“We knew you’d make it,” says Andrea, rubbing her son’s shoulder soothingly. “That’s why your dad already booked our hotels and flights.”
“Always good to be prepared,” says Sebastian’s dad, nodding as if to himself.
I don’t think any of the boys would disagree with him. They take planning ahead to extremes in ways I’ll never tell their parents about.
“Even though we had every confidence that you’d win,” says Felix’s mom, “we should still go out somewhere nice for dinner tonight to celebrate.”
“Actually, we’re thinking of driving home tonight,” says Lukas.
“But it’s such a long drive!” Lukas’s mom looks to her husband for backup.
Hank obliges. “You’ve had a long day, you deserve to kick back and enjoy yourselves.”
“And we’re all here right now, it’d be so nice to spend quality time together.” Elliot’s mom glances quickly to me, then back to her son.
Elliot shakes his head. “We don’t have any events tomorrow, and we need to catch up on all of the homework we didn’t get done because we’re here,” he says. “We can’t risk our grades slipping.”
“Besides,” Lukas chimes in, “Rebecca has to work at the newspaper tomorrow. We don’t want to wait until tomorrow to leave and then hit traffic and make her late. That could jeopardize her job.”
The parents all turn to look at me, and I try to smile but it feels more like a grimace. I don’t mind being the guys’ excuse ifthey really do want to go home tonight, but I don’t want their families to feel like I’m stealing their kids away.
“All right,” says Felix’s mom. “I supposed we can’t argue with that logic. I just wish you could let go and have a little fun once in a while. You boys work so hard.”
“But all of their hard work is going to pay off, and they’re going to have a great life and be able to have all the fun they want after graduation,” Jen says, laying a hand on Lukas’s shoulder. “At least tell me you’ll stop for food on the way home. You don’t want Rebecca to starve before you get back to Boston.”
“We’ll take good care of her,” Sebastian promises.
But the way he looks at me when he says it, I suspect he might be referring to more than just dinner tonight. His expression is soft, not at all the way you look at someone who is just your friend. It’s very sweet, and in another life I’d be melting, having a guy look at me like that. But I’m getting tired of reminding them that we aren’t dating.
On the upside, at least he’s not looking at me like he’s thinking about eating out in a non-restaurant sense. Given our audience, that would be even worse.
We agree to meet up with the parents after we’re packed up to say goodbye, then make our way to the elevators. “Are you sure you don’t want to stay here?” I ask as the doors open and we pile inside.
I know they booked another night when they made the reservation, so clearly they’d intended to stay originally. Are they truly changing their plans to make sure I’m not late to work? Or because they didn’t get first in their relay and they’re tired of being around me, the reason they weren’t as focused as they could have been? I’m not sure which idea I hate more. Obviously I don’t want them to be angry with me, but I also don’t want them to rearrange their plans on my account, especially given that traffic would have to be apocalyptically bad for us to getback late enough that I’d miss work. It makes me think of how my mom will drop everything to accommodate my father, and he takes complete advantage of her willingness to bend to his will. I would never intentionally take advantage of their kindness, but I don’t want to end up on a slippery slope where all of us just come to expect that my schedule is more important than what they want.
“Yeah,” says Felix, “we would rather sleep in our own beds.”
“And it’s better to be at home where we know everything is clean,” adds Elliot.
“What should I do with my slippers?” They’re super cute and fuzzy—not what I would pick out for myself, but they have been cozy to wear around the hotel room.
“We’ll pack them up for Worlds,” says Elliot, wrapping them in a bag and placing them in one of their suitcases.
They’re planning for me to join them for Worlds? I suppose that means they’re not blaming me for their second-place finish today. And it would give me a chance to continue my article series for class, which would be great, but they should ask me instead of just assuming that I’ll join them.
Between the way Sebastian looked at me downstairs, and their assumption that I would join them for Worlds, we need to have a conversation about what’s happening between us. Later though. Their parents are all downstairs waiting for us and if we take much longer, I fear they’ll think we’re fooling around up here before we drive home.
Back downstairs, their parents wait with us while valet pulls their car around.
“I know you’re anxious to get home, but don’t drive too fast,” Jen tells Lukas, who nods solemnly.
“You all did a great job at this competition, and there’s no sense rehashing everything. Just keep working towards Worlds,” says Andrea.
“And Rebecca, you keep an eye on these guys. Don’t let them work too hard,” Summer tells me. Then, quietly enough that only I hear, she adds, “And don’t forget to keep an eye out for signs. They’ll lead you where you need to go.” She gives me a wink and then steps back as the car arrives, saving me from having to figure out how the hell to respond to that cryptic statement.
“We’ll be fine,” says Elliot, loading our suitcases into the trunk.
Then there’s one more round of hugs from the parents—even for me—and we’re on the road back to Boston.
