Note: This is a small one-shot. It will not be continued. It's my version of the episode "Spencer's 18th Birthday" if Ashley had not had to go to New York. I hope you like it.
Grandmother Dearest
"Wakey wakey, eggs and bakey. Well, actually it's waffles and bakey…bacon. But you get the point."
"Huh?" Spencer sat up in bed and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes to see Ashley standing next to her bed, smiling down at her, and holding a tray containing her birthday breakfast.
"Happy birthday, Spence," Ashley told her girlfriend.
"Oh, Ash," said Spencer, smiling. It was her eighteenth birthday.
Spencer's brunette girlfriend set the tray down on her bed.
"Your dad made it, but he let me bring it to you. I wanted to be the first one to see you this morning. And, while I have another present for you in the works, I got you these…" Ashley stepped back and gestured to the birthday girl's dresser on which sat a beautiful vase overflowing with flowers.
"Ashley, they're gorgeous."
"Almost as gorgeous as you."
Spencer couldn't help the smile that fell upon her face at the other girl's words. "Charmer."
Ashley grinned and said, "So, you're eighteen now." The brunette sat next to her girlfriend on the bed while she took a bite of the waffle. "You're legal. What are you most excited about doing?"
"Ooh! I can vote!"
Ashley scoffed. That's boring. "Seriously? Out of all the things you can do, that's what you're excited about?"
The blonde birthday girl giggled as her mother knocked on the already open door and came in, not waiting for an answer. "Look who's old enough to vote now." She held out a pen and a form to receive a registered voters card.
Ashley thought that Spencer looked way too excited about it. Voting should not be what people are excited about when they turn eighteen. It was so…. adult-like. Her girlfriend's enthusiasm over something she found dull coupled with her own ability to vote made her feel both young and old at the same time. "You can smoke now," she said, trying to get Spencer excited about something else. Though the intent was just, the resulting suggestion was not the best option. She was put on the receiving end of an eye roll from the birthday girl and a disapproving look from her mother. "Not that you should. I'm just saying…you can."
Suddenly Spencer's mother took note of her now-of-legal-age-daughter's room and decided that it was too messy and that just won't do. She began picking up clothes and straightening picture frames.
"Mom, what are you doing?" Spencer asked.
"Oh, just cleaning up. You really shouldn't let your room get so messy," her mother answered distractedly.
"You only ever care about that when…oh my god, is Grandma coming?"
The house could never be called a pigsty, but it's never cleaner than when the Mom of Mom is expected.
Spencer's mother gave an almost wincing smile. "Perhaps."
The birthday girl squealed in delight, excited about the visitor. "That's great! When's she getting here?"
"I figured I would let you pick her up from the airport this afternoon and then we'd have your birthday barbeque."
"Really? I get to drive?" Spencer asked. She didn't have the best times-driving-to-bad-road-incidents ratio.
Her mother took a moment to think. That had been the plan, but looking back at her daughters track record, maybe that hadn't been the best idea. Of course, sometimes she thinks she would certainly love if her mother were… no no, she can't think that. And she certainly shouldn't put her daughter in charge of driving the older woman. "On second thought…" Her eyes drifted to Spencer's girlfriend. No accidents that she knew of. Always got her daughter home in one piece. "Ashley, do you think you could drive Spencer to the airport to pick up her grandmother and get her back?"
"Seriously, Paula?" The brunette was a little shocked. She and Spencer's mother didn't always have the best track record for getting along, and while lately that was all put in the past and they were fine, it still seemed like such a huge gesture.
"Seriously," the mother answered with a smile. She trusted her daughter's girlfriend.
"Sure," Ashley answered. "I can do that. No problem."
"What? I thought I was gonna get to drive?" Spencer asked. A few rear-enders and a teeny tiny lamppost embedded in the bumper and suddenly no one trusted her behind the wheel.
Ashley and Paula shared a smile. It really was best for Spencer not to drive.
"Well, hey, Spence, you can be my navigator," the brunette offered.
"You don't need a navigator, Ash. You know how to get to the airport," the birthday girl countered.
"Well then it's gonna be a really easy job."
Paula laughed as she walked out of the room. "Happy birthday, Sweetie."
"Yeah, yeah," Spencer pouted.
XXX
Spencer and Ashley were on their way to the airport in the brunette's Porsche while the rest of the Carlin's got everything ready for the party at the house and the blonde had gotten over her petulance at not being allowed to drive.
Come on, it was her birthday!
Okay, so not completely over it.
"So you get along with your grandma, then?" Ashley asked.
"Yeah, she's always been pretty cool. Well, I mean…"
The girl driving waited for her girlfriend to continue speaking and prodded her when she didn't. "What?"
"It's just, we got along well when we lived in Ohio, but I've changed so much." Spencer glanced at Ashley, knowing this girl next to her was the platform upon which so much of that change had come. Good change. "I'm not entirely sure if she'll like who I am now. I mean, I know she loves me, but…"
"You're worried about what she'll think of you being gay," the brunette said gently.
"Yeah."
Ashley wanted to say something to reassure her girlfriend. She wanted to tell her that her grandmother would love her no matter what. She couldn't though. She didn't know the woman, but this was Paula's mother they were talking about and from what Paula herself had put them through, more specifically what she put Spencer through, before they were able to get her head out of the bible, had been quite heartbreaking and a little horrific. She had to get those views from somewhere and nine out of ten times it was the mother. Ashley hoped she was wrong, but she couldn't know. She couldn't console her girlfriend for something she didn't know.
Ashley took her right hand off the wheel, her left keeping the car steady, and reached across the center consol. She wrapped her fingers around the passenger's hand and squeezed, smiling when she felt a squeeze back.
"I love you, Spencer."
"I love you, too, Ash."
They took the time to share a kiss at the next red light.
The drive to the airport wasn't as terrible as it could have been with Los Angeles traffic and they made good time. Ashley waited by the car while Spencer retrieved her grandmother. When the brunette saw her girlfriend approaching and the older woman with her, she became very nervous. The woman's face looked like it was in a permanent almost scowl. She looked down at her clothes and wished that she had worn a less revealing shirt and maybe some jeans rather than a skirt that didn't even reach mid-thigh. She doubted Spencer would have said anything either way, always wanting Ashley to be Ashley, but perhaps it wasn't a big deal if Paula hadn't mentioned anything to her. The look the grandmother gave her as she examined the brunette's clothes told her otherwise and Ashley mentally cursed both Paula and her sense of fashion. Mostly Paula.
"Grandma, this is my… Ashley. This is Ashley," Spencer introduced. She didn't think now was the greatest time to drop the gay bomb on her grandmother. "Ash, this is my grandma."
Ashley held out her hand for the woman to shake, which she seemed to do so a little hesitantly. "It's nice to me you Mrs…." Suddenly Ashley realized she had no idea what Paula's maiden name was.
"Tandy," Spencer said.
"Mrs. Mary Spencer Tandy," the woman proclaimed, almost too proud of her name.
Ashley quirked an eyebrow at her Spencer. So that's where she got her name.
"And it's…" One more half questioning half disapproving sweep over the brunette's choice of attire. "nice to meet you, Ashley."
Yup, Ashley was definitely cursing Paula.
On the ride back from the airport, Spencer sat in the Porsche's small backseat while her grandmother sat up front next to Ashley as she drove.
"So… Ashley," Mrs. Tandy began. "This is quite a car. Did your, uh, parents get this for you?"
"Oh, no, um…" The brunette made eye contact with Spencer through the rearview mirror, not entirely sure what to say. The blonde shrugged with a look on her face that said 'I don't know. Do what you gotta do.' "I bought it myself, Mrs. Tandy."
"You bought this car yourself?"
"Yes, I um… I have…" Ashley didn't know if having a trust fund was something to be embarrassed about. She had certainly never been ashamed of it before. In fact, she had flaunted it. Now though, in the presence of this woman, it felt wrong somehow. "I have a trust fund."
"Oh," was Mrs. Tandy's only response.
And that was all there was to say about that.
XXX
"I thought you said she was cool. What happened?" Ashley asked her girlfriend after the three of them had made it back to the house and the older woman was talking to her daughter downstairs.
The couple was in Spencer's room while the birthday girl changed into a sundress for the party and Ashley slipped on a more conservative top and a pair of jeans borrowed from her girlfriend.
"She was," the blonde claimed. "I've never seen her like that before. I mean, my parents had told me that she wasn't happy with us moving out here, but I don't know what's made her so upset."
Ashley zipped up Spencer's dress before speaking. "Maybe it's me."
The birthday girl instantly turned around and held onto the brunette's shoulders. "Oh Ash. No. It's not you."
"You don't know that, you just hope it's not me."
Spencer took a moment to consider this and knew that her girlfriend was right. She began smoothing over the shirt Ashley was wearing. It was one of her favorites. She liked it better on Ashley.
"Well, maybe it was just the clothes. She is old, Ash and you don't dress for the elder generations."
The brunette smirked at this. "No, I dress for you."
"You dress for you," Spencer clarified. "And that's the way I like it, but…"
"But maybe your grandma doesn't wanna see as much skin as I can get away with showing?"
"Exactly." Spencer smiled with her answer.
Ashley nodded, her nose barely crinkling with her grin before her face took on a serious look again. "And, if it's not just the clothes?"
"Ashley, you're the most amazing person I've ever met and if my grandma can't see that, well then it's her loss. Besides, you're Ashley Davies. You don't need anyone's validation."
Ashley moved her arms around her girlfriend's waist and Spencer fit hers more snuggly around the brunette's neck.
"The same goes for you, Spence. Whether you want to tell her you're gay or not, even if you want to leave me completely out of it, I'm with you."
Spencer smiled and titled her head to the side in that way that only she could before pecking her girlfriend on the lips.
"So," Ashley began. "Should we go down now? I think Kyla, Aiden, and Chelsea are here."
"Let's party," the birthday girl said, opening her bedroom door.
As they made their way out of the room, Ashley said, "You know it's not a real party unless there's booze, right?"
XXX
Spencer's grandmother became a lot more receptive to Ashley once she saw the girl wearing less revealing clothing and the brunette enjoyed the way her girlfriend's face lit up when Mrs. Tandy produced for her a necklace with a heart pendant that read 'always' in script.
Ashley did not enjoy the excitement of her girlfriend when she saw Lily and Jonica. Well, less so because of Lily, more so because of Jonica. She was too handsy with her girl. Her jealousy was short lived though when Spencer seemed content to only engage with them for a short while before finding her place again at Ashley's side. The brunette wanted to hold her girlfriend's hand, but the blonde hadn't told her grandmother that she was a lesbian yet, never mind that she had a serious girlfriend, so she resisted. Spencer would tell the woman in her own time.
The couple along with Kyla and Chelsea were having fun bossing around Aiden while he was on grill duty when Spencer excused her and Ashley for a moment and dragged the brunette to a secluded corner of the yard where they could talk privately.
"What's up, Spence?" Ashley asked, her face a picture of concern.
"You think I should tell her right?" the birthday girl asked.
"Tell who what?"
"I should tell my grandma that I'm gay. That we're together."
Ashley took a moment to think about this before she answered. "I think you should do what you think is best. If you wanna tell her, great. I'll be there next to you if you want me to, and if not, I'll make myself scarce until you need me. If you don't want to tell her, then you don't have to. Either way, she seems to have lightened up a bit. Maybe it was just my clothes."
Spencer nodded. "I should just tell her. I don't think this is something I wanna keep from her."
"Okay, and do you-."
"And I want you with me," Spencer answered Ashley's next question before she could even ask it.
The brunette smiled, her nose crinkling in that way that Spencer loves. Ashley's eyes lit up even more when the birthday girl took her hand before leading them in the direction of her grandmother.
Unfortunately, Paula saw the couple headed for her mother with their hands clasped together and knew Spencer was going to tell her grandmother that she was gay. She didn't even think about it, didn't even question it, which made the guilt so much worse, when she intercepted Mrs. Tandy before she could notice the girls and lead her inside. Paula looked over her shoulder and made eye contact with her daughter as she guided the grandmother into the house. She mouthed 'I'm sorry' before facing forward again and speaking to her own mother.
The couple stopped in their tracks upon seeing this and, looking at the girl next to her, Ashley in no way liked the frown that marred her girlfriend's face. She especially didn't like the way her hand was quickly dropped.
"What is she doing?" Spencer asked the brunette, for some reason thinking that she might have an inside look into Paula's mindset. "Does she not want me to tell Grandma?"
"I don't know," Ashley confessed.
Throughout the course of the afternoon, the same thing happened a few more times. Spencer would try to find a free moment with her grandmother, whether Ashley was with her or not, but it seemed her mother was watching them constantly because she would always interfere and then afterwards send her daughter an apologetic look and tell her she was sorry.
Eventually, Spencer was able to get a moment alone with her mother in the kitchen and demanded an explanation.
"Mom, what's wrong? Why don't you want me to tell Grandma?" the birthday girl asked.
"I just don't wanna see you get hurt. Whatever reaction you're hoping to get, I don't think that's what's going to happen," Paula explained.
"Yeah, well you weren't exactly thrilled about it when you first found out but now everything is okay, right?"
"Of course it is. I love you and as long as you're happy, that's all that matters." The mother took a big breath. "But it took me awhile to accept it, and I'm sorry that it did, but I can't change that. You're grandmother… I just don't think now is the best time."
"Then when will be the right time?"
Paula didn't get the chance to answer her daughter before Mrs. Tandy made her way into the kitchen.
"Paula, Spencer, my I have a word with you?" she asked in that way she had which really said 'you better listen to me.'
"What is it, Mom?" Paula asked, her voice sounding tired.
"Those girls out there," she indicated to Lily and Jonica who were very openly flirting. "it seems that they might be…" The woman drifted off as if she couldn't complete her own sentence.
"Gay?" Spencer filled in the blank.
From the look her grandmother gave her, it seemed as if she couldn't believe the birthday girl had actually said the word.
"Yes," Mrs. Tandy said, a small knot in her throat.
Paula and Spencer made eye contact for a moment before Spencer asked, "Does that bother you, Grandma?"
Mrs. Tandy gave a humorless, almost haughty laugh. "Well, you know, I'm not one to judge, but the bible is quite clear about these sorts of things. I'm just not sure if these are the kinds of people that you should be associating with."
When neither daughter nor granddaughter spoke, the older woman continued. "I mean I understand that there are always temptations all around us, but to give into a sin like that…" When Spencer saw her grandmother's eyes as she spoke, she knew she had never seen anything so cold. "It's what separates us from the beasts."
The birthday girl was frozen for a moment, shocked by her grandmother's words, before she turned her head to her mother. The look on her face said, 'Are you really going to let her say that to me?'
The message written on her daughter's face did not go unnoticed by Paula, who then turned to her mother and said, "Mom? Spencer's gay."
The look on Mrs. Tandy's face was one of shock and disgust. "What? Why would you say something so terrible?"
"It's not terrible, Grandma," Spencer said. "It's true. I'm gay and…" Spencer looked outside and saw her girlfriend laughing while she and Glen played keep-away with Kyla, throwing something over her head, back and forth. "And Ashley is my girlfriend."
The grandmother followed Spencer's line of sight to Ashley and a fire erupted in her eyes. She stormed out of the kitchen and into the back yard heading straight for the brunette. "You!" She yelled, pointing a finger at the girl.
Ashley only had a moment to realize that Mrs. Tandy was heading towards her before her arm was grabbed and she was being dragged through the house towards the front door, all the while having insults thrown at her. "You no-good sinner! You're dragging my granddaughter into the pits of hell! I knew you were nothing but a whore the second I laid eyes on you and those awful clothes you were wearing! You get out of this house!"
Paula was able to intercept before they reached the door and Spencer pulled Ashley out of her grandmother's grasp. The whole party was now intently focused on the scene in front of them and while they didn't have a clue as to how the argument had started, they all knew exactly what it was about.
"Stop it Mom!" Paula demanded.
"No! No I won't! Don't you see? This is what happens when you pull away from traditional Christian values. People like her," she indicated to Ashley, "take advantage of the innocent. You get out!" she yelled at the brunette. "You get out of this house!" She turned to Lily and Jonica and addressed them as well. "You too! You're all sinners and whores! Get out!"
"This is my house mother. You do not get to tell anyone to leave my house," Paula asserted. "They are welcomed guests."
"But don't you see what's happened? You're daughter thinks she's gay all because of this girl!"
"I am gay, Grandma," Spencer interjected. "And I love Ashley."
"No, no child. She just made you think you are."
"She didn't make me do anything. This is who I am."
"Grandma, it's really not a big deal," Glen said, stepping forward, trying to calm everyone down.
"Quiet, Glen," Mrs. Tandy addressed her grandson. "Don't think I don't know about your sins," she said, referencing his brief addiction to painkillers.
"Mother, that is enough!" Paula shouted. "You don't get to talk to my family that way. Not for any reason. Spencer is gay. Ashley did not make her that way, she just is, but it doesn't matter because she is still my daughter and I wouldn't change her. Not one bit."
"So you're okay with your daughter doing to hell?"
Paula nearly laughed. "Gay people don't go to hell, Mom. People who make the Lord's job their own do. We'll see where that makes you end up."
The whole house went eerily silent after those words. Mrs. Tandy looked around at everyone, swallowing nervously and smoothing out her blouse before making her way up the stairs to pack her things. It was best that she just leave.
XXX
Mrs. Tandy was waiting outside on the front porch for her cab when Spencer slipped out the door to speak with her.
"Grandma? I'm sorry that you feel you have to leave," the blonde girl said.
"I don't think I'm wanted here anymore than I want to be here, Dear."
Spencer didn't know which hurt worse. The fact that her grandmother didn't want to be with her on her birthday, or that she didn't appear to be able to look at her.
The cab pulled up to the house and Mrs. Tandy took a hold of her bag and began walking down the path to the car.
Spencer took a hold of the necklace she had on, which her grandmother had given to her earlier in the day and called out to the woman. "No matter what, you will always be in my heart."
The grandmother stopped for a moment on the walkway after hearing those words and turn her head to the side. Spencer thought she could make out a hint of a smile on her face, but it was short lived and moments later she was in the cab and on her way back to the airport to return to Ohio.
When Spencer slipped back inside the house, it was quiet except for the soft murmur of Paula and Arthur talking while cleaning up after the party. All of the guests had since left with apologies for the incident, particularly to Lily and Jonica, all of whom waved it off, the ones closer to the family such as Aiden, Kyla, and Chelsea leaving reluctantly after offering to help clean up and going with sad smiles on their faces and giving Spencer one last 'happy birthday' in parting.
Ashley was the only non-Carlin that remained, and she never really counted as a guest anyway. The birthday girl entered her room and found the brunette, who had since changed back into her own clothes, sitting on her bed. The blonde flopped herself down face-first onto the mattress next to her girlfriend and Ashley began rubbing her back.
"I'm sorry," the brunette said.
Spencer turned over onto her back at those words. "For what?"
"For dragging you into the pits of hell."
The blonde scoffed. Ashley shrugged.
"You don't really think that's true do you?" Spencer asked delicately.
The brunette sighed. "No, I guess I don't. I'm just sorry all that happened. I'm sorry your grandmother couldn't…"
"Deal?"
"Yeah."
Spencer pulled Ashley from her sitting position so they were lying down facing each other. "It's not your fault. And I'm sorry about all those awful things she said to you. She was wrong. She was so so wrong, Ashley."
"That's not your fault, either."
"And you know that she was wrong, right?"
"Yeah, I do."
"Good. I love you, Ash."
"I love you, too, Spence.
A few moments passed with the couple lying together in silence before there was a knock on the door and Paula came in and Spencer and Ashley sat up in unison.
"Hey, girls," the mother said. "I don't know if you ate anything this afternoon or if your hungry now," she checked her watch, "but since it's about dinner time some of us are going to eat some left-overs and then maybe watch a movie. Would you like to join us?"
Spencer hadn't actually eaten anything at the party, too busy trying to get her grandmother alone to tell her she was gay and she didn't realize how hungry she was until just then. She looked at her girlfriend who just shrugged, happy to do whatever Spencer's wanted to on her birthday.
"Yeah, we'll be down in a minute," the blonde answered.
"Great," Paula said. She and her daughter had already had a good cry and talk about Mrs. Tandy while the woman had been packing and they decided that it was in the past and until they had to face her again, it didn't need to be discussed anymore. "And Ashley, you're welcome to spend the night if you'd like to."
The brunette smiled. "Sure, I'd like that. Thank you, Paula."
The woman nodded and left, closing the door behind her.
"You think she'll let me sleep up here with you or that I'll be doomed to the couch?" Ashley asked as the two got up off the bed.
"Oh please," Spencer replied. "You know if she does make you sleep on the couch that you'll just sneak up here in the middle of the night like you always do."
Ashley took a hold of her girlfriend's hand before she made it to her bedroom door and pulled her in, her eyes begging for a kiss. "That's me, sneaky sneaky."
The birthday girl smiled and cupped the brunette's cheek, bringing their lips together. Before they could get too wrapped up in each other, determining that they had all night to do that, they pulled apart and made their way downstairs where the rest of their family waited.
Note: So what did you think? I know it's just a one-shot but it would be great to get your feedback.
Get it. Got it. Good.