American Girl: Can't I Just Be Chloe?

Many people think that my life would seem easy because my mother is the Junior Senator of California. Yeah, right! I rarely ever get to see my mother. She’s usually off in Washington trying to get one of her bills passed. As a result, I’m usually out here in California along with my father. It’s been this way for six years, since she got elected. I was nine at the time meaning that I’m fifteen now. At first, I was okay with it, but I eventually grew out of that, getting annoyed with my mother for not being around during the most important events. My first date: she wasn’t there. Who did I have to go for the talk about going through puberty? Ha! Not my mother. Nope, it was my aunt. Hell, I don’t even know if my aunt is going to be around for my sweet sixteen that will be in a few months.

One good thing has come out of me being the daughter of a politician though. I was able to meet my best friend because of that. I was eight at the time and I went to see my favorite band in the world, the Jonas Brothers, at one of their concerts: a private concert. The only people that were really at that concert were other Disney stars, their family, and a few fans. Among those were Selena Gomez, Demi Lovato, Kevin’s wife, Amanda, and her younger sister Betsy. I was among some of the fans who got to go because my mother was a politician. Eventually, I became friends with Frankie Jonas and I have been ever since. I was there at Amanda’s funeral. I was there when Joe got married to his own little Cinderella: Kyra Clark. I was there when Nick got married to Selena Gomez. I was there for the birth of Jyra’s son whom they named Quinn. I was there for the birth of Nelena’s daughter, Rebecca. And, I was sure to be there when Frankie got married and had kids.

Right now, I was sitting in a church watching as Betsy Weimar got married to Teddy Geiger. Frankie was sitting beside me; he was the one that insisted that I come to this wedding anyway. My sixteen year-old best friend wanted me to come since I had spent about seven years getting to know Betsy as well as all four of the Jonas Brothers. I remember Frankie’s tenth birthday when I stopped by to give him his present before I had to leave to help my mother campaign. Actually, that was the first time I met Kyra and learned that she was Joe’s girlfriend. I thought it was Kevin’s new girlfriend, but it was Joe’s. Eventually, I watched Jyra get married just as I was getting ready to watch Tedsy get married.

When the Wedding March began to play, Frankie and I looked back and watched as Kevin and Betsy came in. No one in Betsy’s family was even alive which ultimately meant that Kevin had the honor of giving her away. Her parents died when she was fifteen and Betsy was in the custody of her older sister and brother-in-law. Amanda died soon after and Kevin gained custody of her. So, here Kevin was getting ready to give away the one person who knew how he felt about Amanda. It had been almost seven years since Amanda died. And, the fact was that Kevin still wasn’t over that. Even after all that time that he and Betsy have been raising the Kevanda kids, Kevin still wasn’t over the fact that she was gone.

Everyone, of course, knew that Kevin needed to express his feelings for Amanda. He had not even done that in song. Under normal circumstances, the brothers would have written a song about what happened. Kevin couldn’t bring himself to do that. So, it never got done. I, of course, would have loved to hear a song about that. Despite the fact that I was at a party that she attended, I really didn’t get to meet her; I merely knew that she attended the concert. I sighed and paid attention to the wedding, which Frankie’s father presided over. “Who gives this woman to this man?” Mr. Jonas asked looking at his eldest son.

“I am,” Kevin replied.

And, so the wedding proceeded with some of the oddest things I have ever seen. Joe, for one thing, happened to be the best man, a request Betsy made. Her maid of honor was her twelve year-old cousin, Zoe. Why that would be done, I can only wonder. I remember hearing a story about when Zoe was four. Apparently, she jumped Joe—her favorite—and practically melted. So, the reason for this was unknown. If Amanda wasn’t dead, Betsy would probably have her do this. Even Kyra would work, but she was pregnant with Joe’s second child. Ultimately, Zoe was the only one who could do this. So, why a twelve year-old girl would be Betsy’s maid of honor was beyond me. It was just too bizarre.

When it came time for the reception, things got even weirder. When Joe and Zoe came in, I could hear them talking about that event eight years ago. “Hey, Joe,” she said. “Do you remember my aunt’s funeral when you guys showed up with Betsy and Amanda?”

He laughed. “How could I possibly forget, Zoe? You practically jumped me that day. I had no idea that I had a four year-old swooning over me. But, then, since you were always closer to Lizard, I guess I should have seen that coming. From what I heard, you were never really that fond of Panda. That’s probably why you liked me when you were four. It was because of your level of closeness with Lizard that you came to even start melting over me.”

“Possibly. So, how’s Kyra?” she asked.

“Very, very moody. Not only do I have to deal with her and the pregnancy effects, but there’s also Quinn,” Joe said glumly. “I’m not sure if I can take another four months of this.

“Aw! Does poor Joey have to grow up?” Zoe asked.

Joe looked shocked. “Zoe!”

Before this got out of hand, I cut in. “Joe, you do realize that Zoe’s right. You’re in your late twenties and you still act like you’re a little kid. Frankie, these days seems to act older than you. He acts his age; you act like you’re five. One of these days, Joe, you are going to have to grow up and act your age. You may not want to, but it must happen sometime.”

Joe shrugged. “I suppose.”

At that moment, Betsy and Teddy came in. The DJ called out to announce their arrival to the reception. “May I now present Mr. and Mrs. John Theodore (Teddy) Geiger II!”

Betsy took a seat just beside Zoe while Teddy sat between her and Joe. She sighed and looked up at the sky. Something told me that, even though this was her wedding day, she was upset over the fact that her sister wasn’t here to watch her get married. That was upsetting. But, she was probably watching over Betsy to ensure that she was okay. I remember Frankie telling me something when we were younger about him overhearing a conversation between Nick, Betsy, and Amanda regarding ghosts. They could apparently see ghosts. When Amanda died though, only Betsy could do that. Frankie technically wasn’t even supposed to know about this, but he did. And, I was the only one he told, the only one who knew that he knew about Frankie’s little secret. But, despite the fact that Betsy could see her older sister’s ghost, I knew that she was still upset over her sister being dead.

The toasts went on and, just before Teddy and Betsy had their first dance, I saw that Betsy had pulled Kevin aside. I went over to see what was going on. I heard Betsy discussing something with Kevin. “Look, Kevin, I need you to just let your feelings out about what happened to my sister. You haven’t even written a song about it. You sing The Bond with me, but that’s about it. I’m fully aware of how you feel about my sister and how much you miss her, but you need to write a song about it for you guys to sing. If you don’t have a song ready by the time I get back from my honeymoon, I am going to get you.”

Kevin rolled his eyes. “Betsy, I can’t bring myself to do that. If I write a song about her, every time that song is played, I will be reminded of Mandolin. That’s why Lovebug hasn’t been played in about seven years. So, if we should play a song written about her, I will constantly be reminded of the woman I love and the fact that I can’t see her ever again.”

“You really don’t have much of a choice, Kevin,” Betsy said with a heavy sigh. “This needs to be done no matter what you think.” She then turned to me for some strange reason. I could only wonder what this was about. The fact was that Betsy could ask anyone to do this. So, why in the world did she have to ask me to help her with what was going on? “Hey, Chloe, could you come here for a minute? I need your help with something.

I went over. “What’s going on?”

“Look, Chloe, I need you to keep an eye on Kevin for me. You must make sure that my brother-in-law writes a song for Amanda. I’d ask one of the others, but they’re all busy. Nick has some charity work and Frankie is busy with his own band stuff; when he decided that he wasn’t going to join the Jonas Brothers—which I don’t see why—Drop/Slap really took off. Then, Joe has to deal with Kyra and the pregnancy with his second child. In addition to that, Zoe is staying with him because Kevin can’t stand being around anyone who reminds him of Amanda…well, other than me. I’ve helped him raise his kids.”

“Sure,” I replied.

Betsy smiled. “Thanks, Chloe.”

Soon after I agreed to do that for Betsy, Tedsy had their first dance. It was to Age is Just a Number, a song I recognized as being the first single that Kyra released a few years ago. The song choice made sense considering the fact that Betsy was five years younger than Teddy. As I watched the new couple dance, I wondered if my mother would even go to my wedding. That woman was so preoccupied with her own life that I played second fiddle. Sometimes I just wished that my mother never got into politics. Sure, my life would be different, but at least I would have my mother back in my life rather than only my father.

I sighed and went back to where I was sitting with Frankie. Meeting him and the others was a good thing. The fact was that it was the only good thing my mother ever did for me. Still, I would give up my friendship with them just to have my mother back in my life. I’d prefer for my life to be normal. Then, maybe I can focus on having a life without the media watching every move I make like I’m some celebrity. I have a few friends plus one guy in which I want to date but couldn’t because I didn’t want the media to know about. Plus, it’s not like this guy would even like me back; he has so many girls chasing after him already because of who he is. But, whatever. I couldn’t date him anyway; the media would be all over us and I didn’t want that. I wanted a normal life and a normal relationship.