Alright, so Liverpool has just lost their first Premier League game in a very long time and my wife - who is perhaps the most ardent Liverpool supporter on the planet - is very sad and needs to vent so I'm typing quietly while she does so.
As I said before, please be patient with me while I get some more done. It might be a moment but not as much time as it was between my other fics lol We gotta buy Andy somewhere to live, cos she can't stay with Miranda forever, you know... Well. We know she can, but they don't know that yet...
See disclaimer, Chapter 1.
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The board meeting ran long, as she expected it was going to do, and by the time it was over Miranda was exhausted.
"Home, Roy," she muttered.
"I won't spare the horses, Ma'am," he said in a rather acceptable English accent considering he was a full-blood New Yorker.
"Did my underlings call you for a ride? I was invited to join them for," she winced. "Cart food, but I regrettably could not make it."
"I didn't take them home," he chuckled. "But they sounded in good spirits when Andy called. They took the subway. Their bags are in the trunk though."
"Gracious, I wonder what sort of diseases they picked up."
Roy laughed and she congratulated herself on the little joke.
"Indulge me for a moment, Roy, are you married?"
"I am," he smiled. "19 years this spring."
"You must tell me your secret," she deadpanned and he grinned.
She was acting out of character but she was exhausted and frankly so sick of pontification she just needed something to take her mind off the abysmal sycophantic nonsense that had filled her afternoon. Roy was game, but he wasn't stupid. He smirked at her in the mirror and remained silent.
"Yes alright, not marrying arseholes would be a good first step."
He laughed again and she found that she rather liked making people laugh.
"I think listening to yourself is important," he said carefully. "And marrying for the right reasons." She squinted at him and he swallowed before carrying on. He was braver than she'd thought. "I know why you married them. Both of them. They were good reasons. Admirable, but not," he winced. "Truthful. To yourself."
He pulled up at the kerb and she stared at him in the mirror.
"You are rather astute," she chuckled at her own expense. "But, I rather think it's time to give up on love."
She watched as Cassidy opened the door and the Twins ran down the steps, leaving Andréa watching from the top of the steps, a soft smile on her face. She matched it as her twin terrors flung open the doors.
"Not just yet, Miranda," Roy whispered.
She didn't have time to examine the words as he got out and her babies got in.
"MOMMY!"
"Gracious," she chuckled. "What are you doing! Let me out, let me out," she chuckled, kissing their cheeks happily.
"We made you dinner, come see!"
"Come and see, my darling little heathen," she winked at Cassidy. "Caroline, get your bags from Roy and then I will be able to get out of the car without being swarmed by my children."
The flurry of chaos as they called goodbye to Roy finally fell away as the girls ran upstairs to stow Caroline's schoolbag and pack Cassidy's soccer bag for the next day.
"Hey," Andy smiled gently. The lights were off, with only a lamp in the useless sitting room they never used. It spilt gentle light into the foyer and she sighed.
"Thank you," Miranda whispered. "For keeping them entertained and for not turning on the lights."
"I know how your eyes get after a long day," Andy muttered, helping her with her coat. "I," she hesitated. "Hope I didn't overstep but I told Cara she could go? We may have cooked some spaghetti?"
"Oh," she sighed. "That sounds heavenly, to be honest."
"Really?"
"Yes," Miranda smiled. "There is a selection of decent reds in the wine cellar," she pointed down the long corridor to the back of the house. "Last door to the right. Any of the Pinot Noir on the left of the door as you walk in."
"Coming right up."
"I'm sorry," Miranda sighed, rubbing her head. Andréa didn't move.
"What for? Don't be," the woman smiled. "It was a very long meeting. The girls stayed up long enough to say goodnight but Cassidy has been flagging for a good half an hour."
"There is much to discuss tomorrow. Block us some time, I need to go over the -"
"Hey," Andréa said gently, stopping Mrinada's train of thought. "I will take care of all of that tomorrow. You need some downtime. Frankly, you look exhausted."
"I am," she admitted. "I," she felt her face heat. "I just want to curl up and watch a film. I don't want the book and I don't," she shook her head. "I'm tired, Andréa."
"I know," she said softly. "Come and eat. It's okay. The girls will be down in a minute to say goodnight and then I'll put on a film and you can chill for a while? That acceptable?"
"Yes," Miranda sighed.
She let Andréa direct her to the kitchen table where she was presented with a small plate of spaghetti and two moderately sized meatballs on top. She chuckled as Andréa appeared with a tea-towel over her shoulder and a block of parmesan in her hands.
"Do you know how to use that thing?"
"I'll have you know, Priestly, that I spent a summer in Florence. Just after my second year of college. It was utterly glorious."
"Oh, I adore Florence," Miranda smiled. "I've only been once, but like you found it truly mesmerising."
"Well," Andréa said with a smile. "We'll have to go one day."
"That is an excellent idea."
They smiled before the noise of a hundred buffalo running down the stairs disturbed the gentle peace.
"Mom!"
"Easy," Andréa said, catching Cassidy as she raced forward and tripped on the chair. "Easy does it. Your Mom's been at work for like a billion hours. Go slow."
Miranda snorted a little indelicately and opened her arms to her babies.
"I'm sorry I missed dinner," she muttered against Caroline's hair. "I was so looking forward to hearing about your afternoon."
"S'ok," Caroline said, snuggling under her chin. "I'll tell you about it tomorrow. Andy promised she wouldn't tell you."
"I won't ask then," she murmured, kissing Caroline's temple and giving her an extra squeeze. Cassidy, as always, was just waiting until Caroline had her time and fell upon her as soon as Caroline stood up again. "Hello, little one."
"I'm taller than you Mom."
"Not yet," she muttered, wiggling her fingers against Cassidy's ribs. "You'll always be my little one."
"I'm not even the littlest," she grumbled. It was an argument they went over day in, day out but Miranda always won. "Andy takes good care of us," Cassidy whispered in her ear as she wrapped her arms around Miranda's shoulders.
"Yes she does," Miranda agreed. She kissed her eldest again and patted her bottom to stand. "It is now bedtime, Bobbsies. Say goodnight to Andréa and I will be up to tuck you in as soon as I have finished my dinner."
Andréa had poured the wine. She'd left it by Miranda's bowl on the table while the girls were saying their goodnights and she noticed a smaller measure in the glass, placed across from her. Andréa was nowhere to be found though and she realised, suddenly, that the woman often left Miranda alone with the girls when she could. She smiled, cupping her babies' cheeks.
"Off to bed, my darlings."
"Love you, Mom," Cassidy said, wrapping an arm around her sister.
Miranda watched them go, stopping by the stairs, talking quietly. She heard the quiet mutterings of Andréa's voice and sighed as she took her first bite. It was delicious.
"You have outdone yourself," she remarked quietly when Andréa joined her at the table once the girls had gone upstairs. "And don't think I don't notice you making yourself scarce whenever the girls are here."
"I don't imagine you miss much, Miranda," she said. It was dark, but Miranda could hear the smile in her voice. "I'm just giving you some space."
"It is unnecessary," she said quietly. "But appreciated."
"Noted," Andréa chuckled. "Do you need anything?"
"No," Miranda sighed. "This is divine."
"Good," Andréa nodded. "Don't mind me. I never liked drinking alone but I can't imagine you want to hear someone else talking so I'm just going to hang out."
Miranda smiled around her fork and enjoyed the silence. She could hear the girls upstairs. Cassidy would shower now and Caroline in the morning. As it had been since their fifth birthday. She almost missed those simpler times when she could come home and find them in the bath with intricate bubble-bath hairstyles. She chuckled to herself at the memory and looked up, forgetting for a moment that Andréa had remained. She smiled across the table at Miranda and went back to her phone. The woman clearly had an unhealthy obsession with that silly Candy Crush game and she covered up a smirk with a purse of her lips.
"Oh-oh," Andréa said quietly. "What did I do?"
"Nothing," Miranda chuckled. "Just thinking how addictive video games are."
"Ha!" Andréa laughed, turning her screen around. "I was actually doing some research."
"At this hour? What on earth for?"
"Caroline said she'd always wanted to do rock-climbing, I thought she and I could go check out a gym."
"Rock -" Miranda swallowed. "Climbing."
"She told me about your fear," Anndrea said gently. "And it's okay. I won't ever let her get hurt."
She breathed and closed her eyes. Andréa was right. There was no one, not even their father, that she trusted more with the girls. She nodded.
"Thank you," she whispered. "I," she let out a shaky breath. "I have no doubt she has never asked because she knows how I feel."
"I'll make sure the place is reputable before we go galivanting up any walls. I promise."
Miranda nodded and pushed her plate away, realising belatedly how rude that was.
"No," she said, starting to get up. "I'm sorry, I didn't -"
"Easy," Andréa said gently, her hand on Miranda's shoulder. "Don't worry about it. I know how it goes. Relax. This wine is good, but I'm going to make a cup of tea. Do you want one?"
She swirled the Pinot around in her glass and swallowed the rest.
"I'd love one. Cork it, we'll have it tomorrow."
Andréa busied herself, preparing tea and Miranda sat back. Her belly was full and her brain sufficiently melty. Pinot always did that to her. She sighed and looked at her assistant, watching her lithe movements. The worry from the mood at the Board Meeting was hanging around and she just wanted it all to go away for a while.
She didn't often get like that; in need of some peace. When she did, it was usually around this time, when others were talking of losses and cuts in spending. Miranda had never cared for those mercurial warnings, she'd been Runway Editor for a long time. She'd seen it come and go. This time, however, she wasn't sure how she was going to achieve what she needed to. People were buying fewer magazines and no longer seemed capable of reading long and informative articles. She wondered whether, in ten years, she would be able to say that she witnessed the collapse of the print industry.
"I can't wait to hear all about it tomorrow," Andréa said quietly, startling her a little by how close she was. Warm hands on her shoulder calmed her. "But for now, I queued up my favourite movie in the Den. Want to join me?"
Miranda nodded and picked up her tea, toeing off her heels at the bottom of the stairs and leaving them there. She smiled when she saw the scene paused on the television. Andréa was a fan of the classics.
"Your favourite film is The Scarlet Pimpernel?"
She couldn't keep the disbelief from her voice and Andy chuckled.
"It truly is," she grinned.
Miranda shook her head and settled on the sofa. She didn't say another thing as Andréa pressed play, tucked the throw around her and went back to Miranda's usual chair. After only about the first twenty minutes she closed her eyes and went to sleep.
