Vignettes:
Vignette 1
"I don't think that's such a good idea, Heather,"
"Really Spinelli?" asked Gretchen surprised with raised eyebrows. "Because I remember this one time in recess you…"
"Uh, let's not talk about that," Ashley quickly amended as Heather started laughing and Gretchen snickered a little at that response. The three of them were enjoying breakfast before the school and work day started. The boys were occupied elsewhere.
"Boy, having Gretchen around is more fun that I originally thought," said Heather with a big smile full of peanut butter and jam from her toast.
"I've noticed," Ashley ruminated as she stared off into the living room before getting up and collecting her plate to wash in the sink. "Besides, why are your stories only about me? You could share one about Teej every now and then."
Gretchen thought about it for a moment. "You mean like the time he lost his mind being stuck inside instead of being at recess, or the time he lost his mind being stuck in the box at recess, or the time he lost his mind…"
"On second thought," Ashley quickly amended as she turned on the sink. "Why don't you share a story involving both T.J. and me?"
Gretchen pondered it for a few moments before she lit up and a massive grin broke across her face. Turning to face Heather she said:
"Did you know your mom and dad had their first kiss at recess in front of the entire school who were watching?"
"WWWHHAAAAAAAAAATTT?!"
*Clink*
Ashley slipped the dishes during her washing and was just grateful she hadn't broken anything.
Heather turned to face her after her previous outburst. "Mom is that true?"
Ashley turned around and the two children found her an atypical shade of bright red from blushing so hard at remembrance of what happened.
"We didn't have any choice. One of our fellow classmates said something about kissing and then the gang decided they wanted to know for sure if it was true so we had to find out for ourselves and then it was decided T.J. and I had to kiss and then King Bob found out and then…oh, boy," Ashley belted out in one long run-on sentence like her daughter was prone to do when flustered as she struggled to compose her thoughts.
At that point T.J. walked in.
"Hey everybody what's going on?" he asked taking survey of the room and the expression on his wife and kids' faces.
"Just reminiscing about old times on the playground," Ashley offered wistfully as she helped herself to another cup of coffee.
"Ah," T.J. responded as he took a seat and could make a good guess about what was being discussed.
"So what was it like?" requested their biological daughter."
"Heather!" snapped Ashley hoping that question wouldn't come up. Heather shrugged helplessly. She'd always been an inquisitive young lady. Ashley couldn't fault her for that.
The mother then turned thoughtful as she held up a finger to her chin to reminisce about that particular day.
"Well, I'd say it was-,"
"Torture,"
"WWWHHAAAAAAAAAATTT?!"
This time was it was Ashley offering an incredulous outburst in an eerie facsimile to her daughter. But this was in response to something her husband had just said.
"Pure torture," T.J. repeated not backing down, an amused expression on his face.
"How so?" asked Heather not realizing he was joking.
"Oh, it sort of causes you to lose control and think and do things you might not do otherwise," T.J. offered. "Plus, pushing your mucous slimy covered lips together with your nose and faces just inches from each other…. Torture."
"Oh really," stated Ashley putting her hands on her hips with an exaggerated form of annoyance on her voice. "I think I'll torture you right now!"
"Oh no!" said T.J. faking upset as he held out his hands to stay off the inevitable as his wife advanced on him. "Help kids, help, help!"
Ashley sat astride his lap with her legs dangling off one side and then cupped her hands around his face and smooched him long and hard. T.J.'s arms briefly flailed at his sides before he drew them around his wife's back and drew her in for an even deeper kiss.
"Hey, what's going on he-oh, gross!" shouted J.T. as he ventured into the room and had to look away. "That's disgusting!"
After a few moments, Ashley and T.J. parted lips and then Ashley laid her head down on her husband's left shoulder while she clasped her hands around his neck. The two of them sighed contently as a look of bliss was clearly visible on both their faces.
Even Heather found herself a little icked out by her parent's outward display of affection. Gretchen meanwhile found their actions a stark reminder of how much things had changed over the years. She had to remind herself she'd been gone nearly three decades and T.J. and Spinelli had been married for two of them.
"I don't think I want to hear any more stories from my parents' childhood," Heather finally said with her tongue slightly stuck out the side of her mouth.
To that her two parents looked at each with a sly grin on their faces.
"Mission accomplished," they both said in unison.
"Hey!"
Vignette 2
"Hey mom, can I call you Spinelli like Gretchen does?" asked Heather. Once more the three girls were by themselves albeit in the living room on the couch this time watching pro wrestling. Not Heather or Gretchen's preferred thing to watch, but they both enjoyed being in their parent's company.
"No," said Ashley immediately with a lopsided smirk on her face.
"Wait, why not?" Heather pressed. Ashley turned to face her.
"Because I didn't go through years of trying to have a child, specialized treatments that didn't look like they would work, nine months of carrying you and your twin brother making me look like a giant beach ball and all that entailed, and finally the hours of living nightmare that was required to bring you two out into the world just to have you call me by my childhood last name. I earned the right to have you call me 'mom'," she began before shifting her attention to Gretchen.
"As for you, I let you into our family with open arms by adopting you. Now I have to feed you, clothe you, take you to doctor's appointments, plan your school schedule, plan your personal schedule, add one more to family vacations, and a whole host of other things. My workload has gone up an additional 20% having you around not that I don't enjoy doing it. And all this while I'm still working as an attorney and trying to become District Attorney for the city. If it weren't for you being my time lost childhood friend, I would say that earns me the right to have you call me 'mom' as well," Ashley concluded before returning attention to the television. The two children had just gotten a small of taste of her argumentative skills which is what made Ashley Detweiler one of the most successful courtroom attorneys in the state.
"Wow," said Heather awed.
"Now I almost want to start calling you mom," Gretchen agreed, equally impressed.
A warm motherly smiled crossed Ashley's face as the trio continued watching the TV.
Vignette 3
"So what made you want to pursue law as a profession?" Gretchen asked Spinelli. The two of them were out in a public park enjoying some ice cream as they watched Heather who was playing soccer for the park district.
"I mean, I understand your starting out in wrestling that makes total sense. But law?" Gretchen continued confused.
"Well, the courtroom is basically another battlefield. Except this time I get to use my brain instead of my brawn to overcome my opponents. While wrestling was by no means an easy sport and I had to constantly work out and train my body to be as good as I was, I find that sharpening and honing my mental and investigative skills and using that to overcome the arguments posed by my legislative opponents across the courtroom to be an equally if not more so enjoyable experience. Every day in the courtroom gives me an adrenaline rush I just enjoy," Ashley offered.
"Oh," said Gretchen taking that in as she learned more about her friend and what had happened in the intervening years since she'd been gone.
"But that wasn't just it," Ashley began wistfully drawing in Gretchen's attention. "I never really told anyone this was part of the reason, but years ago I was accused of a crime I didn't commit. My best friend whom I thought would defend me ended up being forced into the role as prosecutor. But she didn't back down or not give her best in the courtroom when she could easily have done so knowing it would help my case. She nearly got me convicted before the tables turned and I was deemed innocent and let free. But I never held a grudge against her for doing so. Seeing her actions in that kangaroo court left an impression on me that years later made me want to consider the legal field as a profession once I knew I was ready to move on from wrestling and have kids.
I never got a chance to thank my friend, but I owe her a lot for getting me to where I am today."
Realization of the friend whom Ashley was referring to came to Gretchen's realization and her eyes turned misty upon this. Ashley immediately swept her up into her chest for a hug as Gretchen let out some tears of happiness that the older woman had never held a grudge against her for the events of the trial. Heather saw them from the field and paused briefly both concerned and confused before Ashley waived her off with her free hand that nothing was wrong and her daughter then continued on with the game.
"I'm getting ice cream on your shirt," stated Gretchen muffled from still being pressed to Ashley's chest.
"I don't care," was the mother's response as the two of them pressed happily together like that for a few moments before letting go. Then the two went back to enjoying their ice cream and the game.
A/N: I had another vignette in mind with Gretchen and T.J. talking more about why T.J. decided to become a teacher and later a principal. Basically he was inspired by Ms. Grotchke, Mr. E., and Principal Prickly the latter of whom he still stays in-touch with after retiring as superintendent. But this is primarily a mother-daughter(s) story so I left it out. I also thought about one with revealing Spinelli still doing artwork with Gretchen remarking to Heather about the playground mural and how they all thought she lost her marbles at the time. And then Gretchen and Spinelli wondering about whatever happened to King Bob.
Anyway, if you feel inspired by this set-up for the Detweiler family and their new addition in Gretchen, feel free to run with it you don't need my permission. Thanks for reading.