Title: Wings of Crimson
Author: Summer [Indian Summer]
Date Published: 08.17.2004
Rating: PG-13, for now
Summary: At twenty-five, Grace Polk's soul is darker than it was at fifteen. Her life has spiraled out of control, and she's lost all that's important to her. Her daughter, her boyfriend, her father. She's been looking for comfort in the arms of the wrong man, but what happens when the man she can't forget comes back?
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters from "Joan of Arcadia." Credit for the chapter title is the Pernice Brothers' "Working Girls."
Author's Note: This chapter seems to be mostly filler at first glance, but it provides a little background information.
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Since her return to Arcadia, Grace had been working at a local coffeehouse called Java Script. In recent years, the coffeehouse had turned over such a profit that its owner, Holly Hidalgo, had added on a computer café, explaining it added yet another interpretation of the coffeehouse's name.
Aside from its computer café, Java Script offered more than 200 kinds of coffee, live bands, and poetry readings.
It was set off of Warner Road right outside of the business district of Arcadia, making it a prime location for old and young alike. It attracted a wide crowd, everyone from poets and musicians to computer junkies or retirees.
So at noon the place was often crowded, and today was no exception.
"Would it be weird for a coffeehouse to require reservations?" Grace asked Holly sarcastically after she'd seated the last table. "Because we have probably 15 more people in line and no available seats."
Holly swore under her breath, twisting a strand of her blonde hair around on her finger. "Go get Jason. Tell him his break's over, whether he likes it or not."
Grace nodded, disappearing into the backroom.
Jason Roberts was a grad student who had started working part time at Java Script nearly a year ago. Unfortunately, his family had enough money that they called working 'character building.' When Grace swung open the door, she wasn't surprised to see him lounging on the couch watching porn. "Hey, Jase, get your ass back to work. We've got a line out there. And can you stop bringing that crap to work?"
Jason raised an eyebrow, not attempting to move. "If you wanna make your own movie with me, sure."
Grace rolled her eyes, grabbed the remote from the table and switched off the television. "Come on."
"Tell Holly I'll be out in…" he started, pausing to check his watch, "Eight minutes. When my break's over."
"Not gonna work," Grace responded, "Because you know I could have Holly fire your ass if I told her what you did the other night in the bathroom and exactly why Joanna Reynolds is a regular."
Jason barely glanced up. "You can't do that," he said lazily.
"Why not?" Grace asked, her stomach sinking.
"Because," he said, raising his eyes to meet hers, "I know your secret."
Grace laughed, sure he was bluffing. "And what secret is that, exactly?"
Jason smirked. "That you, Gracie dear, were once married to one Mr. Luke Girardi."
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"She's making you look bad, Luke. You have to explain to her that her being late reflects badly on all of us."
Luke looked over at his girlfriend of four years. "Don't worry about it, Aura. Joan's only fifteen minutes late. And it doesn't look like Roger's on a tight schedule or anything," he said, gesturing to the open cockpit door.
Aurora Lynn followed his gaze to their pilot, who was doing a crossword puzzle. "Fine. But tell her that in the future-"
Luke nodded. "Okay. I will." He paused, searching for something to change the topic to. "Where are you going after you leave Arcadia again?"
Aurora smiled. "Milan. I booked a cover, remember?"
"Right."
Aurora pouted, leaning toward him. "Are you going to miss me?"
"Of course," Luke smiled. "I still don't understand why you're coming to Arcadia with me. You're going to be bored. It's not like LA, Aura."
"It's your home, Luke. I want to see where you grew up. And hear what you were like before you became who you are today," Aurora sighed.
Luke took her hand in his. "I can tell you that, Aurora. I can tell you that I was a nerd who had like, two friends in Arcadia. And that my high school girlfriend didn't play with Barbie dolls when she was little- she hung them. And that when she got pregnant we promised we'd make it work, even when Arcadia turned against us. But that didn't happen. And that's all there is in Arcadia."
Aurora tilted her head to the side, but before she could speak Joan rushed in, towing a young blonde girl in her wake.
"I'm so sorry I'm late. I was talking on the phone to Greg and then there were reporters and Greg heard them and…" Joan trailed off, glancing at Luke. "Well, you know how he feels about that."
"Yes," Luke said tersely. He and Joan's boyfriend, Gregory Bennett, did not get along at all. "What did the reporters want?"
Joan shrugged, turning toward the little girl. "Come sit with Aunty Joan. We can play spit on the way to Arcadia." She looked back at Luke, a huge grin spreading across her face. "I can't wait to go home."
Luke smiled, but his gaze was on Aurora. And how every time someone mentioned Arcadia, she tensed.
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High schools were very gossipy places and the faculty room at Arcadia
High was no exception. Generally, Gavin Price tried to ignore the
rumors that spread like wildfire around the table as the staff ate
lunch. He'd sit in a corner with his newspaper and just imagine he was
elsewhere.
Today he sat in his corner with a newspaper, but he could not seem to focus his eyes on it. Instead, he found himself listening to every word out of the teachers' mouths as they whispered back and forth about the whereabouts of Helen Girardi.
"I heard she's having an affair."
"No! Helen told Lara that she was picking her son up at the airport."
Mrs. Lishack leaned forward. "Which son? Did she say? I'd love to see Luke again. It's such a great thing when one of our own makes such a lasting contribution to science."
"She didn't say. But wouldn't his return home have been on the news today? Maybe it's Kevin."
"I don't know…"
"What did Luke do again?"
Mrs. Lishack looked aghast by the ignorance of her peers. "Luke cured the common cold! He made a substance called galvinose in the lab, and when it's mixed with cedar oils, it's a cure."
"Well, if it is Luke, why do you think he's coming home? Will that girlfriend of his be with him? That model? What's her name?"
"Starts with an A. Audrey? Ariel? Annie?"
"Aurora, I think."
Mrs. Lishack was quiet for a minute, and Gavin was sure she was thinking the same thing as him. "Do you think Luke will be coming home with anyone else?" she asked, her words ringing in his ears, even long after the staff's shrugs.
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Luke had told his mother he would meet her in Baggage Claim, but getting Joan there had proved to be a problem.
"C'mon, Luke, just let me watch it for a minute. I'll meet you there," Joan said, her eyes focused on an airport television.
"Joan, you're the surprise. Mom doesn't know you're coming home," he stated.
Joan frowned. "But I want to watch this. It's about you-"
Luke frowned, turning his attention to the television.
"Luke Girardi has returned to his hometown of Arcadia, Maryland. In his company are two women and a little girl. There have been no identifications made on any of his travel companions, but among them is likely Aurora Lynn, his model girlfriend of more than four years. There's a lot of speculation that he has taken Miss Lynn home to meet his family before they marry-" a reporter was saying.
"Oh, come on, Joan, it's all crap. You know that. I'm not even engaged-"
"Yeah, yeah, I know. Thank God."
Luke rolled his eyes. "Be nice to her. Aurora has nothing against you. You shouldn't-"
"Luke…"
"Seriously, Joan."
Joan sighed. "You can do whatever the hell you want with Aurora. But Grace is- was- my friend. I'm not just going to jump on the 'love-Aurora' bandwagon."
Luke winced at the mention of his ex. "Joan, my relationship with Aurora has nothing to do with Grace."
Joan nodded, her gaze following Aurora and the little girl, who had walked ahead. "Maybe it should."
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By mid-afternoon, the crowd in Java Script had died down slightly.
Grace was still kept busy, though, since Holly had decided to take her
break and Jason had worked a total of twenty minutes the whole day.
"Hey, Grace?" Holly called from the backroom.
Grace jumped at the sound of Holly's voice, spilling coffee on her pants. "Yeah?"
"Uh, you might want to see this."
Grace frowned. "Can't it wait? I still have three orders to fill…"
"Trust me, this is more important. I can control the masses for a few minutes," Holly said as she reentered the main room. "Go watch the news."
"What? Why?"
"Ergh, just go."
Confused, Grace went into the backroom. Jason was still on the couch, but now he was leaning toward the television with interest. He pointed at it when Grace entered the room. "Looks like loverboy's coming home, huh?"
Grace's eyes widened as a picture of Luke filled the screen. "What's going on?"
Jason sat up. "Luke and his girlfriend are in Arcadia."
As Jason spoke, the image on the television changed to one of Luke and Aurora, all smiles with their arms wrapped around each other.
"Apparently he's doing the meet the parents thing with her. You know, before they get married," Jason said, a twinkle in his eye.
Grace glared at him, irritated by how amusing Jason seemed to find this. "Well, that should be interesting to see."
Jason frowned. "Why?"
Grace
raised an eyebrow, grabbing the remote and turning the TV off. "Because
I'm still married to him," she said, turning on her heel and walking
out of the room, leaving a very stunned Jason behind.
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