Ok I guess its seriously time for a disclaimer.
Disclaimer: YaYaYa….You know the drill. I own nothing but life, the universe and everything. My brain belongs to Acme and my soul is the property of those barbies at Toys R us. My body is with the Ewoks since they captured me last month. My name is property of my school and my life belongs to my parents, along with any free time I may have. This story is Anne. B's. My money is in the bank, with my slippers. Don't ask how the bank got my slippers, when I did, they gave me to the Ewoks. Ok wait…ahhhh! Im being shoved aside!
Russ- Hey I'm your creation!
Lady at the Auberge- Moi aussi!
Taxi driver- Oui!
Phia- Ya, jeeze. Im original!
Flight attendant- Oh My God! You forgot me? How could you? I'm like, the main character!
Me- OK, peoples. Hold it. Half of you haven't even come into the story yet!
Flight attendant- Well then start the chapter! I can't wait any more! You are useless! I'm going to go curl my hair!
Me- okkkkk. Sure. But she has a point. Here it is….
Chapter five!
To the optimist, the glass is half full.
To the pessimist, the glass is half empty.
To the engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.
To the plumber, any liquid in the glass is potential--John Pettitt and Ed O'Connell"We are now arriving in Quebec. Please fasten your seat belts and close all trays. An attendant will come around to collect any garbage you need to dispose of. Nous arrivons en Quebec. Mis vos sintures sil vous plait et ferme tous tes…." Bridget stopped listening. Wait…why are they speaking French? I flew straight from Alabama to San Francisco! They don't speak French in San Francisco, do they? Oh, no. Did that lady on the inter-com say we're in Quebec? What's going on?
"Excuse me," She spoke to the flight attendant who was coming to take her garbage. "Where are we exactly?" Bridget handed her a granola bar wrapper.
"Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. Can I take that soda can for you?" Passing the empty Sprite can, Bridget had a feeling of dread wash over her.
"Ummm…I was told I would be going to San Francisco. Is this a detour? I thought it was one-way." She stuffed the remaining mars-bar wrapper, Saran wrap and sandwich crusts frantically into the garbage trolley. Stupid trolley. Why did airplanes always have to be so…organized? I would go insane if I worked here. Everything is so perfect. It must be hard keeping it that way.
"Perhaps you bought the wrong ticket, would you care to let me see it?" The flight attendant reached out her hand to take the ticket. Carmen handed it over, feeling as though it was yet another piece of garbage.
"Well, I did have to transfer my later ticket because it was an emergency. But on the phone I definitely said that I wanted to go to San Francisco." Now how was she going to get to Tibby on time? Maybe the baby was already born. If that was the case, did they really need her? But what if Tibby was dead? Oh my god I need to phone the hospital!
" Yes, miss, your ticket says Quebec here. Perhaps in your hurry you forgot to examine it closely?" The skinny blond said with more than a little criticism.
"Oh well, your absolutely no help at all!" Bridget fired back. "I understand I have the wrong ticket, now could you please find me a directory with all the accommodations in Quebec City?" Flipping open her cell phone, Bridget turned away from the flight attendant. The woman curtly sniffed, then finished her rounds with the trolley and went in search of a brochure.
Dialing Brian's cell-phone number, she waited as the phone rang three times.
"Hello?" She sighed in relief as Brian McBrian answered the phone.
"Brian, thank God. Is everything all right?"
"Yea! The baby is here and Tibby is fine, if not a little worse for wear." She could hear the joy in his voice as he explained to her that they would stay in the hospital for a few more days to monitor the health of the child. Then they would be going home, to Los Angeles.
"Oh that's wonderful! And I love the name you picked! Jordan is such a kick-ass girls name!" As Bridget told him what had happened with the airplane tickets, she smiled to relive built-up stress. Tibby is safe! The baby's healthy! Quickly the phone was transferred from Brian to his wife.
"Bridget! Wow! Did you ever miss an awesome birth! I'll tell you all about it when you get to LA next week!"
"Next week? I was going to go right over to San Francisco."
"But then you would have to buy another plane ticket as well as the greyhound to L.A.! Stay in Quebec for a week! Enjoy yourself! Maybe you will find inspiration to write another book." Tibby was being very persuasive.
"I guess I could do that. I'll e-mail Eric on my laptop and tell him where I am. I should go home soon, though. I'm due in a month and a half! Two kids, Tibbster! Twins! Can you believe it?"
They exclaimed over their futures and Tibby described her baby to her best friend. Finally the plane landed and Bridget had to say goodbye."
"OK Bee, see you in seven days, We'll be at the loft, you know the address." Bridget turned her cell-phone off. Unbuckling her seat belt, she re-packed her carry-on sack and made her way through the procession. Walking through an automatic door, she walked into the luggage-collection room of the small airport. As she waited for her suitcase to be unloaded from the plane, Bridget had a talk with customer-service. They apologized and gave her a ticket to LA departing in a week after making a few phone calls.
Grabbing her luggage off the revolving spinner, she called a taxi after looking the number up in a phone book. Bridget asked the driver in broken high school French to bring her to the Le Chevalier bed and breakfast that she had seen in the directory on the airplane. The car pulled up after half an hour to a large, old-stone house. The sign at the front indicated that it was Le Chevalier.
"Quarent-sept dolaires, sil vous plait." The driver smiled and wrote the price down on a piece of paper. $47. Ouch. Paying the man in American dollars, she got out of the car and walked up the stone pathway to the house. A screen door with another sign on it directed visitors to do something, but she didn't know what. It was in French. Oh man! Tibby wasn't thinking straight! How am I supposed to get by in a francophone city when all I speak is English? Thankfully, at that moment an old woman came to the door.
"As tu besoin d'aide?" She smiled at Bridget and gestured for her to come inside.
"Je veux dormir dans la salle de bain avec un pantoufle rempli de nuriture?" Bridget tried to explain that she needed a room and breakfast. She had a bad feeling in her gut when the woman laughed.
"You want to sleep in the bathroom with a slipper filled with food? My dear, do you need a place to stay?" The woman did not mean to be cruel. Bridget laughed with her at the ridiculous sentence she had constructed.
"Yes, my airplane ticket was switched and instead of going to San Francisco, I ended up here. The next flight I can catch is next week. Do you have any vacancies? I would really appreciate it, since I just spent fifty bucks on the taxi." She smiled pleadingly and shifted her backpack to her left shoulder.
The woman sighed, then cursed in French. "Tabernac. No my dear, I do not have any vacancies," Bridgets' heart sank. "But I will let you sleep on my couch free of charge until Mr. Bandeau checks out tomorrow morning. How does that sound?" Her face crinkled in a smile.
"Oh thank you! You are so kind! I have to pay you, though! I can't take advantage of your hospitality!" She was not allowed to pay, the woman said. They were not giving her a bed, therefor it was not necessary to compensate. She led Bridget to the living room, gestured towards a large, orange couch. It looked more comfortable than her bed at home.
"You can put your belongings in this closet, here. Tonight, you eat with us! I am so sorry that l'auberge has no vacancies. But you will still be treated as though you are a guest."
"But even if I was a guest here, I would only be given breakfast, not dinner. Please, at least let me go to a restaurant tonight. I want to intrude into your family the least possible." Bridget really didn't want to have dinner with this wonderful family. She wanted to have dinner with Eric. At least she could eat alone tonight. Maybe she could IM him in an Internet café.
"Oh well, mon cherie, you can do as you like. Come in before ten because that is when I lock the door, dacord?" And with that, The elderly Quebecoise lady left the parlor.
Bridget stood there for a moment, then put her suitcase into the closet. Taking out her laptop and her purse, she left the B+B, walking down the ancient street into Quebec. She giggled in amazement. It was all so beautiful! So old! Walking past a vast green field, Bridget decided to go for a walk in the park. She could see the spires of the Quebecois parliament over the roofs of the ancient houses. Perhaps this wouldn't be so bad after all.
"Always carry a flagon of whiskey in case of snakebite and furthermore always carry a small snake."--W.C. Fields.
Suburbia - where they cut down trees and name streets after them—Common knowledge
Ryan was getting so mad. He was getting seriously peeved. She was totally starting to piss him off. Don't worry, it wasn't Phia. It was Christina, his mom.
"Invite her over to dinner, OK? I want to meet her! What's her name again?" Bugged eyed, she drilled him with question after question. Demand after demand. Maybe I should have had a few more friends. Close friends, like Carmen does. Maybe then mom would let up.
"For the last time, mum! We are not going out! Jesus! Give me a break! You keep hounding me to make friends, but when I do, you won't leave me alone!" Finally, the explosion building up inside him had erupted.
"You won't tell me anything. I want to share your life with you; you're my son! Can I help it that I'm excited?" She stood right in front of him, forcing Ryan to answer.
"Just…. give…me….time." He forced the words out through clenched teeth. Get your own life! He felt like screaming.
Christina looked stricken, but as though she understood.
"I'm going to go out now, OK? I'll be back later." Ryan could see his mom trying not to ask whether he was going to meet Phia. He was, but he didn't want to give her that much information. Ryan left before his mom could change her mind.
Jumping on his skateboard, he passed the park and turned onto Pine Street. There was a little ice cream parlor called Cool Scoops that the two of them had agreed to meet at.
He sat at a table in the far corner, telling the waiter that he would order in a little while. Phia came five minutes later. Amazingly, she wore her black hair down that day with two little braids at the front; she usually tied it up. It went down past her shoulder blades, camouflaging into the black and red tee shirt she wore. Her jeans were ripped on one knee and there was writing all over them. There was even a little embroidery decorating the faded denim. She looked really hot and Ryan wasn't one to hide the truth.
"Hey, you're looking really sweet. Nice jeans by the way, where'd ya get them?" Ryan had gelled his hair a little today, making the blue almost glow under the summer sun. He was wearing red cotton cargo-pants and a purple tee.
"The second-hand place on Ash Street. It's got the funkiest things. Thanks for the compliment, by the way. Your not too shabby yourself, I particularly like that shirt." She indicated his mauve statement.
To that he simply smiled, then the waiter came back to see if they were ready to order.
"I'll have a coke float please." Phia ordered first.
"Err… A banana split please." Ryan looked at Ophelia, she looked back at her.
"So what do you think of guys in general?" He asked her a blunt question. If she was anything like him, and he guessed she was, she wouldn't mind answering it.
"Well, I find some guys are like lava lamps, fun to look at but not too bright. Some are like pennies, two-faced and worthless. Sorry I'm a bit harsh. But some are honest, smart, and fun. Some have integrity and honor. Guys like that don't have to be compared to anything, you can just spot them. Can you guess which group you're in?" She smiled, it light up her face. A waiter whooshed passed, creating a wind that stirred her smooth hair.
"The third one?" Ryan cautiously asked.
"No! The first one you dork! Just kidding, the third one yes, but also a little of the first one. Your fun to look at."
"Is that a compliment or an insult?" He laughed, revealing a healthy set of teeth, even if the canine ones were a little sharper than average.
"Compliment, I'm not really that cruel, am I?" She didn't wait for a reply. "Anyway, what do you think of our whole conforming school? Girls wearing pink, boy wearing blue?"
The ice cream came and they continued talking. They talked about opinions, politics, religion, clothes and almost everything in between. Finally they came to the only subject left. Them.
"My mom won't leave me alone! She thinks we're going out already! Not that I don't like the idea." He assured her. "It's just I don't like having to correct her. So, what do you think?"
"Do you want to go out, you mean?"
"Sure, sounds fun. Pick me up around seven?" He teased her and they laughed.
"Shut up! Yea sure, you're on. Considering you're the only person I would even consider going out with in this town, Ryan. Everyone else is so normal."
"Cool. Wanna get out of here then?" He asked his new girlfriend. That sounds nice. Phia, my girlfriend. Although I hate the whole possessive thing. Calling her 'my' sounds so awful. Mom will be happy though. She said sure and Ryan picked up the tab. Walking down Oak Street, He took a chance and held her hand. (a/n ok fine, its fluffy, but fluff is comfy! I like fluff!) She looked at him sidelong, but didn't pull away. They walked down the street into the July sun. An odd pair. A black-haired thrift-store punk with a blue-haired, purple-shirted skater-boy walking down the bare suburban street together.
Happiness is like peeing your pants, everyone can see it, but only you can feel the warmth.--A happy person
"Don't spend your life as a pretty bitch... God will send you back nice and ugly!"
--Fritz
Carmen was sitting on her bed in her hotel room. Lena was at a restaurant with some friends she had met up with. She felt terrible. Poor Russ, he had phoned her three times. Her cell phone had been turned off and she had completely forgotten about him. Now it was Sunday. How long had he waited for her last night? She had stood him up unintentionally! Then there was Ryan! He had phoned eight times and left four messages. How could she just ditch her old life when something new came up? Immediately she phoned Russ to apologize.
"Hullo?" It was he. (a/n old English, I know, but I feel weird today)
"Russ? Hi its Carmen." There was silence on the other line.
"Finally he spoke. "What's up?"
"I'm sorry." Then she explained what had happened with Tibby. She really put her heart into it, Russ was cool, and she wanted to get to know him.
"OK. Maybe I'm an idiot but I buy it. When are you coming home?" He didn't sound mad. Russ was such an awesome guy. He had been stood up and he was still willing to schedule a follow-up date.
"As soon as my friend gets out of the hospital, which is in one week."
"All right, so next Monday, are you free for lunch?"
"Yes. But I'll be at my firm, which is in Manhattan, and I don't have a car."
"Kay, I'll pick you up at 12:00. Do you know the address?"
"Thank you! It's 26694 Shield Boulevard. Tell the receptionist my name and I'll make sure she sends you up."
"OK, see you on Monday."
"See ya."
They hung up and Carmen flopped onto her bed, exhaling a breath that she had been holding.
Dialing Ryan's number on her cell, an automated voice came on and told her that she would have to pay an extra charge if she wanted to call Maryland. Sighing, she used the hotel phone, putting it on her bill.
The phone rang five times, then she got the answering machine. She pressed two to leave a message for Ryan.
"Hey bro, its Carmen. Tibby had her baby so I flew over to help her. I'll be back next Sunday, sorry for not telling you sooner. Love ya." The message beeped. She hung up the phone.
Bored, Carmen tried watching TV. She sat on her bed watching Wheel Of Fortune, waiting until Lena came home. Feeling unproductive, she took a shower. Maybe I should leave before Sunday, am I helping anyone sitting in a hotel room? Well, maybe the hotel accountant thinks so but… She finished her shower and called her law firm for no reason. Nothing had happened. They didn't need her for another week. Feeling utterly alone, Carmen went to bed.
"I was playing poker the other night... with Tarot cards. I got a full house and 4 people died." --Steven Wright
OK sorry Carmens part was so short but I really wanted to post this chapter fast. I won't be able to update for at least a week. I hope this'll tide you over.
Noooo! the pull was too strong, I have to answer my wonderful reviewers.
Bellamegs—Yup, but it's a healthy baby so not for too long. Lol
Katmiester—Yes but shes doing it because she loves him and wants him to have a baby. Not in a weird way, and at least they arnt genetically related, cuz the baby might come out mutated.
Elephantsrocmysox—I'm trying, and thank you.
MIDNIGHT-PIXIE—I love your name. Thanks the quotes make my laugh too so that's why I put them here. Lol. Thanx.
LiTTleLoTTe1991—YaY than you! Well, I've seen sum pretty stinkin short chapters, so mine arnt that bad, even the short ones. But still, I like them longer, its funner!
Riza-4789—Yay that means its long enough to count as a story instead of a beginning of a story. Don't worry, I'll finish it!
Crystal—Well I cant wait to write the rest. I just wish my fingers could type as fast as my brain can think!
Not Just A Princess At Heart—Lolz, thanx. I love writing about Ryan cuz he is the only character in the story thats close to my age! It's easier to write about him, in other words. Maybe Ill do an entire ficcy on him sum day!
xsummerbabyx—Thanks, I love him too (read the review above this one). No problem I hope you had fun! Where did you go? (u can tell im kinda bored right now, lol) I won't stop until is done! Hey if u have time… could you review my other story plz? Ur a loyal reviewer of this one and NOBODY is reading the other one. Just a thought, no worries if u don't want too. Lol
pheonixgirl09—WoW, thank you! That's such a compliment! Especially since I'm an aspiring author so you're really nice! If you ever write anything just tell me and ill read it! Lol. Im trying.