~A Once and Again Series~
Where do we go from here?
Chapter 8//Get Your Act Together
Grace took a deep breath, thinking of a good excuse.
Eli spoke up before she could though. "I came home for my lunch break and Grace mentioned she was going alone to her appointment... so I suggested I'd take her," Eli said, looking back and forth at Lily and Judy. "I should have called you, Judy, and told you, but..."
"Grace?" Lily interrupted. "Why did you lie to me? Why didn't you tell me Eli had taken you when I called?"
Grace looked down at her feet and back up at her mother, "Uh... well, I thought you'd feel bad if I said that, because I had told you I didn't want anyone to come with me."
Lily took this in. Her shoulders slumped. "So, why DID you want Eli there?"
Eli nervously shifted and looked down at the floor. Grace shrugged, "I don't know. I just guess I wanted a friend there."
Lily pretended not to be hurt. Her daughter had been vehement about Lily not being there, but she was willing to go with Eli? "So, how did it go?" Lily asked, switching the topic.
"Oh, fine," Grace said with a grateful smile. "The baby is due December 25th."
"A Christmas baby," Judy said, musing over it with a smile.
Grace nodded. Lily was silent. Grace gestured towards the kitchen, "I'm going to go get a snack."
"Me too," Eli said, and began to follow her.
"Uh, Eli?" Judy said, stopping him.
Eli looked at Judy in surprise. "Huh?"
"Don't you think you should go back to the bookstore?" Judy suggested. "Maybe if you explain your disappearance to Jake, he won't fire you after all."
"Oh, right," Eli nodded. He backed away towards the front door. "Bye Grace!" He shouted. Grace shouted goodbye from the kitchen. Eli smiled at Judy and Lily and left.
Judy turned to Lily with a smile, "There's going to be a lot of babies around here soon... Maddie, Dominic, Grace's... we could have play- dates with just the babies of this odd extended family."
Lily looked at Judy curiously, "Are you? No..." She looked at Judy again, whose tinkling eyes gave it away, "You're pregnant?"
Judy nodded with a grin, "Yes. My due date is December 3rd."
"And you're just telling me this now?" Lily asked, in shock.
Judy smiled, and nodded. "Yeah. But, Lily... I'm going to have a baby!"
Lily nodded, smiling back. She drew her sister in for a hug.
Grace came back into the living room, catching them in their hug. Grace looked at them curiously, balancing a tray of cookies in one hand.
Lily and Judy broke from their hug. Judy smiled at Grace. "It looks like we're going to go through this together!"
Grace sat down in one of the easy chairs, munching on a cookie, "Go through what?"
"I'm pregnant!" Judy cried.
Grace quickly swallowed the cookie crumbs in her mouth. She smiled at her aunt genuinely, "Judy, that's wonderful! Is Sam excited?"
Judy nodded, her face practically glowing. "He's thrilled. He's such a great dad with Jaime... I know he's going to be a great dad with this one," She said, touching her belly. She caught the words she had said and looked over at Grace with concern, "Of course, it's okay if the baby doesn't have a great dad...I mean... I mean, you'll be a great mother, Grace."
Grace nodded with a forced smile. She munched on another cookie.
Judy looked at Lily, a little ashamed for bringing up the topic of dads with Grace--- since no one knew who the father of her child was yet, because Grace wouldn't tell. Lily shrugged. She, herself, was a little scared to find out who was the father of Grace's baby... she just kept picturing the baby coming out with red hair a la Mr. Dimitri. Grace said she hadn't seen Mr. Dimitri since he left the school after the incident, but... Lily wondered.
* * *
"Hi," Eli said as he knocked on the open door of Jake and Judy's office. Jake looked up, seeing that it was Eli, and sighed.
"I was wondering if you were going to come back or if you were gone for good," Jake said, watching Eli walked towards him.
"Judy said something that you might fire me?" Eli asked uncomfortably.
"Well, that is correct... if you take the 'might' out of that sentence. Eli, I've had enough of your lateness, your screwing up, your skipping out for HOURS whenever you feel like it..."
"I had a good reason, for today!" Eli said, interrupting him.
"Well, maybe you did for today, Eli," Jake said sadly, "But what about all the other times... What about me having to fire Deanna, because YOU had slept with her??"
"What?" Eli asked in surprise... this was the first time he had heard of Deanna leaving because of him.
"Eli, she came to me and told me what happened between you two," Jake said.
"She did?" Eli asked, but was ignored.
"...and she said that she couldn't work with you anymore, because it was too hard. She asked for me to choose either her or you. And I choose you," Jake said with a sad shake of his head, "I thought you were worth it, because you were family, and I thought somehow you'd SHAPE up! But you didn't and you haven't and I lost a good worker to keep you!"
Eli took this all in. "Jake, about today, I was..." He began.
Jake shook his head, "I don't even care, Eli. It's too late. Maybe forcing you to go out into the REAL workforce will be the best thing for you... then you'll see that you can't keep a job with the way you act. Eli, I'm saying this for your own good... you need to shape up. You need to get your act together."
Eli fidgeted uncomfortably as Jake went on, "So, you're fired, Eli. You can pick up your last paycheck on Thursday... no hard feelings?" Jake threw in the last part as he looked on Eli's angry face glaring back at him.
Eli was about to burst at Jake, but this was the father of Grace... and so he put the lid on his feelings and nodded sharply. "Bye Jake."
Jake nodded, watching Eli walk back out the door. He sank back in his chair with a sigh. It was a hard job, but someone had to do it. Eli needed a little kick in the butt to get him moving in the right direction.
* * *
Judy came back in the bookstore a little before closing time.
"Where have you been?" Jake asked as he spotted her.
"Oh, I took a lesson from Eli and skipped out," Judy said with a teasing smile. She was in a real good mood. Especially since Lily had taken the news of her pregnancy so well.
Jake didn't smile at her joke, and Judy felt her stomach drop, "You didn't... did you?" Judy looked carefully at him, and Jake busied himself straightening up a bookshelf. When he turned back and looked at her, Judy's eyebrows shot up. "You did! ....You fired him."
Jake nodded, "Judy... it was for his own good. He can't expect to keep a job acting the way he has."
"But, he's family!" Judy cried in disbelief.
"He'll thank us later," Jake said.
"Oh, no... this decision was not in any part mine!" Judy cried. "I don't know what got in your head, and I don't want any of the blame!"
Jake sighed, "It was a good decision." He walked away, going into the office and cleaning up his desk a bit. Judy followed him.
"I don't see how you could do that after what he did today for your daughter!" Judy said.
Jake looked up, "What?"
"He took Grace to her appointment," Judy explained. "Didn't he tell you when you asked where he was?"
Jake sighed, thinking this over. "I didn't let him explain."
"Well, now you understand!" Judy cried. "So... tell him he can have his job back."
"I can't do that, Judy," Jake said, and it wasn't just because he'd have to admit he was wrong... it was because he truly thought Eli shouldn't have his job back. Just because this time had a reason behind it... it didn't change anything. "He's not coming back," Jake said forcefully.
Judy let out an exasperated sigh, and stormed out of the office.
* * *
"So, he fired you?" Grace asked with sympathy.
Eli nodded. "I guess I have to start looking for a job."
"I'm sure you'll find something good," Grace said hopefully. They were in Eli's garage apartment. Grace was sitting up on Eli's bed, and Eli lay on it with his head in her lap.
Eli sighed. "I hate looking for a job! I hate interviews and applications! God!"
Grace ran her fingers through his hair. "It's not the end of the world."
"But, Grace. I need that money. I can't live here forever," Eli said.
Grace froze, "You want to move away?"
"Yeah, just get my own place or something. I had been hoping to start looking for a place soon, but now..."
Grace studied his profile. "Maybe it's a good thing... that you have to stay here now."
Eli turned his head, looking up at her. "Why?"
Grace wondered if he was really that dense. "For me... for the baby."
"Oh," Eli said, getting it. "Yeah, I didn't think of that."
Grace ignored that statement. "I mean, you do want to be there, to help take care of it, right?"
Eli nodded. "Yeah. Hey, maybe we could set a crib up in that corner..." He sat up, pointing it out for Grace. "And a dresser in that corner, and you could stay here..." He tapped the bed, "...with me."
Grace smiled sadly. "That sounds nice..."
"...But?" Eli supplied for her.
"But, we can't do that..." Grace sighed, "That requires telling everyone about us."
"Right," Eli said.
"And that requires that we be an actual couple... which we aren't," Grace said, looking at him.
"Yeah," Eli agreed, a little sadly.
"But, it's a nice thought," Grace said quickly. "But, I think I better just stick to the idea of putting a crib in my room... which Zoe is going to love when the baby wakes her crying every night." Grace smiled. She looked over at Eli, who was silent. "And anyways... that way you can still keep your life. You can still drink, and smoke... and have people over. And whenever you want, you can come be part of the baby's life."
Eli was silent. Suddenly he realized he didn't care about drinking, smoking or having 'people' over (Eli knew Grace meant 'girls' when she said that). What he really cared about at this moment was being part of the baby's life. But, apparently, Grace... and Jake, still thought he had his partying ways about him. But that just wasn't true anymore. Any way you sliced it... Eli was actually changing his ways. He was getting his act together.
Hopefully soon, Grace would see that.
* * *
Where do we go from here?
Chapter 8//Get Your Act Together
Grace took a deep breath, thinking of a good excuse.
Eli spoke up before she could though. "I came home for my lunch break and Grace mentioned she was going alone to her appointment... so I suggested I'd take her," Eli said, looking back and forth at Lily and Judy. "I should have called you, Judy, and told you, but..."
"Grace?" Lily interrupted. "Why did you lie to me? Why didn't you tell me Eli had taken you when I called?"
Grace looked down at her feet and back up at her mother, "Uh... well, I thought you'd feel bad if I said that, because I had told you I didn't want anyone to come with me."
Lily took this in. Her shoulders slumped. "So, why DID you want Eli there?"
Eli nervously shifted and looked down at the floor. Grace shrugged, "I don't know. I just guess I wanted a friend there."
Lily pretended not to be hurt. Her daughter had been vehement about Lily not being there, but she was willing to go with Eli? "So, how did it go?" Lily asked, switching the topic.
"Oh, fine," Grace said with a grateful smile. "The baby is due December 25th."
"A Christmas baby," Judy said, musing over it with a smile.
Grace nodded. Lily was silent. Grace gestured towards the kitchen, "I'm going to go get a snack."
"Me too," Eli said, and began to follow her.
"Uh, Eli?" Judy said, stopping him.
Eli looked at Judy in surprise. "Huh?"
"Don't you think you should go back to the bookstore?" Judy suggested. "Maybe if you explain your disappearance to Jake, he won't fire you after all."
"Oh, right," Eli nodded. He backed away towards the front door. "Bye Grace!" He shouted. Grace shouted goodbye from the kitchen. Eli smiled at Judy and Lily and left.
Judy turned to Lily with a smile, "There's going to be a lot of babies around here soon... Maddie, Dominic, Grace's... we could have play- dates with just the babies of this odd extended family."
Lily looked at Judy curiously, "Are you? No..." She looked at Judy again, whose tinkling eyes gave it away, "You're pregnant?"
Judy nodded with a grin, "Yes. My due date is December 3rd."
"And you're just telling me this now?" Lily asked, in shock.
Judy smiled, and nodded. "Yeah. But, Lily... I'm going to have a baby!"
Lily nodded, smiling back. She drew her sister in for a hug.
Grace came back into the living room, catching them in their hug. Grace looked at them curiously, balancing a tray of cookies in one hand.
Lily and Judy broke from their hug. Judy smiled at Grace. "It looks like we're going to go through this together!"
Grace sat down in one of the easy chairs, munching on a cookie, "Go through what?"
"I'm pregnant!" Judy cried.
Grace quickly swallowed the cookie crumbs in her mouth. She smiled at her aunt genuinely, "Judy, that's wonderful! Is Sam excited?"
Judy nodded, her face practically glowing. "He's thrilled. He's such a great dad with Jaime... I know he's going to be a great dad with this one," She said, touching her belly. She caught the words she had said and looked over at Grace with concern, "Of course, it's okay if the baby doesn't have a great dad...I mean... I mean, you'll be a great mother, Grace."
Grace nodded with a forced smile. She munched on another cookie.
Judy looked at Lily, a little ashamed for bringing up the topic of dads with Grace--- since no one knew who the father of her child was yet, because Grace wouldn't tell. Lily shrugged. She, herself, was a little scared to find out who was the father of Grace's baby... she just kept picturing the baby coming out with red hair a la Mr. Dimitri. Grace said she hadn't seen Mr. Dimitri since he left the school after the incident, but... Lily wondered.
* * *
"Hi," Eli said as he knocked on the open door of Jake and Judy's office. Jake looked up, seeing that it was Eli, and sighed.
"I was wondering if you were going to come back or if you were gone for good," Jake said, watching Eli walked towards him.
"Judy said something that you might fire me?" Eli asked uncomfortably.
"Well, that is correct... if you take the 'might' out of that sentence. Eli, I've had enough of your lateness, your screwing up, your skipping out for HOURS whenever you feel like it..."
"I had a good reason, for today!" Eli said, interrupting him.
"Well, maybe you did for today, Eli," Jake said sadly, "But what about all the other times... What about me having to fire Deanna, because YOU had slept with her??"
"What?" Eli asked in surprise... this was the first time he had heard of Deanna leaving because of him.
"Eli, she came to me and told me what happened between you two," Jake said.
"She did?" Eli asked, but was ignored.
"...and she said that she couldn't work with you anymore, because it was too hard. She asked for me to choose either her or you. And I choose you," Jake said with a sad shake of his head, "I thought you were worth it, because you were family, and I thought somehow you'd SHAPE up! But you didn't and you haven't and I lost a good worker to keep you!"
Eli took this all in. "Jake, about today, I was..." He began.
Jake shook his head, "I don't even care, Eli. It's too late. Maybe forcing you to go out into the REAL workforce will be the best thing for you... then you'll see that you can't keep a job with the way you act. Eli, I'm saying this for your own good... you need to shape up. You need to get your act together."
Eli fidgeted uncomfortably as Jake went on, "So, you're fired, Eli. You can pick up your last paycheck on Thursday... no hard feelings?" Jake threw in the last part as he looked on Eli's angry face glaring back at him.
Eli was about to burst at Jake, but this was the father of Grace... and so he put the lid on his feelings and nodded sharply. "Bye Jake."
Jake nodded, watching Eli walk back out the door. He sank back in his chair with a sigh. It was a hard job, but someone had to do it. Eli needed a little kick in the butt to get him moving in the right direction.
* * *
Judy came back in the bookstore a little before closing time.
"Where have you been?" Jake asked as he spotted her.
"Oh, I took a lesson from Eli and skipped out," Judy said with a teasing smile. She was in a real good mood. Especially since Lily had taken the news of her pregnancy so well.
Jake didn't smile at her joke, and Judy felt her stomach drop, "You didn't... did you?" Judy looked carefully at him, and Jake busied himself straightening up a bookshelf. When he turned back and looked at her, Judy's eyebrows shot up. "You did! ....You fired him."
Jake nodded, "Judy... it was for his own good. He can't expect to keep a job acting the way he has."
"But, he's family!" Judy cried in disbelief.
"He'll thank us later," Jake said.
"Oh, no... this decision was not in any part mine!" Judy cried. "I don't know what got in your head, and I don't want any of the blame!"
Jake sighed, "It was a good decision." He walked away, going into the office and cleaning up his desk a bit. Judy followed him.
"I don't see how you could do that after what he did today for your daughter!" Judy said.
Jake looked up, "What?"
"He took Grace to her appointment," Judy explained. "Didn't he tell you when you asked where he was?"
Jake sighed, thinking this over. "I didn't let him explain."
"Well, now you understand!" Judy cried. "So... tell him he can have his job back."
"I can't do that, Judy," Jake said, and it wasn't just because he'd have to admit he was wrong... it was because he truly thought Eli shouldn't have his job back. Just because this time had a reason behind it... it didn't change anything. "He's not coming back," Jake said forcefully.
Judy let out an exasperated sigh, and stormed out of the office.
* * *
"So, he fired you?" Grace asked with sympathy.
Eli nodded. "I guess I have to start looking for a job."
"I'm sure you'll find something good," Grace said hopefully. They were in Eli's garage apartment. Grace was sitting up on Eli's bed, and Eli lay on it with his head in her lap.
Eli sighed. "I hate looking for a job! I hate interviews and applications! God!"
Grace ran her fingers through his hair. "It's not the end of the world."
"But, Grace. I need that money. I can't live here forever," Eli said.
Grace froze, "You want to move away?"
"Yeah, just get my own place or something. I had been hoping to start looking for a place soon, but now..."
Grace studied his profile. "Maybe it's a good thing... that you have to stay here now."
Eli turned his head, looking up at her. "Why?"
Grace wondered if he was really that dense. "For me... for the baby."
"Oh," Eli said, getting it. "Yeah, I didn't think of that."
Grace ignored that statement. "I mean, you do want to be there, to help take care of it, right?"
Eli nodded. "Yeah. Hey, maybe we could set a crib up in that corner..." He sat up, pointing it out for Grace. "And a dresser in that corner, and you could stay here..." He tapped the bed, "...with me."
Grace smiled sadly. "That sounds nice..."
"...But?" Eli supplied for her.
"But, we can't do that..." Grace sighed, "That requires telling everyone about us."
"Right," Eli said.
"And that requires that we be an actual couple... which we aren't," Grace said, looking at him.
"Yeah," Eli agreed, a little sadly.
"But, it's a nice thought," Grace said quickly. "But, I think I better just stick to the idea of putting a crib in my room... which Zoe is going to love when the baby wakes her crying every night." Grace smiled. She looked over at Eli, who was silent. "And anyways... that way you can still keep your life. You can still drink, and smoke... and have people over. And whenever you want, you can come be part of the baby's life."
Eli was silent. Suddenly he realized he didn't care about drinking, smoking or having 'people' over (Eli knew Grace meant 'girls' when she said that). What he really cared about at this moment was being part of the baby's life. But, apparently, Grace... and Jake, still thought he had his partying ways about him. But that just wasn't true anymore. Any way you sliced it... Eli was actually changing his ways. He was getting his act together.
Hopefully soon, Grace would see that.
* * *