"Jaaaaade!"
"What?" Jade sighs as she appears in the living room, fastening the back on one of her earrings "I'm trying to get ready."
"I got an audition for Mamma Mia!" Cat grins, tossing her phone onto the couch "I just got off a call with their casting director, they want to see me in next week!"
"Shut up..." Jade smiles "That's awesome, Cat. I'm so happy for you!"
"Thanks." Cat giggles "I'm happy for me."
"For Sophie?"
"Yes, but I told them I would be willing to accept any female part." Cat explains "I never thought I would be this excited about the possibility of something that isn't a recording contract."
"Maybe you enjoy it more than you think you do." Jade shrugs, going back into her bedroom to grab her other earring "You have to admit, if music doesn't work out...it's not the worst thing in the world to fall back on."
"Yeah, I know." Cat admits "I mean, the fact that this just kind of fell into my lap like this has to be some kind of sign, right? Oh, and be sure to tell your baby daddy 'thank you' for me when you see him later, by the way. He's the only reason this was ever on my radar."
"I'll tell him as long as you promise to never call him my baby daddy ever again."
"Alright..." Cat chuckles "S'what he is though."
"I don't like the term." Jade tells her "I don't like 'baby mama' either. He tried to use that on me once a few weeks ago and I almost ripped his head off."
"What would you prefer I call him?" Cat smirks, rolling her eyes
"Just call him Beck. That's his name."
"That's no fun."
"Whatever, Cat."
"I only tease you because I love you..." Cat singsongs, drawing out the last syllable as she wraps her arms around Jade from behind and hugs her tightly "You know that, don't you?"
"Of course I do." Jade shoos Cat's hands away "I'm just not in the mood, I'm running late."
Tonight is one of the rare occasions where she'll be with both sets of her parents in the same place at the same time. The thought of them being together doesn't make her nervous at all, she's been quite fortunate in the fact that both her mother and father still manage to get along rather well. Her step-mother and step-father also get along with each other and with her parents. It made growing up in two different homes much more manageable for Jade. No, them all being together isn't what makes her nervous...what makes her nervous is the occasion.
Her parents want to meet Beck, and Beck wants to meet them. He had gotten her five tickets to a Saturday night performance of his play, intending for her to bring both sets of her parents along with her. While he had been able to show his parents different photographs Jade had taken, it would be harder for her to show her parents what he does. He figured that by bringing them to the play they would not only get the opportunity to see him at work, but he would also be able to bring them backstage afterwards and show them a little bit of that world as well.
Jade and had agreed to meet her parents for dinner before the show at a restaurant near the theater. Her mother and step-father would drive in from New Jersey and her father and step-mother would stay the night in one of the countless hotels available to them in the city. As Jade steps out of her uber and sees her father and step-mother walking into the restaurant, she feels that same anxious feeling she had felt the night she told her father about the baby. He still isn't wild about the idea of her having a baby with 'a practical stranger', his words not her's, and she knows he can be a bit critical of the arts at times. Although she's seen Beck's play twice now and thinks its absolutely phenomenal, she's paranoid that her parents won't agree. What happens then? An argument? A falling out? She doesn't want to think about it, but she just can't help it.
"There's my girl!" Kaitlyn grins as Jade enters the waiting area "And her girl!"
"Here we are." Jade smiles as her mother rests a hand on her bump
She isn't wild about people touching her stomach, especially without permission, but there are a few individuals she'll make an exception for. Her parents and step-parents are a few of those individuals, as are Beck and Cat. Well, and her doctor...but otherwise anyone else can fuck off as far as she's concerned.
"How are you feeling?' Her mother asks
"I'm feeling pretty okay." Jade admits "Some days are worse than others, but today has been a good one."
"Well for what it's worth, honey..." Angie smiles "You're glowing."
"Thank you."
Hugs and other greetings are exchanged, and then a waiter leads them to their table. The meal goes about as well as could be expected. Kaitlyn and Chris relay stories from Jade's brother, who will be home from college in a few weeks for Thanksgiving. John tells stories from work and Angie rolls her eyes, because she's already heard most of them and didn't think they were all that interesting the first time.
They ask Jade about work, mostly her father wanting the confirmation that she has any at all. It's annoying to her that he always finds a way to bring it up, almost like he doesn't trust or have any faith in her. She doesn't say anything to him though, she doesn't want to fight tonight. She wants to do everything that she can to make sure everything runs as smoothly as possible. Her parents also ask her about the baby, although most of the questions come from her mother and step-mother. Yes, everything looks healthy. No, they haven't done much shopping. No, they definitely haven't picked a name yet. Time passes rather quickly and before long they're all walking a few blocks over to the theater.
Beck had gotten them tickets in their own private box, which Jade hadn't realized until an usher asked to see their tickets and then began escorting them to their seats. She's never watched a show from a box before, and she's not sure if her mother and step-father have either. There's not a doubt in her mind that her father and step-mother have though. As critical as her father can be of the arts, his wife enjoys them, and it seems completely in character for him to splurge on the best seats whenever they go to a show.
"Hey look at this." Chris grins as he points to one of the captions inside the Playbill "Photograph by Jade West."
"Oh, wow!"
"That's me." Jade blushes with a shrug
"Which page?" John asks as he flips through the book
"Uh...six."
It's one of the pictures Jade had been on stage to take the very first day she came to do the publicity shoot back in the summer. There's a few more scattered throughout the booklet as well, but she won't point them out. She doesn't want to brag.
"Well, look at that." John says as his eyes land on the photograph "Huh."
"I told you I did a bunch of work for them a few months ago." Jade reminds him "It's how I was able to get in touch with Beck and tell him about the baby, remember?"
"No, no. I remember." He assures her "I just didn't realize that-"
"That they actually used any of them?"
"Hey now, that's not what I said."
It's what he thought though, although he would never admit that to his daughter. It's still hard for him to see how she could really make a career out of doing what she does, and how she plans to also support a child in addition to herself while doing it. He's always thought the work she produces is amazing, but that doesn't necessarily mean that the rest of the world shares that opinion. However, John supposes that this might be a sign he's been wrong, maybe his daughter's ambitions really are more than just wishful thinking.
Before he can say anything else to her, the lights are dimming...a signal that the show is about to begin. The attention of everyone in the box is turned towards the actors that begin appearing on stage, except for his. John reaches over and rests a hand on Jade's forearm, and squeezes it lightly. She doesn't turn her attention away from the stage, but places her opposite hand on top of his...just as he had done that morning they met for breakfast. With a small smile, John turns his attention to the stage as well, focusing his attention on the story.
"Name please?" The security guard asks them
He's standing in front of the door that will lead them backstage and although Jade has interacted with him a few times prior, she doesn't expect him to remember her face. Not when he sees hundreds of people coming and going from the theater each day.
"Jade West." Jade tells him "I'm a guest of Beck Oliver? I'm supposed to have four guests with me."
"Oh yeah, okay. He talked to me earlier." The guard opens the door for them "Go on back."
"Thank you."
She leads her parents through the door, up a small staircase, and down a hallway to the greenroom. Beck had promised to get changed as quickly as possible following the performance but knew that they would probably arrive before he was ready, so he gave them instructions to wait in the greenroom. He shares his dressing room with another actor, and it's much too small for all six of them to fit comfortably anyways.
"So, this is what it looks like behind the curtain..." Chris gazes around the room "Who knew they had this whole little setup back here?"
"I mean...I did." Jade chuckles "This is actually where we did the photoshoot for the character portraits."
"Oh really?"
"Mhm." She nods "There was a backdrop set up along that wall and we just-oh! Here he comes."
The door that leads to the staircase to the dressing rooms swings open and Beck appears from the other side, clad in his street clothes. In the show he plays a man hopping from train to train as he travels across the country to look for work during The Great Depression, and has to wear quite a bit of makeup during the show to give him the illusion of being dirty. Jade can tell that he made a rushed attempt to remove it all, as there's still a few specs of black and brown powder on his chin and on his neck.
"Hey..." Jade greets him as he enters the room "Good job tonight!"
"Thanks." He smiles, opening his arms to hug her "Glad you liked it. Did she like it?"
"I mean, she didn't try to bust out or anything so I can't imagine she had any complaints."
"Good. I'm glad." Beck smirks as he leans down closer to Jade's stomach "Hey, little girl. It's your dad. Thanks for coming to see me tonight."
"Uh, Beck?" Jade clears her throat "This...these are my parents. John and Angie West and Chris and Kaitlyn Parker."
"Beck..." John extends a hand for him to shake "Does that make you a Beckett or a Beckham?"
"I'm a Beckett." Beck smiles as he shakes John's hand strongly "Beckett James Oliver. It's a pleasure to meet you Mr...?"
He looks to Jade for some kind of help and she quickly mouths the word 'West' to him, indicating that he's shaking hands with her father and not her step-father.
"West." He finishes quickly
"I wish it were under different circumstance." John admits "But I suppose it's nice to meet you as well young man."
Kind of a backhanded compliment. Beck thinks to himself But the way Jade describes him, I guess I should take what I can get.
John lets go of Beck's hand and places it around his wife, so Beck figures that must be Angie, Jade's step-mom. That makes the other couple her mom and step-dad...he can keep that straight. He thinks.
"Go ahead and have a seat anywhere." Beck gestures to the empty tables and chairs around him "We've got plenty of room in here, and on Saturday nights most people try to rush home so we'll probably have the place to ourselves. Do you guys want anything to drink? There's not much of a variety but we do have some bottles of water."
He ends up grabbing water for Jade and Angie, while the others decline. He then sits down in a chair next to Jade, who offers him a reassuring look. Things hadn't gone great when she met his parents, not at any fault to her though. He hopes that for everyone's sake, this goes better.
"You've got a really great show here, Beck." Kaitlyn tells him "I was moved to tears."
"I also enjoyed it." Angie adds "There were a lot of strong emotions. It really resonated with me."
"Thank you." Beck nods "That means we did our job."
"Alright, let's cut the small talk here." John says suddenly
"Really, Dad?" Jade sighs "They were giving him a compliment..."
"Do you think your grandparents fed me compliments when Mom and I told them we were expecting you?"
"I think the circumstances are a little different..."
"It's alright, Jade." Beck assures her "He's just protecting you. Mr. West...well, all of you really...I know you just want what's best for Jade. And hopefully for the baby as well-"
"What's this 'hopefully'? Why wouldn't I want what's best for my grandchild?"
"John..." Angie sighs "Please let him talk. I'm sorry, Beck."
"It's alright, like I said...you all just want what's best." Beck nods "And I know that from an outsider's perspective...this doesn't look like a great situation. I've had some of these same conversations with my own parents...we're a bit on the younger side, we haven't known each other that long, and we're not together...but I can assure you all that I am one hundred percent dedicated to making sure that your daughter is not in this alone."
"He's been great." Jade agrees "Both as a friend to me and as a father to her."
"We are friends." Beck confirms "Pretty good friends, I would have to say. Right, Jade? I mean...I know no one compares to Cat, but..."
"We're good friends, yeah..." Jade chuckles at his mention of Cat "He's been there for me in whatever way I've needed him to be. Both pregnancy related and otherwise."
"I know the actor thing can be a bit off-putting too..." Beck adds "Especially because I'm not very well known...at least not yet...but Jade and I have already had conversations about finances and things like that and..."
"We're in a good spot." Jade finishes for him "Not just me. Not just him. We're both doing fine. And heaven forbid anything should happen to change that...we're both in positions where we could pick up extra jobs to compensate."
"And we would both be very willing to do so." Beck agrees
"Absolutely."
"So you two are just...strictly platonic friends?" John asks them "Is that what I'm getting at?"
"There was a possibility of a relationship in the beginning..." Beck shrugs "But we've both agreed that we don't want to try and force anything just because we're having a baby. That's almost a guaranteed recipe for disaster."
This causes Kaitlyn to laugh, and she immediately apologizes. She isn't laughing because she finds what Beck has said to be funny...she's laughing because the pressure of having a child so young had definitely been detrimental to her relationship with Jade's father.
"We're going to see what happens." Jade says "What's happening right now is...well, friendship. That's what's working, so we're not going to mess with it."
"That's very smart and mature of you." Kaitlyn tells them "And I have to admit...I'm very proud of both of you for the way you're handling it."
"Thank you, Mrs. Parker."
"Please, call me Kaitlyn."
"Okay."
"You'll continue to call me Mr. West."
"Yes sir."
"Alright..." Jade sits up a bit straighter in her chair "Does anyone else have any interrogation questions for him?"
"Not right now..." John shakes his head "But trust me, I'll think of some."
"That's fine." Beck smirks "I'm a completely open book."
This introduction definitely seems like it's going better than the one with Jade and his parents had, and Beck is a bit relieved. Her father doesn't like him, he can tell. But her mother, step-father, and step-mother seem to be rather accepting of him...and three out of four isn't bad.
Beck and Jade can both sense that although they love Jade and the baby very much, all four of her parents are still skeptical of the whole situation and whether or not it will work out the way they anticipate it to. For now, that's fine. They've done just about all they can to prove to them that things will be okay, and from now on only time will tell. As long as they continue to love and support Jade...Beck can deal with their skepticism.