Never Too Late
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As always, thanks to those of you who have read/reviewed/alerted this thing. I appreciate it.
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Chapter 3... Here we go...
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Harper sat on the sofa in her uptown Manhattan apartment flipping through this month's issue of Fruits of the World looking for inspiration for her newest creation. Her husband of four years, Zeke, flopped down next to her in a sleek gray business suit and, with muffin in hand, leaned closer and took a bite.
"Whah ya ree-in?" Zeke asked. "Eck, babe, don't talk with your mouth full." Harper scolded, looking over at the big dopey grin on her husband's face. She sighed and smiled at him, holding up the magazine so he could see the front. Finally swallowing his monster sized bite, "New dress?" he asked.
Zeke had done pretty well for himself since he graduated from high school. He finished college in just three years near the top of his class, loading up during summers to finish early. He had managed to get a job in research at a high profile robotics engineering firm and was loving the opportunity he was given, after a year of grunt work, to do about half of his work from home and be near his new family.
Harper didn't have a job officially, instead, she opted to be a housewife and stay-at-home mother. She still designed dresses, which, by almost anyone else's standards, would be considered odd, but once she started leaving off the actual fruit, thanks to a strongly worded letter from the FDA and the USDA, she started doing pretty well for herself as well.
She spent her time designing and caring for their three and a half year old son, Tyler, a rambunctious child, like his father, quirky and fidgety, with his mother's red hair. Harper had never expected to get pregnant so soon after high school, she was only nineteen when they found out, but once Tyler was born and she and Zeke were married, she had never been happier.
"Well, babe, it's almost nine. I need to get to work." Zeke said, leaning in to kiss his wife on the cheek, leaving little bits of muffin as he pulled back, chuckling as he reached out to brush them off. Harper giggled, rolling her eyes, "Okay, have fun!"
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About one o'clock that afternoon, after putting her son down for a nap, she heard a knock at the door. Rushing to the door, thinking that Zeke was home early and had forgotten his key again, she quickly unlocked it and flung it open. "Did you forget- " She was stopped mid sentence by the young woman standing in front of her. Harper's mouth dropped, her eyes went wide, she couldn't believe who she was seeing... who had finally come back. "Alex?"
Her best friend, who she hadn't seen in five years, was standing in her doorway and Harper couldn't move, couldn't think... all she could do was stare.
"Harper?" Alex asked hesitantly. She wasn't sure what her friend's reaction meant. Was she happy? Was she angry? Was she-
"ALEX!" Harper shouted exitedly causing Alex to flinch. "Oh my Gosh!" She exclaimed, reaching out and throwing her arms around her best friend crushing her in a bear hug.
"Where have you- What happened to- How did you- When did-" Harper rattled off, moisture beginning to glisten in her eyes, unable to think straight and form a coherent thought.
"Harper, your choking me." Alex struggled out, still smiling through the suffocating embrace of her friend.
"Oh, sorry." Harper pulled back and Alex could see the happy tears streaming down her face. Alex silently thanked God that her best friend didn't push her away, that Harper still cared and wasn't angry. "Alex!" she shouted again pulling the brunette back into another crushing hug.
Alex could only laugh at her enthusiasm. "I missed you too, Harper."
After a few minutes, Harper regained control of herself, mumbled out another awkward apology and released Alex. When she stepped back, she opened her mouth to speak, but closed it again when she saw a small brunette, hiding behind her mother's leg, tiny hands clinging to Alex's pants, and one eye was peeking out around the side.
"Who's this?" Harper asked in a sweet voice, feeling a little bit embarassed that she may have frightened the little girl. Before Alex could answer, Harper squatted down and smiled at Katie. "What's your name, cutie?"
The little girl ducked her head behind her mother's leg but Harper could still hear the timid, "Katie", she received in answer to her question. Harper sucked in an excited breath, "Aw, that's such a pretty name!" she said, looking up at a smiling Alex and then back to the child. "How old are you?"
Harper's smile grew brighter when she saw four tiny fingers slide out from behind her mother's leg indicating her age, and Alex couldn't help but chuckle to herself when her daughter finished with "This many."
"Wow," cooed Harper, "you're such a big girl now!"
Alex and Harper smiled at each other for a moment before Katie playfully patted the side of her mother's leg and they tried their hardest to contain their laughter when Katie said, "See, told you, mommy."
Harper invited them both inside and motioned for them to sit down on the couch. She had so many questions she didn't know where to begin. Alex looked so tired, so... something, she couldn't quite put her finger on it, but she could sense that her friend was in trouble somehow. She was so surprised that Alex had a daughter, and after doing some quick math, she figured that Alex was pregnant around the time she vanished.
"So..." Harper started, nodding towards the child sitting by Alex's side, "she's kinda shy, isn't she?"
Alex shrugged, "Sort of. She was happy to hear about her new auntie Harper," she said, nudging Katie, who quickly nodded, smiling the whole time, "but she does get shy around new people sometimes."
"Oh."
"But trust me, " Alex continued, "once she gets to know you, she will never s-h-u-t u-p." she spelled out.
"Alex!" Harper scolded.
"What?" Alex giggled, "It's true."
"What's true, mommy."
"That you're a perfect little angel, sweetheart." Alex smiled at her little girl. And in Alex's eyes, it was true, and Katie knew it.
They talked about Alex's little girl for a while longer, with Katie gradually warming up to her new aunt. Harper could see how proud Alex was of Katie, she could see how her friend's eyes beamed with joy when she spoke about her.
"Wow, Alex," Harper said softly, "I can't believe how much you've changed in five years... It's so good to see you... I don't know... like, nice."
"Aw, thanks, Harper. And it's good to see that the fruit is in a bowl on the table instead of on your hat." Alex said in a semi-sweet, semi-sarcastic tone.
Harper sighed in defeat. "Well, it was nice while it lasted." At least some things never change. They both chuckled at the past, remembering when Alex had been the snarky misfit instead of the responsible mother.
"Oh!" Harper exclaimed suddenly, "Where are my manners?" She got up from the couch and squatted down in front of Katie again. "Hey, you want to come help me make some snacks?" Katie quickly nodded and hopped off of the couch, taking Harper's hand as she was led to the kitchen. "Be right back, Alex." she called over her shoulder.
"This should be good." Alex mumbled through the mischevious smile on her face.
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Twenty minutes later Harper emerged from the kitchen, looking a bit worn, with a still babbling Katie following closely behind, talking at a million miles a minute. Alex quirked an eyebrow at her friend and gave her a wry 'I told you so' grin. Harper huffed and rolled her eyes giving her a 'be nice' glare.
They sat and ate for a while, catching up on what had transpired over the last five years. Harper's wedding, and her disappointment over Alex not being the maid of honor, which made Alex instantly feel guilty... but Harper understood.
She was shocked, to say the least, when she found out that Harper also had a small child, about Katie's age. Alex had always imagined that their kids would grow up together and be inseperable, like their parents used to be, and the thought that they weren't saddened her a little.
Around this time, little Tyler emerged from his room, surprised to see the new visitors. "Momma?" he said to Harper, "Who are them?" "Who are they, honey." Harper corrected lovingly. Tyler nodded and waited for an answer.
After a quick round of introductions, Katie was excited to have a new friend and began to ramble on about school and her other friends... and her father. Harper looked over at a clearly uncomfortable Alex before suggesting, "Tyler, why don't you show your new friend Katie your room."
Alex knew what was coming, she knew she'd have to talk about him. After all, that was the whole reason she'd come here, but that didn't mean she wasn't unsettled. "Alex, is he Katie's father?" Harper asked, a hint of uncertainty in her voice.
"Yes."
"Does she know?" Harper watched a suddenly defeated looking Alex shake her head, "No."
"Okay. It's okay, Alex. You don't have to jump right into it yet. I get it. How about..." Harper though about it for a bit. "...starting with where you've been for so long."
Alex nodded and took a deep breath, and thanked Harper for not forcing her yet.
"So after... you know... with my mom, I got in dad's car and just left." Alex started.
"I though you drove that into a giant sloppy joe with Dean." Harper inquired. Alex shrugged, "Magic."
"Anyway, I started driving west and made it about three hundred and fifty or so miles..." then Alex started chuckling, "...when I ran out of gas." Harper smiled at her to urge her on.
"Well, I forgot to take any money or credit cards with me so... I started hitch-hiking." The disapproving look from Harper earned her an eye roll and a huff. "It wasn't like I had a lot of choice."
"I'd been walking about three hours or so, when this old lady pulled over to pick me up..." she trailed off beginning to choke up. "Mrs. Jenkins, Shirley Jenkins... She took me in and let me stay with her. She didn't have to. She could've left me but she..." Harper moved closer to her friend when she noticed the silent tears begin to seep from Alex's eyes, and wrapped an arm around her.
Alex sniffled and shook her head trying to calm herself. "We were just outside of this little town in Pennsylvania called Warren, where she lived. Only had like ten thousand people or so and..." Alex started to smile and wiped her eyes thinking about her new home. "...it has this old Victorian style about it and Harper, it's so nice there, I think you'd really like it."
"Anyway, Shirley let me stay with her and then, after a few months, I started, you know, showing, and she knew I was pregnant." Alex paused to take a deep breath and blinked a few times to stave off more tears.
"Apparently she had won some kind of lottery or something several years ago... and when the house next door came up for sale..." Alex couldn't hold her emotions in check anymore and her tears fell once again. "... she bought it for me, Harper. This lady, who barely knew me, bought me a house... she... how can I ever..." she choked out.
Alex leaned forward and pressed her hands over her eyes, letting the salty liquid spill onto her hands. "She said... she said that I needed my own place... to raise my daughter." she spoke weakly between sobs.
Harper knew that Alex had never known such generosity, few people did, so she laid a hand on her crying friend's back and began rubbing it. She didn't say anything else for moment, allowing Alex to calm down.
Alex took a few deep breaths to steady herself and thanked Harper for soothing her. "So then, I got a job at Crary Art Gallery to pay for bills, and taxes, and insurance, and stuff, and-"
She stopped for a moment when she noticed the look of astonishment on her friend's face and said dryly, "Yes, Harper, I got a job... deal with it." Harper giggled at her friends new found sense of responsibility, earning another eye roll and grunt from Alex.
"Annnyyway, I keep trying to pay Shirley back every month for the house, for helping me after Katie was born, for babysitting Katie, and everything else she's done but..."
Alex paused for a moment, remembering her conversations with Mrs. Jenkins on the topic, and giggled slightly, "...she keeps telling me to cut it out and usually tears up my check right there in front of me."
Alex takes a deep breath and sits back against the couch, still with a smile on ner face. "Honestly, Harper, I don't know what would've happend to me and Katie if Shirley didn't find me."
Harper smiled genuinely at her friend for a moment. "I'm glad she found you, Alex. You can't even imagine how worried about you I've been."
"I'm sorry, Harper. I wanted to tell you so bad, but I was just scared." Alex offered Harper a weak smile but Harper could see that her friend felt guilty about what happened, but she was never one to hold a grudge.
"Don't worry about it. I guess I can forgive you one more time." Harper teased, nudging Alex with her shoulder.
'Thanks, Harper." Alex said, relieved at least somebody from her past had forgiven her for leaving.
"No prob." Harper said, looking at the clock on the wall. "Well, it's getting late. Why don't you stay for dinner? Then you can catch up with Zeke when he get's back."
"Sure." Alex replied, nodding her head.
"We can talk about why you came here tomorrow, if you're up for it, after you've had a chance to rest." "And-" she added quickly, noticing Alex opening her mouth to speak, "You're staying here in our guest room tonight. No buts!" she said, pointing a finger at Alex, threating her 'uncomfortable stare'.
"Okay, Harper. Thanks again." Alex said sincerely.
"Your welcome. Now let's go see what our kids have gotten themselves into."
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A/N: This chapter was mainly to explain questions you may have had about what happened to Alex when she left home. Shirely was originally supposed to be a 'side-swipe' character but I just fell in love with that old lady. Anywho, in chapter 4, Alex makes a big decision about her future after talking to Harper about Katie's father.
By the way: Warren, PA = real
Size of the town & style = real (mostly)
Crary Art Gallery = real (don't know if they hire or not)
Everything else = S.W.A.G (Scientific Wild Ass Guess)
