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“Ella, darling.”
“Hmm?” Ella glanced up from her relaxation, trying not to move her hand which was currently being manicured. Bridget looked uncommonly pensive, leaning over the edge of her chair as her toes were being painted. “Yes? What is it, Bridget?”
“I found Red in a closet the other day.”
Ella blinked in confusion, arching a delicate brow. “A closet?”
“Yes. Quite a small one, too.”
“That’s…odd…are you concerned about it? Why was Red in a closet?”
“Well, I’d have no idea. Except…well…she wasn’t alone in there.”
Ella’s brows rose even higher. “Oh.”
“Mhm.”
“So who was it?”
“Ella, good grief, I love you but you’re so dense sometimes,” Bridget moaned, rolling her head with a long huff of air. “Red and Chloe were in there together.”
“Red and…my Chloe?” Pointing at herself with an unoccupied hand, Ella felt shock smack her in the face. “Are you sure?”
“Seeing as I only know one Chloe; yes. Yours.”
“Why was Chloe in a closet with Red?”
“Why else are two teenagers in a small space together?”
“But…I…are you sure?”
“I don’t believe Chloe owns that shade of red lipstick, dear,” Bridget mused, tapping her bottom lip with a nail. “Yes, I’m sure.”
“It wasn’t two other girls? Maybe you’re mistaken.”
“Ella, for pity’s sake, there’s only two people in the world who have the hair colors our girls do. I caught Red and Chloe snogging in a closet. That’s the truth.”
“Gracious.” Sitting back slowly, Ella furrowed her brows. Red and Chloe…Chloe and Red? Together? Kissing?
“Are you surprised?”
“I’m not sure ‘surprised’ is the right word,” Ella mumbled, pursing her lips as she stared at the freshly painted nails on her finished hand. “You’re certain.”
“Without a doubt, my love.”
“Oh dear.”
“You don’t have the archaic notion that two girls shouldn’t date, do you?” Bridget seemed a tad irked as Ella turned to her with a scowl.
“Of course not. You should be able to love whoever you’d like.”
“So what’s that face for?”
“I just…it feels so soon.” Ella released her breath, slumping backwards into her chair with a moan. “Oh, gods, I have to tell Christoper.”
“Does he care that Chloe likes girls?”
“He cares that she likes anybody.”
“Ah,” Bridget seemed to understand, rolling her own nails across the leather arm of her chair. “He’s not ready to let go of his little girl.”
“No.”
“And neither are you.”
“Pardon me?” Ella hoisted a brow. “Bridget, don’t be silly. Chloe can…date…if she wants.”
Bridget’s lip curled. “You hesitated.”
“I didn’t.”
“Ella, it’s ok if you’re unsure. I won’t be offended if Chloe dating Red makes you…eh…nervous.”
“I love Red, Bridget.”
“I know. But my little fireball is a piece of work, you know that well enough. We’ll be having a very long chat about the appropriate way to treat a lady at a later date.”
“Chloe hasn’t said anything to me,” Ella worried, nervously bouncing a foot as she tried to keep her hand still for her manicurist. “You don’t suppose she thinks I’ll disapprove, will you?”
“Have you made it clear that she’s fine to date?”
“Well…no…not exactly.” Ella winced, clenching her teeth a little as Bridget chuckled. “She’s too young.”
“You met Charming at Chloe’s age.”
“That’s different,” Ella chided, irritation causing her brows to wrinkle. “I wasn’t looking for romance. It happened to me.”
“You danced with a prince at a moonlit party,” Bridget laughed, tossing her head back. “You’re in denial, my dear.”
“B, this is serious. What do we do?”
“What do you mean? We support our girls. It’s what we always do.”
“Of course, but dating is much different than friendship. I mean…it’s all very adult, isn’t it?”
“Ella, Chloe does know what dating means, doesn’t she? The birds and the bees and all that nonsense?”
“Well…I—I mean it was taught to her in school.”
Bridget blinked up at the ceiling, rolling to face her in her chair. “You haven’t talked to Chloe about how to safely have sex with someone?”
“Bridget!” Ella hissed, noticing how her manicurist’s face flushed pink under her lashes. “Shush.”
“There’s nothing wrong with it.”
“It’s not a royally appropriate subject,” Ella chided, feeling her own cheeks heat up in embarrassment. “I trust Chloe knows how to conduct herself.”
“Chloe is a good girl, but you need to talk to her about it. You and Christopher together.”
“Why are you so insistent?” Ella wondered, her lips curving. “Have you spoken with Red?”
“Of course. I’ve read at least a dozen books on parenting and ‘Castle-schooling for Single Parents’ said it was best to teach children about intimacy around puberty.”
“Oh.” Ella scrunched her brows. “I didn’t know that. Stepmother never spoke to me about it.”
“She wouldn’t,” Bridget sneered. “I still have the book if you want to read it.”
“N-no, no. Has um…has Red brought anyone home?”
“With my knowledge? No. But I highly doubt she’d tell me anyway. Hence, why it was important to discuss it early.”
“When did you get so wise about parenting?” Ella chuckled, admiring the small heart pattern the manicurist had painted onto her thumb. “Last I recall you were coming to me for help.”
“Yes well, if my mother had spent time educating me in this area, we wouldn’t be in this situation to start, now would we?”
Ella tilted her head, knowing full well how Red came to be. She remembered Bridget coming to her in the middle of the night in tears, explaining what she’d done and the mistake she’d made. Obviously something wonderful came out of that experience, but it was no doubt traumatizing to someone who didn’t know better. Bridget didn’t have any sort of partner to speak of—at least not that Ella knew about—therefore she could only assume she’d closed herself off indefinitely after having her first and only child.
“I should speak to Chloe,” Ella sighed, rubbing a hand across her forehead. “I can only hope Christoper can keep his head on straight.”
“He won’t, but that’s ok,” Bridget noted. “But if Chloe denies being in a relationship, I saw Red’s lipstick all over her. Don’t let her gaslight you into believing otherwise.”
Groaning again in her throat, Ella glanced at her best friend wearily. “Hey B?”
“Yes?”
“Remember all the times I let you use my notes in school?”
“Uh-huh. What about it?”
“Can you talk to Chloe for me?”
Bridget snorted. “Absolutely not. But maybe I’ll get you that book after all.”
Ella huffed, staring up at the ceiling as she let her nails dry. Bridget chortled all the while, way too happy to see her miserable.
It was going to be a very long night.