Casey was at the pizzeria.
The live show had concluded, the series was on its seasonal hiatus, and as such, Casey needed regular income again, which meant going back to work at the pizzeria, something she didn't exactly mind, at least. Sitting in the back room, half in costume - the dog head on the couch beside her - and smoking a joint, she couldn't believe the experience she'd been allowed to have this year. She also couldn't wait to go back to work, which was a very new feeling for her. Since working for Bea, her drug usage had decreased, though not stopped entirely, and she felt more like a person than she had in years prior. A knock came to the back room door, and she shouted it was unlocked. The door opened and, of all people, Justine entered. Casey furrowed her brow in confusion and sat a bit more upright, coughing as she put out the joint. "Hello," Justine said, smiling, as she entered. "What...what are you doing here?" Casey asked, waving at the smoke with her hand. "...I came to give you something," Justine said, grinning. *** "I can't even begin to overstate how exhausted I am," Bea said, yawning. Bea, Eliza and Michelle were sitting at a small cafe downtown; Eliza and Michelle were sharing some pastries, while Bea simply sipped from her coffee. They were awaiting Liam, but so far he hadn't shown up. Seemed he'd been particularly busy lately. "It's like, every year of this wipes me out a little bit more than the previous," Bea continued, "not that I'm complaining, please don't think I'm complaining, because I'm not. I recognize I'm extremely lucky to get to do what we do, but it's exhausting nonetheless. Especially being in that goddamned costume so much. Thing is heavy." "You could get a stand in," Michelle said, popping another donut hole into her mouth, "ya know, someone to do the physical labor and then you go in and just ADR all the lines." "Not a bad idea, but I hate giving up any kind of control over Beatrice to anyone else," Bea said, and Michelle nodded. She knew Bea would never go for it, but she figured the suggestion couldn't hurt. Michelle checked her watch on her right wrist and shook her head. Bea, setting her mug back down, looked at them and asked, "are you expecting something?" "We're going to finally adopt a dog today," Michelle said, "we just have to wait until a specified time to go to the shelter." "How are you guys gonna adopt a dog if you don't live together? You gonna pass him back and forth like a child in shared custody?" Beatrice asked, smirking, making the girls laugh. "That's...that's a question we've discussed a lot," Michelle said. Eliza got up and excused herself, heading for the bathroom in the back of the cafe. Michelle leaned in over the table and lowered her voice a bit, Beatrice leaning in as well. Michelle said, "I wanna get a place with her, our own place, because frankly I feel like I'm taking advantage of Delores's hospitality and also I think it's the next step in being in a relationship, but...I don't know how she'd feel about leaving her father." "Why are we whispering if she isn't here?" Bea asked, making them both laugh. Michelle leaned back and shrugged, chuckling. "Well," Michelle continued, "that's my predicament anyway. I wanna ask her, I just...getting a pet together is already a big step, but sharing a living space? It might just be too much change all at once for her." "Let me tell you something," Bea said, leaning back in her chair, lifting her mug to her lips and taking a long sip before adding, "In the blink of an eye Eliza lost her mother. In the blink of an eye, I returned and gave her a new job. In the blink of an eye, it seemed you two got together. I know that all of these have a bit of time to them, but I don't think Eliza's the one you're worrying about. She does just fine with change when it isn't negative." Michelle sighed and nodded, chewing on her nails nervously. "I know, you're right, it's me," Michelle said, "I'm scared. I've never...I've never had this before. I've never dated. I've never lived with anyone but my parents and, well, Delores. I guess I just...I don't want to run her off or something." "If you haven't yet, I doubt you will," Bea remarked. Eliza rejoined them and continued eating donuts, while Bea just gave Michelle the most heartwarming smile she'd ever received. Michelle knew Bea was right. She had to do something. Lately all the change had been for the positive, and that was a trend she was deadset on continuing. *** "Your story about your family, your mother in particular, it just...it got me thinking about my own mom," Justine said, "about how unlucky some people are in life to not have any family, or, even worse, to have family who utilize them for their own nefarious purposes." "And you came all the way to this pizzeria to tell me that?" Casey asked. "No, I could've called to do that," Justine said, reaching for her small pleather backpack and opening it, reaching inside, "no, this is more important. After meeting with you and Michelle and your friend, whatsername, Eliza? Whatever. After meeting with you all, I started to think about the various things you all, and myself, have lived through. Nobody in that room was untouched by trauma. I survived a small plane crash, you were sold to older men, Michelle's mother gaslit her for her illness and Eliza lost her mom in a car accident. All of us have momma trauma." "Cute," Casey said, smirking. "So then, I started researching what y'all do," Justine continued, "about the show, about what you guys do and what it is you help make, and I started to watch it. I even went to the live show one night, unbeknownst to any of you. Felt a little weird, admittedly, being a grown woman and sitting in a theater full of children, but when I do my research I am thorough, dammit." "Are you sure you're okay mentally from that plane crash?" Casey asked, making Justine laugh loudly as she pulled out a wrapped package from the backpack and set it in her lap. "More than okay! And more than more than okay after what you girls did for me," Justine said, "why is why I did something for you. Not the rest of them, just you." That got Casey's attention. She pulled her legs up on the couch and, best she could in the costume, sat cross legged. "What...what did you do?" Casey asked. "I made you a book," Justine replied. *** Michelle and Eliza had left for the shelter, leaving Beatrice alone with her thoughts. It had been a weird season. She'd lost her mother, put on a live show, and watched her two closest female friends forge together on a path to a relationship she never would've expected. All in all, for the first time in a while, it felt like she wasn't the lead character in the story of her own life, and that was nice. Bea finished off the last of the pastries the girls left behind and then finished her coffee, exhaling, resting her chin on her fist as she glanced out the window at the overcast sky. Maybe next season she'd let Michelle do more than just set design. Maybe...maybe it was time to bring her into the writers room for good. She could use fresh perspective, and she was slowly getting a little more comfortable giving up control to those she deemed worthy enough of it. Bea heard a chair scoot out from across from her and glanced up, spotting Liam seating himself, resting his cane on the edge of the table. Bea checked her watch. "God, you're so late," she said, "you missed the girls." "Yeah, sorry about that," Liam said, "uh...I had an appointment that I couldn't reschedule." "Everything okay?" Bea asked, and Liam didn't know how to answer that. Beatrice had already experienced so much loss this year, with her mother, how could he dump his problems onto her as well? Still, they were eachothers oldest friends. That was part of the deal, sharing in the pain. But instead, Liam simply smiled and nodded. "Yeah," he said, "nothing I can't handle." *** The car was parked, and Eliza was ready to climb out and head into the shelter, but Michelle grabbed her wrist and pulled her gently back into the car. Eliza shut the door once back inside and looked at Michelle, confused but curious. Michelle exhaled and ran her hands through her hair. "Okay," she said, "um...Bea brought up a good point, about, ya know, having a dog when we live separately. And, uh...and I think I wanna talk about that." "Well, what's to talk about? Aren't we gonna get a place?" Eliza asked, taking Michelle completely by surprise; Eliza smiled at Michelle's widened eyes and added, "obviously we can't share a pet if we don't share a home. That just isn't right. I might be kind of slow, but I'm not stupid." "And you're...you're okay with that? You're comfortable with that?" Michelle asked, "cause...cause I know leaving your dad might be a big deal and...and being in a new situation could be stressful and I just...the last thing I ever wanna do is put stress of any kind on you, or us as a couple, and-" "Michelle," Eliza said, turning to face her now, "neither of us have ever been with someone else before eachother. But...I can't see myself ever beeing with someone other than you, now. I think I could handle living together. It's not like we'd move out of the city. We have jobs here, and I don't wanna leave my dad completely behnd. Except for, you know...intimate stuff...I'm very happy and comfortable with you and I'd be even happier and more comfortable knowing that at the end of each day, we would still be together in person." Michelle wanted to cry. She'd expected this to be so much more difficult. Things throughout her life had been so difficult that difficult had become the norm for her expectations wise. Eliza held Michelle's hand, and Michelle leaned across the seats, kissing Eliza on the lips, the both of them laughing nervously afterwards. Foreheads against one another, Michelle's hand on Eliza's cheek, she smiled. "Let's go get a dog," she said. *** Justine handed the wrapped package across to Casey, who took it, her hands shaking from anxiety. Justine had made her a book? They'd only met once, and she'd made her an entire book? It felt slim. Small. Casey looked from the gift up to Justine, who was brimming with anticipation at the response, and nodding, indicating Casey should open it. Casey exhaled, pulled the giftwrap open, and let the book drop in her lap, her hands over her mouth in shock. It was a childrens book, just like what Justine normally made, but this one... ...this one featured a little girl who looked a lot like Casey as a child. It also featured a dog, as the two sat in a beautiful watercolor painting of meadow flowers. The title simply read "Beatrice & Casey". Casey couldn't contain herself, and she started to cry. Justine got up and came across the room, seating herself on the couch beside Casey and hugging her from the side, stroking her hair. "It's okay," Justine said, "we live through terrible things that make us stronger people. What you endured is something no little girl should ever endure, and when you told me how Beatrice helped you feel safe in that time of your life, during the most vile acts a person can commit on a child...I just knew you deserved to have a childhood worth remembering, even if its fictional." "This is...the nicest thing anyone's ever done for me," Casey said through her tears, trying not to sob uncontrollably, "this is...like...this is amazing. Thank you so much." Casey turned and hugged Justine back, the two girls just laughing and crying together. Even without knowing it, Beatrice was bringing people together. "Listen," Justine said, "I know you're an artist. You shouldn't have to work here. I know it probably feels familiar and safe, but...come work with me. Not FOR me, WITH me. While the show is off the air, we can make books together, we can help other little girls feel safe too. What do you say?" How could Casey turn down an offer like that? She gladly accepted, and turned in her costume scant minutes later. While Casey and Justine headed out to an early dinner to celebrate their newfound business partnership, Eliza and Michelle took their new Dalmation back to Eliza's dads house, where the three of them played with him all afternoon. Beatrice herself, after spending a little time with Liam, went home and found Leslie cleaning, but as soon as she entered the apartment, she told Leslie to pack her bags because they were going on vacation. The last few years had been weird and hard on everyone, and it was time for a break. Liam, however, stayed behind at the cafe, nursing his coffee, just thinking. Thinking about his appointment that day. Hell, about all the appointments he'd had those last few months. He'd been into the doctors office so many times lately, it seemed like. "Even if we'd caught it sooner, it's so aggressive I don't think any kind of therapy would do much of anything," his doctor told him that afternoon, "...are you going to be okay? We have many grief counselors who do wonderful work in helping patients come to terms with these sorts of things." "No, no, I'll be fine," Liam said, waving the doctor away, "I'll be fine, but thank you. I just need a moment to process." "Of course," his doctor replied, before exiting the room, leaving Liam alone in the office. Liam exhaled and thought about his options. He had so much to prepare for. He had to get Beatrice on track with merchandising in a way that would ensure financial longevity, he had to make sure Stephanie would never ever take advantage of Beatrice no matter what, and he had to make sure that Michelle would always be there to keep her grounded. He had a lot of work to do, and only a little under a year to do it. Liam picked up his cane and thought about Marvin, and smiled weakly. At least there was an upside to it, he thought, we'll be together again soon. His thoughts turned back to Bea, to the show, and he chuckled. That's the thing about art, he thought...art made you immortal. Your involvement would ensure you last forever. Even if you only had a handful of months to live.
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Beatrice Beagle follows a young woman obsessed with a defunct pizzeria and kids show featuring a dog mascot. As she uncovers more about its mysterious past, she becomes sucked into the life of the woman who played the mascot, they both discover just how much they need eachother. Archives
April 2024
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