Something was different, maybe her tone? She spoke softly, not hard or curt.
“Aren’t you going to say hello?” she asked. “It’s been years since you’ve seen me.”
Nick didn’t know what he should say. He was disgusted, angry, and bitter. He didn’t want to say hello to her, or pretend the last seven years he wasn’t miserable because of her. What he wanted to do, was, spit in her face and tell her to fuck off. He couldn’t explain why he didn’t do that though. Instead, he busied his hands, shoving papers around the desk.
“What are you doing here?”
She looked around surveying the tiny room and took a step inside the office. Her eyes found Nick’s and her features softened just a touch. “I came here for a few reasons. The first being, I know you lost someone you cared a great deal about, so I came to offer my condolences to you.”
Nick stared at her for a moment, trying to figure out her angle. Did she really expect him to believe she was here because Jake had passed away? He shook his head, typical of his mother to use his friend’s death to her advantage.
“Why don’t you do yourself a favor and cut the shit. You didn’t come here to give your condolences. You can’t stand the Lanza’s, Jake’s death is probably a victory for an evil sadistic bitch like you.” Nick said through his gritted teeth. He could feel his blood pressure rising by the throbbing in his head.
Lucille swallowed, taking a minute to respond. “You have no idea what I feel towards that family. You assume you know.” She shook her head. “I wouldn’t wish death upon anyone, least of all Jake.” Her voice was strained and if one didn’t know Lucille, they would think she was sincere. Luckily for Nick, he saw right through his mother’s fa?ade.
“I didn’t come here to upset you. I came to see my son.”
“You don’t have a son. You have a man you gave birth to. That’s it.”
“Don’t say that Nick, please.” She looked at him, gesturing to the empty seat. “May I sit?”
He shrugged, and she took that as her answer. She sat down and stared at him. Nick felt like he was suffocating. All he wanted was for her to leave, and now she fucking pulled up a chair. He sighed heavily and glanced up at her. “I’m pretty busy, so if you’d just get to the point.”
Lucille knew coming here, that her son wouldn’t welcome her, still she had wanted to see him. Maybe get a chance to explain things to him. “I don’t expect you to forgive, what I did. I’d like a chance to explain why I did, what I did.”
“I don’t care to know, why you were a vindictive bitch. I put that to bed, and chalked it up to you were just a shitty mother, not happy in your own life, so you ruined mine.”
She pondered his words, and waited a bit before nodding. “That was partly it. I was miserable with my life, but I didn’t want to ruin your life. I wanted you to have the best life, I could ever have imagined for you.”
“Yeah, well, maybe you should’ve thought about what I wanted instead of what you imagined.”
“Maybe you’re right. I should’ve paid more attention to what you wanted.” She paused. “Is this what you want, Nick? You want to own a repair shop?”
“Don’t you dare patronize me,” He said sharply, angrily.
“I’m not. I’m asking you because I want to hear you say it. I want you to tell me what you want from life, for once and for all.”
“Yes, this is what I want. I want to own this shop with Luke. I want to restore old cars, and sell them to the highest bidder. I want to take this business the furthest it can go, and all because I enjoy doing it. Is that good enough for you?” Nick replayed his words in his head. He stated them without any hesitation, which to him only validated that he was meant to stay in Riverdale. To hell with his father and Erica, they could go to hell in a hand basket for all he cared.
“Yes.” She said simply. “What else do you want?”
“I want you to stay out of my business. I don’t know what your problem is with the Lanza’s and I don’t care either. I want you to know and to respect, that they are a part of me.” He took a breath and stared into his mother’s aging eyes. He figured it was best to cut to the chase. His mother was no fool, part of the reason she had blackmailed him all those years ago was because of his budding relationship with Sam.
“I want you to stay away from Sam.” He waited a beat, expecting her to grimace or shake her head in disgust. Something to show just how much she loathed the idea, but she didn’t. He watched as she stayed perfectly still, listening to him. “When you shipped me out of here, you cut my heart out. All this business shit, you, all that didn’t mean shit to me back then. She meant something to me, and you knew that. That was the real reason you made me leave, wasn’t it?”