Driving with Mrs. Bishop

Goddamn you, Gregory! How can you be so selfish all the time? It's not like you didn't know about these plans months in advance. Yet, here you are another countless time putting your reputation and work before your family. Monica Bishop slammed her husband in her head and wanted to slam the steering wheel of the car she was driving. Instead, the thirty-nine-year-old mother of two held her anger in check and only tightly squeezed the steering wheel. An attractive woman with long, dark brown hair, icy-blue eyes, Monica turned heads regularly with her fit figure, large breasts, and curvy ass. Besides having the figure of woman a decade younger than she was, Monica was incredibly smart. A doctor, like her husband, she specialized in obstetrics and gynecology; however, her husband, Gregory, often looked down on her medical work. As a neurosurgeon, he had a highly inflated view of himself, one that wasn't helped when he was promoted several years ago to the chief resident of surgery at Azure Rocks General Hospital. A promotion that Monica had long suspected was more for the title than the additional responsibilities, those which he seemed to pass off on younger colleagues.

A girlish laugh from next to her shook Monica from her thoughts and made her feel guilty for ignoring her passenger and the story she was telling. "...and then my cousin Flynn received perfume from her, even though he's a boy!"

Chloe McRose, her son Zack's best friend and Monica's next door neighbor, sat in the passenger seat where she regaled her friend's mom with an account of her family Christmas party from the day before. Chloe, at eighteen-years-old, was a cute redhead, with her blue eyes, burgeoning breasts, and a firm, curvy behind. Usually, she could be a bit shy, but around Zack's family, she was quite a chatterbox. This likely had to do with her being considered almost a second daughter and sister to the Bishops. When Gregory had flaked out on the trip for the second straight day, Monica had a spur-of-the-moment idea and walked next door to see if Chloe wanted to come with. She knew how disappointed Zack had been that his closest friend had to miss the trip because of the party last night.

"I know I shouldn't laugh too much, Mrs. Bishop. Great Aunt Claudia is getting up there in age and could be getting forgetful or, worse, senile. But it's so funny how she gets us kids confused by gender or age. Declan is only twelve, and she gave him a bottle of vodka," the young redhead continued on with a wide grin.

"I wouldn't worry about that, Chloe. For as long as I've known your parents, your dad's aunt has always been an eccentric woman. Not to mention she's been giving these mixed up gifts for years," Monica recalled. "What was it you received again this time?"

"A men's grooming kit! I'm certainly not a girl that has a mustache. I traded that to my cousin, Casey, for his art set. I then gave that to Holly, since she's the wannabe Picasso in the family," Chloe reported, referring to her younger sister.

"So what did you finally end up with?" Monica asked again, noticing the blush matching the girl's hair that was appearing on her face.

"Um, some...underwear for older women. Aunt Claudia had given it my cousin, Keir since he's in college," she quickly added, embarrassed by the subject matter.

"Underwear for older women? Like lingerie?" Monica repeated, getting a short nod back. "At least it wasn't a pink bunny costume like Ralphie received in A Christmas Story."

Monica noted again how quiet Chloe would get if sex or being sexy were mentioned about her. She's turning into such a beautiful young lady, but it breaks my heart to see her struggling so hard with it. If she could just gain some confidence about her looks, especially her breasts, Chloe would be able to pick any guy she wanted.

Monica didn't think it, but deep down she knew what guy she would love for Chloe to pick. In her dream scenario, her second daughter would end up marrying her son, Zack; and her second son, Peter, would end up marrying her daughter, Taylor. Yet, Monica swore she wouldn't push the two of them together, nudge maybe, it had to be their choice. She had learned her lesson when she pushed too hard with Taylor and Peter, that had ended with the most serious fight mother and daughter ever had. It took months for the tension between the two to dissipate.

Instead, Monica thought if she could only find some way to help Chloe gain more confidence. In hindsight, she wished she had focused on doing something before now, but she hadn't wanted to overstep any boundaries. I should have followed up again when I suggested years ago to her mother that Chloe ought to try out for cheerleading, but Charlotte had found the idea so absurd she couldn't stop laughing. It could have helped, I've seen many other girls gain confidence, good or bad, by being on the squad. Still, I can't blame Charlotte; not every girl is made for cheering, lord knows I found that out with Taylor.

The Taylor Bishop Cheerleading Experience hadn't exactly crashed and burned like the Hindenburg, but it also hadn't been pretty. After years of pressure from both Monica and Hannah, the laid back Taylor had finally agreed to try out in ninth grade, her last year of junior high school. The younger Bishop made the team but endured a year of bitterness and boredom over the decision. The peppiness needed on almost a daily basis wasn't Taylor, so when the year ended it was no surprise to anyone that her cheer career was over. Even with its more downs than ups, Monica still thought it had been a good experience for her eldest child. Taylor became closer friends with many of her teammates and stayed friends with them beyond high school and into college.

Hmm, maybe I can talk to Taylor about some ideas for Chloe. Changing up her tomboy look and baggy clothes could help. Becoming more comfortable with her bust is key, I've always loved my bigger boobs, they gave me confidence and Chloe should feel that too from them, not embarrassment.

"Mrs. Bishop, are you alright?" the teenage redhead asked, mistaking Monica's quiet reflection for another feeling.

Startled that she had given away her anger at husband to the young girl, Monica wasn't quite sure how to reply. "What do you mean, Chloe? Do I look upset?"

"Um, maybe. I...uh, thought you were thinking about your friend, and why you're getting together with the others," Chloe struggled to come up with the right way to ask the question without upsetting Mrs. Bishop further.

Monica was relieved that Chloe didn't pick up on the tension in her marriage, but felt the fresh wave of pain she still could feel even after ten years. "I wasn't thinking about Cassie if that's what you thought," she glanced over to see a worried and guilty look on the girl's face. "It's okay that you asked, Chloe. As painful as it can be, I'll always be happy to talk about one of my best friends."

Nodding, Chloe still felt terrible. She knew this was going to be an emotional week for the woman she admired. It was a few days shy of the tenth anniversary of the **** of Cassandra Zander, who died in car accident on an icy road. Chloe remembered Mrs. Zander as one of the kindest, sweetest women she had ever met

The darkest day in my life, Monica recalled of the day she received the distraught call from Sarah Woodsen. Cassandra was the joy in so many lives, and to be taken in such a senseless way. And poor Peter--oh Peter!-- to have to witness his mother's **** right before his eyes. Unable to help it, her memories brought tears to Monica's eyes, ones that Chloe noticed when she wiped them away.

"I'm sorry," Chloe meant so much with such a simple statement. She felt sorry for Cassandra's ****, the pain Monica felt from losing a close friend, and for bringing up the ****.

"Oh, Chloe, don't be," Monica told her with a smile for the caring teenager. "There's going to be a lot of tears this week, but also a lot of happy memories. I know some of the stories will probably bore you since you've heard them so many times from me, Tinsley, Gabby, and Sarah."

"So Mrs. Toone couldn't come this year?" Chloe asked although she knew the answer already. She hoped talking about others would brighten up Mrs. Bishop's mood.

"No, Ned, her husband, is still dealing with a serious health issue. Flying here from Hawaii would be too far if Tinny needed to rush back home. It's killing her not to be here this year," Monica answered before drifting off in thought again. Tinsley, her next door neighbor growing up, had been her best friend since before they could even walk. When she and her family had moved to Hawaii twelve years ago, a piece of Monica had left too, and at that time she thought it was the worst feeling imaginable. Until the day two years later when a car skidding on ice hit another vehicle, flipping it into a ditch.

"Are they going to be able to come back for Zack's graduation?" the redheaded teen asked.

"I hope so. Taylor's graduation, three years ago, was the last time they were in Azure Rocks. It's been so long since I saw Nate and the girls, and after seeing how much you and Zack have grown up, I worry I might not even recognize them," the older woman said with a touch of sadness. "I thought about planning a spring break trip to see them as we did four years ago, but with Gregory's schedule I've all but given up on it."

"I can't imagine not seeing Zack for three years," Chloe shuddered at even the thought of going so long without her best friend.

"Even after all these years, it's still hard. We've been attached at the hip from practically the moment we were born. Monica Campbell and Tinsley Day, oh boy, were we little hellions," the dark-haired woman recalled with a laugh. "We were impulsive, fearless, rule-breaking and boy-crazy little girls. The two of us drove my older sister crazy, as she was supposed to be watching us, but no way could she handle us. She called us poor role models for my baby sister, Misty, which might be true when you consider how wild she turned out. But, hey, Tinsley's little brother, Teddy, turned out to be a responsible adult...probably since Tin and I made him babysit Misty all the time."

Chloe grinned at the sight of Monica's face brightening up over her fond memories. "I just can't picture you being such a brat, Mrs. Bishop," she added with a laugh.

"Oh, the two us were brats. We sure were! The only reason we avoided getting into trouble, even more, was the little girl that we met in pre-school, who it turned out lived a block behind us. Cassandra Bank was everything me and Tinny weren't. A quiet, shy girl, Cassie could be a little worrywart. She would be the one standing off to the side, pleading with us to no do what we most certainly wanted to do. In many ways, Cassie was my Gavin, and Tinny my Chloe," Monica told her, reaching over at the last statement and patting the teen's knee.

"Zack and I were never that bad!" Chloe defended her and her friend.

"Oh, I didn't mean like that, just at how close the two of you are. I'm sure he's going to be thrilled at your surprise appearance. He really hated not having you come with," Monica informed her.

"And I bet Gavin is so busy playing on his tablet, he forgot he's at a cabin with Zack," Chloe said knowingly.

"That's another reason Cassie was my Gavin. She never was the cheerleader type, but she would sit in the bleachers reading a book whenever we had practice. Usually, at some point, she would look up in surprise that she was sitting in front of a bunch of screaming cheerleaders."

"That sounds more like Zack, with his mystery novels than Gavin," laughed the teenager.

"Well, we can blame Cassie partly for that, she encouraged him to read right from the start. She was great that way. That's why so many of her students still talk fondly about her. I wish she had taught at your school so you could have experienced her on a daily basis, " Monica noted, thinking of Cassandra Zander's career as a second-grade teacher.

"I think it's great what you and your friends are doing this year, Mrs. Bishop. Starting a child literacy program sounds exactly like something Mrs. Zander would have done on her own," raved Chloe.

"Sarah deserves the most praise for the idea. They taught together at the same school for close to a decade, and she's the one that ran the idea by Peter. He loved it so much that we knew we had to make it happen," Monica explained. "Fiona Wynwick's been a tremendous help too. You know her son, of course, from school and he's a former student of Cassie's, so Fiona was thrilled to help. It's all because of her that the literacy program will be the featured charity this year for the New Year's Eve charity ball. Having a brand new program get this level of exposure is very exciting."

"That's so cool. I'm lucky I had a dress in my closet that I could wear to the ball. My mom and I had planned to go shopping this week for a new one, but I couldn't pass up a second chance to come with to the cabin," said Chloe excitedly.

"I'm sure you'll look lovely in your dress, boys will be lining up with you for a dance," Monica told the teen, watching her blush at the compliment. Mon, you have to do something to help this girl. She deserves to be the belle of the ball this week. I just need to find a way to make it happen.

"Are we already there?" Chloe asked as Mrs. Bishop slowed the car down and turned into a driveway.

"Yes, we are. I guess time flies when we get to talking," Monica answered with a laugh.

She pulled the car near the front door, unsure where she should park for their stay. Telling Chloe to just bring her bag, for now, they would come back for the rest after finding out where they were staying; they approached the front door. They could hear some noises inside the cabin. Sarah did mention some of them might not go with to the hot springs--wait, was that a shriek? And that sounded like a moan! Oh, I hope Zack's not in trouble.