Okay, I am on a writing Frenzy now. Enjoy!
Other than finishing some minor paperwork, Alicia FL Orrick was done with work by Friday at two in the afternoon. All of the cases she had on the docket were postponed until after the New Year. Lockhart-Gardner had more or less ground to a halt. Diane had advised her to take Monday and Tuesday off. She had nothing to do for four days except sleep, catch up on her reading, and spend time with her kids. They were supposed to spend Christmas Eve with her and Christmas day with their father and grandmother.
She stopped at the Jewel on the way home and bought a roast, potatoes, carrots and salad fixings. She hadn't cooked in so long she wasn't sure she remembered how to turn on the stove. She also picked up some ready-made cookie dough. She was trying her best to pretend for her own sake, and that of her children, that this was a normal Christmas
.She had insisted that they get a real tree. The kids had gone with her to the tree lot, helped her pick out a tree, and strap it to the car. They were both less than enthusiastic, and the tree was only half decorated before Zach decided to go out with his friends, and Grace retreated to her room.
The kids were already home from school when she got to the apartment. They had a frozen pizza for dinner, and then Alicia asked if they wanted hang out at home tonight, watching movies, and eating popcorn with their mom. Zach replied that he had a date, and Grace rolled her eyes, and said, "No thank you." She forgot sometimes that teenagers did not actually like spending time with their parents.
So here she was, the Friday night before Christmas, alone on the living room couch with a only a glass of wine for company. She missed Kalinda, She missed Will. In addition, as much as she hated to admit it, sometimes she actually missed Peter. It wasn't just the physical aspect of being in a relationship with someone that she missed. It was simply having someone she could talk with, argue with, and laugh together with.
Grace came out her room, went to the kitchen for a glass of water, and then started to head back towards her room.
"Halt! What are you doing in there all alone?" Alicia asked her daughter.
"I'm taking nude pictures of pictures of myself, and posting them on the internet. I'm just in there reading, Mom. God."
"Grace, I hope I only have to say this to you once. Lose the attitude. Or you're not going to deal with me; you'll be dealing with your father instead. And as he has said himself, he'll be a lot harder on you than I am."
"I just want to know when you're going to trust me again," Grace said.
"When you prove to me that you can be trusted. You put us through hell, Grace. It's going to take a while for me to get over that," Alicia explained.
The girl softened, then walked over, and embraced her mother. There were tears from both of them, and an apology from Grace.
"Want to watch a movie with me? You pick. As long it doesn't star Adam Sandler, I'm fine with it," Alicia said.
"Sure. Mom, can I ask you something?" Grace asked.
"Sure. What is it?" Alicia wanted to know.
"Can Dad come over for dinner tomorrow night? I don't think he really has any anyplace else to go for Christmas Eve." Grace said.
Well boo hoo hoo, Alicia thought to herself. She knew her daughter harbored some kind of faint hope that her parents would reunite. "Grace, you and your brother are supposed to spend Christmas Eve here with me and Christmas day with you father and grandmother. That was what we agreed upon."
"I just thought it would be nice for all of us to be together. I know we aren't really a family anymore but..."
"Okay, okay. But just Dad. Not Jackie."
Grace leaped from the couch, and ran back to her room.
"Where are you going?" Alicia asked.
"To get my phone. I'm going to call Dad and tell him he's invited!"
Alicia stared at the tree, and her thoughts drifted to another Christmas.
Eight Years Earlier
Alicia had gone upstairs for just a minute, and came back to the kitchen to find Zach looking sheepish, and Grace with chocolate and crumbs all over her face and hands.
"You guys go into the cookies, didn't you? Those are supposed to be for the party."
"We just wanted to make sure they tasted okay," Zach said.
"Mommy, it's snowing outside again. What if Santa can't get here?" Grace asked.
"Santa has been driving a sleigh for hundreds of years in all kinds of weather. Rudolph and his nose will get him through. Now go upstairs and start washing your face. I'll be up in a minute."
"You know I don't believe in Santa Claus anymore, right Mom? Eric Jaoby whose in fourth grade said there is no Santa Claus. His mom told him there is no Santa. She said creating fantasy for children leads to disappointment and dis..disillusionment later in life," Zach was saying.
"Well Eric Jaoby is a jerk for telling you that," Alicia said. So is his Mom, she said silently.
'I was awake last Christmas when you thought I was asleep, and I heard you and Dad arguing downstairs while you put the presents under the tree," he added.
"Well, your sister still believes. So at least pretend for her sake,"
"But isn't that lying?" Zach asked.
The last Alicia needed was a discussion of morals and ethics with her eight-year old son when she had a Christmas Eve party to organize.
"Sometimes it's okay to… stretch the truth a little if you don't want to hurt someone's feelings. Like for example if my hair looked really awful, and I asked you how my hair looked. In that case it's better to hide the truth to spare my feelings, right?"
"Yeah, but that would never happen, Mom. Your hair always looks great."
Alicia laughed, and tussled her son's dark hair. "Zach Florrick, you are bound to grow up to become a lawyer, and a politician just like your dad!"
She cherished this time with her children. Both of them were in school now. They were growing up, and needing her less and less.
She spent the day cooking, and putting the final changes on decorating the house. Their Christmas Eve open house was the envy of all their neighbors.
Her friend from down the street, Elsie Sommers came over in the afternoon. Elsie had a four-year-old girl, and two boys who were the same age as Zach and Grace.
Elsie quickly took control of the children, banishing all five of them to the basement. She was a small woman, but she had been an elementary school teacher and had no problem being stern with her children or anyone else's
Elsie had come over under the pretense of helping Alicia with the party arrangements. Actually, she was really over here to drink. That was fine with Alicia. The adult companionship was enough for her.
They went to the kitchen, and Alicia poured them each a glass of white wine.
"I'm going to need five or six of these before I can deal with Petrels mother," Alicia said.
Elsie laughed. She was looking in amazement at the table spread with ham, lasagna, cabbage rolls, roast beef, a large array of desserts. "This is really incredible, Alicia. Martha Stewart has nothing on you."
"Yeah, well at least I've never been to jail. After the holidays a over, I think I'm going to drink myself into a stupor, and go to bed for three days. If only that were really possible."
"So have you thought about what I suggested?" Elsie asked.
Alicia had confided in her neighbor her suspicions about Peter. The signs were there. The scent of a woman's perfume on his clothes (not hers). There were nights when he came home reeking of booze when he claimed to be working late. She didn't know whether to confront him, or continue burying her head in the sand.
Elsie had suggested she check Peter's e-mail and cell phone for anything odd or strange. Alicia could not bring herself to do so.
"Check his credit card statements and his checkbook also. You suspect that he is cheating on you, but you need actual proof. I went through all this with my first husband, in case you were wondering. It only lasted two years. I was young and stupid."
"It's all s*o tawdry. Spying on your husband. Maybe there's an explanation for all of this…." Alicia said.
"Sure there is Alicia. Sure there is. So how's your sex life?" Elsie asked.
Alicia was not put off by the question. Elsie was just exceedingly blunt. "Hot and cold. Sometimes it's good, and then for long stretches of time, it isn't so good."
"Was there someone else in your life? I mean before Peter?"
Alicia was starting to feel like she was on a therapist's couch. "There was. We were roommates in law school. For four years, we did everything together. We studied together, drank together, fought and argued together. It was like being married without the sex," Alicia said.
"Was he gay?" Elsie asked.
"Will? God no! It was just that I was already involved with Peter when we met, and he was involved with anything boobs, and a pulse."
"Straight men are incapable of being "just friends" with women. The possibility of sex always rears its ugly head," Elsie commented.
Alicia's brother had said the same thing. She still heard Will's name occasionally. Peter would comment to her that he passed Will on a street down in the Loop, or mentioned that they played against one another in a pickup basketball game.
She'd seem him only once in the last six years. That had been right after Grace was born. He'd come to Chicago from Baltimore for his interview at Stern-Lockhart. They'd manage to sneak in a lunch date. Other than that, he'd disappeared from her life after Georgetown.
"So what happened?" Elise asked.
Alicia didn't get a chance to answer, because Peter called.
"Hey, Babe it's me. I'll be home late again. Don't worry, I'll be home in time for the party," Peter said
"Wow. I guess crime never sleep. The State's Attorney's office is jumping even on Christmas Eve." She doubted he was even catching the sarcasm in her voice.
"Alicia, I'm sorry, I know it's Christmas Eve, and I'll be home when I can." Peter retorted
."I need you to do me a favor. "Can you pick up Grace's present? The dollhouse I ordered. The woman lives in Rogers Park. I have the address…."
"Alicia, I can't possibly find the time to drive up to Rogers Park in the snow, and then drive home in time for the party," he said.
"So instead, I'm supposed to do it myself along with the thousand other things I have to do. You are a piece of work, Peter. This is a Christmas gift for your child, for God's sake."
She slammed the phone down in anger. "Elsie, can you watch the kids for me, for a couple of hours? I have to do something."
"Sure, what's two more?" Elsie laughed.
"There's a chicken in the oven that should be done in about twenty minutes. Go ahead and put it out with all the other food. And see if you can get Grace to take a nap at some point. Otherwise, she'll be tired and cranky tonight."
"Where are you going? To spy on Peter?"
"No, but that's not a bad idea. Grace kept saying she wanted a pink dollhouse, so I went online, and found a woman in the city who builds them custom made. Peter can't be bothered to go and get it, so it's up to me."
Alicia went down to the basement to say goodbye to the kids, then grabbed her coat and her car keys. I will not get upset. I will not let Peter ruin this Christmas for myself, or my children.
To be continued…
This was supposed to be a one-shot, but it kept getting longer and longer, so I decided to split it into two chapters. Will and Alicia's lunch date will be detailed in another story! Thanks for the nice reviews of my first stoty…
.