Chapter 37: An Opportunity of a Lifetime for Chloe
A few months passed, and each day Beca kept making progress with her physical therapy. She had passed the milestone of being able to stand, so all that was left for her to accomplish was walking again. There were days where the brunette was in a great mood, and there were other days where she wasn't, but with Chloe by her side, Beca still remained hopeful.
Chloe on the other hand had Legally Blonde's opening night coming up in a couple of weeks, so it was safe to say that she was fairly nervous. The redhead needed this to do well in order to be able to put on Grease in the spring. All of the students involved in the musical thought Chloe was doing a great job despite the long rehearsal hours and the constant working on sets and ordering the costumes for all of the cast members.
Because Chloe had been so busy with the rehearsals for the musical, Jesse and Aubrey had been taking Beca to her therapy sessions. After her session that day, Jesse dropped her off, making sure that she got inside the apartment before he left. "Chlo? Are you home?" Beca called out, wheeling herself inside the apartment and closing the door behind her. Chloe walked out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her body.
"That would be a yes. How was therapy today baby?" Chloe asked as she walked over to Beca and gave her a hello peck on the lips.
"It was alright. We tried to start walking today and I took one step before my legs couldn't take it anymore. Still progress to be made," Beca said with a disappointed sigh. "How were rehearsals today?"
"Well, opening night is in a week. So it's crunch time. The kids are doing an amazing job, it's just really stressful because I want this to be an annual thing." Chloe said, wheeling Beca into the kitchen. "I gave the kids today off of rehearsal so they could rest their voices and their bodies, didn't want them to overwork themselves before the opening night. We have a total of ten shows that we're doing, two matinees and eight evening performances."
"I'll try to come to as many performances as I can, baby. I'm definitely going to be there on opening night. I wouldn't miss your big debut as director for anything in the world," Beca told her with a smile.
A huge smile appeared on Chloe's face and she leaned over and kissed Beca's cheek. "Good baby, I'd like for you to be there."
"Hopefully I'll be able to come to more than one show. It all depends on how I'm feeling. Do you think I'll be able to get my wheelchair in the theater, or should I have Jesse help me?" Beca asked.
"They have handicapped spots up front for you to roll down to, you shoulding need any help getting into the auditorium." Chloe said.
"That's a relief," Beca said, "That means I'll have a really good seat for the show. There are some good things about having a wheelchair after all."
"I would've made sure that you had great seats anyway." Chloe said smiling and kissing Beca's cheek.
Beca smiled. "I'm gonna go take a bath in a few minutes. I'd ask you to join me but it seems like you were a step ahead of me," Beca said, leaning up and kissing Chloe's lips before wheeling her chair towards the bathroom.
Chloe then made some dinner. She decided to make some chicken noodle soup and mashed potatoes, a family recipes. As she cooked Beca took a bath, and Barden hung out by her side as she cooked.
Beca climbed out of the bath tub and got dressed just as the dinner was being put on the table. Beca smiled as she rolled out of their bedroom. "The food looks really good, Chlo," she complimented.
"Well it's just about ready so you won't have to wait too much longer!" Chloe said smiling. This was her favorite meal as a child and her parents would make it for her whenever she got sick. And it was perfect to eat any time of the year.
Beca smiled and rolled over to the table, standing up and sitting back down in her chair while she waited for Chloe to finish their dinner. Barden came trotting over to her, and Beca smiled, leaning down and petting their dog. Chloe then dished up a bowl for Beca and brought it over to her. "Here you go baby." She said smiling. "I hope that you enjoy it. I don't think I've ever made this for you but it used to be my favorite."
Beca smiled gratefully then began to eat the soup Chloe had given her. "You never cease to amaze me, Chlo. Thank you," Beca said, taking a few bites of the mashed potatoes before going back to the soup.
"You're welcome, I'm glad that you enjoy it." Chloe said. She continued to eat her soup and smiled at her wife. "This is my favorite thing that my mother used to make."
"I can see why you'd like it so much. This stuff is delicious," Beca said with a smile. She took a sip out of her glass of water, resting her hand on top of Chloe's. Chloe smiled and kissed Beca's hand before returning to her meal. After dinner, Chloe was finishing some last minute changes to the choreography just to make it a little more fun.
Beca smiled and wheeled herself over to Chloe, sneaking her arm around the redhead's waist. "What are you working on, baby?" She murmured, pecking Chloe's cheek. Chloe giggled and fell gently into Beca's lap.
"Some last minute choreography for the song 'Bend and Snap.' It's a great song just to have fun and be sexy and silly at the same time." Chloe mentioned as she got back up from Beca's lap to continue working on the few steps she was adding in. "Do want to see?"
Beca nodded and smiled. "Of course I'd love to see some of the choreography. Any sneak peeks that you can give me are welcome," she replied, rolling over to the couch so she could sit back and watch. Chloe smiled and turned on the music before turning to Beca. She fast forwarded to the point where she added the new moves and did a twist and a dip down her leg moving up and doing the bend and snap.
"How was that? I know it's not a lot but it'll be fun for some of the girls to do." Chloe asked as she turned the music off.
Beca smiled and clapped her hands. "It was really good, Chlo. The kids are lucky that they not only have an amazing choir teacher, but they also have an amazing dance teacher. I can't wait to see everything else you've put together," the brunette replied with a big smile on her face. Chloe walked over and straddled Beca's lap before just smiling and looking into her eyes.
"It's good to know that you enjoyed that fifteen second snippet of dancing, hopefully you'll like the rest when you see it opening night." Chloe said tucking some of Beca's hair back and leaning forward to kiss her forehead.
"I'm not just going to like it. I know I'm going to love it," Beca murmured back, resting her hands on Chloe's hips. She leaned forward and gently kissed the redhead's lips, pulling away after a few moments to catch her breath.
"What feeling do you get every time you kiss me like that?" She asked, moving her ginger hair to one side of her neck.
"Well, each time I kiss you, you always take my breath away. I always get butterflies in my stomach, just like I did the first time we kissed. But the strongest feeling I get is happiness. Being with you makes me really happy," Beca whispered, smiling at Chloe. The redhead leaned down once more and kissed her wife's lips.
"I love listening to you talk," Chloe said smiling.
Beca smiled back at Chloe. "Well, I guess that's a good thing then, because I love to talk, especially to and about my favorite person on this planet."
"Do you realize how perfect you are to me? Whether you're completely healthy, or whether you're sick. No matter what you're going through or how you feel, you are absolutely perfect to me. Flaws and all." Chloe said smiling.
Over the next couple weeks Chloe and the kids were getting ready for opening night of Legally Blonde. In fact, opening night was only hours away. Chloe was holding one last line snap before letting the kids get ready for the show. Beca then surprised her by bringing in flowers. The brunette rolled her wheelchair into the theater and towards the stage. "I brought you flowers," Beca said with a smile, standing up and pecking Chloe's lips while holding out the bouquet.
"Aww babe, that is so sweet of you." Chloe said smiling and then helped Beca back into her wheelchair before grabbing a vase she had, putting the flowers in the vase and pouring some water in it. "Lillies, my favorite. You remembered."
"Of course I remembered, baby. How could I forget?" Beca said with a smile. "How have things been coming along so far? Are you nervous for tonight?"
"You would not believe how nervous I feel, is this what it feels like when you drop an album with some artist? You want it to do really well so you feel like you're constantly sweating and shit yourself because you're so nervous." Chloe rambled on and on for another thirty seconds or so. "What if the dresses aren't right, and the choreography is all wrong-" she was then cut short on her rant when Beca pulled her down into a kiss.
"You've been waiting for this night for months, Chlo. You've rehearsed for hours each day for the last few months. You're the first person to get here and you're always the last person to leave. It's out of your hands now. You've taught these kids all that you can, and now you get to sit back and watch the amazing show that you put together. Relax, baby. It's going to go great, and so will the other shows. Just relax," Beca said in a calm and soothing voice.
After breathing a few breaths to try and relax, Chloe nodded and smiled. It was a bit of a nervous mixed with excited type of smile. "I don't know what I would do without you." She muttered before leaning in and giving her wife a sweet kiss. "You always know how to calm me down."
"I'm just doing what I can to help you relax," Beca replied with a small smile on her face. "Now I should go and let you keep preparing for tonight's show. Good luck, and tell your kids to break a leg!"
"Wait!" Chloe called after Beca as she began to roll away. "Some of the kids would like to meet you, would you mind coming in after the show tonight and signing some autographs, there are some major fans of yours in the show." She stated.
"Of course! I'd love to sign some autographs and meet some of the kids," Beca said with an enthusiastic smile. "Do you want me to come right after the show, or should I wait awhile for the kids to talk to their families for a bit?"
"I'll call them back after they've talked to their friends and families for a bit." Chloe said smiling and kissing Beca's cheek before saying, "I'll see you later baby, you're the best wife ever."
Beca smiled. "I love you too, Chlo. I look forward to seeing the show later," she said before she rolled her wheelchair out of the theater and went back to their apartment to get ready before the show. Another couple hours passed and soon it was thirty minutes till places. Chloe could feel her heartbeat going crazy, the set was perfect and so was everyone's costumes.
The redhead looked down at her phone and smiled when she saw another sweet text from Beca that she had been getting for the last few hours. "I know that I've said this a million times already, but everything is going to be great tonight. Just relax and take a few deep breaths to calm your nerves. I love you so so much, and I am so incredibly proud of you," Beca typed, adding a few heart emojis at the end. She pressed 'send' and then called Jesse to bring her over to the show.
Jesse came up to the door while Aubrey got Beca's seat ready in the car. They then drove to Chloe's school. Chloe was pacing back and forth. "This is going to be okay, it's going to be great." She said to herself a few times.
When they arrived, Jesse and Aubrey grabbed Beca's wheelchair from the trunk of the car and the three of them went inside the school and to the theater. The usher lead them to their front row seats a few minutes before the show was set to start. Chloe noticed a full house and she smiled, she then dimmed the lights before walking out onstage in front of the crowd of eight hundred people. There was loud applause and she turned her microphone on.
"Thank you all for coming!" Chloe said. "I'm Chloe Mitchell and I'm the choir director here LA Academy of Performing Arts. This year I finally convinced my boss to start performing musicals as money going towards the arts. The arts help kids get involved and learn to step outside their comfort zones. It's also a great way to meet new people, and expand your horizons while also learning how to do a box step. The students and crew have worked incredibly hard on this show and we all hope you enjoy watching it as much as we enjoy performing it. So without further ado, the LA Academy of Performing Arts presents Legally Blonde the Musical."
The crowd cheered and Chloe walked off stage, winking at Beca and Jesse and Aubrey as she went back behind the curtain. Beca smiled when she saw Chloe wink at her, and she mouthed a quick 'I love you' to the redhead before she disappeared backstage, the lights completely fading out so the theater was pitch black as the audience waited in silence. The overture from the live orchestra began playing and the crowd began to clap and cheer while Chloe watched from backstage.
Throughout the performance, everything went perfectly. The audience was full on into the student's production, laughing and clapping loudly whenever they finished a song, started a dance break, or when one character hit an amazing belt.
Beca found herself laughing throughout the whole show, and by the time intermission came, Beca had a few tears of laughter running down her face. "Wow, I didn't expect to enjoy myself this much," the brunette said during the intermission to Jesse with a chuckle.
"Yeah, that choreography Chloe did was absolutely amazing." Jesse said with a smile. "She's done a great job with this, you should be proud of her because this is like, Broadway level theatre." He added.
Beca nodded, her smile growing wider. "I'm so proud of her. She might not know it because she's spent the last few months both helping me and rehearsing for the show, but so far it's great and I couldn't be more proud of everything she's done," she replied.
Once the lights slowly flickered everyone made their way back to their seats and the second act began. By the end of the show when the cast was taking their bows, the audience stood up and cheered, giving them a huge standing ovation. The girl who played Elle Woods in the show, a pretty sophomore named Susannah Peters then stepped forward. "Thank you all so much for coming, we are glad that you enjoyed the show too much. All of the thanks goes to our director, music teacher, and choreographer Chloe Mitchell."
They gestured for Chloe to come out and receive some roses that the student's bought. Chloe gave Susannah a hug and then took a bow, getting cheers from the crowd. Beca was cheering the loudest out of all the audience when Chloe came out and took a bow. "Go baby! I love you!" She called out over the loud cheering and applause from the audience.
After the encore and the red curtain dropped, Chloe turned to her students. "I am so proud of you guys. You were amazing tonight and you all deserve to give yourselves a big round of applause!" She said smiling and clapping for her cast and crew. "I have a surprise, there was a very special person in the audience tonight and I asked her to come backstage." The students looked at each other excitedly, whispering to each other with smiles on their faces.
Beca had already started to make her way backstage so that she could greet the kids when they came off the stage. She rolled her chair over and stood up, smiling when the kids slowly came backstage. "Hey guys!"
All the students cheered and clapped for Beca. They took a bunch of pictures and got autographs for their magazines, it was a treat for all of them. After the show Chloe and Beca drove home. "Did you really like the show?"
Beca shook her head. "I didn't really like it," she said, "I absolutely loved it. I'm stunned at how good it was. Jesse even compared it to a Broadway show, and I agree with that comparison."
"Really? Thank you so much! That means so much to hear from you and Jesse, I was so stressed. I knew it was a great show, it's just some shows no matter how good they are, don't get a lot of love." Chloe said pulling into their driveway. "I put your lilies in my office." She said, getting Beca's wheelchair out of the back and helping Beca into it.
"You should be really proud of yourself, Chlo. I know that you've spent a lot of time over the last few months helping me with my physical therapy, and you still managed to put together a hell of a show. You should be proud. I certainly am," Beca said as she wheeled her chair through the parking lot and towards their apartment.
"It means a lot to me that you feel that way." Chloe stated pushing the elevator doors, pushing Beca inside of it. "Because while you were talking to the kids backstage, a middle aged woman came up to me. She introduced herself as Jamie Waters, and she asked if once the school year was up, if I'd like to direct the show of Hamilton coming to LA." Chloe stated.
Beca looked at Chloe for a few seconds, not sure if she had heard her wife correctly. "Are you serious, Chlo?" She asked, her jaw dropping when the redhead nodded. "Oh my god, that's amazing! You have to do it! This is such a great opportunity for you."
"Really, you'd be okay with me doing it? It's a lot of long hours and I wouldn't be home a lot." Chloe said. She was happy that Beca was so supportive of it, but at the same time it meant she wouldn't be home for more than two hours or so a day for about four months straight.
"You've been consistently supportive of the long hours that I have, so I think it would be hypocritical if I didn't do the same for you. Sure, it won't be fun only seeing you for a little bit each day, but this is your dream, and I'm not going to stand in the way of you chasing it," Beca replied with a smile. The redhead leaned down and kissed Beca's lips softly, staying there a moment before pulling back.
"You have no idea how much I love being able to do that, thank you for being my rock through everything." Chloe whispered, only centimeters away from Beca's lips. She then unlocked the door to their apartment and they walked inside to a happy Barden trotting over to them.
Beca smiled when Barden jumped up and licked her face. "I guess you missed us, huh?" She said with a laugh. Beca pushed the dog off of her lap and rolled into the apartment and to their room. "I'm gonna go get ready for bed really quick," she told Chloe. While Beca was getting ready for bed, Chloe took out her phone to call Jamie Waters to accept the job offer.
"Hello?" Jamie said through the phone.
"Hey Ms. Waters, this is Chloe Mitchell." Chloe said.
"Ah yes, have you made a decision?" Jamie asked.
"Yes I have." Chloe said smiling to herself before answering. "I'll take it." She instantly felt butterflies fly up through her stomach. She was going to be the director of Hamilton LA.
"Well we look forward to having you come on this journey with us." Ms. Waters said. "I trust you get tickets to see it somewhere to get more familiar with the show and you catch up on your history."
"Yes Ms. Waters, I will do that." Chloe stated. "Goodnight Ms. Waters."
"Goodnight Chloe, and please feel free to call me Jamie." Jamie said.
"Okay," Chloe said with a chuckle. "Thank you so much for this opportunity Jamie. Goodnight." She said before hanging up.
Beca had changed into some pajamas and had gotten in bed by the time Chloe came into their room from her phone call. "Who was that you were talking to?" She asked.
"Jamie Waters, the woman who wants me to direct the Hamilton show here in LA." Chloe then pause for a moment, grinning to herself for a moment. "And I called her to tell her that I'm going to take it."
Beca smiled and sat up, leaning forward to give Chloe a hug. "Congratulations, Chlo. You've worked so hard for this, and you deserve it," the brunette whispered in her ear.
"You know, looking back on my life, I never pictured it going this way. I always thought that I was going to be who everyone thought I would become. I always thought that I'd never get to live the life I wanted. Now I'm working the job of my dreams teaching kids to sing, I'll be directing one of the biggest musicals of all time next summer as well as more shows at the schools, and not to mention I get to come home to the love of my life every night at our sweet little apartment and our adorable dog." Chloe said with a beaming smile on her face. "Life is going pretty well right now."
Beca nodded, taking Chloe's hand in hers and intertwining their fingers. "We've certainly had our ups and downs, but we always stay strong like titanium. There's nobody in the world that I'd rather have by my side than you, Chlo. Nobody."
The huge smile on Chloe's face got even bigger. "I love you babe, and I have to say that there is nobody else that I would rather have at my side than you." After their little moment, Chloe stood up and went to change into some pajamas. She then climbed into her side of the bed and then scooted closer to Beca. "I'm really happy that you enjoyed the show."
Beca turned her head to the side so she could look into Chloe's eyes. "I haven't been to many theater productions in my life, but that was definitely one of the best shows I've seen. And I'm not just saying that because you're my wife. I'm saying that because it's true," she replied.
"I can't believe Ms. Waters thought it was good enough for her to offer me this job. I mean, this is my first production." Chloe said smiling widely.
"It certainly didn't seem like it was your first production. Ms. Waters had a lot of people she could have chosen from, and she picked you. You might not have the experience, but you can do a pretty damn good job of teaching people and that's on top of the fact that you're extremely talented," Beca said with a proud smile. "I couldn't be more proud of you and all the hard work you've put in."
Chloe then lay there looking at Beca for a moment, stroking the brunette's smooth hair as she continued to think about what Beca had just said. A soft no teeth smile occured on her face and it slowly grew. "I'm going to direct Hamilton." She said.
Beca chuckled a little bit at Chloe's words. "Did you just realize that?" She asked, smiling and kissing the tip of Chloe's nose. A chuckle came from the older woman's lips and she smiled widely.
"No, I've realized that." Chloe said sighing happily. "It's just I don't know when it's going to start to sink in that I'm going to direct my favorite musical of all time."
Beca smiled and laid back on the pillows, closing her eyes. "It's a great feeling, you know? The feeling that everything is coming together like you hoped it would," she murmured.
"It really is, isn't it?" Chloe said with a smile.
Beca nodded. "It's the best feeling in the world, in my opinion," she said, her words cut off by a yawn. She stretched a little and pulled the covers over them. "Goodnight, Chlo. I love you," she mumbled.
"I love you too babe." Chloe said smiling and turning to turn their lamp off before wrapping her arms around Beca before falling asleep.
hey guys! Hope you liked this chapter. We know it was short but we hope you enjoyed it. The next chapter will be the last chapter and then we will start writing the sequel!