"Tow the line and play their game
Let the anaesthetic cover it all
'Til one day they call your name
You know it's time for the hammer to fall"
In which friends of friends are going to change each other's lives.
They just don't know it yet.
Mostly So...
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Adrienne held the chip in her hand as she read through a few emails sent to her by producers and from ABC themselves about arrangements for the span of filming. As she went to take a bite, she heard a crunch from next to her. Adrienne looked down at her hand and then down at Elias, who was intently watching Planet Earth with her on the TV screen and munching on the chip he had just taken out of her hand.
"There's plenty of chips in the bag. You don't have to take mine." She scoffed lightly and moved the bag between the two of them.
"I wanted that one." Elias answered, not taking his eyes off of the TV.
"That chip specifically?"
"It was closer to me."
"Oh my god, child." Adrienne rolled her eyes and smiled in disbelief. After replying to the necessary emails, she shut her laptop and walked it back to the kitchen counter. Elias decided to trot back to his bedroom, but she needed him to come back.
"Elias?"
"Yeah ma?"
"Do you want to go see daddy before you go to Nona and Baba's?"
Adrienne flinched as she heard the crash of Legos from her son's bedroom and the stamping of feet as Elias ran past her and straight for the coat closet for his shoes. Elias struggled to grab the doorknob of the closet so she opened the door for him. He grabbed his his favorite pair of tennis shoes and stuffed his feet into them, minus a pair of socks. Elias looked up with eager eyes and answered the original question. "Yes."
--
As Adrienne and Elias made their way to Anton's memorial site, Elias let go of his mother's hand and raced to the bronze statue that stood towards the middle of the graveyard. One of the workers was held back by another as the latter realized who exactly was climbing over the chains to stand at the foot of the statue. Adrienne smiled as Elias began to tell a random story from preschool to the statue. She felt fortunate that he was so willing to learn more about Anton than she anticipated, and was so willing to make so with such a harsh situation. No one deserved to grow up without knowing who their father was and not have them be a key part of their life. Elias continued to chat up the statue of Anton and Adrienne decided herself to join him.
"Hey honey." Adrienne smiled weakly and squeezed the wrist of the statue. "We'll see you soon."
—
Adrienne and Elias stared at each other longingly as she finished buckling him into his car seat. She put off the feelings of having to leave him behind in California for a few months up until now, mostly because she felt horrible about herself. She didn't want to leave him for that longs but there would have been no other way to do so. She wouldn't have been able to find childcare in time. She had to focus on her job. Irina and Viktor were her best bet. Adrienne had left him with them plenty of extended periods of time for more than just a weekend, but it didn't make leaving any easier.
"Nona and Baba will call me every night so I can see you, okay?"
Elias nodded sadly as Adrienne buckled him into the car seat. "You promise?"
She nodded and held out her pinkie to him. "Pinky promise." Elias
Adrienne tearfully pecked him on the cheek. "One for my baby."
"One for the road." Elias squished his mother's cheeks and planted a kiss on his mother's lips. He was as worried as a kid his age could be when he saw Adrienne upset, but was nonetheless bummed to see her go. "I love you mamma."
"I love you baby." Adrienne carefully shut the car door. Irina waved to her as she pulled the car out of the parking spot, pulling around to drive away. She let out a shaky breath before staring up at the partly cloudy sky. "Quattro mesi, I miei ragazzi."
— So sorry this is short. Just some snapshots, really. Agh.
