Okay, so I got the feeling that you wanted me to post the rest? I'll be happy to ;) Thanks for the reviews.. Love them
Disclaimer; I still don't own them! But you get to meet the four other kids in this chapter. It is Rachel's life after all.
A New Beginning
Chapter 2.
Rachel's Life
"So, white and pink is in for teenagers right now too." Madison said, looking around the store of her best friend's mom.
"Yeah," Gretchen smiled, "But my mom doesn't like it. Soon you'll not find a single pink thing in here. She's more to grown up clothes. It's just that woman she works with there's crazy."
"Hmm…" Madison said, "Can we go ask your mother about that movie?"
"Of course, I hate to be here anyway." they walked behind the counter, the store had lunch break, so there were no customers, "You know what I was thinking, Mad?" Gretchen continued, "We could watch that dinosaur movie, I really loved it the first time I saw it."
"If you have already seen it, Gret, then why do you want me to go through the hell too?" Madison asked, deeply serious.
"It's not hell, me and Joshua really liked it!" Gretchen protested.
"He's your brother, so he's weird too." Madison laughed.
"Hi girls!" Rachel smiled greeting her youngest child and best friend.
"Are you working alone today Rachel?" Madison asked. She had stopped using Ms. Green a long time ago, because she had been best friends with Gretchen since they were like 4 years old.
"Yeah, Madison, I sent Emily home. She didn't look good. She's still not over that part of the pregnancy where you throw up all the time."
"Did you throw up with me, mom?" Gretchen asked.
"Actually sweetheart," Rachel began, "You were the hardest pregnancy, because I had to take care of three other children too. That was not easy."
"You would have wished that dad was around?" Gretchen asked.
"Yeah, but I don't know where he is." Rachel smiled. That was what she had told her kids.
"Can Gret and I go to the movies, Rachel?" Madison asked.
"Of course, but are you sure you wanna watch a boring dinosaur movie, because last time it was only Joshua and Gretchen who enjoyed it. Me, Clara and Rain were like dying." Rachel warned Madison.
"I've already told her that, so I don't think she'll have luck to convince me." Madison laughed.
Gretchen changed the subject, "Are you getting a temp down or what?"
"No, Clara promised me that she and Rain would come down here. Joshua have football practise so he can't."
"Hi mom!" Rain said, coming in with Clara right behind her.
"Hi sweetheart." Rachel said, "I've missed you today. Did your audition go well?"
"Not at all." Rain said, "I don't think they liked the song I chose, I should have chosen one by Celine Dion, they can hear my voice in those."
"I'm sorry honey." Rachel smiled.
"Otherwise it's the way you are dressed." Clara said.
Rachel laughed about it. Rain was, let's just say, worse than Phoebe back in New York. Rachel just loved that about her, maybe it wasn't the best for a fashion designer's daughter to be like that, but Rachel didn't care. Rain did also look a lot like Rachel herself, which was lucky, considering everything.
"At least I don't have brown curls." Rain said, pulling up in her one year younger sister's hair.
"Hey!" Gretchen said, "It's not my fault that all of you look like mom, is it?"
"How ugly was dad?" Rain continued.
"He was not ugly, Rain." Rachel smiled, "And besides, Joshua has his smile too."
"Yeah, but with your light hair." Clara said.
"Hmm.." Rachel said, "It's weird that Gretchen doesn't look like me at all. And you're nothing like me too, you're all your father."
Gretchen laughed, "Did he like dinosaurs too?"
"He worked with it, sweetheart." Rachel said, giving her a hug.
"Wow." Gretchen said, "But we better get going Mad, I'll be home around 6, mom."
"That's fine, see you."
Madison and Gretchen left.
"Can I borrow that blouse mom?" Clara said, pointing at one on a hanger, "Or perhaps get credit?"
"Of course, just take it, I think I make enough, I own this place, don't I?" Rachel said.
Clara smiled, "But I'll help today without getting paid."
Rachel looked at her, "What do you need it for?"
"I got a date tonight? That's okay, right?"
"Of course." Rachel smiled, "Who is it?"
"A guy named Rupert. He is really sweet."
"Wow," Rain said, "Clara has a boyfriend."
"It's not a boyfriend, it's just a date, Rain." Clara said, "Besides everyone wants to go out with me, I love that about being so pretty."
"Hey Clara." Rachel said, "Stop right there. Everyone is pretty, it's just different with some people, and believe me," Rachel sighed, "It's not funny, because you're gonna get screwed all the time. Take it from me, you know, you're like me when I was in high school. You look exactly like me, and you're like me. High school was not funny."
"It wasn't?" Clara asked.
"Well, back then I thought it was, but when I got out of it, and looked back, I saw myself as bitchy and spoiled."
"You cant be bitchy." Clara said.
Rain interrupted, "Clara, if you're like her, then she can, okay? Because that's what you are!"
Clara got angry, "Shut up, Rain!"
"Clara!" Rachel said, "I don't want that tone here, and you are a little spoiled because you get all the free clothes and that's okay, but I get calls from some of the girls in your class, they tell me stuff about you. They tell me that you're making their lives hell, okay? So be careful with that, cause no-one should live in hell."
Clara got tears in her eyes, "I can't believe you would say that, mom!"
"I just wish that someone would have told me when I was like you." Rachel said, "Now you have a chance to be nice, invite them to the movies, okay?"
Clara sighed, "All right. Sorry mom."
"That's okay." Rachel hugged her daughter and looked at her watch, "God, we have to open up. Clara, can you handle the desk to pay.And Rain, you can help Clara and sometimes me, I'll take the costumers, okay?"
"All right mom."
Rachel went out and opened up. Not long after, there were a bunch of girls, out shopping, who came in.
"I know these." Rachel whispered to Rain.
"It's a bunch from Joshua's class. He was going out with that one." Rain answered, pointing.
"Okay." Rachel said. She walked towards them, "Can I help you?"
One of them looked at her, "You're Joshua's mom, right?"
"Yeah." Rachel said, "Can I help you?"
"No, I was just wondering."
Another one came towards her, "I need a pair of jeans. I want them to look really good, no matter what the prize says. My mom is paying."
The girls laughed.
Rachel saw Clara eyeing them, it really bothered her, that her oldest daughter had turned out to be exactly like her, judging people before she knew them. She just hoped that somehow Clara would change, like Rachel had done herself.
"Try these on." Rachel said, "Oh and, hmm, I don't have your size in these, Rain sweetie, would you go get these in size 4?"
"Of course mom." Rain said and ran out in the back of the store.
"Is that your daughter?" one of the girls asked.
"Yeah." Rachel smiled.
"You're a famous fashion designer, and your daughter is wearing clothes from the hippie tide?"
Rachel smiled, "I get that a lot, but Rain is just not interested in clothes."
"Joshua isn't either." a third girl said.
"I know that, but my girl at the desk is."
"Oh yeah, I forgot you have Clara, Joshua talks about her all the time. She's like his big sister idol."
"Clara is probably gonna take the store when I can't do it anymore, I mean, it's not for boys and Rain and Gretchen doesn't want to."
"Oh yeah, you have Gretchen from my sisters class too." the first girl said, "I always forget that because she doesn't look like the rest of you guys."
"Nah, and she's not happy about it." Rachel smiled, "Look, not that I don't like to chat with customers, but my family is private, so why are you asking me these questions?"
"We just wanted to have an autograph." one of them said.
"Then ask!" Rachel said, "Clara throw me a pen and a block."
Rachel was getting used to this now. A lot of girls were crazy about her clothes, and when she was in the store herself, they always wanted an autograph.
"Thanks." the girls said.
"You are so welcome." Rachel smiled.
--
"So how was football, Josh?"
"It was good, you know? But it's getting kind of boring, I would like to try out American football sometimes, it looks like fun."
"It is not, Joshua. I got through that when I went to high school, okay? It's not fun!"
Joshua laughed, "You've played American football?"
"Is that hard to believe?" Rachel smiled, "Okay, so it was only girls, and toned down a lot, but I lived in America, remember?"
Joshua took a sip of his water, "When is grandma coming to visit again?"
"I don't know. She have just been visiting." Rachel said.
"Then you should get Jill and Amy over here." Rain said.
"Why do you want them visiting?" Rachel asked, "They're not very nice people!"
"No!" Rain said, "That's why they are fun to mess with!"
--
"All right..." Rachel sighed as she turned off the light in her bedroom, while Joshua's TV was still turned on. She had a long meeting tomorrow with Emily who said she might be able to get a store more in the city. That would be nice, even more Rachel Green clothes, or as the young girls said; ´RG´.
She remember Chandler giving her a briefcase once, RG was on it. It was right after she had given birth to Rain. He thought it would be funny. She still used that briefcase. It was close to be ripped into two, but she didn't care. RG was her briefcase. It reminded her of Chandler.
Rachel got to think about work. The other week, there had been a family from America in, and she had thought about her old friends. The girl in that family had bought the whole store. Rachel herself had been in the back, but Clara had tried to help the girl chose some outfits to her two best friends. Rachel had heard the whole conversation. It had freaked her out when she heard it...
"What are their colours?" Clara tried.
"Well, one them, named Lena, she thinks she's fat, but she isn't at all, maybe she should have a black top or something.""This one?" Clara tried.
"Yeah, that's nice." the girl said, "My name is Mary by the way."
"Oh, my name is Clara." Clara said, "What does your other friend look like?"
Mary looked at her, "Surprisingly enough, she looks a lot like you."
Rachel remembered how she had dropped her cup full of coffee and tried to cool herself, specially when Clara had asked;
"And what's her name?""Oh, it's Rebecca."
"Cool, she sounds pretty." Clara said, she was Clara after all, a little too happy about herself.
"Hmm.." Mary said, "Can I ask you a question?"
"Sure."
"Aren't you a little young to work a place like this?"
"I don't work here," Clara said, "My mother owns this place."
"Then your mom must now Rachel Green, right?"
Clara got a weird look on her face; "My mom is Rachel Green!"
"Does she have children? Oh my God, how cool."
"Yeah." Clara said, thinking that this girl was getting weirder and weirder by the second.
"Is she here today?" Mary asked.
"Yeah, but I don't think she'll talk to you if you're all crazy like you are now." Clara said.
Rachel laughed out loud. She really admired Clara's ability to say things out just like they were. That whole thing about not telling the truth, that was lame. Clara had gotten the same gene from Sandra Green as Rachel's sister Amy, had. Telling the truth-gene. As had Rain, and she was the worst one, she couldn't stop talking if a train hit her.
"I wont." Mary said, "Maybe she can tell me what would look best on me.""I'll just get her." Clara said. She walked towards Rachel, "Mom, some girl wants to have your opinion."
"I don't have time." Rachel said.
"But mom, she'll kill me." Clara whined.
"All right..." Rachel swallowed a lump.
They walked outside to Mary and Rachel shook her hand, "Rachel Green."
"Mary Thomson." Mary said, "Can you tell me, will this look good at a girl looking like your daughter?"
Rachel shook her head, "What is she like? Popular? Grown up? First date?"
Rachel hoped it wasn't too obvious that she had wanted to know about the girl. Was it?Mary, though, didn't seem to notice, she was just excited about talking to Rachel Green, "She's very popular. No first dates, she has already had a lot of those, but she has a crush on her brother's best friend, he's older, so I guess looking grown up wouldn't be bad."
Rachel smiled, she took a prototype skirt she had promised Clara and handed it to Mary, "What about this one?"
"Mom?!" Clara said.
"Clara, we'll make you one too."
"Then I wont be the only one in the world to have it."
"We will make up something better, sweetie." Rachel said, getting angry, "Go help your sister."
Clara walked away, mumbling curses.
"Is this something you promised your daughter, 'cause then I can't take it." Mary said.
"Take it." Rachel smiled, "It's good for her to learn that she's not queen of the world."
Mary laughed, "Thanks. I know that Rebecca will love this so much. I'll like it myself too, but it wont look good at me."
"I do have a line called ´Rebecca´," Rachel said, "'Cause that skirt wont cost you anything because it's a prototype normally made for my daughter, so if you wanna buy her something, then maybe from the line ´Rebecca´?"
"That would be cool." Mary said, "And if anyone asks, then what line is this?"
"You can call it ´Clara´ after my daughter." Rachel smiled, looking into the girl's eyes.
Rachel sighed again. That girl knew her own daughter and probably son better then she did herself. And she knew Ross too. It was hard to believe. Rachel fell fast asleep, dreaming about her old life with Ross. They had been so happy.
Okay, hoped you liked this chapter, I'll soon get some action into this story… And really, remember to leave me a review. Thanks, Stessa. )