17.
Exiting the bathroom Andy found Miranda frowning at her phone.
"Bad news?"
Miranda looked up over her glasses and shook her head.
"I'm not entirely certain of the situation yet. It's a message from my first assistant. Some unfortunate events occurred at Runway and my presence might be needed there to secure my position." Miranda paused and tapped her bottom lip thoughtfully. "However, I'm not ready to cut our time short here. Why don't I just make some quick arrangements and…"
Miranda didn't get the opportunity to finish, because the phone went off and she frowned again.
"I'm sorry, Darling, I have to take this."
Miranda held the phone to her ear with one hand, and reached out toward Andy with the other one. Accepting the invitation, Andy gently took her hand and sat down next to the older woman. Mindful of Miranda's ongoing call, she tried to keep some distance, she didn't want to eavesdrop but her newfound girlfriend had a different idea. Holding tight on Andy's hand, Miranda kept her close, not letting her move an inch. It felt almost like Miranda was looking for some kind of support and Andy understood the silent plea. She reassuringly squeezed Miranda's hand, receiving a shy smile in response.
It was a lengthy conversation. More precisely, whoever talked to Miranda had a lot to say. The editor was mainly just listening. Here and there, a faint yes, or an "I see" was uttered, but mostly Miranda carried a blank expression for almost the entire phone call. Almost, because towards the end it turned into a borderline furious look. Around forty minutes later, Miranda finally ended the call with a reserved good night.
"Well, that was unexpected."
"Umm, what happened?"
"What happened?" Miranda released Andy's hand and facing the brunette she established eye contact. "What happened, was that someone interfered in my and my daughter's life, without consulting me before. The story my ex-husband just told me is unbelievable. Absolutely entertaining with a satisfactory end I must admit. Yet I can't see how it was even possible."
"Satisfactory?" Andy bit down on her lips nervously. Miranda didn't seem satisfied nor entertained, also her choice of words made Andy believe that she had made a mistake and she was about to pay the toll.
"Umm, so are you mad? I mean you look mad and I am sorry if I overstepped but…"
"Mad? Andrea, I had a civil interaction with James. We haven't had one in years. My daughter called me the best mother ever. She told me she loved me and cried her heart out begging my forgiveness for her shitty attitude. Why would I be mad?"
"You are very protective of the girls, Miranda. Interfering in their lives without asking you first could have been an issue, I suppose. And actually you look mad. Like, really-truly mad."
"Oh." Miranda closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Exhaling slowly, her posture relaxed, the sharp lines around her mouth softened and Andy swore she felt the temperature rising a notch in the room. When Miranda reestablished eye contact she had a warm gleam in her eyes.
"I know I am very cautious and have reservations when it comes to trusting someone. It's not easy to let go of years of habits. Being on the receiving end of a seemingly selfless, giving act always makes me question the giver's intentions. What do they want in exchange? What's the prize? And it becomes extremely suspicious when someone is trying to reach me through my daughters."
Andy was hanging on every word Miranda was saying, still unsure where the other woman's heart lay. While Miranda didn't sound or look angry anymore, her words were contradicting, keeping Andy worried.
"Let me assure you, that my first reaction was nothing but a knee jerk reaction." Miranda continued, reclaiming Andy's hands. "I have no fear on the score when it comes to you. I trust you and what you did for them, for us, proves that my trust was well placed."
"You scared me you know."
Andy had kept her tone light but it did not fool Miranda, so she lifted Andy's hand and planted a series of butterfly kisses on her knuckles.
"I'm sorry, Darling." Miranda whispered. "It wasn't my intention. You have to be patient with me, changes won't occur overnight."
"And you have to be patient with me. We both have our baggage and it takes time to unpack and put everything where it belongs."
Miranda chuckled and nodded in agreement. Yes. They were on the same page, making an effort, working towards a mutual goal, together. Together.
"So tell me, Andrea, I'm almost afraid to ask, but I have to. How did my kids end up joining the travelling circus?"
"When you told me about…Wait, what? Travelling circus?"
"Doug the Bug? Lily the Fey? The Flying Wallendas? Hmm?"
"Flying Wallendas?" Andy rolled her eyes. "Hilarious. Really. Please don't ever change profession. You would starve as a comedian."
"Starve? Hardly." Miranda beckoned Andy closer and whispered secretly. "Haven't you heard? My girlfriend is a chef."
Hearing Miranda calling her, her girlfriend, made Andy giddy.
"I should have a witty comeback on that Miranda, but I am overjoyed by the fact, that I am your girlfriend. So just bear with my giggles and blushing for now. On a serious note though, I don't know what happened to the girls.
"You don't? But it was your doing wasn't it?" Miranda frowned, confusion written all over her face.
"I called my friends for help, but I haven't heard back from them. I asked them to come up with a plan, to cheer up the girls. Something that would make them want to stay and enjoy their vacation."
"They did an excellent job, Andrea. How they managed to achieve it, in less than a day, is a complete mystery, although I count on you to find out and enlighten me."
"Miranda? What happened exactly?"
"Who exactly are these friends, Andrea?
Their questions came at the same time. So they starred at each other, both waiting for the other to answer first. Miranda eagerly wanting to find out who the mysterious helpers were and Andy dying of curiosity to acquire some information and wordlessly cursed her friends who failed to deliver the news.
Miranda gave in first.
"Fine. I can provide you the short version, Andrea. The girls spent the day with Doug the Bug experimenting with extreme cooking that included cooking and eating bugs. Delightful. Then they attended a private mentalist show with their father and his now ex-girlfriend, hosted by Lily the Fey. As you could guess it did not go well for Cheryl, hence the title, ex."
"Oh."
"According to James, she showed her true nature. Your friend must be a genius Andrea. She made that snake confess how she was only with James for his money and how she has been manipulating the girls, particularly Cassidy, all these years. I loathe that wench and Caroline shares my dislike, Cassidy on the other hand, learnt the hard way that she has been used. My poor baby went through a lot today, yet, despite her crying, she appeared settled. She told me, that she had a long conversation with Lily and it helped her cope. James also had a therapy session with Lily and honestly I have the urge to have one myself, because she sounds unbelievable. I wonder if she is just a hallucination, caused by some island fever or food poisoning. "
Andy laughed so hard, tears came out.
"Actually she is very real. Both Doug and Lily are real and it's the most fortunate scenario that they are still in Barbados. Usually they spend the winter months up north, but this year Lily didn't feel like going. And of course Doug went along with that. I've never met anyone so laidback as Doug."
She poked Miranda's shoulder playfully.
"You'd like him, lady. He is a sweetheart. Plus he loves fashion."
"Doug the Bug loves fashion? Shocking."
"Yeah, about that. Doug used to be a chef. High end restaurants, Michelin stars, all the glitz and glamour. His body couldn't keep up with the demands of his fast paced profession and he suffered a massive stroke at the age of 27. He had to relearn how to speak, walk, eat, all the basic stuff. Now he is a YouTuber, making unconventional cooking videos.
"Bugs." Miranda grimaced and a slight shiver run through her body. She hated bugs.
"Bugs too and other extreme stuff. Not just weird ingredients but unusual cooking methods, a little bit of molecular gastronomy. The internet loves him and other than him being an artist with food, he's actually educational as well. You'd mentioned that Cassidy was into baking, so I thought she might have been interested to meet him."
"And Lily?"
"Lily is different. She is the perfect Mage. The Healer. Very deep, very spiritual. She has this enigmatic demeanor that draws you in. Mysterious. Tranquil. Lily the Fey. The name suits her perfectly. And before you ask, my answer is yes. That's her real name."
Miranda raised an eyebrow.
"I'm in the fashion industry Andrea. The vault of curious names. Nothing can beat that."
"Like The Queen of Fashion?"
"We are not going there, Andrea." huffed Miranda. "Pray tell me, where did you find these friends of yours?"
"I met them in the hospital, after my…accident. Doug was a patient there, recovering from his stroke and Lily spent every day at his bedside. They are very close, grew up in foster care and stuck together. Anyway, one day Lily ended up in my room, she got off on the wrong floor so she said, and after discovering how miserable I'd been she wasn't in a hurry to leave."
"Your accident, as you refer to it. Wasn't really an accident was it?"
Andy shook her head. No matter how many years passed, the memories were still painful, weaker in intensity but painful nonetheless.
"What I said, that it was Nate's doing is true. And it was intentional, despite what I thought after waking up in the hospital. At first I couldn't remember the details of that evening and fell for Nate's lies. I was in so much pain, I desperately needed someone to comfort me. He wasn't the one I wanted but he was there and while not compassionate still familiar."
"You wanted Edna."
"Yes. I begged Nate to call her and ask her to visit me. I was told, that he'd done that already and that Ed refused my request. Not just refused to visit me but a restraining order had been filled against me. I was not allowed to call her, meet her or connect with her in any way."
"Oh Darling."
"Nate fabricated a story, making me and everybody else believe that what happened was indeed an accident."
"Then what happened?"
"Lily happened. She stumbled into my room and everything changed. We talked. A lot. And slowly everything fell into place. I was able to recall the events of that night. I sent Nate away and started my healing journey. I made a huge mistake though. Several ones actually."
"You didn't press charges, I assume."
"Yes. Mistake number one. He would be still in jail, out of my life completely. My other mistakes were all those occasions when I gave him money. I know I shouldn't have, but as you said changes won't occur overnight. Sometimes you need years to overcome your obstacles."
Andy straightened her posture and groaned. It had been a long day, not to mention the sleepless night before and it was starting to catch up on her. Although Miranda had the advantage of sleeping through the day, she didn't look any less drained than Andy.
"Come." said Andy. She stood and pulled Miranda with her. "I can finish my story in the bedroom. And if we fall asleep we won't have to worry about a crick in the neck."
She led Miranda to the master bedroom, only to halt abruptly at the door. Her earlier confidence disappeared. She had basically invited Miranda to share her bed. Or it was Miranda's bed and Andy invited herself for the night. What was she thinking? More importantly what was Miranda thinking?
"Andrea? Relax, Darling. It's just a bed. And we are two adults who are going to sleep in it, without getting into any trouble."
And that's exactly what happened. Seconds after they hit the bed they were both sound asleep.