Emily's pov
"Alison this is weird" I awkwardly giggle as she zips up my dress
"What is? The fact that I'm zipping up your dress rather than unzipping it?" She grins, finding herself extremely funny
"No this dinner"
"Why is it weird? I think we are being supportive" she says, still laughing at her joke
"By going on a triple date with our nine year old daughters?"
"It's not a date, Emerson is coming. It's a family dinner out"
"It's a date"
"Is that why you told Fred Dallas that Jamie was coming to keep Grace and Lily company at our ninety year old aunt's birthday party?" Alison ask, lowering her eyebrows in disapproval
"We don't even have a ninety year old aunt Em" she continues
"No I told him that because Jamie asked us not to tell him about her and Grace. Ali we both know how it felt to have parents who expected nothing less than us to be the perfect little girl who will grow up to be a perfect wife to their husband" I sigh, pausing to remember when my parents -who I love and who love me- disapproved of who I am "If Jamie isn't ready to tell her parents then I am certainly not going to be the one who outs her by telling her dad that she's going on a triple date with us"
"It's not a date" Alison laughs. This time she doesn't even try to pretend she isn't lying
"Are the kids still going to Jason's after dinner?"
"Yeah, he's also looking after Abigail. Apparently it's an Uncle, Nieces and Nephew bonding night" she tells me before rolling her eyes
"What?" I laugh
"Nothing it's just...I still find it weird to think that Spence and I have the same brother"
"Imagine being Spence or Jason, I couldn't imagine what it would be like to find out your parents aren't who you think they are"
"Well anyway" Alison swiftly says, changing the conversation. She loosely wraps her arms around my shoulder; having to stand on her tiptoes to reach them "Jason is looking after the kids and that means that we finally get time...alone" she whispers into my ear
She slowly runs her tongue along her lips before leaving our bedroom to check on Lily and Grace
Ali's pov
"Are you almost ready? We said we would get Carson at five"
"I'm ready Mom" Lily smiles,!pulling her brush through the last strands of her beautiful blonde hair
"I just have to put my shoes on" Grace says, running out of her room, towards the front door and to the shoe-rack
Both Lily and Grace have taken after Emily in their shoe fashion. You never catch either of them without a pair of converse on. Occasionally I managed to bribe Em to wear heels but I have had no such luck with Lily and Grace, I can't even get them into a pair of fancy flat shoes. I just hope they grow out of the constant sneaker wearing phase because I don't want their partner to go through the same struggle on their wedding day that I did with Emily. We went dress shopping separately however, while I sat at home alone Hanna phoned me to tell me that Emily had bought a brand new pair of white converse to wear on our wedding rather than a pair of heels; luckily the girls managed to convince Emily to wear heels, however, from the way Lily and Grace are with their sneakers I don't know if their friends would have such luck.
"Okay, we are leaving in two minutes"
Emily's pov
"Looking very handsome" I smile as Caleb leads Carson to the front door in which Hanna and I are gossiping at
"Oh my god Han. Is that a new design of yours?" I excitedly ask as I see Hanna's logo on a small tag on Carson's shirt's pocket
"Yeah do you like it?" She blushes, pulling her son into a hug
"I love it" I scream with pride
"Why thank you" she laughs, reaching out her arms as Harper and Conrad run towards us
"Are you ready Carson?"
"More than ever Aunt Emily. I can't wait to see Lily again"
"You saw her yesterday in school" Caleb laughs
"Yeah but I miss her" he admits with a blush
"Bye Mom, bye Dad"
"Have fun" Caleb smiles, pulling Conrad into his arms
"Hey Em" Hanna calls after me as I begin to walk away from the house "I know you and Ali wanted to bring Emerson but he's only two month old. He can't even sit in one of those feeding chairs. Do you want me and Caleb to look after him?"
I look over to Alison -who is listening in on the conversation- to see she is nodding
"Thank you so much Han" Alison smiles as she climbs out of the car, holding onto Emerson's travel-cot and pulling his diaper bag over her shoulder
"Hey babe" Ali says to Conrad, rubbing her finger along his rosey cheek
We exchange sons and goodbyes before Ali, I and the kids make our way to Jamie's house
Ali's pov
"Emily come with me"
"Why?"
"Because I'm nervous to meet her mom"
"Okay, you guys behave we will be back in a minute" Emily warns the three giggling children in the back seat of our car, while she unbuckles her seatbelt
My hand shakes as I chap on the door. A tall brunette opens the door, her smile wide as she pulls Jamie out from behind her long legs.
"You must be Grace and Lily's moms. I'm Claire"
"Emily" she smiles, extending her arm to give Claire a handshake
"Nice to meet you. I'm Alison"
"DiLaurentis?" She questions, pushing Jamie back behind her legs
"Ummm...yeah" I cautiously reply, confused by her reaction
"Emily...Emily...Emily Fields?" Claire asks
"Sorry have we met before?" Emily politely asks
"I remember seeing you on the news. I'm sorry but I can't let my daughter come with you. It's not your fault but I need to protect her safety, and I've read about you both and you are definitely not safe"
She begins to close the door however, I jam my foot between it and the frame
"Wait. I can assure you Mrs. Dallas, we are safe. Yes we both faced unsafe times as teenagers but those things stopped long ago. I promise nothing will happen to your daughter"
"What about that A person?" She nervously asks
"A is dead" I sigh, gulping down the lump in my throat; I don't like to think about Charlotte's death
Emily and I both give a warm smile and my eyes fill with the glimmer of a promise; to keep Jamie safe. Claire nods, returning the smile and letting Jamie run toward the car
"I promise she'll have a great night" Emily smiles as we begin to walk back to the car
"Alison, Emily, I know" Claire whispers
My heart begins to race and my palms become sweaty, she knows what?
"Excuse me?" My voice quivers
"I know that Jamie is gay"
Immediately my heart rate lowers and the rush of heat begins to fade. However, my nerves do not calm as I worry about what she is going to say next; something homophobic that would shatter Jamie's heart if she heard?
"Tell Jamie to give Grace a big hug for me"
"What did she say?" Emily asks, swaying side to side as if she is lightheaded
I grab onto her arm to steady her before repeating "She said, tell Jamie to give Grace a big hug for me"
Emily's pov
Am I hallucinating? I ask myself as Claire says in my moms loving voice "Emily, give Alison a big hug for me"
"What did she say?"
It isn't until Ali's cold hand wraps around my arm that I realise I am swaying
"She said, tell Jamie to give Grace a big hug for me"
"Aww okay. Let's go Ali" I smile, quickly snapping out of my moment of madness
I stare out of the car window as Alison drives us to the restaurant, remembering that conversation I had with my mom.
"Give Alison a big hug for me" my mom told me, however when I went over to Alison's house that night I gave her much more than a hug. I gave her my virginity. I gave her myself and that's exactly what I plan to do tonight.