Our Beloved Summer | A TSITP Story

Chapter 14

After that conundrum of a conversation with Conrad, I stayed in my room until night fell. Normally I would help clean or help Jere set up the fireworks but I was exhausted. I had taken a short nap before my hunger woke me up.

I was grateful no one was in the kitchen, they would've asked where I went. I didn't really feel like talking. Just eating and drawing. There was a bowl of fruit I was tempted to pick from, but a box of sugary cereal caught. I poured some into a bowl and sat down before realizing I didn't even get milk. But I didn't want to get up again, so I ate it dry. And I sketched that bowl of cereal until a pair of keys started to wiggle in the side door, next to the kitchen.

I watched as my mother slowly closed the door and removed her sandals, tiptoeing across the floor. She hadn't even seen me sitting there.

"Hey, Mom." I scared her. It was pretty awesome. "Where were you?"

"Just went for a drive." She said, filling a glass with water.

"Liar." I didn't even know she left the house, and normally she told us where she was going, so this - her sneaking out, it was something special.

She gasped, looking at me with a small smile. I smirked and continued to draw. "I am not lying."

"Hmm, you were just driving... and you had a little pit stop? With a boy?"

"I am not talking about this with you." She laughed, catching on that I was trying to act like the mother in this situation and she was the kid sneaking back in at night.

"Can I ask you something, Mom?" I had been in my own head tonight, and I wanted someone else's insight.

"Sure, kid. What's up?"

"Did you feel fireworks with Dad? When you first met?"

"What I felt for your dad was... steady. It was like a cozy campfire that would keep me warm all through the night." She said, almost too quiet for me to hear.

"But that wasn't enough?"

"I guess not."

"Have you ever felt fireworks with anyone?" I continued, genuinely curious about my mothers history.

"Once, but it was never going to work out. The fire would've burned us both alive."

"I think that's how it was with Toby. I mean, he was fun and he made me think. But it got to where I thought I wasn't good enough for anyone, because of him." I thought back to all the times he had ridiculed me when I thought I was important, and then when he would chastise me for being insecure. It was pure manipulation at the end.

"And I think me and Cam are like you and Dad. He's so simple and easy. I really like him but..."

"But he's not just right." She looked at me with such a knowing gaze. A warm and motherly gaze. "You read people, Dani, and you're good at it. You should have someone who challenges you, who you can read but also makes you think. If Cam doesn't do that for you - you don't have to stay."

"I don't think I'll ever find the 'just right' person. How would I even know it was them?"

She reached across the kitchen island, holding my hand. "You'll know when you want to be with that person no matter what. Too hot, too safe... you won't care. It'll be just right. And no matter what, you'll always find each other."

I'd never had such a conversation with my mom. Emotion sharing wasn't exactly our thing. I'd never seen her cry, and she'd only ever been sentimental with Belly. It was nice to see her this way and to know that she was speaking to just me. There was no one to interfere.