A/N: Hope you enjoy...I'm thinking two or three more chapters...later chapters will be M. please R/R.
Chapter 1
Her staff noticed how distant she was as they boarded the plane back to New York. Something happened in Paris to rattle the Editor, but between rumors of her third divorce and the strange circumstances around the second assistant's departure, no one really knew what to believe. But one thing was certain: the Miranda Priestly that arrived in Paris was not the same woman who left.
She was scheduled to have the last two weeks of December to spend with her daughters, and while everyone at Runway was prepared for her absence starting December 15, no one was prepared for her to begin her time off the day they landed in New York. In any other scenario, Nigel would have been concerned for his friend, worried about her well-being. But of course, Miranda had just used him as a pawn in her game, a game that seemed to keep his career from ever moving past 'Go'.
No, Nigel noticed Miranda's strange mood. He could see her ruminating over something, but in that moment, he couldn't bring himself to care. Not after what she did to him, and no doubt what she did or said to Andrea. He knew she was head over heels for Miranda, and he also knew she would never do anything to jeopardize the fragile work relationship they had unless she was pushed. Whatever Miranda said to make her leave, he resented her for it. Andrea was a good employee, loyal and committed, and although she wasn't into fashion to begin, she was truly an asset to their team if for nothing else, she was the only one in over twenty years who had been able to surprise and please Miranda Priestly.
Caroline and Cassidy were elated that Miranda had taken nearly the entire month of December off to be with them. Their father was spending the holidays with his new wife and her family, and Miranda asked the girls if they were interested in taking a trip, but they both agreed that they wanted to stay in New York and enjoy being home with their mother, who promised not to do any Runway work until January.
While the girls were in school, Miranda found that she had very little to do during the day. She wandered around the house, spending extra time in her daughters' bedrooms. They were growing up before her eyes. She made a point to get to know them better during their time off.
It was Friday afternoon, and Miranda was waiting at Dalton for the girls. She knew they would be expecting Roy, but hoped they would be happy to see her. She smiled as she saw Caroline walking down the front steps. She looked so old, independent, and absolutely gorgeous with her thick, straight red hair. Miranda was so caught up admiring her little girl that she almost didn't realize Caroline was looking around for Roy, perhaps confused that he wasn't in his usual spot.
"Caroline!" Miranda called softly out the window. The young girl's face instantly lit up, a wide smile beaming across her face as she located the source of the voice and turned to grab her sister before running towards the white Range Rover.
"Moooom!" they both shouted as they jumped into the backseat of the vehicle. "Why are you here today?" Cassidy asked.
"Can't I come pick up my darling daughters?" Miranda said.
"Mom, of course. I'm just surprised. I thought you hated driving."
"Actually, once I get in the hang of it, it's not so bad," Miranda teased. "So tell me, girls," Miranda said as she pulled out and began driving home, "how was school? Caroline, how was your Algebra exam? Cassidy, como estas tu prueba en espanol?"
"Mooom, cut it out," Cassidy said, giggling, "you aren't even saying it right."
"Properly, Cassidy, not 'right'—properly is an adverb."
"Ugh, mom, please save it for the magazine!" Caroline said. "But for your information, I got 100% on my algebra exam."
"I'm so proud of you, bobbsey," Miranda said affectionately.
"And I got a 19/20 on my prueba," Cassidy added, "I forgot an accento on one of the sentences."
"Oh, baby, that's okay. I'm very proud of you, too. You girls work so hard, I want to treat you tonight. One of you pick dinner, and one of you pick something to do."
"Really? Anything?" Caroline asked.
"Absolutely anything. I will do my very best to make it happen for you," Miranda said. She pulled the car into their garage and watched as the girls eagerly ran into the house, discussing ideas for the night's activities. She did love her girls more than anything in the world, but she had to admit, she was being selfish tonight—she prayed for anything that would take her mind off of what had been consuming her thoughts day in and day out.
That night, Cassidy selected a trendy restaurant in TriBeca where Justin Bieber was spotted a few weeks ago. Caroline wanted to go to a lecture at the 92nd St YMCA that evening after her teacher recommended it. Miranda obliged, and everyone had a delightful time. Putting her daughters first, she saw just how happy they were, and it distracted her thoughts from other things.
For the next few months, even though Miranda had to go back to work, she tried to make more of an effort to spend time with her daughters. Caroline had Dance Team afterschool Monday through Thursday, and Cassidy was involved in Mathletes on Tuesday and Thursday, Scholastic Bowl on Monday, and Foreign Language Club on Thursday. Miranda encouraged and supported their extracurriculars, but wanted to make sure they had an adequate amount of time to spend on their studies, so she tried to make plans with them on Friday and Saturday evenings. They loved spending the time with her, and she soon realized just how grown-up her daughters were, even though they were only in sixth grade.
Time seemed to fly. It was already the beginning of June, and Miranda took the girls to Chicago as their end of the year trip. Throughout the summer months, Miranda tried to work from home as often as possible, knowing the girls didn't want to spend time with their father, but also didn't want to stay home alone all day.
One evening, Miranda was curled up on the loveseat, lost in thought, while the girls watched American Idol. Caroline quietly moved from the sofa and sat next to Miranda, curling up against her, wrapping her arms around her. Miranda wrapped her arm around her daughter's small frame. "Care, what's going on sweetie?"
"Mom, I miss you. I mean, I know you're here, and I know we see you more now than ever, but I can tell something's not the same."
"Oh, my darling," she said, turning to wrap her arms around her daughter, "I will always be here. I love you and your sister so much.""
"Mom, I know. I love you, too. But something's been bothering you. I want to help."
"Caroline, thank you. I appreciate the concern but there's nothing you can do."
"Do you miss Stephen?" Caroline asked.
"No. Absolutely not," Miranda said.
"Okay, he was a jerk, but do you like miss having a husband? Someone to sleep with?"
Miranda raised her eyebrow as she studied her daughter's face. Her twelve-year-old daughter who just questioned her about her sex life. She sighed before opening her mouth. "I don't know why I'm telling you this, but, yes, I do kind of miss having someone around. Of course, Stephen worked a lot and I didn't get to see him that much, but it was nice to have someone to share things with. Someone to cuddle with."
"Mom, you know you can talk to me, right? And of course I'll always cuddle with you," she said, squeezing Miranda tight. "But I'm pretty sure this isn't what you meant by 'cuddling.'"
Miranda softly brushed the hair out of her daughter's face. "You are wise beyond your years, my dear. I would never burden you or your sister with anything like this. I'm so sorry if I've been distant. I've been trying to pull things together, really," Miranda said as tears started streaming down her face.
Caroline hugged her mom tighter as Miranda softly cried into her shoulder. "Mom," she said, "It's only 8 o'clock on a Friday night. We're going out."
Miranda chuckled. "Sweetie, I'm too old to 'go out' and you and your sister are too young."
"Nonsense," Caroline said, standing up and tugging at Miranda to stand as well. "We are going. Sushi or FroYo, you pick."
At this point, Cassidy was standing, too. "I say Sushi. Cute boys eat sushi."
"It's settled. Mom, put something gorgeous on. Cass and I are going to get ready. Everyone back in thirty minutes!"
Miranda laughed at how commanding her daughter was. "Caroline, Cassidy," she called. "Please dress your age!"
"You, too, Mom!" Cassidy called from upstairs. "You're a hot MILF, so dress like one!"
"Bobbsey, what is a MILF? I don't appreciate being called names."
"Um, we'll explain it to you when you're older," Caroline said as both girls were overcome with giggles. Miranda sighed and shook her head. Her daughters were almost teenagers, and by god, they would be a handful. Miranda trudged her way up stairs and selected a simple black sleeveless Michael Kors wrap dress and wedge sandals.
Miranda and the girls walked down the street to a nearby kid-friendly sushi bar, although, Miranda's daughters hardly looked like children. The room was dark with LED lights under the translucent bar and counter surfaces. Loud music played throughout, and from their table in the corner, they could see everything that was going on in the entire place.
"Hey Mom," Caroline said, "You should go talk to that man over there."
Miranda casually looked in the direction. "Darling, I don't know him."
"Moom, he's gorgeous. Just go like you're going for another drink, and I'm sure he'll buy you one."
"He'll probably buy you like ten," Cassidy said.
"Girls, I am not prostituting myself!" Miranda shouted, surprised that she raised her voice.
"We don't want you to. Just go introduce yourself— but don't be all 'I'm Miranda Priestly, Editor in Chief,' just say you're 'Miranda.'"
"Oh my lord, girls, please. Let's just enjoy our time here," Miranda said.
"Mom, what about that guy? He's cute, too," Cassidy said.
"Mom, how about that guy at that table over there?" Caroline said, "He's kinda chubby, but in a cute teddy-bear way."
"STOP!" Miranda shouted, slamming her glass of water on the table. "Stop, stop stop!" Several other customers turned to look at the commotion she was causing. Both girls immediately stopped talking. Their mother never raised her voice, and both girls knew she had to be really upset now.
After sitting in silence for a few minutes, a cocktail server came by. "Hi, I'm Lisa, and I'm the evening server. Mark is done for the night, but I'd be happy to transfer your bill if you'll still be staying," she said.
"Mom will have a tanqueray martini straight up with a twist, extra dry. We'll just have more water with lemon, please," Caroline said.
"Sure thing, I'll be right back," the young woman replied. Miranda slowly lifted her head up and opened her eyes.
Caroline and Cassidy looked at each other once the server left. Lisa had long dark hair, big, brown eyes, and plump red lips. "Mom," Cassidy said, "What ever happened to Andy?"
"Andy?" Miranda asked.
"Andy, your assistant?"
"Oh," Miranda said. "Andrea. Um, she doesn't work at Runway anymore."
"What? What happened?" Cassidy asked.
"Oh, I don't know. It was so long ago," Miranda said. "What made you ask about her?"
Just then, Lisa returned with Miranda's drink and fresh water for the girls. "Someone told me you needed a drink," Lisa said, smiling brightly as she set the martini in front of Miranda.
Miranda's eyes lit up as she met Lisa's eyes. She strongly resembled Miranda's former second assistant, and the sight struck the older woman speechless. Lisa left, and Miranda's eyes followed her across the room.
"Mom?" Caroline called.
"Well, I see why you asked about Andrea," she said, pausing to pick up her martini glass.
"So, why did you fire her?" Caroline asked. Both girls saw the spark in Miranda's eyes when she saw the young woman who resembled Andrea. Caroline was determined to find out what happened.
"I didn't fire her," Miranda quickly retorted.
"Oh, so um, why did you make her quit?"
"Why do you assume that Andrea's leaving was my fault. She left of her own volition," Miranda said.
"Sorry, Mom. Did she leave while you were on vacation in December?" Cassidy asked.
"No," Miranda said, pausing. "She left before that."
"When?"
"Why didn't you tell us?" the girls asked.
Miranda took a deep breath. Talking to her daughters was never this difficult. "She left the job in Paris. Our last morning there. One minute we were talking in the car, the next she was gone."
"Did you try to get her back?" Caroline asked.
"No. We've gone through countless second assistants," Miranda said.
"But Andrea was different," Caroline said.
"Girls," Miranda said, "I don't want to talk about this. I can't talk about this," she said, putting her head in her hands.
Caroline scooted closer to Miranda in the booth and wrapped her arm around her mom. "What happened in Paris, Mom?" she asked again.
"I—I scared her away," Miranda said, blotting her tears on her napkin.
"Oh. My. God," Cassidy said, "Mom actually liked Andy! Caroline, I think she misses her!"
Both girls giggled at their new discovery. "Mom, can we give the waitress your phone number?" Cassidy said, wagging her eyebrows.
"Absolutely not!" Miranda said. Blush crept up her face as she hurried to take some money out of her purse and leave it on the table under her glass. "Get up," she said, "we're leaving…now."
Neither said a word as they followed their mother out of the restaurant. They walked in silence back to the townhouse. Luckily, the girls were adept at speed walking, so it came as no surprise that their mother was practically sprinting home.
Once she unlocked the door, she ran up the stairs and into her study, slamming the door behind her. "Should we follow her?" Cassidy asked.
"No, let's give her some time," Caroline said. "She seems really upset this time."
"I'm going to turn the kettle on," Cassidy said. "We'll bring her some tea and beg forgiveness." Caroline laughed and helped her sister setup a tray with three cups and saucers, some honey and lemon.
Cassidy carried the tray upstairs and Caroline softly knocked on the study door before pushing it open. Miranda was curled up on the sofa, browsing through photos on her iPad.
"Mom, we're sorry we were so inconsiderate before. We really just want you to be happy," Caroline said as she walked over and sat with Miranda.
"I miss having the happy you around," Cassidy said, setting the tray down.
Miranda set her iPad on the table. "I'm so sorry, my darlings," she said. "You're still my babies, and I'm sorry that I rely on you two so much. You're still children and I'm forcing you to be adults. I feel like I'm not the kind of mother you need..."
"Mom, Cass and I don't care. Kids our age are so immature, I can't stand it. We love you. Please tell us what's wrong."
Miranda took one of Caroline's hands and one of Cassidy's, squeezing tightly. "Girls, I'm scared…for so many reasons," she said, pausing to take a deep breath. "Now, you know that I love you two more than anything in the world. You know that, right?" she said, kissing their hands. "And you know I would never do anything to hurt you, even if it might hurt you inadvertently. You girls are my world and I want you safe and happy."
"OMG, Mom!" Caroline said, "What are you talking about?"
Miranda took a deep breath and looked down at their hands, intertwined. "I have these feelings… oh god, I can't believe I'm telling you this… I—I think I'm a lesbian…or I guess bi-." She sighed and released the girls' hands burying her face in her hands.
Caroline and Cassidy exchanged shocked looks. Caroline motioned for Cassidy to join her, and they both wrapped their arms around their mom. "Mom, that's all? That's what you were so worried about? Oh, god. We love you," Caroline said.
"Yeah, and now we can start finding some hot girls for you," Cassidy said.
At that comment, Miranda sat up and started laughing, tears streaming down her face as she hugged her daughters.
"Mom? Can I ask you something?" Caroline said, looking Miranda in the eye.
"Of course, bobbsey."
"Did you…have feelings for Andy?" she asked.
"Is it that obvious?" Miranda said.
"Mom, that's cool. We liked her. Why don't you call her?" Caroline said.
"Care, I can't do that. She no longer works for me."
"Uh, yeah. That's exactly why you can go after her now!" Cassidy added.
Miranda chuckled again. "Who ever knew you two were compulsive matchmakers? Things ended very strangely when Andrea left. I think she was upset by something I said, when I was trying to be nice. When I saw her leaving, I couldn't go after her. I was frozen. Later that evening, I wanted to call her, but I didn't trust that I would be able to hide my feelings."
"Aww, Mom, that's so like you to piss someone off when you think you're being nice," Caroline said, "You know, it's almost romantic!"
"Girls, I think we've had enough tonight. I think I'm going to draw a nice, hot bath and try to get some rest. Will you girls be okay tonight?"
"Sure," Caroline said, "We'll go upstairs and watch a movie in our room. Goodnight," she said, hugging Miranda as she got up.
"Goodnight, darlings. Thank you for being so grown-up today. Why don't you plan something fun for us to do tomorrow—something that doesn't involve finding me a date, this time? Hmm?" Miranda said with a smile.
"Okay," Cassidy said. "We'll come up with a plan. Can we do something in the afternoon instead of dinner?"
"Sure, whatever you want. Send Emily a note if you need her to make reservations."
"Okay, goodnight Mom, enjoy your bath!"
Miranda blew the girls kisses and left to draw a bath.
"Okay," Caroline said once Miranda left the room. "How are we going to get Mom and Andy together?"
TBC