Category: The “Something” Series

In a quiet street in Brooklyn, an apartment building with various lit windows are shown on a winter night. Street lights illuminate the street, and cars drive by occasionally.

In the small apartment a man in his 20’s, Emerson, is walking towards the kitchen and takes two glasses out of the cabinet. He pours beer into the glasses. In the living room, a man, Max, sits with one leg across his knee, laying back on the couch.

Emerson: *from the kitchen* So, the baby is at Grandma’s for the night?

Max: Yeah, Grace’s parents have her for the night. It’s one of the first nights that neither me or Grace have her, which is weird.

Emerson walks to the living room and hands a glass to Max. He sits in the chair across from the couch.

Emerson: I mean, it’s good that you’re getting a break. We haven’t had a night like this in a long time.

Max: I know, remember when I would just crash at your place on nights where I was working on the case; files everywhere and papers just piled on your counter.

Emerson laughs and raises his glass before taking a sip of his drink.

Emerson: Man, I wanted to just toss all of it in the garbage when you worked that damn case.

Max: *laughs* Well, the past is in the past.

Emerson: Mmm, *takes a sip* You miss it?

Max: Not really. I enjoy just being behind the scenes; teaching it instead of being a apart of it. My priorities changed when Willow was born, y’know?

Emerson: I feel that… not the whole “having a kid” thing but having different priorities. I mean, before I met Cami, my priorities were all out of shape. But she’s definitely helping me see more of my future, y’know?

Max: That’s great, mate. I’m happy for you!

They both take sips from their beer.

Emerson: Cami’s really good for me, hopefully within the year we could find a place together, take that next step in our relationship.

Max: At least one of us is taking steps forward. *sips from glass*

Emerson: Hey, you’re a dad. That’s a huge step forward.

Max shrugs his shoulders and takes in a deep breath.

Max: I know Grace is family and you wouldn’t ever speak poorly about her, but… *sighs* Have you spoken to her lately?

Emerson ponders in thought for a moment.

Emerson: She’s definitely been busier than lately, you know how serious she takes her job.

Max: Don’t have to tell me twice. She couldn’t take Willow for the weekend most likely because of her job. Classic Grace.

Emerson looks at Max in a uncomfortable way. Max notices.

Max: Sorry, mate.

Emerson: It’s all good. I just… I don’t know, Grace is a different type of human. She means well, she’s just… Grace.

Max looks at Emerson while sipping his beer. Emerson doesn’t make eye-contact with him. Max notices and he places his glass down on the coffee table.

Max: Tell me something…

Emerson looks at Max after taking a sip; his attention now on Max.

Max: *hesitant* Is Grace dating again?

Emerson: …What?

Max: Look I know it’s none of my business, but I just… *gathers thoughts* A couple of weeks ago, there was another man in her apartment.

Emerson’s eyes widen.

Emerson: How do you know that?

Max: I went to pick up Willow from Grace’s one weekend and there was a guy sitting in her living room… holding Willow. Holding my bloody daughter, mate!

Emerson shifts in his seat, he keeps sipping his drink and listening to what Max is saying. Max is visibly getting angry at the thought as he tells the story.

Emerson: I mean, maybe she just gave Willow to the guy when she was answering the door?

Max: *shakes head* I know Willow well enough to know when she’s comfortable with a person. She was highly comfortable sitting in that man’s lap… That wasn’t the first time Grace was around that man with Willow.

Emerson is dumbfound; truly at a loss for words.

Max: So there I am, just staring at this man holding my daughter, and I guess Grace caught on and immediately took Willow and handed her over to me. I swear he just saw there with the most worried look on his face, just waiting for her to come back from getting Willow’s bag.

Emerson: Did you tell her anything about it?

Max: I told her as soon as she walked me to the door. She insisted that he was just a friend of hers. A Sunday night just bum around with a guy that’s “just a friend”.

Emerson: I know that must be hard to see, I’m–

Max: *interrupts* To believe that today would’ve been our wedding day…

Emerson takes a deep sigh and finally faces Max.

Emerson: Listen, I’m saying this as your friend; I think… it’s time to move on, bro. Like, i’m not saying that to be cold-hearted or anything, I’m saying it because… man you deserve to move on and just focus on you.

Max: *annoyed* I appreciate the prep talk, Emerson, but quite frankly I am a single father in his mid 20’s, in what possible world will I ever have time to think and focus on myself?

Max’s arms flail as he speaks.

Max: Unfortunately, I don’t have the same luxury as Grace has. She has all the time in the world to just go out and snog whoever she bloody pleases!

Emerson looks confused.

Max: Date, Emerson, date!

Emerson: *nods his head* Gotchaaaa, I– *sighs* Still, I think what you and Grace had was great, but I think if she can move–

Max cocks his eyebrows.

Max: What?

Emerson: Nothing, I was just saying that you should–

Max: Nuh-uh, mate, you were talking about Grace moving on? Has she moved on yet?

Emerson is now nervous, he takes his head into his hands and takes a deep breath. Max gets up from the sofa.

Max: Is Grace dating that man, Emerson?

Emerson: *looks up at Max* I–

Max: Fucking hell, mate!

Emerson: Listen, I– I actually don’t know. Grace hasn’t said anything to me about this guy…

Max: She knows you’ll tell me.

Emerson: Exactly.

Max turns around and paces around the living room.

Max: I can’t believe she already moved on… it’s been 5 months!

Emerson: Look, maybe that’s just a work friend of hers, I know she’s always telling me how she has a friend that is helping her look over this case…

Max looks at Emerson, confused.

Max: He’s a lawyer?

Emerson shrugs his shoulders. Max closes his eyes and takes everything in.

Max: Emerson… I still love Grace.

Emerson’s eyes widen in shock.

Max: And for her to just move on as if our relationship never happened–

Max’s eyes widen in realization.

Max: *gets up from sofa* She told me she couldn’t take Willow for the night tonight because she had plans. *gets angry* She’s probably out with that wanker.

Emerson: Look, man – we don’t know that for sure…

Max: Emerson, you know you don’t fucking believe that.

Max walks towards the front door and gathers his winter coat, Emerson follows him; concerned.

Emerson: Whoa, where are you going? You’re not about to just show up there, are you?

Max: Why shouldn’t I? This isn’t about me, this is about the fact that the one night I wanted to be a regular 26-year-old man and hand my child to her mother, her mother declines to spend time with her so she can spend it with a complete stranger. Classic fuckin’ Grace.

Emerson: Max, wait–

Max leaves out the front door and Emerson paces near the door, wondering what is about to happen at Grace’s apartment.

The city lights illuminate the skyline as tables and light conversations are heard throughout the restaurant. A live smooth jazz band is playing music on the little stage in the room, and the lights are slightly dimmed with candles lit on every table. Two people walk in, hand-in-hand, and stop at the reservations stand. After giving the waitress their name, she guides the couple to a booth next to the window that is overlooking the Hudson River and the rest of the city.

The couple, Grace and Jamie, take their coats off; Jamie helps Grace with her coat and places it in the seat next to him. He kindly helps Grace into the booth before he slides in opposite of her. The waitress hands them menus and gives them time to discuss.

Grace: This is… mad fancy. We didn’t have to come here.

Jamie smirks as he opens the menu.

Jamie: A special dinner for a special girl.

Grace smiles to herself and hides her blushing face into the menu. Thoughts are running through her head as she looks at the dishes on the menu. She panics once she realizes the menu is all in a different language. She places the menu down and looks at Jamie, who is still browsing.

Grace: *whispers* Jamie…

Jamie looks up towards Grace attentively. Wow, who would’ve thought a person would drop everything they were doing to just look at her this way? She places the menu down and leams forward to the table a bit.

Grace: This menu is… not in English.

A lightbulb goes off in Jamie’s head; he raises his hand for a waiter and says something in Korean. Grace has absolutely no idea what is going on, but moments later, another menu is placed in front of her, this time in English. Jamie bows at the waiter, and Grace follows along.

Jamie: Sorry about that, I should’ve let them know to bring out a English menu.

Grace: The fact that this place does something like that makes this place 500 times fancier, like wow.

Jamie laughs and his eyes smile along with it. It has become one of Grace’s most comfortable sounds to hear in the world.

Jamie: They are actually based in Korea, the franchise has expanded and I definitely had to try it when I was in New York. Of course, it’s great to experience this with someone though.

Grace: *smiles* Ahh… girlfriend back in Korea was your plus one?

Jamie: *playfully* Are you asking me if I have a girlfriend waiting for me back in Korea?

Grace: I don’t know, I think only the most boujee of men take their girlfriends or wives to places like this.

Jamie scrunches his eyebrow in confusion.

Jamie: “boo-jay?”

Grace laughs a hearty laugh and quickly covers her mouth to mute the loud laugh.

Grace: No, No, “boo-zhee”, it means fancy and fabulous and like… high class.

Jamie shakes his head in understanding.

Jamie: I would go out with my friends for celebrations and birthdays to this restaurant, no girlfriends.

Grace: Ahhh, no time for a girlfriend?

Jamie looks up at Grace, and Grace immediately wishes she was more careful with her words.

Jamie: Do we really have time to do anything but our work in this profession?

Grace plays with the rim of her drink, she takes in a deep breath.

Grace: You don’t have to tell me twice.

The waiter comes back and asks for their orders. Grace stares at Jamie casually talking to the waiter in Korean and telling her the orders that they decided on. Grace notices just how comfortable Jamie is when he’s talking in Korean. When the waiter leaves, his attention is instantly on Grace.

Grace: How did you learn English?

Jamie: *sarcastically* The same way you did.

Grace: *sucks her teeth* You know what I mean. Like, you live in a country where you don’t really need to know English to get by. But, like, you speak it extremely well.

Jamie: My mother always told me and my older sisters that math is important and every other subject is too, but you won’t get far in life if we don’t study English. My sister decided her life was in Korea and she married young and had kids but for me, I wanted more than just a life in Korea. So, here we are.

Grace: Is this your first time in the States?

Jamie: No, I was in California a few years ago on vacation. But, nothing for business. This is my first business related trip to the States.

Grace nods her head, hands crossed in a ball near her face, elbows on the table.

Jamie: It’s funny, because on my first trip here, I remember carrying a “Korean-to-English” dictionary everywhere I went. Of course, My accent was more apparent a couple of years ago, so you would think the English words I was saying was still in Korean. So many people did not understand me just asking where the restroom was in public places.

Grace: *giggles* That’s… mad cute.

Jamie leans forward with his arms crossed.

Jamie: I’ve noticed that you say that word a lot, and I always meant to ask if you’re actually… mad?

Grace laughs and shakes her head.

Grace: No, no, in this situation, “mad” doesn’t mean “mad”, it means “really” or “very”. It’s not necessarily a part of the English language, it’s just slang.

Jamie: *nods his head* Ahh, I see. So if I say that you’re really pretty, I can just say that you’re “mad pretty”?

Grace’s eyebrows cock up in surprise and without her realizing, her face turns red.

Grace: That’s correct.

Jamie smiles at Grace, and Grace does the same for Jamie.

Grace: Say something to me in Korean.

Jamie: Just anything?

Grace: Well, something that I can use in situations where I’ll need to know Korean.

Jamie: *laughs* How about I teach you how to say “thank you”? For the waitress when she comes back.

Grace claps her hands together in excitement and Jamie just admires the small, excited girl in front of him.

Jamie: Okay, okay. So it’s more than a simple thank you. The polite way to thank someone is “gamsahabnida“

Grace: *blinks in confusion* I’m sorry, what?

Jamie: *giggles* I swear it’s easy: “gam-sahab-ni-da”.

Grace: *sounds it out* “gum-say-hob-knee-da”

Jamie laughs and says something else in Korean, this time in a cute-like voice.

Grace: Hey, that’s not fair, you can’t just say another word and not let me know what it means!

Jamie: *smirks* It means “cute”. Try it again: “gam-sahab-ni-da”.

Grace: *carefully* “gam-sahab-ni-da”.

Jamie: There you go! Now you know how to say something in Korean. I can always teach you more if you’re ever interested in learning.

Grace: *a little flirty* Just tell me where and when class begins and I’ll show up.

Grace’s eyes widen and immediately hides her face in embarrassment. Jamie shyly looks away and his attention us now towards the drink on the table.

The waiter comes back with the plates of food, and before Jamie speaks, Grace bows down and says “thank you” in Korean. The waitress cocks her eyebrows up and smiles, she bows for Grace and walks away. Jamie smiles a huge smile at Grace.

Grace: She probably knows you just taught me that.

Jamie: *laughs* Possibly, but she smiled at you when you said it, not me.

Grace rolls her eyes and starts to eat the food in front of her. Jamie proceeds to do the same. They eat and carry the night eating their dinner, carrying conversation, and having drinks.

Meanwhile…

The dark apartment lights up and two people walk into it. Jamie closes the door behind them while Grace forcefully takes her heels off near the door. Jamie helps Grace out of her coat before putting it on her coat rack near the front door. He watches Grace walk towards her couch and put her legs on top of the coffee table.

Grace: *looks at Jamie and pats at the spot of the sofa next to her* Come.

Jamie awkwardly stands near the front door, still wearing his coat.

Jamie: Are you sure? How are you feeling?

Grace gets up and walks to Jamie.

Grace: I had 2 drinks, Jamie, I’m perfectly fine.

Grace giggles and takes Jamie by the hand to lead them to the couch. He doesn’t protest; he simply follows her. They sit down as the music playing next door surrounds the room. Grace lays her head on Jamie’s shoulder. Their hands never unclasp from each other’s.

Grace: I really had a good time tonight. Thank you again for taking me out.

Jamie: It was my pleasure taking you out from under your paperwork for one night.

Grace looks up at Jamie, then straightforward. The conversation pauses to listen to the music playing next door.

Grace: Did you think that in your time in New York, you’d be sitting in a woman’s living room, who’s as fucked up as me?

Jamie looks at Grace, confused. She doesn’t budge or look at him; she just continues to look ahead. Jamie doesn’t say anything.

Grace: *pity smirks* The answer is no. Because why would you assume that you’d be caught up with a woman like me…

Jamie: And what type of woman would that be?

Grace rubs her thumb along Jamie’s; she doesn’t say anything right away, but she’s deep in thought.

Grace: The type that doesn’t have her shit together. The one that lives in a one bedroom apartment by herself and not with her daughter. The one that’s 25 and still far along from her career; the one she gave everything up for.

Grace faces is sullen as Jamie never takes his gaze away from her. Grace releases a deep sigh and takes her hand away from his.

Grace: Sorry, I shouldn’t have put that on you–

Jamie: It’s okay. You can talk to me.

Grace’s gaze breaks as she hears Jamie’s voice. She looks at him intently. She looks down and puts her hand back in Jamie’s. He squeezes it in reassurance.

Grace: I’m just not the type of woman you’re supposed to be with. I break things. I break promises.

Grace’s eyes get watery. She widens her eyes to prevent the tears from falling.

Grace: I would’ve gotten married today.

Jamie takes his free hand and lifts Grace’s chin, which causes her to look at Jamie.

Jamie: Hey, it’s okay.

Grace stares at Jamie for a moment before saying anything.

Grace: Say something.

Jamie: *confused* Uhm, uhh–

Grace: In Korean.

Jamie’s face gets closer to Grace’s.

Jamie: “dangsin-eun wanbyeoghabnida”

Jamie cups Grace’s face and gently kisses her. She kisses him back, taking her free hand and runs her fingers through his hair. He pulls away from the kiss and rests his forehead on hers.

Jamie: You are perfect.

Grace looks at Jamie before kissing him again and gently tugs at his shirt towards her, causing him to lean forward onto her as she lays back on the couch. The soft music is still heard playing next door, and the cars on the busy street are heard driving by.

Grace sits at a desk in an office in the middle of New York City. The sun is going down and it’s time for her to leave the job behind and enjoy the weekend to come. She doesn’t stop. She’s flipping through pages in front of her, occasionally placing a pen in her mouth every time she was deep in thought. Before she was able to get anything concrete on paper, a knock is heard at the door. Grace rolls her eyes.

Grace: *shouts* Whoever that is, I hope it’s for a good reason!

The door opens and Ari, a tall, model-like woman with long, black hair walks in; the heels she is wearing is making her look even taller.

Ari: I mean, that is no way to be talking to the girl who’s here to remind you that you have a hot date to get ready for!

Grace smiles and laughs to herself; Ari is her best-friend who is currently interning for the firm. She met Ari during one of the firm’s social gathering events when Grace was still dating Max. She recalls Ari calling Max a “British snacc” before realizing Grace was his girlfriend. With both of their strong personalities, they instantly hit it off, and since then they have been best friends; both in work and outside of work.

Grace: I have too much work to worry about that, I can just go like this anyway.

Ari: *baffled* You’re kidding me, right?

Ari walks up to Grace’s desk and takes the papers from her desk.

Grace: What are you–?!

Ari: *interrupts* You are not going to overwork yourself when you have a hot Asian man coming here to take you on a date; I mean how long has it been since you had a man dick you down?

Grace rubs her eyes.

Grace: Ari, remember I am your superior.

Ari: Bitch, it’s 6:30, work ended like an hour ago for you!

Grace deadpans Ari. Ari cocks her eyebrows up; Grace knows Ari’s right. Grace rolls her eyes and finally puts the remaining papers down on the desk. She takes a deep breath.

Grace: Should I just cancel? I mean, we’re both probably going to be tired from work anyway…

Ari: Any man that likes a woman isn’t cancelling on her, no matter how tired he is from work. Are you nervous or something?

Graces folds her arms across her chest. She doesn’t say anything. Ari takes a seat across from the desk.

Ari: Grace Ashmore, afraid of a little innocent date with a man? *playfully* Unless this date isn’t so innocent, if you know what I’m saying. *winks*

Grace: Ari…

Ari: Talk to me, babes! What’s wrong? Why are you so not excited for this date? Is he a creep? Is he ugly? Is he not packing?

Grace: *annoyed* Ari!

Ari shuts up. Grace takes a deep breath; a loose hair in front of her face flies up when she exhales.

Grace: I’m just… really nervous. I don’t date.

Ari: Ain’t that the truth, which sucks in my opinion, but go on.

Grace side eyes Ari.

Grace: *sarcastically* Sorry, I don’t feel like ruining another man’s life by giving them a baby and then ultimately leave him with so-said-baby.

The air gets tense.

Ari: Grace, you gotta move on from that. Like yeah, you and Max were cute together, but it didn’t work out. You shouldn’t dwell on that and fuck up the opportunities you have now for happiness.

Grace: I’m a mom, Ari. I was fucking engaged to Max. We were suppose to work out. We worked and I just–

Ari: No.

Grace: *confused* What?

Ari: *in a serious tone* I will not allow you to sit here and think about the what if’s. It’s not fair to Jamie.

Grace looks uneasy. She doesn’t say anything.

Ari: From what I hear about this guy, I can tell he’s diggin’ you so hard, Grace. For starters, he fucking adores Willow. Like, for most men, a woman with a baby and some baby daddy is just too much to deal with. Plus you’re a workaholic? Grace, he’s diggin’ you, and it’s not fair to him that he’s literally telling you that he likes you and you just brush him off because you think you’ll scare him away.

Grace sits there in silence; she starts to think about the last couple of weeks with Jamie. He feels… different. He feels like Jamie genuinely enjoys her company whether they are together. He doesn’t feel complicated; most of the days they are together she’s working on her case while he’s working on his own work or reading a book or just looking after Willow for the time being; nothing major has to happen and nothing really has to be said. They just… enjoy each other’s company.

Grace shakes off the thought.

Grace: He’s just really good company, Ari. Nothing more, nothing less.

Ari: *rolls eyes* Well, whatever you guys are, let him know what the deal is tonight; don’t string him along if you don’t feel the same.

Ari shrugs and walks towards the door, she shouts something as she’s walking out.

Ari: *in a distance* Your outfit is hanging up in your bathroom, you’re welcome.

The door closes. Grace runs her hands through her hair. She gets up from her chair and walks to the bathroom.

Meanwhile…

Ari is talking to the woman at the front desk, papers in hand, coat & purse on her as she gets ready to leave for the day. The revolving doors spin, Ari turns around to see who it is. A man dressed in black dress shoes, brown mock-neck sweater, and a beige pea-coat walks in; he’s holding a small bouquet of flowers.

He walks to the front desk as both women hush their conversation. The man smiles before he speaks.

Jamie: Hi, I’m looking for Grace Ashmore.

Ari looks at Jamie.

Receptionist: She’s out of office for the day, she won’t be available until next–

Ari: *interrupts* He’s not a client, Mai. *to Jamie* 15th floor, first door on the left.

Jamie smiles and bows down in respect.

Jamie: Thank you, have a nice night, ladies.

Jamie walks to the elevator as the two women look back at him.

Mai: Is that…?

Ari: Oh yeah. Grace better not fuck this up.

Upstairs…

Grace walks out from the bathroom in her date-night outfit; she’s wearing a turtleneck sweater knit dress with knee high boots and black stockings. She fixes her hair and touches up her makeup until she hears a knock on the door.

Grace: *loudly* Ari, I have a word to pick with you for putting condoms in my–

Grace opens the door and to her surprise, it’s Jamie. She’s in shock.

Grace: Oh! Jamie! I– Uhm–

Jamie smiles at the nervous woman in front of him. Grace just stares.

Grace: Wow, you look so good. *realizes* Fuck, I didn’t mean to think that out loud, I–

Jamie laughs to himself and hands the flowers to Grace. She takes them and looks back at Jamie. He looks at her in awe.

Jamie: You look… absolutely stunning tonight, Grace.

They both stand there for a moment, admiring each other’s presence.

Some instrumental R&B music softly plays in the background as a woman with red curly hair, Grace, paces around the tiny apartment cleaning things up. A child, Willow, is seen sitting in a baby walker, playing with the various toys on it. Grace stops in her tracks and checks her phone every time she walks pasts it.

Grace: *to herself* Why do I always wait to do this at the last minute?

Willow coos loudly as if she was answering her mother’s question. Grace looks up at Willow and walks to her, picking her up from the walker and into Grace’s arms.

Grace: You want to help Mama clean up before Jamie comes over?

Willow flares her arms and coos; Grace laughs as the doorbell rings. Grace turns around and walks to the door with Willow. With her free hand, she opens the door and standing there is Jamie. He’s wearing his infamous wire-thin glasses with a grey blazer, white t-shirt, black pants and black boots. Grace has figured out that Jamie practically lives in either cardigans or blazers; he never has a day where he wears sweatpants and a hoodie.

Jamie: Hey Grace *in a cute voice* Hey, little bean!

Grace smiles and allows Jamie to walk inside the apartment. He takes a look around the small NYC apartment.

Grace: Make yourself at home, lemme go and change Willie’s diaper quickly.

Grace quickly walks into a bedroom with Willow and Jamie laughs at Grace’s face at the smell. When the door closes behind her, he walks around the living room area; hands in pocket, just taking everything in. He sees a shelf of picture frames. He picks one up of a little girl in a ballerina tutu, two front teeth completely missing, big smile visible. Jamie smiles at the picture. His trance breaks when he hears the door open again. He places the picture down and turns around to see Grace and Willow.

Grace: Someone is feeling brand new now that they’re clean.

Willow bounces in Grace’s arms and Jamie laughs to himself seeing the two little girls interact. Grace walks to the living room area and sits down on the couch with Willow on her lap. Jamie sits next to her.

Grace: Okay, so this case… how the hell am I suppose to defend this asshole with way too much money?

Jamie: You have to remember that it’s a job despite your views, you know?

Grace bounces her legs with Willow on them. She looks at Jamie; deadpanned. He takes the file from the coffee table and flips through it.

Jamie: So, Loren Webbs – her husband is suspected of being a part of a underground scheme, like the ringleader of it. She kills him, pleads self-defense and says her husband has a history of violence in the household, but this is her 2nd husband within the year?

Grace: I’m trying to defend her, not help the prosecutor win his case, Jamie.

Jamie looks at Grace and smiles.

Jamie: Before you can defend someone you’re not confident in, you have to think like the other party. See what they can possibly throw at you and your client. How can you counteract those questions and be prepared for the loopholes they are digging up from your client’s testimony.

Willow coos loudly and wiggles in Grace’s lap. Jamie’s face instantly softens to the sound of the baby.

Jamie: Even Willow agrees.

Grace rolls her eyes. The sound of the kettle pot steaming is heard, and Grace gets up; she hands Jamie Willow for a second while she checks on the boiling water and puts together tea for both her and Willow. Jamie places Willow on his lap and baby talks to her, she smiles and laughs out loud. In the kitchen on the counter, Grace watches the two humans interact in the living room. She still doesn’t understand how Willow is so comfortable with Jamie just a couple of times meeting him back in the cafe. She smiles at them, wishing she was able to have this sight all the time.

Grace comes out of the kitchen with two mugs; she sets one down in front of Jamie and takes the other for herself.

Grace: Should I take Willie, or..?

Jamie: Oh, no it’s okay! I’m fine, drink your tea.

Grace picks her for mug and sips on it while watching Jamie bounce Willow on his lap. He looks at the shelf with the pictures on it and points his head in that direction. Grace follows.

Jamie: Were you a dancer when you were younger?

Grace nods her head as she looks in the direction of the photo frames.

Grace: Yeah, I was one of those competitor dancers when I was kid. Won awards, learned different dances and choreo within weeks of each other. It was something I was highly passionate about.

Jamie: How long did you dance?

Grace: Basically all my life. My mother was a serious dancer when she was younger, she traveled around the world when she was my age apparently.

Jamie looks at Grace, interested in hearing the rest of the story.

Jamie: Did you get your dancing interest from her?

Grace takes a deep breath and plays with the rim of her mug.

Grace: I didn’t grow up with my mother. She traveled the world and did her dancing, I lived in Virginia with my dad for most of my life. I moved to New York when I was 18 to study dance, but slowly after that, I found myself just going towards the justice law route.

Jamie: *interested* What made you stop dancing?

Grace: I mean, nothing. I loved dance, but my father was a FBI Agent when I was growing up. I grew up around the environment and was interested in the law side of it as I got older. I figured I’d be a good debater in life, and I didn’t want to ultimately take the same road as my mother, so I decided to take on being a lawyer. I do very much enjoy it, it’s just–

Jamie waits for Grace to gather her thoughts. Grace takes a deep breath.

Grace: Something in me always wonders whether or not I’m doing the right thing.

Jamie: Do you feel like you’re doing the right thing?

Grace: I mean, others would say otherwise…

Jamie: *emphasizes* Do you feel like you’re doing the right thing?

Grace pauses in thought. She looks at Willow on Jamie’s lap, she looks at Jamie.

Grace: I’m trying to feel as if I’m doing the right thing.

Jamie: But there’s a reason why you haven’t given up and changed your mind, right?

Grace: *in thought* Yeah.

Jamie: *smiles* Then you’re doing the right thing for yourself. Don’t mind the outsiders looking in.

Grace smiles and takes a sip of tes from her mug. The doorbell rings and Grace looks at the front door.

Grace: I wasn’t suspecting anyone tonight…

Grace gets up from the sofa and walks towards the front door, she unlocks the door and opens it up; her heart instantly drops.

Grace: Max?

Max is standing at the doorway. He smiles at Grace.

Max: Hey, is Willow ready?

Grace scrunches her eyebrows in confusion.

Grace: Wait, what? What do you mean?

Max: Grace… it’s Sunday. I told you I was coming over to pick Willow up.

Grace’s heart sinks. She totally forgot that Willow is suspected to return back to Max until the next time she’s able to have Willow for a weekend.

Grace: Fuck, I totally forgot. She’s not even ready yet, I–

Grace turns around to walk into the apartment and Max follows her. He closes the door and his eyes dart over to the person in the living room, sitting on the couch with his daughter in his hands. Grace looks at Max and instantly knows what’s he’s thinking. She quickly walks over to Jamie and takes Willow from him. Willow whines in disagreement and Grace anxiously tries to calm her down. Jamie doesn’t say a word, he just sits there and readjusts himself. Max is watching all of this go down in the tiny living room.

Grace hands Willow over to Max.

Grace: Let me just gather her bag, give me a second.

Grace walks into the other room as the two men awkwardly sit in the living room area. Max’s attention is on Willow, while Jamie faces forward to the door, waiting for Grace to come out of the room.

Grace walks out with Willow’s bag and hands it over to Max.

Grace: That should be everything, let me walk you out.

Grace walks behind Max towards the front door. She turns around to face Jamie. She mouthes “sorry” and Jamie shakes it off.

When both Max and Grace get to the door, Max turns around to face her.

Max: Who is that and why was he holding my child?

Grace rolls her eyes and sighs.

Grace: He’s a friend of mine.

Max: He was holding my daughter.

Grace: *snappy* And?

Max: *annoyed* Look, I just don’t like when you bring your boyfriends over to your place on the weekends and have them hold Wllow while you guys play house.

Grace: You’re being crazy, Max.

Max: Am I? How would you feel if you saw Willow being held by another woman in my life?

Grace: *angry* He’s just a damn friend, Max. He came over to help me with the case and– wait, why am I explaining myself to you? We’re not together anymore. I don’t have to run shit with you.

Max: *now angry* It doesn’t mean we have to be disrespectful to each other and put Willow in jeopardizing situations, Grace. We gotta be on the same page when it comes to Willow.

Grace: Look, you do things your way, and I’ll do things mine. He’s my friend, there was no harm in him holding her for a second while I answered the door. Now you have her, like you always do, and I’ll see you in a week.

Grace looks at Willow.

Grace: Mama loves you, Willie.

She looks back up to Max.

Grace: Bye.

Max: Grace–

She closes the door on him and closes her eyes. She wants to have a meltdown, she was wants to just destroy every single thing in this house, and she wants to just not feel the absolute guilt she feels every time Willow goes back to Max. Her train of thought breaks when she feels someone touching her shoulder. She opens her eyes to see Jamie there, rubbing small circles on her shoulder. She can’t hold it in anymore and tears silently fall down her face. Jamie notices, and he immediately takes her into a hug. They stand near the front door for what feels like hours. Nothing is said, and nothing is noted. They just stand there, in mutual understanding.

*you can read the first part of this scene here*

A dark blue car pulls up to a white house outside of the city. A woman in the driver’s seat, Grace, looks towards the house in thought. She takes a moment before turning off the engine of the car. She closes her eyes for a moment; she looks towards the backseat and sees a car seat assembled. She takes a deep breath and grabs her purse from the side of the car seat, and gets out of her car.

Grace walks towards the front steps of the house; each step she takes is slower than the previous one. One she reaches the top, she rings the doorbell of the house. Bouncing her leg in place with nervousness, the door opens and turns around to see the person standing there. A tall, olive-toned man with brown curly hair stands at the front door.

Max: Hey, Ashmore.

Grace greetingly smiles at Max, who moves out of the way to allow her inside the house. She doesn’t say anything, and he doesn’t mention anything else to her; it’s as if they know what the deal is between the both of them.

Grace walks into the living room area and examines it; the room isn’t as tidy as it usually was when she used to spend time with him in his apartment back in the city. What was once a tidy bachelor pad is now covered in baby toys, baby gadgets and things that scream “dad life” to Grace.

Max follows Grace behind her.

Max: Sorry about the mess, I didn’t have time to clean up a bit in here.

Grace: Don’t worry about it, it’s fine.

Silence.

Max: *clears throat* Would you like something to drink? To eat? She’s still taking her nap, I wouldn’t want to prematurely wake her. *laughs* You know she loves her sleep.

Grace smiles to agree, even though she fully doesn’t know that about the little person possibly sleeping in her room in this house. She politely follows Max into the kitchen.

Max and Grace sit across from each other in the kitchen. He’s drinking a cup of coffee while Grace plays with the rim of her mug. He stares at her carefully; clearly Grace is in deep thought.

Max: Grace?

Grace’s thought is broken; she instantly looks up at Max intently.

Max: I– How have you been?

Grace: *hesitates* I’ve been good. Just did some paperwork at the cafe near the office; the usual. *places her hand on the table* How about you? How’s life out of the city?

Max: *smiles* Very quiet. Definitely is the change I needed, y’know? It brings a little piece of home back into my life without going too far away.

Grace: Ah, the little suburban boy from the Southwest side of England feels back at home?

Max: I mean, without a doubt. *smiles* It’s less stressful that it was back in the city.

Grace: I can definitely understand that.

More silence. Grace takes a deep breath and drinks her coffee. Max still is looking at her; never taking his eyes off of her.

Max: Are you okay with taking Willow for the weekend? Do you need anything? Should I write you a list of things for her?

Grace’s mood shifts; she visibly looks annoyed at Max’s comment.

Grace: *coldly* I can take care of my daughter for the weekend, Max.

Max: *defensive* I’m just trying to be helpful and to make things comfortable for you and Olivia and for it to go as smoothly as possible.

Grace: *places coffee to the side of her* What does that suppose to mean?

Max: Nothing, I’m just saying, I don’t want you to feel overwhelmed with her and have her become upset over the weekend.

Grace: Oh, is that it? Is that what being with her mother does? Get her upset for the entire weekend?

Max: You only see her once every two weekends, Grace. What am I suppose to think when she goes to you for the weekend?

Grace is visibly angry, she leans back on her chair and crosses her arms across her chest.

Grace: Stop treating me like I’m some loose cannon, Max. I’ve taken care of Willie plenty of weekends, so for you to just say that–

Max: *interrupts* How is that case going for you?

Grace blinks in confusion.

Grace: What?

Max: I heard you got signed to your first official case as a defense lawyer. How’s that going?

Grace scrunches her eyebrows.

Grace: How the hell you know that? You don’t even work for the firm anymore.

Max leans back into his chair, never taking his eyes off of Grace. They just stare at each other.

Grace: Stay out of my work life. You have no right keeping tabs on me at my workplace.

Max: I’m not keeping tabs on you. You know I had other friends at that firm besides you, right?

Grace: Don’t give me that, bullshit. You know what you’re doing.

Max doesn’t say anything, he just takes a deep breath in.

Max: I’m just saying that you have to take care of yourself better. I remember how you were during our case as interns. It really took a toll on you and… *takes a deep breath* Things are different now. It’s not just us anymore.

Grace’s face softens. She remembers how much that last case took a toll on her health. She wasn’t eating, she wasn’t sleeping, and on top of that she had found out she was pregnant with Max’s child. Things got progressively worse to the point Grace found herself in the hospital for not eating for days on end; it was the day Max found out about the baby. She remembers how life was like when Grace and Max were working on this case and how their relationship started. She thought he was the one. She thought that this was the man she was going to be with and raise their child with and hold her career and do things different than the way her parents did things but now she’s finding herself going throught the same exact–

Max: Grace?

Grace bounces out of thought again.

Grace: I’ll take care of myself. Don’t worry about me. Don’t worry about Willie. I’m fine. This time is different. I’m more than capable of doing both.

Max: *worrisome* Are you though? You barely made it through the trial run, how do you expect yourself to get through this one? Honestly Grace, I think–

Grace gets up from her seat.

Grace: Don’t. *gathers her things* I have to get going, can you please get Willie ready?

Max: Grace, please.

Grace: *sternly* I need to head back into the city before it gets dark, can you please gather Willie for me?

Max doesn’t say a word, he just gets up from his seat and walks past Grace in the kitchen. She stands there, visibly angry and annoyed about the conversation. She knows what Max was going to say; it was the same thing everyone in her life has been telling her since she had Willow. She’s never going to allow anyone to tell her what she can and cannot do, no matter how right they may be. She has already lost all that she had, what more can she lose?

Max comes back into the kitchen with a sleepy 7-month old baby in his arms. She’s clearly a little grumpy from being woken up from her nap. Grace smiles and coos at the child while Max transfers her to Grace’s arms. Grace looks at Willow and while she’s happy to see her, she instantly feels sullen; she wishes that she was able to be the mother that she wants to be for Willow, but knows that she can’t. Like mother like daughter.

Max: Let me know when you guys get back to the city safely.

Grace nods and begins to walk towards the front door with Willow in her arms. She starts to whine and cry for her dad, and it literally is breaking Grace’s heart. She knows Willow doesn’t want to go; it happens every time it’s her weekend to take her. Max reassures Willow and waves goodbye to her as Grace leaves the house.

After Grace puts Willow in her car seat and hands her over her favorite stuffed animal. She hopes into the drivers seat and looks behind her towards her daughter.

Grace: Ready, munchkin?

Willow blinks in the mirror placed in front of her, holding her stuffed animal in her hands. Grace smiles and faces back towards the front. She quickly looks to her side and see the pile of papers on the passengers seat. She closes her eyes for a moment and takes a deep breath.

The next day

Grace is seen sitting at the table in the cafe that she typically sits. She’s surrounded by papers like usual, but this time has a baby in a stroller next to her. She’s flipping through pages as she checks on Willow, who is biting one of her toys contently. Grace’s focus is on the papers in front of her until she hears a familiar voice in close proximity. She looks up to see Jamie standing there; he’s wearing a beige beret, a black t-shirt and blazer, beige pants and Converse sneakers with glasses on. He smiles at her with two coffees in his hands.

Jamie: I figured you needed some fuel to get you through today’s work-in-the-cafe session.

Grace smiles as he sets the coffee down next to her. He looks next to Grace and notices the stroller.

Jamie: *smiles* And who is this cutie accompanying you today?

Willow looks up at Jamie and smiles, Grace is at awe.

Grace: This is Willow, my daughter.

Jamie’s eyes widen in awe. He kneels in front of the stroller and has a huge smile on his face; his eyes are even smiling.

Jamie: Well aren’t you the cutest little bean?

Grace watches the interaction between them two. She smiles, and is in awe at how calm Willow is with Jamie. She notices Jamie looking back up at Grace, smiles, and stands back up.

Grace: Thank you for the coffee, Jamie.

Jamie smiles and turns around to leave.

Grace: *instantly* Please, stay. Sit.

Jamie turns around and faces Grace. No one speaks a word until Willow coos loudly. The tension breaks and both Grace and Jamie laugh.

Jamie: Can’t deny the little bean’s request.

Jamie pulls out the chair and sits across from Grace, just like the day they first met. While Grace continues to put papers together, she looks back up to see Jamie pull out a book to read all while smiling and looking at Willow. No words are said, but nothing needs to be said. Things just feel right in this moment.

Paper cups surround a small notebook of scribbled words on a table. If coffee was able to directly take away pain like alcohol, Grace, a 26-year old woman with unkempt curly hair, would be drunk by now. Her black liquid eyeliner is stapled on her eyes to prevent her from rubbing her eyes in frustration, anger, and tears. She doesn’t have time to think about herself and her emotions; she’s sitting here to study, take notes, possibly anything to win this case.

She finally cups her hands on her face. Her misery is interrupted when her cellphone buzzes on the table. She looks up at the screen. The screen reads “Emerson”.

Grace: *picks up* Whatcha want, Kamalani?

Emerson: Ouch, is that how you pick up the phone for your best friend?

Grace rolls her eyes, and Emerson comments on how he could “literally hear the eye roll through the phone”.

Grace: What do you need, Emerson? You know I’m trying to get this case together.

Emerson: Geez Grace, you can’t just take a break for one second and like– I don’t know– breathe?

Grace doesn’t respond, she just continues to look at the notes in her notebook and sips for umpteenth cup of coffee.

Emerson: I just wanted to check on you; I feel like I haven’t spoken to you in literal ages. You’re always too busy to live your life like you used to…

Grace: *annoyed* Yeah, well shit happens and shit needs to get done.

Silence. After a moment, a deep exhale is heard over the phone.

Emerson: Grace, I know Max leaving was tough on you–

Grace hangs up the phone and goes back to her notebook. She refuses to discuss something that she knows will slow her progress and process down. She angrily flips through the pages of the notebook. She stops for a moment and rubs her eyes. Fuck. The black liquid eyeliner. She scrambles through her bag and in a hurry, she drops her notes and her notebook flies open. She mouths “fuck” and places the compact mirror back in her bag. She bends down and tries to gather her papers. She hears someone speaking to her from above. She doesn’t look up, but she notices a shadow over her as well as a man’s black boots. She looks up to see a man kneeling in front of her.

The man is wearing wire-thin glasses; he’s wearing a white mask on his chin, a gray cardigan with blue jeans and black and white Converse. Grace feels inappropriately dressed with her denim shorts and an over-sized t-shirt that *might* have a coffee stain on it.

Grace: *quickly gathers papers* Sorry, you don’t have to help me, it’s fine–

The guy doesn’t stop helping, he gathers the papers until they both pick up all of them from the floor. They both get up from the floor.

The man hands over the papers to Grace. She takes them and smiles.

Grace: Thank you…

She notices a name tag on his shirt. It reads the name “Jamie”.

Grace: … Jamie.

The guys looks down to his name tag; he smiles at Grace.

Jamie: Looks like you’re working on some case there.

Grave looks down at the pile of papers she just sat down on the table. She rubs her neck in shame; she should be more careful with documents like this.

Grace: *humorously* Yeah, lovely way to spend a Saturday afternoon; studying on some files in the middle of a cafe.

Jamie: *laughs* Hey, we’ve all been there before.

Grace raises her eyebrow in confusion.

Grace: Been there? You mean you’re not currently going through this madness? *lightbulb* Wait, you’re a lawyer?!

Grace watches Jamie laugh softly; her face is now flushed in red.

Jamie: Yeah, I’m on a case here for a couple of months. I’ve been a lawyer for about 3 years now.

Grace: *pulls her hair back; stressed* Holy shit, how did you get through this? Like–

Without realizing it, Grace takes her bag out of the chair across from her and pushes the chair out a little. Jamie looks at her, confused.

Grace: Tell me your secrets, man.

Jamie smiles and sits down across from Grace. He looks down at the paperwork and see that a name “Grace Ashmore” is written.

Jamie: Is Grace the person you’re defending?

Grace looks at the paper, she shakes her head.

Grace: No, no, I’m Grace… *another lightbulb* Shit, I didn’t introduce myself; I’m Grace.

Grace’s face instantly gets red again.

Grace: Sorry, clearly I don’t get enough sleep anymore; my manners go away with my sleep schedule.

Jamie laughs, which actually makes Grace feel a bit better.

Jamie: Is this your first official case as a defense lawyer?

Grace: Yeah, my first taste of a case was when I was interning for my current law firm. I got into this huge case really quick. Won the case, but really at what cost?

Jamie takes a sip of his coffee and sets it gently away from the overflow of papers.

Jamie: Those are the worst cases to have. You have to truly go against some of your own thoughts and opinions on the case and just side with the person who’s paying you. It truly does make you think if sometimes you’re helping the guilty be set free just because they give you a nice hefty paycheck if you win.

Grace looks down at the paperwork in front of her; Jamie notices her sudden reaction to his words.

Jamie: *nervously* I didn’t mean to say–

Grace shakes her head in protest, laughing it off.

Grace: I mean, you’re not wrong, it just sounds like we make some shitty people, just siding with the ones that pay us because like, it’s our jobs, y’know?

Jamie: Yeah, but good thing those cases are slim to none, I’m sorry you had to deal with one as your intern case. But, you’re probably are a great defense lawyer because of it.

Grace looks at Jamie and notices his crooked smile. His teeth are straight but still imperfect, but they give him some innocence and softness to his face. She smiles without even realizing it.

Grace: Thanks, I’m trying. Hopefully one day, we’ll see.

Grace sips her coffee while Jamie stares at her, sipping his. She notices him looking, but he instantly looks down when they meet eyes. She tilts her head, wondering what that was all about.

Jamie: So, what’s it just you on the intern case? I remember being with a partner on mine.

Grace shifts in her seat, gathers the loose papers and puts them back into a folder.

Grace: *sighs* No, there was another person working with me. We walked on the case together.

Grace plays with her fingernails, ripping off skin near her cuticles as she spoke. Jamie noticed the sudden change in Grace’s behavior.

Jamie: Did you guys win the case?

Grace: Define “win”. I mean, do we ever truly win when we do jobs like this?

Jamie leans back into his chair, raising his eyebrow and looks at Grace. She crosses her arms across her chest, visibly uncomfortable in her seat.

Jamie: Do you wish you did things differently?

Grace: I mean, who doesn’t? All of our intern cases were absolute shit, I can imagine.

Jamie: But you live and you learn right?

Grace looks straight at Jamie, who is still leaning back against his chair. Grace notices him softly smiling; his bottom lip disappearing and his dimple appearing on his cheek. Grace warily looks at Jamie.

Grace: I guess, but you get some shit along the way in the process.

Jamie: But that’s how you learn. What you learned in that intern case will now be used to get through your first official case. Don’t let your past get the best of you.

Grace says nothing. She remembers spending her days working on the case with her partner, who would then come to her place after work and make out on the couch after a long, hard and stressful day. She remembers how much shit her partner came to her rescue for when she was losing it and not taking care of herself. She looks at Jamie, and although she doesn’t even know him, she feels the calmest she’s been in a really long time.

Grace: Thanks, I’ll definitely try.

Jamie smiles and puts his hands back on the table, he looks down at the papers in front of him and takes the top one and reads it. Grace intently looks at Jamie.

Grace: So, what’s your deal?

Jamie looks up and straight into Grace’s eyes. Fuck. His eyes are the most chocolate brown, and his eyebrows are cocked.

Jamie: Pardon me?

Grace: I mean, you don’t know me, I don’t know you, yet here we are, having coffee, you casually giving me advice like we’ve been friends for years now.

Jamie: *laughing* You’re really interesting, you know that?

Grace is now less tense. Gosh, that giggle.

Grace: Gotta be in this line of work. Does that make you just as interesting?

Jamie’s eyes widen and a smirk is visible on his face. Grace instantly turns red. Fuck, she didn’t mean for it come out as flirty as it did.

Jamie: I did just willingly sit across a complete stranger at a coffee shop without knowing their name. I guess we both got something in common.

Grace smiles until her phone goes off. Fuck, she’s going to be late. She quickly gathers her papers in a rush.

Grace: Fuck, I’m going to be late– I’m sorry for cutting this short, I–

Jamie gets up and helps Grace get up from her seat and gathers her things with her. Grace stops in her tracks; what a gentleman.

Jamie: Good luck with your first case, Grace. It was a pleasure meeting you.

He reaches out his hand for Grace. She hesitantly reaches out for it and shakes Jamie’s hand. He smiles and shakes her hand.

Grace: See you around?

Fuck. Grace. Jamie softly laughs and his smile is now wide. God, he’s adorable.

Jamie: Definitely.

Grace smiles and walks away towards the front door of the coffee shop. She walks out and stops in her tracks. She Takes a deep breath and takes her phone out of her pocket to make a phone call. The smile she had on her face vanishes.

Grace: *on the phone* Hey, Max… yeah, I’ll pick her up today… give me a half an hour to drop my work bag at my place and then I’ll come get her for the weekend… yeah, okay.

She quickly hangs up the phone and goes back to her home screen; it’s a picture of Grace and a baby with auburn curly hair, sitting on her lap. Grace smiles.