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 Posted: Sun May 10, 2015 11:58 am
Once upon a time, not so very long ago, in the self-same land she found herself in now, Paris shopped at low-end department stores and the Good Will. Not that there was anything wrong with either of those places. They served their purposes, and she found plenty of things to enjoy among them.
But these days she found herself shopping at the higher end stores, where a pair of jeans was well over a hundred dollars and a normal person might have a heart-attack at the prices attached to something so simple as a spatula. She still had a heart-attack herself sometimes, but she was learning to get over it. After all, she'd married into money, and she was encouraged to spend it however her heart desired.
These days her heart desired all things baby, but Chris, being forever practical, seemed to think it best to hold off on too many purchases until they found out the babies' genders. Paris had to admit that this was a very logical course of action, but not one she felt like following.
So when she had someone around who was ready and willing to indulge her, things tended to get a little out of control.
“I still don't know if we should get a second changing table or stick with one,” she said, smack dab in the middle of a fancy baby boutique with one Rene Rivers at her side.
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Posted: Sun May 10, 2015 12:21 pm
His face when they had arrived at the higher end store had been hilarious. Rene had just sort of started between it and Paris with this confused look. He was pretty sure Paris had chuckled at his expression. Either that or it was his mind adding to the experience.
He probably should have expected this honestly. After seeing where his friends lived. A upscale store like this should not have been such a surprise. But it was. Somehow.
Rene was quickly over it as they had begun to wander the store, comparing various pieces to each other in order to figure which was the best or which Paris ultimately favored over the rest. Accessories, color palette, over all design sometimes came into play, mostly when the over friendly floor staff came over to check on the pair. There had been a brief moment where one employee had congratulated them on their baby. Rene's brain had promptly broke, turning him several different fantastic shades of red as he tried to hide behind his hand. The associate quickly departed after that in embarrassment. The pair quietly chuckled to themselves after they'd both relaxed and Rene had assured Paris that she would look very cute with a baby bump.
"I'd go for the second one. Just in case you know? Doesn't mean you necessarily have to set it up in the beginning. But it might save you from having to run up or down a flight of stairs depending on where you are in relationship to the nursery." He paused, looking at the various ones set up in front of them. "That. Or you could give it to your mother as a hint. She's gotta get a nursery set up at some point."
Did he forget to mention today was all about indulging bad habits and thoughts? Oops.
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Posted: Mon May 11, 2015 7:33 am
Paris happened to think the employees' reactions were rather hilarious. If Rene hadn't been so embarrassed by it she might have played along. Instead she could only stare wistfully at all of the merchandise and wonder what it would have been like if the bump had been hers to have.
Ah, well. There was no helping it. Best not to dwell on it and focus on what she did have instead.
It was somewhat strange being out with Rene, she had to admit. Not because she didn't like him. Goodness, no, she liked him quite a bit. It was strange because of how they'd met—they'd been in one another's lives in the future, and so naturally drifted together once they were back in the present. Paris felt as if she knew more about Rene than she could truly say she did.
“You know, you have a point,” Paris said. “With the house being as big as it is, it might be a good idea to have another changing table downstairs so I don't have to tote them up to the nursery all the time.”
She'd already resigned herself to the fact that she was likely to end up doing most of the diaper changing.
“Ha, my mother would hand it right back to me,” she continued, strolling down the aisles of merchandise as she did so. “My mother-in-law, though, she'd go nuts. I'd probably hardly ever see the babies if I let her have her way. At least I know I'll have plenty of ready and willing babysitters~!” she concluded, tossing a teasing look Rene's way as she did so.
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Posted: Mon May 11, 2015 9:49 am
Rene hummed in agreement. "Besides." He said, flashing his friend a knowing smile. "After the twins? You'll be a pro at this. As weird as it is to say, after a while, you figure out what makes a decent 'changing table'. My mom use to change my sisters on the floor or my dad's recliner a lot. Just throw the little pad under them and one two three done."
"What if we just.... glue'd it to her floor or something?" He asked, looking at this thing and that. "Do you think it's more of a 'My baby's having a baby' thing or an "Oh my god I'm too 'young' to be a grandmother' thing." He suddenly blinked up at Paris. Er. Was that too forward? ... Probably not. At least not with Paris. With anyone else? It might have been. Paris and Chris? After what they saw, what they'd been through together and apart? They knew enough about each other to know when a boundary was crossed.
He snorted lightly. "Yeah.. Your mother-in-law and my mom both. Be careful leaving kids alone around them. Trust me, you will have to pry them apart. Rene teased. "I'll babysit if you need me to though. I'm not doing much. Part time job and some classes here and there are easy enough to juggle around them."
"Oh oh! Dibs on the 'Spoiling Rotten Uncle' position." Well as spoiled as Rene dared under their parents approval. "You heard me, I called it first. I will freaking fight Michael and Peter for it. Okay maybe not Michael... Peter maybe."
Abandoning his post at a changing table, a cute little thing, wooden, with a leafy vine pattern carved into it, he trailed after Paris. "Sooooooo." He asked, feigning innocence. "How long before I can start pestering my favorite mother to be if she knows the genders?" Rene? Ego stroking Paris? Neeeeever. "Have you figured out any names you like yet?"
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Posted: Mon May 11, 2015 11:44 am
“Mmm, I think it's a little of both 'my baby's having a baby' and 'I'm too young to be a grandmother,'” Paris admitted.
She wasn't surprised in the least. After the years they'd spent apart, Paris's mother had the tendency to look at her like she was still five years old. Marissa'd never quite gotten over calling Paris “Baby” either. It would have been embarrassing if Paris wasn't so used to it by now.
Added to that her mother's outright refusal to admit her real age, and you had a sticky situation as far as getting her mother to accept the fact that she was going to be a grandmother. Paris was fairly certain Marissa would deny it right up until the point she had a baby in her arms, and even then she might still try and pretend.
“Don't worry, I doubt you'll have much competition,” she assured Rene. “Michael's not the spoiling type when it comes to kids, and Peter's not always interested. You know fourteen year olds. They have other priorities.”
Paris picked up the tone of innocence in Rene's voice without having to try too hard. She turned to him with a playful eye-roll, shaking her head before wagging one of her fingers at him.
“Uh uh uhh~” she said. “You'll have to wait and find out like everyone else. I'm waiting. Chris is waiting. Chris's mom is waiting. The only one who knows is Olivia, and she's been sworn to secrecy until the gender reveal party over Memorial Day weekend. Which you're invited to, by the way. I'll be sending out the invitations this week.”
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Posted: Mon May 11, 2015 12:06 pm
"Your mother is... something. Maybe it's a good thing I'm shopping with you and not her. She'd probably just spend the day outside the stores refusing to go in. You'd get nothing accomplished." He had to wonder what it was like for Paris after the ordeals of the new year. Had her mother been clingy? Distant? Rene himself had to deal with an overly curious mother as to why he was 'limping' and nursing his side. His scars itched suddenly, yet he ignored it. "She'll come around and accept it eventually. It is another part of growing up. Just cause she's an adult doesn't mean she doesn't have anything left to learn."
"Haha. You say that now, but babies are crafty. They can sometimes reduce even the most cold-hearted person into a cooing mush. It will be interesting to see what the effects the twins have on them. Or on Michael at least." Rene threw his friend a mischievous grin. "If nothing else I will thoroughly enjoy watching Michael stand there awkwardly with one of them with no idea what to do. My moneys on Peter being over protective of them but denying it the whole time. Gotta keep that cool teen image after all."
"Damn it." He whined. "I love you like a sister but spoil my fun why don't you." Rene wandered over to a small selection of strollers and walkers, cringing when he realized just how many styles and variants they came in. That wasn't even counting colors and patterns. "Of course I'm coming! Like you could keep me away from something like that. I could come early if you want? Help you guys set the place up." Maybe figure out genders before anyone else...
"Oh!" He suddenly exclaimed, something in the corner of the room catching his eye. "Come here. You're gonna want one of these, truuuust me." Rene weaved his eay through strollers, daybeds and cribs. Past those giant toy bins that often looked like animals and completely ignored a fun (and somewhat terrifying) array of plush animals, complete with one massive brown teddy bear.
"Glider rockers are the best. We have one that really helped my mom and I with my sister Franky. This thing is a gift from above. I swear it."
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Posted: Fri May 15, 2015 4:08 am
Paris didn't say much more about her mother. In a way, they were both in denial. Marissa tried her best to deny that Paris was growing up and having children of her own, and Paris tried her best to deny the fact that her mother was also powered. Of course, her mother hadn't explicitly told her “I'm Palatine,” but after New Year's Paris had a pretty good feeling her suspicions were accurate.
Which was just a whole 'nother can of worms she didn't feel like opening right now. She didn't know which she preferred, honestly—the knowing or the being blissfully ignorant about it. If anything, the knowing explained some of Palatine's odd behavior.
But today wasn't about that. She shouldn't be thinking of her powered life when there were strollers to look at and stuffed animals to collect. Today was about the babies, not whatever problems Paris might have on the side.
That Rene kept talking about Michael brought a bit of a grin to Paris's face. “Wasn't he, like, your teacher once upon a time? You went to Azure, right?”
She could imagine quite a few students from Azure had a bit of a fascination with Mr. Michael Gallo.
“Keep bringing him up and I might start to think you have a little crush,” she teased. “Anyway, you can help with the decorations if you want. I'm sure Olivia would appreciate it. But don't think you're going to be able to find out what we're having before anyone else. No one but Olivia will know until we cut the cakes, and she's not telling anyone, so don't even try.”
She followed him to the glider rocker and examined it closely, then sat down to try it out and determined that it was quite comfortable. “This is nice,” she said. “I'll have to get one. Good eye, Rene, this is really comfortable. Can you imagine just sitting here with the babies. I can't wait. The next 23 weeks cannot pass fast enough.”
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Posted: Fri May 15, 2015 2:12 pm
Rene stared at his friend as if she had turned into a hydra. "Uuugh.. Don't remind me. Yeah... I had him when I went to school. Not that you know, I realized who he was, obviously. But now it's just like, weird. I'm still not sure if I should call him Michael or Mr. Gallo when I'm talking to him."
"Besides, it's too soon for me." Rene added with a small sigh. "After what happened with... I just dunno Paris." While the two had gone to school together, they had barely lasted longer then a couple of months. It wasn't that they had gotten into a fight or anything... He and Mikhail had just gotten busy, they'd stopped talking to one another. Eventually they just mutually decided it was for the best. They'd still remain friends in the end, but they couldn't be what each other needed at the time.
"Besides, I bet you had plenty of teachers you had a crush on. No teasing me on it." Rene rolled his eyes playfully. He only brought up Michael and Peter, because babies sometimes had a profound effect on people. It was fun to watch someone turn into a cooing ball of mush just because a baby was dropped in their laps.
"Fiiiiiiiiine. I promise I won't hound Olivia while we set the place up." He'd take what he could get. Besides, watching Paris spazzing about the place before everyone got there would be entertaining. "Do I at least get to know if you've gotten any closer to names? Are you guys gonna do the god parent thing?"
"Told you so. Mom's still got hers. I figure, if you have both of them in your arms, it would be easier to get outta this then a regular rocker chair." The small man snorted at her enthusiasm. "You are so ready to be a mom. Remember this enthusiasm when you're dead tired and haven't slept in a day in a half." Someday, Rene was pretty sure Paris would beat him into submission with a pillow. Or whatever else she could get her hands on. "It will go faster then you realize. How's Chris handling it?"
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Posted: Sat May 16, 2015 7:32 am
“Hey, I never said go after him and ask him out on a date or anything,” Paris said. “Ew. Just... no. He's not good enough for you anyway, sorry to say. Besides, I'm pretty sure he intends to spend the rest of his life as a bachelor. He'll just end up breaking your heart, trust me.”
As for crush worthy teachers, well... that brought back memories Paris didn't often like to dwell on. “You'd be surprised how few teachers I had a crush on. I wasn't at Meadowview long enough to really get to know any of the teachers, and Hillworth was like hell on Earth.”
She frowned just thinking about it. She regretted that she ever went to Hillworth. At the time it hadn't mattered to her. Sticking the boy-crazy person into an all boys school had seemed silly, but there was more to it than that whether or not Paris had acknowledged it at the time. Hillworth just hadn't been the right place for her, for more than one reason.
Waving her hand to dismiss the subject, Paris stood from the rocker and focused on more positive things.
“Names we've got done. Henry Miles and James Oliver for boys, and Abigail Olivia and AnneMarie Rose for girls,” she said. “I don't know if we're going to do the god parent thing. I think so. Chris's family is Catholic so I'll probably let Momma talk me into the whole baptism thing even if I'm not really Catholic myself. I don't mind if the twins participate and learn about Catholicism, I just don't plan on forcing it on them.
“Chris is handling it fine, I guess,” she continued. “He doesn't get as excited about it as I do, but that's just his way. I know when we first started looking into all this he wasn't too thrilled, but New Year's changed things.”
She paused, her smile turning sad and wistful as she said, “He said it made him realize he doesn't want to miss out on anything.”
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Posted: Mon May 18, 2015 6:27 pm
"Uh huuuuuuh. The thought was still there." Rene laughed. "Are you going to just... do the whole "He's not good enough" for anyone I show interest in or is it just cause we brought up Michael. Cause everyone knows my mom doesn't do it. She just likes to fawn over everyone. She would fine you adorable."
"Maybe I would... Maybe I wouldn't be." Rene shrugged. "Azure was filled with a lot of snobs. But I guess that's to be expected from it. Rich kids and other that are too focused on grades to live a life." He was glad that part of his life was over, as weird as that was to say.
"AnneMarie Rose sounds like something you'd come up with. Let me guess. You watched 'All Dogs Go To Heaven' till you memorized it didn't you?" The teen laughed lightly. "Those are wonderful names. They sound perfect." He then parted from here, wandering a short distance to some over sized recliner rockers. "My family isn't Catholic, but I have god parents, so to speak. They aren't like... official or anything. It's just kind of always been a thing. We say god parent or god child even if it's not written down anywhere as such."
"Maybe Chris isn't getting excited cause he cant compare to your gusto for it?" He offered. "I for one, my dear wanna be sister, am excited and we can shaz about babies and let Chris be the calm one. He could just be nervous. Kids are a big thing." Both he and Paris were still quite young. Children themselves almost. It would make sense that one or both of them would be nervous.
Rene blinked when Paris spoke, before his lips settled into a thin line. "Let's not talk about New Year's." Rene muttered. It was still such a sore spot for him. If he had gotten there sooner, done something more... Maybe his friends wouldn't have come out in the state that they had. Maybe, if they had just stayed home or something, things could have been different. "I told Chris when he was in the hospital, I vote that for next year we just stay home and do a group party. Especial since you'll have two kids this time next year."
Sunshine Alouette DERP BROTHER IS STILL SAD
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Posted: Tue May 19, 2015 11:23 am
“It isn't so much that no one's good enough as it is that it's... Michael,” Paris said. “Remember what I said about bachelor for life? It's true. He'll just break your heart. And he might enjoy doing it, I don't know. I don't pretend to know what gets him off.”
It should be obvious by her tone of voice that she and her oldest brother-in-law did not always get along. She loved him in her own way, and she was sure he loved her in his, but they'd never been particularly close and Paris didn't expect that would change at all. They both gave one another a hard time and were totally fine with that.
Baby names was a better subject anyway, Paris thought.
“I can honestly say I forgot the girl's name was Anne-Marie,” she admitted. “It's actually a combination of my mother's middle name and my mother-in-law's middle name. I thought it'd be nice, since all the other names we picked were family names or tributes to Olivia.
“I don't have god parents, so I don't know how I'm going to pick god parents for two kids,” she continued. “Well, I know my best friend would be one of them, even if he doesn't know it yet. Chris and I haven't really discussed anyone else. I guess that's something we'll figure out closer to when the time comes.
“He might be nervous,” she added. “He loves kids, and I know he would have wanted some eventually, but I don't think he really knows what to do with babies. I think he likes toddler aged kids the best. You know, the ones you can play around with but still consider babies. It'll be interesting to see how he handles infants.”
Admittedly, Paris was happy to have an excuse not to talk about New Year's. She didn't talk about it often. It wasn't always because she didn't want to, but because the subject was simply too painful.
“That sounds like a fantastic idea,” Paris said. “We can have a party at my house. It's big enough for plenty of people. You and everyone else can pass around the babies and ooo and aah at them and we can have good food and drinks and watch the ball drop.”
Much preferred to being imprisoned, in Paris's opinion.
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Posted: Sun May 24, 2015 4:04 pm
"Breaking my heart... It's nothing I haven't felt before Paris." He said softly. "Michael can't be that bad... I mean I know my only real experience with him as a teacher but." Rene sighed lightly, shaking his head as he gave her a small smile. "He didn't seem so bad. But I'm sure there's nothing to worry about. I'm a former student remember? That's probably a line he doesn't want to cross."
"Either way, Anne-Marie is still a wonderful name. All the names are wonderful. How are you going to chose if you have to pick one of each?"
"Mine are just... old family friends my mom practically grew up with. So it was just kinda assumed or what ever that they would take care of me if something happened you know? My dad has only met them a couple of times really. But he seems to like them well enough."
Rene shrugged lightly. "He'll learn. He's got you and the rest of his family. We're gonna help you both as much as we can." Then the teen laughed suddenly. "You might have to watch him a few times... I have a cousin whose mind absolutely breaks if they have to hold a baby. They tense up and just don't move. Chris is going to be really nervous the first couple of times."
"Admittedly, I kinda like infants the best. I don't know how to explain it. It's just easy to function with them sometimes. I hovered around my younger sister when she was born. I guess it still hasn't worn off."
"Done. Though if we end up playing "I've Never" I will probably be the soberest person in the room. I am a very boring person sometimes."
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Posted: Wed Jun 10, 2015 10:43 am
“To be completely honest, I don't know where Michael draws the line,” Paris admitted. “Somehow I doubt a former student would bother him much so long as they were legal. He's... I don't really want to say a playboy, because that isn't exactly it, but he gets around from what I've heard.
“If we have to pick one of each, it'll be Henry and Abigail. We can save the other two names for later, if we ever decide to have more kids.”
Which Paris had to admit was a thought of hers. Certainly it wasn't anything to consider any time soon, especially when they were new parents having twins, but maybe when the twins were old enough to be in school...
“I'm sure Chris'll be fine after the first few tries,” she continued. “I can just imagine the look on his face, though. Like, 'help me, Paris, I don't know what to do.' He's so helpless. I don't know how he expects to be able to take care of babies when he can hardly take care of himself, but after New Year's he's been... he's been more enthusiastic about it. Says he doesn't want to miss out on the chance, you know? I kinda know how he feels.”
She drifted off into her memories for a few moments, but ended up forcing them away by distracting herself with the area reserved for baby clothes.
“I can't wait until we find out what we're having. It's so hard not to just go ahead and buy clothes when I find something so cute. Look at this little shirt and cardigan set. It's like something a little Chris would wear.”
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Posted: Sat Jul 18, 2015 6:50 am
"Michael is Michael. He does his own thing." Which was fine. There was nothing wrong with that in the slightest. He probably had reasons or logic for going about it, Rene wasn't going to attempt to figure out what they where.
Though the young man snorted loudly at his 'sister'. "Yeah, okay. 'If we ever decide to have more kids.'. I'm sorry. Have you MET you?" He asked, one hand propping itself on his hip while the other gestured at her. "You're going to want more. You both come from sizable families. I imagine it would be a bit strange to have a 'small' one in comparison." Not that their little family was small as it was. Four was a decent number. "Think of the tiny army of ballerina's you could raise Paris."
Oh he could picture Chris' face perfectly in that scenario. "Have you guys looked into parenting classes? It might help ease him into things."
The mention of New Year's had Rene frowning just ever so slightly. "I don't blame him. I'd probably be the same way if... You know." He waved his hand listlessly to punctuate a point they would both rather not think about. "I'm just glad you guys were okay." ...As okay as they had been anyway. It could have been worse. Much, much, worse. "I'm just sorry I wasn't there sooner and that I couldn't do more for you." Wrapping a coat around her shoulders hardly felt like enough to make up for what she went through. In the end, he had ended up in the hospital right along with them.
Rene blinked at the set, almost comically as he was pulled from darker thoughts to it. "You could... always stock up... Remember, tiny army of dancers Paris. Besides, just because you don't know what you have yet doesn't mean you have to get solely neutral colored clothes. Get pinks, get blues. Girls, boys. Get what you want. And if it doesn't pan out this time, there's always the future right?" Or a baby shower for someone else.
Which ever happened first.
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Posted: Tue Aug 25, 2015 7:02 am
“Okay, okay, you have a point,” Paris relented,
Of course she was going to want more kids. She was already excited enough as it was at the prospect of having two. Sooner or later she was going to start planning for more, whether that was five or ten years down the road was anyone's guess. She couldn't kid herself into believing it wouldn't happen.
Still, she made a face at Rene, like he didn't know her as well as he thought he did.
Only he did and they both knew it.
“What if I want a little army of baseball players instead?” she asked loftily. “I hope they look just like Chris. They should follow in his footsteps, too. Of course, no matter what we have they'll probably end up doing both baseball and dance. Gotta raise them to be well rounded kids. A parenting class would probably be a good idea, though, I just need to convince Chris that its necessary.”
Paris frowned lightly when her thoughts turned back to New Years.
“You got there as soon as you could,” she said.
It was all she felt able to say on the subject. The more she talked about it, the more it would bother her. She didn't want to pollute their shopping excursion with dark thoughts, not when there were more joyous things to keep in mind.
If anything, the babies were going to be a wonderful distraction.
“You are a terrible influence,” she decided, taking the shirt and cardigan set with every intention of buying it. “You better watch it. Chris might not like you hanging around me any more if you keep encouraging me to buy stuff. He's the more practical one, you know. Thinks we should hold off until later.”[Mistress Morbid] Sorry I'm so late with this tag!! QQ
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