I wrote this while driving to Windsor with my sister and her fiance. Productivity levels were at a high for two hours, so y'all get two updates in three days! Also, to those wondering if I'll continue The Call (the previous chapter's story), the answer is maybe. If I get inspiration to continue it, I will. :) As always, thanks for reading!
Song: Rude by Magic!
It was a Saturday morning. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, the animals were frolicking.
And Holly was nervous beyond reason.
Today was the day Holly was going to ask her girlfriend a very important question. First though, she had to seek out Gail's parents. Being a somewhat traditional family, Holly knew it was important to seek out their approval before approaching Gail. Of course, even if they disapproved, she'd ask Gail to marry her anyway, but it would make life so much easier if they were on board as well. Not that Holly thought Bill and Elaine Peck would do such a thing, but the matriarch of the Peck household was a hard person to impress. There definitely was no denying that.
Gathering her thoughts together, Holly decided on wearing business casual clothing to hopefully further impress the Pecks. She'd only met them a few times at the Peck family dinners that she had accompanied Gail to, but she was sure Elaine had probably done a background check on her the minute she got back from San Francisco. Holly took a long, deep breath before ringing the doorbell. The chimes sounded through the house, and with each passing second Holly grew more nervous.
Elaine answered the door promptly, giving a raised eyebrow to the brunette that stood before her. "Hello Holly. I didn't realize you and Gail were gracing us with your company today."
"Hi Mrs. Peck. Um, Gail's not with me. I was actually hoping to talk to you and Mr. Peck if you had a spare minute." Holly nervously said.
Elaine stood there for a moment before responding, "Well, Bill is out right now but I have some time free right now. I'm sure whatever it is you're here for, you can discuss with me. Come in." Elaine moved to the side to allow Holly into the house, but stopped her after she closed the door, "And for future reference, it's Superintendent Peck."
Great, Holly thought, off to a great start. Elaine led her to the living room and took a seat on the leather couch. Holly followed, perching herself on the edge of the adjacent matching chair. Taking another deep breath, she decided just to jump right to the reason of her presence and not dance around the question.
"I want to ask Gail to marry me."
Elaine raised her eyebrows in the slightest motion, "You do?"
"Yes."
"My answer is no."
"What?" Holly was taken aback but the bluntness of the answer.
"You two have had a couple break ups in the past if I'm not mistaken."
"Yes."
"You left her."
"And I came back to her."
"What's stopping you from leaving again? As I recall from my daughter's previous relationship records, her significant others always leave multiple times. I want what is best for my daughter, who is best for my daughter. Despite what Gail believes, I do have her best interests at heart. So, again I ask, what is stopping you from leaving again?"
"I love Gail, and I want to be with her for the rest of my life. There is no doubt in my mind about that. Honestly, I'm going to marry her anyway, no matter what you or anyone says."
"So why did you come here in the first place?"
Holly was unsure of what to make of the entire encounter so far. She licked her lips and replied, "I know that you're a traditional person. Hence why I was asking-"
Elaine interrupted mid-sentence, "Clearly you don't know Gail if you're asking my permission to marry her, though."
"I guess I was doing it more out of respect for you."
"Mmm. Interesting."
"What's interesting?"
"You don't really care what I think on the matter, yet you say you've come here out of respect for me. It makes me question what's actually going on."
"Excuse me?"
"Why are you really here, Holly?"
"I already told you."
"No, you gave me excuses. You're not here for Gail's sake or mine; you're here for your own. You asked my opinion on the matter because if I said yes, it would mean I've forgiven you."
Having enough of the conversation, Holly stood up to leave, "I don't need your forgiveness for anything. I haven't done anything wrong."
"Holly, I know you well enough to know that family is important to you." That stopped Holly in her tracks. She turned to face Elaine, who then continued, "And Gail, she's a very loyal person. She's loyal to her friends and family, which I'm sure you're aware of. You wouldn't in good conscious cause a riff between Gail and her family unless you knew that I'd forgiven you for breaking my daughter's heart more than once."
"Technically she broke up with me the first time."
"Doesn't matter."
"We've been together a year now since I returned from San Francisco. Doesn't that say something?"
"Holly, you are a phenomenal person. You're a good person. But when it comes to relationships, you're no better than say Nick or Chris. You all left her behind."
"You're wrong."
"How so?"
"I asked her to come with me. When I took the job in San Francisco, I wanted her to move with me."
"Did you honestly think she would? Did you think she would pick up her entire life and follow you out there?"
Holly closed her eyes, reveling in the words just spoken to her. As her eyes opened, Elaine noticed the slightest glimmer of tears, "Going without Gail was the hardest decision I've ever had to make. She didn't want me to give up that opportunity."
"Like I said, she's a loyal person." Elaine smiled at own comment, "And despite what many think, she's very selfless when it comes to the people she cares about. My dear, the reason I say no to you is because I don't want Gail to feel like she always has to give up something in order to make you happy."
"I've never made her feel that way."
"By leaving for San Fran you did. She gave up you in order to make you happy."
"But I wasn't happy out there. That's why I came back."
"You never had to leave in the first place."
Silence fell between the two women for what felt like a lifetime. Neither Holly nor Elaine broke eye contact.
"I'm sorry. I never meant to hurt her." The words crept out of Holly's mouth so quietly they were barely above a whisper. "I'd spend the rest of my life making it up to her though."
Suddenly, warm arms wrapped around Holly, startling her. She was so surprised by the other woman's gesture that she was unsure if she should continue the embrace.
"Well, now that we've had this chat, I think you'll make a fine daughter-in-law."
Hearing Elaine speak those words made everything that had happened today worth it. Holly shut her eyes and allowed herself to hug back. They stood there for a few moments before Elaine stepped back to lead the younger woman to the door.
"Holly?" The younger woman spun around to meet a set of stern eyes on her. "You're lucky to have someone like Gail in your life."
"I am, very much."
"Don't make either of us regret this."
Taking a deep breath, Holly nodded in agreement before walking out the door and to her car. She sat in the vehicle for a solid minute before shaking her head to herself. There was no chance in hell she was going to lose either of the Peck women's trust again. Slowly, a smile of realization crept on her face – the hardest part was over, now all that was left to do was to ask Gail to marry her.