Author's Note: The idea for this came when I was driving home last night. Kelly Pickler's latest song came on and almost instantly this started to take shape. The song is titled The Best Days Of Your Life and is about a girl who finds out her ex has moved on. It doesn't bother her because she knows he is never going to have better than her and he's settling with this other woman because he couldn't have her. Now, I took some liberties with the theme of the song but I figure that is alright! Hope you guys enjoy. And I'm sorry if anyone has written anything remotely close to this.
Perfectly manicured fingernails draw lazy designs on a bare, creamy white leg. Passersby would assume the redheaded woman was just lounging on her back deck with a pair of Fendi shades dangling from one hand and a couple of envelopes resting against her thigh. Some would look her over with appreciation, while others curled their lip in jealousy. A few would walk by without a second glance. None of them caught a whiff of the turmoil that was twisting in her flat stomach. None of them knew that behind the cool facade Addison Forbes-Montgomery was an emotional wreck. None of them would know that the envelopes were from Seattle or that they contained a save the date and a birth announcement.
Mark Thomas Sloan and Alexandria Caroline Grey requested her presence at six o'clock August 31st at the Fairmont Hotel to witness the joining of their lives; with a reception to follow at the Starlight Ballroom. The wretched words were printed on a magnet that was, Addison was sure, the exact same shade of pink as Piglet from Winnie the Pooh. The script was all curly, elegant, and silvery and there was a ridiculous looking image of a couple dancing. In short, she found the whole thing to be childish and boring.
So why was there a lump forming in her throat?
It was hot outside, she decided, and she hadn't had anything to drink in over ten minutes. Her body was just telling her it was time to hydrate. That was all. She wasn't upset by the news or the least bit jealous. Alexandria Caroline Grey was welcome to Mark Thomas Sloan.
Explaining away the raw ache deep in her chest when she looked at the baby blue and cream stripped birth announcement wasn't as easy. If she had eaten within the hour she could have cried heart burn; but lunch had been hours ago. She settled on blaming the heat. It was closing in on her, wrapping around her chest and squeezing until she couldn't breath. The sweet faced baby with a shock of black hair, the Shepherd nose, and Meredith's chin didn't stir up old longings and current short comings one bit. Christopher Dean Shepherd was just another baby and she had been sitting outside way too long.
Settling back in her chaise, Addison slid her sunglasses back on the bridge of her nose and stared out at the ocean. Wave after wave rolled in, lulling her into a more relaxed mental state. Mark's marriage would fail and Meredith would be a horrible mother. Even as she told herself the lies she knew they were just that...lies. Mark had been with Lexie for over two years, and from what Addison knew he hadn't cheated on the younger woman once. And while Ellis might not have been the best of role models, Meredith had everything it took to be a fantastic mother. Christopher would grow up in a loving home with two doting parents and joined by siblings, as well as cousins.
"Fuck Seattle," she muttered, picking up the two envelopes. With a flick of her wrist she sent them sailing toward the crashing waves. Enough living in the past. Enough hurting over things she couldn't undo. Enough thinking what she had lost was the best she was ever going to have. She had yet to live the best days of her life. "Fuck Seattle," she repeated, a small smile on her lips.