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He says nothing at that.
I think about it often, about what I want to do with my life and why Angelo isn’t as interested in my career choice as in everything else that concerns me. I’m ninety percent certain I made him uneasy by saying I like him. Some guys aren’t comfortable talking about mushy subjects like that. From then on, I refrain from giving away too much of what’s in my heart.
During the course of the year, I become more certain that I want to become a marine biologist. I’ve researched several career options with my parents, but I’ve always had my heart set on working with sea life. The admission criteria for a BSc degree are strict, and places at the University of Cape Town are limited. I can’t mess up my grades. I have to score high in science, biology, and mathematics.
When I’m not swimming for our school team, I’m studying with Colin. He wants to become a civil engineer like his dad, which is an equally competitive course. We get our learner driver’s licenses on the same day, and work hard toward our academic goals. Instead of distracting me, Angelo is amazingly supportive, cutting our conversations short when I need to study and checking in to make sure I get enough sleep.
I told no one but Colin about the phone Angelo had delivered. As I can’t share my lovesickness with my family, I only have Colin, whose ear I chew off about how great Angelo is, how handsome, how mature, and how utterly considerate. Colin bears my ravings without a word, listening like a good friend. Since that first day, he’s never warned me about speaking to Angelo in secret again. He’s accepted with quiet tolerance the fact that I’m in love with a man who lives thousands of kilometers away on an island.
I carry the knowledge like a precious seed inside me, and as time passes, it blooms like a flower in a secret garden, nourished by attention and affection. Before I know it, the year is gone, and the preparations for my seventeenth birthday celebration leave me with a bittersweet longing, reminding me of when Angelo and I met.
Seventeen is not a milestone year. Luckily, this year, there won’t be a string quartet and people crammed onto our lawn. My father makes a dinner reservation at a new restaurant on the beachfront in Wilderness.
During the dinner, I sneak to the bathroom and check my phone, the one Angelo gave me, but there’s no message from him. He hasn’t wished me a happy birthday. Has he forgotten? Doesn’t he remember the day we met? The absence of any news and no word from him puts a damper on the evening and steals my appetite.
I splash water on my face, put on a bright smile, and go back to the table. Mattie and Jared are there. They finally secured a wedding venue for October, and it’s all my sister can talk about. Ryan and his wife, Celeste, couldn’t make it. Celeste is pregnant with their first baby and due to deliver any day.
“So,” Mattie says when I’m seated. “What did you get for your birthday?”
“An underwater camera from Mom and Dad.” I smile at them. “Colin gave me a new scuba mask.”
“What a pity he couldn’t make it, tonight,” my mom says.
“Oh, no,” I say quickly. “It’s better that we kept it in the family.”
Mattie mixes her pink gin and tonic with a bamboo straw. “If Colin isn’t family, then I don’t know what he is.” She elbows Jared. “Isn’t that so?”
Jared straightens his glasses. “Oh.” He glances at Mattie and clears his throat. “Yes. I have a friend I’d like you—”
“I don’t want to meet him,” I say.
“Come on, Bella.” Mattie stabs the ice with the straw. “Just meet the guy for drinks.”
My dad checks his watch for the second time in five minutes. “What’s taking them so long? Are they catching the prawns?”
Mom picks up her wine and asks with thin lips, “Do you have somewhere else to be?”
“Just tired,” my dad says, winking at me. “It’s been a long day.”
I watch him closely, taking in the bags under his eyes and the extra weight he picked up around his waist. “Is everything okay at work?”
“Of course,” he says. “There’s nothing to worry about.”
“Are you sure?”
He leans over the table and pats my hand. “It’s the spillover of the end-of-the-year stress. You know how it goes.” As he looks over my shoulder, his expression lifts. “Ah. Here are our starters.”
Mom and Mattie launch into a conversation about the wedding arrangements while Dad wolfs down his food and Jared seems to tune out. I fish my phone from my bag on my lap and check the screen under the cover of the table.
Still nothing.
“Sabella,” my mom says.
