Ecie & Esme III: Forever and a Day

Three

'My beautiful girl,' Lauren's father grinned as he hugged her. 'My beautiful daughter.'

'Hello,' Lauren murmured into his chest.

He let go of her grinning, and Lauren went over to hug her mother.

'How are you? How was the train?'

'It was good,' Lauren's mother smiled. 'It was a nice journey.'

'That's good,' Lauren smiled. She stepped back and stood next to Ecie. 'This is my roommate Ecie, and Ecie this is my mom Verity and my dad Melvin.'

'Hi,' Ecie smiled. 'It's great to meet you.'

They stood awkwardly for a moments before Lauren spoke.

'We should probably get going,' Lauren said. 'We've got some fun stuff planned.'

'Okay,' Verity smiled. 'Where is the taxi stand?'

'Oh don't worry about that,' Ecie smiled. 'I've got my car so we'll be driving home. The next two days will be an all expense paid vacation for you two.'

They walked to her car and Ecie and Lauren put Verity and Melvin's bags into the trunk.

'My dad's going to sit next to you,' Lauren said quietly. 'He does that; it makes him feel like he's in charge.'

'Okay,' Ecie said looking at Lauren. 'Why don't you give them a break?'

Lauren rolled her eyes and she shut the trunk and walked round the side of the car. Sure enough, Melvin had already seated himself in the passenger's seat next to Ecie, whilst Verity was sat in the back, behind him. Lauren got in next to her mother and Ecie climbed into the driver's seat.

'So we'll be staying with you?' Melvin asked as Ecie reversed out of her parking space. 'Where do you live?'

'We live on Wilshire Boulevard,' Ecie smiled driving out of the parking lot. 'We live in the Remington building and it looks so beautiful.'

Melvin nodded. 'Do you live there with Lauren?'

'Yeah,' Ecie replied a little confused. 'She moved in with us a couple months ago, but we'd been asking her to move in for ages before. You've got an amazing daughter.'

'This is very nice,' Verity smiled kindly. 'How many of you live here?'

'Four of us,' Lauren replied putting the bags down in the living room. 'Ecie, her sister Esme and their childhood friend Verd.'

Melvin nodded as he looked around a little. 'It's nice here.'

'Would you like anything to drink?' Ecie asked.

'Coffee,' Melvin replied.

'No thank you,' Verity smiled looking at Ecie's slightly shocked face. 'Could you point me in the direction of the bathroom?'

'I'll show you mom,' Lauren replied. 'It's just through here.'

'Make yourself comfortable,' Ecie said. 'I'll switch the TV on for you.' She switched it on before she went into the kitchen to start making his coffee.

'Your mom is really nice,' Ecie said as she poured coffee granules into a mug. 'She's a little quiet, a bit like you.'

Lauren smiled as she leant against the work surface. 'It's my dad.'

'I don't want to be disrespectful or anything, but I'm a little weirded out by him,' Ecie replied. 'He reminds me of Landon's dad.'

Lauren looked at Ecie. 'You've met his parents?'

'His dad kept staring at me like he hated me,' Ecie replied. She shook her head. 'Anyway, it's fine.'

She carried the mug of coffee out to Melvin followed by Lauren.

'How long have you had this apartment?' Verity asked. 'It looks very posh.'

'Aww thank you,' Ecie smiled. 'We've only had it since September. It's really nice because it looks really clean and we've got loads of space. So anytime you want to stay in LA, feel free to drop by. We'll always have space.'

'And you're in the same class as Lauren?'

Ecie looked at Lauren. 'I dropped out of college a few months back.'

Melvin looked up and glanced at Ecie, scoffing a little.

'Melvin,' Verity glared at her husband.

'Anyway,' Lauren said. 'Ecie planned some fun stuff for the next two days, didn't you E?'

'Oh yeah,' Ecie nodded. 'We're going to spend tomorrow at the spa: they'll give you massages, pedicures, manicures, the works. Today we're going to head out for lunch in a bit then we'll head out to dinner.'

'I was going to take you to the store I work at,' Lauren smiled at her mother. 'I thought it'd be nice for you to see where I work.'

Esme walked into the living room with Verde and Taylor. 'Oh hey.'

'This is Esme, Verd and Taylor,' Lauren introduced them. 'These are my parents; Verity and Melvin.'

'It's nice to meet you,' Esme smiled shaking their hands. 'How are you finding LA so far?'

'It's nice,' Verity smiled. 'You've got a nice apartment.'

'I thought you said only four of you were living here,' Melvin said. 'Who's the extra guest?'

'Taylor,' Lauren said biting her bottom lip in frustration. 'He's Esme's boyfriend.'

'And your parents allow you to live together?'

'OH Taylor doesn't live here,' Esme smiled. 'He's got his own apartment, but he stays here sometimes.'

Melvin scoffed and went back to drinking his coffee.

'Right, well,' Ecie said forcing a smile. 'I'm going to check up on things and I'll be right back.' She left the room and went out onto the roof.

'No mom!' Lauren said. 'No! I don't want to hear it. Can you not see what is going on?'

'Lauren, please,' Verity said. 'Your friends will hear you.'

'He is being rude and condescending mom,' Lauren said. 'I told you that I didn't want him to come here.'

'You don't mean that,' Verity replied. 'He's trying very hard.'

Lauren shook her head in tears. 'No he's not. He's fucking not.'

'Don't you dare swear in front of me,' Verity said looking at Lauren sternly. 'We've had a long day and he's just feeling exhausted from it.'

'He doesn't have to go insulting my friends,' Lauren replied. 'He's sitting there like he owns the place. Ecie has had a very rough few years and she doesn't need some retarded old man making her feel even worse.'

'Lauren...'

'All I want is to have a peaceful two days,' Lauren replied. 'But if he's going to keep up like this, I don't want him here. I can handle this at home when it's just us, but when my friends are involved and we're not at home, I'm not having it.'

'I'll talk to him, honey,' Verity said hugging Lauren. 'I'll have a word.'