Sometimes, Viv wondered if she'd ever be able to encourage Siobhan to trust others. The blonde trusted Viv but essentially that was it, everyone else she regarded with various levels of suspicion. Viv knew for a fact that there were other people who cared deeply for Siobhan, despite the way she'd treated them in the past. Marjorie had gone out of her way to help Siobhan on the night of the ball, and she'd done everything she could since then to include the blonde at work. The nursery manager was animated and chatty, so sometimes her presence became slightly grating but her heart was always in the right place.
It was a Friday morning and once Viv had dropped Jamie off, she popped into the office to say one final goodbye to Siobhan for the day. There was nobody else there yet so the taller woman leaned down slightly and kissed the blonde, prompting Siobhan to blush furiously, a tiny smile on her face. "Bonbon, promise me you'll ask Marjorie?" The shorter woman nodded "I will, I know you're right, I need to make friends." The previous evening, Viv had suggested that they take Marjorie out for a few drinks to say thank you. The two women very likely wouldn't have been sat where they were at that moment, had Marjorie not frantically driven Viv to the ball.
Once Marjorie had arrived she and Siobhan sat in silence for a while. The other mangers were either in the rooms or on annual leave, so the office was unusually calm, not that Siobhan didn't value the tranquility. It took her over an hour to finally say "Marjorie?" The brunette looked over at her, wondering what she'd done wrong now. All Marjorie wanted was to be Siobhan's friend, no matter how rude the blonde had been previously. Marjorie was well aware that she'd also been nasty to people in the past, but letting go of her bitterness and allowing people in had been the best thing she'd ever done. Watching Siobhan fade away during her relationship with Roger had been heartbreaking and it had shown Marjorie that even the most stubborn person could be vulnerable.
"Yes Siobhan?" The blonde immediately began to smooth her hair down, something she only did when she was nervous or uncomfortable. "Viv and I were wondering if you're free tomorrow night. We'd like to take you for some drinks, to say thank you for helping us out." As usual, Siobhan's tone was measured, realistically she could have been inviting the brunette to a funeral. Immediately, Marjories face lit up as she excitedly replied "oh my god I'd love that! I'm so excited." Siobhan rolled her eyes "good, we'll sort the details out with Viv later." As much as Marjorie's sunny disposition irritated Siobhan at times, she did appreciate how genuinely sweet the brunette was, even though she'd never admit it out-loud."
The next evening, Siobhan chose a knee length, form fitting black dress with long sleeves, and black heels to match. She'd picked out a chunky pearl necklace with a little silver charm, and to complete the look, her mini red Chanel bag. She'd pinned her hair back with an oversized black bow and as usual, she looked so beautiful that she'd momentarily made Viv speechless. Viv was wearing a baggy, faded Nirvana shirt with a denim jacket, black jeans ripped at the knees and her favourite doc martens. As different as their styles were, the couple looked perfect together as they stood side by side, looking into the mirror for just a moment. They'd agreed to meet Marjorie at a local gay bar, they thought she'd enjoy the atmosphere and the variety of fun cocktails.
The moment they arrived, the couple knew that they'd been correct when they spotted Marjorie at the bar, luminous pink cocktail in hand. Her outfit was simple but it suited her perfectly, a black leather skirt with tights and black boots, as well as a cream jumper, tucked in to show off her figure. She was chatting animatedly to a group of men who were clearly on a gay stag do, judging by the sashes they were wearing. They were all watching her, clearly enamoured and very entertained as she enthusiastically told them a funny anecdote. As Siobhan and Viv approached, Marjorie beamed at them and told the men that her friends had arrived. As she hopped off the bar stool they chirped "bye Marjorie" one after the other as she tottered off towards a booth. Viv laughed as she playfully said "wow, you make friends fast don't you?"
Once the three women were settled, they ordered more drinks to be delivered to the table. Marjorie seemed determined to try every cocktail, while Siobhan opted for a white wine. Viv wasn't one for cocktails or wine, so she ordered a whisky and coke. After a few drinks, Siobhan finally began to relax, giggling as Marjorie showed them her impression of Geraldine complaining that the sky was blue. Eventually, the brunette looked over at the couple and said "you two are so cute together. I'm so glad you've found each other." She looked at Viv and continued "it's so cute the way you look after Siobhan, even though she pretends she doesn't need it." Siobhan immediately scowled "Marjorie you're getting all emotional, that's the last thing we need."
To lighten the mood, Viv decided to be cheeky and ask Marjorie something, she was curious. "Have you ever dated a woman Marjorie?" The brunette shook her head "no, but Sara did hit on me that one time." She burst out laughing before continuing "you should have seen Reece's face when I told him in the car, he went into panic mode." Siobhan tutted before dryly replying "perhaps you should have tried something new." Vivs eyes widened as she laughed before choking out "bonbon, be nice." The blonde looked over at her girlfriend and fluttered her eyelashes "I'm just saying what everyone else is thinking."
Marjorie didn't seem particularly phased as she grabbed Siobhan's hand and stood up, wobbling slightly. "Come and dance with me!" She gave the blonde very little choice as she dragged her from the booth - they both turned and looked at Viv, but she smiled and shook her head slightly "you two go, I'll watch the drinks." With that Marjorie whisked Siobhan over to the dance floor as Viv looked on, happy to see the blonde enjoying herself. Marjorie was even managing to make her smile as she span her around, albeit somewhat haphazardly.
Once they'd returned to the booth, Marjorie took it upon herself to list all of the reasons why she was actually very funny. "I know you want to laugh sometimes when I say things Siobhan, I can tell." She smirked at Viv as Siobhan sipped her drink, refusing to acknowledge Marjorie's teasing. The brunette persevered "you're so pretty when you smile Siobhan, personally I think you should do it more often." As the blond choked on her wine, shocked at the compliment, Viv tapped her back slightly. "She's right bonbon you have a lovely smile." The blonde looked down at the floor, prompting Marjorie to squawk "oh you've made her blush, that's so cute!" She was silent momentarily, before she suddenly blurted out "so, were you two ever jogging partners?" Immediately, both Siobhan and Viv looked at her so witheringly, she grabbed her cocktail and chirped "never-mind!"
The three continued to chat and drink, until it was abundantly clear that Marjorie was absolutely legless. She was giggling to herself as she blurted out "okay, if you had to choose someone else at the nursery to kiss, who would you choose?" Siobhan was drunk but she wasn't that drunk, so she immediately retorted "I'm not answering that Marjorie!" Viv followed suit, replying that she didn't know anyone else well enough, so she couldn't possibly choose. Marjorie rolled her eyes dramatically as she muttered "spoil sports" before taking a swig of her cocktail. The brunette leaned in towards Siobhan and Viv before whispering "I'd pick Autumn. You know, because I know her the best. It would be fun one time." She hiccuped suddenly before gasping and adding "don't tell Reece I said that." The three women promptly fell into fits of giggles as Marjorie breathlessly kept saying "no stop it, it was hypothetical!"
Viv was the one to take charge as she firmly said, "I think it's time we delivered you back to Reece, actually." She ushered Siobhan from the booth gently which prompted Marjorie to stand, but as the brunette tried to step down from the raised platform, she fell forwards. Thankfully, Siobhan caught her and as Marjorie steadied herself she said "there was a time you would have moved out of the way, watched me fall, then stepped over me." Siobhan narrowed her eyes "I wasn't that bad!" She scowled as Marjorie and Viv replied in unison "YES YOU WERE!" As they made their way through the now very busy room, Marjorie was temporarily distracted by a pretty brunette, asking her to dance. Viv put her hand on Marjorie's lower back very gently and said firmly "come on Marjorie, put her DOWN."
In the taxi, Marjorie leaned against Siobhan slightly as she realised that she was beginning to feel slightly sick. Much to her surprise the blonde didn't push her away, choosing to allow the brunette to stay where she was. Viv was so proud of Siobhan and the way she was slowly building bridges, so seeing how the blonde was being with Marjorie made her feel so pleased. Viv asked the taxi driver to wait for a moment as she and Siobhan escorted Marjorie to her front door, holding her arms to make sure that she didn't go flying. It didn't take Reece long to open the door and as soon as he did, they threw Marjorie into his arms before making themselves scarce, shouting as they ran towards the taxi "good luck Reece!"
Reece looked down at Marjorie and asked "did you have a good night gorgeous?" She nodded, but as she began to speak he realised just how drunk she really was. All of a sudden she started to cry hysterically as he held her and immediately, he became concerned "what's wrong Marjorie, it's okay, what is it?" It took her a moment to catch her breath but finally, she very seriously replied "I really want a bacon sandwich, will you make me one?"
Reece sighed as he carried her over to the sofa, before making his way into the kitchen. Taking care of a drunk Marjorie was a bit like trying to herd a load of chickens - he was in for a very chaotic night.