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Cecilia hesitantly approached the door and rang the bell with the shaky pointer finger of her right hand. Her left arm had Juliet in it, and her left hand clenched on to one of Juliet's smaller stuffed animals. She anxiously started to tap her foot as she began to think that no one was home. It didn't seem like anyone was coming to answer her call. Just as she was about to retreat back to the car as fast as possible, the door opened.
George Smith stared blankly at his daughter until his eyes fell upon the baby attached to her hip. He realized he was being rude and cleared the path in front of the door, allowing her to enter. Cecilia walked inside and went immediately to sit on the couch. He still stared at her; he completely forgot that the correct thing to do would have been to sit down.
Juliet started to get fussy on Cecilia's lap, so she shifted her weight to try and calm the fidgeting infant. The little girl looked at her mother, then up at her grandfather, and then finally back down at Cecilia. Her bottom lip began to quiver and she let out a few tiny wails before one loud one. Cecilia took Juliet's pacifier out of the pocket of her sweatshirt and tried to give it to the baby. Juliet turned her head every which way to avoid putting the object into her mouth. Once she realized Cecilia had given up, she let out a few more big screams before starting to cry quietly.
"I'll go get your mother," George mumbled and left the room quietly.
Cecilia shook her head as she tried to calm Juliet. She should have figured as much would happen; Juliet had never been too fond of strangers, especially older people. She'd generally cower in the presence of anyone over thirty. Cecilia used the stuffed elephant she brought inside with her to distract her daughter as she held her closer to her. "Shh…sweetie. It's OK. Mommy's here," she whispered just so Juliet would be able to hear her.
Cecilia's father and mother appeared from around the corner of the hallway and came and sat next to her on the couch. Juliet saw them come back into the room and immediately whipped her head around to face the other side of the room, placing her tiny chin on Cecilia's shoulder. Cecilia smiled; they could be so much alike at times that it almost scared her.
The dense silence that was hanging in the room between the three adults was quickly broken by the sounds of sobbing- not from Juliet, but from Cecilia's mother. She never thought that she would ever see her daughter again, and to see her now with her own daughter in tow was just too much for her to bear.
George grabbed his wife's hand in attempt to stabilize her emotions and tried to start a dialogue with Cecilia. "I'm happy to see you again honey." Cecilia didn't say anything. "What brings you back home?"
"Simon," she answered after a few long seconds. Her father's heart sank; he was hoping that she came back because she needed their help. Also, Simon was the one who started this whole mess to begin with- regardless of the fact that he had slightly forgiven him for deflowering his daughter.
"You're not trying to get back with him, are you?" her mother asked with regained composure.
"No. He-he wanted to see Juliet so I brought her to see him. Not willingly, but I'm here."
"Are you working?" her father asked.
She knew he would ask her this. "Not right now. I have enough money saved up to cover our expenses for a little while. I know it's probably not the smartest thing to do, not work, but we don't have the money to eat and pay for childcare. Besides, she's still too little and she doesn't do well with new people."
"Well, that's your choice."
Exactly, she thought. She was living her own life and she didn't need them. The main thing that allowed her to come back home and at least see her parents was the fact that she wasn't coming back on her hands and knees. She truly could do without their help. Cecilia was an independent adult, a mother, and although things weren't easy she didn't need them to clean up after her anymore.
"If you aren't working," Mrs. Smith asked, "then how did you afford to come here?"
"I drove. It wasn't the fastest way to get here, but it was cheapest."
"You drove two thousand miles by yourself with an infant?"
"No, someone came with me."
"Who?" George asked.
Cecilia was diffident about answering this one. She was well aware of how this would appear. She even had some of the same thoughts she assumed everyone else would have when they found out about Wilson, so she knew first hand what their opinions would be. They would think that she was crazy, that he was using her, that she needed more help than they could give her, that she was going to wind up pregnant again, that there must be something terribly wrong with this man- any of those things would suffice.
"My boyfriend came with me."
"What?" he said.
"You heard me," she said calmly, "and if you're going to try and fight me on that I'll be out of here quicker than I appeared."
"Please don't leave," her mother begged. "Tell us about your life in Buffalo. You are still in Buffalo, aren't you?"
"I am." She thought over the passed year or so in her head. There wasn't that much to tell. "I have my own apartment. It's in a good neighborhood and it's relatively inexpensive. Um…that's basically it."
"OK," George said. He didn't want to pressure her or make a comment that would make her flee. "So, this boyfriend of yours that drove with you, where is he now?"
"He's in his car in the driveway." In a moment of bravery, Cecilia chose to be more mature than her parents gave her credit for acting. "Would you like to meet him?" she asked as she stood with Juliet in tow. They nodded, almost too flabbergasted to speak, and followed her outside.
Cecilia spied Wilson sitting in the car and their eyes locked. She smiled reassuringly at him and brought her parents over. He got out of the car and stood smiling.
"Wilson, this is my dad, George, and my mom, Lisa." Wilson extended his hand and George took it.
"How old are you son?" George questioned. He was no fool.
"Twenty five."
He took a deep breath. "Don't hurt her. She's strong, but a person can only take so much."
"I know that, sir. But you don't have to worry about me," he took a long glance over at Cecilia, "I would never want to hurt her."
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A/N: I know it's been forever and a year since I updated, and I'm sorry. I just completely and totally lost any and all motivation that I had. But, I think I might actually finish this before 2010! There'd only be two or three more chapters left- four tops.
I had Cecilia go see her parents because I figured that would be a big thing for her. It would be too hard for her to go back to GlenOak and not see them. As strong as she is, and as strong as she thinks she is, they are still her parents. Besides, going to see them delays her going to see Simon.
Next chapter: Camden interaction
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Reviews don't hurt me, just like Wilson won't hurt Cecilia.
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