Chapter Text
Taylor and Gina were in town for Easter- Barbara’s favorite holiday. Both girls had hectic schedules between work, school and social commitments. But they always made it a point to be home for Easter, where they would dye eggs and open Easter baskets their mom had meticulously wrapped and go to church to sing hymns praising the miracle of the resurrection. It was a time that meant the world to Barbara, and although they were more hesitant to say it, it meant the world to the girls as well.
Taylor and Gina had both called Melissa before they got into town. Gina with a “Hey Aunt Melissa, I’d love to see you!” and Taylor with a “When are we seeing you, Aunt Mel?” Melissa laughed at the contrast in the girl’s statements, so reflective of their personalities and demeanors. The two of them couldn’t be more different, and she loved the both of them more than they’d ever know. So of course she showed up with bells on the Saturday night before Easter for family dinner.
She walked up to the door carrying the casatiello she had made and before she could even knock Gina was swinging the door open.
“Aunt Mel!”
She threw her arms around Melissa, careful not to knock the bread out of her hands, and squeezed her. Melissa beamed.
“Hey, bambino!” Melissa squeezed back as Taylor made her way out of the house to greet Melissa. She joined in on the hug, wrapping her arms around Melissa from the back so that Melissa was smushed into a Howard Sister Sandwich. Melissa laughed and cradled Taylor’s head as she leaned on Melissa’s shoulder.
Barbara came to the doorway and saw the site before her, her heart simultaneously melting and growing three sizes. Her girls.
Melissa saw Barb at the doorway, could tell even from where she was standing that Barb had tears in her eyes as she smiled softly at the trio & dried her hands on an Easter bunny dish towel. Melissa threw her a wink.
Behind Melissa, Taylor saw the look as well.
They made their way inside, Taylor taking the bread from Melissa going ahead of them while Gina intertwined her arm with her aunt’s. When Gina and Melissa made it to the door where Barbara was still standing, Melissa leaned in and gave her a kiss on the cheek, which Barbara managed to accept while looking minimally flustered.
“Happy Easter, Melissa sweetheart.”
“Happy Easter, beautiful.”
And the soft smile shared between the two of them did not go unnoticed by Gina.
Melissa went straight to the kitchen and began helping prep the food as she always did. She threw a “where’s Ger? Isn’t he gonna join us?” over her shoulder to Barbara. There was a beat of silence, before Barbara cleared her throat and said “Gerald had to work late tonight. It will just be us ladies.” More silence followed, and Melissa knew not to push it- not in front of the girls.
After a bit of hustling and bustling around while the girls updated Melissa on life, they all sat down for dinner. Barbara pulled out Melissa’s chair for her and then pushed it in after she sat down, Melissa giving her hand a pat as it briefly rested on her shoulder and muttering a “you’re sweet, hon.”
Taylor and Gina shared a look as Melissa praised Barbara for how great everything looked.
They all joined hands as Barbara said grace, and Gina watched as her mom and her aunt held hands a beat longer than everyone else, her mom giving her aunt’s hand a squeeze and her aunt returning it before they let go.
As they ate Melissa asked the girls more questions about work and school. She asked about their love lives and whether or not they were dating anyone, and she felt more than saw Barbara tense beside her. Under the table she reached over and gave Barbara’s leg a squeeze and felt her relax, which Taylor saw as she walked back from the kitchen with a refill of her sparkling grape juice (because “the only wine we partake in during Easter is the wine that represents the blood of our Savior” according to her mother).
As Gina blushed and avoided answering the question, Taylor decided to help her sister out and figure out was going on between her mom and her aunt.
Their mother and their Aunt Melissa had always had a unique friendship, a special bond that wasn’t seen often between two people. But both girls could tell that something had shifted, and although they didn’t know what exactly it was, the energy in the air surrounding the two of them was electric. It was palpable.
“What about you, Aunt Mel? Are you dating anyone?”
Melissa gave a dry laugh as she shook her head. “Nope, your aunt is single as a pringle, girls.”
“Really? No lucky men around? Or women?”
Barbara choked on her drink. “Taylor Marie!”
“What?”
“I don’t think that’s any of your business, young lady.” Barbara threw her daughter a look, and as Gina opened her mouth to speak, Barbara- without even looking at her- said “and don’t you start either, Gina Ann.” Gina raised her hands and sat back in her chair, whispering “Sorry sis, I tried.” to Taylor.
Melissa gently placed a hand on Barbara’s arm, rubbing up and down her forearm.
“Barb, it’s okay hon. I’m not upset.”
Barbara’s glare softened as she turned her eyes from her daughters to Melissa, and the girls watched as they had an entire conversation without saying a single word. Barbara put a hand on top of Melissa’s where it still rested on her arm, and Melissa placed her other hand on top of Barb’s. Barbara gave her a nod, & Melissa turned to the girls again.
“No, there are no lucky men, or women, around. But I’d tell you if there were, would have probably asked the two of you for advice on date outfits by now.”
Beside her Gina watched as Barbara’s face fell for a split second. But the conversation moved on, and her aunt stayed for a couple more hours as they ate desert and sat around the living room laughing and enjoying time as a family. When it was time for her aunt to leave her mom walked her out, and as soon as the door shut she and Taylor turned to each other.
“Something has changed between them, hasn’t it?”
“Gina, I think- I think they’re in love.”
“Oh thank God you saw that too. I mean, it’s crazy, but it also makes sense?”
Taylor was silent for a moment.
“But what about dad?”
Gina looked down and sighed, walking over to stand next to her sister where she leaned against the kitchen counter.
“Yeah. What about dad.”
“Do you think they’re still in love, too?”
“Honestly, Tay? I know mom and dad love each other. But it never felt like they were all that in love to begin with.”
“The way mom was with Aunt Mel tonight- I’ve never seen her like that with dad.”
“Or seen dad with her the way Aunt Mel was.”
“So what do we do, squirt?”
They heard the door open and watched as their mom came in with a mega watt smile on her face. She came over and wrapped the both of them in a hug.
“Tonight was so wonderful, girls. I just love getting to spend time with the two of you and with Melissa. It is very special to me.”
“We love it too, mom.” Gina said. Gina knew she was going to have to be the one to bring it up. With the way her sister & her mom butt heads, she knew her mom would get defensive if Taylor was the one to say something. As Barbara went about tidying up the last few things from dinner, Gina gave Taylor a nod and Taylor returned it, understanding the conversation they were about to have.
“Mom, can we ask you something?”
“Anything, baby.”
“What’s going on between you and Aunt Melissa?”
Barbara stiffened, her posture going rigid and her hands stopping mid-wipe of the counter. She kept her back to them.
“I haven’t the slightest idea what you’re referring to.”
Taylor and Gina both rolled their eyes.
“Mom, it’s obvious that something has changed between the two of you.”
Finally Barbara turned around. “Nothing has changed between me and your Aunt Mel, girls. There’s nothing to worry about. If anything, we’re closer than ever!”
“Exactly!” Taylor blurted out, earning a glare from her sister.
“That seems to be what has changed, mom. The two of you have always been close, but now? What we saw tonight? That’s, different than close. That’s something else.”
Their mother squinted at them and put on her Sunday Morning Voice. “Girls, I don’t know exactly what it is you’re talking about, but I don’t like the implications that you seem to be making.”
Taylor pushed herself off the kitchen counter where she had been leaning.
“We’re not implying anything, mom. We’re telling you that we know you are in love with Aunt Melissa, and that she is in love with you. And we’re telling you that we’re okay with it.”
Their mom froze. She looked shocked and lost and almost like she was going to be sick.
Maybe they should have thought this through more.
Gina drug a chair over & pulled her mom down into it. By then she had silent tears running down her face. She squatted in front of her mom as Taylor handed her a tissue & went to stand beside her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.
“Mom, can you talk to us?” Taylor asked, giving her mom a squeeze.
Barbara shook her head and finally came back to the present. She looked between Gina and Taylor.
“Me and Melissa? In love?”
They both nodded.
“And you girls could see that? At dinner tonight you could see that the two of us are in love?”
“It was clear as day, mom.” Gina said as she grabbed her mothers hands, and Taylor agreed with her.
“I didn’t- I had no idea. I had no idea.”
They were all silent for a moment, Taylor and Gina letting their mom process the bomb they had unintentionally dropped on her.
“What about your father? I could never hurt him like that. And he is your father, a good father.”
“Mom, we know you love dad, but when is the last time you were really in love with him? And we know the two of you have barely been talking lately. I mean, tonight was family dinner and he chose to be at work.”
Gina chimed in, “Yeah. And last time we spoke, he actually asked me how you were doing. As if the two of you don’t live together.”
Barbara’s tears started again. “I am so sorry, my babies. I don’t know how your father and I got here.”
Gina motioned to Taylor with her head, and Taylor came around to sit in front of their mother with her. They each grabbed one of her hands before joining hands themselves, the Howard women joined in tears and in love. Taylor squeezed Gina’s hand, and Gina spoke up.
“It’s okay, mom. We know how much the both of you love us- how much you will always love us. And we also know that dad loves you, and always will love you, even if that love looks different than it did before.”
“He would want you to be happy. And we want you to be happy.”
Barbara looked at her girls, at the young women her and her husband had raised. And she knew they were right. About all of it. But she was scared. She shrugged, looking far smaller to her daughters than she had ever looked before.
“So what do I do?”
Taylor and Gina looked at each other for a second before they both broke into grins. Gina wiped the tears from her mothers eyes as Taylor grabbed a comb from her purse on the counter and began combing her mother’s hair. Gina held her mom’s face in her hands and looked her in the eyes.
“You go get your girl.”
Barbara could barely remember the drive over to Melissa’s. She could only hear the rushing in her ears and feel her heart beating wildly in her chest. She knew if she stopped to think for a minute, even for a second, she’d turn around and go home. But the only thing scarier than facing the wrath of her daughters was continuing to live with Melissa at arm’s length when all she really wanted was Melissa in her arms.
She parked behind Melissa in the driveway and rushed up to the front door, knocking frantically. She heard Melissa yell from inside the house to hold your horses will ya, I’m comin! But she continued to knock until Melissa opened the door.
“Barb? Is everything okay? Are the girls alright?”
“Taylor and Gina just told me that I’m in love with you and they’re right.”
Melissa opened her mouth in shock, staring at Barbara in a mix of confusion and fear and hope, and love.
“I’m sorry, I think I just hallucinated. Can you repeat that please, slower?”
Barbara stepped closer to Melissa and held her face- her beautiful, radiant face- in her hands. She bent down a bit so she was at Melissa’s level, eye to eye.
“My daughters just informed me that I am in love with you, Melissa Schemmenti. And damn it, they are absolutely right.”
“They are?”
“They sure are.”
A tear escaped Melissa’s eye, and Barbara wiped it away.
“They also told me that you are in love with me.”
“They did?”
“They did.”
“I am.”
“You are?”
“I am absolutely, indisputably in love with you, Barb.”
The smile from Barbara that followed literally knocked Melissa back, made her stumble a couple steps further into the house. But Barbara moved with her and then kicked the door closed behind them.
Melissa brought their foreheads together, breathing in Barbara Howard, the woman she was in love with, the woman who loved her .
There was so much to figure out. So many things to talk about. So many steps to take and things to do.
But right now, all that mattered to either woman was having the other in their arms. Being together. Basking in their love.
They moved together, kissing each other with the full force of their love that had been backlogged for decades.
When they pulled apart, Melissa led Barbara to her sofa, where they sat down and Melissa swung her legs over Barbara’s lap, snuggling into her side as Barbara held her.
“Those two. Sometimes they’re too smart for their own good. What did they even say to you?”
“Oh, they said so much. But I suppose the long and short of what they told me was to go get my girl. ” Barbara smirked at Melissa, who felt like her face might actually break in two from smiling so big. She gave Barbara another kiss, because she wanted to and because now she could. And Barbara returned it for the same reasons.
“I’ve always loved those two. Gonna have to send them back home with some meals.”
“Mmm. Can I borrow your phone, Mel baby?”
Melissa handed her phone that was sitting on the coffee table to Barbara. Barbara looked at the photo of them from last year’s Christmas dinner that Melissa had set as her lock screen and she smiled. She typed in Melissa’s password and opened up her messages. Melissa watched as Barbara typed something out, heard the swoosh as the message sent, and then Barbara put the phone on silent.
Later, when Melissa woke up at 2 AM on her sofa where she was currently the big spoon to Barbara’s little spoon, she looked at her phone. She had messages from Taylor and Gina, and she opened the thread to see what it was Barbara had said to them.
This is your mother on Melissa’s phone. I got the girl. Don’t wait up.
Both of them had responded with GIFs of applause and fist pumps, Taylor sent one of Kermit flailing around. Melissa laughed and held the phone to her chest for a second. She typed out a quick message before leaning over Barbara to put the phone back on the coffee table and giving Barb a gentle kiss on the top of her head.
Back at Barbara’s house, Taylor and Gina heard their phones ping with a message from Melissa.
Your mom’s girl says thank you. And we love you. <3