The One Where The Lines Get Kinda Blurry

The One With Gifts Galore

"Cleo come on, we are going to be late."

"Coming dad, sorry."

"What on earth were you doing?" he asked as she finally appeared down the stairs, carefully placing something inside the rucksack that carried her clothes and toiletries for their trip.

"Just finishing up wrapping something I made for Jen."

"You made something for her?"

"Yeah, but I'm not telling you so don't ask. It's for her to see first ok?"

"Ok" he said through a peal of laughter, "whatever you say. Now come on, seriously, the car is going to be here any second."

"I still can't believe she has her own plane. I mean like, that's just crazy."

"I agree, it is pretty crazy. But then our lives are pretty crazy compared to most people, simply thanks to being in the right place at the right time and being offered the right job."

Less than an hour later they were taxiing down the runway, heading west to spend five days in LA. David had spoken to Zoe at length when he'd picked up his daughter. He'd told her about the arrangements and informed her that Cleo would be spending some time with him and Jen of course, but also plenty of time with his parents where she would be sleeping some nights but not all. Zoe had actually been pretty relaxed and ok about it, having had time to come to terms with his new relationship status and also time to reflect on what he'd said about all three of them being on the same page when it came to putting Cleo first. "She'll be able to call you, and you her, as usual if you're not busy, even when we do end up both staying with Jen" David had told her, at which point Zoe had raised an eyebrow but said nothing, not particularly ecstatic about the thought of her daughter sleeping over at the house of a woman she'd always felt threatened and intimidated by despite never having even spoken to, but realising it would be churlish and selfish to speak out against it.

Jen was busying herself in the bedroom she'd earmarked for Cleo, whilst she and her dad were tens of thousands of miles high in the sky, wending their way closer and closer to the sunny Southern California coast. It was a fairly substantial room but not enormous. Currently it was equipped with a queen sized bed, bedside tables with drawers, an arm chair, a dressing table with ornate mirror, and a tall, white bookcase stocked with a mixture of novels and ornaments. There was a narrow walk through closet which lead to a very white, very bright bathroom which housed an impressive walk in shower. The room was on the opposite side of the house to Jen's bedroom suite, as were the other two guest bedrooms, but this first one was not too far from the kitchen area so felt very connected to the home, which Jen believed was vital so that Cleo felt included and welcome there. She dragged a large, leafy plant in from one of the neighbouring bedrooms, feeling the space needed something living to lift it a touch. She stood back, admiring the beautiful green foliage which juxtaposed nicely against the large, molten bronze pot and the plain white walls.

Her next job was to go to a large cupboard in her own substantial closet which housed literally hundreds of unopened or unwanted promo gifts and goodies. She searched through and pulled out four items she felt appropriate for a pre-pubescent girl; a make up palette, a beautiful silk butterfly print scarf, a manicure and nail varnish set, and a beaded shoulder bag which was far too glitzy for her own tastes but would probably appeal to someone much younger.  She took those back to the guest room, or Cleo's room as she'd already begun to call it in her head, and set them down carefully on the dressing table. She suddenly had another thought which had her heading back down the corridor to another room where she kept a lot of her personal items, awards and memorabilia. She found what she was looking for high on one of the shelves. She smiled to herself as she reached it down and gave it a quick shake to remove the very fine layer of dust. The finishing touch she nodded as she made her way back down the corridor.