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My sweet tooth won out. I relented, and we stayed a while longer. After sharing some mint chip ice cream together in the kitchen, my sisters and I said goodbye to our parents and headed to the driveway. Larissa would drive us home, since she was always bugging me to get a chance to drive my zippy yellow Miata. We’d drop Melinda off at her place on the way.
“Geez, Mom was awful tonight,” Larissa complained once we were buckled in and on the road.
“No, that was tame,” I said, darkly. Outside, the night sky was clouded over. A fine mist began to fall, and I wondered if it would rain soon.
“Yeah, I agree. I’ve endured much worse from her,” Melinda said, shaking her head.
We drove for a while, chatting about work and talking about our schedules over the upcoming holidays. There would be plenty more nights like this with mom in store for us once the Christmas season got into full swing.
We would just have to live through it, and try to enjoy each other’s company and Dad’s, despite Mom’s atrocious behavior.
Just a few miles before we were to drop Melinda off, Larissa turned the music down and cleared her throat.
“Hey. Amelia. You had us worried there for a minute at dinner.”
“Yeah,” Melinda added, “it’s no fun dealing with an upset stomach. Are you sure you’re feeling all better?”
Larissa didn’t give me a chance to respond. “Amelia, have you been sick more than just tonight?”
Why did her question feel so pointed? It was a single, strange episode.
I was fine. It was nothing.
“No,” I said, annoyed at the interrogation. “I’ve been fine, I swear. I’m positive it was just something I ate. After a few minutes in the bathroom, it passed right away. You even saw me pigging out on dinner rolls and ice cream later!”
Melinda and Larissa shared a look; the kind that they used to give each other when something would happen that I was too young to understand.
I wasn’t sure why they were being so weird, but after that, neither of them said a word. So, I dropped it too, hoping they would stay off my case. We stopped at Melinda’s place to let her out, waving as we watched her walk up the stairs until she was inside, and soon Larissa and I were making our way up to our apartment.
Trudy was bustling around in the kitchen, baking.
“Hey ladies! Wanna watch a movie? I’m baking oatmeal raisin, chocolate chip, and snickerdoodles.”
“For sure!” Larissa exclaimed, never one to turn down a cookie.
After that dinner, and the episode in the bathroom, I didn’t have it in me. I was feeling bone tired. “Not tonight, but thanks,” I said, heading to my room. Within minutes, I was sleeping like a baby.
Chapter 16
Nathaniel
The first thing I thought about once I stepped off the plane in San Diego was how soon I would have Amelia back in my arms. I had a special surprise in store, and I couldn’t wait to see her face when I shared it with her.
She was waiting for me at her usual spot a block away from her apartment. Before putting the car in park, my heartbeat quickened at the sight of her. She wore a tight black sweater over skin-tight dark jeans, with black heels dressing up the outfit. Her hair was in loose brown waves and her pink lips were dewy with gloss.
How could she be even more gorgeous than I remembered? It had only been a few days, but I felt like I was seeing her after a lifetime of waiting.
I put the car in park and rushed out of my seat before she could open the passenger’s side door. She sidled into the car, but not before kissing me. It was a little risky so close to her apartment, yet there was a thrill to it, too.
After making sure she was settled in, I shut the door and jogged back around to the driver’s seat, steering us away from her neighborhood and out of Point Loma.
“You look gorgeous, Amelia. You always do.” I could spy the blush on her cheeks out of the corner of my eye.
“It’s good to see you, Nathaniel. I missed you.”
“I missed you, too.”
She placed a hand on my thigh and sighed.
