Rating/Warning(s)/Note(s): T, Parkward
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Prompt: Abode
Plot Generator – Idea Completion: Home is where the heart is
Within five days my throat felt much better, enough so that it was quite possible insanity might set in if I didn't get out of my apartment sometime soon. Regardless of the fact that my illness meant that very few books had been edited, it was still imperative that I go somewhere, anywhere. And so, I called Alice, knowing she would be game for anything.
"Getting you out is a great idea!" she said excitedly. "Now I know you aren't up to shopping, you are still sick after all, so how about museum and bar hopping?"
"Um, Alice? It's nine in the morning. Don't you think it's s a little early for bar hopping? Are any even open?" Surely the incredulity in my voice went through the receiver, but it was me who felt foolish when she replied.
"Why do you think we start with the museums, Bella?" She sounded like she thought I had lost some mental ability during the week. Perhaps I had. I barely caught what she asked me next. "Do you mind if Rosalie and mom come? We'll tell the boys they're on their own for lunch and dinner and have a girls' day."
"Okay, but what about Tanya?" I asked, not really sure I wanted to go an entire day without Edward. The last time we did this was shopping for my opera dress, which was still hanging in a bag in the closet.
"Tanya is working and doesn't like museums. Don't worry, we'll all have fun. And, since Rosalie is still trying to get pregnant, she can be our driver!" That didn't sound too bad, so when all was decided I had thirty minutes to get ready, and according to Alice, it needed to be something that moved from museum chic to bar partying without too much trouble. More importantly, it had to be comfortable and tell the wolves I wasn't interested. Royal blue turtleneck should do the trick, especially paired with my favorite jeans and some ballet flats. I had flashier jewelry in my purse, which should be sufficient I decided as I heard a car honk outside.
Peaking out I was surprised to see a taxi and Esme running up to my door to knock. "Come on, Bella!" she cried, surprising me by pulling me to the car. Before we got in she whispered in my ear, "Don't worry, we won't be drinking much, but it turns out that Rosalie isn't pregnant again, so we will be cheering her up."
I laughed until my sides hurt when we pulled up to the first museum. "The Science Fiction Museum? Really?"
Alice rolled her eyes. "Mom wants to see the Jimi Hendrix exhibit."
"Hey, he was a great musician, and we should be grateful for his legacy," Esme argued, looking offended.
"Yeah, mom, great, forty years ago!" Alice teased back.
"Just be glad she's not asking us to go to the Battlestar Galactica exhibit," Rosalie quipped, pointing over to where the announcement was being made. We all made a pact at that moment in time to not let any of the guys know that was coming. Even Esme agreed, that while a few of the actors were cute, that was something we didn't need to see.
Then Alice remembered the stage. "Come on! Maybe we can have mom be Jimi for a song!" Dragging us all after her we laughed that it would be fun to pretend to be a rock band, only to argue good-naturedly over what band and song to perform.
When we got to the stage there was only one group in front of us. They managed to talk their young daughter into performing alone, singing "Show Me the Way to Go Home." There was no way to prevent the smile on my face as I thought of the alternative lyrics my mom always sang.
"What has you looking so nostalgic?" Esme whispered to me, laughing when I explained. "I'm pretty sure there are many versions, which one was your mom's favorite?"
"She always called it the English professor's version."
"Would you sing it for us?" she asked, indicating that the young girl was done by nodding her head to the stage while joining in with the clapping.
"Nope, but I'll recite it. Singing isn't my forte, I'm afraid." She waved me up to the mic, and had them queue the same music up for me to begin.
"Indicate the way to my habitual abode,
I'm fatigued and I wish to retire.
Had a dollop of spirits thirty minutes ago,
And it went right to my cerebellum.
Wherever I may perambulate,
Over terra or mare or gaseous infused liquid,
You'll always discern I'm choraling this ditty,
Indicate the way to my habitual abode."
"Oh, Bella," Alice laughed, throwing her arms around me, "I think I know where you got your sense of humor from now!"
I just smiled and hoped she was wrong. My mom was insane at times. When I thought about it, though, it was always when I was feeling down and she did just about anything to cheer me up, including making a fool of herself just to get me to smile. Maybe being like her would be a good thing, within limits, of course. I hoped she liked Edward and his family.
That thought made my smile fade a bit. "How long?" Rosalie asked me quietly.
"A long time, over a year, I think. I should probably go see her," I said, feeling a little sad that it had been so long since I'd spent time with my mom.
"You should probably take Edward with you," she whispered back knowingly as we watched Esme get ready to play Purple Haze on a guitar, the chords she would need to strum were being projected under the words on a screen in front of her.
"Why would you say that?" I asked, a bit confused. The purpose of the trip was to visit my mom.
"Bella, home is where your heart is, and right now yours is divided into three pieces, the largest belongs to Edward," she explained, trying not to laugh as Esme began to rock out with Alice trying to play the drums behind her. "You were fine visiting your dad because he was with you. While you long to see your mom, going there without Edward would make the visit miserable for you because you would be missing him so much."
I smiled at her, knowing she was right. Besides, it wasn't like Edward and I weren't serious. We were talking about marriage from the moment we met, something my mother would pick up on immediately and was probably why I had put off telling her about him for so long. "Thanks, Rosalie. You're right, of course, but what if he doesn't want to go?"
She rolled her eyes at me. "Please, he would follow you to Antarctica if you asked. Why don't you send him a text?"
Snorting a laugh as Esme tried to do a complicated riff, I pulled out my phone. Calling up his name I decided to keep it simple. Haven't seen my mom in over a year, want to make a trip with me?
My mom always sang that version of "Show me the way to go home." No wonder I speak like a southern thesaurus when I'm tired, I'm emulating her!
