I enter the family room with “What’s for dinner?” and notice my mom on the couch, flipping pages of photo albums and sipping wine.
“I just had a bowl of cereal, but let me know if you want me to make you something substantial.” She lifts her eyes and examines me. “That’s not your shirt, is it?”
“No, it’s Ryan’s,” I say nonchalantly.
Mom arches an eyebrow. “Who’s Ryan?”
“Um...” I take my phone out of my pocket. “I’ll show you.” I find the picture I took of Ryan earlier and hand her my phone.
“Whoa!” Her mouth drops open. “He’s very....”
“Cute,” I add with smile.
“I would have said sexy,” my mom offers with grin.
“Mom,” I start with some fake attitude, “don’t be crushing on my man.”
“So—is he your new boyfriend?”
“Well…it’s complicated.”
She sighs. “Most relationships are.”
Before she slips into an emotional coma, I ask, “What are you doing?”
“Packing photo albums.” I look at the empty box on the floor. “Or maybe just looking at them,” she adds with a sigh and then pats a spot next to her on the couch. I sit down and put my phone on the coffee table, and she lays a hand on my thigh. “Why is it so complicated, honey?”
“Well, to start with…his girlfriend was in a car crash and is still in a coma.”
“Oh.” My mom’s eyes widen. “He goes to Spruce Creek?” I nod. “Yes, I remember reading his article in the school paper.”
“Apparently, everybody read it—except me.”
“He just needs time, honey.”
I take one of my albums off the stack, looking at a ten-year-old version of myself. “He thinks we both do.”
“He sounds like a very smart young man.”
“That’s another thing,” I say, turning toward her. “He’s brilliant, rich, and really burns up the court.”
“Those are good things, but does he make you laugh and treat you right?”
“Yes, he makes me laugh all the time—sort of like Landon does.” I flip the pages to my sixth-grade growth spurt. My team pictures show me a head taller than the other girls. I bite down on my lip. “And he’s an amazing kisser.”
“Now I know what you did at the beach all week.”
I shake my head. “Actually, our first kiss was today—in the woods behind the Preston’s house.” I consider the time that I have known him. “We spent most of our time talking. I could talk to him for hours, about anything. He’s such a good listener, Mom.”
My mom reaches over and pinches my arm. “Looks like someone got bitten by the love bug.”
“I have only known him for a few days.” I flip the pages of the album, seeing middle school pass by me. “I knew Mike for years, and I am not even sure that was love.”
My mother swirls her wine glass, letting the purplish-red liquid circle her glass. “So when do I get to meet him?”
“I don’t know, Mom…probably never.” I close the album and pick up the one that chronicles the past three years of my high school life. “You’re moving, remember?”
My phone chirps on the coffee table.
“Ooh,” my mom squeals as Ryan’s photo fills the screen. “It’s a call from Mr. ‘It’s Complicated.’”
“It’s okay,” I dismiss with a wave of the hand. “I can call him back.”
She reaches forward and swipes the phone off the coffee table. “Hello, Ryan. This is Callie’s mother.” My mom touches the screen stealthily, and his voices enters the room. “Uh, hello, Mrs. Williams, do you still go by that, ma’am?”
My mother smiles. “Yes, I do.”
“May I speak with Callie, please?”
“Yes, one moment.” My mom gets up and circles the room and smirks at me. “She’s around here somewhere.”
“Okay, thank you.”
“So—young man, how do you know my daughter?”
I cover my face with my hands.
“We met on Saturday.”
“Where did you two meet?”
“On the basketball court.”
“Well,” she begins with a laugh, “isn’t that a romantic spot?”
I jump off the couch and grab the phone from her clutches. “Hi, Ryan, sorry about that.” I retreat to my bedroom for a little privacy. “What’s up?”
“Forget everything I said earlier.”
“Everything?”
“Just the part about taking time,” Ryan clarifies. “In a matter of months, we’ll be making decisions that will decide the next four years of our lives. We don’t have much time, do we?”
“Well, I’ve already made my decision, and I’ll be giving my verbal this week.”
“Vandy, huh?”
“Yep, it’s part of the deal with my mom. I get one year here if I agree to four up there.”
He falls silent.
“You there, Ryan?”
“Yeah, I was just thinking…this isn’t the kind of conversation we should be having over the phone. Plus, there’s something else I need to tell you.”
“You want to talk in person…tonight?”
He pushes out a breath. “Yeah, but it’s late, Callie, and it’s two hours round trip to Riverside. My curfew is twelve, leaving us 30 minutes to talk and…do other…stuff. I want to, but—”
“Well, it’s a half hour to the Deland exit. We could meet there, and that would give us an hour and a half if we hurry.”
“Way to be thinking, girl. I’ll go tell my parents.” He pauses. “And then I’ll text you an address of where to meet when I’m on my way. Leave in five minutes after that. I don’t want you to be alone in the parking lot.”
*****
The Secrets We Keep Page 48