Time
Allison had made French toast and eggs. By the time they were finished somebody needed to be cleaned up. "Why do I bother with messy foods and you, Magoo?"
"Because I'm da baby, and you love me!" Abbey yelled as she stood up and bounced in her high chair.
"Yes I do!" She walked over to her and picked her up, "Come on. Let's go get you ready for school."
"School! School! School!" Her chanting was heard all the way down the hall.
Remy laughed and got up. She started washing the dishes; this time she even put them in the dishwasher. When she had gotten to the silverware a voice stopped her.
"Aha! I caught you again!" She crossed her arms. "What makes you think you're allowed to wash my dishes? You really shouldn't be doing it, you are the guest…"
"Well, your lack of actually stopping me is a good indicator that you really don't mind." She turned and gave her a pointed stare. "Besides, I really don't mind." She shrugged.
Allison had made her way over to her and plopped herself on the counter by the sink, deciding to let Remy finish the dishes. "Well for what it's worth? Thank you."
Remy was bending over putting the last of it in the washer and closed it up. "Anytime…" They smiled at one another before another interruption took place.
"Momma! Look! I did it all by myself!" Abbey was playing hopscotch as she made her way into the kitchen.
When the two women turned to her they say what she was talking about, both women started laughing. "Yes baby, you sure did. But sweetie, everything is backwards."
"Backwards?" The toddler looked down and did not see the lion that was supposed to be on her tummy. "Oh, no!" She hit her head, "I so silly."
"So silly indeed." Allison had hopped from the counter and was over to her in a second. Remy decided to take Allison's spot and pulled herself up, still laughing.
She had just gotten her book-bag off when her sister and niece came into the house. "Hi, hello! Who's ready for school?" Mel asked as she walked toward the kitchen.
"I am Aunt Melly!" She jumped and raised her hands.
Ashley saw her and laughed. "Are you sure?" She received a swat in the shoulder from her mom. "Ow." She looked at her mother with a 'Why would you do that?' face and turned back to her cousin. "Let's go get everything facing the right way." She held her hand out to the toddler.
"Otay." She took her hand and swung it back and forth as they walked to her room.
"Thank you Ashley!" Allison called.
"Yeah, sure…" She took her free hand pointed her index finger in the air; the whole time she had an unabashed sarcastic tone, "This is what I look forward to in my life. Everyday."
Remy who had recovered from the toddler as soon as she heard the voice of the woman that obviously didn't like her, burst into laughter. "My God! Is she thirteen?" She looked over at Cameron because she couldn't quite see Mel.
"Yeah, going on twenty seven." She smirked and gave a slight chuckle.
Mel, who had fully come into the kitchen when she heard talking, stared at Remy for a second. "Allison, sweetie, can I talk to you?"
"Yeah." She turned to her, still slightly giggling.
Mel looked at her, then to Remy, then to her again. "Can we talk in private?"
Remy knew the basics of what the conversation was going to be, so she beat Mel to the punch. "Oh!...It's okay Melly! I didn't steal anything." She said this walking over to her book-bag and took out her planner to make sure she did everything that was due for today. She looked back that the jaw dropped woman, and picked her bag up. "Really, I promise I didn't. Here, you can even check my bag." She held it out and when Mel made no move to look in it, she zipped it up. She understood that she was being a little bitchy, but come on, she had just pulled an all nighter and had a full day of work in school to look forward to…can you blame her? She looked over at Allison who was hiding her grin in her palm. That alone made her smile. "Besides, we all know that the thing I want from you and Abbey is totally material. Not emotional in the least." Her words were dripping with sarcasm.
She put her bag on her shoulders and headed towards the door. "I need to go. I need to get my computer before I go to school."
"You leavin' Remy?" Abbey and Ashley had just come from her bedroom ash she had spoken her last words.
Remy looked down at her. "Yeah Abbey baby, I am. I have to go to school too."
"Really?" she walked toward her as Remy nodded her head. "Can you come over after schoo?"
"I don't think so, you see after school I have to go to work." Remy explained as she kneeled down so that she could see her eyes.
"Well… Can you come over after work?" She asked and put her little hand on Remy's shoulder.
"If you are a big girl, and if Mommy says it's okay, then I would love to come over after work."
"Yay!" She hugged her, and Remy was quick to return that hug.
"Bye, Abbey." She said as she stood up and headed toward the door.
"Bye, Remy." She waved and smiled at her.
Remy had the door open when she heard Allison's voice. "Bye, Remy."
She turned and looked at her, "Bye, Allison." She patted the doorway a couple times before she turned and left for real.
Mel and Ashley both turned their attention to Allison. "What was that Aunt A?" She asked with her jaw hanging open.
Allison was looking at her daughter. "That was a new friend for me and Abbey…"
"Well, what the f—heck happened here last night?" Mel pressed on.
"We played 13 Dead and Drive! Then it was my bedtime, so I went to bed. And, Mommy and Remy had a seepover!" Abbey said excitedly.
Both Mel and Ashley looked down at the toddler then over to Allison. "A sleepover?" Ashley asked then made a thrusting motion with her hands, "Or a sleepover?" She started laughing.
"Ashley!" Allison said with a warning tone. She didn't like it when Ashley decided it was okay to grace her daughter with crude behavior.
"Well, which was it?" Mel asked, completely un-phased by her daughter's antics.
"Are you really not going to do anything?" Allison got onto her sister.
"What am I supposed to do? She a teenager! She doesn't listen to me! I'm the uncool mom now."
"Oh, you're not uncool, Mom." She said. "You're the coolest mom in my group of friends…granted it is because you're only twenty nine and can relate to what us kids are going through…"
"Yes, thank you Ashley. That was subtle." She said letting her daughter know that she knew that it was a crack about her having her so young. All Ashley did was grin a cheeky grin. "Now, back to you." She pointed at Allison.
"Momma says iss naw nice to point." Abbey interrupted.
"Sorry sweetie." Mel crooked her finger back into her fist. "What did you do?" She asked her sister.
Allison looked up at the ceiling and sighed. "We talked." She shrugged.
"You talked…" Mel said.
"Yes." When they prompted her for more than just a 'we talked,' and were clearly wanting 'what else did you do, if you know what we mean?' she only answered with "We just talked. That is all."
"About what?" Ashley asked completely interested, leaning against the island.
"About anything and everything and none of your business." She looked at her sister, "Yours either." She looked at the clock. "Hey! You guys are going to be late! Get going!" She started rushing the girls out of the house.
"Don't think that we are done talking about this! This discussion is far from over." Mel said as they walked out to her car.
"Okay bye!" She waved them off. She really was grateful of her sister. She took her daughter to kindergarten everyday. If she didn't then, it Allison with the departure problems. For some unearthly reason, saying goodbye from home was easier for her. This was the second of her two day break that she had finally let herself have and she intended to use it wisely: She intended to sleep throughout her daughter's school day.
Allison went to pick Abbey up because kindergarteners only went half of the day. It was weird being there because she was normally at the hospital and wasn't able to pick her up. She didn't think that the lot of four year olds had this many parents, but apparently there were that many "morning goers."
Allison was leaning against her car, cross-armed, waiting for her daughter. A flock of other moms had gathered a few cars down and were pecking through conversations when one of them looked over and saw Allison. She didn't really mind that she was the odd woman out; what she did mind was what was getting ready to happen.
The mother that had noticed her all alone walked over to her. "Hi, I'm Carolyn. I'm Ralphy's mom. Who might you belong to?"
It's not that she hated talking to the other moms; it's just that she hated having to acknowledge the fact that she didn't do any school functions because of work. She knew exactly what would play out. She would tell this woman that she's Abbey's mom and the woman would look at her, give her the "toe to head" as she liked to call it. The "toe to head" is the look that mothers give when they disapprove of someone; they don't even realize they do it. Nonetheless, she would inevitably receive the "toe to head" and then this mother would ask her why she never sees her. When she explains that she's a doctor and doesn't have time, she'll get a slight pause as the mom turns her head to the rest of the flock that just so happen to be watching this. The mom will turn back to her and plant a fake smile on her face and tell her that it was nice to have "finally" met her.
"Oh, umm, I'm Abbey's mom." She said as she pulled her sunglasses up.
"Abbey Cameron?" Allison nodded. "Oh, she is just adorable!"
"Thank you." Allison smiled with this woman. And there it is! There's the "toe to head."
"So, why haven't I seen you at any of the school events, or parent day?" Carolyn asked as she crossed her arms.
"I'm a doctor and I work crazy hours, so when I do have time, I'd rather just spend it with my daughter, not my daughter's teacher…" Allison smiled a fake smile at this woman. And now for the head turn, ahh this is almost over…
The woman turned her head to glance at the other moms and turned back to Allison, smile plastered on her face and all. "Well it was nice to finally meet you." She reached her hand out and touched Allison's forearm before she turned and went back.
"You too." She replied. Yes, go back to the heard. Nice try. She turned back to facing the school just in time for the doors to open and about thirty little bodies come bounding out.
Abbey was quick to find her mom. "Mommy!" She screamed and ran over to her and jumped in her arms.
It was times like these that she relished the fact that she wasn't a stay at home mom. Because when she came to get her daughter, she got the biggest hug while the other moms got bags to carry. This made her even happier; who said that Allison Cameron was oh so sweet and innocent? She had her bitchy side. She just didn't voice it. "Hey baby, how was school?"
As soon as they walked through the front door, Abbey started her questioning. "Hey, mommy?"
"Yes, baby?" Allison asked giving her some apple slices with peanut butter.
"When's Remy gonna come over?" She asked like it was something she asked everyday. She asked it like it was expected that she come.
"Uhm, I don't know if she is…" Allison trailed off.
"Why?" She licked the goop off of her finger. "She told me she would come over anytime I wanted her to as long as she not at school or work." She gave her mom the puppy face.
"Okay, I'll call her, baby." She stood from the table and went to the phone.
"Yay! Thank you mommy!" She clapped her peanut buttery hands together.
As Allison called the number, she only waited two rings before it went to voicemail. "Hi Remy, It's Allison." She paused. "Uhhh, I was just wanting to let you know that you have garnered a huge fan over here…She wants to know when you're coming over." She laughed. "She didn't say can Remy come over, she said when is she coming over…So, I hope that you are able to and please call me back when you get this. Bye."
Remy was sitting in her Algebra class, bored as usual, waiting for it to be over so that she could get her lunch when her cell phone rang. It didn't buzz like she would have expected; it rang…loud. The entire class turned and looked at her as she was hitting the reject button. She looked up to see the professor glaring at her for disrupting class. "Sorry." She apologized.
"If you have better things to do Miss Hadley, please leave." He said as he turned to the blackboard again.
Remy looked at the clock, fifteen minutes left. She already knew the material he was going over, so she decided that she did indeed have better things to do. She stood up from her seat and left; sitting by the door so that she wouldn't disturb them again was a happy coincidence.
She got to the campus food court and paid for her meal before sitting down and listening to her voicemail. She smiled when she heard her voice, and she grinned when she heard her laugh. After the voicemail ended she called her back.
"Hello?" Allison answered.
"Tell Abbey that I'll be there around seven. I get off work at five and then I need to shower and change before I head over there…" Remy said still smiling.
"Well hello to you too Remy. You're doing well? That's good; I am too. I'll be happy to tell her when you're coming…" Allison was laughing at Remy's lack of conversation and just getting to the point.
"I'm glad you're good, but I can't talk I have more studying and food to eat." She said, the smile never leaving her face.
"Okay…Thank you for being at her beck and call." Allison was looking at her daughter as she was coloring.
"I like being at someone's beck and call. I'll see you later." Remy replied.
"Yeah, bye." Allison said.
"Bye, Allison." She hung up the phone and shook her head at herself. She should not have let herself get into the situation she was in.
Remy was there at six fifteen and Abbey was more than excited. Aside from their meal and the choice of game the night went the same as the night previous. Only bye the time Remy told Allison she needed to be going it was ten forty-five and she was pretty much a zombie.
"No, you are not leaving as tired as you are. I won't let that happen." Allison turned her from walking toward the front door and led her to a guest room that was really more or less storage.
There was a bed though and it did look comfy. Remy turned to Allison. "Thank you for putting me up for two nights." She said as she walked over to the bed and sat down.
Allison leaned against the doorframe. "Thank you for interrupting your life to play games and befriend my daughter…and myself." She tilted her head so that it was resting on the frame too.
Remy lay down on her back having already kicked her shoes off again. "You" she pointed at Allison, "Are welcome."
Allison laughed at her. "Goodnight, Remy."
"Goodnight, Allison." Allison shut the door as she left the room. Remy turned to the window that was mirroring the door; she looked outside. "Goodnight, moon." And with that she fell asleep.
The rest of the school year was spent very much in this manner. Remy would come over and hang out after work or whenever she was free. She even started putting Abbey to bed on some nights. After Abbey fell asleep, Allison and Remy would talk until midnight, giving Remy plenty of time to get home, do her homework and go to sleep. Throughout this time Remy was able to admit to herself that she was head over heals in love with Dr. Allison Cameron. She spent as much time as she could, in the nights, trying to show Allison that being together—together, together would be right.
The summer was a lot different. Remy worked full days (she got off at five) Monday and Tuesday, and half days (she got off at 11:30) Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. She didn't work over the weekend; this way she got to see Allison more.
Allison's sister still had some kind of a problem with Remy. "It's not that she is attracted to you—that much I'm fine with; it's the fact that she thinks she's actually going to get you."
Allison rolled her eyes when Mel started in with this one night. It was one of the only nights that Remy wasn't there that summer, and, if she was honest with herself, she would tell herself that she missed her.
When Allison didn't reply aside from the eye roll, Mel became concerned. "She's not going to get you is she?" She turned her sister to face her.
"No, Melanie! She is not 'going to get me!'" Allison pushed her sister's hand off her shoulder and walked out to her back porch and sat with her glass of wine.
"Hey, you can't blame me for asking, can you?" She followed her. "I mean, first Ellen, then the world right?"
Allison was hunched completely over; her hands were resting on the ground when her sister had seated herself next to her. "Shut up." She was pretty much pleading for the conversation to be over.
"Alright, fine. You win." She stood up. "I'm going home." She walked back through the house.
"Thank, God." She sat back up and leaned her back against the chair.
"So maybe now isn't a good time for this, but I—" Remy was in the backyard.
Allison jumped so high, she might have well had hit the porch ceiling. "Good, God Al-fucking-mighty!" She jumped around for a second clutching her heart, and Remy was laughing at her. "Jesus! There is this thing called the front door! You should use it." She hit her when Remy walked up onto the porch.
"Well if I had done that, then you would have known that I was here, and then I wouldn't have been able to do this." Remy stepped away from her and went to an outdoor outlet. She plugged in the cord that was sitting next to her and the backyard came to life.
There were lights everywhere. They blanketed the ground and fence. They weren't bright lights by any means, just enough to see each other's faces. Allison was gob-smacked and turned to the other woman. "Remy, why did you do this?"
"Do you not like it?" She was walking toward her.
"No! I—I love it. I just—why?" She turned to Remy who was very, very close.
"We told each other from the beginning of our rela-friendship that we were going to be brutally honest and tell no lies, maybe a few fibs, but no lies. Especially about the things that matter." She took Allison's hand and intertwined their fingers.
"Yes. We did. But, what's that have to do with this." She pointed with her free hand, though, she had a clue from her heart pounding.
"I am in love you." Allison froze. "I want to spend everyday with you, I want to kiss you, I want to hold you when you've had a bad day. I want you. I need you."
"Remy, I—" Allison started.
"No, don't." Remy hushed her. "I know that you don't feel the same way, but we told each other no lies, and if I hadn't told you, it would have gone from a secret to a big fat lie in no time flat. I-I—I just…needed you to know how I feel. I needed to tell you that you are loved, and that it's me that loves you." She was caressing her cheek with her hand. She leaned in and gave her a simple kiss. "Have a good night Allison, I'll see you tomorrow." She turned and walked through the back gate.
Remy left Allison completely speechless and utterly confused. Only Remy Hadley, She thought.
AN: Okay, so I'm a little bit over my twenty-four hour limit, but I was really close! I already have this entire story planned, which is weird because I'm not a planner, but I guess since it was a dream first, it's only right that it's planned out huh? Well, there's going to be about seven chapters total and the next to are going to be freaking long ones… I hope everyone is okay with that… Well as always please review! It makes my heart flutter with happiness..well really just the "I like this" reviews do, the "I don't like this" reviews do not make my heart flutter at all…
