Just a Kiss

Chapter 4

A few hours later, Idina returned home to see that the cars had been washed and the lawn was mowed. But, where were Tom and the girls? Out of nowhere, a stream of water shot across the Suburban and hit Idina.

"What. The. Hell! TOM!" She yelled, looking on the other side of the truck just to find Tom and the girls laughing.

"Sorry, darling." He said, standing up and giving her a quick kiss on the cheek.

"What was that for?" Idina asked, looking at Tom with the stern look she always dealt out when someone was in trouble.

"Oh, no reason. Just to mess with you." He replied, smirking. He then turned to the girls and said, "Roll up the hose and empty the buckets please."

"Yes, dad!" Shelby and Dawn said at the same time.

Tom followed a mad Idina into the house. She ran into the bedroom and changed into a pair of yoga pants and a tshirt. She went into the kitchen to begin dinner when Tom popped around the corner and wrapped her into a hug.

"Sorry dear. It was my idea. The kids just went along with it." Tom said, tightening his grip around her waist.

"Uh huh." She said with a hint of sarcasm in her voice, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I would like to take a shower. Maybe call for take-out tonight, as I am not really in the mood to cook."

Tom let her go and Idina walked down the hall to the Master Bath. He then proceeded to go into the living room and grab the phone.

"What's for dinner, Dad?" Dawn asked, walking into the room.

"Take-out from the Chinese restaurant down the street." He replied, dialing the number.

The girls knew exactly what this meant. It means that they are going to get to sit in front of the TV and watch a movie! Tom placed the order and gave them the address.

When the food arrived, Idina was nowhere to be found. Tom looked everywhere for her but couldn't find her. He knew all of her hiding spots when she was unhappy or frustrated. This time he was stumped though. It was soon pushed to the back of his mind. She would come out eventually and everything would be better, so he sat down on the couch and started eating his Chinese food.

"Dad, where's mom?" Shelby asked.

"I don't know, sweetheart. I couldn't figure out where she's hiding. Why don't you try to find her?" He suggested, looking at her briefly.

Shelby nodded and got up, going down to the basement. She knew exactly where her mother was hiding. It was somewhere Tom should know to look but it always seemed to slip his mind. Shelby walked downstairs to the basement and knocked on her mother's studio door. She walked in slowly when she heard a quiet, "Who is it?" Shelby's heart dropped when she saw her mother. Idina was sitting on a chair, her knees brought up to her chest with her arms wrapped around them and her chin resting on them. She was staring at nothing in particular and briefly glanced up at her daughter, smiling softly.

"Hey, baby girl," Idina said quietly.

"Hi, mom," Shelby walked over and sat on the desktop. "You okay?"

Idina shrugged.
"Mom, tell me what's wrong. I don't like seeing you like this." Shelby said.

"It's your dad. He knows I'm stressed about this musical and being in the studio to record Wicked isn't helping," Idina groaned and got up, grabbing a Gatorade out of her mini fridge, handing one to Shelby.

"There's something else. What is it?" Shelby sat on her mother's lap and took a drink of her Gatorade.

"There's nothing else, Shelby," Idina responded halfway through her daughter's question, causing Shelby's eyebrow to raise in the same manner as her mother's usually does.

"Don't lie to me, Idina Kim Menzel," Shelby teased, taking another drink of her Gatorade.

"Shelby Maureen Menzel, don't use that tone with me," Idina teased back then sighed. "You're right. There is something else."

"What is it?" Shelby asked again.

"I'm... I'm pregnant..."Idina deadpanned and a tear slipped out of her eye.

Shelby was speechless and just wrapped her arms around her mother who started to cry softly. Why me? Idina asked herself. Because you wanted this role so badly that the universe isn't going to give it to you.

Idina quickly composed herself and looked at Shelby who smiled softly and kissed her mom on the cheek.

"Why don't we rehearse a little bit?" Idina suggested and grabbed the sheet music that was sitting on her desk and handed a copy to Shelby.

"'Take me or Leave Me? Really? You're rehearsing RENT? You were already in this musical," Shelby stated.

"Yeah, but it's the only song that I could think of that has a female duet," Shelby said, getting up and going to the piano. "Maureen or Joann?"

"I'll take Joann. I know how much you love your original role and 'kiss, pookie,'" Shelby said, a pout finding her features as she sat next to her mother.

"Alright then," Idina smiled and started playing the wonderful Broadway song. "Every single day, I walk down the street. I hear people say 'baby' so sweet..."