A/N - As always, a special thanks to my beta for everything they do! Happy reading everyone xx
.oOo. Chapter Twenty Four .oOo.
message from beca.m, to chloe.m - 08.14 - Did you try the singing thing I suggested?
message from chloe.m, to beca.m - 08.19 - Hi, good morning, yes I did so thank you so much. I was going to message you later to tell you. I read a bedtime story, then sang as I tidied up their bedroom as they drifted off to sleep. I think Jessie was asleep before the others! Cx
message from beca.m, to chloe.m - 08.37 - That's great to hear. How's Alex? And Kate?
message from chloe.m, to beca.m - 08.39 - Everyone is fine. Here are a couple of pics for you. C x [attach triobreakfast]
message from beca.m, to chloe.m - 08.51 - Looks a chaotic mess!
message from chloe.m, to beca.m - 08.54 - Always! Are you free later today or tomorrow for coffee by any chance? C x
message from beca.m, to chloe.m - 09.12 - Yeah, sure. Today is cool but tomorrow better, as I'm not at work in the afternoon. Be good to talk some more.
message from chloe.m, to beca.m - 09.19 - Awes! 2pm okay? C x
message from beca.m, to chloe.m - 09.34 - Yeah, great. I'll be in Santa Monica tho. Too far for you?
message from chloe.m, to beca.m - 09.37 - No problem. Text me where you are tomorrow and I'll come and meet you. C x
message from beca.m, to chloe.m - 09.46 - Sure. I've got to go. Got a meeting with Shawn Mendes in a bit.
message from chloe.m, to beca.m - 09.51 - Oh wow! I love him. Say hi from me! C x
message from beca.m, to chloe.m - 12.06 - He said hi back.
.oOo.
"Hey," Beca said, keeping her tone as casual as she could. She'd finished work just after midday and, as promised, she'd texted Chloe and let her know that she was free. They agreed to meet at the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf coffeehouse that was situated halfway down Santa Monica pier.
Beca liked the café, and it was well known to her. She often came with Luke if she'd stayed over at his place and Jessie loved to get a kiddie cappuccino and watch the beachgoers. It was familiar to her, and she wanted somewhere that felt safe for her second meeting with Chloe. Despite the easy going text messages being sent back and forth since their meeting, Beca was still wary of what she might potentially be getting into. She didn't trust Chloe, not even a little bit, but she was willing to try.
"Hi Beca, you look great!" Chloe called out brightly as she caught up to Beca who was leaning with her back to the railing, her face tilted up to the sun. She looked cool and confident as she waited for Chloe to join her, a look which hadn't gone unnoticed by the redhead.
"Um, yeah. So do you," Beca responded, raising an eyebrow in Chloe's direction. She was trying not to stare too hard at Chloe, but the little blue romper and tennis shoes she had on made it quite hard. Beca realised that Chloe had no idea just how attractive she was, as she ignored all the subtle side glances from everyone around her. She didn't look like a movie star in that moment, despite her enormous sunglasses and a wide brimmed hat covering half of her face.
"How was work?" Chloe asked politely.
"Oh pretty good. My boss... um, Luke. You met him?"
"Yes, I remember Luke."
"Yeah, well, he's just been assigned to Kendrick Lamar's new album... and it's really not his scene, so I'm helping him out a bit more than normal."
"That's great," Chloe said politely. "Wonderful bit of credit for you for your portfolio."
"Oh, my name doesn't go on there."
"But you're-"
"-I'm just an intern," Beca explained.
"Surely you'll still get recognition."
"I mean, yeah. I can say I worked on the album on my resume, but until I'm employed full time by Universal, I'm officially just doing grunt work."
"Hmm, you'll have to explain it to me some other time."
"Yeah, okay." Beca nodded. "Um, do you want a coffee or something?"
"Hmmm." Chloe spun around to look at the menu on the outside of the coffeehouse. "I think I'll get a frappuccino. You?"
"The last time I was here, which admittedly was a few weeks ago, they had this frozen fruit slushie thing. If that's on the menu, I'm having that."
"Oh, that sounds lovely. I might have to change my mind." Chloe smiled, her tone friendly and relaxed.
"You won't regret it."
"Do you want to sit in or..."
"Fancy a walk on the beach? I know it's busy but we could find a quiet spot in some shade, maybe?" Beca offered. "I come down here quite a lot and there are some nice things to see along the way."
"That sounds perfect. I'll just go in and order, okay? My treat, as you got the last one."
"Oh, sure, um... thanks."
Beca watched the door close behind Chloe as she walked with purpose up to the barista to place her order. She smirked a little as she caught the reflection of herself in the window, staring as she watched Chloe approach the counter.
'Pervert.' She thought to herself, walking back to the uncovered side of the pier and into the sunshine. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and texted Luke, letting him know that she'd met up with Chloe. He messaged back a few minutes later telling her to play nice, and keep calm.
"Jerk." She said out loud as she repocketed her phone and then had to look away quickly as an old man, just walking past, shot her the stank eye, thinking she'd called him rude names. She studied her shoes for a couple of minutes until she saw Chloe's shadow rejoin her.
"I think your suggestion sounded too good to pass up!" She laughed, handing Beca a monster of a drink.
"It's the size of a bucket!" Beca exclaimed as she struggled to hold the cup in one hand.
"It does seem a little excessive, I know. But look..." Chloe said, holding up the cup to her face. "... it's bigger than my head. I just had to have it!"
Beca snorted and tried to hide it by taking a huge gulp of her drink.
"I usually only get a small one." Beca winced as the start of a brain freeze passed over her. She blinked a couple of times, hoping Chloe wouldn't notice, but the redhead was too busy smiling as the world passed her by. "But thank you, I appreciate this. Are you sure I can't pay you for this?"
"You're welcome, and no thank you. So, which way Miss Tour Guide?" She asked.
Beca nodded back towards the entrance to the pier and they took off at a slow pace, not speaking but walking in step together. Beca was distracted by the simple sounds of Chloe's bracelets knocking together, the low hum of people talking and the sounds of the waves crashing and immediately her mind drifted where she was lost in the musicality of it all.
"... and then, she knocked over the whole gallon of milk onto the floor!" Chloe laughed and Beca realised she'd zoned out and had no idea what Chloe had just said.
"Sounds like her." She said, in the hope it was the right thing to say. "Let's take a right down here."
She pointed to some steps as she dug her toes into the heels of her Converse.
"Oh, sure." Chloe bent neatly at the waist to unbuckle her own sandals, as she spoke.
Gathering up her shoes in the hand, Beca took another slurp of her drink as they walked down the slope towards the sand. It was no surprise that the beach was packed and pockets of people littered the beach. They picked their way down to the shoreline and began walking towards the Venice Beach end.
"Nice day," Beca said lamely.
"Yes, it is. I love this time of the year. Not just because it's the girls' birthday, but everyone is usually quite happy and in a good mood. I always think that people are starting to think about Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, and Christmas, even with the hot weather." Chloe looked over to Beca and, thinking back to Aubrey's words - 'be less Chloe' - and wondered if this was an example of what her best friend had meant and if she also needed to explain everything that she was thinking.
"I like winter the best," Beca responded, taking a healthy gulp of her frozen fruit slushie and regretting wearing a full black ensemble as she felt the first bead of sweat begin to roll down between her shoulder blades.
"Oh, totes."
'What the fuck is totes?' Beca mused to herself. She liked the way Chloe was able to explain how she was feeling. She'd never had the opportunity growing up to talk to anyone in mindless chit chat, except Jesse, and it was still a foreign art form to her. She didn't mind listening to Chloe babble on about her favourite season.
"Do you like Christmas?" Chloe asked, pausing as they approached the bottom of the pier and tentatively reaching out to Beca who pulled away from the redhead's touch.
"Probably as much as everyone else."
"What do you usually do?"
"I had to work." Beca looked out towards the ocean. "Spent the morning with Jessie and then Amy would come by and take her for the afternoon."
"I'm sorry." Chloe breathed out, wondering if she'd hit a nerve but Beca didn't seem to react badly.
"Nothing to be sorry about, you're only asking me about Christmas. Do you like the holidays?"
"I do! We..." Chloe paused, suddenly not wanting to share how they overindulged every year. "... stay at home, have a couple of friends round for some food. You know?"
Beca nodded her response.
"So what is Venice Beach famous for exactly?" Chloe asked.
"Arnold Schwarzenegger went to the gym there."
"Ooooh." Chloe mockingly said before pulling down the brim of her hat as she noticed a couple of people do double takes as she walked past.
"I know, right? Some old movie in the eighties was filmed there. Some Dudes Can't Jump, or something."
"White Men Can't Jump?"
"Yeah, think that was it. Oh shit, you probably knew that already... you know, being Miss Hollywood?"
"I didn't know that actually." Chloe shrugged.
"My best friend in school was a total movie nerd. I guess I did listen to a couple of things. But anyway, there's also a pretty decent Farmer's Market on Venice Boulevard on a Friday."
"That's good to know."
"Yeah, if you ever find yourself stuck in Santa Monica on a Friday morning."
"I'll keep that in mind."
"Up there," Beca gestured with her drink cup towards the gym equipment. "Is the original Muscle Beach. Rumours have it that this place is the start of the fitness boom in the United States. But don't go down there on a Sunday morning if you have a hangover, I can, without a shadow of a doubt, reassure you that it's full of old men in Lycra, and trust me... it's not pretty when early morning yoga begins. Yeeesh."
Chloe threw back her head and laughed as Beca beamed at the action.
"Well you are full of fun facts, aren't you?"
They walked along the beach in silence for a few minutes, both enjoying the fresh, salty air. Beca stopped in mid stride and bent down to pick up a beautiful white and pink sea shell, walking out to the water's edge to rinse off the sand before holding it out to Chloe.
"Jessie will love that." She stated simply.
"Thanks, I'll give it to her. Did you often come here to collect shells?"
"Yeah, if we were with Luke. We used to have a competition to see who could find the nicest one, or the biggest one or the most colourful. When it was time to go, we'd throw them back in the water for someone else to find."
"I've never done anything like that with the girls," Chloe admitted. 'Because you were too busy spending money on organised activities.'
"For us, it covered everything; doing something, a bit of fresh air, a competition, and spending time together. Aside from gas money and maybe a sandwich, it didn't cost much."
"I think I might have to borrow your idea. I'm sure they'd love to come here and look for shells. Maybe you can join us and-"
"-Yeah, that'd be great," Beca said, noncommittally.
"At some point, you'll have to fill me in on what else Jessie likes."
Beca was about to open her mouth and retort that she'd need to figure it out herself, but remembered who the victim would be in that scenario... Jessie. She would also need to ask the same thing about Alex. She was still having a really hard time wrapping her mind around the fact that Jessie wasn't hers. In her eyes, Chloe had accepted the change much easier than she had. Or was better at hiding it.
"Yes, sure." Beca swallowed thickly. "She's actually pretty easy to entertain. She's a proper little girl, loves Fancy Nancy, has an unhealthy obsession with unicorns, loves to colour and decorate things with stickers. She's quite content with books for a couple of hours, but does need to be reminded to brush her teeth and her hair."
"Sounds very like Kate."
"And Alex?"
"Well, Alex's needs are simple. She's busy. Always busy. She's constantly got to be touching something or moving around. She reacts wonderfully to music, which I now understand has got to come from you. She can dance pretty well... for an almost four year old! Her coordination is good too but wow, she can have some impressive mood swings."
"That's definitely something from me." Beca mused.
"Although she's emotional, she's also extremely friendly and loving. She's shy with people she doesn't know but once you are in her circle, you are there for life, I'd imagine. She loved her Nanna... that's David's Mom, Helen. She's really nice."
"I met her a few weeks ago."
"Did you?" Chloe asked, as she didn't know how or when.
"Yeah, first day of the court hearing. She approached me in the bathroom which I've got to admit, was pretty ballsy."
"What did she say to you?"
"Honestly, I can't really remember," Beca admitted, flinching a little as a slightly bigger wave splashed a few droplets up to her knee.
"I know the first meeting didn't go all that well with Alex, and I understand if you have some reservations but she's a super kid, she really is. I honestly struggle, and have to remind myself, that she's not really mine."
"Well, she kinda still is."
"Not in the-"
"-I don't have her living with me, so she's not mine."
"She is yours, Beca. She's just-"
"-Look, it's hard for me. Okay? I'm not going to lie. Just because we're here, on the beach, enjoying the sunshine, doesn't mean I'm over it all. You need to let me process in my own way. You look like you've got it all together and I'm over here trying to remember to brush my teeth every day as I don't have my little girl to remind me to be an adult."
"And you think I'm not struggling too?" Chloe said gently, indicating a slightly quieter patch of sand with no one sitting in it. "Let's sit for a moment."
Beca hesitates, not wanting to sit in one place. Like Alex, she needed to keep moving at times, especially when she was frustrated. It helped soothe her troubled mind. She gulped down her fears as she took another sip of her drink and moved to take a seat next to Chloe, keeping a respectable distance and crossing her legs.
"I don't know if you're struggling as well," Beca admitted. "As I said before, in not such a nice way, you seem to have all together on the surface."
"There's a lot about me that you don't know Beca. And I will share it with you one day. But right now, I just want us to focus on the girls."
"Me too. It's why I'm here."
"The last few months have been really hard. A non stop train ride to Crazyville. I'm desperately afraid suddenly everything will be out in the media before we are ready," Chloe said, her forehead creasing for a split second as the mere thought of it troubled her.
"Wow, thinking of your reputation, huh?" Beca bit.
"Actually, I was thinking of the girls. I've tried to keep my kids out of the public eye. I may be a public figure, but I'm not public property and neither are my children," Chloe tried to ease the tension. "If I was like some of the other celebrities to splash their kids about on camera, you might have seen a picture of Kate and noticed sooner."
"Here we go with blaming me again."
"No one is blaming you here Beca. I'm just at fault."
"Are you trying to get me to confess to something?" Beca snapped.
"What on earth are you talking about?" Chloe's tone smelled of exasperation, despite the small smile on her mouth.
"I think my friend was right the other day, I think I should have had my lawyer present today. You are probably-" Beca said angrily.
"-I'm sick of fucking lawyers!" Chloe suddenly cried out. She pushed her hair out of her face, knocking her sunglasses off with the action. She angrily picked them up from the sand and threw them into her purse with such vigour, it made Beca shift along a few inches on the beach. "I'm tired of my whole life being governed by court rooms… appeals… subpoenas… contracts… rules. I hate looking at your face."
Beca blanched and Chloe's shoulders dropped. She turned to look at Beca.
"I mean, not your face because you are so, so beautiful but…" Chloe explained and Beca didn't know how she felt about that. "… the look you wear all the time. And to know that part of that is because of me kills me. You were so nice to me when the girls were born. I've never forgotten that. Simple gestures but meaningful. You always got me the softest cuddle blankets and the nicest cushion for the nursing chair. You made sure I had everything I might have needed before you left for the evening. I just got caught up with so many opinions about what was right for the girls. I listened to the wrong people and I see that now. I hate that I've caused you sadness. I can see you've lost weight in the last couple of weeks. I've barely seen you happy, and I imagine you have a gorgeous smile."
"I don't exactly have a lot to smile about."
"Well, I'd like to change that," Chloe said simply. "I'd like to come up with an arrangement amongst ourselves, that we'd adapt and make work as we see fit, not the lawyers or other people who think they know best. We call the shots. Just two moms making it work, doing the best we can for all three girls. I know we tried to organise it before and I know it didn't work. I don't think we were really ready to talk about anything. That first meeting was horrendous and far too public. No one could relax. It should have just been you, the girls, and me, and I should have insisted that CPS not be involved until we were ready. It's my fault."
"I agreed to it too."
"And as I said, I was listening to too many people and it never even crossed my mind that you were in the same position as me. I wanted it all and didn't consider your feelings or even the girls' feelings. David would go on and on for hours and instead of telling him to listen to my thoughts, I just went along with it for an easy life. So, would you be up for a partnership? Not one hour every two weeks. That could never work. It's wholly unfair to the girls who need you in their lives."
Beca's heart thumped painfully in her chest at Chloe's honesty.
"Are you serious?" She asked, hating how timid her voice sounded.
"Dixie chick serious," Chloe breathed. "What does that even…" Beca muttered, feeling confused. "I don't know what that means."
"The past couple of weeks have been so distressing." Chloe continued. "I kept thinking if the court had ruled the other way, and Alex had been taken from me, how it would have felt for me. I could barely breathe. I was never happy with the outcome; I was just so overwhelmed with it all and then David was pushing me into the car. I thought I could talk to you when you brought Jessie over, but then I heard she was taken from your house, from your arms and that's when I knew I needed to make this right. I've looked into this with a new lawyer, I've spoken to some child psychologists last week and they've all agreed that this is a new situation and there is no precedence for it."
"So, what are you saying?" Beca thought she knew but needed Chloe to say it.
"I don't want a judge or lawyers or court liaisons or family court telling us how to raise these children, when and where they can spend time with you, or me, or David for that matter, and what you should be doing with your life."
"Neither do I," Beca said, her heart pounding in her chest. "But I can't afford to go back to family court."
"We'll come up with a plan together, it will need to be changeable to suit ourselves and then we'll file it… together. I'll take care of the financial side of it, this is my decision to do this although I hope I can have your blessing with us."
Beca nodded empathetically. Any chance to see the girls more sounded like a great plan.
"I can't say it will be a fifty fifty split and I haven't even thought about Kate's place in all of this," Chloe explained. "My head is all up in the clouds and I need to work through this with you, rather than against you. But I'd really like for us both to be comfortable with the arrangement and for the girls to be happy and cared for. What do you say?"
"Um, yes. I say yes," Beca said. "I'm trying to process it all but obviously yes. I want more time with the girls."
"I know we have a lot to think about and we also still have to rearrange the meeting with hospital reps, so I wonder if you'd come to my house on Thursday and we can discuss this over dinner. Just the two of us? I know Jessie would be thrilled to see you on her birthday. And you can spend time with Alex and start that ball rolling too. It might not be the fourth of July celebration you wanted or planned, but I hope we can salvage some of the holiday."
"I'd like that," Beca shyly smiled. "I don't have any other plans. I mean, I have stuff for the girl's birthday but wasn't sure if I'd get to see them."
"Well, then, this works for that too. Oh, and just to let you know, I've put in a formal complaint about the way Oliver Harris was with you and I've been assigned a new lawyer. I've also spoken with the court about the current petition, so they are aware that I am talking with you about this. As long as it's mutually agreeable, we aren't doing anything wrong. I can't fix what's already happened, but I can try to make it better for the future. I've never forgotten what you did for me and what a fantastic job you have done raising Jessie. If I'm honest, I cannot believe the outcome went the way it did."
"Tell me about it."
"I have David's permission to talk with you, but if you wanted to bring someone over on Thursday, I would understand."
"No, it's fine. I make my own way in life."
"If you are okay with staying in, I'll cook dinner-"
"-You cook?"
"I do!" Chloe laughed. "I know, shocker! Do you have any food you don't like?"
"No, I don't. Please don't go to any trouble. I'm not a big eater."
"It'll just be a low key, sweats and a tee shirt affair. David will be out with Holly. Will you come?"
"Umm, yeah sure. You live in Studio City, right?" Beca asked.
"Yeah, I'll text you the address. But it's the first white house past the apartment blocks, it's got high white walls and a brown security fence. Park on the road and I'll come out to meet you."
"What time?"
"Why don't you come around two? That'll give us some time to get organised, get the family birthday calls out of the way. We can spend some time with the girls, maybe go for a swim in the pool, give them some food and then once they're in bed, we can eat and talk. It would be good to get to know you a little better as well. I'm enjoying our talks."
"Two is great. Can I bring anything?"
.oOo.
"I don't get it."
"Oh my fucking God, Amy! Is that all you ever say to me these days?!"
"Don't yell at me Beca!"
Beca had called Amy for a ride, as she couldn't get her car started, again. Amy had arrived about an hour later, wearing the jump leads around her neck. She'd leapt from the car, eager, as usual, to help Beca in her time of need.
"You need a new battery," Amy said.
"How'd you know that?" Beca asked.
"I'm the best female mechanic in Tasmania."
"Why are you like this?" Beca had asked, but she was used to Amy at this point and the comments just washed over her. Beca had driven towards home with Amy following her in case of another problem and they'd left her car at a local mechanic who said they'd fix it by the morning.
Beca had asked Amy to drop her back at her apartment which she'd been happy to do, but Amy had taken it upon herself to start questioning Chloe's motives. Beca was exhausted. The emotions she had been holding in, the long conversations with Chloe and the additional work pressure, combined with her desperately missing Jessie was taking their toll on her.
She was trying to fill Amy in on her talks with Chloe as the Australian could immediately sense something had changed when she picked her up from a side road, not too far away from the pier. Amy, however, wouldn't let her explain what was going and kept interrupting while Beca was talking as they waited for the mechanic to do their first checks. Beca didn't speak again until they were near Amy's car.
"My head is pounding. I think I got a brain freeze from that bucket of iced drink that Chloe got me. Or she slipped something in my drink and tried to poison me." Beca said as she pulled on the car door and slipped onto the back seat, laying down as best she could. "I just need to close my eyes for a minute and breathe."
"No problemo Becaroo. Are we heading straight to yours?"
"Please," Beca said, bending her elbow and covering her eyes in the crook of her arm. She felt Amy start the car and pull out of the space, feeling the air conditioning kick in as they drove away from the mechanics. After a few minutes, she let out a long, raggedy breath which caught Amy's attention.
"You okay back there in the cheap seats?"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm good. I didn't mean to yell at you earlier."
"You did. And that's okay. I shoulda let you finish."
"It's been a long day. My head is all over the place."
"What happened?" Amy asked, pulling onto the freeway.
"Mrs. Mitchem and I talked without saying a lot. She wants us to work together to find a better solution for caring for the girls. She said I'll definitely be getting more time with them."
"That's amazing!"
"Yeah, it's not going to happen overnight, but anything is better than what I've got now."
"You setting up a meeting with the lawyers?" Amy asked.
"No, we're just going to talk first."
"Are you sure that's wise?" Amy grimaced. "Yo Becs, what if it's a set up?"
"A set up for what?! I cannot possibly be any worse off than I am right now. And what have we said in the past about you using the word
'yo'?" Beca mumbled, sitting up in the back of the car and reaching for the seatbelt. "She's invited me to her place on Thursday so we'll see what happens there."
"I don't get it," Amy said, for possibly the hundredth time that day. "I mean I get it but I don't get it."
"Helpful, as usual Ames."
"It's all just a bit of a big U turn. You were ready to rip her head off just last week for making you miss Jessie's birthday on Thursday and stealing your kid and being privileged. Now you are playing house with her?"
"Look, I get to see the girls this week. All of them. I'm not breaking a court order to do it. Mrs Mitchem has invited me for dinner. I'll make notes on what she says. If need be, I can use it as evidence to prove she's lied in court." Beca said, thinking of Chloe's revelation about her and David's relationship a couple of days previously. She decided not to tell Amy about it, knowing it could start an argument that she had no energy to get into. Beca was also aware there were things in court that she'd not mentioned either. "I still don't trust her, I know she has corporate lawyers who, let's face it, are extremely good. But I think she realised that I was a victim too, in all of this. And I acted badly in the beginning."
"Well, you were scared," Amy said.
"I'm not denying that. I'm not saying Mrs Mitchem will fix this overnight. I still don't have my kid but I'm willing to see what this week brings. I told you before, the Chloe I met in the hospital is not the Chloe you see in films or in some of those texts and emails. I believe someone wrote them on her behalf. She's actually really nice. She talked a lot about how sorry she was, how messed up things had got and she knew it was unfair to me."
"I'm just asking you to watch your back."
"I will, I promise. And I'll tell you everything when I get home, okay?" Beca offered, her fingers on the door handle.
"I just worry that you'll get pulled in by the glitz and glamour and everything she's offering and you'll get inta a situation you can't control. She's got a lot of making up ta do."
"Yes, but it's not going to happen overnight, is it? We're barely friends... it's just going to take time."
Amy nodded, not looking convinced.
"Need my car this afternoon?" Amy asked, pulling up to Beca's apartment block.
"No, I'll walk back to get mine when it's ready."
"Okay, I'll head back ta my place. That bloke, Bumper, who I met in the karaoke bar, called and said he wanted ta take me out."
"I hope you mean on a date and not a hitman."
"There's my Beca." Amy mused, turning around to look at Beca in the back of the car. "We're going to the fourth of July fireworks on Thursday."
"Cool. Have fun." Beca smirked, stepping out of the car. "But, Ames, what kind of name is Bumper?"
"I dunno. Guess I'll find out." Amy laughed. "Say Happy Birthday to Jessaroo for me."
"Will do."
"Love you Becs."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah."
.oOo.