Chapter #10Check in on moving day by: mbarry   "And that should be the last box," Ryan said as he dropped off a box of in the living room.
"Thank you so much, you are so awesome Ryan. Is there anything I can make you? Oh, I could order Pizza for us," Deborah said.
"Oh, um thanks, but you really shouldn't."
"Oh, I insist, and you can call me DJ," Deborah said.
"Umm, okay, I guess Pepperoni would be good," Ryan said.
It had been two days since Deborah moved in. It was definitely strange to see a prime 30 year old walking around the house, especially lusting over Ryan's dad. What Ryan found really strange was how involved DJ wanted to be in their lives. Soon the pizza arrived and they dropped it on the counter.
"Um, thanks for the pizza DJ," Ryan said hesitantly.
"Oh, no problem," said DJ. "Hey Ryan, can I have you think about something? I know you are a senior in high school and it really shouldn't matter, but in 2 weeks you have a Parent Teacher conference, and I know I'm not... well, you know. And your dad is going on a business trip during that time. I was wondering if you wanted me to go to that. Before you make up your mind, it's okay to say no. I just really want to know you better and I think meeting your teachers would be a great start." DJ knew that Ryan's mother was still a very difficult topic to approach.
"Um, thanks DJ, let me think about it," Ryan said.
Soon, Ryan's father came in. "Oh, Pizza, awesome." He began to approach Deborah and gave her a hug and a kiss. "Do you know what you call a person who doesn't love pizza?"
Deborah began to stare at John's eyes lovingly. "What's that?"
"A weird-dough."
Deborah looked up lovingly at John. "That is so bad, I love it," she said and gave him a kiss.
Ryan wanted to make fun of his dad for that terrible joke, but couldn't after the hard year he had.
"Hey, where's Ashley?" Ryan asked.
"Oh, she was helping me set up my room," said DJ. "Can you run and get her before the pizza gets cold?"
Ryan went up to his dad's room. He saw Ashley on the ground covering up tears, she was looking at a photo of their mom that was put away and was now going to be put in the attic. Ryan approached the situation carefully.
"Hey Ashley, you doing okay?"
"Yeah, I'm just putting this away. I just don't understand, did Mom have a mental break? I mean a year ago she was fine, and now, she's, well I don't know where," Ashley said, crying.
"Oh, hey Ashley, I heard the commotion, and I also heard the last part," said DJ, entering the room. "Is it okay if I sit down and share something?"
Ashley just nodded.
"Okay, well about a year ago, I was a working hard, playing hard, type of gal. I won't get into my dating history, but let's just say I was not the best at holding down relationships, especially when you had my type of friends. Then one day, I was looking at my garden, then it hit me, I didn't want to live that type of life, I felt like I want to settle down. Then I started to talk to a therapist, and she told me that people can change like I have, and that you have to accept the past, and then take action on shaping your future. Anyways, what I am saying is that people can change their opinion and hopefully one day your mother is ready to take more action in your life. Also if I can help in any way, in being a friend or if you need to see someone, let me know."
DJ stood up to leave. As she left Ashley said thank you to DJ and DJ closed the door.
---
"Hey, you coming to bed?" DJ called out to her new partner.
"Coming," John called out. He soon crawled into bed.
"Hey, so I was thinking, lets take you, Ryan and Ashley to Mexico and get to know each other better," DJ suggested. "With my job I could pay for it."
"No, umm, Mexico might be too soon, It was Su- I mean her favorite place," John said, still uncomfortable bringing up her name.
"Well how about Aspen then, or somewhere cold, would you like that? It would be a great opportunity to get to know the whole family better," DJ suggested.
"That might not be a bad idea," John said.
He started to drift off but needed to say one thing. "And the kids, they make you happy?" he asked.
DJ just grabbed John's arm and made him wrap around her. "Trust me, I've never been happier than in this moment," DJ told him.
That statement was definitely true. DJ didn't want to tell John how hard her year had been. She thought back to that garden day earlier, about how she had that epiphany about settling down. She tried to live her normal life, but hated waking up alone. She started to hate the idea of other girls in her bed, and when she had them, her mind was just elsewhere. Soon she couldn't find the motivation to go to the gym, she began thinking about going to the clubs as a waste of time-- I mean it was so loud. She just wanted to be with someone and love that person.
She remembered talking to her therapist about these issues and how her identity didn't match her wants. She remembered becoming envious of Susan's perfect life, and how she saw Susan pull away from a kiss from John one day, how jealous she was of her living that life. As soon as she saw that Susan was leaving, she talked to her therapist, and they talked about taking action going forward and shaping her future. She remembered approaching John with butterflies the first time Susan moved out. God, he was so cute, she thought. They just had instant chemistry. She loved his jokes, and felt sad when DJ heard that Susan told him to, "Shut up with the jokes." She always viewed it as a playful way to lighten the mood. She also found herself attracted to him, in a way only she could see (in fact, she was excited about having a crush on a man for the first time). But John just blew her out of the water. She saw him as her route to happiness, and she took it and made the move for him and hadn't regretted it since.
Even now with John's kids, she knew it would be tough work to gain their trust, but she was loving being their guardian. She was also surprised at how much she loved being a mom (well, step mom). A foreign thought to her a year ago, but now it really excited her. She knew that as long as she was with John and the kids she'd be happy. She took one look at John and feel asleep.  indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
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