A/N – Here's an update! Thank you all so much for your reviews and messages and for reading. I appreciate all of the feedback and support so much.
Also, I included a song in this chapter. I'm not normally one for writing out all of the lyrics of a song, but I did this time. I'm not sure how many people would know it and I really thought it fit in with how Rachel is feeling and I wanted to include it all. I mention more about it in the author's note at the end.
Disclaimer – I don't own Glee.
Kurt and Rachel eventually moved off the subject of her mother as they hung out in her room. Of course that didn't happen until he asked her again when she would be seeing Shelby or when the woman would be coming to town to visit. Rachel was just as frustrated as he was that she couldn't give him any solid answers. She'd really like to know what the plans were as well. She was really considering asking her fathers again if she could go and spend Christmas with Shelby. If not Christmas, why couldn't she go the week afterwards until the New Year? She didn't know how much a last minute flight to New York City would cost, but surely her mother could afford it. She was a huge star and she did say that she'd been putting money into an account for her for years. Rachel figured she could just use some of that money. Maybe Shelby could take her to Time's Square to watch the ball drop! That would be so awesome. Ok, Rachel needed to figure out how to ask for all of this and she needed to do it soon.
The kids were working on some homework together when LeRoy came upstairs a little before nine and told Kurt that it was time he got home. Hiram was waiting to drive him home and Kurt agreed because his curfew was nine. They said their goodbyes and Rachel couldn't believe that she was actually reluctant for Kurt to go. It was nice having a friend around. They'd talked and laughed a lot even after the conversation moved away from Shelby. They seemed to have a lot more in common than either of them had ever wanted to admit.
Rachel's phone rang again at 10:20, just after she'd finished brushing her teeth as she was getting ready for bed.
"Hey, Mom," Rachel answered. "How was your show tonight?"
"Hi. It went really well," Shelby answered. "How are you feeling?"
"What?" Rachel was confused.
"You said when we talked earlier you said you'd had a long day and still had homework and-"
"Oh yeah," Rachel cut her off. "I'm fine."
"Did you get all of your homework done?" Shelby asked.
"Yes, Mom," Rachel rolled her eyes.
Shelby paused in her dressing room and smiled. Did she hear a hint of annoyance on Rachel's voice? Was that the tone Rachel used with her fathers when they asked her about her homework? Shelby hoped so. "Good. What did you have to do?"
"History and geometry and stuff," Rachel said. Who cared about any of that?
"Oh," Shelby said. "I love history. It was one of my best subjects so if you ever need any help with anything, I'd be happy to see what I could do."
"You're a history nerd?" Rachel laughed.
"Oh yeah, definitely," Shelby was enthusiastic. "History is fascinating. It was my minor in college. I love documentaries. I was so excited a few years ago when the History Channel asked me to narrate a documentary on the origins on musical theater."
"I saw that!" Rachel said.
"I thought I knew a lot about it, but I learned so much," Shelby said. "They actually called me back a few months ago and asked me to narrate a new piece on the Women's Suffrage movement. I'm really looking forward to it."
"I bet it'll be great," Rachel smiled.
"I hope so," Shelby said.
A woman who works at the theater poked her head into Shelby's dressing room and tapped her watch. Shelby nodded her acknowledgement and held up a finger to tell the woman to give her a minute. She knew that there were still a ton of people out there waiting for her to come out of the stage door. It wasn't that she had been taking a long time, but Shelby knew the theater wanted to close and they tried to hurry things along, especially in the winter because of how cold it could get.
"Listen, honey," Shelby continued. "I know this has been short, but I need to get going and you need to get to bed." A quick glance her watch told her it was after 10:30 and she'd told Hiram earlier that evening that she wouldn't keep Rachel from getting to bed on time.
"I'm not all that tired," Rachel said.
Shelby smiled, "But I still have to get going. I've still got to do the stage door and then grab something to eat on my way home."
"Oh," Rachel said. "Of course."
"And you should probably still get to bed," Shelby added.
"Fine," Rachel huffed good-naturedly. She knew it was true. One of her dads would probably be up any minute to make sure she'd gotten into bed and she didn't want to risk her phone being taken away again.
"Sleep well, sweetie," Shelby said. "I love you and I'll talk to you tomorrow."
"I love you too, Mom," Rachel said. "Goodnight."
Rachel was having trouble getting to sleep and she tossed and turned until just after midnight. The next day was the last day before the Christmas break and Rachel knew it would pretty much be a wasted day, or at least a laid back day. And her mind was racing with how she could convince her parents to let her go to New York and spend some more time with Shelby. There was a whole week between Christmas and New Year's and she didn't understand why she had to spend it in Lima doing nothing. Well, ok, her family had plans, but she wanted to do this more.
Rachel reached over to her bedside table and picked up her phone and had to squint against the light it put out when she unlocked it. She assumed Shelby would still be awake so she sent off a quick text message.
"Hi, Mom."
Shelby was lying comfortably on her couch in sweats and reading over some notes they would be discussing the next day at a morning rehearsal. She was startled when her phone chimed and she jumped and then reached for it. She was surprised to see who it was from and responded quickly.
"Rachel? What are you doing up?"
"I can't sleep," was the reply from her daughter. "I told you earlier that I wasn't tired."
"I'm sorry you can't sleep," Shelby wrote. "But you need to try. You've got school in the morning."
"I'll be fine," Rachel brushed it off. "It's the last day before the holiday break."
Shelby wasn't sure what to say to that. If she wasn't tired, she couldn't force the girl to sleep. But was texting with her encouraging her to stay up? Shelby tried to think of how it would be if Rachel was at her house and couldn't sleep. She imagined waking up and finding Rachel sitting in the kitchen drinking some water or something. They'd have a conversation then, right?
"What are you doing for the holiday?" Shelby asked.
"Just family stuff," Rachel responded. "We get together with Dad's family for Hanukkah and with Daddy's for Christmas. What are you doing?"
"The show," Shelby answered. "We work out our holiday schedule in advance so that the maximum amounts of people get time off. I usually decide to the show during the holidays anyway. There's always a lot of tourists in town." Shelby wasn't quite sure how to say that people come to see the star humbly so she didn't say anything. But it was true and everyone knew it.
"Don't you ever get lonely during the holidays?" Rachel asked. This was her way in.
"Sometimes," Shelby even shrugged as she was typing. "But I keep busy and carry on as normal."
"I bet New York City on New Year's Eve is a lot of fun," Rachel said.
"It's a lot of madness," Shelby said.
"I want to be in Times Square one year for it," Rachel said. "Have you ever done it?"
"Once, ages ago," Shelby said. "Never again."
Rachel frowned at that answer, but pushed ahead anyway. "You could come with me when I do it. I'm sure dad and daddy wouldn't want me to go alone."
Shelby shut her eyes in a momentary realization. Of course. Now she understood what Rachel was looking for. "We'd have to see. Plus you'll be 16 next year."
Rachel frowned even more. "Maybe we could go this year."
Shelby's eyebrows raised and she kicked herself again. She knew where this was going and she was not ready to deal with it on her own.
"If I was there with you," Rachel continued on. "I could come after Christmas and stay until New Year's and be home in time for school."
Shelby sat up on her coach and stared at the phone for a second. She had no idea how to respond to this. She was pretty sure Hiram and LeRoy had already told her no when they were here in the city and she was fairly certain that the men didn't know that Rachel was choosing the middle of the night to ask again. Shelby didn't want to give her the impression that she couldn't come because if the Berrys said yes, she'd love to have her. But this wasn't really her decision to make. And she did have other plans. None that she was willing to discuss with her brand new teenage daughter, but she did have them. She could cancel them if she needed to, but she didn't think it would come to that.
"Rachel, have you talked to your dads about this?" Shelby asked.
"Not yet," Rachel answered. "But if you already agreed to it, it would be easier to get them to say yes. I want to spend some time with you."
"I want to spend time with you too," Shelby said. She sighed and ran her hand through her hair. "I will call your fathers tomorrow and talk to them."
"Do you promise?" Rachel was hopeful. Shelby would make it happen.
"I promise," Shelby replied. "And now you need to get some sleep." She had to get her off the phone before she promised to try and get her to the moon as well.
"I'm still not tired," Rachel said. She'd never really stayed up late and covertly texted with anyone. It was kind of thrilling and naughty at the same time.
Shelby sighed again. What did she say? Think like a mom, Shelby. She started to think back to what her mother would say and she shuttered. Don't think like your mom, she corrected herself.
"Sweetie, it's past your bedtime," Shelby wrote. "Please try and go to sleep." She sent it and then groaned. Now she sounded like she was talking to an eight-year-old.
Rachel scoffed at the notion of having a bedtime at her age. She simply went to bed at a time suggested by her fathers. She was about to argue some more when a yawn surprised her. She looked at her clock and saw that it was 12:47.
"Ok," Rachel reluctantly agreed. "I'll call you tomorrow. Don't forget to talk to my dads."
"I won't," Shelby said. She was quite pleased with herself that Rachel was doing what she asked. "Love you. Get some sleep."
"Love you too," Rachel wrote back. She snuggled under her blankets with the knowledge that her plane ticket to New York City was as good as purchased now that Shelby would be asking if she could come. It didn't take her long to fall asleep at all.
The next day in school Kurt invited Rachel over to his house to have dinner and so they could really start working on ideas for Regionals. Rachel jumped at the chance and was delighted when she called her dads and they told her she could go. She went straight to Kurt's after school and the Berry men enjoyed a dinner by themselves. Hiram wanted to grill out, but LeRoy talked him out of it because of the cold. They were just cleaning up when Shelby called.
"Hey, Shelby," LeRoy said when he picked up the phone.
"Hi," Shelby said.
"What's up?"
"I need to talk to you and Hiram about something," Shelby answered. "Rachel and I talked last night and she not so casually mentioned that she would like to come to New York and spend the week after Christmas up until New Year's with me."
"Oh, did she?" LeRoy said. "Hang on; I'm going to put you on speaker." Once the phone was set so that both men could hear, he continued. "What did you tell her?"
"I didn't really know what to say," Shelby confessed. "I don't want her to think that I don't want her here, but from what I saw in New York when you were here, she already asked and was told no. You said you guys have plans."
"We do," Hiram said. "She knows that."
"Do you have plans?" LeRoy asked.
"Yeah, kinda. But I've also got the show to do every day," Shelby said. "I can get her tickets every night or she could hang out in the dressing room. Do you think she would get bored with that?"
Both men started to laugh and Hiram said, "No, trust us. She wouldn't get bored. She'd be too excited for her own good."
"And she wants to go the Times Square on New Year's Eve," Shelby said.
"Ugh, that's all on you, Shelby," LeRoy said. "We did that once. Never again."
"Thanks," Shelby deadpanned. "But I will go if she wants to."
"That's good to know," LeRoy said. "But not this year."
"Oh," Shelby said. Truth be told, she was disappointed.
"I know that she would rather go and see you, but she knows we've got plans for this week. We're going to have a lot of family in town," LeRoy said. "I understand this entire situation has made everything short notice, but it can't happen now."
"Yeah," Shelby said. She really did understand.
"But next year, she's all yours for the Christmas and New Year's holidays," Hiram said. That was weird to say. They'd never once considered not spending that time without their daughter.
"Thanks," Shelby said. "I have an idea of when I'd like to see her. If it works out for you guys." Shelby didn't think that was too bold a move. They kept telling her that Rachel was her daughter and she was the mom and, well, she wanted to see her sooner rather than later.
"What's your plan?" Hiram asked.
"January will be the year mark in my show for me," Shelby said. "So I'm due to be able to take a few days off after we settle back in from the holiday rush."
"Do you want her to fly out there and spend a long weekend with you?" LeRoy asked. He and Hiram nodded at each other. That would work.
"Actually," Shelby said, "I was thinking that I could come to you guys and see her there. It would be nice to get to see her room and school and all that."
"You want to see her in her natural habitat," Hiram said with a laugh.
"Yeah," Shelby smiled. "I want to take the pressure off of her."
"That's a really great idea," Hiram said. "She needs to stop thinking of herself as a fan and she needs to start seeing you as her mom all the time."
"Yeah. I think it's getting better though," Shelby said.
"And most of that progress will be gone if she goes back to New York City and watches your show every night," LeRoy said. "She can go back to that once she understands you're just another uncool mom of a teenager."
"Thanks," Shelby laughed. "I've already tried to tell her I wasn't very cool."
"Didn't believe you, did she?"
"Nope."
"Don't worry, she'll get there," LeRoy said. "It took a while for her to stop thinking that Hiram was cool, but she finally saw the truth."
Shelby laughed and Hiram huffed. "Whatever," he said. It was a good impression of their young daughter.
"But," Shelby said to bring the conversation back, "don't tell her yet. I need to finalize the dates I can take off and I think it would be fun to surprise her."
"Our lips are sealed," Hiram said. "Just let us know when you have the dates."
"And I'll start looking for a hotel," Shelby said.
"Nonsense," LeRoy said. "You'll just stay here with us."
"Really?"
"Of course, silly," Hiram said.
"Thanks!" Shelby smiled brightly. "And I better run. I'll leave it to you guys to tell Rachel she can't come."
"Sure, take the easy way out," LeRoy accused. They were the ones that were going to have to live with the sulking, over dramatic teen for the next week. Well, it certainly wouldn't be the first time.
Kurt was walking Rachel out so she could head home and the teens had stalled on the porch to talk some more. They had made song lists and other ideas for Regionals all evening. They even got Burt interested during dinner.
"I can't believe you're going to get to spend New Year's Eve in New York City," Kurt said.
"Well, it's not official yet, but I know, I can't believe it either," Rachel beamed. "I wonder how many times I'll get to see her show."
"I wish I could see it just once," Kurt lamented.
"You will," Rachel assured him. "I bet she won't mind me bringing a friend at some point."
"I'm nervous just thinking about it," Kurt said.
Just then Burt came out of the house with his keys and wearing a jacket. "Come on, I'll give you a ride home."
"I can walk, Mr. Hummel," Rachel said.
"It's just going to get darker the longer you two stand here and talk and it's freezing tonight. Come on," Burt said.
Rachel smiled and accepted the offer and they climbed into the truck. She agreed that the warm ride was better than a cold walk.
Rachel was, as expected, upset when she got home from Kurt's and was told that no, she wasn't going to spend a week in New York with Shelby. She had argued and cried and then stomped up the stairs to her room. She wanted to tell Kurt so she would have someone to commiserate with, but she was too embarrassed to tell him just yet. Her mom was supposed to tell her dads she wanted Rachel there to visit, so why didn't it work? She pouted until she fell asleep. She even missed Shelby's texts after the show to say goodnight.
Shelby was sad as she stared at her phone. It was thirty minutes since she'd sent her last text message to Rachel and the girl had still never responded. Shelby hated the idea that Rachel was mad at her. She sighed and pocketed the phone and headed out from the theater to meet some friends for drinks. It wasn't until the next afternoon that they were able to talk. Shelby tried to explain and Rachel said she understood, but Shelby wasn't convinced. There wasn't much else she could do though and so she tried to change the subject so they could talk about something else.
Rachel let her pout go by Christmas morning. There was a package waiting for her downstairs from Shelby and her fathers agreed to let her open it before the rest of the family arrived. Rachel stared in awe as she pulled out a framed Wounded Heart poster signed by the entire cast and creative team. Shelby had wanted to get her more, but she hadn't had much time and so she hoped Rachel would like this.
"Wow," Rachel said reverently. Shelby had included a letter explaining about every one that had signed it and where their signature was.
"That's pretty awesome," Hiram said. "I bet no one else has the autograph of the director and music team and producers plus all the actors all in one place." He was reading over Shelby's letter as he said it. This poster was probably worth so much money.
"I know just where I want to hang it too," Rachel said.
She carefully carried it to her room and leaned it up against the desk. She would hang it up in a few minutes. Right now she needed to call her mom.
Shelby blindly reached for her phone when it started to ring. She pulled it close to her face and squinted one eye open so she could see who it was. She sat up and rubbed her face when she saw that it was Rachel. She should have known because of how early it was.
"Hello," Shelby answered as she got up out of bed and reached for a robe to wrap around her body.
"Hi, Mom! Merry Christmas!" Rachel said brightly.
"Merry Christmas," Shelby said, though not quite as enthusiastically. "Can you hang on one second?"
"Sure," Rachel said.
"Who is it?" the other occupant of Shelby's bed asked as he rolled over lazily.
Shelby pressed the phone tightly against her chest so Rachel couldn't hear and looked over at her friend Brian. Boyfriend? Maybe at some point. Like she'd told Rachel when the girl had seen the flowers in her dressing room that night; it's complicated.
"I need to take this," Shelby said to him. "I'll be back. Go back to sleep."
"Ok," he said and his eyes were already fluttering closed.
Shelby stepped out into the living room and settled down on the couch and reached for a blanket she could pull over herself and then went back to the conversation. "Hey Rach, Merry Christmas!"
"Mom, this poster is so amazing!" Rachel gushed. "I love it so much."
"I'm so glad, sweetheart," Shelby said.
"I'm sorry all I was able to get you was a card," Rachel said.
"Don't be," Shelby said. "I loved it. And I loved the pictures." Rachel had included a couple of school pictures for her mom.
Rachel smiled widely on her end and started talking some more about the poster and who all had signed it. She eventually moved on to what they would be doing for Christmas. LeRoy's parents and one of his sisters and her family would be there for four days. It was crowded and chaotic, but Rachel assured her that it was usually a lot of fun.
"What are you doing today?" Rachel asked.
"I'm just going to relax until the show," Shelby said. "We have a nice celebration at the theater."
"I hope you get lots of good presents," Rachel said.
"I already got the one I always wanted this year," Shelby said.
"I love you, Mom," Rachel started to choke up.
"I love you too, sweetie. Please don't cry," Shelby said, her voice betraying her.
Rachel agreed to call her later and fill her in one what other presents she received and how the family was doing. She took a few minutes to wash her face again before going back downstairs to her dads. Shelby stood up and walked to her window and looked out at her perfect view. The snowy Manhattan skyline was bucolic and comforting. She couldn't wait to see her daughter again.
Shelby eventually returned to her room and shed her robe and crawled back into bed with Brian. She snuggled up close to him and asked him to hold her. He complied and pulled her close while grazing light kisses along her neck to her shoulder.
"Merry Christmas," Shelby whispered. His only response was to continue his trail of kisses.
The three Berrys agreed to not tell any of LeRoy's family about Shelby. They had never really met her years ago when she was pregnant and it would just be easier to keep the news to themselves until they were ready to be more public with it.
Rachel eventually had to break the news to Kurt that she hadn't been allowed to go to New York City during the break. He couldn't believe it either and joined her in sulking for a little while. Now they were back to square one as to when Rachel would get to see Shelby again. The boy joined her at her house for a sleepover on New Year's Eve and they watched the ball drop and sighed. Kurt watched as LeRoy kissed Hiram at the stroke of midnight and smiled. He wished he had have been paying attention to Rachel's family long before this because in the short time that they had become friends, Kurt had grown to greatly admire her fathers. He had so many questions that he wasn't sure he'd ever be comfortable talking to his own father about. He wasn't ready to talk to the Berry men either, but he liked that they were there. They gave him hope.
Rachel received a text from her mother right at midnight that said, "Happy New Year, baby!"
She returned the happy wishes and then her phone rang in the middle of everyone singing "Old Lang Syne" as Hiram played the piano. Rachel stepped away from them and into the kitchen to answer it. She heard her fathers encouraging Kurt to sing the chorus by himself as she pressed the answer button.
"Hi, Mom!" Rachel said.
"Hi, sweetheart," Shelby replied. "Are you having a fun time tonight?"
"Yeah," Rachel said. "Kurt's here and we all watched the ball drop together. Dad and Daddy are enjoying the chardonnay and Kurt has been giving them style tips. What are you doing?"
"I'm at a party," Shelby answered. "Some of my friends throw it every year."
"Sounds like fun," Rachel said. She was a bit dejected at not being there, but there was always next year, right? It wasn't even really about the holidays to her; she just wanted to see Shelby again.
"Next year I'm all yours," Shelby told her. She'd grown a little bit better at sensing Rachel's moods over the phone and she knew her daughter was still upset about not being able to be there. She knew that she'd be in town in just six days to see Rachel, but they were doing so well at keeping that secret from her and Shelby wasn't about to spill the beans now.
"Can I come and visit you during my spring break?" Rachel asked. That still seemed like a long way from now. "Or before?"
"I would love that," Shelby said. "But we can't figure that out tonight, sweetheart. Let's give it a few days so I can take a good look at my show schedule. But I will see you soon, I promise."
"Ok," Rachel said.
She stayed in the kitchen by herself for a few minutes after their conversation had ended. She was so frustrated and tired of hearing that they'd see each other soon. That wasn't an answer. Why couldn't her parents just talk and figure out some dates and set it in stone? Rachel hated the indecision of it all. None of this was fair. It wasn't fair they kept the secret for her entire life and it wasn't fair no one could be bothered to come up with a plan. Her parents just didn't seem to get how hard this was on her. She was so glad she had told Kurt because she didn't know what she would if she didn't have someone she could talk to about this. In her annoyed state, she was even glad that she hadn't told any of her parents yet that she'd told someone else. They could just figure it out later.
On the first day back to school, Mr. Schue assigned them all to come up with a song about something they want. He told them it could be silly or serious, but he wanted to show them how songs could put into words things you sometimes can't say. Rachel knew the song she wanted as soon as he finished explaining the assignment. She raised her hand and told him she would be ready the next day. Her announcement was met with plenty of eye rolls and a nod from Mr. Schue.
Rachel stood confidently in front of the group the next afternoon and they all looked at her expectantly. There was no doubt that they loved to pick on her, but most of them secretly liked to hear her sing. They'd deny it to the grave though.
"My song is called "The Glamorous Life" from the classic Broadway show A Little Night Music," Rachel said. "The daughter of the main character is singing about her mother being away."
"But you don't even have a mother," Finn said. His face was etched with confusion.
"Finn," Mr. Schue admonished lightly and then turned his attention back to Rachel who had ducked her head. "Ok, Rach, we are anxious to hear it."
Rachel stood up straighter and nodded confidently at Brad who started to play the piano for her. Rachel's strong voice soon filled the room and everyone was paying attention.
Ordinary mothers lead ordinary lives:
Keep the house and sweep the parlor,
Mend the clothes and tend the children.
Ordinary mothers, like ordinary wives,
Make the beds and bake the pies and wither on the vine.
Not mine.
Dying by inches every night,
What a glamorous life!
Brought on by winches to recite,
What a glamorous life!
Ordinary mothers never get the flowers and
Ordinary mothers never know the joys.
Ordinary mothers couldn't
cough for hours, maintaining their poise.
Sandwiches only, but she eats what she wants when she wants.
Sometimes it's lonely, but she meets many handsome gallants.
Ordinary mothers don't live out of cases
But ordinary mothers don't go different places,
Which ordinary mothers can't do,
Being mothers all day.
Mine's away in a play
And she's realer than they.
What if her broach is only glass
And her costumes unravel?
What if her coach is second class?
She at least gets to travel.
And sometime this summer, meaning soon,
She'll come traveling to me.
Sometime this summer, maybe June,
I'm the new place she'll see.
Ordinary daughters may think life is better with
Ordinary mothers near them when they choose.
But ordinary daughters seldom get a letter enclosing reviews.
Gay and resilient, with applause,
What a glamorous life!
Speeches are brilliant
If they're Shaw's,
What a glamorous life!
Ordinary mothers needn't meet committees,
But ordinary mothers don't get keys to cities.
No, ordinary mothers merely see their children all year.
Which is lovely, I hear.
But it does interfere
With the glamorous...
I am the princess,
Guarded by dragons,
Snorting and grumbling and rumbling in wagons.
She's in her kingdom
Wearing disguises,
Living a life that is full of surprises.
And sometime this summer she'll come galloping over the green.
Sometime this summer, to the rescue, my mother the queen!
Ordinary mothers thrive on being private,
And ordinary mothers somehow can survive it,
But ordinary mothers never
Know they're just standing still
With the kettles to fill
While they're missing the thrill
Of the glamorous life!
Kurt had tears in his eyes when the song ended, but he quickly brushed them away. Rachel's eyes were filled too and she ducked her head once again as Mr. Schue led a round of applause.
"That's was wonderful, Rachel," he told her. "Very moving."
"But I still don't understand," Finn said.
"Shut up, idiot," Mike said.
Rachel took her seat and Kurt patted her shoulder and she gave him a half-hearted smile. She wanted to see Shelby. Even the kids in the club who usually had a biting remark for her, didn't say anything terrible to Rachel. Santana couldn't imagine not having her mother around and Quinn had always wished to have a closer relationship with her own mother. If Finn were to look past the obvious, he would know that he had the same longing about his father. Kurt would give anything to see his mother again.
"Ok, guys," Mr. Schue said, "Rachel has set the bar really high for this assignment so please put your best into it. I can't wait to see what you all come up with."
Rachel went off to school that Thursday morning just as Shelby was landing in Columbus. Hiram and LeRoy offered to pick her up, but Shelby opted to rent a car and drive. She loved to drive but didn't do it very much in the city. Plus she just liked having her own transportation. It would give her a chance to take Rachel out without any hang ups about whose car she was taking or anything like that. Hiram took half a day off to meet her at the house and helped to get her settled in the guest room.
"Want to take a peek at Rachel's room?" he asked.
"No, I'll wait for her," Shelby smiled.
They ate lunch and then he showed her around the house. This wasn't the same place they had lived when she was pregnant; they had moved into this house the summer Rachel was four. Shelby had a good time looking around the house and seeing all of the pictures of Rachel. Part of her wanted to ask if they could pull Rachel out of school early just so she could see her, but she didn't ask. She did ask, however, if she could pick the girl up that afternoon.
"Are you sure?" Hiram asked. "People will probably recognize you."
Shelby shrugged, "I just want to see her. I'll deal with any questions."
"She'll be thrilled to see you," Hiram said. "She has glee after school, but I know she won't mind you hanging around for that."
That afternoon, he gave her directions to the school and said he would be there waiting for them to get home. Shelby found the school without any problems and found the door Hiram said would put her closest to the choir room when she entered.
Rachel was making her way towards the choir room when she was stopped by Kurt so they could talk before they got to glee. Quinn and Santana were standing by the lockers gossiping when they looked up and saw someone turning the corner.
"Is that?" Santana asked.
"Shelby Corcoran?" Quinn finished. They had seen a couple of her movies and had heard both Rachel and Kurt drone on about her in the past. Judging by the movies they'd seen, they both agreed that Shelby was pretty awesome. Plus she was beautiful and elegant. Even now as they watched the woman rounding the corner while perching her sunglasses on top of her head, they both admired her greatly.
"What is she doing here?" Quinn asked. Nothing exciting ever happened in Lima, Ohio and so both girls were determined not to miss their chance to meet the only star that would probably ever come to their cow town.
Shelby stopped and smiled when she saw Rachel down the hallway. She knew people were looking at her and she could hear the whispers, but she didn't care. It was so wonderful to get to see Rachel again.
"Oh my god!" Kurt exclaimed as he looked down the hallway.
"What?" Rachel asked as Kurt backed away from her to lean up against the wall.
Rachel followed his eyes down the hallway and gasped when she saw her mother standing there. She smiled widely and lifted her arm to wave. Her action was cut off though when Karofsky and Azimio suddenly tossed their slushies in her face. She was hit with grape and then cherry and the boys never even missed a stride as they continued down the hall high-fiving each other.
The silence after the attack didn't last long because a scattering of laughter started, including from Santana and Quinn. Shelby had stopped her stride in shock at seeing two boys throw their drinks at her daughter. Rachel didn't move from her spot and her chin trembled as tears formed her in eyes even before she opened them and looked across the distance of the hallway and met the eyes of her mother.
A/N – Thank you all so much for reading. I hope you all liked this chapter. Please leave a review.
I'll be the first to admit that I don't know much about A Little Night Music, but I love "The Glamorous Life." The only version I know is the one Audra McDonald sang in a concert honoring Stephen Sondheim. I'm going to put a video of her singing it on my tumblr page so please check it out. Or just look on youtube. It's a beautiful song and Audra McDonald is amazing. Thanks, guys!
