In the end they were both wrong, it took the twins all of thirty minutes to freak their grandmother out, an hour and a half for her to be officially irritated and three hours for her to allow the two other woman to be aware of how much she wished they hadn't invaded her privacy. Miranda silently fumed. It was one thing for her mother to insult her, another thing for her mother to try to insult Andrea and totally unacceptable for her to make her children feel ostracised. One more comment and she was going to go loco at her mother.
"So children, what do your friends say about the fact you practically have two mothers? They must find it strange surely?"
"Umm no not really Gramma, a lot of our friends have two moms also." Cassidy said, eyes thinning much like Miranda herself would do.
"Why are you asking? There's nothing wrong with having two Moms', right?" Caroline's wide blue eyes looked towards her mother whilst crawling towards Andrea to rest her head against her shin. Andrea was shaking her head in a "no" motion before being interrupted by Mirabella.
"I wouldn't say that there's anything particularly wrong with it child. It just pains me to know that what your mother is doing is unnatural and forcing you children into a life like this sinful display."
The look on the girls' faces told enough to Miranda on how distraught they were. Caroline had even started to cry, fat tears collected in the corners of her eyes even as Andrea had already started to whisper to her that what her grandmother was saying was untrue.
"May I have a word with you mother, in private please?"
"I don't see why whatever you have to say can't be said here."
"Because unlike you mother, I don't wish to say something I'd regret in front of my children." She got up walking towards the kitchen; she paused to kiss each child on the head reminding them that he loved them before chastely kissing Andrea giving her a look before she headed to the other room.
Once in the kitchen she swung around to face her mother, reaching around her to close the door.
"What the hell was that?" She whispered directing her Icey glare on the woman she learnt it off. Simply receiving a shrug in reply before her mother finally said "You should know how I feel Miriam."
"How you feel? Mother your next door neighbours are gay. One of the ladies that have been going to temple with you for years is gay. I don't believe for a second that you have a problem with the fact I have partnered with a woman."
"True, but what about the babies?" Miranda could hear the muffled huffs of nosey twins through the closed door but said nothing about it.
"The girls aren't babies anymore mother. They're old enough to have an appreciation about what's going on here and they like Andrea, just as much as I do."
"How would I know though Miriam I hardly ever see them?"
"Tell me how that is my fault though mother? I offered to acquire you somewhere far more than adequate to move to if you'd have wished to come closer to us. I've sent invitations for you to come round at Christmas and birthdays and have never received anything more than a card from you for the twins. Why is it you suddenly feel the urge to protect them?"
"You know you were the one who moved away Miriam, why should I have to follow you? You made your decision."
"Mom, I moved to make a better life for us! Jesus, why did you give me so much encouragement to then throw it all in my face once I made a name for myself?"
"Because you didn't come back to take over your fathers' business, you knew he wanted you to take over the shop once he retired and you left without looking back."
"Did the boys run it to the ground?" Her mother shook her head. "Did the boys become bankrupt?" Again a shake of the head. "Do the boys hold the highest market in the area for their sector, a feat which daddy could never manage?" This gained her a nod from her mother. "Have the boys made plans for expansion for both a younger market and more stores in the area building upon daddy's business and creating a brand?" Again her mother nodded. "So tell me mother, why does it matter that I didn't take over the business from daddy when my younger twin brothers have done far more with it than I would ever have wished to achieve?"
"You remind me so much of him, he just wanted the best for you and when he died it was almost as if you died to. You never came back after that."
"Sorry…"
"Your children don't deserve the life you're setting out for them. Children need a mother and a father, not two mothers. Was there anything wrong with your upbringing?"
"Look, I do not care what you say about me. Say that I abandoned my fathers' life's work leaving you in the process. Say I've been heartless to you despite asking the three of you to New York every year for Christmas to have that fall on deaf ears. But you do not get to talk to me about how I am raising my daughters and you do not get to say what my children do and do not need. My children have a father, James who I'm sure you remember-."
"Yes, he was the attractive first husband wasn't he? Why couldn't you have stayed with him he was lovely and Jewish."
"No mother, he was Catholic. Just like his family and the ceremony. All Catholic, you'd have known if you attended. His mother had insisted on a Catholic wedding and none of my own family attended so I wasn't going to cause a fuss."
"Well we would have attended, if you hadn't left!"
"Honestly mother, how could you have expected me to stay? I loved daddy, you know that but I had to do it on my own and his death was too much. There were too many memories I couldn't come back to that."
"Yet here you are, with your new bimbo parading her around like some lost puppy. I've seen the tabloids this arrangement is not new. Why are you here?"
"I want to marry her mother."
"You've been married without informing me before, why should I care now?"
"Because she's important, I've never felt like this before even when I was with James it was never like this."
"You want my approval of this? You'll be waiting an awfully long time if you are."
"No mother, I don't need or desire it. I do however hope that you would entertain the idea of attending though. It would mean an awful lot to the children and to me."
"I will consider it. Now it's getting late and you guys have been travelling an awfully long time. I suggest you get some rest." She turned without hesitation, sliding past Miranda and out of the kitchen towards the master bedroom leaving her daughter unable to reply.
The door flew open before she had a chance to catch up with everything that was going on around her this was then followed by the warmth of two small bodies hugging her from either side and a larger taller body giving her a bear hug allowing her to be enveloped by Andrea's warmth.
Once she had entered the sanctuary of her old bedroom she let the tears fall. By now she trusted Andrea well enough to show her pain without wondering about the potential repercussions. So she simply slipped out of her clothes and tucked herself under the duvet with a sigh. Without words Andrea somehow managed to squash herself up close holding her arms wide for the older woman to embrace. Once the white hair was firmly planted tight to her neck the shudders of tears started as the Editor let down her walls. She couldn't believe she'd agreed to take her children here knowing how awful her mother could be. The only thing keeping her above water at that moment were the hushed tones and gentle circles being placed on her back.
"Honey I love you, please remember that." It was as if Andrea could read her mind at times. She could feel the press of a kiss to her temple. "No matter what she said to you, however she's trying to manipulate your feelings I'm here, the twins and I all love you and I know you would never do wrong by us."
"I love you too." She felt the replying squeeze that her younger partner gave in acknowledgement. "Darling, I know that we were supposed to spend another night here however I don't want the girls to spend much longer in this house full of ghosts. Would your parents mind if we leave tomorrow in the early afternoon?"
"No offence to your mother but thank god you said that, I don't think I could spend much longer being polite to a woman who refers to me as a bimbo much longer."
"You heard that?"
"Course I did, these walls are paper thin you know."
With that she felt herself drift off to sleep with the familiar feeling of safety within the arms of her love.
