"So let me get this straight. You want me," Sarah pointed to herself, "to tutor an American legend on half of the twentieth century and the entirety of the twenty-first? Is that right?"
"Yes, you've asked me that twelve different times." Lilian Faircourt was an intimidating figure, all hard lines and edges. Maybe she smiled once, when she was a child or by mistake, but her face was set in a permanent scowl and a look of disgust. She was the perfect agent and no other job would fit her better, except maybe an editor of a magazine.
"Why me, though? Don't you people have people for that?" Sarah was exasperated, choosing to watch Thea over the window overlooking the living room from the kitchen.
"Of course, but you'll do better." Lillian picked at the bowl of apples on the kitchen table, "why apples?" She picked one up, scrunched her nose, and set it back down.
"I have a life, mother. I have friends, Thea, a job, bills! I can't just take on something else. Anyone, please."
"Aunt Sarah, I'm bored." Thea pouted, knowing full well her aunt was looking at her.
"Masters, Martinez" Lilian snapped her fingers, as she stood from her seat, and two burly agents sat in the living room. "Have a tea party, Theodora. Your aunt and I have things to discuss."
"Thea, hon, why don't you grab your dolls?" Thea looked to the men, looked to her grandmother, and then looked to Sarah with eyes that read You owe me for this.
"Fine." She walked past them, trying to give the two agents a wide birth.
"Sarah, take a walk with me." Lilian commanded, pushing her sunglasses down, and smoothing down her black trench coat.
"I don't see—" Sarah started.
"Sarah." Lilian gave no room for argument and Sarah grabbed her coat, casting a look in the direction of the two agents.
From a bystanders perspective, the two women were clearly mother and daughter. They shared the same cheeks, nose, height, and eyes, but that was where the similarities ended. Lilian was dressed smartly in a black trench coat and grey trousers with a white blouse, while Sarah was in her bright red coat and polka dot dress.
"Sarah, sometimes we have to do the things we don't want to." Lilian said, watching the street in front of her.
"I get that, but—"
"Let me finish." Lilian snapped, finally showing some emotion. "Sometimes we have to do things we don't want to do. Do you think I wanted to do some of the things I had to do to get to where I am now? Did you want to be single and raising a child when you were younger?"
Sarah didn't say a thing, instead choosing to kick a small pebble along with the toe of her shoe.
"Exactly. Sometimes we do them for various reasons. For family, for work, for our country, because it's right. You'll be doing this for me and more importantly Theodora."
"It's Thea." Was the only thing Sarah said, knowing full well what her answer would be.
"Whatever. Now, will you help me?" Lilian stopped and turned to her daughter.
"…Yes," Sarah answered, "On one condition. If it doesn't work out, then it doesn't work out. There's no bullying me into it, no sending Alex, no complaining to dad. Got it?"
"You have my word. Now, let's head back up, shall we? I do so fear for my agents." Sarah nodded, looking just a bit puzzled at the hint of a smile on Lilian's face. She's probably sick, Sarah concluded.
"Sarah? Why're there two goons in our apartments covered in glitter and tied up with a sparkle jump rope?" Carolina's crisp voice carried from the top of the stairwell, a giggling Thea waving from her arms.
"…my agents." Murmured Lilian, easily making her way to the top and nearly knocking Lina over in her rush.
"Oh look, the Wicked Bitch of the West is here…" Lina smirked towards Sarah, keeping her voice down.
"Hardy har har, she's still my mother, Carolina." Sarah wiped her forehead, the stress of the day, plus ten million steps (it was four flights of stairs) and dealing with her mother had truly worn her out.
"Aunt Liiiinnnaaaaa that's a dollar in the swear jar!"
"For a good cause." Carolina Meyers was, in short, the phrase Fight me housed in on body. The amount of fights she had gotten into and arguments she had started would put even the best to shame. How she became a baker had baffled Sarah to this very day, and the nature of their friendship was an enigma to all. Still, they completed one another. Where Lina was blunt and crude, Sarah was eloquent and soft. She was the peace to Lina's storm, while Lina fueled the fire in Sarah.
Sarah rolled her eyes and stopped when she saw the two burly agents from before still tied together with the jump rope. One of them, the taller of the two, had glitter all in his hair and bright red lipstick, that looked suspiciously like her own. Well, it was time for a change, she sighed and observed the other one. The shorter of the two was worse off, in the sense that his hair was spared but his face and upper body were covered in stickers, glitter and tinsel.
"Oh my god, Thea Bean, your swear jar can have all of the money in my wallet." Lina couldn't hold back her laughter, as Thea smirked at the two agents and raised an eyebrow at her baffled grandmother.
"They insulted Princess June," she said before adding, "and slouched in their chairs."
How is this my life? Sarah thought to herself as the two men made their way quickly, albeit clumsily, down the stairwell.
"I'll be in contact. Good luck with Thea," Lilian almost looked affectionate as she made her way down the hall. "Oh! And Sarah? Maybe you should watch where you're going instead of calling others assholes." Sarah's face burned as Lilian fixed her with a look before walking out of sight.
"Swear Jar!" Thea yelled from the living room and Sarah had to fight the urge to bang her head repeatedly against the wall.
"Yeah, Sarah! Swear Jar!" Lina shook the jar as Thea danced to whatever kids music was on and Sarah set her coat on the hook in the hallway.
"Cute, real cute. What do you both want for dinner?" Sarah slipped her shoes off, and wiggled her toes, which were glad to be free from their confines.
"Thai!"
"Mac and cheese!"
A moment of silence followed, as the two dancing in the living room stopped and turned to one another.
"Thai."
"Mac and cheese, Aunt Lina. I want mac and cheese!"
"But we don't have any mac and cheese, Thea Bean." Lina's eyes widened, recognizing the look on Thea's face after that admission.
"…What happened to the mac and cheese?"
"I ate it." And if looks could kill, Lina would be incinerated and then buried six feet under ground.
"…"
"How about pizza? We can get a nice large cheese one for you two and a veggie one for me. Sound good, yeah?" Sarah interrupted, with the full intention of sparing Lina from Thea's wrath. She was small, only four but boy could she yell when she wanted to, a trait inherited from Victoria, Sarah's older sister. It was moments like these that made her miss Tori and made her feel nostalgia for her childhood.
"But I wanted mac and cheese!" Thea pouted, crossing her arms and turning her gaze onto Sarah.
"We can order brownies as well?" Sarah offered up, and Lina's stomach loudly grumbled in agreement.
"Fine, but she," Thea pointed at Lina accusingly, "gets none." Sarah had to hold in her laughter at the crestfallen look Lina sported.
"But Theeaaaaaaa!"
"Nope, Aunt Lina. You cannot have any brownies."
Sarah left the two bickering, to call the pizza place instead. She made sure to put in the order for the pizzas and added on two orders of brownies, knowing full well that they would come in handy a little later. She then made her way into her room, relishing in the sweet silence. She slipped off her dress and her jewelry, tying her hair up into a high pony and slipping on an old t-shirt from college with a pair of shorts. She then ceremoniously flopped onto her bed, landed on her back, grabbed her pillow and hugged it, just listening to the sounds of the street below. She could hear a car drive past, a few sirens in the distance. Some people were out, probably taking an evening stroll, their voices carrying up in muffled sounds. The wall next to hers was thin, so she heard the shuffling of her new neighbor.
"Maybe Mrs. W is right…" she said aloud as she examined the strange stains on her ceiling. She imagined some strange fantasy, where she would be swept off her feet, and fall hopelessly in love with the mystery man. They would spend their days in parks and museums, trips to the beach and the mountains. They would see the world, own a dog and have a small house somewhere, where Thea and their kids could grow up with every opportunity. She let herself be broken out of it when the doorbell rang and their were no sounds of anyone else getting it.
"Coming!" She shouted, walking past the now empty living room and walking to their front door, grabbing her wallet.
"Hi how—ah!" Her foot caught a snag on the hall rug as she opened the door and she was sent face first into a brick wall. A brick wall that had evidently caught her in its arms, grunting slightly. Wait a minute…
"Holy fuck, you're not a brick wall."