The Aftermath of Callie and Arizona - Volume II

Seasons Change

Arizona's POV:

As it happens every year, our vacation at the beach ended too soon and before we knew it, the school year had commenced yet again. I was sitting in my office on a rainy and chilly Seattle Friday afternoon. Instead of being focused on my task at hand, I found myself staring out the windows and reflecting over the last few months.

The leaves had started to change colors and were clinging for dear life to the branches that had previously supported them, during the last 6 months. Amidst the rain showers, I could see the orange, yellow and red hues smattered among the few trees on the street, but mostly on the hillsides that surrounded the city. 

It had been a great Summer for our family as we watched our girls grow older. . .

Madelyn had changed so much in those 3 months, it was insane! Maddy was quite mobile and had mastered crawling, standing up and walking around furniture if she was holding on. We knew it was only a short time before she would take her first steps. She was astute at grasping and holding objects like toys or feeding herself with her fingers. She was also becoming quite vocal (like the other 3 women in her family) and was now skilled at making noises to get our attention.

Sophia had started her 5th grade year, which still shocked Callie and I, to no end. I was in disbelief that she had gotten that old, but such is life. Shopping for school that year was dramatically different than it had been, just a year before. Suddenly, everything she required for her academic career, needed to be very, "adult." 

She made it clear she was done with, "baby," things. Although, she found zero humor when Callie sarcastically suggested we buy her a hard sided brief case while shopping for her backpack, just 8 weeks ago. She quickly informed us that she didn't want to be an 'old person,' but it was fine when we sometimes carried them. That kid! 

Callie and I had been busy the last few months as well, with the new academic year starting for the 1st year medical students. Thankfully, both of our teaching responsibilities were not that rigorous, usually, but with the new students, we were required to spend more time than usual in labs and sometimes in lectures during the 1st semester.

So, here I sat that grey and gloomy afternoon, staring out the windows at the rain and foliage. There was something so calming about the sounds of the rain drops, that I zoned out for a period of time. That's why when I heard a knock at my door, I jumped from being startled.

"I would have announced my visit long ago if I would have known my knocking would cause you to have a heart attack. Is everything okay, Arizona? Is this a bad time?"

It was Teddy that had knocked and then came in and sat down in front of me. She was wearing scrubs with a long surgical jacket to stay warm. I could tell she had just finished a procedure by the way her hair was pulled back.

"No, you're fine Teddy, I was just lost in thought and am exhausted. Maddy's been cutting two teeth on her bottom jaw and all of us have not been sleeping well as a result. What's up? How's your day going?"

"My day has been pretty typical. Nothing too exciting and nothing too difficult. It's been run of the mill which I have zero complaints about."

I had finally pulled myself out of my thoughts and noticed Teddy had a melancholy demeanor that she was attempting to poorly to cover-up. 

I was pretty certain I knew what was about to come next when Teddy said, "By chance, have you heard from Becca, recently? I sent her a message a few days ago, but haven't heard anything back. I thought we had plans this coming weekend, but..."

Teddy stopped herself short from finishing her thought. 

I knew I had one of two choices at that moment. I could either ask Teddy to tell me what had been going on between the two of them, or be aloof and gloss right over the gigantic elephant in the room. Is it bad that part of me still didn't want to know? Sigh...