When Beca picked up the phone that peaceful July day, she essentially had her eardrums blown out the other side of her head.
"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"
Beca threw the phone across the room, clutching her head to ensure none of her eardrums exploded, before gingerly picking up the phone and checking the caller ID. Chloe Beale could squeal.
(Fatal mistake on her part, she admitted it.)
"Oh my God!" she gasped.
"Beca, guess what?"
"What?"
"Guess!"
"What?"
"Guess!"
"What?"
"Guess!"
"WHAT?" Beca bellowed finally.
(Because Jesse made her play that stupid game enough and she hated it. Chloe of all people knew that.)
"I'm getting married!"
(Chloe was a singer, and Chloe could project her voice quite far. It was a good trick to have, Beca acknowledged, but not when it was right into her ear.)
Beca let out a scream of excitement. "Oh my God!"
"I know!"
"Congratulations!"
"You're a bridesmaid! And Molly's the flower girl!"
Jesse opened the front door just in time to hear Beca's shriek of excitement, and cocked his eyebrow in confusion. "Hey Bec", he called.
"Jess, Chloe's getting married!"
"Congratulations!" he called towards the phone, a grin spreading across his face.
"Oh my God, I can't wait! I'm coming over tonight, we have to start planning!"
It was at that moment that they realised how big Chloe Beale's wedding was going to be.
"Sweet Jesus", Jesse commented, coming through the door with Molly in his arms. "What's going on?"
"I've been planning my wedding since I was seven, Swanson", Chloe almost snapped (the same reaction that Beca had gotten when she merely raised her eyebrows), before passing another picture of flowers to Lily.
"Wow", was all he said, dropping a kiss to Beca's head and passing Molly to Stacie (who eagerly held out her arms- anything to get out of wedding preparations, he reasoned). "How does Tom feel about all of this?"
"Tom's turning up", Cynthia Rose told him (because that was the answer that she got when she questioned the same thing. "Chloe, is your fiancée aware of this?" "He'll be there, Cynthia Rose, and he'll like it").
Chloe's wedding was set to be a production and a half.
(Beca had been hanging out for the wedding of Aubrey Posen, which was set to be scheduled to the minute- somehow she had glazed over Chloe's wedding in the meantime.)
Dress shopping, in the eyes of Beca Swanson, was never fun. She had declared that when she went shopping for her prom dresses, her mother in tow, and had declared that again when she went shopping for her wedding gown and made both Chloe and Fat Amy cry.
(Fat Amy had fanned her face and declared that there was no way she was crying, but they saw through her.)
But apparently there was something worse.
And that was flower girl dress shopping.
(Her poor daughter had been tugged in and out of dresses for the last two hours and was looking well and truly over it.)
"She is not wearing that", Beca said, eyes wide, as Chloe tugged the zipper up the back of Molly's dress.
"Look at her!" Fat Amy crooned. "She looks so cute!"
"She looks like a marshmallow", Beca said bluntly. "Molly, come here, let Mummy take it off. It's alright; Mummy won't make you wear this".
"It's Aunt Chloe's wedding, Beca", Aubrey said sweetly, as Molly toddled towards her mother.
"Yes, but I don't want my daughter breaking out into a rash because of the lace! Chlo, the bridesmaid dresses are simple, your dress is simple… don't you think Molly should have a simple dress too?" she questioned, as she wrestled Molly out of the flowery, lacy death trap.
"She does look a bit like a marshmallow", Stacie offered. "A cute marshmallow, though!"
Lily snickered, as Molly sat on her mother's lap wearing nothing but her nappy.
"That was a bit much", Chloe reasoned. "Time for the next dress!" and she swooped her goddaughter out of Beca's arms, carrying her off to stuff her chubby little body into the next dress.
"Poor thing", Cynthia Rose said sombrely. "She's going to look back at this in ten years and say 'Mum, what the hell did you let Aunt Chloe do to me'?"
If it wasn't her best friend, Aubrey would have laughed. But she didn't, she held it together. "Cynthia Rose, be nice", she warned, biting back a smile. "She's excited; she's been planning this day since she was seven".
"I didn't realise that she'd be dragging my daughter into this".
"As if she was going to have a wedding without her goddaughter!" Aubrey scoffed.
"So far into this. The poor thing doesn't know what's hit her!"
The fourteen month old looked at her mother with an almost unreadable expression on her face and Beca just laughed.
"We're going home soon baby, don't worry".
"You look gorgeous, Bec", Jesse said with a grin, and Beca smiled shyly at him.
"Thanks Jess".
(It blew his mind that even after all those years, that she still doubted herself. Jesse had told her hundreds of thousands of times exactly how beautiful she was, and how that under no circumstance was he going to leave her, but it didn't excuse her doubts.)
"Look at your daughter, though", Beca said quickly, changing the subject (because she didn't know what to do when someone complimented her).
Jesse's eyes grew wide as he spied his daughter, sitting up on the rocking chair all by herself.
"Hey there flower girl!" Jesse scooped Molly up into the air, holding her above his head. "Hello gorgeous!"
"Daddy!" she laughed, squealing.
"Watch her hair", Beca warned. "It took me ages to get the perfect pigtails that Chloe and Tom want, she might actually drop dead if they're not perfect".
"That's Aubrey, Bec, not Chloe", Jesse chuckled. "Let's do this!"
"Wow", Aubrey uttered, as Chloe turned to face them. "You look really beautiful, Chlo".
"Thanks Aubrey". Chloe grinned, and Fat Amy gave her two thumbs up.
"I'd totally do you", Stacie offered, and Cynthia Rose chuckled.
"There's no need for that", Fat Amy coughed.
"Hey Bec, what do you think?"
Beca grabbed Molly for the third time (because her daughter was perfectly content with running amuck in the hotel room, and she doubted that they'd appreciate the eighteen month old's destruction), hoisting her to her hip. "You look stunning, Chlo", she said truthfully. "What do you think, Molly?"
"Pretty!" she declared, reaching for Chloe's wrist. "Scarf".
"No", Beca warned her. "Daddy's got yours".
Molly frowned for a moment, reaching for Lily.
"Go to Aunt Lily", Beca decided, laughing.
"Come here flower girl", Lily whispered, and Molly wrapped her arms around her aunt's neck.
Jesse cooed as Molly advanced down the aisle with her little basket of flowers, beside Aubrey. Grinning, she waved, tossing handfuls of flowers.
"Daddy!" she said brightly, as she passed her father.
Jesse waved, chuckling a little under his breath, as Aubrey ushered her to the front of the church.
Beca suddenly felt tears well up in her eyes and glanced into the rows of people, her blue eyes meeting with Jesse's dark ones almost immediately. He frowned slightly at her and she gave him a smile. She saw Jesse visibly relax- slightly- and turned her attention back to Chloe and Tom.
Chloe was absolutely glowing with happiness, and Tom had an ear to ear smile on his face. The pair of them were showing almost identical emotions to what Jesse and Beca felt on their wedding day.
Their wedding was so different. Whilst Jesse wanted the big traditional ceremony, Beca didn't. So they compromised- it wasn't as big as Jesse imagined, and it certainly wasn't as traditional.
(Beca walked down the aisle to their song. When Aubrey heard their plans she all but dropped dead on the spot. That had been a fun day.)
(Beca had possibly influenced Chloe's choice of accessory for the day. just like Beca had done on their wedding day; she had tied her Bellas scarf around her wrist, as something old. Beca would have kept up and continued tradition, but her Bellas scarf was her daughter's favourite toy and was probably the filthiest thing she'd ever seen.)
"You're even more gorgeous than the bride", Jesse whispered, wrapping his arms around Beca. "Don't tell Chloe".
Beca laughed, throwing her head back and wrapping her arms around him. "I'd never do that".
"Want to know the best part about this wedding?"
"What?"
"That I get to dance with my two favourite girls".
She groaned. "You're such a cheese!"
"You love it baby!" he laughed. "Hey Molly! Stop dancing with Uncle Donald and come and dance with Daddy!"
Molly stepped off Donald's feet, taking off towards her father (she was running purely off sugar and would be sure to crash sooner than later) and throwing her arm around Jesse. "Hi Daddy!" she giggled, and Jesse swung her up into his arms. Molly slung one arm around her mother's neck, smacking a sloppy kiss to her cheek.
"Hey, you having fun?" she questioned.
"Yeah". She nodded, grinning.
Jesse put an arm back around Beca, swaying slowly to the music. She put a head on his shoulder and he kissed the top of her curls, matching the action with their daughter.
"I love you", she whispered to him.
"Love you!" Molly said brightly.
Jesse just laughed. "I love you too".
