" Hmm. I see. Marissa's busy moving into her new condo with her mom and I am just sitting around doing nothing. Great timing, Cohen"
"Summer would it be ok if we had lunch today- since you seem to be free? I mean as an apology- for my dad's wake, I was completely out of line, and I'm sorry"
"Sure Kirsten, I'd love that. We've never really spent time together- that will be nice." Summer accepted, smiling. She had always admired Kirsten, the matriarch of the family that seemed to hold the sane part of Newport Beach together, she was also the mother of Seth and Ryan, her best friends. Kirsten was a graceful, elegant, beautiful, smart and worldly woman who just had this air about her- and it was as if everything was calmed by her presence. She was so incredibly tasteful, and she just had this class to her, that no one else could possess. Yes, she was the ideal mother, as opposed to her own step mom, and obviously more down-to-earth and had a tighter grasp on reality than the other women in Newport, such as Julie Cooper and her band of newpsies. "Yeah, sometimes I feel a bit outnumbered with all the testosterone in this household." They both shared a laugh. "Just let me grab my purse and we'll be off"
"Ok Mrs. Cohen"
"O please, call me Kirsten. Mrs. Cohen is my mother in law. She's a social worker in the Bronx. She's Jewish. I'm from Orange County, and I live in the mansion that my father built me, not to mention 'dragged her son away from her' and I shop too much. And I'm Christian. When it comes to me, there is no pleasing the nana."
"It's good to know that if I do end up with Seth that his mom doesn't hate me. Seth is never going to be able to get along with my dad though"
"Oh, in-laws hardly ever get along- look at Sandy and my dad. We have been married 20 years, we were together for 2 years before that, and they still do not get along. You and I got lucky." she gave Summer an understanding smile, and motioned for her to follow to the car.
"So where would you like to go? I'm actually in the mood for something light- like a burger or something…. How about you?" Kirsten asked.
"That sounds good. How about the pier then?" Summer suggested.
"Perfect. Let's go! I'll just leave Sandy a quick note on the table so he doesn't worry." she scribbled something down on a post-it note and stuck it on the table by the front door.
Down at the pier, Kirsten and Summer bought some burgers and chili cheese fries, and walked along the pier, and then the beach, talking, about anything and everything- from fashion and upcoming events to work and school, Seth and Sandy, and life's general wonders.
"Kirsten, umm, can I ask you a personal question?" Summer looked at her feet.
"Well sure sweetie, what's on your mind?" Kirsten put her hand on her shoulder, reassuringly, and Summer put her head up to meet Kirsten's gaze.
"Well, um Seth has been telling me that he's really worried about you and Mr. Cohen. And he thinks that you guys are getting a divorce or something. He's been really uptight about it lately… I know this is totally out of my place, but are you guys ok?"
"We've had a rough year." Kirsten admitted. She wanted more than anything to just open up to this girl, even if it was just Summer. She couldn't talk about it with anyone else though. "His ex from Berkeley, who was involved in some huge 'accident' that she was blamed for, left him before we met. One day her father, Max, who was Sandy's favorite law professor and his mentor at Berkeley, calls up Sandy and tells him that Rebecca is dead and he wants him to clear her name because Max is going to pass soon. Of course, Sandy feels obligated to this man, and so he tells me he is helping Max, and that Rebecca is dead. Then Rebecca came back. I guess she really wasn't dead. Sandy sort of forgot to tell me that, while he is out all night with her, and keeping her in his office, and not telling me where he is. He said it was to protect me, but it's his ex- he would have married her if she had not ran away. I would probably still be with Jimmy, so forget the whole concept of Seth, Marissa, Ryan, Julie, and Caitlyn. Then Max died. I tried to tell Sandy to drop the case, she will never come clean. Of course he is still obligated to the 'memory' of Max. In the mean time, he was never home. I was left to deal with the boys and my dad and Lindsay all by myself. When he was home, we were fighting. He left me on Valentine's Day, after we went to all the trouble of making plans. So I decided to talk to Rebecca. Sandy just got even madder at me, and it made everything worse. Eventually she got the picture that Sandy could not just leave his life to be with her- just like that. She left, and Sandy came home to me, but it's just not the same"
Kirsten was out of breath, and sort of in shock that she had told this teenage girl whom she hardly knew at all her deepest thoughts- especially about her marriage. Summer did not say anything at first. She just tried to take it all in. Here she was in broad daylight, the perfect Kirsten Cohen, whom everyone, especially her husband, knew and loved. She guessed she was not as perfect as she thought. Not in a demeaning way, but it tore Summer apart that someone as amazing as Kirsten would have to put up with all of that crap.
"I'm sorry. I'm assuming Seth doesn't know about this. I won't tell him." Summer promised herself that she wouldn't tell anyone- except Princess Sparkle.
"Thanks honey. Its just hard you know? You have such a steady relationship with someone for over 20 years and the only things we fought over were my dad, his mother, and what to eat for dinner. I always thought we were so invincible. Like the perfect marriage. However, all it takes is one little thing and it can crumble to pieces. That is when you learn that the people you care about the most are the ones you will really fight for, even when it is hard to accept anything's wrong. And even after all of it, I'm still madly in love with him"
"How do you know? I'm mean its just so hard to tell. You wait all your life for that one person to come along and just sweep you off your feet and you would think that you know instantly that your in love- but its so terrifying- knowing it- saying it- feeling it. And on top of that, wondering if they feel the same way. How do you know?" Summer's words were rolling out of her mouth a million miles an hour.
"Sometimes it doesn't really work like that. If you are wondering if Seth loves you, then yes, he does very much. When he starts talking about you all the time, to the point where we want to throw him in the ocean, and his cheeks blush when he looks at you and his eyes are completely focused on you- I can tell he does. It might seem to be a lot to wrap your head around at the moment, but if your wondering if Seth does, then the answer is yes. I can tell. He looks at you the same way that Sandy has looked at me since the day we met. And let me tell you- this whole Seth loves Summer stuff has gone on since about 6th grade, when Seth came running home from school to me one day, and Seth announced he knew who he was going to marry. I asked him who she was, he said "Summer Roberts, the most beautiful thing I've ever seen." Summer blushed. " I asked him if he wanted to invite her over for dinner or something, and he told me that she didn't know that he existed, so dinner would have to wait." Kirsten laughed at the reverie of her son.
"How am I supposed to know though? Is there some dream you have or some food starts to taste different, or you like find a new body part or something?" Summer was starting to sound borderline ridiculous now. "How did you know"
Kirsten's thoughts started to wander back through the years back to her Berkeley days with Sandy- the love of her life. They had met in a bar- (Kirsten- drinking- imagine that!) and they had been playing eye tag all night, until Sandy finally came over to her and asked to buy her another drink. She was automatically shocked by his New Yorker's accent. His eyes were questioning, and he obviously had a nice body- compared to some of the losers that hung out at this bar. Sandy had always told her that she was like an angel sent to him that night. She was perfect. Her hair was a beautiful baby doll blond, and it always seemed to be catching more than its fair share of light. Her stunning blue eyes were innocent, and childishly beautiful, but they had wisdom, and a maturity to them. Her smile made him melt into butter on popcorn, but he stood his ground and bought her a drink, and charmed her with his sweet talk. After that night, they were inseparable. Not much has changed.
"Well, let's see. I was a junior at Berkeley, and I had not really been dating anyone seriously since Jimmy. I was at a bar with my girlfriends one night after exams, and there he was. Eventually he came over and said hi to me, and bought me a drink. He told me about himself- he was from the Bronx, here on a scholarship, and in his second year of law school. I guess we just… sort of- connected. It seems as if we told each other our entire life stories that first night. Everything- his dad walking out, my dad never approving of anything, Jimmy, Rebecca, our families, his old neighborhood, my wealth growing up. And the weird part was that it didn't feel strange at all that I was telling this complete stranger about my entire life. We didn't hook up that first night or anything- he just walked me home, and kissed me goodnight. It was like one of those movie moments were you walk inside and you lean back against the front door and think about how amazing he is. I guess in a way he did kind of sweep me off my feet- he still does. After that night we were completely inseparable. We got into trouble all the time for making out in public. Seth still yells at us. We never really cared though. Sometimes love can do that to you."
"But how do you know, when you love them- when was the first time he told you- do you remember"
"Oh, of course- it was one of those 'big moments' that you don't forget- like your first kiss, or how they proposed, or your wedding. I remember it perfectly. We were walking home from somewhere, and it started to rain. I freaked out, of course, and started to run, but Sandy wouldn't let go of my hand. He pulled me close to him and kissed me, and then he told me he loved me- and it was pouring rain." Kirsten finished with a chuckle.
"That's so romantic. Do you remember how he proposed"
"Oh, of course." Kirsten mused "We had been together for a little over a year and we been through a lot. We had met each other's parents- which was- terrifying and my dad absolutely hated Sandy. When we went to see the Nana for the first time, in New York, I was out of my mind nervous. I knew that Sandy loved his mother so much, and I was afraid that if his mother hated me, he would break things off. It was quite the opposite actually. Sophie had welcomed me into her home, bearing a fake grin, and she had asked to speak to Sandy in private. She yelled at him for bringing me to her home. She said that we were from two different worlds and that I would never be happy in a life that he could provide for me, but he said that I wasn't like that- that I wasn't just some California girl that can't provide for herself. He told her that he loved me and that we were going to prove to the world we were meant to be together. He told her that he was proposing to me on New Year's Eve at midnight. And I overheard them fighting, but Sandy never knew that I was listening. I played along like I didn't know- he was so proud of himself, and I never told him that I listened in on his argument with the Nana, but I knew right then and there that he felt the same way about me and that it would never change. I knew before, of course, but I could just feel his love so much when he said that to her. I knew I was the luckiest person in the world to be with him. I still am.
So, the next night, on New Year's we were in my parents' apartment in New York, on the balcony. We were sitting out there with a blanket watching the fireworks and then he asked me, and gave me the ring. Even though I knew it was coming, it was still special, and we were both so happy, it was such a perfect moment." Kirsten looked over at Summer as she reminisced and watched the younger girl listen intently with fascination.
"That's so romantic- Seth could learn a thing or two from his father"
"Ohhh- I think that that's been done already. On Valentine's day last year, I think they had "the talk." Seth wouldn't look me in the eye for a week." Kirsten admitted with a chuckle.
"Hmm I see… maybe not then." Summer laughed.
"We should do this again sometime… when we both get ditched." Kirsten suggested.
"I'd like that"
"And for the record- if you and Seth do end up together, I'd be really happy to finally have a daughter." Kirsten stated.
"I'd be really happy to finally have a mother." Summer agreed.
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Ok I thought I would just end it there with my cheesy moment of the day. I'm thinking this will be a one shot but if you feel the need for me continue please let me know! If you are also a kandy fan check out my other story, conveniently titled Kandy! Merry Chrismukkah!