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❛ ᴏᴄᴇᴀɴ ᴇʏᴇꜱ​​​​​​​​​​. ❜ ° . ༄
- ͙۪۪˚   ▎❛ 𝐓𝐖𝐎 ❜   ▎˚ ͙۪۪̥◌
»»————- ꒰ ᴛʜᴇ ᴅᴏᴜʙʟᴇ ʟɪᴇ ꒱


❝ YOU WANT A KISS, DO YOU? ❞

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Juliet kicked off her shoes at the door and went to the freezer to pull out a tub of chocolate ice cream and a spoon from the utensil drawer before she headed to her room to do her homework. On her way there, she stopped in surprise when a light shone through the crack underneath her mom's bedroom door. After knocking to gain entrance, she pushed it open to the sight of her mother's clothes spread out over the bed and some piled on the floor.

The woman herself was pouring over a suitcase that Juliet had never seen before. As the redhead stepped into the room, she saw the glint of metal coming from it and realized it was a jewelry box. Then, she took in the outfits draped over the bed and realized they were far from anything her mom usually wore. There was even a feathered dress that seemed to be from her mom's Broadway days.

"Mom?" she asked slowly as her eyes took everything in.

"Hi, darling. There's been a few changes at work. I'm getting a promotion!" Daly exclaimed happily, holding up a hoop earing in one hand and a teardrop-shaped earing in the other. "Which one?"

"Well, if you're going for hooker, go with the left. Otherwise, go with the right," Juliet said flatly.

The older woman's expression faltered. "I thought you'd be pleased. The new job means I get to stay home more often."

"Like that's hard to do," Juliet scoffed. "Even ten minutes would mean that you're here more often. Do you think I'm an idiot, mom? I know this isn't about a promotion. You were giggling on the phone the other day meaning you were taking to a boy. Or a man in this case, I suppose."

Daly placed the pieces of jewelry back in the case and moved towards her daughter. "You're right, darling, I was talking to a man. It hasn't been easy getting this promotion but it turns out I'll be working for some great people. I have a business trip I have to take tomorrow to secure it and it requires me to leave the apartment—"

"Stop," Juliet interrupted her. "You're lying. I don't know what the real answer is but if you aren't going to tell me, then at least just stop talking."

She ignored the woman's hurt look and turned on her heel to stalk out of the room to head to the safety of her own. It seemed like change was in the air and Juliet was very wary of it.

🌎🌎🌎

"Who d'you think she could've been talking to?" Juliet asked Jack as she lay stomach-down on his bed. They'd both been working on homework but the redhead had stopped in favor of getting a second opinion.

"I dunno," the boy answered absentmindedly, still focused on his calculus work.

"I mean, it's definitely not anyone from the diner," the girl mused as she stretched her arms towards the carpet and traced her fingertips against the fabric. "I wonder if I even know them. My mom's never had an interest in guys before— that I know about. Granted, I hardly know anything about her but it seems like I'd be at least aware that she had some type of date planned. Maybe not," she added with a pause. "After all, she doesn't know I'm dating you."

That caused Jack to look up from his work. "She doesn't?"

The girl craned her neck to look awkwardly to look at him. "No, 'cause it's not like she spends a lot of time around me. Even when I go to the diner she's usually too busy with work to have a real conversation. I don't need to share anything with her unless she asks. Even then, I probably wouldn't." Her head dropped back down.

The boy frowned. "But I thought you understood why she worked so hard."

"Just because I understand doesn't mean I'm gonna stop being salty about it."

He rolled his eyes in amusement. "I just think you should give her a chance, y'know? You've always wanted a proper family."

"Yeah, well, that's a little hard when you don't have a dad," the redhead grumbled.

We're working on that. Jack knew his mom had contacted Barron Capelwood about the daughter he supposedly had and the man's reaction had all but confirmed it. Dalya had even sent a picture of Juliet to him along with her address to douse any suspicions he might have. Perhaps the man on the phone with Daly Capelwood was Barron, reaching out to his lost family at last, but Jack didn't say anything.

"Hey," he began, "you wanna spend the weekend over here since your mom will be gone?"

Juliet propped herself up on the bed and her expression brightened. "Yes, definitely!"

🌎🌎🌎

When Juliet next saw her mom, the red-haired woman was on her way out the door to catch her ten-thirty flight.

"Hey, mom, can I ask a question?" she questioned the slightly frazzled woman.

"Of course, honey," Daly answered as she rolled the suitcase towards the apartment's exit.

"Can I spend the weekend at Shawn's? Y'know, since you'll be gone?"

"Shawn? Yes, yes, of course you can," she replied carelessly while patting her pockets to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything.

"Thanks, mom. You're the best! Have a safe flight!"

🌎🌎🌎

Friday afternoon seemed to pass by in a flash with Juliet and Jack enjoying an after-school movie in his private theater. They'd even had a popcorn fight, though the redhead had felt guilty about the mess they'd left behind despite the boy's reassurances. Now, they were curled up on the back patio as the sun set over the Montacute's gardens eating pieces of cheese, fruit and Crème Brulee— a dessert that had quickly become the redhead's favorite. Jack cracked the sugar topping of the dessert and scooped some of the white fluff on to his spoon as he grinned. 

"Okay, here comes the airplane!" he teased her, making an engine sound as he waved the spoon closer to her face.

Juliet rolled her eyes in amusement at his antics and kept her lips firmly closed as the metal touched them. He bumped it lightly against her lips again and made a static sound. "Pilot to base, we've encountered a landing problem."

The redhead couldn't help but snicker at the boy's words and finally opened her mouth willingly, closing her eyes happily at the sweet flavor. Jack withdrew the spoon and scooped up another bite, this time putting it in his own mouth. "Y'know, sharing this spoon is almost like we're kissing," he told her playfully.

The girl's eyes opened. "Oh, you want a kiss, do you?"

"I wouldn't say no," he responded with a smile.

Juliet leaned forward and placed her lips on Jack's, feeling warmth spread through her from where they touched. The boy's hands came to rest at her waist after he dropped the spoon and she buried her fingers in his silky blond hair. He guided them backwards so they could lay horizontally on the couch as he continued to kiss the red-haired girl, enjoying the feeling of her lips on his. She pulled away from and he made a sound of protest, to which she smiled and placed a kiss on his nose. 

"You're," she said, then pressed her lips to his forehead, "cute."

She began to kiss other parts of his face which he quite enjoyed for some time until he pouted slightly. "These are lonely," he said, pointing to his own lips.

The red-haired girl giggled and pecked them lightly. "We can't have that, now can we?"

The blond shook his head and Juliet returned her attention Jack's mouth as she made sure to kiss him quite thoroughly.

🌎🌎🌎

There was not a lot that could shake Daly Capelwood. As a former actress, she was used to last-minute changes and mishaps. This had carried over to her work at the diner where she played a valuable role in fixing immediate problems such as: they were out of sugar? Just use honey or maple syrup. They had run out of pancakes for the day? She could offer some delicious, similar-style recipes that everyone could be happy about. She could make up anything on the spot and, in one of her less-proud talents, lie exceedingly well (except in the case of her own daughter it seemed.) All of these things helped her conquer any problem that came her way and kept her from being rattled by change.

However, that didn't mean she was invulnerable. When she'd first picked up the phone at the diner that fateful day, the last voice she'd been expecting to hear was a ghost from her past. Even after all these years and heartbreak his voice still sent her heart pounding. She couldn't believe it (and neither could he, apparently) that when they'd started talking, it seemed that neither of them had been able to stop. It was as if all of the past years had faded into nothingness and they were right back where they'd started.

Still, Daly was older and wiser since he'd left and she had a daughter to look out for, so she was careful not to share too much or let her heart be taken by him again. After all, the saying was 'fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me' and she would not bring shame to herself. So, she was extremely cautious.

After the first call, Daly hadn't been expecting anything else from Barron Capelwood. While she would have once upon a time, she'd realized that she had never truly known the man at all. It had been a (pleasant) surprise when she'd heard from him again, this time on the apartment phone. Neither of them mentioned what had caused them to split but they talked about everything else in between, though Daly made sure not to mention Juliet. Her daughter wasn't ready to know the whole truth yet.

Then, Barron had sprung the question to have Daly visit him in upstate New York where he'd jetted off to after jilting her. She wasn't surprised that that was where he'd ended up since his family home was located somewhere in that area. It had been a lot of back-and-forth with her decision to go, but she'd finally decided that yes, she would, if not for her own sake then for her daughter's. Not even she, Daly, was blind to her daughter's longed-for wish and if she could deliver on that then maybe she might not be such a terrible mother after all.

She'd put her lying skills to use and explained her sudden trip away was due to a job promotion (which she'd felt guilty about after) and had been surprised when her daughter had seen right though the tale. Still, it had saved her from telling the truth Juliet wasn't ready for and had kept the girl from getting her hopes up too high to only have them come crashing down when Barron Capelwood eventually failed them.

Again. 

[written dec. 2020]
[edited may 2022]