Friday Afternoon.
Chloe was sitting at her desk humming away and goofing around on social media when a loud buzz caught her attention. She practically jumped out of her chair and raced for the front door.
Chloe nearly collided with Ashley who, with equal excitement, opened up the door to greet the guest they'd both been expecting for some time.
"Hi Connor," Ashley smiled at her favorite eight-year old
"Good morning Ashley," the boy said.
Beside him was Chicago dressed in baggy shorts and a loose-fitting navy-blue shirt.
Chloe rushed to hug her son. "I missed you so much, little guy," she kissed him on the cheek.
"Missed you too," he said, and then went back to playing his Nintendo handheld.
"And how are you?" Chloe hugged her ex-husband and gave him an affectionate peck on the cheek. Even though they were divorced the two were on very amicable terms with each other. Chicago had an open invitation to visit or come to any family function whenever he liked. An offer he occasionally accepted.
"I feel like a million bucks," he joked. "Still getting used to living on the top floor, though."
"You ass." She said, but a smile tugged at her lips. "I really splurged, you know?" Chloe gave his shoulder a playful push.
Before they were married Chloe insisted on signing a prenuptial agreement. A smart decision which allowed her to keep most of her money and her house in the divorce. However the rockstar wanted her only child near her so she purchased a luxurious penthouse for Chicago. One with multiple bedrooms, plenty of space, and a gorgeous view that overlooks the ocean.
Chicago took on work as a personal trainer and a self-defense instructor. As one of Hollywood's newly available bachelors, he was living the good life.
"So, got anything planned for the munchkin?" Chicago asked once Ashley ushered Connor inside so that his parents could chat.
"Nah. I want him all to myself as much as possible this weekend," she chuckled.
"I understand that. They grow up so fast don't they?"
Chloe held back the tears. "They sure do."
"Alright, Chlo. I'll catch you later. Bye Connor!" the former soldier shouted into the house and waved to his son.
Once inside Chloe sent Ashley home for the day, insisting the woman spend quality time with Jessica. The two had begun dating, much to Chloe's delight.
A little while later the musician joined her son on the couch, quietly basking in their time together even though they weren't engaging in the same activity. Chloe was reading a book while Connor was playing one of his video games.
"Hey, kiddo. I was thinking maybe you and I could venture out and get some Fro-yo?" Chloe asked sweetly.
"Sure," Connor perked his head up, already hoping things would be different this time.
And for a while, things were certainly looking that way. They talked a lot during the car ride. Connor told Chloe all about school, told his mom about his new favorite trends. What new cartoons he liked and what interesting places he visited with his father.
Chloe too was fooled into believing that it would be the ideal evening when she pulled up to the frozen yogurt place, Scoops Ahoy!
Chloe held the door open for her son, and as soon as she walked into the shop Chloe felt the entire vibe change. The rockstar sensed the energy shift in the room and knew this was no longer going to be a peaceful outing with her son.
All eyes were on her.
That's Chloe Beale…
She's in that rock band…
…one of the best guitarists in the world.
She heard their whispers and hoped people would keep their requests to a minimum so she and Connor could stay and eat in peace.
Nonetheless, Chloe and her son powered through it and made their way to the dispensary. Connor chose vanilla chocolate, and just as Chloe set her cup down to pull the lever releasing the Banana swirl, she felt a presence beside her.
A young girl not much older than Connor had approached her. "Hi, are you Chloe Beale?" she asked shyly.
Chloe took a deep breath and smiled. "Yes, are you a fan, Sweetie?"
Connor's head drooped in defeat. He just wanted one day with his Mommy.
"I like how you play guitar; and um, can I please take a picture with you?"
Everyone in the Frozen Yogurt place was looking at Chloe, many of them had their phones out.
Chloe cleared her throat. "Listen, everyone, I'll gladly pose for photos with you but I ask that you please don't take any pictures of my child. His privacy is very important."
Chloe didn't feel any hostility and everyone in the room seemed to agree with her. "Thank you," she said.
After posing for a photo with the girl, Chloe and Connor sat down at a small table and tried to enjoy themselves but the barrage of fans wouldn't let up. They kept their promise and didn't take pictures of the little boy, but that didn't mean Chloe wasn't frustrated.
"And then there was your concert in Norway where you played a country scale in a blues rock key, and anyway your virtuosity is incredible and you inspire me so much.." one fan prattled on. Chloe was initially polite but then the man pulled up a chair at their table and failed to realize that he'd completely crossed a boundary; either that or he didn't care. So offended was Chloe that she pretended to listen to the man's stories while fishing through her purse looking for her keys.
"Your mom is so cool isn't she, little guy?" the man tousled his hair while not even looking at Connor. He couldn't take his eyes off of Chloe and was likely operating under the delusion that if he treated her son well the redhead would think he was just the bee's knees and sleep with him and then they'd live happily ever after, or some shit.
The musician had a hard and fast rule, anyone who showed such blatant disrespect towards her child would receive but the bare minimum of pleasantries from her.
Chloe found her keys, "Well you've been so sweet," she lied. "We've got to get going now. Busy day ahead of us, right honey?" she looked over at Connor.
"Yeah."
Chloe stood up, "It was nice meeting you," she flashed the man her flawless pearly whites as she smiled.
Putting her hand on Connor's back she practically pushed him out the door. "It was nice meeting you all!" She waved to the people inside of the frozen yogurt shop.
"That was brutal," she sighed once they got back into the car. Chloe gripped the steering wheel tightly. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean for all of…that to happen."
"I'm used to it," Connor huffed.
Chloe looked at him through her rearview mirror. "Tomorrow will be much better!" she said cheerfully. "We'll have the entire day to ourselves. We'll do something fun."
Connor would believe it when he saw it.
Saturday
The next morning…
"Good morning my sweet prince!" Chloe kissed her son on the forehead when he clambered up to the table to get his breakfast. Normally Ashley would do the cooking, but since her assistant had been given the weekend off, the musician wanted to do something nice for her son.
Chloe slid a plate of fresh fluffy eggs and crispy bacon in front of Connor.
She loved cooking and if she wasn't so busy with her music career, she would do it more often.
Freshly showered and dressed Chloe found her son sitting on the squishy leather couch engrossed in a movie.
"Look, Mommy. It's a movie about dinosaurs," the child said.
Chloe pressed the info button on the remote. "Oooh, Jurassic Park," she smiled at her son. Chloe sat down next to him, elated that an opportunity to bond with her child, presented himself. Spending the day watching movies would be nothing short of perfect.
Unfortunately, the universe didn't agree…
Chloe and Connor were engrossed in the movie, on the edge of their seats waiting for Dennis Nedry to get hit with a giant dose of karma when Chloe's cell phone rang.
Connor kept his eyes trained on the screen, refusing to escape its reality for as long as possible because the child knew what a ringing phone meant.
The formula hadn't changed.
Chloe kissed the side of his head and then excused herself.
I wanted to watch this movie. It's so cool. Connor thought.
Chloe returned minutes later with her head hanging in defeat.
"What is it?" Connor seemed to know already.
Chloe chewed on her lip. "I have to film a spot for Sesame Street. It's a segment about friendship."
"But can't it wait another day? We were watching this cool movie, and you're busy tomorrow."
"I'm sorry baby. I really am, but I can't reschedule. Filming got pushed up."
Chloe walked over and took the remote from Connor. "Here. We'll DVR it and watch it when we get home," the ginger said, hoping that the compromise would appease her son. She pressed the red record button. "There," she smiled.
It was sunset when Chloe and Connor finally left the studio. As soon as the child buckled his seatbelt he huffed as loud as he could, then crossed his arms across his chest, and faced any direction that wasn't looking at his mother.
"I didn't think it would take that long," Chloe said. She looked at her son in the rearview mirror.
Connor still wasn't looking at her.
"We'll go home and finish watching Jurassic Park, yeah?" Her smile was exaggerated, as was her tone and Connor knew it. But Chloe couldn't bear to acknowledge her failure right now.
"Acting is tough, honey. Sometimes I can't concentrate and that's why the director wanted all of those takes."
That didn't work either.
Chloe reached behind the seat, to reach out to him. "I'm sorry Connor," but her son bitterly recoiled and turned away. Chloe sniffled, she exerted all of her mental strength to not cry.
The ride home was deathly silent.
Once they arrived back home the child stormed off toward his bedroom.
"Wait, Connor!" Chloe pleaded, just before he opened his bedroom door. "Please talk to me."
"Why did you even have me?"
"W-What?" Chloe's eyes instantly flooded with tears.
"You're my-my whole world."
"No mom. You like your job and your fans more than me!" He slinked into his bedroom and quickly shut the door behind him.
Her son's words knocked the life out of her, so Chloe ran into her bedroom where she spent the remainder of the evening clutching a pillow and bawling her eyes out. Emerging from her room only to make dinner for her child.
But Connor never came down from his room.
Sunday…
Hyngahhh the iron gate rolled on its track.
Security guards waved Chloe through. Her Toyota Rav-4 pulled into the studio lot and then she drove down a narrow road until finally reaching the back building.
Chloe loved this particular studio because it was closed to the public and surrounded by trees and foliage, which made it difficult for the paparazzi to take photos.
She got out of her car and went around to open the passenger door for her child.
Once Connor was out, Chloe took his hand and they walked into the building bathed in unbearable awkward silence.
Being the meticulous person she was, Chloe was a woman of several rituals. One was that whenever she recorded a new album, the ginger wanted to pay tribute to the groups that inspired her so much as a kid. So she tried to wear band shirts as often as she could.
Today she was wearing dark jeans and a black KISS Destroyer shirt.
"Make yourself comfortable, honey," she kissed her son's cheek. They were recording in Studio B today, which meant her child would have plenty of room to veg out without feeling claustrophobic.
"Yup," the child walked off without a second thought and plopped down on one of the squishy leather couches.
Chloe walked over to the guitar stand where there were nearly a dozen guitars waiting for them.
Chloe studied the three belonging to her. At times the number of guitars each person kept stocked felt excessive. Nearly half of them rarely saw any play and the redhead wondered why they kept up such an insignificant little tradition.
Sighing, Chloe settled on her Candy Apple Red ESP M1 Custom '87. She walked over to a stool, sat down, and plugged in.
Chloe's ritual was always the same. First, she tugged on all of the strings to make sure the guitar was properly seeded, then she examined the action, followed by the neck to make sure it was bowed properly and the truss rod wasn't loose.
Once everything passed inspection Chloe picked each string, making sure her guitar was properly tuned.
Chloe noodled around for a couple of minutes. She played the opening riff to the KISS song Mr. Speed, followed by Joe Walsh's famous opening riff to Rocky Mountain Way; from the corner of her eyes, she watched the other ladies file into the studio accompanied by Beca.
Seeing her girlfriend made the guitarist smile and when Beca was finished setting down her bag, Chloe snuck over and surprised the shorter girl with a kiss. Which Beca happily reciprocated. "C'mon, there's someone I want you to meet," she said and pulled Beca by the hand over to the couch where her son was sitting.
"Beca, this is Connor. My baby boy," she smiled.
"What up Lil Beale?"
"It's Walp," the child said, not once looking up from his Nintendo.
"Oh, uh Beca, he has Chicago's last name," Chloe tried to mitigate with a nervous chuckle. "Connor, Beca is producing this album. She's also my-" the musician paused, deciding it might not be best to spring the news on her child that she's dating someone. "-she's very important to me."
If the shift in terminology bothered the producer she sure didn't show it at the moment. Beca simply nodded. Once it was clear the women wouldn't receive any further acknowledgment, Chloe's shoulders sagged in defeat. Beca snapped back into producer mode and ushered her girlfriend over to the mixing board so the ladies could have a brief meeting.
Lynn was sitting on a chair hunched over and gripping her guitar while Chloe elected to stand a few yards away from the rhythm guitarist.
Aubrey sat in a swivel chair at one end of the mixing board. This particular part of the song didn't require a bass line so she was able to kick back with Beca.
"You don't have to stand, Chloe, " Beca said.
"This one likes to hop and bop around. She almost kicked me in the face a few years back."
Chloe laughed. "I can't help it. I need to move with the music."
Beca signaled to Lilly who was in a separate booth across the studio. The quiet woman tapped her sticks together then set the beat.
Looking down at the typed-out copy of the track listing, Beca made sure they were recording the right track. Today they were starting in the middle. Laying down tracks 7 & 8.
A thunderous chord startled Beca so the producer looked up at her girlfriend.
Lynn was right.
Chloe was lost in the music.
Beca watched her girlfriend hop up and down then switch to a smooth, fluid swaying of her hips. The sound of the guitars filtering through the amplifier was buttery and immaculate. Chloe's virtuosity was on full display as she executed several complex string bends and pinched harmonics without using pedals.
All Beca could do was sit back and watch while Lynn and Chloe hammered away on their axes.
"Give it a little more vibrato on the bend, Chlo," Beca instructed, to which her girlfriend would nod and apply it to her string bends.
She watched Chloe stop playing to bop her head and hum to the rhythm of the song playing in her mind. Mumbling the final part, Chloe phoneticized the notes with the vibrato Beca suggested. "Yeah," a smile tugged on her lips. The ginger fingered it on the fretboard before setting her pick and playing it.
Seconds later the guitarist threw her fingers down like a hammer applying the final pick, letting the reverberation sweep through the room.
"And cut." Beca waved her hands.
Chloe yanked off her headphones. "Could we try something?" she asked.
"What are you thinking Chlo?"
"I wanna…like, throw it. Throw the sound. Does that make sense?"
Lynn and Beca shook their heads.
"Okay," Chloe began. "I want to throw the sound so that it's like a little ball or bubble of music bouncing back and forth between guitars."
"Almost like it's pulsating?" Beca asked.
"Yeah kinda."
It was an intriguing proposition. One which the ladies spent the next thirty minutes crafting, and after what seemed like countless takes and technical ingenuity on Beca's end they finally got it. "Fuck yeah!" Chloe bounced with excitement and then high-fived Lynn.
Several hours breezed by before the band decided to call it a day. Two tracks were officially wrapped and the four of them couldn't be happier. Chloe especially, her vision was coming to life at long last.
While Chloe was packing up, Beca noticed Connor on the couch. The child sulked, his shoulders drooped and Beca knew he was having a rough day.
So she plunked down beside him on the couch. "Why the long face kiddo?" she asked.
"Bad weekend. Nothing went right and now I can't even do good in my game," his soft eyes focused on the screen in front of him.
"Hmmm what game are you playing, Connor?"
"Pokémon."
Beca smirked. "Don't tell anyone but…I like Pokémon too. I have most of the games"
"Really?" the child perked up and for the first time made eye contact with the other woman.
"Pssh yeah. I'm a secret nerd. What are you struggling with?"
Connor explained his dilemma, to which Beca smiled.
"See you gotta take the item to this secret spot on the map, I couldn't figure it out at first, either I had to cheat and look it up online."
Chloe looked up to see Beca and Connor in high spirits. It made her heart melt into a gooey puddle the way her girlfriend and her son were bonding.
Chloe knew Beca wasn't just any partner.
"You two are having fun!" Chloe joked.
"Look, Mom!" Connor turned his handheld around so Chloe could see the screen. "Beca's showing me how to find this cool legendary Pokémon."
Out in the hallway, away from the wandering eyes, Aubrey Posen let the tears fall as she brought a flask up to her lips.
The thing she craved all afternoon was finally hers. Slipping it back into her purse, Aubrey dried her eyes and then promptly composed herself.
Unbeknownst to the blonde, Chloe witnessed the entire thing.
The lead guitarist was on her way to the restroom when she thought she spotted Aubrey, so she snuck around hoping to get a closer look.
Aubrey's drinking angered Chloe because she asked her friend to temper it back when they were in Sioux Falls.
It all made sense now. Chloe swore the bassist was way more subdued than usual during the recording session.
What possessed Aubrey to do this when the band was drifting apart? They were on the verge of recording the album Chloe knew would finally earn them a Grammy nomination.
If all went well they could book another world tour and then, the turmoil in Chloe's personal life would right itself. She wouldn't let anyone fuck it up. Not Aubrey and her boozing or Lynn's flakiness - seriously, how dare she entertain offers to join another band!
Once Chloe made sure Connor was buckled in and engrossed in his video game, she strolled across the studio parking lot to see Beca off.
"How goes the quitting?" Chloe asked.
Beca quirked an eyebrow. "Huh?"
Chloe rolled her eyes. "The weed. Have you stopped smoking weed?"
"Oh. Uh, Chlo…I think that might take a while," Beca scratched the back of her neck.
"Don't make excuses, Bec." Chloe pecked her on the lips. "You're stronger than you think you are."
Beca let out a nervous chuckle. "Yeah."
"Alrighty," Chloe's mood switched to perky. She went to envelop her girlfriend in a powerful hug.
"Get on it, Mitchell!" Chloe shouted over her shoulder on the way back to her car.