And We'll Rise Up

Cleo Higgens. 32, Mother to Tallullah. Small business owner.

[cleohiggens]

ryan-pennington​

To say Ryan was exhausted after being away for so long was an understatement, even if he wasn’t sick right now, he still probably would have slept for about 15 hours.  He was thrilled to be back and was glad he had a few months before he had to leave again, he was going to be training at a rink in town to get ready for the next tour, so he would be around to help with Tally and be a real boyfriend to Cleo, and that was his happy place. 

He loved that he was able to make a living doing what he loved, and he enjoyed all the traveling he got to do, and when he got the chance to bring Cleo and Tally with him, it was amazing, but there was nothing better than being home with them.  He still had an apartment in Chicago and one in Moscow for when he trained there, but neither place felt as homey as being here, this was where he wanted to be. 

Ryan smiled back at her, “I’d get up and kiss you, but I’m pretty sure I have the plague or something, who knows after all the people I’ve been in contact with for the past for months.  I was actually planning on setting up in the guest room to avoid exposing you, but I didn’t make it.” He yawned, “Sorry.  It’s just so good to see you again.” 

-

Cleo looked over as she leaned against the doorframe, a smirk and raised eyebrow. “You realize I live full time with a 5 year old right? I think I’ve caught every bug I possibly can catch.” She said as she made her way over towards the bed and climbed onto it, leaning down to press a kiss to his forehead and then to his lips. She sat back on the bed, legs crossed as she looked down at him. “No need to apologize for being tired babe.” She said and smiled softly. “It’s so good to see you too. I missed you.”

She pulled his hand into hers and rubbed the back of it with her thumb. “Tally is out for the count so we could all take a nap and then I can make us some chicken or something for dinner?” Cleo asked as she moved to lay down in the bed next to him. She wanted to make sure that he was able to get the sleep that he needed and take care of him. “Or some chicken noodle soup if you aren’t feeling up to more than that.”

[cleohiggens]

dr-al-damiri​

Tereik loved the farmer’s market, it reminded him of how they did their shopping back in Egypt, as there was a large marketplace near their home.  Usually they went as a family, but today his wife and older children were off doing another activity and he’d taken their baby daughter on a walk to see what they might have of interest at the market.  He had stopped at a stall, trying to decide what to get for the dinner he had in mind and was bouncing ideas off the sleeping baby and his ever-present service dog when they woman next to him asked him a question.  “Well…I’m hardly an expert, but I know pickles are just pickled cucumbers.  I know that sometimes they sell zucchini bread here, but I’ve never seen cucumber bread, so that must mean something about the taste.  I don’t know much else, but they’re probably worth experimenting with.”

-

Cleo listened to the others explanation and shrugged her shoulders. “Well you certainly know more than I do about them.” She said with a laugh. “I’ll have to try some though. My daughter can be a bit of a picky eater so I'll have to try making some of that bread in hopes she will like the bread part of it.” She said as she paid for some of the veggies and stuck them in her bag. She smiled as she saw the sleeping baby. “You’re baby is the cutest thing.” She said. “Sorry if that’s weird. I just love babies and don’t tell my boyfriend, but I definitely want to start trying for one of are own soon.”

[cleohiggens]

It was nice having Ryan back in town. Not only was she able to spend a lot more time with him, she could also manage to get out of the house without Tally in tow, which meant she could go get a massage or run lots more errands then the child had the energy for, or both. She decided to head to a farmer’s market that she had heard about, one that was more out of the way then she would normally go to but since she was spending the day on her own, she figured why not. Once she got there, she got out of her car and went up to one of the stalls, looking at some of the products. She turned to the person next to her. “What is the difference between cucumbers and zucchinis?” She asked with a smile on her face. “And where do pickles come in between these two?”

@dr-al-damiri​

[cleohiggens]

ryan-pennington​

Ryan was always amazed by how many people still loved figure skating as much as they did, but he was happy they did.  He’d started skating at four years old and that was all he’d done since those first few lessons, he was so devoted to skating that he relocated to Russia from age 10 to 25, but that part of his life was over now.  He was still touring and entering in professional competitions, but now that his Olympic career was over, he had a chance to settle down a little bit.  He still had an apartment in Chicago, but he almost never went there, unless he was visiting his family, instead he spent most of his time off in Georgia with Cleo and Tallullah, and that was the place he considered home.

This last tour had been fun, but after 4 months of traveling with almost no breaks and little sleep, it had taken its toll, and by the time he arrived at the house, he was about three days into a pretty nasty cold, but he was happy to be there.  There was no one home when he arrived, so he let himself in, threw a load of his things into the washing machine and laid down on their bed, he wasn’t sure how long Cleo and Tallullah were going to be gone and he was going to try and get some sleep so he could show some enthusiasm when they did get there.

He wasn’t sure how much time had passed when he finally woke up, but he was happy to see Cleo standing in the doorway when was finally able to push himself up into a sitting position.  “Hey you,” he croaked, “did you miss me?” 

@cleohiggens

Cleo had decided to take Tally out for the day, choosing a day of shopping and adventure in the next town over. The five year old had been excited to go out and get some new clothes and whatever toys that her mom would let her get. The two of them had a pretty stable life in Georgia and Cleo was happy with it but deep in her heart, she had a desire to travel and see the world and that was part of what had originally attracted her to Ryan. It had turned into more than just that he had seen the world though and more into a relationship she hadn’t been looking for but couldn’t imagine her life without him in it now. 

Having Ryan on the road for the last four months was hard and Cleo always hated when he was away from them without her and Tally but they always found a way to make it work, facetime always a helpful tool. She would be lying if she said she hadn’t been missing him and while he wasn’t Tally’s legal father, the young girl loved Ryan and was sad he wasn’t around. After a long day of shopping, they were heading back home and Tallulah had fallen asleep. Cleo smiled into the rearview mirror as she saw her daughter. 

Once they got home, Cleo picked Tally up and carried her into the house, smiling as she heard the washing machine going, which meant Ryan was home. She made sure to not wake Tally up as she carried her to her room, laying her into her bed and walked to their bedroom. “Hey there yourself. I always do.” She said as she leaned against the door frame, hand on her hip.