AN: I know I suck monumentally. Life got in the way yet again, and I changed my iPhone to a Samsung, and I was stupid enough to not back up my word files, so I lost my progress. Then I just found myself at a loss. For a while, I was set to not continuing this story, but then it was always at the back of my mind. So here I am, trying my best to go through what I've planned for the girls.
Callie's POV
I haven't seen her in days. She left without saying goodbye the night we had dinner, then she's suddenly super busy. I get it, she's in school, and we have no agreed upon days when she would regularly babysit; but, usually, when I ask her to come over, she's always available. Now, she only comes in during times of emergencies. Emergency being me getting called in the hospital for emergency surgeries, so we see each other for a good 5 minutes before I leave, then she's out the door when I get back.
I keep racking my brain for a possible explanation. I believe we had an amicable resolution to our predicament, and we both agreed to becoming friends. But maybe this is her way of dealing with the fact that we decided to be friends and nothing more. I'm really in no position to complain.
I just miss her. I miss her a lot.
She made everything bearable, she was always the best part of my days, apart from Sofia of course. I miss her more now that I barely see her than when Richard disappeared on me for two straight weeks.
Today is a free day for me, and I had been accustomed to having Arizona around during my free days usually just playing with Sofia, helping me out with some laundry and cooking. Now, it just feels gloomy, the entire house seems quiet, even Sofia seems to be cranky today.
I already asked her yesterday if she's available today, and she said she's going to the beach with Eliza and some friends. Yes, Eliza, yet again. The woman who has managed to make my blood boil and my hairs stand, and I had just met the girl once. She walks around like she owns Arizona, and that pisses me off so much.
She doesn't own Arizona. Right?
Arizona mentioned that it was just a casual thing, but what if they had become officially a couple. Oh my gosh, I think I'm going to hurl.
I can't be like this. I can't act like a jealous girlfriend when I agreed to just becoming friends.
While my internal battle was on going, my phone started to ring. I didn't even bother looking at who the caller was because I'm pretty sure it's not Arizona.
"Hello," I say with lack of interest
"Cal!," a chirpy voice much like Arizona squeals on the other end.
"Barb! Oh my gosh I'm glad you called," I say with both surprise and delight. My life had been hell, and it would be great to talk to a good friend.
"I'm happy to hear your voice too. How's it going? I just wanted to check up on one of my favorite girls", she says enthusiastically. It's only now that I notice that Barb sounds just like an older version of Arizona. Arizona… gosh.
How do I tell my best friend of 28 years that I'm pining over her 19 year old daughter. That my marriage is falling apart yet I'm more broken by not having Arizona here. How do I tell her that I've kissed her baby girl, and almost done the deed with her when I was supposed to be an adult figure. A respected adult almost parent figure, not someone who would do adult things with her baby girl.
"Not too good," I say honestly. I may leave out some details specifically the part about Arizona, but I can't lie to my best friend that everything is A-okay.
"What's the matter hun?," Barb asks.
"Just some marriage troubles," I say simply.
"Oh you can't fool me hunny, it sounds worse than just troubles. Tell me, did Richard cheat on you? Oh gosh did he hurt you, cause if he did I swear I'm gonna…" Barbara begins but I was quick to cut her off.
"No no it's not like that," I say cutting her off before she begins to enumerate the Barbara Robbins torture methods. No matter how sweet Barabara is, she's quite scary when it comes to protecting the people she loves. She once visited me back in college just to punch a guy in the nose for two timing me. Oh my gosh, I can't imagine what she'll do to me after she finds out what happened between Arizona and I. I think I might have gulped audibly.
"Callie? Are you still there? Are you okay," Barbara asks with concern.
"Yeah, yeah I am," I answer nervously. I feel like I'm being interrogated by the police or something.
"Well my marriage is falling apart," I begin with a nervous chuckle, and I proceed telling my best friend everything starting from the Sofia issue to what is happening currently, ofcourse leaving out the Arizona parts.
"I'm sorry to hear that Callie," Barbara finally says after I narrate to her my current predicament.
"Yeah," I breath out with a sigh.
"Don't worry, I will tell Arizona to go cheer you up. She's quite the ball of sunshine," Barbara says woth a chuckle.
"Yep, that I would have to agree with," I say with a small smile on my face. Arizona really had become my light in these difficult times, and now that she's no longer here, everything seems darker.
"Listen, Arizona had mentioned a couple of weeks ago that you and Sofia were planning on going with her to come visit me," Barbara practically squeals.
"I have the entire weekend off, and it would be the perfect time for you to visit," Barb continues enthusiastically.
"Well, I'm free this weekend, but I would have to check with Arizona," I reply but before I could finish Callie cuts me off.
"Oh, Arizona will be free this weekend. Trust me," Barbara insists.
I wouldn't know what to do once Barbara, Arizona and I are all in the same room. Barb is great at reading me, and I have this signature guilty look. Arizona and I are already awkward around each other, Barb might just catch on to it.
"Okay, great, I'll set it up," I say with as much enthusiasm I can muster.
Arizona's POV
I'm sitting on the sand, nursing an ice-cold bottle of beer while watching a sexy brunette wearing a gold bikini with her wet black hair cascading down the side of her chiseled face down to her chest. I guess going to the beach is what I needed to take my mind off another brunette.
Eliza plops down beside me and places a kiss on my cheek. I have to say, she had been an amazing distraction. Every time I would feel that I want to wallow in self pity or whenever I am about to go marching to Callie's place and beg her to choose me, I would just text Eliza to come over and we'd have hot, steamy, break the furniture kind of sex. I've managed to knock over the only lamp I have in my dorm, and we had broken one of Eliza's dining room chair. We've been rough, wild, quick, but never tender, never making love. I only have one person that I want to make love to.
Sometimes I'd feel guilty because there were times when I'm with Eliza, my mind would be with the woman I love. Even at times of intimacy, Callie would still be in my head even though it's a different girl writhing underneath me.
I think I had made it clear to Eliza that this is just a casual thing, and that she's free to date whomever she wants.
Eliza was in the process of taking selfies with me when my phone buzzed.
Free up your weekend dear, You and Callie will be coming over. Love lots -Mom
Great. Just great. After days of trying to avoid Callie, my mom makes a way to make me spend an entire weekend with her. This is going to be really difficult.
Alright mom, can't wait to see you. Miss you and love you loads. -A
Of course I cannot argue with my mom, if she says I'm coming home then I'm coming home.
"What's the matter baby, you seem a little bit tense," Eliza asks affectionately as she starts massaging my upper back and neck.
She's been calling me baby for several times now, more frequently in bed in the throws of passion, yet every time she says it, I puke a little in my mouth.
I give her a tight smile and respond, "I'm sorry Eliza, I can't make it to your party this Friday, my mom is asking me to visit," I reply looking at her.
"Aww, but I'll really miss you," she says as he puts her chin on my shoulder and pouts at me. Eliza may be hot, but this whole pouting trying to be cute thing isn't working for her.
"Don't worry, I'll see you Monday next week," I give her a reassuring smile and I place a chaste kiss on her lips. I was about to pull away but Eliza had other things in mind. She began kissing me hungrily as she pushes me down on the sand. I let my empty beer bottle go, then Eliza straddles my hips and goes on top of me. I was really getting into the kiss, my hands lightly scratching her back when she pulls away and looks right into my eyes. Her stare lingers, and her mouth closes and opens like a fish gasping for air. O can feel that she's about to say something yet she hesitates at the last possible moment. I can see the seriousness of what she's about to utter in those steely gray orbs. And for that moment, I just wish she won't open her pretty little mouth because I don't want anything breaking our pretty pink bubble.
Then she did it, she popped the bubble.
"Will you be my girlfriend?," she asks, and for the first time since I've met her, I now see the take all, take no shit Eliza Minnick vulnerable and fumbling for words.
Friday Morning
Callie's POV
I just put the last of our bags in the back of my black Range Rover. Sofia is already fastened in her car seat, and she's been quite bouncy today. He's excited to go on a road trip, but she's more excited that she gets to spend the weekend with her best friend Arizona. Yep, my daughter has proclaimed Arizona as her best friend. So I'm Arizona's mom's bestfriend, and Arizona has just become my daughter's "most favoritest bestest friend", and here I am pining over the said woman. Great. Just great.
To say I'm nervous will be an understatement. I'm terrified, Arizona terrifies me. Being next to her terrifies me, wanting her and being so close to her and not having her scares me to death. And after days of avoidance and not talking, we will be in a car next to each other with my daughter in the back. Then we will be staying in her childhood home with her mom who knows every nook and cranny of our convoluted brains. How would we get past her? How would I survive this weekend?
I see a tuft of blonde hair emerging from the driveway. There's Arizona, with her hair tied to a ponytail with her bangs braided on the side. She's wearing a dark gray tank top and white washed denim ripped shorts. Her skin is perfectly tanned and she has a visible string bikini tan lines from her neck to her chest. She's carrying a backpack while walking with her head down. She's obviously avoiding my gaze. But when she briefly looked up and our eyes meet for the first time in days, my world seemed to stop.
She offers a timid "Hi" as she stands before me. I just want to envelope her in a tight hug right now but I don't want to make her uncomfortable. Sofia squeals from inside the car, and Arizona runs to her and gives her a sweet kiss on the cheek.
"I've missed you Arizona," my girl says with a pout. Yes, I miss her too.
"I've missed you too Princess. Well look at that, you look bigger!," Arizona says enthusiastically.
"No I didn't. You silly," Sofia says chastising the blonde woman who was obviously charming my little girl with no effort at all.
"You can sit with Sofia at the back if you want," I say with the pure intention of letting the girls bond, but it came out quite a lil harshly, and Arizona's ears immediately perked up after what I said.
"No, I'm sitting shot gun. It's a long drive and it's the least I can do," Arizona replies flatly as she hurls her backpack at the back of the SUV. She then takes the front passenger seat and just sat there, quietly' staring straight ahead and not acknowledging me. She looks like a pouting kid.
The car ride was generally quiet with just the radio playing in the background. Arizona hasn't said a word and we've been on the road for about an hour and a half. Sofia was out like a light the moment we rolled out of the drive way. That kid sleeps like me, and at times like these, I'm thankful for her sleeping prowess.
"Nice color you got there," I awkwardly say followed by a laugh that turned to a snort. My nerves are getting the best of me, and I'm a freaking mess right now. I catch a little sideway glance towards the blonde beside me, and I catch a small smile on her lips.
"Yeah, it was a great weekend at the beach," she states simply.
"So which beach did you go to?," I ask trying to sound casual. I knew she came with Eliza, but I wasn't sure if it was just the two of them.
"Just a small beachfront house a couple of towns away from Uni. Eliza's friend's family own it, so we got the place all to ourselves," she replies while looking out the window.
"Oh, so you went with Eliza and her friends?," I ask trying to act genuinely curious and not just jealous because as Arizona put it, I can't act all jealous.
"Nope, just Eliza and I'" she responds. Then silence.
I think it took a couple of minutes before I recovered.
"Oh, wow… a weekend couple's getaway huh. Things getting serious?," I ask trying my best to not have my voice break. I can already feel a lump forming in my throat and my eyes are started to fog.
"Well, Eliza actually….." but before she can finish, Sofia stirs from the backseat and Arizona's attention was immediately on our little angel.
"Mama, peepee," Sofia sleepily states, so we made a short stop over. After a quick bathroom break and Sofia and Arizona hoarding candy, we resume our journey.
Arizona's POV
The night was pretty bearable. Mom was so excited to see all of us, but she was immediately smitten by Sofia. Her attention was mostly solely towards the small brunette girl, and Sofia was putting her charm on mom. Charming as always just like her mother.
We arrived a little after 5 pm. Mom and Callie spent the next hours catching up and cooking together while Sofia and I watched TV in the living room. I knew they were talking, and I know that they were talking about something serious because I caught a glimpse of mom putting her arm around Callie. I have to admit I'm a little worried that Callie might have slipped and mentioned whatever happened between us, but I'm just comforted by the fact that mom hasn't kicked us out yet. Because putting her arms around Callie wouldn't exactly be the expected response right?
I'm not embarrassed by my feelings for Callie at all, but I want to be the one to tell me mom if ever the need arises.
Dinner was pretty uneventful aside from few awkward situations. Callie and I had been stealing nervous glances at each other while my mom helped Sofia eat.
Of course leave it to my mom to grill us about our dating life.
"So are you seeing anyone now Arizona?," mom asked once dessert was served.
"Yes, I'm seeing this girl from school mom'" I say hoping she won't ask further. I can see Callie glancing nervously at the two of us.
"Well tell me about her, is she pretty? Is she nice? What major is she taking," mom prods further.
"Mom, you're embarrassing me," I say with my face fully flushed. I had always been open to my mother about my sexuality but we never openly discussed the people I dated. I guess I haven't had someone whom I loved deeply enough to let my mom get to know her. Well, Callie… Callie is a whole different story and a different level of complicated. But if I were to bring someone home for the first time, it would be her.
"Oh come on, I miss you and I'm just looking out for you. I don't want you dating a slob, a meanie, or a 6 and below," my mom says teasingly.
"Really mom?," I look at her incredulously.
"if you're not piping up, I'm just gonna ask Callie over here," my mom says and she turns her attention to Callie.
Callie was caught off guard, and was in the middle of a big gulp of water. Seems like some of it went down the wrong pipe the moment my mom starts interrogating her, and she starts hacking.
"I'm sorry, choked a bit," Callie says in a constricted and husky voice as she tries to hack out the remaining water stuck in her trachea.
As I was sitting beside Callie, and mom and Sofia are sitting next to each other, taking pity on the hacking brunette, I tapped her back a few times and rubbed soothing circles on it after. It's been weeks since our last physical contact, and getting to touch her again is making me feel all sorts of things.
"What was it again you were asking?," Callie inquired once she was breathing properly.
"Do you know this girl Arizona is seeing?," Mom inquires.
"Uhm, not really, only saw her once," Callie replied, her face stoic, her lips tight.
"Well, is she pretty, is she respectful? Does she treat our Arizona right?," mom asks further. I can totally see Callie getting uncomfortable.
"Didn't get to talk to her that much," Callie says simply, and I decide to rescue her.
"I'll introduce her to you mom if ever the right time comes, don't worry. And she treats me right, so you don't have to worry about me," I tell my mom sincerely with a comforting smile.
Dinner was pretty close to normal as you would say after the whole Eliza awkwardness. Even Callie seems to loosen up a bit, smiling at me, trying to talk to me, and I can't help myself but genuinely smile back.
I'm now in my mother's bedroom, waiting for my mom to finish up helping Callie and Sofia settle in my old bedroom. I was kind of relieved that my mom volunteered to do so, because right now, Callie and I in the same room ain't such a good idea.
"Isn't this exciting? You and I bunking together just like when you were little," my mom beams as she sits on the bed next to me.
"So how are you baby? Everything good at school?," my mom asks.
"Yes mom, you have nothing to worry about," I say with a smile.
"You look good, you got a nice tan and you seem to be putting on some weight," she says as she piches my cheek.
"Moommm, are you calling me fat?"
"Of course not, you finally got some muscle in you and it looks good on you. I figure you're eating right? So does this mean this Eliza girl is taking good care of you?' my mom asks.
"Actually mom, Callie had been cooking a lot for me so if you have to blame someone for my weight gain, it's her," I say with a small smile. Then I feel a slight tug in my chest as I reminisce on how things were so easy and great with Callie back then.
"You've gotten quite close huh," my mom inquires.
"Yes we have," I answer, purposely leaving out any elaboration on how close we have actually gotten.
"I want to talk to you about Callie," my mom starts seriously.
My head snaps to her and my eyes are wide as saucers. I probably look like I saw a ghost as I feel all the blood drain from my face.
"I noticed the moment you guys walked in that she was acting weird," my mom narrates.
I feel my throat getting parched and my heartbeat skyrocketing. This is not how I want my mom to know.
"Then at dinner she was just not her self. Nervous, sullen, fidgety," she trails off.
She then pauses and looks at a bare wall of my room.
My hands are sweating, and I feel my whole body going cold.
"I know you two have gone really close over the past months," my mother adds slowly.
I just nod in affirmation cause I'm just at a loss for words right now.
"Just watch out for her please? Especially now," my mom says, looking at me pleadingly as she puts her hand over mine.
"Uhmmm, okkaay?," I suddenly burst out. Not really knowing how to react since I was totally expecting something different.
"You know, with the separation and the divorce….," my mom starts to say but I suddenly cut her off.
"Divorce?", I ask, shocked by the whole revelation.
"Yes, Richard and Callie are getting divorced, didn't she tell you?"
AN: I'm just trying to get a hang on typing on my new phone. So forgive me for the many errors I have probably missed.
So what do you think? Do you think this would mean something for our girls?