a sound she hadn't heard before

thirty-three.

"So Joe," Andrea asks as the adults are sitting in the living room, drinking coffee in the morning before Ayla wakes up, "what are you going to be up to, now that the show is over?"

"I'm not sure," he admits. "Just... auditioning for everything again. Professionals in the industry really say that auditioning is the job, and if you book it, it's just an added bonus." He pauses. "Auditioning doesn't pay the rent very well, though. I might have to pick up a shift at the restaurant I was working at before I booked the role."

Taylor sighs. She doesn't like to hear that, especially when she knows that she has more than enough money to pay the bills. She knows that offering to help him out would probably be overstepping, not to mention hurting his pride. She doesn't want to risk that, so she doesn't say anything.

"Well," Andrea says, "Scott and I were thinking that we could stay a few more days, if the two of you need a little getaway. We would love to spend more time with Ayla."

Taylor and Joe exchange a glance.

"T," Scott adds in, "why don't you take him up to your house in Rhode Island? It's lovely up there."

"Dad, this time of year, it's just cold."

Scott and Andrea laugh. "So you turn on the heat. You love it up there, and haven't been up for so long. Come on, T. You really deserve a break. Both of you do," Scott tells his daughter.

"Well, I'll have to speak with Ayla about it and make sure that she's okay with it, but I don't see why else that would be a problem," Taylor finally says. "Joe, you in?"

"If you want to, I could use a few days out of the city."

"It's all settled then," Andrea says. "You two can leave today even."

"I'll have to go back to New York to pick up some things," Joe laughs.

"I can take you by your place," Taylor says. "Or we could leave in a few days. Whatever works."

"We can just swing by today. I can grab my things pretty quickly. I think that some peace and quiet with my favorite girl is just what I need."

"Rhode Island is the best," Taylor assures him, blushing a bit from the 'favorite girl' comment. The locals don't really mind me much at all up there. We've been going since I was a kid. I love it."

"Then I can't wait to see it," Joe tells her. Suddenly, everyone hears little footsteps above them and they all know that Ayla is awake.

"Well, there goes the quiet morning," Taylor laughs. "I'm going to go see if she needs help getting dressed, then we can head out to the restaurant."

Upstairs, Taylor helps Ayla to pick out a dress and matching tights, and as she is getting dressed, Taylor asks her daughter if she would be okay with staying with her grandparents for a few days. She has done it once before, so Taylor anticipates that she will be fine with it.

Luckily, that anticipation is correct. Ayla is more than happy that her grandparents are staying for a few extra days, and especially because that means that she'll get to have them all to herself.

"Do you think that we can go to New York?" Ayla asks. Taylor recalls that the last time that she left Ayla with her parents, the three of them went ice skating at Bryant Park, something that Ayla couldn't stop talking about for weeks after.

"I'll ask, okay? No promises." She knows that her daughter would just love to see the Rockettes and the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center, for one thing. She just loves to explore everything that New York has to offer in general, and Taylor thinks that there really is something magical about seeing it through her young eyes. It makes all of the buildings seem even taller and the lights seem even brighter.