"You're happy today, Mum," Beth observes as she and her Mother cross the road and walk through Central Park. "I'm always happy, Beth!" Quinn laughs. Beth considers this for a while, watching the early morning crowd in Central Park as she does so. "But this is a different type of happy, Mummy. This is like the happy that Ellie Collinge was when she found out what she was getting for her birthday before she was meant to."
With a sly glance toward Beth, Quinn says smugly "Maybe I know what I'm getting for my birthday." Beth smiles. "What are you getting, Mama?" Quinn taps the side of her perfect nose, recalling a time when Rachel had wanted to get a nose job. High school. Sometimes she missed it so much.
She often tried to put her finger on what she missed the most. Not her old Principal. Not Sue. She definitely didn't miss the whispers in the hallways during the time she was pregnant with her little angel. She missed Glee club sometimes, but it wasn't the singing. It was the unity – being with her friends. Those who had been there for her when she needed them the most. Puck, Finn, Rachel, Mike, Artie, Sam, Tina, Santana, even Mercedes and Tina. And how could she forget Kurt?
Sometimes, Quinn just got so lonely.
"I could tell you… But then I'd have to tickle you!" Quinn's fingers closed around Beth's middle and tickled. Beth shrieked, attracting looks from strangers. Quinn laughed off these looks, something she'd learned to do after her time at McKinley. The phone in her pocket beeped. It beeped again. "Miss Popular," she mumbled to herself, laughing as she remembered her days as Queen of McKinley – even if she had never been the nominated Prom Queen.
The first message was from Rachel. "Coffee, New Haven? Rachel xxx" Quinn smiled. Rachel and her coffee. New York had gone to her head.
As soon as Quinn sees her next message is from Puck, she slides the phone back into her pocket. She has that rollercoaster feeling in her stomach and can't help but smile. She wants the feeling to stay there all day.
Before Quinn knows it, they're standing in front of Beth's school. Her stomach drops, along with the corners of her mouth. She wants to bring Beth with her, to see Rachel. They always had so much fun together.
It's standing in front of the grand, grey façade of Beth's school that Quinn feels more like the big sister than ever. Women in their thirties shoot her looks as they juggle their poodles and the keys to their Mercedes convertibles. Their daughters smile at Beth and Quinn, oblivious. "Have a good day, Beth," Quinn says hastily. "I love you, honey."
Beth sighs. She wants to go with her Mum, not to school. She wants to follow her Mum around the Yale campus, have coffee with her friends. Stay on Skype all day with Daddy. She wants to wear her own clothes, not the stiff green Bellwood blazer, crisp blouse and the pinafore that makes the bare skin above her navy socks itch. "Bye, Mummy. I love you too."
The Subway is crowded with what seems like a thousand high school students. Quinn shifts through them politely. She's never understood why they stand when there are free seats around the carriage. The only students that seem to sit are the ones in uniforms similar to Beth's – blazers and skirts and perfectly ironed blouses.
In an instant, Quinn decides that Beth won't go to another private high school. She doesn't want her daughter to grow up a perfectly ironed copy of every other academically advanced girl that graduates. Quinn's watched Gossip Girl and knows that the girls aren't like Serena van der Woodsen. Smiling at her decision, Quinn slides her phone out of her pocket to look at Puck's message. Her heart beats faster and faster.
"Saw the two most beautiful girls in the world this morning. Miss you both heaps. Love, Noah"
Quinn can't remember the last time she felt so dizzy. The words "beautiful" and "Love, Noah" flash in front of her eyes. She closes her eyes, her silly smile reaching from ear to ear. She rests her head up against the window, remembering.
"Quinn, we can't do this to Beth. We're her parents. We love each other."
"Noah, I'm going to New Haven. You're in California."
"I'll move."
"Come on, Quinn. What about us? Just because we're not in Lima doesn't mean it all has to change."
"I have college. You have your business, Noah…"
"People own pools on the East Coast."
"That's not what I'm saying, and you know it, Noah Puckermann."
"Finn and Rachel did it long distance. We can, too."
"They're married, Puck."
"What's stopping us?"
"What?"
"Nothing's stopping us getting married, Quinn."
"Did you just-"
"No. I said nothing's stopping us, I didn't propose. But if you want me to…"
"Noah, don't do this."
"It would be better for all of us. Not just Beth, but for you."
"I don't want this right now."
"I love you."
"I love you too."
New Haven. Quinn picked up her bag, thoughts bouncing around in her mind. Puck. Beth. Rachel. Finn. College. High School. It seemed like these thoughts never left her head.
"Quinn!" Quinn is blinded by a thick wave of brown hair and enveloped in a hug. She can smell the cinnamon perfume that has become Rachel's trademark. "Rachel! I'm so glad to see you. I think we're going to be here longer than one coffee." Rachel pulls away from the cinnamon-y embrace. "What's wrong, Quinn?" Quinn shrugs, smiling and then frowning. She hugs Rachel again.
"Over coffee," she promises.