The Mansion - TG Part 4

Despite Madelyn’s protests Lucas kept an arm around her waist as they walked down the stairs that led down to the foyer and refused to stop until they made it to the garage which for whatever reason wasn’t attached the mansion itself. Both walked out the front door because according to Lucas it was much faster than having to go through like three different rooms to get to a side door that was close to the garage.

Madelyn decided against questioning his method to his madness. Lucas continued to lead her over to the garage which actually wasn’t anything spectacular; it looked just like a wooden shack with a garage door attached to the front. Madelyn looked over at him with a questioning gaze and Lucas laughed and responded telling her this is where he liked to tinker on cars and all kinds of things. Lucas let go of her so he could walk ahead and get the garage door open and upon doing so revealed a rusty beaten up car that had to be from the late 80’s.

“Is this your car?” Madelyn asked as she carefully walked up to the vehicle running her left hand over the hood.
“Were you expecting something else?” Lucas laughed as he walked over to the passenger’s side to open the door for Madelyn.

She smiled slightly and slid into the passenger seat with some difficulty and with a nod to Lucas he closed the door. He attempted to do the Dukes of Hazard slide across the hood and surprisingly enough he actually made it across with no issues. Madelyn started laughing and gave him the applause he deserved as he hopped into the car and got it started up.

Madelyn immediately asked him how in the world he learned to do that slide so well and Lucas just smiled and told her it was patience and a lot of time on his hands. Both just started laughing as Lucas drove down the driveway and onto the main road. Madelyn looked back and noticed that her car was no longer on the side of the road in front of the mansion and for a few moments she felt worried but that feeling quickly went away.

The drive to the graveyard took about an hour since Madelyn was trying to give directions and Lucas was trying to follow them as best as he could. When they arrived at the graveyard Lucas was surprised to see that it was pretty big and not some off the beaten path kind of graveyard. He was also the first one out of the car once he got it parked and offered assistance to Madelyn who politely declined as she slid out of the car.

“Well here we are…” Madelyn sighed as she closed the car door and looked out at all the graves.
“Quite the graveyard your friend was buried in… I don’t mean to be disrespectful…” replied Lucas as he caught himself from saying anything more hurtful.

Madelyn just smiled slightly and told him it was okay as she walked through the giant gate and towards where Kane was buried. Lucas decided to stay near the car and let her have this tender moment by herself. Madelyn was just about fifty feet from the grave when she noticed that Lucas wasn’t walking next to her, she looked back and noticed he was standing by the car all alone. She waved at him to try and get his attention and it kind of worked, he did notice but he didn’t get the hint that she wanted him to follow her. She decided to not wait up for him and quickly walked to the headstone where the words Kane Mars were etched into.

“Well here I am… I still miss you buddy… I really wish you could see all the shenanigans that have taken place over these past few days. Hell you wouldn’t even recognize me right now; I mean no one would recognize me.” Madelyn said out loud to herself.

A breeze of wind passed over the entire graveyard and it made her smile, as if Kane wherever he was heard her and was agreeing with her. Madelyn continued to talk to herself but to her she was having a wonderful conversation with her best friend Kane. She made a quick comment about whether she had a boy or girl she would make sure the middle name was Kane to honor the memory of him before walking away from the grave.

The wind blew for one last time only a bit stronger as Madelyn made her way back to Lucas who was leaning against the driver side door. When he noticed that Madelyn was close he walked around and opened up the passenger door for her. Madelyn laughed and slowed her steps to a snail’s pace to keep Lucas waiting; he started laughing when he saw what she was doing and decided to do the same.

It lasted until Madelyn made it to the gate and she decided to pick up her pace and was in the car in no time. Lucas debated in his head whether to do the hood slide again or just walk around like a normal person; he chose the latter just to be safe and respectful for those who had passed.

“Well it’s about lunch time, are you up for grabbing something to eat?” asked Lucas as he started up the car and let it idle.
“Yeah that sounds good…” replied Madelyn as she looked over at Lucas. “What are you thinking?”
“I have no idea, so I thought I’d ask you. I was considering stopping by one of the local fast food joints to get a quick bite and then maybe go into the city and walk around until the sun goes down.” Lucas responded as he shifted gears and put the car in drive.

Madelyn told him that it sounded nice and that she didn’t really care which place they went to eat because she wasn’t really hungry. Lucas responded with something about if she’s not really hungry then they don’t have to stop anywhere and they could just go spend the day in the city and maybe grab something to eat when they were actually hungry. She actually liked that idea and was actually kind of excited to spend the day with Lucas; to her it was better than being in the god awful mansion with Gregory all day.

The drive into the city didn’t take very long but trying to find a good parking spot in the downtown area was another thing. It had to have taken them about twenty or so minutes to find a parking spot and the entire time Madelyn made the suggestion of parking in a parking garage but Lucas wasn’t too fond of the idea. Madelyn couldn’t help but laugh at such an absurd way of thinking but decided against pressing the issue and let Lucas do what he felt was right.

When they were finally parked and standing on the sidewalk Lucas asked her which direction Madelyn wanted to start walking. The only choices she had was to go left or right from where they had parked and they’d eventually be walking down the same road no matter which one she picked. She told Lucas to pick for her so she didn’t have to feel guilty if he didn’t like the choice she made. Lucas decided that they should take the left way first since it led down to a park with a good sized pond in the middle. Madelyn slid her hand down to embrace Lucas’s hand like what couple’s do all the time when they’re walking together. To her she was just being nice and didn’t want to get left behind while Lucas thought she was doing it because she considered them to be a couple.

“I don’t want to bother you with this but it’s kind of bothering me. I’ve been thinking of what you said yesterday, a lot actually and I wanted to ask if you actually enjoy what you’ve become. I’m not saying I actually believe your story or anything it’s just something I’m curious about…” said Lucas as they walked.

Madelyn looked over at Lucas as all kinds of thoughts and scenarios started rushing through her mind. It seemed that whatever had happened the previous night had left Lucas’s head and he was back to his “normal” questioning self at least that was one of the thoughts going through her head. Deep down she knew that whatever had happened had to be from the work of Gregory but she had no way of proving it. Madelyn decided against thinking anymore about this stuff and wanted to actually have a day with no worries.

“I’m not sure… I mean, you’ve been so helpful with this ‘transition’ if you want to call it that but I still remember myself as a guy who went by the name Nathan. But let’s not dwell on this right now, instead let’s enjoy each other’s company and have a wonderful day together.” Madelyn eventually responded.
“Sounds great Madelyn” smiled Lucas as they walked down the sidewalk towards the park.

Surprisingly enough there wasn’t a whole lot of people out and about other than the occasional old couple. Nobody once said a word to Madelyn and Lucas as they made way to the park that was just a few blocks away. When they finally got to the park Madelyn immediately recognized it as the park that she and Kane ran around in when they were younger. It had been years since she was last there and she couldn’t wait to see what if anything had changed.

Nothing had really changed other than the playground equipment which didn’t really matter to Madelyn. She was too busy gawking over the more updated park to notice an older woman was trying to get her attention. When she did notice she was startled for a few moments before regaining her composure and quickly asked her what she wanted.

“Sorry to be bothering you two but I just wanted to congratulate you both on your future child” smiled the woman.
“O-oh… Umm well thank you very much” replied Madelyn with a slight smile as she hoped the woman would leave them alone.
“Well enjoy the rest of the afternoon!” she said as she walked off.

Madelyn looked at Lucas who was trying hard not to laugh at how awkward she must have felt. He told her that she might as well get used to random woman commenting on her pregnancy and it would only get worse when she had the baby. She stuck her tongue out in response and tried to suppress a giggle while doing so, she let go of Lucas’s hand and poked him telling him that he needed to close his eyes and count to at least fifty to give her a chance to hide.

Lucas looked at her with a shocked expression and smiled when he realized what kind of game she was trying to drag him into. He told her she had 30 seconds to hide right as he closed his eyes and covered them with his hands. Madelyn just laughed and said no peeking as she walked as fast as she could to a big oak tree to hide. Lucas was counting out loud when a little girl came up and asked him politely if she and her friends could join their game of hide and seek. Lucas uncovered his eyes and said yes with a smile, he announced loudly so Madelyn could hear that they have some new players and he would start counting over.

“Alright you all have 30 seconds to hide! If I find any of you I want you to help me find the rest” Lucas said right before restarting his countdown.

The game was on as soon as he was done counting and when he uncovered his eyes he knew he was in for a good game. He could hear the small hushed giggles of the little kids in their hiding places and to be nice he acted like he didn’t hear them and continued on with his search.

Ten minutes had passed and Lucas wasn’t even close to finding everyone, he even had about four little helpers at his disposal. He gathered his little helpers in a huddle and told them that they all would split up and go in different directions and to remember to have fun while doing it.

Madelyn who originally was hiding behind a big oak tree had moved at least three different times and was almost caught numerous times. As far as she knew she was the only one that was left at this point but she wasn’t about to give away her position to find out. That was until she felt a pair of arms wrap themselves around her and a voice whispering in her ear “Gotcha”.

She knew she had lost the game but at the same time she won because she managed to be the last one to get caught. Madelyn turned around to see who the lucky person was even though she knew exactly who it was and found herself being kissed. Stunned and almost out of breath she wasn’t able to react fast enough to pull away giving Lucas ample opportunity to continue kissing her. A part of her wanted the kiss to never end and was fully enjoying it.

He broke the kiss with a big smile across his face and congratulated her on winning the game followed by a bunch of the little kids making disgusted sounds that they normally make when seeing two people kiss. Madelyn couldn’t help but laugh as she remembered being the same way when she was that age and she told the little boys to watch out for cooties. Just by hearing that word all the boys took off running and the girls took off after them leaving Madelyn and Lucas to be alone.

“That really was a great game you got started, those kids are going to remember that for a long time.” he smiled as he took her hand in his.
“You’re right” giggled Madelyn as they continued the rest of the walk through the park.

Madelyn was too busy having a great time with Lucas to really even think about how feminine she had been acting all of a sudden. If she was told that she’d be holding hands and getting kissed by a guy and actually kind of enjoying it a few hours ago she’d think you were crazy. Now it almost seemed like it was second nature to her.

Meanwhile back at the mansion, Gregory was in his room pacing back and forth in front of the book that he used as his source of power. He was cursing to himself about his failed attempt at trying to get the two to have sex and finish the deed. It was a fool proof plan that should have succeeded but yet it didn’t, it was this that frustrated him to no end.

Gregory was not the kind of man to give up easily and while he was pacing and trying to figure out what went wrong he was also coming up with his next plan. He considered spiking the next meal like before but instead of using the enchanted pills he’d concoct a love potion of sorts to make the two irresistible to each other. Or maybe he’d just let things go their natural course and let the two hopefully fall in love and proceed from there. Whatever Gregory decides to choose it could either be a good or bad thing for Madelyn and Lucas.

It was starting to get late when Lucas mentioned they should probably grab a quick bite to eat and then think about heading back to the mansion. Madelyn who was kind of leaning on him nodded and tried her best not to yawn. They stopped into a little café and ordered a couple sandwiches before sitting down to finally relax.

“Oh what a relief, I don’t think my feet could take walking any longer…” Madelyn said as she leaned back in the chair she was sitting in. “Ugh they’re so swollen… Wow I sound like a pregnant woman…”
“Ha-ha of course you do silly” replied Lucas right before he took a big bite out of his sandwich. “How else would you sound like?”
“I-I dunno… not like a pregnant women?” she replied as she eyed her sandwich and debated whether she wanted to eat it or not.

Lucas was about half way through his sandwich when Madelyn had just started. He slowed down when he noticed her taking small little nibbles and eventually set his sandwich down.

“Something bothering you, hun?” asked Lucas as he looked over at Madelyn who looked like she was deep in thought.
“I really don’t know… I’m hungry and this sammich is delicious but I feel like something is wrong.” Madelyn replied as she too set her sandwich down.

Both went back to eating their sandwiches in silence and left the café as soon as they were finished also in silence. Lucas walked in the direction of where the car was parked and Madelyn followed behind. She wanted to say something to Lucas but decided against it until they made it to the car. It was a pretty short walk back to the car and Lucas opened the passenger door for Madelyn and closed it when she was settled in. He walked around the front and hopped inside the driver’s side and slammed the door shut.

He went to turn the key to start the car and it just made a sputtering noise so he quickly turned off the car and tried again. The cars made the same sound making Lucas get pissed off and slam the steering wheel with his hands.

“You have got to be kidding me!” Lucas yelled as he leaned his head back and closed his eyes while taking deep breaths through his nose.

Madelyn just stayed quiet so she wouldn’t upset Lucas, she knew what it’s like to be in that kind of situation and it wasn’t fun. She decided to get out and take a look under the hood, with relative ease she got out of the car and walked to the front. Lucas was too busy trying to calm down so Madelyn banged her hands on the hood to get his attention. He jumped at the sound of the banging and immediately opened his eyes to see Madelyn was standing outside and trying to see what was wrong with the car.

He pressed the button that popped the hood and gave her a questioning look before doing so. Madelyn just laughed and pulled the hood up and began to take a look, she was bent over and within seconds she heard whistles and hollers from guys passing by. She was embarrassed and it got even worse when a few guys stopped to offer some help but Lucas had finally stepped outside of the car to let them know everything was under control.

One of the guys laughed and held up his hand to show a ring on a finger and told the two that the battery was probably shot. He told them he was the owner of a local auto repair shop that was a few blocks away and that they were lucky he happened to be going down this way to grab something to eat.

“The nice people around here call me Chuck, so you can do the same.” the mechanic said as he held out his hand.
“I’m Lucas and this here is Madelyn” replied Lucas as he shook Chuck’s hand.

Chuck looked like he had an Irish background, from the way he talked and to how he looked. He had the typical orange colored hair that he kept short but he had one mighty fine beard that he kept well groomed. There was something about that particular look that steered people away from him but really he was a huge softy.

Madelyn backed away from the car and turned around to look at the man Lucas was talking to. Chuck immediately smiled when he noticed that she was pregnant.

“Well look what we got here, Lucas my boy why didn’t you tell me you were a family man.” laughed Chuck as he wrapped his arm around Lucas’s shoulder and kind of shook him.
“I was just getting to that…” replied Lucas who looked at Madelyn with a concerned look on his face.

Chuck let go of Lucas and held out his other hand for Madelyn, she returned the handshake with a smile. The other men who were with Chuck started to get impatient and told Chuck they’d pick him up something and bring it back. He told them that was fine and to just head back to the shop when they were done.

“Let me take a look at the battery to make sure that’s the issue” Chuck said as he walked over to the car and began to look around.
“We really appreciate the help Chuck…” Madelyn said as she found a clean spot on the curb and sat while Lucas went to help Chuck.

With a smile Chuck told her it was no big deal and that he’d cover the cost of the repairs of the car. Lucas tried to object and tell him that he would gladly pay for the costs but Chuck told him it was no big deal. Chuck stated that he appreciates and respects a family man therefore will cover the costs.

Lucas and Madelyn didn’t know what to say other than thanking Chuck for being so generous. He laughed and suggested they head back to the shop so he could grab a tow truck and bring the car. Lucas helped Madelyn up and held her hand as they followed Chuck to the auto shop.

When they arrived at the auto shop Chuck quickly hopped into one of the four available tow trucks and drove off to get Lucas’s car. Lucas and Madelyn just stood there as they watched him drive the couple blocks back and got the car loaded up within minutes and was on his way back.

“That was uhh… fast?” said Lucas right as Chuck pulled up with the car in tow.
“Well of course it was, you do the same thing for a long time it just becomes second nature” replied Chuck as he hopped out of the tow truck

Lucas smiled and let out a small chuckle at Chuck’s remark and helped him unload the car and push it inside at his request. Madelyn just stood there and watched the two work together as if they were longtime friends. She was getting pretty exhausted and was ready to go back to the mansion and fall asleep, she’d most likely be ending up sharing a bed with Lucas again but at this point in time she didn’t even care.