Get Yourself Up To Date with #CHADandBECKY #andamanda

Because I'm too lazy to organize shit, from time to time I'll compile the #chadandbecky random snippets in blog form so you have reference.  So, below is the "Recap 2"  -- For the first Recap (and how it all began), click HERE.

Chad was startled. He knew he had recognized the hat. He had seen it hundreds of times. At first he couldn't register how or why it was on the floor of their hotel room, but now he was slowly starting to piece things together in his head.


Chad was greeted with a, "Hey bro! You surprised to see me?" before the hat was scooped up and placed on its rightful owner's long locks.

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Blog post ---  WHOSE HAT IS IT?

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Becky walked up behind Chad, playfully grabbing him, something she hadn't done in weeks. His focus broken from the silent water, he accepted the beer she was pointing toward him. She really was beautiful when she wasn't condescending him for this or for that.


"You were surprised, weren't you?!" She chided, with a pleased look on her face. 


He was. He pleasantly was, and that had made everything feel just a tinge more difficult all of a sudden.

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Becky knew she was manipulative. From an early age she learned it was easy to get her way. Her parents, in an effort to make up for the amount of hours they put in at the office, had a hard time telling her no, and she knew that. She was used to getting what she wanted. As an adult she knew she should be more flexible, but her established habit of pouting and guilt-tripping to get her way was something she had no intention of breaking.


She had known Chad for years and couldn't help but take advantage of his kindness. It's not that she didn't care for him in one way or another, but she was also greatly benefitted by his generous and loyal nature. He always saw the best in people. He never doubted them or their motives. He never once questioned why she always invited his sister to hang out with them. Why she was never in the mood for romantic dates for just the two of them. A small part of her felt bad about using him to get closer to Samantha, but another part of her was annoyed at him for his inability to detect her indifference most of the time. Even if she had the worst of attitudes, he somehow managed to overlook it while she was secretly hoping he'd just break things off so she could pursue who she really had feelings for. 


They had almost been caught earlier today. It was stupid of Sam to swing by before Chad's party; stupid but thrilling at the same time. Becky wondered how much longer she could refrain on acting before it became a full fledged affair. She knew Sam wanted her to end things first, there was no need to make things messy, but Becky  liked the secret they were keeping. It was a certain kind of adrenaline and excitement that had been missing from her life lately.


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The party had been a nice distraction from Becky's constant sharpness but the lightness of the night wouldn't last for long, with Becky's attitude back in all its glory the next morning. Chad couldn't figure it out. It was like, no matter what he did, she was always displeased, always searching for something to belittle him about.


He supposed that in reflecting, she always did have a somewhat selfish personality but it was less grating when their relationship was platonic. He honestly didn't know why they decided to date. Why they were still dating. Neither of them were happy at least as far as he could tell. 


Becky wanted to do a day of shopping and Chad was relieved to see her go. At least when she was shopping she was nice. He hoped she would come home with something to keep her sourness at bay, even if only temporarily. Chad decided to walk down by the row of shops he visited the other day. It couldn't hurt to causally pass by the barber shop. It could be completely harmless, just part of his walk.

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The beginning.


Chapter One- Nan


“Hi. Hiiiiiiiiii. Hi. Helllllo. Wake up. Wake up. Upppppp.”


Amanda opened one eye just enough to make out the fuzzy numbers plastered across her clock: 5:21. This is why she hasn’t set an alarm in three years. Who needs an alarm clock when you have a three year old and an eight year old? 


“I’m up Mandy. I’ll get her,” Amanda could hear Nan’s shuffled feet as she moved quickly to scoop up Addy before she woke up Meredith. Amanda shut her eyes. Five more minutes. It’s not Nan’s job. 


“Oooofff,” she gasped seconds later. Meredith had jumped on top of her. Guess that’s that, she thought to herself as she opened her eyes and bear-hugged her oldest. Their space was tight but the relief of a roof over their heads and a loving Nan was far more valuable to Amanda than big houses and fancy cars. She should know better than anyone else, after all. 


When they first moved in with her Grandma, Nan had insisted that she move out of her room and up into the loft so that Amanda and the girls could have the two bedrooms on the first floor of the one and a half story bungalow, but Amanda wouldn’t allow it. Nan was already doing so much for them, she couldn’t bear to have her Nan uprooting her whole life. Besides, the loft area was a good size for her and Meredith. With so much instability during the last year, this would be a good time for her and Meredith to have something special, and it seemed to do the trick. Mer had perked up almost immediately when she found out they were going to get “the triangle room!” It wasn’t exactly a triangle shape, but Amanda admired her daughter’s enthusiasm for the unconventional angled ceilings.


They rolled out of bed and raced each other downstairs. Well, Mer raced while Amanda attempted to rub the sleep from her eyes and body. As she made her way down the aged stairs, she could smell the coffee. Nan had a habit of being up at 5am every morning. A routine she had established when Amanda’s Papa was alive. Even after his passing Nan couldn’t sleep in. Amanda was quietly grateful for the extra help in the mornings but had noticed that Nan’s energy was not what it used to be.


What amazed Amanda most about her Nan was the vigor with which she still lived. Nan was 73 and yet she still went into her barber shop six days a week, sometimes seven for a special customer. Nan’s barber shop sat on the corner of a street filled with boutique style store fronts. She had a niche business – mostly older women with regular hair appointments calling for cans of hairspray and coifs that would remain set for a week.


Amanda poured herself a cup of coffee, reveling in the moment of little feet pitter pattering and Nan pulling out the box of pancake mix. Even though it had been six months since the first night of the rest of their lives, Amanda still couldn’t get used to someone else doing anything for her, let alone brewing coffee. When she first married Greg, it had been fun to play housewife. She loved the feeling of running her own home. The satisfaction of making things perfect for guests to arrive to, having the freedom to cook whatever she wanted; these were amazing things. Blinding things. Sometimes the thought of having already lived what she viewed as a third of her life was suffocating. To start over was daunting and scary and lonely. But more than anything else, it meant failure. 


What bothered Amanda more than anything was the nagging she did to herself. She was smarter than this. She should have seen the signs. She imagined that many women had this same conversation with themselves in a tug of war they’d never win. She had read a lot in the final months and she had worked to remind herself that it had nothing to do with smarts and everything to do with vulnerabilities.


She snapped back from her thoughts and watched the girls as they spilled Bisquick on the counter while they attempted to measure 2 cups’ worth. Saturday was pancake day and she was grateful for the routine. It gave the girls something to look forward to. It gave her something to look forward to. Such a simple thing that could provide her such joy. She knew the road ahead wouldn’t be easy, but for now, she was going to stay lost in this moment for just a few seconds longer.


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