AUTHOR'S NOTE – I am sorry about the delay. Life gets in the way of things sometimes. This story is very dear to me and I am going to finish it. I suggest you read what happened on Sunday and Monday again if you have forgotten, to really enjoy Tuesday. I have again moved ahead with the Emison part and given you more details about Emily's story for the past two years. I really hope you enjoy the end of this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. Fluff comes on Wednesday.
I cannot thank you guys enough for your support. 90 followers and this is my first story! I am humbled and so grateful. I like reading reviews. A guest sent me one line a week or so back and I started writing again inspite of my schedule. So please feel free to tell me what you think. I would appreciate criticism too. So I can fix where I mess up.
Love you all and happy reading.
TUESDAY - ARE YOU ALRIGHT – IT HAPPENS AGAIN
Alison
Alison woke up early and smiled when she saw the shards of sunlight filtering through the leaves of the sycamore tree and leaving patterns all over her room and the sheets. The room was lit but not harshly so, like the tree wanted her to know it was time to wake up but wanted to ease her into her day gently.
Alison felt happier than she had felt in a long time. A different happy from what she was back in Pasadena. She couldn't explain it, she just felt lighter, more hopeful. She had big plans for the day and she couldn't wait for her day to begin.
She showered and changed into shorts and a loose comfortable t-shirt. She was going to make this house her own. Armed with a book and pen she walked from room to room making a list of things she needed to personalize each room — curtains, linen, new carpets, tableware, as easy chair in the bedroom, the list when on and on.
About an hour later she got herself a bowl of cereal and a coffee and took them to the swing under the sycamore tree to have breakfast outside. She was welcomed by a cool morning breeze and she found herself transported back beside the bench outside the Independence Inn, watching the breeze blow dark strands across the face that Alison wanted to caress just as gently with her fingers.
She wondered If Emily remembered anything that happened last night. If she did remember, did she believe it really was Alison? Alison remembered the card she had got from Lauren. Maybe she should pay Emily a visit.
Alison was driving into a street not far from where she grew up. This was her part of town- rich, glamorous and all about pretenses. But she saw how Emily would do really well here, catering to the parties and soirées of the rich and extravagant.
A few minutes later she was parked across from a pretty, olive roofed, white, one storey building. The building was plain on the front with no windows at all. Just a huge wooden engraved door off to the right. The middle of the massive white wall that made up the rest of the front of the building had a bronze metallic cut out in handwritten font-'Goût Divin'. The walls on the sides of the building had huge glass windows from end to end that probably lit up the interiors beautifully. The area round the building was not fenced but had a hedge circling the property.
Alison raised an eyebrow, definitely impressed. Good taste was something she always appreciated. She got out of the car and braced herself before ringing the buzzer by the door. The door opened and she found herself face to face with an unnervingly tall woman in her late thirties.
"Good evening," the woman smiled, revealing a dazzling set of teeth. "Please do come in." Alison couldn't help but smile back; her initial discomfort of feeling tiny compared to this green-eyed, dark skinned woman gone when the smile had lit up her sharp features.
Alison was led to a comfortable lounge style guest area. The stark white walls were softened by soft wood frames, featuring candid pictures of weddings and parties that they had catered. The pictures of lots of food and smiling faces gave the modern interiors a welcoming warmth that felt 'very Emily' to Alison. She was offered a seat on the comfortable couch and the tall woman sat across her with a smile.
"I'm Edith. How can we help you?" she inquired.
"Alison," she responded, "I was actually looking for Emily." She was almost hesitant as she spoke, remembering the unpleasant exchange with Cece two days back and wondering if this was to be a repeat performance.
"I'm sorry but Emily only comes in to manage the actual planning and cooking so had you called in and made an appointment she would have been here. I'm here, however and I promise I'll do my best to help you with all the information you need before you hire us and take care of everything if you do decide to go ahead and give us your business." Edith was the perfect person for her job, Alison could tell. But that was not what she was here for.
"Thank you but that's really not why I'm here. I am an old friend and wanted to meet Emily. Will she be in later today at some point?" Alison's tone was calm but deep down she was almost desperate.
"Unfortunately she isn't scheduled to come in today but then she does pop in unexpected a lot. Lots of people call her and request that she bake them cakes or order some of her old family dishes that they earlier ordered out of the café and she hardly ever refuses anyone. I could of course call her and inform her that you are here to meet her or I could help you with her home address," Edith offered.
Alison smiled to herself. Yes, Emily certainly didn't seem the type to refuse her old friends and customers. She pondered if Emily hearing that Alison was waiting for her at her catering office to meet her over the telephone was such a good idea and decided against it.
"No, thank you. I'll come back to meet her if you could help me with a day and time when I could find her here."
Edith looked at Alison for a second almost like she was trying to work out what her story was in her head but asked nothing. Instead she nodded with a smile and worked over to her desk opposite the entrance and looked through her planner. "She should be in tomorrow morning about 11. We have a small event to cater at 4 pm."
Alison thanked Edith profusely and left with a heavy heart. Why was it proving to be so hard? Her drive home was solemn and for some reason all the excitement from the morning was gone. She really wanted nothing more than to meet Emily again. In comparison decorating her new house was completely lackluster.
As she turned into her driveway she found Sharonne's fence lined with bikes. She walked in to find about 6 kids playing with the dogs in the lawn. Seated on the porch was Sharonne, patiently trying to console a blonde facing away from her. As she approached closer Alison realized the blonde was familiar – Celine!
Celine had the tiny puppy from yesterday in her arms and seemed to be crying her heart out. She was flanked by Sharonne on one side and a short redhead on the other.
"Ce?" Alison softly called as she approached. Celine turned around and for some reason seemed to cry louder on seeing Alison. "What is it, honey?" Alison cooed.
"You know Celine?" Sharonne inquired with a raised eyebrow.
"She lives with a friend," Alison responded as her hand made its way to Celine's shoulder gently turning her around to face her.
"Mommy won't let me keep Pepe?" Celine sobbed, her fingers stroking the puppy's soft fur as he frantically licked away her tears. "She promised me I could get anything I wanted for my birthday but now she won't let me keep him."
Alison didn't want to comment for or against anything Cece had told the child. She was Celine's mother and it wasn't Alison's place to do so but she also couldn't really see the child heartbroken like she was.
"Don't cry Ce," she comforted the child. "What if I was to keep Pepe for you? I'd take care of him and you could come meet him and play with him whenever you want to."
"Whenever I want to?" Two tearful blue eyes searched her face for assurance that she was in fact going to keep her word.
Alison smiled back and wiped away the child's tears and promised, "Yes, whenever you wanted to. Now do you think you could stop crying? You are scaring Pepe you know. Why don't you go play with him for a while before I take him home? I live in the house next door. You can come over whenever you want to see Pepe."
Celine seemed to be happy with the arrangement and ran off to the lawn with Pepe in her arms and her friend following behind her, to play with the other kids. Alison turned towards Sharonne and inquired, "I hope that is okay with you. I'm sorry I didn't discuss it with you first."
Sharonne responded with a girlish laugh, "Of course it is. I am happy he is going to have someone who loves him to look after him. Like I said yesterday, I was holding on to him because Celine wanted to get her mother's permission before taking him home."
"When was he christened," Alison mused glancing over to look at Celine laughing as Pepe rolled on the grass. "Last I remember the poor guy was nameless."
"She came over in tears and was already calling him Pepe. I really didn't know anything about the name."
Alison laughed. 'Pepe', she thought to herself. She liked the name. The kids left a half hour later after Celine had kissed Pepe a hundred times and promised to come meet him after hockey practice the next day.
Alison walked home after saying goodbye to Sharonne with a little squirming pup in her arms. He looked up at Alison with his warm brown eyes and Alison knew she was already in love with him. Somehow the gloom she was feeling on her way home was now replaced with hope again.
Emily
Emily woke up late. She didn't really have any bookings for the day so she could afford to sleep in. As she rolled over she found a note on her bed table from Cece.
'Don't take any pills in case you have a headache. OJ and water should help. Call me when you are up.'
Emily was amused. Cece was almost a wife- except for the lack of romantic intimacy. The thought made her grimace and laugh out. She did appreciate having the older blonde in her life though.
She got out of bed and walked lazily into the kitchen to find a heap of pancakes under a clotch with a note from Celine. 'Game at 3.' Emily wondered when did her life get this domesticated. She took her pancakes and walked into the living room to watch laze away in front of the TV and caught sight of a flash of color on the corner of the couch by her clutch that she had used last night.
She walked over and picked up the orange and yellow scarf with black patterns and suddenly images from last night came flooding back. She had imagined Alison again — that she remembered. But other than that she just recalled flashes of being cold and then feeling safe.
Emily frowned. She was getting tired of feeling trapped in this obsession, as Hanna called it, for a girl she hardly knew and who had run off leaving Emily stuck in time. Hanna was always convinced that the only reason that Emily was hung up on the mysterious blonde was because of the mystery and the drama of that night and the fact that Emily had no answers or closure. Emily had never wanted to accept that explanation because they didn't really account for how Emily had felt with Alison- there was something there that Hanna really had no idea about.
Emily lay the scarf on the table. She had no way of knowing who the owner of the scarf was who had shown her kindness. She settled back into the couch with her pancakes and watched reruns of 'That 70's Show' till her breakfast had disappeared from the plate. After a while she just sat and stared at the television. She wasn't really watching anymore…
She thought back to better days, happier days- feeling safe in the kitchen with her Grandma, sleepovers with her friends, hiding under the blanket after lights out with a torch and reading late into the night, arguments with Spencer, heart-to-hearts with Aria, the joys of getting a dish right when she was older and the smile on Grandma's face when she tasted the first mouthful. She wanted it all back. The simpler times when she didn't feel lost all the time.
Her thoughts then wandered to the afternoon over two years back, standing on the pavement outside the café and hoping that it was all a dream. Hoping Spencer wasn't saying what Emily was imagining she was. She hadn't wanted Alison to leave. It was selfish but it had been true. Her noble intentions to protect Alison had at some point morphed into a selfish need to be the one protect her. Emily knew she was no saint.
In less than a day Alison had somehow healed the hurt Emily had carried around for months. Yes, she was no one to Emily and yet Emily knew she was meant to be more. The brunette hadn't been stupid. She did not for a minute give in to the fairy tale notions of love at first sight that she had read about in the hundreds of books she had grown up reading. Emily was not naïve!
But she was not going to deny the existence of 'something'. There was just something in Alison's eyes that felt familiar. Something about spending time with her that was calming and exhilarating at the same time. Something about being around her that felt like Emily was where she was meant to be.
Love was a big word and Emily wasn't one to throw it around casually, especially for someone she didn't know the last name of! But Emily couldn't deny that something in her wanted to be loved by the blonde with those deep ocean blue eyes. She wanted to be home to Alison. It was stupid; she knew it and everyone around her had pointed out the same for the past two years. But the feeling of having lost something special had never gone away.
Emily had tried for a day. She tried to listen to Spencer's apologies and her reasoning. Spencer wouldn't tell her anything about Alison but asked Emily to trust her. Emily had found that extremely ironic. Trust was the one thing Emily could no longer give Spencer. She had asked Spencer to leave and not try to contact her- ever.
Emily's phone beeped with a message from Hanna –
'Cece called to yell at me again. It wasn't even a Monday :-( She said something about some pills and champagne knocking you out. Are you alright? Don't die, bitch! Cece will probably find a way to pin it on me! Call you tonight. Ciao.'
Emily smiled. She didn't know how she ended up with her two blonde protectors but Cece and Hanna were people she really couldn't do without anymore. She kept the phone aside and cuddled up on the couch with her eyes closed. Her thoughts continued wandering to the days after she had shut Spencer out of her life.
A week after the Alison episode had happened Emily had returned to Philadelphia and culinary school for the first time after her Grandma's death, entrusting the café to Talia till Cece returned. Ben her on-off boyfriend tried to get back together with her but this time Emily told him the truth — she had never felt anything for him. Nothing!
Those words set her free. She felt light and like she could do anything — and she did. She did everything she had never done before with the one person who had done it all, Hanna Marin.
When Emily had joined culinary school she had moved in with a girl from school - Sidney. Sidney wasn't exactly a friend but Emily spent most of her time at school or in the kitchen. Her weekends were spent back home in Rosewood. When Sidney moved in with her boyfriend Emily put out an ad for a roommate and two days later Hanna had walked into her life.
Emily and Spencer were different but still very alike- small town well adjusted girls who dressed sensibly, snuck out and swam in the lake, drank a little vodka on sleepovers and gossiped about everyone's latest crush. Aria, before she left was often a part of the group and though she could be a little crazy she still fitted in with the other two.
Hanna on the other hand was from a completely different constellation. Born and raised in New York, her family had moved to Philadelphia when she was 17 and she hated it. She had big dreams that she could talk about for hours and every sentence had a Versace, a Chanel or a Vera Wang in it.
When she moved in with Emily she was studying fashion and interning with Carmelita Martell at Carmelita Couture, one of the top names in Philadelphia. She walked around the apartment in heels and had skirts in 15 shades of yellow. And she could name every shade! Hanna had no boyfriends and yet almost never slept at home in her bed. Fun on the town meant drinking till dancing on the table seemed like the best idea in the world. In short, Hanna was nothing like Emily.
But opposites attract and within a month of moving in, Emily and Hanna were the thickest of pals. Emily loved how Hanna was a constant surprise, a shocking surprise occasionally. Hanna loved how Emily was like her personal angel that she grew to need as an antidote to all the crazy she had in her life. Their differences, much like the ones that Emily and Spencer had, helped them experience things they never would have been introduced to otherwise. Hanna was the only real friend Emily had made in Philly.
Hanna had been the one to point out that Ben and Emily were never going to make it. Something that Emily refused to see till she actually felt what a connection with someone was meant to feel like, when she had met Alison.
Hanna was always who she wanted to be and refused to conform to anyone's ideas of who she should be. Taking a leaf out of Hanna's book Emily, a few months post her break-up with Ben, had not thought a second before accepting the idea of dating Paige. She didn't feel the need to question if she was gay. She was who she was and was doing what made her happy.
Hanna had never let Emily wallow and more often than not her methods were harsh. She never minced words or sugarcoated facts but Emily knew without doubt that Hanna was on her side. Everything she did was to keep the wheels of Emily's life moving.
When Emily had moved back to Rosewood the only part of life in Philadelphia that she missed was Hanna. But Hanna had made it a point that the two of them meet at least once a week. In the past year there had been not more than a handful of weekends when Emily hadn't met Hanna. The two had managed to not let the distance destroy their friendship.
Cece however, would have been way happier if Hanna had maintained her distance. Unfortunately a night out with Hanna meant drinking and Emily was a lightweight. She couldn't deny Hanna loved Emily but she couldn't deny that Hanna wasn't the best influence on Emily either.
Hanna had proven herself the night Emily had come on to her thinking she was Alison, after one too many drinks. Hanna did look the part –blonde, blue-eyed, beautiful. Emily drunk or otherwise was extremely charming and undeniably gorgeous and Hanna was known to be as fluid as Cece but Hanna had managed to control herself and get Emily home, later sharing the events of the night with Cece.
That did not prevent drunken Emily from hitting on and occasionally spending the night with other blue-eyed blondes. Each time she had been drunk and convinced the girl was Alison till she woke up the next morning and hated herself for it. Thankfully this had reduced over time but Alison still haunted her.
She thought back to what she could remember of last night and somehow she did not look back at it with disgust for how pathetic she was. Instead she recalls that feeling of safety and a warmth washes over her. This time something felt different and Emily wondered why.
Are You Alright – It Happens Again
Emily was seated in the stands watching Celine's hockey game. The team was far from good but they had a great goalie. Emily cheered and whistled as Celine dove and made yet another save, which earned her a goofy grin from Celine below the massive gear.
After the game Emily stood by the side of her car waiting for the kids. She normally took Celine and few of her friends on the team for pizza after the game. Celine emerged with her friends laughing and talking and as she approached the car hurled herself into Emily's arms.
"Emmy, you came! You missed the selections yesterday morning and Mommy said you might not make it today but I left the note anyway." She looked up at Emily as she spoke and her face was full of pure joy. At times like this Emily was really happy Cece had brought Celine into her life.
"Of course, I came," she responded, tapping the child's nose with her finger. "Now let's go get some pizza."
After Emily and the kids had wolfed down pizza, tacos and ice-cream Emily dropped them all home and was driving home with Celine.
"How about a movie later? But you have to finish your homework first," Emily suggested.
Celine looked down sheepishly. "Can I go play instead? I'll be back soon. I promise! I'll finish my homework after that."
Emily was a little puzzled. The child loved spending time with her. Their movie times were always fun. This was the first time Celine had refused. To go play? Emily wondered if there was a boy she didn't know about, a first crush maybe.
"Hmm. Okay," she replied after a moment's hesitation. "I'll go for a run instead then. Make sure you are back in time to finish your homework."
Celine smiled at her brightly and nodded enthusiastically. Emily still mused about the sudden change but said nothing.
Once home, Celine was showered and changed and out of the house, biking her way to Alison's house in no time. She couldn't wait to see Pepe again. She got there only to find no one at home. Her heart sank. She wondered if this was the right house. She walked over Sharonne's house to find her in the back, a book in hand with the dogs lazing around her.
"Celine! Hello cherie. Looking for Pepe?" Sharonne inquired in her soft voice. Celine smiled and nodded as she stroked the head of one of the dogs.
"I went to the white house with the big tree next door but no one is home. That is Alison's house isn't it?"
"Oh! Hmm." Sharonne responded; aware of the extreme disappointment on her student's face. She then went on, "She was here earlier inquiring about places and parks where she could take Pepe for a run without a leash. She probably took Pepe for some exercise to the park behind the club with the jogging tracks. I told her he would like it there. Its also far from the road and safe since he is a little guy. You should check there."
Celine thanked her and was biking her way to the park in seconds. She left the bike by a tree by the entrance and looked around for the older blonde and her puppy. Towards the middle of the park, by a few benches she saw Alison walking as Pepe ran crazy in every direction, stopping to roll in the grass and jump up to her knees every few minutes.
Celine let out a squeal of delight and ran in their direction. She shouted out to Pepe and Alison and the puppy turned around to face her as she approached them smiling in delight. Pepe was in her arms in seconds licking every spot of her face ensuring he wasn't missing anything while Alison looked on laughing.
After the game Emily had called Talia to discuss work and was busy with that for about half an hour. She felt sluggish and tired and longed for a swim but really didn't feel like driving across town to get to the pool. She decided on a run instead. She changed into grey shorts and a dark pink tank and threw on a matching grey hoodie and sneakers and set off running at a brisk pace.
As she neared the crossroads near the club she stopped breathless and bent over holding her sides. She was tired but felt great. It was almost dusk and the cool wind on her skin felt nice. This was exactly what she needed. As she stood upright again she caught sight of Celine running into the park.
Emily's curiosity was peaked. She really wanted to know what was it that Celine had given up their movie for. She jogged into the park and saw Celine run towards the middle of the park and followed. As she got closer Emily saw the child approach a blonde with a puppy.
For a second Emily was convinced the blonde facing away from her was Cece but Cece and a puppy were not things Emily ever expected to see together. As she neared them she saw Celine run behind the puppy as the blonde looked on. Emily jogged up behind the blonde but tripped on a tuft of grass sending her forward in full force to the ground.
Her face made contact with the grass and she let out a small cry of pain. She was tough but the impact was significant. Moments later she found herself gently turned to face up, bringing into view long golden curls and deep blue eyes that opened wide in recognition as she rolled over.
She then heard the voice she had heard only in her head for the past two years.
"Are you alright?" Alison asked softly, sounding worried.
"Alison?" was all that Emily could respond before she found herself engulfed in the arms of a tinnier blonde who sounded scared as she asked "Emmy, are you okay?"
"Yeah sweetie. I'm fine," she assured the scared child as she picked herself up a little shaken and definitely shocked about everything that happened in the past two minutes. Once up she assured Celine she was okay and sent her to play with the puppy again.
Once alone Emily turned around to face Alison who had stepped back, afraid of saying something in front of the child that Emily would not like.
"It is you!" Emily said almost afraid that she was hallucinating again.
Alison looked up at Emily. The brunette looked puzzled, almost unsure of herself. Her left cheekbone was bruised, showing definite signs of an oncoming swelling but as Alison looked into her eyes she didn't see the bitterness or blame she had expected to find. All she saw was the warm, young Emily she had met at the café who had opened her heart to a stranger.
Alison let out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding. She wasn't afraid or unsure anymore. She stepped forward and lifted her fingers to the bruise on the face she had dreamt of for so long. She ghosted her fingertips over the hurt skin and her eyes shone as tears welled up in them.
"I think I've caused you pain again," she whispered.
Emily didn't need to hear anything more. There were questions and there would be blame and grievances but all that was insignificant right now. All of it vanished in comparison to her urge to hold the blonde and assure herself that this Alison was in fact real.
But before Emily could pull Alison in for a hug she found arms circling her waist and a head resting against her shoulder and soft curls sticking to the sweat on her chest. No words were spoken. No apologies made. No questions asked. Emily wrapped her arms around the shoulders of the other girl and rested her chin against the head on her shoulders.
Alison felt soft and warm against her body but Emily wasn't really sensing anything physically. All she could sense was the warmth that was radiating from somewhere within her chest and the voice in her head that said 'Everything is going to be alright now.'
Next chapter is pure fluff. Leave me a line or talk to me on twitter (shaylovesjustme)
