"I thought we were going to wait a little bit longer before we told her?" Jade says as Beck hands her a plastic to-go container
"I know." Beck nods, removing his own food from the bag "It just...it came up. She asked. I didn't want to lie to her."
One thing Beck enjoys about his job is that it gives him a bit of flexibility during the day. If he wants to bring his girlfriend lunch during one of her off-periods from teaching...he can. As long as he's not working on a contracted job that day. On this particular day he isn't, which means he was able to take a break from the project he had been working on in his workshop and pickup lunch for both himself and Jade. She only has forty-five minutes before the next class she has to teach, but some time together is better than no time at all...especially with Aspen and Chelsea not around.
"That's fair." Jade nods "How did she take it?"
"She's hesitant." Beck answers quickly "Which...I understand. She said she remembers that I was sad when I was with her mom and she doesn't want me to be sad, so she's weary of me being in another relationship. Which is sad and sweet and just a little fucked up all at the same time."
"What makes it fucked up?"
"She's seven." Beck shrugs "She shouldn't be worried about my happiness she should be worried about...I dunno. Stuff that makes her happy."
"You're raising her to have compassion for others." Jade points out "That's a good thing, isn't it?"
"I guess so." Beck shrugs as he sits down beside her at the table
"What else did she say?"
"She thinks your nice, for what it's worth." Beck informs his girlfriend "And she said she's going to give you a chance but...I dunno. The look on her face when she mentioned Alyssa...it broke my heart."
"It's going to take time, Beck." Jade reminds him "I know it makes you anxious, but we should honestly be relieved that she's at least trying to process and rationalize what's going on around her. I would be more concerned if she was immediately accepting of the idea like nothing had ever happened."
"I just don't like that she's taking it out on you."
"She's not taking anything out on me." Jade shakes her head "She doesn't flat out ignore me, she doesn't try to hurt me, she doesn't yell at me...she's just cautious. That's fine. We have to be really careful about how we approach this because if we're not...well, it could cause her to be even more distrusting than she already is."
"Your dad wasn't careful about how he approached things, was he?" Beck asks, noticing the suddenly sad look on his girlfriend's face "Shit, I'm sorry. This isn't the pla-"
"It's okay." Jade assures him "You're right, he wasn't. I...he and my mom split up when I was young...only a little bit older than Aspen. And once they were broken up, I didn't see him much because he was always working or traveling...so I barely knew my stepmom when they got married. He didn't make an effort to help me build a relationship with her, so we just...didn't have one. And then when my mom died and I started living with him full time, he was pissed that she and I didn't get along. She just immediately started acting like she was my mom, despite barely knowing me or anything about me, and naturally I pushed back. We can't force Chelsea into something she isn't ready for."
"I'm sorry that happened to you, Jade." Beck reaches over and takes her hand in his "I guess...I dunno I've never dealt with anything like this before...nor did I ever imagine that I would have to."
He realizes how lucky he is, having the family that he does. He grew up in a stable home with married parents who loved each other and him, and who still do. He'll never know what it's like to have a childhood like Jade did, or like his daughters have. All he can hope is that he's able to provide as much stability for his girls as he can...and he hopes that Jade can be part of that...but he knows he can't get too ahead of himself yet.
"I miss my mom." Jade says matter-of-factly "And as much as I hate the person who was driving that car...I'm not entirely upset with where my life has led me. My dad really messed up...but his choices drove me here and drove me to you."
"You sure do know how to spin negatives into positives, huh?" Beck smiles, leaning over to kiss her gently "I love you."
"I love you too." She smiles a bit "We should eat."
"You're right, we should."
All of the teachers in each department share an office, with each of them getting their own cubicle like desk. A few of Jade's coworkers stop by on their way to or from their own desks and say hello, and Jade introduces them to Beck. Each time she says 'my boyfriend', she gets the same butterflies in her stomach that she had during their first date.
When the bell rings to signal the end of the period, it makes Beck jump. He hasn't been in a high school since he graduated from his own, but all of a sudden he has the panicked feeling that he's late for class.
"You okay?" Jade laughs as she begins cleaning up their lunches, placing all of the garbage into the paper take-out bag the food had come in "Did the bell scare you?"
"I just panicked like I was late to class even though I haven't been in an actual school setting in close to eight years." Beck chuckles "Do you get used to that?"
"You do." She smirks "Thank you for bringing lunch, I have to go teach a bunch of sophomores about Romeo and Juliet now though."
"Can I walk you?" Beck asks "Or would that be weird?"
"I guess you can walk me." She tells him, gathering the materials she needs for class "It's on the way to the main staircase anyway."
Beck tosses the bag of garbage into the nearest trash can, then follows closely behind Jade as she makes her way out of the English offices. He had come in after class was already in session, so there hadn't been any students in the hallways. Seeing the corridor now filled with teenagers rushing to get to and from class makes him once again flashback to his own high school experiences. He had been so naive about the world then...and it wasn't even all that long ago.
"Miss West!" A student shouts "Are we watching a movie today?"
"You ask me that every day Gavin and every day the answer is the same..." Jade rolls her eyes playfully "No, we are not watching a movie."
"But one day we can, right?"
"Get to class, Gavin."
"Hi Miss West!"
"Miss West, I love your dress!"
"Wow..." Beck grins as they pass the students in the hallways "You're pretty popular here, aren't you?"
"As I've told you before, I'm young and I'm new so that makes me interesting." Jade tells him "After a few years I won't be so new anymore and they won't care as much."
"I'm sure some of it has to do with you being a great teacher." Beck assures her "I mean...you did say it's all about the relationships, right?"
"I did say that, yes." Jade smirks as they arrive at the classroom "Alright, this is me."
"Probably shouldn't kiss you goodbye, huh?" Beck teases her "Wouldn't want to cause a scene."
"Yeah probably wouldn't be a good look." Jade agrees with a laugh "If the students can't make out in the hallways then the teachers really shouldn't either."
"I'll talk to you tonight then." He tells her, reaching out and squeezing her hand gently before he turns to walk away "Have a good rest of the day."
"You too." She smiles "Try not to cut any fingers off, okay?"
"I'll do my best."
Jade stays in the hallway until Beck has turned the corner and is out of sight, then enters the classroom. Just her presence calms the demeanor of the students who are already inside; they're no longer unsupervised, a teacher is there and they need to behave.
"Who was that guy?" One of the girls in the front row asks
"What guy?" Jade responds as she begins hooking her computer up to the projector
"The guy you were just talking to in the hallway." A different girl clarifies "Does he work here? He was cute!"
"He's too old for you." Jade smirks "And no, he doesn't work here. He's my friend, he brought me lunch."
"Is he your boyfriend?"
"Depends on your definition of boyfriend." Jade shrugs "He is a boy and he is my friend, so...get your homework out please."
While she's comfortable sharing some details of her personal life with her students, she isn't comfortable sharing everything. They know she's from California and that her favorite movie is Casablanca and what her coffee order is...but those are all very surface-level details. Her relationship with Beck, while it's lasted a few months now, is relatively new, they don't need to know she has a boyfriend.
"Well, if he is your actual boyfriend..." The same girl in the front says "Good work."
"Hey." Beck smiles when he answers the phone later that night "I was about to call you, I just got Chelsea to go to bed."
"Did she pull the 'one more chapter' thing again?" Jade asks
"You know she did."
"A girl after my own heart." Jade laughs "I guess there's worse things she could be asking you for, right?"
"There definitely are." Beck agrees "How was your afternoon?"
"Uneventful." He tells her "Yours?"
"Uneventful." She responds "Do you still have all of your fingers?"
"I do."
"Thank god." Jade pretends to be relieved, even though she knew there was no way her boyfriend would actually cut any of his appendages off "So...I've been thinking about our conversation at lunch today. About what you said and what I said."
"Good thinking or bad thinking?"
"Good, I think." Jade admits "I just...we see this relationship lasting, don't we? Like it's a serious thing, not a fling."
"I think it's a serious thing." Beck admits "Do you think it's a serious thing?"
"I do, yeah." Jade assures him "Look, you and the girls...you already have this life together and now I'm coming into it. You and I have obviously spent a lot of time together, but I think it might be a good thing for me to spend some time with just Aspen and Chelsea...without you."
"Oh, okay." Beck responds "I'm sure we can find a way to make that happen."
"Like I said, I barely knew my stepmom when she married my dad." Jade reminds him "And if this is a serious thing that we see lasting-"
"And it is." Beck cuts her off
"Right." Jade continues "If I'm going to be joining this life that the three of you already have...I need to have relationships with them too, not just you. And those relationships need to be separate from you too. Chelsea and I might not be wearing friendship bracelets by the end of the week, but I think some one-on-one...or two-on-one really...time would be a good place to start."
"I think that's a really great idea, Jade." Beck admits
It makes him incredibly happy, and brings him so much peace of mind, that she's all-in on trying to form connections and relationships with his daughters...that the idea of him being a dad and already having kids with someone else hasn't scared her away. He knows that other single fathers probably don't have the same luck, or find it as easily as he had.
"Good, I'm glad you agree." Jade laughs "So, call Andre and plan a guys night or something. You two can go out, I can hang out with the girls, and we'll see where things take us."
"Alright, I will absolutely do that." Beck grins "Thank you, Jade."
"For what?"
"For being so receptive to my situation." He admits "I...I love you so fucking much."
"I love you too." Jade tells him "I wouldn't do this for anyone else."