Redefining Love (Original)

Chapter 6

Chapter 6

It has been over a month since Sherri moved in with Teri. When Teri's kids came back from vacation they loved Sherri. Surprisingly, her kids were not at all phased by the closeness of the two. Even though Teri explained to them that they were just friends her daughter still believed them to be married.

The first week of the kids being back Sherri tried to sleep in the guest bed so things wouldn't seem strange for the kids. But either Teri would wake her out of her sleep and bring her to be or Sherri would just wake up after failing to get comfortable and sneak to Teri's room and slide in next to her. Neither one of them could explain why they needed the other so much. On their days off they would sometimes do their own thing but that just made them miss the other more.

It was about ten in the morning and both Teri and Sherri were still asleep after a long week of filming the pilot episode. The kids were up watching Saturday morning cartoons, when the doorbell rang. Teri's son, Griffin, ran to answer it after checking through the window.

"Hi Jeanie!" "Hey bud! I swear you are getting so big". The pregnant woman waddled her way inside. "Jeanie!!!" Teri's daughter, Bayley, came running around the corner. "Hello ladybug. Where's your mom"? "Oh she's still sleep in her room with her wife". Jeanie's face changed to shock and confusion. "With who"?

Jeanie made her way down the hall and just walked into the room. Sure enough there was Teri cuddled up, sound asleep with a woman. She walked closer to try to see who the strange woman was. Even though her face buried in the nook of Teri's neck, she could clearly see that she was very beautiful. But she was still confused. Why were they in the same bed when there's a guest room? Why were her kids so comfortable calling this woman her wife? Was she gay? Were they together? She just had to know the answers. She gently shook Teri until she woke up.

Teri looked up at Jeanie a bit confused and then looked behind her to see Sherri close behind her still sleeping. She sleepily smiled down at her and eased out of the bed. She already knew that she was about to get a judgmental earful from Jeanie. So before she could even open her mouth she raised a hand to silence her and lead her to the guest room so they wouldn't wake Sherri or disturb her kids.

As soon as they closed the door Teri cut her off before she could go on a tangent. "She's Sherri. The one from the show. I'm letting her stay here for a while for reasons that are none of your business. She's a very sweet person and an amazing friend and-" "And are you two sleeping together?" Teri cocked her head to the side by being momentarily thrown off by the question. "W-why would you ask that"? "You guys really looked comfortable in there all close in your tiny pajamas. And what was with that smile you gave her? You looked like you were in love with her or something". "Jeanie! No, no, no. I'm...no. She's just a friend. We have to be close because of the show. I don't-"She couldn't even bring herself to say it. It was as if something was clicking in her head.

Undenounced to them, when Sherri realized she was in bed alone, she went searching for Teri. When she figured that she wasn't coming back she grabbed some pajama pants from the dresser and made her way to the main part of the house.

She heard loud talking coming from her guest room. She pressed her head to the door. She heard an unfamiliar voice but she also heard Teri. She sounded uncomfortable. She was right about to walk in when she heard the conversation switch up.

The woman asked something about Teri being in love with her! Her heart was beating fast. She tried to zone into Teri's response when she felt her heart drop. "No". She didn't understand her answer, she didn't understand this pain. She didn't understand her fallen tears or the anger. She walked back to the room, slammed the door and decided to take a long hot shower to think.

After many harsh words were exchanged, Teri finally told Jeanie to get out. She was stuck in her thoughts. What was it that she was feeling? She thought hard about what she was feeling until it was finally clear. But yet she still couldn't quite understand something. She went into her living room to check on her kids and made sure that they both had their cereal. When she realized that they were paying more attention to the TV than to her she went back to her room with a cup of coffee.

She paced back and forth, waiting for Sherri to get out of the shower. She heard the shower stop and just froze until she opened the door. Sherri paused and stared back at Teri who was desperately trying to speak, but her words kept getting stuck. After a few seconds of nothing being said Sherri picked up her discarded clothes and started to head for the door. "So is my room free now"? "Sherri wait". It was clear that she had been crying but Teri just had to get her words out. "Are you mad at me or something"? "No". Sherri tried to leave but Teri lightly grabbed her hand. "Then can you just stay in here please? I have to tell you something." Sherri turned, still grasping her towel. "Sherri I-""I don't want to stay here anymore. I appreciate everything, but I think it's time for me to go". Teri was momentarily stuck.

What happened that could've made her switch up her mind? But she didn't want to force her to stay somewhere she didn't want to be. She wanted her to stay more than anything, but who was she to try to make her stay? Clearly Sherri didn't care much about her. So she just stepped to the side and let her go.

Sherri had no idea what to do or where to go. She just packed up her car and started driving. Before Teri came along she never realized that she was missing anything. But now that she has had her in her life she isn't quite sure what she will do without her in it. What hurt the most was that she realized that she loved Teri, but Teri didn't love her back. With her sister away in Paris and the rest of her family back in Ohio, she felt more alone than ever now. She found a decent hotel and decided that she would stay there until she was able to figure things out.

................

For the remainder of the day Teri just hung out with her children. She decided to bring them to the park so at least she could get some fresh air and they can have room to run around. She sat on the bench as she watched her kids play tag with some other kids from the neighborhood. She was just taking in the scenery and clearing her mind when she heard a very familiar Australian voice call her name.

"Hello my baby". Maia came walking over with her new puppy. "Where's Mama? I heard you guys were staying together". Teri just shrugged her shoulder and rubbed the little dog's head. "Wish I knew". "What happened? You guys got into a fight"? Teri didn't say anything. "Come on Teri. I know that I play a teenager but I'm not a kid. You can tell me. Cierra and I tell you guys all of our problems; it should work both ways". Teri tried to change the subject, "How are you to by the way? I need the network to hurry and pick up the show so I can see you all more". Maia decided to play her game for now. "We are great. We hang out all the time. She and Jeff are still trying to hook me up with their friends. I swear, I'm so freakin' in love with that girl"! Teri looked at her a bit strange then looked away. "What was that look for"? "I love Sherri". "Well obviously. We all could tell that you love each other...Is that what this is all about?!" Teri still didn't say anything. "What is with this older generation? Just because you love Sherri doesn't mean you are any different. Society always want to label people and make something out of nothing. Stop thinking of it as a woman in love with another woman, because clearly that idea is what freaks everyone out. It's love between two people that happen to be two women. Love has multiple meanings and avenues which are unique to every relationship. Just because you love Sherri doesn't mean you two have to be some type of couple. I love Cierra to the point where I don't understand what I did before meeting her. But it doesn't mean that we will be anything more than sisters. Even if you are attracted to Sherri in that way, so what. Love is love. Stop trying to figure out love with your mind and let your heart define what love is for you. It's ok".

Teri smiled and pulled Maia into a tight embrace. "I thought that I was supposed to play Mom". "Well, Mom, you better tell Mama how you feel soon. Or else Peter and Bradley's party next weekend is going to be really awkward".