Knock, Knock!, tag: Summer and Leland Foster

June 16, 11:23 am -- Foster's House

Glaring down at the clipboard in her hand, the ginger smiled as she confirmed the time on her small wristwatch. Mrs. Foster, 11:25 appointment it read, in her neat and tidy handwriting. Being a wedding planner, she always needed backup staff. The latest photographer of hers had decided to move away to marry her fiance back in Chicago. There was always ongoing weddings in Evergreen -- marriages happened every day! And with her job, there was a photographer needed. That's where Mrs. Foster came in. Known around the town as a photographer, she decided to call her up yesterday and schedule an appointment with the young woman. Taking a deep breath, she straightened out her business outfit, combed her hair with her fingers, and clicked on the small doorbell to the left of the wooden door. "Hannah's Weddings." she called in a soft tone, as if she worked as a telemarketer.

Leland had been stressed out ever since his ex had come to town, and even more so since the custody battle for his beloved son, Scotty, had begun. He didn't want to lose the boy, and he had taken some pretty serious measures to show just how grown up he really was, including the washing out of the dye from his hair, and removing the eyebrow piercing he had had for the past 6 years, illegally done by a friend when he had been only 14 years old. It had been just as long since he had seen his naturally blonde hair, and he was still getting used to it, but he felt that it was a sign of maturity, a sign that he was growing up, and he needed that. A lot.

He went to do the door when he heard the doorbell. He knew that his wife was expecting someone, but he was closer to the door, so it was no trouble. "Hi." He opened the door, trying not to look as flustered and stressed out as he really was feeling. "You must be Hannah, my wife is expecting you, hold on - I can go get her, make yourself comfortable." The babies were napping, and Scotty was happily coloring in the kitchen. Leland went down the hall to the bedroom, knocking on the door. "Hey, Summer? Your meeting person is here - Hannah?" He bit his lip. Things were still tense, still rocky, but they were getting better...they had to be. He needed this to work out, he didn't think he could survive being left again, and he definitely knew that Scotty couldn't.

[OUTFIT.]

Summer was not used to meeting people at her home when it was something business-related, but for the time they were going to meet, her home was the best location. For once, she wasn’t going to be away, working on a project. In fact, she had purposefully taken this day off, not only to meet with Hannah, but also to spend more time with Leland, Scotty, and the twins. Both her and Leland had been working hard to support their family without the help of her father, and though it was manageable, it wasn’t easy. It required a lot of hard sacrifice, and luckily, they had family and friends who were willing to provide childcare for free.

That morning had started off with quite a bang. Summer hadn’t gotten much shut-eye in before Scotty came into their bedroom, something the three-year-old usually did. He always climbed on to his father’s side of the bed first, and after Leland was out of bed, he would come over to Summer’s and snuggle up next to her, until she got up as well. It had become something Summer expected, and also something she loved. It was nice that her stepson liked her enough to climb in bed with them.

Summer was in the twins’ nursery changing Lucas when she heard the doorbell ring, but before she could get to it, she heard Leland answer it. She finished with Lucas and picked the little guy up, carrying him out to the living room to see a young woman sitting on the couch, dressed in business attire. She went to Leland—who looked surprised to see Lucas awake—and handed the baby to him, so that he could put him back down. She then went over to Hannah, holding out her hand. “You must be Hannah,” she said with a smile, sitting next to her. “I’m Summer. You wanted to meet because I’m a photographer, right?”

Smiling as she stared at the two welcoming faces in front of her, she couldn't help but wonder how her own marriage would be like some day soon. Her project was to work on a wedding for the new Vow couples, and she was one of them. She would need someone to help her out, and Mrs. Foster was the woman she needed to see. Nodding to the blonde man as he told her she'd come soon, went and sat down on the couch, awaiting for the woman to appear. Hearing the small tapping of footsteps roll down the stairs, Hannah craned her neck and saw the Asian woman appear.

Smiling brightly, she stood up and shook the woman's hand. "Yes, I'm Hannah Delacruz, wedding planner extraordinaire. You must the the wonderful photographer I've heard of, are you not?" she asked with a warm smile. She couldn't wait to begin business with her. Mrs. Foster wouldn't need to worry about being paid -- she had the money in hand and ready to give her half of the money before she worked, and the rest once she finished. "So about your artwork -- I love it. You have some of the most beautiful pictures in your portfolio," she complimented, a grin on her freckled face.

Leland was glad when his wife came into the room, because he didn't really know what to say to this woman. He knew that they were there to have a meeting, and he was fine with that, but he didn't think that it really involved him. He wasn't trying to be rude, but Leland Foster had a lot going on right now, and Summer did as well, but mixing too much of their lives, well it didn't seem like a good idea. He wanted her to be able to have her meeting in peace without him, without having to worry about him, and right now he felt like just being in the room would make it harder.

"I'll leave you ladies to it," he stated, smiling brightly at them. He wasn't feeling like grinning too much these days, but he liked the life that he had with Summer, he didn't want to ruin it by being a grouch. Sure, the foundations of everything that he loved were shaking, but that didn't mean that they were going to crumble and break. He had a good lawyer, a lawyer who was confident that they would win this case, and he was dependent on that. He couldn't deal with losing Scotty, but he had been assured by many people that he wouldn't have to. He had the rights to his son...he just wasn't sure that a better lawyer wouldn't come along.

He left the room, leaving Hannah and Summer to discuss their business and went to go find his son. If he was going to lose Scotty, he wanted to spend as much time with him as he could. Leland wasn't all that confident about too many things, but he did know beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was a good father. He poured his heart and soul into taking care of Scotty, and he wasn't going to let go of that. "Hey, bug," he stated, sitting down with him on the couch. "Mind if I watch with you?" he gestured at the cartoons on the screen, content to just watch TV with his son.

((I'm gonna pull Leland out of the rotation now! ))