A/N: This one-shot takes place after Chapter 34 in Part IV, when the next school year began. It is around the end of August and Theo is 16 and in 10th grade, and the girls are fifteen.
Treat Her Like a Lady: Theo's Advice from the Ladies
AAA
"Well, I can tell you what we want, Buddy, but you're gonna have to talk to some females to get their perspectives to find out what they want…" Jonathan offered.
Alex moved further back behind the partition that separated the sun room and the atrium and smiled, wondering if she should, yet again, eavesdrop on their son.
"I can only tell you what I know to do and what I know your Aunt Casey likes. Other than that, your Uncle Johnny doesn't kiss and tell."
"You've had a lot of girlfriends?" Theo's voice questioned.
"Well, I don't want to brag, but your uncle has had his fair share of kisses. But that was back in college and medical school."
A silence now and Alex imagined they were both most likely watching the delivery truck that could be heard screeching to a halt, engine turning off, the squeak of the iron gate leading to their front door, and then jogging footsteps.
"Ring the doorbell," Jonathan's deep voice offered. "She's in there."
And before she knew it, the doorbell was chiming.
Olivia was out with the twins, buying a birthday gift for one of their friend's slumber birthday parties that they were to attend later that afternoon.
It was a drizzly day, not quite noon, and the sun had yet to poke its shining face through the blanket of clouds on this New York Saturday.
Alex quickly made her way to the front door and swung it open, smiling. "Hi."
"Signed package for Alexandra Cabot?"
"That's me…"
He handed her a rectangular-shaped offering and the pen-type contraption attached. "Sign right there, Ma'am."
Alex scribbled her signature rapidly and then took the proffered envelope from the Fed Ex man.
"Thanks, Ma'am. Have a nice day."
"You, too…" She eyed the slim piece of cardboard in her hands as she closed the door, with her hip, behind him.
Petrovsky had sent her the resume of a possible intern for a replacement for Thomas—her long-time assistant of almost twenty years—and had been doing so for the past few weeks because she wanted the blonde to have a say and be a part of the hiring of a new person that would work so closely with the blonde in day-to-day ventures and activities, not to mention get to know the way she took her coffee and the fact that she absolutely abhorred hot dogs from the food trucks that were always lined up outside of the offices. Thomas had recently gotten married and had an imminent move to Albany and a replacement had to be found to assist the blonde as soon as possible.
As she moved to tear the strip that would open the sealed piece of mail, Jonathan and Theo were slowly walking, coming from the sitting room that led to the atrium and then patio.
Jonathan's hand was on her son's shoulder and, from what Alex could see, he was squeezing it reassuringly. Theo's blue, questioning eyes looked at her, an expression of almost hesitant angst on his tanned face.
"What's up, boys?" Alex chirped, trying her hardest to sound friendly, upbeat, and nonchalant at the same time.
Theo had been in one of his moods lately—nothing pleasing to him, everything gloom and doom—and the blonde attorney felt as though she was constantly walking on eggshells when in his presence.
"Just a little man-to-man, right hombre?" Jonathan looked down at his nephew and Theo grinned up at him.
"Yeah, man-to-man…" he agreed.
"Well, Casey is expecting me back." He turned to his nephew once more. "Practice that B chord, bud…remember to relax your fingers and it'll be much easier."
Theo smiled. "I will. Thanks, Uncle Johnny…"
"You got it, Theo…and remember what I said, OK?"
Theo nodded and glanced at Alex quickly, that trepidation returning briefly, before he watched his uncle head to the door and open it.
"Later, Allie. Casey said she's gonna call you about some girls spa day or something? Me taking the kids?"
Alex patted her burly brother's shoulder. "We'll let you know, John-John. But yeah…it's in the works. Part of Liv's idea of a staycation in the city."
"Staycation?" he questioned, raising his eyebrows.
Alex began ushering him out the door, "Don't worry about it, bro. When and if you have to watch the kids, they'll have their noses on their phones and on their iPads, anyway. It should be a piece of cake."
"It should be…" he smirked and then headed down the four steps to the walk before turning, "…say hi to Detective Benson for me…"
"I'll give her your annoying regards…"
"I'm sure you will…" Jonathan took his aviator sunglasses from the top of his head now, slipped them on, and headed to his vintage Jeep Wagoneer.
Alex closed the door behind him and turned, noticing that her son was now nowhere in sight. She slowly moved forward, folding her arms as she stepped. "Theo?"
"In here…" his voice answered.
She moved into the kitchen and spotted him taking an apple from the fruit bowl, choosing the right one. She cautiously entered, as well, moving to the kitchen table and closing a file folder that she had been reading, and then placed the unopened Fed Ex envelope on top. She would save it for later on to read.
Theo began washing the apple in his hand and she sat at the table, reaching for her now-cold cup of peppermint tea.
"Everything OK?" Alex sipped from the cold brew.
Theo locked eyes with her as he wiped the apple with the hand towel in the knob in front of the sink. "Yeah…just…"
"What is it, Theo? Something at school?"
Theo shook his head and then moved to sit diagonally from her at the table, taking a huge bite of apple first.
"Social life?" Alex set her cup down. "I don't want to pry, but it seems maybe you have something on your mind."
"I do, Mom…"
Alex waited.
She noticed how her son's mannerisms were so similar to Olivia's—the way he paused and looked at her, the way he needed time to get out what he was trying to say, the way she could see those wheels turning in his head as he thought—all the same traits as her wife. If he only had those chocolate orbs that she possessed, he would be almost the spitting image of the brunette.
Theo smiled now. "Well, you know I'm done with Caroline, right?"
Alex did know. They hadn't been an item in almost a year and Alex knew that he had a new love interest that had just recently begun with Avery Martinez. That was the knowledge that she currently had on his love life.
"I know, Theo. And…I know that she wasn't a good fit for you, my boy. I think you knew it, at the time, too."
Theo nodded now, focusing on the bitten apple in his hands. "I've been hanging out with Avery lately and we have our first official date tomorrow."
Alex furrowed her brow. "On a Sunday?" She took note of Theo's impatient expression and relaxed slightly. "What have you got planned for your date, Theo?"
"Mama said I could take the beamer to the mall for a few hours. We're gonna see that new X-Men movie and then have pizza in the food court. But…" Her son's blue eyes pierced her own now. "I've been hanging out with her, studying here, at her house, talking at school and eating lunch together, but…"
Alex leaned forward now, looking at him closely. "You can talk to me about anything, Theo. You know that, right? Your Mama and I are here for anything you need, Baby."
Theo took a deep breath now, beginning to carve lines in the skin of his apple with his thumb nail. "I wanted to ask you about what she might like."
"Well…" Alex leaned back now, relaxing even more, "…always be a gentleman, Theo. Hold the door open for her, if she drops something, pick it up, listen to her when she talks."
"I do all that…all the time, Mom. What I meant was…I want to kiss her. I want to kiss her and I want her to like it and I want to do it right."
Alex felt the heat rising in her cheeks, suddenly wishing her wife was there to help guide this conversation. "OK…" Alex nodded slowly, "…the same applies to kissing. Be a gentleman. I know that Caroline was too aggressive with you and you didn't like it. It's the same way with girls."
"Caroline only wanted to conquer me. I didn't feel it with her. She only wanted more likes on her Instagram and Facebook and Snapchat. Avery is different and I like that. She doesn't care about that stuff. She doesn't even have any of those social media things because her parents don't want her to and she follows what they say."
"That's a good thing, right, Theo?"
"Yeah…"
Alex smiled. "Should we ban you from those, too?"
A slow smile crept along her son's face and his gaze met hers. "No, Mom. I can handle it."
"OK, Theo. Just checking," she smirked. "And as far as the feeling it part, that's very important. If you don't feel it, then you don't feel it. If you know it's not right, then it's not right."
"I know…" he agreed softly. "Uncle Johnny says I should ask you and Mama what ladies like and so…"
The garage door opened now, the girls giggling and rushing inside.
"Go on up and get the wrapping paper out of the guest bedroom. It's on the top shelf in the closet," Olivia directed.
"OK!" the girls sang before running past.
"Hi, Mom! Hi, Theo!" Isabel offered.
"Hi!" Grace chirped.
And the two ran down the hallway and thundered up the stairs and out of sight.
Theo took a deep breath and Alex watched Olivia set two canvas grocery bags on the kitchen island.
"Lesson over?" the brunette asked.
"Yeah, my brother just left," Alex commented, looking back at their son who was taking another bite from his apple. "Theo was just asking…"
"Mom…" he tried.
"You don't want your Mama to know?"
"That's not it. But I want to tell her."
"OK, Theo."
"Tell me what?" Olivia was now standing in between them, hands on her hips, looking at their son intently. "Did something happen?"
"Nothing happened, Mama. I'm going on that date with Avery tomorrow and I want to…I want to treat her how she wants to be treated. From a woman's perspective, I want to know how to…" His cheeks were suddenly ablaze with a crimson hue and he focused his eyes on the apple in his hands once more.
Olivia looked at the blonde now, smirking. She studied Alex and then mouthed the word kiss and puckered the air once.
Alex nodded oh-so-subtly.
"OK, Theo." Olivia pulled up a chair now, to the right of their son. "You want to know how to kiss her?"
A grunt of frustration came out of their brunette boy now and he threw his head back in discomfort. "Yes."
"Hey…Theo…" Olivia put her hand on their son's back. "Do you want to talk to us about it, or—"
"Uncle Jonathan told me a little and he said I should ask you two to get more details. I don't want specifics, Mama. That I do not want." He began to smile. "I just want a little…a few pointers."
"OK, Theo. I know this is hard to talk about with your moms, but…I can only say that you should do what you feel. Go with what she's doing, too. And, not to get too specific, slobbery isn't good."
"I know that Mama…"
"Because you're a ladies man…" Olivia winked.
"Mama…stop…" Theo huffed.
"Sorry, Baby…" Olivia chuckled.
"This is serious," he mentioned, his face unfazed.
Olivia nodded, finding her composure once more. "I know."
"And teeth are out. No teeth…" Alex added. "For your first kiss with her, short and sweet and simple, Baby."
Theo looked at Alex now and then back at Olivia and then down again. "And I don't want my sisters involved in this topic. At all…"
"Don't worry, Theo." Olivia crossed her heart with her forefinger. "Our talks are always private."
"OK…" He looked back up at Olivia. "So, slow and simple and no teeth."
"And if we're going there, no tongue, either."
"Ewww," Theo grimaced.
"It's just bad manners for the first kiss," Alex seconded.
"OK." Theo moved to stand. "I think I got it." He moved to leave but turned and took Alex into a tight hug. "Thanks, Mom…" He moved to Olivia and did the same. "Thanks, Mama."
"You got it, Baby…" Olivia's almost strangled voice declared.
And he was gone quickly, leaving the scene of this overly uncomfortable situation.
But their boy had come to them. He had talked to them about an intimate moment in his life that he needed advice on, and the blonde couldn't help but swell with pride.
"Wow…" Olivia whispered, standing now and moving to Alex. She pressed her knees to her wife's and then squatted in front of her, wincing slightly, before placing her palms on the tops of her thighs. "He came to us, Al…"
Alex nodded, feeling a lump forming in her throat. She swallowed and smiled. "Yeah, he did. He was so uncomfortable, though. I've never seen him turn red like that. He's normally so confident and secure."
"He must really like her…" Olivia took Alex's hands into her own and interlaced her fingers with the blonde's.
"He must…and if I know him, he will treat her with respect and adoration."
"Just like he does the other ladies in his life, right?" Olivia's gleaming smile broadened.
"Absolutely."
OOO
Olivia studied her wife who looked on the verge of tears. She stood and held her arms out. "Come here…"
Alex stood and the two embraced, the blonde gripping her shoulder blades firmly, holding her tightly.
"You looked like you needed a hug, Babe."
"I do, Liv…first his license and all of these girls in his life…it's a lot…" Alex took a deep breath and let it out slowly, the two swaying.
Her wife was emotional and, truth be told, so was she. Their son was growing up, getting serious about girls, learning from the loved ones around him, and she couldn't help but share in her wife's sentimentality.
"Your knee OK?" Alex mumbled against her shoulder. "I saw that familiar look on your face when you squatted."
Olivia continued to hold her. "It's OK, Al." The brunette angled her face now, into her wife's neck and placed a kiss on it, letting her tongue dart out briefly.
"Liv…" Alex warned.
"What, Al?" Olivia slid her hands downward now and clenched her wife's firm backside.
"Just…" Alex began giggling, "…nothing. Keep going…"
Olivia joined in and the two continued to hold each other, both now laughing wildly.
"Love is in the air, Babe…"
"That it is, Liv…" Alex pulled away and looked at her, smiling, those blue eyes sparkling with wetness, "…always in the air. up in here…"
Olivia leaned forward and then gently, delicately pressed her lips to her wife's, feeling the plush warmth of the blonde's full lips. She let her tongue begin entry and Alex began laughing once more, stopping her by pinching her sides firmly.
"Ow, Alex!"
"Now's not the time to get fresh…as my mother always used to say to my father…"
"Oh, Cathy had that chutzpah, did she?" Olivia kissed her again, this time more quickly. "Like mother like daughter…" Olivia snickered.
"Want another pinch?"
Olivia nodded. "Oh, yes I do…"
"Mama!" Isabel's voice called from upstairs.
Olivia turned her face and called back, "Coming, Iz!"
"Gotta go wrap…"
"Go wrap, Liv…"
And as Olivia turned to go, she felt the sting of Alex's firm hand against her backside. She yelped and began rubbing her right cheek, looked back and winked, and then made her way up to wrap a present with her girls.
Olivia let out a yawn and moaned contentedly. They were all three sprawled out on the sofa, Olivia and Alex on the length and Theo on the small part of the sectional, and were nearing the end of Interview with a Vampire, a free choice on their streaming device.
The girls were at their slumber party and the rest of the family had spent a comfortable, quiet evening together at home.
The brunette slid her left hip over to bump it with her wife's and smiled. "And definitely don't bite her neck, Theo." Olivia began giggling.
"Mama…" he whined.
"It will just get messy," Alex offered. "Clean up would be atrocious and then you have to worry about her changing into a Benson-Cabot, which wouldn't be a bad thing, but we have our clan that we don't need to add any new members to…"
"Until you get married…" Olivia added.
"Mama!" Theo's exasperated voice bellowed.
"I'm just saying…pick wisely. Our vampire family is choosy…"
"Don't I know it," Alex agreed.
"You don't have to worry about that…" Theo began. "I'm gonna marry someone that you'll both be proud of…" Theo's eyes remained on the movie as the camera showed Tom Cruise's pale face, blonde hair blowing in the open air of the convertible.
"I'm going to give you the choice...I never had..."
Then the vampire Lestat turned the radio up and laughed, the camera panning backward to show the vintage car rolling don the highway.
Olivia looked at Alex and smiled.
"I have no doubt of that, Theo. Just pick someone like your mom or I and we'll be happy mother-in-laws."
"I'll make you happy, Mama…" Theo smiled at her.
"That's our boy…" Alex commented.
Hope you liked it. I always feel like these one-shots are like episodes on a dramedy. I would love to see this on the screen, how about you? Maybe I should contact Lifetime
As always, your reviews and comments mean the world so please review and let me hear from you. If you're still reading, I'll keep writing!
Have a great rest of your Sunday!
Patricia
