AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hey! Thank you all those who continue to read and review. You challenge me to push forward with my story and you make it different. But I really would love it if any lurkers would review. Are you there in the megavoid? Let me know, even if you hate it. Why? We can share a piece of cheese and discuss it.... Without reviews I have no clue where to look to improve and I've checked the phone book..no Dimitri's in my city to possibly assist. But woo-oo, there is a D.Stoltz in my phonebook. But wahhh, he does not live at 451 Elmdale or hold any meetings at his house. I don't think? So basically I need some feedback on "my story". I'll be the first to admit my story is completely implausible and unlikely, but what can I say..it's fiction and I've embraced the motto "Expect the Unexpected" with loving arms. Swoop....I envelop the muted plaid shirt and run my fingers through the red hair in the kitchen (wait that was another FanFic called "Contact" ..sorry :D) Where art Zenana and Lisbeth (I seem to remember she promised a last chapter)? They are missed, come back and find the Dimitrilove once and again!! Even if it's in a Spooferama. hint hint. Anyways...thank you all for the continuous support. This chapter is dedicated to Mr.Dimitri, I hope everyone can say they are someone's Grace and have their own beautiful story- but maybe not quite this chapter ; ) Some things are fated to exist in the written word only, but I could so easily see that red headed actor play out some of the scenes I've offered up. lol. And it's just such an amazing thing to know....his range and everything : ) To be someone's Grace though, there are no words. I liked the quote below that I use as a forward because I think it both reminds me of the GSA car scene and foreshadows nicely.
And to Eric, Happy Birthday! the "snow" in this chapter is for you......
"When late in the evening he left the highschool and went to the Shelestov', his heart was beating and his face flushed. A month before, even a week before, he had, every time that he made up his mind to speak to her, prepared a whole speech, with an introduction and a conclusion. Now he had not a word ready; everything was in a muddle in his head, and all he knew was that today he would certainly declare himself, and that it was utterly impossible to wait any longer."
ANTON CHEKHOV, THE TEACHER OF LITERATURE
I'M NOT INTEREST IN NICE...
"It's snowing outside. Hard. It almost looks like we're snowed in--"
August moved to the door and opened it. A flurry of snowflakes spun around him, bitterly cold air sending tiny shivers throughout his body. Goosebumps on his arms and gooseberries in his words. Whistling. The snow was whistling. Maybe I mean the wind. And the tune was almost "stuck in the middle with you". August squinted but his car was not to be seen anywhere. He closed the door with some effort and Lily contemplated the circumstances in which they all found themselves. No one was going anywhere. Even if she wanted to hand him a shovel and offer to help find his car, there was no road to drive home on. And they had no skis in the garage. Lily thought of the Police.
"Well I guess everyone's staying here," Lily smiled blissfully. "Who knows it might be fun."
Judy looked at Sam and winked. Sam looked at Rick and shrugged. Rick looked at Lily crazed. Lily looked at Dimitri smiling. Dimitri looked at Grace and smiled his special smile. Grace looked at Zoe to see if she saw the special smile. Zoe was saying something, "But where is everyone going to sleep?"
Dinner had long since finished and the dishes were cleared and done. Lily and Judy had enjoyed that time in the kitchen together to catch up even though people kept coming in and out, preventing at times the real 'dishing' from getting done. August at one point even offered to make everyone some tea. Lily in the spirit of the holidays let him use one of her favorite teapots and borrow the edge of her dishtowel to dry it out after he washed the bits of dried flowers out of it. The whole story of Judy swipping Lily's tea pot for Booklovers got told. But that was earlier and now it was late. Collectively there was the sentiment of being drained and ready to hit the hay in anticipation of Christmas day still upcoming.
~******************************************~
August clutched the blanket a little closer around him and tucked his feet in. It was rather cold in the living room. He closed his eyes. The couch was too short and he was too tall, and this just wasn't working. He tucked the blanket up to cover his ear which exposed to the air in the room was becoming chilled. He opened his eyes to find a vision in white approaching without a sound. As the specture closened it became clear that the white was actually a baby blue housecoat and it was sporting slippers. August sat up and groaned.
"Comfortable?"
"Not exactly."
"Would you like to get more comfortable?"
"I'm not so sure that's a question I should take you up on--"
"But it's freezing down here. Besides lets , I don't know, throw caution to the wind--"
"It is sort of cold down here". August had sat up his bare feet on the floor and still partially covered with the duvet.
"Everyone's asleep--"
Dimitri let a smile escape and looked up with his eyes to meet hers. "Why don't you just stay down here Grace," he reached for her waist.
"You can bring your blanket.." Grace offered. Dimitri beaten got up and taking up his blanket wrapped it around Grace's arms.
~******************************************~
"You know your mother had an interesting proposal for me tonight."
Grace proped herself up quickly with her elbow and started fiddling with her other hand and his blanket. "What do you mean!"
"I mean she made me an offer and it might be something we could discuss sometime."
"Sometime, as in now?"
August looked at her a moment, then moved his eyes down to take in her. The attitude, tenseness. He gave a slight laugh, "No. Not now."
"But--" . August cut her off. "No but. Do you really want to waste his glorious snow storm, an act of God if you will, talking for hours [ jokingly] about this."
"You're still wearing your tie you know."
"I know. And it's killing me." He looked playfully down at his striped tie. Grace reached out and turned it with her finger, all her concentration on this tie. It was silk and soft and striped. Undoing the tie she took her time trying to unwork it, possibly even knotting it around his neck. August with an expressionless face brought his hands to meet hers and helped to undo the knot. He slipped the tie from her hands and dropped it off on the side on the bed. He sighed and listened but the house was quiet. Not a noiseless quiet, where every sound echos, but a quiet which belonged to activity. Grace had walked over to hang her housecoat on the hook on her door. She came back and spied the tie. Taking it up she turned it around his right wrist and made to tie it to the bed post. No protest arose but his heart started to beat a little faster. As the silk blend material touched the bed post, he moved quickly. Deft and nimble. Grace relaxed into her position as Dimitri on top of her moved slightly and whispered.
From the hall, if anyone happened to pass by, they would find outside the door there were sounds coming from inside. But they were ever so subtle and ambiguous clamorings.
~*****************************************~
August woke up, he had not noticed when he had fallen asleep but it was still dark out. Grace had turned over on her side and was pressed near him. It was sublime, surreal and wonderful if there could be a word that encompassed all three. But not finding one, adjectives are permitted to run rampant with delight. He looked around the room to see if she had a clock anywhere. There was a blinking red in the corner. The power at some point during the night had must have gone off. He knew he should move back downstairs but it was incredibly warm where he was and nothing short of a book deal dangled before him or an offer to take his school play on Broadway, could motivate movement. Not even off-Broadway. It was just so warm and the couch was very cold. And horizontally challenged. It was more a loveseat really. He pushed his legs out, knee caps moving back and pointed his toes enjoying the sensation of a cat like stretch. August turned over on his back and closed his eyes. He thought about what she had said and the implications. Grace needed to know though. There had to be truth between them if anything was to come of it, but the whole essense of what Lily wanted was a lie. He could use Lily. That was possible, but what would Grace think of him then? This was her mother. Besides of all the things he carried away from that school and that lesson- truth was the one thing that haunted him. That there was no truth. And then there was Alexa. Grace had not said anything about going back to school in January but she must have realized that the run in with Alexa would not just go away. It was going to be hard for her, possibly even harder than when he had left the school. If Alexa talked? Granted there wasn't much to say really but Alexa always had strong feelings about certain things. What if by letting her get closer and trying to fill her loneliness, he had only bridged the gap between her and others wider. Maybe he was the one that gave her the loneliness. Was he one to isolate her? Had her eyes always been that lonely or had he made them that way. Had he wanted to see them that way and therefore inflicted that on her. Face it-- the middle of the night is not a clear time for thinking. Sleep deprivation, a free drug?
"I know that they sent you a letter asking you to consider returning next term."
Dimitri nodded and his brow creased, "The school called you I assume."
"They wanted to know if we would have any objections." Lily watched him, " I didn't give them any. If you know what I mean."
"Oh. I think I do--[he stopped] I got the letter. And it's your opinion that I would want to go back? That I should go back?"
"I think you should decide if you want to go back, for yourself. Not anybody else's opinion about it. And that includes Grace too. "
"Bottom line is though, this offer is conditional. You've decided what you think is best and if I comply then --", August said uncivilly.
"I'm asking you to consider this. Give it some thought. All I'm asking you is for one year. Six months even. Please. Understand where I'm coming from with this, this is my daughter. She's only seventeen. I'm giving you credit here that your intentions are not to hurt her [pause] I do believe that. So can we make this agreement here and now?"
There was no conversation for a moment. Lily wipped her hands with a cotton towel, "This could work." She stopped and looked at Dimitri sitting on the stool in thought, "Couldn't it?"
And to Eric, Happy Birthday! the "snow" in this chapter is for you......
"When late in the evening he left the highschool and went to the Shelestov', his heart was beating and his face flushed. A month before, even a week before, he had, every time that he made up his mind to speak to her, prepared a whole speech, with an introduction and a conclusion. Now he had not a word ready; everything was in a muddle in his head, and all he knew was that today he would certainly declare himself, and that it was utterly impossible to wait any longer."
ANTON CHEKHOV, THE TEACHER OF LITERATURE
I'M NOT INTEREST IN NICE...
"It's snowing outside. Hard. It almost looks like we're snowed in--"
August moved to the door and opened it. A flurry of snowflakes spun around him, bitterly cold air sending tiny shivers throughout his body. Goosebumps on his arms and gooseberries in his words. Whistling. The snow was whistling. Maybe I mean the wind. And the tune was almost "stuck in the middle with you". August squinted but his car was not to be seen anywhere. He closed the door with some effort and Lily contemplated the circumstances in which they all found themselves. No one was going anywhere. Even if she wanted to hand him a shovel and offer to help find his car, there was no road to drive home on. And they had no skis in the garage. Lily thought of the Police.
"Well I guess everyone's staying here," Lily smiled blissfully. "Who knows it might be fun."
Judy looked at Sam and winked. Sam looked at Rick and shrugged. Rick looked at Lily crazed. Lily looked at Dimitri smiling. Dimitri looked at Grace and smiled his special smile. Grace looked at Zoe to see if she saw the special smile. Zoe was saying something, "But where is everyone going to sleep?"
Dinner had long since finished and the dishes were cleared and done. Lily and Judy had enjoyed that time in the kitchen together to catch up even though people kept coming in and out, preventing at times the real 'dishing' from getting done. August at one point even offered to make everyone some tea. Lily in the spirit of the holidays let him use one of her favorite teapots and borrow the edge of her dishtowel to dry it out after he washed the bits of dried flowers out of it. The whole story of Judy swipping Lily's tea pot for Booklovers got told. But that was earlier and now it was late. Collectively there was the sentiment of being drained and ready to hit the hay in anticipation of Christmas day still upcoming.
~******************************************~
August clutched the blanket a little closer around him and tucked his feet in. It was rather cold in the living room. He closed his eyes. The couch was too short and he was too tall, and this just wasn't working. He tucked the blanket up to cover his ear which exposed to the air in the room was becoming chilled. He opened his eyes to find a vision in white approaching without a sound. As the specture closened it became clear that the white was actually a baby blue housecoat and it was sporting slippers. August sat up and groaned.
"Comfortable?"
"Not exactly."
"Would you like to get more comfortable?"
"I'm not so sure that's a question I should take you up on--"
"But it's freezing down here. Besides lets , I don't know, throw caution to the wind--"
"It is sort of cold down here". August had sat up his bare feet on the floor and still partially covered with the duvet.
"Everyone's asleep--"
Dimitri let a smile escape and looked up with his eyes to meet hers. "Why don't you just stay down here Grace," he reached for her waist.
"You can bring your blanket.." Grace offered. Dimitri beaten got up and taking up his blanket wrapped it around Grace's arms.
~******************************************~
"You know your mother had an interesting proposal for me tonight."
Grace proped herself up quickly with her elbow and started fiddling with her other hand and his blanket. "What do you mean!"
"I mean she made me an offer and it might be something we could discuss sometime."
"Sometime, as in now?"
August looked at her a moment, then moved his eyes down to take in her. The attitude, tenseness. He gave a slight laugh, "No. Not now."
"But--" . August cut her off. "No but. Do you really want to waste his glorious snow storm, an act of God if you will, talking for hours [ jokingly] about this."
"You're still wearing your tie you know."
"I know. And it's killing me." He looked playfully down at his striped tie. Grace reached out and turned it with her finger, all her concentration on this tie. It was silk and soft and striped. Undoing the tie she took her time trying to unwork it, possibly even knotting it around his neck. August with an expressionless face brought his hands to meet hers and helped to undo the knot. He slipped the tie from her hands and dropped it off on the side on the bed. He sighed and listened but the house was quiet. Not a noiseless quiet, where every sound echos, but a quiet which belonged to activity. Grace had walked over to hang her housecoat on the hook on her door. She came back and spied the tie. Taking it up she turned it around his right wrist and made to tie it to the bed post. No protest arose but his heart started to beat a little faster. As the silk blend material touched the bed post, he moved quickly. Deft and nimble. Grace relaxed into her position as Dimitri on top of her moved slightly and whispered.
From the hall, if anyone happened to pass by, they would find outside the door there were sounds coming from inside. But they were ever so subtle and ambiguous clamorings.
~*****************************************~
August woke up, he had not noticed when he had fallen asleep but it was still dark out. Grace had turned over on her side and was pressed near him. It was sublime, surreal and wonderful if there could be a word that encompassed all three. But not finding one, adjectives are permitted to run rampant with delight. He looked around the room to see if she had a clock anywhere. There was a blinking red in the corner. The power at some point during the night had must have gone off. He knew he should move back downstairs but it was incredibly warm where he was and nothing short of a book deal dangled before him or an offer to take his school play on Broadway, could motivate movement. Not even off-Broadway. It was just so warm and the couch was very cold. And horizontally challenged. It was more a loveseat really. He pushed his legs out, knee caps moving back and pointed his toes enjoying the sensation of a cat like stretch. August turned over on his back and closed his eyes. He thought about what she had said and the implications. Grace needed to know though. There had to be truth between them if anything was to come of it, but the whole essense of what Lily wanted was a lie. He could use Lily. That was possible, but what would Grace think of him then? This was her mother. Besides of all the things he carried away from that school and that lesson- truth was the one thing that haunted him. That there was no truth. And then there was Alexa. Grace had not said anything about going back to school in January but she must have realized that the run in with Alexa would not just go away. It was going to be hard for her, possibly even harder than when he had left the school. If Alexa talked? Granted there wasn't much to say really but Alexa always had strong feelings about certain things. What if by letting her get closer and trying to fill her loneliness, he had only bridged the gap between her and others wider. Maybe he was the one that gave her the loneliness. Was he one to isolate her? Had her eyes always been that lonely or had he made them that way. Had he wanted to see them that way and therefore inflicted that on her. Face it-- the middle of the night is not a clear time for thinking. Sleep deprivation, a free drug?
"I know that they sent you a letter asking you to consider returning next term."
Dimitri nodded and his brow creased, "The school called you I assume."
"They wanted to know if we would have any objections." Lily watched him, " I didn't give them any. If you know what I mean."
"Oh. I think I do--[he stopped] I got the letter. And it's your opinion that I would want to go back? That I should go back?"
"I think you should decide if you want to go back, for yourself. Not anybody else's opinion about it. And that includes Grace too. "
"Bottom line is though, this offer is conditional. You've decided what you think is best and if I comply then --", August said uncivilly.
"I'm asking you to consider this. Give it some thought. All I'm asking you is for one year. Six months even. Please. Understand where I'm coming from with this, this is my daughter. She's only seventeen. I'm giving you credit here that your intentions are not to hurt her [pause] I do believe that. So can we make this agreement here and now?"
There was no conversation for a moment. Lily wipped her hands with a cotton towel, "This could work." She stopped and looked at Dimitri sitting on the stool in thought, "Couldn't it?"