How I Met Your Grandmother
~Your kisses lift me higher
Like the sweet song of a choir
You light my morning sky
With burning love~
In the middle of your kitchen, you were dancing and grooving your hips to the beat of Elvis' latest hit single Burning Love as it played on the mini radio by your stove. It would be a funny sight to anyone watching who knew you since they would swear that Bruce O'Brian HATED dancing. Indeed you were a bit of a klutz and felt like you would do nothing but embarrass yourself and be miserable if you ever did so in public, which was why you played hide and seek with your mom at the last wedding you went to, to avoid any time on the dance floor. However, one girl managed to waltz in your life and change such an attitude, to the point where you were practicing on the side to take her out to dancing dates to give her the time of her life, and that girl's name was Carrie Fisher.
Ever since you first met Carrie in the library, it seemed that life was becoming a bit more magical with lots of color and wonder each and every day. It couldn't have come at a better time as well since with the MASH negotiations and Cat leaving, you felt at your lowest and had been on the verge of leaving Hollywood. Then you decided to go to the library on a whim, and Carrie lighted up your life. Every second that you spent with her was simply amazing, being able to converse someone who shared your passions, the two of you exchanging endless wits and banter, all the interesting adventures you shared trying out new things, the pure bliss and joy of simply talking and spending time together, even if it was doing nothing.
You remembered the plethora of stories mom and dad shared about how they met and their first days together growing up, of the magic and excitement they had as sparks flied in LA and how they grew to love one another and came to form your family. It was a tale as old as time that Joseph and Sarah O'Brian loved to share whenever they could, and thinking back to all the emotions they described, you couldn't help but feel as early as it is, you were building something similar with Carrie. She was simply incredible and someone you liked a lot, sharing heavy chemistry and fun that made any and all past romantic ventures seem purely platonic. You were even starting to think that you loved her.
To show Carrie how much you cared and to build up on your rather outstanding performance as a boyfriend, you were in the middle of baking an Oreo Cheesecake for Carrie's birthday, or at least an attempt at one since it was one of many experiments to get the perfect cake for Carrie. After your first date, you developed a newfound passion for cooking, recalling your dad's tales of wooing mom with Ireland's best cuisine. So far it was a decent success with Carrie responding well to your pasta and sandwiches, and now you wanted to venture into baking to help make her 16th birthday extra special, especially after the insane adventure your 18th turned out to be.
For the theme you settled on Oreos since that was Carrie's favorite snack, thus requiring you to keep a shelf stocked full for visits. So far you tried cakes and ice cream, but the Betty Crocker mixes didn't turn out well thanks to inexperience and your Cookies and Cream attempt was just a milky mush of a disaster. Thus for now you opted to settle for cheesecake, taking advantage of the rare Carrie-less day in your calendar to experiment as Carrie was off reconnecting with her old friends, something that she seemed guilty about when she approached you, but you brushed away the concerns and said you were more than happy for her to spend time with her friends and that there were plenty of more days for the two of you to hang out or have dates, something which brought one of the most amazing smiles you ever saw in return.
After finally whisking the batter down to smooth perfection, you were going to try layering and decoration when you heard a couple of soft knocks on the door that you barely missed due to the music. Setting your bowls down, you turned off the radio and cleaned some of the batter stains off your apron and shirt. "Be there in a sec!" You called out. You were a bit confused on who it could be, thinking that it might be one of your new friends John and Robin, or maybe Carrie ended her meetup a bit early to come spend time with you.
What you most surely did not expect was to open the door and find yourself face to face with one of the most famous women in history, the Queen of Hollywood whose name was synonymous with the musical, Debbie Reynolds. More importantly, Carrie's mom.
"Hello, Bruce O'Brian?" Debbie inquired softly, keeping an eye on both end of the halls, likely fearing a potential paparazzi or fan ambush.
"Uh..yeah that's me." You said a bit dumbly as you felt like a deer frozen in front of a speeding eighteen wheeler. Having dated Carrie for nearly two months, you wanted to meet her parents soon, but had been blocked by Carrie herself who had a rather complicated relationship with her mom and hated her father. You just barely managed to get an agreement from Carrie to meet Debbie during her birthday, and fortunately you had already met and made a good first impression with her brother Todd who shadowed Carrie one day after school and since then had hung out with you two a couple of times.
You recalled the words of your mother of what to do when meeting the parents, "You don't have to meet them right away, but the sooner you do the better the impression and stronger the relationship. If her parents live in the same city, then you have to be a gentleman and introduce yourself after the fourth date or second week. Any later and you look like an irresponsible bum."
It had been nearly two months and more than 30 casual and romantic dates since you first met Carrie.
....
Fuck.
"May I come in?" Debbie asked.
"Sure." You said, breaking out of your stupor. Turning around after you closed the door, you thanked the Lord that you had decided to clean up the apartment yesterday on a whim instead of keeping it an organized mess. At the very least Debbie Reynolds wouldn't consider you a slob.
"Mrs. Reynolds, I apologize that I haven't introduced myself by now. I fully intended to see you within the next week or two-" You hastily tried to explain, only to be caught completely off guard when Debbie Reynolds wrapping you in a warm embrace.
"Thank you for helping me see the pain my daughter is in." Debbie said. You were caught heavily off guard and were confused for a second, until you remembered the many times you had accompanied Carrie to appointments and meetings, and recent conversations on how she had opened up to her mother on her issues and was starting to receive help with the two talking more than they had before.
Unsure of where to go, you lightly hugged Debbie back and decided to simply respond with the truth. "Carrie's a good person and needs help. She deserves to be happy."
Letting go, Debbie looked to be in a mixture of deep gratitude and embarrassment, "I wish I could have seen that on my own, but I was too damn blind and obsessed with work to see what was right in front of me. You don't know how grateful I am Bruce that the two of you met."
"I'm more than happy to help Carrie in any way I can." You said earnestly.
"And you don't mind Carrie's...conditions" Debbie asked with trepidation.
You immediately shook your head, "Not at all. Carrie was just taking the weed to help her be normal, and what's most important is that she recognized what she was doing and is doing her best to change."
"And her manic depression?" Debbie spurred on.
You held in your breath and thought deeply for a few seconds on how to best word it, as you had started to experience that side of Carrie fully in the past few weeks when she had a few episodes on both sides of the spectrum. "It's an interesting challenge to meet for sure, and I don't know if I'm dealing with it in the best way I can, but I'm reading as much as I can on the subject and I'm trying to understand as best I can so that when things flair up, I can be there for her and help Carrie see everything's going to be okay. At the end of the day this is who Carrie is, and I don't want her to be ashamed of it or let it control her when it's only a fraction of her mind and she's this wonderful person anyone would be blessed to know."
Debbie looked upon you with heavy gratitude, looking to be almost on the verge of tears. She opened her mouth to say something, until she caught a strong whiff of the kitchen. "What's that smell?"
"Oh it's this Oreo Cheesecake I'm trying to make for Carrie's birthday. I made six other deserts which were a bit of a mess so I'm hopeful that lucky number seven is going to be it. I also managed to find a vintage first edition of Great Gatsby at a nearby garage sale for a present since it's one of her favorites. Do you think she'd like it?" You asked anxiously. If nothing else this would serve as a great test run for Christmas and Valentine's.
Debbie smiled widely at the answer and you hoped you were giving a decent impression. "Oh I'm sure she'll love it. I hope that the gifts stop there because I don't think I'd be able to compete." Debbie teased, giving you a good laugh. "Bruce, if I might ask, how did the two of you meet?"
"Carrie didn't tell you?"
"Oh she did, I was just curious what your first impression of her was and what made you decide to enter into a relationship."
Nodding, you began to tell a story that you hoped you would repeat for the rest of your days, "Well, one Saturday I went to the library cause I was wanting to get some research material for a few scripts I'm writing on ancient Rome. As I'm patrolling the History stacks, I noticed this beautiful brunette nearby who was watching me."
You spent the next fifteen minutes making small talk with Debbie, completing the tale of how you first met and sharing some fun stories about your dates and time together, some that Debbie heard, some that she hadn't. While the cinema Queen seemed like she wanted to stay for longer, she remembered that Todd would be arriving at their home soon and said goodbye, thank you for your hospitality and giving a strong statement of approval for your relationship and an invitation to Carrie's birthday party.
Debbie was about to leave when you called after her when she had her hand on the doorknob, "Mrs. Reynolds." You called, with Debbie turning towards you. "After Church this Sunday I was planning on inviting Carrie over for some lunch. If you want, you and Todd are more than welcome to join."
Debbie appeared to be extremely touched, yet heavily unsure, "Bruce, that's awfully kind of you, but I don't want to be a bother and get in the way of your time together."
You shook your head firmly, "It wouldn't be a bother at all. If anything I've been feeling pretty guilty lately for monopolizing Carrie's time."
Debbie waved the concern off, "Don't be, Carrie is the happiest she's been in years thanks to you, and being with her boyfriend is much better for her than dealing with the...mess and troubles at home." Debbie said with resignation.
"But her family is just as important and she's been telling me lately how much she appreciates what you're doing, and she wants to spend more time with you and Todd. Todd's a pretty cool guy and I wouldn't mind hosting such an excellent guest again." You said honestly. Hell, you'd be more than willing to cut your Carrie time in half if it meant she had more time to bond with her family.
Debbie seemed internally conflicted, ruminating the offer for a couple of seconds. You thought she would reject you, but to your pleasant surprise she gave a slow nod. "If Carrie is okay with it, then I'll make sure to come with Todd."
"Great!" You said, happy you got to spend more time with your girlfriend and she would also be spending it with her family.
"Oh and Bruce, please call me Debbie." She requested sweetly.
"Pleasure to meet with you Debbie."
