EMISON: Memento Vivere (discontinued)

Chapter IX

And everytime I've always known

That you were there, upon your throne

A lonely queen without her king

I longed for you, my love forever

All of my life

Where have you been?

I wonder if I'll ever see you again

And if that day comes

I know we could win

I wonder if I'll ever see you again

(Again - Lenny Kravitz)

"Okay, mom. I'll see you later. Yeah, Aly volunteered to pick you up at the airport. Yes, mom. I'm happy you'll get to meet her too. Yes, yes. Prettier in person. Okay, love you too!"

Emily then sent a text to Alexis informing her of her mom's arrival details. She was thrilled to hear that her mom's finally flying to Boston. It was unfortunate that her dad couldn't go, but she understood that the camp required him to stay.

She busied herself cleaning up her apartment. Emily smiled seeing Alexis' shirt on her couch, tossed it to the laundry basket along with the other clothes. She decided to head to the grocery and plan her menu while her mom's here. Her mom's only staying until the weekend, she wanted to make sure everything will be planned out.

Emily had also planned a skype conference call this coming Sunday so the girls could finally meet Alexis.

+++++

Alexis knocked a couple of times before Emily got to open the door for her. She was anxious about meeting Emily's moms, she must've eaten a whole cake in one seating. And that's not even stress-eating yet in Alexis' category.

She's always liked coming over to Emily's apartment. Unlike her flat that shouts bachelorette, chaos and scattered stuff of her ex-boarding school friend turned flat mate. Emily's was always neat and had a homey feel to it. Emily's apartment was relatively big. She learned Emily used to share it with her co-worker Lily, but since she had her baby, she moved with her boyfriend.

Em's apartment reeked of Zen-like interiors, everything was in order and neat. Alexis smiled at the fact of how independent Emily has been and is now--moving out all the way to Boston since high school graduation, taking her chances here, fending for herself. Unlike her, she had to grab her parent's divorce as an excuse to move out. She's lived an entitled life. She's been surrounded with people who has the same background as hers. While she is grateful for what she has, she's wondered how it must have been like to live alone and independently like Emily did.

Emily's bedroom's a different story. She's only been there a few times. Last time she did was when she had to take a bath and change clothes after their paintball game. Emily has a whole wall covered with pictures she's taken, mostly black and whites. She's seen some of her pictures posted but she's not seen one picture at all of the infamous ex Ali. Sharing the same nickname with the "epic ex" is one thing, she's always wondered how Ali looks like.

Alexis also thought it was nice of Emily to settle in the suburbs, it was quiet, peaceful and the long drive from their Uni to the apartment had always been relaxing. She was anxious meeting Emily's mom in person for the first time. She's heard so much about the older Fields even after speaking over Skype a number of times. But nothing beats meeting Mrs. Fields in person, finally.

"I come bearing with food," Alexis raised both her hands, both holding paper bags filled with food.

"I said food for dinner tonight, Aly. Not for the coming two days," Emily smiled back while she leaned to Alexis to place a quick peck on the lips. "But thank you for the food."

The gesture definitely surprised Alexis. She and Emily may have been going out for close to 5 months, both agreeing they will take it slow, but they haven't really been that far off with regards to physical intimacy. That was surely a welcome change for both Emily and Alexis, both getting a firsthand experience on getting to know each other first before jumping into some sort of premature romance or in bed.

"You know I don't cook so I like stocking up, bad habit," Alexis shrugged.

"But I can cook, so you can let me do the cooking for you," Emily said, taking the other bag off of Alexis' hand, and walked straight to the kitchen.

"You'd do that for me?"

Alexis felt flustered and happy hearing Em call her by her nickname consistently these past few weeks. It definitely felt like Em's finally letting her guards down.

"Dinner or mindless watching first? In what order do you wish to spend the night?" Alexis asked, curtsying.

A blush crept on Emily's face, "stop, you're embarrassing me."

"Is this embarrassing enough for you?"Alexis reached out for Emily's hand and swayed with her, slowly dancing.

"What are you doing?" Emily asked, surprised with the sweet gesture.

"Dancing with my love," Alexis responded tenderly.

The last word Alexis uttered struck a chord in Emily's heart. Alexis' term of endearment instantly pulled Emily back to her Alison memories, as if Emily just heard Ali calling her "love".

+++++

It was a sunny Wednesday when Mrs. Fieds flight touched down. She would only be staying until Sunday as she promised Emily and Alexis. Having that in mind, Mrs. Fields dialed Alexis number.

"Mrs. Fields?" A slightly raspy voice caught her attention. "Let me get your bags, we'll take it to my car." Alexis said with a smile.

Mrs. Fields settled Alexis in for a hug and thanked her for her efforts.

Their drive to Emily's apartment was quiet at first, but when the conversation started picking up, both ladies had stories to tell, finding each other laughing sometimes between their stories.

"So, you go by Alexis? Or you have a nickname you prefer to be called?"

"You can call me Aly if you want, Mrs. Fields?"

"Please, just call me Pam, sweetheart."

"Em's used to calling me Alexis. I don't know, she said I have an interesting and pretty name. She calls me Aly sometimes but she prefers to call me Alexis more."

Agreeing, "yes you do," Mrs. Fields replied meaningfully, "have a nice name."

+++++

"I know now how you can see Emily," Cece said in a matter-of-fact tone.

Surprised, "you do?" Alison asked, her heart almost skipped at the thought of seeing Emily again after 3 long years.