Chapter Text
Muted thuds sounded in the air as Sunny gently knocked on the house door. The front of the house hadn’t changed in the two months since they’d last been here and for that, Aubrey was quite thankful. The rude summer heat combined with the sharp warmth from the pizza boxes in her arms had Aubrey feeling rather uncomfortable.
“I hope we aren’t catching them during a nap.” A different voice sighed from behind her. Aubrey turned to look at her blond friend, carefully toying with a camera in his hands. His long blond hair fell just past his shoulders; a pink flower clip snapped tight on the left side of his head.
“I’m sure it’s ok.” Sunny smiled, adjusting the sandwich bag to his left hand. His right hand now free, he gently placed it upon their friend’s lower back, “We should get them up for dinner anyways.” Basil smiled back at him, blushing slightly as their eyes met. Aubrey politely turned back towards the door.
“Your hair’s getting pretty long.” She chuckled, “Do you want me to give you a quick cut before the wedding?”
“Ah! Do you think I should?” Basil asked nervously, “I kinda like it at this length…”
“I think it looks fine.” Sunny huffed, though the compliment only made Basil blush harder.
“It does look fine.” Aubrey nodded, “But it’s a bit wild. Could probably use some touch up.”
“If you think so.” Basil nodded.
“Oh Basil-” Aubrey started to turn towards him, but her ears perked up at the noise coming from the door, “Footsteps.” She turned back towards the door as Sunny, in one seamless motion, removed his hand from Basil’s side and returned to it the sandwich bag. Settled back into place, the door swung open to an extremely tired looking Hero.
“Hey everyone!” He smiled at them. Despite his apparent exhaustion, it was as bright as ever.
“Evening.” Sunny nodded, extending his left hand to Hero, “I hope we didn’t catch the three of you in the middle of a nap.”
“Oh, no, not at all.” Hero chuckled, grasping his brother-in-law’s hand firmly, “We were just getting settled down to feed Summer. Needed a moment to help Mari get set up.” He took the bag from Sunny’s hand, “Gino didn’t give you grief, did he?”
“New hire helped us out.” Aubrey chuckled, thrusting the pizza boxes into Sunny’s arm, “Plus, I think it helped you actually ordered pizza this time.”
“Well, Mari did insist.” Hero sighed, “Even if it isn’t the healthiest food for her to be having right now.”
“Don’t you even start!” Mari could be heard shouting from the dining room, “Food is food, and food helps me feed our child, mister!”
“Yes dear!” Hero called back, before sighing again, “Come in, come in. Let’s get out of the heat.” Aubrey quickly pushed past him and hurried into the dining room. Sitting in a chair with a light blanket wrapped around her shoulders, Mari sat with her back to the dining room entrance. She was slowly rocking back and forth, humming quietly to herself as Aubrey approached.
“Hey.” Aubrey said softly, putting a hand on Mari’s shoulder. Mari blinked to herself before turning towards Aubrey. Her face brightened immediately.
“Aubrey!” She exclaimed, “It’s so good to see you.”
“It’s good to see you, too.” Aubrey smiled at her, “How are you doing, Mom?” Mari gave a quick sigh.
“Tired.” She snorted. Aubrey studied her face; the dark circles under slightly bloodshot eyes, stress wrinkles rippled through ghastly pale skin, and worst of all, her hair was severely disheveled and knotted in a few places. Even her smile seemed sad and forced.
“Yeah…” Aubrey nodded, “You look like hell.”
“Snrk.” Mari chuckled, “I feel like hell.” A gentle thud announced the arrival of the pizza boxes and Hero came into view, wrapping the table to get to the other side of Mari.
“I take it little Summer keeps you up at night?” Aubrey asked.
“Most nights, yeah.” Mari sighed, “But even the nights she manages to sleep soundly, the pain keeps me up.”
“At least she seems to be feeding ok.” Aubrey tried to give Mari the most reassuring smile she could, but Mari only looked down at the small mound beneath her blanket, a slightly annoyed expression boring down at it.
“Oh she’s feeding GREAT, but she could stand to be a little less greedy.” Mari huffed. Her face suddenly scrunched up, “Easy! Mommy can only make so much milk, you know…” Hero looked down at his watch.
“Let’s get her switched over.” He whispered to Mari. Mari could only nod in response.
“Oh, I can…uh…” Aubrey felt a sense of panic rising in her chest.
“Actually, could you hold the blanket for me?” Hero asked politely, “It would be a tremendous help.”
“Yeah! Sure.” Aubrey nodded nervously. Hero unwrapped Mari’s blanket with great care, handing parts over to Aubrey, who held them up to shield Mari from the rest of the room. She took great pains to not look down at her good friend’s exposed chest, instead trying to focus on Mari’s face. Mari glanced over at her and smirked.
“What?” She teased, “It’s not like you haven’t seen them before.” Aubrey could feel the color running laps across her face.
“T-This is different!” Aubrey huffed, “I just don’t want to peek in on such an intimate moment.” Mari only giggled in response, returning her focus to the fragile infant in her arms. The joy and warmth from her face quickly drained away, replaced with a fraught tension. As the pair moved Summer closer to Mari’s breast, Aubrey could hear Hero murmuring some gentle words of encouragement to Summer. Mari, however, seemed like she was trying not to start hyperventilating through the whole ordeal. It didn’t take much for the babe to latch onto her mother again, upon which Mari let out a very pained hiss. Her face collapsed into agony as a few tears sprung from her eyes. Hero quickly took the blanket back from Aubrey and got Mari and Summer shrouded safely once again.
“Breathe…breathe dear…” He whispered to Mari, gently placing his forehead against hers. With gentle kiss after gentle kiss applied to her temple, Mari’s lungs remembered how to function properly and the pain finally left her face. Watching it all unfold sent a chill down Aubrey’s spine. Some more kisses later and Mari seemed to return to a normal state; normal for her current condition at least. Aubrey put a hand on Mari’s shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze.
“Well, now that baby is taken care of, let’s get some food in Mom, too.” She ran a quick finger through Mari’s hair, “And then we can get this poor neglected mop of hair some love and attention.
“Thank you, Aubrey.” Mari gave her a weak smile, “I really appreciate it.” The sound of clattering plates danced around the room, and a wave of melted cheese, toasted vegetables, and cooked meat flooded the air. Chatter between friends and family filled the room, and with it, a touch of color returned to Mari’s face, yet through it all, Aubrey could not push down the uneasy feeling sitting in her stomach.
The number of great battles in history that were fiercer and more devastating than the one between Aubrey’s comb and Mari’s hair numbered very little. Even having been washed thoroughly, with the heavy scent of jasmine now permeating the air, Aubrey struggled in vain to detangle the damp jungle on Mari’s head.
“You have been washing your hair recently, right?” Aubrey groaned, carefully picking through yet another hidden knot, “I swear, if Hero hasn’t been giving you time…”
“He has, Aubrey.” Mari sighed, wincing in pain as Aubrey worked, “But I mostly just…give it a quick rinse and towel dry it as fast as I can.”
“You can take your time, you know.” Aubrey shook her head, “I’m sure Hero can handle Summer on his own long enough for you to take a proper shower.”
“It’s not that he can’t.” Mari responded, her voice heavy with exhaustion, “Summer gets very…distraught when we’re separated for too long.”
“I see.”
“She’ll just start screaming if she hasn’t seen me or heard my voice after a time.” Mari continued, “It’s so painful hearing her like that. I have to be quick about doing anything without her.”
“Bit of a momma’s girl then, is she?” Aubrey chuckled. Mari chuckled back in response, before another hiss of pain as Aubrey hit another knot, “Sorry, sorry!”
“I didn’t realize it had gotten this bad.” Mari sighed deeply.
“Yeah it’s…pretty rough.” Aubrey nodded at her through the bathroom mirror. Looking over the hair, she noticed there were still several knots left to go. Most, however, were lower down her hair. She focused her efforts on the knots higher up first.
“Has the night nurse been much help?” She asked. In response, she noticed Mari clench her fists underneath the towel they’d draped over her body.
“They never got us one.” Mari said, her voice thick with anger.
“Really? Why’s that?” Aubrey asked.
“They didn’t believe we needed the help.” Mari grumbled, “Hero’s so good at his job and everything else in his life, and I’m such a ‘paragon of maternity’ that they told us we’ll be just fine.”
“So, have you two had any help?”
“My mom and his mom have come over to help here and there…” Mari closed her eyes while Aubrey picked at another knot, “But his mom and I got into a…bit of an argument and I…told Hero that I didn’t want her around without him anymore.”
“That sounds pretty bad.” Aubrey’s eyes went wide with shock, but Mari refused to meet her gaze in the mirror.
“It’s not that bad, I swear, she can just be…a little much sometimes.” She sighed, “I don’t know…I might just be overreacting because of the pain and the sleeplessness and the hormon-OW! FUCK!” Mari pulled forward, away from Aubrey’s hands, stamping her foot into the bathroom floor.
“Sorry sorry sorry!” Aubrey frantically apologized, carefully removing her comb from its cage in Mari’s hair, “Ugh, these lower knots are really bad.”
“Do you…think you can save it?” Mari panted through the pain. After some careful pokes and prods, Aubrey shook her head.
“No…I’m sorry, Mari, I think I’m gonna have to cut these last ones out.” She sighed.
“How much are you going to have to cut?” Aubrey could hear the panic in Mari’s voice. A quick fish through her supplies bag located her trusty pair of scissors with their bright pink handles. Another moment to fully assess the damage to Mari’s long, languished locks left Aubrey feeling quite disheartened. Her fingers moved in solemn silence, stopping right next to the base of Mari’s neck. The position caused a look of sheer terror to manifest over Mari’s face.
“Aubrey no-” She started, but Aubrey cut her off.
“If you want my professional opinion” Aubrey started, doing her best to keep her voice calm and even, “A nice shoulder length bob would probably be for the best.”
“Aubrey I can’t.” Mari insisted, her breathing quickly becoming ragged.
“It would be very easy to style around your face type, take a huge weight off your head and shoulders, and would be much, much easier to manage while taking care of such an attached baby.”
“No, no Aubrey, I can’t…not that short, please.” Mari continued to beg, tears forming at the corners of her eyes. Tipping her head forward, with the scent of jasmine rushing to fill her nose, Aubrey placed her hand with the scissors on Mari’s shoulder.
“It would help make your life a little bit easier.” Aubrey continued, taking in a deep breath, “But I know how much your hair means to you.” Her fingers slid through the wet hair, finally hitting the first knot about two-thirds of the way down, “So we’ll cut a little above the highest knot.”
“Thank you, Aubrey.” Mari let out a huge sigh of relief.
“It’ll leave you…around where you had it in high school? Maybe a little shorter, I can’t quite recall how long it was back then.” Aubrey grabbed her comb once again and got to work removing the unsalvageable part of Mari’s hair. Her dear friend sat in silence while she went about her removal, first getting the major cuts done before moving on to the edges, carefully measuring the ends with her fingers. After the final snips were made, Aubrey pulled out a few different kinds of scissors and went about fixing up the various layers. She could see the tension in Mari’s neck start to ease up a bit. Satisfied with a job well done, Aubrey gave Mari a nice big smile as she gave her hair a few more strokes with her comb. It didn’t catch a single time. She then turned back to her bag to get her hair dryer, but was caught off guard when Mari suddenly stood up.
“Hey, you o-Ah! Mari!” She could feel her face go beat red as Mari suddenly dropped the towel they were using as a cape. The embarrassment was quickly replaced, however, with a wretched sinking feeling in her gut. Mari stood there, staring at herself in the mirror, one arm politely covering the fronts of her breasts, another placed on the bathroom counter. Aubrey could see the rest of her in the mirror; her stomach still slightly distended, seemingly collapsing in on itself and covered in stretch marks. Worst of all was the deep red scar line traveling from the top of her underwear right to her belly button. The incision appeared to have at least healed, but the mark it left behind was still bright and angry. The small amount of her breasts Aubrey could see fared little better; they appeared to be painfully swollen, with rivers of veins traveling in agony on either side. With a few tears running down Mari’s face, Aubrey could only feel sympathy for the malformed husk her friend had become.
“Mari…” Aubrey started, but she quickly stopped herself, unable to find the right words for the moment.
“I feel so awful.” Mari sniffled, “Everything aches, or feels out of place, or swollen and I…” She let out a small sob, trying to wipe away her tears, “I just want to feel normal again.” Aubrey couldn’t recall a time she’d ever seen Mari so despondent. The sight alone left the hair on her arms standing on ends, and it left sharp prickles in her heart, but worst of all, a dark thought wormed its way into her brain. She did her best to fight it down, but morbid curiosity won out in the end.
“Mari…” She said cautiously, “Do you regret having Summer?” A horrible, wretched question to speak aloud, but that sinking feeling in her gut would not let it go unasked. Mari sobbed a little harder in response.
“No! Not really. I-I mean…I…” The tears flowed a little harder now and all Aubrey could do was put a reassuring hand on Mari’s shoulder, “I love her, I really do, but I…God, help me I miss feeling like myself.” Something about the admission finally snapped Aubrey back to reality. With a few more sobs hanging in the air, she quickly grabbed the other towel from the rack and gently wrapped it around Mari, encouraging her to sit while doing so. With her friend back on the stool, Aubrey wrapped both of her arms around Mari’s shoulders in a tight hug.
“You had a very traumatic childbirth, Mari.” She said, “Even with normal childbirths, it can take some time to get back to feeling some sort of normal.” Mari leaned her head into Aubrey’s shoulder as she continued, “So, it might take you a little longer than normal, but, Mari you’ll find your rhythm again. I just know you will.” Mari looked up at her, sorrow still filled her eyes.
“Aubrey…I…” She started, but a sudden ringing from the bedroom interrupted the pair’s moment.
“Ah! I need to get that.” Aubrey gave Mari a quick squeeze, “I’m sorry.”
“It’s ok.” Mari smiled weakly.
“It’ll be quick, I promise.” Aubrey nodded. She hurried into Mari’s bedroom and pulled her phone out of her backpack. Hailey’s name danced through the small screen, “Hello?”
“Aubrey!” Hailey’s voice sounded from the phone.
“Hey Hailey.” Aubrey smiled, “How are you doing? Was the flight ok?”
“Yeah, we landed a little bit ago.” She could hear Hailey yawning loudly on the other end.
“You sound tired.” Aubrey chuckled.
“Yeeahh.” Hailey sighed, “Wasn’t able to sleep much on the plane. We’re in a rental car right now. Dad’s driving us to the new house.”
“Sounds like plenty of sleep tonight then.”
“Ugh, maybe.” Hailey grumbled, “I don’t have my bed yet. Just a sleeping bag and my pillow.”
“When’s the rest of your stuff arriving?” Aubrey asked, a note of concern in her voice.
“Not sure. It might take the movers a day or two to get over here.” Hailey sighed, “Hopefully they don’t take longer than that.”
“Well, I’ll let you rest then.” Aubrey chuckled again, “If you can, text me when you guys get there, ok?”
“I will.”
“I love you.”
“I love you, too, sis.” With that, the call ended, and Aubrey returned the phone to her backpack. She turned back to the bathroom, and to a Mari grinning mischievously at her.
“So” Mari chuckled, “Was that the little sister Sunny told me about?”
“Yeah.” Aubrey chuckled back nervously, “Quite the story honestly.”
“From what Sunny’s told me, most certainly.” Mari smiled up at her, “What’s she like?”
“Oh she’s great.” Aubrey nodded, taking her place back behind Mari, “She’s very smart, and sweet, and maybe a little clingy, sometimes annoying, but…” She let out a sigh, “She’s got the brightest smile I’ve ever seen, and I’m so, so happy I got to meet her.”
“I’m glad to hear that.” Mari giggled, “Welcome to the big sister club.”
“Gee, thanks.” Aubrey huffed. She got her hair dryer plugged in and turned it on. It whined only somewhat loudly, letting out a steady stream of hot air. Comb back in hand, she made quick work through Mari’s hair, getting it dry as quick as she could. Mari had her eyes closed the whole time, basking in the heat of the dryer.
“By the way.” Aubrey switched off the hair dryer once she made sure she was finished, “What were you going to say earlier?”
“When?” Mari asked, tilting her head slightly.
“Right before Hailey called me.”
“Oh.” Mari looked away as Aubrey picked up her pink hairbrush, “Don’t worry about it, it’s nothing.”
“If you’re sure.” Aubrey sighed. Humming the most recent hit she heard on the radio, Aubrey moved on to brushing out Mari’s hair. Mari closed her eyes while Aubrey worked, letting herself enjoy the sensations while she could.
Having returned downstairs, Aubrey stood behind the chair Sunny was presently sat in, a firm grip on her stylist bag. Mari, now fully dressed in a lovely loose white dress dotted with purple flowers, was carefully applying a bit of make-up to Hero’s face, just under his eyes. Her own sported some light make-up as well, adding a small mask of false color to her otherwise exhaustion stricken face. Hero was dressed in some nice dark slacks and a dark purple short sleeved dress shirt. Basil was busy getting his camera set up on a portable tripod. Lastly, Sunny had Summer carefully held in his arms. He stared down at the infant with his usual blank stare while she made the occasional chirp, and his finger was trapped within his niece’s two tiny hands. Aubrey bent down, resting her head next to Sunny’s, and studied Summer carefully. The initial pink had long left her skin, leaving her decidedly pale. Small, brown-ish fuzz covered the top of her head and two small, dark brown eyes stared back at her. She was wearing a small solid purple onesie.
“Such a cutie.” Aubrey giggled softly.
“Still looks a little bit like an alien to me.” Sunny chuckled back.
“She does NOT look like an alien.” Mari huffed from the other side of the room. Aubrey looked up to see her shooting them an annoyed glare, cheeks puffed out in a slight pout.
“I think all babies kinda look like that when they’re first born.” Basil chuckled, “Well, to everyone but their moms, I suppose.”
“I thought she was the loveliest baby ever when I first saw her.” Hero nodded.
“Quiet you, and hold still.” Mari huffed at her husband. While the two continued to playfully bicker, Aubrey leaned into Sunny.
“Where are the keys?” She asked quietly. Sunny raised an eyebrow at her.
“Did you leave something in the car?” He asked back. Aubrey shook her head.
“No, there’s…something I gotta go do real quick.” She sighed.
“Alright then. They’re in my right pocket, but uh…” He looked down at his hands, “Sorry I’m a little preoccupied, can you grab them.”
“She’s that strong, huh?” Aubrey chuckled.
“I am stuck firmly in her iron grasp.” Sunny nodded. With a deft hand, Aubrey reached into Sunny’s shorts pocket and quickly retrieved the car keys. Upon pulling them out, however, their muted jingle and bright silvery surface immediately caught the attention of one wiggly infant.
“Aga!” Summer shrieked, letting go of Sunny’s finger and flailing her arms. They were, thankfully, far out of her reach, but that didn’t stop the determined tot from at least trying.
“Ah, no no no, Auntie Aubrey needs these.” Aubrey chuckled nervously, but pulling the keys away had the completely expected effect of upsetting the child. Delighted squeals turned swiftly into painful wails.
“Ahhh!” Aubrey whined, “No no no, please don’t cry!” Sunny’s face had twisted into panic at this point, unsure of how to soothe the distraught child. Within moments, Mari swooped in, kneeling before Sunny and Summer.
“Sssh ssssh, it’s ok Summer. Mommy’s here, Mommy’s right here.” Mari gently hushed, “Don’t cry, don’t cry…” Soft whispers and gentle kisses brought the wailing down to stuttered coughs and soon enough back to sweet little coos. Aubrey took the moment to quickly slide the keys into her other hand and out of view, leaving Uncle Sunny’s finger as, once more, the most interesting thing in the room. A few scritches under the chin put a smile back on Summer’s face, putting it just in range for her tiny hands to ensnare it yet again.
“Where are you heading?” Mari asked, half looking up at Aubrey.
“I just have a quick errand I gotta run.” Aubrey smiled nervously, “I’ll be back quick though, promise.” She turned to give Sunny a quick kiss goodbye, but stopped as a visible chill surged over his body.
“I think she’s hungry again.” Sunny sighed.
“She’d be crying if she were.” Mari laughed, “I think she’s doing it more for comfort at this point.”
“Slimey…” Sunny groaned. Aubrey looked down and found Summer had taken to suckling on Sunny’s fingers. The chuckle she had to stifle fought hard to be released.
“Mari, can you check and see if I did this right?” Hero asked from the other side of the room. Mari gave Summer a quick kiss on the side of her head before hurrying back to her husband. Thankfully, Summer appeared to be too enamored with her uncle to be upset at her mother’s disappearance. Aubrey took a moment to give Summer a little tickle on her stomach. She giggled loudly in response, freeing Sunny’s finger. He attempted to pull it back a bit, but alas, the child was determined to have something in her mouth and so just as quickly, the finger was pulled back, resuming its impromptu role as temporary binky. Another chill swept through Sunny’s body and Aubrey couldn’t stifle the laughter anymore.
“Are you gonna be ok?” Aubrey teased.
“Please just hurry back.” Sunny sighed.
“As soon as I can.” She giggled, “I love you.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Sunny huffed, “Love you, too.” He turned towards her, giving her a loving kiss goodbye. Finding herself lost in the moment, Aubrey kissed him back just as passionately, trying desperately to convey the depth of her love in that single kiss. Deep in their moment, the two could only partly make out the conversation in the room, finally being broken out of their reverie with a sharp, familiar click.
“Ah!” Aubrey yelped as she pulled back, leaving Sunny slightly dazed on the chair. Basil chuckled from behind his camera, now pointing towards them.
“Such a tender moment, I must say.” He grinned mischievously at them, “And yes, it would appear my camera is all set.” Aubrey could feel the heat in her face betraying her.
“I-I’ll be right back!” She huffed, hurrying towards the door.
“Drive safe!” Hero called out to her. The heat on her face quickly doubled as Aubrey hurried outside. Popping into Sunny’s car, she quickly fastened her seatbelt and started her up. The engine came alive with a small roar, which quickly tapered down to a small purr, and Aubrey got on her way. Within moments, she was back in the heart of Faraway Town with its cozy houses and charming views. Faraway Park appeared to her left, battered and worn down with age. A few kids still played there, but they kept a wide berth of the old equipment. The sight elicited a sad sigh from Aubrey as memories of her times there came back to her; whether it was picnics with Sunny and the others, or hangouts with Kim and the gang, the park held a truly special place in her heart and it saddened her to see it in such a neglected state. There was no time to dawdle on such memories, however, and Aubrey quickly turned right down the main road. Thankful the throughway was void of stop signs, she quickly passed the first street, where Sunny’s parents still lived. It had been awhile, she thought, since they’d last visited. Despite the rough terms Sunny was on with his dad, they were, at least, still talking. With the month’s recent revelations, Aubrey felt the need to thank the two of them for being there for her during her rough teenage years. Another moment and she had passed the second street. Her instincts tried to instruct her to turn right, to go home, but Aubrey shook her head at these thoughts. It wasn’t her home, not anymore. Pushing through, she continued deeper into town. A few more turns, an annoyingly long red light, and a crosswalk with a gentleman using a walker later, Aubrey had finally arrived at her destination; Apple Grove Nursing Home. Bag in hand, Aubrey entered the reception area. The lady at the front desk didn’t even glance her way as Aubrey approached, focusing on the magazine in her hand instead.
“Visiting hours are over.” She droned, “Please come back in the morning.”
“Ah, even for me, Darla?” Aubrey asked, doing her best to give the woman her most charming smile. The receptionist finally looked up at Aubrey and blinked slowly.
“Well, well.” She chuckled, “If it isn’t little Miss Aubrey Buchanon. How’s life over in Closeby City treating you?”
“I’m doing pretty well for myself, I like to think.” Aubrey nodded.
“Haven’t seen you in awhile.” Darla flipped the page in her magazine, “Everything alright with you and your boy?”
“We’re doing good, we’ve just both been…so busy as of late, trying to save up time off and making ends meet.” Aubrey sighed, rubbing the back of her head, “...How is she doing?”
“Same as she’s ever been.” Darla sighed back, “You could probably leave tonight and never come back and I doubt she’d notice. Let me check and see if she’s even awake for you.” The words filled Aubrey’s heart with grief. She attempted to take a few calming breaths while Darla paged one of the nurses.
“Yes I realize what time it is.” Darla huffed into her phone, “This one’s important. Room 213, she awake?? ….Good, I’ll send her down.” She looked over at Aubrey, “You remember the way?”
“Mhmm.” Aubrey nodded.
“Alright, better hurry up then.” Darla nodded, pressing a buzzer on her side of the desk, “Before Nora comes and rips me a new one.” Aubrey thanked her before hurrying through the newly unlocked glass door to her left. The hallway was dotted with several dark brown doors, each labeled with a different number in brass in sequential order and a plastic name plate next to them. Boring, eggshell walls covered partially with floral wallpaper stretched on for what felt like miles on end, but Aubrey carried on confidently. Rounding the end corner, she picked up her pace slightly. In the middle of the hallway stood a nurse with a clipboard in hand. She paused as her eyes fell upon Aubrey, disapproving frown plastered over her face. Aubrey slowed down as she approached, giving the nurse the same charming smile she used earlier.
“Hey Nor-” She started, but the nurse cut her off.
“Make it quick.” Nora huffed.
“Yes ma’am.” Aubrey nodded and started to hurry on her way, but Nora caught her shoulder gently.
“And Aubrey.” She sighed, giving Aubrey’s shoulder a quick squeeze, “It’s good that you’re here.” Aubrey could only nod silently in response. Nora let her go and she resumed her brisk pace down the hall. It was only a few more doors before she arrived at the one she needed. Room 213, Alice Buchanon. Hesitating for only a moment, Aubrey gently knocked on the door before entering the room.
“Mom?” She asked softly as she entered, “You awake?” The room she walked into was small and quaint; walls painted in a calming dark blue, lined partly with the same floral wallpaper as the hallway outside, a small, dark brown dresser sat against the right wall next to another door, and on the left was a small nightstand with a picture frame and an alarm clock reading eight thirty in bright red numbers. This nightstand was situated right next to the room’s only bed, which was pushed up against the upper left most corner of the room. Under its equally dark blue covers sat the room’s sole occupant, an older, somewhat hollow looking woman with short, greying hair and empty green eyes. She remained silent as Aubrey entered the room, looking up only as Aubrey sat on the bed with slow blinking eyes.
“How are you feeling?” Aubrey asked, her voice still soft. Immediately she got to work fussing over her mother, checking her hair and her pajamas for any signs of trauma or injury, until the woman finally sighed and grabbed Aubrey’s shoulder.
“There’s no need to fuss over me like this.” Her mother grumbled, “They take well enough care of me here.”
“Sorry.” Aubrey sighed, “I just…I caught a news report about neglect in nursing homes and it made me a little worried.” She started fussing over her mother’s hair again; something about it just felt off to her.
“Will you cut it out?” Her mother sighed, “I just had it cut a few days ago, it’s fine.”
“They messed up your part.” Aubrey muttered to herself. She pulled her bright pink comb out of her bag and set about correcting the mistake.
“Well, my normal lady retired.” Her mother closed her eyes while Aubrey worked, “I thought the new girl did an ok enough job, but I guess it doesn’t hold up to your standards.”
“She did fine.” Aubrey huffed, “But if she’s never worked on you before, she wouldn’t know where it normally sits.” Pulling back, she smiled at a job well done, “Feel better?”
“I don’t know, you tell me.” Her mother scoffed, “You’re the expert here.” Aubrey puffed out her cheeks in a small pout which made her mother chuckle slightly, “Thank you, Aubrey.”
“You’re welcome.” Aubrey smiled back, returning the comb to her bag. She began to shuffle through her bag, trying to find the surprise that she’d brought along with.
“Why are you here, Aubrey?” Her mother asked, gently placing a hand on her arm.
“Sunny and I stopped by in town to see his sister, help them get ready for the wedding.” Aubrey said, her digging becoming a little more frantic, “Kel’s finally getting married.”
“Oh, that’s nice.” Her mother nodded, “But what's that got to do with me?”
“Well I WAS going to offer to cut your hair.” Aubrey sighed, switching to searching through the bag’s outer pocket, “In case you really needed it, but you already got that done.” Finally, she felt the firm, wooden frame she was looking for, “Plus, there’s something I wanted to give you.” Pulling it out, she flashed the picture to her mom; it was a copy of the one taken of her and Sunny at the gardens. Her mother’s expression didn’t change.
“You and him still together?” She asked.
“Yeah.” Aubrey nodded, “Twelve years strong.”
“But no ring yet.”
“Well…” Aubrey rubbed the back of her head, “We’re not really worrying about that right now. Still in an apartment and everything.” She stood up and carefully placed the new frame next to the older one on the nightstand. Cupping her hand around the older frame, she gazed lovingly at the old photo. Despite the aging of the photo inside, Aubrey could still clearly see its contents; four year old Aubrey in her pajamas and a little rabbit hood was holding a large wrapped present with a great big bow on it, sitting excitedly in the lap of a much younger looking version of her mother, with long, medium brown hair and bright green eyes, looking up at the camera with such a smile on her face. Aubrey sat back down on the bed.
“It’s been awhile since you last stopped by.” Her mother said.
“We’ve been super busy working.” Aubrey sighed, “Sunny’s got a serious project happening right now and I’ve been picking up whatever shifts I can when I have the time.” She tried to give her mom as reassuring a smile as she could.
“Sunny might be up for a good promotion soon, though.” She continued, “And I’m getting enough regulars I might be able to open my own salon.”
“Not while I’m still in this place.” Her mother sighed sadly.
“Hey.” Aubrey took her mother’s hand in her own and squeezed it tight, “Don’t you worry about that, Sunny and I are doing just fine.” Her mother’s eyes filled with sorrow. She squeezed Aubrey’s hand back and let out a small sigh.
“Why are you really here, Aubrey?” She asked. Aubrey looked away, unable to meet her gaze. She pulled her mother’s hand closer, resting her lips against the back of it. For a few moments she sat like that, trying to find the right words, struggling against the ever increasing sinking feeling in her gut. Finally, she took a deep breath.
“I found Dad.” She said quietly, unable to hide the hurt in her voice. Her mother’s eyes widened at the mention, the sorrow in them growing.
“How?” Her mother asked, “Where was he?”
“The city.” Aubrey said, “For how long, I don’t know. I probably would’ve never found him if it…if it hadn’t been for my sister.” She carefully recounted the events of the last two months; Hailey’s arrival at the salon, her eventual appearance at Aubrey’s apartment, and the subsequent phone call from her father.
“Oh Aubrey…” Her mother sniffled.
“You knew, right?” Aubrey asked, her voice cracking, “About why he left? That’s why you fought that night.” This time it was her mother’s turn to avert her gaze, “Why did you never tell me?”
“I don’t know…” Her mother shook her head, “I think maybe I wanted to protect your view of him, in case he still tried to keep in touch with you. So that you wouldn’t hate him.”
“But he never came back.” Aubrey sniffled hard, “So instead I hated myself; for being a bad daughter, for not being good enough.”
“Aubrey…” Her mother started.
“But it wasn’t my fault.” Aubrey continued, tears running down her face, “It wasn’t my fault, and it wasn’t your fault, it was his! He chose to cheat on you, he chose to leave and never speak to us again.”
“Maybe so…” Her mother sniffled again, “I guess I should’ve also seen the writing on the walls, though. He told me that night that marrying me was the biggest mistake he ever made, that he only did so because he got me pregnant.”
“Seriously?” Aubrey felt her heart drop a little, “Just because he got you pregnant with me?”
“Oh that wasn’t…oh…” Her mother’s voice drifted off, a couple of her own tears starting to run free as well. Aubrey tried to clear them up as gently as she could, “I don’t believe I ever told you…”
“Told me what?” Aubrey tilted her head.
“I lost that baby…” Her mother’s voice had gone fairly quiet, “You were supposed to have an older sister…or brother. We lost them before we actually knew.” She pulled Aubrey’s hand to her lap, holding it in both hands, “I was so devastated. It was shortly after our wedding and, looking back, that was when your father first started getting distant with me. He would often take phone calls by himself for a short while after; I think he may have been in talks with a lawyer to get an annulment.”
“So what happened after?” Aubrey asked, using her free hand to wipe away her own tears.
“I practically begged him to try conceiving another child.” Her mother sighed, “My sister already had two kids by that point, and I wanted so badly to be a mother myself, I was willing to do anything.” She plucked a tissue from a nearby box and took a moment to wipe her nose, “I think Patrick really underestimated how strong that feeling was. He said he was only willing to try for a child again if I left my job and we moved out of the city.”
“And you agreed to that?” Aubrey took her own tissue to deal with the new set of tears.
“How could I not?” Her mother shrugged, “He had a good job offer near Faraway Town, and like I said, I was willing to do anything to have a baby after losing that one.” She cupped a hand around Aubrey’s face and stroked it gently, “And very soon after we got settled in here, I got pregnant with you.” With this her mother pulled Aubrey into her embrace. Aubrey, in turn, hugged her mother back and squeezed her tight.
“Oh Mom…” She sniffled.
“Aubrey, I'm so sorry.” Her mother sobbed quietly, “I should’ve picked myself up after he left. I could’ve chosen to get better, to be there for you and I…I…”
“It’s ok, it’s ok.” Aubrey hushed, “I know it must have been so painful for you, and while it hurts that you weren’t there for me during those years I…” She pulled back and rested her forehead against her mother’s, “I do forgive you.” This admission of forgiveness caused her mother to sob a bit more. Mother and daughter re-embraced their hug and Aubrey did her best to rock her mother gently while she cried into Aubrey’s shoulder. They remained like that for only a few minutes before her mother finally stifled her crying.
“Aubrey…if I may…” Her mother sniffled, pulling back from the hug. There was a tense look on her face.
“What is it?”
“The…the other woman…you didn’t mention but is she…” Her mother let out a heavy sigh, “Is she still with Patrick?” Aubrey tightened her grip on her mother’s hand.
“She passed away a few years ago.” She said solemnly.
“I see…” Her mother closed her eyes. She took in a deep breath and then let out a hard snort, “Good.”
“Mom!” Aubrey groaned.
“I’m sorry, Aubrey, but she’s…” Her face scrunched in pain, “She’s the reason my marriage broke up, the reason the man I thought was the love of my life left me. If losing her makes him feel even an ounce of the pain I did…” her voice trailed off at this thought. Aubrey could only squeeze her hand, afraid of the thought currently sitting in her heart.
“I know that…” She started, her voice quiet, “I know that she meant the world to Hailey but I think that…I think I’m also kinda glad that she’s gone…” Aubrey sniffled hard, “I don’t think I would’ve had the strength to face her if she were still here…”
“That girl…” Her mother sighed, “Are you sure you want to be involved in her life?” Aubrey sat with the question for a moment. Hailey’s arrival into her life had been so sudden, she hardly had the time to process it, but she knew in her heart that Hailey had no blame for what happened to their family.
“I am.” She nodded, “Hailey didn’t ask to be born, and certainly not like this.” She took a moment to wipe a stray tear away, “Besides, life may have robbed me of having an older sibling, but I think…even if it scares me, I want to take this opportunity to be the best older sibling that I can for her.”
“Well…if that’s your decision then.” Her mother sighed, “But…Aubrey. Don’t bring her around me.”
“Mom…” Aubrey started, but her mother shook her head.
“I know. I know in my head that what happened isn’t her fault, but my heart…” She pressed Aubrey’s hand against her cheek, “My heart still hurts…even if that woman’s gone, her child…her child with Patrick is still…” A buzzing sound came from Aubrey’s backpack, interrupting their moment.
“Ah…that’s probably…” Aubrey quickly fished her phone out from its pocket and, sure enough, there was Hailey’s name with a mail icon next to it. She flipped the phone open and clicked on the message.
Hey! Made it to new home. All safe. Super tired. Zzzz
Get some rest then. Gnite.
Gnite ^_^
Aubrey quickly put the phone away after getting the last text.
“Was that her?” Her mother asked.
“Yeah.” Aubrey nodded, “They just moved to the other side of the country, so I asked her to let me know when they got to the new home.”
“That far away…” Her mother sighed, “Well, not like I had any hopes of ever seeing him again anyways.”
“I should probably get going, have to make a quick stop before I head back to Mari and Hero’s house.” Aubrey sighed, “Besides, best to leave before Nora comes in and wrings my neck for being here so late.” Her mother finally chuckled again at the comment.
“I’m glad you came.” She said, giving Aubrey’s hand a final squeeze before letting go, “It’d be nice if your next visit wasn’t so far out…if you can find the time…”
“I’ll try.” Aubrey smiled, “If work doesn’t keep me too busy, at least.”
“I love you, Aubrey.” Her mother smiled back.
“I love you, too.” Aubrey leaned in and gave her mother a quick peck on the cheek. The two hugged one last time and after Aubrey helped tuck her mother into bed, much to her protest, she was out the door and down the hall. An apology to Nora, and a wave to Darla, and she was back in the parking lot and into Sunny’s car. Once more it roared to life, settling down into a nice purr as Aubrey sat in the driver’s seat. She took a few breaths to steady her nerves, but to little avail. That dreadful, sinking feeling in her stomach refused to budge.
A choir of crickets and toads were the only noises gracing the air that night. All around the cars were put to bed and the humans left to rest, whatever that meant for them. Aubrey sat still in Sunny’s lap, her eyes closed and her hands grasped together. She found herself lost in the moment while Sunny gently brushed out her hair; the familiar, loving feeling of each stroke as he worked helped to calm Aubrey’s rapidly beating heart. The sinking ship in her stomach, however, continued to make its harrowing presence known.
“You got back kinda late.” Sunny said quietly, “Everything ok?”
“Yeah…I just…” Aubrey murmured, “I went to see Mom.”
“Oh? How’s she doing?” Sunny asked.
“She’s…fine.” Aubrey sighed, “I told her about running into Dad and everything with Hailey.”
“And how’d she take that?” Sunny finished up with the brushing and pulled Aubrey into a hug.
“As well as she could, I think.” Aubrey sighed, “I hope it gave her a little bit of closure at least.” She pushed backwards into Sunny’s embrace, resting both of her hands on top of his and squeezing them tight. Her head rested against his shoulder as he started to plant soft kiss after soft kiss upon her head, her temple, down to her face, and then her neck. His lips sent a shiver down her spine, causing her to quiver under his touch, but the feeling in her gut fought back hard. She wiggled against his kisses, gently nudging him away.
“Not tonight…” she mumbled.
“Mm…probably for the best.” Sunny chuckled, “We should be getting to bed, then. Early start tomorrow.” He leaned down and kissed Aubrey on her lips, gently attempting to pull Aubrey down under the covers. She resisted him, however, tightening her grip on his hands.
“Wait…” She could feel the tears threatening to break free, “Can you just…hold me for a moment longer?” Sunny’s face twisted in concern as he straightened himself out and squeezed Aubrey tighter. Held deep in his embrace, Aubrey pressed as much of herself as she could into Sunny’s slim frame. His presence should’ve brought comfort to her, but it only made the feeling in her gut sink lower and lower, threatening to bottom out at any moment. The dam couldn’t be held back any more and the tears started flowing forth with one, muffled sob.
“Hey, hey.” Sunny whispered, wiping away her tears with his thumb, “Aubrey, what’s wrong?” She looked up at him, her partner of more than a decade, with whom she had shared so many trials and heartbreaks, joys and woes, successes and failures, and she looked him right in his lovely dark eyes. The same eyes that always looked at her with so much love and kindness and warmth, even if his face had such a hard time showing it. Would they still look at her with such love after tonight, Aubrey wondered. Would he still walk by her side and hold her after what she had to say?
“I…” Aubrey started, pausing briefly to sniffle, “I don’t think I want to be a parent…” Sunny only raised an eyebrow at her.
“Where’s this coming from all of a sudden?” He asked. Aubrey entwined her hand with one of his, pulling it to her chest.
“I mean…you’ve seen the state my mom’s in.” She started, her words tumbling faster and faster with the stopper now removed, “One broken heart and she lost herself for years. And my dad’s a complete asshole, as you know, and then there’s your dad, too and…”
“Yeah, I know.” Sunny sighed, “Our parents weren’t great, but, Aubrey we…we are not our parents. We can be better than them. I mean, I think you did a pretty good job with Hailey.”
“Maybe so, but…” The sinking feeling rapidly started turning into panic, “But you’ve seen the state Mari’s in. I don’t know…I don’t know if I could do that.”
“Mari’s pregnancy was very rough.” Sunny nodded, “But it also wasn’t very typical, or so Hero tells me, at least.”
“But that means it could still happen.” She sobbed harder, her lungs threatening to kick into overdrive, “And I don’t know if I could deal with everything she went through, everything she’s going through.”
“Aubrey, you are so much stronger than you’re giving yourself credit for.” Sunny sighed, rubbing the top of her head, “And I know you know that. Besides, you know I would be by your side the whole time, and so would everyone else.” The tears started up again, refusing to be quelled.
“We can’t even afford a child…” She sobbed, “That’s why we couldn’t keep Hailey with us. There’s no way we could provide for a baby.”
“Well, there was a bigger reason than the finances.” Sunny sighed, “But, you are right, we are in a tight spot with money. That just means we should be more careful, but Aubrey…” He placed both his hands on either side of Aubrey’s head, resting his forehead against hers, “Where is all this coming from? We don’t need to worry about this conversation right now.”
“But I…” Aubrey started, but Sunny cut her off with a kiss to the forehead.
“C’mon now.” He shook his head, “Let’s get to bed.” Her heart was beating out of control and her chest felt fit to burst. The tears began to march down to her chin twofold.
“I’m pregnant!” Aubrey snapped. Her hand shot up to her mouth as soon as the words left. Sunny’s face lit up in shock. Uncomfortable silence hung between them; even the choir performance from before seemed to have stopped at hearing the news. Aubrey gingerly took one of Sunny’s hands in hers and held it against her stomach. She leaned forward, resting her head against his chest.
“Are you sure?” Sunny asked, his voice quiet. Aubrey could only nod in response, “But how?”
“My period’s late.”
“How late?”
“Late enough.”
“When was the last time we had sex unprotected?”
“The beginning of the month.”
“Then it’d still be too early to really tell.” Sunny sighed. Aubrey looked up at him, rubbing the back of his hand with her thumb.
“There was also your birthday.” She snorted. Sunny’s eyes looked away and his face tinged slightly with embarrassment, “You were insatiable that night.”
“Did you take a test?” Sunny asked, rubbing the back of his head with his free hand.
“Mhmm.” Aubrey nodded, “Stopped by Othermart on the way back from the nursing home.”
“Did it come back positive?”
“Inconclusive.” Aubrey sighed, “But…I don’t know, Sunny…I just have this feeling…” He didn’t respond, instead wrapping his other arm around Aubrey and pulling her closer. Aubrey, in turn, simply sobbed quietly into his chest. The world around them remained silent, watching on with bated breath. Suddenly Sunny let out a small scoff.
“Are we even sure that it’s mine?” He asked. The words pierced Aubrey’s heart like a frozen pick. She looked up at him, her face twisted with hurt.
“Sunny I-” She started, but she was swiftly cut off.
“I mean, for all we know.” Sunny chuckled, kissing the side of her head softly. He looked down at her, a playful smile on his face, “That could be Kim’s baby in there.” Pure disbelief turned into hysteric shock as Aubrey let out a loud snort.
“Sunny, what?” She laughed, tears still running down her face.
“Think about it.” Sunny huffed jokingly, “You two have had plenty of unprotected sex, too.” Aubrey looked back at him with a smug grin.
“No, no.” She shook her head, “If anything, I would be the one getting her pregnant in that situation.”
“Oh is that so?” Sunny nodded sagely. Aubrey nudged him with her shoulder.
“Do not tell her I told you that.” She chuckled.
“My lips are sealed.” He smirked. As gently as he could, Sunny pushed his hand under Aubrey’s pajama top, resting it against the smooth skin of her stomach. Aubrey closed her eyes as he started rubbing it slowly.
“What are we gonna do…?” She sighed.
“I’ll tell you what we’re gonna do.” Sunny said confidently, “We’re going to forget about this conversation right now.”
“But Sunny…” Aubrey frowned, looking up at him.
“No buts.” Sunny shook his head, “We’re going to just forget about this right now and just do our best to be there for Kel and Cris, ok?”
“I’ll try.” Aubrey sighed, “But…”
“Have you had any morning sickness?”
“Nothing yet. No telling when that will change though.”
“Good, good.” Sunny nodded again, “So it’ll be fine then. No one else will have to know.”
“They might be serving alcohol though.” Aubrey squeezed his hand tighter, “What will I tell them?”
“That you’re driving later.” Sunny shrugged, “And if you are, no harm, no foul, they’re none the wiser.”
“It still FEELS like a lie, though.” Aubrey sighed.
“It won’t be.” Sunny chuckled, “And then, when we get back home, enough time will have passed. We can go to that women’s clinic and get another test done and then…”
“And then?” Sunny didn’t respond right away. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, all the while still rubbing Aubrey’s belly.
“We can figure that out when the test comes back.” He finally answered, “If it comes back negative, no big deal.”
“But if it comes back positive…” Aubrey sniffled.
“We’ll figure it out.” Sunny said again. With that, he finally pulled Aubrey down beneath the covers. With her back to him, wrapped in his arms, Aubrey could finally feel her stomach relent its frightened grip. She wrapped her own arms around one of Sunny’s and held it close to her chest, bending her head down so she could kiss the back of it. His other hand continued to rub her belly.
“No matter what…” Sunny whispered, pressing his head to the back of hers, “No matter what you choose…I will always, always love you.” The choir outside resumed its rehearsal, singing their song for the stars and the moon. Aubrey sniffled once more, rolling around to bury her face in Sunny’s chest.
“You mean it?” She cried. Sunny said nothing. He merely pulled her deeper into his embrace, cupping his hand on the back of her head. As his thumb slowly massaged her temple, Aubrey could feel the anxiety and tension in her joints being replaced with exhaustion. Her brain now drifting off to sleep, Aubrey felt the need to say one last thing before being claimed by sleep.
“I love you…”