catty-words:

so i know they live in “we don’t have weather here” southern california, but suspend your disbelief and hear me out:

• heather wearing a different flannel every day of the season
• she has a few beanies that she favors–black, gray, and this really nice knit mauve one that valencia got her–because they go with nearly every one of the color combos.
• eventually, rebecca starts to complain about how much they smell because they’re not machine washable
• which of course is why heather hand washes them in the kitchen sink like a responsible beanie owner, but rebecca claims that doesn’t help – “gross, they smell like scalp.” “so, like, skin?” “dead, flaky head skin.” “dude, you have a problem.” “yeah, and it’s your weird, stinky hats.”
• valencia’s fall wardrobe consists of a lot of sweater dresses, soft patterned leggings and booties
• she also has an extensive collection of peacoats, each one of which paula compliments her on. so valencia decides to buy her a couple for christmas
• but she’s so excited about it, she doesn’t make it that long. paula wakes up on a random, crisp saturday morning to find valencia on her doorstep, wrapped box and coffees in hand.
• the main staples in rebecca’s fall wardrobe are silly rain boots and big, chunky cardigans. she specifically seeks out the ones with too-long sleeves that she can pull over her hands for extra coziness.
• paula, being the mom that she is, has an array of novelty sweaters. jack-o-lanterns and bats and candy corn and colorful leaves galore! you know the style – the decorations are 3D and nearly pop off and so obviously made in the 80s. loose threads ain’t got nothing on the thick, hardy fabric.
• and speaking of jack-o-lanterns, rebecca definitely makes them carve pumpkins together
• paula bakes the seeds from the gutted pumpkins – making the house smell incredible – but only her and rebecca actually eat them
• the whole night, rebecca and valencia squabble about who can make the best pumpkin. rebecca goes for a complicated spider + web to show off her precision while valencia goes for a classic hackles-raised black cat
• in the end, heather shows the both of them up with an intricate haunted house complete with bats emerging from the attic and ghost hosts (heather loses herself to giggles while explaining this, and rebecca and valencia get even angrier about losing when they realize she’s stoned)
• being a fan of organized events and theme parties, valencia decides to throw a costume party for halloween
• they hold it at heather and rebecca’s house, and valencia goes all out with the haunted house theme, replacing nearly every light bulb with a black light, renting a fog machine, buying several CDs full of spooky tracks so she can listen to them all and pick the best ones for the event
• paula wins the costume contest dressed as ‘beer on tap’ – which consists of a sparkly blazer with homemade beer bottles taped all over it, top hat, cane, and of course tap shoes
• rebecca talks up her costume all week only to come as the world’s lamest bumble bee because she didn’t actually plan ahead
• heather teases valencia mercilessly until she relinquishes the list of couples’ costumes she’d planned for her and josh
• “oh, this one’s cute.” “for a family, maybe.” “nah, forget the kid part. let’s do this.” “you want to go dressed as a couple?” “hell yeah! a couple of rebel scum. …you’ve never seen the movies, have you?” “god no, they’re like three hours each. who has the time for that?”
• and that’s how heather and valencia end up going as leia and han solo
• though it took her a little while to agree to go as han, valencia’s costume is quite the hit
• of course, it’s not all big events. most fall days include foggy morning runs for valencia and heather, before-work meetups at sugar face for coffee, nights that start early and drag on forever 
• dewy saturday mornings spent at the house with four mugs filled with steeping tea. the girls huddled under thick, soft throw blankets, their laptops open as they all work on different things. 
• seasonal movie marathons every friday night. rebecca eating way too many candy bars in a row and paula rubbing her stomach as she lays there whining about her lack of self control.
• one ill-fated camping trip heather insists they take in early november, during which the joint heather rolled for them makes the other girls all paranoid. 
• heather’s campfire ghost stories really don’t do anything to assuage their paranoia.
• the clear view of the starry night sky helps some, though
• a trip to the apple orchard is organized at valencia’s insistence. she wants paula to teach her some recipes – apple crisp and apple pie
• the day is drizzly and overcast and valencia’s definitely a little too serious about her plan of attack – barking orders as the girls trudge behind her through muddy row after muddy row of trees looking for only the best apples the orchard has to offer
• but the soggy and tiresome day eventually turns into a warm and cozy evening at valencia’s place, where they drink too much rose and burn the pie. the apples really are some of the best any of them have ever had, though, so it doesn’t even matter that their dessert is charred
• valencia spends the night over at heather and rebecca’s before thanksgiving. in the morning they watch the macy’s day parade and rebecca tells them stories of when she used to go with her mom as a kid until she developed a fear of large balloons
• they go over to paula’s house for dinner, each of them contributing a dish (or, in rebecca’s case, a bottle of wine)
• for the first time in years, paula doesn’t dread the meal, and it’s not just because she’s surrounded by her girls. it’s also watching scott and rebecca try to harmonize, listening to tommy excitedly tell heather about how cool he’s gotten since they last saw each other, and the satisfaction that comes with seeing someone finally intimidate brendan for a change (paula’s gonna have to learn some of valencia’s tricks)
• and later that night, when paula puts on the dog show without prompting and the girls gather on the couch with glasses of wine, passing a tin of half-eaten pumpkin pie between themselves, rebecca gets a similar feeling of contentment, stuck with the sense that this is her family, and she finally found one with no limit to their unconditional love