Sea Glass: Marie and Lauryn

Chapter 19

Marie held Pippa's hand as they walked into the ballet studio. Sitting her down on the bench outside the classroom, she helped her out of her street shoes and into her ballet slippers. 

"Right then, let's get that hair up in a bun so Miss Ulanova isn't cross with you."

She sat down and had Pippa stand between her legs so she could put her blonde hair in the bun required for the class.

"Mummy?" Pippa asked, turning to look at her.

"Yes, love?" 

"Why do you wear your hair in a bun every day to work? Is it a rule there, too?" 

Marie smiled before pushing Pippa's hair behind her ear.

"No, Pip. My hair is just quite long and I like to keep it tidy."

More like I look serious and credible...and maybe a bit more intimidating around these idiot men. 

It was something she had figured out early in her career. If she made herself look as serious and severe as she could at work, it gave people less motivation to mess with her or underestimate her. Being a woman in a field that was majority men was difficult as it was; being a director of a firm in the field required an even higher level of savoir faire that often came off as rudeness or snobbery. 

While Marie had started to dress more casually outside of work these days, something that she never would have done even a few months ago, she still dressed herself exceptionally smartly for work. She never had her hair down in a professional setting, even for a work dinner. 

Pippa reached out and touched Marie's hair that was gathered in a ponytail and laying over her shoulder, accounting for the fact that it was Saturday morning.

"I like your hair, mummy. It's so pretty."

How did I end up with such a sweet little girl?

"Thank you, sweetheart. So is yours."

As she reached to take the brush and hair pins from her large beige Hermès handbag, she saw another mother with her daughter approaching the studio's door. 

Ugh, not today. 

It was Elizabeth Rigsby, the haughty, nosy mother of two children at Jack's and Pippa's school. She remembered months ago when she had the unfortunate incident of running into Elizabeth at school pickup. She had intruded into her private life, asking who the woman Marshall was seen with was and who the "university student" she saw Marie with was. It had been some time since Marie had been able to take Pippa to her dance class and she had completely forgotten that Elizabeth's daughter, Emily, who was a little older than Pippa, was in the class also. To Emily's credit, she seemed like a nice girl. It wasn't her fault.

Children certainly cannot be blamed for the sins of their parents, as you well know, Georgina.

"Oh, Georgina, you're here!" the short blonde woman exclaimed as she sat Emily down on the bench to change shoes, "I had gotten so used to seeing your father here. Lord Avon certainly is cute with Pippa."

Marie felt like she wanted to gag. Elizabeth was being that fake, syrupy sweet nice that she so hated. And it was always suspicious to her when people claiming to be friendly with her didn't even know her preferred name. 

"Yes, they have a very nice relationship. And dad has been very helpful over the past months," she said, brushing Pippa's soft hair back into a ponytail before taking the pins and starting to pin up her hair carefully.

"Oh, yes. Throughout your divorce and that thing with your...uhm...friend--" 

"Friend?" For real?