Chapter Three: Leaving On A Jet Plane
Marie smiled confidently as she zipped up her last bag. Standing in her doorway, Rebecca stood watching her as she waited to take her to the airport. "What?" Marie asked wondering why Rebecca was staring at her so intently.
"Nothing just I am marveling at the fact that you're finally doing something for yourself. It's a really great thing to see, after all this time." Rebecca replied making Marie shrug and continue to pack. It was true, it had been far too long since Marie had done anything for herself. That was the nature of her psyche, always willing to do something for someone else but never could find the time to do anything for herself. "Maybe you can have some hot sexy fling with some cute California surfer boy or fall for some suave movie star." She added making Marie snicker.
"Yeah and that would happen on the first of oh let's see oh yeah that's right never!" Marie shot back as she zipped up her other bag. "Besides I'm going to relax, and get a tan, and bask in the wonderful Santa Anna winds while you all back here in cheery dreary NYC get to freeze your butts off." She added on rubbing in the fact that she was going to sunny beautiful southern California, a very stark contrast to the much rougher, tougher cold of the city in the dead of winter. It was like she was going from Siberia to Tahiti in her mind.
"Seriously though, what are you going to do for over a month? I mean don't you think that's a little long?"
Marie shrugged, "I've never taken time off, and that's about how long Angel will be gone for, so I figured you and Rhianne and Anthony could handle it. You've been bugging me long enough to let you try your hand at managing everything and if you're successful at it, you realize that means a really nice bonus and more responsibilities here. I think it'll be a great test for the business and for you to see how you can thrive in the stress I deal with on a daily basis."
Rebecca laughed and shrugged. "I think we can handle it. I mean if there's any issues then of course we'll call but I'm just shocked you actually want to stay away for a whole 5 weeks."
"You're the one who keeps telling me that I need to break free and do something for myself, to get out there and just take a load off for a while, disappear you know?" Marie replied feeling completely happy and sure with her decision. As much as it was a long time away from her business she knew deep down that this would be good for her. A way for her to just sit back, relax and take things in stride instead of her normal compulsion to obsess over every minute detail of not just a simple cake for a wedding but even over the numbers and marketing plans that Anthony worked tirelessly at to make them one of the few establishments that didn't just become another statistic.
Marie grabbed her duffel, laptop back and large roller and sighed looking around her room for the last time in what would be five long wonderful weeks she hoped would be waiting for her in Los Angeles. "So are you ready to blow this popsicle stand or what?" Rebecca asked seeing her friend at ease for the first time in a long time when it had absolutely nothing to do with baking or pastries at all.
Marie smiled brightly and nodded following her dear friend and colleague out of her apartment and down to the street where Rebecca's car was waiting for them to take her to JFK airport. Just before getting into the car Marie looked up to where her windows were all the way up on the 6th floor. She took a breath and sighed Yeah I can do this... She thought to herself smiling and getting into the car, ready to get on with her long overdue getaway.
---
Nick rolled over opening his eyes slowly seeing a familiar light brown mop of hair. "Hey..." He said sleepily at his oldest daughter. "Why are you up so early?" He asked grinning at her. She shrugged and sighed. He wrapped an arm around her and held her for a moment. He knew that sometimes that saying nothing at all when it came to Jo was the best course of action. Since losing her mom she'd become very introverted and quiet, a stark contrast to the loud and somewhat silly kid she was back then. "So...you gonna talk or am I going to have to tickle it out of you?"
Jo pushed away from her father and squealed as she captured her foot tickling the bottom of it, her biggest weak spot. "Okay, okay!!!" She shrieked telling him to let her go. When he did she gave him a look, "Do I have to go to Grams?"
Nick sighed, he knew this conversation was coming, his former in-laws were coming to pick up the girls to spend at their home for an entire week before the holidays, only to be returned to him on Christmas Eve. He knew the girls didn't want to spend so much time away especially with the holiday coming. But he also knew that the holidays were a very emotional time for them. To remember what they lost and that another year had passed since that night. "Yes, your Grams will be very sad if you don't go. And just think when you come back it'll be Christmas Eve and I talked it over with Santa and he said if you're a very extra special good girl for your Grams and Grandpa then he said he'd make an early swing by the house."
"You talked to Santa?" She asked getting that skeptical glance on her face, one that used to only belong to her mother but now his own daughter had become a professional with the ‘I think you're full of it' look.
Nick smiled and pressed his forehead to hers gently but momentarily. "Are you kidding, we're practically like brothers, got him on my speed dial and everything. How else do you get the best toys ever?" He said perpetuating his fib. He knew it wasn't the best thing in the world to lie to his daughters but for the sake of keeping them innocent and naïve about the world for just a little bit longer he figured a few exaggerations about the myth of the jolly old man in a big red suit would be okay for the time being. "Come on let's go make some breakfast." He said with a grin as he stood up and picked Jo up holding her on his back piggy back style through the house.
---
Marie settled into her seat in the coach section of the plane the first in her row she took the window so she could watch the world pass her by as she would travel 3,000 miles west from her home in snow cloud filled Manhattan. She looked around the cabin seeing people filtering in and stopped when she saw a handsome man stop on her row. She smiled and fixed her hair mouthing "hi" to him as he looked at his ticket thinking that he was in the right place.
"Honey...we're down this way..." A pretty redhead said behind him. He moved on quickly and the redhead gave Marie a simple smile and a look as if to say ‘sorry this one's taken'.
Marie blushed in embarrassment and she looked out the window mentally cursing herself for thinking that flirting on an airplane was a great idea. She blamed the multitude of movies she watched on the premise itself, to find someone worth flirting with on an airplane and have it actually work out. Sighing to herself she took out her blackberry seeing she had a new text message.
Have an awesome trip, you deserve it! - Bec
She smiled and typed a quick thank you sending it before turning off her phone. She settled into her seat pulling out a very worn copy of one of her favorite books The Beach and sighed depressed to herself. A moment later a young boy and his mother came to sit down next to her, the little boy about 10 years of age bouncing in his seat hyper and the mother looking frazzled and sighed as she sat down. She looked over at Marie and smiled courteously. "Hi I'm Beth." She said simply offering her hand.
"Marie." She said back shaking her hand. Marie felt a surge of calm rush over her, the woman being so kind to her to just openly say hello like that was definitely something she wasn't used to.
"This is my son David, he's excited, we're going home to see his father."
"Oh that's awesome. You live in California?"
"Yes, what gave you that impression?"
"Most New Yorkers don't talk to each other and if they do it's not always with such pleasantry." She replied making the woman smile at her joke of the stereotypical angry New Yorker.
"I take it you're a native then?"
"Born and raised in Brooklyn. I live in Manhattan now, own my own business and pay far too much for the apartment that I mortgaged but then again that's New York for you."
"I can definitely see that, real estate out in California isn't much cheaper. You get a ton more space for the price but at the same time it's a rather large chunk of change for a house out there."
"I bet. I'm going on vacation. The first in a long time, a friend needs someone to house sit for her so I sort of volunteered."
Beth smiled and helped her son get his seatbelt buckled as he played with his Optimus Prime action figure. "That'll be nice, and you don't have to fork over money on a hotel. Must be a good friend for you to fly all that way just to house sit."
"She's a very good friend. We've sort of had a long distance friendship with her career in LA and mine in New York." She replied thinking back to how she had met Angel. She'd been staying in New York working on a few photo shoots around the time of her birthday and had contracted Marie to do her birthday cake for her and her twin brother. They'd hung out to discuss the design ideas Angel had wanted and had struck a friendship with each other in the process and now that friendship had served to finally give her a way to do something for herself for once.
---
"Livie where is your Frankie-bear?" He shouted trying to find the oh so precious toy in her mound of stuffed animals. Sometimes he really cursed himself for spoiling his children with such an over abundance of toys and trinkets to show his affection. He knew he didn't have to and spent more time with them than anything but at the same time, not having a mother in their life he felt it was necessary to supplement all the time he spent with them with the spoils of toys.
Livie walked in a moment later the bear dangling from her hand. He turned and looked giving her a disapproving glance for a moment. "I found him." She said quietly knowing that look on her father's face meant he was unhappy with her.
"Well I'm glad you found him but I just made a complete mess of your room looking for him. Where was he?" He asked finding his conversation about a teddy bear to be one of the more off the wall conversations he's had with his daughters. Even the tea parties he had attended already didn't even compare to the weirdness he felt whenever he caught himself doing something so completely parental it scared him. For the longest time he never thought he'd ever get to a point in his life where the most important thing was finding a particularly loved teddy bear for his daughter so she could sleep easy at night for the few nights she was going to spend away from home.
"In Jo's bag...Daddy why do we have to go to Gram's house?" She asked giving her best impression of a puppy with her big doe eyes.
He chuckled a little and scooped her up deciding on dealing with the mess that he created later. "Well Grams and Grandpa have been wanting you to come stay with them for quite sometime little lady. And still Jo will be there and they have all of Mommy's toys from when she was a little girl for you two to play with."
"Do you not want us ‘round?" She asked rather bluntly. His face softened and he stopped in his tracks for a moment. It was times like these he really wish he had Anna to word things for him. She'd always had a way with words and had made his life so much easier in getting his odd way of explaining things and then being able to translate it into normal logic for everyone else.
"No of course I want you and Jo around. You're my little girls, but I promised your grandparents a whole week with the two of you and just think of the fun you're going to have. A whole week without me telling you what to do. And grandma spoiling the heck out of you and grandpa's magic tricks? Don't tell me you don't love those? Or are you already too old for a good magic trick?"
"Dad, Grams is here." Jo said from the other end of the hall. Nick grinned and set Livie down giving Jo a loving hand on her shoulder as he passed her. He opened the door seeing his former in-laws standing there.
"Hello honey." Meredith said as she walked in the door giving him a hug. He smiled and hugged her back before she turned to her granddaughters. "Oh my goodness look at the two of you! Jo you are so tall and Livie look at that hair it's beautiful!" She exclaimed kneeling down so both girls could run over and hug her.
Nick smiled at the scene before looking to his feet feeling a hand smack his shoulder gently. "Hey Ted..." He said greeting him.
"How are you son?" He asked getting a concerned look on his face.
Nick shrugged and sighed. "About as good as can be expected, this time of year is always hard." He replied honestly. The holidays were the roughest time for him and for Ted and Meredith as well. He loved that they still treated him so well as if nothing at all had happened but at the same time he knew it was even harder on them, to not be able to see their daughter when they would come to see their granddaughters. "All right you two be good for your grandparents and you'll get extra presents when you come home."
Jo smiled at her father and nodded and Livie's mischievous smile faded and she nodded too. "Okay Daddy we love you!" The both said hugging him as he crouched down to their level.
"Love you too munchkins." He said softly before watching them walk out the door their little duffle bags and mini roller bags behind them as they ran down the driveway to their grandparents' car. "Take good care of em for me." Nick requested as Ted and Meredith each gave him a hug.
"Of course sweetheart, they'll be so spoiled when they come back you won't know what to do with them." Meredith replied making him smile. He watched them leave giving one last wave as Jo and Livie both looked out the back of the car waving and blowing kisses to him. He closed the door and looked around the house sighing at how suddenly the deafening silence came over him. He sighed, having a whole week to himself was definitely going to take some creativity on his part when before this time he hadn't spent time alone in well over a year. And now faced with an over abundance of independence he found himself torn on what he should do. Getting an idea he pulled on some sneakers and decided to head down to the beach for a much needed run.
---
Marie yawned as she pulled her suitcases down the hallway to Angel's condo. She unlocked the door from the key Angel had given her and looked at the spacious loft. White walls, with cream colored furniture, a small yet workable kitchen. A small spiral staircase that led presumably to the master and guest bedrooms. She looked down seeing a small dog and a larger pit bull run up to her it's tail wagging and a small yet ferocious bark coming from it. "You must be Romeo and Jada." She said leaning down placing her hands in front of both pooches letting him and her smell her. After a moment the pups licked her hand then took off into the condo, Jada went to her earlier spot curled up on the couch and Romeo came back with a small squeaky ball in his mouth dropping it before her feet wagging his tail expectantly. "Can I unpack first? Then we'll play I promise little man." She said trying to appease the pup and laughed at herself for the ludicrousy of her conversation with a dog. She walked up the stairs carrying her suitcases rather awkwardly up the stairs. She found the master bedroom seeing the queen size bed the Japanese kimono design of the bedding and the mirroring art on the walls. She sighed and collapsed on the bed grinning. Oh yeah this is going to be a fantastic vacation...
Author's Chapter Notes:
Cool yet another chapter! I'm excited and the response has been amazing! Thank you all so much for liking this story. I hope you all enjoy!!!
Chapter End Notes:
thanks for reading if you have a moment tell me what you thought! thanks so much!
