Hello there, fellow Sing aficionados!
HUGE apologies for the long wait on this one. I considered adding an epilogue onto Dear Ashlynn with Rachel asking Ash's permission to come watch the variety show. But I decided I could explore more of their relationship in future installments and an epilogue just wasn't needed. Plus I hit a creative block for a period of time, coupled with many busy things going on in my life.
But I hope you all enjoy this next installment!
Steff solemnly gazed out the backseat window, not even blinking at the sparse traffic whizzing past.
Much had transpired over September. The Moon Theatre's first show since reopening had been a smash. Johnny had dazzled with his rendition of All of Me, all the piano notes played correctly this time. Rosita and Gunter blew the audience away with their Venus cover, lively dance moves included. And several attendees found themselves wiping away tears after hearing Meena's angelic vocals on Hallelujah. Ash had even given her mother permission to come watch the show, on the condition that she not sit in the front row. Although they'd reconnected, there were still some large steps to be made for their relationship to fully heal. True to her word, Rachel had settled for a seat in the very back and filmed Ash's performance on her phone, giving her a big thumbs up to boot. Then Steff followed her, wowing everybody as she poured her soul into Angel of the Morning. Her parents cheered her on the whole time. And finally, the entire troupe closed out the show with an explosive version of Any Way You Want It.
The applause from everyone watching shook the theatre, Nana Noodlemoon looking especially pleased from her private box. As soon as the ovation died down, Buster come onstage to announce the Moon Theatre's next production in the winter season: a brand new take on Sleeping Beauty. Many attended the auditions the following week, happy to be either in the main cast or chorus.
Come October 14th, however, Steff had taken a leave of absence from rehearsals. Today was an extremely special one: her Grandma Julie's 80th birthday. Every year, she and her parents collected flower bouquets they'd ordered specially, discussing their favourite memories of Grandma after they did so. Then they'd visit the cemetery with their flowers, lay them on her grave and recap the past year to her.
As much as the skunk had accepted her grandma's passing over the past decade, it still hurt deep down. Especially thinking back to the day when she and her moms found out the terrible news.
The whole ride home, Steff had been excitedly talking nonstop about the fun day at school she'd had. As soon as her ma had parked the car in its usual spot outside Brewtiful, however, she went quiet. Both of their brows furrowed at the CLOSED sign hanging from the door.
"Mama, why's the cafe closed early?" Steff asked curiously.
"I don't know, Steff." The porcupine replied, still staring in confusion as she unfastened her seat belt, Steff following suite. The café had buzzing with customers when Andrea had left to pick up her daughter but now it was totally barren. The two of them quickly got out of the car and made their way inside.
Their eyes widened in alarm; Cassie was seated at one of the tables, phone in hand and tears pouring from her eyes.
"Cassie?" Andrea immediately rushed over to her wife. "Honey, what's the matter?" The skunk didn't say a word, still sobbing with her hand over her mouth. Their daughter cautiously stepped over to the table.
"Mommy?"
"Steff, go upstairs, sweetheart." said Andrea quietly, laying a hand on Cassie's shuddering back. "I'll be right there."
Giving a hesitant nod, Steff obeyed and slowly made her way to the door leading to the stairs, pausing to briefly look over her shoulder. Once she was in the living room, the eight-year-old pulled herself up onto the couch, dropping her backpack beside her and placing her hands on her lap. What could have made her mom so upset?
After ten minutes of waiting, her ears pricked up at the sound of both her parents finally coming upstairs. When they entered the living room, Steff noticed that Andrea now had tears brimming in her eyes too.
"Steff..." Cassie's voice was very hoarse. "Something terrible has happened. It's your grandma, she..."
"Grandma Julie? Is she sick?" Steff asked worriedly.
"No. She..." Cassie paused to stifle another sob. Their daughter was even more puzzled now.
"What?" Taking a shaky breath, Andrea knelt down in front of the couch and laid her hands atop Steff's. Finally she got the words out.
"Grandma Julie died this morning."
Steff's whole body went rigid at those words. She couldn't have heard that correctly.
"Your mom just got a call." The porcupine continued softly, fighting back her tears. "She was coming down the stairs in her home and she... tripped near the top. They think she hit her head."
The young skunk's eyes began to sting as she shook her head. Her breathing gradually became laboured.
"No..."
Cassie held back yet another sob. "I'm so sorry, Steff..."
"No, Grandma Julie's not dead." The eight-year-old interrupted, her hands clenching into tight fists. "She's fine. I saw her last week, she's fine!"
"Steff..."
Before Andrea could finish, Steff leapt off the couch and pounded her fists on her ma's stomach weakly.
"You're lying! Grandma's not dead! Don't say that!" She shouted, her eyes already watering. Running over to Cassie, the young skunk desperately tried to reach for the cellphone in her mom's grasp. "I'll call her right now! She'll pick up! She's not dead! She's not..."
At last, all her denial gave way to the awful reality: her parents would have no reason to lie about something like this. Grandma Julie was gone. She would never see her again. Never hear her soothing voice.
Steff's knees gave out beneath her, collapsing into a tearful heap at her moms' feet. Burying her face into her hands did nothing to silence her agonised wailing. Finally allowing their own tears to fall, Cassie and Andrea both knelt down and gently pulled their daughter into a sorrowful embrace.
A light rapping on the window snapped Steff back to reality. Looking outside, a smile came over her face at the source.
Ash was stood beside the Pearces' car, now parked directly opposite the florist shop. And in her hand was a freshly-made bouquet of bright red roses. Having heard of her girlfriend's family tradition during their high school years, the porcupine had offered to join them this time to pay her own respects. Cassie and Andrea didn't even hesitate in agreeing to it; as far as they were concerned, Ash was part of the family too.
Andrea unfastened her seat belt and stepped out of the car, greeting the teen with a friendly smile and nod before heading inside the shop. Ash then made her way round to the vehicle's other side, opening the door and making herself comfy in the empty backseat. "Hey, guys."
"Hi, rock star." Steff said, leaning across to kiss her girlfriend on the cheek. "Thanks again for joining us today."
Laying her bouquet on her lap, Ash smiled and returned the gesture. "No problem at all."
"How's your GED coming along?" Cassie asked, glancing over her shoulder.
"Yeah, pretty good so far." Ash gave a little nod. "But it's nice to take a little break, come and pay my respects."
The older skunk smiled at her thoughtfulness. At that moment, the car door opened up followed by Andrea clambering back into the passenger seat, her order of three lily bouquets balanced in her arms.
"All set, honey." She said, pulling the door closed with her foot. Starting the engine up again, Cassie pulled the car back onto the road.
"So Steff's told me plenty of fond memories of her grandma." Ash spoke up after a moment's silence. "I take it you guys have lots of your own?"
"Sure do." Andrea replied, smirking playfully in her wife's direction. "My personal favourite was when Cassie finally introduced me to her."
Ash took notice of her girlfriend stifling a laugh. "Do tell."
Releasing a deep groan of resignation, Cassie nodded at her wife as if to say 'get it over with'.
"Okay, so we were around 23 and we'd know each other for, like, a year." Andrea began recapping whilst the skunk blushed under her fur. "Then I confessed that I liked her and we started dating. And as far as we knew, Julie thought we were just great friends. Then a month later, Cassie finally plucked up the courage to come out to her. I remember, Julie was reading a book in the living room and then Cassie strode in all brave and bold, holding my hand. She stood in front of Julie, steeled herself and said 'Mom, Andrea and I are dating. I like girls. I'm a lesbian.' There's this long silence… and finally, Julie just grins and says 'Well, yeah, no kidding.'"
The backseats erupted in laughter as Cassie fought the urge to headbutt the steering wheel. Andrea patted her flustered wife on the shoulder, chuckling softly.
"So she had you pegged right from the start?" Ash asked once her laughter had died down.
"Yeah… I did used to stare at a lot of girls during my high school years." The skunk muttered in embarrassment. "Looking back, I wasn't exactly subtle about it."
"Heh. Runs in the family, I guess." Steff said as her girlfriend glanced across at her with a playful smile.
"Well suffice to say, Ash, Julie was more than happy for us to be dating." Andrea continued, adjusting her glasses. "Even more so when Cassie popped the question a couple years later."
"Which leads into one of my all-time favourite memories." Cassie said, nostalgically gazing at her daughter in the rear view mirror. "When she got to hold Steff for the first time."
The teenage skunk's cheeks burned, though she couldn't fight the smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "Aw, Mom…"
"I'll never forget the look on her face when she came into the hospital room and saw you. When I let her hold you, she had tears shining in her eyes. She shook your hand with her finger and said softly 'I wish Gregg was here to see you.'"
Ash curiously looked over at her girlfriend. "Your grandpa?"
"Yeah." The skunk nodded. "Well, guess it's my turn to share now. There is one memory I haven't told you about, Ash. One that's pretty embarrassing but also… pretty funny."
"Oh?" The porcupine raised an inquisitive eyebrow. Cassie and Andrea gave each other an amused grin as their daughter inhaled deeply.
"I was about four years old when I put two and two together and realised 'hey, scissors cut stuff and hair can be cut!'." She said. "So one afternoon, when Grandma was visiting, I toddled into the bathroom and saw my mom's hairdressing scissors in her tumbler. I was so convinced I could make myself look pretty. I stood up on my tiptoes and just managed to grab them, knocking the tumbler into the sink. Grandma must've heard the noise because she came into the bathroom just as I held my ponytail in my hand, raised the scissors up and… snip."
The porcupine's jaw dropped before she covered her mouth, trying her hardest not to crack up. "You didn't!"
"Yep. I did." Steff chuckled, scratching behind her ear with a sheepish grin. "Grandma took me into the kitchen to show my parents. Mom nearly fainted at the sight. Ma just put her face in her hands and groaned. But Grandma saw some humour in the whole thing, so she told me that she loved my new look. She said it was great I was trying out different styles, and how she went through a 'punk phase' too. The next day at daycare, I couldn't stop telling the other kids how 'cool' my grandma thought I looked."
"It was quite a sight." Cassie snickered. "Sweet little Steff Pearce walking around with a punk haircut. It certainly gave her teacher a shock."
"I honestly can't imagine you without your ponytail." Ash reached over to give her girlfriend's hair a tiny loving flick, making her face heat up. "It's one of the many things I love about you."
"Well, fortunately when it grew back, Steff decided she liked her hair better that way." Andrea added.
"Me too." The porcupine teen replied. "And I gotta say, you guys were so lucky to have her as part of your family. She really seemed like a great woman."
Breathing a happy sigh, Steff delicately traced her finger along the edge of one of the lilies on her lap. "She was."
At last, the car came to a stop outside a pair of large iron gates, the words CALATONIA CEMETERY were moulded into the arch above them. Unfastening their seatbelts, the four of them left the car and pushed open the gate with a loud creak. The cemetery was almost brightly lit, almost empty save for a few people paying respect to their own loved ones. The stone pathway weaved past countless graves as autumn leaves crunched under their feet with every step.
After a couple minutes of trekking, Steff, Cassie, Andrea and Ash finally found it: a lone headstone beneath a beautiful oak tree. The words engraved into its surface read:
In Loving Memory of
JULIE PEARCE
October 14th, 1937 - May 8th, 2007
A song that will live on forever
Steff and Ash watched her moms both kneel before the grave, melancholy smiles upon their faces.
"Hi, Mom." Cassie said gently. "Hope you're sleeping well."
"Quite a lot's happened since we last spoke to you. Mostly to Steff." Andrea added, turning to look at her daughter. "I think it's only fair you hear about it from her." Giving her a nod, the two of them shuffled over slightly to allow the young skunk to kneel down between them, Ash taking a step back to give them some room. Steff honestly didn't know if Grandma could even hear them. But it was a nice thought.
"Hi, Grandma. They're right, it's been a really exciting year." She said, still holding onto her lily bouquet. "A singing contest came to town. At the Moon Theatre you used to tell me stories about. And you remember Ash, that beautiful girl I told you about? She entered too."
A blush came over the porcupine's face at those words.
"It was so amazing to see her again and catch up on things. She really helped me during the contest. Because the truth is..." Steff bit her lip, thinking back to that one disastrous rehearsal. "I took your words completely the wrong way. When I found out about the contest, I saw this as a chance to try and make you, Mom and Ma proud. I thought I had to perform exactly like you onstage to be as amazing as you were. But all I did was end up running myself ragged. And whenever I stumbled, I was terrified of not being good enough. Of letting you and my parents down."
Andrea placed her hand on their daughter's back while Cassie swallowed the lump building in her throat. "It was our fault, Mom. With your tenth anniversary coming up, we couldn't stop going on about how great you used to be. We never meant to put any pressure on Steff but..."
Her voice faltered; all these months later, the guilt over hearing Steff's confession still clung to them. The young skunk gave her moms an understanding smile before turning back to the headstone.
"But Ash encouraged me to open up to my parents." She continued. "And when I did, they told me to embrace what made me unique onstage. And it worked."
"I wish you could've seen Steff, Julie." Andrea said, beaming proudly. "She was spectacular. I have no doubt you would've been as proud as we are."
"Yep, the show was a huge success. On top of that, me and Ash are a couple now." Steff looked back over her shoulder, sending a smile her girlfriend's way. "We're doing gigs together, going on dates and we're even part of the Moon Theatre. And we've got a whole bunch of new friends there too. Mr. Moon, Miss Crawly, Johnny, Meena, Rosita and Gunter. I wish you could meet them, they're the best. We've just done a show and we've got another one coming up in December, our own version of Sleeping Beauty."
She paused before releasing a long sigh. "Life is so incredible right now... even if I still miss you every day. But I promise, I'm gonna keep singing and shining in my own way. I'll keep making you proud."
At last, the Pearces all tenderly placed their bouquets around the base of the headstone and rose to their feet.
"Happy birthday, Grandma." Steff whispered with a sad smile, letting a lone tear trickle down her cheek. After a period of silence, Ash walked up next to them, wiping away a tear of her own.
"Um... do you mind if I say a few words to her?" She asked quietly, still clutching her rose bouquet.
"Not at all, Ash." Cassie gave her a warm smile. "Go right ahead." Nodding gratefully, the porcupine slowly stepped forward and got down on one knee. Clearing her throat, she spoke softly to the headstone.
"Hey there, um, Julie. You don't know me personally but I'm Ash. That… heh, beautiful girl Steff mentioned. And from all the stories she and her moms have told me about you, I can tell you really mean a lot to them. You seem like such a great grandma. And I gotta say... Steff is just amazing. She's been nothing but compassionate and supportive since we first met. I fell into a rough patch for a while and if it weren't for her and our new friends, I never would've found the strength to get myself out of it. And the way she lights up the stage when she performs just blows my mind. It's no surprise she got her singing chops from you."
Giving a small chuckle, her expression then softened. "Everything about her makes me happy. I'm so lucky to have her for a girlfriend. So… thank you for having a hand in raising such an awesome girl. 'Angel' isn't just a cute nickname I call her. She really is one."
Ash looked back to give Steff a loving gaze before gently laying her flowers upon the grave. "And I swear to you, I'll spend every day of the rest of my life giving her the love and care she deserves… just like she's given me."
Getting back on her feet, the porcupine turned around to meet three glistening pairs of eyes meeting hers.
"Oh, Ash..." Steff whispered in a choked-up voice, gently pulling her girlfriend into an embrace. Her moms wasted no time in following suite.
"Julie would have loved you." Cassie said tenderly. A smile coming over her face, Ash returned the hug. After a long while, the four of them finally broke the embrace and made their way back down the stone path to the gates.
"So… you wouldn't happen to have a photo of that punk haircut, would you, Steff?" Ash asked with a mischievous grin, prompting her girlfriend to blush once more.
"Aw, come on."
"What? I'll bet it looks adorable." The porcupine raised her hands defensively, still smirking. "Not to mention cute."
"I'm pretty sure it's in a scrapbook somewhere." Andrea smiled.
"Can I see it someday?"
"Not a chance, Johansson." Steff replied, lightly shoving her shoulder.
"If you also wanna join us for dinner tonight, sure."
"Mom!"
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The movie Sing belongs to Illumination Entertainment. I only own my OC, Steff Pearce.