Fan Fiction: Medium - A Trip Down Memory Lane
Title: A Trip Down Memory Lane
Fandom: Medium
Prompt #1: Honeymoon
Characters: Allison & Joe
Word Count: 1,660
Rating: PG 13
Summary: A marriage, a honeymoon and a baby...
Author's Notes: You know sometimes I wrote stories and for some reason don't post them, well, here it is nine months after it was written for family_15. Thoughts?
A Trip Down Memory Lane
Joe and Allison Dubois settled in their backyard on a beautiful and warm summer evening to enjoy some well-deserved rest. They had finally managed to put their three daughters to bed, which never was an easy task but became a nightmare on such a hot weather, with a broken air-conditioning system and a week to wait before it is fixed. Allison took place in a deck chair, relaxing in the breathable air of a typical Phoenix night.
“Hey, honey!” Joe said handing his wife a glass of lemonade. She was tired and figured adding alcohol in her system by drinking her usual beer would not be the best idea. “What are you doing?”
“I’m trying not to die from dehydration,” she mumbled.
Joe seemed overwhelmed by the weather as everyone was. As he took place in the second seat, Allison’s eyes rested on the back of his head and followed a drop of sweat until it disappeared under his shirt. She stood up and sat on his lap. Joe protested for a second, but the kiss she gave him changed his mind.
“Hey! Care to explain this sudden yet pleasant display of affection?” Joe asked as he straightened up in the old deck chair that gave way under their weight in a muffled creak. They both fell flat on the rough sandpaper-like grass. Joe ended up on top of Allison, the chair knocked over him in their fall. The moment they realized their little misadventure they started laughing aloud.
Joe moved the remains of the chair away and turned over to lie down next to Allison.
The evening was warm and silent. Inspired by the starry scenery, Joe remembered a particular moment in the same backyard some sixteen years ago. “What a beautiful ending to an oppressively hot day,” he murmured, “we should do that more often, just you and me, in the stillness of the night. It makes me think about -”
“That day almost sixteen years ago” Allison breathed.
“Is this the psychic reading my mind or the loving wife who completes her husband’s sentences talking?” Joe asked tilting his head to meet her wife’s eyes, but her gaze was still lost in the magnitude of the sky.
“Okay, I know I’m not the brightest mathematician in the world let alone in this family, but I can count to three Joe.”
“I know you can darling, I taught you!” Joe answered laughingly. They loved to tease each other and it had been working this way ever since they met seventeen years ago.
“It’s three weeks after our sixteen years wedding anniversary and a week after the end of our honeymoon. How could I forget?”
“I guess neither of us can forget the events that lead to that particular night.” He added, “And you were right, I guess that life had other plans for us.”
“After I miscarried I thought you were going to leave me and I couldn’t face the fact of losing both a baby and the love of my life, and instead you proposed,” she remembered holding Joe’s hand and shifting her gaze from the sky to her husband. “You told me we needed time to be just the two of us before we could try again. And after our wonderfully… intense honeymoon -”
“Intense, perfectly chosen word I have to admit,” Joe laughed and smiled a little embarrassed at their trip down memory lane.
Allison’s voice barely trembled, “I was scared it could happen again and afraid to tell you because you kept saying you like it just the two of us and we were different and younger and we liked the unexpected, the living from day to day luxury. And all of a sudden everything changed -”
“For the better,” Joe interrupted her.
“Is this the rational mathematician theorizing or the loving husband who completes his wife’s sentences talking?”
They exchanged a knowing look, which after so many years was enough to express their respective feelings; it bore more meaning than many unnecessary words.
“I’m sorry if I put you in such a position. I guess it’s one of life’s unexpected gifts. It’s not as this was something we didn’t want, it just happen a little sooner than I imagined it would. I wasn’t really prepared for it either.” Joe turned to rest on his side and so did Allison. “I will always remember, you know.”
“It’s really confusing at first to know, and it’s even more confusing to have to tell someone else, I kept wondering what your reaction would be. All my dreams were in conflict with each other. I didn’t know what to believe and that’s when you came here in the backyard with some deliciously-looking cocktails you had made just to give me some sort of honeymoon encore and I looked at you and -”
“You dissolved into tears. I felt stupid. I mean, one week after our honeymoon my wife turns on the waterworks. What was I supposed to do? I tried to comfort you, but you kept crying and apologizing, and I didn’t know why. It was really confusing, too.”
“I remember when I finally calmed down after at least half an hour when all kind of thoughts occurred to me, I managed to utter the words ‘pregnant’ and ‘baby’ and you stopped short and stared at me for a minute or two... and then you downed the two cocktails in one.”
“And I told you I loved you. Then I laughed heartily!”
“Well, that I remember! That was uncalled-for. I thought you were making fun of me!” Allison recalled.
“I don’t know why but I took in we were having a honeymoon baby and I just found it funny, I mean you keep saying I’m cautious that I like to plan things in my life, but I hadn’t seen this one coming!”
“You reassured me, and we spent the entire night talking in the backyard about the baby, what it meant for us, how it was going to change our life together, and how we were going to tell everyone.”
“We even discussed names, and then we fell asleep and on the morning the neighbors’ dog, which had probably jumped the fence - what was its name again? - awoke us yapping. We were faced with Mr. and Mrs. Petersons awkward looks -”
Allison laughed gently at the memory of the embarrassing situation, “What did you think would happen? I mean, I can totally understand their reaction. They were certainly not expecting to find their new neighbors half-naked and asleep in the backyard!”
“Do you think that’s the reason they moved a couple of months later?” Joe wondered.
“All I know is that each time I bumped into either of them I was mortified. I looked down at the ground to evade their inquisitive looks.”
“Well, at first I was a little embarrassed, too. Then I thought this was the most natural thing in the world, a newly-wed couple asleep, half-naked in their backyard, that’s plain normal!”
“Thank God for grandma Benoit’s old blanket!” Allison added.
“So tell me Mrs. Dubois, what about reliving some good old memories?”
“I hope you’re not suggesting what I think you’re suggesting, I survived Mr. and Mrs. Petersons’ accusing looks, but I could never face our daughters’ interrogative glances.”
“Well, I get your point honey! That’s too bad, though! What about sleeping under the stars?” Joe stood up, “I’ll be right back!”
He slipped away in the house to gather all the possible elements he could find to recreate the atmosphere of that particular day, sixteen years ago. He came back to the backyard to find Allison sat her back against the French door. Grandma Benoit’s blanket under his arm, he was carrying two cocktails. Joe spread the blanket on the grass for them to lie down on something softer than the hard ground.
He offered Allison a glass, “Let’s drink to the never-ending warmth and the magnificent starry night, to our past in this house, to our adorable honeymoon baby who is now a lively teenage girl and to my favorite psychic wife, whom I love... most of the time.”
Allison continued the toast, “to my husband who keeps me grounded with his rationality and takes care of me with all of his heart and to the Petersons wherever they are!”
In the early morning, Ariel, Bridgette and Marie who could not sleep in the furnace that was the house, decide to ask permission to have breakfast in the backyard. Already overwhelmed and excited the girls headed towards their parents bedroom only to find their bed empty, Ariel’s surprise was quickly overshadowed by Bridgette’s questions.
Back in the living room, the girls expected to find their parents asleep on the couch, but they were not there either, Bridgette was now worried. Ariel did not know what to answer her little sister so she sent Bridgette with Marie in their room to get dressed, thinking it will give her enough time to find a solution. She was about to call to Detective Scanlon for help, when she saw a figure moving in the backyard. Ariel carefully came towards the window ready to use the phone in her hand as a weapon when she saw both her parents asleep on grandma Benoit’s old blanket. She was staring at the scene relieved and smiling when she heard her sisters running in the corridor; she drew the curtain to give her parents a little private moment together.
“Ariel, did you find Mom and Dad?” Bridgette asked as soon as she arrived in the kitchen, closely followed by Marie.
“Yes, Bridge I know where they are, don’t worry, so what do you want for breakfast? Cereals, toasts? What about you Marie?”
It was just another morning on the Dubois household, kids talking, laughing and bickering except that for once their parents were not aware of it, they were lost in a particular day some sixteen years ago.
THE END
Fandom: Medium
Prompt #1: Honeymoon
Characters: Allison & Joe
Word Count: 1,660
Rating: PG 13
Summary: A marriage, a honeymoon and a baby...
Author's Notes: You know sometimes I wrote stories and for some reason don't post them, well, here it is nine months after it was written for family_15. Thoughts?
A Trip Down Memory Lane
Joe and Allison Dubois settled in their backyard on a beautiful and warm summer evening to enjoy some well-deserved rest. They had finally managed to put their three daughters to bed, which never was an easy task but became a nightmare on such a hot weather, with a broken air-conditioning system and a week to wait before it is fixed. Allison took place in a deck chair, relaxing in the breathable air of a typical Phoenix night.
“Hey, honey!” Joe said handing his wife a glass of lemonade. She was tired and figured adding alcohol in her system by drinking her usual beer would not be the best idea. “What are you doing?”
“I’m trying not to die from dehydration,” she mumbled.
Joe seemed overwhelmed by the weather as everyone was. As he took place in the second seat, Allison’s eyes rested on the back of his head and followed a drop of sweat until it disappeared under his shirt. She stood up and sat on his lap. Joe protested for a second, but the kiss she gave him changed his mind.
“Hey! Care to explain this sudden yet pleasant display of affection?” Joe asked as he straightened up in the old deck chair that gave way under their weight in a muffled creak. They both fell flat on the rough sandpaper-like grass. Joe ended up on top of Allison, the chair knocked over him in their fall. The moment they realized their little misadventure they started laughing aloud.
Joe moved the remains of the chair away and turned over to lie down next to Allison.
The evening was warm and silent. Inspired by the starry scenery, Joe remembered a particular moment in the same backyard some sixteen years ago. “What a beautiful ending to an oppressively hot day,” he murmured, “we should do that more often, just you and me, in the stillness of the night. It makes me think about -”
“That day almost sixteen years ago” Allison breathed.
“Is this the psychic reading my mind or the loving wife who completes her husband’s sentences talking?” Joe asked tilting his head to meet her wife’s eyes, but her gaze was still lost in the magnitude of the sky.
“Okay, I know I’m not the brightest mathematician in the world let alone in this family, but I can count to three Joe.”
“I know you can darling, I taught you!” Joe answered laughingly. They loved to tease each other and it had been working this way ever since they met seventeen years ago.
“It’s three weeks after our sixteen years wedding anniversary and a week after the end of our honeymoon. How could I forget?”
“I guess neither of us can forget the events that lead to that particular night.” He added, “And you were right, I guess that life had other plans for us.”
“After I miscarried I thought you were going to leave me and I couldn’t face the fact of losing both a baby and the love of my life, and instead you proposed,” she remembered holding Joe’s hand and shifting her gaze from the sky to her husband. “You told me we needed time to be just the two of us before we could try again. And after our wonderfully… intense honeymoon -”
“Intense, perfectly chosen word I have to admit,” Joe laughed and smiled a little embarrassed at their trip down memory lane.
Allison’s voice barely trembled, “I was scared it could happen again and afraid to tell you because you kept saying you like it just the two of us and we were different and younger and we liked the unexpected, the living from day to day luxury. And all of a sudden everything changed -”
“For the better,” Joe interrupted her.
“Is this the rational mathematician theorizing or the loving husband who completes his wife’s sentences talking?”
They exchanged a knowing look, which after so many years was enough to express their respective feelings; it bore more meaning than many unnecessary words.
“I’m sorry if I put you in such a position. I guess it’s one of life’s unexpected gifts. It’s not as this was something we didn’t want, it just happen a little sooner than I imagined it would. I wasn’t really prepared for it either.” Joe turned to rest on his side and so did Allison. “I will always remember, you know.”
“It’s really confusing at first to know, and it’s even more confusing to have to tell someone else, I kept wondering what your reaction would be. All my dreams were in conflict with each other. I didn’t know what to believe and that’s when you came here in the backyard with some deliciously-looking cocktails you had made just to give me some sort of honeymoon encore and I looked at you and -”
“You dissolved into tears. I felt stupid. I mean, one week after our honeymoon my wife turns on the waterworks. What was I supposed to do? I tried to comfort you, but you kept crying and apologizing, and I didn’t know why. It was really confusing, too.”
“I remember when I finally calmed down after at least half an hour when all kind of thoughts occurred to me, I managed to utter the words ‘pregnant’ and ‘baby’ and you stopped short and stared at me for a minute or two... and then you downed the two cocktails in one.”
“And I told you I loved you. Then I laughed heartily!”
“Well, that I remember! That was uncalled-for. I thought you were making fun of me!” Allison recalled.
“I don’t know why but I took in we were having a honeymoon baby and I just found it funny, I mean you keep saying I’m cautious that I like to plan things in my life, but I hadn’t seen this one coming!”
“You reassured me, and we spent the entire night talking in the backyard about the baby, what it meant for us, how it was going to change our life together, and how we were going to tell everyone.”
“We even discussed names, and then we fell asleep and on the morning the neighbors’ dog, which had probably jumped the fence - what was its name again? - awoke us yapping. We were faced with Mr. and Mrs. Petersons awkward looks -”
Allison laughed gently at the memory of the embarrassing situation, “What did you think would happen? I mean, I can totally understand their reaction. They were certainly not expecting to find their new neighbors half-naked and asleep in the backyard!”
“Do you think that’s the reason they moved a couple of months later?” Joe wondered.
“All I know is that each time I bumped into either of them I was mortified. I looked down at the ground to evade their inquisitive looks.”
“Well, at first I was a little embarrassed, too. Then I thought this was the most natural thing in the world, a newly-wed couple asleep, half-naked in their backyard, that’s plain normal!”
“Thank God for grandma Benoit’s old blanket!” Allison added.
“So tell me Mrs. Dubois, what about reliving some good old memories?”
“I hope you’re not suggesting what I think you’re suggesting, I survived Mr. and Mrs. Petersons’ accusing looks, but I could never face our daughters’ interrogative glances.”
“Well, I get your point honey! That’s too bad, though! What about sleeping under the stars?” Joe stood up, “I’ll be right back!”
He slipped away in the house to gather all the possible elements he could find to recreate the atmosphere of that particular day, sixteen years ago. He came back to the backyard to find Allison sat her back against the French door. Grandma Benoit’s blanket under his arm, he was carrying two cocktails. Joe spread the blanket on the grass for them to lie down on something softer than the hard ground.
He offered Allison a glass, “Let’s drink to the never-ending warmth and the magnificent starry night, to our past in this house, to our adorable honeymoon baby who is now a lively teenage girl and to my favorite psychic wife, whom I love... most of the time.”
Allison continued the toast, “to my husband who keeps me grounded with his rationality and takes care of me with all of his heart and to the Petersons wherever they are!”
In the early morning, Ariel, Bridgette and Marie who could not sleep in the furnace that was the house, decide to ask permission to have breakfast in the backyard. Already overwhelmed and excited the girls headed towards their parents bedroom only to find their bed empty, Ariel’s surprise was quickly overshadowed by Bridgette’s questions.
Back in the living room, the girls expected to find their parents asleep on the couch, but they were not there either, Bridgette was now worried. Ariel did not know what to answer her little sister so she sent Bridgette with Marie in their room to get dressed, thinking it will give her enough time to find a solution. She was about to call to Detective Scanlon for help, when she saw a figure moving in the backyard. Ariel carefully came towards the window ready to use the phone in her hand as a weapon when she saw both her parents asleep on grandma Benoit’s old blanket. She was staring at the scene relieved and smiling when she heard her sisters running in the corridor; she drew the curtain to give her parents a little private moment together.
“Ariel, did you find Mom and Dad?” Bridgette asked as soon as she arrived in the kitchen, closely followed by Marie.
“Yes, Bridge I know where they are, don’t worry, so what do you want for breakfast? Cereals, toasts? What about you Marie?”
It was just another morning on the Dubois household, kids talking, laughing and bickering except that for once their parents were not aware of it, they were lost in a particular day some sixteen years ago.
THE END