I know what you're thinking: why on earth am I adding another story when I have a couple others already in progress? I have no GOOD answer to that other than this story idea wouldn't leave me alone until I wrote it. As in, it was occupying my mind when trying to write/edit other stories. So the only thing to do was to add it to the rotation of stories to be updated. This won't be a long, just a few chapters. I won't give an exact number because I always end up going over. This was originally going to be a one shot and that's already blown to hell so...
Anyway, while this is not related to my story, And So it Goes I did borrow a few details about Angela's life from that story for this one. In this particular tale things happened more or less the way they did on the sham of a show, Girl Meets World, but I'll try to show things more from Angela's POV and counter the writers' continuous attempts to vilify her. And Shawn and Angela deserved better than what they were given, even if they didn't end up together.
The title comes from song lyrics to the Garth Brooks' song, The Dance.
"Everything looks great so far, Shawn."
"Thanks," he responded, holding up a hand to shield his eyes from the California sun as it reflected off of the ocean. "I'll send the rest of the pictures and the rough draft of my article as soon as I find a place with decent Wi-Fi. It's just my luck to be bumped from my flight and be unable to find another hotel room."
"It is Comic-Con weekend. There's probably not an available room for at least one hundred miles in any direction."
"Yeah, that's what they said at the front desks of every hotel, lodge, inn, and flea bag roach motel when I asked- at least when they stopped laughing in my face."
"Sorry about that. If you do manage to get a room, just charge it to the business."
"Oh, I was going to," he quipped.
"In the meantime, enjoy the next day or two. Maybe it will convince you to take the transfer."
Shawn sighed. "Helen, we've been over this."
"I know, I know, you're an east coast guy."
"Exactly, nothing about me is California- especially southern California. It's a nice place to visit, but it's not me."
"Sorry, I'll quit asking. You're just one of my best employees and I need people I trust to help head up the west coast office we're trying to get off the ground. I thought of you because I figured of all people you could use the change of scenery. Your divorce wasn't that long ago and then the kid announced she wanted to reverse the adoption and all-"
It seemed he would never stop paying for drunk emailing his boss and telling her to fire him because he was such a screw up- and offered all the reasons why. "Are we through?" She meant well, but he didn't need to be reminded of his most recent failures.
"Right…well just send me the rough draft when you can."
Shawn said nothing else before he ended the call and shoved his phone back into his pocket. Hit the Road had sent him to the San Diego area to uncover some vacation destinations, both the touristy goldmines and little spots that the locals kept secret. He jumped at the chance to get as far away from New York as possible. And this was definitely not New York. He looked around the pier. It was a place tourists flocked to and he could see why. It was nice, but a little too crowded for him. Maybe that was how he could use the extra day he suddenly had. He could explore those local hideaways and add pictures to his article without giving their exact location, mysteries for readers to uncover. There was a beach a bit further down the road, away from the shopping and restaurants, that he heard didn't attract much traffic but was supposed to be idyllic. He hopped into his rental car, briefly glancing into the backseat as he went- hoping by some miracle he didn't have to sleep there tonight.
/
'Yes,' Shawn thought to himself, 'this was more like it.' This beach was beautiful and practically deserted. There was a small group playing volleyball several yards down, an older couple jogging right along the water's edge, and a mother having a picnic with her young children and the family's dogs. Serene was the only word to describe it. He took out his camera and began snapping away, careful not to get any faces in the shots.
/
/
"Mo' bubbas! Mo' bubbas!"
Angela dipped the wand back into the soapy solution. Their laughter and jubilant squeals as she sent another stream of bubbles into the air was music to her ears. It didn't take much to make her children smile. She wished she was as easy to please, but if they were safe and happy that was enough for her. They were enough. They were everything. Her kids were all she had left. She wouldn't have survived these past couple months of hell without them to anchor her. They kept her going when she wanted to give up and surrender to her grief. But she couldn't surrender. She had to keep getting out of bed each morning. Some days required more effort than others, but she still did it. Her babies were counting on her.
"Mama, bubbas!"
Her daughter toddled towards her and, once again, lost her never-ending battle with gravity. "Uh-oh, did you go boom? Did you fall and go boom?" Angela kissed the baby's cheek and didn't even flinch when tiny hands, sticky with soap and gritty with sand, used her bare leg to push herself back up to her feet. Before becoming a mom she was the one who shied away from kids and their sticky, messy hands. It was different when it was your own though. Her mother-in-law had been right. "Good job, Zora," she cheered. "That's what you do. Keep getting up."
/
After a while Shawn realized he kept coming back to the small family. Mom was blowing bubbles and the dogs and little boy- who had to be no older than two or three- were jumping around trying to catch them. The younger child tried to mimic her brother but continually fell on her butt. She kept getting up, though, no matter how wobbly her legs were. It was more resilience that he had shown lately. He didn't know how he felt about being outclassed by a baby.
In the midst of all the activity he found himself transfixed by the mysterious mother. Her back had been to him this entire time, but there was something about her that felt very familiar. The long dark hair, her graceful movements, the way her body shook with laughter at the children's antics, her energy….there was just something about her that called out to him. He rubbed his eyes and tried to shove away the feelings of déjà vu. If his marriage and divorce taught him nothing else, it was that relationships just weren't for him. It would be a favor to women everywhere if he committed himself to being single. He would especially stay away from women with children. They were just innocent victims caught up in bad choices. Perhaps he'd become a monk. But before he googled the nearest monasteries he needed a few more pictures for his article. Maybe he'd just ask the woman if he could capture a few shots of the dogs chasing the bubbles with the beach environment as the backdrop. It would satisfy his curiosity to see her up close and he could potentially get more work done- nothing but positives. People were generally more agreeable about having their pets in pictures compared to themselves or their kids.
/
A low growl from one of the dogs caught her attention. Angela turned around and saw a figure approaching from down the beach, but because of the sun all she could make out was that it was a man. When she looked back seconds later, her girl was positioned alongside the children. The canine had always been protective of the youngest members of her pack. Her other dog was lying on his back, oblivious to everything. He may look intimidating, but was a puddle of goo. "Nala, sit," Angela ordered. The dog obeyed. "Stay." After making sure the kids were safely occupied with their toys she got up and stood at the edge of the blanket. "If you're selling something, I'm not buying," she called out to the mystery man. "I don't have any cash on me if you're begging for money and if you're coming to hit on me don't waste your time. I'm not interested."
That voice... He'd been out in the sun too long, Shawn rationalized. That had to be it. He was dehydrated and needed something to eat. It was the only way to explain why she appeared like magic right before his eyes. She was a mirage, a damn convincing one at that. The closer he got the more real she became. But it couldn't actually be her. Could it? What were the odds? "Angela?" Was he really this lucky? Or unlucky?
"You're upsetting my dog so could you leave-" Wait a minute. "-Shawn?" She removed her sunglasses and put them on top of her head.
"Y-yeah." He exhaled slowly. Hardwired actions like breathing seemed to take a conscious effort now. "You look beautiful," he blurted out. Only Angela, after all these years, was capable of reducing him to a babbling idiot. Even now standing before him in denim cutoffs, a green tank top, and without an ounce of makeup on her face she was still the most stunning woman he'd ever seen. "I mean….hi."
"Thank you. And hello." She offered him a small smile but didn't move from her spot on the blanket. "What are you doing here of all places?"
"Working. I was supposed to go home today but my plane was overbooked and I got bumped. I can't get another flight until tomorrow at the earliest and with it being Comic-Con weekend my hotel room is already gone. So I thought I'd kill time and take photos of the lesser known sights, things only locals know about."
"You're not publishing pictures of this beach are you?"
"I was thinking about it."
"Don't you dare! It's an oasis in the middle of bustling tourist traps. We don't need that ruined."
He found himself agreeing immediately. "Okay." If she needed a relaxing place he'd do what he could to preserve that for her.
"Mama!"
Shawn watched two small children wrap themselves around her legs. They coated her in sand and who knows what else. The Angela he knew would've been grossed out and needed to clean up immediately. But this Angela didn't even react. She crouched down to pick up her daughter and rested her on her hip. "I guess you got around to having kids, huh?" It was, perhaps, the most stupid question he'd ever asked in his life.
"This is Zora and Julius. How old are you guys, huh? Zora, how many are you?" The baby proudly held up one finger. "Right, you're that many. She's fourteen months old," she clarified. "Jude, how about you?"
"No!"
She chuckled. "Okay. He's two and a half."
"Julius was your dad's middle name, right?"
"Right," she confirmed with a smile, touched he remembered. "But we call him Jude."
"Wow, he even looks like your dad."
"Yeah, I know. I think dad would've gotten a big kick out of that. Guys, can you say hi to mama's very good friend, Shawn?" Her son hid behind her leg but Zora waved and offered a 'hi-hi.' "Jude's been going through a shy period lately."
"That's okay, buddy. Me, too." The moment he took a step forward, one of the dogs growled and moved between him and Angela's family. "Aah!" He stumbled back and fell.
"Nala, stop, it's okay." She ran a free hand across the top of the dog's head. "Sorry about that. She's protective of the kids, especially after everything that's happened lately." Angela reached into her pocket and pulled out a treat. "Just let her sniff your hand and give her one of these and you'll be fine."
He was skeptical, but did what she said. It worked. "What kind of dog is she?"
"Who knows- Nala's just a big shelter mutt. I think there's some shepherd in her, but that's just a guess."
Way back when- whenever they talked about their futures- they planned to rescue a shelter animal, one of the forgotten who needed love the most. At least one of them stuck to their plan. "What about the other guy…or girl?" He gestured to the dog wriggling around on the blanket.
Angela laughed before saying, "Oh, Marshmallow lives up to his name. You're more likely to be licked to death or crushed under the weight of his doggie hugs. He's a gentle giant who loves everyone and is afraid of his own shadow."
"Yeah…I hear that a lot about Rottweilers."
She arched her brow at his sarcastic tone. "Please don't tell me you buy into the breed stereotypes."
"I haven't been around dogs enough to know. I travel too much."
The silence that followed was awkward, not like the past. They used to be able to spend hours side by side, barely a word spoken between them. It was enough that they were together. That was what mattered. Words weren't necessary. The entire time he was with Katy he tried not to compare her to Angela, but this was one area where they significantly differed. Like him, Angela found solace in silence. She understood words didn't always need to be spoken to be said. Katy didn't get that. If anything she couldn't stand silence. She seemed to need every waking moment to be filled with noise. When she wasn't talking, she tried to wrangle him to be the audience for her goofy songs and random impressions. It drove him nuts and on more than one occasion he simply walked out of the apartment during one of her skits. He wasn't proud of those times, but they happened. He was snapped out of his musings when one of Angela's children cried for her attention and he realized she was staring at him, weary and growing impatient. He thought they would always have their quiet bond, but the longer the silence stretched on the heavier it became. He found himself hoping they were just out of practice. "How have you been?"
Angela wanted to scream. It was bad enough Shawn kept staring at her, trying to assess her feelings, but then when he does finally speak he asks one of the question she's grown to hate the most? "You know, one day at a time. That's what everyone says, right?" She shrugged. "The kids keep me pretty busy."
A frown marred his features. What was she talking about? "Is your husband around?" He immediately kicked himself for asking. Shawn wasn't interested in knowing anything about her husband. In fact, he'd be happy to pretend the guy didn't exist, but he also wanted to ease the awkwardness. So he chose to extend an olive branch. He'd address the elephant in the room head on. "It-it might be nice to me-meet him." If this didn't prove that Shawn Hunter could experience personal growth nothing would.
"Is that supposed to be funny?"
"What are you-"
"Why would you want to hurt me like that- and in front of my children? What's the matter with you?" She shoved her sunglasses down over her eyes, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of her tears. "What's next? Are you going to ask if my dad could join us, too?"
He brought his hands to his face, more confused by the minute. "But your dad is-" He suddenly realized what she meant. "So your husband-"
"About two months ago. It was an accident, a training exercise gone wrong."
"Oh, god, Angela, I'm so sorry. I-I didn't know." And here he was just a few seconds ago wishing the guy didn't exist. Now he really didn't. "I'm sorry."
"Don't worry about it," she said, clearing her throat before continuing. "I should've known you wouldn't be that mean. You're a lot of things, Shawn, but you've never been cruel. I guess the thing about grief is that it isn't always rational. I'm sorry for biting your head off."
He shook his head. "You have nothing to apologize for."
"Come on kids, time to put the toys away." She sank back to the sand and crammed their belongings into the backpack as quickly as possible, to hell with organization. All Angela wanted to do right now was go home. "I am surprised Cory and Topanga didn't mention something when they dropped their thoroughly generic condolence card in the mail." They had let Hallmark handle all of the sentiment and scrawled out a simple, 'Sincerely, Cory and Topanga.'
Shawn took a few steps back, surprised at the bite in her words. Angela was the one who moved away years ago and drifted apart from him and her friends. What did she have to be bitter about in that regard? Those were her choices. "No, they didn't say a word." If she heard, she didn't acknowledge him. She was preoccupied helping the kids put away their beach mess and singing a song about cleaning up. Jude quietly sang along with her and Zora yelled out about every third word. It was cute, even if he never pegged her as the mom who led singalongs. "Is there something I can do? Do you need any-"
"No, we're fine. This situation sucks, but we're doing what we can to make it through each day. We have family and friends. We have a good support system." She secured the leashes to the dogs. "If you don't mind, I need to get Jude and Zora home. It's past lunchtime. They need to eat and so do I. They're going to get cranky soon."
"Right." Shawn was awed when she, in quick succession: put the backpack on, held a leash in each hand, and lifted the kids so there was one on each hip. It was the most impressive multitask he'd ever witnessed. He sobered slightly when he remembered why it was she needed to handle this all by herself. "Still, if you ever need anything…"
"Thanks, but we're okay."
"Oh. Great." He wanted to memorize every detail just in case this was the last time he was fortunate enough to be in her presence. If only she wasn't wearing those sunglasses.
"Shawn?"
He jumped. "Yeah?"
"Could you get Jude's toy," she asked, nodding towards his feet. "He dropped it."
He picked up the stuffed snow leopard and dusted off the sand. "Here you go. Good as new."
"Jude, what do you say," Angela prompted. He shook his head. "Shawn saved Mr. Spotty from the sand. Can you tell him thank you?"
Shawn saw the boy's mouth move and assumed his thanks was lost amongst the wind and waves. "You're welcome, Jude."
"It was nice seeing you again," she said after a few beats of silence.
"Actually, do you mind if I walk with you? I'm about to head out, too. I'll walk you to your car."
"Sure, if you want to…I guess."
They trudged quietly up the beach, the only sounds coming from the children. It was another one of those silences he used to find comforting, but was now awkward. Angela had a family now. She had a life. And he knew absolutely nothing about it. When he saw her a few years ago he knew she and her husband were thinking about having a baby but he wasn't aware that she now had two children. Well, that was half right. He knew about her son. Seeing Jude's birth announcement was the straw that broke the camel's back so to speak and sent him out to a jewelry store to buy Katy's engagement ring in an effort to prove just how over Angela and ready to move on he really was. He had second thoughts, but by then Cory and Topanga were whispering in his ear and telling him how perfect things with Katy were and how it seemed like fate. And, well, who knew him better than Cory and Topanga?
"Well, here we are," Angela said, as she stopped alongside a blue SUV. "Crap."
"Bad word, mama," Jude scolded with a finger in her face. "No say it."
She smiled. He had no problems speaking around strangers now. "I know. Mama made a mistake. I'm sorry."
"You get forgiveness."
"Thank you, baby."
"What's wrong?"
"I left the key in the backpack. Could you get it for me and hit the button to unlock the car? It should be in the front pocket."
Within seconds he had the keyless key in his hand. "Okay, unlocked. Anything else?"
"Hit the bottom button to open the back so I can get the dogs in. I can take it from there." It took a few minutes, but she got the dogs loaded into the back and the kids situated in their car seats. "Thanks for the assist."
"Hey, all I did was hit a couple buttons." How did he say goodbye to her yet again? A hug felt wrong. It went against all of his instincts that would typically scream to hold onto Angela and never let her go. Though he could feel her loneliness and pain, her body language did not read like someone who would welcome a hug, even from him. He took a smaller gamble and reached for her hand instead. She didn't immediately pull away, which he took as a good sign. "It was nice seeing you again."
"You, too."
"Take care of yourself…and the kids. And if you ever need anything, please just let me-"
She smiled at him. "I know. Thanks, Shawn. I appreciate that." She squeezed his hand lightly before pulling away. "You take care, too." Angela was about to get into her car when something stopped her, she remembered an earlier piece of their conversation. "Hey, Shawn?"
"Yeah?"
"I'm guessing with all the chaos of being bumped from your flight you didn't eat lunch, right?"
"No, not yet."
"I'm not promising a gourmet meal. In fact, I might only have Lunchables, Spaghettios, and yogurt and applesauce you eat out of tubes, but it's edible. Oh, and juice boxes and goldfish crackers. I'm up to my ass in those."
"Hey, have you had airplane food lately? Lunchables and applesauce would be a step up," he joked. "And I'll never turn down a juice box."
"Let me see your phone." He handed it over without question. "You can follow me in your car, but just in case we get separated I'll put in my address." She gave it back to him. "I don't live far. You can actually see the ocean from my kitchen."
"Nice."
Angela smiled at him before hopping into her car and starting the ignition. For a moment Shawn was frozen. She still looked exactly the same and if he ignored the kids, the dogs, and the diamond rings on her finger it would be so easy to imagine that this was their normal- meeting up between jobs to see each other whenever they could.
He nearly jumped out of his skin when his phone rang. The caller id said it was Cory and he briefly thought about not answering. However, he knew that would only mean fifty more times of Cory calling until he confirmed his friend was okay. "Hey, Cor."
"Hi, Shawnie. I just saw your text. Sorry about your flight. What are you going to do until tomorrow?"
"I'll find some way to kill time," he said, walking to his car. "San Diego is a big city."
"Don't get into any trouble."
"What do I do if trouble finds me?"
"Huh? Shawnie what are you talking about? That was a joke. Please don't make me have to wire you bail money."
He sighed into the phone. "I'm kidding, Cory. I'm only kidding. I'll call you later, okay? I'm going to go get some lunch."
"Let me know if you get an earlier flight."
"I will. Hey, Cor?"
"Yeah?"
"How's Maya?" The girl was staying with Cory and Topanga for a bit while Katy was in Vancouver auditioning for bit parts in independent movies. He didn't agree with it, but as he heard over and over again, they were no longer his concern.
"She's doing okay. Between hanging out with Riley and helping Topanga in the coffee shop we're keeping her busy."
"Good. Has she asked about me?"
"No and if Topanga and I mention your name we get death stares from her and Riley and they leave the room."
"Right."
"Just give it time."
"Yeah…so, I'll call you later."
"Talk to you later. And remember, nothing stupid."
"We'll see." Shawn put in phone in the center console and followed Angela's car out of the parking lot. He was about to enter her world, whether he was ready or not.
Next chapter: Shawn and Angela's break up and Shawn's divorce.