Fifty Shades After

Chapter 12: Welcome Home

It's the meadow.  

I don't know how, but at the same exact moment, Phoebe, Mom and I dash towards the tall grass romping around and about with suddenly no care in the world. I can hear Mom laugh freely and carelessly with Phoebe at hand. I laugh as I skip around, my cheeks cool from the trail of tears I shed earlier. It's the meadow! Holy crap, I can't believe it! I throw myself on the plush, itchy grass, extending my arms and legs.

"I gaze up at the clear, blue, summer sky... My view framed by meadow flowers and tall green grasses..."

I hear Phoebe laugh and cheer from afar and Mom squealing delightfully. For a while, I'm at peace. I forget all my troubles. The past six days just melt away. I can feel them melt away. I feel so much lighter, so my calmer, so much happier. I'm a kid again.

"Tag!" The air is knocked out of me when Phoebe jumps on top of me. "You're it!" She quickly scrambles up and I grin as I sit up and run towards her. She squeals and hops as I chase after her. I see Mom in the corner of my eye and take a detour towards her. She yelps as she skids through the grass, and I catch her, hugging her tightly and picking her up inches from the floor. "Teddy!" She gigglesnorts as she clutches my shoulders. We're laughing and out of breath. I release her and Mom picks Phoebe up to swing her round and round. I turn towards the house and Dad is still on the porch, smiling and laughing at us.

"Dad!" I yell as I swing my arm for his presence.

His smile disappears.  He gapes at me, He looks, what? Surprised? Shocked? Then, he grins widely. I can see all his teeth clearly. And he's off. Running towards us at full speed. "Daddy's it!" Phoebe escapes from Mom's arms and flees. "Every man for himself!" I yell and Mom laughs and runs the other direction. I do the same and he's forced to chose between his three victims. He choses Phoebe and it takes him seconds to scoop her up, and swing her around. She squeals in delight and he kisses her on her forehead, placing her on his shoulder. "Who's next!" He yells and Phoebe points menacingly at me.

They run towards me and I cackle as I try and succeed in dodging them. I meet with Mom on the other side of the meadow and I place my thumbs on my temples and wiggle my fingers, taunting Phoebe. She says something to Dad that we don't hear and he grins. He puts her down and she runs towards me. That's their plan? I scoff. I turn to Mom and she's no longer there. Traitor! Phoebe is charging towards me. I'm about to run the other direction, but Dad is also making his way towards me. I'm cornered! Phoebe clashes on me and Dad wraps me in a suffocating  embrace and gives me the painfullest noogie I have ever received in my life.

"Ow, ow! Alright already!" He releases me and I comb my hair back in place. "Mommy's left!" Phoebe points at Mom and we all charge at her at the same time. And she raises her hands in fearful defeat.

We tackle hug her and after laughing uncontrollably, we sit in a circle to catch our breaths.

"And then I told Dad, I told him, I'll go straight and you go around, and that's how we caught Teddy!" Phoebe laughs as she shows us her tactic with her hands. I chuckle and I'm startled when Dad wraps his arm around my shoulder. I disregard it and listen to Phoebe's alternative plans to catch me. Then, I feel Dad kiss  my head and then ruffle my hair. Why's he being affectionate?

Then it dawns me. Yes, I get it. I genuinely called him Dad for the very first time.

Of course, that day at his office doesn't count. And neither the times I've referred to him as Dad to other people, or "old man". I seriously, literally, called him Dad, and it now becomes clear that he's been waiting for that since he saw me. I roll my eyes. What a lug. But I eat my words when I lean my head against him, as we laugh at Phoebe accusing Mom of being a quitter.

"That was quite a work out, guys!" I hear Sophie from afar. Sophie! I had forgotten about her. "Come over here for refreshments!" Gail yells and we all stand. Dad has Phoebe on his shoulders again, and I give Mom my arm and she wraps her arms around it. Dad and Phoebe are already on the porch while Mom and I are taking our sweet time. "Well, that was fun." I chuckle and she scoffs. "And exhausting. I haven't ran like that in years." She's suddenly quiet. Lost in thought like she usually is. Oh, Mom. I kiss her cheek and she turns to me. "Not now. Cut it out." I whisper and she blushes.

Gail disappears and Mom and Dad are sitting on the table. They have fresh, cool lemonade poured on a tall glass with a slice of lemon on the rim. I want to pour myself some, but Sophie doesn't let me. "What?" I wonder confused. "I thought you might want something a little more sweet." She hands me a burgundy popsicle.

I laugh loudly, recognizing her irony right away. Is she serious right now? I take it, with a huge grin on my face. "Pop?" I arch a brow, still smirking. She giggles and it's a beautiful sound. "Mom, look!" I snort and show Mom my treat. She's mid sip and when she sees it, she chokes on her drink, coughing crazily. Dad hurries and pats her back, trying to stifle his laugh. When she's all better, she sarcastically warns me not to drop it.

"Come on, let's go walk." Sophie says licking her popsicle. I'm following her, but halt right away. "Not in those shoes." She looks down and frowns. "I'll be fine, we're just going to walk."

- "Sophie, take them off." I glare at her and she rolls her eyes. "So domineering." She grumbles as she sits on the steps to take those death traps off. Phoebe stays with Mom and Dad, and Sophie and I take a walk around the meadow like we traditionally did. I suck on the popsicle's juice, letting the welcoming cool cranberry flavor dance in my mouth. "You're quite the comedian." I scoff and she walks with her chin up. "I'll be here all week." she adds and I smile.

"Hey, I've been thinking." I say after a long pause. "You know Dad more than I do." She frowns. "Ted, what's this about?"

- "Don't worry, it's not a big deal. I just don't get Dad sometimes. I mean, I get the basics. Genius, my father, filthy stinking rich," I shrug. "But the rest-" I look up at the sky. "He's pretty much a stranger." She elbows me and tosses her wooden popsicle stick away. "Well you've come to the right place. What do you want to know?" She asks and I shrug. "I don't know. Some facts about him. Anything helps."

- "Well, I'll tell you one thing, he's bipolar as hell." She laughs. I think for a second. "Like, mercurial?" I say and she nods frantically. "Yes, yes! That's the word Ana always used!" Figures. "As a matter of fact, you and him are very alike. Your mood shifts like I change clothes on fashion week." She twirls and her dress dances. Oh, sweet Jesus. Wait, what? No it doesn't! "What are you talking about?" I scoff and she raises her brows. "Seriously? That little drama scene back in the dining room?" I roll my eyes. "I excused myself."

- "Whatever, drama queen." She taunts and I frown. Drama queen? Me? Feh! "That's practically all you got on me."

- "Oh, and what about us in the hallway? One second you're grumpy, the next you're all sweet and tender,  then you're throwing a fit like a little kid, and then you're calm and understanding. It's exhausting to keep up."

- "Please. I was just upset, okay? You're the one who- wait, sweet and tender?" I slightly tilt my head to one side and she blushes. "Well, yeah." she stops and I stop with her, gazing down at her. She really is short. "I hurt my ankle. That was really sweet of you to help." She pushes a lock of her golden hair behind her ear. "By the way, I didn't thank you for that. So... Thanks." She plays with her fingers and my grin touches my eyes. "It was my pleasure." She smiles and kisses me on the cheek. Holy! "What was that for?" I breathe, gaping at her with my hand on my cheek. "Sorry. I just missed you like crazy. You were always on my mind."

I blush furiously. Where did that come from! And she calls me mercurial? "But back to the topic." She quickly says. "Christian is a workaholic, an honest man, polite, smart and can be really intimidating. And I mean, really, really intimidating." She pauses for a moment and her expression changes to that of a serious one.

"Dominant, if you will." She says quieter. And suddenly, Sophie is lost in thought. I have a feeling she knows more than what she's telling me. But decide not to probe for answers.

And so we continue our walk.

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