"The One" – Part 89
Summary and additional notes in part 1.
Author's Note: Thanks for all the happy vacation wishes! I'm totally missing it already, but it's back to the grind *shrug*
Lots of dialogue and Torres Family time in this one! Though Fiona is also front and center! Now, without further ado, more Fadam and Dabby! (kudos to DegrassiloverRe on the shipper name! Lol!)
Author's Note #2: This is not related to my Degrassi timeline fics. (See my Author's profile for details!)
Disclaimer: I do NOT own Degrassi!
-oOo-
"Do you want to bless the food, mom?" Drew asked.
Audra smiled at him. "I'd be honored." Words fell short of expressing the happiness and warmth she felt sitting here with her family! Her husband was by her side. Her elder son, Drew, was nearby with his wife and baby daughter. She loved them all so much. Adam, her younger son, was finally back home in Toronto. He had brought the woman he loved, and she was certain Fiona would be her daughter-in-law someday soon! Everything was perfect.
Adam squeezed Fiona's hand. He was incredibly happy at the moment and was overjoyed that she was here! She looked at him and smiled.
"This food looks delicious!" she told him.
He readily nodded. "Yeah. I can't wait to dig in," he replied. He looked at Abby. "You really outdid yourself this time!" he complimented his sister-in-law.
Everyone at the table nodded.
"Hey! I helped too!" Drew noted.
Abby nodded. "He did," she affirmed. "He was an excellent sous chef. He didn't burn the rice and beans this time!"
They all laughed.
"Wow, that was one time!" he said amused. Generally he was a decent cook, but that particular night he was tired! Haylie had been much younger at the time and she kept waking up every fifteen minutes!
"Right…" Adam responded sarcastically, causing another round of laughter.
Suddenly Drew's phone beeped. It was clipped to his belt, so he easily took it off and checked the Caller ID. He frowned a little and silenced it.
"Are you going to answer that?" Abby asked him as she piled some salad onto her plate.
He shook his head. "No, it's not important."
Adam glanced at him from across the table.
"Okay, let's say grace," Audra suggested. She was ready to eat!
Drew nodded and turned to Haylie. "Put your hands together," he instructed her. Abby smiled broadly as their little girl followed suit.
"That's adorable!" Fiona exclaimed. Her family didn't usually say prayers before eating food, but she was familiar with it from years of shared meals in the Torres home. She turned to Adam. "Hey, where did you go?" she lightly teased.
He blinked. "Sorry. Guess I spaced for a moment," he told her.
She softly laughed. "It happens to the best of us!"
He smiled at her before turning to his Mom as she began to speak.
-oOo-
"I'll go get the flan!" Abby said happily. Dinner had gone wonderfully and they were all ready for dessert.
"I'll help, dear," Audra offered. She stood up.
"Thanks!" Abby grinned.
"I'll join you guys," Fiona told them with a smile. She glanced at Adam and he sent her an encouraging look.
"Well, I guess it's just us guys at the table," Omar noted once the women left.
Adam nodded. "Three men and a baby!" he joked.
Drew cracked a small smile as the two of them laughed.
"Drew, she seems about ready to conk out on us," his father chuckled.
He glanced at his daughter and smiled. "Yeah, it's close to her bedtime but she's going to fight it."
Adam came around the table and picked her up. "You can stay up as long as you'd like!" he told his niece.
Haylie giggled in his arms.
"Well, you'll be the one watching her!" Drew quipped.
Adam kissed the little girl's cheek. "I don't mind."
Drew grinned. "Good!"
The three elder Torres' all laughed.
A few minutes later, Abby, Audra, and Fiona returned from the kitchen.
"So you're already starting designs for Fashion Week?" Audra asked, continuing their conversation.
Fiona nodded. "Yes. We debut our line for the upcoming year at the show, so the summer is when we begin preliminary sketches and jotting down ideas. In the months following Fashion Week there's a lot of promotion and selling of what was shown. We have a development cycle of roughly nine months preceding it," she explained.
"Wow, that sounds complicated," Omar noted.
They all smiled.
"I'm happy hear about your success!" Audra genuinely told her. She always thought Fiona would do well!
"Thank you," Fiona responded.
Adam grinned at his girlfriend. "You should see her boutique. Her clothes are amazing!" he gushed.
"I saw the website. Everything on there looks lovely!" Abby agreed.
"My offer still stands. Let me know what items you'd like and I'll send them," Fiona said warmly.
Abby grinned broadly. She didn't own any dresses or accessories as high end as the clothing on Fiona's website! She glanced at Drew and he smiled at her.
"You too, Audra," Fiona added.
The older woman smiled. "Oh, I don't want to be a bother…" she started.
Fiona shook her head. "Not at all! What fun is it being a fashion designer if you can't give gifts to your nearest and dearest?" Her mom and Holly J had countless Coyne Roberts items in their closets!
"That's an excellent point!" Adam laughed, backing her up.
Fiona smiled at him. "I would give some pieces to Adam too, but unfortunately I don't have anything flattering in his size," she joked.
They all laughed.
-oOo-
When the night ended, Fiona was sad to see Audra and Omar go! She had such a good time with them at dinner! It was quite different from her teen years. Ten years ago, back when she and Adam began dating, his mother was downright hostile towards her. As time went on, the woman's attitude towards their relationship softened but Fiona always had the sense that she was merely tolerated.
This time around, there was genuine warmth behind Audra's demeanor! She could tell the woman was not just going through the motions and asking polite questions. Adam's step dad had always been kind to her, so Fiona enjoyed seeing him again! His parents looked pretty much the same. They just had a few more wrinkles. Plus Audra's hair was shorter now and there was a touch of gray in the sides of Omar's.
After biding them goodnight, Adam and Fiona returned to the guest room. About ten minutes ago, he elected to go get more flan and had Fiona stayed. After checking messages on her smart phone and responding to two work related emails, she reconsidered.
Fiona put her phone on the nightstand and stood up. She glanced in the mirror and remembered she had already changed into her night clothes.
"Crap," she muttered. She was wearing her usual thin tank top with shorts combo, and the shorts were quite skimpy! She walked over to her suitcase and took out some cropped work out sweat pants. She quickly changed into them and put on a thin black sweater, to cover up her nipples. She did not want to inadvertently give her hosts a show!
Fiona then carefully crept down the stairs. Adam had told her a few of the steps were creaky. Haylie's room was close to the stairs and she did not want to wake the sleeping toddler! Once Fiona reached the main level, she picked up speed and continued towards to the kitchen. However, she slowed down at the sound voices talking inside.
"You need to be responsible," she heard someone say in a quiet, yet determined tone. She instantly recognized the speaker. It was Adam.
"I don't need a lecture," another deep voice hastily responded. She quickly surmised it belonged to his brother, Drew.
There was a short pause before her boyfriend spoke again.
"Then do what you say you will, Andrew. Or this is going to blow up in your face," he warned.
Fiona immediately furrowed her brows. His words came out calm and collected, but she could detect sadness and perhaps disappointment in his tone. It troubled her. She hadn't intended to eavesdrop on the brothers' conversation, but she wanted to know what they were discussing!
Suddenly she heard someone come up behind her. She quickly turned around.
"Hey Fiona! I didn't mean to startle you," Abby greeted her. She spoke at regular volume, so it was no surprise that the chatter from in the kitchen promptly halted. "Looks like we had the same idea! I decided to get more flan too."
Fiona gave her a small smile. "You caught me," she lightly remarked. "It was really delicious."
Abby grinned. "Thank you!" She stepped forward and linked arms with Fiona. "Let's head inside! The boys have already beaten us to it but hopefully there's some still left!"
Fiona nodded, ignoring the sense of foreboding she felt just a moment ago. "We'll see," she quipped as the two women walked into the kitchen.
.
tbc
A/N: Could have warned you guys about the tension at the end, but then what fun would that be? What are your theories on Drew and Adam's talk?
To back up, dinner was lovely, no? Lots of happy banter and Haylie's a sweetie pie!
Review! You know you wanna :D
In the next chapter… We'll find out what happens after Fiona and Abby join the guys in the kitchen! Also, Fiona and Adam will talk (won't leave you guys hanging for too long!)…
To the folks I cannot directly PM:
Anon - Thanks for the review on the last chapter! Haha. Yeah, I totally had fun. Was nice spending time with the fam and actually enjoying the summer weather! Dude, I've actually never had pico de gallo before but I do wanna try it. It looks like tasty dish! I think we're on first name basis with Adam's folks now (sweet, right?). Drew doesn't always edit his words, but the sentiment of sharing so much with his wife is endearing!