"With a few months left before the election how are you feeling about the recent poll numbers that show you 14 points ahead of Thatcher Hayes?"

Oliver had been answering questions for the last half hour and Lucille could see him getting agitated. She took a few steps forward.

"We feel great and are very positive but what we need now is a break", she answered gently.

She ushered Oliver to the side away from the reporters. "Are you okay?"

He nodded. Lucille tensed up as she saw her grandmother approaching them.

"Nanna", she greeted. "This is Oliver Reed, my boss and the next governor of Texas."

Oliver smiled as the old woman nodded, obviously judging him. He couldn't believe the resemblance between Lucille and her grandmother.

"It's nice to meet you Mrs. Sarah. I want to thank you for convincing your pastor to let us hold the event here."

Her facial expressions softened. "Oh it's no problem at all Mr. Reed", she answered. "It seems this was the only way I would get Lucille back in the church."

"Nanna", Lucille said, her face heating up. "I've been busy with work."

"The lord wasn't too busy when he blessed you with that job. He giveth and he taketh away", she preached.

"You're right about that Mrs. Sarah", Oliver chimed in.

"Mhmm I know", she replied before turning on her heel to walk away.

When she was out of sight, Oliver turned to Lucille. "Full house in the auditorium", he stated.

"You can do this", she reassured him. "All they want is for you to show you care about them just as much as you care about rich people."

By the look on Oliver's face, she knew he wasn't convinced. She looked around before pulling him into the supply closet.

"I'll be there the whole time. If I see a question going in the wrong direction I'll step in. I promise."

Oliver planted a kiss on her forehead causing her to giggle.

"What was that for?", she asked.

"I love you", he answered before kissing her, this time on the lips. Lucille was so shocked by what he just said she didn't kiss him back.

Oliver backed away and left the closet. Lucille stood in the same place. As the door closed, a huge grin made its way to her face. She raked her fingers through her hair a few times before leaving the closet.

When she walked out, her heart was beating so hard as if it would beat out of her chest. Her grandma was standing there staring at her.

"Nanna", she said.

Grandma Sarah shook her head. "I've done everything in my power to make sure you wouldn't turn out like her but you are just like her."

Lucille shook her head and began following her grandmother who had started walking away. "Nanna you don't understand"

"No I understand real well Lucille", Grandma Sarah said as she whipped around. "You are messing around with a married man. A woman's husband, child. I've never been more disappointed in you. Is he the reason you let Aaron go?"

Lucille was on the brink of tears. "Of course not", she answered. But she didn't know if that was the truth. And her grandmother wasn't buying it either.

"I can't even look at you right now", Grandma Sarah nearly yelled. She walked down the hall entering one of the rooms.

Lucille felt like there was a hole in her chest. She had become the very person she made it her life goal not to be. Her mother. And knowing how much that hurt her grandmother, it broke her heart.

_______________________✍🏾

There were hundreds of people in the church theatre. Oliver knew it'd be a tough crowd but Lucille was good at prepping him over the past two weeks.

Only thing is he was about to be center stage at this town hall meeting and Lucille was no where to be found.

He unscrewed the top from the bottle of water he'd been given and swallowed down its contents. Without her there, this town hall would be a disaster.

Oliver stood up as a tall, black woman approached the set.

"I'm Helen Meyer", she said extending her hand. Oliver shook it.

"I'll be moderating this evening."

"It's nice to meet you", Oliver said.

"Likewise", she offered. "Good luck Mr. Reed."

Just as those words left Helen's lips, his good luck charm came walking onto the set. Oliver approached her and immediately knew something was wrong.

"So sorry", she said. "Do you need to be prepped. I have notes that we can go over", she said.

"No, I'm alright", he said. "Are you alright, Lucille?", he asked. Her eyes were glossy but he had no time for further investigation as they were going live in two minutes.

"I'll be right behind this curtain, okay?", she assured him.

Oliver smiled and nodded.

"Knock em dead, Mr. Reed."

Oliver took his seat and Helen sat next to him.

The cameraman began the countdown, "In 5, 4, 3, 2, 1."

"Good evening. My name is Helen Meyer and I'll be moderating the Gubernatorial Town Hall with our special guest Oliver Reed."

The audience clapped.

"All questions will be asked by members of the audience and then at the end we'll have questions submitted through Twitter. Tonight is all about getting to know Mr. Reed and his views and beliefs so no question is off limits. We'll begin by allowing Mr. Reed to say a few words."

Oliver stood from his seat. "Tonight isn't about bashing my opponent as he does to me every time he has access to an audience. Tonight is about interacting with the people who I want to vote for me so that I can help them grow and prosper as citizens of Texas. I've lived in Texas my whole life and I can't wait to move forward rather than backward on a path to success as a whole. I won't shy away from the real issues that we face every day. My name is Oliver Reed and I want to be the next governor of Texas."

The audience clapped. He turned to see Lucille clapping behind the curtains. He smiled as he took his seat.

"So who would like to ask our first question", Helen asked. She left the stage and traveled through the audience. She stopped near a white woman and handed her the microphone.

"Hi, Mr. Reed. How are you?"

"I'm doing well, how about yourself?", he responded.

"Good. My name is Ashley. I'm a single mother to two beautiful children. With all the tragic events happening lately, everyone thinks stricter gun laws are the answer. I'm a gun owner and that's the only form of protection I have for myself and my kids. If you're elected governor, what do you plan to do to protect our second amendment rights?"

"Ashley, that's a great question", Oliver said. He stood from his seat. "The problem in this country is that a man who is on the FBI watch list can walk into a gun shop and walk out with a semi-automatic rifle within minutes. The problem doesn't lie with citizens like you who own handguns for protection. Our gun laws were written centuries ago and since then guns have changed so our laws should too. If I'm elected I will do everything in my power to change our gun laws but you will never lose your second amendment right to bear arms."

"Thank you Mr. Reed", she answered.

The crowd clapped loudly. Lucille stood behind the curtain with both thumbs up at Oliver.

He smiled before turning back to face the crowd, ready for the next question.

The mic was in the hands of a Mexican woman. "Hello, Mr. Reed my name is Maria and I am a Mexican immigrant. One of the presidential candidates in this year's race has made it clear that he hates Mexicans. I guess the question I'm asking is do you support this candidate's campaign for president?"

"Absolutely not", Oliver answered. "I never have and never will support racism, hate, bigotry, misogyny, need I go on? Me supporting someone who doesn't understand that America is a melting pot with black, white, Mexican, Asian, and all other nationalities, would go against everything that I believe in. Immigrants like you keep this country's economy going. Immigrants are dedicated, hard workers and are helping this country grow every day. I denounce every hateful thing that man has ever said."

Many questions later and it was time for the final round. Questions were coming in from Twitter and Oliver was doing great.

"Mr. Reed, this is the final question of the night", Helen informed. "After you answer you can give closing remarks."

"I'm ready for it", Oliver answered enthusiastically.

"The question comes from Kayla. She says 'Mr. Reed, as a black woman raising black sons in America, I fear for their safety every day. The Black Lives Matter movement is one of the only things that has given me a little comfort in knowing my sons are safe. Do you support the Black Lives Matter movement?"

Oliver looked behind the curtain and Lucille was shaking her head. She obviously hasn't prepared him for that and she didn't want him to take the question.

Oliver stood up and walked center stage. He spoke directly into the camera.

"Last year black men were nearly three times more likely to be killed by police officers than any other race. Now there's a conversation that needs to be had about this and I can assure you that if I'm elected governor, the format of community policing in this state will change. Do I support the Black Lives Matter movement? Yes. Do I believe all lives matter? Of course I do but right now we need to focus on the ones that are being shot down in our streets like animals."

The crowd erupted into applause. Majority of the crowd even stood up, praising him. Helen joined him center stage also clapping.

"My name is Oliver Reed and I want to be your next governor. Thank you and have a good night."

"Well I think with that, we are wrapping it up. Goodnight Texas and God bless America."

"And we're off", the cameraman announced.

Everyone began filing out of the theatre. Helen congratulated Oliver on the successful town hall. She and her crew then left as well.

Oliver looked to where his lucky charm once stood but she wasn't there.

_______________________✍🏾

Lucille stood directly under the shower head letting the hot water soak her hair and slide down her back. Her eyes remained closed as Nanna Sarah's words kept replaying in her head.

"You are just like her", the words were engrained in her mind now. All she could do was cry.

She dried herself off and dressed in a tank top and shorts for bed. She combed her hair out before exiting the bathroom.

She found herself in the kitchen opening a fresh bottle of wine, still sniffling every so often.

When a series of hard knocks echoed throughout the apartment, she didn't have to guess who it was. She stood completely still hoping he would go away. She couldn't look at him now without passing blame.

He started to knock again.

"Lucille I know you're in there", he said loudly.

She trudged over to the door and unlocked the deadbolt without unchaining the top. She spoke through the narrow crack allowed.

"Oliver what do you want?"

"You disappeared after the town hall. I just wanted to check on you."

"Well I'm fine so you can go home to your wife."

"Lucille", he uttered. She tried to shut the door but he placed his foot in the crack. "Did I do something wrong?"

"Oliver, please move your foot. I just want to go to bed."

"Well let me in so we can go to bed", he pleaded.

Lucille scoffed. "Move your foot."

He backed away and she shut the door and unchained it. She opened the door and he walked in. After locking the door back Lucille turned to face him.

"Why did you sneak away tonight?", he asked.

"I needed to be alone. I needed to think about some things."

"Things like what?", he asked. "Us?", he approached her slowly but she walked past him quickly and into the kitchen.

"Is there even an us, Oliver?", she asked as she continued trying to open the bottle of wine she'd abandoned.

She twisted the corkscrew with her back turned to him.

"I thought there was. There seemed to be an us earlier", he answered.

She abandoned the bottle of wine once again and turned to him. Her eyes traced the tile of the floor as she began to rant.

"How do I know that you won't work things out with Anne Katherine after the election is over? I mean do I even have a right to be upset? Running around with you like some common whore like it's"

"Lucille!", he yelled cutting her off. She got goosebumps. When she looked up at him his face was red and his nostrils were flared. If he were an animation, there would be smoke blowing out of his ears right now. She crossed her arms and stood in silence while he spoke to her.

"I love you, I am in love with you. I never in a million years thought I would cheat on my wife, the mother of my child but here I am. I'm not asking you for sex. I'm just here asking to go to bed together. That's all."

He extended his hand to her and she took it, inching closer to him. She pulled his face down closer to hers and kissed his warm, inviting lips.

They walked hand in hand to the bedroom. Lucille crawled into bed. Oliver kissed her on the forehead before continuing to the bathroom.

"Don't take forever", she called out.

_______________________✍🏾

Oliver tried to shut the bathroom door quietly so not to wake Lucille but as soon as the door shut her eyes shot open.

"Did I wake you?", he asked as he slid into bed with her.

"No, I wanted to go to sleep with you", she replied.

They shared another kiss and Lucille rested her head on Oliver's chest. He stroked her hair while she laid there silently. After a few minutes of silence, she spoke up.

"My mother had a habit of sleeping around with married men. One of those married men ended up being my father. He was there when I was born but he didn't stick around much longer than that", she revealed.

"I'm so sorry, Lucille", he said.

But she wasn't done.

"When I was 11, she met this rich guy. He told her if he was gonna be with her, she couldn't be with me. And so she dropped me off at my grandmother's house one day and never looked back."

Oliver rubbed Lucille's back. "I'm so sorry. I never would've guessed."

"Earlier tonight at church, my grandmother saw us leaving out of the closet together. She questioned my morals and then she accused me of being just like my mother. That broke my heart but I can't say it's not true."

"It's not true", he said.

"But here we are, laying here together like you didn't slip your wedding ring into your pocket before coming here. How am I supposed to be any different from her?"

"You're not just sleeping around with a bunch of married guys. Or sleeping around at all for that matter. And unlike the men your mother was involved with, I love you Lucille."

"It doesn't matter. None of it matters", she answered. "I don't care if being here with you makes me truly my mother's child."

She lifted herself up onto her elbows and kissed Oliver sweetly.

"And I love you, too", she whispered.

_______________________✍🏾

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