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Isobel let out a small sigh of relief as she opened her front door, the warmth of her home chasing away the cold as she stepped inside. Glancing down at the boot tray she sighed fondly, Maggie had just kicked off her boots haphazardly again and they were partially crooked and knocked over. Bending down she rearanged the pair, using the edge of her coat to gently dust off any bits of dirt and debris that remained along the toe before setting them back down.
Straightening up she carefully hung up her coat, careful not to hit her head as she placed it along the wall on its hook. Directly under the little nameplate Maggie had made for her. It seemed small but the little piece of intricately engraved metal never failed to smile. Her gaze fell upon the small collection of pictures that were hung up. The vast majority of them had been taken by Maggie across the years, going all the way to shortly after Claire had been born.
The first moment Isobel was able to properly hold her in her arms, cradling her close to her chest was encased in a rich cherry wood, beside it were numerous others including one of the happiest days of her life. Her wedding. Claire’s presence had already made the brownstone feel less lonely, but Maggie joining their little duo had finally turned a house into a home, making her feel complete. The beaming smiles in the pictures greeted her every time she walked through the door, reminding her that no matter what the job threw at her, no matter how shitty her day had gone, she’d always have her family to remind her how much she was loved and cared for.
A concept that had seemed completely out of her reach, or at least romantically until Maggie had waltzed into her life six years ago.
From that point onward everything had gone up for her, she started going to work happy, even if it was just excitement to see Maggie in the morning. Not long after that Claire had met her, and Maggie had instantly taken a piece of her heart, as if she hadn’t already gotten it after siding with her against Congresswoman Caldwell. From the first moment Claire had come running to her after being watched by Maggie while she was in a meeting, chattering off about how awesome she was, she’d known that Maggie had her heart; hook, line, and sinker.
Over the next few months they had grown closer, spending more time together. When she had stayed behind with a bomb, the look of pure terror on Maggie’s face had nearly cleaved her in two, it was that moment she knew she was the one. That night she had editted her will so that if anything unexpected happened to her, Claire would be entrusted with Maggie as her guardian and all of her assets would be Claire’s once she turned 18. It was the very morning after that Maggie had been waiting for her in her office, practically begging her never to do such a thing again and that she didn’t want to, that she couldn’t live in a world without her.
They’d been happily together for four years come the spring she thought to herself, placing her purse on a small glass table in the corner. She brushed her hands along the heart-shaped leaves of her golden pothos, a gift from Maggie. It was the only plant she could keep alive, Maggie somehow even managing to kill a cactus, a feat Isobel had never known was possible. But then again she had always known Maggie was full of surprises.
Her wedding band was proof of that, a small trio of diamonds surrounded by tiny pieces of moonstone and peridot with their wedding date inscribed on the inside. A reminder that it would always be the three of them against the world, a fact that was near and dear to her. The not-so-gentle sound of feet pounding down the stairs pulled her out of her reverie and she turned just in time to catch Claire in a tight hug, lifting her up and twirling her for a moment before holding her close.
It was starting to get harder to pick her up but she wouldn’t trade it for the world. Moments like this were the ones she thought of when things started to go poorly, proof that it was the small moments that seemed like nothing were in fact everything. Setting Claire back down, she pressed a kiss into her hair, brushing strands of hair out of her face.
“How was school today, mi angelita?” Isobel asked, shedding her blazer as she stepped into the kitchen.
“It was good!” Claire answered, hopping up to her step stool as Isobel pulled out of one her cookbooks, absentmindedly flipping through it. “We’re learning about polygons and angles.”
“That sounds fun,” Isobel smiled, choosing a random number off the top of her head as she set out a recipe for later. “What’s a polygon with twelve sides called?”
“A dodecagon, it kinda looks like a clock” Claire grinned, her eyes beaming and Isobel couldn’t help but smile too. “And there’s a bunch of angles in them too!”
“It seems to me that you learned a lot today, mija,” Isobel commented, leaning against the kitchen island to face her.
“I did!” Claire exclaimed, a happy smile on her face, she tilted her head as she looked at her mother. “Can I ask a question?”
“Of course, mija. ¿Qué pasa?” Isobel’s brows furrowed slightly with concern. She hoped Claire wasn’t getting harassed by the same kids as before, dealing with the school administration had been tiresome enough the first time. Let alone trying to find the best advice she could to help Claire deal with the situation when she hadn’t experienced anything in her own childhood to pull reference from. At least Claire had a small group of friends from the High School that kept her company, despite being much older than her they treated her with as much care and respect as teenagers were able to. Which she’d been pleased to find out was quite a lot.
“Who was your first love?” Claire asked, waiting for an answer intently.
“You.”
Claire laughed, and Isobel couldn’t help but laugh a little too. Claire’s laugh had always been infectious, something that could brighten up the darkest of days when things were tough and even years later it remained true. “¿Qué es tan gracioso, mija?”
“I meant romantic love, Mamá.” Claire clarified.
Isobel fell silent, thinking it over. She’d been in numerous relationships over the years, been with more people than she could probably count, trying to find some shred of affection that she’d never really gotten as a child. But not a single one of them had the spark that Maggie gave her when the two of them were together. It was an incredible feeling, one that she wasn’t sure she’d ever be albe to describe. It made her feel alive in ways she hadn’t known were possible, or even obtainable.
“Maggie. Maggie was my first love, romantically at least,” Isobel stated. “Speaking of Maggie, where is she?”
“Taking a nap,” Claire answered, making her way to the entryway of the kitchen, taking a peak towards the lounge. “She got exhausted after helping me with my homework.”
Isobel strode over, looking around the edge and stifled a laugh. Maggie was out cold on the couch, head propped up by the armrest and a pillow, half on-half off the couch, mouth wide open in a silent snore. It was a funny sight to see, and a not that uncommon one when she’d get stuck at 26 Fed due to meetings and bureaucratic bullshit. She understood the tiredness, their current case hadn’t been easy so far and Maggie had been running up and down the city all day, barely having ten minutes of rest before clocking out.
Claire at her side, she quietly walked in, brushing a stray hair off of Maggie’s forehead and pulling another away from her mouth. She didn’t stirr and she let out a loving sigh, she was surrounded by heavy sleepers when she herself wasn’t, not that she minded. It was always nice to have half-awake cuddles at differing times of day or night. She made her way to her armchair just across from the couch, settling into the plush furniture. Claire hopped up into her lap, leaning against her mother’s shoulder, comforted by her presence.
“You two are the best things that happened to me,” Isobel breathed, a content smile on her face as she slowly carded her fingers through Claire’s hair, her gaze resting on Maggie’s slowly rising and falling chest, still hanging off the couch in a way that seemed to defy every law of physics.
She truly was lucky, and she had no clue what she had done to get a second chance at happiness after coming to the conclusion that she was never destined for it.
Whatever she had done, she was glad she did it.