I appreciate hearing from the people who have left reviews, a lot. It does a lot to help the jitters on posting a piece of yourself out there for everybody to see and judge and it means so much. But I also feel like this isn't being well received so I'm probably going to scrap the idea and story. I don't know if it's because Callie and Arizona haven't met yet or if the story and writing itself just sucks but either way, I'm sorry. I'll give it this last go, so here goes nothing. This chapter is longer as promised. If I decide to keep going, I would really love the help of a beta to bounce ideas off of as well as help me with grammar and punctuation. Please!? (and thank you)
xx
"I feel uncomfortable leaving the kids," Callie complained as Mark pulled out her chair. She sunk into it with a pouty sigh.
"Cal, we couldn't have had this meeting at your house. I can deal with flying hamsters and goats in sweaters but not everyone is as easy going as I am," Mark chuckled.
Callie snorted. "Easy going? When Randy landed on you, you screamed so loudly that I thought the Coast Guard Academy sirens were going off." She teased. "I know Mer can handle things tonight, I just don't like them going to bed without me. Bed times are …" she paused trying to think of the right way to describe it without sounding as pathetic as she felt.
"Rough, I know, I've been there." Mark's forehead wrinkled as he sent her a knowing look. "And not just for the kids."
And he was right. Usually after everyone was in bed and the house had been cleaned, lunches prepped for the next day, book bags packed, animals had been contained to their respective rooms, and Callie's designs had long been neglected in her studio, she would finally breakdown. Quietly. In the sanctuary of her bedroom where she could privately mourn without upsetting her kids, without those side way, widow-pitying glances from friends and family. Mark, as not only her agent but her best friend, was the only one who was privy to those moments.
Being a mother of ten kids was hard enough when you had a two-parent system. Now, Callie celebrated all of their milestones alone and handled all of the world's problems the same way.
On more than one occasion over the last two years, Mark held Callie up, helping her make it through the day. He knew her struggles which was why this meeting and possible fashion line deal were so important. If she landed this contract, she'd have one less worry. Even though she'd fought him on this, having no faith in her talents, he ignored her pleas and arranged things for her. She just needed that push and he had hope he could push her out of her comfort zone in more than one way.
He sat watching the pained look on Callie's face and Mark figured it was now or never. He couldn't make her feel much worse.
"So, I have this friend …" Mark didn't even get to finish his thought before Callie interrupted him with a snort.
"Let me guess, she's gorgeous, nice, probably has some great job, too, like saving sick kids or curing cancer." Callie mocked.
"Cal…"
"Come on, Mark, nobody is going to want ten kids and a woman with emotional baggage."
"It's been three years, Callie." He knew it had less to do with the number of mouths to feed and more to do with what fed her heart.
"I've gone on dates," Callie avoided eye contact when Mark scoffed. "Okay, I've been asked out."
"And you've turned every single one of them down. Christ, Cal, you still wear your wedding band." There was no harsh, accusing tone in his voice, only sympathetic sadness. "You use me as your beard everywhere we go. And not that I'm not flattered because I am but …"
Callie smiled in an attempt to hide the threatening tears. "Mark, she was the love of my life. I've only ever loved two women and maybe that's it for me. Maybe it's all I get." Callie released a sigh. "And I'm okay with that. I have my kids, I only need them, and they need me, Mark. I can't go around dating who knows what type of women when Emil still asks for Mommy every single night at bedtime and Regan still cries for Kat every time she has a nightmare. The twins still think because their adoption process was so difficult, that it's their fault. If somehow we hadn't been so stressed out all the time fighting for them, that Kat wouldn't have been so tired that night driving home and maybe she would have seen the tractor trailer before it hit her. I can't get them to understand accidents happen and it was nobody's fault, there was a mechanical failure and it would have happened no matter what. Dating is really the last thing on my mind."
"Why don't you order a bottle of red and a bottle of white for the table, I'm going to go see what's taking them so long." Mark reached out and squeezed her hand. "I love you and just want you to be happy."
Callie threw her head back in a laugh. "You are just afraid I'll die and you'll become guardian to ten kids."
Mark chuckled in response before he leaned in and kissed her cheek as he stood up.
It was in that moment Arizona was brought out of her thoughts. That laugh. She knew it well. Or she used to know it well. It threw her back thirty years and she felt her heart flutter at the sound.
As she looked over her shoulder to locate the source of the laughter, the woman whom she was certain it belonged to, Arizona watched a slightly older gentleman, handsome in that cocky and confident way, smile wide and kiss said source of laughter.
Calliope Torres.
Arizona couldn't help the grin which spread across her face. It had been almost three decades but she was still as stunning now as she'd been all those years ago. And it was as if Arizona's body had a mind of its own and without knowing or even caring where her date was in her mind-numbing story about … about what Arizona had no idea, she found herself making an excuse to leave the table and was already walking in the direction of Callie.
She had no idea what she was going to say but that didn't matter. Neither did Callie's husband. That part burned, just a little, but Arizona was always well aware of Callie's bisexuality and all Arizona ever wanted was for Callie to be happy, even if it wasn't of her doing.
It wasn't as if their break-up had been one of grief and drama. For the most part. Arizona went off to the Coast Guard Academy, as was always the plan, and Callie to New York City, for the glamour, the lights, the fast pace living Arizona found no place in. A Coast Guardsman's wife was never Callie's dream, she didn't even like boats. After graduation, Arizona deployed to Southwest Asia while Callie was living it up in the big city, thousands of miles away. They simply grew apart until one day Callie and Arizona were no more. They tried to stay in touch but with Arizona traveling all over the world and then news of Callie marrying reached her, radio silence was ultimately their end result.
"Calliope Torres!" Arizona stood just next to the seated woman with a huge grin on her face.
Very few people called her that and not for a very long time. Scooting her chair back in a rush, Callie popped up with her own matching grin. "Arizona!?" Without waiting for a response, Callie reached out and pulled the other woman into an embrace. "What are you doing here?" She asked with excitement dripping from her voice.
"I live here. Well, I just moved back. First female Superintendent of the Coast Guard Academy," she stated proudly.
"That's great! Like wow. It's your dream coming true." Callie flashed Arizona a bright smile.
"What about you? Last I heard, you were in New York City, what happened?" Arizona asked with genuine interest.
"New York City wasn't where we wanted to raise the kids so I've been back for …" Callie paused to do the math. "Fifteen years, about."
"Of course," Arizona smiled as she saw Callie's husband returning with a few people in tow. Arizona decided it was best to cut their reunion short. She had no idea if he knew about Callie's romantic history and it wasn't up to Arizona to tell him if not. "I should get back," she motioned toward her table and date, "but maybe I'll see you again soon." Arizona paused biting her lip. "Are you going to the reunion?" The hope in her voice was causing her heart to race. What was she doing trying to set up a catch-up date with her married ex-girlfriend?
"No … well," Callie hadn't actually planned on it. "I hadn't really made up my mind. An overnight cruise means an overnight babysitter and it's not something I really ever do."
Arizona's smile faltered and this didn't go unnoticed by Callie. "Ya know what? Yeah, I'll figure it out. It would be nice to catch up." Callie's grin was so wide it was beginning to hurt her cheeks.
"Yeah, it would." Arizona nodded. "I guess I'll see you there. Save me a dance?" Gah, what are doing? This is a married woman, Arizona.
"Of course." Callie gave Arizona an awkward wave as she watched her return to the woman at her table.
Sitting back down after spotting the other woman, Callie felt a pang of regret. Just because Arizona didn't wear a wedding ring didn't mean she wasn't married. Arizona was never a fan of jewelry anyway. Of course Arizona would be married. What was she thinking? And why was she even thinking it?
And now, Callie had to spend an entire night trapped on a ship with Arizona and her beautiful wife. Maybe she could talk Mark into going along with her.
To be continued . . .
