Welcome To Remeber;;IVY

[TEMPERANCEjohannaLOCKE]

^{Today is a winding road
Thats taking me to places that I didnt want to go,} whoa

Today in the blink of an eye
^{Im holding on to something and I do not know why I tried}

^{Temperance had just gotten to New York City and was unpacking in her "uncle's" apartment. He was really her mother's best friend, and he lived in Italy so he let Temp take over the apartment free of charge. It was even better because her cousin was in the city, and she needed family at the moment. Though she did know Ivy didn't know a thing and she didn't know if she should tell her or not. Still she took out her phone and texted her cousin, saying she was in NYC and staying and gave her the address. She didn't expect her to come over right then, but she expected to see her soon. They hadn't seen each other in a couple years.}

[IVORYmercedesSMITHSONIAN]

I resolve to call her up a thousand times a day
And ask her if she'll marry me in some old fashioned way
BUT MY SILENT TEARS HAVE GRIPPED ME!!

Long before I reach the phone, long before my tongue has tripped me
MUST I ALWAYS BE ALONE??

Ivy was alone at the moment, she was out of a job now that she was starting to short, almost a month along. She was still amazed that Robbie was really here, that he'd stayed, that he was commiting to something. But that also meant he had to work, and work hard for them. And that let her alone and bored when her cousin texted her.

Temperance.

They hadn't seen each other in a few years. They were decently close cousins, but she'd been so busy she'd lost touch with a lot of people. So despite her growing efforts to hide her growing baby bump, she decided she'd go see her cousin and her friend. She put on an old pair of early materinity jeans and threw on a shirt.

Then she was out the door and on her way over. She was lucky and didn't meet anyone she knew, but now she was ready to spill the beans on pregnancy. It was starting to show a bit obviously, sort of quick for a sort amount of time.

Ivy buzzed the apartment from the door. "Tempy. It's me." She said into the attached intercom.

[TEMPERANCEjohannaLOCKE]

^{Today is a winding road
Thats taking me to places that I didnt want to go,} whoa

Today in the blink of an eye
^{Im holding on to something and I do not know why I tried}

^{Temp was a little shocked when she heard Ivy's voice, so much that she jumped a little. She walked over to the wall and pushed the little button to talk back to her.
"I didn't expect you so soon. Why are you here so soon? I like just sent that text message. Things are a mess right now and I smell like ginger ale and pringles." She said, starting to ramble and rant like usual.
"Oh, you probably don't want to stand in the heat. Right, sorry," she said and buzzed her in quickly.}

[IVORYmercedesSMITHSONIAN]

I resolve to call her up a thousand times a day
And ask her if she'll marry me in some old fashioned way
BUT MY SILENT TEARS HAVE GRIPPED ME!!

Long before I reach the phone, long before my tongue has tripped me
MUST I ALWAYS BE ALONE??

outfit: shirt, jeans

Ivy laughed a little. "I don't care what you smell like." She would explain why she was there so soon when she got up there. Because suddenly saying 'well you'd be here quickly too if you were home preggers without anything to do' wouldn't be a good idea.

But Tempy was right about the heat. It was a little bit annoying, especially since Ivy had walked over--which was a dumb idea. She got tired more easily these days.

When the door opened Ivy walked into the hall and then found her cousin's room, knocking on the door.

[TEMPERANCEjohannaLOCKE]

^{Today is a winding road
Thats taking me to places that I didnt want to go,} whoa

Today in the blink of an eye
^{Im holding on to something and I do not know why I tried}

<sup>"Are you knocking? Since when did you start knocking? You never use to knock. You use to just walk in, I remember cause you walked in on..." Temp started as she opened the door and then froze when she saw Ivy. She wasn't exactly sure how to feel about the matter. Ivy wasn't married as far as she knew. And Temp wasn't for the whole pre-marital sex thing and though she wouldn't say it aloud, she was a tad disappointed.

"Wow, wasn't expecting that," she said honestly and started unpacking again, leaving the door open for Ivy.</sup>

[IVORYmercedesSMITHSONIAN]

I resolve to call her up a thousand times a day
And ask her if she'll marry me in some old fashioned way
BUT MY SILENT TEARS HAVE GRIPPED ME!!

Long before I reach the phone, long before my tongue has tripped me
MUST I ALWAYS BE ALONE??

outfit: shirt, jeans

Ivy laughed again sand shook her head. Tempy was right, she never knocked much---if at all. She wasn't sure why she did it, maybe just because the baby was a big enough surprise. Ivy knew Tempy was sort of the wait-for-marriage type.

"This is the second time it's happened." Ivy said. the first kid she had was adopted, the child of a fling back when she was seventeen. Tempy really shouldn't have been so surprised. Ivy had lost her virginity at like 14. She was the sleep around type, or, she had been.

"I've been solidly with Robbie for a while." Tempy would probably remember Robbie, he was her constant partner--fuck buddy-- for years, just not actually a boyfriend until now. "We're keeping it." We. Ivy was still surprised that Robbie really came back to her, what with his fear of commitment and all.

[TEMPERANCEjohannaLOCKE]

^{Today is a winding road
Thats taking me to places that I didnt want to go,} whoa

Today in the blink of an eye
^{Im holding on to something and I do not know why I tried}

<sup>Temp stopped unpacking and turned to look at her cousin, trying not to be judgemental or look like the wheels in her head were turning. But she'd always been an awful liar and awful at keeping her mouth shut. Especially when it came to people she cared about.

"Mhm, okay," she said, her voice a tad higher than normal and then she bit her lip, trying hard to keep her mouth shut tight.</sup>

[IVORYmercedesSMITHSONIAN]

I resolve to call her up a thousand times a day
And ask her if she'll marry me in some old fashioned way
BUT MY SILENT TEARS HAVE GRIPPED ME!!

Long before I reach the phone, long before my tongue has tripped me
MUST I ALWAYS BE ALONE??

outfit: shirt, jeans

She looked at her cousin for a long time. "I know you don't approve. I've never had a life style you approved of. That's okay, you don't have to like it. Just giving you the facts." Ivy said. if there was one good thing about Ivy was that she was strong. Her cousins, friends, parents... not even Robbie (if he had wanted to) couldn't stop her from having this kid. She was newly twenty and it was her life. And she wanted to have this baby, because it was far too hard to let another one go. She still missed the kid she never knew. Her daughter would be two now. And Ivy wanted one of her own. Robbie wasn't the commitment type, but he was all she thought about when she though about the future.

So why was Tempy here anyway? Alone, unpacking in an unfamiliar apartment in an unfamiliar city. If she was coming to visit why wasn't she staying with Ivy's parents upstate? But Tempy probably wouldn't let the baby thing go so easily.

[TEMPERANCEjohannaLOCKE]

^{Today is a winding road
Thats taking me to places that I didnt want to go,} whoa

Today in the blink of an eye
^{Im holding on to something and I do not know why I tried}

<sup>"No, no, no, no, no, I'm not... well I am. I just... I'm proud that your having this thing... I mean baby. And taking responsibility and all, but I thought maybe you'd have grown up a little since the last time you got pregnant, not to say that you aren't a grown, I just mean that maybe instead of having sexual intercourse so much you'd wait until you were in a meaningful relationship, not that I'm judging your relationships or lifestyle; that's your choice and I have no right to judge you or tell you how to live your life, not that I'm trying to tell you how to live your life, I'm just trying to convey why I'm so shocked in this current situation and position." Temperance said, ranting and rambling. She didn't know what to say. Yea, she didn't approve but they led different lives. Temp preferred books and paint and canvases, Ivy preferred people and parties and fun. It was different lives, different people.

"You know I suck at talking. You just--you're a smart girl and have such a bright future. It's hard watching you make the same mistakes over and over again." She said and then bit her tongue. "That didn't come out right. The baby isn't a mistake, it's... he or she is an unplanned blessing, but are you gonna be ready for this? The average cost of raising a kid in $400,000. Plus, they cry so much and you're not gonna have time for that carefree lifestyle you love to live." She said with a lot of concern. They were family after all.</sup>

[IVORYmercedesSMITHSONIAN]

I resolve to call her up a thousand times a day
And ask her if she'll marry me in some old fashioned way
BUT MY SILENT TEARS HAVE GRIPPED ME!!

Long before I reach the phone, long before my tongue has tripped me
MUST I ALWAYS BE ALONE??

outfit: shirt, jeans

Ivy smiled a little. "I know its going to be hard, and not what I'm used to. But I can be responsible, and it was actually a child of love this time." She'd known Robbie for three years, and probably loved him for all of it. Sure they hadn't been officially, exclusively dating until maybe 6 months ago. But this was for real, he'd changed, she'd changed, and they could do this. And her parents were they to support her, they made quite a bit of money, not to mention what she had saved up from modeling.

"I'm not worried." Ivy was tough, often even tougher than she appeared. She didn't fluster that easily really, and she could take care of a kid, she wasn't heartless. She knew what Tempy was trying to say.

"I won't be alone this time, Robbie already elft once, and he came back of his own free will. I'm almost three years older now than the last time anyway." Three years was a long time.

[TEMPERANCEjohannaLOCKE]

^{Today is a winding road
Thats taking me to places that I didnt want to go,} whoa

Today in the blink of an eye
^{Im holding on to something and I do not know why I tried}

<sup>"Yea, but he left to begin with. People don't change Ivy. As much as it is in human nature to believe that people change, but they dont, they just act. I don't like him. I never liked him. He's not a good guy and you deserve better." Temp said with a nod of her head. Ivy had a big heart and deserved someone with an equally big heart. Temp contimplated whether Robbie had one.

"And if you aren't worried about having a kid you have yet to realize the implications of it all. New mothers are suppose to worry. You know, like how Mom went crazy before Veronica was born. You have to think about where you're gonna live, if that area has a good school system, if you have the resources to support a child, whether or not you're emotionally ready for a little tiny human needing you twenty-four-seven. It's a lot of work. Worrying is suppose to be there at so point. I'm worrying for you right now. That's my niece or nephew in their and she or he comes out with six toes I'm going to be extremely displeased." She said, freaking out for her cousin. She sat down and tried catch her breath. She was just not having a good month.</sup>

[IVORYmercedesSMITHSONIAN]

I resolve to call her up a thousand times a day
And ask her if she'll marry me in some old fashioned way
BUT MY SILENT TEARS HAVE GRIPPED ME!!

Long before I reach the phone, long before my tongue has tripped me
MUST I ALWAYS BE ALONE??

outfit: shirt, jeans

"Look, Tempy. I don't have to worry about those just yet. And for now I'm still in school and by the time I have to put my kid in school, I'll be out and can move wherever I need to go." She wasn't going to freak before she had to. And she was sure she was ready for this. She was smart, smarter than most people knew, and sure she'd made bad choices. But she'd never gotten an STD, never done drugs, hadn't become an alcoholic. So she'd gotten pregnant twice. It wasn't so bad when you thought about it. She was a model, a curvy one, no eating disorders. Ivy was pretty well put together, her faults aside.

"Look, I know he's a selfish, proud asshole, but he'd terrified of commitment, and he gave me a key to his place and he's here. Nothing tired Robbie to this city but me, and no people don't change. Robbie has been an absolute constant in my life. And it hasn't changed." Ha! She had a point. Even during and between her flings, she always had Robbie, they were always each other's favorite. And they had realized that was love.

[TEMPERANCEjohannaLOCKE]

^{Today is a winding road
Thats taking me to places that I didnt want to go,} whoa

Today in the blink of an eye
^{Im holding on to something and I do not know why I tried}

<sup>"Yea, he's also been a constant dolt, Ivory. A rose by any other name would still smell as sweet, and a jerk by any other name would still be a jerk. Your relationship with him was based on sex, suddenly its about love. I don't buy it. Not your half, I know you wouldn't lie, but I don't trust him and if he hurts you again, my dad worked for the government, I can ruin him with a single phone call." Temp said seriously, giving Ivy a stern look. As timid and quiet as she was, she was protective of the things she held close. She was sick of this guy and wasn't above making him disappear.

"Just be careful, Ivy, life isn't going to be about constants and love, it's gonna be about that baby. And for the record, he hasn't been a constant. You even said he left, and just because he came back doesn't make him a constant. It makes him indecsive and unstable. But it's your choice and I will remain mute on the subject... for now." She said and walked into the kitchen area, grabbing two waters for herself and Ivy.</sup>

[IVORYmercedesSMITHSONIAN]

I resolve to call her up a thousand times a day
And ask her if she'll marry me in some old fashioned way
BUT MY SILENT TEARS HAVE GRIPPED ME!!

Long before I reach the phone, long before my tongue has tripped me
MUST I ALWAYS BE ALONE??

outfit: shirt, jeans

Robbie was far from perfect, their relationship was far from perfect, but she believed him, she believed in him. it wasn't hard for her to do. No matter what Tempy said, it was her life. Besides, the government could do what they wanted, his family was practically royalty or something in Ireland. it wasn't like he'd be ruined.

Ivy took the water and took a swig. "Thanks." But she was desperate to change the subject, this is exactly why she didn't want to talk about the baby. Too many people would agree with Tempy on this one.

"So how long have you been in NYC? I haven't heard from anyone until you called me today." her parents hadn't told her a thing, and Tempy seemed more fidgety than usual somehow.

[TEMPERANCEjohannaLOCKE]

^{Today is a winding road
Thats taking me to places that I didnt want to go,} whoa

Today in the blink of an eye
^{Im holding on to something and I do not know why I tried}

^{"Oh, I just got in this morning. City life seems to be more condusive for an artist. Or at least that's what I hear. So Uncle Tim, my mom's friend, said I could crash here while I test out the city and what not." Temp said with a smile, before taking a long drink from the water bottle. Really she was here because she didn't have anywhere else left to go. There was no reason to stay in DC. Too many memories there for her to live with anyway.}