Bay appeared to be listening intensely to something and Daphne tapped her knee. "What?" She signed.
"I don't think the guys are out there anymore. I think they went to get a snack." Bay signed and then stood up, reaching around in the towels and sheets for something. When she brought her hand back out she was smiling.
"What is it?" Daphne signed.
"A screwdriver. I stuck one in here when I was younger because Toby was fond of locking me in here."
"Why?" Daphne asked.
"Why do little boys do anything?" Bay shrugged. "Usually he would stick me in here when I threatened to tell on him for something or other."
Then she went to work on the hinges, taking out the pins. Since Daphne was slightly taller she got the top pin and then the two girls breathed softly and Bay put the screwdriver back where she'd found it.
They stood there together for a second, united in a common goal. Bay put her ear close to the door and listen intensely, then she nodded to Daphne and the pulled the door in towards them, lifting it slightly so the chair that was under the door knob was released with a slight bang. Then they pushed the door outward and climbed out of the closet as Toby, Wilke, and Emmett came down the hallway from the kitchen, Emmett looking slightly confused until he saw the girls.
They looked so mad, but he couldn't help but smile. Those were his girls. He saw that the door had been taken off it's hinges and was now leaning on top of the chair as the chair slid slowly out from under it.
The two girls marched towards the three men with glares on their faces.
"We're you in on this? Daphne yelled at Wilke and got her answer as he looked down at the floor, shifting in a way that told him he had been.
"What about you?" Bay signed to Emmett.
"Sort of." He signed. "I didn't know until we go here, when Toby asked to speak to me."
Bay growled and looked at Toby. "What's the big idea?"
"I was tired of having to work around you two whenever the family planned something. You two need to resolve your differences and get over them, once and for all."
Bay and Daphne looked at him and then looked at each other. They were both angry at everyone in the room right now including each other and themselves. Their brief union as they made their escape from the closet, forgotten.
"Wilke, let's go." Daphne signed to her fiance.
"Come on Emmett. Let's go home." Bay signed.
Even though both of the girls had spoken without words, Toby felt as if the conversations had been ear splittingly loud.
Wilke and Emmett were at a loss as to what they should do to fix the situation so they did what the girls had said.
Toby watched as Daphne and Wilke got into Wilke's car and drove away. He watched as Bay put on her helmet and got on Emmett's bike behind him. He watched as she glared at him before they drove away and he frowned, wishing his plan had gone better.
When the Kennishes got home that night there was a note on the kitchen counter from Toby saying sorry for the closet door, with no further explanation.
The minute they reached their apartment, Bay had been ignoring Emmett. He had tried to talk to her, but she had simply walked away from him.
Now she had shut herself up in their art studio and refused to come out or open the door.
Emmett was sitting in the living room on the couch, dejected. Bay was mad at him, Daphne was probably mad at him as well and he couldn't think of a way to fix the damage that had been done today.
The week passed slowly, with Bay speaking to Emmett as little as possible and staying in the studio with the door shut most of the time.
At night, they slept in the same bed, but Bay put a pillow between her and Emmett as a barrier.
He knew eventually something would have to give and he and Bay would work everything out but until then he didn't know what else to do but wait.
When the day of the wedding came, Emmett got up and started to get dressed in his suit. Bay was already up apparently since her side of the bed was empty.
He checked the bathroom to see if she was showering or getting ready but she wasn't there. He walked down the hallway and noticed the door of the studio was closed again. Knocking on the door, he waited to see if Bay would open it. She did.
"What?" She asked.
Through the crack in the door Emmett observed that Bay was still in her pajamas.
"Today is the wedding. You need to get ready." Emmett signed.
"I'm not going. Emmett. She doesn't want me there. But you go. She'll want to see you. You're her best friend. In fact, aren't you supposed to give her away?" Bay signed
He shook his head. "She asked her Mom instead. I guess she is a little upset with me still."
"Well, she'll still want you there. You're like family to her. So go, don't let me keep you." She stepped out of the studio for a minute, shutting the door behind her. Then she straightened Emmett's tie and looked him over as she brushed some lint from the shoulders of his suit jacket.
"You look good. Go." She said, standing up on tip toe, her hands on Emmett's shoulder's to give him a peck on the lips.
"I'll see you later."
Emmett looked like he wanted to protest but before he could, Bay slipped back into the studio and locked the door.
The ceremony was beautfiul. All three of Daphne's parent's cried as Regina walked her down the aisle to give her away. Mr. Kennish had been a little upset when Daphne had told him she wanted Regina to walk her, but he had respected her wishes and only sulked in his own home.
The way Wilke looked at Daphne was heartbreakingly beautiful. She was the only woman in the room he saw and as the priest pronounced them husband and wife and he kissed her, Emmett remembered his own wedding day with Bay.
Daphne had come up to congratulate him, tears in her eyes she was trying hard to hide. Then the minute Bay had walked up to them she had run off. Emmett had looked for her the rest of the night but he couldn't find her. He assumed she'd left and tried to not to think about Daphne for the rest of the night. He'd just wanted to focus on Bay since it was their wedding night and all.
Wilke and Daphne were walking down the center aisle now, smiling and happy. The rest of the guests began to exit as well. Following the happy couple outside to the parking lot where they would drive to the Kennishes house for the reception.
Emmett got on his bike and hurried over there.
When Daphne and Wilke arrived at the Kennishes for the reception they were passed from room to room, everyone they knew or their parent's knew congratulated them.
Needless to say, Daphne was relieved when she finally got away from the party for a minute. She'd excused herself on the pretense that she needed to use the restroom and then she had slipped outisde to the driveway that was jam packed with cars. She carefully threaded her way through the cars and was about to climb the stairs to the familiar guest house when she noticed there was a light on in Bay's old art studio. Now that Bay had moved out, it was mostly used for storage, so Daphne found it slightly odd that someone should be in there and not at the party.
She glanced around behind her and found that she was alone so she slipped past the cars to the entrance of the old studio. Poking her head in, Daphne saw Bay standing in front of an easel, oblivious to the world. Her stare was intense until she noticed Daphne standing in the doorway.
"Daphne," Bay signed. "Please come in for a second."
Daphne looked at the ground and stepped forward further into the room, her dress swishing around her.
Bay looked down at the ground and then took a deep breath and rested her deep brown eyes on Daphne. She began to sign, "When we got your wedding invitation, I couldn't think of anything to give you for your wedding gift. This morning I didn't even think I would have a gift to give you which is why I missed the ceremony." She stepped around her easel and walked toward Daphne, taking her hand and leading her around to the easel where a painting sat, covered by an old drop cloth.
Daphne looked at Bay a little confused and she continued signing.
"At first, it was just you. Then I decided I should include Wilke. If I was going to include Wilke...well let's just say the thing blew up and turned into a portrait of your-" Bay stopped signing and said, "family."
Then she stepped toward the easel and took off the cloth. "It barely dried in time." Bay said, but Daphne wasn't paying attention.
She was gazing at the painting in front of her in awe.
The background was the perfect shade of green, with just a little more yellow than forest green. It was a beautiful shade that flatter everyone. In the center of the canvas was her face, staring off to some distant point, her eyes full of light, her countenance glowing. Directly behind her to the right was Wilke, looking at the same point she was, looking forward to their future together, she decided.
On her left was her mom, her long, dark wavy hair surrounding her as she stared fondly at her daughter.
Above her and her mom were the Kennishes, her birth parents, looking on, slightly more distant and smaller than Regina but still there. To their right, in the space above the gap between her and Wilke, was Toby, grinning for all the world like he'd set them up. Like he'd masterminded the plan that had eventually brought together his sister by birth and his best friend.
Speaking of best friends, above and to the left of Regina was Emmett, smaller than most of the figures in the painting. Daphne decided it symbolized the distance that had grown between them, but the fact that he was on the canvas reminded her that he'd always been there for her, since she was eight years old he'd looked out for her and he always would.
Then she looked up in the top right hand corner, secluded from all the rest, was a face that looked on with a look of happiness, longing, and a hint of regret. The dark wavy hair made her look rather pale and Daphne turned to look at Bay for a minute before looking back at the much smaller version on the canvas.
"Why do you look so sad?" Daphne signed, pointing to the mini Bay.
"It's how I felt when I was painting. Wishing I could be part of your family again I guess." Bay signed and then looked down at the ground, embarrassed.
Daphne studied the girl who had thrown her life into a whirlwind so many years ago. The girl who, a little unwillingly, Daphne had begun to think of as a sister all those years ago. Circumstance, rather than choice or fate, had thrown them together and their lives had never been the same again. Nor had they been entirely complete with the other. So while most people didn't just gain a sister one day, Daphne felt like she had.
That didn't mean they were best friends or anything. By no means wa she big on having a sleepover with her sister of sorts. But they were family, and families, while they did not always get along or agree, or even speak to one another, families always loved each other.
So Daphne did the only thing she could do. "You are my family." She said out loud before wrapping her arms around Bay, holding her tightly.
When they pulled away, Bay had tears in her eyes that she tried to hide with a brush of her hand.
"Well, thanks for that." She said, trying to keep her emotions in check.
"No, thank you." Daphne signed. "This painting is amazing. Did you sign it and give it a name and everything?" She asked.
"Bay looked at the painting and pointed out where she'd signed her initials and put the date. "It's called, "Portrait of Our Family." Bay said and signed.
Daphne smiled. "It's perfect. Thank you." She gave Bay another hug and this time Bay returned it.
"So why aren't you at the party?" Bay asked.
"Too crowded." Daphne signed.
Bay laughed and then looked up at the door way where Toby, Emmett, and Wilke were leaning in and watching them.
Toby had a smirk on his face, but also looked relieved that his sisters were getting along again.
Wilke was just smiling, the whole night seemed a little surreal to him. I mean, he and Daphne were married now, and Bay and Daphne were talking to each other again.
And Emmett, well Emmett looked overjoyed, but he also seemed a little confused. He took a few steps into the room and when the girls didn't shoo him away, he came a little closer until he was standing in between them, looking at the painting.
"What did you say this was called again?" He asked Bay.
"Portrait of Our Family. Why?" She asked and signed.
"It's Beautiful." He signed, leaning over to kiss her on the forehead. "Is this what you were working on all week?"
She nodded.
Wilke and Toby had come around and were staring at the painting.
"Bay I hate to say it, but that looks nothing like me." Toby teased.
Bay pushed him and wrapped her arms around Emmett as Wilke wrapped his arm around Daphne's shoulders and studied the painting.
"Our wedding gift from Bay?" He asked.
Daphne nodded.
"Hmm."
"What?" Bay asked.
"Well all you've got here are our heads. Are we wearing clothes?" He asked.
Daphne rolled her eyes along with Emmett, Toby chuckled, and Bay looked like she wanted to hit Wilke.
He grinned roguishly and Bay decided since it was his wedding night to cut him a break. He was Wilke after all, just because he was married didn't mean he'd change right away.
Eventually they all had to leave the garage and head back to the reception, but not for a while. For a while, they all simply hung out in the old studio, sitting on storage boxes and laughing and talking, remembering when their lives were thrown off balance by each other and the changes that had occurred.
Okay first off, if you want to see what I think Daphne's dress sort of looked like, go here, just take out the spaces:
http:/ www. goweddinggowndress .com /rosa-clara-wedding-dresses-style-204-p-5458 .html
Second, I may or may not be writing an epilogue. If you think I should, let me know and give me and idea for what should happen in the epilogue, if not, also let me know and I will change the stories status to Complete now.
Thankies for reading,
OSK