Here's the new chapter. I know it took me a long time to update the story and I apologize. Thank you so much for all the reviews and all the PMs. You guys make me want to continue writing. I hope you enjoy this chapter.
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In order to keep herself busy while she waited for her daughter to come back from rehearsal, Shelby started doing some housework. She cleaned the living room, which still showed traces of what had happened the night before and then proceeded to go to her bedroom and Beth's to change the sheets. She realized Rachel also needed to have her bed sheets changed, but since she rarely used that room, she didn't have another set to make the bed. She figured she could wash them and they'd be dry by the time her daughter went to bed that night. Shelby stripped the bed and went to the laundry room to start the washing machine.
Rachel paid the taxi driver and took a deep breath before entering the building. She couldn't stop thinking about Shelby's reaction that morning. Why had she been so calm? Had she already given up on Rachel? The thoughts were flooding her mind, so she never heard the doorman asking her how she was nor did she notice the moment she got into the elevator. It wasn't until the doors opened that she realized she was five steps from her mother. She opened the apartment door and was surprised to find it empty.
"Maybe she decided to spend the morning with Beth, after all" Rachel thought, as she made her way to her bedroom.
As soon as Rachel walked into her bedroom, she started to panic. She ran to her mother's bedroom and saw that the bed was made. Then, she went into Beth's bedroom and saw that the bed hadn't been stripped either. Why was her bed the only one that had no sheets on? A hundred thoughts ran through her head, as she tried to come up with a rational explanation but all she could think about was Shelby changing her mind. Rachel was sure the state of her bed was her mother's way of telling her she was no longer welcome in that apartment.
"What have I done?" Rachel said to herself as she paced around the room.
Shelby finished putting the laundry in the washing machine, and as she was coming out of the laundry room, she heard some steps.
"Rachel, is that you?" Shelby called as she made her way to the source of the steps. "What are you doing?"
"Mom, please don't kick me out! I have nowhere to go. Give me, at least, a couple of days to find a place. I cannot move back in with Kurt. Santana is still there" Rachel said, nearly on the verge of tears.
"What are you talking about?" Shelby asked confused.
"My bed. And you were calm this morning." Rachel said, trying to be strong.
"Rach, you're not making any sense." Shelby said, taking Rachel's hand and leading her to the bed to sit down. "Please tell me what's on your mind."
Rachel took a deep breath before speaking. "You've removed the sheets from my bed, which means you don't want me to sleep here anymore."
Shelby tried to suppress a chuckle, as she tried to understand her daughter's train of thought. "No, sweetie, it means they were dirty and I needed to wash them. They are in the washing machine."
"Oh" Rachel said, looking down. She was a little embarrassed about her reaction, but she was still feeling unsure. "But you didn't yell at me this morning."
"No, I didn't." Shelby said, carefully, trying to understand what her daughter was saying.
"Why?" Rachel asked. She knew she couldn't beat around the bush this time. It was better if she knew now how her mother felt about her.
"You wanted me to yell at you?" Shelby asked.
"No. Well, yes. No!" Rachel sighed. "You were very angry last night and I just thought … Well, you were calm this morning. Is it because you've changed your mind?"
"I've changed my mind?" Shelby said, still a bit confused.
"About being my mother." Rachel declared, feeling the same kind of pain she had felt when Shelby told her she wasn't ready to be her mother the first time.
"No, of course not. I am here for good." Shelby said, smiling at her daughter.
"But you were so angry last night." Rachel insisted.
"It's true, I have calmed down considerably, but I am still pretty upset." Shelby admitted, "The reason why I seemed so calm this morning, Rachel, was because your little sister was here and I didn't think it was the right time to discuss last night's events."
"Oh. So we are still …" Rachel started to say.
"Yes, we are still going to have a long talk about what happened last night" Shelby added in a stern tone.
"I was glad you were treating me like an adult this morning, but then Kurt said …" Rachel stopped herself before she blurted out what Kurt had told her.
"What did Kurt say?" Shelby asked.
"Uh, he mentioned what Burt would have done if he had been here last night. But I think he might have been exaggerating." Rachel quickly said. She wasn't sure how to tell her mom.
"Really? What did he say?" Shelby asked, really curious about that conversation her daughter had had with Kurt.
Rachel looked at her mom and blushed. She really wanted to know her mother's thoughts on what Kurt had said, but she didn't know how to tell her. As she was putting her thoughts in order, she thought about that night after the incident in the mall and the swat she had received from Shelby. She was pretty sure her mom would agree with Burt, but she was afraid that Shelby would say she wasn't worth the effort.
"Kurt mentioned that Burt would make sure he still felt the lesson the following day, so he meant that Burt would … you know." Rachel said, looking at Shelby's reaction.
"He would spank Kurt." Shelby said, filling in the blanks.
Rachel nodded. "He also said that sometimes parents have to do things they don't want to do to make the lesson stick."
"That's right." Shelby said. "Mr. Hummel is a very wise man. I agree with him. Believe me, Rachel, if my mother had ever caught me drinking under age, I wouldn't have been able to sit down comfortably for a week."
"Really?" Rachel asked. She was unfamiliar with the concept of punishment, since her fathers never enforced any rules or discipline.
"Yes, your grandmother would've made sure I understood the error of my ways and that I remembered the lesson so I wouldn't make the same mistake again." Shelby explained.
Rachel furrowed her brows and looked at her hands. She wanted to put her thoughts in order before she spoke again.
"I might add, Rachel, that had I spoken to my mother and been as defiant with her as you were with me last night, I would've found myself over her knee for that as well," Shelby continued, noticing the shocked look on her daughter's face. "In fact, I was very tempted to do just that last night."
"Why didn't you?" Rachel asked, almost whispering.
This time, it was Shelby who was confused. The last thing she expected to hear from her daughter was that question.
"I mean, Burt said that is what parents do and your mother would've done it." Rachel said, mostly thinking out loud.
"My mother and I have a very different relationship. I was raised by her, so I knew what to expect." Shelby explained.
"What about Beth? What would you have done if it had been Beth instead of me last night?" Rachel inquired.
"I would have spanked her, no question." Shelby said without thinking, as she noticed the sad look in her daughter's eyes. A look she wasn't sure how to interpret. "But you and I …"
"I understand" Rachel said, wiping a tear that was threatening to roll down her cheek. She had been trying to convince herself that Shelby saw her as her daughter, but she knew she would never be as close to her mother as Beth was. After all, the blonde girl had been with Shelby her whole life, whereas Rachel hadn't. She felt a pang of jealousy in her heart as she tried to avoid Shelby's glance.
Shelby sighed as she looked at her daughter. She had a pretty good idea of what was going on in Rachel's head, but she didn't want to jump into any conclusions. Just like Rachel, she also wanted a real mother-daughter relationship. And she had promised her daughter that she was ready to be there for her and be the mother she had longed for, but Shelby wasn't sure if they were both in fact ready to fully embrace those roles. She thought about all the long conversations she had had with her own mother about the difference between right and wrong and what would happen if she broke the rules. Should she have that talk with Rachel or just dive in and follow her instinct? She didn't know much about the way her daughter had been raised, so she thought that was a good start.
"Rach, let me ask you something." Shelby said, facing Rachel. "What did your fathers do when they found out about you sending a girl to a crack house?"
"What?" Rachel looked up from her hands. She couldn't believe her mother had heard about that. "How do you know that?"
"I had just resigned from Vocal Adrenaline when I received a call from Dustin telling me what a girl from McKinley called Rachel had done." Shelby said.
"How do you know it was me? I wasn't the only Rachel there." Rachel said, slowly recovering from her insecurity attack.
Shelby raised her eyebrow and chuckled. "What did your fathers do when they found out?"
"Nothing." Rachel shrugged. "They told me that I shouldn't have done that."
"That was it?" Shelby asked, surprised that Rachel hadn't even been lectured.
"They said I was a good girl and they knew that had been nothing but a slip from my part"
"If you had been in my care, things would've gone very differently." Shelby admitted, being surprised that she didn't receive any reaction from Rachel. That was the moment when she discovered what her daughter truly needed and was asking with her silence. Rachel needed Shelby to be her mother, to show her that no matter what, she would have her full support. That was the moment when every doubt disappeared and Shelby decided that she was going to be the mother Rachel needed.
Both mother and daughter stared at each other in silence before Shelby spoke. "Alright, Rachel, let's talk about what happened last night."
Rachel looked down and sighed. She was no longer under the effects of alcohol and something in the back of her mind told her that what she had done was wrong. She didn't quite understand the extent yet, but she was sure her mother would enlighten her. She nodded and let Shelby speak.
"Do you remember when you first arrived and I told you that I didn't want you drinking before you turned twenty one? Imagine my surprise yesterday when I came in and saw you, my eighteen year old daughter, drinking wine, and that's not the worst, you were drinking while you were supposed to be babysitting your little sister." Shelby said, calmly but firmly. She felt the anger making its way up her veins again, as she went into full mother mode.
"But we didn't drink that much" Rachel tried to explain.
Shelby raised an eyebrow, as her eyes pierced into her daughter's. "You had already finished two bottles by the time I arrived. And you were about to open a third one. How much is too much, Rachel?"
Rachel shrugged as she continued to avoid her mother's look. She had made the mistake of looking at Shelby just as her eyebrow was raised, and that mere glare had sent shivers down her spine, so she decided to go back to looking at her hands.
"Rachel, look at me." Shelby said, waiting for her daughter to follow her orders. "At your age, even a glass is too much. How many glasses did you have?"
"Four" Rachel answered, almost inaudibly.
"I'm sorry, I didn't catch that. Please speak up, Rachel" Shelby said.
"Four" Rachel said again. "But Kurt had five."
"We are not talking about Kurt in this moment, Rachel. I am interested in your actions." Shelby said sternly. "Let me get this straight. You thought it was okay to have four glasses of wine while you were babysitting Beth?"
"She had already gone to bed." Rachel said.
Shelby shook her head. "What would you have done if she had woken up?"
Shelby remembered clearly what her daughter's answer to that question had been the night before, as she had barely been able to restrain herself from swatting Rachel when she talked back. She had been lucky Kurt was there.
"I would've asked her to go back to bed" Rachel said.
"What if she had had a nightmare or worse, what if she had been sick?" Shelby insisted.
"Why are we still talking about Beth?" Rachel asked. Her attitude had changed a lot since the previous night and she no longer felt the need to be defensive, but she was very jealous of her little sister and the fact that her mother kept talking about her was making Rachel even more jealous.
"Because she is three years old and you were supposed to be looking after her while I was gone. But instead, you decided to put her to bed and then get drunk" Shelby said.
"I get what you're saying. If Beth hadn't been here, you wouldn't have cared if I had gotten drunk. Noted." Rachel said, letting her emotions get the best of her. She felt bad about what she had done, but she couldn't help but wonder if her mom was so angry because Beth could've been in danger.
"Rachel" Shelby said in a warning tone as she raised her eyebrow.
"Beth is your daughter. You love Beth. I get it" Rachel said, finally letting her tears roll down her face.
"Hey, you are also my daughter." Shelby said, lifting Rachel's chin so she would look at her. "And I love you just as much as I love Beth. And if Beth hadn't been here last night, I still would've been very angry at the scene I came home to."
Rachel nodded and looked sadly at Shelby. She didn't know what to say next. She was going through a roller coaster of emotions.
Shelby wiped some of Rachel's tears with her thumb as she looked at her daughter, trying to assess what she was feeling. "Rachel, I was very scared last night."
"Scared? Why? Because of Beth?" Rachel asked, letting her jealousy show.
"Not only because of Beth, but because of you. I know you think drinking some alcohol cannot do any harm, and you probably think I am overreacting, but I am not. Alcohol can be very dangerous. Do you know what an alcohol overdose is?"
Rachel furrowed her brows and shook her head. She had never heard about that.
"It is also called alcohol poisoning. It's when there is so much alcohol in the bloodstream that areas of the brain controlling basic functions like breathing begin to shut down." Shelby explained.
"But I didn't drink that much, mom." Rachel argued.
"Four glasses is too much, Rachel, especially for someone as young as you." Shelby said, her voice rising in anger. "If I hadn't arrived when I did, you would've opened that third bottle. Getting that much alcohol in your blood could've led to severe poisoning. So many things could've happened, Rachel. What if you started feeling sick and you couldn't even get to the phone because you were too dizzy to get up? What if the wine had made your heart rate faster and it led to something more critical? Drinking is a very serious matter, and you are not old enough to face that responsibility. I love you, Rachel, and I am not going to lose you to alcohol."
"I-I am so sorry. I didn't know that …" Rachel said, crying. She could hear the disappointment in her mother's voice, but most of all, she could hear the concern and that made her feel very guilty. She could feel the guilt doing a number in her stomach, as she couldn't stop the tears from rolling down.
"I am very serious when I say this, young lady, I don't want you to drink again until you turn 21. And even then, I will be checking that you are drinking responsibly. Do you understand?" Shelby added, sternly.
Rachel nodded. She wasn't used to being scolded, and seeing her mother taking the time to talk to her about her wrongdoings and be so stern was both making her feel very bad about disappointing her, but also filling her heart with love. All those doubts about whether she had a place in Shelby's heart or not were slowly dissipating and all she wanted to do was to show her mother that she was listening and she was sorry.
"I need a verbal answer, sweetie." Shelby said, smiling a little.
"I understand, mom." Rachel said, almost whispering.
"Kurt was the one who brought the wine last night, but I am assuming you also have a way to getting alcohol, right? I need to see that I.D." Shelby said, holding her hand so Rachel would give her the fake I.D.
Rachel sighed and went to her purse to get the card. "I've only used it once and it was only to get into 54 below."
Shelby took the card and was surprised to see the name her daughter had chosen. "Rachel Corcoran?"
Rachel blushed as she didn't know what to say. She had chosen that name, because it had felt natural to her at the time to have her mother's last name. She had been thinking a lot about her, so when she was asked what name she wanted, she immediately thought of Corcoran. "I don't know why I chose your last name. I'm sorry."
"Oh no, honey, don't apologize. I am so honored that you chose my last name that I am keeping this card as a souvenir." Shelby said, smiling at Rachel and placing the card in the back pocket of her jeans. "You are not having another card made, is that understood?"
"Yes, ma'am" Rachel replied. She didn't know where that had come from, since she had never called anyone ma'am, but it felt like the right thing to do.
"Alright. There is still one more issue we need to talk about." Shelby said, going back to her stern posture.
Rachel looked at Shelby with a confused glance. They had already talked about her drinking and about the fake I.D., she didn't know what else was there to talk about.
"The way you spoke to me last night was unacceptable. I do not know where that attitude came from, but I don't want it to make a reappearance" Shelby said in a serious tone. "You were very rude and defiant, and I won't tolerate that kind of behavior in my house."
"I'm really sorry, mom" Rachel said, hugging Shelby and crying on her shoulder. "I was really angry that you were yelling at me in front of Kurt, but I know I shouldn't have talked to you that way."
"No, you shouldn't have. You were very disrespectful, Rachel." Shelby said, her heart breaking at the sight of her daughter.
Rachel nodded. "I was just really embarrassed."
"I am sorry, Rachel, but you are my daughter and I couldn't wait to call your attention until your friend left." Shelby said, trying to make Rachel understand why she had been that firm the night before while Kurt was still around.
"But it was so embarrassing …" Rachel mumbled.
"You know what would've been more embarrassing, Rachel, if I had put you across my knee right there and then as I was so tempted to do." Shelby said, looking sternly at her daughter.
"I know," Rachel said sadly, dropping her gaze to her hands. "I'm so sorry, Mom. I feel awful. I wish..." Rachel sighed and didn't finish her sentence.
"What do you wish?" Shelby prompted.
"Nothing. It doesn't matter what I wish, because you already said you and I don't have that relationship." Rachel replied, still not looking up.
Shelby hugged Rachel, knowing in that moment what the both needed. They were craving to have a normal mother-daughter relationship, and even though thinking about what she was about to do made her very nervous, she knew that her daughter was asking to be treated as if she had had her since birth and that was what she was about to do.
"I love you, honey. Come with me." Shelby said, taking Rachel's hand and leading them to her bedroom. "Let's take care of this."
Rachel wasn't sure what her mom meant when she uttered those words, but she didn't have a lot of time to process what was happening, because as soon as they entered Shelby's room, her mother took a seat on the edge of the bed and gently pulled Rachel over her lap.
"Mom, what …? Rachel said, as she yelped and tried to get up from her mother's hold. As she was about to make a second attempt to get up, she started thinking about what she had done and how guilty she was feeling and stopped herself from trying to get up. And even though she was in a position she thought she would never find herself in, she thought of what Kurt had told her and smiled at the thought that her mother was finally taking a more active role in her life.
As Rachel was lost in her thoughts, Shelby was thinking about what she was about to do. She closed her eyes for a moment, trying to remember all the times she had been over her mother's knee and what her mother had done every time. She had newfound respect for her mother. Now she understood her mother was telling the truth all those times she had said that was going to hurt her more than it would hurt Shelby. She tried to calm her nerves as she took a deep breath and raised Rachel's skirt. She raised her hand and was about to let the first swat land when she heard her mother's words in her mind. "A spanking is always given on a bare bottom. That is the only way I know where my hand is hitting and I am able to know when to stop." Taking another steadying breath, Shelby pulled Rachel's underwear down below her bottom.
"No, mom!" Rachel said, embarrassed to find herself bare bottomed over her mother's lap, but her protest didn't last long as Shelby raised her left hand and brought it down on her daughter's bottom.
"Ow!" Rachel wasn't expecting it to hurt that much, and she cried in pain as she awaited the next swat.
Before Shelby raised her hand again, she stopped to think for a second if she was doing the right thing. Rachel was already eighteen years old and she may be too old to be spanked, but in many ways, she still behaved like a child and she was the one who had asked Shelby to be her mother. She knew Rachel had never had any discipline from her fathers and that was the reason why she behaved the way she did. Shelby thought about how much she hated being spanked as a teen but how much good they had done, since they taught her that actions have consequences and that she couldn't be her impulsive self all the time, because that was not the way the world worked. And she knew that Rachel could also benefit from that lesson. Not giving it further thought, she began to spank her daughter again, making sure she covered every inch of her daughter's bottom.
"Mom, please stop." Rachel said, squirming and trying to get away from her mother's hand.
Shelby pulled Rachel closer to her so her daughter wouldn't fall off her lap and continued spanking until Rachel's bottom was dark pink. She knew there was no need to continue scolding. She had said everything she needed to say and she knew Rachel understood the reasons why she was in that position.
"I'm sorry, mom!" Rachel cried out as more swats were rattled off and she tried to cover her bottom with her hand.
"Rachel, please move your hand, I don't want to hit it by accident." Shelby said. As soon as her daughter moved her hand, she delivered three hard swats.
"It hurts!" Rachel said, moving trying to avoid her mother's punishing hand. "I'm sorry, mommy."
Judging from her daughter's reaction and the state of her bottom, Shelby knew Rachel had had enough. To finish the spanking, she did what her mother always did, she raised her leg to have a better access to Rachel's sit spots and gave her daughter four final swats, two to each sit spot. By the time she was finished, Shelby had tears in her eyes. She hated having been the one who had caused her daughter so much pain. She wiped her tears with the back of her hand before pulling her daughter's underwear back into place and then helped Rachel up.
Shelby stood up and let Rachel crash into her, sobbing into her shoulder for a few minutes.
"I'm so sorry, mom" Rachel said, before taking a step back and looking down. She was embarrassed about everything that had just happened, and she was sure her face was as red as her bottom. She didn't know what to do next. She wrung her hands as she continued to glance down.
"Come here, sweetie." Shelby said, leading them both back to the bed and sitting down. She let Rachel lie on her side and cuddle next to her. They didn't speak for a couple of minutes, as Shelby rubbed her daughter's back and kissed her head. "Honey, look at me."
Rachel shook her head as she continued avoiding her mother's eyes. She was too humiliated to look up. She had hundreds of thoughts running through her mind and she didn't know how to sort out her feelings.
"There's no need to be embarrassed, baby." Shelby started saying, as she continued rubbing her daughter's back. "You were punished and it's a clean slate after this. No need to talk about this again."
Rachel nodded, acknowledging what Shelby was saying, but she still couldn't figure out what to do. She knew that her relationship with her mom had changed for the better, and she was thankful for that, but she was suddenly feeling very self-conscious about having been spanked at the age of eighteen. She thought of all those times she had tried to convince her mother she was an adult and now she had just been punished like a little girl.
"Talk to me, Rach." Shelby pleaded. She was doing her best to appear strong and not let her emotions get the best of her, but she was struggling to keep her tears at bay. She knew she had done the right thing, but she needed to make sure her daughter was also okay with what had just happened.
"I-I don't know what to say, mom" Rachel answered, almost whispering.
"Tell me what's going on in that pretty head of yours." Shelby encouraged, holding her daughter closer.
Rachel shrugged. "I'm … well … it hurts." Rachel looked at Shelby and gave her a sad look.
"It's meant to hurt, and you will be sore for a couple of hours, but you've been punished and now we can move on." Shelby explained, sweetly.
Rachel gave Shelby a shy smile and thought about getting up, but she was truly enjoying being that close to her mother.
"And you know, Rach? You are not the first person to have been spanked for drinking underage and talking back" Shelby said, figuring her daughter would feel better if she heard the story she was about to tell her. "In fact, your grandmother did exactly the same to me."
Shelby's words got Rachel's attention and she looked at her mom. "Really?"
"Do you want to hear the story?" Shelby asked.
Rachel nodded shyly, getting more comfortable on the bed.
"My best friend in High School was called Samantha. We used to do everything together, even get in trouble. Her parents traveled around the country a lot and every time they had to go, Sam would stay over at our house." Shelby said and smiled as she noticed she had her daughter's full attention. "One day, we went into a diner after school and we met these gorgeous college guys who invited us to a party that night. The only problem was that we knew your grandmother would not let us go."
"So you lied to her?" Rachel asked in disbelief.
Shelby nodded. "We figured she would never find out. We told her we were going to the movies and that we would be home by curfew, and then we went to this college party. Nobody knew we were still in High School. In fact, they all thought we went to Columbus State University. We were offered one drink after another and even though we poured most of them in a large flower pot, we did drink a little."
Rachel raised her eyebrow and shook her head. She couldn't believe her mother had done that. She had always seen Shelby as poised and perfect; she was finding it hard to believe her mother had ever been in trouble as a teenager.
"We had a wonderful time, and the whole way home, we were thinking about what to tell your grandmother. We had done some research on the movies that were playing and the times, so we thought we had the perfect plan. But remember when I said that a mother always knows everything?" Shelby asked, receiving a nod from her daughter. "As soon as we got home, we knew we were in trouble. My mother asked us where we had been and when I answered, I think she was able to smell the alcohol in our breath. She announced we were both in serious trouble and that she would be calling Sam's parents to let them know."
"Wow, your mother sounds tough." Rachel said.
"Yes, your grandmother is not someone you want to mess with." Shelby replied. "And neither were Samantha's parents, so she begged my mother not to call them and give her the same punishment she was planning on giving me. To be honest, I was sure I would only be grounded for the weekend."
Rachel gave Shelby a look of astonishment. She knew where the story was going and she couldn't believe. "Then, what happened?"
"Your grandmother sent us both to my room to change into our pajamas and to wait for her. A few minutes later, she came in and announced we were both getting spanked. I told her she could not do that, because I was already sixteen years old, but she didn't appreciate me talking back, so as soon as those words left my mouth, I found myself over her knee getting the spanking of my life." Shelby said, as she blushed and shuddered at the thought of that day. "See? There is no need to be embarrassed. I once was in your shoes."
"But mom, you were only sixteen!" Rachel said, "You were just a kid. I am eighteen, it's different"
Shelby chuckled. She remembered what it was like to think people two years younger than you were kids, especially at eighteen, when the law gave you some adult responsibility, such as voting. "Oh, Rach, trust me, I thought I was too old to be spanked at sixteen. In fact, that was not the only time. I had my fair share of spankings when I thought I was grown up too."
Rachel smiled shyly and looked at her mother. She wasn't as embarrassed as she had been earlier, as she understood why her mother had done it and she felt happy that Shelby hadn't given up on her. "I'm really sorry about last night, mom" Rachel said, hugging Shelby. She felt closer to her mom than ever before.
"I know, sweetie" Shelby replied, hugging Rachel tightly. "We don't need to speak about this again. I love you so much."
"I love you too, mom" Rachel said, smiling.
Rachel and Shelby stayed in each other's arms for a couple of minutes, as they thought about how much their relationship had changed and how close they were now. For the first time, both mother and daughter felt as if they had known each other their whole life and had always been mother and daughter.
"I need to get the laundry out of the washing machine. Do you want to stay here and watch some TV?" Shelby asked.
Rachel shook her head. "Can I help you?" she asked, wanting nothing more than to be with her mom.
"Of course." Shelby replied, offering Rachel her hand and walking towards the laundry room with her. "Can you hand me those sheets so I can get them into the dryer, please?"
Rachel nodded as she did what she was asked to do. It was the first time she did any laundry. When she lived with her fathers, they were the ones who did the laundry every time and when she moved to New York, she found a laundry service that would pick up her clothes on Thursday and would return them washed and ironed on Monday.
"Is it difficult?" Rachel asked, as she saw her mother working the dryer.
"What? Doing the laundry?" Shelby asked, a bit confused. She had been taught how to do the laundry when she was thirteen years old and it was actually one of her chores. She couldn't believe her daughter didn't know how to do it. "No, it's not. You just get the clothes inside the machine, add some soap, press some buttons, and wait for it to beep. Then, you transfer all the clothing to the dryer."
"That sounds easy." Rachel said, smiling. "Can I use it to wash my clothes?"
"Of course you can, Rach. This is your house. You don't need to ask if you can use it." Shelby replied and was surprised when Rachel hugged her.
"Thank you so much, mom" Rachel said, putting her arms around Shelby's waist.
Shelby returned the hug and kissed her daughter's head. "Do you want to watch a movie?"
"I don't think I can." Rachel said, grimacing.
"Oh, do you have plans for today?" Shelby asked, feeling a little disappointed.
"I don't think I can sit down and watch a movie." Rachel replied, blushing.
"Oh." Shelby smiled as she realized what her daughter was saying. She was going to comment on it, but she had promised Rachel she wouldn't mention it again and she didn't want to embarrass her. "Come on, let's go to the living room."
Shelby led Rachel to the living room and put a movie in the DVD player. She sat down on the couch and smiled. "You can lie on your side, and place your head on my lap. That way, you can watch the movie without having to worry about anything."
Rachel smiled and got comfortable on the couch. "What are we watching?"
"I used to love watching Mary Poppins with my mom as we cuddled in the sofa and she played with my hair." Shelby replied, pressing play. "This movie always made me feel better."
"I love Mary Poppins!" Rachel said, trying to focus on the movie. But her mind was elsewhere. Her mother was playing with her hair and that made her realize that the fact that Shelby was doing exactly what her own mother had done meant that she was letting her in completely. In that moment, Rachel realized she had what she had always dreamed of, a mother whose love was unconditional and that made her very happy.
Shelby and Rachel watched the movie quietly for about twenty minutes, but Rachel's brain couldn't stop thinking and she had to break the silence. "Mom?"
"Yes, sweetie?" Shelby replied.
"Do you talk to your mom very often?" Rachel asked. She was very curious about Shelby's family. One of the things she always wanted as a child was to have a big family. Hiram was an only child, just like her, and his parents lived in Florida, so she never saw her grandparents, and LeRoy's mother had passed away when Rachel was only three years old, and she never met the rest of the family.
"We talk at least once a week. I call her every Sunday." Shelby replied, gently playing with Rachel's hair.
"What's her name?" Rachel asked curiously.
"Her name is Constance." Shelby answered. She was happy that Rachel was showing some interest in her family. "But when you meet her, you can call her grandma."
Rachel had been facing the tv set until that moment, but when she heard her mother, she immediately turned her head to look at Shelby. "Really? Does she know about me?"
"Of course she does." Shelby said, stopping the movie. She let Rachel get comfortable on the couch and then she continued. "I called her in the middle of the night on December 19th sobbing because I had to give up my little girl. She didn't know I was pregnant. They moved to DC when I was 20, because my dad, your grandfather, got a job there and we only spoke on the phone. I wasn't planning on telling them about my arrangement with your fathers, but the moment I found myself alone in the hospital after you were taken home, all I could think about was the fact that I really needed my mom."
"What did she say?" Rachel asked, almost inaudibly.
"She was very upset that I had hidden my pregnancy from her, but she flew to Columbus the very next day and held me while I cried for days." Shelby explained, letting a few tears flow down her cheeks. "She wanted me to talk to your fathers and make another kind of arrangement, but I couldn't. I had already signed that contract. Your grandmother has never stopped thinking about you either."
Rachel smiled, also with tears in her eyes. "Will I meet her soon?"
"Ever since she found out you were living here, she's wanted to come. She is actually coming in two weeks." Shelby said.
"I can't wait to meet her. Do you think she'll like me?" Rachel asked.
"She already does, sweetie. She already loves you." Shelby replied, smiling.
Rachel smiled back. She was about to ask another question when the doorbell rang.
"That must be Megan with Beth." Shelby said, getting up and walking to the door.
"Mommy!" Beth said as she rushed into Shelby's arms. "I missed you!"
"Did you have fun, baby?" Shelby asked, lifting Beth off the floor and giving her a kiss.
Beth nodded. "I drew a picture!"
"Wow, that is beautiful!" Shelby said, looking at the picture Beth was holding. She wasn't sure what it was, but it looked like a forest with a rainbow. "Is that for me?"
Beth shook her head and she squirmed trying get down. "It's for Wachel."
"Oh, she's going to love it!" Shelby said, letting Beth off her arms and watching her youngest daughter run to the living room. "Megan, thank you so much for looking after her today."
"We had a lot of fun. Liam loves Beth, and they had a great time together." Megan said. "We went to the carnival and they made their own works of art."
"Thank you so much. Let me get my wallet." Shelby said.
"Oh no, Ms. Corcoran, today was on me. I was the one who invited Beth over to play with Liam." Megan said, smiling. "I should go now. I am having dinner with my sister."
"Thank you again, Megan." Shelby said, closing the door and going to the living room.
Shelby smiled at the scene she walked to. Beth was standing in front of Rachel, holding the drawing and smiling at her big sister.
"It's for you, Wachel." Beth said.
"Wow, that is …" Rachel looked at the drawing, and wasn't sure what to think of it. She could see some green circles that she assumed were trees, since they had a brown stick underneath them and there was a semi circle that had different colors, which made Rachel think it was a rainbow. "That is very pretty, Beth. Thank you."
"It's the fowest where Sleeping Beauty lives." Beth said.
"Wow, I love Sleeping Beauty." Rachel replied. "Is this a rainbow?"
Beth nodded. "You like it?"
"I love it. When I was your age, I used to draw rainbows all the time as well. I used other colors, of course, because these are not exactly the colors of the spectrum." Rachel said, looking at the combination of navy blue, light blue, pink, purple and green.
Beth tilted her head as she looked at Rachel. The little girl had no idea what her sister meant.
"Rachel, don't, please." Shelby said.
"What's a spec … that?" Beth asked, looking at Shelby.
"The colors of the rainbow" Rachel explained, before Shelby was able to answer Beth's question.
"Rachel loves her drawing and she is going to put it in a special place, right?" Shelby said, turning to look at Rachel.
"I will. Thank you, Beth." Rachel said, kneeling in front of her little sister and giving her a hug. She was planning on giving her a hug while she was still sitting on the couch, but she thought that wasn't the best idea yet.
"How about if we put it on the fridge, so we can all look at it?" Shelby asked. She could tell Rachel had no idea what to do with the drawing, and she wanted to make things easier for her two daughters.
"Yes, mommy!" Beth said, excited as she returned her sister's hug. "I love you, Wachel."
"I love you too, Beth." Rachel replied.
Both sisters were still hugging when Rachel looked up to see Shelby. Her mother had tears in her eyes and was watching her daughters the way only a proud mother could. "I love you, mom." Rachel said. "Thank you."
That was the moment Rachel knew she belonged in that family. The day had been exhausting. She couldn't believe everything that had happened. For the first time, she didn't feel like she was invading Shelby and Beth's space. And even though she was still feeling the effects of her talk with Shelby, she wouldn't have changed that day for anything. Both mother and daughter had finally been able to put the past behind and were looking towards the future with bright new eyes. They were both prepared to be mother and daughter. Rachel had finally forgiven Shelby for everything and she could tell that her mother had also forgiven herself. She had never pictured herself as a big sister, but she was thankful that she had a little sister who had welcomed her into the family with open arms. Rachel smiled as she looked at her mom and her sister. She knew they were all ready to be a real family.