"Oh, you chose one of my favourite restaurants!" Erin exclaimed as they pulled into the parking lot for Red Bird Bistro. "Thank you!"
"You're welcome," she answered as she pulled into the first parking spot available. As she looked at the entrance of the restaurant, her smile growing when she caught sight of Karen standing there, waiting for them. Nodding a little towards the girl, she turned the car off and climbed out, unsurprised when Erin came over to her side and slipped her arm into the crook of Penelope's as they headed towards the door.
"Mama!" Karen exclaimed as she rushed over to them, throwing her arms around both Erin and Penelope in her exuberance. "You're here! You look so healthy!"
"Karen? Does that mean your father is here?"
Karen shook her head as she guided them inside, humming with joy. "No, Penelope and Dawn managed to convince him that, while we have to wait for the court date to amend the custody arrangement again, he could still let us celebrate your graduation from rehab together. We only have two hours together, but at least we have that much?"
Erin nodded as she pursed her lips together, and Penelope watched her blink back tears as she drank in the sight of her beloved children. "Yes, and we will make the most of every moment that we have right now. That's one of the things they taught me, where I was. That I needed to live more in the moment and not worry so much about the future."
Tabitha and Bruce jumped to their feet and came over to their sides, hugging them each in turn before allowing them to take a seat next to Dawn. "I'm glad that we were able to get this to work," Dawn said as she looked around Erin to smile at Penelope.
"I am, too. Please, make certain to thank Alan for this kindness. I'm hoping that the more conciliatory we are towards him, the more favorable things will work out for us in the courts," Penelope replied as she picked up her menu and began to look over what was available.
As soon as their server came over, they placed their order, and Penelope found herself content to sit back and listen to Erin and her children interact. It seemed that Dawn was of the same mind, since she was also quiet, as if she was evaluating what was happening that afternoon. Penelope hoped that whatever she was getting from this would lead to a good report to the judge, and that, in turn, would lead to Erin getting shared unsupervised custody with her children.
The meal passed far too quickly for her liking, but it also helped buoy her spirits from their earlier encounter with Aaron. Dawn, to her surprise, asked for the check, and she looked at her askance, trying to figure out why she would do that. Dawn smiled softly before answering her question. "I have a stipend for meals, and this is one of the better ways to use it. I'm sorry that we couldn't stay longer, but this was the most time Alan would give us."
"I'm grateful to get any extra time at all," Erin murmured as she stood up, her children following suit. Penelope watched them hug tightly, and she hurriedly pulled out her phone to take pictures of this moment, knowing that Erin would want to have them.
"We'll head outside and I'll take a few pictures of you all together before I take the kids back to Alan's," Dawn said as she handed the folder over to their server.
"Thanks," Penelope said as she snapped a few more candid pictures of Erin and the children. "You have no idea how much this afternoon means to Erin."
"I think that I have a small inkling," Dawn said as she watched the group interact. "And I know that you're a good influence on Erin and Alan. He's softening a little towards her, because she's healing and changing her patterns."
Penelope preened a little at the praise, happy to feel like she was doing something right in one of the relationships in her life. The server soon returned with Dawn's card, and then the group was heading outside. "All right, we're going to get a few pictures before everyone heads home," Penelope said as she slung her arm around Erin's waist, allowing Dawn to guide them over to a picturesque spot in the parking lot before she took both their phones and began to direct them in different poses as she took pictures.
"And now, how about a few of just you and Erin? I get the feeling that you're the picture taker in the friendship, Penelope." She nodded and looked over at Erin, seeing that she was grinning from ear to ear in joy, even if her eyes were shiny with tears. Her friend also nodded, and the kids stepped over to Dawn's side, watching as they were posed for pictures. "Well, this is where we have to say goodbye. I squeezed a few extra minutes out, and I'll blame it on the traffic. I'll see you in court in two weeks, and we'll all be see what the judge decides." Dawn gave them a small wave before looking at the children in turn. Karen nodded and quickly followed after her, giving Erin and Penelope a small wave. Bruce hugged his mother one last time before nodding at Penelope and trailing after his sister.
"I don't want go, Mama."
"But you have to, darling. If there's to be any hope that I can get shared custody of you once more, we need to follow everything to the letter." Tabitha nodded and flung her arms around Erin's waist, holding her tightly for a brief moment before she turned to Penelope and hugged her just as fiercely. Then she was breaking away from them, running after her siblings as she swiped at her cheeks. Penelope took a few shaky breaths before she turned to look at Erin, knowing that the woman would be in tears, and wanting to be strong for her.
"Can we leave before I make a larger fool of myself?" she murmured, and Penelope nodded as she reached out for her hand. Erin shook her head a little as she turned on her heel and hurried over to Penelope's car, opening the door and getting in to wait for her. Penelope sighed as she followed after her and got behind the wheel. The moment she was on the road, Erin began to sob, and she wished that they were home so that she could comfort her properly. Not knowing what to say to make things better, she just slipped one hand off the wheel and held it out until Erin clasped it, threading their fingers together to strengthen their hold as she drove.
Their silence continued until they were inside the house, and Erin pulled her into the living room before sinking down onto the sofa and pulling her legs up to her chest as she stared blankly at the coffee table. Penelope stroked her arm gently before she went into the kitchen and poured them glasses of water, knowing that they'd need it later.
By the time she returned, Erin was scrolling through the pictures that Dawn had taken of them, and Penelope smiled at them as she watched over Erin's shoulder. And then Erin flipped to the pictures of just the two of them, and she gasped without meaning to at the third one. Erin was gazing at her tenderly, and it was such an open expression of devotion that it caused her heart to lurch in her chest a little. "You look so beautiful here, Penny," Erin said as she looked up into her face.
"Funny, I was going to say that same about you. Dawn captured some great moments today."
"She did. I'm sorry that I was so quiet on the way home, and I hope you don't think that I was ungrateful for the surprise luncheon. It was just so overwhelming to have to leave them once more."
She nodded as she came around to the other side of the sofa, taking a seat next to Erin as she set the cups on the coffee table. "I thought that it might be a bit much for you at the end, but I also knew there was no way Alan would allow them to spend time here. I, I hope that I didn't make things too awkward today?"
Erin shook her head before looking at Penelope. "If you mean that little fracas with Aaron, no. I am very glad that you stuck up for yourself there, and I'm also grateful that you chose me in that moment. Because if you had gone after him, I wouldn't have had time with my children, since I didn't know where we were eating. You gave me incredible happiness while having to wrestle with your feelings."
Penelope shrugged a little as she pulled out her phone, wanting to see if the pictures there were any different. "Aaron has been getting so possessive of me lately, and I know that I need to put that to an end, because that will drive us apart faster than anything. I don't want to feel like I'm tied down, that I have to center my life around his wants and desires. As I told him last night, if he starts cutting me off from my friends, who will I have left besides him, and maybe Jessica? My world can't be that small, not when there are so many that I love."
"I didn't realise that things were quite this dire."
She looked into Erin's eyes, seeing that she was crying silently, and Penelope wondered who the tears were for, though she would never ask. "But there's still hope? God, I still hope that there's hope to make things work. Even if it takes a few weeks, maybe we can start working through our issues and find our way back to that sweet headiness of our early relationship."
"I will pray that that is the case for you, darling. Now, you're free to go, if you want to start and make things better between you and Aaron."
She shook her head, giving Erin a small frown. "I was promised The Sound of Music, and I am not leaving this house until after I've heard 'Climb Every Mountain', Erin. Okay?"
"Okay," she replied with a gentle smile, and Penelope sighed happily as she pulled the blanket from the back of the sofa over her legs as she curled up close to Erin, letting her navigate the television menus until she found the movie and pressed play before she tugged the blanket over to cover herself as well, her head coming to rest atop Penelope's as they watched the screen in a gentle quietness.