lu, my mother is not feeling any better,” he replied.

“I’m sorry,” she said quietly.

“It’s all right,” he reassured her. “Thank you for asking after her.”

“You’re welcome,” she said, throwing her arms around his neck again, giving him an extra big hug.

When Laura rose from the bench to cross to them, Stefan shifted Lesley Lu to his hip and hugged Laura to him with his free arm. They briefly kissed hello. His arm slipped around her waist as they crossed to the bench, Lesley Lu still on his hip. As they settled on the bench, Stefan shifted Lu so she was in his lap.

“LuLu, why don’t you run inside and tell Mrs. Lansbury that Stefan is home so she can finish her preparations for dinner?,” Laura suggested.

“OK,” she replied, sliding from Stefan’s lap and running toward the house.

Laura snuggled next to Stefan, his arm having moved around her shoulders. “You look tired. Has there been any change in Helena’s condition?”

“No,” he sighed. “Mother remains in limbo. Her condition has not changed from when we spoke with Tony yesterday.”

“I see,” Laura replied. “How are you doing? I know this is difficult on you.”

“You were correct, Laura. I am tired.” He hugged her closer to his side as he unbuttoned his coat and loosened his collar. Glancing over his shoulder in the direction of where he had been standing when Lesley Lu had run to him, he added, “That was a delightful homecoming. I shall miss Lesley Lu when you return to Charles Street. You realize she has charmed me completely during your stay here.”

“No more so than you have charmed her, Stefan. She was asking where you were just a few minutes ago. Don’t be surprised if she tricks you into taking her for another pony ride.”

At that moment, Lesley Lu came running up to them, holding a piece of paper out to Stefan. “I drew you a picture today.”

“You did?,” Stefan asked, his delight shining in his eyes. “Let’s see it.”

Lesley Lu crawled up in his lap. “It’s a picture of you and Mommy and Nikky and me,” she said, explaining her artwork to him.

“So it is,” he chuckled over her childish portrait. “Thank you very much, Lesley Lu. I have a frame in my room which will fit this nicely.” He hugged her.

“Stefan, the only frame in your room here is around an original Monet.,” Laura looked at him, a soft smile on her lips.

“Monet has been dead for many years, Laura,” he smiled before bending his head to kiss her lightly. “I’m sure he won’t mind being replaced.”

They leaned back against the bench, enjoying each other’s company, as the afternoon slipped into early evening, Stefan’s arm around Laura as Lesley Lu sat on his lap.

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