Surprise, mom!

As they pulled up to the cottage styled brown house, Audrey was literally bouncing in her seat, peering out the window and holding onto her backpack, anxious to get inside and to just be home again. “This is it!” she said happily as they stopped. As soon as the car was in park Audrey was unbuckling her seat belt and practically jumping out of the car. The air was thicker here, warmer, and it felt amazing. She had taken her hoodie off when they had gotten off the plane, no longer needing the extra layer. She could tell that Dillion was not as fond of the weather, and it made her laugh. Right now, though, she was far too distracted by the thought of stepping into her house again. She knew her mother would be furious with her, but it would be worth it just to give her a hug, and especially if this plan worked out.

Grinning up at Dillion, who finally seemed to have pulled himself together enough to walk up to the door, Audrey pulled the handle and went running inside, dropping her bag against the wall out of habit. “Mom!” she called, moving through the spacious foyer. There were stairs just ahead to the left, a hall off to the right, and straight ahead was the entrance to the kitchen. “Mom?” she called again, moving to peak her head into the kitchen.

The sound of heavy steps on wooden floors was suddenly quite audible not too far out of sight. Audrey stepped out of the kitchen and glanced down the hallway, suddenly turning red and seeming to cower a bit as the footsteps grew nearer.

“No, she’s here, she just walked in. Thanks, Laurie.” A gentle, though at the moment very annoyed sounding voice drifted through the hallway and into the foyer. For a moment, Audrey forgot that Dillion was there, too worried about her mother’s reaction to her disappearance to even think about what she was going to do when she realized who Audrey had brought home with her. “Audrey Jeane Conily, you better start explaining yourself.” The voice came again, though she was still hidden from Dillion’s view, which was probably good for the moment. Audrey stepped forward, half out of his sight, twiddling her thumbs behind her back.

“Um, well, you see…” she began, hesitating and staring at the rug beneath her feat. A small sigh fell from the hidden woman’s lips. Audrey knew she had to talk fast. “So I didn’t exactly stay over at Grace’s house…” she began again, and a soft, sarcastic laugh was heard in response. Audrey sighed. She hadn’t exactly thought this part through.

There was another pause, before finally, Audrey dropped her shoulders over dramatically, letting out a small groan. “Okay, I’m sorry, please, please, please don’t kill me.” AJ reached forward and grabbed the woman’s hand.

“AJ, what are you talking about?” the voice came again. AJ gave a good tug, pulling the woman out into foyer, releasing her as soon as they were in sight of each other, and then dashing into the kitchen, hiding behind the island counting and cringing in anticipation. She had never been more nervous in all her thirteen years of life.

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When Laurie Albetis had called her that morning to ask about details concerning an upcoming trip to the water park all the local girls were taking in a week. Leona was one of the moms driving and chaperoning for the day, and so she wasn’t surprised to have another worried parent asking about the details. Audrey had stayed the night with the Albetis’, their daughter, Grace, being a good friend from school. When Leona had inquired about how Audrey was behaving, Laurie had replied rather oddly -- claiming that Audrey had never come down to their house.

Of course this only started an immediate panic within both mothers, frantically calling neighbors to see if they had seen her. Laurie had just called Leona back, asking if she had found anything out, when she heard the front door open and a familiar little voice call out her most common name.

“No, they haven’t seen her either… and she’s not answering -- hold on, Laurie.” Leona held the phone to her chest, listening carefully. There it was again.

“Mom?” Leona sighed with relief, holding the phone to her ear again.

“No, she’s here, she just walked in. Thanks Laurie.” Hanging up and setting the cordless phone on the nearest open surface, Leona had headed straight down the hall. “Audrey Jean Conily, you better start explaining yourself”

The young girl who was the spitting image of her mother, save the eyes of course, began to stammer, giving no real explanation as to why she had not only lied but disappeared for a good 24 hours at least. Leona tried not to seem worried, keeping the upper hand, though honestly, she was still getting over the panic.

When Audrey grabbed her by the hand and began to pull her into the entrance, Leona was very confused. “AJ, what are you talking about?”

Everything after that was pretty much a blur, at least for a few minutes. One moment she’s standing there in front of her thirteen year old daughter, reprimanding her for a rather serious offence, and the next, she was staring the second most important piece of her life’s story in the face, second of course only to being a mother.

She certainly looked the part. Her clothes were modest yet still stylish. She secretly prided herself on being one of the ‘cooler’ moms in the neighborhood. Her hair was back in a ponytail to help with the heat, a bit short than when she was younger but just as auburn [if not more so due to the summer sun] and curly as before. She was older, of course, faint lines beginning to show in her face, though she still looked very well for a woman nearing 40. She was taller, more rounded out in her size, though still thin and toned. She was hardly the scrawny little girl she had been, even if her size had hardly changed at all.

The changes of time in her appearance were reflected in his own, the usual signs of again apparent on their faces, though as she stared at him longer, it was hard to imagine him looking any different than he did right now. A million memories flooded her head and for a moment, she honestly thought she just might pass out.

Finally she managed to gain a little bit of composure, though just enough to speak.

“Dillion?” she said carefully, testing his name as if saying it for the first time in years, which was probably the case. Was she dreaming? Was this a sick joke of some sort? There was no possible way that Dillion Hepburn was standing here, in her foyer, after all these years.

And then it hit her. Dillion hadn’t shown up on his own. No. Audrey had brought him.

Still in a bit of shock and not yet fully comprehending what was happening, Leona turned, glaring into the kitchen at the small girl cowering behind the countertop. “Audrey Jeane…” she said in a low voice. The girl didn’t move from her hiding spot.

And then came the sigh, the one that made Audrey flinch. Leona pinched the bridge of her nose, the other hand on her hip. There was no way this was happening. Audrey was spontaneous, even reckless at times, but there was no way she could have put together a plan to bring Dillion here all by herself. There was no way she… Oh, no. The sigh was even stronger than before and Leona nearly groaned into it, straightening up with both hands on her hips at this point. She didn’t turn to AJ, though the girl still seemed to sink even lower, as if anticipating what would happen next.

“Karen Erin Conily, you have five seconds to get your butt down here. Five… four… three…” Leona continued down slowly, and just as she hit one, another small girl came practically tumbling down the stairs. It was obvious that she had been listening in, just as Leona had suspected.

“You too, AJ.”

The other girl came creeping out of the kitchen. “KC!” AJ said happily, rushing to greet the other girl, hugging her tightly. They moved off to the side, standing with their arms linked in the doorway to the kitchen, just watching the two adults with shifty eyes. The one names KC never looked away from Dillion.

AJ was slightly taller, by an inch at most, and seemed to have a wilder look to her than the other girl. The new girl, Karen, seemed a bit more polished, her clothes more fitting and her hair back in a neat braid, while AJ still stood there in jeans and an oversized t-shirt, her long stringy hair falling down her shoulders. There were so many things you could point out about how they were different, just by looking at them. But differences wasn’t what they both knew was bound to cause a problem at this particular moment. Oh no. It was the similarities. What similarities?

How about the fact that they looked exactly alike. Exact copies, save the small details, both sharing the same big brown eyes and grins, though Audrey’s was admittedly the most mischievous, just like her father.

Looking like the cat who ate the canary, Audrey glanced up at Dillion, sinking a bit and frowning. Oops?

Looking at the two of them together, a sight Leona was more than use to seeing, suddenly seemed so different. She looked to the man in her doorway, then back to her daughters. All these years she had certainly seen him in their faces, but never as much as she did right now. She wanted an explanation, but she knew she just didn’t have the energy to seek it out right now.

“You two, have a lot of explaining to do. So I suggest you get up to your rooms and get your story straight, right now.” Leona kept a steady eye on them, crossing her arms and watching as they shuffled past her, scurrying up the stairs. The slam of a door was heard a moment later, and Leona actually jumped.

She just stood there at first, arms crossed tightly over her chest and eyes held shut. In a way she was afraid to open them, afraid that what she was seeing was actually real.