Ever Since New York // H.S. - ON HOLD

CHAPTER 10 - MI CASA ES SU CASA

A/N - I planned out so much of the plot for this book last night and I am so excited! This is kind of a filler ish chapter to transition, but there's so much in store!

. . .

Ginny and I had a really great day yesterday. We had breakfast in bed, complete with pancakes, cheesy scrambled eggs, perfectly crisp turkey bacon, cut strawberries, and orange juice minus the pulp (because I can't stand it). I really wanted today to be a good one not only for Ginny's sake, but mine too . The guilt of ditching the nighttime routine we had perfected over the course of the past three years still lingered in the back of my mind and I needed a way to make it up to her. Ginny's my whole life, my whole heart, but Emma is right. I deserve to feel like a normal twenty-five year old for once. With the amount of shit I have been through, any sense of normalcy is a must. It's just that I've never been accustomed to "normal", so I don't even know what that looks like for me anymore.

After breakfast, we had a full-blown girls day. We played with her favorite toys, watched her favorite shows, danced around to her favorite music, which before you ask, yes, included Watermelon Sugar on repeat for a good thirty minutes. Thank god she has no sense of abstract comprehension, because an almost three year old really should not be knowing exactly what the song is about. We ordered lunch from her favorite place and ate in the park, vigorously people-watching as we typically do. After naptime, I painted her nails and braided her hair as she insisted we facetime Emma.

It was a sweet day and exactly what I needed to remind me of what's important in life. I don't need to be stressing about men when I have this precious, beautiful, special little girl who truly believes I walk on water by my side.

I've been sitting in my office for much of the morning since our daily huddle. Since it's the beginning of the week, there is a lot of new material to go over, so our meeting was a bit longer than usual. A lot of interviews took place over the past week or so, and I volunteered to take charge of them. Cara loves having me head up interviews because she knows I can stay true to the authenticity of them. Of course there are some situations where words need embellishment, but most of the time, I really strive to keep the integrity of the words spoken. I've been going through the files and organizing them to my liking when Cara knocks swiftly on my office door before entering abruptly.

"C'mon, let's go!" She opens the door wide and gestures for me to follow her, but I don't move as I am deep into my work.

"Go where?" I question, confused as to what she is referring to.

"To lunch, silly." She has a look of 'duh' on her face.

"When did I agree to lunch?" I raise a brow, knowing I fully did not agree to anything.

"You didn't, but I am telling you that we're going to lunch." She crosses her arms and taps her foot, dramatically adding emphasis.

"Cara, I was really focused on-" I gesture to my desktop as she interrupts me.

"Nope, work will always be there, but lunch will not be. It's just you and me. It feels like forever since I actually had the chance to talk to you, so please?" Her request is more genuine now and I agree. I love Cara and I really haven't seen her much since we went out the other weekend.

I log out of my computer and straighten up my desk before grabbing my purse and locking my office door behind me. It isn't until I walk through our floor that I realize mostly everyone is already out to lunch anyway. I've never been the one to go out during my lunch break. Typically I bring whatever I have in the fridge and eat in my office as I facetime Emma to see what Ginny is up to. That always makes my day a bit brighter.