Pickle 7, Rocky Road 12: Earthquake Weather
Title: Earthquake Weather
Main Story: In The Heart
Flavors, Toppings, Extras: Pickle 7 (bun in the oven), rocky road 12 (classroom/dojo), malt (PFAH: Gina : teenage mutant ninja turtles), chopped nuts (Gina-is-straight AU).
Word Count: 1035
Rating: PG.
Summary: Gina picks Robbie up from school, and has an enlightening conversation.
Notes: Same AU as somewhere far away, Absolution, Palingenesis, and Memory. Title is from a song by Seanan McGuire, who is awesome.
Robbie came running to meet her as soon as she walked into the classroom, crying, "Mommy, mommy!"
"Hi, baby!" Gina replied, and lifted him up onto her hip. He was running, and she used the momentum; that was the only reason she could manage it at all. Robbie was big for a five-year-old and getting bigger, and she was losing hip space every day, now that she was starting the second trimester. But by the time she gave birth, Robbie would be too big to hold on her hip anymore. She'd take the time she could get.
"Mommy!" Robbie said, and kissed her loudly on the cheek. "Mommy, I made a painting!"
"Did you?" Gina asked, resisting the temptation to kiss him right back. He'd just squirm and say 'ew.' She wasn't quite sure why he could kiss her but not vice versa, but she'd long since stopped trying to anticipate her son.
"Uh-huh!" Robbie nodded vigorously. "It's a painting of us! And we counted things. I can count to a hundred now!"
She made appropriately awed noises, and finally had to put Robbie down so he could go get his painting and show her. He ran off towards the row of wooden cubbies, toward the one with his name written on masking tape above it.
"Well!" Gina said, mostly to herself. "That went well."
"Good day?" someone at her elbow asked.
Gina jumped, then put a hand to her heart. "Christ! Toni, you scared me."
"Sorry." Antonia Thatcher did not seem at all sorry. "I thought you knew I was here. Robbie did well, then?"
"Yes," Gina said, and felt suddenly rather sad. "He's getting so big. He's not going to need me anymore soon."
Toni gave her a sympathetic smile. "He'll always need his mommy. We all feel like this, I promise."
Gina made a noncommittal noise, then asked, "Are you here to pick up Renée?"
"Yes," she said. Toni's eldest daughter was five years older than Robbie; her youngest girl, Shannon, was just Leah's age. "Of course, she's too cool to be seen with me. I have to wait down here for her teacher to release the class." A fond smile curved Toni's lips. "You'd never know it when it's time to go shopping, though."
Gina smiled. "She loves you."
"She does," Toni said. "Though she'd rather die than admit it. You're lucky Robbie still acknowledges you as his mom."
Gina laughed, surprised. "You mean to say Renée doesn't?"
"She won't acknowledge Richard either," Toni said, referring to her husband. "I think she's embarrassed. It's not a problem, though; she's just starting that teenage phase a bit early."
"That's..." Words failed her, and Gina could only shake her head. To her shock, she felt tears prick at the corner of her eyes. "I'm sorry, Toni. I don't know what I'll do when my kids start that."
"Hey," Toni said, sounding rather startled. "It's all right. They love you. That won't ever change."
Gina looked over at her son, who was still digging through his cubby with a frown on his face. She imagined that frown directed at her, imagined him coming home from school and slamming his door without a word, imagined the darkness that would descend on her house when her children grew into sullen teenagerhood. "I hope you're right," she said, and heard the viciousness in her own tone too late.
Toni, who must have heard it considerably sooner, gave her a startled look. "Gina? Is everything okay?"
"It's fine," she said, and it was. It was fine. Everything was fine. If she kept telling herself that often enough, it would be. "It's nothing. Don't worry about it, Toni."
Gina had been friends with Toni for almost four years now, since just before Leah had been born. She knew that Toni didn't drop things when she was worried. She knew the 'don't worry' line wasn't going to work.
She had no idea why she even tried, really.
"Is it Grant?" Toni asked, with unnerving accuracy.
"No," Gina snapped, with rather more sharpness than she'd intended. "No," she said, again, more quietly. "No, Toni, nothing's wrong."
"Grant," Toni decided out loud. Her curious expression modulated into sympathy. "Working late all the time again?"
Gina waved a hand dismissively. "Yes, but it doesn't matter. It's just that we have Robbie and Leah, and of course I'm pregnant again now, so there's that baby, and he's trying for a promotion. He has to show willing. It's all right, Toni, I don't mind."
"Um," Toni said, but whatever she was going to say, she cut it off when Robbie came running back in their direction, waving the picture. "We'll talk about this later," she said, meaningfully and left to get her own child.
Gina ignored the little twinge of relief she felt when Toni walked away, and bent down to Robbie's level. "Is this your painting, honey?"
"Uh-huh!" He beamed at her. "We were supposed to paint our family. See? This is you," Robbie pointed, "and me," a suspiciously greenish figure, "and Leah," a small figure with a crop of golden hair. "And I tried to paint the baby but it didn't work."
Indeed, there was a blur of paint around the midsection of the figure representing her. Gina smiled at her son. "Very nice, Robbie! But where's your daddy?"
Robbie shrugged. "Dunno," he said, abruptly sulky.
Oh, dear.
Well, she'd talk to Grant. He'd understand. He had to; this was his son.
"I see," she said, and pointed to four greenish blobs in the corner of the picture. "What are these?"
"Teenage mutant ninja turtles," Robbie said, completely serious. Gina bit back a laugh. "That's Leonardo, that's Michelangelo, that's Donatello and that's Raphael."
"Honey, I don't think they're part of our family."
"No," Robbie said, "but Miss Cavender said you could also paint what you wanted to be when you grew up and I wanna be a teenage mutant ninja turtle."
"Well," Gina said, "you've got a long way to teenage, at least." And didn't she thank God every day for it. If it weren't for her children's steady and unwavering love, she didn't know what she'd do. "Let's go pick up Leah."
Main Story: In The Heart
Flavors, Toppings, Extras: Pickle 7 (bun in the oven), rocky road 12 (classroom/dojo), malt (PFAH: Gina : teenage mutant ninja turtles), chopped nuts (Gina-is-straight AU).
Word Count: 1035
Rating: PG.
Summary: Gina picks Robbie up from school, and has an enlightening conversation.
Notes: Same AU as somewhere far away, Absolution, Palingenesis, and Memory. Title is from a song by Seanan McGuire, who is awesome.
Robbie came running to meet her as soon as she walked into the classroom, crying, "Mommy, mommy!"
"Hi, baby!" Gina replied, and lifted him up onto her hip. He was running, and she used the momentum; that was the only reason she could manage it at all. Robbie was big for a five-year-old and getting bigger, and she was losing hip space every day, now that she was starting the second trimester. But by the time she gave birth, Robbie would be too big to hold on her hip anymore. She'd take the time she could get.
"Mommy!" Robbie said, and kissed her loudly on the cheek. "Mommy, I made a painting!"
"Did you?" Gina asked, resisting the temptation to kiss him right back. He'd just squirm and say 'ew.' She wasn't quite sure why he could kiss her but not vice versa, but she'd long since stopped trying to anticipate her son.
"Uh-huh!" Robbie nodded vigorously. "It's a painting of us! And we counted things. I can count to a hundred now!"
She made appropriately awed noises, and finally had to put Robbie down so he could go get his painting and show her. He ran off towards the row of wooden cubbies, toward the one with his name written on masking tape above it.
"Well!" Gina said, mostly to herself. "That went well."
"Good day?" someone at her elbow asked.
Gina jumped, then put a hand to her heart. "Christ! Toni, you scared me."
"Sorry." Antonia Thatcher did not seem at all sorry. "I thought you knew I was here. Robbie did well, then?"
"Yes," Gina said, and felt suddenly rather sad. "He's getting so big. He's not going to need me anymore soon."
Toni gave her a sympathetic smile. "He'll always need his mommy. We all feel like this, I promise."
Gina made a noncommittal noise, then asked, "Are you here to pick up Renée?"
"Yes," she said. Toni's eldest daughter was five years older than Robbie; her youngest girl, Shannon, was just Leah's age. "Of course, she's too cool to be seen with me. I have to wait down here for her teacher to release the class." A fond smile curved Toni's lips. "You'd never know it when it's time to go shopping, though."
Gina smiled. "She loves you."
"She does," Toni said. "Though she'd rather die than admit it. You're lucky Robbie still acknowledges you as his mom."
Gina laughed, surprised. "You mean to say Renée doesn't?"
"She won't acknowledge Richard either," Toni said, referring to her husband. "I think she's embarrassed. It's not a problem, though; she's just starting that teenage phase a bit early."
"That's..." Words failed her, and Gina could only shake her head. To her shock, she felt tears prick at the corner of her eyes. "I'm sorry, Toni. I don't know what I'll do when my kids start that."
"Hey," Toni said, sounding rather startled. "It's all right. They love you. That won't ever change."
Gina looked over at her son, who was still digging through his cubby with a frown on his face. She imagined that frown directed at her, imagined him coming home from school and slamming his door without a word, imagined the darkness that would descend on her house when her children grew into sullen teenagerhood. "I hope you're right," she said, and heard the viciousness in her own tone too late.
Toni, who must have heard it considerably sooner, gave her a startled look. "Gina? Is everything okay?"
"It's fine," she said, and it was. It was fine. Everything was fine. If she kept telling herself that often enough, it would be. "It's nothing. Don't worry about it, Toni."
Gina had been friends with Toni for almost four years now, since just before Leah had been born. She knew that Toni didn't drop things when she was worried. She knew the 'don't worry' line wasn't going to work.
She had no idea why she even tried, really.
"Is it Grant?" Toni asked, with unnerving accuracy.
"No," Gina snapped, with rather more sharpness than she'd intended. "No," she said, again, more quietly. "No, Toni, nothing's wrong."
"Grant," Toni decided out loud. Her curious expression modulated into sympathy. "Working late all the time again?"
Gina waved a hand dismissively. "Yes, but it doesn't matter. It's just that we have Robbie and Leah, and of course I'm pregnant again now, so there's that baby, and he's trying for a promotion. He has to show willing. It's all right, Toni, I don't mind."
"Um," Toni said, but whatever she was going to say, she cut it off when Robbie came running back in their direction, waving the picture. "We'll talk about this later," she said, meaningfully and left to get her own child.
Gina ignored the little twinge of relief she felt when Toni walked away, and bent down to Robbie's level. "Is this your painting, honey?"
"Uh-huh!" He beamed at her. "We were supposed to paint our family. See? This is you," Robbie pointed, "and me," a suspiciously greenish figure, "and Leah," a small figure with a crop of golden hair. "And I tried to paint the baby but it didn't work."
Indeed, there was a blur of paint around the midsection of the figure representing her. Gina smiled at her son. "Very nice, Robbie! But where's your daddy?"
Robbie shrugged. "Dunno," he said, abruptly sulky.
Oh, dear.
Well, she'd talk to Grant. He'd understand. He had to; this was his son.
"I see," she said, and pointed to four greenish blobs in the corner of the picture. "What are these?"
"Teenage mutant ninja turtles," Robbie said, completely serious. Gina bit back a laugh. "That's Leonardo, that's Michelangelo, that's Donatello and that's Raphael."
"Honey, I don't think they're part of our family."
"No," Robbie said, "but Miss Cavender said you could also paint what you wanted to be when you grew up and I wanna be a teenage mutant ninja turtle."
"Well," Gina said, "you've got a long way to teenage, at least." And didn't she thank God every day for it. If it weren't for her children's steady and unwavering love, she didn't know what she'd do. "Let's go pick up Leah."