Title: Reunificaton
Author: Lisbeth
Disclaimer: I do not own these characters
Show: Once And Again
Synopsis: While attending grad school, Grace runs into someone from her past
Rating: PG-13
Feedback: Please. Please. Please.
E-Mail: strangefruitgirl@hotmail.com
Chapter 4: The Way Things Are
As Jessie entered the apartment she shared with Katie, she saw her girlfriend waiting to greet her at the door with a kiss. Katie walked into the living room, dragging Jessie with her as they both plopped down onto the sofa.
"I thought you were supposed to be studying." Jessie offered.
"Well, I've been on a study break."
"For how long?"
"It officially began when I heard your keys in the door." Katie said as she kissed Jessie and laid her head on Jessie's lap. "So, how was your day?"
"It was good. Nothing too exciting."
"How are your mom and Henry?"
"They're good. I even went to Manning Manor." Jessie said as she started to run her fingers through her girlfriend's long hair. "I went for coffee with Grace. She's going to grad school over here."
"That's cool. We're all going to have to get together one night for dinner or something."
"I told Grace that we would meet for lunch sometime next week. You should have seen her grandmother, she's getting worse. She didn't even recognize me. She started to sort of have this paranoia anxiety attack or something. I felt like I was in an episode of The Twilight Zone or something."
"How's everyone else?" Katie asked.
"They're good. Nothing much has changed really. Same o same o. How's your studying coming along?"
"It's boring. I'm not a big fan of Dadaism. I think it bores me more even than Baroque. Have you eaten yet?" Katie asked as she sat up.
"Yes actually I have." Jessie said as she got off the sofa and walked into their bedroom with Katie following her. As she began to undress, Katie lied on the bed and began to flip through her notes some more. When she noticed this, she couldn't hold back the comment on the tip of her tongue. "Well, I think this maybe the first time I have undressed with you not staring back at me."
"That's because you never offered to help me study."
"Oh, so, how are we going to do this? For every answer you get right, I take off something." Jessie said playfully.
"Something like that." Katie said as she kneeled in front of Jessie on the bed and kissed her. "You're so bad sometimes – you little coquette" she said as they broke away from one another.
Jessie finished undressing and went to put on her pajamas when Katie continued the conversation.
"So, how is Grace doing?"
"We went to Booklovers and we ended up talking for over three hours. It was good. She's more of a human being now than she was when we were in high school."
"Ouch! That's not very nice Jessie. No nookie for you young lady!" Katie said.
"You won't believe who is in one of her classes."
"Who?"
"Come on, try and guess. It's a ghost from Christmas past."
"Ok…………………..Tad? Katie guessed.
"Nope, but you're warming up."
"Sarah?" Katie said in absolute dread.
"No. You want to give it one more try."
"I don't know Jessie, Mr. Dimitri?" Katie said with sarcasm.
"Yeah."
"What?" Katie asked
"Mr. Dimitri is in one of her classes as a student!"
"Oh my gosh. That's so funny. Are they talking to each other?"
"Grace just saw his name on the roll sheet. She never actually saw him in the class. I told her that it could have been someone else with that name, but she has a feeling that it's him."
"How many August Dimitri's are there in this world? Not too many I bet."
"I wanted to ask you something about that though. I only had Dimitri for the musical, never as a teacher, but you and Grace had his class together. Was he a good teacher?"
"Yeah, he was pretty good. He had a passion for literature and you could tell that just by watching the way he would approach it all. I'll admit, sometimes I was absolutely bored, but overall, he did a good job. Of course, that was until he was suspended."
"Did you ever believe all of those rumors that Alexa started?"
"No, but Jessie, it was kind of hard not too believe them at times."
"Explain it to me."
"If you really paid attention in class you could easily see that Grace was his favorite student. Just the way that he looked at her when she answered his questions. He had a thing for her; a blind man could see it. It was like some connection; I guess they had so much in common. I think that was why so many people found it easy to believe what Alexa said."
"So, you thought they had something going on."
"I don't know really. I just think it didn't help his case when he decided not to return after that semester. I mean, if he wasn't guilty of anything, you would think he would have returned."
"Maybe it was too much pressure for him."
"Maybe." Katie looked at her notebook again and sighed heavily. She threw it on the nightstand. "I'm calling it a night. There's only so much I can cram into my brain." As they brushed their teeth and prepared for bed, Jessie still was deciding whether she should tell Katie just how far the relationship between he step sister and former teacher had gone. As the two lied down in their bed, Jessie reached over to turn off the bedside lamp.
"So, it looks as if they might be getting a second chance. They've found one another." Katie said as she snuggled up to Jessie.
"He could be married for all we know."
"Well, all in given time."
It was then that Jessie felt she should tell Katie the truth. It wasn't really any of Katie's business, but Jessie thought that it might help out Grace somehow if a different perspective were offered in Grace's dilemma. "There's something I haven't told you yet……….about Grace and Mr. Dimitri. You just have to swear to me that this is just between me and you."
"Sure, what is it." Katie said with a serious undertone.
"Grace thinks that Mr. Dimitri had feelings for her, feelings that someone in his position should never have had. Grace kissed him before he left and she still has feelings for him. She feels that when he left, she wasn't allowed to move on with her life."
Katie met Jessie with silence, as she stared at her girlfriend in the dark. As she took in a deep breath, Katie tried to think of what to say, having just learned that what she always suspected was indeed true. "Is she going to tell him how she feels, if that is Mr. Dimitri?"
"I don't know. I think she just wants to get him out of her system, and she thinks that will happen if she sort of makes peace with what happened. I didn't really tell what to do. I told her to pretty much follow her heart. What would you have told her?"
"I think I would of told her the same thing you just did. I just hope she doesn't get her heart broken again." Katie said.
"Me neither." Jessie said.
As the two girls kissed each other goodnight, Jessie hoped that Grace knew what she was doing. In high school, she laughed at Grace's infatuation with her teacher, but now that Grace was an adult, it both scared and excited her to think that Grace may just have a second chance to love. Just what it would cost, no one really would know.
As Grace woke up that morning for her run, she was convinced that everything, in the end, would be alright. She was determined to actually get the nerve up to talk to him. Grace was still pretty sure that she could recognize him. As she looked in the mirror, she gave herself a small pep talk. "You're gonna be fine. Everything is going to be fine." The trouble was that she had a hard time believing it. She just reminded herself that she had to handle it in a mature, adult manner. It was odd to believe that even though she had matured so much in five years, a person who she hadn't resumed any kind contact with in those five years still made her feel like a silly little school girl inside. Grace figured that she didn't want to come off as if she were somehow trying to grab his attention, even though she was inside. She thought about how much she had indeed changed. Her hair was grown out due to her own boredom with the hairstyles she had always had ever since she was a kid. She didn't expect to like it as much as she did, so she decided to just keep it. Grace wondered just how much he could have changed. Would it be something drastic or would he still be the same? Then she shook herself from the lapse in concentration and walked out of the bathroom.
With four minutes left until Dr. Sutton's class began, Grace walked in and forced herself not to look at the other students already in their seats. There weren't as many students as there were on the first day of class. Sharon was already in her seat chatting with the guy who sat behind her. As Grace walked up to her desk she greeted Sharon and tried so hard not to look up and see if he was there. Her nerves were slowly beginning to tighten up as she realized that she honestly didn't think she could just go up to him. How amazing it was that someone who once made her feel so at ease now made her so uncomfortable, even in her own skin.
"Hey girl! Would you believe how many students dropped the class already? We haven't even been given our first assignment." Sharon said.
As Dr. Sutton walked into the class, the room quieted up immediately. She walked over to the right side section of the classroom and handed the girl in the first chair the roll sheet to sign. The lecture was primarily an introduction to Russian poetry. Dr. Sutton referred to some of the poems in the class' textbook while the students, Grace included, took notes. In the middle of the class, Dr. Sutton brought up the subject of the class' first major assignment.
"I want you to do a research paper that focus' on a character analysis. When I mean character analysis, I want you to pick one major character from Russian literature, and pretty much do a Dr. Freud on them. You will have to bring up defining moments for that character from the story, what lessons were learned, what lessons weren't learned. I know you may be telling yourself, 'Dr. Sutton, this isn't a psychology class.' But in order for you to understand the literature, you have to really understand the character. You need to understand their motivations, their reasoning, and their lives.
"This paper won't be due till around the end of the semester, so that gives you plenty of time to find your character. I will hand out a sheet with the paper requirements and what not in a few weeks. I want you to start early because I don't want to read half ass papers. This paper counts for forty percent of your grade, so, if procrastination is your best friend, now is the time to get a new friend."
With those words, Grace began to fear the class more than the fact that August Dimtri was in the same room as she was. Then the fear began to set in that maybe he was one of the people who dropped the class. Grace didn't have the courage to turn her head to see if he was in the class, but she couldn't help but wonder if he was one of the people who decided to give up on the class. It angered Grace to think that he would do such a thing. The August she knew wouldn't just give up after one try. He wouldn't just give up on her. Grace slapped herself out of her spell as she cursed herself for even thinking that he could still think of her the way she did of him. She knew she was setting herself up for the biggest fall by thinking those kinds of thoughts. Her self-esteem was sinking faster than the Titanic at that moment. She knew that he would have been the type of person to go up to someone they hadn't seen in a long time and say hello. A part of her felt that he may never have recognized her, but she had a feeling that he may just indeed know that she was in there.
As the class was dismissed, Grace quickly jetted out of the room after telling Sharon goodbye. She needed to get home. It bugged her to think that she wasn't half as brave as she originally thought she was. She needed to walk.
When Grace drove up to Manning Manor, Hilda, the house nurse, was sitting down crocheting something while Barbara was watching television. The set up was simple. Hilda would arrive at the house right before Lily left for work. Grace would return home at around 2:30-3:00 to take over where Hilda left off. School was dismissed at 3:25, but Lily would pick up Zoe and Simon from their schools.
As Hilda drove off, Grace walked into the living room and sat next to her grandmother, who was still watching television. Barbara looked up to see Grace staring back at her.
"Hi Grace. I didn't know you were back from school."
"I've been back for a few minutes now."
"Where's that old bat Hilda?"
"She just left. It looks like it's just you and me for a little while."
"I like having you around." Barbara said.
"What did you and Hilda do all day?"
"Nothing much. She worked on that thing-a-ma-jig she brought over. It must be nice to have a job where you sit on your butt all day and make sure someone takes their medication."
"Sounds pretty boring to me. Do you want to take a walk around the neighborhood with me?"
"Please. I need some air." Barbara said with relief.
"Well, how about we go upstairs and put on some comfortable shoes."
Grace followed Barbara on the stairs and watched her go into her room. Grace climbed up to the attic and quickly changed into her workout clothes. As she quietly descended the stairs, she passed by her grandmother's room and saw Barbara sitting on the edge of the bed. Her shoes were on her feet, but it looked like she was having trouble tying her shoelaces.
"I know I can do this!" Barbara said quietly as she continued to struggle with the shoes. Grace watched in silence as she saw the struggle and it broke her heart. Something she took for granted, something she thought was so easy to do, was something her grandmother couldn't remember how to do. She could even swear her grandmother was on the verge of tears. It was then that she decided to step in.
"Grandma." Grace said as Barbara looked up. "Let me get those for you" Grace said as she walked up to her grandmother and kneeled down to tie her shoes.
"I could do it the other day Grace, I swear."
"It's ok. Sometimes I forget how to do some of the simplest things too. Sometimes I forget to even zip my pants when I leave the bathroom." It was a lie, but Grace figured that if a white lie would make her grandmother feel even remotely better, it was worth it. And it was, Barbara smiled.
As the two walked out of the door, Barbara kept talking about her new bracelet and how Lily said that she should never take it off. Grace admired it as she locked her arm around her grandmother and they walked around the block. Grey skies were looming over them while autumn's leaves seemed to pave the trail for them to walk. It was a quiet moment, probably the best one that day for Grace.
That Friday, Grace's school day went by in a flash, almost in fast forward. She passed a pop quiz in her Shakespeare class on The Two Gentlemen Of Verona and her Russian literature class was actually somewhat enjoyable. Grace loved the class for its subject matter, but hated it because of the nervousness that overcame her whenever she stepped foot into the classroom. For fifty minutes, her stomach was in turmoil and her heart rate was always a beat or two above normal. Grace didn't think she could last in that physical state for the rest of the semester. Sharon had invited her to Rumi's that night to hang out with a few of her friends, but Grace had to turn down the offer because of her and Zoe's dinner plans with their father and Tiffany.
As Grace pulled her car into her father's driveway, Zoe was still ranting on about her new ideas for a dance recital.
"It's such a good idea Grace. A sort of hybrid between modern dance and ballet set to today's music instead of that boring old classical stuff that we're always force-fed with. Oh my gosh, I can't believe I didn't think of this before!" Zoe ranted.
"Ok, I understand you're all excited about this, but could you please let the recital idea have a rest please?" Grace asked as the two of them got out of her car and walked to the front door. As Grace rang the doorbell, they could hear the voice of Maddie on the other side of the door with Tiffany's voice.
"Honey, hold on!" Tiffany yelled as she opened the door. "Hey you two! Come on in!" Tiffany said as she hugged the two of them. "Your father's in the kitchen putting the final touches to everything."
After Jake and Tiffany took over Booklovers, the business picked up so well that the two of them were able to move into their own home. It was a good ten minute drive from Manning Manor, but the home had the same feeling. Maddie came running into the kitchen, as active as ever. She ran into her mother's arms, and then greeted Zoe and Grace. Grace went to hug her father and say hello.
Dinner was both a calm and relaxing event that night. As the five of them sat at the table and chatted up about the current events in their lives, Zoe continued in her rant about the recital ideas she kept coming up with.
"I should be writing these ideas down, really! Have you guys ever heard that song by Enigma? Crap, what's it called? Oh yeah, "Carly's Song." That would be perfect!"
"So, Grace, how has graduate school been going? You just got out of school, and now you're back." Jake stated.
"Well, I want to get my PhD dad. That can take up to eight years sometimes."
"Eight years! I had trouble handling four years of high school." Tiffany said.
"Well, I would like to be an English professor, and you have to have your PhD if you even want to be considered for that kind of position."
"So, what would you like your emphasis to be in?" Tiffany asked.
"Well, I'm still not too sure. I was thinking Russian or English literature. I love Chekov. I don't have to worry about working on a thesis for about two years, so I guess that gives me time."
"A thesis?" Jake asked.
"It's sort of like this big research project that takes a few years to complete. Before you get your PhD., you have to present, and in some cases, defend your research in front of a board." Grace replied.
"Well, what are you going to do to earn money until then?"
"PhD students usually get jobs as teaching assistants. Some even teach basic English classes on their own. I'm hoping that will be the case for me in about a year or two."
"That sounds great Grace." Tiffany said.
"Well, if that's what you want to do, we're behind you." Jake said.
"So, are you seeing anyone?" Tiffany asked.
"No." Grace was quick to reply. "I'm just not really looking right now."
"Well, it's when you're not looking, that's what you have to be careful for. It's always when you're not looking – that's when you find them." Tiffany said.
As Grace focused on her plate, she hoped that the conversation would change – fast. It did when Tiffany started talking about Maddie's kindergarten class. Zoe talked a little about Barbara and "horrible Hilda" as she liked to put it. Grace didn't want to think of the situation and instead kept silent about the situations she had seen Barbara in.
An hour later, Grace reached for the bottle of wine that Jake and Tiffany broke out and poured herself a glass. Grace wasn't someone who drank on a regular basis, but that night, she felt the pull of the merlot. She knew that if she didn't feel good, Zoe would be able to drive them home. As she savored the flavor, she thought of the time she caught him in their fridge looking for the wine. She remembered asking him what it tasted like. She asked him if she could try it. A part of her knew that he was going to cross into forbidden territory by letting her taste the forbidden fruit. He was, after all, the tree that held the fruit in the first place. He would of let her try it, and that was what scared her a little. Anyone else would have immediately told her no. If only they wouldn't have been disrupted. There were too many of those and "what ifs" in her head.
As she and Zoe helped Tiffany clean up, Jake put Maddie to bed. When Grace and Zoe left, Jake reminded Zoe that she had to report to work the next day at 10:00. Because Zoe knew of the merlot Grace had taken, she used it as the perfect excuse to finally drive Grace's car.
"Ok, fine." Grace said as she handed the keys to Zoe.
The two girls waved goodbye and drove home. The drive was silent, and Grace couldn't be happier. She relished in happiness at the thought of having two days off to relax. She figured she could possibly begin working on her big character analysis paper by trying some research online. It was then that she was glad she took those two psychology classes a few years ago. If memory served her correct, she may of even still have the textbooks from the class.
When the girls returned home, Grace immediately went to bed. The past few days were pretty decent for her, but she still never had a perfect day. She could only imagine what it would be like, but no clear image would form. She would continue though to strive for that day; that day when she would be able to look August Dimitri in the eyes and know that everything was going to be fine between the two of them.
