missing you [[ota]]

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Erica completely forgot about her birthday. It was Sunday, and in the morning, the kids had helped her make chocolate chip pancakes, and they really were...gorgeous. Beautiful kids that had (what would have been) John's dark hair, and his eyes. Except for Audrey who had those blue deep eyes you could get lost in. And then, with the village being

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Deb knew the boss's wife from the station, in passing. Not like they'd ever talked. And it sure as hell didn't look like she wanted to talk now, either. But neither did Deb okay? Because maybe she wasn't the best fucking future-mother ever, but --

Well, fuck it. Deb was just wandering the village, just doing her rounds and feeling like shit. Still, she looked over and when she caught Erica's gaze, she upnodded. "Hey."

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Erica recognizes her, knows her from the station. Everyone pretty well likes her from what she can gather.

"Hey," she says, digging for the keys to the boat in her pocket.

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Shit. Deb was shit at this kind of stuff. She stood there, shifting from foot to foot before finally saying. "... everything okay?"

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She snorts a little. "Three of my kids that I didn't even know I had disappeared on Sunday, and my husband as a nice family with his ex before me. Doin' great."

Erica pauses, head still down. She doesn't do that usually, it's not her, and she sighs as she looks up. "Sorry. I didn't...sorry."

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"Nah, it's cool. I had a teenager who fuckin' hated my guts and loved her daddy, so ... yeah." But Deb still missed Ann. A lot. "That's fucked up, though. The other family thing." Just saying.

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"Tell me about it," she mutters. "We haven't even talked about it yet, just..." Erica pulls out the keys and stares at them for a second.

"We're good at avoiding shit."

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Oh, shit. That didn't sound good. That sounded ... like shit Deb shouldn't know. She shifted from foot to foot again. "... most people are... I mean, aren't they? My brother, Dex, his wife was killed? He was shit about talking about it."

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Erica considers how much she should tell Deb, to see if it's just her making a big deal out of it, or if it really is a very weird situation.

"You going to work or leaving?" she asks, gesturing toward the marina. "I was just going to..." she trails off. Going to do whatever.

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Fuuuuuuck. Running a hand over her hair, Deb said, "I'm off in a few minutes, it's cool. I'll buy you a drink if you want."

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"Last thing I need to do is go to a bar. I'll drink the place out of business. Plus, still breastfeeding."

She waves her off. "It's okay. I should be talking to my husband about my problems," she says with an apologetic smile. Instead of dumping on a stranger.

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"Shit, a baby, too? I mean, a baby that didn't disappear? And he - " Shit. Deb shook her head. Should've known the boss was a player.

She reached into her pocket and pulled out the ever-present KitKat, opening the package and offering it up.

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Well, chocolate is a good substitute. She takes a bar, gesturing to a bench at least.

"I could be making it out to be more than it is. I don't know."

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Deb had to smirk. Dex was always telling her she was over-reacting. And she sat, too, her legs spread out, eating a bar, too. "Think I'd have a shit-fit if Gabriel had kids with someone else outta nowhere." She punch him in the gut. Hard.

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"Well. Here's the thing. His ex - still in the village, not even really an ex - is my identical twin. She looks just like me. Her husband disappeared and they...whatever. Then her husband comes back, I come to the village." She looks at Deb pointedly but she can fill in the rest. They're married now.

"Anyway, she...her husband disappeared again. And then this kid shows up, an adult version of her baby, and says her and John are married with three kids and everything is perfect."

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"Holy fucking shitballs," Deb breathed out, staring wide-eyed. "Yeah, no. That shit's fucked up there. Seriously. Damn."

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"And at the same time, our own kids showed up. But their version of me and John? Been married since they were twenty. So I don't know what...plus, case in point, she's lying if she says she wouldn't want that with John if she had the chance."

Erica goes quiet. It sounds so ridiculous to her, and she takes a bite of the chocolate.