Second Sight Ch. 8
With everyone showered and casually dressed, the five young women went down to lunch at the hotel restaurant. There was a lot of discussion about the winter break between semesters and what still needed to be done for the remaining episodes. They would not give Nancy or Maura any details, but there was to be more filming and a lot of post-production work for Maria. Krissi and Dawn made a point of thanking Nancy and Maura because they felt they had a better idea of how they wanted to approach some of the final scenes after having spent time with them. While there were some big differences just so no one would recognize that the story was about Nancy and Maura, it clearly was about Nancy and Maura. And then how Maria had come to be a part of their lives.
When the check came it was Maria who grabbed it and signed the bill off to the room. She added an extra big tip for the waitress as well as Dawn's phone number.
There were hugs all around as Nancy, Maura and Maria got ready to leave. Their bags were all packed and they were just about to go out the door when Dawn said, "Oh, wait. The present."
Krissi seemed to know exactly what Dawn meant and she ran into their bedroom, coming out with a small box which she handed to Nancy. "Sorry we didn't get you something Maura, although in a way maybe we did."
Nancy opened the box and pulled out a butt plug with the same blue crystal at the back as the one Maria had gotten her. Krissi said, "It's the next size up. Mia told us how much you liked the first one."
Nancy looked over at Maria and gave her a sly grin. Then she walked over to Krissi and gave her a big hug and said, "Thank you."
Nancy moved over to give Dawn a big hug too and to thank her for the gift. Dawn said, "Put it to good use."
It was Maura who replied, "Oh, don't worry. We will."
Nancy, Maura and Maria went downstairs and Karl was waiting to take them back to school. They were all very tired and the ride back was mostly quiet. There was a little bit of discussion when Maura chimed up with, "So, Nancy, no foreign businessman came and took you away to places unknown? We don't need to get Liam Neeson to go rescue you?"
"Maria, I'm too tired. Would you punch her in the arm for me?" Maria did but then all three of them laughed. Nancy still felt the need to defend herself a little. "Look, something was up and there was a secret you were not telling us. It's just that I should have known the secret was going to be a good one."
Maria added, "Don't worry, Nance. I'll forgive you this time."
For Thanksgiving this year, Nancy was going to Maura's house. They would stay there after the semester ended through Christmas. Then they were going to Nancy's house for a late Christmas and New Year's and then stay until it was time to go back to school. It was more time at the Reed household, but they had spent the summer with the O'Halaran family. And they would switch that up next year just as they were switching up the summer plans. They invited Maria to come as well.
With the extra passenger, only Mrs. O'Halaran came to pick them up. She was introduced to Maria and she did stare for a little bit before shaking her hand. Maria sat in the front passenger seat with Nancy and Maura in the back. At one point, Mrs. O'Halaran said, "Maria I feel like I recognize you. Are you sure we haven't met?"
"No Mrs. O'Halaran, I am pretty sure we haven't met until today." Nancy and Maura just looked at each other in disbelief. But when they finally reached the O'Halaran's home and Maria was introduced to Mr. O'Halaran, his double take did make Nancy and Maura nervous. Nothing was said to make the girls believe Maura's parents recognized Maria as Alexis Vegas. When they spoke about it back in their dorm after the holiday, they just figured Maura's mother was just remembering someone else and Maura's father just reacted to how beautiful Maria looked. And they all agreed to leave it at that.
They got through finals and spent the last night before heading home in Nancy and Maura's room. Kimberly was there as well so it was just talking, but everyone was so exhausted from all the schoolwork anyway that it was all good. At the end of the night Maria actually went back to the room with Kimberly, a testament to just how tired everyone was at that point.
Nancy and Maura already had their plan for the winter break. Kimberly was going home with Brent since they lived in the same town. Maria was going back to Los Angeles.
As they stood outside waiting for her ride, Maria said, "Well, this should be the last of the shooting. They'll also be a lot of post-production to work on so I am going to be very busy."
Maura quipped, "Normally I'd say all work and no play would make for a boring time, but with your work..." Nancy and Maria laughed.
When the car pulled up and the driver got out to put Maria's suitcase in the trunk, Marua asked, "What happened to Karl?"
"That was just for that weekend."
Nancy added, "Well, say hello to Krissi and Dawn for us."
"I will. I miss you guys already."
"We miss you too. Make sure you find some time to call or at least text us how things are going." called out Maura. Maria blew them a kiss and was off to the airport.
Maria managed to come back a day early from the break and so she was there when Nancy and Maura came back. Although it was cold outside, Maria had been in the dorm all day and so she was in a crop top tee shirt and short shorts when she received the text that Nancy and Maura had arrived. She ran right down to their room and was finally introduced to June and Walter Reed. This time it was Mrs. Reed who seemed to react awkwardly to Maria much like Mr. O'Halaran had. Mr. Reed was very noticeably trying not to stare at Maria, although he was clearly peeking when he thought he could get away with it. He wasn't. The girls suppressed their laughter until after Nancy's parents had left.
The second weekend back was a big deal for Nancy, Maura and Maria. The newest installment of Maria's series was going to go online at nine o'clock California time. During dinner they did not talk about the watch party they were going to have. Kimberly was talking about how Brent had insisted they spend the night at his room so she had left to go across campus right after their dinner.
The three of them were just sitting in Nancy and Maura's room. It was still a bit before the show and they were just hanging out and the door was open. There were jarred a little when the outside door slammed. Someone was coming into the dorm hot. A few moments later, Kimberly went running by the open door and it sounded as if she was crying.
Maria said, "You two can watch the show if you want. I already know what happens. But I have to go see what that was all about."
Nancy replied, "No go ahead. We'll wait for a while." When "a while" had stretched to almost an hour, Nancy's phone began to ring with the ringtone that meant Maria was calling.
"Finally." was Maura's reaction.
Nancy answered the phone and Maura listened in to the one side of the conversation.
"Hey Maria, what's up?"