The girls click the face time button, and Damian picks up on the second ring.
"Embs in bed?" Janis and Cady both nod.
"Something is up. What's wrong." Cady sighs, not wanting to put the pressure on Janis.
"Some girls, what sounds like miniature plastics, called Ember a dyke today." Damian sighs sadly, knowing how it feels.
"How are kids so cruel?" Janis sighs sadly, not even wanting to think about that question.
"She asked us what it meant and we told her a short summary of it. She is a tough girl, and she was so for the LGBTQ+ community. She seemed so disappointed to hear about it." Damian nodded along, knowing especially how hard it is for Janis.
"If you think about it, it's a good thing that she finds out about it now. She can learn to stand up for herself and others now." This was technically partially true, but Janis doesn't want to admit it.
"But it hurts that she had to find out this way." Damian nods, sympathetically. He knows that all Janis wants to do is protect Ember, but she is growing up and can't be sheltered forever. That makes Janis the saddest, but she loves Ember and her growing personality. Damian lights up a bit, remembering something.
"I have some news! I'm leaving Bare in two weeks." Janis gasps, shocked.
"You've been on that show for like six years. What are you going to do now?"
"I auditioned for a show that is in Chicago! It may not be Broadway, but I get to be closer to you two and Ember." Janis and Cady smile, wider than they have in a long time.
"Oh my gosh, really? You get to come back to Illinois with us?!" Janis was so excited when he nodded, and she tried her hardest not to jump up and down and scream.
"It is a production of The Book of Mormon. I get to be back in Illinois in two weeks. I found an apartment not too far from you two when I was there a couple of weeks ago. I already have started packing." Janis smiles and bounces on the couch a little, knowing Ember is asleep.
"You're joking." Damian and Cady laugh at Janis's disbelief.
"It's real Jan, I'll be back in two weeks." The trio talks for fifteen more minutes until Damian has to go for places. They hang up, and Janis and Cady cuddle on the couch together in each others' embrace. They stay in that position for a while until Cady falls asleep on Janis's shoulder. Janis kisses Cady's forehead lovingly before helping her wife get to bed.
~Time skip brought to you by me watching Heathers The Musical and crying- again, but this time in front of my friend that I convinced into liking Heathers on zoom- Something's never do change~
It has been a few weeks since Ember started Kindergarten, and she was dealing with the new 'kindergarten plastics'. From those few weeks, she has learned that the leader is Rachel, and her sidekicks are Anne and Katie. They had been teasing her, and Ember has been handling it well. Plus, she made a new friend.
Her name is Rayne. The two girls play together at the playground and sit next to each other at lunch. Janis and Cady both love having Rayne over for little playdates with Ember. Rayne is so sweet and polite. She and Ember love to draw and color together which Janis likes to join in on. Cady always has to pull Janis back so the girls can have fun without her bugging them, and she lets her paint Cady which Janis loves.
It is finally the week Damian moves in with them, and it is picture day. Cady secretly bought a dress for Ember to wear a week ago, knowing that she would have to find a way to get Ember to wear it. She found one with black, white, and grey plaid, hoping it would be enough to convince her to wear it.
Cady and Janis always wake Ember up for school, and she is always excited to see her moms' first thing in the morning. Her outfit is already out, and she lets Cady help her get dressed while Janis takes Lion out. But today being picture day- well, let's just say that complicated their morning routine.
Ember wakes up and goes to see a dress is out for her to put on. Janis left her room pretty much as soon as she came in, taking Lion with her. She tried to convince Cady out of it, knowing Ember would freak out, but Cady used the argument that all of the other girls would be wearing a dress. She somehow ended up winning the argument, even though Janis knew it would be a bad idea.
"Mommy, I am NOT wearing a dress," Cady sighed. She knew she would have a fight with Ember, but Ember usually is still tired in the morning. Well, not today. Seeing a dress did not make her happy. It instantly woke her up, and she was fully aware of what Cady was doing.
"Embs, it is picture day, you are going to wear a dress today. You can take it off when you get home from school." That made Ember lose it.
"I don't want to wear a dress! They are so long and itchy, and I hate them!" Ember doesn't realize that she is going to lose this fight, and Cady sighs. Ember does have some valid points, but she wasn't going to let Ember win on this one. She thinks of a compromise, hoping it would work.
"Ember, if you wear it, Mama and I will take you to get ice cream after school today. You can even wear it with your combat boots" Ember perked up and glared a little at Cady.
"What kind of ice cream?" Cady released a breath that she didn't realize she was holding.
"Whatever kind you want." Ember reluctantly nodded, and Cady took that as a victory. She helped Ember get it on and curled her hair. They then went downstairs, and Janis looks up from making Ember's lunch, wide eyes.
"Babe, how did you get her to wear that? The last time I tried, I almost got an eye poked out." Cady chuckled at that.
"Well, we made a compromise. She gets ice cream after school today for it." Janis laughs and rolls her eyes at that. Janis knew that Cady had to be really desperate when ice cream was the answer. Cady rarely makes that compromise because she knows that Ember gets extremely hyper after ice cream, and she doesn't want to have to deal with her practically bouncing off of the walls.
Cady makes Ember her favorite breakfast, waffles with fresh fruit, and Ember instantly digs in.
Soon enough the three of them hurried out of the door towards the bus, and Ember gets on. The couple goes home and then takes Lion out one more time before heading off to work, going on with their day.
~Another time skip brought to you by me in family Thanksgiving zoom calls~
Ember arrives back at the bus stop after an uneventful day of learning. Rachel ended up being sick which was positive since she didn't get picked on. Anne and Katie weren't bad since their leader wasn't there.
She gets off the bus and runs towards Janis and Lion, who is picking her up today. Cady works later in the day so Janis always picks her up. Ember excitedly hugs Janis, who hugs her back. Lion starts jumping on Ember, and she giggles petting Lion's head.
"Hi Embs, how was your day?" Ember jumps up and down, excited that she gets to see her mom after a long day of kindergarten.
"Good Mama! I drew a picture of Lion today!" Janis smiles knowing that Ember is similar in the fact that she loves drawing.
"That's great Emb! Do you-"
"Can we get ice cream now?" Janis sighs, remembering Cady's compromise with her.
"Let's wait until Mommy gets home, ok?" Ember nods, bouncing on her heels. Janis knows she is going to be asked every ten minutes, but she accepts it, knowing that Ember is going to rip off the dress as soon as she gets home.
After crossing the street, Ember skips ahead of Janis, and Lion tries to run and catch up to her. Janis pulled back on Lion's leash, and he was struggling to get Janis to hurry up her pace.
They finally arrived at the door, and they notice that there is a moving truck on the street. It reminds Janis that Damian is moving soon, and she smiles to herself. Ember still doesn't know about him moving, but she will be excited. They step inside, and Ember takes off her combat boots while Janis takes off her shoes, about to unleash Lion. Lion started barking as soon as they walked inside, and Janis didn't know why.
"Lion, chill out. You're okay." Janis takes off his leash, and he runs into the living room. Ember follows him, and gasps. Janis follows Ember to see Damian in her living room. She gasps as Damian laughs.
"Surprise!" Ember is already in Damian's arms, and Janis runs to join the hug.
"Dame, what are you doing here?! I thought you were coming Friday?"
"Mama, you knew Uncle Damian was coming and you didn't tell me?!" Janis and Damian laughed at this.
"I thought I would surprise you!" Janis smiles, and then sudden realization goes through her mind.
"Wait, is the moving truck outside-"
"Yes, Jan. I am living next door now." Janis and Ember squeal, both of them beyond excited.
"I can't believe it!" All of a sudden the door opens and Cady comes in with two tubs of ice cream. Mint Chocolate Chip and Vanilla, their favorites.
"Hi, Damian!" Damian waves and Janis gapes at her wife.
"Wait, even Cady knew about this!? Why didn't you tell me?!" Cady and Damian both laughed at this.
"We thought it would be a better surprise, plus we knew that you would be waiting at the door and call in sick from work if you knew he would be coming today." They all laugh, and Ember realizes that Cady has ice cream.
"Mommy, can we have ice cream now?!" Damian laughs at this.
"Who thought it was a good idea for Ember to have ice cream?" The whole room laughs at this.
"It was picture day today and Cads thought it would be a good idea to get Ember to wear a dress and the compromise was ice cream." Damian laughs at this, and Ember runs to the kitchen table, followed by her mom's and Damian. They all had a good day, to say the least.
A/N
Hi everyone! I hope you like this chapter! I have been using lots of time skips, so sorry! There will be a time skip next month to Ember's birthday, which is in late November! (They are currently in late September!) Also, thanks to@xtheatregirl like usual for some of the ideas! (Book of Mormon being one of them) I love you all, and I am now going to go eat some pie and decorate more for Christmas.
-Kenzie