Across the Pond

Chapter 2

I leave my suitcases by the door and run to the kitchen to grab a granola bar. We've got an 11-hour drive ahead of us, and while I know that we'll be making a few pit stops for food, I need something to hold me over until then.

"Honey, can you give me a hand with this one?" mom points her head at the oversized suitcase and asks once I step outside.

"Sure thing," I tell her as I walk towards her. "Why don't you start the car? I've got it from here."

"Thank you, honey," she says, patting my shoulder and proceeding for the driver's side.

We've never taken a plane to Wilmington before. Flights were always more expensive than gas. But I can't say that I mind. We always have fun blasting tunes and reminiscing on past summers. I always feel bad when I fall asleep at the 5-hour mark and mom has to keep driving. I have my driver's license, but she insists on taking the wheel.

***

Coldplay's Sky Full of Stars wakes me from my dream and I peer at the time on the dashboard. It's almost 6 PM, which means we only have an hour left to go.

"Excited for this summer?" mom asks me as I hum Cause you're a sky, 'cause you're a sky full of stars.

"Do you really have to ask me that?" I say because she already knows the answer.

"I just love the way your face lights up when I ask."

I immediately fix my supposedly beaming smile into a straight line. "It does not," I lie.

"Does, too!"

"Okay, fine. And to answer your question that you already know the answer to...yes, I'm excited."

"Have you spoken to Remi?"

"Yup, I texted her the second that we left the house. She's already sending me lists of all the parties that we have to go to this weekend."

"Parties? That sounds fun. All I'm asking is that you..."

"...Be safe and make smart choices," we say at the same time. "I know, mom."

"Just checking," mom says as her hands stay fixed on the steering wheel. "And Nico? What about him?" All it takes is the sound of his name to make me feel butterflies.

"What about him?" I ask.

"Have you spoken to him? Does he know that you're on your way?"

"Yeah, he texted me this morning."

"And what did he have to say?"

I think back to my texts with Nico and my heart starts doing somersaults. I can't wait to see you. There's something I gotta tell you. was one of his responses to my messages.

"Bella?" my mom calls out when I don't respond.

"Huh?"

"Never mind," she smirks.

"What's that look for?"

"Nothing...," she says in a high-pitched voice.

"Mom!"

"You can't fool me, sweetheart. I see the way that you look at him. I saw the way you looked at him the first day that you met him."

"For your information, the way that I look at Nico is the same way that I look at Brooks. As a friend."

Mom looks at me like she knows I'm lying. "Okay, honey. Just promise me one thing."

"What?"

"Promise me that you'll make this summer the best one yet. You're going into your senior year and I know how stressful that can be with college applications and whatnot. I just want you to enjoy these next two months."

"That's an easy promise. You know what Wilmington means to me."

"I do."

"Plus," I continue, "I'm excited to see Grandma Ruby."

"She's excited, too. You know you're her favorite grandchild, right?"

"That's because I'm her only grandchild."

"Yes, but you know you mean the world to her, regardless."

"I know," I smile. "She means the world to me, too." Mom grins and I stare out the window for a brief moment before turning back to look at her. "And what about you?"

"Me?"

"C'mon, mom, I know that you're just as excited as I am to be in Wilmington for the summer. Don't think I forgot about your little rendezvous with Adam last year."

Mom's jaw drops. "Isabella Cooper!"

"What?"

"It was one date!"

"So? Don't pretend like you aren't crushing on grandma's next door neighbor."

"I am not crushing on anyone."

"It's okay if you are, mom. You're young. You're beautiful. You're the kindest person that I know."

"You have to say that...I'm your mother."

"No, I mean it." And I do. At 45 years old, mom doesn't look a day over 30. She's naturally pretty. Her skin is pretty much flawless and that's thanks to the fact that she doesn't smoke or drink. Between working as a part-time real estate agent and cycling four times a week, she leads a pretty active lifestyle.

"Thank you, sweetheart, but I don't think that he looks at me that way."

"Of course he does. He's a divorced dude who comes over at least 3 times a week asking for something that I'm convinced he already has in his house. If it's not milk, it's sugar, if it's not sugar, it's butter."

Mom shakes her head playfully. "It's not like that."

"Tell yourself what you want, but I'm telling you that it is like that. It's okay to be wanted, mom. You rarely date, you work way too hard, and you put everyone else before yourself. You deserve to mingle and have fun."

"I have lots of fun."

"The two-for-one special at Kamah's Sushi Bar every Thursday night with your coworker Pam is not what I mean by fun." I pause before continuing. "Look, all I'm saying is...if you're going to make me promise to have the best summer yet, then you have to promise me the same."

Mom looks at me for just a second before bringing her eyes back to the highway. "Fine...I promise."

"Good," I tell her. "Then I promise, too."