Thank you to everyone who read or reviewed the last chapter.
There was a question regarding why Daria didn't show up when she said she would. There will be an interlude eventually that will answer that question, I just need to figure out where to put it in the narrative.
Warning: sexual content
Part nine: B-Day
She was not expecting him to kiss her. She wanted it, but was not expecting it. David was supposed to be the rational one. Quinn was so shocked that she stood there for several minutes running her fingers over her lips. She really wanted him to kiss her or at least part of her brain did. (That was the part of her brain that usually wrote the illicit sex scenes in her book and was now figuring out how to use the last 15 minutes for her next book.)
The other part of her brain that was still shell-shocked from Jonathan Starr was currently panicking. She liked David, really liked David and not just because her lips still felt all tingly several minutes later. He just understood her in a way nobody else could. He was supposed to be her safety crush and friend. She told herself that nothing was going to happen. If he didn't do anything 12 years ago, he wouldn't do anything now, Quinn rationalized. Of course, when has anything in her life gone as expected in the last 16 months.
She and Jonathan were supposed to be working on their first child together as her father enjoyed his successful business as her mother freaked out about the fact that she was going to become a biological grandmother. Instead, Jonathan fucked the barely legal, making a fool of her in the process. Her father had a heart attack and almost died. She moved across the country so she can watch her mother's second marriage implode spectacularly. Now she was dealing with the fact that the first guy she ever really liked kissed her. The urge to hide under furniture was returning again.
The romance novel side of her brain wanted to strip naked and put on the guaranteed to get you laid underwear in her backpack. Considering she needed to change out of her current outfit anyway, that was a practical course of action. Knowing her luck, one of her teenage daughters would walk through the door at that moment. Bad option.
The other part of her brain wanted to drive to BWI and get on the first plane to anywhere (after she signed the children out of class). She was too afraid of the Jonathan situation repeating itself. The other side of her brain told her that she needed to get over this fear. She didn't want Jonathan's actions to keep controlling her. If she ran away now that's exactly what she would be doing.
Before the two sides could get in a fight, her phone started vibrating. Apparently, she had a text message from Dr. Yummy. She wondered who broke into her phone and changed David's information in her contacts. It was probably one of her kids. Most likely Bianca, because her computer genius child probably could break into her cell-phone remotely without even trying. Somebody was getting grounded tonight.
Dr. Yummy: Don't panic.
Quinn couldn't help but laugh at the message. He knew her a little too well.
Quinn: I'm not panicking, I am just looking for international flights from BWI.
Quinn typed this as a joke even if part of her brain was still considering it. Love leads to pain and suffering, there-in lays the dark side. (She blamed Bianca and Lindsay for the Star Wars references in her inner musings.)
Dr. Yummy: Paris might be good if you're ready to leave denial land.
Quinn: Very cute if horribly cliche. I'm fine. Thoughts of dating and/or kissing usually trigger a panic attack.
Quinn typed as her breathing started to return to normal and she felt significantly calmer.
Dr. Yummy: You have been doing well for the last month. You haven't broken out in hives once.
Quinn: We've been dating for a month?
The multiple question marks were solely to express her shock. No dating has been going on for the last month even if lots of takeout and movies were involved.
Dr. Yummy: It's whatever you wanted to be.
She looked anxiously at her phone for a few minutes not sure how to respond. What exactly did she want this to be? Honestly she just wanted to not be the mess it was with Jonathan.
Quinn: Except now there's make out privileges.
Quinn responded deciding that humor was better than honesty.
Dr. Yummy: You didn't kiss back.
Quinn: Too much in shock.
Quinn typed in complete honesty. Actually, she was still in shock. Her brain was still desperately trying to process the last 30 minutes.
Dr. Yummy: What about after class?
Quinn: I don't know, maybe I should go home. God knows I need to ground those two for their stunt today.
Okay Quinn knew that was an excuse. No one would be home for hours. She just wasn't ready to deal with this. Unfortunately, David knew that too.
Dr. Yummy: The twins are working today after school. No one will be home until seven. I suggest taking the iPhone away. Traditional grounding will just punish you.
She couldn't help but smile remembering the time she and Daria got caught staying out after curfew (that she did not know about) and spent several weeks being tortured with family game night. Then she thought about family game night with the twins and the teasing she would most likely encounter. That would just punish her.
Quinn: Good point. Coffee and then maybe I will let you read what I'm working on.
Dr. Yummy: My students are currently brainstorming on body image stereotypes but I'm going to have to start talking soon. Instead of coming to my house, we can go to yours. That way you can still be the perfect mother and prison guard.
Quinn couldn't help but smile at his message.
Quinn: Sure but if my father hurts you for defiling his baby girl, don't say I didn't warn you.
Quinn types with a smile.
Dr. Yummy: So you plan for there to be some defiling?
Quinn's cheeks went scarlet. She had no idea what to respond with. BWI was starting to become tempting again.
Dr. Yummy: Quinn, I was joking. Do not drive off to BWI
He wrote her after several minutes of Quinn staring silently at her cell phone.
Quinn: I know that. ;) No defiling just yet, maybe later.
Again, the two sides of her brain were fighting over if they actually wanted that to happen. Fortunately for her David was too busy with his students to actually reply.
Romance loving Quinn was happy and therefore in the creative zone. Shell-shocked Quinn decided to let romance loving Quinn do whatever she wanted for the rest of the afternoon. This was probably because despite everything that had happened in the past shell shock, Quinn Morgendorffer knew that David is not Jonathan. Maybe he was worth the risk. Because romance loving Quinn was happy, and she was able to type up two more chapters for her yet untitled sequel. This meant that she was doing a sequel. Stupid muse.
"You're still here?" David asked skeptically as he saw Quinn now dressed comfortably in jeans and a T shirt sitting on his couch with a laptop in her lap working on a scene with the now fashion designer Ashley going on a coffee date with her former boyfriend who is now writing a series of articles on her. Currently in the sequel, David's alter ego was a journalist for a fashion type magazine. She was not completely happy with that choice but she did not like any of the alternatives. She considered making him a doctor but Quinn thought that would be too much like real life. Journalists seem more likely for the character anyway and worked with the plot even if that didn't seem like the type of magazine that he would work for.
"You told me to wait for you and my assistant ran away after she saw whatever she thinks she saw." Quinn said with a dismissive wave of her hand to the couch. "Unfortunately, she took the town car with her. Cab companies will not set foot on campus due to some incident involving Miss Li releasing the hounds/drug dogs on one of their colleagues during my senior year among other things." Quinn really wished she was joking. According to Monique, her predecessor caused a lot of chaos with her paranoia.
"I thought that was an urban legend." David said sitting down beside her.
"You worked here for how long? This place brings meaning to the phrase "stranger than fiction. Although at least here there's no LSD in the drinking water." Quinn decided it was best not to explain that. "The cab thing is true, which means I'm stranded here unless you take me home." She said with a pout.
"You live less than a mile away." David replied.
"But I hate walking and these are new shoes." She said holding up her sneakers.
"Chloe says you run 4 miles every day." David said with his arms folded over his chest.
"Chloe has a big mouth." Quinn mumbled under breath. "Besides, I prefer to do that on a treadmill in the air conditioning without carrying a laptop." she argued.
"Valid point," David said with a smile. "So you're not terrified of spending time with me now that you can no longer tell yourself we're just friends." Seriously why does he have to be so good at reading her. It's just not fair. Did she really want to date somebody who could tell when she was lying?
"I'm completely terrified." Quinn answered honestly but as he would know anyway. "But that's mostly because you can get me to acknowledge that I'm terrified. Most people can't do that."
"What are you most afraid of?" David asked her slipping into psychologist mode. He did that a little too often, but Quinn supposes that is normal for him.
"I'm going to go with everything blowing up in my face and losing one of the few people I can talk about anything with. Also, do you have any idea how hard it is to find somebody who Bianca will actually talk to?"
"I've been told I am the first doctor to last more than two sessions. Although it probably helps that technically I am her guidance counselor even if I do have a Ph.D. in child and adolescent psychology." David said with a sigh.
"Exactly, I took her to 20 different doctors after Lindsey died and no one could get her to talk about how she felt about it. You're the only person that she trusts not to betray her that's not her sister, Me, or Madison. I don't want to mess that up for make out sessions and a few hopefully good orgasms. I need someone that I can just vent about my life to. I need someone who I can trust with my children. I trust you and I don't want to lose that." Quinn told him with shaky breath.
"But you can't trust me with your heart." He looked at her with a sad expression.
"Meat Loaf always said that two out of three is not bad." Quinn joked trying to relieve the tension. It did not work. "My secrets and my children are more important to me than my heart. Jonathan had my heart but nothing else. That's why everything fell apart." She said with voice on the verge of tears.
"Quinn?" David whispered her name as a question as he ran a finger down her cheek.
"David, it's true. We have been back in each other's lives for about six weeks now and I'm willing to give you more of myself then in my entire marriage to Jonathan. Unlike my former husband, you actually know the name of the first person I had sex with and the entire story behind it. You know about what I really think of my mother's marriage to Eric and how much I still resent her for the divorce. You know that I started the Ashley foundation because I never wanted another group of friends to lose their Tiffany to something like anorexia. I trust you with Bianca and Chloe's secrets when I did not even like for Jonathan to be home alone with the children." Tears were actually falling down her cheeks at that point.
"Considering what happened, I don't blame you." he mumbled under breath.
"Maybe that's why I never trusted him. I could never cry in front of him as I am now. I had him sign a confidentiality agreement before he even met Bianca and Chloe for the first time." A worried expression fell over David's face at that moment.
"Yet you never asked the same of me. Is that because you trust me not to go to the tabloids?" He asked.
"Completely and not just because of your Hippocratic oath. I trust you because it's you. That's why I was so angry at my mother last week because she asked you to sign a confidentiality agreement regarding 'Tutor for the Heart'. I trust you not to screw me over, she does not." Quinn said out loud realizing for the first time held true those words really were.
"So, it's because of Jonathan that you don't trust me when it comes to matters of the heart." His voice was a mixture of anger and sadness.
"No, at least not entirely. You made me wary of you all on your own. The last time I tried to give you my heart, you refused to take it." Quinn said unable to keep the bitterness out of her voice
"Quinn, you were 16." David interrupted her. Quinn personally believed a new drinking game should be created around that one line. Every time David excuses what he did to her back in high school, he brings up her age. One could get smashed in no time.
"I know that. You are right for making the decision you made. Hell, I've mimicked it in my book without even knowing that was why you did what you did. I'm trying to get over that. That's why I am willing to let things be whatever they will be but I want you to promise me three things." Quinn said taking a deep breath to calm her nerves.
"I'm perfectly willing to take you to the best restaurant in town as long as it's not Chez Pierre." David's words got her to smile.
"I'm not sure how that restaurant would be considered the best in town under any definition unless it was the only restaurant in town." She joked back. "You know I'm happy with Starbucks or Pizza."
"You're much more low maintenance now." Quinn responded with a smile before continuing.
"The first thing I want is your promise that if we figure out that we are better as friends we actually become friends. I really need someone to talk with about my sister, my children, and my parents without recrimination. You're that person. I don't want to lose that." He actually smiled at that.
"That seems plausible. Also, you don't have to worry about me leaving you for the underage. I spend so much time around giggling teenage girls that I could never find one sexually attractive." David smirked.
"That is a point in your favor. I don't think Chloe could deal with that trauma one more time. I know I can't." Quinn mumbled that part under breath but judging by David's expression he heard every word. "Next, I want you to promise that if things fall apart that you will still be there for the children. They come first, even if that means that I will be spending the rest of my natural life with only my vibrator for company." He smirked at that.
"I agree with you on that especially given the fact that I don't think there is another doctor willing to take Bianca yet. I'm working on it though." He said that last part quietly.
"Why? I don't want that to happen." Quinn said in a near panic remembering the incident with the crying psychologists.
"It would be a conflict of interest even if the ethics hotline is okay with that. The only reason why they are okay with it is because they're aware of that one incident where the doctor 'retired'after his session with Bianca. There's a reason why doctors do not treat their own children. It's hard to be objective when it's someone you know and care about. Besides do you really want to confess your deepest secrets to your mother's boyfriend?" Quinn could barely handle being civil to Eric, let alone, see him as somebody she could trust.
"Good point. Although, it's going to take a small miracle to find someone else. That doctor did not retire, he was institutionalized. Maybe this is a bad idea." Quinn said starting to pack up but David stopped her just as she was about to close her laptop.
"Stop worrying over nothing. It's not like my door is going to be closed to Bianca and Chloe, it's just that there has to be some professional distance." He said squeezing her hand.
"You're right. It's just I don't do well with change and the girls are even worse than me. That brings me to my final request, that we just keep things between us until we know what's going on." Quinn was actually biting her lip as she said this.
"I was going to suggest the same thing. Let's figure out this between us before we tell the girls." Quinn exhaled in relief at that.
"Thank god you agreed. I would never hear the end of the teasing."
"Especially if they catch you writing an almost pornographic scene between Ashley and my other self." David said looking at her computer. She really should get one of those screen protectors that keep people from reading over her shoulder. Quinn quickly slammed her laptop closed before he could see anything else.
David responded by kissing her again. Unlike the first time, she was not completely petrified and kissed back. There was also a certain amount of groping involved. The couple only stopped when Quinn almost dropped her laptop. That would have been bad because she didn't back up her latest story Stuff to her server.
"Come on let's get to your house." He said as he placed her laptop in her carrying case. She just nodded in agreement.
Contrary to what certain so-called friends would say they did not go back to her house to have sex. She will not confirm nor deny that she ran into Monique as she left David's office who made certain comments about Quinn leaving with her shirt on backwards. There may have been some heavy petting and serious making out on the tiny couch in her office but no sex. (Because let's be honest, she wasn't psychologically ready for sex yet and David knew that.)
Instead, she sat on her couch going over story ideas munching on beef and broccoli with David. Personally, she couldn't believe she let him read her rough draft complete with Freudian slips. It was probably caused by her brain being overloaded by hormones due to all the making out. He was kind enough not to point out all the places she wrote David instead of the name of the actual character. He actually gave her lots of helpful suggestions.
Instead of the story taking place 10 years after the first story as she originally planned, it is now sat 15 years in the future. The idea to make Ashley's love interest as a fashion writer was quickly kicked out the window. As David pointed out, it didn't fit that well with the original story. He was now the kindergarten teacher to Ashley's adorable five year old daughter. Ashley was also moving back to her hometown after a nasty divorce instead of her mother's death. This meant major rewrites for this stuff she already worked on but she was much more content with the direction of the story now. Currently they were trying to figure out what Ashley's deep dark secret should be this time around.
"Being on the run from the mob just doesn't seem plausible. Evil ex husband, I would believe." David suggested as he grabbed a piece of broccoli from her container. Grabbing food from each other was pretty normal at this point.
"I already wrote an abusive husband story. I don't want to do that again." She said with a sigh, remembering how unhappy the publishers were with that story until it made the bestseller list.
"Good point. You could always have it come out that Ashley got pregnant during the initial relationship and kept it quiet for 15 years. Unfortunately, you have to deal with accusations of glorifying teen pregnancy. But how can you be glorifying something if you show true reality? I'm so sick of parents who think you're encouraging their teenagers to screw on every surface if you talk about sex at all." Quinn just started laughing at that point.
"Why are you laughing? I think it's a good idea." David said in mock offense.
"In an earlier draft of the story, Ashley decided to move to California because she found out she was pregnant and didn't want to get her lover in trouble. She also didn't want to be forced into having an abortion because that was just how Ashley's family was. The publishing house absolutely despised the idea. Actually, they despise the fact that I brought up the A word at all. It was my first book so I have to do what they say. They barely let me have Ashley leave for California at all. They wanted something happy and Disney light." Again, Quinn was still slightly better about this.
"But now several books later you can do what you want." He pointed out.
"Not if I want to get published. I told you about the comic book thing." She said with a sigh of annoyance.
"We're definitely working on your self esteem. You know the whole thing was a power struggle. You probably could have bought the publishing company yourself." He said trying to reassure her.
"I know." Quinn said not making eye contact.
"Write whenever you want." He said leaning over to most likely kiss her again but he pulled away at the last minute. Apparently, he could hear the footsteps of teenagers better than she could.
"I see that you decided to break in the couch in your office instead of all the various places at Dr. Yummy's house. Did you get sweet and sour pork?" Quinn just wanted to roll her eyes at her Bianca's words. She was surprised her daughter was home 45 minutes early.
"Didn't we have a long conversation about you not teasing your mother about her sex life?" David asked before Quinn could respond. "Would you want her to ask you the same type of invasive questions?"
"No we had a long conversation about me asking you questions about my mother sex life." Bianca said grabbing a piece of broccoli from her container. Quinn didn't say anything because at least it was a vegetable.
"Bianca!" Quinn chided with a sigh of irritation.
"It's not like I was asking for details. Because, honestly, I don't want to know. Actually, I don't want to know if you two are having sex until you tell me about my new baby sister. There was a reason why I told you to put the nursery stuff in storage instead of giving it to charity." David almost looked shocked for a moment before recovering. Quinn wasn't surprised at all. Bianca and Chloe had wanted a new sibling since as long as Quinn had known the twins. Although usually Chloe was the more vocal one.
"Your sweet and sour pork is in the fridge. I also got the crab ragout that you like but you need to eat a vegetable of some sort preferably not fried." Quinn said in an effort to get off the baby track.
"Fried green beans are still a vegetable." Bianca said in her defense. "I'm not going to argue about that. Hand over your cell phone."
"But mom?" Bianca whined as expected.
"You're grounded, sort of, for your role and this afternoon's incident. I told you this before I left Dr. Lane's office. No iPhone for a week and I'm donating 25% of your next three paychecks before taxes to help bring Glory and honor to Lawndale high. I'm sure Dr. Lane can use the money for the capital improvement fund at LHS. I would take your computer away, but you need that for work and school. Let's be honest, me trying to block your Facebook access would be laughable. Also as Helen taught me anything involving confining you to the house would be punishing myself." Quinn said with a shiver.
"I would make a comment about you not wanting me to stay at the house because you want private time with David but that would just get me another two weeks." Bianca said as David looked at her sharply.
"Good. You're already learning." Quinn said with a smile.
"But what if there's an emergency. What if I finally decided to take care of Lexis once and for all and I need help disposing of the body. It's not like there's pay phones everywhere anymore. Can't you just donate half of my paycheck to Dr. Lane's LHS capital improvement fund instead?" Bianca pleaded and David looked alarmed.
"She's joking about killing Lexis." Quinn said as she walked over to her desk and pulled out something reminiscent of the phone her mom used when Quinn was in high school.
"Don't make jokes like that. David has a legal obligation to report anything involving you trying to hurt yourself or others. Also, I think you will miss your phone more than your pizza discretionary fund. Your sister is losing her credit card for the next month." Quinn said smirking.
"Sorry," Bianca said before looking up at the phone in Quinn's hand. "What is that?" Bianca said eyeing the phone with disgust.
"A cell phone." Quinn said with another roll of her eyes.
"That's not a cell phone. There's no keyboard, touchscreen, or camera. Does that even have Internet access?" Bianca said in abhorrence.
"No, but it makes phone calls." She said throwing the phone at Bianca. "So if Trevor from Oakdale tries to put his hand down your skirt, you will be able to call grandma to pick you up from jail after you break his hand."
"Like I would call Grandma Helen. Aunt Jane or Lindy are much better for this sort of thing. They will send bail money without asking questions. This is so unfair. Dr. Lane already gave us detention every Friday until the end of the school year because that's one of the few days of the week we are not working after school. I have asked questions like this before and you never took away my phone. I was not even the one who asked you the question." Bianca argued.
"Yes but you got your friend to do it. Besides, you ask me those questions in the privacy of our own home. If mom pisses me off one more time I may be willing to play along with you the next time you asked me about certain things in front of her. I wish you would stop making jokes but I know jokes are how you show you love me. However, this type of behavior in front of camera crews from every station in the Baltimore-DC metropolitan area is a completely different matter. What if somebody puts two and two together and figures out that I am Melody Powers? Our secret life is for your safety."
"I know." Bianca said in typical annoyed teenager fashion.
"Sometimes I don't think you do. The press has barely backed off after Sandi let everybody know who your biological mother was. It will be 10 times worse if people find out I am Melody Powers. Do you want to be followed by the press all the time?" She asked Bianca and all seriousness.
"No." The teenager replied with a sigh of resignation. "You're worrying for nothing. I had a bad childhood because the woman who gave birth to me was a narcissistic drug addict, fame had nothing to do with it. Actually her being rich provided us with some stability because we had you. You're my real Mom." This wasn't the first time she had heard this argument but she just did not see things that way.
"Living in a fishbowl can damage any one. I'm trying to prevent that." Quinn said with a sigh.
"Fine, believe what you want. Can I have my iPhone back? If I don't keep up with my games my digital zoo will die. Think of the animals. You don't want to kill the digital bunnies do you? You can donate my entire paycheck to charity for the next six weeks." Her child really is addicted to her phone.
"You can have it back Thursday. Grab your food and sit with us." Quinn said even though she was half tempted to give the phone back.
"What are you working on other than a brand new baby brother or sister?" Bianca asked 10 minutes later after she returned with a sensible portion of sweet and sour pork and steamed vegetables. Quinn was sure this was an attempt to get her to give Bianca her phone back now.
"We'll work on that Monday." David said with head in hand.
"The baby?" Bianca asked smirking.
"Your inappropriate behavior. I am helping your mom work on her next book." David told her with another sigh as Bianca turned to look at her computer screen.
"Do you know that you wrote the wrong name several times? Is this like when you kept forgetting that Joey's last name is Williams not White." It was so not her fault that her two friends had switched last names a few times.
"You can have your phone back Tuesday if you promise not to ask any more questions about that." Quinn said again repressing the urge to hide under furniture.
"Deal." Bianca said being a little too happy about it.
Unfortunately for Quinn, she didn't specify what the deal was about and Bianca still made jokes about the name thing until she received several dark looks from David. They had been more than friends for 2 hours and already Bianca was figuring it out. Stupid genius level IQ.
Eventually they moved on to a safer area of conversation involving her new book. Bianca also agreed that her male protagonists would never become a fashion writer. Kindergarten teacher seemed plausible and she pointed out it would be something that housewives in Iowa could identify with.
Dinner was spent in the office with various children and parents stopping by. It was the typical Morgendorffer family dinner except that took place in her office and her father only argued for 2 minutes about having to eat steamed vegetables and mandarin chicken instead of the sweet and sour pork and fried rice. David just seemed to fit into this arrangement without really trying. It was like David belong in her family. The other highlight of dinner was her father also scolded the girls for the stunts at school. Apparently, one of his coworkers showed him the news footage. She was personally proud that he did not pop a blood vessel. Although unlike Helen, her father believes Quinn when she said nothing happens between her and David in high school. She was also proud that he didn't ask David the same invasive question from earlier in the day.
Dinner the next night did not go anywhere near as well. First, David wasn't there. There were many reasons for this. One, if he was at her house every day the 'just friends thing' wouldn't be at all believable, it was barely believable now. Okay nobody believed them even when it was true so why would people believed her protest now that she was actively lying about the David situation. Two, he had something work related to do and helping the fragile minds of Lawndale high always came first. She was okay with that and wished that Dr. Madison was that dedicated years ago when Quinn was in high school. Maybe Tiffany would be around if she was.
Three, Helen was going to be there. Even if David had no trouble whatsoever with Jake, Helen scared the hell out of him.
Her mom being there was the other reason why this dinner was so miserable. Personally, Quinn did not want her mother over either but she had no choice. According to Brooke, who was now working with her mother for reasons that Brooke cannot legally discuss, Eric was really taking her barely legal replacement to dinner in DC instead of a client. Considering how angry her mom looked as she inhaled a large packet of regular French fries, Quinn was pretty sure she did not believe her husband either.
Despite the lack of David, up until this point she was having a good day. She had the entire new book mapped out by the time she had to pick Jane up from the train station. This was despite the fact that she spent much of the morning exchanging text messages with David when he wasn't working with students. He even gave her a couple of ideas for the comic book. Her publishers may be willing to do something involving a high school.
They were sitting in the living room with coffee brainstorming when her mother came in bringing good coffee and cheesecake. (When her mom breaks out the cheesecake it's never a good sign. The last time cheesecake was involved was when Jake was in the hospital.) Quinn wasn't surprised because Brooke already warned her that this was going to happen 20 minutes earlier. Her mother said that she decided to spend dinner with Quinn and her grandchildren because Eric was going to be out late entertaining a client. As somebody who was cheated on by her first husband, Quinn knew that code for 'screwing around with a 20 year old assistant' even without the cryptic clues from Brooke. Of course, Quinn would not make her mother pay attention to the elephant in the room. That would be too out of character for this family. Avoidance was their number one coping strategy. Instead, Quinn had her coffee and half of piece of cheesecake as she listened to her mother rant about Quinn's bad parenting skills in regards to yesterday's question incident at the school. Quinn had to send Kat home early because she almost threw a piece of cheesecake at Helen three times. Quinn almost did the same when her mother asked if she engaged in sex with David on the kitchen table as a teenager. Her answer of 'none of your damn business' did not do her any favors later in the evening.
After her father picked up the twins from detention with Mr. Lane where he made the three catalog all the instruments in the music classroom, they headed over to Oakdale Hills for some Five Chicks burgers and fries. Fortunately, for Quinn and her father's heart, Sarah Graves was there and made Jake tried the new eggplant veggie burger with a children's order of sweet potato fries along with a nice garden salad. Quinn knew there was a reason why she absolutely adored Sarah.
Unfortunately, as they dined on several of the new menu items including the salmon salad, Bianca and Chloe bluntly pointed out that Jake had a crush on Sarah. Apparently, when he saw her at the restaurant he ran straight into a wall and knocked down the condiment table. Quinn wondered if she was one of the women that her father dated not too seriously. Her mom actually broke a fork during this conversation. Apparently, she recognized her former husband's crush signs very well.
"You just had a heart attack. Should you really be thinking about dating at your age, especially a client." Everyone at the table including Jane stayed silent for several moments. Quinn was too angry to keep her mouth shut.
"If dad wants to date again, it's his business, not yours. You are not married to dad any more. You no longer have a say in how he lives his life. Personally, I like Sarah. She is a good person. You gave up any say you have on dad's life when you decided to leave him for Eric, your boss. You are being a complete hypocrite. Dad screwing a client is no different than you being with your boss." Quinn was tactful enough not to add onto that sentence 'while still married.' She really wanted to get through this dinner without calling the cops.
"She really is just a friend. Also Dr. Mike said no sex for a while." Her father tried to interject but Quinn was too busy arguing with her mother to actually pay attention. In addition, anything related to her father's actual sex life was usually blocked out automatically.
"The situation is different with Eric." Her mother said weakly.
"No, it's not." Quinn yelled before her mother could go any further. "I don't believe in double standards. You left dad and got married again. That means dad gets to find somebody new without you interfering. He deserves his own happiness. If it just happens to be somebody from work that's fine." Quinn explained as calmly as possible as she fought off the urge to throw something at her mother. Her dad actually smiled at her.
"Of course, you would feel that way. You're sleeping with your daughter's psychologist. It's probably not a new affair. If you're willing to sleep with your patient's mother then you're probably willing to sleep with your students." The french fry Quinn was holding was now fried mashed potatoes.
"I think you had too much wine grandma." Chloe said taking the glass from Helen. After several years of dealing with Lindsey, unfortunately, her child was well trained at removing alcohol from those who should not drink it. The drink was already being poured down the kitchen sink before Helen could protest.
"I don't know what I'm more angry about, you saying nasty things about David that are not true or you not trusting me enough to make my own choices. Nothing happened with David when I was too young to really know what I was doing." Her words were carefully chosen to avoid her mom figuring out that she was doing something with David now.
"You chose Jonathan didn't you?" Her mother spat out bitterly.
"You chose Eric. Unlike you, I dropped Jonathan the moment I realize he was screwing around on me. I'd rather be alone, then unhappy."
"It's never a good sign when someone starts quoting Whitney Houston. At least it isn't Heartbreak Hotel." Quinn heard Jane mumbled next to her.
"It's bad when she quotes anything fromher personal divorce soundtrack." Chloe added.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Helen asked indignantly.
"You're a smart woman, mom. Do you really believe Eric is working late with a client right now? Look at the credit card receipts. If it's a client dinner he's going to use the company card." Quinn said bluntly.
"He wouldn't do that to me." Helen said in a whisper.
"What goes around comes back around, mom." Quinn said just as quietly, fortunately no one mentioned she was now quoting Timberlake. "I love you but this is my life. Dad and I are both adults and we will make our own decisions. We are both old enough to live with those decisions. Go home and deal with your own life. I can handle mine just fine." This was followed by her father escorting hell into the driveway and Chloe liberating her cellphone from Quinn's bag. Chloe was much more argumentative when she had her credit card taken away and therefore also lost her iPhone privileges.
"Hi Dr. David, it's Chloe. Mom just kicked grandma out of the house after she bluntly pointed out that Eric is most likely cheating on her with somebody who is young enough to be our sister. This was after grandma accused you of being a pedophile. Do you know that mom has half a dozen condoms in her purse with warming lub?" That was when Chloe actually grabbed one of the foil packets and held it up for every one to see. They were the female type because Quinn didn't like latex. Quinn was very thankful that her father was still outside with her mother. Jane being there was bad enough. She was already snickering.
"Give me that." Quinn demanded with palm up.
"The condoms or the phone." Chloe said innocently.
"The phone. Keep the condoms. I don't want grand babies." Quinn said with a smile.
"I promise you won't have to worry about that for several years to come." Chloe said handing over both. "I think you'll need these before I will." Personally Quinn was surprised David was not laughing hysterically at this point
"Do I want to know?" David asked as Quinn started to walk to her office.
"Chloe's reader digest version was pretty accurate. Although she did leave out that this all started because mom was jealous of dad possibly being interested in somebody else. I pointed out that she was being a hypocrite because of what happened between her and Eric. She said that I was defending my father's right to sleep with a client because I was having sex with my daughter's doctor. Then she 'implied' that we were screwing around when you were my tutor. At that point, I may or may not have pointed out that Eric was screwing around on her. She's currently with dad in the driveway most likely ranting about what a bad daughter I am and I am hiding in my office talking to you. You know, perfectly normal Friday night at the Morgendorffer house." She said with a laugh that was forced.
"That's not good." David said in his psychologist tone.
"That I screamed at my mother?" Quinn asked.
"That her husband is having an affair." David clarified.
"Why do you always have to be so sympathetic?"
"I wouldn't be doing my job right otherwise. Do you need me to come over? I think I have the situation stabilized involving that thing I cannot tell you about." That was probably David code for 'the student that I am working with is no longer crying into my shirt'.
"No. I can handle it as soon as I find a chocolate bar." She said not wanting to be overly needy. It was too early in their relationship for that. "Just be here for my birthday party. I am definitely going to need a buffer if mom shows up to the party."
"Sure." David said happily.
Her 27th birthday was spent signing divorce papers and getting extremely drunk. She may have also been arrested for the bonfire thing. Quinn tried not to think about that birthday. Her 26th birthday involved a party with people there who she couldn't stand and smiling for cameras. She had a feeling her 28th birthday party would be closer to her 26th even with her mom deciding not to show up.
Said party this year was thrown by Joey and his husband (in heart, if not by law) in there absolutely fabulous house in Lawndale Valley (complete with basketball court in the back.) The house was currently filled with every single one of their straight or bisexual male friends. Either the couple gave up their attempts on setting her up with David or they decided to try a different strategy. She believed the latter because even though she wasn't interested in any of the guys there because she had David, she realized how hard it would be for her to connect with someone else even on a platonic level. She couldn't even answer a simple question about what she did for a living without some form of dishonesty. She usually went with the story about being independently wealthy and working in philanthropy. That was kind of true because of the Ashley foundation. (She just found out from her publicist that along with a press junk in May for the book in New York, she would be doing a fundraising event. Next year they would be doing it in D. C. if she had anything to say about it.)
She really did not even feel comfortable talking about her kids with these guys. Too many questions will be asked when they find out that a 28 year old is raising two teenagers. Really how could she be with anybody who she could not be herself with? It wouldn't be possible and that was another reason why things with David seemed so promising. He knew her.
Unfortunately, he wasn't there yet to save her from various pickup lines that made her want to squirm. Jane was too busy flirting with the guys herself and Lindsay was most likely making out with Dr. Mike in one of the guest bedrooms. This meant for the first time in her life Quinn was actually happy that Charles R was at a party that she was attending.
"I'm sorry but the beautiful Quinn promised me a few precious moments of her time." Charles said as he literally pulled her away as a group of three guys were just about to get into a fight over who should get her a soda. (Where did Joey find these people?)
"Some things never change." Quinn laughed as they walked away.
"Except that you are no longer able to fake interest and I am not the one doling out the horrible pickup lines." Charles quipped.
"I wasn't that good at it in high school." Quinn said as she grabbed a drink a punch from the table. "Those were the worst pickup lines I have ever heard."
"I used worst and I'm still married." Charles shrugged.
"Stacy is very tolerant; otherwise she would have killed Sandi years ago. Where is your wife?" Quinn asked with a bit of worry. It's kind of sad that she has seen Charles more over the last month than Stacy. "Please tell me your wife is not still working for dragon lady."
"If I had my way she would actually be hiding the body right now, but no such luck. However, she did quit her job about 65 minutes ago. Consider that her birthday present to you." Charles said smiling.
"What?" Quinn asked in complete shock. She almost choked on her punch.
"Last night was Alexis' 17th birthday and no one but Stacy remembered. Even though she was mad at Lexis for all the fighting with Chloe she still gave her a card and a gourmet cupcake from her favorite bakery. Her father is in Barbados most likely with his mistress and god only knows where Sandi was. She disappeared after Friday's taping."
'That's not good.' Quinn thought to herself.
"What about the other members of the fashion cult?" Despite all the infighting, they never forgot each other's birthdays.
"I cannot believe you refer to your former clique as a cult. I'm not even sure they know when Lexis' birthday really is. They're followers, not friends. She doesn't trust people. Who can blame her after being abandoned by her father, biological mother, and multiple stepmothers. I know I was like that." Charles said darkly.
"What does this have to do with Stacy quitting her job in addition to not being here?" Quinn asked.
"Lexis showed up on our doorstep crying last night hysterically mumbling about how no one cares about her. She was also completely drunk or possibly high, maybe both. She spent an hour crying on Stacy's stomach before she finally fell asleep. I haven't seen someone in that shape since Tiffany died."
"Great, you almost make me feel sorry for her." Quinn mumbled.
"If you didn't express sympathy I would be worried about you. We all know you are nowhere near as cold-hearted as Sandi. Even daddy dearest in Barbados, scheduled a spa day for his daughter and sent her a digital birthday card after he checked his voice mail from Stacy about the situation. He actually felt so guilty he bought it himself before he called to apologize. Of course, he blamed the whole thing on his secretary but at least he realized that he did something wrong." Charles said taking his drink in one.
"He most likely forgot to hire one that was smart enough to schedule things like that in his Blackberry calendar." She joked.
"If his choice in wretched wives are any indication, he just hires women according to their bra size. Heartless bitch." Charles said still bitter.
"What did Sandi do?" Quinn said expecting the worst.
"It's more like what she didn't do. Mr. Richardson called immediately after he found out what he did. Sandi didn't call until about 75 minutes ago. When she did call instead of asking about her stepdaughter she asked Stacy to dig up dirt on Miss Powers. Sandi is convinced she's dating David." Charles told her smirking.
"You've got to be fucking kidding me." She said in disbelief.
"It gets worse from there. Stacy being the kindhearted person that she is asked Sandy if she had time to check her voice mail. Her response was "Why should I care if my sugar daddy husband's brat is upset because I forgot her birthday. She's not my problem. I never wanted her around."
"Bitch." Quinn hissed out automatically.
"That's what Stacy called her just before handing in her resignation. Unfortunately, I asked Stacy to keep the phone on speaker so I could listen in. Alexis heard everything."
"Oh god. Why aren't you there?" Quinn asked with concern.
"Stacy is better at dealing with emotional teenagers than I am. It was so bad that Stacy had to call Alexis' doctor. I'll be heading back soon anyway."
"At least I know where David is." Quinn said as she grabbed her phone out of her pocket. Just as she suspected there was a message from David saying that he would be late due to a patient emergency. She was much more angry at Sandi for causing this situation, then her boyfriend (sort of) of two days missing her birthday.
"We also decided that I would be the designated birthday present giver." Charles said passing two bags to her. One was large in quite heavy. The other was smaller and lighter.
"And you didn't put these with the other presents?" Quinn question.
"Too important. I would never leave first editions on the gift table." Quinn thought his phrasing was weird but she didn't have time to ask questions because Charles was already being pulled away by one of the many guys that Joey tried to set her up with.
That night Quinn found herself opening presents in her bedroom at the way too early hour of 11:00 PM. She left her own birthday party early, using the twins being grounded as an excuse. Nobody but Jane knew that they were both staying at her brother's house. Jane was staying there too. Her father was going out with Anthony and promised not to have more than one light beer. Quinn was pretty sure her father would not be coming home that night. Apparently her having the house all to herself was one of her presents. Too bad David was dealing with a hysterical teenager thanks to Sandi being an ice cold bitch.
Other presents included a twin create-a-gift certificate good for six months no teasing about new boyfriend. Quinn thought this was a good gift except by cashing it in she would essentially be telling everybody that she was dating again. Her father got her a bracelet and was taking the kids to DC next weekend for museum hopping along with Monique to give her a weekend to herself. Her mother did not even send a card but considering yesterday's conversation Quinn was not surprise. Jane's gift was actually what Charles gave her. It was a joint present. A first eddition of every single copy of American Splendor along with a movie about the writer. Jane's note said something about Quinn needing to find inspiration in the everyday.
Of course the most unique gift came from David and she wasn't talking about the necklace with her daughters' birth stone. Stuck inside a simple Manila folder was a legal document that said in layman's terms that David will never sue her for using his likeness in her stories nor will he reveal her true identity. She was so shocked that she dropped her cell phone twice when she called to ask him what the hell he was thinking.
"How did everything go with Lexis?" Quinn started out after pleasantries not wanting to start yelling at him immediately.
"I can't tell you if my work emergency involved Miss Richardson."
You already did by sending your present with Charles. He may be a nice person now but he still has the biggest mouth in Lawndale."
"He's not covered by doctor patient confidentiality. Did you like the necklace?"
"I love the necklace but I'm not that happy with the other present. I told you that I didn't need you to sign a confidentiality agreement. I Trust you." Quinn said with a long suffering sigh.
"Your mother doesn't. That was to give her peace of mind. If I can give her peace of mind than maybe you can avoid getting into fights with her at dinner."
"So that is your real present for me?" Quinn question.
"Pretty much. What type of car does your mother drive?"
"I think a silver BMW." She answered confused by the non sequitur.
"It's currently in your driveway." Sure enough Quinn walked to her window to see the car in the driveway. She could also see David's car parked on the side of the road a house away."
"You're here." Quinn said as she grabbed her bathrobe.
"I had to wish you a happy birthday in person. Do you want me to leave?"
"No I think I need you for this. I will talk to you in a minute." Quinn said ending the call. A few minutes later she walked over to her mother's car in her bunny slippers. She was actually crying.
"Mom, are you okay?" Quinn asked now that David was standing behind her with a Bouquet of roses.
"Happy birthday." Her mother said placing a present into her hand. "I left Eric."
To be continued…