A (Not Exactly) Storybook Romance (Part 3/3) - The Devil Wears Prada - Andy/Miranda
Title: A (Not Exactly) Storybook Romance
Fandom: The Devil Wears Prada
Rating: PG-13
Pairing/Characters: Andy/Miranda
Prompt(s): AU: Andy owns a bookstore. She's kind of a bookworm and wallflower, but is secretly an amazing artist. She can sketch anything. Somehow Miranda brings her out of her shell.
Summary: See prompt above.
Disclaimer: I don't own The Devil Wears Prada or any of the characters associated with it. I really don't even own the characters that I created for this specific story. Nothing is really mine. I'm just playing with them.
Author's Note: Written for je_talveran for the DWP Top Secret Admirer Exchange. Many thanks to grdnofevrythng for putting it all together. Also, huge amounts of thanks to my lovely new beta, monetfun. She did a fabulous job of reading this and correcting my mistakes! Also, I completely made up the backstory of Andy's family, just so that you know.
Miranda was awake by 6:00 the next morning. She was always an early riser and hardly ever slept past 8:00. She didn't have anywhere to be until 9:00, but she had had a restless night. She tried to tell herself it was just jetlag, and not the fact that she hadn't spoken to Andrea the night before, that had her sleeping patterns all out of whack.
She checked her email right away, telling herself it was to make sure nothing had changed with the shoots, not that she wanted to see the pictures from Andrea's showing. But she was disappointed when there was no email from Caroline in her inbox. Her daughter had promised to send her pictures, yet they weren't here. Miranda did the math in her head. It was just after midnight back in the city. Did the lack of pictures mean that her daughters weren't home yet? Or had Caroline just fallen asleep and forgotten to send her the pictures? Or, was she now not speaking to her mother too?
Miranda left her inbox open while she headed for a shower, during which she convinced herself that Andrea would not be pleased to hear from her at midnight.
**
There was still no email by the time Miranda had to leave for the site, and she told herself that it didn't matter. The girls had simply gone to bed; she would get the pictures later in the day. She told herself that she didn't need to see them right this instant. And so she went about her day.
Although Nigel had said it was impossible to make the photos match the sketches, it was obvious to Miranda that he had spent most of his night trying to come up with ways to do just that. He had added more lighting, which gave the clothes in the castle shoot more vivacity and sparkle. He had also apparently spoken with the models, because today they looked at least capable of emotion, something they hadn't the day before. He was still right, of course, the pictures would not match Andrea's sketches. But they were getting closer, and with post-production editing, they could now probably get pretty close to Andrea's ideas.
She had given Emily the job of obsessively checking her email every ten minutes. She had felt the slightest twinge of guilt when the realization that she would have to leave the site of the old castle, which had no internet access, and take a car down the road until she could get a wireless signal, had hit Emily. In that instant, before she managed to pull her face back into its professional mask, Emily had looked utterly exhausted and overworked. Andrea's words from the first day she met her rang in her ears, "It seems to me that she's incredibly over worked. Perhaps you should give her a day off." Perhaps she should. But not now. Now, she needed Emily to do her job.
**
It was just after 4 in the afternoon, in the middle of the 'Snow White' shoot, which was becoming a great bother because of the children and dog factors, when Emily raced up to Miranda, out of breath and precariously holding a laptop. "It came," was all she managed to get out before Miranda snatched the laptop out of Emily's hands and headed off to a less crowded area of the castle to look at the email.
Hi Mom,
Sorry I didn't send these last night, but after the showing Andy, Doug, and Lily took Cass and me out to an all night diner for some food. Andy said she was starving since she had been too nervous to eat beforehand. It was so much fun! And the showing was awesome. Andy's really, really talented. Everybody there really liked her work. Lily said it was one of the best showings the gallery has had in a while, and she thinks tonight will be even bigger because of word of mouth on 'the art scene'. I think Cass and I managed to talk Roy into driving us over again tonight. And if he doesn't want to take us, Doug said he'd come pick us up. Cara already said it was okay with her.
Hope Europe's good,
Caroline
Miranda tried not to focus on the fact that nowhere in the email had Caroline said 'I love you'. Instead, she focused on the positives. The girls were having a good time with Andrea, and Andrea's showing had been successful. She should have been happy for the young woman. Instead, she felt guilt for not being there pooling in her stomach.
She scrolled down to look at the pictures Caroline had attached. The first one was of just Andy, standing in front of a small display that had her name on it as the featured artist. She was smiling, but it was a smile that Miranda recognized - a faked smile. She had perfected it years ago, and learned to spot it easily. On Andrea it was even easier to pick out than on most people, because Andrea usually smiled so genuinely. It was readily apparent that she was just going through the motions for this picture.
She looked fabulous though. The black, vintage Chanel dress fit her perfectly. Her hair was twisted back into a bun, with some pieces of hair left down to frame her face. Her makeup, which was strange to see on her usually bare face, was simple and well put on, serving to highlight her features. Andrea Sachs certainly knew how to dress up when the situation warranted it.
Miranda continued looking through the pictures, finding more of the same throughout them. Andrea always looking beautiful, but always smiling a fake smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. It was more of a real smile in the pictures of her standing with the young black woman who had delivered the sketches to her - Lily, if she remembered correctly - and the young man who was often with her - Doug. But the only glimpse of the real smile was in the picture of Andrea and Cassidy. Caroline had apparently snapped it when they first entered the showing, because Andrea was hugging Cassidy as though in greeting. In that picture, the smile lit up her face.
There was only one picture left, and when Miranda saw it, it suddenly felt as though all the air in the room had been sucked out. It was obviously a candid shot that Andrea did not realize was being taken. Caroline had taken it from a position behind Andrea, so it was mainly the back of her that was visible. But she had managed to capture a moment when Andrea was looking to the side so that her face was in profile. Everything about the shot, including the fact that Caroline had made it black and white, made it look like a professional shot that could be in a museum somewhere. But it was the look on Andrea's face, the completely unguarded look that struck at Miranda's heart. The look of sadness that clung to Andrea's beautiful face on what should have been a very happy night for her made Miranda ache.
And once again, snippets of other conversations came back to her. "I wish you were here. To see the exhibit." "She smiles and pretends it's all fine, and talks about how excited she is and how much she's looking forward to Caroline and me seeing her work. But whenever anybody talks about you, she gets this really sad look on her face. She wanted you to be here. She only did this for you. And you picked some stupid photo shoot over her." "I wanted you there because I thought we were friends. I wanted you there because you said my work was good. I wanted you there because…"
Miranda pushed the lid of the laptop shut and stood up, going back to the room where they were still having issues with the dog. Miranda sent a glare his way, and suddenly he sat down calmly. At least someone around here understood her looks. She glanced at her watch. It was nearing 5. The flight to New York would be ten hours. She did the calculations quickly in her head. If she left at 5 she could be back in the city by 9 PM and still make the showing.
"Nigel. Emily." Both of them turned at the sound of their names and quickly dropped everything to come over to her.
"Yes, Miranda?"
Miranda dumped the laptop into Emily's arms. "Emily, I want on the next available flight to New York City."
"Wh- yes, Miranda." Emily managed to catch herself from asking Miranda a question.
Nigel did not. "What? Miranda, what is going on?"
"There is something more pressing that needs my attention back in the city. I am trusting that you can handle finishing the shoot here. Am I wrong about that, Nigel?"
"No, Miranda, of course not. But -"
"No, no. No buts. You will handle things. I expect these pictures to be finished on time and to my standards. I foresee no reason why they should not be. Do you?"
"No Miranda."
"Good. That's all."
Nigel quickly headed back toward the shooting area, determined not to screw this up.
"Emily. I am going to my hotel suite to get together what I will need for the trip back. I expect my travel arrangements to be in place in the next twenty minutes."
"Y-yes, Miranda." Emily stuttered out, but Miranda was already on her way.
**
On the ride back to the hotel, Miranda considered calling Andrea and the girls to tell them she was coming home. She decided against it however, because she wanted to surprise the young woman. She would have to pack something extra so that she could change on the plane. Emily would simply have to get her a first class ticket. Or perhaps they could borrow someone's jet. That would be even better. Either way, she could sleep on the plane and then change so she was ready to go straight to the gallery from the airport. Roy should be done driving her children by then.
When she got to the gallery, she would simply say that they had wrapped the shoot early. She wouldn’t tell Andrea or the girls that she left in the middle of the shoot. If it were to get out that this was the reason she was leaving the shoot… she was sure the press would have a field day. Emily and Nigel would perhaps wonder what the 'more pressing matter' was that she had left for, but neither would ask her.
She was pleased when they arrived at the hotel. It was nearly five, so it would probably have to be a 5:15 flight, but that would still get her into the city in time. Everything would be fine.
She pulled out her carry-on bag, filling it with a change of clothes, The Book, her files from Runway, her laptop, the sketchbook, and the book of Grimm fairy tales. Everything else in her room Emily would have to pack and bring back with her. It would be less of a hassle to just have the carry-on. She wouldn't have to spend time waiting on her luggage to arrive at the airport.
She glanced at her watch. It had been 21 minutes. Where was Emily with her travel plans?
Just as she finished the thought, there was a knock at her door. "Come in."
Emily came into the room, looking harried and rather frightened. Miranda's eyes narrowed. "What time do I leave?"
Emily took a breath, "Well, Miranda, you see,"
"What time do I leave, Emily?" She repeated, her voice deadly.
"The earliest flight I could get you on was one that leaves that at 11:15 tonight."
"Excuse me?"
"The trip to the airport takes half an hour, and a flight was leaving at 5. There was no way to get you on that one, and there are no other flights flying out of this airport until 11:15 tonight."
"I don't want to hear your excuses Emily. I gave you one job, one easy job. Get me back to the city. Now you are telling me that you cannot even get me out of this country until 11:15 tonight. That is unacceptable. Find another flight, another airport, another plane. I don't care what you do, just get me out of here. Or else you can find somewhere else to work when you get back to the city."
"Ye-yes, Miranda." Emily looked ready to drop over dead from fear and exhaustion. If Miranda wasn't so anxious to get home, she would have felt sorry for the girl.
**
Half an hour later and the verdict was still the same. There were no flights back to the city that Miranda could humanly make that departed earlier than 11:15. Emily had called airports all over the country. She had threatened and harassed. She had called everyone who was anyone that she could think of that might have a jet but those that were willing to send it for Miranda would have to do just that - send it - which meant it would arrive no sooner than the flight that was scheduled to leave. Emily had considered alternate ideas like trains to other airports and then flights, or flights to other airports with connecting flights but still, nothing would get her back into the city any earlier than 4 in the morning on Saturday, which was apparently too late for whatever Miranda needed to go back to the city for.
Finally, Emily had resigned herself to the fact that she would be fired, and headed back to Miranda's hotel room.
"When is my flight, Emily?" Miranda asked, before she even got through the door.
"I'm sorry, Miranda, but there is no other way to get you back to the city that leaves before 11:15 this evening. I have tried everything that I can think of and -"
"And apparently you didn't try hard enough." Miranda said, coldly.
Emily's eyes were filling with tears, but she blinked them back, stubbornly. "I'm sorry, Miranda. I booked you a first class ticket on the first flight out. It was the best I could do." She placed the plane ticket down on the table and turned to leave, already knowing she was fired and not needing to hear the words.
Miranda watched her like a hawk. She was livid. She had asked for one simple task - get her on a flight to the city - yet Emily had been unable to do it. And yet… she had no doubt that the girl had tried to get her on an earlier flight. She was sure that Emily had done everything in her power to try to find another flight, another way back to the city. It was not Emily's fault that there were no other flights. Still, she had fired people for far less in the past.
But, a little voice that sounded very much like Cassidy, reminded her, if she had just stayed in the city, or made the decision to go home last night when she had first thought about it, she would not be having this issue right now. If anyone was to blame for her not being able to get home in time to see Andrea's show, it was her and her stubborn pride. Miranda sighed, calculating in her head. She would be home at 4:15 in the morning. Andrea's showing would be over, another artist would be shown that night. But Andrea's art would probably not be switched out until that afternoon. Which meant that…
"Emily."
Emily turned, dreading hearing those two little words. "Yes, Miranda?"
"It has recently been brought to my attention that I have been working you too hard."
"No. No, Miranda."
"Oh yes. Yes, I have. And I am going to correct that, today."
"No, please." She whispered.
"After I leave tonight, you will need to pack up the rest of my suite for me. I want everything brought back with you when you come home on Sunday."
"Yes, Miranda." She said softly.
"Then, Emily, once that has been done, you are officially off the Runway clock."
"No, Miranda, please, I -"
"Until Monday."
Emily blinked rapidly. "Wh-what?"
"I know it is only the weekend, but I will need you back at the office on Monday. We can then figure out a time for you to have a longer vacation. For now though, the weekend is yours. Stay here if you want. Go back home. I don't care. Just be back to Runway on Monday."
"Yes, Miranda. Thank you."
Miranda waved away the thanks. "That's all."
Emily quickly scurried out of the hotel room, a huge smile painted across her face. Well, at least someone is happy, Miranda thought.
**
There was an unspoken rule among Lily Goodwin's friends and family that you did not call Lily for any reason between the hours of 1 AM and 6 AM unless someone was dead or dying. And even then, it had to be someone important enough in Lily's eyes to merit waking up. So when Lily's phone rang at 4:30 in the morning, her first thought was, "My god, who died?"
She scrambled to grab the phone, and answered it in the only way she could think of. "What happened? What's wrong?"
"Lily?" A cool voice that she didn't recognize through her sleep-induced haze asked.
"Who is this?" She asked, rolling toward the other side of the bed so that she could grab clothes.
"Miranda Priestly."
Lily rolled right off the bed.
**
It was nearing 5 AM and Lily was standing in front of the gallery, tugging on her clothes. She was sure that somewhere in the depths of Runway, there was a manual on How To Dress When Miranda Priestly Calls You At 4:30 In The Morning And Tells You To Come Open The Gallery So She Can Look At Andy's Sketches, but she hadn't exactly been privy to that information. So she had done what she hoped anyone else in her situation would do - pulled on her semi-wrinkled but presentable clothes from the night before, pulled a brush through her hair, gargled with mouthwash and ran out the door.
As she watched a figure approach her, she managed a smile. Looked like Doug had done the exact same thing.
Her first instinct, after picking herself up off the floor and pulling on clothes, had been to call Andy. Andy would know what to do in this situation, or at least be able to handle Miranda. Lily had only had one meeting with Miranda, and it had been quick and rather intimidating to say the least. But Lily had gotten the vibe on the phone that Miranda didn't want Andy to know she was even back in the states yet. So Lily had called the next best person - Doug.
"You owe me. You owe me so bad." He said as he came to a stop in front of her.
"Please, you were probably dancing about in glee that you got to come and see Miranda." Lily rolled her eyes. She was not a morning person, if this could actually even be considered morning yet.
Whatever Doug was going to say was stopped as a black car pulled up. Lily swallowed hard, tugged once more on her clothes, and thanked whatever gods there were that her gallery had a strict policy about not allowing buyers to take home pieces when they purchased them, but instead sending them to the buyers after the showings were completely finished. She could only imagine the carnage that would've occurred if basically all of Andy's pieces had already been gone from the gallery.
She and Doug watched as Miranda climbed out of the car, and both of them took in a small gasp of air. It was nearly 5 in the morning, the woman had just had a ten hour flight, and she looked absolutely perfect. Not a hair was out of place, not a wrinkle was to be seen anywhere on her outfit. "Damn." Lily whispered. Doug only whimpered.
**
Lily opened the door and turned all the lights on, moving about the space, getting everything in order as it had been the previous two nights. Miranda stood just inside the gallery, her eyes scanning the sketches, saying nothing. Doug stood beside her, also not saying anything.
Finally Lily cleared her throat. "You can move around and look at them closer, if you'd like. I know that I'm not Andy, but I'm pretty sure that between Doug and I, we can answer any questions you might have about the sketches."
Miranda nodded her head and then moved forward, toward the sketch that was displayed first. Miranda recognized it as Andrea's grandmother from the picture she had shown her on their second meeting. It was a gorgeous portrait of the woman, looking forward, smiling, her eyes dancing with laughter. The title card displayed beside it read merely 'Andrea'. Miranda's brow furrowed, she looked back at Lily and Doug who were standing together, looking all together lost as to what they were to be doing.
"She called this one 'Andrea'. Why? It's her grandmother, not a self-portrait."
"In some ways, it is a self-portrait actually." Doug said. "Andy's always wanted to grow up to be the kind of woman Lady Eve was. That's her goal."
"Lady Eve?" Miranda looked intrigued. "I was unaware that Andrea's grandmother was royalty."
Doug smiled. "She wasn't. At least not officially. But to me, she was always a lady. The best of the best. And we," he motioned to Lily, "could never manage to call her Grandma Eve. So Lady Eve it was."
"But, as for why she called it 'Andrea'," Lily cut in, "it's because Andy was named after her grandmother. Lady Eve's real, full name was Andrea Evelyn Sheppard Sachs. She went by Eve, but she was completely tickled when Andy was named after her. She always called her 'my little Andy', and thought of her as the miniature version of herself. Andy says that's why she and Lady Eve were so close, because they shared the same name."
The next sketch was on a larger canvas than the portrait of Andy's grandmother. It was a scene, set in summer, of the Bethesda Terrance and Fountain. People were milling about by the fountain, but it was the fountain, right in the center, that took focus in the picture. It was an incredibly detailed sketch, and seemed to somehow capture the feeling that she had felt, standing next to Andrea on the Terrace the day she had walked with her. 'Washed Clean' read the title card.
"It was the first piece she finished after Lady Eve's death."
Miranda nodded to show she was paying attention and continued to move about the gallery. All of the sketches were beautiful. Some were just black and white, some Andrea had filled in with color. There were large canvases and smaller ones. It was an eclectic mixture of people, places, nature, and animals, but they were all wonderful and seemed to fit perfectly together.
It was towards the back of the room though, that Miranda was stopped dead in her tracks by what she saw. A whole grouping of sketches that literally took her breath away. She stared at the drawings, burning them onto her brain. She was almost afraid to walk forward, to look at them closer, for fear of somehow ruining them. They were amazing.
One of Cassidy, in a chair at the store, reading a book with one hand and petting Coco with another. It was, she realized at once, better than a photograph, because this moment had been captured and reprinted by Andrea, with her own unique take on the situation. It felt warm and comforting as she looked at it, making her want to crawl on the chair with her daughter, to go to that safe haven that the bookstore so obviously was for her.
The next, a full size sketch of her daughters, looking at each other. 'Mirror, Mirror' the card read, but Miranda could tell that Andrea had drawn the individual girls, had seen the individual girls, and was trying to convey them to the public. It was shaded in color, showing Caroline's freckles and Cassidy's slightly lighter eyes. It was, without a doubt, the best portrait she had even seen of her children, and she decided right away that she was going to buy this.
"How much is this one?" She asked, finally moving closer to it, taking in all the tiny details that Andrea had captured, like the scar by Cassidy's ear.
"It was sold, actually." Lily said calmly.
Miranda turned on her suddenly. "What do you mean it was sold?"
"I mean, like most of Andy's sketches, it was already sold to someone during the showing."
"Someone bought a picture of my daughters?"
"Well, they probably didn't know they were your daughters." Doug added helpfully.
"Someone truly bought this?" Miranda tried again, as though by asking the second time she could change the answer.
"Someone truly did." She hated herself even more for not being there at the showing.
She shook off her irritation, she had no one to blame but herself, and focused back on the next two sketches. One was a triptych of images, simply titled 'Visions'. The first image showed a pair of striking blue eyes looking out at the viewer. Miranda recognized the gaze, as it was the one she saw in the mirror every day. The next was a desk, with issues of Runway stacked on it, and a pair of glasses, her glasses, lying on top. It was incredibly detailed, and Miranda found herself amazed at how an image of something she saw everyday and completely took for granted could be so interesting and beautiful. The final image was a pair of hands, sitting folded on a lap. Her hands. She had no idea how Andrea had managed to capture them so well, but looking between the sketch and the hands in front of her, she could see hardly any differences.
"When did she -?"
"The eyes she started sketching the day she met you. Finished them after your second meeting." Doug supplied.
"The desk she finished about a week after your second meeting." Lily added.
"And the hands she finished up the day Cassidy started working." Doug completed the information.
Andrea had been drawing her all that time? Had noticed those small details about her and managed to somehow capture them so vividly? Miranda felt her stomach flutter just slightly with the knowledge.
It was the last sketch, however, that left Miranda completely speechless. It was of her, Miranda knew it right away. There was no way it was anyone else. It was a side view of a woman, her, walking. Her head was thrown back, the hair cascading down her back. Only her profile was visible. She was wearing jeans and a blouse. Miranda knew the exact moment that Andrea had captured. It was when they were walking in Central Park. Miranda had been talking about Irv and Andrea had quipped, "Looks like he already read 'How to Lose Friends and Alienate People'." It had been unexpected, and she had started to laugh, throwing her head back.
Andrea had captured that moment perfectly, without actually giving away who the woman laughing was. Miranda knew it was her, but if anyone else had seen the sketch, they would have never guessed it was her. It was in black and white, yet somehow Andrea had managed to perfectly convey the sun that had been shining that day and the way it had bounced off her hair. It was a moment of complete freedom from her mask as 'Miranda Priestly', and Andrea had chosen that moment to depict. She had had many portraits taken of her and even a few painted of her in her time, but never had she had one make her look that beautiful. She looked at the title card, and sucked in a breath. 'Memoranda'.
"That one is already spoken for, as is the triptych." Lily said softly, cutting into her thoughts.
Miranda turned to look at her. Of course it was. It was just her luck. "Did all of her pieces sell?"
"Almost all of them. More than half were sold the first day."
"So the turnout was good?" Miranda asked Lily.
"Oh, it was spectacular. Everybody loved Andy's stuff."
"Everybody? Even… Nate?" The name had been niggling at the back of her mind since the day Cassidy had giggled about him at lunch. She had considered Doug to be Nate for a while, but now knew that he was not, so she was interested in who exactly he was.
"Nate?" Doug began to laugh. "Where did you get Nate from?"
"I heard Cassidy and Andrea discussing him one day. It seemed as though they were… together?"
Lily burst out laughing, unable to hold it in anymore. "Andy and Nate? He wishes!"
"I don't -"
"Nate is a chef who works at a restaurant we go to fairly often. He has a thing for Andy."
"And does she… return said 'thing'?"
Doug laughed even harder. Lily smacked him. "Um, no. No, she definitely doesn't."
"He's not her type." Doug got out between laughs.
"Yeah, but Doug here wishes he were his." Lily teased back. Miranda did her best to cover her shock. So Andrea wasn't dating Nate, and Doug was… if she was to believe Lily… gay.
"Lil!"
"Oh what, you know it's true."
"Well, yeah, but…" So it was true. Doug was gay. Which meant that both people Miranda had thought Andrea could be in a relationship with, she wasn't.
"Did her parents enjoy it?" Miranda asked, trying to change the subject.
All the laughter stopped.
"Her parents?" Lily looked surprised at the mention, as though she had never heard the word parents before.
"Well, yes. I know they are divorced but surely they could come to see their daughter's art show."
"Miranda, Andy and her parents… They haven't spoken in years." Doug told her.
"What?" Miranda had had no clue that Andrea and her parents were estranged. But then, as she thought about it, there were a lot of things about Andrea that she had no clue about.
"Yeah." Doug looked at Lily, as though trying to figure out if they should tell Miranda about this or not. Lily shrugged and nodded her head. They both knew that Andy cared for Miranda, why shouldn't she know? "It all started, well, I guess actually it started when her parents divorced. After her mom moved out, she didn't see or hear anything from her for… two or three years."
"Even after her mom started contacting her again, things were still pretty strained between them. And then came high school graduation. The one thing that Andy's parents ever agreed on after their divorce was that they wanted Andy to go to law school. Both of them were lawyers, and they wanted Andy to follow in their footsteps. But it wasn't what Andy wanted at all. So when Andy announced that she was going to Northwestern to study journalism, instead of to Stanford Law, things got pretty heated on all sides."
"But, Andy stuck by her guns, and went to Northwestern. Which is where we met." Doug picked up the story. "It's also where she met Alex. Which led to all the problems. When Andy brought Alex home for Christmas, things reached the boiling point. Her mother told her that she never wanted to see her again, and her dad told her that she wasn't welcome back in his house."
"All because Andrea brought home a boy for Christmas?" Miranda was stunned.
"Not a boy." Doug grinned. "Alex stood for Alexandra, not Alexander."
Miranda felt her eyes bug out. Andrea was a lesbian? Andrea was a lesbian! "W-what?"
"Andy had been conflicted about her sexuality throughout high school." Lily explained. "When she met Alex, she fell hard. She called me and told me, over the phone, that she was dating a girl and was bringing her home for Christmas."
"Of course it didn't go well. Besides me and Lil, the only other person who supported Andy was Lady Eve. When Mr. Sachs told Andy she wasn't welcome back in his house, Lady Eve tore him a new one, right before she told Andy she was always welcome in hers. Over the spring semester, Andy and Alex broke up. Mr. Sachs told her that if she wasn't dating a woman, she could come back and live with him. But Andy knew who she was and she didn't want to live in a place where she wasn't accepted. So she transferred to NYU and moved in with Lady Eve that summer."
"I was already living here, so I was beyond excited that Andy was moving here. And she was honestly so happy here, living with Lady Eve. And Lady Eve was just as happy having Andy around. Her husband had died when Andy was a junior in high school, and Lady Eve was getting really lonely. Having Andy around, to help her with the shop, and just to be with her, it totally refreshed her."
"I had no idea." Miranda's voice was soft, her head spinning with the knowledge she was receiving.
"Yeah, well, once she moved here, things started improving a bit. Her second semester here she ended up meeting another girl named Kate. She fell hard. Kate was an artist too, and so by being with Kate, Andy started really becoming more serious about her art. Lady Eve kept telling Andy that she knew that was really what Andy wanted, not to be a journalist. But Andy was determined to finish school. She made it through her junior year before she finally decided to call it quits. Kate had this idea about them going off to Europe on a whirlwind tour, just seeing everything and painting and sketching it all. Andy fell in love with the idea too."
"She also fell in love with the idea of coming back after the tour and taking over the bookshop from Lady Eve. It was her other great love in life. Anyway, they made plans to go on this trip. Lily convinced Andy to do a showing of some of her work before hand. Andy was bursting with excitement about it, and Lady Eve… I thought she was going to explode with pride. And then…" Doug sighed sadly.
Lily cleared her throat and picked up the story. "The day before the showing, a week before they were supposed to leave for Europe, Andy came home to find Lady Eve on the apartment floor. She wasn't breathing. Andy called 911, but it was too late. She had had a massive heart attack and was gone before Andy even got there. Andy was destroyed. Completely. Lady Eve had been the closest thing she'd ever had to an actual mother figure and Andy worshipped the ground she walked on. And now she was gone."
"Andy refused to show her work, which was understandable. I had come into town to see her showing, and she was just distraught. I was supposed to be staying in a hotel, but Lily and I both ended up basically moving into the apartment with Andy to make sure she was okay."
"The day of the funeral, Kate told Andy she didn't think they were going to work out, and that she was still going to go to Europe. The bitch never even told Andy she was sorry. We've never seen her since, which is good, because if I did, I'd kill her on sight." Lily practically growled.
"Andy and her dad reconnected at the funeral, but when Lady Eve's will was read… she left everything to Andy. All her money, the apartment, the store, Coco, everything. Mr. Sachs pitched a royal fit at that, saying he was entitled to something as her son. But the will stood, and Andy got everything. Her dad hasn't spoken to her since. In the course of a week, Andy lost everyone that meant anything to her, except for Lily and me. It was horrible."
"My god." Miranda had to speak beyond a lump in her throat. She felt tears pricking her eyes, imagining Andrea going through so much pain and heartbreak in such a short span of time.
"Doug finished out his degree and then moved in with Andy. For the first couple months, it was really, really bad. We couldn’t get her to go out, she hardly ate anything, she cried all the time. And then she started to slowly recover, and she read those books by Allison DuBois, which were a godsend. She started having the dreams of Lady Eve not long after that, and once that happened, it was like a breakthrough. She started being our Andy again. She took over the store and had Coco and she was happy. But she hasn't dated anyone since then. And even though she kept up with her sketches, she refused to even think about the idea of showing anything ever again. Until you."
"Me?"
"I don't know what you said to her, but you got her to want to show her work, Miranda. And I want to thank you for that."
"I didn't -"
"You did more than you know." Lily smiled softly at her.
Miranda returned it. "I would like to see Andrea. Do you know where she is?"
"At home in bed. I can show you." Doug smiled. Miranda nodded and offered both Doug and Lily a ride home. It was the least she could do.
She looked back at the sketches once more, hating that she had missed the chance to have them.
"Miranda?" Lily's voice was tentative as she locked up the gallery. "The people that bought the two sketches of your daughters… were your daughters. And the other two sketches, the person who spoke for them… it was Andy. She wouldn't let me sell them."
"What?"
"The girls bought the sketches. Originally Andy told me not to sell any of those, but they insisted on buying them."
Miranda felt suddenly better. The sketches of her girls were going to her girls. And as for the other two, she would just have to talk to Andrea about them. "Thank you, Lily."
"You're welcome." Lily smiled. Miranda really wasn't all that scary. At least not at the moment.
**
"Andy, my love, there's someone here to see you." Doug called as he walked into the apartment.
Miranda looked around, taking it in. It was a large, spacious apartment, and she was sure that it was very expensive. It had a full kitchen, large living room, and at least two bedrooms since she knew Doug and Andrea didn't share one.
"Come on, babe, wake up." She heard Doug call. A moment later, he was back out in the living room. "She's not here."
"Not here?"
"She was here, sound asleep when I left, but now she's gone. Coco is snuggled in bed, but Andy's not. My guess is she went out running, or for a walk. She does that sometimes when she wakes up early." Yet another new fact about Andrea to tuck away.
"Well then, I suppose I will go." Miranda had an idea of where Andrea might be and she intended to go see if she was right.
"Miranda?" Doug's voice stopped her, half way out the door. She turned to face him. "I don't know what your deal is… what your plan is. If you even have one. But, I just… she's my best friend and I love her. I've seen her get hurt far too many times. I don't want to see that happen again."
"It is not my intention to hurt her, but…"
"But?"
"I'm a fifty year old editor of a magazine who works long hours, is in the spotlight, and comes equipped with two ex-husbands and two teenage daughters. I can't imagine that I would be Andrea's idea of a storybook ending."
Doug smiled at that. "If I've learned anything from Andy, it's that there are many, many different stories out there, all with different endings. To a lot of people, a twenty-five year old artist who owns a bookstore and comes equipped with a Maltese, a gay best friend, and another best friend who works at an art gallery, both of whom will never let any harm come her way, might not be the idea of a storybook ending. But you're standing here, in her apartment, at almost 6 in the morning when you're supposed to be in Germany. So I'm guessing that there's at least something there."
"How do I know she's not going to think this is completely crazy?" Miranda sighed.
"You don't. But you saw those sketches."
"It doesn't mean I'm the ending she wants."
"In the three years since Lady Eve's death and Kate's leaving, I have never seen Andy as happy as she is when she's around your daughter. And I've never seen her as content as she is when she's listening to you on the phone. You call her, and it's like the world stops while she listens to you. She just sits there, listening to you, with the most happy, content look on her face. I missed that look these past few nights. And I know she did too. Stories are being written every day. Sometimes you have to take a chance to get to the ending."
Miranda took in the words and nodded. "Thank you, Douglas."
"You're welcome, Miranda. Now go get her."
**
She found Andy just where she thought she'd be, sitting on the edge of the fountain, running her fingers through the water. She must have been deep in thought, because she didn't look up, even at the sound of Miranda's heels on the concrete.
"Penny for your thoughts?"
Andrea's head whipped up and her eyes widened. "Miranda? What - what are you doing here?"
Miranda smiled at her. "I think the better question is what are you doing here? It's very early in the morning, Andrea."
"You're not supposed to be here. You're supposed to be in Germany."
"Do I look like I'm in Germany, Andrea?"
"N-no. But I -"
"I realized, albeit too late, that I was missing something very important here. I tried to make it back on time but… that didn't happen."
"You did? You tried?"
Miranda nodded.
"But - but why?"
"The minute I saw the pictures Caroline sent me, I knew I was missing something incredibly important." Miranda studied the younger woman. "You were faking your smiles."
"What?"
"In all the pictures but the one of you and Cassidy, you were faking your smiles. I know, because I myself am very good at doing the same thing."
Andrea looked down at the water rippling beneath her fingertips.
"You were sad. And maybe this is being conceited, but I think it was because I wasn't there. Or at least, partially because of that."
Andy looked up at Miranda. "Why do you say that?"
Miranda did not answer her question. "That night in the bookstore, you told me you wanted me at your showing because I thought your work was good and because I was your friend. You started to give another reason, but you stopped. What was the other reason?"
Andy looked suddenly panicked. "I - I don't - I don't know."
Miranda moved forward, secure in the knowledge that Andrea really had nowhere to go, besides into the fountain, and placed her fingers under her chin, tilting her head up. "What was the other reason, Andrea?"
Andy let out a slight whimper and turned her head away, sliding on the edge of the fountain and managing to stand up, away from Miranda. "Please, don't do this."
Miranda reached out and grasped her hand. "I saw your work. I had your friend Lily open the gallery for me this morning. I came straight from there."
"You what?"
"I was angry that I didn't see your work. Angry with myself. I called Lily and asked her to open the gallery for me as soon as I got back into the city."
Andy's eyes were wider than saucers, but she was incredibly quiet. "I was right, you know. You are incredibly talented. Your sketches were mesmerizing. The one of your grandmother, of this very fountain, of Cassidy reading, of both my children. They were incredible. But the ones that really mesmerized me, Andrea, were the sketches you did… of me."
Andy pulled her hand free and started to walk away. "Please, please, stop."
"Why are you running away? You wanted me to see them, didn't you?"
Andy turned, tears streaking her face. "I don't know! I don't know. Okay? I don't know what I wanted or what I want or… anything."
Miranda stepped forward and gently placed her hands on either side of Andrea's face. Her thumbs carefully brushed tears away. "Andrea," she said, no louder than a whisper, "you wanted me to see them, didn't you?"
Andy closed her eyes and moved her head up and down one time, the word falling from her lips, "Yes".
"Good," Miranda continued to speak softly, as though telling a secret that only they could share. "Because I wanted to see them."
"You did?"
"Yes."
"I-"
"You've been drawing me since the day we met. That's what Lily and Doug told me."
"Yes." Her eyes were still closed.
"Why?" She still held her face, not letting her move.
"You're beautiful and powerful and… a perfect subject."
"None of the sketches actually definitively show me. They are only profiles or side views or things associated with me."
"I -" Andy tried to move her head, to look away, but Miranda held her in place. "I have others. Portraits, sketches where your face shows. I didn't want to show them."
"Why not?"
"I didn't want anyone else to see them." Miranda could barely hear the words coming out of her mouth. "They're private. I didn't want anyone else to see…"
"To see what?"
"Please, stop." Andrea was imploring her now.
"The sketch you did of me, that day in Central Park. It was amazing. It stole my breath away." Miranda made sure Andrea was looking at her. "Why did you name it 'Memoranda'?"
Andy looked down. "I don't know…"
"You do."
"Miranda, please." Her eyes were glassy with tears.
"Memoranda, Miranda. Is that why you did it? They were close enough, yet not the same?"
"No. Yes. I don't know. Please, just…"
"Or was it for another reason?" Miranda studied the beautiful face. "The entire world is a dreadful collection of memoranda that she did exist, and that I have lost her!" She quoted. Andrea looked away. "Andrea?"
"Wuthering Heights," she whispered.
"Yes. Wuthering Heights. Did you think I wouldn't know the quote?"
"I didn't think you'd ever see it." Andy responded, her eyes suddenly glowing with a fire, a challenge.
"I did." Miranda said simply. "A dreadful collection of memoranda that she did exist, and that I have lost her. Do you think you've lost me, Andrea?"
Andy turned away, the words not even a whisper. "I never had you." Miranda heard them.
She reached forward, placing her hands on the brunette's shoulders. "Yes, you did. You still do." She gently turned Andrea to face her. "You haven't lost me, Andrea. I'm right here."
They were very, very close together now. "Please," Andy whispered, although she didn't know what she was asking for.
"I'm right here. Andrea." Miranda breathed the words out, leaning closer to Andrea.
"Miranda." She whispered, before she finally tilted her head up, pressing her lips against the older woman's.
It was tentative, slow, and soft. Andy pulled away first, eyes open, forehead resting against Miranda's, waiting to see her reaction. Miranda opened her eyes, looked at Andrea, and leaned back down, kissing her again.
"Oh." Andy whispered when they pulled away the second time.
"Oh." Miranda repeated, her hands coming up to tangle in Andrea's hair.
"Miranda."
"I hate that I wasn't here." Miranda told her seriously. "I hated everything about the trip. Nothing was right about it. I didn't get to talk to you. I couldn't sleep without talking to you. I was miserable. And I didn't get to see you in that Chanel dress."
Andy giggled just slightly at that, and it was music to her ears. "I could wear it sometime for you."
"Yes." Miranda nodded definitely. "You will."
She kissed her once more. Afterwards, Andrea spoke again. "Miranda, what are we doing?"
"What do you want us to be doing?"
Andy let out a laugh at that, and slipped out of Miranda's arms, beginning to pace back and forth. "I don't know. Or I do know, and that's the problem."
"Andrea, I am a fifty year old woman. I'm the editor of the top fashion magazine in the business. My reputation, I am sure, precedes me. I am a workaholic who will more than likely be late to everything. I will forget important things. I will say horrible things at times. And if all that wasn't enough, I come with two teenage daughters and two ex-husbands. But I've come to realize in these last few days that I, more than likely, am in love with you. I want to always see myself the way you see me, the way you draw me, and I want you to always be there to listen to me complain before I fall asleep at night. I feel if you give it a chance, like I could be the Heathcliff to your Catherine."
A slow smile worked its way across Andrea's face. "No."
"N-no?"
"No. You're not Heathcliff. And I'm not Catherine. We're not in that story. We're in this story. And in this story, hopefully, no one dies alone, without the other part of their soul." She bit her lip. "I know all about you, Miranda Priestly and I know without a doubt that I'm in love with you, if you'll have me."
And then they were kissing again, this time full of love and want and all the longing they'd both been feeling. When they pulled away, Andy was grinning widely. "How'd you know where to find me?"
"A lucky guess." Miranda smiled. She reached down and held on to Andrea's hand. "Do you think she would like me?"
"Grandma Eve? She'd love you."
"And you're sure about this?"
"Mmhmm. She told me so. Right before you got here, in fact."
Miranda smiled at that, and began to walk along with Andy, who had started to move away from the fountain. "What are you doing today?"
"Going to the store. I told your children they could come and spend the day with me, since we didn't think you'd be home."
"Well, then it looks like I'm going to the store too."
"Miranda, you just had an incredibly long flight and… you don't have to."
"I want to." Was all she said.
**
She was curled in the same chair that Cassidy had been sitting in, in Andrea's sketch. It was a large, overstuffed chair, and it was incredibly comfortable. Between the chair, the music Andrea had going, and the warm aroma of coffee and muffins, she felt herself being lulled into a sleepy state.
"Tell me about yourself," she asked Andrea.
"I'm sure you heard all about me from Lily and Doug." Andy teased.
"Mm. I did that. But I didn't hear it from you. I like to hear your voice. Tell me things I don't know. What is your middle name?"
"Marie." She answered.
"Your favorite memory of your grandmother."
She listened as Andy began to talk in soft, soothing tones about the grandmother she adored. Sometime during Andy's speech she must have dozed off, because the next thing she was aware of was the sound of her children's voices talking with Andy.
"When did she get home?"
"Early this morning."
"Why did she come back?"
"She said she wanted to see my sketches. She tried to get here earlier but couldn't."
It was Cassidy who asked the question she was dreading. "Are you two together now?"
"Well, um," she didn't open her eyes, but she knew Andrea was blushing that shade of pink that she loved so much.
"Cool." Both girls said at once, relieving both Miranda and Andy. "So, what are we doing today?"
She dozed off again and the next time she was aware of things, Doug and Lily's voices and Coco's little barks could be heard. They were all laughing together at something. It was a lovely sound.
As she drifted off to sleep again, she thought about everything that was to come. The press would surely have a field day once they found out about her relationship with Andrea. And she and Andrea still had far to go in figuring out their relationship. Plus there were the children to consider and her work hours. But right now, listening to the woman she knew she loved laughing with her friends and Miranda's children, she knew it was going to be all right. It might not be a storybook romance, but it was going to be their romance. And this time, she knew it was going to be a happier ending for everyone.
THE END
Fandom: The Devil Wears Prada
Rating: PG-13
Pairing/Characters: Andy/Miranda
Prompt(s): AU: Andy owns a bookstore. She's kind of a bookworm and wallflower, but is secretly an amazing artist. She can sketch anything. Somehow Miranda brings her out of her shell.
Summary: See prompt above.
Disclaimer: I don't own The Devil Wears Prada or any of the characters associated with it. I really don't even own the characters that I created for this specific story. Nothing is really mine. I'm just playing with them.
Author's Note: Written for je_talveran for the DWP Top Secret Admirer Exchange. Many thanks to grdnofevrythng for putting it all together. Also, huge amounts of thanks to my lovely new beta, monetfun. She did a fabulous job of reading this and correcting my mistakes! Also, I completely made up the backstory of Andy's family, just so that you know.
Miranda was awake by 6:00 the next morning. She was always an early riser and hardly ever slept past 8:00. She didn't have anywhere to be until 9:00, but she had had a restless night. She tried to tell herself it was just jetlag, and not the fact that she hadn't spoken to Andrea the night before, that had her sleeping patterns all out of whack.
She checked her email right away, telling herself it was to make sure nothing had changed with the shoots, not that she wanted to see the pictures from Andrea's showing. But she was disappointed when there was no email from Caroline in her inbox. Her daughter had promised to send her pictures, yet they weren't here. Miranda did the math in her head. It was just after midnight back in the city. Did the lack of pictures mean that her daughters weren't home yet? Or had Caroline just fallen asleep and forgotten to send her the pictures? Or, was she now not speaking to her mother too?
Miranda left her inbox open while she headed for a shower, during which she convinced herself that Andrea would not be pleased to hear from her at midnight.
**
There was still no email by the time Miranda had to leave for the site, and she told herself that it didn't matter. The girls had simply gone to bed; she would get the pictures later in the day. She told herself that she didn't need to see them right this instant. And so she went about her day.
Although Nigel had said it was impossible to make the photos match the sketches, it was obvious to Miranda that he had spent most of his night trying to come up with ways to do just that. He had added more lighting, which gave the clothes in the castle shoot more vivacity and sparkle. He had also apparently spoken with the models, because today they looked at least capable of emotion, something they hadn't the day before. He was still right, of course, the pictures would not match Andrea's sketches. But they were getting closer, and with post-production editing, they could now probably get pretty close to Andrea's ideas.
She had given Emily the job of obsessively checking her email every ten minutes. She had felt the slightest twinge of guilt when the realization that she would have to leave the site of the old castle, which had no internet access, and take a car down the road until she could get a wireless signal, had hit Emily. In that instant, before she managed to pull her face back into its professional mask, Emily had looked utterly exhausted and overworked. Andrea's words from the first day she met her rang in her ears, "It seems to me that she's incredibly over worked. Perhaps you should give her a day off." Perhaps she should. But not now. Now, she needed Emily to do her job.
**
It was just after 4 in the afternoon, in the middle of the 'Snow White' shoot, which was becoming a great bother because of the children and dog factors, when Emily raced up to Miranda, out of breath and precariously holding a laptop. "It came," was all she managed to get out before Miranda snatched the laptop out of Emily's hands and headed off to a less crowded area of the castle to look at the email.
Hi Mom,
Sorry I didn't send these last night, but after the showing Andy, Doug, and Lily took Cass and me out to an all night diner for some food. Andy said she was starving since she had been too nervous to eat beforehand. It was so much fun! And the showing was awesome. Andy's really, really talented. Everybody there really liked her work. Lily said it was one of the best showings the gallery has had in a while, and she thinks tonight will be even bigger because of word of mouth on 'the art scene'. I think Cass and I managed to talk Roy into driving us over again tonight. And if he doesn't want to take us, Doug said he'd come pick us up. Cara already said it was okay with her.
Hope Europe's good,
Caroline
Miranda tried not to focus on the fact that nowhere in the email had Caroline said 'I love you'. Instead, she focused on the positives. The girls were having a good time with Andrea, and Andrea's showing had been successful. She should have been happy for the young woman. Instead, she felt guilt for not being there pooling in her stomach.
She scrolled down to look at the pictures Caroline had attached. The first one was of just Andy, standing in front of a small display that had her name on it as the featured artist. She was smiling, but it was a smile that Miranda recognized - a faked smile. She had perfected it years ago, and learned to spot it easily. On Andrea it was even easier to pick out than on most people, because Andrea usually smiled so genuinely. It was readily apparent that she was just going through the motions for this picture.
She looked fabulous though. The black, vintage Chanel dress fit her perfectly. Her hair was twisted back into a bun, with some pieces of hair left down to frame her face. Her makeup, which was strange to see on her usually bare face, was simple and well put on, serving to highlight her features. Andrea Sachs certainly knew how to dress up when the situation warranted it.
Miranda continued looking through the pictures, finding more of the same throughout them. Andrea always looking beautiful, but always smiling a fake smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. It was more of a real smile in the pictures of her standing with the young black woman who had delivered the sketches to her - Lily, if she remembered correctly - and the young man who was often with her - Doug. But the only glimpse of the real smile was in the picture of Andrea and Cassidy. Caroline had apparently snapped it when they first entered the showing, because Andrea was hugging Cassidy as though in greeting. In that picture, the smile lit up her face.
There was only one picture left, and when Miranda saw it, it suddenly felt as though all the air in the room had been sucked out. It was obviously a candid shot that Andrea did not realize was being taken. Caroline had taken it from a position behind Andrea, so it was mainly the back of her that was visible. But she had managed to capture a moment when Andrea was looking to the side so that her face was in profile. Everything about the shot, including the fact that Caroline had made it black and white, made it look like a professional shot that could be in a museum somewhere. But it was the look on Andrea's face, the completely unguarded look that struck at Miranda's heart. The look of sadness that clung to Andrea's beautiful face on what should have been a very happy night for her made Miranda ache.
And once again, snippets of other conversations came back to her. "I wish you were here. To see the exhibit." "She smiles and pretends it's all fine, and talks about how excited she is and how much she's looking forward to Caroline and me seeing her work. But whenever anybody talks about you, she gets this really sad look on her face. She wanted you to be here. She only did this for you. And you picked some stupid photo shoot over her." "I wanted you there because I thought we were friends. I wanted you there because you said my work was good. I wanted you there because…"
Miranda pushed the lid of the laptop shut and stood up, going back to the room where they were still having issues with the dog. Miranda sent a glare his way, and suddenly he sat down calmly. At least someone around here understood her looks. She glanced at her watch. It was nearing 5. The flight to New York would be ten hours. She did the calculations quickly in her head. If she left at 5 she could be back in the city by 9 PM and still make the showing.
"Nigel. Emily." Both of them turned at the sound of their names and quickly dropped everything to come over to her.
"Yes, Miranda?"
Miranda dumped the laptop into Emily's arms. "Emily, I want on the next available flight to New York City."
"Wh- yes, Miranda." Emily managed to catch herself from asking Miranda a question.
Nigel did not. "What? Miranda, what is going on?"
"There is something more pressing that needs my attention back in the city. I am trusting that you can handle finishing the shoot here. Am I wrong about that, Nigel?"
"No, Miranda, of course not. But -"
"No, no. No buts. You will handle things. I expect these pictures to be finished on time and to my standards. I foresee no reason why they should not be. Do you?"
"No Miranda."
"Good. That's all."
Nigel quickly headed back toward the shooting area, determined not to screw this up.
"Emily. I am going to my hotel suite to get together what I will need for the trip back. I expect my travel arrangements to be in place in the next twenty minutes."
"Y-yes, Miranda." Emily stuttered out, but Miranda was already on her way.
**
On the ride back to the hotel, Miranda considered calling Andrea and the girls to tell them she was coming home. She decided against it however, because she wanted to surprise the young woman. She would have to pack something extra so that she could change on the plane. Emily would simply have to get her a first class ticket. Or perhaps they could borrow someone's jet. That would be even better. Either way, she could sleep on the plane and then change so she was ready to go straight to the gallery from the airport. Roy should be done driving her children by then.
When she got to the gallery, she would simply say that they had wrapped the shoot early. She wouldn’t tell Andrea or the girls that she left in the middle of the shoot. If it were to get out that this was the reason she was leaving the shoot… she was sure the press would have a field day. Emily and Nigel would perhaps wonder what the 'more pressing matter' was that she had left for, but neither would ask her.
She was pleased when they arrived at the hotel. It was nearly five, so it would probably have to be a 5:15 flight, but that would still get her into the city in time. Everything would be fine.
She pulled out her carry-on bag, filling it with a change of clothes, The Book, her files from Runway, her laptop, the sketchbook, and the book of Grimm fairy tales. Everything else in her room Emily would have to pack and bring back with her. It would be less of a hassle to just have the carry-on. She wouldn't have to spend time waiting on her luggage to arrive at the airport.
She glanced at her watch. It had been 21 minutes. Where was Emily with her travel plans?
Just as she finished the thought, there was a knock at her door. "Come in."
Emily came into the room, looking harried and rather frightened. Miranda's eyes narrowed. "What time do I leave?"
Emily took a breath, "Well, Miranda, you see,"
"What time do I leave, Emily?" She repeated, her voice deadly.
"The earliest flight I could get you on was one that leaves that at 11:15 tonight."
"Excuse me?"
"The trip to the airport takes half an hour, and a flight was leaving at 5. There was no way to get you on that one, and there are no other flights flying out of this airport until 11:15 tonight."
"I don't want to hear your excuses Emily. I gave you one job, one easy job. Get me back to the city. Now you are telling me that you cannot even get me out of this country until 11:15 tonight. That is unacceptable. Find another flight, another airport, another plane. I don't care what you do, just get me out of here. Or else you can find somewhere else to work when you get back to the city."
"Ye-yes, Miranda." Emily looked ready to drop over dead from fear and exhaustion. If Miranda wasn't so anxious to get home, she would have felt sorry for the girl.
**
Half an hour later and the verdict was still the same. There were no flights back to the city that Miranda could humanly make that departed earlier than 11:15. Emily had called airports all over the country. She had threatened and harassed. She had called everyone who was anyone that she could think of that might have a jet but those that were willing to send it for Miranda would have to do just that - send it - which meant it would arrive no sooner than the flight that was scheduled to leave. Emily had considered alternate ideas like trains to other airports and then flights, or flights to other airports with connecting flights but still, nothing would get her back into the city any earlier than 4 in the morning on Saturday, which was apparently too late for whatever Miranda needed to go back to the city for.
Finally, Emily had resigned herself to the fact that she would be fired, and headed back to Miranda's hotel room.
"When is my flight, Emily?" Miranda asked, before she even got through the door.
"I'm sorry, Miranda, but there is no other way to get you back to the city that leaves before 11:15 this evening. I have tried everything that I can think of and -"
"And apparently you didn't try hard enough." Miranda said, coldly.
Emily's eyes were filling with tears, but she blinked them back, stubbornly. "I'm sorry, Miranda. I booked you a first class ticket on the first flight out. It was the best I could do." She placed the plane ticket down on the table and turned to leave, already knowing she was fired and not needing to hear the words.
Miranda watched her like a hawk. She was livid. She had asked for one simple task - get her on a flight to the city - yet Emily had been unable to do it. And yet… she had no doubt that the girl had tried to get her on an earlier flight. She was sure that Emily had done everything in her power to try to find another flight, another way back to the city. It was not Emily's fault that there were no other flights. Still, she had fired people for far less in the past.
But, a little voice that sounded very much like Cassidy, reminded her, if she had just stayed in the city, or made the decision to go home last night when she had first thought about it, she would not be having this issue right now. If anyone was to blame for her not being able to get home in time to see Andrea's show, it was her and her stubborn pride. Miranda sighed, calculating in her head. She would be home at 4:15 in the morning. Andrea's showing would be over, another artist would be shown that night. But Andrea's art would probably not be switched out until that afternoon. Which meant that…
"Emily."
Emily turned, dreading hearing those two little words. "Yes, Miranda?"
"It has recently been brought to my attention that I have been working you too hard."
"No. No, Miranda."
"Oh yes. Yes, I have. And I am going to correct that, today."
"No, please." She whispered.
"After I leave tonight, you will need to pack up the rest of my suite for me. I want everything brought back with you when you come home on Sunday."
"Yes, Miranda." She said softly.
"Then, Emily, once that has been done, you are officially off the Runway clock."
"No, Miranda, please, I -"
"Until Monday."
Emily blinked rapidly. "Wh-what?"
"I know it is only the weekend, but I will need you back at the office on Monday. We can then figure out a time for you to have a longer vacation. For now though, the weekend is yours. Stay here if you want. Go back home. I don't care. Just be back to Runway on Monday."
"Yes, Miranda. Thank you."
Miranda waved away the thanks. "That's all."
Emily quickly scurried out of the hotel room, a huge smile painted across her face. Well, at least someone is happy, Miranda thought.
**
There was an unspoken rule among Lily Goodwin's friends and family that you did not call Lily for any reason between the hours of 1 AM and 6 AM unless someone was dead or dying. And even then, it had to be someone important enough in Lily's eyes to merit waking up. So when Lily's phone rang at 4:30 in the morning, her first thought was, "My god, who died?"
She scrambled to grab the phone, and answered it in the only way she could think of. "What happened? What's wrong?"
"Lily?" A cool voice that she didn't recognize through her sleep-induced haze asked.
"Who is this?" She asked, rolling toward the other side of the bed so that she could grab clothes.
"Miranda Priestly."
Lily rolled right off the bed.
**
It was nearing 5 AM and Lily was standing in front of the gallery, tugging on her clothes. She was sure that somewhere in the depths of Runway, there was a manual on How To Dress When Miranda Priestly Calls You At 4:30 In The Morning And Tells You To Come Open The Gallery So She Can Look At Andy's Sketches, but she hadn't exactly been privy to that information. So she had done what she hoped anyone else in her situation would do - pulled on her semi-wrinkled but presentable clothes from the night before, pulled a brush through her hair, gargled with mouthwash and ran out the door.
As she watched a figure approach her, she managed a smile. Looked like Doug had done the exact same thing.
Her first instinct, after picking herself up off the floor and pulling on clothes, had been to call Andy. Andy would know what to do in this situation, or at least be able to handle Miranda. Lily had only had one meeting with Miranda, and it had been quick and rather intimidating to say the least. But Lily had gotten the vibe on the phone that Miranda didn't want Andy to know she was even back in the states yet. So Lily had called the next best person - Doug.
"You owe me. You owe me so bad." He said as he came to a stop in front of her.
"Please, you were probably dancing about in glee that you got to come and see Miranda." Lily rolled her eyes. She was not a morning person, if this could actually even be considered morning yet.
Whatever Doug was going to say was stopped as a black car pulled up. Lily swallowed hard, tugged once more on her clothes, and thanked whatever gods there were that her gallery had a strict policy about not allowing buyers to take home pieces when they purchased them, but instead sending them to the buyers after the showings were completely finished. She could only imagine the carnage that would've occurred if basically all of Andy's pieces had already been gone from the gallery.
She and Doug watched as Miranda climbed out of the car, and both of them took in a small gasp of air. It was nearly 5 in the morning, the woman had just had a ten hour flight, and she looked absolutely perfect. Not a hair was out of place, not a wrinkle was to be seen anywhere on her outfit. "Damn." Lily whispered. Doug only whimpered.
**
Lily opened the door and turned all the lights on, moving about the space, getting everything in order as it had been the previous two nights. Miranda stood just inside the gallery, her eyes scanning the sketches, saying nothing. Doug stood beside her, also not saying anything.
Finally Lily cleared her throat. "You can move around and look at them closer, if you'd like. I know that I'm not Andy, but I'm pretty sure that between Doug and I, we can answer any questions you might have about the sketches."
Miranda nodded her head and then moved forward, toward the sketch that was displayed first. Miranda recognized it as Andrea's grandmother from the picture she had shown her on their second meeting. It was a gorgeous portrait of the woman, looking forward, smiling, her eyes dancing with laughter. The title card displayed beside it read merely 'Andrea'. Miranda's brow furrowed, she looked back at Lily and Doug who were standing together, looking all together lost as to what they were to be doing.
"She called this one 'Andrea'. Why? It's her grandmother, not a self-portrait."
"In some ways, it is a self-portrait actually." Doug said. "Andy's always wanted to grow up to be the kind of woman Lady Eve was. That's her goal."
"Lady Eve?" Miranda looked intrigued. "I was unaware that Andrea's grandmother was royalty."
Doug smiled. "She wasn't. At least not officially. But to me, she was always a lady. The best of the best. And we," he motioned to Lily, "could never manage to call her Grandma Eve. So Lady Eve it was."
"But, as for why she called it 'Andrea'," Lily cut in, "it's because Andy was named after her grandmother. Lady Eve's real, full name was Andrea Evelyn Sheppard Sachs. She went by Eve, but she was completely tickled when Andy was named after her. She always called her 'my little Andy', and thought of her as the miniature version of herself. Andy says that's why she and Lady Eve were so close, because they shared the same name."
The next sketch was on a larger canvas than the portrait of Andy's grandmother. It was a scene, set in summer, of the Bethesda Terrance and Fountain. People were milling about by the fountain, but it was the fountain, right in the center, that took focus in the picture. It was an incredibly detailed sketch, and seemed to somehow capture the feeling that she had felt, standing next to Andrea on the Terrace the day she had walked with her. 'Washed Clean' read the title card.
"It was the first piece she finished after Lady Eve's death."
Miranda nodded to show she was paying attention and continued to move about the gallery. All of the sketches were beautiful. Some were just black and white, some Andrea had filled in with color. There were large canvases and smaller ones. It was an eclectic mixture of people, places, nature, and animals, but they were all wonderful and seemed to fit perfectly together.
It was towards the back of the room though, that Miranda was stopped dead in her tracks by what she saw. A whole grouping of sketches that literally took her breath away. She stared at the drawings, burning them onto her brain. She was almost afraid to walk forward, to look at them closer, for fear of somehow ruining them. They were amazing.
One of Cassidy, in a chair at the store, reading a book with one hand and petting Coco with another. It was, she realized at once, better than a photograph, because this moment had been captured and reprinted by Andrea, with her own unique take on the situation. It felt warm and comforting as she looked at it, making her want to crawl on the chair with her daughter, to go to that safe haven that the bookstore so obviously was for her.
The next, a full size sketch of her daughters, looking at each other. 'Mirror, Mirror' the card read, but Miranda could tell that Andrea had drawn the individual girls, had seen the individual girls, and was trying to convey them to the public. It was shaded in color, showing Caroline's freckles and Cassidy's slightly lighter eyes. It was, without a doubt, the best portrait she had even seen of her children, and she decided right away that she was going to buy this.
"How much is this one?" She asked, finally moving closer to it, taking in all the tiny details that Andrea had captured, like the scar by Cassidy's ear.
"It was sold, actually." Lily said calmly.
Miranda turned on her suddenly. "What do you mean it was sold?"
"I mean, like most of Andy's sketches, it was already sold to someone during the showing."
"Someone bought a picture of my daughters?"
"Well, they probably didn't know they were your daughters." Doug added helpfully.
"Someone truly bought this?" Miranda tried again, as though by asking the second time she could change the answer.
"Someone truly did." She hated herself even more for not being there at the showing.
She shook off her irritation, she had no one to blame but herself, and focused back on the next two sketches. One was a triptych of images, simply titled 'Visions'. The first image showed a pair of striking blue eyes looking out at the viewer. Miranda recognized the gaze, as it was the one she saw in the mirror every day. The next was a desk, with issues of Runway stacked on it, and a pair of glasses, her glasses, lying on top. It was incredibly detailed, and Miranda found herself amazed at how an image of something she saw everyday and completely took for granted could be so interesting and beautiful. The final image was a pair of hands, sitting folded on a lap. Her hands. She had no idea how Andrea had managed to capture them so well, but looking between the sketch and the hands in front of her, she could see hardly any differences.
"When did she -?"
"The eyes she started sketching the day she met you. Finished them after your second meeting." Doug supplied.
"The desk she finished about a week after your second meeting." Lily added.
"And the hands she finished up the day Cassidy started working." Doug completed the information.
Andrea had been drawing her all that time? Had noticed those small details about her and managed to somehow capture them so vividly? Miranda felt her stomach flutter just slightly with the knowledge.
It was the last sketch, however, that left Miranda completely speechless. It was of her, Miranda knew it right away. There was no way it was anyone else. It was a side view of a woman, her, walking. Her head was thrown back, the hair cascading down her back. Only her profile was visible. She was wearing jeans and a blouse. Miranda knew the exact moment that Andrea had captured. It was when they were walking in Central Park. Miranda had been talking about Irv and Andrea had quipped, "Looks like he already read 'How to Lose Friends and Alienate People'." It had been unexpected, and she had started to laugh, throwing her head back.
Andrea had captured that moment perfectly, without actually giving away who the woman laughing was. Miranda knew it was her, but if anyone else had seen the sketch, they would have never guessed it was her. It was in black and white, yet somehow Andrea had managed to perfectly convey the sun that had been shining that day and the way it had bounced off her hair. It was a moment of complete freedom from her mask as 'Miranda Priestly', and Andrea had chosen that moment to depict. She had had many portraits taken of her and even a few painted of her in her time, but never had she had one make her look that beautiful. She looked at the title card, and sucked in a breath. 'Memoranda'.
"That one is already spoken for, as is the triptych." Lily said softly, cutting into her thoughts.
Miranda turned to look at her. Of course it was. It was just her luck. "Did all of her pieces sell?"
"Almost all of them. More than half were sold the first day."
"So the turnout was good?" Miranda asked Lily.
"Oh, it was spectacular. Everybody loved Andy's stuff."
"Everybody? Even… Nate?" The name had been niggling at the back of her mind since the day Cassidy had giggled about him at lunch. She had considered Doug to be Nate for a while, but now knew that he was not, so she was interested in who exactly he was.
"Nate?" Doug began to laugh. "Where did you get Nate from?"
"I heard Cassidy and Andrea discussing him one day. It seemed as though they were… together?"
Lily burst out laughing, unable to hold it in anymore. "Andy and Nate? He wishes!"
"I don't -"
"Nate is a chef who works at a restaurant we go to fairly often. He has a thing for Andy."
"And does she… return said 'thing'?"
Doug laughed even harder. Lily smacked him. "Um, no. No, she definitely doesn't."
"He's not her type." Doug got out between laughs.
"Yeah, but Doug here wishes he were his." Lily teased back. Miranda did her best to cover her shock. So Andrea wasn't dating Nate, and Doug was… if she was to believe Lily… gay.
"Lil!"
"Oh what, you know it's true."
"Well, yeah, but…" So it was true. Doug was gay. Which meant that both people Miranda had thought Andrea could be in a relationship with, she wasn't.
"Did her parents enjoy it?" Miranda asked, trying to change the subject.
All the laughter stopped.
"Her parents?" Lily looked surprised at the mention, as though she had never heard the word parents before.
"Well, yes. I know they are divorced but surely they could come to see their daughter's art show."
"Miranda, Andy and her parents… They haven't spoken in years." Doug told her.
"What?" Miranda had had no clue that Andrea and her parents were estranged. But then, as she thought about it, there were a lot of things about Andrea that she had no clue about.
"Yeah." Doug looked at Lily, as though trying to figure out if they should tell Miranda about this or not. Lily shrugged and nodded her head. They both knew that Andy cared for Miranda, why shouldn't she know? "It all started, well, I guess actually it started when her parents divorced. After her mom moved out, she didn't see or hear anything from her for… two or three years."
"Even after her mom started contacting her again, things were still pretty strained between them. And then came high school graduation. The one thing that Andy's parents ever agreed on after their divorce was that they wanted Andy to go to law school. Both of them were lawyers, and they wanted Andy to follow in their footsteps. But it wasn't what Andy wanted at all. So when Andy announced that she was going to Northwestern to study journalism, instead of to Stanford Law, things got pretty heated on all sides."
"But, Andy stuck by her guns, and went to Northwestern. Which is where we met." Doug picked up the story. "It's also where she met Alex. Which led to all the problems. When Andy brought Alex home for Christmas, things reached the boiling point. Her mother told her that she never wanted to see her again, and her dad told her that she wasn't welcome back in his house."
"All because Andrea brought home a boy for Christmas?" Miranda was stunned.
"Not a boy." Doug grinned. "Alex stood for Alexandra, not Alexander."
Miranda felt her eyes bug out. Andrea was a lesbian? Andrea was a lesbian! "W-what?"
"Andy had been conflicted about her sexuality throughout high school." Lily explained. "When she met Alex, she fell hard. She called me and told me, over the phone, that she was dating a girl and was bringing her home for Christmas."
"Of course it didn't go well. Besides me and Lil, the only other person who supported Andy was Lady Eve. When Mr. Sachs told Andy she wasn't welcome back in his house, Lady Eve tore him a new one, right before she told Andy she was always welcome in hers. Over the spring semester, Andy and Alex broke up. Mr. Sachs told her that if she wasn't dating a woman, she could come back and live with him. But Andy knew who she was and she didn't want to live in a place where she wasn't accepted. So she transferred to NYU and moved in with Lady Eve that summer."
"I was already living here, so I was beyond excited that Andy was moving here. And she was honestly so happy here, living with Lady Eve. And Lady Eve was just as happy having Andy around. Her husband had died when Andy was a junior in high school, and Lady Eve was getting really lonely. Having Andy around, to help her with the shop, and just to be with her, it totally refreshed her."
"I had no idea." Miranda's voice was soft, her head spinning with the knowledge she was receiving.
"Yeah, well, once she moved here, things started improving a bit. Her second semester here she ended up meeting another girl named Kate. She fell hard. Kate was an artist too, and so by being with Kate, Andy started really becoming more serious about her art. Lady Eve kept telling Andy that she knew that was really what Andy wanted, not to be a journalist. But Andy was determined to finish school. She made it through her junior year before she finally decided to call it quits. Kate had this idea about them going off to Europe on a whirlwind tour, just seeing everything and painting and sketching it all. Andy fell in love with the idea too."
"She also fell in love with the idea of coming back after the tour and taking over the bookshop from Lady Eve. It was her other great love in life. Anyway, they made plans to go on this trip. Lily convinced Andy to do a showing of some of her work before hand. Andy was bursting with excitement about it, and Lady Eve… I thought she was going to explode with pride. And then…" Doug sighed sadly.
Lily cleared her throat and picked up the story. "The day before the showing, a week before they were supposed to leave for Europe, Andy came home to find Lady Eve on the apartment floor. She wasn't breathing. Andy called 911, but it was too late. She had had a massive heart attack and was gone before Andy even got there. Andy was destroyed. Completely. Lady Eve had been the closest thing she'd ever had to an actual mother figure and Andy worshipped the ground she walked on. And now she was gone."
"Andy refused to show her work, which was understandable. I had come into town to see her showing, and she was just distraught. I was supposed to be staying in a hotel, but Lily and I both ended up basically moving into the apartment with Andy to make sure she was okay."
"The day of the funeral, Kate told Andy she didn't think they were going to work out, and that she was still going to go to Europe. The bitch never even told Andy she was sorry. We've never seen her since, which is good, because if I did, I'd kill her on sight." Lily practically growled.
"Andy and her dad reconnected at the funeral, but when Lady Eve's will was read… she left everything to Andy. All her money, the apartment, the store, Coco, everything. Mr. Sachs pitched a royal fit at that, saying he was entitled to something as her son. But the will stood, and Andy got everything. Her dad hasn't spoken to her since. In the course of a week, Andy lost everyone that meant anything to her, except for Lily and me. It was horrible."
"My god." Miranda had to speak beyond a lump in her throat. She felt tears pricking her eyes, imagining Andrea going through so much pain and heartbreak in such a short span of time.
"Doug finished out his degree and then moved in with Andy. For the first couple months, it was really, really bad. We couldn’t get her to go out, she hardly ate anything, she cried all the time. And then she started to slowly recover, and she read those books by Allison DuBois, which were a godsend. She started having the dreams of Lady Eve not long after that, and once that happened, it was like a breakthrough. She started being our Andy again. She took over the store and had Coco and she was happy. But she hasn't dated anyone since then. And even though she kept up with her sketches, she refused to even think about the idea of showing anything ever again. Until you."
"Me?"
"I don't know what you said to her, but you got her to want to show her work, Miranda. And I want to thank you for that."
"I didn't -"
"You did more than you know." Lily smiled softly at her.
Miranda returned it. "I would like to see Andrea. Do you know where she is?"
"At home in bed. I can show you." Doug smiled. Miranda nodded and offered both Doug and Lily a ride home. It was the least she could do.
She looked back at the sketches once more, hating that she had missed the chance to have them.
"Miranda?" Lily's voice was tentative as she locked up the gallery. "The people that bought the two sketches of your daughters… were your daughters. And the other two sketches, the person who spoke for them… it was Andy. She wouldn't let me sell them."
"What?"
"The girls bought the sketches. Originally Andy told me not to sell any of those, but they insisted on buying them."
Miranda felt suddenly better. The sketches of her girls were going to her girls. And as for the other two, she would just have to talk to Andrea about them. "Thank you, Lily."
"You're welcome." Lily smiled. Miranda really wasn't all that scary. At least not at the moment.
**
"Andy, my love, there's someone here to see you." Doug called as he walked into the apartment.
Miranda looked around, taking it in. It was a large, spacious apartment, and she was sure that it was very expensive. It had a full kitchen, large living room, and at least two bedrooms since she knew Doug and Andrea didn't share one.
"Come on, babe, wake up." She heard Doug call. A moment later, he was back out in the living room. "She's not here."
"Not here?"
"She was here, sound asleep when I left, but now she's gone. Coco is snuggled in bed, but Andy's not. My guess is she went out running, or for a walk. She does that sometimes when she wakes up early." Yet another new fact about Andrea to tuck away.
"Well then, I suppose I will go." Miranda had an idea of where Andrea might be and she intended to go see if she was right.
"Miranda?" Doug's voice stopped her, half way out the door. She turned to face him. "I don't know what your deal is… what your plan is. If you even have one. But, I just… she's my best friend and I love her. I've seen her get hurt far too many times. I don't want to see that happen again."
"It is not my intention to hurt her, but…"
"But?"
"I'm a fifty year old editor of a magazine who works long hours, is in the spotlight, and comes equipped with two ex-husbands and two teenage daughters. I can't imagine that I would be Andrea's idea of a storybook ending."
Doug smiled at that. "If I've learned anything from Andy, it's that there are many, many different stories out there, all with different endings. To a lot of people, a twenty-five year old artist who owns a bookstore and comes equipped with a Maltese, a gay best friend, and another best friend who works at an art gallery, both of whom will never let any harm come her way, might not be the idea of a storybook ending. But you're standing here, in her apartment, at almost 6 in the morning when you're supposed to be in Germany. So I'm guessing that there's at least something there."
"How do I know she's not going to think this is completely crazy?" Miranda sighed.
"You don't. But you saw those sketches."
"It doesn't mean I'm the ending she wants."
"In the three years since Lady Eve's death and Kate's leaving, I have never seen Andy as happy as she is when she's around your daughter. And I've never seen her as content as she is when she's listening to you on the phone. You call her, and it's like the world stops while she listens to you. She just sits there, listening to you, with the most happy, content look on her face. I missed that look these past few nights. And I know she did too. Stories are being written every day. Sometimes you have to take a chance to get to the ending."
Miranda took in the words and nodded. "Thank you, Douglas."
"You're welcome, Miranda. Now go get her."
**
She found Andy just where she thought she'd be, sitting on the edge of the fountain, running her fingers through the water. She must have been deep in thought, because she didn't look up, even at the sound of Miranda's heels on the concrete.
"Penny for your thoughts?"
Andrea's head whipped up and her eyes widened. "Miranda? What - what are you doing here?"
Miranda smiled at her. "I think the better question is what are you doing here? It's very early in the morning, Andrea."
"You're not supposed to be here. You're supposed to be in Germany."
"Do I look like I'm in Germany, Andrea?"
"N-no. But I -"
"I realized, albeit too late, that I was missing something very important here. I tried to make it back on time but… that didn't happen."
"You did? You tried?"
Miranda nodded.
"But - but why?"
"The minute I saw the pictures Caroline sent me, I knew I was missing something incredibly important." Miranda studied the younger woman. "You were faking your smiles."
"What?"
"In all the pictures but the one of you and Cassidy, you were faking your smiles. I know, because I myself am very good at doing the same thing."
Andrea looked down at the water rippling beneath her fingertips.
"You were sad. And maybe this is being conceited, but I think it was because I wasn't there. Or at least, partially because of that."
Andy looked up at Miranda. "Why do you say that?"
Miranda did not answer her question. "That night in the bookstore, you told me you wanted me at your showing because I thought your work was good and because I was your friend. You started to give another reason, but you stopped. What was the other reason?"
Andy looked suddenly panicked. "I - I don't - I don't know."
Miranda moved forward, secure in the knowledge that Andrea really had nowhere to go, besides into the fountain, and placed her fingers under her chin, tilting her head up. "What was the other reason, Andrea?"
Andy let out a slight whimper and turned her head away, sliding on the edge of the fountain and managing to stand up, away from Miranda. "Please, don't do this."
Miranda reached out and grasped her hand. "I saw your work. I had your friend Lily open the gallery for me this morning. I came straight from there."
"You what?"
"I was angry that I didn't see your work. Angry with myself. I called Lily and asked her to open the gallery for me as soon as I got back into the city."
Andy's eyes were wider than saucers, but she was incredibly quiet. "I was right, you know. You are incredibly talented. Your sketches were mesmerizing. The one of your grandmother, of this very fountain, of Cassidy reading, of both my children. They were incredible. But the ones that really mesmerized me, Andrea, were the sketches you did… of me."
Andy pulled her hand free and started to walk away. "Please, please, stop."
"Why are you running away? You wanted me to see them, didn't you?"
Andy turned, tears streaking her face. "I don't know! I don't know. Okay? I don't know what I wanted or what I want or… anything."
Miranda stepped forward and gently placed her hands on either side of Andrea's face. Her thumbs carefully brushed tears away. "Andrea," she said, no louder than a whisper, "you wanted me to see them, didn't you?"
Andy closed her eyes and moved her head up and down one time, the word falling from her lips, "Yes".
"Good," Miranda continued to speak softly, as though telling a secret that only they could share. "Because I wanted to see them."
"You did?"
"Yes."
"I-"
"You've been drawing me since the day we met. That's what Lily and Doug told me."
"Yes." Her eyes were still closed.
"Why?" She still held her face, not letting her move.
"You're beautiful and powerful and… a perfect subject."
"None of the sketches actually definitively show me. They are only profiles or side views or things associated with me."
"I -" Andy tried to move her head, to look away, but Miranda held her in place. "I have others. Portraits, sketches where your face shows. I didn't want to show them."
"Why not?"
"I didn't want anyone else to see them." Miranda could barely hear the words coming out of her mouth. "They're private. I didn't want anyone else to see…"
"To see what?"
"Please, stop." Andrea was imploring her now.
"The sketch you did of me, that day in Central Park. It was amazing. It stole my breath away." Miranda made sure Andrea was looking at her. "Why did you name it 'Memoranda'?"
Andy looked down. "I don't know…"
"You do."
"Miranda, please." Her eyes were glassy with tears.
"Memoranda, Miranda. Is that why you did it? They were close enough, yet not the same?"
"No. Yes. I don't know. Please, just…"
"Or was it for another reason?" Miranda studied the beautiful face. "The entire world is a dreadful collection of memoranda that she did exist, and that I have lost her!" She quoted. Andrea looked away. "Andrea?"
"Wuthering Heights," she whispered.
"Yes. Wuthering Heights. Did you think I wouldn't know the quote?"
"I didn't think you'd ever see it." Andy responded, her eyes suddenly glowing with a fire, a challenge.
"I did." Miranda said simply. "A dreadful collection of memoranda that she did exist, and that I have lost her. Do you think you've lost me, Andrea?"
Andy turned away, the words not even a whisper. "I never had you." Miranda heard them.
She reached forward, placing her hands on the brunette's shoulders. "Yes, you did. You still do." She gently turned Andrea to face her. "You haven't lost me, Andrea. I'm right here."
They were very, very close together now. "Please," Andy whispered, although she didn't know what she was asking for.
"I'm right here. Andrea." Miranda breathed the words out, leaning closer to Andrea.
"Miranda." She whispered, before she finally tilted her head up, pressing her lips against the older woman's.
It was tentative, slow, and soft. Andy pulled away first, eyes open, forehead resting against Miranda's, waiting to see her reaction. Miranda opened her eyes, looked at Andrea, and leaned back down, kissing her again.
"Oh." Andy whispered when they pulled away the second time.
"Oh." Miranda repeated, her hands coming up to tangle in Andrea's hair.
"Miranda."
"I hate that I wasn't here." Miranda told her seriously. "I hated everything about the trip. Nothing was right about it. I didn't get to talk to you. I couldn't sleep without talking to you. I was miserable. And I didn't get to see you in that Chanel dress."
Andy giggled just slightly at that, and it was music to her ears. "I could wear it sometime for you."
"Yes." Miranda nodded definitely. "You will."
She kissed her once more. Afterwards, Andrea spoke again. "Miranda, what are we doing?"
"What do you want us to be doing?"
Andy let out a laugh at that, and slipped out of Miranda's arms, beginning to pace back and forth. "I don't know. Or I do know, and that's the problem."
"Andrea, I am a fifty year old woman. I'm the editor of the top fashion magazine in the business. My reputation, I am sure, precedes me. I am a workaholic who will more than likely be late to everything. I will forget important things. I will say horrible things at times. And if all that wasn't enough, I come with two teenage daughters and two ex-husbands. But I've come to realize in these last few days that I, more than likely, am in love with you. I want to always see myself the way you see me, the way you draw me, and I want you to always be there to listen to me complain before I fall asleep at night. I feel if you give it a chance, like I could be the Heathcliff to your Catherine."
A slow smile worked its way across Andrea's face. "No."
"N-no?"
"No. You're not Heathcliff. And I'm not Catherine. We're not in that story. We're in this story. And in this story, hopefully, no one dies alone, without the other part of their soul." She bit her lip. "I know all about you, Miranda Priestly and I know without a doubt that I'm in love with you, if you'll have me."
And then they were kissing again, this time full of love and want and all the longing they'd both been feeling. When they pulled away, Andy was grinning widely. "How'd you know where to find me?"
"A lucky guess." Miranda smiled. She reached down and held on to Andrea's hand. "Do you think she would like me?"
"Grandma Eve? She'd love you."
"And you're sure about this?"
"Mmhmm. She told me so. Right before you got here, in fact."
Miranda smiled at that, and began to walk along with Andy, who had started to move away from the fountain. "What are you doing today?"
"Going to the store. I told your children they could come and spend the day with me, since we didn't think you'd be home."
"Well, then it looks like I'm going to the store too."
"Miranda, you just had an incredibly long flight and… you don't have to."
"I want to." Was all she said.
**
She was curled in the same chair that Cassidy had been sitting in, in Andrea's sketch. It was a large, overstuffed chair, and it was incredibly comfortable. Between the chair, the music Andrea had going, and the warm aroma of coffee and muffins, she felt herself being lulled into a sleepy state.
"Tell me about yourself," she asked Andrea.
"I'm sure you heard all about me from Lily and Doug." Andy teased.
"Mm. I did that. But I didn't hear it from you. I like to hear your voice. Tell me things I don't know. What is your middle name?"
"Marie." She answered.
"Your favorite memory of your grandmother."
She listened as Andy began to talk in soft, soothing tones about the grandmother she adored. Sometime during Andy's speech she must have dozed off, because the next thing she was aware of was the sound of her children's voices talking with Andy.
"When did she get home?"
"Early this morning."
"Why did she come back?"
"She said she wanted to see my sketches. She tried to get here earlier but couldn't."
It was Cassidy who asked the question she was dreading. "Are you two together now?"
"Well, um," she didn't open her eyes, but she knew Andrea was blushing that shade of pink that she loved so much.
"Cool." Both girls said at once, relieving both Miranda and Andy. "So, what are we doing today?"
She dozed off again and the next time she was aware of things, Doug and Lily's voices and Coco's little barks could be heard. They were all laughing together at something. It was a lovely sound.
As she drifted off to sleep again, she thought about everything that was to come. The press would surely have a field day once they found out about her relationship with Andrea. And she and Andrea still had far to go in figuring out their relationship. Plus there were the children to consider and her work hours. But right now, listening to the woman she knew she loved laughing with her friends and Miranda's children, she knew it was going to be all right. It might not be a storybook romance, but it was going to be their romance. And this time, she knew it was going to be a happier ending for everyone.
THE END