Arms of an Angel Part 9
Title: Arms of an Angel
Author: Fab_fan
Fandom: All My Children
Pairing: Frankie/Bianca, Maggie/Other
Rating:R
Disclaimer: Not mine!
Summary: What do you do when you are forced to face the past?
Maggie adjusted the woolen scarf so that the loop was more centered. While the weather had been warming up, there was still a chill to the air, causing most of the people caught outside to bundle up in some fashion. The wind was blowing lightly, though, not even enough to ruffle the hair of the few adults waiting patiently outside the school building. One of them, a rather bland looking gentleman who had graying hair and dark eyes smiled over at Maggie.
“Bonjour! I haven’t seen you around before. Not the one to usually pick up the kids?”
Maggie looked at him, “No, their nanny usually does, but I’m going to be spending more time with Miranda, so I’ll be picking her up more.”
“Oh, that’s very nice. A lot of parents talk about spending more time with their children and never do. It’s good to see someone who actually means it.”
“I certainly plan on spending more time with her. It should have been that way from the beginning.”
The slamming of doors and intermingling of high pitched voices interrupted their conversation, and they turned to see the flock of children bursting out toward freedom. The man gave Maggie a friendly wave goodbye and walked off, bending down to scoop a little boy into his arms. Maggie eagerly watched the group of kids, poring over each face for the right one.
After a few seconds, she spotted her. Miranda was slowly walking away from the building’s front doors, her hands wrapped around the straps of her pink backpack. She was scanning the crowd, obviously looking for the woman who was doing what Joan did on a daily basis. Maggie waved her hand, a bright smile on her face. Miranda spotted her and started to make her way over. Maggie met her halfway.
“Hi, Miranda.” Without missing a beat, the brunette woman had her in a hug. Maggie closed her eyes. This was how it was supposed to be. Her little girl in her arms. It felt so right.
“Hi, Maggie.” Miranda’s voice was muffled. She still wasn’t sure why the lady always seemed to be hugging her, but her mommy had said to be nice and on her best behavior, so she let it happen.
“How was school today? I’m sure you learned a lot of cool things.” Maggie released her after one more squeeze.
Miranda shrugged, “We learned about space.”
“Wow, that sounds very cool.” Maggie took her hand and guided her in the direction of the park. They could easily cut through it and get to one of the areas Maggie knew well.
“Yeah, there are lots of stars and planets and things. It was weird. The teacher got confused on Pluto. We tried to tell her he’s a dog, but she didn’t get it.”
Maggie chuckled at that, “I’m sure she’ll listen to you next time. But, Pluto can be a bit confusing. It used to be a planet, and now it’s not.”
“Why?”
“They decided it wasn’t really a planet. They had been wrong.”
Miranda squinted her eyes in thought, “That’s silly.”
The two approached the street. Maggie stopped them and looked both ways. “Ok, now to cross the street we need to make sure there are no cars coming.”
“I know.” She had the steps memorized. Just ask Frankie. She had taught them to her…more than once. She needed reminding every once in a while. No, you can’t skip the listening part. It’s important. That’s why it’s stop, look, listen.
After performing the steps, they safely crossed the road.
“I was thinking we could get a bite to eat.” Maggie said, directing them through the park quickly.
“Really? Where? McDonald’s?” Miranda excitedly looked up at her.
“No, something even better.” There was a tiny café a short distance away that Maggie used to frequent when she was in school. Miranda would join her a lot, Bianca too. The staff loved the little girl, and Miranda had reveled in the attention.
“What’s better than McDonald’s?” Miranda muttered. Then, it hit her. “Are we getting Cap’n Crunch?”
“No.”
“Oh. Mommy says it’s bad for me, but it isn’t. I read the box. There’s lots of good stuff in it.”
No there wasn’t. “It’s full of sugar, which is not good for you.”
Miranda shook her head. It was good for her. It made her happy. Only good stuff makes people happy. The child waved at a passing child/parent duo, “Hi, Claire!”
“Hi, Miranda!”
Maggie glanced over at the other little girl. She had no idea who she was. “Who’s that?”
“Claire.”
“She’s one of your friends?”
“Yep. She has a cat who makes people cry, but only if they have allergies.”
“That’s nice.” What does one say to that?
They arrived at the restaurant, and Maggie ushered Miranda in. One of the hostesses led them to a table and set down the menus. Maggie moved to help Miranda into her chair, but the girl jumped up and had the menu in hand before she could get close. With a sigh, Maggie unwound her scarf and took off her coat. Miranda followed suit, wiggling out of her pink puffy monstrosity while reading the offerings.
“Bonjour, mademoiselles.” Their waiter stepped up. Recognizing them, he grinned, “Ah, Ms. Maggie and Ms. Miranda. It’s been too long.”
“Hello, Pierre.” Maggie greeted him.
“How is our little one? Still drawing on book reports?” he slyly poked Miranda’s shoulder with his pen. One time Maggie had nothing to keep the girl occupied with, so she had randomly handed over a piece of paper for the girl to draw on while she finished reading the chapter in her textbook. The paper had been her report due in two hours.
Miranda gave the waiter a friendly smile. She had no idea who he was, but he seemed nice. “Hi.”
“Ah, such a lovely girl. I remember exactly what you two have, no need for these.” He grabbed the menus and hooked them under his arm. Miranda gawked up at him. She had been reading that.
“So Miranda, your mother and I talked. You and I will be able to spend more time together. I’m really looking forward to it.”
Miranda nodded, “Yeah, mommy told me.”
“Ah, here we are. Fastest service in the city, no?” Pierre set down their plates of food with a flourish before whisking away to parts unknown.
Miranda stared down at her plate. She tilted her head one way then the other. She than hesitantly lifted a finger and poked at it.
“Miranda, what’s wrong?”
“It’s eggs.” She drew back her finger and wiped it on her napkin.
“Scrambled eggs, you ate it every time we came here.”
Miranda just stared at it.
****
“No, that won’t work. Reschedule the meeting for four. Yes, and tell marketing I need those ideas by the end of next week.”
Bianca paced back and forth in the hallway, her cell phone stuck to her ear.
“Also, those numbers from accounting didn’t quite match up to what I was told they were going to be, so I need them to call me.”
Bianca listened to her assistant’s reply. Hearing the confirmation, she politely thanked her and hung up. She had left work early that day and needed to make sure everything was taken care of. She stopped pacing and stood against the wall, dropping her phone back into her purse. She took a deep breath and glanced around the hall. She hoped this was a good idea.
“Ms. Montgomery?”
The owner of the feminine voice approached the CEO, a welcoming smile on her open face. She held out her hand, “I apologize for the wait. My name is Isabel Custeau. I believe we met briefly once when you were here with your daughter.”
“Yes, Miranda had an appointment with a colleague of yours.” Bianca shook the offered hand.
“I trust it is all going well. I have the pleasure of working with some of the best doctors in the country.”
“Yes, it has been helping her a lot.”
“Well, shall we head into my office?” Isabel gestured to an open door.
Bianca nodded and followed her. Entering the office, she was struck by how warm it was. The walls were painted light shades of color and various pieces of art hung around. A small desk held framed pictures of laughing people.
“My family. My husband Arnold and our son Mirtz.” Isabel explained, catching Bianca’s gaze.
“You have a beautiful family.” Bianca complimented as she sat in the chair the doctor waved at.
“Thank you. They mean a lot to me.” Isabel sat across from her, their chairs a foot or so apart. “Now, I know we talked briefly when we met, but is there anything in particular you would like to talk about?”
Bianca chewed on her lip and folded her hands in her lap. She knew this was the right thing to do. But, just like all the other times, there was the hesitancy and fear involved, especially at the beginning.
Sensing her reluctance, Isabel changed course. “Your daughter seems to be a very well behaved child. She always says hello to everyone when she comes here.”
“Yes, she is. She’s nice to everyone she meets.” Bianca beamed with pride.
“Does she tend to get into trouble? She does not act the type, but I know my Mirtz can be a little hellion when the time calls for it.”
“She’s a little girl. She can get into some mischief, but nothing too much. She has a lot of friends at school and really likes spending time with her little sister.”
“You have two daughters? That’s wonderful.”
Bianca pushed a strand of hair behind her ear, “Yes, Miranda and Gabrielle. I can’t imagine my life without them.”
“I know the feeling. Mirtz means the world to me.” Isabel comfortably leaned back in her chair. “It must be tough raising two children, though. It’s tough raising just one.”
“It can be.” Bianca nodded. “But, I wouldn’t change it for anything. And I have help. There’s Joan, our nanny. She helps a lot. And there’s Frankie.”
Isabel noticed the slight twinkle in Bianca’s eyes, “Who is Frankie, if I may ask?”
“Frankie,” Bianca’s face softened, “is my girlfriend.”
“She means a lot to you.”
“You have no idea. I love her so much.”
“That’s good. I’m happy you have such wonderful people in your life.”
Bianca sighed, “So am I.”
“Want to tell me what that sigh was for?”
Bianca looked away for a moment from the friendly face, “This isn’t why I came here. Well, it is…but I should be talking about why I came here.”
“We can talk about whatever you want to.” Isabel assured her.
“I know, but I can never work through my problems if I don’t get them out there. There’s no use hiding them, it only hurts me.”
Isabel raised both her eyebrows, “I have a feeling you’ve done this before.”
“You would be right.” Bianca ran a hand through her hair. “I’ve been to a lot of counseling for a lot of different reasons.”
“Why did you choose to go back to it?”
Bianca paused, collecting her thoughts. “It’s helped me. Things have happened to me, things I thought I would never survive, but talking with someone about it was one of the things that made it so I did survive.”
“What other things?”
“When I was a teenager, I went to rehab for anorexia.” Bianca revealed. “It was difficult, but I got through it.”
“That is something to be commended. Battling something as serious as anorexia, especially at such a young age, is very difficult.”
Bianca nodded, her eyes downcast, “And there were…other things…later on that happened to me. Group and one-on-one therapy helped me with that.”
“Are any of these issues why you came to see me?”
“No.” Bianca shook her head.
“Why did you feel you needed to talk to someone?”
Bianca breathed in and out slowly. Her head raised and she locked eyes with Isabel, “Because I’m dreaming of my girlfriend dying.”