[ Claire wished she could drag Leon out for some time together, but if it wasn't in the cards, it wasn't in the cards. At least Sherry didn't seem too broken up about the idea that they may not be able to get ahold of him, but hopefully they'd catch him.
Focused on the road she almost doesn't hear Sherry's question, but she lets out a small laugh. ]
We're doing it. All I want is to get to spend time with you, sweetie.
[ All she's ever wanted is someone to want to spend time with her. Hearing Claire say it so easily has her wishing she never had to go back to Simmons.
Sherry closes her eyes, arms staying tight around Claire, hoping she can hold on just as tightly to the moment. ]
The whole weekend! [ It sounds like an excited cheer more than anything. What a good surprise. ]
[ If Claire had her way Sherry never would go back to Simmons. It was of course an uphill battle, courts don't just grant custodianship of a little girl to a woman barely out of her teen years, especially since they aren't even biologically related. So while she works to get herself into a better position by finishing school and showing that she can be a positive steady role model, she'll take any extra time she can get.
She smiles at the excited cheer, but keeps her focus on the road ahead of them. In a few minutes she pulls into the lot of a mini mall strip where a beauty shop sits on the corner along with a video store. She kicks down the kickstand after parking and kills the engine. ]
[ She lets go of Claire and squirms down the bike. When both her shoes hit the ground she grins. Hands curl around the straps of her backpack. Blue eyes scan over the shops. ]
I've never done something like this before. [ Her mom was always too busy to do silly little things like this. She wriggles slightly, the clacking of nailpolish sounding in her backpack with the movement. Idly she wonders if she packed enough clothes for a weekend. She'll make it work.
She waits for Claire to get off the bike before she reaches out for her hand. It's almost second nature now to hold onto Claire and Leon's hands. Simmons is never as keen, but it's a comfort thing for Sherry. ]
[ Claire hangs her helmet on the handlebars and takes Sherry's to hang it as well, then sticks her keys in her pocket and opens the seat compartment to pull out her purse. When she's set she reaches for Sherry's hand as the girl is reaching for hers, just as comforted by the little girl's hand in hers. ]
Well, let's go nuts, then. Anything that looks like fun, okay? And you can pick out shampoo and stuff too, so you have your own things for when you stay at my place.
[ Sherry squeezes Claire's hand, excited by the prospect of staying over at her place more often. Simmons doesn't really keep her wanting for much, but it always feels oddly detached when he buys her stuff she needs. Sherry writes it off as him not really knowing her well. ]
Anything fun?
[ Fun is getting to spend time with Claire. She follows the older woman's pace, despite her excitement. Her head tips up and she offers Claire a toothy grin. ]
Does this mean we're going to get to see each other more often?
[ Claire opens the door to the store, grabbing a basket to the left of the door and nodding her head at Sherry's question. ]
Well, that's the goal, yeah. I've got the apartment set up, and if this weekend goes well we're talking more time.
[ She was hopeful to get something closer to full custody of Sherry. She knows that isn't likely to happen any time soon, but Simmons isn't a real parent to Sherry, and she knows it. She doesn't care if it says on paper that he's her legal guardian, as long as she can keep Sherry safe in her home. ]
[ The information is new to her; Simmons has never really made an attempt to keep her from hanging out with Claire but he has never really encouraged it either. The amount of times she asks him about Claire is probably in the upper hundreds by now. Her gaze travels around the store - clearly in thought. ]
Is there any reason the weekend wouldn't go well?
[ Sherry isn't quite sure what that means, but her scale is a little unreasonable considering she considers undead monsters as worst case scenario. As long as there's no monsters or nurse visits with blood draws, she can't imagine anything going wrong. ]
[ Claire doesn't voice the potential reasons the weekend could NOT go well, but it mostly had to do with her taking Sherry and fleeing the country. They dress it up like concern for her well-being but it was more like they didn't want their most prolific source of G escaping their grasp. Instead she plasters on a smile and shakes her head. ]
Nope. We just gotta take it slow, because they think I'm pretty young to have responsibility of a kid.
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Focused on the road she almost doesn't hear Sherry's question, but she lets out a small laugh. ]
We're doing it. All I want is to get to spend time with you, sweetie.
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Sherry closes her eyes, arms staying tight around Claire, hoping she can hold on just as tightly to the moment. ]
The whole weekend! [ It sounds like an excited cheer more than anything. What a good surprise. ]
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She smiles at the excited cheer, but keeps her focus on the road ahead of them. In a few minutes she pulls into the lot of a mini mall strip where a beauty shop sits on the corner along with a video store. She kicks down the kickstand after parking and kills the engine. ]
Okay here we are, first stop!
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I've never done something like this before. [ Her mom was always too busy to do silly little things like this. She wriggles slightly, the clacking of nailpolish sounding in her backpack with the movement. Idly she wonders if she packed enough clothes for a weekend. She'll make it work.
She waits for Claire to get off the bike before she reaches out for her hand. It's almost second nature now to hold onto Claire and Leon's hands. Simmons is never as keen, but it's a comfort thing for Sherry. ]
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Well, let's go nuts, then. Anything that looks like fun, okay? And you can pick out shampoo and stuff too, so you have your own things for when you stay at my place.
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Anything fun?
[ Fun is getting to spend time with Claire. She follows the older woman's pace, despite her excitement. Her head tips up and she offers Claire a toothy grin. ]
Does this mean we're going to get to see each other more often?
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Well, that's the goal, yeah. I've got the apartment set up, and if this weekend goes well we're talking more time.
[ She was hopeful to get something closer to full custody of Sherry. She knows that isn't likely to happen any time soon, but Simmons isn't a real parent to Sherry, and she knows it. She doesn't care if it says on paper that he's her legal guardian, as long as she can keep Sherry safe in her home. ]
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Is there any reason the weekend wouldn't go well?
[ Sherry isn't quite sure what that means, but her scale is a little unreasonable considering she considers undead monsters as worst case scenario. As long as there's no monsters or nurse visits with blood draws, she can't imagine anything going wrong. ]
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Nope. We just gotta take it slow, because they think I'm pretty young to have responsibility of a kid.