Common Ground Chapter 17 Part 3 Post Series Future Fic
** Post Series Flash Forward: Tootie Returns to Peekskill **
Dorothy Ramsey Williams walked aimlessly throughout the Polniaczek/Warner home. During the reunion festivities, Blair and Jo had cut back on their normal work hours, but after Dorothy’s visit was extended the couple had far less time to entertain their guest.
During the first few days after Natalie, Jo, and Blair returned to work, Dorothy had enjoyed the solitude. She had welcomed a rest from her own hectic work schedule and had treasured the time with her daughter. Beverly, however, had begun spending her days at the country club where Garrett worked as a lifeguard, leaving only E.J. and Mrs. Gains to share the massive home with Dorothy.
Dorothy finally found E.J., Marie, and Mrs. Gains in the media room. Edna was sitting in a recliner with her eyes closed while E.J. and Marie played a board game. Dorothy sighed as she entered the eerily quiet room, thinking it was just her luck to be stuck with the least talkative nine-year-olds on the planet. Sometimes Dorothy would pretend to read the newspaper and surreptitiously observe the two children to see if she could figure out how they managed to communicate with one another when neither of them seemed the least bit interested in using words.
“Hi, who’s winning?”
E.J. looked apprehensively toward Mrs. Gains and answered in a whisper.
“Marie is winning. We’re being extra quiet since Mrs. G. is taking a nap.”
Dorothy took a closer look at Edna and confirmed that the elderly woman was sleeping peacefully. She started to make a joke about how ‘quiet’ and ‘extra quiet’ sounded exactly the same when it came to E.J. and Marie, but thought better of it and kept the humorous observation to herself.
“In that case, I would be happy to drive the two of you into town for a few hours. Where would you like to go?”
E.J. immediately shook her head.
“Mrs. G. is babysitting us.”
“I’m sure she wouldn’t mind if you left with me while she finishes her nap.”
E.J. bit her lower lip and looked hesitantly toward Mrs. Gains.
“Mrs. G. likes taking care of us. Mother says that watching over Marie and me is the most important job in the world and she wouldn’t trust anyone but Mrs. G. to do it.”
Dorothy chuckled softly and knelt beside the girls.
“It’s only for one afternoon. We could leave a note so that Mrs. G. wouldn’t worry about you.”
Marie touched E.J.’s hand and nodded, obviously eager to ride into town with the famous actress, but E.J. shook her head once again and Marie instantly nodded her acquiescence.
“Mrs. G. likes having company. She likes helping us with puzzles and makes sandwiches for us. Maybe . . . um, maybe we could go to town when she wakes up and take her with us. She can’t drive anymore, so she doesn’t get out as much as she’d like. When I’m old enough to drive, I’m going to drive her everywhere.”
Dorothy’s heart swelled with affection for the young child as she realized that E.J. and Marie watched over Edna as much as the maternal woman watched over them. Dorothy thought back on the meals she’d watched the family prepare with a new perspective. Mrs. Gains would sit on a stool in the middle of the kitchen directing the preparations while each family member in turn would present the various dishes they had prepared to the former nutritionist for approval before placing them on the table.
Every child demonstrated an expertise in the kitchen uncommon for children their age, but each one of them sought out Mrs. Gains’ advice during every meal. Dorothy scanned the lines along Mrs. Gains’ face and wondered how she had managed to miss the clear signs of declining health.
‘Well, well, well’, thought Dorothy. ‘Your kids aren’t perfect, Jo, but caring for them is the perfect job for a woman who could never be satisfied with a leisurely retirement.’
“Mrs. Tootie?”
“Oh, yes, E.J. We’ll wait for Mrs. G. to wake up and all go to town together.”
E.J. grinned; looking so much like Jo Polniaczek that Dorothy couldn’t prevent a surge of sentimentality. The tender mood was shattered, however, by E.J.’s next observation, which sent the actress into a fit of uncontrollable giggles.
“That’s a brilliant idea, Mrs. Tootie.”
Dorothy covered her mouth to keep from waking Mrs. Gains and was surprised to see Marie having as much difficulty suppressing her own giggles.
In the next instant, Blair’s youngest daughter modeled another classic Warner trait by rolling her eyes at her best friend and sighing.
“I’ll go see if my parents want to join us for lunch before we leave.”
When E.J. walked past the telephone and toward the hallway, Dorothy stopped her.
“Wait, aren’t you going to call your parents?”
E.J. shook her head.
“They’re just down the hall, in their office.”
It was Dorothy’s turn to roll her eyes, wondering how often Jo and Blair had actually been in their home when E.J. had informed her that the two were working.
“Would you mind if I go speak with them instead while you and Marie finish your game?”
E.J. shrugged indifferently and returned to the board game while Dorothy tried to remember which hallway led to the elegant office area she’d been shown during her original tour of the home.
Once Dorothy found her way to the office, the door was open and she could see her friends working inside. Seeing Jo and Blair sitting at their desks reading documents reminded Dorothy of their years at Eastland and Langley when all four girls had studied quietly for hours in their shared bedroom.
Dorothy allowed herself to drift down memory lane while standing silently in the doorway, a smile spreading over her face when Blair mischievously threw a kernel of popcorn toward Jo and hit the studious brunette in the face.
“Very funny, Blair. If you keep that up, I’ll be working on this all day.”
“It’s time for a break, Jo. Everyone works better after a break. I’ve been telling you that for as many years as we’ve known one another.”
“You take too many breaks.”
“You don’t take enough.”
Blair punctuated her response with another kernel of popcorn, prompting Jo to quickly leap from her chair, walk across the small distance separating the two desks, and place her hands forcefully on the armrests of Blair’s chair.
Just as Dorothy was about to announce her presence for fear of the oncoming confrontation, Jo’s demeanor changed completely and she leaned forward to place a tender kiss on her lover’s lips.
“Hmm, you always were a great popcorn popper, Princess.”
“Yes, I’m a microwave aficionado.”
Jo chuckled and stole another brief kiss.
“So, is it time for a break?”
Before Blair could answer, Dorothy cleared her throat, not wanting to give the playful banter a chance to escalate into something more intimate.
“Um, I’m taking the girls and Mrs. G. to town after lunch. Would you like to have sandwiches with us before we leave?”
Jo turned slowly and grinned agreeably at her younger friend.
“That sounds great, but I have to warn you that E.J. and Marie have some unique ideas when it comes to sandwich ingredients.”
Blair rolled her chair to an angle in order to see Dorothy and elaborated.
“You know all those strange things we crave when we’re pregnant? Well, E.J. apparently retained all the odd cravings I had when I was carrying her.”
“Oh yeah, I had to go to the story every fu-.”
Blair abruptly cleared her throat and glared at her partner.
“Dorothy doesn’t need to hear all the horrid details, Jo.”
Jo chuckled and winked at Dorothy.
“I’ll tell ya later.”
Blair rolled her eyes and Dorothy giggled at the memory of E.J. mimicking the mannerism.
Dorothy and Jo continued to exchange the worst food combinations they’d ever eaten while the three women walked the short distance to the den. Once they arrived, Blair touched Jo’s hand and inclined her head toward Mrs. G.
“I told you not to give her those drugs.”
“She has to take her medicine, Jo.”
“They make her sleepy.”
“Perhaps she needs to sleep.”
Jo smiled reassuringly at her lover and nodded.
“You’re probably right. She has been more tired than usual lately.”
Blair chewed her lower lip for a few seconds and seemed uncertain.
“Maybe I should take her back to the doctor tomorrow, just to make sure. What do you think?”
Jo nodded again, trying not to appear overly concerned about the elderly woman’s health.
“Tootie and I will take the girls into the kitchen while you try to convince Mrs. G. to go back to the doctor again.”
Blair sighed.
“Gee, thanks.”
Jo tilted her head and grinned.
“Aw, you know that you’re the only one who can talk her into doing something she doesn’t want to do.”
Jo gathered the children, but Dorothy lingered behind them, glancing over her shoulder to see if Blair was having any luck convincing the former nurse to go along with her suggestion. For the third time within the hour, Dorothy’s mind snapped back to the past as she watched the two women interact. The strong bond they had shared when Blair was a teenager had obviously grown deeper with time.
Blair was kneeling beside Edna Gains’ chair, gently stroking the older woman’s hand in order to wake her.
“I fell asleep again, didn’t I?”
“You’ve been very tired lately, Edna. Jo thinks your medication may be too strong for you.”
“Oh, I don’t think the medicine is the problem, Blair. I just can’t keep up with you girls the way I used to.”
“You keep up with us just fine, Edna. I spent half the morning tossing popcorn kernels at Jo to keep her from falling asleep while we were working on the Eastland budget.”
Edna chuckled at the image, but then grew serious.
“I’m sure Jo enjoyed the interruption, but she wouldn’t have dozed off without it.”
“Well, I’m beginning to think that Jo is right about your medication. Let’s talk to your doctor and see about changing your prescription.”
“Blair, the medicine isn’t making me sleepy, it’s Fred.”
“Fred?”
“You know Fred, from the hardware store.”
“Fred Burnett, George’s father?”
“What’s so surprising about that?”
“Um, nothing. It’s just . . . well, I’m a little confused.”
“It’s not confusing, Blair. Fred and I have been spending a lot more time with one another lately and last night he came over to visit with me and we lost track of time. When I was your age I could stay up half the night and still be fine the next day, but I’m getting too old for that.”
Blair felt as if she’d been riding an emotional roller coaster. She’d been concerned about Edna for weeks because the maternal woman had seemed uncharacteristically tired. She was relieved that the reason Edna was sleepy was that the energetic woman had been staying up late with Fred but at the same time she was a tad irritated that she’d worried for no reason.
“Does this mean that you have a new boyfriend?”
“He’s not my boyfriend, Blair. Fred’s a grown man.”
“And how late have you and Fred been . . . visiting?”
“Well . . . He noticed that the kitchen door was squeaking when he started to leave early this . . . um, when he started to leave and so he stayed to fix it. It would have been rude not to invite him for breakfast. He’s very handy, you know. He’s almost as handy as Jo.”
Blair leaned her forehead against Edna’s hand and laughed.
“You know Jo is going to go over to the hardware store the first chance she gets to grill him about his intentions?”
Edna grinned mischievously.
“I’m afraid Jo won’t be finding Fred at the hardware store any time soon. The late date nights have taken more of a toll on him than on me. He hired another salesman to work the early shift. It’s not Fred’s fault, very few people my age have my stamina.”
Blair’s eyes twinkled as she kissed Edna on the cheek.
“I’ll leave an extra sandwich in the refrigerator. You’ll need your nourishment if you’re rejoining the dating scene.”