The Girl Next Door
By Tvdfanpam
Ch. 6
Friday Night Date Night
Ana dropped the two preschoolers off at school Friday morning and raced off to get a mani-pedi and see if her hairdresser could squeeze her in for a trim. She wanted to call Kate but was showing restraint by letting her call Ana. It was Kate's story to tell but now Ana knew who the elusive E was that Kate would sometimes talk about.
Christian texted Ana good morning and that he would pick her up at 6:00 pm. That would give Ana time to take Phoebe over to Gail and Jason's house and be ready for their date. Phoebe still thought it was her birthday because she got to have a sleepover at her house then go to a sleepover at someone else's house!
Kate followed Ana back to her house after picking Tegan up from school. Ana let the two kids have lunch in front of the TV while she talked to Kate in the kitchen. "I am dying here. Put me out of my misery." Ana pouted at Kate.
"Well, I'm sure you guessed by now that Elliott is Tegan's dad?" Kate said taking a big breath. "He cried on my shoulder last night Ana. He said he was sorry he broke up with me and looked at Tegan's baby book. He wants us to get married right away. He said if I would take him back that he would never leave me again!" Kate was crying now. Ana pulled her friend into a hug.
"What do you want to do Kate? Do you still love him?" Ana patted Kate's back as she sobbed quietly on her shoulder. She pulled away and went to get a Kleenex to wipe her eyes.
"I do still love him. I see him in Tegan every day, he has his mannerisms even though they never met."
"Don't rush into anything you will regret. It's been five years so you could wait another week at least." Ana said reasonably. Kate was usually slow to make big decisions so Ana knew she would weigh the pros and cons before deciding anything.
"So you have a date with Christian Grey tonight? How did that happen? Where did you two meet? He's a Big Fish!" Kate asked, sitting down at the kitchen table and taking a drink of her iced tea.
"We met at the new neighbor's house last week. His personal head of security moved in down the block. They had a barbecue and invited us." She didn't say that they were the only other neighbors invited though. "Phoebe worked her magic and invited him to her recital and here we are." That was the simplified version. Ana wasn't comfortable sharing every detail with Kate. She was a private person. Kate didn't tell her every detail about her life either obviously since she just found out who Tegan's father was!
Sometimes Ana felt that Kate thought she wasn't quite in the same league as her thus the more casual nature of their friendship. She was fine to watch Tegan and keep him overnight occasionally but they weren't as close of friends as Ana would have liked. Kate could come across as a little standoffish.
"Mom, I'm done with lunch. Can we go outside and play in the backyard?" Phoebe asked, bringing her plate into the kitchen and putting it on the counter by the sink. Tegan followed behind her and set his plate beside hers.
"It's okay with me if it's okay with Kate." Ana said.
"For thirty minutes then we have to go Tegan. You have a visitor this afternoon." Kate smoothed down his hair and he gave her a hug before running after Phoebe.
"Elliott is coming over to meet him formally this afternoon?" Ana asked. Kate nodded, wringing her hands.
"What should I say to Tegan? Should I wait for Elliott to come by and then tell him who he is?" Kate was working herself into an agitated state. Ana put her arm around her friend.
"Let Elliott introduce himself and see what happens. Tegan is very smart, he will figure it out if he hasn't already." Ana said. "He asked Christian last night if Elliott was his dad."
"Do you think I am a slut Ana?" Kate was crying again. "You are the tragic widow and I am just the single mom who won't say who her kid's dad is. People probably think I don't know since I never mentioned it."
"I don't think that at all. I think you are brave for keeping your child after an unplanned pregnancy. I am really shocked that you didn't give him up for adoption. Raising a child alone is hard. No one would have judged you for giving your child up."
"My parents wanted me to do that but once I held him, I knew I couldn't give him up. I had contacted an adoption agency but never called back." Kate confessed. "I admire you Ana, you make motherhood look easy. Sometimes I wish you would mess up so I wouldn't feel so bad about myself when I do."
"We are at the easy stage of parenting Kate. My mother said the teenage years are hell. Consider yourself warned." Ana didn't know what to say about Kate's confession. "Don't compare yourself to me. I am not perfect."
"Thanks for listening. Do you want to meet for coffee next week to catch up?" Kate asked. She needed to make more of an effort with her friendships. She resolved to do that with Ana and another mother in their circle.
"That would be great. Monday or Tuesday works for me. It's a date." Ana promised. She got up and started washing the kids' dishes and put away the lunch things.
Kate and Tegan left shortly afterwards and Ana and Phoebe went to the park for a few hours to kill time before Ana took Phoebe to the neighbors for her next sleepover. Ana walked Phoebe down to Gail and Jason's house and gave them one more chance to back out before she left to get ready for her date with Christian. Phoebe kissed and hugged her mom then skipped out of the room holding Jason's hand. They were going to play in the backyard. "She will be fine Ana." Gail reassured the young mom. "Have a great time tonight."
Ana took her time in the shower, shaving her legs and shampooing her hair without hurrying. It was the first time in a long time that Phoebe wasn't there talking to her about everything. She missed the chatter but liked the quiet at the same time. She had a black dress that was hanging in the back of her closet since last summer still with tags attached. The dress still fit and she found some nice black shoes that she never wore in the back of the closet as well. She had a habit of putting the dress up clothes back there, out of sight out of mind. Ana was putting on her earrings and giving herself one more inspection in the mirror when her doorbell rang. She took a deep breath and grabbed her little purse and went to get the door.
"Ana! God you look stunning!" Christian stuttered out. "You don't look very motherly right now." She leaned into him to give him a side hug and he kissed her cheek. "I hope you're hungry. I am. I haven't eaten much today, I had meetings back to back all day." He chattered excitedly just like Phoebe did.
"Thank you. I don't remember why I bought this dress or these shoes. I haven't been out to dinner on a date in a long time. I am hungry too, Phoebe and Tegan ate lunch but Kate and I talked and I forgot to eat anything."
"How is Kate? Elliott is a mess! He called me at 1:30 am after he left Kate's house. He cried for an hour. I had to get up at 5:30 am so I didn't get much sleep last night." Christian was rambling, he was nervous standing in Ana's living room.
"She's not much better but I think relieved not to be carrying around a secret anymore." Ana took a deep breath. "She said Elliott wants them to get married, he wants to be in hers and Tegan's lives."
Christian looked Ana in the eyes. "I think that's a great idea." He heard all about it from Elliott; he already had his assistant research wedding venues because he knew his brother well and could predict his moves!
They walked out the front door and Ana locked up and they went to get in the waiting car. Sawyer was the chauffeur tonight. Christian wanted to be able to look at Ana as much as he wanted to and he wanted to have wine with dinner. They made small talk into Seattle, Ana told him about dropping Phoebe off with Jason and Gail for a sleepover.
They pulled up in front of the Capital Grille restaurant and the valet ran over to open the door for Ana. "Sawyer, I will text you when we are finished with dinner." Christian got out of the SUV and followed Ana into the restaurant. The restaurant manager greeted Christian and they shook hands. Christian introduced Ana to him and they went into the private dining room he had reserved. The staff was waiting to seat them and had ice water waiting on the table and wine in a bucket. The wine was poured for Christian's approval and then poured for Ana. They drank to new beginnings.
"What's good here?" Ana said looking up from the menu. "I love steak but don't eat it very often. I don't grill and Phoebe won't eat it anyway."
"They are known for their bone in Ribeye steak. I've had it, best I've ever eaten." Christian sipped on his wine and tried not to stare at Ana. "Mia loves their lobster mac n cheese. Elliott wants to skip to dessert and eat the cheesecake first!"
They ordered their dinner and the string quartet started playing softly in the background. "Very impressive Mr. Grey!" Ana held her wine glass up in a salute. "You sure know how to charm a girl." She smiled at him. "I feel very grown up."
He smiled back at his date. "What's your favorite movie? I don't get much time to watch movies but I love a good action movie."
"My favorite movie is Pride and Prejudice with Keira Knightley. I have read the book too many times to count and I just find it so romantic. Usually I watch kids' movies with Phoebe. If I try to watch a movie by myself she whines until I put on cartoons."
After dinner they went to the Seattle Art Museum's Art at Night exhibit. Ana loved the abstract paintings and they admired Van Gough's A Starry Night interpretations from upcoming new artists. Ana started yawning behind her hand, she had three no four glasses of wine so she was feeling very relaxed. "Let's get you home little mama." Christian helped Ana into the waiting car and they drove back to her house in companionable silence listening to jazz music in the car.
"Do you know if Jason and Gail stay up late on the weekends? I really want to call and check on Phoebe." Ana worried her lip.
"I'll text Jason and if he answers back right away, he's still awake." Christian pulled out his phone and texted his head of security. He got an answer back right away by his phone ringing in his hand. "Hey Taylor, Ana was just wanting to check on Phoebe. How is she?" He handed his phone to Ana so she could hear what Jason Taylor had to say.
"She's asleep. She ate dinner then had a snack and watched a movie then took a bath then had another snack. That girl can eat!" Ana laughed in delight.
"If you have the right food, she will eat all of it!" Ana said to Jason. "Thanks so much for watching her, I really appreciate it. I will have my phone right by my bed if she needs me in the night. Have a good night Jason. I will pick her up at 9:00 am. See you then."
Ana hung up and handed Christian his phone back. "Thank you for that. I haven't left Phoebe with very many people but she latched onto Gail and Jason so I hope they like sleepovers! We had to stop by their house every day this week so she could make sure they were still going to have a sleepover."
"They are in the process of adopting a little girl of their own. Her name is Sophie and she is six. Gail is going to take a leave of absence as soon as the adoption goes through."
"That is wonderful! I am so happy for them. Gail said they were trying to adopt."
"I was adopted and so was my brother and sister. Family through adoption is a blessing."
Ana had tears in her eyes. "I'm glad you feel that way. Your mom and dad are great people for taking on three children."
They sat beside each other on Ana's sofa and Christian reached for Ana. "You are so kind Ana and I feel like I have known you a lot longer than a week. Can I see you and Phoebe this week? I want to get to know you both."
"I would like to get to know you too. I hope I don't scare you off when you get to know me better." Ana was so insecure about men. She felt too frumpy and like her time for happiness had passed. She spent all her time taking care of a child and wasn't sure if dating was worth the effort it took; Christian sure acted like he wanted to spend time with her though. He kissed her passionately and looked into her bright blue eyes.
"I don't scare easily."
A/N: I hope you liked this chapter, I hope I dealt with the self-esteem issue in a realistic way. More about Phoebe's sleep over next chapter. Thanks for reading and reviewing!