Categories > Celebrities > My Chemical Romance > Fly Away, Dance on the Milky Way
A/N: I realize this chapter may be a bit boring, but I am updating again very soon. In less than an hour. I SWEAR ON your MOTHER'S LIFE I WILL UPDATE.
Chapter 40: It’s always sunny in California
Gia and Lucas had been very lucky. Gia’s grandparents Nora and Arthur had only few months earlier moved into a town on the coast of California to spend their retirement days, and Lucas’ mother owned a summer house near the beach just outside of town. An hour by car, and they were able to spend time together without anyone figuring out their ingenious plan.
And then, it finally happened. The ‘summer of fun and leisure and no work’ finally began, and Gia soon found herself standing in the middle of a big house in the suburbs, complete with the white picket fence, flower beds and grass that looked like it had been cut with nail scissors and a magnifying glass.
“Your house is very… shiny”, Gia said, unsure of how to describe the place. Despite the nice antique furniture and flower vases scattered around, the house lacked that homey feeling. It was a bit too clean, too well thought. All in all, the atmosphere came off as cold and impersonal.
“Thank you, dear”, her grandmother Nora said. She placed a hand on her granddaughters shoulder and smiled down to her. “Would you like to see the room you’ll be staying in?”
“Sure.”
The room was like any other guest room. Neutral and neat. Gia set down her handbag on the bed and then smiled back to her grandmother. “I like it.”
“I’m glad. Now, do you want to get settled right away or…? I could fix you something to eat if you’re hungry. It’s a nice weather outside, we could eat in the garden.”
"No thanks, I’m not hungry. Maybe later”, Gia answered. It was kind of awkward to be around her.
“Well… Oh! I brought some of your mother’s things down from the attic; I thought you’d like to look at them. Right there”, Nora said and pointed to a few cardboard boxes next to the writing desk.
Gia sat down on the floor and opened the biggest one of the boxes and saw a bunch of clothes on the top. Nora sat on the chair and picked up a blue dress from the box.
“She wore this at this winter dance in junior high. I practically forced her to wear this dress. She hated it. It was originally longer and had sleeves, but she… Well, she altered it to fit her taste”, Nora said, holding the dress up so Gia could see it. It wasn’t bad, but Gia would have never worn it. She could see why her mother had hated it.
“Oh, and this is her tutu from she was a little girl and took ballet. She got tired of it pretty fast and quit. I think it’s because she wanted to be the swan princess, but some other girl got the part…”
Gia smiled when she found out her mother had taken ballet too. Sure, they had completely different reasons to quit. Gia’s mom quit because she didn’t get the part she wanted, and Gia just didn’t enjoy being on that stage. She didn’t want to be a ballerina. Gia never liked ballet. But it was nice to know that she had at least that in common with her mother.
“I danced ballet for a little while when I was younger, too”, Gia said.
“Oh? You don’t do it anymore?”
Gia shook her head. “It wasn’t for me.”
“Any other hobbies?”
“Well I played piano for a few years, but I stopped just recently. I only played it because of my dad.”
There was a small smile on Nora’s lips. “Your mother played piano too. And clarinet, and when she was a teenager, the drums. She was terrible at all of them. She was so determined to make noise, but she just couldn’t get one single note right. I guess that only added up to her anger.”
“Anger?”
“She was a very frustrated child. Always wanting to succeed, but she could never finish what she started. I don’t know why she attacked me and her father, but we fought constantly. She thought that the whole world was out to get her, and she was determined to win. I suppose she got tired eventually and… Just couldn’t take it anymore.”
An awkward silence followed her words and Gia didn’t know what to say. Nora was obviously walking down the memory lane, thinking about her daughter.
“Do you fight with Gerard a lot?” Nora finally asked.
Gia shook her head. “Not really. He does get angry easily and yells at me, but that’s only when I’ve done wrong and deserve it.”
“That’s good. I’m glad you two don’t fight. I’ve never liked Gerard, but I’m glad you two have a better relationship than I had with my daughter.”
“It’s weird. I always thought I was more like my mother, but I guess I was wrong”, Gia said. She picked up another item from the box. It was a small wooden box with leaves carved on it.
“She kept her jewelry in that”, Nora explained. “I took the real jewelry out to keep them safe when I put the box away, and left the plastic ones. I still have them somewhere. I’ll find them for you.”
There were a few plastic earrings, rings and necklaces inside the box. Gia tried on a few of the rings, but they were too small.
They sat there in the room for hours, going through every single item in the boxes. Nora told her stories about them, and Gia found out more and more about her mother.
When it became time for Nora to start making dinner, she suggested that they go through the other stuff some other day. Gia agreed. She had enough stuff to process as it is.
Gia couldn’t decide if her mother was a good person or not. And if she wanted to be like her or not.
She was supposed to already be sleeping at nine. She had told Nora that she was tired and would go to bed early, but really she just wanted to go through her mother’s belongings.
Just when she was about to go to bed, her cell phone rang.
“Hello?” she said into the phone without even checking the caller ID.
“Hi, you weren’t sleeping yet were you?”
Hearing her uncle Mikey’s voice made her smile. “I wasn’t. What’s up?”
“I just felt like calling.”
“Did my dad put you up to this?”
“Of course not. Lindsey’s here, like he has time to talk to on the phone.”
Even though he had said that in a joking manner, Gia’s smile faded. “Oh? She’s there?”
“Yeah. What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
“Gerard said you got along with Lindsey. That’s… not true?”
“Well, I do like her. It’s just that… I don’t know.”
“You feel like he’s spending so much time with her that you’ll be left on second place?”
“It’s not that”, Gia sighed. “Well, not entirely. I know that will happen, so it doesn’t bother me. And I’m happy for my dad that he has someone. I’m just worried that if they get married and get new kids, then…”
It was easy for her to talk to Mikey. He understood and didn’t judge. Gia wasn’t one to complain or rant, but she knew that if she ever felt like venting, Mikey was the one to go to.
“You know that he loves you, he wouldn’t kick you away because of that”, Mikey said. “You have nothing to worry about.”
“I guess I’m just so used to it being just the two of us that the idea feels weird.”
“Yeah. And besides, it’s not like it’s a very current problem. But if it bothers you, you should talk to Gerard about it. I know he’d try to make things easier for you.”
“Yeah I suppose”, Gia said. The whole subject was making her depressed, so she changed it. “So where exactly are you guys?”
“Florida. We’re at this hotel and we have a suite with five bedrooms. It’s so awesome.”
“Oh cool. How long will you be there?”
“Just for a few days. We’ll play our second show tomorrow night and then we’re off to… I forgot where.”
“Have fun.”
“You too. How is California, by the way?”
“So far so good. Nora’s really nice. She gave me a bunch of mom’s old stuff to look at.”
They talked for a long time until Gia couldn’t keep her eyes open anymore. She was glad that he had called, because it put her mind at ease. And she was certain that she would get home sick if they didn’t call every once in a while. California was nice, but it wasn’t home.
Chapter 40: It’s always sunny in California
Gia and Lucas had been very lucky. Gia’s grandparents Nora and Arthur had only few months earlier moved into a town on the coast of California to spend their retirement days, and Lucas’ mother owned a summer house near the beach just outside of town. An hour by car, and they were able to spend time together without anyone figuring out their ingenious plan.
And then, it finally happened. The ‘summer of fun and leisure and no work’ finally began, and Gia soon found herself standing in the middle of a big house in the suburbs, complete with the white picket fence, flower beds and grass that looked like it had been cut with nail scissors and a magnifying glass.
“Your house is very… shiny”, Gia said, unsure of how to describe the place. Despite the nice antique furniture and flower vases scattered around, the house lacked that homey feeling. It was a bit too clean, too well thought. All in all, the atmosphere came off as cold and impersonal.
“Thank you, dear”, her grandmother Nora said. She placed a hand on her granddaughters shoulder and smiled down to her. “Would you like to see the room you’ll be staying in?”
“Sure.”
The room was like any other guest room. Neutral and neat. Gia set down her handbag on the bed and then smiled back to her grandmother. “I like it.”
“I’m glad. Now, do you want to get settled right away or…? I could fix you something to eat if you’re hungry. It’s a nice weather outside, we could eat in the garden.”
"No thanks, I’m not hungry. Maybe later”, Gia answered. It was kind of awkward to be around her.
“Well… Oh! I brought some of your mother’s things down from the attic; I thought you’d like to look at them. Right there”, Nora said and pointed to a few cardboard boxes next to the writing desk.
Gia sat down on the floor and opened the biggest one of the boxes and saw a bunch of clothes on the top. Nora sat on the chair and picked up a blue dress from the box.
“She wore this at this winter dance in junior high. I practically forced her to wear this dress. She hated it. It was originally longer and had sleeves, but she… Well, she altered it to fit her taste”, Nora said, holding the dress up so Gia could see it. It wasn’t bad, but Gia would have never worn it. She could see why her mother had hated it.
“Oh, and this is her tutu from she was a little girl and took ballet. She got tired of it pretty fast and quit. I think it’s because she wanted to be the swan princess, but some other girl got the part…”
Gia smiled when she found out her mother had taken ballet too. Sure, they had completely different reasons to quit. Gia’s mom quit because she didn’t get the part she wanted, and Gia just didn’t enjoy being on that stage. She didn’t want to be a ballerina. Gia never liked ballet. But it was nice to know that she had at least that in common with her mother.
“I danced ballet for a little while when I was younger, too”, Gia said.
“Oh? You don’t do it anymore?”
Gia shook her head. “It wasn’t for me.”
“Any other hobbies?”
“Well I played piano for a few years, but I stopped just recently. I only played it because of my dad.”
There was a small smile on Nora’s lips. “Your mother played piano too. And clarinet, and when she was a teenager, the drums. She was terrible at all of them. She was so determined to make noise, but she just couldn’t get one single note right. I guess that only added up to her anger.”
“Anger?”
“She was a very frustrated child. Always wanting to succeed, but she could never finish what she started. I don’t know why she attacked me and her father, but we fought constantly. She thought that the whole world was out to get her, and she was determined to win. I suppose she got tired eventually and… Just couldn’t take it anymore.”
An awkward silence followed her words and Gia didn’t know what to say. Nora was obviously walking down the memory lane, thinking about her daughter.
“Do you fight with Gerard a lot?” Nora finally asked.
Gia shook her head. “Not really. He does get angry easily and yells at me, but that’s only when I’ve done wrong and deserve it.”
“That’s good. I’m glad you two don’t fight. I’ve never liked Gerard, but I’m glad you two have a better relationship than I had with my daughter.”
“It’s weird. I always thought I was more like my mother, but I guess I was wrong”, Gia said. She picked up another item from the box. It was a small wooden box with leaves carved on it.
“She kept her jewelry in that”, Nora explained. “I took the real jewelry out to keep them safe when I put the box away, and left the plastic ones. I still have them somewhere. I’ll find them for you.”
There were a few plastic earrings, rings and necklaces inside the box. Gia tried on a few of the rings, but they were too small.
They sat there in the room for hours, going through every single item in the boxes. Nora told her stories about them, and Gia found out more and more about her mother.
When it became time for Nora to start making dinner, she suggested that they go through the other stuff some other day. Gia agreed. She had enough stuff to process as it is.
Gia couldn’t decide if her mother was a good person or not. And if she wanted to be like her or not.
She was supposed to already be sleeping at nine. She had told Nora that she was tired and would go to bed early, but really she just wanted to go through her mother’s belongings.
Just when she was about to go to bed, her cell phone rang.
“Hello?” she said into the phone without even checking the caller ID.
“Hi, you weren’t sleeping yet were you?”
Hearing her uncle Mikey’s voice made her smile. “I wasn’t. What’s up?”
“I just felt like calling.”
“Did my dad put you up to this?”
“Of course not. Lindsey’s here, like he has time to talk to on the phone.”
Even though he had said that in a joking manner, Gia’s smile faded. “Oh? She’s there?”
“Yeah. What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
“Gerard said you got along with Lindsey. That’s… not true?”
“Well, I do like her. It’s just that… I don’t know.”
“You feel like he’s spending so much time with her that you’ll be left on second place?”
“It’s not that”, Gia sighed. “Well, not entirely. I know that will happen, so it doesn’t bother me. And I’m happy for my dad that he has someone. I’m just worried that if they get married and get new kids, then…”
It was easy for her to talk to Mikey. He understood and didn’t judge. Gia wasn’t one to complain or rant, but she knew that if she ever felt like venting, Mikey was the one to go to.
“You know that he loves you, he wouldn’t kick you away because of that”, Mikey said. “You have nothing to worry about.”
“I guess I’m just so used to it being just the two of us that the idea feels weird.”
“Yeah. And besides, it’s not like it’s a very current problem. But if it bothers you, you should talk to Gerard about it. I know he’d try to make things easier for you.”
“Yeah I suppose”, Gia said. The whole subject was making her depressed, so she changed it. “So where exactly are you guys?”
“Florida. We’re at this hotel and we have a suite with five bedrooms. It’s so awesome.”
“Oh cool. How long will you be there?”
“Just for a few days. We’ll play our second show tomorrow night and then we’re off to… I forgot where.”
“Have fun.”
“You too. How is California, by the way?”
“So far so good. Nora’s really nice. She gave me a bunch of mom’s old stuff to look at.”
They talked for a long time until Gia couldn’t keep her eyes open anymore. She was glad that he had called, because it put her mind at ease. And she was certain that she would get home sick if they didn’t call every once in a while. California was nice, but it wasn’t home.
Sign up to rate and review this story