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Chapter 11 - This is the Day ~*~*~*~ This is the day ~*~*~*~
Andy had been up for about thirty minutes when he heard someone come down the stairs. Thinking it was probably Piper or Leo, Andy was shocked to see that it was Paige. She crept silently down and when she reached the end of the stairs jumped off the last one. He didn't see her for a moment and then she came waltzing into the living room where he was at. "Mornin' Mistew Andy." she greeted. He sat up, "Good morning Paige. What are you doing up so early?" he asked as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. "I was hungwy." she answered. She started to turn around, but Andy stopped her. "Well then why don't we go out and get some food?" he asked her. The smile on her face lit up an already sunlit room. "IHOP?" she asked. Andy nodded his head, "Sure. We'll go get you changed and then just the two of us can go and get breakfast." he told her. "Okay." she said and started to go back up the stairs. Andy went and got dressed and wrote a note for Prue. When Paige came back downstairs she was dressed in pink flower pants and a striped blue shirt. It took everything Andy had to not laugh. "Do I look pwetty?" she asked. He knew he had to have the biggest smile on his face when he answered her, "The most beautiful thing I've seen." he told her. She smiled and jumped off the last stair again and then went to take his hand. ~*~ At IHOP she had the two eggs two pancakes special. For, as she had informed him, Mistew Darryl and Uncle Leo always let her have that. Andy generally wasn't a jealous person, but the fact that both Darryl and Leo got to see her grow up and knew more about her than he did, made his insides twist. He knew that he should be thankful to Leo, he was, but that didn't erase the fact that he was Paige's father and had never gotten a chance to get to know her to way the other two men did. After breakfast Paige wanted to go to the park again and Andy took her. He pushed her in the swing, watched her slide down the slide, and climb around the jungle gym. It wasn't until the merry-go-round that he was asked to participate. He was getting ready to push it for her when she told him no. "Mistew Andy, you have to ride with me." "Okay Paige. Just let me get this started and I'll jump on." She clapped her hands together. He laughed with her and started to push the merry-go-round and then jumped on as Paige squealed with delight. As the sun shined on and the wind blew through his hair he knew what today was. It was the moment that life would change and he would forever remember this moment as perfect. ~*~*~*~ "I'm so glad that you made it." Cole told Phoebe as she sat down. "Sorry I'm late but I had to stop by the office and I got stuck for a few minutes. Anyway thank-you for treating me to lunch." He shook his head, "It's not a problem really." They ordered their food and stuck to small talk until the food got there. "So how is your sister doing?" Cole asked. "She's fine. We're all with her and making sure that she's safe and comfortable." "Who's we?" "Me, Piper, Leo, and Paige." "Paige made quite an impression on Glenn. If you ever get the chance to have her again let me know and I can bring Glenn." Phoebe smiled. The only time she had seen Cole's features light up was when he talked about his son. "Oh I forgot to tell you. The original project I hired you for is coming up. It will be shot in Texas, near Fort Worth. It's a 'cowgirl' theme thing." "What time do we leave?" "In two weeks. That Tuesday. Is that okay with you?" "That's fine with me. I'll make sure Julie can keep Glenn for that time and it should be fine." "Do you have sole custody?" Phoebe was intrigued. "Yes. Julie never really wanted to have a family, but she does love her son." Phoebe knew that she wouldn't get anymore out of him and that was fine. The conversation continued mostly with him asking her questions. And as the evening progressed and the amount of alcohol in her system she finally had enough. "Let me ask you a personal question Cole." He too was caught up in the atmosphere and didn't think anything of it, "Go ahead." he told her even though she had made it a statement not a question. "Why did you want me to hire you? What I want to know is why me? You are Coleridge Turner you are as famous as my sister. And not only that but your mother is Audrey Turner. So why did you interview for me to hire you as a photographer?" Suddenly both were sober. Cole had not been ready for this line of questioning and got on the defensive. "What is that suppose to mean?" "I just find it suspicious that you want to be hired, by me, when you have no reason to need the job. I too have done my homework." "What does it matter that I wanted the job? Maybe I wanted a challenge. Maybe I wanted to meet you and work with you did you ever think of that?" She shook her head, "Do you think I'm a moron? Is that why you chose me? Because I was the most vulnerable. Prue certainly wouldn't fall for your bullshit. Piper might have long ago, but not now. Is that it? Do you think I'm stupid?" "What exactly are you accusing me of Phoebe?" "I don't know. I just wonder why you asked me down here." "If you'll remember we had a job earlier. You said in your contract you make all final decisions of what pictures of you will be shown. That is why I am here, to do a job." "Then let me see the pictures." ~*~*~*~ The evening in San Francisco brought Piper and Leo downstairs on the couch. Piper was sitting down watching the news as Leo took up the rest of the couch as he laid his head in her lap clicking through channels. They heard the door open and then looked as Paige and Andy came through the hallway. Paige was walking toward them when her mother's voice stopped her, "Paige." she called. Paige scrambled up the stairs to be held by her mother. Prue gave her a huge hug and looked down at Andy. "Did you have fun today?" she asked Paige. "I did. Mistew Andy took me to IHOP, to the pawk, to McDonalds, to the cawosel, and then on the boat!!" she exclaimed happily. "Well I'm glad you had fun. Why don't you go and get ready for your bath and I'll be there in a few minutes. Andy started to walk up the stairs as Prue started walking down. "I think we need to talk." Andy told her. "Good talk?" she asked. He smiled at her and she smiled back at him. "Well I need to go give her a bath, we can talk after she goes to bed." Prue told him and walked back up the stairs. There was a knock at the door and Andy went to get it. Darryl Morris walked through the door without so much as a hello. "Where is everyone?" he asked Andy. "Prue's upstairs giving Paige a bath and Piper and Leo are in there." Andy pointed to the living room. Both Piper and Leo had gotten up to see what was going on. "Where's Phoebe?" he asked. "She's back in LA looking at the pictures of her session with Cole." Piper answered. "As soon as Prue gets finished I have something to show you. I found the needle." ~*~*~*~ End of Chapter 11 * "This is the Day" by The The. If you have ever seen the movie, Empire Records, then you'll recognize the song from the end where they're dancing on the roof. |