State Of Grace

Chapter 33 - Dress

It was getting closer and closer to eleven o'clock, which was the curfew for the other kids, so they didn't have long left together after they'd spent the first few hours exploring. Of course, they had talked too, not about the Tuckers though, mostly they talked about their plan to hang out with Sarah when she was back from her vacation. Rachel was getting increasingly nervous about it.

"Are you sure she's okay with us?" Rachel asked as they lay side by side in the dim light, listening to soft music.

"I'm sure," Gracie lied, she knew that Sarah was iffy about her secret girlfriend, but she also knew that her friend just wanted the best for her. All she had to do was prove that Rachel was the best thing for her, "You'll love her. She'll love you, it's impossible not to."

They kissed again, "Can we at least come up with a signal? You know if things aren't going well and one of us wants to leave," Rachel asked.

Gracie laughed, "You won't need a signal," Rachel still looked dubious. "I promise, babe, it'll be fun," she kissed her girlfriend again.

"Okay, fine," Rachel playfully rolled her eyes, "It's getting late, I should probably get going before your foster family get back," Rachel got dressed and kissed Gracie one last time before leaving, "I love you."

She'd fallen asleep with a smile on her face that night, but when she woke up the next morning her night of bliss was over and her smile turned to nervous lip chewing. Greg was coming to pick up Gracie at ten for their first unsupervised visitation, and she'd have to spend the whole day at his house, the only potential upside was that she'd finally get to meet her little brother.

"You promise you'll pick me up at six?" Gracie asked her mom for the third time since she'd woken up, "I don't want to be there any longer than I have to."

"I promise love," Stella reassured her as she rushed around the kitchen tidying up after breakfast. She came to a stop in front of Gracie after putting away the last plate, "But you need to make a promise too."

"You don't have to worry," she shook her head, "I'm not going to change my mind about him. This is where I want to be."

"That's not what I meant," Stella sat her daughter down, "I want you to promise that you won't hold back just because of Mama and me. All we want is for you to live your life the way choose and to that you need to see all of your options. At the end of the day, he is your birth father, and you have a right to keep him in your life if that's what you want."

"Okay, I'll keep an open mind," Gracie agreed, knowing that no matter what happened she wanted to keep the Tuckers in her life for as long as possible. "I promise."

Greg pulled up to the house in a bright yellow sports car, sunglasses on, and waving at Gracie from the front seat. He must have thought he looked so cool, but to Gracie, he just looked ridiculous.

"Not exactly a family car," Gracie said to her mom.

"Try to have fun," Stella kissed Gracie on the head and hugged her, "I love you."

"Love you too, Mom," she still hadn't gotten used to calling them 'Mom' and 'Mama', but she loved how it sounded and the smiles she would receive from Stella and Lilah when she said it.

For most of the drive, Greg and Gracie didn't speak. Neither of them knew how to talk to each other without Gracie turning it into an argument, but she couldn't bare the awkward silence any longer.

"So, how old is he?" Gracie finally asked, "My brother."

"Fourteen, almost fifteen," Greg answered.

"Oh, cool," Gracie smiled, trying not to show too much interest, just in case Greg got the wrong idea, but she was still curious about the young boy who's DNA she shared.