A/N: This fic was inspired by Catherine Crouch's One Small Step, which is a short film set in the 60s in which there is a young girl who says, 'Mama, when I grow up, I wanna marry Peggy'.
Blake never dreamed she'd be having this discussion with her daughter. Not in a million years. Sure, kids are always saying things parents don't expect, but this was completely a conversation from outer space. Clarissa had arrived home from camp and popped a question that had simply blown her mind, "Mom, how do I get Emma to kiss me?"
"You want Emma to kiss you?" Blake's eyes glazed over momentarily, but to her credit, she recovered quickly.
Clarissa nodded profusely, hardly noticing her mother's reaction, "Yes! She's sooo pretty, and smart, and she has this cute laugh, and I think she likes me too, but every time I think she's going to kiss me, she turns all red and mumbles something about how she has to go home."
"Honey, sometimes you have to be patient. What does she do that makes you think she likes you?" Blake smiled and offered her daughter some ice cream. She would so be going to Farley's tonight. She was going to need some pretty hefty shots after this.
"Um, she used to change in front of me at sleepovers, but now she either makes me turn around or goes to change in the bathroom. She won't look at me directly in the eyes, and she keeps blushing and giggling. Plus, she wrote me a note," Clarissa offered proudly.
"And this note said?"
Clarissa sighed dreamily, "Do you like me? Check here for yes."
"That sounds promising. How about you invite her to go clothes shopping with us for school?"
Clarissa gave her mother a huge bear hug, "Thanks, Mom! You're the best!" She scooted off to the telephone, leaving Blake to finish the ice cream.
Blake sighed. Ok, so her daughter liked girls, and apparently, so did Emma Spencer. It wasn't the end of the world, and she should be happy her daughter trusted her enough to have this conversation. She worked very hard to ensure that Clarissa had a better relationship with her than she had had with her own mother. For a moment, she thought of calling her mother for support. Just how would Holly react? As she always did: 'you were always such a strange child.' She smiled at the thought and texted her instead, 'mom, I love you.'
While she was thinking about it, she texted Daisy as well, 'Hey, could you watch Clarissa tonight? I need to go out.' After all, Daisy still owed her for covering when she had wanted to go out with James. She was elated to see the instantaneous response, 'Daisy's babysitting service will fill all your needs. Cover for me tomorrow? I'm invited to a Spaulding "family meeting".' She replied back, 'sure, sounds intriguing,' and put her cell phone away. "Clarissa, are you still on the phone?"
"Sorry, mom! I'll be off in a few minutes," Clarissa responded.
Blake rolled her eyes and started on dinner. So much for the whole waiting until she was a teenager to be on the phone for all hours thing. Wasn't Clarissa too young to be having crushes and talking on the phone for hours on end? She ought to call Olivia and Natalia; they'd have a field day with this. She ought to, but she didn't. She wanted to sit and contemplate by herself with a very dry martini. She called to Clarissa again, "Time to get off the phone. Daisy's coming over, and you need to eat dinner."
Clarissa bounced back into the room, grinning from ear to ear, "Her moms said yes!"
Blake smiled, "Why wouldn't they? Start setting the table. Dinner's almost ready."
"Pizza again?"
"Ha, ha, very funny. It's grilled chicken and vegetables," Blake shook her head. Even her own daughter wouldn't eat her cooking half the time. Ross had though. She felt a pang of grief as she thought about all the moments he would be missing from Clarissa's life. First crush, first date, first wedding (hey, it is Springfield after all; everyone gets married more than once).
"Mom! You're burning the chicken!" Clarissa exclaimed in exasperation.
Smoke and her daughter's warning pulled Blake back into the present. She took the chicken off the burner, turned off the stove, and opened the window before lamenting, "Frak! Totally burnt. Well, sweetie, I guess you got your wish. Pizza again." Blake had called for pizza so often the pizza place was not only on speed dial, she'd memorized the number.
Clarissa felt bad for her mom and moved to hug her, "It's ok. I'll find you a number two mom who can cook, just like Emma found one for her mom."
Blake had no idea how to respond. Emma, little sweet Emma Spencer, was responsible for getting her two mommies together? Olivia's daughter out-manipulating the master manipulator of Springfield. Somehow it all made sense. "Thanks, honey, but your mom isn't really looking for anyone. Your dad was a hard act to follow. Just because Emma has two mommies doesn't mean you need two mommies too."
Clarissa's mind was already reeling with the possibilities. She knew just who she wanted to set her mother up with, and she needed Emma's help for it. She grinned mischievously, "Whatever you say, mom."