Okay, I wasn't going to update this story but here I am. Layla keeps insisting that she has more story to tell and she won't leave me alone. She is also insisting that she has a friend from her past that she wants to bring to Knights Ridge. Some of you may recognize her friend, don't ask me how this happened. All standard disclaimers apply.
Hannah was glad to see Ray. It almost felt surreal, like she had conjured him up by simply wishing it so. Reality, however, was proving to be a little scary and she was nervous as she climbed into the truck. Once the door closed, she found herself at a loss for words so she busied herself with trying to fasten her seatbelt. On the third try, Ray reached over and stilled her hands. "Hannah, relax, it'll be okay." He ran the back of his hand across her cheek and asked "Can we go somewhere and talk? Anywhere you want." He looked into her eyes as he waited for her to answer.
"We don't need to go anywhere" Hannah replied. "For the first time in my life, I'm going to do what I want to do. I'm going to be who I want to be, and I can do that right here."
Ray felt his heart skip a beat. "What is it that you want to do?"
"I want to be with you, and I am so tired of everyone telling me not to. I bought into it when I found out that Nick is really Sam's father and I thought it was what I should do for Sam. That was stupid. If I'm not happy then Sam can't be happy. He's made me see that lately." Hannah paused before turning to face him so she could look him in the eye. "Ray, Nick is Sam's father. Nothing either of us can do will ever change that fact. If we're going to be together then you have to find a way to deal with that. A way that doesn't involve violence or dirty business tactics. And, I will not discuss Nick with you and you will not interfere in his relationship with Sam."
Ray held out his hand to her. "Deal, let's shake on it."
Hannah smiled for the first time as she shook his hand, holding on for a moment longer than she really needed to. She knew it would be a long road but she was ready for the journey.
Ray wasn't exactly sure how he was going to be able to keep the promise, all he did know was that he needed to try.
Ikey opened his eyes to the bright morning light. He smiled as he caught sight of Layla struggling to pull a comb through her hair. She met his eyes in the mirror and turned around to shake a finger at him. "Don't you smile at me like that, mister. Part of this is your fault."
Ikey couldn't stop smiling, it certainly was his fault. He stretched and got out of bed to see if he could help. He stood behind her and took the comb from her hands as he led her back to the bed. Layla didn't resist, she loved it when he combed her hair. There was always something so personal and intimate in the way he would work to untangle her long locks without hurting her.
"Quit squirming, I'm almost done" Ikey told her as he worked at the final tangle. It took all of his will power to resist undoing his work. He found it almost impossible to resist running his hands through her hair. He handed her the comb and dropped a quick kiss on her forehead. "Now go away before I have my way with you."
Layla laughed at him as she walked back to the bathroom mirror to finish getting ready for the day. "So, do you think Nick and Eddie will be okay with us taking the job at the bank?"
"Dude, they will be fine with it. It's gonna make us a ton of money and a lot of advertising. I wasn't too sure about it when you told me yesterday, but I'm starting to get excited."
"Okay, 'Dude'. Hurry up and get dressed, I told your Mom we would have breakfast with her this morning. She's been missing her baby boy." She ducked as he threw a pillow at her. "Meet ya down there."
Ikey watched her as she went out the door and thought for the gazillionth time just how lucky he was.
Layla kissed Ikey good-bye as the prepared to go their separate ways for work. "Don't forget, I have to go the hospital and do something about that pitiful excuse of a ficus tree that they have. I think I'm gonna take that fiddle leaf fig that we just got in. What do you think?"
"Sounds good to me. If you get done in time come by Sully's, we'll be there for lunch." Ikey gave her a wave as he backed out of the driveway.
At the shop, Ronnie helped her load the plant into the back of her truck and she was off to the hospital. She spent the morning tending to all the plants in the atrium and replacing the struggling ficus with the new plant. As she was packing up her supplies she heard a voice behind her. "There's only one person I know with all that hair and an ass like that."
Layla turned around and said "Oh my God, Izzie Stevens what are you doing here?" She rushed to her and pulled the tall blonde woman into a hug.
"It's a long story and I could ask you the same thing" Izzie replied as she returned the hug. "Do you live here in Knights Ridge?"
"I do, for the last few years now." Layla told her. "Hey, do you want to grab some lunch and catch up? Do you have time?"
"I have a meeting in about 5 minutes, but after that I have all the time in the world. Can I meet you somewhere?" Izzie said after glancing at her watch.
"I'm meeting my boyfriend and some other friends at a place called Sully's. You probable passed it on the way here." Layla said.
"I saw it. I'll be there right after my meeting." She gave Layla a quick hug and headed to her meeting. She had been nervous about the whole situation, but seeing her old friend made everything feel better.
Layla called all the girls on her way to Sully's and they all promised to get there as soon as they were able. Layla spent most of the lunch hour looking at the door waiting for Izzie to appear. Ikey noticed and asked her "Why are you looking at the door so much? Is my replacement on his way or something?"
Layla smacked him on the arm and said "No way goofus, I'm waiting for my friend Izzie to show up."
"Who's Izzie?" Ikey wanted to know.
"She's an old friend from college. We roomed together for 4 years, but I haven't seen her for a long time. I saw her at the hospital this morning and invited her to join us here. I don't know why she's in town, but I'm glad to see her and I can't wait to catch up on the years." She looked around the table as the guys were getting ready to leave. "Hey, let's have a barbeque tonight. I want you all to meet Izzie."
"We can have it at the house" Eddie told her. "Phil's been missing everyone so it will be good for him. I'll go to the market and pick up the steaks and veggie burgers if you can all bring everything else." Everyone agreed to bring something and the guys headed back to work. Each one of them gave and appreciative glance to the leggy blonde that they passed on the way to the parking lot.
The girls had all made it to Sully's and introductions had been made. Sully gave Janet the rest of the afternoon off, so after a quick freshen up in the restroom she joined the girls for their impromptu meeting. She flopped into the chair beside Allison and said "Whew, I need this. It is so good to see all of you. I've been missing all my girls since we've all gotten so busy."
Allison smiled at her "I agree. I was so glad to get Layla's call. It seems like ages since we've been able to get together. Hannah, I'm really glad you could make it. Got any news for us? I've been seeing a certain truck outside of your house lately."
"Maybe later, we're taking it slow and private right now" Hannah told her. "I'll let you know when there's any big news. You know I couldn't do too much without filling you all in. We are "The Dirty Laundry Club", aren't we?"
Pizza Girl erupted into giggles "That is too funny." She looked over at Izzie "I told you we are all crazy. Welcome to our insanity."
Izzie looked around the table at the odd assortment of women and asked the question she had been wanting to ask all afternoon "How in the world did you all meet each other? You're all so different."
All the girls glanced at each other and started laughing. Once she had caught her breath, Layla started explaining. "Did you see that group of guys that passed you on your way in here?" When Izzie nodded she continued. "Well, each one of us is connected to one of them. You know my sister, and Hannah and Janet have been friends for years. We know each other because of them, but we are friends because we want to be."
"So who is with who." Izzie asked.
"Do you have somewhere you need to be? This could take awhile." Layla asked her.
Izzie shook her head. "As a matter of fact, I don't have to be anywhere until Monday morning. In fact I really don't have anywhere to go. Can any of you recommend a place to stay until I find a house?"
"I have a spare room that has been empty since Layla came to her senses and went back to Ikey. It's yours for as long as you need it." Janet told her.
"Seriously? That is so cool. Are you sure, though? You don't even know me." Izzie was stunned at how easy these women were accepting her.
Janet gave her a shooing motion and looked at Layla and said "Tell her our story, she might change her mind."
Layla thought for a minute about where to begin. "Okay, here goes nothing'. I'll try to keep it brief, but I can't promise anything. I guess I'll start with me. I met Ikey the very first night I was here and fell madly in love. Literally, love at first sight. We had a hard time getting where we are now, it definitely wasn't moonlight and roses. It was a struggle but he is the love of my life. My crazy sister over there married one of his best friends, Phil. She should be the one to tell you all about how much she loves him. It's much more entertaining that way." Layla stopped and raised a questioning eyebrow at Hannah. When Hannah nodded at her she continued. "Hannah and Nick were high-school sweethearts and they have a son together. They aren't together anymore but we still let her hang out with us, right Hannah?"
Hannah appreciated her light hearted treatment of the whole Nick situation. "I am such a lucky girl" she jokingly replied.
Layla continued "Now, Allison is my special friend…"
Allison interrupted her to say "What she is getting ready to say is that I had an affair with Ikey before she knew him and the very first time she met me she slapped me like the big bully she is."
The girls all laughed at the memory of that day and Layla continued "Allison is married to Owen and they have two kids. Which brings me to your new housemate. Janet has this strange and confusing on again-off again thing with Eddie. None of us can really figure it out so we just roll with the flow. Okay, there you have it, in a nutshell. Now, Izzie Stevens, you need to spill because I know there is some reason you are here instead of Seattle."
"There is a long, complicated answer that I will save for a day with less alcohol involved but I can give you the easy answer now. I have a suspicion that you will understand since there has to be a reason why you're here instead of Boston, a reason that didn't start with the boy. Anyway, I have come to the conclusion that I am a simple girl in search of a simple life. I saw an online add for a surgical opening at the hospital here one day. I answered it and here I am."
The girls spent the next few hours inducting Izzie into their circle. By the time they left for the barbeque they were all fast friends. Hannah begged off the evening after promising to see them all the next day at Janet's house.
Layla rode with Izzie so she could direct her to the house. She took that time to do a little digging. "Okay, now I want the real answer why you aren't in Seattle. I know you Izzie Stevens and you don't do anything without a good reason."
Izzie thought for a moment about what she wanted to say. "It's been a hard couple of years. You are looking at a broken woman and I really need somewhere to heal, somewhere without memories. You know what, I really thought that I wanted to be a big shot surgeon. I was so wrong. What I want is to help people and to have a life without drama. I just woke up one day and realized that I wasn't doing what I wanted to do. I stewed on it for a long time while I was finishing my residency then I made a break for it. Tell me why you are here. Last thing I remember is that you were going to take the advertising world by storm. What happened there?" Izzie knew that she would eventually have to tell Layla about Denny, and George, but it could wait for a day when she was feeling a little stronger.
"Pretty much the same thing. I had an epiphany and realized that I wasn't really happy, no matter how many times I told myself that I was. I called my sister and asked if I could visit for a while. The rest is history. I met Ikey and I haven't looked back. He is partners in a business with all the guys and I work there. I do some landscaping and design, and I run the office. It keeps me busy and I love every minute of it. In fact we are all involved one way or another, except Hannah. My sister helps Phil with the marketing and they keep our computers running. Owen does most of the bookkeeping. Allison even pitches in if we get in a jam. We're like one big, dysfunctional, happy family. I'm really glad you're here Izzie, I think you might find that this is a great place to heal and we have room for one more weirdo in the family." Layla smile over at Izzie and was surprised to see a tear trickle down her face. "Hey, I didn't mean to make you cry. I'm sorry."
"No, it's okay. I just that I finally feel like everything might be okay. I've been so scared, wondering if I'm doing the right thing. Seeing you this morning really made things easier and meeting all your friends has given me some hope for the future that I didn't even know I was missing until right now." Izzie pulled into the driveway that Layla indicated and said "Now let's stop the waterworks so you can introduce me to the love of your life." Izzie took a deep breath and got out of the car. She followed Layla up the steps to a new life.
tbc-because Layla won't let me stop!