North (A Robert Downey Jr Fanfic)

"Everlong"

Vanessa could tell she was receiving a phone call, she could feel her pocket buzzing. Her stomach twisted up at the thought that it might be her realtor on the line. What had seemed like years since she made her offer was actually a paltry day and a half. Her instinct told her to pick up the damn phone but her polite nature told her to sit still and wait.
"It will have to wait," she thought, as she turned her attention back to Earl's older sister Irene.

"You know, Earl and I used to ride down to the A&W on his bike. That one just down Main Street-" she lifted a shaky hand and pointed out the front window of Earl's home. "He'd set me up on the handlebars and just pedal like the dickens! Mom thought he'd kill us both, the way we tore around together," she let out a long, cleansing breath, Vanessa felt like Irene was breathing out the memory of Earl, releasing him. Letting him go.

"Can I get you a cup of coffee?" Robert's lips brushed the edge of her ear as he whispered to her. She nodded eagerly, unable to get a word in edgewise; Vanessa could tell that conversation must have been constant in their lives. Irene was more of a chatterbox than Earl was and he liked to talk. A lot.

A moment later, Robert slid into the space next to Vanessa on the couch and draped an arm over her shoulder. With his other hand, he handed her a mug full of coffee, fixed just the way she liked it. Irene lit up like a Christmas tree and started in on him immediately.
"You know, I just loved you in 'Chaplin'...you should have won that Oscar, in my opinion," she shook her head disapprovingly.
"Thank you very much Irene but with all due respect, Al Pacino is a pretty tough one to go up against."
"Robert, modesty doesn't suit you very well..." she trailed off and focused her attention on another relative that took a seat next to her.
"Quick! Make a break for it!" he whispered and grabbed Vanessa's hand, yanking her off of the couch.

"I thought she'd never stop talking. I was running out of polite responses to give," Vanessa said through a laugh as she followed Robert out into the three season porch off of the back of Earl's house. The kitchen, dining room and living room didn't afford a lot of breathing room so it had gotten warm and stuffy inside the house. The chilly air leeched the body heat from them both immediately so Vanessa nestled into the warmth of his arms and took in a deep breath.
"How are you holding up, babe?" he asked quietly.
"Tired. You?"
"Same. Shivering from snow being blown up the back of ones jacket can take a lot out of a person."
"One of those chills you can't warm up from," she sighed as she snaked her arms around his waist.

Suddenly she remembered the phone call she'd received but couldn't take. She pulled her phone out of her dress pocket to find that in fact, her realtor had called.
"It was her--"
"Who?"
"The realtor. Mary," Vanessa stood stock-still, staring at her phone.
"Well? What are you waiting for? Listen to the message!"
"But what if they didn't accept it?" her voice came out slightly shrill; on edge.
"Then we offer more. Just listen to it," he snatched her phone from her hand and tapped the little blue triangle to play the voicemail on speaker. Suddenly there seemed to be a lack of oxygen going to her brain and she felt like she could toss cookies at any given moment.

"Vanessa, it's Mary Willis. I'd like to speak to you regarding your offer for the PCH property. Please call me back as soon as you can."

Vanessa let out a petulant grumble, clearly dissatisfied with the lack of details in the voicemail.
"Call. Her. Back," Robert insisted, shoving the phone into her hand. He'd hit 'call back' already so she couldn't chicken out.

"Mary Willis--"
"Oh--Hi Mary, it's Vanessa Day. Sorry I missed your--"
"Oh I'm so glad you called, I was about to take off for the day."
"What's up?"
"Well, I'd like to be first to congratulate you and let you know that the sellers have accepted your offer."