This is a filler chapter I know..I like a good buildup and I suppose that's what I'm doing. The next chapter will move thing forward a little more, and have Roxy interacting with one or more SOA characters.
Thanks for the story alert adds and the reviews have been awesome! When I read them, I'm really inspired to get started with the next chapter.
-I do not own SOA..or any of it's characters. The OC's are all mine :)
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Chapter 4
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"What ya hiding from?" Came a voice suddenly behind me as I plastered myself against the kitchen wall peeking my head around to door jam to look out toward the dining room and foyer.
My heart leap into my throat as I exclaimed, "Jesus Christ!" I turned to find Marianne standing in the doorway of the garage entrance to the kitchen. Seemed like she had a knack for sneaking up on people. Or was it just me?
Remembering what I was doing I put my index finger in front of my lips and hissed, "Shhhhhh! I don't want her to find me."
Closing the door behind her she placed a bag on the counter and turned to look at me with her hands on her hips. "By her I assume you mean Ms. Murray?" She asked eyebrows raised.
"Yes! I've been trying to avoid her all day. The woman is relentless!" I whispered throwing my hands up in exasperation.
Grinning at me in amusement, Marianne limped to the refrigerator and pulled out what appeared to be a block of hamburger meat and lay it out on the counter. "Well what does she want with you?" she asked.
"I don't know, I suppose she wants to get to know me." I said in disgust running a hand through my wild curls. "Richard is in court today, and I think she's going to ask me to go shopping."
"That's a bad thing?" She inquired before pulling out a frying pan.
Nodding my head vehemently I said, "Yes Ms. Marianne, trust me when I say that's just not a good idea.
Suddenly the clickety clack of of Cynthia's ever present high heels echoed through the dining area just outside the kitchen. I threw my hands up dramatically as I cast my eyes desperately around, searching for a place to hide.
Finally looking to Marianne, who had been watching me with a smirk, I gave her my most desperate puppy dog look. Eying me a moment, she gave a deep sigh and said under her breath, "You have got to be kidding me..." before she whispered out loud, "The pantry, go get in the pantry!" She gestured to a door just on the other side of the fridge.
As soon as the words left her lips, I high tailed it toward said door almost losing a flip flop in the process. I had barely shut the door behind me when I heard Cynthia's tinkling voice ring out through the kitchen.
"Oh, Marianne I didn't realize you were here already."
Then Marianne's somewhat gruffer voice answered, "I just got here. Making a Lasagna for dinner so I needed a little extra time."
'Mmm Lasgna..' I thought. Then rolled my eyes at myself. 'Focus Roxy.'
"Oh well, Richard will be happy to hear that, you know it's one of his favorites!" Cynthia said ending with a high pitch giggle. "Well I'll let you just get back to it."
Several heartbeats passed in silence when finally I heard Marianne's distinctive limp make it's way over toward me and the pantry. The door knob rattled a second before she pulled it open.
We looked at one another and she opened her mouth to say something when, "Marianne I almost forgot!" Cynthia's voice rang out. Marianne's eyes widened in surprise as I felt mine do the same before the pantry door was slammed shut in my face. What happened to our high heel warning system?
"What would that be Ms. Murray!" Marianne asked in a somewhat higher pitched voice than usual. To me she sounded a bit off, and I wondered if the china doll would notice.
"I was actually looking for Richard's daughter, Roxanne. Have you seen her?" She inquired.
"No I haven't, but again I just got here." Marianne reminded her.
I could hear the frown in Cynthia's voice as she said absentmindedly, "Oh..I can't find that girl anywhere. Sigh.. I suppose I'll have to go shopping without her." Then she added. "If you do see her, tell her I will be back sometime before dinner please." Then there was silence in the kitchen again.
'Yes! I escaped the China Doll's clutches..' I celebrated by doing a little cabbage patch victory dance in place. Of course that was when Marianne decided to open the pantry door.
I just grinned bigger at the deadpan look on her face as she observed my antics. Then she said, "Well congratulations Roxy you've been here for two days and you've managed to turn me into a liar. You should be ashamed."
I stopped my impromptu victory dance as we peered at one another solemnly. Then simultaneously we both burst out laughing as Marianne backed up and let me exit the pantry.
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With both Richard and Cynthia gone, the afternoon was spent in quiet bliss. After keeping Marianne company while she put together her yummy smelling lasagna, and for the first time I was able to just relax without someone breathing down my throat.
First order of business was to throw on my favorite black bikini and try out the in ground pool that had been calling out to me all morning from the backyard. Being sure to slather plenty of sunscreen on my naturally porcelain pale skin, I settled in for a couple hours of sun and relaxation. Promptly commandeering a pool lounger to plant my ass in, I drifted in and out of consciousness while floating about.
After a couple of hours when I felt my sensitive skin begin to blister, it was time to head in out of the sun. Wrapping a towel around my waist I made a beeline toward the kitchen. It looked like Marianne was gone, and that was confirmed when I noticed a dry erase board hanging on the wall by the sink. She had scribbled a note saying that the lasagna was in the oven, ready to reheat for dinner. My stomach grumbled from the rich aroma that hung in the air.
Glancing at the clock, I noticed that it was 1:30 pm and I hadn't had anything since breakfast. Rummaging around I managed to put together a turkey and cheese sandwich with a side of chips and pickles for lunch. Simple, but it was more than enough to hold me till dinner.
Tidying up after myself, because God knows I didn't want to answer to Marianne if I left her kitchen in disarray, I set off to explore the downstairs of the house a little.
Walking from room to room I had to admit that it was a fairly nice house. Certainly nicer than the modest middle class home that I had grown up in. Again I noted with distaste the decor was like nothing either I or for that matter, my Mom would ever use in our own home.
Bored, I was ready to head back to my room when I noticed for the first time a door. That hadn't been on my short tour the other day. As usual curiosity got the best of me, and I opened the door and peeked inside. It was an office, and from the looks of it was probably Richard's office.
Opening the door wider I sauntered through and took in my surroundings. Obviously decorated differently than the rest of the house, I assumed that this area must be a Cynthia free zone.
An old immense mahogany desk seemed to monopolize the room, with several shelves of books and degrees lining the walls. The furnishings were done in a dark green with accents of gray, all very bold and masculine.
Like a magnet my attention was drawn to the shelf that dominated the wall directly behind the desk. In the center surrounded by what appeared to be an extraordinarily large set of law books were a sea of framed photographs. As I drew closer, I was shocked to find that they were almost all exclusively of me. From birth until now it seemed as if every stage of my existence was somehow represented.
My eyes traveled from one picture to another. Me in Elena's arms only hours after birth, my first birthday cake smeared all over my face, proudly displaying a tooth as I gave a big gap toothed smile for the camera, my fourth grade class picture, dressed up at my first Jr. Hight dance, accepting my high school diploma with a huge grin, and there was even one from my college graduation three years before. There were several more I skimmed over until my eyes froze on a particular one that I had never seen before.
With a trembling hand I slowly reached through the photographs and grasped it, pulling the silver framed photo in for closer inspection. It was a black and white photograph of a happy young family laying on a blanket in either a yard or perhaps a park. Of course the family was mine, or at least used to be mine.
Richard was laying on the center of the blanket with both of his arms stretched out wide, a satisfied grin accross his much younger face that practically shouted, "I'm the luckiest guy in the world!". On one side was Elena almost glowing in happiness as she reclined on her husband's arm, a soft smile touching the corners of her full lips. Then snuggled up on his other side was me, or rather the four year old version of me. Hair done up in long flowing pigtails, giggling at something mischievously.
I felt a lump rise in my throat as I gazed at the beautiful scene. Yes it was beautiful, but unfortunately I saw it for what is really was. An illusion.
Less than two years later Richard would be gone, leaving his wife and daughter for another woman. In my mind Richard vanished out of the picture leaving my Mom and I laying on the blanket alone, grinning only at one another.
I was startled to feel wetness run down the side of my face and realized that I had been silently crying. Angrily I reached up and swiped at the moisture, swiftly erasing it's evidence. There had been enough tears shed over this particular subject, and I would be damned if there would be more.
I pulled my shoulders back and steeled my spine before resolutely placing the picture back into place. Turning on my heel I marched out of the room, firmly shutting the door behind me not only to the office but also to painful memories.
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Later that evening...
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"Hello?
"Hey Momma, how are you?"
"Hey baby..what's wrong?"
"Ahh! Why do you think something is wrong?" I asked frustrated. The woman could read me like a book and it was so just annoying sometimes.
A warm chuckle in my ear and then, "Because I know you better than I know myself. You haven't been gone long enough to be homesick yet, and you only call me Momma when your upset."
Rolling my eyes I reclined back against the pillows propped up against my headboard. It was only 10:30 pm but I was was already dressed in my pajamas ready for bed. "Alright, thank you Nancy Drew." I said sarcastically.
"How's everything there? Are you keeping you blood sugar up?" My Mother worried over the line.
"I've been eating fine Mom. Richard has a cook who has makes the most incredible lasagna in the world." I said grinning, knowing that the mention of a cook would bug her.
She scoffed, "A cook hunh? Why am I not surprised." Then after a moment she said, "So..Richard called me this morning. Told me you were going to be staying there for a week or so."
"Wow he didn't waste anytime telling on me, did he?" I said, feeling a little like I was being reported on.
"Don't be a drama queen, he wasn't TELLING on you Roxy. I think it was more about not stepping on my toes." she sighed. "He was always respectful of my custody rights over you."
"I'm twenty four years old, it's not your toes he needs to worry about stepping on anymore." I winced at how petulant I sounded even to myself.
"I'm not going to sit here and defend him, but just remember he's not used to you being an adult." Then changing the topic she asked, "So tell me what you have planned this week. When do you start work?"
"My first day at the firm is tomorrow, so I suppose I'll be pretty much just working the rest of the week." Then I added, "Oh and Richard introduced me to his real estate agent yesterday, and he's searching for potential rentals for me. Hopefully it won't take long to find something."
"I know it's only a rental, but remember to be careful what you settle on. Once you sign that contract you'll be pretty much stuck with it for the summer." Then she added, "As a matter of fact, just fax me a copy of the rental agreement before you sign."
Smiling at her control freak like tendencies I said gently, "Mom, I'm a law student. I think I can handle a simple rental agreement."
"I'm not saying you can't honey, but there might be some things in those rental agreements that you might not catch. I deal with it every day, so just humor me." She said referring to her job tittle which just happened to be a real estate broker.
"Oookay Mom." I said chuckling. "You win."
Now laughing from her end she said, "Of course I do baby, I always win!"
As I listened to her laugh, the picture from today coming to mind. Suddenly I felt such a great affection for the woman that I proudly called Mom. "Momma...I..I just wanted to tell you that I love you. You know that right?" I asked seriously.
There was a long stretch of silence from the other end of the phone before, "Of course I know that Roxanne. You know I love you too, right?"
Nodding my head to myself I then answered out loud so she could hear me, "Yeah..Never a doubt."
"Are you sure your ok honey?" She asked one more time.
"Yep, I'm just fine." I said, then added, "I guess I need to get off here and get some sleep. Got to get up early for work."
She said,"Call me in the next couple of days to let me know how it goes. Oh..and if you find a rental...." I interrupted, "Fax you the agreement, I know. Love you, night." I said.
"Love you too, good night." Mom said softly before there was a click from her end of the phone signaling the end of the call.
I sat in the same position just looking at my phone, glad that I had called my Mom. Talking to her almost always made me feel better, and tonight was no exception. When I finally relaxed back into my pillows to get a good nights rest, not only was my head a little clearer but my heart was a lot lighter as well.
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