Shaddyr's Eclectic Collection > Pretender Fanfiction > Donna > Mother's Day
By Donna
Pretender is not mine, nor are Parker,
Sydney, Broots, Debbie, or any other characters that you recognize.
This story isn't really a part of my series, "Lies", but
it is in the same timeframe and could be considered an 'aside' sort of story.
I'd have to rate it a W…it's pretty much a women story…female bonding
and all that sort of stuff. Men are
more than welcomed to read it…in fact, please do…just be warned that it has
some of that embarrassing female stuff in it.
Miss Parker's day was not off to
a good start. She had not slept well,
but still had a very hard time getting herself going. After getting dressed, she noticed a small spot on her skirt.
Nothing major, but enough to make her look forward to chewing the dry
cleaner out royally. Before that, though, she had to change clothes,
since Miss Parker could never show up at the Centre looking anything less
than perfect.
On the drive in, traffic was horrendous,
the lights were all against her, and then the car started making one of those
expensive sounding noises. She was late arriving to work and then discovered
that someone had actually had the audacity to park in her space. That meant stealing someone else's and then
trekking through the garage to the lift.
Only to find an "OUT OF ORDER"
sign adorning it's door.
She stalked into the tech room ready
to take a bite out of Broots, only to find his computer dark and the room
empty. She felt like a child whose favorite toy had been taken from her. When
he finally did show up, he was obviously distracted. He hardly even stumbled over his apology for being late.
"What's wrong, Broots? Geeks 'r Us have an all night sale last night
that kept you up too late?" she asked, fingering his shirt collar.
"No, actually, it's Debbie."
That was one of the few things he
could have said that actually got to her. She leaned close.
"What's wrong with Debbie?"
"I don't know! She won't tell me!"
He turned to look at her and she
could see the frustration on his face.
"She came home from school yesterday
afternoon and she was fine. A couple
of hours later, she came running down the stairs saying that she just had
to call her mother. I asked her what
was up and she just rolled her eyes at me and told me that she had to talk
to Laura. I reminded her that Sunday
is Mother's day and we had planned on calling her then, but she insisted that
it just couldn't wait that long. Well,
we called the last number I have for her and some guy answered. He said that Laura wasn't there, that she had
taken off a couple of weeks ago with some guy she met at a casino. He had no idea where she was or even if she'd
be back. Debbie just ran back upstairs
and shut herself in her room. I tried
to get her to talk to me, but she wouldn't. This morning, she didn't want to go to school.
I finally just had to lay down the law and tell her that if she couldn't
give me a good reason, she was going whether she liked it or not."
"Laid down the law, Broots?"
Parker asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Um…yeah…sorta'…more or less…I
mean…I can't let her just not go, can I?"
"Let who not go where?"
Sydney asked, strolling in to join the duo.
"Debbie…she didn't want to go
to school this morning but she wouldn't tell me why. She said that she wasn't really sick, she just didn't want to go."
"So you told her she had to?"
"Yeah…you don't think I should
have made her?"
"Obviously she had her reasons…"
"You think I should go get her?"
"No, Broots, you should get
to work. We have a lab rat to catch,
remember?"
"But Syd said…"
"Yeah, and the expert on kids
there is the one responsible for the lab rat we're after," Parker hissed
back. "Don't worry. She's a smart kid. She'll handle it."
"Does that reassurance come
from your vast knowledge and experience in child rearing, Parker?" Sydney
replied. He had meant the words as a joke, but the pained expression she turned
on
"I'm sure Miss Parker is right.
Debbie is a bright girl. She'll talk when she's ready, and she knows
that someone will listen." He raised his voice on the last sentence,
knowing that Parker would catch his meaning.
When she was ready to talk, he'd be there to listen. She regained her
composure and walked back over to join the two men.
"How about if I pick her up after school today?"
Broots breathed a sigh of relief. "Actually, I was hoping you'd talk to her.
I thought it might be one of those…"
He started blushing and looked around quickly to make sure they were alone.
"Female things," he finished
in a whisper.
"Female things? You mean like 'boys'?" Parker whispered
back at him. Broots went white and his jaw dropped.
"Boys! No way! She's…she's
too young for boys…she still sleeps with a doll!"
"But does she wear pajamas with
little cowboys on them?"
"Hey, they're comfortable…"
Knowing that any further comments would just make matters worse, he turned
to his computer.
"Don't we need to get started
looking for Jarod?"
A couple of hours of fruitless searching
later, the computer suddenly beeped and went dead.
"Now what?"
Broots shrugged. "Probably another system compromise.
It's been happening a lot the last few days."
The phone rang and Parker grabbed
it up.
"What!"
She listened for a moment before
hanging up.
"They want you in the systems
control center."
"Me?" Broots squealed.
"No…they're hoping Sydney can
talk the computer into coming back online," she commented sarcastically.
"Of course, you."
"Why me?"
"I don't know. Maybe they're desperate."
"But…"
"You'd better get yours down
there pronto, Techno boy, and get this pile of
junk functioning again."
"Yes, Miss Parker."
It was amazing how fast the man could
move when leaving her presence. Sydney shook his head, a small smile playing
on his lips.
"Miss Parker…"
"Not now, Sydney."
She picked up her phone and dialed
a number.
"Meet me in the garage in 5
minutes."
She turned to the doctor.
"Go practice your head shrinking
on someone else. I have to take my
car into the shop. Jarod probably
thought it would be funny to put sugar in my gas tank or some other juvenile
prank."
"Why do you blame all your problems
on Jarod?" Sydney asked, walking out into the corridor with her.
"Same reason I blame the rain
for flooding. It's usually responsible."
On the ride back from the garage,
Miss Parker sat in the back seat while Sam confidently handled the big black
sedan. When her phone chirped, she answered it in her usual manner.
"What?"
There was silence.
"Let me rephrase: What the hell
do you want?"
"Um…Miss Parker?" a strange
voice asked.
"Yes…"
"This is Blue Cove Middle School.
We're trying to get in touch with a Mr. Broots.
We've been unable to reach him at his home or office number.
Yours is listed as an additional contact. I wonder if you know how we might reach him."
Parker remembered the look on his
face as he headed toward the systems control center.
"You can't. He cannot be disturbed at the moment. Is Debbie alright?"
There was a pause.
"Look, you said yourself I was
listed as an additional contact. If
something's wrong, I might be able to get a message to him."
"Oh, don't worry. She's fine.
She's just been suspended for the rest of the day and we need for someone
to come and pick her up."
"I'm on my way."
She hung up before the woman could
protest and leaned forward to tell Sam of their new destination.
As the car screeched to a halt in
front of the school, several students stopped to stare at the vehicle and
the two people who emerged from it. Parker stepped up to one boy.
"Where's the principal's office?"
Not surprisingly, the boy was completely
tongue tied and unable to answer. After asking again and again receiving no
response, she stepped around him and started towards the door.
They finally found someone who pointed them in the direction of the
office where Debbie Broots sat in a chair opposite another girl.
The other girl was nursing a split lip and the two were staring at
each other hard enough to start a fire.
Debbie looked up in surprise when
Parker entered the room.
"You alright?"
The girl nodded.
"What happened?"
"Nothing." She looked down, suddenly fascinated by her
hands.
"You don't get expelled from
school for nothing, Debbie."
"Not expelled, just suspended,
Mrs. Broots," a well-dressed gentleman corrected as he entered the room.
"Parker."
"I beg your pardon?"
"The name's Parker. Miss Parker. I'm a friend of the family."
"I'm sorry. I thought you were Miss Broots' mother."
The other girl suddenly laughed.
"No. Her mother dumped her and took off with some
guy!"
Parker saw Debbie suddenly draw in
her breath and clench her teeth together. So that's what this was all about.
A woman sitting next to the girl
touched her gently on the shoulder.
"Now Tawny, that's not a very
nice thing to say."
"But it's true, Mom. I heard her tell Kelley that she doesn't even
know where her mother is! I mean,
it's pretty bad when your own mother doesn't even want to be around you."
Debbie was trembling with suppressed
rage, her hands clenched into fists.
Parker waited a moment, but neither
the girl's mother nor the principal responded to her comment.
"Excuse me, but don't you feel
that remark was a little out of line?"
The principal made a dismissive gesture.
"Perhaps it was rude, but it was certainly no reason for Miss
Broots to strike her."
The other woman put her arm around
her daughter and lifted her chin defiantly.
"We've always taught Tawny to
speak her mind. She has the right
to say whatever she wants to."
"Well so do I."
Parker crossed the room in two strides
and leaned over close to the girl. "Debbie's mother may not be around,
but I am. She's my friend and I look
out for her. You hurt her again, and
your worst nightmares won't prepare you for me."
She locked her gaze on the girl.
Standing behind Debbie, Sam had to
fight to keep the smile off of his face. He had seen that gaze turned hardened
sweepers into quivering puddles. The
girl didn't stand a chance. Moments later, her chin trembling and her eyes
threatening to spill over, the girl lowered her head.
"Sorry," she mumbled softly.
Parker straightened up.
"Didn't hear you."
"I'm sorry," she repeated,
slightly louder.
She looked over at Debbie.
"I didn't mean to hurt your
feelings."
"And…" Parker prompted.
"I won't do it again."
"Good. Make sure no one else does it either."
She turned around. "Let's go, kiddo."
She put an arm around Debbie and
left the room, Sam close on their heels.
Debbie remained quiet on the walk
out to the car. When they got there,
Miss Parker held out her hand to Sam.
"Keys."
Without a word, he handed them over.
"Call for another ride."
She got in behind the wheel and took
off in a cloud of dust. Knowing that she wanted some time alone with the little
girl, Sam didn’t bother trying to hide his smile as he pulled out his cell
phone to call for a pickup. In the
car, Debbie remained silent, staring out the window. Parker just kept driving, knowing that the girl would speak when
she was ready. Finally, a small voice spoke up.
"I'm sorry, Miss Parker."
"Sorry for what?"
"Sorry for getting in trouble.
Sorry that you had to come get me."
"Don't worry about it. I had told your Dad I'd pick you up after school
today anyway. This will just give
us a little more time to spend together."
The girl looked over at her. "Why
were you picking me up?"
"Well, your Dad is a little
worried about you."
"Oh." She turned back to the window.
"Oh? That's not much of a comment."
Debbie shrugged. "It's nothing."
"Okay."
They kept driving in silence.
"Well," Parker finally
asked, "What do you want to do today?"
Debbie was quiet for a moment. "Do
you think we could stop by a drugstore?"
Her question was so soft that Parker
barely caught it. She started to ask
her to repeat it before she realized what is was…and the probable reason for
it.
"Sure. I need to pick up a couple of things myself."
No wonder the girl couldn't talk
to her dad.
In the drug store, Parker put several
other things in her basket before heading over to the feminine hygiene section.
She grabbed what she needed and turned to the girl with her.
"What do you need?"
Debbie chewed her lip, looking at
the vast selection.
"I'm really not sure."
After a bit of discussion, she made
a selection and put it in the basket. As they waited in the checkout line,
Debbie smiled up at her companion.
"Thanks for doing this with
me. I was too embarrassed to ask my
dad."
"I understand. I went through this without my mom, too."
Parker gave her a quick hug, running
her hand down Debbie's back as she did so. When they got back into the car,
Parker asked her, "If you don't mind, there's someplace else I'd like
to stop."
"That's fine,” Debbie assured
her. "I'm in no hurry to have
to explain this to my dad." When they walked into the lingerie shop,
the sales associates immediately recognized Parker. A quick game of 'scissors, rock, paper' followed and the loser walked
up to the two.
"Miss Parker! Welcome! It's
so lovely to see you again!"
"Cut the crap," Parker
glanced at the woman's nametag. "Audrey."
"Of course, Ma'am. What can I do for you today?"
"Debbie is in need of a bra."
She glanced down to see a smile starting
on the girl's face.
"Of course," Audrey replied
enthusiastically. "What size
does she need?"
"I'm not sure."
"Ah, I see. Our first, is it?"
"No, it's her first. I've been wearing one for years and I really
don't care whether you do or not."
Debbie fought down a grin. Part of the fun of going places with Parker
was seeing the way people reacted to her. Audrey opened and closed her mouth
several times, unable to reply. Finally,
she decided to stick with what she did know.
"Well, how about we…I get you
measured here and then we'll look at specific styles. We do have some lovely selections in our junior line."
After measurements were completed,
the associate directed the duo to the appropriate area of the sales floor.
"I think we can take it from
here, Audrey. Why don't you get back
to your friends there before you pass out from the exertion?"
Debbie stifled a giggle.
"That wasn't very nice, Miss
Parker."
"So?"
They laughed together.
After making several selections,
they started towards the cash register. Parker noticed Debbie slow down to
look at some underwear.
"Those are pretty."
Debbie blushed slightly and turned
to go, but Miss Parker had walked over to the rack to stand next to her. She pulled out another pair, this one with
smiley faces all over them.
"And these are sure cute."
"Yeah."
"What size do you wear?"
She told her.
"But I could never get anything
like that!"
"Why not?"
"Because my dad would freak!"
"Your dad doesn't have to wear
them."
As Debbie burst into laughter, Parker
shook her head. "That is not a picture I need."
She finally convinced the girl to
pick out several pairs of the decorated panties.
"Should make gym class a little
more bearable, huh?"
Debbie looked up at her, amazed that
the older woman understood her problem. After paying for their purchases,
Debbie went into one of the fitting rooms to try out her new purchase.
As Miss Parker waited for her, another
customer came over and touched her gently on the arm.
"I just wanted to tell you that
you have a lovely daughter." Parker started to correct her, then stopped.
"Thank you. She is a pretty special young woman."
After their purchases were stowed
in the car, Debbie said that she just wanted to walk around the mall a little
bit. Knowing that there was still
something on her mind, Parker agreed.
Some three hundred miles later (at
least that's what it felt like to Parker), they stopped and plopped down on
a bench. Debbie sat glaring into the
window of the card shop.
"I really hate Mother's day."
"I know," Parker replied.
"It's bad enough missing your mom everyday, but when all the stores
and papers and everything are advertising 'Remember Mom on her Special Day'
you just feel like smacking everyone in sight."
"Yeah. At least mine is still alive…or at least I
guess she is. I was going to call
her on Sunday, but now I can't even do that." An idea came to Parker
and she stood up, pulling Debbie up with her and heading for the card shop.
"Actually, there is something
you can do."
She started scanning the rows of
cards, hoping that she would find the one that she wanted. Finally, she did and pulled it out and handed
it to Debbie.
"For my Dad on Mother's Day?"
The girl looked at her in confusion.
"Why would they make a card
like that?"
"Maybe for someone who has a
really great Dad who also has to be a mother, too."
"You mean, like mine?"
"Don't you ever tell him I said
so, but you sure got lucky in the dad department. He talks about you all the time and he would
do anything in the world for you. He'd
have probably even taken you shopping for the stuff we got today if you had
asked him. He has to do everything
for you, everything that a dad is supposed to do, but all the stuff that a
mom is supposed to do, too."
"So, you think I could take
him out for lunch…maybe buy some flowers or something just like I would my
mom?"
"I think he'd like that very
much. And he'd be really surprised,
too. He expects something on Father's
day, but not for Mother's day." Debbie was nodding her head, liking the
idea more and more the longer she thought about it.
"Did you do this for your Dad
after your mom died?"
"No, but your dad is very different
from mine."
A sad looked settled in her eyes
for a moment before Debbie reached over and hugged her hard.
"Thanks, Miss Parker. That's a great idea."
In the car, Debbie was chattering
away excitedly, making plans to surprise her father with a whole day of activities.
She stopped suddenly and turned to the driver.
"What are you going to do, Miss
Parker?"
"Actually, I'm going to go some
place special. I can take you there
now, if you'd like."
"Yes, I'd like that very much."
The car pulled into the lot at the
cemetery and the two got out. Debbie
took Miss Parker's hand as they walked across the quiet grounds. Parker looked at her with a smile and squeezed
her hand gently. When they reached the large marble marker, Debbie hung back
as Miss Parker
"Mom, there's someone here I'd
like for you to meet."
She turned around and held out her
hand to Debbie. The young woman stepped
forward and took it.
"This is Debbie Broots. Debbie, this is my Mom."
Debbie leaned forward and laid a
rose on the top of the stone.
"Hello, Mrs. Parker. Thank you for having such a wonderful daughter."
Brief note: My Dad's father died during WWII, when my Dad was only about 6 years old. He and his older sister were raised by a single mother. Until her death, he never failed to send her a card on Father's day as well as one for Mother's day.