Disclaimer: Only the plot and original characters belong to me!
"You know," Selina told Elijah, "being there and seeing your little brother be born, that was the first time I ever found myself feeling sorry for your father. I mean, he's been on my case for years, but that woman makes him look pretty darn nice!"
"I know," Elijah replied. "I was surprised about that, too. But it's about time there was a woman on the planet who could match Father or surpass him. And I'm glad she's finally in his life. That, and that she doesn't seem to want to cause us any trouble. Just him. It'll be nice to finally have an ally against your father."
"But from what I heard, you and Father can get along well when you choose," Elijah reminded her. "Didn't you recruit him to help you dagger my brother?"
"Well, yes," Selina nodded. "And I'm sorry about that, by the way."
"No, you're not," Elijah replied. "And you don't have to be. After all the times he's done it to me, it's refreshing to be on the other side of the coffin."
"Well, I'm glad you're not mad," Selina replied. "I was afraid you would be."
"Not after what he did," Elijah replied. "If you hadn't done it, I would have done it myself."
"Now, are you sure you're mentally prepared to go be the room parent for Ethan's class today?" Selina asked. "Just to warn you, they might cover you with cookie crumbs and glitter and glue. Not wearing one of your suits was necessary."
"Oh, god," Elijah replied. "An army of children attacking me with glue. It sounds awful."
"It's not so bad," Selina replied. "I'm sure you've been through a lot worse. And it was so nice of you to do this for Ethan when he asked."
Elijah sighed. "Well, I figure after all the difficulties I've been having about who he gives his affections to, it's the least I could do."
"You'll do great!" Selina encouraged. "Don't freak out."
"I won't freak out!" Elijah replied. "I'm fine."
"Oh, and if you need a little extra courage," she handed him an envelope. "It's from Laura. It came yesterday."
"And you waited to give it to me until today cause you knew I might need some encouragement?" Elijah asked.
"Of course," Selina replied. Just then, Ethan came running in with his bag over his shoulder. "Come on, Daddy!" He cried. "We have to pick up Toby before we go to school! And since you're helping, I don't want to be late!"
"All right," Elijah replied. "Just a second." He grabbed his keys and let his eager son pull him out the door while Selina waved goodbye from inside. She would do anything to see Elijah in that classroom with all those kids. It was a hilarious thought. When they were gone, she turned away from the window and looked at the clock. Luckily, she had time to change into something presentable. It was the first day Gwen and Mikael were coming with King and she didn't want to make a bad impression. She showered, dressed, and waited for the doorbell to ring.
When it did, she opened the door immediately and Gwen smiled. "How nice of you to answer so quickly," she said.
"Well, I remember you said that you hated to be kept waiting," Selina remarked. She led Gwen and King to the living room and they all sat down. "So," Selina said, "You came on your own? Where's Mikael?"
"He's attempting to put together a toy that Rebecca got us. I suggested that we get someone from the store to put it together, or that I do it myself with my magic, but...Mikael insisted. I doubt he'll be in a good mood when I return home." She handed King to Selina, along with all his things. "Thanks for watching him," she said. "I hope he's not too much trouble."
"Oh, I've encountered a wide range of temperaments among his half siblings," Selina replied. "I can handle it." She beeped King's nose. "Can't I, little guy?" She asked. Gwen rolled her eyes at the baby talk, but said, "I wish you the best of luck. I'll be back this afternoon to pick him up."
"All right," Selina called as Gwen left. "Enjoy your day!"
"You look very nice," Charlie commented Elizabeth. "Why are you dressed so fancy?"
"School picture day of course!" Elizabeth replied, fluffing up her curly hair. "How could you have forgotten?"
"I didn't forget!" Charlie said, indicating his khaki pants and blue polo. "I'm dressed nice. And besides, it's school picture day, not school photo shoot day. I don't see the point of getting all dressed up for only one photo."
"And that, Charlie, is the difference between you and me," Elizabeth replied. Then she looked down. "And just so you know, your shoes are untied."
"That's a dumb joke," Charlie replied. "I'm not gonna fall for it!" But then, he took a few steps and face planted on the floor cause his shoes were untied just as Elizabeth had said.
"I told you," she smirked. But then she reached down a hand to help him up. He tied his shoes, dusted off his pants, and then put his bag over his shoulder. "We have to go to class," he told Elizabeth. "I'll see you at lunch."
"All right," Elizabeth replied. "See you."
When they met for lunch, Elizabeth wasn't happy. "What kind of a terrible person serves pizza on school picture day?" She complained. "Don't they know that this is the day when we wear our nicest clothes? And tomato stains!"
"Ever hear of a napkin?" Charlie asked. "I hear that if you put them on your lap or around your neck, it will stop stains from getting on your clothes."
"There's no need to be sarcastic," Elizabeth told him and grabbed a bunch of napkins from the container before putting her backpack on a chair and going to get her lunch.
"I can carry it for you if you want," Charlie offered. "I'll get mine after."
"You will?" Elizabeth asked. "Well, thank you!" Once she was supplied with food and sitting down, Charlie went to get his lunch and then came to sit down next to her. "I'm not looking forward to school pictures," he said. "I don't even know why we have to do them anyway."
"I don't either, but it's a chance for me to show how pretty I am, so I like it!" Elizabeth said. "And you shouldn't be worried. you look nice."
"Thanks," Charlie replied as he tucked a napkin into his shirt. "My dad helped me dress this morning, cause Mom had to drop Eli off with Grandma and Grandpa. It wasn't hard for you to dress today, was it? You dress like that all the time."
"Well, Mom would be disappointed in me if I didn't," Elizabeth replied. "And Daddy's no shabby dresser either." She paused. "Mom wants me to model, but Dad won't let me."
"Do you wanna model?" Charlie asked. "Or does your mom just want you to?"
"I don't know," Elizabeth replied. "It might be kind of fun." She cut her pizza with her knife and fork and ate it in dainty bites.
"You know you can just pick it up and eat it, right?" Charlie asked, staring.
"Well, not today," Elizabeth replied. "Today, I'm being careful. Pictures are being taken right after lunch, you know."
"I do," Charlie replied. "The teacher told us." After he finished his pizza, he picked up a small green squeeze bottle with a lid on it from his bag and drank deeply from it. When Elizabeth noticed his red lips, she said, "Is that punch you have in there? Can I have some?"
"No," Charlie replied. "It's not punch. It's my special meal supplement...you know the one I have to have cause of my genetics...?"
"Oh!" Elizabeth brought her voice down. "It's blood! All right. I don't want to drink that. Keep going." After they were done with their lunch, Elizabeth went with Charlie to put some of his books away before they headed off to get their photos taken with the rest of the class.
"You did remember to dress Charlie up for school picture day, right?" Katherine asked Laura. "You don't want him looking terrible in front of all the other children."
"It wasn't my department," Laura replied. "I thought it would be better to leave that up to Edward. But I'm sure he made him look great. You spiffed Elizabeth up, I suppose?"
"I think that goes without saying," Katherine replied, blowing on her nails. It was the slow period of the day, and she'd decided to give herself a manicure. "You know, every time I take her to the mall, at least one person asks if she wants to model."
"Have you taken advantage of any of those offers?" Laura asked.
"I would like to," Katherine replied. "But you know stick in the mud Gregory won't let me." She pouted.
"Why not?" Laura asked, although she was pretty sure she knew why.
"He says it would interfere with her schoolwork, and that that's what children her age should be focusing on, instead of working," Katherine replied. "But how does he know that? He probably just hates the idea cause I suggested it."
"I'm sure that if you came up with a good reason for Elizabeth to model, he would consider it," Laura replied. "He's not unreasonable."
"You would say that," Katherine scoffed. "You don't have to live with him anymore. And what reason could possibly make him change his mind? He's as stubborn as your father."
"What if you told him that modeling on the weekends or after school would let Elizabeth earn her own money, and then she would learn fiscal responsibility?" Laura asked. "That's what my mom said when I wanted to work at Enid's and Dad wouldn't let me. But then again, when I worked at Enid's, it was full of people Mom knew. Maybe that's why he said 'Yes', come to think of it."
"Well, thanks, you're a lot of help," Katherine replied dryly, then came to stand behind her. "You have some split ends that need snipping," she said and then strode back to her desk.
"You're making that up!" Laura cried. But she peered into the mirror anyway and was ashamed to see that Katherine was right. "Damn it," she cried, and then began rooting around for the scissors while Katherine smirked.
"Maybe I should be the face of this place," she observed. "After all, I seem to be the one who practices better hair maintenance."
"Well, you have more time," Laura pointed out. "You don't have to work all day and take care of a baby, and I do."
"You can make all the excuses you want," Katherine replied. "But really, since you're selling the ability to make people's hair look good, shouldn't you put some actual effort into your own? I mean, coloring it crazy colors is one thing. Ongoing care and maintenance is another."
Laura sighed. Of course Kathrine was right, but the fact of the matter was that finding time was difficult. Sighing, she turned to face Katherine. "I'll give you a raise if you give me a trim and make me hair look neat before all the appointments start coming in for the day," she said. "Cause as much as I hate to admit it, you have a point."
"Well, it's good you asked," Katherine replied as she took up the scissors and Laura sat down in the chair. "Cause even if you hadn't, I would have taken the scissors to this mess you call your hair whether you like it or not. Today you especially need it."
"You're not gonna make me bald, are you?" Laura asked nervously.
"No," Katherine replied. "I won't. I promise I'll restrain myself."
"How kind," Laura replied. After Katherine finished fixing up her ends and other little things, Laura got out of the chair and ran up to answer the ringing doorbell.
"Hello?" She said when she saw the two men on the other side of the door, one with a paper and pad, and the other who held a camera. Both were thin, gray-haired, and balding, and wearing navy blue suits. "Who are you?"
"Are you Laura Emerson?" The one with the pad asked.
"Yeah," Laura nodded. "I am."
"Would you have time for just a quick interview?" He pressed. "We heard about the success of your business and want to do an article about it for our magazine about up and coming locations in this town."
"O-okay, sure!" Laura replied, grateful that she'd started sending Eli to her parents' during the day so she could focus on one thing at a time. "I'd be honored to say a few words."
"And your hair looks lovely," the man with the camera pointed out. "Is it an example of the fine work you do here at your salon?"
"Yes," Laura nodded.
"Well, when people see the pictures, they'll be wanting to come here in droves!" He said with a smile. "You won't be able to keep them away!"
"Well, wonderful!" Laura replied and offered them a seat. "Can I get you some coffee or something before we do this?" Laura asked. "And also, how did you find out about my work?"
"Every issue, we look for a new business to profile," the man with the pad said after they both declined coffee. He was writing already, although what he was writing, Laura had no idea. "We got a call from your assistant, and she told us what a good job you're doing here. You worked on one of our co-workers a couple of days ago, and she came back with a dazzling review. That's why we're here."
"Oh!" Laura smiled. "How nice!"
"Now would you like to do the picture first, or the interview?" the photographer asked.
Laura stood up. "I need to run downstairs before we start anything," she said. "It won't be long. I'll be back in a minute."
The men nodded and Laura ran downstairs where Katherine was sitting with a smile on her face. "Was it anyone interesting at the door?" She asked.
"Yes," Laura nodded. "And...thank you. I don't know what else to say. That was a really generous thing for you to do, so I think you should come up and do the interview with me."
"Are you sure?" Katherine replied. "I wouldn't want to do it, and then have you scold me afterward for stealing your spotlight."
"No, I insist," Laura replied. "Come with me. We'll do it all together."
"It would be my pleasure," Katherine replied. They did the interview and took the photo, and as the reporters got up to leave, they promised that the magazine would be out in a couple of weeks.
"Thanks again!" Laura called after them. "We appreciate it." She shut the door and turned to Katherine. "That was awesome!" She cried.
"Yeah, it was," Katherine nodded. "And when the magazine comes out and Gregory sees how photogenic I am, and how good photos in magazines actually are for people, maybe he'll ease up about Elizabeth."
And there it was, Laura thought to herself. The self-serving angle she was just waiting to find. But self-serving angle or not, Katherine had done something to help her little salon in a big way, and for that, at least, she could be grateful.