Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Butterflies & The Net ❯ Chapter 12 Oh...joy... ( Chapter 12 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Butterflies & the Net by iloveanimecartoons

Genre(s): Psychological/Angst/Drama/Romance
Rating: T
Latest Addition: January 2007

A/N: Happy 2008, everyone! Hope your holiday was really great and special! Mine started off icky—and, honestly, pretty depressing—but with encouraging words and thoughts of friends and family, it turned out really nice. I dedicate this chapter to all the people who helped me get out of my slump: AB, Fenikkusuken, LCD, Mutt, OROsan, Proforce, and Sueric. I give no excuses for the lateness of this chapter, but I will say this: PLOT BUNNIES SUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK! TY 4 letting me vent. FYI, the double spacing isn't due to a lack of words—no, I'm nottrying to stretch out 3 paragraphs into a chapter, guys (LOL); it's mostly for layout purposes. It started off as 16 pages. Lots of times, my sentences tend to run together too closely so I decided to do it this way to make it read easier. On with the story…

Chapter 12: Oh…joy…

“Step outside and I'll kick both y'all zass like ya stole somefin.”

“Ooooooh, you cussed, Andre! I'm tellin'!” Terry threatened.

“Man! Why you always tattling on people, Terry? You make me sick!” Andre huffed in an irritated manner.

“Yeah,” Aishee added in with a pronounced yawn, “Snitches get stitches. So, don't say nuffin'.”

“What…the hell?” Josie murmured aloud as she awoke to hear her three little `angels' arguing in the kitchen. Grabbing her robe off the bottom of the bed, she exited the room and nearly ran into Solya.

“Oh, crap! Girl, don't scare me like that,” Solya gasped as she leapt back to avoid a collision, “Lemme guess…we're up for the same reason, aren't we?”

With a knowing grin, Josie just nodded in their direction and continued her trek to the kitchen to find the children putting on their coats and heading to the door—previous conversation still in progress.

“You two are too grown. That's what Auntie Sol says,” Terry scoffed at his two younger siblings, “You're just lucky Ma never catches you both.”

“Shut up,” Aishee pouted, yawning again.

“Yeah,” Andre agreed, “Besides, I wasn't even cuss—”

“Oh, really?” Josie interrupted as she snatched Andre up by his collar.

Terry grinned smugly and zipped up his coat. Aishee just stared, doe-eyed at her mother and Andre grinned as innocently as possible. Solya just rolled her eyes and chuckled inwardly at their antics; one thing about staying over at Josie's house was it was never boring.

“Morning, Mami,” Andre greeted, slightly strained by the position he was in.

“Do I need to give your video games to Goodwill, Andre?”

“Um…no?”

“Wanna tell me why you decided to start your day with such colorful language?”

“I swear I didn't cuss, Mami! I said zass, not a—”

“Don't say it, Andre. Just…just go to school and stop saying that line, period. It's not for your age bracket.”

“Um, `kay. Love you, Mami! Bye, Auntie Sol!”

“Later, Apple Scrapple,” she returned while ruffling his hair.

“Auntie Sol…quit it,” he whined as he grabbed Aishee's sleeve and pulled, “C'mon or we'll be late for school.”

The boys left out the door with a more-enthused-than-usual Aishee trailing behind them. Aishee didn't hate school, no, but she was—at the tender are of five—not a morning person and bordering on coffee dependent.

`Can't believe they give her coffee—my girl Josie's unfit,' Solya laughed to herself.

Josie plucked her out of the group in the nick of time.

“And just where did you think you were going, young lady?” Josie countered as Aishee made to follow.

Grinning sheepishly, Aishee fidgeted then stood on her tiptoes to hug her mother around the waist. Looking up into her eyes, she smiled as sweetly as possible. “To…um…get smarter, Ma-ma.”

“Cheeky little…” Josie grumbled as she tried unsuccessfully to squelch the desire to smile at the child's more mature way of speaking.

“Your kids are…there are no words, Salzedo,” Solya chortled as she lost the fight to appear firm in the face of the children's antics.

Aishee took this lapse in attention to try to wriggle out of her mother's hold.

“Ah, ah, ah…you know you have a dentist appointment, today,” she reminded her daughter as she pointed to the table, “March.”

Following the direction of her mother's finger, Aishee sagged a bit and slinked off to the table to eat breakfast with Solya. Breakfast was quiet as Solya, still groggy from being woken up by three rowdy children hours earlier than she planned, sipped her coffee and nibbled on her cheese toast and apple slices.

“Ick! I detest Sweet & Low, Josie. Got any more Splenda?” Solya complained as she stared into her coffee mug in disgust.

“Don't complain so much. There're children all over the world that don't even have coffee to drink,” Josie called back to her from the living room. Her `darling little ones' made one hell of a mess getting ready for school and, of course, they conveniently forgot to tidy up.

“Children?”

“Oops. Bad example. Check the cookie jar.”

“Cookie jar?”

“Yeah. I figured if I replaced the temptations with stuff I could actually have, I'd reduce my urge to cheat.”

“Okay, I don't follow,” Solya admitted.

“You always want what you can't have, right?”

“Yeah, I guess. And…?”

“And, if a substitute's available, it just doesn't do it for me. I'm friggin' choicy and if I can't have what I want, I don't take second best. Therefore, I don't even use Splenda anymore. At all.”

“I don't get it.”

“Never mind. I'm just too complex for ya, I guess.”

“Shush, you.”

“I'm bored!” Aishee groaned, scaring the liver out of Solya and causing her to spill her coffee on the table.

“You trying to give me cardiac arrest?” Solya all but screamed, clutching her chest in surprise. Aishee was rather loud at times and this was one of those times.

“Dunno what that means but I don't think so,” Aishee answered as she dropped two handfuls of candy wrappers on the table.

Solya eyed the small pile of Laffy Taffy wrappers her `niece' had accumulated since last Halloween and chuckled at the sight.

`And the fact that she still has all her teeth is a marvel of modern biology,' she mused as she tried to mentally tabulate just how much candy the small child consumed yearly.

“Hey, Solya, Good Morning to ya,” Matthieu greeted, leaning down to kiss Aishee on the forehead as he placed her permission slip on the table, “Here, Wonder Woman.”

“Yay! You signed it early!”

“Of course I did.”

“Thanks, Daddy!”

“Sure. No problem, Pumpkin. You be good for Doctor Amichi, today, Okay?”

“Yes, I will. You have fun at work, Daddy!”

“Fun…at work…yeah…” he muttered to himself as he headed for the front door.

“D'Ah, the virtue of youth; they don't get how good they've got it, do they?” Solya called out to him just before he closed the door behind him.

“Not at all,” he called back before closing the door behind him, “See ya, Sols!”

“Later, Matt,” Solya returned followed by a snort when Josie placed a coffee mug before Aishee.

“Ah, that's the stuff,” Aishee groaned in a perfect mimicry of her dear Auntie Sol after taking a long sip.

“I still can't believe you guys give her coffee,” Solya muttered as Josie took a bite of her toast, “And gimme back my breakfast, woman!”

“Touchy. Sheesh. My bad,” Josie defended lightly as she placed Solya's toast back down and pointed at Aishee's mug, “And, hey, it's watered down and you know it,”

“Still.”

“We both know it's a reasonable facsimile and if it satisfies the little chickadee, who're we to shatter the illusion? Besides, it's only a smidge stronger than hot chocolate and you know it.”

“Still…”

“Sol…hush and eat ya toast, woman.”

“Ooh, I gots a good one, Auntie Sol! You ready?” Aishee squealed as she pulled a wrapper out of the pile in front of her.

At the age of five, she could read on a third grade level and the only thing keeping her teachers from skipping her is her lack of reading comprehension for upper level texts, as well as her overexuberance of energy and quick tongue. In a nutshell, she was too hyper and talkative which would make her one hell of a distraction and disturbance in class. That, coupled with the fact that she'd require much more attention than the other students—most likely one on one teaching—her principal and guidance counselor came up with a compromise. She was tutored after school three days a week with the teacher's aides that still needed the experience for college credits. It was a win-win and Solya, lover of words that she was, taught her a new `big word' every week as well as helped her with her pronunciation and comprehension. It became a game to Aishee and because it was always seen as fun, she learned quickly, picking up random books and magazines and pointing out words to learn. For her fifth birthday, Solya got her a Leapster and a children's illustrated dictionary—they were two of the few gifts that survived her heavy handed treatment of toys and whatnots. Not that Andre lacked academically—both were intelligent and creative in their own rights. Where Aishee was excelled in reading and storytelling, Andre found math to be a breeze and was an impressive sketcher.

`This child is something else.' Solya smiled at the thought.

“Hit me, Wonder Woman.”

“Okay. Here we go. What has a head, a tail, but no body?”

“A quadrapalegic?” Josie guessed.

“A qua…huh, Mommy?”

“Well…” she shrugged absently, “Could be.”

“They're cheesy jokes stamped onto candy wrappers, Jos. Quit going all Discovery Channel on the poor girl. That's way too complex an answer,” Solya commented.

“Well, you guess then.”

“Sure…head, tail, no body. Hmmm…”

“While I'm still young, Auntie Sol,” Aishee pressed before sighing breathily.

“Why, you… Oh, I got it, now! A snake!”

“A snake?” Josie laughed.

“Autie Sol, snakes do have bodies,” Aishee corrected as she shook her head, “And I thought you grown ups were sposta be smart.”

“Then what is it, smart aleck?”

“A coin.”

“Ohhhhh,” breathed Solya and Josie together.

“Good one,” Josie admitted, “Cheesy as all get out, but good.”

In an attempt to forestall the inevitable dentist appointment, Asihee proceeded to go through every wrapper she had, telling jokes and laughing at the wrong answers she'd been given. But, as luck would have it—or bad luck, in her case—her mother anticipated her distraction tactics and set the oven timer to remind her of when they needed to go. It went off and Aishee visibly shrunk in disappointment.

“Don't wanna go.”

“Tough titty.”

“Josie!” Solya chided.

“Hush, Sols.”

“And you wonder why Andre was saying what he said earlier. You're such a bad influence.”

“Oh…well, Aishee, do as I say, not as I do,” Josie preached, “Now, let's roll.”

“`Kay, Mami,” she agreed with a small pout.

“I'm telling ya, that's gonna come back to bite ya in the arse, Josie.”

“Hush, woman.”

“Whatev…”

“Come on, vamanos! Everybody, let's go!” Josie sang as she helped Aishee put on her coat.

“I can't stand that song anymore,” she complained as she pulled away from her mother's hold to fasten her coat on her own, “I'm a big girl, Mami. I got this.”

“They grow up so fast. Just think, Josie. She used to be a spoiled, colicky infant and now she's a sass-mouthed kindergartener,” Solya reflected, voice dripping with sarcasm, then stared humming the intro to `Growing Pains'.

“If you start singing cheesy 80's theme songs, I'm gonna pound you.”

“Why are you so violent, Mami?” Aishee asked before ducking behind Solya.

“Lord, give me strength. And knock out pills.”

“One more?”

“One more, “Josie warned as she puled on her coat.

Aishee clapped her hands and squealed. “Okay, for the grand prize, contestants—”

“A new car!”

“Auntie Sol, you're silly. Here's the question. What do you call an owl that has armor on?”

“A knight owl,” Solya replied simply.

“Hey, how'd you know that?”

“You're not the only one with a sweet tooth,” Solya replied as she patted her stomach, “Besides, I didn't exactly get this size on a healthy diet of fruits and vegetables, I can tell you that much. Now mush. You've got an appointment to see how many of your teeth are falling out and I've got to go get my head shrunk.”

“Don't get it shrunk too much, Auntie—you'd look all weird,” Aishee advised, not understanding Solya's term for therapy.

Josie raised and eyebrow at Solya and they both chuckled. The three left the house, the younger of the group not getting the joke.

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Absently ripping tiny strips off the subscription renewal card in the 3-year old Woman's World magazine on her lap, Solya grimaced as she relived the conversation she'd just had with Jazmin. If Solya had to be honest, then, yes, she had been ducking Jazmin out. It seemed, ever since the evening of her date with Jesse ended, she couldn't escape the Spanish Inquisition.

And not just Jazmin… Everybody seemed to want to pick her brain in the last week.

`Gah! Never knew I was so damn popular…shit.' Solya groaned and rubbed her temples in small circular motions at some of the more interesting questions that'd been aimed her way. `Ugh! The Never-Ending Interview—make it stop...'

Having a gaggle of male friends had a downside at times. And having a good portion of rather experienced and amorous fellas in said gaggle of male friends was as much entertainment as it was a natural disaster, in Solya's estimation.

`I can't believe they gave me condoms! And flavored ones, to add more insult to injury! Freakin' pervs!'

It was true. Supplied by not only Trevor and Crazy, but surprisingly Juan and Jerrod of all people, were about seven condoms in varied packages. One even glowed in the dark. She couldn't help but sigh when, as she recalled emptying out the purse Josie loaned her the night before, and picked them up right before Denise walked in her room, tossing them under her pillow.

`I'm gonna boil their noodles in motor oil!' she thought vehemently as her gaze drifted sideways to practically glare at Jerrod.

His stance was way too casual, as if he was innocent and clear of all suspicion. She just wanted to reach over and twist his nipple till her squealed like a pig. Too bad it was a public office and she didn't want to make a scene. Too bad she knew her father would frown on such behavior.

`Too bad I'm too damned humiliated to mention said lewd contents to anyone…lucky dog.'

“Any reason you look like you're gonna hit me with a heat beam, Sols?” Jerrod inquired as she just huffed and folded her arms.

“Nuffin'.”

“Uh huh…and I should believe that, right?”

“Sure you should,” she smiled falsely, gritting her teeth.

“Your skills at lying are seriously pitiful. I'll get it out of you later, though,” he smirked.

“You may not want to…believe me. If you thought I was violent before…”

“Oh, crap. Aunt Flo, Sol?”

“Oh, shut the hell up, PB,” she laughed in an embarrassed manner and he relented.

“I'm taking that for a no.”

“Good guess. And you know that topic is off limits. Don't get cut, man.”

“Oh, never…scout's honor.”

“Yeah, I believe ya. So, when are we gonna to—?”

“Miss Amarante, Dr. Busch will see you now,” the receptionist announced.

“You're one lucky dog, you know that?”

“Arf!”

“Yeah…I think you need to be fixed. We'll see about that when I get back. Be good, Fido,” Solya teased as she stood up from her chair and walked towards her therapist's office.

Jerrod crossed his legs and winced.

“Don't joke like that, Sol. I've got a new generation to add my genes to and a wifey to keep satis--”

“Don't finish that sentence, PB.”

“It's true. I'm gonna be Super Hubby!” he proclaimed as he flex his muscles in an Iron Man affectation.

“Heaven forbid. See you in 45, PB,” she called back as she walked into the office.

“My, that was an interesting conversation, Miss Amarante,” Dr. Busch remarked as she stifled a laugh.

“Innit it?”

“You're truly funny, as always. Have a seat.”

“Sure,” she agreed, choosing the chaise lounge over the chair for this session and stretching out with her hands behind her neck, “Alright, Doc, shrink away!”

Dr. Busch blurted out a terse chuckle. “Okay, lets!”

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After 35 minutes of Solya regaling her therapist of the events surrounding the week of her date, the `girlification' she swore she was forced into, the mixed feelings she went through after the fact that her therapist assured her were normal, and the basic journal entry reading and weight loss reporting, Solya was feeling pretty relaxed and positive. All in all, it hadn't been too shabby a week at all.

Dr. Busch grimaced slightly, realizing that contented half smile on Solya's face may soon diminish and braced herself to tell her the news of her impending absence.

“This session has been wonderful and I'm so glad to hear of your success in trying new things and putting yourself out there. You're also opening up to me more and that's a definite plus. This will prove very beneficial for any future therapists and your interactions with them.”

“C'mon, Doc B, you know I'm not kicking you to the curb like that. You've become…comfortable—like an old broken in pair of socks. You know, the fuzzy, kinda linty ones that seem to wrap around and hug your feet when you step into them,” Solya joked in a casual yet slightly shaky way.

Dr. Busch rolled her eyes and forced a laugh. “Funny…but, no, I doubt you ever would “kick me to the curb”.”

She'd seen this look in many of her patients over the years. They became slightly more attached to her than was healthy for the therapeutic process and, when there came need for a separation or when their sessions came to an end, they either went into a state of denial, got angry, or were generally disappointed and took her leave as a personal slight.

She hoped neither would be the case.

“Solya…I need to…make you aware of a few things,” Dr. Busch began in an almost apologetic tone.

“Like…?”

“Well, like the fact that I believe you've become much more understanding of the therapeutic process to the point that you've learned to pace yourself and not expect miracles and instantaneous “cures”. Lots of my patients have taken much longer than you to get to that point. That's wonderful. The fact that you went on that date was…wonderful. I was quite pleased with you for trying that and I'm glad you had such a nice time.”

“Oh. Well, thanks,” Solya sighed. `Phew, she was making me nervous for a minute.'

“I have other news as well.”

“Oh?”

“Yes. I…will be going on maternity leave in 5 days. I'll be off for the next 7 months.

“Come again?”

“Yes.”

“N-No…” Solya breathed brokenly, wincing at her self-perceived view of weakness—her loss of composure, the tears she could feel rising to thwart her attempt to “suck it up and get over it”.

“Now, Solya, you had to know that this wasn't going to be a permanent arrangement. My being pregnant is a moot point, really. Unforeseen things happen all the time and can happen in the blink of an eye.”

“I know…but…I…”

“You're getting there, Solya. You're really getting things now—more than I believe you realize. You're not, as you seem to like to call yourself, `a lost cause'. Therapy is just to help my patients get a grip on their issues, realize them and live with them—it's not a `disappearing act'. Know that this is just a temporary change—and remember, change is good—we will resume sessions as soon as my leave is over. Also, I'll be in touch with your new therapist, Doctor Zayne, as she sees to your care.”

“Yes, Doctor Busch,” Solya managed to reply with a steady voice, “I understand.”

Doctor Busch stared at her for a long minute as she twisted her shirt around her fingers, concern warring with her sense of professionalism.

`God, you just want to hug her. She's trying so hard to be brave, I've got to give her credit. To ask her what she's thinking might be a bit much right about now. Still…'

“Solya, I wanted you to know I—”

“Good luck!” Solya blurted, her voice catching slightly before she glanced over at the session timer before standing. `Two more minutes. Good. I can leave now. It's close enough.'

“Good luck?”

“With the baby, Doc B,” Solya grinned as sincerely as possible, if not a little tremulous, before turning towards the door.

Doctor Busch stood with her to stop her, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. Solya flinched but didn't pull away.

“Thank you very much. I appreciate that,” she replied as she lowered her hand off of Solya's shoulder, “I just needed to make sure you were okay with the schedule time being adjusted a little before you go.”

“Oh?”

“Yes, Solya. Doctor Zayne works in two different offices so her schedule is slightly different. Will coming in an hour later be a problem?”

Solya sniffled softly and shook her head no.

“Good. It's been very nice working with you and I'm so proud of your progress.”

“Thank you. Goodbye...”

“Not `Goodbye', Ms. Amarante. Just…`Later Gator',” she tried, wanting to lighten the somber air that felt nearly suffocating.

Solya choked out a chuckle and tried to smile.

It fell short.

“I gotcha, Doc B. I'm…gonna go, now. Thanks for the brain drain.”

“See you.”

“…See you…” Solya murmured, whispering her last thoughts as she left out the room without bothering to close the door behind her, “I'm gonna miss you.”

She was overhead.

`I'll miss you, too, Ms. Amarante. But, you'll be just fine.'

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Entering the waitng room, Solya almost sighed in relief.

`So, he's not here. Must be in the restroom. I can't see him bailing on me without warning.'

“Hmmm, what theme song fits this moment in history?” Solya mumbled absently, trying to shake the melancholy before she reached her all-too-perceptive friend, Jerrod.

`Got it!'

./' Nobody knows who I really am

./' I never fell this empty before

./' And if I ever need someone to…hum, hum, hu-um…

./' Who's gonna comfort me and keep me strong?

./' Tabi wa mama Suzy Q Subaru

./' Oh, my Yadda yadda ya

./' Suzuki Yamaha Itachi Izuru Pee Wee Oreo Wasabi U2

./'Inori o sasagete atarashii hi o matsu

./' Asayaka ni hikaru umi sono hate made

`D'Ah, adlibbing…works for me.'

“Encore! I think…” Jerrod called behind her, clapping slowly.

“Don't scare me like that, man,” Solya grumbled as she straightened herself in her seat. She almost fell out when Jerrod startled her, nearly scaring the life out of her in the doing.

“Man, that song does sound depressing,” Jerrod commented in a decidedly droll tone.

“Heh. Fits my mood, then?”

“Really…?”

Solya sighed and nodded.

“Sol…wha—?”

“Don't ask questions and…and don't let this leave this building?”

“Okay…” Jerrod agreed cautiously.

“Can you just…?” Solya sighed, in embarrassment this time, at what she was about to ask.

Then she remembered who she was talking to.

`This is PB. If you can't trust him…'

“Sol?”

“H-hold me?”

Jerrod started mildly in surprise.

“Sol, I…tell me…” he tried, words dying on his tongue before they could make sense of them.

`This…is new. Just what happened in there? Oh…right…no questions…'

The strained half-smile on her face broke him and he complied, sitting beside her and wrapping her in a warm hug and stroking her hair as her silent tears fell.

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Gathering the last of her office supplies, files and family photos into a nearly full box, Doctor Busch laughed to herself at yet another butchered `Solya Original' song. She shook her head and grinned, knowing she'd miss her silliness over the next few months.

“`As The Brain Melts'…” she chuckled again, “Geez, we were so silly together.”

Were…

“There I go with the past tense-ness like I'm never gonna see her again. It's only seven months,” she reasoned, “

If she were honest with herself, she'd gotten a little attached to Solya, as well. But, the dictates of proper Doctor/Patient conduct kept her focused on the task at hand; always the goal. Treat the patient, make them comfortable enough to divulge information to aid in the process, don't—never—overstep your boundaries.

`Makes me sound like a robot…all tidy, neat and efficient—sterile.'

Shaking her head at her own sensibilities, she resumed packing. No, their relationship was much too casual to be put into those categories, making it comfortable enough an environment for open discussion. That was her gift and her patients all benefited from it.

Solya was no different.

Shaking herself from her inner musings, she spun around in her chair and placed the box on the floor and slid it outside the door. With her door still open, Doctor Busch had a fairly decent view of the receptionist desk and waiting area. There, she caught the sight of two friends sharing a hug and smiled faintly, knowing that her patient had a fairly decent support team outside of her parents.

`Yes…she'll be just fine,' she decided as she turned off the lights, picking up her personal effects and exited the room.

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`Murphy's Law…story of my life,”

Finishing off her third bowl of ice cream—the double churned, fat-free variety to lessen the chance of any later guilt trips or chiding from Jerrod or Josie—Solya sighed. The ice cream might as well have been sand; she couldn't even muster up the enjoy it. Not even offers of Karaoke and beer with Jerrod could snap her out of her funk.

Solya was officially pissed. That's what she'd decided. Too irritated and upset to give the concept of depression a second thought, she spent the majority of her afternoon into late evening with Jerrod watching old football games and trying to ignore the nagging emptiness in her gut. It was working until he asked her what was wrong. Knowing that was coming sooner or later yet not wanting to discuss things at the moment, she decided to change the subject, soon after deciding to leave for the evening. Jerrod was concerned and wanted to press it but knew she wasn't going to budge. Not tonight, anyway.

After calling home to confirm that she wanted to spend another night out, she went back over Josie's house for a little comic relief.

For the first few hours, the kids managed to get her mind off of things she really didn't need to be thinking of and, for that, she was grateful. Between Aishee and Andre's penchant for stating the blunt and overly imaginative—`Are they really five,' she wondered to herself with a light chuckle.—Terry's `attempts at rapping and breakdancing, which came out more like a bad `American Idol' tryout and tickled her something terrible, and Josie's insistence that they watch reruns of the first few episodes of `So You Think You Can Dance' that had them laughing for a good two hours.

Now, it was nearly midnight and she was spent, physically and emotionally. Mentally tabulating the calories in the ice cream she'd just ingested, she couldn't bring herself to care at all.

Wanting to just be numb for the night, she slid the bowl over and leaned over the table, head resting on her folded arms, and called it a night.

Last thought in her mind before she conked out for good was life, more times than not, was truly unfair.

A/N: Cue the theme song to `The Young and the Restless' **chortle** Okay, I'll be nice. **wipes off cheesy grin** Well, I did warn you about angst, didn't I? Oh, fair warning, this ain't jack. Homegirl's been through some serious Sugar Honey Iced Tea. You'll see…

Stay tuned…