"To be Us Again"
Disclaimer: You recognize them, I don't own them.
"Maureen!" Joanne stands in the middle of the street. "Maureen! You won't pick up the phone so I'm forced to do it this way." She glances down at her swollen belly. "Baby, I'm going to get your mother back one way or another." She whispers this part to avoid Maureen overhearing. "Maureen! What do I have to do to get you back?"
This isn't like her. Joanne's always been the rational one. She prefers to take the safe choice. The one time she took a risk...
Well, she figures that's what got her where she is now.
Due to this, she's willing to be a little bit crazy to prove herself.
"Maureen!" She continues to yell. "Come on. At least talk to me."
Suddenly, a figure walks out of the shadows.
"If I let you in, will you stop yelling?" Maureen stands in front of her, one hand on her hip. "Also, you shouldn't be chasing me down in your condition. What if you go into labor?"
"Now you care about me? You didn't care when you left me in the middle of the night and moved into a hotel." Joanne can't help but feel the slightest bit angry. "I don't even know why I came. Every bone in my body says that I should leave you alone. You left me!" The baby delivers a swift kick to her ribcage, causing her to double-over.
Maureen eases her arms around Joanne.
"Come on. Let's get you upstairs. Are you okay?"
Joanne wrenches herself from Maureen's grip.
"I'll go upstairs with you. And I'm fine. This child decided to jam her foot into my ribcage. I think the donor was a cage fighter because when baby gets pissed, I feel it." She follows Maureen into the hotel.
"You said her. Is it a girl?"
"You know I don't know. Just because you left me doesn't mean I went and found out. She feels like a girl though." Joanne rubs circles around her belly. "I want a girl but as long as they're healthy, I don't mind a boy."
"What about a name?"
"Well, I like that one name you suggested- Ada James. The other one I like was Iris True. If she just happens to be a boy...I have no idea." She bites down on her lip as they step into the elevator. "For the record, I am still mad at you. No fair getting me talking about my baby." As the words leave her mouth, she sees Maureen flinch at the words 'My baby'.
"You have every right to be."
"I know I do." The elevator doors slide open. "Lead the way."
Joanne pauses before she leaves the elevator. Is she doing the right thing?
I don't know. I really don't know but I love her. I have to give her a chance to explain. And she will not hurt me or my baby again. I have to do this though...
With that thought, she steps off the elevator.
"Come on- it's just up this way." Maureen guides her through the hall.
"So, why'd you do it?"
No matter what she has tried, Joanne has been unable to get the morning out of her head when she woke up alone. She went to bed the happiest woman in the world and then, woke up alone, pregnant and single.
"I'm not good enough for you." Maureen turns her back as she prepares a round of drinks. "You're rich, beautiful and well-educated. Who am I?" She hands her a red solo cup. "It's just apple juice."
"You're not good enough for me?" Joanne fights the urge to roll her eyes. "I can't believe you thought that was true." She points to her belly. "Do you really think I would put myself through this if I thought you weren't good enough for me?"
"I see the looks your parents have whenever I'm in the same room as them. And the whispering. You had the chance to be with the french Ambassador's daughter!"
"Danique LaFlamme? My parents told you that I had a chance with Danique LaFlamme?" Joanne slowly exhales. "Did they happen to mention that she was gay til graduation and has since married a Swedish man and had a bunch of kids?"
"No, I think I would have remembered that part." She sighs. "They told me that I was mediocre for someone of your calibur." Tears well up in her eyes. "I shouldn't have left the way I did but all I could think of was you waking up in twenty years and hating me for holding you back."
"I could never hate you." Joanne settles into a chair. "Believe me- I've tried."
"You tried to hate me?" Maureen's eyes widen in disbelief.
"You left me when I was asleep, knowing that I was six months pregnant. Wouldn't you hate me if the shoe was on the other foot?"
"You make a good point."
Maureen extends her hand.
Joanne hesitates before taking it.
"Will you come home?"
"You want me back?"
"Yes! God, since you left, just breathing has been painful. You have no idea, Maur."
"Yes, I do. That's how I've felt since I left. I thought I had no choice..."
Joanne pulls away.
"Just so you know, you're not allowed to leave again. I'm not letting you go." She holds her arms open, and braces herself when Maureen rushes into her embrace.
"I don't plan to, Pookie."
Joanne lightly pecks her on the lip.
This is the sweetest kiss I have had in a very long time...