living_history (living_history) wrote in the_colony, @ 2011-03-15 09:37:00 |
|
|||
Entry tags: | ^ week 34, alice munroe, bridget mackenzie, | alice and bridget |
Week 34 - Friday
Characters:Bridget Mackenzie and Alice Monroe
Location: The library
Summary: Bridget spots something on Alice’s hand.
Rating: G
Bridget nibbled absently on a muffin as she turned the page in her book. The young woman had parked herself on the library couch earlier in the afternoon, out of her bedroom but also out of everyone’s way. While she was fully recovered from her cold, the expectant mother was taking no chances and tried not to overexert herself.
Alice came in through the back door, shutting it behind her as she started to pull off her normal outdoor layers. The warmth of coming inside was a stark contrast from where she’d recently been and hit her almost physically in the face, but she couldn’t help sigh a little in pleasure. It had been a long morning, and she was ready to take a break and relax a little.
Everything was finally coming together. The fields were nearing completion, and all that was left now was expanding on the house and working on improving the greenhouse. It was feeling like a good deal more and more every time she looked outside at the progress. Alice passed by the parlor on her way toward the kitchen and found herself stopping at the flash of a familiar profile.
“Lookit who’s joined the land of the living at last,” she said with a small smile, still standing in the hallway.
“Hey!” Bridget looked up from her book with a smile at the sound of the other woman’s voice. She hadn’t seen much of Alice lately, with everyone so busy and her own sickness it had been at least a week since she’d last exchanged more than a few words with her friend.
“I sleep when these two let me sleep.” She finished off the muffin and laid the book face down on the swell of her stomach. “How’s everything going outside? I don’t think I’ve sniffed fresh air in two weeks.”
“Fantastic, crazily enough,” Alice replied, moving to lean on the small space of wall in the archway as she pulled off her gloves. “I can’t wait until stuff starts blooming and growing. It’s finally gonna look like a livable place when it does.”
“Me too.” Bridget murmured fervently. She wouldn’t be pregnant any longer by then, something to which she was very much anticipating these days.. A glint on Alice’s hand as the other woman pulled off the gloves caught her attention and her brow furrowed. “C’mere for a minute will you? And hold out your hand.” That couldn’t be what she thought it was.
Alice’s face immediately flushed and she shoved her hand into her pocket evasively. Nevertheless, she was unable to hold back the foolish grin that split her face as she took a few steps closer.
“What?” came the innocent inquiry.
Bridget eyed her friend suspiciously. “That ‘hide my hand in my pocket’ routine doesn’t fool anyone, Alice.” The way Alice was acting just confirmed her suspicions about what had happened. “Don’t make me get off this couch.” She threatened, lips threatening to break into a smile.
With a put-upon sigh that was far from convincing, Alice presented her hand to the expectant mother silently.
Bridget took her friend’s hands in her own and examined the ring closely. “Took him long enough.” She finally said after a few moments of silence. Truthfully she was glad Leo had waited as long as he had, as she’d been worried that Alice would get involved too quickly after the breakup with Jed. Even if Leo had been a big reason behind the breakup.
Alice pulled back her hand after a moment and made a face at her, then her eyes gravitated up to the ceiling and she smiled again. “Yeah, well...” she mumbled. It felt like there was only room for one emotion in her body, and any other attempt to feel anything else was nothing more than a mockery of that emotion. Nothing could pull her down, not even Bridget’s teasing.
Bridget grinned at her. “So, how’d he do it? Did he get down on one knee or did he find some other way to do it?” She was happy for her friend, even if she would tease Alice and Leo both.
“He asked me on my birthday,” Alice said quietly around her smile, still not looking at her. Just thinking about it brought back the visual memory in her mind, followed by the swell of emotion in her chest.
Bridget wished she’d known that her friend’s birthday had been this week, but there wouldn’t have been much she could have done about it other than wish her a happy birthday. “So what are the details? I need the details woman!” She couldn’t help but feel a mix of joy for her friend and sadness that her own husband wasn’t there by her side. The joy outweighed the sadness by a large margin though, and she was genuinely happy for Alice.
“Probably no real ceremony,” Alice admitted. “Walker wants a party when the flowers are in bloom, so I guess that’s that at least. We’re gonna revisit it then.”
“I’m always happy for an excuse to party,” Bridget nodded at the other woman’s words. “But what I’m after are details on how that ring got on your hand? How did he do it?”
Alice laughed lightly. “He, uh... him and Walker came up into the attic and filled it with paper balloons and he had me sit ‘n close my eyes, then he put it on.” She shifted on her feet a little, finally looking at Bridget. “It was... lovely. Probably the most wonderful thing he’s done.”
Bridget’s eyes had never left her friend’s face once Alice had pulled back her hand. “I’m happy for you both.” She told Alice, smiling. “Truly. You deserve to be happy and he does that for you.” Unlike Jed, who had only seemed to make Alice miserable despite the couple’s best efforts.
“Just keep it on the lowdown for a while, huh?” Alice said, her smile fading slightly. “I don’t want anyone to fuss about it. It’s not a huge deal, you know?”
“Not a huge deal?” Bridget frowned. “That’s where you’re wrong.”
“I mean, I--” Alice stammered, running her hands backward up through her hair. “I don’t want everyone to make a big deal out of it. We’re together. Exclusively. It’s not something that warrants any sort of praise. And I mean, besides, it’s like you said. It was gonna happen.”
Bridget frowned. “These sorts of things are supposed to be celebrated Alice,” she told the other woman stubbornly. “You shouldn’t have to hide it.”
“I won’t hide it,” Alice tried to explain. “If people ask me, I’ll tell them I’m married. I just don’t want everyone watching me. I...” she cringed just a little. “I didn’t have a public wedding before, either. I just went to the courthouse.”
The frown deepened. “All the more reason for you to get some kind of proper ceremony. Later, with the flowers, like Walker wants. I should be mobile by then.”
Alice sighed a little. It felt as if Bridget wasn’t listening to her, but she didn’t want to argue about it. In her eyes, she and Leo were already married. She just had to move in with him, and she wanted to wait just a little longer yet for that.
“‘Kay.”
An exasperated sigh was Bridget’s response to Alice’s subdued reaction. “Alice, if you want this kept quiet I’ll do it, but I don’t understand why. Just because you’re married already doesn’t mean you can’t celebrate it. You deserve to have something to celebrate you and Leo getting together permanently.”
“We’ll have a party,” Alice said. “I just don’t wanna do the whole vows and everyone sitting and watching us thing. It just seems so...” Pointless, she thought, making an vague gesture. “It’s not something I wanna do, is all.”
“Ah.” Bridget leaned back into the cushions, having hauled herself partly off the couch a moment before. “Well, if that’s what you want. Nobody’s going to put a gun to your head and force you to march down an aisle in a wedding dress.”
Alice let out a breath and relaxed a little. “Thank you.” She shifted on her feet again, then brought her hand back on her neck. “I should get somethin’ to eat and rest up a bit. I’ve got a lot of work still left to do. Seeya at dinner?”
“I’m not going anywhere,” Bridget nodded. Besides, it wasn’t as if she’d been passing up food in the last several months. “Have fun out there.”