Chapter 30
Pre-Turkey Day
"Okay, Casey and I are headed out! Need us to get anything on our way back?" Alex asked.
"I already gave Brenda a list, she should have it with her, dear. But I'll text you if I think of anything else. You have enough money?" Rosemary asked, giving her daughter a hug and kiss on the cheek.
"Yup! We should be good. By the time you see me, my blonde will be fully back!" Alex smiled and shook her head back and forth, her hair bouncing freely.
"You sure you don't wanna come with, Liv?" Casey asked.
Olivia, leaning against the counter, nodded as she took a drink of a Red Bull. "Positive. I'll be fine here."
"Great! Let me know if you find Alex's diary," Casey winked. Alex's eyes immediately went wide as she turned to smack Casey's arm before pointing at Olivia. "Don't even think about it. I'll know if you snoop."
Olivia held her hands up in defense, a wicked grin on her face. "Wouldn't dream of it."
Just then, Brenda Novak was honking in the driveway. "Okay, let's go! Bye guys!" Casey waved before running out the door, Alex smiling and waving to Olivia and her mom before following Casey. "Bye Mom, love you!"
"Bye!" Rosemary shouted before opening the cabinet and pulling out bags of flour, sugar, pie plates, and other various ingredients and utensils.
Olivia watched her intently, biting her bottom lip before speaking. "Can I help?"
Rosemary turned to look at Olivia with a smile. "Have you made pie before?"
Olivia shook her head. "No, but I'm willing to learn."
Rosemary smiled and motioned for Olivia to stand next to her. She brought out her family recipe book and showed Olivia the ingredients and instructions for the Cabot family pie crust. Each batch made 2 complete crusts, and they needed 6 pies. So Olivia did the math, and Rosemary helped her measure everything out into the large mixing bowl. As Olivia began to roll out the crusts, Rosemary got everything ready for each filling. She was making 2 chocolate pies, 2 apple pies, and 2 pecan pies.
"Okay, I've got the bottoms in the pans," Olivia said, wiping her forehead. She was covered in flour everywhere.
"Great! Now, let's chill these in the fridge while we work on the fillings." Rosemary was humming as she readied several bowls to mix each filling. Olivia put the pie crusts in the fridge before washing her hands off.
"Would you mind if I put some music on?" Olivia asked cautiously, noticing Rosemary humming.
"Not at all! The speaker is over there, dear."
Olivia quickly ran upstairs to grab her iPod and plug it into the speaker. She scrolled through her genres before picking 80s music. She figured that might be a good place to start. Take on Me – a-ha began filling the kitchen.
"Ahh!" Rosemary practically squealed, similar to how Alex did. "I love this song!"
Olivia smiled as she returned to help mix the chocolate pies first. "Me too!"
Olivia and Rosemary spent the next few hours assembling and baking the pies, singing and dancing to a slew of the 80s best hits. They didn't even notice that Alex and Casey had arrived home. Walking into the front door, Casey and Alex heard 80s music blaring from the kitchen.
"Oh no..." Alex groaned softly to Casey, worried her mother was embarrassing herself in front of Olivia.
Casey choked back some laughter as they made their way to the kitchen. Once there, the site nearly made Alex drop the bags she was carrying from the store. "What the…"
Casey and Alex's mouths were wide open, watching intently as Olivia and Rosemary, covered in flour, the kitchen a mess, were dancing and belting out the lyrics to Girls Just Want to Have Fun – Cyndi Lauper.
"Oh, girls just wanna have – that's all they really waaaaaannnt! Some fuuuuuuunn!" Alex looked like a deer in headlights before bursting out into a fit of laughter, Casey joining.
"Oh, hey girls!" Rosemary said as a timer went off. Olivia flashed a giant grin their direction as she pulled the apple pies from the oven, laying them on the counter. "How was your day?" Rosemary breathlessly asked.
"Not as fun as yours, apparently," Alex said with a laugh.
"Olivia is the best helper. She helped me make all the pies! Here dear – the pecan pies are ready for the oven now."
Olivia swayed to the music as I Wanna Dance with Somebody – Whitney Houston began filling the air. She then carefully placed the pies in the oven as Rosemary sat the timer.
"Wow," Alex said, surveying the pies on the counter. "These look and smell so good. I can't wait to try some."
"Got the stuff you asked for!" Casey said, placing the reusable bags on the kitchen counters. "Well, Mom did."
"Where is Brenda?"
"She went back to the house to grab Dad. She wanted to ask if she could make the peanut butter pies here." Casey pulled out her phone to text her mom.
"Of course! There's plenty of time now that I had Olivia's help!" Rosemary pulled Olivia into a big hug, squeezing her and swaying back and forth. "Thank you so much for offering to help me. It meant a lot, and I think you're a great pie baker!"
"It was my pleasure, Rosemary. Thanks for teaching me!" Olivia embraced her back before breaking away. "Now," Olivia looked down at her clothing. "I think I need a shower."
"You go clean up dear! I'll watch the pecan pies. Alex, go get Olivia some towels." Rosemary shooed her hands, signaling for Alex to get going.
Alex blinked a couple times before dropping her mouth open. "Sure thing, Mom," she said after a short pause, motioning for Olivia to follow her upstairs.
Once upstairs, Alex grabbed Olivia some towels before meeting her in the guest room. Olivia was grabbing out an outfit to change into after the shower. Alex leaned against the doorframe with a huge grin on her face, her arms folded carefully across her chest.
"Still think my mom hates you?" Alex asked.
"Definitely not now," Olivia laughed. "She's really sweet, Alex. We had a lot of fun today."
"I'm glad, Liv. Honestly. I was kinda worried."
Olivia turned to look at Alex, her brows furrowed. "Why?"
Alex shrugged. "I told you. She's intense sometimes. Glad it went well though." Alex walked over to Olivia to wipe some flour off of her cheek before giving her some kisses. "Have a nice shower, baby. I'll see you downstairs." Alex grabbed Olivia's face, giving her a few more kisses before walking back downstairs.
"Seriously, Mom. These pies look awesome!" Alex leaned herself over the pies, her arms folded on the counter.
"Thank you. And Alex, honey?"
Alex looked up at her mom, waiting for her response.
"You have some flour on your nose." Rosemary pointed to her own nose. "And… your shirt."
Alex quickly wiped her nose and then looked down. "Shit." She began dusting herself off, hearing Casey gasp from the table.
"Alexandra! Watch your language," Rosemary scolded, Casey giggling at the table.
"Sorry, Mom," Alex apologized, her face now red.
"How did you get flour on yourself, anyways?" Rosemary asked, her eyebrow raised.
"Uhhh… probably f-from leaning over the counter, duh." Alex was horrible at lying. Horrible. And her mother knew it. So did Casey. Casey put her hand on her forehead listening to Alex deflect, shaking her head.
"Hmm. Okay, if you insist. I won't pry," was all Rosemary said, turning to throw some items away in the trash.
Casey's eyes were big as she met Alex's.
"W-what do you m-mean by that?" Alex stuttered, her heart pounding in her chest.
"I know Olivia is gay, sweetheart." Rosemary was now watching Alex intently, waiting for her to open up about what she already knew.
"Uhh…" Alex tried to continue, but couldn't. She didn't know what to do. Everything suddenly felt still around her.
"You'll tell me on your own terms, Lexie. If you're not ready, then don't. I'll be right here when you're ready." Rosemary gave Alex a kiss on the cheek before carrying the trash bag to the garage.
Alex was frozen. She couldn't move.
"Dude!" Casey whispered. "I told you she was suspicious!"
"She's not even suspicious, Casey… she knows. How?! Did Olivia say something?"
"I doubt that, Alex. She would never out you. You probably outed yourself," Casey laughed.
"How?!" Alex was pale; all the color flushed from her skin.
Casey shrugged as Rosemary Cabot made her way back through the kitchen, wetting a sponge and rag to begin cleaning the counters.
"Mom…" Alex started softly, her mother looking up to meet her gaze. "How did you…"
Rosemary smiled. "I've always kind of wondered, Alex. You are my daughter, after all. You've never had a boyfriend, you were obsessed with D.E.B.S., you didn't take the popular boy to the prom, you never could stop talking about Mrs. Potter, you –"
"See! I told you, Alex!" Casey chimed in, Alex closing her eyes and sighing.
"Plus," Rosemary added, her arm swiping back and forth against the counter as she washed it. "Olivia's Facebook profile isn't private. I've done a lot of snooping."
"Mom!" Alex scoffed.
"Nice party, by the way girls. What was that you were drinking?" Rosemary wore a wicked smile on her face as Alex and Casey both gasped, hiding their faces as they turned red.
"Mom, you can't do that. It's so creepy!"
"Social media, Alex. Everything is public."
"Oh my God…" Alex groaned, now laying her head against the table for a short moment before lifting back up, taking in a deep breath. "Fine. You know what? Yes, Mom. I'm… gay. Your daughter is gay. And yes, I am dating Olivia. Happy now?" Alex folded her arms as she slumped down onto a chair.
"Very." Rosemary threw the rag down and wrapped her arms around Alex, holding her tightly. "You're always going to be my daughter, Alex. No matter who you date. I love you, sweetheart. Thanks for telling me and trusting me with this. I will always support you."
Alex slowly smiled as tears began to creep up in her eyes. She wrapped her arms around her mom and hugged her back tightly. "Love you too, Mom," she choked out.
"But," Rosemary added, pulling away to go back to the counter. "You're sleeping in separate rooms still." She pointed the cleaner bottle Alex's direction as if to add emphasis on her threat.
Alex just rolled her eyes.
Olivia soon came downstairs, dressed in a tank and shorts. She paused when she caught everyone looking at her. "Hey…" she said nervously, a small smile forming at her mouth.
Rosemary again dropped the cleaning supplies and pulled Olivia into a hug. "Thanks again for your help today, Olivia."
"You're welcome," Olivia said back returning the hug, watching Alex, who looked like she had just seen a ghost.
As she broke away, Rosemary made her next point very clear. "But if you hurt my daughter, I can't say we'll be making any more pies together."
"MOM!" Alex all but shouted, Olivia frozen, shooting her eyes over to Alex and Casey.
"She knows," Casey said, motioning to Rosemary Cabot.
"Oh. Uhh…" Olivia brought her hand to the back of her neck, rubbing it nervously. "Alex, I told you sneaking into my room last night was a bad idea," Olivia mumbled, not realizing that's not how Rosemary found out.
"OLIVIA!" Alex all but shouted again, burying her face in her hands. She knew the blush on her skin had to be a deep shade.
"I'm sorry?" Rosemary Cabot said, looking frantically between them.
Casey was trying everything in her power to keep her laughter contained and quiet. She was failing, miserably.
"Wait," Olivia said, now regretting her words. "That's not… no, no, no, it's not like that!" Olivia could feel her heart beating rapidly, waving her hands frantically back and forth to try and wipe away the words she just said.
"I just went to kiss her goodnight! I swear!" Alex pleaded, saving Olivia from trying to have to explain.
Rosemary was still frantically looking back and forth between Alex and Olivia. She couldn't tell which one of them was blushing more. Finally, she settled on Olivia. Pointing the cleaning bottle at her, Rosemary said "Now, I want you to be honest with me Olivia. Is Alex telling me the truth?"
Olivia immediately nodded. "Yes, Ma'am."
Rosemary started chuckling as she resumed her cleaning. "Thank you, dear. I believe you." Turning to look at Alex again, she continued. "Alexandra, I mean it. Separate rooms."
"Mom! Please, stop. I am 18."
Casey was in tears from laughing so hard, slumped against the table as she wiped the wetness from her eyes.
"And you are in my house, so you will follow my rules. I can't control what you do at Columbia, but when you're home, you will respect me. Understood? Don't make me take your pie privileges away tomorrow."
Alex furrowed her brows at her mom and scoffed. "Really? That's your threat?"
Rosemary put her palms on the table and ran her tongue across her teeth before responding. "You want to challenge me? See what happens."
Casey started cackling harder, clutching her sides. Olivia couldn't help but bite down a few laughs of her own. It was like watching Alex have an argument with herself, they were so much alike.
This is where she gets her sass from.
"What? Are you gonna watch me sleep all night?" Alex challenged with a wicked smile.
"I just might. Don't think I don't have eyes all over this house, Alexandra. I know what goes on in these walls." Rosemary took some foil out of the cabinet and was now covering the pies.
"Yeah, oh-kay, Mom."
"You want me to embarrass you? I will."
"You already have…" Alex grumbled.
Rosemary chuckled. "This is so much fun. I never got to do this when you were growing up. Now I can finally play the role of the stern mom when it comes to your daughter dating. Olivia dear, come sit down." Rosemary motioned to one of the island stools. "I have questions for you."
"Oh God…" Alex groaned, laying her head down on the table.
Casey had her head resting in her hands, elbows propped on the table. She couldn't wait for this.
Olivia took her seat and swallowed hard. She thought she was scared of Alex's mom before, but now she believed that fear was worse.
"So. How did you meet my Alexandra?"
"Well," Olivia began. "It was funny, actually. I was playing soccer with my friend Elliot, and I kicked the ball too hard and it sorta…" Olivia rubbed her arm nervously. "Hit Alex in the face."
Rosemary gasped. "I'm surprised she didn't hate you after that." She then began chuckling, looking at Alex who was hiding her face behind her hands.
"Me too, actually."
"And how did you two start dating?" Rosemary grabbed a water from the fridge and began drinking it, exhausted from the pies.
"Well. We talked for a while – a couple weeks – and then I asked her one night if she would be my girlfriend." Olivia looked over to catch Alex peeking at her, and smiled.
Rosemary nodded. "Now, tell me this. How close was this to the party?"
"MOM!"
Olivia froze, and stuttered her words. "Uhh… p-party?"
"Yeah, we don't have to talk about that," Casey chimed in, looking at the doorway to check that her parents weren't walking in.
"My mother, stalked you on Facebook. That's how she figured this whole thing out," Alex grumbled.
Olivia pursed her lips and nodded. "Ahh. Got it."
"I still can't believe you did that, Mom." Alex was trying her best to chastise her mother.
"Honey, I do that to everyone. I told you, social media is public. Don't want someone to find something out? Don't post it. Plus, your Halloween costumes weren't subtle. Alex and Piper, really? You thought no one would catch onto that?" Rosemary chuckled as she watched the color drain from her daughter's face.
"Oh my God, I told you guys she was suspicious then!" Casey chimed in. "No one ever listens to me!"
Olivia took in a deep breath before resting her head in her hand, propped against the island.
"Now. My question, Olivia. How close to the party?"
"Uhh. It was actually that night, Ma'am," Olivia offered.
"Olivia, dear." Rosemary reached across the counter and placed a hand on top of Olivia's. "Just because you're dating my daughter doesn't mean you have to be so formal with me. You're my pie buddy. You can still call me Rosemary."
Olivia gave a soft smile and nod.
"Just a few more questions and I'll leave you be. Do you care about my daughter?"
"Very much."
"Is she good to you?"
"Yes. She's the only… serious relationship I've had, if I can be truthful." Olivia looked over at Alex, who was smiling at her.
"Really? A girl as pretty as you didn't have many girlfriends?" Rosemary asked surprised.
"Well…" Olivia started, but thought better of answering. She just let her sentence trail off as she shrugged.
"She wasn't really the 'dating type' before Alex," Casey answered for Olivia.
"Thanks, Casey…" Olivia mumbled as she shook her head and chuckled.
Rosemary raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean by that, Casey? Well, I'd rather hear it from Olivia."
"I just, uhh… I didn't date. Didn't want to do the whole girlfriend thing." Olivia shrugged.
"And Alex made you change your mindset?" Rosemary polished off the rest of her water and threw the bottle in the recycling.
Olivia nodded, looking over at Alex. "I really like Alex." She knew better than to drop the L word in front of Alex's mother – it was much too soon. That was only for her and Alex right now.
Alex smiled at Olivia before dropping her eyes to her lap and biting her lip.
Rosemary smiled as she watched her daughter. She could tell she really liked Olivia, and that she made her happy. And that's all Rosemary wanted for her daughter.
"Casey, do you approve of Olivia?"
"Of course! I've never seen Alex so… crazy before. It's freaking adorable. I love these two, they make a good pair. They're inseparable, it's so cute. I'm kinda the same way with Trevor now." Casey pulled out her phone to text Trevor, now that she was missing him.
Rosemary chuckled. "Good. Now, I'll leave you alone with the questions now. And Alexandra?"
"Yeah?"
"I won't tell your father. I'll let you do that whenever you're ready, dear. Same with the rest of the family. Gram and Gramps, your aunts, uncles, cousins, anyone. This is your truth to tell, not mine. So don't worry about me telling anyone, okay?" Rosemary smiled kindly at her daughter, hoping she really understood that she was supported and loved.
Alex nodded and smiled. "Thanks, Mom."
"But don't think I'm not still watching you! If you're both gone longer than 5 minutes, I'll come searching." Rosemary pointed her finger between them before laughing at Alex's expression.
Alex rolled her eyes and let out an annoyed sigh. "Yeah, yeah, yeah."
"Hello!" Ronald Novak called from the doorway. "Anybody home?"
"Hey Dad!" Casey yelled and waved.
"Hey, baby girl! Look at your hair! Your mom said you girls had fun today. You look great!" Ronald bent down to hug his daughter and give her a kiss on the cheek. "And wow, you too, Alex!" Ronald extended his arms for a hug, which Alex gladly accepted, thanking him for the compliment.
"Hello again, Olivia! How are you liking East Hampton?" He extended his arms out for a hug from her, too. Olivia gladly accepted it.
"It's very nice! I've never been here before."
"Where are you from, if you don't mind me asking?" Ronald grabbed the seat next to Olivia.
"New York City. I grew up there."
"Ah! Wonderful, a New York native! Well, I'm very happy you're joining us for the holiday." Ronald smiled at Olivia and continued their conversation.
Soon, William was back with Alex's grandparents. Alex introduced Olivia to everyone, and Olivia went through her same answers she'd been though all day; where she was from, how she knew Alex, what she studied, etc. Rosemary had ordered pizza, salad, and bread sticks for everyone as Brenda Novak made her peanut butter pies. After dinner, everyone talked some more as Alex, Casey, Olivia, and Ronald Novak played Scrabble. Alex destroyed everybody. Olivia teased Alex that it was from all the spelling bees she won as a kid, which earned her a playful smack on the arm and fits of laughter. Before long, Casey and her family went back to their house to sleep, and Alex's grandparents were already in their rooms. William retreated up to bed, leaving Rosemary, Alex, and Olivia alone downstairs.
"Well, girls. We have a big day tomorrow. It's about time for bed." Rosemary yawned as she stretched, eyeing the clock on the wall. It was 10:00pm. "I'm getting up at 4 to start the food, if anyone wants to help." Rosemary smiled and looked at Olivia.
Olivia smiled back. "Sure, I'll set an alarm! I'd love to help."
Rosemary then looked to Alex, who scoffed. "No way. I'm sleeping until 8:45 so I can get up for the parade." Rosemary sighed and shook her head, waving and saying "goodnight" before starting her journey upstairs.
As soon as they were alone, Alex pushed Olivia against the counter and pressed their lips together. Olivia couldn't help but let a tiny sound escape her lips – it was torture being around Alex all day without being able to touch, grab, or kiss her. She wrapped her arms around Alex's waist, holding their bodies together as they began to kiss deeper, opening their mouths to each other.
They spent just a couple moments like this, pressed against one another and tongues exploring each other before they heard a throat being cleared near the entrance of the kitchen. Alex jumped away from Olivia, who began looking up at the ceiling.
Alex, red as could be and breathless, turned to see her mother standing in the doorway arms folded. "I told you. If you were alone longer than 5 minutes I'd come searching. Now. Come on girls, bed." She motioned for them to go in front of her. As soon as they were closer, Rosemary whispered her next point. "And when I say bed, I mean separate beds."
"Mom!" Alex angrily whispered, Olivia chuckling behind her as they walked up the stairs.
At the top of the stairs, Rosemary stood and waited to make sure they would go to their separate rooms.
"Goodnight, Rosemary. Goodnight, Alex." Olivia smiled at them both, raising her hand.
Alex quickly grabbed Olivia's hand and pulled her in for a quick kiss. Smiling, she replied, "Goodnight, Olivia. Goodnight, Mom!" Alex and Olivia made their way to their rooms, with Rosemary yawning and retreating to her bed, too. She made sure to leave the door open, just in case they decided to sneak. In reality, it wasn't Olivia she was worried about at all. It was one-hundred percent her daughter.
Olivia: I really can't believe ur mom knows Al lol
Alex: yeah… freakin' Facebook stalker. To be fair tho she also said she kinda was suspicious of me anyways for a long time lol
Olivia: I'm really glad she is accepting, Alex. That's honestly the greatest thing ever. Ur mom is awesome lol. And I think she likes me which is a good thing lol
Alex: yeah me too (: I'm afraid to tell dad, even tho he's a bigger softie than she is lol. Idk, I'll tell him sometime. And she really does like u. I'm glad, too!
Olivia: just tell him whenever ur ready babe (:
Alex: I will (: are u really getting up to help my mom at 4???
Olivia: yes. I like cooking with her. It's fun. So, I need to get to bed!
Alex: ): no sneaking?
Olivia: Alex… lol. No. Ur mom IS aware now. There's no way.
Alex: ugh. What if I wanna keep kissing u tho?
Olivia: and I wanna keep kissing u. Trust me… (;
Alex: oh yeah? (; I was getting pretty fired up in the kitchen lol
Olivia: yeah, me too. It took everything in me not to turn u around and pin you against the counter…
Alex: ohh, that sounds amazing… what would u have done?
Olivia: after pinning you to the counter I would've definitely slipped my hand in your pants (;
Alex: god… I need that right now… u would've been happy with what u found (;
Olivia: I always am (; u get so wet for me Alex.
Alex: ugh stop it! I need u, Liv.
Olivia: we're going to have to wait I'm afraid ):
Alex: nah just wait. I'll catch my mom off guard and then I'm jumping u lol.
Olivia: we'll see lol. Goodnight, Alex. I love you.
Alex: night Liv. I love you too (:
