"It's supposed to rain this week," Lela added to the conversation that had garnered around small talk for the last forty-five minutes. First, about the food. Then, the mintiness of the lemonade and now they had begun discussing the weather.

She should've probably been happy but the small talk was doing nothing to address the real elephant in the dining room. Trevor and Sylvan had limited interaction given they were sitting across from each other. Sylvan's cognac eyes flinted around the room avoid Trevor. Trevor wasn't any better, his sight stayed on his plate unless he was asked a direct question or needed to wash down his dinner. Lela knew the food was good but it was that good that he couldn't be a participating partner in the conversation.

"Just a forty percent chance, though," Carter added sitting down his fork as he rooted around in the pocket of his sports coat to pulled out his phone.

"This isn't working," Lela sat her fork down in the plate, food still abundant. She was the only one not shuffling every morsel in her mouth to avoid making eye contact or interact.

"What?" Carter inquired with his eyes on his lit phone.

Sylvan swirled her wine glass, "This red goes perfectly with the risotto and lamb. You've outdone yourself, sweetheart."

"Figures," Trevor croaked under his breath, hunched over his plate with the fork primed in front of his mouth—the slice of the slow roasted lamb.

Lela kicked his foot under the table and he twisted his head toward her with knitted brows.

"I didn't say anything wrong." Trevor straightened his back, lowering his fork. "I knew she'd know a lot about wine."

"Are you insinuating that I'm an alcoholic." Sylvan slower sat the almost empty wine glass on the cloth bare table. "Because I'm not."

Carter tore his eyes off the phone, "I don't think he meant that." He sat the phone next to his plate. "You didn't mean that, right."

"I was just saying that she looked like she knew about wine." Trevor dropped his back against the chair with a sigh. "You just look to be around the same age of my mom and she likes wine."

"Not in a bad way," Lela quickly interjected, noting the twist of Sylvan's red-tinted lips that paired well with her olive blouse. "She's a lovely woman."

"You shouldn't lie, babe." Trevor's hand found its way to Lela's knee.

The skin to skin contact etched a small smile on her face easing the jumbled nervous in the pit of her stomach that prevented her from eating. She really didn't know why she should be nervous. Sylvan was a reasonable person and Trevor was a good guy although he had his times when he could say things that could rub some the wrong way.

She knew she could be a good host. She'd seen her mom do it, work a crowd like it was a superpower. Laugh at jokes that weren't funny. Spark conversation while in company with the drabbest, boring person in the room having them feel like they were special. Everyone that frequented their home for whatever party her parents were throwing during a day that ended in a 'y' and no one ever left unhappy or jaded. Her mom was a supreme host and since she was her daughter, Lela knew she could do the same. She just had to tap into her inner hostess and get a good conversation going so the woman that she loved almost as a mom and the man she loved could be on good terms.

"We can still be hopeful," She told Trevor with a pat to his hand that rose up to her thigh. "They are our parents and no matter how they let us down we have to remember that they're people. People can change."

She took in a deep breath feeling a tightness in her heart knowing she'd been holding out hope for her parents since she left Chicago all those years ago. She still loved. She tried hard not too but that love was unbelievably hard to eradicate from her heart.

"Parents are people and we make mistakes," Carter told, shifting his eyes between the two of them. He knew they knew about his entanglement, he spotted his daughter's stuff animal on the couch in the living room while they waited for Lela and Trevor to set the table. "Sometimes it takes us a while to realize the damage we cause."

Lela flashed him a smile as sadness swelled in his gray eyes. "Nick is aware." She nodded, "I made sure of it."

"How is your relationship with your parents, Trevor?" Sylvan twirled the fork handle between her finger and thumb.

Lela could sense that she wasn't asking a simple question by the inquisitive tone in her voice and the pensive tilt of her head. "They had a falling out. A misunderstanding."

The last thing she wanted was for Sylvan to know the real reason Trevor was feuding with his parent. It only made her more apprehensive of their coupling.

"They didn't approve of Lela so I didn't approve of them," Trevor shrugged nonchalantly withdrawing his hand from her thigh to resume eating.

Sylvan humped, "It was that easy."

"Syl, don't start," Carter warned. He eyed her pointedly before his phone vibrated on the table for the third time.

"I'm not starting anything." She held up her palms. "I'm just getting to know the boy."

"I'm not a boy." Trevor abruptly asserted.

"Trevor," Lela called between her teeth.

"I'm not. I'm a grown man that can make a decision and it was that easy." He turned back to Sylvan, hardening his gaze. "I know the kind of people I want in my life and the kind that I don't. Plain and simple."

Sylvan hummed again but this time she didn't say anything just kept slicing into her shank of lamb.

"If you want to say something say something." Trevor bit out dropping his fork. "Don't psychoanalyze me from afar."

"Trey," Lela seethed gripped his arm. "Stop. Dial it back a little, okay." She held his gaze in silence for a couple of seconds knowing The Russell's eyes were on them but she needed him to see her and remember how important this was to her. Once the hostility receded from his optics she whispered, "This is about us."

He nodded, gave her a half smile and turned back to Sylvan. "I didn't mean to snap. I just know you don't like me or the thought of us getting married." He gestured to Lela and himself. "But I love her, more than I've loved anyone in this world and she loves me back and for me..." He cleared his throat feeling his emotions burning esophagus. "...that's rare."

"It's not rare, babe." Lela's grip of his arm softened to a slow stroke. "I know six other people that'll beg to differ and yes, I added Lyssa, too."

He chuckled. "Her too."

"Yeah, her too."

They both shared in a laugh until Sylvan spoke up. "I can see that there's love between you too. It's just—" She stopped clasping her hands in front of her chest with a gasp as if something was troubling her. "I don't want this to come out the wrong way but I don't know if this is what's best for her."

"Syl," Carter's words hung in the silence but before he could utter anything else Lela interjected.

"I'm fine, Sylvan. I feel better than I've ever felt."

"New love can do that but what are you going to do when things get tough. Trust me I know. Marriage is complicated and hard and unpredictable. It's everything that exacerbates your illness."

"What do you propose I do! Stay single for the rest of my life. Do nothing for the rest of my life because all those things you described....complicated, hard, and unpredictable are all the things that life is. So, what should I stop living, too."

"No!" Carter and Trevor abruptly said simultaneously. Carter glared at his wife, "Just let her be. She's happy." He pointed to Lela. "She's fought hard to get to this point and we're here for her when things get tough." He shifted his eyes to Lela with love teeming in them. "You come to us if you need help, you hear me. You have all the tools you need to have a good life. You don't need to be scared or opt out."

"I didn't mean it like that." Sylvan shook her head vehemently. "I don't ever want you to fail. You're like a daughter to me and I only want the best for you." She held her chest, "I always want the best for you. I just don't want you to get overwhelmed."

"I'll never let her get overwhelmed." Trevor robustly said taking hold of Lela's hand. "We're in this together. You gave her a system. I give her encouragement. We're her support system and we...all of us have to be on one accord." He felt her squeeze his hand so he kissed the back of hers in return then turned back to Sylvan. "We don't have to be friends, you just have to know that I'm staying and I'll have Lela's back forever."

Sylvan nodded, "I see that, now." Her mouth started to open and then it closed as if the thought abandoned her mind.

Carter shifted in his seat then pointed to the kitchen that was out of sight, "Please, tell me you made dessert. I need a sugar high, right now."

"Yes," Lela said with a watery smile pushing her chair back. "I think some sugar will do us some good."

Trevor didn't let her hand go. He followed her into the kitchen and she was glad he didn't for her emotions took over. She sunk into his body, cleaving to his torso as he held her tightly and cried. She cried tears she didn't even know she was holding in. Tears of fear. Tears of hurt. Tears of loss. She let them all shed, seeping in his baby blue shirt.

What do you think Sylvan was going to say but decided not to?

Do you think Trevor and Sylvan are on the same accord now?

Was it a good idea that Carter came along even though his phone is blowing up?