Suddenly

Too Soon?

Really, at this point, all Grace wanted was a long nap, or half a bottle of wine. Maybe something stronger than wine.

She had spent the entire day exhaustively making phone call after phone call. Joan had asked dozens of mentally draining questions. Carl, her former manager had been very short until she had broken down and explained the entire situation. Now he was more receptive, yet still standoffish. The hunt for a new home was panning out to be fruitless.

Maybe I'm subconsciously fucking that one up. She thought to herself.

She had made her standards increasingly high and nearly out of reach. Part of her didn't want to leave Hannah's. It made her feel terrible about herself.

Mamrie was coming over that night, she had been gone out of town since Saturday and was itching to get her hands back on Ayla.

Hannah had been somewhat distance since their talk that morning. Grace understood. She had said some things that might have gotten misconstrued and, knowing the feelings Hannah had harbored for her in the past, it may not have been entirely fair of her to do so.

"I'm going out for a while. Need anything?" Hannah absently asked as she searched for her keys. She should have really known better than to allow Ayla to play with them.

Grace, who was wrestling the little girl into a new diaper nodded. "They are in the drawer of the nightstand. That's her favorite hiding spot." She swiftly pulled the child's britches up and threw her hands in the air triumphantly. "Are you going to be back for Mamrie?"

"Ree!" Ayla parroted excitedly as she maneuvered herself off the floor and crawled over to sleeping Goose.

Hannah opened the end table drawer and, sure enough, her keys were inside. "I'm not sure, you guys gets started without me. I have a friend I'm going to see after a coffee meeting."

Grace couldn't help but feel a bit like Hannah was still evading her. She decided it was best to not mention it, but it did nothing to quell the feeling of rejection in the pit of her stomach.

"Have fun."

------------------------------------------

"So when does she get her own YDAD?" Mamrie pressed as she and Grace watched Ayla tumble around the room after Goose.

The two of them sat comfortably on Hannah's couch sipping lemonade. Mamrie had made a joke about Grace's lack of drinking, but had decided to show some solidarity and join her in sobriety.

"Maybe when everything calms down. That maybe be a fun way to introduce her." Grace replied. "I'm sure my fans will adore her, if I still have fans."

Mamrie frowned at Grace. Of course she still had her fans. Plus, everyone loves a good comeback story!

"You can go back online as well. I'm sure it would be a hit."

Grace grimaced. "Carl said the same thing. I just want to be sure that Ayla and I are safe before I go putting myself back online, or her online. I'm just trying to stay as careful as possible that Josh doesn't figure out where we are before he gets the papers."

The redhead sigh deeply, but nodded. "The moment that divorce is final, I'm getting both of us food and drunk, then finding you some good dick."

A strange feeling rushed through Grace at the thought of 'finding some good dick'.

She wasn't sure she wanted another man. Now, or ever.

In the back of her mind, she could faintly recognize that her breathing had picked up slightly. The world seemed to slightly tilt on its axis as her vision blurred with tears now filling her eyes.

Mamrie jumped right in and took complete charge.

"Hey, hey," she soothed gently, her hands cupping the sides of Grace's face. "You're okay, everything is okay. You need to calm down, you don't want to scare Ayla."

Grace struggled for a few moments to come back in control of her breathing and body. After what seemed like forever, though it was probably only five minutes, she calmed and quickly wiped away the tears that had fallen.

Mamrie stayed patient, yet concerned. She waited until Grace seemed fully back in control to speak.

"Honey, I was only joking." She apologized. "I should have known better. I know it is a sore spot, and should be the furthest thing from your mind."

A shaky laugh left Grace's mouth. She was slightly embarrassed by her outburst. It wasn't Mamrie's fault. The last thing she ever wanted was for her friend to dull her sense of humor in fear of upsetting her. It's just, the thought of ever being with another man scared the hell out of her.

"No, Mames, I'm sorry." She gave her friend a reassuring smile. "I'm all down for the drinking, just the whole 'getting over one man by getting under another' will have to wait a while."

The redhead nodded, not really trusting herself to say anything else. Her eyes flickered to Ayla. The little girl had been watching Grace's panic attack quietly. Now, she had gone back to trying to ride Goose, but Mamrie noticed how her little eyes still went to her mother every few seconds.

After a long silence, Grace spoke up again. "What even is the right amount of time between a divorce and launching into another relationship?" She questioned, in her most nonchalant voice. She made a point to no look right at Mamrie. Mentally she cursed herself for even asking. After all, nothing was ever going to happen with Hannah.

Mamrie shrugged indifferently, of course she did, she was none the wiser of the current predicament Grace had somehow gotten herself into. "Depends. I don't really expect you to dive right back in. I mean you are going through something pretty traumatic. But, at the end of the day, it's what you feel and what makes you happy. Fuck anyone else who tries to judge you."

She leaned back against the couch and took a deep drink from her glass, completely oblivious that her statement made Grace's heart feel slightly lighter.