“Miss Vó!Hi!Painting today?”I say, approaching her and the canvas on the easel in front of her.
I peek at it.She has painted a beautiful hibiscus flower, full of a palette of different pinks.
“It’s for my granddaughter,” Miss Vó smiles proudly.“She asked for it, to decorate her bedroom.”
“It’s so beautiful.She’ll love it,” I say.
“Ella,” Miss Vó looks at me, her eyebrows drawn together, “I just heard Mr.Marlin is moving to another place.I immediately thought we could prepare something… just a little gesture, so he knows he won’t go unnoticed.He will be truly missed here.”
My head nods along to Miss Vó’s words about a surprise party idea, but my brain is elsewhere.Miles is taking his father to New York.He must have found a nice place for him there.The call he received this morning — and the reason he had to leave so suddenly — should have been only about this.
My smile fades instantly, and Miss Vó notices.
“Are you okay, dear?”she asks.
“I am,” I say, pulling myself together.“I completely agree with you.Let me check when he’s leaving, and we’ll prepare something.”
“Perfect!”She claps her hands once and offers me a warm smile.
I excuse myself from the room.
Miles.
I need to find Miles.
The bigger, biggest,biggestestreason for my happiness these past days.
My heart feels tight.
I’ll miss visiting Mr.Marlin every week.
I’ll miss spending this much time with Miles.
I’ll missMiles.
My hands search my pockets for my phone, but it’s not there.I think I left it in my computer backpack.
I walk through the hallways.
Ineedto talk to Miles.
Maybe he’s not even at the Center.I should just call him.But maybe he’s in his dad’s room.I should just check there.Or maybe he’s already busy packing.I should go get my phone.
Why didn’t he tell me?We shook hands on being completely open with each other from now on.We were together this morning.We were together all last night.
I knew he would go back to New York.He couldn’t live in that hotel room forever.His agent has been super supportive and has kept his calendar intact and organized.Miles has been playing and composing here.But he had to go back to the studio.
He had to go back to his life.
And I feel this knot in my throat… because I haven’t been brave enough to tell him that I’ll miss him constantly in mine.
Mira is right.Spending time with Miles still feels like I’ll never get tired of life around him.
How old should a person be before they stop feeling new feelings?
When we were seventeen, I felt that he was my best friend, my loudest laugh, my purest comfort, and my genuine shoulder.Now he’s all that and more.Somethingelse.He’s wild butterflies in my stomach, the silent skip in my heartbeat, the uncontrollable, silly smile I can’t hide.
I walk toward the researchers’ office, where my backpack and my phone are.My thoughts spin in circles, my heart beating with a mix of anticipation and readiness.
