I only just come across this story and it looks so fantastic! It's going to take me a while to catch up on all the chapters though...
Such a lovely, romantic story! I'm enjoying every chapter, and it's nice to see Leighton and Morgana get a chance at a happy life.
xx
Thanks to the both of you.
I am very glad that you are enjoying this!
So...another badly delayed chapter. I blame
Skyward Sword and the football playoffs for this one.
Chapter 17 – What Change May Come, Part 1If there was one thing that Morgana had truly come to appreciate over the last several years, it was the camaraderie among her co-workers. In many ways they were like her extended family, always looking after one another and supporting each other whatever the circumstance. They laughed together, celebrated together, and occasionally, whenever the circumstances warranted it, cried together.
This was one of those days where Morgana wasn’t quite sure which one applied. After nearly forty years in practice, Geoffrey Landgraab made the announcement that he was retiring.
The news hit her far harder than she thought it would. Geoffrey had been her supervisor for the entirety of her twenty years at Sacred Spleen. He felt more like a second father to her than a boss, and even though Morgana knew that this was in no way goodbye...she was seriously going to miss his smiling face in the mornings.
“So when is your final day?” She asked.
“The thirty-first. In other words, the day after Simon graduates,” Geoffrey answered. His expression softened. “Don’t worry, I still plan on poking my head in every once in a while. Don’t think for a second that I plan on leaving all of you behind.”
“Oh yes, I’m sure he’ll be thinking of us plenty,” Jamie quipped. “Especially while he’s lounging on the beach, sipping nectar and getting a suntan.”
At this Geoffrey laughed. “A sunburn would be more like it. And actually, we will be heading to France for two weeks once Simon is off to University, so no sandy beaches for us.”
“At least I got the nectar part right,” Jamie added. “Still though, just two weeks? Seems kind of short, doesn’t it?”
“Perhaps, but Nancy and I wanted to make sure that we were home in time to meet our new granddaughter when she arrives.”
Morgana caught this right away. “
Granddaughter?”
“Yes, indeed! She’s scheduled to arrive a few weeks shy of Spooky Day, and needless to say both Nancy and I are ecstatic.” Geoffrey glanced over at where Ethan was sitting, his expression suddenly apprehensive. “Ethan, I apologize. I hope I didn’t just spoil a surprise.”
The younger man chuckled. “Nah, it’s all good. You know my sister and her texting habits. There’s a good chance that I knew even before
Malcolm did.”
Morgana couldn’t help but smile. She seemed to recall a conversation from about two years back, not too long after Sam and Sandi’s wedding, where Geoffrey was lamenting the fact that his eldest son had yet to settle down. “Malcolm is twenty-eight now and hasn’t had a serious girlfriend since he came home from university,” he had told her. “He doesn’t seem to be in any hurry, which I suppose is admirable, but Nancy and I aren’t getting any younger and we would both love to have grandchildren.”
It was amazing just how much things had changed. Just in the last two years Morgana had attended two weddings, two baby showers, and a graduation party—and that was just among her co-workers. She had come to the conclusion that children grew up way too fast, and such was particularly the case where Jamie's only daughter was concerned. It was only five months after Lacey's graduation when she discovered that the eighteen-year-old was pregnant.
That was one conversation that Morgana doubted she would forget anytime soon. Jamie came into work that next morning looking more than a little haggard, and no amount of coffee was helping.
“How are you holding up?”
“Other than feeling like I’ve been hit by a train?” Jamie yawned. “Neither Chris nor I got any sleep last night, if that tells you anything.” She sighed deeply, lines of worry clearly visible on her forehead. “I know that they’re both adults now, but they’re just so young. I don’t even know if Lacey is ready for this...or Johnny, for that matter.”
“They’ve been together for what, three years?”
“Four, actually,” Jamie corrected her. “Believe me, that has been at the forefront of my mind. I know Johnny, I respect him, and in my heart I know that he won't abandon her. In fact, not too long ago I overheard them talking about engagement rings.” She shook her head. “When I was eighteen the idea of marriage and a family couldn’t possibly be further from my mind, but it’s their
reality...and we’re going to have to learn to manage with it.”
“How does Lacey feel about all if this?”
“Hard to say, really. Part of her I think is excited, truth be told, but she is very nervous. There are just so many unknowns, you know?” Jamie stood up and made her way over to the coffee pot. “There is one thing that’s really bothering me, though.”
“What’s that?”
“I’m way too young to be a grandmother, that’s what.”
As it turned out, Johnny proposed to Lacey less than a week later, and the two were married in a hasty ceremony just a few months before little Gavin came into the world. It was clear that Jamie adored her tiny grandson, and even though the circumstances surrounding his birth were less than ideal, the young family seemed to be doing quite well.
It was rare when Morgana gave any sort of thought to her former husband, but she couldn't help but wonder if Thornton even knew he had a grandson.
Jamie’s voice drew her out of her thoughts. “So what about you?” She asked. “Any indication that you might be joining us in the grandparents club anytime soon?”
She shook her head. “They’re both too busy with their careers to even consider children at this point. Sam and Sandi still have plenty of time, though you can bet that Leighton has brought up the subject more than once.”
“It just blows my mind how fast they grow up,” Geoffrey pondered. “One moment they’re saying their first words, the next they’re graduating high school, and before you know it they’re married and having babies of their own. It happens all too fast in my book.”
“Don’t remind me. Abby started kindergarten this year and I about lost it.”
She felt a buzz in her coat pocket and reached in to pull out her cell phone, a bit surprised to see Alexia's number on the caller ID. “Hi sweetie,” she answered.
“Mom!”That was Jeremy, not Alexia...and the frantic tone of her son's voice was enough to immediately put her on edge. “Jeremy? What's wrong?"
At that exact moment the intercom crackled to life.
“Emergency room, paramedics responding to an unknown incident at the school. Please stand by.”Morgana’s heartbeat quickened. “Jeremy, are you all right? Where are you? Where is Alexia?”
“In front of the school. Mom, it’s horrible!” Jeremy was practically sobbing over the phone.
“I’m okay, Justin is okay, but Lexie and Simon...they've both been hurt!”
“Oh my gosh...”
“What happened?” Jamie asked, a note of concern clearly audible in her voice.
But before Morgana could answer the intercom sounded again.
“Doctor Bunch, Doctor Sekemoto, please report to the emergency room stat. Ambulance en route with two victims of an apparent auto-pedestrian crash. ETA, five minutes.”Geoffrey paled. “The kids?”
She looked over at her boss, tears already beginning to form in her eyes. “It's them, Geoffrey. Lexie and Simon. They are the ones who...”
Morgana bit her lip, unable to say the words.
--To Be Continued in Part 2--Author's Note: The subplot with Lacey was yet another product of Story Progression gone wild. I got the notification that she had aged up, then literally one sim hour later got the notification that she was pregnant...and then two sim hours later I got the notification that she and Johnny Keaton tied the knot. Shotgun wedding indeed!
(And yes...I did in fact allude to a Malcolm/Darlene pairing. After Kaylynn cheated on Malcolm and Darlene was still unattached (I think she briefly dated Miraj Alvi) I took matters into my own hands and got them hitched. Yay for Master Controller. )
