Author's Note

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Sorry about that break 

I didn't mean to leave this for four months, I swear 

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'Red Boulevard' was a store that had everything that would be essential for modern day ladies and women. Everything was ideally inspired by fashion trends of society.

At the front of the store were many displays and racks of clothing, separated by clothing type. Many shirts had funny or trendy wording on them, many hoodies with different designs - this month was tie dye coloured- and jeans of many different material.

In the middle was the shoe selections, ranging from flip-flops to knee high boots and heel height.

And at the back was the under garments and clearance racks.

In the rows that separated people into lines at the checkout were rows of makeup, jewelry  and perfumes, sometimes knick knacks.

When entering, customers are greeted by the smell of whatever perfume was in style for the month, most of the time related to something red or fruity.

It was no different when Phoebe entered the store with Marie. She wasn't completely sure if this was the ideal store to show the older woman, but Phoebe did have limited options. On the bright side, maybe she'd help Marie or herself find a new outfit./

"Oh cute store, I was eyeing this one when I ..uh." Marie commented, only to trail off her words awkwardly.

"When you first visited?" Phoebe offered another way to say it.

Marie smiled grateful and nodded, "Yeah."

The two walked into the store, to be greeted by one of the workers.

"Hi there! Welcome to Red Boulevard! Can I help you ladies find anything specific today?" The worker had a bright smile on her face, it seemed genuine like she enjoyed her job.

"Actually yes, I need some comfy yet fashionable shoes for my new job." Marie explained.

The worker nodded, "Perfect! I'll show you right where those are and get you your size. What is your new job, if you don't mind me asking?" 

Phoebe and Marie followed the worker, while Marie answered her question. 

"Size nine, and I'm going to be a nanny. I started last week and figured out real fast how heels may look good but aren't practical for house work and looking after the kids."

The worker, whose name tag read 'Tracey', smiled, "Oh, that was me for this job. I thought that I had to wear the trendy and professional stuff, but that was killing my feet and back, I was super relieved when my coworkers told me that my regular style would work out better."

Tracey led the two to the shoe section and Marie took a seat on the cushioned bench. While she removed her heels, Marie cursed as she realized that she forgot to bring a pair a socks with her.

There was an awkward tension between the two girls as Phoebe avoided eye contact with the older woman by looking at the displayed shoes.

"Um Phoebe," Marie blurted and caught Phoebe's attention, "would you do me a favour and find me a pair of socks?" 

Phoebe took a moment to process what was asked of her before nodding, "Yeah sure."

Marie gave Phoebe a thankful smile, "Thanks Phoebe, I'd really appreciate it."

Nodding her head again in awkward fashion, Phoebe turned and walked towards the isle that contained various types of socks. Scanning the rows in hopes of finding something that would be preferred for Marie's shoe type.

Noticing a sock aisle, Phoebe veered inside, hoping to find some thin ankle socks. 

Not really knowing much for heels in general, Phoebe figured that thin socks would work best. 

Crossing her fingers in hopes that Marie will like her choice, Phoebe selected a random pair of socks, mainly consisting of white and greys in the bundle.

Shuffling back to where Marie was sitting, Marie took notice of Phoebe and motioned for her to throw the socks towards her.

Only momentarily having second thoughts, Phoebe shrugged and gently threw the socks in an underhand motion towards Marie, who had to stand up in order to catch them. Otherwise, it was completely successful.

Tracey returned with three boxes in her arms, as Marie put on a pair of the socks and presented them to Marie by opening the lids one at a time. 

"Here are some cute black ones, small heel size and actually pretty comfy."

Marie took the shoes out of the box to examine them and then slipped her feet into them. Phoebe watched from the side as Marie pondered on the feeling of the shoes by wiggling her toes, rolling her ankles and stomping on the ground with both feet before finally standing to her feet and walking down the aisle and back. 

"What do you-" Tracey was about to ask how the shoes felt, but was cut off by Marie making a few clicking noises with her tongue as she looked at her reflection in the mirror and pondered.

Phoebe shared an awkward glance with the store worker as they watched the middle aged woman stare at the reflection of her feet in the shoes. 

"So, what do you think?" Tracey asked.

"I like them, but I'll try on the others." Marie answered and sat back down on the bench.

One of Tracey's coworkers called her name, causing Tracey to excuse herself and promise to return later if there was anything else that they would need.

Marie sighed as she put on another pair of shoes and noticed Phoebe's attention on the boxes of shoes.

"Sorry for being such a hassle." She apologized.

Phoebe looked back at Marie in a panicked sweat, "You're not being a hassle!"

"The irony of this situation is that me, supposedly being your nanny, should be helping you pick out clothes and shoes for your first day." Marie pointed out.

"It's okay, Marie. We've got almost everything we need already for school." Phoebe assured.

"Still, I should make it up to you, and the others." Marie decided. "Even if I could buy you all something and earn your trust.. I don't know if Seth will ever warm up to me.."

"Seth is a hard case, he's stubborn and it's hard to change his mind when he's made it up. But's it's all a matter of showing that you're there and care about him. If that helps." Phoebe explained with a sheepish smile.

Marie chuckled, "Suppose he gets that from his father." She muttered to herself.

Phoebe happen to hear Marie's comment, "You knew Seth's father?" 

Marie mentally cursed at herself, but answered with a brief explanation, "Yeah, I knew most of your parents. Had to for the lab's experiment." 

"Oh.." Phoebe drifted her gaze towards a different direction. 

"I see a lot of your mom in you." Marie smiled at Phoebe. "Even though you've got some of her looks, you for sure got her patience and optimism. If it means anything."

Phoebe returned a grateful smile at her nanny, "That actually...is nice to hear. Chandler doesn't really talk about our parents."

Marie raised an eyebrow, "Really? I mean, I'd have thought that he'd let you guys have some kind of memory of your parents."

Phoebe sighed and shrugged her shoulders, "I don't really know what to tell you." 

Letting out a breath of her own, Marie slipped on the other pair of shoes and stood up to examine their appearance on her feet. 

"Those look really nice." Phoebe complimented.

Marie grinned as she shifted her feet to look at the shoes at different angles, "They're called 'oxfords', my mom used to own a pair. She even let me have them when I got my first job as an intern." She reminisced. "'Something to remind you of me', she'd tell me."

A smile grew on Phoebe's lips at Marie's behaviour.

"They suit you, I think you should get them." Phoebe suggested, looking back at the dark brown shoes.

"I think I will, maybe those black ones too." Marie decided.

"Oh, what about the other ones?" Phoebe questioned, taken aback.

As Marie sat back down to take the shoes off and put them back in the box, she answered, "They're spool heels, I don't think that I'll touch them." 

Phoebe didn't find any amusement in arguing, so she just hummed in agreement.

After slipping back on her regular shoes, she clapped her hands together, "Alright, let's go take these to the counter, or is there something you'd like?" Marie offered.

Caught a bit off guard, Phoebe attempted to assure her nanny that she had everything that she needed already. 

"But thanks." 

Marie smiled and picked up the two stacked boxes of shoes. She lead Phoebe to the checkout to pay for the shoes. 

+++++++++++++++++++++++

Upon exiting the store, the girls scanned their surroundings, looking for Pryce and Ursa. 

"I wonder where the siblings would be." Marie pondered aloud.

"Maybe they're at the sporting goods store? Pryce said he needed some new runners for track." Phoebe suggested.

"That would probably be a good place to start. Can you text him and see?" Marie asked.

"I don't have a cellphone." Phoebe answered.

Marie's eye twitched in annoyance, "Has Chandler never read a parenting book? What year does that man think he is in?" 

"Jeez, I didn't realize how different you two are." Phoebe remarked.

"Oh yeah, we are polar opposites. Sometimes we could reach an agreement, but not without some competition and fight." Marie commented. "Looks like that isn't going to change in the near future either."

Phoebe didn't know what to make of what Marie was saying about her adopted father figure.  Marie knew Chandler more than what Chandler dared to show the kids.

It was strange hearing something different about someone who practically raised you.