Chapter Four

Those chocolate chip pancakes were good. We need to go to that diner again. Maybe I can talk Mom making it into a regular Saturday thing...

I can't wait for this weekend to end. First I have to worry about Nia reading my very private thoughts, and now I might be moving to San Francisco. I hate this! What if Mom and Auntie Rae never make up? Would I call her Raven instead of Auntie Rae? Miss Baxter? Man, that sounds wrong...

This is crazy! Visions are cool and all, but actually knowing what someone's thinking? So many possibilities! This is great! Wouldn't it be so freaky if Nia's hearing this right now?

"Tess, I am hearing you right now so please stop!" Nia exclaimed, putting her hands over her ears. She stood with her brothers and Tess in the living room after Raven dropped Booker off. At first Nia didn't hear anything, but then it all bombarded her at once. What if she could still read minds on Monday? She couldn't go to school like this. "Everybody, please stop! Just stop thinking!"

"No problem, I don't usually have much going on up there anyway," Tess joked. She frowned when she saw the distress on her best friend's face. "Hey, are you okay? Maybe we should call your mom."

Nia shook her head. "Don't call Mom. She says driving the Scut car gives her time to think, and I want her to think about her fight with Aunt Chelsea. Besides, Aunt Chels might be able to help when she comes back from doing the laundry."

"What does my mom know about mind-reading?" Levi asked, amazed. "Is she psychic too? Because I kind of have trouble believing that."

While Booker and Tess nodded in agreement, Nia explained, "She's not psychic, but she's been friends with Mom for like, ever – she's seen everything. She even told me the whole story of Mom's first psychic cold." Nia smirked at Booker. "Nana Loretta was in town, so Grandma Tanya had some very not-nice thoughts about her."

"Who's Nana Loretta?" Tess asked.

"Our grandpa's mother," Nia answered. "She and Grandma don't get along."

Instead of sharing her amusement, Booker was surprised. "They don't? Since when?"

"Oh, come on Booker, you've never noticed?"

"Not really. They never visit at the same time."

Nia realized she'd stopped hearing everyone's thoughts. Apparently she didn't hear as much when she was in the middle of a conversation. If she wanted to hang out with her friends, she'd have to keep them talking. "Anyway, Aunt Chels might know how I can block out everyone's thoughts until my cold is gone. But she's not sure if I'll go back to normal, because usually, only psychics get psychic colds. She thinks Mom should take me to see Dr. Sleevemore."

"That's perfect!" Booker exclaimed. "Mom and Aunt Chels will need to talk to each other about you and your condition. We really couldn't have timed it any better."

"How about that," Nia retorted, her words heavy with sarcasm. "We're so lucky I caught a cold."

"Right?" Booker agreed, oblivious.

While the older kids talked, Levi sat on the couch and looked like he might cry. "What happened?" he demanded. "You told me Mom and Auntie Rae are fighting but you won't tell me why."

"They didn't tell me either," Tess pointed out.

"But you don't live here," Levi insisted. "It's my life that might change and I deserve to know."

Nia and Booker traded guilty frowns. They agreed with Levi to an extent, which is why they told him about the fight and Chelsea's backup plan to live with her family in San Francisco. On the other hand they didn't tell him the details, mainly because they didn't fully understand themselves. Even after comparing notes, they still couldn't pinpoint the exact reason for Raven and Chelsea's fighting. Knowing more about how the moms felt didn't explain the current state of their friendship. "We haven't told you because we haven't figured it out yet," Nia confessed. "When we do, we'll tell you."

"Yeah," Booker said. "I think it's a grown-up thing we won't understand until we're older."

Pouting, Levi rested his arms on his knees and stared down at the floor. "That stinks. How can we fix this if we don't know what the problem is?"

Nia sat next to Levi and put an arm around his shoulders. "Hey, we've done a lot. We've talked to Mom and Aunt Chels, so hopefully they'll calm down by the time Mom gets home. Maybe we did just enough to push them back together."

Chelsea noticed that when Raven got home, the boys and Tess left to play basketball while Nia went back to her room to rest. The kids meant to make themselves scarce, but after Nia heard everything (and then some) the day before, the adults knew they wouldn't have any privacy in the apartment. Chelsea suggested she and Raven have their talk up on the roof. Fortunately for them, no one else in the building was using it.

She didn't expect much from this talk. Honestly, she was just as mystified as the kids when it came to her and Raven's animosity. Raven always had a lot of energy, with a non-existent filter, so Chelsea developed a thick skin over the years. Recently though...the comments became bitter, mean-spirited, which was so not Raven. Deep down Chelsea was more concerned than angry. But since Raven insulted her on a daily basis lately, she felt less inclined to reach out.

The kids gave her an excuse to start the conversation. Maybe if Chelsea got Raven to open up about what was bothering her, they could resolve their issues...because Chelsea had no idea what their issues were. Sure, Raven was the breadwinner, but Chelsea always contributed enough savings to at least cover half the rent. A minimum-wage job would barely replace the amount she already paid, so why waste the energy? Why shouldn't she take the extra time to plan her and Levi's future? She thought Raven understood her need to recuperate after her nightmarish divorce.

Raven's problem went much deeper than Chelsea's current state of unemployment. Chelsea was determined to figure it out, especially after talking with Nia. (Funny, usually parents helped their kids through a crisis, not the other way around). Moving out on a sour note could ruin a twenty-year friendship. While Chelsea still might decide to leave, she needed to make things right first.

As soon as Raven shut the door behind them, Chelsea said, "Rae, the kids know that Levi and I might move out. Our fighting really upset them. It upset me too."

"Yeah, same here," Raven confessed. She wandered around the rooftop as she spoke, not quite meeting Chelsea's eye. "Booker didn't need a ride to school. He wanted to talk to me about...everything. It made me realize how much the kids would be affected if our home life changed again so soon after the divorce." She hugged her arms around herself and stared down at the floor. "I don't really want you to leave. It just popped into my head. Sometimes I blurt stuff out, and I don't have time to think if it's a good idea or not."

"So you're...taking it back?" Chelsea asked because she honestly wasn't sure. Raven had a way of apologizing without actually apologizing.

Though she still crossed her arms, Raven finally made eye contact. "Yeah. I'm sorry, Chels. Our fight got way out of hand."

"Yeah, it did, and I'm sorry too. But I don't understand why it did," Chelsea confessed. "Rae, it's not just the kids who are worried about you. I am too, and I didn't mean it as an insult yesterday when I said you were 'miserable.' Okay, yeah, maybe I should've used a nicer word, but you've...you've lost something. You don't enjoy anything anymore and you won't go after your dream, even though you've had ten thousand dollars sitting in the bank for months."

Raven let out a deep breath. "It's true. I haven't been happy, and I took it out on you because I wanted you to be miserable with me. I get that you're struggling too, but I always saw you doing things and going places...like Vegas...so it just made me..."

"Jealous?"

"Yeah, a little bit," Raven answered. "You don't know what you're doing either, but you don't let it bother you. I wanted it to bother you."

Chelsea's eyes widened. How did Raven, her best friend, not notice her inner turmoil? They lived together and saw each other every day. Raven should have seen through Chelsea's fake smiles and forced optimism. "You really think it doesn't bother me?" she asked, incredulous. "Rae, it's killing me. Maybe I was selfish for not taking the first minimum-wage job I could find. But I couldn't go from where I was, to a crappy job that would barely cover the bills. I've been holding out for a job I could turn into a second career. So, maybe I should have communicated that better, and I should have told you that the trip to Vegas was for business. But you always snapped at me when I brought it up so..."

"Wait, wait...I'm supposed to believe that you went to Vegas on business? What, you want to resurrect your dance career and become a showgirl?"

Unable to help it, Chelsea rolled her eyes. "See? You didn't even let me finish my sentence, or hear anything else I said." Raven closed her mouth and, with an over-dramatic flourish, indicated for Chelsea to continue. "Thank you," Chelsea retorted. "I went to Vegas for a trade show. I've gone before, remember? When I invented the Shmop, and then for other products I added to the line. I went again this year because I wanted some inspiration. I thought maybe if I was in that atmosphere, a light bulb would go off and I'd come up with the next...light bulb. Needless to say it did not happen."

Raven stayed quiet for a minute, sympathy in her expression. "And here I was, feeling jealous that you once had a Shmop empire. When I was driving around today, I kept wishing I had your...well, your vision. Your ability to see the big picture and know what will work in the long run. I'm too scared to move forward, because I can't see the second step after the first one. What if everything I try, fails? What if I have to accept that I've failed before I've even begun?" She paused, holding back tears and staring at the floor again. "Chels, I'm so scared. All the time. I'm miserable because I'm scared of not being good enough."

Chelsea's reply was to wrap her best friend in a tight hug. They sat on a bench, both crying silently and leaning on each other. "I think we needed this," Chelsea said, trying to make it a joke. "We needed a good cry. Life sucks."

"Yeah, but you know what? Hearing you admit it makes me feel a little better."

"Glad to help." Chelsea paused, overwhelmed with emotion. One thought emerged from thousands pinging around her mind. "You know, Rae...it's too bad I couldn't just sell your clothes. I need a product and you have one."

Raven's startled gasp made Chelsea jump. Looking happier than she'd been in months, Raven leaped to her feet, literally hopping with excitement. "That's it! Oh my God, Chels, that's it! That's what I've been circling around all day! I kept thinking how I wanted your organizational skills. It never occurred to me to ask you for yours!"

"What are you talking about? I can't sell your clothes. They're yours."

"So? We've had sales jobs over the years, and we didn't make any of that stuff ourselves," Raven pointed out. "We could form our own company. I'll focus on design, and you focus on all the marketing and production junk I was never gonna figure out anyway."

Chelsea began to see it. Her first thought went to home shopping networks – she'd sold plenty there and still had contacts. She could also use her contacts to find people who'd create and distribute Raven's designs, once the orders came in. There were ads to run and a website to build...she'd done it all before, so she could do it again. This time would be even better because she'd help her best friend achieve a life-long dream.

"Rae, I believe you've got a business partner."

After wallowing moments earlier, Chelsea jumped up to hug her best friend again. This time they laughed and cried happy tears and promised to work the hardest they'd ever worked in their lives. After they calmed slightly, Raven glanced over at Chelsea. "So...this means you're staying here, right? I mean, uh, it'll be more convenient now that we're going into business together."

Chelsea grinned. "Yeah, looks like I am."

Returning the smile, Raven headed towards the door. "Come on, we better tell the kids you're staying. And we can tell them all about Raven and Chelsea Incorporated."

"Um, about the kids. There's something else." Chelsea took a deep breath before continuing. "Rae, Nia doesn't have a normal cold. She's...she's reading minds."

Raven froze with the smile still on her face, gradually becoming more shocked as the news registered. "I-I'm sorry. Did you just say my non-psychic baby has a psychic cold?"

"Basically."

"But how...I thought that was impossible...what does this mean?" Raven gasped, her eyes widening with a new realization. "So yesterday, when she overheard our fight, she also heard..."

"Yup, she did."

"Oh snap, this isn't good."