A Fresh Start
Chapter Two Hundred Fifty Five
Marah is coming out of Olivia's when her cell phone rings, pulling it out of her purse she answers on the second ring. "Hello, Marah Lewis." She says, walking across the lobby. Reva is at the front desk dealing with a vendor for Ava's wedding. She looks up at the moment that Marah walks by.
"Ms. Lewis, this is Suzanne from Springfield National."
"Yes, thank you for getting back to so quickly." Marah says, stopping at the foot of the stairs.
"You're welcome." She says, sitting up in her chair. "I'm afraid it's not good news, however." She says, fiddling with Marah's loans papers.
"May I ask why?"
"The President of the bank feels that such an investment would not fit with the market here in Springfield. And there is the matter with the lawsuit with your previous employer."
"That suit was settled according to the agreed upon terms of the contact I signed and I was guilty of nothing. As to the investment not fitting with the market, I would be the first."
"And that is the problem, Ms. Lewis. There is no proven success for this market, not in the Springfield area. You might be able get the loan in Chicago?"
"And Chicago has more than a few fashion houses. Do you really think that is an option, that is why I come to Springfield National. New York or LA are too far away. Is there anyone else I could speak with?"
"I'm sorry Ms. Lewis but the decision has been made by the President of the bank."
"The President of Springfield National is in prison right now. You want me to believe that you spoke to him about this." Marah says, turning to walk up the stairs. Reva watches her go, reminding herself to go by her room later.
"I'm sorry, Ms. Lewis. In this economy, the bank is not willing to risk this much capital on a unproven investment."
"How is it supposes to become a proven investment, if you do not invest in it? Thank you for your time." Marah says, hanging up the phone without her reply.
William walks in to Cedars shortly before one. Getting on the elevator, he pushes the button for Dr. Sedgwick's floor. When the doors open, he leaves the elevator and walks down the hall to Dr. Sedgwick's office. Opening the door, he walks in. Ava is sitting in the waiting room, when he walks in. He walks over to her and sits down beside her as she looks up from the magazine she was leafing through. "You said you wasn't going to be able to make it?"
"My meeting ended with enough time for me to be here." He says, taking her hand.
"I would've been fine without you being here." She says, as she puts the magazine down.
"I know, but I wanted to be here." He says, as she sits back.
A few minutes later, the door to the office opens and the nurse calls. "Ava Peralta." William gets up and then helps her up, following her as they walk towards the nurse. She steps back and they walk through the door.
The nurse closes the door and they follow her down the hallway. They stop outside an exam room. "You can wait in here. Nancy will be in to handle this appointment."
"Where is Dr. Sedgwick?" William asks.
"She has a delivery that's running longer than expected."
"Okay." Ava says, sitting down on the exam table.
The nurse takes her vitals and then says. "We need to take your weight, Ms. Peralta." Ava stands up and follows her out of the room. They return a few moments later. Ava sits back down on the table while the nurse puts her file in the holder beside the door.
She closes the door and Ava settles back. "What are you going to do this weekend?" She asks, looking at William.
"I'm not really sure. I haven't made any plans, why?"
"Well, it's been busy and I thought I would call Cassie after this and see if she and Sam would want to go shopping for a dress. I mean I've looked at dresses online, but I haven't found anything and we've only got a few weeks until the wedding."
"That's fine. I can watch Emma for the day."
"Actually I was going to take her with us. I need to find her dress as well."
"Oh."
"But you can do something together Sunday." She says, as Nancy walks in.
"Good afternoon." She says, closing the door behind her "How are you today?"
"I'm fine." Ava replies.
"Good, then lets get started." She says, sitting down on the stool as William helps her lay back.
When she's through with the exam, William helps her back up. "Everything looks good. Have you had any more false labor pains."
"Only twinges now and then."
"You didn't tell me that."
"It hasn't been that bad, not like it was the day we moved Sam and Dad. But I do have a question."
"Okay."
"How will I know the difference?"
"The strongest indication that you're in labor will be when your water breaks, but if the pain goes away after you move then you should be alright."
"Alright."
"I'm going to have the nurse come back in to draw blood and then you can go."
"Okay." Ava says, as Nancy gets up. She leaves and a few moments later, the nurse returns. After drawing blood, William helps her off the table and they leave, following the nurse to the front office.
"You have a great day."
"Thank you." Ava says, smiling as she turns to leave.
William opens the door to the front lobby for her. She walks through, letting the door close behind them as they walk away. He puts his hand on her lower back as they leave. They are walking out of the office as Jeffrey and Sam walk up. "Hi." Sam says, as they stop to let them leave.
"Hi." Ava says, smiling. "I was going to call you and Cassie." She says, after hugging both of them. William and Jeffrey shake hands.
"Is something wrong?" Sam asks.
"No. But I've got a few weeks till the wedding and I haven't been to look at dresses."
"I forgot all about that." Sam says.
"We've all been busy with the holidays and moving, but I need to find one so I was wondering if you could come shopping with me this weekend."
"I should be able to do that." She says, looking at Jeffrey. "Julien will have to come with though."
"Great, let me talk to Cassie and I'll call you once we figure out a time."
"That's great." Sam says, as Jeffrey opens the door to Dr. Sedgwick's office. "We'll talk then." She says, hugging both Ava and William. They leave and Sam and Jeffrey go into Dr. Sedgwick's office.
After dealing with the vendor, Reva walks upstairs. Marah is coming out of the bathroom when Reva knocks. Marah walks across the suite and opens the door. "Hi, Mom." She says, stepping back.
"I saw you on the phone downstairs. Is something wrong?"
"No, I'm working things out." Marah says, closing the door behind her.
"This is a nice..."
"You didn't come up here to talk about my room." Marah says, as Reva turns around.
"Alright, you didn't have to slink off like you did."
"I didn't slink off. You and Dad left and I decided to go while you were gone."
"That's slinking off..."
"I left you a note. It's better this way."
"Why?"
"I'm too independent to be at home. I like having my own space and doing my own thing. Is this the only reason you came up here?"
"No, why did you look so upset downstairs."
She looks at her for a moment and then sighs. "I might as well tell you, it'll get..."
"You're not leaving. You just got home. I want to have..."
"I'm not leaving. I had a meeting with the manager of Springfield National. I'm thinking about opening my own fashion house and while I have some capital, I wanted to save that money and use that money as a back-up, but the bank turned me down."
"Why didn't you go to our bank?"
"Because you would step in if they turned me down and I'm going to do this on my own, without help from you or Dad, understood?" She says, looking at her.
"But..."
"I have other options."
"What other options?"
"As I said, I have the money from Adam and I spoke to Uncle Richard about..."
"You spoke to Richard about it. Why didn't you come to us?"
"Stop, please Mom. I don't need you to bail me out anymore. I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself. I happened to run into Uncle Richard earlier, in the lobby. He was here for a meeting and he offered to buy me a drink. I told him about my meeting and he suggested that I look for private investors. So I'm going to look into that."
"I don't..."
"You don't like me being independent, I know. You will have to get used to it." She says, getting up. "I was getting ready to go into town." She says, as Reva stands up slowly.
"Your father and I will..."
"I know you would help me." She says, holding up her hand. "I'm doing this for me on my own terms."
"Alright." Reva says, standing up. She follows Marah to the door. Opening it, she walks out and then turns back to her. "If you need..."
"I'll let you know, I promise." She says, leaning up to kiss her cheek. Reva hugs her and then walks away.
After her doctor's appointment, Jeffrey and Sam go across the street to Company for lunch. They are finishing up, when Sam asks. "Have you thought about Marah?"
"No, of course not! Why would you think I've been thinking...?"
"That's not what I'm asking." She says with a sigh. He looks at her. "I am not worried about you doing anything with Marah, I promise you that."
"Then why does it matter if we have her to dinner?"
"Because you need to let it go, what happened between both of you isn't really your fault."
He leans towards her and says quietly. "I slept with my niece."
She leans towards him. "At that time, did you know she was your niece?"
"No."
"Then why do you feel guilty?" She asks, as he looks at her.
"I don't feel... Alright, maybe I feel a little guilty. Marah pushed for us to be together. And maybe I feel like I was the cliché man. A woman offers..."
"And you took her up on it."
"After much persuasion, but yes I took her up on it."
"There's nothing wrong with taking up an offer made by a beautiful woman. Marah is beautiful and you both were unattached, right."
"Yes we were both unattached. But she was my barely of age niece."
"That's the real issue, isn't it?" She says, taking his hand. "She's younger than you and that makes you uncomfortable." He looks away but she tugs on his hand until he looks at her. "It's not something to be ashamed of."
"She's only a few years younger than Ava." He says, as she gets up and walks around to him. He slides over and she sits down beside him.
"You liked her and you both were attracted to each other, attraction doesn't consider age." She says, as he reaches for his glass and takes a drink. "You're older than me, but I'm not ashamed of that. We all have traits that we're attracted to."
"And age is one of them."
"Maybe not a trait, but it's a contributing factor and it's only a number. Marah was younger than you but there were other things that you were attracted to, was there not?"
"Yes, at the time she was going through a lot. She needed someone she did not have to worry about. Someone that was honest and open with her, I was that."
"And she was something for you."
"In some ways, she reminded me of you. You're both tenacious. She was sweet, just like you are. She's intelligent like you are. She honest, just like you are and she was beautiful, just like you are."
"Then don't be ashamed of the time you spent with her. It wasn't a mistake. I believe you both learned something from each other."
"I'll think about dinner. Don't you have patients to get to."
"You want to get rid of me."
"Never." He says, leaning over to kiss her. Sitting back, he says. "I love you too much."
"I love you too." She says, with a smile.
He raises his hand to get Marina's attention. When she walks over, he says. "We need the check."
"I'll bring it out." She says, turning to leave. A couple minutes later, she brings them the check. He helps her up and then guides her through the tables before he stops to pay the check. "You're not leaving the clinic once we get back, are you?" He asks, as they walk out.
"I wish you would relax about Miah, he's locked up and Julien will be with me if I have to go anywhere once you drop me off. I'm not going to leave him again."
"I'm sorry." He says, slipping his arm around her waist. "I know it grates on your nerves that I'm over-protective, but I want you safe until this trial is over."
"It won't be that much longer." She says, and he notices a slight change in her tone.
"What's wrong?" He asks, looking at her.
"It's a little twinge of pain."
"Like what kind of pain." He asks, as she looks at him.
"It's not labor pains. It's more like false ones." She reaches up to wipe his brow free of concern. "I have these sometimes and it's normal. It's my body getting ready for his birth."
"Alright, I'll take you home and then we'll take a quiet night after work. We had a lot going on this past weekend."
"We can't really take a quiet night. There's the charity gala for Josh's youth center. And then Richard has a fund raiser Friday night. And the Christmas parade is Wednesday night, followed by the tree lighting ceremony at the square."
"Josh will understand if we don't come to the gala. The rest we can do because it's later in the week. You need to slow down and rest."
"You're the mayor. It's expected of you to be there and he's your brother."
"Sam..."
"We don't have to decide this now. And I do have a patient coming in." She says, taking his hand.
"Alright, we'll talk about it tonight after work." He says, following her to his car. He helps her in and then walks around the car. Getting in, he starts the car and backs out, leaving the parking lot a few moments later.
When Kevin gets back to headquarters, he calls in one of the interns. "Matt, come here." He says, standing at his door.
"Yes sir." He says, walking up to him.
He steps back into his office and Matt follows him. "Close the door." Kevin says, as he walks around his desk. Matt closes the door and then walks over to his desk. "I need you to do a background check on Mr. Winslow's niece, a Marah Lewis. When it's done bring it to me."
"Yes sir."
"As before, do not say anything to anyone about this, including Mr. Winslow."
"Yes sir. But is that wise, Sir. If he finds out..."
"Then he won't find out, will he. I want to be prepared for anything Mr. Winslow's opponent might throw at us after the primary, understood."
"Yes sir."
"That's all."
"Yes sir." Matt says, turning away and leaving.
Ava walks into her office after her appointment with Dr. Sedgwick and lunch with William. Sitting down at her desk, she picks up the phone and dials Cassie's number at the Beacon, her assistant answers. "Cassie Winslow's office."
"Yes, I need to speak with Cassie." Ava says, sitting back.
"I'm sorry but she's not in today. May I take a message?"
"Oh, okay. I'll call her at home. Thank you." Ava says, sitting forward.
"You're welcome." Her assistant replies, and they hang up.
After waiting a couple seconds, she dials Cassie's home line. On the second ring, she picks up. "Hello, Winslow residence." She says, sounding a little out of breath.
"Cassie, it's Ava. Are you okay?"
"Yes, I was outside cleaning off the porch and getting it ready for Richard to hang Christmas lights this weekend. How are you?" She asks, walking into the living room and sitting down on the couch.
"I'm fine. I had an appointment with Dr. Sedgwick this morning. Everything seems to be progressing as it should."
"That's good."
"How are you doing and why are you at home and not at the Beacon? I called there first and your assistant told me you weren't in today."
"I'm home with Will."
"Is he okay? Is his liver...?"
"His liver is fine. He caught a weekend bug of some kind woke up Sunday throwing up. We called Sam and she came over to check on him. She said he'll be fine but to keep him home today just in case."
"Oh okay. I called because I've been looking at wedding dresses over the internet, but I haven't found anything that suits me."
"And we were supposes to go look with Sam, I forgot all about it."
"It's okay. We've both been busy, but if you're not busy this weekend I thought maybe you would want to go with me and I've already spoken to Sam and she's coming. And I'm going to bring Emma with us too. I still need to find her dress as well."
"No, that should be fine. Richard has a fund raiser Friday night, but I don't think he has anything planned for Saturday, besides the Christmas lights."
"I'll tell William about the lights and maybe he'll come out and help him. What time would you like to go?"
"We should probably start early, say around nine."
"That's fine. Do you mind meeting at the loft?"
"No, that's fine."
"I'll see you then."
"Alright, I'll talk to you later." Cassie says, and they hang up.
Marah pulls up to City Hall about thirty minutes after leaving Reva at the Beacon. Getting out, she pulls her coat around her as she walks inside, stopping at the front desk, she about to ask for Richard's office when Jeffrey walks up. "Marah." He says quietly.
She turns to him, smiles and then says. "Hi."
"How are you?"
"I'm okay. I'm here to see Uncle Richard."
"Oh, his office is down that hallway, second door on the left."
"Thanks." She says, turning to leave. He thought about saying something else to her, but then he turns away. Walking down the hallway, Marah opens the door and walks in.
Amelia is at her desk when she walks up and she looks up when the door opens.
"May I help you?" She asks, as Marah closes the door behind her.
"Yes, I need to see my Uncle." Marah says, glancing at the door with Richard's name on it.
"He's finishing up a meeting right now, if you would like to wait." She says, nodding towards the chairs behind her.
"Yes, thank you." Marah says, sitting down in one of the chairs.
Ten minutes later, Richard's door opens and he walks out with another man. "We'll consider the offer and get back to you." Richard says, holding out his hand. They shake hands and the man leaves. That's when he sees Marah waiting. "Marah, hi." He says, walking over to her.
"Hi." She says, standing up. They hug and then he turns to Amelia.
"I'm in a meeting, Amelia." He says, as she nods.
"Come with me." He says, turning back to Marah. She follows him into his office. "I guess this isn't the same as the palace." He says, watching her.
"No, it's great." She says, turning to him and smiling.
"So, what can I do for you?" He asks, sitting down in one of the chairs beside the door, ignoring his desk.
"I heard from the bank." Marah says, sitting down on the couch.
"Ah, and they...?"
"They turned me down. They basically don't want to take a chance on an unproven investment."
"It is a polite way of saying that Alan won't approve the loan." Richard says, sitting back.
"I guess so, but that means I have to find another way to start and I was wondering if you had any idea on where I should start looking for private investors."
"Actually, I do." Richard says, sitting forward.
"You do."
"Yes, I have some money set aside from my time in San Cristobel. It was meant for Cassie and the children after my death, but she never touched it and I believe it's probably enough to fully fund your fashion house." He says, as she stares at him.
After a moment, she says. "You want to fund the whole thing? I'm talking about a couple hundred thousand dollars, maybe more."
"If you're more comfortable with making a formal proposal to me that's fine, but I know you'll make it work, and if you're worried about me wanting to have a say in the day to day business, don't be. I would be a silent partner for you."
She looks at him for a moment and then she says. "I'll only do this if you treat it as an actual loan. I have to pay you back. After that if you want to be a silent partner, that's fine."
"Alright."
"I only have one question."
"What's that?"
"What about Aunt Cassie?"
"What about her?"
"She might not like it." Marah says, looking at him.
"Because she was involved with your Dad." Richard says, as she looks at him surprised. "I know about her relationship with your Dad. And I'm positive that she won't care about me investing in your fashion house."
"I was really upset when I found out about her and Dad. That's part of the reason I haven't been back to Springfield since I left. I couldn't see them together, like that."
"I'm sure she understands that." He says. He reaches for her hand. "Don't worry about Cassie. It's not an issue."
"Okay, I'll talk to my attorney and I'll have the papers drawn up."
"I'll speak to mine and make arrangements to have the money ready after I get the papers." He says, standing up. She follows him and then hugs him.
"Thank you, you saved my life." She says, as he smiles.
"You're welcome." He says, lightly kissing the top of her head. "And I meant what I said this morning at the Beacon. You should go see your Aunt Cassie."
She steps back and then smiles. "I will."
"Good." He says, turning for the door. He opens it for her and then walks out with her when she leaves.
Turning to him, she holds out her hand and he takes it, shaking his hand she says. "Thank you for seeing me."
"You're welcome." He says, with a smile before she turns to go.
Sitting in his office, the deputy mayor has been listening and recording the entire conversation between Richard and Marah. Picking up the phone, he dials a number and waits for someone to pick up.
Jeffrey walks into his office after lunch. Stace's at her desk when he walks in. "How did Mrs. O'Neill's appointment go?"
"Everything is fine. And then we had lunch at Company. Did you get...?"
"Yes."
"Good. I'm going to be on a call." He says, walking towards his office as she nods.
Walking in, he closes the door and then walks over to his desk. Taking his coat off, he hangs it up on the coat rack behind his desk before he sits down. Reaching for the phone, he pushes the button for line one and then dials Josh's number at Lewis. After a couple rings, Wanda picks up. "Lewis Construction." She says.
"Yes, this is Jeffrey O'Neill. I would like to speak to Josh, if he's in?"
"He's in a meeting right now." Wanda says, reaching for a note pad.
"Could you ask him to call me when he gets out of his meeting?"
"Yes sir, Mr. Mayor. I'll tell him as soon as he's finished."
"Thank you." Jeffrey hangs up and then he pushes the button for the intercom. "Yes sir." Stace says, holding down the button for the intercom.
"I'm expecting a call from Josh, when it comes in put it through."
"Yes sir."
"Thank you." He says, before letting go and turning his attention to Councilmen Graham's petition.
An hour passes before Josh is finished with his meeting. When he walks out, Wanda is waiting. "I'll talk this over with my brother and get back to you." Josh says, holding out his hand. They shake hands and then his client turns to go.
As Josh turns back to his office, Wanda says. "Sir, Mr. O'Neill called."
"Jeffrey, did he say what he needed?"
"No sir only that you need to call him when you're finished with your meeting."
"Alright, I'll call him back now." He says, as Wanda nods.
Walking into his office, he closes the door before he walks over to his desk and picks up the phone. Pushing the button, for line one he dials the number for Jeffrey's office and then sits down. After a couple rings, Stace picks up. "City of Springfield, Mayor's office. How may I help you?"
"Stace, this is Josh Lewis. I had a message from Jeffrey to call."
"Yes, Mr. Lewis. Could you please hold?"
"Yes."
She places him on hold and then buzzes Jeffrey. "Yes." Jeffrey says, putting down Councilmen Graham's petition.
"Sir, Mr. Lewis in on line one."
"Thanks." Jeffrey replies, reaching for the phone. Pushing the button to connect the calls, he says. "Josh, how are you doing?"
"I'm good. How are you? Is everything good with Sam?"
"She's fine. We had another appointment with Dr. Sedgwick today and everything seems to progressing well, but that isn't why I was calling."
"Okay." Josh says, settling back in his chair.
"I know you have the charity gala for your youth center this evening and I know that Sam accepted your invitation for us to come, but she's been doing a lot of stuff lately and I think it would be better for her if we miss tonight's gala. I hate to do that to you, but..."
"Don't worry about it. Take care of Sam and you both can come to the next gala we have. I completely understand." Josh says, sitting up.
"Are you sure? I mean I could come alone..."
"No, you stay with Sam. If she's anything like Reva, she won't rest unless you're there to make sure she does."
"She won't and she'll probably be upset that I canceled, but I think she needs the time tonight. We have a few other events later this week, one being Richard's and it's just best if we stay in tonight."
"I understand completely so don't worry about it. And tell Sam I said to listen to you and rest." Josh says, as Jeffrey smiles.
"I will, although I'm not sure she'll listen to you any more than she'll listen to me."
"You guys take the night and we'll see you at Richard's event."
"Thanks Josh." Jeffrey says, as they both sit up in their chairs. "We'll see you then."
"Until then." Josh hangs up and they both go back to work.
Sam is wrapping up with a patient when Leah says. "Dr. O'Neill you have a call on line one."
"Thank you Leah, I'll take it in my office. Mrs. Jason, take that prescription and you'll be fine."
"I will. Thank you Dr. O'Neill." She says before Sam turns to leave.
She walks back to her office and closes the door behind her after she walks in. Sitting down at her desk, she picks up the phone and pushes the button for line one before she settles back. "Hello, this is Dr. O'Neill."
"Sam, it's Ava."
"Oh, hi."
"How did it go with Dr. Sedgwick?"
"Fine, everything is fine."
"Good, I've only got a couple minutes before a meeting with a client, but I wanted to let you know that I've spoken with Cassie and we're planning on meeting at the loft, Saturday morning around nine am."
"Oh great, I'll let Jeffrey know." Sam says.
"I'm going to bring Emma with us, if that's okay."
"It's fine."
"Good. I'll see you then."
"Sure thing." Sam says before they hang up. Sitting back, she knows what Jeffrey is going to say. He'll insist they stay home tonight, just to make sure she rests. Getting up, she leaves her office. It's about four thirty so she walks up to the front of the office. "Leah." She asks, walking up.
"Yes ma'am." Leah says, looking up from some files she's putting away.
"I think I'm going to go upstairs early. Can you cover until five?"
"Of course, Dr. O'Neill. Is there anything wrong?"
"No, I just want to take some time to relax before Jeffrey gets home."
"Okay. I'll see you tomorrow then."
"Yes." She turns to go. Walking back to the break room, she finds Julien in the hallway between the back door and the break room. "I'm going upstairs for the day." She says, as he stands up.
"I'll go up and check the house." He says, going before her.
"There's no need for you to do that. The alarm..."
"I'm not taking any chances, not after the attempted kidnapping. So please, stay down here until I clear the house." He says, as she sighs and nods. He goes upstairs. Returning several minutes later. "It's clear."
"Thank you." She says, walking upstairs. "You can leave..."
"I won't leave until Mr. O'Neill comes home." He says, following her upstairs.
"Alright." She says, shaking her head. When they reach the living room, she turns to him and says. "I'm going upstairs for a bath."
"I'll inform Mr. O'Neill when he gets home."
"Thank you." She says, walking over to the stair case.
Sam's leaving the bathroom as Jeffrey walks in. He walks over to her, slipping his arms around and giving her a kiss. "I guess Julien told you where I was." She says, leaning back.
"Yes, and he's gone home for the evening."
"Shouldn't he go with..."
"I've already spoken with Josh and he's okay with us not coming tonight."
"J..."
"You need to rest, so we're staying in tonight and we'll go to the other stuff later this week." He says, letting her go.
"Alright, if you insist on staying home tonight, we can do some decorating for Christmas."
"The idea was for you to take the night, relax and rest."
"I will relax. I'll set on the couch and I'll tell you where everything is supposes to go and you can put it up."
"Invited more work onto myself by calling Josh." He says, as she leans up and kisses him.
"You know there's something else we can do tonight." He says, pulling her back to him.
"Oh no, you don't. Not right now anyway." She says, stepping back.
"Are you saying you don't want..." He looks at her and laughs.
"I'm saying you have work to do and then after that's finished, we might do the other." She says, leaning up to kiss him. "Do you want to change?"
He laughs, releasing her. "I'll change, but I suggest you put more on than just that towel." He says, leaning over to kiss her neck.
"Maybe I'll stay like this. Look at it as incentive to get the work done faster."
"It'll be more like torture." He says, leaning in to kiss her. Releasing her, he walks into the bathroom as he pulls his tie loose. "How did things go with Billy?"
"Fine, he came in this morning to let me know they were there and then he and the crew worked all day clearing the remains of the garage." She says, as she opens one of her drawers for a pair of panties and bra before opening one of his drawers for a pair of his sweat. Pulling them on, she pulls the string as tight as she can and then she grabs one of her t-shirts before getting a pair of socks. She finishes getting dressed and then runs a comb through her hair.
She's in the processes of pulling it back when he comes out of the closet. "Leave it down." He says, as she looks at him through the mirror. "You're going to be on the couch while I do the work. And I like it down." He says, walking over to her. She looks at him and smiles, letting go. '"Thank you."
"Come on." She says, turning for the door. He follows her out. As they walk downstairs, she says. "Ava called this afternoon."
"Is everything okay?"
"Yes, but she needs me and Cassie to help her pick it out. We were supposes to go sooner, but I think we all got caught up in getting ready for Thanksgiving, so her wedding is only a few weeks away and she hasn't found anything."
"Okay, so when are you meeting?"
"Saturday morning, around nine.. She replies, as they walk downstairs
"Then I guess I'll spend the day getting the house ready for Christmas." He says, walking over to the couch.
She goes into the kitchen as she says. "I would rather you do that when I'm here with you." He looks at her. "Just in case something happens."
He turns the TV on and then walks into the kitchen. Putting an arm around her waist, he draws her to him. "I'm perfectly capable of hanging some Christmas lights on the porch."
"Maybe, but I'd rather be here when you do." She says, looking at him.
He leans over and kisses her. "Would you feel better if Billy were here?"
"Why would Billy be here?"
"The garage, I figure that he's going to have his crew working Saturday so that we can get the garage done as quickly as possible before the next snow hits." He says, as she turns to him.
"I still want to be here, but if Billy's here I guess that's okay. What do you want for dinner?"
"Why don't we order in? You're supposes to be relaxing this evening."
"You just want pizza."
"The place on 5th street delivers."
"Alright, call them and then we'll get started on the decorating."
"You're such a taskmaster." He says, as she turns to him.
"I'll show you a taskmaster." She says, leaning up. She kisses him and he pulls her closer, deepening the kiss. After several moments, she finally pulls away and he clings to her as she laughs and steps back. "We've got work to do."
"You're so cruel." He says, as she walks around him, slapping him on the butt as she walks by. He turns to follow her.