The Fast Times

Rae was picking up toys when Nancy and Pete entered the apartment. She had stuffed animals under her arm, "Hey, Holly's asleep."

"What's with the stuffed animals?" Pete asked.

"Holly played Cinderella," Nancy explained, "the animals are the party guest."

Rae giggled, "Yep. She just hit the hay. Andy's coming, we're gonna go look at this place in Arlington Heights. I'll be back tonight."

"Be safe," Nancy told her.

Nancy and Rae hugged before she left, placing the stuffed animals on the couch. As the door shut behind Rae, Pete exhaled, "I'm surprised she didn't threaten me."

"Rae isn't as mean as you think she is."

"She's only mean to me," Pete mumbled.

Nancy laughed softly, leading the way to her bedroom. Inside, Holliday was curled up at the head of the bed, holding both her brown teddy bear Prince Charming and her brand new Panda given to her by Dale; she had yet to name him. Pete went over and sat beside Holliday, his hand petting her arm, "Hey, baby girl."

Nancy smiled and sat at the edge, watching Pete coax Holliday up. Holliday whined softly, "'m sleepy."

Pete chuckled and kissed her head, "Okay. When you wake up, I'll be waitin'."

Holliday peeked her tired and heavy eyes open, "'Kay, daddy."

Pete rubbed her back and got up; Holliday quickly fell back asleep. Nancy got up too, "You can hang with me in the living room. We can talk about a schedule with Holly."

Pete agreed, following her, closing the door behind them. As Pete sat on the couch, Nancy asked if he wanted a drink; "Sure."

"All we have right now are Capri Suns."

Pete couldn't help but to smile, "Sounds good to me."

Nancy went to the kitchen, grabbing a Capri Sun for Pete, and the calendar from the fridge, marked and dated with her work schedule and who Holliday was going to be watched by; and then returned, handing it to him. She sat beside him, setting the calendar in her lap.

"So, these are the days I work and my times...I'm not sure if I'll continue to work at Starbucks," Nancy murmured.

Pete opened the pouch and downed some before speaking, "Shit, you work a lot," his eyes scanned the calendar of times.

"I barely get weekends off," she added.

"Why though? I mean, why not just find a good paying job?" Pete asked.

"Because I can't, even office jobs have me working insane hours, I tried it the first few months Holly was born. I was gone nearly 18 hours a day and I had no one to watch Holly, so I opted to take 2 jobs that weren't so demanding and that were close to home. I save money 'nd I make sure to take Holly out to do something together at least 3 times a month."

"Like what?"

"We go to Navy Pier, or the museum, or the movies. Sometimes she likes to go shopping for stuff for the house or grocery shopping."

"Oh," Pete mumbled. "I'm really, really sorry, Cy."

"It's okay, Pete. The rough parts are over, you're here now and things will be easier," Nancy smiled faintly. "Now, I don't want Holly to just disappear from my friends' lives because you're back, they love her just as much as you do, so sometimes, I'd like Patrick and Sabrina to babysit -if they want; Rae and Andy too."

"I can deal with that," Pete answered.

"I think I'll stay here, in Chicago, when Rae and Andy leave..." She sighed softly, "I'm gonna look for another job that can coincide with school. We have to start looking for pre-schools for next year, but that can wait."

Pete took the calendar in his hands, looking it over, "I can keep her overnight on Thursdays and Fridays while you work the night shifts. The rest of the week I can pick her up in the morning before you go to work, I can drop you off, too."

"Thanks," Nancy said, "I can use a break from the subway."

"No problem. This'll work out. Weekends...we can alternate, you know? I can keep her this weekend coming up, from Thursday night till Sunday night."

"That sounds good to me," Nancy agreed. "Is Crystal okay with all of this?" She asked meekly.

Pete didn't want to tell Nancy about the things Crystal made him promise; "Yeah, she knows Holly comes first."

"Good. I don't wanna give her the wrong impression."

"Like what?" He asked curiously.

Nancy bit her bottom lip, "That I still have feelings for you."

"Do you?" He couldn't help but to ask.

Nancy blushed and looked down, "Not...not like I used to," she mumbled, "I still have love for you and I don't regret the time we spent together."

Pete wanted to tell her he thought about her all the time. He thought about her kisses and touches, he wanted to relive it. But, the promise he made to Crystal floated into his mind.

"Yeah, me either," he said instead.

The silence between them grew awkward. Nancy didn't know what to say, and there was so much Pete wanted to, but didn't want to turn her off. He wanted to tell her how much he still loved her and how much he wanted to kiss her.

"You're beautiful," he said softly, "more than I had remembered..."

Nancy looked over at him, "Why are you saying that?"

"Because it's all in my head and I've been wanting to tell you...I shouldn't have let you go."

"It was for the better," Nancy said quickly, wanting to change the subject. "You're gonna be a lawyer, right?"

Pete felt like he was fleeting, but answered, "Yeah, I am. My dad's gonna give me a job when I graduate."

"That's awesome," Nancy replied softly, "I'm happy for you."

"Thanks," he said softly, "and, uh, you know if you need anything -not just Holly, you can come to me. I'll help with anything."

Nancy smiled, "Thank you, Pete, but I think I can handle myself. I appreciate the offer."

Pete hummed, catching her eyes; the pair bore at each other for a few seconds before Pete's head went fuzzy and he leant forward. Nancy too became unaware of the strong attraction between them, but didn't stop herself from moving forward. Pete's lips met her's first, kissing her gently.

They didn't register what they were doing before Pete placed his hand on the outside of her thigh and tried to deepen the kiss. Nancy felt like she had been knocked off her feet, but quickly came to her senses, flattening her palm against Pete's chest, pushing him back as gently as he had kissed her. Their lips made an audible smack as they parted; Pete sighed frustratedly, becoming sober almost immediately.

"Sorry," the words fell from his mouth soft and flat.

Nancy exhaled, "We can't...we shouldn't. You have a girlfriend..." The words were flat just as his apology was.

"Can I be honest with you?" Pete asked quickly, feeling frantic.

Nancy gave a nod, "Always."

"I love you," he confessed, "I know it sounds...sounds dumb and rushed, but I am being honest, Cy. I love you."

Nancy only stared at him, unsure of how to respond. The only intelligible thing that formed was: "Oh, Pete..."

"Look, you don't feel the same, I get it--"

Nancy stopped him, "Pete...I love you too, it's just...you and me won't work out, especially since you're with Crystal, and she's a sweet girl. She doesn't deserve to be in the dark--to be cheated on."

Pete agreed, his head nodding slowly, "Yeah..."

"Don't...leave her just because you think being with me will work. All I want from you is to be happy and to love Holly. Whatever happens between me and you will happen if it's willing...we can't force it."

Pete knew what Nancy was saying was true. He couldn't help but to kiss her again, quicker this time, and then cup her cheek. Nancy smiled, again, just barely; "I'm not forcing anything, Cy."

"Well, don't do anything stupid," she retorted. "I'm not looking to get into a relationship, even if it's for the sake of our daughter. We need to be friends first, something we didn't do well enough 4 years ago."

Pete dropped his hand and nodded again, "Yeah, okay."

Nancy kissed his cheek, "You're a sweetheart. I'll wake Holly up, feed her and then you can take her."

Pete licked his lips and watched Nancy head off towards her bedroom. He frowned deeply once she disappeared, hating himself for being so forward.


Pete was thinking deeply as he drove home with Holliday; he wanted so badly to make things work with Nancy. Even though he promised so much to Crystal, he knew it wouldn't last. He didn't want it to for his own selfish reasons. He knew the next time he saw her he would break up with her, and he was not looking forward to it. Pete just had to remember to try and not involve Nancy; she was just a bit part, the larger part was the fact that he wasn't attracted to Crystal and he was using her -something he felt terrible about.

As he got home, he helped Holliday out the car and grabbed her small bag while she held her purse and her stuffed teddy bear, Prince Charming. Pete called to her, "Take my hand," he said; Holliday placed her small hand in his, "there's someone I want you to meet, okay?"

"Who?" Holliday asked curiously.

"My dad, your grandpa," Pete smiled, letting all of his dilemmas fall away, "his name is Peter and he's excited to finally meet you."

Holliday hummed animatedly as she followed Pete's lead into the house. He let her hand go to shut the door and let Holliday skip past the hallway and into the living room. She waved to Andrew, who was playing video games with his friends, "Is dat Mario Kart?"

Andrew nodded, "Yeah, you played before?"

"Uh-huh! My Aun'ie Rae le's me play," she said.

"You can play soon," Pete set her bag down and then picked her up, "right now, we're gonna meet grandpa. Where is he, Andrew?"

Andrew pointed towards the dining room leading to Peter's office, "His office. Mom just left."

"We'll be back," Pete headed towards the dining room, carrying Holliday the entire length.

He got to his father's office and knocked, "Dad?"

"Come in," Peter relayed as he continued to speak on the phone.

The office was dim, Holliday held onto Prince Charming by his paw and looked around. Peter hadn't looked over, he was in a heated conversation; Pete shifted, closing the door behind him and hiking Holliday up on his hip.

"...I gotta go--yeah, yeah...bye," Peter hung up with a deep sigh; "Jesus Christ--" he stopped when his eyes fell on the little girl in Pete's arms. He grinned as he stood, "Hello."

Pete smiled back; Holliday tilted her head a little, wrapping her arm around her daddy's neck while looking at her grandfather; "Holly, this is your grandpa Peter, say hi."

Holliday hugged her teddy bear with one arm, "Hi," she spoke shyly.

Peter came around his desk, turning up the light dimmer to brighten the room, "Hi sweetie. It's nice to meet you."

Holliday buried her face in Pete's shoulder as Peter came closer. His smile fell, but Pete shook his head quickly, "She's shy, dad. She did the same when she met mom...I think she likes to make the first move."

Peter stepped back, "Oh...okay."

Pete patted Holliday's back, "See, grandpa isn't scary. Wanna play and talk to him, Holly?"

Holliday looked up, looking at Pete, "He nice?"

Pete smiled, "Yeah, baby, he's nice."

Peter waited patiently, gazing her movements. Holliday looked at Peter, "Hi...'m Holly."

Peter continued to smile, "Hi honey. It's nice to meet you. You wanna play...and color?"

Holliday smiled now, "Yeah! I draw good," her demeanor flipped like Peter had said magic words. "Daddy, I wan' be down!"

Pete laughed as he set Holliday down, she wiggled in his embrace and then stood in front of Peter; "Dis is my bear Prince Charmin'. My mommy buyed him for me when I was a baby."

Peter felt sad then, deep and heavy regret that Nancy often felt; "That's a nice bear, Holly. Is he your best friend?"

Holliday giggled, "No, silly! Mommy is my best friend! You c'n be my friend too! Only if ya nice."

Peter nodded, "I think I'm nice," he chuckled.

Holliday held out her hand for him to take, "We can play, I think ya nice."

Peter's heart nearly melted; "Okay, Holly."

Pete smiled as Holliday led his father out of the room; he was glad that this meeting went so smoothly. He let out a small relieved sigh and followed behind them.