(no subject)
Bloody phone.
I should've turned it off. But then Angel would probably have killed me. And if not Angel, Cordelia would have if I'd missed the message Lorne had send. He must've heard we were at the mall. Devious green demon, thinking ahead of himself. Sending me a message about a Costume Party, 'So I could get a costume while I was there anyway'. Of course this translated in 'Cordelia and the girls could get a costume'. And just when we were finally, finally, done shopping. I think Cordelia bought up the whole bloody mall. Dammit.
I pointed out that perhaps it wasn't such a good idea for the children to go to a Wolfram and Hart party. Or any party. Which of course got vetoed, and glared at for a considerable amount of time. After that I just meekly followed them into the sodding costume shop. Where I sat for god only knows how long. After three hours I forced myself not to look at the clock anymore. I think I saw about four-hundred costumes come by, and that was just Cordelia. I mean really, there are only so many variations of 'that looks great' you can utter. And in the end I still didn't know what she picked out.
Alicia, of course, demanded to go as the princess she was. No surprise there. I wasn't aware however that there were *so* many different princess costumes. And I think Alicia was rather stunned. But Cordy helped her, and I had the final say so. I rather proudly picked out one of those medieval dresses, complete with wig. It suited her. For Marilee I picked something simple, a cat. Or a kitten I should say. Or a dangerous black panther as she claimed. Well, whatever works. And we were done! Or so I though. Wrong. Of course, I should've known better then to think I could get from under wearing a bloody costume.
The better part of the next hour was spend with me declining anything the girls came up with. I'm not wearing tights, I'm not Sherlock Holmes, no I don't want to look like a dog, Harry whom? Then I opted for James Bond, I mean I can wear a tuxedo for a considerable length of time. Once again this was vetoed, and Cordelia came up with the perfect costume. And no amount of protesting could get her off this idea. "Who in the blazes is Indiana Jones?" I wanted to know. Which only lead to Cordy shaking her head at me, and giving me that 'I love you, but you need to go out more' look. Fine, I wear the stupid thing. At least I can wear a gun without getting noticed. Is that a whip? Why is this man walking around with a whip?
When we finally got home, I put the girls right to bed and the next day was spend getting things sorted. Room wise, clothes wise, toys wise, school wise, god only knows what else wise. And I have no idea why I kept acting as though those girls weren't going anywhere. Maybe because I kept hoping they wouldn't. When evening dawned, and they got more and more nervous, Cordelia came over again to help them in their costumes. Well, Alicia, I put on Marilee's. Drew a cat face on her and then nodded seriously when she showed me how dangerous she was. And I could've put on Alicia's costume as well. I mean, how difficult could it be? Then I wrestled into my own costume, glaring at the hat that came with it. Dammit, I hate hats. Cordy went back to Angel's penthouse to squeeze...I mean, get dressed herself. I still have no clue as to what or whom she's going, but I'm sure it'll be charming and breathtaking.
A limo from Wolfram and Hart picked us up, the girls were bouncing with excitement. Which I was very glad to see. At least it would take their mind of things, even if it was only for a short time. Reality had this way of hitting on in the face on a regular basis. I gave them some ground rules. The usual. 'No accepting food or drinks from anyone', 'Don't go to far from me', 'Don't go with strangers', 'Warn on time if you need to use the toilet', etcetera, etcetera. And just when did I start to sound like a bloody parent? Anyway, when we finally arrived, the party had already started. Which was good, at least we could hide somewhere in the back, away from the crowd. Though, I have to wonder, how much hiding I can do with two small children in tow here.
"No, Alicia. You cannot have that red drink. It's wine, you're to young for wine. You're not having any wine for at least ten years. Why don't you drink orange juice, just like your sister?" Marilee beamed up at me, holding her plastic cup in two hands. Never did see a dangerous black panther drink orange juice before.
"I don't like OJ," Alicia pouted. "I want red."
Rolling my eyes, I halted a waiter and asked for some red, non-alcoholic beverage. Which he showed up with pretty fast. Just to make certain I took an experimental sip, which earned me a look from Alicia before handing it over to her. "Having fun?" Both girls nodded and gave me a big grin, which was pretty hard not to return. Now, all we need to do is stay here in the back, and try not to get noticed. Shouldn't be too hard.
(Open for Anyone. Beware of kids)