The Devil Wears Prada: Science of Fashion Part 6
Title: Science of Fashion (6/?)
Author: vicar_dibley
Fandom: The Devil Wears Prada
Pairing: Andy/Miranda AU
Rating: G (for now)
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters from The Devil Wears Prada
Author's note: English isn't my first language, this hasn't been beta'd so forgive me. The mistakes (language wise and otherwise) are all mine. This is my first DWP fan fiction. Hope you like it:) Comments are welcome!
Summary: It’s an alternative universe, Andy is about 35 and Miranda is 50. In my story Andy is not cheery.
Science of Fashion
6
Weeks went by without so much as a word from Miranda about the photo shoot. Which in turn caused Andy to believe that the whole thing had been cancelled. It wasn´t that she was overly sad about it. She could very well do without her picture on a fashion magazine, thank you very much. If it hadn´t been for the sake of science she wouldn´t have agreed anyway.
When she had almost forgotten about the whole thing the telephone in her office rang, startling her out of her concentration.
“Biology Department, Professor Sachs speaking.” An annoyed biologist barked into the receiver.
“The shoot will take place on Friday morning, make sure everybody is there! That´s all.” The click of disconnecting the call was heard and then silence. Andy had known the voice, it was unique in it´s own way.
Looking at the receiver like at a completely new species, Andy thought she must have been hit by a train or something. Who did this woman think she was?
“What the bloody hell...” Andy muttered while she was dialling Miranda Priestly´s office.
“Miranda Priestly´s office”, Emily´s voice drifted over the line.
“This is Andy Sachs, I want to speak to Miranda, now!” Sounding as angry as she was, Emily thought it better to put her through without delay.
“Professor Sachs for you, Miranda.” Emily called into the office, all the while wondering what had caused Andy to sound so royally pissed. But knowing her boss as she did it could only mean Miranda had stepped on the Professor´s toes somehow. Nothing new about that.
“Yes?” Miranda asked wondering what Andrea could possibly want, thinking her instructions had been quite clear, had they not.
“Listen lady, don´t you dare talk to me in that manner ever again, I´m not one of your bloody employees, is that perfectly clear?” Andy hissed into the phone.
“Quite”, Miranda calmly said, not feeling calm at all. How dare she?
“Good. Firstly, in case you have forgotten, a phone call usually starts with a greeting, so next time you call you may remember to start with a hello. Secondly, when people end a call they also have the courtesy to say good-bye to the other person. You might try that next time. Now that we have established that, don´t you think it would be prudent to try again?”
Silence followed Andy´s angry words. Thinking the other woman had ended the call, Andy could hear breathing, waiting patiently for an answer. When nothing came Andy sighed at the editors stubbornness.
“Call me when you are ready to have a polite conversation! Good-bye, Miranda.”
Andy hung up the phone, certain that Miranda Priestly would never speak to her again. It couldn´t be helped, although she would have liked otherwise. With another sigh Andy returned to her notes.
Miranda was fuming, nobody had ever dared to speak to her in such a manner. She was Miranda Priestly damn it! Drumming her perfectly manicured nails on the smooth cool surface of her desk Miranda thought about the preposterous words of the other woman. What was the point in losing valuable time with platitudes? That was not the way of conducting her business. And what had she meant by being treated like one of her employees? Surely she hadn´t. Thinking her exact words over again, well, Miranda had to admit that maybe she had been a bit short on the phone. But that was who she was, always straight to the point without much flourish. Although, she had to admit Andrea hadn´t asked for that, only for a proper hello and good-bye. Was it really too much? No, it wasn´t, she could do that. She, Miranda Priestly, could do polite. Must be an English thing or something the editor thought with a roll of her eyes.
On the other hand, Miranda had to admit that she had been impressed by Andrea´s words, not backing down before the Dragon Lady. Not the least bit afraid, the woman had guts but she had known it all along. A trait Miranda admired greatly. Andrea wasn´t cowering, she spoke her mind, no matter what. Smiling at the daring biologist Miranda realised she liked her even more for that. Amends had to be made and it wasn´t above her to make them personally.
Once again at the end of the day Andy was surprised to find Miranda in her office when she returned from her last lecture. Closing the door behind her the Professor couldn´t help but smile at her visitor, so clearly out of place in her crammed office.
“Is this going to become a habit of yours?” Andy asked while navigating to her desk.
“And what would this be?”Miranda smirked at the other woman.
“You, waiting for me in my office.”
“Would you mind?” Miranda boltly inquired, stunned at herself, not knowing where that had come from.
Tilting her head to the side, Andy looked intently at the older woman before she answered.
“Not at all.”
“Good. Because I´m here to apologise for my rudeness earlier today and so that you know I´m not in the habit of apologising to anyone but my children.” Miranda sniffed indignantly.
“Then I must say I´m honoured and accept your apology but only if you accept mine. What I said to you and the way I said it wasn´t in the nicest way either.” Andy waited breathlessly at Miranda´s accepting nod and was very much relieved when the editor´s lips turned into a smile.
“Now that we have apologised and mended the fences would you come to my townhouse and have dinner with us?”
“Us?”
“My girls and I.”
Thinking about the offer, Andy didn´t have anything else planned for the evening and accepted gladly.
“It would be my pleasure.”
“Shall we?” Miranda was already on her feet waiting for the biologist to do the same.
“Lead the way!”
For an impatient woman, Miranda Priestly showed tremendous patience while they left the office and walked down the stairs, always considerate of Andy´s slower pace. She didn´t seem to mind their slowness, like the last time they talked about their days and Miranda told Andy more about the shoot on Friday. During the car ride to the townhouse Andy assured her that everybody, who had agreed to participate, was informed and had made sure their day would be free of any obligations.
When they arrived at the house, Roy held the door for Miranda and as soon as she stepped out of the car, the front door opened and two little redheads flew down the stairs directly into Miranda´s waiting arms.
“Hello, girls”, Miranda hugged her daughters kissing their heads.
“Hey, mom”, they chorused.
Looking over her shoulder, Miranda saw Andy waiting next to the car with a smile on her face to be introduced.
“Girls, we have a guest tonight.”
“Who?” They asked suspiciously, hoping it wasn´t another boring fashion person or celebrity who wanted to get in their mother´s good graces.
Turning around Miranda brought the girls with her introducing them to Andrea.
“Andrea Sachs, please meet my precious little terrors, Caroline and Cassidy.”
“Pleased to meet you, ladies”, Andy greeted the girls with a bow and a warm smile.
“You are not famous, are you?” Caroline asked to make sure.
“Thank goodness, no. I hope you aren´t disappointed?” Andy suddenly felt insecure.
“Great”, Cassidy jumped in, stepping forward to grab Andy´s hand to drag her into the house.
A stunned Miranda stood on the pavement watching as her girls dragged and followed Andrea into the house all the while chatting as if they had known the other woman for years. Strange.
“Mummy, are you coming?” Caroline asked.
“Yes, darling”, Miranda was startled out of her reverie.
Joining them in the hall, Miranda saw Maria coming out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on a dish towel, to greet their guest.
“Buona sera, Maria! Andrea, this is Maria Carvalli, trusted housekeeper, baby-sitter and friend.”
“Buona sera, signora”, Andrea greeted the older woman in fluent Italian.
“Buona sera.” Maria smiled. “You are Italian?”
“No, my grandmother is. She taught me.”
“Very good. Your nonna, she lives in Italy?” Maria asked, already liking the younger woman for her easy charm, knowing she had to be alright otherwise the girls wouldn´t take to her like they obviously did. These two were great judges of character.
“No, she lives in England but she spends every winter in her house in Tuscany, especially since my grandfather died. The English winter has become too unpleasant for her.”
“Good for her.” Maria had to agree. “Dinner will be ready in half an hour.”
“Thank you, Maria.” Miranda led her guest into the sitting room, followed by the girls who were burning to ask more about their mother´s new friend.
In the sitting room the girls took up each side of Andy on the couch leaving Miranda to take one of the comfy chairs. As soon as they sat, scrapping of dog nails on the hard wood floor announced the arrival of a huge St. Bernhard. Sniffing the air at the new arrival in their home, the dog sat in front of Andy and put one big paw on the knee.
“Andrea meet Patricia”, Miranda introduced the last member of the family.
“Nice to meet you Patricia”, Andy held out her hand to Patricia to sniff her scent. The verdict was passed when Patricia flopped down at Andy´s feet with a grunt, closing her eyes to resume her sleep after having done her duty as protector of the family. The new human was quite all right, so she didn´t have to worry for her pack. Case solved and closed.
Looking at the picture in front of her Miranda felt as if she had stepped into a parallel world, feeling like one of the characters in one of those ridiculous science-fiction shows her daughters used to watch. There was this virtual stranger chatting with her girls like old friends, with her dog lying at her feet softly snoring. When has it ever been remotely like that in this house? It felt surreal, completely surreal but at the same time nice. Strange, indeed. Shaking her head Miranda´s thoughts were interrupted when Maria informed them that dinner was ready.
“You go girls and wash your hands before we eat”, Miranda told her daughters, showing Andrea to the dining room.
Sitting around the table expectantly waiting for Maria to reveal her magic, Miranda carefully watched her daughters sensing something going on. They were giddy, giggling behind their hands. Yes, definitely they were playing at something. But they wouldn´t dare would they? This was usually a test for possible future husbands, surely they wouldn´t do it to Andrea. Given their strange behaviour this evening who could tell? She herself certainly could not.
When Maria lifted the lid from Andrea´s plate, the older woman gave a startled shriek jumping back as if having been bitten by a snake.
Miranda closed her eyes in defeat, hearing her daughters´ laughter which died as fast as it had come when they realised that Andrea showed not the expected reaction.
Sitting there on her plate in all her glory was the most magnificent arboreal tarantula or bird spider Andy had ever seen. Gathering the spider in her hand and looking more closely at the creature the biologist smiled knowing she had spoiled the twin´s prank.
“Hello there little one and who might you be?”
“Cindy”, the twins said in unison.
“Hello Cindy, you are really a beauty”, Andy watched the spider as she climbed from one hand to the other. Finally putting Cindy into the carrier box Caroline had handed over from under her chair.
“You are not afraid?” Cassidy asked with awe.
“I´m a biologist, why should I be. There isn´t much that can shock me or cause me to feel repulsed. And I had a spider myself when I was your age and a snake.”
“Cool”, Caroline breathed, liking her mother´s new friend even better. “Ms Sachs...”
“Andy”, the biologist corrected.
Causing both girls to smile even wider and Miranda to feel warm inside at how easy Andrea won her daughters´ affection, by simply talking to them in a serious manner. Something Stephen had never accomplished. And what was more, she had passed the spider test with flying colours.
“You wanted to say something, Caroline?” Andy asked the girl.
“Yes, can you tell us more about being a biologist?”
“Sure. Do you really want to know? I mean it can be quite boring.” Andy found it only fair to warn them beforehand.
“Not more than the fashion thing”, Cassidy deadpanned only to feel ashamed when she saw her mother´s hurt look.
“Sorry, mom, I didn´t mean it that way. It´s just, you know...”
Sighing at herself, Miranda knew full well that her demanding job was anything but thrilling for her girls, especially when it meant they had to put up with those demands as well. At the age of ten spiders and snakes were far more interesting than the world of fashion. Miranda knew she should be thankful for that but she did feel slightly hurt by Cassidy´s words.
“I know darling. It´s quite all right. Well then, Andrea you heard them, tell us about your job.”
“Right, but remember I warned you.” The Professor laughed at Miranda´s eye-roll perfectly matched by those of her daughter´s. They truly were their mother´s girls Andy thought before she launched into her tale about being a biologist and the more gooey stories she could tell from her time as a student.
Miranda couldn´t remember when it was the last time she had so much fun at a family dinner. Of course it was always wonderful when she spent more time with her girls but this easy banter and laughter hadn´t been present in their home for quite a while, if ever she ruefully thought. There was only a short moment when Miranda had thought the atmosphere would change for the worse. When Caroline had asked Andy, out of the blue, why she was walking with a cane and had this scar on her face.
They were still laughing at one of Andrea´s hilarious stories when suddenly Caroline blurted out the question which she had wanted to ask since she met Andy.
“Why do you need a cane and how come you have this huge scar on your face?”
It wasn´t asked out of malice just simple childlike curiosity Andy could tell. The girl didn´t mean to hurt her, she sounded rather worried for Andy.
“Caroline!” Miranda chided her daughter vehemently.
“No, Miranda”, Andy raised her hand to stop any further objections by the older woman. “It´s quite all right.”
“You don´t have to answer”, Miranda assured her.
“Yes, I do”, Andy contradicted the editor. “Caroline asked an honest question and is entitled to an honest answer.”
“Thank you”, Miranda softly said.
“I had a car accident five years ago. A truck smashed into my car at a junction. Parts of the car had been twisted and came undone by the impact. They damaged my hip and leg. Another part hit my head and nearly cost me my eye. The doctors did all they could but the scar remained. As for the cane, I can´t walk without it, the damage has been too severe.”
Climbing down their chairs both girls walked around the table to Andy and hugged her causing tears to spring to her eyes but Andy refused to let them fall. She hadn´t seen it coming.
“We are sorry, Andy”, both girls said into her hair while they hugged her tight.
“Thank you girls.”
They returned to their seats and after a short uncomfortable silence Miranda gently cleared her throat asking Andy about the praying mantis. She always had found it a most fascinating creature and it certainly helped to lighten the mood.
After dinner they returned to the sitting room while the twins were upstairs to get ready for bed.
“Thank you for your kindness”, Miranda felt the need to tell Andrea how much she appreciated the way she had talked to the girls.
“Not at all”, Andy softly said, “she asked and I merely answered. It was out of curiosity not to hurt. So why wouldn´t I.”
“Still...” Miranda couldn´t finish her sentence because pyjama clad twins burst into the room announcing they were ready to be tucked in.
“Well, I guess this is my clue”, Andy got to her feet.
“Can you come tuck us in too?” Cassidy asked with pleading eyes.
Who could resist such eyes, Andy certainly couldn´t. Looking at Miranda for help, the older woman merely shrugged leaving the decision to her.
“Right. Lead the way ladies!” The girls squealed with delight and raced upstairs followed by the grown ups at a slower pace.
Watching the nightly ritual, in the Priestly home, of tucking her daughters in Andy felt a sharp pain in her heart. Suddenly thinking of what could have been. Shaking her head to get rid of such thoughts she said good- night to the girls and followed Miranda downstairs.
It was time for her to leave, it had been a wonderful evening. A stark reminder of what she had lost and at the same time a balm for her wounded soul.
“Thank you, for a wonderful evening, Miranda. You have great daughters. You can be very proud of them.”
“They are my most precious gifts”, Miranda readily agreed with a soft expression on her face.
“I understand that. Good-night, Miranda.” Andy opened the front door and took the steps slowly.
“Good-night, Andrea. See you on Friday.” Miranda watched her go.
“Friday, then.”
Watching her walking down the road to the taxi stand Miranda still wondered about the evening. Everybody had felt at ease with the younger woman, including herself. It had been a pleasant change from her usual dinner guests. Andrea Sachs surely was an interesting woman, someone she would be proud to call a friend.
TBC