Hey babes! Back again with a new chapter for ya. I know it's not Monday yet, but I felt generous today. :)
Enjoy!
"So, I think I have a really good idea," Grant speaks up to his daughter as he makes his way into the kitchen, setting his phone down on the counter as he passes by it. "Only thing is, I'm not sure if you'd be up for it."
"You said the same thing during spring break about going to the studio," Jessica replies, glancing up from her bowl of cereal.
Grant nods, feigning forgetfulness. "Right. Of course. So do you want to hear my really good idea, then?"
Jessica nods, her mouth full of Cinnamon Toast Crunch. "Mm-hmm."
"Great. So I was thinking, since it's your last full day here in LA, we could go and do something that's really, really fun, one of the coolest things to do in LA. It's so cool that I decided to save it for last."
"Even cooler than getting to watch you rehearse for your tour?" she asks him. "Cause that was really cool."
He nods. "Definitely cooler than that."
"So what is it?"
"Hiking up to the Hollywood sign."
Jessica grins and sits up straighter. "Yes!"
"You really want to go?"
She nods her head vigorously. "Yeah! That sounds like so much fun."
Grant laughs quietly. "I'm glad you think so. And we could even have a picnic up there if you want to."
"That sounds awesome."
"Good. I'm glad. So hurry up and finish eating, okay? We have to go run a few errands and then we can go hiking."
"Cool. Is Max gonna go with us?" she asks him.
"I think that'd be okay. Besides, Max would probably get pretty lonely here without us to keep him company while we're gone."
"Yeah, you're probably right. Do you think he'll get tired easily when we're hiking?"
"He might. He's getting pretty old; he's not as spritely as he used to be when your mom and I first got him."
"Was he a cute puppy?"
"The cutest. Your mom liked to dress him up in ridiculous costumes and outfits and take pictures of him."
"Do you still have any?" she asks eagerly.
He tilts his head in thought. "I might be able to dig up a few, but I'd have to really look. I think they got put away somewhere after your mom and I split up."
"Oh, okay." She turns back to her breakfast and continues eating.
Grant smiles softly at her before turning to the stove to make himself some breakfast before getting their day started.
Pulling up to a stop in one of the parking spaces in front of the record studio, Grant shifts the gear into park before shutting off the engine and removing the keys from the ignition.
"How come we're here?" Jessica asks him, looking through the windshield at the tall building in front of them. "I thought we were gonna go hiking?"
"I just have to do a few quick things real fast in regards to my tour. And then I promise we'll go out on that hike."
"Okay. Do I have to stay in the car while you're inside?"
"Absolutely not. You and Max get to come inside and hang out in one of the lounges while I do what I need to do. I think they have games and stuff in there for when kids like you have to wait around for a while."
"Okay."
"Good. Now come on." He gestures with his head outside the car as he climbs out, Jessica climbing out right after him.
Making sure the car is locked, Grant gently rests a hand on Jessica's shoulder and leads her up to the front of the studio building, pushing open the front doors and nudging her inside to the front lobby.
Stepping up to the front desk, Grant smiles at the man sitting behind the desk. "Good morning, Charles."
"Grant, good to see you again. How are you?"
"Doing pretty well. You?"
"As well as I usually am."
"Hi, Charles," Jessica speaks up, smiling and waving at the man.
Charles peers over the desk and smiles kindly at her. "Oh, Jessica, hello. I didn't realize you were in town."
"I've been here for two weeks with dad since I'm done with school. But today's my last day here. We're gonna go hiking up to the Hollywood sign later."
"Oh, that'll be fun."
"Yeah. I'm really excited."
Charles gives her another smile before looking back up at Grant. "So, what can I do for you, Grant?"
"I'm actually here for a meeting about my tour, but I'm not sure if the others are here yet. Can you find out for me?"
Charles nods. "I absolutely can. Just give me one moment."
Grant and Jessica stand patiently in front of the reception counter, talking quietly to themselves as they wait for Charles to finish his task, one of Jessica's hands resting absentmindedly on top of Max's head, much like Grant does whenever he's out with his dog.
"Alright," Charles speaks up a moment later, "I do believe that two of the members of your meeting today are already here."
"That's great, Charles, thank you so much."
"Not a problem. They're in the conference room on the seventh floor."
"Great, thanks." Grant gives the other man a small smile before leading Jessica past the desk and over to the bank of elevators, Max following right beside them.
"Bye, Charles," Jessica says with a wave. She looks up at her dad. "I like Charles, he's nice."
"He certainly is. He's one of the nicest guys that I know."
"That's cool."
"Yeah, I think so too."
As soon as their elevator car arrives, Grant ushers her inside and they ride up in a comfortable silence.
Once they reach the seventh floor, they step out into the hallway and Grant leads Jessica to one of the lounges.
"Alright, you hang out in here with Max while I go do what I need to. Feel free to have any of the snacks or drinks in the fridge and cupboards. Hopefully I won't be too long."
"Okay. Have fun in your meeting."
Grant smiles. "I'll try." He leans down and gives her a quick kiss on the top of her head before turning around and walking out of the room.
.
.
.
Lying down on the couch in the lounge, Jessica stares up at the ceiling, singing quietly to herself as she waits for her dad to finish up his meeting. Max is curled up on one end of the couch at her feet, snoring as he sleeps.
Hearing a faint voice coming from somewhere outside the room, she casually looks over in curiosity.
Her eyes go wide at what she sees and she sits up quickly, staring straight ahead of her.
"No way," she whispers, watching the tall blonde woman walking just a few feet in front of her. "Bobbi Morse," she says. A wide smile crosses over her lips at seeing the other woman.
"Hi there."
Jessica's eyes go wide when she realizes that Bobbi is speaking to her, standing in front of her and looking directly at her.
"Hi. You're Bobbi Morse."
Bobbi nods. "I am. And I believe I know who you are."
"You do?"
"Mm-hmm. You're Jessica, Grant's daughter."
"You know my dad?"
"As a matter of fact, I do. He and I go way back."
"Really? Did you go to school with him and my mom too? He never said anything about going to school with you."
Bobbi shakes her head and laughs quietly. "Not quite that far back. One of his songs was actually on the soundtrack to one of my movies about five or six years ago."
Jessica gasps. "I remember that! Mom wouldn't let me see the movie because there was a lot kissing and stuff, but I listened to that song all the time."
Bobbi smiles. "I'm sure you did." She takes a deep breath and moves to sit next to Jessica on the couch. "I'm sorry about your arm," she says, gesturing to the cast covering Jessica's arm. "That doesn't look like it was any fun."
Jessica glances down at the cast and then back up at Bobbi. "Thanks. It doesn't really hurt that much anymore, though. So I guess that's good."
"That certainly is a good thing. So, what are you doing here right now? Where's your dad?"
"He's doing some stuff for his tour. He told me to wait here with Max until he's done and then we're going to go hiking up to the Hollywood sign."
"Wow. That's pretty awesome.
"Yeah. What are you doing here? You're an actress, not a singer."
Bobbi makes a show of looking around conspiratorially before look back at Jessica. "Can you keep a secret?"
Jessica nods her head. "Yeah. I'm really good at it."
"I'm working on a new movie and the people in charge of it want me to sing a song for it. So I had a meeting here today to talk about it."
"Wow. That's so cool."
"Thanks. Can I count on you to listen to the song over and over again if it happens and to tell other about it when it comes out?"
Jessica nods. "Definitely."
"Great."
"Oh, you know what you should do?"
"What?"
"Have dad sing a song for the movie. He's really good."
Bobbi smiles. "That is definitely something I'll have to consider and bring up to my producers."
"Sorry my meeting took a little longer than I thought it would, Jess," Grant speaks up as he enters the room.
"It's okay, dad. I was talking to Bobbi."
Grant smiles when he notices the blonde woman sitting next to his daughter. "Oh, hey, Bobbi. Good to see you again."
"You too. Did your meeting go well?"
Grant sighs and nods. "As well as it could. We were going over some logistics for my tour that's starting soon."
"Oh yeah, I heard about that. Lot of shows sold out pretty quickly, huh?"
"They did. I'm pretty excited. The only thing that'll be tough is not getting to see my beautiful daughter the whole time." He smiles over at Jessica.
"It's called FaceTime, dad," she responds. "Mom said she's gonna leave her tablet with me while I'm with Uncle Fitz and Auntie Jemma so I can still talk to you since she'll have her phone with her on her honeymoon."
Grant nods. "Right, of course. How could I forget about FaceTime?"
Jessica shrugs. "I don't know. You're getting old?"
Bobbi lets out a loud laugh while Grant's jaw drops open.
"Excuse you, young lady; I'm only twenty-nine, just a few months older than your mother. The woman who gave birth to you and will also be twenty-nine very soon."
"I know. You're both almost thirty. That's weird."
Grant laughs quietly and turns to look at Bobbi. "So, how's Lance?" he asks the woman, a small smile still on his face.
Bobbi sighs. "Good. Also annoying."
"So then why did you marry him?" he asks her.
Bobbi tilts her head in thought. "You know, I'm still trying to figure that one out myself."
"Well I hope you figure it out, truly. But in the meantime, Jess and I need to get going so that we can go on our hike before it gets to be too much later."
Bobbi nods. "Of course. I heard about your hike up to the Hollywood sign. Sounds like fun."
"I hope it will be," Grant admits, a small smile on his face.
"Are we almost there?" Jessica asks as she and Grant continue to climb up the mountainside. Grant has a backpack on his back with their lunch and a few of their belongings in it, his hands hanging onto the straps.
"I think so," Grant tells his daughter.
"Good. I'm kind of getting tired. And hungry."
Grant smiles. "Well I promise you we're almost there and then we'll sit down and eat lunch."
"Okay."
The two continue walking together up the mountain, Jessica messing around with Max as they go, laughing and smiling the whole way up to the top.
"Hey, Jess, look where we are."
"Wow. This is so awesome," Jessica states once they reach the top of the hill overlooking all of Los Angeles, clutching tightly to one strap of the bag on her back. She carefully turns and looks all around, a wide smile on her face at the sight. "Everything's so small down there."
"That's what makes it so amazing," Grant tells his daughter, stepping up beside her and resting a hand on her shoulder, Max right beside him. "I don't come up here too often, but when I do, it always seems to take my breath away. It's one of my favorite places to come to."
"Did you ever come up here with mom when she lived here?" she asks him.
"Once or twice. Your mom wasn't really that big on exercise," he jokes.
"She still isn't," Jessica replies.
Grant laughs quietly. "Yeah, that doesn't surprise me. She made me carry her most of the way whenever we came up here."
"She did?"
"Mm-hmm. She's lucky that I loved her so much." He takes a deep breath and shifts on his feet. "Hey, do you want to take a picture? Show everybody that we hiked all the way up to the Hollywood sign?"
Jessica smiles. "Yeah."
"Great. Come here." He moves to stand so their backs are facing the view of LA. He pulls his phone out of his pocket, opens up Instagram, and holds it up in front of them. He leans down so his face is next to hers, wide smiles on both of their faces.
Capturing the moment, Grant taps inside the caption button after skipping over a filter.
Incredible day spent with my daughter on her last day with me in LA before I have to send her back to her mom. Hiked all the way up to the Hollywood sign. Love you to the moon and back, Jess. You haven't even left yet but I already miss you like crazy.
"I wish we could get closer to the sign," Jessica speaks up.
"So do I," Grant tells her. "But this is still pretty cool from up here, right?"
She nods. "Yeah, it's awesome."
"Good. I'm really glad you think so." He takes another deep breath. "So, should we set out our lunch and start eating?"
Jessica nods her head vigorously. "Yes please."
Grant chuckles and moves over to a flat area of ground. "Alright, come on." He sits down and sets his backpack in front of him, opening the top and pulling out the few different lunch items he packed for their adventure.
"I don't want to go."
Grant sighs as he walks next to his daughter through the airport, hanging tightly onto her hand. "I know you don't, Jess. But we'll see each other again in just a couple of days when I fly out for your mom's wedding."
"Can't you just come with me now?" she asks him. "That way we don't have to wait to see each other again."
He shakes his head. "Sorry, Jess. But I still have a few things to take care of here in LA before I go to Massachusetts. I have to make sure things are ready for my tour so that when I get back I can head out for that."
Jessica sighs. "Okay. It just sucks."
"I know it does."
"I miss you a lot when I'm not here," she tells him.
He swallows his tears. "I miss you a lot too. But it'll just make the next time we see each other that much more special."
"Really?"
Grant stops walking and nods his head, turning to face his daughter and kneel down in front of her. "Absolutely. I'll never stop missing you, Jess." He places his hands on her small shoulders, looking her straight in the eyes. "But every time we get to see each other in person it'll be one of the greatest moments ever."
"You really mean it?"
"Of course I do. I love you so much, Jessica. More than I ever thought was possible."
Jessica smiles up at him. "I love you too, dad." She takes a small step forward and closes the space between them, throwing her arms around him in a hug and burying her face in his neck.
Grant smiles through the tears threatening to spill over as he hugs his daughter back. He'll never get tired of this. Ever.
So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below? I'd love to hear your thoughts.
Until next time,
Jellybean96 out!