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"NO!" Nathaniel practically screams. I see Nana’s eyebrows furrow in the mirror, but she doesn't say anything.
"Okay, well, we could just hang out at the cabin, I guess." biting my lip while looking away and out the window. I know Nathaniel has a secret.Why won't he just tell me?I think Nana knows what it is, but whenever I ask, she just gives me vague responses.
"Or you could come to ours and maybe check out the new skate park all the kids are raving about down on Oak Avenue?" Nana suggests.
"Is that the one near the high school?" Nathaniel asks.
"Yes, I believe it is. Do you know it?" Nana replies, sounding surprised.
"Gabe goes there a lot; he keeps saying he’ll take me. But I haven't been yet."
"That sounds awesome. I've not been either. Let's go!" I can't hide the excitement in my voice. While I love spending time with Nathaniel, there's only so much we can do around the cabin. But he never wants to go anywhere else.
"Will you take us, Nana?"
"Well, I can't tomorrow, dear; I'm going to get my hair done at ten. But you could catch the bus. There's one right near Pops’ work, and it takes you straight to the school. Then you can walk to ours from there when you're done. You remember the way home, don't you?"
"Yes, Nana, of course. You walk down towards the ice cream parlor, cross over the road, cut through the park, and then you're home," I say with a proud grin. This is the first time I've ever caught the bus without an adult or been able to walk into town.Finally, some freedom. Maybe she's realized I'm not a baby after all.
"Will your dad be okay with you catching a bus alone, Nathaniel?" Nana asks as she pulls up at Pops’ work and points. "It’s that stop right there."
"Erm, yes but, I don't think ... Dad won’t let me have the money," Nathaniel adds sheepishly, looking down at the floor as he plays with the hem of his shirt. I can feel the embarrassment and worry rolling off of him.
"Well, how about this: on my way home, I buy you and Izzy a weekly bus pass, then you can go back and forth whenever you like? Izzy can bring it to you when her pops goes to work tomorrow."
"You've spent lots of money on me already; I can't ask you to do that." Nathaniel mumbles, still looking down at the floor of the car. I want to reach out and touch him; let him know everything is okay, but I don't want to embarrass him more. I wish I knew what was going on.
"You're not asking, dear; I'm offering. Plus, you'd actually be doing me a huge favor. I need you to take good care of my little love bug."
"Naanna," I squeal, embarrassed by her silly pet name for me. I look up and notice Nathaniel trying not to laugh, too.Please ground, swallow me whole.
"As I was saying, it would really help me out. Plus, when you're done, you can come back to our house for dinner. I'll make you both my famous lasagna. You like Italian, right?"
"Wow, it's Italian? My mom was Italian." Nathaniel gushes, and I can't help but notice how his entire face glows at the mention of his mom. Which makes me realize how strange it is that he's never spoken so openly about her. All I know is that she died when he was a baby.
"Well, looks like I'm going to have to make sure it's perfect then. Hopefully, it's as nice as hers."
"I wouldn't know," Nathaniel says with a sudden sad look on his face.
I look over at Nana and notice her face looks just as sad, so trying to lighten the mood, I add,"I love Nana's lasagna. It's my favorite of all the food she makes. Her secret ingredient is three different kinds of cheese. It tastes like heaven on a plate. What's your favorite homemade food? What does your dad make that's better than anyone else can make?"
"Well, he doesn't really cook, but Gabe makes the best mac and cheese ever. It comes out of the box, so I guess it's not really homemade, but every so often he adds ham to it and it tastes amazing," he says, suddenly sounding more upbeat. "That reminds me, I'm gonna tell Gabe all about today and show him this," he adds, sticking his hand into his pocket and showing off his change. "Thank you again, Mrs. Williams." He's so excited that he practically jumps out of the car.
***
We’re inseparable for the entire summer break. We meet every day and spend the whole day together. Nana takes us into town to get ice cream or milkshakes. She also takes us to the movies and even took us swimming once. That’s when we realized Nathaniel isn’t much of a swimmer. So now we usually hang out in the woods, or go into town using our bus passes. Nana keeps buying us every week, or we stay at my grandparents' house.
I still have to call her and let her know where I am every few hours. It's so unfair because, even though Nathaniel is only a year older than me, he seems to have a lot more freedom. As long as he's back before dark, no one seems to ask where he's been or what he's doing. His family must really trust him to be mature and responsible; mine still treats me like a baby.
Today we’re meeting Gabe at the skate park when he finishes with work. I still don't understand why his brother works, especially during the summer holidays, but I've learned not to ask questions about Gabe.
Last week he joined us at the cabin for a movie, and I made the mistake of calling him Gabriel like Nate does, and he almost bit my head off. Nathaniel explained, only he gets to call him Gabriel, which is weird. But hey, at least Gabe finally said more than five words to me, I guess.
"There you are,'' Gabe complains, getting up off the bench and meeting us as we walk into the park.
"Sorry, Gabe, I had to stop at the café and use the bathroom. Please don't be mad." I say.
"Okay." Gabe shrugs. "Everyone needs to take a piss, sometimes."
