Bright and Shiny

Chapter 87

"I was kind of hoping she'd ask where we lived." Derek told Meredith with a chuckle as he gathered his belongings off their little kitchen table the following morning to head into work together.

"She's never asked before personal questions like that, she must assume we have an apartment." Meredith told him as she poured them two cups of coffee in their travel mugs. They were going in early and she was looking forward to a relaxing ferry ride although it was a bit chilly this early in the morning. "She actually probably thinks you live in your office." She giggled while rolling her eyes.

Glancing over on the chair she saw Derek's black Armani scarf, grabbing it and instead of giving it to her husband to wear. Tying it around her own neck in a Windsor knot before putting on her coat.

She tried to recall if Ellis ever asked about their New York apartment and she can't remember her doing so. She remembered the announcement of her engagement to Derek and Ellis's cool disapproving response, questioning them on things like where they would live. However, she never wanted to see their home or asked about it, but then again she and Derek never invited her over either.

"I know, but I just wanted to see the look on her face when I told her we lived in a trailer." He said sadly.

"Derek!" Meredith gasped before she started laughing at the image of Ellis coming to their trailer for a visit. As he shoved his laptop in his shoulder bag and started putting on his shoes.

"She would have had a heart attack, can you imagine? After all the talk about being the best and the prestige of it, how I made a name for myself blah blah blah then hearing I lived in a trailer in the woods would have been amazing to watch."

"She would think you living in a trailer had charm. Me on the other hand she'd call it slumming and a disgrace. Her teenage daughter who ran off to marry the older man and now live in a trailer?" Meredith choked out with giggles realizing she wished now that Ellis had asked where they lived, because she wanted to see the look on her face also.

"Years from now when ever she comes back, we should move back into the trailer and invite her over."

"You don't think she'd notice the big house on the hill?"

"Nah, we can take off the lights and invite her over for dinner. Make her sit in a lawn chair outside on our little outdoor table."

"Sounds like perfect torture. She'd be running away as soon as she could, never to return again."

"Exactly" Derek smiled at her as he then noticed the scarf around her neck. Just slightly shaking his head wondering why he bought her clothes and her own things when she ended up choosing to wear his. He should just start buying two of everything for him. He wouldn't have it any other way though, it warmed his heart at how much his wife loved him and relished in his scent enough to steal his clothes. It's the little things like that, which made him wonder really if Addison would move all the way across the country for Mark. Making Mark's argument that she wasn't Meredith have some merit to it.

"Hey, where'd you go?" Meredith asked him, slightly touching his arm with a worried expression on her face. Noticing his change in demeanor from their joking banter just a minute before.

"Wondering how Mark is doing." He sighed while pulling her closer to him to take a whiff of her before threading his fingers around her coat buttons to do them up, making sure she's well protected for the chilly temperature awaiting them outside and on the ferry out in the water.

"He'll be fine, Addison won't let him down." She said full of confidence, running her fingers through his hair to relax him a bit before stepping back to grab their coffee so they could get on with their day.