Beck and Jade make it a point to see each other at least once a week. Whenever they hang out, they try to avoid talking about the baby unless it's absolutely necessary in an attempt to get to know one another just that much better before they're thrust into the world of co-parenting. Sometimes they can't avoid it, like when there's a doctor's appointment, but they both agree that forming a friendship is easier when they're not focused on the reason behind it all the time.
"Shut the fuck up." Beck gasps as Jade's professional instagram account appears on his screen "You have over ten thousand followers!"
He had asked her for her handle so he could follow her, and given her his as well so she could follow him.
"On that account, yeah." Jade smirks "My personal one where I actually post pictures of myself and my friends, not my work, only has like five hundred and forty."
"Alright, but the fact that you even have a reason to have both a professional and a personal account says something." Beck admits "I have one account and it just barely has seven hundred followers. And I'm an actor."
"It's mostly just other photographers and art students." Jade shrugs "It's not like I'm famous or anything. Besides, I'm sure once the play opens your follower count will shoot way up. Especially because you're not horrible to look at."
"Are you flirting with me?"
"No?" Jade laughs, taking another bite of the ice cream she had been eating "I'm complimenting you. I tell Cat she's pretty all the time and it's never flirtatious. Friends can compliment friends without flirting."
"You're right." Beck smirks as he raises his hands in surrender "I'm sorry."
"You should be." She winks at him "So, uh...how are rehearsals coming? Are you guys ready for previews to start?"
"Next weekend, yeah." Beck smiles anxiously "I just...I really hope there's still as much hype over it as people are saying there's going to be. Everyone involved has worked so hard and we're so proud of it...if it flops it's going to be such a punch in the gut."
"Hey, the whole reason previews exist is so you can work the kinks out before the critics come in." Jade reminds him "The way you talk about it, it sounds like it's great already. Add in the chance to really make sure everything is running smoothy? And I'm sure you'll blow everyone away by the time legit opening night rolls around. The critics will sing your praises and you'll be a mega star before you know it."
"Well I don't know about a mega star but..." Beck chuckles "But uh...speaking of critics...I wanted to talk to you about something."
"Alright?"
"I know you said you're not ready to tell your dad about the baby yet, and I know that you said you want to wait a little while longer before you introduce me to your mom. I want you to know that I respect both of those choices." Beck assures her "But...my parents are going to come into town for the second weekend of previews-"
"Wait, why the second?" Jade cuts him off "I'm sorry, you were talking. But why the second weekend instead of the first? Don't they want to see it open?"
"I think because they don't want to put any extra stress on me during those first few shows." Beck explains "Anyway, as I was saying...I want to take to take advantage of the fact that I'm going to be seeing them in person to tell them about the baby..."
"Alright." Jade nods "I support you in that."
"They don't come to town that often, and I wouldn't expect you to ever accompany me on a visit to North Carolina..." Beck continues "So, I just want you to know that there's a pretty good chance they're going to ask if they can meet you while they're here."
"I mean...I expected that." Jade admits "And it's fine. I'd actually be concerned if they didn't want to meet me once you told them. My mom has expressed interest in meeting you and I'm sure my dad will too once I tell him. If it's easier, we can just pick a time and a place for me to meet them and not even give them the option."
"We could do that too, I guess..." Beck chuckles "It might actually be better to not give them the choice, and it would prevent me from chickening out when I tell them..."
"As someone who's chickened out before...I agree that it's a good idea."
"Alright, let's do it." Beck agrees "But...I should warn you...they can be a bit judgmental."
"Who isn't being judgmental of us right now?" Jade reminds him "If I was a stranger looking in from the outside, I'd probably be judging us too. I can handle judgmental, I'm a big girl. I promise."
Beck doesn't have a car in the city, between the abundance of public transportation and the scarcity of parking he doesn't see the point, and his apartment isn't big enough to accommodate both of his parents for the weekend. So the Friday they come into town he meets them at their hotel, excited to see them both for the first time in so long, but anxious to tell them the news about the baby.
"There's my baby!" His mother, Priya Oliver, exclaims when she sees him in the lobby "Hi!"
"Hey, Ma." He smiles as he hugs her "I've missed you."
"Not as much as we've missed you."
"Dad." Beck turns to shake his father's hand "How've you been?"
"Not bad." His father, James, assures him "Better now that we finally get to see our boy and this big project he's been working on for so long."
His parents will be attending the play on Saturday night, but wanted to take advantage of a full weekend in New York with their son before leaving on Sunday night. Beck's call time isn't until four-thirty that afternoon, and they decide to do a bit of sightseeing before he has to be at the theater.
Beck figures that they'll be able to grab lunch somewhere and make a visit to the Empire State Building with the time that he has available, and his parents seem eager about it when me mentions the option. However, as they take the elevator up to the building's roof, he begins to wish he had taken them to a different tourist attraction instead. If his mother reacts badly to the baby news...she might just try to throw him over the edge.
"What a view..." Priya smiles as she looks through the binoculars "This city is so beautiful..."
"Yeah, it's pretty great." Beck admits as he stands beside her "I wish I could show you guys more of it while you're here but-"
"Don't apologize for having to work, Beck." James tells him "You're lucky to have the flexibility you do as it is."
"Right yeah, I know." Beck nods "I just wish I was able to spend a bit more time with you guys is all. However, I was able to get you guys tickets to the matinee of Wicked tomorrow afternoon, if you're up for doing two shows in one day."
While Cat hadn't been able to get the tickets for free, she had been able to get them for him at a significantly discounted price. Beck knew his mother wouldn't be able to say no to such a popular Broadway show, and figured it might help her be not-as-mad at him when he told her about Jade and the baby.
"Oh, of course we would." Priya exchanges an excited look with her husband "Let us pay you for the tickets though, I can imagine they were quite expensive."
"One of the perks to working in the business is knowing people who can make things happen." Beck winks "Don't worry about it."
"Alright..."
"There's something I want to talk to you two about, while I have the chance." Beck admits as they make their way to a different pair of binoculars to experience a different view "It's pretty important, and I'm not sure how you're going to take it...but I didn't want to wait until the end of your trip and make you think I was trying to hide it."
"What is it, Beck?" James asks, placing a hand on his son's shoulder "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine, don't worry." Beck assures them both "But I, um...well. My life is about to change, and your's will too by default. I-"
"Well sure." James cuts him off "This play is going to open all kinds of career opportunities for you."
"It will, yeah. But that's not what I meant." Beck shakes his head "There's no good way to say this, so I'm just going to say it. I got a girl pregnant."
"You did what?"
"Her name is Jade." Beck ignores his mother's comment "We weren't dating then and we've decided that we're not going to start dating just because she's pregnant...but we're going to keep the baby."
They don't need to know about the 'random strangers who met at a bar' part of the story, at least not right now. Personally, Beck is hoping that part never comes up at all.
"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard, Beckett James." Priya shakes her head "You got a girl pregnant, a girl you're not even with, and you think you're going to be able to raise a baby together?"
"She gave me the option to walk away, but I chose not to. I stepped up. I thought you would at least be proud of me for that."
"We are, Beck." James begins "It's just that-"
"Your career is just starting to take off. How could you think this is a good idea?" Priya asks him "It's not like this is a puppy or something you can just re-home if things don't work out. It's an actual human child."
"Look, we know we messed up. I don't need you to remind me of that." Beck says sternly "But she and I are both taking responsibility for this and we're going to be the best parents to your grandchild, who will be in here in March, by the way. So you can tell me you're disappointed, you can tell me you think I'm being stupid, but that won't change anything about the situation."
His parents are quiet, both avoiding eye contact with him as they glance out at the view of the city. A few people around them have stopped to listen in on the conversation, but quickly move on once they realize there's nothing more to hear.
"I'm going to be involved in the baby's life, and I want you guys to be involved as well." Beck tells them "I know it's a lot to take in...especially because I'm not dating her so you didn't know about her and it seems like it came out of nowhere...but that doesn't change the fact that it's happening."
"We know..." James sighs "It's just a lot to take in as all."
"I know." Beck nods "I'm still trying to wrap my head around it too. I uh...thought that tomorrow morning the four of us could go for breakfast so that you guys could meet her and she could meet you..."
"Well, I would hope you would want to introduce me to the woman carrying my grandchild." Priya says "We'll be there."
"Great, that's good. I'll let her know." He nods "Thank you, guys."
Sure enough, Jade meets Beck and his parents for breakfast at the restaurant in their hotel the following morning. He had warned her ahead of time that they really only seemed to be tolerating the idea of the baby so far, and weren't completely on board. As soon as she sees him sitting at the table with his parents, she knows he's right. The woman she's safe to assume is his mother locks eyes on her as soon as he waves her over, and doesn't stop staring as she approaches.
"Good morning, everyone." She tries her best to be friendly
Friendly has never really been her thing, at least not in situations like this. She tries her best to be friendly with clients and people who might be able to help her advance professionally, but she feels that anyone who knows her in her personal life should know her for her. This situation is very different of course, and she recognizes that.
"Good morning." Beck greets her as she sits down in the empty seat next to his "Mom, Dad, I'd like you to meet Jade West. Jade, Priya and James Oliver."
"Mr. and Mrs. Oliver to you." Priya quickly adds, giving her son a rather poignant look
"Of course." Jade nods "It's nice to meet you both."
"You too, Jade." James smiles
"You have a tattoo." Priya is quick to notice the rebel star tattoo on Jade's forearm
"I, uh...yeah." Jade looks down at her tattoo "I have a few, actually..."
In addition to the star on her arm, she also has dahlia flowers on her left shoulder, and a line of birds flying tattooed on her ribcage. All three tattoos are in black and white, and Jade already has plans to have something else done for the baby after he or she is born.
"What was it you do again?"
"I'm a photographer." Jade explains "Freelance, people hire me for whatever they need. Mostly magazines and businesses, but every once and a while I get a call about engagement or newborn photos."
"It's a legitimate business with repeat clientele and everything. Jade took all of the character portraits for the play." Beck explains "I sent them to you, remember?"
"Oh yes, I remember those." Priya nods "You made my son look very handsome."
"Well, it wasn't really all that hard to do that."
"So..." James hesitates "Are you from the city...?"
"Not originally, but I've been here for almost eight years." Jade explains "I have an apartment in the village. My roommate works on Broadway."
"She helped me get those Wicked tickets for you." Beck cuts in
"She did."
"Are you alright, Ma?" Beck asks
Priya has kept a rather stoic expression on her face since Jade arrived, and even at the mention of the Wicked tickets she was so excited about...that hasn't changed.
"You're just...not as awful as I expected you to be..."
"Mom..."
"It's alright." Jade chuckles "Thank you, I think?"
"Don't get me wrong, I still think this is a bad idea." Priya admits "I mean, Beck...are you sure it's even yours?"
"I believe her and the timeline matches up." Beck shrugs "So, yeah. I'm sure."
"The hospital will do a paternity test once the baby is born." Jade assures Priya "I would have made sure it happened anyways, but because we're not married they're required to do one. I want you to know that I'm not that kind of person though...it's his."
"Well I didn't think my son would be sleeping with some girl he's not dating, so I guess people can still surprise you."
"Alright, Mom. That's enou-"
"Maybe we should change the subject?" James suggests "Jade? Have you gotten the chance to see Beck's show yet?"
"No, not yet." Jade shakes her head "I told him I would wait until the previews are over so he's not as nervous about anything going wrong."
"I tried to get these guys to wait until then too." Beck sighs to Jade "But they wouldn't."
"Well, I can imagine they're very proud of you and are anxious to see what you're working on." Jade assures him, smiling at his parents "This has been a long time in the making after all."
"She's right." Priya nods "It was bad enough having to wait until the second weekend instead of the first."
"Well, I appreciate you waiting." Beck tells them
The rest of the meal goes about as smoothly as Beck and Jade could have hoped. Priya and James are friendly to Jade, but really only tolerate her. Both Beck and Jade expected this, seeing as that's how they had reacted to the pregnancy in general, but Beck is hoping they come to like her better as time goes on. After all, she's the mother of his child and like it or not, they're all stuck with her. Not that he sees it that way, he likes Jade and has from the very beginning, but he knows his parents do.
The best news of the entire weekend comes Sunday afternoon as James and Priya are preparing to leave for the airport. Beck texts them to let them know he's on his way to the hotel to say goodbye, and they respond asking him to bring copies of the most recent sonogram for them to take home. Beck has plenty of extras, as he hasn't really told anyone else yet, and is happy to oblige. A few hours after their departure he receives a text from his father, a picture of the sonogram image tacked up on their fridge at home in North Carolina. A smile spreads across his face as he sends a response, and then quickly forwards the image to Jade.
She can't help but smile when she sees it either. She can handle his parents disapproval for now, so long as they don't take it out on the baby. It wouldn't be fair to him or her to lose out on the opportunity to have a relationship with their grandparents just because they don't like her, but seeing the sonogram tacked up under a magnet on the refrigerator definitely seems like a step in a positive direction.