Hands on the steering wheel, the car wasn't moving anymore, since Quinn was parked in the parking lot of the gelato shop. That was so like Shelby, to take her eight-year-old daughter to the most expensive gelato shop in all of New York. But, she supposed there weren't many Dairy Queens near Central Park. She couldn't seem to stop her hands from shaking...in like, ten minutes she and Shelby would be revealing to Beth that her teacher was actually her mother. All morning, Quinn had been ecstatic...but now, she was afraid. What if Beth didn't want to accept this? What if she got angry that she hadn't been told sooner? There were so many ways this could all go wrong. Quinn wasn't quite sure she was ready. But ready or not, she took one last glimpse of herself in the mirror, and exited the car. The picture she had of Puck and her while she was pregnant was weighing down her purse, making it nearly unbearable to carry. She'd brought that picture, as well as Beth's baby picture with her for proof.
Her brown boots clacked down the asphalt, the chill November wind nipping at her fingers and nose. Quinn pulled her beige wrap sweater closer around her torso until she finally entered the ice cream shop. She scanned the room for Shelby and Beth, and soon found them nestled in a corner, Shelby with a nervous smile on her face. She looked up and found Quinn looking at them from the doorway. Quinn watched her gesture to Beth that she had arrived, and Beth turned excitedly, giving a large, animated wave. Quinn couldn't resist waving back before heading up to the counter and ordering a small chocolate cup of gelato. She took in a sweet, savory spoonful as she headed to the table to calm her nerves.
"Ms. Fabray," Shelby greeted her. A bit taken aback by the formality, Quinn hesitantly responded.
"Um...Ms, Corcoran," she replied before sitting in a chair between the two.
The three sat in uncomfortable silence until Beth blurted around a mouthful of strawberry ice cream, "So when am I gonna hear the big news?" Another silence. Shelby's spoon clanked deafeningly on the table when she set it down. She cleared her throat.
"Beth, sweetie, it's taken me...a very long time to come to terms with what we're about to tell you." She began. The only thing running through Quinn's mind was "An eight-year-old doesn't know what 'coming to terms' means". Being an elementary school teacher often restricted one's academic vocabulary down to the basics. Shelby continued, "You know I'm your mom and nothing is going to change that, right?"
Beth's green eyes were anxious and a bit afraid. "Mmhmm." She nodded.
"Beth," Shelby sucked in a breath and reached out to take Beth by the hand, ",eight years ago, I adopted you. About a week after you were born." Quinn's heart raced. She bit her lip anxiously. This was really happening. ",I adopted you from a couple who had you when they were much too young to take care of a baby. The girl - your real mother- loved you so much; she hardly wanted to let you go." Shelby gave a smirk, and Quinn felt her heart flutter. She was actually joking about the crazy antics she'd gotten into her senior year. She had finally earned Shelby's forgiveness. "That girl was Ms. Fabray."
Beth looked between the two of them, her eyes as big as saucers. It was silent for much too long. Quinn had to break it somehow. "I'm your birth mom, Beth." She explained. Hurriedly, she reached into her purse to pull out the pictures. "And remember last night when you were looking at a picture of him?" she pointed to Puck on the 4x7, "He's your birth father. Noah Puckerman." The girl was still taken aback by the news, and chose not to say anything. Quinn tried to study her face, but she simply looked...lost.
Finally, Beth spoke. "You gave me up." She whispered. Quinn was shocked- did she really still believe that?
"No, no. I was very young- not even sixteen. And my parents had just gotten divorced, and I was...." She sucked in a breath, "...really not ready for a baby. I did the right thing by giving you to Shelby." Beth just snatched the picture from her and ran a finger over the two faces. Finally, she was seeing the resemblance. Quinn watched as the girl studied Puck's smile, his bone structure, and saw her own. She looked up with green eyes that matched Quinn's, and Quinn just now noticed that she had Lucy Caboosey's nose. She had no idea why that made her happy. The look of discovery, of knowing...it brought a tear to her eye.
"....Really?' Beth said, barely audible to Quinn's ears. Quinn gave a small chuckle.
"Really." She reassured her. After more silence, Quinn exchanged a glance with Shelby, and then said to the still entranced Beth, "Can I hug you?" Slowly but surely, the girl leaped from her chair and bounded into Quinn's arms. Her strawberry blonde curls fell over her shoulder, and Quinn gave them a stroke. Hot tears fell from her eyes into the Beth's hair.
"I'm so happy it's you." Beth murmured into Quinn's shoulder. Her little arms wrapped around her newfound mother's neck. Quinn couldn't hold it in any longer- she let her face crumple into a sob, just as Beth's had the night before. She was so overjoyed, it was almost unbearable.
"I'm so so glad you turned out the way you did." Quinn sniffled, "You're so smart and talented and everything I hoped you would be." Beth's arms tightened around her neck. Quinn reached a hand out to Shelby, "Your mom did a wonderful job with you." Shelby seemed reluctant to intrude on the moment, but she took Quinn's hand, and held it tight. Quinn felt Beth shimmy down from the seat. As soon as her little boots hit the floor, she gave a beaming smile. There were tears in her eyes, Quinn could see, but her smile never faltered.
Shelby let go of Quinn's hand and gestured for Beth to sit back down, and the girl complied. "Ms. Fabray is a lovely woman, and she's grown up so much since she had you. And I'm finally ready to let her back into your life." Quinn took a napkin from the middle of the table and wiped her eyes. Not only was the truth revealed, but she had regained Shelby's trust.
"Thank you so much." She nodded to Shelby, but the other woman merely gave her a close-lipped smile. Quinn came to realize that Shelby wasn't much for touching moments.
Quinn watched as Beth finished off her ice cream, then raised her spoon to the waitress. "Seconds, please!" she exclaimed, despite Shelby's attempts to quiet her down.
"You know you don't need that much sugar, Bethany Luanne." Shelby warned. But Beth just kept smiling and rocking back and forth in her chair.
"Of course I do, mom. This is a celebration!" she banged her fist on the table in joy. Quinn gave a laugh.
"What are we celebrating?" though, she already knew the gist of the answer.
Beth looked between the two women, her eyes bright and filled with joy. "My two moms."
