Script Doctor (Off Screen Book 8) Read online

  Script Doctor

  An Off Screen Episode

  J.A. Armstrong

  © Copyright 2017 J.A. Armstrong Books

  All Rights Reserved. This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced without permission.

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  EPILOGUE

  CHAPTER ONE

  “Vicki, slow down,” Emma laughed.

  “Gwammy!” Vicki ran and slid in her socks toward her grandmother.

  “A lot bigger than a sprout now,” Sherry Bronson commented. She gratefully accepted her granddaughter’s affectionate squeeze.

  “Where’s Dad?” Emma asked.

  “He’s rearranging things in the car with Addy. I think she’s making sure he remembers how to use car seats. She might have mentioned flight safety too,” Sherry chuckled.

  Emma rolled her eyes. “Yeah, sorry about that. She’s been a bit on edge since last night.”

  “It’s okay, Emmie. We both understand.”

  “I know. I have no idea what she is going to do when you pull out of the driveway tomorrow.”

  “Mommy,” Vicki looked up to Emma.

  “Yes, Sprout?”

  “Can I shows Gwammy my bed?”

  Emma giggled. “Of course, you can show Grammy your bed, sweetheart.”

  “I’ll be right there,” Sherry promised her granddaughter. “How are you doing with this?” she asked Emma.

  “With you having the kids for a week or with me having Addy for a week?” Emma joked.

  Sherry smiled. “I’m serious.”

  “I’m okay, Mom.”

  “Liar.”

  Emma chuckled. “Maybe,” she admitted. “But, I know that it’s what is best for them.”

  Sherry nodded. “It might be good for you and Addy too.”

  Emma smiled. She had spent one week a year from the time she turned two until she graduated high school with her aunt and uncle who lived in Austin, Texas. Emma recalled those getaways with her brothers as some of the happiest times in her childhood. She had looked forward to that week every year. She was confident that her children would feel the same way about staying with their grandparents in Kansas. Emma doubted that Hannah would recall anything about this trip. She was an animated baby, but she was only eleven months old. Vicki, on the other hand, was four and Emma was positive she would remember this trip as the first of many wonderful times in Kansas—times spent away from her mothers.

  “They will love it,” Emma said.

  “Gwammy!” Vicki yelled from her bedroom.

  Emma shook her head. “Better let her know who is in charge now,” she suggested.

  “Bossy stage?” Sherry guessed.

  “I prefer the word assertive.”

  “So, bossy,” Sherry laughed.

  “Pretty much,” Emma admitted. “She even tries to tell Hannah what to do. It’s actually funny to listen to, but…”

  “But, you have to nip it in the bud. Yes, I know,” Sherry said.

  “I never did that; did I?”

  “Not really,” Sherry said. “Your brothers on the other hand…”

  “Well, it’s obviously not a gender thing.”

  “No, I don’t think so,” Sherry said. “You met your grandmother. She never got over it.”

  Emma laughed. Her father’s mother had been an interesting woman. Emma had loved her, but she had grown to understand that her father’s parents had presented some challenges for her mother over the years. “God, I hope we are never like that,” Emma muttered.

  “Just keep reminding Addison that as careful as she is, sooner or later there is moderate breakage.”

  “What’s breaking?” Addison asked.

  “Nothing, honey,” Emma replied.

  Sherry winked at Emma and turned to Addison. “I had better get moving before your daughter has my head.”

  “Oh no,” Addison said. “Is she actually bossing you around too?”

  Sherry winked again. “Don’t worry, girls, I can handle Miss Vicki.”

  “Gwammy!” Vicki yelled.

  Emma groaned.

  “Hold your horses and whatever else you’ve got in that room!” Sherry called out.

  Emma raised an eyebrow. “See? We’ll have a little peace and quiet for the week,” she told Addison.

  “Yeah.”

  “Addy, they will be fine.”

  “I know,” Addison confessed. “I don’t have to like it,” she pouted.

  Emma laughed. “So, I get to trade Miss Bossypants for Miss Whinyhiney; is that it?”

  Addison shrugged.

  “Oh, dear God,” Emma rolled her eyes. She stepped up and kissed Addison’s cheek. “If I promise to bake cookies will you stop pouting?”

  Addison brightened. “It’s going to take a lot of cookies,” she said.

  “I’ll see what I can come up with,” Emma smirked.

  “We’re not talking about actual cookies, are we?”

  Emma kissed Addison gently. “You are priceless, Addy.”

  ***

  “Hey, you two,” Emma made her way through the backyard to Christie and Tamara.

  “Hi, Em,” Christie greeted her friend.

  Hannah wiggled in Emma’s arms.

  “She’s getting feisty,” Christie observed.

  “At least, she isn’t getting bossy,” Emma commented. “She’s starting to find her feet—God, help us.”

  “Seriously?” Tamara looked at Emma in disbelief. “She’s not even a year old.”

  “I know,” Emma replied. “I think Vicki’s persistence is to blame,” she chuckled.

  “The sprout is teaching the bean to walk?” Tamara asked.

  “Oh, she’s trying to teach her everything she knows.”

  “Why do I think that is not the best thing?” Christie asked cautiously.

  Emma smiled. She didn’t recall specifics that far back in her life, but she was aware that her brothers had managed to get her to attempt all kinds of things throughout her childhood. For the most part, Vicki adored her younger sister. Emma and Addy had managed to survive through a few bouts of sibling jealousy—something Emma knew would creep up time and again—overall, Vicki found Hannah fascinating.

  “It’s not a bad thing,” Emma said. “Kids learn quickly. Hannah mimics everything Vicki does. At least, she tries to.”

  “Good thing she can’t talk yet,” Tamara chimed. She’d been taking her goddaughter once a week for the last year. Tamara loved her time with Vicki. She laughed most of the time at the toddler’s forthright nature. Vickie was verbose, opinionated, and at times a bit demanding. Tamara couldn’t imagine Vicki times two.

  Emma snickered. “True enough,” she agreed. “Once she starts with sentences…”

  Tamara shook her head. “Your kids go from bumbling to campaign speeches,” Tamara said.

  Christie nearly choked on her beer. “Tam, don’t do that!”

  “What?” Tamara asked. “They do. I’ll bet Addy’s reading them Lincoln’s Gettysburg address at night.”

  “One Fish. Two Fish,” Emma said.

  “Huh?” Tamara asked.

  “One fish, two fish. Red fish, blue fish,” Emma said. “Still her favorite. Although, I think Bartholomew and the Oobleck is a close second now.”

  “Oobleck?” Tamara asked.

  “It’s Dr. Seuss, babe,” Christie explained.

  “Sounds more like something in Dr. Spock,” Tamara replied.

  “Mommy!” Vickie’s voice cut through the adult conversation. Emma spun on her heels to find Vicki looking up at her. �
��Yes?” she asked her daughter.

  “Momma says we can swim if you come.”

  Emma looked across the yard at Addison, who grinned. “I see. Mommy was going to go change Hannah and then start the grill.”

  Vicki shook her head. “Gwampa says he gots the gwill.”

  Emma regarded her daughter thoughtfully. “Grandpa says he will start the grill?”

  “Yep.”

  Emma shook her head. “I don’t know, Sprout. Grammy and Grandpa will be with you and Hannah all week. They are our guests,” she said.

  Vicki’s hands immediately went to her hips. “Mommy,” she said with a sigh. “Dis is our wast chance. Gwampa can do it.”

  “Yes, Grampa can do it.”

  Vicki nodded. “You get Hannah,” she ordered Emma and began to march toward the house.

  “Vicki,” Emma called after her. Vicki kept walking. “Victoria Tamara!” Emma raised her voice.

  Tamara winced. “Uh oh,” she mumbled to Christie.

  Emma took a deep breath and turned to Tamara. “Could you watch the bean for a minute?” she asked. Tamara nodded and took possession of Hannah on her lap. “Thanks,” Emma said. She began making her way to an indignant Vicki. “Take your hands off your hips,” Emma directed her daughter.

  “Mommy! I’m going to my room,” Vicki stated.

  “Yes,” Emma agreed. “You are—right now.”

  “Get my suit?”

  Emma’s lips grew taught. “More like you will get a seat in time-out.”

  “Mommy!” Vicki whined.

  “Now,” Emma said. “Keep it up, and you won’t be swimming with Momma at all,” Emma warned. Vicki huffed, and Emma guided her through the sliding glass door. “We’ll be back in a bit,” she promised.

  Addison sighed. “I hope you know what you are in for,” she said to Sherry.

  Sherry patted Addison’s shoulder. “I’ve done it with three,” she reminded her daughter-in-law. “Bet that break looks a little bit better right now, huh?” Sherry guessed. Addison sighed again. Sherry put her arm around Addison’s shoulder. “Trust me, Addy you have no idea how much you need it.”

  ***

  Emma swirled Hannah in the pool while Addison let Vicki splash her. Vicki was laughing, and Hannah was gurgling with delight.

  Tamara shook her head. “I bet they don’t even get to sleep anymore,” she commented absently. She took a sip from her beer and shook her head again. “I’d be grumpy. I don’t think I could go that long. I mean, seriously—how long does it last? Like five years or is it more?”

  Christie laughed. She was enjoying watching Addy and Emma with the kids. Addison had been markedly quiet after Emma had put Vicki in time-out. It was evident that both Addy and Emma were feeling a tinge of apprehension at the prospect of being away from their children for a week. After dinner, Vicki had settled down. Christie was glad to see the foursome enjoying their last night together for a while. She also knew Tamara. And, she knew where Tamara’s thoughts had traveled.

  “What? Do you think they suddenly don’t have sex or something?” Christie asked her fiancé bluntly. “They do have two kids.”

  “Uh… Yeah, but they didn’t get them the old-fashioned way,” Tamara reminded her fiancé.

  Christie shook her head. “Why don’t you think Addy and Emma have sex anymore? What on earth would make you think that?”

  “Look at them!”

  “I see them.”

  “They are like the lesbian version of fucking Ozzie and Harriett. The way they are going, they’ll be starting a lesbian version of The Brady Bunch soon, and you will be out of a job.”

  Christie laughed again. “A bit dramatic, babe; don’t you think? And who says Mr. And Mrs. Brady never got it on?”

  Tamara looked at Christie indignantly. “They didn’t. I’ll bet Alice got it more with that butcher.”

  “Sam.”

  “What?”

  “The butcher; his name was Sam.”

  “Whatever. She had a room on the first floor. Think about that.”

  “The fact that you have thought about that at all concerns me a bit,” Christie teased.

  “I’m just saying,” Tamara said.

  “I hear you. I just think we are speaking different languages right now. I’m not sure how Addy and Emma and Alice and Sam go together.”

  Tamara sighed dramatically. “Let me break this down for you.”

  “Please do.”

  “Look at Addy.”

  “What about her?” Christie asked.

  “Look! She’s been all sulky today.”

  Christie smiled. “She doesn’t like being away from the kids, Tam. Why is that so weird?”

  “It’s not weird. But, really… Think about it. Wouldn’t you welcome that?”

  “Kids?”

  “No! A break from our kids!”

  “We don’t have any kids,” Christie reminded Tamara.

  “I know that! That’s not the point. If you had kids—if we had kids—wouldn’t you be glad to get a week alone and away from them?”

  “Probably. I imagine I would have some mixed feelings, though. Wouldn’t you?”

  “Exactly!” Tamara chimed.

  “Tam, what is this about?”

  “I don’t want my nose buried so deep in Doctor Spock I can’t spend any time with Doc Johnson.”

  Christie stared at Tamara blankly for a second and then burst out laughing.

  “Why is that funny?”

  Christie leaned in and placed a kiss on Tamara’s lips. “I’ll make a note.”

  ***

  Emma walked into the doorway of Hannah’s bedroom. Addison was standing over the empty crib. “Come to bed,” Emma put her arms around Addison’s waist. “Honey,” Emma called gently. “Come on.”

  Addison followed Emma reluctantly to their bedroom. She flopped onto the bed and put her hands over her eyes. She’d been dreading this night for weeks. Since Hannah had arrived, Addison had not spent more than a couple of nights away from her family, and their daughters had never been apart from Emma. It felt foreign to be in the house without the sound of Hannah’s giggling. Emma’s parents had taken the girls with them when they had departed early that evening. They had an early flight and wanted the children to get a few hours of sleep. Emma had tried to calm Addison’s anxiety, sharing stories about her childhood trips to Texas and how fondly she recalled them even now. It wasn’t that Addison was worried about the kids’ safety or doubted that they would enjoy being with their grandparents in Kansas; it was Addison’s insecurity that somehow they would forget about her. Somehow they might rather be with Tom and Sherry. It was stupid, and it was juvenile. Addison had reminded herself of that numerous times. No matter what she rationally understood, her heart ached, and nothing seemed to be able to stop it.

  “Addy,” Emma peeled Addison’s hands from her eyes. She smiled at Addison and kissed her tenderly. “I miss them too.”

  “You do?”

  “Of course, I do.”

  “You seem so relaxed.”

  Emma shrugged and climbed onto the bed with Addison. “Do I?” she asked.

  “Yeah,” Addison replied. “I had a hard time not crying when you handed Hannah to your mom.”

  “So did I,” Emma confessed.

  “Really?”

  Emma laughed. “Geez, Addy: what did you think?”

  Addison sighed. “Are you worried?” she asked Emma.

  “About the kids?”

  “No.”

  Emma turned to face Addison. “Am I worried about what?”

  “What if they like it there better?”

  Emma smiled knowingly. She kissed Addison sweetly. “Oh.”

  “See? It’s stupid.”

  “No,” Emma disagreed. “Truthfully, they will,” she said. Addison sighed. “Or they will think they do. It’s a vacation, Addy. They’re kids. You know? They’ll have rules that are a lot more flexible with Mom and Dad, and you and I both know it,” she chuckled.
Addison snuggled into Emma’s arms. “But, that is not home. This is home, and believe me; when the week ends, they will be ready to come home.”

  “You really think so?”

  “I know so,” Emma said. She placed a kiss on Addison’s temple and closed her eyes in contentment.

  “Em?”

  “Hum?”

  “Never mind.”

  Emma chuckled. “I told Mom to call here before they get on the plane.”

  “You did?”

  “I did,” Emma said. She pulled Addison closer. “So, get some rest. Their flight is at 6:30 a.m.”

  “Thanks, Em.”

  “Don’t thank me,” Emma said.

  “Really think they will want to come home next Saturday?”

  “If not, I will bet Mom and Dad will be ready to ship them home.”

  “You think Vicki will give them orders?”

  “She hasn’t accepted that she is just the captain’s daughter and not the captain.”

  Addison laughed. She and Emma shared a love of old television shows. She understood the reference immediately. “Oh? Are we on The Love Boat?”

  “I don’t know; are we?” Emma challenged.

  “I’m all for a cruise,” Addison flirted.

  “Is that so?” Emma asked.

  “Yeah. First, I want to know who you consider the captain.”

  Emma grinned. “Depends.”

  “On what?”

  “Do you feel like steering the ship or are you only interested in the recreational activities?”

  Addison turned in Emma’s embrace. “Aye, aye, Captain Emma.”

  Emma laughed. “Just so you know? I will remember you said that.”

  ***

  Tamara flopped down onto the sofa while Christie shut the front door. Christie turned to Tamara and smiled.

  “What?” Tamara asked. “What?” Tamara repeated her question.

  Christie kept smiling as she walked to Tamara. She fell to her knees in front of the couch and took Tamara’s face in her hands.

  “What?” Tamara asked for the third time.

  Christie’s reply came in the form of a heated kiss.

  Tamara pulled back. “Chris?”

  “Stop talking, Tam.”