Chlaughan

The Letter

MRS. HARRY

Sunday, 9:27am

I stand in the kitchen by the stove, watching the morning news while still keeping an eye on the pancakes. My husband, also named Vaughan, got called into work this morning, so I'm now forced to deal with four rowdy teenagers on MY Sunday.

I flip the pancakes and hear the sizzle of the batter hitting the pan, but that sound is overpowered by the sound of eight feet rushing down the stairs.

"Here we go," I mumble.

I shovel most of the pancakes onto a big plate. I then shovel the dairy-free ones I made onto another plate for Ella. I put the plates on the counter and step back before a bunch of greedy hands reach in.

"Goodmorning." Chiara chirps, peppy as usual.

"Morning, hun," I reply, "What were up to last night?"

I catch a quick look between Vaughan and Liam and another between Chiara and Ella. I probably shouldn't ask.

"Okay... I'll take that silence as 'we had a great time, Mom'. Clean up when you're done, I'm going to do laundry."

I wipe off my hands and head to the laundry room. I pick up the basket to start my usual routine. First, I go around the house picking up all the socks Vaughan leaves around the house and the miscellaneous items Ella leaves on the floor.

Ella's room wasn't bad today. There was only a Beatles shirt and a pair of mom jeans on the ground. I switch to Vaughan's room which is a pigsty, as usual. It makes a little more sense since Liam's stuff is scattered around, too. Maybe I'll clean up just a bit.

I put clothes into the hamper; toys in the bins and books back on the shelf. I move to the opposite side of the room and shove all of Liam's things to the wall so they aren't in the middle of the room. I kick his bag to the side and his shoes as well, when a white piece of paper flies out of the front pocket. It is folded up and taped closed, and there is something written on the front.

I know I shouldn't be nosy, but Liam only ever brings one outfit and maybe a pair of socks if we're lucky. I bend down and place the laundry basket next to me, and I peek out of the cracked door to make sure no one is around. I reach for the paper that had fallen out of his bag, and carefully pry the tape off of it. When I flip it over to get a better hold of the tape, I see Vaughan's name written on the front. Maybe this is personal, it could be a goodbye letter or something special.

I stand up and curse under my breath. What was I thinking? This is Liam's property. I glance back to the paper on the ground. If it were a person, I bet that it would be giving me the stink eye, but it's not a real person. So, it won't matter if I take a quick look inside either way.

I get back down on the ground and pick it up. I take off the tape and unfold the... letter. It's a letter addressed to Vaughan. I sigh and look up to the ceiling.

"I should not be reading this." I complain to no one. Ugh, whatever.

I begin to read the page long paper that I shouldn't be reading, skipping over nothing.

My hand moves over my mouth as I realize what this is about. The letter starts off with "Dear Vaughan, I am going to do my best to word this correctly so I don't freak you out. If you're reading this, you are probably in your new house in California. Or maybe you are on the plane next to some weird old lady who's perfume makes the whole airplane smell of passion fruit and yellow carrot. Anyways, I wanted to tell you this after you left to avoid the awkwardness of the situation..."

Oh my god. Oh my god. Liam has a crush on Vaughan. I put my hand on the wall in front of me for balance, and I continue reading.

"... Here goes nothing I guess. I like you, Vaughan. Like... I like, like you. And I know we are young and you only see me as a friend, but I can't hide these feelings forever. You deserve to know my real feelings. We are best friends after all. You can ignore me for the rest of our lives after you read this, but I just wanted you to know. Sorry if this makes things weird. I hope we can still play NBA2k over facetime and when we visit each other... I mean, if we visit each other."

I look up from the... love letter I just read and stare blankly at the wall. I don't know how to feel about this. I definitely support him, but I guess I just wasn't expecting this... out of everything, this.

My shaky hands lead me to drop the paper onto the floor. How will I continue on with my day, let alone the month that we still have together? I'm not sure what I'm going to do, but I do know that this is personal stuff that shouldn't be shared. It isn't any of my business, so I'm not going to say anything to anyone.

I stand up and brush off my thighs. I take a deep breath and pick up the basket. As I head out of the door, Vaughan and Liam barge in through the other side, startling me.

"Why are you in my room?" Vaughan asks.

"I was just collecting your dirty clothes." I reply, putting on a slightly suspicious smile.

I don't think either of them thought anything of it. Thank God. I head downstairs and throw the laundry basket to the side, making my way back over to the kitchen where Ella and Chiara are still sitting. Keeping this a secret shouldn't be that hard. I mean, I'm only keeping it from my husband, kids, and kind-of-kids, who I love more than anything in the world. I would never lie to any of them, but this is different. It's not some little secret that you have with your friends.

"Mom," Ella starts, snapping me out of my thinking, "Chi and I are going to go out for a little bit."

"Sounds good," I nod.

They hop off of their seats, giggle their way up the stairs. I'm honestly glad they will be out of here; I have packing and cleaning to do.