After returning to the Neutronium Records office, Nora's attitude was strictly professional. She and Tori read through the last of the legal contracts, with no implicit teasing or jabs that Tori could hear. Once she signed the last form, Nora gathered them all in a large folder labeled with Tori's name and stowed it in her bag.
"Thank you for your time, Ms. Vega," Nora said plainly, getting up and slinging the bag over her shoulder, "We'll see you tomorrow."
Tori raised her hand, wanting to say something, but when she glanced up at Nora, she was holding her finger up to her lips—expression unchanged—to remind her that they weren't alone anymore. Resigned, she settled back down in her seat, but unprepared to hear Nora whisper in her ear.
"When Jade's ready to talk, this is where she can find me."
A business card fell in front of Tori with Nora's name and contact information on the front. Turning it over, she saw the name and address for a high-end hotel. Before she could reply, Nora was already out of the office without a word.
Settled back in her car, Tori collected her thoughts; from Nora's casual façade that morning fading into her true colors at lunchtime. She was mentally debating how to break it all to Jade-which prompted her to check her phone again; showing the message was still in digital limbo. She groaned, frustrated that a dead zone could suspend a message sent literal hours ago, and started her drive back to the Weston Theater.
It didn't take long to spot Jade standing almost exactly where she was dropped off that morning. Tori did her best to put on a smile as Jade slid into the passenger's seat, but as they turned to face each other, it was clear that Jade was trying to wear a smile as well.
"So..." Tori bit her lip, reaching for Jade's hand and deciding not to break the news right away, "Good first day?"
"I was just about to ask you," Jade took her hand, rubbing it with her thumb.
"My day's gonna take a while to explain," Tori swallowed hard, "But first thing's first, your—" The sound of knocking on her window cut her off. She turned toward it and was suddenly met with a familiar, elderly face pressed almost right against the glass. With a shriek, Tori jumped back into Jade's arms, apparently opened in anticipation and her eyes narrowed to better see the familiar face.
"Hello, Tori!" Erwin Sikowitz waved excitedly from outside, "What a small world, eh?"
Her eyes now wide in disbelief, Tori looked up at Jade, who looked back down, saying through her grin, "Surprise?"
"Sikowitz!" Tori rolled down her window after settling back in her seat, "What are you doing here?!"
Their former teacher chuckled as he crossed his arms, "After you two graduated, I was starting to think it was time I made a change, and when Jade had asked me for a reference at my old theater a few weeks ago, I thought 'Why not come back here?' So I did!"
"So now I'm shadowing Sikowitz," Jade added, "As he directs the local talent and teaches acting exercises, just like the good ol' days!" Tori could tell she was saying that with half-baked enthusiasm while Sikowitz's enthusiasm was full-on coconuts.
"I'd love to stay and catch up, but I hear the coconuts a-calling inside!" Sikowitz waved ta-ta, but not before leaning over the window, "And congrats, by the way! I was always rootin' for you two~" With a wink, he dashed back up the steps to the theater's entrance.
Now alone together in the car, Jade sighed heavily and sunk back into her seat. Tori faced her with concern, "You okay?"
"I'm fine," Jade grunted, "Since Sikowitz is here, I passed the interview easily. I just wasn't expecting my first day of work to be so much like our old classes. I just don't know if I can handle another blindside like that today..."
"Oh," Tori gulped, "Well, then you might not like how my first day went..."
Before Jade could ask why, her phone finally pinged aloud. She picked it out of her pocket and stared at the notification like her phone was about to explode. "My mother's here?!"
Tori could only paint the same smile on her face as Jade and shrug, "Surprise?"
Tori used the drive back to their apartment to explain everything from Jade's mom suddenly appearing as Mason Thornesmith's lawyer to their lunchtime heart-to-heart. As she parked back in their space, Jade was rubbing her temples, trying to absorb it all without exploding with rage like she usually would.
"I...I just can't believe she'd do that!" Jade fumed, "First, she doesn't let me explain myself in our call, then she comes all the way here; blindsiding you...blindsiding us like that?! Who does she think she is?!"
"Well...maybe us?" Tori sighed, "We kind of did that to her, remember?"
"That doesn't excuse what she did!" Jade retorted, "With her here—not to mention at your job—she's gonna be all over us; trying to take control of things like she always has!"
"Jade, hold on," Tori placed a calming hand on Jade's arm, "Didn't you tell me that you two were getting along now? I think all she wants to do is understand all this; just like we do." She fished for the business card in her purse, handing it to Jade when she found it. "She said when you're ready to talk, you can find her at that hotel."
Jade took several deep breaths, holding the business card tightly and leaning against Tori to keep her calm. "What am I gonna say to her? I can't decide if I want to apologize or scream at her first. God! This so messed up!" She couldn't hold back her tears, and Tori immediately wrapped her arms around her, letting her girlfriend cry as much as she needed. Though not as loudly, Tori found herself crying into Jade's shoulder, biting her lip to hide her sobs. It was then that she realized that the consequences for their sudden plan together were just now coming to pass.
The couple spent the next hours in the apartment in near total silence. Instead of practicing a song on the piano, Tori was wiping down the kitchen counter to prepare dinner. Instead of playing another video game, Jade was in her room since coming back, showing no clear indication of coming out. After her vegetable stir-fry was finished cooking, Tori shut off the burner and saw the time on the microwave: 7:30 pm. Dinner was the last thing on her mind, however, as she went over to Jade's door and knocked on it softly.
"Jade?" Tori spoke up, clearing her throat after the hours of silence, "Dinner's ready...if you want it." She waited for several seconds, hearing only the faint sound of Jade's footsteps.
The door slowly opened as Jade stepped out in a fresh change of clothes and her makeup reapplied. She glanced at the kitchen with a frown, then turned to Tori to give her a short kiss on the cheek. "Thanks for dinner, Tori...but I don't want to eat yet."
Tori placed a hand on the cheek Jade kissed and nodded, knowing exactly what Jade was thinking, "We're doing it together this time, okay? Whatever happens, I'll be with you the whole way. Ride or die."
Jade's face lit up as she nodded back, giving a short smile and taking Tori's hand. She opened her mouth to say something, but decided against it, wanting to save any words for after the trial ahead of her.
The night sky was settling over Miami as streetlights and the many establishments of the commercial district were illuminating the city, giving Tori a clear path to the hotel Nora was staying in. Once parked, she and Jade nodded to each other silently and walked inside together, searching for the room number written on the business card. They found the room quickly and Jade took a deep breath before knocking firmly on the door three times.
The door opened promptly with Nora looking very surprised at Tori and Jade. The surprised gaze was reciprocated by the couple as they saw her dressed in a modest-fitting black robe. "Tori! Jade!" Nora cleared her throat and retreated behind the door slightly, "I didn't think you'd want to talk...so soon. I wish you'd called first."
Jade shook off the initial surprise and stepped in front of Tori, facing her mom directly, "Well, when you come to Miami a day after our 'talk' and ambush my girlfriend at her workplace, there's an implied sense of urgency to talk about it!" Jade wanted to say more, vent more, but when she noticed her mother's expression was anything but confrontational, she backed down and resigned against the open doorway, "I'm ready to talk if you are."
"Y-Yes! Of course," Nora nodded quickly, glancing beside Tori and Jade before stepping back and taking the door in her hand, "Could you just...give me a minute to get decent?" Tori gently tugged Jade back by her shirt and she backed away from the door to let her mother close it temporarily.
They stood patiently for a solid minute before the door opened again, with Nora dressed in black sleepwear pants and a long-sleeved Stanford University shirt. She waved to usher them both inside and sat across from them on the two large beds in the hotel room. Nora sat up straight, trying to look professional despite her otherwise casual appearance, but her eyes constantly glanced back and forth between the two girls, wondering who was going to speak first.
"Okay!" Tori spoke up, lifting the tension, "Obviously, the last time you two spoke didn't end so well, so now you have a chance to pick up where you left off..." The silence falling over them again, Tori subtly shuffled off to the side while Jade and Nora stared straight at each other paying no mind to her.
"I honestly don't have much to say myself," Nora shook her head, "From what I've gathered this morning, your reason for being here was purely impulsive and now you're paying the price for it."
Jade contained whatever anger was rising in her from that remark and carefully replied, "It's no secret that our decision to move in together wasn't very thought out very well; Tori and I have made peace with that. But I was fully prepared to explain this all to you back at that call, so why come here to Miami? You didn't want to risk the Wi-Fi cutting off during our online heart-to-heart?"
"I'm here..." Nora sat up straighter, her tone even and braced for the response, "Because I'm still not convinced that you're ready for this; either of you."
Tori looked aside, clearly affected by the blunt answer, and tried not to rebut out of respect.
Jade's eyes narrowed, but she also kept quiet, implicitly allowing her mother to continue saying her peace.
"Jade, I told Tori that I was so happy you and I were speaking again, and still wish we'd done so sooner and that I could be happier that you want to be with someone you clearly love and care for. But this is all happening so soon—too soon for me, and maybe you don't yet realize how sudden the choice you made is. Will working at an old, rundown theater really help you afford rent on that apartment you live in, even with Tori's parents helping? Have you thought about what you'll do in a year, next month, how about next week? There are kids who still live with their families after graduating high school, even college, and there's no shame in that! I was prepared to let you stay with me for as long as you needed, Jade. Was there something I said or did that made you not want to live with me anymore?"
Jade bit her lip, remembering when she asked that before, sparking the emotional outrage that cut off that call. Trying to resist those emotions again, she shook her head, "No, nothing like that. I was happy to be making amends with you, too. I told you that I've been wanting to change...stop being that bit...gank that would yell at everyone when things didn't go my way. If I was still like that, I could understand you not trusting me to leave the house, much less leave the state. But when you and I started making amends, and when I told Tori how I felt about her and she returned my feelings, I knew I was ready to start growing up; growing past the girl I used to be. I know my life is going to be harder out here, it was sure to be harder in LA, too, but I'm prepared to work my butt off-either in that old theater or wherever I go from there-to make my place in the world; to be someone I can be proud of..." she turned to Tori, "that she can be proud of..." and then turned back to Nora, "and that you can be proud of, Mom."
Nora reached over and took her daughter's hand, standing up and pulling her up with her. "You may not believe me when I say this, but I've always been proud of you, Jade. Even when you were this 'gank' in school, I would hear about how you always strived for perfection, to make every performance you did nothing short of a masterpiece, how you were a force of nature that no one could stop. Your passion is unparalleled, Jade, and that is something about you that should never change; and I'm willing to bet that it's what she loves most about you." She tilted her head toward Tori, who was still burying her red, tear-stained face in her hands, bringing out a laugh in both Nora and Jade.
"I'm not gonna ask if you trust me now, Mom," Jade shrugged, "But I also know you won't just be here in Miami for a day, so I'm going to prove it to you for as long as you're here. I'll prove that my passion will see me through; that I can be happy and successful here...with Tori by my side."
Nora's hand went up to cup Jade's cheek as she smiled, "That's all I want from you..." She then pulled Jade into a loving hug, which was returned by her daughter...and by her daughter's girlfriend...very tightly.
Jade struggled to move her arm out of the very constricting embrace, "Tori...can't...move!"
Tori blinked and quickly released the mother and daughter, embarrassed by the sudden fit of passion. She went back to wiping her eyes free of tears while smiling at both Nora and Jade.
Jade cleared her throat before bringing up one more concern, "Just...one thing, Mom. When I told you I was dating Tori, you sounded upset. Did you not approve because...?"
Nora looked confused until she realized the whole question, "Oh! Oh, no! It's not that at all, dear! I was just...surprised! You know, because you were dating Beck for so long before and I'd never seen you interested in a girl—a woman—before! But I'm not against that at all! I mean..." She was interrupted by a sudden knock on her door.
Tori leapt from her seat on the bed, "Oh, I'll get it! Did you order room service or something?" She was already at the door before Nora could interject.
"Wait! Tori, don't—"
The door had already opened to an attractive-looking woman about Nora's age with jet black hair running down her shoulders, wearing a stunning red-orange dress, looking at Tori with a familiar shade of surprise. "Oh! I'm sorry! I must have the wrong room! I'm looking for Nora West...?"
"I'm here, Piper!" Nora called out from the room, dashing between her and Tori with a mad blush streaked across her face. "Um, Jade, Tori, I think it's time for you two to head home now..."
Tori kept exchanging looks between Nora and this Piper while Jade got the idea immediately and grabbed her girlfriend by the arm, giving the room back to her mother without a word. Once outside in the hall, Tori pulled herself free and looked back at the now-closed door to Nora's room. "Wait, wasn't she about to finish answering your...?"
"Um..." Jade coughed, hiding a blush of her own, "I think I got the answer loud and clear, Tori. We can go home now." She didn't wait for Tori to get the clue, as she grabbed her hand again and sped back to the parking lot, not wanting to stay by her mother's room any longer.
Once back in the car, Jade buried her face in her hands while Tori sat in silence, taking in the conversation they all shared. "So, that went a lot better, I think."
Jade simply nodded, "Yeah...thanks for being there for me, Tori. I'm sure this won't be the end of it, though. We really need to start proving ourselves, not just to your parents, but mine, too."
Tori nodded firmly in agreement, "I know, but at least we have one major concern out of the way, right? Tomorrow will be its own challenge, but I have faith in us...and especially in you, now."
Jade chuckled and shook her head, "Just drive us home before you come up with more cheesy stuff like that, okay? I'm starting to get hungry and your veggie stir-fry's probably getting cold."
"Alright, alright!" Tori smiled and started the car, turning back to the road home. As if a lightbulb went off in her head, Tori came to a sudden realization. "Oh! That woman and your mom are—"
"Do not finish that sentence!" Jade yelled, covering her ears as her face was turning beet red. "I want to be able to sleep tonight!"
Tori just chuckled at the irony as she continued to drive them back home.