Let Me In

The aroma of freshly baked cookies wafted throughout Beth's small apartment as she and Nate stood in the kitchen having a Saturday afternoon baking session. Nate's temperament had improved over the last few days, and Beth was making the most of her son actually wanting to participate in something with her. 

Watching him carefully cut star shapes out of the dough that she had just rolled out, Beth found herself thinking back to when she and Colby had first discovered that Nate was autistic. Wanting to ensure that she was well read on the subject, and would be able to fully understand the life that they all had ahead of them, Beth had spent hours pouring over every book she could possibly find. She had tried to encourage Colby to do the same, but he had declined. Beth knew that his lack of enthusiasm should have set off alarm bells then.

From everything that she had read, Beth had always feared that moments like this with Nate would be non existent, that she would never be graced with the pleasure of being able to do so many of the things mothers took for granted when it came to their children. The family doctor had eleveated her worries a little when he had assured her that sometimes the books could be a little misleading, and that even though the inability to interact with others, or to show any signs of affection towards people were quite commonplace, it had been proven over the years that these things could happen, it would just take time, and that it wouldn't be an every day occurence. 

Over the past seven years, Nate had proved Doctor Michaelson to be correct, with today being one of those occassions, and Beth cherished every single one of them as yet another milestone thay had been able to accomplish together. 

As mother and son began placing the cookies on the tray in front of them, their time was interupted by the distinct sound of Beth's cellphone ringing. 

"I'll be back in a minute sweetie," she assured Nate as she quickly walked through to the lounge to retrieve her phone. 

Beth frowned as she looked at the screen, not recognizing the number that was calling her. A small twinge of panic flowed through her, as she wondered if maybe it would be Colby trying to upset the apple cart once more. Realizing then that it was a local number, Beth felt relief wash over her and answered.

"Hello?"

"Beth?" a smooth voice asked cautiously.

"Yes it is," Beth replied, almost certain that she recognized the voice.

" I hope you don't mind, but I got your number off Dad...oh...it's Brian by the way."

Laughing lightly at his obvious embarrassment, Beth strolled back to stand in the kitchen doorway so she could keep an eye on Nate.

"Hey Brian, yeah that's fine. How are you?"

"I'm good thanks, you?"

"Can't complain," she answered with a smile as she watched Nate concentrating hard on what he was doing. "So, to what do I owe the pleasure?"

There was a momentary pause in the conversation, as if Brian was trying to find the right words to say.

"Er, I was wondering if maybe you were up to anything this evening," he finally asked, his tone unsure as to whether he should even be enquiring.

A little taken aback by what Brian had said, it was Beth's turn to remain silent for a minute. Mentally cursing herself for being that way, Beth finally found her voice.

"Unless you call trying to decide between a night of crappy reruns on the tube, or heading for bed early up to anything....then no, I really don't have anything planned," she answered honestly, her reply met with a chuckle from Brian. 

"Any chance you could fit meeting me for coffee into the busy schedule of yours?"

Beth glanced back over at her son, hesitating before accepting the invitation. It was Saturday, Nate would be with her parents for the night anyway, there wasn't any reason as to why she should turn down the chance to actually spend a couple of hours with someone. Beth knew she needed to start rebuilding a circle of friends now she was back in Huntington. She had Jen, who she had remained in contact with once she had left for Texas, but she hadn't seen much of her the past few weeks as she had been working away. Beth had found herself surprised at how easily she and Brian had got along when they had bumped into each other the week before, and she had found that she had really enjoyed his company. She really didn't have anything to lose by meeting up with him for an hour or so.

"I think I may be able to manage that," Beth finally told him.

"Great! Do you know that little place over on 11th Street...Cafe Enchante?"

"I'm sure I can find it," Beth assured him.

"Okay, well say about 7? Or I could always pick you up if you want," Brian suggested.

"No no, that's okay, I have to stop by my parents place later anyway, so I'll meet you there," Beth answered, knowing that if Brian picked her up, it would only raise questions.

"Alright then. Well, I guess I'll see you around 7 then."

After they had both said their goodbyes, Beth placed her phone down on the counter and smiled as Nate looked over at her.

"Done!" he exclaimed, clapping his hands, obviously pleased with his achievement. 

Beth laughed as she realised he had managed to get as many cookies out of the last batch of dough as he possibly could.

"So you are sweetie," she murmured, her smile widening as she felt Nate's slender arms slip around her waist, a rare embrace taking place between mother and son. Today looked as though it was going to be a good day.

******************

Brian wasn't quite sure just how many times he had checked his watch in the last ten minutes, but he figured that anyone watching him would have thought he was bordering slightly on OCD. It wasn't as if Beth was even late, it was he that had been stupidly early and was now conscious of the fact that he had been pacing up and down 11th Street looking like some kind of fool. A silver Ford Focus sedan came to a halt a little way along the street, and Brian found himself breathing a sigh of relief as he saw Beth get out of the car. He realized that his palms were a little sweaty, and couldn't for the life of him begin to figure out why he was experiencing a small case of nerves. 

Beth spotted him, giving a brief wave and smile as she approached. Brian returned the gesture, mentally scolding himself for the way he felt his eyes wander over her appearance. He had asked her here for advice, not so he could give her the once over. Unfortunately, he couldn't help himself. Everything about Beth was so natural. From the way she didn't tan herself to within an inch of her life like most of the girls he knew, to how she wore little or no make up, yet still looked amazing. Brian shook the thoughts from his head, allowing himself to smirk as he glanced down at her feet as she reached him, noting the nail polish that adorned her toes and how it almost matched the color of her top. Brian had noticed it was the only thing she seemed to do religiously.

"Something amusing you?" Beth asked, looking at him curiously.

Brian shook his head as he cleared his throat.

"Not at all," he answered, making a move towards the door of the coffee shop and holding it open for her. 

Brian pointed out an empty table near the window, and headed for the counter whilst Beth seated herself. Once again, Brian found himself studying her as she looked out of the window onto the street, and began to wonder just what had gone on between herself and Colby, because Brian was fairly certain that if he had a woman like Beth by his side, he would be doing everything possible to keep her and not allow her to slip through his fingers. Paying for their coffees, Brian carried them over to the table.

"You sure you didn't mind me asking dad for your number?" Brian questioned as he sat opposite Beth.

"Would I be here if I did?" Beth countered with a smile.

"I guess not," Brian laughed.

"I should have thought to give it to you the other day when I offered my services as an ear to bend," Beth added.

"He gave me the third degree before letting me have it though, he's quite protective of you."

Beth smiled at Brian's words, knowing full well that his father wouldn't have let him have her number without giving him some kind of grilling.

"Well your father's a wonderful man, he's certainly been very good to me since I've been working for him. Although he is driving me slightly crazy at the moment with trying out his new routine on me at every given oppurtunity," Beth admitted with a slight smirk.

Once more Brian laughed, knowing full well that Beth was not alone in how she was feeling. His father had made the decision to start doing a few comedy shows again, and had been trying out his new material on anyone that was within earshot after having received a couple of bookings at local comedy clubs.

"Are you going to watch dad at all?" Brian asked.

"I did promise I'd go to the one at Brea, seeings as it's on a Saturday," Beth replied, placing her cup back on the table.

"Are you not allowed out on a school night?" Brian quizzed, an eyebrow raised in question. 

"I guess I just prefer to leave my socializing to the weekends," Beth answered, lowering her gaze a little.

Sensing that it was a subject Beth didn't wish to dwell on too long, Brian found himself briefly stuck for words, unsure of just what to say next. He mentally cursed himself for having managed to bring the conversation to a standstill, and frantically tried to think of another topic.

"So, how was your week?"

Brian frowned a little as Beth covered her mouth with her hand in order to hide the smile and laughter that were threatening to break loose. Brian turned his words over in his head and smirked.

"That was pretty fucking weak huh?" he admitted, scratching the back of his neck a little nervously. 

Brian couldn't understand why he was having such difficulty with finding things to talk about with Beth. When they had bumped into each other the previous week, conversation had flowed so easily, and yet there was something about tonight that was different.

"I'm sorry," Beth apologized. "It's just that I'm fairly sure that my week isn't what you want to hear about, or even why you called me up today," she added.

Smiling somewhat thankfully at her, Brian nodded.

"You're right, it wasn't," he began. "It's Clayre."

Sitting forward a little, Brian began to enlighten Beth with what Zacky had told him about his ex girlfriend's intentions when it came to the house and how he really didn't know how to begin to deal with it. He also added Matt's suggestion about how to get across the point that they were finally through, which caused Beth to grin. Brian wasn't completely sure what it was about Beth, yet he found himself being able to open up more to her about exactly how he was feeling when it came to Clayre than he ever had with those friends that he had known all his life.

"I guess I knew before I even went back to her this last time that I was no longer in love with her, yet I chose to overlook that. It was being away with her for those ten days that really drove it home to me that there really wasn't anything there anymore," Brian admitted.

"You wouldn't be the first person to have stayed with someone in spite of how much your feelings for them may have changed," Beth assured him quietly. 

Brian's gaze held hers as he took another sip from his coffee. He was no fool, he knew full well that she was refering to whatever had transpired between her and Colby, and once again she was giving off that air that told him it was not a line of conversation that he was persue. Unfortunately, Brian found that her silence only made him more intrigued as just what had gone on to make her return home, making him determined that he wanted to gain her trust enough, enabling her to open up to him the way he found so easy to do with her. 

Ever since that night they had bumped into each other at The Sugar Shack, Brian had known that he wanted to be more to Beth than just the son of the man she worked for. He wasn't entirely sure what role he wanted to play, or whether Beth would even allow him to get close enough to become a more prominent player in her existence, but something was telling him that maybe they were on the right track to that happening.

"Yeah, but I went back in spite of knowing how I felt, and now that's coming back to bite me in the ass."

"Well I'm not going to deny that you haven't done yourself any favors," Beth told him with a smirk, "because going by what you've told me tonight, I can kind of see where Clayre might be coming from in thinking that this time round is no different to before."

"Hey! The other day you said that I should let go of the guilt, because I was honest with her!" Brian exclaimed.

"In my defense, that was before I knew more of the history between you," Beth retorted, even though Brian could tell by the glint in her eye that there was an element of teasing to her words.

"However," Beth began, "it seems fairly plain to me that every other time you've always given the 'it's not you, it's me' excuse as the reason for your break ups, where as this time you have been honest. You've let her know that she's the problem because of the way she is, that you don't love her and that there really is no going back."

Brian watched as Beth appeared to be pondering over something, as though she was trying to figure out a solution.

"Have you always let Clayre stay at the house until she can find somewhere else to live?" she finally asked.

"Yeah, although she only ever goes to her parents each time."

"That's the problem here then,"Beth announced. "If you had taken Matt's advice and actually made her be the one to leave, then maybe she may have gotten the message a little clearer."

"I just didn't want to seem like a complete asshole," Brian defended quietly. "I'd just ended things with her yet again, and I figured that turfing her out on the street would seem just a little too harsh. Although now I'm not so sure..."

His voice trailed off as he frantically attempted to find an answer to the problem that he was now facing. Brian knew that if he just went home and tried to talk it through with her, he would end up walking out on her again. He voiced this dilema to Beth.

"And she's not even there this weekend anyway, she's at some bachelorette thing til late tomorrow for her sister," Brian added, sounding somewhat defeated.

"At this rate the only option would be to go home, pack up her stuff and change the locks," Beth joked with a laugh.

Brian raised an eyebrow, a smile gradually appearing on his thin lips.

"Wouldn't be the first time someone's done it as a means to an end," he summised.

"I guess not," Beth answered cautiously.

"Wanna help a guy bring a quick end to his misery?"

"I guess I could do that."

"I mean, two heads are better than one right?"

"So they say."

"I'm gonna need some boxes though, she's got a lot of shit."

"I may or may not have a few at my place that you may be able to make use of."

"So if I was to tell you where I live, you could go get them, and I could go on ahead and make a start."

"That sounds like a plan. You may also need a locksmith."

"I believe dad has a guy I could call for that."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Beth asked with a grin.

"Absolutely nothing!" Brian replied, both of them standing from the table.

Walking outside, Beth made a mental note of Brian's address as they headed for their cars.

"You don't have to do this," Brian stated, knowing that he had somewhat twisted Beth's arm into helping him.

"What? After I was responsible for putting the notion in your head in the first place? That just wouldn't be right," Beth answered, her brown eyes glinting playfully.

Brian laughed, telling her that he would see her soon. As he watched her walk away, Brian smiled to himself, knowing that making that call was the best idea he had had in a long time.