Doth thine eyes deceive thee? No they do not, here I am with update round two. Why, you ask? Because I'm celebrating and I want you to join! I just finished writing the final chapter of this story, what whaaat! It got away from me, this tricky little bastard. I had originally planned for it to be ten chapters, then fifteen, and now it's 28. Ha! Well, just proves how much I can't shut up. :P
Blah blah blah chapter title's from "The Gambler" by Fun. blah blah blah. I do listen to and use other songs, I swear. :P Thanks for all the amazing feedback! Keep it coming and I'll keep these coming! :D
she has eyes just like her father's; they are blue when skies are gray
In the fall, once the blazing summer heat wanes into crisper air and the changing colors of the leaves, Spencer begins her final year of schooling and Toby starts to draft a design for their future home. They're not quite sure where they're going to end up following the awarding of her doctorate, but they know that the cramped quarters of their New York City apartment are not suitable for optimal family living. With Grace growing everyday, they know they will eventually outgrow their home and thus, they'll need a replacement. Of course this is where's Toby's expertise comes in handy; they don't need to hire a contractor to build them a house.
By Thanksgiving, Grace is walking, Spencer's in over her head with work, and Toby's got most of the house plans laid out. When they travel home to Rosewood for Christmas, Spencer's family remarks at how much Grace has grown in such a short time and Toby contacts his former boss about possibly getting a plot of land in town on which to build the house he'd designed. His boss does him one better; he'll employ a handful of his best employees to get started on the job right away. He also lets Toby know that if they do plan on Rosewood being their permanent place of residence, his former job will always be waiting for him. After they ring in the New Year, Grace turns one and their friends and the entire family- yes, even Toby's side- attends the celebration.
Spencer's final semester goes without obstacles; she passes all of her final evaluations and her dissertation truly impresses her professors. The graduation ceremony is set for the end of May and, coincidentally, it's when their lease runs out. They plan to head back to Rosewood, if only for a while, and Toby makes sure to have their house built by then. He's been making weekend trips to oversee things, just in case. By the time May does roll around, Toby lets his employers know gently that he will be leaving at the end of the month and his boss isn't too pleased. To make him pay for this, he sends Toby to South Carolina on grunt work. For three weeks.
"Three weeks?" Spencer exclaims when he tells her. "You've never had to go anywhere for that long! That's ridiculous."
"No, no, no!" Grace agrees from her mother's arms, shaking her head.
"Look, I know it's not ideal," Toby says, encircling his arms around her waist and kissing Grace's cheek. "But it's not that bad. I'll be back in time for your ceremony and then we can get out of this city."
She eyes him. "I feel like he's doing this just to spite you."
"Oh he is," Toby agrees. "He doesn't want to me to leave, I guess. Which is hilarious, actually, when you take into consideration the fact that I told him from day one I wasn't going to be here permanently."
"No, no!" Grace says again. It's one of four words she can say at sixteen months old and it's certainly her favorite.
Toby steals her from Spencer's grasp, asking, "Are you going to miss me, Gracie?"
"No!"
Spencer laughs. Toby shrugs, "Well at least she's honest."
When the time comes for him to depart, he kisses his girls goodbye and tells Spencer, "Make sure she doesn't forget who I am."
She rolls her eyes. "As if she'd forget her father."
"You never know," Toby says, his concern half-genuine. "I don't know how infant memory works, but three weeks is a long time."
"She won't forget. She loves you," Spencer punctuates this statement with a kiss. "And so do I."
Once his plane takes off, Spencer gets a nice dose of what it's like to be a single parent and to say she detests it would be an understatement. She likes to think she and Toby compliment each other well; they work as a team and they always have. When he needs space to get his work done, Spencer occupies Grace and vice versa. When they both have downtime, they're always spending it as a family, just the three of them. Sixteen months into this, she and Toby have certainly grasped the art of co-parenting and to have that suddenly taken away, if only for a handful of weeks, is not ideal.
Grace tries to use a spoon one morning and ends up spilling her oatmeal all over the speech Spencer's so meticulously typed out for a meeting she has later that day. After dropping her off at daycare a few days later, Spencer realizes she'd left her briefcase with her daughter and taken the bag full of Grace's things with her instead. And in the evenings, Spencer spends more time focused on her notebook than on Grace, which the latter is not impressed with. Ultimately, Spencer finds it nearly impossible to find a middle ground. She wants to spend endless time with her daughter, but those deadlines…
One night, about halfway through Toby's time in South Carolina, he calls through FaceTime and Spencer answers gratefully. "Hi. How are you?"
"I'm fine. How are you? You look exhausted."
"I am," Spencer agrees. "Grace is here too. Can you see her?"
"I think a see a foot?"
Spencer pulls her daughter into her lap. "Better?"
"Better! Hi Grace! I miss you, monkey."
Grace, utterly confused at how her father could be in a computer screen, stares back wide-eyed. She points at him and asks, "Ma-ma?"
"Yeah, do you see daddy?" Spencer grins. "Say hi daddy! Say we miss you!"
Grace leans forward, her face inches from the screen, and crawls almost on top of the computer. She must hit a button or two on the way there, because the call is lost and Toby disappears in seconds. "Uh oh!"
"Yeah, uh oh," Her mother laughs. "You just hung up on daddy."
By the time Spencer calls back, Grace has lost interest in the conversation and Toby comments, "See? She forgot who I am."
"She knows who you are," Spencer disagrees. "She just doesn't understand technology."
"Yeah, yeah. So how are things?"
"Difficult," Spencer admits. "And I'm ready for you to come home."
"Trust me, there's nowhere I'd rather be."
And eventually, that moment finally comes. It's unseasonably warm for the end of May, pushing almost 80, so Spencer puts Grace in a sundress and a matching headband. It isn't something she'd usually do, but she figures it's a special occasion. She slips white sandals on her daughter's tiny feet and then the two are off to JFK. Toby's flight gets in a little after two o'clock; Spencer had been hyping up Toby's arrival all week. It isn't as though she believed that Grace had forgotten him, but she wanted to be sure Grace knew how exciting it would be to finally have him home again. Plus, of course, she'd worked out a little surprise with Grace to be sure Toby knew his daughter would never forget who he is.
They wait by the baggage claim and it's insanely crowded today. Spencer suspects commencement weekend at not only Columbia but NYU as well must be the cause of the congestion. She has Grace by the hand, but ultimately decides that in her arms is probably a safer location. When the arrival board changes, Spencer keeps a tight hold on her daughter and an eye on the crowd emerging from the terminals. Eventually she spots him and he grins at her even from a mile away. Spencer bounces Grace a bit in her arms, asking, "Hey Gracie, who's that?"
"Da-da!" She squeals and shimmies out of Spencer's arms. The moment she on her feet, she runs as fast as teeny tiny little legs can carry her. It's a sight that nearly makes Spencer's heart leap out of her chest. Toby stops walking, tosses his bag to the ground and waits with open arms as Grace launches herself into them. Spencer would love to do the same, but she holds back a bit, watching as the two loves of her life reunite so beautifully before her. Toby stands, bringing his daughter with him, and kisses her over and over. He swings the bag he'd recently tossed aside over his back as he comes closer.
"Da-da!" Grace squeals again and Toby beams with pride.
"No way," He grins. "Gracie, you finally said it!"
"We've been working on that for you," Spencer tells him, her body drawing her to him like a magnet.
"Thank you. Seriously. It's so great to hear her say it," Toby wraps his free arm around his wife and brings her in tight. "God, I missed you so much."
Spencer closes her eyes against his shoulder, murmuring, "You have no idea."