chapter twenty-eight: beauty and the feast

"Every passing minute is another chance to turn it all around."

~Vanilla Sky

~~~~~~~~~

"Becca," Kelsey muttered, finding yet another pile of clothes stuffed in the corner of the living room.

How did that woman manage to wear so many outfits a day?

Kelsey hauled an armful of clothes into the washing machine and blew her hair out of her face.

"How do I look?" Becca called.

Kelsey stepped into the hallway to find Becca dressed in leopard tights, a bright pink blouse, and black heels.

"Oh, wait," she said, opening the utility closet where she kept her clothes and pulling out a stylish black trench coat.

After she pulled it on, Kelsey said, "Well, that tones it down a bit. It's a little hot outside for a coat, though, isn't it?"

"It makes me look more professional."

Kelsey nodded. "Okay, then."

Becca hauled in a breath. "Alright! I'll be in my own home in no time! Those realtors won't get the best of me."

Kelsey placed her hands on Becca's shoulders. "Remember what we talked about?"

Becca nodded. "They're gonna try to make me spend a ton of money, but I need a home, not a house."

"There ya go. No more glass walls or strobe lights or pools in the shape of California."

Becca bit her lip. "A smaller pool in the shape of California?"

Kelsey rolled her eyes and laughed as Becca made her way out the door. "Just stand your ground. Today you're Becca the Businesswoman."

"Yes, ma'am!"

With that, the door slammed behind her.

Kelsey shook her head and put some detergent in the washing machine.

She turned up her music and continued dusting and mopping. It was amazing how much dirtier the house got when Becca was around. She was probably used to a maid.

Kelsey thought of Sandy and wondered what she was up to these days.

She was listening to a Disney song that came across her station when a knock sounded on the door.

Kelsey propped her mop up against the couch and stepped over the wet spots to open the door.

Ethan stood there with his hands clasped behind his back and a carefree grin on his face.

"Hey," he said.

Kelsey laughed. "Hey. What're you doing here?"

"I got bored."

"Well come on in, I have just the thing to entertain you."

He stepped inside. "Really?"

Kelsey handed him the mop. "Oh yeah."

He rolled his eyes. "You're the worst."

"Too bad, you're stuck with me now," she replied.

He sighed. "Okay, fine."

Ethan scrubbed the floor as Kelsey picked up her duster again.

"Beauty and the Beast" came on the radio and Kelsey heard Ethan's soft humming as he methodically ran the mop over each tile on the floor. Soon his hum turned into a note or two, then he began to sing.

Kelsey smiled, but pretended not to notice.

He was good, but not in a pop-star way. She could hear his voice being projected from a stage somewhere, lights beating down on a lively ensemble as an orchestra played in the pit.

As the chorus came, Ethan twirled the mop before extending his hand towards Kelsey.

"No way," Kelsey laughed, but took his hand anyway.

He twirled her around until she was dizzy (she knew he did it on purpose), and sang to her in a lovey voice, making her cringe.

"Oh my gosh, stop!" she cried as he dipped her dramatically.

"Girls love being sung to!" Ethan refuted.

"Not this one—" Kelsey was hurled to her feet again.

Ethan drew her close to him as he sang the last line in a ridiculously high voice before giving her a kiss on the cheek.

"You're such a moron," Kelsey complained, though her face was warm.

Her eyes settled on him and she smiled. "Hey, you're really good, you know."

Ethan stepped away and shrugged.

"I mean it," Kelsey said. "How long has it been since you've sung?"

"Every night in the shower," he replied lightly, taking the mop again.

Kelsey bit her lip before drawing in a breath. "Why don't you go back to theater?"

Ethan looked up at her and blinked. "Because I'm an actor now?"

"But you hate it," Kelsey blurted. "Don't you?"

Ethan tilted his head to the side. "What makes you think that?"

"Every time you talk about acting and stuff, it's never positive. You hate the paparazzi, you've never had anything good to say about the movies you've been in. When we first met on the plane, you said I must've had a crazy reason to even go to L.A., and you said you don't have a choice about what movies you play in." Her words came out in a rush, as if a dam had been broken in her mind and was now unleashing all the thoughts she'd stored up for so long.

"I've never seen someone so in love with theater," she said. "The way your eyes light up, and you smile, and talk like it's the best thing ever. It's the total opposite of the way you talk about acting."

Ethan's face clouded over and he glanced away. "I've told you, Kelsey. I'm in too deep. This is my career now, this is my life, and I can't change it."

"But you can!" Kelsey cried.

"No, I can't," Ethan replied firmly. "I can't just get up and leave. I have obligations; people count on me to be in these movies. You act like my job is just a hobby, but it's not."

"Ethan, that's not—"

"Can we just not talk about it?"

Kelsey closed her mouth and sighed. "Yeah. Sure."

She picked up her duster again and finished up the living room before moving to the kitchen, where her cookbooks stacked on top of the cupboards kept gathering dust at a frightening speed.

She understood that what Ethan did was important. But the difference between his job and anyone else's job was that he could be more flexible. He could do what he really loved, if he wasn't so stubborn.

She was putting away the vacuum when Ethan peeked into the hallway. "Hey, guess what?"

"What?"

"My sister's coming next weekend."

Kelsey straightened and gaped at him. "Seriously?!"

He raised his eyebrows. "Is that okay?"

A smile lit up Kelsey's face. "My brother's coming next weekend too! I forgot to tell you."

"No way," Ethan laughed. "That'll be fun."

"I'll try to keep Jacob on a leash so he doesn't scare either one of you."

Ethan nodded. "Yeah, Carissa is like me but ten times worse."

"Oh dear," Kelsey sighed. "After parenting Becca for two weeks, I feel like I should make a young adult daycare."

"Oh, you're complaining about Becca now," Ethan replied, "I've had to deal with her for six years."

Kelsey moved past him and tapped his nose. "She wasn't in your house creating enough laundry to clothe the entire state of California."

Kelsey went into her room and brushed through her tangle of hair.

"Hey, how does ice cream sound?" Ethan called.

"Twisty Treat?"

"Of course."

"You, sir, have a date."

~~~~~~~

Kelsey pulled out a small tray of chicken and inhaled the scent of white wine and rosemary before making polenta to go with it.

She added chicken stock to a pot and strained the drippings from her pan into the mixture, adding a little balsamic vinegar to make a sauce.

The kitchen smelled like herbs and roasted chicken and every good thing Kelsey could think of.

She was surprised at the prick of sadness she felt at saying goodbye to Becca, who had found a house in Beverly Hills during her first day of shopping.

Becca was the wildest, most frustrating, most outrageous person Kelsey had ever met, but she was also the most surprising friend Kelsey had ever made.

The front door banged open and Becca yelped for help.

Kelsey came out of the kitchen and stopped short. "What the—"

Becca was stuck in the doorway, trying to push a giant cardboard box through.

"Surprise!" Becca panted. "A little help?"

Kelsey blinked before making her way over and wiggling the box free and helping Becca around it. "Is this for me?"

"Yeah!" Becca said.

Kelsey surveyed the box curiously. "What is it?"

"It's an oven!" Becca replied excitedly.

Kelsey's words caught in her mouth as she looked up at Becca. "An oven?"

"Uh-huh!"

"That's really sweet of you, Becca, but I already have an oven, remember?"

Becca scoffed dramatically and leaned against the box. "Puh-lease! That old thing? Shut up," she rapped her knuckles on the cardboard, "I asked the lady at the store and she said this oven is perfect for everything. I can't remember all the stuff it does, but lemme tell ya, it's better than what you've got, honey."

Kelsey laughed. "Well thank you. I'll definitely use it."

"It's for all you've done," Becca said, not meeting Kelsey's gaze. "And kind of an apology. For the party and stuff."

Kelsey smiled and hugged her. "I have a special dinner ready for you, if you're hungry?"

"Girl, I'm S-T-A-R-V-I-N-G! You know where I've been all day? At the hardware store! You should've seen the people there. It's, like, either single moms screaming at their kids, or, like, super old men who probably drive a truck and drink grease for breakfast."

"The outside world is a scary place, isn't it?"

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Hey everyone! Hope you enjoyed this chapter!

~Do you lean towards Kelsey or Ethan's opinion on Ethan's acting career?

~Are you sad that Becca's leaving Kelsey's house? XD

~ General thoughts?

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