A/N: I really like the thought of Shelby starting to be a giant softie because of Beth, so I put it that way. With the whole adoption thing ... there´s probably more conflict you could put in that, but I decided to stay simple. Enough drama coming up later on ;)
So, here´s the next chapter!
„Hey mom, I'm home!", Beth called as she put down her bag and kicked off her sneakers. As her voice echoed through the house, Antoinette, the German shepherd, raced downstairs and jumped at her, panting happily.
The dog was fourteen now and started to get lazy, but whenever a Corcoran woman came home, she still welcomed them.
"Sorry Tony, no playing right now, OK?" She apologized and hugged her. Antoinette pulled her head back in disappointment and trotted back upstairs to her warm fleece.
"Put down your shoes properly, honey!", Beth's mom called from the basement.
Beth groaned and picked up the sneakers, placing them next to the wardrobe with the coats.
Soon after, she heard the washing machine start running.
"I didn't expect you that early", Shelby Corcoran smiled, walking up the stairs. Her features were firm, carved in marble. Everything about her sent out the impression of a strong woman, except for when she smiled. Then she softened all up, and there wasn't one person in the world you would trust more in that moment. Luckily, she smiled a lot.
"I guess we're just that good", Beth replied sheepishly.
"Don't you dare even suggesting that, young lady!", Shelby said with wide open eyes, pretending to be shocked. "When I was running that business, those kids would never get home before nightfall, especially with a competition coming up! You young people need some discipline …"
She put her hands on her hips and tried to maintain a serious face.
Beth glared at her for about five seconds, then she cracked and hugged her.
"Just come upstairs, I'll warm up some pasta for you. I'm sorry that I already ate, but I was hungry."
They had talked about this many times. Beth knew that her mom had been very strict during her time as a coach, and that most of the stuff she had to go through with Vocal Adrenaline every day was her mom's heritage. But she also knew that Shelby regretted being so consumed with perfection, and seeing her own daughter grow up, she disapproved more and more with the rules she had set herself.
Not that she could do anything about it, now that she had retreated from show choir. At least, working with show choirs.
Carmel high had paid her enormous wages, since Vocal Adrenaline was the most precious thing that ever happened to that school, so after retiring she could easily buy a small house with a nice garden and get a dog without having to worry about the money.
Beth couldn't remember their first dog, a dachshund named Freckles, since Shelby inherited him at age sixteen from the former house owner and he died while she was still a toddler.
Along with all the changes in Shelby's life came Beth, right with the house and the garden and the dog, and the first years of her life Shelby really did nothing but caring for her and doing some occasional garden work. I was only when she started school that her mother eventually got a part-time job, just so she wouldn't be bored out of her mind every morning.
They lived from her wage from then on, what was left of her "showbiz money", as Shelby called it, was saved for college.
She didn't even try to get back into show business, besides one small community theater role when Beth was ten.
Sometimes, Beth found it hard to believe what she had given up just to raise her and live a normal life with her.
She knew that she was adopted. There was really no reason for not knowing, as Shelby had told her, they didn't love each other any less because of that. Shelby called Beth her daughter, and Beth called Shelby her mom. She reserved the term "mother" for her biological mother, though, just to tell the difference. Not that it really made a difference.
They had settled this the first time Beth asked about her father.
"There is no father, I adopted you." Much easier than inventing an awkward story about some guy who might have died, run away or gotten a divorce, for none of those would have been any less shocking then the truth. And they were lies after all.
In their little family, lies were a bad thing.
Another thing about her adoption was their mutual agreement not to talk about her biological parents. For some years, Shelby would just brush away her questions, joking or telling her that she was still too young.
They had sat down over that as soon as Beth was old enough, both nervous about the results.
Although Shelby felt uncomfortable with the thought that her daughter might get interested in reuniting with her real parents, she also didn't want to keep anything from her she wanted to know.
For Beth, the thought of knowing everything about her background was tempting, but scary as well. What if her mother was some random bitch who had been too stupid to use protection, sleeping around with any guy she'd meet?
And it had something to do with teenage pregnancy, Shelby revealed - so she didn't have to worry about the usual question, the reason why her mother had given her up.
In the end, she decided against knowledge. She was adopted, great. But Shelby was her mom, and she didn't want any touchy back story to get in their way.
Maybe someday she would learn about it. Until then she liked to pretend that her mom was her mother.
"Did you do the flip again?", her mom asked as she sat down at the table and ate the pasta.
"Mmh", Beth answered, her mouth full.
"How many times?"
Beth choked down the content of her mouth before she said: "Four."
Shelby leaned back, tipping her fingers on the table.
"Jesse shouldn't let you do it too much. Once or twice a day is more than enough … it's still quite dangerous, on the solid stage. I can't believe you're so talented, though. I couldn't even do a cart wheel."
The younger Corcoran laughed. "I probably have that from … " – One of my parents, she wanted to add, but she wasn't sure if that crossed the line.
"..TV", she completed instead and grabbed for the bowl, only to find it empty.
"Isn't there any more food?", she complained, "I'm starving!"
Her mom raised her eyebrows.
"Please", she added, trying the puppy eyes. It worked.
"I'll make you some sandwiches", Shelby sighed and got up to the kitchen counter.
"Thanks, mom. I love you!" Beth shot her the best smile she was capable of at that moment, causing her to laugh out.
"Aaron told me we'll be getting new competition for Regionals this year", she told, taking a sip from her diet coke.
"Shouldn't you win Sectionals first?", the older woman considered loudly while putting some salad on the sandwiches.
"Oh, you know we're going to win alright!" Beth grimaced at her.
"Nah, but I'm worried about those guys. They gonna be good."
Shelby opened the fridge. "Mayonnaise or mustard? And who are those mysterious people that get my gorgeous daughter so concerned?"
"Mustard. This group that got half of the last centuries´ national championships, the New Directions."
For a brief moment, her mother froze.
Then she put the mustard back in the fridge and brought the sandwiches over to the table.
As she sat down, she chuckled a little.
"The New Directions. I see."
Beth grimaced. "What about `um?"
"We have … history", her mom replied, smiling to herself.
"Like you didn't know!", she added to the questioning expression on her daughters face.
Once she kept that, Shelby laughed and went on.
"So I guess I will tell you more then …" Something in her voice changed. She stared out of the window as she trailed off.
"They hadn't been out for competition for a while. Went to sectionals as complete underdogs, but they were good. The weirdest bunch of people to form a show choir for sure, but a good bunch. I was a little concerned, too, as I watched them. They were serious competition. So I smuggled Jesse in."
She laughed. "Yes, the same Jesse who coaches your glee club now."
Mr. St. James, a spy? Beth liked that story.
"He befriended and eventually dated their lead singer." It almost seemed like she wanted to add something to that, further information, a name maybe. But her mouth closed and opened again.
"It was a mess. Things went out of plan pretty soon, when he actually liked her. New Direction's teacher almost got me, but I convinced him that we had no bad intentions. I even let Jesse transfer for that girl. He got back soon enough. Our kids had a little fight going on, close to Regionals, it was hilarious!"
Shelby laughed again, her eyes sparkling.
"I had to run over to their school a couple of times, they were damaging our cars and everything. But yeah, we won Regionals and later Nationals. Good times."
Her voice had a melancholic touch to it.
"That was the year I was born, wasn't it? The year you stopped coaching and became my mom instead", Beth said quietly. Her mom had sounded like the missed that, so why would she give it up just then?
Shelby leaned back and bit her lip, thinking of a good answer.
"Those New Directions made me realize what I was missing out. They were nothing like us, they had actually fun. Their program wasn't about perfection, it was about them. That kind of … touched me. The victory didn't feel that good anymore."
She stared somewhere in the distance behind Beth, making her wonder if there was more unspoken.
"So, why have I never seen them?", Beth finally asked, when she knew there wasn't anything coming.
Shelby looked at her in surprise, but she caught herself rather quickly.
"After all, they make me feel a little uncomfortable … I'm avoiding them, I guess. Not intentionally – their Sectionals and Regionals often cut in with ours and at their last Invitational we really had to go and visit your grandmother … But you have the right to be worried, Beth", she concluded, "Judging by the records, they have developed their unique style. They are different, and that's their strength. You've got a nice competition coming up. I really should go and see them again …"
She got up and petted Beth's hair before she went downstairs to look for the laundry.
Beth cleaned up the kitchen, stopping at the fridge.
Besides plenty of pictures of her and her mom, a couple of her and Aaron and a little less Shelby with Taylor, the guy she was currently seeing, there was one faded cut out of a newspaper.
It was entitled "Close call at show choir Regionals", an article about their victory back in 2010. A picture of the three show choirs, lined up on stage right before the judges came on, went with it. Beth could only guess where her mom was standing, since the picture was too small and blurry to properly recognize any faces. "Vocal Adrenaline, Aural Intensity, New Directions …", she traced the three different groups.
She thought about doing some research on them. It was likely that her mom kept a copy of the performances that night somewhere, the whole basement was filled with old recordings.
But no, there was no reason to worry about it just yet. She had to concentrate on Sectionals first.
