Sorry for the delay. Real life has been hectic. This chapter is a bit shorter than normal, but the next chapter should be longer. We're probably two chapters away from Aunt Trish's visit (Finally, right?). As always , thanks for the awesome feedback. :-)
"Here's the coffee." Angela handed Rachel a mug and sat on the couch. The kids were with Jack and Eric for a few hours while they got some time to hang out by themselves. Rachel was looking at the bedding Angela and Eric picked out.
"This is so beautiful. I love the colors. They're so soothing" She looked at the table and realized both mugs contained coffee. "You can still drink coffee?"
She rolled her eyes. Why was that everyone's first reaction to seeing her with coffee? "Yes, my doctor said it's perfectly fine. I just need to reduce my caffeine intake. So my first cup of coffee is real coffee, but any other coffee I have after that is half decaf. But I don't drink as much coffee as I used to."
"Oh, so that's why there are two coffee pots in your kitchen and two in Eric's? This way you don't have to wait for decaf?"
"Exactly."
Rachel laughed at her. "You do realize that is four coffee pots for one person, right? That may be overkill."
"Now you're sounding like Eric. When I bought the mini pots for decaf he went on this long diatribe about poor orphans who will never have coffee while I have four coffee pots." She shook her head. "At least he's given up trying to get me to stop drinking it with him. I may or may not have threatened to seriously hurt him if he didn't stop." She took a sip of the coffee they had already talked so much about. "But you really like the bedding?"
"I do, but don't you think you should've waited?"
"Waited for what?"
"Your baby shower, of course. You could've registered for this and people would've bought it for you."
"I saw it and fell in love with it there and then. I wanted it." Angela picked up one of the pillows that came with the set. "Eric liked it, too, so we bought it. Besides, an entire nursery set is expensive. I'd feel bad asking people to buy us that when we can afford it."
"You bought everything?"
"Well, some of the wall art is on backorder, but yes, everything down to these bumpers and pillows that the books say we won't be able to use at first."
"Do you guys know what you're going to do for the nursery, besides the bedding, I mean?"
Angela shook her head. "We don't even know where we will be living. It's hard to plan a nursery when you don't have one."
"You could set up Eric's spare bedroom just in case you guys don't find a place before the baby's born," she suggested. "August isn't that far away."
"Don't remind me. But I just...I don't know, I don't want to bring the baby to a temporary home. When we bring the baby home, I want to bring the baby home, you know?" Rachel nodded. "I spent most of my childhood moving around and while I enjoyed it because I didn't know any different, I like the idea of my kid having one home. Unfortunately apartment hunting with Eric sucks."
"What do you mean?"
"We don't like the same things. He's all about the open floor plans and I don't feel like I'd get any privacy there. Then he complains that the apartments I liked make him feel claustrophobic. We both want a balcony, we agree on that." She hugged the pillow to her chest. "Before he went to Florida we agreed to take a little break before we start looking again."
"You guys may have to compromise somewhere. Didn't you say Eric already suggested three bedrooms so you could have your own space?"
"Yeah," Angela replied quietly.
"You may not find a place you both love equally, but one you both like enough. Take my house for example."
"Your home is beautiful," she interjected.
"Thank you, but there was another house I liked a lot more. Jack loved that one though and he was willing to move to Texas for me when I know he wasn't crazy about the idea. So we got the house he preferred and did a couple little remodeling things I wanted. She put her hand on Angela's arm. "You and Eric may not find a place you both love as much. Someone may have to give a little, at least if you want to be settled by the time the baby is born. But you can work with it so you're both happy wherever you end up."
"I know. I think I'm just so used to us being on the same page that it's strange for us to have arguments. Don't get me wrong we disagree, but..."
"Apartment hunting is helping the honeymoon phase of the new relationship wear off pretty quickly, huh," Rachel chuckled.
"I suppose," she exhaled. "Eric is being pretty great about everything. He agreed with my balcony demand and like you said, he is the one who suggested three bedrooms so I can have my own space. Honestly- I feel like he's being too nice to me sometimes."
"Maybe you can be flexible and give into what he wants a little bit. If you have a place to escape when you need it, who cares what the rest of the apartment looks like?"
"I'm assuming you mean if it's not someplace totally hideous, right?"
"Well, of course. Neither one of should move somewhere you hate just to make the other happy. I said compromise, not that either of you should completely fold."
Angela leaned her head against the arm of the couch. "How do you always know the right advice to give? Half the time I feel like I don't know what to do."
"Because it's you and it's not my life," she laughed. "Trust me, I have just as much trouble with my life as you think you do with yours'."
"What do you mean? You and Jack seem to have a pretty good handle on everything."
"We do, most of the time. About a month after we got the kids we had a string of bad days, really bad days."
"What happened?"
"Milo was teething and had an ear infection- so he was your general grump, though that seems to be his usual demeanor. Nina wouldn't listen to anything anyone told her to do. Not me, not Jack, her teacher, nobody. Seth...he was challenging everything we said. If we told him to do something, he did the opposite. We could've said the sky was blue and he would've said it was yellow just to be difficult."
"Did you ever figure out why?"
"After talking things over with the therapist and our moms I think they were seeing how far they could push us to see if we would send them back. Maybe they didn't realize that's what they were doing, but it makes sense. We aren't their first foster home."
"Really?"
"I can't get into details, but no. Thankfully they realized we weren't sending them back and things settled down again. It was rough, though. The baby wasn't the only one going to bed in tears during that timeframe."
"Oh, Rach," Angela scooted closer and wrapped her arm around her friend's shoulders. "Why didn't you call?"
"You were starting to get excited after seeing the sonogram and hearing the heartbeat for the first time and were still getting used to having a baby."
"I'm still getting used to having a baby," she pointed out.
"Exactly. I didn't want to make you afraid and think having kids was going to be terrible."
"It's very sweet that you were trying to protect me from the ugly side of parenting, but I'm your friend and I'm a big girl. I know we're approaching parenthood from two opposite angles here. You've wanted to be a mom for a long time. You and Jack decided to take in kids who needed a home, you took classes, did home studies, background checks, and all that other stuff you told me about I can't remember right now- sorry."
"That's okay."
"Now me?" She pointed at herself. "Eric and I got caught up in the moment. Whether that moment involved alcohol or me being upset doesn't really matter anymore. Until I realized I was pregnant, I didn't know if I ever even wanted kids. Kids always made me nervous and I was afraid of repeating the mistakes my parents made."
"And now?"
"Kids in general still make me nervous. They're so fragile and you can shape their entire lives and the way they view things by your example." Angela put her hand on her abdomen. "This kid in particular, though, it's mine and I want it and can't wait to meet him or her. I would hate it if, at any point in its life, my baby feels about me the way Joyce made me feel when I was a kid or the way my dad has made me feel in the past few years." She rubbed her bump. "That would kill me."
Rachel put her hand on Angela's. "That's not going to happen. You won't let it."
"Eric says the same thing."
"Then who are you going to listen to, yourself or your best friend and your boyfriend? Because we both know you pretty well."
"I suppose in this instance, the smart thing to do would be to listen to the people who aren't me?"
"Good answer," Rachel smiled. "Are you ready for a present?"
"What present?"
"I got a present for the baby."
"You didn't have to bring anything," she admonished. "And what about that lecture about waiting for the shower?"
"I know you and Eric will get a kick out of it, at least I hope so, but I don't know if others will."
"What on earth did you buy?"
"I couldn't wrap it because it would've been more stuff to pack," she pulled the rolled up piece of orange cloth out of her purse, "but here."
Angela unrolled the item, which turned out to be a onesie. "Okay, a onesie. What's so bad about this?"
"Yay, you know it's called a onesie," Rachel cheered.
"I told you I've been doing a lot of reading. Again, what's so bad?"
"You're looking at the back. Turn it around."
She turned it around and read the front, laughing hysterically. "Best. Oops. Ever." She stopped to laugh again. "That's perfect."
"You like it?"
"I love it."
"You think Eric will like it?"
"Are you kidding? He may want to frame it."
"Then I guess it's a good thing I got it in a couple sizes," she grinned and tossed the others at Angela.
/
/
Pittsburgh…..
"I'm sorry, Mr. Fisher, I know this is sudden, but I have a lot of vacation time built up and I'm not in the middle of a big case right now. I just need a few days." Topanga listened to her boss on the other end of the phone. "Yes, I understand. No, of course you can email me things to look over." She was quiet again as she listened. "I know this could affect your decision on who goes to Washington next month, but I really need these next few days." She sighed. "Thank you, sir. I'll see you soon."
Topanga set her phone aside and closed her eyes. She lay back against the couch and enjoyed the silence. She had gotten so used to the noise and hustle of New York that she had almost forgotten what silence was like.
"Did your boss react well to you not showing up this morning?"
"Mom," she jumped. "I thought you left for work."
Rhiannon sat on the other end of the couch. "You are not the only one who took a few days off of work."
"Why would you do that?"
"Honey, you showed up on Saturday alone without warning, you wouldn't tell me why or how long you're staying. Don't get me wrong, I love seeing you, but I think by day two I have the right to start asking some questions."
"Just because you're my mother doesn't mean I have to tell you everything."
"Fine, then don't think of me as your mother right now, think of me as hotel management."
"Hotel management?" Topanga rolled her eyes.
"Yes," she smiled. "And right now the management would like to know how long you intend to stay."
"I don't know," the younger woman mumbled, "a few days. A few more days, I mean. Why, are you going to charge me?"
"No." She inched slightly closer. "Topanga, did something happen with Cory? You haven't mentioned him once and when I asked about him Saturday you closed yourself in the bedroom."
"Mom," she sighed, "I really don't want to talk about this with you."
"Why? Why else did you come here? Maybe I know exactly what you're going through. I did go through marriage difficulties that ultimately ended in divorce."
Her head snapped up. "Who said anything about divorce?"
"Well," Rhiannon began gently, "you showed up without warning and refused to discuss your husband. I'm not a mind reader or relationship expert, but neither of those are good signs. I know you and Cory have been having issues for a long time and..."
"How do you know that? Don't tell me Cory said something to you."
"No one had to say anything, honey. You two used to be so in sync and then one day...you weren't. The only surprising part is that you didn't show up at my door sooner."
Topanga put her head in her hands. She hadn't realized her problems with Cory were so obvious. She worked hard to present a pretty picture to the rest of the world.
"You thought you had us all fooled, huh?" Rhiannon moved next to her daughter and wrapped her in a hug.
She nodded and accepted her mother's embrace. "This isn't how my life was supposed to turn out, mom."
"Is it so bad that you and Cory can't fix it?"
"I don't know."
"Is he willing to try?"
She was surprised her mother would ask that. Cory would be willing to fix the relationship so long as he was breathing. "Mom, can I ask you something?"
"Of course, honey."
"You and daddy went to marriage counseling, right?"
"Yes, we did."
"That's what I thought. Obviously it didn't work since you got a divorce anyway."
"It's not as black and white as 'we got a divorce, so counseling doesn't work'. There was more to it than that."
"Like what?"
"For one, we waited entirely too long to go. Your father and I thought we could fix things ourselves. Or we kept trying new things. We thought we were just in a rut. That's what prompted my job change and move to Pittsburgh in the first place. When problems were still there, we thought we could figure things out better if you lived with Aunt Pru and finished high school with Cory and your friends." She absentmindedly began to braid Topanga's hair. "We didn't realize how bad things were until it was just the two of us."
"That's when you got the guinea pigs," Topanga recalled. She remembered laughing that her parents couldn't even get normal empty nest pets like dogs or cats. They got guinea pigs.
"Right," she smiled. "But as adorable as they were, they couldn't hide the cracks in our marriage."
"Did counseling help at all?"
"Yes, it did. It helped us communicate."
She looked at her mother like she was insane. "Communicate what?! Daddy got a girlfriend and you guys got a divorce. You're right. It sounds like it helped a lot." The second Topanga saw the hurt on her mother's face she regretted what she said. "I'm sorry, mom."
"Picking a fight with me will not fix things with you and Cory."
"I know." Topanga watched her mom get up from the couch and go over to the desk to get her purse. "Where are you going?"
"My neighbor called me this morning. She's an elderly lady who has trouble getting around. She asked if I could pick her up a few groceries on my way home from work. However, since I'm not at work today, I think I will run her errands now. This way you can have some time to think about things." Rhiannon stared at her daughter. "Or you need to make a phone call and let someone know you are okay."
"Cory knows I was coming here." She crossed her arms.
"Still, Cory can have a pretty active imagine. Who knows what he's thinking after not hearing from you in two days. Granted, I don't know what drove you here. Even if you think he deserves to worry a little bit, he should know you are safe." She kissed Topanga's cheek. "I'll be back later."
"Okay." Topanga stared at her cell phone. She knew her mom was right, she should call Cory and at least let him know that she made it to Pittsburgh safely and was okay, but she wasn't ready to talk to him yet. All she saw lately was him sitting with that other woman, with Marissa. She even dreamed about them last night. Eventually, she picked up the phone. Topanga may not be ready to talk to Cory, but she knew one way to get a message to him.
"Hello," Shawn answered moments later.
"Hi, Shawn, it's me."
"Topanga? Where are you? Are you still with your mom?"
"Yeah, look I only have a minute. Can you just tell Cory I'm okay and that I'm thinking."
"That's it," he asked incredulously. "You're thinking?"
"I think, given the circumstances that's very understanding of me."
Shawn sighed and switched the phone to his other ear while he took a picture out of the solution. "Topanga, look, I know Cory screwed up big time, but do you think you guys not talking even more is the solution? That's what got you into this mess."
"I just...I can't. Not yet."
"Fine, whatever."
"Will you tell him I'm okay?"
"You know I will."
"Thanks, Shawn. I owe you."
"If you wanted to pay me back you'd be on your way home." Shawn heard static on the other end. Topanga had hung up. Instead of going back to work he dialed Eric's number.
"Hello?"
"I leave Cory alone with you for one week and everything goes to hell!" He ended the call before giving Eric the chance to respond. He shoved his phone into a drawer and went back to work.
/
/
"Daddy, we need to get a cat!" Nina laughed as she watched Thor run around the room, chasing after the toys she and Seth were throwing to him.
"I never saw a cat play fetch like a dog," Seth observed. "The cat at our old house just liked to bite."
"And go potty on our bed," she added.
"You guys had a cat?" This was news to Jack. They had never mentioned it to him or Rachel. The family therapist said revelations about former their home life would come out naturally and not to push it.
"She was mean."
"Eric, I think you need to take Thor to the doctor 'cause his ears are bent. Do you want me to fix them?"
"No, no, don't touch his ears." Eric jumped up from the table and walked over to where the kids were playing with Thor. He reached them before Nina could touch the cat's ears. "His ears are supposed to be like that. They are very sensitive and he will get mad if you touch them."
"Just keep playing with the toys or pet him gently, just like the dogs," Jack said. He shook his head when Eric sat back down. "Sorry about that. When she's curious she dives in and wants to fix it. At least she asked before she touched him."
"That's okay. You know, this has actually been a pretty good experiment."
"What do you mean?"
"At least I know Thor is good with kids. The only kid he's been around is Josh and he's pretty laid back. Your kids and been in his face playing for over an hour and he's loving it."
"Yeah, but they're older. You are going to have a screaming baby. Thor wasn't too happy when Milo cried. That reminds me, the next time he cries, you have to hold him and make him stop."
Eric looked at his friend, confused. He had no problem holding the baby, even when he cried, but he had to? "I have to?"
"Rachel wants to know how you do with a crying baby. I have to report back to her."
"Ah." He looked down when his phone began to ring. "Oh, it's Shawn. I wonder what he wants. Hello?"
Jack watched Eric's confusion over whatever was being said on Shawn's end of the call. "What's up," he asked when Eric set the phone aside.
"I have no idea. Bad reception. Maybe he'll call back later." The reception had been crystal clear. He figured Cory told Shawn what happened in Florida. That would be a conversation to have later. "So, Jack, fill me in, what is the biggest change to having kids."
"Sleep, you miss it," he laughed. "But, I don't know if I can describe it. Your life isn't yours' anymore. I know that sounds bad and some days you'll have your moments, but it's great." Milo began to cry. "Batter up."
/
"You have your own keys," Rachel asked as Angela let herself into Eric's apartment a couple hours later.
"Yeah, I've had them for a while. He's had the spare keys to my place sine I moved in so we figured I should have a key. It was very unromantic," she laughed. She opened the door and felt like she entered a disaster area. "What on earth..." There were toys everywhere- both cat and child, a fort had been made out of a few chairs, some sheets, and the cushions from the couch, various snack and drink items were dotted all over the room, and Seth and Nina sat calmly in the middle watching TV.
"Hey guys," Rachel smiled.
"Hi," they said in unison.
"Where are Jack and Eric?"
"They're in the tent," Nina pointed.
"It's a fort," Seth corrected her.
"It's the same thing."
"Is not."
"Is so!"
"Is not!"
"Is..."
"Kids!" Rachel held up her hand. "Be quiet and pick up whatever food garbage you brought in here."
"But we're watching TV," they whined.
"Watch and clean at the same time. Do both or the TV goes off." After that warning the kids got to work.
"Aw, look at you," Angela laughed, "sounding all tough and mom-like." She looked at the fort. "Okay, let's see what the guys are up to."
They walked over to the fort and pulled back the sheet. Eric and Jack sound asleep. Milo was awake and happy for once. He was sitting up with a marker in each hand and was leaving random streaks on Jack and Eric at will.
"Oh, my god," Rachel gasped, "I didn't know he could use markers."
"Really?" She stared at the red head. "The guys are passed out and you're happy about markers?"
"Just wait, you'll understand."
"Oh, I'll understand later. Right now, I'm getting out my camera."
