Chapter 3: Somebody That You Loved Before
I do not own glee , songs used , nor the movie "Double Platinum"
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No One's POV
"I cannot believe MERCEDES JONES asked me to go to dinner with her. Are you kidding me ? This has got to be a dream", Cherish announced with excitement.
They were almost home from the concert , and she was beyond excited for tomorrow. Who would've thought in all one night , she see her idol perform, meet her backstage, and then have the opportunity to dine with her the next night .
Cherish fiddled with her fingers as they were approaching her home. As the bus came to a slow stop, both girls gathered their items and made an exit.
"Make sure you call me tomorrow, I wanna hear all about it", Nessa said pulling her oldest friend into a hug.
"I promise. I'm blown away, forreal !", Cherish responded with a large smile. "See ya later , Nessa", Cher added as she walked to her apartment and watched as Nessa went inside hers.
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"Dad , I'm home", Cher said as she took off her shoes and earrings.
"Hey Babygirl, how was the concert ? ", Her father asked as he turned the light out from the kitchen, heading to the stairs with his lemon tea.
"Oh , Dad, it was the most amazing night of my life. I swear I wish I could relive that moment", Cher cheesed. Tonight, for her, was unbelievable.
"Oh , baby , that's great. Whose the singer or rapper you saw tonight", he asked with a smile , seeing his first and only child get so excited and happy was all he needed in his life.
"Daddy, We saw Mercedes Jones ! THE MERCEDES JONES and get this SHE INVITED ME , ME, to have dinner with her tomorrow night", She shouted almost in a fangirl tone , but didn't fully present it due to it being almost 1 am.
As Sam heard the name , Mercedes , his face paled, his smile dropped, he almost looked angry, but he couldn't show it , not while his baby girl was so happy. If only she knew.
"Mercedes Jones ?", He questioned with a puzzled look on his face. As almost as his past was creeping back up on him.
"Daddy, don't you know who Mercedes is ?", She pushed as she cocked her head to the side , flabbergasted at the possibility that her father may not know who her idol is.
"Oh, of course baby. You'd have to be crazy not to know who Mercedes Jones I'd. Oh... that's great , honey. I'm.. umm...I'm going to bed. Goodnight", He stated turning away from her and heading up stairs to his bedroom.
"Daddy, don't you wanna hear more about my night ?", She questioned trying to figure out why her dad was trying to dead the conversation so quickly.
"Not tonight Sweety, maybe another time", He slightly whispered. As he continued his walk up the stairway , he looked over his shoulder and seen his daughter smile drop from her faced and be replaced with a confused look.
"Cherish, baby ?", he questioned. Once he said her name she looked up at him with curiosity written across her face, he paused for a moment before beginning, "I just want to say , I'm am so happy you had a wonderful night", He revealed with a small smile.
"Thanks Dad", She replied, following up the stairs going into her bedroom. She was not about to let her dad's suddenly sour mood , dull hers. She's going out to eat with her Idol tomorrow .
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Sam's POV
How could she ? Does she know ? Does Cherish know that Mercedes is her mother ? Of course , Mercedes has to know , there is no way she would invite a regular fan to dine with her . She has got to be out of her rabbit ass mind if she thinks I'm going to let her hurt Cherish , again !
~The next morning~
I woke up and look at my clock to the right of me , it showed 8am. I immediately jumped out of bed And headed straight for the shower. I needed to talk to Mercedes. I am so angry, if looks could kill , Mercedes would be degenerated right now , if she was in front of me and it could happen.
The store is normally closed on Today until 1pm, so I really don't have to worry about it right now. I put on a Ralf Lauren sweater and blue jeans , with some presentable shoes to match. I grabbed my keys and headed straight to my car to drive to the theater. I read up some information about her shows , and knew she would be in rehearsals early in the morning.
About an hour to two hours I pulled up to the theater. I got out my car rehearsing my speech before I saw her .
I hope she takes me seriously , because I am not playing any games and I mean absolutely every word I say.
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Mercedes' POV
I fiddled with the number and address written on the card. Dried tears stained my face. My daughter. Almost 17 years has passed and I've finally found her. Seen her. I want to know more about her , everything. I want to be able to let her know that a day hasn't went by that I haven't thought of her .
"Mercedes , I hope you're awake. Rehearsal starts in 20 minutes", Santana stated as she walked into my hotel room.
"Yes, San. I'm up and ready", I replied with a slight eye roll. Can I meet you downstairs ? Thanks ", I said without wanting to hear her response.
I dialed the number from my hotel phone and waited for an answer.
"Hello ?" Cherish answered , as if she had just woke up.
"Hi, Darling , it's Mercedes. How are you ?", I asked trying to rid my anxiety and nervousness.
"Amazing ! I cannot believe you actually called", She fangirled.
I chuckled a little as I heard rustling for the background. I really don't think I can wait until tonight. Maybe I should change it to lunch.
"Instead of Dinner, let's do lunch", I blurted out without really thinking. "Say us about 2 pm good for you ?", I asked checking the current time now.
"Perfect", She announced. "I'll see you at 2", She added excitedly.
"Awesome ! Can't wait , Hon !", I replied , jest before I hung up. I grabbed my bag and headed for the elevators to get to rehearsals at the theater.
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Sam's POV
"Mercedes ! MERCEDES!", I yelled out as she was walking the opposite direction with whom I assume is her assistant.
Upon hearing her name , she looked over her shoulder , and looked at me with a slightly shocked face.
16 1/2 years later and she still looks good , but that doesn't ignore that fact that she destroyed Cher and I.
"Shall I call security ?", The Hispanic woman asked having a slight irritated look on her face.
"No, no. It's fine Santana. Can you give me a minute", She questioned patting her back, not really asking for permission.. just a polite way to say 'beat it'.
Remember you speech. She will not fuck up our lives again.
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No One's POV
Sam took his hands out of his pockets and ran his fingers through his dirty blonde hair. He licked his lips , preparing himself to speak and leave, and making sure she understood every word.
"What the hell do you think you are doing, Mercedes ?", Sam yelled out , with anger boiling. He looked down to her as she looked up to him with her big almond eyes.
"Sam...", She began , but immediately closed her mouth when he cocked his head to the left , daring her to say another word.
"No. No. You stay the hell away from Cherish ", Sam snapped sharply at her .
"Why Sam ? I'm her mother . I need to see her", Mercedes shuddered. She knew he was beyond angry, but she needed to stand her ground. He's been keeping Cherish out of her grasp. Sure, she left , but that didn't mean that she should have been kicked completely from her baby's life.
"It's always about you, isn't it ?", He bitterly announced. How dare she makes this about her, like she suddenly wants to be apart of his daughter's life.
"It's not about me ! ", She yelled back , anger rising. Who the hell does he think he is to walk in here and make such demands , she was no longer living on his terms anymore.
"IT IS ALWAYS ABOUT YOU", He screamed of her immediately making her hush, but she still kept a straight face. She pushed some of her hair behind her ear , clasped her hands together and rested them on her lower chest. "Now you think you're gonna come here and play mom of the year, serenading her with dinner dates, profess your love for her , and then walk out ?", He demanded, almost daring her to say anything.
"Okay Sam, you can stop punishing me ", Mercedes defeated stated.
"PUNISHING YOU ? It's what you did before", Sam hissed back. "I mean it Mercedes, stay the hell away from us. We were doing fine without you. We don't need you wrecking us again", Sam advised. Mercedes had tears welding into her eyes , but she refused to let them drop in front of the man who stole her heart and gave her their first child all those years ago.
"As a matter of fact, you need to cancel whatever plans you had planned with her . She is better off not knowing who you truly are", He expressed. "I'm serious Mercedes", he concluded. He turned his back to her leaving her in her thoughts, and walked out.
'I have to tell her today, I can't even drag this out to be even just a little more confident', Mercedes thought to herself as she let her tears fully fall from her eyes.
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Cherish's POV
I finally decided on an outfit to wear. I picked out a Tan colored long sleeve shirt, with blue skinny jeans, I also picked out a Cremè colored cardigan, with a brown/tan scarf that had flower patterns in it, a creme colored beanie, and some tall Tan Uggs.
There was really no need for me to fool with my hair a lot, due to me wearing a beanie, today. I put on the outfit , and put my beanie on picking out my curls a little. My hair was puffed a little due to the hot shower I just took moments before. I grabbed my earrings, just as I heard the front door open. I grabbed my phone and went downstairs to see my dad , looking a little angry.
"Hi Daddy", I said with uncertainty. My dad finally looked at me , and gave a small smile.
"Hey kid, where are you going ?", He asked as he started searching for something.
"Mercedes is taking me to lunch instead of dinner. What you looking for dad ? Aren't you suppose to be at the store ?", I Questioned looking out the window .
"Oh ... and I'm uhh... I'm looking for our product paper to see what needs to be ordered", he responded, however, I did notice his jaw tighten. Just as I was going to respond I heard a horn outside.
"In the drawer, Daddy. I love you . Gotta go. See you later", I blurted with excitement. I quickest hugged him and pecked his cheek, before practically running out the door. The passenger window slid down slowly , revealing Mercedes in the driver seat. I quickly got into the passenger seat, immediately beaming.
"Hi , Cherish", Mercedes announced to me smiling as big as she could.
"Hey , Mercedes", I responded , leaning over to give her a quick hug. I cannot believe this is really happening.
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"Alright Sweetie , I'm definitely not from here, so what's a place for us to eat at ?", Mercedes inquired softly, as we stopped at a Red Light. I put my phone down in my lap , and slightly turned my head towards her.
"Zinc Bistro and Bar is a pretty good food place to eat , I've eaten there very few times with my dad", I answered with a small smile.
"Well, show me the way !", She responded with a bigger smile. I typed in the restaurant in to the GPS , to show her exactly which way she needed to go.
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Mercedes POV
I have never been so ready to get out the car as I am right now. My palms are getting clammy , a very thin line of sweat is forming on my forehead. I took a peak at the air controls and immediately turned the air on full blast. I can feel my breathing picking up as I try to calm my anxiety. If Anyone would have told that this past weekend I would be seeing my daughter , I'd laugh a heartless laugh, but it's all so surreal.
"We're here !", Cherish announced knocking me clean out of my thoughts. I looked up to see the restaurant on my right. I immediately got into the turning lane and made the turn pulling right into the parking lot.
I put the car in park , took a second to take a deep breath before killing the switch. I took a quick glance at Cherish , before opening the door to exit the car. I seen Cherish do the same thing before exiting. I quickly hit the look button on the keys as we both shut our doors, and began walking to the entrance.
"Oh my gosh , Mercedes Jones !!", The greeter lowly said as she started wide eyed at the two of us.
"Hi, ummm... table for two please, and as far away from people as possible", I sweetly requested to the greeter named Jane.
"Of course , Ms. Jones , follow me", She said sweetly grabbing two menus and taking us to a booth excluded from people surrounding. "Here are your seats and your waiter shall be with you all, soon", Jane explained setting our menus in front of us, eloquently.
"Thank You", Cherish and I replied picking up our menus, taking a glance at the drinks.
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"Hi, I'm Jesse St. James , and I will be you server, this afternoon. Can I please start off with drinks ?", The young man pleasantly asked.
"Hello", I smiled. "I will take water with ice, and 3 lemon slices", I stated flipping the pages to the menu.
"I'll take a Sweet tea, with lemon", Cherish announced. She looked up slightly from her menu, giving me a small smile. Looking closely, she definitely has my smile .
"I'll say , the best things in the menu is The Pasta, Lamb, and guacamole are the tastiest things here", Cherish reported to me. As I looked over, what was included with those meals , a different server came up to us with our drink.
"Hi, I'm Will, you had the water with 3 lemon slices , and you had the .. the Sweet Tea", He said setting the drinks down .
"Thanks", I politely stated.
"I can go ahead and take you orders, if you're ready", Will asked more so for confirmation.
After Will took our orders, we sat in a comfortable silence, occasionally , glancing around and looking at each other .
"Wow, I'm pretty sure Will and Jesse are taking turns waiting us ", Cher chuckled out. "Does it ever bother you, ya know, having people stare at you", She questioned taking a sip of her tea.
"No, not really. Everyone's nice to me. So it doesn't bother me, well, unless I'm tired or something, but that's normal", I admitted truthfully.
"Did you ever think you would have all of this ? The fame, the fortune, being one of the most influential singers ?", Cherish requested.
"No, not really. Growing up in South Detroit, I really didn't think their was much out there for me. I think what it was , was that once I made up my mind , their was no turning back, so I better give it all I got", I truthfully eluded, thinking back over my life.
"Oh Heeeey ! I was born in Detroit", She explained excitedly, knowing now that she has something in common with me.
"I Know", I responded almost instantly, which I regretted seeing the look of confusion on her face.
"How'd you know ?", She smiled in confusion. Thinking back to last night , I suddenly remembered she told me.
"Well , you told me last night, but I can hear that northern, strong backbones accent too, so I could tell, even without knowing", I responded with a smile. Just as I looked up I seen Jesse come out with our plates and set them down gently.
We politely thanked him, and began digging in to our food.
"So , Cherish, what do you do in your spare time ?", I questioned eating a small piece of my lamb.
"Well, I'm a singer too, but not as close to perfection as you", She smiled.
"Oh really ? When can I hear a little something", I chuckled out a little, noticing her nerves.
"Well, sometimes I sing at this night club called "Lush Rooftop. From my house it's about 4-5 blocks away. I'm singing there tomorrow night", She proudly announced. "Will you come, it's at 9 pm ?", She nervously asked.
Tomorrow night was my last show and then I'm off back to New York.
"Of course , Sweetheart", I beamed. As we made more small talk as we ate, the little voice in my head was telling me that I needed to go ahead and tell her . I mean we've talked a little about her life. One thing for sure, Sam did an amazing job with her . I paid the bill , and we kinda just kept talking.
"But yeah.. it's always been me and my dad. My dad is t really yo fond of me becoming a singer . I mean I do also want a degree in Child Psychology, but with no mom around to argue, I've kinda toned down me wanting to sing and actually singing in front of him", She sighed sadly.
That just broke my heart. What should I say ? What could I say ? I had a sad look on my face and just sighed.
"Don't feel bad. It's her loss. Any one who could abandon me, doesn't deserve me", She sadly exclaimed. "But I'm okay, my dad played both roles, and for that , I'm grateful", she explained. " Well, are you ready to go ? I know you must have many other things to do today", She asked.
"Absolutely", I replied, getting up from the table, gathering our things.
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Cherish's POV
The ride back to my house was silent, well, besides Erykah Badu's 'Bag Lady' playing in the background. We still had another 3 minutes til we got back to my house. This day has been so Amazing. Honestly. As I was smiling to myself , I looked over at Mercedes to see her with a sadden look , deep in thought.
"Hey, are you okay ?", I questioned with a concerned look on my face. I looked to my right , and saw that we had pulled up to my house
"Cherish, sweetie, I need to talk to you", She stated looking at me , with slight tears brimming her bottom lids of her eyes.
"What is it Mercedes ? It's okay. You can talk to me", I exclaimed rubbing her hand that was clearly clutching the gear shifter.
"Cherish, Sweetie.. Baby", She began looking at me as tears fell on her cheeks. "Baby, I'm your mother. Cherish, I'm your mama ", She sobbed to me. I immediately looked at her confused and removed my hand from hers.
Mercedes Jones , The Mercedes Jones, is my mother ?!
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Until next time .
Response to @Mowatts87: So I'm not going 100% by the movie, but I am going in order by the movie sequence with some changes. I will be adding things that I think should have been apart of the movie.. I'm glad you're enjoying ! Double platinum is one of my favorite movies, I've been even more excited since they put it on Netflix !