Page 3 of Now or Never

“Do you not want me moving in anymore?” Jae asked after a beat of silence. “Because I already got used to the idea of seeing you and Ben every day. And I’m not gonna lie, knowing I’ll be toiling away at my soul-sucking job in amansionis the only thing keeping me employed. That and knowing we can work on our film each night.”

Chelsea kept chewing her lip, wondering how to say what she’d been wanting to say ever since she got her first property tax bill.

“I guess it will take some adjusting,” Jae continued. “Living in a little town. I’ll have to get a car eventually and—”

“I can’t make our film.”

It was as if someone had yelled “Cut!” All the action screeched to a halt as Jae’s mouth formed what looked like ten different words before a syllable came out.

“You can’t—”

“Got it!” Ben shouted from the porch, stuffing his helmet onto his head and attempting to buckle it up. “Wanna see me ride?”

Jae blinked a few times before forcing her mouth closed and slapping a fake smile on her face. She stabbed Chelsea with a glare before covering it and turning to the porch. “Sure, Benny. Let’s see.”

Chelsea deflated as Jae gently fastened the strap under Ben’s chin. She knew this wasn’t over. Jae had simply tabled it for later when Ben would be asleep and wouldn’t be able to hear them fight.

They both knew that Chelsea pulling the plug on the screenplay they’d written together wouldn’t go over without a knock-down, drag-out fight. They’d rewritten that script countless times, cried over it, dreamed about filming one day. It had consumed the last few years of their lives.

But Chelsea knew she couldn’t go on like that. She needed to be practical. And nothing—not even Jae—could change her mind.

She’d set her sights on the light at the end of the tunnel, and she was moving toward it, come hell or high water.

Chelsea tiptoed through Ben’s dark room to the rhythmic sound of his deep breathing. He had always been a good sleeper, but now that they were in a new home, and there was a huge distance between his room and the living area, he needed the assurance of his mom sitting in the rocking chair while he slipped off to dreamland.

Chelsea didn’t mind sitting with him. In fact, it was her favourite time of the day. Almost meditative. She went into the adjacent room, grabbed two pairs of black yoga pants and the sewing kit off her bed, then went down the stairs.

Halfway to the kitchen, the heavenly smell of chocolate brownies filled the air. She closed her eyes and inhaled. They smelled so good.

She rounded the corner into the kitchen and dropped her pants and sewing kit onto the oak kitchen table, just as Jae was pulling a pan of brownies from the oven.

“You moving in here is the best thing that’s happened to me since having Ben.”

Jae placed the glass dish on a trivet on the counter, then ripped off her oven mitts and slapped them down in the drawer. She slowly turned, taking her time before making eye contact with a glare. “Don’t be so sure.”

Chelsea winced. “Jae—”

“Look, I know things are tight—”

“Thingsweretight. Now they’re strangling.”

A knock on the door sounded through the room, and Chelsea turned on her heel toward it. “Sorry,” she said, already walking away from the fight. “That’s Natalie.”

She knew it would only buy her a few minutes, but she’d take any lifeline offered at this point. She and Jae had dreamed of making their film together for nearly six years. Walking away from it killed her, but it wasn’t enough to have a dream and a banger script. The timing had to be right, too.

Chelsea swung the door open to find Natalie standing on the porch, a bottle of red in one hand and white in the other.

“I brought wine!” she said with a dazzling smile.

Chelsea smiled back. “Then, please, come on in.”

Natalie pulled her into a brief hug as she walked in and toed off her sneakers. “Love what you’ve done with the place,” she said.

Chelsea laughed. She had done little, other than move in her sparse IKEA furniture and hang her vintage movie poster collection on the walls. Ben’s toys, coats, and shoes had taken over everything else.

“It looks better,” Natalie said. “Like a home.”

They exchanged a smile, then walked to the kitchen.

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