The Other Half || Jerrie

Chapter Sixteen

Perrie never expected a dance floor make out to change her, but it did. For weeks, she thought about that kiss every day. That kiss with a stranger. After coming back from abroad, Ariana threatened to move out of their shared apartment if Perrie continued to talk about it.

The summer Perrie turned twenty-one, she got an internship at an art studio. DC Gallery was a relatively small, new gallery, but Perrie was happy to work there. In fact, it was through her internship that Perrie met both Hailee and Norma.

Perrie met Hailee two days before her 21st birthday. She’d been doing a coffee run for the gallery employees when she discovered a new coffee shop at the local market. The brunette barista was talking about a new club that had just opened with the blonde barista while Perrie waited for her order.

“And there’s a ton of outside space as well,” the brunette barista explained to her co-worker. “I grew up in New York City, so I’ve been to my fair share of clubs, but this place is great.”

Perrie still had no idea where she wanted to go for her birthday, and the place she was overhearing being talked about seemed like a great idea.

“Sorry, I don’t mean to pry,” Perrie interrupted, “But what was the name of this club?”

“It’s called The Rendezvous,” the woman responded with a smile. “You should check it out.”

“I think I might,” Perrie nodded. The woman’s smile was genuine and Perrie couldn’t help but notice how pretty the woman was when she smiled. She was probably around her age, and Perrie was definitely attracted to her.

“Well let me know if you end up going,” the brunette barista spoke as she handed Perrie her tray of orders.

Before Perrie could ask for the woman’s number, she looked down at the top napkin on her tray of orders. The words on the napkin read:

Call Me: 721-0910 – Hailee

And for the first time in a while, Perrie found herself getting excited about a girl. Ariana was just happy to hear Perrie getting giddy about someone whose name she actually knew.

Two days later, Perrie texted Hailee, telling her she was going to check out The Rendezvous for her birthday. Hailee responded half an hour later, saying that she hoped to run into Perrie there. The reason Hailee took some time to respond, wasn’t because she was trying to act coy, but rather because she was on the phone with one of her high school best friends to wish her a happy birthday. Her friend, Jade Thirlwall.

That night, Perrie went home to Hailee’s apartment.

Perrie and Hailee became surprisingly good friends, but both agreed that while the s*x was good, that they could never be in a relationship. They worked the friends with benefits angle for about seven months, before stopping. Hailee had met someone else and Perrie was happy for her.

Ironically enough, it was the day after the decided to stop sleeping together, that Perrie came into contact with Norma. Of course, Perrie wouldn’t realize the irony, the same form of irony that had been following her her entire life, until the day after she and Jade got engaged.

Perrie’s internship had extended from the summer into her senior year of college. Instead of working five days a week though, she was only working two. Regardless, her schedule somehow wasn’t too packed. She was enjoying her senior spring. She was taking only electives, having finished her studio art major and art history minor, and enjoying time with her friends.

The gallery was mostly empty when Norma and her daughter came in, on a Saturday in March of 2015. The young mother didn’t know much about art, but her seven-year-old daughter was entranced by all of it. Perrie took the liberty of walking around with the mother-daughter duo to tell them about all their pieces and before they left, Perrie gave Norma her number.

The first time Perrie babysat for Norma’s children, Norma and her husband had to attending a work function. They were both lawyers, having met in law school.

After the younger boy jumped out and scared Perrie when she arrived at Norma’s house, Perrie jokingly asked the brunette woman, “These two are your only kids, right? Or do I have to worry about another jumping out at me?”

Perrie was surprised to see Norma’s brown eyes flash with some emotion Perrie couldn’t place, but it seemed as if a mask passed over them. Perrie wasn’t sure what to think, but Norma’s curt response convinced Perrie not to ask any more questions.

“Anna and David are my husband and mine’s only children.”

Perrie continued to babysit Anna and David until she graduated, adding into her babysitting nights several art lessons for the children.