The Watermelon Project

Chapter Ten

 "Hey mom?" I ask in the car on the way home from school. "Have you talked to Mrs. Braidy recently?"

"No, why?" Mom looks over at me from the passenger seat. It's my turn to drive the five minutes it takes us to get home.

"Well...she and Mr. Braidy are splitting up. I don't know if Ryan wanted me to tell you, but Mr. Braidy is having an affair."

"Oh." My mom kind of scrunches her shoulders into herself and stares out the window.

"I don't know. I thought, maybe, you and she could hang out and drink wine or something. Or like go out for a girls night? I don't know." I stare straight ahead, trying to relax my hands from their current steering wheel death grip.

"You know what?" She turns and faces me. "That sounds like a great idea. I won't mention that I know anything. I'll just say that I've been having a rough week at work and want to do something fun. And that I miss her."

"That sounds perfect, Mom."

She leans back in the seat and smiles. "So," she says after a moment, "are you all packed to head to your dad's on Friday after class?"

I roll my eyes. "Not yet, Mom. It's only Tuesday." She shrugs her shoulders. "What? Are you that eager to get rid of me?"

"No, of course not," she replies as I turn into our driveway. "I just know how much you love going to the city."

"Yeah," I say. For some reason, my homebodiness goes away when I'm in the city. There I have no desire to sit in my dad's apartment watching TV all day. Though, it is fun to watch TV shows and movies based in New York while in New York. But when I'm there, I want to explore and wander. I like to sit in parks and watch people. I love imagining their stories. Sometimes I even take notes, storing them as potential characters for things I write in the future.

I put the car in park and unlock the doors. My mom grabs her bag and swings one leg out of the car.

"You can go visit him more often, you know," she says, one leg still in the car.

"Yeah, I could," is all I can think to say.

"You know what?" she asks, planting both feet on the ground and looping her bag over her shoulder. "You should apply for internships in the city and ask your dad if you could live with him for the summer. I think that would be great for you."

I step out of the car, nodding. I have to admit, the thought had crossed my mind. I mean, it's an ideal situation. Not having to pay for rent in the city? Amazing. But I was kind of nervous to bring up the idea to Mom, for some reason. But she did it for me. Thanks, Mom.

"Yeah. I should do that."

"Good. You need to get the hell out of dodge."

"Um, I don't know if that's the proper use of that phrase, Mom."

"Well, you need to get the hell out of my house, how about that?" She laughs at herself.

"What? You don't want me working in town and living at home this summer?" I ask as I lock the car, chuckling.

"Honey, you know I love living with you, but you can't live with me forever. Besides," she says, unlocking the front door, "it's your dad's turn to deal with fake sausages."

"I thought you liked the vegan sausage!"

"What can I say? Should've been an actress."

Mom disappears, leaving me with a bemused smile on my face. My phone buzzes. I pull it out of my pocket, expecting a text from Ryan. I can't stop my smile from widening when I see it's a message from Nick.