Surviving Charming

Old Friends, New Faces

"We went to the beach, and mommy gave me ice cream, and we went to the arcade, and.." Gracie chatted to Gemma on face chat while Hannah made dinner. Their flight went without issues, and even though they were in Florida, Hannah still kept in touch with Gemma and Happy. Happy was very angry she just up and left, but he was even angrier at Chibs for many reasons. Bobby was doing some of the paperwork for Cara Cara, but Hannah was able to work while away using her laptop. She still had obligations. "Chibs won't talk to anyone. He's been miserable." Gemma tells Hannah after Gracie is done chewing Gemma's ear off, and now playing with her toys in the living room. "Well I'm not going to race back to Charming just because he won't talk to anyone. Shit, he barely talked to me. But after dinner, do you think he would video chat with Gracie? She's been asking about him, and even though we didn't work out, I'm not going to keep her away." Gemma nods, " I'll ask him when he comes back from the repo run he's doing with Juice. We all miss both of you even though it has only been a week." Hannah gives a small smile, " We miss you all also, but I needed to clear my head. Plus Gracie doesn't know, but I want to take her to Disney in a few days. I've never been there and with everything that happened this year, I wanted a mommy and me trip. By the way, when did she start calling Chibs daddy?"

Gemma pauses, " Think the other day. The school nurse said something to her and called him daddy, so Gracie just ran with it. When we took her to the mall the day you overslept, she called him that and he didn't correct her. How do you feel about it?" Hannah takes the dishes from the cabinet, " I'm not mad, just caught me off guard. I'm mad at him for not talking to me about how it makes him feel, especially since he has a daughter, even though he doesn't get to see her. This silent treatment stuff is ridiculous, and I don't want Gracie to get hurt." "Yes, I agree. But you can't co-parent if you are on the other side of the country." Hannah sighed," I know but I put the ball in his court like you and Bobby said I should do and it backfired. Besides, I know there's an unwritten rule about women and runs or whatever, but it's different when it slaps you in the face, and we are not even together.....We need to eat dinner now so I can get her to bed and do some paperwork for Cara Cara. If he wants to face chat with her, can you have him do it in a few hours please? She would want to say goodnight."

Part of the reason Hannah went to Florida was to meet a friend. But this woman wasn't just her friend, she was her mom's best friend from high school, Amanda, or Mandie as she liked to be called. While going through her mom's belongings, Hannah came across a yearbook, and in it a full page letter from Mandie, who moved to Florida after graduation because of her new husband being in the military. Hannah searched for her, and was able to find her living in Venice, Florida. Mandie was sad to hear about Hannah's mom's passing, but she was excited for them to visit, and offered for Hannah to use her guest cottage while they stayed. The next day, Hannah and Gracie go to Mandie's house for lunch. Mandie even gave her some photos of Hannah's mom and her. " Catherine and I were always together during high school. Sometimes when I visit New Jersey, I still go to the places we went." Mandie says with a smile. Hannah smiles back " Can you tell me some memories about her ?"

As Mandie was reminiscing about her friendship with Catherine, her son walks in from work. "This is my son, Phil. Phil, this is Hannah and her daughter Gracie. I went to school with her mom." Phil and Hannah exchange hellos, and Hannah notices how cute he is. " I have to go shower, but would you ladies like to join me for some ice cream?" With the mention of ice cream, Gracie jumps and yells," I do." Mandie laughs " Yes, I never turn down ice cream." Phil winks at Hannah before turning to go get cleaned up. Hannah blushes and turns back to Mandie, hoping she will continue talking, which she does. "So when are you taking Gracie to Disney? I have some tips and coupons for you to use." Hannah stammered a minute, pulling her thoughts away from Phil, " Oh, umm few days from now. I have the reservations set up, and yes please, I'm all about discounts." Short while later, Phil walks back to the kitchen, and Hannah noticed how strong his cologne is. Did he marinate in it ?

"You owe me $10. I won this game fair and square." Hannah holds her hand out to Phil. " The bet wasn't my idea." He chuckles as he puts a $10 bill in her hand. "No, but you agreed." Hannah smirked. She beat him at mini golf, even though they flirted and teased each other the whole time. " Let me take you to dinner tomorrow night. Do you like seafood?" Phil smiled, looking at Hannah. She was caught off guard for a moment, but smiled back, "Yea, sure. Only if your mom doesn't mind watching Gracie." " Don't think she would." Phil replied. The rest of the night was fun, Hannah beat Phil at a second round of mini golf, and he won Gracie a stuffed bear in the arcade. Mandie and Hannah chatted about life and Disney. But soon, she felt too tired to stay awake any longer, so she called it a night, and Phil gave her his number.

While tucking Gracie in for bed, Hannah gave her the laptop so she could video chat with Gemma. The club was having a family dinner, Gracie talked to all of them, telling them about her day while Hannah took a shower. After she was finished, and Hannah came to tuck her in, Gracie looked sad. " I miss them, mommy. When are we going back home?" Hannah hugged and kissed her cheek, "Not yet, sunshine. I have a few surprises for you, but you need to get some sleep." Gracie yawned, "Is it the new baby?" "What?" Hannah asks. " I want a baby brother or sister." Gracie says, before yawning again and closing her eyes. Hannah just sits a moment, looking at Gracie, before shutting off the light and leaving the room. Her thoughts are interrupted by a text from Phil.