"By the way, A, I never got to ask, what're you doing now?"
Morgan didn't know why, but at her seemingly innocent question, the group burst out laughing, Killian even punching the table in his fervor.
Morgan frowned. "What's so funny?" she asked, slightly annoyed, with furrowed eyebrows, looking to each of the boys for an explanation.
"You didn't know?" chuckled Killian, wiping an invisible tear away from the corner of his eye. "Our little Addison is a bigshot business tycoon."
"No!" Morgan gasped, swiftly turning to face Addie, who shrugged and smiled sheepishly. She never would've pegged Addie as the business type. "That's amazing! Any businesses I might've heard of?"
Addie opened her mouth to speak but then shut it again, the tips of her ears suddenly reddening.
"Modesty — what a hilarious concept," remarked Chase, shaking his head. "Her newest acquisition is someplace closer than you'd think."
"Not the McDonald's across the street?" ventured Morgan, half rising from her seat to peer out the glass wall.
"Morgan — no — I'm not that good a businesswoman!" laughed Addie. "I actually bought out The Brew last month. Mr. O'Neill was selling, said it was about time to throw in the towel. I was actually quite surprised to see The Brew up on the market — yeah, sure, business is bad, but I mean, this is basically our third home! I couldn't bear to see some heartless shark tear this place apart to make way for some newfangled trampoline house or crime shack or whatever kids are into these days — Killian, shut up," she added, glaring at an open-mouthed Killian who, Morgan figured, was about to comment on her statement.
"That's crazy, Addie!" said Morgan, smiling. She couldn't help but feel glad Addie took The Brew under her wing even though, according to the latter, it was losing money.
Addie had a point, after all — this was where all of them had grown up. For Morgan, personally speaking, she had worked at The Brew till the end, till she decided to run off and create a better future for herself; Mr. O'Neill had treated her like he were her uncle and she his favorite niece. What more, The Brew was the place for first dates, where everything's new and exciting — it was where she first realized there was more to Trevor than met the eye, where he had made it known to her that he fancied the name 'Nicky,' were he ever to become a father.
She absentmindedly glanced over at Nick, who was enthusiastically telling Eric about the time he had 'accidentally' stuck a Barbie shoe up his nose and had had continuous nosebleeds for a week until Morgan decided to bring him to the doctor.
It was always bittersweet, seeing so much of Trevor in Nick, but because Nick's basically a little Trevor, her heart never failed to give a stab of pain — Nick was like an incessant reminder to her that Trevor's gone — been gone for six years and counting.
When Trevor had told her that if he ever had a son, he'd name him Nicolas (which she ridiculed), she thought it was an odd choice but valid — she just didn't know that she'd eventually come to be the mother of that child.
She didn't know that she'd give birth for the first time ever alone with the doctor and nurses in the delivery room; didn't know that she'd make a vow to be a sufficient parent for Nick; didn't know that she'd have to face the terrible twos, along with every time Nick got ill, every time there was some sort of complication, every sleepless night and tiresome morning by herself; didn't know that she'd eventually guide Nick from diapers to diplomas —
"School!" exclaimed Morgan all of a sudden, prompting all the others to eye her weirdly.
"M, I know we're all reminiscing about the past, but in case I wasn't made aware, we've all done school," said Addie with a raised eyebrow.
"No, I-I forgot today's Friday — Nick has school today," said Morgan shakily, scrambling to get out of her seat, grab her bag, and pick Nick off his seat, cutting his Barbie shoe anecdote short.
Nick groaned. "Was hoping you'd forget," he remarked with a frown, earning a snicker from Killian across the table.
"Please, I'm not that bad a mom," said Morgan defiantly, swinging her purse up her shoulder. "Listen, guys, this has been great — really — but motherhood calls — you understand, right?"
"Surely," said Addie, looking round the table with what looked to be a smirk on her face. Morgan didn't understand why, but she didn't have time to linger on it, so she chalked it up to some inside joke she couldn't get, on account of her being absent for the last six years.
"Well, considering school normally starts in the morning, and it's noon now, meaning little Nick here's been absent for about half a day, then we understand that you gotta go get him educated," said Chase, grinning.
"Plus, I'm honored to have contributed to his skipping school," added Killian with a cheeky smile spread across his face.
"You never change, do you?" sighed Morgan as she dashed to the exit but not before whirling around, flashing the gang an apologetic smile, and rushing out.
|
As Morgan drove down Howlter Lane, she soon found that a wave of nostalgia was rushing through her as she drove pass all the places she frequented in her youth — the McDonald's across the street; the shopping center she and Addie used to go to to gawk at designer dresses neither of them could afford, even if they pooled both their allowances together; and even Slice Slice Baby, that hole-in-the-wall pizza joint she and Trevor went to that one spontaneous night out.
Before she even knew it, after a long, silent car drive, they had arrived at Rosewood Elementary.
Morgan stopped the car, helped Nick out, and sprinted to the main gate, where, when Morgan urged Nick to go in, he hesitated and looked up at her with furrowed eyebrows.
"Will you be waiting in the car?" he asked softly.
"No, honey," replied Morgan without delay, the only thing on her mind being the mental checklist she had made, "I've got some business I have to deal with. Is that okay?"
Morgan expected a full-on tantrum from her six-year-old (which happens still, no matter how grown up he seems), but to her surprise, Nick looked up at her with a wide smile, his eyes forming little crescents.
"That's good. Glad you have something to keep you occupied, momma."
No matter how used to Nick's surprisingly mature sentiments Morgan was, she figured she'll never quite get used to it.
The tips of her ears red, Morgan returned her son's smile and ruffled his dark hair. "I love you, Nicky — always remember that," she said, gently pushing Nick through the gates as he was still very, very late.
"Love you, too, momma!" called Nick as he sped-walked down the empty halls.
"Have a great day at school, okay, Nicky?" Morgan called after him, to which he raised up a thumb.
Morgan stayed a little longer, watching Nick run across the corridor, skid to a halt as a door burst open, and be hugged by that pigtailed girl, Lexi, before heading back to her car alone.
||
A/N [04.25.21]:
Fun fact, that Barbie shoe story is based on a true story (something I apparently did as a kid), and it was just made clear to me that it was actually a small hair tie that got stuck up my nose for MONTHS apparently 😭
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Blinded by Limerence
Teen Fiction"You, uh, plan to go out like that?" Furrowing my eyebrows, I cast my gaze downwards, and that's when I remembered I had changed into pajamas after my date. My face heated up - it was embarrassing to unintentionally let Trevor see my pajama set that...
