Beca tightly gripped Stacie's hand as the plane took off. No matter how many times she flew, take-off and landing always scared the bejeezus out of her. "I can't believe she's gone, Stacie."
"Me either." Stacie put her arm around her girlfriend to comfort her as best she could. The Bellas had always been a tight-knit group of women, but Beca and Chloe always had a special bond, something that went deeper than friendship. To be honest, Stacie always thought they had the hots for each other. So when Beca started to show interest in her, Stacie was cautious at best.
Yet here they were, two years after graduation, living together in Toronto. Stacie had been offered a research fellow position while she worked on her PhD in molecular biology. Beca jumped on the opportunity to move to Toronto because of the music opportunities afforded to her there. Living in a new city and a new country provided them both a new start that neither knew they really needed.
Beca and Stacie had only seen the Bellas once since they moved out of the country and that was for the birth of Chloe's daughter, Phoebe, and the subsequent baby shower six months ago. So seeing all the Bellas at the funeral was bitter-sweet. The service itself had been beautiful, Aubrey planning each detail down to the memento display and running video which chronicled Chloe's life from birth until, well, the week prior.
Knowing what was to come the next day made Beca uncomfortable. She didn't want to sit in a room with everyone while all the details of how Chloe's life would be parsed out were read. Yet by mid-morning, all parties were gathered in a large meeting room of the hotel where Aubrey had reserved a block of rooms for out-of-town attendees.
An attorney from Aubrey's firm presided over the meeting. He flipped through the paperwork, arranging them just so before speaking. "The first order of business is the declaration of appointment of guardian for minor child, Phoebe Elizabeth Beale. I, Chloe Anne Beale, make this Declaration to appoint as guardian for my child, Phoebe Elizabeth Beale. I designate Beca Mitchell to serve as guardian of the person of my child and Aubrey Posen as first alternate guarding of the person of my child."
The sound of a pin dropping would have echoed off the walls of the room. Aubrey sat in her chair, her spine ramrod straight, face devoid of all emotion. Beca was shocked, to say the least. What on earth had made Chloe think she knew anything about raising a child? Aubrey was going to strangle her.
The attorney then read through the will which left various small mementos to Bellas, various other friends, and distant family members. She'd been very specific with her planning, leaving no important person out. The last section of the will was the most important. All property left in this will to my minor child, Phoebe Elizabeth Beale, shall be given to Aubrey Posen as custodian under the Georgia Uniform Transfers to Minors Act, to be held until Phoebe Elizabeth Beale reaches age 21. If Aubrey Posen is unwilling or unable to serve as custodian of property left to said minor child under this will, Beca Mitchell shall serve instead.
Chloe had no real property other than her car which was paid off, but she did have two substantial life insurance policies with her daughter named as beneficiary on both. The money would help raise her daughter, the remaining portion being turned over to Phoebe when she turned of age. The attorney went through a checklist of everything which needed to be done to settle Chloe's affairs.
His final task was to give Beca and Aubrey each an envelope with their name written in Chloe's neat cursive. "Her instructions were to give you these letters in the event of her untimely demise." While the services had been more of a celebration of Chloe's life, the events of this morning caused an abnormal amount of tension and angst.
"Beca? Beca was Chloe's first choice to take Phoebe? I'm Phoebe's godmother for crying out loud. Yet Chloe chose Beca to raise her child." Aubrey was trying to hold her emotions in check. All the Bellas save Beca and Stacie were surrounding her, providing her with comfort and emotional support. Nobody else dared to speak, allowing Aubrey to cry it out.
"Well, there's always a chance that Beca and Stacie will turn down the guardianship. What do they know about raising a child? In that case, Phoebe will stay here with the only people she has truly ever known." Aubrey was beside herself, trying to convince herself that she wasn't about to lose her goddaughter so soon after losing her best friend.
Someone standing at the door to the room softly cleared their throat. Aubrey looked up to see Stacie and Beca standing there, Stacie's arm protectively holding Beca against her. "Aubrey, can we talk?" Beca's eyes were red-rimmed from hours of crying.
The Bellas looked at Aubrey who nodded her head. They each comfortably patted her shoulder as they left the room. Beca and Stacie took a seat on the couch across from Aubrey. Amy stopped. "Hey, why does she get to stay?" She pointed at Stacie.
Ashley pulled Amy from the doorway. "She's involved in this, too, Amy."
Emily stepped back into the room and took a seat next to Aubrey, holding her hand, so she wouldn't have to be in the room alone with Beca and Stacie. Aubrey need to feel someone on her side was with her.
Everyone was quiet for a while. Finally, Aubrey looked at Beca and asked, "why? Why you?"
"I don't know, Aubrey." Beca moved to the other side of Aubrey, touching her as if the contact would make Aubrey calmer. "We never even talked about it. I swear."
"Are you going to take her? Phoebe?"
Beca looked at Stacie who gave a slight tip of her head. "Stacie and I have talked. Today has been so emotional. We thought it'd be best for everyone to sleep on the decision. There's plenty of time."
Aubrey was obviously struggling to hold herself together yet to do the right thing at the same time. "Phoebe's been staying here. I also have a spare bedroom. Perhaps you'd like to stay here, meet Phoebe again, spend some time with her? I mean, she was only a newborn the last you saw her."
The next week was spent with Stacie and Beca getting to know Phoebe as much as one can get to know a six-month-old infant. She was right on track with all the six-month-old milestones, even pushing herself up with her arms and scooting backward when she wanted. They took over responsibilities of feeding, changing, and bathing her - all the day-to-day activities that the young infant required.
As much as Beca was enjoying being with the baby, Phoebe's ginger hair coupled with her crystal blue eyes made her heartache each time she looked at the child knowing this indeed was Chloe's daughter. She was a living reminder that Chloe was no longer with them.
"You know we have to make a decision soon, Beca." Stacie lay with Beca twisting her hair around her fingers. "What do you want to do?"
"You have a lot of say here, too, you know. This decision impacts you as much as it does me. What do you think we should do?" Beca curled into Stacie's embrace.
"Have you read the letter yet? Chloe obviously wanted you to have Phoebe for a reason."
"Nope," she said, popping the p. "I'm not sure I want to know what she was thinking. Maybe I should just decline guardianship. Phoebe's settled here. Aubrey can give her a good home, a solid upbringing."
"But Chloe chose you, Beca. At least read the letter before making a decision. I'll support you in whatever you choose. Personally, I think we would make great parents. And apparently, Chloe did, too."
A month later, Aubrey picked up Stacie from the airport. The long-time friends gave each other a lingering hug. "How are you holding up, Aubrey?" Stacie knew that the former Bellas' captain had to be struggling as hard if not harder than Beca.
"I'm going to make it. I have a strong support system here. Just expect to see a lot of me in Toronto," she sniffled as she drove towards her house in the Atlanta suburbs. Stacie assured her that she was welcome anytime.
When Stacie saw the huge rental SUV sitting in Aubrey's driveway, she chuckled. "Can Beca even crawl into that thing?"
Aubrey gave a small smile. "Barely. But we've got everything packed. I'm keeping Phoebe's room set up here for when you come visit, but this is about everything we could fit from … her home. Be quiet when you come in. It's nap time, and Beca will chew you out if you wake her up."
After the services, Stacie had classes and her research so she'd returned to Toronto alone. She flew back to Atlanta to help Beca make the fifteen hour drive back north. Plus this gave Aubrey and Beca some time alone so Aubrey could reassure herself that Beca really could take care of her goddaughter. Aubrey had been nothing but helpful in filing paperwork and getting court documentation, everything that would be needed to take the child over the border into another country.
When they got ready to leave the next morning, Aubrey tearfully put Phoebe into her car seat and gave her lots of kisses with a promise to see her soon. Both Beca and Stacie gave Aubrey tremendous hugs before heading towards home.
Despite Canada's liberal paternity leave policy, the situation with Beca and Stacie was sticky since they weren't legally married, and no adoption had taken place. At this point, Beca only had guardianship of Phoebe.
However, Beca's employer was more than gracious to provide Beca with as much time as she needed to bond with her new child since she was willing to do some work at home. So Stacie and Beca decided things would be better if Stacie continued with school and her fellowship. The sooner she completed her program, the more flexibility they would have with raising Phoebe.
Three days a week, Beca stayed at home with Phoebe, spending time with her and entertaining her as best she could while trying to work some. The baby went to daycare twice a week to socialize with other children so Beca could go into the office.
Stacie picked her up from daycare and took over the care of Phoebe when she was out of school while Beca got some more work done in her home studio. Despite Phoebe being a happy baby, for the most part, nothing about raising her was easy.
"I feel like I'm doing everything wrong," Beca whined. "How did Chloe do this on her own? I'm so tired all the time."
Stacie tried comforting her girlfriend. "She didn't do this on her own, babe. She had Aubrey. And Emily, too."
"Every time I drop her off at daycare, I feel guilty. Like I'm pawning my kid off on someone else to raise. And I never get to spend time with you anymore."
"Babe, it's okay. I promise you're doing a good job. Don't you think Aubrey would have said something if she thought otherwise? I mean, we FaceTime with her at least once a week."
Beca let out a deep sigh. "It's just so exhausting. Oh god. Aubrey. I just remembered. She's coming this weekend. Her first visit."
Aubrey eyed her two friends warily. "You two look rough."
"Gee, thanks, Aubrey." Beca put her suitcase into the back of the car and slid behind the steering wheel of her car.
"When's the last time you and Stacie got some rest? Surely Phoebe isn't keeping you up. She's nine months old. If you keep her on a schedule, she should be sleeping through the night."
"Don't scold me! It's work and Stacie's school. We are learning how to balance everything and make sure we take care of Phoebe."
"You've only had her for two months, Beca. It'll get better."
"I hope so. I love her to pieces, but I miss my girlfriend."
After a bit of wrangling, Aubrey dug out the fact that Beca and Stacie hadn't had spent any time alone since before they took guardianship of Phoebe. "If money for a sitter or extended daycare is an issue, I can increase what I'm sending from her trust."
"No, no, no." Beca was quick to defend her and Stacie's position. "I, we, ummm, aren't sure if we are ready to let anyone watch her just yet. Other than daycare, you know."
Aubrey's heart fluttered to hear how protective Beca was being of her goddaughter. "I can understand that. How about this? Tomorrow night, you and Stacie can have a date night. Plan on staying at my hotel. Be together. Get some rest. It'll do you two good."
As luck would have it, Stacie and Beca's date night, courtesy of Aubrey, fell on a Saturday. They decided they would go out to dinner and drinks then spend the rest of the time relaxing at the hotel. Stacie made reservations at the seafood place they used to go to at least twice a month before Phoebe came to live with them.
"Oh gawd, Stacie. I had forgotten how good this place is. You know, one of us really should start learning how to cook before our kid starts really eating solid food, not that mushy, bland stuff the stores pass off as baby food."
"I like that." Stacie flashed a mega-watt smile at Beca as she gripped her hand over the table.
"What? Cooking lessons?" Beca took another bite.
"No - our kid. You referred to Phoebe as ours."
"Well she pretty much is. Aubrey is going to let me know when I can start adoption proceedings. By then we will be married, and you can adopt her, too. Yeah. I've thought it all through."
"Oh you have, have you?" Stacie chuckled as she leaned back in her chair. "Adoption, marriage, a white picket fence… Do I at least get a puppy?"
Beca rolled her eyes. "Not until Phoebe is older."
After dinner, they walked to a nearby jazz bar and listened to the music as they sipped on cocktails. "I've missed you, Stacie." Beca was starting to get sappy the more she drank. "I mean, I know I see you every day. But we haven't gotten to see see each other. You know?"
Stacie nodded as she drained her drink. "Want another?"
Beca contemplated her answer. "I think we passed a liquor store right up the street. Wouldn't it be cheaper if we just went back to the hotel and drank? Then I could take off your clothes and do things to your body that parents can't do if their children are home."
Beca woke up, naked, with a splitting headache. She quickly pulled the pillow over her head, loudly groaning. She felt Stacie laying next to her, fully dressed. "Why? Why do you have all your clothes on and I don't?" She began to push Stacie towards the edge of the bed with her feet.
Stacie fell to the floor with a resounding thud. "Ow. What did I do to deserve that?"
"Shhhh. You are going to wake Phoebe."
Suddenly Stacie popped off the floor and pulled the pillow off Beca's head. "Beca, where's Phoebe?"
Beca's eyes flew open. "I thought you had the baby."
"No," Stacie yelled, "I thought you had the baby."
In their still half-drunken state, both women quickly dressed and ordered an Uber to take them home. On the way, Stacie called the daycare. "Daycare isn't answering. Fuck. Beca, I seriously thought you had the baby."
"Stacie, it's Sunday. I thought you had the baby. Oh god, if Aubrey finds out we lost the baby, she's going to kill us."
The moment the Uber stopped at their house, both women were racing towards the door and fumbling with the lock. And then they stopped. There on the floor of their living room was Aubrey. And Phoebe. Playing with toys, as happy as can be.