"L A B E L S"

Episode 100

~ PRESENT TIME ~

“Nick, what are you doing?” Scarlett questions tensely as she steps out into the backyard with her arms full of decorations and paper plates.

“Making the hot dogs and hamburgers.” He answers coolly while standing at the grill, flipping a few of the burgers.

“But it’s only 10. By the time everyone gets here and sits down to eat, the food is going to be cold.” She points out while hanging some streamers from one tree to another.

“I’m guessing that’s why we have a microwave, honey.”

Scarlett rolls her eyes at Nick’s demeaning tone and grumbles out her point. “The whole point of a cookout is for the food to be cooked on the GRILL, Nicholas!”

~~~

Mia finishes putting on the last touches of her makeup while sitting in her car outside Nick and Scarlett’s house. She takes a deep breath, trying to erase the double shift she had worked the night before and puts on a smile for her goddaughter’s birthday. Her steps are short as she walks up to the front door, her feet having an even harder time forgetting the night before. She rings the doorbell and smiles down at the small girl who answers just moments later. “Audrey!” Mia squeals and kneels down to wrap her arms around the four year old. “How is my favorite goddaughter?”

Audrey giggles softly and smiles back at Mia. “I’m your only goddaughter, Aunt Mia.”

“Which doesn’t make a bit of difference because even if I had one hundred trillion you’d still be my favorite, right?”

“Right!” Audrey answers in excitement while Mia plays with the small curls falling perfectly around her porcelain face. She glances over Audrey’s shoulder into the seemingly empty house then back at the girl in confusion.

“Where are mommy and daddy?”

Audrey’s smile immediately falls at the mention of her parents as she turns back towards the glass door leading to the backyard. “They’re grumpy today.”

Mia’s expression falls to disappointment as the small girl refers to her parents fighting as a small issue of being grumpy. Ever since the two starting fighting a few years ago, Scarlett put it into Audrey’s head that they were just grumpy and it was nothing to worry about. She never wanted Audrey thinking they were angry or that she had anything to worry about but putting another name on something doesn’t make it have any less of an effect on a child’s life. Audrey’s eyes fall to the gift behind Mia’s back and her face begins to light up once again.

“Is that for me?” She asks softly.

“Is what for you?” Mia asks, acting clueless. Audrey points at the bag behind Mia’s back and her eyes widen. “Oh!” She exclaims and pulls the bag into full view. “You mean this? No, no, this is for one of my other hundred goddaughters.” She chuckles and holds the gift out for Audrey. “Of course it’s for you. Why don’t you go upstairs and open it?”

Audrey takes the gift from Mia and wraps her in another quick hug. “Thank you, Aunt Mia!” She rushes up the stairs as quickly as she can, considering the bag was almost as big as her. Mia smiles after the small girl but her frustration begins to boil over when shouts from outside can be heard through the house. She marches over to the glass sliding door and slides it open, a fury falling over her when she hears Scarlett and Nick arguing back and forth while decorations for their daughter’s birthday hang around them.

“You gave me one chore, Scar! One fucking chore for our daughter’s birthday so why don’t you go back to the billion other things you have to do before eleven and leave this to me! I’m not stupid!” Nick shouts back at Scarlett while her face is colored a bright shade of red partly from shouting and partly from the heat.