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Post by slyoldweasel on Jul 18, 2013 23:34:22 GMT -5
Hi, the author here. This is based VERY LOOSELY off of the movie The Parent Trap. There will be twists and turns not in the movie, and definitely more drama.
I do not own The Parent Trap.
Saoirse Ella McGinty sat cross-legged on her bed, looking at the torn picture in her hand. She had felt an urge to know the woman sitting in the picture. She wanted to know everything about her, but even a name would be good enough.
The woman in the picture had beautiful brown hair that flowed to her upper stomach in effortless curls. She was wearing a strapless lilac, flowing dress that reached all the way to her toes. Saoirse definitely liked her choice of style. The woman was staring at the camera with a smile, a smile that Saoirse would give anything to have directed at her. They even had the same dimples. This woman was her mother.
Saoirse had been mesmerized by the woman ever since she found the photograph in her father's sock drawer one day when she was trying to find socks to tie-dye for her best friend's birthday party. She looked like she had the kindest, green eyes and white smile she'd ever seen.
She saw there was a tan hand wrapped around her shoulder, it was well-manicured and was holding the woman like she was the most precious thing in the entire world. It belonged to her dad.
The sound of the thumping of his footsteps on the stairs resulted in her quickly shoving the picture under her pillows, probably creasing and wrinkling it more. She cursed quietly because she knew she should have laminated it, but it was difficult to do anything without her father catching her.
He was insanely overprotective.
"Saoirse!" Damian said as he opened her door and dove onto the bed, almost knocking Saoirse off of the other side.
"Dad!" She tried not to laugh and grabbed onto his arm to hold herself in place. "You're going to break the bed... and my back!"
"I'm only thirty-five, I take great offense!" he said indignantly.
The thirteen-year-old raised her eyebrow. "That's still old!"
Damian ignored her. "So did you pack yet? You do realize we leave tomorrow, correct?"
Saoirse nodded and pointed to the half empty suitcase on the floor. There were a few pairs of socks and a bunch of rolled up jeans in the bottom. "That looks promising," he said sarcastically.
She put her hands on her hips. "Are you packed?"
Damian bit his lip and looked down at his daughter, "Well no, but I'm only going to New York for a day to drop you off..." His work required him to travel to California, but Saiorse had wanted to go to an elite summer camp in New York.
"Why don't you stay for awhile, Dad? You always used to tell me that you loved New York," her green eyes were wide as she looked up at him. She was old enough that she could sense when something was wrong with her father, but still young enough to not know when to stop pushing the topic.
Damian blinked a few times, carefully running through his thoughts for an excuse. "It just isn't the place for me anymore - I'm getting old."
That seemed to pacify Saoirse for a while. "You know Melina will just pack the stuff for me tomorrow, right?" Damian learned that in that moment, his daughter had perfected the eye roll.
Damian looked down at the girl and sighed, "You know, sometimes I wish you would stop growing up. It is scary."
"Like your morning breath?"
"Like my morning breath."
Saoirse settled back against the headboard, mentally cringing when she heard the crumple of the photograph... it would be too difficult to get the picture out now.
Damian looked at his daughter and pulled a light blue box out from behind his back. "Here, Saoirse. I'm not going to see your for a whole month and I figured we could get you a pair of good earrings to celebrate you. Wear them all the time," he joked finally.
Saoirse pulled the white ribbon and released the box, slowly lifting the lid off to find two shining silver balls. She looked up at him seriously. "Silver or white gold?"
Damian's eyes widened in fear... but he knew a trick question when he saw one. "Platinum," he said confidently.
She shrieked and launched herself into his arms. "I love them, thank you, thank you, thank you!"
He laughed and hugged her tightly back, not quite wanting to let go. "Sometimes you remind me of her so much," he said quietly, instantly regretting saying it out loud.
"Who?" Saoirse asked, a fake questioning tone in her voice.
Damian blinked a few times, "Uh.. your grandmother. Do you want me to ask Melina to make you some food?"
"Did I hear my name?" Melina slid into the room with a huge smile. "What do you have on there, Saoirse?" Melina was their caretaker, one of Damian's best friends who made it her duty to help him raise her because he had no idea what he was doing. He was eternally grateful for her.
Saoirse showed her the earrings. "Aren't they pretty?"
Melina smiled. "Of course. Now let's see if we can pack some of your stuff... unless you want to wear just those at camp."
Saoirse shrugged, "At least my ears would look good."
Damian coughed uncomfortably and looked around the room, "Maybe you should go shower now, bug. You stink."
Saoirse rolled her eyes and ran to the bathroom. Fifteen minutes later she emerged with sopping wet hair, a pair of Manchester United sweatpants, and a huge t-shirt that was Damian's at his high school. "Wow... you are doing such a great job!" she joked.
"Saoirse Ella," Damian said in a warning tone, "you can take some responsibility.
"But I wanted you to French braid my hair! I can wear it like this on the plane and then my hair won't be a giant frizz ball at camp!" She looked up at him with the big eyes she knew he couldn't resist.
"Fine," Damian said pulling her toward the vanity, "I told you I could buy you some gel that would work..."
She was already handing him a few rubber bands. "No."
Melina smiled somewhat sadly at the pair and started refolding some of the items Damian had tried to fold.
Later that night, Saoirse slipped the crumpled photograph into her paint box, making sure it stayed flat on the bottom.
-
The next day, Saoirse walked through the rows of coffee beans with Damian. She looked around at her home, knowing it would the last time she would see it for a month. The large stone house stood nearly a football field away. She could hear the splashing of the pool boy and the sound of the machines working in the factory not too far away.
The house was far too large for both of them, and Saoirse wondered if her dad ever wanted someone else to share the property.
"Why did you want to make coffee when you grew up?" she asked the easiest question she had for the man. They lived in Ireland where she always knew it would be hard to maintain the fields.
Damian smiled. "When I was young, I shared coffee with someone very special and I fell in love."
"With the coffee or her?" Saoirse asked innocently.
Damian stared into the distance and walked a few more steps, "Both," he answered honestly.
Saoirse wanted to ask so many more questions but knew they would just make her father even sadder.
"We should probably get to the car," he said eventually. Damian needed to drive, despite the fact that it would be too early for loading... he didn't care. He couldn't be around coffee beans anymore.
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Post by slyoldweasel on Jul 19, 2013 0:55:15 GMT -5
Darla Rose Thompson laid flat on her stomach, surrounded by the downy comfort of her blanket.
Her fingers ghosted over the image of the man in the picture. His hair was dark and perfectly styled. It was gelled down with probably a little too much - but that was just her personal opinion. His eyes were the most beautiful blue, like the ocean, something she inherited from him although his made her jealous. She always was jealous, ever since she found the photograph in her mother's jewelry box. He wore a a nice pair of dark jeans that were cuffed at the bottom and a brilliant light blue cardigan that she was positive hung in the closet down the hall. He held a steaming cup of coffee, the lid off. The smile on his face was what pulled Darla in, it seemed like he was the happiest person alive.
She was sure he was the most handsome man she'd ever seen.
The laminated photograph held a few clues about the man that was her father. She knew that the pale hand circling his waist was her own mother's.
A sharp knock sounded on her door and Darla quickly threw the photograph beneath her bed. "Come in!"
Georgiana walked into the room gracefully with a pink bag dangling from between her fingers. "Darla, I have a small gift for you... well several, actually." She smiled down at her daughter.
Darla sat up and folded her legs. "Thank you," she said dutifully.
Georgiana sat on the bench at the end of her canopy bed, "Open it!" Her eyes sparkled as she placed the bag toward her.
Darla pulled out a long rectangular present. She opened it quickly, wrinkling the paper slightly and throwing it onto the floor. She held the off-white book in her hand. Thumbing through the pages, her smile widened. "What's this for?"
Georgiana flipped the book over and showed her the front. The intricate GT that Darla knew so well from her mother's business was engraved onto it. "I figured since you like to draw designs, you could fill this with your own and we can look at them when you come home."
"But Mommy, I'm not good at that!" she smiled down at the book though, a million ideas popping into her head.
"Nonsense, darling. You just need to practice and you will be outstanding." Georgiana nodded toward the bag, "But there is yet another one." She threw a pale blue box in the air, the long white ribbons trailing behind it.
"May I please have the beautiful Tiffany's box, mother?" she asked, her hands folded into her lap.
Georgiana laughed. "But of course."
Darla opened the box without untying the ribbon, placing it delicately on her bed to save for later. She stared down at the pearl earrings sitting in the white silk. "They're beautiful," she breathed.
"I know, I told you we had to wait until you were fifteen to get your ears pierced, but I decided to have the store modify them a bit," she turned the earring over and Darla saw the clip.
"Mom, can't I just get them pierced?" Darla whined.
Georgiana held up her hand to calm her. "Darling, we talked about this before." She hated denying her of things and this was honestly the only thing she didn't allow her to have. She wanted her daughter to remain a child for as long as she could and this was just her small way of doing so.
Darla sighed, "I know."
"They'll look really nice on you when you get the part of Dorothy. It will compliment that Dorothy outfit!" Georgiana said.
She grinned. "Do you really think I'll be Dorothy, Mommy?"
"Of course!" Georgiana took the girl's hand, "you are fantastic, sweetie. You've been to this camp for five years. It's a no brainer - you're the best of the best."
Darla sucked in a deep breath and nodded quickly.
Georgiana smiled lovingly at her and ruffled her slightly, even though she knew she hated it. "We need to get you to a salon."
Darla nodded, "It's getting frizzy."
Even though Georgiana hated changing anything about her appearance, when she insisted that her hair be chemically straightened, she agreed quickly.
She looked less like her biological father that way.
"We can do that tomorrow after I have a fitting with some of the men for the Tony's," Georgiana mentally went through her agenda, "I have Andrew Rannells coming in at noon but I should be finished after that." She rubbed her temples when she realized that she had quite a few alterations to make before he came in.
"I have ballet until one, so maybe you could pick me up instead of Rebecca?" Darla was continually on a schedule as well.
Georgiana pulled out her phone and quickly made a reminder. "Sounds perfect. I'll call and make the appointment. Go put your pajamas on - it is getting to be your bed time."
Darla sighed but went over to her dresser and pulled out a pair of pink, silk pajamas.
Georgiana started picking up the tissue paper that was scattered around the room. Darla knew that if she turned, she would see the photograph under her bed. For the first time in her life she cursed her cleanliness. "Mom!" she shrieked.
Georgiana stood up quickly. "What?" She looked at her in alarm.
Thinking quickly, she gasped out, "Do you have a gray hair?"
"No!" Georgiana gasped and ran toward Darla's small bathroom. Darla quickly ran over and grabbed the picture from the floor and slipped it into her Louis Vuitton trunk.
Darla ran over to her mother and pointed blankly to a piece of hair, "Oh! It was just a really blonde piece, I think. I forgot you had highlights!"
Georgiana ran her hand over the back of her head and pouted into the mirror. "Maybe I should make myself an appointment, just in case." She fixed her shirt with a huff, "I'm only thirty-four. I shouldn't have gray hair yet! I'm too young to be old and ugly!"
Darla giggled and hugged her mother, she was always one to be dramatic. "You are the most beautiful woman in all of New York, Mom!"
Georgiana smiled softly down at the girl and brushed the dark hair out of her eyes. "Sometimes you know how to say exactly what I need to hear."
Darla just laughed and went over the list Georgiana had made of the things she definitely needed to take to camp. "Mom, can we pick up new moisturizer tomorrow??"
"Of course," Georgiana pulled her phone out again and made a reminder. "I can't have you getting sunburned again."
Darla shuddered at the memory of the pain and the feeling of her scaly skin for weeks after. "Maybe we could get some extra," she tried.
Georgiana nodded with a smile. "... and maybe you should get to bed. It's getting late and we have some busy days coming up before you need to be at camp."
-
Camp Diamond Lake was the most prestigious arts camp in all of the United States. It was situated along Ithaca Lake in upstate New York. The season was uncharacteristically warm and sweat rolled down the faces of fathers carrying easels, guitar cases, sewing machines, and just about anything a daughter or son could use in their quest to perfect whatever area they applied for. The camp was open to anyone from ages five to fifteen and it was divided into groups based on attendance.
Darla was excited because for the first time, she would get to be among the older girls who did not have a counselor in their cabin, but rather in a separate cabin outside.
Keith, the Thompson's friend and handyman, carried the trunk across the muddy ground, his shoes sinking slightly as he groaned under the weight of it. The camp provided tractors that pulled the luggage to the girls' cabins and the male counselors helped move things in. "Be careful with that, it is vintage!" Georgiana instructed the male counselor as she got out of the car. "The help here is going down quality," she mumbled to her father.
"Aw, lighten up," Henry Thompson said with a laugh, "you're just mad your shoes are getting messy."
Georgiana was about to respond when he was interrupted.
"Welcome to Camp Diamond Lake!" a short woman with red hair yelled into her megaphone. "I am Counselor Jo and I need all of the theater-based campers to follow me to the north side of campus!"
"That is where you go," Georgiana motioned toward the girl who was situating everyone in line. "Do you recognize her?"
Darla groaned. "Yes. She's mean."
Georgiana nodded briskly, "Good, which means she is getting her job done."
Darla turned to her with a sad pout. "I'm going to miss you, Mom."
Georgiana knelt and hugged her. "I love you, Princess."
Darla pulled back unwillingly and launched into Henry's arms, "I love you, Grandpa!"
"I love you too, Darl." Henry couldn't bend anymore but he looked directly into her eyes. "Remember, no one messes with the Thompson's."
"Right!" She high-fived him quickly and ran toward Jo, looking over her shoulder a few times to make sure her mother and grandfather were still watching.
-
On the other side of camp, Damian was nearly gnawing his fingernails off, "Do you have everything? Shorts? Swimming suit? Deodorant?" In short, he was panicking. His only child was going to camp across the country and he had no idea what he was going to do with his life.
Saoirse wrinkled her nose. "Dad, of course I have everything. You and Melina repacked my bag a million and five times!"
"Was it that many?" Damian laughed and swept the small girl up into his arms and twirled her a few times. "I love you," he whispered. "... and if you want to come home, just call or write me. I will come get you."
Saoirse rolled her eyes. "It will be fine, Dad!" Nevertheless, she clung to her father tighter. "I'll miss you!"
"Artists!" A man with a Mohawk yelled, "You are in le cabin Flynn on the north part of campus."
Damian gripped Saoirse's hand. "Maybe you should go home now. The help here doesn't look as quality as the brochure led me to believe."
"I'll be fine, Dad. I'll write you every week." Saoirse gave him another hug before running towards the artist line.
-
Darla looked at the group of girls in the artist group with skepticism, "I cannot believe they paired us with the artists this year! They are grubby and always clog the showers with paint."
Her best friend, Lucille, filed her nails and surveyed the group. "Oh god, that one is crying - and look at her hair!" Lucille pointed to a girl with brown, curly hair and a few tear tracks down her face.
Darla smoothed her own hair down subconsciously. "Newbies," she muttered and caught the eye of the girl, who immediately scowled at her. Smiling, Darla turned to Lucille, "This year is going to be great."
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Post by slyoldweasel on Jul 19, 2013 2:58:18 GMT -5
Thirteen years ago
Damian paced the room while his wife smiled at the hospital bed. "We're going to be parents, Georgie." They looked at each other and giggled, letting themselves go for a moment. He walked over to her and caressed her cheek. "Are they here yet?"
Georgiana laughed. "No, but they will be."
Damian nodded nervously. She was early - and they had to schedule a C-section but it appeared that the twins had picked up Georgiana's stubborn streak. "They are going to be stubborn like you, aren't they?" Damian questioned.
Georgiana shrugged. "Why of course, Darling."
Damian laughed and kissed her knuckles. "Is it going to be my goal in life to be surrounded by gorgeous divas that strive to make me crazy?" He asked seriously.
She nodded. "Yes, actually. It's something you will have to accept."
"Hmm.. I do," he said, burrowing his face on the crook of her neck. After a while, he asked, "Do you want a drink or something?"
Georgiana nodded. "Coffee please, and hurry?"
Damian kissed her and hurried down to the cafeteria. When he returned, he held two Styrofoam cups, "Ready for some water with a drop of brown food coloring?"
"Coffee snob?" Georgiana joked, sipping the coffee for herself and immediately wincing.
"Is mine better?" Damian asked. He was just starting out in the coffee business and he had a small amount of land, but he prided himself on having great coffee beans that made even better coffee.
Georgiana rolled her eyes. "I'm quite positive I will never be able to drink another man's coffee."
"You better not," Damian said with mock indignation. "That would just break my heart."
"I married the biggest nerd in all of the world, didn't I?"
"But you love him," Damian said, pressing a sloppy kiss into her cheek.
Georgiana turned and kissed him soundly on the lips. "I do."
The door opened and the doctor and two nurses walked in. "Mr. and Mrs. Thompson?"
The new parents beamed as the two bundles came closer to them. "Those are ours..." Damian whispered.
The doctor smiled at the couple, his own heart warming at the sight of them. "This is Baby One," he held the small baby out to Georgiana, who was reaching for her. "She was five pounds, fourteen ounces, and she's nineteen inches long."
Georgiana simply stared down at the little girl in her arms. "Saoirse Ella," she said softly. She wanted an Irish name, to honor the father. "Damian, she's going to have so much hair when she's older."
If she was anything like her father, her hair would be very hard to maintain. Georgiana laughed, her finger trailing gently up and down the sleeping baby's cheek. "She's so soft... I need her moisturizing techniques..."
"I don't think you want it," the doctor said as he took the second baby from the other nurse. "This is baby two. She was five pounds and five ounces and a little shorter at eighteen inches." Damian held her close, cooing at her as she moved a little in his arms.
"Baby Darla," he said softly. "Darla Rose." Damian thought long and hard about the name, knowing his wife wanted the most elegant of names. "You are both so beautiful," he whispered to them, "and you," he turned to his wife.
Damian held Darla and stared at her in wonder. His heart almost stopped when her little eyelids fluttered and she opened her eyes to look up at him. "Georgie," he whispered in a broken cry, "she has blue eyes!"
Georgiana smiled, "Baby, all babies have blue eyes..." she reasoned. "Saoirse has green eyes."
"Can I hold her?" he asked.
"Of course." They traded babies and both repeated their earlier processes of simply staring at the little life in their arms. They promised to give them the best life they possible could, no matter what the price.
They were a family, no matter what.
Present Day
"Aunt Jo!" Darla yelled as she ran to the head of the group marching toward the north end of the camp.
"Darla, how are you?" Jo asked sweetly, "how is your mother?"
"She's well, thank you very much," Darla replied. "I think she's upset that you didn't bring your husband to her for his suit for the awards." Darla bit her lip and knew she said too much.
Jo laughed. "Mark and I aren't going this year, we're both going to spend our time here."
Darla nodded. "Do you think I have a chance to be Dorothy?" She trotted to keep up with Jo, who was moving with purpose toward the cabin.
"Of course I cannot play favorites," Jo added a wink and turned abruptly. "Alright ladies! This is your cabin - cabin fourteen if you forget! Your things should be in your trunk at the end of your bed. Do not try to switch beds. Ladies, if you do, I will know." Jo opened the cabin door and ushered the girls inside.
Darla wrinkled her nose as she glanced around the cabin. She always hated the way it smelled like dirt and looked like no one had cleaned it since the year before.
Theater girls were notoriously messy.
Darla immediately opened her backpack and pulled out Clorox wipes and completely cleaned the entire surface of her room, even the mattress.
"Ladies, we need you down at the fire pit in one hour to start rules and regulations!" Jo yelled from outside of the cabin.
"Seriously?" Darla flipped out. She still needed to set up her room and change clothes. Setting out, Darla put the plastic mattress cover ("protection from bed bugs and ticks" her mother assured her) over her mattress and then slipped her hot pink silk sheets on her bed.
"How do you fit that much into your trunk?" Lucille asked while she fit her own lace appliqued sheets over her bed.
"Practice. My mom said she once packed up an entire house in one night," Darla threw her pillows onto her bed, scattering them across the top into a pattern that would make it easier to sleep. "What are you wearing to this meeting?"
Lucille opened her trunk and looked through her clothing. "That depends, do you think the music boys will be there?"
Darla threw her denim shorts back into the trunk and pulled out a yellow sundress. "Do you think Matt will be there? Is he allowed back after he set that shed on fire last year?"
Lucille laughed. "I don't know, my dad said probably not. But his dad does own that huge restaurant in the city."
"Money always makes things happen," Darla said knowledgeably, quoting her mother. She set to fixing her hair, making sure it was flat and fell properly down her back.
"Girls! You have five minutes!" Jo yelled again from the outside. "Do not be late or we will make you Teapot!"
"Ugh," Darla rolled her eyes and slammed her trunk shut. "I can't believe she won't let us have more time. Was she ever a girl?"
The two girls linked arms and walked toward the fire pit.
"Oh my gosh, Darla. Why is Matt talking to that frizzy girl?" Lucille had her mouth open wide and pointed to the pair. Matt was holding up his guitar and showing her the inside of it.
"Come on," Darla whispered, dead set on ruining their conversation.
-
Saoirse walked along the cobblestone path that lead to cabin fifteen, the cabin she would be spending the next few weeks in - her new home.
"Hi, I'm Lisa!" a tall girl with streaks in her hair said, holding out her hand.
"Saoirse," the girl said, shaking her hand. "Is this your first time here?"
"No," Lisa fell into step beside Saoirse. "This is my third summer."
"Are you from Texas?" Saoirse questioned, trying to figure out the accent.
"Georgia," Lisa corrected. "Are you Irish? Scottish?"
"I'm from Ireland, yes."
"Oh look - the musicians!" Lisa said, passing a group of boys in an alcove.
Saoirse looked at the group and immediately saw the most beautiful boy she'd ever seen. Not that it said much, she went to an all-girls school so she really didn't see that many. "Who is that?" She pointed to a boy with sandy blonde hair that flipped up at the ends. He was tall and tan. Saoirse could have sworn that he caught her eye and smiled when she walked by.
"That's Matt," Lisa said with disdain in her voice. "Don't think about it though. He belongs to Darla Thompson."
"Who?" Saoirse was starting to wonder if she should be keeping notes about the different people here.
"Darla Thompson," Lisa said as it was the most obvious thing in the world. "She is kind of the queen bee around here. She's been going here forever because her mom is some fashion designer. She's a theater girl though, so she automatically thinks she's better than the rest of us."
Saoirse nodded like she understood. "So I have no chance?"
"Oh, you might." Lisa thought for a moment. "But you're not from here, clearly anyone can see that."
Saoirse was excited when they got to their cabin because it meant she would finally have something to do other than think about missing her father and her house.
"Okay girls," their counselor with the Mohawk turned around. "I'm Jake, just in case you forgot on the walk over here. This is your cabin. I'm here to unclog your toilet and fix your lighting. I'm not here to help you with fights over boys or over costumes. You each have a bed, you can have chicken fights over boys or over costumes. NO PAINT," he paused and looked at them all, "... on the walls. I will figure out who did it and you will scrape them until they're clean, got it?"
The girls nodded and then rushed into the cabin. Saoirse quickly sprinted in front of the group and claimed one of the beds. Lisa claimed the one next to her with a smile. "This is really nice," Saoirse remarked to Lisa as they started unpacking their things.
Saoirse pulled her sheets out of her trunk and started stretching them over the corners of the bed, making hospital corners just like Melina had showed her.
"Those are awesome!" Lisa pointed to Haley's blue and green tie-dyed sheets.
"My dad and I made them last week," Saoirse smiled at the memory of her father coated in dye. His skin was still slightly stained and Saoirse had a mark on her knee cap she was sure would always be there.
After she made sure her bed was free of wrinkles, she threw her pillow on top. She added a stuffed bear that she'd made on her trip to Germany with her father the previous summer.
The artist cabin had an extra wing that allowed the girls to set up easels to paint in their spare time. Saoirse immediately settled her easel by the window for the best lighting and claimed her space.
"Ladies, in ten minutes you have to be at the fire pit for rules," Jake yelled through a megaphone. "If you're late, you teapot!"
"Teapot?" Saoirse asked Lisa, a worried look on her face.
"They make you sing 'I'm a Little Teapot" if you're late or break one of the major rules." Lisa rolled her eyes and lounged on her bed. "It's totally stupid. Come on, let's go!"
Saoirse wished she had more time to fix her hair but she followed Lisa through the door and down to the fire pit. The first person she saw was Matt.
She quickly made her way next to him. "Hi," she said softly.
"Hey," he said, playing the same three chords on the guitar. He would sometimes hit the wrong strings, Saoirse noted.
"You are really good," she said quietly, hoping to start conversation.
"You play?" he smiled widely at her.
"No, but my dad does," she looked at his guitar. "That's really nice, what kind is it?" She had no idea what she was saying, but hoped he did have a nice guitar.
"Matt!" A high voice said, "how was your school year?"
"Oh hi Darla," Matt gave her a grin and Saoirse wanted to slap him. "I had a great school year. Only got suspended twice so my dad got me a go-kart. How about you?"
"It was great," she said with a slight shake in her voice. Saoirse could tell the boy had the same effect on her. "I got the lead in our school play - Aladdin Jr."
When it looked like it was starting, Darla pushed her way onto the log, which made Matt move closer to Saoirse.
Jake, Jo and a few other counselors stood in the middle of the circle. "Welcome to camp for another spectacular year when you can hone your talents and become the great artistes you will one day be," Jo said with a huge smile.
"Who is ready to have a great time?" Jake yelled into his megaphone.
Everyone cheered, Saoirse stuck her fingers into her mouth and whistled.
"That was completely unrefined," she heard Darla remark to Matt.
Matt didn't respond but bumped his shoulder into Saoirse's a few seconds later.
Jo tried to calm everyone down. "Okay we have some rules. Number one, no fighting amongst campers. Leave your fighting for tryouts and competitions! Number two, no pranks! Last year we had a camper get hurt when someone," she looked pointedly at Matt, "tried to pull him up by the flagpole by just his ankle."
The rules continued for the next fifteen minutes until Saoirse was about to fall off the log from fatigue. She just wanted to get a good night's sleep.
"Ugh, is this ever going to end? I'm going to die!" Saoirse complained.
Matt laughed and leaned back further on the log. "The rules don't matter. As long as your parents pay for camp, they don't mind what you do."
Saoirse forced a laugh. "Well, my Daddy paid for it, so I should be okay."
"Daddy," Darla said with disdain, "How old are you, seven?"
Saoirse looked at Lisa. "Is that Darla?"
"I'm Darla Thompson," Darla stood in front of Saoirse. "I take it you've heard of me," she glared at Lisa.
Saoirse rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I've heard of the girl who is completely stuck up!"
Darla's eyes flashed and she put her hands on her hips. "Well at least I'm not a frizz ball!"
"Please," Saoirse stood now. "I know the look of chemically straightened hair." She had no idea where the words came from, but they were on the tip of her tongue so she had to say them.
"You did not just say that," Darla hissed, "My hair is naturally straight, unlike your skin."
"My skin is because I go out in the sun," Saoirse remarked. "Maybe if you wouldn't be so pale, Matt would like you."
Darla let out a shriek. "He doesn't like you! You are just a new girl here who cried when her 'daddy' left her."
"GIRLS!" Jo stalked over toward them. "Are you fighting?"
Saoirse's eyes widened and Darla rolled hers.
"Darla, I expected better of you. You both have to teapot together... you broke one of the rules."
"I am not teapotting," Darla said.
"Do you want me to call your mother?" Jo threatened. "She can come get you tonight."
"I'll Teapot," Saoirse muttered. "My dad can't come from California to pick me up."
"Are you going to do it with her or are you going back to the city?" Jo asked Darla, clearly not giving the girl special treatment.
Darla groaned but pulled Saoirse up to the front of the circle.
"Everybody shut up! TEAPOT! TEAPOT! TEAPOT!" Matt yelled.
Saoirse felt her face turn red for what seemed like the millionth time that day. Darla stood there completely calm. "I'll just use this as another practice performance," she said to seemingly no one.
Saoirse wanted to crawl into a whole and never leave.
"One, two, three," Darla said quietly.
I'm a little teapot, short and stout
Here is my handle, here is my spout
When I get all steamed up, hear me shout
Just tip me over and pour me out!
The girls were linking arms and both tipped to their side. Saoirse was sure her face could fry an egg, but Darla just grinned and curtsied in front of the group.
They walked back to the log together, both trying to get to Matt first.
"You two kind of look alike," he said.
"You obviously need to take your sunglasses off," Darla said, "because we look nothing alike."
"Ew," was all Saoirse said as she grabbed Lisa and headed back to the cabin.
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Post by HburgEagle44 on Jul 19, 2013 15:17:58 GMT -5
Ahhh I love it!!! Please continue with this. It's a great story so far and I LOVE The Parent Trap
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Post by celticbear on Jul 19, 2013 18:08:59 GMT -5
Well so it begins! The Parent Trap is one of my all time favorite Hayley Mills movie! The remake with Lohan was cute! But the original is still the Best!
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Post by slyoldweasel on Jul 19, 2013 18:55:05 GMT -5
Ten Years Ago
"Darla," Damian cooed to the little girl in his arms, "Darling Darla, please don't cry," he said gently. "You'll wake up Saoirse and she'll wake up Mommy and then I'll cry!"
Damian danced around with his daughter in the moonlight, stepping awkwardly at times to avoid the squeaky floor panels. He lived for these moments, when he could just have a few seconds alone with one of the girls without the other one begging for attention.
They were growing so quickly, both of them walking and teething, constantly flipping from being the happiest little girls to the loudest in minutes.
Damian cradled her a few minutes longer than necessary before placing her gently in the crib and turning on her Glow Worm. He leaned down and kissed her on the forehead before crossing the room and doing the same to Saoirse. "I love you," he whispered to the sleeping figures before he set the baby monitor on the table and walked back across the hall to the bedroom.
He tried to be quiet, but ended up jostling the bed slightly and he knew immediately that he'd woken Georgiana up. "I'm sorry, George," he whispered and tried to settle down into the bed.
"It's okay," Georgiana murmured, her voice thick with sleep. "I have to go into the office early today anyway." She threw her feet over the edge of the bed and flipped on her light.
Damian blinked rapidly against the light. "Georgiana, turn that off!"
"I'm sorry, I have to get ready!"
He sighed. "Georgie, it's only four in the morning! You cannot go to work right now. I have an appointment at nine; you promised you'd watch the girls!"
"Can't Melina do it?"' Georgiana was already putting on her skirt. "You know there's a show next week. I do not know why you would plan something for this week. If I do a good job, maybe I could be financed to start creating my own line and then it would be easy street for us!"
Damian sat up, all thoughts of sleep gone. "Georgie, we're fine for money. Melina is not our built-in babysitter."
"Then why do we pay her?" Georgiana asked as she rifled through her closet for the right shoes. "This is important to me!"
"I know," Damian said, his fatigue and anger mixing together. "But you let me sit here with the girls every single day of the week. Don't you miss them? Don't you want to spend time with them?"
"Of course I do," she said coolly. "But someone has to prepare them for their future."
"I am!" Damian stood and closed the door - the last thing he wanted was for the girls to wake up. "Buy my job can be done from home. I get paid just as much as you do, Georgie."
"Yeah, and when I get my next raise, you won't. And then when I sell my clothing line, you'll be making half of what I make," she snapped. She was tired and stressed from work. The last thing she wanted was to take it out on Damian but she was envious of everything her husband had. She could not shake the jealousy she felt when the girls tottered up to Damian instead of her to show an old toy they found or needed a kiss after falling.
"You might get a raise, but you aren't raising our children," Damian said finally, knowing that would sting Georgiana the most.
It had been that way for the better part of the year. Neither knew it would happen. People had warned them about getting married so young, fresh out of college, but they ignored everyone.
The people warned them about becoming parents so young, when small problems were already starting to come to the surface, but they ignored everyone. Both Damian and Georgiana thought their love would be able to overcome everything it faced. But slowly over the course of just a year, the love began to grow thin. Georgiana was always at work and Damian resented her for that. Damian wanted to get a few moments where he did not have to put on a happy face for the twins.
Georgiana sighed as she looked at his dejected face. "I'm going to come home early today, okay? We can take the girls on a picnic. I swear I'll be home by two."
Damian nodded, trying to quell the spark of hope in his stomach. "I'll make sandwiches and everything. The girls could use some fresh air. Although last time we went there, Timmy pushed Saoirse into the sandbox."
"Timmy," Georgiana questioned, happy to at least be having a normal conversation with her husband.
Damian looked at her. "Yeah... Timmy. June's little boy? The one I'm positive Saoirse is going to end up marrying? They hate each other, it's hilarious to watch."
Georgiana was not sure why she felt like crying in that moment. It could have been because she had absolutely no idea who Timmy or June were; or it could have been because Damian's eyes lit up when he talked about the girls like he used to when he talked about her. "Oh, right!" Georgiana tried to throw in a giggle but it sounded hopeless to even her.
She finished quickly and went to work, immersing herself into the work that almost made her forget that her marriage was crumbling and there was no way to save it.
-
Damian went straight to work in the morning, preparing half a dozen sandwiches and making fresh lemonade. The girls slept late, so he was able to clean the small house and still get some work done for his coffee plant.
He planned on expanding in the next five years and when he did that, it would mean big changes for everyone.
Melina, who came in once a week to relieve Damian of some of his household duties, arrived at nine. "Damo!" she said with a small smirk, "I thought Mrs. McGinty would be here. Didn't you have a dentist appointment this morning?"
"I did," Damian responded while attempting to beat a lemon into submission. "Georgiana couldn't watch the girls," he pointed to the girls, who were now both holding thick crayons in their hands, attempting to color on the floor.
Some days, Damian thanked modern technology in children's toys.
"Oh, of course not. She's too busy drawing Barbie dolls," Melina snapped.
"Stop it, Melina." Damian held up the pitiful amount of lemon juice and winced. "She's trying as hard as she can."
Melina immediately set to work trying to clean the windows Damian had streaked up not ten minutes before. "Oh, all of a sudden you're sticking up for her? Did she finally lose some of her frigidness and you got some action?"
"MELINA!" Damian dropped the knife he was using. "Not in front of the girls!"
Melina laughed and looked at the two, who were now trying to color each other. "The question still stands."
"No," Damian said with a sniff. "She's actually going to come for a picnic today... she's trying, Melina."
Melina looked at Damian and the smile on his face. There was a lightness about him that she hadn't seen in months. She didn't want to tell him to not get his hopes up. She wanted Georgiana to come home and go on a picnic, but she knew she would have some excuse.
She stuck around just long enough to know she was right. At 2:30, Damian sat with a picture perfect picnic basket, a red-checkered blanket, and his two girls. Saoirse was in a pair of denim overalls that Melina knew would cause a fight even if Georgiana did show up, and Darla was in denim shorts and a pink t-shirt. Both girls had sunbonnets on and smelled of baby sunscreen.
Damian was dressed up. He had on red shorts and a blue polo shirt. For the first time ever, Melina saw that he gelled his hair. He had really gone out of his way to make sure he was perfect for Georgiana.
Melina could have spit fire.
"She's not coming, is she?" Damian said, after crossing his legs for the fiftieth time.
"No, baby. I don't think she is," Melina placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'm supposed to leave but do you want me to stay?"
Damian wanted someone there, someone he could talk to that could actually respond. "You don't have to..."
Melina did not falter; this man and these girls were the only family she had. "Come on, I do believe you promised these girls a picnic."
Damian smiled a little and stood, determined to make the girls' picnic a success, even if it killed him.
-
When 6 o'clock rolled around, Georgiana walked casually through the door. "Hello," she said to all three and immediately went to shower. She had spent the day running from boutique to boutique all over Southern California and she was tired and dirty.
Taking an extra hot shower, Georgiana let the stress of the day melt away.
Damian tried to hide his hurt once more. He did not want the girls to see him upset, even if they were too young to understand. All three were tired from a long day of sunshine, so Damian gave the girls a quick bath in their bathroom and then settled them into their bed to sleep.
He stood between the two and felt his vision go blurry. He knew what had to happen, but he did not want to. He put one hand on each of the cribs and just stared at his two sleeping daughters. He had wanted to give them the perfect life. He wanted to protect them from everything. But how could he?
Damian was not happy with Georgiana.
Nevertheless, Georgiana made more money had had a more promising future than Damian did. She was going to take the girls and run, no matter if Damian was the one who took care of them.
Damian knew he would fight Georgiana every step of the way. He would not let them go, he couldn't.
Tears still silently falling, both girls looked up at him with huge eyes. He sang them a lullaby, hoping irrationally that they would remember his words if something did happen.
Hush, little baby, don't say a word. Papa's gonna buy you a mockingbird
And if that mockingbird won't sing, Papa's gonna buy you a diamond ring
And if that diamond ring turns brass, Papa's gonna buy you a looking glass
And if that looking glass gets broke, Papa's gonna buy you a billy goat
And if that billy goat won't pull, Papa's gonna buy you a cart and bull
And if that cart and bull fall down, You'll still be the sweetest little baby in town
Both girls were fast asleep by the time he finished the song at its slowed down pace, so he turned the nightlight on and left.
Georgiana was in the living room looking through channels on the television when Damian walked into the room. He sat heavily on the sofa and looked at Georgiana. "Are you even going to explain?"
"Explain what?" Georgiana continued pressing fabric around the mannequin in front of her, her eyes trained on both that and the television.
Damian wanted to punch the wall. He was so furious. "Explain to me why you came home four hours after you said you would. Explain to me why you skipped the picnic we planned with our daughters. Explain to me why you were are work for over twelve hours and you still can't leave it there. Explain to me why you aren't willing to make this work."
Georgiana's face went white with shock, "Damian... I forgot. I'm sorry - I'm so busy. There is no need to get mad. We'll do it later this week."
"No," Damian said suddenly, his face ashen. He was tired of her lies and constantly letting down his daughters. "We won't."
Georgiana stared up at him. "Damian... don't."
"I do not want to do this anymore. I can't hurt our girls like this..." Damian was standing and moving toward the kitchen, needing to do something with his hands.
"They have no idea!" Georgiana said. "They don't even know where their noses are!"
"No, they might not," Damian whirled around. "However, they know where mine is. And my eyes. And my mouth. I bet you didn't know that, right?"
"Damian..." Georgiana's voice had a warning tone.
"And Saoirse loves to crawl with the top of her head on the ground and I have no idea. Darla loves to listen to me play guitar but she is afraid of it because the other day her fingers were pinched in the strings. Saoirse can't touch any book because she rips the pages out. Darla only colors with the pink crayon so Saoirse always steals it. Darla won't fall asleep unless Saoirse is in the room, but Saoirse will fall asleep in a split second if she's tired," Damian was breathing heavily.
Georgiana put her head in her hands. "So what? You want me to take a few weeks off? Damian, we already live in this saltine box, we can't do that. I want out of here!"
"No," Damian's word rang out loudly. "I want out of us."
Georgiana's face looked at him, tear stained and heartbroken and Damian knew it was the hardest thing he'd ever done. He had to, for his family. "Damian..."
Suddenly Damian went numb. He wanted to wrap Georgiana in his arms, say he was wrong, and say he was stupid. However, his love for his girls and his desire to protect them was still stronger. "I'm sorry," he said simply.
Georgiana stood and stamped her foot. "No!... Don't you want to fight for us?"
"I've been fighting for three months, Georgiana! While you stood around and made pants!" Damian bellowed, "I'm done."
Georgiana grabbed her coat and mannequin. "I'm going to sleep at the office."
"Good, because that is the only company you will ever have," Damian said before he turned toward the girls' room, positive they were awake.
Georgiana took one last look at Damian and felt all of her emotions rising in her chest. She pulled on the mannequin and broke off her arm. Swearing, she threw the arm down the hall after Damian. Georgiana yelled to warn him, but when he turned around, the arm hit him square in the forehead.
The last look Damian sent Georgiana while they were alone together was one of sadness, regret, and pain. Georgiana still thought it was the second saddest sight she had ever seen.
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Post by HburgEagle44 on Jul 19, 2013 22:33:21 GMT -5
So sad, but so ... good. You are a great writer! I love this so far. Please update.
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Post by slyoldweasel on Jul 19, 2013 23:15:22 GMT -5
Present day
"Saoirse, go!" Lisa yelled as the girl ran into the cabin of the musical theater girls. Not even five minutes previous, the entire camp walked toward the showers, leaving their cabin wide open.
Saoirse ran into the cabin and successfully located Darla's belongings. "Of course," she muttered to herself as she looked around. "She would have silk sheets." She quickly found the expensive sunscreen and uncapped it, fishing around in her pocket, she found the green dye and poured it into the bottle.
Darla had been bragging the night before about the expensive lotions and sunscreen her mother had bought her while she was away on a business trip to Paris. Saoirse knew Darla had no idea what it looked like, and so she would probably get in on her skin before she realized that it would stain.
Recapping the bottle, Saoirse slipped out of the opposite exit from where the girls were showering. "Success!" she shrieked with her hands held high as she ran into her cabin. "She wanted a Broadway role? She can now be Elphaba for three days!"
The girls sat in their cabin laughing about how Darla would probably try to match her skin to the clothes she was wearing, how she would call her all so important mother and how Jo would probably wreak havoc on everyone until someone confessed.
The shriek ripping through the camp had all of the girls running out, trying to hide their laughter.
"You disgusting witch!" Darla was stomping over toward the group of girls, her finger waggling in Saoirse's face. "I cannot believe you would do such a thing! My skin is going to break out and become scaly!"
Saoirse was admittedly a little upset that Darla only had a path about the size of a dollar bill on her arm that was green. She wanted Darla's entire face to be green. "Calm down, it wasn't me," Saoirse lied, a smirk on her face. She wanted to see her prove it, at least.
"You are vile," Darla sniped, "Completely vile."
"Who talks like that?" Saoirse asked, "I mean, seriously?
"Someone with dignity, class, and a proper education. You live on a farm!"
Saoirse glared at her, "I live on my father's coffee bean farm, yes, but we are far from farmers. I have more dignity and class than you ever will."
"You probably can't even define them," Darla muttered before she turned and stomped back into her cabin.
"Did you see her face?" Saoirse laughed, though her cheeks were red.
"She's horrible," Lisa said, "But you better watch out for retaliation."
Saoirse was laughing until she felt a hand on her shoulder, "Oh! Counselor Jo!"
"Saoirse, one more incident like that and we're going to have to call your father and have him come get you," Jo was strict, but even she had to admit she had a soft spot for Darla. "I don't think he would be very happy to come in from California after only two days. You are very talented and you could go far, but I think the negative energy you give off is not appropriate."
Saoirse wanted to roll her eyes but instead she smiled, "I will try harder."
Jo smiled, "Now hurry up, you have sculpture soon."
-
"That looks really good," Lisa said as Saoirse finished the fifteenth rose for her sculpture.
"Thanks, I'm hoping this all works out. Yours looks really good too…uh, what is it?" Saoirse looked at the spinning wheel Lisa was working on. "A vase?"
"An urn," Lisa corrected, "for all of Darla's dignity," she added with a laugh.
"She didn't have any to begin with," Saoirse said stupidly. She sometimes did feel a little behind Lisa, who was two years older than she was.
Saoirse had just finished placing the roses strategically around her box when she saw something flying toward her. Instinctively, she jumped and the flying object hit directly on her sculpture. Sitting up, Saoirse lifted a sparkly red high heel off of her box. "That witch! She ruined my sculpture!"
"It was just practice," Lisa tried, glaring toward the direction of Darla.
"But it was perfect!" Saoirse stood, holding the shoe, "THANKS FOR THE SHOE, DARLA. IT IS JUST MY SIZE!"
"You give it back," Darla ran toward the girl, "I need that for my role of Dorothy."
"Auditions aren't even until next week," Saoirse reminded her.
"I'm going to get the part," Darla said with complete confidence. "I'm the best they've got."
"Ladies!" Jake said when he spotted the two volatile campers. "Shall we break this little party up and get back to our sessions?"
Darla nodded, grabbed her shoe, and once again stomped away.
"She's horrible," Saoirse said before sitting down to fix her sculpture. "This isn't over!" she yelled toward Darla, who just kept on walking.
-
"Okay ladies," Lisa said quietly, "this is the final round of Broadway Scene It! The girl who gets this question correctly gets to choose the punishment for the other."
After the suggestion that they play a game to learn to work together, the girls decided to play Broadway Scene It, and the person who came in second would have do whatever the winner wanted. All of the girls purposely lost so they could see Darla and Saoirse go head to head. They were currently tied and there was only one question left.
"No cheating," Darla said through clenched teeth. She couldn't lose.
"Don't worry, I wouldn't," Saoirse sat confidently with her arms crossed.
"This Broadway actress has a dog named after Marilyn Monroe," Lisa asked, staring at both Saoirse and Darla. She wasn't sure which one would win, and she figured either would make a good memory.
"Kristin Chenoweth?" Darla guessed, completely sure of herself.
Lisa looked to Saoirse, "Your guess or if she's right, in which case, you lose?"
Saoirse stared a few seconds longer, "Laura Bell Bundy."
Lisa shrieked, "Saoirse wins!"
Darla's face lost all of its color and she turned to Lucille. "What am I going to do?" she mouthed, figuring that Saoirse would make her eat worms.
Saoirse's evil laugh reverberated off of the walls of the cabin. "Skinny dip."
"What? Where?" Darla was standing.
"The lake." Saoirse said, "You better do it now before it gets any colder.
So Darla found herself standing at the edge of the lake, a towel wrapped around her body, trembling. "This isn't funny." Her teeth chattered together and she was shivering.
"Just do it, you big baby," Saoirse had her phone out and brushed her curly hair from in front of her face. The wind was blowing it everywhere.
Darla gasped and jumped into the lake, her towel lying on a heap on the deck.
Lisa leaned forward, grabbed the towel, and started backing away with it.
"Lisa, don't," Saoirse said, "that is just too mean."
"Oh come on, McGinty. I didn't think you'd be a wimp," Matt said as the music boys emerged from the trees.
"I'm not, but I'm also a decent human being." Saoirse was also afraid Darla would tattle to Jo and she would get kicked out.
Saoirse grabbed the towel from Lisa and went over to the edge of the dock where Darla was and held it up while she got out. "Here," she said quietly. "I'll hold it up if you want to get dressed."
Darla glared at her. "Why are you being nice all of a sudden?"
Saoirse shrugged, "About halfway over on the walk here I felt bad. Then Matt showed up, and I knew you would be even more embarrassed if he saw you."
"He's a jerk." Darla said quietly as she dressed in a hurry.
Lucille walked up next to Saoirse, "Oh my god Darla, you have curly hair!"
"What?" Darla shrieked and raised her hand to her once straight hair. "Oh my god, my mother is going to kill me!"
Saoirse looked in horror as Darla's hair started getting curlier and curlier from the harsh water in the lake. "Look what you did!" she yelled at Saoirse, all semblance of understanding gone.
"Don't worry, your lonely, hermit mom will get it fixed as soon as you get home. After all, divorce doesn't really give her much to begin with," Matt snorted.
Saoirse turned on her heel. "What did you say?"
"Oh didn't you know? Her mom's divorced and she claims she has everything." Matt laughed. "My parents warned me that children from a broken home aren't worth a second breath. Single parents are losers."
Darla just dropped her jaw.
"You're ignorant," Saoirse said coolly. "You are an ignorant jerk."
"Why do you care?"
"Because my father is divorced! It doesn't matter! It's perfectly normal!" Saoirse felt no shame in admitting it, it was as much a part of her life as her curly hair and Belgium shaped birthmark.
Matt took a step back, "Man, you two look sorta alike, you both come from broken homes, and you both think you know too much," he laughed. "Both of you are rejects."
From behind her, Darla shrieked and charged at Matt, hitting him hard enough that he fell over. Saoirse jumped on the other half of him, her anger flaring.
"What is going on here?" Jo and Jake ran toward the fight on the dock.
"Saoirse and Darla!" Jo screamed, "Get off of each other!"
"I was just trying to break them apart, Jake, I swear!" Matt said. "They just keep fighting."
"Well, physical altercations are against the rules," Jo said sternly. "I will not let you two get the entire camp a bad reputation."
"Jo, please don't." Darla said, the tears already forming in her eyes.
"I'm sorry, but I'm moving both of you to the isolation cabin until your parents can pick you up," Jo said with a finality. "You have an hour to pack your things up."
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Post by slyoldweasel on Jul 19, 2013 23:52:56 GMT -5
Past
"I love you so much, Darla." Damian whispered through his tears as he held his daughter for the last time, "I love you more than life, baby girl."
"Dada," she looked up at him with big blue eyes, "Dada, cry!"
Damian laughed and nodded."I'm sorry baby," Damian tried to dry his eyes, but one look at his daughter's face made him burst into tears again.
He could not believe it would be his last time seeing her before she grew up.
After a few weeks of discussing it with lawyers, family, friends, and even each other, both Damian and Georgiana decided that what would be best for their daughters would be to just each take one.
Damian called up several child psychiatrists and had them assess the situation to make sure there would be no lasting psychological effects on either girl. The psychiatrist assured him that the girls were both still too young and undeveloped and that eventually their memories would fade as they aged. He still worried though. He worried about Darla sleeping without Saoirse in the room. He worried about Saoirse not having anyone to eat the green fruit chews that she hated so much. Damian knew he would try to make Saoirse's life as easy as possible and that he would work to make her the happiest girl in the world.
However, he worried that Darla would never remember him, never know who he was. He knew it was better she did not, but he still had an urge. He was still her father. The thought that this little girl would never know that someone out there loved her so much that he would give everything for her, ripped him apart.
She would never know how much he fought for her. Simply put, Georgiana did have the better lawyer, and if Georgiana would have wanted to, she most likely could have had primary custody of both girls. If there was one thing that Georgiana could not do, it was hurt Damian like that.
-
If Georgiana did not know she was moving across the country, she might have even left both girls with Damian and just visited them on weekends, every weekend. But she couldn't stay in California. She'd been there a few years and it had already ruined everything she'd even known. She had to leave the state and leave behind her failure as a woman.
She had failed her husband.
She had failed her bosses.
She had failed her daughters.
She had failed her family.
Georgiana stared from the hallway, watching Damian touch and savor every moment with his daughter - every last moment. It killed her to take them away from each other. Damian adored Darla and Damian was Darla's whole world. She hoped in time she would love her as much as she did Damian, but she knew it would just take time.
Time she could put in with her new job in New York. It was less pay, but more free time, and that was a compromise she had to make.
It was a compromise she should have made years ago.
The last thing Georgiana wanted to do was say goodbye to Damian. She still loved Damian with all of her heart, even though it was in pieces. She still wanted to fight, but to her it just seemed like Damian had given up any and all hope of ever fixing their relationship.
"Damian," Georgiana eventually said, her voice sounding rough and scratchy to even her. "Damian…I have to go."
He did not say anything but his eyes immediately welled up. "Do…do you want to say goodbye to Saoirse?"
Georgiana swallowed thickly. "I….Damian." Georgiana squeezed her eyes together tightly and tried to fight the tears. "I can't."
Though her eyes were closed, Georgiana heard a whimper and when she opened them, Damian was standing in front of her, his eyes wide and tear filled, with his hand halfway up to her face, "Georgie…you will regret it."
"I know." Georgiana nearly wailed, "but I…I can't do it, Damian. I'm already on three different medications to deal with this, I can't do it."
Damian nodded and looked down at Darla, who was cradled in his arms, fast asleep. "Promise me," he said in a low voice, "promise me that if you ever mention me, if she ever asks, promise me you'll tell her that I love her more than anything and tell her that I will always be there for her. And Georgie," Damian paused and looked down at his feet, "the same goes for you. If it…if it becomes too much, please tell me. I'll fly to New York and help you."
Neither could believe they'd agreed to this resolution. Somewhere in the back of both of their minds they thought the day would never come, that they'd work it out and they could raise Darla and Saoirse together as a family.
Damian gently passed Darla to Georgiana, biting on his knuckle when he pulled back. "Okay…I can't watch you leave, Georgie. I cannot…I cannot watch her leave. I am going to go grab Saoirse and give her a bath. Can you just…go?" Damian quickly bent down and kissed the sleeping Darla again. "Please Georgie, give her an amazing life."
Georgiana nodded, suddenly not able to even speak. She wanted Damian to forget everything. She wanted Damian to kiss her and hug her until they were both crying and shaking on the floor. She wanted to hold Saoirse and never let her go. There was so much she wanted, but she could not even find the words to say it.
"I love you," was all that came out. "I love her." Her eyes were wide and pleading, trying to convince Damian to just let him stay.
Damian looked down and then looked back up at her quickly, "I love you too." He leaned in and pressed a kiss to Georgiana's lips, "Go."
With that, Damian turned and walked into the bathroom to run Saoirse's bath, signaling that it was time for Georgiana to leave.
Present
"I'm going to fall off of this stupid plank," Darla huffed as she stumbled over the edge of a tree the two girls had to walk across to the isolation cabin.
"Maybe if you didn't have so much stuff." Saoirse hopped easily along the tree, her hands out to balance herself. "Weren't you a dancer for years? Doesn't that mean you should have good balance?"
"One would think," Darla almost fell over a root. "Is this even legal? My mother could probably sue them if I fell!"
Saoirse simply rolled her eyes and held out her hand, "Give me one of your tote bags."
Darla looked at her skeptically."Why?"
"Because if you fall and die they will probably blame me. I don't want that on my record if I want to get into a good college," Saoirse explained as she threw a bag full of Darla's shoes over her shoulders. "Why do you need so many shoes anyway? You need flip flops, sneakers, and maybe nicer dress shoes."
"You need at least two pairs of flip flops, sneakers, and dress shoes in at least brown and black," Darla clarified. "Anything less and you look like a slob."
Saoirse glanced down at her beat up black converse and shrugged, "I think these work just fine. I usually walk around barefoot anyway."
"Where are your socks?" Darla stopped dead and looked down at Saoirse's feet.
"They leave ugly tan lines," Saoirse explained again.
"That is what sunscreen is for!"
"A little sun never hurt anyone," Saoirse quoted her father.
"Except people with skin cancer." Darla groaned and threw her bag off of her shoulder, "here, put sunscreen on."
Saoirse rolled her eyes but held out her hand. She had bartered her own sunscreen for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich a few days back, so she definitely needed some. "Thanks," she said somewhat shyly – she still could not get a good read on the other girl.
"No problem," Darla shrugged and they continued on the path toward the isolation cabin. Neither girl was sure how far away is was, but markers every couple hundred yards told them they were on the right track.
They walked in silence for a while, moving at a faster pace now that Darla was not stopping every few feet to readjust her bags.
"Oh crap!" Darla squealed as she slipped and fell down a muddy incline. "Ew!"
Saoirse ran down the hill and crouched down. "Oh god, are you okay?"
Darla winced, "My hair has mud in it. My mother is going to make me shave my head when she comes to get me. I need a spa, like now."
Saoirse laughed but held her hand up for Darla to grab, "Come on, we'll go get you cleaned up. I think the isolation cabin has its own bathroom."
Darla looked at her hand, "Why are you being nice?"
"Because my dad can't get here for another week and neither can your mom, so we are stuck together. I do not want to hate you and sit in silence for the next week. My dad always said I could power the entire Irish country with my jaws, so I can't imagine not talking for a week." Saoirse motioned toward a clearing. "The cabin is over there."
"Finally," Darla huffed and doubled her walking speed toward the clearing, "my mother is going to have a fit when she finds out the conditions I've lived in."
Saoirse snapped, "Darla, you do realize how pampered and snobby you sound, correct? We all know you live in a penthouse in New York City with your mother, the amazing designer."
"Just because you are jealous…" Darla started.
"I'm not," Saoirse said slowly. "I love my life. I love living on a ranch in Ireland with my father and not having neighbors for miles. I love being able to keep our doors unlocked so I don't have to worry when I go riding."
"You don't have neighbors? That would be nice." Darla admits, searching her bag for the key to the cabin. "Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to live outside of the city." Darla did not want to fight with Saoirse just as much as Saoirse did not want to fight with her. They needed to get along for the next week and then they would never have to see each other again.
They entered the cabin and both of them groaned at the condition. Jo had told them that they had never sent anyone to the isolation cabin, and it showed. Everything was covered in a thick coating of dust, and the furniture was pushed to the furthest corner of the room. "We need to clean before we shower," Saoirse said slowly, tracing her name in the dust.
"You write you're a's funny," Darla said with wide eyes, "like my mom does."
Saoirse shrugged, "I always just made them that way."
They worked together to clean the room completely of dust, using Darla's Lysol wipes to even clean the floor of the grime. They separated their beds and put their sheets on to make things at least seem a little more like a home. "I can't believe they wouldn't let me bring my trunk," Darla huffed. "I might need more clothes than this."
"You don't have to dress up to impress me," Saoirse said with a mischievous glint in her eyes.
Darla rolled her eyes. "I'm not. Trust me. I just…I am supposed to look nice. My mom taught me to always look my best. Every day is a moment for fashion."
Saoirse pulled out her simple wardrobe. "Do you want to shower first or can I?"
Darla thought for a moment and seemed to battle with herself. "You can. I'll probably make the shower a mess with all of this mud."
Saoirse nodded and walked into the small bathroom to shower.
Darla unpacked most of her things except the small bag that held some of her more personal items. She opened the bag to grab her toiletries when she let out a small squeak. Her body scrub was in the bag, but her shampoo and conditioner were completely gone. She had left them in the trunk her mother was to pick up before she came to get her at the isolation cabin.
"Shower's free," Saoirse said as she walked out of the bathroom with her towel on her head.
Darla turned beet red but looked at Saoirse. "Do you mind if I borrow your shampoo? I seem to have forgotten mine."
"Sure." Saoirse shrugged, "there's conditioner in there too. If I don't use it, my hair is a complete mess."
"You know, if you used a little gel your hair would be much more manageable." Darla suggested, "I do have some of that."
Saoirse wrinkled her nose, "I don't even know how to use that."
Darla laughed. "When I wash the grime out of my hair, I'll come show you how to do it."
Saoirse nodded happily before realizing that they were getting along far too much. She sat on her bed and pulled out a notebook and pen, trying to fake nonchalance.
Darla retired to the bathroom and quickly showered – well, quickly for her. She had wanted to shower longer, but the hot water ran out and she did not want to shower in the cold.
When she stepped out of the shower, she almost screamed again. The hair that had simply been wavy from the lake water was now back in its usual ringlet form. Darla panicked and picked up the shampoo and conditioner.
It was made for curls.
Maybe Saoirse did have an idea about what she was doing.
Darla peaked out from behind the door of the bathroom. "Help," she muttered.
Saoirse gasped, the long, brown hair that was once straight and shiny was now to her shoulders and curly.
"Your hair is naturally curly like mine?" Saoirse eventually said once she found her voice. "Why do you straighten it?"
"My mom just always has since I started middle school. I used to cry a lot when she'd brush it because it would get knotty. Then she'd put gel in it but she still got upset whenever I cried because of the knots." Darla reached for her gel and started putting a tiny bit into her hair, making the curls shiny and bouncy.
"How did you do that?" Saoirse stared at the girl. "Every time I try to put gel in my hair, it just makes it really hard and then my dad has to buy special shampoo to get it out."
"Use it sparingly," Darla said as she looked through Saoirse's hair. "You have split ends."
"I know," Saoirse mumbled, "but the nearest hair salon isn't all that close to our house so we have to wait until I come back to go to get a haircut."
"I can do it for you," Darla suggested. "My hairdresser shows me how to trim my hair all the time."
Saoirse sucked in a deep breath, "You aren't going to scalp me are you?"
"Of course not. I'd like to come back here next year if they let me," Darla gave Saoirse a genuine smile, "can you just grab my scissors? They are in my tote bag."
Saoirse walked slowly toward the bag. When she opened it, the first thing she saw was a picture, of her father.
Saoirse looked down at the torn edge of the picture and sucked in her breath again only to find she could not get any. She started panicking as dots began to collect in her head. Yes, she looked a little like Darla: they both had curly hair, they were both taller than average, they both had dimples, and their facial features were the same. Could Darla be her older sister?
"That's my father," Darla said as she came up behind her to see what was taking so long.
"Oh," the word came out low and strangled, "he's…"
"The most handsome man in the world? I know. I…I do not know him actually. He and my mother divorced when I was young." Darla sighed, "I wish I knew him. I don't know because my mom never talks about him but I think he would be a pretty cool dad."
Saoirse did not know how to tell her that he was a pretty amazing father. She tried to do some math in her head, like Darla, she never heard too much about the woman that was her mother. She knew she had left one day and that her dad had never spoken to her again. But that was when she was nearing two, so Darla surely must remember something about her father.
"Do you remember anything about him?" Saoirse asked shyly.
"No, I was two when we moved to New York," Darla's voice was sad and somewhat foreign, "I don't remember anything about him."
She was two when they divorced. Saoirse swallowed, trying to wet her continually drying mouth, "Darla…when is your birthday?"
"October 11, why?"
More panicking, "Darla...I don't know how to tell you this…"
"Just say it…"
Saoirse walked across the room in two steps and rifled through her own bag. She pulled out the crinkled photograph that never left her sight. "You know that photograph has another half," she said without turning around.
"I know, I've looked for it forever, but I never found it." Darla sounded confused, "but what does that have to do with anything?"
Saoirse turned around, clutching the other half of the photograph, she didn't say anything, her eyes were wide with shock.
Darla looked down at the misshapen photograph in Saoirse's hands and stared for a few minutes. The gears in her head were connecting everything. "Saoirse, is that man in that photograph…the photograph I have…is that your dad?"
Saoirse nodded quietly.
"If you turn that photograph around, is the woman in it going to be of my mother?"
Saoirse let out a shaky breath, "I think so."
She seemed to turn the photograph around in slow motion. Everything was quiet when Darla first saw the crinkled face of her mother. She was younger, happier, and smiling in a way Darla had never seen before.
"Saoirse…we're sisters?"
Saoirse nodded slowly, "Darla…I think we're twins."
"I have to sit down," Darla muttered as she shuffled backwards until her legs hit the side of the bed. "I can't have a twin! My mom…she would have let me know!"
"But she didn't," Saoirse was in a weird mode where the connections in her brain were firing faster than she thought possible and she was looking back through her memories, trying to remember glimpses or hints or something that would let her know that he father had wanted to tell her. Because Saoirse knew her father, and her father shared everything with her, even the stuff she might not like.
One name stuck in her mind, "What is your mom's name? My…my mom's name?" it sounded weird to her ears, but she let the question stand.
"Georgiana," Darla said, still staring at the ground. "Yours? ….Mine?"
Saoirse left out a breath, "Damian. I thought…a woman used to call all the time, but I'm almost positive her name was Lori…"
"That is my grandmother," Darla eyes were now on fire as she realized that not only did her mother lie to her, so did her grandmother.
Saoirse shuffled over and sat next to Darla and tentatively put her hand in the paler girl's. "What do we do now? We know. Do we let them know we know?"
Darla shook her head, "I have a plan."
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Post by slyoldweasel on Jul 20, 2013 0:31:27 GMT -5
Present Day - Georgiana
"I had a really great time." Georgiana smiled at the man in front of her, slowly closing the door to her apartment. "We really should do it again sometime."
"I had a nice time too. Do you think we could continue our night?" the man's smile was bright as he took a step forward, his hand falling on her shoulder.
She paused for a moment, looking at the truly beautiful man in front of him. "I'm sorry. I have an early call tomorrow morning and I'm not quite sure I should. Perhaps next time, James." With that, Georgiana shut the door and latched it before James was out of walking distance.
That was a nightmare.
Glancing around her apartment to double check that everything was in its proper place, Georgiana closed all of the drapes around her living room and quickly walked back to her bedroom.
On her way, she glanced into Darla's room and a sharp pain hit her chest. She missed her more than she could even explain to anyone. Her room was perfectly clean, devoid of the clothes sometimes scattered on the chair. The Piglet stuffed animal they got on a trip to Disney World a few years was not on the bed; Georgiana knew it was probably stuffed in the very bottom of her trunk where only she could see it.
Walking into the room, Georgiana sat down on the bed and looked around. She could not help but succumb to the huge feelings of loss that surrounded her. She always felt this way after a date with anyone, whether it was technically good or bad.
She had her chance at happiness, at normalcy, and she had given it up.
Darla was the most perfect daughter she ever could have asked for: she was beautiful, smart, driven, and talented tremendously.
She also looked and acted so much like Damian at times that it hurt her to be in the same room as she was. It wasn't the big things, but the little things that reminded Damian on a daily basis who her biological father was – it was the dancing on her bed, her sometimes hilarious taste in fashion, and her complete awe of the world that made her Damian's daughter, no matter what.
She was everything Georgiana missed about her ex-husband.
She slowly got up and walked toward her bedroom, completely alone in the large penthouse. She had given Keith the month off so he could go on some sort of mission trip through Haiti, and she suddenly wished he would be home.
Just two more days, she reminded herself.
Georgiana pulled on an old pair of blue and green tartan pajama pants and rooted through her drawer to find her own personal form of torture.
The blue St. Francys hoodie.
Georgiana knew it was pathetic that she still had this hoodie, that she still wore it. But it was the one thing she was able to steal from Damian. What was even more pathetic, however, was the bottle of cologne stashed under it. Tonight felt like a three-squirt night so Georgiana doused the material and slipped the hoodie over her head. It now fit more to Georgiana's body than it ever had Damian's, but Georgiana still pretended that it was just like high school or just like college.
At one point, her entire lounge wear collection was based entirely off of this one blue hoodie. She wondered if Damian even knew she designed clothing and if she had, did he understand the reference? Did he realize that he hadn't seen the hoodie for eleven years and that it currently resided in one of the priciest penthouses in New York City?
Probably not.
Another one of Georgiana's favorite forms of torture was to imagine what Damian's life was like at the present moment. Was he happy? Was he single? Was he a good dad? What was Saoirse like?
She missed Saoirse, she missed her smile, her freckles, her hair, her eyes, and she missed her daughter – even if she really did not know who she was today. Georgiana settled onto the couch with a pint of mint chocolate chip ice cream, her mind going a thousand places as she cuddled into the hoodie. She could not stop thinking about how pathetic she was. Damian had probably gotten over her years ago, and here she was, still pining after the relationship she messed up.
She was about to stick another spoonful in her mouth when the vibration of her cell phone nearly caused her to drop the spoon and cover the sacred hoodie. She glanced at the phone and panicked when Jo's name appeared on the display.
"Hello?" she answered quickly, the ice cream forgotten.
"Georgiana, are you busy?" Jo's voice was timid but calm, so Georgiana knew nothing could be that bad.
"I was just um…cutting some patterns out," she finished lamely, "so no."
"You have to come get Darla," Rachel said bluntly. "She's been getting into fights with some of the campers here and even though I'm sure they weren't her fault…"
Georgiana sighed and put her head in her hands. She had a trip to California next week and she really did not want to have to bring Darla out there. She knew she would not remember the place, but she still had some fear.
"Why was she fighting?" Georgiana knew Jo would understand that it would be difficult. Perhaps they could remove the girls she was fighting with and then everything would be okay.
"There were many reasons," Jo sighed. "Georgiana, I can't let her stay here. We have a reputation…"
Georgiana felt her world crumble again, because she knew why this was happening. She scheduled out time with Darla every single day, but it was difficult to spend all of her time with her. She could not help but feel she was failing as a parent. "Okay, I really can't be there tomorrow. Can I come on Sunday?" It felt like failing even not going the next day.
"That's perfect. She is in the isolation cabin right now, so you can go right there. We'll have some of the boys bring her trunk up." Jo was quiet for a moment, "I'm really sorry."
"Josephine, it's my fault, not yours. I'll see you Sunday?"
"See you then."
Georgiana grabbed the half-melted ice cream and sat back, shoveling it in even more quickly.
Present Day - Damian
Damian leaned against the lounge, a glass of wine in her hand, and stared off at the sunset. "This is life," he murmured. He learned last minute that he wasn't needed anymore and, as a result, he flew Melina from Ireland to his other house in California.
"You can't fool me," Melina said as she grabbed a handful of chocolate covered espresso beans from the table, "you miss Saoirse like crazy."
Damian stretched his hands over his head, "I do."
Melina glanced down at the man and an immense sadness filled her. She'd been working for him for over twelve years and now thought of him as her best friend. She even lived in a house on his land. "When are you going to tell Saoirse?"
Damian lowered his sunglasses, "About?"
Melina thought for a moment, but decided to follow through with the tough question, "About Georgie. About Darla."
A flash of pain passed over Damian's eyes when she said both of their names. Melina knew all about the shoe box filled with pictures of Darla that Damian had stuffed in the very back of his closet where she only went about once a year to clean.
His legs immediately curled to his chest and he placed his head on his knees. He looked so much younger than he was like that - he looked vulnerable. "I don't know. I'm terrified she'll hate me when I tell her."
"She might," Melina said softly, "but she will realize how lucky she was to come out of this with you, Damo. She's an amazing little girl, but only because you were the best dad imaginable."
Damian squeezed his eyes shut. "I just…I want her to know. She's always asked before."
Melina remembered that day like it happened only a week ago. Damian had been a wreck after lying to Saoirse and telling her that it was just him.
Not that Georgiana had ever been around.
"Do you think she'll try to find her?" Melina asked, rubbing her hand down Damian's back.
"I hope so," Damian admitted. "She deserves to know her."
Melina looked at him with sympathy, "and because you hope Darla will eventually find you?"
"That too," Damian said simply. He shook his head quickly. "Stop that. Now is not the time for sadness."
"Do you want dinner?"
"No, I can make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich," Damian rubbed his stomach. "Why not add to the pouch."
"What pouch?" Melina glared at Damian's flat stomach. "I need to feed you more, if anything."
"There is a huge pouch there," Damian pushed at the fleshy big below his belly button.
Melina rolled her eyes. "That stupid model you're dating is doing crazy things to your head!"
"Sh!" Damian held his finger to his mouth.
"Damian, she isn't here. She won't hear that her father has a girlfriend," Melina grimaced. "If that is what you want to call her."
He shifted uncomfortably, "I'm not sure what I want to call her, really."
"You are breaking up with her?" Melina's smile told him her opinion on the topic. She had always hated her.
"I don't know," Damian shrugged. "It doesn't feel right."
Melina immediately felt her happy mood shift. "Just like Jessica didn't feel right. Just like Lacy didn't feel right. Just like Maria didn't feel right. Just like…"
"Okay, I get it." Damian laughed, "I'm picky."
"I don't think that's it," she mumbled quietly.
"Then what is it?" Damian sat up with his eyebrows raised. "Tell me, oh wise one."
"You are looking for someone you already found," she said simply.
"Who?"
"The woman you have a huge tote filled with pictures, notes, and clothes dedicated to," she raised her eyebrows. "Yeah, I found your stash. Years ago."
"Well," Damian stuttered. "What was I supposed to do with that stuff?"
"Burn it. Turn it into Voodoo dolls. Rip it to shreds with your teeth and then send it to her." Melina smiled wickedly. "The possibilities are endless."
Damian rolled his eyes, "I'm not going to do that."
Melina was about to answer when the phone rang.
He grabbed the phone, "McGinty Coffee Company, Damian speaking?"
"Hi Damian, this is Josephine Rivers, head counselor of your daughter's summer camp," a sweet voice rang through the phone.
"Oh god!" he sat up. "Is she okay? Is something wrong?"
"Well, your daughter has been having a little trouble getting along with the other campers, I'm afraid. She got into a physical altercation with a camper yesterday and several yelling matches with the same camper. We've decided that for the well-being of our staff and campers that your daughter be moved to the isolation cabin until you can come get her. We request you do this as soon as possible."
Damian was standing and moving toward the house, mentally packing his bag. "Yeah, I can be there by Sunday morning." He wasn't mad at Saoirse. He knew if his passive daughter got into a fight, there was a distinct reason, and she was defending her honor or herself.
"Thank you for your cooperation, Mr. McGinty," Josephine said formally."I hope you understand the circumstances."
"I do." Damian ran a hand through his hair, "Tell her I love her and I'm not mad, okay?"
"Will do! Thank you sir."
Damian threw the phone at the sofa and jumped onto his computer, trying to find the first flight out of California.
"What's up?" Melina sidled next to him, leaning on his back.
"Saoirse got kicked out of camp," Damian said far too happily."So I have to go get her now."
Melina laughed at Damian's reaction, Saoirse truly could never do wrong in his eyes. "Are you taking her back to Dublin or stay in New York? Oh, you know, your college friends get together is next week. You could just stay there…"
"Why would I go to that?" Damian's eyes were full of fear. "I don't..."
"Want to see your best friends? Damo, she won't be there," Saoirse laughed. "She'd have to take a day or two off of work."
Damian sighed again, "Fine. But if she is there, I'm going to kill you."
Melina rubbed his shoulders, "Come on, I'll help you pack."
Darla and Saoirse
Darla paced back and forth in front of Saoirse, rubbing her hands together quickly. "This needs to be perfect. We cannot mess up. Our parents are smart and will definitely pick up on even the smallest mistake. We are identical, so that won't be an issue."
"You're paler than I am," Saoirse said with panic, "and I can't just lose my tan!"
"So you'll tell mom that you were outside a lot, she'll be mad, but she'll just make you use a lot of lotion. I'll tell d-dad," she paused on the word, "that I was inside a lot and lost the tan."
Saoirse nodded, "What else? We wear about the same size. Our hair is the same length. We'll just switch clothing."
"It won't be that hard to lose your accent, right?" Darla asked. "You have to teach me the accent though, oh!" her hands flew to her ears, "Here, my dad just bought me these. Make sure you don't lose them."
Saoirse's hands flew to her ears as well, "Same here!"
"Tiffany?" Darla asked, looking at the silver balls.
Saoirse giggled a little, "Why did our parents break up? They were perfect."
Darla frowned, "... my ears aren't pierced."
Saoirse shrugged, "We'll pierce them then."
"NO!"
Saoirse fell back onto the bed, "Then I guess we can't switch places and you'll never get to meet dad…"
Darla stamped her foot, "No. I will. Just…how?"
"Well, you have a needle from that ridiculous sewing kit, right?" Darla raised an eyebrow."I have ice. We'll just have to put something behind your ear…"
"I have an apple from lunch." Darla held up the misshapen, bruised apple.
"Perfect! Go to my piercing salon," Saoirse motioned to the beat up stool.
Darla was shaking when Saoirse placed the ice on her ears. "Okay, I can't promise this isn't going to hurt a little…"
"Just do it," Darla said through gritted teeth, "I want to meet my dad."
"Okay, okay," Saoirse held the ice for a few more seconds, and then positioned the apple and pushed the needle through her ear quickly.
"OH MY GOD," Darla shrieked. "Ow. Ow. Ow."
"Calm down, I'm going to get blood on you if you don't stop moving." Saoirse quickly pushed the earrings into Darla's ears.
"If you get blood on my shirt, I swear to god," Darla was wringing her hands in her lap.
"I won't!" Saoirse moved to the other side frantically. "Just hold still."
It took several more minutes of crying, yelling, and shrieking, but eventually Darla had two (somewhat crookedly) pierced ears.
"Knock knock!" Josephine Rivers walked into the cabin. "How are you girls doing?" She surveyed Darla's tear streaked face.
Saoirse quickly threw her hair into a ponytail, trying to reduce the resemblance between herself and Darla. "Fine!" she squeaked.
"It doesn't look like fine. Darla, do you want me to bring you to my cabin…"
"No," Darla shook her head quickly. "I just…I really missed my mom and Saoirse was talking to me about it."
Jo's face showed her surprise. "Oh. Well, you won't have to miss her much longer. Your parents are coming tomorrow."
"What?" Darla's face showed shock.
"Her father is coming in the afternoon because of his flight from California, but your mom should be here tomorrow morning." Jo kept glancing over at Saoirse who was attempting to burrow herself into the bed. "Is that okay?"
"Perfect!" Saoirse squeaked.
"Well, because you are both getting along now, maybe we'll consider letting you back next year. I'm going to say goodbye now because Jake will be around tomorrow."
Jo bent and hugged both girls awkwardly and then left with the promise of sending them both pictures of the final shows.
"Oh my god we have so much work to do!" Darla stood and started looking through her bag. "We are going to have to straighten your hair with my iron. Mom will probably take you to a salon right away anyway, but just so we look different again. You have to learn about Keith and grandpa…and everyone. Oh my god, we cannot do this!"
"Calm down, yes we can!" Saoirse suddenly got overwhelmingly happy."We are going to meet our parents soon!"
"Do you think they will be able to tell?"
Saoirse shrugged, "My dad doesn't even know I know."
"Same," Darla smiled. "I think this is the first bad thing I've ever done."
"This is going to be perfect." Saoirse reached out and hugged Darla tightly. She couldn't believe that the girl would be gone from her life soon, but she knew it wouldn't be for long.
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Post by slyoldweasel on Jul 20, 2013 1:21:14 GMT -5
"Here, put these on - don't ask how I got them," Saoirse handed her a box of contacts. "They won't irritate you... I hope."
Darla surveyed herself in the mirror and frowned. Her hands ran down the denim Bermuda shorts and looked at the dirty converse. "Are you sure dad would mind if I wore something more fashionable?"
Saoirse grimaced at her own reflection in the mirror. "He would know something was up."
"Well they're going to figure it out right away because your knees have scars on them!" Darla glanced at the bumps all over Saoirse's legs, something her mother would notice right away.
"I can't help it! I got them when my dad tried to teach me to skate." She giggled at the memory, "he actually fell and slid down the road. His pants got a huge hole in them and he even had scratches on his butt!"
Darla's eyes went wide with shock and she felt her heart rate increase. "Maybe I shouldn't go with him. I…I can't do any of that stuff!"
"Don't worry, neither can I. He said he lost all of his dignity when he had to get Melina to put a band-aid on him every day so I never learned again after that day. You can swim, right?" Saoirse was starting to feel the panic of her sister, "because we have a pool in California and he'll expect you to run for it right away."
Darla nodded slowly and stared, "You have your own pool? We belong to a pool but Keith and his sister only take me once or twice a summer." She did a little dance. "I love going in the pool!"
"You only go once or twice a summer?" Saoirse's nose wrinkled, "that doesn't sound like summer to me!"
Darla shrugged, "You get used to it."
Saoirse looked over her sister one more time, trying to find anything out of place. She smoothed down her hair for what felt like the fiftieth time."So let's run over this again. Melina is technically the housekeeper, but she's more like dad's girlfriend that he'll never have feelings for."
"Does she have feelings for him?" Darla raised an eyebrow, "because if she does, that will not fit into the plan."
"No, she doesn't like him," Saoirse blushed. "I asked her once and I swear her laughs could be heard in New York."
The sound of tires on gravel alerted both of them to the arrival of one of their parents. Both would be arriving in a black town car, so they both hid themselves behind the sheer curtains and peaked out from behind them. "That's her!" Saoirse whispered, "That's…that's our mom?"
Darla nodded, trying to resist her own urge to run to the woman that raised her. "That's her. Okay, I'm going to go out the back door and you just pretend you still hate me." Darla looked over her outfit and straightened a few things out. When she looked up at Saoirse, she had tears in her eyes. "I can't believe this is happening! Make sure she drinks her orange juice in the morning and make sure she eats dinner. Make sure Keith doesn't buy the wrong toothpaste. And I'll call you as soon as I possibly can, okay?"
Saoirse was whiter than Darla ever was, "What if she doesn't like me? What if she hates me? What if she thinks I'm ugly and horrible and a complete waste of time?"
"She won't," Darla leaned in and hugged her quickly. "She will see that you are amazing. And you aren't ugly and horrible."
Saoirse hugged her back tightly. In truth, neither girl knew when they would be able to talk to each other again. They knew the switch back would have to happen before summer ended, but the thought of being apart for even a week seemed like an eternity to them.
They had become sisters again after over twelve years.
Saoirse hugged Darla one last time before Saoirse slipped out the back of the cabin with a whimper.
Saoirse
Saoirse heard the door creak open, "Darla!" Saoirse turned and almost passed out at the sight of the woman in front of her. She barely looked different than the photograph she'd carried for years, the other half to the photograph hidden deep inside a trunk.
The one that held the woman who raised her.
This woman looked so different from the father she was used to seeing. She was pretty, too pretty, and slim, and extremely tall. If she hadn't known she was a model, Saoirse would have thought she was a model. Her eyes bore into hers as she held her arms open. She didn't know how Darla would react, so for a minute she became Saoirse again. "Mommy!" she squealed and ran to her, burying her face in her neck.
She smelled like lilacs and her father.
She pulled back quickly and looked up at her. "I missed you," Georgiana said earnestly, running her hands through Saoirse's hair, "We need to get this touched up," she laughed, "but first I figured we could do some shopping. Maybe you can tell me about the girl you hit?" she raised an eyebrow toward her, "was she completely terrible? Did she have dry nail beds or something?"
Saoirse tried to laugh, but subconsciously hid her hands. "She wasn't so bad," she shrugged. "We just didn't see things eye to eye."
Georgiana grabbed the suitcases in one hand and took Saoirse's hand, "What was her name anyway?"
She swallowed quickly and immediately lost her train of thought, "What? Oh…uh, Isla."
"Isla?" Georgiana choked out a laugh. "Isn't that name a little old for a young girl?"
Saoirse laughed easily now, already starting to catch onto Georgiana's humor, "She was a little strange."
"Well, I still don't think fighting her was the best way to handle the situation. You know I taught you to use that sharp, witty tongue of yours, you got that from me," she winked at her. "And only use your fists as a last resort."
"Trust me, it was," she snipped, and quickly regretted it.
Georgiana cast her a weird look, her face wrinkling a little as she smiled, "You seem so different," she wrapped her arm around her shoulders."You need to stop changing!"
Saoirse scooted into the town car and settled into the leather seat. Georgiana immediately pulled out her cell phone and scooted closer to her. "Want to see the new line? The one for the fashion show?"
Saoirse nodded excitedly, "Yes please!"
"Good! Because you are going to draw me something and I'm going to put it in the show. So pay attention," she smiled fondly down at her.
Saoirse remembered a conversation she had with Darla a few nights previous about her mother using Darla's first time going to school as inspiration for a whole fashion line. "What was the inspiration?" She was proud of the question; she missed the face Georgiana made.
"Oh," she said quietly, shifting. She couldn't stop the pride from swelling in her heart, at least she taught her something. "The inspiration is probably something you won't understand…"
"Tell me," Saoirse urged, dying to get to know just a little bit of her mother.
She sighed, "It's about a breakup. And what did I always tell you about boys?"
Saoirse panicked, "Uh…uh…."
"They have cooties," Georgiana winked. "And the cooties will hurt you."
Saoirse laughed again, "Oh! I remember! And I have to get the cootie shot!"
Georgiana stopped laughing, "And what does that entail?"
Saoirse grabbed her hand and traced over it lightly with her fingertip. "Circle circle, dot dot, now you have your cootie shot. Circle circle, square square, now I have it everywhere. Circle circle, knife knife, now you have it for all life! So you are protected from cooties forever!"
Georgiana laughed, "I send you to camp and you come back knowing all of these new things about performing! I'm so glad I spent that money!"
Saoirse rolled her eyes expertly.
Georgiana laughed and held the phone out to her. "Just scroll through them. Tell me which ones you like.
Saoirse's breath caught in her throat as she looked at the clothes on the screen. She might know nothing about fashion, but she still loved the clothes she saw. Her mother was a genius, she was convinced of it. "Mom," she choked on the word a little, "these look awesome!"
She smiled absently, "Thank you! I do like some of them. Keep looking!"
The women the screen were all dressed in a similar fashion. She raised an eyebrow, "Blazers?"
"You know, like the kind I used to wear when I went to St. Frances," she smiled softly at the memory, "something just triggered it and I realized men don't wear blazers enough anymore. Though these are much more fashionable."
Saoirse swallowed.
St. Frances.
They both went to St. Frances. She said a silent prayer to thank God that she at least knew about St. Frances.
She had so many questions that she wanted answered, but she didn't know how to go about asking them without treading on material Darla had already asked about. She'd have to start keeping a list. She continued look at the clothes on the screen, a blue blazer with huge black buttons, a tight fitting black blazer with studs, a simple black blazer lined in yellow, another black blazer lined with different color piping. The men were all wearing bright pants that were tight and rolled at the bottom.
It all looked familiar.
Saoirse eventually took her eyes away from the phone to glance at her mother, who was now nodding off against the side of the car.
She sat and just looked at her intensely for the first time. She could see why her dad had loved her. She was the most beautiful woman Saoirse had ever seen. Her hair fluttered over her forehead as she breathed and her hands were lax in her lap. Saoirse wanted nothing more than to cuddle up next to her, but she didn't think it would be appropriate. Instead, she curled onto her side and faced her, watching her breathe until she fell asleep.
-
Georgiana awoke sometime later, the buildings of the city creeping toward her in the distance. She glanced at her daughter, sleeping peacefully, face smashed against the back seat. She brushed a stray hair out of her face. She knew she was going crazy, but she looked different to her. She looked slightly younger if she was honest, and she looked like a kid for the first time in years.
Maybe the camp was good for her. She never gave her a sibling. Another sibling, she thought bitterly, and she was practically raised in the design House of Georgiana Thompson. But now her knees were scraped up, her fingernails were dirty, and her hair was completely frizzy and out of control.
She thought she never looked more gorgeous.
It was times like this when her mind filtered to what she would have been if things were different. If she had allowed her to run in the fields of a California farm. She pushed the feelings away.
She had her, at that was enough for her.
"Mom?" Saoirse asked as she opened her eyes, "Why are you staring?"
"I was just…you were talking in your sleep," she lied.
"Oh," she blushed, "sorry!"
"It's okay!" Georgiana inwardly groaned when she felt her phone start vibrating in her pocket, "Hello, Georgiana Thompson."
"Hi, Georgie! It's Rebecca!" her usually happy voice was panicked, "Some really tall girl with weird hair is here to see you and I don't know what to tell her. She says she's modeling for you in California."
Georgiana pinched the bridge of her nose. "She needs to be fitted in the blazer for the ending of my show. I told them to have her come tomorrow though. I wanted to spend the day with Darla."
Saoirse frowned a little at the sound of the conversation. She had wanted to spend the day with her mother.
"Okay, send her to the shop. Yeah, I'll fit her there. I'm not doing any other work though. I'm taking my girl out for dinner." Georgiana listened for a minute. "Okay, thanks."
Saoirse tried to act like she wasn't paying attention to the conversation.
"Darla..." Georgiana sighed, "Would you care terribly if we stopped by the shop to fit a model? She's wearing an important outfit, and she is only out here for the next few days."
Saoirse was actually pretty excited to see her mother work, so she nodded quickly, "Sure. What model?" That was something Darla would ask, right?
"Hannah Montgomery," she said with a frown.
Darla
Darla sat and watched the town car leave the camp, dust coming up around the tires. She shuddered.
What if this was a huge mistake? What if her dad hated her? What if he thought Saoirse changed for the worse at camp?
Darla bit at her nails, a horrible habit her mother would have lectured her about for hours.
"Why the long face, Stinkbug?" a voice said and snapped Darla to attention.
She looked up and there stood the man she'd only dreamed about meeting. He was taller than she had pictured, but his face was smiling widely. His hair was a slightly curly mess that she both loved because it was a part of him that she knew, and hated because she had to deal with it every day.
On instinct, she stood and ran to his arms, "Daddy!" she screamed, trying to hide the tears falling down her face.
"Gah!" Damian laughed as he caught her mid-flight and swung her around before hugging her tightly."I missed you so much, baby girl!"
"I missed you too, Daddy!" Darla didn't know why, but she felt like she believed it. She had missed this man, because surely she had known him at some point in her life. For years, she had been subconsciously looking for him.
Damian placed her down on the ground and looked down at her, "How did you lose your tan here?" he laughed. "Too much time in the studio?"
"Dad…" Darla started, her voice trailing off. She had no idea what to say.
"I know! Sometimes painting is more fun than getting sunshine," he laughed and threw her bags in the back of the car. "Let's go. We have to get moving."
"Are we flying back tonight?" she tried to hide her excitement.
"No," Damian grinned widely at her, but it did not quite meet his eyes. "We are going to go on a little tour of New York. And then California."
"Why?" Darla looked at him.
Damian sat in the back and pulled her close, "Because I have a little reunion to go to. Don't worry, Melina is here so you guys will get some girl time." He wrinkled his forehead and made a dismissive hand wave. "You know, manicures, pedicures, that kind of thing. And we're going to California to spend the rest of the summer... so you can get your tan back." He winked at her.
She nodded, "Cool!"
"So do you want to tell me why I'm picking you up early from camp?"
Darla groaned, "Can we not?"
He looked down at her, "Do we ever not talk about things?"
She had no idea. "She was just…mean and rude. She said my paintings looked like something she would see at a preschool." Darla came up with the first insult she could think of.
"Oh," Damian frowned. "Can I have her name and address? I would like to meet her and give her a really mean dad glare." He attempted to glare at his daughter, but just broke into a laugh instead.
"Dad," Darla gave him her best 'you cannot be serious' face.
"Okay, okay. How about we take a little siesta, and then we'll get ready back at the hotel. I have big plans for tonight!"
"Big?"
"Huge!"
She laughed and curled up at his side, resting her head on the crook of his arm.
Damian smiled and held his daughter tight. He knew she was not telling him the whole story about why she left the camp, but he would take her word that everything was okay. Eventually, she would tell him the truth.
His daughter had a way of not being able to hide the truth from him.
Damian looked up at the sparkling lights of the city, not able to fall asleep. His heart pounded because he knew, somewhere in the millions of people on the tiny island, was the woman who stole his heart years ago. He knew that Georgiana and his other daughter lived somewhere.
He wanted to look him up in a phone book and he wanted to turn around and get to JFK at the same time.
Darla stirred and looked up at Damian, "Are we almost at the hotel?" she asked through a groggy fog.
"Yeah. Actually, why don't we walk?" he reached forward and tapped the driver before handing him a huge sum of money. "Thank you!"
It took Darla a minute, but she quickly caught up with her surroundings.
She was right near the House of Georgiana Thompson.
Damian grabbed her hand and knelt in front of her. "Look, I know you haven't been in many big cities, but you have to hold my hand, okay?" Darla nodded quickly and grabbed his hand, hoping she could steer him away from the storefront. But Damian pulled her right down the street, and of course he was looking up at every building, reading the signs.
Darla wanted to scream.
Her father was a tourist.
Somehow, she found it endearing on him though. It was not like he was a tourist in a new place, but rather he was coming back.
And then Darla remembered it was because he was. Her parents had lived together in college. In New York. How much didn't Saoirse know?
They approached the store owned by her mother and Damian stopped briefly, just staring at the sign. "Oh," he said softly.
"D-did you want to shop?" Darla asked, already knowing the answer.
"No. I just…she has really nice designs," Damian finished lamely, still staring at the mannequins and the name in the window.
Darla didn't know if she wanted to break the spell or encourage her father to go in. To her young mind, everything would be easier if they just fell back in love right then. But Damian was pulling her suddenly, murmuring to himself as they walked quickly toward the hotel. "Now is not the time," was the only thing Darla could make out.
When they were in their hotel room, in what seemed like no time flat because Damian was basically carrying her, he turned to her and knelt down again. Darla was starting to realize this was when he had something important to say. "We're going to a gala tonight, okay?"
Darla's eyes flew open, "Why?"
"Because there's someone I want you to meet and she was invited to the Gala. There is a dress laid out for you in your room. Go take a shower and put gel in your curls. We need to be ready in an hour. Okay?"
Darla nodded quickly, blinded by the turn of events. "O-okay."
"Don't be nervous, you will be the most beautiful girl in the room."
An hour and a half later, Darla stood in front of the mirror, a purple kimono-style dress on, her hair pulled back in a bun. It wasn't what her dad wanted, but she knew it looked better.
She walked out into the room to find her dad pacing and on the phone, "I do not think this is the right time. Just a few more weeks would even be better. She just came home and I cannot help feeling like I'm blindsiding her with everything. I don't…I don't like bringing people into her life unless I know for sure…No! No, I care about you, too but I just….you don't understand. You aren't a dad!"
A woman burst into the room in a tight red dress with super high heels. She grabbed the phone from Damian. "Look, freak - he said you cannot meet her tonight."
Darla cleared her throat.
The woman, who she now recognized as Melina, smiled widely and dropped the phone."Oh god! Look at you! You look so grown up! Who taught you how to do your hair?"
Darla hugged her gingerly, "Camp!" she shrugged.
Melina looked at her strangely before turning back to Damian, "Come on - we have to go."
Damian looked sad all of a sudden, "She's mad at me."
"Too bad, we're still going. Free food - and you deserve to give your women a night on the town," Melina handed a shawl to Darla, "Put this on, Saoirse. It might get cold."
-
The actual gala was interesting. It was filled with older men and their families, with models and designers scattered throughout.
Darla prayed her mother was not there.
Darla had been to these events before, and just like always, people barely ate. The dinner was over and music started to play. There were people of all ages there, and Darla looked on sadly as a girl about fifteen got to dance with her dad. Most of the room was filled with dads dancing with their daughters.
Damian followed her eyesight and saw what she was looking at. He grinned, "Would you like to have this dance?"
She laughed and nodded as the DJ announced a father-daughter dance was coming.
Damian took her to the middle of the floor and grabbed her, placing the tips of her toes on his feet so he could lead her.
Darla wanted to cry, because this was something she had always imagined. She wanted to dance with her dad, wanted to feel like she was special, like he loved her. Even if he didn't know who it really was.
The music played and they danced around the floor, Damian sometimes moving too much in the arms.
And now all of a sudden It seemed so strange to me How we've gone from something's missing To a family Lookin' through the glass I think about the man That's standin' next to me And I hope he's at least half the dad That he didn't have to be
Saoirse was staring up at Damian with a huge smile on her face when someone tapped her shoulder, "Excuse me, may I cut in?"
"Uhm," Darla looked up at her father who was staring at the woman in shock.
"I'm Hannah," the woman stuck out her hand. "Your father's girlfriend!"
Years later, Darla would still be talking about how Melina flew across the room to scratch the model's eyes out.
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Post by slyoldweasel on Jul 20, 2013 1:56:35 GMT -5
Saoirse lounged on the bed, feeling the silky bedspread beneath her fingers. It was only 7:30 AM and she had no idea what to do with herself. She had been in New York City with her mother for a week and she still was not adjusted to the lifestyle. The constant beeping from the cars outside woke her up constantly, and it surprised her that the beeping never stopped.
Her mother was constantly running out of the apartment, so she was trying to form a relationship with Keith, who had just returned the day before.
Keith did not show up for work until 9 AM though, so she was pretty much stuck with her grandfather. Whom she was wary around, because he was always looking at her oddly.
Saoirse slipped out of bed and put her slippers on. She had made the mistake to forget them the first day, and thought her mother was going to have a panic attack. Apparently, she always trailed pins into the house, so shoes were always necessary.
Saoirse trailed her hands over the closet full of clothes she would never wear. Darla had warned her not to get stains on anything, so Saoirse stuck with just a few pieces from the wardrobe.
A brisk knock sounded at the door and Saoirse jumped, "yes?" she shrieked, trying to grab her robe and make herself look presentable.
Georgiana walked into the room, and Saoirse was immediately taken aback by her style again. Her mom always wore casual dresses at home – which she thought was stylish. She put on a formal dress occasionally, but Georgiana always seemed to be dressed at her best. Today she wore a light blue dress that hugged her upper knees, with a nice, tailored, black blazer that fit her snugly. Her long, brown hair was put in a very chic, high ponytail. The illusion of her being the most beautiful woman she had ever seen was not broken, though she was now a bit more human to her.
"Good morning, princess," Georgiana leaned down and kissed her forehead. "I have to go into work and your grandfather is having a bit of a lay in. So you are coming with me." She grinned and ran a hand through her clothes, "If I may?"
Saoirse could not help the giggle that came out and motioned to the closet."Go for it!"
Georgiana gave her a bemused smile before systematically picking out her outfit for the day. It was definitely different from the jeans and t-shirts she was used to.
She dressed as Georgiana threw clothes over her shoulders. She eyed the clothes skeptically, however. "Mom…you do realize it is summer?"
Georgiana laughed as she threw a pair of leggings at her, "I do. Nevertheless, the store is cold so the models do not sweat. Can you imagine the sweat stains? Pitters are not good. Just put it on. You can take the cardigan off when we are outside."
Saoirse quickly pulled the leopard print leggings on, despite her hesitations. The black sundress was nice, and fit her perfectly – she assumed it was a custom creation. The black cardigan was folded on the bed. There was just one more thing she was worried about – the shoes.
Whenever Georgiana picked the clothes, she always picked the most uncomfortable shoes. Saoirse much preferred her Converse or the flip-flops that she frequented during the summer. Or barefoot, which she missed more than anything.
"It might be too hot for these...but they will look so much better," Georgiana mused as she held up a pair of black boots with a slight heel.
Saoirse swallowed; there was no way she could walk in those. The heels were over an inch!
"Can you handle it?" Georgiana asked with a knowing smile.
Apparently, Darla could.
"Sure can! I could live in those boots!" She pulled them on and zipped them with confidence. Who made shoes like this for kids anyway?
Georgiana stood, "Good! Come on, let's get this hair done and then we're off for a fun filled day. Maybe Stephanie could use some help."
"Stephanie?" Saoirse asked.
Georgiana stilled, "My other assistant? Are you feeling okay honey?" She immediately put a hand to her forehead. "You don't feel warm. But I'm sure your grandfather wouldn't mind waking up and taking care of you…"
"I'm up!" a voice called as he walked down the hallway.
"No!" Saoirse squeaked, "I'll come! I just…forgot."
Georgiana shook her head, "I'm telling you, I think you got too much clean air at that camp. Next year you are going to a proper city camp."
Saoirse faked a laugh.
Georgiana finally decided her hair was decent and pushed her gently, "Go ask your grandfather to whip you up some breakfast. I'm going to go check my email before we head into work, that way it won't be so boring for you to be there."
Saoirse nodded and tottered off, slowly, in the direction of the kitchen.
"Morning," Henry said through a mouthful of waffle. "Waffle and chocolate milk?"
Saoirse laughed and shrugged her shoulders, "Whatever."
Henry stared at her for a few seconds. "No whole wheat toast? No blueberries? No water? Man, that camp really did change you. You're like a real kid now!"
Saoirse stared at her grandfather. No wonder he kept staring at her, she kept messing up in front of him. How was she supposed to know that Darla ate absolutely nothing? It all started a few days before when she actually ordered popcorn at the movies. Apparently, her mother disapproved of butter or anything with a real taste.
Georgiana briskly walked into the kitchen. "Darla, can we just pick something up? A crisis has emerged and Hannah Montgomery needs me there as soon as possible. Apparently the coat that I let her wear to a benefit the other night has tear marks in it."
"Tear marks?" Henry raised an eyebrow, "did she get into a cat fight?"
"Apparently."
Saoirse was terrified of the look on her mother's face. She had never seen her look so angry, and even though she only knew her for a week, it was still frightening.
"It's fine," Saoirse stammered, "I'm not even hungry."
Georgiana looked at her for a minute, "You have to eat. Grab some of the emergency pop tarts."
"Emergency Pop Tarts?" Saoirse looked around the kitchen and went toward the pantry. She had no idea what she was even supposed to be looking for, let alone where to find it.
What did emergency Pop Tarts look like?
Sure enough, on the bottom shelf sat a box of Pop Tarts so she picked the silver package out and stared at it. She'd never had anything like it before.
It was delicious.
"These are really good!" Saoirse bounced over to Georgiana, a huge smile on her face. Usually Melina would make her omelets, pancakes, or fruit for breakfast.
Her father hated anything packaged that wasn't a cupcake.
Georgiana smiled down at her, "You like them again? You went through a phase where you thought they were poisoning your body."
Saoirse shrugged, "Camp," she explained. That was now her favorite go to explanation because it wasn't technically a lie.
Georgiana just laughed and hugged Henry quickly, "We're off to work. I'll come get you later and we can do a lunch together?"
Henry nodded and collected Saoirse in his arms, "Have a good day Darl."
Saoirse squeezed her grandfather closer, trying to pretend that it was really her he was talking to. One of the best things for Saoirse was that Darla actually had a grandfather who cared about her and wanted to be around her.
Saoirse had only seen her biological grandfather maybe five times in her life, but his presence was always there through a card at Christmas, Easter, and her birthday. "Love you, grandpa," she said absentmindedly.
"Love you too," Henry whispered, stroking her hair a few times before letting her go. "You better get a move on, I think your mother might make some people cry today."
Saoirse giggled, "I can only hope!"
"Report back."
Saoirse ran down the hallway to catch Georgiana, who was already standing with his bag at the elevator. "Darla, you can't get in Ms. Montgomery's way, okay? She's a very busy woman and she's probably irritated that she has to be here."
Saoirse nodded and had to nearly jog to keep up with Georgiana once they stepped out of the elevator.
Georgiana's storefront was only half a block away from their house, so the walk in the sunshine was short lived. Saoirse was not used to the smog and hustle of the city. She felt out of place and somewhat sick just breathing in the air.
Following Georgiana through the crowds, she couldn't help but miss her own father and they way he would walk beside her instead of pulling her along. She missed the clean air and the lazy way her father wouldn't have to work every single day. She missed the picnics and the camping. She missed the fresh fruit and the homemade meals. Saoirse had to hold back a sniffle because as absolutely amazing, funny, intelligent, and loving as her mother was, she missed her dad.
A lot.
"Darla!" Georgiana brushed the hair out of her eyes, "are you okay?"
"Yeah, just still sleepy," she answered quickly, trying to blink back the few tears she felt coming.
"Well wake up," Georgiana laughed, "Ms. Montgomery is here and ready to get her coat fixed." The eye roll she sent down to her was laughable.
Walking into the store was like walking into a completely different world. It was a kingdom where her mother was queen and therefore she was treated like a princess.
"Hello Darla," a young woman walked over and held out her arm, "May I take your things? We'll put them in your mother's office." Saoirse handed them over cautiously, never having seen this woman before.
"Thank you, Stephanie," Georgiana said distractedly. "We'll be back in the sewing room with Ms. Montgomery. Make sure you keep an ear out for any crying."
Stephanie nodded primly and walked off with the purse and the sweater.
Saoirse once again had to hasten to keep up with Georgiana as she deftly maneuvered throughout the store. She nearly fell a few times in the heels, but was actually proud of herself for keeping her balance.
"Ms. Montgomery," Georgiana boomed as she walked into the fitting room, "What a pleasant surprise to see you again."
Saoirse wondered if the woman could hear the sarcasm in her mother's voice.
The tall, thin woman standing in the center of the room looked up, "Ms. Thompson, I am terribly sorry about this coat."
Georgiana squeaked when she saw the coat he spent hours on hanging from a hanger in pieces. "What…happened?"
Hannah sighed and looked sad, but Saoirse thought it was an act. "My boyfriend's cleaning lady attacked me."
Saoirse choked back a laugh, and she swore she saw Georgiana do the same thing.
"Attacked you?" Georgiana raised an eyebrow as she tried to figure out a way to piece the coat back together. "Well…" she trailed off, now knowing what to say.
"She's terrible. I'm telling him to fire her. But he never listens of course." Hannah shrugged and leaned against the counter. Saoirse shifted so she couldn't see her – in truth, she scared the girl. "I just wish he would shut up and listen to me about everything, but you know how men can be…"
Saoirse choked; she didn't want her mother to even think about other men.
Georgiana gave a tight lipped smile and continued stitching random pieces of the coat back together. "What made her attack you?" she eventually asked.
Hannah laughed, "I introduced myself to his daughter. Heaven forbid I get to know the little princess that he spends all of his time with. We've been dating for nearly six months and I don't get to meet the little brat? I don't want to be friends with her, but I want her to know that she has to give up some of her time with him."
Georgiana looked uncomfortable for a few seconds but laughed eventually, "Well, he is her father so maybe it was for the best…"
"She's a terrible child," Hannah interrupted. "Such a little brat, has the frizziest hair imaginable."
Saoirse patted her hair self-consciously and pushed herself against the wall. She had heard her mother say before that her clients sometimes liked to use her as a psychologist, but Saoirse really didn't like the way this woman was talking.
Georgiana glanced back at Saoirse and realized that she was hiding, "How old is she?"
"Seven?" Hannah sounded like she guessing. "Teen?"
Georgiana laughed, "There is a huge difference, trust me."
Saoirse couldn't help it when she let out a loud giggle, effectively revealing herself to Hannah.
"Oh, you have a child here," Hannah walked forward and squatted down, "Hello little girl, my name is Hannah."
Saoirse bit her lip, "I'm S- Darla."
Hannah stared at her, "How old are you?"
"Thirteen."
Hannah studied her for a few seconds longer, "You know, you kinda look like that kid. You are so much more refined though. She's practically a wild child."
Saoirse swallowed, did she have a triplet?
Georgiana coughed a little, "Well, there is only one Darla. I don't believe in cloning." Her smile didn't quite match her eyes though and her hands shook as she continued to fix the jacket.
Hannah laughed as her phone rang and she glanced at the screen. "Speak of the devil," Hannah looked at Georgiana, "Mind if I take this in here?"
"Not at all," Georgiana said through a mouthful of pins.
"Hey baby," Hannah rolled her eyes continuously as the man on the other side of the phone spoke, "Baby…we talked about this. I think I should be able to go with. Don't you want to show me off to your old, fat, ugly, high school friends?"
Saoirse glanced at Georgiana, who was still making a weird face, but Saoirse just assumed it was so she didn't drop any of the pins from her mouth.
"Okay….is she going to be there when I get back? I still think I should file assault charges….no I was definitely not in the wrong!" Hannah's face was getting red and splotchy. "Baby…will you be back in time for my fashion show?" Hannah played with a piece of paper on the counter and seemed to only be half paying attention. "Fine. I will see you at home I guess. Yeah, I love you too." Hannah slipped the phone into her pocket, "Sorry. The old ball and chain had to check up on me."
Georgiana nodded and then held the jacket out, "I can't fix this, Ms. Montgomery. I can get a new one sent to your house in about a week?"
Hannah swore.
"Language," Georgiana said in a light tone.
Hannah laughed, "You'd get along with my boyfriend. He won't let me swear in front of the brat either. You know," Hannah put her arm on Georgiana's, "your kid doesn't seem half bad."
-
Two hours later, Saoirse found herself standing outside of a small bistro by Central Park. Georgiana was on her phone talking away, trying to cancel her plans for the afternoon because she saw Saoirse's eyes light up when the Gershwin came into view, and she immediately bought tickets because it had "been awhile since they'd seen the show together."
"What's up kiddo," Henry came and hugged Saoirse from behind, causing her to jump. The city was filled with tourists and she still held onto her bag like it was going to get stolen at any moment.
Georgiana hung up her phone and grinned, "Well, all three of us have box seats and a backstage tour of the Gershwin today. But let's eat first!"
Henry clapped Georgiana on the shoulder and they all walked into the bistro, the smell of freshly baked break wafting over them.
Sitting at the small table, Georgiana turned her phone off and slipped it into her bag. "So after this, we should all take a nice leisurely walk around Central Park," she eyed her father, "to work off some of the food. Then we can head to the theater. Sound good?"
Saoirse nodded and Henry just smiled.
"Are you okay?" Georgiana reached over and held her hand, "You really have been quiet lately."
"I just…I miss my camp friends," Saoirse lied.
Georgiana nodded, "Do you have their phone numbers or email addresses? I know I said you couldn't get a Facebook but maybe I will rethink it if it means you won't be so sad."
Saoirse's eyes widened. She really couldn't make a Facebook for Darla could she? "I have their numbers in my phone," she lied, holding up her phone. "I can text them."
Georgiana nodded, "I guess camp isn't over yet though so they aren't as free."
"Right."
Saoirse chewed on her bottom lip and looked at her menu. When the waitress came, they all ordered, and Saoirse surprised her mother.
"Did you really get coffee?" Georgiana asked with an arched brow, "I thought you didn't like it?"
"Camp," Saoirse lied again.
Georgiana shook her head, "that was some cultured camp."
The drinks arrived soon and Saoirse watched as her mother added sugar and creamer to her cup, "You're ruining it," she pointed out.
Georgiana looked at her oddly, "Are you a coffee connoisseur now?"
Saoirse couldn't tell if it was pride or amusement in her eyes, but she hoped it was the former. She delicately sipped her own drink and coughed a little, "If you ask me, this didn't need to be twice brewed. Plus the beans were picked too early and the water was not filtered."
Georgiana squeaked next to her and Henry tapped her hand in a sympathetic way. "Georgie…." he warned.
Saoirse realized then that she made a mistake. Georgiana just shook her head, but Saoirse saw the wet eyes and the pained expression. Just as Saoirse was about to grab her phone to text Darla about the situation, it went off on its own.
New Text From: (402) 424-3922
Saoirse! It's me, Darla, we are doomed. Dad has a girlfriend and she's terrible! Saoirse squeaked and pulled the phone back before anyone could see.
"Problem?" Henry asked, looking suspiciously at the phone.
"I need…to go take this outside," Saoirse stood and ran for the door.
Henry glanced at the window, "I'm going to go stand with her and make sure she's okay. Do you want anything?"
Georgiana wiped her eyes, "She gets more like him every day."
Henry just patted his daughter again before walking outside.
"Darla, this is a complete disaster! Your mom thinks her daughter has completely changed and my dad has a girlfriend now! We just found each other and I don't want to be apart from you again. We can't switch back now! I don't know what to do! Mom is amazing and so funny and I want to spend more time with her because once they find out, we'll probably never get to see each other again and…"
Henry felt his heart constrict as he put pieces together, the girl turned and looked at him, a shocked expression on his face. He had suspected something was up for the past few days. Darla…or the girl living with them had been asking far too many questions about the past.
"Grandpa…" she squeaked. "Gotta go," she said to the person on the phone.
Henry fell to his knees, "I don't know which one you are, but please come here."
The small girl ran to his arms and he cradled her shaking her back and forth, "Saoirse?"
The girl pulled away, nodding, "Yes. I…please don't hate me, grandpa."
"I don't," Henry choked, "I never did. I always loved you."
Saoirse sniffed into his neck, "S- she's going to hate me."
Henry pulled back, "Who?"
"G-Georgiana," she sniffled, "my mom. Both."
Georgiana walked out and took in the sight before her, her father hugging a crying girl, "Why am I going to hate you?"
Her daughter looked up at her, fear written all over her face.
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Post by HburgEagle44 on Jul 20, 2013 15:45:19 GMT -5
This is an incredible story!! I love it!! I hope Georgiana is fine when Saoirse tells her the truth...but then, I know she'll be overjoyed. Update soon...hate the model.
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Post by slyoldweasel on Jul 20, 2013 16:22:56 GMT -5
Georgiana paced back in forth in front of two identical faces, her jacket billowing behind her as she seemed immersed in her own mind, occasionally muttering something but never actually speaking out loud.
Saoirse and Darla clutched hands whenever her expression turned angry or sad. The woman hadn't spoken to either of them since she found out that she actually had Saoirse in her care for the past week. Neither girl knew she had cried all the way home in her separate taxi.
She stopped walking and held up a shaking finger, "Can one of you please tell me why you thought this, of all things would be a good idea? Why didn't you just tell us you found each other?" Both girls looked down at their laps and bit their lips.
"Darla…"
Both girls snapped their heads up.
Georgiana looked directly at Darla. "I know it is you. Are you sure your…your…your father doesn't know anything about this?"
Darla opened her mouth, but a voice spoke from behind them.
"He has no idea. He's too busy running all over the city for his new piece," Melina frowned at Georgiana, her memories of the woman were still filled with the haunting sobs of a heartbroken man and the cries of a little girl who suddenly lost a sister.
Georgiana cocked her head to the side, "Damian…has a girlfriend?"
"She's awful Mom, she really is!" Darla stood up quickly, "she's mean and rude!"
Georgiana nodded slowly, "Okay. We just have to trade you two back. Just go change, and then Melina can take the real Saoirse with her and we can just put this behind us." Her voice was thick and seemed on the verge of breaking.
"Georgie," Henry put a hand on her shoulder, "You can't lose them again." No one else in the room knew exactly what Georgiana went through when she moved to New York with an infant and a divorce. Henry remembered, and he didn't want to see his daughter go through it again.
Her eyes were rimmed in red and her nose was running, and Henry knew the process was already starting. Georgiana could never hide her emotions because her eyes would be rimmed in red and her face would be all splotchy. "What else can I do, Dad?" Georgiana pressed her lips together to stop the tears from coming. "I can't…I don't…" She took a deep breath to calm herself like she always did before a runway show, "I cannot be around him, Dad. He has a girlfriend and he's happy. I'm just barely over him so as it is."
"You're not," her dad said softly, "and...I'm not going to lose that little girl again. You can put yourself through heck. You can tell yourself it will be easier for you to just walk away again and never see her. But I can't, Georgiana. I cannot know that I had my granddaughter for a week and didn't do the best I could. She's going to move back across the country - the world - and you want to just send her back? How do you think that feels for her?"
Georgiana stared at her father, eyes bulging and jaw trembling. She stared at the two little girls who were holding hands and looking at anything but the pair of them. Georgiana walked over and knelt down in front of Saoirse, "C-can everyone just give me a minute alone with my daughter?"
Henry walked out of the room first, his shoulders shaking. Melina grabbed Darla's hand, "Come on, Darl, you can show me your room." Her voice was soft as she looked at Georgiana holding onto Saoirse. For a second, Georgiana saw something strange pass over Melina's face before the hardened look fell over it.
Darla pulled on Melina's hand, "Keith is cleaning it now, but I'm sure he won't mind."
Georgiana waited until she heard the click of the door and then she looked up at Saoirse, and immediately felt her heart wrench. "Saoirse…you know I love you, right? You know I've always loved you. I love you the minute you were born. I loved you when I left California. I loved you every single moment of every single day since then."
Saoirse started crying and just nodded, unable to speak.
Georgiana felt her own tears finally spill and she pulled her down onto her lap. She rocked her back and forth slowly, "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry Saoirse."
Saoirse's arms tightened around Georgiana's neck and she held on tightly, knowing this might be the last time she'd ever get to touch her. Her voice was small and timid when she spoke, "I love you too, Mommy."
Georgiana never thought her heart would break more than when Damian signed the divorce papers, but she was wrong. Georgiana wasn't even sure she had a heart left after hearing her daughter say that. It was the strangest feeling – it both made her heart swell and broke it into a million pieces. She'd been waiting over ten years just to hear her say that. Georgiana shifted her so she could look at her face, moving her hair away and staring at her, "You are beautiful," she whispered, "I wish I could have seen you grow up."
"You still can," she said sadly, her voice still small.
Georgiana suddenly felt calmer than she had in years – because she was right. She could, all he had to do was tell Damian.
Damian.
She couldn't face him without knowing everything about the relationship he was in. She had to know who he was today. Georgiana knew that as soon as she saw Damian again, she would love him just like she did years ago.
But was the Damian of today still the same person?
Georgiana helped Saoirse stand up, "Can you go get your sister? I need to talk to her."
Saoirse nodded and wiped her eyes. She started walking across the room slowly, looking back every few seconds to make sure Georgiana was still there.
"And Saoirse?"
She turned.
"Go spend some time with your grandfather. I think he'd really like that," Georgiana knew her father had taken the whole ordeal harder than anyone knew and he did deserve to get to know his granddaughter.
Georgiana took the few minutes between girls to collect her thoughts. She had no idea what she was doing. This was like every single one of her worst nightmares had come to life. She was lost because she was stuck between what her head knew was the best solution and what her heart knew would hurt it, but it would also get to see the person it belonged to again.
She was stuck.
"Mommy?" Darla crept into the room. Georgiana's eyes widened when she saw she had changed into her old clothes and looked like her daughter again.
She would have to get her to a salon soon though.
Georgiana sat on the chair and pulled Darla onto her lap as well. She realized that she wanted to have both of them with her all the time. She wanted to be a family. Even if it hurt, she would have to let Damian know that she needed to see both of them. "I want you to tell me about Dam- your Dad's girlfriend," Georgiana looked her daughter straight in the eye, "but only what you want to tell me."
Darla pouted a little, "She's really pretty, but she's mean! She yells at me all the time!"
Georgiana saw red, "She yelled at you? And your father didn't do anything?"
Darla played with her hands, "Well she didn't yell at me when Daddy w-was around. She just…did it when Daddy was gone. She yelled at Melina all the time too. Daddy didn't even want me to meet her!"
Georgiana was still angry. She wasn't sure why she was, though.
Was she angry because Damian didn't protect his daughter?
Was she angry because the girlfriend yelled at her daughter?
Or was she simply angry because Damian had a girlfriend at all?
"Did you tell him that the girlfriend yelled at you?"
Darla shook her head, "I really wanted him to like me!"
Georgiana nodded, "I'm sure he did, honey."
Darla nodded, "He's a lot of fun. He sings a lot and dances, even if he's not good at it."
Georgiana smiled, apparently Damian hadn't changed all that much. He was still the boy she had fallen in love with.
She sighed, "Did Melina ever see her yell at you?"
"No, but she was afraid of her."
This she understood. "I bet she told her," she laughed, thinking of all the personal insults Melina had thrown at her.
"She ripped her coat to shreds on night," Darla laughed.
Georgiana laughed for a few seconds before coming to a painful realization. "Wait. What is her name?"
Darla wrinkled her nose, "Her name is Hannah but she makes me call her Ms. Montgomery."
Georgiana's jaw dropped and she nearly fell off of the chair, "You mean…Hannah Montgomery."
"Yes," Darla nodded slowly, "do you know her?"
"Hannah Montgomery, the model," Georgiana's mind was reeling. Maybe Damian wasn't the boy he used to be. This new Damian liked younger women.
Younger women who were snotty.
Younger women who were in incredibly good shape.
Younger women that he obviously cared a lot about.
Georgiana had to bite her bottom lip to stop herself from crying. Already she was heartbroken. She didn't want to be a downer, but she couldn't believe she had gotten her hopes up so high. Did she really think Damian had been waiting around all of those years?
She couldn't help but feel slightly saddened by the realization that she was going to be alone forever because she couldn't get over a man who had clearly moved on himself.
"Can you give me a few minutes alone?" Georgiana said to Darla, watching as her face fell. "Go be with your grandfather. He missed you."
Georgiana sat back in the chair and couldn't help the tremors working their way down her spine.
She knew it.
She knew that if she ever got the chance to be with Damian again, Damian would already have moved on. She had ruined any and all chances she had of happiness.
Georgiana had ruined everything.
She didn't even realize he was crying until the sobs racked her entire body and she had to press her fist to his mouth to stop the sobbing. The world began to spin as she quickly put her head between her legs.
"Georgie?"
Georgiana quickly sat up, and despite her vertigo, made out the figure standing in the doorway. "Melina."
Melina quickly crossed the room, "Why are you crying?" In a second she was on her knees in front of her, rubbing her back slowly.
"I've been a horrible mother. I have these two beautiful girls under my roof and the only thing I can even feel is pain because the only man I've ever loved is clearly in love with some model who I'll never be. I ruined it, Mel. I've held hope for ten years that one day we would get together and everything would be happy. But no, he's happy with someone else. Of course. And I'm left here alone, again."
Melina's eyes had tears in them too, "Georgie…now you know how he felt all those years ago. He cried for three years. He cried every night. He still thinks of you all the time. He listens to your wedding song at least once a week. He has a huge tote in the basement that is just like this shrine to you. He's living his life Georgie, but he isn't living it to the fullest."
"He still has someone," Georgiana reminded her, her mind quickly filing away all the little things that could give her hope. "He still loves someone else."
"He doesn't love Hannah," Melina said fiercely. "He never has and never will love someone else. I think he's convinced himself that maybe he can move on because of her, but he still listens to your wedding song. He never introduced Saoirse to Hannah. Hannah never had dinner at the house, she never stayed the night, and he barely even went on dates with her."
Georgiana shook her head, "I'm not going to ruin his happiness again. I know you don't like Hannah but I can't do that to Damian."
Melina leaned back, "Why didn't you think like this ten years ago?"
She shrugged, "I was so trapped in myself. I wanted...I wanted to give Damian the world that I worked so hard and gave him nothing."
"Well here's the thing, Georgiana," the moody Melina was back, "I've not got to spend time with both of these girls, and let me tell you, they are amazing. I don't care what you and him do, but you need to get your acts together. These girls know each other and they know both of you. I'm not going to see them get hurt again. I care about those little girls like they are my own. You need to be a woman and figure out what the heck you're going to do. Now."
Georgiana nodded numbly. "I just…it's such a bad week for this!" She remembered suddenly that she had the huge show in California on Friday, in which Hannah was the showcase model. "Get everyone in the room," Georgiana had an idea and she didn't know if it would work, but she needed to cling to something.
When everyone was assembled, she was once again pacing in front of them. "Okay, here is the plan. I am going to California this week for the fashion show. Saoirse, Damian, Melina, and Hannah are also going back home."
Darla and Saoirse whimpered and clung to each other.
"We are going to pretend this didn't happen…for the time being," Georgiana held up her fingers, "and I am going to go and call Damian while I am in California and say I just want to catch up."
Henry and Melina looked at each other with worried eyes, but said nothing.
"And then I will invite him and Saoirse to the show, giving them backstage passes."
Henry held up a hand, "I don't think we should lie to him…"
Georgiana shook her head, "I know it sounds stupid but I really think we need to do it this way. I don't want to bombard him with too many things. I will keep Darla away from Damian and Saoirse for a while. Melina can get them together so they can see each other and then she can also inform me where Damian is."
Melina rolled her eyes, "Georgie, this is complicated…"
"Wait," Georgiana was pacing even faster now, "and then we have to get Damian and Hannah to break up. Hannah, from what I've seen and what I've heard, is no good for him. She's a jerk and just using Damian…for something."
"Money," Melina said.
Georgiana stopped walking, "Excuse me?"
Melina looked at her oddly, "Are you seriously telling me you haven't kept up with Damian at all?"
Georgiana looked away, "I tried a few times, but it was painful…"
"He has your website in his favorites," Melina pointed out with a meaningful look. "Damian is the leading distributor of coffee beans. They live on a huge ranch surrounded by nothing but the beans and a mill to press them, a house in Ireland and California. Hannah knows Damian is worth a lot and he's a sweet guy who is literally begging to be loved. Throw in the fact that he's a nice guy and Hannah has a pretty cushy life."
"I want him back," Georgiana declared, "I want him back, Melina. You have to help me. I need him, I need both of these girls, I need my family."
Melina closed her eyes for a few minutes, "I will help you, Georgie. I will help you because I want the best for him, not because of you. I think you've changed, I really do, but I need to see it. But George, if you hurt him again, I will take a sewing machine and make tiny rows up and down your entire body until you beg for mercy, got it?"
Georgiana nodded, "I won't hurt him again, Melina. I can't."
Henry shook his head, "I still think you're going about this wrong, kiddo. I think you need to just be an adult and tell Damian instead of some elaborate scheme you would have done when you were in high school."
Georgiana knew her dad was probably right, but she needed Damian to know that she was willing to fight for him this time, willing to go out on a limb and give up everything.
She also wanted to give Hannah a hard time because no one else should get the change to touch someone as perfect as Damian, especially someone as vile as Hannah.
"This will work," Georgiana muttered again. "But first, I'm going to take my girls out for a day of fun."
The huge smiles on both of their faces was enough for her, it was enough to give her the courage to put her heart on the line again.
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Post by celticbear on Jul 20, 2013 19:48:33 GMT -5
Wow! Loved the whole isolation scene! Glad both girls figured out what a jerk Matt was! Glad Georgie is on aboard to help the girls become a whole family again! I just hope Georgie's plane works'
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