A Helping Hand
- Thread starter SkyGirl5
- Start date
I agree, there is a reason why Gracie doesn't want to go back to school. The other children probably see that she wears shabby, worn tennis shoes and her clothes are probably worn out too. They most likely tease her but Grace doesn't tell her father that because she doesn't want to hurt him.
I am glad, however, that Michael apologized about how he acted and has agreed to stay with Sydney. He's realized he and Grace can't continue the way they are living. I do hope that he does get an apartment because he won't want to intrude on Sydney's generosity too long.
Chris
farliieansds225
Cadet
awww yay theyre staying with syd!!
awesome update
loved it
cant wait for more!
awesome update
loved it
cant wait for more!
Michael_Vartan_Rocks
Cadet
awww i love the fluff 
& i'm so glad their going to stay! Michael made the right choice.
can't wait for more
& i'm so glad their going to stay! Michael made the right choice.can't wait for more
gtwallichs
Cadet
I am so glad that he is doing so much better about staying there.
Excellent update
Excellent update
Syd_Vaughn4ever
Cadet
nnnniiiiiiicccccceeee one syd! can't wait for more! I hope grace starts to feel better and I'm really happy that michael is coming around to the fact that he neds help every once in a while. and he's going to start looking for apartments. YAY! That's always good. Now about taht whole christmas family together thingy.....don't know how THAT'S going to go but I'll hope that Jack is nice in this one!
AliasSydney502
Cadet
aww he has a key!!
haha it's hard to read this while watching a Bollywood film and reading the subtitles as well. lucky for me I am very good at multitasking
haha it's hard to read this while watching a Bollywood film and reading the subtitles as well. lucky for me I am very good at multitasking
Boyscout_Mountainer
Cadet
aww he has a key!
now here comes the best part the DRAW!!!
oh wait he already hasone doesnt he?
when syd gave him a room
well at least michael's opening up litle by litle!
Pheonix
now here comes the best part the DRAW!!!
oh wait he already hasone doesnt he?
when syd gave him a room
well at least michael's opening up litle by litle!
Pheonix
SkyGirl5
Cadet
Chapter 15
For the next week, things became increasingly better for the newly reunited trio. As Michael predicted, Grace was well enough to go to school on Monday, though she was still feeling a bit under the weather. At that point, Sydney took over the duty of taking Grace to school in the mornings.
Over that weekend, Sydney learned from Michael that his usual morning routine was very complex. Depending on where they were spending the night, Michael needed to get up any time between five and five thirty in the morning, which meant Grace needed to get up then to. On the way to work, he would drop her off at the apartment of one of their friends where she could wait and tag along with them when going off to school. This routine was hardly working for them, especially since it involved trekking practically all over the city at a very early hour, which was why when Sydney volunteered to drop Grace off on the way to work Michael did not hesitate to agree. Of course, Sydney was more than glad to help and even gladder that Michael was no longer refusing her assistance.
For their first week together, the three of them ate dinner together each night. After dinner, Sydney and Michael would sit on the couch with Grace as she did her homework, helping her if she needed them to. When it was time for Grace to go to bed, Michael would drag her upstairs and instruct her to bathe before Sydney would join them and they would both tuck her in.
In the evenings after Grace was in bed, Michael and Sydney would return to the couch downstairs and talk for a while before going to bed themselves. During that time, Michael opened up to Sydney more than ever before. He told her about Marie, Grace’s mother, and how the two of them met.
Marie was a secretary at the construction company Michael worked for. They met when he was twenty-one and she was nineteen. Neither of them had plans to seek higher education due to their mutually low but adequate achievements in high school. After a few dates they hit it off and began to see each other seriously, and not quite two years later they were blessed with Grace. It was only then Michael discovered Marie’s hatred for marriage, which he claimed was ridiculous since by the time Grace was born they were living together and practically married already. Unfortunately, they did not have much time to continue discussing such things since Marie died so young.
After her death, Michael continued to raise his one year old the best he could, however shortly thereafter his life was plagued with a few more tragedies. When Grace was twenty months old Michael’s father, also a construction worker, was gravely injured on a jobsite and died shortly afterwards. After this, his mother moved in with them, but was never the same after her husband’s death. Tragically, only a few months later she took her own life. An only child, Michael was then left alone without any family except for Grace.
Upon hearing these tragic events Sydney was utterly floored. Learning more about his life story only increased her admiration for him; he truly was an amazing human being. If similar things had happened to her, she knew she would have collapsed from the lack of will to go on. Michael assured her that for a while he was very close, but Grace kept him going.
In exchange for Michael revealing intimate details about himself, Sydney shared some of her own as well. She explained to him how for the first few years of her life her father was still struggling to be successful in the real estate business. It was not until she was nine years old they moved into the house where she now resided. Since he was still building his business empire during her teen years, Sydney had a distant relationship with her father. She was, however, very close to her mother. Upon graduating from an elite private high school in the city, she attended the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania to receive a business degree. Her future in the family business was highly encouraged by her father, but Sydney did not outright protest to it. Though during school she had some trepidations about her chosen career path, she was not unhappy with her job so all worked out in the end.
After a week of such conversations between them, Michael and Sydney felt all that more comfortable with each other, which they both considered to be a good thing since they were living under the same roof. Sydney was thrilled if not a little surprised that Michael was sharing so much after being so secretive for so long, not that she was complaining, of course. Michael was glad to be sharing, though. For the past six years of his life the only person he had to share things with was Grace and, while she could be quite chatty, she simply did not have the capacity to have an adult conversation, which was why he was very thankful for Sydney.
“Ugh…Christmas…,” Michael grumbled at the sight of a commercial for the seasons hottest new toy.
“What’s the matter? Christmas is fun!” Sydney told him with a grin. He looked rather skeptical. “Yes it is. Snow and presents and all that good stuff.”
“Yeah that’s the problem,” Michael said quietly.
Confused, Sydney’s brow furrowed as she asked, “Snow?”
“No, presents,” he said guiltily. “Money’s tight, always has been…I can’t afford to get Grace something very nice. I usually just get her clothes that she needs and then a little doll or something.”
“So what Michael? She doesn’t need that game light toy thing,” Sydney said, gesturing to the TV as she referred to the toy on the screen. Michael grumbled slightly. “Michael listen to me – you know what I remember most about the Christmases from my childhood? That my Dad wasn’t there. He got me expensive doll houses and fancy toys but the only thing I remember is that he wasn’t there.
“When I was really young, like five or six, he was there and you know where we lived? In a one bedroom apartment on the twentieth floor of a rundown building. Yeah that’s right; we lived like regular people once,” she said at the rather surprised look on his face. “My point is it doesn’t matter where you are or what presents you get – it’s how you celebrate. You’ll be here on Christmas morning celebrating with Grace and that’s really all that matters,” Sydney smiled softly.
“Well I hope so,” Michael sighed, but the truth was, what Sydney had said really did make him feel better.
“I know so,” she smiled and squeezed his arm lightly.
For the next week, things became increasingly better for the newly reunited trio. As Michael predicted, Grace was well enough to go to school on Monday, though she was still feeling a bit under the weather. At that point, Sydney took over the duty of taking Grace to school in the mornings.
Over that weekend, Sydney learned from Michael that his usual morning routine was very complex. Depending on where they were spending the night, Michael needed to get up any time between five and five thirty in the morning, which meant Grace needed to get up then to. On the way to work, he would drop her off at the apartment of one of their friends where she could wait and tag along with them when going off to school. This routine was hardly working for them, especially since it involved trekking practically all over the city at a very early hour, which was why when Sydney volunteered to drop Grace off on the way to work Michael did not hesitate to agree. Of course, Sydney was more than glad to help and even gladder that Michael was no longer refusing her assistance.
For their first week together, the three of them ate dinner together each night. After dinner, Sydney and Michael would sit on the couch with Grace as she did her homework, helping her if she needed them to. When it was time for Grace to go to bed, Michael would drag her upstairs and instruct her to bathe before Sydney would join them and they would both tuck her in.
In the evenings after Grace was in bed, Michael and Sydney would return to the couch downstairs and talk for a while before going to bed themselves. During that time, Michael opened up to Sydney more than ever before. He told her about Marie, Grace’s mother, and how the two of them met.
Marie was a secretary at the construction company Michael worked for. They met when he was twenty-one and she was nineteen. Neither of them had plans to seek higher education due to their mutually low but adequate achievements in high school. After a few dates they hit it off and began to see each other seriously, and not quite two years later they were blessed with Grace. It was only then Michael discovered Marie’s hatred for marriage, which he claimed was ridiculous since by the time Grace was born they were living together and practically married already. Unfortunately, they did not have much time to continue discussing such things since Marie died so young.
After her death, Michael continued to raise his one year old the best he could, however shortly thereafter his life was plagued with a few more tragedies. When Grace was twenty months old Michael’s father, also a construction worker, was gravely injured on a jobsite and died shortly afterwards. After this, his mother moved in with them, but was never the same after her husband’s death. Tragically, only a few months later she took her own life. An only child, Michael was then left alone without any family except for Grace.
Upon hearing these tragic events Sydney was utterly floored. Learning more about his life story only increased her admiration for him; he truly was an amazing human being. If similar things had happened to her, she knew she would have collapsed from the lack of will to go on. Michael assured her that for a while he was very close, but Grace kept him going.
In exchange for Michael revealing intimate details about himself, Sydney shared some of her own as well. She explained to him how for the first few years of her life her father was still struggling to be successful in the real estate business. It was not until she was nine years old they moved into the house where she now resided. Since he was still building his business empire during her teen years, Sydney had a distant relationship with her father. She was, however, very close to her mother. Upon graduating from an elite private high school in the city, she attended the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania to receive a business degree. Her future in the family business was highly encouraged by her father, but Sydney did not outright protest to it. Though during school she had some trepidations about her chosen career path, she was not unhappy with her job so all worked out in the end.
After a week of such conversations between them, Michael and Sydney felt all that more comfortable with each other, which they both considered to be a good thing since they were living under the same roof. Sydney was thrilled if not a little surprised that Michael was sharing so much after being so secretive for so long, not that she was complaining, of course. Michael was glad to be sharing, though. For the past six years of his life the only person he had to share things with was Grace and, while she could be quite chatty, she simply did not have the capacity to have an adult conversation, which was why he was very thankful for Sydney.
“Ugh…Christmas…,” Michael grumbled at the sight of a commercial for the seasons hottest new toy.
“What’s the matter? Christmas is fun!” Sydney told him with a grin. He looked rather skeptical. “Yes it is. Snow and presents and all that good stuff.”
“Yeah that’s the problem,” Michael said quietly.
Confused, Sydney’s brow furrowed as she asked, “Snow?”
“No, presents,” he said guiltily. “Money’s tight, always has been…I can’t afford to get Grace something very nice. I usually just get her clothes that she needs and then a little doll or something.”
“So what Michael? She doesn’t need that game light toy thing,” Sydney said, gesturing to the TV as she referred to the toy on the screen. Michael grumbled slightly. “Michael listen to me – you know what I remember most about the Christmases from my childhood? That my Dad wasn’t there. He got me expensive doll houses and fancy toys but the only thing I remember is that he wasn’t there.
“When I was really young, like five or six, he was there and you know where we lived? In a one bedroom apartment on the twentieth floor of a rundown building. Yeah that’s right; we lived like regular people once,” she said at the rather surprised look on his face. “My point is it doesn’t matter where you are or what presents you get – it’s how you celebrate. You’ll be here on Christmas morning celebrating with Grace and that’s really all that matters,” Sydney smiled softly.
“Well I hope so,” Michael sighed, but the truth was, what Sydney had said really did make him feel better.
“I know so,” she smiled and squeezed his arm lightly.
cookiemonster
Cadet
I'm smiling... but only because what Sydney said was true about Christmas.... 'sept a little present doesn't harm anybody
I'm pretty sure Sydney will come up with some cute for the pair
cookie
I'm pretty sure Sydney will come up with some cute for the pair
cookie
Spydrummer06
Cadet
Syd is right about Christmas.
Great update
Great update
texasalias2004
Cadet
WOw Michael is really opening up too sydney which is really good. I wonder if he is falling for her. I sure hope so for Gracies sake.
texasalias
texasalias
Syd_Vaughn4ever
Cadet
awww I feel bad for Michael feeling bad that he can't get a lot of things for grace, but syd's right, the best christmas is when you're spending it with family and that's what you remember, not the presents. can't wait for more! I'm glad that they're living together well......that spells good things right there!
gtwallichs
Cadet
How sweet!