Chapter Nine

AN recently I was on a long car ride and decided to map out like forever in advance for this story...I am surprised where it has taken me so far and I hope you all like it! And I am sooo sorry about how long its taken to get this out...but like I said it's all mapped out so I just need to not be lazy and write it!

"Daddy, I'm tired," Antonia whines, they'd been house hunting for nearly three hours and Alyssa had fallen asleep almost the instant they had gotten in t he car from leaving the last house, and both Emily and Antonia where ready for naps.

"I know sweetie," Ephram responds. "But our realtor says that she has just one more house she wants to show us right now. Then we'll be done. Okay?"

"It'll be worth it," the realtor says from the passengers seat of Andy's mini van that they had borrowed. "The people who built this house are amazing. He's a contractor and she's an interior decorator. They build a house, decorate it beautifully and then sell it without making much of a profit off of it, they do it just for the fun of it."

"So what makes you think this house is so perfect?" Amy asks, in a tone not meant to offend.

"Well I think the best part of the house, for your situation at least, is that there are two amazing master bedrooms."

"That's perfect," Ephram states pulling into the driveway the realtor had directed him to and as they come around the driveway they are faced with a huge house.

"It's huge." Amy gasps.

"It's like a castle!" Antonia exclaims.

"It has five bedrooms, six bathrooms, a living room, a dining room, a den, a fully finished basement, vaulted ceilings, an acre of fence in property..." The woman stops, "why don't I just show it to you?"

"It's perfect," Ephram declares once they've seen the entire house.

"Ephram it's huge, even for all of us." Amy whispers.

"Amy I've spent the last ten years living in an apartment in New York City, I need some room. Besides it's my house remember? If I want a big house..."

Amy shrugs and smiles slightly, "it's your house."

Ephram turns his attention back to the realtor, "how soon can you draw up the papers?"

The realtor grins, "I can drop them by your house sometime this evening?"

Ephram grins, "tha'd be great. Thanks."

"Mom?" Emily asks.

"Yeah Em?"

"'Tonia and I still want to share a room, even though we don't have to." Emily states as Antonia nods along.

Amy smiles at Ephram over their daughters' heads, "I think that can be arranged."

"Yay!" Both girls cheer, their lack of naps forgotten.

"How about we go out for a celebratory dinner at Mama Joys?" Ephram suggests.

The group is still chattering about the new house when they are settled around a table at Mama Joy's. And it's not until after they've placed their ordered with one of the waitress' that the topic switches to Amy. "Amy?" Antonia asks, glancing up from the paper mat she is coloring on.

"Yeah sweetie?"

"Are you going to be our new mommy now?" Antonia's question is innocent enough but Ephram and Amy both take in quick breaths, neither had really been expecting a question along those lines but at the same moment they realize they should have been expecting the question as well.

"Sweetie," Ephram begins but stops, unsure of how to explain the situation to his daughter.

"Antonia," Amy speaks up for Ephram, "I'll never be able to take your mommy's place. And I don't want to. Your dad and I aren't getting married, we aren't dating, and we aren't sharing a bedroom. We're just friends who are trying to help each other out."

"Why?" Antonia asks and Emily is staring intently at her mother as well.

Ephram fields this question, "because being a parent is hard work and it's hard to do it all by yourself. So instead of all of us living in different houses, we decided to live in the same house and help each other out."

"So Amy isn't going to be out new mommy?" Antonia's lip quivers.

Amy lifts Antonia into her lap, "I'm not going to be your new mommy, you already have a mommy. But I can be kind of like a mommy, you can still come to me about the same things you'd go to your mommy about. And I think I'm pretty good at fixing things like scrapped knees and making ice cream sundaes, just asks Emily."

Everyone's eyes focus on Emily and Ephram can't help but pull her into his lap too, "the same goes for you Squirt, I'm here for you. Just like a daddy would be okay?" He leans in and whispers something in Emily's ear that causes her to fall into giggling fits.

"What was that?" Amy asks, but she can't suppress the smile on her face.

"Ephram said he'd sneak me cookies even if I didn't eat all of my yucky vegetables," Emily giggles again at her words.

"Oh did he?" Amy arches an eyebrow but laughs just the same.

"Amy, I'm so glad you've come home," Rose gushes when Amy walks into the house later that evening, a tired Emily following close behind.

Amy turns to her daughter, "sweetie, why don't you head upstairs to get ready for bed? It's late?" Emily nods and hurries up the stairs, and once she's disappeared Amy turns her attention to her parents. "Can we talk?"

"Amy if you're going to yell at us again..." Harold begins.

"No," Amy shakes her head, "nothing like that at all. I want to apologize for the way I acted. It was childish and stupid. I'm ready for all of this to be over. I want to get in touch with a lawyer in the morning and start the divorce process, no more second chances for Mark."

"Oh, Amy," Rose wraps her arms around her daughter tightly.

"Mom, air...issue..." Amy pulls away from the huge and trains her eyes on Harold, "Dad?"

"I'll call Earl Medford in the morning, he'll take care of everything for you."

Amy smiles, "thanks."

"So should I take this as you'll be staying in Everwood for awhile then?" Harold asks and he can't hide the hopeful look in his eyes.

Amy nods, "yeah, for awhile."

Emily is curled on the bed nearly asleep when Amy finally makes her way upstairs. The conversation had turned longer by the discussion of her moving in with Ephram. If that was a wise choice. Was it a romantic thing? But eventually Harold and Rose had told Amy that it was her life and Ephram was a good man no matter what situation they were trying to uphold.

"Mommy?"

"Yeah Emmes?" Amy asks crawling in bed next to her daughter.

"How come I don't have a daddy like Antonia's daddy? Her daddy isn't mean or anything."

Amy wraps her arms around Emily, "Mommy didn't make a wise decision when she got married. But I got one thing out of marrying your daddy, even if he was mean, do you know what it was?"

"No," Emily shakes her head, "what?"

"You," Amy kisses Emily lightly on her head, "and you're more important to me than anything in the world. And we don't have to see your daddy anymore."