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#full disclosure i totally did not see this anniversary coming
determunition · 4 months
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december 22nd was the second anniversary of my first retyrement AU post! thanks so much to everyone for following it thus far, and for an amazing 2023 overall! it's been really wonderful making art for all of you, and i hope to keep up steam in the new year!
though OLD_FOLKS HOME's posting anniversary on ao3 isn't until february 16th next year, i wrote a fun little oneshot for the occasion! it's a little fanservice-y romp i've been thinking of writing for awhile ^^ i hope you enjoy it, and that it tides you over until the next OFH arc! you can find it on ao3 right here
thanks so much again to everyone for being such a wonderful audience here on tumblr, and hope you all have a lovely new year!
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hockeyboysiguess · 4 years
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impatient | m. tkachuk
a/n: a little bit of pining, a lot a bit of other things. this was super fun to write even if it killed me a little to do. 
warnings: smut, swearing, alcohol, and more smut
(this is a new and optional (no pressure but I think it will add to your experience reading my fics) thing I’m starting where all of my fics now come with a recommended wine pairing to drink while you read. full disclosure, I know absolutely nothing about wine and don’t intend to learn a damn thing about it while doing this. i order by the color and price per glass. these recommendations are based off how I feel and nothing else)
wine pairing recommendation: pink moscato, because we’re all basic bitches for matty tkachuk and pink moscato is the basic bitch wine. you know you like it. don’t lie.
word count: 5.3K
“Fuck, Matty,” you breathed out between moans as your fingers threaded deeper into the mess of curls between your thighs. 
“Oh, like that?”
His hot breath fanned out across your hot, sensitive core and you groaned at the sensation. Matthew leaned in closer to you, his broad shoulders pushing your legs further apart. He still stopped short of putting his mouth on you. 
“Matthew, please,” you whined, your body stiffening as you tried to grind your hips down to get more contact. 
“Patience,” he kissed the inside of your thigh, a few inches from exactly where you wanted his mouth, “is a virtue, honey.” 
“I fucking hate you,” you complained, but it came out empty. 
“Mm, that’s hot,” was all he said before his tongue finally touched your clit and you couldn’t help but let out an embarrassingly loud moan.
Your body decided that moment you finally felt the tension start to unfold was the perfect moment to wake you up from a dream you haven’t asked for, but decided to enjoy anyway.
“Oh, fuck me,” you groaned as you pulled the covers up over your face. “He’s everywhere.”
You stumbled slowly out of bed to the bathroom. Your inability to be patient meant you washed your face with water that was verging on ice cold, which luckily today came in handy and helped you cool you off from your dream. Matthew had found his way into a lot of your thoughts when you were by yourself. He was becoming absolutely unavoidable.
“Good morning!” your long-time roommate and self-identified best friend Kayla sang as you entered the kitchen.
You have her your customary grunt in reply. One of the biggest issues in your friendship with Kayla was that she was a literal ray of sunshine presenting as a human being. She was a blindingly bright, cheery, peppy morning person who wore her heart on her sleeve and believed that everything would be better with a sprinkle of sugar and a little more love. You couldn’t understand how a person older than eight could possibly have the personality Kayla did, but she’d made it this far into life like this, so this was how she was.
“I made you a smoothie bowl. It’s in the fridge next to your coffee that’s chilling so it can be iced coffee,” Kayla informed you, sounding more like she was meant to sing to birds so they would assist her in baking a cake than that she made you, a woman arguably resembling a river troll right now more than a person, a smoothie bowl and coffee.
You grabbed the bowl eagerly, needed something to try to get your mind from replying the self-created imagine of Matty’s shoulders and curly head between your thighs. You sighed as you took your seat at the breakfast bar next to Kayla. You dug in instantly. It was one of Kayla’s better ones.
“Is good, K,” you mumbled around the berries in your mouth.
“Thank ya,” she replied with a bright smile.
“K,” you wiped the corners of your mouth before you turned to her, “can I tell you something if you promise not to tell anyone else?”
“Of course!”
Kayla was lying and you knew it. Loose lips might sink ships, but your friendship was too strong to sink despite Kayla’s knack for spilling all the beans she knew as soon as she was pushed in the slightest of ways. But, you needed to get this off your chest.
“I had a sex dream about Matthew Tkachuk,” you said bluntly.
Kayla’s spoon paused on its journey to her mouth before it dropped back into the bowl aggressively. Little purple droplets of smoothie sprayed across counter due to her sudden movement. Her mouth dropped open as she processed what you said.
“It was like, almost a sex dream, I guess,” you sighed. “He was about to eat me out and his shoulders, god the shoulders and the curls, and it was just, it was so hot and I have no idea what this means.”
“If I start singing that nursery rhyme about you two sitting in a tree kissing are you going to throw your coffee at me?” Kayla was already wincing back in her seat with her hands protectively in front of her face before she finished her sentence. “This cream sweatshirt doesn’t deserve it even if I do for saying that.” 
You rolled your eyes at her and turned your attention back to your quickly thinning breakfast. 
“Do you maybe like him, like him?” she asked hesitantly. 
“He’s super annoying, Kayla,” you reminded her, “and I doubt he’s even into me in the slightly.” 
“He’s totally into you and I know you’re into him. Annoying and a big ego is your type. He’s annoying to you because he’s constantly pulling your metaphorical pig tails.” 
You rolled your eyes again, wondering if maybe they were going to get stuck up there that your mom had always threatened when you were little, before replying with, “This isn’t elementary school, K. Even if I did have a little crush, he’s not that type of guy and I’m not his type. ”
She shrugged and put her hands up, telling you that her opinion was her opinion and you could like take it or leave it. 
“I just told you what I think, that’s all,” she said. “I also think we need to dress you up extra hot for the bar tonight and you better shave, just in case, you know.”
-------
As the first shot of tequila burned down your throat later that night, you were starting to regret telling Kayla. She’d already had three drinks and around four was when the secrets started spilling out and Matthew was bound to show up any minute. The team had lost tonight, but they were still coming out to celebrate someone’s birthday. 
“That shirt makes your boobs look amazing!” The last word was sung, entirely unsurprising with your best friend. “Thank god you let me do your makeup tonight too. He’s not going to be able to take his eyes off you.” 
“K,” you sighed as you sat the empty shot glass down on the bar, “he’s not exactly a buy-you-roses, take-you-home-to-his-momma, remember-your-anniversary, kind of guy. Pretty sure, if I wanted to, this would be a one and done sort of thing.” 
Kayla shook her head after taking another shot that you couldn’t identify the origin of since you didn’t have another. Oh great, four deep. 
“I’m telling you, babe. He’s into you. Like, he’s actually into you,” Kayla told you.
“Who’s into you?” 
As if on cue, with an actual tug of your ponytail, Matthew was by your side with his classic, every present cocky smile and mop of curly hair, grabbing your attention even though you didn’t want to give it to him. 
“No one,” you told him. “You’re just in time to pay for my next drink though.” 
“You’re the worst person I know,” Matthew told you with a sigh. “You just talk to me for my money, don’t you?” 
“Well, it certainly couldn’t be because of your personality,” you chirped back.
His credit card still hit the bar a few seconds later though, a wide smile on his face. He slid tight up next you, one of his hands gently resting on your back as he threw some cash on the bar along with his card to catch a bartender’s attention. His hand pressed against your back was warm and strong and you wanted to lean into it, into him. You resisted, your body stiffening as you resisted the urge to collapse into him. 
“Oh, sorry,” Matthew mumbled as he took his hand away.
“Oh, you’re good! You can keep it there if you want.” 
You’d said it a little too quickly and with a little too much pep for you, but luckily the volume of the bar covered it. Matthew just nodded and let his hand gently rest on your back again, his fingers drumming against you, as he ordered his and apparently your next drink. 
“Don’t I get to order myself?” you asked him as you tilted your head back to allow for eye contact. 
“When you’re paying,” Matthew chuckled before giving your ponytail another quick tug. “So, how’s work? Pretty sure you know how mine went today, so distract me with yours, please.” 
You just started to make small talk about your work and his when your drinks arrived. Matthew was already being pulled away from you the second his beer touched his hand. 
“Find me in a few!” he shouted over the noise as he was led off to the dance floor. 
You definitely didn’t like you if he left that quickly, but you tried to focus on your drink instead of him. You couldn’t figure out what he’d ordered you by the taste. It was strong, but still tasted good, which was about all that actually mattered. You shrugged it off and headed over to mingle among the team and your other friends, mystery drink in hand and thoughts of Matthew in your head. 
By the time your ass was back on your barstool, you weren’t sure how much time had passed, but you’d had three of Matthew’s mystery drinks and you were feeling them. Still, even at your worst, you weren’t Kayla who had already been yelled three separate times by security for climbing on a chair, a table, and the bar. She could not hold her alcohol even if you paid her a million dollars to do it. 
“Jesus, I’m amazed they haven’t kicked her out yet. I see we’re being boring over here though instead of fun like Kayla.”
Matthew. Of course he’d find you the second you decided to take a little breather. You rolled your eyes at him and he laughed lightly. You knew he was teasing. He was always teasing you, always chirping you. You took the last sip of your drink and began the internal debate on if you could handle one more or not.
“Look, Chucky Cheese, not all girl are table dancing types,” you sighed, settling on the idea that one more would probably more likely than not be one too many. 
Matthew slid his stool closer to you as he waved the nearest bartender down to close out his tab, apparently deciding he was also done for the night along with you.  The scent of his cologne was engulfing you in a way that made the rest of the world around you slowly start to disappear. 
“I’m not into table dancing types,” he informed you as he intercepted your tab before you could glance at how much he was shelling out for you tonight. “More into the roommates of the table dancing types. Especially,” he slid the clipboard with the bill to the opposite edge of the bar as his eyes turned back to lock with yours, “when I have it on good authority that table dancing girl’s roommate is into me.” 
If you’d still been drinking, you would’ve choked on it with that statement. 
“What?” was all you managed to get out in response.
Matthew chuckled a little and nodded softly, as if he’d been expecting that very response. He pivoted on his stool to face you. Slowly and steadily, Matthew leaned in closer to you. Even sitting, he towered over you and it made your breath hitch in your throat. Him leaning into you like this enveloped you in the feeling of him and the smell of his cologne. His lips came to rest just next to the shell of your ear, accidentally grazing it for a moment. If you weren’t already sitting, your knees would’ve buckled. 
“Kayla is a little too drunk to keep your dreams a secret. She said something about how my shoulders would look between your thighs? Could’ve heard that wrong though.” Matthew said softly to you. “It’s okay. I’m happy to make your dreams come true tonight.” 
He paused for a second and you weren’t sure if you had breathed the entire time he’d spoke. He took a deep breath before continuing. 
“That is, if you’re interested.” 
Loose lips sink ships, but maybe, just maybe, Kayla’s loose lips were about to make something float for the first time in her life. 
“Don’t worry so much,” he whispered against your ear as he sensed your nerves, his lips ghosting across your sensitive skin as he spoke, “I want you so fucking bad right now.”
He pulled back, settling onto his stool again with practiced ease, and your heart started racing in your chest. You could barely hear the crowd over your heart beating in your ears. You had to think of something to say and you didn’t have a lot of time to do. Your brain was racing, not landing on any thought in particular long enough for it to take hold. Matthew knew he had you exactly where he wanted and his confidence was turning you on in a way that you hated that you loved. He leaned in closer to you, his smirk still strong as he came closer to you, his mouth inches from yours. You wanted to throw him off guard, wipe that cocky smirk right off his face, so you said the first thing that came to mind. 
“You’ve got to buy me dinner first, Tkachuk.”
You didn’t know what part of your brain found those words. You didn’t know why they’d come out of your mouth. You didn’t even know how truly interested you were. The last one was a lie to yourself, but those words were a 50/50 gamble. Maybe he wanted to fuck you and take you to dinner. Maybe he just wanted one night to get over a tough division loss tonight. You had no evidence other than Kayla’s pigtail pulling theory to support the idea that maybe he might not just be looking for a one night stand and Kayla was so often wrong.
“Hmm, any chance I can cash in on dessert tonight and take you to dinner tomorrow?” The smirk was replaced with a soft smile, a smile that made you want to fall right into his broad chest and never leave. “Because I’m not exactly super patient here and I know you’re going to look absolutely killer in a tight dress at the stupidly expensive restaurant I’m going to take you to tomorrow night, but you’d also look so fucking good in my bed right now.”
"Is that so?” you asked him, stealing his smirk from earlier. “How nice is this restaurant?”
“Not as nice as I’m going to make you feel in a few minutes if you let me.” 
You pressed your mouth against his as your way of answering. Matthew’s hands were on your waist, pulling you off your stool and into him as he took over, his mouth working aggressively against yours. Your hands clasped together behind his neck, securing you against him. Matthew was the one to pull back, surprising you. He released one hand from your waist to pull his phone out of his pocket and open up Uber on his phone. 
“Unless that didn’t mean what I think it meant, I’m taking you home, woman,” Matthew said as he ordered the car.
“What ever do you think it could mean?” you countered in the lightest, brightest sarcastic voice you could find. 
“Don’t tease me like that,” Matthew smirked, his face inches from yours now that his phone was secured in his pocket again. His forehead dipped down to press against yours. “You want this, right?”
“I’m just in this for the idea that the stupidly expensive restaurant has lobster,” you teased him again.
He shook his head softly and let out a soft breath before kissing you again in a way that told you that you were about to be in for a hell of a night. The Uber to his place was a blur for you due to alcohol and anxiety. You wanted Matthew. You knew for certain he wanted you too. That didn’t mean doubt and insecurities weren’t trying to worm your way in and ruin this for you. Matthew’s arm around your shoulders pulled you back to the present. He was pressing you tight against him in the elevator ride up to his apartment. 
“Stop with the mind racing thing you do. I can see the hamsters running up there,” Matthew laughed, his head falling back against the elevator to rest as he looked at you. “You’re not going to have to dream about this anymore. You get the real thing and I’m buying you dinner. You’ve come out on top here, even though you’re not actually going to be on top tonight.”
“Keep chirping me and see if I won’t turn around right now,” you replied as the elevator doors opened. 
“Your prerogative,” Matthew shrugged and he pulled his keys out with his free hand, “but I think taking your right hand over me is a poor choice for you.”
“Aw, you think I don’t own a vibrator.” Matthew’s hand stumbled as he tried to put the key into the lock, probably something to do with what you’d just said.  “Cute of you.” 
“Own anything else I might want to know about?” he asked you curiously as he pushed open his door after successfully wrangling his key. 
“All in due time, Tkachuk,” you said with a pat of his broad chest as you breezed past him into his apartment. 
Matthew breathed out a long sigh. It turned slowly into a chuckle towards the end as he shut the door, his mind jumping forward to when you’d hopefully let him see whatever you were alluding to that was in the back of your top drawer. You didn’t make it far into Matthew’s apartment before his large hands grabbed your hips and spun you to face him, his mouth crushing against yours moments later. Your hands grabbed the bottom of his t-shirt and started to pull it up. 
“Whoa, whoa, easy there, tiger,” Matthew laughed against your mouth while letting his hands take over and pull his shirt up. “We just got here.” 
“If you’re in a slow and steady mood, I’d rather go home to my vibrator.” 
Matthew pulled back from your mouth, still laughing as he tossed his shirt to the floor. He didn’t answer you, instead choosing to attach his mouth to your neck, nipping at the thin skin there as your hands found purchase on his bare chest. His teeth grazed across the skin over your collarbone as he worked his way down and your nails slid down his chest, leaving red lines down his pale skin. 
“Jesus, fuck,” Matthew groaned out as your actions, his voice only deepening due to the sensation. 
His hands on your hips gripped hard, the tips of his fingers pressing into the exposed skin where your shirt had rode up. Matthew slowly guided you backwards until you felt the back of your knees hit the edge of a couch cushion. Matthew left a searing kiss on your lips before he gave you a shove so you fell back on the couch. 
“Clothes, off,” Matthew told you as he unbuckled his belt. 
“You think-”
“I am in charge. Don’t even,” he laughed softly as he yanked his belt from the belt loops in his jeans and dropped it to the floor. “You’re still very dressed by the way.”
You huffed and stuck your tongue out at him, only making him laugh harder, but you listened to him nonetheless, tossing your clothes to the floor along with his. Matthew stopped with just his boxers left, and you followed his lead. His light eyes were darker as he took in the sight of you in just your bra and panties. Kayla had insisted you wear the one matching set you owned tonight and you made a mental note to thank her tomorrow. Matthew’s tongue darted out to lick across his bottom lip. 
“Man, that’s a good look for you.” Matthew paused as he climbed over you, holding up his large frame over yours on the couch on his hands pressed into the cushions next to your head. He lowered his mouth to the swell of your breast, biting gently into the soft skin there. He mumbled against your skin, “Don’t wear clothes anymore.”
“I think I need to, to go to work,” you muttered, your mind far more occupied with what Matthew’s mouth was doing at the moment than speaking. 
His hands were coasting up and down your skin, over your thighs, across your stomach. He was touching every part of you and your body was coming alive under his touch. You opened your mouth to add something, but Matthew had used that same moment as his opportunity to pull one of the lace cups of your bra aside and quickly take your now exposed nipple into his mouth. Your open mouth turned into a loud moan as his tongue rolled across the sensitive nub smoothly. You were already almost seeing stars when he gingerly took it between his teeth for a moment. 
The bra which had previously been something he appreciated, was now in his way, so it ended up on the floor with the rest of your clothes. Matthew groaned at the site of you without it. He’d decided that naked was your best look, before he’d even gotten you completely naked. You could feel his eyes drinking you in and you would have felt self conscious if not for the fact that Matthew shifted over you, pressing his hardness against your thigh in a desperate attempt for friction. 
“Why didn’t we,” Matthew took your other nipple into his mouth mid sentence, letting one of his hands finally stop moving across your skin, to pinch your other nipple between his fingers. He repeated his actions from the other side, tongue rolling your nipple softly before taking it between his teeth. His fingers pinched the other roughly as he did this, making your whine underneath him. He finally finished after releasing your nipple with a soft pop, “do this sooner?” 
“I don’t know, but I really need you to touch me,” you whined, your hands flying to his shoulders to push him down.
He didn’t budge. After all, he was a professional athlete with the strength and weight to match the job title. He relented though without much effort on your part, after throwing you a teasing grin, and pulled your panties down your legs with two fingers hooked into each side. He sank onto the couch between your thighs. You gasped as you could feel his hot breath on your wet slit. Matthew looked at you, taking in everything that was in front of him. 
“You,” he pressed a kiss to the left side of your inner thigh, “are,” he kissed the opposite side, “so,” he kissed higher up on the left side, closer to where you wanted him, “fucking,” he kissed the opposite side at the same distance from your slit. His mouth moved closer, hovering an inch above your core and he added, “Sexy,” before pressing his tongue between your folds and licking in one firm line up to your clit. 
Your eyes rolled back in your head at the contact and your hips bucked up toward his mouth to try and get more contact. One of Matthew’s hands came down low on your stomach and pushed you flat back onto the couch. 
“Easy, easy,” he soft softly, giving your clit a gentle, chaste kiss. “I’ve got you.” 
You let out a deep breath as you tried to get your body back under your control. Your control held until Matthew’s tongue started to circle your clit for the first time. He was pulling moans from your throat that you didn’t know you made as he worked your clit slowly and steadily. Matthew was brash and bold and fast on the ice, but he was steady here, taking his time. You were his guide as he let the noises he was causing you to make guide him. 
You took notice when he flatted his tongue against your clit and looked up at you, his blue eyes locking with yours for a moment. He slowly and purposefully applied more pressure on your clit before shaking his head back and forth, dragging his tongue across your clit firmly. Your eyes slammed shut and your hands flexed into his curls at the sensation. 
“Matthew, fuck,” you managed to break out, your voice cracking between the words. “Holy fuck.” 
“Easy, baby. Easy,” Matthew reminded you softly before returning to you. 
He ran his tongue down your slit again, dipping it ever so slightly into you, making you squirm and whine, before returning his attention to your clit. He started moving his tongue faster, sliding left to right against the sensitive bundle of nerves as he could hear the noises you were matching shift and build. You were becoming more restless under him as your orgasm starting building, desperate to feel that release. Matthew was impatient to get you into his bed, or onto his couch, earlier but he was so very patient now, milking you slowly and gently, making sure to savor every taste of you he was getting, making sure you were enjoying yourself. 
“Matthew, more, please,” you begging softly, tugged his curls to try to push him more into your core. 
He listened, suddenly taking his clit into your mouth and sucking softly on it. You were seeing stars by the time he released it, his tongue moving in quick circles over it. You were so distracted that you didn’t noticed his hand move from your stomach until you felt two of his fingers slide into you. The new feeling pulled you over the edge almost instantly. Matthew’s fingers pumped in and out of you as his tongue continued his movement on your clit to bring you through your orgasm.
“Oh, my, god,” you breathed out, your chest heaving, as Matthew slowly pulled back from you. 
“I don’t think god had anything to do with that actually,” he joked in reply, throwing you a wink that made you remember exactly the kind of guy he really was.
You were about to throw that back in his face, until he slid the two fingers that had been in you into his mouth, sucking them clean in front of you. Your mouth was slack as you watched him, drinking in the sight in front of you. 
“Dessert was fucking delicious by the way,” he told you after releasing his now clean fingers. 
He pushed up off the couch and disappeared down the hallway. You heard a drawer open in what you assumed was his bedroom and shut quickly after. You were still catching your breath by the time he was back, foil packet in hand. 
“Yes?” he asked, lifting the condom up slightly to you as his way of checking with you. 
“Please,” you simply replied. 
Your dream hadn’t even gone as what he’d just finished, but you can’t say you hadn’t imagined this before. You desperately wanted to know what it felt like to have him inside you. Matthew nodded in response before dropping his boxers to the floor, quickly ripping open the foil packet and rolling the condom down his hard shaft. He sighed happily as he looked you over, stroking himself a few times. 
“Hands and knees,” he told you as he crossed the room to you. 
You obliged, flipping over onto your knees, bracing your arms on the back of the couch for more leverage. You felt Matthew sink onto the couch behind you before one of his large hands gripped your ass roughly, squeezing it. He gave the now reddened skin a soft tap before his hand slid to your hip to steady himself as he lined up with you. You both moaned as he slowly slid into it, your wetness allowing for him to enter you in one smooth motion until his hips were pressed against your ass. 
“Jesus, shit,” Matthew mumbled before taking a deep breath. “You feel so fucking good. Christ, woman.” 
“You going to lose it or are you actually going to be able to-”
You didn’t get to finish that sentence as Matthew pulled almost all of the way out before roughly slamming his hips forward until they met your ass again. You gasped at the sudden and now unrelenting movement as Matthew moved at a rough, fast pace, thrusting in and out of you quickly. You gripped the back of the couch and began to push off from the couch slightly, meeting his thrusts with small movements of your own, making him curse between his teeth at how deep he was inside of you each time.  
One of Matthew’s hands was digging into the skin of your hip, steadying him to you and his other was on your shoulder, fingers slowly sliding over from the back of your shoulder to the front, inching ever so slightly toward your neck. You knew what he wanted, but wouldn’t ask for this time around, but you could offer it. You steadied yourself with one forearm on the back of the couch before sliding your free hand up to grab his. His rhythm flattered a little until he realized what you were doing, and then he almost fell apart far too early. You gently guided his fingers until they were wrapped around your throat. 
“Tell me if it’s too much,” he spat out between thrusts.
You nodded and he slowly and steadily applied pressure to your throat, the side of his hand from his index finger to his thumb pressing in just the right spot to restrict your breathing, but not cut it off dangerously. You started moaning louder with the added sensation and Matthew’s thrusts were becoming sloppy. You knew he wanted to last longer, but he got caught off guard by your assertiveness in the best way possible and wasn’t going to be able to hold out much longer.
“Fuck, fuck,” Matthew mumbled before his breathing hitched in his throat. 
He groaned, his hand squeezing down hard on your throat, as his thrusts started to slow as he came down from his high. He collapsed down onto your back when he was finished, releasing your throat so he could wrap his arms around your stomach and give you a quick squeeze. Matthew pressed a soft kiss to your shoulder before slowly pulling out of you. You sighed as you flipped over so you were sitting up on the couch, giving your knees a break. 
Matthew climbed off the couch and headed back down the hallway, returning a few moments later with a damp washcloth for you. You were surprised by the gestured, but grateful for it nonetheless. 
“I meant it,” Matthew told you as he dropped down on the couch next to you, a water bottle in hand.
You gave him a curious look, trying to figure out what he was referring to in that moment. He took a swig from the bottle before answering.
“Taking you out tomorrow,” he continued when he saw your confusion. He passed you the bottle, before continuing, “I meant it.”
"I didn’t think you weren’t,” you replied with a shrug before popping open the bottle to take a few swigs, grateful for the cool water since you’d both managed to work up a sweat during that.
“Good,” he nodded, curls bouncing with his movement. 
The moment was sweet, too sweet for how the rest of the evening had gone. The teasing tone that covered not only the evening, but your friendship with Matthew needed to return. Matthew was also too sure of himself to miss the opportunity at his feet. 
“So, did I live up the dream?” he asked you, a cocky grin on his face that matched his tone. “Actually, I know I was better. But how much better was I?” 
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wiypt-writes · 3 years
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Riding High
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Ch23: Full Circle
Chapter Summary: Mary takes a trip to Boston, but it doesn’t go exactly according to plan and both Frank and Fliss find themselves making a return to the place they both ran from.
Chapter Warnings: Bad Language words.
Chapter Pairings:  Frank Adler x OFC Fliss Gallagher
A/N: Nothing major in this, except please bear with me…I’m a Brit so don’t have a wonderful knowledge of the US Health service… thanks to those of you who helped me with this one, you know who you are… ;-)
Disclaimer: This is a pure work of fiction and classified as 18+. Please respect this and do not read if you are underage. I do not own any characters in this series bar Fliss Gallagher and the other OCs. By reading beyond this point you understand and accept the terms of this disclaimer.
Riding High Masterlist // Main Masterlist
Chapter 22
In the eye of the storm, you remain in control, and in the middle of the war, you guard my soul, you alone are the anchor, when my sails are torn, your love surrounds me in the eye of the storm.
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 "You got everything?" Frank looked at Mary as she shrugged her pink backpack over her shoulder and nodded at him, grinning. "All set..." "Have a good time sweetie!" Fliss grinned as she bent to give her a hug. "I'll make sure Monty is ok, and Fred gets his ping pong ball." Mary wrapped her arms around Fliss, squeezing her before she turned to Frank and did the same. "Call or message me when you land." Frank straightened up as Mary turned to climb in the car as Evelyn held the door open. It was in instruction, not a request and that didn’t pass Evelyn by. She looked at him, smiled and nodded. "Of course. Our flight is due into Boston at 10pm so I'll let you know straight away." Frank nodded and Fliss slipped an arm around his waist as Evelyn settled into the car, the door closing behind them. "She'll be fine..." Fliss gave his hip a gentle squeeze as they both waved the car off, Thor playfully bounding after it for 2 or 3 strides, barking. "It’s only 2 nights sailor...she'll be back Sunday evening" "I know..." he sighed, turning to face her. "And I know it’s different to the last time she went..."
“But that won’t stop you worrying, I get it.” Fliss said, as she gently slid her arms round his neck.
“Stupid, huh?” Frank sighed, his hands falling to her hips.
“No, not at all. You’re behaving like any dad would…” “I’m not her dad.” Frank shook his head.
“And Bill isn’t mine, biologically.” Fliss looked at him, her head tilting to one side. “I’ve told you before, don’t sell yourself short.”
Frank took a deep breath and looked down at Fliss, her large brown eyes studying his.
“What you wanna do tonight?” He asked, changing the subject. It always made him feel slightly uncomfortable being referred to as Mary’s Father, it was almost like he was betraying Diane’s memory in a way. It was stupid, illogical, he knew, as he was her father, in every way but biologically…but still.
"How about you take me for a ride in the new truck?" Fliss smiled. “I’ve not sat in it yet!” Frank looked over her shoulder for a moment at the sleek, shiny new silver Mitsubishi Triton he’d taken delivery of that morning. He smiled a little, before he looked at Fliss, his hands flexing on her waist as he had an idea. "Why don't we see what's on at the Drive In up at Tampa? Good trip to give it a test and we can take the blankets and cool box up, sit on the back?" "Ooooh, sounds great!" Fliss grinned "grab some munchies too!" Frank nodded, giving her a peck on the lips before they headed back up to the apartment. The evening film turned out to be Bohemian Rhapsody which Fliss was eager to see and after checking the time they packed up the truck with what they needed before hitting the road. Fliss was taken with the modern interior of the new vehicle, fiddling about with the dials and the screen on the centre console, tuning the radio in and programming the rest of the stuff which Frank couldn't give a crap out. The only thing useful on there in his opinion was the built in GPS. "Did Greg call you today?" Frank asked Fliss as she sat in the seat beside him. She turned to face him, frowning. "I thought I told you?" Frank school his head, glancing at her. "Oh God, Frank, I’m sorry!" She slapped her palm to her forehead and groaned, shaking her head. Frank chuckled and reached out to squeeze her knee. "Honey, its okay" he assured her, giving her a smile which she returned. He knew why she had been quick to apologise. As part of their moving forward since their little 'blip' as Frank referred to it a few weeks back, Fliss had agreed one hundred percent disclosure on anything and everything to do with her ass hat ex and she didn't want him thinking she was holding out. Another part of the deal was they went to the police. After seeing the evidence and taking statements they had questioned John, who of course had denied it. Given that the evidence was circumstantial the prosecution had told Fliss that they wouldn't be pursuing it further however, upon learning this Greg, had taken matters into his own hands and was pushing for further action. Given that the weight of probability with John's history, swayed towards him being responsible Greg was actively yet unofficially harassing the Assistant District Attorney in Suffolk County (who he knew from Law School) to at least consider holding a Grand Jury Hearing. "He hasn't heard back from his pal at the DAs office yet." Fliss shrugged, her eyes moving back to the road "Mind you, John's been quiet though for the last month now since the photo. Part of me wonders if pushing for this is just gonna kick the Hornets nest so to speak." "Maybe." Frank mused. "But Greg seems confident if we can get him up in front of a Grand Jury, they'd without a doubt decide there was a case to answer." "He just wants to second chair the Prosecution" Fliss grinned and Frank snorted. "Yeah he has taken it kinda personally." Frank nodded, before he sighed and reached out for her left hand which was now nervously twisting the fingers of her right. He pressed a gentle kiss to her knuckles before he linked his fingers with his and dropped his hand to the arm rest between them. He didn't mention it again. Instead they concentrated on enjoying themselves and once at the Drive In, Frank reversed the truck so the flat bed was facing the lager screen. They sat in the back, cool box of beer and snacks at their disposal, huddled together and enjoyed their film, sharing the odd lingering, deep kiss that left the pair of them smiling and grinning like a couple of teenagers on the back row. Once the film was finished they headed home via one of the All Night Diners on the for a shake and some pie, at which point Frank received a photo message from Evelyn that showed Mary asleep in the back of her car, accompanied by the words "Safe and Sound" and a promise that Mary would call in the morning. He passed the phone to Fliss who grinned at the image. "See, nothing to worry about." She said gently, passing him the phone back. "I'm not worried..." he began to protest but Fliss simply arched an eyebrow and he let out a soft sigh. "Okay, maybe a little..." "It’s gonna be fine. She's going to come back full of tales about what a great time she had and that's the most important thing here Frank. You said you wanted her to be happy. Clearly, having Evelyn in her life is what she wants." "I know, I know...you're right." He nodded, before his attention flicked to the waitress who was bringing them their food. Once finished they made their way back home and decided to take Thor for a quick walk down to the Marina. It was dark, and getting a little bit chilly (well, as chilly as it ever got in South Pas) but it was nice none the less, just taking the time to themselves in the moonlight. As they walked and talked, Frank felt the veil of anxiety he had been feeling about Mary’s trip lift slightly and he started to relax properly. It was hard not to, he loved spending time with Fliss like this, just doing simple things alone and it didn’t escape him how if you had asked him eighteen months ago if he would be spending his Friday Nights walking down the Marina with his girlfriend of a year he would have laughed.
At that he stopped.
A year.
Fuck.
“Lissy…” he pulled her back to him. “It’s our anniversary tomorrow.”
“I know.” she smiled “I take it you just remembered?”
“No…” he started to protest, and then gave a laugh as she arched an eyebrow at him, calling him out.
“You’re so full of shit.”
“Maybe I did just remember but that’s only because every day with you feels as special as our first date.” “Oh fuck you Adler!” she snorted and he laughed, tilting his head back, his right hand flying to his chest. “That’s is such a shit line.” “Okay, okay, sorry!” he chuckled, tilting his head to look at her. “I’ve never been in this position before so cut me some slack huh!”
“Well, I’m not expecting a card or flowers or any crap like that.” she smiled “It’s not like it’s a wedding anniversary, which, for the record, when we get married, you forget one of those I would smother you to death in your sleep…” “When…” Frank looked at her, a soft smile on his face.
“I mean if.” She flushed, biting her lip.
“Nope, you said when…”
“Piss off.”
“So you don’t wanna marry me?”
“I didn’t say that?”
“So you do then…” “Frank, seriously, shut up!” She laughed, hitting him on his chest. With a chuckle, he dropped his arm round her shoulder. They continued their walk, looping around the marina to start the head home, when after a few moment she spoke again.
“But, hypothetically speaking, if I was to ask…” Fliss took a deep breath as they continued to walk, before she stopped and looked up at him. “Hypothetically?” “Of course…” She smiled, and looked down slightly, before she grinned up at him “Then it would totally depend on what ring you got me.”
“Materialistic…” Frank nodded, “Noted.” She shoved him again and he looked at her, “What?” he asked through his chuckle.
“I wonder why I love you at times.” “No you don’t.” He said gently and it was her turn to laugh as she shook her head.
“Yeah, you’re right. I don’t”
“You’ve still not answered my question…” He said, looking at her.
“Ask it properly and maybe I will.” she sassed back.
Frank felt his face split into a grin because that was all the damned answer he needed. He leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to her lips before he pulled her close and they headed home, Thor running in front of them barking at the lights that were reflecting on the dark water.
******
Frank blinked. It took him a while to realise what had woken him, but his phone was ringing. Reaching for it with a yawn he looked at it, and as soon as the caller ID registered he sat bolt upright and answered. "Mother?" He frowned, his voice thick from sleep "What's happened?" "Don't panic..." she spoke immediately, and he felt his chest contract straight away in worry as she continued "but we're on the way to hospital..." "Why, what's going on?" He asked, as Fliss stirred next to him as he began to push the covers down, before swinging his legs so he was sat on the edge if his bed. "Mary started complaining of pains in her stomach just before bed. She seemed to settle after some pain relief but woke about half an hour ago screaming. So I decided call an ambulance." Evelyn's voice was calm but Frank could sense the underlying current of anxiety "they're here now and they want to take her in, they think its appendicitis..." There was a pause as someone said something to her on the other side and then Frank could hear Mary's soft crying and he felt a lump in his throat. "Ok, where are they taking her?" He asked "Cambridge?" "Yes." Evelyn spoke "Frank, I need to go but I'll call you as soon as I have news." "Ok." Frank nodded, standing up "I'll be there as soon as I can" Evelyn didn't argue, she simply promised once more to call as soon as there was an update and he hit cancel. "Frank?" Fliss asked softly, clicking on the lamp as he turned to face her. "What...."
"It's Mary." Frank looked at Fliss as he moved the wardrobe and pulled out a bag "She's been taken ill, they're err...taking her to hospital. I need to go..."
"Hospital?" Fliss threw the covers off the bed "What for?" "Suspected appendicitis..." Frank said, as he tossed the kit bag onto the bed "I don't know much more but..."
He took a deep breath as Fliss reached out for him, and he fell into her arms as she gently gave him a hug. He pulled away and ran a hand over his face.
"Ok, first thing's first." Fliss spoke. "We need flights..."
"Flights?" "Yeah, you can't drive there Frank." Fliss looked at him, "It will take you a day." "Yeah, yeah." he nodded, realising that his plan to simply jump in his truck and floor it was a ridiculous one, before he frowned. “Hang on, we?"
"Yes, we. You're not going on your own." "I don't want you back in Boston." Frank shook his head. "Not whilst..."
"Frank, I'm not having this argument with you." Fliss said sternly "Fuck John. This is Mary. I'm coming, end of discussion." Frank looked at her for a moment, her face was stern leaving him absolutely no doubt she was being serious. If he was 100% honest with himself, he didn't want to go without her either, so with a deep breath he nodded.
"I’ll sort the flights and then I'll call my mum and dad, they can come get Thor and Fred. Where's your ID?" "Kitchen drawer." he said, as he began pulling a few items of clothing and stuffing them in the bag. She nodded and headed out of the room, the lights in the hallway flicking on as she went. He shoved what he had pulled from his drawers into his bag. He hated this, he'd always been there when Mary was sick, and the fact he was a damned 3 hour flight away was killing him.
"Dad's on his way over, and the first flight I could get us on is at six-fifteen which gets us in at nine-twenty.” Fliss said, coming back, her phone in her hand "So that gives us just under three hours." she said.
Frank nodded and that was the confirmation she needed, and she tapped a button nodding. "That's done. So you're gonna need your paperwork, insurance etc..." "Yeah, that's..." he frowned, "erm..." "Filed with everything else." she looked at him, "It's in the drawer in the bureau."
"Right." "And we should probably take some more stuff for Mary." Fliss looked at him, "She's gonna be there a little longer than anticipated so she'll need more clothes, pyjamas...maybe a few books...want me to sort it?" "Please." he smiled softly at her, thankful that she seemed to have taken control.
She nodded and headed into Mary's room and began to pull a selection of things for her together, returning with them moments later. They spent the next 15 minutes gathering what they needed before they both dressed, and then there was a soft knock on the door. Frank made his way to answer when his phone rang again.
"I'll get the door honey." Fliss spoke softly as he answered the call.
"Mr Adler?" "Speaking." "This is Ava Fields calling from Cambridge Hospital...I just need to collect some details from you regarding Mary...I believe you're the Minor's official guardian?"
Frank took a deep breath and confirmed the status with the woman, and then headed into the living room, nodding slightly to Bill as he went to the file which Fliss had placed on the dining room table. Flicking through he found his policy details, number and proceeded to recite the information over the phone.
"Listen..." he spoke to the woman once he had finished "I'm in Florida at the moment, but I'll be flying up as soon as I can...in the meantime, could it be possible to delegate responsibility when I'm not reachable to Evelyn Adler, she's Mary's grandmother, my mother...she came in with her. I don't want anything to be held up whilst I'm in the air..." "No, of course Mr Adler." The woman spoke kindly, "I'll make a note that you're happy for Mrs Adler to be the point of contact until you arrive...now have a safe trip and try not to worry." Yeah, right.
With a thanks he cut the call and immediately dialled his mother.
"Any news?" he demanded.
"The doctor has just arrived." Evelyn spoke quietly "He's doing a quick physical then I suspect she'll be taken up for some tests or..." "Ok, well our flight leaves at 6:15." he said, walking back into the bedroom "Arrives in Mass at 9:20."
"I'll send a car for you." Evelyn said.
"Thanks." Frank said "Oh, and I've told the hospital that if they can't reach me to defer to you. I hope that's ok." "Of course it's ok Frank." Evelyn replied softly "She is my granddaughter." "Just call me the minute there's any news." he said, ignoring her sudden softness. "Sure." Evelyn said "And keep me posted as to where you are." With a goodbye Frank slid the phone into his pocket and unplugged the charger before he threw that into the bag along with his documents before he zipped it up and lifted it, along with the smaller one which contained Mary's stuff and headed into the hall.
"Hey Bill..." he said with a sigh, dropping the bags to the floor "Sorry, I wasn't being rude..." "Stop." Bill shook his head, cutting Frank’s apology off "How is she?" "Still being examined. I should know more shortly." he took a deep breath, looking at Fliss "Mother's sending a car for us once we land."
"Ok." Fliss said "I couldn't get two seats together but we're a row behind one another..." Frank nodded, it wasn't important. What was important was that they simply got there.
"Deep breath..." Fliss said softly, her hands resting on his arms "Have we packed everything?"
He nodded, running over the list in his head and Bill reached for one of the bags. "Ok, let's get going..."
"Dad's gonna drop us at the airport." Fliss said, "Save us having to sort out Car parking..." "Thanks." Frank looked at Bill, who waved his gratitude away.
"No problems...all set?" "Jacket." Fliss looked at Frank and he cursed, heading back into the bedroom. Grabbing the warmest one he owned, which was a dark grey Super-Dry zip up he carried it back into the hall and the three of them headed down to Bill's Range Rover.
15 minutes into the trip he had another call from Evelyn to say Mary was being taken up for scans as soon as possible.
"The initial examination seems to confirm it's appendicitis..." she said "They've given her a sedative for the pain and once the scans are done, if its confirmed they're going to need to operate. The good news is it doesn't appear to have ruptured so it can be done via a laparoscopy..." "Yeah, that's wonderful..." Frank said sarcastically before he sighed "Sorry, I'm just worried..." "I know." Evelyn said "But she's in the best place Frank." "Yeah..." he sighed, looking out of the window. "Thanks...keep in touch." He explained to Fliss and Bill who were both looking at him questioningly before they fell silent again, no one speaking for the rest of the journey, which took them just over 35 minutes in total. After giving Bill quick instructions for Thor and Fred, and the man promising to call Alan and Joanne for them, as it was unlikely they would be back on Monday, they both gave him a hug and Bill gently slapped Frank's back slightly, in as Fatherly a manner as he could have done.
Check in and security took them about 40 minutes to clear, meaning by the time the hit the lounge they had roughly an hour before they could start boarding. Fliss suggested they grabbed a coffee and Frank agreed, even though he didn't particularly want one, he knew it was a way of passing the time. He was also getting antsy as there hadn't been any more news from his mother or the hospital. Fliss directed him to sit on the tan, leather sofas in the Coffee Bar area of the lounge and headed to the counter to place their order. Whilst she waited she turned to glance at Frank, to see he had crossed one long leg over the other and was rubbing at his forehead with his hand. She knew he was worried, hell, they both were, but Frank was normally the level-headed one out of the pair of them, more often than not being the one bringing Fliss down from a rage when Mary came home and told about something a kid at school had said to her, even when Mary didn’t actually give a shit herself. But now the tables had turned and Fliss knew she had to be the calm one despite the fact she herself felt anything but.
Taking the coffees with a smile she turned and headed over to where he was sat, placing the mugs on the small table in front of them and then dropping gently into the seat besides him.
“Thanks.” he murmured, before he pulled his phone out of his pocket and checked it again.
"She’ll be ok Frank." Fliss said gently, her hand dropping to his knee.
"She's gonna be so scared Fliss" Frank sighed, his hand sliding into hers "A strange place, in pain, and ...I'm not there..." "No, but you will be as soon as we can." Fliss soothed.
"What if they operate, and then she wakes up and..."Frank's voice croaked "I promised I'd look after her and..."
"Hey..." Fliss said softly, her fingers tightening around his "You do look after her. No one could have predicted she would fall ill, that isn't something you can control, ok? I know it’s easier said than done but try and concentrate, keep a clear head. So when you do get news you can digest it rationally ok?"
"I know going back can't be easy for you." he looked at her, "But I'm glad you're here...I don't know what I'd have done without you before..."
"Probably jumped in your truck in nothing but your boxers." She said and he gave a soft chuckle.
"Probably" he agreed.
They made small talk for the rest of the time before their flight called and they headed to the gate. He called Evelyn to inform her they were boarding and she told him that they were still waiting for a doctor to come by with the scans results. That frustrated him, as it had been almost 2 hours since they had said they were referring her for one but there was nothing he could do about it.
They found their seats, Frank shoving their bags into any space in the overhead locker he could find and thankfully, the man next to Frank was happy to swap seats when Fliss explained the situation to him, meaning they could sit together. Whilst Frank had earlier stated it wasn't important he was glad he was by his side. He could take her hand, feel her presence which itself was calming.
The flight itself felt like the longest 3 hours of Frank's life. He tried to concentrate on a film, but that didn't work. Nor did the paper from the flight attendant, or trying to talk to Fliss. After 40 minutes he just settled into a contemplative silence, his mind working overtime, simply taking Fliss' hand in his as he willed away the minutes. Eventually, their descent into Logan was announced and after Fliss spoke to the flight attendant again, they were allowed to exit the aircraft first. Frank was back on his phone as soon as they walked off, and Evelyn answered immediately saying Mary had been taken down to surgery approximately 50 minutes ago. She assured Frank that Mary had been ok, knew he was on his way, and Evelyn had been with her whilst she fell asleep, which was something at least.
As they were travelling with their bags in the cabin, once they cleared security they didn’t have to wait for luggage reclaiming, and they strode quickly into the arrivals lounge where they were met by their driver who Frank greeted with a nod. They followed him outside to the sleek grey Mercedes and both climbed into the rear once Frank had tossed their bags into the trunk.  Fliss gently placed her hand on Frank's knee as his leg was shaking and he shot her a small smile as he looked out of the window at the sights of the city he had left behind almost 8 years ago.
Nothing had changed, nothing of notice anyway. A few new housing developments here and there but as they made their way through to Cambridge it appeared to be the same leafy suburb he had once called home. Although he knew Fliss had lived in Concorde, this had to be jolting memories for her and it seemed he was right as he glanced sideways at her and noticed a look of contemplation on her face.
"You ok?" he asked, and she smiled, nodding.
“Was just thinking about how beautiful it all looks this time of year." He smiled softly and they fell into silence again, and less than 20 minutes after leaving the airport they pulled up outside the hospital. The driver hopped out and opened the trunk so they could grab their bags before they thanked the man and headed inside straight to reception. The woman greeted him, gave him the relevant floor and Ward name along with a room number, informing him Mary had her own private area which he was glad about.
"Come on..." Frank urged the elevator as it ascended to the floor they needed, tapping his foot on the floor. After what felt like hours, the doors opened and he strode out, his hand round Fliss' as they checked the signs on the wall.
"This way." Fliss tugged on his arm. She gently led him to the right and they checked the numbers on the doors before they reached Mary's. Without knocking Frank opened the door and Evelyn's head snapped up.
"Where's Mary?" Frank demanded as he spotted the bed was missing from the room. "Not back from theatre." Evelyn said, standing up and Fliss smiled at her, taking in her appearance. She was as casually dressed as Fliss had ever seen her, in a pair of jeans and a sweater, her hair pulled back into a pony tail and she noted how soft and almost maternal it actually made her look in contrast to her usual School Mistress appearance. "It shouldn't be long now...as soon as she's out they'll be taking her to the post anaesthetic care unit and come down to get us."
Frank dropped the bag he was carrying to the floor and walked to the window, taking a glance out, chewing the inside of his lip. Fliss watched him for a moment before she turned to Evelyn as she spoke.
"Good flight?" the woman asked, clearly trying to make conversation.
"Yeah." Fliss nodded "Felt like it took an age but..."
At that moment there was a knock on the door before it opened and they all turned to see a doctor step into the room.
"How is she?" Frank asked immediately.
"Mr Adler I presume?" The light haired man smiled at him. "I'm Dr Jeffords. Mary is fine, the operation went without hitch. If you come with me I'll take you up to PACU...but I'm afraid only 2 of you can come..." Frank took a deep breath and immediately looked to Fliss, who turned to Evelyn. "Evelyn, you can..." "No." she shook her head, "You go..."
"You can take turns if you wish." The doctor said gently "She shouldn't be in there for too long, once she's come round and her vitals are stable she'll be brought back down so..." Evelyn nodded and Fliss turned to Frank as he took her hand. With a final nod to his mother they followed the Doctor to the elevator.
"Just to prepare you, she does have an IV line in and could be a little groggy at first..." The doctor spoke as they followed him down a corridor. "That's all perfectly normal..."
Frank nodded as the Doctor opened a door to their right and Frank saw Mary for the first time in the middle of the bed at the far side.  She looked so small and there was a nurse stood by her, checking something on a screen.
"Oh, Jesus.” Frank's voice caught in his throat and Fliss gently rubbed at his back.
"It looks worse than it is." Doctor Jeffords assured him "Like I said, there were no complications we just need to monitor her for a while until she comes round fully. Now if you need anything or have any worries, please just grab one of the nurses, and I'll be back in about half an hour to check on her. By the she should be with it enough to take back to her room."
Fliss thanked the Doctor as Frank walked over to Mary's bed, bending down gently to kiss the top of her head, his hand brushing her hair back off her face. She gently placed her hand between Frank's shoulder blades as the two of them stood looking down at Mary, Fliss' hand rubbing soft circles over Frank's grey t-shirt as he took a deep breath. "She looks so small." Frank said softly "I never considered how little she was really" "She's not." Fliss chuckled. "She is to you because you're big." "Big?" Frank looked at her and she shrugged, smiling. "Yeah you're tall...broad shouldered..." she mused, her eyes flicking back to Mary, her hand falling from his shoulders to the base of his back. "I'm just over six-foot, it's not that tall." Frank's lips curled into a smile "Your Steve is taller than me, your dad is the same size..." "Steve is an animal." Fliss said, shaking her head "he was your height at the age of 16. Ridiculous." At that Mary made a little noise, and her face creased up, eyes closed. "Hey." Frank smiled softly, his hand reaching out again, gently brushing her cheek. "Hey Stack."
Mary made a noise, and then her face screwed up and she began to try and sit up.
“Shhhh.”  Frank moved further up the bed, gently bending over so his hands fell either side of her. “Just…stay calm, its okay…”
But even as he spoke she became even more visibly distressed, and no matter what he said she didn’t respond. He looked up at Fliss, helplessly, his eyes filling with tears and Fliss took a deep breath, swallowing as she called over for a nurse.
“I know this looks horrible,” the Nurse said softly as she strode over, “but she’s experiencing something we call Emergence Delirium, very common in children.” “What, what do I do?” Frank asked, shaking his head, his eyes still fixed on Mary as she yelled out, her arms flailing “I can’t…”
“There’s nothing you can do really other than gently talk to her, stay calm, be reassuring…” the Nurse said gently. “I promise you, she won't remember any of this when she comes round fully Mr Adler, it’s worse for you than her…”
Frank gently placed his hand on Mary’s forehead and at his touch she seemed to relax a little, so encouraged slightly he began to hum the melody to God Only Knows by the Beach Boys, something he had always sung to her as a small child, a song she’d grown up with and they now sang along to in the car on occasions. Fliss moved to his side, her arm curling round his waist as she simply stood with him, lending him comfort and eventually, Mary blinked, her eyes opening and when they focussed on Frank she gave him a small smile.
Frank let out the breath he had been holding and wiped his eyes hastily before she realised he’d been crying.
"Hey Stack." he said gently, looking at her, his hand softly stroking her cheek. "Welcome back."
She blinked again, and then looked to Fliss, her face cracking into an even bigger smile and Fliss reached down and gently placed a kiss on her head.
“Hey baby.” Fliss smiled.
“Evelyn…” Mary coughed slightly, her voice croaky and she looked at Frank “She said you were on your way…” “I got on a plane as soon as I could.” he said, “I’m so sorry I wasn’t here earlier.” “Where is she?”
“She’s in your room.” Frank said “Only 2 of us were allowed in here at once.” “Do you want me to go get her?” Fliss said.
“But then you would have to go.” Mary frowned.
“Yeah, but if you want Evelyn that’s fine…” “No.” Mary shook her head and Frank gently curled his hand around Fliss’. Mary closed her eyes again before she opened them and looked at Frank “Where’s Fred.” Frank let out a snort “I couldn’t bring a cat in here with me, Stack. Bill and Verity have him.” “And his ping pong balls?” “And his ping pong balls.” Fliss assured her.
“Oh, ok.” Mary looked at them both “That’s fine. Hey, did you bring me any snacks?”
Frank looked at Fliss, the pair of them sharing a grin before Frank shook his head “No, but when the doctor says it’s ok I’ll go get you whatever you want.” “Good, Evelyn wouldn’t let me have any chips last night.” she said, wrinkling her face “I know I’ve said this before but she really is bossy…” *******
When the Doctor returned he began his examination to make sure Mary was ok to move back to her room, and Fliss had to snort at the way Mary started demanding an in depth report on what exactly the Operation had done. Doctor Jeffords looked at Frank, who merely rolled his eyes with a smirk and gestured for him to answer so, with an amused expression he did just that. Mary quizzed him for a good 15 minutes until Frank stepped in and told her that the poor man had other people to go and see, not just her.
Little over 20 minutes after the Doctor was left they were back in Mary’s room, and she seemed fairly bright. Frank had been momentarily dumbfounded when he had seen his mother reach over to hug Mary, tears in her eyes when she had returned to her room. But Mary didn’t act like it was a big issue, so he could only assume that his mother must have hugged her before, and it struck him as being a little sad how surprised he was by this realisation.
The three of them sat with her, the TV on the wall playing something in the background. Frank made sure her laptop was charged so she had something to do as well in case she decided she was getting bored. They Face-timed Bill and Verity who were both over the moon to see Mary ok, and they talked to them for a good forty minutes, Mary demanding to see Fred and Thor as well, Bill making good natured grumblings about how he was offended she didn’t really want to see him. All in all, the day passed fairly quickly all in all, and at about 4pm the Nurse popped in to ask if Mary wanted something to eat. She nodded eagerly and when they returned with a list of what she could have, Frank sat next to her and they began to decide. Fliss smiled softly at the sight of him, sat up on the bed, arm looped round the headboard as they both pulled a face at something on the menu, shaking their heads.
“String beans by any chance?” Evelyn asked, clocking the exchange and Frank looked up at her.
“How did you guess?”
“You always hated them as a child and do does she….” Evelyn said, a little distractedly as her phone began to ring. She glanced at the number and then looked at Frank “Sorry, do you…” “No, go for it.” He said, nodding. She answered the call as she left the room, Fliss watching her go before she turned to Frank as Mary looked at him.
“Are you staying here with me tonight?” “Course I am.” he assured her “I’m not leaving until you can come home.” “And that’s tomorrow?” “If they’re happy you’re ok, yeah, tomorrow. Although you won’t’ be able to fly back to Florida for a while.” “Does that mean we’re gonna be at Evelyn’s for Thanksgiving?” Frank paused for a moment, he hadn’t even thought about that, or in fact where they were going to stay whilst Mary recovered. His mother’s was the logical option, despite how he had no desire to step foot in her house ever again, but that wasn’t important. What was important was Mary, and being at his mother’s was going to be a damned sight better for her than a hotel.
“Looks like it.” he nodded.
“Will we still get our dinner?” Mary frowned “Like, we said we would do a beef roast this year.” “I’ll still make you a roast.” Fliss smiled,  “As long as Evelyn is ok with it.” “Ok with what?” Evelyn asked, walking back into the room.
“With us staying until Mary is well enough to fly home.”  Frank looked at her.
“And Thanksgiving dinner.” Mary added.
“And dinner.” Frank nodded.
Evelyn looked at him “Well I assumed you would be staying with me until she was well enough to fly home, Francis…” Frank arched his eyebrow at the fact she’d dropped his full name and besides him Mary sniggered.
“Francis…that’s so lame…” “Hush.” he looked at her before he turned to his mother. “Are you sure?” “Of course, there’s plenty of room.” she said.
“Thanks. Who was on the phone?” Frank asked.
“Oh, just someone from the University asking how Mary was.” Evelyn shook her head, “No one important.”
“That all they wanted?” Frank asked, and Evelyn sighed
“I should have been on a call this afternoon.” “On a Saturday?” Frank looked at her.
“Research doesn’t stop at a weekend…” Evelyn glared at him. “But like I said, no important. I’ll catch up on what they wanted another time.” with that she rubbed at her eyes . Frank studied her for a moment and gave a sigh, she looked exhausted. They all did to be fair, but his mother was almost 65, she was bound to be feeling it a little more than he or Fliss.
“Why don’t you head off?” he asked. “Go catch up on whatever they wanted, get some sleep and come back in the morning…you too.” he turned to Fliss. Immediately she began to protest but Frank looked at her, shaking his head “Look, all that’s gonna happen is I’m gonna eat half of Mary’s dinner-“ “-hey!”
“-and fall asleep.” he finished, grinning as Mary glared at him over the threat regarding her food. “It’s 5 pm now…I guarantee by 8 I’ll be flat out.”
“Well then I’ll go at 8.” Fliss pouted.
Frank looked at her, about to argue but Evelyn stood up.
“I’ll call for my driver.” Evelyn said, “I’m not going to lie, I am dying for a hot bath and a bottle of Malbec.”
“I don’t want to go yet.” Fliss pouted.
Frank took a deep breath, “Really, we’re going to have this argument about you being a stubborn brat?” “No argument. I’m not going yet.” “I’ll go ahead.” Evelyn said, stepping in as she saw Frank glaring at Fliss “I could do with making sure the guest room is ready anyway and making a few calls. I’ll send the driver back for you in an hour or so?” Fiss took a deep breath and then sighed “Ok, fine.” Domestic argument averted, Evelyn bid Mary a good night, gently pecking her head before she turned to Frank who was sat next to Mary and surprisingly did the same to him. He swallowed and looked at her, frowning a bit. She looked like she was about to say something but didn’t, instead she stood up and told Fliss she would send her a set of keys back with the driver.
Frank watched her go before he turned to Fliss who looked at him, shrugging her shoulders.
“She clearly found her inner mom.” Mary said, and Frank looked down at her, “Something underneath the Mother.” “She’s always been mother.” Frank said “I’ve never once called her mom, not without her protesting anyway.”
“Her loss.” Mary shrugged and Frank frowned again, looking at Fliss.
“Why do you say that?”
“Coz Verity told me that being a mom and a nanna was the best thing ever.” she shrugged “If Evelyn’s only ever been a mother, well that sucks…” Frank stared down at her, utterly dumbfounded at her comment as she handed him the menu card “I’ll have the chicken, but no string beans…”
***** Little over an hour or so Fliss received a call telling her that the driver was waiting outside. Once they finished removing what Frank needed from the bag, Fliss turned to Mary and gave her a hug and kiss goodnight before Frank followed her out of the door.
“Call me when you’re home.” he said, and she nodded, stepping into his arms before she gave him a soft kiss.
“I’ll be back as soon as I can in the morning.” she said gently. “I love you.”
“Love you too.” he smiled, kissing her again “So much baby girl.” Smiling at the nickname she picked up the bag, and with a last peck to his lips she headed out.
The drive to Evelyn’s was reasonably quick, and Fliss soon found the car pulling off the main road onto a sweeping driveway and into a large, open courtyard. The house was big, bigger than her parents so it looked but it was hard to see much it was dark. She thanked the driver as he walked her up to the door with her bag, before handing her the keys. Once inside she found herself in an immaculate terracotta tiled hallway, illuminated by a very expensive looking floor lamp in the corner under the huge stair case. Fliss turned and gave the door a soft pull before she began to walk deeper into the house, bag deposited by the foot of the stairs. She headed into a large sitting area, which contained a pristine leather couch and matching arm chairs, large TV and followed that through to another area which contained a grand piano, a large table and numerous bookshelves. That led into a large kitchen with hanging, brushed copper lampshades, and the room looked as though it spanned the entire width of the house. She stepped inside and then through another door which led back into a hall, passing another two doors to her right, which were both closed.
Frowning, Fliss saw the front door was open slightly, she must not have shut it correctly, it was quite a heavy wooden one after all in comparison to their PVC one at the apartment and probably needed a little more than a quick tug. Making sure it was snapped shut and the lock had clicked she grabbed her back and made her way upstairs. She reached the top and then stood, looking round. The hallway circled back round the stairs, rooms on all four sides. With a shrug she headed down towards the first door an opened it. It was a spare room, but clearly where Mary had been staying. It was decorated in soft shades of dusky pinks and golds, and there was a small bookcase with a few children’s books, some puzzles and TV with a DVD player sat on top of it. Fliss smiled before she headed to the next one. This was a larger room with a huge double bed, and on top of it sat two sets of clean towels. Deciding this was likely to be the one Evelyn was prepping for them, Fliss dropped her back down, and shrugged off her jacket, glancing at the door that led to the en-suite. Taking a quick look inside she knew she really should find Evelyn before she did anything else so she continued down past the next room which was empty, then the huge bathroom with a roll top bath, until she reached the final one which was on the opposite side of the landing. She gave a soft knock, before she entered, glancing around at the opulent master bedroom as soft music hit her ears, along with the sounds of water sloshing in a tub.
“Evelyn?”
“Fliss?” the woman called back and Fliss headed over to the door of the en-suite.
“Yeah…sorry, I didn’t want to disturb you…”
“It’s quite alright, I won’t be too long. Have you found your room?”
“Yes, thank you.” “Ok, well, go and help yourself to a bottle of wine and run your own bath in the main bathroom. Fuck knows you can probably do with unwinding a little too.”
Although she knew Evelyn swore, the sound of the words from her mouth still made Fliss chuckle so after thanking her she headed back down the stairs to grab herself a bottle, as directed. She headed into the kitchen, and as she was passing the open door to her left which she assumed led into some kind of utility room, a movement caught her eye. She stopped, but before she could investigate further she saw a figure emerging from the shadows moving towards her. Automatically Fliss began to back away and she felt her eyes widen and her chest constrict in utter fear as the man’s features became clear as he strode into the soft light of the kitchen.  It was a face she hadn’t seen, other than in her worst memories and nightmares for years, not since she’d seen the court bailiffs lead him down from the dock after the jury had delivered their verdict. His cold grey eyes locked on to hers and he gave her a sinister smile.
“Long time no see Felicity.” John said, arching an eyebrow.  “You changed your hair.”
**** Chapter 24
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hopelikethemoon · 4 years
Text
Pool (Javier x Reader) {MTMF} [smut]
Title: Pool Rating: Explicit  Length: 3100 Warnings: Fluff and shower sex.  Notes: You can find everything about Maybe Today, Maybe Forever here. Set after “Anniversary” in 1999. FULL DISCLOSURE: This chapter is entirely unbeta’d and I’m not 100% sure what I’ve written makes sense. I’ve been in horrific pain since Sunday night. I’m talking on a scale of 1-10, I was at an 11 while writing this. I’m loopy, sore, and haven’t slept in two nights. I think, with my naps, I’ve had four hours of sleep over the past two days. So I have no idea what you’re walking into but, you know, I make great decisions. Enjoy???? Summary: Reader and Javier continue celebrating. 
@grapemama​​​​​ @seawhisperer​​​​​ @huliabitch​​​​​ @beccaplaying​​​​​ @thewallpapergoesorido​​​​​ @twomoonstwosuns​​​​​ @gooddaykate​​​​ @livasaurasrex​​​​​ @ham4arrow​​​​​ @plexflexico​​​​​ @readsalot73​​​​​ @hdlynn​​​​​ @lokiaddicted​​​​​ @randomness501​​​​​ @fioccodineveautunnale​​​​​  @roxypeanut​​​​​ @snivellusim​​​​​ @lukesrighthand​​​​​ @historynerd04 @mrsparknuts​​​​​ @awesomefandomsunited​​​​​ @behindmyeyes-insidemyhead​​​​ @exrebelshocktrooper​​​​​ @synystersilenceinblacknwhite​​​​​ @ah-callie​​​​​ @swhiskeys​​​​​ @exrebelshocktrooper​​​​​ @u-wakatoshii​​ @space-floozy​​​​​ @cable-kenobi​​​​​ @cool-ultra-nerd​​ @himbopoes​​​​​ @findhimfives​​​​​ @pedrosdoll​​​​​ @frietiemeloen​​​​​ @arrowswithwifi​​​​​  @cinewhore​​​​​ @random066​​​​​ @uncomicalhumour​​​​​ @heather-lynn​​​​​ @domino-oh-damn​​​​​ @cyarikaaa​​​​​ @ahopelessromanticwritersworld​​​​ @im-still-a-pieceofgarbage @ksgeekgirl​​​​​ @yabby-girl​​​​​ @xqueenofthecraziesx​​​​ @punkass-potato​​​​​ @coredrive​​​​​ @pascalesque​​​​​ @theduchessofkirkcaldy​​​​​ @queenquazar​​​​​ @sabinemorans​​​​​ @buckstaposition​​ @holkaskrosnou​​ @yespolkadotkitty​​​​​@seeking-a-great–perhaps @kochamcie​​​​​ @jaime1110​​​​​ @katlikeme​
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You propped your chin up on your palm, tapping your fingers against your cheek as you looked across the table at Javier. 
He had his tongue pressed to the inside of his cheek as he calculated out the tip total. His brows furrowed momentarily as he double checked his math, before he jotted his signature down and sat the bill aside. 
Javier glanced up at you, “What is it?”
“Nothing.” You shook your head and smiled at him. “I was just appreciating the view.”
He chuckled, rubbing at the back of his neck as he looked away briefly, “You’re gonna make me blush, baby.”
“Maybe.” You stretched your leg out beneath the table and tapped your foot against his ankle. “It's only my first anniversary once.” You pointed out. “So I’m savoring it.”
“I think that champagne went to your head,” Javier retorted with a smirk, tapping his fingers against his temple. 
You rolled your eyes, “I’d flip you off if this weren’t a nice restaurant.” 
Javier snorted, shaking his head slowly as he nudged at your calf beneath the table. “Alright, so you were appreciating the view?”
“Mhm.” You bit down on the edge of your bottom lip as you held his gaze. “I was trying to remember what you looked like that first day.”
“About ten years younger.” Javier scratched at his jaw, leaning an arm against the table. “A little less grey.”
“A lot less grey.” You teased, reaching across the table to rest your hand over his. “Still just as handsome though.” 
“Yeah?”
You cocked your head to the side, “Have I ever told you how much I love your eyes?”
“I always figured they were part of the package.” He shrugged, scraping his fingers over his mustache to neaten it up as you studied him. “They’re not that special.”
“Well, I think they are.” You shrugged, “They're kind. Even on your worst days, even chewing someone out… They stay so gentle. I don’t know if you even know that.” 
“I hadn’t made a note of it, no.” Javier shifted again, leaning back and then forward in his seat. “You done?”
“I guess I am.” You laughed, giving his hand three squeezes, “I was planning to sit here and tell you all the things I love.”
He gave you a look. “This is the last time I’m buying you champagne.”
You lowered your voice, glancing around to make sure no one was within earshot. “I can promise you this. It has more to do with you fucking me into the hotel mattress than it does the champagne.” Your brows rose upwards as you leaned back in your chair, “So we can stop that if you want.”
Javier scoffed, “Now that’s just cruel, baby.” 
You shrugged, “It’s just the facts.” 
“Alright, what else is on your list?” He picked you the red and white mint the waiter had left with the bill, fiddling with the wrapper, before popping it into his mouth. 
You pursed your lips as you studied him. “Your lips are definitely on the top of the list.” You tapped your foot against his, mulling over your decision. “Your nose.”
“My nose?”
“It’s a good nose.”
His brows furrowed. “My nose?” He questioned again, rubbing his finger down the length of it. “So you like... my face?”
“Obviously.” You laughed, reaching for your champagne glass and downing the last of it. Maybe it was the champagne, but you felt happy, bubbly, and just a little bit more in love with Javier than you were yesterday. But that wasn’t something new. Every day you found yourself falling in love with him all over again. 
Even on the days where you wondered if Steve would help you hide the body. 
“You know what I’ve always wanted to do?” You questioned as you stood up and smoothed your hands over the skirt of your dress. 
Javier couldn’t help but laugh, “I can only imagine.” He held his hand out for you and you took ahold of it as the two of you walked towards the front of the restaurant. 
“I’ve always wanted to jump into a pool in a nice dress.”
“What?”
“You heard me.” You squeezed his hand. “Come on, it’ll be fun.” 
“You’re serious?”
You stopped, turning to face him. “You can watch if you don’t want to jump in.” 
Javier scoffed, pulling you towards him. “If you’re jumping in, I’m jumping in.”
A grin spread over your lips as you met his eyes, draping your free arm over his shoulder as you leaned in to press a quick kiss to his lips. “Now you’re seeing things my way.” 
“The question is… the inside or outside pool?” Javier questioned, clicking his tongue against his teeth.
“Indoor will likely be vacant since it’s nice out.” You suggested, rubbing your lips together as you considered the options. “Indoor.” 
You tightened your hold on Javier’s hand, guiding him past the elevators and down the hallway — following the scent of chlorine. 
“We could go back up to the room and get our swimsuits.”
“Or we could jump into the pool fully dressed.” You arched a brow at him. “You were on board a second ago.” 
“I’m still on board.” Javier shrugged a shoulder. “Just keeping our options open.” 
“You better not be keeping your options open.” You held up your left hand, wiggling your fingers. “You’re stuck with me.” 
“That is not what I meant.” Javier huffed, stepping ahead of you to open the door that led into the pool room. 
As you had expected — the pool was vacant. Beyond the wall of windows, you could see that there were still people enjoying the last rays of sunlight at the outside pool. 
“We chose right.” You pointed out as you stepped past him and slid your purse off your shoulders. You say it down on one of the pool chairs, tucking your earrings, necklace, and ring into the inner pocket for safekeeping. 
“It’s silk.” Javier stated as he tugged off his tie and passed it to you. 
“And a gift from Josie.” You reminded him as you folded the tie carefully and placed it into your purse. “Have you ever done this before?”
Javier looked between you and the pool, “I was always fond of jumping in buckass naked.” He gave you an unamused look. “Can’t say I’m interested in getting arrested for that.”
“No, that wouldn’t be ideal.” You laughed and kicked off your heels, walking towards the edge of the pool. 
“Is this a bucket list thing?” Javier questioned. You glanced back over your shoulder, watching as he peeled off his socks and tucked them into his shoes. “Did you get a look at all of my greys and decide it was time to start on one?” He tossed his wallet onto the chair beside your purse, before joining you at the edge of the pool. 
You shook your head, “This is what happens when you pair a bottle and a half of champagne with a really good mood.” 
Javier turned to grin at you, “So it was the champagne?” 
“Oh, fuck off Javier!” You laughed, getting your chance to flip him off, just before you leapt into the pool. 
You resurfaced just as Javier jumped in to join you in the pool. You wiped at your eyes, laughing as he came back up with his hair plastered to his forehead. 
“Well?” Javier questioned, coughing a little as he waded in the water, keeping himself afloat. “Was it everything you thought it would be, baby?”
“Oh yeah.” You grinned at him as you swam towards him, reaching out to ruffle the hair that was stuck to his forehead. “Thank you.”
“For jumping into the pool with you?” He arched a brow at you. “I’d do anything you asked, baby.” 
“Anything?” You wiggled your brows at him, leaning in to kiss him. “You taste like pool.” You laughed, brushing your nose against his. 
“I wonder why.” He wrapped his arm around your waist and pulled you towards him. 
“Could it be that we’re in the pool?” You laughed, winding both of your arms around his shoulders. “We should do this every year.”
“This?”
“No! Just… something spontaneous.” You kicked your legs in the water to keep your dress from dragging you down. “I mean, last year we did decide to get married.”
Javier let his head tilt back as he laughed, “What are we going to do next year?”
You pressed your tongue to the inside of your cheek, “Matching tattoos?”
“I could do matching tattoos.” Javier grinned at you, running his hand up and down your back. “Did you have a good day?” He questioned, keeping you close to him, as he guided you both towards the shallow side of the pool.
“It was perfect.” You told him with a warm
Smile, “I’m looking forward to tomorrow. As much as I love the girls, this is really ice.”
“We never got to really enjoy just us without being parents too.” Javier agreed with you, rubbing at the small of your back. 
“I feel guilty about it sometimes,” You admitted, chewing on your bottom lip as you searched his eyes. “But I think that’s normal. Wanting a break from reality — just for a day or two.”
“I think that’s perfectly normal, baby.” Javier assured you, leaning in to press a kiss to your lips. “You ready to go back up to our room?”
You nodded, laughing a little, “Yeah. I think I’ve got my fill of chlorine.” 
 —
 “Cold?” Javier questioned as he stopped unbuttoning his shirt to reach into the shower and check the temperature of the water. 
Your teeth chattered a little as you wrapped your arms around your waist. “Just a bit. Know any way to fix that?” 
“I might.” He arched a brow at you, tracing his tongue over the edge of his teeth as his gaze raked over you. “I think the first step is getting you out of that dress. You’re dripping everywhere.”
“So are you.” You retorted, rubbing your hands over your bare arms as Javier crowded close to you. You turned to face the mirror behind you, meeting Javier’s gaze in the reflection. “I can’t reach the zipper.” 
Javier brushed your hair out of the way, kissing the back of your neck before working the zipper down your spine. “I’ve been waiting for this all night.” 
“Oh?” You questioned as he peeled the straps of your dress down your shoulders, letting the wet fabric drop and pool at your feet. “You already got me naked once today.”
He clicked his tongue against his teeth, “And yet I look forward to it every time.” 
You turned back around to face him, feeling much warmer now that his gaze was wandering over your naked body. “I guess I can’t judge. I’m just as bad.” You reached out to finish unbuttoning his shirt, tugging the tails out of his pants before shoving the sleeves down his arms. 
Javier cupped your left breast, dragging his thumb roughly over the pebbled peak of your nipple as he pressed you back against the counter. 
“I love you.” You reminded him as you pressed a kiss to the underside of his jaw. 
He trailed his hand down your side, grabbing at your hip as he pressed his knee between your thighs. “I love you too, baby.” He murmured, kissing the hollow of your throat. 
“We’re wasting water.” You said, tugging at his hair with one hand, while the other slid down to work at the zipper of his slacks. 
Javier kissed his way up your throat, before he was nose-to-nose with you, “Then I guess we better get in.” 
You grinned triumphantly as you tugged his slacks down his hips, “I can think of something I want to get in me.” You tossed back, scraping your nails lightly over his lower stomach, playing with the coarse hair that led downwards, before you slipped out of his grasp. 
“You’re a tease. You know that, baby?” Javier retorted as he shucked off his slacks and boxers. 
You narrowed your eyes at him, a smirk playing over your lips. “A tease would wind you up and offer no release.” You gave his cock a pointed look. “And I’m not interested in doing that.” 
You slid your pool-soaked underwear down your thighs, kicking them aside before stepping into shower. The warm water made you hiss softly, a sharp contrast from the icy pool water that chilled your skin. 
Javier followed you into the shower, curling an arm around your waist and pulling you back against his chest. “Even looking like this, you’re the goddamn most beautiful woman.” 
“Looking like this?” You pressed your ass back against him. “What? Is there a problem with runny mascara and pool hair?”
Javier snorted, pressing his lips to the crook of your neck. “It's a good look on you.” He mumbled as his hands wandered up your stomach to cup your breasts. 
You curled your fingers around his forearm, nails biting into his skin. “Javier.” 
“I’m not going to tease, baby.” He promised you releasing his hold on your right breast, his hand traveling downwards until he found his destination between your thighs. 
You let yourself get lost in the moment. The water falling against your skin, the steam rising from the warmth of the shower, his fingers grazing over your clit as he wound you up. 
You were still sensitive from before. Thighs aching from the strain, cunt tender from the way he’d slammed into you — but you wanted more. 
Sure, the two of you made time for each other at home, but this little respite gave you freedom from the daily demands of life. It didn’t matter if you slept til ten tomorrow because he’d kept you up all night. 
“Oh.” You breathed out as you sank back against his chest, spreading your thighs wider as he stroked his fingers over your slick center.
Javier rasped out your name as you reached behind you and curled your fingers around the back of his neck, “You’re so fucking responsive, baby. Have I ever told you how crazy that drives me?”
“Show me.” You hissed, grinding back against his cock. “Don’t make me wait, Javi.” 
His teeth scraped over the curve of your neck, as he pulled his fingers away from you. “Maybe I should make you wait.” Javier taunted. “Make you beg.”
You turned in his hold, water running down your back as you met his gaze. “You know, two can play that game.” You tilted your head backwards, letting the water soak into your hair. “Maybe,” You mimicked his voice. “We should just shower and go to sleep.”
Javier pressed his tongue to the inside of his cheek as his eyes followed the path of the water as the rivulets ran down your breasts and stomach. “We could do that.” He retorted, “But I don’t think either of us want that.” 
You exhaled shakily as you watched his hand wrap around his cock, slowly pumping his fist along the length. “You’d be right. Tragically.” You rolled your eyes, a wry grin spreading over your lips. 
“Thought so.” Javier said lowly, working his hand over his length still. “C’mere, baby.”
You closed the short distance between the two of you, reaching out to brush your fingers over his cheek. “Tonight was fun.”
“Yeah?” Javier cocked his head to the side, curling his hand around your hip and pulling you towards him. 
“Yeah.” You nodded, brushing your thumb over his bottom lip. “There’s no one that I’d rather jump into a pool with.” 
He gave your hip a playful swat. “You’re ridiculous.” 
You grinned, sliding your arms over his shoulders as you leaned in to kiss him. “Gotta keep you on your toes.”
Javier guided you back under the shower’s fall, before pinning you against the wall. “Right now, I’m more concerned about keeping you off your toes.”
You snorted, running your hands over his shoulders. “Let me see what we’re working with.” You gave his arm a squeeze as you looked downwards. “Hang on.” 
He helped you balance on one foot as you pressed the heel of your other foot into the little built-in shelf near the faucet head. “You got it?”
“I think so.” You nodded, holding his gaze as he slid his hand down your hip, curling his fingers around your thigh and drawing your leg around his hips. “Oh.”
Javier groaned out your name as you reached down to curl your fingers around his cock, holding him steady as he slid into you. 
Your head fell back against the shower wall and you bit down on your bottom lip to keep from crying out as he pulled out and drove back into you. 
“That’s it.” You urged, grabbing at his arms and his shoulders for support as he started to move. 
Javier held fast to your hip, keeping your leg firmly wrapped around him. His lips ghosted down your throat, his tongue dipping out against your skin. “You feel so fucking good.” 
“So do you.” You scraped your nails over his back, just to hear him hiss. “Good?”
“Fuck, yes.” Javier’s teeth caught against your collarbone, causing you to clench around him in response. 
Through the opaque shower curtain, you could make out your reflections in the mirror. Two blurry bodies moving together.
Twelve years as partners, seven years as a couple, and a year of marriage. It felt like the years had slipped by in the blink of an eye. 
You curled your fingers in his hair, a quiet moan slipping past your lips as he felt that subtle shift in the way he moved. “Come on, Javi. Come on.” You urged, nails scraping down the back of his neck as you tilted your head to kiss him.
He was there before you, his pace turning uneven as he spilled into you. His hand hastily wedged between your bodies as he coaxed you over the edge with him. It wasn’t as earth shattering as earlier — but the pleasure still warmed every inch of you. 
“Shit.” Javier huffed out as he lost hold of your hip and you slid an inch down the wall. He stumbled back, slipping from you, and you managed to grab at his arms for support, getting your foot back on the ground without falling.
“Fuck!” 
“Sorry, baby.” He rubbed his thumb over your hip. 
You laughed, shoving him playfully in the chest “I mean, just drop me next time.” 
He rolled his eyes, “I’ll remember that.” He gave your ass a quick swat. “The water’s getting cold.”
“The hotel probably pulled the plug on us.” You winked at him, leaning up to kiss him. “I love you.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” He chuckled, winding his fingers through his hair. 
You brushed your nose against his, stealing another kiss. “Rude.” 
Javier curled his arms around you, pulling you towards his chest. “I love you too, baby.” He assured you, even though you didn’t need to hear it to know it. 
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Riding High Ch23: Full Circle
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Chapter Summary: Mary takes a trip to Boston, but it doesn’t go exactly according to plan and both Frank and Fliss find themselves making a return to the very place they both ran from.
Chapter Warnings: Bad Language words.
Chapter Pairings:  Frank Adler x OFC Fliss Gallagher
A/N: Nothing major in this, except please bear with me…I’m a Brit so don’t have a wonderful knowledge of the US Health service… thanks to those of you who helped me with this one, you know who you are… ;-)
Chapter Song:  Eye Of The Storm by Ryan Stevenson
Series Masterlist // Main Masterlist 
In the eye of the storm, you remain in control, and in the middle of the war, you guard my soul, you alone are the anchor, when my sails are torn, your love surrounds me in the eye of the storm.
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"You got everything?" Frank looked at Mary as she shrugged her pink backpack over her shoulder and nodded at him, grinning. "All set..." "Have a good time sweetie!" Fliss grinned as she bent to give her a hug. "I'll make sure Monty is ok, and Fred gets his ping pong ball." Mary wrapped her arms around Fliss, squeezing her before she turned to Frank and did the same. "Call or message me when you land." Frank straightened up as Mary turned to climb in the car as Evelyn held the door open. It was in instruction, not a request and that didn’t pass Evelyn by. She looked at him, smiled and nodded. "Of course. Our flight is due into Boston at 10pm so I'll let you know straight away." Frank nodded and Fliss slipped an arm around his waist as Evelyn settled into the car, the door closing behind them. "She'll be fine..." Fliss gave his hip a gentle squeeze as they both waved the car off, Thor playfully bounding after it for 2 or 3 strides, barking. "It’s only 2 nights sailor...she'll be back Sunday evening" "I know..." he sighed, turning to face her. "And I know it’s different to the last time she went..."
“But that won’t stop you worrying, I know.” Fliss said, as she gently slid her arms round his neck.
“Stupid, huh?” Frank sighed, his hands falling to her hips.
“No, not at all. You’re behaving like any dad would…” “I’m not her dad.” Frank shook his head.
“And Bill isn’t mine, biologically.” Fliss looked at him, her head tilting to one side. “I’ve told you before, don’t sell yourself short.”
Frank took a deep breath and looked down at Fliss, her large brown eyes studying his.
“What you wanna do tonight?” he asked, changing the subject. It always made him feel slightly uncomfortable being referred to as Mary’s Father, it was almost like he was betraying Diane’s memory in a way. It was stupid, illogical, he knew, as he was her father, in every way but biologically…but still.
"How about you take me for a ride in the new truck?" Fliss smiled. “I’ve not sat in it yet!”
Frank looked over her shoulder for a moment at the sleek, shiny new silver Mitsubishi Triton he’d taken delivery of that morning. He smiled a little, before he looked at Fliss, his hands flexing on her waist as he had an idea. "Why don't we see what's on at the Drive In up at Tampa? Good trip to give it a test and we can take the blankets and cool box up, sit on the back?" "Ooooh, sounds great!" Fliss grinned "grab some munchies too!" Frank nodded, giving her a peck on the lips before they headed back up to the apartment. The evening film turned out to be Bohemian Rhapsody which Fliss was eager to see and after checking the time they packed up the truck with what they needed before hitting the road. Fliss was taken with the modern interior of the new vehicle, fiddling about with the dials and the screen on the centre console, tuning the radio in and programming the rest of the stuff which Frank couldn't give a crap out. The only thing useful on there in his opinion was the built in GPS. "Did Greg call you today?" Frank asked Fliss as she sat in the seat beside him. She turned to face him, frowning. "I thought I told you?" Frank shook his head, glancing at her. "Oh God, Frank, I’m sorry!" She slapped her palm to her forehead and groaned, shaking her head. Frank chuckled and reached out to squeeze her knee. "Honey, its ok" he assured her, giving her a smile which she returned. He knew why she had been quick to apologise. As part of their moving forward since their little 'blip' as Frank referred to it a few weeks back, Fliss had agreed one hundred percent disclosure on anything and everything to do with her ass hat ex and she didn't want him thinking she was holding out. Another part of the deal was they went to the police. After seeing the evidence and taking statements they had questioned John, who of course had denied it. Given that the evidence was circumstantial the prosecution had told Fliss that they wouldn't be pursuing it further however, upon learning this Greg, had taken matters into his own hands and was pushing for further action. Given that the weight of probability with John's history, swayed towards him being responsible Greg was actively yet unofficially harassing the Assistant District Attorney in Suffolk County (who he knew from Law School) to at least consider holding a Grand Jury Hearing. "He hasn't heard back from his pal at the DAs office yet." Fliss shrugged, her eyes moving back to the road "Mind you, John's been quiet though for the last month now since the photo. Part of me wonders if pushing for this is just gonna kick the Hornets nest so to speak." "Maybe." Frank mused. "But Greg seems confident if we can get him up in front of a Grand Jury, they'd without a doubt decide there was a case to answer." "Greg just wants to second chair the Prosecution" Fliss grinned and Frank snorted. "Yeah he has taken it kinda personally..." he nodded, before he sighed and reached out for her left hand which was now nervously twisting the fingers of her right. He pressed a gentle kiss to her knuckles before he linked his fingers with his and dropped his hand to the arm rest between them. He didn't mention it again. Instead they concentrated on enjoying themselves and once at the Drive In, Frank reversed the truck so the flat bed was facing the lager screen. They sat in the back, cool box of beer and snacks at their disposal, huddled together and enjoyed their film, sharing the odd lingering, deep kiss that left the pair of them smiling and grinning like a couple of teenagers on the back row. Once the film was finished they headed home via one of the All Night Diners on the for a shake and some pie, at which point Frank received a photo message from Evelyn that showed Mary asleep in the back of her car, accompanied by the words "Safe and Sound" and a promise that Mary would call in the morning. He passed the phone to Fliss who grinned at the image. "See, nothing to worry about." She said gently, passing him the phone back. "I'm not worried..." he began to protest but Fliss simply arched an eyebrow and he let out a soft sigh "ok, maybe a little..." "It;s gonna be fine. She's going to come back full of tales about what a great time she had and that's the most important thing here Frank. You said you wanted her to be happy. Clearly, having Evelyn in her life is what she wants." "I know, I know...you're right." He nodded, before his attention flicked to the waitress who was bringing them their food. Once finished they made their way back home and decided to take Thor for a quick walk down to the Marina. It was dark, and getting a little bit chilly (well, as chilly as it ever got in South Pas) but it was nice none the less, just taking the time to themselves in the moonlight. As they walked and talked, Frank felt the veil of anxiety he had been feeling about Mary’s trip lift slightly and he started to relax properly. It was hard not to, he loved spending time with Fliss like this, just doing simple things alone and it didn’t escape him how if you had asked him 18 months ago if he would be spending his Friday Nights walking down the Marina with his girlfriend of a year he would have laughed.
At that he stopped.
A year.
Fuck.
“Lissy…” he pulled her back to him. “It’s our anniversary tomorrow.”
“I know.” she smiled “I take it you just remembered?”
“No…” he started to protest, and then gave a laugh as she arched an eyebrow at him, calling him out.
“You’re so full of shit.”
“Ok, so…maybe I did just remember but that’s only because every day with you feels as special as our first date.” “Oh fuck you Adler!” she snorted and he laughed, tilting his head back, his right hand flying to his chest. “That’s is such a shit line.” “Ok, ok, sorry!” he chuckled, tilting his head to look at her. “I’ve never been in this position before so cut me some slack huh!”
“Well, I’m not expecting a card or flowers or any crap like that.” she smiled “It’s not like it’s a wedding anniversary, which, for the record, when we get married, you forget one of those I would smother you to death in your sleep…” “When…” Frank looked at her, a soft smile on his face.
“I mean if…” she flushed, biting her lip.
“Nope, you said when…”
“Piss off.”
“So you don’t wanna marry me?”
“I didn’t say that?”
“So you do then…” “Frank, seriously, shut up!” she said, laughing hitting him on his chest.
“Ok, ok…” he laughed, his hand dropping round her shoulder. They continued their walk, looping around the marina to start the head home, when after a few moment she spoke again “But, hypothetically speaking, if I was to ask…” Fliss took a deep breath as they continued to walk, before she stopped and looked up at him. “Hypothetically?” “Of course…”
She smiled, and looked down slightly, before she grinned up at him “Then it would totally depend on what ring you got me.”
“Materialistic…” Frank nodded, “Noted.”
She shoved him again and he looked at her, “What?” he asked through his chuckle.
“I wonder why I love you at times.” “No you don’t” he said gently and it was her turn to laugh as she shook her head.
“Yeah, you’re right. I don’t”
“You’ve still not answered my question…” he said, looking at her.
“Ask it properly and maybe I will.” she sassed back.
Frank felt his face split into a grin because that was all the damned answer he needed. He leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to her lips before he pulled her close and they headed home, Thor running in front of them barking at the lights that were reflecting on the dark water.
******
Frank blinked. It took him a while to realise what had woken him, but his phone was ringing. Reaching for it with a yawn he looked at it, and as soon as the called ID registered he sat bolt upright and answered. "Mother?" He frowned, his voice thick from sleep "What's happened?" "Don't panic..." she spoke immediately, and he felt his chest contract straight away in worry as she continued "but we're on the way to hospital..." "Why, what's going on?" He asked, as Fliss stirred next to him as he began to push the covers down, before swinging his legs so he was sat on the edge if his bed. "Mary started complaining of pains in her stomach just before bed. She seemed to settle after some pain relief but woke about half an hour ago screaming. So I decided call an ambulance." Evelyn's voice was calm but Frank could sense the underlying current of anxiety "they're here now and they want to take her in, they think its appendicitis..." There was a pause as someone said something to her on the other side and then Frank could hear Mary's soft crying and he felt a lump in his throat. "Ok, where are they taking her?" He asked "Cambridge?" "Yes." Evelyn spoke "Frank, I need to go but I'll call you as soon as I have news." "Ok." Frank nodded, standing up "I'll be there as soon as I can" Evelyn didn't argue, she simply promised once more to call as soon as there was an update and he hit cancel. "Frank?" Fliss asked softly, clicking on the lamp as he turned to face her. "What...."
"It's Mary." Frank looked at Fliss as he moved the wardrobe and pulled out a bag "She's been taken ill, they're err...taking her to hospital. I need to go..."
"Hospital?" Fliss threw the covers off the bed "What for?" "Suspected appendicitis..." Frank said, as he tossed the kit bag onto the bed "I don't know much more but..."
He took a deep breath as Fliss reached out for him, and he fell into her arms as she gently gave him a hug. He pulled away and ran a hand over his face.
"Ok, first thing's first..." Fliss said, looking at him "We need flights..."
"Flights?" "Yeah, you can't drive there Frank." Fliss looked at him, "It will take you a day..." "Yeah, yeah..." he nodded, realising that his plan to simply jump in his truck and floor it was a ridiculous one, before he frowned "hang on, we?"
"Yes, we. You're not going on your own." "I don't want you back in Boston." Frank shook his head. "Not whilst..."
"Frank, I'm not having this argument with you." Fliss said sternly "Fuck John. This is Mary. I'm coming, end of discussion." Frank looked at her for a moment, her face was stern leaving him absolutely no doubt she was being serious. If he was 100% honest with himself, he didn't want to go without her either, so with a deep breath he nodded.
"I’ll sort the flights..." she said, nodding ."And then I'll call my mum and dad...they can come get Thor and Fred. Where's your ID?" "Kitchen drawer." he said, as he began pulling a few items of clothing and stuffing them in the bag. She nodded and headed out of the room, the lights in the hallway flicking on as she went. He shoved what he had pulled from his drawers into his bag. He hated this, he'd always been there when Mary was sick, and the fact he was a damned 3 hour flight away was killing him.
"Ok, so Dad's on his way over, and the first flight out is 6.15 which gets us in at 9.20." Fliss said, coming back, her phone in her hand "So that gives us...just under 3 hours." she said.
Frank nodded and that was the confirmation she needed, and she tapped a button nodding. "Ok, that's done. So you're gonna need your paperwork, insurance etc..." "Yeah, that's..." he frowned, "erm..." "Filed with everything else." she looked at him, "It's in the drawer in the bureau."
"Ok..." "And we should probably take some more stuff for Mary." Fliss looked at him, "She's gonna be there a little longer than anticipated so she'll need more clothes, pyjamas...maybe a few books...want me to sort it?" "Please..." he smiled softly at her, thankful that she seemed to have taken control.
She nodded and headed into Mary's room and began to pull a selection of things for her together, returning with them moments later. They spent the next 15 minutes gathering what they needed before they both dressed, and then there was a soft knock on the door. Frank made his way to answer when his phone rang again.
"I'll get the door honey." Fliss spoke softly as he answered the call.
"Mr Adler?" "Speaking." "This is Ava Fields calling from Cambridge Hospital...I just need to collect some details from you regarding Mary...I believe you're the Minor's official guardian?"
Frank took a deep breath and confirmed the status with the woman, and then headed into the living room, nodding slightly to Bill as he went to the file which Fliss had placed on the dining room table. Flicking through he found his policy details, number and proceeded to recite the information over the phone.
"Listen..." he spoke to the woman once he had finished "I'm in Florida at the moment, but I'll be flying up as soon as I can...in the meantime, could it be possible to delegate responsibility when I'm not reachable to Evelyn Adler, she's Mary's grandmother, my mother...she came in with her. I don't want anything to be held up whilst I'm in the air..." "No, of course Mr Adler." The woman spoke kindly, "I'll make a note that you're happy for Mrs Adler to be the point of contact until you arrive...now have a safe trip and try not to worry." Yeah, right.
With a thanks he cut the call and immediately dialled his mother.
"Any news?" he demanded.
"The doctor has just arrived." Evelyn spoke quietly "He's doing a quick physical then I suspect she'll be taken up for some tests or..." "Ok, well our flight leaves at 6:15." he said, walking back into the bedroom "Arrives in Mass at 9:20."
"I'll send a car for you." Evelyn said.
"Thanks." Frank said "Oh, and I've told the hospital that if they can't reach me to defer to you. I hope that's ok." "Of course it's ok Frank." Evelyn replied softly "She is my granddaughter." "Just call me the minute there's any news." he said, ignoring her sudden softness. "Sure." Evelyn said "And keep me posted as to where you are." With a goodbye Frank slid the phone into his pocket and unplugged the charger before he threw that into the bag along with his documents before he zipped it up and lifted it, along with the smaller one which contained Mary's stuff and headed into the hall.
"Hey Bill..." he said with a sigh, dropping the bags to the floor "Sorry, I wasn't being rude..." "Stop." Bill shook his head, cutting Frank’s apology off "How is she?" "Still being examined. I should know more shortly." he took a deep breath, looking at Fliss "Mother's sending a car for us once we land."
"Ok." Fliss said "I couldn't get two seats together but we're a row behind one another..." Frank nodded, it wasn't important. What was important was that they simply got there.
"Deep breath..." Fliss said softly, her hands resting on his arms "Have we packed everything?"
He nodded, running over the list in his head and Bill reached for one of the bags. "Ok, let's get going..."
"Dad's gonna drop us at the airport." Fliss said, "Save us having to sort out Car parking..." "Thanks." Frank looked at Bill, who waved his gratitude away.
"No problems...all set?" "Jacket." Fliss looked at Frank and he cursed, heading back into the bedroom. Grabbing the warmest one he owned, which was a dark grey Super-Dry zip up he carried it back into the hall and the three of them headed down to Bill's Range Rover.
15 minutes into the trip he had another call from Evelyn to say Mary was being taken up for scans as soon as possible.
"The initial examination seems to confirm it's appendicitis..." she said "They've given her a sedative for the pain and once the scans are done, if its confirmed they're going to need to operate. The good news is it doesn't appear to have ruptured so it can be done via a laparoscopy..." "Yeah, that's wonderful..." Frank said sarcastically before he sighed "Sorry, I'm just worried..." "I know." Evelyn said "But she's in the best place Frank." "Yeah..." he sighed, looking out of the window. "Thanks...keep in touch." He explained to Fliss and Bill who were both looking at him questioningly before they fell silent again, no one speaking for the rest of the journey, which took them just over 35 minutes in total. After giving Bill quick instructions for Thor and Fred, and the man promising to call Alan and Joanne for them, as it was unlikely they would be back on Monday, they both gave him a hug and Bill gently slapped Frank's back slightly, in as Fatherly a manner as he could have done.
Check in and security took them about 40 minutes to clear, meaning by the time the hit the lounge they had roughly an hour before they could start boarding. Fliss suggested they grabbed a coffee and Frank agreed, even though he didn't particularly want one, he knew it was a way of passing the time. He was also getting antsy as there hadn't been any more news from his mother or the hospital. Fliss directed him to sit on the tan, leather sofas in the Coffee Bar area of the lounge and headed to the counter to place their order. Whilst she waited she turned to glance at Frank, to see he had crossed one long leg over the other and was rubbing at his forehead with his hand. She knew he was worried, hell, they both were, but Frank was normally the level-headed one out of the pair of them, more often than not being the one bringing Fliss down from a rage when Mary came home and told about something a kid at school had said to her, even when Mary didn’t actually give a shit herself. But now the tables had turned and Fliss knew she had to be the calm one despite the fact she herself felt anything but.
Taking the coffees with a smile she turned and headed over to where he was sat, placing the mugs on the small table in front of them and then dropping gently into the seat besides him.
“Thanks.” he murmured, before he pulled his phone out of his pocket and checked it again.
"She’ll be ok Frank." Fliss said gently, her hand dropping to his knee.
"She's gonna be so scared Fliss" Frank sighed, his hand sliding into hers "A strange place, in pain, and ...I'm not there..." "No, but you will be as soon as we can." Fliss soothed.
"What if they operate, and then she wakes up and..."Frank's voice croaked "I promised I'd look after her and..."
"Hey..." Fliss said softly, her fingers tightening around his "You do look after her. No one could have predicted she would fall ill, that isn't something you can control, ok? I know it’s easier said than done but try and concentrate, keep a clear head. So when you do get news you can digest it rationally ok?"
"I know going back can't be easy for you." he looked at her, "But I'm glad you're here...I don't know what I'd have done without you before..."
"Probably jumped in your truck in nothing but your boxers." She said and he gave a soft chuckle.
"Probably" he agreed, reaching out for his up of coffee. Fliss watched him for a second before she cocked her head to one side.
“Your hairs getting kinda long, well, long for you anyway...” she mused. ”Beard too...”
“I know...it all needs a cut.” he said, running his hands through it. He’d noticed the other day that it was far longer than he normally wore it and had taken to parting it slightly at the side. She was right, his beard was also a little thicker too, instead of being a slightly thick layer of stubble it was now a fairly substantial covering of hair, although that wasn’t intentional, his trimmers had broken about 3 weeks back and he’d yet to get himself a new pair.
“I like it.” Fliss mused 
“Yeah?”
She nodded.  “Makes you look...I dunno, like older maybe...but good older. I can’t explain...”
“Hmm, well maybe I’ll keep it for a while...just get the sides trimmed...”
Fliss smiled, having diverted his attention for a little while and they made small talk for the rest of the time before their flight called and they headed to the gate. He called Evelyn to inform her they were boarding and she told him that they were still waiting for a doctor to come by with the scans results. That frustrated him, as it had been almost 2 hours since they had said they were referring her for one but there was nothing he could do about it.
They found their seats, Frank shoving their bags into any space in the overhead locker he could find and thankfully, the man next to Frank was happy to swap seats when Fliss explained the situation to him, meaning they could sit together. Whilst Frank had earlier stated it wasn't important he was glad he was by his side. He could take her hand, feel her presence which itself was calming.
The flight itself felt like the longest 3 hours of Frank's life. He tried to concentrate on a film, but that didn't work. Nor did the paper from the flight attendant, or trying to talk to Fliss. After 40 minutes he just settled into a contemplative silence, his mind working overtime, simply taking Fliss' hand in his as he willed away the minutes. Eventually, their descent into Logan was announced and after Fliss spoke to the flight attendant again, they were allowed to exit the aircraft first. Frank was back on his phone as soon as they walked off, and Evelyn answered immediately saying Mary had been taken down to surgery approximately 50 minutes ago. She assured Frank that Mary had been ok, knew he was on his way, and Evelyn had been with her whilst she fell asleep, which was something at least.
As they were travelling with their bags in the cabin, once they cleared security they didn’t have to wait for luggage reclaiming, and they strode quickly into the arrivals lounge where they were met by their driver who Frank greeted with a nod. They followed him outside to the sleek grey Mercedes and both climbed into the rear once Frank had tossed their bags into the trunk.  Fliss gently placed her hand on Frank's knee as his leg was shaking and he shot her a small smile as he looked out of the window at the sights of the city he had left behind almost 8 years ago.
Nothing had changed, nothing of notice anyway. A few new housing developments here and there but as they made their way through to Cambridge it appeared to be the same leafy suburb he had once called home. Although he knew Fliss had lived in Concorde, this had to be jolting memories for her and it seemed he was right as he glanced sideways at her and noticed a look of contemplation on her face.
"You ok?" he asked, and she smiled, nodding.
“Was just thinking about how beautiful it all looks this time of year." He smiled softly and they fell into silence again, and less than 20 minutes after leaving the airport they pulled up outside the hospital. The driver hopped out and opened the trunk so they could grab their bags before they thanked the man and headed inside straight to reception. The woman greeted him, gave him the relevant floor and Ward name along with a room number, informing him Mary had her own private area which he was glad about.
"Come on..." Frank urged the elevator as it ascended to the floor they needed, tapping his foot on the floor. After what felt like hours, the doors opened and he strode out, his hand round Fliss' as they checked the signs on the wall.
"This way..." Fliss said, tugging on his arm. She gently led him to the right and they checked the numbers on the doors before they reached Mary's. Without knocking Frank opened the door and Evelyn's head snapped up.
"Where's Mary?" Frank demanded as he spotted the bed was missing from the room. "Not back from theatre." Evelyn said, standing up and Fliss smiled at her, taking in her appearance. She was as casually dressed as Fliss had ever seen her, in a pair of jeans and a sweater, her hair pulled back into a pony tail and she noted how soft and almost maternal it actually made her look in contrast to her usual School Mistress appearance. "It shouldn't be long now...as soon as she's out they'll be taking her to the post anaesthetic care unit and come down to get us."
Frank dropped the bag he was carrying to the floor and walked to the window, taking a glance out, chewing the inside of his lip. Fliss watched him for a moment before she turned to Evelyn as she spoke.
"Good flight?" the woman asked, clearly trying to make conversation.
"Yeah." Fliss nodded "Felt like it took an age but..."
At that moment there was a knock on the door before it opened and they all turned to see a doctor step into the room.
"How is she?" Frank asked immediately.
"Mr Adler I presume?" The light haired man smiled at him. "I'm Dr Jeffords. Mary is fine, the operation went without hitch. If you come with me I'll take you up to PACU...but I'm afraid only 2 of you can come..." Frank took a deep breath and immediately looked to Fliss, who turned to Evelyn. "Evelyn, you can..." "No." she shook her head, "You go..."
"You can take turns if you wish." The doctor said gently "She shouldn't be in there for too long, once she's come round and her vitals are stable she'll be brought back down so..." Evelyn nodded and Fliss turned to Frank as he took her hand. With a final nod to his mother they followed the Doctor to the elevator.
"Just to prepare you, she does have an IV line in and could be a little groggy at first..." The doctor spoke as they followed him down a corridor. "That's all perfectly normal..."
Frank nodded as the Doctor opened a door to their right and Frank saw Mary for the first time in the middle of the bed at the far side.  She looked so small and there was a nurse stood by her, checking something on a screen.
"Oh, Jesus… Fliss, look..." Frank's voice caught in his throat and Fliss gently rubbed at his back.
"It looks worse than it is." Doctor Jeffords assured him "Like I said, there were no complications we just need to monitor her for a while until she comes round fully. Now if you need anything or have any worries, please just grab one of the nurses, and I'll be back in about half an hour to check on her. By the she should be with it enough to take back to her room."
Fliss thanked the Doctor as Frank walked over to Mary's bed, bending down gently to kiss the top of her head, his hand brushing her hair back off her face. She gently placed her hand between Frank's shoulder blades as the two of them stood looking down at Mary, Fliss' hand rubbing soft circles over Frank's grey t-shirt as he took a deep breath. "She looks so small." Frank said softly "I never considered how little she was really" "She's not." Fliss chuckled. "She is to you because you're big." "Big?" Frank looked at her and she shrugged, smiling. "Yeah you're tall...broad shouldered..." she mused, her eyes flicking back to Mary, her hand falling from his shoulders to the base of his back. "I'm 6ft, it's not that tall..." Frank's lips curled into a smile "Your brother is taller than me, Bill is the same size..." "Steve is an animal." Fliss said, shaking her head "he was 6ft at the age of 14. Ridiculous." At that Mary made a little noise, and her face creased up, eyes closed. "Hey..." Frank said softly, his hand reaching out again, gently brushing her cheek. "Hey Stack..."
Mary made a noise, and then her face screwed up and she began to try and push herself into a sitting position.
“Hey, hey…”  Frank moved so he was stood further up the bed, gently bending over so his hands fell either side of her. “Just…stay calm, its ok…”
But even as he spoke she became even more visibly distressed, and no matter what he said she didn’t respond. He looked up at Fliss, helplessly, his eyes filling with tears and Fliss took a deep breath, swallowing as she called over for a nurse.
“I know this looks horrible…” the Nurse said softly as she strode over, “But she’s experiencing something we call Emergence Delirium, very common in children…” “What...what do I do?” Frank asked, shaking his head, his eyes still fixed on Mary as she yelled out, her arms flailing “I can’t…”
“There’s nothing you can do really other than gently talk to her, stay calm, be reassuring…” the Nurse said gently. “I promise you, she won't remember any of this when she comes round fully Mr Adler, it’s worse for you than her…”
Frank gently placed his hand on Mary’s forehead and at his touch she seemed to relax a little, so encouraged slightly he began to hum the melody to God Only Knows by the Beach Boys, something he had always sung to her as a small child, a song she’d grown up with and they now sang along to in the car on occasions. Fliss moved to his side, her arm curling round his waist as she simply stood with him, lending him comfort and eventually, Mary blinked, her eyes opening and when they focussed on Frank she gave him a small smile.
Frank let out the breath he had been holding and wiped his eyes hastily before she realised he’d been crying.
"Hey Stack." he said gently, looking at her, his hand softly stroking her cheek. "Welcome back."
She blinked again, and then looked to Fliss, her face cracking into an even bigger smile and Fliss reached down and gently placed a kiss on her head.
“Hey baby.” Fliss smiled.
“Evelyn…” Mary coughed slightly, her voice croaky and she looked at Frank “She said you were on your way…” “I got on a plane as soon as I could.” he said, “I’m so sorry I wasn’t here earlier.” “Where is she?”
“She’s in your room.” Frank said “Only 2 of us were allowed in here at once.” “Do you want me to go get her?” Fliss said.
“But then you would have to go.” Mary frowned.
“Yeah, but if you want Evelyn that’s fine…” “No.” Mary shook her head and Frank gently curled his hand around Fliss’. Mary closed her eyes again before she opened them and looked at Frank “Where’s Fred.” Frank let out a snort “I couldn’t bring a cat in here with me, Stack. Bill and Verity have him.” “And his ping pong balls?” “And his ping pong balls.” Fliss assured her.
“Oh, ok.” Mary looked at them both “That’s fine. Hey, did you bring me any snacks?”
Frank looked at Fliss, the pair of them sharing a grin before Frank shook his head “No, but when the doctor says it’s ok I’ll go get you whatever you want.” “Good, Evelyn wouldn’t let me have any chips last night.” she said, wrinkling her face “I know I’ve said this before but she really is bossy…” *******
When the Doctor returned he began his examination to make sure Mary was ok to move back to her room, and Fliss had to snort at the way Mary started demanding an in depth report on what exactly the Operation had done. Doctor Jeffords looked at Frank, who merely rolled his eyes and gestured for him to answer so, with an amused expression he did just that. Mary quizzed him for a good 15 minutes until Frank stepped in and told her that the poor man had other people to go and see, not just her.
Little over 20 minutes after the Doctor left they were back in Mary’s room, and she seemed fairly bright. Frank had been momentarily dumbfounded when he had seen his mother reach over to hug Mary, tears in her eyes when she had returned to her room. But Mary didn’t act like it was a big issue, so he could only assume that his mother must have hugged her before, and it struck him as being a little sad how surprised he was by this realisation.
The three of them sat with her, the TV on the wall playing something in the background. Frank made sure her laptop was charged so she had something to do as well in case she decided she was getting bored. They Face-timed Bill and Verity who were both over the moon to see Mary ok, and they talked to them for a good forty minutes, Mary demanding to see Fred and Thor as well, Bill making good natured grumblings about how he was offended she didn’t really want to see him. All in all, the day passed fairly quickly and at about 4pm another Nurse popped in to ask if Mary wanted something to eat. She nodded eagerly and when they returned with a list of what she could have, Frank sat next to her and they began to decide. Fliss smiled softly at the sight of him, sat up on the bed, arm looped round the headboard as they both pulled a face at something on the menu, shaking their heads.
“String beans by any chance?” Evelyn asked, clocking the exchange and Frank looked up at her.
“How did you guess?”
“You always hated them as a child and do does she….” Evelyn said, a little distractedly as her phone began to ring. She glanced at the number and then looked at Frank “Sorry, do you…” “No, go ahead.” He said, nodding. She answered the call as she left the room, Fliss watching her go before she turned to Frank as Mary looked at him.
“Are you staying here with me tonight?” “Course I am.” he assured her “I’m not leaving until you can come home.” “And that’s tomorrow?” “If they’re happy you’re ok, yeah, tomorrow. Although you won’t’ be able to fly back to Florida for a while.” “Does that mean we’re gonna be at Evelyn’s for Thanksgiving?” Frank paused for a moment, he hadn’t even thought about that, or in fact where they were going to stay whilst Mary recovered. His mother’s was the logical option, despite how he had no desire to step foot in her house ever again, but that wasn’t important. What was important was Mary, and being at his mother’s was going to be a damned sight better for her than a hotel.
“Looks like it.” he nodded.
“Will we still get our dinner?” Mary frowned “Like, we said we would do a beef roast this year.” “I’ll still make you a roast.” Fliss smiled,  “As long as Evelyn is ok with it.” “Ok with what?” Evelyn asked, walking back into the room.
“With us staying until Mary is well enough to fly home.”  Frank looked at her.
“And Thanksgiving dinner.” Mary added.
“And dinner.” Frank nodded.
Evelyn looked at him “Well I assumed you would be staying with me until she was well enough to fly home, Francis…” Frank arched his eyebrow at the fact she’d dropped his full name and besides him Mary sniggered.
“Francis…that’s so lame…” “Shuddup.” he looked at her before he turned to his mother. “Are you sure?” “Of course, there’s plenty of room.” she said.
“Thanks. Who was on the phone?” Frank asked.
“Oh, just someone from the University asking how Mary was.” Evelyn shook her head, “No one important.”
“That all they wanted?” Frank asked, and Evelyn sighed
“I should have been on a call this afternoon.” “On a Saturday?” Frank looked at her.
“Research doesn’t stop at a weekend as well you know.” Evelyn glared at him. “But like I said, not important. I’ll catch up on what they wanted another time.” with that she rubbed at her eyes . Frank studied her for a moment and gave a sigh, she looked exhausted. They all did to be fair, but his mother was almost 65, she was bound to be feeling it a little more than he or Fliss.
“Why don’t you head off?” he asked. “Go catch up on whatever they wanted, get some sleep and come back in the morning…you too.” he turned to Fliss. Immediately she began to protest but Frank looked at her, shaking his head “Look, all that’s gonna happen is I’m gonna eat half of Mary’s dinner-“ “-hey!”
“-and fall asleep.” he finished, grinning as Mary glared at him over the threat regarding her food. “It’s 5 pm now…I guarantee by 8 I’ll be flat out.”
“Well then I’ll go at 8.” Fliss pouted.
Frank looked at her, about to argue but Evelyn stood up.
“I’ll call for my driver.” Evelyn said, “I’m not going to lie, I am dying for a hot bath and a bottle of Malbec.”
“I don’t want to go yet.” Fliss pouted.
Frank took a deep breath, “Really? We’re actually going to have this argument?” “No argument. I’m not going yet.” “I’ll go ahead.” Evelyn said, stepping in as she saw Frank glaring at Fliss “I could do with making sure the guest room is ready anyway and making a few calls. I’ll send the driver back for you in an hour or so, give you a little more time.” Fiss took a deep breath and then sighed “Ok, fine.” Domestic argument averted, Evelyn bid Mary a good night, gently pecking her head before she turned to Frank who was sat next to Mary and surprisingly did the same to him. He swallowed and looked at her, frowning a bit. She looked la little startled, like she hadn’t meant to do it, and to be fair she probably hadn’t, and then she made as if to speak but instead she stood up and told Fliss she would send her a set of keys back with the driver.
Frank watched her go before he turned to Fliss.
“Ok now that was weird.” he mumbled, she aint so much as hugged me in god knows how long, let alone given me a kiss...” Fliss looked at him, shrugging her shoulders.
“She clearly found her inner mom.” Mary said, and Frank looked down at her, “Something underneath Mother.”
“She’s always been mother.” Frank said “I’ve never once called her mom.”
“Her loss.” Mary shrugged and Frank frowned again, looking at Fliss.
“Why do you say that?”
“Coz Verity told me that being a mom and a nanna was the best thing ever.” she shrugged “If Evelyn’s only ever been a mother, well that sucks…” Frank stared down at her, utterly dumbfounded at her comment  as once again her little mind had managed to see something so clearly, in such an innocent way, and it made perfect and utter sense that she was most likely right.
Mary smiled at him as she handed him the menu card and simply told him “I’ll have the chicken, but no string beans…”
***** Little over an hour or so Fliss received a call telling her that the driver was waiting outside. Once they finished removing what Frank needed from the bag for an overnight stay, she turned to Mary and gave her a hug and kiss goodnight before Frank followed her out of the door.
“Let me know when you get to Mother’s” he said, and she nodded, stepping into his arms before she gave him a soft kiss.
“I’ll be back as soon as I can in the morning.” she said gently. “I love you.”
“Love you too.” he smiled, kissing her again “So much baby girl.”
Smiling at the nickname she picked up the bag, and with a last peck to his lips she headed out.
The drive to Evelyn’s was reasonably quick, and Fliss soon found the car pulling off the main road onto a sweeping driveway and into a large, open courtyard. The house was big, bigger than her parents so it looked but it was hard to see much it was dark. She thanked the driver as he walked her up to the door with her bag, before handing her the keys. Once inside she found herself in an immaculate terracotta tiled hallway, illuminated by a very expensive looking floor lamp in the corner under the huge stair case. Fliss turned and gave the door a soft pull before she began to walk deeper into the house, bag deposited by the foot of the stairs. Pulling out her message to text Frank to say she’d arrived and would call him shortly, she headed into a large sitting area, which contained a pristine leather couch and matching arm chairs, large TV and followed that through to another area which contained a grand piano, a large table and numerous bookshelves. That led into a large kitchen with hanging, brushed copper lampshades, and the room looked as though it spanned the entire width of the house. She stepped inside and then through another door which led back into a hall, passing another two doors to her right, which were both closed.
Frowning, Fliss saw the front door was open slightly, she must not have shut it correctly, it was quite a heavy wooden one after all in comparison to their PVC one at the apartment and probably needed a little more than a quick shove. This tim she made sure the lock had clicked before she grabbed her bag and made her way upstairs. She reached the top and then stood, looking round. The hallway circled back round the stairs, rooms on all 4 sides. With a shrug she headed down towards the first door an opened it. It was a spare room, but clearly where Mary had been staying. It was decorated in soft shades of dusky pinks and golds, and there was a small bookcase with a few children’s books, some puzzles and TV with a DVD player sat on top of it. Fliss smiled before she headed to the next one. This was a larger room with a huge double bed, and on top of it sat two sets of clean towels. Deciding this was likely to be the one Evelyn was prepping for them Fliss dropped her back down, and shrugged off her jacket, glancing a the door that led to the en-suite. Taking a quick look inside she knew she really should find Evelyn before she did anything else so she continued down past the next room which was empty, then the huge bathroom with a roll top bath, until she reached the final one which was on the opposite side of the landing. She gave a soft knock, before she entered, glancing around at the opulent master bedroom as soft music hit her ears, along with the sounds of water sloshing in a tub.
“Evelyn?”
“Fliss?” the woman called back and Fliss headed over to the door of the en-suite.
“Yeah…sorry, I didn’t want to disturb you…” she spoke thorugh the door.
“It’s quite alright, I won’t be too long. Have you found your room?”
“Yes, thank you.” “Ok, well, go and help yourself to a bottle of wine and run your own bath in the main bathroom…fuck knows you can probably do with one too. Glasses are in the cabinet to the left of the sink.”
Although she knew Evelyn swore, the sound of the words from her mouth still made Fliss chuckle so after thanking her she headed back down the stairs to grab herself a bottle, as directed. She headed into the kitchen, and as she was passing the open door to her left which she had earlier assumed led into some kind of utility room, a movement caught her eye. She stopped, but before she could investigate further she saw a figure emerging from the shadows moving towards her. Automatically Fliss began to back away and she felt her eyes widen and her chest constrict in utter fear as the man’s features became clear when he emerged into the soft light of the kitchen. It was a face she hadn’t seen, other than in her worst memories or nightmares, since the court bailiffs had led him down from the dock after the jury had delivered their verdict. His cold grey eyes locked on to hers and he gave her a sinister smile.
“Long time no see Felicity.” John said, arching an eyebrow.  “You changed your hair.”
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caticornsrreal · 5 years
Text
Fighting Dragons with You
After twelve years, I'm finally telling the internet why I love Taylor Swift🖤 
Hello, internet using world. I’d like to introduce myself to the few people who followed me. Hi! My name is Christa and I am a Taylor Swift fan with every fiber of my being. Full disclosure, this is a short novel so now is your chance to make an exit, but I hope you stay.
Taylor and my ridiculously furry cat, Lyle
(affectionately nicknamed “rent-free”), are the only two beings made of flesh and bone who have been consistent in my life for the last 12 years. With a close second being my son, Gauge, who just turned 10. I won’t get into the details (in this post) as to why that is, but let’s just say there were a lot of ups and downs growing up.
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The last 12 years have been an evolution for Taylor,
and subsequently, for me. At (dare I say it) 
38 years old, I’ve found that a lot of things happen in a decade. Like, A LOT. Now, I don’t feel 38. I guess I owe that to humor, singing, dancing, sarcasm, and launching a successful career that didn’t exist 15 years ago —something that has made me always push harder to set new goals and stay humble. But one thing I didn’t do over these last 12 years that I deeply regret was starting a fan page for Taylor. I mean, ESPECIALLY since I’m a professional travel blogger who makes her full time living from digital content!
There’s been a lot of momentum over the last 12 years
—demands which left me with little to no free time. But I can’t blame my absence from the Swiftie family entirely on that. In fact, I’d have to say, I blame much of it on fear.
Fear,
of being misunderstood, fear of judgment or writing something lame. I’ve had over 2,000 articles published online and in print as well as countless social posts, but the thought of Taylor seeing something I wrote and thinking it’s totally weird (or cough, too long for the internet), well let’s just say I’d be less afraid of walking into a burning building.
Fear,
of being called a fake because the financial demands as a single mom left me little money to spend on myself or Taylor merchandise, much less tickets to a show. I’ve always placed my son’s needs before mine.
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Fear,
that I was too old to be a Taylor Swift fan. I mean, I was 26 when she hit the music scene and she was what, 16? I’ve been afraid. Afraid I would be rejected by other Swifties who really are the only people who understand this love we have for her  —which is basically like being rejected by your own people. Also, it’s super weird to be following teens/young adults on social, much less engaging with them.
Fear.
Along with my fear, a perfect storm of entrepreneurial demands, single motherhood, failed relationships (one of which was a marriage), and family matters have served as a constant reminder that my dream of ever meeting Taylor takes residence on another planet. An actual trip to Mars seemed more attainable. 
I feel like there is a whole demographic of women, “Swiftie Moms” who echo my story,
having watched Taylor grow into the strong beautiful woman she's become. Women my age who love her from behind the wheel of their SUV, on the way to drop their kids off to school, on the way back from a milk run, in the dark hours of the mornings when they’re dancing in the kitchen with a full on hair bun singing into a coffee spoon. Unnoticed fans who haven’t had the time to dive head first into the Swiftie Universe. But here I am. After all the fear and all the years...
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So, why?
This is a hard one to answer. I guess you can say that after many years of challenges, judgment from others, and doing the complete opposite of what logic and reason said I should  —divorce, single motherhood, a second degree in my late twenties... risking it all to start a blog (which by the way in 2013 wasn’t even considered a side job much less a career), I kind of got to a point where I became
fearless.
I had to be. I had this tiny living, breathing human being who was counting on me at the very least, to give him a life a notch above the shit show I had growing up. Not to mention parenting —which is basically wandless wizardry pulled directly from the asses of parents. It demands that your mini human grows up to be a better human than you.
Yeah, unpack that.
Take all your collective shit, figure it out, and then teach your mini to do it better —to BE better than you at love, kindness, respect for others (especially boys respecting girls), integrity, money, and to be fearless. All while giving them the comfort of knowing that you, mom, have it all figured out... even when that couldn't be farther from the truth.
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Top that with the pressures of working in the public eye
—which, while on a microscopic level compared to a full-on celebrity such as Taylor, is still very much a juggling act with none of the entourage to lighten the workload. Add to it the demands of working with national brands, and the unwavering ability for other bloggers to tear you down at any opportunity, or even worse, try to get close to you so they can raid your success like a Black Friday sale.
I found myself at the peak of my blogging career
but I was consumed by fear, AGAIN! Fear of shady AF bloggers and publicists, and so much to lose. And fear that now, thousands of people would have an opinion of me formed by jealous bloggers, and they didn’t even know who I really was. 
That’s when letting go of toxic people in my life became essential
—when, no matter who they were, or how I was tied to them, I had to realize that surrounding myself with the ones who lifted me took precedence over the ones who dragged me down. 
After all that..... I learned to give zero f***s about what people thought, or what they said behind my back. 
And I had to start caring about what made my heart happy, what made my family and friends smile, and what inspired me to do better. BE BETTER. Be the example of fearless, with the hope that I was lucky enough to stay that way. But I'm a vulnerable human made of heart and soul and sometimes people can still take the best from me.
I had to be fearless.
In August of 2017 when "Look What You Made Me Do” blessed my ears for the first time, I felt it pierce my skin and course through my veins. And to the very bones of this young 38-year-old Swiftie mom, I was shook AF! I sang, I danced and I drowned out the haters in the blogging world. She had a very clear message,
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She had zero f***s to give, Taylor broke the internet.
After watching the seemingly endless myriad of shade thrown at Taylor over the years, my heart erupted with happiness as her flawless first single from Reputation revealed one BADASS BITCH. And with every music video release of her new era, she became a mythical Goddess with bullshit evaporating superpowers. Like, I legit think she’s an actual unicorn. After all, she does ride a caticorn named Olivia.
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She got harder, she got smarter in the nick of time
One single post on my Facebook page praising her new era and new single she brought with it attracted a slew of hate speech, white people bashing, claims of Taylor ripping off Beyonce... I couldn’t believe the things I was reading from fellow bloggers. I even had a GLOBAL BRAND threaten my business relationship in their ambassador program because I stood up for Taylor and spoke out about the hate speech which was placed on my own personal Facebook page. But I stood by my words.
Fearless.
Over the following months into early 2018, and to the tune of, “This is Why We Can't Have Nice Things”, I, along with a slew of about 20 other bloggers, ended up taking down said global brand’s publicist who was using his budget and power to demean and sexually harass female bloggers (which would later reveal that blacklisting me was more about not buying into that bullshit rather than my voice on hate speech).
Zero f***s given to those haters.
Mythical Goddess with bullshit evaporating superpowers level officially achieved for Taylor, and even for me. Although I wouldn’t call myself a Goddess. That's all Tay. 🖤
She found love through the noise
And so did I. In November of 2017, I had approached the year anniversary of the greatest love I'd ever known. My last stop. And as the tracks played on, my heart was full. We both found happiness through a seemingly endless sea of anguish.
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Taylor is truly doing better than she ever was, and so am I.
Her resilience up against the media and the demands of the industry are perfectly fearless. And her decision to keep her beautifully growing relationship with Joe private is wise. I’ve spent the last year at home, which has been incredible. I’ve had a lot of time to think about what’s most important to me, what has shaped me into the mom, partner and entrepreneur that I am, and it all comes back to Taylor. That’s why it’s time for me to be fearless again and officially join the Swiftie universe.
I’ve spent 12 years fighting dragons with Taylor
and growing a canyon of respect and adoration for her charm, wit, business savvy, musical talent, feminism, compassion, tenacity, love for animals, and of course her lovely, lovely, words. I’ve raised my son from birth with her. There isn't a single day that is spent where Taylor doesn't exist in our lives. For 12 years straight.
That’s a long time to love someone who has no idea you exist.
I play her music videos and YouTube uploads just so I can feel like she’s with us. And so my son knows that she’s one of the finest examples of a human being in his lifetime. I use Taylor’s kindness to teach my son how to be considerate and give back to others while sharing her fearless story with him so she can be a positive role model in his life. Taylor has essentially been part of our family all along. 
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My son Gauge has a running joke that Taylor is the only person that can make me cry
(which happens more than I'm willing to admit). And it’s not because I’m weak, or on the verge of a mental breakdown (although I challenge you to try parenting, you might argue that), it’s because I truly love her like a best friend. When I see her happy it makes me happy, when I feel her sadness, it makes me sad. It’s visceral.
I don't believe the human connection is meant to be one-sided.
I feel in my heart, as weird as this may sound, that we will meet Taylor one day, even against all odds. Existing in the same lifetime as Taylor without at least trying to meet her doesn't feel right. I won't look at my son and teach him to let fear and doubt win, or that defying the odds is an impossible task.
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Over the years I’ve been a spectator to her outreach to fans. She’s invited them to sessions in her homes, sent them gifts, invited them backstage, surprised them in their homes, made hospital visits, and Lord knows what else she has up her sleeve. And it’s all been done with pure excitement and love for her Swifties. With each outreach she extends, tears of joy are shed for fellow Swifties, and a ray of hope inspires me.
So, I’m starting a personal blog
which tells a very personal story of all the dragons I’ve fought with Taylor over the years. From living in a car at 15 years old to getting invited to LA premieres for Walt Disney and Marvel films. And I'll have no apologies for the truths that will be told (but will change names for privacy). It will be very personal and some of it won’t be pretty. Because life isn’t always pretty.
Taylor is releasing another album this year... we hope,
and she’ll be on yet another tour in 2020. After 12 years I’m finally ready for it. I’ve given my son everything he could possibly want or need. I’ve bought him a beautiful home in Northern Georgia. He’s been able to travel the world and do things most adults haven’t even done. And I owe much of that to Taylor for giving me the strength to take major risks, the courage to face my demons, the balls to cut people out of my life who were toxic and the self-confidence to defy the odds and do things my way.
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2019 is our year to show @taylorswift how much we love her.
I’ll let the universe do the rest. Till then, I’ll be fighting dragons with her as I always have and writing my journal for her and anyone else who wants to read the memoirs of an OG Swiftie mom who keeps it real AF, full-on hair bun and all.
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radioactivepeasant · 5 years
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Folklore Friday
Radio Explains Folklore/Fairytales/Cryptids Badly IV (we’re up to four now, right?)!
As always, I present this after just barely glancing over source material, because the idea is “how much do I remember off the top of my head, and how accurate is it?”  Ok, here we go:
The South Carolina Lizard Man. Also known as the Lizard Man of Scape Ore Swamp, or The Lizard Man of Lee County. (Cryptids count as folklore, right? Sort of home-grown folklore, anyway.) Actually, I want to say this is the give-or-take 29th anniversary of the darn thing’s “origin story”, so...happy anniversary, Lizard Man, I guess?
So to start out, we have to go back to the eighties. I think I saw something that said it was 1988, so late-eighties. And there’s this teenaged boy driving his car out near the Scape Ore Swamp in Lee County. At night, mind you. This whole thing happens with no more light than however bright headlights were in the 80s. And according to the kid, a big, scaly, something ran across the road in front of his car. If I’m remembering correctly, he may have hit it. Possibly it scratched up his vehicle?
I wanna say it jumped onto the roof of his car, or somebody’s car, but I may be thinking of a different monster tbh.
So apparently what he saw was like...six, seven feet tall, scaly, and had red eyes. Or red eyeshine, I guess, since whatever he actually saw would’ve been caught in the glow of the headlights. Like an alligator with a short snout and standing on its back legs, he said. And if I’m remembering the right monster story, they went back and interviewed the fella years later, and he stuck to that story. But to be fair, that could also have been the story of the Loveland Frog or the Dover Demon. They all sort of got muddled in my head after ten+ years. (When I was like, 12, I was really into cryptids and figuring out what was plausibly real, what was Definitely Fake, and what was Probably Misidentified.)
Y’know what, I would be interested to know if anybody had any good Godzilla costumes in the late 80s. I mean, that would beg the question of why someone would be running into a swamp at night in a Godzilla costume, but I personally find that idea far more entertaining than “temporarily bipedal Reptile Of Unusual Size”.
So supposedly this giant lizard humanoid thing runs across the road and into the Scape Ore Swamp, and this teenage boy goes and he tells the police. Which, I suppose, would be a responsible thing to do in the circumstances. Like if you see a large animal that is Very Much Not In It’s Rightful Habitat, you should definitely contact someone about that. But, ah, “a gator went jogging on its back legs and messed up my car” isn’t...isn’t really going to sound credible to most people, I suspect.
Well the story spreads after this. I mean, it’s the eighties, and people around here were apparently like “Ah, we’ve got our local answer to Bigfoot now!” And so people start making a Thing out of this Lizard Man business. We’re talking t-shirts, merchandise, etc. And the chamber of commerce was actually like “yeah, this will probably bring tourists. Carry on, folks.” So he became the sort of Lee County and Bishopville cryptid.
Ok, full disclosure here, I have actually been down to Bishopville, just because I wanted to see if I could find like, some Lizard Man signs or merchandise. But I went down on a Sunday, and like everywhere we went was closed. Pretty much everything was closed except like this CVS and some gas stations lol. The most we ended up seeing in the area we were in was some interesting topiary and this one barbecue place that had the Lizard Man working a grill painted on the wall. (And let’s be honest: that kind of thing was exactly why we’d gone down there in the first place). We didn’t actually go into the swamp though.
So there have been a handful of reported sightings over the years since the eighties. Some happened in the years after I moved here, so I actually remember them. People made kind of a big deal out of at least one of them, so I’ll tell you the ones I remember.
This was about ten years ago, give or take. So like, 2007-2008. This couple reports some kind of animal attack on one of their vehicles. General consensus seemed to be that whatever did it was going after one of the cats that lived on their porch, which had probably taken shelter up in the engine area of the car. I think they said like the cat beds and fur were all over the yard? (The cat, as I recall, got out unscathed.) And the front end of the car was just shredded. Like, the whole edge of the hood looked like it had been munched, there were deep tooth and claw marks in the body, it was a mess.
And for some reason, this was attributed to the Lizard Man.
I don’t know why. Like, if the thing was real, it has hands. Why would it just bite the car when it could probably pry the hood up?
And I remember, there was at least one cryptid-type show where an “expert” claimed that what people were actually seeing was a Bigfoot covered in algae.
I wish I was kidding.
I’m not kidding.
But anyway, they actually did do some lab tests on the blood and the damage to the car and it came back canine. So yeah, not Lizard Man. Just a dog that had enough bite force to really mess up a car. (Which is probably several breeds, come to think of it.) Either way, somebody’s dog needs to work on their impulse control, apparently.
So after that, there was a “Sighting” in 2015. First of all, some guy said he’d shot and possibly killed a Lizard Man. And the police were like “...you shot a guy that looked like a lizard? Do you...do you have a license for a firearm in this area, first of all? And where’s this body?” And then the guy recanted his story and admitted that he’d made it up to “keep the legend alive” or whatever. Beats jailtime, I guess.
So that same year someone did this article about “Lizard Man sighting!” and I remember, I clicked it out of sheer curiosity, and there was footage of someone running around in a Godzilla costume. So that was pretty funny.
And then came the Eclipse.
During the Total Eclipse of 2017, some news station or other put out a tweet joking about the eclipse possibly drawing out the Lizard Man. Apparently some people took that seriously? Or they were pretending to in order to drum up tourism, either one is possible tbh.
So now the thing has its own festival. I wanna say it’s in April? And people evidently go and do scifi and fantasy cosplay there.
And that’s it, that’s what I remember about the SC Lizard Man right now. It’s not a whole lot, but the thing hasn’t been “sighted” that much since the 80s, I think.
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snowyseba · 7 years
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Tidal Waves
Summary: Bucky broke your heart and then disappeared from your life without a trace. It was like he never even existed. When he suddenly comes back, you’re not sure how to respond. 
Word Count: 1,634
Warnings: swearing, angst, a lot of angst
A/N: Full disclosure - this is based on my experience with my ex. The messages are word-for-word our conversations. The last part of this story happened literally earlier today. There were a lot of emotions swirling around on my head and I needed closure. I guess this is that, or rather, it’s trying to be. This gets a bit dark, but I promise you guys I’m doing better now so please don’t worry too much about me. Today was long and emotionally draining, but I’m trying to be okay. I needed to get things onto paper, and I figured why not do it in story form? After all, writing always helps me sort things out. 
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Bucky: We can’t be together anymore. This isn’t what I wanted. I’m sorry. Please don’t contact me again.
You remember the exact moment you got Bucky’s text. It had been just weeks before your two-year anniversary. Part of you knew it was coming. You sensed it as he grew more and more distant, withdrawing into himself.
Your conversations were shorter. He didn’t pick up the phone when you called anymore. Sometimes he would go hours without responding to your texts. While that might have been normal for some couples, for you and Bucky it was a sure sign that things had gone sour. He would usually respond right away, and if was busy, he would always let you know. Now, he would just disappear, leaving you anxious and nervous.  
When you did get to see him, which was rare considering Bucky’s job as a member of the Avengers, it was tense. He would still laugh at your jokes, but it was hollow. The smile that used to grace his features at your mere presence was now strained. His eyes were dull, their characteristic twinkle was nowhere to be found. He no longer kissed the top of your head as he tucked you into his arms. When he kissed you, it was over in a moment. It was almost as if his lips hadn’t touched yours at all.
You knew it would happen, that the end of your relationship was drawing nearer and nearer. And yet you held onto him all the more tightly. 
Perhaps that was your mistake. You loved too hard, held on too tightly, maybe you were too much. Maybe you were suffocating him. You held on because of your past. He had been the man to help you find yourself again. He was the one who helped put you back together just when you thought you had truly lost yourself. And in return, you did the same.
Together, you had planned your future. There were times you couldn’t even imagine a future for yourself, but Bucky helped you build one. The wedding, the cottage by the sea, the kids, even the names of your family pets. And that’s why you held onto hope like it was your lifeline, because, honestly, in a lot of ways it was. 
When your parents kicked you out of your house, when your ex was harassing you, when you lost your job, it was Bucky who was there. He would hold you, stroking your hair back as you cried, telling you stories to distract you. He knew exactly what to say to ease your worries. He knew you better than anyone else, maybe even better than you knew yourself. 
You couldn’t recall exactly when things started changing, only that it had shaken you to your very core. Bucky had assured you that nothing was going to change, that you would always be together. You didn’t believe it, no matter how hard you tried to convince yourself to believe it.
We can’t be together anymore.
This isn’t what I wanted.
I’m sorry.
Please don’t contact me again.
Though he had sent those words over text, you could hear him saying them. His voice echoed in your mind, haunting you. You had texted him back immediately as you shook your head, rocking back and forth and shaking your head in your disbelief. It was a nightmare. It had to be a nightmare. This couldn’t be real. It just couldn’t. And yet it was. He read your message. You didn’t get a reply.
And just like that, Bucky Barnes was gone. The man who had become such a huge part of your life was no longer there. You had so many memories, so many plans for the future. And in one moment, the future you had built for yourself came crashing down around you. There was still so much you needed to say. You wished you could rewind time. Maybe you could have changed it. If only you had acted sooner, if only you had tried harder, then maybe he would still be here…
That day felt like an eternity. Like hell had opened up and swallowed you whole. For the first time in years, you were completely and totally alone. Your friends were all busy. The emptiness of your new apartment suddenly seemed amplified. The walls were stark white, completely devoid of any warmth. It was summer, but you had never felt colder in your life.
You couldn’t sleep. How could you, after all, when you didn’t have Bucky by your side to tell you stories until you fell asleep? The darkness seemed to spread until it penetrated your body. Your chest felt empty, hollow. You sat in the middle of your room, your possessions strewn across the floor. You knew you should get up and get into bed, but you didn’t have the strength to even move. It felt as though if you stood up, you would crumble, so you just sat there, as unmoving and cold as a statue.
You wanted to be angry, to blame him, to hate him and curse his name. But you weren’t. You were broken, devastated. You had been shattered and you weren’t sure if the tiny pieces would ever fit back together again.
It had been almost six months to the day since you last heard from Bucky. As hard as those few weeks had been, you were doing better than you thought was possible. There were still hard days, but you realized that those were just part of life. It occurred to you that you had never learned how to be alone You relied on Bucky to provide you with love, love that you couldn’t give to yourself.
Maybe this had to happen. Maybe Bucky had to leave. You had fought your way through the pain. You had pulled yourself up all by yourself. You thought you couldn’t live without Bucky, but here you were, months later, still alive and actually living your life.
You felt free. You could stay out as late as you wanted. You could go to work without worrying about him disappearing while you were gone. You could sleep at night, no longer plagued by the constant worry that he would be gone by the time you woke up. You were okay. You moved in with two of your best friends. You adopted a kitten. You got a promotion at work. You were starting to see a new man, and he was warm and kind and funny. Maybe one day you’d grow to love him. More importantly, you had learned to love yourself.
The days of staring at your phone, praying he’d changed his mind and come back to you were over. Although there would always be part of you that cared for him, you were done needing him.
You were sitting at your desk, working on an assignment when you got the text. It was from Bucky. Your heart practically stopped beating. You clicked on it, your hand trembling a pit forming in your stomach.
Bucky: Things aren’t your fault. I’m sorry I couldn’t give you what you deserve and I wasn’t able to give to our relationship and things are shit.
You stared at the screen in disbelief. What the fuck was he thinking? Before you could even think, another message popped up.
Bucky: Can we talk? Like skype or something the day after tomorrow? I’m on a mission but I should be on the quinjet home by then.
The words sat there, taunting you. You shook your head in disbelief, a humorless laugh escaping your lips. Was this some kind of fucked up cosmic joke? You had thought you were over him, but the messages brought back a rush of confusing, conflicted emotions. Were you over him? Had you been kidding yourself this whole time?
The longer you stared at the screen, the angrier you became. How dare he? How dare he waltz back into your life after leaving you? How dare he pull this shit? Six months. It had been six months of no contact. Those first weeks you were begging for something like this, but now, now it enraged you.
He had no right to do this. He had abandoned you. You weren’t going to spend the rest of your life waiting for him to change his mind. And you certainly weren’t going to go crawling back to him. You didn’t deserve this. He had made his choice, and he would have to live with it. You were giving up on him. There was a time that you would have done anything for him, you would have followed anywhere, you wished for him to say something, to say anything, but you couldn’t do that anymore. There was a time when you would have gone running back to him, but now it was too little, too late.
It was time to let go. With shaking hands, you typed out your response.
Y/N: I don’t think that’s a good idea. You were right to end things. What we had wasn’t healthy. I realize that now. We were using each other to avoid loving ourselves, and that’s what ruined us. We couldn’t ever really love each other, because we couldn’t even love ourselves. No matter how much we tried, that would never be enough. I’m sorry. I wish you all the best.
Pressing send, you put your phone down. He didn’t respond, but that didn’t matter. He didn’t have to. Nothing would have changed your mind. As hard as it was, you knew you had made the right decision.
It felt like all the weight had been lifted from your shoulders.
Finally. You were free. A chapter of your story had ended, but for the first time, you were excited to see where the next one would lead.
Tagging: @itsanerdlife​ @221bshrlocked​ @buckyywiththegoodhair​ @melissalovesmusicyay​ @flowercrownsandmetallicarms​ @mrs-brxghtside​ @feelmyroarrrr​ @buckyb-avengers​ @animexchocolate​ @pvlciv​ @givemethatgold​ @defendors​ @heaven-bound-angel​ @theassetseyeliner​ @crazinessgraveyardsandcartoons​ @goodnightwife @oopsmybagofplums @widowvinter @widowsfics @fiercemonaco @nykitass @afterwekillitwecangotodisneyland @sebbyyystan @juliagolia87
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cynthiajayusa · 5 years
Text
‘Schitt’s Creek’ Creator Dan Levy Talks Queer Journey
Oh, sure, Dan Levy gets excited. Really, he does! The sparkle may not be written on his face – cherubic, distinguished, writerly; one with features much like his actor-dad, Eugene Levy – but inside you can bet he’s screaming. It’s a Canadian thing.
Our conversation takes place on a day in mid December, the day after Pop TV’s Schitt’s Creek, his farcical and heartfelt sitcom about a family stripped of their riches that is lovingly created as a gift to this godforsaken world with his father, has picked up a Critics’ Choice nod for Best Comedy Series and Levy is screaming. Really!
“We have a limit to how excited we can be about ourselves,” he says, snickering. He continues, Canadian-modesty fully intact: “But it’s a thrill.”
The thrill humbly extended to a tweet written by the out 35-year-old conveying gratitude for the show’s recent wins when GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics awarded Schitt’s Creek with two honors, TV Comedy of the Year and Unsung TV Show of the Year, during their annual Dorian Awards. (Full, proud disclosure: I’m a member, and I voted for Schitt’s Creek in both categories.)
Get Levy talking about Mariah Carey – the diva inspiration for one of season 4’s sweetest and gayest lines, pertaining to his onscreen boyfriend, Patrick (Noah Reid) – and he won’t stop screaming. We spoke about the Elusive Chanteuse’s prominent place on Schitt’s Creek and about what’s in store for his lovably dramatic character, David Rose, mom Moira (Catherine O’Hara), dad Johnny (Eugene Levy) and sister Alexis (Annie Murphy) in season 5. Plus, this season’s coming out story that Levy says was an emotional shoot and “my proudest episode.”
youtube
I was feeling such disappointment when the Golden Globes and the Emmys didn’t acknowledge Schitt’s Creek yet again this year. So, this Critics’ Choice nod must feel like, “Finally, awards committees are catching up to the rest of the world.”
Slowly but surely we’re cracking into that illustrious group of shows that get nominated for things and it’s a wonderful feeling. We’re a very small show, and I think for very small shows that don’t necessarily have huge resources to promote themselves for award consideration, a nomination from the critics at this point is fantastic. It means it’s been word-of-mouth, and I think the fact that we are also streaming on Netflix has cracked us open to an entirely new and different audience as well.
And listen, our team, first and foremost, just wants to tell really interesting stories and wants to have fun when we go to work every day, and that has always been the goal for me as someone who’s running the show. The minute you start to look outside and think, “Oh, we’re being recognized for this; people are putting us on lists,” it’s wonderful but it can really change the experience of making your show. Suddenly you’re more concerned about, “Are things living up to the standards that the media have kindly set for us?” And that can be really intimidating.
So I try not to pay attention as much as I possibly can; especially when we’re making our show, I try to disengage from all of that so we can really focus on what’s ultimately going to serve our characters. But I’m not gonna lie: It’s been a joy over the past couple of years to see our show up there in the ranks of other shows that I have long admired myself. So I’m just ultimately bursting with pride for our team.
How are the Roses coping with each other during season 5?
Season 4 was a really emotional chapter in this family’s trajectory and we were able to really peel back some layers and show a lot of growth. Season 5 is really about having fun. The guards are down a little bit, which means we can have more fun with our characters, we can put them in stranger situations.
We tried our best to pair characters this season with characters that have never been paired before and really take stories outside of the box and expand our world a little bit, so this season was always intended to be the shiniest and brightest and boldest we’ve ever done. But I’m just really excited because there’s so much in store in season 5. It’s bursting with life and joy and I can’t wait for, particularly, a few episodes.
David does a lot of things this season that, for me, as a gay kid growing up, were horrifying: tree-climbing, baseball. What was your favorite David adventure to shoot this season?
The fun thing about David is he’s someone who has put on such a front for so long that he has really, over the course of his two years in this town, allowed himself to just get in better touch with himself and expose himself to vulnerability in ways that he never would have. So something like the first episode of season 5 (laughs) – constantly feeling the need to prove his relationship and how far he’s willing to go for it – was really fun. I mean, the day was grueling and I was stuck up there (in the trees) for, I think, seven hours…
So by the end of the shoot, your face was David’s. You weren’t even acting anymore.
(Laughs) The character and me as a person really came together in those moments. But yeah, I would say the excitement of our first episode back is really an indicator of what’s to come.
I can’t believe these characters are just now trying on Moira’s wigs. How did that not already happen?
The idea was, for us, that she needed to be on a totally different continent in order for David and Alexis to even dare touch that wall, because of all the things, all the buttons you can press with Moira, those wigs are everything (laughs). So we thought it could be really fun, considering no one’s ever tried them on. And we never ever really touched it, but that was really out of respect for Moira, who was holding court in her home. Now that she’s away we can all sort of have some fun with it, and getting to select which wig we got was a really fun process too. I tried on that little blunt, blonde wig that I wear in the episode and thought, “Well, this could be good for my real life!”
Will there be more Mariah stuff? And also, how much Mariah is played on set?
A lot of Mariah is played just in my life, which seeps into my professional life. She tweeted about the show last year after the Mariah Carey reference in our season 4 finale.
youtube
You recently celebrated that tweet’s anniversary on your IG.
I’ll be celebrating that anniversary for years to come. I lost it. There’s been some amazing people who’ve said some wonderful things about the show, but the Mariah Carey tweet, to me, was like, I don’t even know how to process that. I think back to being a teenager, putting up Mariah Carey posters on my bedroom walls. It was a full-circle moment.
The last time we chatted you told me that one episode in particular this season made you cry. Why is it so meaningful to you?
It’s a layered thing. I find it sometimes quite emotional to be in the position that I am in, to be able to tell queer stories and show them on a mass scale, to write moments and stories, and in this particular case a love story, that seems to really affect people. It’s hard not to think back to a time in your life where you didn’t have that kind of freedom. For me, I think back to high school when I was still in the closet and wondering if I would ever be able to live out in the open. To now be in the position that I am, getting to write what I find to be a really lovely queer romance that millions of people get to watch, it’s quite profound.
And how about the episode’s impact on you?
It’s a particular moment that I had to write that is something that most queer people go through and articulating that, dramatizing that, is just a very meaningful episode for me and for a character in our show. It’s a coming out episode. So getting to write that and trying to find a way around that kind of story that’s been told several times in film and television and literature, finding a dynamic way into that story and out of that story, was probably the greatest joy and challenge I’ve had as a writer for TV. And now that we’ve cut and polished the episode it’s my proudest episode we’ve done as a show.
Given that you understand the weight of this show on your audience, I’m guessing David and Patrick will never break up.
(Laughs) Um, I don’t ever want them to, but you never know what happens. All I know is that we do understand what our fans are enjoying and we certainly wouldn’t want to do anything to jeopardize their loyalty.
It’s the first successful relationship I’ve had in a while and it’s not even mine.
Funnily enough, me too.
For the Schitt’s Creek: Up Close & Personal tour, you and some cast members are touring various U.S. cities. How did the idea for the tour start and are there any Tina Turner musical numbers?
(Laughs) The idea for the tour started mainly because I think so much of the success of our show is based on the enthusiasm and the word-of-mouth that has come from our fans. And the feedback that I’ve received from our fans has been so much more than, “We love your show”; it’s long letters about how this show has provided sort of a safe space, a happy space, a joyful space in dark times. We seem to have a relationship with the people who watch our show and love our show that is slightly deeper than I think the relationship that a lot of people have with the shows that they watch on TV.
Shooting the show in Canada, we don’t ever really have access to a lot of our fans. We shoot for three months out of the year and the rest of the time is me editing or writing the show, and a lot of the response and feedback we got from fans was a desire to interact with the cast, and so we started developing this idea. It’s a Q-and-A, it’s very casual. We show some things we’ve never shown before, we show some behind-the-scenes stuff, we show some bloopers, and there may or may not be a musical performance that may or may not involve a Tina Turner song sung by someone who may or may not play my boyfriend on a television show (laughs). But for us, it’s a great way for us to meet our fans and for the fans to come and say hi in person. We did our first in Los Angeles a little while ago and it was incredible. There was so much love in the room.
Regarding the writing, do you think in terms of meme-able moments in the writers’ room?
No, no! In fact, there was some kind of Instagram sticker – you know the GIF stickers you can use? There’s one of Moira that apparently had like a billion views or something insane, and I’m always sort of amazed how people have taken moments from our show and turned them into these little internet memes, because when we’re writing we never really think about that. But it’s quite an expressive show (laughs), so I understand how it would be very easy to take some reactions from our cast and make some sort of universal reactions of disgust or confusion.
I used your face when I was disappointed by the Golden Globe nominations.
(Laughs) I’m so happy that I could be there for you in that time.
Has working on this show and writing queer characters with your dad bonded you in ways you didn’t expect it to?
I honestly don’t know, actually. The show has been sort of wonderful in the sense that we have been put in a position where we get to see each other every day. I think just going through the experience of making this show and seeing its success has been a wonderful thing for the two of us.
There are just times in your life when things happen that you’ll never forget and you know that you’re sort of in the middle of doing something quite special and lasting, so I know that whatever I do after this show, we’ll always have this time together, we’ll always have this sort of chapter of our lives that we got to immortalize on screen, which is quite lovely.
source https://hotspotsmagazine.com/2019/02/28/schitts-creek-creator-dan-levy-talks-queer-journey/ from Hot Spots Magazine https://hotspotsmagazin.blogspot.com/2019/02/schitts-creek-creator-dan-levy-talks.html
0 notes
demitgibbs · 5 years
Text
‘Schitt’s Creek’ Creator Dan Levy Talks Queer Journey
Oh, sure, Dan Levy gets excited. Really, he does! The sparkle may not be written on his face – cherubic, distinguished, writerly; one with features much like his actor-dad, Eugene Levy – but inside you can bet he’s screaming. It’s a Canadian thing.
Our conversation takes place on a day in mid December, the day after Pop TV’s Schitt’s Creek, his farcical and heartfelt sitcom about a family stripped of their riches that is lovingly created as a gift to this godforsaken world with his father, has picked up a Critics’ Choice nod for Best Comedy Series and Levy is screaming. Really!
“We have a limit to how excited we can be about ourselves,” he says, snickering. He continues, Canadian-modesty fully intact: “But it’s a thrill.”
The thrill humbly extended to a tweet written by the out 35-year-old conveying gratitude for the show’s recent wins when GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics awarded Schitt’s Creek with two honors, TV Comedy of the Year and Unsung TV Show of the Year, during their annual Dorian Awards. (Full, proud disclosure: I’m a member, and I voted for Schitt’s Creek in both categories.)
Get Levy talking about Mariah Carey – the diva inspiration for one of season 4’s sweetest and gayest lines, pertaining to his onscreen boyfriend, Patrick (Noah Reid) – and he won’t stop screaming. We spoke about the Elusive Chanteuse’s prominent place on Schitt’s Creek and about what’s in store for his lovably dramatic character, David Rose, mom Moira (Catherine O’Hara), dad Johnny (Eugene Levy) and sister Alexis (Annie Murphy) in season 5. Plus, this season’s coming out story that Levy says was an emotional shoot and “my proudest episode.”
youtube
I was feeling such disappointment when the Golden Globes and the Emmys didn’t acknowledge Schitt’s Creek yet again this year. So, this Critics’ Choice nod must feel like, “Finally, awards committees are catching up to the rest of the world.”
Slowly but surely we’re cracking into that illustrious group of shows that get nominated for things and it’s a wonderful feeling. We’re a very small show, and I think for very small shows that don’t necessarily have huge resources to promote themselves for award consideration, a nomination from the critics at this point is fantastic. It means it’s been word-of-mouth, and I think the fact that we are also streaming on Netflix has cracked us open to an entirely new and different audience as well.
And listen, our team, first and foremost, just wants to tell really interesting stories and wants to have fun when we go to work every day, and that has always been the goal for me as someone who’s running the show. The minute you start to look outside and think, “Oh, we’re being recognized for this; people are putting us on lists,” it’s wonderful but it can really change the experience of making your show. Suddenly you’re more concerned about, “Are things living up to the standards that the media have kindly set for us?” And that can be really intimidating.
So I try not to pay attention as much as I possibly can; especially when we’re making our show, I try to disengage from all of that so we can really focus on what’s ultimately going to serve our characters. But I’m not gonna lie: It’s been a joy over the past couple of years to see our show up there in the ranks of other shows that I have long admired myself. So I’m just ultimately bursting with pride for our team.
How are the Roses coping with each other during season 5?
Season 4 was a really emotional chapter in this family’s trajectory and we were able to really peel back some layers and show a lot of growth. Season 5 is really about having fun. The guards are down a little bit, which means we can have more fun with our characters, we can put them in stranger situations.
We tried our best to pair characters this season with characters that have never been paired before and really take stories outside of the box and expand our world a little bit, so this season was always intended to be the shiniest and brightest and boldest we’ve ever done. But I’m just really excited because there’s so much in store in season 5. It’s bursting with life and joy and I can’t wait for, particularly, a few episodes.
David does a lot of things this season that, for me, as a gay kid growing up, were horrifying: tree-climbing, baseball. What was your favorite David adventure to shoot this season?
The fun thing about David is he’s someone who has put on such a front for so long that he has really, over the course of his two years in this town, allowed himself to just get in better touch with himself and expose himself to vulnerability in ways that he never would have. So something like the first episode of season 5 (laughs) – constantly feeling the need to prove his relationship and how far he’s willing to go for it – was really fun. I mean, the day was grueling and I was stuck up there (in the trees) for, I think, seven hours…
So by the end of the shoot, your face was David’s. You weren’t even acting anymore.
(Laughs) The character and me as a person really came together in those moments. But yeah, I would say the excitement of our first episode back is really an indicator of what’s to come.
I can’t believe these characters are just now trying on Moira’s wigs. How did that not already happen?
The idea was, for us, that she needed to be on a totally different continent in order for David and Alexis to even dare touch that wall, because of all the things, all the buttons you can press with Moira, those wigs are everything (laughs). So we thought it could be really fun, considering no one’s ever tried them on. And we never ever really touched it, but that was really out of respect for Moira, who was holding court in her home. Now that she’s away we can all sort of have some fun with it, and getting to select which wig we got was a really fun process too. I tried on that little blunt, blonde wig that I wear in the episode and thought, “Well, this could be good for my real life!”
Will there be more Mariah stuff? And also, how much Mariah is played on set?
A lot of Mariah is played just in my life, which seeps into my professional life. She tweeted about the show last year after the Mariah Carey reference in our season 4 finale.
youtube
You recently celebrated that tweet’s anniversary on your IG.
I’ll be celebrating that anniversary for years to come. I lost it. There’s been some amazing people who’ve said some wonderful things about the show, but the Mariah Carey tweet, to me, was like, I don’t even know how to process that. I think back to being a teenager, putting up Mariah Carey posters on my bedroom walls. It was a full-circle moment.
The last time we chatted you told me that one episode in particular this season made you cry. Why is it so meaningful to you?
It’s a layered thing. I find it sometimes quite emotional to be in the position that I am in, to be able to tell queer stories and show them on a mass scale, to write moments and stories, and in this particular case a love story, that seems to really affect people. It’s hard not to think back to a time in your life where you didn’t have that kind of freedom. For me, I think back to high school when I was still in the closet and wondering if I would ever be able to live out in the open. To now be in the position that I am, getting to write what I find to be a really lovely queer romance that millions of people get to watch, it’s quite profound.
And how about the episode’s impact on you?
It’s a particular moment that I had to write that is something that most queer people go through and articulating that, dramatizing that, is just a very meaningful episode for me and for a character in our show. It’s a coming out episode. So getting to write that and trying to find a way around that kind of story that’s been told several times in film and television and literature, finding a dynamic way into that story and out of that story, was probably the greatest joy and challenge I’ve had as a writer for TV. And now that we’ve cut and polished the episode it’s my proudest episode we’ve done as a show.
Given that you understand the weight of this show on your audience, I’m guessing David and Patrick will never break up.
(Laughs) Um, I don’t ever want them to, but you never know what happens. All I know is that we do understand what our fans are enjoying and we certainly wouldn’t want to do anything to jeopardize their loyalty.
It’s the first successful relationship I’ve had in a while and it’s not even mine.
Funnily enough, me too.
For the Schitt’s Creek: Up Close & Personal tour, you and some cast members are touring various U.S. cities. How did the idea for the tour start and are there any Tina Turner musical numbers?
(Laughs) The idea for the tour started mainly because I think so much of the success of our show is based on the enthusiasm and the word-of-mouth that has come from our fans. And the feedback that I’ve received from our fans has been so much more than, “We love your show”; it’s long letters about how this show has provided sort of a safe space, a happy space, a joyful space in dark times. We seem to have a relationship with the people who watch our show and love our show that is slightly deeper than I think the relationship that a lot of people have with the shows that they watch on TV.
Shooting the show in Canada, we don’t ever really have access to a lot of our fans. We shoot for three months out of the year and the rest of the time is me editing or writing the show, and a lot of the response and feedback we got from fans was a desire to interact with the cast, and so we started developing this idea. It’s a Q-and-A, it’s very casual. We show some things we’ve never shown before, we show some behind-the-scenes stuff, we show some bloopers, and there may or may not be a musical performance that may or may not involve a Tina Turner song sung by someone who may or may not play my boyfriend on a television show (laughs). But for us, it’s a great way for us to meet our fans and for the fans to come and say hi in person. We did our first in Los Angeles a little while ago and it was incredible. There was so much love in the room.
Regarding the writing, do you think in terms of meme-able moments in the writers’ room?
No, no! In fact, there was some kind of Instagram sticker – you know the GIF stickers you can use? There’s one of Moira that apparently had like a billion views or something insane, and I’m always sort of amazed how people have taken moments from our show and turned them into these little internet memes, because when we’re writing we never really think about that. But it’s quite an expressive show (laughs), so I understand how it would be very easy to take some reactions from our cast and make some sort of universal reactions of disgust or confusion.
I used your face when I was disappointed by the Golden Globe nominations.
(Laughs) I’m so happy that I could be there for you in that time.
Has working on this show and writing queer characters with your dad bonded you in ways you didn’t expect it to?
I honestly don’t know, actually. The show has been sort of wonderful in the sense that we have been put in a position where we get to see each other every day. I think just going through the experience of making this show and seeing its success has been a wonderful thing for the two of us.
There are just times in your life when things happen that you’ll never forget and you know that you’re sort of in the middle of doing something quite special and lasting, so I know that whatever I do after this show, we’ll always have this time together, we’ll always have this sort of chapter of our lives that we got to immortalize on screen, which is quite lovely.
from Hotspots! Magazine https://hotspotsmagazine.com/2019/02/28/schitts-creek-creator-dan-levy-talks-queer-journey/ from Hot Spots Magazine https://hotspotsmagazine.tumblr.com/post/183119013920
0 notes
yesterdaysdreams · 6 years
Text
Podcasts to Listen to This Summer
I love podcasts! I mostly listen when I am doing tasks that don’t require a ton of thinking, like folding laundry or editing photos. The summer months present even more time to listen though because sometimes we end up on long car drives or waiting in airports. Trey and I even listened to one of our favorite (comedy) podcasts while we were sitting on the beach on our anniversary trip recently. In case any of you are looking for more podcasts to listen to in the coming months, I figured I’d share some of my favorites.
Also, I have to mention, in case any of you are thinking about starting your own podcast you should check out our latest e-course, Launch a Podcast. It’s super in-depth and taught by three awesome and experienced teachers. I can’t wait to add some of our students’ podcasts to my rotation someday. 🙂
Full disclosure: I am extremely random in the podcasts I like. Or, I guess I should say, it’s not all one genre. So I’ve divided them up into a few categories so hopefully you can find something that suits your tastes from my list. Also I’d love to hear in the comments any podcast recommendations you all want to share, too!
Comedy/Casual 
These are podcasts I listen to when I’m wanting something light and friendly. I would consider these the “beach reads” out of the podcasts I turn to most often. 🙂
How Did This Get Made
Trey turned me on to this podcast a few years ago and I’ve been hooked ever since. This is probably the podcast we listen to together the most (like on road trips) and we even went to see a live taping (recording?) when we were in LA last year. The gist is it’s three comedians plus guests who watch a bad movie and then talk about it. It’s hilarious! Obviously, it’s better if it’s a movie you’ve seen before, but I’ve even listened to episodes about movies I hadn’t seen and loved it.
WTF with Marc Maron
Honestly, this show probably has the best celebrity interviews of any show/podcast that I know of. Maron is just really good at interviewing people and he’s had LOTS of famous actors, musicians, and even politicians on his show over the years.
Young House Love Has a Podcast
John and Sherry are also two of the teachers from Launch a Podcast, and not surprisingly, they have a podcast that I love. It is mostly focused on home stuff (design, renovation, etc.) but it’s also kind of about lots of random things too, like books they’ve read, or what shorts Sherry bought for the summer. 🙂 To me, this is one of those podcasts that feels like I’m just listening in on my friends. It’s totally lovable.
Shailey and Katie’s Lemonade Stand
This is another podcast that talks about a lot of different topics like design, photography, social media, small business, organizing stuff, etc. And it also feels like just listening to two friends chat. I love it! Some of my favorite episodes include #64 Triangle of Productivity (of course I would like that one, right?) and also a lazy girls guide to Whole 30 and getting fit, which is episode #71. And just last week Elsie was on an episode talking about adoption and how it has changed her life (It’s a good one! Go listen!).
Business/Career
I love a podcast that either pumps me up to work hard in my career or gives me more ideas of things I could try in my particular business. Here are a few of my favorite podcasts that do just that.
Smart Passive Income
I love Pat Flynn and his podcast has taught me a lot about online business over the years. Highly recommend to anyone who makes their living online or really any small business owner.
Girl Boss Radio
Sophia Amoruso’s book, Girl Boss, was super inspiring and her podcast is no different. Lots of interesting interviews with very successful women.
Goal Digger Podcast
Jenna’s podcast is fun and uplifting but also very informative for any business lady out there. Lots of different topics as she is both an online business person as well as a photographer.
Elise Gets Crafty
I have a special connection with Elise. I have no idea if she would agree (ha) but I just LOVE her podcast and following her on IG. She’s a goal-orientated creative gal who doesn’t pretend that every project turns out perfect. She’s real. She’s consistent. I find her to be super inspiring. She’s currently writing a book about goal-setting and you better believe I’ll be hopping on that waitlist as soon as I see her post about it. 🙂
Food Blogger Pro
I read WAY too many food blogs. But that’s probably not a surprise to any of you. I have always loved Pinch of Yum and their membership site, Food Blogger Pro, has a podcast hosted by Bjork and it’s super helpful! If you’re a blogger of any kind (you don’t have to be a food blogger), I highly recommend you check out this podcast. My husband was on an episode recently too, talking about apps.
Happiness/Self-Help
I actually don’t have a ton of recommendations in this arena, which is maybe surprising? I think I tend to listen to more audiobooks that fall in this category, so I don’t listen to as many podcasts. But I do have one I really love.
The Bravery Board
This podcast is put together by a group of awesome women who also host events in my hometown (Springfield, Missouri). The episodes cover lots of different topics, so feel free to pick and choose the ones that jump out to you. For anyone else out there who is married or in a relationship, I highly recommend episode #407, Healthy Relationships. I found the advice to be super helpful!
News/Politics
I’ll admit, I’m not great at keeping up with the news. Mainly I just listen to NPR while I’m driving. And I don’t listen to a ton of news/politics-related podcasts, but I do have a few I love.
Embedded
This show is from NPR and really interesting. Usually it’s more of deep dive into a topic that is somewhat current. The most recent season just ended and it was all about the coal industry here in the United States, which I knew very little about, so I liked learning about that. But all the seasons are worth listening to.
Pod Save America
This one is definitely a mix of news and politics. The show is hosted by four former Obama aides. It’s not overly formal like other journalism podcasts; it feels more like a conversation between friends. But I always learn something I didn’t know before. Plus, they have some super inspiring guests on the show in past episodes too. I will say though this is one podcast that is mostly talking about current events, so it’s not as valuable to go back and listen to past episodes.
Revisionists History
This isn’t technically news or politics, but I love Malcom Gladwell and his podcast is very informational in nature (like his books), so I wanted to mention it anyway. I love most of the episodes, but if you’re looking for one to start with, try Season 2 Episode 9 – McDonald’s Broke My Heart.
Crime/Mystery 
Yes, I am one of those people that loves crime and mystery podcasts (and books!). I do kind of consider these entertainment podcasts (meaning I’m not looking to learn or better myself by listening), but some of the ones I listen to also end up being kind of educational, too. For example, I got into True Crime podcasts when I first listened to the first season of Serial (along with the rest of the country, it seemed), and before that I really had never thought about the possibility of wrongful convictions or really thought about the justice system in that way before.
Undisclosed
I started listening to this podcast after the first season of Serial as they also covered the same case because one of the hosts has a personal connection. Since then, they have investigated a lot of different possible wrongful convictions. It’s a super interesting show, although sad and frustrating at times. All of the hosts are also lawyers so it is also very informative and has that perspective.
Criminal
The host of this podcast has my all-time favorite voice, right up there with Terry Gross. Other than that, this one is mostly fun and features a pretty random assortment of stories, all of which center around some kind of criminal activity; there’s modern day serial killers, runaway slaves, and even an episode on sharks.
Lore
This one can be quite spooky, I think of it as the podcast of ghost stories (although not every episodes is about ghosts). Don’t listen to this one when you’re home alone at night.
What are you listening to? xo. Emma
Credits // Author: Emma Chapman. Photo by: Janae Hardy.
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phooll123 · 6 years
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The Subaru Impreza 22B Was An 
Insane Monster That Could Never Happen Today
If you’re in the U.S. and you’re a fan of fast Subarus, you should consider yourself lucky. Very lucky. If you want a brand-new WRX STI, you can just strut into your local Subaru dealership and buy one—provided you have the money. (Or at least a pulse and a marginally decent credit score. I see how you buy cars, America.) Sure, getting your hands on a new WRX STI Type RA could be a little trickier, but a WRX STI Limited shouldn’t be a drama.
We’re talking about a 2.5-liter turbocharged flat-four engine with 305 horsepower and 290 lb-ft of torque, a manual gearbox with a proper handbrake, substantial Brembo brakes, and a user-controlled center differential. We’re also talking about a car that starts at $40,895 that’ll do zero to 60 mph in less than five seconds. Not bad at all. It wasn’t always this way, though. There was a time when very fast Subarus were a lot harder to come by, if they were sold in your market at all. And long before PlayStation games forced Subaru to sell the WRX stateside, there was the ultimate forbidden fruit—the mightiest street-legal Subaru ever, a car more rare and with even more racing heritage than some Ferraris. I am talking of course about the the giant-slaying 1998 Impreza 22B-STi.
(Full Disclosure: With the 22B this year celebrating its 20th anniversary, I asked Subaru Australia if I could get some time with the 22B it’s owned since new. They said yes, but with the car largely restricted to static display duties, I wasn’t allowed to drive it. At all. I’m as sorry as you are.) You see, 2018 is a big year for Subaru. It’s 60 years since the 1958 launch of its first series production car, the Subaru 360, and 30 years since the 1988 founding of its dedicated performance arm, Subaru Technica International—otherwise known as STI (or STi until 2006). Importantly, it’s also 20 years since Subaru released the 22B. For the uninitiated, while the first-generation Impreza WRX originally debuted in Japan in 1992 with a mighty 243 horsepower and 224 lb-ft of torque, the first WRX STi didn’t launch until 1994. Neither was available in the U.S. That would take another decade and a lot of help from video games.
Back in 1998, however, we had things better here in Australia, not to be mean about it. We had real Imprezas like the WRX Club Spec Evo 2, with its 2.0-liter-turbo spitting out 211 horsepower and 214 lb-ft of torque. These weren’t grocery-fetching sedans for cold-weather states—they were salutes to Subaru’s efforts in off-road racing with performance that the masses could enjoy.
The world was a different place back then. Presidential scandals were less terrifying, and four-second-range 0-60 mph times were the domain of road-legal weaponry such as the McLaren F1, Jaguar XJ220, Porsche 959, and Ferrari F40. And for a brief period, Subaru.
Still very much a small-time global manufacturer, Subaru wasn’t an existing supercar superpower like the brands mentioned above, but rather a humble, safe, bland option for those focussed on reliability. It wasn’t even a legit competitor to Honda or Volkswagen the way it is today. It did however, have a fair bit of momentum on its side. After making its World Rally Championship debut in 1980, Subaru had evolved its preferred combination of a turbocharged flat-four boxer engine and four-wheel drive, into a rally-winning trademark. Achieving varying degrees of success in preceding Leones, RX Turbos, and Legacys, by early 1998 Subaru was celebrating three consecutive WRC manufacturers’ titles in the Impreza and a WRC drivers’ title thanks to Colin McRae in 1995. Subaru’s domination of world rally couldn’t have come at a better time either, as the brand was also marking its 40th anniversary.
Exclusively finished in Subaru’s mandatory “74F” blue—known through the years as Sonic Blue, Rally Blue, 555 Blue Pearl, WR Blue, and WRC Blue—the 22B was an ultra-rare collection of unique elements, combined one time, with one goal in mind: ultimate performance. Unlike any other Impreza of the time, a larger-capacity turbocharged 2.2-liter flat-four engine, rather than a conventional 2.0-liter unit, was used to power the 22B. Apart from featuring a bigger bore and increased capacity, the 22B’s EJ22 engine was based on a closed-deck rather than an open-deck block, and was also home to a metal head gasket, forged pistons, sodium-filled exhaust valves, and hollow-stem inlet valves. With an 8.0:1 compression ratio and 7900 RPM factory rev limit, the engine was officially listed as having 280 horsepower at 6000 RPM and 267 lb-ft of torque at 3200 RPM. And it was fast as hell.
“Unofficially, because there is no official [0-60 mph] test, this car, unofficially, can pull, at that time, 20 years ago, [0-60 mph] in 3.9 seconds,” Subaru Australia chief engineer Hiep Bui told me. “Technically, this car is a rocket.” As you might expect, the car is truly beloved by the people within the company itself. To learn more about the car I went to meet with Bui and see Subaru Australia’s very own mint-condition 22B—a car with around 4500 miles on the clock. He speaks of it the way some people speak of their religious faith.
“Even though it’s 20 years on, [the 22B is] the statement that Subaru can punch above its weight,” Bui said. “Many years before it launched, not many people really can pronounce the ‘Subaru’ correctly. But since the launch of the 22B, it’s actually put it on the world map.”
Meeting at a suburban Sydney Subaru dealership, where the powers that be decided to have the car transported to, Bui was joined by Subaru Australia service and parts operation manager Sam Hill. Not just another Subaru employee, Hill—like Bui—is a genuine 22B maniac. “My heart skips a beat every time I see a 22B, whether it be in a showroom, or in our storage compound, or on the odd occasion when you see one in traffic,” Hill told me. “If you look at the way the car looks—particularly in that era—we didn’t have another two-door car that was anything like that. I think if this car was white or black or yellow, it wouldn’t have anywhere near the same curb appeal as that iconic blue with gold.”
“This here is a special car,” Bui said, “At that point in time, they said, we have a WRX, and we want something special—something that other people haven’t been able to achieve. It... showed that the engineers, if you give them a chance, there will be no limit. They can do a special edition, they can do a special car, and the car will last.” “I look at this car as a turning point or a line in the sand, to say this is what Subaru’s capable of to build,” adds Hill.
Compare the 22B to the latest STI and it’s easy to see how far the brand has come in 20 years. But it also highlights just how ahead of its time the limited production model was—only 400 numbered 22Bs were hand-built by STi, with another 25 unnumbered cars split between the UK and Australia, 20 and five, respectively.
That’s right. We Australians might’ve long yearned for Camaros, Corvettes, and F-Series Fords, but, in this case at least, we won out, with no 22Bs ever being officially sold in the U.S. “The 22B was the concept of, if I can use the expression, a wolf in sheep’s skin, because this may look normal, but it packs a punch in there,” Bui said.
So, while school kids argued over mega-dollar Ferraris, Jaguars, McLarens, and Porsches hitting 0-60 mph in 3.2 or 3.6 seconds, Subaru went ahead and built a car for a fraction of the price that, while perhaps not quicker, was at least fast enough to enter the debate. And in terms of production, it was just as rare. There’s a lot of ways it holds up today too, unlike many supercars from past decades.
For example, while a 2.5-liter 2018 WRX STI Limited also hits peak power at 6000 RPM, it delivers its maximum torque 800 RPM later than a 22B does. And although the new STI claims a 25 horsepower and 23 lb-ft advantage over its legendary forebear, the addition of various safety and technology paraphernalia—airbags, for example—means the modern four-door is 639 pounds heavier than its two-door ancestor.
Faster and lighter than a new STI then, with its WRC car-inspired blistered guards adding 3.1 inches to the car’s width, the 22B measures in only 1.0 inch narrower than its significantly younger counterpart. Its gold 17x8.5-inch forged-alloy BBS wheels are a whole 2.0 inches smaller in diameter than the dark gray multi-spoke items on the new STI, though they still house four-piston calipers and 11.6-inch ventilated discs up front and two-piston calipers and 11.4-inch ventilated discs out back. (Admittedly that’s a smaller setup compared with the WRX STI Limited’s six-piston fronts and two-piston rears, matched to 13.4- and 12.8-inch ventilated and cross-drilled discs).
Oh, and for context, in Oz at least, in 1999 a top-spec Subaru Impreza WRX STi Version V Coupe (with a 280 horsepower/260 lb-ft turbocharged 2.0-liter engine in it) would set you back AU$60,000. And for around the same money as a 22B—about AU$132,000—you could get yourself into a Jaguar XJ8 Sport, a Mercedes-Benz E-Class, a 986 Porsche Boxster S, or an E36 BMW M3. If you’re half as obsessive as I am, it’s easy to totally nerd out over the 22B.
Its short-ratio five-speed manual transmission with hardened gears and lightweight twin-plate competition clutch; its uprated driveshafts and suspension bushes; its forged aluminium lower control arms, rose-jointed suspension links, inverted Bilstein shock absorbers, and Eibach springs; and its monster adjustable rear wing—the tallest ever fitted to a production Impreza to that point, and taller still than those fitted to the back of era-specific WRC cars.
You can spend hours picking out details and delving deeper into its hardware, but to really appreciate just what Subaru managed to do when it created the 22B back in 1998, and to understand why it remains as special as it does, think about it this way: Imagine visiting Jalopnik tomorrow and finding out that Subaru has announced a brand-new limited-edition version of the current STI. Now, it’s not cheap—in fact, it’s around double the price of any existing STI—but it’s got more than a handful of unique parts, it’s got only two doors, and, oh yeah, it’s got the performance to challenge the likes of the McLaren 720S, Ferrari 488 Pista, and Porsche 911 GT2 RS with a 0-60 mph time of around 3.0 seconds.
Seem likely to happen? Hardly. Even if Subaru wanted to build something that insane, do you really think it would or could? Hell no. And this, again, is the point. The 1998 Subaru Impreza 22B-STi remains as awesome today as it was when it was released not just because of its outright pace and ability, but because of just how unlikely its own creation was. For a brand the size and strength Subaru was 20 years ago to have even contemplated coming up with a car like the 22B is borderline ridiculous. So the fact that they bloody well built it, and built it well, will be forever impressive.
The other concrete sign of a car remaining properly special? It’s never, ever repeated. And as Subaru Australia told Jalopnik directly: “In terms of the future, we’re always open to new ideas from the factory, however the 22B was a unique and iconic vehicle and it wouldn’t do it justice to attempt to replicate the vehicle or its story.” So if there’s any justice in this world, there won’t be any milking this anniversary. No 22B-themed special editions that are just watered down versions of the original and slightly tarted up versions of the current WRX STI. That wouldn’t be right. That wouldn’t do the legend justice. You just don’t get that level of crazy twice in the same lifetime.
David Zalstein is a motoring journalist based in Melbourne, Australia. He’s a genuine spanner-spinning, petrol-sniffing car enthusiast, who sold a 9N Volkswagen Polo GTI daily driver and a hillclimb-spec S13 Nissan Sil80 to afford his new Holden Ute… but, you know, V8.
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tsgnaplesflorida · 7 years
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5 Minutes with A Pastry Chef
Okay, full disclosure here...as a total sweets lover, this Q&A with Chef Lexie Verbruggen of Tony’s Off Third might be one of my favorite interviews of all time! While her love for pastry runs deep, Lexie’s infectious personality is as inspiring as her work, and if you get a chance...scratch that...make a reason to stop in an order a cake from her. Whatever occasion you are celebrating—a wedding, a birthday, an anniversary, a christening—all special days deserve a beautiful cake. Tony’s uses the finest ingredients to make their homemade creations and will happily customize the flavor combinations to match your likes, theme, and budget. Same for the decor. Chef Lexie is happy to suggest pairings and share her design expertise to make your cake unique to your celebration! Without further ado...our 5 Minutes with Pastry Chef Lexie!
TSG: What is your earliest memory of pastry? Chef Lexie: My grandmother was the baking QUEEN! I grew up baking everything from cookies, pies, breads, and cakes with her. I was always sitting on her counter as a 2 year old pouring sugar into her kitchenaid (which I still use at home), and licking the beaters! I specifically remember dipping strawberries from my great uncle’s garden into chocolate as a little 3 year old!
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TSG: When did you decide that you wanted to be a pastry chef? Chef Lexie: Initially, I went to a 4 year university for business because I thought that was the “normal thing” to do. I was baking in our dorm room kitchen in between exams and study groups, so I quickly realized my dream job was to be a pastry chef. I decided to pursue culinary school full time!
TSG: Where did you get your awesome skills? Chef Lexie: My grandmother was certainly the one who got me interested in baking in the first place. She bought me an ABC’s of baking as a little girl. ‘A’ was for Apple Pie, ‘B’ was for Banana Bread, ‘C’ was for Cinnamon Rolls. After learning everything she knew, I went on to study at the Secchia Institute for Culinary Education in Grand Rapids, Michigan to receive more formal training. Although classical French pastries were something I needed to know, Grandma’s training in “baking with love” has carried me the furthest.
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TSG: What is your favorite part of the job? Chef Lexie: I love the relationships I make with our customers and how I’m able to contribute to so many of their special events! From bridal showers, to wedding cakes, then baby showers and first birthday cakes…It’s so fun to see the full circle of so many wonderful stories!
TSG: What is the hardest part of the job? Chef Lexie: Can I say “Mother of the Bride”? Hehehe! I rarely encounter a “Bridezilla”, but it’s difficult to navigate the conversation about a wedding cake and make sure I’m designing exactly what the bride wants, with other people pushing their own ideas. It’s the bride and groom’s day, and I always want to make sure their vision comes through in every aspect of their wedding cake! 
TSG: How do you decide the decor of the cake? Chef Lexie: For wedding cakes, I take a lot of things into consideration. I may chat with the florist, get inspiration from the bride’s gown, or even pull ideas from their wedding invitation. The plan is to always make everything one cohesive look. 
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Lexie created her own, stunning 8-tiered cake for her recent nuptials, referencing her wedding details as inspiration
TSG: What is your favorite cake that you’ve ever made? Chef Lexie: It’s so hard to choose! Any of the cakes that have special stories or memories for the recipient are always extra fun to make. I’m a sucker for sentimental moments, so I really love recreating wedding cakes for a 50 year anniversary!
TSG: We have to know...Chocolate or Vanilla? Chef Lexie: Hmmm…Probably vanilla! There’s more ways to jazz it up! Perhaps a lemon mousse with fresh raspberries, coconut icing, caramel fudge, or just a simple swiss meringue buttercream! YUM!!!
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Chef Lexie’s talents are on display at Tony’s Off Third, but you won’t find a freezer full of “to-go” cakes.  Feel free to stop in and order a cake, or connect with Lexie via email for your special event! From personal exerpience, know that you might even find yourself nibbling on a yummy chocolate chunk cookie or key lime tart while you visit, and that’s perfectly okay, too! Just make sure you grab a cup of coffee to wash it down with. 
Happy Friday, Kersten TSG Naples Assistant Editor
Tony’s Off Third 1300 Third Street South, Naples // 239.262.7999 Email Lexie
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