never had a dream come true

               meet stella garcia // biography

it was risky, she knew, but the employee records had always been available to her as a guidance counselor, and having celeste’s address on hand was simply due to knowing she was one of dom and cat’s emergency contacts for sebastian. she’d never been there herself, but the others had, and she found it easily ( as if anything in iron river was hard to find ) and merely hoped that the hour - still early in the evening enough to be considered ‘polite’, but late enough afternoon that the other should be home from the school they’d both worked at for years - meant she’d be home. 

there was a lot to say, and a lot to talk about. this was supposed to stay between dom and cat, of course, and she was probably massively overstepping, but she would not have her best friends marriage destroyed because celeste couldn’t control herself. the worst part was, she felt a small slight of sympathy for her - falling in love with someone she could never have couldn’t have been easy, and feelings were certainly not something people could control. 

but she was walking on a precipice and stella was going to make sure she stayed on the right side of it. which is why she showed up, a tray of celeste’s favorite treats in hand, a bottle of wine, and a faux smile the other would clearly see through but probably be too polite to deny entrance towards with her as she rang the doorbell, relieved it didn’t take long before celeste appeared. “hello,” she greeted cheerfully enough, “i’ve been feeling particularly nostalgic the past few days and remembered you liked these - i hope it’s okay i just dropped by, but i’m going a little stircrazy in a house of just little ones,” she said with an easy laugh. 

Ozan had been reading a book when he felt his sister-in-law take a seat next to him. He always liked Stella, from the very first time he’d been introduced to her in fact. She had a bright cheery personality that he thought was a good addition to their family. He may have been upset with his own brother but never with Stella or the kids they had. The more time he was getting to spend with them just reminded him of the fun times he’d had with his own siblings growing up even when times were tough.

“I don’t mind it too much,” he admitted as he closed the book after folding down the corner of the page he’d been reading. “It’s a refreshing change of pace to be honest, to be around them.” Ozan’s life had been mostly led alone and so this was definitely something he found challenging but in the best way. “Oh wow–that is a huge compliment,” and he meant it. He knew she had another uncle from Stella’s side of the family and so this was definitely something that made his chest swell a little bit more with pride.

“Honestly–I take it as a huge honor. That little girl has all of us wrapped around her finger, but knowing she likes me the most in her uncles–that’s pretty damn thrilling,” he chuckled before glancing back at Stella. “I know we haven’t had much time to talk with me working so much but really Stella, I appreciate you guys opening your doors to me. I know it’s not easy to let someone in and disrupt the peace in your home but yeah it means a lot to me.”

💋

“Don’t ever worry about it,” she waved off. “Al showed up for almost two months right after Eli was born - I think it’s because I told my mother if she stayed longer than the first week, I would absolutely murder her this time around. She’s very big into backseat mothering,” she laughed easily. “There’s a reason we have a guest room - it’s for guests. Though, if we decide to round it out with a third, I may have to convince Ilyas to build a small guest house in the back for everyone to stay in,” she mused, knowing it wouldn’t take much for Ilyas to take the project on. 

There was a lot that needed to be said, but that was between Ozan and his brother. Stella was staying out of it, as best she could. ( Which was, admittedly, not very well - she was nosy, and wanted everyone to be happy which some would say meant she meddled. She simply thought she tried to keep the peace between everyone.  ) 

“How long do you think you’re going to stick around down here?” she asked, genuinely curious. “Don’t think I’m pushing you out - I think it’s good for Ilyas to have some family around - and we love having you in the house. But if you’re thinking about relocating down here permanently, I need some sort of hobby, and house hunting was a strange hobby of mine before the kids came along. I’d love to help you set up some sort of residence, if that’s something you’re thinking of.” 

Dom had clearly made an error in his calculations. He knew that Stella would want to have a conversation eventually, and hoped that by cutting her off and showing up unannounced — with Ilyas around as a buffer — he could avoid the whole affair. He should have called. Better yet, he should have decided Ilyas didn’t really need any more book recommendations and skipped the trip entirely. Instead, he feigned a placid smile as he stepped over the threshold, pretending he wasn’t silently buffering himself for the verbal lashing to follow. 

He didn’t even have time to set the small stack of books down before she began her interrogation, but Dom was secretly grateful to be holding onto something tactile to occupy himself. “We’re not… really speaking at the moment,” he replied, his words halting in discomfort to admit just how dire things had gotten. He was also acutely aware that anything he said was likely to find its way back to Cat. “I’m not sure how much she told you, but I think we both made our feelings on the matter painfully clear.” 

It brought forth a well of shame to think how much she might know, how privy she was to the moment that may have destroyed his marriage. He knew he’d said some hurtful things; he wasn’t proud that he had thrown Cat’s apparent insecurity about Celeste back in her face. But he’d done it to get a reaction — and boy, did he get it… 

Did Stella know he wasn’t enough of a man to keep his own wife’s attention? Did she know Cat wished she had married someone else? 

💋

Stella snorted, shaking her head and heading down the hallway to the kitchen, waggling her fingers to demand Dominic follow her. When she and Ilyas had struggled, back at the very beginning, it had been Dom and Cat who had been there for them. When the two of them had fights - and it wasn’t often, but could be labeled as ‘catastrophic’, the two of them were who Stella and Ilyas turned to for comfort. The four of them were a family of their own, and Stella was not about to stand idly by and watch half of them implode because of their own stupidity. 

“Sit,” she demanded, pulling out a bottle of whiskey hidden under the sink and pouring them each a shot before she leaned across her island counter to look him dead in the eye. “Dominc Goodwin, I am surprised at you.” 

She pulled her hair back, pursing her lips as she debated just what to say - but this was life or death, truly, and Cat would forgive her for relaying information if it saved their marriage. 

“You both said awful things to the other,” she allowed, hoping he noted how she put Cat in that category too - his wife was, by no means, innocent in this mess. “The worst things you could. But you should know better - if you didn’t mean yours, why would she mean hers?” She clucked her tongue, pouring them more whiskey and grateful Dom had appeared during naptime for the children. 

“You are the love of her life, Dominic. Yes, she’s ambitious, and she works too much, and she travels too often. But she loves you, and she has as long as I’ve known her. She’s never wanted anyone else but you to spend the rest of her life with. You two have a child together, and you’re risking everything for - for what, your pride?” she scoffed, shaking her head. “You’re better than that, Dominic. And if you can’t see that....” she trailed off, sighing. “I want you both to be happy. I’m your friend too, you know. All I want is for you two to talk - actually talk, without the walls and accusations and lies you’re both feeding each other.” 

“After all,” she said, swirling her drink around in her glass, “it’s not like you truly want to leave Cat for Celeste, do you? Can you honestly tell me you love Celeste more than you love Catalina?” 

Ilyas could feel his cheeks warming as Stella spoke about seeing him at work. He had loved having her around his office with Delia back then, joining the two things he dedicated his life to. He also wasn’t ashamed to admit he just liked showing his two girls off. What he hadn’t known is that she’d enjoyed coming to see him just as much as he enjoyed having them over. Even after more than a decade together, he’d never get used to her complimenting him. Buying himself a couple seconds to get over his sudden shyness, he leaned over, careful not to jostle their children, to press a quick peck to his lips. 

As if she’d sensed his loss of words, she redirected the conversation. He spared a thought of thankfulness to his wife always knowing he didn’t know how to take a compliment, before his eyes widened in fear. “Absolutely not. We are leaving this a Delia tradition. It was downright horrifying cleaning that thing.” he complained as he was forced to stand by said devil, who, at the mention of her name, had decided it was time to go to the swings. He turned to face her and with one last raised finger in warning at Stella, as if she could control their children’s puking tendencies, he allowed Delia to lead him to the swings.

It wasn’t long until Delia decided the older kids were cooler than her Baba, and, in a move he worried would become the norm in a couple of years, she sent him back to go ‘cuddle Mommy or something’. He raised an eyebrow at her retreating back, wondering who was teaching her such cheek, before making his way back to the blanket. The sight of a nearly asleep Eli brought a smile to his face as he settled in gently, making sure not to disturb his doze. He laid on his back, one hand supporting his head as his other hand gently curled around Eli’s ankle, thumb rubbing comforting circles on the baby soft skin. God, he loved Saturdays. 

He closed his eyes blissfully for a second, a soft smile spreading on his face, before the dulcet tones of his wife’s voice snapped him right back to reality. Stella was finally done with letting him avoid the subject of his brother, it seemed. He took a long breath, trying to scramble his lazy thoughts into something reasonable. “I’m not sure how much of a fan of picnics he is.” he stalled, trying to still preserve the bubble of contentedness he’d found some previous moments ago. “But it might save my lower back in the future from being Del’s preferred swing pusher. Might have to tell him to step up to it.” Ilyas knew he was not gonna get away with what was a bullshit answer, but his brother coming back hadn’t helped at all clear his own feelings about their relationship at all. He also felt like a damn hypocrite about it, with how much he advocated for talking things through, and here he was, avoiding his brother and the conversation like the plague. 

💋

Stella waited patiently; Ilyas could pretend with everyone else, but never with her. They’d seen each other at their worst, at their darkest moments, and while it had taken years to build, they had an open line of communication that most would probably envy. There were no secrets between them - not big ones, at least, nothing intentional. Maybe small ones, like letting Delia have a cupcake when she was supposed to be off sugar before dessert at the end of the evening, or getting a parking ticket because they parked next to a fire hydrant while trying to get coffee. 

But his relationship with his brother was complicated. She knew that they had grown up in a completely different environment than she had; they had struggled, immensely, and Ilyas had done everything he could before finding a way to make his own life better. But while Ozan may have seen it as a betrayal, Stella knew better. Ilyas had never turned his back on his family, and would still do anything he could for them. 

( She had tried, at the beginning, to offer her own money to help his family better - to pay off debts, to pay for college, to let him build a house for all of them. But money had always been the hardest subject for the two of them to broach, both of them having such different backgrounds with it, and after awhile she had stopped offering, hoping he knew what was hers was his the second he needed it. ) 

“Ilyas,” she said in a quiet tone, reaching out to hold her husbands hand, “talk to me. What’s going on? Can’t you two make up for lost time, come together like you used to be?” her eyes were wide, earnest as she stared him down. “You love each other. It should be as simple as that. Stop making things needlessly complicated. Both of you.” 

He laughed at her words, genuine amusement on his features. “You know what, I can’t even really argue with you there. I was clearly raised away from all civilization.” He had certainly been in places that were away from all civilization, and each time he’d been happy to get back to things like a functioning cell signal and Target. “Noted,” he said through a grimace, looking around them as though he was worried she’d be standing behind him. “I will keep my eyes open. I’d hate to have my life ruined my first week in town, I just unpacked my three belongings.” 

💋

“Wow, three?” she teased gently with a raised eyebrow, “well, that’s certainly more than enough to establish a life. We can’t have you being destroyed now.” She offered him a taste of the strawberries she’d picked up, testing one herself - she couldn’t help sampling, a snacker to the core. “I’m Stella, by the way. What brings you to our quaint town with all of your many belongings? I need to make sure it’s a good reason, if I’m going to protect you from the farmers market mob.” 

open starter for @ironriverstarters​ at grind coffee co –

Tarkan had a routine. Up at a decent hour, then he went for a long run that ended up always at Grind, and always with a medium black coffee. Occasionally he was known for shaking it up, getting something sweeter but usually, it was just a black coffee. When he got him, he’d have a green drink, and then begin to get into work. Whether that be case work or writing. The publisher was on him for another novel, but he was uncertain. He was taking a drink of his coffee when he noticed someone’s debit card on the ground. He picked it up and said to the person nearest, “Hey, you drop your debit card by chance?”

💋

“Fuck,” Stella whispered, grateful the other had stopped her before she’d gotten too far. Eli had been up half the night, screaming and nothing but Stella could calm him down. She was supposed to be spending her morning at a yoga class while the kids were home with a sitter, but she was so tired she promptly sat down on a stool, her half drunk coffee almost spilling out of the side of her to go cup. “Sorry, yes, thank you,” she tried to course correct - she wasn’t usually so crude in public. “It’s been a long morning,” she said with a wry smile, the bags under her eyes surely giving her away. “Can I pay you back with a muffin, or a coffee or something?” 

“Honestly, same.” Austyn laughed, allowing herself to make eye contact with the little girl as she spoke. “I’m not always the best at picking out things, but I like giving advice so it looks like I may have found my complimentary partner.” she laughed. Taking a moment to look back at the other’s children she smiled. “Your children are beautiful.” she smiled, looking at the little girl munching away on an apple. “I miss my little guy being that small. Now I’m lucky if I can even get him to look at me sometimes.” she slightly laughed, looking back at the bouquets in her arms. “A client that I used to have, actually.” she spoke, switching her gaze between the two bouquets. “She’s now in a nursing home and my son and I visit her regularly with flowers and a meal.” she smiled at the memories they’d shared for the past few months. “I just always have a hard time picking one on my own. What do you think is the best option?”

💋

“Oh, don’t tell me that,” Stella groaned, stroking Delia’s hair back from her face as she watched the conversation quietly - it was nearly naptime, or she’d be interrupting every few moments, she was sure. “They’re already growing so fast. Half the time we go to the park and this one runs off without even a goodbye to play with the other kids - I can’t imagine how much more independent she’ll get when she starts pre-school next year,” she sighed with a scrunch of her nose. Still, her focus went back to the flowers surrounding them - she had a garden of her own at home, but loved fresh flowers all around the house. A bright colored bouquet of daisy's caught her own eye, she selected them for Delia’s room with ease before mulling over Austyn’s dilemma. “Probably something not too fragrant, so it doesn’t attract any bugs - but bright, colorful, to cheer up the atmosphere. I don’t know what kind of home she’s in, but I know they’re almost always more depressing than they should be,” she said with a sad twist of her lips. “What kind of work do you do, if she was a client?” 

“No, no.” She fought against the reassurance with a stubborn shake of her head. “You don’t— you don’t know that, Stella.” Because no matter how much Cat wanted to believe she was right, at her core she was a realist. She had to admit to herself that things were so much worse now than they’d ever been. 

And Stella? She didn’t know the whole truth of it. 

Cat never intended to out Dom or what he said, only to air her own side of the fucked up situation, but in a quiet, broken voice she muttered, “He said Celeste does a better job at taking care of him and Sebastian.” Actually, he’d asked if she was threatened that the other woman did, but wasn’t it pretty much the same thing? “That’s all but admitting that he wishes he was with her instead. That he wishes she was his wife because I’m not good enough to be with him.”

Maybe it was her own paranoia and insecurities coming into play, but she was sure that’s exactly what he meant.

She wouldn’t break down about it - she would not - but she still couldn’t keep the quiver from her lip. “Even if he loves me he wants someone like her, and I can’t— I’ll never be that, Stel. I wouldn’t even know how if I tried.” Her ambition, her drive, her goals and her dreams… they were what made Cat… Cat. Shutting it off wasn’t possible. Which meant for the first time in perhaps her entire life she had no idea what the fuck to do. She was operating blind, without the smallest semblance of a plan.

The vodka returned to her lips, then she resumed pacing. “Do I get a lawyer? I mean, if he’s going to leave me I’ll need a lawyer, right?” Except she didn’t want a lawyer, and she didn’t want a divorce, she wanted to wake up and have things miraculously be alright. “And what about Seb? I mean— for fuck’s sake, Stel. He wasn’t supposed to grow up in the same broken family we did. We weren’t supposed to be this.”

💋

It was an automatic instinct, the way her eyes narrowed and her hands, rubbing Cat’s shoulders, clenched a little bit tighter at her acknowledgement of Dom’s words. She loved them both, and would continue to do so, but jesus fucking christ, that was a low blow. And the worst one Dom could throw in her face - Cat’s biggest insecurity, used to cut her down when they were fighting. 

She could see why Cat was so sure their marriage was over. She had to admit, at least on the inside, that it wouldn’t surprise her if it did after that. 

But she wasn’t about to say that to her best friend - she didn’t need realism right now, she needed comfort, safety, and while Stella would certainly have words with Dom at some point, this was about Cat for the moment. 

“He wants you.” She said sternly, her voice lacking a true edge because ultimately, she just wanted Cat to be happy. “He was pissed, he was hurt, he lashed out. I’m not saying it’s right - it’s, like, the worst thing he could have said to you. And you hit him with probably the worst thing you could have said right back. Neither of you come out of this innocent. But Cat,” she placed two fingers under her friends chin, steadying her gaze to stare her in the eyes, “do you love him?” 

She didn’t have to wait for the certainties, because it was obvious she did. If she didn’t, would Cat have shown up in the middle of the night, knowing Stella had a toddler and an infant sleeping upstairs? Would she be pouring herself into a bottle of vodka, on the verge of tears, fighting them back if she didn’t? 

“You fight for him, Catalina, but you make sure he remembers that he fell in love with you because of you. He knew you were ambitious, he knew your job would be tough. I can’t imagine how difficult it is for you two to be apart like that. But he chose you, he gave you his ring and his life and his son - not Celeste. And now maybe it’s time you choose him the same way - don’t let it go, don’t sweep it under the rug, but fight for him. Don’t you dare let him go without a fight, babe.” 

“The politics of the farmers market are notoriously cut-throat.” He said sagely, nodding along to her statement. He couldn’t help but snort at her raised the pointed remark, his hands raised in faux surrender as he moved out of her way. “Yes, yeah, sorry. My bad.” He made sure to step further out of her way, just in case there was something else at the table she needed. “I’m normally much better about my farmer’s market manners, just so you know. Don’t want you to think I was raised in barn or something.” 

💋

“I mean, if you were raised in a barn,” she retorted easily, “you might actually know to move out of the way when someone wants to look at produce.” Still, she offered him a small smile, popping a blueberry in her mouth to test them before grabbing a basket that was full enough to feed Delia for at least a couple days. “You better watch out - I’m the nice one around here. If you see a blonde with big curls and heels she can barely walk in, duck behind a booth. She will try and ruin your life.” 

having a house guest and two children under the age of four was a lot to bear, but stella had left her job just months after eli was born, choosing to stay at home with her children instead of working and finding a nanny to take care of them. it was easier, maybe, but she was exhausted more than she wasn’t, and she knew ilyas probably felt the same.

but they opened their door to her mother, and her brother, and she had made a promise to ilyas a long time ago that his family was her family. it was strange, sometimes, to consider that she had more brothers and sisters than just the one she’d grown up with. they didn’t visit as often - or as long - as al or aline did, but she’d been glad to see ozan show up on their doorstep, happy to set him up in their guest room for as long as he wanted to stay. 

“bet you’re glad you don’t have two little ones running around now,” she joked as she crashed on the couch beside ozan, the kids both down for a nap while ilyas was still at work. “delia just told me you’re her favorite uncle, which i would take very honorably - al got her little high heels for christmas last year, and i can barely get her to take them off when we’re leaving the house. it’s a very high honor.” 

Ilyas nodded around a bite of his sandwich, repositioning Eli’s cheerios bag which his son had decided had to be on the brink of spilling all over himself. “Hopefully I can convince him to come get a drink with me at King Corona tonight. Does that work for you? I might not be completely sober when we return, judging by our liquor cabinet after Cat came.” he knew he didn’t need Stella’s permission to do things, but he always made sure to run his plans by her, especially if they potentially ended in a hangover for him. They were a team after all, and having only half of it fully operative on a Sunday because the other half was flinching at the light was something he tried to warn her about in advance. “I don’t expect to go overboard, somebody needs to make sure Dom makes it home safe, but, I can’t exactly let him drink alone either.”

He couldn’t say he was looking forward to it, however. Ilyas was glad he could be there to support Dom, but re-hearing again the cruelties the couple had yelled at each other- that he was not excited about. He was about to voice that thought when Delia barreled in. At the appearance of his sister, Eli scrambled up on chubby legs and headed towards her, his foot missing the cheerios bag by mere inches. “Prenses, you’ve always known how to make an entrance.” he chuckled, gently holding Eli back so Stella could properly get Delia clean. 

After her mother deemed her properly cleaned, Delia sat down between them, still talking with her mouth full about her newfound friends in the park. Ilyas let Eli free to seat by his sister as he pleased, and the redhead used the opportunity to lean back on his forearms, his face now level with his wife’s. He looked down at their kids sitting between them, the sun tinting their cheeks a lovely colour, and couldn’t help but smile at the blissful image they all presented. 

Stella’s joke startled a laugh out of him, tearing his sight away from their kids so he could gaze into her eyes. “Mmm, wouldn’t that be a sight! I’m not sure I could let it happen, though. All my students would like her more than me and she’d have my job in no time.” he joked, taking one of the crusts from her fingers with his teeth before continuing. “They already like you well enough as is. I’ve already had three students tell me how beautiful my wife is becaue of the picture of us I have on my desk. At this rate, I’m gonna have to hold my office hours with you so they’ll come ask question during the semester instead of three days before the exam.” he shook his head exasperatedly, but the happy grin couldn’t really be hidden. 

💋

Stella let out a soft laugh; she liked visiting him at the college, though she hadn’t gotten to do so as often since Eli was born. Bringing around one baby was fairly easy, but two - it didn’t help that Delia never liked sitting in the double stroller they’d bought for the two of them, that she wanted to run free and, more often than not, land herself in a pile of leaves or dirt or mud or take off her shirt or shoes because she decided she was ‘too hot’ and clothes were ‘too much’ for the day. According to Aline, Stella had been the exact same - I couldn’t keep you dressed for the life of me, especially when we were in Cuba she said the first time Stella had told her mother about it. 

But if Delia was a mini version of Stella, Eli was already a small version of Ilyas. Not only were their names paralleled, but the deeper tint of red than brown in his hair made him look more like his father than his mother, and his quieter nature and determination to be at Delia’s side at all costs, well, Stella definitely recognized that trait from her husband. 

“We’ll come visit you during your office hours soon,” she promised, though she knew Ilyas never meant to guilt her about it. “I miss seeing you at work. You’re so handsome when you’re focused like that - working on your sketches, building things with your mind even if you aren’t out in the field.” She would have supported him, had he decided to go into the practical side of his field, but he wanted a family as much as she did, and an architects hours were unreliable at best. “Besides, Eli hasn’t seen your office, and it’s Kartal family tradition for your children to vomit on that couch at least once,” she teased, reminding them both of when Delia had done just that - several times, in fact - when she was Eli’s age.

But there were more important things to discuss, and while they sat together for a little while it wasn’t long before Delia wandered off again, Ilyas following easily to push her in the swing before she abandoned him for the older kids she had been playing with before. Eli was fighting a nap he didn’t want but desperately needed, Stella stroking his hair as he laid lazily in the sun, her finger pressed to her mouth when her husband returned to sit with them again. 

“It’s too bad Ozan couldn’t join us today,” she broached, her voice quiet so as to not disturb Eli and his fluttering eyes. It was the easiest way to broach the subject - one she’d been giving him time to dwell over, one she’d been waiting patiently for him to come to terms with. “Delia loves having her uncle around, you know. I’m glad he could stay with us for awhile.” 

—Starter for @grciastella​ Location: Stella’s House 

By all means, Stella was a friend — though it was worth noting Dom was fairly certain they’d never been left alone just the two of them. They were “couple friends,” and with both of their other halves missing, the dynamic was… awkward, to say the least. 

“Sorry, I, uh, I thought Ilyas would be home. I had some stuff to drop off, so I figured I’d come by.” 

💋

Stella was surprised to open the door and see Dom on the other side, but truthfully, it just meant it was one less stop she had to figure out how to make. She’d been trying to give the couple space to figure out their problems, but Cat had taken time off work and was barely heard from - which meant that Dom hadn’t done his part of taking care of her like he was supposed to. 

“Come in,” she offered, keeping her tone polite - she knew this was hurting him too, and that if she did squash him like a bug, Cat would only be in more pain. “He had to stay late to work, but I can tell him you stopped by. I’ve been meaning to check in with you anyways.” She closed the door behind him, not even pretending with pleasantries as she let it out - “so, not to make light of a big problem, but have you told Cat that she’s the most important thing in the world to you yet, or are you still in a fight about how you’re both too stupid to realize how much you love each other?” 

open starter  location: farmers market

If he was being honest, he was here for entertainment more than actual shopping. His cooking skills, ones that had been slightly underdeveloped to begin with, had quickly rusted over in all of the time he spent on the road. He wasn’t quite sure he could put together a meal without being in slight danger of burning his new townhouse to the ground. In the interest of keeping his housing in one piece and burn free, he would leave the cooking to the professionals, and pick up some snacks. 

Sipping on fresh juice from a stand at the front of the market, he didn’t realize he was standing in their way until he saw them in his periphery. “Oh, shit, I’m sorry, I’m totally in your way. Should’ve just shoved me, I wouldn’t have minded.” 

💋

“It’s not exactly my style,” Stella retorted easily enough; truthfully, she wasn’t all that annoyed with the imposition. A few extra minutes out of the house, no children in tow, she wouldn’t complain. As much as she adored being a mother, sometimes she just needed a few minutes to herself. “Besides, no one wants to be labeled the ‘crazy bitch’ of the farmers market’ - that’s a really hard label to break, and I like my fresh fruits too much to risk it.” 

Somehow, though, he was still in her way, and she raised an eyebrow in lieu of pointing that out. “But like, are you going to move? I’d like to get some blueberries before it gets dark out here.” 

“………. and yet people think I’M the homicidal one in this equation,” Cat deadpanned after several long, drawn out beats of silence, momentarily surprised (and yet not surprised at all) by Stella’s offer. In any other situation on any other night she might’ve smiled at it, too, but her lips didn’t quite remember how to curve with any semblance of amusement. Instead of trying, she just shook her head and went back to her drink. 

“But no. No. As much as I appreciate your willingness to join me in prison, please leave Ilyas’ car alone.” Very offhandedly, because she’d clearly never thought about it before, she added, “If we needed one we’d obviously steal something not connected to either of us, anyway, and we’d call Spence for the hookup at a pig farm. At this hour we’d never dig a hole deep enough to keep a body hidden before sunrise.” Which was completely beside the point, because for now there wasn’t any body to worry about.

The only thing not much longer for this Earth seemed to be her marriage, unfortunately. 

“We’re somewhere left field of the third option.” She hadn’t told her husband she hated him, or that she never wanted to see him again, but she’d said something a little too damn close to both. “I— I told him he should’ve given Celeste my ring.” A deep breath, and then another swig. “Then I told him maybe I should’ve waited longer for Hudson’s instead of ever agreeing to wear it.” And with every last useless shred of her soul she hadn’t meant any of it, but it was too late to take it back.

“Why did I do that, Stella?” A rhetorical question, at best. If Cat didn’t know the answer she didn’t expect anyone else to. “It’s not like I thought it’d go well. So why did I say it? Why is my first instinct always to hurt when I’m hurting instead of just letting him in?” Pacing again, she tossed out, “I might as well have given him the greenlight to take her to our bed. And what I said about Hud— it was so stupid, Stel. He’s never going to forgive me for that. He’s never going to believe me when I tell him there’s nothing going on between the two of us. He’s not— we’re not—”

The last several hours caught up to her again, stealing her ability to breathe - to think. “Oh god. This is it, isn’t? This is— I’ve just actually ended my marriage.”

💋

“Oh, Catalina,” Stella groaned, shaking her head before pulling the other in for a hug. The words were definite fighting words, meant to leave a mark - Cat and Stella were in the same ilk in that regards. Not physical fighters, but emotional ones, meant to leave damage behind to salt the earth. And mentioning Hudson was a surefire way to make Dom question his role in Cat’s life. 

As if she’d ever loved anyone as much as she loved her husband. 

Honestly, the two of them were idiots - but jealousy was a cruel bitch, and played them each like a fiddle. Dom simply wanted his best friend, but Cat wanted her husband and Celeste was making it damn near impossible for them all to get what they wanted. Truthfully, she was ready to go after the other woman herself for putting her friends in this position. They may have all worked at the high school, but did they need to act like the students themselves? 

“First things first,” she said, shaking her head even as she ran her fingers through Cat’s hair, trying to comfort her in a similar fashion that she’d used on Seb over the years watching him, the same way she calmed Delia down when her daughter was having a fit. “He is not going to cheat on you. He’s never going to cheat on you. Celeste is - god, she’s a nightmare, honestly, and I won’t say she’s innocent in all this, but how she feels about Dom is nothing compared to what you and Dom feel for each other.” 

Cat had been there when Stella ran - all the way back to Massachusetts, to her own home, afraid and worried about where life was going to take her and if it was supposed to be this hard. She’d been the one to talk sense into Stella when she thought her marriage was over, reminding her again and again that she and Ilyas were perfect together, that they weren’t going to end over one fight. Now it was her turn to do the same for Cat. 

“You said something stupid. I’m sure he said something stupid too. But I have known you both for years, and there are very few who love each other as deeply as you do.” She cupped her best friends face between her hands, forcing her to look at her. “You can stay here, and we can cry and scream and vent, but this is not the end for you two. Do you hear me? You’ll get through it. I know you will.” 

The Farmer’s Market was typically Austyn’s Sunday ritual - wake up, make pancakes for her son, go to the farmer’s market and spend the rest of the afternoon prepping for the week - and this week was no different. Well, except for the fact that she was going on a Wednesday mid-day and not a Sunday morning, but, this was for a special occasion. She’d made a promise that she intended to keep, which was why she’d managed to hoist so many bouquets of flowers in her arms along with the groceries she was carrying. 

Admiring the flowers individually as she searched for the perfect bouquet was distracting. Each flower had it’s own personality, it’s own story and like many of the bouquets Austyn had bought for herself, she wanted this one to be different. Taking her nose and pressing it against a flower in the crease of her elbow, she looked up as the other offered to help and she nodded, smiling as she agreed. “Honestly, I would love that. Are you good at picking out bouquets too? Because I could use another opinion.”

💋

“Not particularly,” Stella laughed easily, “but I am excellent at having opinions.” The farmers market was a favorite place of Delia’s, and the toddler was happily eating an apple while her brother slept on in his stroller. They’d come to get fresh vegetables for a new dish she wanted to try - a turkish delicacy to celebrate Ozan staying with them for a little while. 

She eyed the bouquet in the others arms, noting how gorgeous the bundle was. “Is there a special occasion you’re trying to go for? Or any special someone the flowers are for?” Her husband tried to surprise her with flowers now and again, but usually simple bouquets he found at the store on his way home. She loved every one of them, though. “I know different flowers and colors are supposed to have different meanings, but I can’t tell you what any of them are.”