#skippy laughlin

tim: you like it when we take them together

Hawk was oblivious to her health leading up to Jackson's premature birth. That was significantly more dangerous for mothers and children in the 50's than it is now (not that her pregnancy and Skippy's battle with AIDS are even remotely the same).

I think seeing that her husband has been sleeping in Skippy's hospital room for days to be there for Tim 24/7 made Lucy realize that Hawk had never shown her that devotion in 30 years.

It likely would've made her understand that Hawk staying has always been about more than just Skippy needing help while his sister was gone. If it was solely that, Hawk wouldn't be sleeping at Skippy's bedside because Tim has full-time care while in-patient.

Lucy came to visit Tim at the hospital to see how much Skippy meant to Hawk, in the hopes she'd find their connection was very one-sided from Skippy's end. That way, Lucy could hold out hope to keep hers and Hawk's farce of a marriage together because it's all she's known.

Seeing just how well Skippy knows Hawk despite their decades apart, and the proof that Hawk is dedicated to Tim beyond what he agreed to do on this trip (at least what Hawk claimed his aims for it were), told her she had vastly underestimated Hawk's feelings for Skippy.

She surely discovered in that moment that burning Tim's letter to Hawk 30 years ago was futile. The sentiments in them were already reciprocated between Skippy and Hawk, even if her husband refused to say it.

She could lie to herself no longer. She could undeniably see that they're in love. It's love and desire. Feelings that she'd never experienced in return from Hawk.

There's no saving hers and Hawk's marriage because she'll never come close to matching the place Skippy holds in Hawk's heart. And more over, she shouldn't force herself to. She shouldn't want to.

tim: look, can we just shelve this for now? it’s my wedding day. if you were getting married, i would never do anything to upset you!