* As usual I do not own Charlie's Angels or the characters except people you haven't seen in the show. This story is for entertainment/enjoyment purposes only.
* The story takes place after my other stories (except the K/K-femslash ones). I do look back a lot, and it's less confusing if you've read past stories ^^
* Thanks to BlueOrbs998 and kp1185 for your thoughts and ideas. :D
Read & Review! :)
La Bonne Cuisine
"Do you have to work tonight Rory?" Ella sighed as she was walking close behind Aurore as Aurore was stressing around in the house, trying to find all her things. She was obviously stressed out, running around in circles, not even aware of what she was looking at, and she didn't hear Ella talking behind her.
"Ella, don't stress her up." Kelly smiled as she managed to grab onto her daughter, pulling her close to her body. Ella looked up at her mother, pouting.
"But I want Rory to come with us tonight!"
"I do too sweetie, but you know she said she has to work all evening, there's nothing she can do about it. There's more dinners out, you know that."
Ella pouted as she leaned back her head towards her mother, and Kelly hugged her from behind. They were all going out to eat tonight and they had chosen a new restaurant which opened tonight. They had called weeks ago to book reservations for the entire group. It was three months ago since the whole ordeal with Zeke and his crazy fairy tales, and they had all healed well. Taking it easy, doing physical therapy and keeping Kamili off the candy had made them all get back on track. Kris' legs were still giving her pain, so was Kelly's hip. Kamili was not by far back in the shape she had been before, but over all, they were doing better. It had been three long months and they needed some fun time out on town.
They had all tried to get Aurore to follow them out, but she said she had work to do and there was no way she had time to go out for dinner. Kelly had tried to get them to reschedule, but Aurore had told them to enjoy themselves and they could go out again some other time.
Kelly smiled as she watched Aurore grab the last of her things, finding her car keys in one of her pockets. She froze and looked up at Kelly and Ella, giving them a short smile.
"Okay, I'll see you tonight!" Aurore smiled, giving Kelly a kiss, before leaning down to kiss Ella's forehead. "Bye Sarah!" She called out, and it only took a second before Sarah came running out into the hall, hugging Aurore tightly.
"Will you be back?" Sarah asked with big eyes looking at Aurore.
"Of course I will, I'll tuck you in tonight." Aurore smiled, kissing her cheek. "I will always be back."
The three Garretts smiled as Aurore smiled to them, before looking up at the watch at the wall, her eyes growing wide. She looked back at Kelly again and smiled, before turning around and ran out of the house. Kelly couldn't help but to laugh at her as she hurried out of the building and got into her car. She was obviously very stressed and Kelly wondered what on Earth was going on at the store to make Aurore this nervous? Kelly decided to ask Aurore later when they had some private time. Now, it was time to get everyone ready to go out for dinner, and she smiled as she turned towards her daughters.
"Okay you two. We're leaving in two hours. You both need a bath so hurry up!" Kelly smiled, showing both her daughters towards the bathroom. Sarah and Ella both giggled and laughed happily as they hurried to take a bath and then get dressed.
The big gang met up outside the restaurant and made their way inside. Everyone was there – Kelly, Ella, Sarah, Kris, Tommy, Jill, Damien, Janet, Sandra, Kamili, Morgan and Yasmin. The twins had been left with Tommy's parents. Kelly was amazed that they had been able to get a table, but they had ordered long way ahead and it hadn't even seem to be a problem.
The restaurant was simply called La Bonne Cuisine, meaning good food, or the "good kitchen" in English. The big gang smiled as they walked inside and dropped off their coats in the wardrobe – the restaurant was huge, the ceiling was probably 30 feet up, making the place look enormous. It was decorated in dark wine red and bright eggshell white. There were tables in the middle of the open floor on both the lower ground and on top of a higher platform, and along the walls were tables that were surrounded by comfortable red couches. The entire place looked very homely and welcome, in the same time as it had that elegant touch.
Everyone was guided up onto the platform, and got a enormous round table so that everyone would be able to speak to everyone. Eight months pregnant Jill was offered a more comfortable chair than the other wooden chairs, and she happily accepted and slid down into an armchair.
"This place is beautiful!" Kris said in exaltation as she looked around. "I hope the food is as good as the place looks."
"I'm so darn hungry, I could eat anything." Jill sighed with a smile towards the waiter as he handed around menus to everyone.
He took a lap around them as he asked what everyone cared to drink, and as the waiter left, Kris turned towards her big sister.
"Jill, you can always eat anything, no matter if you're hungry or not."
"I knew that would come back and bite me in the behind." Jill muttered as she begun looking through the menu, then adding with a murmur. "And I do not eat everything."
"I remember the time at my place when you ate the entire cluster of plastic grapes." Kelly said, with an amused smile on her face, making Jill look up from her menu and strain her eyes towards Kelly.
"I was really hungry!"
Everyone around the table snickered in the same time as they all buried their noses into the menus. Kelly and Kamili helped their daughters decided what to eat, and as the waiter returned, everyone happily ordered.
"It's so nice that everyone is able to go out together I must say. It's not often everyone of us is here." Kamili smiled happily, looking around the table at some of the people who meant the absolute most to her.
"Well Aurore isn't here." Janet mentioned, and Kamili looked around.
"Hey, I thought she was gonna be here?"
"Emergency came up, she had to go to work." Kelly said, tugging her shoulders. "Nothing she could do about it, she just has to follow us some other time."
"She's been working a lot lately, haven't see?" Kamili asked, being a close friend with Aurore since years back, they talked almost every day in the phone still.
They had both lived down south in the States, where Aurore's father still lived. Aurore's parents had met in France, her mother being French and her father American, and they had moved back to the States when Aurore was 5 years old, her brothers Austin and Devin being 7 and 9. When Aurore was just past 8 years old, her parents divorced and her mother moved back to France, while her father stayed down in Georgia and remarried. When Aurore was 10, her father and his new wife got a girl of their own, a true ray of sunshine, Peggy Lou Sparks. Aurore had lived with her father and stepmother, her brothers and kid sister until she was old enough to get a place of her own. When she was, she moved in with her best friend in a small apartment downtown, and that close friend just happened to be Kamili Sow, even though Kamili is five years younger. They had been neighbors before and always played together. They had moved into the small apartment and lived together until Kamili met her boyfriend, Morgan Diallo, and not long after, Aurore decided to move to Washington to attend chef school.
"She has been working a lot lately." Kelly said as she grabbed some bread before the basket got to Jill, and she ripped it together with her fingers, holding it over her plate as the tender white bread left crumbles onto her plate. "She says she's making a new deal with something and there's a lot to do right in the beginning, then she will calm down more. It's obviously tonight that is the big night."
"Do you know what the big deal is?" Sandra asked curiously as always.
"Nope, she tells me it's a surprise." Kelly smiled, sighing loudly. She hated surprises.
"Jill, I want some bread too!" Kris suddenly called out, grabbing the basket from Jill who wasn't passing it on, but kept it at her plate and ate all the bread right out of it. She looked up at Kris with her mouth filled of bread and she quickly swallowed.
"Here, I left you a piece." She smiled brightly as she handed over the basket to Kris, who looked at the lonely end crust in it. She sighed loudly and grabbed the small piece, looking at Jill with anger burning in her eyes.
"I'm sorry Kris but I'm hungry, I can't help it! The food just comes towards me and I have to eat it." Jill said, feeling bad that her sister didn't get any bread. She waved the waiter over and smiled her most captivating smile towards him as she gently asked for more bread. He smiled back and took the basket from her, hurrying out into the kitchen. Jill smiled broadly as she turned her head around, and met Damien's puppy face, his lips turned down into a pout.
"Aw! Don't worry, I like you the most!" Jill smiled as she leaned over and kissed him on his lips, making Ella, Sarah and Yasmin giggle loudly, which as followed by the adults laughing at the youngsters.
"I think it's kinda amazing that the two of you are together. I mean. You did meet, fall in love, send him to jail, and then meet each other at your sister's wedding. It's such a romantic fairytale." Sandra smiled dreamingly as she put butter on her piece of bread.
"It is." Jill smiled, taking Damien's hand. "I didn't want to do that case but Charlie is very persuasive. But what if I hadn't accepted it? Would we still be together?"
"I think that you are soul mates, and no matter what roads we chose in life, soul mates always find each other." Kamili smiled gently, as to which the others agreed.
"Do you think our lives are decided in advanced?" Janet asked, looking around the table at the faces looking back at her.
"I think so." Kris spoke up. "Our lives are planned, but we can chose different roads to take and that way change the ending and the road there, but some things will always happen and some people will we always meet."
"Wouldn't it be cool if there was another universe?" Kelly smiled. "If we had done something differently somewhere, let's say, what if Justin Matthews never had returned? Would I still have my girls? Would I have left for Washington? Would I have met you guys?"
"Would I have left for Washington? Would I have met Tommy? Would we have the twins?" Kris asked, looking over at Tommy who smiled back at her.
"It's kinda cool to see how the choices we make once can set the path for our entire future, but we doesn't realize the choices until the future is set in motion." Kamili smiled.
"Wow, I must say we all sound so poetic today." Jill smiled, and everyone laughed along with her.
But it got them all to start thinking, wondering if there was another universe? Kelly leaned back in her chair and watched her daughters eating from the bread. She couldn't imagine what life without them would be like. If she didn't have them, did she have any other kids? Would those kids be adopted? What if she had ever told Kris her true feelings for her, would the two of them be together, and what would they have done to get to that point?
Kris were deep in thoughts too. What if she never had went to Washington, had she met Tommy anyway? She thought of what Kamili had said, that we always meet our soul mates no matter what roads we travel, and she wondered that if she hadn't moved to Washington and met Tommy, would she have met him somewhere else? And if she hadn't been together with Tommy, would there have been some other person in her life? Would she still have her twins? Or other children?
Jill gently smoothed her big belly and thought of what life could've been like now if she hadn't moved to Washington after her racing career ended? She had sold her apartment in Barcelona to be with her sister, but what if for some reason she had decided against going to Kris and stay in Spain? Would she have met Damien anyway, and would they maybe already have the baby she was expecting now? Her sweet little soccer player, Andrew. She was longing for him so bad, and she couldn't wait for him to pop out.
Sandra unconsciously smoothed her hand that she had injured shortly over a year ago when they were back in Norway. She still had problem with gripping things, it had taken her two surgeries to get about 80% of the strength back into her fingers. She thought back of Norway and wondered what her life would've been like if she hadn't gotten the job offer in New York, and if she never had left the Norwegian fjords. If she never had traveled over the Atlantic to the land of the free and the home of the brave? Without a doubt – her life would be very different if she hadn't met Janet, Melissa, Kamili and the others. She knew that much.
Ever since Janet's father had returned to haunt her she wondered what life could've been like if her mother had been able to return and get them out of the troubles. If her mother was alive, if her kid sister was alive and if she hadn't ended up on the streets and in juvenile. She knew her mother had wanted them to flee the country to get away from her abusive drunk to a father, and she couldn't help but to wonder where they would've ended up? Africa? Asia? Europe? Any place would've been better than Washington back then, as long as her mother and sister were alive. But still – her life had turned out good. She had met some wonderful people and she had straightened herself out, and she was more proud than ever of herself.
Kamili looked at her black daughter sitting next to her, and a thought crossed her mind. What is her great grandparents hadn't moved to the States? Hadn't left the jungle of Africa? What kind of person would she be like if she hadn't been born and raised in Georgia, and if she hadn't done some stupid mistakes and joined the army at 20 years of age? Would she have met Morgan? Would she have the most amazing little girl sitting next to her right now? Would she live in the jungle and hunt animals and eat from the ground? She laughed as the thought crossed her mind, that was just insane.
The dinner moved on, food was brought in and wine, water and soda pops was served. Everyone was having a great time, enjoying each others company as they all laughed and joked with each other. It wasn't often they all got together and they cherished every moment. All of them knew a life can be taken away in the blink of an eye, their last case had definitely taught them that. In some ways, they thanked Zeke. Being that close to death and cheat it, they had all began to appreciate life more. They didn't have any time to waste.
"They should make bigger portions." Jill pouted as she cleared the plate with a piece of bread, making sure the plate looked newly washed when she was finished. Everyone else looked up at her smiling, they were all stuffed to the full, Kamili had even unbuttoned her jeans, and of course Sandra had laughed at her bad choice of pants.
"Jill, how can you still be hungry? You just finished your second dinner." Damien sighed loudly, even though his girl's eating habits never seemed to amaze him anymore.
"I might have finished dinner but I haven't finished eating. These portions are just too small."
"Jill, the portions don't come in Munroe sizes. You just have to order four portions to get to the size of a portion that would make you full." Kelly laughed, getting an annoyed glare from across the table where Jill sat.
"I don't eat that much, I just…" Jill said, her sentence fading out as she watched Janet put her fork and knife together and push the plate aside. "Are you not going to finish that?"
"I am full." Janet smiled, then looked down at her plate, looking up at Jill she saw Jill's face shine up into a gleaming, famous Munroe smile. Janet sighed and grabbed her plate, handing it over to Jill who happily accepted it.
It only took a few minutes for Jill to clear the plate with leftovers of Janet's salmon, and even this plate, Jill took a piece of bread and cleaned the plate shiny white. Everyone else had finished eaten, and were just watching Jill with amused grins.
"Did anyone see where the ladies room are?" Jill asked as she put the napkin away, which had been laid across her big belly.
"Down the hall to the right. Past the kitchen. Try to keep out of it." Kris smiled, knowing her sister would have a hard time just walking by without sneaking inside.
"Come on Kris, I might be pregnant and hungry and having cravings, but I can behave myself." Jill said with a hurt look on her face.
"We're still waiting for it to happen." Kelly smiled, the others joining her laughter as Jill sighed and rose to her feet, beginning to wander off towards the ladies rooms.
Jill was on her way back from the ladies room when the smell of newly made food made its way to her nose, and not surprising to anyone, her body turned in the motion and before she knew it, she was standing inside of the kitchen. She sighed at herself, the others would tease her mercilessly, but she couldn't help herself when the smell was this fantastic. The wonderful aroma made her delirious, she felt intoxicated and she kept walking around in the kitchen. The people working inside obviously had too much to do than to notice her.
The heat was already making Jill sweat, and she stayed out of the way as she watched the many busy chefs at work. The speed in the kitchen was astonishingly fast, and Jill watched them all with eyes sparkling in amazement. A voice suddenly called out over the entire kitchen, and Jill jerked her head around, she recognized the voice.
"When are the scallops done?"
"Three minutes chef!"
"I give you two!"
"Right on chef!"
Jill stared at Aurore who was not only handling the kitchen as it would seem, she was also handling five frying pans at the same time, doing an awesome job with is as she moved them around with skills Jill had never seen her use before. Jill's enthusiasm took over and she hurried up next to Aurore, patting her shoulder.
"So this is the big surprise!"
Aurore almost dropped the pan she was holding onto as she saw and heard Jill, her face turning pale as she realized Jill would never be able to keep her mouth shut.
"Jill! What are you doing in here?"
"I smelled food!"
"Of course you did." Aurore sighed, as she turned her attention back to the food, removing the fish from her pans to kettles, shoving them into the oven, then taking the scallops and beef from the chef she had called for earlier. Placing it neatly on plates, a waitress quickly came and picked it up. Aurore then turned around to Jill, wiping her hands off at a towel. "Jill, you shouldn't be in here, this is not a place for a pregnant woman. And it's definitely not a place for ... you."
"I will go! I have to show you to the others though! Oh, Kelly will be so shocked when she sees you! Kamili too! Oh I can't wait to see their faces! This is gonna be awesome!" Jill said, grabbing onto Aurore's arm she practically pulled Aurore out of the kitchen, as Aurore called instructions to her sous chef, not having any other decision to do than to follow Jill outside. People looked at them as a pregnant woman was pulling the head chef out into the restaurant, making their way over to the table where the others were sat.
"Guys, look what I found!" Jill exclaimed happily as she pushed Aurore to the table. Aurore smiled, bright red in her face as she rocked on the heels of her shoes, putting her hands in her back pockets.
Kelly's jaw dropped and she stared at her girlfriend, who was dressed in chef clothes, even having the hat on her head to keep the hair away from the food. Jill was all upbeat, flailing her arms as she explained to the others, who were all staring at them in shock.
"She's the head chef here, she runs the kitchen! It's soooo cool, and we thought she was up to something, well she is, she's here and making this wonderful food for us, isn't it really awesome!"
"Aurore?" Kelly said quietly, closing her jaw before she stopped drooling.
"She's correct." Aurore smiled. "This is the big surprise. I am the head chef and owner of the restaurant."
"You're serious?" Kris said in pure shock.
"Yes. You guys know I've been dreaming about my own restaurant, and well, I got this place cheap about three months ago and I've been working on restoring it since, and well, I was gonna tell you tonight along with the dessert, but Jill ruined my surprise." Aurore sighed, looking over at Jill who sank down into a chair, looking as innocent as she possibly could.
Kelly rose to her feet and walked around the table towards Aurore, taking her hands she pulled her into a deep kiss.
"This is fantastic. I am so proud of you sweetie."
"Thank you. Has dinner been good?"
"This place is amazing, and the food is fantastic."
"It pleases me to hear that." Aurore smiled. "I really have to get back into the kitchen." She added, looking around nervously. There were a lot of people in the restaurant.
"Go, we'll see you later!" Kelly laughed, kissing her again before Aurore ran out of the dining hall.
Many hours later, the entire big gang had gathered up at Kelly's house. Sarah, Ella and Yasmin had been put to bed and the others were hanging out in the couches in Kelly's enormous luxury living room. The champagne was flowing and snacks were out as they were all waiting for Aurore to come home and celebrate with them.
Aurore arrived shortly after midnight, and the entire gang inside could hear that she had company as they parked the car outside. A loud, high pitched female voice echoed through the neighborhood, and they all stared towards the door as the jarring voice approached them. They heard Aurore hush down the voice before she put the key in the lock and opened the door.
They all stared in shock as the door was opened and a curvaceous teen with blonde hair bigger than Jill's roared inside, her big green eyes searching the room until she spotted Kelly. She ran up to her and pulled her up into a tight hug.
"OH MY GOSH, Kelly, it is SO nice to finally meet ya, Rory told me all 'bout ya!" The youngster said in a loud, high pitched voice with a thick Georgian accent. Kelly winced as her ear drums slightly cracked.
"Who let Dolly Parton inside?" Kamili said with a shocked expression, as she was elbowed in her side by Janet.
The teen let go of Kelly and smiled a huge gleaming smile to all the people in the room before she turned around towards Aurore who had walked inside together with two men, a few years older than her.
"Guys, this is Austin and Devin, my brothers, and this is Peggy Lou, my sister." Aurore smiled as she introduced her siblings. "They are here to celebrate my restaurant."
"Peggy? Peggy Lou Sparks?" Kamili said, her jaw dropping to the floor as she looked at the teen's face which were surrounded in a massive amount of blonde lion mane.
Peggy Lou turned around and stared at the black girl with the shocked expression and her face turned out into a huge grin.
"KAMILI! AMAGAD, I've missed ya!" Peggy called out, hurrying up to Kamili and pulling her into a tight hug, making Kamili wince as the teenager's chest put pressure towards her still very sore sternum. Peggy didn't notice it though, she was holding Kamili hard and then let go of her, but still held her hands. "I didn't recognize ya, ya gotten old gal!"
"Thanks Peggy, really." Kamili sighed weakly, rolling her eyes, then looked over Peggy from down and up. "Well look at you! You're all…"
Kamili's couldn't help but to stare at the enormous rack with deep cleavage the girl was showing underneath her flannel blouse.
"… grown up." Kamili said, clearing her throat, sitting back down in the couch.
Peggy Lou bounced down onto the floor, sitting down and sprawling out on the rug, feeling like home already. She grabbed onto the snacks and didn't hesitate to pop several treats in her mouth at the same time. The others couldn't stop staring at her.
"I didn't know hair bigger than Jill's existed." Janet whispered, leaning towards Sandra.
"I can't stop staring." Sandra murmured back.
"It's everywhere."
"… everywhere."
Kelly rose to her feet and walked over to say hi to Aurore's brothers and kiss her girlfriend, and she welcomed the brothers into their house. In difference from Peggy Lou who was dressed in a flannel blouse and ragged jeans, these two men were properly dressed in dark blue tuxedos, hair combed perfectly. They all walked into the house and Kelly sat down with Aurore in a couch. Devin sat down in the couch next to Janet and Sandra, and Janet and Devin's eyes met as he sat down. Everyone else was still staring at Peggy Lou who was happily eating the snacks.
"Gosh." Jill whispered, leaning towards Kris. "A loud blonde… That hair is huge… Who wears hair that huge? And she's eating everything, she should save something for the rest of us."
Kris turned her head and raised an eyebrow as she looked over at her sister, not knowing if laughing was in order. This girl was nothing but an exaggerated version of Jill.
"Well, we opened the champagne." Kelly smiled, trying to get the others out of their shock.
"Champaaagne!" Peggy Lou exclaimed happily, flailing her arms.
"No way, you're a minor." Aurore said, making Peggy Lou pout widely.
"Not fair! Come on, no one will know!"
"You can't break the law when there are like 7 people working in crime removal business here." Aurore giggled, sending Kelly a smile as she accepted the champagne. "Why don't you get your bags instead?"
"YAY, I will do that!" Peggy Lou exclaimed as she jumped to her feet and bounced out of the house.
"… B-b-bags?" Kelly stuttered, her eyes growing wild in shock. The others could practically see the color being drained from Kelly's face.
"Kelly, I've told you Peggy Lou have been accepted to school here and I asked you if she could live with us until she finds a place of her own."
"But… I…"
"You said it was fine."
"For how long is Moonbeam McSwine staying?" Janet asked in a serious tone, making the others fighting to hold back their laughs.
"Okay, guys, I know she's a little special, she's kinda all over the place, but she's a sweetheart, you will never find anyone with a bigger heart than hers and I love her dearly, okay? Try not to make too much fun of her."
"We'll try." Kelly smiled.
"Can't promise anything though." Kamili giggled, poking Aurore's knee with her foot. Aurore rolled her eyes as she leaned back in the couch, in the same time as Peggy Lou walked inside with some huge bags.
"Eh, who owns that silver car on the drive way?" Peggy Lou asked as she put her bags down.
Everyone looked around, their eyes getting stuck on Janet who looked pale.
"You mean my you Porsche 924 Carrera GT?" Janet said in a whisper.
"Yeah could be! The silver one! I accidentally bumped it a little when I opened the door to get mah bags, but I'm alrighty!" Peggy smiled happily, turning her body around to look around in the room. If she would've kept looking at Janet, she would've seen that it took the supportive help of Sandra, Kamili and Kelly to keep Janet sitting down in her chair and not getting up to strangle the blondie.
"Kellie Lou, I love how ya decorated tha place! I loved the 70's!" Peggy shined as she walked around in the living room. Kelly could feel her eyes twitch since she had spent a fortune making the living room look chic and glamorous, nothing like the rugged 70's.
"These paintings are so adorable! I love how ya put up ya gals paintings!" Peggy said as she kept walking around.
Kelly put her head into her hands and rubbed her face as she sighed loudly. Sabrina and Melissa had done most of the paintings in her room, and they certainly didn't look like a 10 year old's work. Kelly didn't even have energy to comment on it, she just leaned her head towards Aurore's shoulder, and Aurore let out a small giggle.
Oscar suddenly came rocking inside, his food bowl hanging from his mouth, a pretty clear sign that he was hungry.
"Oh well shut mah mouth and paint me red! That doggie is as cute as a beard on a billy goat! And so chubby! Come here chubby doggie, come here!"
Oscar stopped in the movement and quickly flipped 180° and hurried out of the living room as fast as he could. Very smart move.
"We're out of snacks." Jill mentioned, pointing towards the bowl on the table that was screaming in emptiness towards her.
"Oh, Peggie sweetie, while you're standing up, can you please get more chips? They are on the table in the kitchen?" Aurore smiled to her sister and handed her the bowl.
"Sure thing!" Peggy Lou smiled and grabbed the bowl, and bounced out into the kitchen.
"So she's staying here until she finds a place of her own?" Jill asked sceptically.
"Yes." Aurore nodded, smiling to the others who had been sitting bonding with each other, especially Janet and Devin seemed to be very talkative this evening.
"Well that can take a long time." Jill said, sighing loudly. "And you know, I can tell she's gonna be annoying."
As Jill spoke, she brushed the guacamole dip from her fingers, brushing them off towards the black leather couch without even realizing what she was doing.
"Yeah. But I think we've learned how to handle it Jill, we've had practice." Kelly sighed as she leaned back in the couch, watching the big green lump of guacamole that was sliding down along the side of the couch.
A loud crash was heard from inside the kitchen, and Peggy cussing out loudly.
"Oh rooster poop!" The blonde raffle of blonde hair looked out into the living room. "I broke the bowl! Luckily it seemed cheap!"
Aurore rolled her eyes as she put her face into her hands, rubbing it slightly. Maybe getting her lovable sister here hadn't been a good idea.
"That was my bowl." Aurore sighed loudly as she looked up at Peggy Lou.
"I'm soooorry."
"No, it's okay. I didn't plan on keeping it my whole life… Like grandma did." Aurore mumbled as she rose to her feet so search through the kitchen for a new bowl.
In the meantime, Kelly's brain were frantically wondering how to get the bombshell out of her house, she already knew that blondie could drive her crazy. Jill and Damien had bought a house across the road from Kelly and Aurore, and Jill had practically been at this place ever since. Kelly had stopped being surprised when she found Jill in the kitchen as she got home from work and she had stopped being surprised when Jill was complaining that they were out of bread when she woke up in the morning. Jill had become a termite that was impossible to get rid of. And now this over-bubbly and over-optimistic exaggerated version of Jill was moving in here?
Kelly just knew trouble was hiding behind the corner.
"Kelly, wake up. Wake uuup." Aurore smiled, shaking Kelly's shoulder. Kelly murmured in her sleep and turned her body around, her back towards the annoying noise that was going on in her ears. "Keeeelly! Kelly wake up, or I'll ask Peggy to wake you!"
Kelly's sleepy mind had to think about it for a second, not immediately comprehending who Peggy was. As he realized it, her eyes popped open and she sat up quickly.
"I'm awake."
"Good girl, I knew that would work." Aurore giggled as she handed Kelly a big sweater and a pair of old, ragged jeans. "Get dressed."
"What time is it?" Kelly asked, rubbing her tired eyes.
"Almost 4 am." Aurore smiled as she sat in the bed.
"Are you nuts?" Kelly sighed as she fell back into the bed, her head resting softly towards the pillow.
"Kelly, please, I have a surprise for you. Please come with me."
"What's in it for me?" Kelly sighed, her eyes closed as she tried to get back to sleep.
Aurore leaned forward and whispered something in Kelly's ear, and a grin spread across Kelly's face as she sat up in bed.
"Okay then. I'll go with you."
Kelly got dressed, and the two of them got into Aurore's mini-van that she had brought to be able to drive her food if necessary. Kelly drank coffee from Aurore's thermos as Aurore drove through the dark city.
It didn't take long to get to the harbor, where people were already loading up huge wooden boxes filled with the delicacies from the sea. Aurore and Kelly got out of the car, and Kelly couldn't help but to smile as she watched her girlfriend walk around the many stalls at the market. There were all types of fish here, freshly brought up from the sea, and lots of people were walking around among them.
"Are all these people from restaurants?" Kelly asked as she stayed behind Aurore who was examining some salmons from a box.
"Yeah, lots of these people are here to buy boxes for their restaurants, but there are catering people too, and some people who just wants fresh fish for their homes."
"Cool." Kelly smiled, looking at the salmon in Aurore's hands. She was looking over it with skilled eyes, seeing things Kelly would never notice. It was just a fish to her.
They left the place around 6 am, with the mini van loaded with boxes of fish. It had been an auction of most of the boxes, but Aurore was pleased with her winning offer, which had not been too expensive for the amount of beautiful fish she had gotten.
She drove the two of them to the restaurant's back side and Kelly helped her to carry the boxes into the walking freezer where they put everything down.
"Why don't you go and sit down?" Aurore smiled, pointing towards a table at the end of the kitchen, away from all the heat and stress, where you could have a clear view over the kitchen and dining hall, but still be private. Kelly looked over towards the table and saw that it was beautifully decorated with a white table cloth, a red rose in a vase and unlit candle lights.
Kelly smiled as she walked over to it and sat down, as Aurore put on a apron and got the work on breakfast. Kelly loved watching her cook, but she had never before seen her work so professionally in a big kitchen. She was amazing as she worked the food and ingredients with skilled hands, knowing exactly what to do and how to do it. Kelly put her head into her hands as she rested her elbows towards the table and she smiled dreamily as she watched Aurore handle the food.
It didn't take long before Aurore walked over to the table, lit the candles and put a plate with small pancakes on it. The pancakes were all formed as hearts, beautifully placed on the plates and decorated with whipped cream, strawberries and powder sugar.
"This is wonderful Aurore." Kelly smiled as Aurore poured milk into both Kelly's and her own glass. Kelly cut the pancake and put a piece in her mouth, immediately closing her eyes and moaning deeply. "Oh, this is so amazingly good Aurore."
"I'm glad you like it." Aurore smiled.
"I had no idea you can cook like this." Kelly said, her mouth filled with pancakes as she was enjoying the food.
"I have cooked for you before." Aurore smiled, cutting her food too.
"Yeah, but… This is amazing."
"Well I have been working a lot lately to get this restaurant ready before the opening and now I wanted to make up to you by taking you for breakfast."
"You're forgiven." Kelly laughed, scraping off the last from her plate, flushing it down with the cold milk. "This is the best breakfast I ever had."
"I'm glad. You make me so happy and I just want to make it up to you every day in every way."
Kelly smiled softly before she licked her lips and leaned over the table, whereupon she met Aurore's lips into a kiss.
"I love you so much Kelly."
"I love you too Aurore. I really do."
A few hours later, after Kelly had been helping Aurore with preparations for the evenings dinner service, Kelly and Aurore walked inside of their house. They could immediately say that leaving Peggy Lou and Jill alone with the kids were probably a bad idea.
The house was a mess, random mysterious things were scattered out in the house, things neither Kelly nor Aurore could even guess where they came from or what had happened to them. In the hallway was half a trombone lying in its loneliness. In the kitchen was a rake leaning towards the fridge. The neighbors lawn gnome was standing on the kitchen table.
Walking into the living room, they found Jill, Peggy, Ella and Sarah sitting on the floor. They had built a shack from chairs and sheets and they were sitting under the sheets on top of pillows. Sarah was dressed in a princess outfit, Ella was dressed as an Indian with feathers everywhere. Jill looked uncomfortable on the floor, being dressed in a pirate outfit, using her white night gown as a shirt. She had on a vest that she couldn't button over the belly and a pirate hat on her head. Peggy Lou was sitting on the floor too, dressed in a Superman t-shirt, with a towel as a cape.
They were all in front of the TV, all of them having bowls in their hands with ice cream and chocolate in them.
"What's going on here?" Kelly asked as she walked inside.
"Aunt Peggy made us breakfast and helped us get dressed." Ella smiled happily.
"You guys smell like rotten fish." Peggy Lou said, wrinkling her nose in disgust, not taking her eyes away from the TV set where My Little Pony were being showed.
Kelly and Aurore sighed as they looked at each other, and then walked hand in hand to the bathroom.
After sharing a steamy shower together, the two women walked back into the living room dressed in jeans and t-shirts and they climbed down into the shack, not even having the energy to ask questions or comment it. My Little Pony was still being shown on the TV and all four persons seemed to be very into the show. A new episode was just starting and all four under the cover happily sang along with the theme as Kelly and Aurore just stared at them.
"My Little Pony, My Little Pony
Isn't the world a lovely place
My Little Pony, My Little Pony
Everywhere you go, a smiling face
Running and skipping; merrily tripping
Watching the morning unfold
My Little Pony, My Little Pony
What does the future hold?
No sign of trouble in sight
My Little Pony, My Little Pony
May all your days be bright
May all your days be bright"
Kelly and Aurore laughed out loud as the four persons next to them stopped singing. It was an hilarious sight, not only did the two kids who were dressed as a princess and an Indian know the song by heart, but the two grown up baby sitters dressed as a pirate and superman, knew the song too. But somehow, it didn't surprise either Kelly or Aurore.
"Jill, which is your favorite pony?" Sarah asked, her eyes darting from the television screen to Jill, then back to the TV.
"Sweetie Bell." Jill said as she was eating some crackers. "She's the one who bakes cupcakes."
"Like ya Aura Lee!" Peggy Lou smiled happily as she fell back and landed in Aurore's lap, resting her head towards her thigh.
Aurore laughed, she hadn't heard that nickname in quite some time, and she loved having her sister nearby. They might only be stepsisters, but she had grown very fond of this young girl and she would walk through fire and water to get Peggy what she wanted. She was now going to school and Aurore would make sure Peggy came through it without problems along the way.
"Which is your favorite Sarah?" Kelly asked, patting her youngest daughter's hair.
"Scootaloo." Sarah smiled. "She's playing games and like butterflies and I like butterflies too."
Kelly smiled as she grabbed Sarah and pulled her up into her lap, resting her chin towards the out of control hair.
"Mom, when I grow up, I wanna be like Aunt Peggy." Sarah smiled happily, looking back to meet her mother's face. Kelly's eyes grew wild and she hoped with every part of her body that that wouldn't happen. Peggy Lou looked over towards Sarah and reached over with her hand and patted the girls knee.
"Ya will be sweetie! I will teach ya everythin' I know!"
"That will go fast." Jill murmured in the background, eating an apple that she had gotten from somewhere.
" Orfay owhay onglay illway ouyay aystay Auntway Eggypay?" Ella asked as she was glued to the TV like everyone else. Kelly turned towards Ella, not haven't been able to understand what her daughter just said.
" On'tday orryway, Iway on'tway eavelay anythingway oonsay." Peggy Lou said happily with a smile, and Ella brightened up as she met her eyes for a second. She had been having the most awesome morning ever and she hoped Peggy would stay forever. She was just too much fun.
Kelly had recognized the speech pattern and turned towards Jill.
"Pig Latin?"
Jill nodded slowly as she finished her apple, being mesmerized by the cartoon on TV that were eating sundaes. Kelly sighed. She had heard Kris speaking pig latin many times but she herself had never been able to understand it and it usually drove her crazy. She knew Kris had taught Ella pig latin and the two of them could talk for hours without Kelly having the faintest idea what they were talking about.
And obviously Peggy knew the language too. Kelly felt like going to bed and not wake up again, she knew this girl would make her wanna kill herself or everyone near her. But she did seem like a sweetheart, truly a heart made out of gold, and maybe she would calm down after spending some time here. Kelly could understand that Peggy Lou was upbeat due to moving to the big city. She would calm down. Kelly was sure of it.
Or at least Kelly prayed so. But even if Peggy Lou didn't calm down, Kelly couldn't help but agree that she was a huge amount of fun. Never before had their been a cozy shack in the middle of her living room, and she liked it. She was sure Peggy Lou would definitely bring a lot of joy to the household.
A few hours later, Jill decided that it was about time to go home to her man, and also lay down somewhere quiet to rest a little. She was eight months pregnant and she did not have much energy these days.
Kelly followed her to the hallway as she was about to leave, and a sudden urge came over Kelly as she pulled Jill into an unexpected embrace. Jill's face showed stunned surprise.
"Uh... is this a death grip? I didn't think that vase I broke was that expensive, honestly."
"I'm giving you a hug Jill." Kelly sighed and rolled her eyes, still hugging Jill tightly though. Kelly really didn't know where these sudden emotions of affection came from, but she had to share them.
Jill was confused for a second but decided to go with the flow and she hugged Kelly back tightly.
"What vase?" Kelly asked with her face towards Jill's shoulder, suddenly realizing what Jill had said.
"Oh that was many years ago, just hug meeee!" Jill laughed and Kelly let it pass, her eyes rolling again. Jill and Kelly stayed quietly hugging for a few seconds before Jill opened her mouth again. "Will I be sorry if I ask what's bringing this on? But I like hugs, so you can do it a lot more."
"I don't know, I don't think I tell you enough that I love you."
"Love me?" Jill shined in with a childish face, showing excitement as she slightly bounced on the floor.
"Oh, well I care for you."
"Looooove me."
"Urgh." Kelly sighed, immediately realizing her mistake. And it was too late to take it back, that was for certain.
"You looooooove me. Aw. I love you too."
"I'm done hugging you." Kelly sighed, trying to get out of Jill's grip.
"I'm not done!" Jill laughed as she held Kelly harder as Kelly seethed towards Jill's shoulder.
"I take it all back." Kelly sighed.
"You can't! I heard you say it. You love me!"
Kelly sighed as she patted Jill's hair, letting it go and also letting her emotions out. "I want you to do something for me, okay? If anything ever happens to me, it's up to you to take care of my family, and Kris. I know you act like a big kid but I trust you."
"Of course I will, and if something happens to me, you'll take care of mine, right?"
"Sure thing. We're in agreement, if one of us dies, the other one is in control."
"You pick such random times to have serious conversations."
"Well, when do I have free time ever?"
"You just like to brood."
Kelly seethed again as she rolled her eyes. Jill sure knew how to drive her nuts. "I do not. And you're still hugging me, why?"
"You're warm! Now I know why Kris does this all the time. You're nice and cozy. Can I sleep on you tonight? Damien has cold feet."
"Jill, you weigh 400 pounds. The answer is no."
"AW! Look atcha both! GROUP HUG!" The sound of Peggy Lou's voice down the hall made both Jill and Kelly tense up and they had about one quart of a second to prepare themselves before Peggy slammed into Kelly's back with her body and sandwiched Kelly tightly as Peggy wrapped her arm around the two of them.
"Peggy!" Jill exclaimed in surprise as Kelly gasped from the air loss. Peggy let go of them both and instead she stood next to them, smiling happily. Jill on the other hand was still hugging Kelly.
"Jill, your son keeps kicking me!" Kelly sighed loudly.
"He's excited about his Aunty Kelly being nice!"
Kelly sighed and untangled herself from Jill's arms.
"You two are going to drive me nuts. You three including that monster in your belly."
"Naw it's not a monsta', it's a cutie pie!" Peggy Lou immediately disagreed, and Kelly rolled her eyes. "Kellie Lou. Ya know life would be boring without me!" Peggy Loud laughed and elbowed her in the side.
"We'll have a great time togetha!"
"One can only hope." Kelly grinned as she patted Peggy's shoulder. "One can only hope."
The end.
