This Is Why
By

This is Why
by Diane
It was a cold Milwaukee morning, colder than usual for this time of the year. Laverne reached for the afghan on her bed and desperately tried to warm herself. She dreaded the thought of getting out of bed today and going out. But she had to today. She needed to have a long talk with her Pop. She needed to make things right.

Last night was horrible. She knew Lenny would probably confront her soon, she just didn't expect it then. She had never seen him so upset and confused before. When he told her that it didn't seem like she loved him because they were keeping things a secret, it hit Laverne like a ton of bricks. How could she have not seen that keeping it a secret would have sent him the wrong signal? She did love him. Even after an hour sitting on the couch telling him so, Lenny just kept shaking his head.

"Vernie, if ya loved me you would want the world to know! You're ashamed of me, that's why you can't even tell your Pop about us! Don't you think that if I ever wanted to propose to you you're Pop wouldn't want to hear about us clear out of the blue?"

He was right. Shocking Pop about things always made things worse. Pop wasn't exactly the ''calm'' type afterall. Maybe that's why she didn't tell him about them. She knew even if she felt she was making the right decision, Pop would never understand. He had ideas about the man his muffin would someday marry, and those ideas were drilled into Laverne's head from day one. Lenny was by no means that rich, Italian man Pop had in mind. But that didn't matter now. She loved Lenny and she was going to make her Pop understand.

Grabbing her coat she headed out towards the Pizzabowl. She didn't even notice how hard her heart was beating, or that in her nervousness she had grabbed the wrong pocketbook and would be locked out of her house when she returned. Her mind was too occupied practicing the speech she would give Pop.

When she arrived at the Pizzabowl, she saw her Pop by the jukebox.

"Ha! Look, a quarter!, kids always drop their change!", said Frank. He rose from picking it up and saw Laverne.

"Muffin, do me a favor and sweep behind here later, it's a mess underneath!"

"Uh, sure Pop."

Laverne took a deep breath and spoke," Hey Pop, do you think you and I could have a little talk? There's something we need to talk about."

"Sure, I got some time until I gotta go pick up Edna from her class. She started that ceramics class the other week and made an owl. It's kinda strange, but she loves it! You know Laverne, maybe you should take up ceramics too. It would give you some time to spend with Edna together.''

"Yeah, maybe Pop." Laverne said, her eyes never leaving the floor.

Frank looked at Laverne. He knew something was up.

"Come sit. Tell me what's on your mind Laverne."

Nervously, Laverne began to speak.

"Pop, there's something I gotta tell you but when I start talking you gotta swear you won't scream or yell or interrupt. I gotta say what I have to say, and you just have to listen, okay?"

Frank looked concerned. He stared at Laverne for a second. Thoughts of when she thought she was pregnant crossed his mind. ''If she thinks she's pregnant again, this time I'm gonna kill her!" he thought. Frank and his daughter didn't have too many one on ones, but when they did they were doozies. But he loved Laverne more than anything, she was his life, and he knew no matter what he would support her.

"I'm all ears Laverne. I promise I'll sit still and listen." said Frank.

"Okay Pop. Here's the thing. I've known Lenny for a long time. Feels like forever. I still remember the first time I saw him sitting outside shooting marbles against the porch steps and that boy he was with was daring Lenny to see how many marbles he could eat......"

Laverne was drifting. Focus she thought! She began again...

"I've known Lenny for a long time and he's always been an important part of my life. He's stuck by me no matter what. Remember the time I thought I was pregnant, and he was willing to take the dispatcher test to support me?"

"Oh no, here we go again" thought Frank.

"He didn't even know if I was pregnant or not Pop, but he was offering to change his entire life for me! And remember the time that I didn't want to go to the grave to see Ma? Lenny sat and talked to me and made me realize that I should go. We have a lot of talks like that Pop. I feel so comfortable with Lenny. Whenever I'm sad or depressed all I have to do is talk to him and it makes me feel like my problems disappear. I never felt like that with a guy. I dated a lot of guys, some were nice, but most of them jerks Pop. Lenny's always been different. He treats me like a lady, he worships me. He treats me how a woman should be treated, which is amazing since he really had no female role model growing up to show him that. When Lenny's mom walked out on him, he could have been a really messed up person Pop! He could be some bum on the street today, some alcholic because of it. Not that many kids would have grown up so good knowing their mom left them. But Len did Pop. Instead of being bitter, mean and cynical from it all, Lenny grew up to be the sweetest, most caring man there is. It's kinda like having gone through what he went through made him a better person. Look at what Shirl does to him Pop-she belittles him right in front of him. But does Len yell or tell her off? No. He tries even harder to be nice to her Pop. That's just the kind of person he is, and I love him for it. I love Lenny Pop."

Frank sat quietly. He saw the sincerity in Laverne's speech. It reminded him of when he went to Josephine's father to ask for her hand in marriage. He remembered trying so hard to convince him of his love for her. He understood where Laverne was coming from.

"Muffin, I love you. If you feel that Lenny is the man for you, I'll support your decision"

Laverne couldn't believe it. She smiled, wrapped her arms around her Pop, and gave him the biggest kiss on the cheek she ever gave him!

''Thank you for understanding Pop. This means a lot to me, it means a lot to Lenny too."

With that, Laverne looked up to see Lenny standing nearby, having heard every word she said.

"So I hear you love my muffin?" Frank asked.

Lenny smiled. "Very much so Mr. DeFazio"

"Good, then you two make sure you give me plenty of grandkids someday in the future, okay?"

Lenny looked at Laverne and kissed her. He knew that he was kissing his future wife, and indeed someday they would have the family that they, and Frank, dreamed of.










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