Danny walked into Sawyer's apartment, only to catch the tail-end of a conversation which he could only guess was between Sawyer and Tillie.
'Come on, you have to understand that it isn't anything personal. It isn't like I'm kicking you out of the wedding...Yeah, I understand, but...'
Danny walked over to stand behind Sawyer. He placed his hands on her shoulders to give her what he hoped was a relaxing shoulder massage; judging by the tension he felt he didn't know if it would work.
'Listen, just promise you'll get back to me on this...Yeah, okay. Bye.'
Sawyer slammed down the receiver, as if that would rid her of every ounce of venom in her body at that moment. Her look of defeat made it clear that it didn't work.
Danny leaned down to kiss the top of her head, 'She still not taking it well?'
'Understatement of the decade.'
That wasn't far from the truth. While everyone else had taken their plans for the upcoming nuptials fairly well, Tillie had taken it to heart to an extent that none of them had expected. They had spent the last week walking on eggshells around Tillie, in the hope that she would come around. That was starting to seem unlikely.
Still, it was one of the few dark points on what had been a decent week otherwise. They had booked the hotel, found a judge, and arranged their honeymoon to both of their tastes. Things would have been damn near perfect if it hadn't been for Tillie. Or the fact that both apartment leases would be up by the time they returned from their had tried to convince herself that lots of couples must have spent their first months of marriage living in a hotel.
Danny shook himself back into reality. He grabbed Sawyer's hand and pulled her up, and began leading her towards their door.
Sawyer frowned, not looking too pleased about whatever it was he was planning, 'Aw Danny, I think I'm too miserable to go anywhere right now.'
Danny just smiled, and continued to pull her towards the door, 'Come on, it'll be fun! Besides, I have something important to show you!'
'Daniel Kelly, where exactly are you sneaking me off to?'
'Stop, don't ruin my surprise!'
In her defense, Sawyer had every right to be curious. They had been driving along the coast, but Danny had since taken off in a totally different direction, and seemed to be driving through every halfway decent suburb in Los Angeles. She wasn't sure how much more of it she could take.
'You searching for inspiration?'
'Not searching. Anyway, you'll be happy to know we have arrived!', he said with a smile, making a quick turn onto one of the properties.
Sawyer struggled to make anything out initially, her view being blocked out by the threes and gate lining the outside of the property. Soon these broke, and both were faced with the building.
Sawyer stared out over the property, taking in everything. Up until that point they had mostly been looking at newer mansions built in the most affluent parts of Los Angeles. A 1920s colonial build was far from what they had discussed. There was more yard than she knew what to do with.
She got out of the car, walking into the house to examine the bottom floor. Oak floors, bright walls and wide open spaces. Totally removed from every home she had ever lived in. She walked along the bottom floor, examining the different living spaces. Behind her, she was dimly aware of Danny, who was providing running commentary to their surroundings.
'...it's a great neighbourhood, it's really safe for celebrities, but our kids could still go to public school and meet normal kids! And the house is pretty open plan, so even though it's a little smaller than the ones we were looking at it feels just as big!'
At some point during his rant, Danny finally realised that Sawyer was nowhere to be seen. He walked through the house, and found her sitting out on the back steps, staring out into the back yard.
Danny walked out to sit beside her, feeling disappointment swell in his chest, 'You don't like it. I knew it wasn't anything like what we were looking for, it was stupid. I don't have a deposit on it, so we can just...'
Sawyer placed a hand on his knee, and turned to silence him with a kiss, 'I love it.'
Danny's eyebrows shot up in surprise, 'Really? I thought...Well, it wasn't like any of the other houses you wanted to look at.'
Sawyer gave his knee a soft squeeze, and stared off into the distance, a small smile playing on her lips. 'I wasn't looking to start anything with any a farm boy from the middle of nowhere. I wasn't planning on getting my career this way. I'm starting to think that plans are total crap.'
Sawyer felt as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. They had gotten into contact with their real estate agent, and according to her they should have the house by the time they were back from honeymoon. Knowing they wouldn't be homeless was quite a feeling.
She was so thrilled about that, she didn't notice where Danny was headed until they pulled up outside an almost painfully cute apartment building. Oh, you jackass...
Danny gave her a sheepish smile, trying to ignore the fact that she was likely fit to kill him.
'You do realise I'm going to kill you.'
'It won't be that bad!'
'I can't do this.'
'C'mon Sawyer, you're gonna have to do this eventually. I'll wait here until you're done.'
Sawyer willed herself to leave the car, slamming the door behind her for emphasis. I can't believe I'm doing this...
Sawyer had never seen anyone as shocked in her life as Tillie looked at that moment. She had that feeling again once she pushed passed Tillie and went into her apartment, 'We're gonna have to sort this out.'
Tillie shuffled uncomfortably, trying to avoid making eye contact with Sawyer, 'I didn't think you would want to talk with me...'
Sawyer ran a hand over his face in exasperation, 'Come on Til, you can't hold this against me...'
'Well, clearly you didn't take any of my suggestions very well-'
Sawyer seemed to flare up at that, 'Cut the crap Tillie!'
'Excuse me?!'
'Listen, you know Danny and I both really appreciate everything you've done for us. This, however, is our day. We have every right to do this our own way. I'm not going to keep feeling guilty over this!'
Tillie seemed to droop at this, 'Well, I'm sorry to have been a burden...'
Sawyer headed for the door, 'Til, you know when the wedding is. You know we want you there. The rest is up to you.'
