I'll be honest folks, I'm trying very hard to get some Paily motivation to write but damn, Christmas episode…what the what? Come on, how are they gonna do Paily that way? I am convinced: the writers play with Emily shippers like Ali plays with creepy dolls. Ain't nothin' bout that right…and here we go, I'm getting pissed again.

Deep breath…moving on, Philadelphia will have a place in this story as it develops. I love, LOVE it there. Confession: I've only been a handful of times; definitely not enough to be an expert. Keep that in mind for any of you that know the difference. Happy reading…

Chapter 10

Life Is a Highway by Rascal Flatts is blaring through my cars speakers. I love to drive. I love this song. I love to drive while listening to this song. I always play it on road trips. I look down to my speedometer; I'm going way too fast. I have a lead foot and this song only elevates my need for speed. Really, it's not that easy to consider how fast you're driving when one) you're watching the road, two) you're singing very, very loudly, three) you're car dancing, and four) you're day dreaming about getting to see your girlfriend.

I was most excited about that last part. I'm on my way to Philadelphia to see Paige after being apart from her for two weeks. Other than Christmas break, that's the longest we've been apart since I've gotten to know her. Moreover, since we started seeing each other absence from her has been especially hard. It's something I'm going to have to get used to.

In three days Paige leaves for Atlanta. I thought a lot about this while I was in Rosewood the past few weeks. I know Paige was concerned that once I got home I would pull away. The opposite was true. I want to be around her more. We're going to have a lot of fun these next three days. Eventually we're going to have to have some serious discussions. If we continue this relationship, which I hope we do, how are we going to make long distance work? We'll both have to commit to seeing each other. I haven't told her yet that I'm going to start looking for jobs in Atlanta, if she is ok with it. It only makes sense that I look there too, given how much I want to be with her.

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I dialed Paige's number and waited for her to pick up. Within two rings she answered. "Emily, hi. Are you in town yet?"

"Yes, I just dropped everything off at Spencer's. Should I go ahead and make my way to your house?"

"Yeah, absolutely. I can't wait for you to get here. Where is Spencer's townhouse?"

"Queen Village, near Society Hill. You should see this place, Paige. I'm afraid to touch anything."

"You better get used to it, Em; that's your home now," she said, laughing. "Ok, so Queen Village…you're about 25 minutes from Chestnut Hill where my parents live. Are you leaving now?"

"I am. I'll see you in about half an hour. I can't wait."

"Me too. Drive safe."

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The drive through the neighborhoods of Philadelphia wasn't too bad. I truly love this city. I'm a major history buff, especially of colonial America, so you can only imagine my excitement to be here.

The closer I get to Chestnut Hill the more I can tell that it is a fairly affluent community. As with a lot of homes and buildings throughout this area, many look quite old. I would assume from as far back as the mid- to late-1800's if not older. There are tree lined streets showcasing stately, historic mansions with wooded lawns. Unique shops and row houses follow cobblestone streets in the community center. Not a bad place to grow up.

My map app alerts me that Paige's house should be coming up soon. I am shocked when I pull in front of the house as it tells me I have arrived. Business must be very good for Mr. McCullers. The house I grew up in could fit twice into this house. I'm staring up at a large, two-story stone colonial style home, sat back on a park like lot. There is a widow's walk set above what appears to be a large sunroom on the left side of the house. The manicured lawn and professionally tended to flowers and shrubs are perfection. I thought I was coming to my girlfriend's house. Little did I know I was stepping into a magazine cover.

I flip the sun visor to take a quick glance in the mirror. I'm getting ready to meet Paige's parents for the first time; I need to make sure I'm presentable. I get out of my car and make my way up the stone pathway to the front door. Paige answers almost immediately when I ring the doorbell. She wrapped me in a tight hug and ushered me through the front door.

The foyer is large and bright with sunlight streaming through from the front windows. The walls are covered with textured wallpaper in burnt orange. The dark, custom woodworking is polished to a shine. On both sides of where I stand are french doors leading to opposite ends of the house. Paige calls for her mom as she walks towards the back of the house. Each room we pass through is exquisitely furnished. Paintings hang from suspended chains so as not to damage the quality of the historic walls.

We walk into the kitchen where Paige's mother is standing over a slate center island. She looks up from chopping vegetables and smiles. Setting down the knife, she walked around the island and wrapped me in a hug. "You must be Emily," she said pulling back to look at me.

Paige resembles her mother so closely. Not in height, or coloring. But in every other way she is her mother's daughter. They have many of the same facial features and their expressions are spot on. Mrs. McCullers is a woman of class. She is wearing cropped khaki capri's and a light blue pin-striped oxford. A string of pearls hang from her neck.

"Thank you for having me, Mrs. McCullers. I am so glad to finally meet you." I hand her a bottle of wine I brought with me from Rosewood. I asked Paige what her mom liked before I came over. My mom always taught me: never show up as a guest to someone's house without a gift.

"Why thank you, Emily," she said with a bright smile. "This is so nice of you, dear. This is one of my favorites." She looked at Paige then back to me. "Now Emily, honey, please call me Clare."

"You have a lovely home, Mrs….uh, Clare. It looks to be quite old." I caught what I just said and how it sounded, quickly trying to correct course. "I don't mean old as in OLD…it's very nice...not worn down…old as in age…I mean." I looked to Paige for help. I didn't get any; she seemed to think this was quite amusing.

Clare laughed. "Thank you. I understand. The house was built in 1896. I try to do what I can to ensure that we preserve the historic qualities of the home while still being able to modernize. Paige, why don't you show Emily to one of the guest rooms and help her get settled. I'll call you two when dinner is ready."

We walk back towards the front of the house and up to the second floor. Paige points to one of the rooms we pass along the way and mentions it as her room. "How many bedrooms does this house have, Paige?"

"Six total." She looked around and pointed as we walked up the stairs, "Two upstairs on each wing of the house. Two down on the main level: my parents' master suite; it has something to do with wanting their room down there so they don't have to climb stairs when they get older. And then another guest bedroom."

"Aren't you an only child?"

"Yeah, why?" she asked back.

"No reason." If Paige didn't think anything of having four giant bedrooms no one had a need for, I didn't think anything of it either.

"I'm putting you in the guest room closest to mine. That way, when you sneak into my room tonight you won't have far to go," she said with a wink.

"Pretty confident I'm going to want to sleep in your bed tonight, McCullers," I responded with a sly smile.

"You better."

As soon as Paige led me into the guest room she shut the door and kissed me, hard. With that kiss she was trying to convey just how much she had also missed me the past two weeks. I wrapped my hands around the back of her neck and pulled her closer to me.

When we separated to take a breath she said, "I've wanted to do that since you stepped out of your car."

"I've missed you so much, Paige. I'm looking forward to the next two days with you."

"Me too. I have some fun things planned for us this weekend. We have to get through dinner tonight with my mom though. I hope that's ok."

"Of course it's ok. I really want to get to know your family." I just realized I had not seen or heard Paige's father anywhere. "Where is your dad?"

"He got called away for business. Something came up in his San Francisco office. I doubt he'll be home this weekend." She shrugged her shoulders as she told me.

"Will he be home by the time you leave on Monday?"

"I don't know. He hasn't told me." She said this as if it was no big deal.

"Won't you want to see him before you leave for Atlanta?" I asked, surprised by her lack of emotion.

"Emily, my relationship hasn't been the best with my dad since I transferred out of UPENN. Maybe it's best to leave town this way. We can leave with silence as opposed to an argument."

She started opening up drawers to help me unpack, and with that, I knew she didn't want to talk about it anymore. This is the most I think we've ever talked about her father.

Paige helped me get settled and showed me where towels and guest robes were in my bathroom. By the time we were done Clare called us down for dinner.

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The meal was delicious. I insisted on helping to clear the dishes. Finally, after some persistence on my part, Clare relented and let me help.

After the kitchen was cleaned up we made our way to the back patio to enjoy the wine I brought for Clare. The back yard was peaceful. They had neighbors but there was enough distance and landscaping to block anything from view. Plus, they had an elaborate stone and wooden railed fence that surrounded the property allowing for privacy.

I pointed to the carriage house near the pool and asked what it was used for. Clare answered, "When we had the pool installed we converted it into a pool house. It could really be used as an in-law suite if we ever need it as our parent's age. The other half is my home gym."

I jumped on the chance to compliment Paige's mother. "That is how you stay so fit? It shows." Paige elbowed me in the side from her position seated next to me.

"Well thank you, Emily. I'm afraid it takes a good deal more work now than it did when I was you kids' age."

Paige finally spoke up. "Mom, we're not kids anymore. I'm 22."

"You'll always be my kid, Paige." She looked to me. "Emily, I'm sure your mother feels the same way about you." I nodded my head. "Though I doubt you gave your mother as hard of a time as Paige gave me. I tell you, this child was curious about everything and she loved animals."

"Mom…please don't…" Paige cut in.

"Honey, it's rude to interrupt," Clare said, turning to Paige. "As I was saying, Paige loved animals." She pointed to the carriage house. "Before we renovated that it was nothing more than a fancy barn. Paige saw to it that it needed to be filled with animals. I'd come home and she'd regularly have a poor new critter trapped in there." Paige rolled her eyes and sighed. I threw my head back in laughter.

"Oh she gave our grounds crew a time," she said, shaking her head at the memory. "I remember the afternoon I came home from my ladies lunch at the club to find our entire yard crew running around chasing animals." Paige sat back and groaned as her mother continued with the story. "Paige captured one neighbors two dogs, two wild rabbits, another neighbor's cat, her friend Mallory's pet lizard, and her own turtle. She came running up to me with tears in her eyes and her bottom lip quivering and said, 'Momma, they're ruining my zoo!' Now how could I be mad at that?"

I was laughing hysterically by that point. Paige sat next to me pouting. I pushed her shoulder. "Oh, come on, Paige. It's cute."

"On that note…" She stood and pulled me up with her. "Mom, I think Emily and I are going to go get ready for bed, if you don't mind. I'm sure Emily is tired from her drive and we're going to have a busy day tomorrow." Then she nudged my shoulder and gave me a knowing look.

"Sure, dear. I'll see you two tomorrow. I'm going to turn in as well."

I said goodnight to Clare and followed Paige into the house. We went our separate ways until we were sure Clare was in her room getting ready for bed.

I crept down the hallway and made my way into Paige's bedroom. With the moons iridescent rays filtering through the shutters, I could just barely make out her silhouette lying beneath the covers. As I neared her bed, she pulled the covers back and let me snuggle in next to her. I craved her warmth and gentle touch. She curled her body around mine and pulled me closer as she wrapped her arm around my stomach.

She brushed the hair from my neck and kissed me softly just below my ear; right where I like it. She whispered, "It feels so good to have you here, Emily."

I squeezed the hand that was resting on my stomach and whispered to myself, "There's nowhere else I'd rather be."