Disclaimer: Characters are owned and produced by The Disney Channel, That's So Productions, Brookwell-McNamara Entertainment, Warren-Rinsler Productions, NBC Universal Television and Tailwind Productions. I am just borrowing them for these stories.
Continental Divide
Chapter 5
Small World
With the dawn of light on Friday morning came a morning of trepidation for Claire. She was losing her Raven. No one had said as much to her, but she could feel it. Was she up against something that was too powerful for her to fight? Chelsea had a 14 1/2-year head start on her. She thought this weekend she would witness the completion of her portrait of Raven. She would meet and hang out with Raven's best friend and make a new friend that could give her even more insight into this fascinating woman that she was dating. Little did she know that the arrival of Chelsea in New York would jeopardize her relationship. She had made love to Raven the night before. And while it was intense as usual, it was different. Raven was releasing tension, hurt, despair. Claire was holding on to hope, comforting a broken soul.
Claire awoke early. Neither she nor Raven had class that day. The day was intended to be a sightseeing day for the three of them. The events of last night rendered those plans useless. She decided to go for a walk to gather her thoughts before Raven got up for the day. She decided that she needed to put all her cards on the table and tell Raven how she feels. Claire realized, however, that this thought process was not going to be possible without coffee.
She went to the Starbucks just a few blocks from her building. At 7 in the morning, the line was about 15 people deep. Her plan was going to be to tuck herself in the corner in the big purple chair, watch the people on the street go by and lose herself in though.
Claire made it through the line and managed to get her big purple chair. She began to lose herself in thought when a familiar voice pulled her out of her self-induced fog.
"Farm Girl?" The familiar voice queried.
Claire looked in from the window and focused. "Reese?" Claire jumped out of her chair and threw her hands around the woman. "Oh my God, what are you doing here?"
"I was going to ask you the same question! Mom said you were gonna go to school in Texas! Did you change your mind?" Reese said.
"Yeah, I go to NYU! Sit down! We've got some catching up to do!" Claire temporarily snapped out of her funk.
"You sure you've got time for your me?" Reese said with a playful wounded tone.
"I've always got time for my favorite cousin." Claire said.
Reese sat down. "Yeah, right. So favorite that I haven't heard from you in almost a year. So how are you doing?"
"I'm sorry, Reesey. You know you're my girl."
"You too. That's why you are the only person in the world that calls me 'Reese'. So what have you been up to? And forget school. I want the juicy stuff." Reese said.
"First, how is Aunt Georgia? I haven't talked to her in a while."
"She's fine. I talked to her this morning."
"How about Uncle Jack?" Claire asked. Reese just rolled her eyes. "Okay. Moving on…"
"I want juice, young lady. Now!" Reese was insistent.
"Okay, okay!" Claire exclaimed. "I met someone." Reese started bouncing up and down. "We've been together six months. And we live about five blocks from here."
"Okay so give me the vitals! About 6'2, 220, blond, blue-eyes, cannonballs for biceps?" Reese imagined.
"Try 5'2, 36-24-36, dark hair, hazel-eyes and a rump shaker for a backside." Claire responded.
Reese's eyes grew wide as saucers. "You're shittin' me! You? Oh my god! Aunt Sandy has to be going crazy right now!"
"She doesn't know."
"Well good for you! I'm happy for you! You do what you've got to do!" Reese exclaimed.
"Don't go throwing me a party yet." Claire said, her demeanor growing darker.
"Why? What's wrong?"
"I think I have some competition and it's pretty strong." Claire admitted.
"Well, aren't you glad you ran into me? So tell…" Reese stopped in mid-sentence as she saw a familiar face getting out of line. "Chelsea?" She waved to Chelsea.
Upon hearing that name, Claire snapped her head around toward the barista's station. She looked at her cousin in shock. "You know her?"
"Yeah! I do!"
Chelsea looked in the direction in which her name was called. "Teri? Hey!" Chelsea made her way over to the table.
Claire's mind began racing. What in the fucking hell is this? She is the last person I need to see right now. How the hell does she know my cousin?
Chelsea walked over to the table and embraced Teri. She looked down at a visibly shocked Claire. "Hi Claire. How are you?" Chelsea said in a courteous, antiseptic way.
"I'm fine… Chels, thanks." Claire responded in a similar kind but dispassionate fashion.
Teri looked at her cousin. "How do you two know each other?"
Claire responded quickly. "Chelsea came to town to visit her best friend, who… happens to be my girlfriend." Claire decided at that moment to do a little public claim staking just in case her hunch about Raven's feelings was correct. She wanted to cut Chelsea off at the pass.
"Whoa, wait… a minute…" Teri swiveled her head between Chelsea and Claire. She pointed at Claire. "Your girlfriend is Raven Baxter?" She pointed to Chelsea. "Your best friend Raven Baxter?"
"One in the same." Chelsea said as she smiled the fakest smile she had in her arsenal.
"What a small frickin' world we live in. Huh?" Teri was taken aback by this information.
Teri patted on the loveseat chair for Chelsea to sit down, which she did. Chelsea now had a question. "So now I am at a disadvantage. How do you two know each other?"
Claire answered. "Reese is my cousin on my mother's side. My mother and her mother are sisters."
"Reese?" Chelsea was puzzled by Claire's moniker for Teri.
"Yeah. It's short for Teresa, my given name. She is the only person in the world that calls me that!" Teri said as she playfully swatted at Claire.
"You never mentioned that you cousin went to NYU." Chelsea said to Teri.
"I didn't know she went here. I thought she was in Texas." Teri said, diffusing any possible thoughts of treachery in Chelsea's mind. "So changing the subject, how do you feel this morning?"
"Better. Much better. Thanks again for dinner." Chelsea said.
Dinner? Claire thought. Hmmm. I'll have to remember that.
"Hey, that's what friends are for." Teri said.
"Claire, is Rae home? I wanted to talk to her and apologize for last night." Chelsea said.
"She was asleep when I left. She's probably going to sleep in." Claire decided another claim was in order. "We were up kinda late last night. Maybe you can call her later."
So that's how were going to play it now? Chelsea's thought was interrupted by an incoming text message: Thelma, INY. IAMSS. CWT? 1-4-3. Louise.
Chelsea's heart began to race. It was Raven. That was Raven code that the message came in. The translation for the message is: "Thelma, I need you. I am so sorry. Can we talk? I love you. Louise." Chelsea shot Teri and imperceptible glance that Teri picked up instantly. Chelsea feverishly typed her reply: Washington Sq. Hotel. Waverly. 521 in 60. 1-4-3-2. Thelma. Translation: Washington Square Hotel on Waverly. Room 521 in 1 hour. I love you too. Thelma.
"I'm sorry. I have to go. I just got a 911 text from my mom. I have to call her back. It was good seeing y'all. Teri, I'll call you later." Chelsea got up and hurried made her way to the door. Then Chelsea put a hastily thought of plan in motion. As she made her way to the door she "tripped" spilling the contents of her purse to the floor. As picked them up, she opened her cell phone and blocked her number then as she rose to her feet she placed a call. When she walked out of the restaurant, she put the phone to her ear.
"Hello?"
"It's Chels. Don't let her know it's me. Tell her it's Chris and walk away for privacy."
(in the background) "It's my baby. I'll be right back." Teri walked away from Claire to the other side of Starbucks. "That was her, wasn't it?"
"Yeah it was. Look I need to know, if you need to back off because she's your cousin, I understand. Just let me know now, so I can move on."
"Look, blood is thicker than water, but true love is thicker than blood. I'm on your side. From everything I know, you two are made for each other. Now, what are you going to do?"
"She's meeting me at the hotel in an hour. Any advice?"
"Just talk to her from your heart. Don't hem and haw. Don't bullshit around. Get to the point. Lay out your cards and hope the house folds. And for God's sake, apologize for last night!"
"Ok, I will. Oh, by the way, can I call you Reese?"
"Can I call you Rayne Bow Brite?"
"Teri it is."
"I thought so. Call me with details." Claire makes her way over to her cousin. Teri quickly shifts into lover mode. "I've gotta go sweetie. I'll see you tonight. God I miss you!"
"Forget it. You missed your chance three years ago!" Chelsea said with a smirk, realizing that Claire was nearby.
Teri laughed. "Bye, lover!"
"Bye." Chelsea laughed as she hung up the phone.
Chelsea had a bounce in her step as she headed back to the hotel room. This was it. Come hell or high water, she was going to tell Raven how she feels. There was no turning back. She had to look good for the meeting. She decided that with the combination of what Raven saw and what Raven heard, she was going to make Raven an offer she couldn't refuse.
Meanwhile, back at Starbucks, Claire had just walked up to Teri at the end of the conversation. Teri had just hung up the phone. "I'm sorry Reese, I have to go, but can you walk with me for a minute?"
"Sure." Teri said. They began to walk in the direction of Claire's building. Teri was purposely walking slowly to give Raven a chance to clear out for her meeting with Chelsea.
"You're friends with the enemy!" Claire said in an almost paranoid fashion.
"What are you talking about?" Teri feigned ignorance.
"She is the competition I'm talking about."
"Chelsea? Come on. That's her best friend."
"I don't trust her… I think Raven's in love with her." Claire admitted.
"You do?" Teri said with excitement in her voice that she quickly adjusted to mere astonishment. "Well, what did Raven do to make you think that way?"
"It's the way she reacted to Chelsea leaving after their fight. Her spirit was broken. Like her true love had been lost. I mean it wasn't just like, my best friend is gone. It was like, my reason for living just left me." Claire added. "I don't know if I would have reacted that way if Raven and I had a fight and we're dating. Then after we made love last night, she… just wasn't there mentally. I mean, I want to be with Raven, but I don't want to be a consolation prize because she can't have what she really wants."
"You sound like you are resigning yourself to the possibility that you could lose her."
"I don't want to sound like that but, I'm up against it right now."
"So what are you going to do?" Teri asked.
"Tell Raven how I feel and ask her how she really feels about Chelsea." Claire said. "It's the only way I can know for sure."
"And what if she says that she's in love with Chelsea?"
"It's better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all."
"Tennyson, right?" Teri asked.
"Yeah. Tennyson." Claire said.
"Call me if you need me." Teri offered.
"I'll see you around Reese."
"Hey, you wanna do something tonight? Take your mind off things?"
"I'll call you." Claire said. "Love you." She pulled Teri into a tight hug.
"Love you too, Claire Bear." Teri replied borrowing the nickname from Rachel McAdams character in Wedding Crashers.
Teri continued down the street as she glanced back at her cousin walking in the other direction. Teri stopped and turned to watch her. "I'm sorry, cousin. But Chelsea's all in." She says to herself using a poker metaphor. "She's got the royal straight and you're holding a pair of 3's. I hope you put some chips in your pocket for the next game."
Five chapters are in the books. Chelsea and Raven meet in Chelsea's room next. What will happen? Only one way to find out. Join me for Chapter 6. PLEASE REVIEW.
