AN: This story is turning out a lot longer than I planned. Hope you don't
mind. Here's a nice long(er) chap for being so nice!
Slowly Rylan took a deep breath and opened the door. Julie stood on the other side with a shy smile that Rylan couldn't help but recognize as her own.
"Hey," Rylan greeted softly and awkwardly.
"Hi, Rylan." They stood silently.
"Aren't you going to invite her in?" Tessa asked gently giving Rylan a nudge.
"Come on in." Rylan stepped aside and gestured Julie through the door.
"It's nice to see you again, Julie," Duncan greeted with a smile. "I'm glad you could come." He looked pointedly over Julie's shoulder at Rylan.
"Oh, um, yeah, me too," the girl added quietly. Duncan was surprised to see Rylan acting so strangely, he had been expecting snide remarks and a sarcastic smile, not shy glances up from the floor and soft polite mumbles.
"Well," Tessa interjected. "Richie said dinner would still be a minute. So, why don't you show Julie your room?"
"Sure. It's upstairs." Rylan quietly turned and lead the way.
"She's acting strange," Tessa commented as the mother and daughter disappeared upstairs.
"Let's just hope it's not the calm before the storm," Duncan added.
. . . . . .
Rylan opened her door. "This is it."
"It's. . . purple," Julie commented. "But very nice," she added. "Is that a record player?"
"Yeah, I bought it from this guy at a flea market. I got lotsa records, too. Tessa gave me hers and Duncan found some of his, and I've bought some," Rylan loosely gestured to the shelf of records.
"You have your own computer, too?" Julie looked at Rylan's state of the art, brand new, top of the line computer and printer.
"Yeah, Duncan got sick of me and Richie using up all the memory on the one at the store."
"So they got you two your own computer? That's nice of them."
"We both got a computer, actually. We got all sorts of stuff when we moved."
Julie nodded and glanced around the room. "Are these your school papers?" she asked looking at the line of binders on one shelf.
"Sort of," Rylan answered. "I've used some of them as papers. I-I write."
"Poems? Short stories?"
"Sometimes. That blue binder is short stories, the white ones are all novels. Each one is its own story. The black ones are character notes, time lines, research, stuff like that," Rylan explained hoping dinner would be ready soon.
"Oh, you've been busy."
"Yeah."
"You read a lot, too, huh?" she skimmed Rylan's library.
"I read some," Rylan shrugged not feeling the pressure to be nice to her mother now that Duncan and Tessa were safely down stairs.
"Dickens, Shelly, Grisham, Twain, Tolkien," she read out. "Impressive."
"What were you expecting? Judy Blume, Beverly Cleary, and Ann M. Martian?" Rylan asked smugly. "I out grew them a long time ago."
"I'm sure you did."
"Rylan," Tessa said from the doorway. Rylan turned and got a look that let her know Tessa had heard her comment. "Julie, dinner is ready."
"Great, just the smell has sparked my appetite," Julie said with a smile.
Julie followed Tessa into the dining room and Rylan trailed behind. Tessa gestured Julie to her seat.
"Rylan, why don't you get your mother a drink?" Tessa prompted.
Rylan turned to her mother with a sarcastic smile. "What would you like? We have water, tea, sodas, beer, wine. Anything sound good?"
"Ice water would be fine, thank you."
"Tessa?" Rylan offered.
"Duncan's getting the wine."
"Be right back." Rylan turned and stalked into the kitchen.
"Ouch," Richie commented looking at the scowl on her face. "Not going well?"
"I can't do this, Rich," she insisted filling two glasses with water. "You want something?" she offered.
"I'm covered." He held up a can of Dr. Pepper. "It's just for a couple more hours."
"A couple more hours of torture, Richie. She doesn't know anything about me."
"So tell about yourself. Give her a chance."
"I gave her a chance, two. She blew it, twice."
"Fine. Then just be nice," Richie picked up the bowl of salad and headed for the dining room. "Remember, you got what you need now. Whatever she has to offer, you have something better." He looked her directly in the eye. "You think she wants you back," he stated bluntly. "That's what you're worried about."
"What? Don't be stupid, Rich. I don't like her, she doesn't like me, why would she want me back?"
"If she doesn't like you, why is she here?" Richie asked. "Mac and Tessa aren't making her."
"You two coming?" Duncan called from the dining room.
"She's your mom, Ry, she loves you, you can't change that." Richie turned on his heal and left Rylan to ponder.
Rylan slowly entered the dining room and took her place next to Richie, across from her mom, after giving her her drink. Everyone started eating murmuring praises to the chef and Rylan quietly picked at the pasta on her plate.
"Petite lapine?" Tessa asked softly. "Are you okay?"
Rylan looked up. "Huh? Oh, I, uh, just still full from lunch, I guess. I'm sure it's great, Rich."
"I'll save you some," he answered quietly.
"So, Rylan," Julie started. "What grade are you in now?"
Rylan shot a look at Richie with a firmly set jaw and didn't answer. "Rylan's going to be a senior next year," Richie answered.
"So that makes you seventeen," Julie added.
"Sixteen," Rylan corrected softly. "I'll be seventeen in-"
"August," Julie interrupted.
"February."
Julie blushed. "The nineteenth." Rylan shook her head. "Eighth?" She shook her head again. "Eleventh?"
"Twenty-fourth," Rylan told her. "February 24, 1976. That's me."
Julie swallowed. "Tessa said you had exams this week, how did that go?"
Rylan thought for a minute. "Pretty good," she answered. "Duncan helped me with history, Tessa with chemistry, Richie's real good at math, I got English covered. I'm sure I did fine." Rylan slipped into a familiar smug tone that made Richie glance up at Duncan.
"Oh, that's good," Julie commented shifting in her seat slightly. "Have you decided about college?"
"Not yet. I don't know if I'm going to go."
"You should," Julie said. "It will help you a lot in life."
"I might go," Rylan offered still using the same smug tone that was now accompanied by a smirk. Tessa knew she wasn't going to like what was coming next. "Duncan and Tessa said all I have to do is get in, they'd take care of the rest. I can go wherever I want, Richie, too. If he decides to."
"That's good," Julie said forcing a smile. "They seem to do a lot for you."
"Oh, yeah, tons of stuff," Rylan answered with a glint in her eye. Tessa looked worriedly at Duncan. "They got me a job, warm clothes, let me stay with them even though there wasn't a lot of room at the loft, they made it work. Then they got this big house, and I got my own room, a computer, cool stereo, a TV, they let me stay up late, and go out even on school nights sometimes. They read my stories, help me with my homework, Tessa designed and built all my furniture, Duncan's teaching me karate. . ."
"Rylan," Tessa warned.
"They're real nice," Rylan kept going. "Best parents I ever had."
"Rylan!" Tessa said sharply. "I need to speak with you in the kitchen. Now." She took the girl by the arm and dragged her from the table. Richie looked from Duncan to Julie.
Duncan took in a deep breath. "Julie, I'm sorry," he said. "We didn't know she was going to say that."
"It's okay, Duncan. I'm sorry you're in the middle of all this. To be honest I knew it was coming," Julie admitted. "It's not your fault."
. . . . . .
"Rylan Elizabeth Fisher, what the hell do you think were doing in there?" Tessa demanded as soon as the door shut behind them.
"What?" Rylan answered innocently. "She asked a question, I answered it."
"You could have just said yes. You didn't have to list off every petty little thing."
"What are you talking about?"
"Don't play that game with me," Tessa warned. "Duncan may let you get away with things, but you've gone too far. She is you mother, she deserves to be treated with respect. What you just said to her was way out of line, you understand?"
"What I said? What about what she did?" Rylan shot back.
. . . . . .
Richie stared at the closed kitchen door and listened intently to the two voices screaming back and fourth in a mixture of French and English. He wondered if Julie spoke French. Hopefully she didn't, he didn't think she would like some of the words Rylan was using.
"Maybe we should go in the other room," Duncan offered standing up. Julie and Richie followed his lead into the den.
. . . . . .
"Rylan, you are embarrassing us," Tessa said sternly. "You know better than to behave like a child." Rylan set her jaw and stared up at her. "Do you want Julie to think that we've corrupted and spoiled her daughter?"
"Who cares what she thinks?" Rylan spat.
"You should."
"I don't."
"You should change that. Now I want you to go in there, be polite, nice, and stop showing off, you understand?" Rylan glared at her for a minute. Tessa glared back. "Do you understand?" she repeated slowly.
"Yeah, I understand," the girl mumbled.
"Good, now march."
Slowly Rylan took a deep breath and opened the door. Julie stood on the other side with a shy smile that Rylan couldn't help but recognize as her own.
"Hey," Rylan greeted softly and awkwardly.
"Hi, Rylan." They stood silently.
"Aren't you going to invite her in?" Tessa asked gently giving Rylan a nudge.
"Come on in." Rylan stepped aside and gestured Julie through the door.
"It's nice to see you again, Julie," Duncan greeted with a smile. "I'm glad you could come." He looked pointedly over Julie's shoulder at Rylan.
"Oh, um, yeah, me too," the girl added quietly. Duncan was surprised to see Rylan acting so strangely, he had been expecting snide remarks and a sarcastic smile, not shy glances up from the floor and soft polite mumbles.
"Well," Tessa interjected. "Richie said dinner would still be a minute. So, why don't you show Julie your room?"
"Sure. It's upstairs." Rylan quietly turned and lead the way.
"She's acting strange," Tessa commented as the mother and daughter disappeared upstairs.
"Let's just hope it's not the calm before the storm," Duncan added.
. . . . . .
Rylan opened her door. "This is it."
"It's. . . purple," Julie commented. "But very nice," she added. "Is that a record player?"
"Yeah, I bought it from this guy at a flea market. I got lotsa records, too. Tessa gave me hers and Duncan found some of his, and I've bought some," Rylan loosely gestured to the shelf of records.
"You have your own computer, too?" Julie looked at Rylan's state of the art, brand new, top of the line computer and printer.
"Yeah, Duncan got sick of me and Richie using up all the memory on the one at the store."
"So they got you two your own computer? That's nice of them."
"We both got a computer, actually. We got all sorts of stuff when we moved."
Julie nodded and glanced around the room. "Are these your school papers?" she asked looking at the line of binders on one shelf.
"Sort of," Rylan answered. "I've used some of them as papers. I-I write."
"Poems? Short stories?"
"Sometimes. That blue binder is short stories, the white ones are all novels. Each one is its own story. The black ones are character notes, time lines, research, stuff like that," Rylan explained hoping dinner would be ready soon.
"Oh, you've been busy."
"Yeah."
"You read a lot, too, huh?" she skimmed Rylan's library.
"I read some," Rylan shrugged not feeling the pressure to be nice to her mother now that Duncan and Tessa were safely down stairs.
"Dickens, Shelly, Grisham, Twain, Tolkien," she read out. "Impressive."
"What were you expecting? Judy Blume, Beverly Cleary, and Ann M. Martian?" Rylan asked smugly. "I out grew them a long time ago."
"I'm sure you did."
"Rylan," Tessa said from the doorway. Rylan turned and got a look that let her know Tessa had heard her comment. "Julie, dinner is ready."
"Great, just the smell has sparked my appetite," Julie said with a smile.
Julie followed Tessa into the dining room and Rylan trailed behind. Tessa gestured Julie to her seat.
"Rylan, why don't you get your mother a drink?" Tessa prompted.
Rylan turned to her mother with a sarcastic smile. "What would you like? We have water, tea, sodas, beer, wine. Anything sound good?"
"Ice water would be fine, thank you."
"Tessa?" Rylan offered.
"Duncan's getting the wine."
"Be right back." Rylan turned and stalked into the kitchen.
"Ouch," Richie commented looking at the scowl on her face. "Not going well?"
"I can't do this, Rich," she insisted filling two glasses with water. "You want something?" she offered.
"I'm covered." He held up a can of Dr. Pepper. "It's just for a couple more hours."
"A couple more hours of torture, Richie. She doesn't know anything about me."
"So tell about yourself. Give her a chance."
"I gave her a chance, two. She blew it, twice."
"Fine. Then just be nice," Richie picked up the bowl of salad and headed for the dining room. "Remember, you got what you need now. Whatever she has to offer, you have something better." He looked her directly in the eye. "You think she wants you back," he stated bluntly. "That's what you're worried about."
"What? Don't be stupid, Rich. I don't like her, she doesn't like me, why would she want me back?"
"If she doesn't like you, why is she here?" Richie asked. "Mac and Tessa aren't making her."
"You two coming?" Duncan called from the dining room.
"She's your mom, Ry, she loves you, you can't change that." Richie turned on his heal and left Rylan to ponder.
Rylan slowly entered the dining room and took her place next to Richie, across from her mom, after giving her her drink. Everyone started eating murmuring praises to the chef and Rylan quietly picked at the pasta on her plate.
"Petite lapine?" Tessa asked softly. "Are you okay?"
Rylan looked up. "Huh? Oh, I, uh, just still full from lunch, I guess. I'm sure it's great, Rich."
"I'll save you some," he answered quietly.
"So, Rylan," Julie started. "What grade are you in now?"
Rylan shot a look at Richie with a firmly set jaw and didn't answer. "Rylan's going to be a senior next year," Richie answered.
"So that makes you seventeen," Julie added.
"Sixteen," Rylan corrected softly. "I'll be seventeen in-"
"August," Julie interrupted.
"February."
Julie blushed. "The nineteenth." Rylan shook her head. "Eighth?" She shook her head again. "Eleventh?"
"Twenty-fourth," Rylan told her. "February 24, 1976. That's me."
Julie swallowed. "Tessa said you had exams this week, how did that go?"
Rylan thought for a minute. "Pretty good," she answered. "Duncan helped me with history, Tessa with chemistry, Richie's real good at math, I got English covered. I'm sure I did fine." Rylan slipped into a familiar smug tone that made Richie glance up at Duncan.
"Oh, that's good," Julie commented shifting in her seat slightly. "Have you decided about college?"
"Not yet. I don't know if I'm going to go."
"You should," Julie said. "It will help you a lot in life."
"I might go," Rylan offered still using the same smug tone that was now accompanied by a smirk. Tessa knew she wasn't going to like what was coming next. "Duncan and Tessa said all I have to do is get in, they'd take care of the rest. I can go wherever I want, Richie, too. If he decides to."
"That's good," Julie said forcing a smile. "They seem to do a lot for you."
"Oh, yeah, tons of stuff," Rylan answered with a glint in her eye. Tessa looked worriedly at Duncan. "They got me a job, warm clothes, let me stay with them even though there wasn't a lot of room at the loft, they made it work. Then they got this big house, and I got my own room, a computer, cool stereo, a TV, they let me stay up late, and go out even on school nights sometimes. They read my stories, help me with my homework, Tessa designed and built all my furniture, Duncan's teaching me karate. . ."
"Rylan," Tessa warned.
"They're real nice," Rylan kept going. "Best parents I ever had."
"Rylan!" Tessa said sharply. "I need to speak with you in the kitchen. Now." She took the girl by the arm and dragged her from the table. Richie looked from Duncan to Julie.
Duncan took in a deep breath. "Julie, I'm sorry," he said. "We didn't know she was going to say that."
"It's okay, Duncan. I'm sorry you're in the middle of all this. To be honest I knew it was coming," Julie admitted. "It's not your fault."
. . . . . .
"Rylan Elizabeth Fisher, what the hell do you think were doing in there?" Tessa demanded as soon as the door shut behind them.
"What?" Rylan answered innocently. "She asked a question, I answered it."
"You could have just said yes. You didn't have to list off every petty little thing."
"What are you talking about?"
"Don't play that game with me," Tessa warned. "Duncan may let you get away with things, but you've gone too far. She is you mother, she deserves to be treated with respect. What you just said to her was way out of line, you understand?"
"What I said? What about what she did?" Rylan shot back.
. . . . . .
Richie stared at the closed kitchen door and listened intently to the two voices screaming back and fourth in a mixture of French and English. He wondered if Julie spoke French. Hopefully she didn't, he didn't think she would like some of the words Rylan was using.
"Maybe we should go in the other room," Duncan offered standing up. Julie and Richie followed his lead into the den.
. . . . . .
"Rylan, you are embarrassing us," Tessa said sternly. "You know better than to behave like a child." Rylan set her jaw and stared up at her. "Do you want Julie to think that we've corrupted and spoiled her daughter?"
"Who cares what she thinks?" Rylan spat.
"You should."
"I don't."
"You should change that. Now I want you to go in there, be polite, nice, and stop showing off, you understand?" Rylan glared at her for a minute. Tessa glared back. "Do you understand?" she repeated slowly.
"Yeah, I understand," the girl mumbled.
"Good, now march."