I know I say this every time I post a new chapter and I sound like a broken record, but ... I am so sorry for making you all wait so long for an update. My muse refused to cooperate and she just came back a couple of weeks ago. Thank you so much for the reviews and the PMs. You guys are the ones who inspire me to write. I hope you enjoy this chapter!
...
"Mommy?" Beth said, walking into Shelby's room. Even though the little girl had a bedroom of her own, and a bed she loved, she sometimes felt very lonely there and opted to sleep with her mom. She had been told that she had to stay in her bed, but her mom had never denied her changing beds in the middle of the night, and she was sure this time would be no exception.
The room was dark, and Beth couldn't see very well, but she did manage to notice her sister had an arm around her mom and both brunettes were peacefully sleeping. Why was her sister hugging her mom? Why wasn't she in her room? Beth ran to her mom's side and shook her in order to wake her up. "Mommy! Wake up!"
Shelby was startled and opened her eyes as her heart was jumping out of her chest. "Beth? What's wrong?" she whispered.
"I wanna sleep with you!" Beth said in her normal voice.
"Did you have a nightmare?" Shelby asked, raising her head slightly, but not being able to move very well, since Rachel's arm was still around her.
Beth ignored the question and climbed on the bed. "I'll sleep with you, mommy!"
"You can sleep here, but don't wake Rachel up." Shelby said, positioning Beth in front of her so she could hold her, but the little girl started to wiggle and climbed between her sister and her mother, forcing Rachel to stop holding her mom.
"Mom" Rachel said in her sleep, as she mumbled something else.
"Go back to sleep, Rach." Shelby whispered, leaning over to give Rachel a kiss on her messy hair.
"Okay." Rachel replied, getting comfortable on the other side of the mattress.
Once Rachel turned, Beth smiled, put her head on her mom's chest and fell asleep.
…
Rachel woke up early in the morning and noticed her little sister was lying next to her. She remembered something had disturbed her slumber the night before, but she didn't know it had been Beth. She yawned as her eyes tried to adjust to the bright light coming from the window. As she was stretching, one of her hands hit Beth on the head and the little girl woke up.
"Ow!" Beth said, glaring at Rachel. "Mommy, Wachel hit me!"
"I'm sorry. It was an accident." Rachel replied.
Shelby was about to open her eyes when she heard Rachel apologize, so she decided to pretend she hadn't heard anything, hoping her daughters would let her sleep in. She knew her mother could run the house while she was in bed.
Rachel got up and headed to the bathroom while Beth went to the living room to see if her grandmother was awake. She smiled when she saw Constance leaving the bedroom.
"How's my beautiful princess this morning?" Constance asked, opening her arms so Beth would hug her.
"Hungry!" Beth replied with a big smile.
"Oh I'll make some eggs in a minute." Constance said.
"Eggs?" Beth asked, shaking her head. She didn't want any eggs. "No eggs!"
"No eggs? Okay, then I'll fix you a sandwich." Constance replied, holding back a chuckle.
Beth tilted her head and frowned. She didn't understand what was happening. She wanted to eat what her grandmother always made especially for her.
"No sandwich, grandma!" Beth said, stomping her foot.
Constance smiled, "I was just kidding, dear. I know exactly what I can make for breakfast."
Beth smiled back as she jumped up and down. "Yummy in my tummy!"
"Is your sister up?" Constance asked.
Beth shrugged, going over to the living room table to play with some toys while breakfast was ready.
"Beth, that's mine!" Rachel said, as she walked into the living room. Beth was playing with the music box she had gotten the night before.
Beth glared at Rachel and continued playing with the box, grabbing it and running to the kitchen when Rachel wanted to take it away.
"Beth! That music box is mine! You have your doll!" Rachel said, running behind Beth.
"What's going on?" Constance asked as her two granddaughters made their way into the kitchen.
"Wachel won't lend me her toy!" Beth said.
"It's not a toy, Beth." Rachel said, finally able to get her box back.
"Rachel is right, dear. That box is not a toy. It's fragile and you could break it" Constance explained.
Beth couldn't believe her grandmother had sided with Rachel. Beth was her princess, not Rachel. She looked at Rachel and then stepped on her toes, crossing her arms as she did so.
"Ow, Beth!" Rachel complained as she shook her foot. She didn't understand why her little sister was acting that way.
"Beth, apologize to your sister." Constance ordered.
"No!" Beth said, walking out of the kitchen with a pout on her face.
"I-I'll set the table" Rachel said, as she found herself alone with her grandmother.
"Alright, dear. Breakfast will be ready soon." Constance replied.
Rachel nodded as she made her way to the living room, where her little sister was. "Do you want to help me set the table, Beth?"
Beth glared at Rachel and shook her head. The look the little girl was giving her reminded her of those looks she got from another blonde girl back in High School. She shuddered, as she remembered all that bullying she had to suffer from Quinn. She hoped that bullying gene wasn't hereditary. As she stared at Beth, she started to think about how similar she, Rachel, was to Shelby and she wondered if Beth would also become similar to her birth mother, Quinn. She'd already noticed certain things that reminded her of Quinn, such as the little girl's love for bacon and the scowl on her face when she got upset.
"Breakfast is ready!" Constance said, as she noticed the table hadn't been set yet and her two granddaughters were staring at each other. "Rachel, I thought you were going to set the table."
"I am sorry. I was just thinking about ... something." Rachel said, getting everything on the table.
Beth took a seat and smiled as she spotted the two bread triangles on her plate. Her grandmother always prepared a Nutella open sandwich for her. It was their tradition. Shelby would stay in bed as Beth and Constance shared that special moment and that delicious treat. Even though Shelby also loved that hazelnut spread, she never had it in the house, because she knew that was her mother and her daughter's 'secret' treat.
"Thank you, grandma." Beth said, biting into her sandwich.
"You're welcome, dear." Constance smiled at the little girl as she set another plate in front of Rachel.
"What is it?" Rachel asked, inspecting the dish.
"It's Nutella." Constance replied. "I know you're a vegetarian. But this is chocolate and hazelnut."
Beth reacted at the mention of Nutella and got up from her chair, grabbing her sister's sandwich before Rachel could try her breakfast. "This is mine!"
"You have your own breakfast, Beth!" Rachel said pointing at her little sister's sandwich. "True, I am not sure whether I will like this or not, but I would like to try it."
Beth looked at Rachel and then looked at the sandwich in her hands. "No! It's mine!"
"Beth! That belongs to your sister. If you want another one, I can make you one." Constance said, shocked at the little girl's behavior.
The little girl shook her head and threw the sandwich on the floor. She was about to step on it when her grandmother grabbed her arm and yelled, "That's enough!"
Beth burst into tears as she tried to free herself from her grandmother's grasp.
Rachel was shaking her head as she watched the scene before her. She couldn't believe her little sister was throwing a tantrum over nothing. She was very confused about what was happening. She had seen Beth stomp her foot and pout, but it had never gotten that bad.
"Grandma, no!" Beth yelled as she continued trying to free herself from her grandmother.
Constance let go of Beth's arm and lifted the little girl to take her back to the chair. "Beth, what's going on?"
Beth glared at Rachel and crossed her arms. She didn't understand why her grandmother had yelled at her and why she was looking at the little girl with the same look her mother gave her when she was in trouble.
"You gave Wachel my sandwich!" Beth said, slamming her fist on the table. "It's mine!"
Constance glanced at Rachel who appeared to be as confused as the grandmother had been a moment ago and sighed. She knew what was going on. She knew what jealousy looked like, and even though she couldn't condone Beth's behavior, she understood why the little girl was acting that way.
"You need to learn to share, Beth." Constance said. "Especially, because Rachel is your sister."
Beth shook her head. "I won't share! Nutella is mine, grandma!"
"I'm sorry, dear, if you don't share it with your sister, then there won't be any treat for you either." Constance said, taking the half eaten sandwich away. "I'll make you some eggs."
"NOOOO!" Beth yelled, hitting her grandmother with her hand, as she tried to recover her dish.
Rachel gasped as she saw what her sister had done and started wringing her hands. Deep down, she felt a little guilty. She had been an only child her whole life and just like Beth, there were times when she refused to share her food or her toys with someone else. She knew this time, she was the source of her little sister's envy and that made her feel guilt-ridden.
Constance set the dish back on the table and took Beth's arm to lead her to the corner. "You, young lady, will stand there for five minutes. You know very well that I will not tolerate that attitude."
Shelby could hear the raising voice coming from the living room and as much as she wanted to ignore them, she knew she had to wake up and see what was going on. It sounded like her mother was at her wits' end.
"What's going on?" Shelby asked, walking into the living room, where she saw her mother standing behind Beth, with her hand on top of the little girl's shoulder to prevent her from turning around.
"Miss Beth here decided to throw a tantrum because I fixed Rachel a Nutella sandwich. Apparently, that treat is exclusively for her." Constance explained.
"I heard some yelling." Shelby said, wanting to know the exact reason why her youngest daughter was standing in the corner.
"She hit your mom." Rachel added from her seat.
"What?" Shelby reacted, glancing at her mother. "Beth hit you?"
Constance nodded. "That is why she is in the corner, thinking about her actions."
"I'm sorry, mom. Beth knows very well that she must not hit anyone, especially her grandmother." Shelby said.
Constance glanced at the clock on the wall and kindly turned Beth around to face her. She was surprised to see the little girl didn't have tears in her eyes and didn't appear to be remorseful.
"Do you know why you were in timeout, Beth?" Constance asked.
"Because you're mean!" Beth said, running to her bedroom.
Constance and Shelby looked at each other and shook their head.
"I'll go talk to her, mom." Shelby said.
"She's pretty intense, huh?" Rachel said, wanting to break the awkward silence between her grandmother and her.
"She's just like her sister." Constance replied, winking at Rachel. "I've heard you, Miss Rachel, can be pretty intense too."
Rachel shrugged and blushed.
"We are all intense in this family, dear. Your mother was certainly a handful when she was a kid." Constance said, smiling at the memories. "There was never a dull moment when Shelby was around."
"Really?" Rachel asked, interested in learning more about her mom.
"Oh yes. I think that girl spent most of her childhood in her timeout chair and most of her teenage years grounded in her room." Constance chuckled. She was exaggerating, but it did feel like Shelby was in trouble very often.
"Wow! She is so serious and so poised now." Rachel said.
"Well, she had a wonderful mother who taught her right from wrong." Constance added, winking at Rachel once again.
Rachel nodded, smiling at her grandmother. She was about to make another comment when she saw her mom and her little sister walking back into the living room.
"Wachel, I'm sowwy." Beth said, pouting. Her mother had had a long conversation with her and even though she didn't quite understand why everyone was on Rachel's side, she did understand that what she had done was wrong.
"It's okay, Beth." Rachel replied, smiling. "I don't think I would've liked that spread anyway."
…
"It's such a beautiful day today. How about we go to The Boathouse for lunch? We could walk around the park and then, we could go to The Loeb." Shelby suggested.
The family had spent part of the morning talking and watching a movie, but Shelby was starting to suffer from cabin fever. Her apartment was not big enough for four people to be there all day.
"That sounds wonderful!" Constance said. "Let me get my purse. Lunch will be on me."
"No, mom, you're our guest. I'll pay for lunch." Shelby replied.
"Shelby …" Constance said in a warning tone, as she raised her left eyebrow.
"Lunch will be on you, mom." Shelby said, nodding.
Rachel chuckled at her mother's reaction, but one look from Shelby was enough to stop the laughter.
"I'll go get my purse as well." Rachel said, retreating to Shelby's bedroom. Once inside, she took a deep breath as she thought about Finn for a moment. She had only been to that lake in Central Park twice. Once with Finn when they had traveled to New York for Nationals and another time after her Funny Girl audition. That lake always reminded her of her High School love and she knew she needed to start making new memories there, but it was still very hard for her to do that, especially now that Finn was gone.
"Rach, are you ready?" Shelby asked, walking into her room.
Rachel nodded as she wiped some stray tears from her face. "I'm ready."
"Are you okay?" Shelby asked, concerned.
"I was just thinking about Finn." Rachel admitted. "But I'm okay."
Shelby put her arm around her daughter's shoulders and gave her a kiss on the head. "I'm here if you need to talk."
"Thank you, mom." Rachel answered, giving Shelby a sincere smile. "Let's go."
…
"Beth, come back here!" Shelby yelled as they made their way down the stairs towards Bethesda Terrace.
Beth let go of her mother's hand as long as she spotted the fountain. She loved going there when it was hot and splash around in the fountain.
"Hurry, mommy!" Beth said, encouraging her mom with her hand. "Grandma, come!"
Shelby shook her head and ran down the stairs to catch up with her youngest daughter.
"Beth certainly has a lot of energy." Constance said, chuckling.
Rachel nodded as she felt her cellphone vibrate in her pocket. She took the phone out and smiled. She had two messages from two of the cast members of Funny Girl asking if she would be joining them that evening at Milano's. Rachel smiled widely as she replied to both messages.
"Did you just get a message from a young suitor?" Constance asked, eyeing her granddaughter.
Rachel shook her head and she suppressed a chuckle. "A young suitor?"
"Back in my time, I used to smile that way when I received a phone call from your grandfather." Constance explained.
"There is no suitor, grandma." Rachel replied, not taking her eyes off the screen. "I'm just talking to some friends."
Constance and a very distracted Rachel walked towards the fountain where Shelby was playing with Beth. Shelby was blowing some soap bubbles and Beth was running after them.
"Grandma! Wanna play?" Beth asked, showing her grandmother the bubble maker her mom has just purchased. "You make bubbles and I chase them!"
"That sounds like a lot of fun, dear. I would love to play with you." Constance replied, smiling at Shelby.
"Hey, Rach, do you want to play too?" Shelby asked her eldest, who was absorbed in her phone.
"Yes." Rachel said, not sure about what she was agreeing to. She was too busy making plans for that night. She had just texted Kurt to ask him if he'd like to join her and the cast.
"Rachel …" Shelby said, walking towards her daughter and taking the phone away.
"Hey! You can't do that!" Rachel said, glaring at Shelby.
"We came here to hang out together as a family. Why don't you put that phone back in your pocket and play with us before lunch?" Shelby said in a kind voice. She didn't want to tell her daughter off, but she did want everyone to have a good time together.
Rachel sighed and nodded. "Okay. I'll just send that text I was writing."
Shelby smiled as she gave Rachel her phone back. "Do you want me to buy you a bubble maker as well?"
Rachel rolled her eyes and shook her head. "I'm not three, mom."
The family spent forty minutes playing and walking around the park before heading to the restaurant to have lunch. The Loeb had always been one of Shelby's favorite places and she was thrilled she was there with her family.
"What do you usually order when you come here, honey?" Constance asked, glancing at Shelby. Everything on the menu sounded very good and she couldn't make up her mind.
"I really like the warm quiche or the fish platter." Shelby replied. "We could order a fish platter for the four of us."
"That sounds perfect." Constance said. "What do you think, Rachel?"
Rachel read through the description of the dish and shrugged. "I could eat some salmon and some vegetables."
After they ordered, they started chatting, but they were constantly interrupted by the chiming of Rachel's phone and her constant texting.
"Rachel, dear, please put your phone away." Constance said.
"This is important." Rachel replied, focusing on the message she had just received.
"What's so important that you need to text in the middle of lunch?" Shelby asked, getting more annoyed by the minute.
"I was just telling Kurt the plans for tonight." Rachel replied.
"Tonight?" Shelby asked. She didn't know her daughter had any plans. "Where are you going?"
"I'm going out with some of the cast." Rachel replied, not wanting to give away much information.
"Where are you going, dear?" Constance asked.
"Kurt is coming as well." Rachel added, hoping her grandmother and her mother would stop asking her questions.
Shelby narrowed her eyes as she insisted. "Rachel, where are you going?"
"To Milano's." Rachel replied, turning back to her phone. She didn't understand why she had to explain what she was doing that night.
"Oh no, I don't think that's a good idea." Shelby said, shaking her head.
Rachel scoffed, as she continued texting. "I wasn't asking your permission."
"Excuse me?" Shelby said in a threatening tone and an equally threatening eyebrow, but her daughter failed to notice both, since she was too busy on her phone.
"What's Milano's?" the eldest Corcoran asked.
"It's a bar, mom." Shelby replied. "A not very respectable one, I might add."
"You are not going to that bar tonight, Rachel." Constance said, wagging a finger.
"Yes, I am." Rachel said, suppressing a scoff. Who did her grandmother think she was?
"I am not allowing my eighteen-year-old granddaughter to go to a bar tonight." Constance added.
Rachel looked up from her phone and rolled her eyes. "I wasn't asking your permission either, grandma."
"Watch it, Rachel …" Shelby threatened.
"She has no right to tell me what I can or cannot do!" Rachel replied with a hint of annoyance in her voice.
"I am your grandmother, young lady, and you will respect me." Constance said in a tone that sent shivers down Shelby's back.
"I'm not hungry anymore." Rachel added, standing up. "Enjoy your lunch."
Rachel was planning on doing one of her famous storm outs, but her mother was quicker than her and Shelby was on her feet and grabbing her daughter's arm before she could walk away.
"Sit down!" Shelby ordered.
Rachel looked around and noticed there were at least five people looking at her. She blushed and followed her mother's orders before Shelby had a chance to do what she was planning to. Rachel could see the twitch in her mother's hand.
"Text Kurt and tell him you won't be going to that bar tonight." Shelby instructed.
"What? No! I …" Rachel started to protest.
"And then, text your other friends and tell them you'll have to take a rain check." Shelby added.
"No! They invited me and I am going. This is not just a night out. My whole career depends on this night." Rachel explained. "Do you know what will happen if I tell them I cannot go tonight because my mom didn't let me? They will laugh and I will lose everything I have worked so hard to achieve these months."
"You don't need to tell them your mean old mom isn't letting you go." Shelby said. "They know you are only eighteen, Rachel. They know you're not old enough to drink. You can tell them that."
"Mom! That's even worse! I'm Fanny Brice!" Rachel said, getting upset again.
"No, you're not. You're Rachel Barbra Berry and if those people really care about you, they will understand why you cannot go tonight." Shelby said.
"Your mother is right." Constance added.
"Uh excuse me, this is between my mom and me. Please stay out of it." Rachel said, rudely, glancing at her grandmother.
"Rachel!" Shelby said, shocked at what she had just heard. "Apologize to your grandmother!"
"Why? I was polite. I said excuse me and please. Besides, she is the one who is meddling." Rachel said, crossing her arms. Her whole posture made me look like a petulant ten-year-old.
Constance shook her head. "I think we should continue this conversation at home. Let's get our food to go."
Shelby was very familiar with the seriousness in her mother's tone. She had heard that same line many times when she was a teenager. She knew what continuing a conversation at home meant, and while she was almost sure her mother would not treat Rachel the way she was treated as a teen, she still felt she needed to regain control of the situation.
Shelby knew she wasn't going to be able to talk to Rachel with her mother and her youngest daughter there. She needed a few minutes alone with her daughter.
Shelby took a deep breath and looked at her mother. "Mom, would you mind taking Beth to see the ducks in the pond?"
Beth smiled as she heard her name. "Yay! Yes, grandma, let's go!"
Constance looked at Shelby and raised her eyebrow, as to tell her she hoped Shelby could handle Rachel in that moment. She smiled at Beth and stood up, "Let's go feed the ducks, Beth."
"The way you just spoke to your grandmother was very disrespectful. I understand that you think it is not her place to tell you what you can or cannot do, but you cannot speak to her that way. I won't allow it." Shelby explained in a serious tone. "She is your grandmother and she deserves the same respect I do."
Rachel did her best not to roll her eyes and simply nodded. "I really need to go to Milano's tonight, mom."
"Rachel, you are eighteen. How are you even going to get into that bar?" Shelby asked. She had confiscated Rachel's fake I.D, and really hoped her daughter hadn't had another one made.
"We're all going as a group. I doubt I'll get carded at the entrance and I won't drink, mom." Rachel said. She had planned on having a glass of red wine, but she knew she couldn't reveal that piece of information.
"Why is Kurt going with you?" Shelby asked. He wasn't part of the show.
Rachel shrugged. "He's my friend and we've always talked about attending Broadway parties and gatherings together."
"I don't want you to drink any alcohol tonight." Shelby said. She wanted to be more forceful with her daughter, but she knew what being part of a crowd meant, she knew how important fitting in was and she couldn't take that away from her daughter. "If you do get carded at the entrance, I want you and Kurt to leave."
"We won't get carded, mom." Rachel said, confidently.
"You need to promise you won't have a drop of alcohol tonight." Shelby added. "If you come home and I smell even a hint of alcohol in your breath …"
Rachel gulped as she noticed the look her mother was giving her. Shelby didn't need to fully utter that threat, since Rachel knew what it meant.
"I'll have some juice or some mineral water." Rachel promised.
"Alright. And please tell Kurt I'd like to see him before you head to the bar." Shelby said. She needed to make sure he didn't have anything to drink either.
…
"I can't believe you are letting her go, Shelby!" Constance said from the couch. She was watching her granddaughter add the final touches to her makeup before heading out.
"She promised she would not drink, mom." Shelby explained. "And Rachel knows what will happen if she breaks that promise. Don't you, Rach?"
Rachel blushed and nodded. "I promise. Only juice or water."
Constance stood up and put her hand around her granddaughter's shoulders. "You look so beautiful, dear."
"Thank you, grandma." Rachel said, smiling.
"Let me tell you only one more thing. You might think you will be able to fool your mother by having one small drink and then nothing but water the rest of the night, but I know every trick in the book. And if I suspect you lied to your mother, I can guarantee a trip over my knee you will never forget." Constance said in a sweet tone. "You can ask your mother. I am sure she still remembers vividly what happens when you drink and you lie to mom."
Rachel opened her mouth in shock as she glanced over to Shelby. Her grandmother couldn't be serious. But when she looked over at her mother's expression, it was Shelby's turn to blush. She knew her mother was serious, and she really hoped Rachel didn't slip that night.
Ten minutes later, Kurt and Rachel were on their way to Milano's. They had both promised to behave that night and they were thinking having a drink might in fact be a bad idea.
"I thought Ms. Corcoran was scary, but she is nothing compared to her mother!" Kurt said as they were walking into the subway. "That look they gave us might've put me off from drinking for the rest of my life!"
Rachel chuckled and shook her head. "Their bark is worse than their bite."