uncharted constellations

“don’t tempt me, li!” she responds with a cheeky once-over, doing one final spin in front of the mirror and pushing her boobs up to imagine a little extra va va voom. “it’s been forever since i’ve gone out out, if you can believe it” her entire time in italy she went to one nightclub, and her experiences behind the bar at this new upscale lounge she works at do not count, mostly because she’s forced to stand there in the most dreadfully boring black dress and oftentimes spends her evening deciphering whether the clientele is just being friendly, or trying to invite her to a threesome on the yacht (more common than one might think). 

“i was weird for a while about who kept her–” apparently the post partum separation anxiety they tell you about extends both ways. “but now that she has my mom and her dad and welll…i have you, we gotta do something fun and crazy like we used to. enjoy these precious moments before you’re somebody’s wifeyyy” her voice is sugary sweet, with a lilt of amusement as she goes to start the oven. and there’s a smile that sneaks on her lips as she watches the two of them interact. no one ever warned her of what it’d be like to see two people you love most in the world start to love each other too, but she feels like her heart could burst right out of her chest. “bigger everyday, now since she’s babbling jake thinks he can get her to pronounce the names of power tools” she announces with a playful roll of her eyes. it’s way more endearing than she lets on. “well push comes to shove there’ll be plenty of leftovers” she informs fondly, always ends up making more than she needs, blames the italians and their insane portions and being the ones that taught her that dinner was supposed to be an experience. “you gotta catch me up on everything else though, how’s wedding planning? oooh, and when’s the next runway show for your line–i need front row seats!” it shows in her speech, how immensely proud of lia she is for being such a little girl boss, it’d be just as easy to sit around and capitalize off her wealthy fiancé. honestly, she couldn’t blame her if she did, knows from experience that holding onto a man like that can feel like a job of its own. but one thing about their pair, since they were young girls, independent by both nature and design, they know how to get it on their own. and by any means necessary.

“You deserve a good night out, I think we both do, and I can make sure it’s better than some passes towards you about a yacht,” she teased, having heard one or two stories from Toris days behind the bar. Something she had been thinking about, wanting her cousin to make a little extra cash for Veronica. Lia knew Tori loved her freedom, and what she was experiencing, but Lia wanted to bring her a little closer. Having spent so far apart, it was a way for her to spend more time with Tori if she were to maybe offer a position in her company.

“I hear that a lot from moms, and I hear it’s good to keep them close. They’re used to be bundled and wrapped all the time in the womb,” Lia spoke, smiling softly at her niece. And flashes of a little toddler running in and out of frame popped in her head. She could’ve had that, already had a cousin for V, but she choose a different path. And never had she regretted it more than finally getting to meet her niece. “Trust me, I need a day outside of this whole atmosphere, recharge in a way only we know how,” her signature mischievous smile on her face, “you’ll learn soon enough V, I’m the aunt that’s gonna keep you out of trouble,” she spoke softly, already knowing she’d had her back in any situation. “I’m excited to see all this fancy food you’re cooking up, I can only imagine the skills and flavors you’ve picked up,” making her way into the kitchen, placing V in the high chair she had purchased before Tori got back to the states. “Perfect fit, see I know how to plan ahead, and yet everyone doubted me,” Grabbing the bottle that Tori brought, and moving over to the large glass cabinet above the counter. Filled with all sorts of different cocktail glasses for when her and Declan hosted at their place. “I still need your help in the wedding planning, but we’ve got the venue and the date. I set an appointment for dress shopping this weekend, I was hoping you’d come, with V or not.” Bringing Tori glass to her and placing it on the counter, jumping up onto the island to take a seat. “The show is coming along amazing, we need one more model, but we are booked and ready to go in a months time. I can’t believe it’s my third show already, time is fickle. But I guess marrying rich has its benefits in terms of business,” faking a cheers and taking a sip of her drink. Thankful that she had started her business before getting into her relationship. It seemed near impossible to get into something in this world if you marry into it, expected to be almost a perfect housewife and never step out of line. And yet it was still everything she dreamed of since she was a kid.

“yeah, you next….she needs a cousin–” tori declares as she trails lia to the elevator. thinks back to when they were little girls and had it all planned out, they’d time their pregnancies perfectly and birth two little miniature versions of themselves to do life side by side, like they have. funny when you’re a kid and think the universe works however you want it to. then you get older and come to realize almost nothing goes to plan.  

“liaaaa–” she chimes the minute she arrives at the top floor and realizes she wasn’t kidding about the dozen or so bags full of goodies for them both, “you didn’t have to! …but i’m so glad you did” carefully, she places the bassinet down beside her to sift through the selections, never one to turn down a new addition to her wardrobe, especially from the most stylish person she knows. she finds one that she absolutely must try on now, strips out of her current ensemble on the fly to slide the sleek new dress onto her frame. “what do we think?” she does a full spin for the other to see before padding over to the mirror to get a look for herself. pulling her abundance of curls to the top of her head, she admires the neckline, and loves it so much she just might keep it on for the rest of the day. their girlish giggles must’ve been too much commotion, because she sees her baby start to open her eyes. “there she is” tori grins, taking veronica out of her carrier. “ “did you say hi to auntie lia? she bought you so many cute little outfits” she coos, bouncing her on her hip as she grows more awake. she’s already bigger since their final facetime call before she boarded the plane, close to 7 months and doing more by the day.  “you wanna hold her?” tori offers, holding her out for lia to take. “i’m gonna make all of us dinner, couldn’t decide between lemon chicken and quesadillas so i said why not both!” she beams, excited for the collective family time. “there’s enough for your fancy fiancé if he’ll be joining us anytime soon”

“As exciting as that would be, you’ll have to talk to the fiancé about that one. All work and a small amount of play,” thinking about their conversations, always playing home with their baby dolls and having cousins who were practically sisters. Growing up she was lucky to have Tori, and she always wanted to have a little girl to experience the same bond she was able to have her life. Unfortunately the universe was a fickle thing, and rarely let plans stay the way they started.

“What kind of cousin would I be if I didn’t?” She teased, watching the way Toris face lit up as she approached the bags. A soft smile appearing on Lias face, some of the items being from her own collection or friends that she had gathered over the years. But most of them being random finds she found at various stores, and couldn’t help but grab for her. “I think you look amazing and we should get a babysitter ASAP if you know what I mean,” winking with a small laugh, “I may even have a nice necklace you could pair with it, make a whole ensemble tonight,” Her gaze finally pulling from Tori as she heard a few little noises from the floor, watching Tori maneuver her out of the bassinet and balancing her perfectly on her hip. “You’re gonna be the prettiest little girl in the world, maybe even have a great affinity for wood shop like moze from neds declassified,” she teased for a moment, making grabby hands towards her and taking her from Toris arms. “I still can’t believe how big she is, it seems like yesterday I was getting a call from the hospital and a new baby was on the other end,” bouncing Veronica on her hip, spinning around every so often with a large smile, “That honestly sounds amazing and I’m thrilled for a home cooked meal, he’s currently at a meeting I believe. And I never know how long those are gonna last, but perhaps he will slip in and visit,”