Thank you to everybody who read or reviewed the last conversation. You were all absolutely wonderful. The baby is coming regardless of our team being ready or not. Although it might take a little while.
Chapter 56: Waiting for Pudding Pop
August 7, 2010, 12:25 PM
Beautiful Wife: Hey, get to the main dining room now. Britney's water just broke.
Deli guy: Wait! What? Are you sure?
Beautiful wife: I am pretty sure the wet spot on her designer dress is amniotic fluid and not baby Mo splashing water on her when she tossed that on Chad. But it's a possibility.
Deli guy: I'll be there in a few minutes. Let me just give some instructions for tonight since I know I won't be back. I assume you're stopping the tasting?
Deli guy: Wait? Your sister's husband is here?
Beautiful wife: Some of us will be leaving, like me, mom and Britney. However, Wilhelmina has successfully managed to get the kids back into the upstairs dining room. Matt said he could stay with the kids to be a distraction. At a minimum, it's a great bonding activity for him and Austin, who now knows Matt is his brother.
Deli guy: Oh God.
Beautiful wife: It gets worse because my sister really did marry an idiot. Chad couldn't actually remember what restaurant his soon-to-be former brother-in-law owned. He decided to bring Ryan here for lunch. The kids saw and confronted him before Wilhelmina attempted to get him discreetly out of the restaurant. Baby Moe kicked him in the shin and covered him in water. Freddy made Ryan cry.
Deli guy: Heidi just told me she had to call security in.
Beautiful wife: Because Chad tried to hit the babies. If she didn't call in security, we would all be jumping Chad, including his now ex-boyfriend. Ryan is nobody's side piece.
Deli guy: Good for him.
Beautiful wife: Mom just offered Ryan a job at the foundation. Possibly as her new assistant.
Deli guy: That definitely seems like your mother.
Beautiful wife: She is the queen of making lemonade, and she really did need a new assistant. Vivian doesn't like people who take advantage of their subordinates. Which might've been why she helped with the whole Jody situation.
Deli guy: That makes sense.
Deli guy: OK, I have put Heidi and Wilhelmina in charge. Should I stop off at the hotel and get our go bags?
Beautiful wife: Matt said he would bring them after he drops the kids off at the hotel. I just need you.
Deli guy: On my way.
Xxxxx
Justin: Hey, what's going on? You've been quiet for a while. Why is Ross trending along with "Chad the adulterer" and "get him?"
Austin: I know you never made it to Ross before going to London, but the private executive dining room looks over the rest of the restaurant on one side. They use two-way glass for privacy, but Monique left it one way because baby Mo and Freddie wanted to people watch.
Justin: I feel like this went badly. Especially because now baby Mo is trending along with the words "shin" and "super soaker."
Austin: Catastrophically badly. There's a reason why this is now trending on Twitter. Their father is an idiot and brought the other man to lunch.
Justin: This may have been a calculated move. He's probably upset about the upcoming divorce and decided to humiliate Mercedes at her brother-in-law's restaurant. Antonella told me before that her brother hates Mercedes' husband.
Austin: Antonella is texting her kind of Aunt Mercedes. Apparently, they were supposed to meet with the lawyers to start the beginning of the end. However, the lawyers canceled, and so did Chad. He didn't know that she was leaving him until after things blew up.
Justin: He seems just petty enough to humiliate his soon-to-be ex-wife.
Austin: Antonella doesn't think he's smart enough and that this all happened due to stupidity. Security had to escort him out of the restaurant. Freddie cursed him the entire way, and baby Mo kicked him again. Antonella has video.
Justin: It's already in my email box. You are the best.
Austin: We try. Honestly, it would've been worse if Britney's water did not break in the middle of all of it. Heidi already had to call security at that point. Mommy Wyndham West is too concerned with her new grandbaby to worry about the sperm donor of the other two. She did hire his now ex-boyfriend to be her new assistant because that's what Vivian Wyndham West does.
Justin: She is the champion of the screwed over.
Justin: I have to assume I'm gonna need to reschedule the tasting?
Austin: No, we're continuing on with the main courses to distract the kids from the arrival of their new cousin and the departure of their old daddy. Besides, the media is gathering outside, so it's better if we hide out for a little bit. Some fashion TV staff members were having lunch here, so you know this will be everywhere.
Justin: Smart.
Austin: Afterwords Matt is taking us back to the hotel and then running over Monique and Gio's go bags.
Justin: That is practical. Are you going to be watching the kids by yourself all night?
Austin: I don't know. Their mom might show up.
Justin: That's true. Keep sending me pictures.
Austin: Will do.
Xx
August 7, 2010 1:33 PM EDT
Mercedes: The Dick just referred to our children as devil spawn and said it was all my fault that the entire internet knows about our marital problems.
Monique: Not the fact that he brought his now ex-boyfriend to his brother-in-law's restaurant.
Mercedes: That's my fault too. Apparently, I never told him the hot new restaurant was owned by your husband even though I did like 20 times. This just proves that he never actually listened to me at all during our marriage.
Monique: You can do so much better.
Mercedes: Once Madison is done getting you a baby, she's going to help me get rid of a husband. I saw the video. I am not staying after what he tried to do.
Monique: I don't expect you to. Hey, they are finely taking us to the birthing suite.
Mercedes: Good luck. Hang in there. This will be physically exhausting. Remember, I was in labor with Freddie for 27 hours.
Monique: I definitely will not let Britney read that message.
X
Group text message to the Meed publications management group (without Matt, who is busy with small children)
August 7, 2010, 3:34 PM EDT
Monique: Some of you probably know that Britney's water broke about three hours ago during the Black and White ball tasting. She has been checked out by her doctor, and she is definitely in active labor. She's already dilated 4 cm.
Monique: We're settling in for the duration. This could take a while. My sister was in labor for more than a day with her first kid.
Monique: What you probably don't know is Gio and I are adopting baby putting pop. At least not any of you not name Marc.
Daniel: We know. We actually scheduled a meeting for Monday to come up with a way to split your duties among ourselves. I can help with some responsibilities remotely from London. I'm sure you'll do the same for me when the twins are born.
Monique: Marc, did you tell people?
Marc: I did not.
Daniel: Antonella told Austin, Austin told Justin, and Justin doesn't keep secrets very well.
Megan: Cassandra told me that you were considering adopting. The meeting for Monday showing up on my calendar this morning confirmed that.
Claire: I actually found out from Willamina.
Daniel: You had a conversation with Wilhelmina voluntarily? A civil conversation?
Claire: Things have improved since you left. It helps she no longer works for my company.
Marc: And got a grandbaby.
Monique: The mode rumor mill is always on point. In my defense, I was waiting until after my official meeting Sunday to sign the papers to tell anyone. This might've been why Tamika scheduled that meeting for Monday. I'm sure I would've been sitting in on it. However, Britney's water broke, and now we're waiting for the lawyers to get here.
Daniel: This is an exciting time. You shouldn't be on a group chat with us. This can wait until Monday for the meeting as originally planned.
Monique: No, it's a tedious time. Again, Britney is still only dilated about 4 cm. We're going to be here a little while. However, once the baby gets here, I won't have time for this. So let's get some business functions out-of-the-way.
Claire: Well, obviously, you're going on maternity leave for the next three months.
Monique: More like three weeks.
Claire: You should take the full three months. We will be fine.
Monique: And with the next adoption, I promise we will take longer, but I've barely been the EIC of this magazine for three months yet. I can't just leave for three months.
Marc: I promise I won't take it from you. I can't say anything for Megan, though.
Megan: You know I could tell your mom exactly where you live.
Monique: Children focus. You're going to have to work on the magazine together. Otherwise, I will bring Matt back down from Player and send Megan back up to work with Cory. Don't think I won't.
Monique: No threatening Marc with his mother. There's a restraining order in place for a reason. Stuff like that will get you fired. You know what happened to the last person. We don't tolerate abuse at Mode, and we definitely don't tolerate those that enable abuse.
Megan: Fine. I wouldn't actually do it. She reminds me too much of my own mother. Even though Cory is lovely, I prefer not to go back to Player.
Monique: Marc and Megan, you're in charge of Mode for the next issue.
Marc: I can do that.
Megan: I can as well.
Monique: Perfect. Daniel, would you be willing to be the person to sign off on the final book? In case those two start acting like toddlers, I like for there to be somebody to help referee.
Daniel: Yes. Am I taking over any of your other responsibilities? I can always hand over Mode UK to my Co-EIC for a couple of months.
Monique: It wouldn't be a bad idea to start passing things off to your number two. That way, it will make your paternity leave easier.
Daniel: That's not a bad idea. I should start planning for that now. Betty might not be able to take more than a few days off because her boss is an asshole and doesn't recognize stepmotherhood.
Megan: Talk to your HR office to see what the rules actually are there. Although your fiancé works for an asshole, the law is the law. You need to know what it is in the country you now live in.
Monique: Definitely do what Megan said. Daniel, you might have to take over some meetings. At least things you can do from the UK or Paris. You'll definitely be doing more of the liaison work.
Daniel: That makes sense. I've talked to New York HR a lot in the last 24 hours. I should definitely speak to my own HR about this. I'm willing to help out in any way I can.
Monique: Thank you. Claire, I assume that you can take over signing off on all the other US books? If not, I could give Matt the parenting magazine and Player, but I prefer that he focus on the ball.
Claire: I can do all the books. Matt should focus on the ball. Although I do think you should take longer. We will be fine. No one will take the magazine from you.
Monique: I'm just going to take three weeks to be completely disconnected from the world of Mode. After that, I will do a couple of weeks of working from home and then half days in the office until baby putting pop gets about four months old. Then we will reassess.
Claire: OK, I assume that you want HR to hire the two nannies. I can take care of that.
Marc: Two?
Monique: Mercedes made a good point that we need adequate childcare coverage, especially if one will be doing some admin work for me. Claire, I trust you to take care of that. Although Mercedes recommends her soon-to-be former sister-in-law Skye. Considering Skye spent three years as the head of a corporate daycare, I am inclined to listen to her recommendation.
Claire: I'll take care of it, or rather I will have HR take care of it.
Monique: Thank you.
Claire: I assume we won't see you at my house this afternoon.
Monique: Probably not. Give my best regards to Ignacio. Gio's team will show up with the food, though.
Claire: Perfect.
Monique: Thank you all so much for doing this. This wasn't planned at all. I didn't even know this was a possibility until Thursday, as Marc will tell you. I'm still worried about it falling apart, which may be why I was waiting. But Britney's mom showed up, and she's not backing out of the adoption yet, so I see that as a good sign.
Claire: We are still a family company here at Meade. A slightly expanded family but still a family. We are looking forward to having our newest member.
Megan: At least now we will have someone who can take the newborn baby items.
Monique: This is true. Sorry, Daniel.
Daniel: There already sending stuff to London. We have to do a baby fashion issue. We can do it in conjunction with the parenting magazine.
Marc: I want to do a parenting style article. I had to start wearing retail shirts because Jade kept throwing up on me.
Megan: I knew I liked your daughter for a reason.
Monique: OK, can somebody arrange for all the newborn stuff to be delivered to my hotel room? Along with all the other baby things I'm going to need?
Marc: Leave that to Cliff and me. We have a bunch of extra stuff because nobody but Hilda actually paid attention to the baby registry.
Monique: The stroller was a last-minute thing. And you don't have to give that up for me. Just use the company card, and I will reimburse accounting later.
Marc: We will take care of it. Your mom has actually been in contact. She's friends with Cliff.
Monique: This scares me. I will keep you guys updated. Obviously, I will not see any of you Monday.
XXXX
Matt: Good news, your nieces are currently distracted by watching a Pixar movie with Austin in their suite. Something involving a rat.
Monique: Good, it's not Up. I don't think any of us can take the first 10 minutes of that right now. They probably shouldn't watch live television either. I'm very thankful that Mercedes returned the cell phones that dad got the kids for Christmas last year.
Matt: He got a three-year-old a cell phone?
Monique: Mercedes thinks that he forgot to tell his assistant the ages of his grandchildren because he doesn't actually remember. Is fashion TV doing a special report?
Matt: Yes. Your brother-in-law is being crucified. They're only being mildly horrible to your sister. Thankfully, they blurred out the faces of your nieces. I don't think fashion TV has ever done that before.
Monique: Obviously, mom made some phone calls when she went to get us some snacks. Or maybe Madison did. We just signed the adoption papers.
Monique: Actually, the snacks were to celebrate. I got a Hostess cupcake. I didn't even think Vivian knew what that was.
Matt: Congratulations.
Monique: Thank you. I'm happy and excited but also worried because Britney is now only at 5 cm.
Matt: I think that's OK from the parenting books I've read. Vivian made lots of calls because the hotel staff just arrived to turn Antonella's room into a nursery. They are removing the bed and put a crib and changing table in.
Monique: That is definitely my mom. Where is Antonella going?
Matt: For the immediate future next-door with the nieces. Vivian got Mercedes a separate suite for the next week as a sorry you're getting divorced present. But Antonella feels that she can be trusted to have a room downstairs by herself. She'll still be in the same building, and it will only be for a month.
Monique: Or possibly longer. We have to get the nursery together. Also, my study might have to become Austin's room. So we're going to have to design that because Britney will be unable to do it. We will have to get someone else, and that might take a while.
Matt: Austin could end up living with me.
Monique: You need to get an apartment first. You might not have to go the foster parent route, but you did take that training for a reason.
Matt: I already called the realtor. She's looking for a three-bedroom loft to buy. It's going to go in Austin's name. I'll work with the lawyers to make it legal.
Monique: That way, he'll always have a home in New York?
Matt: Exactly.
Monique: You should let him pick. You don't have to tell him that you're buying it for him. Just present the possibility of staying with you, and you want his input on the new place.
Matt: That's a good idea. I want something secure that mommy won't fine.
Monique: You should try to get one of the openings in one of the buildings my mom's company manages. They're pricey, but you can afford them. Also, avoid all buildings with my father's name on the side like the plague.
Matt: Don't you live in one of your mom's buildings? Also, everybody knows that along with buying/renting anything my father owns. He is like one step above a slumlord.
Monique: It wasn't at the time I bought into the co-op. But she ended up taking over once I moved here because she wanted me to be somewhere safe. Vivian has always been very protective of those that she sees as hers.
Matt: This is not at all surprising.
Monique: You should know that your mom called her.
Matt: No doubt to ask her about Austin and me this afternoon. There was a shot of us together on Fashion TV.
Monique: Don't worry. She passed along false info, including that Austin is really sad about leaving his boyfriend for Chicago.
Matt: You told her?
Monique: Hey, waiting for a cervix to dilate is tedious, especially when your cervix is not the one dilating. Between bouts of moral support, we've been working on things. Honestly, I prefer talking about fucking with your mom for being an evil person to the mess that is my sister's marriage.
Matt: Point.
Monique: Although your mom is already trying to set you up with my sister.
Matt: Seriously? What is wrong with her?
Monique: Despite me being the ultimate black sheep, literally, the Wyndham West family is quite a catch. Also, since you've come out to Victoria, she's made it her mission to get you with somebody who doesn't have a dick. Although I don't think you want to date another one of Daniel's ex-girlfriends.
Matt: Yep, I am swearing off all of Daniel Meade's ex-girlfriends as well as those in love with him.
Monique: Smart man. Besides, I'm kind of already shipping you and Corey.
Matt: When did your sister date Daniel? Please stop shipping your subordinates.
Monique: Most of high school and a little in college. I actually think my sister might have been his first, but I don't want to know.
Matt: That is probably for the best.
Matt: Anyway, we're leaving the hotel with your go bags now. Although Antonella wants us to stop at a drugstore and pick up snacks.
Monique: Actually, Vivian would love it if you would go to a gourmet grocery store or contact the concierge desk. Tell them Vivian wants labor party snacks. I'm sure they'll get you the good stuff. They won't doubt you're a Wyndham West acquaintance because you are a Hartley. Half the staff doesn't believe I am Vivian's daughter.
Matt: This does not surprise me. I'll take care of it.
Monique: Is Antonella coming with you?
Matt: Yes, and she has her own bag. I think she's planning to stay.
Monique: She can try. But I have no trouble putting her in a cab when it gets too late.
xx
7:35 PM EDT.
Hilda: Hey, I just want to let you know that Dad has decided to move his farewell dinner to Britney's birthing suite. Apparently, Dad is actually friends with her mom.
Hilda: So there is no need for Betty to stay up until 2 AM your time. Dad says that he will call her tomorrow when it's a decent time for both of you.
Daniel: This doesn't seem that strange because Britney went to high school with Betty and was one of the non-horrible people.
Hilda: I keep forgetting that Monique's stepmom went to high school with Betty. I think that Betty might actually be older.
Daniel: I think Monique is trying to forget that too. You know you could've texted your sister directly? It's after midnight here, but she would still take your text messages.
Daniel: I'm hoping things would be easier between the two of you now that you know the truth. Or are you mad at her for not telling you? This is ridiculous because if you should be mad at anybody about this, it should be me.
Hilda: No, the only one I'm mad at is Victoria Hartley. Considering all the shit that she's done, this is actually one of the lower things on the list. She is responsible for forcing my son's boyfriend to move to Chicago.
Daniel: Which we will make sure doesn't actually happen.
Hilda: Austin knows that Matt is his brother.
Daniel: Which means Justin knows. This explains why he's been so skittish for the last day. I'll tell him that I know tomorrow during breakfast.
Hilda: That would be best.
Daniel: How did Austin find out? Also, did anybody tell Breanna?
Hilda: Matt can do that. Tiffany was the one who accidentally told him. Austin put the pieces together and acted like he already knew for sure to get Tiffany to confess all. Now she's been sending me angry text messages all day.
Daniel: Not that you actually care.
Hilda: I really don't. I felt bad about moving Justin to Manhattan. Considering Ava is ghosting him, I feel justified. But Tiffany's just going to move Austin to Chicago without realizing how emotionally devastating it will be.
Daniel: Ava wasn't really a friend.
Hilda: No, she wasn't. Justin is just at the age where he's figuring that out.
Daniel: If you're not upset about us hiding the paternity of the babies, why do you still not want to talk to your sister? What's keeping you from talking to each other?
Hilda: Mostly me. I am aware I have been acting like an idiot for the last two months, and I feel like I actually need to apologize in person. I don't really know where to begin this conversation. It feels like something I can't say over the phone. So I text message you instead of Betty because it's easier.
Daniel: I get that. Brianna is still upset at me for texting her instead of Alexis when I really should. We're probably not going to end up in New York again until Christmas. At least both of us. Depending on Monique's maternity leave goes, I might have to fly in to cover US fashion week on Monique's behalf. Monique thinks she will be back by then. Therefore, we didn't make plans for me to come back for fashion week, but that may change.
Hilda: You know she's just going to go to the shows with a baby strapped to her chest. Wilhelmina has already emailed her designer baby carrier options.
Daniel: Their new friendship is so weird. Maybe it would seem less odd if I was there, but it looks so strange.
Hilda: They're not competitors; they're partners. I understand why you find it strange but the restaurant has been very good for Wilhelmina. Rumor has it she doesn't even want Mode Australia anymore. I know you saw pictures of her smiling at the baby shower last week.
Daniel: Babies make everybody smile. But she's probably relieved to not have to deal with deep family secrets any longer. Even if the Senator is being a dick.
Hilda: Family secrets are the worst. And it's always a disaster when they do not become public knowledge on your own terms.
Hilda: Therefore, if you are going to raise Amanda's twins, eventually you're gonna have to tell her and the kids that the DNA test was faked by Victoria. They deserve the truth.
Daniel: I know.
Hilda: I don't think you do. Because being in your 30s and finding out that your biological father was an abusive bastard instead of the sweet man who actually raised you can be a lot to deal with. You don't want the kids to figure that out by accident when they realize the conception date does not add up.
Daniel: I know. Matt doesn't want us to tell Amanda right now. I'll respect his wishes because keeping Amanda relaxed and healthy is our main priority at the moment. However, I'm going to do what I need to do after the babies are born.
Hilda: Good.
Daniel: You know that was an oddly specific scenario. Especially because although Matt is a dumb ass, he's not abusive. He's an idiot, but he cares. If he ever hit Amanda or Betty, he wouldn't be alive right now.
Hilda: No, but my mom's first husband was.
Daniel: Wait, what are you saying?
Hilda: I got to go. I have to drop off actual food at the hotel and relieve Matt of babysitting duties. I don't trust him with a goldfish, let alone Mercedes nieces and Austin.
XXXX
August 8, 2010 12:55 AM GMT. (Or really just a few seconds after the last scene, but we're in London now.)
"You were reading that conversation over my shoulder?" Daniel asked his fiancée, who was lying in bed next to him. Marc sent Betty a text message letting her know that the party was moving to the birthing suite, so she was already dressed in her pajamas.
"I read all your Hilda correspondence over your shoulder because she's only corresponding with you." Betty sounded slightly annoyed.
"At least she's acknowledging she made a mistake. As a sibling that screws up a lot, I could understand her not knowing where to begin apologizing," Daniel said sympathetically.
"I think this is more complicated than her behavior of the last couple of months. I don't think her reluctance is completely about that." Betty told him.
"Then what's it about?" Daniel asked
"You know that my mom was married before, and he wasn't a good person?" Betty asked.
"I know, and your parents ran away to America to get away from him and start a new life together. Remember, I helped you with the lawyer."
"Something like that. Hilda arrived not long after they got to New York."
"How not long? Like nine months later?" Daniel asked.
"Four," Betty said simply. That caused Daniel to start putting the pieces together.
"That doesn't mean anything. I have a Tyler. Although your father is better than that coward Hartley in every way imaginable because he went with your mom instead of sending her off to deal with it on her own." Daniel remarked.
"Or she ran away because she didn't want to raise her child in an abusive relationship." Betty supplied.
"That makes sense. This would explain why your father was so understanding of what we're doing with Amanda."
"Because he did it himself," Betty whispered.
"And Hilda figured it out on her own probably since you left. She's been having to deal with it on her own. Maybe she even found out after Justin got here." Daniel hypothesized.
"No, I think it was before. I think that's why she was cold at the wedding." Betty hypothesized.
"You're right about that. It felt like something was off as soon as she found out about the engagement. She was mad at us keeping stuff from her."
"If this is true, that explains why she's been freaking out. She has been pushing me away before I could push her away."
"Why would she do that, though?" Daniel asked.
"Why did Alexis fake her death instead of telling you that she wanted to transition into her true self?" Daniel thought about Betty's question for a moment before responding.
"Because when she told Bradford, he completely rejected her. She was afraid I would do the same thing." He still hasn't completely forgiven Bradford for that, especially because his actions led to Alexis Junior missing her second mom for the first few years of her life. Neither Alexis would be able to get that time back.
"Alexis pushed you away before you could hurt her. Hilda has always been like that. She'll break up with a guy before he can break up with her. Especially after what Santo did when he found out she was pregnant with Justin. She never wanted to go through that type of rejection again." Betty explained.
"So she's avoiding you and being a bitch because she's scared that you might not want to be her sister anymore because you don't share the same dad?" Daniel asked.
"Maybe. I don't know."
"You won't know until you talk to her," Daniel told her.
"It's hard to talk to somebody when they're avoiding you." Betty sighed as she laid her head back on her pillow.
"Thankfully, you're good at that," Daniel said as he reached over to kiss his fiancée.
"That's true. Do you think my boss would actually give me enough time off to go to New York to speak with my sister?"
"Honestly, no. So I'm going to work on bringing Hilda to you."
"You're the best." Betty leaned over to kiss her fiancé
"I try. I will work on it later. It's late, and as much as I would want to do more than just that kiss, we should probably try to go to sleep."
"It's almost 1 AM; we really should. I don't know how I thought I could stay up till three. I should've taken a nap."
XXXX
August 7, 2010, 9:43 PM EDT
(Don't you just love time zones?)
Austin: How's the hospital?
Antonella: Better now that we have good food. Although I can't believe Justin's grandfather is friends with Britney's mom. Apparently, they bonded at PTA meetings when their kids were in high school together.
Austin: Oh, and she was Justin's grandma's nurse when she was in the hospital.
Antonella: That makes sense.
Austin: So how much longer?
Antonella: Britney is at 6.7 cm. So she should be going into the transition stage for the next phase of labor soon. Thankfully Britney will be getting the good drugs.
Antonella: Although it still might be a few more hours. I think Big Brother will drag me back to the hotel about midnight or have somebody else drag me back to the hotel. Possibly Mercedes because she really wants to get away from her mom.
Austin: That had to be awkward.
Antonella: Very awkward.
Austin: Speaking of awkward, Hilda is here. And she keeps hugging me.
Antonella: She probably doesn't want you to be watching the kids on your own for long periods. Also, I feel like you really need a hug. It's been a horrible day for you.
Austin: You're right about that.
Austin: Matt has been here most of the time outside of dropping you off at the hospital with Monique and Gio's go bags.
Antonella: Maybe she doesn't want you to be alone with each other in case it gets awkward.
Austin: I am watching two kids who confronted their dad for cheating on their mom, and now it's all over TMZ and fashion TV. There's no way for this not to be awkward.
Antonella: So which channel did Freddie end up watching?
Austin: Fashion TV. It was awful. Also, why are they shaming Mercedes when it was her husband that cheated on her?
Antonella: Monique refers to it as the vagina tax. It's always the woman's fault.
Austin: This doesn't surprise me. You saw what Wilhelmina's father has done all week.
Antonella: He's a prick. I have to go. Monique and grandma are starting to argue, and that's never a good sign.
Austin: You should definitely go break that up.
X
August 8, 2010 12:03 AM EDT
Antonella: Hey, we are back at the hotel. Hilda decided she's not leaving because she feels like we need more than one adult supervising. I kind of agree, even though Austin is a super babysitter. Apparently, he managed to get baby Mo to sleep even after Matt let her order the waffle Sundae for dinner.
Monique: She doesn't have to. Also, normally I would be mad at Matt for that, but it's been a weird day. She deserves the waffle sundae.
Monique: I thought Mercedes was going to stay with you. She might be slightly hungover by this point. However, I feel like she's adult supervision, especially because her kids are involved.
Antonella: She started crying twice during the car ride to the hotel. She made the mistake of reading text messages from the soon-to-be ex. So I feel like she needs supervision right now, especially in the land of minibars and room service. I can get champagne brought up to this room right now, and I'm 16.
Antonella: Not that I tried.
Monique: Oh, I know you tried because I did the same thing when I was your age. The reason why you can is the family owns the place.
Monique: Vivian will be there soon, and she can do Mercedes duty. She wanted to stop at her place and pick up an overnight bag. The hotel is closer to the hospital anyway.
Antonella: OK, and with that information, Mercedes is heading back to the hospital. Yes, they were civil at the hospital, but Mercedes is not sure that would continue here.
Monique: Because mom is trying to avoid showing up in the papers again today. But there are hopefully no reporters bugging our suites.
Antonella: It's already August 8. It's a new day.
Monique: I still think she wants to avoid more headlines. At least these types of headlines.
Antonella: Point.
Monique: Tell mom if she cannot get her own suite, she can sleep in our room. We are not leaving until the baby gets here.
Antonella: Will do.
Monique: Hey, are you OK giving up your room in the suite for the baby? It's only going to be for the month until we're back in the apartment.
Antonella: Actually, it's going to be at least six weeks. Nana told me. I think she's planning something.
Monique: She would. Her company manages our co-op. I'm aware that our neighbor just decided to move to Connecticut.
Antonella: If she is planning something, I'm not at liberty to say. Although I may just lobby for my own room on another floor. I like Freddie and little Mo, but I don't think I want to stay with them long-term. They like to jump on the bed.
Monique: Yes, you can get your own room in the hotel. Depending on how things go Monday, Austin may end up with the room next door.
Antonella: Austin and Matt fell asleep watching TV on the couch.
Monique: Please tell me you got pictures.
Antonella: Of course.
To be continued
I'm sorry that we've been in New York more the last couple of chapters because of plot reasons. But I did put a Betty/Daniel bedroom scene in here for all of you. Aren't they just adorable?