A/N – Thank you so much for all of you who are continuing to read and to those who leave me a review. I really love getting to see what you guys think from chapter to chapter. It's been so very helpful. Also, a big thank you to the messages and alerts I've received. You guys are awesome.
Disclaimer – I don't own Glee. If I did there would be more showtunes. Guaranteed.
Rachel stretched out her legs and opened her eyes, blinking against the early morning light that was making its way past the curtains. She sat up a little so she could look past her mother and at the clock on the bedside table. It was eleven minutes past six and Rachel's first thought was that she had slept in a little. She rested back on her pillow and contemplated getting up and going for a run, but she couldn't get into her room to change with her grandparents there. The thought of trying to get back to sleep crossed her mind, but Rachel was used to being up early every morning and once she was up, she normally stayed up. She had never been one to sleep in.
Rachel slipped out of bed as quietly as possible, taking care not to cause a lot of disruption to the blankets, and went into the bathroom where she could brush her teeth and wash her face. She was glad to see that her mom was still asleep when she came back out a few minutes later. Rachel yawned as she stepped towards the crib and was delighted to see that Beth was awake and smiling at her. The baby was holding her feet and squealed when Rachel reached down to hold her hand. Rachel quickly reached in and picked Beth up and then snagged her pacifier as well. Another look back at her mother told her that Shelby was still asleep and so Rachel crept out of the room as quietly as possible.
"Why don't we let Mom get some more sleep?" Rachel asked once she and Beth were in the nursery so Rachel could change her. "She looked pretty tired last night when she was giving you a bottle." If Beth had been able to talk she might have reminded Rachel that it was her who actually slept through most of that feeding and so how would she know if their mom had been tired or not. Instead, Beth blew bubbles. Rachel laughed lightly as she was closing the snaps on Beth's yellow sleeper with the giraffes on it. It was one of Rachel's favorites. "Come on, let's go find some breakfast."
Breakfast for Rachel was a bowl of fruit salad while Beth sat in her high chair and was fed some baby cereal and fruit of her own.
"How is it, Beth?" Rachel asked before opening her mouth wide at the same time the baby did to receive her bite.
"I think she likes it," Rebecca said from behind Rachel causing the girl to jump and turn around to look at her grandmother. Rebecca chuckled when Rachel put a hand her to heart dramatically. She placed a kiss on the older girl's head and then did the same for Beth. "What are you doing up this early?"
"I'm always up this early," Rachel told her. "Why are up so early?"
"Your grandfather and I are usually up this early as well. He'll be down in a minute," Rebecca said as she started to brew a pot of coffee. "I take it your mother is still sleeping?" Rachel gave her an affirmative nod. "She's never liked getting up early. I don't know how she made it to school on time most days, but she always managed. Sam used to complain all the time because he felt we were always waiting on Shelby before we could go anywhere," Rebecca said, talking about Shelby's older brother. "I think it's a sweet bit of karma that she's got two children who are early risers." There was a wicked glint in her eyes as she took Beth's spoon from Rachel and scooted her eldest grandchild out of the way so she could feed the baby. Rachel happily obliged and moved over a chair.
"I woke up and got Beth so that she would have the chance to sleep in," Rachel said. "I know she never gets to sleep through the night."
"You get used to not getting a lot of sleep when there's a baby in the house, but that was nice of you," Rebecca said.
"Good morning," Paul said when he stepped into the kitchen. The coffee was ready and he poured two cups and handed one to Rebecca. "So Rachel, what are your plans for the day?" Rebecca shot him a look because she had told him the night before that Shelby wanted to surprise Rachel with their trip. He ignored his wife and kept his focus on his granddaughter.
"I don't have anything in mind," Rachel said. "I think Mom could use a relaxing weekend so we'll probably just hang around here. Why?" Rachel added as an afterthought.
"No reason," Paul answered her. "Just curious. I think a low key weekend sounds perfect."
Rachel knew the truth in that. It had been a lousy couple of days to close out the week and the tension had been so palpable. It was nice to be able to feel like she could let her guard down somewhat. She didn't bring up the fact that Shelby had planned to take her out driving this weekend and Rachel half wondered if she could get her mom to change her mind and let her drive anyway. That might be something she would have to work on.
Shelby opened her eyes and blearily stared at the clock in front of her. She blinked a few times to make out the numbers and when she could finally focus on them she realized that it was after nine. She was shocked because she couldn't remember the last time she had slept in so late. And more importantly she couldn't remember when Rachel or Beth had ever slept so late. She smiled a bit at the thought of Rachel getting some extra rest until she rolled over to look at her and saw that her daughter wasn't there. Of course she wasn't. Shelby sat up and looked over to the crib and saw that Beth was gone as well. Ok, so she had been the only one to get some extra sleep. But she was glad for it.
Ten minutes later Shelby padded downstairs and found her parents and children still sitting in the kitchen. There were breakfast plates all around and Rachel and Paul were laughing while Rebecca sat up straight with a look of amusement being hidden by the offended face she was actually wearing. Only Beth, who sat in her arms, seemed sympathetic. The only one missing was Quinn who would sleep the morning away if left alone to do so.
"Morning," Shelby said causing them all to look in her direction.
"Mom," Rachel greeted, still laughing. "Grandpa was just telling me about the time Nana got kicked out of – I'm sorry, was asked to leave – a parent/teacher conference for yelling at a teacher for not even knowing how you were doing in the class."
"Oh my god," Shelby said, starting to laugh herself. "You should have seen her face when she realized that the poor lady wasn't even one of my teachers. And by the time she figured it out and tried to explain they were telling us we needed to leave." Shelby poured herself a mug from the new pot of coffee and sat down next to her mother after fixing it the way she liked. Beth reached her arms out to Shelby who took the baby and held her up so Beth could rest her head on her shoulder. Shelby rubbed her back lightly and Beth held onto the sleeve of Shelby's t-shirt as if it were a blanket.
"And you were no help," Rebecca accused Shelby. "You could have said something."
"Oh, don't blame me. I tried but you told me to be quiet," Shelby said. "School was awkward for the next couple of days to say the least."
Rachel was still laughing as she tried to picture her grandmother standing in the hallway yelling at a teacher on Shelby's behalf. It would look a lot, she realized, like her own mother yelling at Sue Sylvester.
"I did apologize," Rebecca said. "I made her cookies and took them to the school and explained the whole thing."
Rachel sobered a bit and stopped laughing. "You made her 'I'm sorry' cookies?"
"Yes. It was the least I could do," Rebecca said, not noticing Rachel's change in demeanor.
Rachel grinned, lost in her own thoughts and only Shelby noticed that the girl wasn't paying attention to them anymore. Rachel so enjoyed these moments when she found even the smallest connections with her new family. The moment passed when Quinn came into the room having clearly just woken up.
"Quinn, I didn't expect to see you up this early," Shelby said.
"Trust me, I didn't want to be up this early," Quinn said, getting herself some coffee. "But I kept hearing Rachel's voice admonishing me for wasting the day away."
"Quinn, you've already squandered most of the morning," Rachel said. "Beth and I were up a little after six." Quinn and Shelby both groaned.
"That's your own fault," Quinn said. "But speaking of that, I assumed you and your mom would be on the road by now."
The room fell silent and Shelby shot Quinn a look that clearly said that Rachel didn't know yet. Rachel's look was one of confusion as she looked from Quinn and then to her mom and then back to Quinn.
"What are you talking about?" Rachel finally asked.
"Oh shi-oot, Shelby," Quinn amended when she saw Shelby's raised eyebrow, "I'm sorry."
"Sorry about what? What's going on?" Rachel asked, growing concerned. From all of the looks, she knew that everyone else in the room knew what was going on except her and it made her uneasy. This was why she didn't like surprises. Her anxiousness continued to grow until she looked at Shelby and questioned, "Mom?"
"I have a surprise for you, Rachel."
"I don't like surprises," Rachel answered quickly.
"I know you don't, but I think you'll enjoy this." She hoped, Shelby added to herself. She shot Quinn another look who apologized once more with her eyes. "I thought you and I could take a trip this weekend. Just the two of us."
"You and me?" Rachel asked. "Where? But what about Beth? And Quinn? And your parents drove all this way? Is that rude to just up and leave them?" Rachel asked lowering her voice like maybe Paul, Rebecca and Quinn wouldn't hear her talking about them.
"It's all already worked out," Shelby assured her. "That's why you are the last to know. Grandpa and Nana are going to stay here with Beth and Quinn."
"Oh," Rachel said as she got up from her chair and took her bowl and glass to the sink and deposited them. Quinn quickly sat down in the chair Rachel vacated because all the rest were taken. Rachel rolled her eyes when she turned back around and realized her chair was gone. "And everyone is ok with that?" She was actually really excited about the idea of going off with Shelby, but was staying cautious. Something could always come up. She moved back to the table and stood next to Shelby who wrapped an arm around her waist.
"Everyone is ok with it," Shelby explained. "I thought it would be a good chance for you and I to spend some time where it was just us, but if you're not up for it, we can stay here. That'll be fine too." Shelby wasn't sure how she would feel if Rachel didn't want to go, but at this point she wanted the girl to decide.
Rachel couldn't hide her smile as she sat down on Shelby's lap. "No, I really want to go," Rachel said. The where didn't even matter anymore. The collective breath being held in the room was released and Shelby grinned and squeezed Rachel to her. Rachel picked up Shelby's cup of coffee and smelled it with a satisfied smile like Shelby so often did before she took a sip.
"How long will we be gone? I've got to pack a bag," Rachel said.
"It's already done. Everything is ready except us," Shelby told her.
"When do you want to leave?"
"In about an hour or so would probably be good," Shelby said.
Rachel finished off another sip of coffee before she said, "I'll go up and get in the shower and get ready." She tried to get up but Shelby's arm was wrapped securely around her waist.
"Take your time, ok? There's no need to rush." Shelby knew that Rachel was ready to practically run up the stairs so she could be ready in the next fifteen minutes and she wanted to make sure her excitable child also remembered to breathe while doing so.
"Ok," Rachel agreed and she felt Shelby's grip loosen. She was on her feet an instant later, taking Shelby's mug with her, and walked out of the kitchen.
"Rachel," Shelby called out when she reached for her coffee and found it gone. "Can I have my coffee back please?"
"Sorry, Mom," Rachel said when she popped back into the room a few seconds later. She put the mug back on the table and bounded out of the room again.
Shelby picked up the cup only to find that it was empty and shook her head as she set it back down. Shelby passed Beth back to Rebecca and stood up to get more coffee. But before making her way to the counter that housed the coffee pot she stood next to Quinn's chair and looked down at her.
"I'm sorry," Quinn said again, looking up at Shelby. Shelby gave her an unreadable look and took Quinn's face in her hands and gave the girl a few soft pats to her cheek.
"Thanks, Quinn," Shelby finally said, smiling. "I was trying to figure out how to bring it up to her."
"I was doing it all for you," Quinn said facetiously causing everyone to laugh.
An hour later the car was packed and Rachel and Quinn were talking with Paul and Rebecca in the driveway while they waited for Shelby to come out. Shelby, however, was not moving from her spot in the living where she held Beth in her arms and talked to her. She was really excited about the weekend with Rachel, but this was going to be the first time she had ever left Beth for any extended period of time, much less overnight. It was good practice for when they went to New York City and Beth would spend a week with her grandparents instead of just a couple of days, but that didn't make Shelby any less sad.
"Will you be a good girl, Beth?" Shelby said before kissing her daughter's head. "We'll be back tomorrow sometime, ok?" Shelby was trying to reassure herself as much as she was Beth. For her part, Beth smiled at her mom and started to babble at her. "I love you, honey," Shelby said, her bottom lip quivering.
"She's going to be fine," Rebecca said as she walked up beside her daughter. She had been sent inside to see what was taking Shelby so long.
"I know," Shelby said. "She's never spent a night without me though. Make sure she has her blanket when you put her to sleep. She likes to hold onto it," Shelby said. She often smiled at the fact that both of her daughters, though not related by blood, shared that trait. "And don't lose her pacifier because she will want it and she's not shy about telling you so."
"I know," Rebecca said. "Beth is going to be just fine."
"Ok," Shelby said, gathering herself. "OK. Oh, and don't forget that Quinn is grounded. And-"
"Shelby," Rebecca stopped her. "Why don't you get going now?"
"Fine," Shelby said, taking her mother's hint. She handed Beth to her grandmother and then took a moment to make sure any trace of sadness was gone from her face before she went outside and saw Rachel.
Once in the driveway, Shelby saw Rachel giving Quinn and then Paul a hug goodbye. She hugged Rebecca when she got there and gave Beth a quick kiss on her head before going over to the car and stealthily slipping into the driver's seat. Shelby gave Paul a hug and then stepped over to Quinn.
"You be good," she said softly and seriously.
"Yes, ma'am," Quinn said, somewhat embarrassed, but she smiled when Shelby placed a kiss on her forehead and then pulled her in for a hug.
Next Shelby hugged Rebecca and then gave Beth a few more kisses. "Bye, honey." Beth was smiling at her and reached her arms out to Shelby. Shelby took one of Beth's hands and kissed her palm before turning away so she didn't start to tear up again.
Shelby stood with her hands on her hips as she looked through the window of her SUV with Rachel sitting in the driver's seat. The girl wasn't looking at her, but Shelby could see that she was smiling. Shelby opened the door and Rachel snuck a glance at her.
"I think we'll get there faster if I drive," Shelby said.
"But it might be more fun if I drive," Rachel countered.
"Well let me know how you enjoy sitting in the driveway all weekend," Shelby said and she started to turn away.
"No, come on, Mom," Rachel said as she scrambled over the center console and settled herself in the passenger seat. Shelby laughed and got in the car and they both waved to the group in the driveway as they backed out and drove away.
Rachel and Shelby spent most of the drive listening to showtunes and singing along. Rachel put her Broadway playlist on shuffle and they weren't even a third of the way through it when Shelby exited the interstate and started to make her way through some neighborhoods. Rachel had resisted asking where they were going in an effort to let her mother keep some of the surprise she had planned. It had been tough, but Rachel had willed herself not to blurt out the question. She could tell how important this all was to Shelby. But driving through the neighborhoods was getting the best of her. She had expected that they would be headed to a hotel somewhere.
Shelby eventually pulled into the driveway in front of a pretty Victorian home. Rachel looked out the window at the house and the lawn. The house was big and old and had a gorgeous wrap-around porch. Rachel could hold back no longer.
"Is this where we're going? Where are we?"
"This is your grandparents' house; the house I grew up in," Shelby answered as she turned the car off.
"Really?" Rachel asked. "It's beautiful."
"Yeah, we think so. They moved here with Sam when he was two and I was born a couple years later," Shelby told her. "It had been my father's grandparents' house and when they passed away, they left it to him."
"Wow," Rachel said. She had never felt such a sense of having a family history.
"Come on, let's get inside."
They had only been inside for a couple minutes when Shelby realized that she had left her purse in the car. Her phone was in it and she wanted to give her parents' a call to let them know they had made it there safely. Rachel offered to go and get it and was up and moving before Shelby even had a chance to respond.
Rachel was leaning into the back seat to grab the purse when she heard someone yelling and from the sounds of it was getting closer.
"Shelby, is that you?" a woman yelled out from across the street. She took a quick glance in each direction and then crossed the street at a brisk pace to get to the Corcoran's. "Shelby?" she yelled again.
Rachel stood up and spun around and found herself facing a kind looking older lady who did nothing to hide her shock at seeing Rachel. "No, I'm-"
"Rachel! Hi. I'm Alice Handley. I live just across the street with my husband. Jim," she yelled. "Jim, come and see who is here. You look so much like your mother. We just came outside to work in the yard and saw you out here."
"How do you know-"
"Oh honey, your grandparents talk about you all the time," Alice told her. "It's so nice to finally meet you."
Rachel was suddenly pulled in for a hug she wasn't prepared for and felt herself being squeezed. Alice rocked her back and forth and smoothed down Rachel's hair. Rachel stood with her arms pinned to her side and wondered when the awkward hug would end. Alice was doing her best impression of the Abominable Snowman and Rachel was her new pet rabbit.
Shelby was inside waiting for Rachel and couldn't imagine what was taking her so long. A quick glance out the window gave her the answer and Shelby muttered "oh no" as she quickly made her way outside to rescue her daughter. Shelby got there the same time Jim did and before she could say anything, the man was instructing his wife to let Rachel breathe. Alice let go and Rachel took an immediate step back so that she was standing partially behind her mother.
"Shelby, it's so good to see you," Alice said.
"Hi, Alice," Shelby said. She stepped forward to give the woman a hug and Rachel was about to warn her, but Alice gave Shelby a normal hug before Jim did the same.
Shelby stepped back and put her hand on Rachel's back and moved the girl forward a few steps. "Rachel, this is Jim and Alice Handley. They're my parents' best friends. They've lived in this neighborhood even longer than we have." Rachel nodded a brief hello and shook hands with Jim. "And this is my daughter Rachel," Shelby told the Handleys.
"She's just beautiful, Shelby," Alice said as though she were talking about an infant. "We have heard all about you. Your grandparents have been talking about you non-stop for about a month now. They told us about you a few months ago and you should have seen how excited they were when you moved in with your mom. They're so proud of you."
This is what broke Rachel's shell and caused her to smile. Her grandparents had really been talking about her like that? "But I haven't really done anything for them to be proud of," Rachel said after a moment. She was happy to hear of her grandparents' boasting, but the familiar feeling of why washed over her.
"Not with the way they talk about you," Jim said.
"But I can't think of anything," Rachel said. She had always assumed that a specific event must have taken place for someone to tell you they were proud. And what had she done recently except involve herself in a fight and throw a slushie at a teacher. That was all before she ran out and begged her grandparents to let her move in. What in that was there to be proud of?
Shelby shut her eyes for a second in frustration at Rachel's lack of understanding. She wasn't frustrated with Rachel but rather with the fact that Rachel simply didn't comprehend that someone had said they were proud of her. At this point she didn't know whether it would ever be a good idea for her to go and talk to the Berry men alone. She shot a pointed look at the Handleys and silently begged them to move on. And to their credit, the Handleys understood. They had heard much more about Rachel than how proud Paul and Rebecca were. True to Shelby's words, the Handleys were their best friends and had been for over forty years. Just as Rebecca had gone to Alice's and cried when she found out she had a five-year-old granddaughter she might never meet, she had cried again when she told Alice of the life Rachel had been living before moving in with Shelby. None of that diminished their excitement at meeting the girl before them.
Rachel saw the silent conversation going on around her and ducked her hear a little, silently telling herself to stop messing up.
"They told us what a great singer you are," Alice said. "Rebecca says you're the captain of your Glee club." Shelby mouthed 'thank you' to her.
Rachel perked up at that and smiled broadly. "I am. We've got a Sectionals competition coming up soon and I think we've got a really good shot at winning it. I love to sing. My dream is to be on Broadway."
"Now that sounds familiar," Jim said. "Your mother used to sing all the time. Right from the moment she started to talk, it seemed like. She used to stand on the front porch like it was her own personal stage and serenade the neighborhood. I remember when she went through an Annie phase and used to sing the entire soundtrack, all of the parts mind you, while trying to act the whole thing out alone on the porch."
Shelby was blushing when Rachel looked up at her, but she smiled at her daughter nonetheless. "That sounds awesome, Mom. How did you stage it?" Shelby's smiled widened because she knew that Rachel was completely serious and not joking her as most people would have. Of course Rachel wanted to know the staging. She'd probably like to see any and all props that were used as well.
"Maybe I'll run you through it at some point," Shelby told her. "And it's been nice saying hello, but we just pulled up and I want to get Rachel settled." It was an easy excuse and Jim and Alice smiled good naturedly, understanding.
"Come over and see us before you leave," Alice said.
"We will," Shelby promised.
Both pairs went their separate ways and Rachel handed over Shelby's purse when they finally got back inside. Shelby took out her phone to call home and Rachel asked if she could look around. Shelby sent her on her way to do just that and then found her mother's number and placed the call.
Rachel wondered into a sitting room and was immediately drawn to the shelves of books that lined two walls. The shelving had actually been built into the walls and Rachel took her time looking over titles and admiring the pictures that were placed strategically along the shelves. She couldn't help but smile when she came across one of her. She didn't know her mother had sent all of those pictures of her to her grandparents. She picked up the frame and examined the picture. She was four and holding up a Dr. Seuss book, smiling. Her stuffed animals were placed around her, listening as she read. She remembered how they were always the best audience because their attention never wavered.
Shelby was on the phone with her mother and had just finished telling her about Alice and Jim when she heard Beth start crying in the background.
"What's the matter? Is she ok?" Shelby asked.
"She's fine," Rebecca said. "She just dropped her pacifier. Your father's got her." Sure enough the crying quieted down after a moment and Shelby let out a sigh of relief.
"And how's Quinn doing?"
"She's fine, I guess. We haven't seen her since you two left. She's been up in her room the whole time," Rebecca said.
Quinn sat on the floor in the bedroom and leaned back against the bed closed her eyes for a moment before looking at her watch and realizing it was barely noon. This was going to be a really long weekend. Shelby's parents were nice, but Quinn had retreated upstairs as soon as Rachel and Shelby had left. It's not that she didn't mind hanging out with them, she just didn't really know them. They were both so enamored with Beth that she made her escape and shut herself in the room. Shelby had stashed her phone and laptop somewhere and even her iPod wasn't appealing at the moment. She really did want to try and follow the guidelines of this grounding if only to prove to Shelby that she had learned something from the whole ordeal. She had taken Shelby's lecture to heart and she understood why she deserved this. But it would have been a lot easier to deal with if Shelby and Rachel were home.
Quinn wasn't sure why she found this occasion of being stuck with people she hardly knew awkward. After all, she had lived at four different houses, including her own, within the past year and all of the adults, save for her parents, were people she hardly knew. Maybe it was because she was technically in trouble this time and she respected Shelby so much and didn't want to let her down. Maybe it was because her own mother was trying so hard now and she knew she didn't want to let her down or upset her farther. And maybe it was simply because she didn't think she had anyone to talk to except for polite, meaningless conversation until tomorrow evening when Shelby and Rachel got home.
Realizing she had nothing better to do at the moment, Quinn got up from her spot on the floor and moved to the desk so she could finish up her homework that was due tomorrow. At least it would help to pass the time.
Shelby found Rachel peeking into bedrooms upstairs and called out to her so she wouldn't startle her.
"Which room was yours?" Rachel asked. She had been hoping she would have been able to tell, but the two spare bedrooms were decorated neutrally now as guest rooms.
"This one over here," Shelby said pointing to the one down from the room Rachel had just been looking in. "That one was Sam's."
Shelby led the way over to what had been her childhood bedroom and watched as Rachel took a closer look around. The girl didn't find it hard to imagine Shelby in this room with posters of 80's rockers and loud music. Or at least that's what she guessed. Shelby may have been much different and Rachel didn't even know it.
"How did it look?" Rachel asked.
"Well that depends on when you're asking about," Shelby said. "It changed a lot over the years. The bed is the same, except it's been given a new mattress a couple times since I moved out. The desk is the same too. I'll tell you all about it, but for now, how about we go out and get some lunch?"
"That sounds really good," Rachel said.
Shelby took her hand and led her out of the room and towards the stairs. Rachel let go when she saw another picture of herself that she hadn't noticed before. She walked over to the wall and had to look up at it because it had been hung above her line of sight. She was five in the picture and wearing a green t-shirt with a Peter Pan Logo on it. Kneeling down next to Rachel was the woman who had played Peter Pan in the production her fathers had taken her too. Peter was smiling brightly for the camera while little Rachel stared at the woman in awe.
"That was the first professional show I ever saw," Rachel said to Shelby when her mom came up beside her and looked at the picture. "I remember coming to Columbus to see it and I remember it being the coolest thing I had ever seen in my life. I begged my dads to buy me that t-shirt and I had to put it on right away. And then the cast came out and I got to meet Peter Pan. I told her that I knew that I had clapped the hardest to save Tinker Bell's life than anyone else in the audience and she said she believed me she thanked me for saving her friend."
Shelby looked at the picture and imagined the joy that Rachel must have felt that night. The look of wonder on Rachel's face in the photograph was one that Shelby hoped she could put there one day. She was so looking forward to their trip to New York City because she wanted to be able to give Rachel that same moment of awe and happiness.
"I tried to fly a couple days later," Rachel said, continuing her story. "I jumped off the dining room table with my arms out like Superman and only went a couple of feet. I probably could have gone farther if I'd gotten a running start. I broke my wrist when I hit the floor and ended up with a pink cast for four weeks."
"I didn't know you had ever broken anything," Shelby said. This was something that had been lingering in the back of Shelby's mind for a while now. She didn't know much about Rachel medically and kept meaning to rectify it. She needed to make an appointment with Rachel's pediatrician so she could sit down and get a medical history of her daughter. "Which wrist was it?"
"My right," Rachel said as they moved away from the picture and down the stairs. "I became quite adept at using my left hand there for a while."
"You know, I was in a production of Peter Pan once," Shelby said as they were leaving the house.
"Really?" Rachel asked excitedly. They both gave a wave to the Handleys who were still working in their yard before they got in Shelby's car. "What part did you play?"
"It was for my elementary school and I was in fourth grade. I played Wendy."
"Not Peter?"
"No, although I think I would have been better suited to the role. As it was, it was quite the coups that I ended up with Wendy. The main roles usually went to the fifth graders," Shelby told her.
"Who ended up playing Peter?"
"Some boy," Shelby said, disdain showing through.
"They let a boy play Peter? That's ridiculous!"
"I know!" Shelby said. "I tried to tell them that."
Fifteen minutes later Shelby was pulling into the parking lot of one of her favorite restaurants in Columbus. Rachel eyed the old fashioned looking diner warily.
"This used to be one of my favorite places to come as a teenager," Shelby said. "It was a hangout of sorts for all of us. And don't worry, they upgraded their menu a few years ago to include Vegan items so you're good. It's the best place to come for lunch because it's a local place for Columbus and the only one there is."
"It looks fun." Rachel tried to imagine Shelby hanging out there with all of her friends, but her mind kept wandering more towards a Grease setting rather than the late 80's when Shelby was a teenager. The thought of her mother in a poodle skirt or a Pink Ladies jacket was a funny one, but not at all accurate.
They were walking towards the door to the restaurant when they heard someone calling out Shelby's name. Shelby stopped and looked around, but didn't see anyone and ignored it and turned back to Rachel.
"Shelby Corcoran!" the voice called again and both Rachel and Shelby turned to survey the parking lot.
This time they saw a tall man about Shelby's age jogging toward them. Rachel looked up and saw Shelby smile in recognition. Rachel back up a step behind Shelby as the man got close.
"Hi-"
Shelby's greeting was cut off when the man put his hands to Shelby's face and pulled her close and kissed her. Rachel's eyes went wide and she expected her mother to push him away at any second. She certainly did not expect to see her return the kiss. Not sure of what else to do, Rachel simply stood and waited.
A/N – Please leave me a review. Thanks!
Also, if you don't get the Abominable Snowman and his pet rabbit reference, please go forth from here and watch some of classic Looney Tunes cartoons. Please. You won't be disappointed.